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 Word is resembled to milk in three respects. First, because it is the only food of the faithful, as milk is the only and proper food of babes. Secondly, because it is not hard and intricate, but plain and easy to be conceived, as milk is easy to be digested. Thirdly, because it is sweet and comfortable to the soul, as milk is sweet and pleasant in taste.

The Word is resembled to milke in three respects. First, because it is the onely foode of the faithfull, as milke is the onely and proper foode of babes. Secondly, because it is not hard and intricate, but playne and easie to be conceiued, as milke is easie to be digested. Thirdly, because it is sweete and comfortable to the soule, as milke is sweete and pleasaunt in taste.

For the first point, the Lord chargeth the Israelites, ¹to do whatsoever he had commanded, and not to add or diminish any thing. And Joshua, Josiah, Ezra, and the rest, when the• ⟨p. 1023⟩would renew the Lords covenant with the people, read nothing but the law, to show that it was the only rule and square of all their duty:² and therefore Isaiah recalleth us to the law and to the testimony, &c. and Christ sends us to search the Scriptures, ³because by them we have eternal life: and therefore the Popish church (which nor content with the milk of the Gospel) hath broached many heathen traditions, and unwritten trash; doth not feed but choke and poison her children with them, and deprive the Lords people of this food of life, and like cursed Philistines stop up the wells of water which other have digged: what do they else but starve and famish so many Nations? For well may their hedge priests like dry Nurses delight and disport the children for a season; but when hunger bites; when the distressed conscience would be fed and comforted, then they are not able to afford them the very crumbs from Christs table, and therefore we must needs account the estate of those congregations to be full of dread and horror which have not this milk of the word to feed their souls, which want a good steward to give them their meat in due season; which like the Egyptians lye crawling in the dark, when other churches enjoy most comfortable light. Jacob forsook the blessed land of