Yates:

Etmisericordia
vbi interim

Q. What is mercy?
A. Whereby he uses compassion also towards his creatures offending. Gen. 6:3, and 8:21, Psal. 78:38, 39. Mercy is more common than grace, for he pities all, though he but receive some again into favour. He feeds the filthy as well as the faithful with his hid treasures, and makes his sun to shine, and his rain to fall on the just and unjust. He vouchsafes them (ill deserving) common mercies, that they might seek him for more special graces. Thus mercy is offered before the sentence be executed, and then justice, which was all this time burning, flames out upon sinners that would not come at his call.

Clementia

Q. How manifold is this mercy?
A His clemency and bounty: God is both gentle and kind to all sinners, mild in mercy, and bountiful in his benefits. Rom 2:9, 2 Chron. 36:15,Isa. 55:7,8,9.

In patientia & longanimitata

Q. What is his gentleness, or clemency?
A. Whereby in justice he remembers mercy, kindly inviting sinners to repentance. He bears the reproaches of sinners, and a while stays and waits for their repentance. Erech appajim in Hebrew is one that has a long nose; and it is frequently given to God, for is patience and longanimity. The nose is the seat of anger, and a long one is not easily contracted. God is slow to frowning upon sinners, and he is hardly provoked. Numb. 14:18, Psal. 86:13, and 103: 8 and 145:8, Joel 2:13, Nah. 1:3, Jon. 4, verse 2, Rom. 2:4 and 3:25, and 9:22, 1 Pet. 3:20, 2 Pet. 3 verse 15. These places say not that God is without anger, or wrath, but that he is not easily, quickened, or rashly moved thereunto. Yet most true is that God is not subject to anger properly called, being simple in his nature and so free from all passion and alteration.

John Yates, A Model of Divinity, Catechistically Composed. Wherein is Delivered the Matter and Method of Religion. According to the Creed, Tenne Commandements, Lords Prayer, and the Sacraments (Printed by John Legatt, for Faulke Clifton and are to be sold on New-fish streete Hill, Under St. Margrets Church, 1623), 189. [Some spelling modernized; italics original; and marginal references included.]

Perkins:

We have Redemption, i.e. the faithful, God’s elect, which are members of Christ’s mystical body. The Angels, which fell from that pure estate wherein they were created, could never attain unto it again. But such was the rich favor of God towards Man, that he united human nature to Christ’s divinity, and gave to men that dignity, to be called his sons. Shall we think, that God has endued man with so many excellencies more, not only than any, but than all the creatures of the world besides, to leave them in such estate, that they had been happier if they had never been born. We have a righteous judge, and rather than he proceeded in rigor of judgement, he will provide a sacrifice for himself, to be offered up in our names, and all the benefit shall redound to us and our posterity. Yet all men are not redeemed but some of all sorts. Christ died sufficiently for all, but effectually only for some. In his death he intended a price of such extent in value and worth, as should be of power to save all, and therefore should be offered indifferently to all, but in his eternal counsel and love, he paid this price only for them, to whom in love he intends the fruit and benefit thereby. There is a world of men, of whom John 17. verse 9, Christ says, “I pray not for the world, but for them that thou hast given me out of the world.” If all men had the gifts of grace, and the merits of Christ’s passion, where were God’s justice? If no man had redemption, an hope of salvation, where were his mercy? Deus in suâ misericordiâ voluit per Justitiam. In his mercy he might save all, but in his justice he could not. Neither is God the cause why any man does perish. For Christ is the sufficient sacrifice to save all men. But death and destruction came from the incredulity and unbelief of man. As the sun is in itself sufficient to enlighten all men, yet the blind for want of sight cannot enjoy the use thereof. So Christ’s death was a sufficient ransom for all, but the reprobate (for want of faith) cannot apprehend it. An easy condition of so great a benefit. He requires us not to earn peace, but to accept it of him. What could he give more? Would could he require beside of us? With men, it is a good rule to try, and then to trust. With God, it is contrary: We must first trust him (as most wise, omnipotent, merciful) and try him afterwards.

Joseph Perkins, The Redemption of Mankind by the Passion of Our Lord. A Sermon Preached on Palm-Sunday at Kintbury, in the County of Berks (London: Printed, and are to be Sold by Randal Taylor, near Stationers-Hall), 7-8. [Some reformatting; some spelling modernized; and italics original.]

Read the rest of this entry »

Beverley:

The ends of God’s constituting this one man as a common head, even his Son our Lord Jesus Christ are:

1. That he might have in human nature an adoption of many sons to glory in this great Son of God and Son of Man, Heb. 2:10.

2. There is a redundancy of benefit, Common Grace, other advantages upon all parts of human nature in preserving so much of the remains of conformity to the Law of Righteousness in the world, which would only condemn as in hell, and not guide any thing good, but turn the world into a hell, were it not for Christ, in whom also much of patience, and bounty is vouchsafed to men in outward blessings, essaying their return to God by repentance [Rom. 2:4, 2 Pet. 3:9.] in hopes of his mercy, to which this patience, and bounty give so great encouragements.

This shows the admirable congruity to our case, to have our help laid upon so mighty, and near a mediator, as Emmanuel, God with us.

Thomas Beverley, A Brief View of the State of Mankind in the First Adam and in the Second Adam ([London : s.n., 1690]), 38-40. [Some minor reformatting; marginal references cited inline; and italics original

John:

Providence, then, is the care that God takes over existing things. And again: Providence is the will of God through which all existing things receive their fitting issue.⁴ But if Providence is God’s will, according to true reasoning all things that come into being through Providence must necessarily be both most fair and most excellent, and such that they cannot be surpassed. For the same person must of necessity be creator of and provider for what exists: for it is not meet nor fitting that the creator of what exists and the provider should be separate persons. For in that case they would both assuredly be deficient, the one in creating, the other in providing.⁵ God therefore is both Creator and Provider, and His creative and preserving and providing power is simply His good-will. For whatsoever the Lard pleased that did He in heaven and in earth,⁶ and no one resisted His will.⁷ He willed that all things should be and they were. He wills the universe to be framed and it is framed, and all that He wills comes to pass.

That He provides, and that He provides excellently,⁸ one can most readily perceive thus. God alone is good and wise by nature. Since then He is good, He provides: for he who does not provide is not good. For even men and creatures without reason provide for their own offspring according to their nature, and he who does not provide is blamed. Again, since He is wise, He takes the best care over what exists.

When, therefore, we give heed to these things we ought to be filled with wonder at all the works of Providence, and praise them all,⁹ and accept them all without enquiry, even though they are in the eyes of many unjust, because the Providence of God is beyond our ken and comprehension, while our reasonings and actions and the future are revealed to His eyes alone. And by "all" I mean those that are not in our hands: for those that are in our power are outside the sphere of Providence and within that of our Free-will.

Now the works of Providence are partly according to the good-will² (of God) and partly according to permission.³ Works of good-will include all those that are undeniably good, while works of permission are ……⁴ For Providence often permits the just man to encounter misfortune in order that he may reveal to others the virtue that lies concealed within him,⁵ as was the case with Job.⁶ At other times it allows something strange to be done in order that something great and marvelous might be accomplished through the seemingly strange act, as when the salvation of men was brought about through the Cross. In another way it allows the pious man to suffer sore trials in order that he may not depart from a right conscience nor lapse into pride on account of the power and grace granted to him, as was the case with Paul.⁷

Read the rest of this entry »