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The riches of mercy In two treatisesThe riches of mercie In two treatisesRichard Sibbes, 1638

Whose heart the Lord opened to attend to the things that were spoken of Paul.

pp. 30–4315 passages

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.

:50p. 30

Whose heart the Lord opened to attend to the things that were spoken of Paul.

:51p. 30

GOD opened her heart. To what purpose? To attend to the things spoken of Paul.

:52p. 30–31

God by the word preached opens the heart; to attend to the word: by the word, we are fitted to the word. The spirit and the word draw us to themselves: The spirit, and the ⟨p. 31⟩word draw us to regard the word, by the word her heart was opened to attend to the word.

God by the word preached opens the heart; to attend to the word: by the word, we are fitted to the word. The spirit and the word draw us to themselues: The spirit, and the ⟨p. 31⟩word draw us to regard the word, by the word her heart was opened to attend to the word.

:53p. 31–32

First I will speak of the opening her heart: And then of her attending upon the word preached by Paul. God opened her heart. She was a religious woman yet her heart was shut before God opened it. She was religious in her kind, yet her heart must be further opened before she could be saved. There is no staying in preparations in this or that degree:¹ as many abortives in our times that make many offers; they have the spirit of bondage, and are ⟨p. 32⟩

:59p. 34–37

God hath many keys, he hath the key of heaven, to command the rain to come down, he hath the key of the womb, the key of hell, and the grave, and the key of the heart, especially, He opens, and no ⟨p. 35⟩man shuts, and shuts and no men opens. He hath the key of the heart, to open the understanding, the memory, the will, and affections. God, and God only hath the key of the heart to open that, it is his prerogative. He made the heart, and he only hath to do with the heart, he can unmake it, and make it new again, as those that make locks can do. And if the heart be in ill temper, he can take it in pieces, and bring it to nothing as it were (as it must be before conversion) and he can make it a new heart again. It is God that opens the heart, and God ⟨p. 36⟩only. All the Angels in heaven cannot give one grace, not the least grace; Grace comes merely from God: it is merely from God: All the creatures in the world cannot open the heart, but God only by his holy spirit: For nature cannot do above its sphere (as we say) above its own power. Natural things can do but natural things. For nature to raise it self up to believe heavenly things it cannot be. Therefore as you see vapours go as high as the sun draws them up and no higher: so the soul of man is lift up to heavenly th•ngs by the power of ⟨p. 37⟩Gods spirit: God draws us and then we follow: God I say only openeth the heart.

God hath many keyes, he hath the key of heauen, to cōmand the raine to come downe, he hath the key of the wombe, the key of hell, and the graue, and the key of the heart, especially, He opens, and no ⟨p. 35⟩man shuts, and shuts and no men opens. He hath the key of the heart, to open the vnderstanding, the memory, the will, and affections. God, and God only hath the key of the heart to open that, it is his prerogatiue. He made the heart, and he onely hath to doe with the heart, he can vnmake it, and make it new againe, as those that make locks can doe. And if the heart be in ill temper, hee can take it in peices, and bring it to nothing as it were (as it must be before conversion) and he can make it a new heart againe. It is God that opens the heart, and God ⟨p. 36⟩only. All the Angels in heauen cannot giue one grace, not the least grace; Grace comes meerly from God: it is meerly from God: All the creatures in the world cannot open the heart, but God only by his holy spirit: For nature cannot doe aboue its sphere (as we say) aboue its owne power. Naturall things can doe but naturall things. For nature to raise it selfe up to beleeue heavenly things it cannot be. Therefore as you see vapours goe as high as the sunne drawes them up and no higher: so the soule of man is lift up to heauenly th•ngs by the power of ⟨p. 37⟩Gods spirit: God drawes us and then we follow: God I say onely openeth the heart.

:64p. 40–43

There is no sanctifying grace in the affections but it comes by enlightening the understanding, we see the grounds of it in the understanding first: God opens the understanding, and then he opens the memory to retain. That the memory may be as the pot of Manna to hold heavenly things: he opens ⟨p. 41⟩and strengthens it with retention to keep them, and he opens the will to close with holy things, and the affections to joy and delight in them. So the heart is the whole inward man, he not only enlightens the understanding, but infuseth grace into the will, and affections, into the whole inward man. We must take it in that extent for else if God should only open the understanding, and not through the understanding flow into the will by the power of his spirit, the will would alway rebel: as indeed it is a poysonfull thing; there is nothing so malicious ⟨p. 42⟩next the devil, as the will of man. God will have one way, and it will have another: Therefore God doth not only open the understanding to conceive, but he opens the will to close with, and to embrace that that is good; or else it will take head, and take arms against the understanding in that that is good, and never come to the work of grace: Therefore take it so, he opened the will and affections as well as the understanding: though what-soever is in the will, and affections, comes through the understanding, as well as heat comes through light. God opened ⟨p. 43⟩her heart, to what end?

There is no sanctifying grace in the affections but it comes by enlightning the understanding, we see the grounds of it in the understanding first: God opens the understanding, and then he opens the memory to retaine. That the memory may bee as the pot of Mannah to hold heauenly things: he opens ⟨p. 41⟩and strengthens it with retention to keepe them, and he opens the will to close with holy things, and the affections to joy and delight in them. So the heart is the whole inward man, he not only enlightens the understanding, but infuseth grace into the will, and affections, into the whole inward man. We must take it in that extent for else if God should only open the understanding, and not through the understanding flow into the will by the power of his spirit, the will would alway rebell: as indeed it is a poysonfull thing; there is nothing so malicious ⟨p. 42⟩next the divell, as the will of man. God will haue one way, and it will haue another: Therefore God doth not only open the vnderstanding to conceiue, but he opens the will to close with, and to imbrace that that is good; or else it will take head, and take armes against the understanding in that that is good, and neuer come to the worke of grace: Therefore take it so, he opened the will and affections as well as the understanding: though what-soeuer is in the will, and affections, comes through the understāding, as well as heate comes through light. God opened ⟨p. 43⟩her heart, to what end?