Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n
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A13154
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Meditations of man's mortalitie. Or, A way to true blessednesse. Written, by Mrs. Alice Sutcliffe wife of Iohn Sutcliffe Esquire, groome of his Maiesties most honourable privie chamber
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Sutcliffe, Alice.
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1634
(1634)
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STC 23447; ESTC S117939
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40,619
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246
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Miseries those thy short Pleasures have wrought thee O thou foolish and sencelesse hadst thou no respect to the death of CHRIST who dyed to redeeme thee but that by thy sinnes thou must anew Crucifie him and make his Wounds to bleed afresh Thou hast againe nayled him to the Crosse by thy pollutions thou hast againe pierc'd his side not with one but many speares of Blasphemy and as it were piece-meale tearing him from Heaven thou hast grinded him by thy oppressions which thou didst to maintaine thy superfluous delights It was his love that caused him to undergoe his Fathers wrath for thy sake but what one sinne hast thou left for his Canst thou say and that truly that thou hast spared one dish from thy Belly to feed his hungry Members or one Garment from thy excessive apparell to cloth the naked or one houres sleepe to meditate on his miseries a poore requitall of such infinite Love Was CHRIST stretched on the Crosse and couldest thou recount it nothing to stretch thy selfe vpon thy downy Beds of sinne Did CHRIST suck downe Vineger and Gall for thee and couldest thou without pricke of Conscience surfeit with overflowne Boles Was CHRIST crowned with Thornes and couldest thou crowne thy selfe with ease and pleasure Then now behold O thou rich Glutton thou who wouldest never cast up thine eyes to behold the true happines till it was too late and consider what the allurements of the Flesh now profit you which you then so much delighted in What is become of your Riches where are your Honours where are your Treasures where are your Delights were are your Ioyes the seaven yeares of Plenty are past and other seaven yeares of Dearth and scarcity are come which have devoured up all your Plenty no memory or footsteps being left of it Ioh. 24. As it is in IOB Drought and heate consume the Snow waters so doth the Grave those that have Sinned your Glory is now perished and your Felicity is drowned in the sea of Sorrowes not onely your delights have not profited you which you injoyed in this World but they shall bee the causes of greater Torments witnesse the Glutton in the Gospell who fared deliciously every day being in Hell was not that member his Tongue most tormented which gave him the greatest delight in Sin Nay speedily and unexpected this horror rusheth upon them for as everlasting Felicity doth quickly follow the Godly in the short race of theyr Misery so everlasting Misery quickly followeth the ungodly in the short race of theyr worldly Felicity It were better therefore for a man to live poorely being assured of the bliste of Heaven then to be deprived thereof though during life hee possesse all worldly riches for intollerable are the burthens they bring with them seeing that the Scripture sayth Where much is given much is againe required besides the memory of the ungodly shall perish as saith IOB The pitifull man Ioh 24. shall forget him the Worme shall feele his sweetnesse he shall bee no more remembred and the Wicked shall bee broken like a Tree II. Motives and Inducements to true Godlinesse HAving already spoken of the unstability of Mans life the wretched estate the Wicked is in at the houre of his Death I will now also set downe some Motives for incouragements to true Godlinesse wherin it shall easily bee discerned that Godlinesse excelleth Wickednesse as farre as Light excelleth Darknesse It is a thing both usuall and lamentable to see how men goe on in wickednesse and can neyther bee drawne to thinke of theyr end by the dayly examples of Mortality nor wonne to remember the infinitnesse of Gods Love by their dayly preservations they call not once to theyr remembrance the saying of the Apostle PAVL wherein hee admonisheth them to worke out theyr Salvation with feare and trembling by which hee depriveth them of all kind of security and the Prophet IEREMIAH cryeth unto them and sayth Jerem. 