they thinke they haue not yet enough He that would be relieued against couetousnesse must first seeke to stint his desires a man shall neuer stint his desires till his estate be stinted Mens estates are not so much increased by their desires as their desires are made endlesse by their estates boundlesse If Esau had bene as honest in other things as in this he should neuer haue deserued the brand of a profane persō As profane as he was I could wish this lesson were learned of him As profane as he was he was an honester man in this then thousands that now liue Wil ye heare how like an honest man he speakes Gen. 33. 9. I haue enough my brother keepe that which thou hast to thy selfe Behold how farre he is beyond the honestie of the Harpyes and cormorants of our times that neuer knowing when they haue enough are euer fixing their kites clawes and their gryphons talants vpon their poore brother Iacobs goods Foure things are specified Pro. 30. 15 16. that neuer say It is enough to which we may adde a fift namely a couetous heart that knoweth no stint of its owne desires and endeuours The way to preuent this immoderatiō is to see when we are well when we haue enough A point being determinable why make not men conscience to determine it God forbids the King Deut. 17. 16 17. to multiply horses to himselfe and greatly to multiply his siluer and gold and yet who hath greater vses of and fairer pretences for these things then Princes haue If a King may not multiply aboue that which is enough for a King what prerogatiue haue inferiour subiects to haue estates boundlesse We can say of others They haue enough if they can see If we can see when others haue enough why do we ouerlooke our owne estates This is an euill couetousnesse when men are euer lading themselues with thicke clay and haue neither the hearts nor the grace to set downe an Hucusque to answer Gods Quousque Hab. 2. 6. an Hitherto to Gods How long For this very sin were the Iewes threatned Isa 2. 6. 7. Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people c. because their land is full of siluer and gold neither is there any end of their treasures any end of their chariots Enough we say is as good as a feast And what should a man do feasting or feeding when his belly is full The purse must know a measure as well as the belly And then it will be as easie to fill mens eyes as their bellies Not that men hauing enough should giue vp their honest callings and receiue in no more but hauing enough should lay vp no more but make the ouerfloate of their cup seruiceable to the maintenance of Gods worship and the reliefe of his poore Saints Take this course and be couetous if thou canst Let your conuersation be without couetousnesse Heb. 13. 5. What helpe may we haue hereunto And be content with things present Contentation preserueth from couetousnes Then and neuer till then will a mans heart be contented when he hath enough and knoweth he hath enough and is resolued not to go further then enough 4. Free thy selfe from a false opinion of riches The conceit which men haue of riches is false They think riches lieth in Hauing much They are deceiued Anim ' hominis diues non arca appellari solet quamuis illa sit plena dum te inanem video diuitem non putabo Cicer. Parad. 6. God is called Rich in Scripture not for money but for mercie not for hauing goods but for doing good Rom 10. 12. He that is Lord ouer all is rich vnto all that call vpon him Wherein is God rich Not in being Lord ouer all but in doing good vnto all that call vpon him So that I would not forbid men to be couetous of riches so they would be couetous of true and durable riches Couet true riches and spare not Couet to be Rich in God Rich in faith Rich in good works The more couetous of these riches the happier is thy soule This was the fooles error next my text that conceiued Riches to be all in Hauing and not in Doing good Therefore it is added in the closure of that parable So is euery one that gathereth riches to himselfe and is not rich in God So that is as very a foole as was he 5. Climbe vp mount Nebo and from thence take a view of Canaan and little list and loue shalt thou haue to the wildernesse of the world Get a piercing eye in meditation to see the inuisible God the glorie and beautie of heauen and therewithall shall we find our affections so inflamed that they shall easily slake and coole in regard of earthly things Oh shame that we that professe the hope of an inheritance with the Saints in light should lauish out so much of our precious time of our precious life and the strength of our affections in the so eager pursuite of the trash of the earth View well that heauenly Ierusalem on high that Citie which is of pure gold Apoc. 21. 