Selected quad for the lemma: virtue_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
virtue_n	act_n	grace_n	habit_n	906	5	9.7429	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A45468	Some profitable directions both for priest & people in two sermons preached before these evil times : the one to the clergy, the other to the citizens of London / by H. Hammond.	Hammond, Henry, 1605-1660.	1657 (1657)	Wing H605; ESTC R9306	45,615	102

in that the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or almes-giving simply considered deducing the practice of the Jewes down to us Christians and so give you in a manner the history of almes-giving Though we assert not an equality of worldly riches from any decree either of God or nature find not any statute of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 any law of community in any but Plato's institutions and those never reduced to practice in any one city in the world attempted once by Plotinus through his favour with Gallienus who promised to reside in his Platonopolis but soon altered his purpose again as Porphyrie tells us yet I may suppose it for a granted maxime that the extreme inequality that is now so illustriously visible in the world is not any act of Natures primary intention or Gods first and general providence Aristotle may tell us of some 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 some that Nature hath bored through the ear to be slaves for ever and we may beleeve him if we can find any ground for it but of any 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 colonies of men sent into the world without any claim or right to any part of the worlds goods he hath not left us any thing upon record Nor hath the book of Creation in the Scripture the Beresith or natural philosophie of the Bible given us any hint for such a resolution that some should be born to riot and others to famish some to be glutted and others to starve that mankind should be thus dichotomized into such extreme distant fates some to reign in Paradise for ever others to be thrown over the wall as out of the Adamites stove to pine and freeze among thornes and briers This were an absolute decree of election and reprobation improved farther than Predestinarians have ordinarily extended it As we are wont to say of sinne that 't is not to be found in Gods Hexameron no fruit of his Six dayes labour but a production of a later date ingendred betwixt the serpent and the woman that Incubus and Succuba the devil and the lower soul so may we say of extreme want and poverty that its nativity is of the land of Canaan its father an Amorite and its mother an Hittite Satan and covetousness brought it into the world and then God finding it there whose glorious attribute it is to extract good out of evil as he did once a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 out of an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 redemption of mankind out of the fall of Adam and so made the Devil an instrument of bringing the Messias into the world so hath he in like manner by his particular providence ordered and continued this effect of some mens covetousness to become matter of others bounty exercise of that one piece of mans divinity as Pythagoras called liberality and so ex his lapidibus out of these stones out of the extreme want and necessity of our brethren to raise trophees and monuments of virtue to us of charity liberality and magnificence of mercy and bowels of compassion that most beautiful composition of graces that most heroical renouned habit of the soul So that now we may define it an act of Gods infinite goodness to permit though before we could not allow it reconcileable with his infinite justice to decree the extreme inequality of earthly portions the poor man gasping for food that the rich may have a store-house or magazine where to lay up his treasures the careful labourer full of children suffered to wrestle with two extremities at once hunger on the one side and natural compassion to the helpless creatures he hath begotten on the other that thou by thy wealth mayest be that Elijah sent from heaven to the famishing forlorn widow that Godlike man drop'd out of the clouds to his relief and by the omnipotent reviving power of thy charity usurp that attribute of Gods given him by the Psalmist that feeds the young ravens exposed by the old ones sustain that destitute sort of creatures that call upon thee Admirable therefore was that contrivance of Gods mercy and wisdome mentioned to the Jewes not as a threatning but a promise of grace one of the privileges and blessings of Canaan the poor shall never cease out of the land Deut. 15.11 that thou mayest alwaies have somewhat to do with thy wealth some sluce to exhaust thy plenty some hungry leech to open a vein and prevent the accesse of thy feaver and withall that thy wealth may ennoble thee as Xenocrates told his benefactors children that he had abundantly requited their father for all men spake well of him for his liberality to Xenocrates or as benefactors among the heathen were adored and deified that thus thy faithless fading falsehearted riches which the Evangelist therefore styles Mammon of unrighteousnes onely as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is opposed to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to true durable wealth may yeeld thee more profit by the profusion than by the possession as silver doth by melting than by continuing in the wedge or bullion according to that of Clemens 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the rich is he that distributes not he which hath and possesseth and Lactantius Divites sunt non qui divitias habent sed qui utuntur illis ad opera justitiae the rich are they not which have riches but use them to workes of righteousness purchase thee by being thus providently laid out a revenue of renown here and glory hereafter You see then the pedegree and genealogie of almes-giving how it came into the world Covetousness and oppression and rapine brought in emptiness and beggery and want then Gods providence and goodness finding it in the world resolves to continue it there to imply the treasures and exercise the charity of others Now for the practice of the world in this great affair we cannot begin our survey more properly than from the text there to behold Gods opinion or judgement in this point by the rules he hath given to be observed in this city of God his own people of the Jews whilest they were managed by God himself The priesthood was the peculiar lot of God and therefore may well be allowed the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 feeding first at Gods feast And the poor next after them were taken care of by God himself Lazarus as it were in Aarons as once in Abrahams bosome next to the priest in the temple as to the Patriarch in heaven a tithing for the priest and when this was done every third year a tithing for the poor The withholding of the former was sacrilege and of the latter furtum interpretativum say the Schooles interpretative theft and the Casuists to the same purpose that though our goods be our own jure proprietatis by right of propriety yet they are other mens jure charitatis by right of charity the rich mans barne is the poor mans granary nay murther too as we may conclude from the words of the wise man the poor mans