A02178:1878
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
Part 2 › Treatise 8: A TREATISE OF GODS FEAR.Part 2 › Treatise 8: A TREATISE OF GODS FEARE.
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.
A TREATISE OF GODS FEAR.
A TREATISE OF GODS FEARE.
The stile of Moses, Psal. 90. 11. doth vehemently set down the paucity of1 them that truly fear God: he saith who feareth, &c. we know the thing sought for and enquired after, is not known to the Asker; for then the question were vain and superfluous, and the very nature and institution of a question is to have relation evermore to the increase of knowledge in some thing not sufficiently known: wherefore it is like that Moses knew few fearing God aright, and in general this stile is very needful in all Gods things, for we are slenderly acquainted with them, but in evil things there is no question or enquiry to be made, as being a thing coming into the eyes, ears, and hearts of all men enough, and as we see by daily experience too much. Now if we will go from Moses time, to Davids time, we shall see he makes the like question, Psalm, 15. 1. Lord who shall dwell in thy tabernacle, &c. as one that saw a great want of men desiring that way, but come to the contrary: and Psalm 14. he showeth that all are gone out of the way, all are corrupt, there needs no question to be made of such. Go yet further to the days of Isaiah, and we see his stile to jump with both the former, as Isaiah, 53 Who hath believed our report? as though ⟨p. 195⟩they could hardly be found that would credit his words, but even in the very first chapter he was not afraid simply and without inquiry to say, that all were so full of sin, that there were no place void of wicked men from top to the toe. If we come to Christ his time, he saith in his days, Who is a true and faithful servant, who is a trusty servant, who when his Lord cometh, he shall find faithful but of the ambitious Pharisees we know there was great store. If we chronicle from Moses to Davids time, from David to Isaiah's time, from Isaiah to Christ his time, and from Christ to the end of the world, we shall find it a matter of controversy to have men fearing God; but of the other sort it is a thing without all manner of controversy. And here we must not think, that it might be, many feared God, but they knew not mens hearts: for God himself, the searcher of the heart, acknowledgeth the same that they do, as Isaiah saith, 59. 4. No man calleth for Justice, no man contendeth for trueth. 16. and when he saw there was no man, he wondered that none should offer himself: