A CAVEAT FOR THE COVETOVS OR A SERMON PREACHED at Paules Crosse vpon the fourth of December out of Luke 12.15 By WILLIAM WHATELIE Preacher of the word of God in Banbury The loue of the world is enmitie against God You cannot serue God and Mammon LONDON Printed by T. S. for Thomas Man and Mathew Lawe 1609. TO THE COVRTEOVS Reader CHristian READER Nothing is more lamentable than the worldlinesse of vs Christians Our life is little else but a breach of our most solemne vow to the Lord of life Wee renounced the world at our first entrance into the Church of God deuoting our selues to the seruice of Christ These were good words if there were any thing besides words in the most of vs. But being growne wee renounce Christ and returne to the seruice of the world in all our actions Our deeds proue that wee doe but onely talke of God and Christ and heauen for what hath God but our breath and with what doe wee seeke heauen but with the tongue the world hath heart and hands and if not all yet most of all our strength Being therefore against my will and earnest entreatie to the contrary commaunded to speak vnto this great congregation I thought I could not discharge mine owne dutie profit the present auditorie better than if I did labour to beate downe this vice which hath gotten more ground against the power of godlinesse I thinke then the diuels whole hoast of lusts besides If I haue offended in any thing it is in being too plaine which whether it be a fault yea or no in a preacher I cannot determine with my selfe but I know well it is lesse faulty then that other extreame which in our times is more in price and vse Yet me thinkes the Apostle Paul hath giuen vs a very good direction saying it hath pleased God by the foolishnesse of preaching to saue the beleeuers 1. Cor. 1.21 Doth the Apostle disgrace Gods ordinance by giuing it such a name or doth hee not rather deride mens censures that so miscall it For not the wise not the learned not the wittie not the eloquent kinde of preaching doth helpe mens soules to heauen but that kinde which the greatest part out of their fleshlinesse esteeme base and foolish because it wants the excellencie of words the enticing speeches of mans wisedome as elsewhere the same Apostle saith If I should aime at any other end in preaching then the saluation of men were I not accursed for doing Gods work negligently or peruersely If ayming at this I should vse any but his owne meanes were I not foolish that would prefer mine own thoughts to his If this kind of preaching please God why not speaker why not hearer why not all If it saue men why should it not content those that come the one to offer the other to seeke saluation To say the truth I doe not vnwillingly confesse that my learning is but small For much learning requireth much reading much reading many yeares which all that know me know to be wanting vnto me Wherefore to make shew of much by the helpe of an index or such like when I haue it not were but a cousoning tricke and a pranke beseeming a bragger or a bankerout of whom Salomon saith There is that maketh himselfe rich and hath nothing But say I had had the greatest abundance of learning yet it behoued me to remember that a pulpit is not a place to shew schollership in but faithfulnes nor to declare how well read we are in other authours but how ill practised the hearers are in the will and word of God the best author Preaching was not appointed to tickle the eare with a gay speech and learned oration but to peirce the heart with a sharpe reproofe and earnest exhortation not to winne credit and applause to the speaker but to work knowledge and obedience in the hearer not to make the auditorie commend vs and say sure hee is a good Scholler a man of good wit and great reading c. But to condemne themselues and say wee haue beene bad men men of polluted hearts and liues In a word not to draw men to admire the gifts of him that speaketh and offer him preferment but to repent of their owne sinnes and offer submission vnto Christ that sent him to speake This if the Minister aime at hee is happy and the people also if he attaine it but whosoeuer aimes at credit or profit in preaching may goe from the Pulpit to hell and take his wages with the hypocrite to whom it is saide that he hath receiued his reward Loth would I be to buy praise or profit at such a price neyther did I dare to hazard my selfe vnto God for misintending his ordinance and handling his word in a wrong manner With this determination did I come to speake with this determination should euery Christian come to heare And if any twit me with the name of an English Preacher a name taken vp to disgrace the foolishnes of preaching which God commends I haue to answere that I speake to Englishmen and the most no Schollers otherwise it had not beene hard to haue heaped vp and learned by heart and spoken readily many a Greeke and Latin sentence fit for the purpose but who would loose labor and time make two speakings where one would serue the turne And in this plaine manner Reader haue I encountred by the sword of the spirit this capital euill of the world which is worldlinesse I was willing to publish being spoken what I was not willing to speake hoping to helpe some man against the sinne which I speake against besides mine hearers if but one Christian grow lesse earthly by benefit of this labour my recompence is sufficient if not one yet I haue this fruite that I intended to doe good and endeauoured it Now Reader if thou meete with any fault censure it with fauour for I am but a man and in reading apply nothing to any but to thy selfe I haue my desire Thus I commend thee and thy grouth in vertue to the helpe and assistance of our gracious Father Banbury Ianuary Thine in all Christian affection William Whately M. VVHATELIES SERMON PREACHED AT PAVLES CROSSE Luke 12.15 Take heede and beware of couetousnesse for though a man haue aboundance his life consists not in his riches THese are the wordes of our Sauiour Christ vttered vpon occasion of a certaine accident related immediatly before Two brethren were at variance about their fathers lands It seemes that one would haue had all to himselfe and left very little or nothing to his brother Hereupon the party that thought himselfe wronged entreats our Sauiour by good counsell to compose the controuersie betwixt them and to bring his brother to some more equall course of diuision Our Lord that alwaies regarded the the soule more than the state perceiuing couetousnesse to be the cause of this contention refuseth to intermeddle with the parting of
