Selected quad for the lemma: virtue_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
virtue_n	faith_n	godliness_n	temperance_n	4,219	5	11.6041	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A77983	Four books on the eleventh of Matthew: viz: I. Christ inviting sinners to come to him for rest. II. Christ the great teacher of souls that come to him. To which is added a treatise of meekness and of anger. III. Christ the humble teacher of those that come to him. IIII. The only easie way to heaven. By Jeremiah Burroughs, preacher of the Gospel at Stepny and Cripple-Gate, London.	Burroughs, Jeremiah, 1599-1646.; Goodwin, Thomas, 1600-1680.	1659 (1659)	Wing B6072_pt3-4; Wing B6116_PART; Thomason E965_1; ESTC R207640	203,123	309

from thence the word comes My Burden is light The meaning in the original is this it is such a light burden as man may have it upon him and dance with it leap and dance have joy and delight with this burden upon their back● other burdens presseth down makes a man go heavily but this burden is so light that those that have it on it makes their hearts light and easie that they can go and skip and dance with this burden upon them that is the word in the originall we have not a word in the English to express it thus and the word that you have in 2 Pet. 1. 5. hath some likeness to that that Christ means Add to your Faith Virtue and to Virtue Knowledg and to Knowledg Temperance and to Temperance Patience and to Patience Godliness and so multiplies particulars And now the word is in the originall 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to lead in the dance and these virtues one to another it is true it signifies the ministring of the supplies that Members have from the Head only in your English it is said Add to your Faith Virtue it either signifies the ministring of the Head to the Members that which the Members receive by the ministring of the Head and so ●t is proper there that all the virtues we have they are but added one to another from the virtue that is ministred from Christ our Head to us Members Or else the word signifies to lead in a dance as first one goes and the other follows so Faith goes first and that leads on the other it signifies the delightfulness in Christianity when Faith goes before and al the other virtues coming after there is a delightfulness in all the waies of Godliness and Christianity and in the excercising of Virtues That for the meaning of the word My Burden is light such a Burden as will make the heart light and that one may have a Burden on and go lightly and skipping as if he had none Only one thing more for the opening of the words My Yoke is easie and my Burden is light I confess these two expressions many make but all one Yoke and Burden and others think there is a little difference tha● by Yoke is meant what Jesus Christ requires of us in the Gospel to do and by Burden is meant what we are required in the Gospel to suffer both active and passive obedience the coming under the rule and government of Christ in the Gospel that is a Yoke I but it is a very gentle Yoke and so when we come under the obedience of Christ to be professors of the Gospel we must expect to suffer much and bear great Burdens of affliction in the world I but saith Christ these Burdens of afflictions if they come and persecute you never so much here you shall find them but light burdens all that I require of you to do shall be easie and all that I require of you to suffer shall be light So that from hence we have this Point of Doctrine for I shal not handle them asunder but put them both together CHAP. CXXXIIII Doct. The way of the Gospel that brings to Heaven is an easie way This confirmed and explained in Six particulars DOCT. THat whatsoever Jesus Christ requires of us either in doing or in suffering it is very easie and very light The way of the Gospel that brings to Heaven is an easie way That is the Point And when we name it I suppose it will seem one of the strangest points that ever was preached or that you have heard of That the way of the Gospel to bring People to Heaven is an easie way it seems contrary to other Scriptures Strive to enter in at the straight Gate for straight is the Gate and narrow is the way that leads to life and few there be that find it and Ministers tel us the way to Heaven is a very difficult way and many times it is made an evidence of men that are but carnal and have not the power of Godliness in them that they find so much ease in their way I suppose these you have heard of Well before we have done with the Point we shall reconcile all these things only for the present seeing they are the words of Christ we must yeild them to have a truth in them That the Yoke of Christ whatever it is that Christ would have us submit unto it is easie whatever Burden he would have us bear in this world it is a light Burden Let all those that are continually complaining of the difficulties that lie in the waies of Godliness take notice of this Point many there are that make it their Religion to be continually complaining of difficulties that there are in Gods waies as if by that they would shew that they saw somewhat and felt somewhat more than others did and are never in waies of thanksgiving or in waies of rejoycing but alwaies complaining of the waies of God and what difficulties they find in them let them take notice that whatever thy thoughts have been heretofore or what thy Speeches have been about them yet Jesus Christ himself saith that his Yoke is easie and of his Burden that it is light Now therefore First I shall confirm it by Scriptures and then come to branch it into several particulars for the opening of it For Scriptures take these three the first is in Psal 119. 44 45. So shall I keep thy Law continually for ever and ever and I will walk at liberty for I seek thy Precepts The Soul that doth truly seek Gods precepts to be under the command of the precepts of God such a one walks at liberty never hath so much liberty as at that time when he seeks Gods precepts You may think that to be under the command of the word and especially that in seeking the commands of the Lord it will bring you into bondage There is no such liberty in the world as being under the command of God and seeking the commands of the word And then in Prov. 15. 19. The way of the slothfull is as a hedg of Thorns that is there is a great deal of difficulty in the way of the slothful now this is an opposition to the waies of the s●othfull But the way of the righteous is plain there is no such difficulty in his way a righteous mans way to Heaven it is a plain way a plain path he may go in it with ease it is not a rigid way it is not a stony way a thorny way but it is a plain way that a man may go easie there Now if you be walking in any place from Town to Town if you walk in a place where is plain way in the fields it is easie all the while Now you go to the City and you walk in the fields it is plain it is easie but when you come upon stones it is more difficult So it is here The way of the righteous is plain

