Selected quad for the lemma: virtue_n
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A16547
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An exposition of al the principal Scriptures vsed in our English liturgie together with a reason why the church did chuse the same / by Iohn Boys ...
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Boys, John, 1571-1625.
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1610
(1610)
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STC 3456.7; ESTC S221
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104,165
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134
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Psalme 18. 47. Matth. 22. 39. So that Zacharias here remembring a great benefit begins his Hymne with thanks Benedictus Dominus Hereby signifying that it is our first and chiefe duty to be thankfull to blesse God who doth so wonderfully blesse vs in all the changes and chances of this mortall life to say with Iob The Lord giueth and the Lord taketh blessed be the name of the Lord. God be praised and the Lord be blessed is the language of Canaan whereas vnthankfulnesse is the diuels text and the blasphemies of wicked men are Commentaries vpon it The Lord For as Aristoâ—le said Praise is onely vertues due but none is good except God Other are to be praised in him so faâ—re forth as they haue receiued any gift or good from him onely the Lord worthy to be praised in and for himselfe God of Israel So called in two respects first in regard of his loue towards them as being his peculiar incloser out of the Commons of the wholeworld Deut. 7. 6. Psalme 76. Esay 5. Secondly in regard of their seruice to him hee is God of other will they nill they Psal. 99. 1. The Lord is King be the people neuer so impatient he sitteth betweene the Cherubims be the earth neuer so vnâ—uiet but Israel willingly submitted her selfe to serue him cheerefully with all her heart The Diuell is prince of the world because the wicked of the world be ready to giue place to his suggestions but the Lord is God of Israel that is of all good men because they resist Satan and yeeld to his gouernment desiring daily that his kingdome may come and his will be done in earth as it is in heauen He doth vse this title rather then another in generall to describe the true God and to distinguish him from the gods of the Gentiles who were not gods but 〈…〉 that is Diuels as Euthymâ—â—s obserues In particular this title did best fit his occasion because Christ the redeemer of the world was promised vnto the Iewes Abraham and his seed for euer and therefore blessed be the Lord God of Israel Why First for promising then for performing The promises of God touching the Messias are twofold 1. Made by himselfe to Adam Abraham Isaac vers 72. 73. 2. Made by his seruants As he spake by the mouth of his holy Prophets which haue been since the world began vers 70. He spake The Prophet is but the voice God himselfe is the speaker as Iohn Baptist said I am the voice of him that crieth in the wildernesse By thâ— mouth In the singular number for albeit they were many yet they spake but one thing from one spirit as it were with one mouth Which haue been since the world began For all the Prophets haue foretold of these daies In the transfiguration Moses and Elias are said to talke with Christ signifying hereby saith Origen that the Law and the Prophets and the Gospell agree all in one And therefore Peter was vnwise to make three Tabernacles for one Holy Prophets holy by Place separated froÌ„ the prophane vulgar and consecrated to this high calling Grace for being hallowed and elected to this office they spake by the holy Ghost endued also with gifts of sanctification in so much that Prophets and holie men heretofore were voces conuertibiles as it is obserued out of the old Testament Gen. 20. 7. and new Luk. 7. 16. Ioh. 9. 17. This may teach the Prophets in our time to be walking Sermons Epistles and holy Gospels in all their cariage toward the people Praedicat viua voce qui praedicat vita voce He doth preach most that doth liue best As it is said of Iohn the Baptist Cum miraculum nullum fecerit perpetuum fuit ipse miraculum So a good man doth alway preach though hee neuer comes in pulpit Whereas such a Minister as is no where a Minister but in the Church is like Achitophel who set his house in order and then hanged himselfe The word preached is as Aarons rod if in the Preachers hand it is comely but if he cast it from him it will happily proue a Serpent That which God hath ioyned together let no man put asunder Holinesse and Prophecie O Lord indue thy Ministers with righteousnesse that thy chosen people may be ioyfull As God is mercifull in making so faithfull in keeping his promise for he visited and redeemed his people Visited In the better part for visitation in mercie not in iudgement as Psal. 8. 4. Gen. 21. 1. If Christ did visit vs in our person let vs visit him in his members All of vs are his stewards and the good things he hath lent vs are not our owne but his either the goods of the Church and so wee may not make them Impropriations or else the goods of the Common-wealth and wee may not inclose them He is the best subiect that is highest in the Subsidie booke so he the best Christian that is most forward in subsiaijs in helping his brethren with such gifts as God hath bestowed vpon him The whole world saith S. Iohn lieth in wickednes sicke very sicke vnto death All wickednesse is weaknes euery sinne is a sore Couetousnes an insatiable dropsie Pride a swelling tympanie Lasinesse the Gentlemans gout Christ therefore the great Physition of the world came to visit vs in this extremitie we did not send for him hee came of his owne loue to seeke and saue that which was lost It is a great kindnes for one neighbour to visit another in sicknes but a greater kindnes to watch and pray with the comfortlesse yet the greatest kindnesse of all is to helpe and heale him Euen so and much more then so Christ loued y e world he came not only to see it but to saue it not only to liue among men but also to die for men as to visite so to redeeme The Lord did endure the crosse that the seruant might enioy the crowne the Captaine descended into hell that the souldier might ascend into heauen the Physition did die that the patient might liue Bernard pithily Triplici morbo laborabat genus humanum principio medio fine idest natiuitate vita morte Venit Christus contra triplicem hunc morbum attulit triplex remediuÌ„ Natus est vixit mortuus est eius natiuitas purgauit nostram mors eius destruxit nostram vita eius instruxit nostram As S. Paul in two words He died for our sinnes and rose againe for our iustification that is saith Aquinas he died to remoue from vs all that which was euill and rose againe to giue vs all that which was good All is infolded in the word Redeeme the which as Interpreters obserue generally doth implie that wee are deliuered from the hands of all our enemies and they be principally foure The World Flesh.
