Selected quad for the lemma: virtue_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
virtue_n	bless_v	lord_n	praise_n	878	5	10.0196	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A35302	A dayly exercise of the devout Christian Containing several most pithy practices of piety; in order to live holily and dye happily. Published by T.V. Monk, of the holy order of St. Benedict.; Dayly exercise of the devout Rosarists.	T. V. (Thomas Vincent), 1604-1681.; A. C. (Arthur Crowther), 1588-1666. aut	1673 (1673)	Wing C7409B; ESTC R216327	226,320	582

your Soul to what you intend you may add these affective Considerations 1. If my sweet Saviour were now personally present and asked what I should do in such a case what Counsel would he give me I will attentively listen to his words cordially answer his Inspirations and effectually follow his Directions 2. If some dear friend should demand my advice in this matter What would I answer him My soul shall relish now the same Food which it would then chew for another 3. Why was I Created and Redeemed Call'd to Gods faith and service Why have I time still lent me I will be an Impartial Judg Condemn Punish Resolve Amen 4. What doth most trouble and hinder my holy Design This inordinate affection this creature this pleasure this thing which withholds me from my God Is it better than he is More worthy to be loved More beneficial to me Shall my soul be ever satisfi'd or quieted with it At the hour of my death will it plead for me or protect me from my Creators wrath and judgment Is it capable to make me now Holy or eternally Happy If not what a strange Blindness and Madness is it for me to leave God and adhere to it Resolve accordingly General Rules to be observed in all Prayer In all your practises of Prayer and duties of Devotion Let these generall Rules be carefully and constantly observed 1. BEgin your Prayers with quietness and liberty of Spirit that is endeavour to have your heart disinteressed from all business and all creatures Thinking whither you go and what to do 2. Be sure to bring with you to Prayer either in Book or Mind these two things 1. The points or at least the ground work of your Prayer or Meditation 2. What you intend to obtain this Prayer 3. In the progress of your Prayer be carefull to avoid these two Extremities 1. An indiscreet tying and bending your Brain and Mind to Attention 2. A negligent giving of liberty to wandring imaginations 4. If you find your Heart troubled confounded or dispersed Reduce it sweetly and encourage it to talk with its only Lord and Love about the important affairs of Eternity Thus quietly checking your self and recalling your imagination Where are we What do we Whom seek we God Angels Saints are present and am I not present to my self 5. When your darknrss dryness dulness temptations or distractions will permit you to do as it were nothing in Prayer You are not therefore to be dismay'd or desist from keeping on in your course at set and ordinary seasons But call to mind these three points with faithful diligence resignation and indifferency First what was your intention in now coming to your Prayers and fall presently to the practise thereof Secondly assure your self That to suffer for God being absent and to enjoy him being present are of equal Perfection And one of these you may always do by-being to either of them indifferent Thirdly That you came to your Prayers for two ends 1. To Adore your divine Maker To cast your self at his feet To be disposed of at his pleasure To know his holy Will To receive his sacred Commands 2. To lay open to him your Wants To discover to him your Wounds To present to him your Petitions to seek relief receive redress beg an Alms. Now the first of these Ends which is Noblest and Purest is always in your own power to perform and therefore That alone gives a sufficient value and merit to your Devotions A Direction of our intention at the beginning of our Devotions OPen my mouth O my Lord and Maker to bless and praise thy divine Majesty Cleanse my heart from all curious noxious and distractive thoughts Enlighten my understanding recollect my memory inflame my will purifie my intention settle my attention excite my devotion elevate my affection curb and compose all my interiour and exteriour senses That I may worthily reverently and religiously perform this Morning Evening Sacrifice of Prayer and that in union and vertue of those most pure and perfect Prayers and Praises which thou O Jesu my Redeemer living upon Earth offeredst up to thy Eternal Father Mine may be now acceptable in thy fight profitable to the Living and Dead and Honourable to thee and thy Saints At the end of our Devotions REceive