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	sin_n	sinner_n	3,410	5	7.5691	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A66823	The abridgment of Christian divinitie so exactly and methodically compiled that it leads us as it were by the hand to the reading of the Holy Scriptures, ordering of common-places, understanding of controversies, clearing of some cases of conscience / by John Wollebius ; faithfully translated into English ... by Alexander Ross.; Christianae theologiae compendium. English. 1660	Wolleb, Johannes, 1586-1629.	1660 (1660)	Wing W3256; ESTC R29273	215,518	472

antecedent will And 't is a conditional will because Gods precepts prohib●tions con mi. nations and promises have the condition of obedience and disobedience annexed Lastly his revealed will because it 's daily set forth in God's word This distinction of the will is duely to observed left we sh●uld imagine that there are in God either really different or contrary wils III. What things are done against the will of God are not done besides his will For many things may be done against his revealed will which notwithstanding are consistent with his sec●et will or will of his good pleasure God by his revealed will desired not mans fall but most severely forbad it yet he did will and decree the same by the will of his good pleasure as it was a meanes for mani●estation of his glory IV. Therefore by the decree and will of God good and evil comes to passe good by efficiency Evil by permission V. Yet the decree or will of God is not the cause of evil or sin although what God hath decreed necessarily comes to passe For when evil is decreed by Gods will not effecting but permitting it this decree of God is not the cause of evil neither again is the will of God the cause of evil because his decrees are without repentance and unavoidable for they come not to passe by the necessity of coaction b●t by the necessity of immutability VI. The necessity of Gods decrees takes not away the liberty of the rational creature The reason i● because there is no necessity of co●ctions but of immu●ability The fall of Adam if we look upon Gods decree came to passe necessarily In the mean while Adam sinned freely being neither co●manded nor constrained nor fo●ced or moved by God but rather most severely admon●shed that he should not sin VII Nor doth this Necessity take away Contingencie in the second causes For many things are not contingent in respect of the second causes which in regard of Gods decree come to passe necessarily VI●I No moving or impulsive cause can be given of Gods decree except Gods most free will and good pleasure XI The chief end of Gods decree is his own glory X. Gods decree in it self is one and most simple neither is there priority or posteriority in it XI But in respect of the things which are decreed is so distinguished that in what manner or order they come to passe God is said to decree them that they should thus come to passe These are idle questions whether God decreed this or that first VVhether he first ordained the end or the means For whereas the decree of God in it self is one a most simple action there is neither priority nor posteriority in it but it is distingu●shed only in regard of the things which are decreed in which respect we say that God 1. Decreed to create man 2. To bestow his Image upon him but so that it might be lost 3. To permit his fall 4. Of those who were to fal some he decreed to leave to themselves and others he appointed to raise and to save them eternally CHAP. IV. Of Predestination GOD's Decree in respect of the Creatures is either general or special The general Decree is that by which he appointed to declare the glory of his power wisdome and goodness in the creation and conservation of all things The special Decree called Predestination is that by which he appointed to manifest the glory of his grace mercy and justice in the Election and Reprobation of the reasonable Creatures The RULE I. Although Predestination in the mind of God be one and a most simple act yet by reason of the weakness of our understanding it is distinguished into that Predestination which decrees the end and that which decrees the means II. He that is predestinate to the end is predestinate also to the means Predestination is either of Angels or of men The Predestination of Angels is that by which God appointed to save etenally some of them in their first happiness that in Christ their head but to leave others to themselves and to punish them eternally for deserting their station voluntarily and this for the manifestation of the glory of his grace and justice The Predestination of men is that by which God appointed out of the race of mankinde created to his Image but falling into sin voluntarily to save some through Christ eternally but others being left to themselves in their own misery to damn eternally and that for the manifestation of the glory of his mercy and Justice The parts then of this decree are two Election and Reprobation The RULES I. Predestination is a decree partly absolute partly not II. It is absolute in respect of the efficient impulsive Cause which neither is Faith in those which were to be elected nor sin in those which were to be reprobated but Gods most free-will Fore-seen Faith or Holinesse is not the cause of Election for man was not elected becaus he was to believe but therefore he believeth because he was elected Act. 13.28 And they believed so many as were ordained to life eternal Neither are we elected because we were to be holy but that we might be holy and unblamable b●fore him through love Eph. 1.4 Neither is foreseen sm●the cause of Reprobation for so we should be al reprobates but that God according to his most free good pleasure hath done what he did is manifest by that Luk. 12.23 It is your Fathers pleasure to give you a Kingdom and Rom. 9.16 I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy and ver 18. Therefore he will shew mercy on whom he will and whom he wils he hardeneth III. It is not absolute if we consider the matter or object and the means by which he puts this decree in execution VI. For the matter or object of election and reprobation is not man considered absolutely but as he was to fall into sin of his own accord The reasons are most evident because the decrees of manifesting mercy wrath or justice presupposeth sin for there can be no mercy but towards him that is in misery and there can be no justice o● just indignation but towards him that is a sinner 2. But because that onely can be reprobated which may be reprobated but man is reprobable or may be reprobated not as by God he was created but as Satan he was defaced V. Sin therefore is not the impulsive cause of Reprobation but a● necessary condition of the matter or object for though it be not the cause of reprobation yet it is the cause of reprobability or why man should be reprobated Fo● Reprobation and rep●obability diffe● as the act and possib●lity All men are reprobable or 〈◊〉 liable to R●probation for sin but all are not therefore actual Reprobates VI Reprobation then presupposeth 1 The decree of mans Creation Of the donation of Gods Image upon him which Image was to be lost 3. Of the permission of mans

