A carnal man is in simples altogether. If he joy, he thrusts the house nut of the window, as we say. If he be merry, he is mad ; he hath no bounds. If he be sorrowful, if somewhat restrain him not, he sinks like a beast under his sorrow, as Nabal did, 1 Sam. xxv. 37, 38, for he hath no grace to temper his sorrow and to temper his joy ; and, therefore, he is over-sorrowful or over-jocund. Ah ! but grace, considering that we have objects of both, doth temper the affections. A Christian, when he joys, he doth not ovcr-joj^, for he hath cause at that time to mourn for somewhat ; and when he grieves, he doth not over-grieve, for he hath somewhat then to joy in ; for Christ is his, and heaven is his, and the providence of God to direct all for good is his still ; he hath somewhat to joy in at the worst. And therefore all his affections are tempered and qualified. So much for that point.
' And they that buy, as if they possessed not.'
4. It is laivful to hui/. It is lawful to make contracts ; and propriety* is lawful. Every man ought to have his own. There were no theft if there were no propriety, nor there could be no works of mercy Now, if pro- priety and dominion of things be lawful, that we may possess things as our own, then bupng is lawful. That is one way of contract of making things our own ; there is no danger in that. But there is a danger in the manner of buying. Men buy to perpetuate themselves : ' They call their lands after their names,' Ps. xlis. 11, and they think to continue for ever. God makes fools of them ; for how few have j^ou that go beyond the third generation ? How few houses have you that the child, or the grandchild, can say. This was my grandfather's and my great-gi'andfather's ? How few houses have you, that those that are now in them can say, My ancestor * That is, ' property.' — G.
VOL. IV. D
50 TUE SPIUITU^VL man's AIM.
dwelt here, and these were his hinds ? Go over a whole country, few can say so.
Men when they laiild, toj^ether with huilding in the earth, they huild castkis in the air ; they have conceits. Now I build for my child, and for my child's child. God crosses them. Either they have no posterit}', or by a thousand things that fall out in the world, it falls out otherwise. ' The time is short, and the fashion of this world passeth away ;' that is, tho buildings pass away, the owning passeth away, all things here pass away : and therefore bu}' as if you possessed not, buy so as we neglect not the best possession in heaven, and so possess these things, as being not pos- sess[ed] and commanded of them.
In Lev. XXV. 8, there you see the j-ear of Jubilee was that all possessions might return again, if men would. God trained them up by this, to teach them that they should not think of inheriting things long that they bought, for it returned in the year of Jubilee, in the fiftieth year. So we must learn that we cannot possess things long. Though we possess them ourselves, ■we may be thrust out by fraud or tyranny. Therefore ' let those that buy be as though they did not possess.' Jcr. xxii. 28 he saith, ' Thou makestthy nest in the cedars,' and thinkest it shall be thus and thus with thee. Oh ! beloved, let us not build and dwell in our hopes and assurance upon that which will yield no certain hope and assurance in this world. ' For the fashion of this world,' as we shall see hereafter,' ' passeth away.'
And then for ' brethren ' that have an inheritance in heaven ; for them to buy as if they should live here for ever ! ' Brethren,' that is a reason to take them oti'. • Brethren, buy as if you possessed not.' Thus much of the four directions.
' They that use the world, as not abusing it.'
5. We may ns€ the tcorhl, while we are here in it, for we cannot want the things of this life. We are members of two worlds while we are here. We are members of this world, and we are heirs of a better ; we have relation to two worlds.
Now while we live in this world we must use the things of this world. How many things doth this poor life need while we are in this world ! While we are passengers we must have things to help us in the way to heaven. Passengers must have necessaries ; there is no question of that. And therefore we must use the world many ways.
'As not abusing it.'
There is danger in using the world ; there is a danger of cleaving in your affections to the things of this world, so much as that we forget a better world ; and therefore we should use it as not abusing it.
How should we use it ?
Why, use this world as laying a foundation for a better world. While we live here, use the world as we may further our reckonings for a better. Use the things of the w'orld as we may express some grace in the using of it. Use the world as that the using of it may comfort us when the thing passeth. The ' world passeth.' But let us use the world, as that the grace that we express in the use of it may continue. Use the world to the honour of God, to the good of others, to the increase of our reckoning ; abuse it not to the dishonour of God ; fight not against God with his own blessings. That is to abuse the world. Forget not God the giver. Were it not an unkind thing if a man should invite sti'angers, if they should turn their kind friend that had invited them out of doors ? And so it is to use the things of the world so as to turn God out of our hearts that gives all.