of Water The graines of Sand are very small yet if many of them be put together into a Bag or Sack and laid upon the head or shoulders of a man they will presse him down And the drops of Raine are little by themselves yet when many meet together they may cause an inundation Many small sinnes may be as heavy as one great sinne saith S. Austine S. August Epistol 108. ad Seleusian And he fitly resembles the losse of a Soule to the losse of a Merchants ship upon the Sea Sometimes a Ship is lost by one great Wave that overwhelmes it and sinks it right downe and sometimes a Ship is lost by the Water that leaks in by some breach or breaches in the sides or bottome So some mens soules are lost by the sinnes that sue in through their leaking senses and sometimes they are lost by some great sinne that swells above them and sinks them right downe to the very bottome of perdition such was that grand Rebellion of Corah Dathan and Abiram and Num. 16. 1 2. 4. 31 32 33. their factious Complices that rose up against Moses and Aaren to pull them downe It was so heynous and so heavy a sinne that it sunk them all to the pit of destruction the very Earth was not able to bear them with that sinne upon them Some other trifled away theirs soules by little and little But these traded theirs away by whole-sale But which way so ever they be sold they are but lost And in both these wayes of selling them there are two things remarkable First the making of the Bargaine Secondly the performing of the Bargaine First the making of it And it may be made two wayes Explicitely or Implicitely that is Formally or by Consequence First Explicitely or Formally when both parties doe capitulate the Conditions and agree upon the Termes Thus Witches and Wizards and all Confederates with the Devil are said to sell their soules unto him Secondly Implicitely or by consequence and this is when the Devil or his Factors come into the Mart of this World and fall to chaffering for Mens Soules by cheapning of them and bidding like Chapmen for them The Devil comes to the Covetous man and asketh him the price of his Soule He comes to the Voluptuous man and asketh him the price of his And he comes to the Ambitious man and asketh him the price of his The price of the Covetous mans is Wealth the price of the Voluptuous mans is Pleasure and the price of the Ambitious mans is Honour The Devil knows their several prizes but knows not how to pay them downe Yet like himselfe he offers all they ask and promiseth in time to pay them all Matth. 4 9. Haec omnia vobis dabo all these things will I give unto you And then for Earnest or in part of payment he puts a penny or a Teston of unlawful gains into the hands of the Covetous man to conclude the Bargaine with him He procures an opportunity of unlawful Pleasure according to the Voluptuous mans desire to conclude the Bargain with him And by a small Bribe he sets the Ambitious man upon the first step to preferment to conclude with him These men cannot be ignorant of the Devils aims they must needs know that what he offers is but in earnest or in part of payment for their souls yet they take his offers or rather are taken with his temptations and what call you this but a striking up of the bargaine Now the bargain being made the performance is expected But here men think to be too cunning for the Devil himself They never intend to perform the bargain they think to put him off by denying of it They intend to put him to prove it by sufficient witnesses which they think he cannot doe before the Judge at the great Assize But alas for them before it comes to that they may be sure to be Arrâ—sted at the Devils Suit by that bold that inexorable that impartial Serjeant Death Executions will be granted out against them and those not of goods onely nor yet of bodies and goods but of goods and bodies and soules And Death's Warrants run very high Non omittas propter ullam libertatem Attach them where-ever thou findest them There are no places in this world that are priviledged from the Arrests of Death When once this Serjeant Death hath arrested their Bodies their Soules must presently be sent to the Barre of Judgement for particular Sentences Then actum erit the matter will be past cure the bargain will be proved against them by credible witnesses For first the Devils payments will be proved by that Coyn of his those peeces of Devillisme found in their possessions at the time of their attachments Those sinnes which the Devil brought to them or them unto will all be witnesses against them Secondly the Day-book of their own Consciences will be produced as a thousand Witnesses against them for there the Debt of Sin is scored up and never can be crossed untill it be expunged by repentance And now shall not the Judge of all the World do right Yes surely and he will give the Devil his due There is no remedy now the bargain must be performed The Devil bought their Souls and he must have them The Devil is the Jailour of Hell and thither the Judge commands them Take them Jailour saith the Judge that is take them Devil and keep them fast till the general Judgement They might have been wiser before but now there is no help for them It is now too late to repent let Merchantmen beware in time then let no man think to cheat the Devil lest he cheats himself Let no man think himself secure in the middest of danger Think not your selves by the African Promontory the Cape of good Hope when ye are very neer the Magillanean Straights Mistake not those unfortunate Caput bouâ— spâ—t Abbots description of the VVorld Islands neer the Molucco's for the very Canaries If you be not yet arrived at Lucians Island of Dreams doe not dream broad-waking do not imagine your soules to be in safe habours when they are in the midst of Hellish Pyrates This World is like a Sea a dangerous Sea and that Arch-Pyrate the Devll and many Scouts from Hell are coasting this Sea of the World from place to place And the Devil can play the Merchant as well as the Pyrate if he cannot take men in the World he will try to take them by it If he cannot surprize them in it he 'le offer it as a prize unto them and many are taken by it Many sell themselves unto him for it and so undoe themselves for ever for they lose their Souls by the sale which are more worth then all the World And so much they must confesse if they ballance the Trade What is a man profited if he shall gaine the whole world and lose his own soule i. e. Ballance the Trade compare and compute the worth of the wares and then say What profit is it for a man to gain the whole world and
Sermon from a young Practitioner so like unto it that I might justly challenge it I must confesse the Title to it is not worth a quarrel yet there may be right in a Penny as well as in a Pound And the Poet Virgil would not lose his Title to a Distichon by his perpetual silence His Distichon was such as he might very well own And therefore when he saw that Augustus did approve it and that Bathyllus tacentibus aliis did asselfe the praises of it he did inscribe his lines againe which were these Nocte pluit tota redeunt spectacula mane Ti. Claud. Doâ—at de vita P. Virgilii Maronis Divisum imperium cum Jove Caesar habet And then subscribed this claim unto them Hos ego versiculos feci tulit alter honores Sic vos non vobis nidificat is aves Sic vos non vobis vellera fertis oves Sic vos non vobis mellificat is apes Sic vos non vobis fertis aratra boves I shall spare the Young-mans name I would not have him to be as Bathyllus was Romae fabula But I have presumed to set both your Names before my Sermon because I know it hath been had before both your Worships Be pleased with it from the Presse as well as from the Pulpit And let me call it Yours And call me Gentlemen Your Worships most Humble Servant Edward Willan Of the Worlds Vanity and the Soules Excellency Matt. 16. 26. For what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole World and lose his own Soule Or what shall a man give in exchange for his Soule THe Coral and the Chrystal are accounted pretious stones by skilfull Lapidaries And therefore it is neither a fault nor yet a folly for such as finde them in their Travels to stoop down and take them up Yet are they but minus pretiosi of an inferiour worth with the chief Philosophers And therefore it would not onely be a folly but a fault too for any Traveller to turmoile himself in gathering of an heavy burden of these together and in the mean time to neglect or for their sakes to reject a richer bootie of Jasper-stones or Saphir-stones or of Amethysts or the like We are all Travellers wandring through the wildernesse of this transitorie World towards that City of pure Gold â—â—er as Chrystal the foundations of whose Wals are garnished with Berils with Emeraulds with Chrysolites and all manner of pretious stones as St. John describes that new Hierusalem Revel 21. Now in this our Pilgrimage we meet with Marbles and we meet with Jacincts with lesse pretious-stones and with more pretious Gemms I mean the lesse worthy blessings of Gods left-hand the more worthy blessings of Gods right-hand Gen. 1. 