Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
mercy_n	bless_a	father_n	miserable_a	3,490	5	9.7884	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09063	A Christian directorie guiding men to their saluation. Deuided into three bookes. The first vvherof apperteining to resolution, is only conteined in this volume, deuided into tvvo partes, and set forth novv againe vvith many corrections, and additions by th'authour him self, vvith reprofe of the corrupt and falsified edition of the same booke lately published by M. Edm. Buny. Ther is added also a methode for the vse of al; with two tables, and a preface to the reader, which is necessarie to be reade.; First booke of the Christian exercise.	Parsons, Robert, 1546-1610.	1585 (1585)	STC 19354.1; ESTC S114169	529,786	953

this assurance vnto vs Christ sent that most sweet and comfortable embassage vnto his disciples presentlie vpon his resurrection Goe and tel my brethren that I doe ascend vnto my father and vnto your father vnto my God and vnto your God By which two wordes of Father and God the one of loue and th' other of power the one of wil the other of abilitie he tooke away al doubt of not speeding from each man that should make recourse to this merciful Lord and Father God him self also after many threates vsed by the prophet Ieremie against the people of Israel for their sinnes in the end lest they should dispaire turneth about his talke and changeth his stile assuring them of many graces and fauours if they would returne vnto him telling the house of Israel that he had loued her from the beginning and had sought to draw her vnto him by threates to the end he might take mercy vpon her and that now he intended to build her vp againe to adorne her with ioy and exultation to gather her children from al corners of the earth to refresh them with the waters and riuers of life al this saith he quia factus sum Israeli pater for that I am become now a Father to Israel And in the same place to wicked Ephraim the head citie of the rebellious kingdome of Samaria he saith Ephraim is become my honorable sonne my delicate and dearely beloued child therefore my bovvels are moued vvith compassion vpon him and in abundance of mercy vvil I take pitie of him So much attributed God to this respect of being a father vnto Israel and Ephraim and of their being his children that for this cause only notwithstanding their infinit enormous sinnes his bowelles of endles mercie were moued with loue and compassion towardes them And thes are thos tender merciful bowelles which holie Zacharie father to S. Iohn Baptist protesteth to be in almightie God towardes mankind that had offended him Thes are thos which were in that good old father mentioned in the Gospel who being not only offended but also abandoned by his yonger sonne yet after he saw him returne home againe notwithstanding he had wasted al his thrist and substance and had weried out his bodie with wicked life he was so far of from disdaining to receaue him as he came forth to meete with him sel vpō his neck and kissed him for ioy adorned him with new apparel and riche iewelles prouided a solemne banket for him inuited his friēdes to be merie with him and showed more exultation and triumph for his returne then if he had neuer departed from him By which parable our Saueour IESVS endeuored to set forth vnto vs the incomprehensible mercie of his heauenly Father towardes sinners in which respect he is truely called by his Apostle pater misericordiarum the father of mercies For that as S. Bernard wel noteth this sea Oceā of mercies doth flow peculiarly frō the hart of a father which can not be said so properly of the gulfe and depth of his iudgementes For which cause he is called in Scripture the God of iustice and reuēge and not the Father And finally this blessed name of father in God doth import vnto vs by Godes owne testimonie al sweetenes al loue al frendship al comfort al satherly prouidēce care and protection al certaintie of fauour al assurance of grace al securitie of mercie pardon and remission of our sinnes whensoeuer vnfainedly we turne vnto him And in this point his diuine Maiestie is so foreward and vehement to geue vs assurance that being not content to set forth his loue vnto vs by the loue of a fathers hart he goeth further and protesteth vnto vs that his hart is more tēder towardes vs in this behalf then the hart of any mother can be to the only child and infant of her own wombe For thus he saith to Sion which for her sinnes begā to doubt least he had forsaken her Can the mother forget her ovvainfant or can she not be merciful to the child of her ovvne vvombe if she could yet can I not forget or reiect thee behold I haue vvritten thee in the flesh of my ovvne handes And this for so much as God is called our