THE WORLD OUR ENEMY.
EW vords are of more frequent occurrence in the language of religion than "the world;" Holy Scripturc makes continual mention of if, in the way of censure and caution; in the Service for Baptism if is describcd as one of three great ênemics of our souls; and in the ordinary writings and conversation of Christians, I need hardly say, mention is ruade of if continually. Yet most of us, it would appear, have ver:}- indistinct notions what the world means. \Ve know that the world is a somethin dangerous to out spiritual interests, and that if is in some way connected with human society—with mon as a mixed multitude, contrasted with men onc bv onc, in private and domestic lift; but what it is, how it is our enemy, how if attacks, and how it is to be avoided, is hot so clear. Or if we conceive some distinct notion concerning it, still probably it is a a'ong notlon,—which
_8 The IUorld o,tr Ecmy. leads us, in eonsequenee, fo misapply the Seripture preeepts relating o the 'orhl; and this is eren worse than overlooking them. I shall now, then, attempt fo show what is meant by the world, and how, in eonsequenee, we are fo understand the infi)rmation and warnings of the saered writers eoneerning if. 1. Now, first, by tbe world is ve T eommonly mean the present visible system of things, without taking into eonsideration hether i is good or bad. Thus St. aohn eontrasts the world with the things that are in if, whieh are evil, "" Lave hot the world, zei[her the things that are in the worhl ." Again, he presently says, " The world passeth away, aul the lust thereof." Here, as in nmny other parts of Scripture, the world is hot spoken of as actually sinfll in itself (thoug'h its lusts are so, of course), but merely as some present visible system which is likely to attract us, and is not to be trusted, because if cannot lst. Let us first consider if in this point of ¥i . Therc is, as marrer of necessity, a great variety of stations nd fortunes among mankiud; hardly t'o persons are in tle saine outward circumstances, and posoessed of the same mental rcsources. Ien differ from each other, and are bound together into one body or systcm by the very points in which they differ; they depend on each other; such is thc will of God. This systcm is the world, to which it is plain belong 1 John ii. 1.
our various modes of supporting ourselves and famflies by exert.ion of mind and body, out intercourse with othcrs, out duty towards others, the social virtues,— industry, honesty, prudence, justice, benevolcnce, and file like. These spriug all ff'oto out prescnt lot in lire, and tend fo out present happiness. This lire holds out prizes fo lnerit and exertion. Men fise above their fcllows; they gain fime and honours, wcalth and power, whieh we thcrefore call worldly goods. Thc afairs of nations, the dealings of people with peoplc, the interchang'e of productions between country ad countT, are of this world. Ve are educated in boyhood for this world; we play out part on a stage more or less conspicuous, as the case may be; we die, we are no more, we are forg'otten, as fir as the present state of things is eoncerned; all this is of the world. ]3v the world, then, is meant this course of things which we sec carried on by means of human ageney, with all ifs dutiès and pursuits. Itis hot necèssarily, sinful system; rather itis framed, as I have said, by God Himself, and therefore cannot be otherwise Ihan good. And ye even thus eonsiderin if, we are bid hot to love the world: even in this sense the world is an enemy of out souls; and for this reason, because the love of it is dangerous fo beings circumstanced as we are,—things in themselves good beig hot good fo us sinners. And this state of things which we sec, fait and excellent in itself, is very likely (for the very reason that if is seen, and beeause the spiritual and future world is hot seen) fo seduce out wayward hearts from our truc and etenml good. As the traveller on serious business may be tempted fo linger; while he gazes on the beauty of the prospect which opens on his way, so this well-oxlered and divinely-govcrned world, with ail its blessings of sensc and kuowledge, may lead us to neg.leet thosc interests which will endure when itself bas passcd away. Iu truth, if promises more than if can fulfil. The g'oods of lire and the applause of men bave their excellence, and, as far as they 'o, are really good; but tlley are short-lived. And hence if is that nlanv pursuits in themselves honest and right, are nevertheless fo be engaged in with caution, lest they seduce us; and those perhaps with especial caution, which tend to the well-being of men in this lire. The sciences, for instance, of good government, of acquiring wealth, of preventing and relieving walt, and the like, are for this reason especially dangerous; for fixing, as they do, out exertions on this world as an end, they go far fo persuade us that they have no other end ¢.hey accustom us ¢o think too mueh of suceess in lire and temporal prosperity; nay, they may even teach us fo be jealous of relion and ifs institutions, as if these stood in out way, preventing us from doing so much for the worldly interests of mankind as we mi'ht wish. In this sense if is that St.. Paul contrasts sight and faith. We sec this world; we only believe that there is a world of spirits, we do not see if: and inasmuch as sight has more power over us than belicl , and the prosent than the future, so arc the occupatious and plcasures of this life injurious fo our faith. Yet hot, I say, in themselves sinfifl; as the Jewish system was