Selected quad for the lemma: virtue_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
virtue_n	death_n	know_v	resurrection_n	1,580	5	9.6777	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A02181	Paramythion tvvo treatises of the comforting of an afflicted conscience, written by M. Richard Greenham, with certaine epistles of the same argument. Heereunto are added two sermons, with certaine graue and wise counsells and answeres of the same author and argument.; Most sweete and assured comfort for all those that are afflicted in conscience, or troubled in minde	Greenham, Richard.; Greenham, Richard. Two learned and godly sermons.	1598 (1598)	STC 12322; ESTC S103418	97,808	214

daily renued This repentance is figured in baptisme both in that we must die to sin and bury it and also that we must rise againe to newnes of life for a man cannot die to sin but by the vertue of Christ his death neyther can he rise to righteousnes without the power of his resurrection Now we must know that as our sinnes are forgiuen so we must also receiue Gods spirit If God promiseth mercy to our children much more to vs if we beleue and receiue his promises if to them which are a farre of much more to them that are neare And yet though we haue been baptised an hundred yeares and haue not receiued the holy Ghost we may die in our sinnes Some vnderstand by the gift of the holy Ghost the graces of God bestowed on the Apostles but in my iudgement their opinion is not sound because that was a particular thing giuen only to them of that time this promise is generall and respectes all posterities We are then to note that repentance is a continuall course of sorrowe and if we haue this in trueth then may we boldly seeke for comfort out of Gods wo●d and from his ministers and looke what comfort they giue vs on earth the same shal be sealed also in heauen Wherefore as it is requisite continually to till the ground if we will haue fruite and daily to eate if we will liue so in spirituall things we must be humbled with continuall sorrow that we may be refreshed with daily comfort in Christ in whose name let vs pray Our father c. FINIS Certaine wise and graue Counsels and Answers made by the same author of the former argument VNto one that was much tempted with vnbeliefe he gaue this counsell When the temptation commeth either fall downe in prayer say Lord thou makest me to possesse the sinnes of my youth and this temptation is of very equity howbeit O Lorde grant I may by wisedome herein make this temptation an holy instruction and suffer me to possesse my soule in patience Oh turne this to thy glory and my saluation I see and confesse what hath beene in mee a long time by that which now sheweth it selfe in me and that thy grace hath hitherto kept vnder this corrupt●on yet Lord I beleeue yet Lord I will beleue helpe Lord my vnbeliefe Thy name be praised for this seale of thy loue and pledge of thy spirit that in this vnbeleefe I am grieued as in my beliefe I am wont to be comforted And though my olde and secret sinnes deserue that I should not onely be giuen ouer to infidelity but also that it should be in mee without griefe and remorse yet Lord forgiue my sinnes newe and olde forgiue my vnthank●ulnes Lord increase my faith and grant good father that when thou shalt restore to mee the gifte of grace againe that I may vse it in feare and shew it by fruites Or if this doe not preuaile giue your selfe with all humblenes to read the word of God especially his promises and be still attending vpon the meanes waiting when the Lord shall inlarge your hearte Or if this do not helpe goe to some faith full brother confesse your state to him acknowledg your weaknes to him and be not ashamed to giue God the glory by shaming your selfe and opening your corruption to him that so hee may pray for you whose praier according to the promise of God made to his holy ordināce herein Iames. 5. vndoubtedly shall be heard in the appointed time Thus hauing praied by your selfe and with another and vsed the meanes of reading for your recouery though you haue not present release yet in meeknes of mind patience of your spirite go to your calling knowing that your praiers and the word of God being as seede must haue some time betweene the sowing of them and the reaping of the increase and fruite of them Aboue all reason not with your temptations dispute not with the Deuill as though you coulde preuaile of your selfe And as I would not you should dispute with your temptation so I would not you should despise it For in both are extremities If you take it too much to heart or maruell how you should ouercome such a temptation it will make you dull or desperate If you account of it to little and maruell how such thinges should come into your head which was not wont to be so it will make you not to striue and you shall be swallowed vp before you be aware If you account of it too fearefully Sathan will oppresse you before you beginne to fight If you account of it too lightly the deuill needs not to wrestle with you you will ouerthrow your ●elfe Therefore feare in respect of your selfe fight boldly in Christ tremble at your owne corruption but rest and trust in Christ your saluation If still you are tempted and no body by you write your temptation and offer it to God by prayer and promise to him that you will aske counsell of his worde at the mouth of his minister when he shall giue you iust occasion If all this helpe not comfort your selfe with this pledge of election that you are ioyed when you feele your beliefe and that you are grieued least you shoulde displease God by your vnbeliefe and know that as there is a viciss●tude of the meanes of saluation which you must vse so there is also a vicissitude of temptations wherof this is one agianst which you must striue 2 Vnto one that was tempted with worldly shame and thought the distemperature of his minde and bodie proceeded thereof he saide on this sorte Fist know that Sathan hath not an absolute power but a power by permission to try vs against which we must arme our selues by faith which will assure vs that eyther the Lorde will mitigate our temptation if our power and patience be not great or else if he enlarge the tryall he wil increase our strength and retch it out according to the proportion of our temptation Wee must also pray that the Lord giue not out that measure of leaue to the diuell which we giue out to sinne to worke rebellion in vs against his maiesty but that he would rather make Sathan a Surgeon to shew vs our sinnes then a Sregeant to confound vs for our sinnes It is the pollicie of the aduersary to perswade many that the weaknes of their body and feeblenes of their braine proceedeth of their temptations when indeed it commeth of the vnstaidnes of their mindes wandering too much after the motions of the diuell in that they not resting on the word nor depending on Christ nor contenting thēselues to be tryed nor cōforting themselues by meditatiō attend to much cōfor to often with the diuels illusions and temptations and so they comeplayne of the effectes and not of the causes of their temptations beeing more grieued for their present sufferinges then for their sinnes past The roote of this worldly shame is

owne condemnation yet because they labored not to se their guiltinesse acquited by the remission of sinne in Christ they plunged themselues into a bottomlesse sea of sorrowes Others hauing passed these degrees hitherto made these steps to auoyd the wounde of Conscience haue come also too short and missed of the marke when because besides the sence of sinnes pardoned by the death of Christ they felt not also the vertue of his passion crucifying sinne in them but saw that with the remission of sinne was not ioined the mortification of sin they feared that there was no forgiunesse for them but still languishing with sorrow they thought themselues to stand charged with their former guiltines Yea and which is more for that such men haue not truely beene instructed nor surely haue beene grounded in the doctrine of Christes death and resurrection that is for that they sawe not as well power flowing from his death to slay sinne in them as vertue to pardon sinne in them for that they felt not as well strength to Sanctification streaming from the rising againe of Christ as they were perswaded of iustification and righteousnes therein They haue lyne still bleeding at the heart in such sort as the wound of griefe coulde hardly or neuer bee staide and staunched Wherefore let vs strengthen our weake soules with this sixe-fold coarde of consolation against these bitter assaultes Let vs first labour to know sinne then to sorrow for sinne after to feele our sinnes in Christ forgiuen further to looke for power to crucifie the same then to lay holde on iustification by his resurrection and lastly hope for strength to proceede from thence to further vs in sanctification and holinesse of life euen vnto the ende And thus much briefly for the second thing which we matched in company with the examination of sinne euen the triall of faith both which rightly vsed shall in some measure sauegard vs from the trouble of an afflicted minde Now let vs hasten to the third parte of our deuision to shew howe Gods children beeing fallen into this wounde of spirite may be helped out of it which God willing wee will also performe after we haue answered a necessarie obiection which in the former part might seeme to encounter against vs. There is no man but will grant that Dauid Iob and others of the Saintes of God had a sight of their sins a sorrow for their sinnes and a taste of the remission of their sinnes how then commeth it to passe that these men were so troubled in minde To this I answere that their trouble so befell them either for failing in some of these former things or els they were rather afflicted for triall of their faith than for punishing of sinne in them And therefore be it alwaies prouided that wee thinke not euery conflict of Conscience continuallye and chiefely to bee for the pursuing of our sinnes but sometimes and principally that it commeth for the triall of our faith and yet secondarily or lesse principally for the scourging of sinne as we may see in Iob. Whereuppon let all men be admonished when they see good men thus humbled throwne downe in minde to lay their handes on their mouthes from saying Surely these men are but hypocrites doubtlesse these men be great sinners the Lord hath founde out their hypocrisie For good reason there is that such silence should be vsed for that the Lorde may as well make trial of their faith as take punishment on their sins For if such affliction should alwaies and chiefely be sent for sinne then it should follow that all others as they exceeded them in sinne should also exceede them in the punishment of sinne But now comming to the saluing of this soare I shall seeme very strange in my cure and so much the more bee wondered at by how much in manner of proceeding I differ from the most sort of men herein I am to vs and vncertaine To them which are troubled with such blinde griefes whereof they can see no reason as often it happeneth to Gods Children in secret prouidence vvho either neuer knew God or else had but a generall knowledge of him I answere that as I denie not Phisicke to be ministered if it in part proceede from a naturall cause so I require the word especially to shewe the principall and originall cause to beginne in the soule And this I doe the rather because I would haue wisdome both in considering the state of the bodie if neede so require and in looking chiefely to the ●oule which so fewe thinke of If a man troubled in Conscience come to a Minister it may be he will looke all to the soule and nothing to the bodie if hee come to a Phisition hee onely considereth of the bodie and neglecteth the soule For my part I would neuer haue the Phisitions counsell seuered nor the Ministers laboure neglected because the soule and bodie dwelling together it is conuenient that as the soule should be cured by the word by prayer by fasting by threatening or by comforting so the bodie also shoulde bee brought into some temperature by Physicke by purging by dyet by restoring by musicke and by such like meanes prouiding alwaies that it bee done so in the feare of God and wisdome of his spirite as we thinke not by these ordinarie meanes to smoother or smoke out our troubles but as purposing to vse them as preparatiues wherby both our soules and bodies may be made more capable of the spirituall meanes to follow after As we require these thinges to bee the matter of our Ministerie in such a perplexitie so we woulde wishe the persons ministring to be men learned and of sounde iudgement wise and of Godly experience meeke and of most louing spirites For when the troubled patient shall be well perswaded of our knowledge and discretion there with all shall perceiue vs to come in tender and louing affection I thinke an enterance is made and all preiudice is taken avvay so as wee may the more freely worke vppon the Conscience first bringing them to the sight of sinne as to some cause of their trouble Heerein wee must labour to put awaye all confusion and blindenesse of sorrrowe endeuoring by wisdome to bring the parties wounded to some certaine obiect matter of their trouble and so draw out of them the confession of some seuerall especiall and secret sinne I say seuerall secret sinne because I know how many through a palpable blindnes or disordered discerning of sinne talke nothing so much as of sinne and yet they eyther can not discry seuerall sinnes or they will not be brought to acknowledge their secrete sinnes wherof the one proceedeth of the ignorance of the Lawe of God and the other of selfe loue which maketh vs loath euen in our trauell of minde to shame our selues Now that the confession of particular sins is requisite it may appeare by the two and thirtieth Psalme wherein beeing a Psalme of