Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A67687
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The holy mourner. Or An earnest invitation to religious mourning in general with a large declaration of the divine comforts, and the blessed effects which attend the performance of it. But more particularly to mourning in private, for our own personal iniquities, and the publick crying sins of the nation. To which are added, forms of devotion fitted to that pious exercise. By Erasmus Warren, rector of Worlington in Suffolk.
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Warren, Erasmus.
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1698
(1698)
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Wing W967; ESTC R218442
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210,205
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385
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at times to be very pleasing and gratifying things For when they seriously think they are so dear to GOD as by His meer good Pleasure to be from all Eternity pre-ordained to Life while thousands by Nature as worthy as themselves were sadly pass'd by and excluded for ever from the happy State O how soft and sweet and delicious are these Thoughts Especially when they go on to consider farther that the same GOD if they believe in his SON will reckon them just upon account of his Righteousness transferr'd to them and tho' their Sins be great for the sake of that Righteousness will graciously connive at them or overlook them This makes them swell with tumid Joys and triumph in the sense of inward Pleasures and ready to cry out O happy happy Creatures we that drink so deep of GOD's Love and Favour Yet all this while there is no more genuine Comfort in their Joys than there is of Truth in their erroneous Notions Fifthly False Comforts may have their rise from Texts of Scripture mistaken and misappli'd As a Specimen of these I mention but three Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain Mercy Mat. 5.7 If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins 1 Joh. 1.9 Whosoever shall call upon the Name of the LORD shall be saved Rom. 10.13 Now too many heedless and unwary Christians greedily catching at these excellent Paragraphs of the sacred Word and running away with them in a strained sense and forc'd application of the same to themselves do confidently argue and inferr from them that they are sure to be blessed in Mercy and Pardon and eternal Salvation For they give Alms and make frequent Confessions of their Sins to GOD and put up constant or customary Prayers to His MAJESEY And being fairly intitled to such precious Blessings as they imagine and directed by Scripture most justly to claim and challenge them for their own they rejoice excessively in the Right they have to them But alas all this time they do but mis-interpret and vainly mis-apply the holy Texts and so whatever Comforts they extort from them they cannot possibly be of the true Kind nor yet of any good use or consequence Tho' this Chapter be not over close or direct to our main Purpose yet collaterally it may be very useful as it relates to present divine Comforts CHAP. XVII The Twelfth Motive to Mourning in General it intitles us to the Joys of the future Life The Excellency of those Joys manifested by comparing them with present Comforts and shewing how they exceed them in four Properties ALL that hath been hitherto said of Comforts relates to those in this present state And tho' they be very considerable both in their kind and measures yet they are the least of them which holy Mourners may expect For if they lift up the Eyes of their pure Minds and look beyond this lower World they shall see there are other divine Comforts in reserve for them and they many more and much better than they here meet with I mean the joys of the future Life And therefore when our LORD pronounc'd Mourners blessed in that they shall be comforted He might mean that the chief part of their Blessedness should be the Joys * Loco luctus istius laetiria perfundetur gaudio aeterno gaudebunt Episcop in Mat. 5.4 of the World to come And this the sacred Writer seems to point at Psal 126.5 They that sow in Tears shall reap in Joy Which words tho' in their primary sense they respect that Grief which seiz'd the Jews when they were carri'd away into the Babylonish Captivity and the Joy which filled them when they returned happily out of the same yet they may well be extended farther and allegorically accommodated to Mourners Tears as they shall be recompenc'd with Heavens Joys And so the Words which were once a Prediction respecting the Jews are now as plain