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A18212
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The hidden treasure opened in tvvo sermons preached by Zachary Catlin minister of Gods word at Thurstone in Suffolke: upon Matthevv 13. 44.
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Catlin, Zachary.
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1633
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STC 4839; ESTC S102089
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30,901
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47
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and last point is of great use in the spirituall meaning of it In the 5. duty I consider 3. particulars I pray you observe with me therein these three particulars First that we must sell all we have Secondly that we must buy the Field But thirdly not for it selfe but for the Treasures sake For the first we must sell all First We must sell all not that God is a seller of his graces or desirous to be enriched by our losses but that we our selves may be qualified for his Kingdome we must part with something nay with all that we have and those are eyther Things lawfull or things unlawfull And first we must sell all unlawfull things that is 1 Vnlawfull things We must part with all our sinnes and sinfull lusts and courses Whatsoever offends us or causes us to offend though as neare and deare as our right hand or right eye we must cut it off and plucke it out and cast it from us Matt. 5.29 Mat. 5.29 Tit. 2.11.12 The Gospel that bringeth salvation teacheth us to deny ungodlinesse and all our worldly lusts Repentance is godly sorrow for all sin Gal. 5.17 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mortification is the death of all sin and Sanctification is the contrary to all sin in a word The Spirit and the Flesh are cōtrary one to the other in continual battle There is no concord betweene Christ and Belial no fellowship betweene righteousnesse and unrighteousnesse 2. Cor. 6.14 15. Grace and a setled purpose to live in any one sin 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Harmony Secondly all lawfull things are incompatible and can never stand together Secondly we must sell all our lawfull things all our worldly profits pleasures honours friends yea and life it selfe also Quest But must we indeed sell all yea say the Papists if we will enter into the state of perfection and they wrest to this purpose that precept of our Saviour to the young rich man in the 19. of Matt. ver 21. If thou wilt be perfit Matt. 19.21 goe and sell all thou hast and give to the poore and thou shalt have a Treasure in Heaven and come and follow me Ans But know beloved that was but a particular commandement of Triall to him not a generall rule for all perfect Christians As for these Popish votaries the world is awake and sees their craft in casting away a little of their owne to enjoy the plenty of other mens they professe beggery and possesse Kingdomes For our selves blessed be God we may use and enjoy the good things of the world He that sayde Thou shalt not steale Exod. 20. Rom. 13.9 Eph. 4.28 allowes us something of our owne He that said Thou shalt give almes allowes us something wherewith to doe it of our owne Our Saviour himselfe had a bagge or purse of which Iudas was the steward and Iohn the beloved Disciple took the mother of our Saviour from the Crosse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith the Text to his owne home Ioh. 19.27 Joh. 19.27 In a word it s a ruled case Acts 5.4 Act. 5.4 How we must sell all lawfull things Yet notwithstanding we must sell all part with all foure or five wayes First in the Estimation of our hearts we must incomparably preferre grace and glory before the whole world with holy Paul accounting All things doung and drosse in comparison of Christ Phil. 1.8 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Off al to dogs and with blessed Moses esteeming the rebuke of Christ and much more Christ himselfe greater Riches then the TREASVRES of Egypt Heb. 11.26 For this is a certaine truth Coelestes divitiae non nisi contemptu saeculi possidentur It is impossible to gaine spirituall riches till in our hearts we contemne Earthly Greg. Secondly we must part with them in the preparation of our hearts bringing our selves to this resolution that if times of persecution shall come so that we cannot hold these outward things without the making shipwracke of our Faith and Religion we will by the grace of God be ready and willing to lay them downe saying with blessed Paul Act. 20.24 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I make no reckoning of them I passe not at all for these things neither is my life deare unto me so that I may fulfill my course with joy Thirdly so far as these things are a let and hindrance unto us from holy duties as prayer reading of the Word meditation and conference we must be sure to lay them aside both the things themselves out of our hands and the cares about them out of our heads and this we are to doe not onely upon the Sabbath day but even every day we rise if we will be the children of Abram who going up to Mount Maria to offer sacrifice to the Lord left his servants and his asses at the foote of the Hill Gen. 22.5 Gen. 22.5 Yea fourthly we must actually depart with them to good uses as of piety charity and hospitality so making us friends of the Mammon of iniquity and purchasing everlasting habitations Luk. 16.9 Fiftly and lastly when the Lord shall take these outward things from us eyther one by one as in particular losses and afflictions or by whole-sale at our death We must depart with them not with grudging and complaining as the Divels that were cast out of the possessed but with willingnes joyfulnes and thankfulnes as he that sels his commodity for ready mony according to the example of S. Paul I desire to be dissolved Phil. 1.23 and of those Saints of whom he saith they tooke joyfully the spoyling of their goods Heb. 10.34 and of holy and patient Iob The Lord hath given and the Lord hath taken Heb. 10.34 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Job 1.21 now blessed be the name of the Lord Iob 1.21 And thus you see the first particular how we must sell all we have 2. We must buy the Field Of the Word In the second place As we must sell all so must we also buy the field that is as you have heard the Word of God which may further be confirmed by that precept of Salomon in plaine and expresse terms Prov. 23.23 Buy the truth and sell it not And that is to be done two or three wayes 1. Buy the Bible First literally buy the booke of God in which the Treasure lyeth hid Let not the booke of the Law depart out of thy mouth day nor night saith the Lord to Ioshua Iosh 1.8 Josh 1.8 Let it not depart out of your hands say I to you I wonder to see any house without this houshold-stuffe or any hand of him or her in the Church that is able to reade without this word of life Chrysost It was Chrysostomes usuall Exhortation O vos Laici emite Biblia O you Lay-people buy you Bibles Buy you Bibles saith Chrysostome Nay burne your Bibles say the Papists or