18. whose streete is also pure gold verse 21. and in comparison of that Citie thou shalt say of all earthly felicities as Hiram said of the cities which Salomon gaue him 1. King 9. 13. They pleased him not and he said What cities are these which thou hast giuen me my brother And he called them viz. in indignation the land of Cabul vnto this day that is a dirtie a mirie land Heauen is our land of Canaan fixe we our eye and heart thereon and the earth will not please vs it will be a very land of Cabul a dirtie drossie land in our eie Oh fond thing for vs that hope for the milke and honey of Canaan to long and lust after the stinking garlicke and onions of Aegypt Oh fond thing for vs that hope for a crowne and kingdome thus to abase our selues to lie raking in the kennels of the earth Thus if men would but seriously meditate and work vp their thoughts and hearts to the loue of the treasures of heauen it would soone breed in them an holy neglect if not a contempt of this present world This remedy our Sauiour teacheth Matth. 6. 19 20 21. Lay not vp treasures for your selues on earth c. as if he had said Take heed and beware of couetousnes and then followes But lay vp treasures for your selues Nemo enim potest nisi cogitare de thesauro suo quodam cordis itinere diuitias suas sequi Et sicut ecclesiam praecessit caput eius sic Christianum praecedat cor eius Eamus ergo hinc ex qua parte possumus sequetur totum nostrum quo praecesserit aliquid nostrū Aug. serm de diuers 44. in heauen and then Where our treasure is there will our heart be Our Head is in heauen what do our hearts on earth then Let Head and heart be together The same remedy Paul teacheth Timothy
A COVNTERPOISON AGAINST COVETOVSNES In a Sermon preached at Pauls-Crosse May 23. 1619. By IER DYKE Minister of Gods word at Epping in Essex PSAL. 119. 36. Incline mine heart vnto thy testimonies and not vnto couetousnesse August in Psal 128. Auaritia opus est mali hominis homo ipse opus Dei. Et quid vult Deus Occidere in te quod ipse fecisti saluare te quem ipse fecit ANCHORA SPEI LONDON Printed for ROBERT MYLBOVRNE and are to be sold at his shop at the great South doore of Pauls 1619. A COVNTERPOYSON AGAINST COVETOVSNES LVKE 12. 15. And he said vnto them Take heed and beware of couetousnesse NO better fared it sometimes with our Lord himselfe in his ministery then it now dayly doth with vs his seruants the ministers of the Gospell and no better with vs then it did with the Prophet Ezek. 33. 31. His auditors sate before him as the Lords people they heard his words they would not do them their hearts ran after their couetousnesse Such is the dunghilly disposition of many hearers that euen then their hearts are most eagerly bent vpon their earthly intentions when Gods ministers labour most of all to call them off and to raise them vp to heauenly contemplations It was iust thus with an auditour of our Sauiours in this present chapter whilest this blessed seeds-man euen the Lord of the field himselfe was committing his seed to the earth behold some falles vpon thornie ground Whilest our Sauiour was labouring to prepare men for an eternall here was one whose heart ran after a temporall inheritance and amidst our Sauiours heauenly his thoughts are taken vp with an earthly businesse Nay he cannot rest there neither he doth not onely mind earthly things as they Philip. 3 but this sore breakes out in his lips for verse 13. One of the company said Maister speake to my brother that he diuide the inheritance with me This earthly minded man cannot be content with those Ezechiel 33. 31. to haue his heart runne but that which is worse his tongue must runne too and that which is yet the sore of all euen then when our Sauiour is employed in the dispensation of the word euen then is he thus bold with a sawcie importunity to trouble and interrupt our Lord in this sacred seruice How iump and iust is this fellowes faith and religion with thousands of our times who will vphold it for a truth that a minister may do God better seruice in taking vp quarrels betweene neighbours and composing differences betweene parishioners then with all his paines in preaching This is right to call Christ from diuiding the word to the diuiding of an inheritance Oh maister you might do well to ceasse this trouble to your selfe and this great multitude to make an end of your Sermon and to come and end a difference betweene me and my brother you shall do a worke of charitie and a neighbourly good office betweene vs you may saue a great deale that may otherwise be idlely spent in law Ridiculous follie As if so be the sauing of the purse were to be preferred were to be regarded before the sauing of soules Well but what is our Sauiours answer His answer is First particular verse 14. He said vnto him Secondly more seuerall verse 15. He said vnto thē 1. His particular answer is a personall checke to this mans importunity and demand both He said vnto him Man who hath made me a Iudge a diuider ouer you And so he answers not the foole according to his follie refuseth to gratifie him in this his vnseasonable and vnlawfull request 2. His seuerall answer is to the whole multitude And he said vnto them Take heed and beware of couetousnesse verse 15. And thus our Sauiour doth answer the foole according to his follie and takes occasion by his folly to teach the whole multitude wisedome The roote of this mans folly was couetousnesse the strong sauour where of our Lord sented in this his vnseasonable request Christ therefore layeth the axe to the roote of the tree and smiteth at the maine radicall corruption of his heart And so answers him not according to his Desire but according to his Neede Therein following Gods owne rule Ezech. 14. 4. that he that comes to the Prophet with a question what euer his question be should be answered not according to his curiosities but according to his necessities he must be answered according to his Idols he must heare roundly and plainly of that sin whereof he was chiefly guiltie Thus deales the Lord here And not onely so but of his poyson makes triacle prescribes a blessed preseruatiue against that pestilence wherewith this mans heart was infected Such was his happie handinesse and dexterity to make euill the rise and hint of good and to extract heauenly light out of the darknesse of an earthly heart And thus we see in briefe how these words frame and fall in with the body of the text The words themselues are a Caution against Couetousnesse In the which we haue three things considerable 1. The manner of the caution Take heed and beware 2. The obiect of it Of couetousnesse 3. The persons warned to beware And he said vnto them 1. The manner of this caution lieth in the Duplication thereof Take heede and beware Not take heede alone nor beware alone but both take heede and beware Now what meanes this double fence might not a single item haue serued the turne Certainly he that telleth vs that we must be accountant for euery idle word would not himselfe be guiltie therof Somewhat therfore there is in it that the cautiō is doubled yea not onely doubled but in a manner trebled in as much as the second word seemeth to haue a double weight aboue the first 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The first word implying an ocular warinesse an eye watch the second an hand watch a kind of manuall if not a martiall and presidiary guarding of a mans selfe Mark 8. 15. Christ giuing his disciples warning of the leauen of the Pharises vseth two words also but yet the latter there seemeth to be of no greater force then the former It is but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But here not onely the word but the weight is doubled 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Take heede and beware As if he had said to paraphrase the text not to mend the translation Watch and ward nay watch and guard and defend your selues from the sinne of couetousnesse Well What may all this meane now It seemes to argue these particulars 1. A wondrous strong inclination in our corrupt natures to this sinne If our affections were not violent and headstrong a single reyne would haue serued to haue courbed and bridled vs in If we were not eagerly bent thereon what should neede pikes and halbards to keepe vs off 2. A wondrous great danger in the sinne If it were not a deepe and a dangerous bog a slighter fence might haue
serued this double pale might haue bene spared Prou. 4. 14. 15 you haue an whole heape of prohibitions against the wayes of wicked men Enter not into the path of the wicked go not in the way of euill men auoyde it passe not by it turne from it passe away What meanes this frequent and vehement iteration and inculcation of one and the same thing It serues to teach both our pronenesse vnto and the perill in those wayes Iust so it is here Our Sauiours vehemencie in forewarning vs argues the more then ordinary perill of this sinne This double caueat argues more then a single danger therein 3. A wondrous carefull watch that we should keepe ouer our owne hearts that at no time they be ouercharged with the couetous cares of this life Since our inclination is so great and the danger no lesse then it our watch should be proportionable to both double and double Some dangers are auoyded by the bare espiall it is enough 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to see them But here not onely eyes but weapons are required here we must 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not onely haue our eyes in our heads but our weapons in our hands The danger of the sinne and inclination of our hearts thereto being so great here it is true that Abundans cautela non nocet If this which is double in precept were quadruple in practise it were all little and little enough 2. Point the obiect of the caution What it is wherof we must take heed beware take heed beware of couetousnesse Couetousnesse is the sin then of which our Sauiour here forewarnes vs. A sinne I make no question but hath often bene witnessed against in this place Giue me leaue also to adde my testimony that so in the mouth of many witnesses yea of a cloud of witnesses this truth may stand We haue here then a watchword against couetousnesse Take heede and beware of couetousnesse A sin indeed that ill beseemes and in no wise will suite with the profession of the name of Christ Let euery one that calles vpon the name of the Lord vpon whom the name of the Lord is called depart from iniquity 2. Tim. 2. 19. but especially from that iniquitie which hath cast vpon riches otherwise Gods good blessings the reprochfull title of the riches of iniquitie Luk. 16. Our conuersation must be as becomes the Gospell Phil. 1. 27. But how may that be done Heb. 13. 5. ye haue a comment to that text Let your conuersation be without couetousnesse When our conuersation is without couetousnesse then is our conuersation as becometh the Gospell Our conuersation nay our very communication must be free from it Ephes 5. 3. Fornication and all vncleannesse and couetousnesse let it not be once named amongst you as becomes Saints It becomes Saints to walke as becomes the Gospell they then walke as becomes the Gospell when both conuersation and communication are free from couetousnesse So speakes Paul of couetousnesse as Dauid of idols Psal 16. 4. I will not make mention of their names with my lips If the name how much more should the thing be odious Our conuersation our communication yea our very cogitations should be free from it It is the brand of those brute beasts that are made to be taken and destroyed of cursed children 2. Pet. 2. 14 that they haue their hearts and so their thoughts exercised to couetousnesse Take we a view of all the Saints and seruants of God whose memories whose graces yea and whose sinnes are recorded in holy writ see if you can finde me one of all that blessed company that was euer blemished with this filth that was euer defiled with this mire Indeed once Noah was ouertaken with the loue of wine neuer with the loue of the world Once Lot was twice incestuous neuer couetous Once Dauid was besotted with the flesh neuer bewitched with the world but euen in the top of the worlds happinesse acknowledgeth himselfe a stranger and a pilgrime 1. Chron. 29. 15. Once Peter denyed his maister but yet it was not the loue of the world for he had denyed that before he denyed his maister in forsaking all but the feare of the world that caused him to slip into that sin Zaecheus indeed before his conuersion had bene a couetous pinching prolling publican but no sooner doth he take Christ by the hand but the first thing he doth is to shake hands with his couetousnesse Christ that hath bid vs beware of it will much more himselfe take heed and beware of dwelling in that heart where that sinne dwels If he whip not this money merchant out of the temple of our heart it will keepe and barre out him for taking any possession there Now what thinke we may be the reason that these forenamed Scripture-saints though they had their other both infirmities and grosse sinnes yet were still free from this Seemes it not to aduise thus much That grace and religion may better stand with once-acted adulterie incest and drunkennesse then it can with that habituall iniquity of couetousnesse Dauids adulterie Noahs drunkennesse Lots incest these were actuall sinnes but once acted they were no habituall euils in them A man may fall into these sinnes and yet not be an habituated sinner But a man cannot properly be couetous without an habitual continued euill disposition of the soule Now this is a sure rule that grace may stand with some actual though grosse sinne being but once slipt into though but one actuall sinne doth shrewdly wound and weaken grace but whether grace and a good heart can stand with a continued habituall wickednesse there is the question if so be a question Hence haply therefore hath it bene that diuerse of the Saints of God when they haue bene to iustifie their integritie and make good their reputation haue euermore bene especially carefull to free themselues from the imputation of this sinne and haue shaken off not this dust but dirt and filth from off their hands and feete Thus Samuel in his apologie 1. Sam. 12. 