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The riches of mercy In two treatisesThe riches of mercie In two treatises
The riches of mercy In two treatises: 1 Lydia's conversion. 2. A rescue from death. By the late learned, and reverend divine, Richard Sibbs, Doctor in Divinity. Published by the authors own appointment, and subscribed with his own hand to prevent imperfect copies.The riches of mercie In two treatises: 1 Lydia's conversion. 2. A rescue from death. By the late learned, and reverend divine, Richard Sibbs, Doctor in Divinitie. Published by the authors own appointment, and subscribed with his owne hand to prevent imperfect copies.
London: printed by John for Francis Eglesfeild, 1638London: printed by Iohn for Francis Eglesfeild, 1638
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
A fool is led with his humour,2 and his lust even as the beast, so there is no wicked man that shakes of the fear of God, (which is true wisdom,) but he is led with his humour, and passion, and affection to some earthly thing. Now a man can never be wise, and passionate unless in one case, when the good is so exceeding that no passion can be answerable as in zeal, in divine matters, that will excuse all exorbitant carriage otherwise. When David danced before the Ark, a man would think it had been a foolish matter except it had been in a divine business, ⟨p. 13⟩when the matter is wondrous great that it deserves any pitch of affection then a man may be eager, and wise: but for the things of this life, for a man to disquiet himself and others, to hunt after a vain shadow, (as the Psalmist saith) after riches and honour; and to neglect the main end of a mans life, it is extreme folly a man that is passionate in this respect cannot be wise, all fools are passionate, and wicked men have their affections set deeply on somewhat else besides God. Because passion presents things in a false glass,2 as ⟨p. 14⟩when a man sees the sun through a cloud he seems bigger, when men look not on things in the judgment of the scripture, and the spirit of God, and right reason, but through affection, things appear to them otherwise then they are and themselves afterwards see themselves fo•les: Take a worldling on his death bed, or in hell, he sees himself a fool then, when his drunkenness is past, when he is come to himself, and is sober, he sees that he hath catched all his lifetime after shadows, wicked men that are carried with their lusts to earthly things, ⟨p. 15⟩they cannot be wise, therefore the rich man in the Gospel, is called a fool, and in Jer. 17. he speaks of a man that labours all his life time, and in the end is a fool; Is not he a fool that will carry a burden, and load himself in his journey more then he needs, and is not he a spiritual fool, that loads himself with thick clay (as the Prophet calls it) and makes his pilgrimage more cumbersome then he needs? Is not he a fool that lays the heaviest weight on the weakest: that puts off the heaviest burden of repentance, to the time of sickness,