The sermons of Master Henry Smith gathered into one volume. Printed according to his…The sermons of Maister Henrie Smith gathered into one volume. Printed according to his…

The next words before, are, take heed how you hear: the reason follows, to make us take heed how we hear, he saith, Whosoever hath &c. This sentence hath two hands (as it were) one giveth, and the other taketh: therefore, one calleth it a comfortable saying, and a dreadful saying: for it blesseth some, and curseth other, like Moses, which saved the Israelite, ⟨p. 666⟩and slew the Egyptian, Whosoever hath, to him shall be given: there goeth the blessing: Whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken: there runneth the curse. Thus looking back to the words before, viz. Take heed how you hear, This doctrine cometh unto us, that he which taketh heed how he heareth, sprouteth and flourisheth like a twig which hath life in it, till it come to a tree: but he which taketh no heed how he heareth, fadeth and withereth like a stock which is dead, until he hath not only lost the gifts which he had, but till the spirit do leave him too, and he seem as naked to men as Adam did to GOD. The like sentence in the twenty one of Matthew, where it is said, The kingdom of heaven shall be taken from you, and shall be given to a Nation which will bring forth the fruits thereof: there is a taking from them which bring no fruits, and a giving to them which bring fruits. The like is in the 22. of the Revelat. where it is said, Let him which is just be just still, and let him which is filthy be filthy still: whereby it is meant, that the just shall be more just, and the filthy shall be more filthy. The like is in the 15. of John, 2. where it is said, Every branch which bringeth no fruit, he taketh away, but every branch which bringeth forth fruit, he purgeth, that it ⟨p. 667⟩may bring forth more fruit. The like is in the 25. of Matthew, where this sentence is repeated again after the Parable of the Talents: as to one servant were committed five Talents, and to another two, and to another one, to increase and multiply, and he which used his Talent doubled it, and he which hid his Talent, lost it: even so to every man GOD hath given some gift, of Judgement, or tongues, or interpretation, or counsel to employ and do good, and he which useth that gift which God hath given him to the profit of others, and Gods glory, shall receive moe gifts of GOD, as the servant which used two Talents, received two more: