A20559:137
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 second reason is taken from the reward that God will bestow upon all such as worship him purely, hating Idolatry and false worship, that he will not only bless them, but theirs, to a thousands. Never forgetting to show mercy unto those that worship him purely, so that all their posterity shall fare the better for them.
The second reason is taken from the reward that God will bestow vpon all such as worship him purely, hating Idolatrie and false worship, that he will not onely blesse them, but theirs, to a thousands. Neuer forgeting to shew mercy vnto those that worship him purely, so that all their posteritie shall fare the better for them.
Thou shalt not make to thy self any graven Image, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above. First, in that God doth set down so largely and so plainly, & in so many words this commandment, he shows how exceeding ready we are to fall into the breach of it. Hence then we may gather this doctrine, that our nature is wonderful prone to Idolatry, and we are very apt and ready to worship God falsely and superstitiously, for if it were not so, then why would not God content himself to be as short here as he is in most of the rest: but we see for this and the sabbath, how largely he sets them down, & how he mounds and fenceth them on every side, with strong reasons; which doth declare that he knows us very willing on any least occasion, to break out from keeping of them: as we may mark here. First he saith, Thou shalt make to thy self no Image: No, might some carnal man say, indeed we vvill make no Image of any earthly thing, for these cannot set out God well enough, but for heavenly things, those be more excellent; ⟨image 37⟩therefore to prevent this, God shuts out all excuses, & saith, that no man must make the Image of any thing in heaven, or in earth, or in the sea, or in any place whatsoever. But yet flesh would shift and say indeed it is true, we must make no resemblance or Image, or piece of an Image of any thing, but this is meant that it must not be done to that intent to give any divine worship to the Image it self, and to honour that as God, but we may make these Images to help us in worshipping God. Nay, saith God, thou shalt not bow down nor worship them. j. neither give them the greatest honour nor the least honour, nor any honour at all: so that God meets with every objection, that our flesh might have no pretence of breaking this commandment, left it.