The Vanity of the Lives and Passions of Men, Chapter 2
CHAP. II.
Of the vanity of worldly honors.
AS the end of the Creation of man was the glory of his Creator; even ſo the end of the lives of men ſhould be the increaſe of the glory of their Maker: but the lives of the greater part of them have no other end then the honors, riches, and pleaſures of this world; and therefore to ſhew you more perfectly the vanity of mens lives, of which I have made a ſhort Narration in the former Chapter: I conceive it needfull to deſcribe unto you in theſe three Chapters following the vanity of their deſires, before I come to ſpeak of their Paſſions, for the deſires of honors, riches, and pleaſures are the three deities they adore, and to whom they ſacrifice morning and evening their beſt thoughts, and theſe for their unparallel'd vanity, may be called the vanity of vanities. I will then begin with the deſires of worldly honors, which are either ſpiritual or temporal, the ſpiritual are free from vanity, becauſe they are ſupernatural, and full of true joy and comfort: but the temporal honors are but a meer conceit and ſhadow, a vapour without ſubſtance and ſubſiſtance; and yet the moſt powerful charm of Satan, whereby he lulls men aſleep in the Paradiſe of fools, to caſt them when they are awake into the bottomleſs pit of eternal woe; for had not Satan held them to be the ſtrongeſt of his temptations, he had not reſerved them for his laſt battery againſt the conſtancy of our bleſſed Saviour, as it appears in the fourth of Matthew, verſ. 8, 9.aMat. 4 8.9. Again the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high monntain, and ſheweth him all the Kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them, and ſaid unto him, All theſe things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worſhip me: Yet although this roaring Cannon of his could not prevail againſt this invincible Rock, it doth prevail with many thouſands in theſe dayes, whom he deludes by the glorious gliſtering of worldly honors, and doth falſely ſuggeſt in their mindes that they are the ſupream good, in which doth conſiſt their bliſs and felicity, and makes them venter their bodies and ſouls to injoy and poſſeſs them. But to inlighten the eyes of theſe Monopoliſts of honors: I will here ſet out the vanities of worldly honors in their lively colours, that they may avoid this dangerous ſnare of Satan, and be induced to indeavor to attain unto the ſpiritual honors that will fill their ſouls with unſpeakable joys and comforts. And to this end I will ſhew in the firſt place the vanity of the means whereby men uſually attain to worldly honors, which for brevity ſake I will reduce to theſe: firſt, by Deſcent; ſecondly, by Strength; thirdly, by Beauty; fourthly, by Riches; fifthly, by Favors; ſixthly, by Learning; ſeventhly, by Prudence; eightly, by Valour. Secondly, I will ſhew to whom honor is truly due; and Laſtly, I will give a hint of the excellency, and of the joy and comfort that men may injoy from ſpirituall honors.
For the firſt, Such as are nobly deſcended,Deſcent of race is the firſt means to attain to worldly honors. are honorable by their birth, ſo they degenerate not from the vertues and valour of their Anceſtors, for if they do, they are baſer then the Plebeians, becauſe they have a great advantage over them to attain to the true perſonal honor; for bSee Charon in his Wiſdom Cap. 59.Nature doth always endeavor to return to its firſt principle; and that is the reaſon why the reply that Marius made to a vicious Patrician, who out-braved him becauſe of his Plebeian deſcent, is ſomuch commended: MycSee Plutarch in Marius life. nobility, ſaith he, begins with me, and thine ends with thee; and it is certainly more honorable to be the ſpring of a noble race, then the end of it: therefore perſonal nobility is reputed to be more noble then that of deſcent, except the perſons thus deſcended do equal or excel their Anceſtors in vertue and valour; and when it is ſo, they are to have the precedency before a new ſtarted Moucheron, that is the firſt of his race, that hath obtained by his perſonal vertues and valour the honor to be a Gentleman. But what cauſe have men to boaſt, or vant, or conceive themſelves honorable becauſe of their deſcent, except they be vertuous and valourous themſelves? for it is a ridiculous vanity to vant of the gifts that were never our own, and did belong to other men: and yet it is a common vanity, much in faſhion in theſe days among our Gentlemen, to vant of their Anceſtors vertues and valour, when themſelves are effeminate and vicious in their maners, lives and converſations: Beſides, what have men worthy to vant and boaſt of? for they were formed out of the duſt of the dGen. 2 7.ground, and to duſt they ſhall return again; and if any hath any ſingular parts above another, they are the immediat gifts of God: It is therefore a meer vanity for men to think they ſhould be honored for their deſcent, ſith the meaneſt Plebeian will be found to be the coſen german to the greateſt Monarch of the world, as the EmperoreSee the Antiquities of Germany. Maximilians fool told him when he ſaw him over curious to ſeek out the pedegree of the Nobility of the Houſe of Auſtria, which for Antiquity is much inferior to that of divers other Princes of Chriſtendom, Leave off my Liege, ſaith he, theſe vain curioſities, for if you ſeek any longer, you will finde at laſt that I am your coſen german.
