A02178:2113
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.
As open sin committed in the sight and view of men hath always the punishment of an evil name joined with it: so also secret sins which are hidden as it were in the dark1 corners of our hearts, do bring us out of favour & credit with God: and when we be once out of credit with him, then doth he make our sins further known unto men. For nothing is so hidden that shall not be brought to light, and nothing so secret that shall not be discovered in the sight of the world. And that we may the better be persuaded of this, let us all know of a surety, that the Lord hath many means to bring such things to light▪ for he can make the fields to have eyes to see our wickedness, he can make the woods to have ears to hear our ungodly counsels: yea he can cause the walls of our bedchambers to bear witness against us for the sins committed upon our beds. If this will not serve, he can go further, and cause our friends to fall out with us, and the men of our counsels to bewray our wickedness. And though he hath not any such purpose when we make him privy to our naughty devices, yet in displeasure the Lord doth cause him all at once2 to lay open all our secrets. Yea rather than thou shouldest bear no reproach for thy secret faults, the Lord will cause thine own mouth to testify against thee, and thine own words shall get thee discredit: for either unawares thou shalt bewray thy self, or in thy sleep ⟨p. 263⟩by dreams thou shalt make the thing known, or in thy sickness thou shalt rave of it, or in some frenzy thou shalt vomit it out, or else the torment of thine own conscience shall be so sharp, that even to thine own shame thou shalt confess thy fault. Last of all, when thou thinkest or devisest evil against thy neighbour, though it be never so secretly, yet besides all the former, the Lord hath another means whereby he will bring thee to discredit for it. And this is a very vehement suspicion raised up in the heart of him, of whom thou devisest this evil: for as it oftentimes comes to pass, that good motions which arise secretly in thy mind for the good of another, do cause the other man to think well of thee, though he did never hear of them: so doubtless doth it o•ten come to pass in evil motions. Thou devisest evil against another, he in some strange manner hath a heartburning in jealousy over thee: