Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
mercy_n	pardon_v	sin_n	transgression_n	2,321	5	9.8948	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A22562	Three treatises Viz. 1. The conversion of Nineueh. 2. Gods trumpet sounding the alarum. 3. Physicke against famine. Being plainly and pithily opened and expounded, in certaine sermons. by William Attersoll, minister of the Word of God, at Isfield in Sussex.	Attersoll, William, d. 1640.	1632 (1632)	STC 900; ESTC S121173	371,774	515

not to delay the time seing we know not what shall be on the morrow Iam. 4.14 First it is a just thing with God to contemne that man dying that despised him living He that calleth not upon God in his prosperity will God heare his cry Iob. 27.9 when trouble commeth upon him The best way to kil a Serpent is to bruise his head and when it is young so the safest and surest way to withstand sinne and Satan will be in the beginning not the latter and of our dayes in health not in sicknesse in life not in death betimes not when it is too late See this in the foolish Virgins that lingred their time of repentance but when the season was past they cryed againe and againe Lord Math. 25.11.12 Lord open unto us And what answer did they receive Verily I say unto you I know you not Luk. 13.24 verifying the saying of our Saviour Many I say unto you will strive to enter in and shall not be able because doubtlesse they strive when it is too late Secondly we must looke for a time when there will be judgement without mercy now is the time of mercy without iudgment Now are the dayes of grace now is the time of turning and repenting when this time is gone and past there will come a day of blacknesse and utter darknesse when there is no place nor time of turning For as the day of death taketh us the day fo judgment shal find us as we see in Caine Esau Iudas the rich man in the Gospell and such like Thirdly the houre of death to which the greatest sort post over their repentance hath many hindrances accompanying it that the sicke man cannot freely thinke of the state of his soule neither call to remembrance his sinnes that he hath committed Lastly beware of all lettes and impediments which as so many stumbling blockes lye in the way and keepe us from repentance Never was there good worke to be done but it hath found many oppositions Satan standeth at our right hand ready to catch hold of us The manifold impediments of true repentance when he seeth us sliding from him and resolued to leave sinne As then they that were bidden and called to the feast had all of them their excuses so such as are stirred up to repentance make not that hast which they ought but are wise to their own hurt and become the greatest enemies to their owne soules Let us therefore see their reasons or rather pretences which they use to hinder their returne into the right way First they alledge that repentance is full of difficulty a way hedged with thornes hard and painfull Be it so the harder the worke is the more excellent it is But what is the hardnesse of the worke in respect of the greatnesse of the wages and reward Besides this yoke of Christ is easie and this burden is light because the often practise thereof will make it so familiar unto us that we shall take pleasure and delight in it because we shall have God to put under his hand and assist us in the practise thereof because such vertue proceedeth from the death of Christ Rom. 6.6 that our old man is crucified with him that the body of sinne might be destroyed that henceforth we should not serue sinne and we have him after a sort to draw in the yoke with us and because God powreth sweet and secret consolation into the hearts of such as resolve to turne to him whereby they find that peace of Conscience which passeth all understanding Another impediment is presumption of Gods mercy and a foolish and ungrounded perswasion that God will accept of them whensoever they returne to him True it is we have many precious promises of grace and mercy in holy Scripture Ezek. 18.32 33.11 Psal 103. 1 Tim. 2.4 But these men do abuse them and build upon a weake foundation they dreame of a God made all of mercy and forget his justice which is to set up an Idoll in their hearts they dwell so much upon the promises of the Gospell that they cast from them the curses of the law These are like to the Spider that gathereth poyson out of the sweetest flowers The goodnesse of God is published and Proclaimed so often for the comfort of the weake not for the encouragement of the wicked to raise up the penitent not to hearten or harden the obstinate it is bread for the Children to eate not for dogges to devoure To conclude Nah. 1.3 let us remember that as the Lord is slow to anger so he is great in power and wil not surely cleere the wicked The third impediment is contrary to the former and that is despaire of Gods mercy The former hoped too much this sort hopeth too little and both of them without cause This possessed the heart of Caine despairing of Gods goodnesse as if it were lesse than his sinnes Thus also Iudas perished who saw his sinne in the glasse of the Law but could not lay hold on Gods mercy and therefore died without hope Sathan hath two deceitfull glasses and brast asunder through despaire Thus doth Satan shew forth two false glasses to deceive the sight of sinners before sinne is committed he sheweth them his mercies greater than they are and his justice lesse than it is but after the committing thereof he maketh his mercies to appeare lesser and his justice greater than indeed it is But he is a lyar from the beginning and the father of lies trust him not beleeve him not the contrary to that which he speaketh is commonly true God hath mercy in store for all that doe repent from the bottome of their hearts Ezek. 18.21.22 and hath promised to put all their sinnes out of his remembrance To deny the infinitenesse of his mercy is to deny him to be God Remember the examples of old how he hath dealt with penitent sinners with Rahab the harlot with Manasses the King with Peter that denyed him with Paul that persecuted him with such as crucified the Son of God and delivered him into the hands of murtherers Luk. 7.38 with that woman which washed the feete of Christ with teares and wiped them with the haires of her head To conclude let us call to minde the description of the name and nature of God The Lord the Lord strong mercifull and gracious slow to anger and abundant in truth Exod. 33.6.7 reserving mercy for thousands for giving iniquity transgression and sinnes The next impediment is the cares of this life and the deceitfulnesse of riches the pleasures of this world These are dangerous snares and baites of Satan wherewith he hunteth after the soules of men and catcheth them as fishes are with an hooke Luk. 14.17 Math. 13.22 Luk. 12.19 2 Tim. 4.10 and as corne is choked with thornes Luk. 8. For as full hands are able to hold and receive nothing no not the purest gold when they are

