Usury Stated Overthrown, Treatise · Instructions – Envoy
Ʋnto which twelve Reſolutions and twelve Examinations are now added twelve Holy Experimented Inſtructions, which this Author together with the foreſaid two Tables Humbly Dedicates to the highly Honoured HENERY CORNISH one of the Sherifs of London and the Worſhipful JOHN UPTON Eſq Whom both God bleſs and Preſerve.
THE 1. Inſtruction is, Be much with God in Praying, and praiſing. (1) in praying and as it were all prayer, as David was, who ſaith in Pſal. 109.4. I am Prayer, that is to ſay, be praying as Gods Elect, even day and night, Luk. 18.7, 8. Crying to God by Night as well as by day; which I for my part cannot but practice ſtill, according to Lament. 2.19. Ariſe; crie out in the night; and that which is ſtoried of Chriſt, in Mark. 1.35. He roſe a Great while before day, and prayed; For then none can hinder me, and then I ſhall have time enough, to performe all my Noctural Exerciſes, and to get an anſwer by craving a token for good, Pſ. 86.7. Which to me commonly is Triumphant ſhedding of leaves, which in ſuch ſolemne praying I ſeldome miſſe, and to Gods Glory here do mention that others may do ſo to; and glorifie God thereupon, becauſe that aſſureth them that their Prayers are heard, I add; that after ſuch praying, we ſhould ſtill lay up ſomething in ſtore for the poor Saints according to 1 Cor. 16.9. And 1 Tim. 6. And St. Chriſoſtomes pious Adviſement.
2. In praiſing God; for how full are Davids Pſalms of ſuch praiſing, viz. Pſal. 92.95.96.98.110.150. And others, ſo alſo Rev. 5. and Rev. 19. So that I for my part, though I am but a poor worm, yet am emboldened thereby to get up to Heaven and to ſing, as it were with thoſe Heavenly Quiriſters which there ſing the Song of Moſes and many others? and that by Night as well as by day, as alſo at Conſtantinople they were wont to do in the dayes of Ennadius; Anno 459. For which end I have learned ſundry of Davids Pſalms by heart, that in the dark I may ſing them like Paul and Silas, Act. 16. to the praiſe of my Maker, as well as when it is light, which I intend to do as long as I live; and ſo till I enter ternity there to ſing the Songs of Zion to all Eternity; and I have read of an Eminently holy man, which ſcarce had his like in the time wherein he flouriſhed, that moſt of his work was Singing of Praiſes, and that, when he was near his end he cryed out, bring the Bible, and let us, ſing the Pſalms of David; and that, when he came to Halelujah, he doubled and trebled it, yea four or five times he would ſay it, and that when he did ſing, the Angels would ſing too by his Bed-ſide in the Chamber, which made him cry out I hear the Angels ſing, and after a few hours are over, I ſhall ſtand in Mount Sion, and ſing the Song of Moſes, and of the Lamb, anſwerable whereunto, I alſo, who am but duſt and aſhes, yet hope, that I ſhall ſhortly, becauſe I am grown Ancient, ſing alſo with that multitude of ſingers which now ſing in Heaven their Song, which is Hallelujah, praiſe the Lord our God, all ye his Servants both ſmall and great, Rev. 19.5. and my moſt hearty wiſh is that all my Readers may hereafter ſing ſo here as that holy man did, that they alſo may hear the Angels ſing, if God think it fit, as he, and befor him St. Jerome did, who calls God to witneſs, that he heard the Angels ſing.
Secondly, Meditate Night and day, according to Joſ. 1.8. Pſal. 1.3. and eſpecially, upon Eternity as Paul was wont to do 2 Cor. 4.18. For Oh how that will keep you from ſinning againſt God; I for my part do uſe my ſelf to this Meditation, very much; if there were a law made, that whoſoever ſhall perpetrate and commit the ſin of Adultery or be drunk or ſwear an Oath, or ſteal, or lie, ſhall lie upon burning Coals for an hours ſpace, and ſo be roaſted like Laurentius, who would dare to ſin any ſuch ſin, now the God of Heaven hath made ſuch a Law, that he who commits any ſuch evil, ſhall lie in Hell fire it ſelf, called unquencheable not for an hour only, but for ever and ever, Rev. 21.8. Eſa. 66. O dreadful! for this Eternity is ſuch, as that it exceedeth all number, numbring and numbred, ſo called by the Learned; and that after the damned wretches have layen in that formidable and tremendous fire ſo many Millions of years as there are leaves upon all the Trees in the world, Haires upon all mens heads, Piles of graſs in all fields, duſt upon the whole ſurface of the earth, ſands on the Sea ſhore, it may and will even then be ſaid, now Eternity beginneth! now Eternity beginneth! and therefore who ſhould not beware of the foreſaid, and all ſuch like tranſgreſſions! O mind the fire ſtill.
