Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
mercy_n	full_a	lord_n	psal_n	2,435	5	7.5110	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A17051	The vvay to true peace and rest Deliuered at Edinborough in xvi. sermons: on the Lords Supper: Hezechiahs sicknesse: and other select Scriptures. By that reuerend & faithfull preacher of Gods word: Mr. Robert Bruce, for the present, minister of the Word in Scotland.; Sermons upon the sacrament of the Lords Supper	Bruce, Robert, 1554-1631.; Bruce, Robert, 1554-1631. Sermons preached in the Kirk of Edinburgh. aut; I. H., fl. 1617.; Mitchell, S., fl. 1614.	1617 (1617)	STC 3925; ESTC S105939	298,483	380

He changeth the affections and inclinations of my soule he changeth the faculties and qualities of my soule And though our hearts and minds be made new yet the substance of them is not changed but onely the faculties and qualities are changed in respect of the which change we are called new creatures and except you be found new creatures ye are not in Christ. Now to come to the point This secret coniunction is brought to passe by faith and by the holy Spirit by faith we lay hold on the bodie and bloud of Christ And though we be as farre distant as heauen and earth are the Spirit serueth vs as a ladder to conioyne vs with Christ As the ladder of Iacob which reached from the ground to the heauen to the selfe same vse serueth the Spirit of God to conioyne the bodie of Christ with my soule Then obserue the whole in a word What maketh you to haue any right or title to Christ Nothing but the Spirit nothing but faith What should be your studie then Seeke by all meanes possible to get faith that as Peter Acts 15.9 saith your hearts and consciences may be sanctified by faith And if you endeuour not as well to get faith in your hearts as in your minds your faith auaileth not What auaileth the faith that fleeteth in the fantasie and bringeth a naked knowledge without the opening of the heart and consent of the will So there must be an opening of thy heart and consent of thy will to do that thing that God commandeth or else thy faith auaileth not Then striue to get faith in your hearts and minds and doing so ye do the duties of Christians This is not done without the diligent hearing of the word and diligent receiuing of the Sacrament Then be diligent in these exercises and be diligent in prayer Praying in the holy Ghost that he would nourish your soules inwardly with the bodie and bloud of Christ That he would increase faith in your hearts and minds and make it to grow vp more and more daily vntill you come to the full fruition of that blessed immortalitie Vnto the which the Lord of his mercie bring vs and that for the righteous merits of Christ Iesus To whom with the Father and the holy Ghost be all honour praise and glorie both now and euer Amen THE FIFTH SERMON VPON THE LORDS SVPPER 1. COR. 11.23 For I haue receiued of the Lord that which I also haue deliuered vnto you to wit that the Lord Iesus in the night that he was betrayed tooke Bread c. WE haue heard wel-beloued in Christ Iesus in our last exercise what names were giuen to the Sacrament of the Lords Supper as well in the Scriptures as by the Ancients of the Latine and East Churches we heard the chiefe ends wherefore and whereunto this holy Sacrament was at first instituted we heard the things that were contained in this Sacrament what they were how they are coupled how they are deliuered and how they are receiued we heard also some obiections that might be obiected to the contrarie of this doctrine we heard them propounded and as God gaue the grace refuted we heard how the faithfull soule is said to eate Christs body and drinke Christs bloud We heard the manner how Christ is or can be receiued of vs. And we concluded in this poynt That Christ Iesus the Sauiour of mankinde our Sauiour cannot be perceiued nor yet receiued but by a spirituall way and apprehension Neither the flesh of Christ nor the bloud of Christ nor Christ himselfe can be perceiued but by the eye of faith can be receiued but by the mouth of faith nor can be layd hold on but by the hand of faith Now faith is a spirituall thing for faith is the gift of God powred downe into the hearts and minds of men and women wrought in the soule of euery one and that by the mighty working and operation of the holy Spirit So the onely way to lay hold on Christ being by faith and faith of it owne nature being spirituall it followeth therefore that there is no way to lay hold on Christ but a spirituall way there is not a hand to fasten on Christ but a spirituall hand there is not a mouth to digest Christ but a spirituall mouth The Scriptures familiarly by all these termes describe the nature and efficacy of faith We are said to eate the flesh of Christ by faith and to drinke his bloud by faith in this Sacrament chiefly in doing of two things First in calling to our remembrance the bitter death and passion of Christ the bloud that he shed vpon the crosse the Supper which he instituted in remembrance of him before he went to the Crosse the commandement which he gaue Do this in remembrance of me I say we eate his flesh and drinke his bloud spiritually First in this point in recording and remembring faithfully how he died for vs how his bloud was shed vpon the crosse This is the first point a point that cannot be remembred truly except it be wrought by the mighty power of the holy Spirit The second poynt of the spirituall eating standeth in this That I and euery one of you beleeue firmely that he died for me in particular That his bloud was shed on the crosse for a ful remission and redemption of me and my sins The chiefe and principall point of the eating of Christ his flesh drinking of his bloud standeth in beleeuing firmly that that flesh was deliuered to death for my sinnes that that bloud of his was shed for the remission of my sinnes and except euery soule come neere to himselfe and firmely consent and agree and be perswaded that Christ died for him that soule can not be saued that soule can not eate the flesh nor drinke the bloud of Christ. Then the eating of the flesh and drinking of the bloud of Christ standeth in a faithfull memorie in a firme belief and in a true applying of the merits of the death and passion of Christ to my owne conscience in particular There were sundry things obiected against this kind of receiuing I will not insist to repeate them But beside all the obiections which ye heard obiected against this kinde of spirituall receiuing by faith they say If Christ his flesh nor his bloud be not perceiued nor receiued but by the Spirit by faith in the Spirit then say they ye receiue him but by an imagination if he be not receiued carnally nor corporally but onely by the Spirit and by faith then is he not receiued but by way of imagination conceite and fantasie So they account faith an imagination of the minde a fantasie and opinion fleeting in the hearts of men I cannot blame them to thinke so of faith For as none can iudge of the sweetenesse of hony but they that haue tasted of it so there is none can discerne nor iudge of the nature of faith but they that haue felt it

heart is willing in some measure to renounce it selfe This lesson is often taught vs by our Sauiour Christ we must both take vp the crosse and renounce our selues also before that we can follow him The more that this thirst groweth in the heart the more this renouncing of our selues groweth in the heart the more that this thirst decayeth is diminished in the hart the more we cleaue to the wo●ld the more we loue the flesh and the more are we ruled and guided by them So either we must nourish a thirst of righteousnesse a hunger of life euerlasting a thirst of mercie a hunger after that iustice that is in Christ or it is not possible that in any measure we can be his disciples Now to proceede The heart that after this manner is prepared that with a thirst to be reconciled is resolued also to renounce it selfe this heart in the which there remaineth so earnest a thirst is neuer frustrate of the expectation is neuer disappointed But as the Lord hath imprinted in it an earnest studie to be reconciled and to lay hold on Christ so in his mercie he grants vnto that heart the possession of mercie he puts that heart in some measure in possession of mercie which it seeketh in possession of Christ Iesus himselfe whom it seeketh the which apprehension which it hath of Christ the heart sensiblie feeleth and apprehendeth in that peace which he giueth to the conscience So that the conscience which was terrified exceedinglie gnawen and distracted before by the approching of this peace and of Christ with his graces incontinent it is quieted and pacified there cometh a calmnesse and soundnesse into the heart and all troubles and stormes are remoued With this peace is conioyned a taste of the powers of the world to come the heart gets a taste of the sweetnes that is in Christ of the ioy which is in the life euerlasting which taste is the only earnest pennie of that full and perfect ioy which soule and bodie in that life shall enioy And the earnest penny as ye know must be a part of the summe and of the nature of the rest of the summe And therefore that earnest pennie of ioy assures vs that when we shall gette possession of the whole summe it shall be a strange ioy and these documents lift vp the heart and make it not to linger nor wearie in the expectation of that life but being refreshed now and then therewith by so many earnest pennies they assure vs of the full fruition of that ioy for the which in patience we will sustaine all troubles So as the holy Spirit worketh a thirst in vs to be with Christ a thirst of mercy and reconciliation with him the same holy Spirit disappointeth not that same expectation and thirst but putteth the soule and heart in possession of Christ by the which the conscience is pacified the heart is reioyced and we get a taste of the sweetnes and of the power of that life to come The sensible feeling of the which taste that passeth all naturall vnderstanding what doth it in my heart and conscience It worketh a wonderfull assurance and perswasion that God loueth me The feeling of his mercie in the bowels of my heart in the bottome of my conscience worketh a certaine assurance and perswasion that he is my God that he wil saue me for Christs sake that the promise of mercy which I durst not apply vnto my conscience before now by the feeling of mercie I dare boldly applie and say mercie appertain●th to me life and saluation belongeth to me For the conscience being exceedingly terrified and seeing nothing in God but fire and wrath it is not possible but it must flie from him it cannot approch to a consuming fire But from the time that the conscience getteth a taste of this peace mercie and sweetnesse how fast soeuer it fled from the presence of God before now after this reconciliation it will runne as fast to him and will possesse him more more fully So the assurance perswasion of mercie ariseth from the feeling of mercie in the heart and conscience And except the heart feele it and taste it in some measure no conscience dare apply God and his mercie to it selfe I may be sure in generall that all my sinnes are remissible and that I may obtaine mercie before I feele it But to applie this mercie particularly to my selfe vntil I feele a taste of it I dare not So this particular application whereby we claime God and Christ as a property vnto vs as if no man had title to him but we to call him my God my Christ to claime his promises as if no man had interest in them but we this cometh of the s●nce and feeling of mercie in the heart and the more that this feeling groweth and the greater experi●nce that we haue in our owne hearts of this peace and mercie the more increaseth our faith and assurance Our perswasion becometh s● strong that we dare at the last say with the Apostle What can separate vs from the loue of God Neither death nor life nor Angels nor Principalities nor Powers nor things present nor things to come shall be able to separate me from the loue of God which is in Christ Iesus our Lord. This particular application which ariseth no doubt vpon the feeling and sence of mercie is the speciall difference the chiefe marke and proper note whereby our faith who are iustified in the bloud of Christ is discerned from that generall faith of the Papists Our faith by this particular application is not onely discerned from the generall faith of the Papists but it is discerned from all the pretended faiths of all the Sects in the world For the Papist dareth not apply the promise of mercie to his owne soule he accounteth it presumption to say I am an elect I am saued and iustified And f●om whence floweth this Onely from hence that in their consciences they haue neuer felt mercie they haue neuer tasted of the loue fauour and sweetnes of God For looke how fast the conscience flieth from God before it get the taste of his sweetnesse it runneth as diligently to him and threatneth loue of him after that it hath gotten that taste So they miserable men content themselues with this generall faith which is no other thing but an historicall faith which groundeth onely on the truth of God whereby I know that the promises of God are true But the Papists dare not come and say They are true in me Why Because they haue not felt it and their hearts are not opened But our iustifying faith as I told you consecrateth the whole soule vnto the obedience of God in Christ. So that it resteth not onely vpon the truth of God nor it resteth not onely vpon the power of God though these be two chiefe pillars of our faith also but especially and chiefely it resteth vpon the mercie of God in Christ.

that ye haue your life and the commodities of it ready to lay downe at his feete ready to offer vp in sacrifice when it pleaseth him Of this I shall gather one or two notes and so I shall end this present exercise The first thing that I wil you to marke is the contrary voices that this King vttereth in the 14. verse and in the verse foregoing Reade these verses and ye shall see how contrary he is to himselfe In the 13. verse ye see he vttereth voices full of doubting and as it appeareth full of despaire at the least full of doubting he vttereth such voices as if God had bene his deadly enemy In the fourteenth ver he vttereth the flat contrary And he maketh his recourse to the same God whom he seeemeth to make his enemy in the 13. verse and he seeketh a blessing of him which testifieth that he trusted in him for none can call on him in whom they trust not So this is his behauiour in this disease one while he thinketh God a consuming fire another while he hath his recouse to him as his onely refuge One while he vttereth voices full of doubting another while he vttereth voices full of confidence Now the question ariseth Is it possible that faith and doubting can haue place both in one soule I say it is very possible there is neuer a one of the seruants of God but they haue had it And this is sure that there is no conscience so at rest that it is without al trouble and no estate of men so quiet that is without some inquietnesse in this life for it is the custome of God to bring his dearest children sometime into doubting suppose he do so yet in the meane time he susteineth them from despaire Know we not that this faith of ours is imperfect subiect to a continuall growing and progresse but neuer coming to a perfection so long as we are here subiect to stammering to manifold errors wrastlings and doubtings Yet all these imperfections are freely pardoned in the righteous merites of Iesus Christ. Where is that soule or who is he that hath that soule ●hat if he will examine his faith with the absolute perfection that is in the nature of God to whon nothing is pleasant but that which is perfect who shall not fall in doubting so soone as he beholdeth him Examine your faith with that perfection