Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
mercy_n	great_a	let_v	sinner_n	1,997	5	7.5506	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A00818	The curse of corne-horders with the blessing of seasonable selling. In three sermons, on Pro. II.26. Begun at the general sessions for the county of Cornwall, held at Bodmyn, and continued at Fowy. By Charles Fitz-Geffrie.	Fitz-Geffry, Charles, 1575?-1638.	1631 (1631)	STC 10939; ESTC S115075	43,052	70

to enioy the fruits of the earth then sinfull and vnthankfull man sometimes euen when the Corne is not yet reaped but expecteth the hooke or while it standeth in the field awaiting to be housed in the Barne God sends airie threshers violent windes to beat it out of the eare the furrowes of the field doe become the threshing-floore the Wheat is sowed where it grew and that without the helpe of hand plow or harrow thus haruest threshing and seed-time doe vntimely meet together as they did some few yeers since Our crying sinnes particularly the vile abuse of the creature by Drunkennesse and riot haue called for vengeance and we haue deserued to be scourged not only with famine but with the other two rods with sword also and with pestilence But this Dearth is not inflicted immediately by the hand of God but enforced by wicked mens cruell couetousnesse God hath not broken the staffe of bread but churlish Nabals haue gotten it into their owne fists and with-hold it from the people who should be supported by it We cannot complaine The field is wasted and yet the Land mourneth the Corne is not wasted but with-held God hath not sent want of bread but couetousnesse hath caused cleannesse of teeth God hath not smitten vs with blasting nor sent Caterpillers nor Canker-wormes but the Diuell hath raised vp Caterpillers and Locusts those Catchers at the Dearth of Corn as the Father stileth them and these doe make a priuate gaine of a publike detriment improuing that as a profit to themselues which God ordained as a plague for sinners The Lord hath heard the heauens and the heauens haue heard the earth and the earth hath heard the corne but those earth-wormes will not heare the voice of the Lord nor the crying complaints of the poore The earth hath answered the expectation of the sower but cannot answer the vnsatiable greedinesse of the seller Many Mens Barnes are full of Corne but their brests are empty of compassion their Garners are stuffed and stored two yeeres graine vnder hand in many mens keeping yet they still gape for a greater dearth and doe their best or rather worst to procure it They suffer their Mow-hayes to stand laden with corne neere the high-wayes in the open view of the poore the more to anger their hunger Thus they bring vpon their brethren on earth a torment much like that which Poets deuised for Tantalus in Hell to haue faire apples at his lips and yet to pine with hunger and in the midst of faire water vp to the chinne to perish with thirst These arrowes of famine that haue wounded our sides had lesse afflicted vs had they beene shot directly from the iust hand of God him wee could haue entreated with our prayers mollified with our teares pacified with our repentance But nothing can preuaile with impenitrable Auarice O let vs fall into the hands of God for his mercies are great but let vs not fall into the hands of mercilesse men If our sinnes must needs be scourged let not greater sinners be the Beadles Who hath giuen you commission to be the Countries hangmen where is your warrant to thrust your selues into the seat of Gods iustice or to take his quiuer and to shoot against his children those arrowes which hee keepeth against his enemies You may indeed for a while be the rods of Gods wrath as Ashur was to Israel but vpon our true repentance God will turne his wrath from vs vpon you and the childe being humbred the rod shall be cast into the fire O insatiable Auarice Doth not the earth yeeld thee sufficient encrease what meanest thou to plow and harrow the very guts of thy poore brother for greater gaine Now it is farre worse then they said it was in the beginning of the iron-age for then Couetousnesse went but into the bowels of the earth but now men digge into the bowels of their brethren yea they delue into the bowels of Christ himselfe for coyne Call ye me this Vsurie or rather Fellonie Vsury it selfe is charitable in respect of this Vsury yet sends abroad money for money this rurall sacriledge will not sell corne for coyne Vsury indeed biteth but this killeth by keeping away that which should sustaine life Vsury by money stealeth money out of mens purses as one by powring a little water into a dry Pumpe forceth out a great deale more but this Burglary breaketh into mens bowels and robbeth them of that which should maintaine them Is not this gaine more odious more base then that of the Emperour who extracted gold out of Vrine I perceiue that among our Pagan-Christians it holds as currant as it did among the Pagans Sweet is the scent of Siluer out of what sinke soeuer it be raked seeing to these Horse-leeches gaine is sweet though sucked out of the bowels of their brethren Oh if you haue any bowels your selues or haue not drunke vp that obdurate riuer which is reported to turne the bowels of the drinker into hard marble looke once ouer the threshold of your poore neighbour some poore coater some daily labourer for his groat or three pence a day groning vnder the burthen of an heauy house-rent with a house full of small children on the bargaine and if you will not enter in yet stand without a while and become officious Eues-droppers listen to the pittious complaints that are among them There may you see or heare the wofull mother with her eldest daughter the one carding or knitting the other spinning a sorry threed and singing to her turne an heauy tune of some sorrowfull Psalme as O Lord consider my distresse or O Lord how are my foes increast or Helpe Lord for good and godly men doe perish and decay Then awakes the poore sucking Infant and crying interrupts both worke and musicke The mother takes it vp and giues it sucke with teares for with milke she cannot Alas how can the infant draw milke from the breast when the Nurse cannot get meat for the belly Mother saith another childe when shall we eat Mother saith another where is bread O mother saith another I am so hungry I know not what to doe Thus the feeble children doe call vpon the wofull mother shee complaines to the sad father he answers her with pittious complaints against the pittilesse neighbours Alas What shall I doe I haue beene at goodman such a ones house from him I went to goodman such a one good men with a mischiefe that haue not a mite of goodnesse in them because no compassion on their miserable fellow-members I haue beene ouer the Parish I haue beene out of the Parish with money in my hand and cannot get a pecke of Barley they haue it but they say they cannot spare it O miserable condition the poore man is put to a double labour first to get a little money for Corne and then to get a little Corne for

The Curse of Corne-horders WITH The Blessing of seasonable Selling. In three Sermons on PRO. 11. 26. Begun at the general Sessions for the County of Cornwall held at Bodmyn and continued at Fowy By CHARLES FITZ-GEFFRIE D. Cyprianus ad Demetrian §. 8. Miraris in poenas generis humani iram Dei crescere cum crescat quotidiè quod puniatur De sterilitate aut fame quereris quasi famem maiorem siccitas quàm rapacitas faciat quasi non de captatis annonarum incrementis pretiorum cumulis flagrantior inopiae ardor excrescat Quereris cludi imbribus coelum cum sic horrea cludantur in terris Printed at London by I. B. for Edward Dight dwelling in Excester 1631. To the truly ennobled and rightly honored Sir REGINALD MOHVNE Knight and Baronet Grace Mercy and Peace be multiplied SIR THE end of Gods punishments is to bring sinful man vnto Repentance In afflicting vs he intends not our affliction but our reformation Hee who delights not in the death of sinners takes no pleasure in their sufferings but in compassion causeth sometimes temporall suffering to preuent eternall aking according to that of the Apostle We are chastened of the Lord that we may not be condemned with the world If he attaine not this end by one rod he vseth another If the Pestilence preuaile not he sends the sword if that workes not he inflicteth Famine and like a good Physitian by diuers medicines he tendeth to the same cure If the same crosse haue not effected the end for which it was sent he sends it the second time as a man doth his seruant who hath not fully done his errand at first Thus doth he with particular persons thus doth hee with whole Nations whose good he intendeth He visited our sinnes with the Pestilence this wrought not a sound recouery he lanced vs with the Sword there yet remained many peccant humours those hee sought to cure by Famine as the ancient Physitians vsed to cure all diseases by Abstinence We seemed to be on the mending hand but we relapsed and God was faine to go to work with vs again as we renewed our old sins so did he his old