Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
mercy_n	hear_v	lord_n	world_n	9,451	5	6.1102	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
B05844	Divine breathings: or, A pious soul thirsting after Christ	T. S. (Thomas Sherman); Perin, Christopher.	1671 (1671)	Wing S3388A; ESTC R184098	42,078	222

of Faith one smile of Christ one glance of Heaven one grape of Canaan one glimpse of my Crown of Glory yields more sweetness comfort and content than all the pleasures and delights the World affords the very gleaning of spiritual joy is better than the vintage of carnal delights Let no man then stand off for want of pleasures for here he shall not lose them only change them LIV. Meditat. SOlomon tryed many Conclusions but not one took but the last the fear of God Oh my Soul thou mayest tire thy self with varieties of Objects but none satisfies but this the fruition of thy God he only is the plenary and primary goodness he only is the efficient and sufficient fulness As it was said of manna that it was the delight of every pallate so it may be said of Jesus Christ that he is satisfaction to every soul Taste therefore and see how sweet the Lord is What 's the reason we wander after such variety of Creatures Because we cannot find sufficiency in one were one herb as virtual or one flower as delectable as the Collection we would never trouble our selves to gather many Take up then thy rest Oh my Soul in the chiefest and choicest good which comprehends all other goods Those golden rayes of goodness which lye scattered in the Creature are only to be found conjunctively in God Those pure ingredients which goe in to make up the highest excellency largest goodness fullest perfection are onely to be found collectively in him Knowest thou any thing is profitable delectable or desirable in the Creature Thou mayest see it in thy God find it in thy Christ Art thou captivated He is thy Redeemer Art thou wounded he is thy good Samaritan Art thou broken-hearted Go unto Christ and he will bind it up Art thou sick He is thy Physician Art thou persecuted He is thy refuge Art thou hungry or thirsty He is the living bread and the flowing stream Art thou weary He is thy rest Art thou in want or poverty He is an inexhaustible treasury Art thou in disgrace or contempt Why he is thy honour Art thou dull and heavy He is a quickning Spirit Would'st thou have grace He is the fountain Would'st thou have Heaven He is the way he shall guide thee by his counsel and after receive thee into glory Let that mans name therefore be written in the dust that leaves the flowing Fountain to quench his thirst at a broken Cistern Why should I tire my self to gather drops of honey from so many dying flowers when I can satisfie my self with streams of sweetness in the living Christ Therefore Creatures in this you and I must part for Christ out-bids you all LV. Meditat. A Christian may raise another Paradise here below may make a lower Heaven on Earth for this is life eternal to know thee and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent To know Christ in the evidence of his love revealed to us and Christ revealed in us is the very entrance of Heaven for what is the perfection of grace but the fulness of this knowledge And what is the consummation of glory but the blessedness of this fulness Therefore Lord be every day adding to my knowledge that so at my last day I may be perfect LVI Meditat. GOdly Sorrow like weeping Mary seeks Christ Saving Faith like wrestling Jacob finds and holds Christ Heavenly Love like the affectionate Spouse dwells with Christ here it brings him into the chambers of the Queen and hereafter Christ brings the loving Soul into the chamber of the King so that it is an eternal grace alwayes lodging in the bosome of Christ Lord thou art the desire of my soul Oh that I could seek thee find and love thee that I may for ever enjoy thee LVII Meditat. THe stream of sorrow like waters ascends no higher than the spring from whence it came We know that sin gives two bloody stabs the first is at the soul of man the second is at the heart of Christ And if the first stab only grieve me if I mourn for sin as it only wounded my soul it is a sign this stream flows but from a natural heart because it ascends but to a natural heighth but if I weep for sin as it hath wounded Christ as it hath shed that blood that would save me as it hath pierced that heart that would love me then no question but the spring is in Heaven because it riseth to a super-natural ascent Lord that my sorrow may be sound pierce my heart for sin as it strikes through my soul and pierces Christ LVIII Meditat. MY life is sweet but my Christ must be sweeter to me than my life my soul is precious but Christ must be dearer to me than my soul my salvation is much but Christ must be more to me than my salvation Christ must be loved above all Nay were there no armes of mercy to receive me no Heaven of bliss to entertain me no weight of glory to crown me yet Christ must be loved above and without all these As it is a sign of a carnal love to follow Christ for the loaves so it is a sign of a base mercenary love to seek Christ for a reward that 's but an adulterate affection that affects the present more than the party loves the Ring more than her Beloved that choice cannot be cordial that aims only at a portion that love cannot he real that aims only at a benefit Lord thou art amiable in thy self Oh that I could love thee for thy self LIX Meditat. I Must not venture on a Duty unless I bring God to it nor rest satisfied unless I carry God from it Hear David's precept Oh seek the Lord and his strength seek his face for evermore Be sure thou rise not from duty before the countenance of God rise in mercy upon thy soul it must be Christ that must fit thee and it must be Christ that must meet thee or else it will be no Ordinance of comfort to thee What is the Chariot if thy Beloved be not in it Then here St. Bernard's practice Lord I never come to thee without thee I nerver goe from thee but with thee Oh blessed be that soul that never prayes hears or receives but carries Christ to all enjoyes Christ in all and brings Christ from all Lord in all my approaches to thee let me goe out in thy strength and return in thy presence LX. Meditat. OH my Soul Thou art alwayes striving yet sin alwayes stirring thou fearest the truth of grace because thou findest the working of sin but it will be alwayes thus thou canst not come out of Aegypt but Amalek will lay wait in the way the flesh will be sure to trouble thee although it be never able to conquer thee He therefore that sits down and is at rest in sin it is a sign that Satan is there the strong man because his Kingdom is in peace But where there 's any work with Christ there

