Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n
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A89440
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A mystery which the angels desired to look into. 1 Pet. 1. 11. 12.
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1647
(1647)
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Wing M3192; Thomason E386_15*; ESTC R201484
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11,645
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caused Jerusalem to swim with innocent blood and had no works of righteousnesse Exod. 23. 2 King 11.16 Thou declaredst thy great mercy in pardoning him Thou restoredst Israel from captivity which had lived like beasts 2 Esds 8.29 30 The Thief upon the Crosse had nothing but sins to present thee with yet thou pardonest him for thou art a God of mercy art call'd mercifull Ier. 3.12 Exod. 34. and delightest in mercy and hast treasures of goodnesse layed up for them that have none for themselves O Lord hear and consider Look not upon the sins of thy people but look on thy Sanctuary and worship which lyeth waste Defer not to help for thy Names sake for thy honour sake In pitie for thy Christs sake look upon our miseries for there is no healing nor help left and we grow worse and worse Our sins increasing are grown up unto the heavens We have committed this great evill and that Jesuitically by blood we think to build our nests on high above the stars Hab. 2.9 that so in this world we may escape the Crosse of our Lord and be free from the power of evill But O Lord in so doing we have refused our own health the waters of Shiloh Isa 56. and put from our selves that holy Cup of Salvation of which our Lord himself drank and himself with his own blood tempered and seasoned for such as will be his Disciples O Lord in judgement remember mercy Ier. 6.16 and bring us once again to that ancient old good way that walking therein we may find rest to our souls Amen The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him Psal 25.14 And if any man will do his will he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God Joh. 7.17 THat you might the better think of that which you and I lately spake of touching the sufferings of Christians Postscript I have committed the same to writing and have here according to my promise sent it you Think upon it for it 's no vain thing Deut. 32.47 but it 's that whereby our lives shall be prolonged in the Land beyond Jordan whitherunto we are going The necessity of the serious thinking on this doctrine appears in that our Lord took such pains with his disciples to inculcate radicate and settle it in their hearts For having spoke of their sufferings Luk. 21. Settle it in your hearts saith he ver 12 13 14. In another place saith he Let these sayings sink down into your hearts Luk. 10. And again These things have I spoken unto you that you should not be offended and that when the time cometh you may remember I told you of them Joh. 15.20 Joh. 16.14 By all which and many other places this appeareth a matter of great concernment and of some difficulty to be beleeved And of this doctrine or this report Isa 53. we with the Prophet may well say Lord who hath beleeved unto such is the power of God manifested and they shall grow up before him as a tender plant and as a root out of dry ground And without doubt the highest favour that the Almighty bestowed upon the sons of men is ability to suffer for his Name It is that great feast Luk. 14. to which all are invited The riches that accompany it exceed all the treasures of Nations and the people that endure are such as God esteemeth the world not worthy of And therefore the holiest of men even the Apostles rejoyced that they were counted worthy to suffer I have now done The Lord settle these sayings in our hearts and grant us to be those spirituall worshippers Joh. 4.23 24 not to worship the Father with bodily sacrifice but in spirit and truth instead of Burnt-offerings to offer up our bodies and souls a living sacrifice and so to account of our selves but as sheep appointed to the slaughter and to prepare for bonds and afflictions which Act. 20.23 as the holy Ghost witnesseth abide us in every place for that through much tribulation and violence the kingdom of heaven must be entred Act. 14.22 And that as the grace of flowers fade so may our carnality and worldly pomp glory and honour decay decrease Iam. 1 11. Phil 3.3 8. yea that we may attain to the high price set before us let 's account those things dung and that we may so do let us watch Luk. 16. fast pray give alms as good Souldiers endure all hardnesse that so being faithfull in small things we may be trusted with great Which is the earnest prayer of your faithfull Friend Imprimatur Joh. Downame FINIS
