Selected quad for the lemma: virtue_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
virtue_n	knowledge_n	lord_n	temperance_n	1,588	5	11.7145	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A65716	Three sermons preach'd at Salisbury the first, A.D. 1680, and again before the militia, at their going against the late Duke of Monmouth ... the second preach'd before the Right Reverend Father in God, Seth, Lord Bishop of Sarum, A.D. 1681 ... the third, preach'd A.D. 1683, at the election of the mayor ... / by Daniel Whitby.	Whitby, Daniel, 1638-1726.	1685 (1685)	Wing W1737; ESTC R28389	88,809	79

his eternal Wrath hereafter provide things honest in the sight of all men Now that true Godliness consists not in the outward Acts of Worship or any of those things in which I placed the Form of Godliness but in the Regulation of our Passions the Resignation of our Wills unto the Will of God in Purity of Heart and a prevailing Love to God and in the Acts of Charity and Justice to our Brother will be farther evident 1. From our Lord's Sermon in the Mount which doth most fully press upon us the Performance of the highest Acts of Charity and Justice Mercy and Doing unto others as we would be dealt with but is not so sollicitous in pressing outward Acts of Worship which it doth only teach us to perform in a due manner and so as to prevent that great Hypocrisie which was committed by the Jewish Rabbies in their Prayers and Fastings Moreover among all the Blessings with which our Lord begins that Sermon we find not one pronounced upon the Man that prays or hears or fasts or offers a large Sacrifice or that is nice and zealous but only on the pure in Heart Mat. 7.21 24. the merciful and the Peace-maker the man that thirsteth after Righteousness that hearing doth the Will of God The Precepts of the Moral Law which in that Sermon Christ interprets and rescues from the false Glosses of the Scribes and Pharisees are chiefly those which do concern the Duties of the second Table and do prescribe the Offices of Love and Justice to our Neighbour the things which he there cautions us against and chiefly labours to prevent are causless Anger fleshly Lusts Vain-glory and Revenge censorious Judging worldly Cares and covetous Desires And lastly in that very Sermon he informs us That he will certainly renounce at the last day some eminent Professors Mat. 7.22 who did often call him Lord preach often in his Name and perform'd many Miracles for the Advancement of his Glory as being Workers of Iniquity 2. When any Man consulted him touching the things required to the obtainment of eternal Life he never did direct them to make long Prayers to offer costly Sacrifices or to be much in fasting but to be diligent in the performance of Love to God and of the Duties of the second Table Luke 10.38 This do saith he and thou shalt live and when a Scribe had made this frank Acknowledge that to love God with all our Hearts and love our Neighbour as our selves Mark 12.34 was more than all burnt Offerings and Sacrifices our Saviour represents him as a Person of good Understanding who was not far from the Kingdom of God 3. If we consider all those things in which we are in Scripture call'd to imitate our Lord's Example and to learn of him we do not in the Scripture find any express Command to imitate him in his fasting forty days his praying a whole Night or in his Zeal shew'd to his Fathers House But we expresly are required to imitate his Meekness and Humility Mat. 11. ult his Self-denial and Contempt of worldly things his Love Kindness and Tender-heartedness his Bowels of Mercy and readiness to forgive Eph. 4.32.5.2 1 Pet. 2.21 1 Joh. 3.3 his Patience under Sufferings his Purity and Righteousness and his Submission to the Will of God 4. If we enquire into the Fruits of the good Spirit who is the Spring of all true Godliness we shall not find that Prayer or Fasting Preaching or Hearing or any other Acts of outward Worship are mentioned among them tho by this Spirit alone we are enabled to perform them acceptably but they are Love Joy Peace Long-suffering Gentleness Goodness Faith Meekness Temperance Gal. 5.22 Truth Goodness Righteousness Eph. 5.9 Nor doth the Scripture promise the Blessings of a better Life unto our praying hearing reading fasting but to our doing of the Will of God to the humble meek righteous charitable Person It is the adding to our Faith Virtue Godliness Knowledge Temperance Patience brotherly Kindness Charity 2 Pet. 1.6 11 which will administer to us an abundant Entrance into the heavenly Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour In a word what are these outward Duties at the best but means of Grace for what were they appointed but to be Helps Assistances and Motives unto Piety to what end do we pray and read and hear but to obtain Grace to serve God acceptably and that by the Assistance of it we may be enabled to mortifie the Flesh and purifie the Heart Now means are all inferiour to and only good as they conduce unto the end When we once come to Heaven we shall pray fast and attend upon the outward Ordinances no more but then our Passions will be all regular our Charity and our Obedience will be perfect and therefore by St. 1 Cor. 13.8.13 Paul's way of reasoning touching the Grace of Charity these must be Duties of an higher nature Lastly could we advance to those Perfections in which I place the Power of Godliness without these outward means they would be both accepted and rewarded by God whereas without these Dispositions all our praying hearing reading fasting are an Abomination to God and only tend to aggravate our future doom 'T will be the Aggravation of our future Misery that having been so well acquainted by hearing and by reading with our Master's Will we have not done it our Prayers and Fastings will be sad Indications of our great Hypocrisie they will accuse us of mocking the Almighty when by them we profess'd our great desire to have strength for the performance of his Will our willingness to be revenged upon our selves for the Omission of it and yet when Grace sufficient was vouchsafed did not improve it This will convince us of our insincerity in our pretended Zeal for the promotion of God's Glory and fear in lesser matters to offend him that we had no true Zeal against those Sins which reigned in us nor did make Conscience of observing the more essential and weighty matters of the Law To conclude We have seen the Exactness of the Scribes and Pharisees in the performance of these outward things and how exceeding confident they were on these Accounts of Favour and Acceptance with God and we have also seen with what great sharpness our Lord rebukes their Confidence still representing these renowned Rabbies as the vilest Hypocrites the Children of the Devil a Generation of Vipers that could not escape the Damnation of Hell and that the thing which so incensed this Lamb of God against them and made him almost to forget his Meekness was their want of Charity and Justice purity of Heart and Life whilst they preserved a fair out-side towards men whence he so vehemently exhorts them to purisie the inward Man In the Records of the Holy Prophets we have found that this was the Disease of God's own People they had the Temple of the Lord the place of his peculiar Residence among them thither