A09376:342
A cloud of faithful witnesses, leading to the heavenly Canaan, or, A commentary upon…A cloud of faithfull witnesses, leading to the heauenly Canaan, or, A commentarie vpon…
A cloud of faithful witnesses, leading to the heavenly Canaan, or, A commentary upon the 11 chapter to the Hebrews preached in Cambridge by that godly, and judicious divine, M. William Perkins ; long expected and desired, and therefore published at the request of his executors, by Will. Crashawe and Tho. Pierson, preachers of Gods Word, who heard him preach it, and wrote it from his mouth.A cloud of faithfull witnesses, leading to the heauenly Canaan, or, A commentarie vpon the 11 chapter to the Hebrewes preached in Cambridge by that godly, and iudicious divine, M. William Perkins ; long expected and desired, and therefore published at the request of his executours, by Will. Crashawe and Tho. Pierson, preachers of Gods Word, who heard him preach it, and wrote it from his mouth.
London: printed by Humphrey Lownes for Leo. Greene, 1607London: printed by Humfrey Lownes for Leo. Greene, 1607
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.
Secondly, men by nature deny Gods power, thus: When a man offends a Magistrate by breaking any law which may deserve death, or some great punishment, he is sore afraid; and all his care is, how he may escape his punishing hand. But, let a man offend God never so much, by breaking carelessly all his holy commandments, he never fears at all, nor trembles at the punishment belonging unto them. How can this be? but that howsoever he grants there is a God, yet he is not persuaded that God hath power to revenge the contempt of his laws, & therefore he never fears nor shrinks at the remembrance of him, nor flieth at all from ⟨p. 82⟩his revenging hand, but ploddeth on in sin without fear.
Secondly, men by nature denie Gods power, thus: When a man offendes a Magistrate by breaking any law which may deserue death, or some great punishment, hee is sore afraide; and all his care is, how hee may escape his punishing hand. But, let a man offend God neuer so much, by breaking carelesly all his holy commaundements, he neuer feares at all, nor trembles at the punishment belonging vnto them. How can this be? but that howsoeuer he graunts there is a God, yet he is not perswaded that God hath power to reuenge the cōtempt of his laws, & therfore he neuer feares nor shrinks at the remembrance of him, nor flieth at all from ⟨p. 82⟩his reuenging hand, but ploddeth on in sin without feare.
Thirdly, man by nature denieth Gods justice: for the justice of God is to wink at sin in no man, but to condemn and punish it, wheresoever he finds it, by inflicting the curses of the law upon it. But man denieth this justice; for though he sin against Gods law, and his conscience tell him of it; yet he persuades himself, there is no curse nor punishment due for it, at least that he shall escape it: nay though he see never so many before him punished for the same sin, yet (our nature is so blind and so corrupt) he thinks, for all that, it shall not light on him. And it is lamentable, yet most true, that the God of the ignorant men is a mere Idol, a God made all of mercy, and which hath no justice in him at all, & their sins they carelessly lay all on Christ, and say God is merciful: and in this conceit they care not how ignorantly, how loosely, how profanely they live; and their hearts never have a reverent and awful thought of the justice of God.