Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
mercy_n	goodness_n	lord_n	psal_n	4,045	5	7.5057	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A41120	Practicall divinitie: or, gospel-light shining forth in severall choyce sermons, on divers texts of scripture Viz. 1. The misery of earthly thoughts, on Isa. 55. 7. 2. A sermon of self-denial, on Luke 9. 23. 3. The efficacie of importunate prayer in two sermons on Collos. 1. 10. 5. A caveat against late repentance, on Luke 23. 24. 6. The soveraign vertue of the Gospel, on Psal. 147. 3 7 A funeral sermon, on Isa. 57. 1. Preached by that laborious and faithfull messenger of Christ, William Fenner, sometimes fellow of Pembroke Hall in Cambridge, and late minister of Rochford in Essex.	Fenner, William, 1600-1640.	1647 (1647)	Wing F693; ESTC R222658	119,973	322

the reason the Apostle cryed O wretched man that I am c. I speak not now to the children of God who are troubled w th bie-thoughts in their praiers For they the more bie-thoughts they have the more earnest they are in praier they mourn with David in their praier Consider ô Lord saith he how I mourn Psal 55. There was something in the Peophets praier that did vex him and that made him so much the more to mourn before God But as for you that can have bie-thoughts in praier and let them abide with you your praiers are not importunate the Heathen shall rise up against you and condemn you I remember a storie of a certain Youth who being in the temple with Alexander when he was to offer incense to his god and the Youth holding the golden Censer with the fire in it a coal fell on the Youths hand and burnt his wrist but the Youth considering what a sacred thing he was about for all he felt his wrist to be burnt yet he would not stir but continued still to the end This I speak to shame those that can let any thing though never so small to disturb them yea if it were possible lesser things then nothing for if nothing come to draw their hearts away they themselves will employ their hearts Ba●ls Priests shall condemn these who did cut themselves with knives and all to make them pray so much the more stronglie What a shame is it then that we should come on life and death to pray for our souls and yet come with such loose and lazie praiers Think you that a malefactor when he is crying at the Bar for his life will be thinking on his Pots and Whores c Was it ever heard of that a man at deaths-doore should be thinking on his Dogs can he then think on them Do you think that Jonah prayed on this fashion when he was in the Whales belly or the Thief on the crosse or Daniel in the Lions den or the three Children in the fierie furnace or Paul in prison Do ye think that these prayed thus What shall I be at prayer and my minde in the fields No no if I will pray I must melt before God and bewail my sins and be heartilie affected in prayer But as long as I pray thus I pray not at all And as God said to Adam where art thou so may he say to thee Man where art thou art thou at prayer and thy mind at mill is thy mind on thy Oxen and art thou at prayer before me what an indignity is this Should a man come to sue to the King and not minde his suit will not the King say Do you mock me know you to whom you speak The Lord takes this as a hainous sin when men come into his presence with such loose hearts Now seeing these things are thus take a word of exhortation to labour for importunate Prayer Prayer is the art of all arts it enables a man to all other duties it is the art of Repentance c. Samuel confessed if he had not had the art of Prayer he could not have had the art of Preaching 2 Sam. 12. 23. See the antithesis between these two words God forbid as if he should say God forbid that I should cease to pray for you for then I should not teach you the right way A Minister can never preach to his people that prayes not for his people It is the art of Thanksgiving a man cannot be thankfull if he cannot pray Psal 116. 12. It was the meanes whereby the Prophet David would be thankfull to God he would take up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. A man hath not a good servant unlesse he can pray for his master see the storie of Abrahams servant Gen. 24. Prayer helps to perform all other good duties How dost thou thinke to have benefit by the Word unlesse thou be fervent in prayer with God to get a blessing upon it We can do nothing but by begging Secondly as Prayer is the art of all arts so it is the Compendium of all divinitie Therefore to call zealouslie on the name of the Lord is to be a Christian Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord c. It includes repentance humiliation sorrow for sin joy in Gods goodnes thanksgiving for mercies obedience to his commandements yea the whole dutie of man therefore we must labour to be importunate in prayer A Reasonable soul is eminently all souls so Prayer is eminently all good duties Psal 72. The prayer of David the son of Jesse that is all his repentance in all passages he did humble himself before God all Davids duties are included by the name of the prayer of David the son of Jesse And therefore thou hadst need to make much of Prayer for thou canst never repent unlesse thou pray well Thirdly Prayer is a mans utmost reference a man cannot have Christ but only by Prayer 'T is bad enough for a man to be a Drunkard or to live in any other sin but yet after all this if a man have the spirit of prayer there is hope of this man if after all his sinnes committed he can pray to God there is hope But for a man to sinne and not to be importunate in prayer is dangerous What saith the Psalmist They are corrupt and become abominable they have not called on the name of the Lord Psalm 14. 