Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n
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A64252
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The second part of the theatre of Gods ivdgments collected out of the writings of sundry ancient and moderne authors / by Thomas Taylor.
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Taylor, Thomas, 1576-1632.; Beard, Thomas, d. 1632. Theatre of Gods judgements.
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1642
(1642)
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Wing T570; ESTC R23737
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140,117
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118
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order and direction given for a Bill of Divorce to be drawne betwixt them When on the suddaine as the Court was ready to rise stept out of the Presse a faire and beautifull young man of a sweet and amiable aspect and not knowne to any in the Company who after a Congy made demanded audience and having delivered the truth in every particular circumstance pleaded sharply in the Queens behalfe against the King convincing the opposite party with such irreproveable arguments that he made the Case cleare on her side and having ended his Speech Congying to the King and the rest and returning into the throng was never more seen after Which took such an impression in the Court but the King especially that the amazed Judges committed the Cause to the Kings Counsell who judged the Queen guiltlesse of whatsoever had injustly and injuriously been laid against her Then King Philip took horse and road presently to Boys de Vinennes to which place the Queen was confined where having lovingly imbrac'd her and received her into his former true conjugall affection there was never the least distaste knowne to bee betwixt them after Nor let this Story seem altogether impertinent to the argument now in agitation which is to shew the Judgements impending in Adultery and Spouse-breach 't is fit also that wee should know how God in his great mercy and goodnesse favoureth and protecteth vertue and Innocents For his holy Angels are alwayes the Guardians of the just and faithfull Common is this sinne of Concupiscence and howsoever damnable in the eyes of God and detestable in the sight of good men yet those most conscious of the sinne are cunning'st to excuse it The young man will plead for himselfe and say I am in my youth and prime and doe but what suits with my youth and complyes with my condition The middle ag'd man will alledge I am now in my strength my bones are full of marrow and my breasts of Milke shall I not take occasion by the fore-top and make use of the opportunity when it offers it self the time will come when being old my ability will not answer to my desire and then it will be too late c. The old man will say I am now growne cold and weak the fire of youth is quite extinct in me and will you not allow me a warme bed-fellow to helpe my decayed heat and cherish those few sparkes which lye hid in the cold embers and ashes of mine age But these are but like his vaine excuses who robb'd the Statue of Iupiter of his precious Ring his rich Mantle and his golden beard and beeing apprehended and question'd about the Sacrilege he began thus to apologize for himself 'T is truth saith he I took away his Ring that compast his fore-finger which was stretcht forthright which to my seeming he offer'd unto me and what could I doe lesse then to accept of his bounty which may bee rather imputed to his courtesie then any Fellony in me For his Mantle being of massâ—e gold I considered with my selfe that it was too ponderous to weare in Summer and too cold for Winter and therefore I thought it convenient to ease him of that charge And for his long golden Beard I remembred my selfe that Apollo was imbarbis ever young and without a Beard and that I took away because it was neither comely for his face nor suiting with his person These his excuses were heard but did rather then mitigate aggravate the crime for Sacrilege could be no other then Sacrilege and of that he was condemn'd So though the young man may plead his youth the growne man his strength and the decrepit man his imbicility of age yet maugre all evasion or excuse Adultery Scortation Fornication and all kindes of unlawfull prostitution in the day of account when there must reddere ratione velle rationis suae they will bee found to be the same grosse grievous capitoll and mortall sinnes For which those that continue therein without true and hearty repentance shall dearely answer But amongst the vexations molestations and incombrances belonging to Wedlock and the Nuptiall Tye I have not yet spoken at all of that Fury which commonly haunteth it namely Iealousie of which I will deliver unto you a true but most lamentable example Historified by D. Otho Melanders A Noble Gentleman lived very conjugally and lovingly with his Lady she had a Chamber-maid of a very sweet aspect and feature not any way to bee taxed for the least wantonnesse or loose carriage but if the Lady thought her guilty of the least immodesty she needed no other Jury for she was both Jurer and Judge and condemned her by her owne verdict and sentence It happened that the Noble-man having some occasion to detaine himselfe some few dayes abroad in his absence shee pretended a quarrell with her maid the colour was for letting a young childe slip out of her Armes which though it had little or no hurt yet she made of it as if it were lam'd beyond all recovery upon which her anger grew implacable and shee would commit her to prison but unto what prison not into any ordinary light or tollerable but into a deep obscure and desolate Dungeon in the bottome of the Castle for many yeares shut up with an Iron gate and abounding with Toads Snakes Adders and other Serpents Into which no Sacrilegious person Thiefe Pyrat Witch Paracide Traitor or the greatest Malefactor whatsoever within the memory of man had beene committed and into this noysome stinking and most horrible place she was forced to enter and the doores fast shut upon her but from all the corners of the Vault the venemous vextiles came in heapes with fearefull hissing and seized upon those parts of her body that were in their reach which with lowd ejulation and shrikes shee striv'd with her hands to beate off but all in vaine At noone one of the servants a young man who it seems had some affection to this maid but how soever humanity could not have suffered him to doe lesse hearing those her most pittifull vocifirations and understanding the cause came to his Lady and humbly besought her as she was a Christian to commiserate the wretched estate of her poore afflicted prisoner but all to no purpose she was inexorable revil'd him with his boldnesse and sawcinesse and sent him away with blowes to boot But evening came and still her lamentable clamours continued able to have sostned flint or mollifi'd Maâ—ble when the young man notwithstanding he had before been so evilly intreated went again to his Lady and falling upon his knees was more importunate with her then before the more he striv'd to pacifie her rage the more she grew incens'd with fury and kickt him out of her presence After supper to bed the houshold went and at mid-night the young man could not containe himselfe but hee must goe listen at the Dungeon doore But now hearing no no
