Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
mercy_n	let_v	lord_n	name_n	9,327	5	5.7485	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A64833	Venning's remains, or, Christ's school consisting of four classes of Christians, I. babes, II. little children, III. young men, IV. fathers : with their several characteristical differences and attainments, also the doctrines proper to be taught to each of them : being the substance of many sermons / preached by Ralph Venning and fitted by him for the press before his death.	Venning, Ralph, 1621?-1674.	1675 (1675)	Wing V225; ESTC R27039	205,701	393

for thy Salvation though thy house be not so with God as thou couldst wish it and though he make it not to grow Yet humbly tell him withal that this is not all thy desire but thou hast a request to make with this thy thanksgiving and 't is that he would place thee among the children that thou maist cry Abba Father for the taste thou hast had of his grace hath set thy soul a longing as it did the Spouse Cant. 1.1 3. after the good fruit and growth of the Land and that thou hopest seeing he did find thee when thou soughtest him not that he will make himself known to thee as a Father now thou enquirest after him Tell him that 't is a desire of his own begetting and beg him that it may not be disappointed or denied by him who hath stiled himself A God hearing Prayers which is the great incouragement that all flesh hath to come unto him Say O Lord thou hadst wont not only to bring to the birth but to bring forth and then to bring up and wilt not thou who art the same to day as yesterday be merciful as thou art wont to them that love thy name which Lord my dear Lord thou knowest I do Urge it yet again that thou comest not to say as many Who will shew us any good for Corn and Wine and Oyl but for the light of his countenance and his loving kindness which is to thee better than life If yet he answer not go on and confess that thou art unworthy of so great a favour then the Father kist the Prodigal yet that thou prayest him to remember that all others were so and if he please to do for thee as he hath for some others that thou wilt give him as they do the glory of his grace and say 'T is not my merit no desert of mine 'T is only thy pure Love bath made me thine Though it be a favour too great for thee to beg yet not for him to give who is the God of all grace and hath promised That if we confess our sin he is just and faithful to forgive us our sin They speed best who confess their unworthiness and ill deserving as the Prodigal and others did If yet he smile not upon thee tell him that 't is really a great grief of heart to thee to se●at what a poor low and inconsiderable a rate thou livest and how at most unserviceable thou art to his glory and that thou wouldst gladly do him better service that thou hast heard of what an ingenuous and dutiful dispesition and how fruitful the little Children are and that upon this very account thou longest to be one of the number yea though thou shouldest not be acquainted with the joyes and raptures that they are Tell him that thou comest not meerly to have more pleasure for thy self but to please him more yea that thou maist walk worthy of him to all well-pleasing Tell him that the Lord Jesus said He had more of the Fathers heart-love to display which should be done by the Spirit and that he should enable them to bear these discoveries who afore-time could not do it and that if he please he can advance and prefer thee to this honour also Oh Lord strengthen me and perfect that which concerns thy Servant If yet he make not himself known tell him farther That J●sus Christ promised that whatever of this nature and concern thou among others should ask in his name that it should be done and pray him to remember his own Son and Promise surely he will be as good as his Word who is faithful and cannot deny himself Is there not a much more put on the heavenly Father the Father of Spirits as to giving good things yea his holy Spirit to them that ask it Add hereunto that thou art sick of Love and so sick that if he do not shine on thee 't will cost thee thy life and will he see thee die in a love fit He whom thou lovest is sick and he who loves thee is sick are the two obliging arguments and though thou canst not say the former yet thou canst the latter and therefore pray him who is Love to have compassion on thee in this thy sickness seeing Love hath made thee so The Spouse had no sooner pleaded this but he embraced her his left hand was under her head and his right hand over her heart she was embosomed between the arms of Love Cant. 2.5.6 Oh dear Lord let it be so with me If yet he seem not to regard thee tell him then that if he persist in denying thee it may prove a great temptation and snare to thee to turn aside to the flocks of his companions Ah Lord Satan and Flesh and Blood have often blurted out such things as these Why wilt thou wait on one who cares not for thee nor will provide thee bread no nor give thee a good word or look but this O Lord goes to my heart as a sword that they should say Where is thy God! Oh Lead me not into temptation but give me one kiss at least that I may tell Satan from experience 't is good oh how good ' t is to draw near to and to wait on God and that I seek not his face in vain Go on and tell him that thou art resolved thou wilt never give him over but wilt cleave to him with full purpose of heart that he shall have an importunate Suiter of thee and that thou wilt give him no rest but wilt continually pursue him and beg others also to do as much for thee till he establish thee a praise in the earth by saying Is he not my dear Son a pleasant Child I will surely have mercy upon him saith the Lord. Tell him though he lame thee as he did Jacob yet thou wilt not let him go till he bless thee and give thee a new name yea though he call thee Dog and beat thee with frowns and hard expressions yet that thou wilt love him and lie at his feet for all that If he begin to speak though it be against thee as he did to Ephraim and the woman of Cana●n yet take hold of what he saies and plead it for 't will be to thine advantage at last as 't was to theirs If he tell thee that thou art not yet in a capacity answer him humbly that never any was till he was pleased to make them so and that thou comest to pray him that he will capacitate and make thee meet If he tell thee thou wilt be wanton and abuse it by being pussed up c. tell him that he can prevent it by his grace 't is true thy heart alas is deceitful but thou dost not intend any such thing but dost hope that if he will give thee this Pearl it shall not be cast to a Swine that will trample upon it nor to a Dog that will turn again and rend it and dost also pray

If the foot shall say because I am not the hand I am not of the body is it therefore not of the body and if the car shall say because I am not the eye I am not of the body is it therefore not of the body No no you should by no means say so 't is a meer non sequitur So if thou shouldst say because I am not a Father I am not a Child of God it doth not follow for thou maist be a Young-man if not that yet a little Child if not that yet a Babe in Christ begin lowest do not stretch thy self beyond thy measure Nor let any be proud if they are gone beyond others to be puffed up and despise the weak But 3. Let every one be thankful and bless God for what he hath attained be it more or less Are any of you Cedars in Lebanon when others are but Shrubs as the Hysope on the wall or as the lillies of the valley are any of you like Saul taller than your Brethren by the head and shoulders are you crowned with the gray-hairs of wisdom and righteousness have ye overcome the wicked one have ye lain in the Fathers bosom give God the Glory who gave you the Grace Are others of you but of late admission or but of little and low stature are ye but Babes in Christ Yet despise not the day of small things let none of his mercies or consolations be small to you who are less than the least of them all 'T is great mercy to be one of Christs though but one of his little ones Our Lord Jesus chose twelve to be with him as his family whereof three were è secretioribus admitted to be his confidents Peter James and John and of these three John was the darling he was the Disciple whom Jesus loved with a peculiar love and was admitted to lie in his bosom now if thou be not a John yet thank him if thou be a Peter or a James if not of them yet that thou art one of the twelve but not Judas if not one of the twelve to be with him yet one of the seventy for he afterward inlarged the number to do him any service abroad Bless him that thou art a member of his body though but an ear or a foot that thou art a starr in his firmament though not of the first magnitude but the very least of all David had his several Worthies and the lowest was honorable though he attained not to the first three 2 Sam. 23.23 and among the thirty seven Vriab the Hittite was the last Verse 39. Though thou be the last yet 't is mercy to be one of the thousands of Israel Though thou do not sit at the Kings table yet bless him if thou be a Dore-keeper to behold his goings out and comings in Bless him that thou art one of the little flock though thou be not the Principal or the choise but the least of it If thou have learnt the A. B. C. of Godliness the first principles and elements of the Doctrine of Christ bless him for it thou knowest not how soon he may teach thee to spell out yea to read distinctly the more perfect lessons that thy joy may be full he takes notice of the kindness of