Selected quad for the lemma: honour_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A81837
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Of peace and contentment of minde. By Peter Du Moulin the sonne. D.D.
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Du Moulin, Peter, 1601-1684.
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1657
(1657)
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Wing D2560; Thomason E1571_1; ESTC R209203
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240,545
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501
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getting our liberty That way plenty pleasure and joy are bought at an easy rate for very little will content a mind weaned of superfluous desires and he hath little or no matter left for sorrow feare anger hatred and envy the tormentors of the soul What is able to disquiet that man that thinkes nothing to be his but God and a good conscience and possesseth the things of the world as not possessing them But to quiet the murmure of love and desire which are querulous and unlimited passions we must do them such equall justice that while we stop them one way we open them another Being kept short for the things of the world let them have free scope towards heavenly things to love God and desire his spirituall and permanent goods without limit and measure The great injuries are those which a man doth to himselfe when to obey lust or anger or coveteousnesse one makes himselfe guilty and miserable when for the love of the world one loseth the love of God when out of miserablenesse the body is denyed his convenient allowance When for things of no worth a man prostitutes his health his life and his conscience When men will sinne for company cast themselves into ruinous courses out of compleasance and damne themselves out of gallantry Who so will seriously think what he oweth to himselfe and what account of himselfe he must give unto God will endeavour to keepe the precious health of his body and the golden serenity of his conscience he will enjoy with simplicity that portion which God giveth him of the contentments of life and above all things he will carefully keep his onely good which is God Justice being well administred within us will be practised abroad with facility and delight Rom. 13.7 Render to all their dues tribute to whom tribute is due custome to whom custom feare to whom feare honour to whom honour Let the debtour be more hasty to pay then the creditour to receive All the Law-bookes are but comments upon this precept of Justice to render to every one his owne Yet they omit the most essentiall parts of it the duties of charity humanity and gratefulness Which being without the rules of civill lawes have the more need to be learned and observed by ingenuous and religious soules And we must beleeve contrary to the vulgar opinion that they are debts and that doing good to them that stand in need of our helpe is not giving but restoring Therefore the workes of mercy are represented in the CXII Psalm as works of Justice He hath dispersed he hath given to the poore his righteousnesse endureth for ever Let us then be perswaded that when we do all the good of which God giveth us the faculty and the occasion we do but justice Let us pay due assistance to him whose need claimes it counsell to him that is in perplexity kindness to them that have shewed us kindnesse pardon to them that have offended us good for evill to them that persecute us love to them that love us support to the weake patience to the impatient reverence to superiours affability to inferiours All these are debts Let us omit no duty to which we stand obliged by the lawes of civill society Yet that is too scant let us omit no duty to which we have the invitations of piety and generosity All the good workes that we may do are so many duties It is the large extent that St. Paul gives to our duty Phil. 4.8 Finally bretheren whatsoever things are true whatsoever things are honest whatsoever things are lovely whatsoever things are of good report if there be any vertue and if there be any praise thinke on these things And the fruit of that study in the following words is that which we seeke in this Book the Peace of the Soul our union with God Do these things and the God of peace shall be with you Truly peace quietness and assurance are the proper effects of righteousness are as naturall to it as the light to the Sunne Isa 33.17 The worke of righteousness shall be peace saith Isaiah and the effect of righteousnesse quietnesse and assurance for ever Considering Justice as the solid stemme in which lyeth the substance of all vertues as her branches I will not follow every bough of that that tree Two Vertues onely I will stand upon as the preserving qualities of that universall Justice These are meekeness and magnanimity They are the necessary dispositions to frame a right vertue in the soul and peace with it Under meekeness I comprehend humility and docility which are but diverse aspects of the same face that meeke and quiet spirit which is in the sight of God of great price 1 Pet. 3.4 As for great edifices there is need of deepe foundations likewise to edifie the soul and build vertue and peace in it there is need of a profound humility which being joyned with faith is the foundation of the structure and the perfecting also for we must be humble that we may be vertuous and the more we are vertuous the more we are humble With that meekeness the word of God must be receaved which is the doctrine of Vertue and salvation Jam. 1.20 Receive with meekenesse the engrafted word which is able to save your soules saith St. James Isa 61.9 God hath anointed his Sonne to preach good tidings unto the meeke Psal 25.9 The meeke will he guide in judgement and the meeke will he teach his way A mind well-disposed to Vertue and the peace of the Soul will distrust himselfe as a shaking unsound foundation to repose his trust wholly upon God He will labour to heale himselfe of all arrogant opinions and obstinate prejudices being alwayes ready to receive better information and submit himselfe unto reason It belongs to that meekeness to be free from the impetuosity of the appetite for that which St. James saith of the wrath of man that it worketh not the righteousnesse of God Jam. 1.21 may be said of all other Passions they are evill if they be vehement for in a spirit agitated with vehement passions justice cannot settle that very vehemency being an injustice and a violation of that sweete and equall oeconomy of the soul fit for justice and peace Passion goeth by skips and jolts but Reason keeps a smooth even pace and that pace is fit to go on Justice's errand To meekenesse magnanimity must be joyned Meekeness makes reason docile and pliant in goodnesse Magnanimity makes her constant in it Both are the framers and preservers of righteousnesse meekenesse because it humbleth us before God and subjecteth us under his good pleasure magnanimity because it raiseth our minds above unrighteous ends and wayes and makes us aspire to that great honour to have our will conformable unto Gods will and become partakers of his Nature which is Righteousness itselfe St. Paul makes use of magnanimity to sollicite us to holiness Col. 3.10 If ye be risen with Christ seeke those