29. 28 29. 30 31. Earthly Treasures and Heavenly Treasures And lawfull it is to gather the meaner of these Treasures together and to use the meanest of them For God who made them all did make them good and for the good of man it was that he made them so God made this present World for man but man himself for another to come farre better then this present And man does fool himself extreamly when he sels the reversion of that to come for ever for this present which is but for the present That other is without compare this but a very nothing to it Let no man therefore overvalue this or postpone that unto it Let every man be ware that in stooping down to take up Earthly Things he does not let fall Heavenly Or that for the gaining of this baser World of drossie Earth he doth not lose the refined substance of his most precious Soule For What is a man profited if he shall gain the whole World and lose his own Soule Or what shall a man give in exchange for his Soule The most Emphatical words in this Text are Metaphorical For borrowed they are either from that richer way of Merchandizing by Whole-sale or from that poorer way of Peddling by Retaile I must needs follow the Metaphore in my discourse and the rather because it is in this Place A place Londinium senat Navale vel Vrbs navium c. Vrbes plurimae à navibus nomina tulerunt uti Naupactus Naustathmos Nauplia c. Sed ex his nulla meliori jure Navalis nomen sibi assumere possit quam Londinium nostrum Tamasi adposita qui placidissimus rerum in orbe nascentium Mercator statis horis Oceani aestibus superbus alveo tuto praealto navium quamlibet magnarum capacissimo tantas Orientis Occidentis opes quotidie in vehit ut cum Orbis Christiani Emporiis de secunda palma hodie contendat c. Camden in Brit. de Middlesex of Commerce The very Metropolis of this Kingdome the chiefest place of Merchandize and the place of the chiefest Merchants and other Traders that labour to gaine this present World by the several wayes of chaffering for it Here therefore give me leave to deale with you in some of your own terms that so I may trade the Commodity of this Text of Trading with the greater profit to you In the Text there are two Questions proponed to you The first in these Words What is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul The second in these What shall a man give in exchange for his soule The first seems to relate to your Trading by way of Commerâ—e The second to your trading by way of Merchandizing Exchange In both together there are two Considerables 1. The Mystery of Worldly Merchandize 2. Misery by The first in the first question The second in the second Yea both may be observed in either of both I shall discourse Ostenditur quam inutile sit lucrum vitae temporalis imâ—totius mundi cum perditione animae quam irreparabile sit damnum perditionis animae Jasen in commen in concor of both as they are both discovered in the first question which refers to Trading by way of Commerce In these words What is a man profited if he shall gaine the whole World and lose his own soule In which words we may observe these Foure particulars I. A Merchant II. His Wares III. The Merchandize it self IV. The Ballance of Trade First the Merchant Man What is a man profited Secondly the Wares and they are of two sorts The 1. Imported The 2. Exported The Ware imported the whole World The Ware exported his own Soule Concerning the first two Circumstances are considerable 1. A Variety 2. A Monopoly The Variety the World The Monopoly the whole World Concerning the second three Circumstances are remarkable 1. The Qualitie or Nature 2. The Quantity or Number 3. The Propriety or Relation For Nature or Quality it is a Mans Soule For Number or Quantity it is his One soule his onely soule in the singular number For Relation or Propriety it is his own soule And lose his own soule Thirdly the
Merchandize it self or the Negotiating oâ— the Trade which is notably set forth unto us by a strange Paradoxe of gaining and losing by the same bargain yâ—â— of gaining the whole World and losing by the bargain gain the whole world and lose his own soule Fourthly The Ballance of Trade which in the Dialect of Merchants is nothing else but an exact Computation oâ— the casting up of a just Account thereby to know what iâ— S'r Ralph Maddâ—son in his Englands looking in and out lost or gained by the Merchandize What is a man profited as much as to say Ballance the Trade compute the worth of the Ware exported with that of the Ware imported and then tell me What is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soule These Minutes of the Text shall be the Measures of my Time and your Patience First of the Merchant Man What is a man profited By â— man here our Saviour meaneth any man whatever He speaketh here not only of such as compasse Sea and Land to gather the Riches of this World together as Ferdinandus Magellanes did Ferdin Magâ—llan Portuga rei nauticae peritissimus impetrata classe 5 navinm à Caesare an Dom. 1519. 10 die August ex Hispali solvit Canarâ—as adit ab iis rectè Brasiliam navigavit Navis ejus à sociis in Hispaniam ducitur 6 Septem 1524. Haec prima suit Navigatio Drake Id. Decemb. 1577. ex Anglia solvit toto terrarum orbe circumnavigato domum redit 4 Kal. Octob. 1580. Tho. Cavendish ex Anglia solvit Jul. 21. 1586. totum terrae ambitum circumnavigavit rediit Sept. 15. 1588. and as our Drake and Cavendish after him with other Circum-Navigaters Nor speaks he only of such as adventure to some special or particular Ports or Places of Merchandise such as Alexandria and Aleppo the Graâ—â— Caire and both the Indies are as thâ—â— Royal Merchant King Solomon did who sent forth ships from Ezion-Gebâ— for the transfretation of Gold froâ— Ophir And as that neighbouring Prince of ours that sâ—â— 1 King 9. 26. 28 forth sumptuous Plate-Fleets for the importation of hâ—â— Perulania But he speaks of any Man that adventures thâ— losse of his Soule by any way of Traffiquing for this present World For thus an indefinite Interrogation may veâ—â— well the universal in the Interpretation And this French Title Merchant as Ambrose Calepine asserteth may be given Diction Hexag to any man that any way deales or chaffers for any thing in this World whether it be for his own use or to trade away again to others And surely such as adventure the losse of an Eternal estate in Heaven for the gaining or the increasing of a Temporal one on Earth are very Merchants indeed Now of such and unto such this Question is most fitly propounded What is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soule Thus we have found out the Merchant Man any man Now let us look upon the Wares and they are as you have heard of two sorts The first Imported the second Exported First of the Ware imported concernig which two Circumstances are to be considered 1. A Variety 2. A Monopoly First of the Variety The World Now the World may be considered two wayes 1. Philosophically 2. Theologically First Philosophically and so indeed the World is nothing Conimbâ— lib. 1. de Coelo cap. 1. else but a Variety of things in a beautiful Order Th◠〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or beautiful Order in that Variety hath given the Appeâ—â—ations to it both in Greek and Latine It is ordinata compages rerâ—â— omnium a well-disposed Pack of all kinds of War s. Omnia Corpora simul sumpta dicâ—â—tir Mundus All Physical Bâ—dâ—s taken and compact together are called the World But there are no Merchants as I conjecture that trade for this World in this Philosophical sense And therefore secondly the World may be considered in a Theological sense and so it must be in this place In a Theological sense by the World is meant the Honours Bâ—ll de Gâ—mit Columbae lib. 3. cap. 10. Riches and Pleasures of this present World He that gains a Variety of thâ—se is sometimes said to gain a World of Riches and Honours and Pleasures It is much for a man to gain all theâ—â— but it is more for him to gain as much as the Text doth speak of For here 's not onely the Variety in the World but the Monopoly of all these and of all of all these in the whole World gain the whole world Could one Merchant but engrosse the Artificial Wares of Archb. Abbots Dâ—scription of the World Dr. Hey Geogra all Qâ—insaio or all the Alexandrian Warcs or all the rich Perfumes or costly Drugs or fragrant Spices of Arabia felix it were enough and more then enough to tympanize his heart with the proudest thoughts of the Wealthy And yet alas all these All 's together can amount to no more then a little Packet or a worthlesse Fardle in compare with that Ingrossment in the Text the gaining of the whole World Yet see the Saviour of the World does question this great gain whether it may be rightly called Profit or no yea rather He puts it out of question by putting forth of this question What is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soule Indeed these words are not only one but two Questions the first is Absolute the second Hypothetical The first is in these words What is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world The second in these added to the former by way of condition And lose his own soule First of the first But first observe that it is but a meer supposition that is the foundation of both Our Saviour speaketh only 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by way of supposition 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 If he shall gain the whole world i. e. suppose it were possible for him so to do and that he should do so I say suppose it But suppositio nihil ponit The bare supposing of a thing to be is no proving of that thing to be as it is supposed That may be supposed to be which never was and that which never shall be yea that which never can be Such is this thing supposed by our Saviour the gaining of all this present World For alas it is not all the plodding in the World nor all the projecting for it that can gain it all Oh no! It is not all the griping Usury nor all the pinching Misery that can draw so much as ilia terrae the Guts and Garbage of the Earth into one mans Coffers no not so much as the white or yellow Intrails of the Indian-Earth Suppose that a man could have a mind more covetous Ovid. metam lib. 11. then Midas had or be more dunghilly-minded then Crassus or Hortensius And suppose that such a man
was King of Cyprus Titulo Rex insulae animo autem pecuniae miserabile mancipium He was in title the King of the Cyprian-Isle but in truth he was a miserable Bondslave to his Pelf Now what profit is it to gain and increase that mony which begetteth and increaseth misery And if it be so little profit simply to gain the World certainly there is lesse profit in the gaining of it if a man must pay his own Soule for it And this brings us to the second Querie that Hypothetical Question that includes the whole Text What is a man profited if he shall gain the whole World and lose his own Soule And this Question sets us to consider of the second sort of Wares the Ware Exported concerning which three Circumstances were proposed to be considered 1. The Nature or Quality 2. The Number or Quantity 3. The Relation or Propriety First for the Nature or Quality we may observe that it See Nemesius of the Nature of Man is a Soul Yet not a Vegitative Soule such as is in the Plants Nor yet a Sensitive Soule such as is in Birds and Beasts But a Reasonable Soule such as is in Man such a Soule as makes him to be a Man It is is his Soule his owne Soule I shall It is the soule of man that makes him to be a man See Philip of Mornay's Trunesse of Christian Religion translated by St Phil. Sidney chap. 14. not tell you what Aristotle sayes of the Soule of Man nor yet how other Philosophers use to define it But let me tell you thus much of it that it is an Heavenly Jewell in a Câ—binet of Earth and a Jewel of that worth it is that not all the Diamonds in the World though never so curiously cut and never so artificially set in the richest Rings of the most refined gold may be valued with it though it be cabined in the most deformed lump of Red Earth There be many Reasons in it to raise the estimate of it I 'le name some of them As first it is the Medal of the Almighty The lively Image of the living God Or the Tablet upon which that King of Kings and Lord of Lords hath drawn his owne likenesse Now shall the Image of a Mortall King stamped on the substance of the Earth or the Earthly substance of Gold or Silver make man so to esteem it as to become an Idolater towards it and shall not the Image of the Immortal King of Kings imprinted in his own Workmanship upon the Heavenly substance of Mans soule perswade him far more highly to value that And a second reason why this Merchant Man should inhaunce Dei insignita imagine decorata similitudine St Bern. Medita de digniâ— animae Mens nostra Dei similis c. Gregor Nyss disputat de anima Resurr the price of his Soul may be this because it is a spirit an Immateriall substance It is indeed within the substance of the body but yet without a bodily substance And the more that any substance be spiritualized the more puâ— and precious it is and the more ennobled And the further that any substance be distanced from the nature of a body the nearer it drawes to the Nature of God For 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 God is a Spirit And the spirituality of the Soule does far exalt it above the body as comming nearer to the purity of God who is a Spirit And therefore it is well asserted by St Bernard that the worst of soules in respect of substance is far more excellent then the best of bodies and ought to be valued far above them A third Reason to perswade this Merchant-man to value his Soul at a very dâ—ar rate may be the Immortality of it It is immortal as well as immaterial Indeed man dies at See the Immortality of the soul discoursed of largely and very learnedly by Philip of Mornay Lord of Plâ—ssie in the Truenesse of Christ Religion c. 14. 15. his appointed time but the soul of man does never die By death the whole man is dissolved but the whole of man is not destroyed by death The soul of man doth live when man is dead The soul is doomed at the instant of death either to enjoy everlasting felicity in Heaven or to endure everlasting misery in Hell And that endlesse misery is often called Mors secunda the second death Yet is it not so called that we should think that the Soul doth cease to live in hell but rather â—ecause it ceaseth to enjoy its life The damned Non enim quia solvitur compositum inde etiaÌ„ necessariò consequitur una cum composito dâ—ssolvi id quod compositum non est Greg. Nyssen disput de Anim. Resurr souls in Hell live not there to enjoy life but to endure grief And therefore their life there is said to be no life Simplex vita non est vivere sed valere meerly to live is no life but to live indeed is to enjoy life It is a kind of death for one to live in pain that hath lived at ease It is a kind of death for one to live in prison that hath lived at liberty A kind of death for one to live in penury that hath lived in plenty Those damned Souls that lie imprisoned in Hell do all live there in pain for living here in pleasure their joyes are turned into pains and their life now is worse then death Their Damnation in Hell is like to Death in four respects In damnatione novissima quaÌ„vis homo sentire non desinaâ— tamen quia sensus ipse nec voluptate suavis nec quiete salubris sed doâ—oâ—â— poenalis est non immeritò mors est potius appellaâ—a quam vita S. August and for its likenesse in each respect it is called Death First it is like it for Separation In temporal dâ—ath the Quamvis enim humana anima vâ—raciter immortalis perhibâ—tur habet tamen etiam ipsa mortem suam Soul which gave life to the Body is separated from it So in Damnation the Lord of life which gave life to the Soul is separated from that Mortâ—ae sunt animae hoc est à Deo desertâ— saith S. Austine The damned soules are dead that is forsaken of God For Sicut mors corporis est cum id deserit animâ— ita mors animae est cum eam deserit Deus As it is the death of S. Aug. de Civ Dei l. 13. c. 2. the body when it is forsaken of the soul so it is the death of the soul when it is forsaken of God Sicut enim anima discedente moritur corpus sic anima Deo dâ—sâ—rente mori credenda est Secondly Damnation is like to Death in respect of Place Hell is a place of Darknesse a place that is very disconsolate Primasius super Apocalyp cap. 18. so is the Grave And therefore 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sheol with the Hebrews signifiâ—s both Hell