their lands and fals to cure that disease of their soules which procured all this distemper This he begins to doe in the verse present and prosecutes more at large in the sequel of the Chapter These words diuide themselues into two parts The first Christs exhortation Take heed and beware of couetousnesse The second the reason wherewith he backs his exhortation taken from the ineffectualnesse of wealth the obiect of couetousnesse for though a man haue aboundance c. that is if any man should heape vp all superfluities hee shall finde no more safety quiet or contentment of life from this his copheaped plenty of outward things The point of doctrine which our Sauiour Christ aimes at Doctrine in the discussing of which I purpose to spend the time alotted is so manifest that no man can chuse but see it whosoeuer will be ruled by Christ must beware of Couetousnesse All true Christians that doe hang at Christs mouth for direction and shew their hope of saluation by practise of obedience must shun and auoide with al diligence this hatefull sinne of worldlinesse one word of Christ should be sufficient to a Christian soule but he was not so scant of words as once onely to warne vs of such a capitall euill The same spirit spake in his Apostles that in himselfe and by their mouthes he hath giuen vs many like aduertisements whereof some one or two it shall suffice to haue mentioned Colos 3.5 The Apostle speaks to Christians in this manner Mortifie therefore your earthly members fornication vncleannesse inordinate affection euill concupiscence and couetousnesse which to prouoke our greater hatred he cals by that hatefull name of idolatry And well might he so call it for it causeth a man to repose his hope of safetie vpon riches which should be wholy and onely fixed vpon the Lord of hoasts seeing it is impossible that any thing should secure a man from danger vnlesse it doe surpasse all other thinges in power and in greatnesse this sinne is you see a capitall enimie of our saluation which in our Christian warfare we should fight against and striue to slaughter in our selues The Apostle also Heb. 13.5 hath saide to the same purpose Let your conuersation be without couetousnes The word is in the originall without the loue of mony But all comes to one reckoning And it is obseruable that he saith your conuersation to meete with the deceitfull hollownesse of those that content themselues in some few actions to appeare not couetous whilst in other actions at other times they be wholly polluted with this sin Their counterfeit and maymed diligence answeres not the large extent of this commandement A good mans life if Gods counsell might be heard should not in one or two alone but in all the parts thereof bee free from the staines of this wickednesse More places might be produced for the proofe of the same truth if it were as needfull as easie so to doe But the chiefe difficultie in this thing will bee not so much to winne consent of iudgement to the point as conformitie of practise to the iudgement Wherfore to the intent that Christs speeches may bee more profitably regarded and this fault more carefully shunned by you all that heare me this day I will in few words set out some of the most harmful effects that ensue vpon this vicious disposition of minde that Christ cals couetousnesse First Reason 1 it vtterly hinders the sauing operation of the word of God and causeth the most powerfull instrument of regeneration and saluation to be altogether ineffectuall for the producing of these effects in that party in whom it beareth sway That our Sauiour plainely witnesseth when he compareth the word to seed the Preacher to the seedsman the heart to the ground this couetousnes to the thornes that choake the seede The Husbandman may cast away graine vpon a parcell of land ouer-runne with brambles but the seede so bestowed will neuer come in at haruest So the Minister may preach the word to worldly minded men but he shall spend his strength in vaine Let vs study neuer so painefully teach neuer so constantly proue neuer so strongly exhort neuer so powerfully this time and labour is but lost among our earthly affected hearers Eyther they come not to heare or attend not in hearing or meditate not after hearing And this you must marke brethren that euen attentiue hearing without meditation will not ingraffe the word into your hearts it will not profit the soule more than much getting when a man keeps nothing can benefit his estate Well may it increase swimming but not sauing knowledge it may furnish ones head with wordes and matter for honest discourse but not ones heart with vprightnesse and sinceritie for godly conuersation Thus then stands the case The Lord offers thee his word to enlighten thy mind to sanctifie thine heart to conuert thy soule and make thee a true Christian Couetousnes opposeth it selfe will not suffer the word to dwell in thine heart nor thine heart to ponder vpon the word and so causeth thee to be but an hypocrite at the best shouldest thou not auoide it Secondly Reason 2 another euill as bad as this comes vp together with this This sinne steales away the heart from heauen and those desirable graces of Gods spirit that fit a man for heauen Colos 3.2 The Apostle Paul wisheth vs to