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
A41355	The marrow of modern divinity touching both the covenant of works, and the covenant of grace, with their use and end, both in the time of the Old Testament, and in the time of the New : wherein every one may cleerly see how far forth he bringeth the law into the case of justification, and so deserverh the name of legalist : and how far forth he rejecteth the law, in the case of sanctification, and so deserveth the name of Antinomist : with the middle path between them both, which by Iesus Christ leadeth to eternall life : in a dialogue, betwixt Evangelista, a minister of the Gospel, Nomista, a legalist, Antinomista, an Antinomian, and Neophytus, a young Christian / by the author, E.F. ; before the which there is prefixed the commendatory epistles of divers divines of great esteem in the citie of London ; whereunto is also added, the substance of a	Fisher, Edward, fl. 1627-1655.; Hamilton, Patrick, 1504?-1528. Patricks places.	1646 (1646)	Wing F997; ESTC R1839	130,516	286

the Citie and wee shall die there and if we sit still here we die also n●w therefore come and let us fall into the hands of the Assyrians if they save us we shall live and if they kill us we shall but die even so say I in mine heart if I goe back to the covenant of works to seek justification thereby I shall die there and if I sit still and seek it no way I shall die also now therefore though I be somewhat fearfull yet am I resolved to go unto Christ and if I perish I perish Evan. Why now I tell you truly the match is made Christ is yours and you are his this day is salvation come to your house your soul I mean for what though you have not that power to come so fast unto Christ and to lay such firme hold on him as you desire yet comming with such a resolution to Christ to take him you need take no care for doing it you may be sure that Christ will enable you to do it for is it not said John 1.12 But as many as received him to them hee gave power to become the sonnes of God even to them that believe on his name O then I beseech you stand no longer disputing but be peremptory and resolute in your faith and in casting your selfe upon God in Christ for mercy and let the issue be what it will yet let me tell you to your comfort that such a resolution shall never go to hell nay I will say more if any soule have a roome in Heaven such a soul shall for God cannot finde in his heart to damne such a one I might then with as much true confidence say unto you as John Careless said unto John Bradford Hearken ô ye Heavens and thou ô earth give eare and beare me witnesse at the great day that I do here faithfully and truly the Lords message unto his deare servant and singularly beloved John Bradford saying John Bradford thou man so specially beloved of God I doe pronounce and testifie unto thee in the word and name of the Lord Jehovah that all thy sins whatsoever they be though never so many grievous or great be fully and freely pardoned released and forgiven thee by the mercy of God in Jesus Christ thy onely Lord and sweet Saviour in whom thou dost undoubtedly believe as truly as the Lord liveth he will not have thee die the death but hath verily purposed determined and decreed that thou shalt live with him for ever Neo. O Sir If I have as good warrant to apply this saying to my self as Mr. Bradford had to apply it to himself I am a happy man Evan. I tell you from Christ and under the hand of his spirit that your person is accepted your sins are done away and you shall be saved and if an Angell from Heaven should tell you otherwise let him be accursed therefore you may without doubt conclude that you are a happy man For by means of this your matching with Christ you are become one with him and one in him you dwell in him and he in you Hee is your welbeloved and you are his so that the mariage union betwixt Christ and you is more then a bare notion or apprehension of your mind for it is a spirituall reall union it is an union betwixt the nature of Christ God and man and you it is a knitting and closing not onely of your apprehension with a Saviour but also of your soule with a Saviour whence it must needs follow that you cannot be damned except Christ be damned with you neyther can Christ be saved except you be saved with him And as by means of corporall marriage all things become common betwixt man and wife even so by means of this spirituall marriage all things become common betwixt Christ and you for when Christ hath married his spouse unto himselfe hee passeth over all his estate unto her so that whatsoever Christ is or hath you may boldly challenge as your own He is made unto you of God wisdome righteousnesse sanctification and redemption and surely by vertue of this neer union it is that as Christ is called the Lord our righteousnesse Jer. 23.6 so is the Church called the Lord our righteousnesse Jer. 35.16 You may by vertue of this union confidently take unto your selfe as your own Christ watching abstinence travails prayers persecution slanders his tears his sweat his bloud and all that ever he did and suffered in three and thirty years with his Passion Death Resurrection and Ascention for they are all yours and as Christ passeth over all his estate unto his spouse so doth he require that shee should passe over all unto him wherefore you being now married