A12367:256
A preparative to marriage The sum whereof was spoken at a contract, and enlarged…A preparatiue to mariage The summe whereof was spoken at a contract, and inlarged…
A preparative to marriage The sum whereof was spoken at a contract, and enlarged after. Whereunto is annexed a treatise of the Lords Supper, and another of usury. By Henry Smith.A preparatiue to mariage The summe whereof was spoken at a contract, and inlarged after. Whereunto is annexed a treatise of the Lords Supper, and another of vsurie. By Henrie Smith.
London: printed by Thomas Orwin for Thomas Man, 1591
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.
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 1God above all things, and thy neighbour as thy self: as if he should say, he which loveth GOD, will keep all the Commandments which respect God, and 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 can not love and be an Usurer, because ⟨image 137⟩Usury is a kind of cruelty, and a kind of extortion, and a kind of persecution, and 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 and joy and contentment like the Angels; whereby you see that all our sins are against our selves: for if there were no deceit, then we should not be deceived: if there were no slander, then we should not be slandered: if there were no envy, then we should not be envied: if there were no extortion, then we should not be injured: if there were no Usury, then we should not be oppressed. Therefore Gods law had been better for us than our own law: for if his law did stand, then we should ⟨image 137⟩not be deceived, nor slandered, nor envied, nor injured, nor oppressed. God hath commanded every man to lend freely, & who would not 2borrow freely? Therefore they which brought in usury, brought in a law against themselves.
Now, al the Commandements of God are fulfilled by loue, which Christ noteth when hee draweth all the Commandements to one Commandement, which is, Loue 1God aboue all things, and thy neighbour as thy selfe: as if hee should say, hee which loueth GOD, will keepe all the Commaundements which respect God, and he which loueth his neighbour will keepe all the Commaundements which respect his neighbour: therefore to maintaine loue, GOD forbiddeth all things which hinder this loue: and among the rest here hee forbiddeth Vsurie, as one of her deadliest enemies: for a man can not loue and be an Vsurer, because