Selected quad for the lemma: diversity_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
diversity_n	great_a	merit_n	reward_n	358	5	12.1827	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A20716	Varietie of lute-lessons viz. fantasies, pauins, galliards, almaines, corantoes, and volts: selected out of the best approued authors, as well beyond the seas as of our owne country. By Robert Douland. VVhereunto is annexed certaine obseruations belonging to lute-playing: by Iohn Baptisto Besardo of Visonti. Also a short treatise thereunto appertayning: by Iohn Douland Batcheler of Musicke.	Dowland, Robert, ca. 1586-1641.; Besard, Jean Baptiste, b. ca. 1567.; Dowland, John, 1563?-1626.	1610 (1610)	STC 7100; ESTC S121704	768,371	74

made partakers of our Lord in the heavenly Kingdome Therefore the Apostle rightly saith I reckon that the sufferings of this time are not worthy of the future glory Augustine Debita redditur poen●… damnato indebita gratia liberato ●…t nec ille se indignum queratur nec ●…ignum se iste glorietur In Psal. 30. 17. Salvum me fac non in mea justitia n●…n in meis meritis sed in tua miseric●…rdia non quia ego sum dignus sed quia tu misericors es So in Psal. 41. 7. and 43. 26. Quicquid promisit indignis promisit ut non quasi operibus merces pr●…mitteretur sed gratia à nomine suo gratis daretur Eusebius Emissenus professeth that wee can neither suffer nor doe any thing worthy of the heavenly good things Gregorie the great Illi beata vita in qu●… c●…m Deo d●… Deo vivitur n●…llus p●…test aequari l●…bor nulla opera comparari presertim cùm Apostolus dicat non sunt condign●… passi●…nes c. Ana●…tasius Sinaita This is true humility to practise good things and to esteeme himselfe uncleane 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and unworthy of God thinking to bee saved by his goodnesse alone Oecumenius He sheweth that we are not able either to suffer or to conferre any thing worthy of that remuneration which shall bee there Anselme professeth that a thousand yeeres devout service of God doth not condignely merit the being in the Kingdome of Heaven halfe a day Bernard Fateor non sum dignus ego nec propriis possum meritis regnum obtinere coelorum and elsewhere Nihil sumus in cordibus nostris fortè in corde Dei potest aliud latere de nobis Lege homo in corde tuo lege intra teipsum de teipso testimonia veritatis etiam hac communi luce judicabis te indignum Againe Nos sumus sponsa Dei sed in corde Dei Nos sumus sed ipsius dignatione non dignitate nostra quod etsi n●…s puerili animositate gratis servari nolumus meritò non salvamur excludit miseriae dissimulatio miserationem nec dignatio locum habet ubi fuerit praesumptio dignitatis The faithfull indeed are digni worthy as it is said Apoc. 3. 4. Sap. 3. 5. but it is dignatione divina non dignitate sua worthy not in themselves but in Gods acceptation in Christ even as they are just not in themselves but in Christ 2 Cor. 5. 21. Augustine Propter nomen tuum h. e. gratis propter nomen tuum non propter meritum meum quiatu dignatus es facere non quia ego dignus cui facias And this is signified in the places alleaged Luk. 20. 35. 2 Thess. 1. 5. which speake not of being worthy but of being accompted worthy in Gods acceptation To the proposition I answere that they who are worthy not in themselves but in Christ not in respect of their owne dignity but of Gods dignation which is the case of all the faithfull though they be accompted worthy of eternall life yet they doe not merit it themselves but the merit of Christ is imputed unto them which excludeth our merit To that of Luk. 10. 7. and likewise 1 Tim. 5. 18. The workman is worthy of his hire hath place among men who can deserve and earne their wages one of another so that the one bee not the bond-servant of the other but Gods workemen of whom those places speake though they deserv●…●…heir hire of them among whom they labour yet cannot being not their owne men but the bond-servants of God deserve any thing at his hands Againe even among men the labourer is not worthy of his hire who hath but begun and not perfected his worke but our obedience our righteousnesse our charity whereby we serve God is but inch●…ata non perfecta justitia § XXIII His seventh argument is taken from those places where it is said that God is a righteous judge and no accepter of persons as Rom. 2. 11. Gal. 2. 6. 1 Pet. 1. 17. Act. 10. 