set our affections vpon the things that are aboue and not vpon the things that are below intimating an vtter impossibilitie to doe both as if hee had told vs that there be 2. sorts of obiects after which mens affections are carried some are of the earth earthly momentanie transitorie and vnable to giue any sound and lasting contentment Such are houses lands goods money in a word worldly things Others are from heauen heauenly substantiall constant immortall truely profitable to the whole man such are faith repentance the spirit of prayer the fauour of God in a word Christ and his benefites And wee must vnderstand this that the body may ascend and descend at the same time as well as the soule or affections goe earthward and heauen-ward both at once Where the treasure is there will be the heart bee it in heauen or in earth no man hath two hearts two treasures the one is but counterfait if any at all Nowe this couetousnesse as an arrow shot from hell doth nayle the heart to the very ground that it cannot bee lifted vpwards and as a lime-twig set by the Diuell so intangles the wings of the soule that it cannot possibly fly vpward toward its proper home The worldly man is so taken vp in courting and wooing his harlotry mistresse the world which hath taken him with her eyelids of gaine and inueigled him with her naked breasts of commoditie that the suite for heauen and things thereof is altogether neglected and forsaken Therefore the scripture cals the worldling an adulterer because as the whoremaister leaues a beautifull
to liue here for a few dayes and then yeeld to the stroke of death and of corruption the other a soule incorporall spirituall immortall which cannot die nor suffer corruption And the Lords will is that a man liuing here in the body should make all carefull wise and godly prouision for his soule that that departing hence out of the body may not be cast into the torments of eternall vengeance which are prepared for such as in this life vse not all good diligence to escape them but may rather enioy its portion in that euerlasting and vnspeakable blisse which is also made ready for all them that doe constantly and with honest hearts vse the meanes to attaine the same And the meanes of attaining this happines are faith repentance and the continual encrease of these graces by praying reading and meditating in the word and good conference daily as also hearing the word preached when occasion is offered and sanctifying vnto the Lord for these vses euery seauenth day For the former of these are to the soule of him that hath a true liuing soule as I may so tearme them daily repasts and meales wherewith his inward man is strengthened and refreshed growing daily from grace to grace the latter that is the celebration of the sabboth is as I may say a solemne feast day and a great banquet for the soule wherein all bodily labours so farre as mercy necessitie and comelinesse will permit being set apart the soule should haue libertie after a more then ordinary manner to solace and delight it selfe in God and feede vpon Iesus Christ in the word and Sacraments other holy exercises that it may grow fat well liking in all graces and chiefely faith and repentance the two principall graces Now these being the meanes of Gods owne ordaining to attaine sound grace here and glory hereafter dayly to pray read and meditate and conferre of good things weekly to sanctifie the Sabboth hee that doth so surcharge himselfe or his family with outward busines that he hath not leisure daily to performe the daily duties and weekly that weekly dutie in such conscionable sort as God doth require at his hand for a purpose so profitable and most excellent cannot denie that he loues the world too much being that he seeketh not as Christ commands first the kingdome of heauen but first the worthlesse things that this earth can afford and leauing that which is the true and proper end of his being here that is to get grace and saluation employes himselfe too much about that which was but a secondary end and to be done onely by the way so farre as might be helpfull to the former and no further Euery man will yeeld that hee desires earthly things inordinately which desires them more than eternall life and it is as certaine that he rather wisheth wealth then eternall life which suffers the meanes of attaining that to shoulder out and exclude quite or else driue into a very narrow corner small roome the means of attaining this for the desires rule the actions and that a man longeth most for which hee most labours for As he that suffers hawkes hounds and vain though in themselues lawfull pastimes so to deuour his time that he hath little or no leisure for the performing of the fore-mentioned religious duties is conuicted before all vnpartiall Iudges to be a louer of pleasure more than a louer of God So hee that suffers buying selling bargaining reckoning trauailing and any such businesse lawfull in it selfe but vnlawfull in the immoderate vse of it to rob him of leisure for the same exercises must needs be condemned to loue wealth more than God by the verdict of any man that will speake the truth according to his conscience and therefore bee it noted as a sure rule that euery man is in that measure couetous that ouer-worke-some and laborious about worldly things and in that measure ouer-laborious that he suffers the plenty of these things to withdraw him from the conscionable constant and holy performing of better things tending more directly to a better life 4. Vniustice of which Now folfows the last note of couetousnes and that is vniustice or the vsing of iniurious and indirect meanes to get wealth For must it not needes be yeelded that hee desireth wealth too much which will dig to hell fall downe to the diuell for it And what else is it but a falling downe to the Diuell for it when a man doth put the regard of obedience to God of charitie to his