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	love_n	temperance_n	1,495	5	11.3666	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A62634	Several discourses viz. Proving Jesus to be the Messias. The prejudices against Jesus and his religion consider'd. Jesus the Son of God, proved by his Resurrection. The danger of apostacy from Christianity. Christ the author: obedience the condition of salvation. The possibility and necessity of gospel obedience, and its consistence with free grace. The authority of Jesus Christ, with the commission and promise which he gave to his apostles. The difficulties of a Christian life consider'd. The parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Children of this world wiser than the children of light. By the most reverend Dr. John Tillotson, late Lord Arch-Bishop of Canterbury. Being the fifth volume; published from the originals, by Ralph Barker, D.D. chaplain to his Grace.	Tillotson, John, 1630-1694.; Barker, Ralph, 1648-1708,	1698 (1698)	Wing T1262A; ESTC R222204	187,258	485

to God he will grant us whatever is good and necessary by which is certainly intended in the first place Spiritual good Things because these are the best and most necessary and to satisfie us that our Saviour did in the first place and more especially mean these St. Luke does particularly instance in the Grace and Assistance of God's Holy Spirit Lube 11. 13. How much more shall your Heavenly Father give the holy Spirit to them that ask him The holy Spirit that is the continual Presence and Influence of it to all the purposes of Guidance and Direction of Grace and Assistance of Comfort and Support in our Christian Course And what else is the meaning of that Parable of our Saviour's concerning the Talents entrusted with every Man according to his Capacity and Opportunities Matth. 25 I say what else can be the meaning of it but this That God is before-hand with every Man by affording the Advantages and Oportunities of being happy and such a measure of Grace and Assistance to that end which if he faithfully improve he shall be admitted into the Joy of his Lord. And upon this Consideration of the gracious Promises of the Gospel to this purpose it is that the Apostle St. Paul doth so earnestly exhort Christians to endeavour after the highest Degree of universal Holiness and Purity that we are capable of in this Life 2 Cor. 7. 1. Having therefore these Promises dearly beloved let us cleanse our selves from all filthiness of Flesh and Spirit perfecting Holiness in the fear of God And so likewise Phil. 2. 12 13. Wherefore my beloved work out your own Salvation with fear and trembling that is with great Care and Concernment lest you should fall short of it for it is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure The Consideration of God's readiness to assit us and of his Grace which is always at hand to stir up our Wills to that which is good and to strengthen us in the doing of it ought to be a great Argument and Encouragement to us to put forth our utmost Endeavours and so co-operate with the Grace of God toward our own Salvation And the Apostle St. Peter useth the same Argument to press Men to use their utmost Diligence to make their calling and election sure by abounding in all the Virtues of a good Life 2 Pet. 1. 3 4. According as his Divine Power hath given us all things which pertain to Life and Godliness that is hath so plentifully furnisht us with all the requisites to a godly Life through the knowledge of him that hath called us to Glory and Virtue that is by knowledge of the Gospel and the Grace therein offered to us whereby he hath given unto us exceeding great and precious Promises that by these ye might be Partakers of a Divine Nature having escaped the Corruption that is in the World through Lust And then from the consideration of this Divine Power conveyed to us by the Gospel and the Promises of it he exhorts Men to give all diligence to add to their Faith Virtue and Knowledge and Temperance and Patience and Godliness and brotherly Love and Charity And indeed the Scripture every where ascribes our Regeneration and Sanctification the Beginning and Progress and Perseverance of our Obedience to the powerful Grace and Assistance of God's holy Spirit we are said to be regenerate and born again of the Spirit to be renewed and sanctified by the Holy Ghost to be led by the Spirit and by the Spirit to mortifie the deeds of the Flesh and in a word to be kept by the mighty Power of God through Faith unto Salvation 3. What the Grace of God is ready to enable us to do if we be not wanting to our selves may properly be said to be possible to us and in some sense in our Power That may be said to be possible to us which tho' we cannot do of our selves as of our selves that is by our own Natural Power yet we can do by the Help and Assistance of another if that Assistance be ready to be afforded to us as we are sure the Grace of God's Holy Spirit is because he hath promised it to them that seek it and he is faithful who hath promised That cannot be said to be wholly out of a Man's Power which he may have for asking that which we are able to do by the Strength and Assistance of another is not impossible to us Surely St. Paul did no ways derogate from the Grace of God when he said I am able to do all things thro' Christ strengthening me he reckons himself able to do all that which by the strength of Christ he was enabled to do And this is the true Ground of all the Perswasions and Exhortations which we meet with in Scripture to Holiness and Obedience which would all be not only to no purpose but very unreasonable if we were wholly destitute of Power to do what God commands but if he be always ready at hand to assist us by a Grace sufficient for us if he co-operate with us in the Work of our Salvation then is there abundant ground of Encouragement to our Endeavours and if we fall short of eternal Salvation it is wholly our own fault it is not because God is wanting to us in those Aids and Assistances of his Grace which are necessary but because we are wanting to our selves in not seeking God's Grace more earnestly or by neglecting to make use of it when it is afforded to us For it is really all one both to the encouragement of our Endeavours and to the rendring of our Disobedience inexcusable whether we be able of our selves to perform the Condition of the Gospel or God be ready to assist us by his Grace and Holy Spirit to that purpose Wherefore as the Apostle exhorts Heb. 12. 12 13 14 15. Lift up the hands which hang down and the feeble knees and make strait paths for your feet lest that which is lame be turned out of the way but let it rather be healed Follow holiness without which no man shall see the Lord looking diligently lest any man fail of the Grace of God intimating that it is want of care and diligence on our part if the Grace of God fail of its end and be not effectual to all the purposes of Faith and Repentance and Obedience God does not with-hold his Grace from us but Men may receive it in vain if they do not make use of it And thus I have done with the third thing I proposed to consider from these words I proceed to the Fourth viz. To consider the Necessity of this Obedience in order to our obtaining of Eternal Life and Happiness Christ is the Author of Eternal Salvation to them that obey him that is to such and only to such as live in Obedience to the Precepts of his holy Gospel to them who frame the general course of their lives according to his

