A02178:3427
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.
My steps. Lo he prayeth here for affection and not for judgement, as he doth in a verse following, where he saith, Show the light of thy countenance upon me, and teach me thy statutes. Here the Prophet instructeth us as well to pray for affection to be moved by the word of1 God, as for judgement to understand it. For if this were not needful, then were this prayer but a vain babbling, and often repeating of one and the self-same thing, contrary to that rule of our Saviour Christ, Mat. 6. 7▪ When ye pray, use no vain repetitions, as the Heathen: for they think to be heard for their much babbling. Why doth this man then use this repetition? Surely because it is another matter greater than we think of▪ He saw there was much blindness in our minds, there is much rebellion in our affections, and great sluggishness in our hearts, that without light we cannot tread in the right path; yea though we be delivered from by-paths, if the candle be obscured, and our way darkened, yet we return to them again. For as a man being in the dark, may easily go out of the way, and being out, cannot easily come in again, but is fain to wander in unknown and uncertain places: so if God guide us not by his word and Spirit, we shall hardly find the right way of knowledge, and if we find it, we can hardly continue in it, but may easily go out of it, and being out, we can hardly recover it again. Wherefore hitherto appertaineth the saying of our Saviour Christ, Matth. 7 13 Enter in at the strait gate, &c. because the gate is strait, and the way narrow, that leadeth unto life: wherein as it is hard to continue; so to go on either side out of it, is most easy. We see then how he prayeth, that his paces might be guided by the word, and that the spirit of God might carry this lantern of the word before him, without whose guiding we cannot go three steps but we shall miss of our way, and leese the path, and being once out we may easily err, and once erring we shall not return ⟨p. 526⟩aright. Many would think this ridiculous, but Gods children know by experience that there is a necessary use of these things by reason of the blindness of our mind, and that it is a special grace of God to be guided by his spiritual grace.