Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
mercy_n	good_a	zeal_n	zealous_a	100	3	9.5630	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A68715	Christs politician, and Salomons puritan Deliuered in two sermons preached before the Kings Maiestie. By Thomas Scot Bachelour of Diuinitie and one of his Maiesties chapleines. These two sermons epitomiz'de. Beware of men; of hypocrites beware. Who likes not this, no friends but enemies are. Be not too iust; be not a puritan. Yet be as pure a Christian as you can.	Scott, Thomas, preacher at the Rolls Chapel.; Scott, Thomas, 1580?-1626, attributed name.	1616 (1616)	STC 22074; ESTC S100078	29,507	59

of indifferencie against the iudgement of other men wiser then himselfe And therefore old father Toby aduised his young sonne alwaies to aske counsell of the wise and the Wise-man faith Gonot from the doctrine of thine elders that are men of iudgement and vnderstanding And 22. Pro. Re●●●● not the ancient boundes which thy forefathers haue set the allegorie whereof doth teach vs neues rashly to innouate any thing in the Church or common wealth contrary to that which we haue receiued from godly antiquitie when the same also is commanded and confirmed by authority The fift is Ubi in rebus dubijs diuersae sunt iudicia diuers● opiniones humanior aequior est preferenda where in matter of doubt men are of diuers iudgements and diuers opinions that which inclimeth most to humanitie and equitie is to bee preferred as you may see in 5. Act. where the whole counsell of the Pharises and other learned men approued the opinion of G●●●●●ial alone touching the punishment of the Apostles These are the rules of equitie tending to the information and reformation of the errors of the conscience iniquestions of obedience all agreeing and concluding with that which Salomon saith here Be not too iust The fourth thing that we must not be too iust in is zeale which when it is in measure seasoned with vnderstanding and knowledge as the Apostle requireth and is desirous of the glory of God as it was in Elias and in Phineas 25. Numb then is it good and commendable in vs but when it is kindled in vs through the fire and furie of our passions and tendeth to the glory of our selues then though the cause and quarrell bee Gods yet is it not rightly to be tearmed zeale but passion indignation wrath and vengeance as it was in the Apostles when in the quarrell of their Master they were readie to desire that fire might come downe from heauen against the Samaritanes Quic quid lacerato animo quis dixerit punientis est impetus non charitas corrigentis whatsoeuer a man speaketh with an angrie and reuenging minde it is a violent passion desiring punishment and not a charitable affection seeking amendment For though sinne be to be hated and zealouslie reprooued both of vs that are Preachers and you that are professours of Christ yet must it be done with modestie and moderation of zeale and with due consideration of our selues and our owne fraile natures Aegros quos pot us fortis non cur auit ad salutem pristinam aqua tepens renocauit many sicke folkes which could not be cured with strong potions haue been recouered with warme water Wee therefore that are Preachers if we be zealous of the health and saluation of soules and desire to winne men to repentance we must carry our selues kindly to them but yet without flatterie improuing rebuking and exhorting them with all patience and long suffering Facilius penetrant mollia quàm asper a verba milde and gentle words doe easier peirce and perswade then bitter speeches The modest and milde zeale of Paul preaching Christ before Agrippa being a heathen man did by his owne confession some thing moue him to become a Christian It is good for vs that are Preachers to be zealous in God almighties cause but with modesty and mercie in meckenesse instructing them that are contrarie minded that by ones ministerie God may giue them repentance and bring them to the knowledge of his truth Be not therefore too iust The like also I may say to you that are professours of Christ it well beseemeth you to haue the zeale of God and his glory aswell as we that are his Ministers and your pastours but yet though you vnderstand more then others you must not for all that rashlie and vnder colour of zeale condemne all others that are not growen to that measure and height of knowledge that you are but you must beare with them that are weake and seeke to conforme them with loue lest the Lord God in his anger quench the zeale of his Spirit in you and kindle it in them that are contemned and condemned of you Remember that Christ will not haue the bruised reed to be broken nor the smoaking flaxe to be quenched When the Apostles in zeale of their Master were ready to call for vengeance against them that were his and their enemies Christ reprooued this their zeale and told them it came not of the Spirit of God For the sonne of man came not to condemn but to saue these Samaritans being then sauedby Christ from that destruction which the Apostles in the heat oftheir zeale desired against them within a few yeeres after were some of the first that receiued the faith of Christ by the preaching of the Apostles The wind bloweth where it will when it will the spirit of God worketh in the hearts of men to their conuersion when it will and not when we will If God in his iustice had destroyed the Samaritanes when the Apostles would haue had them destroyed how should they afterwards haue beene saued by the preaching of the Apostles If Dimas had beene hanged as a theefe as soone as euer hee playd the theefe how should hee haue beene conuerted to Christ on the crosse or how should Christ haue beene glorified by his confession on the crosse If God had taken away Paul when Paul begun first to persecute the Church how should the Church haue beene confirmed in the saith of Christ by the doctrine of Paul as now it is God is a gracious God iealous of his glory and yet mindefull of his mercy not desiring the death of sinners but rather that they should beconuerted and liue Let the same zeale bee in you that is in God who in his anger thinketh of his mercy and sheweth himselfe gracious to euery man Vbi pater familias largus est dispensator ●ius non debet esse tena●e Where the Master of the house is liberalls his steward should not be hold-fast and miserable Vbi Deus benignus est home non debet esse austerus Aug. where God is mercifull man should not be cruell Euen in the workes of vertue saith one which consist the mean to exceed the meane is to decline from the right hand and to fall into an extreame Be not too iust therefore no not in Iustice it selfe but iust in due measure of Iustice and vse a moderation in all things Be iust but without cruelty iust without ouer much seuerity iust with equity discretion and clemency Bee iust in your religion but bee not too iust leaning too much to the letter of the Scripture as though nothing were to bee allowed which is not found in the very letters and sillables of the Scripture but what soeuer is agreeing in sense to the meaning of the Scripture though it be not in the expresse words of the Scripture or is deduced from thence by necessary