you your selves shall be burned so contrary are the Spirits of Papists to the Spirit of God and of the holy Fathers Secondly maintaine the Preaching of the Word Act. 8.31 Secondly because thou canst not understand and apply the Word aright without a Guide as the truely Noble Eunuch ingenuously confessed of himselfe Act. 8.31 Thou must therefore buy the Word of God preached that is thou art bound according to thy calling and ability to maintaine the Preacher of Gods Word liberally and that with all alacrity Let them saith the Apostle that are taught in the Word make their Teachers partakers of all good things Gal. 6.6 Gal. 6.6 that they may be able to doe their worke to purpose and with joy and not with distraction and griefe of heart for that is unprofitable for you As they say of keeping cattle hardly so say I in this case Simile if you pinch your pastures you pinch your selves and famish and starve your owne soules O that the unconscionable tythe payers Church-robbers of this Land had hearts to consider this and that wee did all prize the Word as hee did that said The Law of thy mouth is better unto me then thousands of gold and silver Psal 119.72 Psal 119.72 Thirdly we must buy the Truth not with money onely but principally with labour and industry Thirdly Buy the truth with diligent labor Men indeed must sell for money for Printers and Ministers cannot live upon the ayre But as the Heathen sayd Dii labore hominibus vendunt God sells knowledge and grace for labour Seeke her as silver search for her as for hid Treasure Then shalt thou understand the feare of the Lord and find the knowledge of God Prov. 2.4 5. What will it profit us my brethren Prov. 2.4 5. to haue the Word of God in our houses if we neither reade it nor meditate upon it or to have a good Preacher in the Towne if we either heare him not or take little or no paines in hearing but let the Word goe in at one eare and out at another nay beloved we must search the Scriptures Ioh. 5.39 1. Joh. 4.1 and try the spirits whether they be of God we must take heed how we heare and what we heare Luk. 8.18 and ingraft the Word when we have heard it yea and incorporate it into our soules I meane into our minds our wills Jam. 1.21 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and our affections and then have wee bought the Truth and purchased the Field But we must remember in the third place Thirdly Buy the Field for the Treasure wee must buy the field of the Word not for it selfe but for the Treasure in it I meane for grace and glory as wee see this man 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith the Text for joy of the Treasure Get grace out of it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 goes and buyes that field not another it was not so much the Land as the Treasure he aymed at Many simple people rest in this that they have a Bible or a Testament and other good bookes in their houses or a good Preacher in the Towne or in some neighbour Parish and thence conclude they cannot possibly doe amisse Just like that idolatrous Micah Judges 17.13 in the 17. of Iudges ver 13. that reasoned after the same manner Now I know the Lord will doe me good now that I have a Levite to be my Priest What is this but to make an Idol of the Bible Vex audita perit and an Idol of Preaching but such Idols cannot save thee for the Bible may be burnt to ashes and the sound of Preaching vanishes in the aire all the Sermons preached formerly in this Church are past and gone But the Word of the Lord saith the Apostle Peter 1 Pet. 5.25 endureth for ever even this Word which is preached unto you namely as it worketh in us Grace and Glory V. 23. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for so it liveth and abideth in us for ever Get thou therefore not the shell onely but the kernell not the bone onely but the marrow not the field onely but the Treasures invaluable contained in the same And thus beloved wee have run through the second Generall part of the Text namely what is to be done of us for the obtaining of the Purchase and of the five severall duties comprehended in that generall and have insisted especially upon the last of them as being of the greatest waight wherein we see the absolute Necessity that lyes upon us of selling all of buying the field and taking possession of the Treasure What now remaines but to shut up all with an use or two by way of Application of this that hath been spoken to our selues Vse First of Reproofe of the Higling Chapmen of this Age. Num. 23.10 Which first of all doth serve for the sharpe reproofe and taxation of the trifling and higling Chapmen of this age that have a good mind as we say to the Treasures of Grace and Glory they wish with Balaam That they might dye the death of the righteous Num. 23.10 And with the young man in the Gospel they come to the Minister and say Good Master what shall we doe that we may inherit eternall life Matt. 19.22 Mat. 19.22 something they will doe and something they will give but yet for all this they will not come up roūdly to Gods price but when they heare that they must sell all That will not part then with that young man they goe away sorrowfull and never bargaine any further 1. With unlawfull things For first they cannot find in their hearts to part with all their sins and unlawfull lusts although they might as well spare them as water out of the ship They will perhaps exchange one sinne for another as when a young Prodigall turnes an old covetous Miser or they will lend or lay away their sins for a time as whē they come to the house of God to pray or heare but especially whē they are to come to the Lords Table but presently after they repent them and with the Serpent licke up their poyson againe will not sell away their sins for ever or lastly they will part with some of their sins but not with all Naaman will keepe his bowing in the House of Rimmon Herod will reserue his sweet Herodias Ananias will give part to God and keepe backe part for himselfe but not one of many will part with all such an one is as rare as a blacke Swan The truth is Beloved we love our lusts too well One is all for pride another all for revenge a third for drunkennes a fourth for adultery a fift for gaming some for one lust some for another but almost all men are for one or other What is this but to make our belly our God our lust our God Phil. 3.19 and to be lovers of pleasures more then lovers of