To the Reader. HEre thou hast the Sermons which have been often desired, because of the matter fit for this City. One saith, that he would never speak to Usurers, and Bribemongers, but when they be upon their deathbeds: for he which liveth by sin, resolveth to sin, that he may live. But when he goeth to hanging, judas himself will say, I have sinned. Mat. 27. 4. If I speak not to Usurers upon their deathbed, yet I speak to Usurers which shall lie upon their deathbed. Three things do give me hope. One is, that all hearts are in the hands of God, to call them at what hour he list, and therefore Saul may become an Apostle. Act. 9 15. The next is, that the third crow doth waken more than the former, and therefore after the crowing of other, this crow may happily be heard. The last is, that there is no sin, but some men have been reclaimed from it, and so may Usurers from their sin. Therefore go my book like David against Goliath, 1. Sam. 17. 51. and fight the Lords battles against Usurers. The Lord give that success to his doctrine in these leaves, that it may consume Usurers, as joshuah drove out the Chananites before him. josh. 5. 1. If I could take but this one weed out of the Londoners Garden, I were answered for my health and my strength spent amongst them. Read with thy best mind, & thou shall profit more. Thine H. S. The Examination of Usury, in two Sermons. The first Sermon. Psal. 15. vers. 1. & 5. Lord, who shall dwell in thy Tabernacle? Who shall rest in thine holy mountain? He that giveth not his money to Usury. THese two verses must be considered together, because one is the question, and the other is the answer: Vers. 1. David demands who shall come to heaven? and God tells him that usurers shall not come thither: as if he should say, they go to hell. Therefore as Paul taught Timothy to warn them which are rich, as though they had more need to be warned than other: 1. Tim. 6. 17. so this sentence seemeth to be penned for a warning to the rich, because it strikes upon the rich man's vice. I have spoken of Bribery and simony, and now I must speak of their sister Usury. Many times have I thought to speak of this Theme; but the arguments which are alleged for it, have made me doubtful what to say in it, because it hath gone as it were under protection. At last you see it falleth into my text, and therefore now I cannot balk it any longer. Therefore if any here have favoured this occupation before, let him now submit his thoughts unto God's thoughts; for I will allege nothing against it, but that which is built upon the rock. Usury is the sin which God will try now whether you love better than his word: that is, whether you will leave it if he forbidden it: for if he flatly forbidden it, and yet you wilfully retain it, than you love Usury better than God's word. usurers Heretics. Therefore one saith well that our Usurers are Heretics, because after many admonitions, yet they maintain their error, & persist in it obstinately as Papists do in Popery. For this cause I am glad that I have any occasion to gripple with this sin, where it hath made so many spoils, and where it hath so many patrons: for it is said that there be more of this profession in this City, than there be in all the land beside. There be certain sins which are like an unreasonable enemy which will not be reconciled to death, & this is one of those everlasting sins which live and die with a man. For when he hath resigned his pride and his envy and his lust, yet Usury remaineth with him, & he saith as Naaman said, 2. King. 5. 18. Let the Lord be merciful unto me in this: let me have a dispensation for this, as though this were a necessary sin, & he could not live without it. Three sins counted no sins. There be three sins which are counted no sins, and yet they do more hurt than all their fellows, and those are Bribery, nonresidency, & Usury: these three because they are gainful are turned from sins to occupations. How many of this city for all that they are Usurers, yet would be counted honest men, & would feign have Usury esteemed as a trade: whereas if it were not so gainful, it would be counted as great a sin as any other, & so it is counted of all but then which live by it. This is the nature of pleasure and profit, to make sins seem no sins if we gain any thing by them, but the more gainful a sin is, the more dangerous it is, & the more gainful usury is, the more dangerous it is. I will speak the more of it, because happily you shall not hear of this matter again. The contents of this Treatise. First I will define what usury is: Secondly, I will show you what usury doth signify: Thirdly, I will show the unlawfulness of it: Fourthly: I will show the kinds of it: Fiftly, I will show the arguments which are alleged for it: Sixtly, I will show the punishment of it: Seventhly, I will show you what opinion we should hold of them which do not lend upon usury, but borrow upon usury. Lastly, I will show you what they should do which have got their riches by usury. The definition of Usury. Touching the first, Usury is that gain which is gotten by lending, for the use of the thing which a man dareth, covenanting before with the borrower to receive more than was borrowed: Usurers steal by law. & therefore one calls the usurer a legal thief, because before he steal, he tells the party how much he will steal, as though he stole by law. This word more, comes in like a sixth finger, which makes a monster, because it is more than should be. Another defining usury, calleth it the Contrary to charity: for Paul saith, Love seeketh not her own, but usury seeketh another's which is not her own: therefore usury is far from love, but God is love, saith john, 1. john. 48. therefore usury is far from God to. Now, all the Commandments of God are fulfilled by love, which Christ noteth when he draweth all the Commandments to one Commandment, which is, Love God above all things, and thy neighbour as thyself: Mat. 22. 37. as if he should say, he which loveth God, will keep all the Commandments which respect God, & he which loveth his neighbour will keep all the commandments which respect his neighbour, therefore to maintain love, God forbiddeth all things which hinder this love: and among the rest here he forbiddeth Usury, as one of her deadliest enemies: for a man cannot love and be an Usurer, because Usury is a kind of cruelty, and a kind of extortion, and a kind of persecution, & therefore the want of love doth make Usurers: for if there were love there would be no Usury, no deceit, no extortion, no slandering, no revenging, no oppression, but we should live in peace, & joy, and contentment like the Angels; whereby you see that all our sins are against ourselves: for if there were no deceit, than we should not be deceived; if there were no slander, them we should not be slandered; if there were no envy, than we should not be envied; if there were no extortion, them we should not be injuried; if there were no Usury, them we should not be oppressed. Therefore God's law had been better for us then our own law: for if his law did stand, than we should not be deceived, nor slandered, nor envied, nor injuried, nor oppressed. God hath commanded every man to lend freely, Luke. 6. 35. & who would not borrow freely? Therefore they which brought in Usury, brought in a law against themselves. The first Usurers which we read of, were the jews, which were forbidden to be Usurers, yet for want of faith and love, Ezekiel and Nehemiah doth show how the jews, even the jews which received this law from God himself, did serve from it as they did from the rest. Ezech. 18. 22. Nehe. 2. 5. First, they did lend upon Usury to strangers; after they began to lend upon Usury to their brethren, and now there be no such Usurers upon earth, as the jews which were forbidden to be Usurers. Whereby you may see how the malice of man hath turned mercy into cruelty. For whereas lending was commanded for the benefit of men, Deut. 15. 10. Usury hath turned it to the undoing of men: for they take when they seem to give; they hurt when they seem to help; they damage when they seem to vantage: therefore it is well noted that usury 2 hath her name of biting, and she may well signify biting: for many have not only been bitten by it, but devoured by it, that is, consumed all that they have: therefore as the Apostle saith, Galat. 5. 15. If you bite one another, take heed you be not devoured one of another: so I may say if you be usurers one to another, take heed you be not devoured one of another, for usurers are byters. As the name of the devil doth declare what an enemy he is; so the name of usury doth declare what an enemy she is. Because it signifieth an adversary. That you may know usury for a biter, her name doth signify biting. Neschec. If there were one biting usury, and another healing usury, than usury should have two names; one of biting, & another of healing: but all usury signifieth biting, to show that all usury is unlawful. Now, you have heard what usury is, & of what it is derived, you shall hear the unlawfulness of it. The unlawfulness of Usury. First, it is against the law of charity, because charity biddeth us to give every man his own, and to require no more than our own; but Usury requireth more than her own, and gives not to other their own. Charity rejoiceth to communicate her goods to other, and Usury rejoiceth to gather other men's goods to herself. Secondly, it is against the law of Nations; for every Nation hath some law against Usury, and some restraint against Usurers, as you shall hear when we speak of the punishment. Thirdly, as it is against the law of Nations, so it is against the law of Nature, that is, the natural compassion which should be among men. A similitude. You see a river when it goeth by an empty place, it will not pass until it hath filled that empty place, & then it goeth forward to another empty place and filleth it, & so to another empty place & filleth it, always filling the places which are empty: so should we, the rich should fill the poor, the full should fill the hungry, they which abound should fill them which want, for the rich are but God's Amners, & their riches are committed to them of God to distribute and do good as God doth himself. As the water is charitable after a sort, so is the air, for it goeth to empty places to, and filleth them as the water doth. Nature cannot abide that any place should be empty, and therefore the air though it be a light body, and so naturally ascendeth upward: yet rather than any place in the earth should be empty, the air will descend as it were from his throne, and go into caves, into dens, and into dungeons, to fill them. If the rich were so good to their empty brethren, as the air and water are to other empty things; as there is no empty place in the world, so there should be no empty person in the world: that is, the rich in Israel would fill the poor in Israel, but the rich make the poor to fill them, for Usurers feed upon the poor even as great fishes devour the small. Therefore he which said. Let there not be a beggar in Israel; Deut. 15. 4. said to, let there not be an Usurer in Israel; for if there be Usurers in Israel, there will be beggars in another. For Christ said to his disciples, Love one another as I have loved you. john. 13. 34. But it may be said of the Usurer, see how he hateth other, and loveth himself. For when he saith that he dareth for compassion, he meaneth for compassion of himself, that he may gain by his pity. The Usurer loveth the borrower, as the ivy loveth the Oak: The ivy loveth the Oak to grow up by it, so the Usurer loveth the borrower to grow rich by him. The ivy claspeth the Oak like a lover, but it claspeth out all the juice and sap, that the Oak cannot thrive after: So the Usurer dareth like a friend, but he covenanteth like an enemy, for he claspeth the borrower with such bands, that ever after he diminisheth, as fast as the Usurer increaseth. Understand that his Sermon upon the mount, is an exposition of the Commandments, or else the text will not seem to imply this. Luke. 19 8. Christ expounding the commandment which forbiddeth to steal, saith, lend freely, showing that Usury, because she dareth not freely, is a kind of theft, & the Usurers a kind of thieves, for else this exposition were not right. Therefore Zacheus, as though he had stolen other men's goods, when he began to repent, he restored them again four fold, even as thieves are enjoined to restore four fold for that which they have stolen, so Zacheus restored four four-fold, as though he had stolen. In some kind of theft. Exod. 22. It seemeth that Zacheus was no great thief, because he restored four fold for all that he had gotten wrongfully, for he got but the fourth part of his goods wrongfully at the most, or else he could not have restored four fold again. But now, if some should restore four fold, for all that they have gotten wrongfully, they should restore more than they have, because all which usurers get, they get wrongfully: for their occupation is a sin, and therefore one saith, Because they cannot restore four fold here, they shall suffer an hundredth fold hereafter. 2. Chron. 25. Amaziah is forbidden to strengthen himself with the armies of Israel, only because Israel, had offended God; if Amaziah might not join the armies of Israel with his armies to strengthen him, darest thou join the goods of the poor with thy goods to enrich thee? When God set Adam his work, he said, In the sweat of thy brows shalt thou live: Gene. 3. 19 not in the sweat of his brows, but in the sweat of thy brows; but the Usurer liveth in the sweat of his brows, & her brows: that is, by the pains and cares, and labours of another, for he taketh no pains himself, but only expecteth the time when his interest will come in, like the belly which doth no work, & yet eateth all the meat. When God had finished his creation, he said unto man, and unto beasts, and unto fishes, Increase and multiply, Gene. 1. 28. but he never said unto money, increase and multiply, because it is a dead thing which hath no seed, and therefore is not fit to engender. Therefore he which saith to his money, increase & multiply, begetteth a monstrous birth, like Anah, Gene. 36. 24. which devised a creature which GOD had not created before. Christ saith to his Disciples, Mat. 5. 46. If you love but them which love you, what are you better than the Publicans, for they love their brethren: so I may say, if you will lend to none but to them which will pay you Usury for it, what are you better than the jews? for the jews would lend for Usury; & if you be no better than the jews, than you shall speed no better than they: for as Christ said, Mat. 5. 20. Except your righteousness do exceed the righteousness of the pharisees, your reward shall not exceed the reward of the pharisees: so, except your charity do exceed the charity of the jews, your reward shall not exceed the reward of the jews. All this doth show, that the Usurer is like Esau, of whom God said, Mala. 1. 3. Esau have I hated. Now in the 112. Psalm, you shall see who is like jacob, of whom God saith, Vers. 5. jacob have I loved: for there David saith, a good man is merciful, and dareth, and strait upon it he setteth this crown, he shall never be moved, but be had in perpetual remembrance: as if he should say, this is the good man's Usury, this is his increase, even a good name, & everlasting joy. Again, in the 23. of Exod. it is said, Lend unto him which wanteth without Usury, that the Lord may bless thee: as if he should say, let the Lord pay the increase, fear not to be losers by doing good, for God hath given his word to requite it himself Mala. 3. 10. . As he saith to them which were afraid to pay tithes, and offer sacrifice, Deut. 25. 10. Try me if I will not power down a blessing upon you: so he seemeth to say unto them which are afraid to lend, try me if I will not power down a blessing upon you. Whom will you trust, if you do not trust your creator, your father, your redeemer, your preserver, and your Saviour? Now you have heard the unlawfulness of Usury, you shall hear how many kinds there be of it. As other crafts are called Mysteries, so I may fitly call it, the Mystery of Usury, for they have devised more sorts of Usury, than there be tricks at cards, I cannot reckon half, and I am afraid to show you all, lest I should teach you to be Usurers, while I dissuade you from Usury, yet I will bring forth some; and the same reasons which are alleged against these, shall condemn all the rest. The kinds of Usurers. Some will not take Usury, but they will have the use of your pasture, or your land, or your orchard, or your team, or your kine, until you pay the money again, which in that time will grow to a greater gain to the Usurer, and a greater loss to the borrower, than if he had paid more money than other usurers are wont to take. Some will not take usury, but they will take plate, and vessel, and tapestry, and bedding, and other household stuff, to use and wear, until their money come home, which will lose more in the wearing, than the interest of the money would come to. This usury is forbidden in the 2. of Amos, where God complaineth saying, They lie down upon the clothes which are laid to pledge: showing, that we should not lie down upon such clothes, that is, we should not use or wear the thing which is laid to pledge. Some will take no Usury, but they will take a pawn which is better than the money which they lend, and then they will covenant, that if he bring not the money again by such a day, he forfetteth his pawn: which day the Usurer knoweth, that the poor man is not able to keep, and so keepeth the pawn for his money, which is worth twice his money. This Usury is forbidden in Leuit. 25. where it is said, Thou shalt not take Usury or vantage: as if he should say, thou shalt not take the forfeiture; for than thou takest vantage, when thou takest more than thou lendest. Some will not take Usury, but they will buy some thing at a small price, and then covenant with the borrower that he buy the same again of the same price at such day, which day the usurer knoweth that the borrower is not able to keep, and so he getteth for a little, that which the other might have sold for much more. This usury is condemned in the 1. Thessa. 4. where it is said, Let no man defraud or cirumvent his brethren in any thing. Some will not take usury, but they will lend out their money to occupiers, upon condition to be partakers in their gains, but not in their losses: so one takes all the pains and abideth all the venture, and the other which takes no pains, reapeth half the profit. This usury is forbidden in 2. Thes. 3. 10. where it is said, He which will not work let him not eat. Some will not take Usury, but if he be a Labourer, or a Mason, or a Carpenter, which borroweth of him, he will covenant with him for so many days work, he shall labour with him so many days, or so many weeks for no money, but the loan of money. This Usury is condemned in Luke. 10. 