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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	end_n	excellent_a	great_a	231	4	2.1291	3	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A66486	The excellency of wisdom, disclosing it self in the virtues of a good life recommended to the natives of Warwick-shire, in a sermon preached to them on their anniversary feast-day, in London, Nov. 30th, 1675 / by Thomas Willis ...	Willis, Thomas, 1619 or 20-1692.	1676 (1676)	Wing W2817; ESTC R18944	22,000	50

choice and use of these Means in order to so excellent an end And herein lies Man's true Wisdom 3. A diligent study of the Holy Scriptures Herein are contain'd the Oracles of God wherein his hidden Wisdom is reveal'd to Men. The Holy Bible is the Book of Wisdom Of this blessed Book may be truly said that which not without great vanity was inscribed upon the Tomb of Pherecydes the Syrian * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Laert Here lies Wisdom in its highest Perfection That Wisdom which shineth in its highest Glory amongst Angels in Heaven here discloseth it self in its amiable and most attractive Beauties to men on Earth By Meditation on God's Testimonies Holy David became ‖ Ps 119.98 99 100. wiser than his Enemies wiser than the Ancients wiser than his Teachers whose Office it was to teach him Wisdom The Holy Scriptures are able to make a man wise to Salvation * 2 Tim. 3.15 Herein God hath set before us and proposed unto us those things in the Knowledge and Practise whereof stands that True Wisdom which is Man's greatest Excellency and Glory The Holy Gospel is the manifestation of the Wisdom of God in a Mystery even the hidden Wisdom which God Ordain'd before the World unto our Glory ‖ 1 Cor. 2.7 The wisest men that ever were in the world who were not immediately inspired by God ow'd their Excellent Wisdom to the study of his Holy Word That great Oracle of Wisdom and State-Politie the Lord Verulam confest he ow'd his Wisdom to the Works of Solomon particularly the Book of the Proverbs The Holy Scriptures are that Great Light which God hath set up and appointed to give the Light of Wisdom to the Rational World And thus you see by what Means this Excellency that so ennobles the mind of Man may be attain'd Now me thinks every one of you should be inflam'd with a Generous Desire of so great an Excellency and should resolve to be diligent and serious in your endeavours for the attainment of it It 's an Argument of a base and mean Spirit to rest in an inglorious sloth when a man is call'd to an Honourable Imployment Behold here 's a Noble Design a Work worthy to engage all your Powers though ye were the greatest Princes on Earth the Acquisition of Wisdom Wisdom is the greatest Excellency and Adornment of the Soul of Man and renders him amiable and illustrious in the sight of God Wisdom more adorns a King than His Royal Diadem and redeems the meanest man from an unregarded Obscurity and renders him truly Excellent and Honourable A wise Man though in never so poor and mean Estate is a bright Star incircled with his own Rayes of Glory and need not envy the proudest Princes their Secular Greatness and Honour There are many things Excellent Great Glorious in the worlds eye which men are wont to pursue with great earnestness and would account themselves very happy in the acquisition and attainment of them But Wisdom is the prineipal thing therefore get Wisdom c. Exalt her and she shall promote thee c. Such is the Excellency and desirableness of Wisdome and therefore 1. Get Wisdome 2. Vse Wisdom and 3. Let your Wisdom be accompanied with those Virtues and Graces which may demonstrate its Excellency and Glory 1. Get Wisdom why should you take up with any other acquisition when you are capable of so great an Excellency What is it in the world on which men put the greatest value Silver Gold Gems Know Wisdom is more excellent and desirable It cannot be gotten for Gold neither shall Silver be weighed for the price thereof It cannot be valued with the Gold of Ophir with the precious Onyx or the Saphire The Gold and Crystal cannot equal it and the exchange of it shall not be for Jewels of fine Gold No mention shall be made of Coral or of Pearls for the price of Wisdom is above Rubies The Topaz of Aethiopia shall not equal it neither shall it be valued with pure Gold * Job 28 15-19 The Gold of Ophir the Topaz of Aethiopia the precious Onyx and the Saphire the Crystal and the Coral are not worthy to be compar'd to Wisdom Did men but know the worth of Wisdom the finest Gold the