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When yesin so against the brethren, ye sin against Christ.-1 Cor. viii. 12. The head of every man is Christ.→ 1 Cor. xi. 3.

All the members of that one body being many, are one body; so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized in one body.-1 Cor. xii. 12, 13. Gal. iii. 28.

together, increaseth with the increase of God.-Col. ii. 19.

Both be that sanctifieth, and they who are sanctified, are all of one; for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren: saying, I will declare thy name, &c.-Heb. ii. 11, 12. Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast,

The love of Christ constraineth us. &c.-Heb. iii. 6. -2 Cor. v. 14.

I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you a chaste virgin to Christ.-2 Cor. xi. 2.

Gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body; the fulness of him that filleth all in all.-Eph. i. 22, 23. Col. i. 18. To know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge.-Eph. iii. 19.

Grow up into him in all things, which is the head, Christ, from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted, &c.-Eph. iv. 15, 16.

Christ hath loved us, and given himself for us an offering, &c. Christ is the head of the church, and the Saviour of the body, &c. Christ loved the church, and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it, &c. that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, &c. No man ever hated his own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church for we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. -Eph. v. 2. 23. 25-27.29, 30.

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I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ, which is far better.-Phil. i. 23.

What things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ; yea, doubtless, I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord; for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.-Phil. iii. 7, 8.

Not holding the head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit

Jesus Christ, whom having not seen ye love, &c.-I Pet. i. 7, 8. Unto you which believe, he is precious, &c.-1 Pet. ii. 7.

Jesus Christ, that loved us, and washed us, &c.—Rev. i. 5.

If any man hear my voice, &c. I will come in to him, and sup with him, and he with me.-Rev. iii. 20. John xiv. 21. 23.

CHAP. XIV.

OF THE DUTY OF BELIEVERS; ESPE-
CIALLY SUCH AS WOULD EXCEL.

SECT. 1. Towards God, in the General.

To live to God, not to themselves: to

be holy, fruitful, walking in the
light, in an honest, heavenly, and
spiritual conversation, worthy of
their high calling; to glorify God,
and mind the things above.

FEAR God, and keep his command-
ments, for this is the whole duty of
man.-)
-Eccles. xii. 13, 14.

Enoch walked with God.-Gen. v. 22. 24.

Noah walked with God.-Gen. vi. 9. And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou, &c. For thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation, &c. And Noah did according unto all that the Lord had commanded him.-Gen. vii. 1. 5.

I am the Lord your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy, for I am holy.-Lev. xi. 44, 45. xix. 2.

Seck not after your own heart, &c. but be ye holy unto your God, &c.— Numb. xv. 39, 40.

Thou art an holy people unto the

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Holiness becometh thine house, O Lord, for ever.-Ps. xciii. 5.

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.-Prov. iii. 6.

Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.-Ezek. xviii. 4.

Israel is an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself.-Hosea x. 1. He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good, &c. but to do justly, love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.-Micah vi. 8.

Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your ceiled houses, and this house lie waste? &c. Ye have sown much, and bring in little, &c. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste; and ye run every man unto his own house, therefore, &c.-Hag. i. 4. 6. 9, 10.

If I be a father, where is mine honour? If I be a master, where is my fear? saith the Lord.-Mal. i. 6. Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance, &c. The axe is laid unto the root of the trees, therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.-Matt. iii. 8. 10. Luke iii. 8. Matt. v. 29.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.-Matt. v. 16. 1 Sam. ii. 30. John xv. 8.

Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, &c. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also, &c. Seek ye first the kingdom of God, &c. -Matt. vi. 20, 21. 33. Luke xii. 33, 34. John vi. 27.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto

your souls: for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.-Matt. xi. 29, 30. 1 Pet. ii. 21-23.

A good man out of the good treasure of the heart, bringeth forth good things. Matt. xii. 35. vii. 17, 18.

They are to improve their talents. See the Parable.-Matt. xxv. 14, &c.

Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none; cut it down, why cumbereth it the ground? &c. Strive to enter in at the strait gate.-Luke xiii. 7, 24.

When ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants, we have done that which was our duty to do.-Luke xvii. 10.

Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you. —— John xii. 35.

Ye call me Master and Lord; and ye say well for so I am.-John xiii. 13.

Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh away; and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit, &c. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit, &c. I have chosen you, and ordained you, that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain.— John xv. 2. 8. 16.

In every nation, he that feareth God, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.-Acts x. 35.

Herein do I exercise myself, to have. always a conscience void of offence, toward God, and toward men.-Acts; xxiv. 16.

I have shewed, that they should repent, and do works meet for repentance. -Acts xxvi. 20.

We also should walk in newness of life, &c. Yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey: whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto

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righteousness? &c.-Rom. vi. 4. 13. spirit, which are God's.-1 Cor. vi. 13.

16. 19.

Ye are also become dead to the law, &c. that we should bring forth fruit unto God, &c. That we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.-Rom. vii. 4. 6. We are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh; for if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die ; but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.Rom. viii. 12, 13.

I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, your reasonable service; and be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable will of God, &c. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. -Rom. xii. 1, 2. 17. Eph. v. 10.

It is high time to awake out of sleep, &c. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly as in the day, not in rioting and drunkenness, &c. but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ; and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.Rom. xiii. 11-14.

None of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself: for whether we live, we live unto the Lord, &c. Whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. Righteousness and peace, &c. For he that in these things serveth Christ, is acceptable to God, and approved of men.-Rom.xiv. 7-9. 17, 18. xi. 36. 1 Pet. iv. 2.6.

I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil. Rom. xvi. 19. 1

The body is not for fornication, but for the Lord, &c. Your bodies are the members of Christ, &c. And ye are not your own; for ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your

15. 19, 20. iii. 16, 17.

Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.-1 Cor. x. 31.

Be ye followers of me, as I also am of Christ.-1 Cor. xi. 1.

Be ye stedfast, &c. always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.-1 Cor. xv.58.

Wherefore we endeavour (or labour) that whether present, or absent, we may be accepted of him. The love of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead, &c. That they which live, should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them.-2 Cor. v. 9. 14, 15.

Having therefore these promises (dearly beloved) let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the fleshand spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.-2 Cor. vii. 1.

Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.- -2 Cor. viii. 21. 1 Tim. ii. 2. Heb. xiii. 18.

Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil (or fulfil not) the lust of the flesh.-Gal. v. 16, 17.

Be not deceived, God is not mocked : for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to the flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption: but he that soweth to the Spirit, shall of the Spirit reap life, &c. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, &c. but a new creature.→→→→ Gal. vi. 7, 8. 15. v. 16.

According as he hath chosen us in him, &c. that we should be holy, and without blame before him in love. Eph. i. 4.

Created, &c. unto good works, which God hath before ordained, that we should walk in them.-Eph. ii. 10. Titus ii. 14.

I therefore beseech you, that ye walk worthy of the vocation where

with ye are called. This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, &c. But ye have not so learned Christ, &c. That ye put off concerning the former conversation, the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lust; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind: and that ye put on the new man, which, after God, is created in righteousness, and true holiness.-Eph. iv. 1. 17. 20. 22-24. Col. iii. 9, 10.

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Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children, &c. Ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord walk as children of the light, &c. Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them, &c. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time. -Eph. v. 1. 8. 11. 15, 16.

That ye may approve things that are excellent (or try things which differ), that ye may be sincere, and without offence, till the day of Christ, &c. Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God, &c. According to my earnest expectation, &c. Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life or by death, &c. Let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ.-Phil. i. 10, 11.20.27.

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Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do, &c.-Phil. iv. 8, 9.

That ye might walk worthy of the Lord, unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work. Col. i. 10. 2 Thess. i. 11.

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If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, &c.

Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth, &c. Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth, fornication, &c.Col. iii. 1, 2. 5.

Walk in wisdom toward them who are without, redeeming the time, &c. That ye may stand perfect, and complete, in all the will of God, &c.Col. iv. 5. 12.

That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom.-1 Thess. ii. 12.

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We exhort you, by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk, and to please God so ye would abound more and more, &c. For this is the will of God, your sanctification, &c. That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour, &c. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. 1 Thess. iv. 1. 3, 4. 7.

Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, &c. That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine (or shine ye). Now the very God of peace sancas lights in the world, &c. All seek tify you wholly, and I pray God your their own things, not the things whole spirit, and soul, and body be which are Jesus Christ's.-Phil. ii. 12. preserved blameless, unto the coming of our Lord.-1 Thess. v. 23.

15. 21.

Brethren, be ye followers of me, and mark them which walk so, as ye have us for an example: for many walk, of whom I have told you, &c. even weeping, they are the enemies of the cross of Christ, &c. who mind

The end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned.-1 Tim. i. 5.

Exercise thyself to godliness, &c. Godliness is profitable to all things,

having the promise of the life, &c.1 Tim. iv. 7, 8. ii. 2. vi. 6. Thou, O man of God, &c. follow after righteousness, godliness, &c.1 Tim. vi. 11.

Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, &c.-2 Tim. ii. 22. For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared, &c. teaching us, that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world.-Titus ii. 11, 12.

Put them in mind, &c. to be ready to every good work, &c. A faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God, might be careful to maintain good works.Titus iii. 1. 8.

Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, &c. Follow peace, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.-Heb. xii. 1. 14.

Remember them which have the rule over you, &c. whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.-Heb. xiii. 7.

Who is a wise man ? &c. Let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.James iii. 13.

Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.-James iv. 8.

As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts, in your ignorance: but as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy, for I am holy.-1 Pet. i. 14, 15. Ye are a chosen generation, &c. that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you, &c. Abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul, having your conversation honest among the Gentiles, that whereas (or wherein) they speak against you as evil-doers, they may by your good works which they be

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hold, glorify God in the day of visitation, &c. So is the will of God, that with well-doing ye may, &c. We being dead to sin, should live unto righteousness.-1 Pet. ii. 9. 11, 12. 15. 24. 1 Tim. v. 14. Titus ii. 5.

Let him eschew evil, and do good, &c. Who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? &c. Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and be always ready to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience; that whereas they speak evil of you, as of evil doers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. -1 Pet. iii. 11. 13. 15, 16.

The time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, &c. If any man minister, &c. that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ.1 Pet. iv. 3. 11.

Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge temperance, &c. godliness, &c. If these things be in you, and abound, they make you that you shall not be unfruitful, &c. Give diligence to make your calling and election sure.-2 Pet. i. 5-8. 10.

Seeing that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness? &c. Wherefore, beloved, seeing ye look for such things, be diligent, that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.-2 Pet. iii. 11. 14.

God is light, &c. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth; but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, &c.1 John i. 5—7.

These things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate, &c. He that saith, he abideth in him, ought himself also to walk even as he walked.1 John ii. 1. 6.

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