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
A71272	The result of false principles, or, Error convicted by its own evidence managed in several dialogues / by the author of the Examination of Tylenus before the tryers ; whereunto is added a learned disputation of Dr. Goades, sent by King James to the Synod at Dort.	Womock, Laurence, 1612-1685.; Goad, Thomas, 1576-1638.	1661 (1661)	Wing W3350; ESTC R31825	239,068	280

deep setled apprehensions of his gracious merciful lovely nature which indeed is the first work of true Religion and the very Master Radical Act of true Grace and the chief maintai●er of spiritual life and motion 2. All these temptations are yet more effectually dispelled by considering this merciful Divine Nature dwelling in flesh becoming man by condescending to the assumption of our humane nature and so come near us and assuming the office of being the Mediatour the Redeemer the Saviour of the World 3. All our doubts and fears that proceed from our former sins have all a present rememdy in the fulness and sufficiency of Christs satisfaction even for all the World so that no sin is so great but it is fully satisfied for c. 4. All our doubts and fears that arise from an apprehension of Gods unwillingness to shew us mercy and to give us Christ and life in him arise from the misapprehension of Christs unwillingness to be ours or at least from the uncertainty of his willingness these have all a sufficient remedy in the general extent and tenour of the New Covenant From which principles our Divines do infer 1. A possibility of your salvation Ib pag. 43. 2. Nay though you were yet graceless you have now this comfort that your salvation is probable as well as possible you are very fair for it The terms be not hard in themselves on which it is tendred for Christs yoke yoke is easie his burden light and his commands are not grievous 3. Yea this exceeding comfort there is even for them that are graceless that their salvation is conditionally certain and the condition is but their own willingness But all this gives Desola us no satisfaction As to the greatest part of Mankind he finds in God a general unwillingness of their salvation for as if he were a cruel destroyer according to the Synod of Dort he cast them off without any vincible fault of theirs for the sin of Adam and out of an immutable hatred against them he decreed to with-hold from them all grace sufficient unto Faith and Repentance and hence it follows that Christ procured no such grace for them and consequently that his merit is insufficient * Distinctio qua Christus dicitur mortuus sufficienter non efficaciter pro omnibus vana est nom illud aut notat vice aut bono omnium mori sed nec hoc nec illud Ergo nullo mod● c. Maccovius in Th●ol polem cap. 14. Qust 15. mihi pag. 98. And therefore if pardon and salvation be tendred to them it cannot be done seriously and in earnest but in mockery and delusion Hereupon he concludes that pardon and salvation being offer'd only upon such condi●ions as are impossible the obtaining them is so far from being certain that it is neither probable nor possible Lastly I have conjured him not to think of Gods mercifulness Mr. Baxter ib. pag. 18. with distinguishing extenuating thoughts nor to limit it by the bounds of our frail understandings for the Heavens are not so far above the Earth as his thoughts and wayes are above ours I bid him still-remember that he must have no low thoughts of Gods goodness but apprehend it as bearing proportion with his power As it is blasphemy to limit his power so it is to limit his goodness I advised him to consider that even under the terrible Law when God proclaims to Moses Ibid. pag. 17. his own Name and therein his Nature Exod. 34. 6 7. the first and greatest part is The Lord God merciful and gracious long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth keeping mercy for thousands forgiving iniquity transgression and sin And he hath sworn that he hath no pleasure in the death of a sinne but rather that he return and live For this he finds an evasion too out of Dr. Twiss where in Answer to the Text now alledged he replies thus As for that of swearing by himself that he wi● not for so the Translatour Vbi supra pag. 52 53. of Tilenus had rendred it the death of a sinner there is no such Text at all saith he the most Authentical Translation of our own Church reads it I have no pleasure in the death of a sinner And as Piscator observes A man may will that wherein he takes no pleasure like as a sick man takes no pleasure in a bitter Potion yet he is willing to take it to recover his health So is a man willing to lose a Limb though he takes no pleasure in it to save his life And then again as the words lie they are directly contrary to Christian reason for doth not God inflict death on thousands and doth not the Scripture testifie That God works all things according to the counsel of his will Ephes 1. 