34. but acception of persons is a vice contrary to distributive justice viz. when a judge giveth reward without merits or a greater reward to lesse merits or a lesse reward to greater merits God therefore in the retribution of rewards considereth the merits of men and according to the diversity of merits he assigneth the mansions of eternall life This argument if it shall conclude the question must thus bee framed If God doe render to men the rewards of eternall life neither without their merits nor greater rewards to lesse nor lesse to greater merits than God in the retribution of rewards considereth the merits of men and consequently the good workes of the faithfull are meritorious of eternall life but the antecedent is true therefore the consequent The assumption hee proveth because the contrary is repugnant to distributive justice Thus therefore he proveth it If God doe render rewards to men without their merits or greater rewards to lesse merits or lesse rewards to greater merits then is he an unjust judge and an accepter of persons which God forbid But God is a righteous judge and no accepter of persons as is proved by the testimonies alleaged therfore he doth not render to men rewards without their merits neither doth he give greater rewards to lesse nor lesse rewards to greater merits Answ. I deny the assumption of the former syllogisme and the proposition of the second The assumption was that God doth not render to men rewards of eternall life without their merits c. For that God doth give the reward of eternall life to some at the least without their merits it is evident in the elect infants who having no merits of their owne are saved only by the merits of Christ. And the like is to be said of all other beleevers for whom our Saviour by his merits hath purchased everlasting life Therefore that assumption is so farre from being true that the contrary thereof is alwaies true viz. that God doth give the reward of eternall life as his free gift to all that are saved without any merit of theirs Neither is there any other merit of eternall life but the merit of Christ which is more than sufficient for all that beleeve The proposition of the prosyllogisme hath two branches in both the parts thereof of both which I deny the consequence for as touching the first although God doe render to men the reward of eternall life without their merits yet hee is not an unjust Iudge For though they have no merit of their owne yet they have the all-sufficient satisfaction and the infinite merit of Christ unto which eternall life is in justice due For the second Although the Lord should give greater rewards to lesse offices and graces and lesse to greater yet were hee not unjust nor an accepter of persons For by the parable of the workmen Mat. 20. Wee learne that the

opere Eleemosynis containing an effectuall exhortation to the workes of charity from the reward that God hath promised and will graciously bestow on those that are forward in these workes Nusquam Dominus meritis ad premium deerit God will no where bee wanting to our good workes to reward them To them that overcome in peace he will give a white crowne for their actions and to them that overcome in persecution hee will redouble a purple crowne for their suffering Where hee saith no more being rightly understood than t●…e Preachers of the Gospell use to say upon the like occasion His allegation ou●… of H●…larie Regnum Dei vitae nostrae stipendiis quaramus is a grosse m●…aking of stipends for merits which are contraries For merits in his ow●…e conceit are mens workes stipends are the rewards which God g●…veth to our workes And this absurdity is increased by our Ie●…uites translation set forth in capitall Letters Let us saith he endevour to pu●…chase the Kingdom of heaven by the price of our good life so that in his learning quaerere is to endevour to purchase and stipen●…ia vitae nostrae is the price or merit of our good life The words are spoken by way of exposition upon Matth. 6. 33. Where our Saviour having disswaded us from seeking inordinately the things of this life directeth us what wee are first to seeke But first seeke the Kingdome of God and his righteousnesse and all these things shall bee added unto you all these things that is stipendia vitae nostrae the stipends of this life of ours which God hath promised to give to them that seeke his Kingdom and his righteousnesse as the petty rewards of our piety For those things that hee calleth stipends must either bee stipends by us given to God or by us received from him But the former is absurd if not blasphemous therefore by the stipends of this life wee are to understand 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the things of this life as food and apparell c which God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as