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,…

10 Our Saviour CHRIST saith, our righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, therefore not to exceed the Pharisees, not to exceed Heretics, nay not to exceed the Heathen men, but to want even the out ward good things which they have, showeth that all our Religion is in vain. And yet to cleanse hand, foot, eye, tongue, and all without, is called but the cleansing of the outside of the platters. But we must not rest here. We must go yet further, and be pure in heart: for Blessed are the pure is heart: such shall receive the blessing. We had great need to cleanse our spirits: for as they retained the image of GOD before sin came, so now being corrupted, they are most corrupt. For every thing degenerating into a contrary Nature to that, which it was, is made most contrary. The honey a very sweet thing, yet when it is often purified, ⟨p. 806⟩many have a most bitter matter of it. So GOD his nature is gentle, and he is long ere he be provoked to wrath: but when he is angry, who is able to abide his wrath? down go mountains and hills, and all before him: so the perfectest part of man being evil, is of all things most abominable to the Lord. This deceives all men, to think some good thing is left in them. But if the tongue which speaketh out of the abundance of the heart, have but the overplus and superfluity of the heart, be a world of wickedness, (as S. James saith) how much wickedness think ye is in the heart? Nay; the sin of the spirit is so evil, that the Lord hates the small smoking steams of it, even the very evaporations which ascend out of it. There be some motes in it, which in the dark cannot be seen, as in time of superstition, because of their palpable ignorance, they cannot be discerned: but when the Sun beams come, those little motes are espied. Until the Sun-beam had shined to Paul, he could not see these motes, but afterward he saw, that Thou shalt not lust, was a great thing, and then seeing his motes, he fell out of conceit with himself. Our fine spirits now-adays will admit Religion, but they will mingle it with that filthiness, that comes out of themselves, I mean their own witty conceits. Thus we see, that a man that will grow up to the clear hope of a better life, he must be cleansed from all filthiness of the spirit, even from his finest sins:

10 Our Sauiour CHRIST saith, our righteousnes must exceed the righteousnes of the Scribes and Pharisees, therefore not to exceede the Pharisees, not to exceede Heretikes, nay not to exceede the Heathen men, but to want euen the out ward good things which they haue, sheweth that all our Religion is in vaine. And yet to cleanse hand, foote, eye, tongue, and all without, is called but the cleansing of the outside of the platters. But wee must not rest here. We must goe yet further, and be pure in heart: for Blessed are the pure is heart: such shall receiue the blessing. We had great neede to cleanse our spirits: for as they retained the image of GOD before sinne came, so now being corrupted, they are most corrupt. For euerie thing degenerating into a contrarie Nature to that, which it was, is made most contrarie. The honie a very sweete thing, yet when it is often purified,