Father Ther remaineth yet a third consideration which more setteth forth Gods inestimable loue then any of the other demonstrations before handled And this is that he gaue the life and blood of his only begotten and eternal sonne for purchasing and redeeming vs when wee were lost a price so infinite and inexplicable as no doubt his diuine wisdome would neuer haue giuen but for a thing which he had loued aboue al measure Which our Sauiour him self that was to make the paiment doth plainly signifie and therfore also seemeth as it were to wonder at such a bargaine when he saieth in the Ghosple So dearly hath God my father loued the vvorld that he hath giuen for it his only begotten sonne In which wordes he ascribeth this most wōderful dealing of his father vnto the vehemencie and exceeding aboundāce of loue as doth also his dearest disciple and Apostle S. Sohn saing In this appeareth the great loue and charitie of God towards vs that he hath sent his only begotten sonne into the world to purchase life for vs. In this I saie is made euident his exceeding charitie that we not louing him he loued vs first and gaue his owne sonne to be a ransome for our sinnes Wherunto also the holie Apostle S. Paul agreeth admiring in like maner the excessiue loue of God in thes wordes God doth maruailouslie commend and set forth his great loue vnto vs in that we being yet sinners he gaue his sonne to the death for our redemption And in an other place framing out as at were a measure of Gods mercie by this aboundance of his loue faieth thus God who is rich in mercie thorough the exceeding loue which he bore vnto vs we being dead in sinne he reuiued vs in Christ and raised vs vp euen vnto heauen making vs to sitte doune ther with him to the ende he might declare to al ages and worldes ensuing the most abundant riches of his grace and goodnes towards vs. This was the opinion of that noble Apostle S. Paul and of al his coequals Apostles Euangelistes Disciples Saints that this worke of our redemption proceeded only from the inflamed fornace of Gods immeasurable loue And therfore to make no other conclusion her of then that which S. Paul him self doth make If God haue not spared his owne proper only begotten soone but hath geuen him vp to death for gaining vs vnto him how can it be that with him he hath not geuen vnto vs al other thinges If when we were his enemies and thought not vpon him he sent to seeke vs so diligently by such a messinger as he loued so dearly allowing

gouernour of Iurie when S. Paul began to talke of iustice chastitie and gods iudgmentes before hym he was wonderfullie a feard and said to Paul that he should departe for that tyme and that he vvould call for hym againe aftervvard vvhen occasion should require But he neuer dyd and what was the cause For that as Iosephus testifieth he was a wicked man Drusilla his fayre ladie that was with hym at S. Pauls speeche was not his true wife but taken by allurement and violence from an other and therfore it offended them both to heare preaching of chastitie This then is one principall cause whie men of this world will not enter into consideration of their owne estate and of gods cōmandementes least they should reade and see their owne faultes beare witnesse against thē selues of their owne condemnation Wherunto the scripture annexeth an other cause not far vnlike to this which is that worldlie men doe so dro vne them selues in the cares and cogitations of this life as they leaue in their mindes no place to thinke vpon gods affaires which are the busynes of their owne soules This expresseth Ieremie the prophet most effectuallie when hauing made his complaint that not withstānding his preaching and crying in the temple-gate for long tyme together where all the people passed by hym and heard hym yet no man sayeth he would enter into consideration or say with hym self vvhat haue I donne wherof he addeth presentlie the cause and reason omnes enim conuersi sunt ad cursum suum quasi equus impetu vedens ad praelium All men are sett vpon their owne courses and wayes and doe runne in the same with as great vehemēcie and fearse obstination as a furious armed horse whē he heareth the trompett in the beginning of a battaile By which cōparison the holie ghost expresseth verie lyuelie the irrecouerable state of a setled worldlie man that followeth greedilie his owne designmentes in the negotiation of earth Thes are two of the chyefe causes of inconsideration I meane wilful malice and obstinate occupation in the vanities of this life And yet mētioneth the scripture a third sorte also of inconsiderate men who nether of direct malice nor yet of greate occupatiō in worldlie affaires doe neglect consideration but rather of a certaine lightenesse and idle negligēce for that they will not trouble