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	truth_n	4,866	5	5.5488	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A20529	Foure godlie and fruitful sermons two preached at Draiton in Oxford-shire, at a fast, enioyned by authoritie, by occasion of the pestilence then dangerously dispearsed. Likewise two other sermons on the twelfth Psalme. VVhereunto is annexed a briefe tract of zeale. / By I. Dod. R. Cleauer.	Dod, John, 1549?-1645.; Cleaver, Robert, 1561 or 2-ca. 1625.; Winston, John, fl. 1614-1634.; Greenham, Richard.	1611 (1611)	STC 6938; ESTC S114261	70,793	120

confutation of the Papists who clog mens consciences and lay on them heauie and yet vnnecessarie burdens enioyning them if they would get termission of their sinnes to goe in pilgrimage to this or that place to pray to this or that Saint to make some satisfaction to God c as if they should finde mercie any where rather then by seeking it at Gods hands and they speed accordingly for whereas Dauid went vnto the Lord for fauour and obtained it they haue still vnsetled hearts and restles consciences or hard hearts and benummed consciences neuer getting any true peace or sound comfort in the assurance of their reconciliation with the Lord. 2 Secondly for reproofe of those whose offences are very many and very grieuous and they see and acknowledge so much and yet will they not be so presumptuous as they tearme it to expect pardon for the same indeed they thinke it fit for such holy men as Dauid was to aske and looke for mercy from the Lord but for themselues they are such hainous offenders that they dare not doe so neither can they conceiue any hope to speed well if they should doe so But why should we put in conditions where God doth not and as it were interline Gods couenant doth not he promise without any exception that if we confesse our sinnes he is faithfull and iust to forgiue vs our sinnes and to cleanse vs from all vnrighteousnesse It is therefore a great fault to thinke that any hath more abundance of sinne then God hath of mercy to forgiue it Thirdly heere is an vse of instruction that we should be very importunate for the obtaining of Gods fauour in the pardoning of our sinnes which earnestnes that we may attaine vnto let vs vse these two helpes following which Dauids example directeth vs vnto First let vs labour that our hearts may thorowly smite vs and that our consciences may euermore checke vs when we doe offend for wheresoeuer there is the checke of conscience it will make the party grow not onely to hartie confession but also to earnest petitions for grace and fauour The greater therefore is their follie who when the Lord doth strike their drowsie consciences for any wickednesse committed by them will presently betake themselues to merry company so by iesting and laughing and drinking and sporting seeke to driue away their melancholie fit as they call it but God meeteth with them accordingly for when they will not take benefit by that mercifull warning which he giueth them they commonly fall to maruellous hardnes of heart and after breake foorth into some horrible sinne which ouerwhelmeth them with shame and confusion Let vs therefore obserue when the Lord smiteth our hearts and with Peter get out of company speedily and lament bitterly that so we may turne the rebukes of our soules into holy requests that the Lord would forgiue vs and not enter into iudgement with vs for our grieuous prouocations against his Maiestie Secondly when sinne is so odious vnto vs that our hearts doe condemne vs for it then let vs striue to be perswaded that it is pardonable yea and that it shall be pardoned vnto vs that though we deserue to be throwen out of seruice because we haue dealt so foolishly yet seeing we are Gods seruants he will not goe to extremities with vs but deale as a father with his owne children this ancor of hope we had need still to hold fast by for if we be not in some good measure resolued that we shall finde the Lord gratious and that we our selues are not hypocrites but such as to whom mercy belongeth we shall presently giue ouer prayer for who would seeke vnto a Chirurgion to cure him of whom he is afraid lest he should wound him in that he hath cause and abilitie so to doe Therefore hold this for a firme ground once Gods childe and euer once his seruant and neuer his enemie in which regard we may come with confidence vnto him and say Lord I am vnworthy to be called thy sonne yet art thou my mercifull Father I haue done thee ill seruice yet am I thy poore seruant still and though I be bad now yet time hath bene when I haue bin better done better when I haue praied in secret and humbled my soule and shedde teares for my sinnes in priuate and haue had an vtter detestation of those euils which now through the corruption of my nature I haue fallen into and therefore Lord be pacified towards me and put out of thy remembrance the trespasse of thy seruant If any one want these testimonies of Gods loue towards him and of his loue towards God when affliction ouertaketh him for his sinnes he will either flee from