SERMON V.
" ]Wbrougt aot]d»g i»to this world, a»td if is certain we can carry nothig out..4nd hacing food and raiment let us be thermvith c01t[e11[."
VERY age has ifs own special sins and temptations. Impatience with their lot, murmuring, grudging', unthaukfidness, discontent, are sins eommon to men at all times; but I suppose one of those sins whieh belongs to our ag"e more than fo another, is desire of a greater portion of worldly goods than God bas given us,- ambition and covctousness in one shape or another. This is an ag'e and country in which, more than in any othe,, men have the Ol,portunity of what is ealled rising, in litb,of ehanging" from a lower to a big'ber elass of ociety, of gaining wealth; and upon wcalth all things follow,—consideration, crcdit, influence, power,, enjoyment; the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the ç'es, and the pride of lire. Since, theu, men now-a-days ha-ce so often the opportunity of gaiaing worldly goods which
T,woral A d.,autagcs. 59 formerly they had hot, if is hot wonderfi,1 they should be fempted to gaiu theln; llor wonderful that wheu fhey have g'ained them, fhey should set their heart upon theln. And if will oçten hppen, that ri'oto eovefing hem before they are gained, and ri'oto making mueh of them when they are gained, men will be led fo take tmlawfi,l means, whether to inerease them, or n,)t fo lose them. But I ara hot going so fi, r as fo SUl,pose the case oF dishonesty, fi'aud, double-dealing, injustice, or the like: to these St. Paul seems fo allude when he goes on fo say, "They that will be rieh fall into temptation and a snare;" again, "The love of lnoney is the 1-oot oF ail evil." But let us confine ourselves to the eonsideration oF the nature itself, and the natural effeets, of these worldly things, without extending,our view to those firther evils to whieh they may give oeeasion. St. Paul savs in the text, that we ought to be content with food and raiment; and the wise man says, " Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food eonvenien for met. '' And out Lord would have us "take no thought for the morrow;" whieh surely is dissuasion ri'oto aggrandizing ourselves, aeemnulatingwealth, or aiming af distinction. And Ite has taughf us when we pray fo say, " Give us this d;v our daily bread." Yet a great number of persons, I may say, nearly all men, are hot eonten with enough, they are 1 Prov. xxx. 8.
hot satisfied with sueieney; they wish for somethin more han simplieity, and plainness, and ravity, and modesty, in heir mode of living; they like show md splendur, and dmiraion ri'oto the many, and obsequiousness on the part of those who havc to do with them, nnd thc ability to do as thcy will; they like fo attract the (3' "e, t[ bc reccivcd with consideration and respect, t,)1)e hcrd with dcf«rence, fo be obeved with lWOmltitmh'; thev hwe reetings in the lnarkets, and the bi'hest se;ts they ]ikc to be wcll dressed, and to bave titlcs of honour. Now, then, I will atcmpt o sh,»w that these ifts of thc world which mon seck are hot fo be reekoncd good thins; that thcv are ill suited o our nuture and out prescnt state, and are dangerous fo us; that if is on thc whole best for out prospec{s of happiness even hcre, mt fo sav hereafter, that ve should l,e without them. N,w, fil.S, tht these worldlv advantaes, as they are called, arc hot productive of any great enjoyment even now o the pcrsons possessinthem, it does hot require mny words fo provc. I might indeed nmintnin, with no sliht show of reason, lmt thcse thing, so ftr ri'oto increasin happincss, re g'enerally thc source of much disquietu¢le; tlmt as a person has more wealth, or more power, or more distinction, his tares general]y inerease, and his tilne is less his own: hus, in the words of the preaeher, " the abundance of the rieh will hot surfer him to sleep," and, "in mueh wisdom is much rief, and he that inereaseth kuowledge inereaseth sorrow'." But however this may be, a leas these ouward advantages do no inerease out hal,piness. Le me ask anv one who has sueeeeded in any objee of his desire, ha he experienced in his sueeess tha fifll, tha lasting" satisfaction whieh he antieipated? Did no some feeling of disappointment., of weariness, of satiey, of disquietude, after a dmr time, steal over his mind? I think i did; and if so, what. reason has he to suppose tha tha greater share of relmtation, opulence, and influence whieh he has hot, and which he desires, wotfld, if æ granted hiln, suflaee fo make hiln happy? iXo; the faet is certain, however slow and nnwilling we may be to believe if, none of these things bring the pleasu.'e whieh we beforehand suppose fl,ey will ]»ring. Vateh narrowly the persons who possess theln, and you will at length diseover the saine uneasiness and oeeasiona] restlessness whieh others have; yot will final that there is just a something beyond, whieh they are striving after, or just some one thing whieh annoys and distresses them. The good things)-ou admire please for the most parl only while they are new; now those who have them are aeeustomed fo them, so they eare little for them, and find lin alleviation in theln of the anxieties and eares whieh still remain. If is fine, in prospeet and imagination, fo be looked up fo, admired, applauded, eourted, feared, fo bave a lmme among men, Eeeles. i. 18.