thy Child-hood of thy lispings and essays to speak and go and he will perhaps take thee by the hand and teach thee to go from form to form till thou come to be one of the uppermost in the School of Christ and then he will remove and translate thee into the University the holy Academy where the Spirits of just men made perfect will bid thee welcome and be glad of thy Company then shalt thou be of the Society of true Christians of them that are in Christ indeed and shalt live with Christ for ever which is best of all At present if thou be not worth thousands rich in grace yet bless him that thou art worth any thing worthy of his calling and made meet to partake of the inheritance of the Saints in light Coloss 1.12 by being delivered from the power of darkness and translated into the Kingdom of his dear Son Verse 13. Though he have not made thee a Father yet bless him that he hath made thee a Son though as yet but a Babe and under age he that blesseth God for a little is in the ready way to be blest with more Therefore again 4. Let every one that is not aim to be a Father and every one that is a Father aim at being more so for as there is a growth from one kind to another so there is a growth from one degree to another aym at and press forward to the highest state and utmost degree of perfection as Saint Paul did and thereby shews others the way Philip. 3.12 17. Be not content with being Babes but grow from thence to be little Children and from thence to be Young-men and from thence to be Fathers and so to be perfect men in Christ Jesus Ephes 4.13 16. Go from strength to strength till ye appear before God in Zion which is above Grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ 1 Pet. 3.18 He had said immediately before take heed that ye fall not from your own stedfastness but lest ye should think it enough not to be Apostates or to be stedfast he presently and in the same breath subjoyns but grow in grace c. So 't is not only be stedfast and immoveable but abound yea be always abounding in the work of the Lord 1 Cor. 15.58 and the Apostle Peter would not have us think that to be new-born and so to partake of a Divine nature is sufficient but saith he besides this add to your faith c. And if these things be in you is that enough No but if these things be in you and abound then an abundant entrance shall be administred to you into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ 2 Pet. 1.4 11. Do not content your self meerly with so much grace as will bring you into heaven the haven of happiness but that you may enter in with full sails with a plerophorie and full assurance 5. Let not the weak envy though they may emulate the strong nor let the strong despise the weak but be helpers of their faith and joy Poor Babes are apt to suffer their eye to be evil because God is good to grow sullen if others speed better than themselves but these things ought not to be so for God may do with his own what he pleaseth and give to every one as he will Many of this form are like Davids Brother Eliab who charged his inquisitive boldness upon the pride of his heart and considered not that 't was of the Lord who had chosen and preferr'd him before himself who was the elder Brother 1 Sam. 17.28 with 1 Sam. 16.6 7. Which haply was altâ mente repostum the very reason of

observed than they will be able otherwise to discover and declare it themselves We see there are two persons that this Faith of Babes hath to do with viz. God and Christ though God especially and in the first place now how it acts towards God and then towards Christ I shall indeavour to make plain and evident and 1. How this their Faith acts towards God viz. thus 1. That God is and is a rewarder of them that seek him out for as without this 't is impossible to please God so to come to God in a seeking and addressing way Heb. 11.6 There is a Faith called coming and there is a Faith preceding this coming which is a believing that God is for none would look after a non-entity or that which is not or is not believed to be and a believing that he is a rewarder of them that seek him that they shall not seek in vain if they seek in truth now the Babe believes this in general though it cannot yet see its coming and seeking to be such as shall be welcom and rewarded As was the case of the woman of Canaan and the Prodigal at first 2. Babes believe this as to God that he can turn them and save them if he please and this believing his power though not his will as grown Saints do is owned and accepted with great respect When Ephraim was bemoaning himself he saies Turn thou me and I shall be turned and God presently saies Ephraim is my dear Son a pleasant child I will surely have mercy on him saith the Lord. Jer. 31.18 20. So the Prodigal believed that his Father could though he had spent all yet