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
A61301	The love of God to all mankind in the glorious work of their redemption by Jesus Christ, asserted and vindicated. With a plain and sober discussion of those controversies which are the constant concomitants of it, viz. election and reprobation, God's foreknowledg, his nature, attributes, and decrees; the sufficiency of means vouchsafed to all men to believe; the use of the law to believers under the gospel. Also concerning original sin, freewill, and falling from grace. All fitted to the meanest capacity, in a way of dialogue, by Zachary Stanton.	Stanton, Zachary.	1700 (1700)	Wing S5251A; ESTC R219675	159,700	342

he ever will his Will is regulated and is acted forth agreeable to his Wisdom Righteousness and Justice and according to his Divine Nature and as God hath made Man a rational Creature so he very seldom forceth Man to repentance against his will yet is the Lord pleased so to will the Salvation of all yea with such an effectual Will that he doth that which is of a proper tendency and sufficient thereunto that unless they wickedly and wilfully oppose the Means they should be saved yea so far as is any ways meet for him to act or assist towards their Salvation Isa 5. 4. What could I have done more that is tho God could have done more than he did yet it was not consistent to that method and stated order of things but more of this hereafter Mar. No Text of Scripture must be understood as to make God Impotent instead of Omnipotent or in the least reflect upon the Soveraignty Immutability and Omnipotency of God as if he could be disappointed in bringing to pass what he hath purposed and intends to do Philad Nor no Scripture must be so interpreted as to disparage or undervalue the Love and Bounty of God to all Men the general tenour of them representing in the highest degree the Goodness of God and as God is perfect in Power perfect in Wisdom so also perfect in Goodness yea Perfection it self any Defect is inconsistent with a perfect Being and above all a Defect in Goodness which gives a Value to the other Attributes of God If therefore some things in Providence or some Passages appear in Scripture that we cannot exactly reconcile but that they seemingly oppose this Point we ought to impute that to our deficiency in understanding and to try if they may not reasonably bear another sense or reserve them to be understood hereafter than to adhere to them in contradiction to the general Tenour of Scripture and the Light of Nature and Reason seeing nothing can be alledged which with that same clearness oppugns the perfection of Goodness in God as others may which assert it And seeing the Nature of Goodness consists in the taking a pleasure in the Happiness of others and in promoting it We must conclude from hence that God hates no Man but loves and desires the Happiness of all Men and that for his Will-sake he reprobates none either from Eternity or in Time to think otherwise greatly opposes God in all his Attributes it opposes his Mercy God is in Scripture declared to be a merciful God Exod. 34. 6. 1 John 4. 16. God is Love yea called the Father of Mercy and God of all Consolation yea rich in Mercy Ephes 2. 4. abundant in Mercy Pray see Psal 33. 5. He loveth Righteousness and Judgment the World is full of the Goodness of the Lord And Mica 7. 18. He retains not his Anger for ever because he delighteth in Mercy And Psal 145. 9. the tender Mercies of God are over all his Works But how God could delight in Mercy and how his tender Mercies are over all his Works I do not understand What doth God delight in Mercy when he hath made such a Decree which sheweth more Severity towards poor Man than Mercy Are his tender Mercies over all his Works when for one only Sin and that once committed and that not in their own Persons he hath shut the greatest part of Mankind up under invincible Sin and Damnation not affording them a Mediator which was the greatest and most choice Act and Manifestation of God's Mercy that he could bless the World withal Now all the Attributes of God must take place upon Man And I beseech you tell me where the tender Mercy of God takes place upon those for whom Christ did not die for you will own there is Mercy in God as well as Justice do you not Philet Yea I do and God by his Decree doth fully manifest both Mercy and Justice his Justice to the Reprobate and his Mercy to the Elect. Philat Well but do you think that one Attribute of God destroys another Doth Justice in God wholly devour and eat up his Mercy leaving no room to take place upon some Persons Philet God who is the Supreme Lord of all may do what he will with his own when Man had sinned he was at perfect liberty whether he would shew Mercy to any or not and if he had made no provision at all for any of fallen Man it could not be termed an Act of Unmercifulness Philad I did not ask you what an Almighty God can or might do but I ask you how or wherein the Goodness and Love of God is manifested to those for whom Christ did not die Or how God who is the Perfection of all Goodness Mercy and Bowels of Pity can be said to bear any Love Good-will or Affection unto those before any personal or actual Sins by them committed upon whose ruin he was so bent that he hath wholly left them without all possibility of escaping Eternal Misery and Torment How can Mercy stand with such a Decree Doth not the Apostle Paul Tit. 3. 