Selected quad for the lemma: virtue_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
virtue_n	apostle_n	faith_n	temperance_n	815	5	10.9534	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A77593	Ton anexichniaston plouton [sic] tou Christou. The unsearchable riches of Christ. Or, Meat for strong men. Milke [for] babes. Held for th in twenty-two sermons from Ephesians 3.8. By Thomas Brookes, preacher of the Word at Margarets New-Fishstreet.; Anexichniastoi ploutoi tou Christou	Brooks, Thomas, 1608-1680.	1657 (1657)	Wing B4919; Thomason E841_8	318,122	353

world Ah how many have turn'd their backs upon God and Christ and truth c. to gaine the world how will you get off this burden No way in the world like to the exercise and actings of grace Many men heare much and yet remaine worldly and pray like Angels and yet live as if there were no heaven nor hell They will talk much of heaven and yet those that are spirituall and wise doe smell their breath to stink strong of earth and all the art and parts and gifts in the world can never cure them of this soule-killing disease but the exercise of grace till faith break forth in its glorious actings A man may hear and pray many years and yet be as carnall base and worldly as ever There is no way under Heaven to remove this stone this burden but the exercise of faith and love c. Cant. 8. 6 7. 1 John 4. 5. For whatsoever is borne of God overcometh the world and this is the victory that overcometh the world even our faith who is he that overcometh the world but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God Not that the habit of faith overcometh the world but faith in the exercise of it conquers the world and that it does these three wayes First Faith in the exercise of it presents the world to the soule under all those notions that the Scripture holds forth the Divi●●ae corporales paupertati● plenae sunt Earthly Riches are full of poverty saith Austin world unto us by The Scripture holds forth the world as an impotent thing as a mixt thing as a mutable thing as a momentary thing Now faith comes and sets this home with power upon the soule and this takes the soule off from the world Secondly Faith doth it by causing the soule to converse with more glorious soule-satisfying soule-delighting and soule-contenting objects 2 Cor. 4. 16 17 18. Though our outward man perish yet our inward man is renewed day by day how comes this to passe while we * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Whiles we lo●k up●n eternall th●ngs as a man looks upon the mark that he aimes to hit looke not at the things which are seen but at the things that are not seen for the things that are seen are temporall but the things that are not seen are eternall Now when faith is busied and exercised about soule-ennobling soule-greatning soule-raising and soule-cheering objects a Christian tramples the world under his feet and now heavy afflictions are light and long afflictions short and bitter afflictions sweet unto him c. Now stand by world welcome Christ c. So in Heb. 11. It was the exercise of faith and hope upon noble and glorious objects that carried them above the world above the smiling world and above the frowning world above the tempting world and above the persecuting world as you may see by comparing severall verses of that Chapter together Vers 9 10. By faith he sojourned Every man is as the objects are about which his soule is most conversant c. in the land of Promise as in a strange Countrey dwelling in Tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob the Heires with him of the same Promise for he looked for a City which hath foundations whose builder and maker is God Vers 24 25 26. And by faith Moses when he was come to yeares refused to be called the Son of Pharoahs Daughter choosing rather to suffer afflictions with the people of God then to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches then the treasures in Aegypt for he had respect to the recompence of reward Vers 27. By faith he forsooke Aegypt not fearing the wrath of the King for he endured as seeing him who is invisible And in vers 35. They refused deliverance that they might obtaine a better Resurrection So in Heb. 10. 34. They tooke joyfully the spoyling of their Goods Upon what account Knowing in themselves that they had in Heaven a better and more induring substance Thirdly and lastly Faith doth it by assuring the soule of Injoying of better things For my part I must confesse so farre as Heb. 11. 1. I understand any thing of the things of God I cannot see how a soule under the power of a well grounded Assurance can be a servant to his slave I meane the world I confesse men may talke much of heaven and of Christ and Religion c. but give In my treatise call'd Heaven on earth you may find many consideratiōs to evince this and to that I referre you c. me a man that doth really and clearely live under the power of divine Assurance and I cannot see how such a one can be carried out in an inordinate love to these poore transitory things I know not one instance in all the Scripture that can be produced to prove that ever any precious Saint that hath lived in the assurance of divine love and that hath walkt up and downe this world with his pardon in his bosome have ever been charged with an inordinate love of the world that 's a sad word 1 Joh. 2. 15. Now a fourth reason of this poynt why persons are to exercise their Graces is Because its the best way to preserve their soules from Apostasie and back sliding from God 2 Pet. 1. 5-11 Adde to your faith vertue and to vertue knowledge and to knowledge temperance and to temperance patience and to patience Godlinesse c. For if ye doe these things ye shall never fall 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Adde to your faith vertue The Greeke word that 's here rendered Adde hath a great emphasis in it 't is taken from dansing round linke them saith the Apostle hand in hand as in dansing virgins took hands so we must joyne hand to hand in these measures of Graces leade up the dance of Graces as in Pul●brior in praelio occisus miles quam fugâ salvus the Galliard every one takes his turne So in Chap. 3. 17 18. Ye therefore beloved seeing ye know these things beware lest ye also being led aside with the error of the wicked fall from your owne stedfastnesse There are many turne aside and shake hands with God and Christ and truth and the words of Righteousnesse and therefore you had need to take heed that you fall not as others have fallen before you But how shall we be kept from apostatizing why Grow in Grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ 'T is a growth in grace 't is the exercise of grace that will make a man stand when others fall yea when Cedars fall c. Fifthly All other exercises without the exercise of Grace will profit nothing Or if you will take it thus All other exercises will be lesse to us without the exercise of Grace therefore we had need to Improve our Graces When the house is on fire if a man should onely pray or cry