22. O earth earth earth heare the Word of the Lord. Shewing thereby that howsoever they esteeme of themselves yet they are but dust whose glory is but for a moment and all theyr Pleasures but Deceptio visus For that there is no Peace saith the Lord of the Wicked Esa 48. Wherefore consider this yee that forget GOD least he teare you in pieces and there bee none to deliver you feare this God for he is iust love this God Psal 4. for hee is Mercifull stand in awe and Sinne not commune with your hearts consider your wayes make your Peace with him seeke the Lord Psal 2. whilest he may bee found If his wrath be kindled yea but a little blessed are all those that puts theyr trust in him O taste and see how good GOD is he is a God of Mercies and delights not in the Death of a Sinner as hee sayth Have I any pleasure at all Ezech. 18. that the Wicked should dye sayth the Lord and not that hee should returne from his wayes and live hee will bee found of them that seeke him hee hath ingaged his word for it and againe he saith Those that come to mee I will not cast away nay hee calleth with aboundance of love Come unto mee Math. 11. all yee that are wearie and heavie laden with the burthen of your sinnes and I will ease you hee is that good Samaritaine he may powre in Wine to make those wounds of your Sinnes to smart but hee will againe refresh you with the oyle of his Mercies O then prostrate thy selfe at his feete creepe under the wing of his compassion for he is slow to wrath Ioel. 2. and of much mercy and repenteth him of the euill alas it was thy weakenesse that made thee sinfull and thy sins haue made the miserable thy miserie must now sue to his mercie if thy misery were without sinne then thou mightest pleade before his Iustice and his Iustice would releeue thee but for that it proceedeth from sinne approach the barre of his mercy and thou shalt finde the lustre thereof to shine through all his workes remember Christs owne words were Math. 15. I am not sent but to the lost sheepe of the house of Jsrael what though with the woman in the Gospell he call thee dogge wilt thou therefore leaue off thy sute consider that the tender mother many times for faults committed by her childe hideth her louing countenance and as it were altogether reiecteth it not for any hatred she beareth to the childe but thereby to indere the obtaining of his favour and to cause the greater feare of offending if then thou seasing thy sute goeth without mercy whome wilt thou accuse Christ sayd to Ierusalem Thy destruction is of thy selfe O Jerusalem but in me is thy saluation Christ came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance Hee is infinitely good and hurteth no man vnlesse the blame be in himselfe through his owne default for as the Sunne beame is
Angels and Martyrs with the foure and twenty Elders that offer up golden Vials full of odours which are the Prayers of Saints but which is chiefe of all delights there will be GOD himselfe who will bee a Looking-Glasse to the eyes of his Elect Musicke to theyr eares Nectar and Ambrosia to their Palates odoriferous Balsamum to theyr Smelling There thou shalt see the variety and beauty of the seasons the pleasantnesse of the Spring the brightnesse of Summer the fruitfulnesse of Autumne and the quiet of Winter and there shall bee whatsoever may delight thy sences and every faculty of thy Soule there will be the fulnesse of light to thy understanding the aboundance of Peace to thy will and the contitinuance of Eternity to thy memory there the Wisedome of SALOMON shall seeme ignorance there the beauty of ABSASOM shall seeme deformity there the strength of SAMPSOM shall seeme weakenesse there the long life of METHVSALEM shall seeme a span there the Riches of CRoeSVS shall seeme drosse for there thou mayst worthily call the treasures of all Emperors and Kings starke poverty and beggery These things beeing thus Why shouldest thou O man delight to begge and live of Almes when thou shalt finde such aboundance in Heaven looke upon thy selfe and consider how the Lord hath bestowed upon thee a countenance of Majesty with thy face erected towards Heaven and thy eye-lids to move upwards thereby to teach thee that thou wert not formed to spend thy dayes in the moiling cares of this troublesome world but to aspire to that true Happines that maketh all the other Misery Marke the Sea-mans Needle whose nature of that Iron is that in what part it hath touched the Loadstone that part alwayes looketh towards the North and remaineth unsetled till it hath found the Pole even so hath God created Man and hath infused into him a naturall inclination and readinesse that hee should alwayes looke to his Maker as to the Pole and onely true happines When the Children of Jsrael in the Wildernesse were stung by fiery Serpents none could live but those that looked up to that brazen Serpent which MOSES erected so no man beeing stung by those fiery Serpents of sin can live but those that by the eye of Faith looke up to CHRIST IESVS beholding him dying upon the Crosse and applying his death and merits to their otherwise deadly-wounded Soule whereby that Vlcer is cured and they assured of life After ADAM had sinned in eating the forbidden fruit Gen. 3. GOD sent him to Till the Earth out of which he was taken but the soule of man was infused into him by the breath of God Gen. 2. let therefore the cogitations of thy heart and Soule bee turned towards him from whence it had the beeing seeing as sayth Saint AVGVSTINE There is nothing more blessed than this life where there is no feare of Poverty no infirmity of Sicknesse no deceipts of the Divell neyther Death of body or Soule but a pleasant life through the guift of Immortality then there shall be no mischiefes no discords but all agreement because there shall be one concord of all the Saints peace and joy imbrace all things What is it that thou canst desire heere upon Earth that thou shalt not there freely possesse If thou defirest pleasures lift up thy heart and see how delightfull that Good is that contayneth in it the delight and pleasure of all good things If this life created doth please thee how much more shall that life please thee which hath created all things If health given make thee merry how much more shall he make thee merry that giveth all health If the knowledge of the Creatures bee sweet how much more sweeter shall the Creator himselfe be if beauty bee acceptable unto thee it is he at whose beauty the Sunne and Moone admire the glory of which was so great that when MOSES went up to the Mount though he saw but the hinder part thereof his Face became so bright and shining that the Israelites could not behold him what should I stand longer to set forth the beauty of that which if I had the tongue of Men and Angels I could not doe for as the Apostle fayth 1. Cor. 2. Eye hath not seene Eare hath not heard neyther hath it entred into the heart of Man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him Wilt thou then choose with the Prodigall Sonne to eate Huskes with the Swine rather than to returne home to thy Heavenly Father will not all these delights move thee nor cause thee to desire it it may bee thou art timerous knowing thy owne unworthinesse but bee incouraged by the words of thy Saviour who seeing thy faint heartednesse sayth Feare not little flocke Luke 15. for it is your fathers pleasure to give you a Kingdome Thou art one of the flocke and this Kingdome is prepared for thee why dost thou not long to take possession of thy owne pu chased for thee by CHRIST who though hee be thy Elder brother yet thou shalt bee co-heyre with him whose love thou mayst see expressed by his infinite care for in his Prayer to his Father for his Disciples he remembred thee when he sayd I pray not for these alone Iohn 117. but for those that shall beleeve on me that they may all be one as thou Father art in me and I in thee and the glory which thou hast given mee I have given them that they may bee one even as wee are one I will also that those thou hast given mee bee with me Canst thou now have any doubts or waverings in thy Mind Repayre unto him and in true humility of Soule confesse thy selfe unto him and say Father I have sinned against Heaven and against thee and I am no more worthy to bee called thy Sonne This done doubt not but hee will imbrace thee in the Armes of his Mercy the Ring and Robe shall be brought and the fatted Calfe shall be kild for there is more joy in Heaven over one sinner that repenteth than of ninety and nine just persons It is a place prepared for thee before the Foundations of the World were layd O happy Soule that art made possessor of this blessednesse How art thou able to behold any thing in this life with true contentment having seriously beheld this though thou didst dayly suffer torments if for a long time thou didst indure Hell it selfe so that at the length thou mightest see CHRIST in his glory and injoy this blessednesse and haue society with the Saints were it not worthy all Sufferings All Bitternes and all Crosses that thou mightest be partaker of all this good At last what though the world account not of thee but deride thee for thy vertuous living Remember ELIZEVS the Prophet of the Lord who was mocked and called Bald-head in contempt Resolve with thy selfe no sooner to enter into the path of Godlinesse but such is the malitiousnesse of thy Mortall