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,…

It is not for us, as we do, to put the remembrance of this far from us, or to shift it lightly by turning over to a Psalm of mercy, but to terrify our own souls with it, and to cast our selves down with the trembling consideration of his judgements. Of one example without a precept nothing is to be concluded, and therefore in great wisdom that men at the last gasp should not utterly despair, the Lord hath left us but one example of exceeding & extraordinary mercy by saving the thief on the cross¹ by faith only: yet the perverseness of all our nature may be seen by this, in that this one serveth us to looseness of life in hope of the like, whereas we might better reason, that is but one and that extraordinary, and that besides this one there is not one moe in all the Bible; and that for this one that sped, a thousand thousands have missed: & what folly is it to put our selves in a way, where so many have miscarried? To put our selves in the hand of that Physician, that hath murdered so many, going clean against our own sense and reason, whereas in other cases we always lean to that which is most ordinary, and conclude not the spring of one swallow. It is as if a man should spur his ass till he speak, because Balaam's ass did once speak: so grossly hath the devil bewitched us. And yet, if we mark in that example which the devil so oft tempteth us with, we shall see even in that little time² he lived, sundry good works, as many as in that time & case would be required: first, prayer, secondly, confession: thirdly, glorifying of Christ: fourthly, humility, remember me▪ fifthly,³ reproving of his fellow: sixthly, acknowledging of his own deserts: seventhly, patience. And it is to be thought by these few, that if he had lived, he would not have been behind any of the Saints. The root being holy, the branches must needs be like unto it. My sentence is, that a man lying now at the point of death, having the snares of death upon him; in that strait of fear and pain may have a sorrow for his life past, but because the weakness of flesh, and the bitterness of death doth most commonly procure it, we ought to suspect our selves if we never sorrow till then. And therefore let us store our selves with good things against the evil day come upon us, for our life past: