A02178:1865
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.
that is, (as I interpret it, and most men of sound judgement think with me,) whether the faith be in thee, and whether ye have received the spirit of Christ which is his vicar. For by this ye shall know whether ye are worthy or unworthy, for surely he shall eat Christs flesh and drink his blood, that hath his spirit, But how shall we try our selves whether we have the spirit, or no? I answer according to that saying Ephes. 3. 17. When Christ dwelleth in our hearts by faith. And this now is enough, for having this, we have Christs spirit, and so Christ himself, and consequently we need not doubt of the other. Here it is good to take this word faith as largely as we can, and take it in as general a sense as the law, that is, for the whole word.1 And so first we are to sit in judgement on our selves according to the whole form of Gods justice, and it is good to take the record of our selves, and that catalogue which the devil himself hath in store against us, which yet indeed he hideth & will bring forth, because he reserveth it to lay it to our consciences in the hour of death, when all our sins shall flock together against us to drive us to despair▪ It is good I say according to the ten words of the law to frame ten several actions, indictments, arraignments, and so many several sentences of condemnation, and then we shall find a great spoil of obedience in us, and we shall see our selves marvellously to be defective, Thus having arraigned our selves, we must further consider how unkindly we have dealt with so kind a Saviour since our calling, and so pronounce a perpetual confusion due to us with a shame for that which is past, with a grief for that which is present, and with a fear of that which may come2 hereafter. And when we can bring our selves out of conceit with our selves, and have brought our selves into the worst taking that can be, then he is in the best taking, that taketh himself to be in the worst. For the principal purpose of our examination is to show us our indignity, and to bring our selves into the lowest conceit of our selves that can be. Having in truth pronounced this shame and confusion of face to be due unto us, God will suspend his judgement and cease from his sentence of anger, nay he will say, This man behold, hath condemned himself, I need not to condemn him: