A01980:166
A recovery from apostasy Set out in a sermon preached in Stepney Church near…A recovery from apostacy Set out in a sermon preached in Stepny Church neere…
A recovery from apostasy Set out in a sermon preached in Stepney Church near London at the receiving of a penitent renegado into the Church, Octob. 21. 1638. By William Gouge D.D. and min. in Black-Friars London Herein is the history of the surprisal and admirable escape of the said penitent.A recovery from apostacy Set out in a sermon preached in Stepny Church neere London at the receiving of a penitent renegado into the Church, Octob. 21. 1638. By William Gouge D.D. and min. in Black-Friers London Herein is the history of the surprizall and admirable escape of the said penitent.
London: printed by George Miller for Joshua Kirton, 1639London: printed by George Miller for Ioshua Kirton, 1639
Title page typeset from the transcription.
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.
2. If they find an opportunity of escaping, it will not necessarily follow thereupon that they will or can repent having once denied their Saviour. As it fell out with the ten Lepers, so it falleth out too too usually with Renegadoes: but one of the ten returned to give glory to God: which caused Christ to say, Where are the nine? Luke 17.17. Here is now one before us, that by a right course of penitency is admitted into the Church again. About ten years now past there was another in like manner received at Minhead in Somerset-shire. But are these two the tenth, or tenth of ten times ten of them that having played the Renegadoes are returned into their country, yet never gave any public evidence of their true repentance?
2. If they finde an opportunity of escaping, it will not necessarily follow thereupon that they will or can repent having once denied their Saviour. As it fell out with the ten Lepers, so it falleth out too too usually with Renegadoes: but one of the ten returned to give glory to God: which caused Christ to say, Where are the nine? Luke 17.17. Here is now one before us, that by a right course of penitency is admitted into the Church againe. About ten yeares now past there was another in like manner received at Minhead in Somerset-shire. But are these two the tenth, or tenth of ten times ten of them that having played the Renegadoes are returned into their countrey, yet never gave any publike evidence of their true repentance?
13. It is a most undue and impious inference from Gods grace to sinners, to take occasion of sinning: which the holy Apostle doth with much indignation detest. For where to the magnifying of the grace of God, and comfort of such sinners, as almost to despair felt the intolerable burden of sin pressing upon their souls, he had said, Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound,