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	lord_n	sin_n	25,125	5	5.0495	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26807	A short description of the blessed place and state of the saints above in a discourse upon the words of Our Blessed Saviour, John XIV, 2, in my father's house are many mansions, if it were not so, I would have told you, I go to prepare a place for you / by William Bates.	Bates, William, 1625-1699.	1687 (1687)	Wing B1125; ESTC R25866	33,196	119

his Letter to the King of Tyre desiring his Assistance Behold I build an House to the Name of the Lord my God to dedicate it to him and to burn before him sweet Incense and for the continual Shewbread and for the burnt-Offerings morning and evening on the Sabbaths and on the new Moons and on the solemn Feasts of the Lord our God And we read at the Dedication of Solomon's Temple that a suddain thick Cloud obscur'd the Air a sign of God's descending and acceptance whose invisible Majesty was veiled under it and whether from that Sacred Darkness or fear at the unexpected Miracle the Priests could not minister because of the Cloud The Sacrifices Musick and all the Temple-Service was interrupted But the Temple built with Hands and all its pompous Service was but an imperfect mutable Shadow of the Holy Temple Above where God exhibits his Sacred Presence not in a dark Vapour but in the richest Beams of Glory and wherein that most pure Spirit is worship'd in Spirit and Truth for ever The Saints are a Royal Priesthood to God in a state of Eminency and separation from the rest of the World They now offer up the Sacrifice of Praise and the sacred Incense of Prayer infinitely more pleasing to God than all the Sacrifice of Beasts and the most precious Gums and Aromatick Spices that with their sweet Smoak perfum'd the Temple But in the Holy of Holies Above where no defiled thing can enter they perform Divine Service in a Divine manner The perfect Rest in Heaven is a Sabbath's Rest wherein our fervent Affections the Springs of Activity are in their powerful Exercise upon God Here our faint Earth clogs our ascending Affections and such is the tender Indulgence of our Heavenly Father that when the Spirit is willing tho the Flesh be weak he pardons and accepts us But there our Bodies become Spiritual qualified for the Exercises of Heaven and all our Powers are in a holy Heat and Rapture admiring and praising the blessed God Here the Saints often retire from the World to worship the Divine Majesty in their Closets and the secrecy of the Duty is an Argument of the Sincerity They with more freedom pour forth their Souls into his Bosom and he insinuates the gracious acceptance of their Requests But the noblest elevation of the Affections is in communion with all the Saints and Angels above The ardent Seraphims were inflamed crying one to another Holy Holy Holy is the Lord of Hosts the whole Earth is full of his Glory Here there must be some interval between the solemn Acts of Worship the Circumstances of the present State require it but in the Heavenly Sanctuary 't is their continual work and delight to celebrate the high Praises of God They are before his Throne and serve him day and night in his Temple The Inhabitants of Arabia the Happy burn for their common uses those Aromatick Trees that produce Myrrh and precious Balm of which the Sacred Incense was compounded And 't is no wonder because those Trees grow common in their Country that is open to the most favourable Aspects of the Heavens and the strongest heat of the Sun But to our Countries how little of those rich Perfumes are brought And such is the Comparison between the Praises of the Angels and the glorified Saints and ours here below They are always in the noblest Work excited by the highest Motives They are always under the direct Beams of God's Favour which are vigorously reflected in their Praises All their Felicity is to contemplate his excellent Perfections all their Pleasure to love him all their Glory to obey him Their affectionate Praises are renewed without intermission because the Divine Favours are renewed every moment There is a perpetual circulation of Graces from the blessed Creator and Thanksgivings from the happy Creature All their joyful Affections all their solemn Thoughts and Reflections are terminated in that great and glorious Object The Prophet declares their holy Employment They continually speak of the glorious Honour of his Majesty and of his wondrous Works They speak of the Might of his terrible Acts and they declare his Goodness and sing of his Righteousness The Lord is gracious and full of compassion slow to anger and of great Mercy The Lord is good to all and his tender Mercies are over all his Works All thy Works praise thee O Lord and thy Saints bless thee They speak of the Glory of thy Kingdom and talk of thy Power Thy Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom and thy Dominion endures through all Generations They never cease to love and admire and therefore never cease to praise him Their Hearts are eternally inflam'd and their Mouths eternally open'd to glorify him But with the highest veneration they adore his Mercy that Perfection that is the special Glory the dearest delight of God that which is the supreme of all the glorious Attributes in our Redemption that will be the principal Argument of their Praises They sing of the Mercies of the Lord for ever that Mercy that chose them from Everlasting that Mercy that in such an admirable manner conducted them through the World that never left them but most wisely order'd all things below in relation to their future Happiness that Mercy that crowns them with Life and Immortality when the reprobate World feel the most terrible Effects of revenging Justice We read of the Jews after their Captivity upon their finishing the Temple that with a transport of Joy they cried Grace Grace when God who is the Author of our Salvation shall have finish'd it with what a sweet consent shall we celebrate his sacred Praises Mercy upon Mercy all is Mercy Happy Exercise Heaven is a State of Joy and Thankfulness Blessed are those that are in thy house they always praise thee 4. The delightfulness of this Place 'T is call'd Paradise by our Saviour He promises the penitent Thief the Companion of his Cross To day shalt thou be with me in Paradise Paradise was a Garden planted by immortal Hands to be the Habitation of Adam in his state of original Righteousness when the Favourite of Heaven it was the Beauty and Delight the Flower of the World and with abundance and variety exceedingly satisfied all the desires of Life 't was water'd with four Rivers to make it always pleasant and fruitful But the Celestial Paradise as much excels it in Beauty and Pleasantness as in its sublime situation and the joyful satisfaction of the Soul in communion with God and the blessed Society there infinitely excels all the innocent Delights of the natural Life Heaven is a state of pure full and unfading Joy The Joy of the Blessed is not mixt with things that may corrupt its excellence There is an absolute exemption from all Evils God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes and there shall be no more death neither sorrow nor crying neither shall there be any more pain The

God than that a guilty Sinner should be reconciled to him As supposing the revival of a Phoenix from its Ashes 't is more easily conceivable that it should take its flight upwards which is the natural Motion of a living Bird than that it should be restor'd to Life in such a miraculous manner In short Heaven is a free Gift to us but dearly bought by our Saviour 't is the Gift of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. He had a double Title to Heaven as the Son of God he was Heir of his Kingdom this Title is incommunicably his own and he acquir'd it by his meritorious Sufferings This he imparts to Believers who enter into Heaven by the new and living Way which he consecrated for them through his Flesh. 2. He ascended into Heaven to prepare a Place for us The Actions of our Saviour may be considered two ways either as terminated in himself or with a relative respect to Believers as the Head of the Church His Resurrection was not meerly Personal but hath an operative Force in raising all the Members of his Mystical Body As David's subduing Goliah was not his own personal Victory simply but was extended in its happy Consequences to all his Nation for in him as their Champion the Army of Israel overcame the Philistims Jesus Christ as Head of the Church hath broken the Dominion of Death and by virtue of his Conquest the Grave shall restore the Saints at the general Resurrection And his Ascension was not a personal Act purely to obtain his own Right but as our Forerunner he is enter'd for us into Heaven As the High Priest in his majestick mysterious Habit with the Names of the Children of Israel upon his Breast enter'd into the Holy of Holies so Jesus Christ enter'd into the Eternal Sanctuary as our Representer to take possession of it for us The Language of Despair is silenc'd for ever Who shall ascend up to Heaven to raise us thither Christ is lifted up to the highest Glory and will draw all his People after him The first Adam was from the Earth Earthly but Christ is the Lord from Heaven and is return'd to Heaven and shall Earth destroy what Heaven cannot restore The Apostle tells us That Believers sit with Christ in Heavenly Places that is as he is the Head of that Sacred Society his Church and his Promise is exprest To him that overcomes will I grant personally to sit with me in my Throne even as I also am set down with my Father in his Throne After victorious Obedience the Saints shall be taken into Soveraign Alliance with Christ and reign for ever In short his excellent Merit is the Foundation of our glorious Hope and his prevailing Intercession introduces us into actual Possession He that purchas'd Heaven disposes of it by his last Will thus he addrest to his Father immediately before his Death Father I will that those whom thou hast given me be with me where I am that they may see my Glory And he has Power to accomplish his own Testament What he hath done already for Believers is an uncontroulable Evidence and invincible Assurance of what he hath promised There is a vaster distance between