Selected quad for the lemma: virtue_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
virtue_n	brazen_a	look_v	serpent_n	839	5	9.9901	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A03343	CLII lectures vpon Psalme LI preached at Ashby-Delazouch in Leicester-shire / by that late faithfull and worthy minister of Iesus Christ, Mr. Arthur Hildersam.	Hildersam, Arthur, 1563-1632.	1635 (1635)	STC 13463; ESTC S122925	1,242,509	854

yeeld his people helpe this way as he was the other and more willing too 3 If the principall worke he came into the world for was not to cure the bodies of men but to heale their soules 4 If we have his expresse promise for the healing of our soules of all their corruptions which they had not for the curing of their bodily infirmities How commeth it to passe that so many then were cured by him of all their bodily infirmities and we have little or no helpe at all from him for the healing of our soules Surely one of these three things must needs be the cause of it 1. Either we doe not so earnestly desire helpe for our soules this way as they did for their bodies the punishment of our sins we would faine be delivered from but whether we be freed from the power of them or no we are indifferent 2. Or we doe not seeke to Christ for helpe in this case of ours as they did in theirs Pardon of sin and mercy with God and comfort and peace we looke to have through Christ alone but we seeke not to him for grace to sanctifie us and mortifie sin in us nor looke to receive that benefit by him also Or els 3 we seeke not to Christ for helpe this way in that manner as they did that is in faith and full assurance of heart to receive helpe from him in this case But of us it may be said in this case as the Apostle speaketh in an other Iam. 4.2 3. We desire to have grace and cannot obtaine we fight and warre against our lusts and yet have not victory over them because we aske not we seeke not to Christ we aske and receive not because we aske amisse that is we aske not in faith in confidence and assurance to obtaine it of God through Christ. Let us therefore stirre up our selves to take hold of Christ and these promises and confidently expect the performance of them to our selves in our owne particular cases and so by faith draw vertue from Christ to drie up all the filthy issues that are in our foules As the Israelites looking on the brasen serpent in faith healed them Num. 21.8 9. So let thine eyes be upon Christ with expectation dependance upon him as Iehoshaphat speaketh 2 Chron. 20.12 in another case for helpe and vertue will be derived from him to cure thee All things saith our Saviour Mat. 21.22 whatsoever ye shall aske in prayer beleeving having his promise for them as in this case we have ye shall receive And if thou canst beleeve saith he thou maist have helpe against that spirit that hath possessed thy son from his very childhood though my Disciples could not cast him out Mar. 9.23 all things are possible to him that beleeveth Certainely it were possible enough for any of us to get power over our strongest corruptions and to attaine to a farre greater measure of mortification then we are yet come unto if we would imploy our faith in this worke if we would make claime to these promises and rest upon them and confidently expect strength and helpe from God through Christ against them Say not any of you alas I am so sinfull and unworthy a wretch that I dare not presume to beleeve and be so confident that Christ will helpe me For First Thy unworthinesse will not barre thee from receiving helpe from Christ. In all the cures he did upon men he had no respect at all to the worthinesse of the persons Mat. 8.16 He healed all that were sicke without all respect of persons He selleth not his grace but giveth it freely Esa. 55.1 Every one that thirsteth come ye to the waters and he that hath no money Secondly The more unworthy thou feelest thy selfe to be the more fit thou art to receive helpe from him For God giveth grace to the humble Iam. 4.6 And among all that received helpe from Christ those had the strongest faith and did most confidently expect helpe from him that had in themselves the deepest sense of their owne unworthinesse as is evident in the example of the Centurion Luke 7.7 8. and of the woman that had the bloudy issue Mar. 5.27 33 34. and the woman of Canaan Mat. 15.27 28. Neither say secondly Alas I cannot beleeve I go to Christ I pray against my hardnesse of heart and against my frowardnesse and against my blasphemous thoughts c. but I cannot pray in faith nor certainly beleeve that God will give me helpe against them For First Do as the poore man did that went to Christ to have his sonne dispossessed Mar. 9 24. mourne and weepe for thy unbeleefe that thou canst not give credit unto God Secondly Do againe as he did pray heartily to God to helpe thy unbeleefe Mar. 9 24. Thirdly Then know assuredly thou hast a true faith though a weake one and that this weake one will be sufficient to procure helpe to thee from him as it did for that poore man Mar. 9.25 Thirdly and lastly Say not this is contrary to mine owne experience and to the experience of all the godly who though they have had true faith yet they could never obtaine power from Christ to vanquish their lusts I have in my prayers against my corruptions called to mind these promises you have spoken of and made claime to them and am never the nearer Yea Paul though he had so much faith yet complaineth Rom. 7.23 that the law of his members did bring him still into captivity to the law of sinne The faithfull do indeed receive from Christ their justification in this life fully and perfectly but as for their sanctification it is but litle that many of them do receive as appeareth by the strong corruptions that may be discerned even in the most of them To this I answer First Christ doth not utterly destroy sinne in any beleever so long as he liveth here For he seeth that would not be good for us in many respects as we heard in the handling of the Doctrine Secondly He doth give to some of his servants a greater measure of sanctification and power to overcome their corruptions then he doth unto other Ephes. 4.7 To every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Thirdly Every beleever is in some measure sanctified by Christ and his corruption hath received from him a deadly blow that it shall never reigne more he hath so much strength given him as he shall never be quite overcome nor brought under the dominion of sinne any more but shall be made able to maintaine warre against it For Christ hath made us all Kings and Priests unto God Rev. 1.6 And Rom. 6. ●4 Sinne shall not have dominion over you for ye are not under the law but under grace Fourthly Proportionable to the measure of our faith shall our sanctification be and our strength to overcome our corruptions And

neglect any one of the rites and ceremonies of it Yea the Lord had said Numb 9.13 that he that observed not the just time that God had set for it should bee cut off from his people So dangerous a thing it is to swerve from the direction God hath given us in his Word even in the least circumstance of his worship The reasons and grounds of this Doctrine are principally two First The respect wee owe to the commandement and ordinance of God The least thing in Gods worship that hee hath appointed must not bee neglected even because hee hath ordained it Circumcision is nothing saith the Apostle 1 Cor. 7.19 and uncircumcision is nothing but the keeping of the commandements of God Though wee could see no other reason for them at all nor had any hope to receive good by them yet this is sufficient reason to move us to observe them because God in his Word hath given us direction so to doe In observing of them wee doe our homage to God and shew our obedience unto him This reason prevailed with our blessed Saviour 1. Hee received the Sacrament of circumcision in his infancy Luke 2.21 and afterward the Sacrament of baptisme too Luke 3.21 2. He submitted himselfe to the law of purification Luke 2 2● 3. He received the Sacrament of the passeover Luke 22.15 4. He frequented the Church assemblies constantly upon the Sabbath Luke 4.16 and all upon this ground that these were Gods ordinances and hee must shew his obedience to God in all things Thus it becommeth us saith hee to Iohn Matth. 2.15 to fullfill all righteousnesse There were other purifications that were in use in that Church and much stood upon in those daies which hee made no such reckoning of though in themselves a man would have thought they had beene every whit as good as these that hee made conscience of upon this ground that they were not of Gods ordaining they were but the precepts of men Mat. 15.9 Secondly These things are ordained of God and enjoined us to observe for our owne good Keepe the commandements of the Lord and his statutes saith Moses Deut. 10.13 which I command thee this day for thy good That which is said of the Sabbath Marke 2.27 The Sabbath was made for man for mans great benefit and helpe hee could not have beene without it the same may bee said of every thing in Gods worship that hee hath ordained hee hath ordained it for our good even to further and increase the worke of his grace in our hearts And wee may confidently expect a blessing from God in observing the least thing that hee hath appointed us to use in his worship that God will give it vertue and make it effectuall to doe our soules good if wee use it aright See in three examples what vertue and force there was even in very small things that were of Gods ordaining 1. Numb 21.9 The very looking up to the brasen serpent cured all that were stung with fiery serpents 2 Iosh. 6.20 At the blowing of the trumpets of rammes hornes and shouting of the people the walls of Iericho fell downe flat to the ground 3. 2 Kings 5.14 By dipping himselfe seven times in Iordan Naaman was perfectly cured of his Leprosy See what force there was in small things that are of Gods ordaining and how undoubted a truth that is which the Apostle saith 1 Cor. 1.25 The weakenesse of God is stronger then man The ceremonies and religious observations that are of mens devising as crucifixes to pray before crossing of our selves observing of popish fasts and superstitious holydayes sprinkling with popish holy water and such like though they carry great shew of helping us in devotion yet of them all it may bee said as our Saviour said of the Iewish purifyings Matth. 15.9 they are a vaine worship there is no force nor vertue in them to further the soule one jot in true piety and devotion Yea those very things that were once Gods owne ordinances as these washings and sprinkling with hysope that David alludeth to here and such like when they grew out of date and ceased any longer to bee commanded of God even they then lost that vertue and strength that once they had and became weake and beggerly elements as the Apostle calleth them Gal. 4.9 The uses that this Doctrine serveth unto are two principally 1. For instruction 2. For exhortation For the first Two things we are to learne from this Doctrine First That wee are bound to follow the direction that God hath either by precept or example given us in his Word even in the least circumstance of his worship wee may not say that in matters of substance wee must follow precisely the direction but in matters of circumstance wee are not bound so to doe The direction that God hath given us in his Word for the least thing that is to bee done in any part of his worship may not bee neglected without great sinne and danger Admit it were but a matter of circumstance what day wee keepe our Sabbath on so we keepe one in seven as some have conceited it to bee yet because God hath given us expresse direction in his Word by the example and practise of the Apostle and of those Churches that were planted by him Acts 20.7 1 Corinthians 16.2 to keepe it on the first day of the weeke the Church may never keepe it on any other day then that See thou make all things saith the Lord to Moses as you shall find it Hebrewes 8.5 according to the patterne shewed unto thee in the mount The written Word is unto us in stead of that patterne that was shewed unto Moses in the mount In every thing wee doe about Gods tabernacle and worship wee must precisely looke unto and follow that patterne observe what hee commands Secondly This teacheth us how to judge of that imputation that is put upon many of Gods faithfull servants and that maketh them as odious in the world as any other thing doth that they are held to bee more precise then wise that they are too strict and singular in matters of small moment And surely such as are indeed more precise and singular then they ought to hee doe justly deserve to bee blamed for it And I will tell you who they bee that are so 1. Such as are strict and zealously superstitious in the observing of their owne fancies and the customes and traditions of men Such a one was Paul before his conversion exceedingly zealous of the traditions of his fathers as hee saith Galathians 1.14 Such were the Iewes that pressed with great heate and contention both Christs Disciples Marke 7 2 3. and Iohns Iohn 3.25 to observe their purifyings 2. Such as seeme to bee very precise in smaller things as in matters of ceremony and some outward observations which indeed God requireth them to make conscience of but make no conscience of the weightier points of Gods law This precisenesse our