Selected quad for the lemma: virtue_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
virtue_n	draw_v	iron_n	loadstone_n	1,525	5	13.0457	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26786	The four last things viz. death, judgment, heaven, hell, practically considered and applied in several discourses / by William Bates.	Bates, William, 1625-1699.	1691 (1691)	Wing B1105; ESTC R15956	218,835	562

the Soul to Eternal Vengeance for the Pleasures of Sin that are but for a Season 3. Let us stedfastly believe and frequently consider that Eternal Death is the Wages of Sin that we may renounce it with the deepest Abhorrence and forsake it for ever We are assured from the Wisdom and Compassion of our Saviour that 't is a powerful Means to mortify the Inclination to sin and to induce us to prevent and resist all Temptations The subtile Tempter cannot present any Motives that to a rectified Mind will make Sin eligible Let the Scales be even and put into one all the Delights of the Senses all the Pleasures and Honours of the World that are the Elements of Carnal Felicity how light are they against the Heavenly Glory Will the Gain of the World compensate the Loss of the Soul and Salvation for ever If there were any possible comparison between deluding transient Vanities and the Happiness that is substantial and satisfying for ever the Choice would be more difficult and the Mistake less culpable but they vanish into nothing in the Comparison According to the Judgment of Sense would any one chuse the enjoyment of the most exquisite Pleasures for a Year and afterwards be content to burn in a Furnace for a Day much less to enjoy them for a Day and to burn for a Year What stupid Brutes are they who for momentany Delights incur the fiery Indignation of God for ever Try but the Finger with the Flame of a Candle you will soon discover your weakness Will the remembrance of sensual Delights allay the Torments of the Damned When Carnal Lusts are most inflamed and Objects are present Pain will extinguish all the Pleasure of the Senses And if actual Enjoyment cannot afford Delight when the Body is under a Disease will the Reflections upon past Pleasures in the Fancy and Memory refresh the Damned in their extream Torments No the remembrance will infinitely increase their Anguish that for such seeming and short Pleasures they brought upon themselves Misery intolerable without Ease or End O that Men would strip Sin of its disguises and wash off its flattering Colours and look into its odious Nature and to the consequential Evils of it in the next World O that they would consider they hang by slender Strings a little Breath that expires every Minute over the bottomless Pit and that within a little while nothing will remain of the Pleasures of Sin but the undying Worm and the ever-living Flames This would be a means to raise and preserve in them an invincible Resolution and Reluctancy against all temptations to sin and provoke God But how hardly are Men induced to exercise their Minds on this terrible Object They think least of Hell who have most reason to consider it To this I must add that the meer fear of Hell and the judicial impression upon Conscience from it is not sufficient to convert Men to God For that servile Affection though it may stop a Temptation and hinder the eruption of a Lust into the gross Act yet does not renew the Nature and make Men Holy and Heavenly There may be a respective dislike of Sin with a direct Affection to it Besides that Religion that is the meer Effect of Fear will be according to the Nature of its Principle with resistance and trouble wavering and inconstant for tormenting Fear is repugnant to the humane Nature and will be expelled if possible In short the fear of Hell may be only a natural Affection that recoils from what is painful to Sense Therefore 't is the great Design of the Gospel by the fear of Hell as a powerful Preparative to make way for the Love of God who offers Pardon and Indempnity to all returning Sinners and for the Hope of Heaven the blessed Reward promised to them No Offers of Mercy will prevail to make Sinners to yield themselves till they are storm'd by the Terrors of the Lord. But when the fear of Hell has made a Breach Divine Grace enters and takes possession As the Virtue of the Loadstone when encompass'd and arm'd with Iron is increas'd and draws a far greater weight than when 't is naked and single thus the Attractives of Heaven are more powerful to move the Hearts of Men when enforced from the Terrors of Hell Now the Love of God and the Hope of Heaven are spiritual Affections and the Obedience that flows from them is voluntary from the intire consent of the Soul and persevering Lastly From the consideration of the Punishment determin'd for Sin we may understand how dear our Engagements are to the Lord Jesus Christ. The Rector and Judg of the World would not release the Guilty without a Ransom nor the Surety without Satisfaction and the Son of God most willingly and compassionately gave his precious Blood the Price of our Redemption He obtain'd the Spirit of Holiness to illuminate our Minds to incline our Wills to sanctify our Affections without whose Omnipotent Grace neither the Hopes or Fears of things Spiritual and Future would ever have cleansed and changed our Hearts and Lives We are naturally as senseless as the Dead as to what concerns our everlasting Peace blind and brutish and without fear should plunge our selves into Destruction if the Spirit of Power and of a sound Mind did not quicken us and direct us in the way to everlasting Life O that we might feel our dear Obligations to him who has delivered us from the Wrath to come and purchast for us a Felicity perfect and without end I would not lessen and disparage one Divine Work to advance and extol another but 't is a Truth that shines with its own Light and is declar'd by our Saviour that our Redemption from Hell to Heaven is a more excellent Benefit than our Creation in as much as our Well-being is better than our Being and eternal Misery is infinitely worse than mere not being Our Saviour speaks of Judas It had been better for him if he had never been born How engaging is the Love of Christ who rais'd us from the Bottom of Hell to the Bosom of God the Seat of Happiness If his Perfections were not most amiable and attractive yet that he died for us should make him the Object of our most ardent Affections To those who believe he is precious to those who have felt their undone Condition and that by his Merits and Mediation are restor'd to the Favour of God that are freed from tormenting Fears and revived with the sweetest Hopes he is and will be eminently and eternally precious Blessing and Honour and Glory and Power be to Him that sitteth upon the Throne and to the Lamb for ever and ever FINIS Books writ by William Bates D. D. and sold by B. Aylmer THE Harmony of the Divine Attributes in the Contrivance and Accomplishment of Man's Redemption by the Lord Jesus Christ Or Discourses wherein is shewed how the Wisdom Mercy Justice Holiness Power and Truth of God

