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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
world_n	death_n	sin_n	wage_n	4,184	5	11.8525	5	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A20736	Lectures on the XV. Psalme read in the cathedrall church of S. Paule, in London. Wherein besides many other very profitable and necessarie matters, the question of vsurie is plainely and fully decided. By George Dovvname, Doctor of Diuinitie. Whereunto are annexed two other treatises of the same authour, the one of fasting, the other of prayer.	Downame, George, d. 1634.	1604 (1604)	STC 7118; ESTC S110203	278,690	369

judgement he getteth his goods vnlawfully as for example by vsurie or briberie Now we are briefly to consider the contrarie affirmatiue namely that euery sound Christian maketh conscience of his gettings hauing a true purpose and vpright endeuour to obtaine and procure the commodities of this life onely by good and lawfull meanes And that we may all of vs in like sort be persuaded to make conscience of this duty let vs haue in our minds these considerations first that riches are fitly compared to thornes which if we be not carefull in the gathering of them will pricke and wound not the hand but the conscience yea and if we be ouer-greedie of them will pierce vs through with many sorrowes and secondly that so oft as they being offered to our desire cannot be compassed by good and lawfull meanes they are the baits of the Diuell And therefore we are not to lay hold vpon euerie commoditie which is propounded vnto vs but we are to looke vnto the lawfulnes of the meanes for if we attaine them by vnlawful means we do with them swallow the hooke of the Diuell And this is a certaine truth that those which will be rich that is which haue set downe with themselues that they will attaine to wealth whether the Lord do giue them lawfull meanes or not they fall into temptation and snares of the Diuell for he cannot lay any bait of commoditie to entrap them which they will not be readie to obtaine by sinne which is the very hooke of the Diuell Thirdly we are to acknowledge that it is the blessing of God which maketh rich Prou. 10. 22 and that the Lord doth not blesse ill gotten goods see Prou. 13. 11. and I●rem chapter 17. 11. Fourthly that better is a little with righteousnesse than great reuenews without equitie Prou. 16. 8. Psal. 37. 16 and that it is better to be in meane estate with a good conscience than with the shipwracke of a good conscience to be rich Fiftly that goods justly gotten are the good gifts of God and pledges of his loue towards thee if also thou hast grace to vse them well but contrariwise that ill gotten goods obtained by sinne in the seruice of the diuell they are the wages which the prince of this world giueth to his seruants and are as Nazianzene sayth the earnest penny of perdition or that I may speake more effectually they are the price of mens soules for which couetous men who haue set their soules to sale doe sell them to the diuell Lastly let vs esteeme that onely to be gained which is gotten lawfully And when any thing which we desire cannot be gotten lawfully let vs remember that as the Apostle sayth Great ga●e is godlinesse with contentednesse Whereas contrariwise in that which is vnjustly gotten thre is exceeding great losse And therfore the heathen man did well aduise vs to chuse losse rather than vnhonest gaine for the one sayth hee will grieue thee but once and the other for euer For indeed what is gained in that which is gotten by sinne an earthly commoditie which to a worldly man is not onely vaine and vnprofitable but also hurtfull But what is lo●t thy soule For the wages of sinne as death and the soule that s●●neth shall die Now if the soule should bee weighed in the ballance of Critol●us against al the commodities of the world it would ouerweigh them all Wherefore let that diuine Oracle of our Sauiour Christ alwaies sound in our eares What will it profit a man if hee shall gaine the whole world and loose his owne soule Mar. 8. 36. should we not sinne to gaine the whole world and shall we be readie to sinne for euery trifle in the world Would not the whole world be a sufficient ransome to redeeme our soules and shall wee ●ell our soules to the diuell for euery nothing in this world Was Esau prophane and foolish who in his hunger sold his birthright for a messe of pottage and are not we much more prophane and foolish if for matters of like value but lesse necessitie wee shall make away an euerlasting inheritance yea an eternall kingdome in heauen And thus much may suffice to haue spoken concerning the description of the sound Christian and citizen of heauen Now followeth the priuiledge of euery sound Christian who is qualified according to that description viz. That he shall neuer bee remooued for so sayth the holy ghost He that doth these things shall neuer bee remooued Where we are to consider two things first who it is to whom this priuiledge belongeth and secondly what this priuiledge is the partie to whom it belongeth is He that doth these things He doth not say he that knoweth these things nor he that can discourse of these matters but he that doth these things For as we judge of the health and soundnesse of the heart not by the words of the mouth or colour of the countenance but by the pulse of the arme so of the soundnesse and vprightnesse of the heart judgement is to be made not so much by the words or countenance as by the fruits of the hands It is a good thing to say well but we are no sound Christians or citizens of heauen vnlesse also we doe well Not euery one that sayth vnto me Lord Lord shall enter into the kingdome of heauen but he that doth the will of my father which is in heauen It is a good thing to read and heare and by reading and hearing to know the will of God but we shall neuer attaine to happinesse vnlesse we be also carefull to doe it Blessed it ●e which readeth sayth Iohn the Diuine and blessed are they which ●e are the words of this prophecie but he stayeth not there and obserue sayth he the things which are written therein It is a good thing to haue the word of God preached and a miserable thing to be without it as Salomon sayth Prou. 29. 18. but he that so heareth it as that he keepeth it ô happie is he They are blessed sayth our Sauiour Christ that ●eare the word of God and keepe it And againe If you know these things happie are you if you doe them We are therefore from hence to bee exhorted vnto well doing For seeing a sound Christian and citizen of heauen is to be discerned by doing these things as the holy ghost here teacheth it behoueth vs by doing them to make our calling and election sure For if we doe these things we shall neuer fall as Peter also by the same spirit affirmeth The priuiledge it selfe is that he shall neuer be remooued or as some read that he shall not fall for euer not for euer that is neuer as Iohn 13. 8. Thou shalt not wash myfeet for euer And the same priuiledge in the same words is repeated Psal. 112. 6. The good man shall neuer be remooued and Prou. 10. 30. The righteous shall neuer be remoued

are to imploy them as our Lord and maister appointeth and seeing our Lord and maister appointeth vs and that vpon paine of damnation to communicat them to the necessities of our brethren as their need shall require and our abilitie afford it behoueth vs as we tender our owne saluation so also to tender the distressed estate of our poore brethren The second impediment is couetousnesse joyned with distrust for when as men are couetous they will not lay forth any thing vnlesse it be for their aduantage and being distrustfull they imagine that what is giuen is lost But hereunto I will oppose as an antidote the gracious promises of God made to those who are gracious to the poore whether by free giuing or free lending Thou saist thou wilt not giue because thou knowest not what want thy selfe may haue but what saith the holy Ghost To him that giueth vnto the poore shall be no want but to him that hideth his eyes shall be plentie of cu●ses Thou wilt not lend to the needie because thou doubtest that what is lent to them will neuer be repaid But what saith the spirit of God He that hath mercy on the poore lendeth vnto the Lord and the Lord will recompence him that which he hath giuen To which you may adde Deut. 15. 10. 23. 20. Luke 6. 35. Seeing therfore the Lord hath made such gracious promises to those that are mercifull towards the poore and needie were it not extreme infidelitie to imagine that by our liberalitie towards the poore we should become loosers seeing he hath promised to repay what is lent and to reward what is giuen Nay so farre shalt thou be from losse or hinderance by the charitable communicating of thy goods as that this is the surest way not onely of sauing them that they be not lost but also of laying them forth to increase For whereas we are stripped of all other our goods by death which turneth vs as naked out of this world as we came into it these which we haue charitably giuen do remaine vnto vs after death And therefore as they which trauell into forraine countries doe not cary their mony with them partly for feare of robbing by the way and partly because it would not be currant in the countrey whereunto they trauell but deliuer it to the bankers vpon a bill of exchange whereby they may be assured to receiue their money so we being to depart out of this life for as much as we cannot take our money with vs neither is it currant in heauen ought to commit it to the poore and needie as it were the Lords bankers vpon his promise in his word as it were his bill of exchaunge whereby he assureth vs of full recompence in the life to come Wherefore that which we commit to the poore according to the rules of charitie Illud non amittimus sed promittimus That we do not loose but as it were send before vs. And that is it which our Sauiour saith Make you friends of this Mammon of iniquitie c. For it is most certaine that we shall be put out of the stewardship by death neither shall the administration of these temporal goods any longer appertaine vnto vs. What course therefore may we take that when we are put out of our stewardship we may haue some benefit and comfort by the imployment of our goods in the time of our stewardship we are by the charitable exposing of our goods to make vs friends of this vnrighteous Mammon that when we shall be put out of this stewardship we may be receiued into euerlasting tabernacles Againe the charitable exposing of goods in the Scriptures is compared to sowing of seed in the ground 2. Cor. 9. 6 Therefore as the husbandman casteth his seed into the ground in hope of good increase in time of haruest although his seed do rot in the meane time and die in the earth so we should cast our seed vpon the poore as it were the Lords plowed land in certaine assurance of a plentifull increase in the great haruest at which time it shall be sayd Come you blessed of my father inherit the kingdome which is prepared for you for when I was hungrie you gaue me meat when I was thirstie you gaue me drinke c. That therefore which hindereth men from giuing almes that is a couetous desire of bettering our estate would chiefly stirre vs vp thereto if we yeelded any credit to the promises of God Wouldest thou then thriue by vsurie lend not vpon worldly vsurie to men who will pay thee but ten in the hundred but lend vpon spirituall vsurie vnto the Lord who hath promised to repay an hundred fold The third and last impediment is hardnesse of heart shutting vp the bowels of compassion in the richer sort and taking from them all feeling and regard of other mens necessities For the remoouing whereof let the richer sort consider first that the poorest Christian that liueth is his owne flesh Esay 58. 7. Secondly that he is his brother in Christ redeemed by the same most precious bloud of Christ. Yea thirdly that he is a fellow member of the same bodie whereof Christ is the head and therefore in the fourth place that Christ esteemeth that giuen to him which is giuen to his poore members and that to be denied to himselfe which is denied to one of them Consider then with me if any man ought to deny vnto Christ an almes who hath not denied himselfe to vs or if any should whether he were not to be esteemed a most wicked and hard hearted man If you shall say farre be it from vs that we should deny any thing to Christ our Sauiour and yet are hard hearted towards the poore I would aduise you to call to mind the excuse which the wicked shall make at the day of judgement with the answer of Christ the judge When say they did we see thee hungrie or thirstie or a stranger or naked or sicke or in prison and did not minister vnto thee To whom our Sauiour answereth Verily I say vnto you in as much as you did it not to one of the least of these you did it not to me Mat. 25. 44 45 where also we may obserue that the sentence of saluation and condemnation shall be pronounced at the last day according either to the performance or neglect of this dutie Wherefore as we tender the saluation of our soules so let vs thinke our selues bound not onely to abstaine from all worldly vsurie which I proued to be a damnable sinne but also to practise this spirituall vsurie wherin we hauing lent vnto the Lord shall be sure to receiue a plentifull reward THere remaineth the tenth and last note of the sound Christian and citisen of heauen in these words Nor taketh reward against the innocent Now rewards are taken either by way of briberie to p●ruert judgement or by way of trecherie to betray innocent bloud