Selected quad for the lemma: virtue_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
virtue_n	charity_n	patience_n	temperance_n	2,284	5	11.1077	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A47510	Advice to children by James Kirkwood ...	Kirkwood, James, 1650?-1709.	1693 (1693)	Wing K642; ESTC R15399	58,993	166

have to do a work that requires a great part of your time and worthy of all your time How hard is it to work out your Salvation to make your Calling and Election sure to strive to enter in at the strait Gate to be born again to be made new Creatures to be renewed in the Spirit of your mind to put off the works of darkness and to put on the armour of light to add to your faith virtue and to virtue knowledge and to knowledge temperance and to temperance patience and to patience godliness and to godliness brotherly kindness and to brotherly kindness charity To have the image of God renewed in your Souls to be made partakers of the Divine Nature to escape the corruptions which are in the World through lust to be conformed to the Example of your Blessed Lord and Master in those Virtues wherein you ought to imitate him to learn of him who was meek and lowly to go about as he did doing good to the Souls and Bodies of Men to be zealous for God and holy as he who called you is holy in all manner of Conversation How great a work is it to overcome your selves To become vile and base in your own eyes to think meanly of your selves and to be willing that others should think so of you too to be content with every state and condition of life wherein God does by his Providence place you to bear wrongs and injuries with meekness and patience not to be overcome with evil but to overcome evil with good to mortifie your sinful desires and sensual appetites to crucifie the flesh with the affections and lusts to purifie your selves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit to cleanse your Hearts from all manner of wickedness that they may be fit Temples for the Spirit of God to dwell in to govern your eyes that you may not thereby betray your Souls into the hands of your Enemies to govern your Lips to take heed to your ways that you offend not with your Tongue to put away from you all lying flattery and dissimulation all evil speaking whispering and backbiting all foolish talking and jesting which are not convenient to be sober and temperate in all things to be just and sincere in all your dealings doing to others what you would have them do to you How great a work is it to overcome the World to despise its Pomps and Vanities not to be allured and charmed by its smiles nor yet frighted and cast down by its frowns not to suffer your selves to be possessed with the love of Riches to entertain just and fit opinions of the things of this World to consider them as vain uncertain and unsatisfactory enjoyments which are not capable to make you happy which are only so far to be desired as they are necessary in order to your accommodation and more easie subsistence in the World How hard is it to overcome the temptations of earthly pleasure and outward delights and not to suffer your minds to be too far transported by the love of them but to use even the most innocent pleasures with great moderation lest they lead the Soul Captive and render it unfit for the true pleasures How hard is it to live in the World as Pilgrims and Strangers ought to do to pass through this Wilderness without much regarding it but fixing your eyes on the happy Land the heavenly Canaan which you ought to look on as your only Country How hard is it to escape the danger of the evil Manners and Customs which are in the World The many temptations which you have to vanity and folly to pride and passion to gluttony and drunkenness to luxury and sensuality and to other Vices by the bad Examples of your Friends Neighbours and other Acquaintances How great and difficult a work is it to resist the Devil to quench his fiery darts to reject his suggestions to discover his wiles and stratagems to watch against all his assaults and vigorously to oppose his temptations that you may overcome him and triumph over him Now this is the work you have to do For we wrestle not saith the Apostle Eph. 6.12 against flesh and blood but against principalities against powers against the rulers of the darkness of this world against spiritual wickedness in high places How hard and dangerous a Warfare must it needs be that makes it necessary for you to take the whole Armour of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand How hard a work is it to read and hear and meditate to examine your selves to pray to God and to praise him to partake of the holy Sacrament and to perform all other Acts of Devotion and Piety as you ought to do How great a work is it to love God above all things to love him with all your Soul and Heart and with all your strength and might and to keep your selves in the Love of God that it may be in you a powerful Spring and Principle unto all good actions that you may be thereby sweetly constrained to do and to suffer whatever is his holy Will and Pleasure Is it not a great work to perform aright all those Duties which you are bound to do in your several relations and capacities To instruct to admonish to reprove and to comfort others and to do every thing you can for the good of Mens Souls and Bodies Let no Man saith the Apostle 1 Cor. 10.24 seek his own but every Man anothers wealth And Chap. 13.5 Charity seeketh not its own that is not only its own it seeketh not its own to the prejudice of another but it endeavours to promote the happiness and welfare of others The charitable Person hath an eye to the good and benefit of other Men as well as his own gain and advantage And besides all this you ought to ●ave so much Zeal for the Glory of God and the good of Souls as to endeavour to do somewhat which may ●ave a lasting effect and influence not only in the present time but in the time to come You ought to contrive by all means to propagate Religion to do somewhat which may bear fruit for the honour of your Maker and Redeemer when you are laid in the Grave From all which you may see what a great and difficult work you have to do in the World and how great need you have to redeem time and to lose as little of it as is possible How necessary is it for you to begin your work betimes and to be constant in the pursuit of it In the Morning to sow your Seed and in the Evening not to withhold your hand What a madness is it to have your work to begin when your time is almost at an end when there are but a few sands in your Glass You who have so long a Race to run and so much bad Way to pass through and who are so weak and have so

