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
A88797	The penitent lady: or Reflections on the mercy of God. Written by the fam'd Madam La Valliere, since her retirement from the French king's court to a nunnery. Translated from the French by L.A. M.A.; Reflexions sur la misericorde de Dieu. English. 1685	La Vallière, Françoise-Louise de La Baume Le Blanc, duchesse de, 1644-1710.	1685 (1685)	Wing L623H; ESTC R179362	31,041	152

mindful of these Obligations she has laid upon her self and by which she must be Judg'd at the Last Day AH Lord who in working thy Miracles dost always regard some great end Hast thou not restored my Health that thou may'st accomplish the blessed purposes of thy Grace upon my Soul that by a thorough conversion of my Heart unto thee I might pass from this state of death or as the Royal Prophet speaks from the Terrors of Hell to such a Religious course of Life as those Devout Souls led who now sleep in the Lord who did not presume on thy Mercy and from thence defer their Repentance to the last Moment Yes Lord I acknowledge thy Mercy in the midst of thy Judgements and the constant protection of thy Providence in all the Accidents of my life For this is the Reason why thou hast so much Afflicted me so much distressed me so often changed my Desires and my Resolutions that hereby thou may'st wean me from my self And therefore that I may maintain an inviolable Fidelity ty towards thee for the future that I may serve thee that I may love thee and rather die a thousand times than return again to my former Vain Conversation I have Writ this Paper with my own hand as a Register of thy Mercies my most Intimate Resolutions and all thy Adorable Truths That if at any time I should forget my self I might hereby be put in mind of my Duty and that Model of Holy Living I have resolved on if my Faith should falter my Hope should languish or my Charity grow cold and my Corruptions begin to struggle in my Soul the reading of these Prayers and the contemplation of thy Bounty and thy Grace might reduce them to their former temper That if at any time I should forget that Agony which the consideration of thy Justice produc'd in my Mind when like a condemned Malefactor on the Scaffold I was impatient to be freed from the Terrors of Death I might recollect my self by reading of these Reflections which I writ upon this self-same Bed where the Ministers on one side and the Physicians on the other gave me little Hope of my Life or my Salvation where I lay helpless like a poor Beast and could do nothing in this Great Work O thou God of my Salvation in whose hands are my Soul and my Eternal Happiness who didst reprieve me from the Grave and didst crown me with thy Mercies and fill my Soul with Holy Desires who hast renow'd my Age as that of an Eagle who hast promised that thy Anger shall not endure for ever against those who fear thee that thou wilt not punish them according to their deserts but wilt put away their Offences as far as the East is from the West who assurest us that like as a Father pittieth his Children so thou wilt have compassion on us because thou knowest our weakness and that we are but dust that our most steady Resolutions are but as a Traveller who tarrieth but for a night and as the morning dew which soon passeth away Lastly Who workest good out of the evil of our sins and who alone canst convert me I beseech thee therefore to turn my Heart Because my Soul is humbled and overwhelmed with shame and grief for displeasing thee Because my Soul puts its trust in thee and languishes after the enjoyment of thy presence But above all O my God hear my humble Supplication because I have made thee the only Object of my Love and because thy Mercy rejoyces over all thy Works Finally Lord have pity on me because I am poor and miserable and thou art Infinitely Rich and Merciful THE END Advertisemenas A Week of Soliloquies and Prayers with a Preparation to the Holy Communion And other Devotions added to this Edition In two parts By Peter Du-Moulin D. D. A Golden Chain to link the Penitent Sinner unto GOD. Whereunto is added A Treatise of the Immortality of the Soul The History of the Amours of the French Gourt viz. Of Madam de La Valleire Madam de Olonne Madam de Chastillion Madam de Sevigney with several other Persons of great Quality in the Palace-Royal In four Parts Translated from the French Sold by Dorman Newman at the Kings-Arms in the Poultry

who art terrible only to stubborn and impenitent Offenders let not my Ingratitude divert the benign designs of thy Mercy unto my Soul let not that sickness by which thou didst intend to awaken me and bring me nearer to thy self harden my heart and fill up the measure of my sins Let not the return of my Life and Health bring along with it those Vicious Habits and that Inordinate Love of the Pomps and Vanities of the World which I so passionately renounc'd when the Terrors of Death were upon me when the Sight of my Sins and the Torments of Hell made all my Joints tremble and my Knees smite together Deliver me also from my self O my God from that natural inclination of my Will to all that is Evil and that aversion to Good which from time to time prevails with me to put off my Repentance Make thy Arm bear and break asunder those Bonds which unite my Affections too close to the Creature and engage me too earnestly in the love of my self Hear me when I cry unto thee for fresh supplys of thy Mercy and redeem me from the vain conversation of the World But above all let that Grace that Love that Bounty with which I am almost overwhelmed kindly operate upon my Soul and after they have made me sensible how much a stranger my heart is to those Resolutions which the Terror of thy approaching Judgments extorted from me then let them accomplish those Gracious Purposes for which they were sent by thy Indulgent Providence Lastly Let not the hardness of my heart constrain thy Mercy to give place to Justice let it not render thy Fatherly Corrections ineffectual or provoke thee to leave me to my self and give me up to my Unmortifi'd Affections Grant me with Tears I beseech thee Grant me thy Love for without it I have no Strength no Merit and by its assistance I shall be able to surmount all the Difficulties which obstruct my Conversion and to persevere to the end in the Way of thy Commandments REFLECT XV. What kind of Life that Person ought to lead who is under a Necessity of Conversing much in the World that 't is her Duty to resist whatsoever is contrary to the Commands of Jesus Christ ENlighten the Faculties of my Soul O my God with that Divine Love which will shew me the vanity of these transient Enjoyments and enable me patitenly to bear my DISGRACEFUL BANISHMENT Imprint in my Mind such lively Idaea's of thy Mercy and such grateful Resentments of thy Benefits as may be always before my eyes and produce a real change in my heart a sure sign of my amendment by thy healthful Corrections Let a Good Life be the effect of my earnest desires to give my self up to thee let me chuse to die a thousand times rather than offend thee and let me be found at thy coming amongst those Wise Virgins who have trimm'd their Lamps with Good Works And tho' for the most part those persons who would pass from one Extream to another in a Moment from the most degenerate Debauchery to the highest Pitch of Devotion are unsuccessful in their endeavours and finish nothing because they undertake too much yet I cannot give bounds to my desires I cannot but wish to love thee as much as I am able 't is this which above all things I thirst after and to this end I beseech thee Enliven my Impotent Endeavours with thy Grace I will not defer my Repentance O my God until the Night of thy Justice overtakes me when no man can work but I will be up and be doing as soon as ever the day of thy Grace springs from on high and endeavour to work out my Salvation I will not ask councel of my Lusts or deliberate with my self whether 't is time to forsake my vicious conversation and become a new creature Nor am I so vain as to think my self capable of great matters For I am conscious of my own Wants my Sluggishness and my inconstancy and therefore with eyes lift up to Heaven I patiently expect the dawning of thy love and the gentle influences of thy Grace upon my soul I will begin to magnifie thy Mercies amongst those who maintain a continual Trafick of Sin and Vanity with whom my Discourse us'd to be about Riches Honours Pleasures and Prosperity I will declare to those persons who worship nothing but their Interest that thou art my God the only Object of my Adoration that in the enjoyment of thy Favour consists all my Riches my Grandeur and my Happiness that all I have is in thy hands and that when thou hast consummated the Great Work of my Conversion I shall be more happy than if I had Conquer'd all the Kingdoms of the World I will forsake that frothy and effeminate Company with whom I have lost so much precious time which I will endeavour to redeem by convincing them that the unprofitable vain and idle course of life which they look upon as their Priviledge will destroy the health of their Everlasting Souls If I cannot attain to be Eminently Religious I will endeavour to be as good as I can if I cannot produce the testmonies of an ardent Affection I will dedicate to thee my Infant Love if my Faith is not so Active as that of the humble Centurian which inclined thee to give a present return unto his Prayers yet I will take advice of thy Ministers and with united Prayers Implore the Augmentation of it That I may live up to those Religious Principles which thou hast planted in my Soul I will dread the Company of those debauch'd Wretches who glory in their Wickedness and as the Holy Scripture speaks have not God in all their thoughts Yea Lord I will break off all engagements with those profess'd Libertines whose society instilis Irreligion into our Minds and is a blemish to the most unspotted Reputation who puff us up with such an opinion of our selves as justly merits the desertion of thy grace and guild over their Monstrous Vices with the specious Names of good Nature and Honour Tho' their Persons and Humour may be agreeable to me yet I am resolv'd faithfully to perform these Vows which I have made unto thee O my God and that henceforwards I will not maintain any strict Correspondence Familiarity or Friendship with them For certainly the hating of those who hate thee is but a small acknowledgment of thy infinite love REFLECT XVI That she should associate her self with those persons who truly fear God and that she ought not to entangle her self again in those things which the World calls State Riches Fortune and Grandeur O Lord in whose hands are the hearts of men and who turnest them whether soever thou pleasest change the inclinations of my Soul and sanctifie my Love that in the choice of my Friends I may regard more thy Grace than any Natural Endowments rather the edifying of my self and the seasoning my heart with thy holy Truths than