Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n
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a30211
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A treatise of the fear of God shewing what it is, and how distinguished from that what is not so : also whence it comes, who has it, what are the effects, and what the priviledges of those that have it in their hearts / by John Bunyan.
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Bunyan, John, 1628-1688.
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1679
(1679)
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Wing B5603; ESTC R32009
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112,120
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247
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most humbling and heart-breaking sight in the world it is fearful Object But would you not have us rejoyce at the sight and sense of the forgiveness of our sins Answer Yes But yet I would have you and indeed you shall when God shall tell you that your sins are pardoned indeed Rejoyce with trembling Psal. 2.8 For then you have sollid and Godly joy a joyful heart and wet eyes in this will stand very well together and it will be so more or less For if God shall come to you indeed and visit you with the forgiveness of sins that visit removeth the guilt but increaseth the sense of thy filth and the sense of this that God hath forgiven a filthy sinner will make thee both rejoyce and tremble O! the blessed confusion that will then cover thy face whiles thou even thou so vile a wretch shalt stand before God to receive at his hand thy pardon and so the first fruits of thy eternal salvation That thou maiest remember and be comforted and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame thy filth when I am pacified towards thee for all that thou hast done saith the Lord God Ezek. 16.63 2. But Secondly As the presence so the name of God is dreadful and fearful wherefore his name doth rightly go under the same tittle That thou maiest fear that glorious and fearful name the Lord thy God Deut. 28.58 The name of God what is that but that by which he is distinguished and known from all others Names are to distinguish by so man is distinguished from beasts and Angels from men so Heaven from Earth and Darkness from Light especially when by the name the nature of the thing is signified and expressed and so it was in their original for then names exprest the nature of the thing so named And therefore it is that the name of God is the object of our fear because by his name his nature is exprest Holy and reverend is his name Psal. 111.9 And again he proclaimed the name of the Lord the Lord the Lord God gracious and mercifull long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth keeping mercy for thousands pardoning iniquity transgression and sins and that will by no means clear the guilty Exod. 3.6 7. Also his name I AM JAH JEHOVAH with several others what is by them intended but his nature as his Power Wisdom Eternity Goodness and Omnipotency c. might be expressed and declared The name of God is therefore the object of a Christians fear David prayed to God that he would unite his heart to fear his name Psal. 86.11 Indeed the name of God is a fearful name and should alwaies be reverenced by his people Yea his name is to be feared for ever and ever and that not only in his Church and among his Saints but even in the world and among the Heathen So the Heathen shall fear the name of the Lord and all Kings thy glory Psal. 102.15 God tells us that his name is dreadful and that he is pleased to see men be afraid before his name Yea one reason why he executeth so many judgments upon men as he doth is that others might see and fear his name So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the West and his glory from the rising of the Sun See Mal. 4.2 Rev. 11.18 Mal. 1.4 chap. 2.5 Isa. 59.18 19. The name of a King is a name of fear And I am a great King saith the Lord of Hosts The name of Master is a name of fear And if I be a Master where is my fear saith the Lord Yea rightly to fear the Lord is a sign of a gracious heart And again To them that fear my name saith he shall the Son of righteousness arise with healing in his wings yea when Christ comes to Judge the world He will give reward to his Servants the Prophets and to his Saints and to them that fear his name small and great Now I say Since the name of God is that by which his nature is expressed and since he naturally is so glorious and incomprehensible his name must needs be the object of our fear and we ought alwaies to have a reverent awe of God upon our hearts at what time soever we think of or hear his name but most of all when we our selves do take his holy and fearful name into our mouths especially in a religious manner that is in preaching praying or holy conference I do not by thus saying intend as if it was lawful to make mention of his name in light and vain discourses for we ought alwaies to speak of it with reverence and godly fear but I speak it to put Christians in mind that they should not in religious duties shew lightness of mind or be vain in their words when yet they are making mention of the name of the Lord And let every one that nameth the name of our Lord Jesus Christ depart from iniquity 2 Tim. 2.19 Make mention then of the name of the Lord at all times with great dread of his Majesty upon your hearts and in great soberness and truth To do otherwise is to profane the name of the Lord and to take his name in vain And the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain Yea God saith that he will cut off the man that doth it so jealous is he of the honour due unto his name Exod. 20.7 Levit. 20.3 This therefore sheweth you the dreadful state of those that lightly vainly lyingly and profanely make use of the name this fearful name of God either by their blasphemous cursing and oaths or by their fraudulent dealing with their neighbour for some men have no way to prevail with their nighbour to bow under a cheat but by calling falsly upon the name of the Lord to be witness that the wickedness is good and honest but how these men will escape when they shall be judged devouring fire and everlasting burnings for their profaning and blaspheming of the name of the Lord becomes them betimes to consider of Jer. 14.14 15. Ezek. 20.39 Exod. 20.7 3. But Thirdly As the Presence and Name of God are dreadful and fearful in the Church so is his Worship and Service I say his Worship or the works of service to which we are by him enjoyned while we are in this world are dreadful and fearful things This David conceiveth when he saith But as for me I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercies and in thy FEAR will I worship towards thy holy Temple Psal. 5.7 And again saith he Serve the Lord with fear To praise God is a part of his worship But saies Moses Who is a God like unto thee glorious in holiness fearful in praises doing wonders Exod. 15.11 To rejoyce before him is a part of his worship But David bids us Rejoyce with trembling Psal. 2.8 Yea the whole of our service to God and every part thereof ought to
