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
A64642	Eighteen sermons preached in Oxford 1640 of conversion, unto God. Of redemption, & justification, by Christ. By the Right Reverend James Usher, late Arch-bishop of Armagh in Ireland. Published by Jos: Crabb. Will: Ball. Tho: Lye. ministers of the Gospel, who writ them from his mouth, and compared their copies together. With a preface concerning the life of the pious author, by the Reverend Stanly Gower, sometime chaplain to the said bishop.	Ussher, James, 1581-1656.; Gower, Stanley.; Crabb, Joseph, b. 1618 or 19.	1660 (1660)	Wing U173; ESTC R217597	234,164	424

are setled on their lees Moab hath been at ease from his youth he hath been setled and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel neither hath he gone into captivity Jer. 48.11 Consider we whether our security comes not from the same cause We have not been emptied from vessel to vessel we have alwayes been at rest Why have we so little conversion There are two things hinder it the hardening of a mans heart against the Word and our setling our selves on our lees When we we have no change in grace we are secure we never see an evil day And this is that which slays the foolish person Wo to them that are at ease It were better for thee to be emptied from vessel to vessel to go into captivity For as long as a man continues thus in an unregenerate condition he can look for ●othing but troubles certain judgments must necessarily follow and as sure as God is in heaven so sure may they expect misery on earth and they shall receive the eternal weight of Gods wrath treasured up against the day of wrath Therefore there is a necessity of our conversion if we will keep off either temporal or eternal wrath Our Saviour makes it the case of all impenitent sinners to be liable to wrath One judgment befell the Galileans an other those on whom the Tower of Siloe fell But what saith our Saviour Suppose you that these were greater sinners above all the men of Jerusalem I tell you nay but except you repent you shall all likewise perish Luk. 13.3 All every mothers son here present if you turn not from your sinful courses God will meet with you one time or other if you harden your hearts against him be sure Who ever hardned his heart against God and prospered As long as a man is in this condition his state is woful As many as are in the state of unregeneracie are under the power of Satan 2 Tim. 2.25 26. Mark the Apostles words In meekness instruct those that oppose themselves if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the Devil who are taken captive by him at his will The state then of the hardned setled on their lees is as a bird in a cage taken alive at the will of the Fowler So is it here as long as we continue obstinate and hardned we are taken alive at Satans will we are at his disposing While we are at liberty we are way laid by his nets and traps and taken we are at his pleasure As long as we are hardned in heart we are in the Devils cage true repentance is that whereby alone we purchase our freedome whereby we recover our selves and therefore in Rom. 2.5 Hardness of heart and impenitency signifie the same thing After thy hardned and impenitent heart thou treasurest up unto thy self wrath against the day of wrath Mark then what 's a hard heart It 's an impenitent heart Dost thou harden thy heart then know that for the present thou art a dead man If notwithstanding all Gods threats out of his word thou art not a jot moved thou art dead whilst alive as the woman that lived in pleasure And if thou continuest so thou treasurest up wrath against the day of wrath and the just revelation of Gods judgments Gods Word is the especial meanes to recover thee A man that is in a swoun they rub him to recover him because there 's life in him but if dead strong-waters or any thing else cannot restore him Examine thy self then does the working of the Word rub and gall thee it's a sign there is life in thee but if it make no impression it moves thee not it 's a sign of a dead heart Consider then the danger of this condition for a man to resolve on his evil courses never purposing to alter matters It exceedingly hastens Gods judgments But leaving this I proceed to the second point which is to direct us how to work our escape Though God threaten us yet if we have but the grace to look about us and remember our selves If God do but cause us to consider we have to deal with a merciful Father and make us meet him by humiliation then though our sins were as scarlet yet submitting our selves to our Judge living as obedient subjects the storm shall passe from us So that this is the 2d point 2. Notwithstanding God threatens us yet if he gives us but grace to repent and bethink our selves let our sins be never so great we may be sure of mercy O that we could see with what a gracious God we have to deal Canst thou but humble thy self all these things shall speak peace unto thee As an impenitent sinner is under the power of Satan and liable to all misery So contrariwise whoever returnes and seeks the Lord is sure to be under his wings and free from all evil Thinkst thou that God makes use of threatnings for thy hurt No he deales not with us as an angry Judge but as a compassionate Father men will take an enemy alwayes at an advantage when they may do him most hurt Gods terrors overtake us he threatens us that he will do this and this that we may prevent it He knows that unless his terrors awake us we will rest secure Before he smites us he