Abel, he faid to Cain, Unto thee his defire shall be subject, and Gen. 4. 7• thou shalt rule over him; Which Saint Chryfoftome doth expound de Priviledgio Primogenitura. But as fin brought in the law, for Justo non eft pofita lex: sọ fin brought in Magiftracy for execution of the law, and brought down the fword of God amongst men: and the equal condition of mankind in his Creation by finne was changed into male and female: not in fexe, but in fubjection, high and low,rich and poor,bond and free. So that this ambition of an higher neft came in with finne; and being fo brought in at first, it cannot be without fin. Saint Hierome fpeaks bugs words, Cave honores quos fine culpa tenere non potes; fublimitas honorum magnitudo fcelerum. And Saint Auguftine complains of nothing more then that he was made a Bishop; He was an holy man, but a man, and his paffion transported him. In nullo fentio Deum ita iratum mihi quam in hoc, quod cum indignus effem poni ad remum, pofitus fum ad ampluftre, five gubernaculum Ecclefia. But howfoever his humility unworthied him to himself, it was Gods great bleffing to his Church not only then, but in all fucceeding ages that God fo promoted him. One thing amongst the rest maketh ambition an unmanly fin for two contraries meet in the ambitious, that is,pride and a base mind. Pride ftriving to climb high, and a bafe mind fervilely attending the means of rifing, waiting and obferving fuch as may help him up, as one that climbeth,embraceth every bough, & huggeth in his armes what he fhortly treadeth under his foot. But Seneca faves me a labour, for he doth describe fuch a man to the life; Ambitiofus femper eft pavidus. Timet quod dicat vel faciat,quidoculis hominum difpliceat;honeftatem mentitur,humilitatem fimulat, cunctis adulatur, cunctis inclinat,omnium eft fervus & tributarius,gravem habet in fe pugnam. The end of the Chaldeans ambition to fet his neft fo high, is that he may be delivered from the power of evil. Herein is a great fallacy; for be high nefts the fafeft? and is greate 1 the fountain of honour. I hear the Pfalmift fay, Pfal.75.6 For promotion cometh neither from the East, nor from the West, nor from the South. Verf. 7. But God is judge, he putteth down one, and fetteth up another. Many are ambitious of high places, who have both friends and means, and yet cannot climbe;Many more unlikely fpeed before them, and I can afcribe this to nothing but the fupream hand of God, from whom all promotion cometh, he will have his Will done. Some he raiseth to their own ruine, others to the punishment and correction of the fins of the time in his anger: Others for the good of men in favour of his Church, and the Commonwealth. It becomes not us to cenfure the Powers that are ordained of God, as the Apoftle teacheth, or to envy their high nefts; but let every foul be fubject to the ordinance of God, and reft in his will by whom Princes reign, and by whom they advance where he pleaseth to set up. But ambition of high nefts is the theme of our discourse, which is an inordinate defire of honour, and that is a fin. It corrupted the Angels which fell, and they impoifoned our Parents with it in Paradife; both defired to be like God, neither stood content with the glory of their Creation. Concerning which, understand that the state of Creation did give man no further dominion then this; Gen. 1.28. Replenish the earth and fubdue it,and have dominion over the fish of the fea,and over thefowls of the ayre,and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Here is no dominion given to man over man. But all mankind is endowed with equal dominion over all these things, and man is to acknowledge no foveraign lord but God his Maker. But presently after the fall For the punishment of the woman, who had brought the defire of her husband fubject to her, by tempting him to eat of the forbidden fruit, God faid to her, Thy defire shall be subject to thy Gen.3.16 husband, and he shall rule over thee. Yea when God faw Cains countenance caft down, he called him to account for it, and knowing his difcontent to be against Abel In all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, He could not do this without humiliation;there was no power above him to humble him, and he thought it no robbery to be equal with God; the power that did it was in himself, humiliavit femet ipfum, he humbled himself. Ambition therefore putteth us out of the way of life. Chrift humbled himselfe; Et qui vult effe difcipulus meus fequatur me, He that will be my difciple muft follow me. The doctrine of contentedneffe doth ftill offer it felf to us commanded in the laft of the ten: for non concupifces aliena, faith, fortè tua contentus, be contented with thy lot; this allo ferveth for the next point. 3. They are charged with covetoufneffe; Of which Chrift faith, Take heed and beware of Coveton(nesses giving us a double caution against it. The Apostle giveth a reason, because it is the root of all evill: but that reafon doth not draw blood; for where the confcience 1Tim,6, © is not tender malum culpa, the evil ofpunishment is not feared. But it followeth. Which while fome have coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many forrows. Ambition hath this handmaid to attend it, this factour to negotiate for it; for ambition is not fupported without great charge; our own times tell us fo; and Ambition cannot be a great fpender, if covetoufneffe be not a great getter. Covetousneffe is an inordinate defire of the wealth of this world, and is many ways culpable. 1. Becaufe God bath given man dominion of the earth, and hath put all things under his feet; let not us remove them, and as David faith, let us not Cor opponere,set our heart upon them. Gold and filver are lower put under us then the furface of the earth; for they grow within the bowels of the earth nearer to hell, to fhew the danger that is in them. Therefore the Apostles had these things not put into their bofomes, or into their hands, but laid at their feet. 2. Because the Scripture hath exprefled the woe of God be longing to the covetous, as you have heard,Va homini qui congregat non fua, wo to the man which gathereth not his own. They Ofe.12.7. They that are covetous, do carry ftateram dolofam, a deceitful ballance; for lay the confcience in one fcale, and the least gain that is in the other, the confcience is found too light, as Saint Auguftine, An. 14.Elizab. Lucrum in arcâ,damnum in confcientiâ. For Saint Paul calleth covetoufneffe Idolatry; and Christ calleth Mammon the god of the covetous; ye cannot ferve God and Mammon. This is clear; for where doth the covetous man bestow and place his faith, hope and love,bat in his wealth,which we do owe to God? The rich man fang a Requiem to his foule, Now my foule make merry, for thou haft goods enough laid up for many years. 3. Because covetoufneffe is a fruitful fin; the daughters thereof ate commonly 1. Ufury, 2. Rapine, 3. Fraud, 4. Bribes, 5. Simony. 1. Concerning Ufury, let me out of the word say only to you, that he fhall dwell in the Lords Tabernacle, that is, fhall reft under Gods Protection on earth, and he fhall dwell in the holy hill, that is, poffeffions in heaven, who putteth not his mony out to ufury: Where he fhall dwell that doth fo,you may easily conclude. If you wil bear the judgement of a Parliament, the Statute concerning the forbidding of ufury doth begin thus, Forafmuch as all ufury by the laws of God is finne and deteftable, Be it therefore enacted,&c. If thou wilt know the judgment of learned Divines, fathers both of the Eastern and Western Churches, Councels, later Divines have written against it, and detected it unlawful, so that it is of all learned evil spoken of. But the covetoufneffe of the Chaldeans was not of this fort; therefore not of purpose to be handled, but incidently to be remembred, yet non fine morju in tranfitu, yet not without a lash in the way. Frand is another of the daughters of covetoufneffe, when we by any wit, or the art of feeming, do over reach one another in matter of negotiation; of which the Apostle, That no man'go beThef.4.6 Yond, or defraud his brother in any matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all fuch, as we also have forewarned you, and teftified, Bribes is another daughter of covetoufneffe. It was part of Samuels purgation of himself, of whom have 1 received bribes, 1 Sam.12. to blinde mine eyes therewith? for Solomon faith, A wicked man taketh the gift out of the bofome, to pervert the wayes of judg ment. Micah defcribeth more then his own times. 3. Pro.17.23 The heads of Sion judge for reward,and the Priests thereof teach Mica 3.11. for hire; and the Prophets thereof divine for money; yet will they leane upon the Lord, and say, is not the Lord among us? no evil can come upon us. Read on. Symony is another daughter of covetoufneffe. I say no more of it, but leave it with St. Peters bleffings, Pereat argentum tuum tecum, let their money perish with thee. But rapine was the proper and natural daughter of the covetoufneffe of the Chaldeans; they had their Angle, and their Net, and their Dragge; nothing could escape them. The great fifth did eate up the little ones; oppreffion was the crying finne of Babylon, all their neighbours did groan under it. 1. This fin doth destroy jus naturale, natural right, which is quod tibi fieri non vis,alteri ne feceris, do as thou wouldst be done to; out of which principle thefe two do arise. JI. Ne cui noceas, hurt none. 2. Ut communi bono defervias, lerve the common good. 2. It offendeth the written law,which doth not only restraine altum rapina,non furaberis, the act of rapine, thoufhalt not steal; but voluntatem rapina, non concupifces, but the will, thou shalt not covet. Agur the fon of fakeh saith, There is a generation whofe teeth are as fwords, and their jawteeth as knives, to devoure the poore from off the earth, and the needy from among men, This generation is not yet grown barren; Christ faith,Pauperes femper habebitis vobifcum, you shall have alwayes the poor with you; and this generation of oppreffors will be ever teeming, fo long as they have fuch matterto work; upon for the rich and mighty will shift for themselves. 3. It incurreth the fevere cenfure of Gods juftice; for if God fay,Go je curfed to them that did not dare fua, give their owne: Nn quid Pro.30.14 |