Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
mercy_n	let_v	lord_n	magnify_v	2,538	5	10.8447	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A90059	The sinners hope: as his priviledge, and duty, in his worst condition, stated, cleared, and improved. Tending as well to the startling and inviting of the wicked from his sinfull and wretched course, upon the conditionall hopes that are layd out for him; as the confirming and directing of the truly humble and weak Christian in his duty and comfort, in the severall cases of darkness, sin, and affliction. Being the substance of severall sermons, / preached by Henry Newcome, M.A. and one of the ministers of the Gospell, at Manchester, in the county palatine of Lancaster.	Newcome, Henry, 1627-1695.	1659 (1659)	Wing N899; Thomason E1764_2; ESTC R209655	106,234	225

God then may or that he doth pity you in their pity I will shew mercies to you Jer 42 12. that he may have mercy upon you God shews mercy in making men shew mercy and pity to others in their Distresses When men shew pity they are set on work b● God The Lord it is that hath moved their hearts to compassion or they had been unmoved Surely there is something in it that thy Minister should say to thee as Samuel As for me 1 Sam 12.13 the Lord forbid but that I should pray for you nay the Lord forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you I should sin if I did it not nay further to say I will teach you the good and the right way c. Sure the Lord hath some mercy himself for me when his Officers have their hearts so sensibly set and inclined towards me sure you have high thoughts of us as much too high as of him too low If you think we could move our own hearts to have any pity towards you or to take any care of you 9. Can you be worse then those to whom he hath shewed mercy O what Sinners Repentance hath brought off The first of the sinning kind as to man is generally believed were saved Adam and Eve the Ringleaders of this dangerous course these escaped God put forth a triall of his power upon them The Devill had not the plunder of the first Battell could not carry it off the Field Adam and Eve escaped Thou talkest of great sins Alas what was Davids what was Manasses that filled Jerusalem with Murthers Witchcraft and what not 2 K. 24.3.4 2 Chron. 33 2.13 that intangled the people in so much sin that God would not pardon it afterwards but Plagned the Land for it when he was gone yet this Manasseh comes off and the Lord is entreated of him What should we say of Mary Magdalen of the very Jews that Crucified Christ Saul that persecuted him If you think he did that only to Paul did that once which he will do no more the Text tells you he did it for a Patern to them which should come after 1 Tim. 2.15.16 The Lord will shew mercie to as great sinners as any he hath saved yet if they repent and come in unto him The Lord hath a design to magnifie the Attribute of his Mercie as much in the work of Redemption as he did the Attribute of his Power in the work of Creation and therefore it is a dangerous thing to talk of great Sins before infinite Mercy Consider if as much Mercy as brought off these Sinners in Scripture will bring off thee thou maiest hope for God hath done nothing to any but he will do the like to thee if thou repent and come in as they did 10. God hath excepted no penitent sinner what ever his sin be And besides if penitent Sinners be not saved who shall God doth not say if such Sinners come I will forgive them and others I will not but all sorts of Sinners unrighteous persons Isa 55.7.8 indefinitely let them come and I will shew mercie unto them The very sin against the Holy Ghost Divines conceive it might be pardoned for the sin but that God never gives repentance for it The Devill that tempred the young man and he fled to Christs Death I saies the Devill How will you prove he died for you nay saies the young man prove that he did not die for me So how will you prove that mercie doth not belong to you for if penitent Sinners find not Mercie what is this Throne of mercie for It is for some bodie the Angels that stand never needed it the Angels that fell must not have it the Saints in Glory they are secured wicked men on Earth matter not for it There remains therefore but one sort of men more and those are Sinners that repent of sin and these are they this mercie is on purpose for Thou talkest thou art unworthy was ever any worthy Thou art but unworthy and never any was saved by this Mercie that did deserve it It remains therefore clear that God is willing that if thou repent God will receive thee 3. And sure thou art willing This is supposed all along in the former head the matter is at a neerer issue than is ordinarily thought of we need not solicitously enquire whether God be willing to save a Penitent or no Know but that thou thy self art willing that thou art a Penitent and thou hast the answer It is brought to that now but if the Fit of doubting be on thee thou wilt make ashift to get hold here and thou wilt to pleasure this humour and distemper of thy soul question this whether thou art willing or no whether thou repentest or no! If the doubt be only here thou wilt doubt here though till the other was cleared this on thy part was little doubted of well then to help thee about what God hath wrought in thee and to clear thy grounds of hope from hence and though thou maiest think none knows thy mind better then thou yet give me leave to desire thy answer to a few questions whereby I think thon mayest clear to thy self that it sticks not at thy willingnesse not so much to prove what is in thee as if any thing of thy own as what the Lord hath wrought for thee Hast not thou forsaken the old way given over some grosse sins which before thou couldst have lived in nay didst take delight in hast thou not resolved against them however thou farest for thine acceptance with Christ upon thy coming in Iust like a rebel that when proclamation of pardon is out upon his laying down of his Armes and coming into the King It may be at present he dares not shew his face to the King to claim the benefit of his pardon and the Kings favour but he lays down his armes and will fight no more Why this is a good beginning so one may take some Soules between their sins and their actuall sense of their application of Christ Thou hast at present laid aside thy hostility thou hast done with thy rebellion Though thou darest not yet see the Kings face yet thou hast done fighting against him as Saul when sticken down in his way to Damascus why he had done at first dash with his commission from the High Priests and Elders he had enough of persecuting and whether Christ would have him or no he at present had done with his breathing out threatning against the brethren he would stand by at no more stonings nor bind no more for Jerusalem that followed this way It is a good preface a good beginning that thou art standed in thy former course that thou hast laid down thy Hostility wilt fight no more against Christ Like the man whom a Minister overtooke after a Sermon and asked him how he liked the Minister and what he remembred saies the

and the Lord brought him off Alas If thou be in a straight and sayst thou shalt never get past this it is no more then what thou hast said many another time If thou hadst perisht and been undone as oft as thou hast said thou shouldst thou hadst not been alive to have said so now It seems thou hast been deceived before and so maist be now there is yet Hope in this thing 2. Inwardly In respect of some straights sinners may be in about their spirituall estate They may look on their cases as dangerous and yet should not count them desperate 1. In the case of grosse sin upon the instant of the first conviction The soul is attached by the Lords Writ convinced of the sad course he hath lived in hath his sin layd before him set in order before his eyes Psal 15. he sees himself in an evill case and is apt now he is beaten off presuming to run upon the coast of despair It is ordinary for sinners either to count their sins too little to repent of or too great to be forgiven So Cain Gen. 14.13 my sin is greater then can be forgiven Not my sin is greater then I can bear but my sin is greater then God can bear now a soule in this case though it be hard set as the securest sinner will be if God do but open his eyes there being no thing but a little ignorance between him and the brinke of the very gulfe of dispair yet it should take notice of the Hopes which God hath left to such a one even vile sinners are invited to repent Let the wicked indefinitely be he what sort of wicked man he can be Is 55.7 let him forsake his ways and the unrighteous man his thoughts Let him resolve upon a through change and turn to the Lord and he will have mercy upon him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon Mat 12.31 All blasphemy wherewith soever men shall blaspheme shall be forgiven There is Hopes for the pardon of all sin that men can repent of and therefore a sinner in this straight should take notice of the way God hath prescribed in which such a one may come off 2. In the case of Apostasy 1. Great and more generall apostasy Such a soul thinks its case dangerous and so indeed it is one that hath backsliden very sore forsaken his first love fallen back into his wicked course again returned with the dog to the vomit again Or 2. a child of God that for one particular act hath done untowardly as David yet even in these cases these poor creatures are not shut up Jer. 3. v. 1. There is a way out for such sinners A woman that hath done wrong to her husband can not come back againe the land would be greatly polluted to have such a one pardoned the Adulteress is to dye ver 22. but you have committed fornication with many lovers yet returne againe to me saith the Lord I can receive when none in the like case would or can receive I can do that which none else can do Returne ye backsliding Children I will heale your backslidings Ye backsliding Children I will not plague you for your backslidings but will heale them 1 Sa. 12. v. 20.21.22 the people had sadly sinned in rejecting God to be their King God thunders upon them frights them with raigne in harvest the people were convinced of their sin saw the justice of God directly against them what is now to be done is