Tbe [ure of [owtotifizejs. ·bufsle or bufinefs that is done in Streets and Shops as he plffeth by ; becaufe thefe little concern him iu his departing cafe: And hdW little do the we~lch and honours of the world concern a foul that is going into anot~er world, and knows not but it may be this night. Then keep thy wealth, or take it with thee, 1f thou canfi. §· 2 5 . Dirdt. t• Labour to feel thy greatcft wa~JtJ, whicb worldly wealth _,.;y not fupp!y: Thou Dirc/1. t~ haft finned againlt God; and money will not buy thy pardon: Thou haH mcurn::d h1s difpleafure, and money will not reconcile him eo thee: Thou art ~on~cmned to everlalling m~fery by the Law, Prov. 11• ~ • . and money will not pay rhy ranfom: Thou art dead m tm, and polluted, and ca(>tiVated by the fle(h, KickcJ profit and money will fooncr encreafe thy bondage, than deliver thee. Thy. Confcien~c 1~ ready to ~car :ot n~ t~~ daJ thy heart for thy willful folly and contempt o~ grace; and mon~y w1ll no~ bnbc H w be qmct; f wr6.1 • Jud.Jr brm1ght b1ck his money, ~nd hanged h1mfclf, when _Confc1ence was our once awaked: ~o~ ney will not enlighten a blinded mmd, n_or fofrcn a hard hear~, nor humble aproud heart, nor JUfilfie 3 ~uilty foul. lt will not keep off a 1-eavor or Confi.unptlon; nor e_afe the <iowt, or Stone, or Tooth-ache I lt will not keep off ghaflly death ; but dye thou mull, tf thou have all the world. Look up to God, and remember that thou art wholly in his hands : and think whether he will love or favour thee for thy wealth. Look unto the day ofJudgement, and think whether money will there bring thee off: or the Rich fpeed better than..he poor > • • §• z6, Direct. 5· Be often with tboji that are fief(_ and dying, and marlz_ what all their Riches wiU DireiJ, S• do for them; and r:'hat ejieem they b.:ve. tben of tbe world~ and nurJt how zt u{etb _all at laft. Then you {hall fee that It forfaketh all men m the hour of theu greatefi ncceffity and dtH:refs;. when they Jer. J?.n. would cry to friends, and wealth, and honour, if they had any hopes, If ever you will help me, ., . let it be nQW : If ever you will do any thing for me, 0 fave me from death, and the wrath ofGod : Jam. f. l,l,J1 But' alas, fuch cryes would be all in vain. 1hm, 0 then, one drop of mercy, one fpark ofgrace, the fmaltdt well groundod hope of Heaven, would be worth more than the E.mpire of C~far or .Alexander ! Is not this true finner? Dolt thou not know i~ to be true? And yet wilt thou cheat and betray thy foul? Is not that beft now, which will be beft then? And is not that_oflittle value now, which will be then fo little fet by > Doll thou not think that men are wifer then than now ? Wile thou do fo much and pay fo dear, for that which will do thee no more good, and which thou wilt fet no more by when thou hall it ? Doth not all the world cry out at lau of the deceitfulnefs of riches, and the vanity of pleafure and profpcrity on E.anh, and the perniciou!irefs of all worldly cares? And dotlt not thy confcience tell thee, that when thou comcfl: to dye, thou art like to have the fame thoughts chil~;tinL4ert. thy felf? And yet wilt thou not be warned in time? Then all the content and pleafure of thy plenty p. 4l· Dom– and profperity will be pafi: And when its pafi its nothing: And wilt thou venture on evetlafiin& num potiu§ wo, and cafi away everlafiing joy, for that which is to day a dream and lhadow, and to morrow, (uam un). .or very lhortly will be 1tothing ? The poortfi then will be equal with thee : And will honefi po~er~ g~~d:,,en~:U ty or over-loved wealth, be Cweeter at the laft? How glad then wouldfi thou be, to have been wJth.. id ftmd tan– out thy wealth, fo thou mightft have been without the fin and guile! How glad then wouldfi thou tum dolori , be, to dye the death of the poorefi Saint ? Do you think that Poverry or Riches arc liker to make efie, hoc fem: a man loth to dye? or are ufually moretroublefome to the Confciencc of a dying man? 0 look to the per. end, and live as you dye, and fet moll by that, and feek that now, which you know you Ol>ll fer mol\ by at lafl, when full experience hath made you wifcr. . , ~· 27· Direct. 6. Remember that Riches dn make it much h.:rder for a man to be faved, and the love DirtO. 6. of tbiJ world is the commonejt caufe of mtn1 damnation. This is certainly true, for all that Poverty al~ fo hath its temptations; and for all that the poor are far more DUmerous than the ril::h: For even Socrnesdixir; the poor may be undone by ihe love of that wealth and plenty which they never get : and thofe Opes &. no~ may perifh for over-loving the world, that yet never profpe.red in the world. And if thOti believe ~~~n:z~es?n:i~ Chrifi, the point is out of Controverfie: For he faith, Luke 18. 24, 25, 26, 27· How hardly jhaU they[~ h~~~e1 111 that have riches enter into the Kingdom ofGod? For it ir eafier for a Camel to go through a Needles ho.neUatis, t.ye, than for a rich ma1t to enter into the Kingdom ofGod. And they that heard it faid, ffl'ho then can verum & .. be fa'Ded ? AndheJaid, The tbingr w~icb ere impo!Jible w~th men, are p_offi~le witb God. So Luke 6. ~~~i~ ob~~Yr~ 24, 25• Bttt rvo unto you that are ruh, /IJT' yo~e have rece:ved yottr conjolat:on : TYo :mto you th~St are Lam. ; 11 Sa– -JuU, for yejhaUbu~tger. Make but feofc of thefe and many fuch like T exts, and you can gather no lefs cr<t. ·than this from rhem, that Biches make the way to Heaven much harder, and the falvation of the c£J ~ich tobe ~ore difficult and rare, proportionably, than of other men : And Paul f~ith, 1 Cor. h ~6. Not many wife men after the jlfjh, not many mighty, not mtmy n;ble art caUed. And the Loverr of riche1, though they are poor muf\: remember that ic is faid, I Tim. 6. IO· 1hat the Ll)7)t of monty if t1Je root of all evil: And 1 John 2. 1 5• Love 1tot the world, nor the things that are in tlie world: For if aity man love the world, the love of the Father ir not in him : Do you believe that htre lyerh the danger of your fouls? and yet can you fo love, a11d choofe, and feek it ? Would you have your falvation more difficult, and doubtful, and impoffiblt witb men ? You had rather choof~ to live where few dye young, than where mof! dye young ? and wh<re fickneffes are rare, than .where they are common I If you were ftck, you had rather haTe the Phyficion, and Medicines, and Dyet which cure moj!, than thofe which.few a~e cured by? If the Countrey were befet with Thieves, you had rather go the way that moll fcape m, than that few fcape in. And yet fo it may but pleafe your tle(b, you will choofe.that way to Heaven, that fewel\ fcape in ; and you will choofe that Hate oflife whicn will make your falvation to be moll hard and doubtful? Doth your Confcience fay that this is wifely done? I know that if God put Riches into your hand, by your Birth, or his bleffing on your hone£\ labours, you mull not call away your Mallers talents , becaufe he is aufiere; but by a holy improve· tnenr:
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