his house for loue it vvould vtterly be contemned saith the Spouse in the Canticles Cant. 8 7. vvithout doubt if vve loue god vvith all our hart vve vvill deny him nothing of all Paule tells vs that vve are all concluded vnder sinne for vve haue all of vs sinned Let vs therefore make our peace vvith our all that vve may obtayne all then haue vve made the best bargaine that euer vve made in the vvorld For then vve shall be deliuered vp in the kingdome by CHRIST to god the father that he may be all in all vvhich god grant vnto vs all AMEN Novve are vve come vnto the last vvhich is this Marchants purchase Blessed vvas his deligence choise constancie skill readines contempt of the vvorld full persvvasion to obtaine so great a purchase for the text sayth he bought it The learning vvhereof is this The fiftenth lesson That it is the greatest purchase of the world so to buy sell in the vvorld that vve may purchase at the last the inheritance of the other vvorld Mat. 16.26 The truth of this appeareth First by Christs question For vvhat is a man profited if he should purchase the vvhole vvorld lose his ovvne soule Or vvhat shall a man giue in exchange for his soule This question poseth all vvorldlie purchasers all subtile exchangers Secondly this appeareth by parable vvhat did all those recusaÌ„ts gaine which vvould not come vnto the supper Luc. 14.16 vvhereunto they vvere so kindly invited One had purchased a farme another bought fiue yoke of oxen euen this they gained that they should not tast of that heauenly supper 1. Cor. 7 29.3â—.31 Thirdly it is plaine by apostolicall exposition of that supper But this I say brethren the tyme is short It remayneth that both they that haue vviues be as though they had none they that vveepe as though they vvept not And they that reioyce as though they reioyced not they that buy as though they possessed not they that vse this vvorld as not abusing it for the fashion of this vvorld passeth avvay In the seond place it appeareth by the rules of buying selling First vvho sees not his ovvne vvant therefore vve buy Rom. 3. We all vvant the grace of god vvho vvould not buy it if he sold all Secondly buyers desire to haue vvhat they vvant for their mony But this purchase is offered vvithout mony Esai 55.1 Phil. 3.8 or monies vvorth Thirdly they buy for a great price vvhat they vvould haue yea vve must account all things as doung to vvinne Christ Fourthly buying selling is by exchange Properly in this there is noe exchange as is shevved before out of Esay 55. 1. And Simon Magus vvas rebuked that thought the grace of god vvas to be bought vvith mony Was it not a blessed exchange for vs vvhen the ramme vvas taken for Isaac 2. Cor. â— 21 that is vvhen he that knevve noe sinne vvas made sinne for vs that vve might be the righteousnes of god in him vvhich caused Martin Luther oftimes to say in his prayers O god thou art my sinne I am thy righteousnes If you shall aske of me hovve this exchange is made I ansvvere in a vvord By faith the friuts thereof prayer good vvorkes For albeit vve haue nothing of our selues to giue yet it hath pleased god to giue himself in his sonne for vs. By vvhich free voluntary gift vve purchase pure gold that enricheth vs royall robes that cover our nakednesse pretious eie salue that maketh vs see The gold is our faith vvhich is much more pretious then gold that perisheth both in brightnes price profitt as S. Peter speaketh 1. Pet. 1.7 The garments vvhere vvith vve are couered are the rich robes of our sanctification Gal. 3.27 For as many of vs as haue bine baptized haue put on Christ Yea all the elect of god haue put on the tender bovvells of mercie kindnes humblenes of mind meekenes long suffering Coll. 3.12 For if we are not thus clothed vvith the robes of grace our filthines vvill appeare to god and vve shall become abhominable The eie salue vvherby vve see vvhat is it but the illumination of gods spirit vvherby vve see vvith Stephen heauen opened Heare vvith Paule things that cannot be vttered by vvords at the last enioy eternall rest vvith Lazarus in Abraham bosome The reason of this appeares from Solomons Counsell Prov. 23.23 Buy the truth Apoc. 3.18 sell it not also vvisdome instruction vnderstanding Secondly from the counsell of an angell I counsell thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire that thou maiest be rich vvhite rayment that thou maiest be clothed that the shame of thy nakednes doe not appeare anoynt thine eies vvith eies salue that thou maiest see Marke vvhat is sayd he counselleth you that you may not distrust this counsell Esay 9.6 The prophet Esay tells you he is the vvonderfull counseller Thirdly from the obseruation of all the godly in all the ages of the vvorld Some haue stolne this purchase by doing good deeds secretly are revvarded openly Matt. 11.12 Some haue taken it by violence For the kingdome of heauen suffereth violence by such as are importunate vvith god day and night for it Others barter for it by leauing frends fauors all to haue this purchase Let all the great men of the vvorld that thinke of nothing els but of their purchasing rents and reuennevvs tell me vvhat purchase can be compared to this The light vvhereof the vvord hath shevved them the right vvhereof reason hath directed them in Practice 1 The first practice of this is of estimation For vvherein is any purchase in the vvorld to be esteemed as this or compared vvith this Either in respecte of continuance or the vvorth The continuance of this purchase is not only for our life time but eÌ„dures till our death yea after our death What purchase then is like this vvhich brings to the penitent pardon for sinns past preseÌ„t to come vvhich clotheth vs vvith the obedieÌ„ce of Christ in the fullfilling of the lavve which dignifieth vs vvith the titles of the sonnes of god the brothers of Christ Iesus vvhich gardeth vs vvith protection of angels turneth all our crosses curses into blessings giues vs his spirit to be our life makes our prayers incense in the nostrills of god makes his ovvne flesh vvhich he took of vs to be a pavvne for vs in heauen Tell me o you purchasers of the earth vvhat royalties of any earthly purchase can be compared to these But this is not all It continues in death For death is noe death to such a purchase but by a blessed exchange is made the vvay to heauen yea after death it continueth for by this purchase our bodies arise againe to life Phil. 3.10 vve haue a royalty to
First by vvay of Demonstration For an vnregenerate man hath sought out many inventions First the vvay of invention of disobedience he had rather be at his ovvne direction then at gods and so is become a monstrous rebbel like Chore Dathan and Abyram vnvvorthey to breath vpon the earth Secondly the invention of doubting by putting in Paraduentures into the vvord as Euah did Genes 3. vvhich god neuer spoke Thirdly the invention of Presumption in plovving vpon gods backe and making long furrovves saying let him that made me saue me Fouerthly the invention of sleighting god euen in discourse of reason as the Ievves did in chosing Barrabas and refusing Christ Fiftly the invention of Dissimulation resembling the generation of those that are pure in their ovvne conceipte and are not cleansed from their vvickednes Sixtly the invention of Persvvasion of euill to others as if they had not sinne enough of their ovvne to ansvvere for but they must entice others also Lastly by the invention of shutting their eares and hardening their harts against vvhat soeuer they should heare from god or be persvvaded by good mē for their good resoluing desperatly to liue in the vvorld vvith an iorn arme to doe any violence for aduantage vvith an ants belly to liue neuer so basely for their profitt and vvith a dogs souls to doe any exployt neuer soe deuelishly soe they may haue their ovvne vvill Practice 2 The second passage is of Lamentation For is it not a thousand pitties to see him that vvas a man of god should become a man of bloud to invent gunns and torments to destroy his Species as did Bertholdus Schuuartz the Franciscan Frier Genes 4.8 To become a man of death to cause his ovvne hands to murther his ovvne brother as did Cain to become a sonne of Belial to sel himselfe to doe euill as did Ahab and to become a man of sinne as that great Archimandrites the Pope of Rome is Practice 3 The third passage is of Deiection Psal 49.12 Psal 59.20 For tvvice in one Psalme it is sayd Man being in honor vnderstood it not is compared vnto the beasts that perish To beasts in generall Paule fought vvith beasts at Ephesus Iere. 51.17 and Ieremy saith that euery man in his ovvne knovvledge is a veary beast To beasts in particular