Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
mercy_n	lord_n	sin_n	temptation_n	2,738	5	9.1133	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A44523	Gods providence in the midst of confusion set out in a sermon preach'd at the Savoy, January the 30, 1681, being the anniversary of the martyrdom of King Charles I / by Anthony Horneck.	Horneck, Anthony, 1641-1697.	1682 (1682)	Wing H2832; ESTC R13705	32,946	55

in conquering those Desires he overcomes himself and in that consists the perfection of Vertue Without a serious attempt of this Self-conquest your Prayers prevail not in Heaven and the little Devotions you pay the Immortal King are rejected as sapless Services Without this your New Moons and solemn Assemblies are Abominations and your treading the Courts of the Lord is looked upon as the Sacrifice of Fools The King above is not for outward shews and he that doth not give him the inward Man as well as the outward instead of paying Homage to him turns his Grace into wantonness The restraining of one inordinate Desire is more valued in Heaven than twenty formal Prayers and the curbing of one Passion receives greater applauses from the Holy Angels than a hundred Lord have Mercy upon me 's That one act of Joseph in resisting the Temptations of his Mistress and his own Natural Desires God approved of more than of all the Peace-offerings of the Harlot in the Proverbs chap. 7. vers 14. And Mary Magdalen's Tears and Sorrow for Sins melted Christs heart more than all the pompous Devotions of the Pharisee for in this Sorrow she reigned gloriously over her sinful Inclinations while the other continued a Slave to his desire of Vain-glory. 3. Then you submit to him and acknowledge him for your King when you seek first his Kingdom and his Righteousness When you offer unto God the best of your Flock and let the World have his refuse and leavings To give God the sleepiest hours of the day and to bestow the most lively upon the World is not to acknowledge him for your King but to make him the VVorlds Servant and to give him the Lame and Maimed while your profit and gain engrosses the Sound and the fat of your thoughts is Preposterous Devotion To Sin as long as you can and then to turn to him is to play with Religion and most certainly nothing looks so like Mockery as to think of being serious when you can serve the VVorld and the Flesh no longer Either God is not the best of Beings if he must not have our Principal Adorations or if he be our warmest Affections must of necessity be his due First to secure our Temporal Interest and then to think of making sure of the Everlasting Riches is to imagine that Death will stay for us And to give our Youth and tender years to the Devil is to say our Lesson as they say VVitches do the Lords Prayer backward To be sure this is not to be Subject to that King who in his actions is ever Orderly and Regular and therefore requires his Subject should be so too No Man serves him that doth not serve him orderly and to begin our Day and all our lawful VVorks and Enterprizes with him to Consecrate to him the Morning and Strength os our Age and to make our Carnal and Temporal Interest truckle to his VVill is true Canonical Obedience Those that do so shall reign with him in that Life his Son hath promised in the Gospel who died for this end that such as yield to these Terms might wear Crowns in Heaven Crowns not like those of perishable Gold which decay with Age and Time but Crowns immarcescible Crowns which Angels wear Crowns of Glory Crowns which are made splendid by the Light of Gods Countenance Crowns made of Everlasting Light Crowns which will shine when the Sun shall shine no more Crowns which will glitter when the Stars shall have done twinckling in a word Crowns the thoughts of which will transport the Souls that are incircled with them into Everlasting Comforts and Consolations FINIS

Curses and canst undo a thousand ways Thou hast Waters to drown Fire and Brimston to consume Arrows to wound Pestilence and Famine move by thy direction nay thou canst destroy both Soul and Body into Hell Thou hast threatned desolation and howling and gnashing of Teeth outward darkness and what is more Fire that is not quench'd to Men that chuse rather to gratifie their sinful humours than obey thy Laws Yet they look not pale upon it their colour changes not they find no alteration in their dispositions thy terrours fright them not thy anger moves them not how securely do they laugh and quaff and sing fear and care away How Merry notwithstanding all this is the Drunkard over his Cups How unconcerned doth the Fornicator and Adulterer lie in the Embraces of his Harlot How chearfully doth the Covetous hug his Bags and how boldly doth the Swearer send up his fearful Oaths to Heaven How undisturbed doth the Oppressour Extortioner and Murtherer sleep and all because they think thou art Patient and Merciful Thy Mercy makes them wanton and thy Patience causes Sin to live in their Souls Thy Goodness tempts them to be foolish and thy Compassion prompts them to affront thy Glory Thy Kindness proves their Bane and the Meat thou givest them encreases their Corruption Thy Oyl they turn into Poison and thy Corn and Wine feeds them into contempt of thy Majesty The ease thou givest them they make use of to fight against thy Laws and the plenty they enjoy by thy Providence gives them courage to make War with that Heaven from whence that plenty flows Monstrous Abuse Strange Stupidity When ever Gods Indignation breaks forth how violent will the Torrent be Deluded Men what pains do you take to treasure up Wrath unto your selves Were there but the least spark of ingenuity in you how durst you make Infinite goodness the Object of your scorn How could you find in your hearts to declare your selves Rebels and Enemies to your greatest Benefactor Shall Goodness harden you or Patience make your Breasts impenetrable Shall Bowels of Mercy make you hard as Rocks and Compassion be the Opiate to lull you asleep in your follies If your Children served you so what plagues would you think too big for them Or if your Servants should recompence your kindnesses thus would not you hate the very sight of their Persons And must God put up affronts which you will not Must he be contented under scorns and abuses which you will not bear Can such ingratitude be pleasing to him which is so odious to you What conceptions do you entertain of God that you deal with him thus If you believe him to be jealous of his Glory Will not be vindicate these Injuries See how loath he is to punish you and will you force him to it See how slowly he proceeds to Vengeance and will you hasten him See how he waits for your Repentance and will you make him despair of it He is Patient because he would have you prevent the blow and will you pull it down on your heads He delays his anger because he would have you kiss the Son and will you still fight against him that you may perish in good earnest By your trespassing upon his Patience you aggravate your guilt and must necessarily aggravate your Condemnation too you make Mercy a Witness against you and Gods goodness your Accuser and are these Arguments to be Answered I mean the Arguments that the Mercy and Patience of God will alledge against you in the last day If you allow God but the ordinary Wisdom of a great Man you must needs think that his Mercies abused thus will prove your Ruine Doth not every Wise Man if he have entrusted his Steward with an Estate demand of him how he hath employ'd it and will not you allow God so much Wisdom as to be concern'd about the Talents he hath entrusted you withall His Mercy and Patience are those Talents he gave you to improve into seriousness and hatred of Sin and resistance of Temptations will you bury them under ground or lay them up in a Napkin or what is more misuse them to dishonour the Omnipotent God and his Law and expect an Euge Will you turn his Grace into wantonness and believe you shall be applauded at last with a well done good and faithful Servant Have not you read of the unprofitable Servant that was deliver'd to the Tormentors till he should pay what he ow'd and is not this your case that make light of Gods anger because he doth not power it out upon you so soon as your Sins deserve it Therefore art thou inexcusable O Man whosoever thou art who despisest the riches of his goodness and forbearance and long-suffering not knowing that the goodness of God leads thee to Repentance Rom. 2. 1 5. 2. The Lord reigneth Let 's admire the Wisdom of God who can draw light out of darkness and wholsom Medicines from the rankest Poison The brutish Man knows it not neither doth a Fool understand this and hence come the rash censures of Gods actions A Man who is no careless observer of things will find very strange and uncouth passages and dispensations in this World which possibly he cannot reconcile to the principles of that Reason God hath given him yet may he be confident that as absurd as some Dispensations seem to him they are carried on with singular Wisdom and Providence by the Supream mover of all it being impossible but the All-Wise God who sees and knows and takes care of all must act and suffer things to be acted upon very weighty and prudential Motives and I question not but should God be so kind as to give us a Key to open the Cabinet of some of his Mysterious Providences I mean communicate his Reasons to us why he disposes and martials things in that order method and manner we see he doth we should be forced with the Apostle to cry out 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 O the depth of the Riches both of the Mercy and Wisdom of God! That the Holy Ghost should be bestow'd on the Uncircircumcised Gentiles was a thing which to the Jews seemed not only impossible but in a manner Impious to believe it having been a Maxim with them from immemorial times That the Divine Presence rests on none but an Israelite yet when they saw the thing effectually done and understood the Reasons they could not but break forth into admiration of the infinite Wisdom of God and praise and magnifie him whose Understanding is Infinite and whose Wisdom cannot by searching be found out It 's a very strange Dispensation that the greatest part of the World should continue Heathenish and Idolatrous and the Mahometans exceed the Christians in number by three parts at least yet he that shall consider seriously how Christians are sunk as to the holiness of their Lives and how unfit by reason of that decay they are for propagating that Holy Religion they profess