Selected quad for the lemma: knowledge_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
knowledge_n	apostle_n	faith_n	grace_n	1,538	5	5.4128	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A65259	Mary's choice declared in a sermon preached at the funeral of the Right Honourable Lady Mary Wharton, late wife of the Honourable Sir Thomas Wharton, Knight of the Bath, at Edlington in the county of York together with a narrative of the religious and holy life, and death of that excellent lady / by P.W., Rector of Edlington.	P. W. (Peter Watkinson), d. 1688.	1674 (1674)	Wing W1079; ESTC R38495	55,178	52

in the sight of God Her Heaven-born Faith trampled under-foot all conceit or consideration of secular advantage It was no great matter to her to issue from illustrious Progenitors her greatest ambition was to become the Child of God by spiritual birth She esteemed it but a small thing to glitter with the Ensigns of a Noble Family whose great care was to be enrolled among the Saints and Family of God She forgot her self to be Rich or Honourable regarding it only so far that the holiness of her mind might exceed the splendour of her outward man For she esteemed that to be the greatest which is the truest Nobility viz. to be the Child of God and co-heir with Christ Being thus perswaded her constant endeavour was to preserve the honour of her Nobility by keeping it unstained from those Vices which are not only a blemish to it but leave the offenders how Nobly so ever extracted under the ignominy of degeneracy and in the rank of the vilest of men who sell themselves to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord whereby they become willing slaves to the Prince of darkness who worketh effectually in and by them leading them Captive at his Will Whilst they serve their own Lusts and suffer sin to reign in their mortal bodies obeying it in the lusts thereof they even proclaim themselves to be the servants of sin being by it vanquished and brought in bondage She well knew that no man hath any cause to boast of his Nobility when his better part is enslaved it being much more shameful to enslave the mind than the body Her care therefore was to transfer all outward advantages to the inward adorning of the Soul slighting all secular Pomp and splendour that she might with more freedom choose that good part which could not be taken away from her Having so early received into her tender heart the Heavenly dew of Divine Grace natural corruption that common disease of all mankind was thereby even nipt in the bud and received its Deaths-wound before it could get that advantage which it ordinarily obtaineth in miserable mortals How soon did she begin to perform her Baptismal Vow and Covenant renouncing the Devil and all his works the pomps and vanities of this wicked World and all the sinful lusts of the Flesh Those vanities which were the carnal delights and darlings of her equals were her burden and grievance When to please Relations and that she might not seem too scrupulously morose she was some-waies necessitated to be present at the interludes which were at certain times acted in the Family yet as I have heard her sometimes say her heart was otherwise employ'd and she would ever be sure to take the first opportunity to withdraw and retire her self from those vanities to exercise her thoughts in better meditations according to her yet slender capacity Being grown up to years of discretion when her towardliness was more conspicuous in her Religious and Gracious comportment how dear and precious was she to all such of her acquaintance as had devoted themselves to the fear of God She was ever beloved and honoured by them and they of all others were most dear to her Whilst she kept in her Fathers-House and afterwards till the day of her Marriage besides her secret retirements she was a diligent Attendant upon publick Ordinances not omitting to watch at Wisdoms gates and wait at the Posts of her House continually Insomuch as living under the Ministry of that Eminent and faithful Servant of Christ Doctor Holdesworth she would not miss either Lords-Daies nor Holy-Daies Sermons nor Mornings Prayers on Wednesdaies and Frydaies nor such times in the Week as he appointed for Catechise though she was constrained hereby to leave her mornings rest very early and for haste cover with her Scarfe the defects of those Dresses which detained others of her Rank from that which she more prized than all worldly gayeties But these were her more obscure times before she was so fully known to those who are yet living witnesses of her pious regard to heavenly practices From whose credible reports and my own knowledge in the O too short time of our acquaintance which was not full two years take these ensuing few Observations It was the thirtieth year of her Age before she gave way to any motion of Marriage though she had many from very considerable persons but at that time it pleased God who ordereth all the concernments of his dear Children for their assured good to present her with such a motion as could not but be acceptable to her viz. Sir Thomas Wharton Knight of the Bath and only Brother to the Kight Honourable