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,…

5 It is our fault too much to commend every trifle, our tongues are our own, we call¹ evil good, if one be not an open offender, so that he draw not his sin after him with cart-ropes, though we see neither zeal nor fear of God in all his ways, we tremble not to call him a good man. In our flattering lips we speak nothing but superlatives, and think otherwise we commend not a thing to any purpose. But in the Dialect of the holy Ghost it is not so, he is no giver of titles, and yet this much of his mouth is more then seven swelling hyperboles from a vain man. This word (good) is his emphasis, and in this word he expresseth matter of most high commendation. If we should take upon us to speak of the workmanship of the Lord, in the creation of heaven and earth, and the Hosts of them, both, would we not use the statelyest words in all our store? Nay, could we find any words stately enough to express them? I tell you nay; but they are able to swallow up our understanding, and to make our tongues cleave to the roof of our mouth. And yet the holy Ghost reporting the creation of them all: as of Light, which is (saith Job) the Lords rose of² estate; of darkness, which is the swaddling bands of the Day, the out-going of the Evening and Morning, and declaring how he poured out the Heavens like molten glass, and set up the firmament as a water over us, how he laid the beams of his chamber in the waters, how³ he railed in the proud Seas with bars and doors, and planted plains in the midst of it,⁴ how he lighted those everlasting Cressets, the Sun and the Moon, and gave charge to the Stars not to fail in their watch; telling how he created the clouds to be the bottles of heaven, and divided spouts in them for the rain; how he laid up his treasures of Snow and of hail, and prepared the Forge for his Lightnings and Thunder, describing the creation of Plants from the Cedar of Libanus to the hyssop that groweth by the wall; of birds, from the Ostrich to the fly: of beasts, from Behemoth and Leviathan, to the little Eme•; And last of all, Man, the County Palatine of the whole world; and of the passing Wisdom ⟨p. 749⟩