A20559:96
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.
This serves to confute all ignorant persons that do not know God, they cannot tell how many persons there be, or if they do, they cannot tell what any of them did for them, they are not acquainted with the properties of God, nor with his actions, they never thought on his name, nor pondered on his trueth, his justice, his power, his mercy, and such like things. These may brag of love and faith, and hope, and confidence, and patience, but they have none of them, it cannot be, for all good things flow from this, that we do know God. Therefore Paul saith, 2. Thess. 1. 8. ver. That God will come with thousands of his Angels in flaming fire, rendering vengeance to all those that know not him, nor obey not his gospel, these things follow close, doth not one know God, then tis clear he doth not obey his gospel, he makes no conscience of that; Therefore an ignorant hart is always a sinful hart, & a man without knowledge, is a man without grace, and this ignorance is so foul a sin, as that it shall be sufficient to bring gods vengeance upon one, how ever light account men make of it, God will damn them for this, because they have not known, and then tis to to sure they could not nor would have regard to his commandments. And on the other side, this must stir us up to call for wisdom, and to cry for understanding, to seek for it, and to dig for it as for gold, or precious stones; We must often read Gods word, & confer of it, and meditate on it, which ⟨image 24⟩if we do it will give us understanding, & then we shall see gods properties, and see his goodness, & his love, and how able and willing he is to help us, and then we cannot choose but trust in him. And indeed this often meditating and thinking on Gods word, is the next way to make us like God, and to renew and repair the image of God in us. For by seeing Christ in the gospel, we are changed from glory to glory, and the more we know him, the more we increase in being like to him: so long as we know in part we are like in part, but when we shall have perfect knowledge, then shall we be perfect in holiness, and perfect in righteousness, perfect and holy as he is perfect. As 1. John he saith, Now it appeareth not what we shall be, but when he shall appear we shall be like him, and why like him?
This serues to confute all ignorant persons that doe not know God, they cannot tell how many persons there bee, or if they doe, they cannot tell what any of them did for them, they are not acquainted with the properties of God, nor with his actions, they neuer thought on his name, nor pondered on his trueth, his justice, his power, his mercie, and such like things. These may brag of loue and faith, and hope, and confidence, and patience, but they haue none of them, it cannot be, for all good things flow from this, that we doe know God. Therefore Paule saith,