Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
mercy_n	abound_v	lord_n	zion_n	23	3	9.1910	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A51916	Sermons preach'd on several occasions by John March ..., the last of which was preach'd the twenty seventh of November, 1692, being the Sunday before he died ; with a preface by Dr. John Scot ; to which is added, A sermon preach'd at the assizes, in New-Castle upon Tine, in the reign of the late King James.	March, John, 1640-1692.; Scott, John, 1639-1695.	1699 (1699)	Wing M583; ESTC R18158	123,796	330

1 Cor. 15. ult Wherefore my beloved Brethren be ye steadfast unmoveable always abounding in the work of the Lord forasmuch as ye know that your Labour shall not be in vain in the Lord. This God of his Infinite Mercy grant unto us all for the sake of Jesus Christ c. SERMON IV. Psal. lxxvi 10. Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain THIS Psalm is confessed by all to be a Psalm of Thanksgiving a Song composed to perpetuate the Memory of some wonderful and extraordinary Deliverance But what this Deliverance was is not so well agreed on by Interpreters Some would have it to be a Psalm of David penn'd to commemorate those Victories he obtain'd over the Philistines the Moabites and the Syrians others would have the occasion of it to have been the discomfiture of that formidable Army which was brought up by the Ethiopians in the days of Asa but most understand it of that remarkable defeat which was given by the Angel to Sennacheribs Army in the Reign of Hezekiah Upon this account the LXX inscribe it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Latin Canticum ad Assyr●●● that is an Ode or Song made upon the Assyrians And this Interpretation will receive further Light from those words of vers 5. The stout-hearted are spoiled they have slept their sleep and none of the men of might have found their hands The Assyrian was now an Universal Monarch his Soldiers were reputed the stoutest hearted in the World having made their Valour renowned by their innumerable Conquests but yet notwithstanding all this when they brought a formidable Army against Ierusalem their Numbers and their Strength did signifie nothing for the Angel of the Lord went forth and in one Night slew 185000 men in the Camp of the Assyrians 2 Kings 19. 35. They indeed slept their sleep and the opinion of their own strength and Hezekiahs weakness made them secure but in the midst of their security God smote them in the night-time by his Angel so that the Mighty Men of valour slept indeed but it was the sleep of Death for they never awakned again never found their Hands Hence we read 2 Chron. 32. 21. That the Captains the Leaders and all the Mighty Men of Valour were cut off in the Camp of the King of Assyria Thus the God of Israel who had been blasphemed by the Assyrians vindicated his own Honour by this wonderful overthrow and his Servant Hezekiah who was delivered became Famous and Renowned amongst the Nations Hence we read 2 Chron. 32. 23. That many brought Gifts unto the Lord unto Jerusalem and Presents to Hezekiah King of Judah so that he was magnified in the fight of all Nations from thenceforth Thus the wrath of Man did praise the Lord the remainder of wrath he did restrain Before I can draw from the words such Observations as the Solemnity of the Day will require I must bestow some little explication on them First The wrath of Man the Hebrew word is Chamath and properly signifies Rage Tho' Anger Wrath and Rage be often in Scripture used promiscuously yet sometimes they are distinguished and indeed a real difference may be found between them For Anger is the boyling of the Blood about the Heart a Fever darted into the Veins which causes a violent Commotion in the Spirits Wrath is the manifestation of this inward distemper by Looks or Gesture or Actions tending to Revenge But Rage is the height or extremity of both the former it causes the Heart to study Destruction to mediate and contrive the utmost of Mischief and Villany and the outward Man to watch all opportunities of putting it in Execution and that with the greatest depth of Malice and height of Fury One would think this one word had been sufficient to express that Helish Malice which the Wicked bear against the Church of God But what is Chamath in the beginning of the Verse is Chemoth in the close What was put in the singular number is afterwards put in the plural for so the words should be rendred the wrath of Man shall praise the Lord the remainder of wraths or rages shalt thou restrain The Rage of the Wicked is not small their Fury does not terminate in one Plot but it is exceeding great ever working and multiplying by continuance so that there is not any Design so Barbarous any Conspiracy so Bloody or Devlish which their Rage will not put them upon if one Plot fail they are ready for another and like the troubled Sea they never rest but are still casting up Mire and Dirt Well then might the Psalmist call them Rages in the plural number they are as Gad a Troop or if you please you may call their Name Legion they are so many But Secondly It is called the wrath of Man in the Hebrew the wrath of Adam This Livery can fit the Shoulders of none but a very wicked Man one that is descended from the First Adam and is not yet ingrafted into the Second But yet it is some comfort that he is but a Man whose Heart is filled with all this Rage we may be safe it seems so long as the God of Heaven is on our side He can restrain all this wrath he can make it turn to the benefit of his People and his own Glory The LXX are very ingenious upon the last words of my Text for what we translate the remainder of Wrath shalt thou restrain they render 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Rage of Man shall keep Holy-Day unto the Lord and give his People opportunity to Laud and Magnifie his Glorious Name By this you cannot but understand how well the Text and the Day will agree We shall in the Day as well as in the Text find Anger and Wrath and Rage yea Rages in the plural number And tho' our Adversaries call themselves Christians and pretend to be the only Catholicks in the World yet their Anger will be found to be fierce and Cursed their Wrath and Rage Cruel such as the Psalmist here calls the VVrath the Rage of Adam of one that is not yet regenerate or grafted into the New Stock Their Plots have been many their Conspiracies Black and Bloody but thanks be to Heaven we have found our Enemies to be but Men tho' Cruel and Wicked to the height we have had the experience of God's Power and Goodness over-ruling and restraining their Wrath and Fury so that if our Gratitude had kept pace with our Mercies and Deliverances we should have had more days of Thanksgiving in our Calendar than now we have But to help us a little in the performance of these Duties which this Solemn Day calls aloud for I shall observe from the words three Things First That the Rage of the Wicked against God and his People is very great Secondly God by his Providence wonderfully does over-rule the Rage and Malice of Wicked Men. And Thirdly The end that God hath in these

