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,…

As those which would not have the law preached, were said to be of two sorts; so those that feel their sins are also of two sorts: for either they see sin in general, or else they are humbled more specially. Those which feel their sins, and have a taste thereof, and see them in general, and not specially; these must be cut on both sides, they must see sin on both sides, they must enter into the secrets of the heart, for they have not yet learned to discern of thoughts, they must even have their very hearts & thoughts laid open unto them. In the third to the Hebr. we are bidden not to harden our hearts at the word of God. Not to harden our hearts, that is, not only to hear the law preached unto our ears, & to go no further (for so it never profiteth us, nay it is the power of death unto death unto us) but we must suffer it to soak into us, to have his proper working, to pierce & to enter even to ⟨p. 335⟩the very secret cogitations of our hearts, that not only our wicked deeds, our unsavoury words, but also the fountain of all these, even our corrupt nature, our unbridled and untamed affections, our heart, which is wonderful faulty, may be made known unto us, that we may come to make conscience of our very thoughts, because the thoughts are grievous breaches of the law of God, who being a Spirit, hath made a law for our heart, for our thoughts, for our soul and conscience: and thus being very loth in the sight of God to offend by thoughts vain and ungodly, to strive with our flesh, and to have our affections subdued to the spirit, that so our heart being reformed, all our members may be conformable in every respect to the will and commandment of Almighty God. And thus far must we be humbled, if we will be truly humbled before the Lord. And truly if we be not rightly humbled before the Lord, we can hardly have any assurance, that we are the children of God. For without this humbling of us, having had some taste of the promises of God, we for the most part resemble the corn that our Saviour speaketh of sown in the stony ground, which for a time flourished, that is, made a fair face, as many hypocrites can do now; But having no root, nor nothing at all in truth, they show themselves how unable they are to stand, because they have no deepness of ground, the seed of the word never begun nor rooted in their hearts.

As those which would not haue the law preached, were said to be of two sorts; so those that feele their sinnes are also of two sorts: for either they see sinne in generall, or else they are humbled more specially. Those which feele their sinnes, and haue a taste thereof, and see them in general, and not specially; these must be cut on both sides, they must see sinne on both sides, they must enter into the secrets of the heart, for they haue not yet learned to discerne of thoughts, they must euē haue their very hearts & thoughts laid open vnto them. In the third to the Hebr. we are bidden not to harden our hearts at the word of God. Not to harden our hearts, that is, not only to heare the law preached vnto our eares, & to goe no further (for so it neuer profiteth vs, nay it is the power of death vnto death vnto vs) but we must suffer it to soke into vs, to haue his proper working, to pearce & to enter euen to