the Lords presence as Adam did or if he aduenture to come vnto him his prayers will descend as plummets of lead vpon him and Sathan and his owne conscience will be readie to accuse him and to say what hast thou to doe with God he heareth not sinners thou shall rather prouoke his vengeance then obtaine his fauour by thy petitions and because thou hast bene his enemie heretofore he will shew himselfe to be thine now and because thou hast cast his word behind thy backe he will shut out thy cries that they shall not haue any accesse vnto him Which vncomfortable newes will be as a dart to strike thorow the liuer of an hypocrite and as a two edged sword to pearse his soule and therefore let vs all labour to be strongly setled in this point that we are Gods seruants that so we may be feruent and firie in our prayers and not be so daunted as sinners are when the hand of God is vpon them I haue dealt very foolishly This he speaketh to make this sinne more odious vnto himselfe for by nature we are so proud that we cannot abide that any body should say we haue dealt foolishly and absurdly therefore doth he lay lode vpon himselfe the more to beat downe his pride confessing that he had dealt very foolishly because he had dealt very sinfully whence note this doctrine That the more sinfull any one is the more foolish he is Eue did eat of the forbidden fruit thinking she had dealt very wisely prouidently for her selfe but did she get any thing by sinning against her makers commandement No surely when shee had a conceit that she should deale most wisely she dealt most foolishly of any that euer was in the world for thereby she brought sorrow and miserie yea eternall damnation of soule and body not onely vpon her selfe had not God giuen her repentance and mercy but vpon many hundred thousands of her posteritie So Achan thought it a part of wisdome to take vp the Babylonish garment the wedge of gold that lay in his way hee might thereby as he imagined inrich himselfe and the matter neuer be knowne but was not that the ruine of himselfe his houshold In like manner

Ieroboam esteemed it a wise and safe way for him to set vp the Calues that the people might worship at Dan and Bethel and so not fall from him to ioyne againe to the house of Dauid he accounted this a surer course to establish his throne then for him to rest on Gods promise but did he not get exceeding dishonour and vtter ruine heereby in so much that when the Lord will set foorth a notable reprobate and firebrand of hell he doth describe him by this that he was like Ieroboam the sonne of Nebat that made Israel to sinne and whereas he hoped by this meanes to set vp himselfe and his seed for euer he caused them through his sinnes to be swept away as dung from the face of the earth The like may be said of Ahab in taking away Naboths vineyard And this must needs be so that the greatest sinners are the veriest fooles because in sinning they forsake the wisedome of God and follow the direction of flesh and blood It is noted as a point of great folly and indiscretion in Rehoboam that he would forsake the good counsell of the old men and follow the rash aduise of young men and are not they then egregious fooles indeed that leaue the counsell of the wise God and follow the aduice of Sathan his and their vtter enemie We would esteeme it a great madnesse if we should see a man his barnes being full of corne to set fire on the thatch and to sit by and laugh to behold all turned into a flame and yet certainely this is not so great a madnesse as for one to fire his soule with sinne for all the friends and meanes that the world affordeth cannot quench this flame nor recouer this losse as they may the other and therefore they are the fooles of the world that are the sinners of the world and there is no such frenfie as for a man to prouoke his Creator and whatsoeuer applause wicked persons haue for a season yet at length all the world shall see and they themselues shall feele that they haue beene notorious fooles Ier. 17. 11. This serueth for instruction that if we would not be branded with the name of fooles and Idiots we be carefull to eschew all manner of sinnes and on the contrary if we would be truely wise let vs cleaue vnto the Lord in constant and faithfull obedience that was the reason why Dauid was wiser then his enemies then his teachers then the aged because he kept Gods statutes What made those in the Gospell to be foolish Virgins but this that they made not prouision for eternall life And what made the other fiue to be indeed wise but that their hearts and liues were adorned and beautified with grace and goodnesse Achitophel was a deepe politician yet because he was destitute of heauenly wisedome he shewed himselfe to be but a miserable base foole for when he had no meanes to helpe himselfe he went and hanged himselfe if one had studied an hundred yeeres he could hardly haue found out a readier way to manifest his notable folly then he tooke in that horrible murdering of himselfe 2 Secondly is it so that the greatest sinners are the veriest fooles then here is matter of singular consolation for Gods seruants that are vilified and contemned and accounted sillie and simple euen for this that they carefully decline from the waies of sinners though in shew neuer so pleasant and profitable and conscionably walke in the paths of righteousnesse though neuer so rough and dangerous let vaine men speake their pleasure of them and count and call them the fooles of the world yet God esteemeth and speaketh otherwise of them It is no maruell that the world iudgeth them fooles for with them the doctrine of the Gospell vnto which the godly endeuour to conforme themselues and their courses is accounted foolishnes But as wisedome is iustified of her children whatsoeuer men thinke or speake of it so are the children of wisedome iustified by the infinitely wise God whatsoeuer slanderous and reproachfull imputations carnall men doe lay vpon them he saith that the feare of the Lord is the beginning of wisedome Prou. 1. 7. and that those that obey his commandements are the onely wise people vnder the Sun Deut. 46. Verse 13. Wilt thou that seuen yeeres famine come vpon the Lands c. Heere commeth an obiection to be answered It is said 1. Cor. 11. 31. that if we iudge our selues we shall not be iudged of the Lord how commeth it to passe then in this place that Dauid confessing his fault aggrauating it and asking pardon for it hath notwithstanding such a heauie iudgement denounced against him as the famine or the sword or the pestilence 1 Though such as iudge themselues shall not be iudged yet must they be cured and that was Dauids case here this stroake was not laid vpon him in wrath but in fauour he had set vpon a good worke euen the pulling downe of his pride by this meanes the Lord furthered him in y e good worke made a speedier way for abūdāce of grace which was after bestowed vpō him 2 Againe the people were not so reformed as they should be at this time and therefore God in this plague doth aime at their humbling thrusting Dauid out of the gappe as it were who had formerly by his prayers teares stood in the breach to keep of the Lords wrath from them so that all this while beeing intangled with his own matters he could not so freely deale for them Now in that Dauid must haue such a sharpe corasiue to consume that proud flesh that had growne about his heart by reason of his mightie forces and the largenesse of his dominions the Doctrine is that it is a wonderfull hard thing to take downe the pride of mans heart it is no small affliction that will doe it as is plaine Iob 33. 14. c where is at large shewed that God vseth all meanes and that againe againe and yet men will not profit thereby then he findes out the cause of it to be pride verse 17. and so laieth corrections vpon them sutable thereunto smiting them with sorrow vpon their beds so that the griefe of their bones is sore pinching them with grieuous sicknesses and diseases and making their bones to clater so that their soules draw neere to the graue and their life to the buriers Now when these or the like wofull distresses haue tamed and maistered their vnruly affections then doe they begin to be somewhat more tractable and whereas neither dreames nor visions nor any of Gods ordinances would doe any good vpon them before after that if God send vnto them a messenger or Interpreter one of a thousand they will begin to hearken vnto them and to learne how they may obtaine mercy and reconciliation with God that they descend not into the pit of destruction Further we may obserue what a great deale

they set vpon correction with best staiednesse doe want knowledge and discretion and therefore giue their children too little or too much but the Lord is of such infinite wisedome that hee euer proportioneth his chastisements to the neede of the partie and the nature of the fault Againe earthly parents when they haue layde on stripes cannot take them off againe when they see their children weeping and grieuing and humbling themselues in good earnest for their offences they wish but all in vaine that their paine were ouer the smart remooued but as the Lord woundeth so can he heale as hee cast Iob downe so could he raise him vpagaine and whatsoeuer our distresses be if wee can humble our selues and crie vnto the Lord hee is able and readie to relieue and to deliuervs In which regard wee should be most willing if we must needs he corrected to yeeld vp our selues into his hands For there is no comparison betwixt the compassions of men which are finite and of Gods who is infinite Which may serue to discouer vnto vs their folly that are so farre from submitting themselues to Gods chastisements that they cannot endure his rebukes Let any man of God admonish them and they are readie to flie in his face What hath he to doe with me say they let him meddle with his owne matters I will not take it at his hands with many bitter speeches of that kinde which argue in them great distemper and vexation of minde And let a man tell them in neuer so great loue that if they doe not amend their sinnes will abroad to their disgrace their friends