Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	abundant_a	lord_n	merciful_a	1,635	5	8.8351	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A43607	Syntagma theologicum, or, A treatise wherein is concisely comprehended, the body of divinity, and the fundamentals of religion orderly discussed whereunto are added certain divine discourses, wherein are handled these following heads, viz. 1. The express character of Christ our redeemer, 2. Gloria in altissimis, or the angelical anthem, 3. The necessity of Christ's passion and resurrection, 4. The blessed ambassador, or, The best sent into the basest, 5. S. Paul's apology, 6. Holy fear, the fence of the soul, 7. Ordini quisque suo, or, The excellent order, 8. The royal remembrancer, or, Promises put in suit, 9. The watchman's watch-word, 10. Scala Jacobi, or, S. James his ladder, 11. Decus sanctorum, or, The saints dignity, 12. Warrantable separation, without breach of union / by Henry Hibbert ...	Hibbert, Henry, 1601 or 2-1678.; Hibbert, Henry, 1601 or 2-1678. Exercitationes theologiae.	1662 (1662)	Wing H1793; ESTC R2845	709,920	522

souls for himself For the first Sinners despair because they cannot be perswaded of mercy only viewing the severity of God and poring upon that Alas I have offended God and am afflicted in conscience I have deserv'd to be a fire-brand of Hell but yet consider the sweet goodness of God he is just to damn stubborn sinners but to such as humble themselves and with penitent hearts beg for mercy he is a gracious God witness Manasses Magdalen Paul c. For the latter Satan will tell thee thou may'st take thy liberty follow thy pleasures needest not be so precise for God is merciful The remedy is to consider not only the mercy but the severity of God also Remember how severely he hath dealt with the Jews for their Rebellion against Christ and his Gospel with David for the matter of Vriah with Moses for striking the Rock when he should only have spoken to it c. For as the act of seeing is hindered both by no light and by too much so the light and comfort of conscience is hindered either by not seeing of mercy or by seeing nothing else but mercy which causeth presumption Here is to be refuted the wicked opinion of the Manichees and Marcionites who held that there were two Beginnings or to speak plainly two Gods one good full of gentleness and mercy the other severe and cruel this they made the Author of the Old Testament and the other of the New But the answer is 1. That Scripture maketh one and the same God both bountiful and full of goodness and the same also severe 2. And though severity and mercy seem to be contrary yet that is not in respect of the Subject for the Divine Nature is not capable of contrary and repugnant qualities But in regard of the contrary effects which are produced in contrary Subjects Like as the Magistrate is not contrary to himself if he shew mercy unto those that are willing to be reformed and be severe in punishing obstinate offenders Or as the Sun by the same heat worketh contrary effects in subjects of a diverse and contrary disposition and quality To conclude then Who have goodness and who have severity If thou repentest and obeyest the Gospel thou art an happy man the sweetness of God and his goodness is to thee But if thou beest a profane unbelieving impenitent wretch and dyest in this estate the most just God will in his great severity cast thee into Hell 1 Sam. 25.29 as out of the middle of a sling The Lord God Exod. 34.6 7. The Lord God merciful and gracious long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth keeping mercy for thousands forgiving iniquity transgression and sin and that will by no means clear the guilty visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and upon the childrens children unto the third Ezra 8.22 Psal 18.25 26. and to the fourth generation The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him With the merciful thou wilt shew thy self merciful Psal 34.15 16. And with the froward thou wilt shew thy self froward The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous and his ears are open unto their cry The face of the Lord is against them that do evil Psal 101.1 to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth I will sing of mercy and judgment unto thee O Lord Rom. 11.22 will I sing Behold the goodness and severity of God Of the Mercy of God Mercy as it is referred to God Movet enim pium judicem fragilitas considerata peccantium Cassied Exod. 34. is the Divine Essence inclining it self to pity and relieve the miseries of all his Creatures but more peculiarly of his Elect Children without respect of merit God is most glorious in mercy Shew me thy Glory saith Moses It follows what it was The Lord God merciful and gracious c. In this he is superlative and outstrips Mercy is 1. General 1. In helping his Elect and comforting 2. In scattering and confounding their Enemies 2. More particular 1. In promising 2. In performing And these are the Flagons of wine to comfort distressed souls Mercy is an Attribute in the manifestation of which as all our happiness consists so God takes greatest complacency and delights in it above all his other works He punishes to the third and fourth Generation but shewes mercy unto thousands Exod. 20.5 6. Therefore the Jewes have a saying That Michael flies with one wing and Gabriel with two meaning that the pacifying Angel the Minister of Mercy flies swift but the exterminating Angel the Messenger of wrath is slow The more mercy we receive the more humble we ought to be 1. Because we are thereby more indebted 2. In danger to be more sinful worms crawle after Rain 3. We have more to account for But alas even as the glorious Sun darting out his illustrious beams shines upon the stinking Carrion but still it remains a Carrion when the beams are gone so the mercy of God shines as I may say upon the wicked but still he remains wicked For the Lord is good his mercy is everlasting The Lord is good to all Psal 100.5 Psal 145.9 Micah 7.18 and his tender mercies are over all his works He delighteth in mercy I proceed no further in these only add That for a Creature to believe the infinite Attributes of God he is never able to do it thoroughly without supernatural grace Of the Sacred Trinity De Trinitate THat God should be Three in one and One in three this is a Divine Truth Impossibile est per rationem naturalem ad Trinitat is Divinarum p●rsonarum cognitionem pervenice Aquin. Du Bartas ex Lombard Sens. lib. 1. dist 2. more certainly to be received by Faith than to be conceived by Reason for it is the most mysterious of all the Mysteries contained in the Bible which our Divine Poet sings thus In Sacred Sheets of either Testament 'T is hard to find an higher Argument More deep to sound more busie to discuss More useful known unknown more dangerous Some damnable Hereticks especially the Jewes at this day hold an indistinct Essence in the Deity without distinction of persons We assert a real distinction there is but there can be no separation If any stumble at the word Trinity and say it cannot be found in the Scriptures I answer yet the Doctrine is if not according to the letter yet according to the sense Besides there is expresly the word Three 1 John 5.7 from whence Trinity comes The Hebrews of old Si●rectè dicuntur tres Eloh●m etiam recté dici possit tres Dii nam Elobim Latinè sonat Dii vel Deus Drus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Gen. 1.1 were no strangers to this Mystery though their posterity understood it not Moses Gen. 1.1 Dii creavit Elihu Job 35.10 God my Makers Solomon Eccl.

from One unchangeable God on whom if we rest contented not overruled with prejudicate opinions never shall fear distract us Plura sunt quae nos terrent Senec. ep 13. saepius opinione laboramus quàm re I borrow this from Seneca Many things terrifie us and we are oftner vext and pain'd in opinion by furmises than in very deed by truth But it is otherwise with the well-inform'd Christian who ponders all events and examineth the causes the defect whereof sets some at their wits end 'T is ignorance and rashness that makes way for misprision and misprision for fear The best things sometimes scare us Gods merciful goodness not understood puts us to a stand his very favourable presence which should move joy did and shall move fear in some I do not think there lives that man this day on earth so resolute did God appear not in flaming fire in thundering and lightening to render vengeance but in a soft wind as to Elijah or as here another way to Jacob in every respect full of respect but would be sore afraid Devout Jacob whose dream portended nothing but happiness at the end of his Divine rapture was afraid What he saw and fear'd was no other but a welcom prediction of his future glory and perpetual safety and yet was afraid That magnificent greatness and blessed eminency to which the Lord promised to advance him left him not undaunted Yet this must I needs say he was more afraid than hurt 'T is a certain truth though God terrifie his children yet he harms them not No disadvantage is taken to undo them by it but to raise their spiritual fortunes After the fall of their courage one way at the brightness of his Majesty he puts spirit into them another way to further their exaltation thorugh a sense of his mercy Thus he doth with this religious man whose fear gave the occasion of my writing Here men may admire so good a man would be taken