4. speak of the appearance of the Love of God our Saviour toward all Men But can there be any appearance of Love and Kindness to those for whom Christ did not die and whom God was resolved from Eternity to exclude from all parts and fellowship in Eternal Life Was not there as much Mercy Kindness and Good-will shewed to the very Devils as to such Men Nay Mr. Keach tells us That if Christ did not die for all God deals more severely with many of Adam's Off-spring than he dealt with the Devils because they were excluded from all terms of Reconciliation for their own actual Disobedience but Mankind only for the Sins of Adam made theirs by Imputation and as they partake of the same Nature Neither is their Condemnation aggravated by Christ's coming as those Persons are for whom Christ did not die Youth 's Celestial Guide Much to the same purpose you may see God's Love to Mankind pag. 136 137 138. That altho the Devils are set forth in Scripture for the greatest Spectacles of God's ireful Severity yet is God more merciful to them than to such Men and though they are both sure to be damned yet in three things Man is in a far worse condition by such a Decree 1. In their appointment to Hell not for their own personal Sins for which only the Devils are damned but for the Sin of another that lived and sinned long before they were born 2. In their unavoidable destination to endless Misery under a colour of the contrary the Devils as they are decreed to Damnation so they know it and look for no other But Men that are appointed to Wrath are yet fed up with hopes of Salvation and made to believe that if they perish 't is not because God would not have Mercy upon them but because they will not be saved when indeed there is no such

his Spirit to assist them in the performance of their Duties and when the Creatures have done the best they can nay when they have the assistance of the Spirit What all no better than Abomination Ah! what pity is it that Men to hold up a fond Opinion should have such unworthy thoughts of God What said David Ps 141. 2. Let my Prayers be set forth before thee as Incense and the lifting up of my hand as the evening Sacrifice and said the Angel to Cornelius Acts 10. 4. Thy Prayers and thy Alms-deeds are come up for a memorial before God they were acceptable in the sight of God and the Lord was well pleased with them as Heb. 13. 16. but to do good and to communicate forget not for with such Sacrifices God is well pleased and so Phil. 4. 18. An odour of sweet smell a Sacrifice acceptable and well pleasing to God Read Prov. 12. 22. Psal 147. 11. Act. 10. 35. Mal. 3. 4. In all which you may see That as they are commanded of the Lord and the Creatures Duty they are acceptable to him Mar. If of Works then not of Grace there 's no Reward belongs to any good Works Heaven and Eternal Salvation is the free Gift of God And I must tell you that all such as you are stand condemned and accursed by the Apostle Paul that set up the Golden Calf of your own Sanctification Philad What is it not possible for free Gift and Reward to stand together nor for Gospel-Dutys and a heavenly Reward to be linked and joyned together or is it a Dishonour to God to say he rewards his own Grace What are you such a Stranger to the Scripture that you have not read of Recompence or Reward which God will bestow upon those that are faithful not for the desert of the Work or Worker but for the Faithfulness of the Promiser which God who cannot lie hath promised Pray read Prov. 19. 17. Blessed is he that hath Mercy upon the Poor the Lord will recompence that which he hath given him And saith our Saviour a Cup of cold Water shall not lose its Reward Matt. 10. 24. Mat. 20. 34. Rev. 22. 12. Psal 19. But it seems you would put it out of all doubt that you pretend to depend upon your own Righteousness and that the Almighty by his Bounty and Grace having elected you he cannot expect any Duty from you You must as Cliford in the New Covenant p. 197. saith Have a cheap Religion Faith without Works pardon without trouble of Repentance and Heaven without Holiness and free Grace to save you without Obedience or you are undone to Eternity Indeed if any shall believe that their own Obedience to any Precept of the Lord justly merits Heaven then they might dance about their Duties as the Israelites about their Golden Calf but I hold no such thing but do believe that we are far from meriting any thing at the Hand of God for he that merits must do these three things 1st He must do the Work of himself