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	pardon_v	sin_n	11,735	5	5.4658	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A13111	The looking-glasse of schisme wherein by a briefe and true narration of the execrable murders, done by Enoch ap Evan, a downe-right separatist, on the bodies of his mother and brother, with the cause mooving him thereunto, the disobedience of that sect, against royall majesty, and the lawes of our Church is plainly set forth. By Peter Studley, Master of Arts, and minister of Gods Word, in Shrevvsbury.	Studley, Peter, 1587 or 8-1648.	1634 (1634)	STC 23403; ESTC S117932	73,005	313

hold of CHRIST for all this sinne of mine Min. Our LORD IESUS CHRIST is indeed the true the only the immoveable foundation of the Church and children of GOD But he is to be apprehended and applied to the soules of Christian men by pietie vertue and the constant feare of GOD and not by every idle imagination and fleeting fancie which springs up in the minds of carnall men But tell mee is our LORD CHRIST in your power to bee held or let go● at your pleasure His owne words are these c Ioh. 6.44 No man com●●●● unto 〈◊〉 except the Father who hath sent me draw him But undoubtedly GOD the Father doth draw His children to His SONNE CHRIST IESUS by faith and that faith workes in their hearts by love d Gal. 5.6 But Love and Murder are qualities of contrary nature each unto other they cannot actually subsist and have being in one and the same heart at one and the same time For the repugnancie and contrariety of their natures doth mainely labour to destroy and extinguish each other If the true faith cannot have being without pure Love its gracious and inseparable companion by what gift or grace within you doe you thinke to lay hold on and retaine our LORD IESUS CHRIST unto your selfe Enoch I hope by my repentance to recover my faith againe Min. Your sect is frequen● and much in talking of Faith which makes the Papists in●● proud scorne to call Protestants Soli-fidians Tell me 〈◊〉 you can What is faith whereof you so much presume Enoch I thinke faith is to trust in GOD for salvation Min. To trust in GOD for salvation is one principall act and practice of the Nature of Faith as it stands in relation to GOD's mercy and his promises But as Faith is a supernaturall Qualitie wrought into mans soule by GOD's Spirit it hath many more actions and operations than only affiance in the Love and Mercy of GOD. For true Faith purifies the hearts of all those who are endued therewith It begets Humilitie of heart unity peace 1 Ioh. 3.3 and love with all true beleevers Acts 4.32 But none of all these vertues have any affinity or agreement with your facts of cruell murder 1 Pet. 1.22 For if wee search all the volume of the sacred Bible and examine the ancient records of Infidels and Heathens No fact of man in any age may stand parallel with this of yours And therefore flatter not your selfe with a vaine opinion of the truth or the strength of your faith for had true faith been of any vertue and force in any faculty of your soule either in your understanding to guide your cogitations or in your will to rectifie your resolutions and actions you had never so fearfully and desperately fallen into these barbarous murders Enoch Doe you thinke then that there is no meanes or way left for me to recover GOD's favour and the pardon of these great and crying sinnes Min. Yes upon your deepe Humiliation and repentance undoubtedly GOD will pardon your facts stoppe the crie of bloud and receive you to grace and mercy Now the ground-worke of repentance for a man in your case is first to cast off all flattering and deluding conceit of your imaginary faith 2. To labour to bee convinced in your soule that your facts were wrought and acted by the Immediate presence of Satan within you 3 To Abhorre from the very heart and soule the things you have done 4. To powre out your soule continually to God in fervent and secret Prayer craving of His mercy to pardon your sinnes and to checke and restraine the malice power and prevailing of Satan against you 5. To cast away all presumptuous thoughts which you shall finde to spring up in your owne carnall heart and to be secretly conveighed into your minde by that infernall spirit These things if you shall carefully set your selfe to performe in singlenesse of heart GOD's promise is made and shall never be annulled At what time the wicked shall turne from his sinnes Ezek. 18.21 22. which hee hath committed and keepe all my Statutes and doe that which is lawfull and right he shall surely live hee shall not die But tell mee wherein differed you in opinion from your mother and brother Enoch Touching the Gesture at the Communion they would kneele and I would sit and bow my body Min. And did you for this very cause shed their bloud Enoch My wrath kindled for that cause only against my brother and in that wrath I slew him Min. Many persons in this Towne who have conferred with you are not of that opinion and do report other cause thereof Enoch Sir I told you I would confesse to you as unto CHRIST Himselfe as I hope to be pardoned of GOD I and my brother never differed nor disagreed in all our life but in that matter onely and in our difference therein I slew him Min. The Gesture of kneeling at the Communion is commanded by the Authority of our Soveraigne Lord the King with the assent of all the learned Bishops in our Land venerable for piety learning and vertue confirmed with the approbation and publike Testimony of both the Vniversities and the godly learned therein ratified by Act of Parliament And lastly obeyed by many thousands in this Land who neither want th● light of divine truth to direc●● them nor the true feare o● GOD to warrant their practice And thinke you of you● selfe that you are wiser o● more righteous than all these Enoch I should not doe so and with this answer hee ca● downe his countenance an● lifted up his hands Min. This spirituall pride● the fault of all your sect f●● no sooner doe any of you begin to looke toward Sion an● in your owne conceits to reli●● the things of GOD. but i●● stantly you so over-value you● owne small worthes that 〈◊〉 the learning and pietie in th● Kingdom is not able to equ●● your petty devotions eithe● for soundnesse of judgement truth of faith or uprightnesse of walking No doubt but we should have a jolly Church if you and your conceited companions had the new-moulding and rectifying of it Enoch I should not thinke so of my selfe And with this short reply he cast downe his countenance againe and lifted up his hands a very little Min. How came you at first to entertaine these opinions and to dislike the gestures of your betters for wisedome knowledge vertue and the true feare of GOD and constant integrity in all their wayes Have you got these itching toyish and vaine conceits by conference with any Ministers disaffected to peace and unitie Or were you privately perswaded thereto by some of your a● quaintance or have you hea● any Minister publikely to 〈◊〉 clare his dislike of the prese forme of government and ● this gesture in special or we●● you moved thereunto by 〈◊〉 example of any whose perse● you reverence for wisedo● and piety or have you by r●●ding any schismaticall

circumference of their own In-conformity But let them delude and flatter themselves in their Toyish Imaginations as long as they will and persist to affront Authoritie in the person of their Prince and the commaund of his Lawes It is my hope and confidence and I trust all good men concurre with me therein That as the Lord in mercy and holy love unto his Church among us hath given Pure Wisedome to his Anointed Vice-gerent to discover these obliquities and Impostures and also Royall courage to attempt the reformation and suppression thereof So he will also strengthen and uphold his Princely Arme in his proceedings therein till he have brought the same to a gratious and to a glorious perfection And then will this Church and Kingdome know both in the generall body therof and also more specially in these Non-conformists theselves both Ecclesiasticall and Secular when their eyes are opened to behold their owne errours That they have beene long deteyned and deluded in adoring vaine fantasies not worth the regarding And then they will also blesse and magnifie the LORD'S great mercies and returne the Tribute of thankfull and of loyal hearts to their gratious Sovereigne by whose pious care so laudable and glorious a work hath beene prospered and atchieved For though now errors in their soules do dimme darken and even blinde the eye of their Iudgements and not suffer them with the cleere light of sanctified Reason to behold this wholesome and profitable truth shine forth unto them Namely That Vnitie and Peace betweene the Prince and his People and with all the People mutually among themselves are the true and proper glory of Earthly Kingdomes typically figuring the celestial Vnity in blessednes and glory in the Triumphant Church of GOD And that Schisme Division of any people into variety of opinions and affections is the bane and subversion of the Tranquillity of a Church Nation resembling the confusions and perturbations of satans infernal regiment Then will they cleerely see to the infinite joy and comfort of their own soules that this disobedience to Royall Majesty and prudent lawes for things of indifferent nature is no more but a selfe-pleasing fantafie which every good man may verie well spare and yet remaine a faithfull sonne to GOD his Father a sound member of that particular Church wherein he was baptised and a loyall and obedient subject to the Majesty of that gratious Prince in whose Dition and Principality he first drew his native breath and being And if these men will but entertaine that one rule of our LORD and SAVIOUR IESUS CHRIST Matth. 11.28 Learne of me for I am meeke and lowly in heart and yee shall finde rest for your soule And by this rule wil strive to take downe the height of their owne elate and haughty spirits and humble themselves to submit to the wisedome of their King and State and to suspect their owne wisdomes as every wise man ought to doe surely then the things proposed unto them for obedience and the setling of uniformitie over the body of this Church and Kingdome will shortly be universally admitted and pleasingly entertained And when they have cast away that prejudicate and troublesome opinion which they have of the persons of the Bishops who for their wisdome piety gravity sincerity deserve all due respect of veneration to bee given unto them Then the blessed experience of the manifold commodities which accompany peace and unity will not onely prove an inward comfort to their soules but will also make them to bee greatly offended with themselves for their obstinate contumacie against their lawful Superiours when they shall cal to minde how long they have deprived themselves of so great a blessing as is Vnitie of Heart Minde and Iudgement by dividing themselves from the obedience of their spirituall Mother the Orthodox and pure Church of GOD in this Kingdome For in all humane matters and these of ceremonies are no other all sound knowledge and judgement is attained by experience which though it be said to be the Mistresse of fooles by shewing unto them and imprinting on their hearts their manifold errours yet she is no foolish mistresse but the best informer and reformer of our understandings and wills by which it pleaseth GOD to reduce from wandering His straying sheepe and gratiously confine them within His owne fold witnesse the wanton Prodigall who running riot from his father and from the true principles of knowledge in his owne soule never returned againe to GOD or to himselfe till sensible experience of his owne vanity had pinched him and made him as the Scriptures report 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Luke 15.17 to come home to himselfe by the gratious view of his errors directed thereunto by the Spirit of God And these Non-conformists whether Church-men or Lay-men they are no other but Wanton and Prodigall fugitives and Run-awayes from their spirituall Father the LORD who requires of us and them 1 Pet. 2.14 To submit our selves to every ordinance of men for the LORD'S sake And fugitives also they are from their Politike Father the King by rejecting his Authority given him by GOD. And till some few gentle stripes with the Rod of Princely power prove unto them as the famine did to the Prodigall open their eyes and give them sensible impression and experience of their sullen Pride and Vanity they wil never returne soundly to their GOD to their Prince to themselves but they will riotize in selfe-opinions and deluded imaginations to the hazard and endangering of their owne soules by incurring the wrath of God And for mine owne part I am perswaded that if all the Non-conformed Ministers in this Church were divided into foure equal parts three of them have never read any controversies of our Church-discipline but perhaps some of the railing Libels of Master Cartwright and his companions a part by themselves which passe underhand from man to man amongst them without the learned Antidots of contrary writings to expell the maligne poison and infection therof But these men looke only upon the practise of the times and seeing that to incline to this faction is a faire way of thriving both in reputation of credit with this sort of people and also in meanes of livelihood by private and underhand Benevolences Gratuities Contributions they are thereby inticed on to these disloyall and factious courses which in multitudes of Lay-persons of severall rankes and degrees is growne to a great height of strength and power And yet neither their multitudes nor their power so great but that wise men may discover in them that they are not persons of any courage to hold out opposition against Authority to the incurring of danger either to their persons or to their estates which cowardize of Spirit in persons otherwise of so high insolent and daring spirits as they are plainly convinceth the truth of the over-ruling hand of GOD'S power in all mens hearts and also pleadeth and acteth in their owne