Selected quad for the lemma: honour_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
honour_n	belong_v	custom_n	tribute_n	1,565	5	11.5084	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A65659	A short treatise of the great worth and best kind of nobility Wherein, that of nature is highly commended, that of grace is justly preferred; the one from humane experience, the other upon divine evidence. / By Henry Whiston, rector of Balcomb in Sussex.	Whiston, Henry.; Pearson, John, 1613-1686.	1661 (1661)	Wing W1680; ESTC R204022	110,367	185

could not alwayes prevail except it were with Amphion to draw stones after him Once I was stoned or with Orpheus the Trees Thrice was I beaten with rods or brute beasts as at Ephesus After the manner of men I fought with beasts at Ephesus True it is that the miraculous power of God went along with him and brake open the doors of mens hearts and made some way for the Word to enter wheresoever he came but otherwise his entertainment was according to the disposition of the people amongst which he came At Lystra he was welnigh stoned to death by the Heathen Indeed at first seeing him cure a lame man they would have sacrificed to him and Barnabas as Gods and could scarse be restrained but afterward upon the instigation of the Iews they had almost sacrificed them to their own malice At Antioch the vulgus of the Iews stir up the devont women and chief men who usually stir not in such cases unless stirred by some calumniations against him and Barnabas At Philippi the Magistrate being in like sort incensed by the people he is whipt imprisoned stockt together with Silas At Thessalonica he is greatly endangered by certain leud fellows of the baser sort who sought his life At Ephesus Demetrius with his fellow craftsmen brethren in iniquity raise the City against him where he met with those beasts he spake off At Hierusalem he had certainly dyed had not Lysias the chief Captain rescued him and set him afterward out of the reach of those who had bound themselves by oath not to eat or drink till they had slain him If he found at any time any better welcome it was among the better sort Sergius a prudent man desires to hear the Word from his mouth At Corinth Crispus the chief Ruler of the Synagogue is converted by him and when the Iews his constant enemies laid it before Gallio the Proconsul against him he drove them from the Judgement seat and would not admit their bill of complaint When the beasts of the people came upon him at Ephesus yet the chief of Asia were his friends and stood for him and the Town-clerk or Recorder rather a man of no mean office speaks in the justification of him and his companions Lysias the chief Captain of the Roman bands secures him as we have said from open outrage and secret conspiracy Publius the chief man of Melita entertains him three dayes with all curtesie and curing the Father of Publius and others he is honoured there with many honours and laded with all things necessary for his voyage to Rome and though he met with a base and wicked sort of people at Thessalonica such as your catchpoles that wait upon Courts who could they have caught him would have made him away yet at Beroea he met with men of a right noble disposition who entertained him and Silas with that respect which was due unto their place receiving the Word with all readiness of mind and searching the Scriptures whether the things they Preached were so or not and accordingly the Spirit of God takes notice of their carriage and writes down their commendation to all posterity not without a sharpe reflexion upon those of Thessalonica These men to wit the Beroeans were more noble then those of Thessalonica We have been too long in our Preface yet the Masters of Rhetorique do not prescribe any certain limits but leave the same liberty therein as they do to a Commander to make the Front of his battail as narrow broad and deep as he please And to have large Portals or Gate-houses with many lodgings in them is not unusual for Noble and Gentlemens houses In the words there is a commendation given to the Beroeans and a special thing commended in them which is their Nobility The men of Beroea were more noble Now in that the Spirit of God is pleased to bestow a commendation upon the men of Beroea we may observe That whatsoever is commendable in any may have its commendation So many Prophets said one of the Ancients so many testimonies of Gods divine praescience So may we say here So many good men as are mentioned in sacred Scripture so many evidences of this truth Their goodness some way or other is commended still unto us And as any of them have been eminent in any grace so there is an eminent mark set upon them in reference to that Noah is reported singular for his Godliness amongst the world of ungodly Abraham as Father of the faithful for his Faith Ioseph as a special pattern of Chastity Moses of Meekness Daniel of Temperance Iob of Patience Nathaniel of singleness of Heart There were grosse errours foul misdemeanours amongst the Corinthians and in those things St. Paul praised them not but those did not so far blast their good deeds but that he did commend them for what they did well I praise you brethren that you remember me in all things Whom Christ loves he rebukes and so we finde him reproving almost every one of the seven Churches of Asia but yet he forgets not to commend that which was commendable in them Nay the Church of Philadelphia had but a little strength and there was but something of good found in Abijah the son of Ieroboam and yet the Lord passes it not over in silence but takes notice of it Nay more though Saul were a wicked Prince and Davids mortal enemy yet David a man after Gods own heart could finde somewhat to lament and somewhat to comment upon at his death Indeed a pearl is not to be rejected though lying in a dunghil or found in a Toads head nor Vertue to be misliked though lodged amongst many Vices but as it was the custom of the Athenians of old to write the names of such as were fair handsome persons upon their wals or doors or other places as it hapned thus Such a one is fair such a one is handsome or comely So if any do any thing handsomely or in comely manner we need not fear to say This was well or handsomely done And this in the first place is but a piece of Justice As the conception of all things was from the Goodness so the disposition of all was from the Justice of God It was a work of Justice to make separation betwixt light and darkness day and night heaven and earth so it is a work of Justice to distinguish betwixt good and evil to separate the pretious form the vile and set it forth in its proper lustre It 's an act of Justice to give to every one his due Tribute to whom tribute custom to whom custom fear to whom fear honour to whom honour belongs And Praise is a tribute proper for good deeds and Honour for such as excel in vertue We should offer Frankincense said the wise Heathen to the gods but praise unto