it that thou aim'st at Is it a full enjoyment of thy God Why then whil'st thou art present in this body be always drawing near to the Lord so when thou shalt be absent from this body then thou shalt be always present with the Lord. VI. Meditat. HOw apt many are at the sight of a rich Worldling to envy him for what he hath But for my part I rather pity him for what he wants he hath a Talent but it wants improvement he hath a Lamp but it wants Oyl he hath a Soul but it wants grace he hath the star but he wants the Sun he hath the Creature but he wants the Creator In his life he doth but float upon a Torrent of vanity which empties it self into an Ocean of vexation and after death then take this unprofitable servant bind him hand and foot and cast him into utter darkness goe set his Soul adrift for ever in an impetuous Lake of fire and brimstone Where now is the object of your envy It is not his silver that now will anchor him nor his gold that shall land him nor his friends that can comfort him therefore if he be worth the envying who is worth the pitying If this be felicity then give me misery Lord rather make me poor with a good heart than rich with a bad conscience VII Meditat. I Am frail and the World is fading but my Soul is immortal and God is eternal If I pitch upon the creature either they may take wings like an Eagle that flyeth towards Heaven or my Soul may take its way with the rich fool and go to Hell but if I choose God for my portion then mercy and goodness shall follow me whil'st I live and glory and eternity shall crown me when I dye I will therefore now leave that which I shall soon lose that so I may embrace that which I shall always enjoy VIII Meditat. I See the wicked have their Heaven here and their Hell hereafter and on the contrary good men have their Hell here and their Heaven hereafter Dives had his good things in this life and Lazarus evil now Lazarus is comforted and Dives is tormented I will not therefore envy the prosperity of the wicked nor be offended at the affliction of the righteous seeing the one is drawn in pomp to Hell whil'st the other swims in tears to Heaven IX Meditat. AS there is a sad mirth so there is a joyful mourning look upon the voluptuous man however laughter may appear in his face yet sadness ever centers in his heart his carnal delights are not only vain but vexing like Musick they play him into a melancholly fit whil'st the Banquet lasts the Sensualist sings but when the reckoning comes his spirit sinks his burning candle presently goes out in a stinking snuffe his shining Sun instantly sets in a watery cloud Solomon gives us the summe of it thus Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful and the end of that mirth is heaviness But now come to the penitential person as his tears are the joy of Angels so they are the joy of his heart and the solace of his soul the salter his tears the sweeter his comforts the deeper his sighs the fuller his joy the beams of consolation alwayes shine into this house of mourning so that his soul is in travel with a Barnabas and his labours bring forth the fruits of peace insomuch that I may truly say to mourn for sin is to weep for joy These pure and pleasant streams of consolation which is the worldlings wonder that flow and run in those Crystal rivers of eternal pleasure at Gods right hand they come from a weeping spring Why then is the mouth of wickedness opened against the way of holiness As if grace were the Calvary to intomb joy and impiety the very womb to bring forth felicity but if experience may be heard my soul hath felt both and I find such damps of spirit in worldly pleasures and such refreshing of soul in the depth of godly sorrow that I shall esteem one drop of such spiritual joy better than an Ocean of their carnal mirth X. Meditat. WHere thine happiness lyeth there thy portion lyeth If thou place thy felicity in a poor empty creature If with Judas thy spirit run so low that thou canst be content only to keep the Bagg or with Reuben for some worldly convenience to quarter on this side Jordan Why then unworthy Soul take that which is thine own and goe thy way If thou wilt be put off with a breath of honour a blaze of pleasure a snare of riches or a parcel of vanity Why then goe take thy fill look for no more from God Thou seest thy all when thou goest from hence then farewell all in the mean while remember this that when the breath shall be expired the blaze extinct and the soul for ever ensnared then thy eternity shall be spent in bewailing thy folly But now O precious Soul If thou place thy felicity in the highest excellency thy portion lyes in the chiefest good If it be thine happiness alwayes to behold the beauty of Gods face it shall be thy portion for ever to behold the beauty of Gods presence Lord let the Worldling then be sent away with some poor worldly trifles but for my part since thou hast made me capable of such heavenly excellencies I desire never to be put off with transitory vanities my happiness lyes only in thy self Therefore whatever I enjoy beside thy self I will take it as a blessing but not as a portion XI Meditat. UNsatiable desires in temporals make a poor man in spirituals a right Christian is only rich in outward things when he is contented with what he hath That man hath nothing of heavenly things that thirsteth not after more Worldly desires they alwayes leave us empty either we get not what we covet or else we are not satisfied with what we get but he that thirsteth after heavenly things is alwayes filled and the more he receives the more he desires The richest and choicest mercies that God can give sincere Desires will fetch them in What a glorious improvement might we make of this affection if we did but divert the streames and turn them Heaven-ward How many excellent mercies lye a ground and only want this tyde to bring them in Why then let I my desires run out in wast I do but make my self poor in thirsting after more of the World and more of the Creature whereas I might be rich if I would but count more of Grace and of Christ XII Meditat. USually when a worldling is dead we ask how rich he dyed Oh say many he dyed rich he hath left a great estate Alas the poor man hath slept his sleep lost his dream and now he awakes he finds nothing in his hand where lyes his golden heap Only the rust of that heap is gone to witness against him his Mammon fails him only the unrighteousness of it follows him