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	lord_n	wonder_n	2,875	5	10.7301	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A81152	Englands plus ultra both of hoped mercies, and of required duties : shewed in a sermon preached to the honourable Houses of Parliament, the Lord Major, Court of Aldermen, and Common-Councell of London, together with the Assembly of Divines, at Christ-Church, April 2, 1646 : being the day of their publike thanksgiving to Almighty God for the great successe of the Parliaments army in the West, especially in Cornwall, under the conduct of his excellency Sr. Thomas Fairfax / by Joseph Caryl, minister of the Gospel at Magnus neer the bridge, London, and a member of the Assembly of Divines.	Caryl, Joseph, 1602-1673.	1646 (1646)	Wing C752; ESTC R43612	28,502	54

duty upon a generall ground O give thanks unto the Lord for he is good because his mercy endureth for ever But because that which is every bodies work is usually no bodies work therefore in the next words he puts the duty into distinct hands Let Israel now say let the house of Aaron now say let them now that fear the Lord say that his mercy endureth for ever The Church of the Jews fals here under a three-fold distribution First Israel the body of the Common-wealth Secondly The house of Aaron the Ministers of the Temple Thirdly All that fear the Lord Converts and Proselites out of all Nations under heaven Having thus awaken'd and summon'd all to this duty he begins a narrative of the speciall grounds and reasons of it which appear in two branches First The readinesse of God to hear and help him from the 5. vers to the 10. I called upon the Lord in distresse the Lord answered me and set me in a large place The Lord is on my side c. Secondly The malice of his enemies in opposing him who are described 1. Their multitude All Nations ver 10. That is the Nations round about such as are named Psal 83. 7. Gebal and Ammon and Amaleck the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tire c. These have consulted together with one consent they are confederate against me 2. Their neernesse of prevailing They compassed me about David was never in such a straight or so near the borders of ruine as when Saul and his men compassed Him and his men round about to take them 1 Sam. 23. 26. when an enemy charges both in front and flank both van and reer they look like Masters of the field 3. Their frequency in renewing their assaults They compassed me about they compassed me about yea they compassed me about They compassed me about like Bees Four times they compassed him about and the fourth with an addition the last charge was hottest as setting their Rest upon it to shew how restlesse and uncessant they were in their opposition 4. He describes his enemies by the end which the Lord brought them unto They are quenched as the fire of thorns vers 12. Some read They are kindled as the fire of thorns both the Greek and the Chaldee translate so and it is usuall in the Hebrew for the same word to signifie contraries as to blesse and to curse so here to quench and to kindle The sense amounts to the same for that which is soon kindled is soon quenched Davids enemies were soon kindled as the fire of thorns a small matter set them on fire and they were quenched or consumed like thorns which in a moment are both flame and ashes 5. He describeth his enemies by the end which they intended him or by their design against him at the 13. verse Thou hast thrust sore at me that I might fall ruine was the project Malice knows not how to go lesse then destruction They thrust sore at him that he might fall The Psalmist having made this report of his dangers and deliverances of his enemies rising rage and fall gives glory to God vers 14. The Lord is my strength and song and he is become my salvation And all his people celebrate these mercies as well as share in them vers 15 16. The voice of rejoycing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous He in whom they rejoyced and who was the subject of their song stands forth in the next words The right hand of the Lord doth valiantly The right hand of the Lord is exalted The right hand of the Lord doth valiantly Davids joy now grows up to confidence and from telling over the former mercies of God he goes on to fore-tell those which were future in the Text now read I shall not die but live and declare the works of the Lord. The words are a holy rapture or exultation of spirit his faith was too big for his heart he must vent it at his lips I shall not die but live c. There are two parts in this verse 1. Davids confidence of future mercy I shall not die but live 2. Davids conscience both of a present and future duty And declare the works of the Lord. There is a double reading of the words Some thus I am not dead but alive which translation is contended for as the best by a learned Interpreter and then the sense hath a mixture of joy and thankfulnes that he who could number so many enemies and so many dangers should yet passe the pikes untoucht and out-live them all I am not dead but alive O wonderfull Blessed be God for this We read I shall not die but live And so the words carry the sense of an high acting faith or of a faith raised up to a full-grown assurance Having told the story of his passed sufferings and salvations he believes above and beyond all possible sufferings I shall not die but live But was David immortall What man is he that liveth and shall not see death and shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave Psal 89. 49. Is it not appointed unto all men once to die And after David had served his generation did not he fall asleep Read we not often of Davids sepulchre How then is it that he promiseth thus much to himself I shall not die but live There is a two-fold death 1. A Naturall death 2. A Violent death David doth not promise himself priviledge from the former he waves not a submission to the law of nature But David did believe God would protect him from the later I shall not die that is a violent death I shall not die by the hand of these men I shall not die the death which they have voted me to in their counsels long ago Again Death may be taken under another distinction There is either A naturall or A civil death We may understand David of the later I shall not die a civil death as not a violent corporall death they shall not take away the life of my body so I shall not die a civil death they shall not take away the prosperity of my estate The two witnesses are said to be dead Revel 11. 8. and their dead bodies to lie in the streets when they were divested of all power and priviledge in holding forth the truth of the Gospel The state of the Jews in their Babylonian captivity is represented to Ezekiel by a valley full of dry bones Chap. 37. 1 2. A man may have breath in his body and yet the man scarce alive The Apostle speaks this sense 1 Thess 3. 8. Now I live that is now I live comfortably now I feel my self alive if ye stand fast in the faith So here I shall not die that is I shall not be miserable I shall not be trodden under foot or live at the curtesie and allowance of my enemies And when he saith I we are not to restrain it to Davids person

unanswerable to former mercies When God must work as much for his own name as by his own power when God remembers to work for those who have forgotten his works when God is faithfull to those who have distrusted him how do these considerations of our lownes heighten our mercies and render our deliverances as so many wonders Thus glory comes in to God by our abasement for as in confessing the circumstances of sinne some speciall sinfulnesse of our hearts breaks forth upon every one of them to humble us So in confessing these specialties of Gods works some beam of his Wisdome Justice Power Patience or Goodnesse breaks forth and irradiates all the mercies which we receive from him Therefore be very carefull in making these Rhetoricall declarations let not God have history and naked relations but be diligent in finding and eloquent in describing every even the least passage of his providence The Rabbins have a saying that there is a mountain of sense hanging upon every Apex of the word of God I assure you the least Apex in the works of God may have a mountain of goodnesse and mercy hanging at it did we but search them out There is yet a fifth Declaration of the works of God which I would rather presse and it is more necessary then all these fore-mentioned more necessary then either your Arithmeticall or your Logicall or your Historicall or your Rhetoricall declarations and that is a declaration purely theologicall or a practicall declaration of the works of God Right Honourable and beloved God will bear with us though we should be somewhat out in our Arithmetike and indeed the works of God exceed our Arithmetike they are innumerable God will beare with us though we are not such exact Logicians to methodise his works to give their descriptions definitions kindes differences and properties God will beare with us though we are but mean Historians but flat feeble and languide Orators if yet we come up in this last act and make him a full a hearty a pithy declaration of his works by ours The Lord is better pleased with the language of our hands then with the language of our tongues and we honour God more with the words which our works speak then with the words which our mouths speak I beseech you therefore make this declaration as full as may be Let your feet declare and your fingers speak to the whole Nation yea to all the world what God hath done for us It will be a very sad thing if declarations of the works of God should be made only in sermons or written in books and none found written in our hearts and lives If it should be so mercies will be our burdens as much as judgements have been and the heavier burdens too The Baptist exhorts Matth. 3. Bring forth fruit meet for repentance I exhort bring forth fruit meet for mercies for victories bring forth fruit meet for dayes of thanksgiving And give me leave a little to drive this point more home and to fasten in more distinctly upon your spirits First I would bespeak the whole Kingdom of England O England becarefull to make this practicall declaration of the works of God God appears as unbending his bowe and putting his arrowes up to his quiver as sheathing his sword and repenting of those evils of punishment which he determined against thee make hast to declare this work of the Lord by repenting of thy evils of sinne and by turning to God in duty from whom thou hast departed and whom thou hast provoked by thine iniquity God hath given the Armies of thy enemies into thine hand and he hath caused their strong holds to submit O England declare this work of the Lord by preparing a new war against those Armies of outragious lusts which encamp in all places and fight against the soul by planting batteries against the strong holds of foolish customs and vain practices received by tradition from our forefathers The Lord hath broken the yoke of thy oppressours and taken their burthens from off thy shoulders O England declare this work of the Lord by thy willingnes to put thy neck under whatsoever is the yoke of Jesus Christ and thy shoulders to his burthen God hath much purged and still preserves the Ordinances of his worship he still continues the Gospel to thee and many faithfull Ministers to dispence it O England declare this work of the Lord by prizing pure worship by improving the Gospel and honouring the dispensers of it by saying how beautifull are the feet of these who bring thee the glad tidings of everlasting peace God hath shewed that he worketh freely he hath wrought beyond all obligations O England declare this work of the Lord Be faithfull seeing thou art under so many obligations perform cheerfully and sincerely all the Vows and Covenants which are upon thee to the utmost of thy power and opportunities Lastly God hath shewed himself a friend to thy friends and an enemy to thy enemies O England declare this work of the Lord. Do not thou by unkindnes or hard usage sadd the hearts of any of Christs friends or by thy flatteries and unworthy complyances give his enemies occasion of rejoycing Let the Honourable Houses of Parliament be perswaded to make This declaration of the works of the Lord. He shines upon your counsels and hath exalted you in them Declare this work of the Lord by exalting and setting up his name in all your counsels make it appear to all the world that you are so far which possibly may have been the jealousie of some from not admitting Christ petitioning at your doors that you are daily petitioning him to command in your hearts and over all your waies God by works of wonder hath maintained your priviledges your honours and your houses declare these works of the Lord by maintaining the honour and priviledges of his house and by the advancement of his service God hath done justice and judgement in the land to admiration he hath wrought terrible things in righteousnes declare this work of the Lord by the exactnes of your justice by your streamings out of righteousnes towards all the people of this land and by cloathing your selves with judgement Let it be as hangings about your walls as a crown and a diadem upon your heads break the teeth of oppressours be eyes to the blinde ears to the deaf feet to the lame Fathers to the poor and the cause which ye know not search ye out And whatsoever ye doe in the cause of God or of his people doe it with all your might for the Lord hath wrought with all his might in your cause Let this renowned City be exhorted carefully to make this declaration God hath been as a wall as a wall of fire as a place of broad rivers as gates of brasse and barrs of iron to this City to keep out the enemy O declare this work of the Lord by letting your Heart-gates stand open continually to truth and