that the meaner shall be driuen to come and buy at their hands And to pay such a price for euery commoditie that he can not liue by selling the same againe and therefore must be constrained either to be come slaue to the greater or else to doe worse Doe not you vsually falsifie your weights by deceite haue you not one weight and measure to sell by and another to buy by Haue you not a false Ballance and a bagge of false Weights which the Lord hateth Doe you not prey vpon the ignorance and necessities of men in buying selling and lending Doe you not prey vpon the necessitie of the time as against this time which you cal the good-time and holy dayes though in regard of the abuse and prophanesse of them they may now iustly be callen the bad time and worst of dayes doe you not set to sale your worst Wares and Commodities and set good glosses vpon the same saying lying and swearing it is the best when there is no such matter And you only doe this that you may prey vpon the necessities of the time and the wants of men which must needes be supplied all which with your cozening and calling of good bad in buying and bad good in selling testifie that amongst you trades-men there is no loue to be found seeing iniust and indirect meanes are in euery sort of you vsed to inrich your selues by therfore let vs in the last place come to cheaters and see whether direct dealing dwell there let vs take a view of their courses they take for their victuals cloathes horses and spending money and we shall be constrained to conclude that loues house is nullibi in these daies For the prouiding of their victuals beholde how with impudent trickes they can draw young Gentlemen to tauernes for dinners or suppers and when all is done by one slie subtill tricke or other finely put it from themselues and vpon the Gallants to pay for all it will not otherwaies stand with their honours worships or reputations Now you see the impudent tricks they haue to victuall the campe let vs see if they haue anie better to cloath it withall to the Taylor or Mercer they goe and there take vp their suites neuer stand vpon termes and prises but let them haue their owne asking but you must vnderstand when they can get it they will promise payment for fewe such pay downe and giue faire words and as manie bonds as they will haue but to pay what they owe is the farthest from their thoughts Thus they deale for their apparrell for their horses and spending monie they haue waies more then manie their father the diuell whom they serue hath taught them well So that they by their long being with and much obseruation of the gallants and young Gentlemen of our daies see how they are disposed and accordinglie fit their humours if to hawkes then that way if to hounds then that if to horses then that if to harlots then that if to quarrelling then that way so that at length by their humoring of them they cosen them with a crackt groat and serue their turnes vpon them and by this meanes haue as good horses and as large a purse as the best of them all Thus doe you see beloued that loue is no where because iniustice is euery where but what is the cause that iniustice thus ouer-spreadeth our land and all degrees in the same The Apostle telleth you the want of loue vnto which I may adde the sinne of our first parents aspiring mindes that we cannot content our selues to be as God would haue vs wee will be housed meated apparrelled and attended according to the fashion and the best not according to our estate place Secondly want of trusting God trusting him no further then we see him the sinne of the murmering Israelites and thirdly presuming that by our owne power wee can helpe our selues Let vs then beloued to remoue this generall iniustice labour to loue one another more and more and that not in word but in deede let vs be content with the Lords fashion and allowance if hee will haue thee to weare cloath doe not thou weare veluet if hee would haue thee to put but one yard into thy garment put not in two If hee would haue thee to haue but one length in thy band or ruffe put not in more Trust God although thou see him not and knowe that the helpe of man is naught worth no man is able by his owne care to adde one cubite vnto his stature So shall iniustice fade and decay but loue and honest dealing flourish more and more that I may perswade you heereto I will endeuour my selfe to lay downe seuerall motiues and practises as helpes and furtherances herein shewing the vanity and vnprofitablenesse of that we so by iniustice search after the first consideration is this That which wee so labour and toile our selues to obtaine per fas or nefas is vncertaine and a matter of nothing for what is it but riches and by consequence honour worship and reputation whereof the wise man plainely affirmeth that it is nothing Prou. 23.5 Why wilt thou cast thy eies vpon it which is nothing for riches taketh her to her