Selected quad for the lemma: virtue_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
virtue_n	add_v	brotherly_a	temperance_n	1,678	5	11.2424	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A86450	The valley of vision, or A clear sight of sundry sacred truths. Delivered in twenty-one sermons; by that learned and reverend divine, Richard Holsvvorth, Dr. in Divinity, sometimes Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge, Master of Emanuel Colledge, and late preacher at Peters Poore in London. The particular titles and texts are set downe in the next leafe.	Holdsworth, Richard, 1590-1649.; Holdsworth, Richard, 1590-1649. Peoples happinesse.	1651 (1651)	Wing H2404; Thomason E631_1; ESTC R202438	355,440	597

the full signification of it The first is the latitude or extent of the word in respect of the habits of grace From strength to strength that is from one habite of grace to another habite of grace that when we have attained the pitch if it were possible of any grace we should not content our selves with that there are other graces to be attained That as a man that will learne perfectly to read must goe through the whole list and Alphabet of Letters and none are to be excepted So he that will come to take out the whole lesson of Christianity must set out the whole lesson Sentences and Sillables the whole quire of grace and labour to come to a competent measure and perfection of habits in all When he hath got one he must not rest there but goe on from the habit of one grace to another Because all grace upon occasion brings glory to God And a Christian hath need in this World of every grace And every grace leads alike to the same excellency of glory and the same Blessing and Reward is stated upon it How ever it is true as Gregory Nazianzen sayth well some perticular graces are more proper to some perticular estates and ages of men Repentance is a grace more proper to them that are fallen and perseverance is a grace more proper to them that stand A man that is downe cannot be called to persevere he is not yet raised but a man that is up his proper grace that hath his footing already set in Christianity is to exhort him to persevere and to exhort the other to rise So Alms-deeds it is a grace that is more proper to him that is Rich and contentation to the Poore Call to a poore man for Alms he hath the Alms of Prayer not of releife it is not a grace so proper To carry it further Modestie and Sobriety they are graces proper to them that are young wisdome and gravity and discretion are graces proper to them that are in yeares that are old Thankfullnesse is a proper grace for him that abounds in prosperity and Patience is a proper grace for him that is in adversity So Nazienzen sayth well there are graces more proper and peculiar to certaine conditions of men But this hinders not but that every grace is needfull and necessary to all Because every man may be set in every estate he that stands now may fall he that hath plentifully and therefore may give Almes he may want and be called to contentation There is no Christian but he hath need of every grace because he may be set in every condition and estate therefore it is not enough to attaine some one grace and to neglect the other to mortifie some one Vice and fall into another that stands not with the nature of repentance to attaine to some one vertue with the contempt of another it stands not with the state of breathing after perfection For a man to subdue pride and keep covetousnesse or to subdue covetousnesse and keep envie and malice each of these make him equally abhominable to God For a man to attaine to the habit of charity and not to study the grace of repentance or to attaine to the grace of repentance and not to give accomplishment to it by the works of righteousnesse and obedience or to attaine to some degree of obedience and to neglect the graces of patience and meeknesse or the rest he will not at all come on to many degrees of strength There must be a connexion of all the habites of grace we must glorifie God by Charity as well as by faith by repentan●● as well as by charity and by obedience as well as by repentance and by humblenesse of mind and patience as well as by obedience The graces are all l●●cked together they make up one body or rather one soule of grace As the Apostle speaks of the mysticall ody of Christ Ephes 4. Collos 1. In whom the body fitly compact together so it growes up As all the severall Members of Christ knit by the same faith make one solid m●sticall body so all the graces together make up one quire There is one chaine of graces that are so necessarily lincked that as in the parts of the body take away one and you deforme the whole so breake one grace you mar the whole chaine Therefore the Scripture calls ever and anon that we be fruitfull in every good worke to labour to please God in all things we doe Whatsoever things are just what Must I stay there No whatsoever things are true whatsoever things are honest whatsoever things are pure whatsoever things are lovely Here is from strength to strength We must goe from justice to purity and from thence to honesty and so to lovelinesse and that is a good decorum in a Christians conversation The Apostle Peter expresly tells us of these junctures Add to knowledge temperance to temperance patience to patience godlinesse to godlinesse brotherly kindnesse to brotherly kindnesse love Here are now the severall paces and steps these are the habits of vertues it is all one as if he had said in the words of the Psalmist Add strength to strength virtue to virtue habite to habite He names them severally to shew that if it were possible to attaine the perfection of some one we must not stay there from habite to habite that is from strength to strength That is the first latitude Next to proceed from the habites to the acts of vertue habites are dry and cold if they shew not themselves in acts they may glorify God within but they cannot without further then they manifest themselves in action Therefore the next from strength to strength is from the habite to the act Admit a man attaine all the habites of grace named if those graces be perfect in respect of him they are not in respect of God action is the activity of those graces that glorifies God and brings the knowledge and improvement of them St. Austin observes in one place against the Heathens that Christian virtues far excell the m●rall virtues of the Heathen even by the very name they are called sayth he you call your virtues habits we call ours gifts you ascribe it to your selves and therefore you call them habits because you have them but we call them gifts because we receive them from God Every good gift is from above And indeed it was a very good argument that St. Austin used yet there is a third word may be taken that is better then both that is Practise For whither we consider them as habits or gifts they are not perfect till they come to action It is not the having but the husbanding of a grace that brings glory to God for a man to have the habit and not to put it in practise it is all one as a Talent in a Napkin Therefore the Scripture in severall places useth those two words promiscuously To him that hath shall be given and he shall