3. So Ieremie Ier. 15. 10. Wo is me my mother thou hast borne me a contentious man that striueth with the whole earth I haue neither lent on vsurie nor men haue lent to me on vsurie yet euery one doth curse me Well he thought they might haue cursed him had he bene guilty of that cursed sinne but he shewes the worlds iniquitie by his owne honesty and his owne honesty in being free from the fruits of that sinne of couetousnesse So Paule Acts 20. 33. I haue coueted no mans siluer nor gold nor apparell Now why purge these men rather from this then from other sinnes why purge they not from adultery whoredome drunkennesse but specially and in a manner from couetousnesse Surely because full well they knew that of all other sinnes this is that which most staynes and blemisheth good report and honest reputation and standeth in greatest opposition to the life and truth of grace For where
is no sinne but it may be said to breake them all for he that breakes one is guiltie of the breach of the whole Law Iames 2. 10. because one sinne doth prepare and habitually dispose the mind to any sinne But this doth actually transgresse them all Please you in briefe to runne them ouer and see how 1. Commandement Thou shalt haue none other gods before me But the couetous Mammonist he hath Non adoro inquit Quare quia teipsum non inflectis incuruas multo magis adoras per facta res ipsas Haec enim est maior adoratio vt discas vide in Deo Quinam enim eum magis adorant ijne qui solum stant in precibus an qui faciunt eius voluntatem Chrys ad Ephes hom 18 other and he serues other gods then the God of heauen euen gods of the earth gods of mettall idols of siluer and idols of gold That as the Prophet complaines of the Iewes Ier. 2. 28. According to the number of thy cities are thy gods ô Iudah so may we complaine of the couetous According to the number of his bags nay of his pence is the number of his idols And therefore no maruell that the Apostle Colos 3. 5. calls couetousnesse idolatrie and Ephes 5. 5. the couetous an idolater For though he sacrifice not beasts to his idoll yet that which is worse he sacrifices his soule and himselfe and though he fall not downe vpon his knees and pray not to his siluer yet as the profane Atheist hath said in his heart There is no God Psal 14. 1 so the couetous Mammonist sayeth in his heart This is my god he sayeth to his wedge Thou art my confidence Iob 31. 24. And howsoeuer his couetousnesse enioyne him sorer and sharper labor more dangerous and desperate aduentures then euer God requires in his seruice yet is it willingly and cherefully obeyed and obedience is better then sacrifice 1. Sam. 15. 22 yea it hath both obedience and sacrifice Hab. 1. 16 They sacrifice vnto their net His golden idoll hath the loue confidence trust affiance and obedience of Et inter alia eius nomina quod Pecuma vocaretur Et Pecunia inquiunt vocatur eo quòd eius sint omnia O magnam rationem diuini nomims Sed nimirum hoc auaritia Ioui nomen imposuit vt quisquis amat pecuniam non quemlibet Deum sed ipsum regem omnium sibi amare videatur Qualis ergo ista theologia debet esse sapienti vbi rex deorum eius rei nomen accepit quam nemo sapiens concupiuit August de Ciuit. Dei l. 7. c. 12. his heart which are the things the first Commandement claimes for Gods part The goddesse Pecunia was one of the idols of old heathen Rome and Money as Augustine reports was one of the many names their Iupiter had Euery Mammonist is a professor of this paganish religion if at least it be not worse to giue vnto money the worship of God then vnto God the name of money The fond Israelites made them an idoll of the Egyptians iewels and then dance about it one calfe about another and sacrifice vnto it and say These be thy gods ô Israel Such a calfe such a sot is the couetous when he hath scraped together the worlds iewels he makes them his idols sayeth in his heart These be thy gods ô my soule to whom thou owest thy loue seruice and affectionate obedience And so makes himselfe a grosse and notorious transgressor of this first Law 2. Commandement Thou shalt not make to thy selfe any grauen image c. A commandement that enioynes the puritie of Gods outward worship commands maintenance and forbideth the corruption thereof But in this is he as foule as in the former This corruption of the heart hath euer bene that which hath vshered corruptions into Gods Church worship Therefore are these two ioyned together Esay 2. 6. 7 Their land was full of siluer and gold and there was none end of their treasures Their land also was full of idols they worshipped the worke of their owne hands It is no wonder that couetousnesse in the breach of the first should prepare and make way for the breach of the second Commandement in grosse idolatrie What made Demetrius runne roaring and rauing about the streets of Ephesus and crying Great is Diana of the Ephesians but meerly the loue of his purse Sirs ye know that by this craft we get our goods and that craft brought in great gaines vnto the craftsmen It was the great gaine that made Diana so great and made him make so great noise for her What brought in the deuice of the hooke with the three teeth 1. Sam. 2. 13. but this hooking and catching sinne of couetousnesse What made the Temple in our Sauiour time a den of theeues Euen that sinne that made the Priests theeues the same sinne that made Iudas a theefe It was the couetousnesse of the Priests that admitted the money-changers and the oxen into the Temple They cared not with what corruption they filled Gods house so that they might thereby fill their owne houses and purses But this is most cleare in the Romish Synagogue which hath hewne out the principall pillars of her superstition out of this rocke of couetousnes Purgatory Iubilees Indulgences all these came out of Iudas his bag all coffer and kitchin doctrines The doctrine of the Church treasure in the merits of supererogating Saints a meere deuice to bring treasure into their Church Masses for the dead an inuentiō to bring in masses of wealth to the liuing Praying for the dead a very tricke to prey vpon the liuing And what turned the keyes of the Church into picklockes or picke-purses rather but their abominable couetousnesse Egges of the same cockatrice brats of the same hag are steeple and temple brokerage absolution for solutions impropriations ten-pound reading stipendaries that haue lesse learning then they haue liuing sacrilegious detention and fraudulent purloyning of the Church salary Couetousnesse brought in and couetousnesse holds in these plague-sores and botches of the Church It was not for nothing therefore that when the diuell would haue wrought our Sauiour to idolatrie that he first of all laboured to poyson him with couetousnesse thinking to make couetousnesse his shooinghorne to idolatrie He takes him vp into an high mountaine from thence sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world with the glory of them all these will he giue him if he will fall down and worship him The diuell knowes it is easie to draw on an heart corrupted with couetousnes to the most corrupt worship that may be And though the diuel sped not with our Sauiour yet with Demas he did who if Dorotheus be Doroth. de vitis c. of any credit turned from the faith of Christ to be an Idoll Priest of Thessalonica A foule a fearefull fall But whence might he take it Paul tels vs 2. Tim. 4. 10. Demas hath forsaken
hope of the hypocrite though he hath gained when God takes away his soule Iob 27. 8. How should this awaken men to take heed and beware What though thou gaine the whole world by thy couetous courses yet what shall it aduantage thee to gaine the whole world and to lose thine owne soule He that purchaseth the whole world with the price and losse of his soule will find but a biting a smarting bargaine of it He must needs be a loser by the bargaine for he loseth God heauen happinesse his soule and himselfe Among all thy gaines thou art sure to haue hell into the bargaine What euer thou gainest Satan will be sure to gaine thy foule Now then ô thou couetous man be pleased a little to looke ouer these Items and summe vp thy gaines Auarus semper in rationibus A couetous man is much in his counting house Among other thine accounts be so good as to looke ouer this Inprimis by thine oppression fraudulent and false dealing thou hast gotten so many pounds Item by thine vsury and extortion so many hundreds Item by thy bribery so many thousands Well what is the whole summe The totall summe is the curse of God vpon thy body the curse of God vpon thy goods the curse of God vpon thy children the curse of Gods eternall vengeance vpon thy soule Now in good sooth and are not these goodly gaines would they not set any mans teeth on watering Yea but it may be these are but idle scar-crowes the figments of Preachers idle braines No no. God hath sworne twice in one prophecy Amos 4. 2. Amos 8. 7. to make them good God can no more be forsworne then he can ceasse to be God If he do forbeare the infliction of the temporall plagues yet shall it be abundantly recompenced in the heauy weight of eternall torment And thus haue we seene the double danger of this sinne which may both serue to verifie the Apostles saying 1. Tim. 6. 