wings as an Eagle and flieth into the heauen of which opinion is the Apostle Paul in that his Epistle to Timothie 1.6.7 Charge them which are rich in this world that they be not high minded and that they trust not in vncertaine riches Which the example of that great rich man mentioned Luke 12.21.22 plainly confirmeth Ouer night he had so much that he lacked roome to lay what he had in but in the morning all was nothing so is euery one that is rich in this world and not rich in God lay this to thy soule and often consider it to stay thee from iniust courses to inrich thy selfe by for when thou hast that thou seekest for thou hast that thou hast no certaintie of and in truth a matter of nothing and is it not madnesse for nothing thus to toile thy selfe and iniure others To such a man as thou desirest to be is pronounced a woe Luke 6.24 vae vobis diuitibus which neuer is done against the poore What heart canst thou haue to seeke for such an estate and that iniustly too which hath a woe belonging to it Consider this well and it will make thee feare to be rich and to walke thankfully in pouerty It is an estate that maketh men slacke to Gods seruice hardly to be drawne to God and when they are drawne to him a great meanes to pull them backe as both experience and Scriptures witnesse Who seeth it not but that they which are rich are the tardiest commers to the Church and holy exercises of all others Vpon the Sabboth they cannot attend at the posts of the dore of the Church but must be attended vpon the whole Church and congregation must stay vpon them if they come to the Sermon
pay them that they extort of them house and houshold being vnprouided for and is heere all No. Behold what iniust courses they vse to get that they haue and to ioine house to house might not right for by their might doe they wrest the law out of the hands of the poore and innocent and by that which should be their sword to defend them doe they thrust them out of house and harbour that many of them dwell vpon lands and in houses they haue come to by robberie and crueltie Let the manie hundreds and thousands manie of them haue comming yearely in arising from Church-liuings and lands gotten by might not right the horses they ride on the meate they feede vpon the silkes and sattin sutes they iet vp and downe in bought with the reuenewes of such land witnesse the same Doe they not stretch themselues vpon beds drinke their wine in bowles haue they not their great chambers dining Parlours hung with hangings bought with money which is none of their owne but iniustly kept and held from the owner after the day doe they not daily build houses with the wages of vnrighteousnesse doe they not keepe back their seruants wages and vse the helpe of their neighbours without giuing them for their trauaile Doe they not rob both Countrie and the poore to maintaine their pompe Let the manifolde legacies they keepe in their hands bequeathed to the poore and to charitable vses as making of bridges and mending the high waies witnesse the same So that here this Quaere of Loue hath as bad successe as in the Church Noblemen and Gentlemen are as Iniust as any Let vs put this Quaere to Lawyers is there any loue amongst most of you Alas methinkes most of you answere me Nodum in scirpo quaeris if you seeke for Loue here Which that common Prayer of the people of our age doth verifie for whereas they had wont to pray to be deliuered from the deuill and Hell now they pray to be deliuered from Law and Lawyers but how iustly they doe this let the seuerall trickes you haue to inrich your selues by testifie Doe not you serue your owne turnes vpon your Clients bearing them in hand their cause is good when you know it to be starke-naught like the false Prophets to Ahab Are not you such many of you that besides your Fee you will take a Bribe to procure a day of hearing Doe not you make law a nose of waxe construing it as you please making that Law now which shortly shall bee none Doe not you keepe matters causes and Suites longer depending then needes and for no other ende but that you may pull Clients bare and feather your owne nests with their feathers Doe you heare and Pleade and Iudge matters and cases betwixt man and man without respecting persons Doth the cause of Widdowes and the Fatherlesse come before you as well as the cause of the rich and mightie The complaints of many to the contrarie say there is no such thing And that you may fulfill the measure of your Iniustice you will haue about with God to steale his time from him For doe not you Right Reuerend Iudges ride your Circuits vpon the Lords day vsually and referre matters to bee heard priuately in your Chambers I beseech you let these things bee amended And you that are of the Temples and Innes in and about this Citie doe you not steale the Lords time Are not your Staires troad and your Chambers frequented as much vpon the Sabboth