Selected quad for the lemma: virtue_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A25470
|
The Morning exercise [at] Cri[ppleg]ate, or, Several cases of conscience practically resolved by sundry ministers, September 1661.
|
Annesley, Samuel, 1620?-1696.
|
1661
(1661)
|
Wing A3232; ESTC R29591
|
639,601
|
676
|
great the great advantage which all these outward things have against us is their suitablenesse to our senses for though believers are said to live by faith Heb. 10.38 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 yet the best of men have had something to witnesse they were but men of like passions as 't was said of Elias James 5.17 but Christ is all to free us from these dangers Joh. 16.33 Be of good cheer I have overcome the world He hath overcome it for us and in some measure in us 2. Christ is All to fill the souls of believers with all that good which may capacitate and qualifie them for happinesse it is the decree of Heaven that none be admitted into glory but those oâ— whom God hath wrought the truth of grace Heaven must first be brought down into our souls before our souls are capable of ascending up thither we must first be made meet before we can partake of that inheritance of the Saints in light Col. 1.12 with Ephes 5.5 we are by nature unmeet because we are carnall and earthly and should God dispence with his own decree and open so wide a door unto Heaven and happinesse as to let in carnall and sensuall persons Heaven would be no Heaven unto such carnall hearts can never rellish the sweetnesse of spirituall enjoyments Rom. 8.6 7. Philosophers observe that all delight arises from a suitablenesse betwixt the person and the object What is the reason of that diversity of delights which is among the children of men that which is one mans joy is another mans grief and that which is one mans pleasure is another mans pain the onely reason is because of the diversity of tempers and dispositions Some there be of such a bruitish and swinish temper that nothing is so pleasing unto them as wallowing in the mire of their sensualities others again of so refined a temper that they esteem these sensuall pleasures very low and much beneath them but still every mans delight is according to his temper and disposition and therefore Heaven would be so farre from being a Heaven unto such that it would be a kind of hell to them for as delight arises from an harmony betwixt the person and the object so all kind of torment from an unsuitablenesse and contrariety hence is it that although God vouchsafes us something of Heaven here on earth viz. in his Ordinances yet to unheavenly hearts every thing of this nature is a taedium a burden When will the new Moon be gone that we may sell Corn and the Sabbath that we may set forth wheat c. Amos 8.5 Aelian reports of one Nicostratus who being a skilfull Artificer and finding a curious piece of Art was so much taken therewith that a spectator beholding him so intent in viewing the workmanship asked him what pleasure he could take in gazing so long upon such an object he answers hadst thou my eyes thou wouldst be as much ravished as I am So may we say of carnall persons had they the hearts and dispositions of believers they would be as much delighted with all means of communion with God as they are and account that their priviledge which now they esteem their vexation the Greeks tell us that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 good is derived 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from calling because all good is of an attractive and magnetick nature to draw forth and call our affections after it but yet 't is not the intrinsecall excellency of any object that renders it taking with us but our affections are accordingly exercised upon all kind of objects as representations are of those objects from the understanding for 't is the understanding which sits at the stern of the soul that is the primum mobile the master-wheel that puts the affections as so many lesser wheeles upon motion therefore unlesse our judgements be both enlightned and sanctified we can never approve the things that are excellent Naturalists observe that though the Loadstone hath an attractive virtue to draw Iron to it yet it cannot exercise that virtue upon Iron that 's rusty Ignorance is the rust of the soul that blunts the edge of our affections to whatsoever is spiritually good there must be therefore some kind of suitablenesse and harmony betwixt our souls and heavenly mercies before we are capable of tasting the sweetnesse of them Now Christ is all to believers in this respect also 't is from his fullnesse they receive and grace for grace Joh. 1.16 That we have any thing of grace it is from him and that we have such a degree or measure of grace it is from him I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly Joh. 10.10 the essence and the aboundance are both from him All those miracles which Christ wrought in the dayes of his flesh upon the bodies of poor creatures Ephes 5.8 Ephes 2.5 1â— in restoring sight to the blind speech to the dumb life to the dead all these does Christ work over again upon the souls of them whom he prepares for Heaven 3. Christ is All to fill all Ordinances with power and efficacy these are the means of salvation and through his concurrence effectuall means as they are his institutions we are under an obligation of using them and as they have the promise of his presence Matth. 28 20. Matth. 18.20 we are warranted in our expectations of benefit from them but yet Ordinances are but empty pipes but dry breasts unless Christ be pleased to fill them who filleth all in all Ephes 1.23 That there should be such a might and efficacy in things so weak such miraculous and strange effects by means so inconsiderable that the foolishnesse of preaching should be powerfull to salvation 't is because it is not man but God that speaks Joh. 5.25 The hour is coming and now is when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God and they that hear shall live Look upon Ordinances in themselves and so they are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 things that are not but as they are accompanied with the power of Christ so so they bring to nought things that are 1 Cor. 1.28 'T is he who in Baptisme baptises with the Holy Ghost and with fire Matth. 3.11 'T is he in preaching the Word speaks not onely to the ear but to the heart Luk. 24.32 Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked with us by the way and while he opened to us the Scriptures In a word Christ is all in every Ordinance in respect of efficacy while the Disciples fished alone they caught nothing but when Christ is with them the draught of fishes is so great they are scarce able to draw it Joh. 21.3 6. 4. Christ is All to sill every condition with comfort the best of conditions is not good without him nor is the worst bad with him Vbi bene sine te aut ubi maâ—e cum te Bern. Alexander accounted himself
