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,…

and now¹ we are escaped safely, our brother is to come over the same bridge, and we pull it up, this² is a singular inhumanity, and a high point of profound malignity, though the Lord indeed will make him a new bridge of mercy, howsoever we show our malicious mind. Now to come to our selves: whether is it not usual with us to sacrifice with Cain, and yet to knock Abel on the head; and whether we say not Lord forgive, but we forgive not: we forget, but we forgive not; we forgive, but we forget not: as it pleaseth us thus to³ distinguish? and let these things speak whether we have mercy or no. And for giving, which is the other part, that it be certain, that God shows his will herein, that he would⁴ have our bowels opened to the poor, because he might have made all rich, as well as one rich, but that he left some poor to try us. He had enough in store, & could have made the poorest equal with the richest, but that he had met with us, that we need not to complain, and say (as some might haply have done) we want some, to whom we might show our thankfulness. The whole earth is the Lords, and what can we give him, our welldoing extendeth not to him, he needs it not, we can do him no good, but for his sake oh that we⁵ might do good to men. For this cause I say, the Lord hath given the poor a bill of his hand for the receiving of his right, which is due to himself, in these words: Whatsoever men do to one of these little ones, they do it to me. Neither hath the Lord only showed his liking of this kind of mercy, he hath given us reasons why we should so do, as Luk▪ 6 Give and it shall be given to you again: these are brethren, and therefore inseparable; if we give, it shall be given us again. If then we will drive away famine from the land, we must give, so that with this sacrifice the benefit of the whole country is purchased. But beside this, Matth. 19 it is said, Give to the poor and ye shall have treasure in heaven. So that we shall not only have mercy, if we show mercy, but the Lord himself will show himself exceedingly thankful to us for the same. And yet we see our diffidence herein: And as the seed is not the grounds that receives it, but his that sows it; so that, which is bestowed in mercy, is not so much his, upon whom the gift is bestowed, but his that bestoweth it.