A PEARL of Price OR, The best Purchase:  
For which the Spiritual Merchant jeweller selleth all his temporals.  
By Samuel Gardiner, Bachelor of Divinity.  
It shall not be valued with the wedge of Gold of Ophir, nor with the precious Onyx, nor the Saphyr.  job. 28. verse 16. 
Printed by V.S. for Thomas bushel, and are to be sold at his shop at the North Door of Paul's. 1600.   

  

To the Right Honourable sir Thomas Egerton Knight, Lord Keeper of the great Seal of England, and one of her majesties most Honourable privy Counsel.  
MY Lord, having nothing but two mites with the poor widow woman, to cast into your Treasury, even the service of the body and the mind, and the whole man, a tribute that of duty is due unto your Lordship: seeing I am justly charged with this oblation, I hope your Honour will acquit me of presumption, both use and lively feeling, giving me protection: use with every tenant to pay his Landlord rend, and sensible feeling of your Lordship's bounty, justly extorting this as my bounden duty. Our Lord forbid, that we receive a benefit, as a beast his diet, and never respect and behold the founder of it. My master Christ, 
john 6  who commanded the fragments of a benefit bestowed upon an hungry people, to be gathered up in baskets: insinuateth thereby, that the basest benefit that is done upon us, should not be forgotten. Having therefore so deeply dyved into your lordships debt, how can I not but draw from as deep thoughts, as ever any water was drawn from jacobs' well, the memorial of your goodness. 
john 4  Since it pleased your Honour by the right worshipful sir Hierome Bowes Knight, the only worldly arch, and supporter of my estate, to take sight of my poor person, and honourable commiseration of my afflicted condition. If I make no relation of your honours most christian clemency when I drew my breath but faintly, how I had recovery, and regained free recourse to my wonted study: If I rip not up the circumstances of your zealous favours, I do but as Solomon with the brass in the Temple, who because it was so massy, he would not stand to weigh it: or as Portius Latro who engraved in his mind, that which others engrossed in a book.  
This precious pearl of the word of God, which shineth, which way soever you turn it, and flieth unto all, I have wrapped up in this little manuel, and fastened it unto your honours virtuous name, as unto a ribbon and golden Chain that will keep it the better. Your Lordship have always worn it about you, and have bound it as a Signet unto your hand, and with the faithful Congregation of Colosse have suffered it abundantly to dwell in your heart: whenas with most worldlings, God's word, as the Levite that went to Gibea wandereth in the streets, and have but slender entertainment among men. I encourage myself, that GOD will give a blessing to these labours, that the argument itself will draw hearts unto it: and you my Honourable Patron will be a sufficient protection to my person. God almighty every way prosper your Honour, double your honour and days among us, and give you all honour in his heavenly kingdom.  
Your honours humble Orator Samuel Gardiner.   

To the Gentle Reader.  
IT is a matter of no mean marvel, that man so quick-sighted in worldly affairs, should be so purblind in things concerning God. That whereas he is Totus occulus & manus, all cie and hand, to observe and practise in lively imitational other things, only this main and fundamental thing, how to order his conversation right, that he might see the salvation of his God, he is wholly ignorant of: Though he wanteth the wings of a dove, to fly to the utmost parts of the earth, yet he can so subdue to himself his mules and dromedaries, as their feet like hearts feet shall carry them whither they list. And though he hath not the fins of a fish, to scud through the channels and paths of deep waters: yet instead thereof, his head hath been occupied in excogitating great vessels, keels and tall ships to transport every where. Naturally he is unarmed of himself, yet this art and cunning hath devised for himself, his sword, his bow, and his spear, and all sufficiency of weapons of offence, and armour of proof to cover his head in the day of battle, enough for his defence. He is unable so to tune his pipes, and chant and sing under every green tree with the nightingale and melodious bird: yet that his music is of more delight, which by Lute and Harp, and loud Cymbals, and other exquisite and devised instruments, he hath form and framed to himself. thunderings and coruscations of the air, are peculiar unto God, the arrows of his quiver, and his Bailiffs arrant, and Pursuivants of his anger: yet behold in a strange and prodigious imitation hereof, he hath found out most fearful roaring Cannons of all sorts, most horrible to consider of. Finally, he provideth for this kind of life, infinite kinds of ways, which are like an intricate maze past our finding out, by laws, by trades, by all manner of learning. But Finis ultimus, the last end of all is least considered of, wherein the whole state of all blessedness of the man so fully doth consist. Man (as saith the Psalmograph) is deceitful upon the weights, and is altogether lighter than vanity itself. Man being in honour, and having no understanding, is compared to the beasts that perish. We bewail those our friends that are dead in body: O let us weep and bewail their estate who are dead in heart, and are twice dead, and to be plucked up by the roots. The Apostle accounted all things, but dung to gain jesus Christ. This is better than the gold of Ophir or India, albeit we stop our eyes with wax, and bind a napkin before our eyes of knowledge, and think that there is a wisdom in the world far better than this. Thesewipe their mouths with the whore in the Revelation, & say unto themselves, that they are rich, and need no more, whenas they are the poorest and most miserable of all men, as the last end shall prove unto them. They that have tasted of this heavenly Manna, will scorn the gross food & diet of Egypt, and being called to the kingdom of grace, will with the shepherds leave their flock, & with Matthew their custome-seat, with Peter their nets with Paul their process & writs, that were signed to be sent unto Damascus, when the love of God is fallen upon us, the love of this world, will fall from us, as Elias mantle when he left the world, and was carried up to heaven. Buy therefore this Pearl and Treasure of the soul, and lodge it in thy heart: it will be instead of all riches unto thee. Covet heavenly things, and let our conversation be in heaven, seeing we have here no abiding place, but we look for a city whose builder & maker is God. And so I commit you to the grace of God, who is able to build further, & to give thee an inheritance among those that are sanctified: & the Lord sanctify these my labours, & direct them to his glory and the common salvation. Farewell.   

A Table setting out the several Contents of the Chapters of this Book.  

CHap. 1. Of the purport and necessary use of this parable. Folio. 1.  
Chap 2. That the word of God, is all kind of Treasure. Folio. 16  
Chap. 3. That the word of God, is a Pearl of great price. Folio. 33  
Chap. 4. That the word of God is a Treasure that is hidden: and wherefore it is so called. Folio. 55  
Chap. 5. Of this Merchant man his task imposed upon him, for the attaining unto this Treasure, and Pearl of great price. Folio. 73  
Chap. 6. Of the gladness of this evangelical Merchant, upon the finding of this Treasure, and Pearl of great price: under which, the joy which the saints of God do feel by the power of his word typically is shadowed. Folio. 89  
Chap. 7. By the example of this Merchant, who did hide his Treasure: the necessity, not only of the hearing of the word, but also, of the faithful hiding it in our hearts, is manifestly evicted. Folio. 110  
Chap. 8. That this heavenly Treasure, is to be preferred and esteemed of us, above all earthly riches. Folio. 125  
Chap 9 That God and the world, cannot agree together. Folio. 141  
Chap. 10 Of the necessity of our mortification, and the abjuration of all our worldly lusts, under the person and example of this jeweller, who made a simple sale of all that he had, for the purchase of this Treasure, and Pearl of great price, evidently evicted. Folio. 157  
Chap. 11. That all our endeavours, are to redound to the glory of God, and to tend only to a spiritual end, as is lively shadowed in the example of this Merchant, whose bargain of sale of all his temporals, was only for the purchase of this heavenly Treasure. Folio. 174  
Chap. 12. An Exhortation to the love of the word, and the spiritual life, the purport of the premises. Folio. 188    

¶ Faults escaped in the printing, I pray thee correct thus.  

Pag. 7 line 26. read Gelbea.  
Pag. 15. l. 19 scarcirie for security  
Pag. 28. l. 4. Sisara for Si●opa  
Pag. 36. li. 9 distant for descant  
Pag. 51. l. 13. eareth for eateth, twice  
Pag. 55. li. 2. read omnipotent  
Pag. 56. l. 11. read, it was not the  
Pag. 59 lin. 4 for Coelo read Celo  
Pag. 71. li. 9 for nullique read nuila  
Pag. 74. l. 14. wages for ways.  
Pag. 82. lin. 13. whole for holy.  
Pag. 84. l. 23. read Was not this  
Pag. 87. l. 19 read and rudiment  
Pag. 87. last line read kabish  
Pag. 105. lin. 12. read in that  
Pag. 115. lin. 2. deal to the  
Pag. 123. lin. 23. moat for moth  
Pag. 126. li 8. read This gospellike Goldsmith  
Pag. 130. lin. read coruscant  
Pag. 133 l. 5. read loath the word  
Pag. 135 lin. 14. read Bochri  
Pag. 136. line 20. read delights of the world are in steed of nurses.  
Pag. 153. line 6. for so read in.  
Pag. 154. line 4. read favour of  
Pag. 157. line 2. read abjuration  
Pag. 160. l 27. Christ for christians  
Pag. 176. line 7 read Athenian.    

The best Purchase, for which the Spiritual Marchant-aduenturer selleth all that he hath. Mat. 13  

CHAP. I.  
Of the purport and necessary use of this Parable.  
THese two Parables, as Pharaoh his two dreams of the seven fat kine, & seven ears of corn, 
Genesis 41  are in effect but one. Both of them chalk out the way that we must walk, that we seek not happiness out of the way, as E●●● hunting venison, 
Genesis 27  was prevented of his blessing.  
It is wonderful how the world is greedy of the world, striving for it as beggars for a dole; preying upon it, 
job 8  as the Eagles on the altars, and as the busy Birds upon Abraham his sacrifice. 
Genesis 11   
These rave with Rachel, Give me children, ●r else I die: Give me worldly riches, 
Genesis 10.  pleasures, and desires, or else I die: doting upon this Ditty with the ruder rout, Happy are the people who are in such a case, 
Psalm 144  whose sheep bring forth thousands, & ten thousands in their streets etc. which the Singer of Israel mendeth with his harp, trebbling and quavering melodiously in this manner; Yea happy are the people who have the Lord jehovah for their God.  
Now, 
Numb. 12  because it is our custom to set worse things first, and to esteem more of onions, & the flesh-pots of Egypt, than of heavenly manna with the older Israelites; to prefer trash before treasure, swine before our Saviour with the greedy Gergesines; 
Matthew 19  to turmoil ourselves with Martha about many things, 
Luke 8 Luke 10 Luke 3  and neglect the chiefest thing, which was Mary's choice: here the Holy-ghost answering like john Baptist too, what shall we do? setteth us (as it were) in the king's high way that leadeth unto heaven, that guides us to a treasure of incomparable value, to a Pearl, and Purchase of the greatest price and profit whatsoever.  
Hitherto our Saviour hath spent much speech, about the preaching of the Gospel, which elsewhere he termeth, 
Matthew 4  The Gospel of the kingdom, and in this place, The Kingdom of heaven, because it is the key that openeth heaven door, and the right path that brings us to heaven: sampling it to trivial and trifling things, that are of common use, in certain former special Parables, as to Corn, Leaven, Mustard seed, and a Field, in the which, with good wheat, tars and darnel, and other wild weeds did spring up and grow together.  
Now, because these mean comparisons should not cause us deem the Gospel to be mean, he matcheth it here with matters of most moment with a Treasure, with a Pearl of inestimable riches; to reform our judgement in spiritual cases, that we should set more highly by them then we do, as there is good reason why.  
David was so highly conceited of the scriptures, as defining them, 
Psalm 119  he doubteth not to prise them, above great spoils for value, and thousands of gold and silver, yea all manner of riches, 
Psalm 19 Psalm 119  and to prefer them before the honey, & the honey comb for sweetness; and when he endeth to define, he beginneth to admire, Wonderful are thy testimonies, I have seen an end of all perfection, but thy commandment is exceeding broad, understanding infinite. 
The necessity of this Treatise. Psalm 107   
This doctrine is more than necessary for these dangerous days, wherein the greater sort abhorreth this meat, and their souls (as saith the Psalmograph) is at death's door.  
The Devil, the Bel-wether of the Politicians of our time, resembleth in conditions, 
A similitude.  subtle soldiers in the wars, who having won a Castle or strong Tower, do stop and shut up all passages by the walls, that none by any secret entry may come in: the devil scaling the territory of our heart, & seating himself in it, provideth with sleight and cunning enough, that the casements, portals and eyes of our souls, and our ears, should be stopped, and thoroughly closed up, that the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, 
Hebrews 1  the character, image, and brightness of his father might not shine into our hearts to our eternal comfort.  
The cluish disposition of these the devils darlings, the kingly Prophet hath narrowly observed, thus portraying, and desciphering it oriently in colours, 
Psalm 38  They are like unto deafe●● Adders, stopping their ears, refusing to hear the voice of the charmer, charm he never so wisely●● for as the Asp setting one ear to the ground and with his tail covering the other, 
A similitude.  is deafe●● and senseless at the voice of any charm; so men●● thus madly minded, their cogitations partly being fixed upon earth, and the tail of the red dragon of the other part hiding them, the voice of the Preacher is not heard of them.  
A huntsman chase & pursuing a dear 〈◊〉 laboureth not so much, 
A similitude.  to take him with his hands, as to wound him with his arrows whereby he is sure of him; the devil this cursed Nimrod and huntsman of our souls, driveth at this only, that our hearts being din●ed with his deadly darts, & our inward man struck down unto the ground he finding us there groveling, he may gripe us as he list, and snatch us away with him. 
Psal. 91.  The Lord deliver us from the snare of this hunter, and from his noisome pestilence.  
But his school is very great, his mischief horrible, and the occasions hereof are many. 
Hypocrites.   
The pharisees and glorious hypocrites of our age, a viperous generation, painted and spotted bravely without, like to viper's skins, but inward, like vipers full of rank corruption, do derrogate much from the dignity of the word, and debase the Pearl and Treasure overmuch; 
A similitude.  whilst like the Smith's boy that doth nothing but blow, their works are nothing answerable to their words. The enemies of the truth do scandalise and blaspheme the blessed word of God, viewing, and considering their corrupt and sinful lives.  
The Saducees, Epicures, 
Politicians, Num. 22.  and Political Na●als, whose god is their gold, whose pleasure is their treasure, who savour nothing but the things of this earth: 
1. Sam. 3.  are blind with Balaam with their eyes open, and so dim eyed with idly, as they can not see the clear lamp of God burning in the Temple: 
Rom. 1  whilst they seem wise, they become fools, and fall away with the deceit of Balaams' wages, 
jude. vers. 11  and perish in the gainsaying of Chore. These are those that make a mock of God's word, and have the Preachers of it in exceeding great contempt, accounting themselves Cedars, and the other the briers, and thistles of Lebanon.  
The wisdom of these men fancieth not so much that wisdom of the spirit, it is thought but simple in comparison of theirs. They suppose themselves able, with the rolling of an eye, and as it were, with a breath, to attain to a sufficiency of knowledge thereof. Once reading cursorily of the Bible is enough with them, and by a part, they conjecture of the whole, and therefore they seek after another Schoolmaster, and a deeper wisdom, than the wisdom of God's spirit.  
But little do these know, what a library of learning, & store of all wisdom is to be had out of the blessed Bible: nay, how many sundry points, both of Doctrine & Manners, are couched and contained under one period and sentence of the Scripture.  
As those that are Wine-drawers, 
A similitude.  by one draft of wine into a silver bowl, do present unto the buyer, an experiment of the whole: so the new wine of the word, being ●ut into new vessels, hath been tried what it is, by a smack, and small taste out of one place of Scripture, that hath been drawn out unto us.  
This I dare avouch, that no book of human eloquence, hath ever been so pathetically and perfectly penned, so garnished with ornaments and figures of Rhetoric, of such a subtle wisdom of persuading (as I may so say) of such a grace in setting forth one thing, such sundry kinds of ways. There is none who hath sufficiently been taught out of this book, or hath learned Christ enough: That which is there contained, we know but in part, many things the spirit hath reserved to himself, and kept shut from us, that we might be his scholars unto the end of the world.  
The earth is not clothed with such sundry sorts of plants, fruits, and sweet herbs, as the Lords Eden and garden of Scripture is adorned and set forth with most comfortable constructions. In sorting and matching man's ●earning with this, it is to compare the barren mountains of Belboa, with the fruitfullest Paradise of the whole world. 
2. Sam. 1.   
A Pearl is not known of what value it is, 
A similitude.  but of Lapidaries and craftsmen of that trade, who have judgement in it: Oh that we had judgement to consider of the worth and worthiness of this Pearl! that we knew that it were such a treasure as it is.  
I counsel therefore our unwisely wise men, 
A similitude.  to blincke with cunning gunner's with the one eye of carnal wisdom, that the eye of the spirit may better hit the mark, that we should all shoot at, and obtain the price that is set before us.  
The third sort of people, 
The Papists.  who like unto swine, tread this Pearl under foot, are our Popish Centaurs, who would have God's candle hidden under a bushel, and not to be set upon a candlestick on high, to show light round about, 
Math. 5. Math. 6.  who have made the whole word of God of none effect with their lewd traditions, who are grown past grace with the common harlot, that permitteth every knave to have access unto her, going a whoring after every bald invention, which is, to play the harlot with those whom Hierome the Prophet taxeth under every green tree. 
Hier. 2. Jude vers. 12.  These are trees without fruit, twice dead, and plucked up by the roots: for as the open strumpet, who without any difference, admitteth all companions alike that come unto her, is always barren, and without fruit of womb: So the Romish strumpet admitting into the lapp● and bosom of the Church, a confused chaos of very rascal rudiments, no marvel it is that they are barren of grace, and the immortal seed of Gods most holy word cannot regenerate and better their affections.  
The fourth and last enemy, 
Tyrants.  but not the least, is the cyclopical Tyrant of this world, 
2 Reg. 9  whose marching is like the marching of jehu the son of Nimshi, who marched furiously: who advance their cruelty above the stars, 
jerem. 3.  and offer villainy and defiance to the throne of God's majesty; men of whorish foreheads that cannot be ashamed, casting out all wickedness, as a fountain casts out water. This precious Pearl, fit to be worn in the Diadem of princes, is trampled under foot, and cast out by these wretches, as the clay in the streets. These lay jacob waste, 
Psal. 79  and destroy his inheritance, and spill blood like water on every side of Jerusalem. This the church of God, by too too lamentable and woeful experience, hath felt continually; as jacob by Esau, the Israelites by the Egyptians, Anna by ●eninna, Elias by Achab, Amos by Amasiah, the latter church of God by Lucian, julian, Porphiri, and such like. Cain may not brook Abel, because he sacrificed: nor the brethren joseph, because he divinely dreamt: nor Saul David, because he sweetly singed: nor Demetrius Paul, because he so plainly preached.  
As dogs cannot abide the sound of bells, 
A similitude.  so these hellish hounds yalpe and howl extremely at the preaching of the Gospel. Isaiah must be slain with a saw: jeremy with stones: Daniel with Lions: Amos with a club: Peter with the cross: and Paul with a sword: and true bearted Christians with all strange kinds of torments.  
Wherefore to withstand such temptations as do grow upon these occasions, that neither hypocrisy may blind us, or superstition deceive us, the pleasures of sin allure us, or any worldly fear affright us; the Holyghost to great purpose compareth his word to things of chiefest choice, the subject, matter, and end of our desires, fitting himself to our distempered minds, as the good Physician to diseased bodies.  
The Physician perceiving his pained patient, 
A similitude.  through his evil disposed stomach, to resist such diet as best maketh with his health, and to choose that only which feedeth his disease, tempereth and seasoneth those things so by art which he so much loatheth, with those things that he loveth, as by that which please him, he may the better take that which will ease him. Now because we are given to loath the word which we love not, & like too much the world which we should not: under those things in the world as pearls and treasure which we love most, to which he resembleth and compareth his word, he winneth us to that which we love so little; namely, to the better receiving of his word.  
And herein I seem to see the tender affection of our loving father in his style and course of writing, 
A similitude.  how he imitates the nature of best affected mothers towards their tender children, who to please their fancies, do stammer and suit themselves to their kind of speech, mincing and nibbling their words like their children.  
And because we are as greedy of worldly treasure, as Absalon of a Kingdom, 
2. Sam. 15.  he speaketh grossly after the manner of men, and abaseth his wisdom, applying it (as you see) unto our worldly wisdom.  
And I may not unfitly liken him to an excellent experienced angler, 
A similitude.  who the better to toll fishes to his hook, hath his choice, delightsome baits, that best do fit that purpose, to draw those that lie in the bottom to the top: So the wisdom of God here angling for our souls, angleth (as you see) with a golden hook and the best bait that is, at which he knoweth well, we will be sure to bite with stomach enough, that we that are in the bottom of misery, may be brought up to the top of all felicity.  
Sithence therefore the word is of that worth, I hope for the gaining it we will easily swallow up such former hooks, as are laid to catch those that have a love hereof mentioned before: and willbe so wise to esteem it as we should, and embrace and honour the loving kindness of our God, who hath opened unto us the treasures of his house, and hath powered out the riches of his mercies on us.  
Seemed it not to be grace enough that we were so created after his own image in righteousness, and holiness? 
Ephes 4.  that we were made partakers of so many of his blessings, and that it was his pleasure to give us a kingdom? unless he also followed us with overflowing favour, by giving us his word, in the which he hath wrapped and sealed up his will, whereby we may know what legacy he hath given us, and how we may be able to attain unto this kingdom? Herein is more than fatherly affection towards us, and it is as needful, as comfortable unto us. For if the Prince should say to any of us: If you shall be conformable to my laws, and obsequious to my will, I will advance you, and bring you to honour; but if you shall be obstinate and rebellious, you shall have judgement without delay, and the sword shall consume you: and this prince should conceal and keep close his laws from us, whereby we are not able to conjecture of his will, were not our estate and condition very miserable?  
In the whole map of Scripture fix we our eyes on Nabucad-nezzar, only the anatomy of man's life, without knowledge of God's word.  
He dreaming a dream which none of his doughty Doctors could unfold, how moody and melancholy was the man upon it? into what a fury and ecstasy was he driven, 
Dan. ●.  look but how the story doth portray out his passions. And in this case should we be, had not the Lord been gracious to his servants, in giving his laws unto jacob, his statutes and ordinances unto Israel, in delivering us state and possession of his Kingdom, by these charters and court-rolls, evidences and deeds surrendered unto us.  
This is the instrument which God hath used from the beginning of the world, whereby it hath pleased him to work our salvation, as the parable of the vine sufficiently insinuateth, to the pruning, trimming, & dressing whereof, there were labourers successively, from the first hour, to the last, sent into the same.  
It is one of the first arguments of the Lords fury, 
Amos. 8  that when he meaneth to be a sharp schoolmaster unto us, his hand shall be so heavy upon us, as he will smite us with a spiritual famine of his word, wherein he shall handle us manifold more roughly than if he should have pulled both our arms from our shoulders.  
Elsewhere denouncing vengeance against unrighteousness, 
Isai. 3.  he threateneth to strip them, and deprive them of the Prophet, the interpreter and unfolder of his heavenly oracles.  
Hereunto answereth this denunciation of the lords judgement: 
Hosea. 3  The people of Israel shall be without God, without Priest, without Law: Mark how he confoundeth them, and makes them both one, to be without a priest, and to be without a God, as they are indeed. For, Homo sine doctore, est ut coecus sine ductore; A man without a teacher, is like the blind without a leader: like sheep without a shepherd, subject to the wolf, easily to be furrowed, like a ship without a pilot, splitten of rocks, Syrteses and sands, easily overwhelmed.  
Let a man be never so grievously sick, 
A similitude.  we despair not of recovery, so long as he hath help and benefit by physic; but if physic faileth him, 
Isay. 1  he is a dead man, and there is no hope of him: our head is sick, 
Isa. 1.  and our whole body is heavy, there is nothing whole within us, yet there is good hope, so long as we are comforted, by this heavenly physic of our health and salvation; but want this, and want altogether, there is no help and recovery to be had.  
Be the handicrafts man and artificer very beggarly, 
A similitude.  yet so long as he is not driven to sell away his tools, but keepeth them by him, he may be able to provide for his living: but if he palter away the instruments of his trade, he may take him to his heels, for it is impossible he should hold up his estate: Let the world ●●owne upon us as much as it will, we are well enough, so long as the old and new instrument of the word is preserved among us; but if that be once gone, 
Psalm. 109  we shall all like runagates continue in security, and be driven to ●●ke our trade in desolate places. But of the 〈◊〉 further dignity, and necessity hereof, he sequel shall entreat.   