it were by way of advantage or surplusage addeth to these to whom hee giveth his kingdome and righteousnesse which they first sought for so hee saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But if the kingdome of God which with these things is to bee sought were by them to bee purchased then the righteousnesse of God by which wee are justified and entitu●…ed to that kingdome that is the righteousnesse of God and our Saviour Iesus Christ should also bee purchased by Gods temporall gifts for so hee saith seeke the kingdome of God and his righteousnesse and therfore it rather than they should be called stipendium or merces which the Papists themselves deny it being gratia onely a●… they confesse and not m●…rces As for those other words which Bellarmine citeth De nostro igitur est beata illa aeternitas promerenda c. I presume that hee himselfe would not subscribe unto them as they sound as if wee attained to heaven by any thing that is properly ours and from our selves But Hi●…ari's meaning may bee gathered from that which went before For writing upon Matth. 7. 22. Many shall say to mee in that day Lord Lord have not we prophesied in thy Name and in thy Name cast out Devils c. saith that Christ condemneth the hypocrisie of counterfeit Preachers who though they were vo●…d of sanctifying grace yet because they prophesied and wrought wonders in his Name did therefore promise to themselves the kingdome of heaven quasi verò eorum aliquid proprium sit quae loq●…ntur aut faciun●… as if any of those things which they say or doe were their owne they be●…ng but the instruments of God by whom hee speaketh and worketh for the good of others and therefore both the word and the worke is not thei●…s but Gods But if wee desi●…e to attaine to that blessed eternity pr●…standum aliquid est ex proprio at bonum velimus malum omne vitemus totoque affectu praeceptis caelesti●…us obtemperemus wee must doe something of our owne that wee will that which is good and shun all evill and with all our affection obey the heavenly precepts which though they be not from our selves yet may be called ours as being our workes and properly tending to our owne good To the testimony of Ambrose Nonne evidens est meritorum aut praemia ●…t s●…pplicia post mortem manere wee readily subscribe understanding by merits according to the language of the Latine Fathers workes with relation to reward whether good or bad To the testimony of Ierome Denarius quas●… indalgentia veri principis ●…mnes per baptismum omittit de car●…ere I am nostri laboris est pro d●…versitate virtutum diversa nobis praemi●… praeparare I answere that hee di●…puting against Iovin●…an who held equality of rewards in the life to come using for his argument one and the same day-peny which was given to unequall labours answereth that unus denarius no●… est unum pr●…mium one peny is not one and the same reward sed un●… vita ac una de gehenna libe ratio but one life and one deliverance out of hell But as at the granting of a Princes pardon men that are guilty of divers crimes are all released out of prison and every one according to his labour or his workes is in this or that state of life Even so the penny as it were the pardon of the true Prince by baptisme releaseth all out of prison Now it must bee our l●…bour according to the diversity of virtues to prepare unto our selves divers rewards His meaning is that in the life to come which as it is eternall is one and the same to all there are divers degrees of glory Whereas therefore wee have deliverance from hell and title to heaven by the true Princes pardon it being purchased for all true beleevers by the merit of Christ which in Baptisme is equally applyed to all the faithfull it must therefore bee our endevour by labouring for a greater measure of grace to prepare as it were for our selves a greater measure of glory For the Lord doth crowne his own graces in us with glory and the greater graces with greater glory And although both the life it selfe and the degrees of glory therin as to sit some on Christs right hand and some on his left in his kingdome are prepared by God as it is said Matth. 20. 23. and by our Saviour who therefore ascended into his fathers house wherein are many mansions that hee might prepare or provide a place for each of us Ioh. 14. 2 3. yet we may be said after a sort to prepare for our selves greater rewards when wee labour to be endued with greater graces To the testimony of Paulinus Tuarum tibi praemia se debere virt●…tum justus j●…dex agnoscet I onely answere this because I have not the booke that although it bee