hundred for a thousand as sometimes men in hurrying over their Books they slip and make mistakes and so they think there 's nothing got whereas indeed there 's much got and in the close they shall find it so Many a gracious soule many times takes a great deale of gra●e for a little and a little grace for no grace Look as Hypocrites put downe their Counters for gold their pence for pounds and alwayes prize themselves above the Market So sincere souls doe often put downe their pounds for pence their thousands for hundreds and still prize themselves below the Market c. The fourth Proposition is this That Saints must indeavour to grow rich in every Grace 'T is the duty and the glory of Saints to indeavour to grow rich in every grace So the Apostle 2 Pet. 1. 5. to 12. Add to your faith virtue and to virtue knowledge c. It is the work the duty the glory of a Christian to be still adding one grace to another So in Chap. 3. 18. Grow in Grace that is in every grace but more particularly and specially in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Grow in Grace that is grow in love in faith in humility in meeknesse c. but especially in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour because that was a speciall remedy against the errors of those times c. All the graces that be in you are weak and therefore you had need to strengthen them all Againe You have the seeds of all corruptions in you and is there any way to be rid of every sin but by thriving in every grace Againe You have opportunities as well to thrive in one grace as in another Againe Will not Satan labour might and maine to keep your graces low and poore You never hurt him lesse you never honour Christ lesse you never mind your work lesse then when grace is weak and low This he knowes and therefore labours to keepe your graces downe Againe Are not you liable to severall changes in this world As to be rich and poore exalted and abased now to relieve and anon to be relieved now well and anon sick Whilst Pompey p●ospered and Rome flourished Cato stoutly held and defended a Divine providence but when he saw Pompey overthrowne by Caesar his body cast upon the shore without honour of buriall and himselfe exposed to the danger of Caesars Army he changed his opininion denying tha● there was a Divine providence but that all things fell out by chance c. now strong and anon weak now in stormes and anon in calmes now tempted and anon delivered now in one condition and anon in another condition now up now downe now forward now backward c. Now pray tell me doth not the severall cha●ges and variety of providences that we meet with in this world bespeak us to be rich not in some but in every grace Don't a state of prosperity bespeak a man to be rich in wisedome rich in humility rich in love and rich in compassion that his heart may be kept close to God in that state and that he may doe nothing unworthy of God who ha's done so much for him And now when God shall change the manner of his administrations towards such a man when God shall put out his Candle pull off his Robes and cloath him with raggs and set him with Job upon the dunghill don't this condition bespeak much patience much contentation much self-deniall much faith how else will this man bravely bear up when God shall write such bitter things against him and passe the sentence of death upon his nearest and his dearest comforts If a man be not rich in one grace as well as in another when God shall bring changes upon him and poure him from vessel to vessel his life will be a burden a hell unto him c. Againe Consider this growing rich in every grace renders a Christian most lovely and beautifull in grace As a growth in all the members of the body renders the body most lovely and beautifull the perfect beauty and comelinesse of the body rises from the symmetry and fitnesse of the parts unto one another Rare and excellent beauty ariseth from the comelinesse of all parts if one part be comely and another deformed then there is no perfect beauty Well remember this there 's no such beautifull Christians as those that grow rich in every grace Oh! they are the beauty of Christ the honour of the Gospel and the glory of Christianity And so much for the fourth Proposition viz. That we must labour to be rich in every Grace The fifth Proposition that I shall lay downe is this Saints should labour more particularly and more especially to be rich in Faith Though 't is of concernment to believers to be rich in every grace yet it is of speciall concernment to them to labour to be rich in this particular grace of faith In Jude vers 20. Building up your selves in your most holy faith 'T is not enough to have faith but they must build up themselves and build up one another in their most holy faith There are three things that the Scripture calls precious First The Blood of Christ In 1 Pet. 1. 19. Ye are not redeemed with silver and gold but with the Precious Blood of Christ as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot Secondly The Promises are called Precious Promises 2 Pet. 1. 4. Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and Precious Promises Thirdly Faith is called Precious Faith Vers 1. Vnto them that have obtained like Precious Faith with us Now though it be of concernment for every Saint to labour to be rich in every grace yet more especially and more particularly to be rich in this Grace of faith and that upon this account that followes First Because that Faith is the soules greatest and choycest fence against her worst enemies In Ephes 6. 16. Above all take the shield of Faith whereby yee may be able to quench all the firey darts of the wicked Above all take the shield of faith Neglect no part of your Armour but above all look to the shield of Faith Look what the shield is to the body that is Faith to a believers soule to secure him against all the fierce and fiery darts of Satan It is reported of Satan that he should say of a learned man * Tu me semper vincis Thou doest alwayes overcome me When I would exalt and promote thee thou keepest thy selfe in humility and when I would throw thee downe thou liftest thy selfe up in Assurance of faith Faith makes the soule invincible it makes the soule victorious it leads captivity captive it binds Satan in chaines it foiles him at every weapon and therefore above all labour to be rich in faith Secondly Growth in faith will advance the growth of all other Graces All other graces thrive in the soule as faith thrives and no otherwise be rich in