without the Help and Assistance of another for if he doth it by the Help and Assistance of another the other merits both the Praise and Reward Now where is the Man that can come forth and say that what good he doth he doth it without the assisting Grace of God and if he cannot say so then the Thanks and Praise is due to God alone 2dly He must do it of mere good Will and not of Duty that which is of Duty cannot merit because a Man is bound to do it so that if Men could love the Lord with all their Hearts Strength and Soul and their Neighbours as themselves which is a thing no Man can do yet is it far from meriting because it is but their Duty and but a reasonable Service that they should honour the Lord with that which they receive from him as holy David said 1 Chron. 29. 11 12. and so on the more we do the more we stand indebted to Divine Grace for enabling us to do it what have any that have not received it first from God 1 Cor. 4. 7. 2 Cor. 3. 5. Eph. 2. 8. 3dly The Work done to merit must be proportionable to the Reward or there can be no Merit but alas what 's the best of Performance which is performed by infirm Man can it have that Worth and Dignity in them as to oblige the Lord to give unto them eternal Life by way of Retribution If God should reward us according to our Works miserable would be our Case so that unless it can be proved that our present Work is comparable to the Glory which is to be revealed there can be no Merit 't is a free Gift 't is Bounty for suppose I should set any Man to work to mow in my Field and for that Labour give him a Shilling or Fourteen or Sixteen Pence here 's only Equity and Justice the Man's Labour really deserved it but if for this one days faithful Labour according to his Strength I shou'd give him a Thousand Pounds this is Bounty so that no finite Creature or Worker can merit an infinite Reward or a finite Act cannot merit of an Infinite God an Infinite Reward Philet Therefore you that preach and press to Duty are but legal Preachers and such as would lead Men to Popery and into a dead Faith for it much derogates from the free Grace of God and lessens the alsufficiency of Christ's Merits and at best makes but moral Christians Philad Is there any such thing as Holiness and Duty to be observed if there be may they not be preached and urged or how can any of you that own the Scriptures scorn or disallow it seeing it calls the Saints not only to the Study and Practice of Holiness but also to grow and increase in it 1 Thess 4. 16. 1 Pet. 1. 15. 2 Pet. 3. 18. 1 Cor. 15. 58. Tho we cannot merit Heaven yet 't is our Obedience both in Heart and Life makes us capable of injoying Heaven through the Redemption of our Saviour we must be Workers or Labourers not Loyterers St. Paul exhorts the Christians of his time to be working out their Salvation with fear and trembling It seems the Christians are to do something towards their own Salvation Phil. 4. 17. In 2 Cor. 9. 6. Paul speaking of Charity shews it to be a means not a merit to conduce to a plentiful increase and 2 Pet. 1. 11. tells us that Grace exercised is a means to farther our Salvation But it seems we must not acknowledg God a Rewarder of his own Grace or any good Duty which he enables his People to perform but straight we preach Popery how then can any desire to be good or do good Philet For all the pressing us to Duty yet we do not build the Hopes of our Salvation upon so sandy a Foundation as our own Righteousness our hopes are in the Lord we put our trust in Christ and hope to be

matter 3. In their Obligation to believe and the aggravation of their Misery by not believing The Devils because they must be damned are not commanded to believe in Christ nor is their punishment heightned by their not believing but miserable Men who by this Decree have no more liberty to escape Hell than the Devil must yet be tied to believe in Christ and have their Torments increased if they believe not May we not say Where was the sounding of the Lord's Bowels and his Mercy Were they not restrained Isa 63. 15. Now tho I grant you that God's Mercy is his own and he might give it to whom he please I do also grant that when Man had sinned God was not obliged but was absolutely free and at perfect liberty whether he would shew Mercy to any or not The Love of God in Christ was undeserved undesired and every way free indeed neither had it been unmerciful if God had made no provision for fallen Man But now seeing he was pleased to enter into a Covenant of Peace with Man tho under no constraint or Obligation and to give his Son a Ransom not for a few but all as a means whereby his poor Creatures might be saved and hath promised Mercy without exception should be vouchsafed to all that believe in his Son and hath bound it with an Oath that he desireth not the death of a Sinner that no cruelty is in him but that he is a God gracious and merciful thereby to beget in us such amiable thoughts of himself as might incline us to