Selected quad for the lemma: scripture_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
scripture_n	apostle_n	holy_a	peter_n	2,277	5	7.0190	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A06436	Of prayer, and meditation Wherein are conteined fovvertien deuoute meditations for the seuen daies of the weeke, bothe for the morninges, and eueninges. And in them is treyted of the consideration of the principall holie mysteries of our faithe. Written firste in the Spanishe tongue by the famous religious father. F. Lewis de Granada, prouinciall of the holie order of preachers in the prouince of Portugall.; Libro de la oración y meditación. English	Luis, de Granada, 1504-1588.; Hopkins, Richard, d. 1594?	1582 (1582)	STC 16907; ESTC S100761	342,485	696

with inwarde quietnes and simplicite and desire him of his grace that he maie be able to proceid in his prayer and meditation without such great trouble and daunger vnto him And in case it shall please our Lorde to graunte him this quietnes of mynde he shall feele a more inwarde hartie deuotion thereby than he was wont to feele with the disquietnes of his minde and it shall endure much longer After this sorte maie a man continewe in prayer and meditation a longe time together without feelinge anie heauines or greife but that man can not so doe that shall meditate after the other enforced maner before specified And for this cause we must take diligent heede that if at anie time there doe arise in the sowle verie feruent motions of sensible deuotion or excessiue sobbinges and sighinges we suffer not our selues to be caried awaie with thē but we must temper them with great moderation and dissemble them as much as we can and withall endeuour to kepe and continewe that consideration and thoughte within vs which caused those feruent motions I meane hereby that we must remoue awaie from vs those stormes and alterations of the fleashe to wit these vehemēt sobbinges and sighinges and enioye in our sowle with quietnes the light and deuotion which almightie God hath then sent vnto vs. And after this sorte we shall continewe in our exercise a longer time and our consolation shall take deeper roote inwardly in our sowles and shall not geue any outwarde shewe thereof with weepinge sobbinge and other externall signes which can hardlie be auoyded without great paine in case a man doe once accustome him selfe verie much vnto such sensible motiōs and feruours which the stronger and mightier they shewe outwardly the more doe they quenche the light inwardly and be an impedimente vnto vs that we can not proceede forwarde in our prayer ād meditation True it is that at the first beginninge of nouices in spirituall exercises such feruours can verie hardlie be eschewed For then the great wonder that a man hath of the newnes and profoundnes of diuine thinges maketh him to enter into so great an admiration and astonishmente that he can not refraine him selfe from this feruencie But after that with the vse of dailie meditation of diuine thinges the newnes of them ceaseth then is his harte quieted and although he loue almightie God with greater vehemencie yet hath he not such sensible feruour and disquietnes in his loue And so we see that the newe wyne and the potte of water when it beginneth first to trye the vnwonted heat of the fier it boyleth so forceablie that it bubbleth vp and runneth ouer the brimme but after that it hath boyled a certaine space it seetheth then much better and is much hoatter and yet with lesse noyce and vehemencie That man which was lame from his mothers wombe whom S. Peter healed as it is declared in the actes of the Apostles so soone as he perceyued him selfe to be whole and perfetlie cured of his former lamenes Act. 3.8 the holie Scripture saiethe that he walked and leaped and praised almightie God This man was not contented onely to goe but as one that had bene so longe time as it were bounde hande and feite and findinge by experience his newe libertie he then stretched forthe his limmes to the vttermost he coulde and leaped and skipped with great ioye and admiration Howbeit it is to be thought that afterwardes he woulde walke more quietly and not leape and skippe all his life time but as then the great ioye he had of his newe and vnaccustomed health woulde not suffer him to be in quiet The fourthe aduise which followeth of the foresaide aduises And here it is declared what maner of attention we ought to haue in our exercise of prayer and meditation § IIII. OF all these aduises aforesaiede we maie gather what maner of attention we ought to haue in praier For in this exercise it is cheiflie expediente for vs to haue our harte not heauie nor dulle but liuely attente and lifted vp on highe In figure whereof we reade that the Angell saiede to the Prophet Ezechiel Ezech. 