A02178:3530
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.
We need not here speak of the great zeal of Moses, Phinehas, and other of the servants of ⟨p. 549⟩God. We see and know the cause of this love in the man of God, was the pureness of the word. We heard in the first verse, that the judgements of the Lord were righteous, we have heard in the second verse, that the testimonies of the Lord contained a special righteousness, we shall hear in the sixth verse, that the righteousness of the Lord is an everlasting righteousness, we may see in the seventh verse, that it made him delight in trouble, and in the eight verse, that the righteousness of the Lord is everlasting. Wherefore doth he this? as we have already said to strengthen his Faith: for after he had said, that the rivers of tears through zeal and grief burst out of his eyes, he addeth and rehearseth these things. What shall we say, they are vain repetitions? Nay, we know the holy Ghost reproveth1 them Math. 6. We see then that in so oft commending the word of God, the Prophet showeth to us our unbelief, which he felt so much in himself. When do idle repetitions so much displease the Lord? Surely, when our tongues walk idly, and in our prayers we speak we know not what. But when a mans heart is full of sorrow, and fraught with grief of his sins, or earnestly longeth after a thing, then let us cry, Lord have mercy upon me, then let us pour out our spirits, & say: Son of David have mercy upon me: Lord I believe, help my unbelief. Thus when the heart is loth to be overcome of unbelief, and when it desireth to show forth his sorrow, or when Gods children would exercise their Faith, or feel in themselves any rare joy, which they would gladly express, then they use many repetitions, as we may see both in the book of Chronicles and the Psalms, Praise ye 2the Lord, because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever: where we shall see in 26. verses this still repeated: for his mercy endureth for ever. What shall we say now, that here is any needless repetition? No: well, we see here then, that we must not speak simply against repetitions, but in great wisdom of the Spirit, because the heart of the godly cannot satisfy it self with Faith and feeling of Gods promises, unless it breaketh forth as a fire into many speeches.