there any remedy left for such sinners is there any way for such sinners to come off is there any way but going on in rebellion and standing out in the way as long as they could or sitting down in despaire waiting for inevitable destruction yea there is another way For all you had done this wickednesse yet turn not aside from following the Lord for then you shall follow after vaine things which can not profit for the Lord will not forsake his people The Father will own his Child yet if he would come in only fear the Lord and serve him c. and all this evill may be done away you may yet come off though the matter be very bad yet there is hope still for such as you David is convinced plainly and particularly of a very great and foul Miscarriage he confesses I have sinned I have done very foolishly Ay 2 Sam. 12.13 but saies Nathan There is hopes still to come off The Lord hath done away thy sin Thou shalt not die In this difficult case of greater or lesser falling back there is a way left to come off in 3. In the case of Darkness a Soul is in trouble the Lord with-draws his favour nay may make positive expressions of Indignation against the Soul and when the Lord makes trouble who can give quietness Job 34.29 onely yet there is hope that he himselfe will make peace again and a Soul in this dark condition is not to be without hopes David puts it to the question whether and saies God will be gracious no more yet after he saies Psal 77 9.10 This is my infirmity there is hope in the thing Let him that walks in darkness and hath no light Isa 50.10 yet trust in the Lord and stay himself upon his God There is hopes of such a Creatures reviving again the Case is hard but not desperate CAP. III. The Nature of the Sinners Hope as his Priviledge and Duty truly stated 2. HOw far or in what sense is this to be understood that sinners in such cases as these should yet take notice of and cherish their hopes In this we shall by the way endeavour to set out how far we should give way to trouble in case of sin in our daily course and how far we must avoid it How near we may come to consternation in such cases and how far or wherein we must fly from it 1. How it is not to be understood We must in these cases hope yet 1. Not so as not to see and confess our sin we are not so to clap on the Plaister as to hide instead of healing the Sore the Sore must be opened and searched before the Plaister be laid on This else were a way to cover rather then cure the sin He that covereth his sin cannot prosper Prov. 28.23 but he that confesseth and forsaketh shall find mercy David while he kept silence would have hidden his sin he was in sad distress of Soul but when he resolved to acknowledge his transgression then he found ease It is a weary restless condition of Soul that any man can look for notwithstanding all the hopes if he yet hide his sin 2. Not so as not to be under a sense of Gods displeasure for what we have done this hope is not to be so fomented as to make a man think that God is not displeased with what we have done though there may be hope he

better but thou art prevented of being sensibly worse by this contest of thine Here is the profit that thou art kept from being worse hereby 3. This is thy work this is the state of the Godly These are the Cananites left in the land to prove thee These are to learn thee war these are left in thee and must be so while here there is much grace exercised and left on purpose for this end viz about the sin that remains in the Godly The sin is evil but thy contest with it is part of thy taske thy work which God requires and accepts of ●t thy hands Gal. 3.17 The flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh and these two are contrary Thou thinkest that all should be of one side and one party in thee but it is consistent with the work of grace to have twins stirring in the wombe These principles are contrary and no marveile if they strive and lust one against another This is the Messenger from Satan to buffet thee to keepe thee from being exalted above measure These very corruptions keep thee out of harmes another way The Canaanites remaine to put thee in mind of the native inhabitants of the Land that thou mayest be humbled notwithstanding any better entrance that is made upon thee Hezekiah God left him in the matter of the King of Babylon and it was not to let him know he was an Hypocrite 2. Chro. 12.31 or because he was one as thou art apt to conclude if thou wert right God would not leave thee as he doth such a sin should not Lord as it doth but it was that he might know all that was in his heart might know what dangerous seeds there were still remaining with him that he might understand what his heart might be trusted in better then he did before which might make him carry humbly under the signall mercies the Lord had afforded to him 4. There is roome for growth in the best of his Children They are not so good but they may mend grace should encrease and thrive when it is in truth now thou must not take that stature to be necessary to denominate thee a true Christian that thou art to grow and thrive unto These may be things to be endeavoured for and not to be had at first setting out Thou wouldst have it all at first There is a kind of paine and lameness in young ones that is called the thrift which is not a down-right lameness And soe may this trouble of thine not be so much concerning the truth as the growth of thy grace many of these things thou complainest of should rather be the matter of thy future endeavours to overcome them then markes to judge thy present estate by rather things to be striven against then despaired from 5. There is hope about this thing for thou canst not goe to God about a businesse that doth better please him then this is The Lord will give to his Children riches and honour and health c which are not things immediately for their souls good and yet he will not deny them these things because they are dear to him now if thou goe to God for power against sin and strength so duty These are things the Lord delights in In these things I delight saith the Lord Jer. 9.23 and therefore sure thou may hope this petition of thine shall in time find acceptance It is a great advantage to petition a King for that which he loves to be asked Thou hast Gods will on thy side thou canst not be so against sin but God is against it much more And therefore thou maiest hope that in his own time he will help thee about it and however that he hath his glory from it or it must not abide in thee soe quite against thy will and his will too 6. The Lord can easily help this thing matters are not so farr gone in thy heart but the Lord can with one touch of his hand cure all If Christ do but looke back on Peter he shall leave his denying and swearing and cursing and fall a weeping The Spouse that will not stirr to let in Christ if he leave but the droppings of his fingers in the hole of the doo●e her very bowels shall be moved for him Alas thou thinkest this heart of thine is farr sunk that it cannot be recovered at least in no small time but thou art mistaken the Lord can mend all this with one glimpse of his countenance It is he that strengtheneth with strength in the Soul Psa 138.3 He hath a notable hand at these inward cures and indeed what cannot almightyness do There is no sin so enterwoven with thee in thy constitution and by custome but the Lord can take thee off it and no duty thou art so averse unto but he can bring thee on unto it It is but the wakening of the wind and you know that oft is on a suddain and the garden spices send forth their pleasant smell Cant. 4.16 The power is in God there is a root in thee It is but this power stirring and the root in thee shall answer to it and thou mayest soon be of a right temper and in a right order before him Saul persecuted David because he feared his supplanting him in the matter of the crown and no doubt there was not any thing in the world that went so against Sauls stomach he could down with any thing better then to let David be King But yet Saul in a fit when overcome with Davids kindnesse could yeild to this and could covenant with David when he should be King to shew kindness to his family 1. Sam. 24.20 now he could let David be King or any thing and so God can bring that temper upon thee that thou shalt yeild to any Duty Nothing shall be stuck at by thee how averse soever thou sometimes wert unto it The Lord can change habits and customes in thy heart Davenant on Col. 2.2 he can take thee off The mighty power of God can alter this heart of thine The man in Gersom that studied against atheisme and could never get the better of it at last he prayed that God would help him in it and he was clean rid of all his horrid temptations this way and was as really perswaded of the truth of unseen things as of the chair he sate in The heart of man is deceitfull and desperately wicked above all things who can know it Worse then men can think worse then we ourselves can discover but he adds Thou Lord knowest c Is this any comfort yea sure The Lord can discover and cure this deceit to the very bottome he knows the heart altogether thy Soul it may be is like a curious Watch that at present will not goe the fault thou doest not know but goe it will not what course is to be taken with such a peice why take this heart this Watch to

may be again pacified we are to look at God under conviction of sin as placable yet as provoked at it It is not to hope that God is not angry but that his anger may be turned away again David had contrived and carried on his wickedness but thus it concludes The thing that David had done displeased the Lord 2 Sam. 11. ult the Lord was really offended at it Jehosophat the Lord would pardon him yet there was wrath out against him for what he had done 2 Chron. 