The sermons of Master Henry Smith gathered into one volume. Printed according to his…The sermons of Maister Henrie Smith gathered into one volume. Printed according to his…

Now, all the Commandments of God are fulfilled by love; which Christ noteth, when he draweth all the commandments to one commandment,¹ which is, Love God above all things, and thy neighbour as thy self: as if he should say, he which loveth God, ⟨p. 162⟩[…] ⟨p. 163⟩[…] ⟨p. 164⟩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 amongst the rest here he forbiddeth Usury, as one of her deadliest enemies. For a man cannot love and be a Usurer, because 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 not be deceived, nor slandered, nor envied, nor injured, nor oppressed. God hath commanded every man to lend freely,² ⟨p. 165⟩and who would not borrow freely? Therefore they which brought in usury, brought in a law against themselves.

Now, all the Commaundements of God are fulfilled by loue; which Christ noteth, when hee draweth all the commaundements to one commaundement,¹