Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
mercy_n	israel_n	lord_n	redemption_n	2,132	5	10.1091	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A74993	Certain select discourses on those most important subjects, requisite to be well understood by a catechist in laying the foundation of Christian knowledge in the minds of novitiates viz., First discourses on I. The doctrine of the two covenants both legal and evangelical, II. On faith and justification / by William Allen. Secondly, Discourses on I. The covenant of grace, or baptismal covenant, being chatechetical lectures on the preliminary questions and answers of the Church-Catechism : II. Three catechetical lectures on faith and justification / by Thomas Bray, D.D.	Allen, William, d. 1686.; Bray, Thomas, 1658-1730.	1699 (1699)	Wing A1055A; ESTC R172154	614,412	564

Deliver and Bless them that turned to him to serve him only Which seems to be his meaning when he saith he will be sanctified before the Heathen when he should gather them from among the people where they were Captives and that the Heathen should know that he was the the Lord Ezek. 20.41 and 36 23. And by this means he brought them to fear and worship the God of Israel Psal 102.13 15. Thou shalt arise and have mercy upon Zion So the Heathen shall fear the Name of the Lord and all the Kings of the Earth thy glory When the Lord turned again the Captivity of Sion they said among the Heathen The Lord hath done great things for them Psal 126.1 2. 6. The whole Law was given to be a Political Instrument of Governing the Israelites according to that state of their minority as a peculiar Republick of which God himself was the Soveraign Legislator But of this more afterward CHAP. III. Shewing by what Faith and Practice the Jews under the Law were Saved I Come now to shew by what Faith and Practice the Jews under the Law were Saved And doubtless whatever it was it became available to that end upon the account of what Christ was to suffer when he should come For as I shewed before that God's Covenant with Abraham and his Seed by virtue of which the Faithful then were saved was confirmed in Christ was established with them in reference to what he was to do and suffer as Mediator afterwards Gal. 3.17 And by means of his Death there was Redemption for the transgressions that were under the first Testament Heb. 9.15 And the Sacrifices and Priesthood were a Figure for the time then present of what Christ should afterwards do and suffer and for what end But when I say so I do not say that all that were Saved did understand so much For we see the Apostles of Christ though they did believe him to be the Messias which the Jews expected yet they did not understand or expect that he should suffer Death as a Sacrifice till he told them so Nay the thing was so far from their thoughts as that they did not understand him when he plainly foretold them of his Death Luke 18.32 And if the Doctrine touching the resemblance that is between the Priesthood of Melchizedech and the Priesthood of Christ was not in the Apostles sense Meat which Babes in Christianity could well digest in their Understandings but was Meat for strong Men Heb. 5.10 14. we may well guess by that how little the Jews understood the Typical and Spiritual sense of those Types about which they were frequently conversant and therefore it 's said that the least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than John the Baptist though he was so great that there was none greater before him Hence we may see that one reason why those Jews were all their life-time under a Spirit of Bondage to fear was the great Obscurity of the Declaration of God's purpose of Grace to the World through Christ and the Way and Method of Salvation by him Moses was but a servant for a Testimony of those things which were after to be spoken and so declared afterwards as that the Typical meaning of them might be understood Heb. 3.5 In the mean while as touching those things they were shut up unto the Faith which should afterwards be revealed Gal. 3.23 It is said of the Prophets whereof Moses was one that not unto themselves but unto us they did minister the things which are now reported unto us by them that have preached the Gospel to us 1 Pet. 1.12 Add we to all this Heb. 9.8 where having spoken in ver 7. of the High Priests entering alone into the Holy of Holies with the Blood of the Sacrifice in behalf of the People once every Year he saith The Holy Ghost this signifying that the way into the Holiest of all was not yet made manifest while as the first Tabernacle was yet standing By the Holiest of all here is meant Heaven signified of old by the Holy of Holies as appears ver 12 24. And the plain meaning seems to be this That the peoples entring into Heaven by the Sacrifice and Blood and Intercession of Christ was not made manifest while the Tabernacle-worship continued For Christ is our Way into Heaven to the place within the Veil by his Blood shed as a Sacrifice Heb. 10.19 20. Having therefore Brethren boldness to enter into the Holiest by the Blood of Jesus by a new and living way which he hath