Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
mercy_n	jesus_n	sin_n	sinner_n	3,659	5	7.4408	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A07487	The carde and compasse of life Containing many passages, fit for these times. And directing all men in a true, Christian, godly and ciuill course, to arriue at the blessed and glorious harbour of heauen.	Middleton, Richard, d. 1641.	1613 (1613)	STC 17870; ESTC S104498	98,424	266

our defect of credulitie and beliefe The eies of our soules as Bernard saith are intellectus affectus Our vnderstanding and affection But those two eyes are pulled out by Satan the God of the world who hauing blinded the minds of Infidels 2. Cor. 4.4 that the light of the glorious Gospell of Iesus Christ which is the Image of God should not shine vnto th̄e takes fr̄o them all faith that they should haue in the promises iudgements of God The time will come saith the Apostle and the time is say I when they wil not suffer wholesome doctrine 2. Tim. 1.3.4 and shall turne their eares from the truth they will not beleeue the truth and if they wil not heare and beleeue too Moses and the Prophets Luc. 16.31 neyther will they bee perswaded albeit one rose from the dead again And indeed the sinne of Infidelitie is the root of all our cecitie blindnesse and miserie For if wee beleeued Moses and the Prophets Iesus Christ and his Apostles we could not but see a farre off as the Apostle saith 2. Pet. 1.9.5 both Gods mercies to such as ioyne all vertues to faith also his iudgements against the wicked sinner that walkes on in the stubbornnesse of his owne heart How much this Infidelitie offendeth God wee may see in the example of Moses and Aaron Num. 20.12 Gods deare children who because they did not beleeue him to sanctifie him before the children of Israel in the desart he barred them from bringing the Israelites into the Land of Promise Euen as our Sauiour depriued his owne countrie of his great works Mat. 13.58 for their vnbeliefes sake How much the more then will he be offended with vs who stand not so highly in his fauour as these men did If one tell you of fables and narrations of many incredible things you beleeue them why will ye not then beleeue the truth 2. Tim. 4.4 3 The third cause of our blindnesse is the expectation of Gods long animity and patience Because sentence against an euill worke is not executed speedily therefore the heart of the children of men is fully set in them to doe euill This the Apostle cals a Despising of the riches of Gods bountifulnesse patience and long suffering and a heaping vnto our selues wrath against the day of wrath and declaration of the iust iudgement of God Therefore Wise Siracides disswades this Sir 5.6 Say not the mercie of God is great hee will forgiue my manifold sinnes for mercie and wrath come from him and his indignation commeth vpon sinners Nor yet say I haue sinned Sir 5.4 and what euill hath come to me For God is a patient Rewarder and hee will not leaue thee vnpunished And as this presumption of Gods mercie blinds many so hope of long life doth the same As wee may beholde in the Rich man whose soule was taken from him Luc. 12.20 whilest he was building his barnes for his fruits Let vs remember what Bernard saith Maledictus qui peccat in spe Cursed is he that sinnes in hope 4 Fourthly Besides the outward appearance of goodnesse and the externall worship of God makes many so hood-winked that they cannot see the danger of their Estate Most doe thinke that God is pleased with the outward worke of his seruice praying reading hearing of Sermons wherein they carrie themselues as the Spirit speaketh of the Church at Sardi Apoc. 3.1 Thou hast a name that thou liuest but thou art dead they seeme to haue some Religion and deuotion but it is but hypocrisie for there are no fruits worthie amendement of life Of these you may say as the Prophet doth Beautie hath deceiued thee Dan. 13.56 so apparance of Religion hath deceiued and blinded them Of this Bernard speaketh thus Serpit super omne corpus putridalabes Hypocrisis moribus vtique damnabilis the rotten and stinking blemish of Hypocrisie hath dispersed it selfe ouer the whole bodie of mankinde in manners verily damnable Therefore let not any thinke that the outward workes of the Law alone are all that God requires of vs. For the end of the Commandement is Loue out of a pure heart 1. Tim. 1.5 a good Conscience and Faith vnfeigned 5 The last but not the least cause of our blindnesse is abundance of temporall blessings For euen as in the Moones Eclypse which is the interposition