as vpon other dayes This cannot be denied which plainely concludeth that Iniustice is rise amongst you and therefore no true loue Which of you can say with Iob The blessing of him that was ready to perish came vpon mee Iob 29.13 Nay may you not more truely say the cursings of them that were ready to perish come and are vpon vs for our Iniustice Let the bitter curses of more then a fewe Praeoc witnesse what I say As I approoue not their cursing so know you that offences will come but woe be to them by whom offences doe come Which of you can say that you haue put on Iustice Verse 14. and that couereth you and that your Iudgement is a Crowne and Robe vnto you Nay rather can you not more truely say you haue vsed Iniustice and that couereth you You haue peruerted Iustice and Iudgement and that is it that hath brought so many Crownes Angels and Robes vnto you Can you say that when you knew not the cause you sought it out diligently Few or none of you can so say If the matter and cause be ambiguous and troublesome doe not you refuse to meddle in it Or if you be importuned thereunto Doe you not so shuffle and daube it ouer that when it commeth to bee looked into againe it proueth worse then at the first like an olde Wound that was not healed to the bottome These things are more then plaine amongst many of you as wofull and daily experience sheweth whereby it appeareth that there is no Loue amongst you to bee found and that all this while in seeking Loue amongst you Nodum in scirpo quaesiui From you let mee come to Tradesmen what say you is there any more Loue amongst you I doubt it sore your indirect courses to inrich your selues by say you haue no Loue amongst you First to begin with you Aldermen doe not you as you come into place of Magistracie sell the Offices of Sergeants Yeomen and the like vnder you Some for twentie Pound some for fortie Pound some for an hundred Pound If this be so as the complaint is you hereby testifie that Loue is far from amongst you Doe not you oppresse others by the diuers Taskes Fifteenes and Impositions and your vnequall Ceffing of men therein so that they which worst may do beare the burden I accuse not any of you let euery soule examine himselfe the generall voice is you doe this if you doe it can you say there is any Loue amongst you to lay heauie burdens vpon others that you may goe light laden Doe not you put your money to Vsurie Yes let that epethite though commonly spoken yet peculiar appropriated to you Vsurie the Aldermans Trade witnesse this And is this nothing Right Honourable and Right Worshipfull that I may say no more then Ezekiel did of Ierusalem Ezek. 22.2 Let mee say so much O bloody London because with many other sinnes thy Inhabitants Verse 12. especially most of thy Aldermen haue taken Vsurie and the increase and defrauded their neighbours by Extortion by all which it appeareth that amongst the chiefe of you that haue to doe in Trading in this Citie there is no Loue. And if we descend to the inferiour sort we shall find as little For doe not those which are rich amongst you like Pickrels labour to eate vp all the rest And that either by ouer-selling the poorer and meaner ones or else by ingrossing all into their hands
and pulled thereto happie art thou is it not sweete vnto thee afterward but grieuous a burthen pressing thee downe thou art truely spirituall Motiues to mooue vs to be farre from reioyccing in our owne or others sinnes First consider the ende of euery sinne whosesoeuer it is without repentance damnation so that a man is going to the place of execution when hee committeth sinne let this consideration enter into thy heart and it will make thee farre from being merry at sinne wilt thou grieue to see a man to goe from Newgate to Tiburne to execution and wilt thou not much more grieue to see thy selfe and others to goe from hence to hell to execution and endles torments Secondly consider the examples of holy men first of our Sauiour he wept to see the gracelesnesse of Ierusalem that she would not when shee might be visited the Lord hauing so kindly as he had often times visited her by sending to her early and late but alas ye weepe not that ye haue done this resisted the trueth as Iannes and Iambres withstood Moses you being men of corrupt mindes reprobate concerning the truth Lot hee was vexed from day to day neuer had merry day nor night because of the filthinesse of the Sodomites The people of God in Ezekiels time mourned for the iniquities of the people Ieremiah wept night and day for the slaine of the daughter of his people but alas what doe these preuaile O let them bee alwayes before thine eyes in thy heart yea let them be as thy signet vpon thy right hand to mooue thee to bee farre from making thy selfe merry with thine owne and others sinnes Shall Christ weepe for Ierusalem because shee will not heare and wilt thou laugh to see England and the men thereof stop