10. That the desire of money is the roote of all euill of all euill both of sinne and punishment as also to terrifie our dead hearts and make them awake to take heed and beware of couetousnesse The third thing followeth The remedies and preseruatiues What are we the better to know our disease and the danger thereof vnlesse we know the remedies withall The remedies therefore are these 1. That which we find 1. Ioh. 5. 4. This is the victory that ouercometh the world euen our faith Faith ouercometh not onely the feare of the world in threatning but the loue of the world in entising The roote of this roote of all euill is commonly diffidence and distrust in Gods all-sufficient prouidence This maketh men so greedily and eagerly prouide for themselues because distrustfully they imagine that they are left to the wide world as shiftlesse and fatherlesse children So much implieth our Sauiours speech verse 28. of this Chapter How much more will he cloath you ô ye of little faith Our great cares come from our little faith Greater faith would lessen our cares This remedie Paul teacheth Timothie 1. Tim. 6. 11. O man of God flie these things namely those foolish and noysome lusts which drowne men in destruction and perdition rising from the loue of money But how may we flie them Follow after righteousnesse godlinesse faith The soule in which this grace hath residence shall find it an heauenly amulet or plague-cake to defend it from the poyson of this sinne For faith not onely purifies the heart and so purgeth out this drosse but it also satisfieth the heart by making God its portion whereby the infinite desire of the soule is filled which nothing can satisfie but the fruition of the infinite God He alone that filleth heauen and earth and all things therein he alone can fill the boundlesse desires of the soule Onely faith maketh him ours And the soule hauing made God hers by faith she ceasseth to seeke satisfaction from the temporall and finite creatures Faith is a chymicall grace As couetousnesse is an earthly Alchymist that turneth gold into God so is faith a diuine Chymicke that turneth God into gold siluer and whateuer the heart wanteth and desireth Iob 22. 23. Eritue omnipotens lectissimum aurum tuum argentum viresue tibi Sic Iun. 24. 25. If thou returne to the Almightie then shalt thou lay vp gold as dust and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brookes yea the Almighty shall be thy choyce gold and siluer and strength vnto thee Would we haue our fill of gold and siluer so as we would haue our thirst quenched Let vs make God our portion by faith He that by faith hath made God his gold shall neuer through couetousnes made gold his god Temporall things can no more fill the heart then spirituall things a chest The world can no more fill the heart Mundus circularis est cor quadratum circulus quadraturam implere non potest then a circle can a square God alone is he that can satisfie the soule on whom the soule hauing layed hold it then holds it selfe well apaid and then and neuer till then sings with Dauid Psal 16. 5. 6. The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance The lines are fallen to me in pleasant places yea I haue a goodly heritage 2. Sobrietie and temperance sober affections in the vse of these earthly things For though couetousnes and prodigalitie be two extremes yet oftentimes couetousnesse is but subordinate to prodigalitie and mens prodigall and intemperate courses makes them couetously scrape that together which may be seruiceable to their lusts Many haue braue or base minds rather they must flaunt and cut it out in apparell furniture houshold attendance Pride must haue this thing delicacie must haue that pleasure cals for this and lust for that Which inordinacies of theirs being costlier then their own estates can beare then couetousnesse instructs them to lay the burden vpon others These intemperate affections crying like horse-leeches Giue giue they teach couetousnes to crie Take take and so by iniustice exaction and oppression do seeke maintenance and exhibition for their pride and luxury out of other mens estates and other mens maintenance which is for their bare necessities must be rauened vp to serue their inordinate and hellish voluptuousnesse Hence comes it that the poore Tenant is racked to maintaine the Landlords dogs hawkes and coaches the poore Tenants backe stripped that their dead walls may be richly clothed the poore Tenant can scarce go in good russet on high dayes because the Landlord like the rich glutton must fare deliciously and go in purple euery day Moderation breeds contentation contentation preserues from couetousnesse He that is content with his owne will neuer put forth his hand to wrong another 3. Set bounds and a stint to thine estate and learne to know when thou hast enough Couetousnes is a desire of more then enough Therefore do men still desire more because