3. Let your eyes be Doves eyes! Cant. 5.12. They write that Doves love to look into Chriſtaline Rivers, becauſe therein them they eſpie their mortal Enemie the Kite, and evade him, ſemblably whereunto do you ſo look into the holy Scriptures and read you three Chapters a day, that thereby you may ſee and eſcape your mortal Enemy the Divel and his ſnares, which he laieth over all the world, 2 Tim. 2. but be ſure to turn all your Chapters into Prayer, which will mightily help you in Praying, and the worlds and ſins conqueſt in your fighting againſt both.
Fourthly, Be much in Love with God Deut. 6.5. and with his Son Jeſus Chriſt 1 Pet. 1.7.8. 1 Cor. 16.22. I have read of one, that he was ſo in love with Chriſt: as that he would cry out, he hath Raviſhed me with his Beauty; Oh how glorious is the bleſſed Jeſus! Oh what ſhall I do to ſpeak the hundereth part of his praiſe! Oh he is ſweet! he is altogether Lovely, O for words, O how Glorious, How Glorius is this pretious Jeſus! Ah he is ſweet, he is ſweet, and now I am ſick of Love, and ſhall die ſick of Love, ſee Cant. 2. Thus he, and oh that all my Readers would be ſo taken too with this moſt fair, moſt ſweet and pretious Jeſus! be in faſtings often, as Paul was 1 Cor. 9.27. 2 Cor. 11.27. But I will not preſs you with Holy Calvines example; who faſted from his dinner ten yeares together, ſpending his time in Holy Exerciſes, ſo as that even a Jeſuite calls him a great Faſter, it will be well for you, if you can Faſt once a week, which I deſire to do, if God help me, till death; let your talk be of Heaven and Heavenly things as Chriſts was, Act. 1.13. After whom I will name Ignatius Jordan, who would Alwaies be ſpeaking of Heaven too, and with him I will Joyne an other moſt eminent Servant of God, who would talk as if he were in the third Heaven, thus did the Holy men talk, and ſo do you, and if you can meet no body to talk with, then talk with your beloved, Chriſt, I meane, as his Spouſe in the Canticles; Walking with him Arm in Arm as it were, either in the feilds as Iſack, Gen. 24.33. or in your Chambers, yea in Heaven it ſelf (mentally) where his Celeſtial Galleries and Walking places be, Cant. 7.5. which ſweet exerciſe I alſo deſire to uſe daily for my delight, going as it were upon the Streets of Gold above, Rev. 21.21. When I walk on the Streets of a City or Town to avoid the wandrings of my mind, and I wiſh alſo that all the Saints of God would do ſo, as alſo holy Fulgentius did.
7. Be much for Celeſtial viſits, for Oh how pleaſant they be! when the day Star from on high do viſits us, Luk. 1.79. Where give me leave to give you the words of a ſo viſited gratious Soul; O Friends, ſtand by, and wonder, was there ever ſuch kindneſs ſhewn and ſuch manifeſtationss of rich grace made: Chriſts Armor and kiſſes and ſmiles turn Hell into Heaven: Oh he is come, he is come, and how ſweet is the Bleſſed Jeſus.!
8. Be as ſtrict, as preciſe, as pure, as Seraphical ſpenders and Redeemers of your time as you can poſſibly be, Eph. 5.15.16. 1 10.3.5. where let me add theſe two Councils, (1) Live as you will wiſh you had lived when you come to die, (2.) Leave ſuch and ſuch ſins, as you ſhall wiſh you had left when you muſt leave the world.
9. Whatſoever you do for God, do it with all your might, and with all ſpeed, as ſome Tranſlators read the Hebrew, in Ecclef. 9.10. becauſe there is no working in the Grave unto which we are all going.
10. Labour to be alwayes ready to depart, by waiting for your change till it cometh, according to Job. 14.44. and Mat. 24.44. That is to ſay, from hour to hour, which both places do import, which makes me ſo to inſiſt upon ſuch an hourly preparing for death, becauſe we know not what hour the Son of man will come, by death or Judgment, ſo as that I deſire to put my ſelf alſo upon the practice of it daily, as one that looks for his change hourly, and dares not promiſe himſelf one next day after the preſent, where give me leave to joyne with my ſelf, 3. Noted men more and, 1. Meſſodamus who as Guido Bituricenſis reports it, being invited to a Dinner for the next day, returned this Anſwer, I never promiſed my ſelf a next day, looking for my change every hour. The ſecond is Ignatius Jorden who, when he went from home, took his leave of his Wife ſtill, as if he ſhould never return to her again. The third is Mr. Janewa… who when he went to his bed, took leave of his friends every evening, hoping to ſee them no more till the morning of his Reſurection! and Oh that all my Readers would be ſuch waiters and preparers too!
Omit nothing of all things here mentioned, and which God will have done beſides, and the imitation of Chriſt by Name; which is grounded upon Matt. 28.20. Gal. 3.10. Pſal. 15.5. So that I for my part am exeedingly for the not omitting, and ſo much the more, ſince I read the dreadful ſaying of bleſſed Ambroſe; a ſlight neglect becomes an everlaſting loſs: So as that I dare not omit the practice of that famous ſaying of that ſweet Singer of Iſrael, which I uſe every night, as I awake out of my firſt ſleep; whan I awake I am ſtill with thee, or as the Hebrew alſo will bear it, I will be ſtill with thee, Pſal. 139.18. And I muſt even marry my ſelf anew to Chriſt, becauſe I do dayly break Wedlock with him, and he bids me to return to him again, Jer. 3.1. Which makes me then ſay, I will return to my firſt Husband, for then it was better with me than now it is, Hoſ. Nor can I leave undone any of my other Nocturnal exerciſes, but muſt alſo feed by Faith upon the bread of life, which is my Saviour Chriſt, both for my delight and ſtrengthning, that I may be able to go thorow ſo much as I have to do: Which makes me cry out with that good People; Lord, evermore give me that bread, and a mouth to eat it, even the mouth of faith I humbly pray thee, John 6.34. And becauſe I do ſtill meet with Enemies and Oppoſitions, I muſt needs fight alſo and wreſtle with ſin and Sathan, having before wreſtled with God himſelf, ſee Gen. 32.24. with Eph. 16.11, 12. And I muſt even aſcend into Heaven it ſelf, and there ſit down in thoſe heavenly places in Chriſt Jeſus, as the holy Epheſians did in their time, Epheſ. 2.6. And cry out again, Lord Jeſus, make me alſo even now to ſit down in thoſe Heavenly places as thou madeſt the Epheſians ſit—and not being contented with this, I muſt cry again with Moſes, ſhew me thy glory. Exo. 33.18. for I muſt needs ſee it, and thy face too before I have done, that I may be able to ſay with Jacob: After all my wreſtlings I have ſeen God face to face; and the life of my ſoul is now preſerved, Gen. 32.26. O ſweet ſight: O that all my Readers might ſee it and be able to ſay, we have ſeen his glory, as the glory of the only begotten Son of God John 1. And is not the ſweet work to be done by might, and the Reward of it ſweet?
12. And above all things … be much in believing, and even live by Faith, Gal. 2.20. That you may rejoice thereupon with joy unſpeakable, and ful of glory, 1. Pet. 1.8. Now this, Oh this is the principle thing, and without this all other things we need are as nothing, for without faith it is impoſſible to pleaſe God, Heb. 11.6. Nor can we truly rejoice without it, but with it we may, and its done; for proof whereof, I will bring one, who in our time did ſo rejoice, even to the admiration of all that were about him, ſo as that a godly Miniſter that ſaw him and heard him, ſaid, I never ſaw, never read, never heard the like; for thus he ſpoke of his joy in believing, I am as ful of joy as I can hold, O that I could but let you know what I do feel: This is a kin to Heaven, and if I were not to enjoy any more than this, it were well worth all the torments that men and Divels can invent, to come through, yea even a Hell, to ſuch tranſcendent joys as theſe: I ſtand, as it were, with one foot in Heaven. I hear the melody of Heaven, I ſee the Angels watching for me &c.
But here a moſt needful Queſtion cometh to be anſwered. How ſhall I come by this Faith and rejoycing? I anſwer as the wiſe Virgins did the fooliſh, craving ſome of their Oyl, whereby we may underſtand Faith, which, like Oyl maketh chearful, 1. Pet. 1.8.2. Go to thoſe that ſell, Mat. 25.9. And who be they? Secondly I anſwer. 1. The Holy Trinity, and firſt the Father ſelleth it freely, for he gives it, Phil. 1.29. And therefore you muſt go to him for it, ſaying, Father ſell unto me this Oyl of Faith, giving it unto me, that I may rejoice with joy unſpeakable. 2. The Son ſelleth it; for he is the Author of it, Heb. 12.2. So as that to him you muſt go and ſay alſo, ſweet Jeſus ſell unto me that Oyl of Faith, that I may rejoyce with Joy unſpeakable. And thirdly to the Spirit, who freely and givingly ſells it, 1. Cor. 12.9. You muſt cry alſo, bleſſed Spirit, ſell unto me alſo that holy Oyl of Faith, that I may rejoyce gloriouſly! But hereupon another Queſtion ariſeth, How a man may know that he hath that precious Oyl of Faith and holy Joy which cometh it? Whereunto I anſwer, firſt if it purify his heart, Act. 15.9. And ſecondly if he become a true Saint, and live a truly holy life, Acts. 26.18. And thirdly if his faith work by love, Gal. 5.6. And makes him love the Brethren dearly and unfeignedly. See 1 John 3.14, 15. And fourthly if his joy be a glorious joy, 1 Pet. 1.8. So as that he needs not be aſhamed to ſpeak of it, how gloriouſly it works in him and by him; and what glory is brought to God by it, and by the life which he now lives, living by the faith of the Son of God, and being crucified with Chriſt to the world, Gal. 2.20. And yet I muſt anſwer one Queſtion more: You ſaid even now, that a man muſt imitate Chriſt too; and how and wherein may that be done? Whereunto I briefly anſwer, 1. in his godlineſs: For firſt, how that holy Lord Jeſus went about doing good to ſouls by his powerful Preaching, Mat. 4.23. Secondly, and how he faſted Mat. 4. Wherein, though we cannot follow him for ſo many days, yet may we according to ſtrenth given us from above, for a day now and a day then, and even as often and as long as God ſhall direct us: and the like may be ſaid by his praying whole nights upon a Mountain, Luke 6: 12. And ſecondly we ſhould imitate him in his meekneſs, and not be ſo angry and provoking as many are. See Mat. 11.29. Thirdly in his humbleneſs, for how he humbled himſelf by counting himſelf of no Reputation, and by coming in the form of a ſervant &c. Phil. 2.7. and how he lay upon the very ground with his holy face; when he prayed Mat, 26.3. Like Joſhuah and the Elders of Iſrael, Joſh. 7.6. Which makes and moveth me, a poor Worm to do ſo too, by night in duty, as he did by night, counting it as nothing for me to lie ſo, when I conſider how many of the moſt Eminent Saints did uſually, and for many years together (ſome twenty, ſome thirty, ſome always till Death) did uſe themſelves to ſuch hardneſs; and ſo to lie upon no bed at all, having a ſtone for their Pillow, like Jacob, meditating upon, and ſcoping at their everlaſting reſt to come, and ſo forgetting, as it were, their natural eaſe and reſt, which yet I do not preſs upon any, but only mention, as much thought upon by my poor and inconſiderable ſelf, who am very much taken with the ſtrict lives of ſuch glorious Saints as have been Practitioners of ſuch humble geſtures and hard lyings; St. Baſil I mean, who was as ſtrict, as holy, and as zealous a man as any of all the ancient Fathers, ſo as that when one wiſht he might but ſee that wonderful man, he was ſhewn him, in a bale of fire, and it was told him this is Baſil; with whom I conjoyn Ʋdalricus, Lupus, Edmundus, Maſter Simpſon; Clara and Brigitta, weak and tender Women, which yet would lie ſo: But again I add, that I do not urge this as neceſſary for all; and ſo I ſhall end with praying that my good God (whom I deſire to ſerve day and night in the beſt and humbleſt manner I can. by his enablement) that he will ſo bedew theſe lines with the dew of his celeſtial Benediction, to ſuch as ſhall pervolve and read them, as that they may meet in them with that inennarable, glorious unexpreſſible Joy, which is mentioned, and ſparkling forth therein, and thereupon may break out every one of them into the holy and triumphant Epiphonema's and Exclamations! is this reward and remuneration of believing and holy living, then do not I care how little elſe I do, for now Heaven is in my heart, and my heart in Heaven, welcome, welcome, unſpeakable joy, long thirſted after, and longed for, thou haſt raviſhed me by thy coming. For Oh the extatical leaps of my tranſported ſoul! And oh what an Ocean of unutterable delectations do now overflow me; and what a Globe of heavenly glory becircles me! O I do not care now, how ſoon I be unmanned by Death; that after my diſſolution, I may be entranced into the joy of my Lord and Maſter, Mat. 25.23. and may bath my ſelf in that River of pleaſures, and drink my fill out of that fountain and fulneſs of Joy which is at Gods right hand to an endleſs duration. Pſal. 16.17.
To God alone be all Glory to all Eternity. Amen, Amen.
This little Book was ſo contrived upon the requeſt of ſome Noble Perſons, and others, which deſired me ſo to epitomize Godlineſs, that though it was printed with my book againſt Uſury, yet it might be bound up by it ſelf, to be carried as a little pocket Book, and read dayly, by ſuch as cannot ſo carry about and read larger Volumes; written for and of the practice of that gainful trade of ever-bleſſed Piety.
FINIS.