Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
mercy_n	lord_n	people_n	see_v	4,828	5	3.5535	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A50245	An apologie of the churches in New-England for church-covenant, or, A discourse touching the covenant between God and men, and especially concerning church-covenant ... sent over in answer to Master Bernard, in the yeare 1639 ...	Mather, Richard, 1596-1669.; Peters, Hugh, 1598-1660.; Davenport, John, 1597-1670.	1643 (1643)	Wing M1267; ESTC R180449	39,536	50

Separatists maintaine it When Doctor Bancroft in a Sermon at Pauls-Crosse had avouched that the Superioritie of Bishops above other Ministers is by Gods owne Ordinance and to make the contrary opinion odious affirmed that Aerius per●i●ting in it was condemned for an Heretique by the generall consent of the whole Church and that Martin and his Companions doe maintaine the same opinion of Aerius What saith learned Doctor Reinolds hereunto in a Letter to Sir Francis Knolls who required him to shew his judgement herein Touching Martin saith he if any man behave himselfe otherwise then in discretion and charitie he ought let the blame be laid where the fault is and defend him not but if by the way he utter a truth mingled with whatsoever else it is not reason that that which is of GOD should be condemned for that which is of man no more then the doctrine of the Resurrection should be reproved because it was maintained and held by the Pharisees Wherefore removing the odious name of Martin from that which is sinceritie and love is to be dealt with c. And the very same doe wee say to them that would make Church-Covenant to be odious because it is held by those of the Seperation who are commonly called Brownists If men behave themselves otherwise then they ought we defend them not therein but if they hold any truth mingled with whatsoever else wee would not have that which is of God to be condemned for that which is of man truth should not be refused because of other corruptions that may be found in them that hold it If you with them hold Church-Covenant you iustifie them in all their Wayes of seperation and erronious opinions Not so for many of them hold that there are no visible Christians that stand members of the Parishes in England and that it is not lawfull to hold any private Religious communion with such perso●s and that the parishionall Assemblies are none of them true Churches and that it is not lawfull to hear any of those Ministers to preach the Word none of which are justified at all by holding Church-Covenant though they do hold the same There is no such necessarie and inseparable connexion betweene these opinions and that of Church-Covenant that he that holds this must needs hold the other also But the time hath been when your selves did not hold Church-Covenant as now you do when you were in England you were not of this mind and therefore no marvell if your change since your coming to New England be suspected and offensive If you change your judgement and practise in this manner God knows whether you may come at last and therefore men may well be afraid of holding with you in this point which your selves did not hold when you lived in your native Countrey Some of us when we were in England through the mercie of God did see the necessitie of Church-Covenant and did also preach it to the people amongst whom we ministred though neither so soone nor so fully as were meete for which we have cause to be humbled and to judge our selves before the Lord But suppose we had never knowne nor practised the same before our coming into this countrey yet if it be a truth of God there is no reason why we should shut our eyes against the light when God holds it forth unto us nor that others should be offended at us for receiving the same For by the same reason men might still continue in their sinnes and not make any progresse in knowledge and holinesse that so they may not seeme unconstant which were contrary to the Scripture wherein we are commanded nor to fashion our selves according to the former lusts of our ignorance 1. Pet. 1. 14. But to be changed Rom. 12. 2. and renued Ephes. 4. 23. and put off the old man and put on the new Ephes. 4. yea to grow in grace and holinesse 2. Pet. 3. 18. and be stronger and stronger Iob 17. 9. that our good workes may be mo●e at the last then at the first Revel. 2. 19. Sure it is the Apostle tells the Corin●hians and Ephesians that the time had been when they were not the same men that now they are when he wrote unto them and yet he doth not blame them for leaving their former opinions or practise but commends them for it 1. Cor. 6. 11. Ephes. 2. 3. c. And it is said of Apollos an eloquent man and mighty in the Scripture that when he came to Ephesus the way of God was expounded unto him more perfectly by Aquila and Priscilla whereas before he was instructed in the way of the Lord knowing onely the Baptisme of Iohn yet this was no dispraise at all to him that now upon better information he would change his judgement to the better nor unto them that were the means thereof Act. 18. 