how great evil and misery he brought upon himself VI. The happiness of man being yet in his integrity consisted chiefly in the Image of God VII The soul is the principal subject of this Divine Image the body is the secondary so far forth as the operations of the soul do manifest themselves in it VIII The gifts of Gods Image were partly natural partly supernatural IX The natural gifts were the simple and invisible substance of the soul with its faculties the intellect and will X. The supernatural gifts were the clearness of the understanding the liberty and rectitude of the will the conformitie of the appetites and affections the immortality of the whole man and dominion over the inferior creatures XI Such was the clearness of Adam's understanding that he knew all natural things which had a possible existence in the first principles which are of themselves known An excellent proof of this was shewed by Adam when he gave every creature its name according to its nature Gen. 2.20 XII The will was free indifferent to good or evil so that man might have persevered in uprightness if he had pleased he received power if he would but not wi●● and power There is a fourfold liberty of will according to the fourfold state of man In the first man the will was free to good or evil In man lapsed the will is only free to evil In man regenerated or in the state of grace it is free from evil to good by the grace of God but imperfectly In the state of glory i● shall be free from evi● to good perfectly In th● state of innocency he could not sin In the state of misery he cannot but sin In the state of grace sin cannot reign in man In the state of glory he cannot sin at all XIII The inferiour appetites and affections agreed with reason XIV Man even in respect of his body was immortal but not simply as though his body being composed of the elements could not be resolved into its principles but by Divine Covenant not as though it could not die but because it had a possibility not to die XV. Mans dominion over the inferiour creatures was not onely intire in respect of possession but milde also and gentle in respect of use and execution XVI That labour which was injoyned to Adam to keep and dresse Paradise was not toylsome but most pleasant CHAP. IX Of the fall of our first parents the beginning of Mans misery SO much concerning the government of Man in the state of innocency· The government of Man in the state of misery is whereby God in his just Judgement hath subjected Man to divers miseries who of his own accord fell into sin This state of Man consisteth in sin and in the miseries which follow upon sin Sin is a transgression of the Law or whatsoever is repugnant to Gods Law 1 Joh. 3.4 Under the name of Law in this place are understood both things commanded and things prohibited in the beginning proposed to man as also the Law of nature printed in his heart But concerning the restoring and enlarging of the Law after the fall we are to speak in its own place The RULES I. By sin is meant either the subject of transgression with the transgression it selfe in the concrete or the transgression alone in the abstract II. The definition of sin by thought word and deed is too narrow For so it is defined by the Pontificians but as it shall appear afterward this definition belongs nothing to original sin III. God cannot be called the author of sin without blasphemy IV. One and the same thing in a divers consideration may be both sin and the punishment of sin Sin is either primitive or derivative Primitive is the disobedience of our first Parents whereby they transgressed Gods Commandement concerning the Tree of Knowledge of good and ev●l The RULES I. Neither God nor Gods Decree nor the denial of special Grace nor the permission of sin nor the stirring up of natural motion nor finally the government of that sinne were the causes of Adam and Eves transgression Not God because he most severely prohibited the eating of that fruit Not his Decree because that infers a necessity only of immutability not of coaction neither doth it force any man to sin Not the denyal of speciall Grace by which man should continue in his integrity for God was not bound to give that grace to man which he gave him for he received possibility if he would although not a Will to that possibility Not the permission of sin for he was not bound to hinder it as before pag 58 Not the stirring up of naturall motion because motion of it self is not sin Not the government of his fall because to turn evil into good is rather to be the author of good than of evil II. God did both will and nill the first Sin He nilled it so far forth as it was sin he willed decreed it as it was a means of manifesting his glory mercy and justice III. The Procatertical or external cause was the instinct and perswasion of Satan that subtile Serpent IV. The Proegumene or internal cause was the will of man of it self indifferent to good or evil but by Satans perswasion bent to evil V. There be certain degrees of that sin by which Adam fell from God not at once but by little little viz. 1. Incogitancy and curiosity of Evahs talking with the Serpent her husband being absent 2. Incredulity by which she began by degrees to distrust God and to give assent to Satans lies who called in question Gods good will towards man 3. An inordinate desire to the forbidden fruit and an affectation of divine glory 4. The fact it self 5. The seducing of Adam and an inordinate affectation raised in him also VI. If you consider the parts of this sin you may justly call it the transgression of the whole Law of Nature For man sinned by incredulity diffidence ingratitude idolatry whereby he fell from God and of himself indeavoured to make an idol of himself by contemning Gods Word by Rebellion Homicide Intemperance Theft by laying hand on that which was anothers without the owners consent by assenting to false witnesse Lastly by an ambitious affectation of too high an honour yea of that glory which belongs onely to God whence the definition of this sinne by Intemperance Ambition or Pride is too narrow VII Therefore with the blessed Apostle we rightly call this sin a transgression an offence and disobedience Rom 5.14 18 19. VIII Adam in this business is to be considered not as a private but as a publique person and consequently as the Parent head and root of all mankind IX VVhatsoever therefore he received and lost he received and lost it for himself and posterity As the head contains Reason both for it self and the members as a Gentleman keeps or loses his Copy-hold for himself and posterity so Adam lost that felicity for himself