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	knowledge_n	unfruitful_a	910	5	13.0629	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A93343	Symptomes of growth & decay to godlinesse in LX. signs of a living and dying Christian. With the causes of decay, and remedies for recovery. / By Francis Smith.	Smith, Francis, fl. 1657-1689.	1660 (1660)	Wing S4030; Thomason E2114_2; ESTC R212664	107,653	255

Lord his going forth is prepared as the morning and he shall come to us as the raine the latter and former raine unto the earth God will be to such as follow on to know him in his way as the former and latter raine is to the earth which without it is dry and barren but being refreshed therewith proves green and fruitfull Now alass persons when once they are gotten in Christs Fould think their work well nigh done but God knows it is but then begun their Labour before was but to come into the vineyard and there I am sure they must not be idle they are put there to work to be lights to others and shew forth Christs vertues and there God will prune them dresse them water them but it is that they may be fruitfull else they must be plucked up as cumberrers of the ground do not therefore think your work is now neer done for you are but now begun you are now entred into the warr listed under your Captain Christ Jesus and must till death continue fighting striving and overcoming that at last you may overcome therefore if you read prayed fasted watched weeped assembled much before now do it much more 2 Cor. 5. We labour or made a business of it to be accepted of God and saith the holy Apostle Peter writing to them which had obtained like precious faith through the righteousness of God and Jesus Christ our Savour and had escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust exhorts them to give all diligence to add to their faith vertue and to vertue knowledge and to knewledge temperance and to temperance patience and to patience godliness and to godliness brotherly kindness and to brotherly kindness love for if these things be in you and abound they make you neither barren nor unfruitful But if they lack these things they are blind and cannot set a farr off but have forgotten they was purged from their old sins 2 Pet. 1. 2. One would think that persons that had gone thus farr as to obtain like precious faith with Gods elect and were purged from their old sins having escaped or were escaping the corruption that is in the world through lust might have well nigh done their work yet the holy Ghost here shews them that now their work is but begun and saith they must give All diligence so saint Paul to the Philipians Chap. 2. 12 My brethren as you have alwaies obeyed both in my presence absence work out your own salvation with fear and trembling from all this we may learn that it s no being idle in Christs Vineyard if it cost us much diligence to get in it must cost us much more to keep in so I shall conclude this second Remedy with the holy Ghosts counsel to the Church of the Hebrews Chap. 6. 11 12. And we desire that every one of you marke it well do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope to the end that you be not sloathful but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises Thirdly a third Remedy may be this that you would humbly and constantly endeavour to profit something in every assembly make it your care to be still doing or geting good then you are about your daies work content not your selves to come together from day to day and wait under the ministry going a way without gain but come to the assembly with sensibility of many things you yet want this will quicken your zeal ripen your expectation and prepare way for God that delights to be rich in giving to give you richly You will profit little though you want never so much if you are little sensible of your wants and God will give you little because you will be but capable to improve little for where the sence of want is low there the pulse God-ward will beat faintly and nothing more doth occasion this indifferency to assemble then seeing it amount to little in the profit and advantage to persons that are frequent in attending it makes them count better stay at home than be never the better for their meeting together Mal. 3. 14. You have said it is a vain thing to serve the Lord and what profit is it that we have keept his ordinances and walked mournfully before the Lord of Hosts They went not surely the right way to expect profit nor had their eye upon right profit but something they did propose to themselves in coming that they got not and so cries out it is in vain to serve him it is even thus among professors now if they see meetings come to little though the fault be only in themselves it ends to make them think lightly of assembling Who is there among you saith God Mal. 1. 10. that would shut the doors for naught or kindle a fire on my Altar for naught he that ploweth ploweth in hope he that soweth soweth in hope that is persons that do work expect and count upon fruit therefrom they will not do it for nothing and indeed it is but reasonable he that plants a vineyard should drink of the wine thereof great layings out preparing the heart for expectations of great returns and when persons do lay out count upon answerable returns as they righteously may God being pleased they should and this coming to pass tends much to their encouragement Object But some may say I have gone long to the assemblies and gone on purpose sensible of many wants and have counted upon to profit as here you direct me yet for al this I am ready to grow weary for I see it come to little I am still shalow in my understanding and weake in my memory Ans I shall answer this objection two ways first by praying you to enquire whether that little you do know and have learned you do put into practise What can ingage God more to teach you to know more than walking up to what you do know Oh thou that art named the house of Jacob is the spirit of the Lord straitned are these his doings Doth not my words do good to them that walks uprightly Mica 2. 7. see to it whether you live not much short of what you do know and if you find you do as some such defect must needs be the cause why you profit so little then you will see great reason God should not trust you with five Talents seeing you improve not two But secondly seeing you do profit little Be troubled much let it be your burthen while persons in assembling gain but little and are but little troubled they are not like to have their condition much mended To come often and profit little is very sad but to be unsensible of ones wants is much sadder Whereas on the contrary to be in want and so sensible of ones want that they go burthened up and down is the best way to get remedy when Joseph was in affliction some that were concerned to bear part