their heades with any thing but disporte and recreation of whom it is written aestimauerūt lusum esse vitā nostra They esteeme this life of ours to be but a plai-game And in an other place of the same mē ita securi viuunt quasi iustorum facta habeant They lyue as securelie and considentlie without care or cogitation as if they had the good workes of iust men to stand for them But as the holie Ghost pronoūceth in the same place hoc vanissimum this is vanitie and folie in the highest degree For as in thinges of this life he were but a foolish marchant that for quietnes sake would neuer looke into his accōptbookes whether he were behind hand or before and as that ship-master were greatelie to be laughed at that for auoiding of care would sett downe and make good cheere let the shippe goe whether she would so much more in the busines of our soule is it madnesse and follie to flye consideratiō for eschuyng of trouble seing in th ende this negligence must needes turne vppō vs much more trouble and irremediable calamitie For as Ieremie sayeth to all such men in nouissimo dicrum intelligetis ca in the ende of your dayes you shall not chuse but know see and vnderstand thes thinges which now for delicacie you will not take the paines to thinke of But when shall this be trow you he telleth plainlie in the same place vvhen the furie of our lord shall come foorth as a vvhirle vvinde and shall rushe and rest vppon your heades as a tempest then shall you know and vnderstand thes thinges It seemeth that the Babylonians were a people verie faultie in this pointe of cōsideration as all wealthie people are not only by that which before hath bene touched of the daughter of Babylon that would not consider her endinge dayes but also for that not long before the most terrible destruction of that greate Citie by the Medes and Persiās God cried vnto her in thes wordes My deerlie beloued Babylō put aside the table and stand vppon thy watch rise vp you princes from eating and drinking take your targetes in your handes goe and set a watcheman vppon the walles and what so euer he seeth let hym tell you And then was there a watcheman sett vppon the wales and a Lyō to denounce with open mouth what soeuer danger he saw comming towardes them And God taught the people to crie in this sorte to their sentinel or watchman Custos quid de nocte custos quid de nocte Thow watcheman what seest thou coming towardes vs by night what espyest thou ò sentinel drawing on vs in the darkenesse By all which circūstance what els is insinuated but that god would haue vs stād vppon our watch for that his iudgementes are to come vppon the world by night when men least thinke therof they are to come as a theese at mid-night as also in an other place we are admonished and therfore happie is the man that shal be founde watcheful But now the dore and sole entrance into this watch wherof the securitie of our eternal life depēdeth can be nothing els but consideration For that where no cōsideratiō is there can be no watch nor fore-sight nor knowledge of our estate consequentlie no hope of saluation as holie S. Bernard holdeth which thing caused that blessed man to wryte fyne whole bookes of consideration to Eugenius Consideration is the thing which bringeth vs to know both god and our selues And touching god it layeth before vs his Maiestie his mercie his iudgementes his commandemēts his promisses his threatninges his proceeding with other men before vs wherby we may gather what we also in tyme must expect at this hādes And for our selues consideration is the keye that openeth the dore to the closet of our hart where all our bookes of accompt doe lye it is the looking glasse or rather the verie eye of our soule wherby she taketh the vew of her self and looketh into all her whole estate Into her riches her debtes her dueties her negligēces her good guiftes her defectes her saftie her dāger her way she walketh in her course she followeth her pace she holdeth and finallie the place and ende wherto she draweth And without this consideratiō she runneth on hedlong into a thousand brakes and bryars stumbling at euerie steppe into some one inconuenience or other and continuallie in perill of some great and deadlie mischiefe And wonderful trulie it is that in all other busines of this