4. Oh fearfull condition Fourthly Prayer is that which Gods people have though they have nothing else it is the beggers dish as I may so call it A begger hath no way to live but by beging thererefore he had need beg hard so we have nothing to live on but praying I mean nothing that is to be done on our side all the promises of God are to be gotten by prayer Suppose a man have nothing to live on but his fingers ends no house nor land nothing left to maintain his wife and children but his fingers ends will he not be toyling all the day he is a day-labourer as we use to say So to pray earnestly is a Christians fingers ends When a house stands but upon one pillar will not a man be fearfull and carefull of that pillar why Prayer is a mans pillar is this be gone down falls all the hope of salvation Fifthly Prayer is that which hath the command of Mercie we are such unprofitable servants that Mercie will not meddle with us unlesse it be commanded Patience is loth to beare we have so provoked God that Mercie is loth to make or meddle with us for unlesse it have command from God it will not admit of any soul When David begged for loving kindnesse he was importunate else mercie and loving kindnesse would not look on David Psal 42. 8. Sixthly Prayer is Gods delight The supplication of the wicked is abomination to God but the prayer of the upright is his delight Prov. 15. 8. The

preaching he was pilfering where do you read that ever he heard any of the Apostles or Seventy or John the Baptist or any Sermon in all his life No no he went roving up and down we have not one title to imply that he had the means of salvation and therefore this is nothing to thee that hast the preaching of the Word which reproves thee of thy sins and therefore if thou wilt go on thou shalt dye Ezech. 3. 19. Secondly this story belongs not unto thee for where dost thou read that ever this thief did build upon this hope do you think that this thief said I will steal as long as I can I know I shall be imprisoned and I shall be crucified with Christ but while I lie in prison I will repent and then he will have mercie on me did this poor thief ever dreame of these hopes did he presume of mercie and so sin against mercies and therefore thou that buildest on this example whosoever thou art it belongs not unto thee Tush tush sayes the Drunkard shall I be damned the thief was saved Thou cursed caitiffe what though thou shouldst repent and cry for mercie art thou sure the Lord will heare and pardon thee when I spake to you said Moses you would not heare but rebelled and were presumptuous Deut. 1. 43. Dost thou presume on Gods mercie that hee will convert thee at the last I tell thee that Gods mercy is good mercie it is not like the mercie of a wicked Iudge that is wickedly mercifull and suffers Rogues to be pardoned No no Gods mercie is good psal 109. 21. mercie and justice are all one with God and they have all one name in scripture There is a crown laid up for me saith Paul which the Lord the just Judge shall give me viz which God the mercifull Judge shall give unto me God is just in his mercie and therefore thinkest thou to live in thy sins to sweare to lie to be drunk c. and yet hope to have mercy thou art deceived the Lords mercy is just mercy and he will damne thee for evermore if thou repent not in sincerity You never read in the Scripture that there is mercy in the wayes of the devil But Psal 25. 10. all the wayes of the Lord are mercy and iudgement c. So long as thou walkest in the wayes of the Lord there is mercy to thee in every step mercy in Prayer mercy in hearing the Word and in receiving the Sacraments but in the wayes of the devil there is no mercy for as long as thou walkest in darknesse security and all sinfull and vain courses which are the wayes of the devil there is no mercy for thee for the Spirit of God saith those that follow their vanities forsake their own mercies you must turn from your own wayes for the way of mercy lies in another road in the road of holinesse humiliation and repentance in the road of forsaking all your vain imaginations and thoughts If thou follow thy own wayes God will have no mercy on thee Jonas 2. 8. He will not tell a lye to have mercy on thee Gods mercy is true and mercy and truth go together Psal 98. 3. Now if thou be a Drunkard and dost live and die in that sin God hath said that he will damn thee Gal. 5. 21. Now he should be a liar if he should not do it and thou knowest that mercy and truth go together in him Therefore in time repent Pish pish sayes the Drunkard c. I hope the Lord will be more merciful these Preachers preach nothing but damnation I hope the Lord will pardon me Pardon thee saith God how shall I pardon thee for this Thy children have forsaken me and sworne by them that are no gods and though I fed them to the full yet they committed adultery and assembled themselves by troopes in the harlots houses Jer. 5. 