Selected quad for the lemma: world_n
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A01452
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a pearle of price or, The best purchase For which the spirituall marchant Ieweller selleth all his temporalls. By Samuel Gardiner, Batchellor of Diuinitie.
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Gardiner, Samuel, b. 1563 or 4.
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1600
(1600)
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STC 11578; ESTC S118892
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98,748
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224
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with vs but we should take that course which this Ieweller by his practise here prescribeth vs who resigneth vp all that he had in the world that he might buy this treasure of Gods word Let vs doe the like Augustine Nos ipsos pro illa margarita demus non quia tanti vateamus sed quia plus dare non possumus Let vs giue our selues for this pearle of great price not because we are worth somuch but because we haue no more to giue Minus dat vt plus accipiat hoc fac tu Da modica accipe magna da temporalia accipe aeterna da terram accipe coelum This Ieweller hath a wonderfull bargaine in giuing vp his state and interest to this world for liuery and seisin of this better purchace of the world that is to come For as Augustine saith he giueth the lesse to receiue the more doe thou the like Giue meane things and receiue greater for them giue temporall things and receiue eternall giue earth and receiue heauen giue golde and receiue God As thou forsakest father and mother to cleaue to thy wife so forsake father and mother wife and al be it neuer so neere and deere vnto thee to cleaue to God To sell all that we haue is to renounce the lusts of the flesh and of the minde and so to shake off the world which inticeth vs to wickednes as Ioseph shaked his cloake from him Genesis 39. and left it with his mistris egging him to vncleannesse But this is that that breaketh off the bargaine and keepeth vs from this purchase we endure well enough to heare of the pleasure and profit of this purchase but we like not the couenants we are loath to be touched in our worldly state or to alter the condition of our life the doctrine of repentance and the Gospel of Christ teaching vs to deny all vngodlinesse and worldly vanity and to liue soberly iustly and vprightly in this world is grieuous vnto vs Tit. 2. and we cannot abide it The children of Israel hearing of the fruitfulnes of the promised land of Canaan Num. 14 buckled themselues in al the haste vnto the battell and marched towards it eger of the present possession of it but hearing the place was inhabited with Giants they hung downe their heads and their hearts failed them and altred quite from the men they were before their fancies were set vpon Aegypt again So many hearing by Gods spies that came from heauen of the ioy and happines laid vp in store for vs in the life that is to come especially of saint Paul who was rapt vp to heauen and was full of reuelations 2. Cor. 12 and discoursing of the vnspeakable riches of his kingdome rauisheth the hearers with these delightfull tidings that the eie hath not seene the eare hath not heard 1. Cor. 2 neyther can the heart of man conctiue the things that God hath prepared for them that loue him men I say heartned with such consolation they take stomacke to themselues and are zealous and hot in spirit after it to winne and enioy it But withall vnderstanding that the way is narrow Math. 7 and the doore streight that leadeth into it and that there wil be some difficultie in our passage our hearts grow heauy and our iourney is dashed and our whole minde is set vppon retiring vnto Aegypt and to embrace this present world He that hath earnest occasion of speech with another man A similitude coueteth to find that man alone and free from other busines when as God would speake to vs he would find vs in this case he would haue vs loue men sequestred and put apart from the world Therefore when hee was to commune with Abraham Gen. 12 he willed him to be priuate to resigne his natiue soyle Vr of the Caldeans and to inioy his blessed presence to forget his owne kinred and his fathers house And because that cares are the daughters of riches which as thornes do choake the good seed of the worde in worldly minded men the Lord enacted in the state of Israel that cleargy men Deut. 18 seperated and put a part to the ministrie should not haue worldly hereditaments and possessions as other of the tribes that their minds whilest they were in their holy ministration might not be distracted and miscaried with them As also it was a constitution among them Leuit. 〈◊〉 that he that was bunched and crooked in the backe shuld not serue minister in the temple For this defect and impediment of body is a hindraunce to their eies that they cannot lift them vp to heauen as they shuld So such as are distorted and crooked in mind and haue their affections always stooping looking on the world are no fit persons to serue before the Lord and to enter into his courtes Mortifie we therfore all our worldly lusts and slay we them down right with the sword of the spirit Let vs not imprison in the bowels of our soules such sinnes as we like best and keep them aliue as Saul did Agag 1. Sam. 15 whom God commaunded should be put to death but let vs hew them in peeces as Samuel did Agag in Gilgal before the Lord and beate them as small as the dust of the earth If we pitty our sins as Ely did his sons 1. Sam. 2 when we ought to punish them God will punish them and wil bring a great iudgement against vs for them Oh heauy and most grieuous is that commination of the Lord against Achab 1. King 20. for demissing Benhadad Because saith God thou hast let goe out of thy handes a man whome I appointed to die thy life shall goe for his life The like sentence is gone out against all that saue aliue that sinne they should destroy they shal die for it If ye liue saith Saint Paul after the flesh ye shall die Rom. 8 but if ye shall mortifie the flesh by the spirit ye shall liue Thus Paul maketh two men of one the one the outward and the other the inward man both which are vnited in one yet are they so sundry as they cannot agree in one but the generation of the one must be the others corruption the life of the one must be the death of the other and therefore to saue and keepe aliue the one we must needes mortifie and put to death the other What a good match we shall make in coping away the pleasure of the world for the ioyes of heauen at that generall county day wherein the bookes and scrolles of consciences shall be laid open plainly will appeare at what time all those things that we haue here gathered together will do vs no good where no manner of excuse may serue our turne where there wil be no place of any refuge for vs. Here there haue bin found some places of small succor in the time of danger Gen. 3 Genes 18 Gen. 19 1.
