Selected quad for the lemma: virtue_n
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A11881
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Five sermons preached upon severall occasions (The texts whereof are set downe in the next page.) By Iohn Seller.
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Seller, John, 1592 or 3-1648.
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1636
(1636)
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STC 22181; ESTC S101223
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58,521
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276
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l. 8. Epist 22. qui caeteris ita ignoscit tanquam ipse quotidie peccet ita peccatis abstinet tanquam nemini ignoscat Hee indeed is a right good man who in all things is so favourable to the sinnes of others as if himselfe were the greatest sinner and yet so severe and strict unto himselfe as if hee would favour no man And thus much for the first exposition of my Text I come now unto the second And of his fulnesse have wee all received 2 Exposition and grace for grace that is grace upon grace grace after grace first one grace then another For GOD who gave not the Spirit by measure to his Sonne gives it by measure and portions to his Saints which like good seed sowne into good ground brings foorth first the blade then the eare then the full corne in the eare first the will and then the deed first begins the deed and then perfects it And therefore give diligence saith St. PETER and adde to your faith vertue to vertue knowledge to knowledge temperance to temperance patience to patience godlinesse and that wee may know there are many and high degrees to bee ascended before we come unto the height of grace to that full assurance whereof fondly oftimes we secure ourselves even at the first step you see againe he doubles the same caution Give diligence to make your calling and Election sure And St. PAVL often Let the word dwell richly in you in all wisedome Let your love abound more and more That you may bee rooted and built up and stablished in the faith That you may be holy and unreproovable in the sight of God That hee may present unto himselfe a glorious Church not having spot or wrinkle Indeed it is the desire of most men to be partakers of Gods grace so much at least as may enlighten them a little give them a taste of the heavenly guift and keepe them from despaire and then are they ready to say unto theyr soule Soule take thy ease for thou hast now enough grace enough layd up in store But the earnest and constant desire of grace for grace and grace upon grace to follow our Petitions as St. HIEROM did with a peto ut accipiam cum accepere rursus peto dayly doe I aske the grace of God Avarus sum ad accipienda beneficia dei Nec ille deficit in dando nec ego satior in accipiendo Ad Ctesiphor adv Pelag. and when I have obtain'd what I aske for dayly doe I aske the same againe and as long as hee is well pleased to grant never will I give over my desire this a rare zeale though yet in truth better have no talent then wrap it in a Napkin For GOD will not bee content with his owne hee must have interest where hee soweth grace he expects to reape grace for grace and therefore having once tasted of the heavenly guift let us dayly so hunger and thirst after Righteousnesse as that wee may bee filled with the Spirit For wee are to observe that as in GOD there is a fulnesse if I may so speak of capacitie fulnesse of justice fulnesse of mercy fulnesse of wisedome fulnesse of power all fulnesse at the full because hee is infinitely full as in CHRIST there is a fulnesse of satietie such a fulnesse as was fitted and proportioned by the will of his Deitie such a fulnesse as did abundantly satiate the will and desire of his humanitie a fulnesse without measure if compar'd to that small portion vouchsafed to the greatest of the Saints and yet a fulnesse which had measure and proportion if compar'd unto the infinite fulnes of the Deity Deus quamvis omnipotens non potuit vel inaequalem sibi gignere filiis Bernard Homil. 3. vel aequalem condere creaturam It was impossible that even the omnipotencie of GOD should eyther beget the divine person of his Sonne unequall or create his humane nature equall to himselfe so in tne Saints of God there must bee a fulnesse too a fulnesse of competency fulnesse of Faith and fulnesse of workes also that while we beleeve in him who justifieth a sinner wee may daily labour the reformation of our sinnes Behold saith CHRIST I stand at the doore and knocke and if any man heare my voyce and open the doore I will come in and sup with him and hee with me Here then you see there must bee a mutuall entertainment of supper for supper fulnesse for fulnesse for indeed then onely is this Feast rightly prepared when as well CHRIST suppes with us as we with him he on the delight of our obedience we on the confidence of his True indeed it is that if wee looke into the empty world a little goodnesse may soone raise us unto a Pharisaicall ostentation and serve to justifie our selves by negatives Lord I thanke thee that I am not thus nor thus nor like unto this Publicane and thinke that wee have grace enough if wee can poynt out any man more gracelesse then our selves when as yet St. AVGVSTINE will tell us Civit. dei l. 14. c. 3. Ipse diabolus non est fornicator neque ebriosus the Divell himselfe might thus commend himselfe for he was never drunke nor ever committed Fornication and the Publicane might make reply LORD I thanke thee that I am no Pharisee when as perhaps his whole life hath beene so farre from expressing the truth of godlinesse as that hee was never yet so well devoted to make shew of it Infaelicissimum genus consolationis est Salvian ad Eccles Cathol lib. 2. de miseriis hominum peccatorum capere solatia It is a most unhappy kinde of comfort for a man to solace himselfe in his owne sinne upon the view of greater sinnes in others No rather letting passe these deceivable discourses let us strive to fashion our selves according to the infallible rules of holy Scripture and when wee know they are no common graces of the Spirit whereby wee are seal'd unto the day of redemption let us dayly implore grace for grace that wee may approve the things that are excellent and bee filled with the fruits of righteousnesse Nativitas salutaris non accepta sed custodita vivificat Cyprean Epist 7. It is not a single grace but grace upon grace must save us and however the goodnesse and mercy of God might bee content with lesse then our owne care and zeale will bee content for our owne selves however our selves in humility might be content with the lowest roome even to bee doore-keepers in the house of God yet how unspeakable would bee our joy if it might please him to grant more then wee dare presume to ask and according to our increase in grace for grace multiply unto us glory for glory too and entertaine us in his Kingdome with an Amice ascende superiùs Friend sit up higher As then IACOB returning into his owne Countrey and afrayd of his brother ESAV sends before
embrace us and restore us to our rest again For doth a Father pity his owne child and will not the Lord bee mercifull to them that feare him nay call no man Father upon earth for beyond all naturall affection we have a Father in Heaven and his love is like that of Ionathan and David even greater then the love of women WheÌ„ Abraham intercedeth for Sodom you see hee puts in many doubts and feares I have taken upon me to speake who am but dust and ashes and let not my Lord be angry and once more and once more let me speake and still hee feareth and still hee speaketh and still he obtaineth what he speaketh for neither doth God in mercy cease to grant his petitions till he in modesty giveth them over Thus sometime if the conscience of our sinnes and terrour of the throne of Iustice and those terrible names of Lord and jealous God shall make us to tremble and be exceedingly afraid as indeed in this confident age it is good that we should sometime bee frighted yet upon our true humiliation and contrition we may boldly appeale from the throne of Iustice to the throne of Grace and that gracious name of Father and then â—nough the flesh have been a Sodome yet if the spirit now become an Abraham dust and ashes as we are we may speake and once more and once more may we speake til we bring our sins from fifty shall I say nay from an innumerable number for who knowes how oft he offends to forty to twenty to tenne to nothing and blot them out of the booke of Gods remembrance Let me then say once againe Why art thou so disquieted O my soule and why art thou so troubled within me put thou thy trust in the Lord and bee doing good implore the adoption of a sonne and get thy soule seal'd unto the day of redemption and then with confidence maist thou appeare before the Tribunall of God where thou shalt finde the Iudge thy Father thine Advocate thy Brother But let us beware that we doe not please and content our selves with a titular alliance for it is not a Lord Lord nor my Father Salvian ad Eccles Cathol l. 3 my Father will suffice Assumptio religiosi nominis sponâ—â—o devotionis Our challenging of God to bee our Father chalengeth from us the duty of his Sonnes For as under the Law if they were obedient unto his will and with care and conscience did performe their service to their Lord he did shew himselfe a Father to his servants so under the Gospell if like gracelesse children wee shall neglect the will of our heavenly Father he will shew himselfe a Lord unto his Sonnes and as then not every one that cryed Lord so nor now every one that prayeth Father but he that doth the will whether of Lord or Father he and he alone shal be acceptable in his sight So then to draw all to a conclusion As wee are all already filii regni children of the Kingdome and called to be Saints so because wee know such children for their disobedience may in the end bee shut out of this Kingdome let us strive to be filii regnantes to reign as children in this Kingdome and make our calling sure CHRIST is now ascended up on high unto his Father and hath given guifts to us such as will inable us to follow him let us then bee carefull so to improve these guifts to adde to our Faith vertue to vertue knowledge temperance patience godlinesse and charity that as our graces rise so may our hope of glory rise withall and when age and death shall presse downe our bodies to the grave our soules may be lifted up to Heaven and take a comfortable farewell of our friends even in the very language of our Saviour Weepe not for mee but for your selves for I am now ascending to my Father and your Father to my God and your God Amen FINIS Errata FOr Iohanni read Iohanne pag 8. necessitude read vicissitude p. 11 so r. and p. 25 last r. left p. 46 that dele p. 47 1. dele p. 53 for dele p. 63 our r. one p. 72 strong r. strange p. 77. beneficii r. beneficiis p. 111 partunebat r parturiebat p. 122 filiis r. filium p. 143 succentunate r. succenturiate p. 150 Those r. these p 153 heavie and r. and heavie p. 177 Nor r. nor ibid. vvherever r. wheÌ„ever p 183 punisheth r. pincheth p 203 this r the p 208 an r on p 212 custodivi r custodiri p. 216 that thou r that so alwayes thou p 223 hold r hold p 225 have r but have p 227 We r. we p 32 dele 2. p 256 favorâ—â— r foenoris p 258 nor r nor