Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
mercy_n	work_v	world_n	year_n	20	3	3.6970	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A30673	Death improv'd, and immoderate sorrow for deceased friends and relations reprov'd wherein you have many arguments against immoderate sorrow, and many profitable lessons which we may learn from such providences / by Edward Bury ...	Bury, Edward, 1616-1700.	1693 (1693)	Wing B6204; ESTC R11343	169,821	306

of Peace called home Hearing Reading Praying Meditating which were of use and now our Duty can then do us no good no Petition now can be accepted the Spirit hath now done striving here the worst of Sinners call God Father and would fain adopt the Devil's Brats to be God's Children but it will then appear these profligate Wretches are none of the Off-spring of Heaven for God will own no such Children here they are not perswadable but then their Consciences will inform them and their Torments instruct them that their courses were not good now Heavens Glory though never so lively set forth doth not much affect them their Eyes are not opened to behold it but had they but a glimpse of it as the Apostles had in the Transfiguration or such a sight as Paul had in the third Heaven it would convince them 'T is storied of Nicostratus that cunning Artist That seeing an admirable Piece of Work looked at it with admiration being observed he was asked by one why he looked so intent upon it replied Oh Sir had you my Eyes you would wonder as well as I at this inimitable Piece of Work And had the men of the World their Eyes open or had they ever tasted one dram of the Rivers of Pleasure which are at the right hand of God for evermore they would be of another mind they would see the Riches Honour Carnal Delights Friends and Favourites yea whatever the World affords we can spare but God we cannot spare And to miscarrying Souls the consideration that the Time was the enjoyment of these coelestial things was possible for us as well as for others we were set upon the Stage of the World to play our part we had the same Means Ministers Ordinances Helps and Furtherances as others had the motions of the Spirit and the Checks of our own Consciences as they but the Devil blinded our Eyes and hardened our Hearts and the World bewitched us but all these Means and Helps are gone and 't is too late alas too late to repent we indulged our Flesh we satisfied our Lusts we contented our carnal Companions and we deluded one another Nay we had not only a possibility of Glory but a fair probability We had many Convictions upon our Spirits that our way was not good and that the way of Holiness was to be chosen hence we had many Resolutions to alter our Courses yea especially in our Sickness and Distress we made many Promises yea Vows and Covenants to amend yea set upon the performances of some Duties and refrained from some Sins and made some Profession of Religion and were almost Christians and yet suffered the Temptations of Satan the Alurements of the World and the Enticements of our own Corruptions and the Perswasions of our wicked Companions to stifle these hopeful Beginnings these perswaded us there was time enough for Repentance and that we had many a fair day yet to live and now Death hath taken us away in our Sins cursed be the time that ever we listened to these Syren Songs which lull'd us asleep in the Cradle of Security we were not far from the Kingdom of Heaven but for want of a little more we shall never come there and now our Sun is set and will never rise again our day is over that will never dawn and the night is come that no man can work our golden hours are over and our Opportunities are lost and that sweet Gale of Mercy that once we had will never blow upon us more Oh that we were intrusted with one Year more the World should see what Reformed persons we would be we would live as mortified a Life as ever Saint did upon the Earth and scorn with the highest Disdain the Pleasures Profit and Honours of the World how exactly would we live how painfully would we work out our Salvation how would we watch our Hearts and our Tongues and order our Actions but alas these are vain Wishes our Time is gone our Glass is run out our Opportunity lost and our Hopes are perished God hath forsaken us and become our Enemy a Crown of Glory was once offered upon easie Terms but the Market-day is over and will never come again it was under our Feet and we would not stoop for it Life and Death were set before us and we had our Choice Heaven was offered and we refused it and chose the World before it and lodged it in the best Room of our Hearts and now it hath deceived us we should have forsaken all for Christ but we forsake Christ and all for a Lust we indulged the Flesh yielded to the Temptation and made a woful Choice for a few vanishing Pleasures we parted with Heavenly Joys and in the room had endless easeless and remediless Torments it had been better for us that we had been torn in pieces with wild Horses than to have yielded to the Temptations of Sin as we have done Now we find our Minister's Words true which warned us of the bitter Fruits of Sin but alas too late our time is gone and will not be recalled cursed be the time we fell into such lewd Company How did we delude each other to Destruction now I see the Fruits the Effects and Ends of all our merry Meetings drunken Matches of our merry Songs and wanton Catches and all our effeminate Dalliance how much better might the time have been spent in Prayer Hearing and Meditation Taverns Ale-houses and Whore-houses have been our Ruine These or such-like will be the sad Complaints of miscarrying Souls for when God forsakes them all that Good is will leave them then must they bid farewel to the Saints and Angels for ever for they will be in the presence of God to Eternity and had they but enjoyed them one day in Heaven now all their Corruptions are done away they would better know their worth and their own loss but Heaven and Hell as they are out of sight so they are out of mind but those that mind them of it are like Elijah accounted the Troublers of Israel and like Paul Pestilent Fellows for they at present scorn the Society of the Godly and then the Godly will scorn them they shall then reap the Fruit of their own Folly which will be a large Harvest But among all their Losses they shall lose their Souls also which Loss is considerable the Soul being of more value than the World Mat. 16.26 and this will be an aggravation to them they sold them for nothing Yet this Loss signifies not the annihilation of the Soul or that it shall be made nothing this would be joyful News to them for upon that Condition they would be willing the Devil should tear it into a thousand pieces supposing it divisible so he would tear it into nothing But this cannot be the Soul will run parallel with the longest Line of Eternity neither can the Faculties thereof be lost the Understanding Memory Conscience will remain and be much

and many Men have enough to sink them that have not half to satisfie them Content is one main Ingredient of Happiness but till we have God we cannot have it Croesus's Wealth Alexander's Crowns Heliogabalus his Pleasures fall short of Happiness or Satisfaction yet many are filling bottomless-tubs and rolling Sysiphus his Stone and have Tityus his Vulture gnawing in their Breast those that have much of the World have usually much trouble with it and sometimes God spoils all the Sport by throwing some handfuls of Hell-fire into the Conscience Reader wast thou ever upon thy sick Bed and received the Sentence of Death within thee What warming Comforts did the World then afford thee Nay hath not sometimes a pinching Pang of the Cholick Gout Strangury or the raging pain of an aking Tooth put thee by all the Comforts the World can afford And why then shall we so much doat upon it that can do us so little good when we have most need Till we can fill our Barns with Grace and our Bags with Glory and extract Heaven out of the Earth and God out of the Creature we must never expect Satisfaction in any Earthly Enjoyment I know Riches of themselves are the good Gifts of God but become Snares when they are over-loved and trusted in 't is not the having them but the over-loving them is dangerous they often prove the occasion of Pride Luxury Tyranny Oppression c. The World must have the Head and the Hand but God must have the Heart Set the World in its own place and there is no danger send it before us to Heaven and it will be made up into a Crown for us Cornelius's Prayers and Alms came up for a Memorial before God Acts 10.4 This is the way to make Friends with the Mammon of unrighteousness and at the last day Sentence will pass upon us accordingly Yet are there too many Professors that doat upon the World as much as ever Jonah did upon his Gourd or the Athenians on Diana's Temple But these things are nec vera nec vestra they are worth little and if they were they have another Master But there are Riches of another Nature which nec prodi nec perdi nec surrepi possunt none can deprive us of them Bags that wax not old a Treasure in the Heavens that fadeth not away A Beggar is an unsuitable Match for a Prince much more a bruit Beast but 't is a far more unsuitable Match for an Immortal Soul to be espoused to a Wedge of Gold When the Moon is at the Full 't is farthest from the Sun and nearest to an Eclipse If the Heart be full of the World there is no room for Christ every Good is not suitable for every Nature 't is not Natural to a Man to live under Water nor for a Fish to live on the dry Ground Kingdoms may promise Content to carnal Hearts but a Gracious Man cannot take up with such poor things One Dram of Grace will prove a better Portion than the World affords 3. As these Earthly things are unsatisfying so they are uncertain and this is a certain demonstration of their Vanity For had we never so much of them what avails it when we know not whether we shall enjoy them one day to an end A Kingdom would give us little content did we certainly know we should lose it at the Month's end and our Lives with it yea Heaven it self would yield us little content did we know we should enjoy it only a Thousand Years and then be cast into Eternal Torments the thoughts of leaving it would take away all Pleasure of Enjoying it and would be a Hell in the midst of Heaven Now all these Earthly Enjoyments will be stript from us at Death haply sooner and our Death cannot be far off and why should we doat so much upon them Many Thousands in our Age have been Rich o're Night and Poor ere Morning Witness France Ireland Germany Savoy and many others Thus it was with Job one day for ought we know saw him the greatest Man in all the East and Poor even to a Proverb The uncertainty of these Earthly Enjoyments is one of the greatest Vanities that is writ upon them how then can they be a suitable Portion for the Soul which runs parallel with the longest line of Eternity What will become of the Immortal Soul when the Portion is spent Why do Men make so much hast to climb the Ladder of Promotion seeing so many break their Necks ere they get to the top Haman may witness this for King's Favourites stand but in slippery places one day he glories in his Enjoyments and the next day is hanging on the Gallows he made for another Esther 5.11 c. and 7.10 Ahithophel one day his words were esteemed as Oracles and presently after falling into Disgrace he hanged himself This Age may produce many Examples to this purpose Sometimes the great Ones of the World hardly obtain a decent Funeral and what a condition is the Soul in that took the World for a Portion when the Body is neglected judge you Angels cannot help them nor the Saints in Heaven if they were willing and then sure nothing upon the Earth can do it The thoughts of fore-past Pleasures Honours or Treasures will give little ease to present Dolours and the Wrath of God It was small comfort that Abraham gave to the Rich Glutton Son remember in thy life-time thou hadst pleasure and Lazarus pain now he is comforted and thou art tormented When pale-fac'd Death like Belshazzar's Hand-writing shall enter our Lodging to Arrest us to appear before God in Judgment before we have evened our Accounts it will make our Joints to tremble and our Knees smite one against another What will the World do for us then at Judgment They will prove miserable Comforters when the Earth and all the works therein shall be burnt up where then is your confidence Now many love Gold more than God and Money is preferred before Mercy Now Paul calls this Idolatry Col. 3.5 And James calls i● Adultery James 4.4 But this will prove like Achan's Wedge to cleave the Soul asunder or like his Babylonish Garment serve for a Winding-sheet Riches at the best are deceitful like Winter-brooks dry in Summer or like Job's Friends miserable Comforters I have read of Fish in the River Araris which change colour with the Moon when 't is at the Full they are white when in the Wane black Thus the World doth by us when we want not it smiles upon us but when need is it looks of another colour There is no more proportion between this imaginary Felicity that the World doats up●n and true Happiness than between painted Fire on the Wall and true Fire or between a King upon the Stage and a King upon the Throne or between a liveless Carkass and a living Man In the midst of all our Enjoyments one hour's tormenting pain spoils all the Sport At Death Riches