Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
mercy_n	gracious_a	lord_n	merciful_a	6,562	5	8.9295	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A03339	The doctrine of fasting and praier, and humiliation for sinne Delivered in sundry sermons at the fast appointed by publique authority, in the yeere 1625. By that late faithfull and worthy minister of Iesus Christ. Arth. Hildersam.	Hildersam, Arthur, 1563-1632.; Hildersam, Samuel, 1593 or 4-1674.	1633 (1633)	STC 13459; ESTC S104100	106,897	227

and returned And Esa. 26. 16. Lord in trouble have they visited thee they poured out a prayer when thy chastning was upon them And we find by experience that at such a time a faithfull Minister may much better worke up on the hearts of men to bring them to remorse and repentance then at another time According to that speach of Elihu Iob 33. 22 24. When a mans soule draweth neere to the grave if there bee then a messenger with him an interpreter one of a thousand to shew unto man his uprightnesse then he is gracious unto him And so speaketh David●lso ●lso Psal. 94. 12. Blessed is the man whom thou chastnest ô Lord and teachest him out of thy Law This is a singular favour of God when correction and instruction goe together And herein wee are bound to acknowledge the great mercy of God to our Land that in the time of so generall and grievous visitation as hath been upon it he hath put it into the Kings heart to command so much preaching that thereby the hearts of the people might bee effectually wrought upon now the Lord hath so by his judgement prepared them And certainly if in such a time the word doe not work upon mens hearts it will never doe them good Fiftly and lastly When wee feele a secret pensivenesse and sadnesse to come upon our hearts so as they even melt within us like ground that thaweth after a frost so as we could even weepe abundantly this is an excellent season and opportunity to bring our hearts unto godly sorrow in For 1. sadnesse and heavinesse maketh the heart more apt to bee wrought to goodnesse Eccle. 7. 3. Sorrow is better then laughter for by the sadnesse of the countenance the heart is made better 2. This is the way to turne the streame and current of our sorrow the right way by making our sin our greatest sorrow as indeed it ought to bee because it is the onely just cause of all other our sorrowes Lam. 3. 39. 40. Wherefore doth a living man complaine a man for the punishment of his sinnes Let us search and try our wayes and turne againe unto the Lord. And surely to conclude this first point in this we have all cause to acknowledge our owne folly and to bee humbled for it and to impute that want of grace and ability that is in us to mourne for our sins unto this that wee have neglected these times and seasons whereby we might have beene so much helped in this work We know the fittest seasons for the plowing and breaking up of our ground and we carefully observe them but we know not or care not to observe the fittest seasons for the breaking up of the fallow ground of our hearts which yet concerneth us much more then the other doth Breake up your f●llow ground saith the Prophet Ier. 4. 3. and sow not among thornes The second thing wee must doe to worke our hearts to godly sorrow is this after we have made choise of a fit time to goe about this work we must also make choise of a fit place for it even such as wherein we may be most free from all distractions For though this also be but a circumstance yet may it yeeld us some help in all exe●cises of devotiō Christ bids us make choise of a secret place for our private prayer Mat. 6. 6. And so did he hims●lfe Mar 1. 35. Hee went out and departed into a solitary place and there prayed And Act. 10. 9. Peter went up to the top of the house to pray So though it be no shame for a man to weepe for his sinnes as we have heard Gods people have done abundantly in their solemne fasts yet is a solitary and secret place the fittest to worke our hearts unto godly sorrow Commune with your own hearts upon your beds in secret saith David Psal. 4. 4. and be still H●Zechiah turned his face to the wall when he prayed and wept so sore Esa. 38. 2 3. And Ieremiah 13. 17. saith his soule should weepe in secret And Z●ch 12. 12. it is said they should mourne every family apart the husband apart and the wife apart And Ieremy describing the man that is humbled under Gods hand aright saith Lam. 3. 28. Hee sitteth alone and keepeth silence Thirdly When wee have made choise of a fit time and a fit place also for this businesse then must we examine our hearts seriously and impartially And in this examination two things are to be performed by us 1. We must labour to find out and call to mind our sinnes for which wee should bee humbled 2. We must lay them to our hearts and so consider and weigh with our selves the hainousnesse of them and aggravate them against our selves that we may be affected with them For the first Hee that desires to have his heart humbled and to bee able to mourne for his sinnes must labour by diligent search and examination to finde out his sinnes and call them to mind and set them before his face Bring it againe to mind ô yee transgressours saith the Lord Esa. 46. 8. Let not man be affraid or unwilling to doe this To commit sinne is dangerous and hurtfull to thy soule but to call thy sinnes to remembrance hath no danger in it will doe thee no hurt at all to have an enemy or a mortall disease upon thee is dangerous and hurtfull but to be aware of them to know them when thou hast them may doe thee much good Iob knew this well and therefore prayeth earnestly to God to helpe him in this Iob 13. 23. Make mee to know my transgression and my sinne For 1. till then thou canst never truly mourne for thy sin and repent of it Ier. 8. 6. No man repented himselfe of his wickednesse saying what have I done To know in generall and in grosse that thou art a sinner wil never hūble thee aright thou must know thy sins in particular or thou canst never truely repent This was that that humbled Gods people so in the dayes of Samuel 1 Sam. 12. 19. Wee have added to allour other sinnes this evill to aske a King This was that that humbled those 3000. mentioned Act. 2. 36 37. and pricked them at the heart God made knowne to them their sinne in particular even that hainous sinne of crucifying the Lord of life 2. It is profitable for us in another respect For the more carefull we are to remember our sinnes and call them to mind the more ready will the Lord bee to forget them and cast them behind his back This is plaine by that prayer David maketh Psalm 51. 1 2 3. Have mercy upon me ô God wash me throughly from my iniquity for I know my transgressions and my sinne is ever before mee But if thou strive to forget them never to thinke of them to cast them behind thy back bee thou sure God will remember them and never have them out of his eye Thou hast

