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
B03556	The mischiefes and danger of the sin of ignorance, or, Ignorance arraigned, with the causes, kinds, and cure thereof. As also, the excellency, profit, and benefit of heavenly knowledge. / By W. Geering, minister of the word at Lymington, in the county of Southampton.	Gearing, William.	1659 (1659)	Wing G436A; ESTC R177550	110,322	239

this running after Sermons and reading and studying of the Scriptures if we can but say our Belief and the Lords Prayer and the ten Commandements we know as much as we need to know and as much as all the preachers of the world can tell us and we know and are told that if we can but love God with all our hearts and our neighbours as our selves it is enough and this we are instructed in and what need we to know any more Resp If a man should speak of any Art or Science in the world and should discourse of the great skill and long experience that is requisite to make a man a proficient in this or that Science and another man that standeth by should say tush it is nothing but to go and do such a thing would not such a person be an object of derision to those that should hear him for it is not unknown though this or that be the summe of every Art and Trade yet in every Science there are some particular mysteries which are not so quickly learnt and put in practice which a man must understand before he can be an ingenious Artist if he have not skill in such a mystery his labour will be without successe as his undertaking was rash and inconsiderate so in the businesse of Religion we must be acquainted with the mysteries of godlinesse there are profunda Dei Spiritus the deep things of God and of the Spirit and though to love God with all our heart and to love our neighbour as our selves be the summe of the moral precepts yet it is necessary that we have a more particular knowledge then the knowledge of these generals that we know the particular branches of the mystery of godlinesse without which we shall neither love God with all the heart nor our neighbour as we ought if thou wilt learn a trade thou must first understand the rules and principles of it and every particular branch belonging to every mystery so if thou wilt have any understanding in the mystery of Christ thou must be acquainted with the rules and grounds of spiritual understanding 2 Pet. 1.8 so thou shalt neither be barren nor unfruitfull in the knowledge of Christ Object 6 Some are ready further to object that God is not easily known the Scripture tells us that no man hath seen God at any time John 1.18 and no man hath seen him nor can see him and God is often said in Scripture to hide his face how then can he be known by such poor creatures as we are Resp We cannot know Gods Essence here in respect of the manner of his being thus no man hath seen him at any time or can see him for when Moses desired God to shew him the fulnesse of his glorious Majesty God tels him the granting his request would be very hurtful to him Exod. 33.10 for saith he there shall no man see me and live the weaknesse of mans fraile nature cannot bear the infinite glory of the divine presence but is swallowed up with the transcendent lustre of the heavenly Majesty even as we see the sight of the eye to be dazzeled with the brightnesse of the Sunne shining in his strength or a Chrystall glasse to be broken in pieces with the strong operation of the fire but yet there is much of God that may be seen and known as the Lord tels Moses Exod. 33.22 I will put thee saith he in the cleft of a rock and I will cover thee with my hand when I passe by after I will take away my hand and thou shalt see my back-parts but my face shall not be seen where God speaks to us of himself as of a man having face and back shewing us hereby that it is impossible for any man in this mortality to know the nature and being of the most high We know God here but in part like the sight of a man in transitu as he passeth along by us whose face we discern not whose back-parts onely we do behold the more exact knowledge of him is reserved for that time 1 Joh 3.2 when being changed into his likenesse we shall see him as he is even face to face but yet much of God may be seen and known in this life which he calleth his back parts his wisdom goodnesse mercy grace his long-suffering his faithfulnesse and truth his slownesse to anger being provoked daily by the sins of men his readinesse to pardon iniquity transgression and sin these back-parts of Jehovah are clearly revealed in the word And when God is said in Scripture to hide his face from his people it is not that we should not see him but that we should the more earnestly seek after him the Lord is willing to be known unto any that have a mind to know him God takes no delight in hiding himself from us but is willing to open and manifest himself to us God stands not upon State as some great Princes do that seldom shew themselves but think their presence and converse lesseneth their respect the more we know man the more we shall understand his errours and imperfections as well as his excellencies but the more we know God the more we shall ●dmire him none admire him so much as the holy Angels that see most of him Matth. 18.10 that alwayes behold the face of our Father which is ●n heaven therefore the Lord hides not himself as though he were unwilling to be known but he desireth to be known by us ●e bids us seek his face therefore if we do ●ot know the Lord the cause is not in God but in our selves that we are not willing to know him nor desirous of his acquaintance Object 7 Ignorant persons are ready further to object and say What though we be ignorant yet God is a mercifull God and his mercie is over all his works and therefore we hope to find mercy from God notwithstanding he that made us will surely save us Resp Let such poor souls see what the Prophet Isaias saith to them Isai 27.11 It is a people of no understanding therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them and he that formed them will shew them no favour if thou art ignorant under the means of knowledge thou art wilfully ignorant therefore he that made thee will not save thee c. God will not be mercifull to men because they are ignorant what then will he do to them Prov. 30.31 you may read it at large Prov. 1. For that they hated knowledge and did not chuse the feare of the Lord they would none of my counsell they despised all my reproof therefore shall they eat the fruit of their own way and be filled with their own devices But they are ready farther to say Christ dyed and we hope to have some benefit by the death of Jesus Christ for he came into the world to save sinners I answer No. You are like to have no

Commandment and walks in his own wayes and runs into extreme danger every moment Prov. 4.19 an ignorant man is blind he knoweth not what he doth his way is darknesse he knoweth not at what he stumbleth and having often stumbled at last he falleth into the pit of destruction from whence he shall never see his way out if a man be ignorant he knoweth not where he goes John 11.35 and he that walks in darknesse kno●eth not whither he goes as our Saviour saith Reas 3 Ignorance doth stupifie and harden mens hearts they are in a miserable and damnable condition and are not sensible that they are so they see not their misery therefore seek they not out for a remedy The Church of Laodicea was in a blind and wretched estate but being ignorant she knew not that she was wretched and miserable Rev 3.17 poor blind and naked The five foolish Virgins in the Parable slumbered and slept as well as the wise that is Mat. 25.5 as I conceive they thought their condition as good as that of the wise none are so confident as those that are most ignorant and this confidence of theirs undoeth them ignorance of God makes a man an opposer of the word Prov. 13.13 which is the means of knowledge and who so despiseth the word shall be destroyed Object But it may be said that our Saviour Christ praying for the Jewes that persecuted him unto death putteth an ignoramus in the plea to make it more plausible Luke 23.34 for thus it runneth Father forgive them for they know not what they do and Paul making confession of his mis-demeanors saith that he had been a blasphemer a persecutor and injurious 1 Tim. 1.13 but saith he I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly c. and under the Law we read that if ought were committed by ignorance without the knowledge of the congregation Num. 15.25 28. c. that the Priest should make an atonement for all the congregation of the children of Israel and it should be forgiven them for it is ignorance c. and the Priest was to make an atonement for the soule that sinneth ignorantly when he sinned by ignorance before the Lord to make an atonement for him and it should be forgiven him Resp 1 That ignorance here in these alledged places cannot be said to be medium impetrationis misericordiae the meanes or cause of obtaining mercy and forgivenesse but onely sheweth the extent of mercy so we find that sin is said to be forgiven upon our confession of sin Prov. 28.13 1 Joh. 1.9 not that repentance or confession are apt or innate in themselves to procure pardoning mercy but onely that the Lord hath been pleased to prescribe this as a way how to dispence his mercy to us so when it is said that Paul and the Israelites obtained mercy because they sinned through ignorance it setteth out but only the order and not the cause of mercy 2. That simple ignorance of the mind of God doth excuse à tanto though not à toto for our Saviour saith that he that knew not his Masters will and did commit things worthy of stripes should be beaten though with fewer stripes then he that knew the will of his Lord and did it not and in this respect the Heathen are said to have known God and so were inexcusable because they were bound to have known more of him God having at first imprinted the knowledge of himselfe upon mans nature Biel. sent 2. distinct 22. Quaest 5. and man having lost it through his own default The School men make three sorts of ignorant men either such as know not their Lords will 2 Pet. 4.3 4. because they will not know it their ignorance is ignorantia affectata an affected ignorance when men are wilfully ignorant wilfully refusing to know such things as might hinder them from sin or further them in godlinesse this is ignorantia voluntaria men being willingly ignorant that they may walk the more freely after their own lusts and our Saviour tells us it is the nature of wicked men to love darknesse rather then light because their deeds are evill Joh. 3.19 20. Vt liberiùs pec●ent libenter ignorant vel sciendi incuria vel discendi desidia vel inquirendi verecundia vel non credendi veritati Bern and to hate the light and not to come to the light lest their evill deeds should be reproved i. e. manifested thereby to their consciences as the thief and the adulterer love the twylight and the darkest night because it hideth their wickednesses So prophane sinners and close hypocrites do not desire the knowledge of Gods wayes and would willingly be ignorant of their duty towards God because the dark dungeon of ignorance hideth many a beloved lust from them which they are not willing to forsake and could not so quietly commit were it clearly made known unto them such men as these do bring swift destruction upon themselves 2. Ignoranti● crassa supna There is a second sort which know not their Lords will because they care not to know it their ignorance is a grosse idle and negligent ignorance it is not imputed to negligence if a man know not those things which he cannot know but that is negligence when a man careth not to know that which he might know ought to know nor useth any care to know those things which appertain to salvation August ad Valent. Negligentia est qua homo desiderat non scire quae deberet scire nec adhibet sollicitudinem ad sciendum ea quae pertinent ad salutem Ignorantia Crassa provenit ex superbia quae est primum vinculum diaboli cum quo ligatur impius qui non solum non scire desiderat sed etiam scire contemni requisita ad salutem noluit intelligere ●t bene ageret and such an ignorance is a great sin Thence one of the Ancients saith Although it be a more grievous thing to sin knowingly then to sin ignorantly yet must we not therefore fly to the darknesse of ignorance as therein to seek after an excuse for it is one thing not to know another thing to neglect the means of knowledge for a man not to know those things which exceed the strength of his understanding having a desire to know this ignorance hath some excuse but when men neglect to know things knowable which are necessary to Salvation This proceedeth from pride which is the chiefest and first bond of the devill with which a wicked man is bound who not only desireth not to know but also contemneth the knowing of those things that are requisite to salvation and this is an unnaturall kind of malice seeing every man naturally desireth knowledge and such n●ughtinesse doth make a man indispose himself to know and to give himself to vain pleasures and carnall delights which do ind●spose him for the knowledge of those things which he might