Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
mercy_n	call_v	lord_n	sinner_n	2,337	5	7.5568	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A64954	Vasanos alēthinē, the true touchstone which shews both grace and nature, or, A discourse concerning self examination, by which both saints and sinners may come to know themselves whereunto are added sundry meditations relating to the Lords Supper/ by Nathanael Vincent ...	Vincent, Nathanael, 1639?-1697.	1681 (1681)	Wing V400; ESTC R8823	153,137	370

small success 6. Assurance of the love of God will lift you up above the fear of evil tidings Psal 112. 7. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings his heart is fixed trusting in the Lord. Why should those be afraid who dwell in the secret place of the most High and abide under the shadow of the Almighty Psal 91. 1. The Saint has the Almighty on his side who surely is able to protect him He is under the shadow of the Almighty the Lord with his wings does cover him that violence may not be offered to him nay he abides under this Shadow so that he is safe at all times He dwells in the Most High and who then can reach him Nay he dwells in the secret place of the most High which shews how precious he is in Gods account and how far out of harms way Single David supposes an whole Host encamped against him yet says his heart shall not fear Psal 27. 3. and knowledge of his interest in God is the ground of his confidence vers 1. The Lord is my Light and my Salvation whom shall I fear The Lord is the strength of my Life of whom shall I be afraid 7. Assurance of the love of God will make you very holy and heavenly The Grace of God is but presumed upon and abused when'tis made an encouragement unto licentiousness Hark to the Apostle Rom. 6. 1 2. What shall we say then shall we continue in Sin that grace may abound God forbid how shall we that are dead to Sin live any longer therein Those who know they are under Grace do most abhor the dominion of Sin v. 14. they live most to God and are most forward to be the Servants of Righteousness The Conversation of such will be much in Heaven Phil. 3. 20. The Heir in his minority does often think of the Estate he is to enjoy Those who know they are the Children of God will often think of what they are to partake of hereafter for they are Heirs of God and joint Hiers with Christ they are begotten again to a lively hope by the resurrection of Christ from the dead unto an inheritance incorruptible undefiled and that fadeth not away 1 Pet. 1. 3 4. No contemplation will be so delightful to us as that of Heaven when once we know that our Lord is gone to prepare a place for us and will come again and receive us to himself that where he is we may be for ever also 8. Assurance of the love of God will make you to abound in praises He has made you new creatures to this very end that you should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light 1 Pet. 2. 9. How does the Apostle Peter break out into thanksgiving upon this account 1 Pet. 1. 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again The Apostle Paul speaks to the same purpose Eph. 1. 3 4 5 6 7. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly things in Christ He hath chosen us in him before the Foundation of the World that we should be Holy and without blame before him in Love He hath predestinated us unto the Adoption of Children He hath made us accepted in the beloved in whom we have Redemption through his Blood the Forgiveness of sins according to the Riches of his Grace How much has the Lord wrought both in and for those he has made Believers He has abounded towards them in Wisdom in Grace in Power in Love Praise is a debt Praise is expected and Praise is comely Though all his Works praise the Lord yet Saints look upon themselves as under a more special and peculiar obligation to magnifie and blesse his Name 9. Assurance of the Love of God will make Afflictions tolerable nay Death it self desirable The bitterest Cup will down more easily when you see t is reached forth to you by the hand of a Father The curse of the Cross is gone and it may be the better born and the Sting of Death is taken out and now Death and the Grave may be triumphed over What was Death to old Simeon when his Eyes had seen Gods Salvation it was but a peaceable departure out of a troublesome World Luk. 1. 29. 30. What was Death to the Apostle Paul who knew that assoon as ever he was absent from the Body he should be present with the Lord It was not dreadful but desirable Phil. 1. 23. I desire to depart and to be with Christ which is far better These are the Arguments and are they not strong ones to perswade you to labour after Assurance The Directions how to prove your selves so as to attain this Assurance follow 1. Set selves as in the presence of the All-Seeing and Heart searching God Who knows you who will judge you and who alone can make you to know your selves You cannot possibly deceive him for every Creature is manifest in his sight all things are naked and open to his veiw Heb. 4. 13. Your Spirits will be apt both to trifle and to juggle unlesse they are awed with a sence of the Lords Omniscience Let Conscience in the searching of you act as Gods Officer and as Gods Officer in Gods presence and then it will deal the more faithfully 2. Pray that your Spirits may give a true Testimony concerning you And that they may do so you must be well acquainted with Scripture-signs and characters of true Grace and then with great intention reflect upon your selves to see whether you have the marks of Christs sheep upon you whether you have the characters of Gods Children A wrong judgment of your selves how extreamly prejudicial would it be to you Adjure your Spirits therefore in the name of the Lord to tell you the very Truth and cry unto the Lord himself that he would not suffer you to fancy or call your selves his Children if you are really but hypocrites and strangers to him that you may not cry peace and safety when God speaks just the contrary 2. Be willing to find out every thing that 's evil in you in order to your more compleat purging David prays see if there be any evil way in me and lead me in the way Everlasting Psal 139. 24. And Psal 19. 12. He desires to be cleansed from secret sins that nothing wicked might borrow the shape of lawful and good and thereby abide in him The more corruption is found our and mortified the more fruitful you will be John 15. 2. Every branch that beareth fruit he purgeth it that it may bring forth more fruit And the more fruitful you are the more evident it will be that you are really the living branches of the true Vine which is Christ Jesus 4. Pray hard That if you have any Grace the Lord would increase it and bring it

are but for a season Job 20. 5 8. Knowest thou not this of old since man was placed upon Earth that the triumphing of the Wicked is short and the joy of the Hypocrite but for a moment Though his excellency mount up to the Heavens and his head reacheth to the Clouds yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung they which have seen him shall say Where is he He shall fly away as a dream and shall not be found yea he shall be chased away as a night vision 3. Better their false peace which must quickly end should be disturbed by Self-trial than that it should cease by their Trial at Gods Bar. The ungodly cannot carry a false peace along with them into another World The rich man in the Gospel that fared sumptuously every day carried none of his good things with him when he died his pleasure then came to a full stop and we read of nothing he met with but evil things torments flames endless and unquenchable Luk. 16. and then the rich man saw it had been better before to have broken off his sinful pleasure by Self-reflection and Repentance 4. Though a false peace upon Self-examination be banished yet there may a true peace be obtained in the room of it Be not unwilling to look into your selves though you find matter of sorrow for godly sorrow worketh repentance unto salvation They that sow in tears shall reap in joy Psal 126. 5. And Christ pronounces the mourners blessed for they shall be comforted Mat. 5. 4. Case 2. The second Case is this Is it not time enough hereafter for Sinners to search and look into themselves Then when prosperity and youth are gone and affliction and old age are come What necessity is there to put themselves upon the rack presently Ans 1. The longer they defer the more afraid they will be to begin and so it may never be done in this World especially considering that delay will make the work more difficult and grievous The larger the scores are the more loath they will be to look them over and the more peccant and wicked the heart has been the more unwilling it will be to be called to account therefore 't is best to begin this very instant and 't would have been better to have begun before 2. Sin is so great an evil that none can be too soon convinced of it nor too soon converted from it as on the other hand Grace is so excellent that we can never be too early enriched with it and assurance of the love of God so desirable and delightful that it can never be too soon obtained Why should there be a delay in the search after Sin This Enemy should speedily be inquired after since if let alone it may ruine us suddenly before we are aware 3. If Sinners refuse to mind the Lord and themselves in the time of youth and prosperity God may refuse to have any regard to them in the time of their distress Now is the accepted time now they may seek the Lord and search themselves to good purpose but whether the time of affliction may be an accepted time or no is questionable The Lord threatens to laugh at the calamity of some and to mack when their fear comes and that he will not be found of them Prov. 1. 