Selected quad for the lemma: father_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
father_n	eternal_a	ghost_n	holy_a	29,948	5	5.9119	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A91918	A treatise of humilitie. Published by E.D. parson (sequestred.); Ejercicio de perfección y virtudes cristianas. Part 2. Treatise 3. English	Rodríguez, Alfonso, 1526-1616.; E. D.; W. B.	1654 (1654)	Wing R1772A; Thomason E1544_2; ESTC R208942	125,984	263

forsake wickednesse of life And as for us we can only make a little noise with the trumpet of the Gospel and if we shall break these earthen pots of our bodies with mortification and if men may be able to see the light of a very exemplar life shine in us we shall indeed have done our parts but yet still it is only God who must give us the victory Let us gather and draw two things from hence that so we may exercise our functions with much comfort and with the profit both of our selves and our neighbors The first is that whereof we have already spoken to distrust our selves to place all our confidence in God and to attribute the whole fruit and good successe of all things to him St Chrysostome saith Let us not wax proud but let us confesse our selves to be unprofitable that so we may grow to be profitable and usefull and Saint Ambrose saith if you will produce much fruit amongst your neighbors observe the rule which we are taught by the Apostle St. Peter He who speaks let him make account that God put these words into his mouth he who works let him make account that it is God who works by him and let him give the honour and glory of it all to him Let us not ascribe any thing to our selves nor run away with strange conceit nor take any vain contentment in the act The second thing which we are to fetch from hence is that we be not disanimated or dejected when we consider our own wretchednes and misery Of this we have also great need for who observing himself to be called to so high an Office and to so supernaturall an end as it is to convert souls to draw them out of sin out of heresies out of infidelity who I say considering this will not faint under the thought and say O Jesus how great a disproportion is this Such an imployment fits not well with me who am the most needy and miserable creature of all others But yet in this you are deceived for even for this very reason this enterprize is fit for you Moses could not beleeve that he was ever to perform so great a work as to draw the people of Israel out of the captivity of Aegypt and he excused himself thus to God who was desirous to send him What am I that I should go treat with the King and procure him to let the people of Israel depart out of Egypt send him O Lord whom you are to send for as for me I am a stammerer and unfit for the imployment This is that saith God which serves my turn it is not thou shalt do it I will be with thee and I will teach thee what thou art to say The same hapned also to the Prophet Jeremy whom God sent to preach to the world but he began to excuse himself thus A. A. A. do you not see O Lord that I can hardly pronounce my words but am a very child and how then will you have me undertake so great an enterprise as this Even for this very reason he will use thee and thou art just the man he seeks and perhaps if thou wert indued with many parts God would not have chosen thee to this end but now thou shalt have no colour to ste●●● the praise and attribute any thing to thy self and by such weak instruments is he desirous to do great things The holy Evangelists recount that the Apostles coming from preaching and Christ our Lord observing the fruit which they had gathered and the wonderfull things which they had wrought did highly rejoyce in the Holy Ghost and gave great thanks and glorified his eternal Father I give thee thanks O eternall Father Lord of Heaven and earth for that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and prudent of the world and hast revealed and communicated them to thy little ones and by their means dost work so great wonders Blessed and praised be thou O Lord for ever because thou hast been pleased to do thus O happy little ones happy humble souls for these are they whom God exalts and by whom he works wonders and whom he takes for his instruments in doing great things in working great conversions and gathering great fruit of souls therefore let no man be discouraged or dismaid Be not afraid little flock be not disanimated or put out of heart because thou seest thy self very little and least of all others for it hath been pleasing to your heavenly Father to give you power over the hearts and souls of men I will be with you said Christ our Saviour I will assist you unto the end of the world let us then hold for certain that Jesus will ever be our succour as himself promised to our Fathers the blessed-Apostles and that we shall ever have him for our conductor and Captain and therefore let us not grow weary or be discouraged in this so great affair of helping souls to which God hath called us CHAP. V. Of the first degree of Humility which is for a man to think meanly of himself LAurentius Justinianus saith that no man knows well what humility is but he who hath received the gift of being humble from God It is really a very hard thing to be known A man saith he deceives himself in nothing more then in thinking that he knows what true Humility is Do you think it consists in saying I am a miserable sinfull creature I am proud c. If it consisted in this the thing were easie enough and we should all be humble for we all say of our selves that we are this and we are that and I pray God that we may all speak as we think and that we may not say it with the mouth alone and by way of complement do you think that Humility consists in wearing poor and mean cloaths or in imploying our selves about object and contemptible things It consists not in this for herein may be much pride and as man may desire to be much esteemed and valued even for this and to hold himself to be better and more humble then others which is the height of pride True it is that these exterior things do help toward true humility if they be used as they ought whereof I shall say more afterward but yet in fine Humility doth not consist in this Saint Hierome saith many follow the apparence and shadow of Humility few the truth An easie thing it is to carry the head bowed down the eyes low the speech submisse and soft to sigh often and at every word to be calling themselves miserable and sinfull creatures but yet if you touch these very men with any little word though it be but very lightly you shall instantly be able to see how far they are from true Humility Let all feigned words be laid aside away with Hipocrisies and exterior shews for the true humble man saith he is shewed by his sufferance and patience This is that touchstone whereby

presents of the leprous Naaman Thou hast taken the goods of Naaman and behold his leaprosie shall also stick to thee and to all thy descendents for ever This was the judgment of God against man that since he would needs have the riches of Lucifer which was his pride he should also have his leaprosie vvhich was the punishment thereof You see therefore here that man was also undone and made like the devil because he vvould needs be like God And what might novv be fit for Son of God to do finding his eternal Father to be so jealous and careful to maintain his ovvn honor I see saith he that by my occasions my Father looseth his creatures The Angels vvould needs be as I am they overthrevv themselves man vvould also be so and he vvas also overthrovvn They al have envy at me and vvould fain be such as I am Well then behold saith the Son of God I vvill go in such a form that vvhosoever vvil from hencefoorth become like me shall not lose but gain and for this came the Son of God from Heaven and made himself man Otherefore let such a bounty and mercy be blessed and praised and glorified which moved Almighty God to condescend to that so great desire which we had to be like him for now we may be as God not according to falshood and with a lye and according to what the devil said but according to truth and not now with pride malice but with much sanctity humility Upon those words Vnto us a child is born The same Saint saith since God being so great made himself little for us let us procure to humble our selves and make our selves also little that so it may not be to no purpose for us that the great God made himself so little as to become a child for us Because if you become not like this little child you shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven CHAP. XVIII Of some humane considerations and reasons whereby we are to help our selves for being humble FRom the very beginning of this Treatise we have been declaring many considerations and reasons which may help and animate us much towards the getting of the vertue of humility shewing that it is the root and foundation of all the vertues the short way to acquire them the means to conserve them and that in fine if we possesse this we shall be masters of them all But yet that it may appear that we mean not to carry it all by the only way of spirit it will not be amisse that we deliver some humane considerations and reasons which may be more proportionable and connatural to our weaknes to the end that being so convinced not only by way of spirit and of perfection but even of natural reason also we may have both more courage and more affection to the contempt of honour and estimation of the world and to proceed in the way of humility for all this will be needful for the acquiring of a thing so hard as this and so it will be well that we help our selves of it Let it therefore be the first that we put our selves to consider and examine at good leisure and with attention what thing this honour and estimation of men is which makes so continual War against us and gives us all so much to do Let us see what weight and bulk it hath that so we may esteem it no better then it deserves and may animate our selves to despise it and not continue in so much error as now we find our selves subject to Seneca said very well that there are many things which we hold to be great not because indeed they are great but because our poornes and wretchednes is such that the smal seems great the little much to us and he brings the example of that weight which is ordinarily carried by Ants which in respect of their Body is very great being yet very smal in it self and just so it is with the honor and estimation of the World If you deny it I would ask whether you be indeed either the better or the worse because they esteem you not Infallibly you are not Saint Augustine saith Neither is the ill man made good by being esteemed praised nor the good man made il by being discommended and reproached Think of Augustine what thou wilt that which I desire is that my conscience may not reproach me in the sight of God This is that which imports the rest is foolery for it neither gives nor takes away This is that which another saith What is a man the better for being praised by another And as much as any man is in the sight of God so much indeed he is and no more As was said by the Apostle Saint Pau● For not he that commendeth himself is approved but whom the Lord commendeth 2 Cor 10.18 Saint Augastine brings a good comparison to this purpose Pride and estimation of the world is not greatnes but swelling and wind And as when any part is swelled it seems but is not truly great so proud men who are valued and esteemed by the world seem as if they were great but they are not so because that is not greatnes but swelling There are certain sickly men who sometimes are thought to be upon recovery because they seem to look fat and wel but that fatnes is not sound and good but it is rather sickly and swelling So saith Saint Augustine is the applause and estimation of the World it may puff you up but it cannot make you great If then it be so that the opinion and estimation of the World is not any thing of greatnes in it self but rather of sicknes and swelling why do we go up and down like Camelions sucking in wind with our mouths open that so we may be the more swellen and sick It is better for a man to be in health though he seem sick then to be sick and seem sound so also is it better to be good though he seem wicked then to be wicked and be held for good For what good will it do you to be held vertuous and spiritual if indeed you be not so Saint Hierome upon these words His works shall praise him in the gates Not the vain praises of men but your good works must needs defend and praise you vvhen you appear in judgment before Almighty God Saint Gregory recounts how in the Monastery of Hiconia there was a certain Monk who vvas generally in the opinion of being a Saint and especially for being very abstinent and ful of penance also otherwise But the hour of his death being come he defired that all the Monks might be called to him For their parts they vvere very glad of it as conceiving that they vvere to hear from him some matter of much edification but he trembled and vvas ful of anguish and found himself compelled from vvithin to declare his true state to them And so he made them