as to vipers Maith 3.7 Matt. 10.16 Luc. 13.32 Marc. 7.27 Matt. 16.12 Act. 13.10 1. Tim. 4.1 vvolues foxes hogs doggs Yea compared to devills Haue not I chosen you tvvelue one of you is a deuill sayth Christ And Paule tells Elimas the sorcerer that he vvas the child of the deuill yea vve read of doctrines of deuills deepenes of Sathan The fathers haue resembled men to beasts A man of goodlie parts vvithout discretion to the Estridge that hath goodlie feathers and canot flie as Job speaketh a man of enuy and despight studying reueng to a camell that forgetteth all things sauing a shrevvd turne a man that is apte for euill to a Dromedary that is svvift to batell Oh hovve lamentable a thing it is to consider that a man that vvas made in the image of god should novve be vvorse then the men vvith vvhom he liueth running to that excesse of royot vvhich other men doe not Worse then bird vvhich praise their creator in their kind vvorse then beasts vvhich vvil drinke no more but vvhat sufficeth vvorse then deuills that beleeue and tremble Practice 4 Lastly of Erection For my desire is that this sunneshine should not sett in so darke a cloud seing god hath sayd to man vvhich he sayd not to the angells that fell Shall man fall and shall not he rise shall man turne avvay shall nothe returne againe Lett vs therefore as the Apostell sayth quitt our selues like men vve are all of vs Ishbosheths sonns of shame When vve come into the vvorld our frends couer our shame vvith raggs and in the end vvhen vve goe out of the vvorld they doe the like All of vs are Mephibosheths lame on both leggs both in our loue to god and in our charity one to another We are all Lazarusses full of sores and lie begging at the gate of gods rich mercie Lett vs therefore remember our creator that as vve are men soe by gods grace vve may become ciuill men Christian men and the men of god by the mediation of the man IESUS CHRIST our lord god blessed for euer and by his merritts may obtaine this kingdome vvhich is resembled to man prepared for mā merited by that man vvhich kingdome he shal render vp in the end of all vvhen there shal be noe man lyving on the earth to god the father that god may be all in all Euen so lord Iesus The fift lesson But this kingdome is not resembled to euery man but vnto a marchant man The lesson then is That Marchants and Marchādizing are of god Marchāts not only in their creatiō but also in their vocation In their creation as they are men in their christiā vocatiō as they are Marchant mē It is noe smalle cōfort for a man to be assured and assertayned that his calling is of god It remaines therefore that you marchants vse this calling legally that god may blesse you it that you may be traders for this heauenly kingdome vvhich is resembled vnto you as you are marchant men The light of this appeares that marchants dizing is pretions vvith god First because it is for the magnificence of a kingdome that god vvould advance Secondly it is for the good of a people that god vvould blesse Thirdly it appeareth from the heauenly distribution of commodities in seuerall countries and places And lastly from the dispensation of deuine prouidence in all things For the first the kingdome of Solomon is recommended vpon record in gods booke as for other things so also for the magnificence of marchantdizing 2. Chron. 8.17.18 1. Reg. 10.22 Es 23.18 That he sent ships to Esion geber to Elod ioyned him selfe vvith Hiram king of Tyre vvith his marchants vvho brought gold from Ophir once in three yeare Againe it is a blessing pronoūced of Tyre that her marchantdizing vvages should be holy vnto the lord It shall not be laid vp nor kepte in store but her marchantdize shal be for them that dvvel before the lord to eate sufficiently and to haue durable clothing Thirdly god hath distributed his commodies seuerally one country hath not all commodities But the sea the earth those tvvo great caskets of gods treasuries are in seuerall places diuersly furinshed So that one country seemeth as it vvere the granary of the vvorld So Sicilie vvas called the granary of the Romane state Another the celler of the vvorld as the Canarie Ilands Another the orchard of the vvorld as Lombardy in Ittaly so acompted Another the Arcenall of the vvorlde as Russia Norvvay are esteemed espetially for cordage materialls of shipping In all vvhich the