iudgements He sent the Plague the second time threatned it the third About seuen yeeres sithence the creature suffered and we by it for our abuse of it and for our vnthankefulnesse to the Creator The same punishment hee hath inflicted this yeere on sundry places of the land Thus is God enforced to re-assume his rods when we renew our sins and as wee vse to take from our children their Bread when they doe wanton with it so by want he correcteth our former wantonnesse taking from vs that which wee abuse thereby teaching vs to vse it better when wee haue it that by want we may know how to vse abundance These two yeeres of dearth in some distance called from mee these three Sermons That which in the first was summarily deliuered in one vnto the eares of that Bench on which you haue sate sundry yeeres as chiefe is vpon this yeeres occasion enlarged into three and now sent abroad into publike for the benefit of many is first presented vnto your eies In this Dedication I craue not patronage but onely acceptance The Kings command my calling the necessity of the times are sufficient to patronize it Neither haue I cause to doubt of your acceptance your care for your Countries good and your endeuour in this particular doe assure me that you will approue his labours who according to his calling addeth the best aduancement hee may vnto yours Whereunto hee will not cease to adioyne his continued prayers to the fountaine of Grace for all gracious blessings on your person on your publike imployments on your noble Family who is and will be while he is Your worships in all Christian dutie and seruice most ready Charles Fitz-Geffry A briefe view of the ensuing Sermons Concio prima THe occasion of the choyce of this Text. page 1 The diuision thereof into two parts In the former part are considered 1. The sinne 2. The sequel p. 3 1 ma. me The sinne with-holding Corne. ibid. All conseruation of Corne not vnlawfull What is vnlawfull herein ibid. Vnder the word Corne euery publike commodity comprehended p. 4 Doct. 1. It is a grieuous siune to procure or further famine by seeking to raise the price of Corn. ibid. Reasons 1. It is odious vnto God The detaining of other commodities not so necessary for the life of man as Corne forbidden by God Much more of this without which the life of man can hardly yea not at all be sustained The necessity of bread vnto mans life p. 5 6 2. It is opposite to Nature vnto which Corne-horders are traytors For 1. That which Nature most desireth they doe most detest that is plenty p. 7 8 2. And that which Nature most detesteth they most desire namely Dearth and scarcity ibid. 3. Condemned by the Lawes of Nations p. 9 Application Three sorts of people guilty herein p. 11 1 The greedy Farmer who sometimes with-holdeth Corne euen in selling it ibid. 2 The couetous Merchant p. 13 3 The Hucksters or Badgers of Corne. p. 14 Concio secunda SEcunda primae The sequell The curses of the People p. 17 A Common sinne drawes on a common curse p. 18 Doct. 2. The peoples curse iustly procured is a fearfull iudgement p. 19 The peoples curse twofold 1. Causelesse or vniust this not to be feared nor regarded ibid. Exhortation to Magistrates and Officers to doe their duties though the people doe causelesly curse them For such curses God will blesse them ibid. 2 The iustly caused curse of the poore and oppressed this curse very fearefull p. 20 Vse Terror to all kinde of Oppressors p. 21 Especially to Corne-horders p. 22 That these curses are not effectlesse in this life shewed by examples A story out of Matthew Paris of Walter Grey Archbishop of Yorke a couetous Corne-horder Anno Dom. 1234. p. 23 Another of a German Bishop deuoured by Rats An. 930. p. 24 The effect of these curses in latter times wherein some of these Nabals haue hanged themselues when the price of Corne hath fallen ibid. The greatest curse of all at the day of iudgement p. 25 Obiections answered 1. May I not doe with mine owne what I list p. 26 Answer Christ onely may both say and doe so Man cannot without limitation who can cast nothing his owne properly but his sinne ibid. Men may not vse their owne to the hurt of others ibid. It is damnable to with-hold our owne when our brethren are ready to perish for want of that which we may well spare p. 27 Two other Obiections Ioseph and Gedeon their examples answered p. 30 31 Famine a grieuous punishment p. 31 It is proper to God alone to punish a sinfull Nation with famine or any other iudgement p. 32 We haue deserued to be thus scourged But this famine is not inflicted immediately by