neighbour of honestie in himselfe behinde the respect of enriching his estate to al which things doth he not manifestly prefer mony that wil do wrong to win it God forbids wrong charitie honestie and euery mans conscience forbids it onely the Diuell and lucre commaund it Is hee not worthy to be called a money-slaue and a slaue to the diuel that wil disobey all these to serue the desire of being rich for is not euery man his seruant to whom he doth obey And doth he not obey lucre abiectly that will rebell against the most high Lord and the conscience his officer for these things sake So then euery man is so farre forth couetous as vniust in his dealings 1 In generall Now all those practises are vniust and vnequall which be not conformable to two generall rules set downe in Scripture that by them we might square out al our particular actions The first is to do to euery man as we would haue him do vnto vs. Not as we out of our disordered distempered passions somtime be content to haue another deale with vs so we may deale with them but what in the true sentence of our iudgement Mat. 7.12 grounded vpon due and deliberate consideration of the things we would approue of being done to vs that wee must doe to our neighbours so that whatsoeuer thing a man would condemne in his iudgement not in his passions being offered to himselfe that is wrong and iniquitie if he offer it to another The second rule is Gal. 5.13 1 Cor. 13.6 to serue each other in loue for loue seekes not it owne thinges meaning only without regard of another but doth so equally and indifferently consider another with it selfe that it would not profite it selfe with this endammagement therefore whosoeuer is wholy possessed with selfe-regards and hath his eye so fixed vpon his owne aduantage that he cannot looke vpon another man with any euen regard of him this man in all such dealings walkes iniuriously because vncharitably and shal be condemned though not by the strict law of humane iustice yet by the perfect rule of Christian charitie for a wrong doer And by these 2. rules wisely applyed to each seuerall action it wil be easie to spie out vniustice though it hide it selfe vnder neuer so faire and colourable pretexts But wee shall not haue sufficiently pressed this sore if wee deale with it alone in
sufficient care to resist reforme this fault in themselues haue been shamefully foyled by Sathan and drawne somtimes to most vniust and discommendable courses such as the wicked world hath euen taken notice of and as I may so speake hath showted and howted at them glad to take any exception and therefore much more reioycing that so iust a cause of euill speaking hath been offered It is an outcry of the world that those which would be accounted most forward professors of religion those that doe seeme to make so much account of preaching and sermons and so forth euen these are as hard as vniust as couetous in their dealings as the worst of their neighbours And surely brethren though the world willing to report the worst of things doe vse a tricke of rethorique in aggrauating yet it cannot be denyed that your liues hath giuen matter inough to worke vpon It is a true complaint of many that make great shew of religion that though they bee not as couetous as the worst yet they be too notoriously couetous and the ouer-abundance of this euill weed doth dissauour all the graces and vertues which are or seeme to be in them Why wilt thou if thou fearest God suffer thy selfe to be so basely carried away with the desires of these things that here-hence thou shouldest run into courses of that nature as make thy profession euill spoken of as open the wicked mouthes of clamorous men against thee as renders thy name a white or marke for all those that are willing to cast out the venemous darts of oblequie and reproch against the same as giues wicked men occasion to shelter themselues from all reproofes by retorting thy bad actions in the face of the reproouer as make sinners to applaude themselues in their sinnes and thinke though I make not such a shew as such an one yet he is as couetous as I am otherwise faultie Yea as doe cause all good men and religion it self to receiue disgrace when they can say though lyingly yet badly enough hauing the example of some such to pretend as euidence against all that such are all the sort of you I beseech you brethren if any of you that feare God haue beene ouerled with these earthly things let him now see and consider of these many and grieuous inconueniences and see what the immoderate following of the world can yeelde him answerable to the losse of all those comforts that his heart should enioy if it were rid better of this sin and to those good affections and praises that he should haue from good men if he did ouer-come this sinne and to that freedome and safety from the scourge of the tougues of lewd men that might come to him had he not giuen them the aduantage against him by vnmuzling their mouthes with the too too grosse practising of this sinne Now then consider this with thy selfe whosoeuer thou maist be Disgrace thy selfe disgrace religion dishonor Gods holy name cause wicked men to exult thy friends Gods seruants to be grieued no more Do no more I say rush vpon all or any of these inconueniences through the too much dotage after these base and contemptible things If I cannot preuaile with them that haue beene wholy worldlings and altogether men of this earth yet with thee that hast some good things some sparkes of Gods spirit some truth of religion and hope of a better life let me yea let God and Gods ordinance preuaile to make thee reforme thine heart and life in this behalfe in comming to this place and lending your eare to Iesus Christ speaking in his owne ordinance you make a shew to intend obedience to his word who by his spirit stands in the midst of you searching euery mans hidden heart you make a shew of obedience the ende