Selected quad for the lemma: virtue_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
virtue_n	join_v	knowledge_n	temperance_n	1,127	5	11.5049	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A61672	Verus Christianus, or, Directions for private devotions and retirements dedicated to ... Gilbert Ld. Arch Bishop of Canterbury ... by David Stokes.	Stokes, David, 1591?-1669.; Andrewes, Lancelot, 1555-1626.	1668 (1668)	Wing S5724; ESTC R24159	135,214	312

not For so filthy is sin that it makes us and all that is ours corrupt and abominable It defiles the conscience rots our good name in●…cts our acquaintance by the contagion of sin and makes our very Prayers abominable which otherwise might be our sweetest odors In which speculation St Basil said the Angels forsake the custody and and company of us when we forsake Holines to delight in sin And the Poet could say Accipiet nullas sordida turris aves And yet we have had but a little glimpse of this Holines in the Purity of it self and the contrary Impurity of Unholines Shall we now come a little neerer to it and take a clearer view of the large extent it hath over all virtues 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Hebrew word coming from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 praeparare separare implies that Holines is a separation of our selves from sin to a virtuous and godly life Which is the extent of the word Righteousnes as it is often used in holy Scripture Yet there are some that would-confine Holines to some one part Some lodge it in the ear some in the tongue Though our Saviour came not to smooth our tongues or fill our ears but to present us with pure hands and chast eyes to guide our feet into the wayes of Peace and Holines and to render all our parts and actions such as may receive purity and holines from the right Fountain the Heart it self We must begin with Holines in the Heart if we mean to see God Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God saith our Saviour Mat 5. 8. There we must begin but we must not stay there Thence we must climbe up to those several steps of Holines so often commended to our care in the word of God building up our holy Faith as St. Jude speakes till it come to a full structure To this structure you must bring in all the good works that may be making your holines passe through all Virtues St. Paul meanes that by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 being fruitful in every good work Col. 1. 10. But there he is in generals Will you hear him run over the particulars Then observe what he saith to the Philippians Whatsoever things are true whatsoever things are honest whatsoever things are just whatsoever things are pure whatsoever things are lovely whatsoever things are of good report if there be any virtue if there be any praise think of these things and the God of Peace shall be with you Phil. 4. 8 9. This is the Holines that must be joyned to peace if you will hear the great Doctor of the Gentils VVill you now have some particulars from St. Peter the Doctor of the Jews Thus saith he Adde to your Faith virtue he is no Solifidian then he goes on To your virtue knowledge temperance patience godlines brotherly kindnes Charity for so an entrance shall be ministred unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ 2 Pet. 1. 5 6 7 8 11. i. e. so shall we be admitted to the Vision of God Shall I adde what St. Peter hath in the ninth verse he that lacks these things is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 like one that is purblind and cannot see a far off or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 blind outright that is he is so far from seeing God or any divine things that he sees nothing as he should do XXVI Another reflexion upon the proposal of the second meanes Hebr. 12. 14. NOw if we have them we shall not be kept long from the happy sight of him that is the God of Peace and Holines Yes Have them you will say but how shall we have them The answer is laid before our eyes in the words of sacred Scripture Follow Peace and Holines They are both so willing to be had if we will but follow them there needs no more But we must learn what it is to follow The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 rendred by following we observed before to be a busy and active word It signifies a hearty and serious persuit an eager hunting after what we long for Having told you this I hope I shall have leave to ask one Question He that hath some faint desire hovering about the heart and breathing it self about the lips if he put himself to no farther trouble in the prosecution can he be said in this sense to follow Peace or holines I believe he that seeks or follows any thing as he should must use his head and his feet and somewhat else as well as his wishes and lip-labour And so he had need that thinks of attaining what here we speak of For can we think that peace or holines do so undervalue themselves that they will wait our leisure and ●…e whistled up when we please by the charme of a cold prayer or two Or can we imagine that such Precepts as these to follow after peace and holines without which no man shall see God are so given to us that if we like them we may use them if not we may lay them by Do we conceive that what the holy Scripture enjoyns and we are commanded to preach is left to our liberty to practice as we or you shall see cause Then may our Preaching and your Hearing quickly come to an end like a tale or dream of one running after Peace and Holines and before he came at them stumbling upon Felicity and the Vision of God Let us not deceive our selves God is not mocked He that saith there is no enjoyment of the one without following of the other no seeing God without Holines he will not dispense with the Duty and follow after us with the Reward that care not to make our selves capable of the Blessing For this will prove a necessary Duty And then there would be another Quaestion Whether we do so perform it whether we so follow after holines as if we understood what it is to follow after and what is the value of that which is set before us Shall I more fully explain what is the true Force of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is Following He rightly follows a Duty that avoiding all occasions of the contrary vice watches for and apprehends all hints and opportunities of doing good He that ambitiously laies hold of a happy hour and fair way wherein to approve his virtues And this way of following and persuing we may learn from the practice of those that have little to do with Holines How doth the coveteous man follow his beloved gain Doth he not rise early and late retire himself to rest Doth he not exhaust his strength and abilities by Sea and Land to compasse what he aimes at though with hazard of health and life it self What doth the ambitious and amorous person How eagerly and with what pains do they hunt after that which they fancy their best prize and content Our following of Holines might borrow a little heat and aemulation from

of it then we make the next piece of Armour the Shield of Faith Faith helps to shield and protect every part about us Therefore the Apostle joyned it with the Breast-plate of Charity or Righteousnes And we may joyn it with all the rest 1 Thess 5. 8. Nay it is of such vertue that it is not so much a part of our Armour as indeed the Victory it selfe as Saint John speakes 1 Joh. 5. 4. Therefore Saint Paul Epes 6. 16. might well ascribe unto that the repelling of all those dangerous lusts and temptations that are suggested by the Devil or any of his wicked Instruments It is our certainly believing the threats and promises of the Gospel that hath the power of quenching those fiery darts and preventing the venome which otherwise from thence might spread and diffuse it selfe to the deadly infection of the Soule Wherefore after a Shield of this power and vertue we may well heare of the Helmet of Salvation that crownes the head and makes us now compleat in our Panoplia A good Souldier will have a speciall care of this part of his Armour that defends his head Both because in the head those prime faculties are placed that guide the whole body and because a wound there is most dangerous It is here called the Helmet of Salvation But let us enquire what that is slest we be mistaken in the sound of the words Saint Paul interprets Himselfe and tels us what it is in his Epistle to the Thess 〈◊〉 when he calls it the Hope of Salvation 1 Thess 5. 8. And that Hope is a good Helmet and somewhat more It will keep us from drooping or being ashamed Spes non confundit Rom 5. 5. It will make us to hold up our heads without any feare what danger soever threatens to afflict us For what stormes what blowes will not be indured by him that hopes for no lesse then Salvation and a crowne immortall And who would not strive to purchase the Helmet of that Hope Which being added to what we heard before makes up the whole Armour of God as the Apostle calls it Ephes 6. 18. Because from Him we must expect it and His blessing upon it Which we are advised to beg and intreat by our best prayers and endeavours For this compleat Armour was not set out for us to gaze on but to purchase and put on and be ready to make use of or in the Apostles words v. 13. 14. to stand as if we were provided and resolved to oppose the Enemy And when we thinke we have done so and are armed cap à pè Let him that girds on his harnesse boast himselfe as he that puts it off 1 Reg. 20. 10. He that saith he hath the girdle of Chastity and tels you so in veritate in verity may chance to finde in time and place wherein to be dissolute He that begins with girding on the Sword of the Spirit Let him take heéd he do not end in the flesh It is the Item which the great Apostle gave to the Galatians He that talkes of the Breast-plate of Righteousnesse and Charity Let him be sure of it in corde in that part which is covered with the breast-plate and not boast of the flourishing of Opinion that he hath put into other men That Opinion of theirs perhaps may hold out when his Righteousnesse may prove like the Morning dew that soon passeth away He that walkes as confidently as one that is well shod against the danger of the worst waies shod with the preparation of the Gospell and a ready Heart to serve Christ Let him be careful so to walk with God that he continue to the end For he onely that perseveres shall be saved Mat. 24. 13. And lastly to close up the Panoplia He that secures himself of the Shield of Faith and the Helmet of Hope let him shew his Faith by his works and his Hope by his patience and take heed he make not shipwrack of both at last as did Hymenaeus and Alexander 1 Tim. 1. ult And that this may be done let us all with our armour take the Apostle's advice along with us Eph. 6. 18. Praying upon all occasion with all servency of prayer and supplication in the spirit and vigilance and perseverance that by God's assistance we may continue Christ's Faithful Souldiers servants to our lives end and be able to say with the Apostle I have fought a good fight henceforth is laid up for me a crown of Righteousnes 2 Tim. 4. 7. XXIX Advice concerning the dangers from within us AFter we have been informed of the best advice against all assaults from without in the next place it is of as much concernment to think of the dangers from within Against which we have the best Counsel and direction in those words of Solomon Keep thy heart above all keeping or with all diligence for out of that are the issues of Life Prov. 4. 23. that is It is not onely the Fountain of our natural life but thence also are the Springs of our Health and Solace here and of our Joy and happines hereafter Well might this Caveat come out of a Kings heart and out of Solomon's the wisest of Kings But upon what occasion he spake this or any other of his Proverbs it is not easy to discover in so uncertain a method They are Aenigmata for that as well as Proverbia You may sooner riddle the meaning without the occasion then what the occasion was when you know the meaning But whatsoever the true occasion might be we know there was a time when out of woful experience he had occasion enough to speak it both in regard of his own heart which is here so well advised and in regard of others that were to succeed him in t●…e Throne This Counsel this Legacy alone deserved better keeping then the best treasure and the strongest Fort that the great Solomon could leave behind him No Rule of such consequence as this for Him and His and for all Kings and Princes quorum in salute n●…stra omnium salus continetur Our safety consists much in theirs and theirs as much in their own circumspection For themselves are their best Guardians under God and their keeping close to this Caution here is their chiefest guard Custodia prae omni custodiâ And it is the chiefest not for them onely but for all others too Therfore it is a Rule born with us non facta sed nata Keep thy Heart is the first voice of Nature the main principle that she leaves imprinted in the Creature Nor is this enough but for the farther safety and easier custody of the heart that provident hand of God that we call Nature set it in the securest place and walled it about with strong Ribs and those Ribs as the Anatomists observe somewhat in the sorme of Swords for a natural defence of this little f●…rt of Life So that if we will hear Nature her self it is that which she directs