7. where it is said, The labourer is worthy of his hire. Some will not take Usury, but if you have not present money to pay for their wares, they will set a high price of them, for the forbearing of the time, and so they do not only sell their wares, but they sell time to: that is, they do not only sell their own, but they sell Gods own. Therefore one saith of these, When he selleth the day, he selleth the light, and when he selleth the night he selleth rest: therefore when he would have the light of heaven, and the rest of Paradise, it shall be said unto him that he hath sold both already. For he sold light when he sold the day, and he sold rest when he sold the night: and therefore now he can have neither light nor rest. Hereafter let not the Londoners say that they give time, but that they sell time. There be other Usurers which will not lend themselves, but give leave to their wives, and they play like hucksters, that is, every month a penny for a shilling, which is one hundred for another in the year. But that I was informed of them since this sermon was preached, I had left out our capital Usurers, which will not lend any money, because they dare not require so much gain as they would have, but if you would borrow an hundred pound, they will give you wares worth three score pound, and you shall answer them an hundred pound for it. These are the usurers general, which lurk about the the City like Rats, & Wesels, and Fulmer's, of whom may be said the same which is said of the devils, they seek whom they may devour. 1. Pet. 5. 8. 10 Usuries Cousins. There be other Cousins to usurers, which are not counted usurers, such as take money for that which they should give freely: such as take as much for a counterfeit as for the best: such as take a fee of a Client & do him no pleasure: such as take money for Masses, & Dirges, and Trentals, and Pardons, & such like drugs, which do no more good than fire out of the chimney. This is a kind of usury and deceit beside, which one day they will cast away as judas did his thirty pence. Objections made by usurers. Now you have heard the kinds of usury, you shall hear the arguments which are devised for usury. Sin is never complete until it be excused: this is the vantage which the devil getteth by every sin, whensoever he can fasten any temptation upon us, we give him a sin for it, and an excuse to boot as Adam our father did. Gen. 3. First he sinned, and then he excused: so first we sin, and then we excuse: first an usurer, and then an excuser. Therefore every usurer will defend usury with his tongue, though he condemn it with his conscience. If the Image makers of Ephesus had not lived by Images, Act. 19 25. they would have spoken for Images, no more than the rest: for none stood for Images but the Image makers: so if the usurers did not live by usury, they would speak for usury no more than the rest: for none stand for usury but usurers. It is an easy matter, if a man be disposed, to speak something for every vice, as some defend the Stews: some defend treason; some defend Nonresidency: some defend swearing by my faith: some defend bowling upon the Sabaoth: and some defend usury. But, will you plead for Baal? (saith joash) jud. 6. 31. that is, will you plead for sin which will plead against you? A sin is a sin when it is defended: nay, a sin is two sins, when it is defended: for he which breaketh one of the least commandments (saith Christ) Matth. 5. 19 & teacheth others to do so, is the least in the kingdom of heaven. A Squire of low degree is a Squire of no degree: so the least in the kingdom of heaven is none of the kingdom of heaven. Who then is the least in the kingdom of heaven? not he which breaketh the least of the commandments, but he which teacheth others to do so: that is, he which by defending, and excusing, & mincing, and extenuating his sin, encourageth others to sin too. To defend Usury, they distinguish upon it, as they distinguish of lying: as they say, there is a pernicious lie, and an officious lie, and a merry lie, and a godly lie: so they say, there is the Merchant's Usury, and the Stranger's Usury, and the widows Usury, and the Orphans Usury, and the poor man's Usury, and the biting Usury, and the charitable Usury, and the necessary Usury. As God said, Gen. 2. ye shall die, and the woman said, peradventure ye shall die, and the Serpent said, ye shall not die; Three opinions of Usury. so there be three opinions of Usury: some say like God, thou shalt die, they think that Usury is utterly unlawful, because God hath utterly forbid it: some say like the woman, peradventure thou shalt die, they doubt whether Usury be utterly unlawful or no, because it is so much tolerated: some say like the Serpent, thou shalt not die, Gen. 3. they think that Usury is lawful, because it is gainful, as Saul thought that the Idolaters beasts should not be killed, because they were fat. But as he was commanded to 1. Sam. 15. 9 kill the fat beast, as well as the lean, so we are commanded to kill fat sins as well as lean sins; gainful sins as well as prodigal sins. Objections for Usury. They which plead for Usury, object these arguments. First they say, God doth allow some kind of Usury, for in Deut. 23. it is said of a stranger thou mayest take Usury. I perceive no scripture speaketh for Usurers. Of a stranger (saith God) thou mayst take Usury: but thou takest Usury of thy brother, therefore this condemneth thee, because thou usest thy brother like a stranger. Here stranger doth signify the jews enemies, whom they were commanded to destroy: therefore mark how much this maketh against Usury, which they object for Usury. God doth not licence the jews to take Usury of any, but their enemies, whom they might kill: They might not be Usurers unto any, but to them of whom they might be destroyers, whom they might slay, of them only they might take usury: showing that Usury is a kind of punishment, and such a kind of punishment, as if we are to kill a man, it were a very fit punishment for him, and therefore the jews might take Usury of none, but them whom they might kill. I hope Usurers will allege this scripture no more. Secondly, they say that they lend for compassion, & so make Usury a work of charity. This were charity not to be partakers in our gains, but to be partakers in our losses; but Usurers will be partakers in our gains, but not in our losses; nay, though we lose, yet they will gain: is this charity? it is usurers charity. Thirdly, they say, if he gain and I gain too, is not this well? may he not consider my friendship, and be thankful? yes, he may be thankful, but no man is bound to be thankful, but when he hath received a good turn, than he is tried whether he will be thankful or no: and if he requite thy courtesy, than he is thankful, but if thou bind him to requite it, than thou art covetous. Fourthly they say, Usury is necessary for Orphans, and Widows, and Strangers, which have no other way to get their living, and therefore some Usury must be tolerated. If Usury be necessary for us, how did the jews without it? Did God think it good for the state of their common weal to be without Usurers? and is it good for the state of our common weal to have Usurers? this is wisdom against God. Fiftly they say: If I may not gain by the money which I lend, I will lend no more, but keep my money to myself: nay, that is as bad to keep thy money from them which need, as to lend thy money for Usury. For Christ saith Matth. 