set him up again and that he might be a new-made-man The Babe speaks like the Leper Lord if thou wilt thou canst make me clean and it proved so Yet believes there is grace and bread enough in Gods house if he have but will he hath power enough to pardon the Question is not about his power but about his Will Yet throughout the Scripture this is owned and accepted We read of one poor man that came to Christ distrusting his power but Christ-puts him on believing that before he would do any thing for him and when he did that Christ did what he came for Mark 9.22 c. 3. Babes look further even to the promises of God they find many invitations and promises also and they have recourse to these but do not so much mind Christ in whom all the promises of God are yea and Amen so that they do as 't were rest upon the Ark but do not come into it whereas grown Saints see Christ Jesus as the foundation and fulness of every promise and do not take up with the Cabinet without the Jewel or with the Field without the Pearl hid in it The Promises indeed are incouraging means to Faith but are not the Rest of the soul Forgiveness of sins is not from the promise without Faith in Christ Acts 26.18 nor eternal life it self 2 Tim. 1.1 nor righteousness Phil. 3. Of this also the Babes have a general notion and so they make toward Christ not with full sails but with a side-wind as 't were and this I am now to shew how 2. The Faith of Babes acts toward Christ Jesus And that 1. As the Son of the living God to whom the Father hath given and committed all things and this is one of the things which is revealed unto Babes as is clear by comparing Mat. 16.16 17. with Mat. 11.25 27. When Peter confest Christ to be the Son of the living God our Saviour calls him blessed and tells him that not flesh and blood but his Father had revealed it to him and in the other place blesseth his Father who had hid this as other things from the wise and prudent but had revealed them unto Babes 2. Babes believe that God sent his Son into the world to save sinners and 't is a degree of Faith that Jesus Christ accepts and commends Joh. 17.8 Christ tells his Father of it by way of commendation that his Disciples as yet but Babes had believed that he had sent him viz. to be the Messiah to restore and redeem Israel which though some of them understod for a while but carnally yet they had it seems now a better notion of it and in Joh. 16.27 he tells them that his Father loved them because they loved him and believed that he came out from God viz. to repair the world And though they have not yet such distinct notions of the Priest-hood of Christ of his becoming sin for them that they might be made the righteousness of God in him both which are by imputation yet this general Faith carries them towards Christ Jesus this assent leads them to an addressing Faith as appears in these following discoveries of it 1. This Faith which they have as to both God and Christ puts it self forth in purposes and resolutions to go to God though it be but on a probability or possibility such as that of the Lepers 2 Kings 7. uncertain hope is preferred before certain danger and death No sooner did the Prodigal believe that in his Fathers house there was bread enough but on this very account though he knew not how he should speed he would venture to go rather than perish with hunger and this was first in a purpose I will arise go c. Well saith the soul I see this if I live in my sins I must die sin and death keep company but there is mercy with the Lord he can forgive me if it so please him and 't is a faithful saying and northy to be received that Jesus Christ came into the world to ● save sinners and though I cannot say God will be merciful to me yet I will arise and go I will adventure and see what he will do with my poor Soul And truely God takes this kindly as 't was said of David about building the Temple that 't was in his heart to arise and go these first motions are very acceptable to God 2. The Faith of Babes toward God and Christ puts it self forth in Prayers this Babe not only breaths but cries as 't is said of Paul Behold be prayeth Acts 9.11 This Faith goes with a petition in its mouth as the Prodigal did I will not only arise and go but I will say too I will confess my sin beg pardon and withal a place in the house though but that of a Servant So the poor Publican yet afar off as the Prodigal was Lord be merciful to me a sinner and this much upon the general account of mercy for hitherto saith Christ of his Babes ye have askt little or nothing in my name and he went home justified Luke 18. So that God pickt out Faith there for by Faith not by Prayer or Repentance are we justified This Faith puts purposes into Prayers and Prayers into practice for the Prodigal arose and came and was welcom 3. Therefore