Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A60325
|
The practices of persecutors delivered in a sermon on the fourteenth verse of the foure score six Psalme / b Mr. Archibald Skeldie.
|
Skeldie, Archibald.
|
1645
(1645)
|
Wing S3932; ESTC R20904
|
44,206
|
68
|
Because meek and merciful men are most like God who glorieth in his mercy so fierce and cruel men are most like Satan who delights in cruelty to whom is given the name of a destroyer in the 20. of the Revelation because he taketh pleasure to destroy the creatures of God so that when he cannot extend his malice to men he is content to exercise his cruelty on beasts as the Gospel telleth us of the legion of devils that drowned the Swine Thirdly Because our happinesse standeth in an union with God and the neernes of our accesse to God augmenteth our blessednesse according to the saying of the Psalmist * Psal 65.4 Blessed is the man whom thou choosest and whom thou causeth to come to thee Cruell men can have no society nor fellowship with God * Psal 5.6 Who abhorreth the bloud-thirstie for amongst all things that can be presented to the minde or senses of man there is not any two things so contrary to another as the mercifull Creator and cruell creature 4. Because albeit cruel and malicious men for a time may get liberty to exercise their fury yet in end they shal not escape the vengeance of God which is the just reward of their cruelty Amongst the Pagans Hercules and Theseus were famous that subdued and punished cruell men by whom many had beene injured and oppressed And shall it not much more concerne the glory of Gods power justice to render to cruel men the reward of their cruelty It was observed by Plato the Philosopher (o) Nullus tam severe inimicum saum ulcisci potest quam deus solet miserorum oppressores Plato in Timaeo That there is no man upon earth so sevirly can take vengeance on his enemie as the Lord God useth to take vengeance on such as oppresse poore men This vengeance the Lord some time executeth by the hand of man which did make * Iudges 1.7 Adonibezek to acknowledge the justice of God albeit it often falleth out that men whom God useth as instruments of his justice looke not to the glory of God but to sacisfie their owne vindictive humour * Isai 33.1 Woe to thee that oppresseth for when thou shalt cease another shall oppresse thee The Meeds and the Persians were no lesse cruell to the Caldeans nor they had been to the people of God but more frequently the Lord plagueth cruell men by his own immediate hand with visible judgements in the sight of the world to the glory of the power justice of God We read in the history of the Macabees that the bowels of the cruel Antiochus were tormented who had caused the bowels of others to be tormented and in the Iewish history we read of the punishment of cruel Herod the great for his crueltie as well against his owne Children as against the Nobles and people of the Iews The Scripture likewise telleth us of the condigne punishment of the wicked * 2 Chro 21.8 Iehoram king of Iudah And in the sea of histories it is related of the cruel and bloudy Attila king of the Huns who was never moved with tears of any to shew mercy or pitie but as he delighted in the sheding of humane bloud while he lived he was overtaken by the vengeance of divine justice in his greatest triumph in his mariage day for he was chocked with his own bloud which did flow abundantly from divers parts of his body untill his wretched life was finished There are infinite examples both in Ecclesiastick historie in the book of the Martyrs of the just punishment wherewith the cruell persecutors of the Saintes of God in all ages have beene plagued therefore it was worthily observed by Cyprian (p) Certi sumuset fidenres quod inultum non remanet quod perpetimur quantoque mator fuerit persecutionis iniuriatanto et iustior pro persecutione viudicta Cypreanus tract coutra Demetrium We are sure confident that what we suffer shall not be unrevenged and the greater the wrong of the persecution be somuch the more just and grievous shall be the revenge which God shall take of the persecutors The Second use which here is to be observed whensoever we heare of the cruelty of wicked men against the Saints of God in any place of the world and when we our selves are threatned with their cruel hostility then we should put up our humble prayer to the Lord our God We should pray to God to be delivered from cruell enemies for two reasons that if he will chastise us for our sins and offences he would doe it with his own hand and not give us * up to the will of our enemies For David wisely choosed * to fall into the hand of God rather than into the hand of men Thus we should pray for two reasons First because no favour towards the Saints can be expected at the hands of their persecutors Secondly because God to whom the Saints pray is both willing to heare and able to helpe First I say because no favour but extreme cruelty to the people of God may be expected at the hands of the cruell enemies of God and his people as Ieremie speaketh of the king of Babylon * which did show no mercy to the people of the Iews The Scripture compareth persecution to a floud of water for as a floud of water is not like an ordinary river which runneth along in its owne channell but altogether overfloweth banke and brae and violently carieth away whatsoever it overtaketh So persecution is not like an ordinary war betwixt two Nations that can give take reasonable quarters as occasion is offered but persecution passeth the bounds of Humanity and breaketh the bonds of Nature and committeth outragious crueltie that Humane sense abhorreth the committing whereof maketh the eares to tingle the flesh to quake and the heart to tremble (q) Quamquam animits meminisse horret luctuque refugit Virg. lib. 2. Aentid So that the minde of man will abhorre the remembrance thereof with greife and sorrow We need not to call to minde the antient examples of cruelty that are registrate in Ecclesiastick history seeing of later times we heard of the Spanish inquisition and that which hath beene used in the prison houses and pillories of England while as the tyranny of the Prelates advanced to that hight that it could not stand and that these yeares by-past hath beene more than barbarously practiced by the Irish Rebels against the Saints and servants of God All this should make us draw near to God by humble prayer that we be not exposed to the cruelty of our enemies especially seeing as Solomon saith * The very mercies of the wicked are cruell For whatsoever favour cruell persecutors offer to the people of God is alwayes upon conditions that are worse than death For as Wizards and Witches when they cure mens bodies of diseases bring greater hurt to their soules by the use of unlawfull meanes whereby they draw guilt
hee saith They set not God before them No wonder therefore that God cast them behinde him as afterwards shall be declared In the handling of the first point Two sorts of pride possesse and miscary the children of men there are two things likewise considerable first how the enemies of David are called proud men And what sort of pride is this wherewith they were possessed and miscaried Secondly What can be the reason wherefore the proud enemies of David arise against him And all other proud persecutors against the Saints of God As for the first there are two sorts of pride wherewith a great many of the children of men are possessed and miscaried The first may be called an inward pride because though it be knowne to God from whom * Ierem. 16.17 no iniquity is hid yet it is not known to men except * Luke 26.45 when the mouth speaketh of the abundance of the heart for so the pride of the Pharisees was often manifested But so long as it is not outwardly expressed it is no wonder though it be not known to others seeing it is hid from the maÌ„ that hath it for either he no more knoweth that pride ruleth in him thaÌ„ * 2 Chro. 26.20 Vzziah did know that he was leprous before he was violently taken from the altar by the high priest Or else which is worse he is so far from thinking this pride to be vice which is to be avoided that he imagineth it to be a singular vertue which is to be cherished for this is one of the miseries to which sinfull men are subject in this world (a) Fallit enim vitium specie virtutis umbra Iu ven satyr 14. That they are deceived with vice under the colour of vertue Now we must consider that this inward pride hath three branches first The inward pride hath 3. branches vvhen men thinketh either that they have the gifts and graces that they have not or at least in a greater measure than indeed they have them * Galat. 6.3 He that thinketh himselfe some-thing while hee is nothing is deceived For as the emptie vessels when they are touched soundeth loudest and the barren trees lift their branches highest So where there is least worth there is usually a greatest conceit and opinion of worth Hence it is that often-times men are puffed up with a conceit of righteousnesse though they be unrighteous as our Saviour speaketh of the Scribes and Pharisees They are wise in their own conceit when their remedilesse folly is manifested to others according to the saying of Solomon Hee that is wise in his owne conceit there is more hope of a foole than of him And in a word they are puffed up with a conceit of knowledge above other men while they are replenished with grosse ignorance of things that are chiefly to be known like the * Iohn 7.49 Pharisees that counted the people cursed that knew not the Law yet they themselves understood not the meaning of the Law As vve may read in the 23. of Mattews Gospel and therefore an Ancient said vvell (c) Nulla praesumptio pernitiosior quam de propria iustitia aut scientia superbire O superba praesumptio O prasumptucsa superbia Augu. de verbis Domini No presumption is more hurtfull than to be proud of our own righteousnes and knowledge O proud presumption O presumptuous pride 2. Men are inwardly proud when though they be gifted above others they acknowledge not their gifts to come from God who ought to be praised for the bestowing of them and served in the use of them they finde the fruit but see not the tree from whence it falleth they see the water but perceive not the fountaine from whence it floweth they finde the gifts to be in themselves therefore they think them to be of themselves and from themselves for though they have nothing but what they have received they boast as though they had not received This maketh them to ascribe the praise of the gifts to themselves and to thinke they may use them at their pleasure They * Habac. 1.16 sacrifice to their owne net and burne incense to their owne yarne As the first pride was presumptuous so this pride is sacrilegious because it depriveth God of the praise and glory that is due to his Majestie And therefore Gregorie well observed (d) Qui bona accepta sibi arrogant de bonis dei contra DeuÌ„ pugnant Grego in moralibus That hee who afcribeth not to God the good things that he hath received fighteth against the Lord with those good things that he hath received from the Lord. 3. Men are puffed up with inward pride when albeit they acknowledge they have received gifts from God and are daily craving benefits at his hand yet they are filled with such a conceit and opinion of their owne merits â—s â—â—at they thinke they deserve whatsoever they have received they thinke the Lord no lesse oblidged to them than they are to him The old Pharisees though they could purchase heaven by their owne good workes * Luke 18.18 Good Master what good thing shall I doe to inherit eternall life and so they needed not to be saved by the merits of another who by their owne merits could save themselves The proud hypocrits are angrie when they are not regarded of the Lord as they thought they should have beene * Isay 58.3 We have afflicted our soules and thou hath not seene it greater pride than all this is found in Papists In the opinion of their merits of Congruitie Dignitie and Condignitie and in the workes of Supererogation not remembring what our Saviour hath injoyned his Disciples to say * Luke 17.10 That wheÌ„ they have done all they can do they are unprofitable servants For albeit the basest man in the world may sometime well deserve at the hands of the greatest and the worse man at the hands of the best yet neither the greatest nor the best man in the vvorld can deserve any good at the hand of God * Lam. 3.22 whose mercie it is that he is not consumed and a greater mercy that by Christs merits he is brought to salvation who by his own merits procures nothing but endlesse condemnation Therefore it was well acknowledged by Origen (e) Vix mihi suadeo quod possit ullum opus esse quod ex debito dei remunerationem deposcat cum etiam hoc ipsuÌ„ quod agere aliquod possumus velcogitare vel proloqui ipsius dono largitione faciamus Ori gen in cap. 4. ad Komanos I hardly can bee assured that there can be any work that requireth reward of God according to debt Seeing even that that we are able to doe any good or to thinke or speake any good we are inabled and furnished thereto by the gift of God Thus much concerning the inward pride vvhich is not here understood by the Prophet I now