with him God hath made a faithfull promise to us to care for us and shall not we cast all our care upon him or shall wee thinke he will or can falsifie his Word True it is the chiefe promise that we lay hold upon is touching the remission of sinnes and eternall life but when by a true faith we lay hold upon the principall promise of God and beleeve it touching salvation in Christ we apprehend by vertue thereof the promise of God for temporall blessings also as food raiment health peace liberty all which depend upon the former maine promise of Christ so farre forth as God seeth them behoovefull for us This wee see in Abraham who beleeving in God and having his faith imputed unto him for righte-ousnesse doubted not of the particular promise that God would give him a Sonne Gen. 15.6 Heb. 11.12 and that his seed should be as the Starres in Heaven for multitude and as the sand upon the Sea-shore that cannot be numbred The heart that hath truely learned to say by faith God will pardon my sinnes and save my soule will easily also say by force of the same faith God will give mee food and raiment provide things necessary for my body and sufficient for this present life If we have not learned to beleeve in God touching his mercy in feeding and in clothing of us which are matters of farre lesser moment and importance we have not yet learned to depend upon him for the remission of our sinnes and the imputation of Christs righteousnesse which are of infinite more price and value then the other If we will not trust him for our bodies how should wee trust and rest in him for our soules And if we commit not to him the things of this life how can we credit him with heavenly things Wee must all therefore learne to say with the Apostle I know whom I have beleeved 2 Tim. 1.12 and I am perswaded that he is able to keepe that which I have committed unto him against that day Lastly seeing we ought not to feare at all touching earthly things we may be well assured hee will give us all things needfull for our soules which are of an higher nature and of a greater price If hee that sitteth in the Heavens vouchsafe to looke downe so low and to abase himselfe to order every creature serving for the safety of our bodies doubtlesse hee will not passe over the provision for our soules he I say who hath forbidden to tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbes Matth. 23.23 and then passe over iudgement and the waightier matters of the law If he will not deny us the lesser certainely he will bestow upon us the greater blessings without which it cannot goe well with us For as hee knoweth what we have need of so he knoweth wee may better bee without earthly then spirituall blessings What folly were it for a man to be carefull for the garment and carelesse of the body it selfe to respect the shoo and to neglect the foot Wee must therefore all of us from this fatherly care of God for our bodies which are transitory and must turne to dust learne to ascend higher to see his care toward our soules which beare the lively prints of his image and come neerer to his nature Earthly blessings indeed are speciall pledges of his loue whereby he taketh us by the hand and leadeth us farther to behold his eternall favour in his owne Sonne but if we doe not make this use of them his blessings cease to bee blessings to us whatsoever they are in their owne nature Flocke In this word we have the second point in the Counsell which is the appellation or title of the people of God being called the Sheepe of God Properly a Flocke is a company of Sheepe gathered together into one pasture A Flocke presupposeth a Shepheard a Sheepfold and the Sheepe themselves The Shepheard is God the Sheepfold is the Church the Sheepe are the faithfull Christ Iesus is the dore of the Sheepe by him if any man enter he shall bee saved Ioh. 10.7 9. Ephes 3.12 and shall goe in and out and finde pasture Ioh. 10.7 9. The wrath of God against sinne hath clozed up against us all entrance into Heaven and hath shut us up under sinne and damnation The death of Christ hath opened the dore and not onely satisfied the wrath of God but merited for us mercy and forgivenesse grace and favour for ever This is the preeminence of the passion of Christ Now they enter by him that beleeve in him The Sheepe of Christ are of two sorts one outward in the account of the visible Church consisting both of good and bad the other inward consisting onely of the Elect being members of the invisible or Catholike Church Doct. 2 Hence wee learne that all the Elect are the Sheepe of Christ and his Flocke beloved of him deare to him as his portion and possession and in the account of him his chiefe jewels and principall substance Cant. 1.7 Joh. 10.14 Heb. 13.20 many other testimonies doe follow after The reasons are plaine First Reas 1 Christ Iesus paid a deare price and gave his life for them for it cost him much to redeeme the same Act. 20.28 as Act. 20. He purchased the Flocke with his precious blood precious indeed because it was the blood of him that is God as well as man and therefore of infinite value and estimation sufficient for the whole world Secondly because they resemble Sheepe and that in many particulars First Sheepe are by nature straying and wandring out of the way and ready to bee made a prey to the Wolfe so it is with men yea even the Elect and such as are called in which respect the Apostle Peter saith 1 Pet. 2.25 Ye are as Sheepe going astray through ignorance of the doctrine of salvation and prone to be surprised by the Devill that great wolfe but are now returned to the Shepheard and Bishop of your soules Act. 20.28 29. Secondly Sheepe oftentimes wander out of the right way so that there seemeth small hope of their safety and in the judgement of man they are estemed to bee as good as utterly lost without any redresse or recovery so it is among such as are the Sheepe of Christ some doe so farre swarve and are so intangled in the snare of the enemy as a Sheepe in the brambles that their estate seemeth desparate and forlorne Hereunto commeth the parable Matth. 18. How thinke yee Matth. 18.22 Luke 15.4 If a man have an hundred Sheepe and one of them be gone astray doth hee not leave the ninety and nine which went not astray and goe after that which is lost till he finde it Such a Sheepe was Manasseh that filled Ierusalem with innocent blood 2 King 21.16 2 Chron. 33.6 and did much evill in the sight of the Lord to provoke him to anger yet he found mercy upon his