Selected quad for the lemma: hand_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
hand_n	david_n	king_n	saul_n	6,232	5	10.0779	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A30160	The Jerusalem-sinner saved, or, Good news for the vilest of men being a help for despairing souls, shewing that Jesus Christ would have mercy in the first place offered to the biggest sinners / by John Bunyan.	Bunyan, John, 1628-1688.	1689 (1689)	Wing B5545; ESTC R27236	74,451	194

send out conditions of Peace to the biggest of Sinners yea that they should be offered to them first of all for so he means when he says Begin at Jerusalem This is wonderful this shows his heart to purpose as also the heart of God his Father who sent him to do thus There is nothing more incident to Men that are awake in their Souls than to have wrong thoughts of God Thoughts that are narrow and that pinch and pen up his Mercy to scanty and beggarly conclusions and ridged legal conditions supposing that it is rude and an intrenching upon his Majesty to come our selves or to invite others until we have scraped and washed and rubbed off as much of our dirt from us as we think is convenient to make us somewhat orderly and handsome in his sight Such never knew what these Words meant Begin at Jerusalem Yea such in their hearts have compared the Father and his Son to niggardly rich Men whose Money comes from them like drops of blood True says such God has Mercy but he is loth to part with it You must please him well if you get any from him He is not so free as many suppose nor is he so willing to save as some pretended Gospellers imagine But I ask such If the Father and Son be not unspeakably free to shew Mercy why was this Clause put into our Commission to preach the Gospel Yëa why did he say Begin at Jerusalem For when men through the weakness of their wits have attempted to shew other reasons why they should have the first proffer of Mercy yet I can prove by many undeniable Reasons that they of Jerusalem to whom the Apostles made the First offer according as they were commanded were the biggest Sinners that ever did breathe upon the face of God's earth set the unpardonable sin aside upon which my Doctrine stands like a Rock That Jesus the Son of God would have Mercy in the fi●st place offered to the biggest Sinners And if this do●h not shew the heart of the Father and the Son to be infinitely free in bestowing forgiveness of Sins I confess my self mistaken Neither is there set this aside another Argument like it to shew us the willingness of Christ to save Sinners For as was said before all the rest of the signs of Christ's mercifulness might have been limitted to Sinners that are so and so qualified but when he says Begin at Jerusalem the Line is stretched out to the utmost no man can imagine beyond it and it is folly here to pinch and pare to narrow and seek to bring it within scanty bounds for he plainly saith Begin at Jerusalem The biggest Sinner is the biggest Sinner the biggest is the Jerusalem-sinner 'T is true he saith that Repentance and Remission of sins must go together but yet Remission is sent no the chief the Jerusalem sinner nor doth Repentance lessen at all the Jerus●lem-sinners crimes it diminisheth none of his sins nor causes that there should be so much as half a one the fewer It only puts a stop to the Jerusalem-sinners course and makes him willing to be saved freely by Grace and for time to come to be governed by that bl●ss●d Word that has brought the Tidings of good things to him Besides no man sh●ws himself willing to be saved that repenteth not of his deeds for he that goes on still in his trespasses declares that he is resolved to pu●sue his own damnation further Learn then to judge of the largeness of God's heart and of the heart of his Son J●sus Christ by the Word Judge not thereof by feeling nor by the reports of thy Conscience Conscience is oft-times here befooled and made to go quite besides the Word 'T was judging without the Word that made David say I am cast off from God's eyes and shall perish one day by the hand of Saul Psal. 3.1.22 1 Sam. 27.1 The Word had told him another thing namely that he should be King in his stead Our Text says also that Jesus Ch●ist bids Preachers in their preaching Repentance and Remission of Sins Begin first at J●rusalem Thereby declaring most truly the infinite largeness of the merciful heart of God and his Son to the sinful Children of Men. Judge thou I say therefore of the goodness of the heart of God and his Son by this Text and by other of the same import so shalt thou not dishonour the gr●ce of God nor needlesly fright thy self nor give away thy Faith nor gratifie the Devil nor lose the benefit of his Word I speak now to weak Believers Secondly Would Jesus Christ have Mercy offered in the first place to the biggest Sinners to the Jerusalem sinners Th●n by this also you must learn to judge of the sufficiency of the merits of Christ not that the Merits of Christ can be comprehended for that they are beyond the Conceptions of the whole World being called The unsearchable riches of Christ but yet they may be apprehended to a considerable degree Now the way to apprehend them most is to consider what offers after his Resurrection he makes of his Grace to Sinners for to be sure he will not offer beyond the vertue of his Merits because as Grace is the cause of his Merits so his Merits are the basis and bounds upon and by which his Grace stands good and is let out to Sinners Doth he then command that his Mercy should be offered in the first place to the biggest Sinners It declares that there is a sufficiency in his Blood to save the biggest Sinners The Blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all Sin. And again Be it known unto you Men and Brethren That through this Man this Man's Merits is preached to you the forgiveness of Sins and by him All that believe are justified from All things from which they could not be justified by the Law of Moses Acts 13.38 Observe then thy Rule to make Judgement of the Sufficiency of the blessed Merits of thy Saviour if he had not been able to have reconciled the biggest Sinners to his Father by his Blood he would not have sent to them have sent to them in the first place the Doctrine of Remission of Sins for Remission of Sins is through Faith in his Blood We are justified freely by the Grace of God through the Redemption that is in the Blood of Christ. Upon the square as I may call it of the worthiness of the Blood of Christ Grace Acts and offers Forgiveness of Sin to Men Ephes. 1.7 chap. 2.13 14. Colos. 1.20 21 22. Hence therefore we must gather That the Blood of Christ is of infinite value for that he offereth Mercy to the biggest of Sinners Nay further since he offereth Mercy in the first place to the biggest Sinners Considering also that this first act of his is that which the World will take notice of and expect it should be continued unto the end Also it is a disparagement to a Man that seeks his own Glory