a Prophecy as to Christians They farely foretel that as surely as the people who went weeping to Babylon rejoic'd when they came back again to Jerusalem so certainly shall they who mourn religiously upon Earth rejoice in Heaven So true is St. Basil's saying * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A Tear is the seed of everlasting Joy And O happy Creatures who sow plenty of such Seed as will spring up and fructify to so blessed an Harvest The Prophet describing true Repentance expresseth it thus Jer. 4.3 Break up your fallow ground Which however it may seem a rustical Phrase yet the SPIRIT very often speaking of Mens virtuous actions by the metaphorical term of sowing it wants not a kind of Grace and Elegancy And as many as in pursuance of that Direction break up the fallow ground of their Hearts which grant O LORD we may all do and amongst other good seed sow store of pious mournful Tears they are sure of the richest Crop they can desire For when they reap it it shall be all Joys and the Joys of Heaven which shall be as great as GOD can give and as glorifi'd Saints in their respective Capacities can receive And that future Joys must be great and excellent we may justly inferr and certainly conclude from the admirable Qualities of present spiritual Comforts For tho' they be really such as we have heard yet the Joys above must needs excell them For to rejoice there will be part of the Saints Work as well their Reward and their blessed Imployment as well as their Felicity Assure thy self Christian that the liveliest loftiest Comforts here are but meer Shadows to those Joys in the higher Regions They are but as a Spark to that glorious Flame and as a little Drop to that vast Ocean He that compares the Comforts of this Life to the Joys of the next hangs out a Candle to vie Light with the Sun and weighs an Atome against a Mountain Tho' our present Comforts be most rare and precious things our future Joys will much exceed them We may view the great Difference betwixt them in Four Properties First Our future Joys will be immediate They shall not be infus'd by the Ministery of Angels nor yet excited by the Meditation of Duties or Intervention of Ordinances but shall descend directly from GOD Himself from His propitious and most quickning Influence The Sight of His Face and the Sense of His Love and deep Apprehensions of His divine Favour without the Help of any other means will cause them to rise and swell within us And therefore they are said to be our Master's Joy and the Joy of our LORD Mat. 25.21 23. Even because they flow chiefly from an open and immediate fruition of GOD and a sweet and intimate communion with Him It is not thus with our present Comforts They are not to be had but with Sweat and Pains with much labour and religious Industry We are fain to fast and to pray to weep and to mourn to read and to meditate and by all
shift your Posture and Imployment in favour of your fainting tiring Zeal For tho' the Spirit in it self be strong and so very willing and forward to persist yet being clogg'd and loaden with the burthen of this flesh it may very well want Support and Respite Here therefore rising up from your humble Prostration read a Chapter or two of the Lamentations or of some other Book in the Bible Unless you had rather make use of any practical Piece of some pious Author by you That so by remitting the Intensness of your Devotion you may recover a more lively degree of Fervency And then prostrating again in the Heavenly Presence supplicate thus A Supplication respecting our own and this Nation 's Sins O GOD most Gracious and Compassionate look down look down from Heaven I beseech Thee with an eye of Mercy of tenderest Mercy upon this miserably sinful Nation We have offended Thee greatly but LORD do Thou pity us We have provoked Thee strangely but LORD do Thou spare us We have dishonoured Thee shamefully but LORD do Thou pardon us It is of Thy * Lam. 3.22 Mercy that we are not consumed in our Sins O let the same Thy Mercy which hath forborn us in them absolve us from them And that Thou mayst freely forgive us all our Sins help us to repent unfeignedly of the same Awaken our Consciences into a due sense of our Guilt and smite our Hearts with Godly remorse and contrition for it and let us so bewail our Evil deeds as finally to forsake them and return †Hos 14.1 unto the LORD from whom we are fallen Open our Eyes O our good GOD that we may ‖ Luk. 19.42 see the things which belong to our peace and incline us effectually to consider and pursue them that so Thou mayst be fully reconciled to us and turn away * Jer. 18.22 Thy Wrath and Thy Judgments from us We know O LORD we know we have