Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
mercy_n	prepare_v	vessel_n	wrath_n	3,005	5	9.3678	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A17643	A commentarie vpon the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Romanes, written in Latine by M. Iohn Caluin, and newely translated into Englishe by Christopher Rosdell preacher. Whereunto is added a necessarie table for the better and more readie finding out of certayne principall matters conteyned in this worke; Commentarius in Epistolam Pauli ad Romanos. English	Calvin, Jean, 1509-1564.; Rosdell, Christopher, b. 1553 or 4.	1583 (1583)	STC 4399; ESTC S107213	360,940	450

So to what condition soeuer God create a man he taketh nothing from him Onely that is to be remembred namely that God is partly robbed of his honour vnlesse such autoritie be giuen vnto him ouer men that he may be iudge of life and death 22 What and if God would to shewe his wrath and to make his power knowne suffer with long patience the vessels of wrath prepared to destruction 23 That he might also declare the ritches of his glory vpon the vessels of mercy which he hath prepared vnto glory The second answere 22 What and if The seconde answere wherein he doth briefly declare although the counsel of God be incomprehensible on this part yet it is apparant his equitie is vnblamable no lesse in the destruction of the reprobate then in the saluation of the elect He doeth not giue a reason of the election of God in such sort as though hee woulde assigne the cause why this man is chosen and that reiected For both it was vnmeete that those things which are conteined in the secrete counsayle of God should come vnder the censure of man and also that mysterie was vnfoldable therefore hee restrayneth vs from examining those things curiously which exceede the capacitie of man in the meane while he sheweth that so farre forth as the predestination of God doeth shewe forth it selfe therein appeareth true righteousnesse I take the particle eide which Paul vseth as though it were said what and if that this whole sentence may be interrogatiue For so the meaning shall be more apparant and it shall be a kind of silence or concealing wherein must be vnderstood who therefore can accuse him of vnrighteousnesse or appoint him a day For here appeareth nothing but the moste straight rule of righteousnesse But if wee will vnderstande the minde of Paule euery worde almost is to be examined For thus hee reasoneth there are vessels prepared for destruction that is bequeathed and destinated to destruction there are also vessels of wrath that is made and formed to this ende that they might be testimonies of the vengeance and wrath of God Now if God patiently suffer those for some time not destroying them at the first moment but differring the iudgement prepared for them and that to shew forth the testimonies of his seueritie that others might bee terrified by so horrible examples and also to set foorth his power whereunto hee maketh them diuersly to serue and lastly that thereby the greatnesse of his mercie towardes the elect might be better knowen and more clearely appeare what is woorthie to be reprehended in this dispensation howe be it it is no maruell though he shewe not whence it is that they are vessels prepared for destruction For out of that is gone before he taketh it to be a sure thing that the cause is hid in the eternall and vnsearchable counsell of God the righteousnes wherof we ought rather to worship then to search after And he hath put vessels in a generall signification for instrumentes For whatsoeuer action there is in any creature it is as a man would say the ministery of the power of God Very fitly therefore are wee the faithfull called vessels of mercie whiche the Lord doeth vse as instrumentes to shewe foorth his mercie and the reprobate the vesselles of wrath seeing they serue to shewe foorth the iudgementes of God 23 That hee might also declare the riches Because I doubted not but in these two particles kai ina and that there was a displacing of woordes that being in the first place shoulde bee in the last to the ende this member might the better agree with the former I haue translated it That he might also declare And it is the seconde reason By the destruction of the reprobrate Gods mercy towards the elect is made more manifest which manifesteth the glory of God in the destruction of the reprobate because thereby the greatnes of the goodnes of God towards the elect is more largely confirmed For what do these differ from those but that they are deliuered from the same goulfe of destruction by the Lord And that by no desert of their owne but of his free goodnesse Therefore it can not otherwise bee but that infinite goodnesse of God towardes the elect shoulde bee commended more and more when wee consider howe miserable all they are who doe not escape his wrath I interprete the word glory which is twise repeated heere to bee put for the mercy of God by the figure metonymia which is heere by putting the effect for the cause for his chiefest prayse consisteth in doyng good So to the Ephesians Ephe. 1.13 after hee hath taught how we are adopted of God to the prayse of the glory of his grace shortly after hee addeth