THE VANITIES OF THIS WORLD AN OBSTACLE TO SPIRITUAL PROGRESS.
Ps. cxix. 37. Titrn away mine eyes from beholding vanity ; and quicken thou me in thy luay.
THE depths of the human heart are never more plainly disclosed, than when a man comes into the presence of his Maker. Then he opens all his wants, and supplicates relief for all his necessities. The godly man at a throne of grace knows no dissi- mulation, no concealment, no false humility. What he speaks, (if he be in a right state) he feels. Let us then draw nigh, and listen to the breathings of holy David. He felt the ensnaring influence of worldly things, and the lamentable tendency of fallen man to relax his efforts in the service of his God : hence he poured out his soul in this humble suppli- cation; "Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity ; and quicken thou me in thy way."
That we may all be stirred up to implore similar blessings at the hands of God, we propose to shew,
I. The fascinating power of earthly vanities —
By the word, " vanity," we understand all those things which are apt to engross the affections of carnal men. The Apostle classes them all under " the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life :" and they all justly deserve the name assigned them in the text, because they are sure to disappoint the desires and expectations of all, who look to them for any solid or permanent satisfaction.
These
406 PSALMS, cxix. 37. [421.
These things altogether captivate and enslave the minds of the generality —
[The natural man seeks nothing above them. His mind is not occupied with any thing above them. He " is in the flesh ;" he " walks according to the fiesh," " fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind." His " affections are altogether set upon things below, and not on things above." His thoughts, his con- versation, his labours from day to day, all arise from, and ter- minate in, the things of time and sense : and from these things alone spring all his hopes and fears, his joys and sorrows ]
These things also have great power over those who profess godliness —
[So our Lord has told us in the parable of the Sower. The thorny-ground hearers have made, in appearance at least, a great proficiency in religion. They have far surpassed the stony-ground hearers, who yet have heard the word with joy, and given many cheering and hopeful promises of a future harvest. They have been long established, and brought forth much which both they and others have deemed estimable fruit : but yet, " through the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lust of other things, the seed that has grown up in them is choked, and they bring forth no fruit to perfection."
Even persons truly and deeply pious are in great danger from them ; else why did our blessed Lord caution even his own imme- diate Disciples in those memorable words, " Take heed to your- selves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares **." There is yet an earthly and sensual spirit dwelling in the best of us, and working powerfully to counteract the better dictates of our new man ^ : and he knows little of his own heart, who does not see and bewail his own proneness to look back again after the flesh-pots of Egypt,]
But whilst we point out thus the danger of earthly vanities, we would point out also,
TI. The way to escape their baneful influence — We should set a guard upon all our senses — [The senses are inlets to all manner of evil. Alas ! alas ! how often has the mind been contaminated by what it has either seen or heard I If it were no more than what we have read in books, or heard in conversation, that was calculated to encourage a worldly spirit, we should all feel abundant reason to lament, that we have not been sufficiently on our guard against the ad- mission of bad impressions on the mind. But the vilest lusts have found an entrance into the heart by these avenues. Some