which is commanded in the Scriptures and with that progresse that is wished for in the holy Scriptures who shall not doubt By this examination let him but cast downe his eyes on the manifold corruption that is in him and on the heauy iudgement of God that hangeth ouer both body and soule for sinne and who will not doubt It is not possible but he must doubt hauing his eyes bent on himselfe and his affections wherewith he is defiled So I say doubting is common to all the best seruants of God There is none of you that will esteeme Paul to haue bene one of the worst and yet his words declare that there was a doubting in his soule for 2. Corinth 4.8 he sayth plainely we are alwayes in affliction but not in distresse We are in doubt but we despaire not So he granteth that there is a doubting in the soule that hath faith onely he denieth despaire As if he would say I giue you to vnderstand that doubting may stand in the soule with faith but not to despaire for the word despaire importeth of it selfe the cutting of the pillars of our beliefe Therefore faith and despaire cannot both stand in one soule But faith and doubting do lodge in my soule and shall lodge in all the soules of the faithfull to the end of the world Vnder doubting he comprehendeth all the errors tentations stammerings and wrastlings wherewith our faith is assaulted full oft which makes vs sometimes incline to despaire sometimes to hope whilest we looke on our selues to despaire and whilest we looke on the mercy of God in Christ Iesus to hope Now the Apostle taketh this doubting to himselfe as a thing whereunto all Christians are subiect There are few of you that know what this meaneth although it is certaine ye may be visited this way therefore keepe in memory this that suppose ye haue not to do with it your selues yet ye may vse it when you visite others for seeing we carry about with vs these bodyes of sinne for the spirit of faith and sanctification filleth not all the soule in this life and the largest part of the soule being defiled with this remanent corruption it must vtter such stuffe as it hath to wit doubting and stammering Now seeing there remaineth in the greatest part this corruption of necessity it must be occupied in doing it must be working And what bringeth it forth Sinne. And what doth the multiplication of sinne but hindereth our faith and perswasion and casteth a veile and a mist betwixt the sight of God and vs and therefore the Prophet calleth it a separation whereby we are depriued of the sight of God which we haue in the Mediator Christ. Seeing then so long as we are in these bodies of ●lay we are subiect to sinne we cannot but doubt For suppose we fall not into these grosse iniquities yet sinne and the guiltinesse thereof bringeth a doubting and casteth a veile ouer the eye of our faith and this veile being on the eye of our fayth out of question it hindreth our perswasion and maketh vs not to be so stedfast in our beliefe as otherwise we would be for he that seeth euill will oft times take one thing for another So this corruption is the cause of our doubting which in some measure is euer in the soule Now what learne we of this first we learne this cōfort that it is no new thing to the seruants of God to vtter contrary voices in their great trouble to vtter voices proceeding of a deepe sense of the loue and the mercy of God in one word and in another word to vtter a fe●ling of his hatred and wrath as if he were our deadly enemy Sometimes this King vttereth words full of doubting sometime he seeketh benefites of him as he were his good friend Christ vsed these contrary voices There was neuer a speciall seruant of God but they had them And Christ had them himselfe more then any seruant that he hath not proceeding of any doubting or mistrust in the mercy of his Father because in him there was no roote of infidelity but coming of the feeling of his extreme wrath for a time Looke Matthew 26. There he sayth twise ouer Let this cup depart from me And againe he taketh vp himselfe and he sath Not I as will but as thou wilt These are quite contrary he saith to God why hast thou forsaken me and yet he calleth him my God my God So I say it is no new thing to the seruants of God being in trouble and hauing

seruant nor the murtherer because he is your kinsman nor the oppressor because he is your dependant therefore in time lay them aside and let the execution declare that no man is spared for feare or fauour Thus farre for the first point The next point that we haue to speake of is that the thing that Youth should chiefly seeke after straitlie pursue and follow the Apostle here sets downe to wit they ought to seeke after the gift of repentance seeing it is the Spirit that must mortifie the lusts and affections of the youth they should seeke the Spirit of repentance This gift of repentance here is called the gift of God And that euery one of you may vnderstand the better what this repentance meaneth For suppose this doctrine sound in your eares daily yet it soundeth not in your hearts there are few that is their hearts haue a feeling what the spirit of repentance meaneth to bring you therefore to the better feeling and to the better knowledge of it we shall keepe this order in deducing of it First we shall marke the word it selfe Secondly we shall examine