unto Christ you must give all that you have of your own unto him and truly you have nothing of your own but sin and therefore you must give him that say thou unto Christ without fear I give to thee my dear husband my unbelief my mistrust my pride my arrogancie my ambition my wrath my anger my envie my covetousnesse my evill thoughts affections and desires I make a bundle of these and all my other offences and give them unto thee thus was Christ made sin for us which knew no sin that wee might be made the righteousnesse of God in him now then saith Luther let us compare these things together and we shall finde inestimable treasure Christ is full of all grace life and saving health and the soule is fraught full of all sin death and damnation but let faith come betwixt these two and it shall come to passe that Christ shall bee loaden with sin death and hell and unto the soule shall be imputed grace life and salvation who then saith he is able to value the royalty of this marriage accordingly who is able to comprehend the glorious riches of this grace where this rich and righteous husband Christ doth take unto wife this poore and wicked harlot redeeming her from all evils and garnishing her with all his own jewels so that you as the same Luther saith through the assurednesse of your faith in Christ your husband are delivered from all sins made safe from death guarded from hell and endowed with the everlasting righteousnesse life and saving health of your husband Christ and therefore you are now under the covenant of grace and freed from the Law as it is the covenant of works for as M. ball truly saith at one and the same time a man cannot be under the covenant of works and the covenant of grace Neo. Sir I doe not yet well know how to conceive of this freedome from the Law as it is the covenant of works and therefore I pray you make it as plain to me as you can Evan. For the true and cleer understanding of this point you are to consider that when Jesus Christ the second Adam had in the

a God as this such a Christ as this ô this will melt your heart and cause your eyes to drop down the tears of godly sorrow yea this will constrain in you to goe unto your Father and humbly to confesse your sins with the prodigall and beseech him to shew mercie for the Lords sake with Daniel and yet not out of a conceit that till your sin be pardoned you are lyable to be condemned for it for that is the penalty of the law of works which you are not now under but rather out of a true perswasion that till it be pardoned your Father is displeased with you for it yea and will whip and scourge you for it for that is the penalty of the Law of Christ which you are now under yea and this will also constrain you to loath your selfe in your owne sight for your iniquities yea not onely to loath your selfe for them but also to leave them saying with Ephraim what have I to doe any more with Idols and to cast them away as a menstrous cloth saying unto them get yee hence and thus will the goodnesse of God being apprehended by faith lead you to repentance Thirdly If after you have thus sinned either through weaknesse of faith or want of exercising it yee either doe not thus at all or not so effectually as you should and so your loving and wise Father see cause to give you some unpleasant potion to bring your sins to remembrance as he did Josephs brethrens Gen 42.21 and as was the saying of the widow of Zarephath 1 King 17.18 and to purge it and take it away as is the phrase of the Holy Ghost Isai. 27.9 and to make you partaker of his holinesse as the Apostles phrase is Heb. 12.10 Then I beseech you beware you conceit not that your afflictions are penall proceeding from hatred or vindictive justice and so as payments and satisfaction for sins for that is the penalty of the Covenant of works the which you are now delivered from But rather be perswaded as the truth is that they proceed from Gods fatherly love and so as medicinall to heale and cure you of your sins and so to make you more obedient and subject to the Law of Christ under which you now are for afflictions through Gods blessing are made speciall means to purge out that sinfull corruption which is still in the nature of believers and therefore are they in Scripture most aptly compared to medicines for so they are indeed to all Gods children most soveraign medicines to cure all their spirituall diseases and indeed we have all of us great need hereof for sayth Luther we are not yet perfectly righteous for whilst we remain in this life sin dwelleth still in the flesh and this remnant of sinne God purgeth wherefore when GOD hath remitted sinnes and received a man into the bosome of grace then doth hee lay on him all kinde of afflictions and doth scoure and renew him from day to day and to this purpose Tindall truly sayth If wee looke on the flesh and into the law there is no man so perfect that is not found a sinner nor no man so pure that hath not need to be purged Now if you thus conceive of your afflictions you will accept of them and you will with Ephraim say unto the Lord Thou hast chastised me and I was chastised as a Bullocke unaccustomed to the yoke turn thou me and I shall be turned thou art the Lord my God surely after that I was turned I repented and after that I was instructed I smote upon my thigh I was ashamed yea even confounded because I