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	sinner_n	spare_v	2,152	5	9.6527	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A39934	Grace and mercy to a sinner in a time of afflictions, or, The serious meditations of M. Tho. Ford of Rochester during the time of his imprisonment, before his execution, faithfully delivered from his own copie : together with his funeral sermon, preached by Mr. Wil. Sandbrook, P.M. Rochester / set forth for the strengthning of our faith in Jesus Christ ... ; published for the satisfaction of his friends ... by John Plasse.	Ford, Thomas, d. 1656.; Sandbrooke, William.; Plasse, John.	1657 (1657)	Wing F1513; ESTC R40949	26,591	84

Grace and Mercy to a Sinner in a Time of Afflictions OR The serious Meditations of M. Tho. Ford of Rochester During the time of his Imprisonment before his Execution Faithfully delivered from his own COPIE Together with his Funeral Sermon Preached by Mr Wil. Sandbrook P. M. Rochester Set forth for the strengthning of our Faith in Jesus Christ and to arm our selves against Satan Published for the satisfaction of his Friends and conviction of his Enemies By Iohn Plasse LONDON Printed by Ioseph Moxon for Francis Cossinett and sold at his shop in Tower street at the sign of the golden Anchor at Minsin lane end 1657. To the Reader Courteous Reader I Having the Original of this Coppy committed to my hands by the Author thereof it being a grand part of his serious meditations during the time of his imprisonment in Rochester was desired by many of the Inhabitants and others adjacent to transcribe the same that it might be committed to Presse thereby to come to the publique view The Peece it self is but small yet full of many precious Truths and altho penned by a Person statned with the guilt of the blood of his own Sister yet in it thou shalt find so much of Gods glorious Countenance shining out upon him after so long a time of Gods with-drawing which thou shalt find fully discovered in his last Speech annexed to this Treatise that thou maiest conclude with me doubtless he is now at rest in the arms of a faithful Redeemer Iudge charitably accept of it kindly and walk thank fully with God for a● his mercies These are the only desire of him that is Margarets Rochester Ian. 26. 1656. Thine John Plasse Several Notes and Observations collected by me Tho. Ford for the strengthning of my Faith in my Saviour the Lord Iesus Christ and fealing of the assurance of my everlasting salvation Dedicated to any tender eye that will pardon the mistakes and correct the Errors My entrance by Prayer MOst high and mighty Lord God that didst create Man after thine own image but he fell from thee and by his fall made himself despicable and most vile in thy eyes O Lord we are in his loyns and are corrupted in him so that our original corruptions are enough to sink us into Hell without any actual transgressions But ever blessed be thy Name thou didst not leave us in this condition but didst provide a Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ to randsom us from the thraldom of sin and death that whosoever beleeves in him should not perrish but have everlasting life Strengthen me O Lord the greatest of sinners that I may by sure evidences from thy good spiri● working in me a lively faith receive some crums of mercy from thy Table Take away O Lord the hardness of my heart the blindness of my understanding the deadness of my affections Create in me O God a new heart and renew a right spirit within me Make me to hear joy and gladness Rebuke the Tempter that hath been too strong for me and while I live here let me live to thy glory and before I depart hence receive that blessed and comfortable sentence from thee Thy sins are forgiven thee And this I begg of thee for the sake of Jesus Christ my alone Saviour and Redeemer Amen Of God He is glorious in his Essence and glorious in his Persons In his Essence of an eternal being by himself without beginning and without end Iehovah Elohim He is glorious in his Persons Father Son and Holy Spirit The Father is glorious in his great work of Election The Son is glorious in his great work of Redemption The Holy Ghost is glorious in his great work of Application The Father is glorious in choosing the House The Son is glorious in buying the House The Holy Ghost is glorious in dweling in the House To apply this to my self Is God so full of glory and Majesty with what an awfulness and dreadfull reverence of his Majesty should I come before him to beg pardon for my sins for my sins that have been so sinfull beyond measure the whole course of my life hath been nothing else but a continual act of sin and to all my sins have added Murder and that not of a stranger but of my own Sister Well Where shall I rest for Comfort In the Father He is full of Majesty and Glory I cannot But here must I rely upon Jesus Christ my Redeemer that by true repentance for my sins principally as they have been an offence against the Majesty and dishonour to his Name joyned by a lively Faith in Jesus Christ Here must I cast Anchor and upon this Rock must I be preserved from dispair of Gods mercies But how shall I come to Christ that I may find mercy 1. Come to him mourning and loathing thy self for thy long continuance in sin and refusing of him come with a broken and lamenting heart for all thy sins but especially for thy sleighting of Christ for the shedding of his blood the renting of his bowels and if thou canst not come as well as thou shouldst yet come as well as thou canst come to him and make thy moan of thy unbeleef and inability to come 2. Come with this assured confidence ●hat those that come unto him he will in to wise cast away and thou being come he will not cast thee away Let us draw neer with full assurance of Faith having ●ur hearts sprinkled from an evil Consci●nce and our bodies washed with pure water 3. Come gladly and willingly glorifying the grace of God but abasing thy ●elf Come with gladness that thou shalt ●e brought and enter into the Kings pre●nce receive not the grace of God as ● common thing but thankfully and with all thy heart for the end why the Lord gives Christ to a man is the glory ●f his Grace If the Lord attain his end he desires no more For why should ●e when he hath his end The only way and means to obtain pardon from God the Father by his ●on Jesus Christ is set down briefly by S. Iohn thus If we acknowledge our sins he is faithfull and just to forgive us our sins Make therefore a diligent search of ●hy heart by the Law of God arraign thy self in thine own thoughts before God Supposing this were the day o● reckoning rip up thy heart and lay open all thy known sins without lesning them without excusing them without hiding them without taking upon thee to defend them thus did David Psal 51 3. 4. thus did Ezra 9. 6. and then go on to give Iudgement to thy self I say Iudge thy self that thou be not Iudged Thus did Daniel in the 9. and the 7 Thus did the Prodigall Luke the 15 21. One thing is very observable in the Prodigals return to his Father and that on the Fathers part the Text saith His Father went and met him intimating unto us the goodness and infinit● mercy of God

in the Lord Jesus Christ to humble and penitent sinners that by hearty repentance come home unto him He is very ready and willing to meet them to imbrace them in the arms of his mercy to kill the fatted Calf to provide delicates heavenly delicates for his the bread of life the food of immortality ushered in with the most delightfull Musick for there is joy in Heaven over one sinner that repenteth That by the way When thou hast judged thy self then earnestly beg of God pardon for Christs sake and never leave him off untill he give this blessed answer to thy Conscience that thy sins are pardoned The unjust Judge by reason of the importunity of the Widdow granted her request how much more shall the just God grant the request of his that pray day and night unto him Thus did David Let thy good spirit lead me c. These things are necessary if we would be saved we must not be Cowards in a business of this nature if we intend to win the field but we must work our best endeavours and still hold out wrestling with God if we intend to win the Victory Some Captives amongst men are redeemed by price only some by power without price but such is the lamentable captivity of all men under sin and the severity of Gods Justice that without the price of Christs blood and the power of his spirit there is no deliverance from sin and misery the Lord Jesus Christ having paid the full and absolute price of our deliverance Ioh 8. 32. Yet it is with us as with a company of Captives in prison our sins like strong chains holds us Satan our Keeper will not let us go the Prison doors through unbeleef are shut upon us and thereby God and Christ are kept our from us what power now can rescue us that are held fast unto such a power even after the price is paid The spirit of God speaketh of a power in Christ Thou hast destroyed thy self but in me is thy help As Christ hath redeemed us so we must go unto him For strength and power that we may make application of this Redemption to our selves that by his spirit we may find the fruits of it on our own souls and here consists our comfort that as Christ was abased to purchase redemption for us so now he is exalted at the right hand of God the Father to apply this redemption unto us Four causes of mans misery joyned with four acts of Christs power Mans misery 1. The ignorance of his own misery 2. Security and unsenceableness of it 3. Carnal confidence in their own duties 4. Presumption or resting upon the mercy of God by a Faith of their own forgeing Christs Act 1. Conviction of sin 2. Compunction for sin 3. Humiliation or self-abasement 4. Faith These are the works of Christ on the soul There must be an actual deliverance in man wrought by the efficacy and power of the spirit of Christ as well as a purchased deliverance wrought by the blood of Christ therefore untill we can find the former wrought in us we can lay no claim to the latter until we can see sin in its own colours with the several aggrevations thereof and the wages of sin which is eternal death we cannot truly hate it and not truly hating it we cannot repent of it and not repenting of it we cannot with a true faith lay hold on the Lord Jesus Christ Shew me thy Faith without thy work saith S. Iames and I will shew thee my Faith by my works He that repents and beleeves shall be saved but he that beleeves not shall be damned Thus you see where our rest and rock of comfort for