26 28. They that refused to hearken and stopt their Ears and made their hearts like an Adamant Stone see what came to pass at last great wrath came upon them they were scattered with a whirlwind and as he cried and they would not hear so they cried and I would not hear saith the Lord of Hosts Zach. 7. 13. 4. Why should such a short lived creature as Man delay to examine himself What is his life 'T is even a vapour that appears for a little time and then vanisheth away Jam. 4. 14. How quickly may Death arrest him and summon him before the Lords Tribunal Some are well in one hour sick the next and dead the third nay some are well and sick and dead the same hour if not the same minute Defer not then to look into thy state and heart speedily since upon the sudden it may be said to thee Render an account of thy Stewardship for thou shalt be no longer Steward Luk. 16. 2. Case 3. The third Case follows which is this How shall Sinners that all their days have been careless of and utter Strangers to themselves manage this business of Self-examination Ans 1. Let them get alone not to be speculatively wanton or project for the World or to please themselves with vain and proud and towring imaginations but that they may seriously bethink themselves what is likely to become of them for ever Let them get out of the croud and hurry of worldly business and shake off carnal company and be at leisure to understand their Souls condition Certainly a Soul that is of greater value than all the World is worth minding is worth saving 2. Let the thoughts of God and of Eternity make them serious especially considering how much God has been provoked and how near they may be unto Eternity Time is posting away from them and Death is making great haste towards them and immediately after Death they enter upon Eternal state and how sad will it be if it be a state of eternal woe 3. Let them cry unto God for his Convincing Spirit When the Spirit is given and truely the Lord is ready to give his Spirit unto all that ask him he does discover that in Sin that before was not perceived he makes Hell to become naked and takes off that covering that was upon destruction He holds before Sinners the Glass of Gods holy Law that in that Glass they may behold their hearts and lives shews unto them that the characters of Gods Enemies agree to them and that their spot is not the spot of his Children Deut. 32. 5. Then Sin will revive and Sinners die that is become sensible they are the sons of death and wrath and in great danger of Eternal ruine Now they are to hold up their hands and cry Guilty Guilty and to lament and bemoan themselves as Ephraim did to see themselves in such a lost condition 4. Let them be very inquisitive what they shall do that they might be saved Thus were those Jews that were prickt at the heart Act. 2. and thus was the trembling Jaylour Act. 16. A lost estate being perceived is not to be rested in none ought to be contented to be damned but they must inquire what they must do to escape the wrath to come and they must give themselves to prayer in good earnest and use the other means of grace and the sense of their sin and misery should make them the more servent in crying for that mercy and grace which they so highly stand in need of Case 4. The fourth Case this When Sinners upon Self-trial have found out the badness of their State is there any

whose favour affords the fullest joy and whose frowns can cause an Hell on Earth Carnal Pleasures are but bruitish The Beasts enjoy those as well as men and several of them excelling us in sense their pleasures also may be greater They are worse then Beasts who can be contented with such delights because they are capable of delights much higher which capacity the Beasts have not How unfit is he for Christ and for the Kingdom of God who esteems Earthly pleasure as the most desirable paradise He wofully forgets both Himself and Eternity who admires those delights and joys which can last but for a moment MEDITATION VI. O my Soul Art thou indeed fond of Pleasure The highest of all are not grudged thee Oh taste and see that the Lord is Gracious What is pleasing to the Flesh cannot reach thee but God is a Spirit has enough is enough for thee The Angels have no Flesh and yet enjoy the greatest delight and God himself who is the most spiritual is the most blessed and happy Being of all Solomon enjoyed as much as the most voluptuous can wish for He says whatever his Eyes desired he kept not from them neither did he withhold from his Heart any joy Though sensual delight was in its highest Exaltation yet it was wofully mixed the sting was much sharper then the Honey was sweet Therefore he cryes out all was vanity and vexation of Spirit Be not eager O my Soul after that which will prove a vexation to thee Return unto God look unto Jesus here thou maist find exceeding joy here a Soul may find rest And being once interested in that meat which endures to Everlasting Life and in the unsearchable Riches of