love him with all our heart and strength and without the least scruple resign up our selves to his Will Now I say since God who was absolutely free hath made such Promises of Mercy to all that believe in his Son this his Promise binds him to perform it he cannot deny himself he 's not like unto frail Man he will not eat his own words so that now he is not at liberty to deny Mercy to those to whom he in his Word hath promised to shew Mercy neither can he do it for we may modestly affirm there are some things God cannot do God cannot lie he cannot deny himself neither can he deal unfaithfully and unjustly in his Promises nor go contrary to his Will revealed in his Word so till you prove by the Word of God that he hath made no provision for the Salvation of all Men by the death of Christ all you say proves nothing neither do you yet shew me where the great Attribute of God's Mercy takes place upon those for whom Christ did not die Philet Doth not the Mercy of God wonderfully appear in this that when Man had sinned and thereby run himself so far in debt beyond any possibility to pay but was liable to have been eternally a Prisoner without any redemption from thence till he had paid the utmost Farthing neither Men nor Angels being able to make God amends for the wrong Man had done him Psal 49. 7 8. And whereas God being the most Soveraign Lord and no ways a Debter to any of his Creatures being not constrained by any inward Necessity or outward Force to shew mercy to any being wholly at his own choice whether he would shew Mercy to any having cause enough to cast off Man for his disobedience as he did the fallen Angels doth it not argue and prove more abundantly the rich Grace and Goodness of God in providing for the Salvation of a few than in making no provision for any but leaving them to perish in their Sins Philad 'T is true 't is an act of Grace and Mercy for God to make provision for the Salvation of any by Christ and to cast his Love upon any of the degenerate Sons of Adam when he passed by the Apostate Angels being invested with a power to shew Mercy to whom he please But certainly if to shew Mercy to a few amongst the many millions of millions of poor perishing Creatures renders God gracious and merciful how prevailing must that Love be which hath made such rich and full provision for the Salvation of all Men who unless they wilfully neglect so great Salvation shall most certainly be saved for if the providing for the Salvation of a few out of many renders him most gracious and lovely then if he had refused to make provision for any certainly the greater the number for whom this provision was made is the more lovely and gracious doth God appear Pray take heed you do not bring your Soul under guilt by denying Christ's Death for all which is the greatest illustration of his Love and Mercy to Sinners for in my understanding 't is a great injury done to the Goodness and Mercy of God to affirm that he hath eternally decreed the reprobation of all mankind except a very few in comparison of the rest Mar. None can be damned but those whose damnation God wills to glorify his Justice for God wills the Salvation of all that are saved and he wills the Damnation of all that are damned and tho it is certain that the Lord is gracious and full of compassion and of great mercy yet he hath mercy on whom he will have mercy and whom he will he hardeneth Rom. 9. 18. It 's true there is such infinite Mercy in God that he could have pardoned all the Angels that sinned and could have saved all Adam's Posterity if he had pleased there might have been no Hell no place of Torment for Devils or Men if he had pleased there might have been no place but Heaven for all the Angels and all the Children of Men to sing Hallelujahs to Eternity but we must not order what God shall do how he shall exert and put forth his Mercy but let his Grace and Mercy be adored for ever in that he saves any that have sinned and his holy Justice ador'd in punishing so many with Eternal Damnation for Sin And God hath his Glory not only from them that are saved but also from them that perish in the one the Glory of his Grace in the other the Glory of his Justice Philad Who questions these things but you still avoid the Question so often urged viz. Wherein the great Attribute of God's Mercy takes place upon those for whom Christ did not die Philet You asked me if I thought one Attribute of God eat up another And I may ask you this Question whether you think God is made up of Mercy without any Justice Philad No I do not think so I believe that Justice and Mercy were essentially in God before all time and both beloved and favoured by him and to maintain the favour and love God bore to Justice he hath caused whole Nations to drink of the Cup of his Wrath in this he threw the sinful down from Heaven drowned the old World rained Fire and Brimstone out of Heaven upon Sodom c. yea such love doth God bear to Justice that not only Men and Angels Citys