Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n
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A42912
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Godliness no friend to rebellion, or enemy to civil government Being the substance of a sermon occasionally preached at Great Yarmouth, Octob. 25. 1673. By a lover of peace and truth.
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Lover of peace and truth.
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1674
(1674)
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Wing G933F; ESTC R215817
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19,698
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39
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our earth that they also may sanctifie his great Name aright 3. A third Observation or Truth which seemed to be upon the heart of our Darius here is That as God only can bless us so God will be worshipt of us and sought to by Prayer for those blessings we stand in need of 'T is true God can bless us without our asking but he will be sanctified in the way of his dispensations There is no rational expectance to be had of God's blessings but in the way which himself hath set and appointed viz. the way of Prayer the Heathens were much convinced of this that no good thing could be obtained of their Gods but by Sacrifice which as we have shewed was a Rite of Invocation or Prayer therefore in all their solemn attempts and motions still they began with Sacrifice imploring their Gods to be propitious to their designs and give success to their noble and high enterprises And if the light of Nature evidence so much Religion and regard to God How much more should Christian Religion teach us to seek God in all our undertakings and concernments relating to our private or the publike affairs of the Nation For though God's mind is always inclined through free Grace to do good to mankind yet for the honour of his Name it shall be in a way of sanctifying his Ordinances and Appointments therefore says the Apostle Let your requests be made known to God not as if God needed our relation or discovery of our wants to him No he knows our wants before we ask but by our asking of God we declare our dependance upon him and recognize or acknowledge his Sovereignty over us nor do our Prayers make a change in the Counsels and purposes of God but they many times make a change in our minds when thereby our hearts are wrought to be more humble in patience and submission more believing in quieting our minds in resting upon the Promises of God's Grace for God hath annexed great promises of good to those that call upon him Call upon me says he in the day of trouble and I will hear you for your Nation for your families or as we have it in 1 Chronicles 17.14 If my people which are called by my Name shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and return from their wicked ways then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land So that the great and good things which God hath promised are still with reference to the way of Prayer therefore Jeremiah 29. verse 11. saith the Lord by his Prophet For I know the thoughts that I think towards you saith the Lord thoughts of peace and not of evil to give you an expected end then shall you call upon me and you shall go and pray to me and I will hearken to you When you would have an end of wars the way is to go to God by Prayer for God will be sought to whatever his thoughts are that in every thing his Name may be honoured Vse Now for Use This shews the Holiness of Prayer how much it tends to God's Honour that his Creatures do in all the affairs of their life commit and commend themselves to God by Prayer As also it shews the usefulness of Prayer to us How great a help it is either to our affairs or our mind in all our streights This is the golden Key that unlocks the Treasury of Gods Alsufficiencie and gives us to see that there are more with us than against us this is the Bucket that fetches up water of life in the wilderness of our extremities and necessities and brings relief and refreshment to the mind of man when nothing else will quiet his spirit this will Oh! then roul all your burdens upon the Lord the burden of national Affairs of family affairs or of your particular concernments which will answer one end of afflictions for when God sends a Famine or Plague or War or any other disturbance upon a Nation or People it is that we might seek unto God who stands ready to be entreated by a Reforming people he waits that he might be gracious to such a people who observe every Call of God to duty and rightly interpret every Voice to its proper end and intendment Of Judgments to a servent praying and striving with God to remove them Of Sin to humiliation and beseeching God to divert his impending wrath and prevent the ruine of the Nation Of the want of this God complained Ezek. 22. ver 29 30. The people of the Land have used oppression and exercised robbery and have vexed the poor and needy yea they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully and I sought for a man among them to stand in the gap before me for the Land but I found none See what follows Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath their own way have I recompensed upon their head saith the Lord. So that when the voice of injustice and wickedness cried against Israel because none was found to plead with God Oh! how ill it went with them Sin opens a gap for a flood of wrath to break in upon a people and when a Voice of Atheism Prophaness and unparallel'd Impieties are heard in our Land what but a way of Prayer and humiliation can produce any security for the Nation Oh! then seek to the Lord that he would purge the Land in Mercy not in Judgment Let not the Lord say I sought for a man to stand in the gap and turn away my wrath from England and found none Think of this you that live without Prayer in whose Family the Voice of Prayer is not heard How little do you serve the Publike good of the Nation Whom doth God threaten with his fury but the Families that call'd not on his Name How will the men of Nineveh rise up in Judgment against such a Generation who when they heard but the threatnings of wrath fell to praying and fasting Jonah 3. verse 5. So the people of Nineveh believed God and proclaimed a Fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest of them to the least And in ver 8. Let man and beast be covered with sackcloth and cry mightily to God yea let them turn every one from his evil way and from the iniquity that is in their hands And verse 9. For who can tell if God will turn and repent and turn away from his fierce anger and we perish not Observe what eminent success they found in the way of God as verse 10. And God saw their works that they turned from their evil ways and God repented of the evil that he had said he would do to them and did it not This and what else is written is written for our instruction and what cause shall we have to be silent for ever before the Lord if after all smitings and admonitions past or present troubles we turn not to
