and just views of this subject: *' If," says he, " I have made gold my hope, or have said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence ; if I rejoiced because my loealth ivas great, and because mine hand had gotten much ; this were an iniquity to be punished by the judge, for then I should have denied the God that is above V Whoever he be that, on account of his earthly comfort, says, " Soul, take thine ease," is justly branded as " a fool," and to all eternity will find occasion to bewail his folly.]
With the help of these distinctions I think we may fix, with some precision, the true import of the in- junction before us, and may proceed in a satisfactory manner to consider further,
II. The reasons with which it is enforced —
In confirmation of what he says respecting the
world, the Apostle declares,
1 . That it is not worthy of our love —
[If we look at its nature, how base is it! " it is not of the Father, but of the world." What is there in the whole circle of the world that can boast of an heavenly origin ? Nothing, not an atom of it either comes from God, or leads to God, any farther than it is sanctified unto us by the covenant of grace. It is enjoyed by heathens, as well as by Christians : and what does it do for them ? Yea, what does it advance the real wel- fare of the great mass of the Christian world ? It altogether arose out of the fall of man. In Paradise, the world was nothing ; and God was all. It was not till sin had entered into the world, that the world and its lusts were put in com- petition with God, or that a love to present things had attained an undue ascendant over the soul. And were man still in his primeval innocence, all pleasures, riches, and honours would be of no account, any farther than God was enjoyed in them, and they were made subservient to his glory
Again ; if we look at its duration, it is altogether transient : "the fashion of this world passeth away, and the lust thereof; but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever." What has the lover of this world of all that he has ever enjoyed? and how long will the savour of his present enjoyments abide with him ? How long can he secure the continuance of them ? and what will remain of them the moment he has departed hence ? On the other hand, if he love God, and do his will, he has a continual feast : his gratifications never cloy : his bliss will bear reflection, and be renewed by the retrospect: the consciousness that he has a taste for such enjoyments will itself
h Job xxxi. 24, 25, 28. VOL. XX. D D