their eares against the voyce of the Charmer shall Lot be vexed from day to day with the filthinesse of the Sodomites and wilt thou with the vncleannesse of England from day to day at bed and at board make thy selfe merry Consider the ouglinesse of sinne what it cost thy Sauiour it is most ougly and filthy and the smell of it most noisome in the nostrils of Gods Saints and canst thou reioyce at it lift vp thy head and be merry thereat alas if thou come through the close streetes of the City which are for the most part most noisom thou wilt looke downeward stop thy nose and shew thy dislike of those filthy smels by thy speeches and yet thou canst come by yea walke by and talke with these filthy dunghils of the world belching out more filthy smels then all the dunghils in the Citie and yet thou canst hold vp thy head and laugh at the same pitifull and lamentable to beholde especially this being found there and in those persons where and by whom sinne should be most punished As in your spirituall courts You make but a tush of sinne yea of whoredome it selfe you can and doe make your selues merrie both in your Courts and else-where with the things there related If this will not preuaile to root out this euill let the consideration of the work our sinne had in our Sauiour moue vs. Oh wilt thou reioyce at that which made him heauie and sad shall that make thee laugh so that teares shall passe from thine eies with ioy which made our Sauiour to shed both water blood O beloued let it neuer be said that thou art so gracelesse and little respectiue of Christ thy Sauiour whom thou labourest hereby to crucifie againe and doest no lesse then laugh him to scorne Out of the word signifying iniustice especially meant in this place we learne Doctrine That loue seeketh not by iniustice to inrich her selfe It taketh no delight to bee made rich by iniustice which the examples of holy men in Scripture euery where witnesse as first of Ioseph who refused to consult with flesh and bloud and therefore would depend vpon God rather then to labour ro continue his fauour or better his estate by dealing iniustly with his Maister importuned so to doe by his Mistris Like vnto which is that example of Iacob who would no way iniurie his Maister to enrich himselfe and therefore hee cleaâ—eth himselfe by saying That whatsoeuer is found more with him then couenant namely what sheepe or goates were found more then those that had little or great spots of black vpon them with him should be theft vnto him Gen. 10.33 A patterne worth the obseruing for seruants both bond and free in our daies If all shold be theft as it is in truth before God that they haue taken and filched from their Maisters more then their wages all the prisons in London would not be able to hold all the theeues in London for either flatly and plainly doe they play the theeues or else more politiquely and that they will stand in defence of to be no theft to sell their Maisters wares to allow him so much as he priseth them at and by which they knowe he may be an honest gainer the rest keepe to themselues On riches of iniquitie and heerein doe you commit two sinnes theft with your Maister and oppression with others by haling them to a greater price then indeede you should And as he did not by theft labour to inrich himselfe neither did he by his lasie negligent and halfe seruing of his Maister hee bestowed all the time he should vpon his Maisters businesse he did not loue his bed better then his Maisters businesse for his sleepe departed from his eies neither did he shrinke for the heate of the day or the colde of the night for saith hee I was in the day consumed with heate and with frost in the night and my sleepe departed from mine eies Gen. 31.40 And as this holy man was farre from seeking to inrich himselfe by vnlawfull and vniust courses So Paul protesteth that he was farre from the same which hee auoucheth as a testimonie of his loue though not requited with loue againe to the Corinthians 2. Cor. 12.15.16.17 This doctrine will appeare more dilucidly in the trueth thereof If wee consider that where loue hath beene wanting there men haue not cared by iniust courses to inrich themselues as Ahab to get Naboths vineyard by murder Absolon to aspire to the Kingdome by flatterie and Iudas to betray his Maister vpon enuie and hastie anger Reason Loue teacheth vs to doe to and by others as wee would haue others to doe to and by our selues Vse To examine by our iust dealing and direct courses taken to enrich our selues by what loue is amongst vs and at whose house and in whose person true loue dwelleth but alas no where or but in few places is true loue the loue of God to be found but the loue of the Diuell who alwaies hath and euer will labour to enrich himselfe by accusing of the Brethren lying to Ahab by his false Prophets false cyting of Scriptures to our Sauiour Christ Equiuocating and sophisticall