2.1 that he shoulde arise and stande vpon his feite when the Angell woulde talke with him and declare vnto him the diuine misteries In like maner we reade that those two Cherubins which Salomon placed at the two sides of the Arke of the testament stode with their winges lifted vp on highe 3. Reg. 6. and stretched abroade as if they woulde flye to signifie what a great attention and liftinge vp of the spirite a man ought to haue at such tyme as he presenteth himselfe before almightie God to speake and stande before him But as it is necessarie on the one side to be in prayer with such an attention and close recollection of the mynde euen so on th' other side it behoueth that this attention be qualified with temperance and moderation that it be neither preiudiciall to our healthe nor anie impediment to deuotion For some there be that doe wearie their heads with ouermuch violence whiles they labour to be attente vnto those thinges that they meditate vpon And others againe there be that to avoide this inconuenience are in their meditation verie slacke and negligente and verie easie to be caried awaie with euerie winde Now to eschewe these two extremities it is expediente that we vse such a meane that we doe neither with ouer much attention wearie our head nor with carelesnes or negligēce suffer our thoughtes to goe wāderinge whither so euer they wil. So that like as we vse commonlie to saie vnto him that rydeth vpon a kickinge flinginge horse that he must take good heede how he holdeth the reines of his bridle and kepe a meane therein that is he must holde them neither to harde nor to slacke that the horse neither turne backewarde nor runne to headlonge forwarde Out attention must proceed with moderation and not with violence Prou. 30.33 euen so must we endeuour that our attention maye proceede in our prayers with moderation and not with violence and with a temperate carefulnes and diligence and not with excessiue labour and traueill Of both these poyntes we be aduertised in the holie Scripture For of the one Salomon saiethe Who so squiseth ouermuch the pappes to get out milke shall wringe out bloude And of the other poynte the Prophete Esaie saieth Esa 66.10.11 Reioyce with her all ye that mourne for her that ye maie sucke and be satisfied with the breastes of her consolation Howbeit in case we feyle of the meane and doe leane vnto anie of these two extremeties Of the two extremeties it is lesse hurt to haue ouermuch attention in our prayers than no care or regarde of our attention therein it is lesse hurte to leane vnto ouermuch attention than vnto carelesnes and neglectinge of our attention For a man is prouoked to carelesnes and negligence by his

is manifest that fayth is the first beginninge and foundation of all the Christian life For fayth maketh vs to beleue that almightie God is our creator our gouernour our redeemer our sanctifier our glorifier to be short our beginninge and our last ende Fayth is that which teacheth vs Fayth bridlethe mās harte and causeth him to liue in the feare of God that there is an other lyfe after this and that there shal be a generall iudgement of all our workes and that we shall receiue either euerlastinge glorie for the good or els euerlastinge paine for the euill And it is cleare that the fayth and beliefe men haue in these thinges brideleth their hartes and causeth them to stande in awe and to liue in the feare of God For if fayth were not emonge vs as a meane to brydle and directe vs herein what trow ye would become of the lyfe of man And therefore the Prophet saied That the iust man liueth by fayth Rom. 1. Heb. 10. Galat. 3. Abac 2.4 not that fayth alone is sufficient to geue vs lyfe but because faith by meanes of the representatiō and consideration of those thinges that it teacheth vs prouoketh vs to refraine from sinne and wickednes and to followe vertue and goodnes Ephes 6.16 And this is the cause why the Apostel willeth vs to take faythe as a sheild against all the fyrie dartes of the enemie For certainlie there is no better sheild against the dartes of sinne than to calle those thinges to minde that fayth hath reuealed vnto vs against the same Wherefore that this fayth maye worke this effect in vs it is verie requisite that we doe sometimes ponder and consider in our myndes with good attention and deuotion such thinges as our fayth teacheth vs. Vnlesse we pōdre and cōsider the mysteries of our faythe our faythe is as it were a lett●e clovp and sealed For if we doe not so it seemeth that our fayth shal be vnto vs as it were a letter closed vp and sealed in which althowgh there come notable important