Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	holy_a	read_v	scripture_n	8,342	5	5.9261	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A31344	A sermon preach'd at the funeral of the Right Honourable the Lady Viscountess Dowager Cholmondeley at Malpas in Cheshire on the last day of February, 1691/2 / by Samuel Catherall ...	Catherall, Samuel, 1661?-1723.	1692 (1692)	Wing C1491; ESTC R35477	14,855	31

one the least qualify'd of her Servants to Preach it So that not pretending here to praise a Person of whom Every Body speaks well But to recommend the Credit and Advantages of being Vertuous from this great Example of Vertue This must be said That whether it were by an Extraordinary Gift of natural temper and goodness Or by the effects of a no less singular and Religious Care and Education she was always known to be a Person that had an absolute Government of her self And withal of that discreet pious and obliging temper that made her remarkable through every scene and Condition of her Life For if we consider her as a single Person or as a Wife Married into and become the Mistress of a great and Noble Family If I say we consider her as the happy Mother of Children and in the State of her Widdowhood or in the Relations of her Friendship and Correspondence in all these it may with great Truth be said she always manag'd her self with that Honourable Reputation and Conduct that she appear'd to have all the Vertue and Goodness but none indeed I think none of the Vanities or Imperfections of her SEX It is true indeed the Happy Attainments and Government of her self in all these respects was owing to her strickt Observance of the Rules of Vertue and Prudence the bounds of which no Considerations whatsoever could prevail with her at any time to Trangress So that tho' her Table of Hospitality was constant yet there was still a provident Eye had to frugality And if her Friendship was open and Free of Access yet it never went so far as to admit any thing of Riotous or unseasonable In short she was a Person of an exact Life and Conversation without the affectation of Puritanical preciseness or rigid moroseness being ever easy in her self and never troublesome to others And yet puting on always so much of Religious Gravity in her Conversation as to encourage Vertue and discountenance vice One Thing it must be confest was peculiar in this great Persons Character Which is rarely to be found amongst that of Women That as she was a Person who would never do or speak ill of any Body So she would never hear at least never believe any ill of her Neighbours For she was indeed of a Temper very inclinable to have a good Opinion of every Body of Both sexes except the loose and prophane And she was indeed an Enemy to none unless it were to the Tatling Gossippers as S. Paul speaks and the Busie-Bodies of her own And yet even there where she had Occasion sometimes to shew a dislike she did it always with so much Candor and Moderation that her severest Rebukes could not be call'd provoking And in Consideration of so agreeable and just a Deportment through all her Actions if my Lady Cholmondeley were as she was indeed generally spoken of as the happy Person who had not one Enemy there is no doubt but that Character was in a great measure as true as it was publick Since without question if ever any Person were so it was she that was so good and inoffensive as never to do any thing at least willingly to displease either God or Man Neither should it be thought a thing impossible to advance humane nature to these heights of goodness perfection when as the Scripture speaks Faith and a good Religion have their full work upon good Morals and a vertuous Mind In which happy method that this Excellent Person compleated her Accomplishments by adding to her other Vertues the Beauty of Holiness is very Evident She being indeed not less eminently a good Christian than a good Woman For being early sensible that the Glory of God and the Good of Mankind was the end whereunto she was born it was above all things her care to live so that she might not dye without the Accomplishment of both these And as she wisely believ'd Religion and the Church could best prescribe the ways of being and of doing good so she did not barely believe but liv'd according to this Belief not accustoming herself as too many do to dispute and talk down the Religious Institutions of the Church because they would be excus'd from the practice of 'em nor exclaiming against the severities of a Spiritual Life because they had rather live after the Flesh But in all these things making the will of Heaven that of her own in Obedience to that Will she heartily obeyed the Discipline as well as embrac 't the Doctrines of the Church Evidencing this her Observance of both not in a few single Acts now and then but in a constant course of Piety and good Works so that for the health of the Body and good of the Soul this Honourable good Christian did always think it necessary as the Church does to fast and pray often at other times as well as in the Time of Lent And because this sort of mortifying Religious Exercise must not be without it 's Spiritual Food to support it therefore in all her Religious Intercourses and Meditations she had constant Recourse to the holy Scriptures where she read devoutly and often because there she found the Book as well as the Bread of Life Nor did the Closset-Devotion Rob the publick Service of the Church of it's due For as she came constantly to Church because she believ'd this is no other than the House of God so she always took care to come to Church so as to come time enough to joyn the Prayers of the Church with her own because she was perswaded that God Almighty would keep his promise of being particularly there where two or three are gather'd together in his Name in the House of Prayer In fine this Holy and Exemplary Liver was not onely a constant comer and Worshipper in the Temple but she came yet further and that not once a Year onely but every Month she came even to the Holy of Holies and so was indeed a constant comer to the Blessed Sacrament because here too she fed upon the Bread of Life and not only so but tasted and saw how good and gracious her God was in giving her freely the Cup of Salvation and so sealing to her the Mysteries of her Redemption in the Blood of his Son JESUS Christ But when all this was done she thought her self but an unprofitable Servant in only coming to Church to hear if she did not return home as Abraham was a Teacher of Righteousness to her Family her great Concern for which as of my own knowledge I can evidence after the Performance of all her own private and publick Devotions would not however suffer her to rest satisfied till she had first by her Presence and Example oblig'd and encourag'd all her Servants to perform all their Christian Duties because indeed with good Old David as it was this good Ladies Resolution to suffer no wicked Person to dwell in her house so she could not believe that those