diminution of any iote thereof beeing the forfeit of thy whole coppy This is a slye pollicie of the diuell to haue vs dernie christians to serue GOD by halues to drawe vs on to some duties of deuotion that whilst we doe flatter and beguile our selues with a counterfeit profession he may cause vs priuilie and vnawares to fall into the pit of his destruction A similitud And herein he hath the tricke of a cunning angler who hauing hold of some great fish vpon his hooke is not greedie of him to drawe him vp to shore but he stretcheth out his rod and giueth him more line that hee might more throughly swallow vp the hooke for otherwise through too hasty violence that is offred him he will breake all asunder and the fishe shall so escape him Thus he playde with Herod who hauing snarled and hooked him before with the hooke and line of inordinate lust Mark 6. he dallieth with him and giueth him some libertie to heare Iohn Baptist willingly and to reforme many things according to his directions As along as the diuell hath vs vnder his line and hath any hold of vs either by our pride by our vsurie by our couetousnes by our enuie by our emulation by our ambition by our hatred by our crueltie by any kinde of sinne he will so sporte with vs as he will be sure of vs he will not let vs goe For as a bird if she be limed A similitude and taken by one wing cannot flie away so though we pray or fast or giue our almes repaire to sermons and giue our selues to many good deuotions yet if any sinne hath a limme of vs it is impossible to escape To be bound in any part is all one as to bee bounde in the whole To what vse is it to rampire vp al the gates of the citie A similitude and to set watch and warde about the walles if one gate or breach of the wall shall be suffred to lay open for all the power of the enemie to come in Giue thou the diuell but an enterance into thee and thou shalt neuer remoue him but he will be wholy at the last seated in thee Christ his charge to those that will be followers of him Math. 11. flatly is this Take my yoake vpon you He nameth not any parte of the body that should be yoaked aboue other the head the necke the shoulders or such like but the whole that wee should not thinke that we haue serued God well by myncing him a pittance vnles he hath the whole Wherefore Dauid summoneth al his parts to the Lords courtes Psal 34. Psal 103. Psal 119. All my bones saith he shall say Lord who is like vnto thee And againe Praise the Lord O my soule and all that is within me praise his holy name And againe I haue an eye vnto all thy commaundements and all false wayes I vtterly abhorre The diuell is an importunate suter vnto vs to haue any roome or tenement within vs be it neuer so little rather then he would be vtterly shut out When as Pharao could no longer holde the Isralites in durance Exod. 10. but the time was come that they should be set at libertie and sent away to serue the Lord he craueth that their cattell might remaine behind them so when the diuell is not permitted to domineere as he list to haue his full power and pleasure ouer vs he beggeth but a parte and little portion within vs. But giue the diuell that answer that Moses gaue to Pharao who snobbed him thus roundly No not a hoofe shall remaine behinde vs but euery part shall be consecrated vnto God Or let vs say in this case vnto Satan Gen. 27. as Isaac said to Esau Iacob haue I blessed and he shall be blessed we haue giuen vp all to God already and he shall possesse it Yea let vs say to God as Peter said to Christ when Christ would wash his feete Lord Ioh. 1â— not my feet onely but my hands and my head For why should we deny him any thing seeing he is the owner of euery thing we haue The diuell the world the flesh indeede haue no more right in vs then Achab had to Naboth his vineyard or Herod to his sister 1. reg 21. If we giue all to God Mark 6. he will saue and preserue it there is nothing that the diuell would haue but that he would destroy And yet we are ouercome of such folly and madnes as we will rather put our selues to our destroyer then to our mercifull Sauiour A similitude As many a young man doth who rauished with lust of a droyling slauish bond woman doth bestowe himself vpon her and albeit that he knoweth that he is cast away by her yet will he marry her so our will forgetfull of Gods loue is so lincked to the lust of this wretched world as hap what hap shall it will not be diuorced but will be obsequious to her imperious hestes Sampson could not be so absurdly ignorant of Dalila her drift Iudg. 16. for former experience and triall that he made of her discouered her deceit He sawe too plainely that her so earnest practise with him to vnderstand wherein his power might be weakned did tend to his destruction yet he could not be warned by former admonitions but is so intoxicated and besotted with her as he chuseth rather like a mill horse to grinde at the mill and to be made a foole as afterwardes he was when he was the subiect of the Philistines pastime then to be offensiue to this his abiect mynion As the Lord is Alpha which signifieth the beginning Apoc 1. A similitude so is he Omega which signifieth the ending He wil not be put off as Lawyers doe their clyents from terme to terme with dodges and delayes Moses asking Pharao when he should pray for him his answere was to morrow And why not to day Pharao since euery day is Gods and he cannot be serued of any man too soone How doest thou know that thou shalt liue vntill to morrowe Thus the wicked prescribe God his time whenas euery time is his Lycurgus making lawes for the Lacedemonians propounded them vnto them to be obserued of them vntill he should returne from that region and country whither immediatly he was to take his voyage and so sayling into Creet he neuer did returne but there dying commaunded his bones to be burned and the ashes of them to be throwne into the sea supposing that if his body might not be carried ouer his lawes and ordinances should neuer be repealed Such a tender care had this Gentile Philosopher of the zealous and continued obseruation of good lawes which care of his taxeth our carelesnes and remisnes in keeping the commandements of our God seruing him by fits as our stomackes serueth vs and affording him what we may spare from our pleasure and our sinnes It should not be so