Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
mercy_n	father_n	ghost_n	miserable_a	5,449	5	10.3342	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A91004	Syneidēsilogia ̇or, The doctrine of conscience, framed according to the points of the catechisme, in the Book of Common-Prayer. / By the Right Reverend Father in God, John Prideaux, late Lord Bishop of Worcester, for the private use of his wife.	Prideaux, John, 1578-1650.; N. Y.	1656 (1656)	Wing P3436; Thomason E1697_2; ESTC R203209	47,433	193

this life and can receive no benefit by our prayers others may have sinned against the Holy ghost and God's decree is past upon them for whom we are not to pray An evill man D. in an evill way petitioning for an evill thing may speed no better then Bathsheba did for Adeniah in her suit to Solomon to give him Abishag to wife charity in our praiers is to be understood to extend no further then Gods word doth limit it To pray for the dead who have their immutable doom we have no warrant It is sufficient ground therefore for our conscience in this behalf that God would have all men to be saved and come to the knowledg of his truth to make it a petition in our Litany that it may please him to have mercy upon all men we beseech thee to hear us good Lord. Wherein we expresse our charitable desires leaving it to God to distinguish for whom our prayers shall be effectuall A further direction may be that of our Saviour to his Disciples Mat. ●0 11 13. if ye come into a house salute it and if the house be worthy let your peace come upon it but if the house be not worthy let your peace returne to you So our devotion in prayer for all shall be acceptable to our father who maketh his sun to rise on the evill as on the good and his raine to fall on the unjust as on the just though the saving benifit thereof shall redound only to those whom God hath appointed it shall take with The second word in our Lords prayer is C. II. Father which sheweth to what person in the blessed Trinity we should direct our prayers This prayer then being not only a prayer to be used of all but also a patterne to all what warrant then hath a scrupulous conscience to direct its prayers not to Saints or Angells or any other creatures for that good Christians are easily satisfied in but either to the Son or holy Ghost in as much as we are precisely to keep to the rule which our Saviour hath left us and not to frame other devotions how religion soever they may seeme to be according to the model of our owne fancies This ground being laid in our Creed D. that the three Persons howsoever distinguished are but one God it will necessarily follow thereupon that whosoever prayeth to one prayeth to all and all the persons howsoever distinguished in themselves yet in relation to the creatures may be called Father And beside for the directing of our prayers to the Son we have that of Saint Stephen Lord Jesu receive my spirit Act. 7.59 And for that of the holy Ghost who gave a commandement separate me Barnabas and Saul to the worke which I have called them which must needs be taken for the command of a person that was God It follows after they had fasted and prayed 3. to whom can we imagine that they have prayed but to him who gave the command Matth. 28. This is confirmed by our baptizing equally in the name of the holy Ghost as of the Father and Son and by S. Pauls blessing taking in equally the Holy Ghost with the Father and the Son Where he maketh this as his ordinary blessing The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ 2 Cor. 13.14 and the love of God and the Communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all Where the putting of Jesus Christ before the Father plainly sheweth that as we have it in Athanasius Creed in this mysterious and sacred Trinity none is afore or after another none is greater or lesse then other That which is done therefore to one is done to all For which that attribute in the prayer of the Apostles may be taken for a further ground The Text is they prayed and said Act. 1. thou Lord which knowest the hearts of all men To him that knoweth therefore our hearts and to no other we may safely direct our prayer and who will deny that the Holy Ghost knoweth our hearts which is said to guide and lead into all truth That petition therefore in our Liturgy with the like O God the Holy Ghost proceeding from the Father and the Son have mercy upon us miserable sinners and the Doxology so often repeated glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost cannot be excepted against but only by such wretches which deny the Sacred Trinity Notwithstanding as some prayers are private of or by our selves others publick with the congregation As private prayers are usually not necessarily directed to either of the Persons So publick are most orderly in the first place tendered to the Father through our Lord and Saviour Christ Jesus that he will vouchsafe us his Holy Spirit to furnish us with all blessings to accomplish all our warrantable petitions And according to this are all or most of our Liturgicall petitions framed which in an uniformity shew the order of the Persons in the Trinity and prevent distractions which might arise amongst the weaker by reason of variety From the first petition C. III. hallowed be thy name may arise this doubt That in as much as our Saviour approved of such as cast out devills in his name yet followed him not and would not have them forbidden and the Jewes attribute even at this day a virtue to the name Jehovah that miracles may be done by it in regard whereof in reverence they dare not to utter it Why may not we thinke that the name of God used by Magicians and exorcists gathered by Cabala from the Scripture may worke wonders in casting out divills curing diseases and foretelling events and thereupon with a safe conscience have recourse to wizards for aid in that behalfe The name of God in the scripture especially importeth propriety authority and ability So that being baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost we are made Gods peculiar to submit to his authority under the protection of his omnipotent ability In this petition therefore it is as foolish as superstitious by the name of God to understand from the coupling of the letters the sound resulting from it or to imagine an hidden virtue to be in the characters or sound of words to terrifie spirits or worke other wonders The hallowing of Gods name is the setting forth of Gods glory in all his attributes to which all our petitions must be referred that his kingdome in his Church may be promoted here to be perfected hereafter in heaven and his will be done in order according as is prescribed in his word Which warrantable directions we have from that guide that will not deceive Saul will get cold comfort by consuting with the witch of Endor 1 Sam 28. 2 Kings 1 or Ahaziah by sending to Beelzebub of Ekron Our Saviour reproveth rather the aemulous jealousie of his disciples then approveth of the parties that made use of his name whom they would

an arbitrator for division of an inheritance man saith he who made me a judge Luk. 12.14 Declaring thereby that no action especially concerning Gods worship we must presume to further more then by Gods appointment in his Word we have our commission thereunto Whether the Infants of Believing Parents are to be baptized C. II. in regard 't is objected they are destitute of Faith which is the necessary qualification of such who are to he admitted to the Sacrament of Baptisme It hath been the Custome of the Church in all ages and not at all denied no not by Pelagius himselfe D. who denied originall sin till these latter dayes to admit the children of believing parents to the Sacrament of Baptisme and that as a Right due unto them by especiall priviledg of birth within the bosom of Holy Church Wherein the Church may be said not only to have the example of Christ to lead her thereunto who commanded little children should be suffered to come unto him laid his hands upon them the Kingdome of Heaven consisting of such Mat. 19.14 15. But likewise was warranted by that inference of the Apostle if the root be Holy the branches are also Holy Rom. 11.16 Which though it be immediately spoken concerning the Jews and their off spring yet by a parity of reason may be accomodated to Christians and their Children An Ecclesiasticall Sanctity being to be found in these as wel as the other whereby they have a present interest and right to those means by which the ordinance of Christ is his Church should be Sanctified Neither may the Christian Childes incapacity to believe or understand the nature of the Baptismall vow be any bar for his admission thereunto more then the same incapacity in the Jewish was an obstacle to his circumcision who it is presumeable at eight dayes old could then understand no more of the Covenant of which Circumcision was the Signe then the Christian infant now can of the promise and vow made by him in Baptism and yet was he commanded to be circumcised under paine of excision Gen. 17.14 Add to this that infants as well as men were admitted to enter into covenant with the Lord under the Law Deut. 29.10 11 12. And why by the same reason should they not enjoy that priviledg under the Gospell and so Baptisme the Sacrament thereof The Covenant of the one being as ample and of as large extent as the other For which we have the expresse judgment of Saint Peter Act. 2.38.39 We shall find therefore the Baptisme of infants continued all along in the Church in an uninterrupted line Which custome of theirs certainly was derived from the Practise of the Apostles themselves if we wil give any credit to the authority of Origen St. Austin Ecclesiae ab Apostolis traditionem accepi● etiam parvulis dare baptismum in Rom. c. 6. and others of the Fathers or have any regard or consideration that the Apostles themselves did baptize whole houses in which it is to be conceived there were some children Augustinus l. 1. de peccat merit c. 16. dicit traditionem bane a Domino per Apostolos manasse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as well as those of riper yeers And with small force of argument may that of Mat. 28.19 Go teach all nations Baptizing them c. make this to signify nothing if it be remembered that the word in the originall in our translation tendred to teach is properly and according to the genuine signification thereof to make Disciples or receive into Discipleship all nations c. of which Baptisme is the ceremony It being the Sacrament of our initiation or admittance into the School of Christ and of this infants are as capable as those more growne in yeers To make a disciple not denoting that any one cometh such to the School of Christ but what afterwards he becometh by Christian institution Of which thing the Church hath been very carefull providing for them Sponsores who are not only witnesses of the promise and solemne vow made by them in baptism but Sureties for them also and in case of the death or neglect of their parents when they come to age are bound to see them Christianly educated according to the tenor of the obligation entred into by them Whether Baptisme be necessary to salvation C. III. that all dying without it even infants are damned and what is to be thought of those persons through whose default children are deprived thereof dye not having received it That regeneration is necessary to Salvation or Eternall life doth manifestly appear by what our Saviour taught Nicodemus Jo. 3.3 of which as the Spirit is the necessary inward cause so Baptism is a necessary outward mean thereunto v. 5. Hence God is said with water to sanctifie and cleanse his Church Ephes 5.26 Saint Paul calleth it the balne or font of regeneration Tit. 3.5 And Saint Peter adviseth men to receive it as an outward effectuall meanes for the remission of sins Act. 2.38 Upon this ground many of the Fathers judge very severely concerning such who have died unbaptized especially Infants towards which there is none more rigid then Saint Austin who is therefore styled durus pater infantum Yet the Church herein hath shewed her selfe a more indulgent mother and hath mingled her Judgement with Mercie having constantly held that as the wilful neglect or contempt thereof is a sin of a very high nature and damnable as may appear from the punishment to be inflicted upon the uncircumcised Gen. 17.14 That soul shall be cut off from among his people so the privation thereof where there is an impossibility of having it hath been supplied to such believers as have been of judgement by their vehement desire of it and to Infants by the secret desire of others God having not tyed his grace absolutely to baptisme Beside such is his lenity that unto things altogether impossible he bindeth none and if we cannot performe what is commanded us accepteth the will for the deed or where that is wanting by reason of their age doth otherwise dispense with his ordinance by the secret wayes of his owne incomprehensible mercy But notwithstanding this absolveth not any from guiltinesse of blood whose scrupulous curiosity should cause an ordinance of so high a concernment as this to be withheld wherein our mercilesse strictnesse saith a learned Author may be our own harm not theirs towards whom we shew it and we for the hardnesse of our hearts may perish albeit they through Gods unspeakable mercy may live An eminent example to this purpose we have in Moses whose neglect to circumcise his Son drew a judgement upon himselfe as the like neglect in us to baptize our Infants may kindle Gods wrath against us and that deservedly if we consider the multitude of souls that by this meanes may be hazarded should we suffer them to run on till they come to ripenesse of understanding that so they may be