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 forbid it: for if he flatly forbid it, and yet you wilfully retain it, then you love Usury better than Gods word. Therefore one saith well that our Usurers are Heretics, because after 1many admonitions, yet they maintain their error, and persist in it obstinately as Papists do in Popery. For this cause I am glad that I have any occasion to grapple with this sin, where it hath made so many spoils, & where it hath so many patrons: for it is said that there be moe of this profession in this City, than there be in all the ⟨image 135⟩land beside. There be certain sins which are like an unreasonable enemy which will not be reconciled to death, and 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, Let the Lord be merciful 2unto me in this: let me have a dispensation for this, as though this were a necessary sin, and he could not live without it. There be three sins which are counted 3no sins, and yet they do more hurt than all their fellows, & those are Bribery, Nonresidency, and 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, ⟨image 135⟩and would fain have Usury esteemed as a trade: whereas if it were not so gainful, it would be counted as great a sin as any other, and so it is counted of all but them 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, and the more gainful Usury is, the more dangerous it is. I will speak the more of it, because haply you shall not hear of this matter again.
Vsurie is the sin which God wil trie now whether you loue better than his worde: that is, whether you will leaue it if he forbid it: for if hee flatly forbid it, and yet you wilfully retaine it, then you loue Vsurie better than Gods worde. Therefore one saith well that our Vsurers are Hereticks, because after 1manie admonitions, yet they maintaine their errour, and persist in it obstinatly as Papists doo in Poperie. For this cause I am glad that I haue any occasion to griple with this sin, where it hath made so many spoyles, & where it hath so many patrons: for it is said that there be moe of this profession in this Citie, than there bee in all the ⟨image 135⟩land beside. There be certaine sins which are like an vnreasonable enemie which will not be reconciled to death, and this is one of those euerlasting sins which liue and die with a man. For when he hath resigned his pride and his enuie and his lust, yet Vsurie remaineth with him, & he saith as Naaman said, Let the Lord bee mercifull 2vnto me in this: let me haue a dispensation for this, as though this were a necessarie sinne, and hee could not liue without it. There be three sinnes which are counted 3no sinnes, and yet they doo more hurt than all their fellows, & those are Briberie, Nonresidencie, and Vsurie: these three because they are gainful are turned from sinnes to occupatiōs. How many of this Citie for all that they are Vsurers, yet would be counted honest mē, ⟨image 135⟩and would faine haue Vsurie esteemed as a trade: whereas if it were not so gainfull, it would bee counted as great a sinne as any other, and so it is counted of all but them which liue by it. This is the nature of pleasure and profite to make sinnes seeme no sinnes, if we gaine any thing by them, but the more gainfull a sinne is, the more daungerous it is, and the more gainfull Vsurie is, the more daungerous it is. I will speake the more of it, because happely you shall not heare of this matter againe.
- 1Usurers heretics.Vsurers hereticks.
- 22. Kings. 5. 18.
- 3Three sins counted no sins.Three sins counted no sinnes.