salvation is only in our Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ You see the manner how we must come to Christ so that we may be accepted we must come loathing and abhorring our selves out of our selves into Christ come humbly come willingly to Christ as with all thy might and power as to the only spring fountain and head of comfort of wisdom of excellency come even as the Bride to the Bridegroom as the members to the Head as the branches to the Vine and let thy confidence when thou comest inwardly perswade thee that Those who come to him he will in no wise cast away for we have his promise for it Behold saith our Saviour I stand at the dore and knock c. Let every beleeving Soul then say with Thomas My Lord and my God Objection may arise Is God such a merciful God and is Iesus Christ so willing to imbrace us when we come unto him and seek to him by those we 〈◊〉 which he hath appointed us in his Word ●hen what is the reason that he hears ●t the Prayers of his People that they ●t up unto him to be delivered from sin ●om some particular sin which it may is more predominant than any other against hardness of heart It may be thou art not humbled e●ough in thy self thou dost not pray as ●ou oughtest to pray in Faith or if thou ●st God may for present not answer ●ee according to thy desire for the try●● of thy Faith and Patience to make ●ee the more earnest suitor unto him ●oahs Dove returns not presently with 〈◊〉 Olive branch of Peace in his mouth ●rayer sometimes that speeds well re●●rns not presently for want of compa●● enough to fetch away that abun●nce of mercy that God hath to give the Lord ever gives them that ask in ●aith their asking in mony or monies ●orth God is long many times before ● gives but pays them well for their ●aiting Approve thy self to God in all thy ●aies for he is an omniscient God no ●atter what he world saith of thee God is thy Spie taking notice of all actions and they are in print in Hea●● which that great spectator and Ju●● will open at the great day Fear the●●fore to sin in secret unless thou canst a dark hole to sin where God cannot thee Have a care of playing the Ath●● in practice although thou be not so thy profession to confesse there is God yet by thy works to deny hi● even if it were possible to unthrone ●●●sus Christ they that pluck the 〈◊〉 from his throne are as bad or as vile they that say there is no King But that we may the better understa●● how sin is remitted by Christ and him Consider that in him there 〈◊〉 three things that makes Sin exceed 〈◊〉 Sinfull 1 The Crime of Sin 2 The Guilt of Sin 3 The Stain and blot or pollution Sin The Crimes by which God is offen●ed The Guilt by which we are liable punishment The blot or stain which the 〈◊〉 ●ommitted leaveth in the offender These three are taken away by the ●erits of Christ 1 The Crime is taken away by his Obedience 2 The Guilt is removed by his suffer●ngs 3 The blot stain and coruption is

and we know what the duty of Subjects ought to be in yeilding obedience to the commands of a King and not to rule over their King yet this revolting people Israel this rebellious House for so God calls them notwithstanding his owning them for his people and challenging a Soveraignty over them grievously sinned and fell from God For thou hast fallen by thine Iniquity Your iniquities have separated between you and your God and your sins have hid his face from you that he will not hear So to instance in divers other of the saints and people of God David's Adultery and Murder 2 Sam. 11. 4 to 18. Peter's Denial Mark 14. 68. But what are the grounds and reasons that Gods people fall from him by their iniquities First The principal and main ground may arise from Original sin the filthiness and corruption of our own natures for we are in nature as we came out o● the loyns of our Parents no better the● a very lump of rottenness and corruption If thou shouldest see a man from the very crown of the head to the soal of hi● foot had nothing in him but wound and swellings and sores full of corruption he could not but seem a very loth●som creature unto thee Yet know this● whosoever thou art be thou never s● well descended never so rich wise beautiful c. thy soul is through sin ● thousand times more odious and abominable before God Think well on this Comune with thine own heart about it it will make thee abhor thy self in dus● and ashes with Iob and with Paul coun● all things to be dung that thou mightest win Christ Reas. 2. That by this means man●● may see his own frailty and miserable condition by nature and that seeing his wretched and lost estate in himself he might be deeply humbled before God that thereby he might rest in no performances of his own for our best performances are full of sin and corruption 〈◊〉 David was humbled to the purpose ●●er he was truly sensible of his sin when ●athan the prophet reproved him I ●●ve sinned saith he against the Lord ●eter wept bitterly after he denied his ●aster Where the sense of sin and the wrath 〈◊〉 God hath a deep impression upon the ●eart there it will effect deep humiliati●n and hearty sorrow David's sins were alwaies before ●im he could take no rest in Conscience ●ntil he found God reconciled unto ●im now where sin in the true sense of ●t hath this working on the Spirit hap●y is that soul But where on the con●rary there is sin committed in a high na●ure yet notwithstanding the heart is not ●t all moved to compunction and humi●iation but rather hardned woful and 〈◊〉 desperate is the condition of that soul Motives to move us to Humiliation First may be from Gods Command ●O Israel return unto me turn you from from your evil waies For why will ye dy O house of Israel Repent and turn you from all your evil waies so iniquity shall not be your ruine there m●● be an universal turning from all sins a● a turning to God with the whole hea●My son give me thy heart It is Go● complaint against the children of Israe● after he had brought them out of the land of Egypt into a land flowing wit● Milk and Honey the joy of all Land Then God said unto them Obey 〈◊〉 voice turn from the evil of your doing 〈◊〉 for I am the Lord your God but the● rebelled against me and would not hear Shall God call to us to come unto him and shall we reject his call shall ou● Saviour Iesus Christ beg of us to be reconciled unto him to come unto him to take his yoak his yoak is easy to those that will ly under it Hath he promised to satiate the hungry soul salvation to the repentant soul doth he command us to come unto him and drink i● we thirst not to sip but drink and shall we reject this cup of Salvation O let the mercies of God constrain us and let his kindness draw us unto him Another motive to perswade us to come is the mercies patience and long sufferings of God with us for many years it may be our whole life time we ●●ve lived in sin and in grievous sins ●●l God spareth us to see whether we ●ll return unto him and shall we yet 〈◊〉 revolting and drawing back from ●od then considering the infinite mer●● of God in providing the Lord Jesus ●hrist to be our Phisitian to cure our ●eakness and imperfections by his per●●ct righteousness and to accept of us in ●●d through him Let these considera●●ons be as so many cords of love to ●aw us unto God by speedy repen●nce and a present return unto God If we did but consider the blessed e●●te of that soul that is at peace with ●od and truly keep in our thoughts ●●●e uncertainty of this life and certainty eternal life to the Godly and death 〈◊〉 the unregenerate certainly we could ●●t be so lazy in our journy to heaven 〈◊〉 if reconciliation with God and eter●tie were not worth the looking after ●t we should rather with that Disciple ●hom Jesus loved out-run Peter and get ●rst to the ●epulchre Let Jesus Christ ●ve the chief room yea all the room in ●ur hearts A Prince is at peace and cease war against a Rebel a Traitor yet●● will not bring the Rebel before him into his special favour yet the Lord glory doth both towards us as enemie strangers rebels devils in our reconci●●ation with him O the wonderfull me●●cy of God in Jesus Christ that he shou● be pacified wholy and throughly wi● thee Out of Christ he is a consumin● fire in Jesus Christ he is a nothing e● but Love and though there may be f● therly frowns and chasetisements fro● him though he may for a time hide h● face shut out thy Prayers defer to fulf● Promises yet all these if thou art reco●ciled in Christ are out of pure love u● to thee and thou shalt see it and fe● it so in 〈…〉 end Quest 〈◊〉 how must we come Christ that we may be accepted Answ. 1. We must come humbl● stript of all self performances and dutie● resting wholy upon Jesus Christ as the only means of our redemption 2. We must return unto him hearti● with our whole heart not keeping part of our heart for sin and give Chri●●●e other part we must come unto him ●o be our King to rule us as well as to ●ave us In a word we must come unto ●im as the Hart to the rivers of waters ●s a Spouse to her beloved with ferven●y of Love and zealous affections and ●rdency of spirit being sick of love for him so come unto him as esteeming our selves lost without him as our rich●s our only pearl of great price 3. Be earnest in Prayer unto God ●hat he would grant you his good spirit that he would mollifie you

prosecute distinctly therefore pray take this to be the first 1. Theorem Saints may fall into grosse and very deep transgressions or sins against God The demonstration of this Theorem is firm upon these principles 1 The infinite and indeed unlimited liberty and authoritative power the infinite God hath over the creature to do with it what he pleaseth Ergo 1 To leave and desert when hee will Thence 2 To give them up to themselves 2 The naturall principles of the creature being thus left without any limits or bounds to its own propensions from preservation it must follow inevitablely that the springs or sluces of corruption must break forth Ergo Churches and Persons nay Saints may rush into and act in grosse abominations Hence then from these principles le● us wind up all into an argumentive form● Argument 1 Where there is an independant liberty in any cause to sustain or not to sustain a created being in a just regularity to his own will 2 And strong active principles in an eminent deviation from the eternall rule there must be and that unavoidably a deflexion from that eternall rule 1 But in the eternall God of Glory in Christ there is this independant liberty by concession of schooles and Fathers 2 The creatures acting nothing by their own principles but opposition to him and his rule and will Ergo The creature may fall into the greatest relapses grossest sins that ever any creature did Thus I have twisted up my argument of reason into the forme of a sillogisme in mood and figure and it being but reason which is dark let me support faith with Scripture And for this purpose I le nominate but two places which will strongly evince the conclusion it self 2 Samuel chap. 11. chap. 12. Isaiah 63 17. These two places will joyn in issue to prove my conclusion against any the least opposition Wee will a little examine both In the 11 Chapter you find very desperate acts of Davids 1 His Adultery deflowring Vriahs wife Bethseba to bear a child 2 Murder upon the person of Vriah by his speciall comission sent to Ioab the Generall of his army Now do but observe the severall agravations and concatinations of other sins lincked together and centred in these two and then Judge 1 Ingratitude to a faithfull servant and officer in his battles 2 His cursed hypocrisy in carrying on his desperate designe 1 Vriah must be sent for home under pretence of favor but in a reall intention that he might be murdered or hide Davids shame But this was but the briding of his designe to the execution of murder upon so faithfull a friend and servant therefore he goes on 2 Vriah must goe home to his wife to hide Davids shame that the bastard might be made legitimate by Vriah yet Vriah stands this attempt out as unworthy of the spirit of a souldier especially a commanding souldier Yet David in a depth of hypocrisy towards faithfull Vriah persists with what brave resolutions and what firm principles Vriah baulked the motion the text cleares and yet David hath another stratagem upon so faithfull a servant to hide his own shame Vriah 3 He must tarry but one day and on the morrow he shall goe to this Vriah condescends and abode in Hierusalem that day 4 David goes on with new stratagems to hide his sin so adds sin to sin under the pretence of doing him honor in an entertainment he makes him drunk cursed hypocrisy hoping when he was drunk he would do any thing and now after the transgressions of adultery and these subtile devices to hide the shame Next comes the tragedy of poor inocent Vriahs murder All full of perfidious deceit and dissimulation in hypocrisy by David 1 Ioab the Generall must be sent unto to put Vriah upon the forelorn hope where the Skirmish was hottest and this by commission from David that Vriah might dye expresly 2 Ioab Obeys Davids severe unjust and desperate command and the issue is Vriah is slain But it is not unworthy observation David gives commission in his coole blood and sedate resolutions that Vriah being in the heat of battell upon a desperate service all his forces should retire and leave him naked in the fury of the enemy cursed treachery in david yet Davids sin in this passage goes on to a higher stretch then this for if you observe the subsequent passage you will find 3 Ioab to be an obsequious knave to do any thing that the king commands him against a faithfull servant to Ioab himself shall I and my Lord Ioab 1 To hide his sin and shame 2 To accomplish his base lust with Bethseba Ioab sends an accoumpt to David that according to Davids command and directions given to him Vriah is out of the way these tidings being brought to David he hath an other shift to his hypocrisy and cruell designe 4 The sword devoureth one as well as the other Yet that he thought all things might be secure and hidden he takes her home and makes her his wife Well this done the thing did displease the Lord Thus far of Davids sin of murder and adultery against God Having done thus farr in the business the detection of the horrid unparralled villany in Davids sins the next business is to come in hand 1 Davids arraignment by Nathan the Prophet now in this we may consider thus 1 Nathan is sent to him by commission from the Lord the God of Glory to convince him of his guilt of this his sin 2. By a wile of a parable states the question so that David confesseth plainly he had sinned 2. Nathan leaves him not in this sad condition under guilt but presently applies peace the Lord hath put away thy sin yet gives him a chastisement temporall hence then Persons under the apprehension of guilt ought not to be left so but promises of mercy ought after the detection of guilt to be applied Now Bretheren the next busines Isaiah 63. 17. If you observe the connexion of the words you will find the state of whole Churches under a sad state of dereliction here in this verse wee find not only 1 Outward transgressions and those of a deep die if you compare things with things 2 Inward opposition or an habitual frame of spirit whence 1 Outward transgressions did flow a hardened heart 2 And the frame of the spirit corrupted Out of all these my conclusions I will conclude The Saints may be deserted and left to great transgressions and a fearfull frame of spirit But we must go on to the other conclusions but the time is almost past and the time of the year unseasonable And now Bretheren since we have brought our busines thus farr let me inferr these few practique Corrolaries 1 Let him that standeth take heed least he fall 2 Keepe for the purpose vigilant eye over your own spirits 3 Pittie those that are fallen and walk in darkness and see no light 4