Andrewes

1THE MERCY OF GOD.

2Ps. v. 7.Many,i

3[*Ps.*] li. 1.Manifold,

41 Pet. iv. 10.Plenteous,

5Ps. cxix. 156.Great,

6[*Ps.*] ciii. 12.{ Broad, / the east and the west, }

7[*Ps.*] xlii. 7.Deep, a deep.

8{ [*Ps.*] xxxvi. 5. / [*Ps.*] cviii. 4. }High { unto the heavens, / above the heavens. }

9{ [*Ps.*] xxv. 6. / [*Ps.*] ciii. 17. / [*Ps.*] xiii. 6. }Everlasting { Before, / After. }

10[*Ps.*] cxlv. 9.His tender mercies are over all His works.

11Rom. v. 20.Over our sin,

12Jas. ii. 13.Over His own justice.

13Ecclus. ii. 18.According to the greatness of Him, so

14is His mercy with Him.

15Ps. lxxi. 13.A salvation infinite, for I know no

16end thereof.

17THE FATHER OF MERCIES.ii

181 Cor. i. 3.Natural unto Him.

19Ps. lix. 18.Mercy itself is called God.

20August.O Name, under which no man may despair.

21Chrysos.Great is the gulf of my

22sins, but greater is the deep

23of the mercy of God.

241. But of what kind it is in particular:

1{ Patient, / Longsuffering, / Slow to anger, / Long refraining Himself, }i

2Wisd. xi. 23.Winking at the sins of men

3that they may repent.

4Ps. xcv. [10.]Bearing with them forty whole years

5[*Ps.*] lxxviii. 38.But He was so merciful, and so gracious

6was He, and soon appeased, that He destroyed them not.

7Yea, many a time turned He His wrath away,

8and would not suffer His whole displea-

9sure to arise.

10[*Luke* xix. 42.]O if thou also knewest.

11[*Lam.* iii. 22.]It is of the mercies of God

12that we are not all consumed.

132. Gentle in the very chastising,ii

14so that not even His judgment is

15void of mercy.

16The punishment is a part of the mercy,

17Ps. lxxxix. 32.I will visit their offences with the rod,

18Yet My mercy will I not take from him.

19[*Ps.*] ciii. 10.He hath not dealt with us after our sins, nor

20rewarded us according to our wickednesses.

21For a great sin a little

22punishment sufficeth a father.

23Hos. xi. 8.How shall I smite thee, Ephraim?

243. Easiness to be entreated.Because readily.

25Ps. ciii. 9.He is appeased, neither will He be alway chiding,

26nor keep His anger for ever.

1Ps. xxx. 5.His wrath is but a moment.

2Isa. liv. 8.For a small moment have I forsaken thee, but with

3great mercies will I gather thee.

4Hab. iii. 2.In the very wrath He remembereth mercy, and that

5easily and sparingly.

6Ps. xciv. 18.When I said, My foot hath slipt, Thy

7mercy, O Lord, shall hold me up.

8[*Ps.*] xxxii. 5.I said, I will acknowledge mine unrighteous-

9ness against myself unto the Lord, and Thou forgavest

10the wickedness of my sin.

11It is as nothing with us; for His own

12sake, said God.

132 Sam. xii. 13.David said, I have sinned, O Lord.i

14Nathan answered, The Lord also

15hath put away thy sin, thou shalt not die.

16Joel ii. 13.The Lord is merciful, gracious, longsuffering,

17of great mercy, and better than His

18wrath.

19Isa. xxx. 18.God waiteth, that He may have mercy upon us.

204. Fellow-suffering.For though we deserve it,ii

21yet He grieveth with us in our calamity.

22Luke i. 78.They are called the tender bowels of His mercy.

23Jer. v. 11.In which kind God is merciful

24and full of compassion.

25Ps. cvi. 47.Nevertheless, when He saw their affliction,

26He had compassion upon them.

27Who not only heareth sinners, but also

28in the day of their trouble those who in the time

29of their peace despised Him.

1And if He be sought even then, when we are

2under the cross, then also He putteth not our prayers

3away from Him, nor His mercy from

4us.

55. Pardon, and not only pardon,

6but lavish pardon.

72 Sam. xiii. 10.As David of his own accord broughti

8[*2 Sam.*] xiv. 24.Absalom back, yet at the first that he should not see his face,

9and at the last admitted him to the kiss.

10Luke xv. 22.As the father, when the naughty son returned, not only

11forgave him, but made ready the best robe and the ring, and

12the fatted calf.

13[*Luke*] xv. 7.He will have joy and triumph in heaven

14over one sinner that repenteth.

15And not over little faults only,

16But over grievous crimes.

17Jer. iii. 1.They say commonly, If a man put away his wife,ii

18and she depart from him and become another man's,

19shall not that woman be polluted and defiled?

20Shall she return unto him again? But thou

21hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet

22return again unto Me, saith the Lord.

23Acts iii. 15, 19.Wherewith He pardoned the disciples that forsook Him, Peter that

24forswore Him, the thief that blasphemed, and the Jews that

25crucified Him.

26Luke vi. 35.He is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.

276. And not pardon only, but

28grace also

1{ Ps. lxxviii. 8. / [*Ps.*] xxiii. 6. / [*Ps.*] xxxii. 16. }{ Preventing, / Following, / Compassing about, }i

2On every side.

37. And whatsoever poor service (that grace enabling us)

4we shall have done, He rewardeth it abundantly.

5Ps. ciii. 4.He crowneth us with mercy and loving-

6kindness.

7[*Ps.*] lxii. 10.He is merciful, for He rendereth unto us both according to

8and above our good works.

9[*Matt.* x. 42.]Nor doth He suffer a cup of cold water to go un-

10rewarded.

118. And He is merciful not by nature only, but by practice.ii

12Ps. xxv. 6.He hath learned to shew mercy, and hath had the practice of it

13from of old.

14[ver. 1]Rightly therefore do we so call Him.

15[*Ps.*] xxii. 4.Our fathers hoped in Thee, they trusted

16in Thy mercy, and were not confounded.

17[*Ps.*] lxxvii. 5.Hath God now forgotten to be merciful? and

18will He shut up His mercies within Himself?

19It is not { a spring dried up,[*Hos.* xiii. 15.] / a hand shortened,[*Isa.* lix. 1.] / an ear made heavy.[Ibid.] }

20[*Ps.*] lxxxix. 48.Lord, where are Thine old loving-kindnesses?

21[ver. 1]I will sing of the mercies of God for ever.

22[ver. 4]I have said, Thy mercy shall be set up

23for ever.

249. And He is merciful not by practice only, but by promise.

25Ps. cxix. 49.Thus David speaketh, O think upon Thy word

1unto Thy servant, wherein Thou hast given me hope, and Thyself

2hast caused me to put my trust.

3Rom. iii. 3.For what if some of them did not

4believe? shall their unbelief make the faith

5of God without effect?

6Gen. xxvii. 33.If Isaac would not change his word,i

7Dan. vi. 8.If the Persian would not, a heathen,

8John xix. 22.If profane Pilate would not,

9Surely God never will.

10Gen. xxxii. 26.I will not let Thee go, except Thou bless me.

11[*Matt.* xv. 27.]Yet the dogs, Lord, eat of the crumbs which

12fall from their masters' table.

1310. But all these things are gathered up into one in Christ.

142 Pet. i. 4.In whom He hath given us exceeding great and precious

152 Cor. i. 19.promises, and in whom all the promises

16of God are Yea and Amen.

17Whom to have named was enough.

18Matt. xv. 22.Jesu, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.

19Matt. i. 21.Jesu — this is His name, because He saveth us from

20our sins.

21August.Lord, look not so upon my sin thatii

22Thou shouldest therefore forget Thine own Name.

23Son of David, who forgave Shimei that blasphemed,

24and was his sworn enemy,

25Do Thou also, O Lord, forgive;

26Christ, hear us;

27Christ, intercede with us;

28Christ, intercede for us.

29Do away our sins,

1Make the Father gracious unto us,

2Give us what Thou Thyself art,

3Say unto my soul, I am thy salvation.

4Nor had Thine Apostle said it in vain,i

51 Tim. i. 15.This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation;

6That Jesus Christ came into the world to save

7sinners, of whom I am chief.

8Rom. v. 20.Where sin abounded, grace did much more

9abound.

10[*Rom.*] xi. 32.God hath concluded all under sin, that

11He might have mercy upon all.

12[*Rom.*] v. 10.God commendeth His love toward

13us, in that, while we were yet sinners, yea,

14while we were His enemies, Christ died

15for us.

16Nor in vain the second Apostle,

171 Pet. iii. 18.Christ hath once suffered for our sins,

18the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God.

19Jas. ii. 13.Mercy rejoiceth against judgment.

20Nor in vain the fourth,

211 John ii. 2.If any man sin, we have an Advocate

22with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and

23He is the propitiation for our sins;

24And not for ours only, but for

25the sins of the whole world.

26Nor in vain shalt Thou Thyself have said,ii

27Matt. xi. 25.Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy

28laden, and I will refresh you.

1Luke v. 32.I came not to call the righteous, but sinners

2to repentance.

3These things were not said in vain,i

4they cannot be.

5Ps. xciv. [19.]Wherefore in the multitude of the sorrows in my

6heart, these Thy comforts have refreshed

7my soul.

8[*Heb.* iv. 16.]Wherefore let us come boldly unto the throne

9of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and

10find grace to help in time of need.

11Dan. ix. 17.Now therefore hear, O Lord our God,

12the prayer of Thy servant, and his supplications, and cause

13Thy face to shine.

14[*Luke* xviii. 13.]God be merciful to me a sinner.ii

15[*Ps.* cxliii. 7.]Hear me, O Lord, and that soon, for my

16spirit waxeth faint.

1THE THANKSGIVING.

2Ps. cxlvii. 1.A JOYFUL and a comely thing is praise.

3Unworthy before,

4Lest I be unthankful after.

5Prov. x. 25.The soul that hath blessed shall be made fat.

6Deut. viii. 10.When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt

7bless the Lord thy God for that good land

8which He hath given thee.

9Exod. xviii. 10.Blessed be the God of Jethro.i

10[*Exod.*] xv. 2.Let us sing unto the Lord of Isaac and of the Israelites,

11Thou art my God.

12Ps. cxviii. 28.And I will confess unto Thee,

13And I will exalt Thee.

141 Pet. i. 3.Blessed be the God and Father of our Lordii

15Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant

16mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively

17hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from

18the dead.

19Eph. i. 3.Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord

20Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spir-

21itual blessing in heavenly places in Christ.

22Luke i. 68.Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who

23hath visited and redeemed His people.

242 Cor. i. 3.Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord

25Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God

26[ver. 4]of all comfort, who comforteth us in

27all our tribulation.

28Ps. cxi. 1.I will confess unto Thee, O Lord, with my whole heart,

29privately among the just, and in the congregation.