Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
mercy_n	good_a	lord_n	see_v	6,623	5	3.5167	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A15576	The best merchandise or, A cleare discovery of the evident difference, and admirable advantage, betweene our traffike with God, for the true treasure; and with men, for temporall commodity VVherein is shevved that our spirituall trading is both free from all the evill, & full of all the good, which is incident to civill commerce; yea, that it overfloweth with divers excellent prerogatives, which the affayres of the earth cannot yeelde. Preached at Middleburgh in Zeelandt, immediately before the remoovall, of the famous fellowship of Merchant Adventurers of England, from thence, vnto Delft, in Hollandt. And now published, and dedicated, to the honour and vse, of that whole society, there, or other where, residing. By Iohn VVing, a true harted wellwiller, to their temporall, and eternall good, with God and men.	Wing, John, of Flushing, Zealand.	1622 (1622)	STC 25843; ESTC S120117	86,198	146

thereof is better c. and the gaine therof c. loe here is nothing but merchandising and gayning not a word of any no not the least losse to any trader They who entertayne this course of spirituall commerce may safely resolve on that which others presumptuously made account of to wit of going to such a place and tarrying there such a time and buying selling getting gaine these reckoned I say not without their host but I am sure I may say without the Lord of hostes whose sufferance and assistance was never entertayned into their thought as a conditiō or cōsideration needefull to be taken with them and therefore they were sherpely taken vp and reprehended Jam. 4. because they did not as they ought say if the Lord will But to us the Lord hath revealed his will in this thing to encourage vs with the assurance of that in this heavenly traffike which the best earthly tradeing can have but in hope he hath tolde vs that if we doe buy and sell we shall ceartainely get and gaine for tradeing and gayning are inseparable companions in this busines We never read of any in all Gods booke but he gayned Psal 119. they that were the greatest doers doe tell vs that their advantages were better then thousands of Golde and Silver yea and beyond all treasure And they who have beene happily experienced in these affayres have found that worke of God to be true in themselves which his word hath affirmed of others Thus we see in the first of these passages that we finde in this second rank to wit our spirituall sales how well we speed that all we sell is for gaine and for no small gaine neither The which that we may the better vnderstand let vs set vpon the second beneficiall advantage in this commerce and that is that which you call BARTERING when one commodity is done away for another And in this particuler we are as farre before you as in any other before named nay further benefit and greater riches doth this way arise then by any of those which we have hitherto discovered And the apparant truth thereof may plentifully appeare vnto all men in the due ponderation of one thing which if it be well weighed will sway with vs perswade vs fully of the same And that in a word is this That wheras in all civill barters which are made betweene man and man one good thing is set against another and one commodity is exchanged for another In this blessed tradeing it is not soe but in the bartars betweene God and man the Lord give 's vs good for evill and putt's his graces vpon vs for the jmpietyes we put of to him The world doth not yeeld such traffike it is not to be had among men if any merchant should doe away a currant staple and well-conditioned commodity for some baggage stuffe that were base and not vendible it would be jmputed to him either for egregious folly or grosse injury or both all that should come to know it would account him exceeding sottish that should doe it But beholde that which were wonderfull folly or injury with vs to doe from man to man is the Lords doing betweene himself and vs and may most worthily be accounted an admirable favour and mercy in his majesty towards vs miserable transgressors who aboue all things are bound to magnify his most glorious name in this thing which is and ought to be according as it doth well deserve to be marvelous in our eyes and to be sought out considered of and sought after of all that love the Lord especially of all those whome he hath loved in this kinde For of this manner of merchandising and of such a kinde of commerce as this is it may well be sayd as the lewes spake of that mighty miracle of opening the mans eyes who was borne blinde Since the world began Joh. 9. it was never heard that any man hath done such a thing to give away good for evill yea the best for for the worst It is the Lord alone who bring 's all things out of nothing in creation all good things out of evill in regeneration all light out of darknes all mercy out of misery yea all grace and piety out of sin and jmpurity it is his goodnes and his glory thus to doe and all that are good cannot but glorify him for thus doing When the Lord Iesus had reprooved yea and vpbrayded the Laodiceans for all the evills that were in them as their pride presumption selfe-conceitednes and luke warmenes in religion he perswades them to part with these things and to worke them to a greater willingnes and forwardnes therevnto he tell 's them what they may have of him in lein of them to wit many and sundry excellent things eye-salve to annoynt their eyes golde tryed and refyned by the fyre c even all things that might make them truly and throughly happy And vpon the same ground did our saviour advise the yong man that came soe forwardly to him to enquire the next and neerest way to heaven why saith Christ sell all give to the poore and because thou shalt not thinke it a loosing bargaine know that insteed of that thou puttest away here thou shalt have treasure in heaven loe here is treasure for trash yea heavenly treasure for earthly trash Who but God would yea or could give this and make such blessed battars with vs as to let vs have and enjoy gold for drosse yea the finest gold for the foulest drosse precious rubies for base rubbish things excellent and jnvaluable for those that are vile and exeecrable It is he that doth it it is we that receive it we leave what is loath some and have what is louely he whose mercy is aboue the heavens hath done thus vnto vs and holy is his name who for his owne names sake doth endue vs with holynes yea he make's vs partakers of his owne holynes soe soone as we furcease our hellishnes if we let goe our dung he let 's vs enjoy and posesse those blessed and dearest advantages which Christ Iesus hath bought with his blood Who can prayse the Lord enough for this or sufficiently advance his name who hath wrought thus for the happines of our harts who having nothing worse then that which is best to give for the worst we have doth not therefore refuse to trade and intermeddle with vs and soe send vs away empty without any thing but is graciously pleased to entertaine commerce with vs and to bestow vpon vs his blessed graces for our cursed jmpietyes his sons robes for our owne rags the righteousnes of Christ for this wretchednes of ours Oh deare and welbeloved Christians would God that we could spend some houres in the heavenly meditation of this thing and thinke of this happy merchandise in this one respect added to all the rest Did we but enter the serious consideration herof what evill could