of hearing is doing Shew me that you were not hypocrits in comming to the sermon let your liues speake for you that you did in sinceritie present your selues before the Lord and were neither fooles to come hither to no end nor dissemblers to come for a wrong end I doubt not but euery one of your consciences which hath with any reasonable attention hearkned is I am sure it ought to haue beene sufficiently conuinced of the loathsomnesse and vilenesse of this sinne yea and of our owne faultinesse in it diuers wayes Shew forth the fruite of the word gaine a blessing be doers not hearers alone Now you haue looked in the glasse of the word and seene the spots and staines of earthlinesse discouered go home purge and cleanse your selues of them hereafter Be not like him that looks in a glasse but washeth not his face be not so but let the word of God be to you in power cast this monstrous euill and the dregs of it out of your likings and your liues But will some man say is sin so easily left or can wee so soon preuail against it indeed as you speak against it no but there must be some pains taken about it and then I doe not doubt nay dare promise to a christian soule the victory against this sin that it shall goe downe the winde and bee of the loosing hand And that you may the better amend your selues in this matter I will stand a while to shew you these two things First what be the causes of couetousnes Secondly The causes of couetousnesse are misconceiuing of God and of wealth what be the remedies against couetousnesse which if any man will apply wisely vnto himselfe hee shall finde a meruailous cure and that in a short space wrought vpon his heart First then the maine and principall procreant causes of couetousnesse are two errors in the vnderstanding or iudgement For indeed such is the nature of the affections that they doe seldome or neuer offend but through the former faultinesse of the mind Seldome doth the desire or loue or hatred ouer-shoote themselues but through the deceite of the vnderstanding part that being first disordered it selfe disorders those that are as seruants to it ouerhastie to the worst and ouer-slow in the best actions And in the perticular therefore the desire is inordinately and vnlawfully carryed after wealth because the eye of the minde mistaketh it marke in these two respects First it doth not apprehend in God such abundance of power and will to saue helpe and deliuer as indeed there is in him and euery man should acknowledge in him and so the mind being by this falshood driuen from the strong hold of Gods name is faine to cast about for some other place of defence and then wealth offers it selfe to helpe as the bramble to the king ouer the trees the mind still dazeled and iudging after the appearances of things not after the truth doth conceiue that riches are indeed able to helpe Now vpon these two grosse mistakings it followes that the desire which is ready prest to pursue that which is esteemed helpfull and profitable sets forward it selfe with all
beggar as well as hee that is so borne And I pray you doe but aske your owne memories if they cannot tell of diuers in their owne knowledge that from great wealth came to a morsell of bread whose youth swimming in dainties their elder yeeres would haue snapt at a crust as we say and beene glad of any releefe and that also in many not through their owne default And yet is not wealth vnprofitable Againe for inward troubles that be naturall as griefes cares iealousies and feares 4. Minde for natural respects wee know that as cobwebs breed sooner vnder wainscote and faire hangings than vpon a plain wall so these arise in greater measure to them that are most clogd with plenty as whose liues in all mens sight doe most shew it and if they doe at any time want them not their money but some other thing doth free them from the same But yet perhaps wealth may mittigate the paine of a crosse though it cannot keepe it off Indeed of all the profitable effects 3. For mittigating any euill this is the least lowest but wealth is too base and weake to effect any such mittigation When a rich man lies sicke of any disease hath hee one pang lesse or is he able to beare one pang more patiently because hee can make a greater Inuentory than his neighbours or when hee is falne into pouerty and decay doth it asswage nay doth it not rather augment the sorrow that once he was in this and this place abundance If a libell or a false report be cast out against him doeth it sting or nettle him lesse or not rather more than another Nay doe wee not see that because it makes the hart bigger it makes also the crosse heauier commonly so that a meaner man could with fewer cryes and lamentations lay fiue Children in the graue than he can carry out one A poore man could with lesse vexation beare an hundred ill words and raylings than he the least crosse-word Of all men ordinarily none vexe themselues more vnder a crosse than the wealthy because they least looke for it and wealth we know cannot buy patience because not wisedome and godlinesse that are the mothers and nurses of patience But yet will some man say the rich man hath a fire when another man sits cold the rich man is warme clad when another is subiect to winde and weather he fares well when an other is hungry I answere hee is as free from colde that goes in frize or carsey as he that is in sattin and veluet and it hath not yet beene brought to light that the warmth of veluet is more wholesome or more comfortable than that of frize Also hee sleepes as well that lyes vpon a flock-bed or a pad of straw as hee that hath his down-bed and pillowes and his Arras couering and the softest sheetes Yea and he that hath but one dish or perhaps onely bread and cheese and now and then some warme meate feeds as sweetly and with as good an appetite digests as wholesomely and with as sound a stomacke as hee that hath dainties brought to