Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
mercy_n	hear_v	lord_n	merciful_a	2,985	5	9.4011	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A34389	Conversion exemplified in the instance of a gracious gentlewoman now in glory / written from her own mouth and appointment, by her dearest friend ...		1669 (1669)	Wing C5981; ESTC R21188	30,026	78

retire my self often to enjoy communion with God In which retirement when some observed me they did commend me others reproached me and said I grew bookish One called me Hypocrite and said A young Saint would be an old Devil Such words troubled me greatly all the while I was in doubt of mine own condition as to my being in Christ And the party that spake them was an eminent instrument in the hand of the Devil to distress and discompose me But after I received from the Lord some tastes and evidences of his Love those revilings and hard speeches comforted me for I esteemed it my Glory to suffer shame for his Names sake By this time finding the place where I lived in reference to Religion without means of light and as the fruit of it exceedingly sinful and prophane men and women generally wallowing in brutish Iusts I grew extream weary of living in it ' and thereupon sought God in Prayer earnestly to find a way of removing me where I might have better example better teaching better helps and advantages of perfe●cting what he had graciously begun in me having had my soul often vexed by hearing and seeing as Lot's was In this after a short time God answered me inclining the hearts of my Parents to send me to London and placed me for a while with some Friends in and near that City This change of place and newness of acquaintance produced new temptations For though the Seed of God abiding in me kept in me some tenderness of spirit yet many worldly diversions from my former and more constant fellowship with God brought me into a very drowsie temper I lived with Professors of Religion but found not the power of Christian Principles acting in them especially some of them though from others I had help and encouragement But some were so choaked with worldly cares and drowned in carnal groundless jealousies as they became burthensome and uncomfortable to themselves and those that conversed with them especially if they had dependance on them as I had Nevertheless he that bringeth Good out of Evil and whose Covenant is That all things shall work together for good to them that love Him made use of that unacceptable quality to awaken me and cause me to reflect upon my declinings God is a jealous God and will suffer no corrival or competitor in the hearts of his Children Thereupon to chasten me for suffering my soul to wander after and cl●●ve to worldly delights and exp●ctations he left a Person of Q●●lity with whom I ●ived und●r the dominion of an infirmity very natural to her and very sinful the G●d of M●rcy convince her of it and reform her g●ou●dl●s Jeasousie An app●●hension possest h●r o● reason of it tha● I had an u●wor●hy d●sign upon her and as untrue as it was it put her and she me by reason of it into a very great discomposure This p●ss●ge I should altogether om●t if I could make the story of God's dealing with me in this case perfect without it nor are such things to he slighted For H● without whose providence a Sparow falleth not to the ground and by whom the haires of our head are numbered must be eyed and acknowledged in all his wayes The Children of Jacob must learn of their Father to see the Face of God in a very Esau Now being much burthen d●und●r the Oppression of the foresaid f●ls● imagination I had according to my former course recourse to God who seasonably and very effectually presented to my mind many passages of Scripture by which I was in some me●sure recovered from my backsliding for a b●tter nam● I do not know it by S●me of which were these Rom. 8. 28. For w● know that all things work together for good to them that love God Another was Ps●l 139. 13. S●arch me O God and know my b●ar● try me and know my thoughts and see of there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the Way everlasting This I made use on when the fear of an hypocritical state was upon me occasionned by my late decays Let this suffi●e briesly to point at what they were how they came and what means God applyed to recover me After these things the whole life of one in Christ being a warfare I met with many conflicts and still the most constant one was about my Soul sta●c whether in Christ or not in Christ reconciled to God by his Blood or not reconc●led and thorow the remnant of Corruption I am not altogether delivered from this temptation at this very time I received much establishment at one time from Isa 27. 5. Let him take hold of my strength that he may make peace with me and he shall make peace with me At another time hearing this Scripture read Psal 25. 10. All the Paths of the Lord are Mercy and Truth to such as keep his Covenants and his Testimonies I was assisted to have very comfortable reflections upon it By the Paths of the Lord I understood his providential Disspensations wherein he walks as men do in a path to an intended end which is the accomplishment of his Glory in bringing the Seed of Christ to Glory Now though the Paths are exceeding various Sometimes God lifts his People up sometimes he casts them down sometimes he gives them victory over sin Satan and themselves sometimes he leaves them to be led captive and then enlarges them out of that Bondage for the most part by Afflictions One while he tryes their Grace and gives them the sense and comfort of it another while he chastens Disobedience and gives them the fruit of that in mortification But let the Paths of God be never so many and seem to lye never so cross as Road-wayes over a Champion yet are they all Mercy even to those that taste most Severity and Truth yea though they seem contrary to his Promise to them that keep his Covenant and his Testimonies So that in the way of obedience to his Testimonies and cleaving to his Covenant I was assured all his Paths to me would be Mercy and Truth Isa 3. 12. Go and proclaim these words towards the North and say Return thou back sliding Israel saith the Lord and I will not cause mine Anger to fall upon thee For I am Merciful saith the Lord and I will not keep mine Anger for ever only acknowledge thine iniquity that thou hast transgressed against the Lord thy God Every thing in this Text comforted me First that God exprest his forwardness to receive wandering sinners by sending forth a Proclamation to invite their return Go and proclaim saith he Then that this was directed to the worst sort of sinners Backsliders The Backslider seemes to tell the World that upon his particular experience there is nothing worth enjoying in the Wayes of God and this is the worst reflection upon them than can be None so bad as false friends Traytors in a Court the worst Traitors Backsliding Israel notwithstanding is called upon

