Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n
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A34063
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A discourse on the offices for the Vth of November, XXXth of January, and XXIXth of May by Thomas Comber ...
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Comber, Thomas, 1645-1699.
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1696
(1696)
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Wing C5463; ESTC R3079
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108,006
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238
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Threatning or Murmuring Complaining or Reviling Yea Thirdly his Charity was so great that after our Saviours pattern he forgave his Enemies yea his Murderers and prayed also to Heaven to forgive them Let his memory O Lord be ever blessed c. We have seen the Great Example and now pray we may make a twofold use of it First To value his Memory Solomon saith The memory of the just is blessed (t) Prov. X. 7. and God promiseth The righteous shall be had in everlasting remembrance (u) Psal CXII 6. A lasting and honourable Name being one of the rewards of a deceased Saint (w) Psal LXXII 17. So that we should be unjust to this excellent Prince and to God himself if his Memory be not ever Blessed among us This Day and this Office will preserve the remembrance of his bright Example so long as Illustrious Virtue hath any price among Men. And Secondly We Pray we may imitate that which we so justly admire which is another end of celebrating the Memory of Hero's made immortal (x) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Lucian in Toxar that others may be excited to follow their Steps And if any great Evils do ever befall us where our Lord excepted can we find so great a Pattern of Magnanimity mixt with Meekness of Patience joyned with Charity of Constancy in Faith and Fervency in Devotion 'T is not enough to commend and admire these in him for then only they do us real good when we our selves practise them And thus tho alas we want the Presence of so Perfect a Guide to Virtue we may so profit by his Example (y) Mâ—gnerum virorum non manus quam praesentia utilis est meâ—oria Sen. ep 102. in fine as to have our portion with him in that glory which he now enjoys And grant that this our Land c. But while we admire his Graces we cannot forget they aggravate the Sin of this Land where he was cut off and that puts us a second time upon begging Pardon for so horrid a Crime done against so great a Saint God's Vice gerent and our Lawful Sovereign and no importunity is too great to avert so Dreadful Vengeance as this deserves or to procure Pardon for so Heinous a Sin These Favours we dare not ask in any other Name but that of Jesus Christ our only Mediator (z) 1 Tim. II. 5. Heb. VII 25. We honour the Memory of our Royal Martyr but do not adore him we propose him for an Example but do not use Him or any Creature for an Advocate reserving that Glory as we ought only to the Blessed Jesus who is alone sufficient to make this and all our Prayers acceptable to his Father Amen Note The three Penitential Prayers are explained in the Comminution The Epistle 1 Ep. St. Peter II. 13 22. This Epistle shews the Duty which Christians owe 1st To Magistrates alone 1. The Duty declared Ver. XIII 2. The motives urged 1. The end of Government Ver. XIV 2. The Command of God Ver. XV. 3. The honour of Religion Ver. XV. 3. An Objection answer'd Ver. XVI 2. To all them with others 1. To all Honour V. XVII 2. To Christians Love V. XVII 3. To God Piety V. XVII 4. To the King Loyalty V. XVII 3ly To Masters 1. The Duty enjoyned Subjection V. XVIII 2. The Extent of it even to the bad V. XVIII 3. The reasons of this latitude 1. It pleaseth God Ver. XIX 2. It is creditable among Men Ver. XX. 3. 'T is agreeable to Christs example V. XXI XXII A Paraphrase on this Epistle § 8. Ver. XIII YOU Dispersed Jews who are Christian-Proselytes must Submit to every Governour appointed by the Ordinance of Man to Rule that Country where you live And this Obedience must be paid for the Lords sake who hath enjoyned you to be subject where-ever you dwell and are protected whether it be at Rome and then your subjection is due to the King or Emperor himself as supream and ruling there immediately Ver. XIV If you live in the Provinces you must be subject to Proconsuls Praefects Or unto any other subordinate Governors as unto those who are commissionated under the Emperor and sent by him with Power and Authority both for the punishment of evil doers especially the Seditious and the praise yea and rewarding of them that do well especially the Quiet and Obedient Ver. XV. In which number you Believers should always be For so is the will of God he commands it and so ye are bound to it in Conscience And it is for the Credit of your Religion that with well-doing particularly this sort of it Peaceableness and Subjection ye may put to silence the Accusations of Malicious and inform the ignorance of foolish men the former representing and the latter believing you to be Turbulent and movers of Sedition Ver. XVI I know as Jews you use to think you ought not to obey any Heathen and I own that as Christians you are set at liberty from the Ceremonial Law but not from the Moral Therefore you may live As free Men and such as cannot be compelled to do evil But the Gospel allows not the using your Christian liberty for a cloke to and pretence of maliciousness so as to permit you under colour of these Spiritual Priviledges to be Seditious or Rebel Ver. XVII You are still bound to all sorts of Moral Duties as much as you were before your Conversion that is to respect and Honour all men of what Religion soever they be To Love the brotherhood of Christians more especially To Fear God in the first place so as not to sin against him though your Governor command you and in the next place to Honour the King by submission and obedience to his Lawful Commands Ver. XVIII Christianity cancels no preceding Relations or Duties And therefore you Servants who are Christians be subject to your own Masters who have bought or hired you carry your selves toward them with all fear Observance and Respect And I must tell you this Obedience and Reverence is due not only to the good and gentle Masters who use you kindly but also to the froward Masters who deal strictly severely and hardly with you Ver. XIX It is no Virtue and deserves no praise to be subject to a good Master you may do that for his sake and your own But this is thankworthy if a man who is a Christian have an ill Master and yet purely for conscience toward God and for fear of sinning He obeys hard Commands yea endures grief and ill usage and is content with suffering wrougfully rather than disgrace the Gospel by Mutiny and Revenge Ver. XX. You will say we are innocent and deserve no such usage I reply 'T is your Innocence gives the great value to your Patience For what glory is it for you Christians especially if when you he buffeted only for your faults by a good Master ye shall take it
