The works of the reverend and faithful servant of Jesus Christ M. Richard Greenham,…The workes of the reuerend and faithfull seruant af Iesus Christ M. Richard Greenham,…

This examination of our sins past, must be partly of those that we committed before our calling, & partly of those which were done after our calling. Every man (especially having his reason reformed by the word of God) will grant an examination of the life, before¹ our true knowledge of God in Christ, to be most needful. But it may be, some will think that we need not to be so precise in the searching of those sins, which were after our knowledge. But seeing of all other sins these bite forest, and pierce deepest, for that they are aggravated with all the mercies of God going before, and sin is then most sinful, when after we know the trueth, after we have been delivered from sin, after we have been enlightened with the grace of God, we have fallen into it: I think that an examination most specially ought to be had of these sins. Wherefore to iterate our former examples in a new matter, as we may see the former kind of examining of our sins before our calling, in the sons of Jacob: so we have a pattern of the latter in the practise of the Prophet David, who at the hearing of his sins was so troubled in his spirit, that he could not rest in the Prophets speech, telling him that his sin was forgiven him, but still was disquieted, as one utterly forsaken of God, and could find no comfort of Gods spirit in him. For as it fareth often with sores, it cometh to pass in sins, we are loath² to have our wounds often grated upon, we cannot so well away to have our sores rifled, feared, and lanced; but fed with healing salves: so we are hardly brought to have our consciences ground, or our sins ransacked, sifted, searched, and ripped up; but would still have them plastered with sweet promises, and bathed in the mercies of God: whereas it is far safer before incarnative and healing medicines, to use corrosive and mundifying³ waters, without which though some sores may seem to close and skin up apace, yet they prove worse, and being rotten still at the core; they have above a thin skin, and underneath dead flesh. In like manner, we would cloak, we would hide and cover our sins, as it were with a curtain:

This examination of our sins past, must be partly of those that we committed before our calling, & partly of those which were done after our calling. Euery man (especially hauing his reason reformed by the word of God) will graunt an examination of the life, before