convert the heart of every one in it yet to keepe them from open and scandalous offences Certainly we do not make the right use we ought of this heavy scourge of God unlesse we be made thereby more carefull to reforme our families For this cause the Lord said He would not conceale from Abraham His purpose against the Sodomites because He knew that he would make this use of it For I know him saith the Lord Gen. 18. 19. that he will command his children and his houshold after him and they shall keepe the way of the Lord to doe justice and judgement that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which He hath spoken of him 1. Abraham upon the knowledge and observation of Gods wrath even upon the Sodomites would become more carefull to looke to his whole family and to reforme it 2. God would assist and blesse him in this his endeavour and he should see the fruit of it in his family 3. This care that Abraham had of his family should be a principall meanes to make good unto him all Gods promises to bring upon him and make sure unto him all the blessings and good things that God had promised unto him and without this he could have had no assurance of them O that we could once believe and take to heart these things Certainly one maine cause of this and all other judgements that are upon our Land is the want of care that is in them that professe themselves to be the people of God in reforming their families whether they of their family be drunkards or sober persons blasphemers or such as feare an oath uncleane or chast prophane or religious is all one to them The fourth and last way whereby we must make right use to our selves of this judgement is this it must make us more mercifull to them that are in distresse and more ready to relieve them Nothing will give us more assurance to be freed from the plague our selves or to find comfort and strength in it if God shall please to visit us by it than this When Gods heavy hand did hang over Nebuchadnezzar Daniel speakes thus unto him Dan. 4. 27. Wherefore O King let my counsell be acceptable unto the and breake off thy sinnes by righteousnesse and thine iniquities by shewing mercy vnto the poore if it may be a lengthning to thy tranquillity As if he should have said if any thing will lengthen thy tranquillity and keepe off the judgement threatned this is likely to do it Remember what ourblessed Saviour hath said of this Mat. 5. 7. Blessed are the mercifull for they shall obtaine mercy Nothing will give a man more assurance to find mercy with God in the time of his distresse than this will Remember also what His holy Apostle saith of this Iam. 2. 13. He shal have judgement without mercy that sheweth no mercy If either the plague or any other judgement seize upon that man that hath beene void of mercy it shal be upon him without all mixture of mercy he shall have no comfort of Gods mercy in it and mercy rejoyceth or boasteth against judgement The mercifull man shall not feare this or any other judgement before it come as other men do and if it do light upon him he shall rejoyce and find a comfortable sense of Gods mercy in it And remember this at this time especially now you have kept a day of humbling your selves before God know that there is nothing that will more grace our solemne services before God specially services of this kind nothing will make them more acceptable unto Him than when we shall therein manifest and declare our selves to be mercifull and bountifull unto the poore Is not this the fast that I have chosen saith the Lord Esa. 58. 6 7. to loose the bands of wickednesse to undoe the heavy burdens and to let the oppressed go free and that ye breake every yoke Is it not to deale thy bread to the hungry and that thou bring the poore that are cast out to thine house When thou seest the naked that thou cover him and that thou hide not thy selfe from thine own flesh SERMON II. Aug. 17. 1625. FOlloweth the duty whereby David expressed his love and compassion to these men he prayed for them For though this be not expressed in the first part of the verse where the duty is mentioned that he performed towards these men in their misery yet is it evident 1. By the expresse words of the last clause of the verse where he mentioneth the successe he had in the duty he performed for them and 2. by this also that he saith he fasted and humbled his soule for them for in all fasts and exercises of humiliation that Gods people have kept prayer was the chiefe duty they performed and all other things they did in those exercises they did onely to helpe and further themselves in prayer Esa. 58. 3. To make their voice to be heard on high and Ion. 3. 8. to make them cry more mightily unto God The Doctrine then that we are to learne from this example of David is this That a chiefe duty we are to performe to them that are in misery is to pray for them See the proofe of the point in five degrees 1. This is a chiefe duty whereby we do expresse the truth of our love unto any and whereby we may do them good When our Saviour had commanded us to love our enemies and to do good to them th●t hate us M●t. 5. 44. He adds And pr●y for them 2. This is duty that is to be performed by us ●owards all men 1 Tim. 2. 1. Yea even towards the wickedest men that live upon ●arth See how importunate Abraham was with God for the beastly Sodomites Gen. 18. 32. 3. This duty is to be performed specially for s●ch as are Gods people though it be but in outward profession This course Moses tooke to relieve Israel in a great extremity When God threatned He would destroy Israel Moses st●od before Him in the breach by maine force to keepe Him out to turne away His wrath Psal. 106. 23. How stood he in the breach How did he turne away Gods wrath from them By prayer Ex●d 32. 11. Moses besought the Lord his God This course David tooke to relieve Gods people in the time of a fearefull pesti●ence that in a short time had consumed seventy thousand 2 Sa● 24. 15. He was deeply affected with their misery as appeareth by the story but what course tooke he to helpe them he prayed for them 1 Chro● 21. 16 18. and so stayed the plague So did Moses in the very like case of the pestilence when ●r●th was g●n● out fro● the Lord and the plague was 〈◊〉 he chargeth Aar●n to t●ke his ce●ser and put fire therein from the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 put ince●se on it and go quickly to the co●greg●tio● t● make an attonement for them N●●b 16. 46. True it is that signified the intercession