that wee are sealed by the spirite of inheritaunce to the prayse of his glory the woorde grace being left out His meaning therefore is to signifie that the elect are instrumentes or vesselles whereby God doth exercise his mercie that hee might gloryfie his name in them And although in this seconde member hee doeth more expressely affirme that it is God who prepareth his elect vnto glorie when as before hee had simplie sayde that the reprobate are vesselles prepared vnto destruction yet there is no doubt but the preparation of them both doeth depende vppon the secrete counsayle of God Otherwise Paule had sayde the reprobate giue or cast themselues into destruction But nowe hee giueth to witte that before they are borne they are already addicted to their lot 24 Whom hee hath also called namely vs not onely of the Iewes but also of the Gentiles 25 As he sayth also in Osee I will call them my people which were not my people and her beloued which was not beloued 26 And it shall be in the place where it was saide vnto them yee are not my people that there they shal be called the children of the liuing God 27 And Esay cryeth concerning Israel though the number of the children of Israel were as the sande of the sea yet shall but a remnant be saued 28 For he making his account short and gathering it into a briefe sum in righteousnesse because the Lorde will make a short account in the earth 29 And as Esay had said before except the Lord of hosts had left vs a seede we had been made as Sodome and had bin like to Gomorrha 26 Whom he hath also called Out of that disputation which hee hath hitherto had of the libertie of Gods election two thinges followed namely that the grace of God is not so included within the people of the Iewes that it can not also flowe forth vnto other nations and spread it self ouer the whole world Secondly that it is not so tyed to the Iewes that it must needs come vnto all the sonnes of Abraham according to the fleshe without exception For if the election of God be grounded vpon his pleasure onely whither so euer his will shall turne

the firste in the promise and calling Therefore he reserueth for them their prerogatiue but foorthwith hee adioyneth the Gentiles albeit in a lower degree partakers with them 17 For the righteousnesse of God This is an exposition confirmation of the former sentence namely Saluation is life with god that the Gospel is the power of God vnto saluation For if wee seeke for saluation that is to say life with God first wee must seeke for righteousnesse Without righteousnes there is no life whereby wee beeyng reconciled vnto GOD thorowe his mercie maye obtayne life whiche consisteth onelye in his beneuolence For seeyng God hateth vnrighteousnesse we muste needes bee righteous before wee cann bee loued of him Therefore he signifieth that wee canne not obteyne saluation otherwhere then in the Gospell because GOD doeth not else where manifest vnto vs his righteousnesse whiche onelye deliuereth vs from destruction And this righteousnesse whiche is the groundworke of our saluation is reuealed in the Gospell whereupon the Gospell is called the power of God vnto saluation So he reasoneth from the cause vnto the effect Moreouer note how rare and precious a treasure the Lorde doeth bestowe vppon vs in the Gospell namely the communication of his righteousnesse Righteousnes of God is that which is approued before God By the righteousnesse of God I vnderstande that righteousnesse which is approued before the tribunall seate of God as on the contrary he is woont to call that the righteousnesse of men which in the opinion of men is reckoned and counted for righteousnesse although indeede it bee but a smoake And yet I doubt not but Paule alludeth vnto manye Prophesies where the spirite of God often celebrateth the righteousnes of God in the kingdome of Christ to come Others expound it for righteousnesse which is giuen vnto vs of God And surely I confesse the wordes will beare this sence because God doeth iustifie vs by the Gospel therefore he saueth Yet that former interpretation seemeth vnto me to be more agreeyng Although I doe not greatly stande vppon that matter That is more weighty where some thinke this righteousnesse doth not onelye consist in the free remission of sinnes but partly also in the grace of regeneration But I doe vnderstand it that we are therfore restored into life because God hath freely reconciled vs vnto himselfe as we shall shewe more at large afterwarde in his place And whereas he saide before to euery one that beleeueth now he saith from faith for righteousnes is offered by the Gospel is receiued by faith Righteousnes is offered in the Gospel and is receiued by faith And he addeth to faith for looke how much our faith increaseth in vs how much we haue profited in this knowledge by so much the righteousnesse of God together with them is augmented in vs after a sort the possession therof is established As soone as wee doe taste of the Gospell wee see the countenaunce of GOD but a farre off fauourable and pleasant towardes vs the more that the knowledge of pietie groweth in vs As faith and knowledge of the Gospel increase so the righteousnes of God increaseth in vs. as it were by comming neerer