the parts of it Thirdly we shall let you see who is the worker and who is the efficient cause that worketh it Fourthly by what instrument it is wrought Fiftly who is the author and the giuer of it And last of all how many sorts of true repentance there are As for the word it self if ye will take heed to the force of it and take heed to the signification of it it hath this force taken generally to signifie a sadnesse for the thing done such a dolor for the thing done so that it would gladly haue it vndone againe I call it a sadnesse for the thing done whether it be good or euill or howsoeuer it be it would haue it vndone againe taking the word generally it signifieth this dolor The Apostle 2. Corinth 7. setteth downe two sorts of dolor two sorts of sorrow or dolor raised in the heart of man he calleth the first sort a worldly dolor or sadnesse he calleth it no doubt a worldly dolor and sadnesse because it is conceiued for a worldly respect because it is conceiued for a worldly and fleshly end when a man beginneth to be sorowfull for the thing that is done not so much for Gods cause or for any reuerence he beareth to the infinite maiestie of God whom he hath offended as for the present paine that is vpon his bodie for the present griefe that is in his conscience or for any worldly or fleshly respect In this case where God is alwaies neglected where the sorrow is not for Gods cause that is a worldly and an earthly sorrow And this kind of sorrow I can call no other thing but a blind terror vexation and anguish of conscience I call it blind in these respects first by reason they see no issue for their estate no doubt were the more tollerable if they saw any hope of ease that they might haue some rest and ease in their conscience but they are alwaies blind all sight of rest is taken from such a conscience It is blind also in respect they know not from whom it cometh who it is that striketh them with this that they may come vnto him by amendment They see not that it cometh from God and as they are ignorant of this they are ignorant of the cause that procured it They are ignorant that their owne sinne and wickednesse is the cause that procured it so the ignorance of these three maketh it to be a blind tormēt and this kind of torment which I call a blind torment either it is increased in a high degree or else it is mitigated that they may suffer it When it is increased into an high degree desperation is the end of it and it maketh them as Iudas did to lay hands on themselues Sometimes againe it is not so increased but it is mitigated that they may beare it and then by peece peece it vanisheth And so soone as it departeth so soone departeth their sorrow and their teares and at the departure of their paine as their teares depart so returne they to the puddle out of which they came as the Sow doth and to the same vomit which they spewed out as the Dog doth So this dolor and torment turneth not the heart it altereth not the soule but mooueth the soule for the present that by reason of the paine And if the paine were away they would returne to the same sinnes wherein they offended God oft before as greedily as euer they did So that they mourne not for the sinne but for the presence of the paine The example of this we haue in Esau he wept bitterly for a while so long as he felt any dolor but after that the dolor was remooued he went backe to his old sinnes againe And what did he he addressed himselfe to anger his father worse then euer he did and specially in choosing of his wife which testifieth that his dolor was but for a worldly respect So I say this worldly dolor is either conceiued for the present paine and torment that is vpon the conscience as we haue an example in Cain for in his repentance wherfore sorrowed he Not that he had offended God not that he had displeased so gracious a Father but for the greatnesse of his paine and crieth out My paine is greater then I can suffer Mine iniquitie by the which I vnderstand this paine either my paine must be made lesse or I am not able to beare it So I say this kind of sorrow is either conceiued for the present paine or for a worldly and ciuill respect Beside this sorrow therefore there is a godly sorrow which the Apostle also setteth downe in that same seuenth Chapter And this godly sorrow is an earnest sorrow a true sorrow not fained nor counterfeit And as it is true and earnest so it is conceiued not so much for the present paine torment that is vpon the mind and conscience as no doubt the paine torment that is vpon their soule mooueth them to it but it is not so much conceiued for any present paine as for Gods owne cause that they haue offended so gracious a God who was so louing so mercifull and had such pitie and compassion vpon the multitude of their sinnes And therefore they set aside all creatures forget creatures although against them also they haue offended and they runne to God onely seeke mercie for their sins at him onely and put their trust in him onely So ye see Dauid Psal 51. as if he had offended none in the world but God onely he turneth to the maiestie of the liuing God and saith Against thee against thee onely haue I sinned and done euill in thy sight Now there is no doubt but he had offended against the man whom he slue against the wife of the man whom he had defiled Yet