5. 42. , from him which borroweth turn not away thy face. Therefore thou art bound to lend. As he hath a curse in Prou. 11. which keepeth his corn, when he should sell it to them which hunger; so he hath a curse in Eze. 18. which keepeth his money when he should lend it to them which want. Sixtly they say, because Usury comes of biting, the biting usury is only forbidden, & none but the biting usury: why then all usury is forbidden, for all usury cometh of biting, so the wise God hath given it a name to condemn it. Lastly, they allege the Law of the land for it, and say, the Queen's statute doth allow us to take upon usury ten in the hundredth. These are like the jews, which said, john. 19 7. We have a law, and by our law he shall die: when they could not say by God's law he shall die, than they said by our law he shall die: so when they cannot say by God's law we may take usury, they say by man's law we may take usury, this is the poorest defence of all the rest: for if God's law forbidden thee, can any law of man excuse thee? As it would not serve Adam to say, Gen. 3. the woman bade me; so it will not serve the usurer to say, the Law doth licence me. But he cannot say the Law doth licence me: for though peradventure our Law do tolerate more than should be tolerated, yet I would have you know, that our Law doth not allow ten in the hundredth, nor five in the hundredth, nor one in the hundredth, nor any usury at all: but there is a restraint in our Law, that no usurer take above ten in the hundredth, it doth not allow ten in the hundredth, but punisheth that tyrant which exacteth above ten in the hundredth. It is much like that toleration which we read of divorces. For the hardness of men's hearts, Christ saith, that Moses did suffer the man and wife to part a sunder: So for the hardness of men's hearts, Matth. 19 7. our Moses our Prince is feign to suffer as it were a kind of usury, because otherwise no men would lend. These are the best excuses which our Usurers have to plead for themselves, against they come before the tribunal of God; & if their reasons will not stand before men nor their own conscience, how will they stand before the Lord? And yet he which speaketh to these, maketh himself a mock. Christ preached many Sermons, and was never scorned at any, but when he preached against covetousness, them it is said that he was mocked: Luk. 16. 14. showing that these kind of men are most incorrigible and wedded to their sin till death make them part. Yet for their greater condemnation, we are commanded to speak to them which will not hear: Ezek. 2. 5. of which number is every reader of this Sermon if he be a Usurer after. What the usurer is like. Now, you long to hear what the Usurer is like. To what shall I liken this generation? They are like a Butler's box: for as all the counters at last come to the Butler; so all the money at last cometh to the Usurer, ten after ten, & ten after ten, and ten to ten, till at last he receive not only ten for an hundredth, but an hundredth for ten. This is the only difference, that the Butler can receive no more than he delivered: but the Usurer receiveth more than he delivereth. They are like a Moth; even as a Moth eateth a hole in cloth, so Usury eateth a hole in silver: If you have a piece of silver which is as much as an hundred pounds, in one year usury will eat a hole in it as big as ten pounds: in two years she will eat a hole as big as twenty pounds: in three years she will eat a hole as big as thirty pounds. Nay, now they say, he is but a bad husband which cannot eat a hole as big as fifty pounds in a year: that is, which cannot gain half in half: how many holes have these Moths eaten in poor men's garments? They are like non-residents, that is, such bad members, that no man speaketh for them but themselves. As no man standeth for nonresidency, but he which is a non-resident, or he which would be a non-resident: so no man standeth for Usury, but he which is an Usurer, or he which would be an usurer. They are like jezabel, which said, 1. King. 21. 7. Let me alone, I have a way. If there be no way to live (saith the false Steward) I know what to do I will deceive: so if there be no way to live (saith the usurer) I know what to do, I will oppress: Luk. 16. 4. If I cannot live by buying, nor by selling, nor by flattering, nor by labouring, I will live by oppression. But as one in his Comment speaks to the false Steward. Thou sayest I know what to do, but dost thou know what thou shalt suffer? So I say to usurers, you say you know what to do, but do you know what you shall suffer? In deed he knoweth not what to do, which knoweth not to do well: and therefore Christ said of his persecutors, that they knew not what they did. Luk 23. 34. Here I will end the first days examination. Now I may conclude with Paul, 1. Cor. 7. 10. I have not spoken, but the Lord: & therefore as the Lord said unto Saul, Act. 9 22. that he persecuted him; so they which resist this doctrine do contemn him, and not me. The end of the first Sermon. THE EXAMINATION of Usury. The second Sermon. IT remaineth that we speak of the usurers punishment: Then, what may be thought of them which do not take usury, but give usury. Lastly, what they should do, which have got their riches by usury. The punishments of usurers. To begin with the punishment, not only God's law, but even the Cannon law doth so condemn usury, that first it doth excommunicate him from the Church, as though he had no communion with Saints. Secondly, it doth detain him from the Sacraments, as though he had no communion with Christ. Thirdly, it doth deprive him of his Sepulchre, and will not suffer him to be buried, as though he were not worthy to lie in the earth, but to lie in hell. Lastly, it maketh his will to be no will, as though his goods were not his own: for nothing is ours but that which we have rightly got: & therefore we say, It is mine by right, as though it were not ours, unless it be ours by right. This is the judgement of man's law. Now you shall hear the judgement of God's law. A usurer doth receive two Incomes; one of the borrower, and another of the revenger; of the borrower he looks for gain; but of the revenger he looks for punishment: therefore all the Scripture prophesieth evil unto him, as Michatah did to Achab. Solomon saith. Prou. 28. 