CHAP. II.  
That the word of God, is all kind of Treasure.  
AS job saith of wisdom, 
job 28  so it may be said of the word of God, the wisdom of the spirit. It is not t● be valued with the wedge of gold o● Ophir, nor with the precious Onyx, nor the sapphire: The Gold nor the Crystal is not equal unto it, it shall not be exchanged for plate of fin gold. No mention shall be made of the Coral o● of the gabish, for it is more precious than pearls The Topaz of Aethiopia shall not be equal vnt● it, neither shall it be valued with the wedge o● pure gold.  
The name of a treasure containeth vnde● it, whatsoever is to be named: and when w● have named all, in comparison of the word, 〈◊〉 is like a candle set before the Sun which vanisheth before it, and like a stoup of water to the huge Ocean sea, which is nothing vnt● it.  
The place wherein this Treasure is, is heaven, so that our conversation must be heavenly (as the Apostle teacheth us) if we will attain● unto it: The Lord high Treasurer is the spirit of God, and his Vnder-treasurers, wh● have also keys thereof, are his able ministers of the new Testament, 
2. Cor. 4.  that carry about this Treasure in their earthen vessels. Men, for their outward persons, that are base, 
1. Cor. 4  the very abjects, and excrements of the world, such as the Prophets & Apostles were before them, vulgar and mean men, as shepherds, fishermen, Publicans, and such like. But the indignity of our persons derrogateth nothing from the dignity of the word: There is none so unwise as to forsake a Treasure, for the baseness of the bringer; gold is gold, from whose hands soever it come.  
If the King should send a general pardon, 
A similitude.  to all condemned captives in his kingdom, by some piteous poor person, the poverty of the Pursuivant disgraceth nothing the graciousness of the pardon, it is of as full power, and no doubt, should be as welcome, as if one of the Nobles of the Court should have ●rought it. The faculty of this gift, and riches of this Treasure, is from God alone, neither dependeth it upon the person of a man: wherefore, respect ye not what we are, but what we bring unto you, and what it will make you, if you esteem it as you ought.  
To him that faithfully runneth his race, 
2. Tim. 4.  finisheth his course, keepe●● the faith, we do not here propound an O●●●e branch, an Oaken garland, a Laurel bough, as monuments of his stout stratagems and activity; we set not up for his memorial, marble, silver, or golden pillars: But we teach him that his name is written in heaven, 
Hebr. 12.  that he shall have an inheritance among the faithful, that he shall be free denizen of his heavenly jerusalem, that he shall have true and everlasting Treasure, and finally, be made the dear child of God, in his dear son Christ.  
A Treasure properly, is a store of all provision, serving, not only as a supply for present wants, but for all future haps, and necessities whatsoever.  
The word is this Treasure, is respect of Christ, the object, subject, and argument of the word: 
Col. 2  In whom all treasures of wisdom, and knowledge of his father are hidden. 
Col. 1.  In whom the fullness of the Godhead bodily doth dwell, who is made to us of God his Father, 
1. Cor. 1.  wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. The bread of life, 
john 6.  whom whosoever eateth, he shall hunger no more. 
john 4.  The water of life, which doth away the thirst, of our dry and droughty souls. 
john 8.  The light of the world, which whosoever followeth shall never walk in darkness. The door by which we have passage, 
john 10.  and possession of the kingdom of heaven. He hath also prepared a table for us, and seats of estate, thereupon of sit as judges upon the twelve tribes of Israel. He is therefore a true treasure, surmounting all other kinds of treasure whatsoever: so as, having this, we have our general quietus est, and need not look after the gold of Ophir, or the mines of India. But with gladsome hearts may take up this Anthem and ditty of David, 
Psalm 23.  The Lord is my Shepherd, therefore I can want nothing. He shall bring me to the green pasturs, and lead me forth to the waters of comfort. And break out with the Apostle into this sentence of thanksgiving. 
Ephes. 1  Blessed be God the Father of our Lord jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in jesus Christ.  
Let God do so & more to me (for I willingly swear so deeply in so devout a cause) if from hence, as from a fountain, from a root, 
Ruth 1. 1. Sam. 3.  & from a treasure, all needful graces, temporal & spiritual, lawfully to be wished or conceived of us, do not stream, spring, & come unto us. There are many I doubt not that believe not this report, and but few to whom the arm of ●he Lord is revealed: yet be persuaded, 
Isay 53.  but to make experience of it, to come to his word with reverence and religious devotion, rather like a Bee to gather sweet honey, than a Spider to suck deadly poison out of it, and thou shalt find thyself framed in a new mould, metamorphosed and moulted into an other form: 
Acts 2.  we shall be led to confess as it is indeed; that as the holy ghost filled the house, so this is a treasure that filleth the heart, that it is of that working, that the water of that well was of which Christ did speak unto the woman of Samaria, 
john 4.  He that drinks of this water shall thirst no more.  
The word of God raiseth up the dead, regenerateth the living, healeth the sick, and preserveth the whole: delighteth the godly, reclaimeth the wicked, lighteneth the blind, warmeth the cold, comforteth the sad, and confirmeth the desperate. The want of this, is the high way that leadeth to the chambers of death, and deadly misfortune. For from hence only proceed vain hope, trembling fear, consuming care, furious lust, boiling covetousness, fretting envy, & fuming anger, & the whole black guard, rabblement & retinue of malignant mischiefs, of impotent affections the carbuncles, boils & botches of our souls.  
Infinite are the attributes to express his properties, which are given to the word: It is called Light, Bread, Wine, Medicine, a Sword, a Hammer, a fire, Seed. Light, because with his orient brightness it illuminateth our minds, informing them, and enduing them with heavenly wisdom. Bread, because it sustaineth our hungry souls, 
Psalm. 107  and filleth our empty souls with goodness, strengthening and staying us in the way of godliness. Wine, because it cherisheth man's heart with the gladsome memory of his mercies & promises, and maketh him merry with the joy of his countenance. Medicine, that it healeth our putrefying sore, swellings, and corruptions. A Sword, that it divideth between the soul and the marrow, 
Hebr. 4.  and heweth asunder all our works, and affections that are sinful. A Hammer, because it battreth and mollifieth our hard and stony consciences. A Fire, because it kindleth the spirit, and the love of God within us. And Seed, because, it being sowed in the furrows of our hearts, by the spirit of God our husbandman, it is of very great increase and cast, in some, an hundred, in some, threescore, in othersome, thirty fold.  
Since then the use hereof is so great and manifold, and extendeth itself so far, why worketh it not these wholesome effects in our ●●nfull consciences? why is it still as a dead letter unto us, as bitter to our taste, as is the very gall, or the water of wormwood, and we can not digest it?  
If God's word be a light, why walk we not in this light, but grope at noon day, & ●●t still in palpable and damnable darkness of horrible ignorance?  
If it be Bread, why do we not as the Angel said to john, Take this book and eat it? 
Revel. 20.  but we do still remain hungry like dogs, and go about the city.  
If it be Wine, why do we not power out, take our fill of it, and make our hearts cheerful and merry with it?  
If it be Medicine, why do we not bind it to our blisters and wounds, to draw out the rancour and corruption of them, and to make us whole?  
Since it is a Sword, why do we not with it cut the cords of vanity, and cartropes of iniquity, and hue all the bonds of ungodliness asunder?  
If it be a Hammer, why doth not the noise of it grate thine care, and the power of it break thy heart; 
A similitude.  but thine ears like Smith's dogs used to such noise, give no heed unto it: and thy heart more hard and stubborn than the adamant, yield not a whit at all the blows therewith?  
If it be Fire, why doth it not take hold of sin, & consume our wickedness like stubble and melt all the ungodly of the earth like dross? and inflame and lighten all our heart with God's love?  
If it be Seed, why cometh it not vpp●● and take deep root in us? but we are still as waste ground, which hath not been sowed at all?  
The rain is alone which descendeth upon the corn, and upon the thorns, 
A similitude.  but the effect is not one: for it falls upon the corn to ripen it for the barn; but upon the thorn, to fit it for the fire. The gracious dew of the blessed word of God, hath been great among us; it behoveth us to see to his effect, whether this moisture doth bring up thorns within us, oringendreth good seed.  
Go to then, now tell me, what is it that thou wantest? and, tell me whether this be not a treasure, and a storehouse, to furnish every want.  
Dost thou hunt after honour, 
2. Cor. 4.  and praise of men? by this shall every man have praise of God. Doth thy heart covet after riches and ●ong life? behold, 
Prover. 3  the length of days is at his right hand: Riches and plenteousness is in his house. David resteth wholly conten●ed with this, The Lord is my portion. Moses before him preferreth Christ's rebuke before ●he coffers and riches of Egypt, 
Hebr. 11  All the riches that are in the world, make not an end of ●his joyful harvest; for it is not shut up under the promises of this life, 
1. Tim. 4.  but it stretcheth to the promises of the life that is to come. The Spirit speaketh evidently, 
Psalm 34  They which seek the Lord, shall want nothing that is good. Answerable whereunto is this Aphorism of our Saviour, 
Matthew 6  First seek the kingdom of God, and this shall be the Porter that shall bring in all your living, all other things shall be put into your mouths.  
If ignorance doth trouble thee, here thou mayst have knowledge: if heaviness, comfort: if doubt, counsel: if fear, hope: if despair, encouragement: if temptation, protection.  
The latter David with these small smooth stones, 
Matthew 41  smote the hairy scalp of our ghostly Goliath, and put him to confusion. And the former David with his shield and buckler did bear off bravely the buffets that sin gave him, 
Psalm 119  I did hide (saith he) thy Law within my heart, that I might not sin against thee.  
There is no age, or sex, or condition of persons, that hath not a great benefit, and treasure of the word. It is a rule for the young man to square his life, and for the old man to order his death. 
2. King. 4  It is unto the poor instead of the meal, that took away the bitterness and death of that herb which was in the pot it giveth them comfort in the midst of all thei● sorrows. It showeth the rich man, how to use his riches, it teacheth the Senator wisdom. So that even as joseph had no use of Astronomy, because he had the gift of prophesy, so he needeth not any other riches, that hath this incomparable riches of God's spirit.  
Since therefore we so diligently read books of human learning, from whence we observe nothing, but either commonwealth discipline, or government of health, or precepts economical, or points of husbandry, or inventions of trades, or allurements unto pleasures: how much more ought our whole study be set upon God's law, by which God himself speaketh face to face unto us, by which the mind is exceedingly comforted, disquiet thoughts dispelled, the whole man enabled, beyond all imagination to every good work?  
Be thou of what mould and constitution that may be, here is argument and reading for thy turn. Art thou of a grave and severe disposition and doth nothing but a sad and austeare style delight thee? here is law agreeable ●o thy humour. Is thy heart so obdurate, as nothing but judgement, and terror can soften ●●● repair unto the Prophets, whose dreadful comminations are hammers and thunderbolts, and as sceptres of iron to beat them unto powder. Art thou light hearted and of a jocund, and delightsome nature? here is psalmody and harmony for thy fancy. Art thou philosophically and gravely bend, and delightest thou to hear concise, and curious sentences? 
Psal. 78.  the Lord here openeth his mouth in parables, and declares unto thee hard sentences of old: Read job, Ecclesiastes, the proverbs of Solomon, and there are quick inventions suitable to thy vain. Last of all, art thou nice and curious in thy reading, and doth nothing but Chronicles and antiquity affect thee? there are none such brave antiquaries as the penmen of the Scripture, the admirable actuaries & historians of all times. Thus every kind of way whither soever we turn ourselves, and name what we will, we have here a treasure to bear out all our wants. So as it seemeth not unlike a prince's armoury, 
A simiiltude.  which affordeth plenty of all sorts of armour and implements of warfare, suitable to every condition of person, whether of tall or low stature, whether of strength or weakness of body.  
What is worldly treasure which we esteem so much, but base and vile in comparison of this which we esteem so little? Paul not being able to find out with himself a worse thing to which he might compare it, likeneth it to dung. 
Phil. 3.  A homely comparison, yet fitting right the nature of the thing. For what is it else, being considered as it is? what is the substance stance of our chiefest treasure, as of gold, silver, or the Onyx stone, but the very guts and exhalation of the earth? 
Luke. 16.  The gorgeous glutton who was in the ruff, robed in purple: what was the matter of it, but the wool of dead beasts, and what was the die and colour of it, but the excrements of the shell fish? His lawns and dainty diapers, what were they, but the bark and the skin of the flax? His delicate dishes sent from his dresser, what were they but the carcases of beasts, birds, and fishes? his pompous palace was nothing else but a confused lump of earth congested together.  
And if I should lead you with a long discourse, and recite of particulars, I must brand them on the foreheads with salomon's make, 
Eccle. 1.  Vanity of vanities and all is vanity.  
There is nothing earthly, stable and permanent: The word of God only endureth for ever.  
Our life passeth away swiftly like a post, ●ur youth wax soon old, fortune often frow●eth, and riches ebb and flow, 
A similitude. Isai. 4.  as the waters of the sea, and resemble harlots, who do nothing but flatter, cousin, and forsake us. The people that calleth thee blessed, deceiveth thee saith the Prophet Isai, Trust not this flattering and deceitful world, which will kill thee with culling thee, as joab did Amasa, and jahel did Sisopa. It will promise thee one thing, and give thee another thing, as Laban, who promised Rachel unto jacob, 
Gen. 29  and foisted in Leah, It promiseth thee prosperity, and it giveth thee adversity, tempering poison in a golden chalice, like the whore of Babylon.  
What did all the treasure and pleasure of Egypt avail to help Pharaoh, when as in the height and top of his gallantness, 
Exod. 14.  the waters overwhelmed him, the depths covered him, and his whole host did sink to the bottom like a stone?  
Nabucad-nezzar had trussed up much treasure, and had brought in the wealth of the whole world, into his exchequer and treasury at Babylon, he stalked in his galleries, and crowed pertly like a cock upon his dunghill: Is not this great Babel which I have built, 
Dan. 4.  for the honour of my kingdom? But his comb was soon cut, he soared up so high in the lightness of his mind, even as the bird by the lightness of her feathers, but he was made come down with mischief enough, and of the other side brought as low, driven from his court and courtly retinue, and dieted, couched, and driven among beasts.  
Balthasar braved it passingly for a time and who but Balthasar? but this lustiness lasted not, 
Dan. 5.  for immediately he saw upon the plaster of the wall his definitive doom, which brought him to his dumps, perplexed his thoughts, dissolved his joints, knocked his knees together, and what good then did all his treasure do him?  
Most miserable therefore and woeful is their estate, who prefer this earthly which is so frail and fickle, before the celestial treasure of the word which abideth for ever: whereunto shall I liken such a generation? They are like unto dogs, 
A similitude  who will not departed from the dry bone they gnaw upon, for any piece of money: or like Aesop's cock, that having found a great jewel in the dunghill, is desirous to permute it with a barley kartell.  
If thou fearest that thy corn will foist in lower ground, to prevent such mishap, 
Aug. in Psal. 89.  thou caused hoist it up to a higher granary. Thy ●●●asure which thou cofferest & hoardest up ●●earth, will canker and corrupt in this case, therefore be as provident for thy soul, as thou 〈◊〉 careful of thy corn for the sustenance of thy body, & lay up such provision as is needful for it, in the highest fit, where it may lie safely, & be as forward to lift thy soul to heaven, as thou art to lift up higher upon any occasion thy grain here in earth: if thou askest how, and art herein desirous to b● taught? I answer with Augustine the pulleys gables, ladders, & instruments hereunto belonging, are thy well qualified and godly affections. Thy love is the captain that giveth the onset, the foot of the soul, according 〈◊〉 this proposition of S. Augustine, Amor men pondus meum; Amore feror quocunque feror. My love is my burden, whither soever I am carried, it is love that carrieth me. Base account 〈◊〉 made of some kind of money, in a double respect, partly, because the substance is but base● and partly, because it is false, and sergeant  
Such is the treasure which the world yieldeth us, 
Psal. 12  the word of God only is of simpl● substance, purer than gold, yea then fine gold purer than the silver which hath been seven times in the furnace purified.  
Bag up therefore such money as is currant, and will be sure to go for payment it the resurrection of the just. 
A similitude.  Send thy treasure thither, whither thou art sure to go, as th● merchant-factor layeth out his money abroad to be repaid it at home. 
A similitude.   
We are here travelers and pilgrims upon earth, and have no certain dwelling place As travelers cannot carry any great burde● with them, neither is it wisdom to bestow ●●st there, where ye may not abide, so to rake up treasure here, from whence we must all departed, and to burden ourselves with heavy leads of worldly possessions in our travel towards heaven, is both importable and absurd.  
Look not thou for water to be yielded to thee out of the flinty stone, 
Similitudes.  or wool to keep thee warm from the asses back. It is madness to hunt the winds with a net, it is lost labour to build upon the sand, and to draw up water with a sieve. Have recourse to Moses, the Prophets, and Apostles and from these fountains which can never be dried up draw waters of salvation. Lay this good ●●undation, and it shall be like Mount Zion, 
Psal. 125  which can never be removed.  
Let the glutton in hell, 
Luke. 16.  out of the midst of the flame, desire that some preacher might be sent from the dead, to forewarn his brethren: we mindful of the censure, & reproof 〈◊〉 the Prophet: what? 
Isai. 8  from the living to the ●●ad? hear Moses, & the Prophets: to whom 〈◊〉 we shall have diligent access, we do not 〈◊〉 our hands in a beggar's wallet, but into a whore-house, and treasury of wealth which 〈◊〉 never be spent.  
The holy Scriptures are like a deep well, 
Similitudes.  and fountain, which is not to be drawn ou● and emptied by a bucket, but the more y●● lave it forth, the fresher it runneth: or like t● gold or silver, which, the more you rub i● & turn it with your hands, the brighter it appeareth: or like unto fire, which, the more it i● blown, the clearer it burneth. These similitudes fall well into our purpose since the scriptures use them, & the word of God is compared unto them. For as these things are chiefest in request, and excel all others: so God● word easily doth excel, and ruleth over all.  
Let the Poets therefore stand upon thei● numbers, odes, and verses, and draw them from their feigned and far fet fountains Helicon, Castalio, Parnassus, and such like: w● have the word from heaven, published to th● church upon the mountains. Sinai, Zion, an● Jerusalem. Let the Heathens hunt after thei● idle imaginations, and run into the holes an● caves of the earth, to their worm eaten oaks to their paltry pillars; for their oracles are directions in all their proceed, we instead of these broken reeds, do wholly rest ou● selves upon the sure foundation of the word● which standeth fast for ever.  
Pythagoras may parley as long as he please● with owls, and with Eagles. Apollonius Thy● aneus may listen till he list after the chirping and piping of birds: we lend our ears alone ●o the God of heaven, the creator of all things, by Moses, the Prophets, his son Christ, and ●he Apostles speaking unto us.  
Let worldlings delight themselves still if ●hey will, in their foolish wisdom, or wise foolishness, or continue blinded in their rude, ●nd gross ignorance, or gape still for gold, ●he very garbage of the earth and with wretched Esau, hunt for venison abroad, we shall ●unt with blessed jacob for a blessing at home, ●e shall lay up treasure for ourselves in heaven, we shall climb the mountain of this worldly wisdom, and tread it under feet: whereby we shall behold as in a clear re●●on, the secret mystery of all heavenly wisdom, and all the spiritual treasure of salvation; which grace, the Lord give us.   

CHAP. III.  
That the word of God, is a Pearl of great price.  
MOses the lawgiver to the lords people, being to set forth God's precepts unto them, that they might be the more zealous of them, he putteth this peremptory preamble unto them. These words which I command thee this day, 
Deut. 6  shall be in thine heart, and thou shalt rehearse them continually to thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou tarriest in thine house, & as thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes, also thou shalt write them upon the posts of thine house, and upon thy gates.  
Thus he trimmes his matter with sundry ornaments and circumstances of art, 
A similitude.  to make it to be loved, as a woman decks herself with a great number of jewels, that she might be more esteemed.  
Here is a muster of circumstances together, marching and following in very strange array: every several word is the edge of a sharp sword, and the main blow of a beetle, to drive this wedge through our knotty blockish consciences.  
A man would have thought he had used force enough, and made his matter sure with the first onset, in commanding, that this word should be within our heart, which is a casket & offer sufficient to keep it safe enough. For that is a castle and fortress that repelleth the battery of sin. Wherefore David saith, 
Psalm 119  I have hidden thy commandments in my heart, that I should not sin against thee.  
But not so satisfied, he requireth further, that we rehearse his precepts to our children, and that as a Nightingale, who hath got a pleasant note, is always harping and chirping upon it, we should always dilate and descant upon them, when we come into the house.  
But, albeit domestical study and quiet, much furthereth meditation, yet a further ask and labour is enjoined us, namely, that whilst we are in our journey, and the outward feet of our bodies run their ways, ●he inward feet of the mind and soul should ●unne with David, the ways of God's commandments.  
And yet as though this work thus envyned us, were not enough for us, he commandeth moreover, that couching and lying ●owne, our minds should watch and wait hereupon. This seemeth to be such a hard ●eece of service, as the like whereof, no master ●seth to lay upon his servant, who among us ●o so abridge their servants of their natural ●est, as to exact and claim that time which is ●ue to rest, to be spent in our affairs.  
One would think now he could go no further, but that he must here stop and set up his rest: but behold, assoon as we are out of our sleep, and do cast up our eyes, he setteth work enough before us. For to help our memories that are weak and slippery, he willeth us to wear them as rings upon our fingers, and bind them as signets upon our hands, and yet as though the hand were too far distant, and removed from the heart, and for all this help and good mean, might be forgetful, he provideth that his precepts should be the object of our senses, in setting them as frontlets between our eyes, which may always rub and quicken up our memories.  
And yet there wants this clause to make full the period. Thou shalt write them upon the posts of thine house, and upon thy gates, that thy studs, gates, and portals, at thy ingress, and egress, may be public preachers to thee.  
Now thou, 
Deut. 33 josua. 14  O man of God, let me ask thee this one thing; why dost thou amplify and enlarge this matter, and givest such letters of commendation unto it? No doubt thy answer is, that treasure of much worth, hath need to be well kept, and that pearls of chiefest price, which are easily lost, should be fast tied to ribbons, and warily locked up.  
It is to much purpose that the word is sampled and patterned to a pearl, and a manifold and comfortable use we have hereof, and it lively setteth forth the dignity, nature, and excellency of the word.  
This Pearl is the omnipotent and eternal word of God, properly so called, for sundry good respects, whether we consider the subject, matter, or form, manner, and operation of the pearl.  
For the matter of it, 
Plinius.  it consisteth wholly of the dew of heaven, which a certain shellfish, usually at a set and certain season of the year draweth to itself, as natural philosophers and historians do report: now how in this property it fitteth Christ's nature, the kingly Prophet showeth us directly in this wise. 
Psalm 110  The fruit of the womb is of the dew of the morning. 
Aug. Tom. 4. Quaest. in Mat. quaestio 13.  Ille ad margaritam iam ipsam pervenerat, quae integumentis mortalitatis quasi ocncharum obstaculis, inter profunda huius saecnli atque inter duritias saxeas judaeorum aliquando latuerat. Christ now, (as saith Augustine) grew unto the very substance of a pearl, enclosed and shut up in virgin's womb, and mantle of mortality, as it were in the shell, and coverture of the fish, lying hid a while in the depth of this world, as it were in the sea, and among the cragged rocks of the people of the jews.  
The form of the pearl is orient and glistering, and exceeding beautiful, wherein it hath a notable agreement with this word, as the same father in the same place thus witnesseth, Verbum Domini lucidum candore veritatis, & solidum firmitate aeternitatis, & undique sui simile pulchritudine divinitatis. The word of God shineth through the brightness of the verity, it is firm and sound through the solidity of eternity, and it is in all parts alike in the beauty of divinity.  
The virtue and operation of the pearl is great, and for divers uses is exceeding medicinable, among other, to remedy the panting of the heart, to quicken, comfort, and restore the vital spirits, to depel and drive away the giddiness, dizziness, and swimming of the head. Now how all these conspire in one in Christ, and are complete in him, and are brought to pass in us by feeling experience, by the operation of the word, it is as clear and apparent as the Sun.  
This was that which was David's comfort, and quickened him in the midst of his trouble. 
Psalm 119   
The want of this, 
1. Sam. 28.  drove Saul into all perplexed and pitiful passions, and most desperate designments, whilst he rolled in his melancholy and mad mood and bethought himself, how God was departed from him, and answered him no more, either by Prophet, or by dream. 
A similitude.  This is the comfortable electuary of our souls, made by the art of the best Physician, and approved by long experience as most excellent.  
This is that aqua vitae, which doth, 
A similitude.  not only slack and allay our thirst, but worketh within us to the quickening of our life, when it is dead in sin. 
john. 6  Therefore Peter calleth it the word of life, saying: Lord, whither shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And Christ calleth it life. This is life eternal, 
john. 17  to know thee the true God, and him whom thou hast sent, jesus Christ.  
There is no sinner so swallowed up of sin, so dead and buried in it, whom the word can not quicken and raise up again.  
It cried out to the dry and dead bones in the field, and lo they were knit together, 
Ezech. 37  the flesh came upon them, and the skin above covered them, they breathed, lived, stood upon their feet, and became a mighty army.  
Lazarus who had lain four days in his grave, was quickened by this word. 
john. 11   
As the body liveth by his bodily food, 
A similitude.  so doth the soul by his spiritual food: the food and diet of the soul is the word. But herein this food exceedeth much the other, that this is effectual and lively to the dead, but the other is nourishable only to the living. Take thou heed therefore of the wretchles regard and loathsomeness of the word, since it is thy meat. 
A similitude.  For as among the diseases of the body, there is none more desperate than his, whose stomach either loatheth or retaineth not his meat, the strength of his life, without which the body dieth: so he, whose soul abhorreth this meat, is in all extremity, and is brought according to the saying of the prophet, 
Psaim. 107.  even to death's door.  
What man is so desperately and irrecoverably sick, 
A similitude.  who doth not gladly hear that Physician, who doth but barely make him promise of his health, albeit he be not able to perform it? wherefore since God's word is life of itself, and healeth all infirmities, suffereth us not to be giddy in the spirit, or waver in the faith, but giveth us assurance of our eternal salvation, o dear and precious! let this pearl be in our sight.  
Let the Poets boast of Orpheus as they please, who with music tamed savage beasts: of this we are most sure, that God's word hath reclaimed and altered beastly minds, 
Act. 9  and of Apostates, hath made them Apostles, of purloiners of God's secrets, and merchandizers of the word, hath made them the faithful dispensers of his mysteries.  
Paul very expressly layeth out so much, whenas portraying out our counterfeit, as it was, without Christ, after whose glorious image we have been perfected and transformed, he indigestly shadoweth us out with a black coal in this misshapen manner. We ourselves also were in times past unwise, 
Titus 3.  disobedient, deceived, serving the lusts, and divers pleasures, living in maliciousness and envy, hateful, and hating one another. Likewise, leading us along with a rehearsal of sundry enormities which we rifely committed, he inferreth thereupon, that this was our estate, but the case is altered with us, we are washed, sanctified, 
1. Cor. 6.  and justified, in the name of the Lord jesus, and by the spirit of God.  
Be we never so profound and deeply wise in human wisdom, it may beseem us well to seek after this wisdom, as a Pearl of greater price and virtue than the other.  
Solomon, the wisest that ever was, saw very manifestly, that wheresoever the uncreated wisdom of God spoke, 
Prover. 〈◊〉  it spoke of excellent things, even things seemly for Princes. And although some places are shallow enough for the lamb to wade in, yet there be some deep enough to drown the very elephant: of the which we may say with the holy Apostle, Oh the deepness of the counsels and wisdom of God 
Rom. 11.  how unsearchable are thy ways, and thy paths past finding out? One Plato is worth a thousand vulgar men, the Scriptures surpass all the writings in the world.  
Lo, thou that art so highly conceited of thyself, and thinkest thou canst see far beyond the Moon, imagining that a Preacher can speak nothing unto thee, but that thou knewest before, or that he is not able to stir thy affections, 
2. Sam. 11. 2. Sam. 12.  I wish that David might be a precedent unto thee, to reform thy judgement, who being mightily inspired with the Spirit, yet for all his wisdom dwelled still in the damnable ignorance of his sin, without remorse of conscience, until the lively voice of Nathan the Preacher pierced his heart, opened the eyes of his understanding, and taught him knowledge.  
Nabuchadnezzar had a vision of a tree, 
Dan. 4.  which was a figure of his fortune: but all his wizards in court and country could not lay it open, but he tormented himself with the hidden mystery of it, until Daniel did unfold it.  
Paul was a choice man, 
Acts 22.  of very rare parts and induments of mind, traded up in learning at Gamaliels' feet, 
Acts 9  a doctor of the law mightily read, and checked by his adversaries openly, for overmuch studying of himself: yet for all ●●s privilege of his wisdom and learning, ●●e was sottish and senseless, until he entered ●●to Christ his school, his learning was but a ●ead letter unto him, until the spirit quickened ●im, and he was sent to Ananias, who informed him what to do.  
If the Spirit openeth not the door of thy eppes, thou speakest like a Parrot, 
A similitude.  thou canst ●ot tell what, as Caiphas, who prophesied and ●reached of Christ, but did not know so much.  
Trust me, there is no estate of life more miserable, than to remain in ignorance of the word, and no estate happier, than to have the knowledge of it. What say I of this Pearl? ●hat it easeth panting hearts, dizzy heads, and theereth vital spirits, this word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, it is all in all unto us.  
If Saul be mad thorough melancholy, 
1. Sam. 16.  if David play these songs and ditties upon the harp, his frenzy leaveth him, and his mind is again quieted.  
This charmed the very devil, and made him swell, he did burst when he did set upon our Saviour, putting him to shame, 
Matth. 4.  and to his heels suddenly.  
This curbled, and so rattled the ruffians that were sent from the Scribes and high Priests, 
john 7.  to attach and arrest Christ as they had no power over him.  
It exhorteth, it threateneth, it inciteth, it reclaimeth, it instructeth, it convinceth, it singeth, it mourneth it prayeth, it detesteth, it commendeth, it disalloweth, it recounteth things past, foretelleth things to come, it singeth of mercy, and discourseth of judgement. It bendeth every way like to soft wax, to bend our stubborn consciences.  
Paul in this especially commendeth his Timothy, 
2. Tim. 3.  that he had spent his time in the study of the Scriptures from his tender age, whereby he was able to show himself a workman, to cut the word aright, to do the work of an Evangelist, to be prompt and furnished to every good work.  
Thrice happy was the state and government of Israel, 
Exod. 28.  which by urim and Thummim asked counsel of the Lord; we are now in blessed case, who have the light and lantern of God's word set upon an hill, set out in our pulpits, as in a candlestick, by which we have God's counsel and direction for our doings: so as, having this jewel and Pearl upon our breasts void of all fear and trembling at the heart, freed from all wavering and unstable ways: and finally, revived in our vital spirits, we take up the songs and sayings of God's saints. As with divine David, who merrily maketh this melody on his harp and humble bandore, 
Psal. 27.  The Lord is my life and my salvation, whom then shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom then shall I be afraid? What if hosts of men beset me? 
Psalm 23.  yet shall I not fear: and though there rise up war against me, yet shall I put my trust in thee. And with daniel's consortes show our heroical and invincible stomachs, with faithful hearts, saying, Behold the God whom we worship, 
Dan. 3.  he shall deliver us out of the fiery furnace. And with peerless Paul, commune the case, and challenge all adversary power into the field, and expostulate thus with them, 
Rom. 8.  Who shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ jesus our Lord? And with him, when we have seen all that they can do, be of this courage and resolution with ourselves, that nothing shallbe able to sunder and divorce us from the favour of the Lord.  
But all this while here is but one Pearl spoken of, to which the word of the kingdom ●s compared. And not without good cause: For there is but one at one time engendered in ●he fish, and it seemeth, that the name that is given unto the Pearl, which is called, Vnio, expresseth this his nature, which signifieth One.  
In this it hath a fit allusion unto Christ, who is our sole and alone mediator, and hath no other, either Angel or Saint to share, and partake with him. 
1. Tim. 2.  There is but one Mediator between God and man, the man Christ jesus: Neither is there salvation in any other else: 
Acts 4.  For there is no name under heaven whereby we must be saved, 
john 6.  but the name of jesus: For whither elso shall we go? Lord thou hast the words of eternal life.  
As all the light and brightness of the stars proceed from one Sun, 
A similitude.  so all our righteousness proceedeth entirely from one Son of righteousness, jesus Christ only.  
As Pharaoh said to joseph (which name in the Egyptian language is a Saviour) I am Pharaoh, 
Genesis 41.  and without thee shall no man stir his hand, or his foot, in all the land of Egypt. So may it be said of Christ, that without him we are able to do nothing of ourselves: 
Math. 28.  For all power is given by his father unto him, both in heaven and earth.  
One sun alone chaseth away the foggy darkness of the night; 
A similitude.  there are infinite other stars, but all of them shining and glistering together, and putting to their power, are not able to dispel it. I grant that they are to us as lamps and burning torches, and minister great light, but yet the blackness of darkness doth remain, and is not expelled by them. The only son of God hath done away our night, and hath turned the darkness of our gross ignorance, into the daylight of his glorious gospel shining into our hearts: God hath also given us many helps beside, by which he hath much illuminated our minds, as men of learned skill, much seen in philosophy and points of human learning, who shine as smaller stars in the firmament of this world; but these have carried, as it were, a candle before the sun, which vanisheth before it; it hath not removed the night from us, but thick clouds, and darkness hath still overshadowed us: only Christ, the brightness of his Father giveth clear light to us that sit in darkness, the light that lighteneth the Gentiles, and the glory of the people Israel.  
Since than one Pearl supplieth all our wants, what need we more than one? 
Luke 2.  The stars of heaven are many, 
A similitude.  because they are imperfect, and one of them severed, can not give such light as all of them conjoined. The stars are many, because their light is little, ●herefore that which is wanting in them singularly, is supplied by them generally. But ●here is but one sun, because his light is sufficient of itself, he needeth not the aid of ●lanet or of star to increase his light: So Christ is light enough, and in him is no darkness, he is a sole and sufficient Saviour, and therefore he abideth no copartners with him.  
Augustine by a plausible and plain similitude thus dilateth upon this point, 
August.  and maketh the matter manifest: The gold which thou possessest can not be thy silver. Thou canst not call thy bread which thou eatest, thy wine: but Christ may be said to be instar omnium, all in all unto thee. And herein he only satisfieth and contenteth himself, and this is as the Philosopher's stone unto him, and the golden mine, desiring nothing in comparison of this, or beside this alone, saying in this sort: O Lord, I require nothing but thee, for thou art only my Doctor and Doctrine, Physician and Medicine, the sole preparer and perfecter of my mind, my love and lover, my gift and giver, my life, and the only preserver of my life.  
But the learned Schoolman Gregory paraphraseth pathetically and properly upon this point: 
Gregory.  I consider (saith he) the fathers of the old and new Testament, David, Daniel, Amos, Peter, Paul, Matthew, and mine eyes of faith are fully fixed on them. He inspireth the young harper, and he maketh him a Psalmist. He breatheth upon the babe, and he is wiser than the aged, and is made their judge. He giveth the simple shepherd and herdsman in the field, the wisdom of his Spirit, and he becomes a famous shepherd and prophet of the people. He calleth the fisherman, and immediately he angleth and fisheth for men, and with his nets draweth thousands at once from the bottomless pit of eternal destruction, to the highest top of their eternal salvation. He enlighteneth the persecutor, and he proves a passing Preacher of an erratical and wandering star, a fixed star, keeping his station, a star that is in the right hand of Christ. He reclaimeth the customer, and ●he impure Publican, and lo, he becomes a blessed actuary and penman of a Gospel.  
Since therefore all riches and graces of god do stream from one fountain, since one ●oote engendereth and bringeth forth all fruit, since one and the same spirit is the craftes●an of all trades, and the founder of all knowledge; were it not better for us to be acquainted with this on 〈◊〉 which is the porter that brin ●eth in all our exp●r, then to run to undering, inferi● up 〈◊〉 base creatures, which shall ●euer be able to supply our necessities? 
A similitude.  What ●eggar beggeth alms of his fellow beggar, whenas a right honourable and liberal nobleman passeth by him, and is ready to bestow greater alms upon him? We are but beggar's brats in this world; from the sun, moon, and stars we do beg our light, from the earth we beg our bread, from beasts, birds and fishes we beg our meat and clothing; and what do these yield us without the Lord, or in comparison of the Lord? let our recourse therefore and suits be unto him.  
What marvel is it that this one spirit should work all things in us, 
A similitude.  since one mind ruleth all the senses and faculties of the body? and stirreth us up to such infinite kinds of actions?  
Be persuaded therefore to make purchase of this Pearl, whatsoever it doth cost thee being that which Christ calleth, 
1. Pet. 11  the hidde● Manna, and Peter, the joy unspeakable, and David, 
Psalm 36  the fountain and well of all pleasures, and which in this parable is set at a high rate.  
This the devil laboureth especially to deprive us of, knowing in his subtlety, that it is o● that worth. For, as pirates on the seas principally do bend their force ●●●inst those ship● which they know to be 〈◊〉 with gold● pearl, 
A similitude.  and treasure, and go●●●● of greate● wealth: so, such as are endued with heaven's riches, and fraught with the graces of his h●●ly spirit, and bear about them this pearl 〈◊〉 peerless price: against such, this rover an● pirate of our souls especially layeth his dangerous assaults, and shoots his fiery darts.  
The Spirit here in a subtle kind of wisdom (as I may so say) to win us to the word, suiteth himself in his form and frame of speech to our fancies, and affections: 
A similitude  like a skilful angler, covering his hook with a pleasant bait, to toll fishes unto him; setting out his speech with most delightful words, to draw our souls unto him.  
The hope and expectation of gain set before us, rouseth us up, plucketh us by the ears, and causeth us to stir, and abide all adventures, He that eateth, eateth in hope: 
1. Corint. 9  and he that thresheth, thresheth in hope. The hope of a good harvest hartneth the husbandman all the year long, to all tedious toil and turmoil of his body.  
The soldier giveth a hardy onset, and dreadeth no danger, upon the comfort he conceiveth of a conquest, of sharing out the spoil, and of a bountiful booty at the last. The Huntsman, for the love he beareth to his game, in expectation of his sport rangeth about, and under-goeth all wrathful spite of ●ny cold and tempestuous weather: finally, ●here is nothing, of which we have any hope, which is not as a spur to prick us forward unto any attempt, whereby we may achieve 〈◊〉.  
David, 
●. Sam. 17.  before he gripleth with Goliath of Gath, first communeth about the case, asketh the standers by, What shall be given to the man that overcometh him? And when answer was returned, that the King would bestow great treasure upon him, and give his daughter in marriage unto him, and would make him free denizen in the land of Israel: David had enough, the hope of this reward forthwith gave him boldness and stomach enough to fight hand to hand with him.  
Now, if it shall be asked what that man shall have that shall overcome the spiritual Giant, the world, and the flesh: we answer, that treasure at his pleasure shallbe given him, he shall have a Pearl of incomparable price bestowed upon him. And we send him yet further unto Esay the prophet, who more at large acquainteth him with the king's mind, herein giving him to know, 
Isaiah 64.  That the eye hath not seen, the ear hath not heard, neither hath the heart of man conceived the things that God hath prepared for them that love him.  
Whenas God would breed in the breasts of the Israelitos, 
Num. 13.  a loving and longing desire after Chanaan, he did set their teeth on edge with the fruit of the land, with a cluster of grapes pomegranates, and figs, which those that searched the land brought with them, & presented to their view. To ravish our hearts with a desire of heavenly things, a taste we have here of a heavenly reward, which we shall receive for it.  
The treasure and pearl that is here named, is as much as our sense is able to conceive: but yet it sufficiently defineth not unto us the riches of God's kingdom. In a word, 
A similitude.  it over-matcheth all worldly treasure and pearls, as much as the sun in brightness exceedeth all the stars beside in the firmament.  
It is the manner of our subtle merchants, 
A similitude.  to show the buyer the best end of their cloth, but to deceive them with the worst, the middle being nothing answerable to the end. But Christ far otherwise descending into this world, to sell us his glory, showeth us here a piece of his wares, wherein an endless treasure and a pearl of highest price is folded, and wrapped up: but if we could unfold the end, without end, the height, and depth, and measure of his grace, how would the sight thereof astonish our hearts with unspeakable admiration?  
Christ demeaneth himself in that affection towards us as the father towards his child, 
A similitude.  who to get him to the school, of which he is afraid, because of the rod, he showeth him a gay thing, and promiseth to give it him, and the child thereupon obeyeth his father, and goeth to school willingly. Christ in like manner entreateth us his children, to repair unto his word, which is our common School, we are dismayed hereat, as the child is at the rod: forasmuch as this word is Sevior magister, a rougher Schoolmaster to dull and careless scholars. Therefore, to hearten us the better hereunto, he showeth us a Pearl; for which (if we be wise) we shallbe willing to step forward to this school, to attain to all knowledge.  
The respect of the reward minisheth (saith Gregory) the rigour of the rod.  
When the Assyrian soldiers beheld the comely beauty and feature of judith, 
judith 10.  they saith among themselves, who would not fight for Israel, which affordeth such fair and beautiful women? so may we say, who would not fight against the devils assaults for the kingdom of our God, which yieldeth such a munificent and honourable a reward?  
Here in this life by our entire and dutiful conformity to the word, we presently do possess a treasure and pearl of peculiar passing price: but after all this life, all endless felicity, whenas at his glorious coming in the clouds, he shall change our base bodies, and make them like his own glorious body, 
Phil. 3.  by the admirable impotent operation of his power. 
A similitude.  So as, though we be here as wild and filthy rags, raked out of a dunghill, which to view, can not but provoke the stomach, and procure vomit, yet brought to the mill, and cast into the water, and afterward well grinded, it maketh very white, smooth, and fine paper. The Lord open our eyes to see this, and our hearts and affections to desire it daily.   