understanding can apply from reason and revelation 2. In order to make a right Choice we must be very watchful lest the general Example of Men taint our Reason and cause an immoderate esteem of temporal things The whole World lies in Wickedness in a sensual Sty without Conscience of its Misery or care of regaining its Happiness deceived and pleased with shews of Felicity The way to Hell is broad as the inclinations of the licentious Appetite pleasant as the delights of Sense so plain and easy that Men go to it blindfold and so frequented that it would force Tears from any considering Person to see Men so hasty to meet with Damnation When Calisto the Harlot reproach'd Socrates that there were more followers of her Beauty than his Wisdom the Philosopher replied That was not strange because it was much easier to draw them in the way of Pleasure that is steep and slippery than to constrain them to ascend to Vertue seated on a Hill where the ascent is slow and with toil and difficulty Now there is nothing more contagious than Example We blindly consent with the Multitude and are possest with foolish Wonder and carnal admiring of worldly Greatness Treasures and Delights neglecting to make a due estimation of things 'T is the ordinary Artifice of the Devil to render temporal things more valuable and attractive to particular Persons from the common practice of Men who greedily pursue them as their Happiness As some crafty Merchants by false reports raise the Exchange to advance the price of their own Wares The Men of the World are under the direction of Sense and think them only to be wise and happy that shine in Pomp abound in Riches and overflow in Pleasures The Psalmist tells us of the prosperous Worldling that while he lives he blesses his Soul and Men will praise thee when thou dost well to thy self By vicious imitation our Judgments are more corrupted and our Passions rais'd to higher degrees for painted Vanities The Affections in the pursuit of earthly things are inflam'd by the contention of others And when holy Desires and Resolutions spring up in Men yet so powerful is the custom of the World that they often become ineffectual As a Ship whose Sails are fill'd with a fair Wind but makes no way stopt by the force of the Current Now to fortify us against the pernicious influence of Example consider 1. 'T is most unreasonable in this Affair of so vast moment to be under the direction of the Multitude For the most are sottish and sensual govern'd by the uncertain motions of a giddy voluble Fancy and roving impetuous Passions so that to be led by their example and disregard the solid immortal rules of heavenly Wisdom is as perfect madness as for one to follow a herd of Swine through the Mire and leave a clean Path that lies before him If there were but few in an Age or Country that were deluded with false Appearances it would be a disgrace to imitate the practice of the Foolish and shall the great numbers of the Earthly-minded give Reputation and Credit to their Error He were a strange Fool indeed that should refuse a single piece of counterfeit Money and receive a great heap in payment as if the number added a real value to them 'T is therefore a necessary point of Wisdom to devest all vulgar Prejudices to separate our selves from the Multitude that we may see the vanity of Things that dazle inferior Minds 2. Consider the universal Judgment even of the worldly Men in their last and serious Hours when the Prospect of Eternal Things is open before them How vastly different are their Apprehensions of Temporal Things in the review from what they were in their vicious Desires How often do they break forth in the sorrowful Words of the Apostle We have been toiling all Night and caught nothing When there are but a few remaining Sands in the Glass of Time and Death shakes the Glass before them how powerfully do they preach of the emptiness and uncertainty of Things below and sigh out in Solomon's Phrase All is vanity And this is more singularly observable in those who have had the fullest enjoyment of earthly Things How do they complain of the vain World and their vainer Hearts when Experience has convinc'd them of their woful Folly Solomon who was among other Princes as the Sun in the midst of the Planets that obscures them by his illustrious Brightness He that had surveyed this Continent of Vanity to make an Experiment whether any satisfaction could be found in it at last sadly declares that all things here below are but several kinds and ranks of Vanities as ineffectual to make Men happy as counterfeit Jewels of several Colours are to enrich the Possessor Nay they are not only Vanity but Vexation an empty show that has nothing real but the vexation of disappointment And shall we not value the judgment of Men when they are best instructed and give credit to their Testimony when they are sincere Certainly in their Approaches to the Divine Judgment they are most considerate and serious they have the truest and justest thoughts of Things and most freely declare them O the astonishing Folly of Men they will not be convinc'd of the error of their ways till they come to the end of them and the Sun is set and no time remains for their returning into the way of Life I shall proceed to shew further what is necessary to direct us in our choice that we may not fall into the double Misery of being deceived with a false Happiness for a little time and deprived of true Happiness for ever First A sound and stedfast belief of unseen Eternal Things Secondly Serious Consideration of the vast difference between things that are the objects of Sight and that are the objects of Faith First The sound and stedfast belief of Eternal Things is requisite to direct our choice aright Faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen It assures us of their reality and worth as if they were before our Eyes and in our actual Possession This Divine Light governs and conducts the Will to choose wisely and excites all the practick Powers for the preventing the greatest Evils and the obtaining perfect Felicity When the Devil the deadly Flatterer by inviting representations of the World intices the Heart the serious belief of the future reward so glorious and eternal disgraces the most splendid Temptations and makes them ineffectual This is the Victory that overcomes the World even our Faith If tempted to Lasciviousness by the allurements of an earthly Beauty Faith represents the angelical lustre of the Saints when they shall come with the unspotted Lamb in his glorious appearance and this unbinds the Charm and makes the tempting Person an object not of Desire but Aversation If tempted with Honour to a sinful compliance Faith represents so convincingly the Glory which