Christs Justification of Marys Choice, Part 3
III. But we need no more to convince us, than to name some of the many instances, in which our sin is far, yea, very far worse than Martha's.
1. How much of most mens thoughts and time, is taken up with the needless cares to grow richer, and be better provided in the world? from one end of the year to the other, how great a proportion is thus laid out? Cannot we serve Gods Providence, and labour in our Callings, and do our Duty without such a measure of Care and Trouble? Into how narrow a conpass do worldly cares and troubles cast Gods Service, and mens cares and thoughts of their endless state in the hearts and houses of most men! These thorns and briars are so rank and plentiful, that they choak much of the Seed of the Gospel, and make true Godliness and Heavenly Delight to wither away and come to little.
2. How many needless Cares and Troubles have most, about Gods part and Providence, which belongs not to them; fearing what may befall them, lest they should be poor, or oppressed, or suffer by others; when they should spend those thoughts in caring for their Duty, and trusting the Love and Faithfulness of God? And no other care will avoid their suffering.
3. How much needless, yea and bruitish thoughts and works, have many to please and gratifie their Appetites? What a base and yet costly service have they that serve a greedy throat, and a beastly fantasie?
Had God taken away many mens Health and Appetite, that meat and drink had been loathsome to them, it had been a Mercy to many such; who by the Pleasure that they have in these, are made slaves to the flesh, and sinks of shamefull sin, and the foot-ball of temptations, and live under continual wounds of Conscience, and when the Cup is absent, they are sinning in their imaginations and desires, and are contriving how the next meal or day to gratifie their Appetites again: I speak not of the reeling befooled Drunkard, or the spewing Glutton, but of them whose Care is for Throat and Belly, that make a great matter of the pleasing or displeasing of their Appetites, and think and talk of it so seriously, as if it were some needfull or important thing; that are displeased in mind if their throats be not pleased, and they fare not sumptuously or deliciously every day: When the poor Israelites had not tasted Bread or Flesh for many years in a Wilderness, nor so much as the Aegyptian Onions, but only Manna, they are killed by Gods Justice because they murmured; and when they asked Flesh, its said, They asked Meat for their Lusts, Psal. 78. That is, For their meer Appetites, without necessity, for life or health: but how much further do most go now, exceeding even the Princes or great men in Israel in the matter and manner of their dyet, (as I believe the most in England do) and yet never blame or suspect themselves! Turks can forbear Wine at Mahomets Command, and the Rechabites because their Father bid them; and if the Physician forbid Strong drink or Wine to the Sick, they can forbear; but sensual sinners will rebel against God for their desired bait, and their heart and thoughts are set upon it.
4. How much also of many vain Peoples thoughts and care is spent about needless Ornaments of Apparel? Do we need any other Proof than the opening of our eyes in the Streets, yea, in the holy Assemblies, as well as in places of evil fame: Dives is noted by Christ to wear Purple and Silk, or as we translate it, fine Linnen; and then those that were gorgeously Apparelled, were in Kings Houses; but how few here of the vulgar, yea of Servants, affect it not now, that can but procure it! If the highest do but take it up, inferiours quickly strive to immitate them: In my short time, the Garb of England is so changed, that but fifty years ago, men would have gazed at such as painted Indians or outlandish Strangers, or ugly Ruffians, that had gone as most civil and religious People do in this City now. Paul would have forborn Wine and Flesh while he had lived, rather than his liberty should hurt his weak Brothers Soul: But if the Scandal of our Pride or Gawdery do make many weak Persons turn Quakers to fly from it, how few for to avoid this, would avoid the most gawdy and effeminate, or ruffianly fashion of Cloaths or Hair? And instead of receiving Reproof from such Quakers, they are hardened the more, because of the weakness of their reprovers. I am loth to name those gawds with which especially the Female Sex do openly shew their Vanity, which tell all beholders what needless trifles take up much of their time, and cost, and care: And, alas for mens stupid Folly; All this is while thousands want Food and Rayment; while whole Countreys are impoverished by cruel Wars, when dreadful Flames have consumed our Wealth, and rebuked our Pride, and humbling Diseases have shewed us what flesh is, and when our daily feeling tells us it is perishing, and while we are going to a loathsome Grave, and see the Dust and bones of those whom we are following; and the plain warnings of Peter, 1 Pet. 3. 3, 4, 5, 6. and many such stand in the Bible as cyphers to them.
