Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A85880
|
The trumpet in Sion, sounding a general alarm in the nation. By J.G.G.
|
Gailhard, J. (Jean).
|
1700
(1700)
|
Wing G42A; ESTC R232835
|
76,533
|
150
|
exercise loving-kindness judgment and righteousness in the Earth for in these things I delight saith the Lord and not in Sin which I abhor Once there were great outcry 's against the Sins of the late Reigns and there was cause for it as God's Judgments which are always just declared But are we now better in the least On the contrary we can observe those same Sins to increase and daily grow stronger and more frequent upon us Have any of the guilty and offenders against God and the Country been punished for their notorious Offences How can the Effect cease if we remove not the Cause and what signifies to find fault except we mend I look upon 't only as an aggravation We know yet act not according to knowledge neither do we improve the means and opportunities which God had put into our hands to assert his Honour and his Truth to reform Abuses redress Grievances promote the good of the Nation prevent Evil restrain Sin punish Sinners and with greparing our Hearts unto God to fit ourselves for further Mercies Rather with continuing as we do in our Sins and through our unthankfulness we provoke the Lord and are in a way to draw his vengeance upon us The most notorious Sins of the late Reigns were Whoredom and Adultery taking other Mens Wives and without Shame living with them in the sight of the Sun Also downright and open Idolatry yet such were Prayed for as our Religious Kings and Defenders of the Faith when they were about destroying it So was Hypocrisie in pretending to be Protestants tho' actually Papists yet 't was made Treason to say the King was a Papist or Popishly affected which I say to shew how any Society or Assembly of Men chiefly when guided by Interest and Passion is apt to Err and be mistaken and thereby Men were made guilty of Death for telling the Truth Well these Sins and many more in Church and State were under the late Reigns the cause of our Complaints and have been the grounds for our Deliverance But what are we the better for it Tho' God (a) Ezek. 16.50 hath taken away some of the Sinnners as he saw good if the same Sins in the same degree nay in a higher do still continue among us and are become our master Sins is not there Cause to put this Question after God hath so graciously and wonderfully wrought for us are these Distempers remedied and all the great Abuses we complained of Reform'd nay are we so much as in earnest about to do it Tho' we may say some few are in a small degree yet far from it as to others for specially those relating to God ' Honour and Service are increased and without restraint daily multiplied We have bad Examples whence we expected good ones How careful are Men to promote their worldly selfish Interest and how neglectful of God's as if it was not worth minding Hence it is that we see obscene blasphemous and impious Books publickly exposed to Sale in Shops Auctions c. without any Curb and when there hath been other Books in opposition to those how much unfaithfulness tricking and unfair dealings have been used to smother or mangle them about the time of the coming out nay after that for Love nor Money one could not get them put into the Gazzetts among the Advertisements tho' desir'd more than once So that Diana's Interest wants no Demetrius of several kinds among us Some think they may be of no Religion others of any and profess what they please some do vent and publish their Opinions whilst others cheat and revile their Neighbours and wrong them in their good Name Fortune Liberty and sometimes in their Life without little or no Curb at all which is a bringing in a-pace of Confusion and Anarchy and all this some would call the Liberty of the Subject which is with Impunity to abuse one another and to run into all manner of Licentiousness Some think themselves Priviledged to Defraud others of their own nay others go further to Strike those Persons whose Character ought to be Respected and that in such Places as require a special Punishment and upon such occasions as deserve Thanks and not Blows Thus in one kind or other (a) Judg. 17.6 Every one doth that which is Right in his own Eyes as we read it was when there was no King in Israel Thus God in his wise Providence suffereth Abuses to Creep in and sometimes to Prevail of which we may say what our Blessed Saviour speaks of Offences (a) Luke 17.4 It is impossible but that Offences will come but Wo unto him through whom they come by Right it should be so with those who commit Abuses but also he from time to time raiseth Instruments in his hand for his People's good and makes them as Paul would have us to be (b) Rom. 12.11 Acts 17.16 Fervent in Spirit Serving the Lord. As we read how his Spirit was stirred in him in Athens when he saw the City wholly given to Idolatry Not Lukewarm in his Service for such (c) Rev. 3.16 He speweth out of his Mouth Nor such as (d) Jer. 48.10 Do his Work deceitfully For such are Cursed But for his Honour and the benefit of his People he makes use of such as Love Fear and Serve him with their Heart such a one was Moses to deliver Israel out of Aegypt and Joshua to bring them into the promised Land After the Babylonian Captivity God chose Zerubbabel to carry them home Ezra to reform their Manners settle Religion and build the Temple then Nehemiah to build up the Walls of Jerusalem So he never wants Instruments to do his Work and if some Men ly as Blocks in his way he knows well how to Remove them Happy those whom he is pleased to make use of for so good a Work But as Rules back'd with Examples make a greater impression so I shall mention some whom Scripture hath proposed as Patterns in matters of Religion for after Ages to follow Asa I begin with for after the falling off of the Ten Tribes he was the first Reformer of the Kings of Judah To his commendation 't is Recorded of him that (e) 1 King 15.11.14 He did that which was Right in the Eyes of the Lord as did David his Father and that his Heart was perfect with the Lord all his days Whereof Instances are given to shew how he minded the true Worship of God and removed Abuses therein Committed 'T is with every collective Body whether Ecclesiastical Civil or Politick as with the Natural in this ill humours and destructive are sometimes Bred and Formed which 't is necessary to Purge away Thus often Corruptions which cause Distempers do creep into the sore-named Bodies which to preserve the whole ought to be taken away and Remedied This good King began his Reign with minding things of Religion 't is just that God should be served first The Right way for a
