Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
mercy_n	endure_v	heritage_n	israel_n	2,130	5	9.2325	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A59814	A discourse concerning the divine providence by William Sherlock ...	Sherlock, William, 1641?-1707.	1694 (1694)	Wing S3286; ESTC R8109	271,248	406

of particular Creatures but of the good of the whole And this in some Cases may make the greatest and most terrible Acts of Severity such as are enough to afright and astonish the World Acts of the greatest Goodness and Mercy too which will vindicate the Goodness of Providence when God seems to be most severe and to have forgot all Goodness and Compassion As to explain this in some particular Cases The good government of the World requires the defence and protection of Mankind from violent and unjust Oppressions and the most exemplary Vengeance executed upon such private or publick Oppressors is a great Act of Goodness and a great deliverance to the Oppressed 136. Psalm the Psalmist exhorts us To give thanks to the Lord for he is good for his mercy endureth for ever And among other Expressions of the Divine Goodness and Mercy he mentions the Plagues of Egypt and the Deliverance of Israel by the overthrow of Pharaoh in the Red-Sea To him that smote Egypt in their first-born for his mercy endureth for ever And brought out Israel from among them for his mercy endureth for ever With a strong hand and with a stretched-out arm for his mercy endureth for ever To him which divided the Red-sea into parts for his mercy c. and made Israel to pass through the midst of it but over-threw Pharaoh and his host in the Red-sea for his mercy c. To him who smote great kings and slew famous kings Sihon king of the Amorites and Og the king of Bashan and gave their land for an heritage even for an heritage to Israel his servant for his mercy endureth for ever This ought to be well considered before we object the Evils and Calamities which befall Bad men against the Goodness of Providence For there are few Bad men who suffer any Remarkable Vengeance but that their Sufferings are a great kindness and deliverance to others and it may be to the Publick in breaking their Power or taking them out of the World And in all such Cases the Psalmist has taught us a very proper Hymn I will sing of mercy and judgment unto thee O Lord will I sing 101. Psal. 1. Thus the good government of the World requires some great and lasting Examples of God's Justice and Vengeance against Sin And as terrible as such Examples are they are a great publick Good to the World Some few such Examples as these will serve to warn an Age nay many succeeding Ages and Generations of men which prevents the more frequent Executions of Vengeance and justifies the Patience and Long-suffering of God to Sinners If such Examples in any measure reform the World as God intends they should it makes this World a much happier place for the better men are the less hurt and the more good they will do and the less evil there is committed in the World the less Mankind will suffer and the greater Blessings God will bestow on them And though there be a great deal of Wickedness committed in the World after such Terrible Warnings as these God may exercise great Patience and Forbearance towards Sinners without the least blemish to his Holiness or Justice For such Frightful Executions convince the World of God's Justice and when God has publickly vindicated the Honour of his Justice he may try gentler Methods and glorify his Mercy and Patience towards Sinners And thus God punishes that he may spare is sometimes very terrible in his Judgments to prevent the necessity of striking often that Sinners may have sufficient warning and that he may be good to Sinners without encouraging them in sin Thus the destruction of the Old World by a Deluge of Water when they were past being reformed is a warning to all Sinners as long as this World lasts and is a publick and standing Confutation of Atheism of such Scoffers as say where is the promise of his coming for since the fathers fell asleep all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation The constant and regular course of Nature without any Supernatural Changes and Revolutions tempts men to think that there is no God in the World who changes Times and Seasons but this St. Peter tells us is visibly confuted by the destruction of the Old World for this they are willingly ignorant of that by the word of God the heavens were of old and the earth standing out of the water and in the water whereby the world that then was being overflowed with water perished And this is reason enough to fear and expect what God has threatned That this present World shall be burnt by fire But the heavens and the earth which are now by the same word are kept in store reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men 2 Peter 3. 5 6 7. Such Destructions as these can be attributed to no Natural Causes but the same Word which made the World destroyed the Old World by Water and will destroy this by Fire which makes it a visible Demonstration of the Power and Justice of God The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah by Fire from Heaven is not only a general Warning to Sinners but an Example of a Divine Vengeance against all Uncleanness and Unnatural Lusts. As St. Iude tells us Even as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities about them in like manner giving themselves over to fornication and going after strange flesh are set forth for an example suffering the vengeance of eternal fire v. 7. Thus the Destruction of Ierusalem by the Romans which was attended with the most terrible Circumstances that we ever meet with in Story is a lasting Confutation of Infidelity and a glorious Testimony to Christ and his Religion So that most of the terrible Examples of God's Vengeance how terrible soever they were to those who suffered are Acts of great Goodness to the World and therefore belong to the Goodness of Government by some severe Executions to protect and defend the Innocent and reclaim other Offenders without the necessity of terrifying the World in every Age with such repeated Severities Nay we may observe farther That when the World is grown very corrupt and degenerate and such Sinners if they be suffered to continue in it will certainly propagate their Atheism Infidelity and Lewdness to all Posterity it is great Goodness to all succeeding Generations to cleanse the World of its impure Inhabitants by some great Destruction by Sword or Plague or Famine to lessen the number of Sinners and to possess those who escape with a greater awe and reverence of God's Judgments Nay to observe but one thing more Many times these terrible Shakings and Convulsions of the World are intended by God to open some new and more glorious Scene of Providence Thus it was in the Four Empires which preyed upon each other and were at last swallowed up by the Roman Powers though they made great Destructions in the World yet they carried Learning and Civility into