fairest Pearls the richest Rubies would find but small regard Could the Excellency and Beauty of Wisdom be presented to the eye of man the finest Gold would cease to shine the fairest Pearls would soon grow pale and the richest Rubies would blush for shame as wholly vanquish'd by so rare a Virtue and render'd of little or no value Wisdom is the Excellency of the most Noble Beings it's the Praise of Men the Perfection of Angels the Glory of God The Sun is the Glory of the world Light of the Sun God is the Glory of all Beings Wisdom is the Glory of God Now how great an Honour is it for a Mortal Man to be * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Alcin. c. 2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Famb like to the most High God in that Excellency which is his Glory To glitter in Gold is accounted a great Glory but it 's a far greater to be an Earthly God in the Excellency of Wisdom Get Wisdom therefore and with all your getting get Vnderstanding For 1. Wisdom will give the greatest Excellency to your Persons 'T is Wisdom that makes a Mans face to shine ‖ Eccl. 8.1 For it impresses upon him a Ray of the Glory of God * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Wise men on Earth are like the stars in Heaven say the Hebrew Doctors Certainly Wisdom excells Folly as far as Light excells Darkness * Eccl. 2.13 There 's not more difference betwixt a Man and a Beast than betwixt a Wise Man and a Fool. Wisdom will crown you with a singular Glory 't will make you as Princes amongst the People as Angels amongst men 2. 'T will make you beneficial to others 'T is the Glory of Man to be the Means of Good to many 'T was the Wisdom of Joseph which preferr'd him to that great Honour in Aegypt which gave him a mighty Capacity of doing Good and so he became the Means of sustaining his Fathers Family yea the whole Land of Aegypt and all the Neighbouring Countries in the years of Famine By Wisdom ye may not only promote the Welfare of your own Country but also contribute to the Safety Peace and Honour of the whole Kingdom 'T is Wisdom will make you living Images of the great God and mighty Instruments of Good to men 3. 'T will make you truly Happy and Honourable Happy in the Favour of God Honourable in the Esteem of Men. True Wisdom is alwayes attended with a train of Excellent Virtues and it intitles men to the highest Honours to Immortal Glories in the Kingdom of God The Glory of Wisdom out-lasts mens Life and shall have a Resurrection with their Bodies from the Grave For when the Day is come

that which makes another thing excellent must needs be more excellent it self If Power and Authority then do owe their Excellency and Use fulness to Wisdom Wisdom that applyes them to their proper ends must needs be much more excellent A wise man is better than a King ‖ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 say the Hebrew Doctors For say they if a wise man die there is not presently found a wise man to succeed him but if a King die there 's not a man of Israel but may be made a King Yea they have a bolder Proverb in the praise of Wisdom Kings are the Judges of the Earth but wise men are the Judges of Kings * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 3. Wisdom excells Honour Honour without Virtue is but an empty Title but Wisdom is a real Excellency a rare endowment of the Mind of Man Where there is Virtue to support Honour there Honour is the lustre of Virtue But now Wisdom is it self a most excellent Virtue of the mind of Man and therefore as much as the substance of Gold excells the shine so much does Wisdom excell Honour Honour is but the estimation of Excellency or rather some extrinsick Testimony of that Estimation But Wisdom is a real Excellency which gives an intrinsick Worth and Value to the Mind of Man and therefore is much to be preferr'd before that Honour which stands in some outward acknowledgement What 's a Gilded Title to a Noble Mind or a little popular Air to that Excellency of spirit which renders a man usefull for the Publick But if any are delighted with the shine of Gold let them possess themselves of that bright-fac'd Mettal and then they may please themselves as much as they will with its shining lustre Do ye delight in Honour seek for Wisdom and Honour will not fail to attend you Exalt Her and she shall promote thee She shall bring thee to Honour when thou dost embrace her c. Thus ye see the Excellency of Wisdom to be such as that it may justly challenge the precedency of Riches and Power and Honour which are the most courted advantages that I may not say Vanities of the world And so you have seen wherein that Excellency of Wisdom lies which justly denominates her the Principal thing I come now to prove III. That this Excellency is attainable and to show you by what means you may attain it The Throne of Wisdom is on High and this World may seem to be left as the Stage on which Folly is come to act her part Wisdom is so great an Excellency that it may well be question'd whether it can be found on Earth Yet certainly this Excellency is attainable If we be but serious and constant in our Endeavours we may come to have our Souls adorn'd with the Lights and crown'd with the Glories of Wisdom For 1. 