Phillip Lord Wharton of Wharton who being well acquainted with that Family to which his was nearly allied took so much notice of her Vertues and gracious conversation the great attractive of his affections to her that gave him occasion to move her in order to Marriage Which motion most happy to them both she upon serious consideration did embrace yet with this provision such due regard she had to filial duty that her Fathers and her Uncle Sir Thomas Pelham's consent whom she ever honoured as a Father and he ever tenderly loved her as a Child should first be obtained Sir Thomas was at hand and therefore the first address was made to him who readily and chearfully gave his approbation Her Father was then at Oxford with the King and his whole Estate under sequestration nor had she any further expectation from him of any augmentation of that Portion which was long before in her own hands and dispose yet would she not Marry till his assured consent was gained to her full satisfaction which himself did signifie to her by divers Letters which I have seen written from Oxford wherein he declared that he was assured that Sir Thomas would prove both honest and kind and farther assured her that his blessing should accompany them in their Marriage c. And now was the time when that light of Divine Grace long since kindled must become more conspicuous shining more and more unto that perfect day Prov. 4.18 Now that precious seed which had taken such firm root in her heart and had already made a hopeful progress in the blade shall produce the Ear and after that the full Corn in the Ear and yield the great Husband-man an acceptable Harvest Mark 4.28 To mention the particular passages of her well spent Life would rather be to write an History than what is only intended a short Narrative I can therefore here give only a general account of some few passages which yet may sufficiently evidence the sincerity of her Faith working by Love which is the whole of Christianity What is intended may be referred to these two Heads 1. Her Qualification 2. Her Conversation 1. For the former of these She was a careful observer of the Apostles earnest Exhortation adding to her Faith Vertue and to Vertue Knowledge 2 Pet.

read and remember your old Mother by In the first place Love and fear God and press and strive every day to increase more and more in the love and service of him in whom you live move and have your being There is no Wisdom or Policy like it And the more you converse with Gods Word and his People the more you will find it and the better you will like it For in his Service is perfect freedom Let me conjure you to let no day go without reading the holy Scripture and other good Books as you have leisure you will find them excellent company And do not only Read but consider what you Read to remember it I should be very glad you would early fit and prepare for the communion of the blessed Body and Blood of Christ not rashly because others do it but advisedly finding the want of it and the preciousness of it which may give you a true hunger and thirst after it and all other Ordinances of God upon which I pray attend very diligently Next Honour and Love your King and look upon Rebellion as the sin of Witchcraft Observe and obey all his just commands and what ever they be pray for him and submit and suffer what you cannot obey of them but never rise nor murmur at any lawful Authority though it be never so cross to your own humour but patiently bear what you cannot amend Lastly Reverence Honour Obey and Love your Father Obey his commands observe his instructions mark his reproofs to prevent the need of them any more And let them not make you love his company less for it is his kindness When he is angry be your very mild and discreet in your replies and do not expostulate with him but own your fault which will quickly obtain pardon for he loves you dearly and so would I fain have you do him Be careful of him in Age or Sickness Love to be in his company And alwaies choose the best company for there is no good got in ill mean company And avoid as much as you can all Debauchery and these that are so Let the fear of God first prevail with you then the pleasing of your Father and your dead Mothers injunctions when she was alive And consider well your Vow made in Baptism which though it were then promised by others yet you are bound to perform now as your Catechise teacheth you To which end consider the Church-Catechise well and there you will find your obligation which I beseech God to enable you to strive to perform in resisting the World the Flesh and the Devil and Loving our good God and our Neighbours I would give you warning of two sorts of People the Flatterer and the Backbiter and of being either your self And when any flatters you to your Face be not pleased with it but have a more strict guard upon your behaviour and actions and examine whether it belong to you or no if it do give God the glory if not take that occasion to endeavour after being what you would be thought to be And if you hear any speak ill of others who do not deserve it Look to your self for you are like to have the same when your back is turn'd My dear Child be careful of your waies and let not these things I say be slighted by you for they come from one that loves you and wisheth your welfare I assure you by Name your old Mother Mary Wharton Feb. 26. 