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 Beware Of Covetousness -latimer


[b]Beware Of Covetousness[/b]
[i]by Hugh Latimer[/i]

"TAKE heed and beware of covetousness."--"Take heed and beware of covetousness."--"Take heed and beware of covetousness." And what and if I should say nothing else these three or four hours (for I know it will be so long, in case I be not commanded to the contrary) but these words, "Take heed and beware of covetousness?" It would be thought a strange sermon before a king, to say nothing else but Cavete ab avaritia, "Beware of covetousness." And yet as strange as it is, it would be like the sermon of Jonas, that he preached to the Ninivites; as touching the shortness, and as touching the paucity or fewness of the words. For his sermon was, Adhuc quadraginta dies, et Ninive subvertetur; "There is yet forty days to come, and Ninive shall be destroyed." Thus he walked from street to street, and from place to place round about the city, and said nothing else but, "There is yet forty days," quoth he, "and Ninive shall be destroyed." There is no great odds nor difference, at the leastwise in the number of words, no nor yet in the sense or meaning, between these two sermons, "There is yet forty days, and Ninive shall be destroyed;" and these words that I have taken to speak of this day: "Take heed, and beware of covetousness." For Ninive should be destroyed for sin, and of their sins covetousness was one, and one of the greatest; so that it is all one in effect. And as they be like concerning the shortness, the paucity of words, the brevity of words, and also the meaning and purpose; so I would they might be like in fruit and profit. For what came of Jonas's sermon? What was the fruit of it? Ad praedicationem Jonae crediderunt Deo; "At the preaching of Jonas they believed God." Here was a great fruit, a great effect wrought. What is the same? "They believed God." They believed God's preacher, God's officer, God's minister, Jonas; and were converted from their sin. They believed that, as the preacher said, if they did not repent and amend their life, the city should be destroyed within forty days. This was a great fruit: for Jonas was but one man, and he preached but one sermon, and it was but a short sermon neither, as touching the number of words; and yet he turned all the whole city great and small, rich and poor, king and all.

We be many preachers here in England, and we preach many long sermons, yet the people will not repent nor convert. This was the fruit, the effect, and the good that his sermon did, that all the whole city at his preaching converted, and amended their evil living; and did penance in sack-cloth. And yet here in this sermon of Jonas is no great curiousness, no great clerkliness, no great affectation of words, nor of painted eloquence; it was none other but, Adhuc quadraginta dies, et Ninive subvertetur, "Yet forty days, et Ninive subvertetur, and Ninive shall be destroyed: "it was no more. This was no great curious sermon, but this was a nipping sermon, a pinching sermon, a biting sermon; it had a full bite, it was a nipping sermon, a rough sermon, and a sharp biting sermon. Do you not here marvel that these Ninivites cast not Jonas in prison; that they did not revile him, and rebuke him? They did not revile him, nor rebuke him; but God gave them grace to hear him, and to convert and amend at this preaching. A strange matter, so noble a city to give place to one man's sermon! Now England cannot abide this gear; they cannot be content to hear God's minister, and his threatening for their sin, though the sermon be never so good, though it be never so true. It is, a naughty fellow, a seditious fellow; he maketh trouble and rebellion in the realm; he lacketh discretion. But the Ninivites rebuked not Jonas that he lacked discretion, or that he spake out of time, that his sermon was out of season made: but in England, if God's preacher, God's minister, be any thing quick, or do speak sharply, then he is a foolish fellow, he is rash, he lacketh discretion. Nowadays if they cannot reprove the doctrine that is preached, then they will reprove the preacher, that he lacketh due consideration of the times; and that he is of learning sufficient, but he wanteth discretion. "What a time is this, picked out to preach such things! He should have a respect and a regard to the time, and to the state of things, and of the commonweal." It rejoiceth me sometimes, when my friend cometh and telleth me that they find fault with my discretion; for by likelihood, think I, the doctrine is true: for if they could find fault with the doctrine, they would not charge me with the lack of discretion; but they would charge me with my doctrine, and not with the lack of discretion, or with the inconveniency of the time. I will now ask you a question I pray you, when should Jonas have preached against the covetousness of Ninive, if the covetous men should have appointed him his time? I know that preachers ought to have a discretion in their preaching, and that they ought to have a consideration and respect to the place and the time that he preacheth in; as I myself will say here that I would not say in the country for no good. But what then? Sin must be rebuked; sin must be plainly spoken against. And when should Jonas have preached against Ninive, if he should have forborne for the respects of the times, or the place, or the state of things there? For what was Ninive? A noble, a rich, and a wealthy city. What is London to Ninive? Like a village, as Islington, or such another, in comparison of London. Such a city was Ninive, it was three days' journey to go through every street of it, and to go but from street to street. There were noblemen, rich men, wealthy men; there were vicious men, and covetous men, and men that gave themselves to all voluptuous living, and to worldliness of getting riches. Was this a time well chosen and discreetly taken of Jonas, to come and reprove them of their sin; to declare unto them the threatenings of God; and to tell them of their covetousness; and to say plainly unto them, that except they repented and amended their evil living, they and their city should be destroyed of God's hand within forty days? And yet they heard Jonas and gave place to his preaching. They heard the threatenings of God, and feared his stroke and vengeance, and believed God: that is, they believed God's preacher and minister; they believed that God would be true of his word that he spake by the mouth of his prophet, and thereupon did penance, to turn away the wrath of God from them. Well, what shall we say? I will say this, and not spare: Christ saith, Ninive shall arise against the Jews at the last day, and bear witness against them; because that they, hearing God's threatening for sin, ad praedicationam Jonae in cinere et sacco egerunt poenitentiam, "They did penance at the preaching of Jonas in ashes and sackcloth," (as the text saith there:) and I say, Ninive shall arise against England, thou England; Ninive shall arise against England, because it will not believe God, nor hear his preachers that cry daily unto them, nor amend their lives, and especially their covetousness. Covetousness is as great a sin now as it was then: and it is the same sin now it was then: and he will as sure strike for sin now, as he did then.


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