A20559:444
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.
For the people, that it is their duty to pray to God, and be thankful for their minister it is plain. Heb. 13. 18. where this commandment is given: Pray for us, for we are assured that we have a good conscience &c. And Paul to Philemon saith: That he hopes through their prayers to be given unto them. and 2. Thes. 3. 1. ⟨p. 22⟩He wills them to pray for him that he may have free passage, and that he may be delivered from unreasonable men. And to Timothy. 2. 1. he wills that prayers be made for all in authority, that as God hath set them over us as governors, so he will govern their hearts, and order their proceedings aright. This confutes those people, that a long time have lived under a ministry, but all that space cannot say that they have once offered up a true and hearty prayer to God for their pastor, that he might be furnished with gifts for the faithful discharge of so great and weighty an office, never spoken to God in his behalf, to give him a door of utterance to deliver aright, and divide the word of truth, to be with his meditations, and direct his tongue that he might to their consciences, and for their edifying. And again if at any time God have poured down more plentiful grace upon their minister, that he hath been better stirred up to teach them, and hath spoken with more power and zeal then ordinary, more earnestly reproving their sins, and exhorting them to repentance; yet they take it but as an ordinary thing, and let it pass without any notice, as though it were not any mercy of God to prepare the ministers mouth to speak to their conscience. And because they be thus slack in desiring, and negligent in thanksgiving for so great a favour, God doth justly deprive them of a great part of the blessing that have carelessly omitted a great part of their duty. So for the ministers of the word, many be there that can say they have preached many sermons, and delivered many doctrines and admonitions to their parishioners; given them many good exhortations. But who of many can say as Jerome did, My soul shall weep for you in secret; if public preaching will not prevail, I will try what private weeping can do, and if I cannot move them by speaking to them to amend, I will move God with many tears in secret to convert them. And thus much for the common duties of both. The particular follow.