Mans Imaginations, Title page – Table of contents
A TREATISE OF MANS IMAGINATIONS.
SHEWING
His naturall euill thoughts:
His want of good thoughts:
The way to reforme them.
Framed and preached By M. Wil. Perkins.
Matth. 12. 33. Either make the tree good, and his fruit good, or els make the tree euill, and his fruit euill.
PRINTED BY IOHN LEGAT, Printer to the Vniuer sitie of Cambridge. 1607.
And are to be sold in Pauls Churchyard at the signe of the Crowne by Simon Waterson.
¶ To the right worshipfull S. Thomas Holcroft knight, with the vertuous Lady Elizabeth his wife: grace, and peace.
THat waightie charge of Salomon (Right worshipfull) to eueryevery sonn of wisdome, for theaPro. 4. 23. keeping of his heart aboue all watch and ward, may well perswade vsus, that some matters of great importance depend thereon: Among many (because my gates may not be great before so small a citie) I will touch one. There is a strange desire, not of earthly but of spirituall powers: after the possession of mans heart: God saith,bPro. 23. 26., my sonne giuegive me thy heart; and to him indeed the right belongs: Yet thorough mans transgressiō Satan hath got such hold therof, that vnlesse it be by diuine power hee will not be kept out; & though we heare not Satans voice, yet hiscSee Acts. 5. …. Luk. 22 3. dealing bewraies his meaning, that aboue all things in man he desires the heart. Once hee stroue about a dead mans body, dMoses body, Iude 9.but doubtles his purpose therein was to hauehave set vp an Idoll for himselfe in the hearts of the liuing. But what is mans heart that it should be so desired? Surely in substance little, but for imployment almost infinite: It is a Treasure eMat. 12. 35.whereout man bringeth all his actions good, or evill: It is a temple wherin is either the Arke of God, Hinc fons boni, & peccandi origo. Hieron. ad demetriad.or Dagon for the Deuill: Yea, it is afAugust. in p…. 148. pallace wherein dwelleth, and a throne whereon sitteth either Christ, or Satan, thegPsal. 24. 7. king of glory, or thehEphes. 6. 2▪ prince of darknes: andiQui, posse di… ipse imperabit ibid. Aug. he that keeps possession will there excercise dominion. Neither may we thinke that one heart wilsuffer both these;kMat. 6. 24. no man can serue two masters; God will hauehave all or none;lQuia …it ibi p…rs aliqua Diabolo discedit Dens iratus; & possidet to…u… diabolus. August in Ioh. if any part be shared from him, in high dispeasure he leaues the rest, and so the whole falls to the deuil. Now sith the case standeth thus with mans heart, doth it not neerly cō cerne eueryevery one to know his owne estate in this behalfe: to wit; what kind of treasury, whose Temple; whose pallace and throne his heart is, that if all be wel he may reioyce, & so keepe it for the Lord; if otherwise, then seeke redresse betime.
To this purpose serues this present treatise: wherein as in a glasse may first be seene, the fearfull state of mans naturall heart, The summe of this Treatise.full frought with euill thoughts, void of good consideration and so most fit for Satan: Then after doe those blessed meanes appeare, whereby mans naturall heart may be reformed, to become the temple of God, the seat of grace, and amCant. 6. 1. bed of spices for the welbe loued to feed vpō. And these are points of that importance, that whosoeuer neglecteth them, may say farewell grace; & bid adue to god himselfe: for in the hart, if at all in man, …ust these be seated.
Now the publishing hereof being cōmitted vntounto me, I present the same vntounto your worships, and vnderunder your protection desire to commend it to the church of God. It would too much enlarge my gates to annex the manifold reasons which mooue me to this choise on your behalfe; onelyonly this I pray; (that seeing it is the first fruits of my labours in this kind wherein I had full power of free choise in my dedicatiō) it may intimate to you both, mine vnfained hearts desire of that ever-lasting good I wish vntounto your soules; and also testifie in part my thankful mind for your manifold fauours to me, and mine who depend vponupon you.
Now God Almighty blesse your worships with your children and familie, according to your seuerall necessities of his merciemercy and goodnes, for soule and body, in this life and for euer. Cambridge. Aug. 20. 1606.
Your worships in the Lord Thomas Piersonn.
To the Reader.
KNow (good reader) that for my furtherance in the publishing of this tract at, I had the authors owns draught of the plat-forme of it; beside two perfect copies of all his sermons. I hauehave for plainesse sake devided it into Chapters and sections: for the better effecting whereof, I was constrained to transpose two of the vses, otherwise I doubt not, but eueryevery one that heard it preached, will iudge me to hauehave dealt faithfully with the God…y author. The Lord blesse it to thy good.
¶The Contents of this treatise.
CHAP. I.
The vnfolding of the text whereon the treatise is grounded. pag. 1.
CHAP. II.
The Illnesse of mans naturall thoughts: and how they may be knowen. pag. 19.
CHAP. III.
Mans naturall euil thoughts concerning God. pag. 30.
CHAP. IV.
Mans naturall thoughts concerning his neighbour pag. 101.
CHAP. V.
Mans natural thoughts concerning himselfe pag. 122.
CHAP. VI.
Mans naturall want of good thoughts or consideration; with the fruit thereof. pag. 152.
CHAP. VII.
The vse of the doctrine of mans natural Imaginatiōs. pag. 165.
CHAP. VIII.
Rules for the reformation of evill thoughts. pag. 184.
CHAP. IX.
Of spirituall considerations concerning God. pag. 201.
CHAP. X.
Of spirituall consideration concerning our selues. pag. 218.
Gen. 8. 21. And the Lord said in his heart, I will henceforth curse the earth no more for mans cause: for the Imagination of mans heart is euill euen from his youth.