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earth_n	heaven_n	lord_n	word_n	16,216	5	4.2023	3	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A02181	Paramythion tvvo treatises of the comforting of an afflicted conscience, written by M. Richard Greenham, with certaine epistles of the same argument. Heereunto are added two sermons, with certaine graue and wise counsells and answeres of the same author and argument.; Most sweete and assured comfort for all those that are afflicted in conscience, or troubled in minde	Greenham, Richard.; Greenham, Richard. Two learned and godly sermons.	1598 (1598)	STC 12322; ESTC S103418	97,808	214

sinnes then they lefte of mocking were pricked in their harts Where first we may note the power of Gods word which onely is able to touch our consciences for sinne For neither the diuersitie of tongues nor other giftes of the holy Ghost coulde pricke their ●eartes as being able onely to cast them into an admiration What more forcible thinge then to cause a go●ly sorrow thē to haue our conscience pricked What so able to pricke our conscience as the worde of GOD Indeede many feele sorrowe and are inwardly pricked but because therewith is not ioyned the power of Gods word They be either senceles●e as blocks or in their feeling they are murmurers This commeth vnto vs by the dignitie of GOD his worde in that no wonders from heauen no miracles on earth can touch our heartes and worke in vs any fruite without the same For though the Lorde shoulde shewe vnto vs al the wonders from heauen which he shewed on the olde worlde and on Sodome although hee shoulde lay all the plagues vpon vs which he laide on Pharaoh and on the Aegyptians without the word of God we should be as vnprofitable beholders as euer were the Sodomites should become as hardeharted as euer were Pharaoh the Aegyptians so that no iudgement from heauen no trouble from earth can humble vs noe blessing from aboue no benefite from beneath can profite vs vntil the worde of GOD commeth which teacheth the olde way to forsake it the newe way to enter into it and the perfecte way to continue in it And thus much for the generall scope of this doctrine Now more particularly we may obserue in this first part three things First the power of the worde to pricke our conscience Secondly that this pricke must not cause in vs a more rebelling againste the worde or ministers thereof but rather a greater reuerence to them both Thirdly such prickes must prepare vs to a greater desire to profit For the first wee must knowe that this is the beginning of repentance and this is the ente●ie to godlines euen to conceiue a sorrow for our sinnes and so bee wounded with a feeling of our euils For as long as men are secure it is not possible that they should seriously apply their minde vnto doctrine neither without the knowledge and feeling of our sinnes can wee hartily longe for Christ. To this agree the lawe the Prophets and the Apostles The lawe because in all their sacrifices wherein Christ was prefigured was manifested also vnder darke signes the contrition of hart and acknowledging their vnworthinesse The Prophets as Dauid and Esay Dauid in the fourth psalme and fi●t verse ●ayeth Tremble and sinne not where the Prophet sheweth that this is an effectuall thing to trew repentance to quake and tremble for feare of Gods iudgements That wee may then truly examine our selues wee must feare and humble our selues because before trouble terrour and quaking at the iudgementes of GOD we will neuer be brought to offer our selues to Christ alone In the Psal. 51. Vers. 18.19 the Prophet like wise sheweth that no sacrifice is acceptable to God without a contrite heart that is neither prayer neither almes-giuing neitheir praise or thanksgiuing vnlesse we bringing an humble and contrite spirit with vs cast our selues downe before his iudgement seate and sue for mercy in Christ. And here marke that he saith the sacrifices of God are a troubled spirit c. where he vsing the plurall number sheweth that the sacrifices of repentance which must not be one but many are humblenes of spirite and contrition of hearte For the affliction of the soule contrition of the minde doe so cast vs downe wounded with our sinnes humbled with a feeling of Gods wrath as that it maketh vs to acknowledge that we are nothing of our selues and to seeke for our saluation wholly at the mercie of God Noe maruaile then if by this means we being confounded and ashamed of our selues and staying our selues on the only promises of God doe confesse our owne nakednes and wreatchednes why the Prophet should say that the Lord is pleased