Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
mercy_n	faith_n	grace_n	repentance_n	2,335	5	7.5639	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A17330	Ten sermons vpon the first, second, third and fourth verses of the sixt of Matthew containing diuerse necessary and profitable treatises , viz. a preseruative against the poyson of vaine-glory in the 1 & 2, the reward of sincerity in the 3, the vncasing of the hypocrite in the 4, 5 and 6, the reward of hypocrisie in the 7 and 8, an admonition to left-handed Christians in the 9 and 10 : whereunto is annexed another treatise called The anatomie of Belial, set foorth in ten sermons vpon the 12, 13, 14, 15 verses of the 6 chapter of the Prouerbs of Salomon.	Burton, William, d. 1616.	1602 (1602)	STC 4178.5; ESTC S261	267,037	263

honoured and rewarded of God then all the world beside Oh happie man and woman that professing Christianitie or faith in Christ or repentance for sinne or patience in affliction or contempt of the world or zeale to Gods glorie or deuotion in Gods worship or liberalitie to the Saints or mercie to the miserable can in all these haue the company of sinceritie and vprightnesse of heart then may they say thus nay our suretie the Lord Iesus wil pleade for vs in this manner Father despise not these little ones they are my friends and though their faith and repentance be weake and imperfect and other graces of thy Spirit be but small and feeble and for want of nourshing and good looking vnto be not so well growne nor so well ordered as they should haue bene yet forasmuch as they come before thee and haue called vpon my name in sinceritie and truth which thou louest without counterfeiting dissembling and hypocrisie which thou abhorrest thou wilt not despise them Their fruit though they be but little in quantitie like a graine of musterd seed yet it is right fruite of the Spirit true faith though little faith true loue though litle and small loue not like the fruites of hypocrites which are like the apples of Sodome faire in shew and ashes in substance What hath soundly comforted all the Saines of God here on earth but the testimonie of an vpright heart And is not sound comfort a good reward What hath encouraged and emboldned them to come before God in prayer but the testimoniall of a sincere heart and holy affection And is not boldnesse in Gods presence a good reward What hath made the prayers of the faithfull auaileable with God for other but the sinceritie and vpright affection of them that haue craued their prayers and are not these sweet odours that is the prayers of the Saints a good reward What made Iacob to be honoured with the new name of Israel that is preuailing with God for a blessing but that his wrestling was not in shew but in good earnest in sinceritie and truth of heart with a constant purpose of perseuering till he had gotten that which he stroue for And is not preuailing with God a good reward All the daies of the afflicted are euill saith Salomon that is troublesome grieuous and bitter to flesh and bloud but a good conscience is a continuall feast that is he that hath an vpright heart and sincere affection before God feeleth no want Now such a feast as it is continuall so is it prouided by God himselfe serued in with the Spirit of God where the Angels do waite and reioyce and the worst dishes are the assurance of Gods loue forgiuenesse of sinnes peace of conscience and ioy of the holy Ghost There all the communication is secret and heauenly between Christ and the soule the Musitians are the faithfull and their musicke is praising of God and their harmonie is the communion of Saints and all are of one heart and mind and is not such a feast a good reward Nay more then this if this be not inough whosoeuer will earnestly hegge this gift of God by prayer and louingly embrace and keepe her as his deare spouse shall haue with her a large dowrie a great reward in heauen in heauen saith Christ. For such gifts come not without crauing and of our selues we cannot haue it for if a good wife be the gift of God much more is a good heart which God in creating doth giue in giuing doth create therfore Dauid saith Create in me ô Lord a cleane heart to shew that we can no more make the hart sincere then we can create a hart But whē such a hart is created by God he giueth thee a singular gift a great portion belongeth vnto it Part of it shall be payd thee in this life but the greatest part in the life to come In this life thou shalt be loued of Christs friends and moned of good men when thou art wronged the more thou dost seek to honor God the more he will honor thee as he told Samuel The more thou fliest the vainglorie of the world for sinceritie sake the more wil true glorie follow thee according to the Prouerb Honos fugientem sequitur sequentem fugit It followeth those that flye from her like friends which enforce gifts and other curtesies vpon modest persons which refuse them but flyeth them that follow her as men do impudent beggers But besides al this when death comes thy deare friend sincerity shall more comfort thee then all the Phisitions in the world And after death thy name shall liue and walke vp downe in the world to warne some to comfort some to admonish some and to shame some and to condemne many But yet here is not all for then shalt thou first receiue commendation of God whom thou hast serued and secondly enter into full and euerlasting possession of thy maisters ioy which is no lesse then a weightie crowne of glorie immortall then a kingdome and inheritance of eternall blessednesse with the Saints and Angels and God himselfe where all teares shall be wiped from thy eyes and thou shalt reioyce for euermore Where thou shalt enioy for euer and euer such things as no eye hath seene no eare hath heard nor heart to man can conceiue and nothing shall euer obscure or eclipse the same nor crosse nor diminish the same And what is all this or whatsoeuer else can be sayd of it but scarce a shadow of sincerities reward Alas a drop taken out of the sea and a moate out of the mountaines like the hem of Christs garment which did comfort the woman that touched it but she found more comfort in him then in the hem So the description of sincerity is delightsome the picture is pleasing but whosoeuer hath sincerity it selfe shall find at his left hand the fulnesse of ioy and at his right hand pleasure for euermore Whosoeuer after this Sermon shall find so much fauour with God as to meete with sinceritie and vprightnesse of heart in all his actions and such an affection that preferreth Gods glorie before his owne and seeketh praise of God and not of man shall say as the Queene of the South sayd when she came to King Salomon That which I heard of thee I did hardly beleeue it but now I perceiue that the report which went of thee is nothing answerable to that which thou art indeed And though no man deserueth such a reward at Gods hand no nor any reward at all but shame and confusion which is our due desert yet both for his promise sake as also for his honour sake he will so reward his children If mortall men will keepe their promise one towards another as all that haue but common ciuility and honestie will them much more will Almightie God who is all truth and righteousnesse it selfe and can no more breake his promise then he can denie himselfe

liue and moue and haue our being and a maruellous mercie of the most high that we are not consumed in our sinnes And let vs take heed that euen now while this matter doth sound in our eares we harbour not leud things in our hearts but pray God to giue repentance and grace to expulse them and faith in the bloud of Iesus Christ to cleanse our harts O let vs take heede I say for we are in his powerfull hands who can either smite vs as we sit before his holy presence or else harden our hearts in his iust vengeance vnto a greater iudgement As Dagon fell downe at the presence of Gods Arke so God giue grace that all leud thoughts imaginations al wicked purposes and determinations all leud vnderstanding and misconstruings if there be any may fall downe out of our harts at the presence and hearing of his word And so much for the second point which is this that howsoeuer a man may carrie himselfe in outward shew to the great admiration of the world yet God doth looke further and iudge him according to the leud things that are in his heart Now let vs come to the third point and therin consider that the cause of all that euill and disorder which appeareth in the outward parts of the bodie is in the heart For when the Lord hath ripped vp the outward parts of Belial as his mouth his eyes his fingers and his feete then he saith presently Leud things are in his heart as if he should say No maruell though his outward man be so ill occupied for there is one within that setteth him a worke and that is a leude heart which is the cause of his froward mouth c. A leude heart or a heart not regenerated is like Achan among the tribes of Israel who secretly played the theefe and brought all out of quiet for whose sake all were plagued And as Achans leude act was the cause of Israels trouble so his owne leud heart was the cause of his leud act and of his owne trouble When Israel was plagued in king Achabs daies Achab blamed Eliah for it little dreaming that himselfe was the cause thereof Achabs humour liueth still in most men though Achab be dead for euery one looketh one vpon another and saith that such and such are the causes of the troubles and stirres that are amongst them when it may be if they searched well they should find the cause most part of it if not all to be the leudnesse and coruption of their owne hearts Some set vpon the Preachers as Achab set vpon Eliah and crie out that they are troublesome and preaching hath marred all but are they not deceiued as Achab was For ask them Is it not the truth that we teach and that they are so much disquieted withall they cannot they will not deny it Oh but say some they liue not according to their doctrine Well admit that to be true as it is in many which yet is an accusation more generall then true and is more maliciously then truly or Christianly obiected yet are not they found lyers which say that preaching of the Gospell is the cause of euill For first they confesse that we preach well and that our doctrine is of God and is sound and good Then of that which is good properly can come nothing but good For qualis causa talis effectus such as the cause is such is the effect saith reason If there follow any euill effect of a good cause it is per accidens through some euill accident that came betweene or vpon as when wheat was sowed tares came vp the wheate was not the cause of the tares but an ill accident happened vpon the sowing of the wheate and