Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
mercy_n	glory_n	grace_n	lord_n	5,866	5	3.7353	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A11078	Testis veritatis the doctrine [brace] of King Iames our late soueraigne of famous memory, of the Church of England, of the Catholicke Church : [brace] plainely shewed to bee one in the points of [brace] pradestination, free-will, certaintie of saluation [brace] : with a discouery of the grounds [brace] naturall, politicke [brace] of Arminianisme / by F. Rous.	Rous, Francis, 1579-1659.	1626 (1626)	STC 21347.3; ESTC S4449	57,093	98

TESTIS VERITATIS 〈…〉 KING JAMES 〈…〉 OF THE 〈…〉 OF ENGLAND OF THE CATHOLICKE CHVRCH Plainely shewed to bee ONE 〈◊〉 the points of 〈◊〉 Free will 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 With a discouery of the Grounds Naturall Politicke of ARMINIANISME By F. ROVS Printed at London by W. I. 1626. To the Reader HAuing heard of a publike declaration Doctor Palca●…quell in his Co●…cio ad 〈◊〉 Febr. 27. made by a reuerend and right worthy Diuine of his Most Excellent Majesties Resolution and Decree to oppose Arminianisme I thought it a fit time to put in order some pieces which being set together might amount to an euident Proofe and Testimonie that his Maiestie herein hath merited most glorious and incomparable Titles euen such as haue in them the Weight and Substance of High and supreame Excellencie For first herein Hee is the Successor of his Father as in Bloud and Royalty so in his excellent Thoughts Designes and Actions for this is a proceeding and going on in the same worke wherein the most learned King and absolute Iudge of Doctrines began a most noble Foundation His zeale in this matter would not bee bounded with the seas but on the wings of an heauenly fire flying beyond them it there consumed the fifties and their Captaines it dissolued the Bands of the Enemies of the truth Secondly herein the Title of Nursing Father of the Church a Title giuen to Religious Kings by the heauenly Oracles more strongly fastneth and spreadeth the Roote of it So that at once the same Person hereby acquireth the Dignitie both of a perfect Sonne and a glorious Father When the Doctrine of a Church is cherished the life of a Church is cherished and when a contrary Doctrine is opposed then the Doctrine of a Church is cherished Thirdly hereby the Title of Defender of the Faith hath still more Realitie put into it and it is made more vnlike to those empty Titles that haue the Word without and not the matter within Each of these I hope shall appeare in that which followeth For though it consists of many seuerall pieces like vnto broken accounts yet I hope being all set together they will arise to make vp the promised summes both in weight and number F. R. The Doctrine of Predestination deliuered and approued by King IAMES our late Soueraigne of Famous MEMORY GOd hath two wills a reuealed will towards vs Medit. on the Lords prayer and that will is here vnderstood hee hath also a secret will in his eternall counsell whereby all things are gouerned and in the end made euer to turne to his glory often-times drawing good effects out of bad causes and lightout of darknesse to the fulfilling either of his Mercy or Iustice c. The first Article of the Apostles Creed teacheth vs that God is Almightie how euer Vortius and the Arminians thinke to rob him of his eternall Decree and secret will making things to bee done in this world whither he will or not Wee doubt not but that their Ambassadors which Declar against Vorstius were with vs about two yeares since did informe them of a fore-warning that we wished the said Ambassadors to make vnto them in Our name to beware in time of seditious and hereticall Preachers and not to suffer any such to creepe into their state Our principall meaning was of Arminius who though himselfe were lately dead yet had he left too many of his disciples behinde him Wee had well hoped that the corrupt seed which that Ibid. enemy of God Arminius did sow amongst you some few yeares since whose disciples and followers are yet too bold and frrequent within your Dominions had giuen you a sufficient warning afterwards to take beede of such infected persons seeing your owne Countrey-men already diuided into factions vpon this occasion a matter so opposite to vnitie which is indeed the onely prop and safety of your state next vnder God as of necessitie it must by little and little bring you to vtter ruine if wisely you doe not prouide against it and that i●… time Thus while his Maiestie is an enemie to the enemies of Praedestination he is a friend and protector to that Doctrine whose enemies he doth oppose The Articles of Ireland agreed on in his Maiesties Articl agreed on anno 1615. Raigne cannot bee thought to containe any other Doctrine but such as was approued by his Maiestie In them we reade The cause mouing God to praedestinate to life is not Num. 15. the fore-seeing of faith or perseuerance or good works or of any thing which is in the person praedestinated but ONLY the good pleasure of good himselfe For all things being ordained for the manifestation of his Glory and his Glory being to appeare both in the workes of his Mercie and of his Iustice It seemed good to his heauenly wisdome to chuse out a certaine number towards whom hee would extend his vndeserued Mercy leauing the rest to bee spectacles of his Iustice. And that wee may yet more punctually know this Doctrine there allowed by Him to bee verily his owne Doctrine we reade thus from his owne Dictates God drawes by his effectuall Grace out of that at Medit on the Lords prayer tainted and corrupt masse whom hee pleaseth for the worke of his Mercy leauing the rest to their owne wayes which all leade to perdition Praedestination and Election dependeth not vpon Conference at Hampt Court any Qualities Actions or Workes of Man which bee mutable but vpon God his eternall and immutable Decree and Purpose THE DOCTRINE OF THE Church of England concerning Praedestination PRaedestination to life is the euerlasting purpose of Article 1●… God whereby before the foundation of the world was laid hee hath constantly decreed by his counsell secret to vs to deliuer from curse and damnation those whom he hath chosen in Christ out of mankinde and to bring them by Christ vnto euerlasting saluation as vessels made to honour wherefore they that be indued with so excellent a benefite of God bee called according to Gods purpose by his spirit working in due season they through grace obey that calling they be iustified freely they be made sonnes of God by adoption they be made like the image of his onely begotten Sonne Iesus Christ they walke religiously in good workes and at length by Gods mercie they attaine to euerlasting Felicitie Vpon the Articles of the Church of England Master Rogers Chaplaine to Arch-Bishop Ban●… See the Epistle Dedicatorie where hee affirmeth these propositions to be maintained by the Church of England there is set forth an Analysis of these Articles resoluing them into propositions which propositions he saith are maintained and approued by the authority of the Church of England and this Analysis vpon this Article of Praedestination thus inferreth Hereby is discouered the impiety of th●…se me●…●…hich thinke that m●…n doth make himselfe eligible for the ●… Proposition kingdome of heauen And that God beheld in euery man

by free Mercie nor damne none but by most righteous Iustice. But why hee saues or not saues this man rather than that man let him search who will looke into the great depth of Gods iudgements but withall let him take heed that hee fall not downe head-long Ius meum voluntas est Iudicis c. My right is the Bernard in Cant. Ser●… 14. will of the Iudge What more Iust for Merit What more rich for reward May not he doe what he will Mercie indeed is shewed to me but to thee is done no iniurie Take that which is thine and goe thy way If he haue Decreed to saue me also why wilt thou destroy me Talke what thou wilt of thy Merits extoll thy labours the Mercie of God is better then life P. Lombard o●… Master of Sentences lib. 1. Dist. 41 D. Plegit eos quos voluit gratuitâ Misericordia c. God Elected whom he pleased by free Mercie not because they would be faithfull but that they might be faithfull And hee gaue them grace not because they were faithfull but that they might bee For the Apostle saith 1 Cor. 7. I obtained Mercie that I might bee faithfull He saith not because I was faithfull Grace is indeed giuen to the faithfull but it is also giuen first that he may be faithfull So also he reprobated whom he pleased not for any future merits yet by a most true Iustice though hidden from our eyes Manifestum est quòd id quod est gratiae c. It is manifest Thomas Aquina●… part 1. q. 23. art 5. that Grace is an effect of Praedestination and that cannot bee put as a cause of Praedestiuation which is shut vp vnder Predestination God would shew his goodnesse on some whom he Praedestinated in sparing them by way of Mercie and on those whom hee Reprobateth in punishing by way of Iustice. And this is the reason why he chuseth some and reprobateth others But why hee chuseth these vnto glory and reprobateth those there is no reason to be giuen but the will of God Non est talis causa prohibens c. There is no such Bradwarden the profound De Causa Dei lib. 1. cap. 39. cause either forbidding the will of God or causing it by which an answer may be giuen why hee loued this man or hated that man Vocetur Praedestinatio bonorum c. Let the Praedestination Id lib. 2. cap. 45. of the good bee absolutely called Praedestination and the Praedestination of the euill Reprobation And then Praedestination may be thus described Praedestination is an euerlasting fore appointment of finall Grace in the way and euerlasting happinesse in the Countrey or home to the reasonable creature by the will of God Hic quart●… concludit quod vtramque c. Hee concludes Gorran in Rom. 9. that both Election and Reprobation dependeth on Gods good pleasure saying Therefore hee hath Mercy on whom he will c. Because freely hee hath loued Iacob and reiected Esau hee hath Mercie on