7. As if God should have said I cannot pardon thee No why Thou wilt not come at me thou hast forsaken me in mine ordinances c. Will a Physitian cure a man that will not come at him why they have forsaken me saith God and they will not come at me as if he should say I am willing to pardon I send out my commandements but they will not bend their mindes to keep them they forsake these wayes of mercy Have mercy on them nay shall I not rather visit for these things saith the Lord Jer. 5. 9. If those that disobeyed Moses law dyed without mercy Heb. 10. how then lookest thou for mercy that despisest the Lord Jesus even the gospel of his kingdome Nay the crosse of Christ cals thee he wooes thee by his death and passion and now it thou wilt not obey thou shalt die without mercy Oh what a cursed conclusion is this I have a mercifull and a good Father and therefore I will lift up my head against him I know he will forgive me I will break my head I know where to have a plaister to heal it I will offer such a man a wrong I know he will nnot sue me Thou cursed wretch though the Lord pardon ten thousand yet he will not pardon thee no no thou sinnest with a high hand But keep your selves in the love of God looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ Jude 21. Keep your selves there if you be wise for if Gods patience be abused it will be turned into wrath and wormwood and it will burn like fire unto the nethermost hell to a man that sins against mercy there is no redemption this story belongs not unto such Thirdly this story is nothing to thee because at that time God was in a way of working miracles but now he is not in that way then he rent the rocks opened the sepulchres and raised the dead c. Now unlesse thou take God in this way again never look to have thy sinnes pardoned if thou goest on in thy sinnes with a high hand It may be God will not be in the way of working of miracles when thou art a dying No the Lord will shew salvation to no man but unto him that orders his conversation aright Psal 50. 23. thy life must be right and all thy wayes must be upright if thou mean to find mercie But the Thief was converted without ordering his wayes aright I answer one Swallow cannot make Spring nor one fair day a harvest One example cannot make a rule one instance concludes nothing This example breakes no square but it is onely hee that lives uprightly that shall see the salvation of God and none else And if thou dost mean to go to heaven thou must go in the way that leads thither and thou must do those things that are between thee and heaven there is but one way to heaven and all that go to heaven must walk that way there is one faith one newnesse of life one kinde of regeneration and God will have thee go all these

it that man shall never speed well before God Thirdly as men have mean thoughts of their sinnes so they have base thoughts of God They cannot think that God should damne a man for drinking a pot with his friend I cannot think God will be so strict No no I love God with all my heart say they and they think that God is of their mind and if they were as God they would not be so strict So Psal 50. They thought I was such a one as themselves they think God will pardon them and therefore because of this men are not importunate with God God hath sent me a crosse saith one but I hope to rub it off well enough Why God will not keep his anger for ever Jer. 3. 5. Suppose a man be absent from Church or break out into some unsavoury speech will God be angry for this Suppose a man be negligent in a good duty will God require every dayes work Tush tush God will not Psal 10. 13. A company of Puritans say he will but I know he will not and hence it is that men will not be importunate Lastly because they have wrong conceits of importunity If a man knock once or twice or thrice and none answer presently he will be gone this is for want of manners thou wilt knock seven times if thou be importunate with them They within may say Hold thy peace be gone c. but thou wilt not so be answered Beloved men are close-handed they are loth to give and they are close-hearted too they are loth to take the pains to ask of God they are loth others should be be importunate with them and therefore they are loth to be importunate with God Examine your selves then in this duty for importunate prayer is ever more the prayer of an importunate man THE EFFICACIE Of Importunate PRAYER The second Sermon BY That laborious and faithfull Messenger of CHRIST WILLIAM FENNER Sometimes Fellow of Pembroke Hall in Cambridge and late Minister of Rochford in Essex THE EFFICACIE OF Importunate Prayer LUKE 11. 9. Ask and it shall be given unto you Seek and you shall find Knock and it shall be opened unto you TO proceed then There be six signes to know whether our Prayers be importunate or no. First importunate prayer is evermore the prayer of an importunate man and the man is importunate if his praier be importunate But how can a man importune God for mercy when his person importunes God for vengeance It must be the prayer of a godly heart Preserve my soule for I am holy Psal 86. 1 2. David makes a prayer and he was holy when he made it his prayer could tell him that he was one that labored to work in holines Therefore when thou goest to God in praier consider whether thou canst say Lord hear me for I am holy and I would fain be holy but if the saying of these words choak thee then thy prayer condemns thee Of all begging it is a great matter who it is that begs at the door Who is that saith the indweller and when he opens the door and sees it is a thief c. Oh is it you saies he you may stand long enough you shall never have alms of me So in praier it is all in all who it is that prayes The woman in the Gospel having an issue touched our Saviour he looking about asked who touched him and when he saw the woman Oh is it you saies he bee of good chear Luk. 8. 48. So when a man prayes to God Who is that saies God that would have these mercies And when the Lord sees it a Drunkard or a covetous man c. is it you saies the Lord you may stay till Dooms-day and yet never find mercie The spirit of supplication and the spirit of prayer is called the spirit of grace Zach. 12. 10. If then thou hast not the spirit of grace thou canst not pray The text saith not Whosoever asketh the Father in my name but whatsoever you ask the Father in my name there is many a man may use the name of Christ at the throne of grace but certain it is none but those that are in Christ can pray and with them every thing operates A man that will walk with God in obedience to his laws must be a holy man hence is that saying of our Saviour John 15. 7. a place fit for the purpose If you abide in me and my word abide in you c. as if he should have said You may ask what you please intreat God all the daies of your life yet unlesse you abide in me you cannot speed That man that walks not in holinesse of life can never be an importunate orator as was Moses the man of God but a wicked mans prayer as Augustine speaks is tanquam latratus canum c. no betrer then the barking of dogs or the grunting of swine therefore you whose consciences tell you that you live in sin your praiers never speed at the throne of grace for eternal mercie Secondly an importunate praier is the praier of a pure conscience Suppose a man doth not see that he lives in sin yet if his conscience crie guilty if he have a foul conscience his praier never prevails with God If I regard wickednesse in my heart the Lord will not hear my praier saith David Psal 66. 18. that is if I can say or my conscience can tell me that I regard iniquitie in my heart the Lord will not hear me A man must have a pure conscience 2 Tim. 1. 3. else let him not look God in the face beg he may but he shall never speed as long as he goes on with a conscience that can tel him he regards iniquitie There be many pray for indeed their conscience will make them pray but they may pray till they come to hell yet they shall never be delivered if there be but one sin unrepented of I remember a storie of a poor woman being troubled in conscience and many Ministers using to visit her at last came one which after much talk and praying hit upon one sin which she was guilty of and loth to part with Then the woman cried out Till now you have spoken to the post but now you have hit the mark my conscience tels me I have been loth to part with this sin but I must leave it or else I cannot be saved Mala conscientia bene sperare non potest The Pagans had so much divinitie as to say The gods must be honoured with puritie therefore they wrote on the doors of their temples Let none having a guilty conscience enter this place Thirdly Importunate prayer is evermore a prayer that is full of strong arguments And hence it is that Job saith I will fill my mouth with arguments Job 23. 4. like an importunate man who will bring all reasons and arguments to effect his cause even so an importunate man at the throne of grace will bring

Lord must have something to please Kings you know must be pleased so the King of heaven would be pleased by all that come unto him Now nothing is more pleasing unto him then prayer Seventhly Importunate praier is a willing prayer There be many that pray to God for mercie and yet they are loth to have it why because they are not importunate When a mans lust runs on the world and worldly pleasures c. he speeds not When the woman of Canaan was importunate Christ saith unto her Woman be it unto thee as thou wilt she had a will to grace Mat. 15. 28. Eightly Importunate prayer is the only faithfully prayer A begger never goes away from a gentlemans door so long as he believes he shall have an alms so as long as a soul is importunate with God it is a signe that it is a believing soul O woman saith Christ great is thy faith Why Because her importunitie was great therefore Christ concludes her faith was great The means to get importunitie in prayer are these First Labour to know thine own misery See Ephes 6. 