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…

So earnestly must we call upon our souls, that we be not weary of well doing: for happier are the children that never began, then Judas, whose end was worse then his beginning. Wisdom and Righteousness are angry with him that leaveth his goodness to become worse: if thy spouse had committed fornication thou mightest have divorced her, but he which leaveth his righteousness to live in wickedness, forsakes his spouse to commit fornication, and is divorced from Christ himself. If thou wert like the Vine, or the Olive, or the Fig tree, they would not leave their grapes, or their fatness, or their sweetness, to get a kingdom; but the Bramble did: If thou be like the Bramble, what wilt thou do when the fire comes? As this is a memorandum to all, so especially let him that ruleth, and him that teacheth, take heed lest he fall: for if the Pillars shrink the Temple shakes, as when a great Tree is hewen down, which is a shadow to the beasts, and a nest to the birds, many leaves, and bows, and twigs fall with it: so many stand, and fall with them, whose ⟨p. 1091⟩lamps give light to others: Even as Jeroboam's sin made Israel to sin: therefore Paul hath given you a watchword, which every one should write upon his table, upon his bed & upon his nails, lest he forget in one hour: for he which stands now, may fall before night. Sin is not long in coming, nor quickly gone, unless God stop us, as he met Balaam in his way, & stay us; as he stayed the woman's son, when he was a bearing to his grave: we run over Reason, and tread upon Conscience, and fling by Counsel, and go by the Word, and post to Death, as though we ran for a kingdom, like a Lark, that falls to the ground sooner then she mounted up: at first she retires, as it were by steps, but when she cometh nearer the ground, she falls down with a jump: so we decline at first and waver lower and lower, till we be almost at the worst, and then we run headlong, as though we were sent post to hell, from hot to luke-warm, from luke-warm to key cold, from key cold to stark dead: so the languishing soul bleeds to death, and seeth not his life go till he be at the very last gasp. Woe be unto him that is guilty of this murder: if the blood of Abel cried for vengeance against his brother Cain which slew his body, shall not GOD be revenged for the death of the Soul?

So earnestly must we call vpon our soules, that we be not wearie of well doing: for happier are the children that neuer began, then Iudas, whose ende was worse then his beginning. Wisedome and Righteousnesse are angrie with him that leaueth his goodnesse to become worse: if thy spouse had committed fornication thou mightest haue diuorsed her, but he which leaueth his righteousnes to liue in wickednes, forsakes his spouse to commit fornication, and is diuorsed from Christ himselfe. If thou wert like the Vine, or the Oliue, or the Figge tree, they would not leaue their grapes, or their fatnesse, or their sweetnesse, to get a kingdome; but the Bramble did: If thou be like the Bramble, what wilt thou doe when the fire comes? As this is a memorandum to all, so especially let him that ruleth, and him that teacheth, take heede lest he fal: for if the Pillers shrinke the Temple shakes, as when a great Tree is hewen downe, which is a shadowe to the beasts, and a nest to the birdes, many leaues, and bowes, and twiggs fall with it: so many stande, and fall with them, whose