tells us I will whet my sword He hath bent his bow and made it ready He hath prepared his instruments of death Psal. 7.12 13. He could shoot thee presently and instantly run thee through but he threatens thee that so he may not strike thee See what the Prophet Amos denounces from the Lord Cap. 11 12. I have given you cleannesse of teeth I have with holden rain v. 6 7 8. I have smitten you with blasting and mildew v. 9. I have sent amongst you the Pestilence v. 10. yet have you not return'd unto me Therefore thus will I do unto thee O Israel and because I will do thus unto thee prepare to meet thy God O Israel v. 12. What judgments have befallen us have befallen us for our own use if so be we will be warned by them The reason why God saith he will overthrow us is not because he meanes to do it but that we may prevent him by repentance Look into Jer. 3.1 and see what wonderful passages are to this purpose Ther 's a Law-case If a man put away his Wife and she go from him shall he return unto her again shall not that land be greatly polluted But thou hast plaid the harlot with many lovers And in the 20 v. As a wife treacherously departeth from her husband so have you dealt treacherously with me O house of Israel And yet see Gods unspeakable mercy Return again unto me And 23. v. Return ye back-sliding children and I will heal your backsliding turn to me and I le not cause mine anger to fall upon you Only acknowledge

and feet But that which he shed in the garden in the cold winter time when he shed great drops great clots of blood thickest blood that pierc'd his garment and ran down upon the ground Consider how much blood he lost when he was whipped and lashed when the spear came to the very Pericardium thus let us weigh his torments and it will be a means to make us much affected with his sufferings for us But this is not all there is another thing yet in the blood this was but the outward part of his sufferings Yet some there are who are against Christs sufferings in his soul If it were so say they then something either in the sacrifices of the old Testament or in the new Testament should signifie it What ever such persons object against it I am sure there was as much in the sacrifices of the old Testament as could possibly be in a Type to signifie it Now that I may make this to appear know that in every sacrifice there were two parts or two things considerable and those were the Body and the Blood the whole was to be made a sacrifice viz. both Body and blood the body was to be burned the blood to be poured forth Now nothing in a beast can signifie the sufferings of Christ in soul better then the pouring out of the blood Lev. 17.11 The blood was the life and this is that which had a relation to the soul and was therefore as in the same place appears poured out as an attonement for the soul And to this in our common prayers there is an allusion viz. Grant us gracious Lord so to eat the flesh of thy dear son Jesus Christ and to drink his blood that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his body and our souls washed through his most precious blood And in Isa. 53.12 The Metaphor holds He poured out his soul unto death for us So that whatever some have fondly thought its evident and manifest that Christ suffered both in soul and body both soul and body were made an offering for sin who knew no sin I should have gone further but the time cuts me off FINIS HEB. 4.16 Let us therefore come boldly ùnto the throne of grace that we may obtaine mercy and finde grace to help in time of need IN handling heretofore the Doctrine of the conversion of a sinner I declar'd and shew'd you what mans misery was and what that great hope of mercy is that the Lord proposeth to the greatest sinner in the world I shew'd unto you the means whereby we may be made partakers of Christ and that was by the grace of faith which doth let fall all other things in a mans self and comes with an open and empty hand to lay hold on Christ and fill it self with him I shew'd you also the acts of Faith as it justifies And now because it is a point of high moment wherein all our comfort stands and in which it lies I thought good to resume it all again so farre as may concerne our practice that we may see what the work of Gods Spirit is from the first to the last in the conversion of a sinner from the corruptions and pollutions of the flesh in which he wallowed and to this purpose have I chosen this place of Scripture wherein we are encouraged by Gods blessed Word that what ever we are though accursed and the greatest sinners in the world and that whatever we want we should come to Gods throne of grace And we are to think that whatever sinnes are or have been committed and though our sinnes are never so great yet that they are not so great as the infinitenesse of Gods mercy especially having such not only an Intercessor but Advocate to plead the right of our cause so that Christ comes and he pleads payment and that however our debts are great and we runne farre in score yet he is our ransome and therefore now Gods justice being satisfied why should not his mercy have place and free course This is the great comfort that a Christian hath that he may come freely and boldly to God because he comes but as for an acquittance of what is already paid As a debtor will appear boldly before his creditor when he knows his debt is discharg'd he will not then be afraid to look him in the face Now we may come and say Blessed Father the debt is paid I pray give me pardon of my sinnes