did beare the reproch of my youth yea and then will you also say with David Blessed is the man whom thou chastisest ô Lord and teachest him out of the Law and thus you see I have endevoured to give you a satisfying answer to your question Neo. And truly Sir you have done it very fully the Lord enable me to practise according to your direction Nom. Sir in this your answer to his question you have also answerd me and given me full satisfaction in divers points about which my friend Antinomista and I have had many a wrangling fit for if I used to affirme with tooth and nayle as men use to say that believers are under the Law and not delivered from it and that they doe sin and that God sees it and is angry with them and doth afflict them for it and that therefore they ought to humble themselves and mourn for their sins and confesse them and crave pardon for them and yet truly I must confesse I did not understand what I sayd nor whereof I affirmed and the reason was because I did not know the difference betwixt the law as it is the law of works and as it is the law of Christ. Ant. And believe me Sir I used to affirme as earnestly as hee that believers are delivered from the law and therefore do not sin and therefore God can see no sin in them and therefore is neyther angry with them nor doth afflict them for sin and therefore they have no need eyther to humble themselves or mourn or confesse their sins or beg pardon for them the which I believing to be true could not conceive how the contrary could be true also but now I plainly see that by meanes of your distinguishing betwixt the law as it is the law of works and as it is the law of Christ there is a truth in both therefore friend Nomista whensoever eyther you or any man else shall hereafter affirme that believers are under the law do sin God sees it and is angry with them and doth chastise them for it and that they ought to humble themselves mourn weep and confesse their sins and beg pardon for them if you mean onely as they are under the law of Christ I will agree with you and never contradict you again Nom. And truly friend Antinomista if eyther you or any man else shall hereafter affirme that believers are delivered from the law and do not sin and God sees no sin in them nor is angry with them nor afflicts them for their sins and that they have no need eyther to humble themselves mourne confesse or crave pardon for their sins if you mean it onely as they are not under the law of works I will agree with you and never contradict you again Evan. I rejoyce to heare you speak these words each to other and truly now I am in hope that you two will come back from both your extreams and meet my neighbour Neophytus in the golden Meane having as the Apostle sayth the same love being of one accord and of own minde Nom. Sir For my part I thanke the Lord I do now plainly see that I have erred exceedingly in seeking to be justified as it were by the works of the law and yet could I never

Ceremonies had a Star-light of Christ yet some of them had the light of the broad day a little before the Sun rising and did expresse him with the circumstances and vertue of his death so plainly as if his passion had been acted upon a Scaffold in so much saith he that I am fully perswaded and cannot but believe that God had shewed Moses the secrets of Christ and the very manner of his death aforehand and therefore no doubt but that they offered their sacrifices by faith in the Messiah as the Apostle testifieth of Abel I say there is no question but every spirituall believing Jew when he brought his Sacrifice to be offeroffered and according to the Lords command laid his hands upon it whilst it was yet alive he did from his heart acknowledge that he himselfe had deserved to ●ie but by the mercy of God he was saved and his desert laid upon the beast and as that beast was to die and bee off red in sacrifice for him so did hee believe that the Messiah should come and die for him upon whom hee put his hands that is laid all his iniquities by the hand of faith So that as Beza saith the Sacrifices were to them holy mysteries in which as in certain● glasses they did both see themselves to their own condemnation before God and also beheld the mercy of God in the promised Messiah in time to bee exhibited And therefore saith Calvin the sacrifices and satisfactory offerings were called Ashemoth which word properly signifieth sinne it selfe to shew that Jesus Christ was to come and performe a perfect expiation by giving his owne soule to bee an Asham that is a satisfactory oblation Wherefore you may assure your selfe that as Christ was alwayes set before the fathers in the Old Testament to whom they might direct their faith and as God never put them in hope of any grace or mercy nor never shewed himselfe good unto them without Christ even so the godly in the Old Testament knew Christ by whom they did enjoy these promises of God and were joyned to him And indeed the promise of salvation never stood firm till it came to Christ and there was their comfort in all their troubles and distresses according as it is said of Moses He endured as seeing him who is invisible esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches then the treasures of Egypt for he had respect to the recompence of reward And so as Ignatius saith the Prophets were Christs servants who foreseeing