in Chains killed his Children before him put out his Eyes and carry'd him with the People captive into Babylon Wherefore this terrible Judgment for their Sins the King's Perjury named for one (c) v. 13 14 15 16. Moreover all the chief of the priests and the people transgressed very much and the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers rising up betimes and sending because he had compassion on his People But they mocked the Messengers of God and despised his words and misused his Prophets until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people till there was no remedy In many things this suits with our case our Sins are many and great if God move the Heart of some to speak about it we have too many of those who will despise and ridicule them for it Let us not hold out until God's Anger comes upon us and till there be no remedy O England Rulers and People pray mind this before it be too late I could upon this Head take notice how all signal Judgments in the World have been inflicted for Sin which brought the Flood upon the first World Fire and Brimstone upon Sodom and Gomorrah utter destruction upon the Seven Nations in the Land of Canaan which God by Moses commanded the children of Israel to do (a) Josh 9.24 The Lord commanded his Servant Moses to give you all the Land and to destroy all the inhahitants of the land from before you But time would fail me if I would insist upon all the Instances of God's Judgments for Sins Recorded in Scripture I pray God we be not made the next Example For out of this we may see how God doth shoot his Warning-pieces before he doth the Murthering ones We have warnings enough both at home and abroad whence it comes nearer and nearer to us but if we kick against the pricks grow stiff-necked and harden our hearts as Pharaoh did his then let us hear what God saith (a) Levit. 20 21 22. c But if ye walk contrary to me and will not hearken unto me I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins Again And if ye will not be Reformed by me by these things that is by the Plagues he threateneth them with then I will yet punish you seven times more for your sins And in that Chapter the Seven times is often multiply'd wherefore to avoid it let us prepare our Heart to seek the Lord or rather pray to God to do 't for us let us Repent Mend our Lives Reform our Manners leave off our Sins cease to do evil and learn to do good (a) Job 15.16 Man which drinketh iniquity like water is abominable and filthy Therefore compared to the Dog that returns to his vomit (b) 2 Pet. 2.22 and the Sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire Seeing then punishment is tied to the tail of Sin and that in the Nation we thô in different degrees are all Sinners what else can we look but for punishment According to God's Truth and Justice Sins must either be Pardon'd or Punish'd and is there no remedy for this No other way to Pardon but to Repent and Believe or else nothing (c) Heb. 10 27. But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries of God To make Punishment hold a proportion with Sins against an infinite Majesty There can be no other way but Eternal Torments besides those inflicted in this life What Remedy have we for this As we shewed the Distemper Sin and its due Reward Punishment for the wages of Sin is Death whether natural of Afflictions Spiritual or Eternal we must now speak of the Remedy Be converted from Sin to God and our Sins shall be forgiven God hath appointed Repentance consisting First In a contrition of Heart or sorrow for Sin Secondly In a confession of Mouth or owning our Faults thereby giving God the Glory as upon the like occasion did (d) Dan. 9. from v. 5. to 20. Daniel (e) Ezra 9.5 6 7 c. Ezra (f) Nehem. ◠5 6 7 c. chiefly in Ch. 9. Nehemiah c. Thirdly In a satisfaction given those whom after God we have offended and wronged And Fourthly In taking as far as we are able a full resolution to forsake Sin and follow after Holiness and Righteousness Then when the Cause is removed the Effect will cease and through God's Blessing the Remedy will produce a Cure of the Disease Through a deep and Universal Repentance Nineveh prevented the ruin which within 40 Days she was threatened with Days of Fasting and Humiliation should be kept but not such as God condemneth as (a) Isai 58.5 6 7. a day for a man to afflict his Soul to bow down his head as a bulrush and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him Such an outward and superficial Fast God hath not chosen but to loose the bonds of wickedness to undo the heavy burdens and to let the oppressed go free To deal thy bread to the hungry to bring the poor cast out to thy house c Exercise Justice and Charity as well as Piety This another Prophet call's to (b) Joel 2.13 Ezek. 18.30 Rent your hearts and not your garments God saith Repent and turn from all your transgressions so iniquity shall not be your ruin When once Men are really touched with a sense of their Sins and pricked in their Hearts they with the new Converts will say (c) Acts 2.37 men and brethren what shall we do and with the Jaylor to Paul and Silas (d) Chap. 16 30. Sirs what must I do to be saved Long before a Prophet had answered a Question about a Man's Duty (e) Micah 6.8 He God hath shewed thee O man what is good and what doth the lord require of thee but to do justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly before thy God To this answereth the Excellent Lesson of the Grace of God (f) Tit. 2.12 by the Apostle mentioned first Negatively Teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts Here we must begin then we should live soberly Here is our Duty to our selves Righteously This towards our Neighbour and godly This in relation to God In this present world Which Three words contain the whole Duty of Man So Men may not pretend ignorance of what we must know and do This is every Man's Duty thô of some more than of others according to their station and every one ought to know 't Now (a) Luke 12.47 the servant which knew his lord's Will and did not according to 't shall be beaten with many stripes which to avoid let every one with David say (b) Psal 38.18 I will declare mine iniquity I will be sorry for my sin Not barely out of the Mouth which sometimes the most wicked can do Pharaoh said (c) Exod. 9.27 I have sinned this time the lord