A86531:509
The saints dignity and duty· Together with the danger of ignorance and hardness. /…The saints dignitie and dutie· Together with the danger of ignorance and hardnesse. /…
The saints dignity and duty· Together with the danger of ignorance and hardness. / Delivered in several sermons: by that reverend divine, Thomas Hooker, late preacher in New-England.The saints dignitie and dutie· Together with the danger of ignorance and hardnesse. / Delivered in severall sermons: by that reverend divine, Thomas Hooker, late preacher in New-England.
London: printed by G.D. for Francis Eglesfield, 1651
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Culpable Ignorance, OR, The danger of Ignorance under Means.
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.
To answer this in two or three words. It is true I confess, there is many a cursed hypocrite that hath a great measure of knowledge; and yet in very deed hath no true understanding at all. For the knowledge whereby such men are enlightened, differs much from that information and understanding which the Saints of God have. For look as there is wild thyme and garden thyme, both of the same name, and both growing after the same manner, yet very different in their nature and qualities: so it is with knowledge; there is a gracious and a sanctifying knowledge, garden knowledge, as I may say; and there is a wild and a common knowledge. I will open it a little, in two or three words. If you go no further, but consider the understanding of both barely, you shall clearly perceive a main difference, between a Saint of God and an Hypocrite.
To answer this in two or three words. It is true I confesse, there is many a cursed hypocrite that hath a great measure of knowledge; and yet in very deed hath no true understanding at all. For the knowledge whereby such men are inlightned, differs much from that information and understanding which the Saints of God have. For look as there is wild thime and garden thime, both of the same name, and both growing after the same manner, yet very different in their nature and qualities: so it is with knowledge; there is a gracious and a sanctifying knowledge, garden knowledge, as I may say; and there is a wild and a common knowledge. I will open it a little, in two or three words. If you goe no further, but consider the understanding of both barely, you shall cleerly perceive a main difference, between a Saint of God and an Hypocrite.
1. An Hypocrite, and a carnal man, like Judas, may thus far have his understanding enlightened, concerning all the truths of life and salvation, that are either discovered or made known out of the Book of God, as to perceive the sense of ⟨p. 207⟩the words that are set down, and understandingly to discourse of the meaning of the Scripture, and reason of the points therein contained, and that more freely and abundantly in outward appearance, then many of the dear Saints and Servants of God are able to do: and yet all this is but that which the Apostle Paul calls a form of knowledge,