followeth the truth of the Law when right and reason requireth so to doe But yet when seuerity is too seuere too fierce too sower too bitter and too inexorable Legibus ●●●nium atrociter obtemperans obeying the letter of the Law with too much rigour without any commiseration or pitty executing the extremity of the Law against those that offend the law vertitur in vietum virtus the vertue of seuerity is turned into avice Due sunt nomina saith Augustine homo peccator Quod peccator est corripe quod homo est miserere Man and a sinnefull man are two things in that hee is a sinner punish him but in that hee is a man shew compassion and mercy towards him A good Magistrate saith Isidorus should alwaies carrie a paire of scoles in his hands with Iustice in the one scole and Mercy in the other to sentence sinne according to Iustice and to moderate the punishment of sinne by the rule of mercy For Mercy is the eye of Iustice and Iustice without mercy is as it were caecus Sagittarius qui intendens occidere feram occidit hominem like a blinde archer who hauing an intent to kill a beast killeth a man as Lamech did Oportet leges acriter status 〈◊〉 autem quam ips●● iubent poenas su●ere Lawes must hee shortely enacted but the penalties of Lawes must not be so straightly exacted as by Law is required It is good sometime to blow a mans nose but yet Salomon saith when a man bloweth his nose if he wring it too hard hee may make it to bleed It is good to punish vice but to punish it alwayes and in all with extremity of Iustice may bee a meane to spill much bloud and yet doe little good One saith that a Magistrate like a Physician should neuer vse extreame medicins but for extreame diseases Remissius imperanti melius paretur the people will be best ruled when they are mildly gouerned Contumax est animus humanus facilius sequitur quàm ducitur the stomacke of a man is stubborne and will easilier follow when it is least forced to follow Leniter castigatus reuerentiam exhibet castiganti he that is punished with lenity doth reuerence the very person of him that doth punish him but he that is punished with extremity doth stomacke him that doth punish him Be not too iust therefore Thus much of the vices that are heere condemned in a Magistrate The things that are here commended in a Magistrate and commanded to him are foure Iustice Equity Clemency and Discretion For he that heere forbiddeth the Magistrate to bee too iust doth in many other places and precepts of his bid him be iust For Iustice vpholdeth the seat of Kings Iustice is the girdle of Kings And And Salomon speaking to all Magistrates and Ministers of Law and Iustice saith Loue Iustice you that are the Iudges of the earth but yet withall Be not too iust saith he that is be iust with Equity Discretion and Clemencie For these three must alwaies attend vpon Iustice and vpon them that are the Ministers of Iustice Equity is the Interpreter of the Law making a fauourable exposition of the intention of the Law to auoyd the inconueniences and extremities which may sometime bee drawen from the precise words of the Law Uerba enim debent deseruire intentions non intentio verbis that is Words must serue the intention not the intention words mens in loquendo potius quam verba est consideranda Greg. And therefore one saith Quod is committit in legem qui verba legis amplectens contra legis nititur voluntatem he offendeth against the Law that sticking to the words of the Law striueth and wrangleth against the meaning of the Law and he fulfilleth the Law that doth the meaning of the Law though hee leaueth the words of the Law Abimelech the Priest did contrary to the words of the law Leuit. 24. when hee gaue the shew bread to Dauid beeing bread onely for the Priests not for lay persons and yet Christ himselfe praiseth him for so doing For if hee had denied Dauid the shew bread being ready to die for hunger though he had followed the letter of the law yet had ●ee done contrary to the meaning of the Law-maker who in the exposition of all his lawes preferreth mercy before sacrifice The law of the Sabaoth doth allow no work to be done on that day and it was feuerely punished in him that gathered stickes on that day and yet our Sauiour Christ affirmeth it lawfull to doe good on the Sabaoth day and that the Sabaoth is not broken by doing any worke that is a worke of necessity a worke of charity or a worke tending to the glory of God If the Lord God himselfe doth allow that his owne law should be dispensed withall in cases of charity it is lawfull for the Magistrate to vse the like liberty in the like matters and cases of the lawes of man for charities sake And euen we that are bound to the obedience of lawes if we keepe them not all and alwayes modo forma as may be required of vs it is a fault that may sometime be excused in vs when it is not wittingly and wilfully done of vs. Aliud enim est non parere legibus aliud contemnere Peccat semper qui contemnit leges sed non semper peccat qui non paret legibus It is one thing not to obey lawes and another thing to contemne lawes Hee sinneth alwayes that contemneth lawes but hee doth not alwaies sinne that doth not obey lawes Be not too iust therefore in vrging the penalty and extremity of the Law against those that offend the law without any intention or meaning to contemne the Law A third thing commendable in a Magistrate is Clemency a vertue which moderateth the affections of Magistrates who as Plutarch saith should bee like a good musician For as he straineth vp one string and letteth downe another thereby to accord them together so must a good Magistrate sometime be remisse and somtime vse rigour but as there is lesse danger in letting down a string then in drawing it vp so is there lesse perill to rule remissely and with mercy then with rigour and seuerity Magistrates are gods vpon the earth and it cannot be denied but they are the best Magistrates that come neerest the example of God The Wiseman saith of God that though he hath power ouer all things to saue and destroy at his owne pleasure yet hath hee mercy on all and maketh as though he saw not the sins of men because they should amend As the mercy of God is aboue all his workes and as God is called a God of mercy and not of iustice because he delighteth more in mercy then in iustice so must a good Magistrate follow him rather in the example of his mercy then in his iustice One of the Iewish Rabbines