him 2. Secondly Let it invite you all this day that are out of Christ to come in and accept of him and his ways this priviledge and honor will one day be considerable to you to which you can never attain but by espousing Christ his interest ways by Faith 3. Thirdly Then you that have an interest in God and acceptance through Christ improve it at the Throne of Grace for the King and all that are in Authority who knows what Judgments you may divert what blessings you may draw down upon the Nation Luther was so great an admirer of Prayer that he almost called it Omnipotent Prayer is not for a private use only but for a publike good As Trading men use their Treasures for advantage and gain to themselves and others so do you improve your Grace and heavenly Interest so as the Nation may fare the better for you by the fervencie and powerfulness of your Prayers for the King Parliament and those that have lawful Authority in their hands let it appear who is your Father of what Family and of what spirit ye are that ye may give a proof to the world of the Divinity of those Principles and Perswasions you adhere to so strictly Thus God's people in all former times have done So Jechonias in his Captive state caused a Collection of money to be made and sent it to Jerusalem with a Letter saying We have sent you money to buy sacrifices of meat-offerings and drink-offerings and sweet odours that ye may offer them upon the Altar that is at Jerusalem and pray for the life of Nebuchadnezzar and for the life of Belteshazzar his son that their days on earth may be as the days of Heaven Thus he seemed to approve the Divinity and Innocencie of that Religion they professed which however it differed from or contradicted the Babylonish Idolatry yet was not inconsistent with but useful to their Civil State and Government And Cyprian being accused of Rebellion makes this the proof his innocencie saying How can that be for the world knows that we pray for the King and the welfare of his Government So Tertullian in his Apology for the Christians in his time gives this as a proof that the Christian Religion was a holy and peaceable Religion for saith he in our Prayers we seek God for the life of the Emperour for his prosperous state and reign that God would give him a quiet house wise Councellors and valiant Souldiers And how agreeable is this to the Doctrine of the Scriptures mentioned before A duty not only acceptable to Governours but also to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Oh! then pray and cry earnestly to God for those that are over us That in their peace ye may have peace and that under them ye may lead a quiet life in all godliness and honesty 4. Vse Fourthly Then be not offended at reproaches and scorns you meet withal in the ways of God If God will thus and otherwise honour his people do you think that men can dishonour you Indeed if things and persons were to be accounted as the world judgeth of them then the most holy ones and ways are the most vile and abominable yea the off-scouring of all things but God speaks otherwise of you and of his ways to which we ought to attend and bear our selves upon and happy are they who are not offended at the ways of God whatever they meet with from men yea when they speak all manner of evil against you falsly for Christs sake for so have the most eminent Servants of God fared in the world who yet were of more value with God than thousands of others for of such only in all times of difficulties God hath been entreated yea God hath and oft doth bring it about in his Providence that the world doth own and acknowledge the worth of a godly state and priviledge of a holy man and much desires that happiness namely when he inflicts terrors upon a wicked man either of death or hell How doth he then bless the state of the Righteous what would he not give to be in the state of a godly and holy man to be assured of the pardon of his sins of the everlasting love of God to his Soul How doth he condemn and curse his evil life and wicked ways and call for the Prayer of the righteous or of those that fear God that they may prevail with God for him as we have in Job 33. verse 21 22. His flesh is consumed his bones that were not seen stick out his Soul draweth near to the grave and his life to the destroyers If there be a messenger with him an Interpreter one among a thousand to shew unto man his uprightness then he is gratious unto him and saith Deliver him from going down to the pit Then Oh pray that God would shew mercy to pardon his sin to save his Soul to deliver him from eternal torments Thus many times when God besets even a wicked man with terrors and hath him as Balaam betwixt two walls then his language is Let me die the death of the righteous and let my later end be like his This God doth that he might raise the price and value of his Children in the world and honour them even in the eyes of men who are careless of his Honour and Glory 5. Lastly By way of Use then I beseech you that fear God that profess strictness of Principles and Perswasions differing in some things from the way of others that ye will so walk and behave your selves in all holiness of Conversation that you may evidence to the world the holiness and harmlesness of your differing Imaginations and ways Consider what is that which hath made every Age so backward to allow any Reformation or change relating to Religious worship but a secret jealousie that it would tend to innovate or disturb the Peace Civil Government of the Nation Certainly Christianity in the highest profession and practice of it did never truly prejudice the affairs of the world and if any in any Age have under that badge profession done or acted any thing injurious to Government or Governours it is not from the tendencie and conduct of Christian Principles but from the fury and misleading of their own lusts and carnal Interests Therefore I beseech you so to walk as to null and make void the common accusations against holiness and stop the mouths of unreasonable Enemies and Accusers To be so gratious in word and action so righteous just humble patient self-denying giving up your selves to the obedience of the Truth not minding this world so much as the great Concernments of Eternity that you may be accounted a people worthy of your Christian Profession and of the name of holiness and purity that is upon you worthy of your Gospel liberty the most desirable blessing of your life and worthy to be called on for Prayer and Supplications for the afflicted for the Nation yea for the life of the King and for the prosperity of the People FINIS