derision of men and the very Outcast of the people That he should take upon him the forme of a Servant and vouchsafe to be a Servant of servants To be mocked of many to be hated of most to be forsaken of all at last Yea more that he should asself the blame and shame and sufferings of all the sinnes of man Of man that was his enemy of man that hated him That he should die for man and die the worst of deaths too the death of the Crosse a painful death a shameful death an hateful death a cursed death And more yet That he should suffer as many Torments of Hell it self as might save man from being tormented for ever Can we think that he the Sonne of God begotten of the Father of Wisdome yea begotten of the Wisdome of the Father should dote on Man to very folly and do and suffer this even all this for a toy for a trifle for a thing of nothing Surely he did highly prize the Soul of man or he would never have done and suffered so much to redeem it Too many there be indeed that make too little reckoning of their Soules For all they do so that adventure the losing of them for the gaining of the World Indeed if man had many Soules the losse of one were not so much as it is now that he hath but one The losse of one is the losse of all of himself and all And that is the second Circumstance concerning this Commodity Exported to be considered The Number or Quantity His one Soul in the singular number When a cunning Merchant hath but a small quantity of some special Commodity he knows then what he hath to doe he makes his price accordingly or rather he knows not what price to make of it he thinks he can never ask enough especially if these five Circumstances be coincident with the smalnesse of the Quantity First if it be such a kind of Commodity as that he may be sure he can get no more of the same kind if he parts with that he hath Secondly if it be such a Commodity as he cannot be without if he desires to have a being such a Commodity as he can neither trade for the World nor subsist in the World without it Thirdly if it be a Commodity received from a Friend and Keep thy soule diligently Deut. 4. 9. such a Friend as he ought to love above the World and that Friend gave it to him to the end that he might keep it for his own endlesse good and for his sake that gave it to him Fourthly if it be such a Commodity as doth exceed all For it cost more to redeem their soules so that he must let that alone for ever Psal 49. 8. What shall he give in exchange Intelligere oportet de anima perdita Jansen prices that can be given by this World for it And lastly if it be a Commodity that cannot be regained by any man that hath parted with it although he would part with all back again that he took for it and give even all that he had before to boot Now all these Circumstances do concurre with the Singularity of the Soul For 1. A man can never get another Soul when his own is lost 2. A man cannot subsist without his Soul he could not be a Man but for his Soul it is Soul that makes him so 3. It was the Lord himself that gave his Soul unto him and for his sake he ought to keep it and he gave it him to keep untill that he should come and take it to himself again 4. It is of worth above the World And lastly nothing in the World can ever redeem it if it be lost or laid to pawn The losse must needs be great And how great soever it be that man that hath lost it must beare all the losse no man can be partner with him because it was his own soul and onely his That 's the third Circumstance to be considered and it is very considerable It is his own Soul Others can have no share with him in the substance of this Commodity thus exported and therefore can they not be sharers with him in his losse of it Others may have their hands in the losse of this Soul and so may be punished with the losse of their own for it yet will their losses no way lessen his His soul was all his own before he parted with it and all the losse must be his own for parting from it A great losse it must needs be unto him It is the losse of his greatest good and with that the losse of all his goods Yet for the gaining of wordly goods too many adventure the losse of their souls Some Merchants have adventured much and have gained more they have adventured with their goods and have saved themselves But others have lost both their goods and themselves by the like adventures Some men have adventured far for the gaining of the World and have come home again to themselves without losing their Souls But others have lost them by adventuring of them Some men lose their Souls by adventuring of them Some others sell them and so lose them And so we are fallen upon the third particular the Merchandise it self or the Negotiating of the Trade And in this negotiating of the Trade there are both gaining losing Gaining of the World and losing of the Soul The gaines are great gain the whole World But the losse is greater and lose his own Soul He that sells his Soul for the whole World makes but an ill bargain for himself He is a loser by the bargain and such a loser that his very soul may be said to be lost though he sells it because he sells it so much under foot There are two Wayes to lose the Soule by selling of it The first by Whole-sale The second by Retaile Men may be said to sell and lose their souls by Whole-sale when they take some great reward of iniquity for them and so Iose them all at once And they may be said to sell them by Retaile when they forfeit and lose them by little and little There are Minuta peccata saith S. Austine peccadillio's little S. August de de Cevit Dei l. 2. cap. 32. sinnes And there are Peccata conscientiam vastantia Conscience-wasting sinnes great offences The Soule may be lost by one of these or it may be lost by a multitude of those It is traded away by Whole-sale when it is lost for one grand offence And it is traded away by Retaile when it is lost for many minute offences St Bernard calls these Venialia S. Bern. de praecep dispen cap. 14. and those greater Criminalia but these Venials are made Mortals when a mortal man allows them in himselfe and himselfe in them and so multiplies them upon that stock of allowance St Austine compares these smaller sinnes to the graines of Sand and to the smallest drops
lose his own soule I may not stand to recapitulate the several circumstances of both these Wares the whole World and a mans own soule and so compare them Let your Meditations ease me of that labour whilest I summe up the Uses that may be made of these Meditations Yet for the Ballancing of the Trade let me make a tendry to you of three or four Considerables 1. Consider That the gaining of the whole World can never make the Gainer of it happy But so will his saving of his own Soule 2. Consider that a man cannot be happy without his own Soule but without the World he may 3. Consider That a man must lose the World or leave it before he can be happy but if his Soule be lost when it must leave him he can never be happy 4. Consider That the Soul is infinite in duration and the World but finite This but temporal but that eternal à parte post as some distinguish The one a matchlesse treasure the other a worthlesse trifle in comparison Now ballance these Considerables What profit is it for a man to gain that which can never make him happy and lose that for it which would make him so for ever if he did not lose it Or what profit is it for a man to gaine that which he must lose again before he can be happy and for his gaining of it must lose that which can no more be gained nor happines without it Or what profit can it be to gain that which is but finite and lose that which is infinite Inter finitum infinitum nulla datur proportio There is no proportion between a thing that is finite and a thing that is infinite Is it so then that the whole World is not to be valued with one Soule What folly then doe those men shew to the world that adventure the losse of their Soules for the very Attoms of the world or the smallest gains that can be in the World for an Inch in an Ell for an Ounce in a Pound What lunacy what madnesse to hazard a Soule Si ergo homines totum mundum spernere oportet ne animarum damna patiantur propter suam salutem debet quispiam etiam sua lucra contemnere quà m infidelis est quà m insipiens est qui ut alium divitem faciat animam suam ipse condemnat Maximè cum ille non multum adipiscitur qui usum temporalium rerum accipit◠ille inaestimabilia damna praeferat qui fructum beatae aeternitatis amittit Salvianus ad Eccles Cathol lib. 3. for farthings or the Minutes of the World for a moment of Pleasure or a Puffe of applause Many think they bring their Souls to very good Markets if they can sell them with a Ziba for a Mephibosheths inheritance or with an Ahab for a Naboths Vineyard or with an Achan for a wedge of gold Many are willing to sell them as Esau did his Birth-right for a messe of Pottage yea for a peece of Bread some will transgresse Judas the Traitor valued his Master at thirty pence But how many are there that can be content to sell their Saviour and give their Souls into the bargain for the bare moitie of his reward of iniquity Ananias and Sapphira sold themselves for part of that price that should have been laid at the Apostles feet Acts 5. A very inconsiderable price But what if it had been all And what if that all had been as much as all the world what profit would it have been unto them if they must have lost their own Sacrilego poena est neque ei soli qui è sacro abstulerit sed etiam ei qui sacro commendatum quod nunc multis sit fanis Cicer. de leglb lib. 1. Souls for it Alas no profit at all For what is a man profited if he shall gaine the whole World and lose his own Soule And secondly is it so that the gaining of the whole World is not to be ballanced with the losse of one Soul What answer or account can those Factors make to their Principal What can such Malefactors answer unto God Almighty that have caused the losse of a World of Souls for the gaining of a little Worldly Pelf or a little vain Applause or a little vanishing Pleasure Cicer. Parad. lib. 3. The Stoicks thought as Cicero telleth us that all sinnes are equal And some Hereticks have thought that all sufferings shall be so in Hell But dantur gradus in Gloria there are degrees of Glory in Heaven amongst the Saints and there shall be degrees of Misery in Hell amongst the Sinners It hath been the judgment of many Orthodox Divines that the Authors and the Abettors of the Arrian Heresies had their Torments in Hell increased daily as the number of Soules increased which were daily lost by following of their Heresies Yet for a little applause amongst some people and for some small Benevolence from them the old Heresies are unraked out of their ashes and new ones are blown up daily into blazing-flames to the great disturbance of Israels peace and to the destruction of Sions prosperity The Pulpits are prophaned and the Presses are pestered and Myriads of Souls are seduced with the daring fancies of desperate Opinionists For small gains some have written and others have printed and divers have vended dangerous Pamphlets to corrupt mens judgments and poyson their affections and undo their soules Oh that the worth of Soules were better considered It was a pious Resolve in an English Gentleman an elegant Pen-man neither to write nor yet to read any prophane Pasquils He would not write any such lest his own condemnation should be increased by theirs that should be corrupted by his Pen nor would he read any such lest he should be corrupted and increase their condemnation that wrote them It is better to have a lame hand saith he then a lewd pen. Our Saviour paid very heartily to redeeme mens souls And must not those men pay very dearly for them that thus adventure to ruine them In the third place Is it so that our Saviour Christ the chief Pastor and Bishop of Souls hath such an estimate of Souls that he deems one Soul worth more then all the World Then let all Bishops and Spiritual Pastors take the greater heed unto those Souls committed by him to their Charges All others are Vicarii ejus but his Curates or his Vicars saith Omnes alii sunt Vicarii ejus quia ipse pascit oves proprias alii verò oves Christi Aquin. in Ep. ad Heb. c. 13. Aquinas and unto him they must answer for those entrusted to them It is reported of S. Austine that he wept when he entred into Holy Orders And some have thought those Tears prognosticks or forerunners of his following Troubles in his Office But surely the sight of his
Heresies and Blasphemies was made doth call them so Psal 82. 6. And God forbid that they should be like to Idol gods Which have eyes and see not ears and hear not and hands but strike not I have both heard and read a story related as from the See Arch-bishop Curles Sermon upon Hebr. 12. 14. Pen of Plutarch of a certain Virgin that had many Suters and every one pretended an onely right unto her All could not have her and therefore they resolved to pull her in peeces Now me thinks Religion is like that Virgin many pretend to be good-willers to it and every meer pretender to it claims the whole right of it The Papist saies Religion is his The Brownists saies 't is his And so sayes every kinde of Anabaptists And every sort of Familists All cannot have it as they would and therefore they endeavour to rent it all in peeces that the true Protestant may not quietly enjoy it Thus the life of Religion is in danger and must needs be lost unlesse the Magistrate with the sword of Justice in his hand will shew the Justice of that sword and doe the Protestant right by defending his Religion Tirannis non est impedire novationes in Ecclesia orthodoxa Videlius dePruden Ver. Eccles l. 3. c. 4. 1 Kings 13. 16 c. King Solomon could certainly conclude that she was not the true Mother of the living Childe that was for the dividing of it And any Magistrate may conclude as certainly that they are neither Fathers nor Mothers nor Brothers nor Sisters nor any way allyed to Religion but meer aliens that are either for dividing of it or dividing from it You then that have the over sight of such a City as this be not over-seen to lose your own Soules by conniving at Acts 18. 17. Sine zelo nec Religio conservari propagarii nec tentationes vel spei vel metus superari possunt Videlius de Prudent Ver. Eccles l. 1. c. 3. the losse of thousands Be not Gallio's at such a time as this in such as a case as this in such a City as this But be as zealous for the Truth as any can be for Errours Be as watchful for the Church as others are against it Be for the Lord and he will be for you Zeale for the Lord does wâ—ll in any man but better in the Magistrate Qui non zelat non amat He that is not zealous for the City of God and for the God of the City loves neither as he should Oh love the Lord and love the place where his honour dwelleth love the worship of the Lord and the place of his worship and the time for worshipping of him in the place of worship Love the Levit. 19. 30. Psal 93. 5. The Parliament hath done the Lords Day right by that Ordinance April 6. 1644. for the strict observance of the Day John 2. 14 c. Si quis domum Dei contemptibilem esse conventus qui in ea câ—lebrantur Anathema sit Carranza Concil Gangr Can. 5. Lords house and the Lords day holinesse becometh both let not prophanenesse come into either lest it enter also into mens souls If we have neither a set time nor a setled place for solemn worship we shall quickly have no worship And if we lose the worship of God amongst us must we not look to lose the Lord himself from amongst us And if we lose him can we save our selves Must not our soules be lost if he be lost that should save them Let us keep his Day and keep his House to keep him in his house amongst us When our gracious Saviour was upon the earth his pious zeale for the place of publike worship did even compel him to whip the prophane Hucâ—sters out of the Temple And were he now upon the earth his zealous Piety might be compelled to whip some Hucksters with other prophaners of his Sabbath into his Temple And yet it may be he would whip them out again for comming prophanely thither or committing prophanenesse there Many are so greedy of worldly gains that they cannot forbeare their Huckstering upon the Sabbath they lose a greater good for the gaining of a little goods They lose the Time and Means of gaining goodnesse and gaining godlinesse Godlinesse is great gain But alas their gaines by hapering at home are smal and inconsiderable What if they Vbi salutis damnum est illic utique jam lucrum nullum est Eucher Epist ad Valerian gain much What if they gain as much as all the World if they must lose their Souls their gains can no way recompence them for their losse There can be no profit in such gains For What is a man profited if he shall gaine the whole world and lose his own soule FINIS The Pious Convert A FAST SERMON As it was Preached at Great Bealings in SUFFOLK By Edw. Willan M. A. C. C. C. in Ca. Luke 5. 32. I came not to call the Righteous but Sinners to repentance Matth. 3. 8. Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance Seneca Tragaed 8. Quem paenitet peccasse pene est innocens LONDON Printed for RICHARD ROYSTON at the Angel in Ivie-lane 1651. To the Worshipfull ALMOT CLENCH Esq His very loving Friend and Kinsman SIR YOV cannot but know by whom this Text was given to me But I cannot know to whom this Sermon may be given so rightly as to the Giver of the Text. Give me leave then to give that to you a second time and by a second way which hath been yours from the first Why should it not be yours in your Hands as well as yours in your Head and yours in your Heart The Text was very well taken from his hands that gave it And I will hope that those hands which gave the Text will take the Sermon so Indeed I must needs say the Text was very worthy to be accepted But so I dare not say of the Sermon But if you please to take it as it is it is as it was It was yours from the Pulpit at the first And yours for ever it must be from the Presse by all the right that may be I have minded you already of your Interest in the Argument But I suppose I need not minde you of your Interest in the Author Who is Sir Your Worships humble Servant and poor Kinsman Edw. Willan The Pious Convert Ezekiel 18. 32. Wherefore turn your selves and live ye IT was not I that chose this Text for this Time nor was it this Time that chose this Text for me Yet choice it was not chance that put me at this Time upon this Text or this Text rather upon me I cannot chuse but like and love the choice from him that made it and say My lot is faln to Psal 16. 7. â—n a faire ground It is a Text as fitly chosen for these â—es as may be We cannot yet say that the Times are turâ—g yet may we say