a temporal system, yct divinc, so is the system of naturc this worlddivine, though temporal. And as the Jews became carnal-mindcd even by the influence of thcir divincly-appointed system, and thercby rejcctcd thc Saviour of their souls; in like mauner, men of the worhl are hardened by God's own good world, into a rejection of Christ. Il neither case through thc fault of thc things vhich arc scen, whcther miraculous or providentiM, but aecidetally, through the fimlt of the hmnan heart. . But now, secondly, lct us proceed to consider the world, hOt only as daugcrous, but as positively sinfifl, according to the text—" the whole world lieth in wickedness." It was created well iu all respoets, but even before it as yet had fully grown out into ifs parts, whilc as yet the clements of human society did but lie hid in the nature and condition of the first man, Adam fell; and thus the world, with all ifs social ranks, and aims, and pursuits, and pleasures, and prizes, has ever fl'om ifs birth been sinful. The infection of sin spread through the whole system, so that although the fl'ame-work is good and divine, the spirit and lire within it are ev. Thus, for instance, to be in a high station is the giff of
God; but the pride and injustice to which if has given scopc is fi'om the Devil. To bc poor and obscure is also the ordinance of God; but the dishonesty and discontcnt which are oftcn seen in the poor is ri-oto Satan. rPo cherish and protect wife and fi, mily is God's appointment; but thc love of gain, and the low anabition, which lcad lnany a man to exert himself, are sinful. Aceordingly, itis said in the tcxt, "Thc world lieth in wickedness,'—it is plung'ed and steepcd, as it were, in a Itood of sin nota part of it remaining as God originally creatcd it, noi a part purc ri'oto the corruptions with which Satan has distigured it. Look into ihe histçy of the world, and what do you read thcre? Rcvolutions and changes without number, kindoms rising and falling; and when without crime? States are established by God's ordinance they have their existence lu the neeessity nf nmn's nature; but when was one ever established, nay, or maintained, without war and bloodshed? Of all natural instincts, what is more powerful than ihat which forbids us fo shed our illows' blood? We shriuk with uatural horror ri'oto the thought of a murderer; yet nota government ha:» ever been settlcd, or a state acknowledged by ifs neighbours, without war and the loss of liçe; nay, more than this, hot content with unjustifiable bloodshed, the guiit of which lnUSt lie somewhere, instead of lamentin it as a grievous and humiliating evil, the world has ehosen to honour the conqueror with ifs amplest share of admi- ration. To beeome a hero, h the eves of the world, i is almos neeessry fo break the lws of God and mn. Thus he deeds of the wofld re nmehed by le opinions and principles of the wodd: if adopts bad doctrine fo defend bad praetiee; if fores darkness beeause ifs deeds are evil. Aud as the affairs of nations are thus depraved hy out eorrupt nature, so are ail the appointments and it'ts of Plvidence perverted in ]ikc mauner. Vhat eau le more excellent than the vig'orous and patient employment of the intellect; yet in tle hauds of Safari it g'ives birth fo a proud philosophy. Vheu St. Paul lweaehed, the wioe men of the worhl, in God's eyes, were but fools, for they had used their powers of mind in the cause of error; their reasonings even led them fo be irreligious and immoral; and they despised the doctrine of a. resurrection which they neither h)ved nor believed. And agin, all the more refined arts of lire bave been disgraeed by the vieious fastes of those who exeelled in them; often they have been eonseerated to the service of idolatry; offert they have been ruade the instruments of sensuality and riot. But. if would be eudless fo reeouut the manifold and eomplex corruption whieh man has introdueed into the world which God ruade ood; evil bas preoeeupied the whole of it, and holds fast ifs eonquesL We know, indeed, that the g'racious God revealed Himself fo His sinful ereatures very soon after Adam's fall. IIe showed Ilis will to mankind aain and again, and pleaded with them through many ages; till aU length IIis Son was born into this sinful world in the çorm oF man, and taug'h us how te please IIim. Still, hitherto the good work has proeeeded slowly: such is IIis 1}leasm. Evil had the sfar oF g-ood by mnny days; i6 filled the world, le holds i: if has the stng'th possession, and i[ has ifs strcng'th in the human heart; for floug'h we canner keep frein approving" wha is righ in out conscience, yet we love and enconrg-e W]laç Js wrong; se that when evil was once set up in the world, i was seeured in ifs seau by the nnillingness wifl whieh out hearts relinquish lU. And new I have described what is meant by the sinflfl world; that is, tlle world as eorrupted by man, the course of human aflhirs viewed in its connexion with tlle principles, opinions, and praetices which actually direct There is no mistaking flese; they are evil; and of these if is tllat St. John says, "If any man love the world, t.he love of the Fat.ber is net in him. çor all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes. and t.he pride of lire, is net of the Fafler, but is of the world 1.,, The world then is the enemy et" out seuls; first, becauoe, however ilmoeent ifs pleasures, and praiscworthy its pursuits may be, they are likely te engross us, unless we are on out guard: and seeondly, beeause in all its best pleasres, and nobles pursuits, the seeds of sin John ii. 15, 16.
