Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
mercy_n	word_n	work_n	year_n	116	3	4.2156	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A03769	Of the expresse vvorde of God A shorte, but a most excellent treatyse and very necessary for this tyme. Written in Latin, by the right reuerend, lerned, and vertuous father Stanislaus Hosius, Bishop of VVarmia, Cardinal of the Holy Apostolyke See of Rome, and of the presidents in the late general councel holden at Trent. Newly translated in to English.	Hozjusz, Stanisław, 1504-1579.; Stapleton, Thomas, 1535-1598, attributed name.	1567 (1567)	STC 13889; ESTC S116558	106,428	242

elbowe of euery hand and made pillowes to lay vnder the heades of euery age the more easely to entrape their soules How contrary was the preaching of these ij sortes of prophetes They thretned to saue These lulled to destroye Yet in the meane tyme both prophezied in the name of God bothe gloried in the worde of the lorde But is not the trade and manner of the prophets of our age euen leeke to this VVhat do they els which be laufully sent of the Catholike Churche but denoūce vnto the people the same which Esaie Hieremie Ezechiel Daniel Ioël Ionas other the ꝓphets of God did in those dayes denounce They rebuked the wickednes of the people they exhorted thē that beīg drōke they would awake weepe and howle Fearfull thinges they fortolde thē And being so put in feare they exhorted thē that they should turne vnto our lord that they should yeld worthy fruits of penaunce that so being throughly correctyd thy might happely escape the paynes wherwith the lord had threatned thē And being so turned ageine vnto our lord yn fasting weeping and mourning then at the last did they discouer vnto thē the mercye of our lorde and did forbidde that no person throwgh the greatnes of his sinnes should dispayre of pardō For our lorde is gētle and mercyful pacyēt and of much mercy and one that wil be intreatid to remitt his displeasure He will not the death of a synner but rather that he should conuert and lyue He followeth not mans impatience but loge looketh for our repentaunce so as yf wee yeld worthy fruictz of penaunce he also repenteth him of his threates and forbearith to lett faull vppon vs the plages which he denounced and with our chaunge is also chaunged him self Thus the myndes of mortall mē beyng lyft vp into a better hope lest perhaps the preaching of the greatnes of Gods mercye might make them agayn negligent and careles behold how he tempered his speeche VVho knowyth sayth Ioël yf he shall turne yf he shall forbear and leaue behynd him his blessing As though he would saye sayth S. Hierome wee truly do exhort so myche as in vs is to repentaunce because wee knowe the mercy of God to be vnspeakable but because we can not knowe the bottom of the wisedom and knowledge of God we temper our speeche and wishe rather then presume our sinnes to be forgeuen vs. And Remigius the Bisshopp of Auxerre about 700. yeres past or there about following herein S. Hierō They might sayth he haue answered because the lord is pacyēt and of myche mercy as thow saiest it is not needful that we afflict our selues and do penaunce for he will haue mercy on vs what so euer we do But the prophett to mete with this sayth what man liuyng knoweth yf God be turned from the fury of his wrathe to mercye It is not possible for any man to knowe it It is better that doing penaunce wee meryt to atteyne pardon of our sinnes and after penaunce doon hauing obteyned remission thereof then wee offer sacrifice vnto our lord After the same sort more then 400. yeres past Rupertus Abbat of Tuitia by Collē reporting the same wordes Euē yn penance it self sayth he the Prophett wissheth vs to be ware and taketh away surety Of the same opiniō allso nere 300. yeres past was Albertus not without cause named the great whoo expownding the same wordes Although saith hee it bee certaine that God pardoneth the cōtryte yett is it vncertayne whither any man be truly contryte he shall see that he cā not be correctyd whom God hath despysed The wicked mā prayed to the lord of whom yet hee did not obteyne mercye Cain made oblation yett God had no regard to his sacrifyce Moises saide of some behold not o lord their oblations Thus farre Albert. Behould how Ioël preached and how euer since by the space of one Thousand ij hundred yeres by long succession of Priestes and Bisshops euen to this our age these wordes of his haue been vnderstanded Yet did not Iohel alone so preache but Daniel allso VVhen he expownded to the king Nabugodonosor his dreame did hee not in the beginning terribly feare him when hee declared what mischieffs should happē vnto him yet did he not by and by will him to dispayr but shewed him the waye wher by he might escape the paynes which were thretnyd vnto him Let my councell sayth he O king please the Redeme thy sinnes with almes and thy iniquitees with mercy toward the poore VVith these wordes he brought some comforte to the kinge being before stryken with a wonderfull feare Yett would hee not sett him in a carelesnes or surety He said not be