Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
lord_n	able_a	grace_n	zion_n	22	3	8.4594	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A03936	Scala perfectionis; Scale of perfection. English	Hilton, Walter, d. 1396.	1507 (1507)	STC 14043; ESTC S122296	217,436	310

sauerest without forth in thy bodyly wyttes or within in ymagynacyon knowynge or felyng in thy reason brynge it al within y e trouth the rules of holy chyrche cast all in the morter of mekenes breke it smalle with a pestel of drede of god torugh the powder of all this in the fyre of desyre and offre it so to god and I telle y e forsoth wel shal that offringe lyke in the syght of thy lorde Ihū and swete shal the smoke of that fyre smelle to the face of thy lorde Ihesu This is for to say Drawe al this that thou felyst within the trouthe of holy chyrche and breke thyself in mekenes And offre the desyre of thyn hert oonly to thy lorde Ihū for to haue hym and nought elles but hym And if thou do thus I hope by the grace of cryst thou shalt neuer be ouercome by thyn enmye This taught vs saynt poul whan he sayd thus \ Siue māducatis siue bibitis siue quicquid aliut facitis oīa in nomine dn̄i facite Whether ye ete or drynke or what maner of dede that ye doo al doo ye in the name of our lorde Ihū cryst for sakynge yourself and offre it vp to hym Meanes whiche thou shalt most vse as I haue before sayd arne prayer medytacyon Fyrst I shal shew the alytyl of prayer and after of medytacyon ¶ Of prayer that is spedeful to gete clennes of herte vertues Caplm̄ xxiiii PRayer is profyte spedfull to vse for to gete clēnes of herte by destroyenge of synne receyuynge of vertues not that thou sholdest by thy prayer make our lorde know what thou desyrest For he knoweth well ynough what the nedeth but for to make the able redy by thy prayer that thou myght receyue as a clene vessel the grace y t our lorde wyl freely yeue to the Whiche grace may not be felte tyl thou be assayd puryfyed by y e fyre of desyre in deuoute prayer For though it be soo that prayer is not the cause for whiche our lorde yeueth grace neuertheles it is a way by the whiche grace frely yeuen comyth to a soule ¶ How men sholde pray and wheron the poynt of her thought shal be set in prayer Caplm̄ xxv BUt now desyrest thou perauēture for to knowe how thou sholdest pray And vpon what thynge thou sholde set the poynt of thy thought in thy prayer And also what prayer were best for y e for to vse As to the fyrst I answere and saye thus That whan thou art wakenyd of thy slepe redy for to pray thou shalte fele thyself flesshly and heuy euer doūwarde to vayne thoughtis other of dremes or fātasyes or of vnskylful besynes of the worlde or of thy flesshe Then behoueth the for to quycken thyn hert by prayer styre it as moche as thou may to some deuocyon And in thy prayer that thou set not thyn hert in ony bodely thynge but al thy traueyle shall be for to drawe in thought fro beholdynge of al bodely thynge that thy desyre myght be as it were nakyd and bare fro al erthly thynges euer vpwarde styenge vnto Ihesu cryst Whom thou may neuer see bydely as he is in his godhede ne by bodely lyknes in ymaginacyon But thou may chrugh deuoute contynuel beholdynge of the mekenes of his precyous manhede fele the goodnes of the grace of his godhede Whan thy desyre is eased holpen and as it were made free fro al flesshly thoughtis affeccōns is moche lyft vp by ghostly myght in to ghostly sauour delyte ī hȳ of his ghostly presēce holde therin moche of y e tyme of thy prayer so y t thou hast no grete mynde of erthly thynge or elles y e mynde greueth y e but lityl yf thou cā pray thꝰ thā cāst thou pray wel For prayer is nought elles but a styenge desyre of the hert in to god by withdrawynge of the hert fro al erthly thoughtes And so is prayer lykned to a fyre whiche of his owne kynde leueth the lowenes of the erth alway styeth vp into thayer Ryght soo desyre in prayer whan it is to wchyd lyghtned of the ghostly syre whiche is god it is euer vpstyenge to hym that it came fro ¶ Of the fyre of loue Caplm xxvi AL men y ● speken of the fyre of loue knowen not wel what it is for what it is I can not telle the saue this I may telle the that it is neyther