11. And albeit he takes no pleasure in the death of the sinner yet the Scripture is as express in acknowledging that God delights in the execution of judgment as well as in the execution of mercy I am the Lord which sheweth mercy judgment and righteousness in the Earth for in these things I delight saith the Lord Jer. 9. 24. Having proceeded thus far I saw so little probability of success that I resolved to have him treated with the best advantage I could and therefore I have call'd in your assistance that the Authority of your Office may add some weight and force to such Arguments as you shall think sit to produce for his Restitution And now Sir that you are acquainted as well with the Disease as with the Patient I beseech you to bestow a charitable visit upon him Diotrephes I will bear you company to his Chamber Samaritanus I am as good as my word you see my Desolatus my friendship is so fast and so unfeigned it will not suffer me to be long from you But here is another worthy friend of yours Mr. Diotrephes come to visit you I hope his Company and Conference will administer a great deal of satisfaction and comfort to you to his Charity therefore I commend you for a while Diotrephes Being inform'd that you lay under some pressures upon your spirit I took this opportunity to shew my readiness to do you the best office of kind ess I am able and now my prayer is That the God of hope would fill you with all joy and peace in believing that you may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost Rom. 15. 13. Desolatus Sir you are very kindly welcome and I heartily thank you for your presence and your prayers though I have too much Reason to conclude that I shall reap no fruit or benefit by them Diotrephes Do not draw such uncomfortable Conclusions against your self I cannot think you have any premises from which such a Conclusion doth necessarily follow You know what the Psalmist saith of Almighty God He healeth the broken in heart and giveth medicine to heal their sickness and he lifteth up them that

deny it Lastly Whether I have refused any preparatory grace though that might fall into the same account with the former yet I add that is more than you are privy to and therefore I pray be not so uncharitable in your censures And now give me leave to ask you a question or two First Whether it be possible to improve that preparatory grace to the height if it be not possible that impossibility will so far excuse the non-improvement but if it be possible to improve it to the full height which perhaps may be granted because a man can do what he can do and sure whatever God may do in justice yet in goodness he will require nothing above our abilities Then my second question is upon supposition that I do not refuse but embrace and to the utmost of my power improve that preparatory grace that is offer'd me whether in that case you have any Commission to warrant me that God will confer his saving grace upon me Diotrephes I am satisfied That God hath not entred into Covenant or promise with any unregenerate man to give him saving Mr. Baxter grace upon any condition to be perform'd without it Of saving faith pag. 46. Animalis Then as was said before he hath no promise to make his prayer for saving grace to become a prayer of faith in this particular but though there be no promise yet haply these preparatory dispositions as hearing the Word c. have a certain and infallible connexion with salvation and that may be some encouragement Diotrephes No we do not say they have for that affirmation denieth the power of the Potter over a Non-believer thus qualified and so sins against the freedom of the Soveraignty of God and Christ in making God a debtor of mercy before his time Norton Orthodox Evangelist pag. 186. f. with 190. M. Animalis While you are so careful to reserve to the Almighty a power to damn even poor humbled and prepared sinners you seem to be more tender of his Soveraignty than of his Goodness Mercy or Justice But to let this pass I pray upon these grounds what encouragements can you find to incite the unregenerate to the improvement of preparatory grace Diotrephes God hath commanded him to use certain means to obtain saving grace and to avoid the resistance and hinderances Mr. Baxter and a very command to use such means as means is a strongly encouraging intima im that God will not deny men the end and blessing that use the means as well as they can for it is certain that he appointeth no means in vain Of saving faith pag. 46. Animalis But Sir now you have brought me thus far the great and stumbling objection is behind still for Mr. Norton tells us that these preparatory works are really to none but the Elect only * Orthod Evang p. 164. as for the Reprobates all the water of life runs quite besides their Mill all gifts whatsoever are unprofitable to them so saith Martinius one of the most moderate of the Synod of Dort De Morte Christi pro soli● Electis Thes 4. 5. Act. Syn. Dord par 2. p. 107. By this it is evident that your daily and precious helps and means to cure the wills of the unregenerate and cause them to accept of Christ are al●ogether unsufficient whatever you pretend to the contrary And this as great a Clerk * Mr. Baxter in his account of persever pag. 14. as your self was very sensible of when he peremptorily denies that the Rep●●bates may be sanctified and consonantly the Congregational Churches do declare ingenuously * In their Declarat ch 10. n. 4. p. 8 9. Dr. Twiss ubi supra pag. 122 c. That they who are not e●ected although they may be called by the Ministry of the Word and may have some common op●rations of the Spirit yet not being ●ffectu●lly drawn by the Father they neither do nor can come unto Christ and therefore cannot be saved Diotrephes However they are damned for contemning Gods Word and not hearkning to his gracious admonitions 't is true they could do no otherwise but what impotency is Mr. Baxter delivers himself almost in the very same words this Is it anywhere else than in their wills 'T is not a natural but a moral impotency were they willing to hearken and come to Christ but could not then indeed their impotency were excusable but they please themselves in their own and in their obstinate courses and if they would do other wise I make no question but that they should have no more cause to compl●in of their impotency to do that good which they would do than the servants of God have yea and holy Paul himself h●d Do they deplore this their impotency Doth the consideration hereof humble them Nay rather they delight in it as the Prophet noteth J●r 6. 10. Their ears are uncircumcised ears and they cannot hearken behold the Word of God is as a reproach unto them Thus far Dr. Twiss Animalis That men may accustome themselves to a course of carnality till they arrive at such a state of impiety and obduration I make no question but all are not of that temper There are some who are as far abased in the feeling of their sin and misery and humbled by attrition and cry out of their sin and Mr. Baxter of sav saith pag. 43. 44. folly and day and night do beg for grace and mercy as common grace will carry them to do They like the word and wayes of God and think his servants the best and happiest men and have many a wish that they were such themselves and that avoid as much of gross and wilful sinning and continue as much in hearing reading the Word enquiring consideration as common grace may bring them to do and have as much belief of the Gospel and as much desire after Christ and holiness and heaven and as much love to God and the Redeemer and the Saints as common grace can lead them to And withall that have a knowledge that yet they are short of true Christianity or at least are much afraid of it and therefore are under a prudent impatiency till saving grace comes in and the Spirit have sealed them up to the day of Redemption and are crying out What shall we do to be saved Now I demand whether you have any promise that assures their interest in saving grace to such as are thus disposed for it Diotrephes I told you already that I am satisfied that God hath not entred into Covenant or promise with any unregenerate Mr. Baxter 〈◊〉 pag. 46. man to give him saving grace upon any condition to be perform'd without it However I am confident that no man can stand out and say I did the best that ever I could to obtain saving grace and yet went without it because God would not give it me Animalis If that Author doth not contradict himself yet they that hold a

disobedient l a Matth. 18. 11. Luk. 19. 10. b Isa 53. 6. c Rom. 5. 6. d Rom. 5. 8. e Rom. 5. 10. f 1 Tim. 2. 5 6. chap. 4. 10. g Heb. 2. 9. h Joh. 3. 16. chap. 1. 29. chap. 6. 33 51. i 1 Joh. 2. 2. k 1 Pet. 3. 18. l ibid. vers 20. 2. That he died for as many as are dead in Adam Rom. 5. 12 18. 1 Cor. 15. 22. 2 Cor. 5. 14. 3. That he died for as many as are bound to believe in him 1 Pet. 1. 18 19. with 20. See The Examin of Tilenus pag. 168 169 170. 4. That he died for as many as are bound to adore and serve him 1 Cor. 6. 20. 2 Cor. 5. 14 15. with Rom. 14. 9. 5. That He died for as many as we are obliged to pray for in Christs Name 1 Tim. 2. 1. with 5. 6. 6. That He died for such as do deny him and crucifie him to themselves afresh and finally perish Heb. 6. 4 5 6. chap. 10. 29. 2 Pet. 2. 1. See also Rom. 14. 15. 1 Cor. 8. 11. These All are those Many in St. Matthew unless you will say He gave His Life a Ransom for Many because they are not All but A Many that will Accept of it and consequently that in the Event they are not All but A Many that are actually Redeemed the rest losing the benefit of the general Ransom through their wilfull infidelity and neglect to make Application of it But for the spiritual peace and comfort of poor Souls Mr. Baxter hath found it very necessary to tell them this great Truth Direct for peace of Consc Dir. 5. pag. 32 33. That the Scripture by the plainness and fulnesse of its expressions makes it as clear as the light that Christ died for All. And saith he If Satan would perswade you either that no Ransom or Sacrifice was ever given for you or that therefore you have no Redeemer to trust in and no Saviour to believe in and no Sanctuary to fly to from the wrath of God He must first prove you either to be no lost sinner or to be a final impenitent Unbeliever that is that you are dead already or else he must delude your understanding to make you think that Christ died not for All And then I confesse saith he he hath a sore advantage against your Faith and Comfort Desolatus I have but one scruple more that disturbs me and 't is this Whether as it is abundantly evinc'd that Christ died for All so He doth make Intercession for Grace for All For if this part of his Priestly Office be limited and restrained to some certain number His Death for the Rest without his Intercession for Grace to apply the fruits thereof will be of no advantage nay a great disadvantage * Contrary to what himself saith of his Exhibition Joh. 3. 17. Baxt. ibid. at 29. Certainly quod preced seq to them Samaritanus You say very true therefore we do not separate His Death from his Intercession Which Intercession he makes unto his Father that He would please in a Way and measure most sutable to his own Wisdom associated with Mercy and Justice to communicate Grace necessary and sufficient for the needs of All men If he made Intercession * Isa 53. 12. Luk. 23. 34. for so great Transgressors as were his bloody Murderers in whose behalf he said even in the heat of his sufferings Father forgive them for they know not what they do Who can doubt of an interest in his Intercession Besides His Intercession is grounded upon his Propitiation and that is for the whole world which is St. John's great Cordial for our Infirmities 1 Joh. 2. 1 2. Desolatus But I have heard one Text alledged which hath much dejected me in my hour of temptation 't is S. Joh. 17. 9. where our Saviour is making his most solemn and pathetical prayer that we find recorded amongst all the Evangelists and some say 't is as it were a copy of his Intercession now in Heaven yet there he saith I pray for them I pray not for the world but for them which thou hast given me for they are thine Samaritanus This Text I confesse kept me long in suspence about this Article but upon better advisement I observe several and distinct parts of that Prayer of our Saviour which observation unlockt the secret or the doubt rather and gave me a clear notice of the sense of the whole Prayer The first and greatest part whereof is spent in the behalf of his Apostles for whom He prays That his Father would preserve them in truth and unity vers 11 17. That he would give them patience and courage to endure the malice of the world and support their spirits under the persecutions of it vers 14 15. That he would bless their Ministry and make it successful to the conversion of the world vers 18 19 20. This part of the prayer being especially designed for the Apostles an intercession for the prosperity of their Office and the perseverance of their persons in the faith In this part of his Prayer He inserted these words very fitly I pray for them I pray not for the world But having discharged this part he then prays more extensively even for All that should believe through their Ministry ●ers 20. And because an Vnity in Faith and Charity in Doctrine and Affection is so emiable that it is a great motive to induce Strangers to embrace that Religion that is calculated to preserve such Vnity amongst the Professors of it Therefore he prays for this Unity amongst Believers that it may gain credit to the Gospel they profess and procure the Ministry thereof to be the more effectual to the unbelieving world vers 21. The whole Prayer as to these branches runs 〈◊〉 2● 21. thus Neither pray I for these Apostles alone but for them also which shall believe on me through their word that they also may be one as thou Father art in me and I in thee that they also may be one in us N. B. That the wo●ld of unbelievers may believe that thou hast sent me Here you see clearly our Saviour prays that the grace of of Faith may mediately through the Ministry of the Word and the Christian-like conversation of Believers be bestowed upon the whole world And forasmuch as our blessed Lord doth here intimate that unity amongst Christians would be a mean hugely conducible thereunto therefore consider how much all that professe His great and glorious Name are obliged to lay down all Animosities begotten betwixt Pride Covetousness and Faction and to endeavour earnestly to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace * Ephes 4. 3. Desolatus My dear Friend I do now most heartily thank you and my gracious God for you Blessed a 1 Pet. 1. 3. and for ever blesed b● the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ which according to his abundant mercy