The benefit of contentation Taken

When the Churls barns were full, he bad his soul rest, thinking to gain rest by covetousness,¹ that he might say Riches gain rest aswell as Godliness, but see what happened that night when he began to take his rest, riches & rest, and soul and all were taken from him. Did he not gain fair? would ⟨image 18⟩he have taken such pains if he had thought of such rest, covetousness may gain riches, but it cannot gain rest, ye may think iike this churl to rest, when your barns and shops and coffers are full: but ye shall find it true which Isaiah saith,² there is no rest to the ungodly, therefore the wise man to prevent any hope of rest, or honour or profit, by sin, speaks as though he had tried,³ a man cannot be established by iniquity. Therefore he cannot be quieted nor satisfied by the gain of deceit, or bribes, or lies, or usury,⁴ which is iniquity: therefore blessed is the man whom godliness doth make rich, for when the blessing of the Lord maketh rich (saith Solomon) he doth ad no sorrow to it, ⁵but (saith he) the revenues of the wicked is trouble, as though his money were care: wherefore let patron, and landlord, and lawyer, and all say, that Paul hath chosen the better riches, which thief, nor moth, ⟨image 19⟩nor canker can corrupt. these are the riches at least which we must dwell with, when all the rest which we have lied for, and sworn for, and fretted for, and cozened for, and broken our sleep, and lost many sermons, forsake us. Like servants which change their masters: then godliness shall seem as great gain to us as it did to Paul, and he which loved the world most, would give all that he hath for a dram of faith, that he might be sure to go to heaven when he is dead, though he went towards hell so long as he lived.

When the Churles barnes wer full, hee bad his soule rest, thinking to gaine rest by couetousnesse,