CHAP. FOUR  
That the word of God is a Treasure that is hidden: and wherefore it is so called.  
THE word of God is not simply compared to a Treasure, but to such which is hidden and is digged out of the ground.  
It is hidden, because the mysteries thereof are not open unto all, but only to such, to whom the Son hath revealed them. 
Luke. 10.  It is hidden from the wisdom, and reason of the world, and manifested unto us by the inspiration of the spirit. And so saith Christ himself: I give thee thanks, 
Matthew 11  O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise, and men of understanding, and opened them unto babes, even so, O Father, because it is thy will and pleasure.  
Whenas Peter made that main, and fundamental confession of Christ, 
Matthew 16  saying: Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God: Christ told him flatly, that it was the quickness and nimbleness of his wit, that found out this matter, he could not see so far with a carnal eye, but it was the eye of faith that reached so far, and the good will of his father that did make it known unto him.  
It is not in the power of the fleshly man (saith the blessed Apostle) to comprehend in his conceit the things that are of God. 
1. Cor. 2   
Baruch would not give the adventure to go against Sisara, 
judg. 4.  unless he had the prophetess Deborah in his company: without the association of this heavenly prophesy, we are able to do nothing against spiritual wickedness.  
Paul was greatly book-learned, 
Acts 9  and brought up in university, yet was this learning hidden from his eyes, until Christ, with a celestial light at noon day struck them, and enlightened them.  
As God is unsearchable, so are his gifts: the running head of man, hath attained unto many and very mighty mysteries, and hath disclosed many things, which hath long lain in darkness: but yet his ignoance is far greater than his knowledge, a few things in comparison of those that are hidden, are revealed unto him.  
Whenas Croesus willed Thales to define what God was, he required time for it, and when the time was come, he did still put off his answer unto further time, and continually being called, redoubled that time: for the more he meditated, the more he was confounded, he could not attain unto it. So, to set down the Treasure of God's kingdom, and to comprehend the riches of his grace, the more we scan them, the more we demur of them, it is like an intricate Labyrinth, out of which we cannot get, it is a secret hidden from our eyes.  
If the bodily pain be sometimes so great, 
A similitude.  as the extremity of our passions do overcome our senses and are distracted with it, and our sense is not able to set down his sorrows, the pleasures of God's kingdom, being like a great deep, able to drown and devour the Elephant, passing all understanding, how are we able to wade through the same, and search the bottom of it?  
It happeneth with us whenas we would comprice in our carnal imaginations, 
A similitude.  the estimation of this treasure, as it doth with them who seeing a picture of exact workmanship, howsoever curiously painted and varnished, yet not fully finished, they admire the passing perfection of it, deeming, that nothing can be added further to it: but the Painter himself seethe well enough (having a further work conceived to himself then others can desire) how far it is distant from the hue and bravery, which he mindeth to give unto it before he hath done with it. So think we, as we will of the beauty of God's house, of the inestimable treasures and pleasures of his kingdom, disperse them, and extend them, as far as we may by all imagination, we are blear eyed with Leah, and we see with the blind man not yet fully cured, 
Mark. 8.  men walking like trees, things nothing answerable to that they are indeed. Before the chief workman hath put his last hand to his image and counterfeit, it will show itself wide and distant from our judgement.  
Some think that Coelum, which is called heaven, cometh of Coelo, which is to engrave: and so it may well, for we see how it is carved, graved, and adorned, round about with glistering and orient stars. But I subscribe to them, who think that Coelum is taken à coelo, which is to cover, hide, and conceal, because the treasure laid up for us in heaven is covered, concealed, 
2. Cor. 12.  and hidden from our knowledge. For whenas Paul was snatched up to the third heaven, he uttered more with silence, than he could with speech, for he plainly saith, he heard such words, which cannot be spoken, which are not possible for a man to utter: for indeed, man's tongue in such kinds of cases, stammereth, and cleaveth to the roof of his mouth, so disable it is to unfold divine mysteries. So that our chiefest commendation of them, is our silence of them. 
Isai. 24.  And this use did the Prophet make of them to himself, who being full of secret Revelations, kept them in a dutiful silence to himself, saying: My secrets are to myself.  
God his wondrous works so exceed all number, measure, and proportion, as it is more commendable to conceal them with a godly admiration, then to pry into them with a curious inquisition. 
A similitude.   
Set a round bowl or globe in any place which is of that quantity that may fill the place, and will that vast substance think you be dragged out of the narrow, and straight passages of the door of that place? there is no reason so to think, the spiritual joys of heaven are of that huge capacity and substance, Cui magno nihil est magnum, 
seneca.  there being nothing great in comparison of this great, as they cannot enter into the doors of our souls, or be drawn through the portal and passage of our lips.  
The Queen of the South coming from far to hear Salomons wisdom, 
●. King. 10  it perplexed and astonished her, and took her spirit from her: how much more shall the wisdom of the word, far greater than salomon's, put us to silence, and amaze us suddenly.  
Christ informing Nicodemus but in the rudiments of religion, 
john. 3  and beginning with him at the first element of our redemption, pointing as it were with his finger, at the fountain and head thereof, which is the love of God to mankind, he handleth it so, as thereby we are not able to see the nature of it, for saying thus of it, so God loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, this first word so putteth us to a non plus. For how did he love it? he loved it, but so, as cannot be expressed. And he cannot speak otherwise, because he knoweth God's love to be unspeakable.  
The blessed Apostle entreating of the passion, 
Heb. 12  not being able in particulars to extend it, thus generally comprehendeth it, Consider him who hath suffered such shame for you. But Paul, what was this shame? why rippest thou not up his stripes and his blows, his mocks and his mows: the crown, the nails, the spear, the cross? because howsoever they were lively and sensible, yet were not sufficiently explicable and intelligible.  
We will you likewise to consider of the word, as of a Treasure, and a Pearl of great price. If further, we would know the uttermost of his worth, the spirit answereth here, that it is hidden from us, it is more than any is able to declare. The treasure of inward heavenly inspiration, the pleasure of divine celestial consolation, the crown of glory laid up as a reward of our bitter persecution, and finally, God our father his most gracious compassion, by the tongue of men or Angels cannot be spoken of, they are hidden mysteries, that are too deep for us.  
This Treasure is hidden, because it hath need of spiritual Revelation: It is not so hidden, but that whatsoever is needful to salvation is opened unto us. God dealeth not as Poets, and Philosophers with the truth, who with the dark clouds of their fabulous inventions, have so eclipsed and obscured the clear light thereof, as the minds of the readers are confounded with them, and can give no judgement of it.  
God's spirit hath not so mocked & dallied with us, as to set actuaries and penne-men a work to engross such books, which being so perplexed, can minister no instruction & comfort unto us: in this kind of vain may Apollo please himself. 
●. Pet. 1  God his word is a light that shineth unto us out of a dark place. This book howsoever it is sealed up by the Lion that is of the tribe of judah, is broken open to us.  
Howsoever heretofore, 
Exod. 19  upon the publication, and giving of the law, the Lord overshadowed all Mount Horeb with a cloud, and with a thick cloud obscured the temple that was made by Solomon, and covered the Ark of the covenant with a vail: 
1. Reg. 10  Christ the image and brightness of his Father hath dispelled this darkness, chased away this cloud, & taken away the vail. So that as Elias when he went up to heaven, 
2. Reg. 2  left his mantle to Elizeus behind him, whereby he divided the deep waters of jordan; so Christ going up on high, 
Ephes. 4  left his wisdom and gifts among men, whereby they might divide the deep mysteries of the spirit contained in the scriptures.  
If Pharaoh be nothing skilful in his dream, let him send for joseph, who is able to interpret it.  
If Nabuchad-nazzar his vision doth perplex him, 
Gen. 41  if he calleth Daviel he will presently unfold it. 
Dan. 2. & 4   
Ananias will inform and acquaint Saul what he ought to do. 
Acts 9   
The Aethiopian Queen's Chamberlain understandeth what he readeth by the help of Philip. So, 
Acts 8.  if we find the Scriptures to be hidden, let us send for preachers who may lay them open for us.  
But above all, 
1. Cor. 3.  let us pray for the assistance of the spirit of God, knowing that it is neither Apollo in watering, or Paul in planting that doth us any good, but God that giveth increase: we may have heaps of Doctors, Preachers, and Schoolmasters, but all in vain, unless this catholic and universal doctor, sit in the chair and seat of our hearts, and read a lecture unto us. For, 
A similitude.  as the harp or musical instrument moveth not the ears, but the cunning hand that striketh it: so the tongue of the Preacher availeth nothing the heart of the hearer, without the spirit that guideth it.  
This treasure is not so hidden from us, as the enemy would persuade us, who prate, I know not of what Cimmerian darkness, and obscurity unsearchable, every where obvious and occurrent in the Scriptures. The wily tempter herein resembleth him, 
A similitude.  who minding to strike fire with his iron steel out of a flinty stone, looketh round about what end of the same might be the fittest for it. There is no fit end for him to strike out the sparks and fire of the grace of God, out of our stony consciences, than the word of God is, which he often striketh at, especially by his often suggestion unto us of the obscurity of the word.  
But dote ye not (beloved) upon such a vain & deceivable dream, the idle thought, and invention of man's brain, 
Psalm 19  The commandment of the Lord is pure, and giveth light unto the eyes: The testimony of the Lord is sure, and giveth wisdom unto the simple.  
Socrates, a Pagan and heathenish man, attributeth to the light of nature, thus much, as what questions he shall move plainly in good order, albeit his Scholar shallbe dull and gross headed, he will undertake, shall aptly and naturally be assoiled by him. And shall the Philosopher, in human matters accomplish this much, and shall not God's spirit, the Spirit of all truth, the light of our blindness, our all sufficient Schoolmaster, the joy of our hearts, the breath of our nostrils be aequivalent, and comparable unto him.  
So long as we hear any mention to be made of God's hidden oracles let us have before our eyes, 
A similitude.  the trade of navigation, such as now it is, by use, and long adventure. The pilot by a habit and continued experience, knoweth what seasons are fittest to bring out his ships into the road, is acquainted with the course & disposition of the winds, the paths, the windings, the narrowest cuts of the vast Ocean sea, as well as with the streets and houses of his town; he avoideth the sands, rocks and gulfs, as well as we the pits and dikes that are before us. So study we the Scriptures, and be we traded & brought up in the course and knowledge of them, and by God's especial grace abiding in our hearts, there is nothing so hidden, needful to salvation but shall be found out of us, and it shall be most ready and familiar unto us.  
The Scriptures are the harder, 
A similitude.  and more hidden from us, because of our slackness in enquiring after them. Such as travel for pearls of great price which are hidden in the sea, must not lay down lazily at the bank side, or draw circles or triangles with his finger, or a stick upon the uppermost sand. Such as dig for silver and gold in the heart of the earth, 
A similitude.  must not dig lightly upon the face of the earth, but he must pierce the very veins and bowels of the ground. There is nothing so hard, which is not with labour and pains made easy to us.  
The difficulty of the scriptures which falleth much into our reading, is hurtful unto none, but to such as are perverse; for it is expedient for the godly every way: It stirreth them up to study, the better to attain unto it: It kindleth in them a desire to understand: It addeth spirit and life unto the prayers which the Saints make to God for the comprehending of it. Moreover, this maketh them not to disdain to ask counsel of the learned, and so thereby their pride is notably repressed, mutual love and charity singularly preserved.  
Chrysostome, 
A similitude.  by a fine similitude, showeth how diligence overcometh the difficulty of Scriptures. The mind (saith he) & thoughts of man's heart are very hidden, yet such as are commonly consorted with him, by his action's gesture, and outward behaviour, do conjecture what they are. Let us love the word and daily converse with it: I assure thee, mud meditation is the key that openeth the lock of this exchequer and treasury where the riches of God lie; let therefore, such as will, please themselves in their wicked ignorance: 
A similitude.  there is no man, not altered or distempered in his wits that is not persuaded, that it well pleaseth every Prince, that every of his subjects should be acquainted with his Laws, which otherwise, be they never so perfectly penned, if for want of knowledge of them, they be not duly executed, are but in vain published.  
See we not how the Lord hath set the Sun in the firmament of heaven, 
A similitude.  as it were, on a high throne, that, because it is the fountain of light, to lighten all the creatures of th'earth, every creature might behold it? Now then, if it be hidden from our sight, the fault is in our fumish and evil affected eyes, that cannot behold it.  
For, 
A similitude.  as their eyes which are always fixed upon the soot and smoke of the chimney, we see how they are waterish & redound with humours, and are bleared and dimmed, so as ●he sight of them much faileth them; and of ●he other side, how they, who behold the green meadows, and view the open and clear air, and the crystal pure water-floods environing the sweet pastures, distinguished with all variety of redolent flowers, wherewith the earth is mantled, they are pure and quick-sighted: so sottish and earthly minds, always drooping & hanging over the gross and fumish exhalations of the earth (for what is else our silver and our gold, but the brackish and brinish sweat and vapour of it?) I marvel not if the sight of their mind faileth them, spiritual understanding departeth from them, and they be stark blind at noon day with the Sodomites, with their eyes open with Balaam, 
Genesis 19  and will not suffer the sun of righteousness, and the clear light of the Gospel to shine in their hearts.  
The sun giveth light to the whole world alike, 
A similitude.  and is denied unto none: but let him remain as he well deserveth, in uncomfortable darkness, who shutteth his windows to keep out the light of it; or wilfully runneth down into the holes of the earth, that he might not behold it: So let his blood light upon his own pate, and let him remain in the blackness of darkness for ever, that when the true light that lighteneth every one that cometh into the world, shineth among us, by the light of the word, we shut the casements of the eyes of our minds, and enkennell ourselves in our earthly affections, that it might be hidden from us.  
In the Winter season, 
A similitude.  the Sun is much hidden, and absent from us, because we cannot see it, the interposition of thick and black clouds, between that and us, keeping it from our eyes: the Son of God Christ lesus is a light unto our paths, but our sins, as it were a cloudy curtain, is drawn so betwixt us, as we are not the better for it. The fault hereof is wholly in ourselves, the Son is clear of it.  
God indeed doth blind the wicked, but he blindeh them negatively; namely, to recusant and obstinate sinners he doth not communicate the light of his spirit; and for this cause (as job saith) They do grope at noon day. 
job 5.   
Whenas men wilfully do hide themselves from God, God, not unwillingly doth hide his word from them. This hiding is ever in the creature only, and not in the Creator. He would have cured Babylon, 
jerem. 51.  but she would not, therefore he must leave her.  
The word must have a fit subject to work upon, or else, no marvel though it be preached in vain; and is as a sword hidden in a scabbard, and seemeth a dead and hidden letter to us.  
The ploughman, 
A sumilitude.  when he casteth his seed into the ground, looseth it, if the soil be not fruitful and fit for it: so strow Gods good seed in the furrows of bad hearts, and the seed shall never be seen to come and spring up in them.  
In every action natural and spiritual, these two things chief are regarded, the agent, & the patiented. In the agent, there must be power and ability of action: and in the patiented, conformable disposition to entertain the action. The Smyth must first make his irons fit and pliable by the fire, 
A similitude.  before he can hammer them, & make them serve his turn. Dry billet is a fit substance to work upon. Some earth is so lean, 
Similitudes.  as to sow it with wheat, it thriveth not thereby, it bringeth forth nothing but light and wild oats. Man's heart is like an Inn that entertaineth alguests confusedly, alike of what sort soever. It is like a boat that leaketh and taketh water at every seam and cranny. It is like an open City without walls, object and subject to the invasion of the enemy. It is like a vine without a hedge. And finally, like a house without locks and doors unto them, and every one hath ingress, and maketh a lakes of them.  
Depart not thou from God, hide not the self from him, let no fault be in thee, and God will not forsake thee, or hide his word from thee, but he will open this his measure 〈◊〉 thee. As the Sun by his departure from the earth, is the cause of the congelation of the earth, not directly, but indirectly: so God, 
A similitude.  to the condign punishment of impotent sinners hideth himself from them: for, for God to hide himself from a sinner, and a sinner to hide himself from God, it is all one.  
Therefore since this treasure is hidden from them. I marvel not they esteem it so little, and make no seeking for it: Ignoti nullique cupido, who lusteth & loveth that which he did never know? A base fellow by the high way often beardeth and braveth his better, 
A similitude.  because he knoweth him not. A clown taketh more pleasure in his cottage, and preferreth it before a sumptuous house in London, that never yet knew the inequality between them. Pearls are not to be prized by those that have no skill of the nature of them. Aesop's Cock will barter it away for a barley karnel, inasmuch as the virtue of it is hidden from him: and truly such apalogues are instructine enough, and I find that the wisest sometimes do use them.  
Taste therefore, and see how sweet the Lord is, 
Psalm 14. 1. Pet. 2.  and pray to him to open the wonders of his law, so shall thy delight be in his commandments which thou hast loved, and thou shalt prefer them above gold, 
Psalm 119  & worldly treasure, if thou knewest what they are.  
This treasure moreover, may be said to be hidden, because unto such as are dispensers of it, 
Math. 7  we are not to open it. Christ his precept in this case is flat, who chargeth that pearls should not be cast among filthy swine, that will tread them underfeete. The damage that from hence will ensue upon us, if contrary to Gods will we shall with Ezechias open this treasury to the ambassadors of Babylon, 
●. King. 20.  by the terrible commination by the Prophet denounced upon Ezechias, for this fact is not obscurely showed us.  
Last of all, this treasure may be said to be hidden, because the estate and possession of this treasure which the word affordeth, is as yet whilst we soiorn in this miserable world, detained and hidden from us: Dum est spes, not estres, saith Augustine. This treasure and pearl we have yet b ut in hope, 
Colost. 3.  and our life (as saith the Apostle) is hidden in Christ, but when Christ which is our life shall appears, then shall we also appear with him in glory.  
Therefore the Apostle defineth faith, which is the hand which reacheth us this glory, the substance of things hoped for, 
Hebr. 11.  and the evidence of things that are not seen.  
Now as this treasure is never the less worth, albeit the having of it, is yet denied us, and the unspeakable wealth and worth thereof, is as yet hidden from us, even so it is with our souls and bodies, that are grafted in Christ jesus by a true and lively faith, albeit those joys which we undoubtedly look for, are yet shut from our eyes. Beloved, 
1. john 3  we are now the sons of God, but yet it doth not appear what we shall be, and we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, and we shall see him as he is: which time the Lord hasten, that we may receive that inheritance with the faithful, which the Father of old hath prepared, the Son of late hath purchased, and the holy Spirit hath consigned, which as yet is hidden from us.   

