Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A85865
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A true relation of what hath been transacted in behalf of those of the reformed religion, during the treaty of peace at Reswick With an account of the present persecution in France.
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Gaujac, Peter Gally de.
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1698
(1698)
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Wing G374; ESTC R230535
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61,066
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68
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unto thee but unto us Confusion of Faces as at this day We are Dumb and open not our Mouths Psal 39. because thou didst it and we are fully convinced that the Miseries we suffer are nothing in comparison with those we deserve But O Lord God of Vengeances wilt thou do nothing for thy Self for thy Glory and for thy Truth Be not angry against us for ever but let thy Jealousie be awakened See thy Adversaries who have made thy Zion a Wilderness and thy Jerusalem a Desolation Our Holy Isaiah 64. and our beautiful Houses where we praised thee are burnt up with Fire and all our pleasant things are laid waste They are become the habitation of the Owls and the Voice of the Osprey frighteth the living and calls for the dead Instead of thy Truths which were publish'd there they hear nothing but Blasphemies belch'd contemptuously against these demolished Sanctuaries We have seen Affliction by the Rod of thy Wrath they have led us and brought us into darkness but not into light Jerem. 3. The man whom we called the Anointed of the Lord and was the breath of our Nostrils is turned and hath turned his Hand against us all the day Our Flesh and our Skin hath he made old he hath broken our Bones He hath compassed us with Gall and Travel and made our Chains heavy Also when we cry he shutteth his Ear against our Prayers He is unto us as a Bear lying in wait and as a Lion in secret places The ways of Zion do mourn because none come to the Solemn Feasts Thy Enemies O God thy Enemies did rejoyce for their Victory wilt thou permit the wicked to triumph for ever Psal 83. They have taken Counsel against thy secret ones They have said come and let us root them out that they be no more a People and that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance Psal 2. They are I say Confederate against us The Kings of the Earth and the Rulers have taken Counsel together against the Lord and against his Anointed let us break said they their Bonds asunder and cast away their Cords from us The Egyptian hath conspired with Babel and agreed to make an end of the Family of thy Israel They have taken away the Children of the Daughter of Zion to make them Slaves to the Daughter of Babylon They drown them into the darkness of Egypt and in the Brooks of the Country of Cham. Alas We are not now in a Condition to say Behold we and the Children thou hast given us to do thy Will O God For they take away our Children to Sacrifice them to Moloch and offer them up to the Idol They do not kill them they make them Fat with the Dainties of the Kings Table but they drag them into Hell with Golden Chains And say Psal 83. Come Let us root them out that they be no more a People and that the Name of Israel may be no more in remembrance Oh That thou wouldst bow the Heavens Isai 64. that thou wouldst come down that the Mountains might flow down at thy presence as when the melting Fire burneth the Fire causeth the Waters to boil to make thy name known to thine Adversaries that the Nations may tremble at thy presence Psal 68. Let God arise and let his Enemies be scattered do not kill them lest my People should forget it But take away their Stony Heart and give them a Heart of Flesh And as for us turn us O Lord and we shall be turned Lament 3. draw us that we may run after thee Mine Eye runneth down with Rivers of Water for the Destruction of the Daughter of my People my Eye trickleth down and ceaseth not without any intermission till the Lord look down and behold from Heaven Mine Eye affecteth mine Heart because of all the Daughters of my People The Zeal of thine House hath even eaten me Psal 69. and the rebukes of them that rebuked thee are fallen upon me Reproach hath broken my Heart and I am full of heaviness And I looked for some to take pity but there was none Psal 121. Job 6. I have lifted up my Eyes unto the Hills to get help I expected Comfort from Men but received none My Brethren have dealt deceitfully as a Brook and as the stream of Brooks they pass away which are blackish by reason of the Ice and wherein the Snow is hid What time they wax warm they vanish When it is hot they are consumed out of their Places But God forbid I should ever forsake my hope though thou slayest me yet will I trust in thee I know that my Redeemer liveth Job 13.15.19 and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the Earth The Ruins of Jerusalem are not for ever Thou shalt arise and have mercy upon Sion For it is time Psal 102. that thou have Mercy upon her yea the time is come And why Thy Servants think upon her Stones and it pitieth them to see her in the Dust The Lord is my Light and my Salvation whom then shall I fear Though an Host of Men were laid against me Psal 84. Psal 36. Psal 23. yet shall not my Heart be afraid For the Lord God is a Sun and a Shield with thee is the fountain of Life in thy Light shall we see Light The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want Yea though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death I will fear no evil for thou art with me thy Rod and thy Staff they comfort me He hath severely struck us with this Shepherd's Staff because we went out of his ways But 't is enough O Lord 't is enough lift thou up the Light of thy Countenance upon us Give us a new Heart that we may fear thee Have mercy upon us miserable Sinners Our Sins are continually hideous before us We have vexed thy Holy Spirit Isai 63. therefore thou art turned to be our Enemy But O Lord Let us not go out of thy ways any more neither let our Heart be hardened from thy fear Return to us that we may return to thee Prevail with him to whom thou hast submitted us For King's Hearts are in thy Hand Prov. 21. as the Rivers of Water Turn the Counsel of the Achitophel's into foolishness And let the designs of those who seek our Ruin vanish away Call all the Banish'd home and build up again thy destroyed Sanctuaries Say to the North Give up and to the South Keep not back That we may be gathered together again under thy Banners Glorifie thy self for ever and ever and to thee only O King of the World belong Glory Strength and Majesty Hear us O Lord and Grant our Petitions in the Name and Mediation of thy Son All the Thoughts and Expressions of this Prayer are taken out of the Holy Scripture There cannot be Words more powerful to speak to God than those which God himself made use of to speak with us And our design in framing it was to let you understand that the Art of Praying well is learnt only by the serious Reading of the Prophets the Evangelists and Apostles And although you be neither Doctors in Divinity or Ministers Consecrated you will for all that learn in the Holy Scripture what thing soever is necessary for you to Edifie one another both by devout Prayers and the most powerful Exhortations FINIS
