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
A63706	Clerus Domini, or, A discourse of the divine institution, necessity, sacredness, and separation of the office ministerial together with the nature and manner of its power and operation : written by the special command of King Charles the First / by Jer. Taylor.	Taylor, Jeremy, 1613-1667.; Taylor, Jeremy, 1613-1667. Rules and advices to the clergy of the diocesse of Down and Connor.; Rust, George, d. 1670. Funeral sermon preached at the obsequies of the Right Reverend Father in God Jeremy Lord Bishop of Down.	1672 (1672)	Wing T299; ESTC R13445	91,915	82

but it is a great building and many materials go to the structure of it It is worth your study for it is the fulfilling of the Commandments Because it is impossible that Charity should live unless the lust of the tongue be mortified let every Minister in his charge be frequent and severe against slanderers detractors and backbiters for the Crime of backbiting is the poison of Charity and yet so common that it is pass'd into a Proverb After a good dinner let us sit down and backbite our neighbours Let every Minister be careful to observe and vehement in reproving those faults of his Parishioners of which the Laws cannot or do not take cognizance such as are many degrees of intemperate drinkings gluttony riotous living expences above their ability pride bragging lying in ordinary conversation covetousness peevishness and hasty anger and such like For the Word of God searches deeper than the Laws of men and many things will be hard to prove by the measures of Courts which are easie enough to be observed by the watchful and diligent eye and ear of the Guide of Souls In your Sermons to the people often speak of the four last things of Death and Judgment Heaven and Hell of the Life and Death of Jesus Christ of Gods Mercy to repenting sinners and his Severity against the impenitent of the formidable Examples of Gods anger pour'd forth upon Rebels Sacrilegious Oppressors of Widows and Orphans and all persons guilty of crying Sins These are useful safe and profitable but never run into Extravagancies and Curiosities nor trouble your selves or them with mysterious Secrets for there is more laid before you than you can understand and the whole duty of man is To fear God and keep his Commandments Speak but very little of the secret and high things of God but as much as you can of the lowness and humility of Christ. Be not hasty in pronouncing damnation against any man or party in a matter of disputation It is enough that you reprove an Error but what shall be the sentence against it at the day of Judgment thou knowest not and therefore pray for the erring person and reprove him but leave the sentence to his Judge Let your Sermons teach the duty of all states of men to whom you speak and particularly take care of Servants and Hirelings Merchants and Tradesmen that they be not unskilful nor unadmonished in their respective duties and in all things speak usefully and affectionately for by this means you will provide for all mens needs both for them that sin by reason of their little understanding and them that sin because they have evil dull or depraved affections In your Sermons and Discourses of Religion use primitive known and accustomed words and affect not new Phantastical or Schismatical terms Let the Sunday Festival be called the Lords day and pretend no fears from the common use of words amongst Christians For they that make a business of the words of common use and reform Religion by introducing a new word intend to make a change but no amendment they spend themselves in trifles like the barren turf that sends forth no medicinable herbs but store of Mushromes and they give a demonstration that they are either impertinent people or else of a querulous nature and that they are ready to disturb the Church if they could find occasion Let every Minister in his charge as much as he can endeavour to destroy all popular errors and evil principles taken up by his people or others with whom they converse especially those that directly oppose the indispensable necessity of a holy life let him endeavour to understand in what true and useful sence Christs active obedience is imputed to us let him make his people fear the deferring of their Repentance and putting it off to their death-bed let him explicate the nature of Faith so that it be an active and quickning principle of Charity let him as much as he may take from them all confidences that slacken their obedience and diligence let him teach them to impute all their sins to their own follies and evil choice and so build them up in a most holy faith to a holy life ever remembring that in all ages it hath been the greatest artifice of Satan to hinder the increase of Christs Kingdom by destroying those things in which it does consist viz. Peace and Righteousness Holiness and Mortification Every Minister ought to be careful that he never expound Scriptures in publick contrary to the known sence of the Catholick Church and particularly of the Churches of England and Ireland nor introduce any Doctrine against any of the four first General Councils for these as they are measures of truth so also of necessity that is as they are safe so they are sufficient and besides what is taught by these no matter of belief is necessary to salvation Let no Preacher bring before the people in his Sermons or Discourses the Arguments of great and dangerous Heresies though with a purpose to confute them for they will much easier retain the Objection than understand the Answer Let not the Preacher make an Article of Faith to be a matter of dispute but teach it with plainness and simplicity and confirm it with easie arguments and plain words of Scripture but without objection let them be taught to believe but not to argue lest if the arguments meet with a scrupulous person it rather shake the foundation by curious inquiry than establish it by arguments too hard Let the Preacher be careful that in his Sermons he use no light immodest or ridiculous expressions but what is wise grave useful and for edification that when the Preacher brings truth and gravity the people may attend with fear and reverence Let no Preacher envy any man that hath a greater audience or more fame in Preaching than himself let him not detract from him or lessen his reputation directly or indirectly for he that cannot be even with his brother but by pulling him down is but a dwarf still and no man is the better for making his brother worse In all things desire that Christ's Kingdom may be advanc'd and rejoyce that he is served whoever be the Minister that if you cannot have the fame of a great Preacher yet you may have the reward of being a good man but it is hard to miss both Let every Preacher in his Parish take care to explicate to the people the Mysteries of the great Festivals as of Christmas Easter Ascension-day Whitsunday Trinity Sunday the Annunciation of the blessed Virgin Mary because these Feasts containing in them the great Fundamentals of our Faith will with most advantage convey the mysteries to the people and fix them in their memories by the solemnity and circumstances of the day In all your Sermons and Discourses speak nothing of God but what is honourable and glorious and impute not to him such things the consequents of which a wise and good man will