O merciful Creator this my Morning Evening Sacrifice which I have offered up and intended to the Glory of thy Name the Honour of thy Saints the Good of my own Soul the Reduction of all sinners and the benefit of all the faithfull living and departed Accept O pious Father my poor endeavours Pardon O merciful Redeemer all my Defects and Negligences Give me O good Holy Ghost efficacious Grace to put in due practise my now made purposes and resolutions Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost For the benefits of my Creation Redemption Sanctification As it was in the beginning when the Morning Stars praised thee Is now in the Church Militant And shall be world without end in the Church Triumphant Amen ¶ III. Practical Exercises dilated with Acts Affections and Elevations upon the chief Christian Virtues The First Exercise Of Virtue in General Divided into seven Points 1. A generous Resolution to practise all Virtues BEhold O sacred and undivided Trinity Father Son and Holy Ghost an unworthy wretched weak and wounded Soul groaning under the burden of her own abyssal misery terrified with the consideration of thy inscrutable judgments confounded at the memory of her former sin sensuality disloyalty and ingratitude all covered with shame and encompassed with sorrow humbly prostrates her self before the Throne of thy dread Majesty and presents her petition to thy infinite Mercy Thou hast been pleased O benign and bountiful Lord and Lover whose mercy is above all thy wonderful works to expect her hitherto most patiently How long shall I suffer you Thou hast most piercingly enticed her Why will you perish As I live I desire not the death of a sinner Thou hast most piously invited her Come to me all you that labour and are loaden and I will receive you release you relieve you revive you Thou hast efficaciously touch'd and terrifi'd her with thy threats Sin no more lest a worse thing befall thee Thou hast powerfully drawn her with thy promises No eye hath seen nor ear heard nor heart conceived what I have prepar'd for them that love me Thou hast confirm'd her in a lively Confidence of thy goodness It is I fear nothing And finally Thou O my all merciful Lord God! hast put Contrition into my heart Confession into my mouth Satisfaction into my hands and unfeigned Resolutions of a total reformation into my whol man This is the change of thy right hand O powerful Creator the great and glorious gift of thy grace and the effect of thy only goodness and to thee therefore alone be ascribed all honour and praise for evermore My now unfetter'd Soul aims at a higher

penitential actions mor ifications and austerities both voluntary and obligatory opens Heaven-gates unto us Prayers appease the divine Anger and Tears extinguish the Fires and Flames which are prepared by Gods Justice to punish us for our offences Now the most efficacious Prayers are these 1. The Sacrifice of the Mass 2. The Sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist 3. The continual practise of Acts of Contrition which serv'd the pious Magdalen for her Purgatory at the feet of Jesus The Second is To embrace all the Afflictions Crosses Calamities Sicknesses and Losses of this life as so many purging Fires Thus the patient Job endur'd his Purgatory upon his Dunghil and in the Fire of fervent Charity and faithful Resignation which made him break forth into these expressions amidst all his sufferings Our Lords Name be ever blessed As he pleases so all things come to pass The Third is To practise heroick Acts of Virtue as generously to pardon your enemies nobly to oblige them who have disobliged you couragiosly to conquer that Passion which hath most power in your Soul For the pains you take and the violence you use upon these occasions will much contribute to the Satisfaction for your Sins and serve you instead of your deserved Purgatory The Fourth is To perform such Works of Restitution Charity and Piety in your own person and during your life-time as you desire should be done at the hour of your Death For by clearing your own Accounts settling peace in your own Soul and executing your own Testament you will be exempt from the fear of suffering a severe Purgatory through your Executors negligence The Fifth is When you have perform'd all things as your zeal to satisfie Gods Justice hath suggested unto you To have an humble sense of the no-worth and value of all your own actions and endeavours and thereupon To address your self to the undrainable treasury of your Saviours merits hoping to draw thence sufficient Water for the washing away of all your offences These are the Five voluntary Purgatories of this World by which if you here satisfie for your Sins you may hope to avoid hereafter the necessary Purgatory due to them in the next World ¶ 13. An Appendix containing several devout and efficacious Prayers proper for the frequent use of all pious Christians 1. A Prayer to our Lord Jesus wherein we humbly acknowledg him for our Soveraign and promise him faithful obedience for the future O Jesu King of Kings to whom all power is given in heaven and earth as a most just reward for thy most perfect Obedience Thy Empire is out of the reach of rebellion it dreads no dangers and is free from the vicissitudes of Fortune Thou wantest neither spies abroad nor policies at home to secure thy Throne neither warlike guards nor worldly greatnesses to procure thy respect and encrease thy honour since whatsoever is requisite to be the Soveraign King of Kings and the immortal and incomprehensible Monarch of Heaven and Earth is in the riches of thy own divine Being and thy own Nature necessarily involves a boundless Jurisdiction Wherefore O Jesu my Saviour behold here prostrate before thee one of thy meanest subjects offering to thy sacred Majesty as to his soveraign King an humble and most respectful Homage I come Lord to renew that solemn Oath of fidelity which I took formerly in Baptism and to present thee the Key of my Heart hoping thou wilt vouchsafe to enter in take full possession and make there thy constant habitation Thou O all-powerful King canst soon make it fit for thy own entertainment having in this point as in all others an advantage over earthly Princes to raise men from their dunghils and render them worthy of their dignities Thou O great Monarch chusing Saul for the King of thy people changedst also his spirit calling David from the sheep-fold madst him a man according to thy own Heart drawing the Apostles from their Fishing-employments rendredst them fit Preachers of thy Gospel Why then shall not I with an humble boldness beg thy entrance into my poor Heart since I well know it will at the same instant become a mansion worthy thy Royal Majesty I am not fully satisfied O my Soveraign King in being thy faithful subject I desire to be thy Bondslave and Vassal I will therefore no longer pretend to the least power over my self but all my future labours and endeavours shall be to acquire riches for thy Royal Majesty Yes my will is that every child of mine to wit all my works words and thoughts shall be henceforth born in the same Bondage of thy Love O my Soul what higher honour can we have than to live in a such Slavery O my Saviour sweet is thy yoak light thy burthen easie thy precepts favourable thy fetters pleasing thy authority prudent thy proceedings paternal thy providence to them who faithfully adhere to thee O how loving and liberal a Lord art thou to such loyal subjects Unhappy they who are none of this holy number and ever magnified be thy Mercy which hath drawn my soul out of my enemies clutches to enrol her thy Captive Behold O my blessed Redeemer I acknowledg my self with much comfort and content to appertain particularly to thee in quality of an absolute Bonds man by this thy new right of purchase but yet O my dread Lord and Master I know not how to render thee a Bond-slave's duty and therefore beg of thy goodness to teach me this great secret and take from me that unfortunate liberty which enables me to rebel against thy Royal will and pleasure Ah! my Lord If thou leavest this my liberty to it 's own nature I shall soon leave off all Obedience to thy laws I shall quickly alas trample upon thy Crown sleight thy Scepter and use against thy self all the goods thy bounty hath given me My Understanding will censure thy Mysteries my Memory will forget thy mercies my Fancy will feed upon filthy Images my Will will love what thou loathest my unruly Passions uncurb'd Senses brutish Appetites will all bandy against thy blessed Grace and my own Reason Finally I shall glory in being thy enemy and say Who is the Lord Take from me therefore I beseech thee O Jesu the root of this dreadful rebellion command and compel my stiff neck and stubborn nature to submit to the blessed yoak of thy law and force me to be happy O most pleasing constraint which renders me a copartner with thy self in thy Royalty For thou O great and gracious King Jesu art nothing jealous of thy Soveraignty but thou most liberally communicatest it to thy beloved Subjects designing them to be all Kings in thy endless Eternity And is it possible O my Soul that thou so easily quittest so sublime a Dignity Wilt thou be so silly as to fall in love with thine own shackles that is with thy filthy sins of Ambition Avarice Revenge and Sensuality Ah! art thou not utterly confounded at thine own