Selected quad for the lemma: virtue_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
virtue_n	command_v	forbid_v	vice_n	1,917	5	9.6001	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A80790	The doctrine of faith. Or, The prime and principall points which a Christian is to know and believe. Handled in sundry sermons upon texts of scripture selected and chosen for the purpose. Wherein the method of the creed, (commonly called the Apostles Creed) is observed; and the articles thereof are confirmed, explained and applied, for the instructing of the ignorant, and the establishing of all in the truth. / By Christopher Cartwright, Minister of the Word at York.	Cartwright, Christopher, 1602-1658.	1650 (1650)	Wing C687; Thomason E1231_1; ESTC R14778	283,812	488

one God For these three are one 1 Joh. 5. 7. though three Persons yet one God Vse This serves first to confute the Papists to prove them guilty of Idolatry For though in word they confesse onely one God yet in deed they make many Gods giving divine worship and honour unto Saints and Angells they make vowes and prayers unto them whereas this honour belongs unto God only Call upon me saith God Psal 50. 15. When ye pray say Our Father c. saith our Saviour Luk. 11. 2. Vow and pay unto the Lord your God saith David Psal 76. 11. so Solomon When thou vowest a vow unto God c. Eccles 5. 4 Bellarmine himself In Scripturis nomen voti semper accipitur pro promissione factâ Deo Nam cum Scriberentur Scripturae S. Nondum caeperat usus vovendi Sanctis Bellarm de Cultu Sanctorum lib. 3. cap. 9. sect Praetered confesseth that in the Scriptures the name of vow is ever taken for a promise made to God And marke his reason For saith he when the holy Scriptures were written the use of vowing unto Saints was not begun It is without all question and therefore the more to blame they who besides and against the authority of the Scriptures did begin it afterwards So also they do in effect make the Pope a God taking themselves bound to believe all his determinations and to obey all his injunctions not presuming to examine and try whether they be true or false right or wrong whereas God only is capable of this honor Let God be true and every man a liar Rom. 3. 4. Call no man your Father upon earth so as to yeeld absolute obedience unto him for one is your Father which is in heaven Mat. 23. 9. yet Bellarmine sticks not to say that if the Si Papa erraret praecipiendo vitia vel prohibendo virtutes teneretur Ecclesia credere vitia esse bona virtutes malas nisi vellet contra conscientiam peccare Bellar. de Pontif. lib. 4. c. 5. §. Secundò quia tunc Pope should erre so as to command vices and forbid vertues all were bound to believe vices to be good and vertues to be evill except they would sin against their conscience He takes it for granted that all should do whatsoever the Pope injoynes without daring once to enter into the examination of it This is to make the Pope above an Angell and therefore equall with God for the Apostle doubted not to say If an Angell from heaven preach unto you any other Gospel then that which we have preached unto you let him be accursed Gal. 1. 8. Vse 2. But to leave them there are also many others who though they pretend to believe that there is but one God yet indeed they make more Gods then one for the voluptuous person makes his belly his God Whose God it their belly saith the Apostle of some Phil. 3. 19. so the covetous makes mammon or riches his God If I have made gold my hope and said unto the fine gold thou art my confidence Job 31. 24. Job abhorred this but the covetous man is guilty of it The rich mans viz. the covetous rich mans wealth is his strong City saith Solomon Prov. 10. 15. and so Prov. 18. 11. The rich mans wealth is his strong City and as a high wall in his own conceit Hence the covetous person is called an Idolater Eph. 5. 5. and covetousnesse is called Idolatry Col. 3. 5. so whatsoever it is that any set their heart upon and put their trust in they make it their God the proud person also and the vain-glorious makes himself his God seeking himselfe in all that he doth and arrogating the good successe that he hath in any thing unto himself They sasacrifice to their net and burn incense to their drag because by them their portion is fat and their meat plenteous Heb. 1. 16. that is they ascribe all their plenty and prosperity to their own industry By the strength of mine hand have I done it and by my wisdome c. Thus vaunted the King of Assyria Esa 10. 13. and therefore he is taxed Esa 14. 14. as saying I will ascend above the heights of the clouds I will be like the most high So God bade the Prophet Ezekiel say unto the Prince of Tyrus Thus saith the Lord God because thine heart is lifted up and thou hast said I am a God I sit in the seat of God c. Why was this charged upon him because he ascribed all his greatnesse unto himself With thy wisdome and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasuries Vse 3. Let us therefore have a care to know and acknowledge the only true God to serve and worship him and him only Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve Mat. 4. 10. Thou shalt have none other Gods before me Exod. 20. 3. This is the first and great Commandement Mat. 22. 37 38. with Mar. 12. 29 30 the true God is a jealous God as he stiles himselfe Exod 20. 5. he will indure no corrivall no copartner My glory will I not give unto another saith he Esa 42. 8. 48. 11. Let 's know and consider that if we be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 we are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 if we have more Gods then one we have none at all but are even without God as the Apostle saith the Gentiles were who had a multitude of Gods Eph. 2. 12. And let us take heed of Polytheisme as in opinion whether directly with Pagans or by consequence with Papists so in practice in which respect we are much more prone unto it Let 's remember that of our Saviour Ye cannot serve God and mammon Mat. 6. 24. so not God and any lust whatsoever God will have our whole heart he will not yeeld that any besides him but only in subordination unto him should have any part of it Their heart is divided now shall they be found faulty Hos 10. 2. THE FOURTH SERMON 1 JOH 5. 7. There are three that bear record in heaven the Father the Word and the Holy Ghost and these three are one BEfore I build any thing upon this Txet or deduce any thing from it I must assert and vindicate the Text it self I had rather that you should heare what is objected so as withall to heare what is answered then that as otherwise it might happen you should meet with the Objection and not know what Answer can be given unto it In this respect I like not that matters of controversie should be medled with but so as that the principall Objections should be produced and answered for otherwise the opposers of the truth may have great advantage and people are apt to be seduced or at least to stagger when either in books or conferences they find things objected which before they never had any notice of This therefore I will not now