him in spirit both waited for him as their Master and looked for him as their Lord and Saviour saying He shall come and save us And so saith Calvin so oft as the Prophets speak of the blessednesse of the faithfull the perfect image that they have painted thereof was such as might ravish mens minds out of the earth and of necessity raise them up to the consideration of the felicity of the life to come so that we may assuredly conclude with Luther that all the Fathers Prophets and holy Kings were righteous and saved by faith in Christ to come and so indeed as Calvin saith were partakers of all one salvation with us Ant. But Sir the Scripture seemes to hold forth as though they were saved one way and we another way for you know the Prophet Jeremie mak●s mention of a twofold Covenant therefore it is somewhat strange to me that they should be partakers of one way of salvation with us Evan. Indeed it is true the Lord did bequeath unto the Fathers Righteousnesse Life and eternall Salvation in and through Christ the Mediator being not yet come in the flesh but promised And unto us in the New Testament he gives and bequeaths them to us in and through Christ being already come and having actually purchased them for us and the Covenant of grace was before the comming of Christ sealed by his blood in types h●d figures and at his death in his fl●sh it was fully sealed and ratified by his very blood actually and in very deed shed for our sins And the old Covenant in respect of the outward forme and manner of sealing was temporary and changeable and therefore the types ceased and only the substance remaines firme but the seals of the new are unchangeable being commemorative and shall shew the Lords death untill his comming againe And their Covenant did first and chiefly promise earthly blessings and in and under these it did signifie and promise all spirituall blessings and salvation but our Covenant promiseth Christ and his blessings in the first place and after them earhly blessings These and some other circumstantiall differences in regard of administration there was betwixt their way of salvation or covenant of grace and ours which moved the Author to the Hebrews to call theirs old and ours new but in regard of substance they were all one and the very same for in all Covenants this is a certain rule if the subject matter the fruit and the conditions be the same then is the Covenant the same but in these Covenants Jesus Christ is the subject matter of both salvation the fruit of both and faith the condition of both therefore I say though they be called two yet are they but one the which is confirmed by two faithfull witnesses The one is the Apostle Peter who saith Acts 15.11 We believe through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that we shall be saved even as they did meaning the Fathers in the old Testament as is evident in the verse next before The other is the Apostle Paul who saith Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousnesse know yee therefore that they which are of the faith the same are the children of Abraham by which testimonie saith Luther wee may see that the faith of our Fathers in the old Testament and ours in the new ●s all one in substance Ant. But could they that lived so long before Christ apprehend his righteousnesse by faith for their Justification and salvation Evan. Yea indeed for as Master Forbes truely saith It is as e●sie for faith to apprehend righteousnesse to come as it is to apprehend righteousnesse that is past wherefore as Christs birth obedience and death were in the old Testament as effectuall to save sinners as now they are so all the faithfull forefathers from the beginning did partake of the same grace with us by believing in the same Iesus Christ and so were justified by his righteousnesse and saved eternally by faith in him it was by vertue of the death of Christ that Enoch was translated that he should not see death and Elias was taken up into heaven by vertue of Christs Resurrection and Ascension so that from the worlds beginning to the end thereof the salvation of sinners is onely by Jesus Christ as it is written Jesus Christ yesterday and to day and the same for ever

heaven and happinesse whereupon I concluded that I had as yet done no more then they and withall I considered that our Saviour sayth Except your righteousnesse exceede the righteousnesse of the Scribes and Pharisees you cannot enter into the Kingdome of God yea and I also considered that the Apostle sayth Hee is not a Jew that is one outward but he that is one within whose praise is not of men but of God Then did I conclude that I was not yet a true Christian for sayd I in my heart I have contented my selfe with the praise of men and so have lost all my labour and pains in performing duties for they have been no better then outside performances and therefore they must all fall down in a moment I have not served God with all my heart and therefore I see I must either goe farther or else I shall never be happie whereupon I set about the keeping of the Law in good earnest and laboured to performe duties not onely outwardly but also inwardly from my heart I heard and read and praid and laboured to bring my heart and force my soule to every duty I called upon the Lord in good earnest and told him that whatsoever hee would have mee to doe I would doe it