Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount, Chapter 6 · Verse 34
Verse 34.
Care not for the morrow, for the morrow shall care for it selfe: the day hath enough with his owne griefe.
Here Christ the third time repeats his commaundement against distrustful care, propoūded first in the 25. verse; In which often repetition, hee intends to make vsus more carefull and diligent, both to learne and practise the same. And hereto hee also addeth a seauenth reason to enforce and further our obedience, drawne from the daily griefe & trouble which accompanies eueryevery daie of our life.
The Exposition. Care not for the morrow: that is, for the time to come. This may seeme a strange commandement, tending to patronage sloth & negligence; but wee must know, that there is a double care forA double prouidence in man. 1. Godly. the time to come. I. A godly lawfull care. II. A distrustfull and inordinate care. The godly care is that, whereby a man prouides for in the time present, such things as are needfull in the time to come, & cannot then be prouided: this lawfull care wee may obserue in our Sauiour Christ, for he had a bag to keepe prouision for himselfe & his disciples, which Iudas bare, Ioh. 13. 29. and when Agabus foretolde of a general famine, the Disciples prouided aforehand, to send succour to the brethrē which dwelt in Iudea, Act. 11. 28, 29. And thus may a trades-man prouide for maintenance while his strength and sight is good, against the time of his age, wherein hee may be vnable to follow his calling. And thus doe men in fit season prouide for foode and raiment. And we may prouide to day, that is, in the time present, for any needfull thing, when to morrow will not affoard it.
The inordinate and distrustfull care for the morrow, is that whereby…. Inordinate prouidence men vexe their mindes, and turmoile themselues, to prouide aforehand for such things as may well enough be had in the time to come: this parts and rents asunder the minde, as the word signifies: and this our Sauiour Christ forbids. It is indeede the common care of the world, and we may obscrue the practise of it three waies especially: I. When men prouide so much worldly goods for themselues, as would serue for many families, or for many generations: there be many such gather-goods, which scrape together as though they should neuer die, and they scarce know any ende of their wealth. This practise our Sauiour Christ here forbids; If any in a land might seeke for superfluitie, it is the King, whom bountie at all times well beseemeth; and yet God forbade the King ouer his owne people, to multiplie ouermuch his horses and furniture, his siluer and his golde, Deuteron. 17. 16, 17. II. When men seeke to preuent all losses & casualties, and so plot for themselues, that howsoeuer it goe with others, yet they shall feele no want; though others sta…ue and goe naked, they shalbe full, and well clothed. III. when men prouide or to day and to morrow together a forehand, when as the morrowes prouision may sufficiently, safely, and soone enough be made on it owne day: This Christ doeth chiefly aime at, as crossing the practise of faith whereby we should daylie depend vponupon his prouidence.
For the morrow shall care for it selfe; the day hath enough with his owne greefe.
These words conteine Christs seuenth reason against distrustfull7. Reason against distrustfull care. care: the effect whereof is this, eueryevery day of mans life hath care enough and greefe sufficient, through the busines that falls out thereon and belongs vntounto it, and therefore we are not to adde thervnto another dayes care and greefe, for so we should bring vponupon our selues more care and greefe then needes.
The morrow, that is, the time to come, shall care for itselfe. Here Christ answers a question which might be made from the former commandement; for hauing forbidden care for the morrow, some might say; How shall we doe on the morrowe, and the time to come? Christ answers, This daies care must be to day, and to morrowes care to morrowe, each day must hauehave his owne care: such care as is fit and needfull for the time present must now be taken, and such things as are now needfull must now be sought for: but such care as is fit to be taken in the time to come, must be put off to his proper time; and things then needfull, must then be sought for, when their fit time salleth out: eueryevery time and eueryevery day must hauehave his proper care alone.