his table from the furthest quarters of the world so that herein the man that hath but enough for food raiment is at least his equal that hath an ouerplus and not the rich mans superfluitie but his competency doth afford him these benefits which diuers times are made more vnsauory neuer more able to comfort and content by their ouer-plentious store and wee tooke in hand to shew not that sufficient for meate drink and cloath to content nature which is the measure wherewith God limits our desires but a superfluitie of things which couetousnes aimes at is vnprofitable worth nothing Which seeing it can bring neither health contentmēt nor good name neither grace vertue nor forgiuenes of sins seeing it cannot driue away sin Sathan hell death sicknesse pain sorrow yea or pouertie nor extenuate the torment of any of these as euery mans heart will tell him that it cannot In a word seeing it wil not make a man liue one whit the longer or with more comfort nor die one whit free for pangs and griefe nor gaine heauen nor escape hell the sooner when hee is dead will you not see and confesse it to be a thing of naught And may I not say cease from wealth which hath no breath or strength at all for wherein is it to be esteemed And therefore though thy crooked heart is not willing to yeeld How fickle and vncertaine it is yet thy iudgement cannot choose but be conuinced of this that great riches are vnprofitable and not worth a rush But say it were not so little commodious yea say that it could doe any of the fore named things yet I wil prooue to your consciences that it is not worthy your desires because of the next property thereof which is vncertaintie It is like a runnagate seruant a fugitiue a plaine vagrant which though he be big-boned and strong and skilfull and able to worke yet no man greatly cares for because hee will be gone when a man hath most neede of him and perhaps also take something away with him that was more worth than all his seruice So wealth will take its heeles when a man hath most vse for it and carry contentment away too which is more precious than all the false happinesse that it could procure whilest it remayned with vs. This wealth hops from man to man and place to place as a light winged bird from tree to tree And no man can say where it wil roust at night The holy Ghost hath compared it to a wilde foule most swift of wing and strong in flight saying Prou. 23.5 Riches takes it selfe to it wings and flyes away Not like a cocke or hen or some tame house-bird that a man may follow and cath againe no nor like an hawke that will shew where she is by her bels and be called againe with a lure but like an Eagle that mounts aloft past sight and is caried away with so much hast that nothing will recall her And where is the man that can clippe the wings of this eagle when it is in his owne custodie that it shall not be gone from him when hee thinkes least of it If it could procure any benefit to your liues you see it were not yet worth your wishes nor your toyle for it departs when you should vse it and that without taking leaue and then as he that riseth from a stoole and thinketh to sit downe againe the stoole being remooued takes the more dangerous knocke so the minde that relyed on wealth when it misseth it is more tormented with vexation by the vntrustinesse thereof And surely who hath liued so litle a while but he hath seene wealth run away from many a maister and neuer came at him againe to his dying day Yea ofttimes also leaue him to hunger thirst nakednesse and all miserie and reproch yea
hee takes inordinately by seeing the encrease of his worldly substance as the rich man in the Gospell when hee thought hee had riches laid vp in store for many yeeres doth so tickle and warm his heart that the streame of tears is dryed vp which should be spent in bewailing his sinnes or else that worldly sorrow and vexation that stinges him vpon the sense of outward crosses and the disappointment of his hopes in earthly matters doth turne the streame of weeping quite another way that it cannot come to the washing of his soule and purging of his conscience Then meeke he cannot be for he is alwaies possessed with one or other passion of carnall ioy or griefe or enuie or the like which as a storme or tempest on the sea doth fil him ful of rage and distemper The spirit of God hath called him a trouble house saying hee that is greedy of gaine troubles his owne house and it is impossible that his heart should be meeke and quiet when as hee cannot suffer his house so to be Also for hungring and thirsting after righteousnesse it cannot be that his appetite should stand that way for the doges-hunger and dropsie-thirst of wealth doth so gnaw torment his soule that he hath no leisure to long for Christ and the imputation or communication of his righteousnesse So that he may freely lap in the filthy puddles of the world he neuer cares for the sweet and wholesome streames to which Iesus Christ doth inuite him and if the may gorge himself with the foule garbage of ill gotten goods the pleasant and delightfull foode of the soule is but vnsauery to him And like as one that hath the greene sicknesse or some other such disease will leaue the best meat to feede on salt oat-meale or some such like vnwholesome thing so the pallate and stomacke of his soule is in that measure disordered as he will reiect righteousnesse it selfe to surfet vpon filthy lucre But as for being mercifull that stands not in any sort with his profession if he should suffer his heart to relent at the miseries of distressed men and open his purse to releeue them that would surely lessen the heape of his money which hee must not dare to doe A peece of money goes from him as drop of bloud from his heart with such a liuely feeling and paine that he cannot be well pleased with that whatsoeuer which draws it away And therfore he hath eyther no pittie and mercie or else but