occasions of doing good that you may fortifie others in Virtue and Piety that you may rescue those that are carried down the stream by bad Example and may build up your selves in Holiness and that you may be made strong in the Lord and in the Power of his Might Or Because the days are evil may relate to the danger you are in through the fury and malice of your Enemies who are ready to do you all the mischief that is in their power the sense whereof should make you improve all occasions of doing good not knowing how soon you may be deprived of your present happy opportunities and seasons for working The design of this Discourse is to shew you 1st How you are to redeem your Time And 2dly To propose some Considerations to excite you to do so How Time is to be redeemed 1. Time to be redeemed from sleep First YOu are to redeem your Time from excessive and immoderate sleep It is necessary for all Men to refresh their Bodies with sleep and rest and the state of some Mens Bodies requires a great deal more than others so that no exact Rules can be given about the proportion of sleep that 's proper for every one Only in general it is fit that all Persons redeem as much time from sleeping as the health of their Bodies can permit that so they may employ part of that time to some good and useful purpose which they were wont to waste in the shadow of Death as it were whereof sleep is the picture and representation In the ancient Church we find many were wont to rise up in the night to pray that so they might day and night keep alive in their Souls Divine impressions that they might preserve a relish and taste of heavenly and spiritual things that excellent Objects might not be removed too far out of their sight This is a practice which perhaps very few in these cold Countries are able safely to imitate especially at some times of the year The weakness and tenderness of some bodies makes it to them impracticable because it would render them unfit at other times not only for religious performances but for the other necessary Actions of life Some likewise have so little time allowed them for their repose in the Night that they cannot do this in their present Circumstances As for such who are capable without any sort of inconvenience to follow this ancient Practice let them do it They want not sufficient Encouragement thereto if they consider that thereby they have the opportunity of flying as it were from these Regions of darkness and misery of sin and folly unto those glorious Regions of light and happiness of purity and perfection there to converse with God their chiefest Joy to behold his Face the light of his Countenance to taste and see how good he is to walk with him to be satisfied with his Salvation to drink of those Rivers of unmixed pleasure which are in his Presence the streams whereof make glad the City of God As for those who are not able to deny themselves of their repose in the night season all that I shall say to them is this When at some times it pleaseth God to take away their sleep and to keep them awake let them redeem a few moments from vain thoughts by lifting up their Souls to God darting up some pious thoughts and fervent desires Heaven-wards reflecting on the Goodness and Love of God admiring his glorious Perfections calling to mind and considering his gracious Providences longing for and breathing after that happy State when they shall be placed above all the infirmities and frailties of the flesh above outward necessities above Sin and Satan and all their Enemies And after this they may again compose themselves to sleep This is a means to keep the Soul awake to entertain it in a way worthy of it to accustom it to the contemplation of excellent and divine Objects to keep Heaven always near its view and not to suffer the things of another life to be removed too far out of sight We see in what temper of mind the Spouse was Cant. 5.2 I sleep but my heart waketh Even amidst her repose and sleep her thoughts were running after her desirable and beloved Object which possessed her heart and filled her thoughts when she was awake And so it is with pious Souls sometimes when their thoughts have been much imployed and busied about spiritual and heavenly things in the day time they dream of them in the Night season Tho' they sleep yet their heart waketh This watchful temper is an Excellent means to enrich the Soul whereas slothfulness and giving up ones self to drowsiness and sleep causeth spiritual beggery An idle Soul saith Solomon Prov. 19.15 shall suffer hunger And Prov. 20.13 Love not sleep test thou come to Poverty Open thine Eyes and thou shalt be satisfied with Bread Then was it that Samson lost his Hair wherein was his strength when he was asleep Judg. 16.19 As it is a fault at any time to waste our precious hours in this sluggish and lazy manner so especially when God affords very favourable opportunities of doing some great good to our selves or others He that sleepeth in Harvest saith the wise Man is a Son that causeth shame Prov. 10.5 that is he makes his Father and Friends ashamed of him and brings shame and disgrace on himself Now is the day of Grace now is the acceptable time now is the season of gathering the Fruits of Righteousness and of making sure an Harvest of everlasting Glory And therefore let us not sleep as do others but let us watch and be sober 1 Thes 5.6 2. Time to be redeemed from dressing the Body Secondly Redeem time from dressing and adorning the Body Let not more time be spent that way than is meet and fit Let your first care every day be to dress and adorn the better part to put on the true Ornaments to cloath your selves with Humility Meekness Patience Charity and with all other Virtues which are of great price in the sight of God Put off the Works of darkness and put on the Armour of Light Raise your Souls towards Heaven by some short and fervent Ejaculations Read the Word of God with great attention and humility with an earnest desire to know his Will and with a sincere purpose to do it Endeavour to feed and nourish your Souls by serious Meditation Call on God by humble and earnest Prayer to pardon you to bless you to direct and prosper you in all your ways and to save and preserve you from all Evils Ghostly and Bodily Form good purposes and strong resolutions to do what is good and right Set the Lord always before you Resolve to seek his Glory in all things whether you eat or drink or whatever else you do After having done those things which are needful for the Soul you may next do what is fit and decent as to your Attire