St. James esteemes the wisdom strength layed out upon these to be earthly sensuall divellish Of the same speaks St. John 1 Ioh 2.15 16 saying Love not the world nor the things that are in the world For all that is in the world the lusts of the flesh the lusts of the eyes Gal 1.4 and the pride of life is not of the Father but is of the world And our Lord dyed to deliver us from this present evill world from which S. James saith Iam. â— 27 he that is religious keeps himself unspotted Every offence that in this world is committed is either for a beastly pleasure a trifling commodity or for some vain estimation with man And as in a glasse face answers face so do these three kinds of transgressions to those three qualities of the forbidden fruit Gen. 3. And therefore it is that the Christian in Baptisme promises to renounce these three the world the flesh and the devill and to follow our Lord under the Crosse the performance of which through Christ is that which saveth called by the Apostle not the washing away the silth of the flesh but the answer of a good conscience And this is that spirituall and fiery Baptisme of Christ namely a Baptisme into his death unto which whosoever subscribes stands ingaged to a crucifixion and daily death for a good conscience 1 Cor. 15. and is in jeopardy to dye every houre As it is written if the dead rise not why are we baptized for the dead and why stand we in jeopardy every houre I protest saith the Apostle by our rejoycing which I have in Christ Jesus I dye daily therefore it is that the Lord Christ to the baptized is a Captain a Leader and every such that hath resigned up himself to be his Souldier and to follow the Lambe where-ever he goeth this his skilfull Captain will lead through crooked paths and bring fear and dread upon him Ecclu 4.11 18. and torment him by discipline but after will comfort him and shew him secrets Therefore saith the Apostle After ye have suffered a while 1 Pet. 5 10. he shall stablish strengthen settle you This is the Lords way to save the sons of men And as Eiihu said these things God worketh thrice yea often with man to bring back his soul from the pit to be enlightned with the light of the living Iob 23. That man whom God intends to dignifie he visits every morning and tryes him every moment Iob 7. Hebr. 12. and chastiseth him for his profit that so he may be made partaker of Gods holinesse indeed be regenerated made one with the Father and the Son as our Lord said Verily ye which have followed me in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit upon the throne of his glory ye shall sit upon twelve thrones judging the Tribes of Israel Every one that hath forsaken houses or brethren or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands for my Names sake shall receive an hundred fold and shall inberit everlasting life This in our Lords opinion is the very means of mans regeneration namely Isa 51.2 3. Ps 1 44. Iob 34.7 Isa 50.6 a patient following him through all afflictions to be as a lambe dumbe before the shearers to lay the body as the ground and as the street to them that passe over patiently bearing reproaches and drinking down scorning like water to give the back to the smiters the face to the spitters and the checks to them that pluck off the hair But this doctrine to flesh and blood seems strange that the Scripture saith Lord who hath beleeved our report 1 Cor. 1 23. To the Jews it is a stumbling block to the Greeks foolishnesse Hab. 2.10 and 5.9 but to the Christian beleever it is the power of God to salvation For by means of the Crosse the Christian is made like his Master fitted for heaven and perfected as he was perfected Hab 1. â—0 59. and he that endureth most for him in this life that comes neerest to him in suilerings shall come neerest to him in glory in the next Therfore let us not think afflictions when God sendeth them so strange a thing Job 7.17 11. but rather with holy Job in secret admiring that God should take such care for to make us partakers of his holinesse say Heb. 12.10 Lord what is man that thou shouldst dignifie him that thou shouldst set thy heart upon him that thou shou'dst visit him every morning and try him every moment But Lord what may be thought of those men that take up the sword against the Cresse Those that have caused so great effusion of Christian blood for liberty Iesuites and heady Sectariâ—s yea liberty to the flesh which must be crucified that so they mayserve God as themselves please and that without any trouble in this world How are these ignorant and also Enemies of the Crosse of Christ The holy Apostle wept to think that there should be any such among Christians Phil. 3.19 telling the Philippians that such made their belly their God their glory their shame earthly minded men their end was destruction Alas alas what shall become of those among Christians that for this end because they may not have liberty speak evill of Dignities and despise Dominions following the foot-steps of Cain Corab Dathan and Abiram and will not be warned by their judgements Which examples as standing Pillars of Salt remain to all generations Wo is them wo is them for them in especiall saith St. Jude is reserved blacknesse and darknesse for ever Jude 8.13 Did the blessed Trinity in their wisdom finde out this onely means for the restauration of lost mankinde Did the holy Apostles rejoyce in it the Angels admire it the universall Church imbrace it and do we fight to make it void The very thoughts thereof cause my knees to tremble my lips to quiver and rottennesse to enter into my bones For God with vengeance will come with thousands of his Saints as Enoch prophesied to execute judgement on all belly gods that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him These Iude 19. saith that Apostle are those that separate themselves sensuall Ier 7.29 not having the Spirit O Lord what have we done that thou shouldst suffer us to stray and in knowing times to be so strangely deluded By what degrees of sins have we ascended to such unmatchable wickednesse O! the Christian Religion how it is disgraced Cut off thy hair Ier. 7.29 O Christian and cast it from thee and take up a lamentation in all thy publick places and say O Lord if it be possible open our eyes Deuâ— 19.18 Act 1.23 and remove this bitter Gall forgive this great iniquitie When Israel had sinned in making the golden Calf thou shewedst mercy upon thousands To Manasses which