our selves bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh labouring under Want and Necessity and yet not to be moved to commiserate him this is a sign that we have put off our own Nature otherwise we should pity the Sufferings of it in others For when-ever we behold a Man like our own selves groaning under Want and prest with Necessity and do not relent toward him and are not ready to relieve him we are hard-hearted to our own Nature and do in some sense what the Apostle says no Man ever did that is none retaining the Temper and Affections of a Man hate his own Flesh This the Scripture speaks of as a most barbarous sort of Inhumanity and calls it Murder 1 John 3. 15. Whoso hateth his Brother is a Murderer and not to relieve our Brother in want is to hate him for this is the Instance which the Apostle gives at the 17th verse Whoso hath this Worlds Goods and seeth his Brother in want and shutteth up his Bowels of Compassion from him whoso doth not consider the Poor is a Man-slayer and a Murderer he is cruel to his own Nature nay were he sufficiently sensible of the Condition of Humane Nature he is cruel to himself Seest thou a Poor Man in great Misery and Want there is nothing hath befallen him but what is common to Man what might have been thy Lot and Portion as well as his and what may happen to thee or thine another time Make it therefore thine own Case for so the Providence of God may make it one time or other and thou provokest him to make it so speedily by thy unmerciful Disposition toward the Poor I say make it thine own case if thou wert in the Poor Man's Condition and he in thine consult thine own Bowels and tell me how thou wouldst wish him to be affected toward thee Wouldst thou be willing that he should slight and repulse thee and shut up his Bowels of Compassion from thee If not then do not thou deal so with him consider that it may be thine own case therefore do not thou give the World any bad Example in this kind do not teach Men to be unmerciful lest they learn of thee and thou find the ill Effects of it when it comes to be thine own Condition This is the first Aggravation of this Sin the Inhumanity of it But 2. Besides the Inhumanity of this Sin it is likewise a great Impiety toward God Unmercifulness to the Poor hath this fourfold Impiety in it it is a Contempt of God an Usurpation upon his Right a slighting of his Providence and a plain Demonstration that we do not love God and that all our Pretences to Religion are hypocritical and insincere 1. It is a Contempt of God and a reproaching of him so Solomon tells us Pro. 14. 31. He that oppresseth the Poor not only he that dealeth unjustly with a Poor Man but he that is uncharitable towards him as appears by the Opposition but he that honoureth him hath Mercy on the Poor here Oppression of the Poor is opposed to want of Charity towards him He that oppresseth the Poor reproacheth his Maker how is that He despiseth God who made him after his own Image and Likeness For the Poor Man bears the Image of God as well as the Rich so that thou canst not oppress or neglect him without some reflection upon God whose Image he bears 2. The uncharitable Man is an Usurper upon God's Right The Earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof and he hath given it to the Children of Men not absolutely to dispose of as they please but in trust and with certain reservations so as to be accountable to him for the disposal of it In respect of other Men we are indeed true Proprietors of our Estates but in respect of God we are but Stewards and he will call us to an Account how we have laid them out So much as we need is ours but beyond what will support us and be a convenient Provision for our Family in the Rank wherein God hath placed us all that is given to us that we may give it to others And if God hath been liberal to us in the Blessings of this Life it is on purpose to give us an Oportunity and to engage us to be so to others that stand in need of our Charity and we are false to our Trust if we keep those things to our selves which we receive from God for this very end that we might distribute them to others according to the proportion of our Ability and their Necessity This is to hide our Lord's Talent in a Napkin and that which thou storest up in this Case is unjustly detained by thee for God intended it should have been for Bread for the hungry and for Cloaths for the naked for the Relief and Support of those who were ready to perish 3. The uncharitable Man is impious in slighting of God's Providence He does not consider that Riches and Poverty are of the Lord that he can soon change our Condition and that it is an easie thing with him to make a Rich Man poor We do not sufficiently reverence the Providence which rules the World if when God hath blest us with Plenty and Abundance we have no pity and regard for those that are in need God can soon turn the Wheel and lay thee as low as the poor Man whom thou dost neglect He can cast down the mighty from their Seat and exalt the humble and Meek fill the hungry with good things and send the rich empty away God's Providence could easily have disposed of things otherwise to have secured every Man from want but he hath on purpose order'd this variety of Conditions high and low rich and poor not that some Men might have an Advantage to insult over and despise others but that there might be an Oportunity for the exercise of several Virtues that the poor might have an Oportunity to exercise their Dependance upon God and their Patience and Submission to his Will and that the rich might show their Temperance and Moderation and Charity 4. Unmercifulness to the Poor is a plain Demonstration that we do not love God and that all our other pretences to Religion are hypocritical and insincere St. James tells us that pure Religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this to visit the fatherless and the Widow Ja. 1. 27. That the Wisdom which is from above is full of Mercy and good fruits ch 3. 17. St. John represents this uncharitable Disposition as utterly inconsistent with the true Love of God 1 John 3. 17. But whoso hath this Worlds Goods and seeth his Brother have need and shutteth up his Bowels of Compassion from him how dwelleth the love of God in him In vain does such a Man pretend to love God nay ch 4. v. 20. he tells us that it is impossible such a Man should love God If a Man say I love God and hateth his Brother