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
A97125	God iudging among the gods. Opened in a sermon before the Honourable House of Commons assembled in Parliament, upon the solemn day of monethly fast, March 26. 1645. / By Iohn Ward, minister of the gospel in Ipswich, and a member of the Assembly of Divines.	Ward, John, d. 1665.	1645 (1645)	Wing W773; Thomason E279_5; ESTC R200028	47,681	68

stirre up your minds by way of remembrance that the sorrows of a travelling woman are yet upon us and we stay still in the place of the breaking forth of children what ever Balme or Physician there may be amongst us the health of the Nation is not recovered and whether the wound and the bruise be incurable as refusing to be healed God knoweth Though the Lord hath revived his worke of late very miraculously beyond all expectation and from the beginning hitherto hath mingled mercy with judgement yet one cannot fore-see any thing in the signes of the times whereby we may be able to fore-tell the end of the Lord at least as to the season and manner of it The cloud still hangs and gathers rather then wasteth and there is a sound of abundance of wrath it is not an easie thing to discerne whether the Lord will debate with us in the sending forth of the rod or sword and stay the rough wind in the day of the East-wind that is chastise in measure moderate the punishment not coming to a rigorous account but use the severity of a Father not of a Iudge and give us repentance and remission of sinnes or whether he hath decreed a Consumption and will bring an overflowing scourge and his eye not pity nor spare but destroy us til there be no remnant nor escaping Whether he be striving with us as with the old world before the generall Deluge or carrying on his worke as with Israel in the wildernesse preparing a mercy for posteritie after us the meane while resolved to fill all the earth with his glory in the destruction of the present generation that see his wonders yet tempt him daily murmure against him grieve his Spirit and harden their hearts through unbelief or whether he wil yet have mercy upon England and redeeme us through his greatnesse for his owne Names sake If we looke upwards we may see a filthy steame of noysome sinnes going up unto heaven as the smoake over some great Citie and we may behold the hand of the Lord stretched out still if downward the provocation is not abated but multiplied and aggravated we are like the pot whose scumme is in it whose scumme is not gone out of it there is lewdnesse in the filthinesse of the Land Because God hath purged it and it is not purged he hath smitten it and they have not grieved he hath consumed them but they have refused to receive correction and to returne We are growne deafe at the terrours of Gods judgements and sleep under the sparklings of his fury The providences of God are wrested though they be not very hard to be understood and many abuse them as they doe the Scriptures to the destruction of themselves and others the grace of God is received in vaine or rather turned into wantonnesse the yoake of Ceremonies and the tyrannie of Prelacy hath beene removed and it is free to preach and professe according to the Gospel and this libertie is abused to loosenesse profanenesse and insolencie that which is or should be the better part of the Land that pretends to religion and hath the face or name of the Church it is like a piece of ground that hath beene stirred by the Plough and the tils-man doth not follow on to give it more earths in due season it runs out in weeds and baggage or as a field which is driven and the heart of it worne out what ever seed is cast in it returnes nothing but Carlock and such like raffe all manner Sectaries creepe forth and multiplie as frogs and flies and vermine in the Spring and there is variance hatred emulation wrath strife sedition heresies envyings revilings and the like Every where there is mingled a perversenesse of spirit like the Prophets bottles we are filled with drunkennesse and dash one against another lying spirits goe forth to deceive and prevaile and make us mad upon our owne destruction As to the civill warre it is just now as of old in the contention betweene Vitellius and Vespasian where families were divided and brother fought against brother and father against sonne every man cryed out of the unnaturalnesse of the thing but every man went on still to doe it As to the differences and divisions about matters of Religion they are raised and fomented and maintained with great animositie and of boasting of new light and knowledge but with little or no charitie or meeknesse of wisdome they that pretend for conscience sake to separate from our ordinarie assemblies and keepe their distance from their members yet will not be perswaded to divide themselves and stand aside from those routs of Libertines whom they cannot but condemne in their judgements or declare distinctly openly wherin they dissent from them as from others but all meete in one third and militate under one colours most apparently striving for victorie not for truth and driving a designe by party and faction while they would be thought to set up the Kingdome of Christ the meane while they give overt scandall and offence to them that are without and divide the Church and Kingdome within it selfe and as the Congregations of naughty men of old the Tabernacles of Edom and the Ishmaelites of Moab and the Haggarens Gebal and Ammon and Amalek they have holpen the common Adversarie and troubled and retarded the Reformation Alas for the day for the distemper and the distraction is great and there wanteth either power or wisdome or will to remedie or suppresse these mischefes and their fautors Now though we can tell where the fault lieth and whence all this evill ariseth as we may sometimes see from what dunghill or low moorish ground the vapour ascends which afterwards becomes a mist a fogge or a cloud and is dissolved in a storme though we see not the influence of heaven in the exhalation yet because by faith we understand that this cometh of the Lord that he may be known by the iudgements which he executeth We must therefore make our peace with God and returne unto the Lord and heare what he speakes by his former Prophets and follow the light and direction of his word if ever we will have helpe and deliverance or be hid in the times of trouble Let us then leave quarelling and judging and censuring one another this is our folly our disease our mischiefe let us look up to God and judge our selves and make hast and delay not to turne our feete into the waies of his Testimonies We have many base feares and cares and projects wherewith we disquiet our selves it were our wisdome and would be our safetie to cease from men and feare the Lord and betake our selves to him While the State is diligent in finding out the troublers of our Israel and bringing delinquents to punishment let us search our owne hearts and lives and make enquiry after our owne iniquities accuse arraigne condemne our selves and cast out the abominable thing