sueing vnto sinners for their conuersion it followeth that we should in this third place examine some what more in particuler what certaine assurance his diuine Maiestie geueth of vndoubted pardon and ful remission of their sinnes to al such as vnfainedlie shal resolue them selues to make their refuge vnto him Which thing albeit euerie mā by that which before hath bene treated may sufficientlie conceaue yet for th' importāce of the matter it shal not be amisse in this place also to adde a word or two for more plaine and euidēt demonstration therof And this shal be donne by setting doune both the wordes and deedes that is both the promisses and perfourmāce which almightie God hath vsed and excercised in this behalf to al such as haue offended him whatsoeuer And for the first which are his promises most apparent it is as wel by the thinges which before haue bene discussed as also by the whole course bodie drift of holie scripture that the promises of mercie and pardon which his diuine Maiestie hath made to synners and wherunto by his sacred word he hath in a certaine maner obliged him self are both manifold vehement absolute resolute vniuersal VVho so euer shal depart from his vvicked vvayes and turne vnto me saith almightie God I vvil receaue him Behold the vniuersalitie of al people and persons without excluding any And then further At vvhat day soeuer an impious man shal returne vnto me from his impietie his vvickednes shal not hurt him saith the same L. God of hostes see the vniuersalitie of al times seasons without exceptiō But yet harken what God addeth besides Leaue of to doe peruerselie saith he to the Iewes c. and then doe you come and finde fault vvith me if you can For if your sinnes vvher as red as skarlet they shal be made as vvhite as snovve c. Consider the vniuersalitie of al kind of synnes be they neuer so greeuous so horrible or haynous And finallie God talking to a soule that hath oftentimes fallen most infinitelie offended him he saith thus it is a common receaued speech that if a womā depart from her husbād and doe ioine her self to an other man she may not returne to her first husband againe for that she is defiled and made contaminate And yet wheras thou hast departed from me and hast committed fornication with many other louers doe thou returne vnto me againe and I wil receaue the saith almightie God By which wordes is expressed the fowerth vniuersalitie containing al states qualities and conditions of men how many waies or how oftentimes or how contemptuouslie soeuer they haue committed sinnes against his diuine Maiestie And what may be added now more vnto this was ther euer prince that made so large an offer vnto his subiectes or was ther euer father that gaue so ample and vniuersal promise of pardō vnto his children Who can now mistrust him self to be excluded from this assurance of mercie wherin al sortes of people al kindes of sinnes al times and seasons al states and qualities of sinners are comprehended O most miserable and infortunate man that excludeth him self whom God excludeth not What is ther in this general and vniuersal promises wherof anie man in the world should haue pretence to make any least doubt or question Of the meaning perhapes and intent of him that promiseth O deare brother it is onlie loue and tharitie and consequentlie can not deceaue vs. Of the truth and suertie of his promisses It is infallible and more certaine then heauen and earth put together Of the power that he hath to perfourme his promisse It is infinite and not restrained by any boundes or limitation wherof thē may we doubt or in which of thes three pointes may we not conceaue most singuler consolation heare the comfortable meditation that blessed S. Bernard made vpon thes three particulers which wee haue now mentioned Tria considero saith he in quibus tota spes mea consistit charitatem vocationis veritatem promissionis potestatem redditionis c. That is I doe consider three thinges saith this holie mā wherin al my hope cōsisteth wherby it is made inuincible First the exceeding loue and charitie of him that calleth me to him by repentance secondlie the infallible truth and certaintie of his promise which he maketh to me of pardon and mercie thirdlie the endles power and abilitie he hath to perfourme whatsoeuer he promiseth This is that triple or threefold rope and chaine which holie scripture saith is hardlie broken for that by this rope let donne vnto vs from heauen which is our contrie into this world that is our prison we may ascende and mount vp if we wil euen vnto the sight and possession of Gods eternal kingdom and heauēlie glorie Thus farre that blessed father But now to the second pointe if we consider how faithfullie almightie God hath put in execution thos promises of his from time to time how no one man vpon earth so many ages as the world hath continued was euer yet frustrate of his hope in making his conuersion vnto his Maiestie if he made it from his hart we shal finde further cause for vs to confide For so much as it is not probable or ī reason to be imagined that he which neuer failed in times past wil breake his promise for the time to come especially seing now in Christianitie when we haue this aduantage aboue other former times as S. Iohn doth also note that he who was and is our