THE SPIRITUAL MAN's Alil. 51
Turn not the things of this world against God, or against others, to make them weapons of injustice, to be great to ruin others. Abuse them not to wrong, and to pierce om- own souls, as the apostle saith, ' with cares and the like,' 1 Tim. vi. 10. This is to abuse the world, when we dishonour God and wrong others, or to pierce our own souls. God hath not given us the things of this world for this end, to hurt ourselves with them. And therefore together with the things, let us desire a gracious use of them, for it is better than the thing itself. Labour to use them as not abusing them, as we shall if we have not grace to use them well. Many have the gifts of God without God, because they have not his grace. When we have the gifts of God, desire grace to manage them well. To his children God gives this with the other ; he never gives them anything, but he gives them grace to make a sanctified use of it. They are sanctilied to all things, and all things are sanctified unto them. ' Use the world as not abusing it.' The reason is strong, ' The time is short.' Why should we be overmuch in using the things of this world ; for that is one way of abusing the things of this world. ' The time is short.' We must be pulled from them whether we will or no. And therefore let us wean ourselves. And then, ' the fashion of this world passeth away.' Why should we doat upon a perishing fashion ? All things here pass away, and a new fashion comes after. You, ' brethren,' that are heirs of a better world, use this ' world as not abusing it.' ' Brethren,' he puts them in mind of a higher calling. And so I come to the last. ^
' For the fashion of this world passeth away.'
G. That is the second reason. The schema * that is, the apparition of this world, the outward fashion, the outward view and hue of the things of this world, pass away. It is a notable diminishing word in the original, as if the world were not a substance, but a fashion, schema. As we say in philosophy, in the air there are apparitions and substances ; as there are flying horses sometimes and fighting men in the air. These are not sub- stances, but apparitions of things. It is but phasis, but an apparition, or shape. The substance and true reality of these things is another matter. So whatsoever is in the world, it is but an apparition. When the devil shewed Christ all the kingdoms of the world, he shewed him but an appari- tion, but a show of things. There is a diminishing in the word ' show' («).
And then in the word ' fadeth away.'
' The fashion of this world passeth away ;' or, as some translate it, ' de- ceives, and turns us aside' {h). And so it doth indeed from better things. ' The ftishion of this world passeth away.' That translation is fit enough. ' It passeth away.' Now shall we be immoderate in anything that passeth away ? It is but an apparition, but a show, but a pageant. The word is partly taken from a pageant, or a show that hath a resemblance of this and that. But there is no reality or substance in a pageant. From this.
Use 1. Learn to conceive arii/ht of the things of this life, that there is no reality in them to speak of. They have a kind of reality. Riches are in some sort riches, and beauty is in some sort beauty, and nobility is in some sort nobility, and so possessions are in some sort possessions. But all this is but a pageant as it were, as a man that acts in a pageant, or in a play ; he is in some sort a king, or a beggar for the time. But we value him not as he is then, but as he is when he is off the stage. And while we live here, we act the part, some of a rich man, some of a nobleman,
* That it\ ^yj^'J'U. Cf. Philip, ii. 8.-G.
52 THE snr.iTUAL mak's aim.