A20559:446
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.
But many there be that make no such account of him, & why? Because they feel no such need of him, they see no necessity of his labour, but that they may well spare him, they can see no good he doth; and no wonder, they can see none to whom nothing is good, but that which serves their flesh. For as they account of him so they profit by him, and just it is from God, that as they despise his minister, so he should them, and make them fruitless hearers of that word, which to better men wants not a most excellent fruit, according as Christ hath said: He that despiseth you, despiseth me, and he that despiseth me, despiseth him that sent me.
But many there be that make no such account of him, & why? Because they feele no such neede of him, they see no necessitie of his labour, but that they may well spare him, they can see no good he doth; and no wonder, they can see none to whom nothing is good, but that which serues their flesh. For as they account of him so they profit by him, and iust it is from God, that as they despise his minister, so he should them, and make them fruitlesse hearers of that word, which to better men wants not a most excellent fruit, according as Christ hath said: He that dispiseth you, dispiseth me, and he that dispiseth me, dispiseth him that sent me.
If they despise God how can they reverence the men of God? And hence it is that young upstart boys and girls, in many places are grown to that top of impudency and shamelessness in sinning and standing for sin, as that they dare set them selves against the minister of God, and oppose their life of purpose against his doctrine, and stand as stiffly for the dishonouring of God and the breach of the law of God, as he can stand for his law, whose life is nothing but a disgracing of their minister, that in public and view of all the world they might gainsay that in practise which he taught publicly; and even in the heat of the sermon when the reproof is yet fresh, and scarcely ended, then in the heat of their raging lust, to fall to the thing that was forbidden by God, and by his minister reproved. But why comes foolish youth and boys to be thus impudent? But that they are animated by the froward example of elder persons. As those young children that mocked Elisha the Prophet, how could they speak so basely and contumeliously of the reverend man of God, but that they heard such things at home by their governors, and must needs utter them when they come abroad. But was not this their boldness met with? Did not God pay them home though they were but children? for two bears came out of the wood and slew 40. of them. For when they dare profess themselves to be adversaries to the man of God and to the law of god, they must needs fail in every other duty, despising the person they must needs neglect the doctrine, and not reverencing the preacher, they cannot take good by his preaching.