come now Fourthly In the fourth place to shew you what Reasons and Encouragements we have to endeavour after the highest degrees of Grace And 1st Our serious endeavours after the highest degrees of Grace will be an excellent means to preserve that saving growth in Grace the pious Christian has already attain'd to There is a dangerous Opinion in the World that a man cannot totally and finally fall away from Grace According to these mens sentiments he that is once sincerely Righteous will infallibly hold on and persevere unto the end Now if this Opinion were true this exhortation would be vain But certainly nothing can be more contrary to the plain Doctrine of the Scripture Hear what St. Peter saith Chap. 1. of this Epistle vers 10. Give all dilligence saith he to make your Calling and Election sure for if you do these things you shall never fall You see he puts an if in the case such as fairly implies that we may neglect our Duty and fall from our own stedfastness For the same reason St. Paul gives this necessary Caution Rom. 11. 20. c. Be not high-minded but fear for if God spared not the natural branches take heed lest he also spare not thee Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God on them which fall severity but towards thee goodness if thou continue in his goodness otherwise thou also shalt be cut off But a fuller confutation of this dangerous Opinion we cannot desire than what may be gathered from the words of the Prophet Ezek. 18. 24. VVhen the righteous man turneth away from his righteousness and committeth iniquity and doth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doth shall he live saith the Lord No All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned in his trespass that he hath trespassed and in his sin that he hath sinned in them shall he die Thus plain it is that a Christian may fall away from that saving state of Grace he has attained to And what I pray is more likely to secure his steadfastness than serious endeavours after the highest degrees of Holiness Our Apostle it seems thought so for having in the foregoing Verse given this necessary Caution Beware Brethren lest you fall from your own steadfastness he presently subjoins in the Text as the properest means to secure them from falling but grow in Grace It is the same in spiritual growths that it is in naturals For as a man by eating and drinking and other natural Actions preserves his natural Life so the Christian by serious endeavours after higher degrees of Holiness preserves his spiritual Life The Musician screws up his Peg to an higher pitch that he may be sure it will not fall lower than the true Note Even so the higher degrees of Perfection we aspire to the less danger shall we be in of falling lower than what is absolutely necessary And this certainly is sufficient encouragement to continue these our serious endeavours 2ly These serious endeavours after a further growth in Grace than what is absolutely necessary to Salvation will give the pious Christian a more comfortable assurance of Eternal Happiness It is no doubt a kind of Heaven upon Earth to be assured of Heaven whilst we are here upon Earth This is that hidden Manna mentioned in the Revelations which fills the Soul with all variety of Delights Now nothing besides a particular Revelation from Heaven can be more likely to create this full assurance in the Soul than these Heroick attainments of Grace and Vertue Grace is that Seal of the Spirit by which we are marked and sealed unto the day of Redemption And certainly the brighter and more evident that Grace is the more evident will it be to our own selves and the fuller our assurance of Heaven and Eternal Happiness Many good Christians are in a safe condition and yet their condition is not so comfortable by reason of those fears and doubtings which do often accompany these lower degrees of Grace But the more we abound in good Works and the more eminently our Graces shine the more comfortable will our Assurance be and the clearer our Title to Heaven and Eternal Happiness Read St. Paul's 11 Chap. to the Hebrews where he sets down a large Calendar of God's eminent Saints such as advanc't into the highest form of Piety and Vertue and you 'l find their Faith as great as was their growth in Grace and their assurance of Heaven bearing a just proportion to their improvements in Holiness For St. Paul describing their Faith ver 1. calls it the substance or subsistence of things hoped for the evidence or clear demonstration of things not seen 3ly These serious endeavours after the highest degrees of Grace as they will secure our Title to Heaven and give us a more comfortable assurance of it for the present so they will hereafter advance us to higher degrees of Glory in Heaven We know there are different degrees of Glory in Heaven even as one Star differeth from another Star in Glory so also saith St. Paul shall be the Resurrection of the Iust As St. Austin speaks Splendor dispar Caelum commune the Saints shall dwell together in the same Heaven but yet like Stars they shall shine with different Rays of Glory Now these higher degrees of Glory will be conferred on such who arrived at higher degrees of Grace Hence when our Saviour tells his Disciples John 14. 2. In my Fathers House are many Mansions Tertullian remarks thus upon the place Quomodo multae Mansiones si non pro varietate Meritorum Wherefore saith he should our Saviour mention many Mansions in his Fathers House if there were not several Rooms of different Size and Glory provided for his Saints according to the variety of their deserts Indeed Heaven has room enough to lodge all the Godly but as in other Magnificent Palaces so in this of Heaven there are higher and lower larger and lesser Mansions in which God's Saints shall be disposed of according to those Services they have performed upon Earth Their Rewards hereafter shall be answerable to their Obedience here See then what incouragement there is to endeavour after the highest degrees of Glory These it seems will create an Heaven in our Souls whilst we live here on Earth These will at our Deaths carry our Souls as high as Heaven nay which is more they will lodge them in the best Mansions there Hence is that of our Apostle Chap. 1. 11. If these things be in you and abound then shall an entrance be ministred unto you abundantly into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Iesus Christ. Having therefore these Promises Dearly Beloved let us cleanse our selves from all Filthiness both of Flesh and Spirit perfecting Holiness in the fear of the Lord. Let us go from Strength to Strength and grow from one degree of Grace unto another until we appear before our God in Sion I shall conclude all with St. Pauls Exhortation