5. How many needless things take up the rich, about their Houses, Furniture, Retinue and Entertainments? especially those that are most Proud, and most Curious and Vain. Conveniencie must be a pretence for sinfull cost and labour; Handsomness or Decency must be a pretence for needless charge in furniture, while the Poor goe almost naked; Cleanliness must be a pretence for their Servants spending much of the day and year in needless Vanities, which might be much better spent: Not to be accounted Careless or Ʋncleanly by others of the like Vanity, seemeth excuse enough for a multitude of needless Curiosities: To find poor People work doth pass for an excuse, for imploying Servants and Tradesmen in making and providing all these Need-nots, as if they might not have been better imployed for the common good, and encouraged to learn some better Trades; as if they knew not how narrow a Coffin, and little furniture must shortly serve them: The report of good Housekeeping and Entertainments must justifie the Excesses and chargeable needless superfluities of the rich.
6. What needless Cares and business have many to avoid the contempt or hard thoughts of others! How near goeth it to a proud Heart what is thought and spoken of them! And their avoiding of contempt must be the reason of most of the forementioned Vanities, in their Dress, their Houses, their Retinue, and the rest; when alas they have another kind of Judgment to prepare for, and they and those whose thoughts they so much regard, are almost dead and Dust already.
7. What a deal of some mens Care and Thoughts are spent in needless contrivances for Power and Greatness in the World! what works find some Achitophels and Hamans for their minds! As if it were needfull for a man to fall at last from a higher place than the rest about him; or to have his will fulfilled by all others; or to have the Souls or Lives of many to answer for; or to be stronglyer allured to the damning Love of this World than other men; or to be envyed by many; or to be a Ruler of others, before one knoweth how to be Obedient to God, and to rule himself: And O what worse than needless troubles, even horrible wickedness doth this Ambition lead many to! even to be the Plagues of the Earth, and incarnate Devils, by bloody Wars and cruel Oppressions, Desolations and Persecutions.
8. Yea some of lower rank have such imperious idol Wills, that nothing must cross them, or be said or done by any about them, but as they would have it: And yet it's two to one but so many persons and things will cross them, and go quite contrary to their wills, as that their disease will be their continual torment: And they will be like one in Winter that cannot bear the cold, and yet must bear it, or like a poor man that is a Servant to his Appetite, and hath not wherewith to please it: or like one that dwelleth by the Sea, and cannot bear the sight of the Waters, or in a Wood and cannot bear the shaking of a Leaf. Such worse than needless troubles doth an Idol Will produce.
9. And how much time is lost in vain and needless talk; about things not justly pleasing, and no way profiting our selves and others! A vain Tongue being the Index of a vain Mind, as if Mind and Tongue had no higher or better Subjects or Imployment.
10. And in this City it is not a little time that is taken up with needless Sports and Recreations: I will not honour the Gamesters trade with so soft a Name as Needless Work; Nor the Play-houses, nor the houses of excess and lust: But if Cards, Dice, and Stage-plays had never been branded and condemned by the Ancient Canons of the Christian Churches, and did not notoriously bear the marks of Temptation and much gross folly and sin, yet Vanity and Needlesness should be enough to make men, that believe another World and the shortness of this Life, to abhor them, and better spend their time. There is a sort of Pleasure and Recreation that is needful: That which fits us best for our necessary works and duty, preserving by motion the health of the body, or refreshing the weary Spirits of hard Students. But God hath left no man in such a penury of Recreation, but that he may find more useful, profitable, manly, time-saving and safe ones, than Gaming, or Stage-Plays, or Romances, and such ensnaring befooling unprofitable Time-wasters are.
