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	lord_n	spare_v	2,118	5	9.2354	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A70654	Threnodia, the churches lamentation for the good man his losse delivered in a sermon to the Right Honourable the two Houses of Parliament and the reverend Assembly of Divines at the funerall of that excellent man John Pym, Esquire, late a Member of the Honourable House of Commons : preached in the Abbey-Church of Westminster / by Stephen Marshall ...	Marshall, Stephen, 1594?-1655.	1644 (1644)	Wing M794; ESTC R17869	27,959	53

owne are they not thy Masters Talents for which thou must be countable and for which thou wilt be condemned as a Thiefe for withholding that which was their due and none of thine but I tell thee God hath no need of thee thou art obliged to him for using thee he is not obliged to thee he can do his work without thee and raise up them whom thou thinkest meanly of to doe greater things then thou-canst imagine therefore whatever hee pleases to imploy thee in bee faithfull in it follow his businesse and do it diligently and with an humble heart Thirdly doth God often take away the choisest Instruments of our good after this manner then let all learne to make use of them and improve them to the best advantage while we have them this our Lord teacheth upon the same ground Iohn 12. 35. when his hearers had propounded a needlesse question how he could say Messiah should be lifted up that is crucified whereas the Scripture saith that Christ abides for ever instead of giving a solution to this doubt he replies Yet a little while the light is with you walke while you have the light lest darknes come upon you as if he should say you frivelously lose your time in making no better use of the light which shines among you which is given you for another end even to guide you to doe that work which alone is necessary to get sound evidence of your being children of the light to enable you to lead Gospel lives under Gospel light you spend your time in needlesse questions and neglect this which most concernes you as if it were in your power to doe it at your leasure but be not deceived this Market will not long last after a little while the Gospel will be taken from your Nation and whoever then is to seek in this great work will miserably wander in the darke and lye down in sorrow Let me therefore perswade you to give all diligence while this light shines to get your calling and election made sure Thus Christ there presseth it upon his hearers and let us urge it upon our own souls neglect no opportunity of drawing out from good and usefull men what God hath put into them for our good because we know not how long they shall abide with us If any of us have any choice or excellent book which is our owne we commonly read it at leasure now and then a leaf or two but if it be borrowed and we know not how soon the owner may call for it we sit up night and day till we have gathered all the flowers out of it thus did Elisha the servant of Elias when he once knew that his Master was shortly to be taken from him he would not part a moment from his presence but endeavoured earnestly to get as much of his spirit as was possible O if this wisdome were in us that considering the Prophets and other servants of God doe not live with us for ever we might use them as Iacob did the Angel not let them depart till we have got our blessing from them Fourthly but above all because the most useful men are often taken away in an ill time from us let us make sure of God whose yeares power goodnesse faithfullnesse and truth never faile but are alwaies present and everlasting helps in time of trouble this use the Lord teacheth his people upon the same ground Psal. 146. 2. Put not your trust in Princes nor in any sonne of man in whom there is no help his breath goeth forth he returnes to the earth his thoughts perish but happy is he which hath the God of Iacob for his God whose hope is in the Lord his God which made heaven and earth the Sea and all that is therein which keepeth truth for ever the Lord shall raigne for evermore even thy God O Sion unto all generations This use the afflicted Church made of it Isaiah 63. 18. When they had considered the daies of old and how all instruments and means of mercie had but their time and how the Lord was alwaies the same they sit down with this meditation Doubtlesse O Lord thou art our father though Abraham be ignorant of us and Israel acknowledge us not wee are past receiving any benefit from them thou O Lord art our Father our Redeemer thy name is from everlasting This use did Asaph also make of it Psal. 73. when he had considered not onely the worlds vanity and worldly mens vanity but the vanity of whatever earthly thing was most like for to comfort him his flesh failed and his heart failed and how that the Lord alone was the strength of his heart and his portion for ever he concludes all with this ver. 28. It is good for mee to draw nigh to God and put my trust in the Lord God And verily so long as we are strangers to this wee shall be as Saint Iames his double-minded man unstable in all our waies as the weeds which are driven every way where the ebbing and flowing Sea doth carrie them and as the topps of Trees which are driven with every wind this way and that way but if once we had learned to make the most high our stay and strength to trust in the Lord Jehovah we might possesse our souls in perfect peace for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength We might bee as a Rock in the midst of the Sea not moved with any tempest as Mount Sion which cannot be removed but standeth fast for ever Now what argument could be a greater spurre to this then to know the brevitie vanity instability of all other helps look upon whatever is deare and thought to be advantagious to thee without which thou knowest not what to doe thy father husband Pastour friend estate life c. of all these thou must acknowledge they are but grasse the glory of them is but like a flower in the field but in God thou maiest find all the same things sufficiently eminently everlastingly an everlasting Father an everlasting Husband an everlasting Friend an everlasting Sheepheard an everlasting Portion an everlasting Life Let thy soule therefore waite upon the Lord make him thy onely helpe and shield let thy heart rejoice in him and trust in his holy name alone and let thy mercy O Lord be upon us all who desire to feare thy name and to hope in thee alone And thus much of the first observation That God often deprives his Church of most usefull men when they could ill bee spared The second followes which is That when God doth take away such usefull instruments it is a matter of sad lamentation for proofe hereof wee have first God himself requiring of it 2. Examples of the Saints practising thirdly strong Scripture-reason inforcing it First you have God himself so far calling for it that in Esaiah 57. hee charges it upon them as a great sinne and the fore-runner of a great judgement that