torule their opinions or theiv actions by out vord, o ereate a stir by out movements, while men er35 " ow fle knee," belote us; but none knows so well how vain is the world's praise, as he who has it. xklld why is this? If is, in a word, beeause lhe soul was ruade for religions employments and pleasures; and henee, that no telnporal blessing's, howcver exalted or refined, ean satisfy if. As well mig'ht we:ttempt fo sustain the body m ehafl; as to feed alld nourish the immartal soul with the plcasurcs and occupations of the world. Only thus nmeh, then, shall I sav on the point of worldlv advantages hot bringin present haplfiness. But next, let us considcr that, on the other hand, they are positively dangerous fo out eternal interests. Ianv of these things, if they did no other harm, at least are injurions to ont souls, by taking up the rime whieh might else be given fo religion. Iuch intercourse with the world, which cminence and station tender a duty, has a tendeney to draw off the mind ri'oto God, and deaden if fo the force of religions motives and eonsiderations. There is a want of sympathy between mneh business and eahn devotion, g'reat splendour and a. simple faith, whieh will be fo no one more painfil than to the Christian, to whom God has assig, ned some post of espeeial responsibility or distinction. To maintain a relig'ious spirit in the midst of eng'aements and exeitements of this world is possible onlv to a saint;
nay, the case is the saine thoug'h our business be one a chaa'itable and l'eligious nal:ure, and though out chier intercourse is with those whom we believe t,» have thcir minds set Ul)Oll religion,,'laid whose 1)rinciples,'laid conduct are hot likely t:) withdvaw our feet ff-oin the narrow way of lire. For here we arc likely to be dcceived from the very circumstauce that our eml»loynaents are rclig'ious; and out end, as bcin a rig'ht ont, will engross us, and continual|y tempt us fo be ilmttentive fo the mcans, and to the spirit in which we pursue if. Our Lord alludcs to the danger of multiplied occupations iii he Parable of he Sowcr: "IIc that received secd among" horns, is ho that hcareth thc word, and the cares of this woa'ld and the deceitfulncss of riches chokc the wovd, and lac bccomeh fruilful." Again, thcse worldly advantages, as thcy are called, will seduce us into au excessive love of hem. XVc arc slh, 'ather than toc well inclined l»y nature to live by ", * by faith; and besides the immediate enjo3-ment, thcrc is something so agreeable o out nntm'al fastes in thc honours and emolumcits of the world, that if requires au especially srong mind, and n. large measurc of grace, hot to be gradually corïupted by them. We are lcd fo set out hcnrts upon them, and in the saine degrec withdraw them from God. X-c become unwilling to leave this visible statc of things, and to be reduced to a level with those multi*,udes who arc at prescrit inferior
6 4 Tc.o r«!./t dz,a z tagcs. o ourselves, l'rosleriy is suffieient to seduee, althongh nct fo safisfy. IIenee death and judgmen are unweleome suleets of refleetion fo the rieh tmd powerçul; for deah takes ri'oto them those eomforts whieh habit has ruade neeessa U fo heln, and hrows hem adrift on new ovder of things, of whieh hey know nohing, lhat in it thmv is no respect of persons. And as the»e goods lead us to love the world, so do lev lead us to trust in the world: we hot only heeome worhlly-minded, but mbelieing; oui wills eomin eorl'upt, out nnderstandins also beeome and didiking the truth, we radually learn fo maintain and deR'nd error. Si. Paul speaks of those who "havin put away a good conscience, eoneeruin faith ruade shipwreek'2' Familiarity with this worhl makes men diseontented with the doctrine of the narrow way; they fall into heresies, an(l attempt, fo att:in salvation on easim" terres than those whieh Christ holds out to us. I, variet.y of ways this love of the world operates. [en's opinions are impereeptibly formed by their wishes. It] for instance, we see out worldly prospeets depend, humanly speaking, upon a certain pern, we are led fo court, him, fo honour him, and adopt his views, and trust in an arm or flesh, till we forger the overrnling power of Ood's providence, and t,he lieeessity of His blessing, for the building of the house and the keeping of the eity. I 1 Tire. i. 19.
