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	good_a	temperance_n	1,131	5	11.1758	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A36466	Rex meus est deus, or, A sermon preached at the common place in Christs-church in the city of Norwich by G.D. ...	G. D. (George Downham)	1643 (1643)	Wing D2061; ESTC R209871	32,251	33

further with them then aurium tenus up to the eares But what saith Saint James if Apostles may be credited in these dayes Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only deceiving your own souls where he doth not condemne hearing no more do I but I would have doing besides and so would he But as we may aske and goe without because we aske amisse so wee may doe and not be accepted because we do amisse therefore my next suit to you is that you doe so that you may be accepted that is well if thou doe well saith God for hee that doth well is of God saith Saint Iohn in his epistle to his beloved Gaius verse 11. The Lord here intimates unto Cain that his owne evill doing and not Gods evill judging is the cause of his rejection for howsoever he seem'd to walk in eq●ipage with his brother and to offer as devout a sacrifice as hee yet was there something amisse in it which God the searcher of the hearts did see and therefore did reject him It was bonis specie but malum inte●tione good in apparition but bad in intention and God is wont to love adverbs ●etter then adjectives non refert quam bonum s●d quam bene he regards not how good the worke bee when it is done but how well it is performed while it is a doing Therefore that a worke may be done well there are three things required first {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} conformity to the law of God which is the rule of righteousnesse to which every good work both for matter and manner must accord {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} and {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} sinne and deflection from Gods law are termes convertible so that whatsover is sinne erreth from the law and whatsoever strayeth from the law is sin therfore that a work may be well done it is required that it do accord with the Law Secondly fides faith in the doer by which his person may please God in Christ and the word be accepted for the persons sake for it is otherwise betweene God and man then it is betweene man and man with us the person is accepted for his gifts be he black as Vulcan or deformed as Thersites Ditia si attuleris mun ra gratus cris Bring a good present in thy hand and welcome but it is not so with God but cleane contrary for he accepts of the gift for the giver and reckons the worke good because a good man doeth it hee first makes the tree good and then its fruit as St. Gregory very clearly Deus gratum non hab●t offerent●m propter munus sed munus propter offerentem thus verse 4. it is said unto Ab●l and to his ●ffering God gave respect first unto Abel then unto his offering first loving the man in Christ and then regarding the worke for the man This excellent comfort faith brings with it that when it hath joyned us to Christ all our deeds are well thought off but where faith is not there can nothing be accepted for whatsoever is not of faith is sinne Laudo fructum bo●i operis sed in fide agnosco radicem saith St. Augustin I commend the fruit of a good work but I account faith to be the roote from whence that goodnesse springs Faith saith Saint Bernard is the vine vertues the branches good works the cluster of grapes devotion the wine to conclude nec palmes fine vite nec virtus sine fide the branch cannot subsist without the vine to beare it nor a vertuous action without faith to breed it Finally there is r●quired Respectus ad Deum a good intention and respect to God for the Pharisee may giv● almes to the poore and Cain may offer sacrifice to the Lord and yet both justly rejected if they propound wrong ends unto their actions seeking rather to magnifie themselves then to glorifie God This is that that Saint Augustine tells the Pelagians non artibus sed finibus pensantur officia good works are not to be poysed by the art in the well contriving of them but by the ends for which they were contrived so Bucanus non tam artibus quam finibus virtut savi●●is sunt d●sc●rnendae It is not the action but the end of the action that must distinguish vice from vertue So then whilest Cain facrificed to the true God an offering for substance and matter allowable yet wanting faith in Christ to give the action a good beginning and respect to God to direct it to a right end he did not well and consequently he and his offering justly were rejected Away then with hereticall Pelagi●n ●sme that calls heathen vertues good works that thinks Aristides shall be saved for his justice Xenocrates for his temperance Fabricius for his abstinence Socrates for his patience and so Cain for his sacrifice And heark how in exclamation they cry out against us How is it possible ut erunt in damnatione sempiterna in quibus erat vera justitia that they should be in eternal condemnation whose works did seem to merit eternal cōmendation But we reply with Saint Augustine quis hac sapiat nisi desipiat who will think that such works be good but hee that hath not the wit to think as he should or he that with Epicurus accounts vertues but voluptatis a●cillas servants to attend upon vaine pleasure Hear Saint Bernard to Cain Bene hon●ras deum munere fatido bene placas fidei interfector doest thou think to honour God well with a stinking oblation that wants the salt of true faith to season it And such no better are all heathen works Yet wil not my charity suffer me to give all heathens for damned for I know that God is righteous in all his wayes that he loveth righteousnes I haue heard it also said that he reapeth not where he hath not sowen gathereth not where he hath not strawed but requireth of very man according to the talent which he hath given him more where he hath given more lesse where he hath given lesse therfore if any of them shall make the best use of their talent improve it according to their power to the best advantage why may not I think that God who hath promised that he will not break a brui●ed reed nor quench a smoking flaxe will multiply increase their guifts according to his promise Habenti dabitur to him that hath it shall be given he shal have abundance may infuse into them so much knowledg of the Deity in generall of Christ the second person in particular as may save their soules Away also with Semipelagian Papism that c●lls unr●generate actions meritorious deeds that imagines goodnesse is shewed grace purchased Ex op●●e operato A term more monstrous in the sence