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	godliness_n	temperance_n	2,671	5	11.4834	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A14721	Theologicall questions, dogmaticall observations, and evangelicall essays, vpon the Gospel of Jesus Christ, according to St. Matthew Wherein, about two thousand six hundred and fifty necessary, and profitable questions are discussed; and five hundred and eighty speciall points of doctrine noted; and five hundred and fifty errours confuted, or objections answered: together with divers arguments, whereby divers truths, and true tenents are confirmed. By Richard VVard, sometimes student in the famous vniversities of Cambridge in England: St. Andrews in Scotland: and Master of Arts of both the kingdoms; and now a preacher in the famous city of London.	Ward, Richard, 1601 or 2-1684.	1640 (1640)	STC 25024; ESTC S118017	1,792,298	907

wakes and workes or eates and walkes when he doth none of them but it will not follow from hence that therefore he which is awake cannot be sure that he is awake or certainly knowe what hee doth Thus an hypocrite may dreame that he is a righteous man when there is no such thing but the Regenerate man knowes that he is such and is not deceived And therefore we must examine ourselves whether the Spirit of God witnesse unto our spirits that we are the Children of God and created in CHRIST JESVS Answ 4 Fourthly the last effect of Regeneration is an encrease and augmentation of grace For as the naturall so the supernaturall and spirituall life hath in all the parts thereof a proportionable encrease Iohn 15.2 Colos 2.19 all the members drawing unto themselves a fitting augmentation Here observe that there is a double encrease namely I. In quantity as a man encreaseth in strength and stature untill the age of 25. And II. In quality as a man after 25 encreaseth in wisedome solidity experience and the like So the regenerate labours First to encrease in the quantity and number of graces and vertues Philip. 4.8 and. 2. Peter 1.5 6 7. And then Secondly in the measure degree and extent of them For the Child of God must labour endeavour daily to bring the habits of grace unto act when there is in a manner no grace or vertue which he hath not in some measure attained unto and shewed forth in his life he must then strive unto a greater measure and degree of them This is clearely pointed out by St. Peter who I. Exhorts the Children of God to adde to their faith vertue and to vertue knowledge and to knowledge temperance and to temperance patience and to patience godlinesse and to godlinesse brotherly kindnesse and to brotherly kindnesse charity 2. Peter 1.5.6.7 And then II. Exhorts them to abound in all these verse 8. But as men both before they be five and twenty yeares old and after have agues feavers fals sicknesses which hinder for a while their growth and encrease both in quantity quality so have also the Regenerate children of God And therefore they must be so much the more watchfull over their wayes and industrious in the use of all good meanes And therefore we must examine whether we be alwayes children or whether we growe up daily in grace What is here required of all men Quest 13 To prove and examine themselves Answ whether they be regenerated or not For those who are negligent in this enquiry and examination must needs be either in perill or paine either in danger or distresse First it is dangerous and most full of perill to neglect the enquiry of our Regeneration and take it up onely upon trust Jf a thiefe should goe singing to the gallowes hoping verily that the King would send him a pardon and then find none but be cut off suddenly contrary to his expectation his death must needs be so much the more horrible So if men crye peace unto themselves when they are not as yet regenerated and perswade themselves that their condition is happy when the contrary is most true they will be so much the more confounded when they finde their hope and expectation so miserably frustrated Secondly at the best those who neglect seriously to examine themselves whether they be regenerated or not must needs be full of anguish sorrow and mourning If a man were lead unto execution and were ignorant of any pardon granted unto him from the King he must needs goe mournfully to his death although a pardon did there attend him because he was not certaine of it So if those who belong to the covenant of grace be negligent in the examination of their evidence their comfort must needs be small true faith and lively hope being the parents of solide joy What is required of those who are Regenerated Quest 14 First it is required of them that they be carefull Answ 1 to nourish this life in themselves For unto those who are regenerated is