'T is not sure in vain that the Wise Man doth here commend Wisdom to us and exhort us to the most earnest Endeavours to acquire it Wisdom is the principal thing therefore get Wisdom and with all thy getting get Vnderstanding God is not wont to delude men in commanding them to seek that which he is resolv'd he will deny or knows they cannot attain This Excellency Wisdom is then certainly attainable 2. God has assign'd unto Men that Work in the World which cannot possibly be done without Wisdom and yet if it be not done he has subjected them to an inevitable Necessity of bearing his Wrath and being eternally miserable Wisdom is the * Psalm 111.10 Pro. 1.7 and 9.10 first Principle of Religion and Piety whereby Man gives unto God the Glory due unto his Name ‖ Psalm 29.2 This is his great Work in this world And he that does not thus honour God on Earth must expect no Glory nor Happiness in Heaven What then remains but that he must bear his own Guilt and God's Wrath in Hell Now if Wisdom was not attainable that this work might be done this would be nothing else but a cruel design of the Eternal destruction of all Mankind which is utterly inconsistent with the Divine Philanthropy the essential Goodness of God and his unspeakable Love to Man And therefore true Wisdom is certainly attainable 3. God hath given to Man a Rational Soul furnish'd with excellent Powers 〈◊〉 Faculties whereby it 's capable of the most Noble Endowments and agreeable Actions as a Power of discerning betwixt Good and Evil the Vnderstanding and a Power of choosing the Good and refusing the Evil the Will How far these Faculties are impeded by the depravation of Nature and again relieved by the aids of Grace I shall not now discourse Certain it is To know and discern is essential to the Understanding to choose or refuse is essential to the Will Hereby God hath given to Man an immediate capacity of Wisdom which stands in the knowledge of excellent things the proposal of excellent ends and the Choice and Use of the most proper means for the attainment of those ends He that lives in the Use of his Reason in the exercise of these Noble Powers of his Soul is in some degree Wise He that applyes his Understanding to the Knowledge of that which God reveals to be good for Man and imployes all his Powers in the diligent and constant prosecution of it hath attain'd to true Wisdom This Method is so Natural this Motion is so agreeable that it cannot but plainly appear that this Excellency this rare Endowment of the Mind of Man Wisdom and Understanding is attainable Neither need I insist on the Means by which it may be attain'd seeing that has already been declar'd in some measure in the foremention'd Proofs and Instances of its attainableness I shall only add True Wisdom may be attain'd by these Means 1. A due Government of a Man's self He that would attain Wisdom must not permit an Ataxy in his own Soul He must not suffer the Inferiour Powers thereof to Usurp an Empire and Regency over the Superiour He must carefully maintain the Right and Power of Reason in the Government of the Appetite and Passions The sensitive Powers must be strictly held in subjection to the Rational Keep Reason in her Throne and She will soon be inur'd to the Government of all the motions of the Soul the actions of the Life according to the Rules of Wisdom 2. A serious ‖ Deut. 32.29 consideration of a Mans State There 's an Eternal State of Happiness or Misery remains for every Man after death according to his demeanour in this Life The Wicked shall be tormented in * Mat. 25. ult Eternal Fire the Righteous shall ‖ Mat. 13.43 shine as the Sun in the splendours of a superexcellent Glory which shall never suffer the least Eclipse Now a Holy and Virtuous Life is the Way and Means to this State of Excellent Glory The lively consideration hereof must needs be of mighty Power and Influence to incline a man to the