Selected quad for the lemma: enemy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
enemy_n	david_n	life_n	saul_n	1,175	5	9.4858	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A41644	God's call to England, for thankfulness after gracious deliverances wherein is shewed, that our deliverances, not answered with reformation, will be followed with sorest destruction / by Thomas Gouge.	Gouge, Thomas, 1605-1681.	1680 (1680)	Wing G1368; ESTC R472	73,076	204

most agreeable to the nature of man The most powerful Engine to attract the will of man is the good will and mercy of God Man being of a generous spirit is more easily drawn than driven perswaded than forced Murdering severity may force a slavish fear but never produce any loving obedience Dipping in the sweetest oyl of mercy is most effectual to soften the hardned hearts of men Parisiensis relates a History of a stubborn sinner that nothing would reclaim but God heaping up favours upon him at last he cries out Vicisti benignissime Deus indefatigabili bonitate Oh kindest God thou hast conquered me with thy unwearied goodness Were a man to relieve an inveterate enemy in a perishing condition it could not but effect a change and make him become an intimate and constant friend Sullen peremptory and imperious commands have little influence to sway obdurate Enemies The kindness of conscientious David in sparing Saul his mortal Enemy melted his stony heart and made him promise eternal friendship 1 Sam. 26.21 I have sinned says Saul I will do thee no more harm seeing my life was precious in thy sight And will not the most refractory sinner be ready to come to terms of peace at the receiving such kindness from the hand of God will he not say Ah Lord I have been an ungodly Enemy and impudent Rebel against thee thou hadst me in thy hand and mightest have suffer'd my bloody Enemies to have cut me off thou mightest have dispatcht me to eternal Torments but since thou hast been so gracious to spare and deliver me thy Enemy henceforth I shall ever be thy friend and never offer to rebel any more REASON 3. God proceeds in these gracious methods because of the experienc'd ineffectualness of destroying judgments to effect a sincere Repentance and produce an unfeigned obedience Mercy hath ever prevailed more with sinners than wrath Severity in exercising judgments may curb a head-strong sinner from outward enormities but the bent of his will and the inclination of his heart still remains to commit it These usually have no farther influence than to render men like roaring Lyons confin'd by Iron grates like ravenous dogs restrain'd by heavy chains onely making an impediment from acting not an amendment as to the will to act A lock may stop a Thief yet it alters not his mind This ineffectualness of judgments hath often been evidenc'd in the devilish behaviour that hath appeared in many under them How many in blasphemous enraged passions have belch'd out most execrable Oaths and reproachful speeches against Heaven and the instruments of Divine vengeance Et quem oderunt perire cupiunt wishing the destruction of the God that destroyed them As the Cilicians made War against Mount A●tna spitting out sulphureous flames upon them with such madness do rebellious wretches contend with the Almighty consuming them by the fire of deserved vengeance How often do men bid defiance to God heaping up plagues upon them and stopt in their sinful courses as Balaam by the Angel still will spur on in despite of God himself Zeph. 3.5 Every morning be brings his ●udgments to light but the wicked know no ●hame Sins were continued under continual judgments so Ier. 5.3 They were smitten and did not grieve And if at any time judgments have affected a sinful people by reason of the extremity of them yet all those appearances of Devotion under them have been mostly delusions being onely the workings of nature expressing a sense of suffering not the effects of grace declaring a sorrow for sinning hence hardned Pharaoh un●er the distress of miraculous judgments is seemingly moved with Repentance Thus thousands are beautiful in pangs but 't is onely the operations of judgments on the body not their impression on the heart But this ●neffectualness of destroying judgments ●s declared abundantly by the following carriage of the sufferers by them For how many have we known after the wea●ing off the smarting sense of vengeance have proved the grandees and Imperialists in provoking wickednesses and the storm of judgements being a little over have rid on with a full carreer and un●ridled chase in their unlicensed courses Since then this way effects so little God will rather make use of mercies since horrid desolations will make no mere impression God will make experiment what deliverance will do So then to conclude this head God uses these means because as Sola misericordia deducit Deum ad homines so Sola misericordia reducit homines ad Deum As mercy onely brings down God to man so mercy onely brings back man to God PROPOSITION 2. Such is the wickedness of our corrupted hearts that we are prone to proceed in sin notwithstanding the Lord is using these means with us to reclaim us We are apt to make use of our deliverances to further our sins rather than improve them to the forsaking of them For as the red Sea drinks in the River Iordan yet is never the sweeter and the vas● Ocean all other Rivers yet is not th● fresher so we receive the most excellent mercies and yet are but little the better So entire is our cursed affection to ou● espoused Lusts that whoever be dis-engaged and whoever be displeased we ar● too much resolv'd to continue in them Hence the mercies God gives for encouragements to serve him we turn to be instruments of sinning against him When God doth most for us in ways of mercy we are prone to do most against him in ways of sin 'T is reported of the Leopard that 't is most savage to those that do most for it Too true it is of us we are wretchedly most unkind to those that shew most kindness to us Felicitate corrumpimur outward felicitie makes us abound in iniquity After the receipt of special favours we often loosen the reins to Impiety and run more extravagantly after our own inventions How many become more nimble in the feats of iniquity by being anointed with the oyl of mercy Men nurse the hateful brats of their devilish lusts at the breast of Divine bounty Our envenom'd natures extract food for the nourishment of abominable sins from the singular favours of a gracious God As when the season grows warm by fructifying rays of the Sun the weeds spring up so by the increase of mercies there is often the abounding of iniquity Hos 10.1 Israel is an empty vine or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vitis luxurians a wild vine according to the multitudes of his fruits he hath increased the altars i. e. Quo res habuit pr●speriores eo magis indulsit Idololatriae Gro● The more prosperity the more Idolatry 'T is observed of the Spleen the greater it grows the less the body is the more Temporal mercies the less heavenly spirits and holy obedience Hos. 4.7 As they increased they sinned against me Heb. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sicut multiplicari eis as I multiplyed to them or as I increased deliverances honour riches so they sinned