sure thy sinnes shal be forgeeuē thee but thus God will perhaps forgeeue thy sinnes Of wich wordes S. Hierom treating when Daniel sayth hee forknowing thinges to come doubteth of Gods determination full rashely doo they which bouldly promise forgeuenes to sinnes And the ordinary Glose saith This their temerytee is intollerable Thus thē prophesied Ioëll and thus Daniell But what did the kinge of Niniue when Ionas the prophett fortolde him it should come to passe that with in xl dayes Niniue should be destroyed did not he beīg clothed him self in sackcloth and sitting ī ashes exhorte the people to penaunce that men and beastes should be couered with sackes that they should strōgly crye vnto our lorde that men might be turned frō their euill waye and from the iniquitees which they had in hand But did he after suche cōuersion bidd them stande by and by in surety of pardon No but as Ioël and Daniel did so did he who knoweth saith he yf godd will be turned and forgeue vs which wordes S. Hierō expoūding sayth Therfore this forgeuenes is made doutfull and incertain that while men stād yn doubte of their saluacion they shoulde the more earnestly doo penaūce and more stirre God vnto mercy which wordes are in like termes repeted of Remigius and Rupertus and yn the ordinary glose In such sorte that neuer any one mā yn the Church of God semeth otherwise to haue vnderstode the wordes of those ꝓphettes VVhose māner of preaching yn this point wee reade the Apostles allso to haue followed For so did Peter speake vnto Simon Magus who thought the gift of God might be possessed for moony Doo penaunce saith he for this thy wickednes and pray to God to see yf happely this nawghty thought of thy hart may be forgeuen If happely saith he he dooth not bid him to be certayne and sure therof This doctryne of the prophettes and Apostles dooth the Catholyke Churche yett howlde geeuing Terrour to sinners that therby shee may the more effectually stirre them to repētawnce which whē they haue done shee dooth not therfore cōmaund them by and by to be owt of feare but rather by all meanes dooth feare them from perillows

securite and well commawndeth them to hope in our lord and to doo good But assurednes of forgiuenes of their synnes and certayn knowledge therof to bragge of and yn that suertye rechlesse to rest shee forbyddeth For albeit of the mercy of God of his promyses of the merytt of Christ his death of the vertue and efficacye of the sacramentes no good man ought to doubte yet when anny man respectyth hymself and his owne infirmitee hee may well feare and stand yn doubt of Gods grace in his owne parte This is the preaching of the Catholyke Churche well and rightly agreyng with the doctryne of Esay Hieremie Ezechiell Daniel Ioël Ionas yea and of S. Peter the Apostle But doo these men which not muche more then xxx yeres passed departed from vs agree therwith Naye rather they seeme to stand cleane square from this doctrine For what other thing saye these teachers but that which Ananias Semeias and the rest of the faulse prophetes sayde to whom our lord had not spoken you shall not see the swoord say they there shal be no famyn emong you but sure peace wyll the lord geeue you Peace Peace they crye when peace is not and denouncyng a sownde slepe securyte deceyue the sowles of many For they teache what so euer our woorkes be so our fayth be fyrme and stedfast wee are sure of our saluation for that God regardeth not woorkes VVhere yet the playn woordes of the scripture be manyfest to the contrary Namely where it speakyth of the Niniuites their appeasing of God God sawe their workes and because they were turned frō their euill waye he had mercy of them God saw their woorkes sayth the Prophet These fellows on the other syde saye God regardeth no workes Behould lord sayth the prophet Dauyd my humillite and trauayll and pardon all my synnes And in an other psalme Regard my humillitee and deliuer me because I haue not forgotten thy lawe Behould lord because I haue looued thy commandementes Quicken me yn thy mercye VVhich wordes S. Hilary expounding The prophett sayth he reseruyng all to the iudgement of God desireth to be deliuered for the meryt of his humillitee whom S. Ambrose following sayth As he which hath hūbled his hart As he which hath laboured muche there he desireth his sinnes may be forgeuē and here he prayeth to be deliuered And after a fewe wordes he thus sayth farther A good wrestlar sheweth his lymmes that the well orderyng of him self for that feate may be allowed he allso then shewyth his lymmes when after hard tugging and paynfull grypes hee is ageyn prouoked to the wrestlyng place to the end the Iudge seing his weary and trauayled body compell him not eft soones to wrestle She we thow therfore the humillitee of thy hart that the tokens of thy vertue may appeare Shew also the paynfull stryfes thy body hath Indured that thow mayest saye I haue wrestled a good pulle I haue endyd my race and the spirituall Iudge beholding thy striuing for the game may adiudge vnto thee the Crowne of iustice because thow hast accomplisshed the lawe of the game The prophett prayeth godd that hee would regard his humilyte his trauayll and that he was not forgetfull of his lawe that hee looued his Commandementes which Saint Ambrose commaunded also wee should shewe vnto Godd But the false prophetes and false Ghospellers of our age denye that God regardith our workes They denye that he hath any care of them and teache that how so euer our workes be yett must euery man stand assured here of that freely for Christes sake his sinnes be forgeeuen him That hee is in the fauour of God and heyre of the lyfe euer lasting for so muche as all our Iustice and all our holynes is but mere synne and a thing Condempned As for Contrition that it is a thing so farre from profytyng that it makyth a man the greater synner That yff remorse of synne doo gnawe any mans conscyence hym doo they commawnd thus to awnswer VVhat is synne but Sinne I am notwithstandyng holly or yf I be not yett Christ is God As though it were lausull for euery man to be wicked because Christ is God By his Iustice teache they wee are Iust by his goodnes wee are good yea thowgh wee haue not in vs so muche as one sparke of his goodnes Yea althowgh wee be ouer whelmed yn all kindes of Iniquitee Looke how muche the more wicked thow art sayth one of these newe Ghospellers so muche the sooner dooth God geeue his grace vnto thee Yea hee Commawndeth his followers thus to saye My sinnes doo burdē Christ not my cōscience But what maye not wee say with Hieremie the prophett VVoonders are happened vpon the earthe to the astonning of men Prophetes prophesied lyes Priestes clapped their handes and my people leeked suche thinges In dede the people hath leeked suche thinges For so may wee see men rauisshed with the smothe woordes of these lyeng prophetes euen as it were with the sweet songes of meremaydes that yf a man will go aboute to preache vnto them rather true and holsom thinges then those which are swete and pleasaunt to the eares he shall be hissed out of the place And rude vnlearnyd asses will not styck sometyme to prescribe vnto the prophettes what they shall preache and to teache them of whom they shoold be taught See not say they looke not owt for vs those thinges which ar ryght Speake vnto vs pleasing thinges Looke owt errours for vs. Preache vnto vs only fayth Threaten not hell fyer but promyse vs the kingdom of heauen that after our ryott and delycaces after our incestuous wedlockes wee may yett looke to fynd paradyse open vnto vs. what shewe youe vnto vs the way of the lord which wee are not willing to enter yn to what doo youe recyte to vs the name of the holly one of Israël which dooth not enter ynto the secrettes of our hartes Thow seest most vertuows kyng of what sort is the preaching of those which in this our age call them selues Gospellers wher yn deed they haue no agreement with the Gospell and what ys agayne the doctryne of the catholykes Those men commawnd nawght ells but that eche man stedfastly beleeue and rest well assured that he standeth yn the state of grace and ys an vndoubted heyre of the kyngdom of heauen how so euer his workes be And with this their vayne surety they leade men hedlong to the euerlasting paynes of hell Our men on the other syde albeit they cōmaund vs to hope for mercy at our lorde his handes yett doo they forbydde men rechelesse to lyue yn securite and farther warne them that they thinke it not Inough to amend except they yeeld allso woorthy fruictes of penaunce and shewe foorth by their workes the fayth which they professe That when wee shall appere at the last Iudgement it shall not be asked of vs

followers Brentius also with his bande are throwen foorth of that Churche which would be counted of the Augustan not Christian confession as wee may plainly see by the writinges of Mathias Flaccus and Ioachimus Merlinus who glory themselues to be vpright perfect Lutherans But yf any man will geue more credyt to the iudgement of Melancthon or of his disciple Iustus Menius then shal he fynd that they geue the like iudgemēnt of Flaccus as Flaccus doth of them VVhere then shall wee now fynde this churche of Luther Melancthon will not graunt it to be emong the Illiricans The Illiricans on the other syde say it is not emong the Melancthonistes or Brentiās whom they haue allredy throwen out from the communion of their Churche And haue not thus the very followers of Luther by hellis he discord deuided allso their owne vnitee euen as their maister before did by most impious sacrilege diuide and separat him self frō the catholyke vnitee as from our lordes barne flower VVhere then shall wee seeke this church of theirs which neither of themselues wyll graunt to the other VVho is there so destitute of all reason that will not rather chose to remayne in that Churche wherin he was borne and allso regenerat in Christ which was the greater benefyt then forsaking this to betake him self vnto that which to them selues is so vncertayne and vnknowen But God forbid that a Christiā catholyke and right beleuing man should haue any doubt whether that churche wherin not only him self but his parentes