Christian Behavior, Section 8
Of Neighbours each to other.
Having thus in few words shewed you …at is duty under your several Relati…s, I shall now at last speak, in a word … two, touching Good Neighbourhood, and …en draw towards a conclusion.
Touching Neighbourhood, there are …ese things to be considered, and pra…ised, if thou wilt be found in the pra…ical part of Good Neighbourhood.
First, Thou must be of a good & sound …onversation in thy own family, place and …tion, shewing to all, the power that the Gospel and the things of another World …th in thy heart, that ye may be blame… and harmless, the Sons of God, without …uke in the midst of a crooked and perverse …tion, among whom ye shine as lights in … World, Phil. 2. 15, 16.
Secondly, As persons must be of … behaviour at home, that will be go… neighbours, so they must be full of co… tesie and charity to them that have … about them, Luke, 10. 36, 37.
Right good Neighbourhood, is … men readily to communicate, as of the spirituals, so of their temporalities, … food, raiment, and help to those that ha… need, to be giving to the poor as th… seest them go by thee, or to enquire a… ther their condition, and according … thy capacity to send unto them, Job 3… ▪ 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20.
Thirdly, Thou must be alwayes humble and meek among them, as also Gra… and Gracious, not light and frothy, … by thy words and carriage, ministri… Grace to the hearers, Ephes. 4. 29.
Thus also Job honoured God amo… his Neighbours, Job 30. 6, 7, 8, 9, 1… ▪ 11.
Fourthly, Thy wisdom will be, right… to discountenance sin, and to repro… thy neighbour for the same, Levit. 1… ▪ 17. denying thy self in some things, … … preventing an injury to thy Neigh…ur, that thou mayest please him for his …ification, Rom. 15. 2.
Fifthly, If thou wouldst be a good neigh…r, take heed of thy tongue upon two …counts.
…1. That thou with it give no offensive …guage to thy Neighbour, to the pro…king of him to anger: bear much, put …wrongs, and say little: It is an honor … a man to cease from strife: but every … will be medling, Prov. 20. 3. And a…in, He loveth transgression that loveth …ife, Prov. 17. 19.
And as thou shouldst take heed that …ou be not be original of contention … anger, so also take heed that thou be … an instrument to beget it, between …ties, by a tale-bearing and gossopping…it: He that passeth by, and medleth with … belonging not to him, is like one that …th a Dog by the eares. As coals are to …ning coals, and wood to fire; so is a con…ious man to kindle strife, Prov. 26. 17,
I do observe two things very odious in many Professors; the one is a … strong and stiff-necked spirit, that … have its own way: and the other i… great deal of tatling and talk about … ligion, but a very little, if any thing… those Christian deeds that carry in … the cross of a Christian in the doing … of, and profit to my Neighbours.
1. When I say a head-strong, and … necked spirit, I mean they are for pl… sing themselves, and their own fanc… in things of no weight, though their… doing, be as the very slaughter-knif… the weak Conscience of a Brother… Neighbour. Now this is base: a Ch… stian in all such things, as intrench … the matters of Faith and Worship, sho… be full of Self-denyal, and seek to ple… others rather than themselves; giv… none offence to the Jew, nor to the Greek▪ to the Church of God; not seeking their … profit, but the profit of many, that they … be saved, 1 Cor. 10. 32, 33.
And the second is as bad, to wit, … Professors are great pratlers, and ta… ers, and disputers, but do little of … …hing that bespeaketh Love to the Poor, …r Self-denyal in outward things. Some people think Religion is made up of words; a very wide mistake: Words without deeds is but a half-faced Religi…n: Pure Religion, and undefilled before God, and the Father, is this, to visit the fa…herless and widows in their affliction, and to keep thy self unspotted from the World, …am. 1. 27. Again, If a Brother or a Si…er be destitute of daily food, and one of you …ay unto them, depart in peace, be warmed …nd filled (which are very fine words) yet …f you give them not those things that are ne…essary to the body, what doth it profit? Jam. …2. 15, 16.
Now then, before I go any further, I will hear take an occasion to touch a little upon those sins that are so rife in many Professors in this day; and they …re Covetousness, Pride, and Uncleanness; … would speak a word to them in this place the rather, because they are they which spoile both Christian Brother-…ood, and civil Neighbourhood, in too …reat a measure.
First for Covetousness.
1. Covetousness, it is all one wi… Desire; he that desires, covets, wh… ther the thing he desires be evil … good. Wherefore that which is called coveting in Exod. 20. 17. is called desire in Deut. 5. 21. As the Apostle also saith, I had not known lust, except the Law had said, Thou shalt not covet, Rom. 7. 7. that is, I had not known lust to be a sin, unless the Law had forbid it. Wherfore, though lawful desires are good▪ 1 Cor. 12. 31. and to be commended yet Covetousness, as commonly understood▪ is to be fled from, and abhorred, as of the Devil.
2 Covetousness or evil desire, it is the first mover, and giveth to every sin it… call, as I may say, both to move, and act: as was said before, the Apostle had not known sin, except the Law had said, Thou shalt not desire, or covet: for… where there is no desire to sin, there appears no sin.