consecrated for us through the Veil that is to say his Flesh But this Way he tells us was not made manifest while the first Tabernacle was standing But as obscure as this way was as to what was to be done and suffered in particular by the Messias yet they had some general grounds of Faith and Hope That upon their Faith Repentance and sedulous Endeavours to walk in all the Commandments and Ordinances of the Lord they should obtain remission of their sins and a future Happiness in another World Among which gounds these were not the least 1. They had the knowledge of the Promise of Blessedness to all Nations in Abraham's Seed and of the Promise of those other Benefits which were promised to Abraham and his Seed 2. They had an addition of several other Predictions concerning the Messias both by Moses and other Prophets that perhaps were somewhat more express such as in Deut. 18.16 Isa 53. Dan. 9. and others These Promises and Predictions put them in great expectations of Special Benefits by the Messias and wrought in them a longing after his Day Upon which account our Saviour said to his Disciples Blessed are your Eyes for they see and your Ears for they hear For I say unto you that many Prophets and Kings and Righteous Men have desired to see those things which ye see and have not seen them and to hear those things which ye hear and have not heard them Mat. 13.16 17. Luke 10.23 24. 3. They had large significations from God of his special Favour to them above all people as in chusing them to be his peculiar People and in declaring himself to be their God in giving visible signs of his Presence among them and excellent Laws and Promises to them and sending his Prophets amongst them and working many Wonders for them and casting out the Nations before them to make room for them and the like Deut. 7.6 7 8. and 26.18 19. Psal 147.19 20. Rom. 9.4 5. 4. They had express Declaration from God of the Goodness of his Nature and of his Compassion towards Sinners and of his readiness to Pardon such as should Repent and return to their Duty in loving him and keeping his Commandments As for instance Exod. 34.6 7. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed The Lord The Lord God merciful and gracious long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth keeping mercy for thousands forgiving iniquity transgression and

sin And when he delivered them his Law with the greatest terrour and astonishment to them yet even then he assured them That he would shew Mercy to Thousands of them that love him and keep his Commandments as in the Second Commandment And in ease of their miscarriage to the drawing down of God's Judgments upon them he bespeaks them thus When thou art in tribulation and all these things are come upon thee even in the latter days if thou turn to the Lord thy God and shalt be obedient to his Voice for the Lord thy God is a merciful God he will not forsake thee nor forget the Covenant of thy Fathers Deut. 4.31 and 30.1 2 3. Levit. 26.39 c. From all which grounds the Faithful among them had such a hope and confidence of pardon of Sin and of a future Happiness in another Life upon their Repentance and sincere Obedience as did effectually induce them to have good thoughts of God to love him and to endeavour to please him by having respect unto all his Commandments This made him say Psal 130.4 There is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared And under this hope and confidence the twelve Tribes did instantly serve God day and night and grounded this Hope of theirs upon the Promise made of God unto their Fathers as St. Paul tells us Acts 26.6 7. And indeed it was the unanimous Faith of the most eminent among them from Age to Age that God had both made and would keep a Covenant to shew Mercy to those that love him and keep his Commandments or that walk before him with all their Heart For that they looked upon as the Condition of God's Promise of shewing Mercy This we may see in Moses David Solomon and in Daniel and Nehemiah Deut. 7.9 Know therefore that the Lord thy God he is God the faithful God which keepeth Covenant and Mercy with them that love him and keep his Commandments So David Psalm 103.17 18. The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting to such as keep his Covenant and to those that remember his Commandments to do them And thus Solomon 1 Kings 8.23 And he said Lord God of Israel there is no God like thee who keepest Covenant and Mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart So Daniel in his 9th Chap. 4th ver O Lord the great and dreadful God keeping the Covenant and Mercy to them that love him and to them that keep his Commandments And Nehemiah likewise Chap. 1.5 I beseech thee O Lord God of Heaven the great and terrible God that keepeth Covenant and Mercy for them that love him and observe his Commandments This we see was the serious and constant Profession of the Faith of the Servants of God in those Times And in this Faith and Practice doubtless it was that they lived and died and were saved CHAP. IV. That the Law contained a Covenant different from that with Abraham IN the next place I am to shew That the Law of Moses did contain a Covenant distinct and of a different nature from the Covenant which God made with Abraham and his Spiritual Seed Besides the general Promise which God made to Abraham respecting the Gentiles as well as the Jews In thee all Nations of the Earth shall be blessed he made a Special Covenant with him as a Reward of his signal Faithfulness to give unto his Natural Seed the Land of Canaan Nehem. 