have been smvn; an eneluy hath done this; so that it is most diffieult to cnjoy the good without partaking of the evil also. As an ordcrly systcm of rations ranks, with various pm,suits and thcir several rewards, it is fo be eonsidercd not sinful indeed, but dangerous to us. Ou the other hand, eonsidered in referenee fo its prheiples and actual praetiees, it is really a sinN1 world. Accordingly, whel we are bid in Seripture to shun the world, it is meant that we must be eautious, lest we love what is good in it too well, and lest we love the bad at all.IIoweveï, there is a mistaken notion sometimes entertained, that the world is some partieular set of persons, and that fo shun the world is to shun them; as if we eould point out, as it were, with the fingel; what is the world, and thus eould easily rid ourselves of one of out three great enemies. 3Ien, who are beset with this notion, are often great loyers of the world notwithstalxding, while they think themselves at a distance from it altogether. They love ifs pleasures, and they yield to ifs prineiples, yet they speak strongly against men of the world, and avoid them. They act the part of superstitious people, who are afraid of seeing" evil spirits in what are considered haunted places, while these spirits are busy at their hearts instead, and they do hot suspect it. 3. Here then is a question, which it will be well to eonsider, riz. how far the world is a separate body ri'oto the Church of God. The two are certainly contrasted in the %xt, as elsewhere in Seripture. "' We know ha we nre of God, and the «'kole worhl lieth in wiekedness." ow le truc aeeount of thi is, that the Chureh so far from being literally, and in faet, separate ri'oto he wicked world, is within if. The Church is a body, gathered together in fhc world, and in a process of scparation from if. Thc world's powel5 alas! is over thc Church, ],ecausc lhc Church bas gonc forth into the world fo savc thc world. Ail Christians arc in the wofld, and of the world, so far as sin still has dominion tver them; and n¢,t cven the best of us is elean every whit from sin. Tlmug'h then, in out idea of the two, and in their principles, and in their future prospeets, the Chureh is one thing, and the world is another, yet ilt prescrit matter of çaet, the Chureh is of the world, separate from if; fi,r the graee of God has but partial possession even of religions men, and the best that ean be said of us is, that we have two sides, a light side and a. dark, and that the dark lmppens fo be the outermost. Thus we form part of the wod fo eaeh other, though wc be hot of the world. Even supposing there were a soeiety of men influeneed individually by Christian motives, still this soeiet5 viewed as a. whole, would be a worldly one; I mean a soeiety holding and maintaining lnany errors, and countenaneing lnany bad praetices. Evil ever floats af the top. And if we inquire why i is that tlle good in Christians is seen less than the bad? I answer, first, beeause there is less of if; and secondly, beeause evil forces itself upon g'eneral notice, and ood does no. So flm in a large body of men, e=mh eontribuing his portion, evil displays itself on the whole eonspieuous]y, and in all ifs diversified sh=,pes. And thirdly, ri'oto the nature of t],ing's, the soul eannot be understood by any bu God, and a reliious spirit is in S. Peer's words, "the hidden man of the heart." It is only the actions of others whieh we sec fir the mos part, and since thcre are numberless ways of doing wrong', and but one of doing right, and numbcrlcss ways too of regarding and j udging the eonduct of others, no wondcr that even le better sort of men, much more the 'cnerality, arc, and scem fo bc, so sinfifl. God only sees the eirctnnstances tmdcr vhich a man acs, why hc acts in lhis way and hot in lh:t. God only sees pcrfectly the train of thou'ht which prcded his action, the motive, and the rcasons. And God alone (if aught is ill done, or sinfiflly) secs thc deep contrition afterwards,—thc habittml lowliness, then burstiu forth into special self-rel)roach,and lhe meek faith casting itsclf wholly upon God's mercy. Think for a momcnt, hoxv many hours in the day eve T man is left wholly to himsêlf and his God, or