with all my heart if hee would but save my soule and then I also tooke notice of the inward corruptions of my heart the which I had not formerly done and was carefull to govern my thoughts to modeate my passions and to suppresse the motions and risings of lusts to banish privie pride and speculative wantonnesse and all vain and sinfull desires of my heart and then I thought my selfe not onely an out-side Christian but also an in-side Christian and therefore a true Christian indeed and so I went on comfortably a good while till I considered that the Law of God requires passive obedience as well as active and therefore I must bee a sufferer as well as a doer or else I could not bee a Christian indeed whereupon I began to bee troubled at my impatience under Gods correcting hand and at those inward murmurings and discontents which I found in my spirit in time of any outward calamity that befell mee and then I laboured to bridle my passions and to submit my selfe quietly to the will of God in every condition and then did I also as it were begin to take penance upon my selfe by abstinence fasting and afflicting my soule and made pittifull lamentations in my prayers which were somtimes also accompanied with tears the which I was perswaded the Lord did take notice of and would reward me for it and then I was perswaded that I did keepe the Law in yielding obedience both actively and passively and then was I confident I was a true Christian untill I considered tha● those Jewes of whom the LORD complaynes Esay 58. did as much as I and that caused mee to feare that all was not right with mee as yet whereupon I went to another Minister and told him that though I had done thus and thus and suffered thus and thus yet I was perswaded that I was in no better a condition then those Jewes ô yes sayd hee you are in a better condition then they for they were Hypocrites and served not GOD with all their hearts as you doe Then I went home contentedly and so went on in my wonted course of doing and suffering and thought all was well with mee untill I bethought my selfe that before the time of my conversion I had beene a transgressour from the wombe yea in the wombe in that I was guilty of Adams transgression so then I considered that although I kept even with GOD for the time present and to come yet that would not free m● from the guiltinesse of that which wa● done before whereupon I was much troubled and disquieted in my minde then I went to a third Minister of Gods holy word and told him how the case stood with mee and what I thought of my state and condition he cheered me up bidding mee be of good comfort for howsoever my obedience since my Conversion would not satisfie for my former sinnes yet in as much as at my Conversion I had confessed lamented deplored bewayled and forsaken them God according to his rich mercy and gracious promise had mercifully pardoned and forgiving them Then I returned home to my house againe and went to God by earnest Prayer and supplication and besought him to give mee assurance of the pardon and forgivenesse of my guiltinesse of Adams sinne and all my actuall transgressions before my Conversion and as I had endeavoured my self to be a good servant before so I would still continue in doing my duty most exactly and so being assured that the Lord had granted this my request I fell to my businesse according to my promise I heard I read I prayed I fasted I mourned I sighed and groned and watched over my heart my tongue and wayes in all my doings actions and dealings both with God and man But after a while I growing better acquainted with the spiritualnesse of the Law and with inward corruptions of mine owne heart I perceived that I had deceived my selfe in thinking that I had kept the Law perfectly for doe what I could I found many imperfections in my obedience for I had been and was still subject to sleepinesse drousinesse and heavinesse in prayer and hearing and so in other duties I failed in the manner of performance of them and in the end why I performed them seeking my selfe in every thing I did and my conscience told me I failed in my duty to God in this and in my duty to my neighbour in that and then I was much troubled again for I considered that the Law of God requireth and is not satisfied without an exact and perfect obedience and then I went to the same Minister again and told him how I had purposed promised striven and endeavoured as much as possibly I could to keepe the Law of Ged perfectly and yet by wofull experience I had found that I had and did still transgresse it many ways and therefore I feared hell and damation O! but sayd hee doe not feare for the best Christians have their failings and no man keepeth the Law of God perfectly and therefore goe on and doe as you have done in striving to keepe the Law perfectly in what you cannot doe God will accept the will for the deed and wherein you come short Christ will help you out and this satisfied and contented mee very much so I returned home againe and fell to prayer and told the Lord that now I saw I could not yield a perfect obedience to his Law and yet I would not despaire because I did believe that what I could not doe Christ would doe for mee and then I did certainly conclude that I was a Christian indeede and not before and so have I beene perswaded ever since And thus Sir you see I have dcclared