Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
mercy_n	ghost_n	holy_a	sinner_n	7,089	5	9.1918	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A01980	A recovery from apostacy Set out in a sermon preached in Stepny Church neere London at the receiving of a penitent renegado into the Church, Octob. 21. 1638. By William Gouge D.D. and min. in Black-Friers London Herein is the history of the surprizall and admirable escape of the said penitent.	Gouge, William, 1578-1653.	1639 (1639)	STC 12124; ESTC S103306	53,252	98

this question what shall we doe St. Peter returnes this answer Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Iesus Christ for the remission of sins Act. 2.37 38. S. Paul expressely saith Act. 26.20 that he shewed that men should repent and turne to God and doe workes meet for repentance It is an advice given to the back-sliding Churches of Asia to repent as to Ephesus to Pergamus to Thyatira to Sardis and to Laodicea Rev. 2.5 16 22 3.3 19. J might further fill volums with testimonies of Fathers and later Divines tending to the same purpose For other good and sure foundation can no man lay By this manner of raising restoring and receiving such as are fallen 1. A concurrence of Mercy and Purity in God is manifested Of Mercy in receiving such as ran from him Of Purity in receiving them upon their repentance 2. A mixture of Merit and Virtue in Christs Sacrifice is evidenced Of Merit in procuring pardon for such as denied him Of Virtue in altering their mind and disposition 3. The extent of the operation of the Holy Ghost is made knowne and that by healing the wounds of the soule by repentance as well as by easing the anguish therof by assurance of pardon 4. The Gospell which publisheth Gods free grace and rich mercy is freed from the unjust imputation of a doctrine of loosenesse and licentiousnesse in that it calleth such sinners to repentance as it offereth grace unto 5. Faith which justifieth a sinner without workes is prooved to bee justified by workes in that the sinner who with the heart beleeveth unto righteousnesse with the mouth maketh confession unto salvation 6. The Church which admitteth none but penitents is thereby declared to be an holy Church and a communion of Saints Thus we see what good ground there is to lay downe this ground-worke of Penitency as a qualification for such as are restored to the state of salvation so as all that shall be further spoken of restoring Apostates must be understood to to be spoken of Penitents For Christ hath once and againe as an irreversible doome denounced that except men repent they shall perish Luke 13.3 5. Proceed we now to the structure to be erected upon the afore-said foundation And that it be not raised higher then the foundation will well beare we must distinguish betwixt the different kinds of Apostates There are Apostates who having once turned their face from their Lord never turne to him againe as they of whom it is said Ioh. 6.66 From that time many of Christs Disciples went backe and walked no more with him Of these some are such as in regard of the event never doe repent Others are such as in regard of the nature of their sin never can repent I find in Scripture one and that but one onely kinde of Apostates excluded from all hope of recovery True it is that every Apostate implungeth himselfe into the state of perdition as hath beene prooved before inso-much as if he live and die in that estate of Apostacy he cannot be saved But there is a kinde of Apostacy which is stiled a sinne unto death for which no prayer is to be made 1 Iohn 5.16 and for which there remaineth no more sacrifice Heb. 10.26 and which shall never be forgiven Math. 12.32 Such an Apostate is he who falls totus a toto in totum wholy from the whole for ever Totus wholy that is in outward profession and inward disposition in tongue and heart A toto from the whole that is from all the Articles of the Christian religion In totum for ever or with a setled peremptory resolution never to returne to the Religion againe They who thus fall use to hate blaspheme and persecute the faith from whence they are fallen and the preachers and professours thereof which they doe notwithstanding they have knowledge and be in their soule perswaded of the truth of that Faith from which they so fall Such were the Pharisies whom Christ chargeth with blasphemy against the Holy Ghost Mar. 3.29 30. Such were Hymeneus and Alexander 1 Tim. 1.20 whom Paul delivere● unto Satan that they might learne not to blaspheme and against whom hee maketh a just imprecation 2 Tim. 4.14 Such an one allso was Iulian stiled the Apostate of whom it is reported that suddenly he did so openly and impudently renounce his faith in Christ as with certaine Sacrifices and inchantments and a bloody offering he washed away the Baptisme received of Christians and renoūced his admittance into the Church and from that time used privately and publickly killings and quarterings of beasts and other superstitious rites of the Gentiles This mind of Julian then Emperour about the solenmities of the Gentiles did not a little trouble and astonish Christians especially because he had beene a Christian before For as one addicted to his fathers which was the Christian religion he was of a child trained up according to the custom of the Church and instructed in the sacred Scriptures and brought up under Bishops and ecclesiasticall persons Through excesse of hatred against the Doctrine of Christ he omitted no kinde of malice Hee was the most spightfull mortall malicious and mischievous enemy that Christians ever had and so continued to his death wherein though hee were forced to acknowledge the powerfull revenging hand of Christ upon him yet he did it with a scoffe For being mortally wounded none can tell how he took an handfull of his owne blood and casting it abroad in the aire cryed O Galilean thou hast got the victory It is impossible to renew such Apostates againe unto repentance But all others may be renewed and restored to salvation as 1. Such as have fallen away in outward profession onely not in heart and affection Such an one is not an Apostate totus wholy In him this undue pretence My tongue alone hath sworne my minde remaines unsworne may be taken in the fairest sence though not for justification yet for extenuation at least in comparison of him who doth it totus wholy 2. Such as have renounced not all the Articles of the Christian Religion but those onely for which they were called in question These fall not a toto from the whole faith 3. Such as fall animo resurgendi with a minde and purpose to rise againe and to returne to the Church againe and that upon the first opportunity of escape that they can get These fall not in totum with an utter finall desertion of the Church at least in their intention Every of these kindes of Apostacy is indeed most heighnous in the kinde thereof from yeelding whereunto every Christian ought to be farre and more ready to endure the most bitter Martyrdome that ever any Christian did then either in profession alone or from any one fundamentall Article of the true faith or for any intended time to fall For in every of these waies is God highly dishonoured his Sonne our