and not only restored Peace to the Christian Church but made Christianity the Religion of the Empire And if the Wisdom of Providence consists in giving us wise Instructions I am sure this furnishes us with many When things are reduced to that extremity as to be past Human relief it makes it visible to all the world that it is God's doing Where there is Force against Force and Counsels against Counsels though Providence determines the Event Human Power and Counsels very often monopolize the Glory and leave God out but when God does that which men are so far from being able to do that they can't think it possible to be done this awakens a sense of an Invisible Power and makes the Divine Glory and Providence known to the world When God exposes his own Church and People to such a suffering state and threatens them with Final Ruin it is a severe Summons to repentance and warns them not to trust in vain words crying The Temple of the Lord the Temple of the Lord for God will purge his own House and no External Relation or Priviledges shall secure us from Vengeance if we walk not worthy of that holy vocation wherewith we are called But such Deliverances as these give us great reason never to despair they teach us That no case is desperate when God will save and therefore the less expectation we at any time have of Human Succors the more earnestly ought we to implore the Divine Protection and learn to live upon Faith and Trust in God When Good men are reduced to such Extremities it makes them more fervent and importunate in their Prayers more serious in their Repentance more sensible how much they stand in need of God and such surprizing and unexpected Deliverances inflame their Devotions make their Praises and Thanksgivings more hearty and sincere which gives great glory to God and betters their own minds 5thly The sudden Revolutions of the world and the various and unexpected Changes of mens Fortunes which is thought one great Calamity of Human Life is intended by God to instruct us in some necessary and excellent parts of Wisdom Some Crafty Politicians like Mariners steer their course as the Wind blows and change as it changes They have no other Rule for their Actions but to guess as well as they can where their advantage or safety lies but Providence very often disappoints them in this by such hasty changes and short turns as make them giddy and this teaches us to act by Rule not by a politick foresight of Events our Rule can never deceive us what is just and right and true is always safe but our Politicks may for things may not go as we expect The various changes of mens Fortunes teach us to treat all men with great humanity not to be insolent when we are prosperous nor to despise our Inferiors for we know not what they nor we may be before we die Civility and modesty of conversation is always safe but pride and insolence may create us Enemies who may in time how mean soever they are at present be able to return our insolence The Divine Providence so orders Human Affairs as to teach us most of the wisest Rules of Human Life both for our Religious and Civil Conversation and this I take to be a manifest proof of the Wisdom of Providence 6thly The Wisdom of Providence is often seen in the wise mixture and temperament of Mercy and Judgment when he corrects but not destroys humbles but does not cast down when he makes us sensible of his displeasure and gives us just reason to fear but without despair when as the Psalmist speaks He lifts up and casts down keeps us under the discipline of hopes and fears and tries our Faith and Patience and Submission and both threatens and invites us to repentance by the interchangeable Scenes of prosperous and adverse Events Thus the Psalmist tells us it is with good men The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord and he delighteth in his way though he fall he shall not utterly be cast down for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand 37. Psal. 23 24. Thus 94. Psal 14 15. For the Lord will not cast off his people neither will he forsake his inheritance but judgment shall return unto righteousness and all the upright in heart shall follow it And he proves this by his own Experience Vnless the Lord had been my help my soul had almost dwelt in silence When I said my feet slippeth thy mercy O Lord held me up 17 18 Verses An Example of this ye have 27. Isaiah Hath he smitten them that is Israel as he smote those that smote him He smote Israel but not as he smote the Enemies of Israel Or is he slain according to the slaughter of them that are slain by him In measure when it shooteth forth wilt thou debate with it He stayeth his rough wind in the day of his east wind This is to sing to God of Mercy and of Judgment to learn righteousness by the things which we suffer but still to trust in his help CHAP. IX Concerning those Duties which we owe to Providence I Have now finished what I intended with relation to the Nature and Justification of Providence and all that remains is to explain and enforce those Duties which we owe to Providence Natural Religion is founded on the belief of a God and a Providence for if there be no God there is no Object of our Worship if there be no Providence there is no Reason for our Worship But a God that made the world and takes care of all the Creatures that are in it deserves the Praises and Adorations of all A God who neither made the world nor governs it is nothing to us we have no relation to him he has nothing to do with us nor we with him but a God in whom we live and move and have our being is the Supream Object of our love and fear and reverence and hope and trust and of all those religious and devout Affections which are due to our Maker and Soveraign Lord. This is so plain that it is enough to name it but the nature and extent of those Duties which we owe to Providence deserves a more particular consideration As to instance in some of the chief 1. To take notice of the Hand of God in every thing that befalls us to attribute all the Evils we suffer and all the good things we enjoy to his Soveraign Will and Appointment This is the foundation of all the other Duties which we owe to Providence and the general neglect of this makes us defective in all the rest Now if the Divine Providence has the absolute government of all Events you must confess it your duty to take notice of Providence and to acknowledge God in every thing for this is only applying the general Doctrine of Providence to particular Events without which particular application the general belief of a