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
A56801	A beam of divine glory, or, The unchangeableness of God opened, vindicated, and improved : whereunto is added, The soul's rest in God / by Edward Pearse ; to which is prefixed the author's last letter, written in the time of his sickness to some peculiar friends.	Pearse, Edward, 1633?-1674?	1674 (1674)	Wing P970; ESTC R32172	116,330	239

submits It was a dreadful and terrible message which Samuel told him from the Lord but so dreadful and terrible as it was yet having his eye upon the Sovereignty of God he freely acquiesces Suitable whereunto is the Observation of a Learned Man upon this place Magnam exprimit patientiam magnumque cum voluntate divina consensum non expostulavit cum Deo sed humiliter concordavit Mendoz. Eli saith he in these words expresses great patience and a great consent or agreement with the Divine Will he did not expostulate with God but humbly complyed and comported with him God my Beloved has an absolute Sovereignty over us all and may do with us as he pleases 'T is what he challenges to himself as his prerogative All Souls are mine sayes he Ezek. 18.4 mine to do with them to dispose of them as I will And you know how God asserts this his Sovereignty in Jer. 18.6.0 House of Israel cannot I do with you as this Potter saies the Lord Behold as the Clay is in the Potters hand so are ye in my hand O House of Israel Pray mark he had before at vers 4. shewn them how the Potter dealt by the Clay and what an absolute power he had over it making it a Vessel and marring it again as he pleased and now here in v. 6 sayes he Cannot I do with you as this Potter doth with his Clay I can behold as the Clay is in the hand of the Potter so are ye in mine hand i.e. I have an absolute power over you to do with you and dispose of you as I see good and I may make or mar you upon the Wheel of my Providence as I please And you know how God by the Apostle argues in that greatest of cases Rom. 9.21 Hath not thr Potter power over the Clay of the same lump to make one Vessel unto honour and another unto dishonour In which words God asserts his absolute sovereignty to dispose of all men as to their eternal Estates as he pleases Thus he has an absolute Sovereignty over all Now the Holy Soul apprehending this Sovereignty in God falls under the awe and dread of it and accordingly acquiesces in his Will whatever it be 2. The Soul looks upon the Will and Providence of God concerning him to be an Holy and Righteous as well as a Sovereign Will and Providence and upon that account also acquiesces therein The Lord is righteous said the Church Lam. 1.18 The Lord is righteous for I have rebelled against his Commandment q.d. 'T is true my sorrow is great and mine affliction heavy but God is just and holy in it 't is no more than nor in truth so much as my sins have deserved Indeed God's dealings with Her were very terrible and amazing but yet apprehending the Righteousness of God in them She submits to him under all So Dan. 9.7 O Lord Righteousness belongeth unto thee but unto us confusion of Face They saw the Righteousness of God in his dealings with them and so were at Rest in his Will God is Righteous the Scrippture tells us in all his Wayes and Holy in all his Works and he is a just Lord that doth that can do no wrong no iniquity Zeph. 3.5 Now the Holy Soul gets a sight of this and is awed with the sense thereof and accordingly acquiesces in God's Will True sayes he this and that is sharp it smarts sorely it runs cross to my carnal appetite to my sense and reason but I am sure God is holy and just in all I have deserved all and more at his hands and in the sense of this he acquiesces in his Will and is satisfied with his Dealings 3. The Soul looks upon the Will and Providence of God concerning him to be a Wise as well as an Holy Will and Providence and thereupon also bows to it and acquiesces in it God my Beloved is the only Wise God and all his Works are done in Wisdom his Will is a wise Will a Will guided and ordered by Counsel he works all things according to the Counsel of his own Will Eph. 1.11 God is never out in what he does but dos all as becomes an only and an infinitely wise God which the holy Soul getting a sight and sense of he freely acquiesces in whatever the will of God is concerning him and Rests fully satisfied with what God does In Job 1.22 we read that in all this Job sinned not neither charged he God foolishly In all this that is in all his tryals and afflictions though many though great in all this Job sinned not neither charged he God foolishly or as you have it in the Margent of some of your Bibles he did not attribute folly to God he sinned not by attributing of folly to God but he worshipped and adored the Divine Wisdom the Wisdom of God in all his dealings with him He acquitted God's Providence of folly and bowed to the infinite Wisdom thereof and was satisfied with all as best for him All this sayes the Holy Soul is the Work of a Wise Will regulated by Counsel true all runs cross to my Will and my outward Interest but 't is all ballanced by infinite Wisdom and I am satisfied therewith thus he is at Rest in God 4. The Soul looks upon the Will and Providence of God concerning him to be a Good as well as a Wise Will and Providence and thus also acquiesces in it The Psalmist tells us that all the Paths of the Lord are Mercy and truth to such as keep his Covenant and his Testimonies Psal 25.10 By the Paths of the Lord here we are to understand his Providences Now saies he these are all Mercy and Truth to his People Not some but all of them even the hardest and severest the most dark terrible and killing of them they are all Mercy and Truth Mercy it self and Truth it self whatever the Will and Providence of God brings forth yet to his People there is love in all Goodness in all Faithfulness in all and the Holy Soul getting a sight hereof sweetly acquiesces and is at Rest in whatever God does So David Psal 119.75 I know O Lord that thy Judgments are right and that thou in Faithfulness hast afflicted me See Hezekiah also Isa 39.8 Good saies he to Isaiah is the word of the Lord which thou hast spoken 'T was a sharp and a severe Word or Message which God by Isaiah sent him as you may see in the precedent verses but yet he saw goodness in all and kindness in all and accordingly acquiesced therein Truly there is love and goodness in all God's dealings with his People and the Holy Soul seeing it his language is whether God fills or empties whether he gives or takes away whether he lifts up or casts down whether he kills or makes alive yet there is love in all goodness in all and 't is best for me God chuses for me and disposes of me better than I could for my self

the Nature or Life of the Soul they are carnal sensible things and so are suitable to the flesh and sensual part and are pleasing to it but they have nothing suitable in them to an immortal Spirit nothing that an eternal Soul can feed upon the Body may as soon feed upon Air and Ashes as the Soul upon Creatures But now in God there is that Good that is every way suitable to the Soul to the Nature Life and Wants of the Soul the Soul is of a Spiritual Nature and God is a Spiritual Good God is a Spirit Joh. 4.24 The Soul is of a vast capacity 't is next to Infiniteness in its capacity and desires and God is a vast and comprehensive Good having as has been shewn all good in him Without suitableness in the Object to the faculty there can be no Rest Would you have an original independent Good such a Good is God Dulcius ex ipso fonte petuntur aquoe Waters drink most pleasantly at the Fountain-head In God you have all Good all Sweet all Comfort at the Fountain-head Hence he is said to be a Fountain of Living Waters and the Creatures broken Cisterns Jer. 2.13 the Fountain has all in and from it self but Cisterns you know have no more than is put into them all that Good that is in God he has it in and from himself but the Creatures yea the best of Creatures Angels themselves not excepted have no more than he puts into them Now how much is the Fountain to be preferred before a Cistern Would you have a pure and an unmixed Good Gold that has no Dross Wine that has no Water in it such a Good is God God is light and in him there is no darkness at all 1 Joh. 1.5 All things on this side God have their mixtures they have a dark as well as a bright side all this Wine is mixt with Wormwood this Gold with Dross Who of us did ever meet with the Creature-Injoyment that had not many allayes the sweetest Rose has its prickles and the rarest Beauty its spots among the Creatures but now God is every way a pure and an unmixed Good he is all Light Life Love Holiness and the like Would you have a sweet and satisfying Good Such a Good is God yea indeed there is infinite sweetness and satisfaction to be found in him he can infinitely delight ravish solace and satisfy the Soul for ever O how sweet how satisfying are the Sights of God the Tastes and Descents of his Love what an Heaven does one sight of God one descent of his Love make in the Soul David casting his eye upon God as his in Covenant is even ravished with it and cryes out the lines are fallen to me in pleasant places I have a goodly Heritage Psal 16.5 6. and elsewhere we read of Pleasures of Rivers of Pleasures of Satisfaction of abundance of Satisfaction and all as that which Souls do or may find in God and communion with God Psal 36.8 and David over and over tells you of Sweetness and Satisfaction and Satisfaction as with Marrow and Fatness in but the very thoughts and meditation of God Psal 63.5 6. and Aug. I remember speaking of God and to him often breaks out into such language as this O my God my Life Deus meus Vita mea Dulcedo mea c. my Sweetness O Sirs holy Souls who live in Communion with God will tell you that there is no sweetness like that in God no Love like his Love no Comforts like his Comforts They will tell you that one sight of God one sensible token of his presence in the Soul has more solace and sweetness in it than al the delights of this world yea than many Worlds and they accordingly chuse and desire it Oh how sweet is it to be led into the Banquetting House by Christ and there have the Banner of his Love displayed over us and Flagons of that Wine poured out unto us How sweet is it to have one sight of the King in his beauty how much more to walk and converse with him in his Galleryes How sweet is it with God in his Sanctuary and have him revealing Himself his Love his Beauty his Glory to us O taste and see how good the Lord is Would you have a sure eternal and unchangeable Good a Good that never fades failes nor has any period such a Good is God and God alone From everlasting to everlasting be is God Psal 90.2 But this has been sufficiently spoken to elsewhere Well you see what a blessed Rest God is for Souls Why then should we ever think of looking out any where else for Rest O wretched hearts of ours that will leave this God and go out to a vain World and dying Creatures for Rest and Happiness In a word if God has all that in him which thou needest or art capable of to give thee Rest and Happiness than retire solely to him for it Now what dost thou want or what art thou capable of to give thee Rest and Happiness Dost thou want and desire Life With God is the Fountain of Life Psal 36.9 Dost thou want Peace God is the God of Peace Rom. 16.20 and frequently elsewhere is he so called Dost thou want pardon he is the God of pardons so the words are in the Psalms when he is said to be ready to forgive and you know he has promised to pardon iniquity transgression and sin sins of all sorts and sizes all degrees and aggravations if Souls come to him Heb. 8.12 Dost thou want Grace he is the God of all Grace 1 Pet. 5.10 Dost thou want comfort he is the God of all Consalation Dost thou want Mercy he is the Father of Mercies 2 Cor. 1.3 Dost thou want strength strength to do to suffer to live to die he is the Lord Jehovah with whom is everlasting Strength Isa 26.4 Dost thou want Joy in his presence is fulness of Joy Psal 16.11 Dost thou want Salvation Salvation Temporal Salvation Eternal ●e is the God of Salvation and as such the Church glories in him Psal 68.20 Thus no Rest ●●ke that in God Souls need not look elsewhere for Rest and Happiness for there is all in God alone 4. Consider what a restless World you live in ●nd what a troublesom time you are fallen upon The more restless this World is and the more troublesom the times are which we are fal●●n upon the more we are concerned to take up our Rest in God Now certainly the World was scarce ever more restless nor the times mo●● troublesom than now In Zech. 1.11 we rea● of a time when the whole World was at Rest excepting only the Church of God but 't is eve● quite contrary now for now the whole World Church and all are in a restless troublesom state We see and hear of little but Wars and rumours of Wars and as 't was of old destruction upon destruction is cryed and what and when the end

shall we not chuse him for our God and Portion shall we stick in the Creature still and reject the offer God makes of himself to us God forbid Oh let us now chuse this Unchangeable God and let him be our Rest our Portion our Happiness and our All for ever Let us reason matters a little in our own Souls the World that is fall of changes all my Creature-comforts and Contentments they are subject to change I am not sure of them one moment my own last and great change is near at hand I know not how soon 't will come upon me nothing but the Unchangeable God can make me happy and he freely offers himself in his Covenant to me and shall I yet notwithstanding all this neglect him shall I cleave to the Creature and not to this Unchangeable God by no means He not the fading oying Creature shall be my Portion and my Happiness for ever Or if all this does not do than once more 6. Consider how sad and dreadful a thing it will be to have the Unchangeableness of God against you This is a sure rule that unless we make God ours by chusing of him and closing in his Covenant with him as our God and Portion he and all his Attributes will at last be found against us against us to destroy us and make us miserable for ever if we make not God's Unchangeableness ours and ingage it not for us by chusing him as unchangeable his Unchangeableness will stand for ever ingaged against us and Oh how sad will that be 'T is sad to have any Attribute of God against a Man but to have his Unchangeableness against us how sad is that O for a Man to have God for his eternal Enemy God eternally and Unchangeably set against him this is enough to render him compleatly and unchangeably miserable Again therefore let me call upon you to look and live above changeable Creatures and to chuse rest in and live upon the Unchangeable God as your God and Portion look upon him in Christ in whom you will find him infinitely full of love and sweetness in whom you will find him Love it self God is Love 1 Joh. 4.8 and accordingly let your souls chuse him and cleave to him as yours for ever CHAP. X. We are to imitate God and labour for a likeness to him in his Unchangeableness by being more constant in that which is good this in some measure is attainable in this World 't is the perfection of the Soul where attained and brings him near the life of Heaven UNchangeableness being one of the glorious Excellencies and Perfections of God why should we not imitate him why should we not labour to be like unto him herein why should we not covet and press after an holy Unchangeableness in our Spirits and walkings with him Sure I am 't is what his Unchangeableness calls upon us for From the consideration of God's Immutability A Dei immutabilitate sequitur nos in his quae Dei sunt fide spe charitate debere esse immutabiles Schar says a learned Man it follows that we also should labour to be immutable in the things of God in Faith in Hope in Love and the like Look as the consideration of God's Holiness calls for Holiness in us and the consideration ration of his Goodness and Mercy calls for Goodness and Mercy in us and the consideration of his Patience calls for Patience in us and the like so the consideration of his Unchangeableness calls for an holy Unchangeableness at least somewhat like it an holy evenness steadines and fixedness of Spirit in our wayes walkings with him and before him it calls upon us to be more constant and uniform in all holy Obedience and in the exercise of all Grace True my Beloved there are some things so peculiarly appropriate to God that in respect of them there can be no formal likness in the Creature to Him and it would be impious boldness for any to aspire thereunto such are his Supream Dominion and Sovereign Authority his Absolute Independency and self-Sufficiency c. Now in these while men affect to imitate him they as one observes wickedly affront him But now some other perfections there are found in the blessed God not so incommunicable and appropriate to him but that his Creatures may be said to have some participation thereof with him and so far to be truly like him such are his Holiness his Justice his Mercy his Patience and the like wherein 't is our duty as well as our glory to imitate him and to labour for as great a resemblance and as full a conformity to him as possibly we can In Mat. 5.48 Christ commands us to be perfect as our Father which is in Heaven is perfect and Eph. 5.1 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Si Filii Dei sumus debere nos esse ejus imitatores Calv. in loc we are enjoyned to be followers of God as dear Children be yea followers of God the Word is be ye imitators of God be ye like to him bearing his Image upon you and if you are his Children indeed you will do so We should imitate God in all his imitable Excellencies and Perfections yea this observe moreover that where there cannot be a proper and formal likeness or similitude in us to God in respect of those peculiarly appropriate Excellencies that are in him yet even there should we labour for impressions affections dispositions and demeaners of Soul towards him sutable and answerable to those Excellencies and Perfections of his As for instance He being absolutely Supream there ought to be in us an humble subjection and self-resignation of Soul disposing us to constant obedience to him so he being simply and absolutely independent and self-sufficient there ought to be in us a self-emptiness and nothingness living wholly and entirely out of our selves upon him as such a God fetching all in from his Fountain-fulness Thus where we are not capable of any formal likeness to God we should yet study his Perfections and labour for dispositions of Spirit and demeanors of Soul sutable there unto But where we are capable of any likness to him there we should covet it and press after it God therefore being Unchangeable we should labour for an holy Unchangeableness in our Spirits and Walkings before him we should imitate him and conform to him herein so far as we are capable of so doing we should labour for more fixedness more evenness more constancy and uniformity in all Grace and Holiness in all Heavenliness and Obedience in all acts of Duty and walking with God 't is what in a good measure may be attained unto even here in this World 'T is possible my Beloved for these roving inconstant unstable Souls of ours to be in some good measure brought up to an holy evenness and Unchangeableness in the wayes and things of God for this is what some of the Saints have attained unto in Gen. 5.22 't is said of