live amongst but now because in some things thou art bound up having a tender Conscience that you must go according to the Rule therefore it should be thy wisdom in all things wherein thou canst condescend and suit thy self with other men lawfully to do it because hereby thou shalt convince the world that when thou dost differ from them it is not out of proud singularity but out of Conscience they will think that if thou couldest in thy Conscience suit with them thou wouldest because in all things wherein thou canst thou suitest with them and indeed those that are Christians should in as much as they can be Servants to every one that is yeild to every one and suit themselves with every one upon this ground that they may by this convince al the world that where they are different from other men it is not out of honor and pride but meerly out of obedience to Jesus Christ Thus you have seen the behavior of an humble Spirit in reference to God in reference to himself and in reference to other men CHAP. CXXIX The excellency of Humility in thirteen particulars 1. God prizeth it 2. It is a convincing Grace 3. By it we walk worthy of the Gospel 4. It is an Evidence of election 5. Better than Sacrifices 6. It serveth for the prevailing of Prayer 7. It is a tryed heart 8. It is fit for great Services 9. It is the ornament of all Graces 10. It preseves all Graces 11. It makes all Duties and Crosses easie 12. It makes the life comfortable 13. It is most usefull to give God the Glory of the new Covenant THe excellency of this Grace of Humilty Learn of me for I am meek and Lowly in heart This Grace is above all Graces next to Faith it self and mightily extolled in Scripture and it is proper indeed to Christianity if you read in Phylosophers that speak of moral vertues you shall find high commendations of Justice Vertue and the like and little or nothing said of Humility No it is the Christian that counts Humility to have an Excellency in it it is Christ that is come from the Bosom of his father into the world to be an example and a pattern to hold forth the excellency and glory of this Grace before the world and that was one Reason why Christ came into the world Namely to hold forth the Glory and excellency of his Grace Humility may say but little of its own praise God takes care for the Glory of it it will discover it self by the fragrancy of it self as violets discover themselves by the sweetness of them though they be covered with Leaves so the excellency of humility will discover it self by its sweetness and no man or Woman needs to take care for the discovery of its excellency and therefore it is abundant folly for a man or woman to be proud of their humility or to shew themselves humble that others may take notice of it and so commend them for it but true humility shews forth it self and it must not be forced but let it alone and let it appear in it self in a genuine way and its excellency of its self wil be best discovered Let us see the● wherein the true excellency of a Lowly heart appears that we may be in Love with this Grace First There is no grace in Scripture that God speaks more honorably of that the Lord hath a more honorable esteem of In Prov. 16. 19. See what the Testimony of God is of an humble spirit Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly than to divide the Spoile with the proude .. Here is Gods Testimony here is two sortes of people compared one with another the humble spirit and he that divides the Spoile with the proude there is no time wherein the heart of man is more lifted up than when a man hath overcome his enemy and is triumphing and dividing the spoil Oh Now his spirit is above Now saith God you poor creatures when you can get victory and make a prey of your enemies then your hearts are lifted up and you think such a man hath a brave conquest over his enemy and now he is triumphing Well saith God there is a poor humble contrite heart that the world takes no notice of and I count it better for one to be of an Humble Spirit with the Lowly than to divide the Spoil with the proud Take men in their greatest jollity and height and glory and lustre that ever men were in the world yet the poor humble Lowly spirited men are more glorious in mine Eyes I count a poor S●ul a Child a Servant that hath gotten into a hole humbling their Souls before me I look upon these as a more glorious object for me to behold than great Alexander and Caesar and the greatest conqueror in the world We cal the proud happy but the Lord cals the humble happy And so in Isa 66. That Famous place The Lord that dwels on high be looks on him that i● of an humble and contrite spirit As if there were no object for the Eye of God to feed upon to be pleased withal but the humble spirit whereas the proud he looks afar off upon them Psalm 138. 6. Though the Lord be high yet he hath respect unto the Lowly but the proud he knoweth afar off The humble he looks upon as if God should say there is nothing in all the world that is worth my looking upon but an humble spirit yea and God loves to be neer to them in Psal 34. 18. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart and saveth such as be of a contrite Spirit He loves to be neer one that is of an humble spirit Yea and he loves to dwel with them In Isai 57. 15. Thus saith the high and lofty one that inhabiteth eternity whose name is holy I dwel in the high and holy place with him also that is of a contrite and an humble spirit God lifts up himself and saith twice first that he is high and lofty in himself and then that he dwels in the high and lofty place and yet faith he I dwel in an humble spirit it may be an humble spirit is such a one as proud men scorn their company cannot indure their company Well but God loves to dwel in the House where thou art let it be never so poor a cottage he loves to dwel there God hath but two Houses he hath the highest Heavens and the lowest heart those are the two Houses God dwels in the Heavens above and the heart that is low and the lower the heart is the more the Lord loves to dwel there Secondly The excellency of an humble spirit appears in this that it is a grace that most convinceth men even a proud man sees a lustre of humility in others one proud man hates another proud man whereas one humble man loves another humble man humility is that that glaires in