1667. By this it may appear what pious and loving regard she had to her dearest and nearest Relations that after her Death they might have this as her last Legacy to put them in mind of her dear affection to them and of her most godly desire of their spiritual welfare after her departure She had reserved these Papers by her in her Cabinet till she apprehended her approaching Dissolution And then though exceedingly faint yet with a chearful countenance which had ever been her ordinary aspect Index animi vultus an argument of a serene mind she with her own hands transmitted them to theirs And since we are in hand with Paper-evidences of her pious Vertues it shall not be amiss in this place to insert the Testimony of the Right Reverend Bishop of Elphin in Ireland formerly mentioned who had spent much of the time with them during the troubles in Ireland whereby he had the opportunity of intimate acquaintance with the Family and therefore most able to give a good account of their Conversation Having received intelligence of her Death he writes this consolatory Epistle to her soffowful Husband from Elphin Honoured Sir ALthough the decease of your pious Consort and sense of your loss must needs work an exceeding great grief Yet the consideration of her holy Life religious End and the hope of receiving her again cannot but revive and comfort you I need not tell you that her publick carriage was an exact Commentary upon that description which Solomon's M●ther gives of a Vertuous Woman Her gentle discreet well-temper'd demeanour all that ever knew her or had the happiness to converse with her will without blushing be witnessed by them But that which sets her beyond all verbal praises As she was of a Vertuous so of a Gracious disposition I speak it unfainedly The fear of God was planted in her heart she had not an outward semblance or shew of Piety but the Power of Godliness which she manifested in her conscionable frequenting of the publick Ministry with Mary treasuring up the Word in her heart and bringing it forth into action What hours were spent in her Closet in Prayer Reading Meditation which was a great means of her spiritual progress in Knowledge and Grace and the surest evidence and seal of sincerity is best known to your self It pleased God by a long and lingring Sickness to mean her from the delights of this World to carry her thoughts and desires Heaven-ward living fruitfully and dying comfortably The Lord shewed in her that it is not in vain to serve him and that a constant course of a Religious Life will minister abundance of sweet consolation at the hour of Death c. And in another Letter of a much later Date having occasion to make mention of her he hath these words Little is nothing and much not enough to be recorded of her Piety Loyalty Charity and Devotion Her own Works will praise her in the gates Thus much I thought good to Transcribe from the Letters of that Holy and Reverend Prelate as an unquestionable confirmation of what I have declared in this Narrative Hitherto we have had a general account of some remarks in her exemplary Life And even as she lived so she died Qualis vita Finis ita Indeed a great part of her Life was but as it were a lingring Death For many years before her Death she was afflicted with an Asthmatical distemper which caused as I conceive an Hectick under which she laboured till she

1.5 c. The odious aspersion of Solifidianism could not be fastened on her though in the point of Justification she depended only and wholly upon the righteousness of Christ imputed to the Believer and received by Faith in this case not at all looking at her own inherent righteousness Her Faith was a lively and active Faith manifesting its vigour and genuine nature by its proper fruits It provoked those Vertues wherewith she was plentifully furnished Virtus à viribus quasi viri vis Varro de Ling. Lat. lib. 4. to exert their force and strength whence they are so called in the production of every good work as she had opportunity And because she was perswaded it was as necessary to do well as to do good which cannot be without some good competency of knowledge to direct each vertuous action Therefore she gave all diligence to add to her Vertue Knowledge not only speculative whereby she knew what she ought to do but practical in doing what she knew which produced the advantage of a further degree viz. experimental knowledge by which means she reaped the sweetest comfort which ariseth from the conscience of well-doing Her knowledg was savoury and her judgement sound in the things that concern salvation She was never tainted with Novel opinions and fancies but well acquainted with and tenacious of the form of sound words contained in the holy Scriptures and as they are taught in the Church of England whereof she was a true and dutiful Child So well was she grounded in the Principles and main points of Religion that she was out of the reach of the subtilest Papists seduction as she sometimes was not free from their attempts but ever from their Impressions Moreover knowing that whilst we are in this Tabernacle we bear in our bosoms a rebel to the law of our mind the Flesh lusting against the Spirit that she might subdue and mortifie that enemy she gave all diligence to add to her knowledge temperance 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Maenand that promptuary of Vertue most remarkable 1. In her eminent and exemplary Modesty and Chastity She never came within the reach of the most curious suspicion of Immodesty Virgin or Wife being ever careful to abstain from all appearance of evil by any wanton word or gesture 2. In her moderate use of those subsidia which our heavenly Father knows are needful for us and therefore is pleased to allow us for the comfort of our Life 1. In her Apparel She restrained her self from the use of those Fashions which though in themselves they are unseemly to say no worse yet are too frequent and common in use amongst such as were her equals Peccandi fomenta Lupana●●… insignia ornamenta Meretricum c. Cypr. de hab Virg. Tertul. de hab Mal. de cult Foeminarum Vide etiam Aug. Epist 73. de Doctr. Christ l. 4. c. 21. Ambr. l. 1. de Virg. Hier. Epist 10. 1 Pet. 3.3 4. whereby the practice is become incorrigible and the contrary disdained by the exorbitant She never used to bare her Breasts and Shoulders or Paint or Spot her Face c. or any such Dress as were ever exploded by all sober Christians and vehemently reproved by the Primitive Fathers as enticements and provocations of Lust ornaments of light persons and inventions of the Devil c. But this chast Soul abhorred to be so disfigured Her ornaments were not broidered or platted Hair Gold or Pearls or costly array though she wanted none of those things if she had fancied them but the hidden man of the Heart Her best Dress was that shamefac'dness and Sobriety commanded by St. Paul 1 Tim. 2.9 and the incorruptible 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of a meek and quiet spirit which St. Peter tells us takes such worth in the sight of God This is the Dress which Tertullian commends to Christian Women men * Vestite vos serico probitatis byssino sanctitatis purpurâ pudicitiae Taliter pigmentatae Deum habebitis Amatorem Tert. de cultu foemin in fine Cloath your selves saith he with the Silk of Honesty with the Sattin of Sanctity with the Purple of Modesty in such Paints God will be your Lover In such attire would she appear before God as she knew was best pleasing to him 2. Nor was her Temperance less remarkable in reference to her Diet being nothing studious or desirous of dainty or costly Fare Her ordinary food was good and wholesome but plain and such as is most accommodate for the ends for which God hath ordained it viz. preservation of Health and increase of strength not to please a dainty Palate or gratifie an exorbitant Appetite and excite Lust But the ordering of Family provisions by her appointment was plentiful as to ordinary House-keeping generous and free in her entertainments to the great contentment of her Friends and equals whose Visits were exceeding frequent and grateful Neither was she wanting to add fortitude to her other Vertues resolutely persisting in well-doing being strengthened with power by the Spirit in the inward man Eph. 3.16 to resist the temptation and overcome the difficulties which are ever ready to obstruct all godly endeavours She was indeed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Woman of valour never weary of well-doing nor faint in her mind Prov. 31.10 Lxx. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 v. L. Mulier fortis Gal. 6.7 Heb. 12.3 Job 17.9 Heb. 10.23 Rev. 2.10 but held on in her way growing yet stronger and stronger she held fast her Profession and was faithful unto the End that she might obtain the promised Crown But the Crown of all her Vertues was her Sincerity They were not in shew only but in reality and truth she was what she seemed her Gold needed no Gilt. She was as is said of the Kings Daughter Psal 45.13 glorious within as well as without Her hidden man was richly furnished though not so much exposed to the eye of man as of him who seeth in secret and searcheth the heart and reins Nevertheless though it be most difficult to determine of any mans sincerity which is only know to him that is the discerner of the thoughts and intentions of the heart yet where there are such clear appearances and satisfactory evidences he must be less than a Christian that hath not so much Charity as to conclude that such a one as she must needs be sincere who did so uniformly practise godliness to the last period of her Life never varying or abating in her godly care and watchfulness but alwaies proceeding in a constant tenor of an holy conversation according to that invariable rule Gal. 6.16 Her universal closing with all good and detestation of all sin abstaining from the very appearance of evil hating sin both in her self and others her fervent zeal for Gods glory her cordial Love and vehement affection to and constant use of all his holy Ordinances her ready submission to his Will in all things her fear to