And moreover, these temporal advantages, as they are eonsidered, bave a stron tendency to rendcr us selfconfident. When a man has been advanced in the world by means of his own industry and skill, when he began poor and ends rich, how apt will he be to pride himself, and confide, in his own contrivanees and his own resources! Or when a man feels himself possessed of good abilitics; of quickness in entering into a subject-, or of powers of `argument fo discourse readilv npon it, or of acuteness to dctect fifllaeies in dispute with little effort, or of a delicate and cultivated faste, so as fo separate with preeision the correct.and beautififl in thought and feeling from the fimlty and irregular, how will sueh an one be tempted fo self-complacency and self-approbation! hov `apt will he be fo rely upon himself, fo test eontented with himself; tobe harsh and impetuous; or supercilious or fo be fistidious, indolent, unpr,qctical;,and to dcspise the pure, self-dcnying, humble retaper of religion,,as something irrational, dull, enthusiastie, or needlessly rigorous! These considerations on the extreme danger of possessing tempor,al advant,ages, will be greatly strcngthened by eonsidering the eonduct of holy men when gified with them. Take, for instance, Itezekiah, one of the best of the Jewish kings. He, too, had been schooled by occurrences which ont might bave thought would have beaten down all pride and self-esteem. The king of Assyria had eome against him, and secmed prepared [w]
6 6 T«npora! tdvantaes. to overwhehn him with his hoss; and he had round his od mis'hty Deliverer, eutin off in one nig'h of the enemy an hundred fourseore and rive thousand men. And aain, he had been miraeulously reeovered flore siekness, when the sun's shadow turned ten derees baek, o eonvinee him of the eertainty of the promised eovery. Yet when the king of Babylon sent ambassadors fo eong'ratulate him on this reeovery, we final this holy m:m ostentatiously displa.ying to them his silver, and g'«,ld, and armour. Truly the heart is "deceitful above all things;" and if was, indeed, to manifest this more fldly that (lod permitted him thus fo act. Goal "left him,'" says the inspired writer, "fo try him, that he might knoxv all that was in his heart ." Let us take David as another instance of the g,at danger of prosperity; he, too, wiI1 exemplify the unsatisfaetory nature of temporal goods; for whieh, tlfink you, was the happier, the lowly shepherd or the king of Israel? Observe his simple relianee on Goal and his eomposure, when advaneing ag'ainst Goliath: "The Lord," he says, "tiret delivered me out of the paw of the lion and out of the p:w of the hear, IIe will deliver me out of the hand of this PhilistineL" And compare this th his grievous sins, his eontinual errors, his weaknesses, ineonsisteneies, and flen his troubles and mortifications after eoming to fle flrone of Israel; and who will say that his advaneement was the occasion of both sor- 2 Chron. ii. 31. z 1 Sain. xi. 37.
row and sin, whieh, hum:mly speakin, he vould have escaped, had he died amid the sheepfolds of 5esse? He was indeed most wonderfully sustained by Divine grace, and died in thc fear of God; yet what rightminded and consistent Christian but must shrink ri'oto the bare notion of possessing a worldly greatness so corrupting' and seducing as David's kingly power was shown to be in the instance of so great a Saint? The case of Solomon is still more striking'; his falling" avay even surpses out anticipation of what out Saviour calls "the deceitfulness of riches." IIe may indeed, for what we know, have repented; but at least the history tells us noHfing of" it. Ail we are fold is, that '" King" Solomon loved many strange women... and it came to pass when Solomol was old, tiret his wives turned avay his heart after ofher.(.'od -, and his heart was not perfect xvith the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtaroth, the goddess of fhe Sidonians, and after Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonitcs '." Yet this was he who had offered up that most sublime and affecting prayer at fhe Dedication of the Temple, and who, on a former occasion, when the Almighty gave him the choice of any blessing he should ask, had preferred an undcrsfanding heart to long lire, and honour, and riches. So dang'erous, indeed, is the possession of the goods of this world., thaf, fo judge fi-om the Scripture history, 1 Kings xi. 1. , 5.
6 8 T«»oral A dvazhrcs. seldom bas God g'iven unmixed prosperity fo any one whom He loves. " Blessed is the man," says the Palmist, "whona hou ehastenest, and teaehes him ou of hy law ." Even the best men require some pMn or grief fo sol»er them and keep their hearts right. OEhus, fo lle the example of St. Paul himselt even his labours, suttèrings, and maxieties, he tells us, would no hve been suflieien fo keep him from being exalted above measure, throu'h the abmdanee of the revelaions, unless there had been added some further cross, some "horn in the flesh, as he tenus it, some secre aiction, of which we are noç parficularly informed, ¢o huml)lc him, and ¢o kcep him in a sense of his weak and depcndent condition. Thc history of the Church afer him affords us an addiçional lesson of ¢he saine serious trulh. For three centre'les it was exposed ¢o heathen persecufion; durin tha long period God's Hand was upon His people: wha did ¢ley ao when tlmt Hmad ws tken off? IIow did they aet when the world w:s thrown open fo them, and the saints possessed thc high places of the emh? did they enjoy if? fin" ri-oto if, thev sM'ank from that which they might, had they ehosen, bave ruade much of; they denied themselves what was set belote them; when God's Hand was removed, their own hand was heavy upon them. Vealth, honour, and power, they put away from them. aey reeolleeted our Lord's words, " How Ps. xciv. 12. = 2 Cor. x. 7.
Tcmporal M c[vatacs. 6 9 hardly shall they tha have riches enter into the kingdom of God! '' And t.. James's, " tIah uot Goal ehosen the poor of ghis world, rich in faih, and heirs of the kindom'? '' For three eenturies they had no need to think of those words, for Christ remembered them, and kept them hmnble; but when tic left them fo themselves, then they did voluntarily what they had hiflerto sufferêd patiently. ïhey were resolved that the (lospel eharaeter of a Christian should.be theirs. Still, as belote, Christ spoke of IIis followers as poor and weak, and lowly and simple-minded; men of plain lires, men of prayer, hOt "farin sumptuously," or elad in " sort raiment.," or "taking thoug'ht for the morrow." OEhey reeolleeted what IIe said fo the young" lluler, "If thou wilt be perfeet, go and sell tha thon hast., and g.ive fo the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and eolne and follow Ie." And so they put off their "gay elothing," their "old, and pearls, and eostly arrayfl' they "sold that they had, and g'ave altos/' they "washed one another's feet;" they "had all things eommon." hey formed themselves into eommunities for prayer and praise, for labour and study, for the eare of the poor, for mutual edifieation, and preparation for Christ; and thus, as soon as the world professed fo be Christian, Christians af once se up amon them a wituess against the world, and kings and monks came into the Church tog'ether. And from that rime fo flfis, never has the union of the 1 Iark x..°3. dames il. 5.
7 o Te»oral ldvantagcs. Church with the State prospered, but whe the Church was in ration also with the hermitaffe and the cell. Iorcover, in those relig'ious ag'es, Christians avoided greatncss in thc Church as well as in the world. aey would hot acccpt tank and station on accourir of their spiritml peril, when thcy wcre no longer encompassed by temporal t5als. When they were eleeted fo the episcopate, when they were appointed fo the priesthood, thev flcd away and hid themselves. They recollected out Lord's words, "Whosoevcr will be chier among you, let him be your servant;" and ag'ain, '" Be hot ve called Rabbi; for one is vour Master, even Christ, and all ve are brethren ." And when discovered and foreed fo the eminence whieh they shmmed, they ruade mueh lainent, and were in many tcars. And the, ftqt that their higher consideration in the world dcmanded of them some rcater strictncss and self-denial in their course of litb, lest if should tarn to a ourse, lest the penance of which it would defi-aud them hcre, should t,c visited on them in nmnifi,]d nacasure lereafter. Ther feared fo bave "their good thins" and '" their consolation'" o earth, lest they should hot lmve Lnzarus' portion in heave. That state of thigs indced is now lon passed away, but let us hot miss the doctrinal ]esson which if conveys, if we will hot take it for our pattcrn. efore I conclude, howevcr, I must take notice of an objection which may be ronde to what I lmve been say- Blatt. xx. 27; xxiii. 8.