iudge is become also our aduouocat to pleade our cause Cast backe thine eyes then my louing deare brother and take a vew of al ages times and seasons past and gone Beginne from the first creation of the world and come donneward euen vnto this daye examine indifferentlie whether in al this wide compasse of times persons places most greeuous offences committed against his diuine Maiestie ther were euer yet any one sinner vpon earth that returned vnsay nedlie and was not receaued The sinne of our first parentes was presentelie forgeuen vnto them vpon their first signification of greefe and sorowe for the same And not onlie this but our Saueour also Iesus Christ was promissed to be sent for restoring them and their posteritie to the glorie and felicitie which by their fal they had lost After this vntil the time of Abraham and of the people of Israel as some workes of Gods iustice are recorded in holie writ that were excercised vpon irrepentant offendours so are ther many more celebrated of his mercie and onlie two persons in particuler are mentioned who notwithstanding some sorow which they seemed to haue of their offences were yet reiected the first wherof was the murderer Cain who at the beginning denied his wickednes vnto God and then being conuicted despaired of remission The second was Esau whom S. Paul calleth a profane fornicator who

thus who euer would haue beleeued me saith he if I had called riches thornes as Christ here doth seing thornes doe pricke and riches are so pleasant And yet truly are they called thornes for that with the prickes of their careful cogitations they teare and make bloodie the mindes of worldly mē By which words this holy father signifieth that euen as a mans naked body tossed tumbled amōg many thornes can not be but much rent and torne and made bloodie with the prickes therof so a worldly mans soule beaten with the cares and cogitations of this life can not but be vexed with restles pricking of the same and wounded also with many temptations of sinne which doe occurre This doth Salomon in the places before alleged signifie when he doth not onely cal the riches and pleasures of this world vanitie of vanities that is the greatest vanitie of al other vanities but also affliction of spirit geuing vs therby to vnderstand that where thes vanities are and the loue of them once entered there is no more the peace of God which passeth al vnderstanding there is no longer rest or quiet of mind but warre of desires vexation of thoughtes tribulation of feares pricking of cares vnquietnes of soule which is in deed a most miserable pitiful affliction of spirit And the reason here of is that as a clocke can neuer stand stil from running so long as the peazes doe hāg therat so a worldly man hauing infinite cares cogitatiōs and anxieties hanging vpō his mind as peazes vpō the clocke can neuer haue rest or repose day or night but is inforced to beat his braines when other men sleepe for the compassing of thos trifles wherwith he is incombred O how many riche mē in the world do feele to be true that I now say how many ambitious men doe proue it daily and yet wil not deliuer thē selues out of so miserable imbroilments Of al the plagues sent vnto Egypt that of the flies was one of the most troublesome and fastidious For they neuer suffered men to rest but the more they were beaten of the more they came vpon them So of al the miseries and vexations that God laieth vpon worldlinges this is not the least to be tormented with the cares of that thing which they esteeme their greatest felicitie and can not beat them of by any meanes they can deuise They rush vpon them in the morning as sone as they awake they accompany them in the day they forsake them not at night they folow them to bedde they let them from their sleepes they afflict thē in their dreames and finally they are thos importune and vnmerciful tyrāts which God threatneth to wicked men by Ieremie the prophet qui nocte ac die non dabīet requiem which shal geue no rest either by day or by night And the cause hereof which God alleageth in the same chapter is quia abstuli pacem meam a populo isto 〈◊〉 dominus misericordiam miserationes For that I haue takē away my peace from this kind of people saith God I haue taken away my mercie and my commiserations A very heauie sentēce to al them that lie vnder the yoke and bondage of thos miserable vanities But yet the prophet Esay hath a much more terrible description of these mens estate They put their trust in thinges of nothing saith he and doe talke vanities They conceaue labour and bring foorth iniquitie They breake the egges of serpentes and vveaue the vvebbes of spiders He that shal eate of their egges shal die that vvhich is hatched thēce shal be a Cocatrice Their vvebbes shal not make cloth to couer them