it Rom. 9.1 Now wouldst thou know thy beloved sin hearken to the voyce of Conscience doth that condemn thee for pride for passion for worldliness for persecuting the ways of God Oh remember it is Gods Viceroy honour it so far as to weigh and consider throughly what it saith t is likely this may be thy particular sin that which dishonours God most if Conscience be any thing tender will trouble thee most many a man deals with his Conscience as Felix did with Paul hearken to it a while whilst it tels them of their lesser faults or that they are sinners in the general but when it rebukes them for their darling lust though they cannot say go thy way as Felix to Paul yet hold thy peace and when I have a convenient season I will give thee the hearing 5. It may be known by being impatient of reproof Herod hears John Baptist gladly till he preached against his Herodias this is a noli me tangere touch me not The Plant-animal or the sensible Plant so called when it is touched shrinks up and contracts its self the sinner shrinks when he is touched in the sore place The eye is a tender part and apt to be offended if you meddle with it This is the reason why people are enraged against a powerful soul-searching soul-saving Ministry most men are for Mountebanks and Quacksalvers that make use altogether of Lenitives and healing Plaisters but as for your faithful Chirurgions that according to Art will probe and search and cleanse the Wound they cannot away with them I hate him saith Ahab of Michaiah He never prophecies good concerning me but evill only I shall add this that man especially that Minister that reproves another for his sins had need to be blameless as much as may be himself Rom 21.2 21 22. thus the Apostle intimates Thou which teachest another teachest thou not thy self that man that is a teacher of others should teach himself so much the more we teach others when we deliver unto them Rules and Precepts unto which they are to conform we teach our selves when we obey those Rules Thou that preachest a man should not steal dost thou steal thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery dost thou commit adultery c. that man that hath a beam in his own eye is not likely to pull out the mote that is in his brothers 6. It may be known by this it makes a man notoriously partial in his own case David could allow himself another mans wife and could condemn one to death for taking away another mans Lamb. 7. It may be known by the covers and cloaks and fair pretences that the sinner hath for this sin Uncleanness and intemperance are but tricks of youth and sowing his wild Oats Luxury is magnificence covetousness is good husbandry pride is a piece of nobleness and grandure of spirit yea which is more t is humility you have some that disparage themselves in company and they call this humility when in truth it is the height of their spirits like the Archer that draws back the arrow that it may fly so much the higher and so much the further T is strange blindness or deceit or both to call not yellow or some middle colour but black white yet thus it is with many they shape their darling lust like those vertues unto which they are extreamly contrary Every wicked man is sins advocate and will plead its cause gratis Oh saith Judas to what purpose is this waste Mat. 26.8.9 Joh. 12.6 This oyntment might have been sold for much and given to the poor this he said saith another Evangelist Not that he cared for the poore but because he was a thief had the bag and bare what was put therein Beware of speaking any thing towards the justification of your selves in any way of wickedness you know the malefactor is condemned before he is put to death so it is in the case of sin cum peccator justificatur peccatuâ— condemnatur when a sinner is justified his sin is condemned and after condemnation followeth execution Job 31 3â— v. 40. Job vindicates himself in this particular If I covered my transgressions as Adam by hiding mine iniquities in my bosom c. then let thistles grow instead of wheat as if he had said I did not hide mine iniquity as Adam did I did not cover my transgression I was open and ingenuous the Psalmist saith Blâ—ssed is the man whose iniquity is forgiven and whose sin is covered but then it must be by Gods hand not ours 8. If there be any one sin more then other that the soul doth readily close with that is its beloved sin its right eye sin or its right hand sin Sampson when all the world could not take away his strength Prov. 7.21 is easily perswaded by Dalilah See how Solomon expresses the Harlots dealing with the young man with much fair speech she caused him to yeild with the flattering of her lips she forced him the most she could do was to flattâ—r him and yet notwithstanding it is said she forced hiâ— sin works altogether by enticement Every man is tempted Jam. 1.14 when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed yet it is so powerful that it amounts to a force as the request of a King amounts unto a command 9. That sin which a man wishes were no sin is like to be his bâ—loâ—ed sin the case of the young man in the Gospel is considerable to this purpose saith our Saviour If thou wilt be perfect go sell that thou hast and give to the poor Mat. 19.21 22 and thou shalt have treasure in heaven and come follow me Ver. 22. When the young man heard that saying he went away sorrowful that is â—he was very much troubled that there was such a truth as this Psal 14.1 that the world for Christs sake was to be parted with So Psal 14.1 The fool hath said in his heart there is no God Oh saith the fool That there was no God that there was no heaven that there was no hell Atheism was the beloved sin in that case first men wish there were no Deity and then they judge so and say so Carnal affections after some time settle in opinion and judgement t is possible for men by ways of unrighteousness by a constant course of cheating and cozening so far to shut up and imprison their natural light and so to muffle their reason and understanding that at length they may cheat and baffle their own souls and think it a piece of justice and righteousness so to do 10. That sin which we think of first in the morning and last in the evening is like to be our beloved sin God is the chiefest good the prime object of our love and therefore as he is Alpha and Omega in himself so is he also unto his people the beginning and the end the first and the last they begin the day