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
B02626	The plain mans path-way to heaven wherein every man may clearly see whether he shall be saved or damned. / Set forth dialogue-wise for the better understanding of the simple, by Arthur Dent, preacher of the word of God at South-Shoobery in Essex.	Dent, Arthur, d. 1607.	1643 (1643)	Wing D1052B; ESTC R174600	204,325	502

peace and publike good Theol. These few then briefly I take to be the things which belong to our peace Ten things concerning our peace Let Solomon execute Joab and Shimei Let Achab and Eliah stay the Priests and Prophets of Baal Let Aaron and Eleazer minister before the Lord faithfully Let Jonas be cast out of the ship Let Moses stood fast in the gap and not let downe his hand Let Josuah succeed him Let Cornelius feare God with all his houshold Let Tabitha be full of good works and almesdeeds Let Deborah judge long in Israel prosper and be victorious Let us pray that the light of Israel may not be quenched And this I take to be the summe of all that belongs to our peace Phil. The summe of all our conference hitherto as I remember may be reduced unto these few heads First mans naturall corruption hath beene laid open Secondly the horrible fruits thereof Thirdly their evill effects and workings both against our soules and bodies goods name and the whole Land Lastly the remedies of all Now therefore I would grow to some conclusion of that which you touched by the way and made some mention of namely the signes of salvation and damnation and declare unto us plainely whether the state of a mans soule before God may not by certaine signes and tokens be certainly discerned in this life Theol. Besides those which befor● have beene mentioned wee may odde these nine following Nine signes of a sound soule Reverence of Gods Name Keeping of his Sabbaths Truth Sobriety Industry Compassion Humility Chastity Contentation Phil. These indeed I grant are very good signes but yet all of them are not certaine for some of them may be in the reprobates Theol. What say you then to Saint Peters signes set downe in the first chapter of his second Epistle which are these eight Saint Peters eight signes of salvation 2 Pet. 1.8 Faith Vertue Knowledge Temperance Patience Godlinesse Brotherly kindnesse Love Saint Peter saith If these be in us and abound they will make us neither idle nor unfruitfull in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Which is as much as if hee had said They will make us sound and sincore Professors of the Gospel Phil. All these I grant are exceeding good signes and evidences of a mans salvation but yet some of them may deceive and a hole may be picked in some of these Evidences I would therefore heare of some such demonstrative and infallible Evidences as no Lawyer can finde fault with For I hold that good Divines can as perfectly judge of the assurances and evidences of mans salvation as the best Lawyer can judge of the assurances and evidences whereby men hold their lands and livings Theol. You have spoken truly in that And would to God all the Lords people would bring forth the Evidences of their salvation that wee might discerne of them Phil. Set down then which be the most certaine and infallible Evidences of a mans salvation against which no exception can be taken Theol. I judge these to be most sound and infallible Assured faith in the promises Seven infallible signes of salvation Act. 16.31 Pro. 1.20 Job 1.41 Rom. 8.14 Job 4. ● 1 Thes 4.5 Rom. 5.1 Col. 1. ●3 Mat. 24.13 Sincerity of heart The Spirit of adoption Sound Regeneration and Sanctification Inward peace Groundednesse in the truth Continuance to the end Phil. Now you come neere the quick indeed For in my judgement none of these can be found truly in any reprobate Therefore I thinke no Divine can take exception against any of these Theol. No I assure you no more then a Lawyer can finde fault with the Tenure of mens lands and fee-simples when as both the title is good and strong by law and the evidences thereof are sealed subscribed delivered conveyed and sufficient witnesse upon the same and all other signes and ceremonies in the delivering and taking possession thereof according to strict law observed For if a man have these forenamed evidences of his salvation sure it is his title and interest to heaven is good by the Law of Moses and the Prophets I meane the word of God God himselfe subscribeth to them Iesus Christ delivereth them as his owne deed the holy Ghost sealeth unto them yea the three great witnesses which beare record in the earth that is water bloud and the spirit do all witnesse the same Phil. Now you have very fully satisfied mee touching this point And one thing more I doe gather out of all your speech to wit that you doe thinke a man may be assured of his salvation even in this life Theol. I doe thinke so indeed For hee that knoweth not in this life that he shall be saved shall never be saved after this life For St. John saith 1 John 3.2 Now we are made the sons of God Phil. But because many doubt of this and the Papists do altogether deny it therefore I pray you confirm it unto us out of the Scriptures Theol. The Apostle saith 1 Cor. 5.2 Wee know that if our earthly house of this Tabernacle be destroyed wee have a building given us of God that is an house not made with hands but eternall in the heavens Marke that hee saith both hee and the rest of Gods people did certainly know that Heaven was provided for them Rom. 8.15 16. For the spirit of adoption beareth witnesse with our spirits that we are the children of God And againe the same Apostle saith from henceforth is laid up for mee the crown of righteousnesse ● Tim. 4.8 which the Lord the righteous judge shall give me at that day and not to me onely but to all them that love his appearing Here wee see that he knew there was a crowne prepared for him and for the Elect. And the same Spirit which did assure it unto Paul doth assure it also to all the children of God For they have all the same Spirit though not in the same measure Saint John saith also Herein wee are sure wee know him 1 John 2.3 if we keep his commandements In which words St. Iohn telleth us th●● much th●● if wee do unfainedly endeavour to obey God there is in us the true knowledge and feare of God and consequently we are sure we shall be saved Saint Peter saith 1 Pet. 1.10 Give all diligence to make your calling and election sure Wherefore should the Apostle exhort us to make our election sure if none could be sure of it In the second of the Ephesians the Apostle saith flatly that in Christ Jesus wee doe already sit together in heavenly places His meaning is not that wee are there already in possession but wee are as sure of it as if wee were there already The reasons hereof are these Christ our head is in possession Therefore he will draw all his members unto him as he himselfe saith John 12.22 John 24.13 Secondly wee are as sure of the thing which wee

preached Then it followeth thus If wee will have heaven wee must have the word preached Then I conclude that preaching generally and for the most part is of absolute necessity unto eternall life as meet is of absolute necessity for the preservation of our bodies as grasse and fodder are of absolute necessity for the up●●●●●● of the life of beasts and wat●● of ●●solute necessity for the life of fishes Then this being so men are with great care and conscience to hear the Gospel preached to frequent Sermons to resort much to Gods house and habitation Psal ●● 4 where his honour dwelleth with David to say One thing have I desired of the Lord that will I require even that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the daies of my life to behold the be●utie of the Lord and to visit his holy Temple With godly Mary to say Luk. 14.41 One thing is necessary and so chuse the better part With the poore Cripple at Bethesda John 5.7 to wait for the moving of the waters by the Angel that his impotency may be cured I meane that we should tye our se ves to the first moving of the spirituall waters of life by the Preachers of the Gospel that our spirituall impotency may be holpen and relieved For the ministry of the Gospel is that golden pipe whereby and where-through all the goodnesse of GOD all the sweetnesse of Christ and all heavenly graces whatsoever are derived unto us Which thing was shadowed in the Law by the Pomegranates in the skirts of Aarons garments E●●● 33. and the golden Bells between them round ●bout that is a golden Bell and a 〈◊〉 granate a golden Bell and 〈◊〉 granate The golden Bells 〈◊〉 g●nifle the preaching of the Gospel and the Pomegranates the sweet savour of Christs death Noting thereby that the sweet savour of Christs death and all the benefit of his passion should be spread abroad by the preaching of the Gospel Thus you see that if ever men purpose to be saved they must make more account of the preaching of the Gospel then they have done and not thinke as most men doe that they may be without it and yet doe well enough and some had as léeve be without it as have it for it doth but disquiet them and trouble their consciences but wo be unto such Phil. Yet wee see where the Word is soundly preached there be many bad people and the reasons thereof in mine opinion are two The one that GOD taketh his holy Spirit from many in heating the Word so that their hearing is made unfruitfull The other that the Divell hath an hundred devices to hinder the effectuall working of the Word so as it shall doe no good at all nor take any effect in multitudes of men But you Master Theologus can better lay open this matter then I I pray you therefore speak something of it Theol. The sleights of Sathan in this behalfe are more and more slie then I or any man else can possibly discover For who is able to des●rie or in sufficient manner to lay open the deep subtilties and most secret and sinfull suggestions of the Divell in the hearts of man Hee is so cunning a crafts-master this way that none can perfectly trace him His workings in the hearts of men are with such close and hidden deceits and most methodicall and crafty convey●nces that none can sufficiently find them out But yet notwithstanding I will bewray unto you so much as I know or can conceive of his dealings with them that heare the Word that hee may steale it out of their hearts and make it fruitlesse and unprofitable First of all he bestirreth him and laboureth hard to keep men fast asleep in their sins that they may have no care at all of their owne salvation and therefore disswadeth them from hearing or reading the Word at all lest they should be awaked If this will not prevaile but that they must needs heare then h●s craft is to make their hearing unprofitable by sleepinesse dulnesse by-thoughts conceitednesse and a thousand such like If this will not serve the turne but that the Word doth g●t within them and worke upon them so as thereby they grow to some knowledge and understanding of the truth then he practiseth another way which is to make them rest themselves upon their bare knowledge and so become altogether consciencelesse If this will not suffice but that men fall to doing and leave some sinnes especially the grosse sins of the world and doe some good then he perswadeth them to trust to those doings without Christ and to thinke themselves well enough because they doe some good and leave some evill If this be not enough but that men attaine unto the true justifying faith which apprehendeth Christ and resteth upon his merits then hee deviseth how to blemish the beauty of their faith and weaken their comfort through many frailties and wants yea grosse down-falls and ran●e evils so as they shall be but spotted and leprous Christians If this weapon will not worke but that Christians doe joyne all good vertues with their faith and aboundantly shine forth in all the fruits of righteousnesse then hee casteth about another way which is to daunt and damp them with discouragements as poverty necessity sicknesse reproaches contempt persecutions c. If none of all these will doe the deed but that men constantly beleeve in Christ and patiently and joyfully endure all afflictions then his last refuge is to blow them up with gun-powder that is to puffe them up with a pride of their gifts graces and strength and so to give them an utter overthrow whilest they doe not walke humbly and give God the praise of his gifts Thus have you a little taste of Sathans cunning in making the Word unfruitfull amongst us As●n I pray you good Sir seeing I an ignorant and unlearned give mee some particular directions out of the Word of God for the good guiding and ordering of my particular actions in such sort as that I may glorifie God in the earth and after this life be glorified of him for ever Theol. It were an infinite thing to enter into all particulars but briefly doe this First seeke God earnestly in his Word pray much in all things give thankes eschew evill and doe good feare God and keep his commandements reforme your selfe and your houshold love vertue and vertuous men keepe company with the godly and avoide the societie of the wicked Live soberly justly and holily in this present evill world Speake alwaies gracinication Recompence no man evill for evill but recompence evill with good Be courteous and pitifull towards all men Take heed of swearing cursing and banning Beware of anger wrath and bitternesse Praise your friend openly reprove him secretly Speake no evill of them that are absent nor of the dead Speake evill of no man speake alwaies the best or at least not the worst Reverence Gods Name and