CHAP. V.  
Of this Merchantman his task, imposed upon him for the attaining unto this Treasure, and Pearl of great price.  
THings of excellency, are not had without difficulty: Gold and Pearl grow not, as the ordinary fruits of the earth, in the outward face of it, but they lie hidden in the entrails thereof, and with hard delving, and tedious turmoiling must be found out of us.  
Our evangelical Merchant in this place, got not up these goods by gazing about him, in an idle speculation: but he buckled himself to the ordinary means of attaining thereunto by industrious operation. He found this treasure as it is in the first, and he sought these good pearls as it is inserted in the latter of these parables.  
Wherefore in this man, each man may see the nature of his task that expect this man's ways. He must not stretch himself upon his bed, and fold his arms to sleep: he must not keep his tabernacle, or stand in the market place, but he must gird up his reins, put his sandals upon his feet, he hath a painful pilgrimage & chargeable voyage; he must have the feet of an Hind, and the wings of a Dove, 
Abac. 3.  and give all diligence to find out this hidden and unspeakable treasure, 
Psal. 55  and to make purchase of it.  
I know that God hath opened unto some, the treasures of his grace, who have been careless enough of it, as little, or not at all enquiring after it, clocking like a hen, & putting out his hand unto a wicked & gainsaying people as to Matthew the Publican, 
Math. 8  to the woman the Samaritan, to Zachee the usurer, 
john. 4 Luke. 19 1. Tim. 3. Hai. 6●  & to Paul the persecutor, and to the nation of the Gentiles generally, of whom, by the mouth of Isaith he saith planly, I was found of them who never sought me. Thereby manifesting, that the riches of his goodness without our merits, depend upon his mercies: yet unto such, to whom he giveth this particular grace, he requireth their diligence for their better furtherance; and that we should use his appointed means to attain unto that end he hath propounded unto us. That our eyes should not be evil, because he is good, nor our pains and carefulness be in the rearward, because his loving kindness is in the forward. 
Isal. 55  And therefore by Isaiah he crieth aloud saying: Seek the Lord while he is to be found, 
Amos. 5  call upon him whilst he is nigh. Answerable whereunto is that of Amos the Prophet, seek the Lord, and your souls shall live, whom our Saviour Christ answereth like the Echo, seek, and ye shall find, knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 
Math. 6.  The estate and condition of a christian life is laborious and painful.  
It was a law before the law, 
Gen. 3  that with the hard sweat of our foreheads, and labour of our hands, we should bring in our living. And the covenant of the law of the Gospel is so straight, as he that refuseth to undergo this labour, 
2. Thes. 3  his mouth must be muzzled, and he must not eat.  
The first Adam was not seated in the garden of Eden, 
Gen. 2  there to take his perambulations and his pleasure, and there to sit at ease, but to dig and dress it, and to take due pains with it. And the second Adam came not into this world, here to rest himself in a chair of ease, and to live without labour: but he did eat his bread, not only in the sweat, but also in the very blood of his face, and made his whole life, unto his very death an exceeding painful pilgrimage. 
Math. 25  He excluded the nodding and drowsy virgins, and did shut heaven gates against them. And he shaketh up very roundly the idle gazers and standers in the market place, 
Math. 20  and sent them into his vineyard for to labour in it. This life is the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts, into which, none but labourers are called. In this life we have but our labour only, our penny and wages for our labour is kept for us, to the life that is to come, where we shall hunger and labour no more, and where all tears shall be wiped from our eyes. Therefore the spirit in the Revelation saith: Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord, they rest from their labours, and their works follow them  
job calleth our life a warfare, 
job. 7  to express the painful nature, and condition of it, which rouseth us, and maketh us to truss up our loins, and to look about us. Else where he likewise saith, that a man is borne to travail, 
job. 5  as the sparks fly upwards; yea, as we may so say, 
Gen. 47  as the bird is made to fly wherefore jacob termed his life a pilgrimage, and Paul properly compareth it to a race.  
jacob his life, 
1. Cor. 9  whenas he sojourned with his uncle Laban, is the right line and level of our lives; if we live as we should do, which he storieth out himself, and rippeth up to Laban in this wise: 
Gen. 31  These twenty years haul I been in thy house, I was in the day consumed with heat, and with frost in the night, and the sleep departed from mine eyes.  
Seemeth this a hard thing? it cannot be but that hard things must be gotten hardly. 
A similitude.  He that is desirous to have the gold of India, must take a painful journey, and abide a great adventure, before he may attain it.  
As every thing hath his end, so there are means which we must use, which may bring us to this end. He that will be cured of a most grievous disease, must not refuse such physic as best serveth thereunto. 
Similitudes.  He that buyeth a bargain and purchase of land, immediately bethinketh himself therewithal, what may be the price of it. I know it, that albeit all labourers are not chosen, yet there are none but that are labourers chosen, and have their penny of the master of the vineyard.  
The fruitless figtree that hath nothing but leaves, 
Mar●. 11  is blasted at the breath of Christ's heavy displeasure, and so being dead in natural vegetation, it is twice dead in spiritual malediction. The edge of the sharp axe is put to with force to the root of the sear, and unprofitable tree, so as, serving not for fruit, it shall be hewed down and serve for the fire.  
Be our labour never so sour to us, yet it giveth a great sweetness and pleasure to those things which we bring in by labour. Wherefore that may be argument enough unto us, if there were nothing else to minister encouragement, to be painful and industrious in all godly enterprises. Do not all things seem sweet and delicious unto him, whose life is most laboursome? I refer you to the husbandman, and day-labourer herein, whose diet and quiet, through work and weariness, is more toothsome and delightsome, than his that surffeteth himself with ease, cowcheth on soft pallets, stalketh and strowteth sluggishly enough in his orchards and galleries, and pampereth himself with his new devised dishes.  
He that never laboureth, can never recreate, and refresh himself with ease. The pavement is a pallet more pleasurable to the labourer, than the field bed of down is to the lordly loiterer. A course and gross diet batleth, and better goeth down with the peasant, sweeting at the plough, than the finest food doth with the curious Courtier sweeting in his bed, or in his drowsy chair by the fire side.  
Survey the common course of all creatures under heaven, and we shall find that their condition and nature is such, as directly crosseth and overthwarteth all security.  
The heavens, the planets, 
Psal. 1●  and the whole frame thereof, have their distinct and peculiar motions, they go as a bridegroom out of his chamber, and rejoice as a Giant to run his course.  
The earth never resteth, but yearly yieldeth his natural increase, 
Psal. 104  bringing forth fodder for the cattle, and green herb for the service of man: wine, oil, liquors of all sorts, with long standing still, are corrupt, and wax sour, and unfit for any service.  
Gold, silver, and metals of all manner, do fret and canker, through disuse, being unoccupied. Every thing generally in his naturally use, thriveth, and for want thereof, perisheth.  
The horse, and other cattle, through want of travel, are seebler in the feet, and unfitter to travel.  
The bird that lieth, is not in such danger, but sitting still, is shot at with an arrow.  
The soldier that is the greatest sluggard, is the greatest coward, and thus we may extend and draw out our discourse with innumerable particulars. Wherefore, since the case standeth thus, 
Ephes. 5 Isai. 60  Awake thou that sleepest, and stand up from the dead, and Christ shall give thee life, idleness being nothing but a painted tomb and sepulchre, which burieth us quick.  
We hear here of a great purchase, of a Treasure, 
Psal. 119.  and a Pearl far better than our life. 
Psal. 108  Up therefore, why sittest thou still? why doth thy flesh cleave unto the pavement? summon with David harp and lute to awake, and say, 
Rom. 13  I myself will awake right early. Now, even now, 
Phil. 2  our salvation draweth nigh; Oh work we our salvation with fear and trembling. Now are we called to work in the lords vineyard, why then do we stare one upon an other, 
Math. 20  and stand idle in the market place? All riches and plenteousness is here offered unto us for our labour and pains: wherefore let us, for the reward sake, cheerfully undergo them. And in this case, be advised by wisdom, who giveth us this instruction: Call afterknowledge, 
Proverbs. ●  and cry for understanding, seek for her as silver, and search for her as treasure, and this will be the issue, We shall understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of our God.  
Shall jacob for the love that he did be are unto Rachel, serve two prentise-hoods, 
Oen. 29. etc.  twice seven years together, a most miserable master, (uncle I will not call him) he was so absurd, and of that bald behaviour every kind of way, as foisting in his bleared bird, Leah. for Rachel, and ten several times hucking and dodgeing with him for his wages, and shall we scotch to serve God so long, for the beauty, bravery, and bounty of a kingdom, who payeth us such great & exceeding wages, & never sticketh with us, but ever giveth us more than he doth promise us? Nay, rather than through idleness we will lose such blessedness, O Lord, by thy grace we are votaries with David, not to suffer our eyes to sleep, 
Psalm 13●  or our eye lids to slumber, or the temples of our, head to take any rest, until we find the temple of the Lord, the habitation of the mighty God of jacob: we shall shake off the sluggards sickness, who ever finds some fault or other with the season of the year, which is, either too hot, 
Proverb. 1●  or too cold, so as he is not able to give himself to work: or else he fears a lion lurking by the way, or a bear in the street, so as he cannot go forth out of his house. We can go to bed late, and arise early in the morning, and eat the bread of sorrow, and grudge at no pains in plodding, 
Psal. 127  and prowling after paltry worldly pearl and treasure that is transitory, and shall we stomach to labour in God's work, the worth thereof surmounting beyond the imagination of man, all the wealth whatsoever in the world.  
If a man should offer thee a huge heap of money, 
A similitude.  upon condition that thou shouldest run one holy day on his crand, and he should promise thee at thy return, at the days end to give thee this money: I know thou shouldst not need to have spurs to prick thee forward thou wouldst post it away cheerfully. It is thus with us: our life is called a day, our way which God hath set us to walk, is long, the wages and hire of our travail, is incomparable, run we therefore with David, 
Psalm 119  the way of God's commandments, and let our whole labour be employed thereupon.  
Hypocrates saith of the art of Physic, that the study of it is long, the experience of it doubtful, and our life but short, which he said not to discourage any from this laudable profession, but to incite us to follow after it, with a more earnest contention: the like may be said of our divine study, the physic of the soul, to animate us to all painful labour in this business, for the obtaining of this true treasure and inestimable jewel that is set before us.  
Solomon spent double more time in building his own house, 
1. King. 6  than he did in erecting & setting up God's temple; he did set it forward with such speed and diligence. A perfect presidence for us to do the like, teaching us to spend all the pains we can about the affairs of God's worship, and to be more careful of heavenly matters, than we are of our private and worldly commodities.  
If we would but consider and weigh with ourselves how we run upon the score, into what a deep debt with God and arrearages, we are fallen: the palpable and damnable security we take in matters of religion, cannot but seem admirable.  
The Roman Emperor Augustus, hearing how a nobleman of Rome was behind hand, & yet for all that took his sleep kindly, & snorted of both ears, spending no thought of acquittancing of any of it, was very desirous ●o buy the couch and pallet that he slept on; for he could but muse mainly at the matter, now a man in such deep debt, should take such deep rest. If we would bethink our selves, what bonds of duty we have broken and forfeited to God, our country, and our household, & chief to those of the household of faith: it is not possible that we should pass away our time in such dalliance, pastime, and pleasure, as we do, a great audite being nigh at hand; 
Matthew 12  wherein we must give up a very straight account, not only for works, but for every idle word, and for every vain thought: Oh than what sour sauce shall every banquet have; which we have had here, at which so rifly evil words have been uttered? well, well, when, God's servants shall return this message to their master that sent them, 
Zach. 1  We have gove through the world, and behold it sitteth still; and is at rest: What will Gods answer hereunto be but this, that their security shall yield them ●●tle safety? 
1. Thes. 5  for when they shall say, Peace, peace, all things are well, then shall come soda●● destruction upon them, as travail upon a woman labouring with child, and they shall not escape it.  
Was this security the downfall of Sodom, and her sister Gomorrha, 
Exech. 38  and their neighbour Towns about, who for all their dead sleep escaped not destruction, and their damnation sleeped not? 
Eccle. 33  The whip and burden belongeth to the Ass, correction and work unto the servant, send him to labour that he go not idle for idlanesse bringeth much evil, yea, it is indeed the root of all evil, and the spawn of all sin. I passed by the field of the slothful, (saith Solomon) and by the vineyard of the man destitute of understanding, and lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof. 
Prou. 24  Furthermore, this king in the wisdom of his spirit, made a singular use of this his meditation, in this matter to himself, He beheld and consideredit well, & received instruction by it, that a little sleep brought in a great deal of poverty, and a little slumber a great deal of necessity: Corruptions and vices spring up in the bodies and souls of the wicked, as thorns and briers in the fields of the slothful.  
The running stream giveth pure and wholesome fishes, 
A similitude.  but the standing pool engendereth frogs, and diverse noisome creatures.  
The land that is laid, and is unoccupied, 
A similitude.  what else produceth it but lascivious weeds, waxing waste and wild, like to a wilderness?  
If thou wouldst have thy soul empty of alunclean thoughts, replenish & fulfil it with all godly motions, and so no wickedness shall be able to enter in. For as the glass viol that ●s already full of water, 
A similitude  is not capable of any other thing beside: so the vessel of thy soul, being fraught with the best desires, it hath no lodging for evil disposed purposes.  
Nature teacheth thee with thy two hands to work, as it doth the bird with her two wings to fly.  
Behold how painfully the worldly man seeketh after wealth learn of him to seek for the true wealth indeed, and express thou his diligence and thou shalt attain unto it. Be not slow and slack in God's service, 
Gen. 4  as Cain in his sacrifice, but be as forward in duties of religion, 
Gen. 22  as Abraham was in his own sons oblation, of whom the Scripture saith that he arose early in the morning to sacrifice unto God.  
Thou canst not without labour with thy stoup and bucket draw water out of a well: 
A similitude.  much less without labour thou shalt draw this lively water from the wellspring of salvation.  
There are many main motives, and inducements to this duty. As the respect of our natural infirm condition, being in itself such, as without this treasure of the word of God, which ministereth present help to all our necessities we are not able in this present life tesustaine ourselves, much less to provide for our better estate in the life that is to come.  
The promises of God are pithy and plausible persuasions hereunto, by which he assureth us his assistance and direction in all our proceed, if so be laboriously we shall inquire and seek after him.  
Moreover, the precedents and examples of the faithful, are as good orators as we need to have to plead this assertion. Nicodemus a Pharisee every inch of him, of a very cursed sect, sought late for this treasure, and came to Christ by night to disturb him in his sleep, skulking in the dark, and like unto the night-owl, not daring to behold the Sun at noon day, politicly temporising and playing with both hands: yet was he not repulsed, but he found this treasure which was hidden from his knowledge, 
Ioh 3.  (albeit he was dubbed such a doctor among them) when Christ discoursed with him of the prime point of rudiment of regeneration. Mary Magdalen the harlot, the publican in the temple, the thief upon the cross, inquired after him whom their souls loved, and their labour was not lost, buthey enjoyed their desires. 
Math. 6  It is but Ask and have: seek, and find: knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Wherefore, seek for knowledge as for treasure, and for heavenly wisdom, as for the wedge of gold of Ophir, the Coral, the babish, 
job. 28  and the Onyx stone is not equal unto this. Sell not thy righteousness for silver, 
Amos 8  preferring the merchants of Babylon, before the citizens of Jerusalem. Be not like the Gadarenes, 
Luke 8  who for love of their swine, were willing enough to leave Christ, and willed him to departed out of their coasts.   

CHAP. VI  
Of the gladness of this evangelical Merchant, upon the finding of this treasure and Pearl of great price: under which, the joy which the Saints of God do feel, by the power of his word, typically is shadowed.  
THe word of God is not in nature unlike unto a fisherman's hook, 
A similitude.  for it taketh us as soon as it is taken of us. But herein it differeth, that it catcheth us not to kill us, but to save us alive; it hurteth and woundeth not but rather comforteth and healeth all our wounds.  
It is like unto fire, 
A similitude.  never ceasing, until it converteth all the fuel cast into it, into fire. This fire of the Spirit melteth all our hearts and resteth not, if it may take hold of them, until it turneth our sear and dry affections, into the hot burning coals of zealous dispositions. A glad man was this, as soon as he had with long digging in the ground found out the golden mine, his heart rejoiced, and his tongue was glad, 
〈…〉  his heart and flesh rejoiced in the living God, he went away ravished, and fulfilled with all joy.  
It seemeth therefore that he had a great guess of the price of this pearl, of the value, worth, and worthiness of this treasure. For there is none who taketh pleasure in any unknown thing: for, the sensible experience that we have of a thing, is that which breedeth in us our love unto a thing.  
And truly (dear christian) I will lay my soul upon it, that if thou shalt but taste how sweet the Lord is, and come unto God's word in godly sincerity, without politic partiality, thou wilt be so satisfied with the fullness of that joy, as nothing else, in comparison of this, shall be able to delight thee. 
A similitude.  For this is like the precious perfume of the apothecary, that taketh away an evil savour and leaveth a good behind it. 
Prou. 10  Thou shalt be like the buyer, of whom Solomon speaketh, who whiles he is in buying, disgraceth the thing, saying, It is nought, it can not be worth the money, but when he hath bought it, he boasteth of his penniworths, and wonderfully extolleth it, and saith it is far better than his money. 
A similitude.  As apples that are decocted with honey and sugar, looseth their old taste, and savour only of the honey, or the sugar: so our souls dedicated and devoted to heavenly things, they are nothing conditioned as they were before, but they rellise only the sweetness of God's word.  
It fareth with us, 
A similitude.  as with the Gentleman's hawk, who being hooded and blinded, is sluggish, and hath no pleasure to follow his game, and to soar aloft: but being unhooded, he taketh his flight, & with delight enough pursueth his pastime.: so we whom the god of this world hath blinded with earthly cogitations have no heart or stomach unto heavenly matters, and perceive not (being sensual and carnal men) the things that are of God: but if God unhoodeth us, and openeth unto us the eyes of our minds, than we fly up, as the hawk, on high; we look upon heaven, and have our whole conversation in heaven, and do place all our pleasure and felicity in heaven.  
As one nail or wedge is driven out with another, 
A similitude.  so one pleasure doth expel another: The joy and pleasure of the holy Spirit chaseth away the paltry pleasure of the world.  
Wherefore, such who are affrighted and dismayed within themselves at the preaching of the word, have not yet learned Christ, or understood what is the nature and operation of the word. The name of the gospel desciphereth plainly the nature of the Gospel: It is called evangelium, which signifieth Bonum nuntium, that is, a glad message, and tidings of great joy. Behold (saith Christ his heavenly harbinger Gabriel, 
Luke. 3.  unto the shepherds) I bring you tidings of great joy which shall be unto all the people. Behold what joy this is, it is not a slender and light kind of joy appertaining unto some few; but it is a great and universal joy belonging unto all.  
This joy (in some sort) is familiarly laid open, under the plain similitudes of harvest men, and of soldiers, at the end of their harvest, & at the dividing of their booties, 
Isai. 9  They have rejoiced before thee according to the joy of harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide a spoil. And what is the subject occasion of this joy, the Prophet there telleth thee. The yoke of their burden, the staff of their shoulder, the rod of their oppressor hast thou broken, as in the day of Midian.  
The Turk taketh a great company of prisoners, and putteth them to his galleys, 
A similitude.  and galleth and wasteth them with most cruel bondage. Their king sendeth his son with great power to procure their jail delivery: what joy and gladness is there now, as you imagine, in the hearts of these captives upon so happy news?  
Yet let us further press this sweet and comfortable doctrine, by making this the case. 
A similitude.  A serpent hath bitten a man unto the death with his venomous mouth, and there is no other means to preserve his life, but an other man's death, some man must die by licking him whole, and by taking away his rank contagion with his tongue; well, some base man of no reputation may serve this turn; yet life for life, that must be the ransom. But the case is quite contrary, a miserable man hath been stung by this serpent, and rather than he should die, the king sendeth his only begotten son, whom he nourished in his bosom, whom he made heir of all, with his sweet lips which were full of grace, to lick his contagious, and putrefying sores, and to die for him.  
Or, 
A similitude.  if you please, let us paraphrase thus: there are notorious thieves for capital crimes committed to the jail, and the doom of death by the scarlet judge is given out against them, and they must be executed all the sort of them: But lo, as God would have it, in the mean time cometh the King's son with his retinue and guard about him: at the sight of whom, these enormous caitiffs' out of their grates and prison holes, cry with a loud voice, saying, Save us master lest we perish. The King's son hereat amazed, and standing still, asketh his followers what this clamorous and shrieking outcry meaneth. They answer in this wise; they are famous malefactors, whom thy father hath imprisoned, and adjudged unto death, for their due demerits, and they are forthwith to be led out to execution, and to suffer death as traitors in the highest degree. But the bowels of this young Prince, moved with their doleful and most extreme estate, commandeth them to be slayde, and offereth himself as a ransom and redemption to his father for them. Whose heart is so stony, that will not be mollified and broken in pieces, upon tidings of such strange and unspeakable joy? Our case is even the same, and this is the benefit which we have by Christ, the object of our joy, the subject of the Gospel, which we preach unto you. By him we have deliverance from the thraldom of Satan, 
Psal. 107  being fast bound in misery and irons. By him, we that have been stung by the Serpent, the old red dragon, are healed again. And by his red blood the ransom of our sins, he hath pacified the wrath of his Father, and hath delivered us his prisoners, appointed unto death. For this cause, 
Psalm 126  let our tongues be filled with laughter and our hearts with joy. And let us gladly entertain all such as bring this happy legation unto us.  
The longing expectation which our Fathers had of this, 
john 8.  lifted up their hearts, and through this, they were comforted before he was exhibited.  
Abraham did see Christ, but a far off, and greatly rejoiced; we have him nigh at hand, and possess him in deed, whom they had but in hope, and therefore we have argument of greater joy than they.  
If Solomon so rejoiced, 
1. King. 8.  and all Israel with him, as the earth itself rang with the noise they made, when they brought the Ark of God into the Temple of God: much more ought we to rejoice, having had the lively Ark, 
Psalm 48.  the Son of God among us, and having seen the loving kindness of the Lord in the midst of the temple.  
The Eastern Magicians, 
Matth 2.  at the sight but of a star which conducted them to the way where Christ was to be borne, were exceeding glad: we have Christ himself directing us in the way that we are to walk, therefore we ought in duty to go beyond them in joyfulness.  
If great mirth and melody was in the father's house, 
Luke 16.  for the joyful welcome home of the prodigal son: whenas we prodigal children come home unto our father, and do his holy word, we shall likewise hear of joy and gladness, that the bones which he hath broken may rejoice.  
If john the Baptist leapt in his mother's womb, 
Luke ●.  upon the coming of the mother of Christ into his mother's house, how should we leap and skip like young Unicorns, whenas Christ by his word entereth into our souls?  
Finely saith Chrysologus, 
Chrysologus.  A letter comforteth but no longer than when the party is present that did send it. A bill of debt bindeth, but it hath no further use when the hand-writing is discharged. The flowers of trees are pleasant, but until such time as the fruit of them are ripe, the flowers are consumed in the fruits the obligation is canceled upon payment of the debt. Therefore, by how much the presence of the Bridegroom is welcomer than his letter; & the money better than the parchment scroll; and the Apples better than the ●lowers; the fruits of the spirit better than the flowers of the dead letter: so much joyfuller ought we to be, than our fathers of old time, who had but the epistle, covenant, and shadows, which were instead of leaves: we have the Bridegroom, the earnest penny itself the fruit of the holy-ghost, the substance of salvation effectually among us.  
A great difference is to be put between this joy, which this merchant conceived to himself, upon this happy having of this treasure, and that which he had before of his worldly treasure, whether bequeathed unto him by his friends, or brought in by his careful industry. For worldly joy is counterfeit, and mixed with much mourning. And of this the Prophet Esay thus speaketh: 
Isay 24.  All that were merry of heart do mourn: the mirth of the tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth.  
The fickle joy of this world, 
A similitude.  is like the fond joy of birds, picking karnells of corn under a net which is spread for them, and like the joy of fishes skudding in the water after a worm, under which a hook is covered. The world like Rachel seemeth to be beautiful: but God's word it is that is like Leah, fruitful.  
All worldly merriment is but mere madness, 
●celes. 1.  in the Wise man's judgement, I said of laughter, thou art mad, and of joy, what is it that thou dost (sayeth the wisdom of Solomon.)  
The insufficiency of worldly joy, the mutable and changeable condition of it: and of the contrary side, the solidity and stability of the joy that is spiritual, 
Genesis 25  is considered in the persons of Ishmael, and Isaac. Ishmael wandering in the wilderness of Bersheba, fainted in his journey, his water in his bottle was spent, and he grew thirsty, almost unto the death. But Isaac that was the son of the free woman, borne after the spirit, and not after the flesh, never was in want, 
Genesis 26  but he digged wells and fountains of living water, which streamed without ceasing. Worldly solace is soon finished & consumed, with the water that was in Ismaels' pitcher; but the comfort and gladness of the godly, as the spouts and conduit pipes of Isaac, spout out the waters of eternal life continually, 
john 16.  and this their joy and comfort shall no man take from them.  
The Manna of the Israelites, 
Exodus 16  is a special type of the singular comfort and sweetness of God's word, the Manna of our souls. The people of Israel witted not what it was: in like manner we know not what this is which is so sweet in our lips, and comfortable to our taste, which slacketh the thirst of earthly affections, and carrieth the mind after heavenly matters. 
A similitude.  For, as the little Ant, who hath smelled the sweetness of any honey or sugar, runneth to and fro through the smallest chinks and crannies of the ground, tickled and ravished with the pleasant scent of it: so the godly soul, who hath tasted how sweet the Lord is unto him, he runneth with all speed unto the savour of his sweet ointments, and more delighteth in the pleasure of his house.  
Lean not thou therefore upon the broken staff and rod of Egypt, which will deceive thee, put not thy trust in any help of man, set not thy mind upon earthly things, but rest upon god as the anchor of thy soul, and thy certain stay and refuge in all thy extremities. 
A similitude.  For, what aged weak man will commit the whole poised and burden of his body to a small and tender crutch, to be supported by it, which being overmuch charged with his burden, crusheth a pieces, and breaketh asunder, and giveth him a main overthrow, and if so be he do trust in it?  
It is not in the nature of earthly joy, 
A similitude.  to satisfy our minds. For it is with it, as with the estate of a man that hath an ague, who in the extremity of his burning fit, thinketh himself not a little eased, with a draft of cold drink, and indeed the heat is somewhat allayed and qualified for a time, but to his further vexation and danger in the end: for it feedeth and nourisheth his redundant humours in him: So, earthly joy seemeth to have some jollity in it at the first assay, but it is like cold water, pleasing in the beginning the inordinate and distempered desire of the mind; in the ending to work the greater torment and peril of the mind. For, 
2. Sam. 13.  be at that Ammon be for a brunt sick of love towards his sister Thamar, it is but for a fit, for having glutted his lust, and fulfilled his filthy mind, his hatred that he beareth towards her afterward, will far exceed all that outward love which he showed her before.  
If we knew but the end of worldly delights, which maketh us such show of sweetness in the beginning, we could never fancy them. It is short that delighteth, and eternal that tormenteth.  
There be some ulcers that breed under the skin, 
A similitude  by reason of a salt running humour that aboundeth, which so tickleth the skin with a pleasurable itch, as by the rubbing of them to and fro with the fingers, for the time, it seemeth much delightsome, but when the itch ceaseth, immediately thereupon the sore increaseth, rankling, festering, and burning exceedingly: so worldly vain joy that doth but tickle us at the first, doth but double our smart and misery at the last.  
The bird that is enclosed in the net, 
A similitude.  doth not feel it at the first, but in the end, when she would fly away, she sensibly findeth it: So men, entangled with the snares of the Devil, the pleasures of this world, which we swiftly like a bird fly into, privily in this net are our feet taken, and before such time as we would escape out of it, we cannot espy it.  
The joy that the world yieldeth, 
A similitude  pierceth no further than the bodily sense, it doth not touch, or come near the inward man. It doth no more good than a spoonful of cold water dropped into his mouth that hath an extreme ague, which cools his palate, but riddeth not his thirst, for the heat that is within him presently consumeth it, before it can enter and pass into the stomach.  
In the presence of God, is the fullness of all joy, and without him there is nothing but heaviness. 
Psalm 42.  David could not eat the bread that did him good whilst the enemy vexed him, and asked him, saying, Where is now thy God? If God be not with us, 
Psal. 137.  we may hang our haps upon the willow trees: For there is joy and gladness only in the dwellings of the righteous, and only they that are true of heart shallbe glad. 
Psal 118.  The organs, shacks-but, 
Psalm 64.  and tunable pipes sounded aloud, 
Luke 15.  and filled the house, when the prodigal son came home unto his father: when we return from our sins unto our father, 
Psalm 30.  we shall put off our sackcloth, and gird ourselves with gladness, 
Psalm 16.  for at his right hand are abundance of pleasures for evermore.  
But of this joy, which is the true joy indeed, which the gospel doth beget in the hearts of those that love it, can none better speak, than such, who have had a lively feeling of the same, whereof in holy page we have innumerable examples. Virtue cometh out of every part of this, as out of the fringe and garment of Christ. For as Christ with five loaves and two fishes fed five thousand men; 
Acts 2.  so Peter with one sermon did convert three thousand souls. 
Acts 26.  Agrippa hearing the Apostle Paul but once, was almost made a christian. The Eunuch hearing Philip but once, he became a convert. 
Acts 8.  Zacheus hearing Christ but once, for joy, he shared out his goods unto the poor. 
Luke 19  Innumerable souls that have lighted upon the word, have lighted upon salvation, but without the word I find none that hath been converted, & hath found this salvation. The dead have heard the voice of Christ, and have been restored unto life. The blind have heard the word of Christ, and have received sight: the dumb have heard the word of Christ, & their tougs have been loosed, and they have glorified Christ. The lame have heard the voice of Christ, and they have skipped; the winds, and they have ceased. The sea, and it hath been calmed. The devils, and they have obeyed: But we, far worse than they, hear it continually, and are not reclaimed.  
A sinner can no sooner resign his sinful life, and betake himself to a christian godly course, but a strange metamorphosis and change immediately is to be seen in him, and the inward effects of the blessed word of god will soon be espied, by his outward glad affects.  
As Haman was so exceeding joyful when he was bidden to the banquet to the King, 
Ester 5.  as he could not conceal it, but he must needs boast to his wife and neighbours of it: so the righteous being called by the preachers of the word to the supper of the Lamb, and to the kingly marriage, they can not but make their godly boast of it, and all the day long be talking thereof.  
As heat that is hid under a thick cloud, 
A similitude.  will not be restrained from breaking forth into a thunder and great noise: So the heat of God's word abiding in our heart, resteth not, but it searcheth all the parts and maketh great motions and commotions in them.  
There be diverse kinds of houses builded, two chambers, or three chambers high, like the Ark of Noah; and in such, that noise which is made in the higher room descendeth to the lower, and is easily heard in it. The inward man is much of this making, standing upon two lofts, in the upper room lodgeth his understanding and will, and below couch his sensual and brutish affections and grosser motions that are carnal, and beastly: and these two distinct pavilions are so compact, and conjoined together, and there is such a combination betwixt them, as let there be any stir more than is ordinary in the higher room, they that dwell beneath are made partakers of it. If God his love be earnest in motion in the inward and spiritual man, it is wonderful how the outward and carnal man is possessed with it. They go hand in hand together, like unto two Twins, sampling and fulfilling this Aphorism of the Prophet David, My heart, and my flesh, rejoiced in the everliving God. Psalm eighty four.  
If as yet through want of knowledge of the word of God, thou hast had no feeling of the joyful effects of it: do but taste and feel how sweet the Lord is, and thou shalt soon perceive it. The ignorance of it, is the only main cause of our general loathing of it.  
Gregory showing the odds that is betwixt both kinds of joy, that which the world yieldeth, & that which the word offereth, passing elegantly discourseth in this wise. Bodily pleasures, whenas they are wanting us, as most desired of us, and being fulfilled with them, we are soon glutted and surfeited with them. But spiritual joy, the more we are without it, the less we esteem to have it, but the more we have it, the greater affection and pleasure we have in it.  
In earthly delights our appetites only please us, which being fully to our desires served, they presently do displease us. In heavenly things our appetites only fail us, and the sole experience and feeling that we have of them, only doth affect us. In the other, our appetite doth engender fullness, and fullness breedeth fulsomeness: but in these, our desires beget fullness, and fullness increaseth continually more delightsomnes. The more the sweetness of this joy is perceived, the more ardently it is loved, the better it is known of us.  
A sottish country man obscurely mewed up all his before, 
A similitude.  in a base and simple cottage, when he cometh to the famous city of London, he stareth about him every step that he doth make, & is a man made of wonders, every object which is before his eyes, being unto him a subject of wonder. It is not so with them that are borne citizens, and there have their abode, their long continued conversation of that place, taketh away all admiration of the place. Those who have hitherto dwelled in Egyptian and damnable darkness, who are rude, and ignorant and as a beast before him, when it pleaseth the Lord that they should lift up their eyes, and behold the light, and with that eye of Faith, see that great city, not of London, but of Jerusalem, not to see new stately houses, but to see new glorious heavens, they are in a world of wonder, they are astonished and suddenly cast down, they marvel to see such things; and sensibly, they feel that which before they believed not. But the free denizens of this jerusalem, who do serve the Lord day and night in the temple, and are always before him, they muse not at that which they have so long enjoyed, which have been their comfort in all their afflictions, with faithful hearts acknowledging with holy David in all dutiful thanksgiving; 
Psal. 31  How great is thy goodness which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee, and done to them that trust in thee, even before the sons of men?  
As the Lord of old, when his Israelites wandered through the waste wilderness, toward his promised land of Canaan, which abounded with milk and honey, provided Manna, a celestial diet for them, and fed them with the bread of heaven: so, for us who are travelers, as all our fathers were in the wilderness of this world, the Lord hath likewise given us Angels food, the word of God, the spiritual Manna, whereby we live for ever. Now as the former rellised most pleasantly in their mouths, and contained all toothsome and delightsome taste in it; which all other his sweet creatures jointly or severally could afford unto us: So this Manna and diet of our souls is instead of all delights, and dainties unto us, and is like a perfume which hath odour for every one.  
This the spouse sensibly did taste and feel in the presence of her bridegroom, 
Cantie. 1  and therefore she desireth to be still united unto him, and that he would kiss her with the kisses of his mouth, inasmuch, as her love is better than wine, and because of his sweet ointments, for which the virgins loved her.  
Of this joy our Saviour Christ speaketh in his general proclamation, 
Math. 11  under the comfort and refection, unto which it pleaseth him most graciously to invite us, by our obedience unto his word, saying unto us: Come unto me ally that travail, and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you.  
Such therefore, as make that the argument of their sorrow, which should be unto them an occasion of great joy, who are grieved and disquieted at the preaching of the word, who entertain a preacher with no other congee, than Achab did Elias, saying unto him, 
1. Reg. 21  art thou come my enemy hanging down their heads like bul-rushes, 
Isaiah 58.  when the ovice of the preacher toucheth their sins, and with the sword of the spirit launcheth them deeply, and cutteth them to the heart, saving within themselves, 
john. 6  Durus est hic sermo: This is a hard saying, and who is able to abide it? Such, I say, 
A similitude.  may well be likened unto those, who suffer shipwreck at the havens mouth, and the key side, the only place of harbour, and refuge in such danger.  
But we cannot be ignorant, how untoothsome and unwholesome this spiritual diet is, to the stomachs, and affections of the greater sort, who are grossly minded. 
A similitude.  And we marvel not much at it. For as swine are not delighted with the smell of sweet herbs, but with the stinking savour of corrupt, carrion: so swinish souls regard not the fragrant odour of the sweet word of GOD, but they drink puddle, as an ass drinks water, and their pleasure is to wallow in the mire of their sins.  
The wicked, 
A similitude.  who are senseless, and without feeling, both of God and godliness, are like green and moist faggot sticks, which are so far from taking hold of the fire put under them, as through the sap that distilleth from them they do extinguish and utterly overcome it. The hearts of the godly, are of the nature and condition of the gunpowder, which is presently set on fire by the lest touch but of a spark that is put unto it. So the fire of God's word is choked and smothered in ungodly men, being not a fit combustible subject to work upon. But it soon maketh a light and bright flame, in the souls of his saints, as being a sulphurous and apt matter, upon which it may extend and exercise his force.  
A kettle of water set on the fire, 
A similitude.  as soon as it conceiveth the heat thereof, expresseth, as we see, the motion of the fire, for albeit, it be a heavy and weighty body, and so by nature should descend, yet when it boileth, it layeth aside his nature, and bubbleth, ariseth, and ascendeth upward in the manner of fire. The bodies of the righteous, howsoever by nature they are of an earthly and heavy substance, and so do bend downward and have a prospect to the world: yet the fire of God's spirit that burneth within them contrary to their course, lifteth them upward, and causeth them to mount up to heaven.  
Wherefore, as john wept until the book was opened, 
Apoc. 5  and so soon as it was opened, all the Elders sung: so let us adjudge it to be the greatest cause of weeping, when the word is taken from us, and the best occasion that can be of joy, when it is restored and given to us again.  
Therefore be like unto this learned Lapidary, and learn out the value and price of this pearl, and thou shalt soon find joy in it.  
It is a memorable example that Socrates in his ecclesiastical history, setteth down of a certain Abbot, who dieting himself with bread that was of a gross and coarse grain, 
Hist. Trip●●●. lib. 8 cap. ●  answered thus finely such who would know his reason thereof of him. I take my whole repast upon this bread that is so sour, so vild, & mean, that nothing but God might be of any pleasure and delightsomeness with me. Oh that we were thus devoted unto God, and stood so affected towards heavenly things! it could not be otherwise but that they would express their joyful effects in us. 
A similitude.  For even as those that walk in the Sun, be the occasion of what it will, must needs be parched and coloured with the Sun: so they that shall walk in the sunshine of God's word, the light of the world, I doubt not, but that it shall comfort their hearts, and warm their souls with the love thereof, and alter their conditions, and set a new dye and hue upon them, and minister such joy as they are not able to conceive.   

CHAP. VII.  
¶ By the example of this Merchant, who did hide his Treasure, the necessity, not only of the hearing of the word, but also, of the faithful hiding it in our hearts, is manifestly evicted.  
FOrasmuch as this jeweller, when he lighted upon this Treasure, was as careful in keeping it, as he was joyful in having it, which he evidently showed in his provident hiding of it: it is argument enough to conclude the necessity, not only of the reading and hearing of the word, but also of the industrous preserving it in our hearts. Without this, the immortal seed of god's word, 
A similitude.  shall never take deep root and fructify in our hearts. For, even as the seed that is strewed upon the furrows of the earth, unless it be ploughed in, and buried in the earth, that thereby it may take root, can never spring up, and be fit for the harvest: so the word of God, unless it may be thoroughly fixed in our hearts, and there abide and remain his full time, it will never yield any grain of good works, or serve to any profitable purpose any way.  
We must not be truants in the Church of God, as Scholars in the school, or be idle in the church, as children in the market, who neither buy, nor sell; but we must hear, mark, and hide up that which is taught us.  
As the iron steel, 
A similitude.  so long as it is cold, can not be joined and united to another: and as a sword that is right, cannot be put into a scabbard that is crooked: so the cold affections, cannot be so near conjoined, as they ought, to duties of devotion: and crooked consciences are not fit cases to hide and keep in them, the sharp and two edged blade of God's spirit.  
If there were a lettuce, into which we might but peep into the hidden heart of man, we should soon perceive how few of those many, to whom this treasure of God's grace is offered, and who come unto the word, come in this good spirit to this good & godly end, to benefit themselves by it, to hide it with this good Merchant, in the secret closet of his heart.  
Some come like Summoner's, and hollow hearted; 
Math. 22  Herodians, to trip and entangle the preacher in his words, and if he can catch any thing, that by his misconstruing it may but seem offensive to the present state, he writes it in his tables, and he runneth as Doeg the Edomite to Saul, 
2. Sam. 21.  and maketh a great tale of it, such a one is a devil called in the Scriptures, the accuser of our brethren. 
A similitude.  Such hide the word indeed, but only for a time, and that part which maketh for them: and they resemble brood hens, who peck up barley carnells with their beak, but they keep them not, but let them fall again to their young chickens of their feather.  
Othersome hear, to please their itching ears, and observe only figures and colours of Rhetoric, conceited invention, histrionical discoursing a fine phrase or two, & that they carry with them. 
Hoses 1●  Such are fed as Ephraim with the wind, with round periods, & square words, without any substance or show of any matter. 
A similitude.  Plutarch compareth such unto those who carry nosegays about them, only for the smell, and outward show of them, and not for any virtue that is hidden in them.  
Others are newfangled, 
Acts 17. A similitude.  like unto Athenians, and do listen after news; and if the Preacher be a like man to discourse of novelties, he is a lure unto them.  
Some come to scoff, others for their fancy, 
A similitude.  others for a fashion, for they do no good, no more than young children, whom we lead with us to church, and carry home with us: for either their thoughts are dispersed to and fro, so as they are like the starlings and doves that fly about the Church, or else they fall asleep, and are, for a time, like a dead corpse, without any motion. They think as Samuel, 
1. Sim. ●.  that it is not God that speaketh unto them, and therefore devoutly they return unto their sleep. Thus our greatest sort of hearers, if we divide them aright, either have no pitchers, or else they leave their pitchers behind them; or else, if they bring them, they are cracked and broken pitchers that will hold no water in them.  
But the good sort of hearers, as bees out of flowers gather honey out of the flowers of the word: 
A similitude.  and as skilful A pothecaries make many good confections for diverse kinds of sicknesses of such simples as they gather: so these out of the field and garden of Eden, and such simples as that yieldeth, make such electuaries, and physic for the soul, as shall be restorative, and shall cure the soul.  
The godly hear the Preacher, as the patiented the physician, 
A similitude.  who adviseth and remembreth his precepts given unto him.  
If we knew what rubs do lie in our way, to keep us from the heedful hearing of the word, and the hiding, and laying it up as we should, what thorns, what tars, what tetters do spring up, to choke and stifle the towardly growth of the good seed of the word in unsettled hearts, more than the necessity of this point would be confirmed, and apparent unto us. 
A similitude.  It is as impossible to win all unto the word, as it is for the wood-reeve and wisest husbandman to alter the condition of every wild tree: or for the Huntsman to tame and keep under every wild beast.  
The brackish water of the sea, though it be not good for drinker, 
A similitude.  yet it serveth well for sundry other uses; it is good for fishes, that do live in them, and to transport & bring in our wares and necessities. The word of God is unsavoury unto many, but to the godly man who liveth by it, as the fish by that element, findeth very wonderful relief by it.  
The word of God that is preached in our ears, is by the devil taken out of our hearts, 
judge 6.  who destroyeth this good seed, as the Madianites destroyed the corn grounds of Israel.  
men's hearts, are like unto the high way, 
A similitude.  upon which, all the seed that is scattered, is lost: we see how a fruit tree that groweth by the way can not preserve her fruits till they be ripe, for every passenger hath a fling at them. But such as are far removed from the eye, and grow solitarily by themselves, such do reserve their fruits to due season. Wherefore depart from the high way of this world, and have no doings with it, but hide such fruit as this tree of Life yieldeth thee, secretly from such as would rob thee of it, and thou shalt keep justice, and righteous dealing, faith and good conscience, the fruits of a good christian, unto the very end.  
There is also hard ground, 
A similitude.  into which this immortal seed cannot enter; hard and stony consciences, which admit not wholesome doctrine: and they are like such, who having corrupt and putrefied members, their senses are so senseless, and benumbed, as the Surgeons Saw, or other iron instrument is not felt of them. 
Psal. 22  Therefore, before we can do ourselves good, our hearts, as David's, must be like melting wax, or else it receiveth not the impression of the word.  
But the thorn that pricketh and choketh this good seed, that it cannot abide, and be hidden in our hearts, is the wealth of this world, which we will have, we are so set upon it, though we pierce ourselves through with innumerable sorrows. Like desperate lewd boys hat will venture to go through a quick. 
A similitude.  set of thorns, briers, and brambles to rob an orchard plot.  
Moses seethe a burning bush, 
Exod. 3  which consumeth not in burning: so worldlings are in the midst of burning thorns, and yet are not consumed: wherefore, unless we remove these blocks that lay in our way, and subdue these enemies and sinful affections, and have our hearts like to good ground, capable of this seed, and of virtue to retain it, all our preaching, and your hearing, is in vain, and this poetical invention fitteth us.  

Quid facis Oenone? quid arenae semina mandas?  
Non profecturis littora bobus arras.   

Take not in hand to sow such land, as is but sandy flore:  
It quites not cost, it's labour fit, to blow up Ocean shore.   
The good ground are they, 
Luke. 8  by the testimony of Christ, who with honest and good hearts hear the word, and keep it, make their hearts the bag to carry this treasure.  
The good man's heart is the ark of the covenant, 
Hebr. 9  wherein, not only the tables of the old Law, but the Gospel of the new, is hidden and locked up.  
It is a fools heart that is like a broken pitcher that holdeth no water: or like a spendthriftes purse that holdeth no money: of a giddy and changeable disposition, as leaves of trees, shaking every way with eucry puff of wind; turning round about, as the door upon the hinges; and as a tennis ball that is tossed to and fro, and not suffered to rest upon the ground.  
In the old Canons, such beasts as did not ruminate and chew the cud (as swine, 
Leuitic. 1● Deuter. 14.  and such like) were defined to be unclean by the Law of Moses, as no doubt those souls are, who do not ponder and lay up in their hearts such precepts and commandments as the Lord giveth them.  
Therefore, that you may not hear the word in vain, the best counsel that may be given you, is this, to record and write in the tables of your hearts, such lessons as you do learn.  
You must follow the Angel's counsel to Ezechiel, 
Ezechiel 3  saying unto him, Son of man, eat this roll that I give thee, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll. The like charge did the Angel give to john, that he should eat and digest the book. 
Revel. 10.  It is the fashion and guise of many, to read much, but to eat little, to devour a great deal, but to digest and concoct nothing. They return from the sermon to their dinner, and remember nothing, no longer than their bodies are in the church; as Sives that hold no water no longer than they are holden within the river.  
These men labour of a dangerous disease, 
A similitude.  that is next to death's door, for their case is like unto that sick man's estate, whose stomach is so weak, as it is not able to retain and keep such meat as is put into it, but immediately doth cast it up. His life is in his nourishment, which if he cannot keep, how is it possible that he should keep his life?  
I therefore fear much their eternal death, who loath and leave the diet of the soul, which only preserveth the life of the soul. And the prophet David seemeth to conclude so much, and to make it an infallible and irrefragable consequence. 
Psalm 107  Their souls (faith he) abhorreth all kind of meat. And what followeth hereupon? They are next unto death's door.  
Is there possible any good to be had in the only hearing and reading of the word, without any further heed thereunto?  
Can the hen hatch chickens of those eggs, 
A similitude.  which, after she hath a little set upon in the nest, she immediately utterly forsaketh them? It is against all belief: no more can we bring forth any good by the hearing of the word, which as soon forgotten as it is heard of us.  
There is nothing more forcible and effectual than fire, 
A similitude.  powerful to consume, but it must have a time to take hold of his combustible subject, before it can show his strength upon it: For, if thou runnest swiftly through it, be the fire never so quick, thou canst not be scorched, or once singed with it. A stay must be made, that it may apprehend and clasp the fuel, or else it is impossible that it should consume it.  
God's word is the fire of the spirit, 
Luke 24.  which inflameth all our hearts, and maketh them to burn like a torch, which burneth up all our sins like stubble. But if we slubber it up carelessly, and haste away from it, and make no stay at it, that it may kindle the coals of zeal within them: it shall never kindle, or warm our cold consciences, or give them any comfort.  
Wherefore, be persuaded to follow this course which reason adviseth thee, and the practice and examples of the better sort at all times, have animated and incited thee unto.  
Christ's Disciples were led by this rule, 
Luke ●.  whenas their thoughts did run upon his speech, and brought them back again to ask the meaning of it.  
The Virgin Mary is a woman twice or thrice noted for this, 
Luke. 12.  that she pondered with herself the words of the Angel, and what kind of salutation is should be, and that she lodged such sayings as the heard secretly in her heart.  
The men of Berea are registered in the chronicles of the spirit for this, 
Act. 17  that they carried home with them the Sermon of Saint Paul, that they might try and examine by the scriptures whether things were so or no.  
So David used this, for thus he speaketh of himself, saying: 
Psalm 119  I have hidden thy commandment within my heart, that I should not sin against thee. There is this mark of difference between jacob and his sons, when joseph discovered his dream unto them; his brethren vouchsafed, not to give high audience, but the text saith, 
Gen. 37  that jacob noted the saying.  
As spicery yieldeth thee more forcible smell, 
A similitude.  the more it is brayed and stamped in the mortar: so the word of God is of better savour to us, the more it is beaten and bruised in our hearts.  
Wherefore this our Marchant-Ieweller is wise, who hideth his treasure assoon as he findeth it. And he doth but that which is of common practice.  
The Captain or Lieutenant, 
A similitude.  to whom the general Governor in the field shall commit a tower or a strong city to be kept, not only fortifieth it with garrison and munition, but foreseeth it to be so diked and fenced round about, as it may be sure against intended invasion.  
If we shall be thus provident for the safeguard of this treasure, which the enemy so subtilely endeavoureth to have from us, and keep that thus carefully, which our general commander, the Lord of Hosts hath committed to our trust, and of which he will one day take a straight account of us, we shall like loyal subjects discharge our duties well, and shallbe very highly rewarded of him for it.  
Let the example of Ezechias be a fair warning to us, 
2. Reg. 20  and let us bind it as a sign upon our hands, who for opening that treasure unto the ambassadors of Babylon which should have been privately kept to himself, and hidden from them, gave occasion to the enemy afterward to rob his posterity of it.  
As those that do lay siege to any great place, 
A similitude.  do stop such passages, by which they may conceive their enemy may be succoured: so the devil an old beaten soldier, to this craft, intercepteth all the keys and ports, by which he knoweth the Lord conveyeth unto us the comfort of his spirit: especially the word, the convoy, and viati●um, and relief of the whole man, and therefore we cannot be too careful of it.  
We see how every Prince's exchequer is strictly kept, 
A similitude.  they must pass through many walls, doors, and locks, that intent to rifle it. Let us therefore keep our heavenly treasure, which far surmounteth this, as fast locked up, that it may be rescued from the hand of the robber.  
As Ladies fasten their pearls to golden 
A similitude.  chains, or twisted ribbons, that they might not be lost: so let us fasten this pearl to our heart, that it may not be lost.  
This we shall do, if we shall continue as we begin in the spirit. If, as we hear, we mark and lay up, that which we have heard: if we resort unto sermons, not for carnal respects, but for the glory of God, to receive comfort from them, if our treasure shall be where the heart is, as the heart is where the treasure is.  
Be not therefore slack, and remiss in this duty, for if it be not continued and well kept, it will be gone from thee.  
Such as keep it not when they have it, 
A similitude.  are compared by saint james to a man that beholdeth his face in a glass. 
jam. 1  The man looketh not so well on the glass, as the woman doth, for the man carelessly seeing a spot and blemish in his face, letteth it alone; but the woman curiously prieth into it, and with a linen cloth wipeth away every little moth, and whatsoever she espieth amiss in her. Is this point of wisdom to learn of a woman it is no disgrace unto us, to be as nice to reform by the glass of God's word, every spot and wrinkle of the soul, as women are by an outward glass to do away the stains, and uncleanness of the flesh.  
It is labour lost to plant a vineyard, 
A similitude  if before it should yield his sweet and pleasant grape, the hedge be broken up, and the way be laid open for the wild board out of the wood, 
Psal. ●0  and the bear out of the forest, to devour and root it up. It is in vain to plough the ground, and to sow thy field, and to neglect thy harvest: to fight manfully at the first brunt, and before the victory, like a silly coward to take thee thy to heels; to lay a good foundation, and not to go forward with the rest of the building: so to sail prosperously in the wide Ocean, and to perish at the key side, to go to school for a time with children, and a little while after, to give it over quite.  
Blessed are they that hear the word and keep it, 
Luke. 11  and hide it in their heart, saith Christ, for that is the use, 
A similitude.  & the end of it. If we hear it to any other vain end, we do like idle boys, who being sent into the street by their parents, for to buy a thing, do loiter by the way, and gaze upon every vain and idle toy, that they see before their eyes.   

