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.

All these Words.

GOD spake not the first commandement onely nor the se∣cond or third and left there, but he spake them all, and gaue as great and strict a charge to keepe euery one as any one, and no one was vttered more by Gods voyce or written with his owne

singer one then other. The doctrine that ariseth hence, that whosoeuer will haue any true comfort by his obedience to Gods law, must not content himselfe to looke to one or two, but must make conscience and haue a care to keepe them all, and euery one first, because he that is the author of one, is the author also of all the rest, and hee that hath promised a reward for keeping one, hath promised a rewarde also for keeping all, and he that threatneth to punish the offender, doth not say, if thou breake this or that, thou shalt bee cursed, but hee that continueth not in all without exception, is accursed, and liuing and allowing him∣selfe in the breach of any one, shall bee sure to beare the wrath of God: for hee that doth many good things, yet allowing him∣selfe but to be disobedient in any one thing, hee stands in danger to reuolt continually, and to become a wicked and open perse∣cutor. As this was Herods case, hee did many things according to Iohns preaching, and did heare him gladly, and for all the other nine was reasonable willing to bee ruled: but for the seauenth there hee must needs haue a gappe, and hee kept this for cer∣taine, that let all the preachers in the world say what they would, hee would not bee brought to leaue his incest, but would still keepe his brothers wife. Therefore wee see how soone hee fell to breake first the third commaundement, in swearing to that light huswife, to giue her what euer she should aske, and then al∣so hee grew to persecute Iohn, and cut off his head, and when he had once taken leaue, to breake the seauenth, hee could not long sticke at the rest.

So the young man in the Gospell, hee thought himselfe in a good forwardnesse to heauen, and indeede hee had done many things, and had many good parts in him, so that Christ himselfe did loue him, but when Christ had tolde him one thing was lacking, and that hee must sell all that hee had, and if hee did so hee should bee no leeser by the bargaine, for hee should haue an inheritaunce, but then hee must know where his inheritaunce should lye, and whence hee must looke for his reuenues, name∣ly, from heauen, then hee looked sadly, and went his way. Hee could haue beene content to haue had that inheritaunce that

Christ spake of, so that hee might keepe his earthly inheritance to. But if the question were, whether hee would take heauen or earth? hee would rather leaue Heauen, then hee would part with earth: so that hee that is hollow, is alwaies in danger to backeslide.

And so Iames saith in his second Chapter, and tenth verse. Hee that keepes all, and breakes one is guiltie of all, not meaning that if one through infirmitie slip into any fault, hee was straight way guiltie of the whole Law, for so it may bee truely saide, that hee that breakes all through weakenesse, not allowing himselfe in it, but striuing against it, and crauing pardon, is guiltie of none, but this hee meanes, that whosoeuer seemes to keepe all the other commandements, yet will willingly main∣taine and beare with him selfe in the breach of one, hee did neuer performe any true obedience to any, though one bee no theefe, yet if hee bee an adulterer, or though hee bee no adul∣terer, yet if hee bee a Saboth breaker, hee breakes the whole law. For if one aske him, why doe not you commit adulterie? if hee say, because God commands that I should not, then hee would keepe the Saboth also, for they bee both alike the com∣mandements of God, but if it bee not because God commands, then hee doth not obey the law, but serue himselfe. Therefore hee that makes no conscience of all Gods lawes, hath no soundnesse and fidelitie in him, because hee doth not remember that God spake all these words.

The vse of this, is first to confute Popish religion, and to proue that they be altogether carnall and sinfull people, and make no conscience of any law of God. Because for the se∣cond commandement, they doth wholy allow themselues to breake that, for the scope and summe of that commandement is, that we should serue God, not according to our owne inuentions, but according to his commandement, but for their religion, what is it? but a meere deuice of mens braines, and what doth it consist of? but of the precepts of men. For where doth the word of God teach them to make Images, lay mens bookes, nay doth not God directly call them teachers of lies: and what warran••

haue they for their Masses and pilgrimages and such other stuffe whereof their religion doth depend. Therefore they bee hipo∣crites and make no conscience of any of Gods commandements. And most of them that be any thing deuout Papists make no care of the Sabboth, but haue more regard of their idle holy∣dayes vvhich the Pope hath appointed, thē of the Sabboth day vvhich God hath appointed. So far most carnall professours amongst vs, vvho almost is there that regards the Sabboth and careth to breake it, any further then the law of man will take hold of them, and some be afrayde least if it be knowne they shalbe reproued for it publiquely, and the Minister will let them heare of it in the Church, but if they could keepe themselues close from the Magistrate and Minister, vvould not most men vvillingly be following their businesse that day.

This is to proclayme themselues hipocrites and that they haue no feare of God nor regard of him in their hartes. O but they hope they are good Christians and doe keepe the law of God, for they doe not steale nor sweare nor lye, but doe they not know that God spake all these words, and therefore he hath no sound hart to God that settles not himselfe to keepe them all.

This must also teach vs, when we see that God doth not blesse vs according to his promises to those that feare him, then we must examine our selues diligently concerning our obedience to this his law, whether we liue not in some sinne, or whether some olde sinne lye not in vs which hath neuer bene repented, for certaine∣ly of all Gods plagues that he layes vpon vs for our neglect of this his law, wherefore when he strikes vs we must begin to looke to our obedience.

So did Iacob in Genesis: when his sonnes Simeon and Leuie had committed that cruell fact and he was therefore made odi∣ous in the sight of the people of the land, then he knowes that there could not be such trouble without if all were well within▪ therefore he begins to search his family and to see how all things went there, and then he perceues presently the cause of all these stirres, for his house was full of Idolatry, his wife had gotten his father in lawes Idols, and many of his people fell from the pure

worship of God to abhominable superstition, then no wonder if ther were such sturres without when ther was such disorder with∣in, therfore he purgeth his house of all this filthinesse, and buries all these Idolls in the ground that they might neuer hurt him or any of his any more. All this serues for the singuler comfort of all Gods children: that seeth these be Gods commaundemēts all as well as one, therefore they shall haue power also to obey them all as well as one, for that God which gaue vs power to o∣bey one can giue vs the like power to obey the rest, and that power which any hath to obey one, tis not frō him selfe but from the work of God in him.

And indeed God doth not giue vs these lawes that we should imagine we could obey thē our selues, but that seeing our owne wants we might goe to him for help, why then should not euery christian hope to be able to yeeld obedience to God, in what∣soeuer God commandeth him. As God witnesseth this of Da∣uid, that he was a man after Gods owne hart, in all things but in the matter of Ʋriah, he neuer sinned presumptuously but then, his hart was vpright in all things else, and likewise as it is spoken of Zacharie and Elizabeth that they were perfect and vnblame∣able in all things, not that they were quit from all infirmities, or had not their faults as well as any other, but they were vpright and sincere, their hart was true with God, and so God can and will giue grace vnto all his to obey euery one of his commaun∣dements with a true and vpright obedience. So that no man ought to discharge himselfe. Oh, for other things I haue some hope: I, that I shall ouercome them, but for this or that sinne I shall neuer get the better of that while I liue. Well then for other sinnes you hope you can ouercome them, but this is the point then, vvhether haue you power to subdue them by any vertue of your owne, or else from the vvorking of Gods spirit in you? If you say from your selfe, then you speake ignorant∣ly and foolishly, for flesh cannot kill any sinne, this must be the vvork onely of God. I but Christ Iesus did giue help to mee against those, but for this one thing I doubt: & vvhy should you doubt. Hee that gaue you abilitie to ouerrule your flesh in some

things, cannot he giue the like in all? Yea, this very mercy, that he gaue you a disposition and power to obey him in one thing, is a sure testimony to you that he vvill doe the like for all, onely if you aske it you neede not doubt.

So that this vvhich he saith, GOD spake all these words, is a merueylous incouragement to the Saincts, therefore feeling their vvants in any, they may goe to God and saie Lord, thou art the author of all these Commandements a like, and the keeping of them all pertaines vnto mee as well as to any other, but thou knowest O Lord that there is no power in mee to obey the least of them, therefore I come now for power from thee, to make mee obedient: and hence he shall haue power to keepe all as well as any one.