the Deity and Misery than between Man and the Heavenly Glory For the Sun to go backwards ten Degrees was miraculous and astonishing but to ascend the Horizon is according to natural Order The abasement of the Son of God was stupendious but his advancement to the highest Glory is most becoming his Divine Relation and infinitely due to his exuberant Merits and a firm Foundation of Hope that all his redeemed Saints shall be where he is and be conform'd to him in all supernatural Divine Excellencies of Soul and Body for ever The Application 1. LET us adore the unconceivable Love of God who hath prepar'd such a Place of Joy and Glory for his Children when they leave the World The Father prepar'd it in his Decree from Eternity and by his creating Power from the Foundation of the World and we are assur'd 't is such a Place and State as fully answers the Design of God's Love that is to make a reasonable Creature as happy as 't is capable to be When Man was turn'd Rebel against his Creator when so chang'd from the Divine Resemblance imprest at first upon him into the disgraceful likeness of the Beasts that perish as the Psalmist justly reproaches him then to pardon us and prefer us to restore us to his Favour and Image and the nearest communion with himself in his Palace above is such an astonishing Mercy as is only proper to God who is Love And the Love of our Redeemer is equally admirable when we were expell'd Paradise he makes a reentry for us and intercepts the stroke of the flaming Sword that had destroy'd us We neither know the depth of our Misery from whence we are freed nor the heighth of Glory to which we are rais'd by our Redeemer In what Heart but that of the Son of God could ever such compassion and charity be conceiv'd He took our Flesh to Heaven to prepare it for us and interchangeably left his Spirit on Earth to prepare us for Heaven How just is the solemn and terrible denunciation of the Apostle He that loves not the Lord Jesus Christ let him be Anathema Maranatha And how are we obliged to God for the blessed and glorious Gospel that infinitely excels all humane Books in the matter it contains the everlasting Happiness of Man and the certain way to obtain it and in the manner of conveying those great and Sacred Truths by Divine Revelation And what an Argument of thankfulness is it to consider the distinguishing Grace of God that when the most are so blind in the clear Light of the Gospel as not to discover the lustre of the Pearl of Price and so immers'd in Vanities as to disrelish Heavenly Joys that he is pleased to inlighten the Eyes of our Mind that we may know what is the Hope of his Calling and what the Riches of the Glory of his Inheritance in the Saints The number of Fools that understand not the Price that is put into their Hands in comparison of the truly Wise is greater than of common Stones that lie in the Mire of the Streets to precious Stones of the highest value Diamonds and Rubies How affectionately should we give thanks to the Father who has made us meet for the Inheritance of the Saints in Light But we have such Allays by the Relicks of Carnality that without the Heavenly Spirit 's inspiring our cold Earth we shall never be ardent and lively in the Praises of our Blessed Benefactor Even David himself was fain to call upon his Soul with repeated fervency and excite every Faculty within him to bless the Lord who had forgiven his Iniquities and redeem'd his Life from destraction and crown'd him with loving Kindness and tender Mercies 2. From hence we may infer the great Guilt of

Unbelievers in the Christian Church and such are all those who implicitly despise and reject Heaven for the present World This will aggravate the Sin and Sentence of the Carnal and Worldly that they despise such glorious Realities for empty Vanities Desperate Gamesters that venture a Kingdom at every Throw What blindness of Mind or rather perversness of Heart is it that Men pursue with their best strength and desires the fading and false World and slight Heaven an inestimable and everlasting Treasure Certainly when Death shall open their Eyes they will have chang'd thoughts of Things 'T is related by a wise Historian That a Citizen pleaded his own Cause of great moment before Philip King of Macedon who slept during the Plea and a little after pass'd an unrighteous Judgment against him the injur'd Person reply'd I appeal from your Sentence A word that seem'd so presumptuous to an Independent Soveraign that with indignation the King asked him To whom he appeal'd He answered From the King sleeping to the King waking Thus Men who are led by Sense are asleep whilst the Cause of infinite Concernment eternal Salvation is faithfully pleaded by the Advocates of their Souls and they determine for the Interest of the Flesh against the Spirit but their waking Thoughts will discover the unrighteousness of their carnal Judgment In the next State how will they with restless Anguish remember their foolish Bargain to exchange an everlasting Treasure for fading Toys We may a little conjecture the Torments of the Damn'd by the Terrors of the Dying then the enlightned guilty Conscience makes them cry out O that we had been wise so to use the World that we might enjoy God! O that we had been so careful to have obtain'd an Interest in Heaven as we have been to gain the Earth Then the stinging Remorse begins that shall never end 3. Let us make it our fixed Aim our zealous constant Endeavour to secure our Title to this heavenly Inheritance Let Eternity be our Counseller and guide our Choice Let us not build our Felicity on the Sand but on the Rock that cannot be shaken Such is the excellent Goodness of God reveal'd in the Gospel that every Person that sincerely and regularly seeks Heaven shall obtain it and no Person shall be depriv'd of it but for his wilful neglect Now our Blessed Saviour who open'd the Eternal Kingdom has declar'd to us upon what terms it may be obtain'd in his conference with Nicodemus Verily verily I say unto thee Except a Man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God Natural Birth and Accomplishments tho never so high and noble are of no advantage there The degeneracy of Man from his Primitive Holiness makes him both unworthy and uncapable of having a right or possession of Heaven without a Divine Change a Spiritual Regeneration The supernatural Inheritance is annext to the being born of God that is the receiving a Principle of Life and Actions suitable to the Life of God in universal Holiness and Righteousness 'T is not a ground of Title to Heaven that we have a natural alliance to God as the Father of Spirits in the first Creation but we must be his Off-spring by a new and more excellent Creation according to our Saviour's words That which is born of the Spirit is Spirit We must be renewed in the Spirit of our Minds spiritualiz'd in our Affections before we can obtain an interest in his Love which was forfeited by our Rebellion and consequently in his Kingdom Adoption into God's Family and the Line of Heaven is always in conjunction with the renovation of the Divine Nature and Image in us The Holy Spirit witnesses with our Spirits that we are the Children of God but his witnessing is always consequent to his working in us those Graces that constitute us to be the Children of God an humble Fear to offend him a Care to please him a Zeal for his Glory delight in Communion with him resignation to his Will and Wisdom trust on his Fatherly Love and a desire to be in his Blessed Presence By the discovery of these filial Affections our Divine Relation is made sure The Apostle infers If Sons then Heirs Holiness is the infallible Evidence of Election for the Vessels of Mercy are prepar'd by Holiness for Glory the Seal of Adoption whereby God's Children are distinguish'd from the World and the Earnest of their Inheritance for Heaven is a blissful State of Purity and the Graces with the Comforts of the Spirit are the beginnings of it here 'T is further to be observ'd that our right in the Heavenly Inheritance depends upon our union with Christ. He instates his Members in the same Relation with himself to God Thus he declares to his Disciples I ascend to my Father and your Father to my God and your God Christ's Relation hath precedency in Point of Dignity and Causality and he derives a Right to us in his Father's House We are Coheirs with Christ. Now 't is universally and necessarily true what the Apostle saith Whoever is in Christ is a new Creature For our vital Union with him is by the Sanctifying Spirit on Christ's part and by Faith and Love on our part Briefly Without Holiness no Man shall see God The Exclusion is absolute and universal of all unsanctified Persons 'T is impossible God should admit them into Heaven for the Rights of Justice are inviolable we must come to Christ's Tribunal before we come to his Throne We must come to God the Judg of all before we are admitted into the number of Just Men made perfect According to our Works the Reward will be and Men are uncapable of enjoying Heaven without Holiness The Wisdom of God appears in that the various sorts of Creatures live in the Elements from which they were produc'd and have Natures suitable to the Places of their Residence The Beasts that were form'd from the Earth walk and rest there the Birds and Fishes that were produc'd out of the Waters the one sort flies in the Air that is rarefied Water the other swim in Water that is the thickest Air and that Wisdom more evidently appears in suiting the everlasting States of Men to their moral Dispositions Thus we must be born from above if we would joyfully live above The Apostle tells us That Flesh and Blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of Heaven The natural Body must be spiritualiz'd and invested with Celestial Qualities before it can enter into that Glorious Place and the Reason is more strong that earthly sensual Souls can never enter into Heaven there being an absolute Contrariety and Opposition between the habitual constitution of such and that place and state they must be Holy and Heavenly to be prepar'd for the Divine Presence and to converse with the purified Assembly Above 'till they are wrought for that blessed End cleansed and purified and endued with Holy Qualities till they are made meet they cannot possess the