wee beholde the grace of God more cleare and more familiarly Whereas many thinke there is vnder these wordes a secrete comparing of the olde with the newe Testament that is more subtile then firme For Paule doeth not here compare the fathers whiche liued vnder the Lawe with vs but noteth the daylye progresse and proceeding in euerye faithfull man As it is written By the authoritie of the Prophete Habacuc hee prooueth this righteousnesse of fayth For hee when hee prophecieth the destruction of the proude addeth also that the life of the iust consisteth in fayth And wee liue not in the sight of GOD but by righteousnesse Therefore it followeth that our righteousnesse also doeth depende vppon faith And the verbe future noteth the continuall perpetuitie of that life whereof hee speaketh as if hee hadde sayde it is not momentaney but shall endure for euer For the wicked also are proude through a false opinion of life but whiles they saye peace and all is well 1. Thes 5.3 sodaynelie destruction commeth vppon them The life of the wicked is but a shadow It is therefore but a shadowe whiche continueth but a moment and it is fayth onelye whiche bringeth eternall life Whence is that but because fayth doeth bringe vs vnto GOD and setleth our life in him For vnlesse this were the meaninge of the Prophete that then and not before wee stande when by fayth wee leane vppon GOD Paule had not aptlye applyed this testimonye And vndoubtedly hee hath not otherwise ascribed the life of the Godly vnto fayth but so farre as the pryde of the worlde beeyng condemned they gather them selues vnder the safegarde of one God Hee doeth not nowe vppon sette purpose handle this cause and therefore hee maketh no mention of free righteousnesse but euen by the nature of fayth it is sufficientlye apparaunt that this testimonye is fittely applyed vnto the present cause Furthermore by this disputation wee doe necessarily gather the mutuall relation betweene faith and the Gospell For because it is sayde the iust shall liue by faith hee inferreth that this life is receiued by the Gospell Faith and the Gospel haue a mutuall respect one to the other Nowe wee haue the state or principall poynt of this first part of the Epistle namely that by the onelye mercie of GOD wee are iustified As yet we haue not this particularly expressed in the words of Paul but by the Text it will easily appeare afterward The state of the first part of this Epistle that our righteousnesse which is grounded vpon faith doth wholly depend vpon the mercy of God 18 For the wrath of God is reuealed from heauen against all vngodlinesse and vnrighteousnesse of men whiche withhold the truth in vnrighteousnesse or vniustly 19 For as muche as that whiche may bee knowen of GOD is manifest in them for God hath shewed it vnto them 20 For the inuisible thinges of him that is his eternall power Godhead are seene by the creation of the world being considered in his woorkes to the intent that they shoulde be without excuse 21 Because that when they knewe God they glorified him not as God neither were thankefull but became vayne in their imaginations and their foolish heart was full of darknesse 22 When they professed themselues to be wise they became fooles 23 For they turned the glorie of the incorruptible GOD to the similitude of the Image of a corruptible man and of byrdes and foure footed beastes and of creeping thinges 18 The wrath of GOD is reuealed Nowe hee argueth from the comparing of contraries whereby hee prooueth that righteousnesse happeneth not neyther commeth otherwise then by the Gospel Out of the Gospel all men are condemned for out of this hee sheweth all men are condemned

it self there also the election of God hath place Election therefore being put downe nowe the way in a maner is made vnto those thinges which hee hath purposed to say as well of the calling of the Gentiles as the reiection of the Iewes the one whereof for noualtie did seeme absurde the other altogether vnmeete or vnworthy Yet because this latter had more offence in it hee handleth the other being lesse odious in the first place He sayth therefore that the vessels of Gods mercie which he chuseth vnto the glorie of his name are taken euery where no lesse from among the Gentiles then the Iewes But in the relatiue whome although the reason of grammer bee not obserued by Paule yet his meaning is a passage as it were being made to adde that wee are those vesselles of Gods glory who are partly taken out from amongst the Iewes and partly from amongst the Gentiles Where by an argument taken from the vocation of God hee prooueth there is no difference of nation in election For if petigrey taken from the Gentiles was no impediment why God shoulde not also call vs it is apparaunt the Gentiles are not banished from the kingdome of God and the couenaunt of eternall saluation 25 As hee sayth also in Osee Nowe hee declareth that the calling of the Gentiles ought not to seeme newe as which was testified long before by the oracle of the prophete The sence is plaine inough but that there is somewhat to doe for applying the testimonie for none will denie but the Prophete speaketh there of the Israelites For the Lorde being offended at their wickednesse denounceth