Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
mercy_n	death_n	lord_n	sinner_n	2,648	5	7.4070	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A64833	Venning's remains, or, Christ's school consisting of four classes of Christians, I. babes, II. little children, III. young men, IV. fathers : with their several characteristical differences and attainments, also the doctrines proper to be taught to each of them : being the substance of many sermons / preached by Ralph Venning and fitted by him for the press before his death.	Venning, Ralph, 1621?-1674.	1675 (1675)	Wing V225; ESTC R27039	205,701	393

observed than they will be able otherwise to discover and declare it themselves We see there are two persons that this Faith of Babes hath to do with viz. God and Christ though God especially and in the first place now how it acts towards God and then towards Christ I shall indeavour to make plain and evident and 1. How this their Faith acts towards God viz. thus 1. That God is and is a rewarder of them that seek him out for as without this 't is impossible to please God so to come to God in a seeking and addressing way Heb. 11.6 There is a Faith called coming and there is a Faith preceding this coming which is a believing that God is for none would look after a non-entity or that which is not or is not believed to be and a believing that he is a rewarder of them that seek him that they shall not seek in vain if they seek in truth now the Babe believes this in general though it cannot yet see its coming and seeking to be such as shall be welcom and rewarded As was the case of the woman of Canaan and the Prodigal at first 2. Babes believe this as to God that he can turn them and save them if he please and this believing his power though not his will as grown Saints do is owned and accepted with great respect When Ephraim was bemoaning himself he saies Turn thou me and I shall be turned and God presently saies Ephraim is my dear Son a pleasant child I will surely have mercy on him saith the Lord. Jer. 31.18 20. So the Prodigal believed that his Father could though he had spent all yet set him up again and that he might be a new-made-man The Babe speaks like the Leper Lord if thou wilt thou canst make me clean and it proved so Yet believes there is grace and bread enough in Gods house if he have but will he hath power enough to pardon the Question is not about his power but about his Will Yet throughout the Scripture this is owned and accepted We read of one poor man that came to Christ distrusting his power but Christ-puts him on believing that before he would do any thing for him and when he did that Christ did what he came for Mark 9.22 c. 3. Babes look further even to the promises of God they find many invitations and promises also and they have recourse to these but do not so much mind Christ in whom all the promises of God are yea and Amen so that they do as 't were rest upon the Ark but do not come into it whereas grown Saints see Christ Jesus as the foundation and fulness of every promise and do not take up with the Cabinet without the Jewel or with the Field without the Pearl hid in it The Promises indeed are incouraging means to Faith but are not the Rest of the soul Forgiveness of sins is not from the promise without Faith in Christ Acts 26.18 nor eternal life it self 2 Tim. 1.1 nor righteousness Phil. 3. Of this also the Babes have a general notion and so they make toward Christ not with full sails but with a side-wind as 't were and this I am now to shew how 2. The Faith of Babes acts toward Christ Jesus And that 1. As the Son of the living God to whom the Father hath given and committed all things and this is one of the things which is revealed unto Babes as is clear by comparing Mat. 16.16 17. with Mat. 11.25 27. When Peter confest Christ to be the Son of the living God our Saviour calls him blessed and tells him that not flesh and blood but his Father had revealed it to him and in the other place blesseth his Father who had hid this as other things from the wise and prudent but had revealed them unto Babes 2. Babes believe that God sent his Son into the world to save sinners and 't is a degree of Faith that Jesus Christ accepts and commends Joh. 17.8 Christ tells his Father of it by way of commendation that his Disciples as yet but Babes had believed that he had sent him viz. to be the Messiah to restore and redeem Israel which though some of them understod for a while but carnally yet they had it seems now a better notion of it and in Joh. 16.27 he tells them that his Father loved them because they loved him and believed that he came out from God viz. to repair the world And though they have not yet such distinct notions of the Priest-hood of Christ of his becoming sin for them that they might be made the righteousness of God in him both which are by imputation yet this general Faith carries them towards Christ Jesus this assent leads them to an addressing Faith as appears in these following discoveries of it 1. This Faith which they have as to both God and Christ puts it self forth in purposes and resolutions to go to God though it be but on a probability or possibility such as that of the Lepers 2 Kings 7. uncertain hope is preferred before certain danger and death No sooner did the Prodigal believe that in his Fathers house there was bread enough but on this very account though he knew not how he should speed he would venture to go rather than perish with hunger and this was first in a purpose I will arise go c. Well saith the soul I see this if I live in my sins I must die sin and death keep company but there is mercy with the Lord he can forgive me if it so please him and 't is a faithful saying and northy to be received that Jesus Christ came into the world to ● save sinners and though I cannot say God will be merciful to me yet I will arise and go I will adventure and see what he will do with my poor Soul And truely God takes this kindly as 't was said of David about building the Temple that 't was in his heart to arise and go these first motions are very acceptable to God 2. The Faith of Babes toward God and Christ puts it self forth in Prayers this Babe not only breaths but cries as 't is said of Paul Behold be prayeth Acts 9.11 This Faith goes with a petition in its mouth as the Prodigal did I will not only arise and go but I will say too I will confess my sin beg pardon and withal a place in the house though but that of a Servant So the poor Publican yet afar off as the Prodigal was Lord be merciful to me a sinner and this much upon the general account of mercy for hitherto saith Christ of his Babes ye have askt little or nothing in my name and he went home justified Luke 18. So that God pickt out Faith there for by Faith not by Prayer or Repentance are we justified This Faith puts purposes into Prayers and Prayers into practice for the Prodigal arose and came and was welcom 3. Therefore