his graundfathers and great graūdfathers haue been entred into the faith of Christ be the true church of God or no. For what were this ells but to doubt whether he be a Christiā man or borne of christian parentes and as it is written by the Prophet to stumble at none daye as in the darke God hath placed his tabernacle in the sunne He hath planted his churche as a citye vpon an hill which can not be hidden But of that matter our purpose is not to taulke any more in this place for that it apperteyneth not properly to this treatyse and for that as well in our christian confession as in our writing which we haue late pubblisshed against the prolegomena of Brētius we haue at large treated of that matter wher we haue taught you which be the markes of the true churche To wytte that it be one holy catholyke and Apostolyke churche wherof except one haue the chiefrule whose auctoritee all do acknowledge it can not be caulled the churche of God Now therfore we wyll not tary any lenger vpon this matter For that I trust wee haue sufficiently shewed that the expresse word of God wherof those mē brag so myche is not the word of God but the expresse word of the diuel For the cleer and expresse word of God is Charite VVhich that it may please God by his holy spirite to power into our hartes and once to geue ende to thies schismes and heresies and to restore to his churche the desired tranquillite wee humbly beseeche his infinite mercy VVhich no doubt he will do not for our merites wherunto most greuous punishementes are dewe but of his owne exceding great goodnes so that we amend our lyues and with confidence adressing our selues to the throne of his grace incessantly contine we in feruent prayer THE CONCLVSION THis myche I had to write vnto your highnes most vertuous Kyng of the expresse word of God at what tyme I was preparing to take my iourney to Rome and by that occasiō letted with myche and mani folde busynes How be it the faithfull hart I beare your grace enforced me to bestowe this trauayll in writing of this matter The great benefytes allso which without my desert you haue heaped vpon me being so great as I doubt whether any man haue receiued the lyke of any kyng of Polonia hath driuen me therūto VVherfore howe myche the more I ꝓfesse and acknowledge my self boūde vnto you so myche ▪ the more carefull am I of your safety and namely of the euerlasting saluation of your soule For the defence wherof I will not only not flee any payne and trauail but most willingly aduenture my lyfe For it is possible ther want not some which do allso beate vpon your eares with thies wordes Throw thy self downe for it is writtē But I haue so great a confidence in your constancy and in the mercy of God that assisted therwith you will neuer imbrace their wycked counsells of separation or suffer their pestilent persuasions to haue any place with you For myne owne part yf I should see your highnes which God of his mercy forbyd slipping downe from that high tower of the church I would not fayle God geuing me strēghth yea though I should presently dye therfore but with my body receyue you faulling downe and with the death therof redeme the safegard of your sowll You knowe most worthy Kyng how often I haue imployed my trauaill in the defence of the sound and holly doctrine of the churche You know how synce the tyme your highnes pleasure was to haue me called to the office of a Bisshop I haue not spared any charges labours or perill to staye the declyning religion within this your kyngdom and dominions and to the vtter most of my power to susteyne and shore vp the same seeming redy to faull VVho can be a better witnesse then your highnes what study labour and diligence I haue imployed in auowing defending and proouing our aunciēt Christiā Catholike and right religion But for that God is iustly angry with our synnes how litle good hath yet followed therof I see to my great grief This Sathanisme doth daily increase more and more For when men haue once begonne to throwe them selues downe then are they caryed daily downe hedlong more and more into the bottomles dungiō of errours For as it was in their power to let them selues fall so when they be once going it is not then in their power to stay them selues VVhat is now the state of your kyngdome your highnes seeth VVhyle euery man allmost hath none other thing to dispute of but of the expresse word of God VVhyle eche man arrogateth vnto him self the knowledge therof and will haue his owne fancy adored as the expresse word of God Yea and often is it seene that how myche the more vnlerned a mā is with so myche the more bouldnes he will take on him to taulke and dispute of that which he vnderstandeth not But lord how myche I feare lest while euery mā wil haue what so euer him self sayeth or deuiseth to be houlden for the expresse word of God we shall shortly recken emong vs so many Polonian Gods as allredy we see of Germayne Gods VVould God your highnes would be induced most vertuous Prince to harken to the Prophets and Apostles which styll crye vnto you Auoyde idolls For what can they be ells but idolls