Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n
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A51845
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A practical exposition of the Lord's-Prayer by ... Thomas Manton.
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Manton, Thomas, 1620-1677.
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1684
(1684)
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Wing M532; ESTC R30512
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305,803
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534
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fruitful Seasons filling their Hearts with Food and Gladness that is gave them a comfortable use a Blessing upon the use of outward things And Levit. 26. you will find a Distinction between Bread and the Staff of Bread we may have Bread yet not the Staff of Bread Many have worldly Comforts but not with a natural Blessing Eccles. 3. 13. That every Man should eat and drink and enjoy the Good of all his Labour it is the Gift of God not only that he should have Increase by his Labour but enjoy Good to have the comfortable use of that Increase 8. Contentation is one of God's Blessings that we ask in this Prayer Give us this day our daily Bread That is such Provisions as are necessary for us Contentment and quiet of Mind in the Enjoyment Ioel 2. 19. Behold I will send you Corn and Wine and Oil and ye shall be satisfied therewith It is not only a Blessing we should look after but Contentment that our Minds may be suited to our Condition for then the Creature is more sweet and comfortable to us The Happiness of Man doth not lie in his Abundance but in the Suitableness of his Mind to his Estate Luk. 12. 15. A Man's Life consisteth not in the abundance of things which he possesseth There 's a twofold War within a Man both which must be taken up before a Man can have Comfort there 's a War between a Man and his Conscience and this breeds trouble of Mind and there 's a War between his Affections and his Condition and this breeds murmuring and envious repining Say Yea Lord and let us be contented with thy Gift This for the first thing how God is concerned in these outward Comforts Secondly That the Lord doth freely and graciously give these good things to us that is meerly out of his Bounty and Goodness It is not from his strict remunerative Iustice but out of his Grace The very Air we breath in the Bread we eat our common Blessings be they never so mean we have them all from Grace and all from the tender Mercy of the Lord. Psal. 136. 25. you have there the Story of the notable Effects of God's Mercy and he concludes it thus Who giveth Food to all Flesh for his Mercy endureth for ever Mark the Psalmist doth not only ascribe those mighty Victories those glorious Instances of his Love and Power to his unchangeable Mercy but our daily Bread In eminent Deliverances of the Church we will acknowledg Mercy Yea but we should do it in every bit of Meat we eat for the same Reason is rendred all along What 's the reason his People smote Sihon King of the Amorites and Og the King of Bashan and rescued his People so often out of danger For his Mercy endureth for ever And what 's the reason he giveth Food to all Flesh For his Mercy endureth for ever It 's not only Mercy which gives us Christ and Salvation by Christ and all those glorious Deliverances and Triumphs over the Enemies of the Church but it 's Mercy which furnisheth our Tables it is Mercy that we taste with our Mouths and wear at our Backs It is notable our Lord Jesus when there were but five Barley Loaves and two Fishes Iohn 6. 11. He lift up his Eyes and gave Thanks Though our Provision be never so homely and slender yet God's Grace and Mercy must be acknowledged But to evidence this by some Considerations that certainly it is of the Mercy of the Lord that he giveth Bread to the Creature God giveth these Mercies 1. To those that cannot return any Service to him 2. To those that will not return any Service to him 3. When we are at our best we cannot deserve them 4. We deserve the quite contrary 1. He giveth these Mercies to those that cannot return any Service to him The Beasts and Fowls of the Air the young Ravens Psal. 145. 16. Thou openest thy Hand and satisfiest the Desire of every living thing What can the Beasts or Fishes or Fowls of the Air deserve at God's Hand what Honour and Service can they bring to him only they have a bountiful Creator from whom they receive their Allowance So as to Infants alas what can they deserve at his Hand when God rocks their Cradles and nourisheth them from the Dug what Service can they do to God Isa. 46. 3 4. By me saith the Lord You are born from the Belly and carried from the Womb and even to your old Age I am he and even to hoare Hairs will I carry you Mark not only in Old Age when we have done God Service doth he maintain us but from the Womb the Belly before we could do any thing for him we were tenderly handled by him He alludeth to Parents and Nurses which carry their Younglings in their Arms. In Infancy we are not in a Capacity to know the God of our Mercies and look after him yet he looked after us then when we could not perform one act of Love and Kindness to him The Psalmist takes notice of this Psal. 22. 9. 10. Thou art he that took me out of the Womb thou didst make me hope when I was upon my Mother's Breast I was cast upon thee from the Womb thou art my God from my Mother's Belly Christians before ever you could do any thing for him or your selves before you could improve his Mercy when you could not know who was your Benefactor who it was that nourished and cherished you yet then God rocked your Cradles kept you from many Dangers nursed you and brought you up and carried you in the tender Arms of his Providence 2. God gives these Mercies to those that will not serve him when they can Isa. 1. 2. I have nourished and brought up Children and they have rebelled against me There are many in the World whom God protects supplies and provides them of all Necessaries yet they return nothing but Disobedience Contempt Rebellion and Unthankfulness The Sun doth not shine by chance but at God's disposal Mat. 5. 45. He makes his Sun to rise on the Evil and on the Good and sendeth Rain on the Iust and on the Vnjust Most of those which are fed at God's Table and maintained at his Expence and Care they are his Enemies and many times the more Men receive from him the worse they are Look as Beasts towards Man when they are in good plight they grow fierce and are ready to destroy those which nourish them so when 〈◊〉 are plentifully supplied we kick with the Heel wax wanton and forgetful of God Or as a froward Child scratcheth the Breast which suckles it so we rebel against God that nourished us and brought us up and dishonour our heavenly Father that provides these Blessings for us Parisiensis hath a saying They which hold the greatest Farms many times pay the least Rent so the great ones of the World they which have most of God's Bounty give him the least Acknowledgment
Sins There is a twofold Debt which Man oweth to God 1. A Debt of Duty 2. A Debt of Punishment 1. A Debt of Duty Worship and Obedience this is a Debt we owe to God In this sence it is said Rom. 8. 12. We are Debtors not to the Flesh to live after the Flesh In which Negative the Affirmative is clearly implied that we are Debtors to God to live to God Debtors to the Spirit to live after the Spirit By the Law of Creation we were not appointed to serve and please the Flesh but to serve God Luke 17. 10. When you have done all those things which are commanded you say We are unprofitable Servants we have done that which was our Debt or Duty to do Obedience Worship and Service is a Debt we owe to God by virtue of that Interest which he hath in us and Command he hath over us And so you have that Speech Gal. 5. 3. that we are Debtors to the whole Law as we come under the Obedience of it 2. A Debt of Punishment which we are fallen into through the neglect of our Duty Punishment is due to us as Wages Rom. 6. 23. The Wages of Sin is Death God hath as it were made a Contract with us that if we will sin we must take our Wages we must take what it comes to Now in this Petition when we say Forgive us our Debts we do not desire to be discharged of the Duty we owe to God but to be acquitted of the Guilt and Punishment The Faults or Sins that we are guilty of oblige us and bind us to the Punishment and therefore Sins are called Debts The original Debt we owe is Obedience and in case of Default the next Debt we owe is Punishment Look as in a Contract and Bond if the Party observe not the Condition then he is liable to the Forfeiture So God dealt with Man by way of Covenant and the Tenor of it was exact Obedience and this Covenant had a Sanction or an Obligation annexed in case Obedience was not exactly performed we should be accursed and suffer all manner of Misery in this Life and the next Now by the Fall we incurr'd this Penalty and therefore as lost and undone Creatures we run to God's Mercy and beg him to forgive the Debt or the Forfeiture of that Bond of Obedience wherein Man standeth bound to God by the Law A little to make it good before I come to the Body of the Petition let me shew how Sin is a Debt wherein it agrees That will appear if you can consider 1. Our Danger by Sin 2. Our Remedy from Sin In both the Parts you will find Sin is considered as a Debt First If you consider our Danger by Sin 1. There is a Creditor to whom the Debt is due and that is God Luke 7. 41. when he would set out God's Mercy he saith There was a certain Creditor which had two Debtors c. God is there set forth under the Notion and Similitude of a Creditor God is a Creditor partly as our Creator and partly as a Lawgiver and partly as a Judg. As our Creator and Benefactor from whom we have received all that we have It was the Lord that gave to every Man his Talents to trade withal to some more to some less Mat. 25. Thus God hath trusted us with Life and all other Blessings But then as a Law-giver If God had given us Life Strength Parts Wealth that we should do with them what we would tho the Gift would oblige us in point of Gratitude to serve our Benefactor yet we had not been so responsible for our Defaults But we are under a Law to serve him and honour him that made us and gave us what we have God did not dispossess himself of an Interest in them He did not give them to us as Owners and Proprietors to do with them what we would but he gave them to us as Stewards our Life and Employment here is a Stewardship Nay God is not only a Law-giver but also a Judg he will call us to an Account He doth oblige us as a Creator but imposeth a Necessity upon us of obeying and serving him as a Law-giver and not only makes a Law but will take an Account of Men how they observe the Law of their Creation There will a Time come when the Lord of those Servants will come and reckon with them and require his own with Usury Luke 19. 23. He will require this Debt and Service at our Hands else we must endure the Penalty Well this is the Connection He that abuseth God's Mercy as a Creator offends him as as Law-giver and is justly punished by him as a Judg. There are many never think of this therefore are not sensible of these great Relations nor that they shall answer for all their Talents Strength and Time and Advantages they have in the World Thus there 's a Creditor 2. As a Debtor is bound to make Satisfaction to the Creditor or else is liable to the Process of the Law which may be commenced against him So are we all to God Bodies and Souls we are become 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 guilty before the Lord Rom. 3. 19. So we translate it We are under the Sentence of the Law liable to the Process of his revenging Justice and one day God will pursue his righteous Law against us All the fallen Creatures are quite become Bankrupt we can never pay the original Debt of Obedience therefore must be left to lie under the Debt of Punishment 3. Look as Debts stand upon Record and are charged upon some Book of Account that they may not be forgot So God hath his Book of Account a Book of Remembrance as it is called Mal. 3. 16. All our Words Speeches Actions they are all upon Record what Means we have enjoyed what Mercies what Opportunities what Calls and what Messages of his Love and Grace Iob 14. 17. My Iniquity is sealed up in a Bag. As Mens Writings or Bonds which they have to shew for their Debts owing to them are sealed up in a Bag so Iob useth that Similitude Thus is Sin represented as a Thing that is upon Record and cannot be forgotten Many times we lose the Memory of what we have done in Childhood and Infancy but all is upon Record and your Iniquities vvill one day find you out tho you have forgotten and think never to hear of them more 4. A Day of Reckoning will come when God will put the Bond in Suit and all shall be called to an Account Sometimes God reckoneth with Sinners in part in this World but surely in the next Death is but the Summons to come to an Account with God Luke 16. 2. Give an Account of thy Stewardship for thou mayest be no longer Steward That Passage of the Parable is applicable to Death That when ye fail they may receive you into everlasting Habitations ver 9. When the Soul is turned out of Doors