the text The Angel of the Lord encampeth about them that fear him and delivereth them Answer The way that they take to deliver them that fear the Lord is sometimes by smiting of their enemies with blindness that they may not find them And so they served the enemies of Lot Gen. 19.10.11 Sometimes by smiting of them with deadly fear and so they served those that laid feige against Samaria 2 King 7.6 And sometimes by smiting of them even with Death it self and thus they served Herod after he had attempted to kill the Apostle James and also sought to vex certain others of the Church Act. 12. These Angels that are servants to them that fear the Lord are them that will if God doth bid them revenge the qarrell of his servants upon the stoutest monarch on earth This therefore is a glorious priviledge of the men that fear the Lord. Alas they are some of them so mean that they are counted not worth taking notice of by the high ones of the World but their betters do respect them the Angels of God count not themselves to good to attend on them and camp about them to deliver them This then is the man that hath his Angel to wait upon him even he that feareth God Seventhly Dost thou fear the Lord Salvation is nigh unto thee Surely his Salvation is nigh them that fear him that glory may dwell in their Land Psal 85.9 This is another priviledge for them that fear the Lord. I told you before that the Angel of the Lord did incamp about them but now he saith his Salvation is also nigh them the which although it doth not altogether exclude the conduct of Angels but include them yet it looketh further Surely his Salvation his saving pardoning grace is nigh them that fear him That is to save them out of the hand of their spiritual enemys The Devil and Sin and Death do alwaies wait even to devour them that fear the Lord but to deliver them from these his salvation doth attend them So then if Satan tempts here is their salvation nigh if sin by breaking forth beguiles them here is Gods salvation nigh them yea if death it self shall suddenly seize upon them why here is their Gods salvation nigh them I have seen that great mens little children must go no whither without their nurses be at hand If they go abroad their nurses must go with them if they go to meals their nurses must go with them If they go to bed their nurses must go with them yea and if they fall a sleep their nurses must stand by them O my brethren those little ones that fear the Lord they are the children of the highest therefore they shall not walk alone be at their spiritual meats alone go to their sick beds or to their graves alone the salvation of their God is nigh them to deliver them from the evil This is then the glory that dwels in the Land of them that fear the Lord. Eightly Dost thou fear the Lord Heathen yet again The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on them that fear him and his righteousness unto childrens children Ps. 103.17 This still confirms what was last asserted that is that his salvation is nigh unto them His salvation that is pardoning mercy that is nigh them But mind it there he saies tis-nigh them but here it is upon them His mercy is upon them it covereth them all over it compasseth them about as with a Shield Therefore they are said in an over place to be clothed with salvation and covered with the robe of righteousness The mercy of the Lord is VPON them that is as I said to shelter and defend them The mercy the pardoning preserving mercy the mercy of the Lord is upon them who is he then that can condemn them Rom. 8. But there yee is more behinde The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on them T was designed for them before the world was and shall be upon them when the world it self is ended From everlasting to everlasting it is on them that fear him This from everlasting to everlasting is that by which in another place the eternity of God himself is declared From everlasting to everlasting thou art God Psal. 90.2 The meaning then may be this That so long as God hath his being so long shall the man that feareth him find mercy at his hand According to that of Moses The eternal God is thy refuge and underneath are the everlasting Arms and he shall thrust out the Enemy before thee and say destroy them Deut. 33.27 Child of God thou that fearest God here is mercy nigh thee mercy enough everlasting mercy upon thee This is long-lived mercy It will live longer then thy sin it will live longer then temptation it will live longer then thy sorrows it will live longer then thy persecutors It is mercy from everlasting to contrive thy salvation and mercy TO everlasting to weather it out with all thy adversaries Now what can hell and death do to him that hath this mercy of God upon him And this hath the man that feareth the Lord. Take that other blessed word and O thou man that fearest the Lord hang it like a Chain of Gold about thy neck As the Heaven is high above the Earth so great is his mercy towards them that fear him Psal. 103.13.18 If mercy as big as high and as good as Heaven it self will be a priviledge the man that feareth God shall have a priviledge Ninthly Dost thou fear God Like as a Father pitieth his Children so the Lord pittieth them that fear him Psal. 103.13 The Lord pittieth them that fear him That is condoleth and is affected feeleth and sympathizeth with them in all their afflictions It is a great matter for a poor man to be in this manner in the affections of the great and mighty but for a poor sinner to be thus in the heart and affections of God and they that fear him are so this is astonishing to consider In his love and in his pity be redeemed them In his love and in his pity In all their afflictions he was afflicted and the Angel of his presence saved them in his love and in his pity he redeemed them and bare them and carried them all the day of old Isa. 63.9 I say in that he is said to pity them it is as much as to say he condoleth feeleth and sympathizeth with them in all their afflictions and temptations So that this is the happiness of him that feareth God he has a God to pity him and to be touched with all his miseries 'T is said in Judges His soul was grieved for the miseries of Israel Judg. 10.16 and in the Hebrews He is touched with the feeling of our infirmities and can succour them that are tempted Chap. 4.15 Chap. 2.17.18 But further let us take notice of the comparison As a Father pitieth his Children so the Lord pitieth them