with this sacrifice as with the sacrifice of sacrifices The Prophet Esai cap 40. V. 6.7.8 saith All flesh is grasse the beautie therof as the flower of grasse the grasse withereth the flower falleth when the breath of the Lord falleth vpon it where the Prophet painting out man in his proper couliers and driuing him to seeke our saluation not in himselfe but in Christ describeth the outward part of man to be as grasse and by the flower of grasse he sheweth his gifts of minde being vnregenerate as wisdōe memorie knowledge and vnderstāding So that when Gods spirit doth but breath on vs all our wisdome all our knowledge riches and authoritie fall before the presence of the Lord of hosts neither can we remaine but only by the word of God whereby wee are borne againe Wherefore the considering meditating of our trāsitory estate driu●th vs to a contrition humblenes of spirit Besides the Lord God saith Esai whom the heauens cannot containe nor the earth hold wil come and dwell with a lowly poore and troubled spirit and which standeth in awe of his word God doth not accept our sacrifices which are offered without trembling at his word no more then if we should kill a man choke a dog or offer swines flesh which was counted an abhominable thing among the Iews or praise the thing that is vnright Lastly to this accordeth the Gospel and the Apostles Our sauiour Christ Mat. 9.13 saith I came not to cal the righteous but sinners to repentance not euerie sinner but that sinner which condēneth sinne in him is weary and laden with his sinnes Mat. 11.28 Mat. 21.32 our Sauiour Christ preferreth the harlotts Publicans before the Pharises for they being pricked for their sins conuicted did sorrow heard Iohn preaching vnto them So then Christ giueth reliefe to those that want righteousnes to thē that feele themselues sinners ease to them which are burthened lightto them which are in darknes life to them which are dead saluation to them which condēne thēselues 1. Cor. 14. the Apostle declareth how the Corrinthians were moued with strāge tongues but yet had not in admiration the word Besides he sheweth by comparing the gifte of tongues prophecying together that if an Infidell or vnlearned man should come and heare them speake with strange tongues he would say they were out of the witts but if he should heare them speake the word of god plainly he wold be rebuked of all mē iudged of all men so the secrete of his heart shold be mad manifest he wold fal down on his and worshippe God and say plainely when he feeleth his sinnes they rifle mine hearte they shewe my secret sinnes doubtlesse this is Gods doing God is in them I will follow this religion Wherefore in this appeareth the power of the

your estate when you seeme to mee rather to haue faith than when you seeme to your selfe to haue it for faith being the gift of God is then most obtained and increased of God when you thirsting after the increase of present feelings are humbled vnder the mightie and mercifull hande of God for it rather I suspect you when you say you haue faith because then you can least feare and suspect you selfe and by that meanes lie open to vnbeleefe againe And surely experience prooueth that then we shewe we haue beliefe when we mourne for our vnbeliefe and then our faith may be least when we thinke it to be most Besides herein you are to comfort your selfe with shewe of increase of faith because faith groweth by these two means either by some greate feeling by the worde and the spirite and humble thanksgiuing ioyned thereunto or else by humbling our selues before the mercye seate of GOD for wante of our faith 9 When one was troubled in minde he gaue this comfortable note that although it came to passe that after some trauell in newebirth Gods graces were not so sweet and our sinnes not so sowre and grieuous vnto to vs as they were in our first entrance into regeneration but we a●e now weaker in lesse assaultes hauing afore beene stronger in greater temptations yet we were not to dispaire but to consider from whence this gratious progresse did com● namely of God and not of our selues who shewed himselfe more fauorable in the beginning both because hee would not discourage vs newlie comming vnto him and for that wee forsaking our selues with a godly suspecting of our weaknes in the least temptations did flie vnto Gods helpe by prayer who in wisdome can hide himselfe vnder a cloude partly for that he will looke to see some triall of strength at our hands comming to some age in the newe birth partly for that wee nowe lesse forsake or suspect our selues euen in greater temptations and for that presumpteously