A02178:1742
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,…
The works of the reverend and faithful servant of Jesus Christ M. Richard Greenham, minister and preacher of the Word of God collected into one volume: revised, corrected, and published, for the further building of all such as love the truth, and desire to know the power of godliness. By H.H.The workes of the reuerend and faithfull seruant af Iesus Christ M. Richard Greenham, minister and preacher of the Word of God collected into one volume: reuised, corrected, and published, for the further building of all such as loue the truth, and desire to know the power of godlinesse. By H.H.
London: printed by Thomas Snodham and Thomas Creede for William Welby, 1612London: printed by Thomas Snodham and Thomas Creede for VVilliam VVelby, 1612
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.
The Israelites are said to have risen very early to their idolatry: the Prophets are reported to have stretched out their hands betimes in the morning. Wherefore for shame of the one, for the imitating of the other, let us stir up our selves more early on the Lord his day, as making the Sabbath our delight, Isaiah. 58. whereby we may be no less careful to bestow the first fruits of the day and the sweetness of the morning in the pure service of God, than Idolaters in their Idolatry, young men in their vanities, worldly men in their covetousness, & here tikes in their heresies use to do. If we thus shall examine our selves in our sins committed, & gifts of God received; if we shall humble our selves for the one, and be thank full for the other; if we shall survey our wants, pray for our pastors, prepare out selves, and use all these exercises in wisdom, and rising early (unless upon some special cause or weakness, which requireth rather our wholly keeping of our beds, than our1 uprising) let the experience of the after fruits and good increases of the public exercises2 speak, and let trial report, if the word be not more precious, our prayers more powerful, our receiving of the Sacraments more effectual, more profitable unto us. Now concerning those exercises which follow after, or come between those public means, they are either for the increase of faith and repentance to make the public means more profitable to us, or the exercises of love, whereby we may show some fruit of the other. The exercises ⟨p. 159⟩of faith and repentance are reading, comparing of things heard, examining and applying them to our selves, praying, thanksgiving, and meditating. First, I say, after our public hearing we must privately give our selves to reading of those things especially, which when we heard, we did not sufficiently understand: also to the comparing of place with place according as they were alleged, to the better trial of the doctrine received, and more establishing of our faith therein. To this end we must use private prayer for a sound judgement & pure affections, that the Lord would vouchsafe to work that upon our affections, which in judgement we have received. Neither must we forget to be thankful, in praising of God & singing of Psalms, for those things, whereby we either see our knowledge to be bettered, or our conscience touched.