ing. If may be asked, "Are hOt these dangerous things the gifts of God? Are they not evcn called blessiugs? Did hot God hestow riches and honour upon Solomon as a rcward? And did He not praisc him for praying" for wisdom?,knd does hot St. Paul say, ' Covet earnestly the best girls ?'" It is true; nor did Iever mean fo say that these things wcre bad in themselves, but bad, for us, if we seek thcm as ends; and dang'erous to us from their fascination. "Evcry creature of Gç, dis good," as St. I)aul says, "and nothing" to be refused ";" but circumstances may make good gifts injurious in out particular case. Wine is g'ood in itse]f', but hot for a man in a lever. If our souls were in perfect health, riches and authority, and strong powers of mind, would he vcr- suitablc fo us: but they are weak and diseased, and reiluire so grcat a grace of Goal fo bear these advantag'es well, that we may be well content fo be without them. Still it may he urged, Are we then a.hsolutely fo give them up if we have them, and not accept them when offered? It may be a dut 3" to keep them, itis sometimes a duty to accept them; for in certain cases God calls upon us not so much to put them avay, as to put away out old natures, and make us new hearts and new spirits, whercwith fo receive thcm.,kt the same rime, itis merely for our safety fo know their perilous nature, and fo beware of them, and in no case to take 1 Cor. xii. 31. - 1 Tim. iv. 4.
7 OE T«noral Mdv«uL«gcs. them simply for their own sake, but with a. view fo God's glory. They must be instruments lu out hands fo promote tire cause of Gospel truth. And, in this lig'h, they bave their value, and impar their rem pleasure; bu be i remembered, tha wlue and that happiness a.re imparted by the end fo which they are dedieat.«l; If is "the altar t.hat sanctifieth the gift :" but eompared with the end to whieh they must be direeted, their rem and intrinsie excellence is little indeed. In this point of view if is that we are fo eovet earnestly the best gilts: for if is a great privileg'e fo be allowed to serve the Chureh. Ilave we wealth? let it be the means of extending the knowledge of the truth—abiliries? of reeommending itpower? of defending if. From what I have said eoneerning the danger of possessing the things which the world admires, we lnay draw the following rule: use them, as far as given, with gratitude for what is l'eally good in them, and with a desire to promote God's glory by means of them; but do hot go out of the way to seek them. They will hot on the wholc make you happier, and they lnay make you less religions. l'or us, indeed, Mm are all the adopted ehildren of God our SaTiour, what addition is wanting fo eomplete out happiness? 'hat ean inerease their peaee who believe and trust in the Son of God? Shall we add u drop fo the oeean, or grains fo the sand of the sea? 3Iatt. xxiii. 19.
Shall we ask for an earthly inheritanee, who have the fulness of an heavenly one; power, vhen in l,rayer we ean nse the power of Christ; or wisdom, guided as we may be by the truc Wisd,m and Light of men? If is in this sense that the Gospel of Christ is a leveller of ranks: we pay, indeed, our superiors full reverence, and with eheerfulness as unto the Lord; and we honour eminent talents as deservingadmiratù,n and reward and the more readily,net we thus, beeause these are little things to pay. The rime is short; year follows year, and t.he world is passing mvav. It is of small eonsequenee to those who are beloved of God, and walk in the Spirit of truth, whether they pay or reeeive honour, which is but transitory and profitless. To the truc Christian the world assumes another and more interesting appearanee; it is no longer a stage for the great and noble, for the ambitions to ri'et in, and the wealthy fo revel in; but it is a seene of probation. ]very soul is a candidate for immortality. 3_nd the more we realize this view of things, the more will the aeeidental distinctions oïnature or fortune die away ri-oto our view, and we shall be led hab[tamlly to pr.'ay, upon every Christian may deseend, in rieh almndanee, not merely worldly goods, but that heavenly g'raee whieh alone ean turn this world to g'ood aeeount for us, and make it the path of peaee and of lire everlasting.