for that their vvorkes are vnprofitable the vvorke of iniquitie is in their bandes Thes are the wordes of the ꝓphet Esay declaring vnto vs by most significānt similitudes how daungerous thornes the riches and pleasures of this world are And first he saith they put their hope in thinges of nothing and doe talke vanities to signifie that he meaneth of the vanities and vaine men of this world who commonlie doe talke of the things which they loue best wherin they place their greatest affiance Secondlie he saith they conceaue labour and bring forth iniquitie alluding herin to the childbirth of women who first doe conceaue in their wombes and then after a great deale of trauaile doe bring forth their infant euen so worldlie men after a great time of trauaile and labour in vanities doe bring foorth no other fruite then sinne and iniquitie For that is the effect of these vanities as he speaketh in the same chapter crying out to such kind of men VVoe be vnto you vvhich doe dravv iniquitie in the ropes of vanitie But yet to expresse this matter more forciblie he vseth two other similitudes saying they breake the egges of serpentes doe vveake the vvebbes of spiders Signifying by the one they vanitie of thes worldly cares and by th other the daunger therof The spider we see taketh great paines and labour many daies together to weaue vnto her self a webbe and in the end when al is done cōmeth a puffe of winde or some other litle chaunce and breaketh al in peeces Euē as he in the gospel which had taken great trauaile and care in heaping riches together in plucking down his olde barnes and building vp of new and when he was come to saie to his soule Novv be merie that night his soule was takē from him and al his labour lost Therfore Esaie saith in this place that the vvebbes of these vvcauers shal not make them clothe to couer them selues vvith al for that their vvorkes are vnprofitable Th' other comparison containeth matter of great daunger and feare For as the bird that fitteth vpon the egges of serpētes by breaking and hatching them bringeth forth aperilous brood to her owne destructiō so thos that sit as it were on brood vpō thes vanities of the world doe hatch at last their own destruction The reason wherof is as Esay saith for that the vvorke of iniquitie is in their handes stil harping vpon this string that a man can not loue and folow thes vanities or intangle him self with their ropes as his former phrase is but that he must in deede draw on much iniquitie therwith that is he must mingle much sinne and offence of God with the same Which effect of sinne because it killeth the soule that cōsenteth vnto it therfore Esay compareth it vnto the brood of serpentes that killeth the bird which bringeth them forth into the world And finallie Moyses vseth the like similitudes when he saith of vaine and wicked men Their vineyard is the vineyard of Sodomites their grape is the grape of gaule and their clusters of grapes are most bitter their vvine is the gaul of dragons and the poison of cocatrices vncurable By which dreadful and lothesome comparisons he would geue vs to vnderstand that the sweete

baptised for the gaining of heauen But it shal not be amisse perhappes to alleage S. Austens very wordes vpon this matter For thus he writeth It is a remediles peril when a man giueth him self ouer so much to vices as he forgeteth that he must geue accōpt therof to God And the reason why I am of this opinion is for that it is a great punishment of sinne to haue lost the feare and memorie of the iudgement to come c. But dearlie beloued least perhappes the newe felicitie of the beleeuing theefe on the Crosse doe make any of you too secure and remisse least peraduenture some of you saye in his hart my guiltie cōscience shal not trouble nor torment me my naughtie life shal not make me verie sadde for that I see euen in a momēt al sinnes forgeuen vnto the theefe we must consider first in that theefe not onelie the shortnes of his beleefe and confession but his deuotion and the occasion of that time euen when the perfection of the sust did staggar Secondlie shew me the faith of that theefe in thy self and then promise to thy self his felicitie The deuil doth put into thy head this securitie to the end he may bring thee to perdition And it is vnpossible to number al them which haue perished by the shadowe of this deceitful hope He deceiueth him self and maketh but a ieste of his owne damnatiō which thinketh that Gods mercie at the last daie shal help or releeue him It is hateful before God when a man vpon confidence of penance in his old age doth sinne the more freelie The happie theefe wherof we haue spoken happie I saie not for that he laied snares in the waie but for that he tooke hold of the waie it self in Christ laying handes on the praie of life and after a strange maner making a bootie of his owne death he I saie nether did deferre the time of his saluatiō wittinglie nether did he deceitfullte put the remedie of his estate in the last momēt of his life nether did he desperatlie reserue the hope of his redemotion vnto the houre of his death nether had he any knowlege ether of religion or of Christ before that time For if he had had perhappes he would not haue bene the last in number among the Apostles which was first in the king some of heauen By thes wordes of S. Augustin we are admonished as you see that this particular facte of Christ maketh no general rule of remission to al men not for that Christ is not alwaies redie to receaue the penitent as he promiseth and was to receaue this theef but for that euerie man hath not the time or grace to repent as he should at the last houre according as hath bene declared before The general waie that God proposeth to al is that which S. Paul saith Finis secundum opera ipsorum The end of euil men is according to their workes Looke how they liue and so they die To that effect saieth the prophet Once God speke and I heard thes tvvo things from his mouth Povver belongeth to God and mercie vnta thee ô. Lord for that thou vvilt render to euery man according to his vvorkes The wise man maketh this plaine saying the vvay of simers is paued vvith stones and their ende is hel darkenes and punishmentes Finally S. Paul maketh this general and peremptorie cōclusion Be not deceiued God is not mocked looke vvhat a man sovveth and that shal be reape He that sovveth in flesh shal reape corruption he that sovveth in spirit shal reape life euerlasting In which wordes he doeth not onely lay downe vnto vs the general rule wherto we must trust but also saieth further that to persuade our selues the cōtrary therof were to mocke abuse God which hath laied doune this general law vnto vs. Notwith standing as I haue said this general law barreth not the mercie of almightie God from vsing a priuilege to some particular man euen at the verie last cast But yet miserable is that soule which placeth the ancker of his eternal wealth or woe vpon so tyclesome a point as this is I cal it ticlesome for that al diuines who haue writen of this matter doe speake verie dowtfullie of the penance or conuersiō of a man at the last end And albeit they doe not absolutely condemne it in al but doe leaue it as vncertaine vnto Gods secret iudgement yet doe they incline to the negatiue part and doe alleage fower reasons for which that conuersion is to be doubted as insufficient for a mans saluation The first reason is for that the extreme feare paines of death being as the philosopher saith the most terrible of al terrible thinges doe not permit a man cōmonlie so to gather his spirites senses at that time as is required for the treating of so weightie a matter with almightie God as is our conuersion and saluation And if we see often times that a vetie good mā can not fixe his minde earnestlie vpon heauenlie cogitations at such time as he is troubled with the passions of cholicue or other sharpe diseases how much lesse in the anguishes of death can a worldlie man doe the same being vnacquainted with that exercise and lodened with the guilt of many and great sinnes and cloyed with the loue both of his bodie and things belonging therunto The second reason is for that the conuersion which a man maketh at the last day is not for the most part voluntarie but vpon necessitie and for feare such as was the repentance of Semei who hauing greeuously offended king Dauid in time of his affliction afterward when he saw him in prosperitie againe and him self in daunger of punishment he came and fel doune before him and asked him forgiuenes with teares But yet Dauid wel perceiued the matter how it stood and therfore albeit he spared him for that day wherein he would not trouble the myrth with execution of iustice yet afterwards he gaue order that he should be vsed according to his deserts The third reason is for that the custome of sinne which hath continued al the life long can not easely be remoued vpon the instant being growen now as it were into nature it self For which cause God saieth to euil men by the prophet Ieremie If an Ethiopian can change his black shinne or a leoparde his spottes that are on his backe then can you also doe vvel hauing learned al dayes of your Life to doe euil The fowerth cause is for that the actes of vertue them selues can not be of so great value with God in that instant as if they had bene done in time of health before For what great matter is it for exāple sake to pardō thy enemies at that time when thou canst hurt thē no more to geue thy goodes awaie when thou canst vse them no more to abandon thy concubine when thou canst keepe her