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
A61386	An antidote against distractions, or, An indeavour to serve the church, in the daily case of wandrings in the worship of God by Richard Steele M.A. and minister of the Gospel.	Steele, Richard, 1629-1692.	1667 (1667)	Wing S5382; ESTC R8661	121,210	256

If thou wouldst believe that every word spoken by thee or to thee is written with what care and conscience wouldst thou pray and hear And be sure there is one among you that takes notes of all who will give to every man according to his works whom to see and feel in an Ordinance will quit you from Distractions SECT V. V. LAY a Law upon your senses Beg of God to sanctifie them as they are all Pensioners to Satan by nature and complo●ment so bring them all into Covenant with God that ye may be sanctified in soul and body and spirit Give them to him use them for him Is is said Prov. 17.24 The fools eyes are in the ends of the Earth Any new face that comes in any antick garb any noise about every head that moves every leaf that stirs commands the eyes and heart of a fool but that while Prov. 4.25 Let thy eyes look straight on and let thine eye-lids look straight before thee Compose thy eyes in that devout and heavenly posture that whatever falls out thou mayest hoc agere keep to thy business without wavering For the heart is used to walk after the eye Job 31.7 To the undoing of the soul. It is a precept among the Rabbins that if a Jew be at prayer though a Serpent come and bite him yet he must not stir till he hath done his duty Satan that old Serpent will be nibling at thy heel with one vain suggestion or other but go thou through with thy business and let God alone with him In Prayer then fix thy eyes Heaven-ward and let nothing divert them till the prayer be done This will shew that thou wouldst lift thy heart thither if thou couldst and will prevent many an impertinent distraction that comes in by the eye If any deride thee for this doubt thou not of good company Psal. 123.1 Unto thee do I lift up my eyes O thou that dwellest in the Heavens Let your ears be as good as stopt to every thing besides your work And the lifting up your craving hands will not be unprofitable to this end for you will find them to flagg when the heart knocks off from its business whereby you may be advertised to come in again Lam. 3.41 Let us lift up our hearts WITH OUR HANDS unto God in the Heavens And let your prayers be vocal if it may be for the voice both helps to fix the thoughts and raise the affections the want whereof we discern in meditation In hearing of God's Word let the eye be chained to the Preacher with the greatest attention and reverence as if you saw an Angel in the Pulpit or Christ himself And beware lest your needless complements to men be interpreted a neglect to God 'T is small manners to be complementing the Kings Servants in his Presence chamber till you have done your homage to the King Do your work with God 't is time enough to perform your civilities to men when that is done Look then to God from him is thy expectation with him is thy business Luk. 4.20 The eyes of all them that were in the Synagogue● were FASTENED on him And therein also let your ears be only open Heaven-ward Lord to deal with thee I am come and thou shalt have all my soul and body and all And here I cannot but digress a little but it is to cure a more criminal digression which is that frequent Abuse of Whispering and talking to one another in the service of God which except it be upon such instant indispensable business as cannot be ordered before or after the Ordinance is a sin in an high degree and that 1. Because it brings a guilt and distraction upon two at once If a vain thought there be so evil as you have heard how criminal then is this that involves you both yea perhaps occasions a distraction to twenty more that observe you And the guilt of all their vain thoughts on that occasion will be charged on your account according to the equity of that Law Exod. 21.23 2. Because this hath more of Affront in it Thy heart testifies to God's face that thou dost despise his presence Who but an impudent Renegade would while the King is laying down terms of mercy and honour to him be talking and laughing with his companions at some uncouth Courtier that comes in and who but an implicit Atheist shall be whispering with his neighbour about any thing while the King of Heaven and Earth is treating with him about Eternity You hold it no piece of good manners while any man is speaking to you especially if he be your superiour to neglect him so far as to turn from him to discourse another nay if the most necessary business call you away you apologize for your diversion and crave pardon And shall you dare while your Maker is in conference with you to confront him with an open parle with others This is an high affront if you consider it well 3. This hath more offence in it An offence to the Preacher that hath taken much pains to prepare that which you will not take pains to hear or else imply it is not worth the hearing An offence to the Congregation that sees it who must needs if they fear God● be troubled at so publick a fault An offence to the Angels that while they stoop down to look into the mysteries opened in the Church see you sleight them so notoriously An offence to your own souls that perhaps in that moment miss of what would most have done them good O therefore Christian Reader mourn for thy misbehaviour this way and amend it for time to come lest God refuse to treat with thee that triflest thus in thy treating with him Remember it 's work enough for a poor man to converse with a great God He needs no other business to fill his hands And then in Meditation you must also compose your senses There shut your eye and ear and sequester your self wholly to the contemplation of things invisible The least sight or sound will here distract Any thing yea nothing will throw us off the hinges in this duty indeed it is said of Isaac Gen. 24.63 That he went forth in the field in the evening-●ide to meditate And in that kind of meditation where the rise and subject matter is sensible there the senses must be active and busie but I think in other cases the outward senses may stand aside and let the soul alone without them we are never more sensible than when we use no outward sense at all And lastly in communicating at the Lord's-table there fix both your eyes on the sacred elements until the eye have affected the heart to feel what Christ felt to die in his death and looking on him whom you have pierced you mourn for him with a superlative sorrow And then look at those sacred signs with an eye of Faith till virtue come from that brazen Serpent to cure your sin-stung