9.8 Thou foundest his heart faithful before thee and madest a Covenant with him to give the Land of the Canaanites to his Seed In order to the fulfilling of which Promise after he had brought them out of Egypt he united them under himself as Head in one Political Body by a Political Covenant Exod. 19. c. which is the Covenant I am now to discourse of In which discourse I would 1. Shew in what respect the Law of Moses is said to contain a Covenant of a different nature from the Covenant of Grace made with Abraham 2. Prove that it did contain such a different Covenant 3. For farther illustration consider it in its parts and their relation one to another 4. And in what respect this Covenant is called the first Covenant when as the Covenant of Grace was made before it 1. In what respect the Law of Moses is said to contain a Covenant of a different nature from the Covenant of Grace made with Abraham The Law of Moses comes under a twofold consideration 1. As in conjunction with the Promise to Abraham to which it was annexed it made up one entire Law by which the Israelites were to be governed and directed in the way to Eternal Life And in this conjunction the Promise was the Life and Soul as it were of the Body of the Mosaic Law properly taken And in this sense as the word Law signifies the Pentateuch or five Books of Moses which contain the Promise as well as the Law it is sometimes used in the New Testament Gal. 4.21 22. 1 Cor. 14.34 Luke 16. And in this sense doubtless we are to understand the Law upon which David bestowed so many glorious Encomiums as he did saying The Law of the Lord is perfect converting the Soul c. Psal 19.2 We are to consider the Law of Moses as given at Sinai in a stricter sense as it was an Instrument or Rule of Government in the Commonwealth of Israel The Law in the former sense of it promised Eternal Life though but obscurely to those that did believe its Promises and sincerely obey its Precepts In the latter sense it promised only temporal Blessings to those that strictly observed it in all the parts of it and threatned those with temporal Calamities that did not The same Laws materially of this Political Covenant related to both the Covenants As Eternal Life was promised in the Covenant of Grace upon condition of sincere Obedience to those Laws as an effect of Faith in the Promise so those Laws in conjunction with the Promise were as I may so say Evangelical But as temporal Benefits only were promised in that Covenant upon condition of strict Obedience to those Laws and as those Laws were enjoyned under temporal Penalties as they were Commonwealth-Laws so that Covenant containing those Laws was Political and in this Political respect it was another Covenant If the Law of God and the Law of Man command or forbid things materially the same yet if the one command or forbid them under pain of Damnation and the other only under temporal Penalties these Laws are not formally the same The Commonwealth of Israel had no Commonwealth-Laws but what God himself gave them the which Laws they also Covenanted with him to observe by which Covenant they were united under him as Head of that Political Body And therefore when they would needs choose them a King like other Nations God told Samuel saying They have not rejected thee but they have rejected me that I should not

his upon the Divine Promises was a sign of the good Opinion he had of God's Power and Fidelity and was therefore most graciously accepted by him Rom. 4.18 19 20 21 22. Now this as the Apostle goes on v. 23 24 25. was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him but for us also to whom it shall be imputed if we Believe on Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead who was delivered for our Offences and was raised again for our Justification That is in this Act of Faith also in a steddy Reliance upon the Promises of God was Abraham a Pattern to us whereby we may see that if we distrust not his Power and Goodness in Matters of the greatest difficulty but firmly Relie upon him without Doubt or Dispute this will render us acceptable to him But especially it will be a most acceptable Act of Faith in us wholly to Relie upon his Promises in Christ who became a Sacrifice for our Sins that all our most heinous Offences will be pardon'd if we unfeignedly Repent and our imperfect Obedience will be eternally rewarded if it be but sincere in Testimony and Assurance of which Promises God has raised our Saviour from the dead And thus you plainly see what sort of Faith or Believing it is that must now Justifie and Save us It must not be only giving up the Assent of our Minds that all that God has spoken is true but we must with all our