Selected quad for the lemma: virtue_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
virtue_n	godliness_n	knowledge_n	temperance_n	6,959	5	12.3060	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A40393	LI sermons preached by the Reverend Dr. Mark Frank ... being a course of sermons, beginning at Advent, and so continued through the festivals : to which is added a sermon preached at St. Pauls Cross, in the year forty-one, and then commanded to be printed by King Charles the First.; Sermons. Selections	Frank, Mark, 1613-1664.	1672 (1672)	Wing F2074A; ESTC R7076	739,197	600

and obedience must have his stamp to confirm it his robes to lengthen it his righteousness to make it right Lastly to spread our garments to receive him may have a kind of reflection upon the preparation we are making for the Blessed Sacrament We must open our bosoms disrobe our selves spread our garments stretch out our hands open our bosoms by confession disrobe and dismantle our selves by renouncing all former vanities spread all the good thoughts and affections and desires we can stretch out our souls in all holy vows and resolutions to receive and entertain him Nay all the former garments and spreadings may again be repeated and remembred here We must spread our garments upon the backs of the poor spread our selves before the Altar upon the pavement with all humility and devotion neglect and trample upon all private respects and interests lay aside all vain desires of honour and greatness despoil our selves of all trust and confidence in our selves or in the arm of flesh faithfully protest and renew the vow of obedience and subjection acknowledge our own no righteousness till he accepts it thus spread our garments all we can to receive him with joy and honour But if it so fall out that we either have not some of these kind of garments those we have be not worth the spreading we may yet cut down branches from the trees and strew in the way at least where our garments will not reach Now several sorts of branches there were which we may conceive the multitude made use of Two more particularly Palms and Olives yet from Nehemiah viii 15. we may gather more Olive-branches and Pine-branches and Myrtle-branches and Palm-branches and branches of thick trees he reckons up and bids them fetch to make them Tents and Tabernacles the like likely also here and in Leviticus willows are added too in brief any such as were at hand that grew by the way from Mount Olivet to Ierusalem These to the letter shall we see what spirit we can draw from them Branches of Palm-trees by name St. Iohn tells us they came out of Ierusalem to meet him with St. Iohn xii 13. And Palms 1. are the emblems of patience and perseverance they cannot be deprest with any weight but the more you press them the more they rise and so may teach us the patience of the Cross not to look sad for any hardship that shall befal us in the way to Christ but the more we suffer for him the more to bear up and lift up our heads that our redemption draweth nigh Palms thence 2. are signs of victory so being here given as it were to Christ they intimate to us both to whom to give the glory of all the victory we get over our sins and passions and so to labour our selves against them that we may be thought worthy to overcome them 2. Branches of Olives could not probably but be here too the meeting was upon Mount Olivet a place full of Olives and Olives are the emblems of peace and meekness of mercy and softness nothing so smooth so softning so suppling as Oyl to teach us what spirit we are of if we be Christs this the offering he is most pleased with the disposition he most delights in his way is spread with Olive-branches is a way of sweetness his yoke an easie yoke full of rest and peace to the wearied soul the Christians way must be so too a sweet and quiet temper in us through all our ways 3. We may have leave to conjecture from that cited place of Leviticus and Nehemiah there were other sorts besides Pine-branches or as some render the word branches of Balsam and Cedar-trees Now the Pine and Cedar are tall streight and upright trees and may mind us of high heavenly thoughts pure and upright intentions streight and regular affections to run forth to meet him with In particular the Pine is a Tree says Pliny that is never but bearing fruit It has perpetually three years fruit upon it and ripens month by month What a glorious tree is this to present to Christ a soul always bearing fruit fruit after fruit fruit upon fruit adding to faith vertue to vertue knowledge to knowledge temperance to temperance patience to patience godliness to godliness brotherly kindness to brotherly kindness charity as St. Peter advises us 2 Pet. i. 5 6 7. bearing still one fruit upon earth for the great years the three great ages of our life youth man-hood and old age till we bring our years to an end The Cedar next is a sweet lasting wood will not take worm corrupt or lose its scent and the branches of it shadow out thus much to us that in the actions we present to Christ there be no worms no by intentions no corrupt affections all sweet and incorrupt and a continued constancy and continuance in them The Balsame or Balm-tree 3. is a Tree medicinal to heal and cure Wounds and is there no Balm in Gilead no Physician there says the Prophet Ieremiah If there be not here there is upon Mount Olivet there is here upon Mount Calvary there is in Christs Death and Passion to which he here is going let us then bring Balm-branches thence and strew the way acknowledge our Physician in whom our health he that heals the lame the blind the sick and all 4. Nehemiah mentions Myrtle-branches as usual in such solemnities as these It was a Tree says Pliny dedicated to love and the boughs of it may teach us upon whom all our love is to be bestowed all upon Christ all upon Christ. At the Feast of Tabernacles from whence this spreading the ways were borrowed we read of Willows the Willows of the Brook and they may denote unto us that we are to sit down with the Willows a little by the waters look upon our selves in the streams of repentant tears and then bring our branches so watered to strow the way of Christ. There is yet lignum nemorosum the branches of thick trees behind to tell us that we are to strew the ways not here and there with our piety and good works but thick every where as thick as may be that so we may even cover the way hide the earth all appearance of earth or earthly sensual worldly desires and thoughts when we are coming to receive our Lord. Thus I have brought you to the Trees shewed you what to spread Christs way with you must now cut down the branches and strew the way take others in your hand and present him with And with joy and gladness and thankful hearts both accept the infinite favour he does you to come to you and rejoyce in it 'T is time now I say somewhat of the way he comes the way you are to meet him in III. Between Mount Olivet and Ierusalem it was from the Mount into the Temple Upon the Mount he preacht and in the Temple he taught and there in his word you are to meet him and that the word pass not

to digest as well as tast there in the mouth is a kind of first digestion made Ruminate we then and meditate upon Christ when we have tasted him Let it be our business to spend much of our time and days henceforth in meditation of him that 's the way indeed to be filled with his Spirit while we thus digest him and chew upon him in our spirits Nor is 3. fire improper any way to bring to that holy Table The fire of charity is to kindle our devotion there to warm our affections and desires to it There 4. our tongues are to be warm'd into praises that they may run a nimble descant upon his benefits and move apace to the glory of his Name Thus are our tongues to be imployed and thus is the fire to be kindled in us that we may speak with our tongues This is the way to be filled with the Holy Spirit this blessed Sacrament the means to it Come thou therefore O blessed Spirit into our hearts and tongues lighten our understanding with thy heavenly light warm our affections with thy holy fire purge away all our dross burn up all our chaff renew our spirits separate our sins and evils from us unite us in thy love subdue us to thy self teach our hearts to think our tongues to speak our hands to act our feet to move only to thy will settle thy self in us hence forward and dwell with us so teach us with all our tongues and powers to praise thee here upon earth that we may one day praise thee with them in Heaven for evermore A SERMON UPON Trinity Sunday REV. IV. 8. And they rest not day and night saying Holy Holy Holy Lord God Almighty which was and is and is to come I Need not stretch the Text to reach the Time The 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Holy Holy Holy in it is plain enough to teach the Trinity An Anthem sung here by the Angels and Saints in heaven done so here also by four of the chief Apostles and the Bishops of Iudea signified by the four beasts and twenty four Elders taken up after generally by the Saints on earth commended to us by the Church to day as our Epistle sent from heaven with a pattern in it for our Hymns and Praises to the blessed Trinity Lord God Almighty For 't is a part I must tell you of one of St. Iohn's Visions presenting to us what is done in heaven what Good would have done on earth and what should there be done ere long throughout it beginning at Hierusalem Glory and honour and thanks should be given unto God for the wonders he was doing for his servants for the deliverance he was working for his Church for the judgments he was bringing on their enemies as glory had been of old given him by his Saints and Prophets was now given him by his Apostles and Bishops so it should be given still by the whole Christian Church for ever as he himself was and is and is to come so was his praise and is and is to come we therefore all to learn to bear our parts in that heavenly Anthem against the time we come thither to bear them company Example you see we have here set before us to do it by and a form to do it in better we cannot wish the four Beasts or Cherubims Angels Saints and the Apostles there 's our Pattern for they rest not day and night saying it and Holy Holy Holy Lord God of Hosts which was and is and is to come there 's the form we best do it in In each Part we shall observe a kind of Trinity or three Parts in each In the Pattern 1. the Persons 2. their earnestness and 3. their continuance 1. The persons praising God and saying it They the four beasts or living creatures as the words tell us just before 2. Their earnestness in it They rest not saying they cannot rest for saying it cannot rest without the saying it unless they say it say it over and over Holy Holy Holy cannot rest but doing it that 's their rest they take their praising God ● Their continuance at it day and night it is and without rest and pause is it they are continually doing it saying and doing all to his honour and glory In the Form of Praise we have a sort of Trinity too three things observable 1. The glory or honour given Holy Holy Holy 2. The Persons to whom it is Lord God Almighty Father Son and Holy Ghost yet all three in one one single Lord one only God one alone Almighty and no more so there 's the Vnity in Trinity into the bargain And 3. here are the benefits intimated we praise him for He was our Creator He is our Redeemer He will be our Glorifier So you see Trinities enough in the Text to make it Trinity Sunday in it to fill all the Trinity Sundays after it The sum is that we are all to bear our parts in this holy Doxology to give glory and honour and power to the blessed Trinity with the four beasts and four and twenty Elders from time to time for evermore and that which may here serve well to perswade us to it is the Company and with them we will begin And they c. But who are they The beginning of the verse tells us the four beasts or as it may more genuinely and handsomly be translated the four living creatures 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but what or who are they That 's the question and a hard one too it seems by the variety of opinions probably to be answered rather by conjecture than resolution We shall take the likeliest of them and pass the rest 1. Some by the four living Creatures this they would have the four Cardinal vertues understood by the Lion fortitude by the Calf or Oxe justice by the Eagle temperance and by the Man prudence And then the sense will be that God is most signally prais'd and glorified by a vertuous life no way like that to praise him To do righteousness to walk wisely to live soberly to stand stoutly to God and goodness that 's the true way to give glory to the whole Trinity 2. Others by the four living Creatures apprehend the four chief faculties of our souls to be insinuated with which we are to praise him The irascible intimated by the Lion the concupiscible by the Oxe the rational by the face of man and the Spirit by the Eagle And here the Lesson is that we are to do it to praise God with all our powers set our affections and desires upon it be moved and angry at every thing that comes in to hinder it search all the means our reason can find out to perfect praise and raise up our Spirits upon Eagles wings to perform it to the highest pitch 3. Some by these four conceive the whole world consisting of the four Elements represented to us as praising God The fire by the Lion whose nature is hot