25 26. Nullus pudor est ad maliura transire The time hath been and we may be humbled for it when we lived without God in the world and some of us in many sinfull courses and shall any be offended because we are not still the same and when God called us from the wayes of sin and death to the Fellowship of his grace in Christ yet some of us lived a long time in conformity to the ceremonies imposed in our native Countrey and saw not the evill of them But when God did open our eyes and let us see the unlawfulnesse thereof we cannot see but it would have been a with-holding the truth in unrighteousnesse and a great unthankfulnesse to God for light revealed to us if we should still have continued in that course through an inordinate desire of seeming constant and therefore it is not any just cause of offence that we have changed our judgement and practise in those things when we once perceived the Word of God to disallow them Indeed it hath been sometime objected against Mr. Cartwright and others that desired the reformation of the Churches in England in regard of Discipline and Church-Order that they which stood so much for Reformation in Discipline did in after times adde and alter some things beyond what they saw at first and what themselves had formerly desired and that therefore being so mutable and inconstant in their apprehensions they were not to be regarded nor hearkened unto to which Objection Mr. Parker makes full Answer in Eccles. lib. 2. ca. 36. p. 307. where he sheweth from the Scripture and the testimonie of Bishop Iewel Doctor Reinolds and others that in the Reformation of Religion God brings not his servants into perfection in knowledge and zeale at the first but by degrees so as they grow and make progresse in these things in such wise that their good works are more at the last then at the first as was said of the Church of Thyatira even as the man that had been blind when Christ restored him to his sight could at the first but see men like trees walking and afterward saw every man cleerly and therefore it is no good arguing to say these men have altered and corrected such things from what their apprehensions were at first and therefore they are not to be regarded Now if this be no good arguing against Mr. Cartwright and those that in England have been studious of Reformation as indeed it is not then it is no good Argument against us in this matter of Church-Covenant to say we now hold and practise otherwise then we have done in former time If any shall here reply that change from conformity to the ceremonies to Worship God more purely is warranted by the Word and therefore not blame-worthy and that the same may be said of the case of Apollos of the Corinthians and Ephesians forementioned and of Cartwright and the rest in his times We answer that this is true and thereby it appears that it is not simply the changing a mans opinion or practise that can be counted blame-worthy or offensive but changing without warrant of the Word and therefore in point of Church-Covenant the issue must not be whether we or others have formerly known and practised it but whether it have ground from Gods Word For if it have as we hope have been proved before in this discourse then the observing of it can be no cause of just offence unto others nor imputation of inconstancy to our selves though in time past we had not had so much light as to discerne the necessitie and use thereof The good Lord pardon every one that prepareth his heart to seek God though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the Sanctuary and grant unto all his Churches and servants that the●● love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgement that they may discerne the things that differ and approve the things that are excellent and by his Spirit of truth be led forward into all truth till Antichrist be utterly consumed with the breath of his mouth and the brightnesse of his coming and the holy City new Jerusalem come down from God out of heaven as a Bride adorned for her husband the Lambe the Lord Jesus to whom be all glory of affiance and service for ever Amen FINIS Object 1. Answer Object 2 Answer Object 3 Answer Object 4. Answer Argu. 2. Object 1. Answer Obj. 2. Answ. Obj. ● Answer Argu. 3. Argu. 4. Argu. 5. Object Answer Argu. 1. Argu. 2. Object Answer Argu. 3. Object 1. Answer Obj. 2. Answ. Obj. 3. Object 4. Answ. Object 5. Answ. Argu. 4. Argu. 5. Object Answer Argu. 6. Obj●ct 1. Answer Object 2. Answ. Obj. 3. Answ. Obj. 4. Answ. Obj. 5. Answ. Obj. 6. Answ. Reply Answ. Obj. 7. Answ. Obj. 8. Answ. Obj. 9. Answ. Obj. 10. Answ. Obj. 11 Answ. Obj. 12. Answ. * By Brownists and Separatists you are to understād those of the rige● Separation Reply Answ. Obje 13. Answ. Reply Answ.

AN APOLOGIE OF THE CHVRCHES IN NEW-ENGLAND FOR CHVRCH-COVENANT OR A Discourse touching the Covenant between God and men and especially concerning Church-Covenant that is to say The Covenant which a Company doe enter into when they become a Church and which a particular person enters into when he becomes a member of a Church Sent over in Answer to Master BERNARD in the Yeare 1639. And now published for the satisfaction of all who desire resolution in this point LONDON Printed by T. P. and M. S. for Benjamin Allen 1643. A DISCOVRSE TOVCHING THE Covenant between God and Men and especially concerning Church-Covenant that is to say the Covenant which a Company do enter into when they become a Church and which a particular person enters into when he becomes a member of a Church 1639. JER. 50. 5. Come let us joyne our selves to the Lord in a perpetuall Covenant that shall not be forgotten ALthough that which is foretold in these two Chapters and namely in the fourth and fifth verses of this Chapter was in part fulfilled when the people of God returned from Captivitie in Babylon at the end of seventie yeares yet we must not limit the place to that time onely but may extend it further to the dayes of the Gospel and the spirituall return not of the Jews onely but of the Gentiles also when men shall be converted from Pagan Antichristian Babylonish or Jewish bondage and captivitie or from slavery to sinne and self-righteousnesse and shall be joyned to God in the fellowship of his Church in the dayes of the New Testament For as some passages in this Scripture were never fully accomplished at the returne from the captivitie of the seventie yeares and namely this that the children of Israel and Iudah should returne both together for the ten tribes returned not at all so many things that literally concerned the Jewes were types and figures signifying the like things concerning the people of God in these latter dayes In which respect sincere converts are called Jewes Rom. 2. 29. and Israelites Gal. 6. 16. Ioh. 1. 47. and our Sacraments are made 〈◊〉 of theirs a Con 10. 1 2 3. and Rome is called Babylon Rev. 17. 5 and Papists are called Gentiles Rev. 11. 2. and therefore the captivitie of Babylon might well be a Type of the spirituall captivitie of Gods people to Antichristian bondage and t●eir returne from Babylon to Sion a type of the returne of Christians from Romish slavery to the true Sion the Christian Church And this may be added further that this place seemes not onely to be meant of the private or personall conversion of this or that particular Christian but also further of the open and joynt calling of a company because it is said they shall come the children of Israel and the children of Iudah together and that their saying shall not be Let me joyne c. but in the Plurall number 〈◊〉 us joyne our selves unto the Lord so noting the joyning of a company togeth●r in holy Covenant with God Concerning which Covenant with God it will not be amisse for the better understanding of that which followes first briefly to shew how diversly Covenant is taken in the Scripture which sometimes i●ports generally any firme appointment or promise of God when man doth not promise unto God any thing backe againe Thus the preserving of Noah in the Arke and of the wo●ld from being drowned any more by a floud the interchangeable succession of day and night the giving of the Priesthood unto Phin●as the setting forth of the Shew-bread every Sabbath before the Lord and the giving of the heave-offering unto the Priests are said to be done by a Covenant or an everlasting Covenant of God Gen. 6. 18. 9. 9. 10. 11. Ier. 33. 20. Num. 25. 12 13 〈◊〉 24. 8. Num. 18. 19. But sometimes Covenant is taken more strictly and properly for an agreement which God doth make with men when he promiseth some blessing unto men and bin●es them to performe some dutie backe againe to him Taken thus it hath two parts first a promise or stipulation of some blessing on Gods part secondly Restipulation or promise or bind●●g o● man unto dutie back againe on his part both these are in those words of the Covenant I will be to thee a God thou shalt be to me a people and so Gen. 17. 1. v. 7 8 9 10. The Covenant taken thus is either the Covenant of workes or the Covenant of grace And againe the Covenant may be considered first as it is personall private and particular between God and one particular soule making Covenant with God and God with him either at his first conversion or at other times of which we reade 2 Sam. 23. 5. Psal. 119. 106. 66. 13 14. 27. 8. Psal. 119. 7 8 Secondly it is generall and publick of a company joyntly together of which this Text Ier. 50. 5. seemes most properly to speake as also that Deut. 29. 9 10 c. and that Exod. 19. 5 6 and many others A Covenant taken thus generally when it respects spirituall blessings and spirituall duties in the Communion of Saints is that which is called Church-covenant which Church-Covenant differs not in substance of the things promised from that which is between the Lord and every particular soule but onely in some other respects as first the one is of one Christian in particular the other of a company joyntly together Secondly if right Order be observed a man ought not to enter into Church-Covenant till he be in Covenant with God before in respect of his personall estate Thirdly The one is usually done in private as in a mans Closet between the Lord and his soule and the other in some publick assembly Fourthly The one in these dayes is of such duties as the Gospel requires of every Christian as a Christian the other of such duties as the Gospel requires of every Church and the members thereof Now concerning Church-Covenant two things are to be noted for the better understanding thereof first the description of it secondly the use of it and the benefit and fruit thereof For the former it may be thus described viz. A solemne and publick promise before the Lord whereby a company of Christians called by the power and mercy of God to fellowship with Christ and by his providence to live together and by his grace to cleave together in the unitie of faith and brotherly love and defirous to partake together in all the holy Ordinances of God doe in confidence of his gracious acceptance in Christ binde themselves to the Lord and one to another to walke together by the assistance of his Spirit in all such wayes of holy worship in him and of edification one towards another as the Gospel of Christ requireth of every Christian Church and the members thereof In this description there are compr●●ed six things First the generall name of the thing a solemne and publick