to return This I looked upon as an evil to which I was very prone even to grow weary of the strict wayes of God I will not cause mine Anger to fall upon thee And again I am Merciful and will not keep mine Anger for ever I was convinced that I did deserve present wrath and eternal wrath did not Mercy thus step in The last thing is direction to a duty wherein to expect the dispensation of mercy acknowledge thine iniquity that thou hast transgressed which requires not an empty heartless verbal Confession but Confession with hatred of sin Faith in the pardon of it and endeavour to reform it Psal 103. 8 9. The Lord is merciful and gracious sl●w to anger and plenteous in Mercy He will not alwayes chide neither will he keep his Anger for ever This place supported my Faith under the consideration of my merrit which was Wrath from God whereto he declares himself slow and also it ministred hope to me of deliverance from those corrective Effects of God's displeasure against sin in me which he out of love laid upon me Isa 41. 10. Fear not for I am with thee be not dismaied for I am thy God I will strengthen thee yea I will help thee yea I will uphold thee with the right-hand of my Righteousness This Text was applyed to me when I was beset with variety of troubles some inward some outward Many from my self respecting the state I stood in and the years I had attained to Some from my Relations in the flesh whose troubles were many and their outward condition clouded and the spiritual estate of many of them not such as I was satisfied in But from this place God by the right-hand of his Righteousness as he here calls it reached out support to me Fear not be not dismayed With both these did I at this time contend not only fear but dismaying discourageing fear for both the nature and dress of things as the image of them appeared to me was very tremendious Therefore God applyed comfort to me in a term of relation I am thy God as in a gracious Promise of presence I will be with thee and unsolds what he means by being with me viz. to help in every difficulty and uphold under every burthen Isa 26. 3. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is staid upon thee because he trusteth in thee Ibid. 40. 31. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength they shall mount up with wings as Eagles they shall run and not be weary they shall walk and not be faint John 3. 16. God so loved the World that he gave his only beg●tten Son that wh●soever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting Life Isa 43. 25. But I even I am he that blott●th out thy transgression for mine own sake Psal 32. 8. I will instruct thee and teach thee in the Way that thou shalt go and guide thee with mine eye Rom. 4. 5. To him that worketh not but believeth on him that justifieth the ●●god●y his Faith ●s counted for Righteousness These Scriptures eminently holding forth the most Est●utials in Christianity were of very great use to me not once or twice but so oft as I had recourse to them which was very frequent being oft in tryals which made them seasonable especially Psal 32. 8. formerly wrote down was a Scripture which I repaired to in all doubtful cases I was taught from John 3. 16. that the Love of God was the Fountain of my happiness being that out of which Christ himself was given for me Rom. 4. 5. instructed me that a Righteousness laid hold on by Faith justifie● without the least addition of works wrought by me which of how great use soever being indeed one end of that which Christ hath suffered and done for me that I might be God's Workmanship in him created to good works yet no material meritorious no or the least moving cause why my person should be accepted of God In this respect I count them all lost as Paul did his Phil. 3. 8. The Prayer of Christ recorded John 17. 20 21 22 23 24. afforded me so great Comfort that I cannot be satisfied without leaving a particular account of it The words are Neither pray I for these alone but for them also that shall believe in me thorow their Word that they may be all one as thou Father art in me and I in thee that they also may be one in us that the World may believe that thou hast sent me And the Glory which thou gavest me I have given them that they may be one even as we are one I in them and thou in me that they may be made perfect in one and that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them as thou hast loved me Father I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me For thou lovedst me before the Foundation of the World The Love of Christ in these words set forth did and doth so drink up my spirit as I am like one drunken with Wine not able to speak of the sweetness of it Well to understand and savour his Words in this Prayer is if I know any thing of such entertaiment to be led into his Banqueting-house and Wine-cellar of whose Love the Song of Solomon speaks It being my lot to live in an age wherein Errour abounded I think fit to mention those Scriptures which perswaded me from some of those Errours of the most dangerous nature as most evidently against the foundation of that Covenant which God had confirmed to me The one was the freedom of an unregenerate will to believe in Christ Ephes 2. 8. it is thus written By Grace ye are saved thorow Faith and that not of your selves it is the gift of God Besides the experience I had of my natural inability to receive Christ by Faith this Text tells me expresly That men have it not from themselves but that it is the Gift of God I have ●●a●d this to be a point of great controversie among the Learned wher●in if the experience of a sinner burthened with guilt may moderate I doubt not but to have a determination to the sense I have given Again Jer. 31. 19. I read thus After I was turned I repented and after I was instructed I smote upon my thigh I was ashamed and even confounded because I did bear the reproach of my youth This place shews that God's work upon us goes before our works towards him Man cannot turn till he is turned or smite upon his thigh before he his instructed I therefore agree with those who say that the carnal will is in bondage to sin as well as the carnal mind neither of them being subject to the Law of God or can be For I do conceive that without supernatural instruction which I take to be the same with spiritual