they shoulde no more afterwarde be his people After that hee addeth a consolation and of not beloued maketh them beloued of not a people a people And Paule goeth about to applie that vnto the Gentiles which is precisely spoken vnto the Israelites They who hitherto haue best vnfolded this knot haue thought that Paule woulde reason thus that which might be supposed an impediment to the Gentiles to hinder them from beeing partakers of saluation was also in the people of Israel as God therefore in old time did graciously receiue the Iewes into fauour whom he had cast off and banished euen so nowe he vseth the same bountifulnes towardes the Gentiles But because that interpretation although it may be suffered yet seemeth vnto me to be somewhat forced let the readers consider whither this be not more apt if we doe beleeue that consolation of the Prophet was not giuen to the Iewes onely but also to the Gentiles For it is no new or straunge thing among the Prophetes after they haue published the vengeance of God against the Iewes for their iniquities to turne themselues vnto the kingdome of Christe which was to bee dispersed ouer the whole worlde Neither did they that whithout reason For seeing the Iewes by their sinnes did so prouoke the wrath of God that they deserued to bee diuorced from him there remaineth no hope of saluation vnlesse they turne themselues vnto Christe by whome the couenant of grace is restored and as it was founded in him so now by his intercession it is renued And assuredly seeing Christe is the onely refuge in desperate affaires or suche as are past all hope no sounde consolation can bee brought vnto miserable sinners and suche as see the wrath of God hang ouer them but by setting Christe before their eyes Yea this as wee haue admonished is ordinary amongest the Prophetes when they haue humbled the people being pricked with the threatning of Gods vengeance to recall them vnto Christ the only sanctuarie of those haue no other refuge And where the kingdome of Christ is erected there also that heauenly Hierusalem is raysed vp into which the Citizens out of all partes of the worlde are gathered And that chiefly auayleth in the present oracle for when the Iewes were cast out of the family of God by that meanes they were brought into a vulgare or common estate and were made like vnto the Gentiles After the difference is taken away nowe the mercie of God hath place indifferently amongst all nations Whereby wee gather that the testimonie of the Prophete is fitly applyed vnto the present cause Wherein God after hee hath matched the Iewes with the Gentiles pronounceth that hee will gather a Church of them both that they whiche were no people might beginne to bee I will call them my people which is not my people This is sayde in respecte of the diuourcement whiche GOD had nowe made with the people depriuing them of all dignitie that they shoulde not excell the forraine nations And althoughe they whome God hath ordayned for sonnes vnto himselfe in his eternall counsell these are and are for euer sonnes yet the scripture many times reckoneth not among the sonnes of God but whose election is confirmed by calling Whereby also hee teacheth vs not to iudge and muche lesse to denounce of the election of GOD Howe farre was may denounce of the election of God but so farre foorth as it manifesteth it selfe by his tokens So likewise after that Paule had shewed vnto the Ephesians that their election and adoption was determined with God before the creation of the worlde a little after he testifieth they were sometime straungers from GOD Namely according to that time wherein the Lorde had not yet declared his loue towardes them although hee had imbraced them with eternall mercie Therefore in this place they are called not beloued to whome the Lorde rather testifieth his wrath then loue Finally vntill adoption reconcile men vnto God we know his wrath lyeth vpon all mankinde the feminine gender of the participle dependeth vpon the texte of the Prophete For hee had sayde that a daughter was borne vnto him whome hee called not beloued that vnder this type the people might knowe they were hated of God Nowe as reiection was the cause of hatred so the Prophete teacheth that the beginning of loue is when God doth adopt them who for a tyme were forreiners 27 And Esay cryeth Nowe he commeth vnto the seconde part whereat he woulde not begin leaste hee shoulde exasperate their mindes too much And this is not without skill that he bringeth in the prophet Esai crying and not speaking namely that he might make them more attentiue Furthermore the woordes of the Prophete are plaine to feare the Iewes least they should glory too much in the flesh For it is horrible to be hearde that of suche an infinite multitude a small number onely should be saued For although the Prophet after he hath described the destruction of the people least the faithfull shoulde thinke the couenaunt of God were vtterly wyped out putteth them in minde there is some hope of grace remayning yet he restrayneth that vnto a fewe But because the Prophet prophecied that of his time we are to see how Paul doeth rightly apply it to his purpose And thus it ought to be applied when the Lorde woulde deliuer his