whom hee will by giuing Grace and hee hardneth whom hee will not by imparting wickednesse but by not giuing Grace Whereupon Saint Austin As the Sunne in departing farre from the earth doth harden Ice not by imparting coldnesse but by not giuing heate Ago sum qui cunctos condidi Sanctos c. I am hee Thomas Campensis de Imit Christi lib. 2. cap. 63. that made all Saints I gaue them Grace I bestowed glorie I know all their good workes I preuented them in the blessings of my sweetnesse I fore knew my beloued before all ages I Elected them out of the world and they did not prae-elect mee I called them by Grace I drew them by Mercy I led them through manifold tentations I powred into them glorious consolations I gaue them perseuerance c. I am to be blessed and honoured in them all whom I haue so highly glorified and Praedestinated without any foregoing good workes of their owne Gratia Praedestination is in divinis literis c. The Cassander end●… in the end of this Doctrine C●…nsult Art 18. Grace of Praedestination is so greatly commended in the word of God and Ecclesiasticall writers That those who are indued with Faith in Christ and with good workes springing from that Faith may not ascribe these things to themselues but vnto God and to the Grace of his diuine Praedestination and Flection and so may glory in the Lord and not in themselues The Doctrine of King IAMES concerning Free-Will and effectuall Grace THe only way for enabling vs to doe it viz. the will Medit on the Lorde prayer of God is by our earnest prayer to God that he will enable vs to doe it according to that of Saint Augustine Da Domine quod iubes iube quod vis And lead vs not into Tentation the Arminians cannot Ibid. but mislike the frame of this petition for I am sure they would haue it And suffer vs not to be led into tentation c. Saint Augustine is the best decider of this question to whom I remit me The Reader is referred in the margent to Saint Augustine thus Aug de Praedestinatione Sanctorum De dono perseuerantiae contra Pelagianos passim alibi Now Saint Augustines Doctrine of Free-will is shortly to follow Our next generall petition is That his Kingdome may Ibid. come c. That in the meanetime his will may bee done on earth as it is in Heauen The effect which the Kingdome of Heauen in this Earth will produce The nature of man through the transgression of our Declar. against Vorstius first parents hath lost Free-will and retayneth not now any shadow thereof sauing an inclination to euill those only excepted whom God of his meere Grace hath sanctified and purged from this Originall Leprosie It sufficeth vs to know that Adam by his fall lost his Meditation on the Lord prayer Free-will both to himselfe and all his posteritie so as the best of vs all hath not one good thought in him except it come from God who drawes by his effectuall Grace out of that attaynted and corrupt masse whom hee pleaseth for the worke of his Mercie The Doctrine of the Church of England concerning Free-will THe condition of man after the fall of Adam is such Article 10. that hee cannot turne and prepare himselfe by his owne naturall strength and good workes to Faith and calling vpon God Wherefore wee haue no power to doe good workes pleasant and acceptable to God without the grace of Godby Christ preuenting vs that wee may haue a good will and working with vs when wee haue that good will Here wee see first the seruitude of the Will vnder sinne in the state of naturall corruption There is an impossibilitie of turning and preparing by naturall strength and secondly the power of Grace on the Will in conuerting it the Grace of God by Christ doth so effectually preuent vs that it makes

wrath may be vpon lesser sinnes yea a hot wrath may be vpon a Saint ●…or greater 〈◊〉 but a whole displeasure is not vpon him except he had a who●…e reigne of sinne and from that as I shewed before a Saint is preserued For there is still a seede of Grace remaining and with that seede God cannot be angry yea he still loueth it and where this loue remaines there the wholenesse of wrath is abated so much as is the measure of this remaining loue Neither is this without the word of God For God himselfe when he hath said of a Saint I will be his Father and he shall 2. Sam. 7. 14. be my sonne he saith also If he commit iniquity I will chasten him with the rods of men but my mercy shall not depart away from him as I tooke it from Saul God when he was angry with Iehosaphat Hee told him by the Prophet Shouldst thou helpe the vngodly c. Therefore is wrath vpon thee from the Lord. Yet withall God forgat 2. Chron. 19. ●… not the seede of Grace in his heart Neuerthelesse there are good things found in thee thou hast prepared thy heart to seeke the Lord. So though there be a measure of wrath and God in measure contend with these branches Esay 27. 