Christs breasts good vvorkes like S. Peter that followed after Christ Faith the bride good vvorkes the handmaids Faith the bride goeth into the chamber yea into the bed of her beloued vvhere the handmaids come not Faith the roote good vvorkes the fruite Faith only necessary to justification goodvvorkes to saluation Practice 2 The second vse is of thankfulnes For all our good is of god vvhether it be the good of prouidence all sayth Iob is of the lord he giueth it The bread vve daylie eate is called ours but vve beg it of him The goods of the body as Sampsons strength Absolons beauty Sauls tallnes all of god The goods of the mind are of god he giues vvisdome to Solomon taketh it avvay frō Georgius Trapezuntius vvho being somtimes a great scholler at the last by accident forgat his ovvne name The diuersity of good gifts is of god Paull is profound Apollos eloquēt Cephas Zealous Augustine an excellent disputāt Ierome textuall Gregorij morall Ambrose iuditious Origen allegoricall Chrysostome excellent to moue passion all diuersified The goodnes of our vvill is of god My goods of mind are thy gifts Bona mea Dona tua August Conf. 10. lib. 4. cap. If any man think othervvise if he vvere as good as an angell his meate that he eateth as good as Māna his garmēt as good as the Ephod of Aarō let that mā knowe that he must attribute all to god be thankfull for all gods goodnes tovvards him either naturall or ciuill or spirituall or externall internall eternall for all our good is either god himselfe or from god himselfe it is his goodnes that hath follovved vs all our life Practice 3 The third vse is of Enquirie amongst you Marchants Are you traders for these goodly pearles If you be you vvill not abuse the good things of god to euill purposes Neither the goodnes of gods prouidence to excesse royott vanity vilenes nor the goods of your body to vvickednes you vvill not abuse your eares to become a sepulcher to burie the good name of your frend nor your tongues to be organs of despite nor your eies fireballs of enuy nor your hands engines of mischeefe nor your vvhole body a stie and stinck of sinne Nor the goods of your mind vvill you abuse either to your imagination to imagine mischeefe vpon your beds nor in your vvills to desire to doe euill like miscreants vvhen you cannot Nor to be as hammers to knocke out on anothers braines nor as svvords in each others bovvells nor as arrovves to on anothers harts But rather vvhich is the fourth vse here of to directe on another Practice 4 For negatiue justification auailes not It is Pharasaicall For euery tree that bringeth not forth good fruite is hevven dovvne cast into the fire Be therefore directed to recompence noe man euill for euill as Joab did Abner for that 's a poore spirit much lesse euill for good as Iudas did to Christ for that 's a diuells spirit Nay if you doe recompence good vvith good as Ahasuerosh did Mordicai it is but common justice but to ouercome euill vvith goodnes is more then to preach Rom. 12. vlt. or to doe a miracle or to cast out a diuell Practice 5 For if I should expostulate vvith you vvhy vve doe vsurpe these glorious titles as to be called the sonnes of god if vve haue noe good bloud of our heauenly father but are like the fig tree vvhich had only leaues so vve like Nepthalie haue goodlie vvords but doe neuer a good vvorke What doth it profitt vs to be stiled Citizens vvith the saincts Domestickes seruants saincts baptized illuminats Christians haue noe goodnes ansvverable to those goodly titles There may a Zozomen arise obserue that vve Christians like Turckes vvhich call themselues Sarazens vvhen they are but Hagarens soe vve call our selues Christians vvhen vve haue noe goodnes of Christ in vs but are indeed Cretians vvho as Paule citeth out of Epimenides vvere alvvaies Liars Tit. 1. ill beasts slovve bellies For tell me vvhat doe they meane that lay vvaste their consciences by doing euill trading for counterfeits coralls paultry ieat or for euill Doth any hard harted Pharoh imperious Nebuchanezer cruell Adonibezek prophane Passhur false harted Zidkiah foolish Ahab incestuous Ammon mispersvvaded Magus sorcerous Elymas vnmercifull Gluton Prodigall Prodigious vvicked miscreant thinke vvho here doth runne out his tyme vvith euill of sinne that there vvill not come a tyme vvhen the euill of punishment shall be avvarded seauen fold into his bosome Nothing more sure For he that had not soe much goodnes as extended to a crumme of bread had not afforded him a drop of the vvater of mercie Luc. 16. Look to it therefore Masters mortalls For the apostasie of faith vvas in the later tymes 1. Tim. 4.1 but novve for ought that I can see there is an apostasie of goodnes in the vvorld of both vvhich Paule prophecieth 2. Tim. 3.1 Looke therfore to euery case of your conscience Doe you feare the vvrath of god for the guilt of your sinne fall to doing of goodnes 2. Chro. 19.3 god vvill turne avvay his vvrath from you for Christ sake as he did from Iehosophat Is thy soule almost dead in sinne Incline to goodnes Act. 9.36 god vvill raise thee frō death as he did Tabitha that is from the death of sinne to the life of righteousnes Wilt thou be certified of thine election make it sure by good vvorkes 2. Pet. 1.10 Wilt thou be secured from the diuell god vvill check him if thou be doing of good vvill say vnto all the povvers of darknes as Christ sayd vnto those that hindered Mary Magdalen vvhy trouble ye the vvoman Matth. 26. Wilt thou spend thy tyme vvell Gal. 6.10 Doe good vvhile thou hast tyme. Wilt thou be crovvned continue in doing good thou shalt haue honor glory Roman 2. immortallity euerlasting life In a vvord good vvorkes doe not goe before one that is to be justified but they follovve him that is already justified Conceaue not therefore that thou art justified by faith vnlesse thou see good vvorkes follovve thy faith If thou dost imagine othervvise Christ vvas not conceaued in thee by faith nor borne by loue nor suffered nor arose from the dead nor ascended for thee And remember this that in the end of the vvorld in the day of iudgment as the forme is sett dovvne in Mathevves gospell there is noe question made of faith Matth. 25. but of facte vvhat vve haue done or not done For he that beleueth not Ioh. 3. is condemned already saith Christ Be therefore aduised doe the good here you shall see the goodnes of god in the land of the liuing The seuenth lesson The gratious endovvmēts of this reall Marchant to vvhom the kingdome of heauen is resembled are rare For first he is noe Lythersbye or
die for the lord Iesus Act. 10 11 He had learned this lesson of his master vvho had taught him That if any man vvould come after him he must deny himselfe take vp his crosse Matth. 16.24 followe him What other things then denying our ovvne frends our ovvne goods our ovvne selues doth that myrhe mortification that dying burying vvith Christ signifie vvhereof so oft is made mention in scripture For vve are but strangers pilgrims like the children of Israell in vvhose tvvo forty stations is figured resembled the race of a Christian For they came to Rameses the store house of the Egiptians from thence to Succoth so to Etham in the edge of the vvildernes From thence to Pihiroth at the red sea before Migdoll So on to Marah vvhere they vvere three dayes vvithout vvater there they murmur From thence to Elim vvhere they found tvvelue fountaines seauenty palme trees Thence to the red sea in the desert of Syn vvhere they had quailes Manna so on till they had finished forty tvvo stations a cloud by day a pillar of fire by night being their pilotts to guide them Matth. 1. And as Christ had in his generatiō three fourteenes From Abraham to Dauid from Dauid to the captiuity from the Captiuity to Christ vvhich in all make forty tvvo So if vve haue so many fleetings as Dauid calls them in the psalmes in our regeneration yet must vve goe on continue vntill vve haue finished our course We see it vvas so in Christ For being yet an infant he must flie into Egipte back againe into the land of Israell turne a side into the parts of Galilee for feare of Archelaus the the sonne of Herod In all his life from the crach to the Crosse vvhat see vve but stations of vvoe sorrovve He that shall but cast his eie to see Paules peregrination from place to place to Cyprus to Iconium Lystra Der be Antioch to Thesolonica Beraea Athens Ephesus Miletū Ierusalem tovvard Rome suffered shipvvracke at Mileta novve called Malta Lastly vvas beheaded at Rome What sees a man I say in all this his peregrination but a sea of sorrovve sobbs sighes a perfect resemblance of the travaile of regeneration The right of this appeares