men Indeed though we are called upon and said also to praise God yet not properly Something greater and better as Confession Honour Blessing and Adoration belong unto him Praise is a tribute proper to vertue and vertuous men And as great ones are more delighted with Praises then with Tributes the one being paid even to Tyrants the other to good Princes onely so if they deserve it it is but just that they should have it And that not only as a just reward of their deserts but of Gods graces within them When God the righteous Judge shall crown at the last day the good deeds of his Saints he shall crown but his own gifts And when we praise the graces of men we praise but the goodness of God Whatsoever we see in them is infused by him All their vertue and goodness is but a drop from his Ocean a spark of his flame a beam of that sun Now as he should rob the sun as it were of his glory who would not delight in and praise its beams as he should rob the fountain of its excellency that should not commend its streams so he should rob the great sanctifier of souls who should not commend the graces of the Saints which he sees shine forth from the souls of the Saints Unless a man therefore will be unjust and rob God as well as Man he ought to give men the praise that is due unto their deserts Neither should that great wickedness which many times is mingled with a little vertue in wicked men rob them of the praise which is due to their vertue That little vertue be it what it will is the work of God and as he doth not let go any good works unrewarded in this life so neither should we 2. As this is a piece of Justice so it is a piece of Christian wisdom and pious policy We are not more kindly drawn on by any thing to vertue then by Praise It is a bait that is sutable to our disposition and such as we are taken with as soon as with any temptation There is no better hearing nor sweeter Musick can sound in mens ears then that of their own praise Themistocles confessed that when the people in the Olympick Games left their sports and fell a gazing and pointing at him that then he received the fruit of his labour for Greece Miltiades his Trophees would not let him sleep before he so much thirsted after that honor he saw conferred on him and when he had attained the like himself then he thought himself well apaid The one stirred up the other quieted his spirit As the suggestions which Satan casts into our Hearts are as fiery darts to inflame them to evil so the commendations which are given our selves or others are as fiery darts as light firebrands to set our hearts on fire with that which is good The comfortable heat of the fire doth not more affect us when we are a cold nor doth the fragrant odour of sweet perfumes draw us more after them then doth the commemoration of the Saints graces joyned with their just commendation draw us on to a vertuous imitation And when men are once onward in the way of vertue the tender grass or young slips and plants are not more apt to shoot forth by means of sweet dews and pleasant showers that fall upon them then they are by continued praises and commendations to grow up to perfection Hence to draw men on they were wont to bestow several honours up-them crown them according to their several deserts with several garlands write their names as they did the Conquerours at the Olympick Games on pillars to which possibly Christ may allude when he saith He that overcometh will I make a pillar in the Temple of my God and he shall go no more out and I will write upon him the name of my God and the name of the City of my God Hence they erected statues and Images set up pictures and such like representations of mens persons in honour of their noble deeds which what were they but a kinde of silent praises and Encomiums as Encomiums and praises are a kinde of eloquent pictures and representations of mens persons and deeds and both encouragements to whet on others to the like actions And to this end the names of the Martyrs in the primitive times were set down in sacred books or tables for that purpose and read at the Altar which were as one saith of History as the book of life to preserve their names and vertues and as the sound of the last trump to raise them from the dead and bring them upon the stage again to converse with and animate the living True it is as the Apostle saith of the Law The commandement which was for life I found to be unto death For sin taking occasion by the commandement deceived me and by it slew me so those books which were ordained for life were found to be unto death For blind ze●l took occasion by the commemoration of the Martyrs to bring in quickly a religions Invocation and by it slew men What then was that as the Apostle saith again which was good made death No! but that the corruption of men might appear blind zeal wrought death in men by that which was good exceeding just and good As the Law is holy the commandement in it self holy just and good so the commendation of the Saints in it self and the commemoration of the Martyrs is holy just and good It being the flower of justice to commend the good and the choysest of good deeds to take order for the praising of those things which are well done praise breeding emulation emulation vertue and vertue felicity This then condemns those who will not themselves and are unwilling that others should give men the praise of their due deserts The evil Steward in the Gospel is commended because though he diminished his Lords revenues by injustice yet as St. Bernard reckons he increased his Lords subjects by his wisdom but many as they are unjust in not rendring what is due to their Lords servants so neither have they the wisdom to encrease their Lords subjects The commendation of Men to some is as unpleasant as sweet oyntment to Beetles When the pretious Spikenard was poured upon our Saviour some had indignation and said What needs this waste When the children cryed Hosanna the Priests and Scribes were displeased and looking that our Saviour should check them cryed Hearest thou what these say So the pretious oyntment that is powred on Christs members move some to indignation and though it be for their burial as we shall shew anon yet cannot forbear to cry To what purpose is this waste or Hear you what these flatterers say Others you shall hear now and then commending men but much to their loss They will be anoynting men with