A20559:552
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.
Now the means to purge ones heart and to make it clean and pure from such filthy affections, is first, to pray to God often and earnestly, to punish the heart and to sanctify it by his holy spirit. Then secondly, to be faithful and diligent in some honest and lawful calling that may busy the heart upon some thing lawful and profitable; for idleness is the mother of foul lusts. As a standing pool not having any course of running grows filthy of it self and full of toads and newts and filthy vermin; so the heart that is not taken up in some good and honest calling, is a fit place for the devil to breed and engender all monstrous and filthy lusts, idleness procures lust nothing more; as what was the reason why the Sodomites grew so filthy & unclean, that no people ever were so filthy and beastly, but because having the most fruitful and abundant country in the world (for it was like the garden of God) that yielded them all commodity and profit, grew rich, and then like foolish men, as all natural men use, grew idle and to settle themselves to nothing but there ease and delight, for their nature was no worse then any of others; but their idleness so corrupted their hearts, as the devil had leisure to cast in, and they to pursue all monstrous and unclean desires whatsoever, and that was the cause that they were so outrageous. Also temperance in ⟨p. 53⟩meat and drink, and watching and fasting. These means by Gods blessing will slay these lusts, and empty the heart of such ill desires, that one shall have a pure and chaste heart.
Now the meanes to purge ones heart and to make it cleane and pure from such filthie affections, is first, to pray to God often and earnestly, to punish the heart and to sanctifie it by his holy spirit. Then secondly, to be faithfull and diligent in some honest and lawfull calling that may busie the heart vpon some thing lawfull and profitable; for idlenesse is the mother of foule lusts. As a standing poole not hauing any course of running growes filthie of it selfe and full of toades and neuts and filthie vermine; so the heart that is not taken vp in some good and honest calling, is a fit place for the diuell to breede and engender all monstrous and filthie lusts, idlenesse procures lust nothing more; as what was the reasō why the Sodomits grew so filthie & vncleane, that no people euer were so filthy and beastly, but because hauing the most fruitfull and abundant contrrie in the world (for it was like the garden of God) that yeelded them all commoditie and profit, grew rich, and then like foolish men, as all naturall men vse, grew idle and to settle themselues to nothing but there ease and delight, for their nature was no worse then any of others; but their idlenesse so corrupted their hearts, as the diuell had leasure to cast in, and they to pursue all monstrous and vncleane desires whatsoeuer, and that was the cause that they were so outragious. Also temperance in