11. And among all the needless deceitful vanities, unprofitable Studies and Arts are not the least: When Cornelius Agrippa had streined his Brain to such Curiosities that he passed for a Conjurer, and had written a Commentary upupon Lullius his Arts after many others; he concludeth all with an honest and Christian like Treatise, De Vanitate Scientiarum, commending the Study and Practice of Gods Word as the only true Wisdom: And though I have marveled at the Carthage Council, which forbad the reading of Heathens Books, I never wondered that mens Excess herein should be rebuked, nor that Paul called men to beware lest they were deceived by vain Philosophy, and to avoid opposition of Sciences, falsly so called: Languages, Logick, Metaphysicks, Physicks, Mathematicks, &c. have their use; But he is a Learned man indeed who rightly applyeth them to that use, and separateth the needfull from the needless part, the certain from the uncertain, truth from falshood and presumptuous Conceits; the plausibleness of the thing inviteth many to waste their time in unprofitable Studies, who durst not have spent it in Play-houses and Gaming; and yet I doubt to many it will prove no better.
Qu. But the doubt is, What are these needless sinfull things; That seemeth needless to one that is not so indeed, or to another? Cynicks call Decencies, and Ornaments, and Conveniencies, and Pleasure, needless.
Ans. 1. That is needless which doth no goood.
2. Those things that do more hurt than good.
3. Those things which answer not the cost and labour which is bestowed for them.
4. Those things that are good, but hinder and deprive us of a greater good, which we may well spare, but are hinderances to the one thing necessary, which we cannot spare; all these are certainly needless, if not worse.
But because vain Persons are hardly Convinced, 'till God by Light or Fire do convince them, I will help them by these few questions following.
Qu. 1. Is that act which you plead for, a thing which God doth any way Command you, directly or indirectly? If not, how can it be needfull to you? you will say, Are there not some things Indifferent and lawfull, which are no duties? Ans. 1. There are natural things which are not moral; (either Virtue or Vice) as your Health or Sickness, and such things as are Gods works and not yours; of these I speak not. 2. There are Actions of your own which are meerly natural, neither commanded nor forbidden, and that is all those which are no matter for Rational choosing or refusing, such as have no moral use; as winking with the eye, which foot I shall first put forward; which of two equal things, in meat, drink, Apparel, &c. I shall take, (not choose;) when it is needfull that I do one, but it's perfectly indifferent which: But the things which I am speaking of are of no such nature, but such as belong to Rational choice, and are accordingly chosen by you.
Qu. 2. Would your Consciences trouble you for it as any sin, if you omitted the thing which I call needless? I suppose not.
Qu. 3. Is it to please God as an act of Obedience that you do them? Is your Curiosity, and your vain Attire, and the rest forementioned chosen to please God, or to please your fleshly Sense and Phantasie, or the World?
Qu. 4. Will it be any hurt to you, or real loss, if they be omitted, or be denyed you?
Qu. 5. Have you got any thing by them already, or not lost more than you have gotten.
Qu. 6. Are they things that the better, or the worser sort of Persons more mind and plead for? whose Delights are Cards and Dice, and Plays, and vain Fashions? Is it the most Heavenly, or the most Fleshly Persons that are most eager of them, and most use them?
Qu. 7. Do you find that they more help or hinder you in Prayer and other holy Exercises? especially your heavenly Delights?
Qu. 8. How do they relish with you when you think of Death and Judgment? Are they a comfortable part of your Preparation? Had you rather then review and answer for your time spent in these, than in greater things?
If you will but set Conscience to answer these Questions, methinks you should soon perceive your selves, what things they be that are needless, and therefore not to be chosen, and consequently unlawfull.
But that you may see that I drive you not to any extreams, I shall negatively add,
1. I do not number all our thoughts, care and labour for our Bodies, Children or others, about things needfull and convenient, to be these needless things.
2. Nor is our diligent labour in a constant Calling needless; he that will not labour, St. Paul saith, should not eat; This is a part of our Obedience to God, Six dayes shalt thou labour.
3. Nor is it needless to labour for more than we need our selves, that we may have to give to him that needeth, and to do good to others.
4. Nor is it needless to do our best for our bodily health, to fit our Bodies to be able and chearfull servants to our Souls: That Food, that Recreation and Pleasure, which is necessary to fit Body or Mind for Service, and the work of a Christian Life, is not vain.
5. All men are not called to the same kind of Labour and employment; that is needfull to one, which is not to another.
6. The lowest things which we do in Obedience to God, if it were but sweeping the Streets or Chimneys, is not to be numbred with the needless things, but rather a comfortable exercise of Humility and Obedience.
But every man must prefer the greatest thing.