Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
mercy_n	great_a	lord_n	pity_n	2,183	5	9.5016	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A27351	The legacy of a dying mother to her mourning children being the experiences of Mrs. Susanna Bell, who died March 13, 1672 : with an epistle dedicatory by Thomas Brooks ...	Bell, Susanna, d. 1672.; Brooks, Thomas, 1608-1680.	1673 (1673)	Wing B1801; ESTC R4336	27,041	66

nearest and dearest Relations might taste that the Lord is gracious that they might all be holy and happy gracious and glorious that they might all have changed hearts renewed natures and sanctified souls That they might all be born again adorned with grace filled with the spirit and fitted for Heaven You know that upon her dying bed she desired me that when she was asleep in Jesus that I would for the advantage of the living especially for your sakes ●ho lay nearest her heart preach on that Psal 34.8 O taste and see that the Lord is good 1 Thes 4.14 The three Sermons that I preached on Psal 37.8 I have been desired to Print but could not answer Friends expectations in that because I had not the Notes by me of what I said upon that Text. Which accordingly I did once and again Now what was her design in this but that every one of you might share with her in the same favour love spirit grace merit righteousness and goodness that her soul had long tasted of There is not a soul that ever have had any saving taste of the Lord and of his goodness but is mighty desirous that others should taste of the same grace and goodness O taste and see that the Lord is good As if David should have said I for my part have seen tasted and experienced much of God and his goodness and never more then in my greatest streights I am loth to eat these heavenly viands and soul-ravishing morsels of contentment alone Come hither all you that fear God Ps 66.16 the words are without a Copulative in the Hebrew venite audite Calv. Come Heark●n Like that Gen. 19.14 It not only imports an Invitation but the affection also of him that speaks and I will tell you what God hath done for my soul Come O come poor souls taste and see with me how good the Lord is how comfortable the embraces of Christ are and how sweet communion with Heaven is We cannot advantage others more then by declaring and communicating unto them our soul-secrets our so●l-Experiments All the Saints own it as their duty to glorifie God in their Generation and wherein can they bring more glory to God then in helping souls to Heaven and how can they finde out a readier way to effect this great business then by telling them what God has done for their souls then by making a faithful Narrative of their own conditions by nature and by grace when and how the goodness of the Lord was made known unto them upon a saving account O tell poor wounded sinners what methods of mercy the Lord used to the healing up of your wounds and to the quieting of your consciences that so they may be encouraged to a serious use of all Gospel-means and to a hope of the same grace and goodness of the Lord towards them Heb. 12.14 See my Treatise on this Text. Acts 26.29 L●ke 5.29 O labour more and more to convince others by your experiences that grace is the only way to glory and that without holinesse no man shall see the Lord Paul had tasted that the Lord was good and he wish'd that both Agrippa and all that heard him were altogether such as be was except his bonds As soon as Matthew had tasted that the Lord was good he called together an huge multitude of Publicans and others to meet at his house As soon as Philip had tasted of the sweetness of communion with Christ John 1.45 46. he runs to Nathaniel to invite him to Christ saying Come and see No sooner had the Woman of Samaria tasted of Christs living waters but she leaves her water-pot John 4.28 and posts into the City to call out her friends and neighbours to see and taste how good dear Jesus was So those young Converts Zech. 8.21 And the inhabitants of one City shall go to another Vide Pemble in loc Isa 2.2 3 4. saying let us go speedily to pray before the Lord and to seek the Lord of Hosts I will go alse Mic. 4.2 And many Nations shall come and say Come and let us go up to the Mountain of the Lord and to the House of the God of Jacob and he will teach us of his ways and we will walk in his paths for the Law shall go forth of Zion and the Word of the Lord from Hierusalem These blessed Converts would not come alone but draw others along in company with them to worship the Lord which is lively expressed in a Mimesis or imitation of the encouragements and invitations they should use one to another I will go also every one was as forward for himself as zealous for another O blessed frame of spirit O my friends it is the nature of true grace to be diffusive and communicative Grace can t be conceal'd they that have tasted of divine sweetness cannot chuse but speak of it to others their hearts like bottles of new wine would be ready to burst if they had not vent Grace is like fire in the bones they that have it cannot hide it All the faculties of the s●ul and all the members of the body will still be a telling of others that there is a treasure of grace in the soul The blind men that were cured were charged to be silent but they could not hold their peace So here Lilmor behammed We therefore learn that we may teach is a Proverb among the Rabbins And I do therefore lay in and lay up saith the Heathen that I may draw forth again and lay out for the good of many And shall not grace do as much as nature shall not grace do more then nature Well friends this I shall only say that the frequent counsels tha● your glorified Mother have given you to taste of divine goodness and the experiences that she has communicated to you of her taste of divine goodness both in her health and sickness both in her living and dying will certainly either be for you or else be a dreadful witness against you in the great day of our Lord Jesus O remember not only these experiences of hers that are now presented to your eyes but those other experiences of hers as to her inward man that has often sounded in your ears But Lastly labour to imitate her in her comfortable passage out of this world Those words were more worth then a world which she uttered a little before she fell asleep in the Lord viz. Lord take my aking head and lay it in thy bosome How often did she express her longings to be with Christ that she might sin nor sorrow no more her outward man was full of pain weakness and trouble yet how was her inward man refresh'd and quieted in a way of believing according to that blessed Word In all my visits of her my hardest task was still to work her into a willingness to stay in this world till all her doing and her suffering w●rk was over Isa 26.3 Thou

THE LEGACY OF A DYING MOTHER To Her Mourning CHILDREN Being the EXPERIENCES OF Mrs. Susanna Bell Who Died MARCH 13. 1672 With an EPISTLE DEDICATORY BY THOMAS BROOKS Minister of the Gospel LONDON Printed and are to be sold by John Hancock Senior and Junior at the three Bibles in Popes-Head Alley in Cornhill 1673. To his Honoured Friends Mr. T.B. I.B. S.B. I T. Merchants and to their Wives and to the rest of the Children of Mrs. Susanna Bell deceased The Author wisheth all Grace Mercy and Peace Honoured Friends MY Design in this Epistle is not to Complement you but to benefit you 't is not to tickle your ears but to better your hearts nor 't is not to blazon her name or fame to the World whose Heaven-born-soul s now at rest with God and who is swallowed up in those ●ranscendent Enjoyments of that other World which are above the comprehensions of my minde and t●e Expressions and Praises of my Pen but 't is to a lure and draw you to a● imitation of what was pr●ise-worthy in her Shall I hint at a few things First imitate her in that sincerity and plain-heartedness which was transparent in her Sincerity is not a single grace but the Source of all graces and the Interlineary that must run through every grace for what is faith if it be not unf●ined and what is love i● it be not without dissimulation and what is Repentance if it be not in truth Sincerity is the soul of all grace 't is the grace of all our graces what advantage is it to have the breast-Plate of Righteousness the Shield of Faith Eph. 6.13 14 15 16 17 7 Joh 1.4 the Helmet of Hope if they be but painted things it is the Girdle of Sincerity that makes all the other parts of our Armour useful Was she not a true Nathaniel a Person in whom there was no guile I mean no allowed hypocrisie and was not this that which carried her through the pangs of death with a great d al of comfort Isa 38.3 2. 2 Cor. 1.12 as it had done Hezek●ah Paul and other Saints before A sincere Christian is like the Violet which grows low and hides it self and its own sweetness as much as may be with its own leaves Or like Brut●s staffe gold within and thorn without Or like the Ark gold within and Goats-hair without The very Heathen loved a candid and sincere spirit as he that wished That there was a Glass-window in his breast that all the World might see what was in his heart But Secondly imitate her in that Humility 1 Pet. 5.5 which was a grace she was cloathed withal I ever found her low and little in her own eyes much in debasing her self upon all occasions looking upon her self as below the least of mercies with Jacob and as dust and ashes Gen. 32.10 Gen. 18.27 Ps 22.6 Eph. 3.8 with Abraham and as a poor worm with David and less then the least of all Saints with Paul And commonly the more high in spiritual worth the more humble in heart God delights to pour in grace into humble souls as men pour in liquor into empty vessels Humility makes a Person Peaceable among Brethren fruitf●l in well-doing cheerful in suffering and constant in holy walking Humility makes a man precious in the eyes of God who is little in his own account is always great in Gods esteem It is well observed by some That those brave creatures the Eagle and the Lion were not offered in sacrifice unto God but the poor Lambs and Doves were to note that God regards not your brave high lofty spirits but poor meek and contemptible spirits Humility is a rare grace Many saith Augustine can more easily give all they have to the poor then themselves become poor in spirit be low in your own eyes and be content to be low in the eyes of others and think not of your selves above what is meet as ever you would write after your Mothers Copy Mat. 18.10 and affect more to be amongst Gods little ones then the great ones of this world Be humble Christians as ever you would be holy be humble Humility is of the essence of the new creature He is not a Christian that is not humble The more grace the more humble those that have been most high in spiritual worth have always been most humble in heart Ignatius could say of himself Non sum dign●s dici minimus I am not worthy to be called the least Lord I am Hell but thou art Heaven said blessed Hooper I am a most hypocritical wretch not worthy that the earth should bare me said holy Bradford I have no other name saith Luther then Sinner Sinner is my name S nner is my sir-name This is the name by which I shall be always known I have sinned I do sin I shall sin infin●tum Ruth was the Daughter of the King of Moab if we may give credit to the general opinion of the Rabbines or if that be not so probable yet she was one that we may well suppose to have been one of good quality in her own countrey as being Wife of Mahlon the elder brother of the Family of the Prince Naasson yet she accounts her self scarce equal to one of the Maid-servants in the house of B●az Ruth 2.13 So Abigail the wit of the time 1 Sam. 25.41 So El zabeth though she was the elder and the better woman for outward quality Luke 1.43 yet how confounded was she with Mary s visit as being too great a weight of honour for her to bear So Mary L●ke 1 38. If I were asked said Austin what is the readiest way to attain true happiness I would answer the first the second the third thing is Humility Humility doth not only entitle to happiness but to the highest degree of happiness Mat. 18.4 Humility is that Jacobs Ladder which reaches from Earth to Heaven Thirdly imitate her in her charity and mercy towards suffering needy and wanting ones how seldom did you find her ear or hand shut against charitable motions she knew that those that did good to the poor and needy for Christs-sake God would do good to them for the Poors sake most sure for his Sons sake She knew that he who promised They should have that asked had first commanded such to give unto them that asked she knew that unmercifulness is a sin which least becomes and worse beseems one that had so largely tasted of the mercies of God as she had done both in New and Old England She was much made up of pity and mercy to the poor the bellies of the hungry and the back of the naked did often proclaim her pity and charity Many Ministers Widows and fatherless ones have tasted not only of her husbands bounty but of hers also Vain persons when they give they will cause their kindness to run in a visible channel Mat. 6.1 2. they will sound a Trumpet to be seen