either Idols of them by calling upon them or to commit Abominations in your ways by falling down before their Images But we want Books you will say How shall we instruct our Children Have you no Books You have at least the Bible by you What! Do you not know that so many Papists have been these last years illuminated by the reading of this Book only and will it not be suffieient to keep up in your House a light which is already kindled Finally though they be never so careful to take away all your Books you may save some and those that are the most useful and necessary are very small and of little consequence in the Eyes of your Enemies You need desire for this purpose only some familiar Instructions such as are to be found in our Catechisms and particularly in Mr. Direlincourt's Abridgment of Controversies wherein you have the most material Texts of Scripture against the Church of Rome Make your Children learn them by Heart and repeat them so often unto them that they may never forget them By the Commerce now open with Foreign Countreys you may furnish your selves with such Books as are necessary to your Comfort We wish it may please Almighty God to put it into the Hearts of some of our Brethren to send you some good Instructions in single Sheets which you may use as an Antidote to preserve your Children's Souls from Corruption We know very well the Sophisms and Fallacies of the Romish Catechists and what they teach their Catechumens or young Beginners and so it would not be a difficult matter for you to provide your selves with such Means as should be able to keep your Children from the Errours they intend to instil into them In these small Treatises great Learning and Eloquence are not so much required as evident and pertinent Places out of the Holy Scripture with some short and substantial Reasons to shew the strength of them and restore the Texts which have been alter'd and perverted from their true meaning by the Malicious and Erroneous Interpretations of our Adversaries This is the sum and substance of the Advices we promised you we might further inlarge upon them and add several others but since we are not in a condition to do all we refer you to those who either have already or shall hereafter undertake to Comfort and Instruct you yet without derogating from the Right which all your Ministers have to speak to you when they think it fit we have but one Advice more to give you which is to turn to God with an hearty and sincere Conversion with great and bitter Weeping with a sorrowful Repentance for so many Crying Sins that have drawn Gods Wrath both upon you and our Church and in fine with frequent pious fervent and reiterated Prayers and that you may the better understand how your Prayers should in our Opinion be expressed we have drawn up a Form which may serve you as a Patern if you think good A FORM of PRAYER for the Persecuted Church O Almighty God Father of all Light and Compassion thou only makest the Night and the Day Prosperity and Adversity thou disposest all Events with the most profound Wisdom and perfect Justice thou speakest and the thing is done thou Commandest and it standeth fast Ps 33. thy counsel standeth for ever and the thoughts of thy Heart to all Gâ—nerations but thou bringest the Counsel of the Heathen to nought and makest the Devices of the People of none effect therefore thy Compassions cannot be reckoned up Ps 103. The Lord is merciful and gracious slow to anger and plenteous in mercy he will not always chide neither will he keep his anger for ever for as the Heaven is high above the Earth so great is his Mercy towards them that fear him To whom shall we go for succour O Lord but to thee who hast the Words of Eternal Life Of whom should we ask Relief but of him before whom the most Mighty Men are but Dust and Ashes Ps 2. he breaketh them with a Rod of Iron and dasheth them in pieces like a Potters Vessel Whom should we implore for Grace and Mercy but him who is abundant in Mercy and Compassion O great Shepherd of Israel Ps 80. who leadest us like Sheep turn us again shew the light of thy Countenance and we shall be whole Remember the Wonders which thou didst for this Israel who is now become the Prey of the Nations This Church was born in Egypt and had been long detained Captive in Babylon But thou with a strong and stretched out Arm hadst brought her out of Egypt about two hundred years ago Thou hadst transplanted this Vine and set it in a very fruitful Hill and watered it with the Due of Heaven and nursed it with the Fatness of the Earth Thou lookedst that it should bring forth Grapes Esai 5. and it brought forth Wild Grapes We have been all along barren and unfruitful under the care of this good and mighty Hand Es 64. We are all as an unclean thing and all our unrighteousness are as filthy rags and we all do fade as a Leaf and our Iniquities like the Wind have taken us away The sins of our forefathers fasten us to the Earth Ezech. 18. for our Fathers have eaten sowre grapes and our teeth are set on edge But alas we are Vipers Children of Serpents and hatch'd out of Cockatrice Eggs. We being wicked followers of our Ancestors Works have corrupted our selves as they have done and daily increased our Corruption Ezech. 33. Thy Word hath been to us as a very lovely Song and we have heard it according as it pleased our Ears and gratified our Senses We have been forgetful Hearers Matth. 11. and they have Piped unto us and we have not Danced they have Mourned unto us and we have not Lamented We have heard thy Servants who de-declared thy word unto us but have not answered by such motions as were agreeable both to their words and thy designs Gen. 6. Isai 1. All Flesh among us had corrupted his way upon Earth Thou hast looked down and the whole Head is sick and the whole Heart faint From the sole of the Foot even unto the Head there is no soundness in it but Wounds and Bruises and putrifying Sores they have not been closed neither bound up neither mollified with Ointment We our Fathers our Children our Shepherds our People have been all as Sheep going astray Psal 119. every one wandring in his own way And therefore thou hast searched us out and found him who rejoyced in his Carnal Pleasures and those who did shamefully and at their Ease lie down under their Vines and the shade of their Fig-Trees We fell asleep and the Enemy the Philistine is fallen upon us and because thy strength was departed from us Judg. 16. we remained bound with Cords and Fetters of Brass Therefore O Lord Dan. 9. Righteousness belongeth