In this reason we hauehave a most notable rule for the wel ordering ofA rule for our life. our liues: to wit; that eueryevery man must know the duties of his lawfull calling, and how the discharge thereof will yield him things necessarie and conuenient from time to time, and so accordingly must walke therein; that is, doeing onelyonly such duties diligently as the present time requireth at his hands, for the procuring of things then meete and needfull; and so proceeding by dependance on Gods prouidence, in such care and labour, as is fitting for the present occasion, time, and season: but for time to come leane on Gods prouidence, respiting the care thereof till God require it at thy hands: The practise hereof Samuel inioyneth Saul, 1. Sam. 10. 7. When these signes (of establishing thee in the kingdome) shall come vntounto thee, doe as occasion shall serue; that is, doe the present duties of a king that lie before thee, without troubling and vexing thy selfe through feare or care of things to come, till God offer them to thy hand. And this should be eueryevery mans practise in his calling; and so should their present diligence testifie their obedience, and cleare thē frō presumption, & their respiting of future care till time require it, argue their faith in Gods prouidence: and thus they should neither foolishly feede vponupon vncertaine hopes, nor needlesly vexe themselues with vntimely cares.
The day hath enough with his owne griefe▪ that is, eueryevery day by reason of mans sinnes, hath trouble and griefe enough, through that care and labour for prouision which God thereon requireth at our hands: and therefore wee should let eueryevery day content it selfe with his owne care, and not adde thereto another daies griefe.
In this branch of the reason, Christ sets out the continued miserieThe continued miserie of mans life. of mans naturall life; Iacob said to Pharaoh, The daies of my pilgrimage hauehave beene few and euill, Gen. 47. 9. And Iob saith, Man that is borne of a woman is of short continuance, and full of trouble, Iob. 14. 1. But our Sauiour Christ here goes beyond them both, saying, EueryEvery day of mans life hath griefe enough of his owne. This beeing well considered, may teach vsus these things: I. To walke in our callings soberly,Duties. 1. without intangling our selues in worldly cares; for the daiely discharge of the duties of our callings, will bring sorrowe and griefe enough vponupon vsus, wee neede not to adde thereto by our carking care; for the more wee care, the more miserable is our life. II. To labour to2 withdrawe our hearts and to estrange our affections from delight in the things of this naturall life, or in this life it selfe, for it is full of griefe; and therefore wee must so walke in our callings, that wee may waite for a better life in heauen, where wee shall hauehave freedome from all sorrow and griefe. The good prophet Elijah was wearie of his life by reason of the miseries of it, through the calamities of the time; and therefore intreates the Lord to take away his soule, 1. King. 19. 4. And Paul cries out, one while vponupon the miseries that he felt through the bodie of death, that was in him, Rom. 7. 24. and at another time, desires to be dissolued, and to be with Christ, Philip. 1. 23. not simply, but because there was freedome from all sinne, and the miseries thereof. III. EueryEvery day to commend our selues in soules and bodies, and all3 that we hauehave, morning and euening, to the blessing and protection of God; for each day and night hath griefe enough, by reason of our sinne, which of our selues we cannot vndergoe without the helpe of God. When our Sauiour Christ was to die vponupon the crosse, hee commended his soule into his fathers hands, Luk. 23. 46. And none of vsus hauehave assurance of our continuance in life, but though we be well in the morning, wee may be dead in the euening; or aliue at night, and dead in the morning: and therefore we must not forget the practise of this dutie: Dauid did it in the time of trouble, though hee were in health, Psal. 31. 5. and though we were free from perill of death, yet our daiely vexations should mooue vsus hereunto; for who can learne any good thing without labour and paine? who can doe a good worke without let or opposition? If wee would repent, we are either clogged with corruptions, or ouerwhelmed with temptations: and if wee seeke to walke in new obedience, we hauehave the world, the flesh, and the deuil, all endeauouring to turne vsus backe to our olde course in sinne. So that if we would either auoide euill, or doe good, or support with some comfort our daily vexations, we must commend our selues, and all ours, into the hands of God eueryevery day. And thus much of this reason, and of Christs dehortation from distrustfull care.