to gods children For they knovve that here they are but pilgrimes in respect of their stay pay vvay Noe stay Iob. 14. Thou shalt seeke me to morrovv I shall not be In respecte of pay Noe peny noe PATER NOSTER Poore is the entertaynement that a traueler shall find that hath noe mony Lastly in respecte of our vvay for euery day vve goe forvvards Secondly gods children knovve that they must not be here allvvaies 1. Cor. 15. in respect of their sinne vvhich causeth death For the angell of paradise must vvith his svvord cut the tvvine of this life before vve can tast the tree of the other life Thirdly in respect of the place wherein they liue vvhich Iob calls cottages of clay Job 4. God calls the land of the curse Genes 3. Dauid calls the land of the dead The philosophers tearmed the sublunary region vvhere vve enquire still vvhat state the moone is in And Barnard calls it the place vvherein vve liue by deaths for vvhatsoeuer flyes in heauen or goes vpon the earth or glides in the vvaters that is eateable vve bury in our stomackes so vve liue by their deaths Againe right reason shevves this that there must needs be a dissolution vve must goe from our selues First because our bodies are composed of diuerse qualityes vvhich cannot endure For a kingdome deuided against it selfe cannot stand Secondly from the morall cause vvhich is sinne sinne causeth death Thirdly from the counsellor to sinne vvhich vvas the deuill by vvhose enuy sinne entered death by sinne Lastly by the decree sentance vpon that sinne For as there vvent a decree from Augustus Cesar that all the vvorld should be taxed Luc. 2.1 So there is a statute in heauen concluded by the great Cesar of heauen earth that all men must once die Heb. 9. Fourthly gods children knovve that vvhen they goe from themselues they goe to their holy burgeshipe Phil 3.20 Ephe. 2.19 2. Cor. 5. Ioh. 14. to their sacred seruice to their heauenly entertaynment to their abiding place In a vvord this light of the scripture right of reason shevves this conclusion That if vve vvil not by denying our ovvne frends our ovvne goods our ovvne selues in respecte of Christ be buried vvith CHRIST be crucified vvith him suffer vvith him be made conformable vnto him vve shal neuer liue vvith him raigne vvith him or be glorified by him Practice 1 The practice of this is first of direction For in a Christianslife there is no faring delitiously euery day Luc. 16. Matth. 7. Noe going on in a broad vvay CHRIST directs it saith If ye vvere of the vvorld the vvorld vvould loue his ovvne but because ye are not of the vvorld but I haue chosen you out of the vvorld Ioh. 15.19 therefore the vvorld hateth you but a reall Christian must cast avvay all that hindereth his race as the blind man cast avvay his cloke Heb. 12.1 Ma◠10. follovved Christ For euery child of god must knovve that this a rule case that euery citizen of heauen is a stranger on earth so Jacob speakes to Pharoh So Dauid to god Gen. 4◠9 And Peter exhorteth therevnto that vvee should pass the tyme of our dvvelling in feare 1. Chro. 29 15. 1. Pet. 1.17 1. Pet. 2.11.12 againe he saith Dearly beloued I beseech you as strangers pilgrims abstaine from fleshly lusts vvhich fight against the soule haue your conuersation honest among the Gentiles that they vvhich speake euill of you as euill doers may by your good vvorkes vvhich they shall see glorifie your father in the day of your visitation Practice 2 The second practice is a full declaration of our misery gods mercie The Israelites doe not allvvaies march on forvvards to Elim vvhere are fountaines palme trees as before but retyres to Marah to the vvaters of bitternes The navigator doth not allvvaies saile before the vvind for then he vvould neuer learne to bring his tacke a boord It appeareth euidently that god vvho knovves vs knovves vvhat is best for vs therefore preuenteth our peeuishnes vvith his pitty For hovve vnvvilling haue gods deerest children bine to enter into his seruice to goe from themselues Moses excuseth himself that he is not elequent Ieremy saith that he is a child Lot lingereth to gett out of Sodom Confes lib 8.1 2 7. S Augustine hauing a long conflicte at Rome goeth to Millain to heare S. Ambrose yet being not satisfied for resolution He complaines sayth Hovve long lord hovve long shall I still say as the crovv sayth CRAS CRAS