A30241:379
CXLV expository sermons upon the whole 17th chapter of the Gospel according to St.…
CXLV expository sermons upon the whole 17th chapter of the Gospel according to St. John, or, Christs prayer before his passion explicated, and both practically and polemically improved by Anthony Burgess ...
London: printed by Abraham Miller for Thomas Underhill, 1656
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Sermon 15: More Reasons of the Necessity of Divine Knowledge; And the Causes of Ignorance,
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.
First, Many are therefore so ignorant in matters of Religion, 1because they understand not the damnable estate this ignorance puts them into; So that the ignorance of their dangers makes them also ignorant of the remedy; As Austin said of Original sin, It was peccatum causa peccati, and poena peccati, 2the same is true of Ignorance; It's a sin in its own nature, because contrary to that command of God, which doth so often require that we should know him, and then it's a cause of sin, yea, of all sin; It's because men do not know God, that therefore they are so bold to transgress his Laws. Lastly, It's the punishment of sin for all that black darkness and confusion we are in, is, because of our revolt from God, Ignorance then keeping man off from the true understanding of his misery, makes him the more secure and content in it: If thou didst know what curses hang over thy head, If thou didst know what a gulf is between God and thee, In what utter darkness thou art in here, which will be rewarded with utter darkness hereafter, thou wouldst have no rest within thy self.
First, Many are therefore so ignorant in matters of Religion, 1because they understand not the damnable estate this ignorance puts them into; So that the ignorance of their dangers makes them also ignorant of the remedy; As Austin said of Original sinne, It was peccatum causa peccati, and poena peccati, 2the same is true of Ignorance; It's a sinne in its own nature, because contrary to that command of God, which doth so often require that we should know him, and then it's a cause of sinne, yea, of all sinne; It's because men do not know God, that therefore they are so bold to transgresse his Laws. Lastly, It's the punishment of sinne for all that black darknesse and confusion we are in, is, because of our revolt from God, Ignorance then keeping man off from the true understanding of his misery, makes him the more secure and content in it: If thou didst know what curses hang over thy head, If thou didst know what a gulf is between God and thee, In what utter darknesse thou art in here, which will be rewarded with utter darknesse hereafter, thou wouldst have no rest within thy self.