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	sin_n	transgression_n	3,082	5	10.1157	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A75308	The triumph of a good conscience. Or a sermon preached upon the 2. of the Revel. the latter part of the 10 verse. VVherein the nature of faithfulnesse is in part opened, and the doctrine of perseverance confirmed, and some cases of conscience cleared. / By Paul Amiraut, minister of the Gospel at East Dearham, in the county of Norfolk.	Amyraut, Paul, b. 1600 or 1601.	1648 (1648)	Wing A3038; Thomason E426_10; ESTC R204574	20,497	32

their own will but by reason of him that hath subiected them in hope Rom. 8.20 So with some alteration I may say that these sinnes execute not this office of themselves but by the power of God who can work by contraries and who hereby outshoots the Divell in his own bow For he found the way to draw pride out of Gods graces and the Lord to requite him will draw humiliation out of those sinnes whereof he is the author Thus he suffered Ezekiah to fall that he might know what was in his heart and so bee humbled 2. Chron. 32.31 To open this a little further I lay this for a ground that Iesus Christ might as easily have bestowed perfect sanctification upon us the first moment of our conversion ☜ as he doth then perfect justification And whereas there are two things in sinne the guilt and the filth whereof the one is offensive to us the other is offensive to God it should seem that perfect sanctification which removes the latter should rather have been wrought by Christ then perfect justification which removes the former because Gods glory ought more to be sought after then mans good Some great reasons sure there must be for this among which I suppose this to be one of the chiefe That Gods justice might still keep a Court as well as his mercy which could not have been if all sinne had been abolished For where there is no transgression there can be no court of justice erected Hence it is that all the prayers of the Saints begin with confessions and self accusations for sinne which are as so many arraignments in the Court of Gods justice after which an appeale lyes faire in the Court of Gods mercy Now had sinne been quite abolished the Court of justice like Ianus temple in the time of peace had been quite shut up And God by granting a priviledge should have extinguished those rents and revenues that come in to him by vertue of that Court. Which those poore Publicans these sinnes of infirmitie bring in So then those sinnes that are not as a prick in the flesh to humble us are no sinnes of infirmitie but sinnes of presumption 2. The Gibeonites after their escape complied not with those nations whereof they were a parcell but were rather a meanes to help to destroy them Iosh 10. So sinnes of infirmity doe not uphold other sinnes but rather helpe to mortifie them Peters denyall of his master did wholly destroy his carnall confidence So the messenger of Satan where with Paul was buffeted being according to Interpreters some lust or other stirring within him was a meanes to pull down that exaltation which might have been occasioned by those divine raptures and revelations which he injoyed There is never a sin of infirmitie but is a meanes to keep out a worse sin into which the Saints of God would have falne if they had not been troubled with that infirmitie I appeale to the experiences of Christians for the confirmation of this truth May not a Christian say O if I had not been troubled with a dead heart I should have been troubled with a proud heart And let me mind you here of a strange parradox the more sins of infirmitie a Christian is troubled withall the fewer sinnes he hath Mistake me not I doe not say but that one that hath fewer sinnes of infirmitie is freer from sinne then he that hath more But you may conceive my meaning by this Comparison The more ruines of houses the fewer houses because if these ruines were not we should have houses built in their compleat fabrick So the more sinnes of infirmitie the fewer sinnes because if these infirmities were not we should have sinne in its compleat posture and in its full perfection whereas sinnes of infirmitie are but the ruines or relikes and remainders of sinne And I might add this that the more sinnes of infirmitie the more graces not but that a man that hath fewer of those sins hath more grace But it is true in this sense A sin of infirmitie is not a totall sin but a defect of the contrary grace arising from the imperfection of it As pride in the Saints ir not a compleat pride but is only a defect in their humilitie So their unbeliefe is not a compleat unbeliefe but it is only a weake and an imperfect faith so that as we say of smoake that it is contrary unto fire yet it is a signe of fire so may we say that these sins though contrary to grace yet they are a signe of grace for they are but a defect of it And in this sense we may say that the more sinnes of infirmitie the more grace Now sinnes of presumption are of another nature They come within the compasse of the statute of maintenance they are so farre from pulling down other sinnes as they doe rather uphold them one sin of presumption making way for another Hence presumptuous sinners are said to pul down sin with cart-ropes and iniquitie with cords of vanitie Esay 5.18 And Moses tells us that presumptuous sinners ad drunkensse to thirst and rebellion to transgression Deut. 29.19 As we say of the snow Simele that if it do not melt it lyes for more so sinnes of presumption are sinnes which melt not in a way of repentance therefore they make way for other sinnes Againe sinnes of presumption are not meer defects of grace but they are such sinnes as doe wholly exclude the contrary grace pride if it be a sinne of infirmitie wholly excludes humilitie c. 3. The Gibeonites gave occasion to the greatest victory that ever was obtained Josh 10. A victory wherein the starrs of heaven fought for them and the Sun and Moon stood still till they had avenged themselves of their enemies the like whereof was never done before nor likely to be hereafter So sinnes of infirmitie give us occasion to judge our selves which judgment is after turned into a spirituall victory Matt. 12.20 A victory exceeding great and glorious wherein if the hoast of heaven did not fight for us ☞ if the blessed Angels did not carrie us in their hands that we might tread upon Dragons and trample upon Scorpions yea if Christ the Sun of righteousnesse did not stand still and abide constant to us in his promises of support and assistance Yea if he did not stay the Moone too that is our fickle and inconstant hearts that we might not wholly fall from him O what would become of us How soone would Satan Cacus like draw us backward into his denn and take the advantage of the biasse of our corruptions to rowle us into the bottomlesse pit For by this meanes Satan hath abundance of advantage over us because he hath a strong partie faction in us Grace as a reverend Divine hath observ'd is but as a spark and corruption as much smoake and moisture damping it Grace is but as a Candle and that in a socket among huge and boistrous