nemo suum A man may transgresse this Commandement in being a theefe To himselfe in spending Too much Too little To other Too much Wasting more then he should in gameing diet brauery such are arrant cutpurses vnto themselves Getting lesse then they should Ignaui prodigi sunt fures saith Melancthon As a spend-all so a get-nothing is a theefe to his estate Pouertie comes vpon him as an armed man Prouerbs 24. 34. An idle person is pouerties prisoner if he liue without a calling pouerty hath a calling to arrest him Hee that spends too little on himselfe as the couetous wretch is a robber of himselfe also Corpus extenuat vt lucrum extendat He keepes his belly thin that his purse may be full he cannot afford himselfe so much as an egge lest he should kill a chicke whereas a poore man doth want manie things a rich miser wants euery thing like Tantalus vp to the chin in water and yet thirstie The which as Salomon calles it is an euill sicknesse Eccles. 6. 2. To other Openly which is plaine robbery so little practised or so much punished in King Alfreds raigne that if a man had let fall his purse in the high way he might with great leisure and good assurance haue come backe and taken it vp againe Secretlie which is properlie called stealing And this offence is manifold for there is not onely theft of the hand but of the heart and tongue Couetous greedines is theft in heart for howsoeuer it be a maxime in our law Voluntas non reputabitur pro facto nisi in causa prodâ—tionis sed exitus in maleficijs spectatur non voluntas duntaxat yet it is a breach of this law couetously to desire that which is not ours albeit wee seeke not to get it wrongfully Their hearts saith Peter are exercised in couetousnes and Chrysostom plainly The couetous man is a very theefe fur latro The fathers of the law write that theeues are called felones of our ancieÌ„t word fell or fierce because they commit this sinne with a cruell fell and mischieuous minde teaching vs hereby that a felonious intent is a principall in theeuerie There is also theft of the tongue by lying flatterie smoothing c. So we reade that Absolon stole the hearts of the men of Israel and so false Ziba stole the goods of his master Mephibosheth So flatterers and parasites are great theeues in Court and Countrie not only dominorum suorum arrisores sed etiam arrosores and therefore let a flatterer bee in your Pater noster but not in your Creed pray for him but trust him no more then a theefe Fraudes in buying and selling are reduced to stealing because hee that vseth such deceits secretly taketh of his neighbour more then his due but oppressions and vniust extortions are reduced by Diuines vnto robberie because the cruell tyrant exacteth more then his owne manifestly not to pay debts is reduced vnto both vnto robbery when a man to the great hindrance of his neighbour can and will not vnto stealing when hee partly will and cannot I say will partly for if he desire wholly with all his heart to pay the vtmost farthing God assuredly will accept of votall restitution aswell as of actuall and it is not a sinne though it be a sore The 9. Commandement NExt the prohibition of iniuries in deede follow the wrongs against our neighbour in word Thou shalt not beare false witnesse and that fitly because lying is cosen germane to stealing Da mihi mendacem ego ostendam tibi furem If thou wilt shew mee a liar I will shew thee a theefe This precept condemnes all manner of lying for albeit one is worse then another yet all are naught The mouth that speaketh lies slaieth the soule Wiâ—d 1. 11. And Psal. 5. 6. Thou shalt destroy them that speake leasing See Gospell Dom. 15. post Trinit Beside lies euery thing whereby the credit of our neighbour is impaired especially those three sins of the tongue Contumely Detractation Cursing A contumely is an iniurious word spoken with an iniurious mind to the dishonour of our neighbour I say with an iniurious intent otherwise when it is vttered by way of aduice to direct or correct as a father sometime speaketh to his childe or a master to his scholler or a Pastor to his people as Paul Ye foolish Galathians out of some heat but yet not out of any hate then it is no contumelie or sinne Or in merriment not in malice There is a time to laugh and so by consequence a time to iest when a wittie conceit may profit and administer grace to the hearer He that said the Duke of Guise was the greatest vsurer in France because he turned all his estate into obligations hereby gaue this honest aduice that if he should leaue himselfe nothing but only haue many followers bound to him for his large gifts in conclusion he should finde a number of bad debtors He that called his friend theefe because he had stollen away his loue did not wrong but commend him It is lawfull also to iest at the vanities of irreligious men enemies to God and his Gospell as Elia did at the soppish idolatry of Baals Priests A friend of mine said of an vpstart gallant in Court with a gingling spur that he had a Church on his backe and the bels on his heeles Euery lay Papist must beleeue as the Church beleeues albeit he know not what the Church beleeueth he must also worship the consecrated bread and yet knoweth not whether it be consecrated or no for to the consecration of the host the Priests intention is required which no maÌ„ knowes but God and himselfe So that if a man tell his popish acquaintance that he is a blinde buffe to worship and beleeue he knowes not what it were no contumelie because it did proceed out of zeale to God and loue to him only to rectifie his error and not to vilifie his person The second fault reduced to false witnes is detractation in speaking euill of our neighbour and it is done by reporting that which is false and sometime by telling that which is true but secret whereby the credit of our neighbour is lessened with those to whom his sinne was not knowne before for as a man may flatter in absence namely when either the vertue is absent or the occasion and so the praise is not kinde but forced either in truth or in time so likewise a man may slander his neighbour in speaking the truth vnseasonably without discretion out of time and place A tale tossed from mouth to mouth in creaseth as a snowbal which being little at the first groweth to a great quantitie Now the backbiter is bound in reason and religion to restore the good name of his neighbour which hee by detraction hath taken away and that is exceeding hard for a mans honest