wrestling with our owne strength and staying our selues with our owne staffe we do not call to God for helpe and not calling do not obtaine and not obtaining helpe we take the foile in the conflict that the Lorde may make knowne vnto vs that notwithstanding our proceeding in Christianitie we are still but men and God alone is God 10 He saide to one troubled in minde for a secret and small sinne I doe not so much feare this sinne in you as the pollicie of Sathan by it either in that he will not sticke to shewe you the leste sinnes hide from you the greater or else by the quick sight of your secret smal sins to cast vpon you an open grosse sin of vaine glorie and priuie pride 11 It is a most certaine thi●ge in Gods children that the more their afflictions growe the more their faith groweth the more Sathan striueth to draw them from God the more they draw neere to ●od although indeede in feeling they cannot see so much 12 Though we finde not the spirituall ioy which we should feele yet let vs not bee to much cast downe so that our conscience tell vs that we are readie to withdrawe somewhat from our outward pleasures for want of this inward pleasure and that we haue not preuented or smothered out these spirituall ioyes but are grieued that we haue them not waite for the time to feele them For of all things we must bewar that we draw not into their stead carnall ioys so driue a● it were in to exile the working of gods spir●t in vs by thē 13 Many despaire of help because of their owne vnworthines as though there were no hope of Gods mercy vnles we bring in our gifte pawne in our hands to him But this were to discredit the Lords mercie and to bring in credite our merits and rather to binde the Lord to vs than vs vnto him but if our sinnes be greate our redemption is greater though our merits be beggerlye Gods mercie is a rich mercie If our case be not desperate and we past hope of recouery our redemption should not be so plentifull But when all seemes to goe one way when Heauen and Earth the Sunne the Moone and the Starres goe against vs then to ransome vs and to make a perfect restitution is to drawe something out of nothing Euen as in sicknesse to haue either little daunger or in greate daunger deliuerance by present meanes is nothing but in extreame perril when Phisicke can doe nothing and nothing maketh for vs but the Graue then to be rescued from the graue and to recouer our life from the pitte is Redemption 14 There are two workings of Gods Spirite in vs the one inferiour which bringgeth but certaine fruites of the Spirite without any speciall fruite of grace the other superiour and more certaine when the spirite worketh an infallable sanctification The first may totally be darkened and fully quenched the other hath but particular Eclipse and in measure may be dimmed as it was in Dauid psal 51 but is not finally quenched As God made man so that he might fall though afterwardes he had mercie vpon him so he regenerateth vs so that wee may fall though afterwardes he may raise vs vp againe and will And it is fearefull inough that there may be such particular decaies of it in vs as to feele lesse comfort in the word lesse feare of sinne lesse care of well doing lesse zeale in praying lesse fruites in the meanes so that all our actions are turned to be bitter which were sweter vnto vs than any worldly increase to the worldly man or honie can be to them that loue it These are euident tokens of the sanctifying spirite to loue good because it is good and to hate sinne the more wee growe in giftes the more to hunger the more to complaine of our vnworthines the more to be humbled in our selues the more meekely to iudge of others when we are most quiet with all things then to think our selues least quiet and then most to feare our selues so to feele the grace of God in vs and yet our sence and feeling of sin is not lessened and to feare and quake at the first degrees and motions of sinne not lest they fully quench but lest they coole the heat of the spirit in vs. 15 In afflictions we must search the cause first by ascending to GOD then by descending into our selues Wee must ascende to GOD pleading guiltie crauing mercy and not stand quarelling with the malice of men or hatred of the deuill against vs for as it were no good wisdome for a man condemned to die to make any long suite to the Ialor or to the Executioner for they be but vnder officers can do nothing but he must labour to the Iudge who can either repriue or release him so it is no good pollicie to stande about S●than in our temptations who doth all by constraint and restraint vnder the Lord but wee