A09965:65
Four godly and learned treatises Entitled, I. A remedy against covetousness. II. An elegant…Foure godly and learned treatises Intituled, I. A remedy against covetousnesse. II. An elegant…
Four godly and learned treatises Entitled, I. A remedy against covetousness. II. An elegant and lively description of spiritual death and life. III. The doctrine of self-denial. IV. Upon the sacrament of the Lords Supper. Delivered in sundry sermons, by that late famous preacher, and worthy instrument of Gods glory, John Preston, Doctor of Divinity, chaplain in ordinary to his Majesty; master of Emanuel College, and sometime preacher of Lincolns Inn.Foure godly and learned treatises Intituled, I. A remedy against covetousnesse. II. An elegant and lively description of spirituall death and life. III. The doctrine of selfe-deniall. IV. Vpon the sacrament of the Lords Supper. Delivered in sundry sermons, by that late famous preacher, and worthy instrument of Gods glory, Iohn Preston, Doctor of Divinitie, chaplaine in ordinarie to his Majestie; master of Emanuel Colledge, and sometime preacher of Lincolnes Inne.
London: printed by Thomas for Michael Sparke, 1633
COLLOS. 3.5. And Covetousness which is Idolatry.COLLOS. 3.5. And Covetousnesse which is Idolatrie.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
1To this I answer, That this chain doth not always hold: God breaks it many times; riches come not always by labour, nor comfort by riches; except God be with the labour, the labour profits nothing. Psal. 127.1. Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: Except the Lord keep the City, the Watchmen watch but in vain. It is in vain to rise up early, to go to bed late, to eat the bread of carefulness: Ye shall not reap the fruit ye expect, unless God be with your labour. If Christ be absent the Disciples may labour all night and catch nothing;2 but if he be present with them, then their labour prospereth, then they enclose a multitude of Fishes: So when as we labour and take pains, and think to be strong in our own ⟨p. 25⟩strength without Gods help, we go to work with a strong key which will not open; but if Gods hand be in the business, we do that with greater facility and ease which God hath appointed we should do. You may see this in Joseph, God purposed to make him a great man, see with what facility he was made the Governor of Egypt next to Pharaoh without his own seeking, and beyond his expectation: So it was with Mordecai; so with David: God appointed to make them great, and therefore they became great notwithstanding all oppositions. On the contrary, let man go on in his own strength, and he shall labour without any profit at all: Hence it is, that many times we see a concurrency of all causes, so that we would think that the effect must needs follow, and yet it follows not, and if it doth follow, we have no comfort in it.
1To this I answer, That this chaine doth not alwayes hold: God breakes it many times; riches come not alwayes by labour, nor comfort by riches; except God bee with the labour, the labour profits nothing. Psal. 127.1. Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vaine that build it: Except the Lord keepe the Citie, the Watchmen watch but in vaine. It is in vaine to rise up earely, to goe to bed late, to eate the bread of carefulnesse: Yee shall not reape the fruit yee expect, unlesse God bee with your labour. If Christ bee absent the Disciples may labour all night and catch nothing;