will grieue at them their aduersaries will reproach them and all cry shame vpon them yet they will be no whit pacified but rather enraged against the admonisher not caring what be thought or spoken against them so Christians may not reprooue them Hence is it that men are so loath to be vnder any Christian gouernment where they must be instructed how to doe well and rebuked if they doe not well they will none of it to liue in such a family or congregation where they shall be catechized and restrained from the breach of the Sabbath and other leaud courses they will neuer endure it but will chuse rather to be vnder the gouernement of Antichrist and of Sathan himselfe then of Christ Iesus Let their maisters be Papists cruell oppressors as sauage tyrants as Pharaoh was they will rather dwell with them then with godly and religious gouernours that would vse them most kindly and reward them most liberally for their seruice Such were the Israelites Moses as the Lord testifieth of him was the meekest man vpon the earth and withall a most wise and couragious Ruler yet would they rather haue beene euery day vnder the whip in Egypt then vnder Gods gracious gouernment which was executed by Moses And as these are heere to be condemned of great want of wisedome that will not submit themselues to be admonished and ordered by the Lord so are they also which are vnwilling to come vnder Gods correcting hand which is indeed of al other most desireable And because the present occasion requireth it it will not be amisse to shew that the pestilence wherewith the Lord hath now visired this Nation is a fauourable and gentle correction and that this sword of the Lord is nothing so terrible as the sword of man would be if he should cause that to be drawne out against vs and that for these reasons First because heerein we may more immediately and cleerely behold Gods hand which is a meanes to draw vs to more speedy and earnest humiliation whereas if we were pursued by the sword of men we should be more distracted sometimes with feares of and greese for the enemies violence sometimes with hopes either of mercy from them or of aid from others all which do either vtterly withdraw vs from or much hinder vs in the worke of humiliation Secondly in the time of the pestilence the aduersaries of Religion haue not such matter of insultation as when warres are hote in the Land for then they would triumph in this or the like manner Now these forward men shall pay for it downe they shall all the sorte of them they were wont to brag that God would be their buckler and their shield their refuge and their strong tower of defence but what will become of them now thus would they insult ouer Gods chosen in the time of warre but in the time of this sicknes they themselues are exceedingly afraid euen at their wits ende knowing that hell and destruction gape for them whensoeuer death taketh hold of them whereas Christians are quiet and full of peace ioy in the holy Ghost knowing that if they die they shall go from earth to heauen from a place of miserie to a palace of glorie Thirdly this is a maruellous great mercie that there doth still remaine the face of a Church that the Gospell is preached the Sacraments administred the profession of the truth openly maintained whereas if there were a forraine inuasion or a ciuill mutinie insurrection the vsuall course of the minsterie and of the exercises of religion would be stopped which now is not onely tollerated but commanded Besides now there is a continuance of the state of the common-wealth whereas when the sword rageth in a land the face of the honourable is not respected the Magistrates authoritie is reckoned a matter of nothing and all lawes must giue place to the wills of violent men Againe in the times of warre there is an vtter subuersion of all meanes of maintenance and comfort we cannot enioy our possessions nor dwell in our houses nor reape the fruits of our labours which now through Gods mercie is farre otherwise And as for our estate so euen for our liues and for our soules the case is better with vs in the time of pestilence then in the time of warres for then all our families wiues children seruants and all may bee barbarously slaine or worse vsed before our eyes or we before theirs and if not so yet they must be left to Idolaters and in danger to be vassalls of sinne and Sathan but now if death come it is nothing so lamentable if life bee graunted it is nothing so dangerous for though we be taken away yet our friends shall remaine with the Saints seruants of God and they that haue bene our Christian friēds will be theirs at least there is very great hope of their happinesse both here and hereafter in regard of that liberty of the Gospell which through Gods goodnes is still maintained And therefore great cause haue wee to magnifie the name of God that when our late gracious Queene was taken away the Land must needs bee exercised with some heauie stroke or other that hee then miraculouslie deliuered vs from the violence of the sword of man and smote our Nation with his owne sword Now