A20559:695
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.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbours house nor his wife nor his servant nor his Ox nor his Ass nor any thing that is his:
Thou shalt not couet thy neighbours house nor his wife nor his seruant nor his Oxe nor his Asse nor any thing that is his:
This forbids the least thoughts, and motions of the hart against our neighbour through any consent or yielding of the will. And commands such a contentedness with our own estate as that we never have the smallest motion ten ding to the hurt of our neighbour in any sort, yea that we have such a love to our neighbour, as we never think of him or any thing belonging to him, but with desire of his good every way, to covet, signifies to have a motion of the heart without consent of will.
THis forbids the least thoughts, and motions of the hart against our neighbour through any consent or yeelding of the will. And commands such a contentednes with our owne estate as that we neuer haue the smallest motion tē ding to the hurt of our neighbour in any sort, yea that we haue such a loue to our neighbour, as we neuer thinke of him or any thinge belonging to him, but with desire of his good euery way, to couet, signifies to haue a motion of the heart without consent of will.
From this then that God forbids coveting we learn that the ⟨p. 98⟩first motion and inclination of the heart to any sin though a man never yield to it, or plot and cast about how to bring it to pass, is a sin. And the reasons are plain; first, because God hath forbidden it, as in Rom 7. Paul saith, he had not known lust to be a sin, but that the law saith, thou shalt not lust. He knew, and many heathen men that never heard of Gods law, did confess that the inward thoughts, joined with consent and full purpose to do them if occasion served, were sins; but for those that did but as it were pass through the hart and staid not there, had no place of abode yielded to them, but were shut out so soon as they entered, he could never be persuaded that these were faults, & provoked Gods wrath, but that by the law he knew God had said and then he believed it. Secondly, if one examine these by that general rule, do as you would be done by, he shall see that they agree not with it. For no man would be willing to have an other man, conceive the least flying conceit or thought that might hurt him, though he never went about to put in practise; & therefore also must be driven to confess that it is a sin in him to have such thoughts towards an other. 3, if we consider the cause it will appear what they be. They are fruits of original sin and proceed from natural corruption; now who can draw a clean thing out of an unclean thing, who can pull good fruit out of a bad tree? (being then effects of our natural pollution that we received from Adam, for if we had continued in innocency we should have been perfect without any such motion of the inward heart,) they are naught; for what ever comes from sin is sin. Lastly, if the effects be marked they shall appear to be evil. Now Saint