liberty The sixt may be stiled Pusâ—llanimity that is when we dare not enterprise any pious act after a good motion in a diffidence that God will not assist us in the performance thereof and this is a foolish dread that some apprehend from their vaine dreames and may be resembled to such as dare not venture to walke in such a path because there the snaile putteth forth his hornes or young children that shun their way for the hissing and gagling of Geefe These are the six impediments that hinder to begin well there are six other quite averse from ending well The first is Delay for when God putteth into the heart of man to have an appetite or purpose to doe any good worke or to repent him of his old sinnes and prepare himselfe to newnesse of life Then comes the old Tempter and wispers in his eare What needes this early and too forward beginning thou art yet in thy prime and strength take the benefit and pleasures of thy youth it is yet too soone Age will come on and then thou shalt have leisure for when the delights of youth forsake thee thou shalt in thy decrepit estate have little else or nothing to doe thus dallying and dandling a wretched soule to it's eternall destruction Most true it is that God saith At what time soever a sinner repenteth himselfe of his wickednesse he will blot out all his offences but he that made that promise hath not promis'd to give the sinner a time of repentance After Delay comes Negligence for whosoever maketh doubts and demurres to turne to God it is no wonder if he doe it feignedly superficially and negligently and this is a vice generall and avoyded by few for alas how many are to be sound that use care and diligence in performing their bounden duty to God and executing that charity in which we are obliged towards our neighbour The third is Oblivion and Forgetfulnesse and consequent it is that whosoever is negligent must needs be forgetfull and both these hinder us from a devout confession of our sins to God for by casting a neglect upon our transgressions and offences they soone slip out of our thoughts and when we have occasion to acknowledge them and be sorry for them they are quite out of our remembrance by which the soule incurres great danger of Judgement Then followeth Feare or Dread which is a faintnesse of the heart bred by evill custome which makes us to grow in a distrust of Gods mercy and by that meanes to incurre the fearefull sinne of Desperation of which not onely former â—ges but even the times present affoord too many dreadfull examples And then there is a lazy Supini which breeds a diminution and abatement of all devotion and is a disease to the soule as a Consumption to the body when in the stead of going on we rather stand still or draw backe and this recreance and defiling if not taken in time may turne to Infidelity and Apostasie sinnes of that attrocity and diabolicall nature scarce amongst Christians to be named Sixely and lastly there is a Fond Zeale or foolish servour by which men weaken their bodies and disable their spirits by superstitious Vigils and Fasts by which they thinke to merit Heaven but in the interim fall into such langor malady sicknesse and disease that they make themselves disabled either for the service of God or following their owne vocation and calling but of such I presume there be not many Sloath is no better then the pillow or boâ—ster of the Devill the originall of many dreadfull sinnes and grievous calamities of Murmuring a branch whereof we have example out of the Holy Scriptures Numb 11. 4. And a number of people that was amongst them fell a â—uâ—â—ing and turned away and the children of Israel also wept I and said Who shall give us flesh to eate We remember the fish which we did eate in Aegypt for nought the cucumbers and the pepons and the â—eekes and the onions and the garleek but now our soule is dryed away we can see nothing but this Man Again Cap. 21. Vers. 4. After they departed from the Mount Hor by the way of the red Sea to compasse the land of Edom and the people were sore grieved because of the way And they spake against God and against Moses saying Wherefore have ye brought us out of Aegypt to die in the Wildernesse for here is neither Bread nor water and our soule loatheth this light bread Wherefore the Lord sent fiery serpents amongst the people which stung them so that many of the people of Israel died We reade further in the first of Haggat Vers. 2. Thus speaketh the Lord of Hosts saying The people say the time is not yet come that the Lords house should be builded Then came the word of the Lord by the ministery of the Prophet Haggai saying Is it time for your selves to dwell in your seiled houses and this house lie waste Now therefore thus saith the Lord of Hosts Consider your own wayes in your hearts yee have sowne much and bring in little yee eate but ye have not enough ye drinke but ye are not filled ye cloath ye but you are not warme and he that earneth wages putteth the wages into a broken bagge c. Come to the Gospell Matthew 25. Vers 26. And his Master answered to him and said Thou evill servant and floathfull thou knewest that I reapt where I sowed not and gathered where I strawed not thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the Exchangers and then at my comming should I have received mine owne with advantage Take therefore the talent from him and give it to him that hath ten talents for unto every one that hath it shall be given and he shall have abundance and from him that hath not even that he hath shall be taken away Cast therefore that unprofitable servant into utter darkenesse there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth This drowsinesse is also blamed by our Saviour Christ in his Apostles Marke 14. 37. Then hee came and found them sleeping and said to Peter Simon sleepest thou couldest thou not watch one houre watch ye and pray that ye enter not into temptation From Divine I come to Ethnick Examples Capitolinus hath left remembred unto us that Authonius Pius being Emperour caused the roofes and coverings of all such houses to be taken away as were knowne to receive any idle people affirming that nothing was more uncomly or absurd to be suffered then such idle caterpillars and slow-wormes to have their food and nourishment from that common-weale in the maintenance of which there was no supply from their industry and labour Notorious was the lazinesse and sloath of Honorius the Emperour for where as it is the custome of all Princes whatsoever not to set their hand or seale to any Briefe Grant or Warrant before they had diligently perused the contents lest perchance they might doe something against their honour