A20559:102
The bright star which leadeth wise men to our Lord Jesus Christ, or, A…
The bright star which leadeth wise men to our Lord Jesus Christ, or, A familiar and learned exposition on the ten commandments gathered from the mouth of a faithful pastor by a gracious young man, sometime scholar in Cambridge.The bright star which leadeth wise men to our Lord Jesus Christ, or, A familiar and learned exposition on the ten commandements gathered from the mouth of a faithfull pastor by a gracious young man, sometime scholler in Cambridge.
London: printed by John Harison for Thomas Man, 1603London: printed by Iohn Harison for Thomas Man, 1603
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.
The fourth mark of our love to God whereby we shall in deed make trial of our love to him is, how we love his coming. How we desire the appearance of Christ to judge the quick and dead. And how we desire to be dissolved & be with Christ. What desire we have either to go unto him, or to have him come to us. For if our hart be set truly upon any thing, that thing we cannot choose but desire, and be willing to have it with us. Love draws the mind to that which is loved. So Paul when the love of God waxed warm in his hart, he desired to be dissolved and to be with Christ. So in the Revelation, ⟨p. 18⟩the spirit, and the Church, and the bride, and all say, Come Lord, come quickly: and in the natural marriage, in which the love is much more weak and slender, yet this is manifest, for if the wife love her husband, when he is gone far off she will be desirous of his return, and will be glad to have his company: if this be so in the natural marriage, where there be many infirmities and crosses, yet they do wish for the company one of another, how much more in the spiritual marriage, where there is such perfection now in the one party, as he is full of love and mercy, and also shall free the other party from all miseries and wants, and infirmities, when they shall be joined fully together, and fill them full of all virtues and graces, in this marriage I say, how can one choose but long after this perfect and happy meeting, how can he stay himself that hath any love & assurance of these things, but he shall be ready to fly up into heaven, & the flame of his desire will burn above the clouds, to wish that God would come and dwell with us. If the wife should say, I love mine husband as well as any woman in the world, O but how say you, your husband hath been from you a long time, but at such a time he will return. O I pray you speak not of that, you will make me sick if you talk of it, indeed I love him, but I care not how far of from me he be, who would not perceive that this were mere dissembling & no true love indeed, can a woman love her husband, and not desire his company? So if we will bear others in hand, that we love God above all, and no man loves God better then we, yet we never desire to come at him, or to have him come at us: what a love is this? a very weak love it is sure or none.
The fourth mark of our loue to God wherby we shall in deed make triall of our loue to him is, how we loue his comming. How we desire the appearance of Christ to judge the quick and dead. And how we desire to be dissolued & be with Christ. What desire we haue either to goe vnto him, or to haue him come to vs. For if our hart be set truly vpon any thing, that thing we cannot chuse but desire, and be willing to haue it with vs. Loue drawes the minde to that which is loued. So Paull when the loue of God waxed warme in his hart, he desired to be dissolued and to be with Christ. So in the Reuelation,