CHAP. VIII.  
That this heavenly Treasure, is to be preferred and esteemed of us, above all earthly riches.  
COmparisons between heavenly and earthly riches, are both odious and dangerous. There is as great difference and odds between them, as between light and darkness, righteousness and unrighteousness: God, and Belial. 
1. Cor. 6   
He that seethe a Physician to make good account of such herbs and simples, 
A similitude  which himself in simplicity hath ever trampled underfoot, argueth himself by this man ●●ection of former indiscretion.  
We have hitherto been too erroneously led with an object opinion of duties of religion. The lusts of the flesh have been more set by, than the laws of the spirit; this present evil world, more than Gods most blessed word: and momentany vanity, more than endless felicity.  
The base brat of the bondwoman, too presumptuously lordeth the son of the freewoman; a deadly debate and dispute there is about Moses his body, between the Angel and the devil, not that each of them might have part, but which of them should have al. And thus whilst the strife is endless between them, we are put to our dumps and doubts within ourselves, with the damsel that hath many suitors coming to her, and knoweth not whom to choose.  
This Gospel like a Goldsmith is in the right, and his imitation is our best direction. His cunning serveth him to make chiefest choice of that which we chief do debase: and for the gain of godliness, which we esteem of least, to barter away as beggarly trash, all worldly kind of wealth which we set by so much.  
This man, for the gain of his golden mine, and for the purchase of this matchless pearl, giveth over all, whether it was bequeathed unto him by legacy, or coffered up since, by foreseeing industry, whatsoever it was, it was mortgaged, and sold for the purchase of piety.  
And surely, herein his choice is very good, and cannot be reproved. 
A similitude.  For better reason ruleth him, and wisdom that goeth beyond the reach of man's wisdom is his warrant in this action.  
Is it not good reason, when offer is made to him of the wedge of gold, at the same rate which the foil and rays are set at, which this metal casteth, and the true pearl indeed standeth him in no more, then that would do which is counterfeit & of glass, that he should more esteem of the one than the other? the treasures of God's kingdom are offered unto him at the same charge that he bought his worldly wealth: true pearl is as cheap as the dung of the earth unto him: I marvel not therefore, that be accounted other things as lost, to win and wear this inestimable jewel.  
The rudest poorest peasant, 
A similitude  that feedeth most grossly, masting himself with acorns, a swinish food, if he may have wheat as cheap, a pure and kind repast, the natural strength and staff of man's life, he would be glad of such an exchange, & would cope the other for it. Worldly riches are but hoggish husks, rather filling us then fatting us, rather aggravating, then recreating the stomach; if Manna, which is heavenly and angelical food, may be given us for this, I hold him miserably mad that shall make refusal of it.  
If God doth put upon us the persons of Agamemnon, and will make us kings for ever, have we reason still to bear the image of Thersites, and to live as servile slaves and caitiffs' for ever?  
See we not how Clergy men do resign and give up their mean and smaller livings, 
A similitude.  whenas benefits of more worth and sufficiency are given them? if the benefits which the spirit yieldeth, are of more value than such which the world is able to afford us, why work not we so wisely, as to make our choice of them?  
What esteemed Saul the loss of his asses, 
1. Sa. 9 & 10.  when he found a Kingdom? The wealth of this world is a burden fit for asses, it is meet that we should disburden ourselves of it, being called to a Kingdom: Abraham made no reckoning of Vr of the Chaldeans, 
Gen. 12  of his own kindred or his father's house, when the Lord did prefer him to a better exchange, multiplying his nation, and increasing his joy.  
David no more followed his ewes big with young, 
Psal. 78  when the Lord had called him to go before his people.  
The Baptist hunted not for honour of the world, 
Math. 3  when the spirit gave him summons in the wilderness of judea, to be a Forerunner and Preacher of his word.  
Matthew being called to the chair Apostolic, 
Matth. 9  left his custom seat. Peter, to embark himself in Christ's ship, and to be of his household forsook his torn nets, his fisherman's boat, and the affairs of this world.  
Zacheus preferred the usury of godliness, 
Luke 19  before the usury of sinfulness.  
Moses would no longer abase himself to keep jethro his sheep, when his heavenly father imposed upon his shoulders a charge of greater weight, even the keeping of his people.  
One thing that was necessary Mary more setteth by, which was spiritual, 
Luke 10  than those many things, about which her sister plodded, which were but only temporal. Tu nanigas, sedilla iam in portu est, saith Saint Augustine. 
Aug. Tom. 1● in haec verba Lucae.  Martha sailed in the troublesome sea; but Mary was arrived quietly at the haven. Erant in illa domo istae duae vitae, & ipse fons vitae. In Martha erat imago praesentium, in Maria futurorum. Quod agebat Martha ibi sumus, quod agebat Maria hoc speramus: hoc agamus benè, ut illud habeamus plenè, Again, saith the same father: There was in this one house, two kinds of lives, and in the midst of them, the fountain of all life. In Martha are figured those things that are present: but Mary bears the image of things that are to come. That which Martha did, we all enjoy. That which Mary did, we all do hope for. Let us do this dutifully to obtain the other plentifully.  
He that laboureth for the world, 
A similitude.  is like a soldier pressed to the wars, and but putting on his harness, and hired but for very slender wages, and that not duly paid him, object and subject to all kind of danger: but he that laboureth about the word and doctrine, is like the soldier that hath won the field, that putteth off his harness, and is out of gun-shot, and triumphantly, and joyfully divideth the spoil.  
God is in us, God is with us, and we are with God, in our godly exercises: whenas we are in prayer, we talk with God: when we sit at the Preachers feet, God speaketh unto us. What a blessing is this? what is dust and ashes, 
Gen. 18  that the Lord should speak unto him, or he speak to the Lord?  
When this jeweller saw the beauty and riches of God's house, 
A similitude.  he cared not for seeing any more his own house. It is with him as with those that behold the Sun in his orient brightness, who having fully fixed their eyes upon it, it so dazzleth their sight with his radiant beams, as when they come home, and do go apart into any inward closet, the room seemeth darkness unto them. So such as look upon (with the eye of faith) the son of righteousness, and are dazzled with the corascant surpassing hue of it, the things of this world seem obscure unto him, as soon as again he shall set his eyes upon them.  
He that hath a taste of the good spirit, of the joys that are to come in an other life, letteth fall the love of the world from him, as Elias rapt to heaven, 
2. Reg. 2.  did let fall his Mantle from him to the earth.  
In the beginning of the creation God himself divided light and darkness asunder, 
Gene. 2  to teach us to distinguish, & to put a difference between the works of light and darkness, and not to confound and jumble them together.  
The first thing that God willed, 
Gen. ●  after that he made man, was, that he should increase and multiply. But this propagation and fruitful increase must begin in the best manner, not in the flesh, or world, but in the spirit. Christ, in his copy, or rule of prayer prescribed unto us, telleth us what things are to be first sought for, in willing us, first to pray for such things which concern God, as the hallowing of his name the coming of his king doom, the fulfilling of his will: before we prefer any suit for ourselves that respect the world, and appertain unto the flesh, as daily bread, and such other things as follow.  
It pleased Christ, 
Luke 6  not to found his Church upon the earth, 
Math. 16 8. Corin. 10  but upon a rock, to teach us, not to build upon the things of this world, but upon the rock, which is the Spirit.  
We are willed to lay up this treasure, which is heavenly; but that which is earthly, is not to be kept for times that are to come, which we may never see. Therefore, the same day that the oblation was offered, 
Levitle 7. Exod. 12. Exod. 18  it was by the Lord commanded to be eaten. As likewise there was nothing of the Paschal Lamb to be reserved to the morrow, by his positive injunction.  
The Manna that putrefied and swarmed with worms, hatched up by the Israelites for the day following, is not an obscure argument of the judgement of God hanging over such, who cark and prowl so miserably for this world.  
The great Doctor of the Gentiles illuminated round about him, 
Acts ●.  with an heavenly light, would no more post with letters, and epistles to Damascus against the Saints of God, and dwell in former darkness, but having savoured the sweetness of Christ, he accounteth as dung, 
Philip. 2.  the sweetness of this earth.  
Such as are besotted in the inward man, 
A similitude.  having their cogitations darkened, the god of this world blinding their minds, and their eyes of understanding troubled with the sand and dust of the earth that is gone into them, so as they can not see the things that are of God, but look down upon the ground, and loath the world, in comparison of the world: they are like babes newly weaned from the breast, esteeming more of an apple, and of a nut, than of a piece of gold, or of a precious pearl. Or like children in the market place, 
A similitude.  who think better of their riding reed, than of the greatest & stateliest steed that the prince hath. Or like the young minion, that more fancieth her puppet that is made of clouts, than all the beautiful women that she seethe.  
It is wonderful how this world runneth a madding, as Samson without eyes, 
judg. 16  not able to find out the pillars of the house; not able to comprehend the pillars of religion.  
The prowling and coil that continually we do keep, to bring in the world, is monstrous to behold: as though we were made to gather in the gold, and immediately to die.  
What worth is that of which men labour for so hardly, with the hard sweat, and blood of our brows, about which all the wit and whole man is employed. I see the shadow and image of it in the water. It is a pastime to see how the fishes scud after a worm or a crumb of bread that is cast into the water, what a strife and contention is between them for it: this the fishes themselves do not regard, only those that stand still at the shore side, do observe and mark it well. It is no sporting matter, but it is lamentable to consider, how the world laboureth, of the disease called the Wolf, or greedy Worm, which maketh them to gape, with mouths so wide for every balld bait that is cast before them: so as, 
1. Reg. 21.  it is hard for Nabacth to hold his own, his vineyard lying so fit for Achab, on the backside of his orchard. They are never satisfied, though the devil should say unto them, All these things will I give thee. 
Math. 4  Such as sit at the shore side quietly, contented with their private meaner estate, have this their practice in notable derision. Such, whose eyes God openeth, to behold this vanity, do admire their misery. 
Rom 11.  But the other sort are smitten with a spirit of slumber; and the dung that fell out of the swallows nest, and did strike Tobias blind, 
Tob. 2  so terribly blindeth them, as they cannot see their ensuing infelicity.  
If a beggar be called to a half penny dole, 
A similitude.  good God what hast he maketh to it! what a crowding do we usually see among them at such kinds of meeting? and behold, being called to an incomparable treasure, we creep more flowly than snails thereunto. 
Exod. 5.  Pharaoh was not loather to let Israel go to serve the Lord, than we are loath that ourselves and servants should go and serve God.  
If a poor man be invited to a rich man's table, he gladly cometh to it; 
A similitude.  but if he be invited to God's house, he excuseth or refuseth flatly, with the guests in the Gospel, 
Luke 14.  to come to it.  
The world calleth us to labour, and care, and we come when we are called: but God calleth us to wealth and ease, and we will not hear of that. Ohorrible contempt! 
2. Sam. 20.  Seditious Siba the son of Bochi bloweth his horn, and rabblements and swarms of nasty companions come out and meet him: But jesus the just man, the son of David, the son of God, soundeth out his trumpets and we refuse to hear the voice of the charmer, charm he never so wisely. The world calleth thee to deceive thee, and the flesh to defile thee, and the Devil to destroy thee, and thou hearest them willingly, and obayest them cheerfully: thy saving God, thy King of glory, thy prince of peace calleth thee to peace, glory, and salvation, and thou turnest thy back, and fliest away from him.  
The respect hereof putteth good Micheas to his muse and mourning, Woe is me, 
Mich. 7.  for I am as the summer gatherings, and as the grapes of the vintage, there is no cluster to eat.  
But if thou knewest the gift of God, 
john 4.  as Christ said to the woman of Samaria, it could not be thus with thee. I would to God, as Paul said to Agrippa, that not only thou, but all that hear me this day, were as I am.  
If the Prince should set forth a general proclamation, 
A similitude.  that all that would, should be of his Court, and bear office in it, I think there is none would make refusal of it: but behold, being called to the high Court of heaven, where is all honour, we give no heed to that.  
We are like infants and sucking children, 
A similitude  who being cockered and pampered of their nurse's, love them better than their parents that begat them, and at whose cost & charge they are nursed of them. The gross and sensual delights of the world, etc. instead of nurse, to foster and sustain us, and with whom familiarly and usually we converse. But God alone is our creator and preserver; by whom we live, we move, and have our being, and lo, in a childish and senseless imitation, we prefer these base creatures, before our eternal and omnipotent creator.  
If thou shouldst see the Prince's pompous court, 
A similitude.  and a paltry swinish sty, or stable for beasts on fire at one time: canst thou with any reason neglect the Prince's house, and prefer this so loathsome a dunghill before it? and first of all run to the quenching of that, not caring though the Court be consumed ere thou comest? This is our wit in our worldly practice, we labour about the world, a sty of unclean beasts, full of filth and corruption, and forsake the word of God, the palace of all pleasure, and the only paradise from whence we have all our spiritual consolation.  
What is the inducement moving hereunto, and what do we propound & promise to ourselves by this kind of proceeding? Doth it bring in the best riches, the greatest gain with it? I would to God it did not the contrary, and import greater damage than any man can divine.  
I wish from my soul, that a worldling would fasten his eyes on two things: What is his loss? And whereupon it groweth. His loss is God. The cause is for gold, for greediness of his gain, for the sink of sin thou losest thy sweet saviour: who is not affrighted and astonished at this? Truly because man is not moved at it, the Lord commandeth the senseless elements to be moved at it, speaking unto them by jeremy in this wise. O ye heavens be astonished at this, 
jerem. 2.  be afraid, and utterly confounded, saith the Lord. But what is the matter Lord? For my people (saith he) hath committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water; to dig them pits, even broken pits, that can hold no water: That is, their thirsty and droughty souls, they have left God the fountain of eternal life, which would have refreshed and fulfilled their souls, and they have run to those decayed spouts, and broken wells, as treasures transitory, and pleasures that are carnal, which are unable to extinguish or delay, but rather to sharpen and provoke their thirst.  
Thus we have altogether lost our taste, since the first tasting of the fruit forbidden us. 
A similitude.  So that we are as those, whose stomachs stifled with distillation of evil humours, and their senses senseless with grievousness of sickness, they cannot taste and rellise the sweetness of their diet, but that which is sour, they adjudge to be sweet, 
A similitude  and so of the contrary. Or as those, who being bidden to a costly banquet, have so filled themselves before with their gross diet at home, as they can eat nothing, nor take any pleasure in this banquet when they come. Our stomachs are so charged and full of worldly thoughts, as we have almost no room for any heavenly cogitation.  
David setteth us out in our colours, 
Psalm 62.  and hitteth our vain right, whenas he saith, that we are deceitful on the wayghts. For, from this deceit proceedeth this wrong judgement that we have of the word, when we set the world before it.  
The scales are false and deceivable two ways. First, whenas those things that are put into them, are weighed hastily, and time is not given to see the full weight of them. Or else, whenas one part of the balance or weight is heavier than another: we put God's laws and our lusts together in the balance of our foul, and we are too hasty and rash a great deal, in taking the world to be of more weight and substance than the word. Again, one part of the balance is too heavy: the heaviness of the world weighing us down, and weigheth more with us, than the treasure of God's spirit: 
john 18.  we prefer Barrabas before Christ; sinfulness, before dutifulness; gain, before godliness.  
If we would discreetly, with mature advice consider of them both, & not define of them with forestalled affections, but hear what God and the world can say indifferently, thy voice no doubt will pass on God's side, and this treasure shall be more esteemed of thee, than all the treasure that the world giveth thee.  
We fight therefore as Paul with the beasts at Ephesus, 
1. Cor. 25.  after the manner of men, whilst we dispute the case with those, who set all their hope upon the things of this life, and place them before those of the life that is to come. For what is the nature & condition of beasts, but to look upon the ground, whose whole care is, to satisfy their bellies, and to couch in the holes and caves of the earth?  
Such men's case is extremely miserable, 
Num. 16.  and they are in the taking of Dathan and Abyron, 
Psal. 106.  whom the earth devoured. For doth not the earth devour up him, whose whole cogitations are fixed upon earth, whose desires only are of earthly things, whose eyes do look never above the earth, who hath no fear of God, no hopes of his promises, no belief of the soul's immortality, and no expectation of any future felicity. Surely, faith Origen, wheresoever thou seest such, tell them flatly to their faces, that the earth hath devoured them.   

CHAP. IX.  
That God and the world, cannot go together.  
THE practice of this Merchant concludeth this point, whom I should not hold wise, for doing away the world for the purchase of heaven, if heaven and this world might be enjoyed together.  
By selling therefore one, for the buying of the other, it is insinuated, that he was not able to keep them both together.  
There be many states and governments upholden & ordered by sundry constitutions, differing each from other, yet are they not so contrary but a man may have his freedom in divers of them together: but God laws, and man's laws: the lusts of the flesh, and the desires of the spirit: the Ark of the Lord, and the Philistines Dagon: God and Mammon; 
1. Sam. 5 Math. 6 2. Cor. 6  Christ and Belial: light and darkness, are at such enmity and deadly food between them, as no composition or conclusion of peace, is to be looked for between them. For the nature of things disclaimeth it our civil course of life gainsaith it, and the Scriptures every where, flatly are against it.  
What motions and commotions are in the air, between lightning and thundering: heat, and cold, without reconcilement ever to be had, experience often showeth us. Light succeed darkness, 
Math. 9  and darkness light, and they two will never be consorted, and matched together. Old wine and new vessels cannot agree, the patching of new cloth with old can not be suitable.  
There were laws and statutes in this behalf enacted, that cattle should not be permitted to engender with those of divers kinds, that our fields should not be sowed with sundry kinds of seed, 
Levit. 19  and that a garment of Linsey wolsie, which is of two substances, that are contrary, should not be worn of us.  
A weak Ox and a strong, 
1. Cor. 6  cannot draw equal yokes: jacobs' voice, and Esau's garment are easily distinguished, the kingdom of God cannot go in fellowship with the kingdom of this world, 
1. Cor. 10  we cannot be partakers of the table of the Lord, and the table of the devil.  
The Scriptures do make that report of the Samaritans, 
2. King. 17  which we admire and laugh at, that with the worship of God, they adored and worshipped their profane idols. Is not this the bias and fashion of the world? it will seem holy, and profess both a knowledge and service of God, but they will not leave covetousness, which is worshipping of images, they prostrate themselves before the idol of this world. This kind of people doth take two cross and contrary ways, and do go out of the way, and their labour is in vain. 
A similitude.  For what voyage can he make, who intending one way, goeth another; pointeth at heaven, and looketh to the earth, Et manu committit solaecismum, erreth with his finger: with such doth Elias expostulate the case, & thus censureth their folly: 
1. King. 18.  How long will ye halt between two opinions? if God be God, worship him: but if Baal be God, follow after him.  
The Lord's jealousy burneth like fire against such deceitful people, utterly to consume them, who will be united, and will marry themselves unto these two contrary commanding husbands, having espoused us to Christ before, who is our only husband. For thus he breaketh out into this deep protestation: I will cut off the remnant of that place, 
Soph. ●  that swear by the Lord, and swear by Malcham.  
Whenas Pharaoh could permit the Hebrew people to sacrifice to the Lord, so as they would sacrifice out of the land of Egypt. Ho there, saith Moses, 
Exod. ●  this may not be endured, to sacrifice unto God the abominations of the Egyptians. Superstition cannot possibly stand with true religion. The laws of God may not be linked with the lusts of this world.  
The Philistines took great pains hereabouts, to couple their Dagon, 
1. Sam. 8  with the Ark of the covenant, but it could not be effected. For Dagon fell groveling to the ground before the Ark, and could not stand before it.  
The Israelites never knew what heavenly Manna meant, 
Exod. 16  before all their meal which they carried from Egypt was utterly spent: until thou hast consumed the worldly affections, look not to be partaker of God's heavenly blessings.  
The stomach that is distmpered with diseases, 
A similitude.  and surcharged with evil humours, relliseth and tasteth not the sweetness of his meat. The Israelites were so glutted with the garlic of Egypt, as they had no fancy to a finer food. Let us be purged of these hurtful evil humours, and so shall our souls be fulfilled with God's word.  
Whenas Christ upon his entrance into the temple, chased away such with a whip of cords, 
john. 2  who chopped and changed, and made their worldly bargains, and matches in the Temple: what doth this his zealous fact conclude else, but that the impure negotiations of this world, cannot be intermeddled with the exercise of his word. He cannot away with such paltry doings, when as his holy mysteries which are of such moment are needful to be handled.  
What Courtier would not think himself greatly injured, 
A similitus  who whilst he is busy in talk with his prince, about his great suits, a country peasant with his irksome clamour, should interrupt his business? It is a grand dodge, that the soul so excellent a creature sustaineth, who whilst her suits should be put up to God, it is disturbed and cut off by the untimely importunate molestation of the world.  
God never presented himself unto Moses, so long as he was a Courtier in Egypt, 
Exod. 25  and lived in pleasure daintily, dandled in Pharaoes' daughters hands, and dieted deliciously with the prince's junkets: but he was first espied of Moses, in the midst of a bramble or bush of thorns: to insinuate thus much, that he is not to be found in a pleasurable life, but in a state that is pricked and wounded with the briers and thorns of persecution. And at that time God straightly charged Moses to put off his shoes, before he came unto him: teaching us thereby to put off our worldly minds before we presume to press to the presence of the Lord.  
When the prophet Elias saw God's glory and majesty, passing by before him, he covered & blinded his eyes with his mantle: whosoever will be partaker of God's glory, he must close up the eyes of his earthly affections, and must not behold the vanity of the world. 
Psalm 89.   
He will not dwell in the stinking cage of our bodies, of whom it is written, Righteousness and judgement is the habitation of his seat.  
If thou hast a vessel that thou wouldst fill with any liquor, 
A similitude.  and that standeth full of another already, is it possible to put them both together? or to put in the one, without emptying the other? Thou art to be filled with the liquor of life, with the sweet balm and oil of the grace of God: thy glass vial, even thy heart, is full already of bitter water of wormwood, of the brackish and salted water of the sea of this world; therefore power this out first, and rinse thy vessel clean, that it neither may keep out or infect that pleasant confection, and restaurative that is to be put into it. And embrace the sweet counsel of saint Augustine in this case, in this sort directing us: Ex inani quod implendum est, bono implendus es fund malum quia melle vult te implere Deus; 
August.  si aceto plenus es, ubi mel pones? Empty that which is to be filled. Thou art to be filled with the goodness of thy God, power out thy wickedness: God will fill thy belly with honey: but if that be full of vinegar before, where shall he find room in thee for his honey?  
As he that will graff a wild olive tree, 
A similitude.  unfruitful by nature, first loppeth and cutteth off his riotous branches, and graffeth in that stock in the room of them, the branches of a fruitful and fertile three: so, such as will be planted in the lords house, 
Psalm 92.  and will flourish in the courts of the house of our God, and be graffed into the stock and body of Christ, he must first prune, and top his worldly inclinations, the shrubs of sin, and the arms of ungodliness must be broken off: and the love of God, the estimation of his word, and the branches of holiness, and righteousness of life must be graffed in their place. 
Psalm 137  How shall we sing the lords song in a strange land saith the kingly Prophet? The world and heaven are as strange as may be: and therefore, so long as we are given to the world, we cannot sing unto the Lord in our hearts. If we therefore cannot sing, Oh let us sigh to be delivered from it, that we may in heaven make that cheerful noise of Haleluya to the Lord: and in the mean while treble with one harp upon David's dump, weeping and mourning for the remembrance of Zion.  
Sarah was first past her youthful years, 
Genes. 1●  and was dead to the world, before she conceived and brought forth Isaac, which was his father's joy. We must first subdue and overcome the world, and be dead unto it, or else we shall never bring forth the effects, and fruits of true joy, which is of God's Spirit.  
Every beast was to be killed before it could be sacrificed: 
Levity. 1.  so first our beastly worldly lusts must be killed before we can be a sacrifice to God.  
jacob was called jacob, 
Genes. 25.  which signifieth a supplanter, before he was called Israel, which is, 
Gen. 32  Seeing God, to teach us, that we must first tread the world under feet, before we can see this presence of the Lord.  
As Daniel first destroyed the Idol Bel, 
Dan. 14.  and then he buckled with the Dragon well enough: so destroy thou this dumb idol of the world, and thou shalt griple with the devil the old dragon well enough.  
It is dangerous to ride on an untamed colt that laboureth to cast thee: 
A similitude.  this world is thy unruly lade, assaying always in thy voyage to jerusalem, to throw down thy spirit.  
The spirit and the world are as a pair of balances and scales, 
A similitude.  when the one of them mounteth up, the other is weighed down: when the Spirit is elevated and cast up to heaven, our worldly affections are thrown down to the earth.  
Or they are like an hour Glass, 
A similitude.  which emptieth one part to fill another: the soul, when it is full of the spirit of God, emptieth itself of the lusts of the world.  
Abraham received not the covenant of circumcision, before he went from Vr, 
Gen. 18  which was his worldly possession: before about receivest Gods covenant in thy mouth, and professest his religion, it is looked that thou shouldest, as thou art called of God, give up and renounce thy too worldly disposition.  
As the tree leaneth, so it falleth, 
A similitude.  when the axe is put unto it: if the body and branches weigh to the left side, it will fall on the left side: If all thy life time thou leanest to the left side, namely, to the world, never look when thou diest, that thou shalt fall on the right hand of his glory and felicity.  
If thou wilt live to God, the world must not sunder thee, but thou must be so united and knit unto him, as the soul to the body, the beams to the Sun, the branches and arms to the body of the tree.  
The glass that is obscured and dimmed with dust, 
A similitude  presenteth not aright our counterfeit unto us: If the soul be overlayde with the dust of this world, the image of God, after which we were created, which is our right face, is not to be seen in us.  
Such horses as are put to grind in the mil, 
A similitude.  have their eyes blinded, that they might fitly execute that office: we must blind our worldly eyes, that we may the readier dispatch such duties which the Lord shall lay upon us.  
In a gentleman's great horse, 
A similitude.  it is the best grace and quality that commendeth him, that he is ruled by the bridle, and keepeth his circles, lists, and rounds, that the rider will put him to: there is nothing that graceth us more than to live in the compass, and straight course of God's commandments, & to suffer gods word to be a bridle to our lusts, and a bit to keep us from the race of our sins.  
Herod was first dead, 
Math. 2  before that Christ would return out of Egypt into the land of judea: we must first die to the world and sin, before Christ jesus will enter into our souls.  
There was a certain physician, who of such scholars, who were initiated, and taught by others before, required double the sum of money which he took of others, who were informed but by himself alone: and his reason was, because he considered, that double the labour must be taken with them: first, in rooting out their former balld fashions, after which they had been taught; and then in planting and fixing in their minds, his own ordinary compendious course quite contrary to the other, by which they might exactly and perfectly be taught. So, if we will be trained up in the school of Christ, and will profess ourselves his scholars: Christ must needs take double pains with us; He must first make us to forget our old lessons, which our former bad Schoolmasters, the world, the flesh, and the devil had before taught us, and then to take out new, which his holy spirit shall put into our hearts, which tacheth us all wisdom.  
Augustus' taking upon him to beautify his Empire, and to leave Rome made of marble, which he found made of brick, acquainted one Apollonius Thyanaeus with his purpose, and asked his direction for his better proceeding: the Philosopher thus answered him, that if he would happily achieve that which he professed, he must set before his eyes, the course that memorable Musician did take with his son, whom he would not instruct himself, but sent unto an unlearned Musician to be taught, who gave him this caveat and memento, only to carry away with him, and he should speed well enough, to mark well the fingering & lessons of his master, and do clean contrary, for they were exceeding nought: So, to beautify and adorn our souls, and to be perfect scholars in God's word, it is meet for us to be taught of the world, to mark but the world's fashions, and to do the contrary, and we shall make a good profession, forasmuch as the word with this present evil world, can never be linked and combined together.  
The condition of man's mind is like his estate, 
A similitude.  whose middle part of his body is taken with a palsy, by reason whereof his joints being dissolved, that part is so benumbed, as it is made insensible; but the other part that is not strooken with it, but is sound and healthful, is nimble and pliable unto any outward action. It fareth thus with the soul and mind of man, for when it should apply itself to holy exercises, it is snatched away with a worldly palsy, which maketh us senseless in these kinds of duties, but a remainder of it that is not touched, is very full of life, ravished and transported with the love of earthly things.  
The pleasures of this world are the devils baits, that he layeth for our souls, and this is the poison which the whore of Babylon tempereth and seasoneth in savoury meat, and in her cup of gold.  
As the Moon never suffereth an eclipse, 
A similitude.  but when it is at the full: so is thy soul never darkened and eclipsed, but when it is glutted and fulfilled with the world.  
Moreover, 
A similitude.  as the Moon in her fullness is most distant and removed from the Sune: so our saturity and fullness of this world, as it was with Sodom, we forget God that made us, and the strong God of our salvation, and are furthest off from the son of righteousness, Christ jesus our Lord, and the light of our salvation.  
Augustine by an elegant and dainty similitude, shadoweth and setteth forth the nature of the world, an extreme and irreconcilable enemy unto God. 
A similitude.  He likeneth the love of the world unto bird-lime, which so fast hangeth and cleaveth to the soul, as it holdeth it below, and suffereth it not to climb to higher motions that it might be saved. These are his words, Amor rerum terrenarum, viscus est spiritualium pennarum: 
August.  The love of earthly things, is the bird-lime to our spiritual wings. Now how we are fettered and entangled with this lime, he showeth us, saying: Si concupivisti, haesisti: If thou covet, thou art catched of it.  
It is impossible but that the world should be every way like itself, and follow his own nature. It is incident to the flesh, to fight against the spirit, and it is the trick of the world to be at odds with God, riches and righteousness will hardly be combined.  
A vessel cannot but retain the savour of that liquor that is in it. 
A similitude.  If into a glass that is full of vinegar, thou shalt drop a little honey, the sweeter substance being nothing in quantity to the contrary sour subject, it vanisheth away, and is consumed of it. In our bodies are vessels full of sour affections, the little sweet honey of the word of God, through the redundance of the other, is easily overcome, as often as it shall be distilled thereunto.  
He that will love God, 
A similitude.  and will not loathe the world, but thinks he may have gold and godliness together, and chase away sin, and not chase away his sinful worldly covetousness, is like him, that desirous to drive away a dog, doth cast a bone or crust of bread unto him.  
The god of this world is at enmity with God, they are two contrary imperious masters, that will not be served together. He that loveth the world, 
1. john. 2  the love of the father is not in him.  
Is it possible to perform true allegiance to thy prince, 
A similitude.  and be in league and pay with his greatest enemy? 
Gal. 5  If we live in the flesh, we shall die. But if we shall kill the deeds of the flesh with the sword of the spirit, we shall live for ever.  
Be we circumspect therefore, and let us look about ourselves, and let this holy Canon be always in our minds: If ye love God, 
Psal. 97  hate the thing that is evil.  
We make our boast of God all the day long, 
Psal. 44  and his name is in our lips, but it is in vain, since the love of the world is wholly seated and engrafted in our hearts.  
Whenas God before he would covenant with us, would we should be circumcised, it is plain enough that his mind is, that first we should circumcise the outward man, and cut off with the knife of the spirit our ingenerate corruption, or else he will not have any doings with us.  
Themistocles on a time, made asolemne sermon to the people of Athens, giving them to know that he could acquaint them with that which was most behooveful and needful for their estate, but it was a secret and not to be blurted out & published unto all, but only to be privately imparted unto some few of trust; such whom the magistrates in this case should depute to have audience of this matter. Hereupon with the general consent of all, the cause was referred to Aristides his hearing, authorized by them to determine of it, and according to his judgement to approve or disallow of it, now all the mystery and secrecy was this, that it was meet to set on fire the whole Grecian Navy, that thereby, so weakening and enfeebling their power, the Athenians might be lords and commanders of all Grecia. Aristides repairing to the Senate with his news, certified the bench, that Themistocles his counsel was most profitable, but therewithal most unlawful. Thus this Pagan may condemn us Christians, who while we respect worldly gain too much, do esteem of the gain of godliness too little.  
Even as a ring that is upon one finger, 
A similitude.  can not be put upon another, unless it be first drawn off from the former: so the heart being linked to earthly things, it cannot be fit for heavenly matters, before it hath put off the former disposition.  
Wherefore, since both these treasures will not be consorted, and the purchase of this heavenly and hidden treasure, exceedeth by infinite degrees, all the riches that the world may yield us, we do well, if with this Merchant we take hold of this excheat, whatsoever it doth cost us.   

CHAP. X.  
¶ Of the necessity of our mortification, and the adjuration of all our worldly lusts, under the person and example of this jeweller, who made a simple sale of all that he had for the purchase of this Treasure, and Pearl of great price, evidently evicted.  
ONE thing is necessary, 
Luke. 10  (saith Christ to Martha:) and of this with Mary this jeweller maketh choice. For the purchase whereof, he doth not stick to renounce and give up his state and property in all his worldly hereditaments and emoluments, of whatsoever nature and condition they are.  
He dodgeth not with God, 
Act. 5  as Ananias did with Peter, keeping part behind. He putteth not his hand to the Lords plough, and hath an eye with Lot's wife unto Sodom. 
Luke. 9  He minceth not God of any part of his dew, as the King of aram's muster-master, 
2. King. 5  excepting with the Prophet his worship with his master in the house of Rimmon. It is not the pleasure or profit of the world, that he standeth at with God: 
Phil. 3  but he reputeth all things with the Apostle, as doing for the gain of godliness.  
This man is every christian man's looking-glass, in whom we may behold that image of perfection, that is pleasing unto God, and by which we may see how to reform such blemishes which disguise us so much, and make us so unclean and laothsom in his sight.  
We are reasonably contented to part stakes with God, and willing enough with the false mother, 
1. King 3  who pleaded for the division of the child before Solomon, to divide him out half of that all, which is his portion, dealing with God altogether like as Hanun with the servants that were sent from David, 
2. Sa. 10.  who shaved off half their beards from their faces, and slashed off their garments from the middle to the buttocks.  
But God may not endure such paltering at our hands.  
The true mother may not abide to hear of the mangling of her child; and David may not digest such barbarous indignity offered to his servants, and God may not suffer himself to be so mocked; as to have his glory of which he is so jealous, communicated unto others.  
Very many we find, howbeit, otherwise of very proper parts, & induments of nature, who halt with God too much, and cannot, without struggling to one way or other, keep in the right way: we are as the grain that wanteth measure, and the gold that will not hold weight. There is in every one of us, somewhat which blemiseth and disgraceth all our beauty.  
Many, albeit they are of chaste behaviour, of very civil nature, and (as by outward appearance it seemeth) of religious disposition: yet are their minds fixed upon covetousness, they go after worldly thoughts, and encumber themselves with Martha about many things. 
Luke. 10.  They cannot be parted by any means from their profit, or stride over those blocks that lie in their way, or devote themselves wholly with this jeweller unto God We find other some of liberal and bountiful affections, yet violently miscarried with a desire of ambition.  
There was death in the pot, 
2. King. 4  which mars all the broth of the children of the prophets: so some sinful profit or pleasure always spoileth whatsoever good graces the Lord giveth us beside.  
There is none of us, who doth not hucke with God, who is not ready for some excuse or other; we ask our flesh, our lusts, our pleasures leave, and if they consent not to it, God is answered as Pharaoh answered Moses, Nabal, David, 
Matth. 21 1. Sa. 15.  and the Lord of the vineyard was answered when he demanded fruits. Who is the Lord (saith Pharaoh unto Moses) that I should let Israel got who is the Lord (saith the stubborn soul) that I should let my sinful pleasures go? Who is David, and who is the son of Ishai (saith Nabal) that I should take my bread, my water my flesh, which I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men, whom I know not whence they be. These be the terms wherer upon we do stand, we commune the case in this wise with Nabal, who is Christ the son of David, that I should take that which I have deputed to my pleasure and my sin, and give it unto him?  
Be not deceived, God will not be stinted, he will have all, or nothing at all of thee: and when thou givest all, thou givest him but his own. Thou dost but like the copy holder that payeth his rent, and performeth his bounden homage and service unto his Lord, the diminution of any jot thereof being the forfeit of thy whole copy.  
This is a sly policy of the devil, to have us dernie christians, to serve GOD by halves, to draw us on to some duties of devotion, that whilst we do flatter and beguile ourselves with a counterfeit profession, he may cause us privily, and unawares, to fall into the pit of his destruction. 
A similitude  And herein he hath the trick of a cunning angler, who having hold of some great fish upon his hook, is not greedy of him to draw him up to shore, but he stretcheth out his rod, and giveth him more line, that he might more thoroughly swallow up the hook: for otherwise through too hasty violence that is offered him, he will break all asunder, and the fish shall so escape him.  
Thus he played with Herod who having snarled and hooked him before with the hook and line of inordinate lust, 
Mark. 6.  he dallieth with him, and giveth him some liberty to hear john Baptist willingly, and to reform many things according to his directions.  
As along as the devil hath us under his line, and hath any hold of us, either by our pride, by our usury, by our covetousness, by our envy, by our emulation, by our ambition, by our hatred, by our cruelty, by any kind of sin, he will so sport with us, as he will be sure of us, he will not let us go.  
For as a bird, if she be limed, 
A similitude.  and taken by one wing, cannot fly away: so though we pray or fast, or give our alms, repair to sermons, and give ourselves to many good devotions: yet if any sin hath a limb of us, it is impossible to escape. To be bound in any part is all one, as to be bound in the whole.  
To what use is it to rampire up all the gates of the city, 
A similitude.  and to set watch and ward about the walls, if one gate or breach of the wall shall be suffered to lay open, for all the power of the enemy to come in? Give thou the devil but an entrance into thee, and thou shalt never remove him, but he will be wholly at the last seated in thee.  
Christ his charge to those that will be followers of him, 
Math. 11.  flatly is this: Take my yoke upon you. He nameth not any part of the body that should be yoked above other, the head, the neck, the shoulders or such like; but the whole: that we should not think that we have served God well, by mincing him a pittance, unless he hath the whole.  
Wherefore David summoneth all his parts to the Lords courts. 
Psal. 34. Psal. 103. Psal. 119.  All my bones (saith he) shall say, Lord who is like unto thee. And again, Praise the Lord O my soul, and all that is within me praise his holy name. And again, I have an eye unto all thy commandments, and all false ways I utterly abhor.  
The devil is an importunate suitor unto us, to have any room, or tenement within us, be it never so little, rather than he would be utterly shut out.  
When as Pharaoh could no longer hold the Isralites in durance, 
Exod. 10.  but the time was come that they should be set at liberty, and sent away to serve the Lord, he craveth that their cattle might remain behind them: so when the devil is not permitted to domineer as he list, to have his full power and pleasure over us, he beggeth but a part and little portion within us. But give the devil that answer that Moses gave to Pharaoh, who snobbed him thus roundly; No not a hoof shall remain behind us, but every part shall be consecrated unto God.  
Or let us say in this case unto Satan, 
Gen. 27.  as Isaac said to Esau: jacob have I blessed, and he shall be blessed: we have given up all to God already, and he shall possess it.  
Yea let us say to God as Peter said to Christ when Christ would wash his feet: Lord, 
joh. 1●  not my feet only, but my hands, and my head. For why should we deny him any thing, seeing he is the owner of every thing we have. The devil, the world, the flesh indeed have no more right in us, than Achab had to Naboth his vineyard, or Herod to his sister. 
1. reg. 21.   
If we give all to God, 
Mark. 6.  he will save and preserve it: there is nothing that the devil would have, but that he would destroy. And yet we are overcome of such folly and madness, as we will rather put ourselves to our destroyer, then to our merciful Saviour. 
A similitude.  As many a young man doth, who ravished with lust of a droiling slavish bond woman, doth bestow himself upon her, and albeit that he knoweth that he is cast away by her, yet will he marry her: so our will, forgetful of God's love, is so linked to the lust of this wretched world, as hap what hap shall, it will not be divorced, but will be obsequious to her imperious hests.  
Samson could not be so absurdly ignorant of Dalila her drift, 
judg. 16.  for former experience and trial that he made of her, discovered her deceit. He saw too plainly, that her so earnest practice with him to understand wherein his power might be weakened, did tend to his destruction, yet he could not be warned by former admonitions, but is so intoxicated, and besotted with her, as he chooseth rather like a mill horse to grind at the mill, and to be made a fool as afterwards he was, when he was the subject of the Philistines pastime, then to be offensive to this his abject minion.  
As the Lord is Alpha which signifieth the beginning: 
Apoc 1. A similitude.  so is he Omega which signifieth the ending. He will not be put off as Lawyers do their clients from term to term, with dodges and delays.  
Moses ask Pharaoh, when he should pray for him: his answer was to morrow; And why not to day Pharaoh? since every day is Gods, and he cannot be served of any man too soon. How dost thou know, that thou shalt live until to morrow? Thus the wicked prescribe God his time, whenas every time is his.  
Lycurgus' making laws for the Lacedæmonians, propounded them unto them to be observed of them, until he should return from that region and country, whither immediately he was to take his voyage: and so sailing into Crect, he never did return, but there dying, commanded his bones to be burned, and the ashes of them to be thrown into the sea: supposing, that if his body might not be carried over, his laws and ordinances should never be repealed. Such a tender care had this Gentile Philosopher of the zealous and continued observation of good laws: which care of his, taxeth our carelessness, and remissness in keeping the commandments of our God: serving him by fits as our stomachs serveth us, and affording him what we may spare from our pleasure and our sins. It should not be so with us, but we should take that course which this jeweller by his practice here prescribeth us, who resigneth up all that he had in the world, that he might buy this treasure of God's word.  
Let us do the like: 
Augustine.  Nos ipsos pro illa margarita demus, non quia tanti vateamus, sed quia plus dare non possumus. Let us give ourselves for this pearl of great price, not because we are worth somuch, but because we have no more to give. Minus dat ut plus accipiat: hoc fac & tu. Da modica, accipe magna: da temporalia, accipe aeterna: da terram, accipe coelum. This jeweller hath a wonderful bargain, in giving up his state and interest to this world, for livery and seisin of this better purchase of the world that is to come. For as Augustine saith, he giveth the less, to receive the more: do thou the like; Give mean things, and receive greater for them: give temporal things, and receive eternal: give earth, and receive heaven: give gold, and receive God.  
As thou forsakest father, and mother to cleave to thy wife: so forsake father, and mother, wife and all, be it never so near and dear unto thee, to cleave to God.  
To sell all that we have, is to renounce the lusts of the flesh, and of the mind, and so to shake off the world, which enticeth us to wickedness, as joseph shaked his cloak from him, 
Genesis 39  and left it with his mistress, egging him to uncleanness.  
But, this is that that breaketh off the bargain, and keepeth us from this purchase; we endure well enough to hear of the pleasure and profit of this purchase, but we like not the covenants, we are loath to be touched in our worldly state, or to alter the condition of our life; the doctrine of repentance, and the Gospel of Christ teaching us to deny all ungodliness, and worldly vanity: and to live soberly, justly, and uprightly, in this world, is grievous unto us, 
Tit. 2.  and we cannot abide it.  
The children of Israel hearing of the fruitfulness of the promised land of Canaan, 
Num. 14  buckled themselves in all the haste unto the battle, and marched towards it, eager of the present possession of it: but hearing the place was inhabited with Giants, they hung down their heads, and their hearts failed them, and altered quite from the men they were before, their fancies were set upon Egypt again. So many hearing by God's spies, that came from heaven, of the joy and happiness laid up in store for us in the life that is to come, especially of saint Paul, who was rapt up to heaven, and was full of revelations, 
2. Cor. 12  and discoursing of the unspeakable riches of his kingdom, ravisheth the hearers with these delightful tidings, that the eye hath not seen, the ear hath not heard, 
1. Cor. 2  neither can the heart of man conctive the things that God hath prepared for them that love him: men I say, heartened with such consolation, they take stomach to themselves, and are zealous and hot in spirit after it, to win and enjoy it: But withal, understanding that the way is narrow, 
Math. 7  and the door straight, that leadeth into it, and that there will be some difficulty in our passage, our hearts grow heavy, and our journey is dashed, and our whole mind is set upon retiring unto Egypt, and to embrace this present world.  
He that hath earnest occasion of speech with another man, 
A similitude.  coveteth to find that man alone, and free from other business: when as God would speak to us, he would find us in this case, he would have us love men, sequestered and put apart from the world.  
Therefore when he was to commune with Abraham, 
Gen. 12  he willed him to be private, to resign his native soil Vr of the Chaldeans, and to enjoy his blessed presence, to forget his own kindred, and his father's house.  
And because that cares are the daughters of riches, which as thorns do choke the good seed of the word, in worldly minded men; the Lord enacted in the state of Israel, that clergy men, 
Deut. 18  separated and put a part to the ministry, should not have worldly hereditaments and possessions as other of the tribes: that their minds, whilst they were in their holy ministration, might not be distracted, and miscarried with them.  
As also it was a constitution among them, 
Levit. 〈◊〉  that he that was bunched and crooked in the back, should not serve & minister in the temple. For this defect and impediment of body, is a hindrance to their eyes, that they cannot lift them up to heaven as they should. So, such as are distorted and crooked in mind, and have their affections always stooping & looking on the world, are no fit persons to serve before the Lord, and to enter into his courts.  
Mortify we therefore all our worldly lusts, and slay we them down right with the sword of the spirit. Let us not imprison in the bowels of our souls, such sins as we like best, and keep them alive as Saul did Agag, 
1. Sam. 15  whom God commanded should be put to death: but let us hue them in pieces, as Samuel did Agag in Gilgal before the Lord, and beat them as small as the dust of the earth.  
If we pity our sins as Ely did his sons, 
1. Sam. 2  when we ought to punish them, God will punish them, and will bring a great judgement against us for them.  
Oh heavy and most grievous is that commination of the Lord against Achab, 
1. King. 20.  for demissing Benhadad: Because (saith God) thou hast let go out of thy hands a man whom I appointed to die, thy life shall go for his life. The like sentence is gone out against all, that save alive that sin they should destroy, they shall die for it.  
If ye live (saith Saint Paul) after the flesh, ye shall die; 
Rom. 8  but if ye shall mortify the flesh by the spirit, ye shall live. Thus Paul maketh two men of one: the one the outward and the other the inward man: both which are united in one, yet are they so sundry, as they cannot agree in one, but the generation of the one, must be the others corruption, the life of the one, must be the death of the other, and therefore to save and keep alive the one, we must needs mortify and put to death the other.  
What a good match we shall make, in coping away the pleasure of the world, for the joys of heaven: at that general county day, wherein the books and scrolls of consciences shall be laid open, plainly will appear, at what time all those things that we have here gathered together will do us no good, where no manner of excuse may serve our turn, where there will be no place of any refuge for us.  
Here there have been found some places of small succour, in the time of danger. 
Gen. 3 Genes. 18 Gen. 19 1. Reg. 18 jona. 1.  Adam could run behind the trees of his orchard. Sarah could hide herself within her tent. Little Zoar was a sanctuary to Lot. Elias could shroud himself in Mount Carmel: and jonas could go down to the hatches of the keel, that he might flee to Tharsis, from the presence of the Lord. But in the judgement, 
Luke 23. Apoc. 6  we shall say to the mountains, hide us, and to the hills cover us, from the anger of him that sitteth upon the throne, and of the lamb.  
Tell me what it is, whereat thou shouldest stick to go through with this purchase? Or what it is that thou shouldst desire in comparison of this? One saith riches, another saith honour: one desireth beauty: this man is for his back, and this man for his belly, one for his mirth, another for his credit, another for his pride: here one, and there one goeth up higher, 
Gen. 28.  and desireth heaven, and steppeth up this ladder, as the Angels that jacob did see in his dream.  
It is even as the shaking of an olive tree, 
Isai. 17  here and there a berry is to be had. 
A similitude.  Thus like bruit beasts, who set more by stubble & grass, then by gold: they sottishly esteem more of earthly vanity, then of heavenly felicity.  
As the Sun which is but one, 
A similitude.  doth minister far more light than all the smaller stars which are innumerable: so the sunshine of the glorious gospel of Christ, doth us more good by infinite proportion, than all the creatures which the world yieldeth us: as by particular discourse shall appear in the winding up of this history in the last Chapter.  
Wherefore grudge we not to do away those things that are of meanest moment, for those of greatest substance: to change chaff with wheat, dross with gold, mire for pearl, earth for heaven.  
Know we not how that pearls and precious stones, 
A similitude.  are not set upon iron and copper rings, but only upon gold? In like case, the glittering gem of heavenly glory, may not be set into iron hearts, brazen affections, impure and earthly minds: but into such as are purified as fine gold from all impure commixtion. For the estate of the soul, is in nature not unlike a pure crystal glass, which is so dimmed with the least dust, and is so obscured but with once breathing on it, as it neither giveth the image of that face that looketh into it, neither sendeth back such bright and clear light as is object unto it.  
He must partake with God in his life, that will share with him in glory. If Christ our grand Captain despised the world, and renounced all, to do his fathers will it appeareth that we fight not under his standard, and are not his soldiers, who are as greedy of the world as a crow is of carrion, and who can savour nothing but the things of this world.  
There be many with Balaam, 
Num. 23.  that desire to die the death of the righteous, but they refuse with Balaam, to live the life of the righteous. They would live rebelliously with judas, 
Mat. 26  and die in peace with Simeon: 
Luke. 2  but it may not be: for the life of beasts, and the glory of Angels, may not be knit together. It is not to be hoped for, that if we live in this world like beasts, we shall live in the other like Angels.  
The sheep, otherwise a silly creature, 
A similitude  yet is so wise, as he knoweth what herbs are most wholesome for him, and what as hurtful he is to refuse.  
He knoweth the wolf to be his enemy, and the shepherds cur that is like a wolf, for to be his friend. The Lord hath given us judgement and discretion, if we would use it thereafter, to leave the evil, and to choose the good; to eschew sin, and to ensue righteousness; to loath the earth, and to love heaven.  
The birds of the air naturally are disposed, 
A similitude.  though the cage be never so precious, wherein they are enclosed, be it of ivory, or of gold, or howsoever they are daintily dieted and tended, to desire to be at liberty abroad, which they show by the often grating their beaks against the wire window: so the godly scorn all the pleasures of the world, in regard of their joys prepared in heaven, and to be in state and fruition of them, are willing and desirous to make a surrender of all their earthly profits and commodities whatsoever.   

CHAP. XI.  
¶ That all our endeavours, are to redound to the glory of God, and to tend only to a spiritual end, as is lively shadowed in the example of this Merchant, whose bargain of sale of all his temporals, was only for the purchase of this heavenly Treasure.  
THis Merchant in this Chronicle is celebrated and renowned, for this threefold action. For the sale of his substance. For the sale of all his substance. For the end thereof, only for a heavenly Purchase.  
The two first must wait upon the last, without which, the former shall be done in vain.  
Many there have been, who have renounced their worldly right, & simply have surrendered all their earthly state, 
Ezech. 13  yet never were accounted in the assembly of God's people, neither shall they be written in the writings of the house of Israel.  
It is not the action that God respecteth, but the intention, and end of the action that he only beholdeth.  
God loveth not adjectives without Adverbs, Bonum without Benè. It is better to do well then to do good: for a man may trespass in doing good, if he doth it not well. 
Deut. 5 Deuter. 12.  The pharisees in prayer, fasting, alms, duties that were good, offended in that they did them not well, the end and the manner marring the whole matter.  
How many heathen people have gone before us, in a severe conversation, in a strict mortification, and yet have utterly lost all their devotion, because it hath wanted the only use, and end of true religion?  
They wrought, but yet they wrought not like cunning artificers, according to the rule, which is to do that which is good in good order.  
To forsake our wives, to neglect our children, to despise our friends, to contemn the world, if it be in worldly sort, and it doth not tend to an heavenly end, it is to no end. The Roman Curtius, the Athanian Codrus, the Theban Crates, and others, the famous philosophers of the Gentiles, Socrates, Diogenes, Bias, Thales, Milesius, Mucius, Scaevola, Fabricius, Romanus, and such like, who have martyred themselves, offered strange violence & torture to their bodies, have lived private austere lives, scorned worldly wealth, & have sequestered themselves aloof from all the enticements of the world; inasmuch as the ends of their actions were in vain: the lime, the stone, the timber, wanted a foundation whereupon to lean, all their whole structure and building tumbled down, and all their labours and endeavours perished.  
The manner therefore in matters of God's service, 
Gen. 4  is chief to be regarded. And because that Cain was careless of the manner, the Lord looked not to the matter of his sacrifice.  
If thou wouldst bring thy actions to perfection, let God be the end of them. The Mathematicians hold, that the circular figure is the perfect figure, because that in a circle, the beginning, and the end, do jump and meet together: we shall be perfect christians, if God the first cause and beginning of all: of whom, 
Rom. 12.  in whom, and by whom are all, shall be the consummation and end of all: if we shall set this watchword before all our doings, whether we eat or drink, or whatsoever else we do, we do all to the glory of God.  
Have an eye therefore to the end of every thing, that thou goest about, that thou mayst not do amiss.  
Artificers, by a line and leaden plummet, 
A similitude  do measure and survey the proportion of their work: our level and square must be this heavenly word; so as, our life being conformed to this rule, it is even in every part, and of perfect dimensions.  
God expressly willeth that all valuation shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary: 
Levitic. 27  The love of God, and the glory of his name is this shekel and weight that weigheth all our actions: so that wanting this, they are rejected as the gold that wanteth weight, and as the corn that wanteth measure. They may like the smoke, climb towards heaven, but, like the smoke, they shall vanish away, and never come to heaven.  
Whatsoever action thou givest thyself unto, 
Psal. 37  whether to praying, fasting, giving, receiving, suffering, weigh aright with this shekel of the sanctuary, in what spirit, purpose, and devotion, thou takest it in hand. For be thou well assured, if it tendeth not to his glory but be without that, it shall also be without his reward.  
A fearful woe shall be thundered out against them, 
Math. 23  as we read in the like case was denounced by Christ against the Scribes and pharisees.  
As no man might enter into the court of King Ahashuerosh, 
●●est. 4  that was clothed in sackcloth: so no man, not clothed with a wedding garment, that is, with God's love, may press into God's presence.  
Christ many times in his actions, 
Mat. 22  did elevate and lift up his eyes to heaven, 
john 11  to teach us in our actons, and all our intentions to look up to heaven, 
Mat. 6  for the eye is taken for the intention, according to that our Saviour Christ saith: 
Luke 11  if thine eye be simple, that is, thy end, and intention of thine action, set before thine eye.  
These two I hold as good conclusions. First, that all our sorrows for our sins, though our contrition were as great as the sea, if it be only for the fear of hell, and not for God's love, and the love of heaven, can do us no good. 
A similitude.  For as the confession of a traitor is constrained, who for fear of the rack, and not for any dutiful affection to his prince, bewrayeth and bewaileth his mischievous designments, and this confession and lamentation, turneth not to comfort, but to his certain destruction: so such contrition, as cometh by coaction, maketh not unto salvation, but unto endless perdition. For in sin there are always these two things chief to be considered. The first is, the evil thou hast wrought against God: The second is, the evil that thou hast brought upon thyself, which is eternal damnation. Now if thou be'st grieved for thine own mishap only, and not for the high and mighty indignity offered unto God, is it not manifest, that thou wouldst only escape that which maketh against thee, not caring for that which maketh against God, and therefore thy repentance is repelled of God?  
This is made evident by a pair of examples of Saul, and David; they were both of them Kings, both of them sinned, 
1 Sam 15. 2 Sam. 12  both of them were reproved, and both of them repent: and yet the Lord, who accepteth no persons, accepteth David's, 
Acts. 10.  & excepteth justly against saul's repentance: for it was defective and faulty in the end, and it was not done aright, there was as great odds and difference as might be, between their intents and purposes of repentance: David repenting that he had lost God, and Saul repenting, only because he had lost his kingdom. For he openeth his mind plainly enough by his words to Samuel, 
2. Sam. 15  saying: Honour me before the elders of my people, and before Israel: So Saul might have been safe and settled in his kingdom, and men might do him worship, little did Saul esteem how his GOD was worshipped.  
For this cause Esau went without his blessing, 
Heb. 12  though he sought it with tears and extreme passions, because they proceeded not from sincere affections. The love of God which should have made them forcible, was wanting to them.  
The second proposition is as plain as this, that is, that although we do conform ourselves to the Canons of his word, and do his commandments, honour his name, avoid profane swearing, sanctify his Sabbaoth, and come as nigh to the perfect obedience of his law, as possibly we can, if with this Merchant we renounce all our worldly both profits and pleasures, and have not the intention of this Merchant in our minds, to illustrate God's glory, and let our end be God; God will not bless or favour these our doings, or give them entrance and passage unto him.  
For as before in sin, so in every good work there are two chief respects: The one is the honour which redoundeth unto God: The second is the profit that returneth to ourselves. If therefore in a good action, we rather have an eye to our private advantage, then to the public praise of God, we discover thereby our worldly minds too much, that gold more than God, the world above the word is esteemed of us.  
Wherefore let us look, that as we serve him, so he will serve us: if we serve him with the worst, and with the last, he will serve us with the dregs and bottom of the cup of his wrath, 
Psal. 73  and will make us suck them up.  
The end before God is of more value, then either the greatness or excellency of the action: for every action shall be weighed by the intention, and respected, and recompensed according to the end.  
This the subtle serpent knoweth well; wherefore, as he brought Adam to another tree, 
Gen. 1  that he might not taste of the tree of life: so he bringeth us to any other end, that we might not follow the true end, which God hath commanded us to set before our eyes in all our enterprises.  
When he cannot strip us of such excellent works, as the Lord worketh in us, he depraveth them, by disgracing our intentions in them, suggesting, that they were wrought to some private worldly end.  
For thus he sophisticated and glossed with God, upon the inclination of job his devotion: for, upon the commendation of job his disposition, which God had made unto him, how that he was a just man, and one that feared God: 
job 1  Behold how this juggler privily undermineth him, diveth to the depth of him, sitteth at the heart and reins of him, snatcheth at the secret intendment of his mind, that job his religion stood with good policy, for thus he descanteth upon job his devotion: Doth job serve God for nought? Hast thou not made a hedge about him, and about his substance, and about all that he hath on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land: But stretch out now thy hand, and touch that he hath, to see if he will not blaspheme thee to thy face: as if he should have said, he worketh on the surer side, and playeth upon the advantage; his gain is his godliness, but touch him in his purse, and cross him awhile in his estate and substance, and the case will soon be altered with him, and job I will warrant you, will not prove the man you take him for.  
Thus he doth like pioneers in the wars, 
A similitude.  who dig at the foundation, whereupon the whole weight of the building leaneth. He doth not deny a matter manifest, such attributes and praises as God doth give to job: but he wrangleth and cavilleth about the manner, which he knew well enough, if it had been true, would have overthrown all the matter.  
Well, this will be a bone, wherewith he will choke us upon our death beds; let us deliver ourselves of it as we can: whether we have served God for nought, is the question propounded to us to assoil, our inclinations and inward affections, at that time willbe thoroughly canuised. Let us prove them therefore, and examine them before, 
Psalm. 111  that there be no fraud and wickedness in them, so shall they be able to stand in the judgement and congregation of the just.  
Set therefore this watchwoord of the Apostle before thy race, 
1 Cor. 9  So run that thou mayst obtain: 
Apoc. 1  Let God be Alpha and Omega with thee, the beginning and end of all thine actions.  
Fasten not the anchor of the ship of thy heart, upon the dangerous sea of the love of this world. Gather up thy wits, and set down in thine accounts, how much thou hast devoted thyself unto the world, and how little unto God.  
It is with us, 
A similitude.  as it is with the windmill which grindeth not the corn into meal, without a gale of wind which may turn it round about: we cannot turn us to any good action, unless we may be puffed and rocked to and fro with the wind of worldly vanity.  
Good works are as good wine, but done in a bad mind, we mingle wormwood and gall with it, and do like the jews, who tempered gall in their cup of drink, that they gave to Christ. The devil recoileth and goeth back, not by our doing good, but by our doing well. It is that that maketh him to reel, as the rams horns did the huge walls of jericho. 
josua. 6   
As jeremy saith, Cursed is he that doth the work of God negligently; so no doubt God's curse shall light upon those that do it deceitfully, and that do it not with a faithful heart.  
But there are hypocrites among true christians, as Saul among the Prophets. But the glory of God, which should be the end of every good work, is the touchstone that trieth our works, of what worth they are, whether they be of gold, or any other base substance.  
Sichem and Emor were circumeised aswell as jacob and his sons, 
Gen. 34  but if was but counterfeit holiness that was in them; for they only regarded the goods of God's people, and not the good of God's glory. This much they not obscurely insinuated in their words unto the people, saying: their substance, 
Genes. 34.  cattle, and flocks, shall be ours.  
There is no reckoning to be made of such religion, which is grounded on a carnal intention.  
What father esteemeth that obedience of his son, 
A similitude.  showed him for a fear of losing his possessions, and not for love in a natural disposition?  
Whatsoever good we do, whatsoever evil we suffer, the main motive thereof must be the honour and glory of his name: So our Saviour teacheth us in many places of the new instrument. 
Mat. 5  Blessed are they that suffer persecution for righteousness sake. Again, 
Mat. 10  ye shall be brought before Kings and rulers for my name's sake. Again, he that looseth his life for my sake. 
Mat. 10  Again, he that forsaketh father and mother for my sake, and the Gospel. 
Luke 1●   
God will say to such as he said, 
Gen. 15  to Abraham, I will be thy exceeding great reward.  
Wherefore let us say to God as jacob said to Esau: 
Gen. 33  Let my Lord go before his servant, and I will follow according to the pace of the cattle which are before me, and as the children be able to endure. Let God go before, and we will trace his footsteps, as he shall enable us.  
It is said in the judges, 
judg. 9  that Abimelech their judge and principal ruler, did cut off branches from the trees, and did bear them on his shoulders, and said unto his fellows: What ye see me do, haste and do the like: So, whatsoever we see Christ do, let his example be our imitation, who made God's glory the scope and drift of all his proceed.  
Every handy-crafts-man, 
A similitude.  in every kind of work, doth observe the pattern that his master giveth him, and frameth it to that end, which he before had purposed, for if he shall make it to an other use to please his own fancy, his master maketh refusal of his workmanship, and his labour is lost: wherefore, that that we do may be pleasing to our Lord and master, and acceptable in his sight: let us with holy David, 
Psalm 16.  set the Lord before our eyes, and we shall not do amiss.  
Therefore God would that the two Chorubins, with stretched out wings should cover the mercy seat where God gave his answers; 
Exod. 25  to insinuate, that when we intent any good, we desire not ostentation to be seen: so man seeing that God, when he would show mercy, pleased that the place wherein he would appear, should be thus shadowed and covered.  
As Christ willeth the Spouse in the Canticles that She would set him as a seal unto her heart, and as a signet upon her arm: 
Cant. ●  So let us make God and his glory, the object of our eyes, the scope, drift, and mark, at which we only aim, in the whole course of our life: so shall we make with this heavenly jeweller, an exceeding good purchase, & receive with him, an everlasting inheritance, an incomparable crown of glory, all treasure and happiness in the kingdom of God world without end.   

CHAP. XII.  
An Exhortation to the love of the word, and the spiritual life, the purport of the premises.  
IT is not gold, but dross, not honey, but gall, not credit, but shame, not life, but death, not good, but evil, which the world yieldeth us; divide the world aright with the sword of truth, and the vanity of it will soon appear unto thee.  
But thy word, 
Psalm 119  O Lord, endureth for ever in heaven. 
Mat. 13  It is, the word of the kingdom, because it bringeth us to no less than a kingdom. It is, 
john 6  the word of life, which giveth life unto all creatures. 
Mat. 2  It is, the star which conducteth us to Christ. 
Gen. 28  The ladder, whose top reacheth up to heaven. The water, which purgeth and cleanseth our leprosy. 
2. Reg. 5 Psalmey ●.  The manna, which satisfieth our hungry souls. 
john 6  The book that we should study upon day and night. The royal and celestial Testament of God. The Oracles of his Sanctuary. 
Psal. 1 jerem. 31 Isai 22  The Key that openeth his counsel chamber door. The milk of his breasts; 
Mat 16 1 Pet 2 Psalm 11●  the gage of his love. The light of our paths. The breath of our nostrils. The pillar of our faith. 
Pro 3  The anchor of our hope. The ground of our love. 
Heb 6  The charter of our happiness. 
Pro 4  The School and Library of all spiritual learn.  
This is the pathway that leads unto heaven: 
Luke 18  so saith Christ to the young man in Luke: If thou wilt enter into heaven, keep the commandments. So saith the Spirit, 
Revel. 2●  Blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it. So saith the Angel, Blessed are they that keep the words of this book. So saith Solomon, 
Prou. 29  Blessed is the man that keepeth the Law. So saith Isaiah, He that doth this, is blessed. 
Isai 56 james 1  So saith james, The doers of the Law are justified. And to this give all the Scriptures witness, if we will consider them.  
Good cause therefore have we to love this Law, and all the day long to have our study in it.  
Worldly Lawyers increase daily; they are called common lawyers, because they are too common, and they are not weary in following that study: but God's Law, which speaketh of far better things, and promiseth to the faithful professors thereof, not the gold of Ophir, or India, but the infinite and unspeakable treasure of a kingdom, lieth open in the window, or shut in the study, altogether neglected, or recklessly regarded.  
Summon all the Law givers, and convent them together, and let them worship their politic ordinances and statutes as they list, they must not be matched and consorted with this Law.  
None of these ever durst, or did promise unto any that were keepers thereof, the recompense of a kingdom.  
Mercurius Trismegistus gave Laws to the Egyptians, Phoronaeus to the Grecians, Solon to the Athenians, Lycurgus to the Lacedæmonians, and Numa Pompilius unto the Romans; yet none of these pricketh them with that praise, as to assign such a recompense and reward unto them: Such glory hath all his Saints, saith the Kingly Prophet. 
1 Chro. 12   
As one of the least of the captains of the sons of Gad, could chase away a hundred, and the greatest a thousand: so one of God's books, exceedeth a thousand of human constitutions. 
Prou. 31   
Many daughters (saith King Lemuel) have done virtuously, but thou surmountest all: so many writers have written learnedly, but the actuaries of the scriptures have gone beyond them all.  
Whereas others of God's blessings, as food, light, and life, are communicated to others of his creatures, as to birds, beasts, and fishes; this privilege of the word, as a pre-eminence and prerogative royal above all other creatures, he hath appropriated only to man. And this is argument pregnant to persuade us to the love of the word.  
As man is most happy by his having the word, so had he been of all most miserable, if he had been destitute altogether of this word. For what comfort (saith Tobias) can I have now I sit in darkness? so, what comfort could we have had whilst we sat in darkness, and in the shadow of death, whilst we were without knowledge and hope of our salvation; aliens from the common wealth of Israel, 
Ephe 2  strangers from the covenant of promise, and were without God in the world?  
Whenas God would check the ingratitude of his people, he calleth to mind his benefits done unto them, and as the chiefest among others, 
Miea. 6  he grateth their ears with a rehearsal of his word. That as he had given them Moses to govern them, 
Num. 34  so he had sent them Aaron to instruct them: as he had given them a josua to lead the people, 
josua 15  so he did give them a priest to bear the Ark, a jehozadach with Zorobabel: 
Agge 1  and a jairus in the Synnagogue with a Centurion in Capernaum. 
Mat 8 & 9   
His word hath been the badge and cognisance of his people, the hedge and partition, whereby they have been distinguished from all other people.  
So singeth the melodious musician of Israel, 
Psalm 147  He hath not done so to any other nation, neither have any people such knowledge of his laws.  
This is that one thing that is necessary (as Christ said to Martha) howsoever many other unnecessary things are preferred before it, 
Luke 10  and we prefer with the ungentle and unmannerly guests in the Gospel: 
Luke 14  our wife, our farm, our oxen before it.  
Herein we resemble and imitate such porters, 
A similitude.  who letteth every one that is costly appareled into his master's gate, and keep out such who are far their betters, because they carry not such an outward show.  
Or they are like the raven, 
A similitude.  who when sheseeth her young ones in the nest, first do begin to feather, and then their feathers seem white, she doth not know them: but afterwards perceiving how the feathers grow black, she nourisheth and preserveth them. The world loveth not a godly man, because he seemeth to be of a contrary feather: but let him turn black, and be like the world, and the world will know him for his own, and make much of him.  
As in desperate diseases, 
A similitude.  such medicines as do serve simply in their nature, as preservatives of life, are turned, through the dangerous corruptions of the patients, into occasions of death: So in some most dangerous diseases of the soul, the word, which otherwise in nature, is a salve, is a corsive unto us. For the word is of sundry effects, according to the diverse dispositions of the subjects, that it principally worketh upon.  
The Sun worketh diversly, as we see, 
A similitude.  according to the variable nature of the matter upon which it hath his force. For as it softeneth wax, so it hardeneth clay: as it whiteth some things, so it blacketh othersome things: and yet the Sun is one, but the subject is not one.  
The word of God is one, but we are not one that are hearers of the word, to some, it is a savour of life unto life: and to others, it is a savour of death unto death.  
We are first to be sundered from our dearest kindred, rather than to be separated from the word. Hierome hath a zealous saying to that purpose, in a letter unto Heliodore: 
Hieron. ad Heliodorum.  Licet à collo paruulus pendeat infans: licet ubera quib. te nutrierat ostendat matter: licet in limine iaceat pater ut te à Christo retardet contemn matrem, calcandus est pater, solum est pietatis genus in his fuisse crudelen. If thy young babe hang about thy neck: if thy mother lay forth her breasts wherewith she gave thee suck: if thy father lie upon the threshall of thy door to stop and withhold thee from going to Christ: throw away thy child, despise thy mother, spurn thy father, it is piety not to show pity in this case. By our joint obedience unto the word, that shall come to pass, which the Scribes said of Christ; 
joh. 12.  All the whole world will follow after him, and the devil shall be left, as Rachel, without children. 
Gen. 30   
Let us but take that course in this matter of debate, that is between worldlings, and God's people, about the best purchase, that the two harlots took when they jangled and could not agree between themselves, 
1. Reg. 3  whose the living child should be, who appealed & pleaded their case before Solomon. 
Math. 12  So let us appeal to the wisdom of the spirit that is greater than Solomon.  
A rude man treadeth upon simples of very good account, 
A similitude.  through want of judgement, which the skilful Apothecary gathereth up carefully, because he hath experience & good knowledge of them.  
Oh if we did know (as Christ said to the woman of Samaria) who it is that speaketh to us. 
john. 4.  If we knew what purchase here is offered us, and who it is that offereth it us, we would not hucke with him, and stand so indifferent and careless in the matter.  
If we would compare both these lives together, the spiritual, and the temporal; the word and the world, and lay them on even balances, we should find the world too deceitful on the weights, and the things of this world, we should see to be lighter than vanity itself.  
In politic affairs, and matters temporal, we will try before we trust, our eyes shall be our judges, and our knowledge and experience shall witness with us of the goodness of a thing. Graziers try their bullocks. 
1. Reg. 3  Solomon tried who was the right mother. Isaac would try his children before he would bless them. 
Gen. 27.  And the Ephramites were tried when they would have passed jordan. 
A similitudes.  What fool is he that buyeth a horse, 
judg. 12.  and only beholdeth the bridle and saddle, and furniture of the horse, and never trieth or seethe the horse before he buyeth him? We have weights to try gold, and measures for our corn: we try our cattle, servants, wives, and children, and all other worldly things: and shall we not make trial of heavenly matters, that we may attain to the better knowledge of them?  
This was the folly of the frantic Farmer, 
Luke 14  spoken of in the Gospel, which utterly undid him, that first (as it is said of him) he bought a farm, and after that, he would go down and and see it: was it not enough that he bought vanity and repentance so dear, but that he must be so ready and greedy to buy it, as he will not first take a time to see it, whether it will serve him, whether it be worth his money? what an oversight was this? for if he had first seen it, he would never have had any encourage meant to have bought it. 
2 Sam 13  It is so with us. Absalon was never more greedy of a kingdom, than we are of the honour, ambition, & wealth of this world. And we first buy them before we do try them, otherwise we could have no pleasure in them. 
A similitude.  For as the fish seethe only the pleasant bait, but not the deadly hook, that is covered with the bait: so we see only the pleasure that delighteth, but we do not see the sorrow that tormenteth. It giveth us poison in a golden bowl of wine, & with precious balm breaketh our head.  
The channels and rivers of the pleasures of the world, do all of them run into the sea of death. The house of this harlot is the way unto the grave which goeth down to the chamber of death.  
Wisdom setteth out the conditions of the soul of the virtuous and wise, 
Prou 31  among other things praiseth and graceth her in this, that she considereth a field, and buyeth it. First she considered with herself that it was good, and, because it was good, she bought it. So we read of our jeweller, how first he found a field, and before he bought it, how he departed home, and took time to make sale of all that he had, to make purchase of that field.  
The rich glutton that pransed in his purple, 
Luke 16  opened his eyes and saw the world's vanity, but all too late; for it was when he was in hell in torments, when he espied Lazarus in Abraham his bosom. It was affliction, and not provident discretion that opened his eyes.  
The world seruethh us as an Innkeeper doth his guests, 
A similitude.  who furnisheth his table with choice of dainty dishes, very serviceably set forth, delightsome to the company, whereof they take a very liberal repast: but he sawceth them in the price when they come to the shot, exceedingly over-prizeth them, and too intolerably grateth upon them. Wherefore travelers have now learned to be wiser, who will first know their price before they will taste of those meats that are set before them; and if that they perceive their host to be a nipping and pinching companion, they leave him, and betake them to a cheaper Inn. It is good that thou shouldest take this course with thy soul, whensoever the preferments, and the pleasures of this world, as meat for thee to feed upon, are presented to thy soul.  
If the dignity of a Bishop be imposed upon thee, consider the charge and the shot of it, be persuaded that thou must reckon with God, for innumerable souls committed to thy care; and if thou be'st bound, to pay dearly for thy dignity, be first well advised before thou takest it upon thee.  
Likewise, when the pleasure of sin flattereth thee, and a harlot doth entice thee, consider how rigorous a rate thine host hath set upon this vild and sinful flesh, which thou must needs pay, even the tortures of hell, and the lake that ever burneth both thy body and thy soul.  
This respect & consideration before had, 
Gen. 39  will make thee, with joseph (who left his cloak in the hands of his Mistress, and ran away naked, rather than he would yield to her wicked lust) to leave all that thou hast in the world, rather than to the offence of God, and destruction of thy soul, to cleave unto wickedness.  
What prisoner that is fast shut up in prison, 
A similitude.  and condemned to die for his capital crimes, and he seethe no other mean of escaping, but by the breach of the wall, and his friends adviseth him hereunto, will not take their counsel; and the better to get through so narrow a passage, will not put off all his apparel to the skin, and leave it behind him to preserve his life. We see how death is set before our eyes for our heinous sins, and rebellions against God, and we cannot shun it, but by striving to go through the strait gate that entereth into heaven: and to crowd into that, jet it not be grievous to stripour selves, of whatsoever burden we do carry about us; but to press in, let's make any shift, albeit it be with grating, galling, and wounding these our mortal bodies.  
To be blind in soul, and to be ignorant of God's word, is a far more horrible and palpable blindness than that which the Lord in judgement did bring upon the land of Egypt, 
Exod. 10.  which was so foggy and gross for the time, as one man could not see an other, or once stir out of the place wherein he was.  
For whereas man consisteth of two parts, the body and the soul, how far the soul doth exceed the body, it is not so easy for us to define. But this is most manifest, that the body, if it might be sundered from the soul, little differeth from the bodies of bruit beasts: & if that the soul might be singled from the body, it would be but little inferior unto angelical spirits.  
Whatsoever ornament, 
A similitude.  grace, and feature is in the body, it hath it from the soul, his vigour, functions, and natural induments are from thence derived. For, as the beauty and bravery of a picture overlayde with gold, consisteth not in the wooden subject, but in the orient, and golden form, which being defaced and put out, it is nothing but a rude, and deformed substance: so the soul being the life, and the livelihoode of the man, which giveth essence and form unto the man, being taken from the body, the body becometh a most unclean carrion, most ugly and fearful unto us to behold. Yet in most preposterous and brainsick manner, all the whole care is set upon the body, and we grow most remiss and careless of the soul. The base bondwoman the flesh is advanced, and set in the higher room, and the spirit our peerless and beautiful lady, to her great disgrace is debased, and put down to the lowermost end.  
If the body be diseased, how many Physicians are sent for to succour it? if in want, what cares do we take to supply it? if in danger, we run through thick and thin to shun it: but the deadly disease, the woeful want, the extremest danger that can be of the soul, is not respected of us.  
Whereas the soul is the Mistress, and the body but the chambermaid: whereas the soul is the rider, and the body but the beast that beareth the rider: lo, the minion maid is graced, and her Mistress despised: the simpler jade is stroked, and the rider is thrown off, and cast unto the ground.  
The body is but the garment, & coverlet of the soul. It is mere madness for any to spoil his body, that he might not spoil his garment: so is it for us to save the body, to destroy the soul.  
If all outward things be ordained for the body, and the body be created for the soul, and the soul for God: is it not gross and absurd folly, to busy ourselves wholly about those things that are to this end, and to neglect the main point of all, which is the end itself? To provide such stuff as may set up a house, and never to go in hand with the house. To get many books, and to procure us many teachers, and yet to make no use of these books and teachers? To go to war, and to be careful to have a fine scabbard enamelld & embossed with pearl, & with gold, and not to care for the matter of the blade, whether it be of iron, or of lead, or of any other base and impure substances? The body is the subject, and as it were the case, & sheath of the soul, wherein the soul is hidden: it is a frantic fashion therefore, to be so curious and nice about the pleasures of the body, and to be so careless, and unwise for the treasure of the soul.  
Let us lay them both together, and weigh them in the balance of judgement and discretion, and the disproportion that will appear between them, will convince in our election, our too too blind and prejudicate affections.  
If no tongue be able to unfold the pre-eminence and dignity royal, that the soul doth carry above the body: I think that much less the glory of God's Saints in the life that is to come, how much it exceedeth and excelleth all the glory that this present world affordeth, is able to be expressed. For how can both themselves admit a just comparison, whenas one is momentany, subject to all vanity, the other eternal, comprehending all felicity? 
Isai. 64  Of this saith the Lord, The eye hath not seen what the Lord hath prepared for them that expect him. And of the other saith Saint james, It is a vapour that appeareth for a time, 
james 4.  and vanisheth away.  
The Philosophers of the Gentiles prying into the nature and condition of this life, but with the eye of human reason, found matter enough of discontentment with it, inasmuch as Seneca is of that mind as he thinketh that no man would vouchsafe to take upon him this life, if first he might be certified of the estate and manner of it.  
Silenus, another of that sect saith plainly, that the best thing, in his conceit is, not to be borne, and that the next to that is, to die.  
Stories do speak of a people in Thracia, who entertain their infants, when they are borne into the world, with tears and great lamenting, and do celebrate their funerals with all melody and triumphing. And I marud not at it, why the heathen sort should be so conceited of this life, since the dear Saints of God, job and jeremy were so malcontented with it. 
job 3 jerem. 20   
Give me a man, in whom all the favours of this world shall conspire, who is in the faunt, and liveth as he list: anatomize his lfe, & give a right judgement of all the pleasures and wishes he enjoyeth, & tell me what they are. Is he in honour and estimation amongmen, and doth the world applaud him? What is this to him in the rigorous judgement, whenas he shall not be tried by his country, but his conscience: not by other men's sayings, but by his own doings? If all the world commend thee, and thy God condemn thee, what will this avail thee? Be therefore like those that run a race, who do stand herein to their judgement only, who will reward them for their running. Call only upon God, as the blind man by the way side of jericho called upon Christ, 
Luke 18  howsoever the world, as it checked him, reproveth thee for it.  
Is he in great honour and preferment in the world? then is he in greatest doings? as the highest trees are most of all in danger in the violence of a wind: 
A similitude.  and as the greatest fishes in fishermen's nets, which can not get out, whenas the small fry and menowes do run out as fast as they list. Every man's promotion bindeth him in a greater obligation. If he hath received much, he is bound to gi●e much: 
Luke 12  if he sinneth, the greater is his sin: the higher he climbeth, the more grievousy he falleth.  
Is he comely and beautiful to behold? Beauty is nothing but the shadow of the fa●e, & like the outward colour of a picture, which is soon put out, a little spot deformeth the one, and a little sickness doth take away the other. The beauty of God's creatures should serve as spectacles, by them to behold the glory of the Creator. If we make not this godly use of it, we shall do like young children, who beholding only a picture in a book, wholly neglect the lessons in the book.  
Is he sumptuously and richly arrayed, he need not boast of that, for his robes do but serve him as rags, to cover his nakedness. He that braggeth of that which is but the cover of his shame, doth like the prisoner, that is rescued from the gallows, who braggeth of his rope: or as the spittle man and Proctor by the way, that is proud of the filthy and corrupt clouts, wherewith he wrappeth and bindeth up his sores. Such as as boast of their bravery, 
Isai. 14  God telleth by the mouth of Esay the Prophet, that the worms and the earth shall be the clothes and garments that shall cover him. Is he a nobleman, and draweth his pedigree from Princes, and doth he show the arms of his nobility in his shield? these are but painted and counterfeit arms, his right arms indeed of most ancient inheritance, are mortality and corruption. If he list to see his lineal descent, let him open the grave, and let him with job, call corruption his father, 
Genesis 3  and the worms his mother and his sister: Corruption did beget him; and as it was that which made him, so it shall be that which shall mar him: out of dust he came, and into dust he shall return, be he as noble, and high borne as he may.  
Hath he riches at his desire, so as he hath substance enough for his babes? what is the matter and substance of riches, but the very vapours and exhalations of the earth? It availeth nothing to virtue and godliness, to make a man more wise, more humble, more temperate, more patiented.  
How little the Lord doth esteem of riches, 
Psalm 17  hereby it may appear, in that he imparteth them so prodigally to the wicked, and dealeth them out so scantly to the godly. The nature of riches, 
A similitude.  is like the nature of a mill, which albeit, it turneth about all the day, yet it resteth in the end in the same place as it was in in the beginning. So, though we have our swing in this world, and do run our circuit, and prowl for the world, 
1 Tim. 6  yet the ending of our life, will answer our beginning; nothing we brought with us, and nothing shall we carry out of the world with us.  
Is he a man full of mirth? 
Eccles. ●  what is the mirth that the world yieldeth? Solomon telleth thee, I said of laughter, thou art mad, and of joy, what is it that thou dost? It is like the mirth of the mad man, 
Feb. 11  that in the doting distemperature of his brain, doth smile and make laughter. Moses made no reckoning of such kind of mirth, but rather, choosed affliction with the people of God, than to live in the pleasure of sin for a season. As Pharaoh was drowned in the waters of the sea, so the devil is drowned with our salt tears, and godly sorrows conceived for our sins. 
Psal. 37.  Thus there is nothing in the world that satisfieth us; only God, he giveth us our hearts desire, howsoever he is the least desire of our heart.  
FINIS.