bodely ne bodely felyd A soule maye fele it in prayer or in deuocyon Whiche soule is in the body but he felyth it not with no bodely wytte For though it be so that it werke in a soule the body may torne in to an hete as it were chaffed for lykynge trauayle of the spyrite Netheles the fyre of loue is not bodely for it is onely in the ghostly desyre of the soule This is no dowte to noo man or womā that felyth deuocyon But some ben symple wene by cause it is called fyre that it sholde be hote as bodely fyre is for thy I say that I haue sayd ¶ That the certē prayer in speche ordened of god of holy chyrche is best to hē y ● bē new tourned to god to deuocyō Ca xxvii NOw as for the other for to knowe what prayer were best for to vse I shal say as me thynke Thou shalt vnderstonde y t there ben iii. maner of prayers The fyrst is prayer of speche made specyally of god as is the pater noster and made also more generally by thordynaunce of holy chyrche as matyns euensonge houres And also made by deuoute men of other specyal sayenges as to our lorde to our lady to his sayntes As to this maner of prayer whiche is callyd vocal me thynketh vnto the that art relygyous by custome rule art bounde for to say mateyns and houres I holde it moost spedeful for to say hem as deuoutly as thou mayst For whan thou sayest thy mateyns thou sayest also thy pater noster pryncypally other more For to styre the to more deuocyon was it ordened for to say also psalmes ympnes suche other whiche bē made by the holy ghost as the pater noster is And therfore thou shalt not say hem hastely rechelesly as thou were euyl apayd that thou art bounde with hem but thou shalt gader thyn affeccyon thy thought for to say hem sadly more deuoutly than ony othrer specyall prayer of deuocyon trowynge forsothe that syth it is the prayer of holy chyrche ther is no prayer so profytable to the whiche is vocal for to vse comynly as that is And so shall thou put away al heuanes by grace thou shalt turne thy nede in to a good wyll thy bonde in to a grete fredom y t it shal no lettynge be to the of ghostly ocupacyō And after this thou may yf thou

his herte fully for to com̄ to more grace and for to traueyle besyly howe he maye come therto yeue hym hertly to prayeng thynkyng other good werkes doyng though grete tēptacōns ryse ayenste hym he fallyth not lyghtly to dedely synne ayen And sothly it is wōder to me y t sythē grace is so good so profytable why a mā whā he hath but a lytyl therof ye so lytyl y t he myȝt no lesse haue y t he wol say ho I wol no more of this for I haue ynough Whan I se a worldly mā though he haue of worldly good moche more than hym nedeth yet he wol neuer saye hoo I haue ynough I wol no more of this But he wol coueyte more more traueyle all his wyttes and his myghtes And neuer woll stynte of his coueytyse tyl he maye haue no more Moche more thenne sholde a chosen soule coueyte ghostely good y t is euerlastyng makyth a soule blessyd And he neuer sholde cease of his coueytyng yf he dyde wel ▪ gete what he gete myght For he y e most coueyteth most shal haue And sothly yf he dyde thꝰ he sholde profyte wexe in grace gretly ¶ A nother cause also of y e same And how wylful bodely customes indyscretly rewarded vsed somtyme hyndren soules fro felyng of more grace Caplm̄ xix ANother enchesen is this Some mē that are refourmed in fayth in the begynnynge of her tornyng to god setten hemself in a certayn maner of doyng whether it be bodely or ghostly thynken euer for to kepe that maner of worchyng forth not for to chaunge it for none other y e comith thorugh grace though it were better for they wene that y t doynge sholde be beste for hē alwaye for to holde therfore they resten hem therin thorough custome they bynde hem so therto that whan they haue fulfylled it they thynke hem wonderly eased For they wene that they haue done a grete thyng to god And perchaunce yf it falle that they be letted fro y e custome though it be for a skilful cause they ben heuy and angry and haue troublynge of conscyence ▪ as yf they had done a grete dedely synne Thyse men hyndren hemself somwhat fro felyng of more grace for they sette her perfeccyon in a bodely werke and so they make an ende in the myddes of the waye where none ende is For why bodely customes that men vse in her begynnyng are good but they are but meanes wayes ledynge a soule to perfeccyon And therfore he that sayth his perfeccyon ī a bodely werke or in a ghostly werke that he felych in y e begynnynge of his tornynge to god and he woll no fe●der seke but euer rest therin he hyndreth hymselfe gretly For it is a symple crafte that a prentyse is euer in lyke wyse in and that can on the fyrste daye as moche of it as he can thyrty wynter after Or elles yf the craft be good and subtyl he is of a dulle wytte or elles of an euyl wyl that profyteth not therin But thenne it is soth y t of al craftes that are the seruyse of god is moost souereyne the moost subtyl the hyghest hardest for to come to the perfeccyon of it And also it moost profytable and moost of wynnyng to hym that maye soth fastly performe it And therfore it semyth that the prentises of it that are euer ylyke ferforth in lernynge eyther are they dulle wytted or elles euyll wylled I repreue not thyse customes that men vse in the state of begynnynge whether they ben bodely or ghostly for I say that they are ful good spedfull for hem for to vse But I wolde that they helde hem not but as a waye an entre towarde ghostly felynge and that they vsed hem as a couenable meane tyl a better come and that they in vsynge of hem coueyted after better And then̄e yf better come that were more ghostly and more drawynge in the thought frō flesshlynes fro the sensualyte vayn ymagynacion yf that sholde be letted by cause of her customes y t they leue then her custome whan it maye be lefte without scaunder or dysease of other and folowe that they fele But yf neyther lette other then that they vse bothe yf they maye I meane not of customes nedeful thorugh bonde of lawe or of rule or of penaunce but of other wylfully taken Thus techeth vs the prophete in the sawter sayeng thꝰ Etem̄ benediccionem dabit legislator ibunt de virtute in virtutem videbitur deus deorum in syon That is Sothly the brynger of the lawe shal yeue blessyng they shal go fro vertue in to vertue and god of goddys shal be see in syon The brynger of the lawe that is our lorde Ihesu cryst shal yeue his blessynge That is He shal yeue hys grace to his chosen soules callynge hem fro synne and ryghtynge hem by good werkes to his lyckenesse thorugh whiche grace they shall proufyte and wexe fro vertue to vertue tyll they come to syon that is tyl they come to contemplacyon in the whiche they shal see god of goddys That is They shal see wel that there is not but one god ¶ How that without moche bodely ghostly besynes without moche grace mekenesse soules may not be refourmed in felynge ne kepe therin after they come therto Caplm̄ xx NOw sayest thou Syth it is so that refourmyng in faythe is so lowe and so peryllous for to rest in by cause of drede of fallynge agayne And refourmynge in felynge is so hyghe and so syker who so myght come therto Thenne coueytest thou for to wyte what manere traueyle were moost spedful for to vse by the whiche a man myghte prouffyte in and come therto Or yf there were ony certayne traueyle or specyal dede by the whiche a man myght come to that grace and that refourmynge in felynge As vnto this I saye thus Thou wotest wel that what man or woman wol dyspose hym for to come to clennesse of herte and to felynge of grace hym behoueth haue moche traueylle and grete fyghtynge in wyl and in werke lastyngly agaynste wycked styrynges of al the hede synnes Not oonly ayenste pryde or Enuye but ayenst al other with al the spyces that comen oute of theym as I haue sayde before in the fyrste wrytyng For why Passyons and flesshly desyres lette the clennesse of the herte and pees in conscyence And hym behoueth also for to traueyle for to gete al vertues Not oonly chastyte and abstynence but also pacyence and myldenesse charite and mekenesse and al the other And this maye not be doon by one maner of werke but by dyuerse werkes and many after sundry dysposycyons of men As nowe prayenge nowe thynkynge now worchynge some good werkes nowe assayenge theym selfe in dyuers wyse In hunger in thruste in colde in sufferyng of shame and dyspyte yf nede be And in other bodely dysease for