newes of verie great sorowe or ioye yet it moueth vs not at all neither to the one nor to the other no more than if we had receyued no letter at all And the reason is because we haue not opened the letter nor considered what thinges are conteined in it Now what thinge coulde be said more aptlie or more to the purpose towchinge the fayth of the wicked and dissolute Christians For suerlie there can not be thinges of greater terrour and ioye than those are which our fayth declareth vnto vs. But the wicked Christians because they doe neuer open this letter to see what thinges be conteined in it I meane hereby because they doe neuer thinke and meditate vpon these misteries of our Christian faythe or if they thinke vpon them they passe them ouer verie lightlie and in great hast they cause not in them this manner of motion and alteration to witt of ioye or of feare Wherefore it behoueth vs sometimes to open this letter of our faythe I meane the mysteries thereof and to reade the same very leisurlie and to consider with good attention what thinges are tawght vs in the same the which is done by meanes of the exercise of consideration For it is consideration that openeth that which is locked and vnfoldeth that which is folded together and maketh that cleare vnto vs which is otherwise darke and obscure And so by illuminatinge our vnderstandinge with the greatnes of the mysteries of our fayth it inclineth our will so farfourth as appertaineth to the office of consideration to conforme our lyfe to the same This office of consideration almightie God figured verie notablie in the lawe what was signified by the cleā beaste in the lawe Leuit. 11. Deuter. 14. when emonge the conditions that were required in the cleane beast he assigned this for one that the beast should chewe the cudde to witt the meate that it bad eaten before Now it is certain that it was litle to the purpose whether the beast were cleane or vncleane and suerlie almightie God made litle accompt of that But his meaninge was to represent vnto vs in that cleane beast the condition office and exercise of those beastes that be spirituallie cleane to witt of the iust and righteous persons that are not content onelie to eate such thinges as appertain vnto amightie God in beleeuinge them by fayth but after they haue eaten them they doe also chewe them by meanes of cōsideration in searchinge and ponderinge the mysteries which they beleue And after they haue vnderstode the meaninge and excellencie of them they distribute and deuide this meate vnto all the spirituall members of the sowle for the sustentation and reparinge of the same Insomuch that if we marke this matter well A notable similitude we shall finde that it fareth in this case as in the seede of a tree which althowghe it doe virtuallie conteine within it the substance of the tree yet hath it neide of the vertue and influence of heauen and of the benefite and moysture of the earthe to cause the vertue that is inclosed in the seede to come forthe to light and to growe vp by litle and litle and waxe a tree Euen so in like maner we saie that althoughe fayth be the first seede and originall of all our weale yet must it neides be holpen with this benefite of consideration that by the same and by meanes of charitie the greine and fruitfull tree of good lyfe which is virtuallie conteined therein maie growe and come to light HOW CONSIDERATION HELPETH HOPE § II. Summa S. Thomae 22. quaest 17. art 5. quaest 18. artic 1. CONSIDERATION helpeth also no lesse the vertue of hope This hope is an affection of our will that hath his motive and roote in the vnderstandinge As the Apostle signifieth plainlie vnto vs saienge All thinges that are written Rom. 15.4 are written for our instruction that throughe patience and consolation which the scriptures geue vnto vs we may haue hope and affiance in almightie God For vndowtedlie the holie scripture is the fountaine The holie scripture is the founteyne of comfort from whēce the iust man gathereth the water of comfort wherewith he strengtheneth him selfe to put his hope and trust in God For first of all he seeth in the holie scriptures the greatnes of the workes and merites of our Sauiour Iesus Christ The workes and merites of our Sauiour Christe are the principall staye and foūdation of our hope in God which are the principall staie and foundation of our hope There he seeth likewise in a thowsande places the greatnes of the goodnes sweetenes and maiestie of almightie God liuelye expressed and set out to the eie and withall the mercifull louinge prouidence he hath ouer them that be his the gentlenes and benignitie wherewith he receyueth them that come vnto him and the faythfull promises and pledges he