Selected quad for the lemma: scripture_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
scripture_n	great_a	holy_a	see_v	3,964	5	3.2444	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A79974	Christian rvles proposed to a vertuous soule aspiring to holy perfection, vvhereby shee may regulate both her time, and actions for the obtaining of her happy end. / By her faithfull frend. VV.C.	W. C. (William Clifford), d. 1670.	1659 (1659)	Wing C4710; ESTC R171392	155,609	555

Kin. 6. But some will tell you that they meane no harme it being only for merriment sake Yet such laughter is not to be approoued since it resembles that of Apes who seeme most to laugh when they are ready to bire yea such laughter is oftentymes much more pernicious then the greatest iniuries and the damnation of these ieering scoffers at vertue is vndoubtedly verie great for they draw multitudes from their piouspurposes and good-life by reason of their quips and ieeres which oftentymes haue more force amongst young people then the greatest persecution would haue had they much more fearing to be confounded by those ieering witts then to suffer torments at a Tyrants hand And thus these impious scoffers both neglecting all vertue themselues and deterring also others from the practise thereof are doubly guilty of a great cryme We must not therefore mocke nor gibe at anie person whatsoeuer for it is but great simplicity saith the Bishop of Geneua if we think we may mocke or scoffe at anie who will not hate vs for is S. Tho. of Aquine being asked what was the best marke whereby to know a right vertuous and spirituall man If you obserue answered he a Man much giuen to ieering and gibing in discourse and to take pleasure in silly and childish sopperies either in his talke or behaueour esteeme him no spirituall person although he should doe miracles because saith S. Thomas his vertue is without connexion he being seemingly serious at some exercise of piety yet so light and defectiue soone after in other occasions The precedent discourses of Detraction Prophane talke and scoffing doe sufficiently manifest those great abuses in Conuersation to proceed principally from the ill gouernment of our tongue And because there are yet seuerall others of the selfsame nature whereof I ame to speake it will be most proper in the next place to represent to you in particular the great harme of Loquacity that seeing the danger thereof we may by due moderation of our tongue endeauour as well to remedy these abuses whereof I haue already spoken as also to preuent the others which are here immediately to follow this present discourse Of vicious Loquacny and the much harme caused by the ill gouerument of our tongue THe great mischiefe and manie dangerous euills which proceed from this pernicious vice are to be seene at large in the 5. ch of S. Iames. And to preuent them the holy Ghost in verie manie places of the sacred Scripture exhorts vs to haue a speciall watch and guard ouer our tongue for who keepeth it keepeth his soule but who is vnaduised to speake shall feele euils Prou. 13. No sauage nor enraged beast can be so cruelly mischieuous as is the tongue for they c●n only teare in pieces and destroy the body but an vnbridled tongue assaults the soule and depriues it selfe of the life of grace by the mortall wound of sinne The Royall Prophet well she weth his great feare of this cruell beasts breakeing loose when he said Psal 140. Sett ô Lord a watch to my mouth and a doore round about my lipps And what necessity there is of shutting vp and close keeping in this vnruly rebell the great Author of nature God himselfe hath sufficiently admonished vs by inclosing it within a double fence of teeth and li●pes which also are most vsually to be shutt who hauing also giuen vs two eyes two eares two hands and but one only tongue doth sufficiently instruct vs thereby that we ought to speake but littl● and ro heare see and doe farr more The wise Man was antiently called a Man of fowre eares signifiing that he harkned much and spoke little which is a quality obserued in the wisest men as on the contrary experience makes it manifest that who greately abound in words are euer barren in wisdoome like as trees which produce most leaues haue vsually but little fruit So children and simple people talke and prattle most because they want iudgment and reason whereby to rule and moderate there tongue which the wiser sort enioying they are much more silent for the prudent man before he speakes considers manie things saith S. Ambros as first that which he is to say and to whome he speaketh where he speaketh to what end for herein it is that the holy Ghost hath putt the difference betwixt the wise Man and a foole that a foole saith all which comes to his minde but a wise man speakes only what he hath well considered Eccl. 21. We must take much more content in harkning to others then in speaking our solues for by hearing others is gained knowledge and wisedoome but much talking is followed by repentance The reason is euident for who speakes much he considers and ponders but little and therefore must needs commit manie errors by talking Finally it is the spirit of all treuth which tells vs and experience manifest's it to be true that where there is much talke there it euer great scarcity and barennesse he meanes both of iudgment and witt Prou. 14. and yet vanity and desire of esteeme still itching at the tipp of the tongue requires much force and violence to contayne it within due moderation which gaue Salomon iust cause to say that Mans greatest labour was in his mouth Eccl. 6. Because his hardest difficulty is to gouerne his tongue Socrates allowes two only seasons wherein it is proper to speake the one when we speake that which we well vnderstand The other when it is needfull or verie conuenient to speake and that at all other tymes it argues wisdome to be silent and want thereof to be forward in talke for when we finde a coffer without a locke it is a great presumption that it hath no treasure within and empty vessels and shallow riuers make euer the greatest noyse By all which we may now clearely see how much it imports vs to gouerne our tongue the holy Ghost assuring vs that both life and death are in the power of the tongue Prou. 12. that is both our saluation and damnation saith S. lo. Chrisostome depende therevpon And therefore seuerall of the antient Saints considering well the great danger of sinning by the tongue they haue spent their whole liues in laboring to gouerne that dangerous and vnruly instrument the right order ring whereof imports our humaine actions no lesse then right ruling the sterne doth a shipp which though but small in bulke yet as the skilfull Pilot guides by it the greatest vessell through the most boisterous storme so likewise a prudent and vertuous Man by Reason and the feare of God keeping a strong gard vpon his tongue preserues his soule from danger of being ship wrack't by sinne in the fury of vnquiet passions raised by iniuries or by any crosse encounter whatsoeuer These being part of the bad effects proceeding from vicious loquacity to which manie more might be adioyned which experience teacheth them to their cost who are much giuen to this great defect in

from God himself which doth farr surpass whatsoeuer humane force or industrie is able to obtaine approach yee to mee and be enlightned saith the Psalmist Psal 33. And from this light it was that S. Hier. and S. Tho. of Aquin. confess to haue had their greatest helpe to vnderstand the hardest obscurest points both of the holy Scripture and Diuinity And by what other meanes obtained S. Antony in the desert S. Simon Stilites in his stupendious and long penitentiall life vpon a pillar B. Gregory Lopez in his great retirement both from all company study of humane litterature Sainte Cath. of Sienna S. Theresa and so many more holy persons from whence I say did they draw such profound knowledge of all diuine Mysteries but from this heauenly helpe of holy prayer Nor is it any meruell that those who are taught immediatly by God himself should by such a lightsee more cleerely and vnderstād more profoūdly then they who deriue their knowledge but from their meere humane industry which is without comparison much more vnperfect then the light of a candle in regard of the bright shining Sunne since the Sunne being of a farr heigher nature and force it serues not only to enlighten but also to giue growth and life to all whereupon it shines Psal 93. whereas the poore weake glimering candle comes short of all such effects fitly represents to vs the weake capacity of mans naturall vnderstanding and knowledge Blessed S. Augustin is as efficacious and cleare in declaring to vs the necessity of holy Prayer as he hath been to manifest its happy fruits assuring vs that Prayer is as necessary for the soul as is aire or food for the body without which as it cannot liue so neither can the soule continue long in its spirituall life of grace without the holy exercise of Prayer which is to her as a furnace is to iron for that mettle although of it selfe it bee both hard stiff and cold yet being cast into the furnace it becomes hot bright and plyable to what forme the workman shall please and remaining but a short time out of the forge returnes to its former naturall qualities and becomes as stiff and cold as before It is iust so with our soul which through its deprau'd nature is both cold very vnplyable to vertue vnless it be heated by the holy fire of Prayer from which it cannot long be separated but it looseth feruour and returnes to its former bad inclination and sinfull habits againe Hauing here briefly discourced of the necessity and great fruit of holy Prayer I cannot omit to say something also of the force and singular efficacie of the same and how powerful a meanes it is to obtaine at Gods hands all our corporall and spirituall necessities as by Gods holy helpe I shal endeauour to prooue by seuerall most manifest examples both out of the old and new Testaments As first may well appeare in that dangerous great encounter betwixt Amalech and the Children of Israel wherein so long as Moyses lifted vp his hands to pray the Israelits preuailed but if through weariness his armes failed to continue that holy posture their enemies gain'd the aduantage so that in Moses his prayers consisted their strength and victory Deut. 17. And how often he at other times by feruent prayer with held Gods hand euen ready to strike a deserued reuenge vpon rhose rebellious people as may be seene in the same chapter The like powerfull effect had his holy prayers for those sinfull people Exod. 32.10 God there saying to Moses Pray not for this people nor hinder me thereby from punishing them And Exod 23. wee see how in a maner he held Gods hands from thundering fourth his destroying wrath vpon that rebellious generation for their adoring the golden calfe Suffer me that my wrath may be power'd forth against them as if hee had held him by force from destroying him And Psal 105.23 and 24 he said he would destroy them if Moyses his elect had not stood in the way before him to turne aside his wrath that he might not destroy them Yea had not the powerfull effect of praier sufficient force to change Gods dreadfull sentence pronounced by his Prophet Ionas for the destruction of sinnefull Niniue which yet by holy prayer and penance obtained his mercifull pardon Iosue by his prayer stayd the course of the Sunne vntill he had accomplisht a glorious Victory ouer his enemies Ios 10. Esa by prayer caused the same Sunne to goe backe in fauour of King Ezechias ten whole lines of the dyall and the same King Ezechias by his feruent prayer retarded death it selfe fifteene whole yeares which was before vpon the very point to haue seised vpon him Kings 3.18 And since the Law of grace many of Gods Saints by prayer haue raised the dead S. Gregor Thaumaturgus so called by reason of so great a number of stupendious miracles which he wrought dryed vp a great lake by his prayer to reconcile a mortall discord which it caused betwixt two contentious brothers Hee remoued a great mountaine to make place for the building a Church He fixing his walking staff into the banke of a Riuer which by its frequēt inundations vsed exceedingly to preiudice all the territories about that drie staff presētly sprouted fourth and grew vp to a great tree and by his prayers became the limited bounds of that vnruly riuer which it neuer afterwards exceeded And to conclude Zonaras relates that S. Basil by his prayers open'd the fast shutt dores of the Church at Nice which the Arrians could not effect by theirs in the presence of Valence the Emperour who had proposed that expedient to prooue whether the prayers of the Catholiks or those of the heretike Arians were most efficacious consequently which of their faiths should be esteemed for true By all which their prodigious miracles we plainly see the greate power and force of prayer and we shall need no better proofe to manifest how strongly it preuailes with God for whatsoeuer we shall but rightly demande And therefore I will now proceed and shew VVHAT EXTERIOVR preparation is required for prayer and what interiour conditions are necessary to make it gratful to God and fruitfull to our souls wherein consists the chiefe point of this good Rule for holy Prayer FIrst for the exteriour preparation a conuenient place is to be assigned to prayer which may be solitary quiet and free from noise and company Secondly certaine appointed and conuenient times are to be set apart for this holy exercise which without fitting cause we must not omit nor change Thirdly the composition of the body must be modest deuout and humble as bare head and vpon our knees with ioyned and eleuated hands like criminels crauing the mercy of God Fourthly our words must be also rauerently pronounced and so leasurely as to bee distinctly vnderstood for as it would be esteemed an exceeding inciuility to speake so consusedly fast to a temporall