give me my acquittance And this is that boldnesse and accesse spoken of Rom. 5.2 In whom we have accesse by faith Now that I may not spend too much time needlesly come we to the ground and matter in the words Wherein there is 1. A preparative for grace 2. The act it self whereby we are made partakers of the grace of God First the preparatives are two The law and the Gospel and wrought by them The first preparative 1. Wrought by the Law The Law works in a time of great need this is the first preparative for a man to be brought to see he stands in great need of Gods mercy and Christs blood so that the sinner cries out Lord I stand in great want of mercy His eyes being thus opened he is no longer a stranger at home but he sees the case is wondrous hard with him so that he concludes Unlesse God be merciful unto me in Christ I am lost and undone for ever This is the first preparative and till we come to it we can never approach the throne of grace The second is 2. Wrought by the Gospel I see I stand in great need but by this second preparative we see a Throne of grace set up and that addes comfort unto me If God had onely a throne and seat of Justice I were utterly undone I see my debt is extreme great but the Gospel reveals unto me that God of his infinite mercy hath erected a Throne of grace a City of refuge that finding my self in need my soul may flie unto And now to fit us for this Gods blessed Spirit works by his Word to open unto us the Law and our wants to enlighten our understandings that we stand in great need to win our affection and open the Gospel and its comforts Therefore first for the time of need the Law reveals unto us our woful condition to be born in sin as the Pharisee said and yet not able to see it Every man may say in generalities I am a sinner yet to say and know himself to be such a sinner as indeed he is to stand in such need that he cannot do This one would think to be a matter of sence but unlesse Gods Spirit open our eyes we can never see our selvs to be such sinners as we are or else what is the reason that the child of God cries out more against his sinne and the weight thereof after his conversion than he did before What are his sinnes greater or more than they were

enough to cry Lord be merciful to me If thou neglectest him here he will cry quittance with thee on thy death-bed Nor do I speak this of my self no. Look what Wisedome faith Because I have called and ye refused I have stretched out mine hand and no man regarded but set at nought all my coun●el and would none of my reproof I also will laugh at your calamity I will mock when your fear cometh Pro. 1.24 25 26. As if he had said you refused me on my day I call'd cry'd unto you but you set at nought my words and rejected my counsel and were wiser then I therefore will I laugh at your destruction when you are in miserie I will mock and deride in stead of succouring A terrible thing will it be when in stead of hearing our cries to answer them he shall deride us and laugh at our folly and madness And in the 28. verse Then shall they call upon me but I will not answer they shall seek me early but they shall not finde me See what folly then it is to let slip this time This is the acceptable day Esay 55. Seek the Lord while he may be found call on him while he is near When a man refuses Gods day God will not hear his prayer all his sighs and sobs his groanes and cries shall not prevail Esay 66. I will choose their delusions and will bring their feares upon them because when I called none did answer when I spake they did not hear When men will needs be choosers of what God would not have God will have his choise too and it shall be that which will be displeasing to them I will choose their delusions and will bring their feares upon them Heb. 4.7 Again he limiteth a certain day saying in David to day after so long a time as it is said to day if you will hear his voice harden not your hearts THe last day I entred on the opening of the place and shew'd How the Lord had proposed a limited time for our conversion unto him in which we should hear and obey his voice We shew'd farther how it was Satans policie to make men seem wiser then God that when God proposes a certain time and limits us a day wherin he will be found we will not have his but our own True say we God calls on us and it 's fit and convenient to hearken unto him but yet I le stay for a more seasonable opportunity There is nothing provokes God so much against us as when we will thus scorn that acceptable time he hath proposed Nor can there be a greater hinderance to repentance then to stop our eares at his counsels and to suffer him to call and cry unto us so long and yet to abuse his patience by a foolish neglect It accuses us of rebellion and high presumption on such infirm grounds to put from us the day of salvation Folly it is in the highest degree to trust on the future when as in our own hands we have neither space nor grace for such a businesse God is the Lord and owner of them both and will not part with his Prerogative Go to you that say to day or to morrow we will return unto the Lord. You adde to presumption both folly and rebellion Jezabel had space to repent yet she repented not for she had not the grace that without this will not benefit Seeing then these are not in your power harden not your hearts as in the provocation Nor offer despight unto the Holy Ghost by whom you are sealed to the day of redemption If we embrace not Gods day we despise the riches of his goodnesse long suffering