patiently A Heathen Slave would do as much as this and more (a) Indigna digna habenda sunt heruâ— quae facit Plaut cap. IV. Act. 2. Se. 1. But if when ye do well and for all this under an unjust and cruel Master suffer for it yet still ye take it patiently and submit this is acceptable with God because this cannot be done for such a Masters sake but purely in respect to Gods Command which you dare not disobey Ver. XXI And to encourage you to so hard a Duty consider this is suitable to your Christian Profession For even hereunto were ye called when you were converted to follow our Saviours Example and we may well bear some evils for his sake because Christ also suffered all sorts of Injuries Ill-usage and Death it self for us not only thereby satisfying Gods Justice for our Sins but leaving us an example also that ye and all Christians when you suffer unjustly should follow his steps and take even that patiently as he did Ver. XXII 'T is certain he suffered for no fault of his own who did no evil deed to any Man in his whole Life neither was any one evil Word of Falshood Malice or guile found in his mouth Wherefore if we would imitate him we must first be so innocent as to deserve no Sufferings yet if they who have Power over us will for all that afflict us our next care must be to bear it patiently till God find out a way to deliver us The Gospel St. Mat. XXI 33 41. § 9. THis Parable directly points at the Scribes and Pharisees who had rejected and slain divers of the Prophets and were designing to murder Christ himself but by way of accommodation it taxes our vile Regicides For their Lord had taken all due care of this Land and trusted divers of these his Subjects in the Administration of his Government expecting nothing but the just Rights and Prerogatives of his Crown But these they deny him and reject his Commissioners who came to treat with them Yea slew many of his faithful Servants in open War and at last seize his Crown murder him and banish his Heir making themselves Lords of his Kingdoms Now if these be ever recovered again we may appeal to all mankind whether they deserve not both to be deprived of their usurped Power for their Injustice and of their Lives for the Innocent Blood they spilt All but the Guilty will own this to be Just This Gospel sets out Inferiours highly injuring their Lord and shews 1st The nature of their Sin aggravated by 1. The equity of the Lord. 1. His care of the Vineyard Ver. 33. 2. His compact with them Ver. 33. 3. His fair demands Ver. 34. 2. The iniquity of the Servants 1. Beating and killing their Lords Messengers Ver. 35 36. 2. Killing the Heir and Ver. 37 38 39. 3. Seizing the Vineyard Ver. 37 38 39. 2ly The measure of their Punishment 1. Enquired of by appeal to the Guilty Ver. 40. 2. Determined by the very Criminals Ver. 41. A Paraphrase on this Gospel Ver. XXXIII THE Injustice and Cruelty of Inferiors wronging and seeking to destroy their Superiors may appear by this Parable There was a certain housholder oâ— Chief Lord that is God the Father who planted a vineyard the Land of Canaan and hedged it round about by Laws of his own appointing whereby the Jews were distinguished from all other People and digged a wine-presâ—â— that is founded a Temple for his True Worship in it and built a Tower that is he took it into his specialâ— Protection and let it out to husbandmen to the Jews to cultivate on condition they should pay an Obedience unto his Laws and went into a far Country that is seemed to retire to Heaven XXXIV And when the time of gathering and pressing the fruit drew near at the Vintage according to the Covenant he sent his servants the first and eldest Prophets to the husbandmen pressing them for the Benefits they had by the Vineyard and the Protection their Lord gave them to make good their promised Obedience that they might receive the Portion due to their Lord out of the fruits of it and give their Master an account Ver. XXXV And the husbandmen were so wicked that instead of paying their Lord the homage and services due to him they took his servants by violence and beat one cruelly even Jeremiah and killed another that is Isaiah by sawing him asunder and stoned another Zechariah the Son of Barachiah Ver. XXXVI Yet their Lord was so Gentle and Patient that he resolved to try Again and therefore he sent on the same Errand other servants raised up other Prophets mo then the first in number to have more witnesses of their Repentance or evidence of their Crimes and they did unto them in the same manner killing and beating likewise as they had done to the former Messengers Ver. XXXVII However the Lord was not yet wholly discouraged But last of all as the only means left to prevail on them and the final Experiment that could be made he sent unto them his Son even Jesus Christ to press them to Repent and keep his Laws and their own Engagements rationally concluding and saying within himself surely they will reverence my Son and he will persuade them to do me right Ver. XXXVIII But it proved otherwise for when the husbandmen saw the Son instead of believing his Miracles reverencing his Person and obeying his Message They said among themselves in their secret and bloody Consults This is the heir who claims a right to this Vineyard which we intend to make our selves Masters of come let us kill him by a violent Death and let us then declare our selves free from all subjection and seize on his inheritance which we cannot be quiet in so long as he lives Ver. XXXIX Nor did they only plot but execute this Cruelty for they hired one of his Servants to betray him and they caught him first by Craft and cast him out of the vineyard by open force renouncing him and his Authority and at last they most unjustly condemned him and slew him barbarously Ver. XL. But such flagrant Crimes cannot be long unpunished When therefore the Lord of the vineyard who is Immortal and very Just cometh by his special Providence to enquire into these horrid Practices I appeal even to you Jews your selves and ask you what will he do think you and what ought he to do unto those husbandmen who had been so obstinate in their Injustice and so daring in their Cruelty Ver. XLI They say unto him convinced by the notoriousness of the Provocation but not perceiving themselves to be the Criminals Doubtless he will as in justice and honour he is bound condemn cut off and miserably destroy those wicked men who had been guilty of so much Blood Robbery and Oppression and will let out his vineyard for the future to other husbandmen which will be just to him and respective