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Paramythion two treatises of the comforting of an afflicted conscience, writtenParamythion tvvo treatises of the comforting of an afflicted conscience, written
Paramythion two treatises of the comforting of an afflicted conscience, written by M. Richard Greenham, with certain epistles of the same argument. Hereunto are added two sermons, with certain grave and wise counsels and answers of the same author and argument.Paramythion tvvo treatises of the comforting of an afflicted conscience, written by M. Richard Greenham, with certaine epistles of the same argument. Heereunto are added two sermons, with certaine graue and wise counsells and answeres of the same author and argument.
London: printed by Richard Bradocke for Robert Dexter, 1598
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.
Much more when satan works with all buffeting you,1 assure your self that God hath pity on you, that the virtue of his power shall be perfect in your weakness. If you believe,2 according to your faith it shall be done unto you. But you will say, you cannot believe, that this vile & crooked hardness of your heart can be remitted & renewed: & even this was the second point which in the former part of my letter I gave you to understand ⟨p. 98⟩was the cause of your excessive distress. I beseech you, & I charge you in the name of our lord Jesus Christ, that you will not willingly lie nor offer injury to gods spirit, nor to your self who hath received it. Tell me, what is the reason why you think you have no faith? Verily because you have no feeling, nor any other fruits thereof, as you think. Wel• ▪ first then agree with me herein (as you must if you will not disagree with the truth) that feeling is but an effect and fruit of faith; and therefore there may be faith without feeling, as well as the cause may be without the effect, & the tree without any appearance of fruit, yea, of sap for a season. And as a man sore wounded and diseased, may for a season be deprived almost of all operations of the natural life to the outward show, and to his own judgement and feeling; so may a spiritual man be•ore wounded by satan, and diseased by the present feeling of his sinful corruptions, specially in temptations; that he may think, yea appear to others, that the life of the spirit is not in him. Thus, Peters faith did not wholly fail, (as you have heard) or else the prayer of our Saviour prevailed not. Thus when David declared that his heart was unclean,3 and his spirit crooked or unstable;4 and that he had lost the joy of his salvation,5 and the spirit of liberty, or adoption: yet he prayeth,