VeR. 119.] SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. 221
Use 1. To wean us from present things, which the wicked enjoy- more than the righteous, and wliich certainly are but poor things in comparison of our happiness : ' Set your affections on things above, not on things in the earth,' Cob iii. 2. Affect them not as your liappiness and hast end ; Ps. xvii. 14, ' Their portion is in this life.' Affect them not in competition with heavenly things, but in subordination. Mat. vi. 33 ; affect them not inordinately, but so as to part with them when God will : Job i. 21, ' Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither ; the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away ; blessed be the name of the Lord.' Affect them not so as to use unlawful means to get them: Pro v. xxviii. 8, ' He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor/ Affect them not so as to put yourselves u})on the temptation of getting or keeping them by unjust means: 1 Tim. vi. 9, ' But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition ;' Prov. xxviii. 20, ' He that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.' Affect them not so as to be backward to good works : ' But whoso hath this world's goods, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelletli the love of God in him?' 1 John iii. 17; 1 Sam. xxv. 11, ' Shall I take my bread, and my water, and my flesh, which I have provided for my shearers, and give it to men I know not?' Affect them not so as to neglect heavenly things ; affect them not so as to lay out your whole time and care about them : Prov. xxiii. 4, ' Cease from thine own understanding ; labour not to be rich ;' Isa. Iv. 2, ' Why do ye spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which satisfieth not?' But only affect them as you may honour God : Prov. iii. 9, ' Honour the Lord with thy substance.' You may provide for your families in the fair lawful way of God's providence, 1 Tim. v. 8 ; also you may be helpful to others, Eph. iv. 28 ; for if you so do, you are not the wicked of the earth, but those that use this world, but hope to enjoy better things.
Use 2. Let us be contented though we be kept low and mean in the world. God's people are not the children of this world ; better things are reserved for them in the world to come : and therefore, if we have food and raiment, and that but of the coarsest, let us be content: 1 Tim. vi. 8, ' Having food and raiment, let us be therewith content.' Jesus Christ gave thanks for five barley loaves and two fishes, Mark vi. 41. The wicked are characterised to be of the earth ; God's children are from above as to their original, and thither they tend as to their scope and end ; and if we have anything by the way, we have no cause to complain : 1 Peter ii. 11, ' I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims.' What would a man care for in a journey but a bait or a little refreshing ? If we seek after more, it is inordinate affection, and must be mortified, not satisfied ; Eph. iii. 5, ' Mortify your members which are upon the earth.' Evil inclinations bend us to the earth, and earthly things, those splendid nothings, riches, pleasures, honours, these hinder us from nobler things ; yea, they increase our difficulties about the things that are necessary for us by the way : Heb. xiii. 5, ' Let your conversations be without covetousness, and be content with such
222 SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. [SeR. CXXX.
things as you have ; for he hath said, I will never leave thee nor for- sake thee ;' implying that whilst we indulge carnal desires, it is hard to trust God with daily supports, for daily protection and daily main- tenance ; but always distract ourselves with fruitless cares and thoughts about the things of this life. And also we may say, ' The Lord is my helper ; I do not fear what man can do unto me.' Therefore let us not desire more than God alloweth: a little with God's blessing is enough to supply our necessities as to wants, and to give us protection against dangers ; as the apostle subjoineth God's undertaking, and the saints' confidence thereupon by way of a cure ; if we believe God's pro- mises, and have the spirit of his saints, this is enough to us. Use 3. Let us not envy the prosperity of the wicked, 1. They are the wicked of the earth ; here they flourish ; as nettles will more easily grow than choicer plants, the soil bringeth them forth of its own accord ; so do wicked men thrive here : but you need not envy them ; not only our hopes are much better than their possessions, but our present condition is much better, Ps. xvii. 14. Their posses- sions are not to be compared with our hopes. What is a more plen- tiful table to the everlasting fruition of God ? the pomp of the world to the seeing God face to face ? vainglory to everlasting glory ? honour here to the glory that shall be upon us at Christ's appearing ? their momentary pleasures, which pass away suddenly as a dream, to the everlasting pleasure you shall enjoy in the sight of God? Na}", for the present you have communion with God and the sense of his favour, how poor and afflicted soever your outward condition be : Ps. iv. 6, 7, ' There be many that say, AVho will show us any good ? Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us : thou hast put glad- ness in my heart, more than in the time when their corn and wino increased.' Carnal men rejoice in sensual earthly good things, not in the favour of God. And mark, this joy is proposed with a supposition of increase ; and at the time of this increase, when the carnalist doth enjoy the greatest affluence of worldly blessings, take them at their best, when they have the most lively sense of these things, yet a Chris- tian hath more cause of rejoicing: 'Thou hast put gladness in my heart ;' here is matter and ground of rejoicing. They drink of the cistern, you of the fountain, Jer. xii. 13 ; they rejoice not in God, but his gifts; and not the best gifts, but the common sort, riches, plea- sures, and honours ; and these not as the effects of God's bounty, but as happening to them in the ordinary course of second causes : ' Who will show us any good?' But you rejoice in God, in his best <i;ifts, his love and grace. And then here is the author of this joy : ' Thou hast put gladness.' This joy is allowed by God, and wrought by him : Piom. xiv. 17, ' The kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.' It is stirred up by his Spirit ; their joy is neither God's allowance nor God's work. And then here is the subject and seat of this joy ; not tickle the senses, but delight the heart : ' Thou hast put gladness in my heart.' And then here is the measure ; it is more joy, it is more pure and sublime, of a stronger efficacy, which not only overcometh the sense of present infelicities, but the fear of death, hell, and judgment to come : Heb. vi. 18, ' That we might have stronger consolation.' But wicked men