A73175:86
Six sermons preachedSixe sermons preached
Six sermons preached by Master Henry Smith at Clement Danes Church without Temple bar. With two prayers of the same author hereunto annexed.Sixe sermons preached by Maister Henry Smith at Clement Danes Church without Temple barre. VVith tvvo prayers of the same author hereunto annexed.
London: printed by Richard for Robert Dexter, 1592
THE SECOND SERMON OF THE SONG OF OLD FATHER SIMEON. › Which thou hast prepared.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
If you love joy and gladness, 1Christ is joy & gladness, if thou love comfort, why Christ is the comforter of all that bear his cross, if thou love life, Christ is eternal life, if thou love peace, Christ is peace, if thou love riches, Christ is full of heavenly riches, and full of liberality to bestow them upon all such as love God: so Christ is all in all unto the godly, & they have more joy in Christ always and in all things, then the richest, and glorious, and sumptuous Prince in the world, then Solomon him self had in worldly riches, honours, pleasures, ease or felicity. For the wicked which put their trust in riches, & make them gods of gold and money, ease and pleasures, though they do all that they can to fulfil their lusts, and take never so much pleasures, and be never so merry, yet they can have no true joy, nor no peace of conscience, for all the peace, ⟨p. 51⟩the mirth & sport they have, is but deceit, all false and endurable, like the grass, green in the morning and withered ere night. But when the Lord doth knock at their hearts, and strike them with a feeling of their horrible transgressions, as no doubt he will, then they are all in a maze, and they can have no 2joy, no peace, no rest, but they may say, in laughter my soul is sorrowful, in ease my soul hath trouble, in mirth moan, in riches poverty, in glory shame, in life my soul is even dead, in plenty my soul wanteth all things wherein it should rejoice, it is destitute of all comfort, and possessed with all slavish fears like Cain, who being Lord of 3all the earth, yet had no joy in it when God had once forsaken him. Likewise Saul when 4God had forsaken him, he had no joy of all his kingdom nor of all his riches, and then who had more joy Saul the king or David the subject? So then we see that perfect joy can be had in nothing but in God and in Jesus Christ. Wherefore as by the stream you may be led to the fountain, even so let the joy and peace of this life serve to lea•e us to God which is perfect joy and peace, & there rest, like the wise men which were guided by the star, to come to the true sun of grace Jesus Christ when he was borne: