A02178:3431
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.
Not without cause then have I this jealousy, that when men are ready to deceive themselves they are in danger of being hardened, because the man of God here so joineth both together, that he should have •is steps directed, least that iniquity should have the dominion over him: for I take the whole verse to be but one request. The sooner we meet with temptation the better we shall over match it; the longer we continue and let it alone, the longer will be our conflict. If we begin betimes we shall easily conquer it; if we let it alone, ⟨p. 527⟩we shall easily be conquered. For it will either get ground of us, overreach us, and get the vantage, or else we must get ground and vantage of it: if it overcome us, we shall hardly recover our paces.
Not without cause then haue I this iealousie, that when men are readie to deceiue themselues they are in dāger of being hardned, because the mā of God here so ioyneth both together, that he should haue •is steps directed, least that iniquitie should haue the dominion ouer him: for I take the whole verse to be but one request. The sooner we meete with temptation the better we shall ouer match it; the longer wee continue and let it al•ne, the longer will be our conflict. If we begin betimes we shall easily conquer it; if we let it alone, ⟨p. 527⟩we shall easily be conquered. For it will either get ground of vs, ouerreach vs, and get the vantage, or else we must get ground and vantage of it: if it ouercome vs, wee shall hardly recouer our paces.
This is then the wisdom of God his spirit in his children, which men call preciseness,1 to set a wary and heedy watch over every affection that we think, over every word which we speak, over every deed we do, least we be deceived, and through deceit be hardened, and so iniquity get the dominion over us. Thus we see the Prophet desireth the gift of perseverance, acknowledging, that to continue is Gods gift, as well as to begin. And in that he desireth special mercy to persevere, he declareth that many begin well; but afterward iniquity getteth the upper hand, and they fall away: so that it is a peculiar mercy of God to preserve his to the end. And in praying as well here for the […] affections, as he did before for the direction of his judgment, he giveth us to understand, that if we purpose to persevere, we must no less look to our affections, than to our judgement This then is a double grace of God on whomsoever first to have our judgement enlightened, and then to have our affections touched.