and patience Rom. 2. Despisest thou the riches of Gods grace not knowing that the long-suffering of God leadeth to repentance There can be no higher presumption then this to bid defiance to the Spirit of God Nor can there be greater contempt of mercy then to set light of the time of our repentance and returning unto God making that the greatest argument of our delay which God uses to draw us to him God gives us space that we may repent and we repent not because he gives us space He gives us life that with fear and trembling we may set about the businesse of salvation and we through strong delusions put from us the proffers of his grace as if they were unseasonably offer'd What madnesse is it to frustrate the Almighty of his ends and purposes The Lord is not slack touching his promise It 's a great stop and hindrance to our progesse in goodnesse and the work of repentance when we distrust God and take him not at his word He sends abroad his Embassadors who proclame This is the accepted time this is the day of salvation to day if ye will hear his voice harden not your hearts yet we put this day from us and say hereafter is a more acceptable time I have this delight this pleasure to take first in the world I am not so weaned from it as I would be As if God would take it well from our hands that we should then return to him when there is no remedy I le fi●st use all the pleasure the world affords me and then Lord have mercy on me will serve the turn This is the very stifling of the beginnings and proceedings of Christianity Let this be well and speedily weigh'd as we tender our good and comfort Obj. But may some say what needs this haste may we not use leisure soft and fair goes far Sol. True soft and fair goes far if a man goes fairly in the way In this case though thou go but softly thou mayst come to thy journeys end but the doubt remains stil there is a question whether thou art in the way or not Happy are we if we are although we can but halt limp on in this way although this should be no ground for us to content our selves therewith We must not trifle in the wayes of holinesse It 's that concernes our life and must be seriously thought on and that speedily too Agree with thine adversary quickly while thou art in the way with him God is thine adversary unlesse thou agree with him speedily his patience will break forth into fury Kisse the Son lest he be angry and thou perish from the right way Thou hast no assurance of thy life thou mayst be snapt off whilst thou thinkest it time enough to repent and return As long as we go out of the way of repentance we are in the way to hell and the farther a man goes in a wrong way the nearer is he to hell and the greater ado to return back and i● this regard soft and fair may goe far but 't is far out of the way far in the way to perdition and destruction As long as we are out of the right way to heaven and happinesse we are in the path that leads directly to the chambers of death

Power to become the sons of God even to them that believe on his Name HHaving heretofore declared unto you the wofull estate and condition wherein we stand by nature I proceeded to the Remedy that God of his infinite Mercy hath provided for the recovery of miserable sinners from the wrath to come And therein I proposed two things that our Saviour that was to advance us and raise us out of this condition when we had lost our selves in Adam We having eaten sowre grapes he was to have his teeth set on edge we accounted him smitten of God and buffeted but we had sinned and he was beaten That when the Lord in his wrath was ready to smite us he underwent the dint of Gods sword and stood betwixt the blow and us the blow lighted on him that was equal with God and deserved not to be beaten Awake O sword against my shepherd and against the man that is my fellow The sword was unwilling to strike him and thus being smitten he became a propitiation for our sins The chastisement of our peace was on him He offered himself a sacrifice Here are two things considerable 1. How Christ was offered for us 2. How he is offered to us First For us and so he offered up himself a Sacrifice a sweet smelling Sacrifice unto God Mark the point is he is not only the Sacrifice but the Sacrificer He offered up himself saith the Apostle He was the Priest and it was a part of Priest-hood to offer up himself The Sacrifices in the old Law that typified him were only sufferers The poor beasts were only passive but our Saviour he must be an Actor in the business He was active in all that he suffered He did it in obedience to his Fathers Will yet he was an Agent in all his Passion John 11.33 He groaned in Spirit and was troubled the Greek is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or as it is in the Margent He troubled himself With us in our Passions it is otherwise we are meer sufferers Our Saviour was a Conqueror over all his passions and therefore unless he would trouble himself none else could trouble him unless he vvould lay down his life none could take it from him unless he vvould give his cheek to be smitten the Jews had no power to smite it Isa. 50.6 I gave my back to the Smiters and my cheek to them that pluckt off the hair and hid not my face from shame and spitting In all these we should consider our Saviour not as a Sacrifice only but a sacrificer also an Actor in all this business their wicked hands were not more ready to smite then he was to give his face to be smitten and all to shevv that it was a voluntary Sacrifice He did all himself He humbled himself unto the death And now by all this we see what we have gotten vve have gotten a Remedy and satisfaction for our sins That precious blood of that immaculate Lamb takes avvay the sins of the world because it is the Lamb of God under which else the World vvould have eternally groaned Object But doth this Lamb of God take away all the sins of the world Sol. It doth not actually take avvay all the sins of the vvorld but virtually It hath povver to do it if it be rightly applyed the Sacrifice hath such vertue in it that if all the World vvovld take it and apply it it vvould satisfie for the sins of the vvhole World but it is here as with medicines they do not help being prepared but being applyed Rhubarb purgeth choller yet not unless applyed c. Exod. 39.38 there is mention made of a Golden Altar Christ is this Golden Altar to shew that his blood is most precious We are not redeemed with silver and gold but with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. He is that golden Altar mentioned in the Revelation vvhich stands before the Throne He was likevvise to be a brazen Altar for so much vvas to be put upon him that unless he vvere of brass and had infinite strength he vvould have sunk under the burthen Its Jobs Metaphor Job in his passion saith Is my strength the strength of stones or is my flesh brass Job 6.12 If Christs flesh had not been brass if he had not been this brazen Altar he could never have gone through these now he is prepared for us a sacrifice for sin Rom. 8.3 For what the Law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin for sin make a stop there condemned sin in the flesh This same for sin hath not reference to condemned To condemn sin for sin is not good sence but the words depend on this God sent his Son that is God sent his Son to be a Sacrifice for sin 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the word is translated Heb. 10.6 a sacrifice for sin It was impossible the Law should save us not because of any transgression or failing in the Law but because our weakness is such as that we could not perform the conditions therefore God was not tyed to Promises by reason then of the weakness of our flesh rather then we should perish God sent his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh in that flesh of his condemned all our sins we need not look that sin should be condemned in us when he bare our sins on the tree then were our sins condemned therefore it s said Isa. 53. When he had made his soul an offering for sin that is in the Original when he had made his soul sin then he saw his seed Isa. 57. We come now to the second thing if Christ be offered for us yet unless he offer himself to us unless any man may have interest in him it s nothing worth Here then stands the Mystery of the Gospel Christ when he comes to offer himself to us he finds not a whit in us that is to be respected nothing And that is the ground of all disturbance to ignorant consciences for there is naturally in men pride and ignorance they think they may not meddle with Christ with Gods Mercy unless they bring something unless they have something of their own to lay down This is to buy Christ to barter betwixt Christ and the soul but salvation is a free gift of God As the Apostle speaks Christ is freely given unto thee when thou hadst nothing of worth in thee Faith when it comes empties thee of all that is in thee To whom be the Gospel preached to the dead Now before Christ quicken thee thou art stark dead rotting in thy sins Here 's the point then when there is no manner of goodness in thee in the world In me saith St. Paul that is in my flesh there is no good thing When I have been the most outragious sinner I may lay hold on Christ. Christ comes and offers himself to thee Now when Christ offers the other

great work or to a great deal of joy he first humbleth him the Prince of our salvation was consecrated by afflictions and we must be conformable unto Christ our Head when the stormes are past the Sea will continue raging for awhile and when you have turn'd the wheel round if you take away your hand it will go round it self for a time So when you are justified by faith the storme is over yet the roaring of the waves will continue it will be so with the children of God though there be a calme yet there will be some remainders of a storm Again they are in travaile and that is a painful thing My little children with whom I travail they have the pangs of the new birth and it is a good while before they can finde that quietnesse their heart doth long for Again God purposely doth though he be friends with them take away from them the sense of peace because he takes delight to finde that strength of faith Faith is manifest that way faith is most strong when there is least sense My God my God why hast thou forsaken me the lesse sense the faster the hold and God loves this at life that when he spurns and frowns he will not let go nor be put off let him kill me he shall kill me with Christ in my arms I will not let go my hold God cannot fail he hath given me his Word therefore I will not let go such astrong faith had Abraham contrary to reason Gods Word is true he gives me his Word and I will trust him So a childe of God will not be put off though God write bitter things against him he will not forgo him we have an excellent example in the woman of Canaan the end of it is O woman great is thy faith but how doth the greatnesse of it appear Lord have mercy upon me my daughter is grievously afflicted c. why not rather Lord have mercy on my daughter the reason is because she was afflicted in her daughters affliction by the way we may hereby understand the meaning of the Commandment where it is said he will visit the iniquities of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate him but why to the third and fourth generation because I may see the third and fourth generation and may see the judgment of God on them and may remember my sinne for which they are plagued the case is mine and not theirs only Lord have mercy upon me for my daughter is diseased I see my own sinne is punished by the judgment on her in my sight poor woman Christ will not hear her she might have been dash't out of countenance the Disciples were weary of her clamorous cryes and say Send her away for she troubleth us what saith Christ Is ●t fit to take the childrens bread and cast it unto dogs This was enough to dash her quite before she was discouraged by silence but to be called dog it were enough quite to discourage her but see the fruit of faith she seeks comfort out of that which would have undone another what am I dog a under the Table there I shall get a crumme others of the children that are better let them have the loaves I account my self happy if I may but get a crumb Oh woman great is thy faith this is great faith when it goes contrary to all sense That when God calls me dog when he spurns at me and frowns on me I will not be put off Faith is of the nature of the Vine if it have but the least hold on the wall it makes use of it and climbs higher and higher So out of the least thing that drops from her Saviours mouth she raiseth her faith higher so though we have this peace with God yet oft ofttimes he with-holds the notification of it to us 3. The last thing is to note the difference between the peace of a carnal and a spiritual man carnal peace is mixt with a great deal of presumption and pride but the more spiritual peace thou hast the more thou art dejected in thy self the more cast down see it in Ezekiel Ezek. 16.60 61 62 63. I will establish with thee an everlasting Covenant then shalt thou remember thy wayes and be ashamed when thou shalt receive thy sisters thy elder and thy younger and I will give them unto thee for daughters but not by thy Covenant and I will establish my Covenant with thee and thou shalt know that I am the Lord that thou mayst remember and be confounded and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame when I am pacified towards thee for all that thou hast done saith the Lord when God is pacified yet they hold down their heads and are ashamed when a man knoweth that God hath pardoned his sins he is ashamed that he hath carried himself so wickedly against God of whose mercy he hath now such experience When God is pacified a man remembers his former sinnes and is confounded as it is Ezek. 36.31 Then shall you remember your own evil wayes and your doings that were not good and shall loath your selves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations in that time when I am pacified toward you That which would work in a carnal man security and pride for he never thinks himself better then when there 's peace within will work in the the childe of God the Spirit of humiliation In the last Chapter of Job God had manifested himself wonderfully to Job and however before he had very sharp afflictions his sufferings in soul were next to the sufferings of Christ. I believe never any man suffered so much as Job did insomuch that the arrows of the Almighty stuck in him thou hast eaten up my flesh c. This was the case of Job and he stood upon termes of justification he w●sh't that God would dispute with him that God would either be the Opponent or the Answerer If God would answer he would oppose or if God would oppose he would answer God comes as he would have him and Job is not at that point that he was before when God draws nigh unto him he saith I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear but now my eye seeth thee Job 42.5 Well this may make thee a proud man and elevate thee no saith he now I abhorre my self in dust and ashes The nearer God draws unto us and the more merciful he is unto us by that light we the more discern our own abominations That which would make another man proud brings Job to the knowledge of his vilenesse Therefore I abhor my self and repent in dust and ashes 3. Now another thing is Who is this peace-maker This I shall but touch We have peace with God But how through our Lord Jesus Christ he is our peace-maker and interposeth between his Fathers wrath and us Ephes. 2.14 For he is our

will not be in good liking that eats but once a year but a man must eat once a day at least A Christian should feed on Christ every day make him his ordinary food renewing every day the acts of his faith receive Christ crucified by faith every day If a Christian would consider that God offers Christ unto him every day and thou renewest thy faith and claspest him every day it would be a special way whereby joy should be raised in the soul. It s said in Rom. 15.13 We rejoyce in the hope of the glory of God Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that ye may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost Thus when thou hast exercised the acts of faith in believing and then upon that rejoycest then its seasonable and true joy and not the counterfeit joy of the wicked when it arises and springs from believing when that procureth it it likewise distinguishes it from all false joys The Apostle tells us Phil. 1.24 Having this confidence I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith It is called the joy of faith because it springs from that principle of rejoycing from the mother grace that your rejoycing may be the more abundant The preaching of the Word whereby faith is wrought brings abundance of joy That place of St. Peter is remarkable 1 Pet. 1.8 Whom having not seen ye love in whom though now you see him not yet believing ye rejoyce with joy unspeakable and full of glory yet believing that is yet exercising the acts of faith which we too much neglect If we did exercise these acts every day we should have our Charter of joy renewed every day yet believing ye rejoyce 3. Pray and be thankful praise and thanksgiving are those fruits which fulfill all our joy when thou prayest thou conversest with God thou speakest with him face to face as Moses did He who can pray spiritually and pray hard unto God as Moses face shined when he talked with God so will thy soul thrive praying hard and being thankful there is no greater means then this to get this joy Psal. 37.1 Rejoyce in the Lord O ye righteous for praise is comely for the upright Upon this hangs all our comfort praise alwayes brings rejoycing the one begets the other In Isaiah The comfort there that Gods children receive is the changing of rayment Christ preaching the acceptable year of the Lord to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion to give to them beauty for ashes the oyle of joy for mourning the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness The ground of praise is joy one follows the other Observe God will give us the oyle of joy Christ was anointed with this oyle above his fellows Christ hath fulnesse of joy this oyle doth not come on his Priesthood alone but it trickles down unto the lowermost hemme of his garment I will adde in the last place when a man considers the great things which are given to him by God and what an estate we get by Christ. I have forgivenesse of sins and blessed is the man whose sinnes are forgiven Christs blood is wine and my name is written in the book of life Do not rejoyce saith our Saviour because the Divels are subject unto you but because your names are written in the book of life When I consider that I am not in the black Roll and it is my faith which strengthens me which makes me reckon Christ my chiefest wealth this makes me rejoyce in mine inheritance and in hope of the glory of God When I consider the great reward in the world to come this is a great cause of rejoycing and therefore Gods children long for the coming of Christ it is made Tit. 2.13 a mark of those that shall be saved That they long for the appearance of Jesus Christ looking for and hastning unto the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. And in 2 Pet. 3.12 Looking for and hastning unto the coming of the day of God A longing expectation not only they but we also that have the first fruits of the Spirit groan and long for the coming of it and therefore the last breath of the Scripture is breathed in this Rev. 22.20 He that testifyeth these things saith Surely I come quickly Amen even so be it come Lord Jesus there is a sweet Allegory to expresse this in Cant. ult 14. make haste my beloved and be like the Hinde and like the Roe Come Lord Jesus come quickly and come as the Hinde and as the Roe and as a Hart upon the Mountaine of spices Make hast and come quickly be swift and do not tarry and in a better place I cannot end FINIS A TABLE An Advertisement That the Printers mis-paging may be no hindrance to the use of this Table the Reader is to take notice that it refers to the pages as they are figured not as they should be and that whereas after page 431. the numbers take their rise back at 361. and from thence are repeated over again this Asterisk * placed before any figure notes the latter order of pages so figured A ACceptation and Affiance two acts of Faith page 424 Active Obedience See Obedience Aggravations of sin p. 90 A temporary Believer desires Christ only in Affliction p. * 388 389 Assurance no part of justifying faith p. 428. It is attainable p. * 457 Why so many Christians want it p. * 438 B. Baptism what it obliges to p. 54. It hath not its full effect till the day of our death ibid. To believe is a hard matter p. 53.426 To believe is our duty p. 408 Five words or Scripture-wayes that God uses to perswade sinners to Believe in Christ viz. General Proclamation p. 402. Special invitations p. 405. Entreaties p. 406. Commands p. 408. Threatnings p. 409 To Believe is to come to Christ p. * 350 It is exprest by Hungring and Thirsting p. * 372 A Believers case like the Beggars p. * 376 A true Believer distinguished from a Temporary 1. by the ground of his desires p. * 388. 2. by his desiring Grace as well as Mercy p. * 394 3. by his Love to God p. * 395 A Believers priviledge p. * 456 C. GOd Calls sinners to Christ by five words p. 402 Christ's equality with God p. 360. It renders his Humiliation the greater and more meritorious p. 361 Christ's Humiliation the extent degrees and particulars of it p. 363 371 372. Part of his Humiliation to be Gods Servant p. 365. He was a Serant on earth in respect of men p. 367. used and valued at the rate of a bond-man p 368 Christ's sufferings the more meritorious because voluntary p. 374. Christ's Active Obedience in the course of his life p. 375. his Humiliation and sufferings from his Conception to his death described p. 379. c. Christ's death described