any of it Every soule shall enjoy as much good Quicquid enim amabile aderit nec desiderabitur quod non aderit S. Zegedin loc Commun In caelesti beatitudine veraciter sine sine gaudium est sine aliquo taedio manens aeternitas inspectio sola divinitatis efficia ut beatius nil esse possit Cassio epist lib. 2. in that presence by the presence of that good as it shall be able to receive or to desire to receive As much as shall make it fully happy Every one shall bee filled so proportionably full And every desire in any soule shall bee fullfilled so perfectly in that presence of glory with the glory of that presence that no one shall ever wish for any more or ever be weary of that it has or bee willing to change it for any other Indeed the fullnesse of any evill is an evill fullnesse for it ever causeth wearinesse and bringeth wishings of exchanges But the fullnesse of joy in the presence of God does never create any wearinesse nor any beginnings of discontentednesse There is a fullnesse unto loathing And there is a fullnesse unto liking A fullnesse that causeth dislike And a fullnesse that causeth delight The lustfull desires of any sinners are quickly satiate unto nothing But the longing desires of every saint in the presence of God are for ever satisfied unto liking and delight All the desires of the Saints and Angells in the presence of God are satisfied by their enjoying of his presence yet are they never satisfied with the enjoying of his presence as Dionysius Carthusianus very wittily They are alwayes satisfied Dionys Carthu de quat hom Nov. Art 65. Quid enim aliud est Dei Opt. Max. cognitio atque amor ex ea quam inexplebilis appetitus ad haerâ—ndi illius infinitati Jul. Caes Scalig. de subtil with it according to their owne desires and alwayes have desires to be satisfied with it as they are They ever enjoy it without any loathing of it and they desire ever to enjoy it without any languishing of it Indeed they can never be wearyed with having of it but you by this time may with hearing of it It is better by farre to have it then heare of it This discourse about the fulnesse of joy in the presence of God and the pleasures of his right hand for evermore may not be like them here it may not be for evermore The Course of all those pleasures may not cannot be cut off but this discourse about them may and must Yet here lest all this long contexture should unravell at this end by being thus cut off I cannot but presume to turne it in and make an hem or overcast it at the least that you may make some further uses of it And in the first place because there is the fulnesse of joy in the presence of God and pleasure at his right hand for evermore therefore let us deeme it rightly as it is a meere madnesse in any man to dote upon these empty Shadowes of Earthly joyes and these vanishing Seemes of worldly pleasure which are but for the present None but the meerest Naturall lack-wits will preferre a worthlesse pebble to a matchlesse Pearle And surely they can be no other but meere Naturalls which postpone the fulnesse or joy in the glorious presence of God and the pleasures at his right hand for evermore unto the joyes and pleasures of this present world He that swops away Heaven for Earth makes a worse bargaine for himselfe then Glancus made with Diomedes when he exchanged 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 As the Prince of poets Homer Iliad writes it Golden weapons for weapons of brasse Armes worth an hundred Oxen fit for Sacrifices for Armes not worth more then nine What are the Joyes and pleasures of his present world unto the fulnesse of joy in the presence of God and the pleasures at Gods right hand for evermore Alas they are all as nothing How firme and faire so ever they are in seeme yet indeed they are but like the Joseph de Bell. Judaic lib. 5. Apples which Josephus writes of neer unto the lake Asphaltites which perish if they be but touched I have seene a witty fancy portraied on a Table where Justice was Seated holding a paire of Scales to weigh the Religions of the Protestants and of the Papists one against the other The Protestants put nothing but verbum dei scriptum the written word of God into the Scale But the Papists adde and heape their Trentalls and all their Decretalls the Papall Chaire and the Triple Crowne their Beades and all their Bead-rolls of Tradition Their Holy-waterpots and all their Magazines of holy reliques with all their Trinckets Trash and Trumperie into their Scale and under neath their scale that grande Impostour the Devill is portraied hanging and adding all the weight he can unto that fide yet all will not doe all cannot counterpoise the weight and worth of the written word of God alone And should we take the Balance of the Sanctuary and put the joyes and pleasures of this present World into one Scale and the joyes of Heaven or the fulnesse of joy in the presence of God and the pleasures at his right hand for evermore into the other and weigh them one against the other wee should find all worldly joyes and pleasures to be but as the dust Isaiah 40. 15. Psal 62. 9. of the Balance yea lighter then vanity it selfe Solomon was as wise as any Man of this World yet could 1 Kings 4. 29. 30. Eccles 2. he never finde out any reall joyes or pleasures in this World Onely by his wisdome he could finde that there are none here to bee found let not us bee so unwise then as to seeke them here where Solomon himselfe could never finde them He could not finde them under the sunne let us then seeke above it S. Chrys Hom. 151 for them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith S. Chrysostom 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 let us not let our thoughts fall downwards to the Earth but fly to Heaven upwards Let us seeke those things Colos 3. 1. which are above Let us seeke the fulnesse of joy in the presence of God and the pleasures at his right hand for evermore And in the second place because there is the fulnesse of joy in the presence of God and pleasure c. Therefore let us seriously consider what they lose that are excluded and exiled from that glorious presence of God for ever Alas for them their losse is beyond expression beyond imagination No mortall man can either fathome the depth or measure the greatnesse of their miseries that are for ever deprived of that felicity The miseries of this world are a world of miseries yet are they all as nothing to the miseries of hell for hell is nothing else but miseries And the miseries of hell are either in poena damni or in poena sensus In the
celeberrimus Volateran Anthropol Homeri duo fuerunt Volateran Anthropol l. 17. approved Historiographers to Homer the Prince of Poets and other famous Wits that were his followers That Poeticall Paradise the Elysian Field could make a Pagan give his longum vale to this present world with notable resolution And shall not the reall pleasures of the Celestiall Paradise the fulnesse of joy in the glorious presence of God encourage a Christian at his death to depart as comfortably as a faithless Grecian Why should Fantasie in a Heathen be more powerful than Faith in a Christian Is not that company as good which we beleeve to be in the glorious presence of God as that which he imagined to be in Elysio Campo And are not the joyes as many and as great Why then should not every true Beleever cheare up himselfe at his departure by thinking of his going to S. Peter S. Paul S. James S. John and to all that glorious Company of Apostles in that presence of God And of his going to Elias and Elisha and Isaiah and Ezechiel and to Daniel and all that goodly fellowship of the Prophets And of his going to S. Steven the Proto-Martyr and to Ignatius and to Justinus and to our Cranmer and our Ridly and our Hooper and our Taylor and all that Noble Army of Martyrs And of his going to that Reverend Patriarch Abraham the Father of the faithfull and to Isaac and to Jacob and to all the holy Patriarchs in the Kingdome of God And of his going to the holy Angels and Arch-Angels and Thrones and Powers and Principalities and to the Spirits of all just Men made perfect Who can thinke of Hebr. 12. 23. being thus transported and not be transported with the very thought of it Surely it must needs be a very Consolatory Viaticum to the soule of a dying Christian to thinke of exchanging Earth for Heaven and the sordid Company of Sinners for the sweet society of Saints Who can thinke of Reigning with holy David and good Quae dementia est amare pressuras poenas lacrymas mundi S. Cypr. de Mortal Egredere anima mâ—a S. Hieron in vit Hilar. Luke 2. 29. 30. Octogenarius ille ceciâ—it â—lor Draxel Zodiac Christian Josias and with Christ Jesus himselfe in his Kingdome of Glory and still desire to bee subject to his owne corruptions and the corruptions of others Hee that thinkes upon the fullnesse of joy in the presence of God and the pleasures at his right Hand for evermore can never wonder that old Hilarion should entreate his owne soule to be packing thither When Swan like Simeon had but seene his Saviour in his state of Humiliation hee could not chuse but sing his nunc Dimittis Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word When his Saviour and ours was come into this World and hee had taken him into his Armes hee desired leave then of the Lord to take his leave of the World that so he might leave his soul in the Armes of his Saviour And they that have seen their Saviour by the eye of Faith as now hee is to be seen in his state of Exaltation and have embraced him in Augu. de Civit. Dei l. 19. Psal 39. 12. Et ideo â—anquam peregrinus ad illam Sanctorum omnium patriam â—estinabat S. Ambros de â—on Mort. the Armes of their afffections can never be unwilling to depart in peace that with the God of Peace and Prince of Peace they may have peace in life eternall and eternall life in peace as S. Augustine turnes it very wittily Are we not all Pilgrimes here and are wee not allmost lost in dangerous wayes and desperate Times Who then can chuse but wish himselfe at home Caelum Patria Christus via vita nostra deambulacrum Heaven is our Home Christ is our Way thither and this life is our Walke Our Home is pleasant our Way perfect but our Walke painefull Yet there is a necessity of our Walke and there is Adversity in our Way But there is Felicity at our Home Wee are all here upon our Walke And wee all have heard of our onely Way and who does not John 14. 6. Heb. 10. 20. wish with all his heart that he were at home I 'le speak even all your Errands in a word and send you homeward Remember whither yee are going and stay not by the way for feare it be too late ere yee get home Remember your Way and stray not from it for feare yee lose your selves and never come neere home But be sure to keepe your Way and be content to travell hard and yee may be sure ere long yee shall reach home and receive a wellcome home by all the Saints in Glory and a Crowne of Glory by Christ our Saviour and the fullnesse of joy in the Presence of God and pleasures at his right Hand for evermore Amen Amen * ⎠* FINIS A SERMON OF THE WORLDS VANITY AND THE SOVLS EXCELLENCY Preached in the Cathedral Church of Saint Paul in the fore-noone Octob. 9. 1642. By Edw. Willan M. A. C. C. C. in Ca. Homer Iliad 10. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 LONDON Printed for RICHARD ROYSTON at the Angel in Ivie-lane 1651. TO The Worshipfull Robert Style Esquire his ever honored Patron AND To the Right Worshipfull Robert Aylet Dr. of Law and one of the Masters of the CHANCERY Gentlemen THis Sermon was appointed for the Crosse But I hope there is no crosse appointed for this Sermon It came not at the Crosse when it was preached And I hope no crosse shall come at that when it is printed It took sanctuary in the Quire and so was delivered to an extraodinary multitude of Hearers But iâ— now requires another kinde of sanctuary to be delivered from the multitude of ordinary Censurers Your kinder countenances may prove such a sanctuary to it It is a Sermon of Merchant-Adventurers and it hath made me a Venturer though no Merchant And in this Paper-bottome I have made a twofold Adventure The first is of this Tendry of Respect and Service to your Worships for the gaining of your favours for the Protection of the other And that other is not an adventure of a Soule for the gaining of the World but of a Sermon about the World and the Soule into the World for the gaining of Soules And your joynt favours as I conjecture may prove a very safe Convoy to it thorow the World Caeptis aspirate It was the one of your good Worships which called it then unto the Pulpit or caused it to be called thither And it is the other that hath now called it unto the Presse or occasioned the Printing of it And now whose shall I call it It might sometimes have been called mine But it hath been miscalled I know not whose I remember well I heard the Character of a
of Glory for it Those that are now lifted up to the Excellency of Honor and to the Honor of Excellency by the men of voice may soon have all their Honors laid in the dust by the voices of men And yet that the voice of the Common-people Matth. 7. 13. is the voice of God is the common voice of the people and that the Multitude cannot erre in judgement is the judgement of the multitude but a judgement full of errour for the greatest multiâ—udes are wont to wander in the broadest wayes of Errour and they that run with the multitude to seek for Worldly Honours may lose their Honours by the Multitudes in this World and themselves with the Multitudes in the World to come In the last place let us see the vanity of Worldly Riches When Solomon had viewed and reviewed all the Works that he had wrought and all the labours that he had laboured to do he audited this account of them all that they were all but vanity and vexation of spirit and that there was no profit under the Sun Eccles 2. 11. Be then perswaded by St Paul and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. St Chrys Hom. â— trust not in uncertain Riches There is nothing more uncertain nothing more unfaithfull 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith S. Chrisostome to day with thee to morrow against thee Let us not make Riches our God and Poverty our Devil lâ—st our Riches do part us from God and pack us to the Devil The Devil is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The god of this World as the Apostle calls him 2 Cor. 4. 4. from Worldly Riches was he called Pluto or from his name 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 were they called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thus did the Greeks of old entitle him to Worldly Riches and entail their Worldly Riches upon him Let us not entitle our selves to them by him nor him unto our selves by them Let us never place our Heaven in them seeing Hell it selfe is so near unto them and seeing that we may not place our Happinesse in them let us never set our hearts upon them Nothing should have Mans heart but that which is his Heaven or does relate unto it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith Saint Chrysostome The Riches that are truly everlasting Chrysos Hom. 2. are all in Heaven and all the Riches that are in Heaven are truly everlasting Let not us then seek for In comparatione aeternorum honorum vana sunt omnia etiam bona temporalia S. Greg. Mag. in Prim. Sam. cap. 12. Riches here on Earth as for our Heaven But let us seek for Heaven that may be more then Riches to us for ever hereafter Alas these Worldly riches in compare with those of Heaven as S. Gregory tells us are altogether vain yea vanity it self as Solomon speaks them in the same sense But here let us advance the Supposition one step higher Let us suppose the Riches of the World to be neither vanity nor vain but to have reality and worth in them yet still the Question may be asked What is a man profited For what profit can it be to a man to gain such things as he may not think his own when he has gained them nor use them as his own They that get these Worldly Riches by ungodly means are by those means indebted to the God of this World for them And he will be paid by all his Debtors 2 Cor. 4. 4. They may all look to be arrested at his Suit and cast into the prison of Hell but may not look to get out thence untill they have paid the uttermost farthing And as for such as use the lawfullest means to get them they may not use them as they list or will themselves when they have got them For why they are but Servants in receiving of them but Trustees in keeping of them and but as meer Stewards they must be in accounting for them Now it is very requisite in Stewards to be found faithfull Faithfull in all Imbursements 1 Cor. 4. 2. faithfull in all Disbursements faithfull in all Intrustments God himself was the Maker of all this World And he himself is the Master of it He is the Author of all good in the World And he is the Owner of all the goods of all the World Man must ever therefore have respect to him and to his pleasure in the using of his goods There must at last be a generall Audit and man must reckon for all And woe unto him if he makes not an even Reckoning An even Reckoning is hard to be made though never so small but the greatest Reckonings are hardest to be made even There is no Euge to be expected from the Master without an even Reckoning from the Servant Nor can the Servant make his Reckoning even then unlesse he be now fidelis in minimis faithful in the smallest driblets faithfull to the utmost farthing careful not to waste the very minutes of his Masters goods by mispending of them He is said to waste his Masters goods that does mispend those goods by riotous courses which are entrusted in his hands And for his wasting of them so he is soon to be discarded from all Entrustments by his Master Redde rationem villicationis tuae saith his Master to him Luke 16. 1. Come give an account of thy stewardship for thou mayest be no longer steward Durus est hic sermo This is an hard saying But it it said and it must be so There must an Account be given And now doth not this great Rich Worldling begin to wish that he had ever been a Lazarus rather then a Dives That he had never Luk. 16. 19 c. been entrusted with so much of this Worlds goods that so he might not now have had so much to reckon for But to whom much is given of him there is much to be required He Luk. 12. 48. must now answer for all He had a great Trust committed to him and now he distrusts his Reckoning the more The Reckoning is so great that he is to make that he makes no reckoning to save himself when he hath made it By the Divitiarum acquisitio magni laboris est possessio magni timoris amissio magni doloris Idiotae Contemplat de amore divino c. 33. very Summons to the Audit he hears an Exauctoration decreed against him He may be no longer Steward For mis-spending that part which he had he must now part with all that he hath But all that will not serve the turn For what he hath is none of his but his Masters and it will not satisfie for that he hath mis-spent of his Masters And therefore what he is Soul and Body must be sold that payment may be made Now tell me where is his profit He willingly lost that other that better World for this and now hath lost both this and himself with that other But let us put the Supposition one step higher
and the Grave and so doth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with the Greeks Thirdly Damnation is like to Death in respect of Pain Quid sacient intime familiares quales sunt corpus anima quae ab ipso utero ita jucundissime vixerint The spirit may be willing but the flesh will be loath Manchest Al Mondâ— contemp mortis and Griefe Great are the pangs of Death and great the griefe of Man that 's dying and the griefe and pains of Hell are full as great and greater Fourthly and last Damnation is like to Death in respect of Horrour Death is called the King of feares the most terrible of terribles Nature abhorreth nothing more then Death there is nothing that is known to Man more terrible and therefore is Damnation called Death Indeed Damnation is beyond expression terrible yea beyond all apprehension we want words to expresse it by we want things more hideous to resemble it unto We mis-call it Death but it is not Death indeed The Damned may wish for Death but they must not dye The Damned souls are all immortal they are sent to Hell to live in misery yea to live in misery for ever yea for ever and for ever The expression is as useful as it is usual Mark it well for ever and for ever That which is but once for ever can never have an end But the living and lasting Miseries of Hell are said to be for ever and for ever to make us the more seriously to consider of them This Duplication intimateth thus much to us that when the poore damned soule hath passed a thousand years and ten thousands more and as many thousands more as the nimblest imagination can conceive of and more Millions of Ages more then the best Arithmetician can ever multiply yet then he shall be as if he were newly to begin he hath still and still another for ever to endure miseries This it is that does so aggravate the Misery of Man by his Worldly Merchandize If he must lose his Soul for his gaining of the World his losse is infinite because the Damnation of his Soul is endlesse It is for ever and ever It was the thought of this that caused that Right Reverend Parson of Bethlem Parish devout St Hierome to renounce this present World and retire into a Cell or Cave which he either found or founded in Bethlem lest he should lose his Soule for ever and ever in Hell by gaining the World for a time The feare of endlesse torments turn'd his Cell Dr Willans 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Into a Jayle and made his Cave his Hell Propter metum Gehennae tali me carceri emancipaveram as he said himself to Heliodorus That good old Father was wont to be portraied with a young Lyon by his side partly to signifie how fiercely he cryed out against the Schismes and Heresies and other sins of others in his time and partly to signifie that he sometimes roared out for the very disquietnesse of his own heart at the sight of his own sin knowing that if his soule must be lost by them his losse would be intolerable because it would be the losse of an immortal substance A fourth Reason to raise the estimate of the Soul may be taken from the Reason in it It is a Reasonable Soul an Intellectual It is chiefly in respect thereof that we are called Reasonable Creatures Nemes of the Nature of Man cap. 14. Substance The richest Treasure of any that Man as man is entrusted with By this he comes to know himselfe By this he comes to know the way to save himselfe By this he comes to know the worth of this and other things If he loseth this he is but a lost man yea without this he is no man at all And therefore Man should value this above all A fifth Reason may be this that the losing or saving of the whole man depends upon the saving or losing of the soule If the Soule of man be turned into Hell at the first Judgement the whole man must be tumbled thither at the second Judgement But if it be translated to Heaven at the Night of Death the Body also shall have a removal thither at the Morning of the Resurrection It is a preposterous Care in many Great ones in this Multus Corporum Curationi impenditur usus multum huic operae in spem medâ—lae datur Nunquid medicinam anima non mâ—retur Etsi varia corpori auxiliae studio tuendae sanitatis adhibentur sas non est tamen animam velut exclusam jacere quasi neglectam morbis suis intabescere atque unam à propriis remediis exulare immo verè plura animae conserenda sunt si corpori tanta praestantur Nam si râ—cte quidam carnem famulam animam verò dominam esse dixerunt non oportet postâ—riâ—re lâ—co nos dominam ponere ac famulam iniquo jure praeferre Eucherius in Epist Paraenet ad Valerianum World to make great provision for their Bodies here before death and also after it but none at all or very little for their Soules Alas for them Let them provide what Physicians they can to prevent the Death of their Bodies yet are they mortal and so must dye And let them prepare what Tombs they will to preserve them after Death Yet if their soules be sent to Hell to be tormented for their sinnes done in their bodies their bodies must be sure they also shall be sent to suffer with their soules As they sinned together so must they suffer But whatever become of their Bodies after death if their Soules be saved when they die their Bodies also shall be saved at the second coming of our Saviour As they have served him together so shall they be saved together by him The happinesse or unhappinesse of the whole man depends upon the happinesse or unhappinesse of his Soule The sixth and last Reason to perswade this Merchant Totus quidem iste mundus ad unius animae pretium aestimari non potest non enim pro tolo mundo Deus animam suam dare voluit quam pro anima humanae dedit Sublimius ergo animae pretium quae non nisi sanguine Christi redimi potuit c. Agnosce homo quam nobilis est anima tua quam gravia suerunt ejus vulnera pro quibus necesse suit Christum Dominum vulnerari Noli ergo vilipendere animae tuae passionem cui à tanta Majestate tantam vides exhiberi compassionem S. Bern. Medit. Man to prize his Soul above the World may be taken from the consideration of that price which our Saviour paid for the redemption of it And was it not very considerable think you that the Sonne of God the welbeloved Sonne of God the onely begotten Sonne of God equal to the Father in goodnesse and power and glory and majesty should condescend so low as to become a Man a Man of no reputation the very scorn and