given both a capacity to receive nourishment and also a desire of nourishment and therefore they must be carefull to nourish and cherish this spirituall life which in Regeneration is infused into them Here observe that there are many things which hinder nourishment and growth which we must warily avoide viz. I. Contagion and infection those who eate and converse and dwell with sicke men oftentimes are taken with the same disease and sicknesse whereby they are debilitated and weakned So he who walkes with a wicked man is made worse and his course and progresse in Religion in tanto is hindered Hence Salomon saith walke not with an angry man least thou learne his waies which may be applyed to all Sinners and a Caveat to the Righteous to beware of all society which is wicked Acts 2.42 We are commanded to save our selves from the generation of the wicked because wee may easily bee seduced by them as Adam was by Eve David saith Depart from me yee wicked because I will keepe the Commandements of the Lord as if he would say the Society of wicked men will hinder me from the service of the Lord. So Paul exhorts us to depart from every brother which walkes inordinately because a little Leaven leaveneth the whole lumpe II. Poyson for that contaminates and corrupts both the meat and all the nutritive faculties now this poyson is Sinne which contaminates and pollutes the whole man and hinders the increase and progresse of Grace III. The excesse of meat which distempers and disorders the whole body hurts and hinders the nourishment thereof this is the excesse of worldly delights which though otherwise lawfull yet immoderately used becomes a baite and snare to entrap the soule IV. Hunger and the want of good food hinders the nourishment of the body for oftentimes the lesse the stomacke eates the worse it is So if we starve our soules and deprive them of their fitting food no wonder if we doe not growe and encrease in truth And therefore if we desire to nourish and cherish our spirituall life which is infused in us in our Regeneration we must warily shunne all wicked society we must carefully avoide all sinne and iniquity we must moderate our delights in all wordly things and we must feed our soules with spirituall exercises Answ 2 Secondly as those who are regenerated must be carefull to nourish spirituall life in themselves so it is required of them also to labour to propagate spirituall life in others For Nascitur indignè per quem non nascitur alter that is Vnworthily that man doth live Which to another doth not life give And therefore all the Children of God must watch all occasions of doing good unto others in their generall calling as Christians whether by instruction or reprehension or admonition or consolation but chiefely every man must be carefull in his particular calling to bring those unto CHRIST whom God hath put

for ours it is then a signe that our treasures are disallowed and disliked by Christ Answ 2 Secondly if we heape up riches with the discommodity of others or by any wicked means it is an argument of a prohibited treasure Answ 3 Thirdly when we place our hope trust and confidence in our riches treasured up distrusting the good providence of God it is an infallible signe of an unlawfull treasure Quantum quisque sua nammorum servat in arca tatnum habet fidei b Iuvenal When men by their riches heaped up hope to bee releeved helped and succoured come what can come unto them it is an argument that their hearts are set too much upon their treasures and their confidence is too great in them Answ 5 It was said in the second answer that wee must not treasure up riches by wicked meanes hence it may be demanded how doth a man wickedly lay up treasures First when he acquireth them by unlawfull Answ 1 and unjust meanes to wit either by theft or fraud or perjury or false weights or measures or adulterated wares or by suppl●nting of others or usury or oppression or detaining of the hirelings wages or the like Woe be to that man who gathereth riches by those meanes Secondly a man treasureth up riches wickedly Answ 2 when he keepes them too close that is reserves them I. Cruelly by denying to affoord helpe either to that Church and Common-wealth wherein hee lives when there is neede or by releeving the poore when they are in distresse Many are so carefull to keepe what they have that the poore shall rather die then bee preserved by their riches they will rather have no preaching then procure it with their purses yea the kingdome or City wherin they live shall be undone as Constantinople was rather then they will helpe it with the exhausting of their treasures I. Men sometimes reserve their riches Sordidé basely denying themselves their part of them when having riches they want hearts