by starts and fits now and then which is as good as none Now for puritie of heart how can it bee conceiued that hee should haue it whose soule is as nest for the diuell or a cage of vncleane birds in vvhich sinne and Sath an may sit and hatch and hurke and bring vp all their broodes of damnable lusts and practises if that they will lay now and then a golden egge or two among for the satisfying of his greedy humour Hee that hath the roote of all euill in his heart cannot haue a pure heart Moreouer for peace making crosse him in his penny and hee will trouble all the world neyther can hee put vp a wrong that toucheth him in his commoditie without being auenged All the world can tell that couetousnesse is the father mother nurse and all of most debates and strifes for it makes a man set against euery man from whom he may wrest any prsofit and stand against euery man also to whom he should pay any dues And for the last step of all which is to suffer persecution for righteousnesse sake this he will neuer do his goods are his God if it come to those termes that eyther he must leaue riches or righteousnesse with true religion and the practise of it he loues God well but his mony better Alas he must be borne with God giues good words indeed but a man cannot liue with words his mony hee can feele see that pleaseth his sense so well that he thinkes it folly to part with it for such a matter And therefore as the young man in the Gospell hee hangs his head in his bosome and goes his wayes with a sad countenance something sory that he cannot please Christ and keepe his wealth both but what euer come of it hee must keepe that The world is his mistresse and he must imbrace her then farewell righteousnesse and religion So that now a man might very truly turne the speeches of our Sauiour Christ against the couetous man and say Cursed be the couetous for he is not poore but proud in spirit therfore the kingdome of hell is his cursed be the couetous for hee cannot mourne for his sins but for his losses onely and therefore he shal neuer be comforted Cursed be the couetous for he is not meeke but froward in heart and therefore he shall not inherite the earth which he so much wisheth Cursed be the couetous for hee doth not long after righteousnesse but after riches and therefore he shall neuer be satisfied Cursed be the couetous for he is not merciful but hard-hearted and therefore hee shall finde no mercy Cursed be the couetous for he is not a peace-maker but a make-bate and therefore hee shall be called the childe of the Diuell Cursed be the couetous for he is not pure but filthy in heart and therfore he shall neuer see God Cursed be the couetous for hee cannot suffer the losse of his wealth for righteousnesse sake and therefore the kingdome of hell is his Must you not then needs yeeld brethren that this is a sin much to be shunned which doth annihilate the sauing power of the word of God steale away the heart from the loue of heauen the things of God force the heart to the harboring of the most foule temptations and hinder the heart from attayning any part of blessednesse yea plunge it into such a multitude of curses Seeing then it is apparant that this vice is most enormious and pernicious to the soule let vs make some vse of this point to our consciences First then vpon this ground we may safely build an exhortation to all and euery of you that you doe search your owne hearts and liues to find how farre this filthy sinne hath found entertainement there when Iesus Christ doth so precisely forbid an euill no Christian can deny knowing his nature to bee inclinable to all euill that it behooueth from such exhortation to take occasion of examining himselfe how farre foorth he hath offended or doth offend in that kind Christ would not giue warning of a fault to his seruants if they were not also subiect to it and if we be subiect to it what can we doe lesse than looke to it if it be breeding in vs yea or no So then seeing you haue heard and perceiued the vilenesse of this sinne I beseech you euery one not censure another but to consider of his owne heart and life and to obserue diligently if the haue
or equall driues men of wealth shewes what big conceits they haue of themselues In a word let examples here make the case plaine Name a man almost that did not waxe proud by wealth vnles God so sauced his sweet meate with the sowre sauce of affliction that it was euen made vnsauory to him It bred this frenzy in Dauid Vzzia Asa Hezekiah the best kings that the Scripture speakes of and if such men could not beare it what are wee If any thinke though it made others worse it shall not make him so let him know that this very conceit shewes him to be proud when he hath it not and how would he be then if it were in his hands thou art now conceited when thou art in a lower estate will thy conceit of thy selfe diminish with the encrease of thy substance Doest thou thinke God is so ill a disposer of things that hee would not giue it thee if he knew thou couldest vse it most to his glory Giue God leaue to know what is in thee better than thy selfe as the Physition knoweth the state of the patients body when hee knowes it not What child doth not thinke hee could vse a knife well but the wise father knowes his conceit ariseth from ignorance so I say to thee that dreamest wealth should not make thee worse Art thou better than Dauid and Salomon his sonne To say as the thing is therefore God doth not giue so much of this wealth to his children because he knowes they would hurt themselues with it but giues a low estate to most of his seruants for if they had more wealth they would be so drunk with conceit that they would think themselues too good to serue him as many men doe that haue it And no wonder that riches bring a man to great pride for they make him vtterly distaste religious exercises which should weane the heart from conceit of it selfe Hee cannot haue while to pray reade meditate for following his pleasures or seeking to adde more to that he hath so that none doe seldomer visite God in their closet with true deuotion and feruent cryes than these vnlesse the Lord fetch them in by a sore crosse and then themselues can see what harme their prosperitie did vnto them Then from pride growes securitie 3. Security as a dead sleepe from drunkennesse Those that haue their barnes and houses full as the rich man after my text if they be not so wholy past sence as in words to take vp his note and say Soule soule eate and drinke and take thine ease yet indeede fall iust to this practise nuzling themselues in this world as an hogge in straw and giuing themselues to seeke their pleasures profits and promotions and are so possessed with their owne thoughts viz. how to get such a liuing such a faire house such a match for this daughter such a thing for this sonne that scarce once in a moneth or an yeare they can haue time seriously to thinke of getting heauen for themselues or for their children yea and though they haue some good thoughts put into their hearts by a good sermon or good exhortation they die all like a sparke of fire for want of blowing and adding too more fewell I would these things did neede any proofe and it were not so plaine that all can see it but those that feele it Yea sometimes wealth breeds that notable licentiousnesse where it is growne to a great floud that it makes men not to care what they do 4. Licentiousnesse but commit whoredome and other as foule sinnes euen openly because no man scarce their ministers whom they wil likely choose for their owne turne scorning to suffer the wholesome plainnesse of him that scornes to flatter scarce I say their ministers dare tell them they offend Yea they promise to themselues by money and friends to out-face Iustice it selfe and peruert righteous iudgment so that when none keeps them from sinne by reproofe nor drawes them to repentance by iust punishment they may goe to hell without rub as a bowle downe an hill in a smooth place the matter being referred to the last iudgment and the iudge of all flesh who will iudge them so much more seuerely by how much they boare out sinnes on earth with more quietnesse and safety And least men should thinke only the worst men fell to these sicknesses by fat pastures behold Dauid a man after Gods owne heart who in his abundance stood vpon his hill vaunting himselfe and saying He should neuer be mooued and sodainly fell to adultery to murther to such hardnesse in both as not to confesse them of a long time and had not God strangely turned him wealth would haue brought him to the diuell and this is the good it doth euen to good men except God doe chastise them euery morning and euery night and make them sober by many tribulations that a poorer man shall scape In one word therfore the richer any man is vnlesse he pray more and bewaile his sinnes more and think more of his latter end the worse he is and if God doe not crosse him more than others he will pray lesse than others Wherefore vnlesse his wealth be allayed by more pinching afflictions and then who would wish it 1 Hindering he cannot but be a greater sinner than other men And say hee be Gods childe yet hee growes farre slower in grace others profite more at one sermon than he at ten others make more feruent prayers and haue more holy meditations in a moneth than he in a year and thinke more of heauen in a day than hee in a moneth so that Christ may well call riches the thornes that do euen choke the word and therefore they doe also make the way to Heauen harder 1. Grace The same meanes that drawes poorer men to saluation will not doe him hardly can a rich man goe to heauen it is as thicke clay in his iourney that makes a man goe softly Not many rich men are saued saith Paul And how hard it is for him that hath riches to enter into heauen saith he that cannot lye or be deceiued Now let them goe and boast of their happinesse that makes them more proud secure and licentious than other men and makes the way of grace and the way of life to bee much more difficult and tedious to them than other men and who would bee so greedy of that which the more hee hath the lesse vertuous hee shall be if hee bee not more afflicted and shall finde it more difficult to be saued wherefore if any of you haue doated on wealth heretofore let him seriously consider and ponder vpon this how fickle it is how little good it can doe how much hurt it will doe and I assure my selfe and him too hee shall soone grow lesse in loue with it if hee will be led by reason and truth not by fashion and opinion Conclusion of all And thus Brethren I haue according as I was able shewed you what couetousnesse is the causes effects signes and remedies Try your selues by this description and these signes fright your selues from it by these causes and effects and heale your selues of it by these remedyes Suffer your soules to be wrought vpon and let the successe of your hearing be good you are neerer damnation by this Sermon if you mend not the fault reproued neerer saluation if you will take warning let not the word be a sauour of death to any of you It comes to my minde what is saide in the Gospell when Christ had spoken against couetousnesse the Pharises that were couetous heard these things and they laughed him to scorne as if hee had disgraced couetousnesse onely because hee wanted wealth If these speeches finde no better effects how ill haue wee bestowed our time Be not as bad as Pharises I beseech you contemne not the speaker deride not the word of God but heare it beleeue it practise it condemne the sinne leaue the fault beware of couetousnesse and be that which no couetous man can be true Christians and true blessed men which God graunt for his Sonnes sake Christ Iesus to whom with the Father the holy Ghost be all honour and glory now and for euer Amen FINIS