the life of man And we shall then come to the innumerable company of Angels and the general Assembly of the Church of the First-born and to the Spirits of just men made perfect and to Iesus the Mediator of the New Covenant The Oracle tells Amelius enquiring what was become of Polinus's soul that he was gone to Pythagoras and Socrates and Plato and as many as had born a part in the Quire of heavenly love And I may say to every good man that he shall go to the Company of Abraham Isaac and Iacob Moses David and Samuel all the Prophets and Apostles and all the holy men of God that have been in all the Ages of the World All those brave and excellent persons that have been scattered at the greatest distance of time and place and in their several generations have been the salt of the earth to preserve mankind from utter degeneracy and corruption These shall be all gathered together and meet in one Constellation in that Firmament of Glory O Praeclarum diem cùm ad illud divinorum animorum concilium coetúmque proficiscar atque ex hac turba ac colluvione discedam O that blessed day when we shall make our escape from this medly and confused riot and shall arrive to that great Council and general Randevouz of divine and god-like Spirits But which is more than all we shall then meet our Lord Jesus Christ the Head of our Recovery whose story is now so delightful unto us as reporting nothing of him but the greatest sweetness and innocence and meekness and patience and mercy and tenderness and benignity and goodness and whatever can render any person lovely or amiable and who out of his dear love and deep compassion unto mankind gave up himself unto the death for us men and for our salvation And if Saint Augustine made it one of his Wishes to have seen Jesus Christ in the flesh how much more desirable is it to see him out of his terrestrial weeds in his robes of Glory with all his redeemed Ones about him And this I cannot but look upon as a great Advantage and priviledge of that future State for I am not apt to swallow down that Conceit of the Schools that we shall spend Eternity in gazing upon the naked Deity for certainly the happiness of man consists in having all his faculties in their due subordinations gratified with their proper objects and I cannot but believe a great part of Heaven to be the blest Society that is there Their enravishing beauty that is to say their inward life and perfection flowring forth and raying it self thorow their glorified bodies The rare discourses wherewith they entertain one another The pure and chast and spotless and yet most ardent Love wherewith they embrace each other The ecstatick Devotions wherein they joyn together and certainly every pious and devout soul will readily acknowledge with me that it must needs be matter of unspeakable pleasure to be taken into the Quire of Angels and Seraphims and the glorious Company of the Apostles and the goodly Fellowship of the Prophets and the noble Army of Martyrs and to joyn with them in singing Praises and Hallelujahs and Songs of joy and Triumph unto our great Creator and Redeemer the Father of Spirits and the Lover of Souls unto him that sits upon the Throne and unto the Lamb for ever and ever We are sure we shall then have our capacities fill'd and all our desires answered They hunger no more neither thirst any more for the Lamb which is in the midst of the Throne shall feed them and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters What vast degrees of perfection and happiness the nature of man is capable of we may best understand by viewing it in the person of Christ taken into the nearest union with Divinity and made God's Vicegerent in the World and the Head and Governour of the whole Creation In this our narrow and contracted state we are apt to think too meanly of our selves and do not understand the dignity of our own Natures what we were made for and what we are capable of but as Plotinus somewhere observes We are like Children from our birth brought up in ignorance of and at a great distance from our Parents and Relations and have forgot the Nobleness of our Extraction and rank our selves and our fortunes among the lot of Beggers and mean and ordinary persons though we are the off-spring of a great Prince and were born to a Kingdom It does indeed become creatures to think modestly of themselves yet if we consider it aright it will be found very hard to set any bounds or limits to our own happiness and say Hitherto it shall arise and no further For that wherein the happiness of Man consists viz. Truth and Goodness the Communication of the Divine Nature and the Illapses of Divine Love it does not cloy or glut or satiate but every participation of them does widen and enlarge our Souls and fits us for further and further Receptions the more we have the more we are capable of the more we are fill'd the more room is made in our Spirits and thus it is still and still even till we arrive unto such degrees as we can assign no measures unto We shall then be made like unto God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 said the Areopagite Salvation can no otherwayes be accomplish'd but by becoming God-like It does not yet appear what we shall be but when he shall appear we shall be like him sayes our Evangelist for we shall see him as he is There is no seeing God as he is but by becoming like unto him nor is there any injoying of him but by being transformed into his Image and Similitude Men usually have very strange Notions concerning God and the enjoyment of him or rather these are words to which there is no correspondent conception in their minds but if we would understand God aright we must look upon him as Infinite Wisdom Righteousness Love Goodness and whatever speaks any thing of Beauty and Persection and if we pretend to worship him it must be by loving and adoring his transcendent Excellencies and if we hope to enjoy him it must be by conformity unto him and participation of his Nature The frame and constitution of things is such that it is impossible that Man should arrive to happiness any other way And if the Soveraignty of God should dispense with our obedience the Nature of the thing would not permit us to be happy without it If we live only the Animal Life we may indeed be happy as Beasts are happy but the Happiness that belongs to a Rational and Intellectual Being can never be attain'd but in a way of holiness and conformity unto the Divine Will for such a temper and disposition of mind is necessary unto Happiness not by vertue of any arbitrarious constitution of Heaven but the eternal Laws of Righteousness and immutable respects of things