of the Earth betwixt the bodie of the Sunne and the Moone the Earth being a darke bodie detaines the beames that they cannot proceed and so the Moone is Eclypsed and looseth her light so in Man the loue of temporall thinges in the wil Eclypseth and hindereth the beames of reason and vnderstanding that they cannot inlighten the soule Hence the Hebrewes affirme that Couetousnesse so possessed Cain that he beleeued not there was any life after this and for this cause slew his brother who beleeued a life to come a reward for the good and punishment for the wicked in which contention Cain slew him Eight Aphorismes or Rules containing the summe of an happie life and blessed death 1 WEE rightly worship God with true faith daily invocation and lawfull obedience in the Sacrifice and obedience of Christ imputed to vs by faith 2 Wee exhilarate our soules and honourably spend our liues by a learned pietie and exercise of vertues 3 We cure the anguishes of the mind and the doutbfull health of our bodies by the evacuation of cares moderate labour and sober temperance 4 Wee increase and conserue our stocke and substance with honest diligence obserued faithfulnesse and liberall parsimonie and sparing 5 We gaine the godly fauour of men with wise and well seasoned language blamelesse life and approoued manners 6 Wee get friendship with faithfull beneuolence and mutuall Offices of Loue. 7 Wee gaine our enemies with iust susterance pacifying words and worthy Offices 8 This kind of life is most acceptable to God To doe good to all men and yet to sustaine en●ie hatred and iniuries of Deuils and Men. How to obtaine eternall life and auoid eternall death 1 THat there bee an earnest care of learning and reading the be auenly Doctrine deliuered in the sacred Scriptures ioyned with a godly and lawfull vse of the Sacraments according to that in Saint Lukes Gospell Luk. 16.29 They haue Moses and the Prophets Let them heare them 2 Let vs liue in the feare of God and imploy our selues in the serious exercises of true repentance that in the acknowledgement of our sinnes we may by saith flie to the mercie of God promised in his Sonne Christ and addresse all our whole liues after the rule of his holy Word mindfull of that Commaundement Mat. 4.17 Repent for the Kingdome of Heauen is at hand 3 That we shunne with a singular care all sinnes and scandals which shal according to the prediction of Christ and his Apostles in the end of the world swarme most abundantly namely Luxurie Drunkennesse Auarice Carnall

in Heauen and then shall all the kindreds of the Earth mourne and the wicked shal be with horrour so confounded that they shall runne by the way like mad men and crie vnto the mountaints Cadite Cadite fall fall and hide vs from the Lambe and the fury of his wrath Seuenthly in the fire whose power shal be so great that it shall suppe vp as it were with one deluge all the other Elements and all men and Creatures shall it suddenly turne to dust and ashes so that there may be a new Heauen and a new Earth The second point to be meditated is That The Sonne of God shall appeare with power and great Maiestie accompanied with an Armie of Angels his aspect to the wicked terrible to the godly most comfortable For their redemption draweth neare Then shall hee take the good to his right hand and place the wicked at his left where such griese shall inuade them as neuer in all their liues before seeing themselues in that miserable estate which they neuer dreamt on euen there where with a most iust ballance all the thinges that euer they haue done spoken or thought all the good they haue omited shal bee weighed and no man not so much as in one word can patronize them It will much increase their torment when they shall see the signe of the Sonne of Man the nailes as most sharpe arrowes shall wound their hearts when they shall vnderstand that they haue all their life long trampled vnderfoot by the turpitude of their liues that pretious bloud shed for the redemption of the World and made a mocke of it And the more to shame them the Iudge shal open his wounds from which his most precious fountaines the water and bloud issued most plentifully to wash them from their sinnes if they would haue taken hold of it in time Now conceiue what miserie the wicked shall thinke themselues in to be placed at the left hand a most infallible signe of damnation and what ioy and securitie to the godly at his right hand a sure token of eternall saluation Now meditate that the consciences of the whole World shall be laid open the books shal be read and there was neuer any thing so secret which shall not be reuealed And if small erreurs committed now in the sight of great persons do make vs blush what shall then they grieuous sinnes which are so sul of turpitude that not onely in the sight of others thou blushest but euen th● selfe alone doest blush to thinke on them seing there all the men of the World shall see them There will be made no reckning of Nobilitie or wit no account of riches grace fauour and splendour thou once haddest no care had of any naturall or supernaturall giftes of bodie or minde In a point of time shall bee set before thee all thy most secret thoughts and wordes of Lust Pride Hatred Enuie and all the rest yea euen all the good thou hast omitted to doe shal be put on thy score to increase thy damnation O miserable and thrice miserable wretch thou art in thy owne conscience damned thou art destitute of all patrocinie and defence not onely of men but of Angels who were once inployed whilest thou liuedst for thy good but are now by so much the more become thy aduersaries by how much once they loued thee more Nay to conclude forsaken of Christ who onely therefore sits in Maiestie to iudge and condemne thee for if the iust bee scarcely saued 1. Pet. 4. where shall the wicked and vngodly appeare The fourth point considerable is what kind of Iudge he is First most wise and cannot be deceiued Secondly most iust and will not bee inclined Thirdly most powerfull and will not bee resisted Fourthly full of anger and indignation and will not bee appeased so that the Kings of the Earth shall tremble and crie to the rockes Fall vpon vs fall vpon vs and couer vs. Fiftly fierce and inexorable and cannot bee mollified Apoc. 6. 1. Sam. 15. For the strength of Israel will not lie nor repent Thinke that Christ hauing duly examined euery cause hee will then pronounce that fearefull sentence as a thunder against the vngodly Depart from mee yee cursed into eternall fire prepared for the Deuil and his Angels O most vnhappie sinners then will they crie but none will heare weep but none will haue mercie on them then shall they seeke God but shall not finde him because they hated knowledge Pro. 1. and did not seeke the feare of the Lord the shall they damne all wicked wayes and curse the societie of sinners and madding shall grow franticke with the furie of their sinnes which for most vile pleasures they committed On the other side the iust shall be surprised with vnspeakeable ioy when that blessed sentence shall be read Come ye blessed of my Father receiue the Kingdome ordained to you from the beginning of the world Then shal their mouths runne ouer with praises and their hearts beefilled with vnutturable ioy Then shal the ignominie of the Crosse be counted an exceeding glorie austeritie of life wonderfull sweetnsse and the despising of all the pleasures of the World and the flesh most vnspeakeable pleasure Thinke that thy particular iudgement when thou commest to death shall bee like to this generall therefore now whilest thou hast time labour to doe those things whereby thou maist assure thy soule that thou shalt receiue that blessed reward and escape that fearefull punishment Now direct thy speech to God who shall bee thy Iudge and pray that in this life he will lay his iudgments vpon thee as Saint Augustine Domine hic vre hic seca me ne in eternum peream Lord burn mee here cut mee here that I perish not for euer And also pray that these Meditations may take such roote in thy heart that thou maist iudge thy selfe that thou maist bee chastened of the Lord least thou bee Condemned with the World I. Cor. 11. MEDITATION III. Of Hell THis Meditation must take his rise from a preparatiue Prayer as in the former in which wee must first propose to our selues a most vast and bottomlesse gulfe hideous to behold in darknesse most dungeon-like in paines and torments most horrible in smel most odious as it were a Sea breathing out flames and smoke whereof we may represent to our imagination a modell by calling to minde that horrible mountaine of Aetna in Sicilia and Vesuvius in Naples both which belch out the inward bowels of the Earth with stones flames fumes and ashes and that in such surie as if it imitated the Giants warre and meant to ouerthrow the God of Heauen and all his Saints to draw the Sunne downe to the Earth and turne the night into day The burning ashes of this hellish Vesuvius as Dion Cassius notes in the time of Titus his Empire were not onely carried to Rome but to Affrica and Aegypt when in the boyling Seas fishes were boyled to death