A02178:1745
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 Prophet Isaiah. chap. 1. 2. 3. saith, Hear, O heavens, and hearken, O earth, &c. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his masters crib: but Israel hath not known: my people hath not understanding. In which place we are schooled of insensible creatures, how we should do1 our duty unto God. Wherefore it is good to consider, how in six days we have had our •east obedient unto us, and how disobedient we are to the Lord. O God how have thy creatures attended on us, when we speak to them, they heard us, when we did whip them, they followed us, in all our business they attended on us, and yet we have not listened to the calling us by the word, we have not profited by thy chastisements, nor attended upon thy commandments. The stork, saith the Lord by Jeremiah the prophet, knoweth his time, but my people knoweth not me. And experience may make us blush to see, how the birds against the stormy winter may convey themselves unto warmer climates until the spring time, and man alone either unsensibly doth not foresee, or unadvisedly will not ⟨p. 160⟩avoid the perilous times to come. To conclude, Matth. 16. 2. 3. our Saviour Christ reprehendeth the folly of Pharisees, saying, When it is evening, ye say, Fair weather: for the sky is red. 3. And in the morning ye say, To day shall be a tempest: for the sky is red and louring, O hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky, and can ye not discern the signs of the times? True it is, that this spiritual use and holy meditation of the creatures of God should be our whole life: howbeit because our distractions in our lawful and ordinary callings will not permit this so fully in respect of our finite nature, we must remember on the Sabbath day to use a recovery, and by Christian diligence to make recompense for our former negligence herein. And in so heavenly a variety, which both by precept and practise we have received of our forefathers for this purpose, we shall much profit and set forward this exercise, if in wisdom of the spirit we endeavour to frame our meditations especially about those things, whereof by reason of our callings, in respect of our countries, in consideration of the season of the year we have most special occasion offered.