cause to fear Thy Judgments great cause to tremble in Expectation of them nor can heavier come than our Crying sins deserve and call for But in Mercy with-hold those dreadful Severities which with greatest Justice Thou might'st sadly inflict Or if we have so wretchedly wearied out Thy Patience that Thou art immutably resolv'd to give us up to Punishment Yet then O GOD whose Compassions fail not deal not with us after our Iniquities but in the midst of Judgment remember Mercy Let thy Rod correct but not destroy us and let the Smart we suffer end in thy Favour Sanctify all thy Dispensations to us and be they never so bitter let them turn to our Advantage But of all Evils Thou shalt bring upon us deprive us not O GOD and Father of Mercy of the Light of Thy Truth of the Purity of Thy Worship of the Solemnity of Thine Ordinances of the Liberty of Thy House of the Help of Thy Ministers But tho' we have long since forfeited these precious Injoyments yet so far overlook our provoking unworthiness as to continue them to us and also to our Posterity in succeeding Generations so long as the Sun and Moon shall endure And let these inestimable Mercies continu'd to us have their proper Influence and Effects upon us Let them banish Ignorance and abolish Atheism and drive away Infidelity Superstition and Prophaneness Let them lead us on to such Meekness of Wisdom and Sweetness of Temper and Lowliness of Mind and Holiness of Life as may conduce effectually to the healing of our Divisions and the composing of our Differences Let them so fill us with Love and unite us in Peace that the GOD †2 Cor. 13.11 of Love and Peace may be with us and Truth and Righteousness establisht amongst us and we may no more dishonour our Reformed Doctrines by our Dissolute Practices A general Intercession AND O Merciful GOD who ‖ 1 Tim. 2.4 wouldst have all Men to be saved * Psal 67.2 make thy saving Health known unto all Nations Let Strangers to Thy Truth and Enemies to Thy Gospel be made acquainted with Thy Will and obedient to Thy Word Be good to thy holy Catholic Church Purify it from Sin and preserve it from Error Free it from Fears and secure it in Dangers And where any in it are under Troubles or Persecutions arm them with such Courage that they may suffer with Constancy till they obtain Deliverance or be Crowned with Victory By Faith unfeigned knit all its Members firmly to Thy Self and by mutual Love to one another Settle it in Truth I most humbly beseech Thee and establish it in Peace Crown it with Prosperity and exalt it in Righteousness Fill every one in it with such divine Graces and Perfections from Heaven as may make it the Light and the Joy and the Glory and the Praise of the whole Earth Lead all Nations into it O GOD that the People of this World may become the Sheep of thy Pasture and we may all make but one most holy and happy Fold under that most good and great Shepherd the LORD JESUS CHRIST O that the time were come for Thee to have such Mercy upon Sion LORD let that Blessed time come Bless all Christian Kings and Governours As they bear Thy Name and are Thine Ordinance and act by Thy Power so let them carefully imitate Thy MAJESTY Let them rule their People with Mercy and Justice and make such wise Provisions for them as shall greatly advance both their present Welfare and their future Happiness Be with the Bishops and Pastors of Thy Flock Make them vigilant in their Stations and diligent in their Functions and zealous for Thy Honour and the Souls of Men. †1 Tim. 4.16 Let them take heed to themselves as well as to their Doctrines and not only teach Men to be good by their sound Instructions but provoke them to it by their powerful Examples Pour down thy Mercy upon the Neighbourhood I am of and upon this Family to which I belong upon my Relatives and Friends and upon all that have desired my Prayers and need them Grant them such a Faith in thy Doctrines such an Hope in thy Promises such a Fear of thy Threatnings as may put them upon dutiful Obedience to thy Commands Keep them from all known and presumptuous Sins and if there be any secret Wickedness in them let them so search their Hearts as presently to find it so try their Way as immediately to turn from it and that with the greatest Detestation and Abhorrency And to the End they may abhorr every evil Way do Thou ‖ Psal 139.24 lead them in the Way everlasting Even in the Way of Truth and Sincerity of Meekness and Temperance of Justice and Charity of Purity and Humility of Peace and Salvation And if at any time while we live Thou * Deut. 32.41 whet'st thy glittering Sword and thine hand takes hold on Judgment to execute it generally on the People of this Land secure if Thou