hand against the father lesse when I saw my help in the gate that is when by his greatnesse he could have easily escaped censure in the courts of humane judicature Then let mine arm fall from my shoulder-blade and mine arm be broken from the bone For destruction from God was a terrour unto me and because of his highnesse I could not indure Joh. 31. 21 22 23. 3. To shew mercy unto others that we our selves in that great day may obtain mercy With what measure ye mete it shall be measured to you again Mat. 7. 2. Blessed are the mercifull for they shall obtain mercy Mat. 5. 7. But he shall have iudgement without mercy that hath shewed no mercy Jam. 2. 13. Now we must be mercifull in forgiving For how can we expect that God should forgive us if we will not forgive others Christ hath taught us to pray forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those that trespasse against us And he adds For if ye forgive men their trespasses your heavenly Father will also forgive you But if ye forgive not men their trespasses neither will your Father forgive your trespasses Mat. 6. 14. 15. And to this end he propounded a Parable of a certaine King who having forgiven one of his servants a great debt which he was never able to pay when he heard how that servant would not remit a small debt that his fellow-servant owed him he was wroth with him and exacted his debt of him Mat. 18. 23. c. And the Application of the Parable is subjoyned v. 35. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses Therefore let not the Sun go down upon your wrath Eph. 4. 26. Yet some will continue in their wrath and enmity In ipsa morte ira vivebat Flor. not only untill night but even untill death they will lie down not onely in their beds but in their graves with it 2. In giving that is succouring and relieving those that are in want and misery The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus for he oft refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chain but when he was in Rome he sought me out very diligently and found me The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day 2 Tim. 1. 16 17 18. And what account shall be made at the last judgement of this kind of mercy Christ hath plainly shewed Mat. 25. 34. c. where he fore-tells how to those who have been carefull to succour and relieve others he will say Come ye blessed of my Father inherit ye the Kingdome prepared for you from the foundation of the world for I was an hungred and ye gave me meat I was thirsty and ye gave me drink c. On the other side to those who have refused thus to shew mercy he will say Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the Devill and his Angells For I was an hungred and ye gave me no meat c. Some as Austine records Aug. de Civit. Dei l. 212. c. 17. have strained this and other such like places beyond all due measure inferring from thence that if a man did not neglect to give almes howsoever otherwise he lived yet he should not be damned But this is a most erroneous and damnable opinion For though a man give all his goods to feed the poore yet if he be without charity it shall profit him nothing as the Apostle teacheth 1 Cor. 13. 3. Now where sin and ungodlinesse doth reign there is no charity for charity proceeds out of a pure heart a good conscience and faith unf●ined as we learn of the same Apostle 1 Tim. 1. 5. That of our Saviour holds good in respect of all as well almes-givers as others Except ye repent ye shall all perish Luke 13. 3 5. Gregory saith well that he that gives Dat sua Deo se diabolo Greg. Pastor par 3. admonit 21. almes liberally and yet otherwise lives wickedly gives his goods to God and himself to the Devill That of our Saviour Luk. 11. 41. Give almes of of such things as you have and behold all things are clean unto you is not so to be taken as if giving of alms alone would serve the turn but he spake in respect of the Pharisees as the context sheweth The Pharisees were superstitious in washing and cleansing their cups and platters but regarded not to wash and cleanse their hearts And because coveousnesse was the sin which was predominant in them as appears Luke 16. 14. Mat. 23. 14. Therefore Christ prescribed a remedy sutable to the disease as a Physitian will say to such as are given to excesse Use abstinence and all will be well So Daniel knowing that Nebuchadnezzar had been a great oppressor exhorted him to the exercise of that vertue especially which was most contrary to the vice that reigned in him Wherefore O King let my counsell be acceptable unto thee break off thy sins by righteousnesse and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor Dan. 4. 27. The error of the Papists also is here to be avoided They hold that by works of mercy we may satisfie for our sins and merit heaven But it is only Christ who is the propitiation for our sins 1 Joh. 1. 2. and who hath purchased eternall redemption for us Heb. 9. 12. It is mercy that we must expect in the day of Judgement notwithstanding all the works of mercy or what ever good works we have done as is clear by the Dignatio locum non habet ubi fuerit praesumptio dignitatis Bern. Gal. 5. 6. places before cited 2 Tim. 1. 18. Now Gods mercy and our merit will not stand together But as other good works so works of mercy being the fruits of a living faith that worketh thorough love shall be found pleasing unto God and profitable unto us at the last judgment Vse 3. Thirdly and lastly This Judgement to come being considered affoards comfort unto the godly and is sufficient to incourage them against all the molestations and troubles that here they meet with As 1. The prosperity of the wicked doth sometimes not a little vex and grieve the godly Wherefore do the wicked live become old yea and are mighty in power Their seed is established in their sight c. Job 21. 7 8. Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper Wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously Jer. 12. 1. But as for me my feet were almost gone my steps had well nigh slipt For I was envious at the foolish when I saw the prosperity of the wicked c. Psal 73. 2 3. c. But what reason is there to envy the wicked because they prosper and flourish for a while whenas at last God will pay them home and they shall perish for ever The wicked is reserved to the day of destruction and shall be brought