promised to sin no more and yet after all this thou hast given up thy self to sin and even like another Ahab sold thy self to work wickedness How thou hast eaten drunk played and slept away the convictions that have been upon thee How thou hast forgotten or smothered and put off these things thus 't is true sin is an ugly thing but it hath its pleasure for the present 't is time enough and I intend to repent hereafter others are as bad as I and yet we scape well enough only a qualm and gripe comes over us now and then but it goes off again Ministers must have leave because 't is their place to reprove sin but God is merciful c. Thus do many put off all convictions and though they have been gashed and wounded yet like Dogs they lick themselves whole again as they think Yet after all this it pleaseth God to take more pains with thee this day he calls on thee once more to hear his voice lest thou be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin and by thy impenitency and hardness of heart shouldst heap up wrath against the day of wrath Oh what goodness is this despise it not at thy peril see Rom. 2.4 5. For 3. Consider and know assuredly if thou die impenitent and in thy sins thou art damned for ever irrecoverably If thou harden thy heart God may harden it too if thou give up thy self God may give thee up too and then thou art in the Suburbs of Hell and dost but fill up thy measure and heat the Furnance seven times hotter while thou art adding sin to sin The tokens of Death are upon thee the very Plague sore for such is an hard heart and I have nothing to say but the Lord have mercy upon thee which if he have not thou wilt howl and cry and roar in Hell Oh wretch that I was that for a little sinful pleasure and worldly pelf which was but for a little time I have undone undone my Soul and that for ever for ever wo and alas for ever But now if God bless this to awaken thee that thou do in earnest say What shall I do to be saved if thou be a-thirst then hear Gods Proclamation Isa 55. Ho every one that thirsteth come and buy Wine and MIlk without money and without price take the waters of Life freely Rev. 22.17 Incline your ear and come hear and your Souls shall live c. Dost thou not hear him calling Come to me all ye that are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest Matth. 11.28 behold he calleth thee 2. The second branch of this use is to you Babes who have repented from dead work And 't is to bespeak you not to despise the day of small things but bless God that hath brought you hitherto God hath laid a foundation and he will lay the top-stone in due time that I may allude to what is said Zach. 4.9 10. In this Text that we are upon this Doctrine is called a Foundation and surely 't is not laid in vain We come sometime to a place where some great person is about to build a great House and when we see only the ground-work laid and a great deal of rubbish lying about it we think little of it but if we stay a while till it be built upon we haply admire the design and structure too God brought a goodly world out of the Chaos which was first made and so he doth in the new Creation the first work seems to be a confused business I but if we stay till the six daies be over and God have finished his work we shall then say Behold it is good exceedingly When the Jews began to build the Heathen laugh'd them to scorn What will these feeble Jews d● will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish if the Fox group he shall break down this stone wall Nehem. 4.2 3. But for all this the head stone thereof was brought forth with shouting Grace grace unto it And so shall it be with thee O Babe thou shalt attain to thy perfect stature therefore do not look on this small beginning as a thing of nought God will carry thee from Repentance to Faith and from thence to obedience thou shalt have food convenient for thee to bring thee up Bless God then that thou hast learned the first letter of his Name The Lord gracious for so thou hast tasted him 1 Pet. 2.2 3. that thou hast learnt the first lesson in the School of Christ and till thou learn more consider these things that follow as well as those that have been already spoken 1. Think what a mercy 't is that God hath put a stop to thine issue of blood and to that sountain of uncleanness which did run over into thy conversation Consider what thou wert doing wert thou not committing iniquity with both hands greedily drinking it down as water and doing wickedly as thou couldest to thy utmost and hath God stopt thee in thy career Oh think what mercy 't is How many thouland actual sins more mightest thou have been guilty of if God had not put this hook into thy nostrils and bit into thy J●ws and so kept thee from rushing like the Horse into the battle Had not God hedged thy way with these pricking thorns and grieving bryars of conviction and Repentance thou wouldst have followed thy Lovers to death and bell and is it nothing that he hath prevented thee Bless God as David did for Abigals coming who kept thee from sinning this day It may be thou wert resolved like Saul though 't were madness in thee as in him to go on in being injurious a persecutor and blasphemer to be as proud covetous unclean c. as thou couldst to gratifie the lust of the eye the flesh and pride of life to the utmost hath God diverted yea converted thee bless him for it 'T is a great thing to have a stop put to sin though it be but newly done or little else done as the Apostle tells the Corinthian Babes Such were some of you viz. such as were incapable of Heaven and fit for Hell but ye are washed c. 1 Cor. 6.9 11. and yet the work of grace was but very imperfect in them 2. Consider how many there are yet in the world and it may be many of thine own relations Bone of thy bone and flesh of thy flesh and some that have sate in the same Pew and heard the same Gospel that thou hast and yet are not come so far as Repentance from nor conviction of their dead works they are yet dead in sins and trespasses fast asleep in their security without any sense of sin and sorrow for it and hath God awakened thee to righteousness Oh despise not the buddings of grace but bless him that thou art so far quickned that thou canst eat a little milk though as yet but one portion When so many sit and walk in darkness the