Some use too much courtship in friend- ship ; they are like trumpets which make a great noise, but within they are hollow. Some can flatter and hate, commend and censure. Mel in ore^ fel in corde. Dis- sembled love is worse than hati'ed.
(3.) There is deceit in riches. Mat. xiii. 22., " The deceitfulness of riches." The world makes us believe it will satisfy our desires, and it dotb but increase them ; it makes us believe it will stay with us, and it takes wings, Prov. xxiii. 5.
A. 7. It is an evil world, as it is a dis- quieting world. It is full of trouble, John xvi. 33. The world is like a bee-hive; when we have tasted a little honey, we have been stung with a thousand bees. St. Ba- sil was of opinion, that before the fall, the rose did grow without prickles ; but now every sweet flower of our life hath its prickles. There are many things cause dis- quiet : loss of friends, — law-suits, — crosses in estate ; relations are not without their troubles, — some are trouhled tliat they want children, — others trouhled tliat they have children ; the world is a vexing vanity. If a man be poor, be is despised hy the rich ; if he be rich, he is envied by the poor. If we do not find it an ensnaring world, we shall find it an afflicting world ; it hath more in it to wean us than tempt us. The world is a sea where we are tossed upon the surging waves of sorrow, and often in
danger of shipwreck ; the world is a wilder ness full of fiery serpents. What storma of persecution are raised against the right- eous ? 2 Tim. iii. 12. The wicked are briars, Mic. vii. 4., where Christ's sheep h>se some of their golden fleece. Then had we not need pray, Lord, deliver us from being hurt hy this evil world ? Why should we love the world ? Though we are commanded to love our enemies, yet this enemy we must not love, 1 John ii. 15., " Love not the world."
I have been all this while opening the first sense of this petition, " Deliver us from evil ;" we pray to be delivered from sin in general, and to be delivered from evil under this threefold notion, — from the evil of our heart, — from the evil of Satan, — from the evil of the world. Ere I leave this, let me insert a
Caution. Not that our abstaining from, or forbearing the external acts of sin, is suf- ficient to entitle us to salvation: but when we pray, " Deliver us from evil," there is more implied in it, namely, that we make a progress in holiness. Being divorced from sin is not enough, unless we are espoused to virtue ; therefore in scripture these two are joined, Ps. xxxiv. 14., " Depart from evil, and do good," Bom. xii. 9. and Isa. i. 16., " Cease to do evil, learn to do well," 2 Cor vii. 1., " Let us cleanse ourseh'es from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, perfecting ho- liness." Leaving sin is not enough, unless we embrace righteousness. VirtiUia est ma- gis hnnesto ogeri^ qnam non turpio. As it is in the body, it is not enough that the dis- ease be stopped, but it must grow in health, so it is in the soul, it is not enough acts of sin be forborne, — which is the sto])ping a disease — but it must be healthy, that is, grow in holiness.
Use. Which reproves those who labour only to 6U])press the outward acts of sin, but do not press on to lioliness ; they cease from doing evil, but do not learn to do well. Their religion lies only in negatives ; they glory in this, that they are given to no vice, none can charge them with any foul miscarriages, Luke xviii. 11., " God I thank thee, that I am not as other men are; extor- tioners, unjust, adulterers." This is not e- nough, you must advance a step further in
OF THE SIXTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER.
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solia piety ; it is not enough tliat a field be not sown with tares or hemlock, but it must be sown with good seed. Consider uvo things :
1. If this be the best certificate you have to shew that you are not guilty of gross sins, God makes no account of you. A piece of brass, though it be not so bad as clay, yet not being so good as silver, it will not pass for current coin : so though you are not grossly profane, yet not being of the right metal, wanting the stamp of lioliness, you will never pass current in heaven.
2. A man may abstain from evil, yet he may go to hell for not doing good, Mat. iii. 10., " Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit, is hewn down, and cast into the fire." Why were the foolish virgins shut out ? they had done no hurt, — they had not broke their lamps, — yea, but their fault was, there was no goodness rn them, they had no oil in their lamps. Oh therefore let us not content ourselves in being free from gross acts of sin, but let us launch forth further in holiness ; let us cleanse ourselves from all pollution, ' perfecting holiness.'
Secondly^ " Deliver us from evil," that is, from temporal evil. AVe pray that God will either prevent temporal evils, or deliver us out of them.