christ thou maist speak to thy self upon good ground Soul take thine ease Eat Drink and after an holy manner be Merry for thou hast Goods laid up which will never be spent but last unto Eternity MEDITATION VII Lord How far is that Man from knowing Thee who is a Lover of Pleasure more then a Lover of God! How excellent is thy Loving kindness How sweet the Meditation of Thee When my heart is enlarged and my Affections for Thee are vehement and strong here is a joy indeed which the World is a stranger to and cannot equal David called Thee the gladness of his Joy no other joy can make me truly glad besides How All-sufficient is thy fulness How Rich is thy Mercy How superabundant is thy Grace And even thy justice which is so affrighting unto guilty man is fully satisfied by the Obedience and Sufferings of Jesus Christ Thou art just when thou justifiest him that Believeth in Jesus Unbeleiving Doubts and Fears are groundless but joy and peace are highly reasonable The Saints which are now Triumphant who see thee face to face and are in the Lambs Presence and Throne are far from admiring the pleasures of sin and sense Away away thou deceitful Tempter Offer such poor such low things no more I am to preferre Affliction with the People of God before such Pleasures and certainly then Heaven and the foretastes of it are of infinitly greater value From henceforth Lord it shall be my pleasure to study thee and thy will to love thee to serve thee to please thee to praise thee and to enjoy thee will be my highest Happiness MEDITATION VIII What is the Applause and esteem of Men How vain and poor a thing is Worldly Honour Why should I Envy this to others or be eager after it or proud of it my self Man does judge according to outward appearance and therefore may more easily mistake When man commends Conscience may condemn and God much more That which is highly esteemed among men is an Abomination in the sight of God To be spoken well of by sinners is rather a bad sign they were false Prophets who had the good word of all men And the good Word of Saints is rather an argument of their Charity then of our sincerity The Jew that is one inwardly his Heart is Circumcised and his praise not of men but of God How poor a thing is it to be praised for Beauty which is so great a snare to them that have it and to others also and which Death may so quickly turn into paleness and rottenness And to be praised for Worldly Greatness does yield but a sorry satisfaction for Death is a sure and terrible Leveller and the Worms will make as bold with the Catkass of the Prince as of the Peasant What will it advantage one to be commended for Gifts or Parts or Grace if Conscience at the same time do justly Reproach and call one Proud and Hypocritical How little did Christ value Honour in the days of his Humiliation he was despised rejected reproached and at last most ignominiously Crucified Lord They are truly Honourable that Honour Thee and are honoured by thee and to whom thou wilt say at last Well done good and faithful Servants MEDITATION IX When I look into my self my Sins appear by great multitudes But a Righteousness of my own I cannot find which does deserve to be called by the name of Righteousness If the Elect Angels do cover their faces in the presence of a God glorious in Holiness how shall sinful man appear without a Mediatour They that are ignorant may be Proud and Self-conceited and may trust to themselves that they are Righteous but one view of Gods unspotted purity and exact justice is enough to cause in any mortal man self-distrust nay self-abhorrency The Sun is confounded and the Moon ashamed the Heavens are not clean in the sight of Him that made them the Angels themselves are charged with folly what is man that he should be Righteous MEDITATION X. My evill deeds do far exceed my good ones how great is the number of those how small comparatively the number of these How many more are the vain words which I speak then those that are serious And when I keep the strictest watch over my Heart the bad thoughts though intruders will be ten for one that is pure and holy if the odds be not farr greater And can I stand then if the Lord should be extream to mark what is done amiss Who in the World has more reason then I to cry out Lord enter not into judgment with thy Servant That little good which I do what mixtures of evil are there with it The Flesh is still lusting against the Spirit and makes every duty I perform imperfect and upon its own account impossible to be accepted The best of my works cannot merit the acceptation of themselves how then can they make satisfaction for my iniquities I see plainly when I have done all I must call my self unprofitable and look unto Christ who became obedient unto Death and desire that both I and my works the most perfect of them all may be found in him MEDITATION XI To whom can I look but unto Jesus Here the Angels look and wonder at the manifold wisdom