rather how fcw minutes he is in intercourse with others—consider this, and you will perceive how it is that the lire of the Church is hid with God, and how if is that the outward conduct of the Church must uecessarily look like lhe world, even far more than if really is like it: and how vahb in consequence, the attempt is (whieh some make) of separating thc world distinctly fi-om the Church. Conside; moreover, how nmch therc is, while we arc in the body, fo stand in thc w,y of ont mind communicating with another. We are imprisoned in the body, and our infercome is by means of words, whieh feebly represent out rcal feelin¢s. Hence thc ]»est motives and truest opinions are misundcrstood, and fhe most sound rules of conduct misapplicd by others. And Christians are nccessarily Inore or less strange fo eaeh other; nay, and as far as the appearance of things is concerned, almost mislead each other, and arc, as I have said, the world one fo another. I is long', indecd, before we become af ail acquainted with cach other, and we appear the one fo the other co]d, or harsh, or capricious, or sclf-willed, when we are hot so. So that if tmhappily cornes to pass, that even good men retire from each other into themselves, and fo their God, as if retreating from the rude world. And if all this takes place in the case of the better sort of rnen, how much more will if happen in the case of hose multitudes who are still unstable in faith and obedience, half Christians, hot having yet n'ought themsclves into any consistent shape of opinion and practice! Thcse, so thr from showing" the better part of themsclves, often affect to be worse even fhan they are. Though they have secret fears and misgivings, and God's grace p]eads with their conscience, and seasons of
ZThe lUorld ozzr Ezzcmy. 39 seriousness follow, yet they are ashamed fo eonfess fo each other their own seriousness, and they ridicule rcligious men lest they should be themselves ridiculed. Ami thus, ou the who]e, the stafe of the case is as follows: that if we look throuCh mankind in order fo find out who makc up the world, and who do nof, we shall find none who are hot of the world; inasmuch as there are none who are not exposed fo infirmity. So that if fo shun the world is fo shun some body of men so callcd, we must shun all men, nay, ourselves too which is, conclusion which mcans nothing af ail. But let us, avoiding all refinements whiêh lead fo a display of words only, hot fo the improvement of our hearts and conduct, let us se fo work practically; and instead of attempting fo judge of maukind on a large scale, and fo settle deep questions, let us take what is close af hand and concerns ourselves, and make use of such knowledge as we can ol,tain. Are we tempted fo neglect the vorship of Goal for some temporal object? this is of the world, and hot fo be admitted. Are we ridieuled for out eonseientious eonduct? this again is a trial of the wofld, and to be withstood. Are we tempted fo give too much rime fo our recreations; fo be idling" when we should be working'; readin or talking" when we should be busv in out" temporal ealling; hoping for impossibilities, or faneying" ourselves in some differen state of lire from out own; over anxious of the good opinion of others; bent upon getting the eredit of industry, honest)5 and prudence? all thcse are tcmptations of this world. Are we discontcntcd with our lot, or are wc over attaehed to if, and fi'etful and dcsponding" when God recalls the good IIc ha.s given? this is fo be worldlymiuded. Look lmt about for thc world as some vast and gigantic evil fitr off—ifs tclnptations are close to),ou, apt and rea]y, suddcnly oftbred and subtle in their address. Try to ]»ring down ihe words of Scripture fo common li/b, and fo rccognize thc cvil in which this world lies, in your owu hcarts. ]hcn our Saviour cornes, IIc wi]l dcstroy his worhl, even IIis own work, and much more thc lusts of ihe world, whieh are of the evil one; then at length we must lose ihe world, evcn il" wc cannot bring ourselves fo part with it now. And we shall perish with the world, if (n that dav its lusts are round within us. "The world passeth away, and the lust thcreof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever."