Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
mercy_n	forgive_v	lord_n	sin_n	11,546	5	5.1796	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A39570	The bishop busied beside the business, or, That eminent overseer, Dr. John Gauden, Bishop of Exeter, so eminently overseen as to wound his own cause well nigh to death with his own weapon in his late so super-eminently-applauded appearance for the [brace] liberty of tender consciences, legitimacy of solemn swearings, entituled, A discourse concerning publick oaths, and the lawfulness of swearing in judicial proceedings, in order to answer the scruples of the Quakers ... / by Samuel Fisher ...	Fisher, Samuel, 1605-1665.	1662 (1662)	Wing F1051; ESTC R37345	155,556	170

outward Penalties to punish and Persecute the Saints who to themselves who are not of the Light and Day but Night and Darkness seem Sinners then they are Condemned in themselves as men not faithful trusty or honest to their yet Erring Consciences about those Lawes of men against Christs Disciples in the Execution of which they dinily Divine they do God service but if they do act according to their own thoughts whilst they think in their Conscience as Paul once did they do God good service when they kill his Servants then they can never flee from that Wrath which is to come upon all the ungodly and Children of Disobedience who are found Rebelling against the Light and revelling in the ruines of its Children which Wrath is no other then the Condemnation of Hell it self the Lake of Fire the due Portion of all the abominable ones which is the Second Death Rev. 21. Rev. 22. The best way to escape this Snare is for all men to take heed which must be by following the Light within of that Spirit of Truth it self which by degrees leadeth all that faithfully follow it into all Truth that the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Iudgement of their Conscience be according to Truth first and then as B. G. sayes truly indeed to act accordingly for while men say they have fellowship with God and do him service yet walk in Darkness besides the Light of God in themselves in which God himself is manifesting his own minde more or less in each mans Conscience they lie and do not the Truth 1. Iohn 1. howbeit there is the most hopes of them that when in the same Zeal as Saul of old they Persecute the true Church of God do it yet ignorantly and in unbelief that all such as have now any hand in Persecuting and spoiling us who excepting that new-nick name of Quakers by reason of which we are not yet known so to be are in truth the self same Church and sort of Christians as were of old Persecuted by Saul and others and in Imprisoning and Impoverishing us through simple ignorance may obtain the same Mercy that Paul did is the hearty wish and true desire of our Souls who can say of such as Christ also did Father forgive them for they know not what they do and with Stephen while they were stoning him Lord lay not this their sin to their Charge But if there be any that believe we are the People of God and yet Persecute us out of meer malice against his Image which they hate having by long Custome and exercise of themselves in murderous and bloody wayes contracted so compleatly to themselves that Image of their Father the Devil who hath begotten them from God and Goodness to the doing of his own will who was a Murderer and a Lyar from the beginning so that now they cannot but contradict the known Truth and blaspheme against the Holy Spirit of it through what Vessel soever it utters it self the Sin of such being evidently unto Death we are not bid to pray for that it having forgiveness neither in this World nor in that to come yet we leave them to stand or fall to their own Master Having in part discovered the Pittifulness of some of those Pious and specious pretences of Pitty and Christian Charity to the Quakers which Bish Gauden makes and under which as under a Vizard he seeks to hide the severity of his Visage we shall proceed to unmask him further by some observation of some other Passages much what to the same purpose in both his Book and his Epistle Bish. He saith in his Epistle pag. 4. Thus the Cudgol Sword Prisons and Banishments Plundring and Sequestrations were the Late Cruel and Flagellant Methods of our most Tyrannous Times which had nothing of Reason Law or Religion to support them but these are not in my Iudgement either the first or the fittest means to Confute the falsities of mens Private Opinions or to rectifie the obliquities of their inconform but Innocent Actions flowing from them upon the account of Conscience and Plea of Religion Answ. By these words Bish. Gauden seems to give his Countrymen and fellow Christians to understand that as the Times are changed so in his Opinion ought to be also the Method of proceeding against the Quakers and other dissenters from themselves and that as we were dealt with then but very unjustly by the Cudgel Sword Prison Banishment Plundrings and Sequestrations proceeding from the Tyrannousness of those Times from men void of Reason Law and Religion so now it ought to be onely by good life and sound Doctrine from such as have true Reason Law and Religion intimating also that the Case is not so desperate as to need any such sharp inflictions seeing it is but to Confute the falsities of mens Private Opinions and to rectifie the obliquities of their inconform yet Innocent Actions unto which saith he there must be more tender and softer applications accounting it no less then even unreasonable and unchristian to follow the Example of Tyrants in such proceedings so that hereby one would think there were some good ground to judge that this Bishop and Father of the Church so called would prove a Tender Nursing Father indeed that did with no small disdain decline all kinds of Cruelty and Persecution yet notwithstanding behold how in the very next words he unsaith in effect all that again in this wise Viz. Bish. It may be as just as necessary to represse by Legal Coerci●…ns and Penalties those Petulant obstinacies which do resist all safter applications and endanger the Publick Tranquility by giving Affro●…ts to setled Religion or obstructions to the proceeding of Iustice by Established Lawes By which words he not onely gives us to discern as Ex ped●… Herculem ex unque Leonem what is his rigid resolution and harsh disposition towards tender Consciences notwithstanding his desire to be counted of a Contrary Complexion but also like an unskilful builder plueks down with one hand what he built up newly with the other for howbeit these words of his are not de sure applicable to us who are called Quakers we having never been found in any Petulant obstinacies nor resisted in any sence all softer applications nor ever yet endangered the Publick Tranquility by affronts yet the Bishop writing the said words with reference to them and falsely applying them de facto to the Quakers whom throughout his Book as well as here he seeds with a Bit and a Knock makes void as well to the Contradicting of himself as to the Interdicting of that Liberty he would ●…ain be believed to allow the Quakers what he himself had said immediatly before so ministreth to us just occasion of Iealousie that by those words of his viz. resist affronts obstructions c. he intends no other then our denyal of Obedience the Bishops meere minds and wills and bare non-submission to such Lawes of men as without wounding and

left without Excuse before God and man while the Truth of the Law was justified against their Errors and the Severity of it only imputable to their own Obstinacy I further recommended this previous Method of Christian Charity or meekness of Wisdom as best becoming the Piety Humanity and Honour of that House Secondly As most agreeable to the wonted Clemency of his Majesty to all his good Subjects Thirdly As the aptest means to reclaim such as were gone astray from their Duty by the errour of their Fancy Fourthly to stop for the future the spreading of this and other dangerous Opinions which are usually known under the name of Quakerism c. Fifthly As very sutable to my Profession as a Minister of the Gospel as the special care of the Bishops and Fathers of the Church Relations which carry in them great Obligations to Humanity Charity Ministerial Duties Episcopal Vigilancy and Paternal Compassion to any men especially Christians who are weak or ignorant erroneous in their Iudgement or dangerous in their Actions Lastly I urged the Pattern of divine Justice whose usual fore-runn●…r is Mercy Vengeance rarely following but where Patience hath gone before instructing men of their Duty warning them of the danger of their Sins bearing with their manners for a time and calling them to Repentance before ●…he Decree come forth to Execution To this purpose I am sure I spake c. Answ. It is confest the Bishop uses here many good Arguments in which we cannot but agree with him that they are Cogent not only so far as he makes use of them viz. for the procuring of Respite for a time only but for the putting of a stop also for ever to such an altogether Unchristian and Antichristian Course as it is for Christians by outward Penalties to Persecute any men meerly for their Consciences about Religion specially Christians who how they can be dangerous in their Actions as he supposes they may and yet be truly Christians since he who is owned by Christ to be so indeed must depart from all Iniquity we are yet to learn Yea undoubtedly if we were in any dangerous Opinions which yet is more than all the Bishops were they as willing as they are averse to it will ever be able to make proof of to our faces it had been an apter means to reclaim us from them and to stop the growth of what he in his wonted Emphatical way scornes at under the name of Quakerism and more suitable to the Profession of Gospel Ministers Bishops and Fathers of the Church more answerable to Divine Iustice more becoming the professed Piety Humanity and Honour of that House and the other also more agreeable to the Kings wonted Clemency if not to have quitted those more riged Inflictions by Penalties altogether yet at least to have used first those Rational and Religious Courses which the Bishop calls softer Applications for our Information of the lawfulness by God's aswel as Man's Law of both those things which by the said Act on pain of Spoile and Banishment are strictly imposed on us which are not only that of Swearing which the Bishop would fain seem to have said something though hoc aliquid nihil est more then was ever said before in proof of the lawfulness of but also that Sin of forbearing to meet together to Worship God publickly according to our Consciences and his own Will concerning us Yea and lastly to add one thing more which whether the Bishop forgot to urge it or no I know not but sure I am had as great weight of a reason in it as any of the rest to have byassed and swa●…ed both Houses another way whereupon the King himself in his Wisdom saw fit as in reference to himself and them to urge it so often in his Speeches to them aswel as the Chancellor in one of his May the 8th 1661. more evidently and eminently consistent with that signal Credit and Affection that high repute and honourable esteem in the hearts of his truest Subjects which the first making of such Promises Crowned the King withal aswell as with his Truth and Faithfulness in the performance of all those Promises he hath so fully and freely made and so frequently reiterated concerning such a continued Liberty to the tender Consciences of such as should not disturb the Kingdoms Peace as on our parts we have not that no such should be disquieted or so much questioned for their differences of Opinions in matters of Religion and that he should be ready to consent to such an Act of Parliament as upon mature deliberation should be offered to him for the full granting of such Indulgence We say the urging of all these Promises had been an Argument of as much force in it self and as much likely to have prevailed with the House as any of the rest had it been in the mind of the Bishop to have made use of it as it seems it was not for this is enough to render the Word of the King less Creditable among all save such as are yet unwilling to believe any otherwise of him than that he once truly intended what was then by him so solemnly Avouched that instead of an Act for the full granting of the Liberty so often promised there is an Act now out for the final taking away of the same Nevertheless though the Bishop made no mention of these matters in his speech whether for fear least in so doing his intercession should take more effect then he truly desired it should or no God knows I will not say so but by some other passages of the Bishops book many a one may be apt to think so for all that yet his own Arguments might have moved if not the House yet at least himself not at all to have consented to so sudden a passing of that Bill the forbearance of which for a far longer time then was allotted to so great a work as our Information himself seemed so sincerely and seriously to plead for But behold how notwithstanding that favourable acceptance which he saith his motion had in the House from many Lords Temporal and some of his brethren the Bishops also yet contrarily thereunto the Decree is both passed and come forth against us even before any of the aforesaid rational or religious courses which he judges ought to have been used were at all used towards us for our Conviction of our Errour and mistake Insomuch that howbeit his Chartible Intercession and his Pittiful motion in the House who as he saith of himself pag. 3. is thought to be no barren nor diffident Speaker is rather to be accepted of and Commended than either Condemned or despised if it were indeed as he relates it and also made in the Integrity and sincerity of his heart albeit it hath not accomplisht its pretended End yet we appeal to his own Conscience whether he hath not manifested not only some Pittilesness and want of Charity saving all his fair pretences of