3. Therefore Covetousness carrieth in it every sin (we speak of sins against th… second Table) even as a Serpent carri…eth her young ones in her belly. This the Scripture affirms, where it saith, Thou shalt not covet thy Neighbours wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, …nor his Ox, nor his Ass, nor any thing that … is thy Neighbours, Exod. 20. 17. Covetousness will meddle with any thing.
Now there are in my mind at present, these eight notes of covetousness, which hinder Good Works, and a Christian Conversation among men, wherever they are harboured.
First, When men, to whom God hath given a comfortable livelyhood, are yet not content therewith: This is against the Apostle, where he saith, Let your conuersation be without covetousness, and be content with such things as you have; for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee, Heb. 13. 5.
Secondly, It is covetousness in the Seller, that puts him to say of his traffick, it is better than it is, that he may heighten the price of it: and covetousness in the Buyer, that prompts him to say worse of a thing, than he thinks in his Conscience it is, and that for an abatement of a reasonable price.
This is that which the Apostle forbids, under the name of defraud, 1 Cor. 6. 7, 8. and that which Solomon condemns, Prov. 20. 14.
Thirdly, It is thorow covetousness, that men think much of that which goeth beside their own mouth, though possibly, it goeth to those that have more need than themselves, and also that better deserve it than they.
Fourthly, It argueth covetousness when men will deprive themselves, and those under them, of the priviledges of the Gospel, for more of this world, and is condemned by Christ, Luk. 14. 18, 19, 20.
Fifthly, It argueth covetousness, when men that have it, can go by, or hear of the poor, and shut up their bowels and compassions from them, 1 John 3. 17.
Sixthly, Also when men are convinced it is their duty to communicate to such and such that have need, yet they defer it, and if not quite forget it yet linger away the time, as being loth to distribute to the necessities of those in want. This is forbidden by the holy Ghost; Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thy hand to do it. Now, it is due from thee to the poor by the Commandment of God; if they want, and thou hast it, Say not then to thy Neighbour, Go, and come again to morrow, and I will give, when thou hast it by thee, Prov. 3. 27, 28.
Seventhly, It argueth a greedy mind also, when after men have cast in their minds at the first what to give, they then from that will be pinching, and cliping, and taking away; whereas the holy Ghost saith, Every one, as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give, not grudgingly, nor of necessity; for God loveth a chearful giver, 2 Cor. 9. 7.
Lastly, It argueth a filthy greedy heart also, when a man, after he hath done any good, then in his heart to repent, and secretly wish that he had not so done, or at least, that he had not done so much▪ this is to be weary of well-doing (I spe… now of communicating) and carrieth in it two evils. First, It spoileth the work done; And secondly, It (if entertained) spoileth the heart for doing any more so. The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the Churle said to be bountiful; for the liberal deviseth liberal things, and by liberal things he shall stand, Isa. 32. 6, 8.
Now then, to diswade all from this poisonous Sin, observe that above all sins, in the New Testament, this is called Idolatry, Ephes. 5. 5. Col. 3. 5. And therefore God's People should be so far from being taken with it, that they should be much afraid of the naming of it one among another, lest it should, as adultrous thoughts, infect the heart by the talking of it, Ephes. 5. 3.
Quest. But why is Covetousness called Idolatry?
Answ. 1. Because it ingageth the very heart of a man in it, to mind earthly things: it gets our love which should be set on God, and sets it upon poor empty creatures: it puts our affections out of Heaven, where they should be, and sets them on Earth, where they should not be, Ezek. 33. 31. Phil. 3. 18, 19. Col. 3. 1, 2, 3.
Thus it changeth the object on which the heart should be set, and setteth it on that on which it should not: it makes a man forfake God, The Fountain of living water, and causeth him to hew to himself cisterns, broken cisterns, which can hold no water, Jer. 2. 11, 12, 13. For,
2. It rejecteth the care, government, and providence of God towards us, and causeth us to make of our own care and industry, a god; to whom, instead of God, we fly continually, both for the keeping that we have, and for getting more.
This was Israels Idolatry of old, and the original of all her idolatrous practices, Hos. 2. 5. For their Mother hath played the Harlot (that is, committed idolatry) she that conceived them, hath done shamefully: for she said, I will go after my lovers that gave me my bread, and my waters, my wool, and my flax, my oyl, and my drink.
3. It disalloweth of God's way of disposing his Creatures, and would have them ordered and disposed of otherwise then his heavenly Wisdom seeth meet: and hence ariseth all those discontents about God's dealing with us. Covetousness, never yet said, It is the lord, let him do what he pleaseth; but is ever objecting, like God, against every thing that goeth against it; and it is that which, like a god, draweth away the heart and soul from the true God, and his Son Jesus Christ: And he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions, Mat. 19. 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22.
Now then, that which engageth the heart, that rejecteth the providence of God, and that is for ordering and disposing of things contrary to God; and for breaking with God upon these terms, is Idolatry: and all these do Covetousness. The wicked boasteth of his hearts desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the Lord abhorreth, Psal. 10. 3.
Now the way to remedy this disease, it is to learn the lesson which Paul had got by heart; to wit, In whatsoever state you are, therewith to be content, Phil. 4. 11, 12, 13.
I come in the second place to speak a word of Pride, and loftiness of heart and life.