napping and then fear when he had most reason to rejoice The Father of Heaven did from Heaven look upon him with a benigne aspect yet he trembles Observe what ensues and cease to wonder Religious hearts are in a continual awe of God yet not bereft of comfort 'T is their blessedness Pro. 28.14 that they always fear Happy is the man that feareth always So it is to be referr'd the well ordering of our conversation aright Piety puts all things straight in us that rectifies all the passions of the soul directeth our hearts to the fear of the Lord which brings in time a crown of rejoycing Hence he requires it of us upon our Allegiance to his Supremacie Royal which should we deny 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 timor were no less than Rebellion than Atheism The Greeks therefore derive the Name of God from a word that signifies fear intimating that God above all must be feared of all as well as acknowledged Hereupon the Heathen Latine Poet grounded his invention Primus in orbe Deos fecit timor Fear first made Gods on earth Divine Truth sometime calleth God by the name of Fear Jacob sware by the Fear of his father Isaac Gen. 31.53 that is by that God whom his father Isaac feared If any desire to know what kind of fear this of Jacob's was I dare not entangle better thoughts in the perplexing briars of School-niceties sprung out of the rank grounds of acute Philosophers but will use my endeavours to satisfie expectation by painting out a smoother way of far less danger and of more profit This holy Pilgrim as he was deckt with the ornaments of Grace so was he clogg'd with the infirmities of Nature As he was of a good heart so withal without disgrace of a timorous disposition His fear might well consist with his goodness It was not carnal or worldly arising out of an afflicting distrust of Gods providence Nor yet humane begotten by an excessive desire to this fugitive life Nor servile as proceeding from self-love so from the threatned judgments of an angry God for the violations of his pure sanctions This with the rest is sever'd from grace Gregor Mag. Ignorat mens gratiam libertatis quam ligat servitus timoris saith Gregory in his Pastorals The grace of liberty proper to the sons of God is unknown to the mind tyed to the slavery of a base fear A Divine calls it Esau's with which Jacob had no medling he bought his brothers birthright not his vices Jacob's fear was natural initial filial Natural whereby he declined hurtful objects when presented to him initial whereby for the love of God he rejected all desire of sinning filial whereby his obedience to the Highest Power was kept sound and entire None of the sons of men are exempted from the first since the first man The first man had it not actually in his Integrity because there was nothing to hurt him his Apostacie gave it a being in time Our blessed Saviour the Lord Jesus had it but without sin 't was long of sinful men he was so weak so infirm Who foreseeing the bitter Cup he was to drink to the Worlds health Aug. Enchir. cap. 24. his heart drew back his soul was heavy even unto death Austin defines it Fugitantis animi motum the motion or passion of a yielding mind which is no more separable from us than our nature This makes good that expression of it in the Book of Wisdom A betraying of the succours which Reason offereth Wisd 17.12 So powerful is our weakness above the strength of Reason that the very suspition or conceit of approaching evil puts us oft out of heart Nothing almost lays open our imperfections to the worlds eye more than it Faintness of heart at the sight of unavoidable mischiefs seifeth upon our choicest metall●d men upon our most heroick spirits Wherefore Origen upon the Book of Judges notes it to be Humanae fragilitatis indioium Orig. in cap. 7. lib. Judic Hom. 9. a bewraying note of humane insufficiency Take it in the excess it unmans a man and makes him like a Sword-fish to which Themistocles compar'd a Coward which hath a weapon but wants a heart Take it in the mediocrity and just temper it subscribes to what Reason dictates and then doth us good If Religion moderate it as it allays the ●orce of its corruption so it gives it a purer essence and brings us off with a greater grace This I believe in part was Jacob's case who frightned with the suddenness of such an unaccustomed spectacle as was presented to his view gave place to fear which be knew not speedily how to shun Yet without doing Jacob wrong we may not say this was his onely fear but as he was by nature thus inclin'd so was he by a spiritual emanation of grace above nature indued with initial fear All that are born of God have by the transcendent working of his Almighty power all that is old in them renewed and