A09376:343
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.
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.
Thirdly, man by nature denieth Gods iustice: for the iustice of God is to winke at sinne in no man, but to condemne and punish it, wheresoeuer he findes it, by inflicting the curses of the law vpon it. But man denieth this iustice; for though he sinne against Gods law, and his conscience tell him of it; yet hee perswades himselfe, there is no curse nor punishment due for it, at least that he shall escape it: nay though hee see neuer so many before him punished for the same sinne, yet (our nature is so blinde and so corrupt) hee 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 meere Idoll, a God made all of mercy, and which hath no iustice in him at all, & their sins they carelesly lay all on Christ, and say God is mercifull: and in this conceite they care not how ignorantly, how loosely, how profanely they liue; and their hearts neuer haue a reuerent and awefull thought of the iustice of God.
These are the pitiful imaginations, that all men by Nature have of God. All these may be proved by evident Scriptures: The first; in the Psalm, where David brings in the wicked, saying to themselves. God hath forgotten, he hides his face, 1