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 there is such strife for the heart, as there was for Moses body,¹ Give it me saith the Lord, give it me saith the Tempter, give it me saith the Pope, give it me saith riches, give it me saith pleasure, as though thou must needs give it: now here is the choice, whether thou wilt give it to God or the devil, Gods heart or the devils heart, whose wilt thou be?

Therefore there is such strife for the heart, as there was for Moses bodie,¹ Giue it mee saith the Lord, giue it me saith the Tempter, giue it me saith the Pope, giue it me saith riches, giue it me saith pleasure, as though thou must needes giue it: now here is the choyce, whether thou wilt giue it to God or the diuell, Gods heart or the diuels heart, whose wilt thou be?

1. 1Jud. 9.Iud. 9.

Thus doth man hang in a balance, like ⟨p. 268⟩a young virgin which hath many suitors: some she fancieth for parentage, some for personage, some for friends, some for wealth, some for wit, some for virtue, and after all, chooseth the worst of all; so the heart hath so many suitors besides God, that sometime she marrieth with one, sometimes with another, the world keeps her, the flesh keeps her, the devil keeps her, which have no more interest in her, than Herod to his sister,¹ but seek her spoil, like them which marry for riches, are glad when one dies, that another may come. These suitors are like Absalom, which did not seek the hearts of the people like David, but stole them with flattery and lies:²