Hearts Consent to a sincere and faithful Obedience to all his Commands such as may be expected from those who are undoubtedly perswaded of the Truth of all the Articles of the Christian Faith which are every one of 'em Doctrines very apt to move us to Holy Living And moreover it must be a firm Reliance on God's Truth that all his Promises shall certainly be made good to us on Condition of our Performances Especially as the case now stands with us Christians it must be an Entire Dependance upon Christ that through his Mediation with the Father on our account we shall be Justify'd Pardon'd and Sav'd on Condition we perform the Covenant of Grace that is Believe and sincerely Obey the Commands of God given us in the Gospel Reliance upon God's Promises of Pardon to us through Christ an essential Act of Faith incumbent upon us as the case now stands with us Christians I say as the case now stands with us Christians for all Mankind by reason of Adam's and our own Transgressions were liable to the Wrath of God and had been condemn'd to eternal Destruction had not Jesus Christ interpos'd betwixt his Father and us and Mediated with him that we might have Pardon and Happiness on Condition we would turn from our evil Ways and sincerely Obey him for the future so that through the Blood of Jesus Christ it is that we have Redemption and the Forgiveness of Sins according to the Riches of his Grace Eph. 1.7 And as in him are given unto us exceeding great and precious Promises 2 Pet. 1.4 so all the Promises of God in him are Tea and in him Amen 2 Cor. 1.20 That is upon the account of Christ all his Promises of eternal Life and Happiness shall be certainly and infallibly made good to us on condition we forsake our Sins and obey him And yet when we have done all things which are commanded us we are to account our selves but unprofitable Servants having done no more than was our Duty to do Luke 17.10 And we cannot lay claim to those unspeakable Rewards laid up for his Obedient Servants meerly upon our own Deserts as if we had merited and deserved 'em but that no Flesh might Glory in his Presence it is Jesus Christ who is made unto us Wisdom and Righteousness and Sanctification and Redemption 1 Cor. 1.30 That is it is Jesus Christ who is the cause of our Justification and Sanctification and by the Merit of what he has done for us shall our imperfect Righteousness be so accepted of by God that we shall be unspeakably rewarded for it And if so if all our holy Performances shall be Accepted and Rewarded only through Christ it is on Him then and not on any thing that we have done our selves that we must depend and Relie for Pardon and Happiness For without his Merits to supply our Defects our best Performances will want Pardon and all that we can do will not merit nor deserve eternal Life and Glory Thus we must Believe that is Relie on Christ and we shall not perish but have everlasting Life John 3.16 And indeed this Reliance and Dependance upon God for Mercy Because it excludes Confidence in our own Merits and Boasting in our own Performances on the account of what Christ has Merited for us not on the account of any Deserts of our own appears in the Scriptures as I before said to be an Act of Faith more well-pleasing to God and acceptable unto him in that it excludes Boasting or Glorying in our own Righteousness which the Apostle makes very necessary to Justification Rom. 3. and expects the Reward meerly from God's Free Mercy in Christ without any Reliance upon our own Performances For as it is vers 23 24 25 26. All have sinned and come short of the Glory of God being Justified freely by his Grace through the Redemption that is in Christ Jesus whom God hath set forth to be a Propitiation through Faith in his Blood to declare his Rightoousness that he might be Just and the Justifier of Him that Believeth in Jesus Where is Boasting then It is excluded By what Law The Law of Works Nay but by the Law of Faith therefore we conclude a Man is Justify'd by Faith without the Deeds of the Law Which brings me III. To shew you in what sence we are said to be Justify'd by Faith 3. In what sence we are said by S. Paul to be Justified by Faith without the Deeds of the Law without the Deeds of the Law Both this Text of the Romans now mentioned and that Parallel place Gal. 2.16 seem to exclude Good Works from being at all necessary to our Justification And yet by what has been already said from St. Paul it does appear that Repentance and Obedience are Conditions equally requisite to our Justification with Faith Or when Faith alone is mentioned it is as including the other two and St. James also does most expresly assert that by Works a Man is Justified and not by Faith only Jam. 2.24 So that to clear the Holy Scripture from any Contradiction in this case it will be requisite to consider what St. Paul means by the Law and by the Deeds of the Law when he excludes either from having any thing to do in our Justification and what that Faith is upon which he does sometimes seem to lay the whole stress in that great Affair By Law in St. Pual's discourse with the Jews was meant both the Law of