mercy in the same measure that is abone measure even that which is infinite and boundles blessednes And thus in the second thing of this second ranke to wit in Bartars you see we are beyond you and that so farre that none of yours come neere any of ours We are now to passe on to the third and last of this range wherin we shall not be more behinde but as in both the former much beyond you also and that is in the point which you call EXCHANGE In which it is well knowne that you are subject to much vnceartainety and by reason therof to some losse by the rising of it in one place and the falling of it in another as also by the vntrustines of some of them vpon whome the money is taken and who are to discharge the bills at sight or at time In both those your damage sometimes may prove double as no doubt but to some it hath done But now that exchange which is in vse in this celestiall trading is ever ceartaine and assuredly gainefull Ceartayne it is and vndoubted for there can be no reason why any man should mistrust his money never was any one of his bills protested by any vnder heaven for default of non-payment whosoever hath beene to receive any thing he or whosoever shal be is sure to have it discharged in due time The Lord is not behinde-hand with any man he is debtor to none nay so farre is he from that that he is much before-hand with every man and that may all men truly acknowledge to the honour of his name and happines of their owne harts And as it is thus ceartaine soe also is it as ceartainely beneficiall and comodious never did any receive a bill but he gott by it and was much benefited in the receit of the same These two advantages doe not evermore attend your exchanges nay sometimes you have but one of the two and sometimes it may be neither of them If the exchange be beneficiall the man may prove naught that should pay the bill if the man be sure yet the exchange is variable and may fall out worse then we accounted a litle time may turne our gaine into losse and bring benefit to damage and when we reckoned soe much was woonne it is possible that a few monethes may turne our figures into cyphers and bring all our profit we thought to gaine by our commodity within the price we payd for it These Bills have beene bad weapons to beate downe many some have beene soe beset with them that they have beene forced to fly It is jmpossible that any man should soe foresee times as to know how to passe his bills with vndoubted benefit and advantage at all times But our traders are most sure both of good payment and of good proffit also Who can call either of these two into any question that consider's that which in all the particulers before-going hath beene soe often remembred to wit that in this as in the rest we deale only and wholy with the Bord our God who cannot faile vs in any thing If we looke vpon his owne promise or vpon his saints experience how plentifully will both these appeare vnto vs what child of God hath ever received by exchange from the Lord but he hath had both sure payment and great proffit Have they not evermore received good for evill graces for grosse jmpietyes at the first exchange they ever made as we have sayd more then once already and when they have come againe have they not brought many wants and gone back with celestiall endowments and done away their lesser evills even their infirmityes for more graces added to those they had before And when yet againe they have come the third fourth tenth hundreth thousandth time as oft as they would or could from time to time during all their dayes of sanctification have they not received more grace for lesse a greater measure for a meaner and gotten those good things now to abounde in them which before had only a being What may be the meaning of that of David when he saith they goe from strength to strength or of that of Solomon who tell 's vs that the righteous shyne more more as the sun to the perfect day Or of that which Iohn hath where he avouches that of his fullnes we all receive grace for grace Or of that of Paul where he tell 's the Romans that the righteousnes of God is revealed from faith to faith and the Corinthians that we are translated from glory to glory What I say may all these graduall speeches intend but to tell vs that we have more for lesse more strength more knowledge more faith more joy more grace of all sorts of graces then we had before evermore a greature measure for a smaller and this not for some once or soe or but seldome now and then but continuall yea perpetuall till we come to appeare before the Lord at the the great day of his appearance when he shall come to judge the whole world A childe of God never come's into the presence of the Lord to employ any grace he hath received but he receive's more to it still more and more the multiplication is continuall the augmentation ever abiding more faith to faith till we come to receive the end of our faith which is the salvation of our soules more grace till we passe to the end of grace which is endles glory with the Lord our God who is the sountaine of grace Thus like a good stoek of money well managed our graces are still bringing in something vpon vs and adding to that which we had attayned before he who is still doing with them and laying them out wisely shal be sure dayly to get something by them if we send them out with vprightines they will without question come home with proffit Two talents gaine two other talents to them five talents gaine five more the church of Thiatyra had her happines in this that her works were more at the lost then at the first Thus is it most true that to him that hath shal be given he shall have abundance as Christ faith In temporall exchanges a man may fish all night and forecast all day too and catch nothing nay it may be when he hath done his best in both he may lose something because of the mutability of times and diversity of tradeing scarcity or plenty of money or commodity may occasion the disappointment of the wifest mans expectation But this busines is never bad much lesse worse and worse nay it is and wil be ever better and better ever more mending and prospering in all the passages of the same yeelding not only better for worse but more good for that which was lesse He that makes over any thing is most sure to receive more it is not possible a man should deale with the Lord and have nothing added to his spirituall estate at any time Nay wheras exchanges