8. of sinne yet the roote of grace remaining Grace also remaineth As long as the seede of God remaineth so long vnion with God remaineth and as long as vnion with God remaineth so long a man is in the state of grace and cannot be wholly in the state of displeasure But as millions of sinnes lying vpon the Sonne of God brought with them such a heauy displeasure of God that in regard of the anguish and plague of it to which he was deliuered vp he cryed out My God my God why hast thou forsaken mee and yet as concerning vnion God had not forsaken him so also in the sonnes of God vnited to this Sonne though for some single sinnes a great wrath may arise and God in regard of outward feeling may seeme to forsake them yet that vnion still remaineth and whom God hath thus knit together no man can put asunder In Christ that became sinne for vs all the sinnes of the Saints and vnion with God were not incompatible wherefore sinnes and vnion with God are not incompatible And though this vnion was Hypostaticall and our a lower vnion yet from that Hypostaticall vnion our vnion is deriued and that vnion safegards and preserueth the vnion deriued from it His vnion is the Rocke on which our vnion being built that Rocke preserueth the Church vnited vnto it The strength of Christs vnion is not the weaknesse Math. 16. 18. Math. 7. 25. Ioh. 14. 19. Ioh. 17. ●…0 c. ●… Pet. 2. 5. 6. 7. but the strength of our vnion and in his safe vnion our vnion is safe against the gates of Hell And this is the very point that accuseth and conuinceth their horrible blasphemy that say wee are no safer by vnion with Christ who was God and man then by generation from Adam who was but a man that had not vnion with God But perchance some will obiect this is a dangerous doctrine to be taught That Saints cannot fall from the State of Grace And why Because men will presume But let the obiectors remember that the question is whether it be true or vntrue not whether there may be ill vses made of it For if it be true then this is iust Gardiners argument against whole relying on the merits of Christ because the people would breake out at this gappe and leaue buying of heaven with their owne merits So might wee argue that the Grace of God may not be taught because some turne it into wantonnes no●… men send their sonnes to the Vniversity because knowledge puffeth vp But let not Gods truth be muzled vp with carnall policy especially let not truth bee denyed to bee truth because flesh and blood makes ill vses of a spirituall truth But secondly I deny that this doctrne is dangerous to breede carelesnesse in obedience yea it is a spurre and encouragement vnto obedience For if wee consider how it is deliuered and to whome it is deliuered and with what cautions and conditions it is to be delivered it will be found to be a doctrine most comfortable and most advantagable vnto holinesse The vsuall manner of delivering it is by the way of incouragement vnto obedience Euen the whole Law is inforced vpon this ground I am the Lord that hath delivered thee from the house of bondage thou shalt haue no other Gods but me c. which agrees iust with the song of Zacharie That wee being deliuered from our enemyes might serue God without feare in holinesse and righteousnesse c. In the next place we may consider that this Doctrine only appertaineth to the Regenerate To them only it can be so deliuered that it may bee received Now the Regenerate haue in them a godly nature a spirit of loue and the loue of God being shewed and sealed to them the spirit of loue in them is enflamed to a more seruent loue of God And the more a man loues God the more will hee keepe his Commandements So that it is most true which S. Iohn speakes Hee that hath this hope purgeth himselfe as God is pure But the cleane contrary is said by these men He that hath this hope defileth himselfe 〈◊〉 the 1. Ioh. 3. 3. Deuill is filthy In the last place let vs take notice what cautions conditions are annexed vnto this Doctrine God knoweth our frame and he seeth that by nature wee are nothing but flesh Ioh 3. 6. And even after Regeneration there is a great remainder of the flesh even in the Regenerate Now this flesh is apt to be puffed vp not vpon this onely but vpon any excellencie of the Spirit knowledge Revelation yea vpon the grace of God yea vpon humilitie it selfe Therefore God hath certaine scourges for his childrē to beate downe this flesh from presuming and exalting it selfe aboue measure Whom the Lord loueth he chasteneth and hee Heb. 13. ●… scourgeth every sonne whom hee receiueth Hee hath scourges of diverse sortes he scourges them in their estates he scourges them in their bodies he scourgeth them in their mind yea in their soules themselues He scourgeth them by men hee scourgeth them by Devils he scourges them by good Angels he scourgeth them by his owne hand even by hiding his face by withdrawing his comforts by sending terrours into their soules so that no scourge almost is wanting but only Hell yea their is not wanting a kind of temporall Hell but only a Hell eternall Dauid is scourged with the death of the sonne of his sinne with the rebellion of another sonne with the rayling of Shim●…i with an exclusion from the Royall Citie So that hee wept as he went vp and had his head couered and he went ●…refoote he was called A bloody