The Merchant Real, Title page – Dedication
THE MERCHANT REALL.
PREACHED BY VVILLIAM LOE Doctour of Diuinitie Chaplaine to the kings ſacred maieſtie, and Paſtour of the Englishe church of Merchants Adventurers reſiding at Hamboroughe in Saxonie.
MATTH. 16.26.
VVhat is a man profited, if he shall purchaſe the vvhole vvorld, & loſe his ovvne ſoule? or vvhat shall a man giuegive in exchange for his ſoule?
Printed at Hamboroughe by PAULE LANG.
ANNO DOMINI 1620
To the right VVorshipfull. SR. THOMAS LOVVE KNIGHT GOVERNOUR, THE DEPUTIES, ASSISTANTS, AND GENERALITIE of that auncient, much famous, & moſt vvorthy Companie of Merchants Adventurers reſiding at London, Hamboroughe Middleborough, & elſe vvhereſouer in the vvorld, that trade for the other vvorld.
Grace, Peace, & all proſperous ſucceſſe in all their adventures both by ſea, & land in CHRIST.
RIGHT vvorshipfull, & much endeered in the lord. Promiſe is debt, & debt is due. The dutie of my ſeruice, & the debt of my promiſe I novve make bold to tēder vntounto you all. The promiſe vvhichwhich I made vntounto you at London vvhere I began this taske, by gods permiſsion I hauehave finished at Hamboroughe, & novve tender performance.Doct. Wilkenſon. It is not many yeares ſince that a learned Doctour of Divinitie vvho is novve vvhichwhich god preaching in court at an honorable mariage out of the prouerbs,The lord Hay his mariage. She is like a Merchant shippe that bringeth her merchandize from a farre. Prov. 31.14. called his ſermon The marchant royall: I hauehave the tearmed this. THE MARCHANT REALL. For that royaltie is vpheld by Realtie. And vviſe men vvishe ever rather to be Realls, then Nominalls. I could not conceaue in all the boke of god, vvhere a marchant could beſtovve his beſt thoughts better, then vppon his ovvne character ſo lightſome for Edification, ſo delightſome & ſo liuely ſett out by Chriſt himſelfe for conſolation. VVherein every tittle is pretious, every vvord a fullnes of matter, every point preſsing tovvard the marke, & the Period not only pointing to, but putting you into poſſeſsion of an eternal purchaſe. In this purchaſe there is noe vvant but a vvonderfull fullnes of all royalty, & realty. It is a mans greatnes to be greater then himſelfe, & it is happines enough for a man to attaine his perfection at laſt. VVere I a marchant, & did ſee, & heare Chriſt reſembling his kingdome to my vocation. I should conceaue veary highe thoughts, & purpoſes of reſolution to attaine this pearle, & should beleeue that text punctually to concerne me For vvhat doe vve ſee here belovve, but toyling, turmoyling, greeving, vvishing, hoping, fearing, vvearineſſe, yea vvretchednes in all.
VVhat doth the vvorld but beſott vsus vvith the louelove of our ovvne trouble, The godly knovve it is better to be vviſe to god, then happie in the vvorld. And the reall Chriſtian is euer limited, & euer avved vvith feare of exceſſe. I knovve noe condition of mē more happie then Merchants Their veary youth is accompanied vvith many, and many fold experiēced trialls both by ſea, and land, vvhichwhich may make them prudent. Their mature age is bleſſed vvith a plentifull portion vvhichwhich may make them thankfull, & their old age affordeth a very ſurpluſage of marveilous fulnes vvhichwhich may ſatisfie them. In all this. If they should build vp their tabernacle, here, & ſing a Requiē to themſelues, & to their ſoules, & not to remember their eternall purchaſe vvhat can any man implead god for? Solomons navie fetcht the gold of Ophir vvith the perill of a vvhole three yeares voyage, but it vvas to build god an houſe a glorious houſe. A bleſſed end. Some that trauailed in that voyage brought home apes, & Peacockes. A ridiculous Merchantdizing. VVhat gaine vve for all our travaile & labour if vve find not this Pearle, but deriſion from god, daunger in our liues, & noe good memoriall after vve are gone hence. VVho is ſo foolish to louelove the vvorld that breeds nothing but ſorrovve? Let them tell me that hauehave experience of manyfold occurrences in the vvorld, vvhat find they in it but a ſmyling deceipt? Not vnlike to the bee that hauehave hony in the mouth, & a ſting in the tayle. But vvhy doe vve deſire ſo much? Only to keepe it? That is a moſt baſe thing. If vve vvill Lay vp, vvhere can vve repoſe our treaſure more ſecure then in CHRIST treaſury VVhat richer purchaſe then a kingdome? The attaynement vvhereof I hauehave endeuored in this treatiſe. The Pearle is Chriſt in heauen, & Charity on earth, The one the obiect, the other the effecte of faith The one the practice of this life. The other the full poſſeſsion of eternall life. If euer you vvill vnite minds in vnitie, you muſt take avvay all diſcord in Religion. Then the vvhichwhich nothing is ſo ſtrong to vnite, nothing ſo forcible to diſſeuer, & diſvnite, if it be in diſcord. The diſtraction of minds cauſeth deſtruction of eſtates. Can you loke for true ſeruice of your Apprētices, or for carefull truſt of your factors vvho that louelove not your order IN ORDINE AD DEUM. No aſſure your ſelues. You heare not vvhat they doe, Neither shall you knovve Their harts are alienated, ſo are their actions, their intendments, their purpoſes. Vnite them once in Religion They are yours abſolute, preſent, or abſent; sleeping or vvaking, by ſea, or by land. Oh vvhat miſerable diſtractions hauehave falne out by diſaſters in religion? Nay about the robes, & apparell of the ſame? Hovve can you thinke god should bleſſe Your negotiations vvith ſucceſſe? vvhen the minds of yours of vvhom you hauehave a tender care are rent a ſunder.
Beleeue me I hauehave euer conceaued that the trade of Marchantdizing requires a vvhole man. And this man muſt be a marchant. Shall he not be reall? Reall he cannot be to man that is not ſo to god. Hovve can he be a faithfull ſeruant to his earthly maſter in his accompt, that cares not vvhat audite he makes to his heauenly maſter. Aſſuredly as he beleeues not in the one, ſo he sleights the other. There is a broode of fooles vvho like Shemei vvhile they ſeeke their ſervāts, that is Riches, loſe their ſoules. VVhat are elſe all falſe harted ſeruants, & factors, vvho care not to loſe this pearle, vvith the price of their ſoules ſo they may attayne pealſe, It is a thousād pitties to ſee ſo many honeſt harts ſo miſerably diſtreſſed in forraine parts vvith more thē lamētable diſagreements of folly, & factiō. Either part ſtryving, & ſtrugling by all manner of meanes they can deuiſe to offend, & infeſt the other vvhiles in the Interim they neglecte their trades, their truſts, & ſpend their dayes in miſerable garboyles. All that I can ſay for my ſelfe vvherefore I hauehave made this treatiſe ſpeake novve in a dead letter that, vvhichwhich before vvas deliuered by the voice of a lyving man is only a deſire of doing good.
If I doe ſeeme to any man Prodigall of my little yet this honeſt ambition (you ſee) vvill not ſuffer my one talent or if it be but a part of one to ruſt in the earth. If this Diſcourſe of Merchants, and Merchandizing be not ſo curiously hādled as the fulnes of the ſubiecte requireth yet let my endeered affections vntounto you all make amends for the manifold defectes hereof. It is that my vveakenes could afford: It is the iſſue of noe curious brayne, but I hope the ſymptome of an honeſt hart. If from hence you vvould be pleaſed to dravve a Paralel of the cares, trauailes, perills, & aduentures you make here not for an earthly kingdome, but for to attayne ſome modell of moderate liuely hoode. And compare thoſe labours vvith theſe you take for heauē, you vvould eaſily ſee vvhat defecte there is. I leaue that to your ovvne practice & purpoſe, & shall euer pray to almighty god to make you all moſt happie in your ſelues by being reall Merchants for your ovvne ſoules; happie in your ſeruants, & factors that may be reall in your trades, & truſts, & god make you proſperous in all your legall aduentures both by ſea, & land. To vvhoſe bleſſed guydance, and ſauing mercies I recommend you all. reſting
Yours all, in all reſpectfull duty, & obſervance. VV. LOE.
Matth. 13. verſe 45.46.
Againe the Kingdome of heauen is like vntounto a marchant man ſeeking, goodly pearles, who when he had found one pearle of great price he went, & ſold all that he had, & bought it.