A20559:218
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.
First, for life, a christian is bound here to behave himself so, that his whole conversation may bring glory to the name of God. He must so profit in knowledge and conscience by the word of God, which he professeth, & make such a good proceeding in pure religion, as that he may beautify his religion by a blameless and unspotted behaviour. Thus in Mat. 5. Christ saith, Let your light so shine forth, that men ⟨image 62⟩may see your good works, and glorify your father which is in heaven. He would have christians be as lights, and the light which they must send forth on every side must be a gracious, and christian behaviour, that men seeing & beholding these beams, may glorify, not them, and commend them, for this a Pharisee will do, seek to have men magnify him, and speak well of him; but a christian must desire that by his means men may be brought to magnify the profession of God, and to speak and think most reverently of that word, that hath wrought such grace and such reformation in them. The life must be the first beginner in religion, or else the speech is but ridiculous; as the Lord saith, What hast thou to do, to take my words within thy mouth, and hatest to be reformed; One goes beyond his calling and commission, when he dare call himself a christian, and God his father, and will not yield obedience unto his commandments in his practise. So 1. Peter. 2. 12. Have your conversation honest among the gentiles &c. that they may glorify God in the day of their visitation. q. d. There be many of Gods elect that are as yet unregenerate, and as bitter against Gods truth, as any of the reprobates, and will speak as ill of profession and professors as any other, but God will visit them hereafter by his good spirit, and the sun of grace shall shine in their dark harts, to their enlightening; and Gods word shall work faith & repentance in their harts, who when God hath showed the same mercy to them that in former time he did to you, shall magnify God for those good things that have been in you, which have caused them that bare an hard mind to religion afore, to love and like it so much the more now. And though they stand out long, yet at length they shall be won, and then they will magnify God.
FIrst, for life, a christian is bound heere to behaue himselfe so, that his whole conuersation may bring glorie to the name of God. He must so profit in knowledge and conscience by the word of God, which he professeth, & make such a good proceeding in pure religion, as that he may beautifie his religion by a blamelesse and vnspotted behauiour. Thus in