to use them Eccles 4.8 and 6.1 Woe be to that man who is so carefull to reserve his riches that hee withholds them in the time of need either from King Church Poore or himselfe and his Thirdly a man treasureth up riches wickedly Answ 3 when he heapes them up too much that is I. Without any necessity as was said before II. Without any measure never saying it is enough of which afterwards § 5. Ye cannot serve God and Mammon Sect. 5 Our blessed Saviours generall scope is here to teach us how impossible it is for a man to serve religion and the world sincerely and ex animo What is meant by Mammon Quest 1 First some say that hee is one of the foure principall divels which are opposite to the foure cardinall vertues the first of which divels is Asmodeus which is the spirit of luxury and uncleannesse and is opposite to the vertue of Chastity the second divell is Beelzebub which is the spirit of gluttony and drunkennesse and is opposite to Temperance the third divell is Mammon which is the spirit of coveteousnesse and is opposit to Charity and liberality the fourth divell is Lucifer the spirit of pride opposite unto Humility c Dor●●●secur Ser. dominica ser 19. But certainely Mammon is not a divell because a man may lawfully make him friends of Mammon which he cannot of the divell as followes by and by Secondly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as it is according Answ 2 to the Syriake signifieth gaine or lucre thus Eli●● and the Chaldeans and also the Germans who derive it from the Hebrew word M●● which signifies a reproach because immoderate and unlawfull gaine is worthy of reprehension blame But this is not the meaning of the word because wee may not make us friends of evill gotten goods as followes by and by but we may of Mammon Answ 3 Thirdly some say that Mammon signifies Riches not wickedly got but unprofitable to the possessor or riches whereof a man hath no use or need Thus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was described by Suidas 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mammon is those riches and that substance which doth not proceed from the divell but whereof there is no necessary use This is probable and likely to be true Answ 4 Fourthly sometimes Mammon indefinitely signifies riches and wealth and so I take it to signifie in this place Quest 2 What manner of service is heere spoken of Yee cannot serve God and Mammon Answ There are two sorts of service First the service of the divell by whom some are taken captive at his will 2 Tim. 2.26 thus Witches Enchanters Sorcerers Magitians and the like are the divels servants Secondly there is a service of the servants of the divell namely the service of sinne and of the world which are thus distinguished I. The service of sinne is thus by St. Paul described the servants of sinne 1 yeeld themselves and are content to obey sinne Rom. 6.1 617 19. and 2. are free from righteousnesse Rom. 6.20 II. The service of the world which is the service here spoken of is a willing subjecting of a mans selfe unto the allurements and provocations and baites of the world or a yeelding unto the inticements unto evill which are found in the world Whence it is that a man cannot serve God and the world Quest 3 Why cannot a man serve both God and the world Answ 1 First because there is neither of them but requires the whole man Nemo repentè fit bonus Nemo repentè fit dives None are quickly good non are quickly rich if a mā desire to be good he must accustome himselfe to a long constant and continuall trade of religion if a man desire to be rich he must rise up early and goe late to bed and eat the bread of carefulnesse yea hee must imploy both head and heart And therefore religion and the world cannot both be served by one and the same man Answ 2 Secondly because God and Mammon are contraries the Lord labours to withdraw our affeictions from the world and Mammon strives to seduce and intice us from the Lord. And therefore both cannot be served Quest 4 What difference is betweene God and Mammon Answ 1 First Mammon vexeth and turmoileth his servants night and day but the Lord continually comforts his Answ 2 Secondly Mammons servants are never satisfied the servants of the Lord never want necessary things and having that which is sufficient are contented with it Answ 3 Thirdly Mammon at length handles h●s servants as enemies but the Lord calleth his no longer servants but friends Ioh. 15. yea the children and coheires of Christ Rom. 8. Fourthly he who serves Māmon must necessarily Answ 4 hate God he who serves the Lord ought to hate the world and to renounce Mammon How may wee know whether wee serve our Quest 5 riches or our riches serve us First if wee use our riches as servants sending Answ 1 them abroad at