8. He which increaseth his riches by Usury, gathereth for them which will be merciful to the poor. As if he should say, when he hath laden himself like a cart, he shall be unloaden like a cart again, and they shall inherit his money for whom he did never gather it. For, he which is unmerciful to the poor, meaneth not to gather for them which will be merciful to the poor: but Solomon saith, That they shall be his heirs which will be merciful as he was unmerciful. Now mark whether this prophecy of Solomon be true, I know not how many in this City do increase by usury; but this prophesy seemeth to be verified of many: For it is noted, that the riches and lands of Aldermen and Merchants, and other in London, do not last so long, nor endure so well, as the riches and lands of others in the country, & that their children do not prove so well as others, nor come to that place in the Common weal, which for their wealth their parents looked that they should come to, I can give no reason for it, but the reason of Solomon, He which increaseth by Usury, gathereth for them which will be merciful to the poor. That is, their riches shall go from their heirs to God's heirs, according to that, The riches of the sinner is laid up for the righteous: Prou. 13. 22. that is, the righteous shall enjoy that which the wicked gathereth. All riches are uncertain, but the riches which are evil gotten, are most uncertain: They may be called movable goods, for they are very movable, like the clouds which never rest till they fall as they climbed. God saith, Ezec. 22. 13. that he will smite the usurer with his fist, not with the palm of his hand, but with his fist, which giveth a greater blow. As his hands were shut against the poor, so God's hands shall be shut against him, that his punishment may be like his sin. But if you will hear their final sentence, David saith here, That they shall not dwell in God's temple, nor rest in his holy mountain. Then we will seek no more punishments, for this punishment is all punishments. If they shall not come to heaven, whose then shall those riches be? Nay, whose then shall the honour be when that day cometh? If he shall not rest in heaven, than he shall rest in hell where no rest is. Then saith one, Note. the usurer shall cry unto his children, Cursed be you my children, because you were the cause of these torments, for least you should be poor, I was an usurer, and rob other, to leave riches unto you. To whom, the children shall reply again, nay, Cursed be you father, for you were the cause of our torments; for if you had not left us other men's goods, we had not kept other men's goods. Thus when they are cursed of God, they shall curse one an other, curse the Lord for condemneth than, curse their sins for accusing them, curse their Parents for begetting them, and curse themselves, because they cannot help themselves: As they which are blessed do nothing but bless, so they which are cursed, do nothing but curse. This is the second Usury which the Usurer shall receive of God, after he hath received Usury of men, than the name of Usury shallbe fulfilled, as it signifieth biting, so when it hath bitten other, it shall bite the Usurer to, and never rest biting; then they shall wish that they could restore again as Zacheus did, & shall not restore, because their money is gone. Therefore if Christ be come to your hearts, as he came to Zacheus house, Luke. 19 restore now as Zacheus did, & escape this judgement. This is the end of the usurer and his money, if they stay together till death, yet at last there shall be a division. Note. The devil shall take his soul, the earth shall take his body, the strangers shall take his goods, and the mourners shall rejoice under their blacks, and say, wickedness is come to the grave. Therefore, if thou wouldst not be counted an Usurer then, refrain to be an Usurer now, for they which are Usurers now, shall be counted Usurers then. Thus you have heard the usurers payment. Whether it be unlawful to give usury. Now if you will know whether it be unlawful to give usury, as it is unlawful to take usury, I wish that you could resolve yourselves, that I might not speak of it: for I have heard some preachers say, that there be some truths which they would be loath to preach, & so there be some truths which I would be loath to preach, because many hear by halves, & some for malice or ignorance, will take things otherwise then they are spoken, yet because I have promised, I will speak some thing of it. Well then, may we neither take usury, nor give usury? objection 1 I know that jeremy saith, jere. 15. 10. I have not lent upon V fury to others, neither have others lent upon V fury to me: as though both were unlawful, not only to take usury, but to give usury. Answer. But thereby jeremy doth signify, that he was no meddler in the world, whereby they should envy him like other men, & therefore he cleareth himself chief from usury, because usurers were most envy. And to show that he was not an usurer, he saith that he was not a borrower, which is more lawful than to be an usurer, like a man which saith, I do neither hate him nor know him. Why it was lawful to know him, but to prove that he did not hate him, he saith, he doth not know him. So jeremy, to prove that he had not lent upon usury, doth say, that he never borrowed upon usury, which many will do that will not lend. objection 2 The best expositors give this sense of it. I know beside, that Christ did cast forth the buyers out of the Temple, as well as the sellers, Answer. but that was not for buying, but for buying in the Temple, where they should not buy, but pray: or else it was as lawful to buy any thing, as it is lawful to use it. objection 3 I know beside, that it is a common saying, if there were no buyers, there would be no sellers, if there were no bribe givers, there would be no bribe takers. Answer. But in this case it may be rather said, if there were no takers, there would be no givers, for the giver doth not make the receiver to take, but the receiver doth make the giver to give, because he will not lend unless the other will give him for the loan: therefore as we say, the receiver makes the thief: so I may say, the receiver of Usury, makes the giver of Usury. Therefore I would be loath to compare them which are constrained to borrow upon Usury, unto them which did buy in the Temple, and were not constrained more than they which sold in the Temple. Much less may I compare them which give Usury unto them which take Usury: for there is as great odds between them, as there is between giving and taking, or between covetousness and necessity, for one is covetousness, and the other is necessity. He which dareth for usury, dareth for covetousness, but he which borroweth upon usury, borroweth for necessity. Now, for necessity God hath allowed many things, as for necessity it was lawful for Adam's sons to marry with Adam's daughters, because there were no other women. For necessity it was lawful for David to eat the showbread, 1. Sam. 21. 6. because he had no other food. For necessity it was lawful to work, and heal, & fight upon the Saboth, which was not lawful, but for necessity. Luke. 13. 10. Therefore for necessity why may not a man pay more than he borrowed, seeing no Scripture doth forbid us to pay more than we borrowed, but to require more than we lend. Some do think, that as God did use the ambition of Absalon, and the malice of Pharaoh, and the treachery of judas unto good: so men may use the covetousness of usurers unto good, that is, to help at a need when a man is like to be undone, & his children cast away, & his lease forfeited, & many inconveniences beside like to ensue, which you know better than I, unless he have present money at sometime to prevent a mischief. For example hereof, I may allege how jacob did use the sin of Laban. Gene. 31. 53. Laban did evil in swearing by Idols, but jacob did not evil in receiving such an oath of him though it was an unlawful oath. So, though the usurer do evil in taking usury, yet a man doth not evil in giving usury. Beside, I may allege the example of Abraham & Abimilech: Gene. 21. 31. Abraham made a covenant with Abimilech: to confirm this covenant Abraham swore, and Abimilech swore, Abraham swore by the true God, but Abimelech swore by his false Gods, and yet Abraham did receive this oath and sinned not. So if her Majesty and the Turk should make a covenant the Turk would not swear as the Queen would swear; for the Queen would swear by the Lord, but the Turk would swear by Mahomet: if it be lawful then to receive such an oath, though it be an unlawful oath, why may it not be lawful for me to give more than I borrowed, though it be unlawful for the Usurer to take more than he lended? Beside, a Prince may not pardon a wilful murderer, yet I think that no man will say in haste, that he which hath committed murder may not take a pardon. As this unlawful giving doth not make the taking unlawful; so the other unlawful taking doth not make the giving unlawful. Beside, it is lawful to suffer injury, though it be unlawful to offer injury: it is lawful to suffer injury, as Christ paid tribute, Mat. 17. 17. which was injury; but, it is not lawful to offer injury, because there are six Commandments against it. Now, to take usury, is as it were to offer injury: but to give usury, is as it were to suffer injury, therefore though I may not take more than I borrowed, yet I may give more than I borrowed. Moreover, I may compare giving of usury to swearing; if a man swear without cause, he sinneth, but if he swear as the word teacheth him to swear, he sinneth not: so, if a man borrow upon usury, and borrow without cause, he sinneth, because he feedeth the usurer: but else, as a man may swear in some case, so in some case a man may borrow upon usury, that is, in case of necessity, when a man must needs borrow, and can borrow of none but of usurers. Lastly, I may allege that usury and usurer, are never read in the Scripture, but they signify him that takes usury, not him which gives usury: and therefore the Scripture seemeth to forbid taking, but not giving. Many reasons more are alleged which I cannot refute, & therefore I will not contradict them: yet I mean not to decide the question, because I will not bemistaken; but if some should come unto me in that necessity & extremity which I can imagine, & ask; may I borrow money of these usurers to save my life, or my credit, or my living, seeing no man will lend me freely? I would answer him as the Prophet answered Naaman, neither do, nor do not, but go in peace. I will not forbid thee, nor I will not condemn thee, but if thy conscience condemn thee not, I think thy sin one of the least sins; and as Naaman prayed, 2. Reg. 5. 18. Lord be merciful unto me in this: so I think the Lord will be merciful unto thee in this: but if thy conscience go against it: then do it not, for it is sin to thee, though it be free for another, because whatsoever is not done of faith is sin. Rom. 14. 23. I charge you in the fear of God, that you do not mistake that which is said, for I know no learned Preacher, nor learned writer of other mind. Yet lest you should mistake the matter, as I distinguished of lender's, so I will distinguish of borrowers. divers kinds of borrowers. If some may borrow upon usury, it doth not follow that all may borrow upon usury, because all have not the like cause: therefore do not say that I teach you to borrow upon usury, for I think that the most in this city which borrow upon usury, should not borrow as they do, because they rather maintain usury, then supply their necessity. Some I know borrow for mere necessity; if any may be allowed, those are they: but there is a kind of borrowers in this City, which feed Usurers as the bellows kindle the fire, for they have no need to borrow, but because they would be rich, and richer, & richest of all: therefore they will employ all the money which they can borrow, thinking to get more by the use of it, than the usury of it doth come to. This maketh them sell their wares so dear, because they must not only gain the price but the interest beside, & more than the interest to, or else they gain nothing. These borrowers are in another predicament than those which borrow for necessity, & therefore if they be not old enough to answer for themselves, I am to young to answer for them. There are other borrowers as I have heard, which for some secret cause would seem barer & needier than they are, either because they would not be charged deeply with Subsidies, or else because they would compound with their Creditors for a little: therefore they will have always some thing for usury, that their creditors may think them bare of money, or that other may pity them in their charges. These are like those foxes which have wealth enough to pay their debts, & yet lie in prison because they would defraud their creditors. I doubt not but there be more sorts than I know, I cannot hunt every corner because I want experience: Note. but this is my conclusion, I would have no man pay interest unto usurers but for necessity, even as a travailer giveth his purse to a thief, because he cannot choose. Thus you have heard what I can say of them which take usury, and them which give usury. What Usurers should do with their gains. Now you would understand the last question. If you have been Usurers already, what you should do with that money which you have gained by usury? Surely even as Zacheus did, restore it again. If you cannot say as Samuel said, 1. Sam. 12. 3. whose goods have I taken? then you must say as Zacheus said, Luke. 19 8. whose goods have I kept? The best thing is to do no man wrong, but the next to that is, to make him amends. This God signifieth when he saith. josh. 6. 18. Put away the execrable thing from you, that is, let no unlawful thing stay in your hands, like the wedge of Achan, which he had got by sin. The same law serveth for all which is got wrongfully, which was instituted against thieves, Restore it again: Exod. 22. the reason of this law is, because the sin is not remitted, until the debt be restored, for as humility is the repentance of pride, & abstinence is the repentance of surfeit, and alms is the repentance of covetousness, and forgiveness is the repentance of malice, so restitution is the repentance of usury; as he which is not humble doth not repent his pride, he which doth not abstain, doth not repent his gluttony, he which doth not forgive, doth not repent his malice, so he which doth not restore, doth not repent his usury. For how can he be said to repent for his usury, which liveth by usury still. Therefore Daniel saith to Nabuchadnezzar, Dan. 4. 24. break off thy sins by righteousness, showing, that nothing but righteousness can break unrighteousness. As diseases are healed by the contrary, so pride is healed by humility, gluttony by abstinence, malice by forgiveness, covetousness by alms, & usury by restoring. This Paul calleth, The revenge of a Christian, 2. Cor. 7. 11. when he takes revenge upon his sins, & punisheth his lusts, so that he maketh them do contrary to that which they would do. Therefore you must restore that which you have got by usury, or else you do not repent of your usury. As a Camel when he comes home casteth of his burden at the door, that he may enter into his stable, so they which are laden with other men's goods, when they go to heaven, must leave their burden where they had it, lest they be to gross to get in at the narrow gate. But as the disciples of Christ said, john. 6. 60. This is a hard speech, so to them which have got most that they have by unlawful means, this is a hard speech, to bid them restore it again, there be two great rubs in the way. Two objections. First, the loss which they shall sustain, if they restore again all which they have got unjustly. Then the difficulty to restore it again to the right parties. If you ask me, as Amaziah asked the Prophet, 2. Chro. 25. 9 How shall we do for those hundredth talents? How shall I live when all is gone that I have got wrongfully? I can say no more than the Prophet said to him, The Lord is able to give thee more than this. Luke. 19 Zacheus did not fear how he should live, but Zacheus did fear to offend: so thou shouldest not fear to restore other men's goods, but thou shouldest fear to keep other men's goods: and as Zacheus lived when he had restored, so thou shalt live when thou hast restored. He which saith, Mala. 3. 10. Try me if I will not power down a blessing, try him whether he will not power down a blessing; for he hath promised to bless the lender as well as the Sacrificer. He which is the Lord of all, can give thee more than thou needest: Deut. 15. 10. but if you cannot restore to the owner, nor to his heirs, then give it to the poor, for they are the next heirs, and repent that thou hast kept it so long: but in no wise thou mayst keep it to thyself, because it is none of thine. When Hezekiah was like to die, Esay said unto him, Esay. 38. 6. Set thy things in order before thou die. That which he advised him, he adviseth all; set your things in order before you die. What is this to set things in order, but to restore unto every one his own? When thou bequeathest thy body to the earth, than thy body is set in order: when thou bequeathest thy soul to God, than thy soul is set in order: when thou bequeathest thy goods to the owners, them thy goods are set in order: therefore if thou die with other men's goods in thy hand, than thou diest before thou hast set things in order, and then thou diest in thy sins, and then no promise in all the Scripture appertaineth unto thee, because nothing is promised unto sinners, but unto penitent sinners. Therefore that you may not die in your sins, it is necessary to make restitution before you die, or else you die in your sin, and are crossed out of all the joys of heaven. Wherefore as Abner said to joab, 2. Sam. 2. 26. Knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end? So remember whether this course will be sweet or bitter in the end. If they be condemned which give not their own goods to them which need, like the rich glutton, how can they be saved which draw other men's goods from them, that have more need of theirs? Thus you have heard the definition of usury, & the derivation of it, and the unlawfulness of it, and the kinds of it, and the punishment of it, and the arguments which are alleged for it, & what may be thought of them which do not take usury but give usury, & what they should do which have got their living by usury. Now, seeing you may not be usurers to men, let every man hereafter be an usurer to God, which promiseth; If thou leave father, or mother, or wife, or children, or house, or land for him, not ten in the hundredth, but an hundredth for ten; may an hundred for one, & in the world to come, life everlasting: that is, a thousand for one. Mat. 19 26. That we may receive this usury, let us pray that the words which we have heard out of this Psalm, may dwell with us till we dwell in heaven. FINIS.