soul. Look yet again till thy heart be inflamed with love to him till he cry in Heaven Cant. 4.9 Thou hast ravished my heart my Sister my Love thou hast ravished my heart with one of thy eyes with one chain about thy neck He that spends his eye there to observe his neighbours to criticize upon their gestures hath little to do and less to get in that sacred Ordinance And then lay a Law upon thine ear and tast and touch for most of the senses are gratified and useful in this Ordinance that nothing may interrupt thy communion with Jesus Christ at that time For there the utmost strength of body and soul are scarce enough to gain and feel and do what is there to be gain'd and felt and done And in general be not treacherous to your selves Satan without you can do no great matters within you your senses you can command your hearts not so well Be faithful in what ye can else if you could order your very hearts you would not He that will not do what he can would much less do what he cannot SECT VI. VI. THE sixth Cure of these Distractions is a watchful reflection of the soul upon its self and ejaculation unto God It is said Eccles. 10.2 A wise mans heart is at his right hand but a fools heart is at his left Is not this the meaning of it That a wise good man hath his heart ready can speedily serve him instantly recoil upon himself but a wicked foolish man his heart is aukward and unskilful a left-hand-heart unweildy and unready for any good work O get then a dextrousness of heart to bolt in● and break the sinful knot of your vain imaginations That a distraction may not set so long on the heart that it hatch and breed yet more of the kind and so swallow you up in condemnation It is said Gen. 15.11 When the Fowls light Abraham drove them away not when they were sitting or feeding upon the carkasses but as soon as ever they lighted we must not give place to these for a moment Mr. Dod adviseth us to ask our selves often these two questions 1. What I am 2. What I am doing We are well if we can well answer these two questions If thou canst answer I am a Child of God and I am doing God's Will it will stand thee in more stead than if thou couldst answer all the questions in Aquinas We read Nehem. 4.17 That in the building of God's house every one with one of his hands wrought in the work and with the other hand held a weapon Work and watch work and fight was the guise of them And he that will edifie in God's house yet must do the same hear and watch and watch and pray and fight and struggle and pray still This Hill we climb inch by inch One may tumble into Hell but the strait gate must be striven at Let conscience then perform it's part and speedily glance into the heart with all fidelity Abraham's Fowls came without sending for and yet would not go away without driving You cannot hinder a Thief from coming by the house but you may from quartering with you at least with any quiet and approbation And it is good to cast off these wandring thoughts with an Ejaculation to God else the destruction of one will prove the generation of another When Satan casts in his injaculations lift you up your ejaculations This will ingage divine strength and work God your friend Do as they Act. 19.34 When they thought Alexander would speak evil of Diana they cryed Great is Diana of the Ephesians So when these are injected then breath forth into some heavenly ejaculations so will you cross the tempter and in stead of losing gain Send up thy prayer in a Parenthesis like that Psal. 119.37 Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity and quicken me in thy way Forsake me not O God me strength And take not thy Holy Spirit from me Awake O North-wind and come thou South blow upon my Garden These darting desires sent up with faith will weaken the habits of corruption and affright Satan from his suggestions This resisting the Devil will make him flee from you As the golden spikes were set on the Temple to keep the Fowls from thence so will these being conscionably used keep off vain thoughts from lodging upon your sacrifices Up therefore and stir up thy self by this means to save thy sacrifice from being devoured and thy soul polluted Alas we are daily told and we feel it that the heart is deceitful above all things if a wary eye be not kept over it you will find it sometimes in the bed of lust sometimes on the pinacle of honour and often diging in the world and yet salve up all with an I thank God I am not as other hearts are If ever you be rid of less guests you must do as good Barnabas advised them with full purpose of heart to cleave unto the Lord Act. 11.23 There must be heart purpose of heart full purpose of heart and then you will cleave unto the Lord. Obj. But I am suddenly slipt from God before I am aware and when I see it and resolve anew yet ere five sentences be past I am gone again Answ. This shews the sad corruption of our nature and should therefore humble us And this argues also the contracted ill disposition of the soul when a disease hath such recidivations and returns it speaks that it is too much radicated yet in this case you must not give out nor throw down your watch you must not compound with sin because it 's hard to sue out an ejectione firmâ no peace must be made with Amalek for ever If the Devil and your unregenerate part be unwearied in their assault against you you must be unwearied in your resistance and die se defendendo And you will find as use and custom hath strengthened these temptations so an use of reflection and strenuous opposition will at length weaken and at last extinguish them SECT VII VII THE last and great cure of distractions is strength of grace As no props without will keep the ship steady except there be store of ballast within so no extrinsick helps will stablish your hearts against these wandrings without grace yea strong grace within Heb. 13.19 It is a good thing that the heart be established with grace For 1. The more sanctifying grace you have the more mortified will your heart be unto the world and the flesh the great disturbers of divine service The fairest Landskip shewed to a dead man moves him not at all A heart dead to the world is not removed from God with every trifle of the world 2 Cor. 4.18 While we look not at all things that are seen but at things that are not seen Things visible are not worth looking at especially when things invisible are in place What 's a temporal house or land or children