that was this while the keepers slept the enuious man came and sowed tares Indeed Christ is called a rocke of offence as though he were the cause of offences which yet is not so for he is the doore of eternall life And the doctrine of the Gospell is continually matched with many offences yet it is the way to saluation For where Christ commeth and the Gospell is preached we meete with many lets which either lead vs awry out of the right way or else do stoppe vs lying in our way or giue occasion of falling and yet of all these nothing can be imputed to Christ or to the Gospell Not to Christ for first it is his office to leade vs by the hand the right way to heauen Secondly he is the light of the world by which we are guided thither Thirdly he is the path by which we come thither Fourthly he is the doore by which we enter in thither and therefore none of these lets or stumbling blockes can be imputed to Christ nor to the Gospell for it is the nature of the Gospell by taking away all lets to set vs open an easie accesse vnto the kingdome of heauen and therefore it is called glad tidings Nothing therefore is more disagreable to the nature of Christ and his Gospell then offence and disorder But this offence happeneth through the leudnes of mens hearts for as soone as Christ appeareth by and by men are wrapped in with offences or rather of themselues runne headlong into them Thus is he the stone to stumble at not because he giueth occasion of stumbling but because occasion is wilfully taken And so the Gospell which is the doctrine of vnitie and peace as Maister Caluin both learnedly and largely doth shew in his Treatise of offences is the occasion of great troubles and garboiles in the world because the wicked take occasion thereby to set all things in a broile Therefore if any euill follow the doctrine of the Gospell it ariseth from some other cause which is this Leud things are in his hart who receiueth euill by the truth And such men turne euen the best things to a bad end so soone as they touch his leud heart like the spider who being full of poison turneth euery thing into poison that she sucketh If therfore men wold leaue raking abroad in the doctrine of the Gospell and the liues of Preachers and other professours and search at home in themselues they shall find the cause of most of that hatred and contention and wilfull mistaking and rash iudging and bitter censuring and wicked liuing that is in our Christian Churches to be in some an ignorant and prophane heart in some an idolatrous and superstitious hart in some a proud and ambitious heart in some a couetous and worldly heart in some a drunken and a voluptuous heart in some a dissembling and Machiuilean heart in some a scoffing and scorning heart in some a cruell and Herodian heart in some a trecherous and Iudas-like heart Now when all these chaunce to ioyne together against the truth as Herod and Pontius Pilate did against Christ then know that the Deuill whose name is Legion is vp in armes against

at all or else where is the common distinction of ciuility and religion Of ciuill actions and religious actions The answer is easie and to stand long vpon such a point were but to trifle away the time We speake now of Christians in name and profession at the least and not of the heathen and euery one that professeth himselfe a Christian professeth also the workes of Christianitie in shew at the least which are as hath bene shewed the workes of the second table aswell as of the first which selfe same works may be done both ciuilly and religiously too and so one and the same man in one and the same action may shew himselfe both a ciuill honest man and a religious honest man As for example the law of the Prince commaundeth me to pay my debts to helpe my neighbour to releeue the poore c. As a subiect owing obedience to my prince I do these things and therein I do the part of a ciuill man because I obey vnto ciuill authoritie But if in doing of the same things I haue an eye vnto God who commaundeth the same things and do them in his feare and of loue vnto his Maiestie then do I the same things both religiously ciuilly too As for the heathen or heathenish professors of the Gospell if they do obey ciuill authoritie for feare or for vaineglorie or for any other end then the loue of their neighbour which also must flow out of the loue of God as being the end of the law they also play the hypocrites because they seeme to loue their neighbour when they onely loue themselues And to make all this more full and plaine which hath bene said let vs heare what our Sauiour Christ saith to the matter who is the best expositor of his owne mind In the 23. of Matthew he pronounceth wo eight or nine times against the Scribes and Pharisees for diuerse kinds of hypocrisie or diuerse seuerall counterfeit parts which they played all which were not in matters of religion most were but not all First in the thirteenth verse he saith Wo vnto you Scribes and Pharisees hypocrites because yee shut vp the kingdome of heauen before men for ye your selues goe not in neither suffer ye them that would enter to come in There is one kind of hypocrisie his meaning is that they had one deuice or other still to keepe men from the hearing of Christs preaching which was the verie kingdome of Gods grace and the meane to bring them to the kingdom of glorie and for that matter they had diuerse pretences but because the thing they aymed at was to keepe men from hearing of the Gospell preached therefore Christ calleth them hypocrites When I consider well of that place of Scripture it maketh me remember such Church officers as neuer go foorth to cause men to come to Church but when the Sermon is readie to beginne which they neither care perhaps to heare themselues nor would by their goodwils that others should heare Now because the preaching of the word is the kingdome of Gods grace and the meanes to bring men to the kingdome of glorie let them take heede of Christs wo because they shut vp the kingdome of heauen before men for they themselues go not in neither suffer they them to enter that wold come in and all vnder pretence of executing their office in causing men to come to Church Oh cunning diuell that vnder pretence of bringing men to church can keepe men from that which should let them into the kingdome of heauen that is from hearing the word preached In the 14. verse our Sauiour Christ pronounceth wo vnto the same persons for another kind of hypocrisie and that is this Vnder colour of long prayer they deuoured widows houses for which they were to receiue the greater damnation Here is religious hypocrisie condemned that is vnder shew of any religious dutie to practise mischiefe Some abuse long prayer some short prayer some read prayer some weekely prayer to couer their malice and to make the world beleeue they are deuout persons Let such as do so take heede for Christs sentence is already gone foorth against such they shall receiue the greater damnation In the 15. verse he sayth they playd the hypocrites another way and that was in taking great paines to make men of their painted profession and then to nusle them vp in al kind of grosse hypocrisie and wickednesse to which end they would compasse sea and land and vse all kinds of forcible perswasions pretending their soules health c. Of this sort are all Iesuits and Seminary Priestes which in like manner go from place to place to withdraw men from their right faith to God and true allegiance to their Prince and to reconcile them vnto the Church of Rome In the 16. verse he noteth another grosse hypocrisie and that is to make a conscience of swearing by one thing and no conscience of swearing by another as to sweare by the Temple was with them no sinne but to sweare by the gold of the Temple that was a great sinne And to sweare by the Altar was nothing but to sweare by the offering vpon the Altar that was a great sinne Such hypocrites are they that make it no matter of offence to sweare at euerie word by the holy and dreadfull name of God so they sweare not by that precious bloud which he shed or the wounds which he receiued or some part of his most sacred person And to sweare by the creatures of God as by the light by the fire by their siluer by the bread or other things which God made as also by their faith and troth is no sinne so long as they sweare not by God himselfe But marke what our Sauiour Christ saith vnto all such In the 17. verse he saith thus Ye foolish and blind to shew that there are foolish and blind hypocrites which euer through ignorance and folly commit hypocrisie Whether is greater saith he the gold or the temple that sanctifieth the gold the offering or the Altar that sanctifieth the offering whosoeuer therefore sweareth by the Altar sweareth by it and by all things thereon And whosoeuer sweareth by the temple sweareth by it and by him that dwelleth therein And he that sweareth by heauen sweareth by the throne of God and by him that sitteth thereon And euen so by Christs reason he that sweareth by the light or any other creature sweareth by it and by him that made the same and ruleth the same and he that sweareth by his faith or troth sweareth by it and by God from whom is faith and troth be deriued and on whom they be grounded But to proceed In the 23. verse the Lords Iesus taxeth thē for another kind of hypocrisie that is this They tithe mint and annise and cummin and leaue the weightie matters of the law as iudgement mercy and fidelity This he calleth straining of a gnat and swallowing of a

except God did giue them repentance and work a strange alteration God deliuer me out of their handes and giue them better minds if it be his will It were a strange alteration to see some that now bring Bibles to the Church and turne to places after the Preacher one day to be instruments to burne so many Bibles as they can come by It were strange to see such as are now most attentiue in hearing the preacher and most kind in giuing him entertainment one day to throw a faggot at his head or to be a witnesse against his doctrine or to helpe to burne him Well such times haue bene and such times may come again for our sinnes and then shall the approued be knowne as the Apostle speaketh and hypocrites with their light and chaffie profession shall then be discouered blowne away with the wind Many now would answer as Hazael did to the Prophet if any should say to them as the Prophet said to him I weepe saith the Prophet to remember what thou shalt do to the children of Israel when thou art king of Aram how thou shalt burne their cities and put their young men to the sword and dash their infants in peeces and rent their women with child What said Hazael is thy seruant a dogge that I should do this great thing So would many answere now no doubt Are we dogges that we should so vse God seruants c No doubt of it in King Edwards daies he that should haue warned some persons of such things that were hearers of those reuerend Martyrs and Bishops Hooper Latimer Ridley Cranmer other faithfull Ministers D. Taylor Bradford and others they would haue bene at defiance with thē yet for al that they when time serued stood foorth to accuse these godly Fathers to persecute them to death that a man wold litle haue thought of be actors in such ttagedies Wel God blesse vs all my brethren keep vs in his holy feare and make vs vpright harted constant in the profession of religiō for I do feare greatly else that if euer time should serue which God for his mercies sake forbid if it be his will too too many would play Hazaels part though they make a faire shew now and stand at open defiance for such matters Well let no man bragge of his own strength that he will do this and he will not do that for manie good men euen sincere Christians may promise and vowe a standing for the truth with Peter and because they rely vppon their owne strength may fall with Peter but I trust God will giue them mercie and repentance to rise againe with Peter but as for hypocrites and time-seruers whose hearts are best knowne vnto God out of question they will then shew themselues in their colours Let them now pretend with Iudas neuer so much care for the poore or loue to Christ they will one day proue theeues to the poore and traytors to Christ as Iudas did and if they once fall with Iudas let them take heed that they hang not themselues with Iudas for betraying and persecuting innocent bloud For it is not the approbation of the Elders that will iustifie Iudas nor his officious kisse that will couer him nor the law of the land that will warrant him nor the siluer bribe that will enrich him nor the praise of men that wil comfort him nor his forced restitution that wil restore him nor his constrained confession that will conuert him nor his faithlesse repentance that will saue him when his money his friends his owne tongue and heart hand conscience as a thousand witnesses and God himselfe shall be against him God grant that all counterfeits and hypocrites and dissemblers in religion may in time take heede by his example There be many both honest and godly religious Christans whose desire is with all their harts to please God by doing those things which his word requireth of them And these for the loue that they beare vnto the truth and their hatred that they carry against wickednesse are by an odious name called Puritanes and if they fall at any time through occasion as oftētimes they do through some infirmity against their wils then are they condemned as hypocrites but most vniustly For though all our actions smell of hypocrisie as maister Bradford well perceiued when he desired the Lord to forgiue him all his hypocrisies and confessed a little before his death that all his prayers and all his best seruing of God were but hypocrisie meaning in comparison of that sinceritie that is required of euerie Christian yet notwithstanding are none to be tearmed hypocrites which fall by occasion through infirmitie and are onely stained with the dust of it and infected with the contagion thereof as men that draw in one and the same aire with hypocrites but onely such are to be counted for hypocrites which make a shew of that which they are not nor meane to be but with their tongues can hold men cunningly with a faire tale of religion and godlinesse while their hearts are resolued to practise all kind of mischiefe and iniquitie of such I speake and not of simple harted and well meaning Christians who haue no doubt their faults as well as other men though they make not an art of sinning as hypocrites do This secret hypocrisie of Gods children doth not a litle trouble many of them neither can many be perswaded but that all that they do is done in hypocrisie as maister Bradford writing to one of his friends in most of his letters condemneth himselfe for a painted hypocrite and being thus troubled in their tender consciences they are still afraide of that woe that our Sauiour Christ pronounceth against hypocrites But for the comforting of such tender consciences whose feare is euer that they shall not deale vprightly and sincerely inough in Gods sight we are to distinguish of hypocrisie for some hypocrisie respecteth men onely seeking only praise of men and not of God and some hypocrie there is that respecteth God also yea most of all and that stealeth in this fort vpon vs. A Christian that feareth God goeth in priuate by himselfe to call vpon God by prayer Now in his priuate prayer somtime his mind is drawne away into a nūber of by-thoughts and wandering imaginations insomuch as he oftentimes thinkes least of God when he calleth vpon him neither is throughly moued with an inward desire of obtaining those things that he prayeth for nor with a hartie loathing of those sins that he prayeth against then commeth Sathan and suggesteth thus Surely thou art an hypocrite for thou hast not prayed with all thy heart nor with all thy soule nor with all thy might Againe sometime the Christian soule prayeth earnestly with great feeling and groning of spirite and hath his mind wholy intent and bent vpon God that he is euen rauished as it were in prayer thinking of nothing but heauenly things when