18 19 20. They could not have prayed importunately unlesse they had known how it had stood with Paul so unlesse thou know thy miserie thou canst not be importunate If a Drunkard or Whoremaster or Sabbath-breaker or Swearer c. knew that they should be damned they would get out of their sins Secondly You must be sensible of your miserie Simon Magus knew his miserie yet because he was not sensible of it he sayes Pray ye to the Lord for me Act. 8. 24. If he had been sensible he would himself have fallen down before the congregation and he would have confessed how he had committed that sinne in a more apprehensive manner Thirdly Observe the prayers of Gods people as here the disciples of Christ did they hearing Christ pray say unto him Master teach us to pray they were so affected with Christs prayer that they said Oh that we could pray thus Oh that we had such a spirit Master teach us to pray So I say consider Gods people how they pray they can pray as if they would soare up to God in supplication they pray as if they would rend the heavens If men did but consider this it would quicken them Fourthly Get a stock of prayer That man must needs be rich that hath a stock in every market So if a man have a stock of prayer it is a signe he is like to speed as I Cor. 4. 2. If God did lend his ears to the Corinthians when they were crying for Paul then certainly Pauls prayers were importunate Fifthly If thou wilt be importunate labour to be full of good works Qui benè operatur bene orat as Act. 10. Cornelius his alms and prayers were come up to God now if he had committed drunkennesse that had come up to God with his prayer therefore was it happy for Cornelius that he was full of good works so thou canst not be importunate unlesse thou be full of good works take heed that swearing and lying c. crie not louder in Gods eares then thy prayers Sixthly If thou wilt be importunate in prayer labour to reform thy houshold VVhen Jacob was to call on God he said to his houshold Put away your strange gods Gen. 35. THE NECESSITIE OF GOSPEL OBEDIENCE In two Sermons BY That laborious and faithfull Messenger of CHRIST WILLIAM FENNER Sometimes Fellow of Pembroke Hall in Cambridge and late Minister of Rochford in Essex THE NECESSITIE OF Gospel-Obedience COLOSS. I. 10. That you might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing being fruitfull unto every good work THere is a double sense in these words First wherein we may not not cannot walk worthy of GOD. And secondly there is a sense wherein we may and must walk worthy of Him The first sense wherein we cannot walk worthy of God is twofold First We cannot walk worthy of God with an absolute worth of exact proportion for in this sense the Angels of heaven cannot walk worthy of God they blesse God and praise him uncessantly but God is above all blessing and praise Nehem. 9. 5. Their holinesse c. had a beginning but God is infinite Oh then how much lesse can we walk worthy of God! Secondly We cannot walk worthy of God with a sinlesse worth of a mortified condignitie so worthily as we might have done if we had not had sinne for we are compassed with the flesh and sinne which leads us on to all impieties And in this respect John saith I am not worthy c. Luk. 3. 16. It was no idle complement in that good man That he was not worthy to untie Christs shoo-tyers or to carry his books after him as we use to speak but it is certain in regard of sinne which makes us unfit to do any dutie to God God is worthy of better service then the best of us can performe and to have better attendance then we can give him Neverthelesse there is a sense wherein we may and must walk worthy of God And this is also twofold First quoad dignitatem non repugnantiae As a niggard or a sparing servant is an unworthy servant to a bountiful master or a drunkard to a servant of God there is a repugnancie between a master and such a servant He that will not take up his crosse and follow me is unworthy of me Mat. 10. 37. And in this sense we must walk worthy of God that is not contrary to God Secondly This worthy includes dignitatem condecentiae Walk worthy of God i. e. sutable unto him A correspondencie there must be between Christ and those that are his between the children of God and God we must walk answerable to him God is holy gracious mercifull c. now we must walk worthy viz sutable to those attributes and not to deal basely wish God who hath dealt bountifully with us and hath delivered us from hell and helps us to heaven Let us not then put unworthy tricks on God but let us walk as men renewed So much for the sense This speech is directed to the professors of the gospel of Christ in Colosse for first Epaphras had given out that there were godly soules in that city Secondly as it was reported so this report came to Paul he heard that there were a company of men that went for Gods saints We have heard saith he c. vers 4. I Paul heard so and hence it is that Paul directs his speech As if he should say for so it is in the ninth verse I hear that there are professors among you Now I pray God that you walk worthy of God You professe Christ and his word I pray God you may walk worthy of the master you serve Hence observe That those that professe Christ must walk worthy of christ worthy of Christ whom you say you serve or they serve This is further commanded and that expresly in I Thess 2. 12. That you