19.2 We are to hope yet not so as to force kindness from God upon our selves to fancy that God looks over our miscarriages without any distast of them to fancy that such things as these shall never be lookt after as the profane Athiest that saies Psal 10. Tush the Almighty regards not he will not require it Who ever do thus it is not such a hope that God hath left them not such an Antinomian fancy to think that God loves us so fondly as to love us in the very act of sin in our very wickedness This is not Faith we ought not to hope thus which is besides all reason and Scripture grounds there may be hope yet displeasure too 3. Not so to hope As not to be ashamed truly before God for what we have done it is Impudence in us to look upon God as confidently as if we had done nothing amiss this setting a Face upon our sins as if we had not offended at all Ezra was ashamed and confounded and could not stand before the Lord Ezra 9. ult Could not look God in the face because of that they had done Shecaniah doth not propose these hopes to take off the shame that was due to them for sin We are not to hope so as not to be ashamed Jer. 6 15. Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination nay they were not at all ashamed neither could they blush This was a great Complaint and God threatens them for it Therefore they shall fall among them that fall Jer. 2.26 As a Thief is ashamed so is the House of Israel ashamed As a man reputed to be honest is catcht stealing is ill abasht or one that hath used stealing and is catcht so doing is made to carry his stoln Goods back again in his hand is fearfully ashamed of it So is a Sinner that is apprehended by the Spirit of God with his sin upon him and so sadly and miserably is to carry in Gods presence because of it and yet hope too 4. Not so to hope As not to be very much humbled and vile in his own Eyes He is not so to run to his hopes as to save his due humiliation for what he hath done to think basely and vilely of himself for his miscarriage we are apt either to despair in our selves and God too or else to hope in God and our selves too whereas we must divide in this case and hope in God yet utterly despair in our selves Oh! upon such a straight we ought to see the vileness and weakness of our selves herefrom Oh! this is my base and perverse Spirit this is my folly and wretchedness this is that which is the best my heart will bring forth c. and yet hope in God 5. Not so to hope 1 Tim. 1.1 As not to see our absolute need to Christ to hope so in such cases is sinfull hope The Apostle speaks of Christ Jesus who is our hope Though sin should not drive us to despair yet it should drive us to Christ alone to hope in We are so far to be troubled as to make sute to our Blastus to speak a good word for us Hope to skip besides or without Christ to Souls ease is sad preposterous and unchristian hope 6. Not so to hope As not to combat and strive to the utmost against the sin We are not to hope that the sin shall be pardoned if we still allow it It is not an hope to let the sin alone we are not to despair so neither to hope with the sin still upon us not to hope to save us any further labour about the business but to engage to the utmost against our sin upon the ground of this hope which the Lord hath left us in our difficult case But secondly How is it to be understood We are not in cases of sin to give way to consternation of mind so far As 1. in generall 1. To undo any of the conclusions concerning Gods goodness that are made from Scripture grounds Sin concerns us but Forgiveness belongs to God what we have done we ought to be humbled for but what he will do hereupon doth not concern us to determine against What ever we are we must leave God as we find him in Scripture while we bring down our selves we must not go about to bring down him too while we truly discover our own badness we must be carefull we disparage not his Goodness what ever case we are in Psal 86.5 103.8 Exod. 34.7 Neh. 9.17 we must still conclude that God is where he was A God ready to forgive a God slow to anger a God pardoning iniquity transgression and sin Thou art to say what thou hast done that thy sin is great c. but to say it cannot be forgiven this is not left to thee to determine on what God will do to thee is altogether with him he is a gracious and a mercifull God still 2. Nor to make any peremptory conclusion about the event and issue of the thing To say I shall one day perish by the hand of Saul To say 1. Sa. 27.1 I am cut off my hope is perished from the Lord. To say I cannot be saved this will bring me to Hell I am sure I must perish this is to prevent God It is not for thee to make Decrees thou knowest not what ever thou art at present what yet God may make thee Mat. 19.26 and what thou mayst come to before thou diest With God all things are possible Sinners ought therefore to be sparing in their finall determinations concerning themselves for secret things belong to God And many such things are with him It is a mercy thou art not in Hell already and it may be hoped thou shalt not in the end ever come there 2. More particularly We are not to let down our hopes 1. For a Sinner upon his Conviction he is to hope that upon his repentance he may yet find mercy God hath given forth his Son That whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life 1 Jo 3.16 The vilest Sinner that comes in upon the Proclamation of pardon is bound to believe he shall find acceptance 2. For the Godly upon any failing or sin they are faln into or discover in themselves 1. They are to hope so as not to cast down all their evidences of grace in their Souls raised and duly gathered before for this one sin one