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…

Therefore now I may say unto them which resist comfort and nourish grief, as the Prophet saith,¹ Who hath required these things of you? GOD doth require no sorrow but the sorrow for sin, no fear but the fear to sin, no care but the care to please him, nay he hath forbidden all other care: and therefore Peter saith,² Cast your care upon him. As though ⟨p. 856⟩God did not allow us to care, he sent his Apostle with this charge, Cast your care upon him, As we do cast our sins upon Christ so we must cast our cares upon him: for God hath commanded us to labour, but not to care, because care hindereth our labour, like the Samaritans, which seemed to help the Jews to build the Temple & hindered them to build the Temple:³ so care, and sorrow, & thought seem to help us in our labours, & our studies, & our prayers, and our strife, but indeed they hinder us, for they take all the time from that which we should do, & disable us to do it: and therefore, when care cometh to us, we shall answer it as Christ said unto Satan. Avoid Satan, avoid care for every care which is not of God,⁴ is of Satan, and we may not bear that which God commandeth us to cast upon him: shall I hang my joy, and my faith, and my hope, because I have sinned, as Judas hanged himself? The Scripture sayeth not, let him which hath stolen despair of mercy,⁵ but Let him which hath stolen steal no more, and it is enough. As we are taught to discern of spirits & of doctrines: ⁶so we must discern of cares and sorrows: for when Paul saith, There is a repentance not to be repented of: He showeth that there is a repentance to be repented of, that is, a repentance which is a sin like the tears ⟨p. 857⟩of Esau, which wept not for his sins, but for his patrimony.