For the ſecond,Strength is the ſecond means to attain to honor. concerning ſtrength of body, divers have attained to honor by their ſtrength, eſpecially if they have made uſe of it againſt the enemies of God, and of their Native Country; for Sampſon for his ſtrength was choſe Judg and Governor of Iſrael: the firſt eſſay of his incredible ſtrength was, when he rent a yong fJudg. 14.6.Lyon as if he would have rent a Kid; the ſecond, when he gJudg. 15.15.ſlew with a new jaw bone of an Aſs a thouſand men; the third, when he carried away upon his ſhoulders the gates of Gaza to the top of a hill that is before Hebron; and the laſt, when he to avenge himſelf upon the Philiſtins for the hJudg. 16.3.loſs of his eyes, took hold upon the two middle Pillars upon which the houſe ſtood, and ſo pulled down the ſame upon their heads, and ſlew more of the Philiſtims at his death then he had done in his life time. iJudg. 16.19.20.And divers Worthies attained to great honor by their ſtrength and valour, as it may be ſeen in 23 Chap. of the 2. of Samuel, k2 Sam 23.8. to 39.from the 8 verſe to the 39 verſe. Many other teſtimonies might be produced out of ancient Hiſtories, to prove that divers of the Heathen have attained to honor by their ſtrength, as three or four of the Hercules, Hector, Aiax, Milun and divers others: but in regard that the naturall ſtrength of men is little accounted in theſe days, when a youth of fifteen years of age can with a musket ſhot kill the ſtrongeſt man upon earth, I will onelyonly ſay That ſtrength is meer vanity, and that honor obtained by it can not be grounded but upon a ſandy foundation,The third means to attain to honor is Beauty and Comlineſs. ſith ſtrength is ſubject to many accidents and mutations.
For the third, which is an extraordinary ſtature, comlineſs and Beauty: divers have attained to honor by theſe gifts of Nature:lSam. 10.23, 24. Saul for his extraordinary ſtature and perſonal parts was choſen King of Iſrael, as it appears in the tenth of the firſt of Samuel, 23, 24. verſes, And they ran and fetched him thence; and when he ſtood among the people, he was higher then any of the people from the ſhoulders upwards; and Samuel ſaid to all the people, See ye him whom the Lord hath choſen? that there is none like him among the people, And all the people ſhouted, and ſaid, God ſave the King: but for as much as the perſonal repreſentation of the body without the gifts of the minde, is not ſufficient for the diſcharge of the honorable function of a King: it is ſaid in the 9. verſe, that God was pleaſed to adorn him, after he was choſen, with the ſpirit of Government, viz. with Prudence and Wiſdom, the chiefeſt ornament of a Prince: And it was ſo that when Saul had m1 Sam. 10.9.turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart. Contrarily it might be proved by divers inſtances, that the deformity of body, a ſmall ſtature, and the want of perſonal repreſentation is a great impediment to Princes, becauſe the common people do always more regard the outward gifts, then the intellectual, as it doth appear in the lives ofnSee Plutarch and Quintius in their lives. Agiſclaus, of Leonidas, Philopoemen, all wiſe and valourous Princes and Commanders that were deſpiſed of the vulgar ſort, becauſe they were of a ſhort ſtature, and of no repreſentative Majeſtie: but the comlineſs of Alexander, Alcibiades, and of Pompeius the great, made them to be honored and reſpected above others:o2 Sam. 14.25. Abſolom was alſo much beloved of his father, and honored of the people of Iſrael for his comlineſs and natural indowments, for from the ſoal of his feet to the grown of his head, there was no blemiſh in him: And the comely feature and excellent beauty of pEſther 1.1. and 2.17.Eſther made her from a Captive attain to that ſuperlative honor, to be the Queen of the great King Ahaſuerus, who raigned from India, even to Ethiopia, over one hundred and twenty ſeven Provinces; and the King loved Eſther above all the women, and ſhe obtained grace and favour in his ſight more then all the Virgins, ſo that he ſet the royall Crown upon her head, and made her Queen in ſtead of Veſta. It is then apparent that perſonal repreſentation, comlineſs, and beauty, are means whereby men and women, attain to worldly honors: but how ſandy the foundation of theſe honors is, I leave it to the conſideration of the Reader, for nothing is more caſuall and ſubject to mutation then comlineſs and beauty, and therefore theſe honors are meer vanity and vexation of ſpirit.
Fourthly,The fourth means to attain honors is by riches. Riches are an ordinary means in this vicious age, whereby men attain to worldly honors; for honors that are the onelyonly recompence of wiſdom, prudence, fidelity and valour, are now ſold for ready money; and the honorable titles of Earls, Barons, Knights, Eſquires and Gentlemen are obtained for a lump of clay, gold or ſilver, the baſe excrements of the earth: this is one of the ſecondary cauſes of all our diſtractions and preſent miſeries, and hath ever been the overthrow of Kingdoms, and Commonweales: as long as the Roman civil Magiſtrates, Senators, and Commanders of Armies were choſen in to ſuch places of honor and truſt for their nobleqSee Livius Decades. deſcent, their prudence and valour, their State did flouriſh, and did inlarge its dominions more in one century of years, then it did in three after theſe places of honor became to be venal, and purchaſed by conceſſion, for then men of no parts were for money promoted to higheſt dignities, whereupon civill contentions were fomented, factions increaſed, and continuall bloudyrSee Appian in the Roman civil wars. inteſtine wars maintained, by which the ancient liberties of that State were ſuppreſſed, and the laſt, government of it changed into an Imperiall Monarchy. As long as the chiefeſt Officers of the Crown of France, and the places of Judicature of the Realm were given by Charls the fifth, ſurnamed the Wiſe, to men of learning, of wiſdom, and valour; in recompence of their loyalty, vertue, and merits, that Kingdom did flouriſh with peace, honor, and proſperity, and the Courts ofſSee the Hiſtory of France. Parliaments of France had the honor for their Juſtice and Equity, to be the Arbitrators and Umpires of all the differences that hapned in thoſe days between the greateſt Princes of Chriſtendom: but when theſe places of honor and truſt were made venal, in the reigns of Francis the ſecond, Charls the ninth, and Henry the third, and ſold for ready money to ſuch as gave moſt for them; then was Juſtice and Equity baniſhed, and that flouriſhing Kingdom reduced to the brim of ruine and deſolation, by variety of factions, and a bloody civill war: And the ſelling of places of honor, and Judicature of late years in this Kingdom, hath been the ſpring of all the diſcontents, diviſions, and diſtractions, which have ſomented this unnatural war, becauſe of the injuſtice, rapines, and oppreſſions that followed at the heels the ſale of theſe places of honor and truſt, for ſuch as bought them by the great, ſold them to their Clients by retail; whereby it appears, that honors bought for money are deſtructive to the Sellers, to the State, and to the Buyers; and that ſuch as injoy them, carry upon their foreheads rather ignomy then honor.
For the fifth, Concerning favors, many have been promoted to worldly honors,The fifth means to attain to honors, is by the favor of Princes. by favor of the Prince, or ſuch as are in authority for their vertue and merits; but of theſe commendable favors I intend not to ſpeak of, as being out of faſhion in theſe days, but undeſerving favors, proceeding from vicious ſervices:tEſther 3.5. Haman the ſon of Amedatha the Agagite was promoted by King Ahaſuerus to the greateſt honors of his Court, for he advanced him, and ſet his ſeat above all the Princes that were with him; but as theſe honors came not by vertue or merit, ſo the end of them was but ſhame and confuſion. The Emperor Nero promoted Tygelenus by favor to the greateſt dignities of the Roman Empire, but it was becauſe he had been the private agent to his baſe and laſcivious delights, for which he was juſtly deprived of his honors, and of his life by the EmperorrSee Tacitus in Othos life. Otho. And how many are promoted in theſe days to great honors for the like ſervices, or for being the projectors of new impoſts and taxes, for fiſhing in troubled waters, for betraying their truſt, for ſelling the liberties of their Native Country, for changing their Principles, as the Camelions do their colours at every new object? Theſe I ſay, are the noble ſervices for which men are in theſe days promoted to places of honor and profit; but alas! the honors and riches purchaſed by ſuch means, will be like the brand of Cain upon their forehead, and like a Moth in a piece of cloth, and like the gnawing Worm of a deſpairing Conſcience that will for ever rack them, and force them to cry out, Vanity of vanities, all is vanity and vexation of ſpirit.
For the ſixth, Concerning Learning; this hath been in all ages a laudable means to promote men to worldly honors, yet Solomon ſaithuEccl. 1.18. He that increaſeth knowledg increaſeth ſorrow; and certainly as Learning doth much good when it is ſanctified, ſo it doth much hurt when it is not, eſpecially if learned men be tranſported with Ambition, for ſuch men have from time to time been the fomenters of the diviſions of the Church, and the actors of Schiſms,The ſixth means to attain to honors is by Learning. Errors and Hereſies: but when learned men are ſanctified they are the Columns of the Church, and deſerve to be reverenced and hononored, and their memory remaineth famous from one generation to the other by the learned Writings they leave behinde them; and Princes and States are to cheriſh and honor them for their noble atchievements, that ſhould be buried in the grave of oblivion without them: the liberall Sciences had been loſt, had not Socrates, xSee the Greek and Roman Hiſtories.Plato, and Ariſtotle by their learned Works prevented it: and the martial atchievements of the Greeks and Romans had been ſmothered up in Oblivion had it not been for Herodotus, Thucidides, Livius, Suetonius, Tacitus and others,: and the Art of Eloquence loſt, but for Demoſthenes and Cicero: nay, the very means to attain to ſalvation had been hidden from us, had not the learned Writings of the Prophets, Evangeliſts and Apoſtles, been preſerved by the admirable providence of God from the barbarous hands of the Goths and Vandals; and yet there is a brutiſh generation among us, that would, if they could, deſtroy all learning, and learned men; although learned men are the very ſupportersySee Bodwin in his Commonwealth. of a Common-wealth: by them young Princes are inſtructed in the fear of God, and in natural and moral Philoſophy, as Alexander was by Ariſtotle, Nero by Seneca, the good Emperor Traian by Plutarch, and Theodoſius by Ambroſius, Charls the fifth by Adrianus: and by ſuch laudable means learned men are promoted to honors and dignities: yet as I have ſaid before, Learning without Sanctification, is but me or vanity and vexation of ſpirit.
For the ſeventh,See Machiavel Prince, and his Commentary upon Livius. which is Prudence, It hath ever been a commendable means to attain to worldly honors. Prudence is the active part of Wiſdom, called by ſome Policy, of which there is two ſorts, a Juſt, and a Machivilian or Deviliſh Policy: for the Devil was Machiavels Tutor, for all his principles are to be abhorred and deteſted as coming from an Atheiſt, that neither did fear God nor the Devil: and his diſciple Alexander Borgia, Duke de aSee his life in Gui…h…ardine.Valentinois was the moſt deſperate reprobate that ever I have read of. Prudence is neceſſary in the managing of affairs of State, and by conſequence prudent men do commonly attain to great honors, if they be juſt; otherwiſe their honors are changed into ignominy: I will prove the point by inſtances, and firſt for the Machavilian Prudence; Come on, ſaithbExo. 1.10. and 22. Pharaoh, let us deal wiſely with them leaſt they multiply, and ſo commanded the Hebrew Midwives to ſmother the Male-children of the people of Iſrael at their birth, and when this policy failed him, he gave commandment they ſhould be drowned in the River Nilus; but this policy turned to his ruine and confuſion, for he and his horſe-men were drowned in the red-Sea: Ahitophel another Machavilian councelled Abſolom, c2 Sam. 16.21.Go into thy Fathers Concubines which he hath left to keep the houſe, and all Iſrael ſhall hear that thou art abhorred of thy Father; then ſhall all the hands of all that are with thee be ſtrong: by this deviliſh policy, he intended to make the Father and the ſon irreconcilable, that his infidelity and rebellion might never be called to account; but God turned his wiſdom, according to the prayer of David, to d2 Sam. 23.23.fooliſhneſs, and ſo he ſet his houſe in order and hanged himſelf. The wicked counſel given by the Cardinal de Lorraigne, and the Duke of Guiſe his brother to Charls the ninth King of France, eSee the Maſſacre of Paris in the Inventory of France.to allure all the Proteſtants to Paris, under colour of the marriage of Henry de Burbon, with Margaret de Valois the Kings ſiſter, to have them all as in a trap for to cut their throats in their beds, as they did for the greater part, proved fatal to the King, to the Cardinal, and the Duke; for the King, by the juſt judgement of God dyed ſhortly after by an iſſue of bloud which came out of his mouth, ears and noſtrils, and could never be ſtopped; and the Cardinal & the Duke were both ſlain by the commandment of Henry the third in the Caſtle of Blois. The barbarous policy of Philip the ſecond King of Spain, See the Spaniſh Hiſtory in Philip the ſecond's life.to baniſh two or three hundred thouſand Moors, with their wives & children, under colour of Religion, on purpoſe to confiſcate all their land, and to appropriate the ſame to his demains, was fatal to him, and to all the Spaniſh Nation; for by a juſt judgement of God he was eaten up with lice, and the Spaniſh Nation never thrived ſince, many of their Subjects revolting daily againſt them; whereby it appears that wicked Policies are ever deſtructive to their Authors. It was a good Policy, and a wiſe Councel that Jethro gave untofExod. 18.21.22. Moſes, to make choice out of the people, of grave and able men, ſuch as feared God, men of truth, hating covetouſneſs, and to make them rulers over thouſands, and rulers over hundreds, over fifties, and over tens, to disburden himſelf of the heavie burthen he had taken upon him to Judge the people of Iſrael; for by this councel he eaſed Moſes and the people, and made the Elders of Iſrael to be ſharers with him in the honor of the rule and government of the Commonweal, whereby he was much beloved and honored of all the people. It was a wiſe Policy, and and a wholſom counſel, that the wiſe g2 Sam. 20.16, 22.woman of Abel gave to her Citizens, to cut off the head of Sheba the ſon of Bichri, and to caſt it over the wall to Joab; for by it ſhe preſerved the whole City from ſack and ruine, that might juſtly have been deſtroyed by Joab if they had perſiſted to be the abbettors of the rebellion of Sheba, who received but a juſt reward for his treachery and rebellion, for endeavouring to raiſe a new War againſt his lawful Prince, the anointed of the Lord. And it was a Councel grounded upon true prudence and policy, which was given tohSee the French Hiſtory in the life of Charls the ſeventh. Charls the ſeventh King of France, by his grave and faithful Counſellors of State, to conclude a peace with Philip Duke of Burgundy, although he ſhould yield into his hands his Favorites, who had by his aſſent murthered the Duke John of Burgundy father to Philip as he was treating a reconciliation with the ſaid King about the murder the ſaid John had committed upon the Duke of Orleance the Kings Uncle; for by this counſel the Kingdom of France was preſerved from ruine, and reſtored again to its former flouriſhing condition, and the murtherers had but their due deſerts, it being more juſt that half a dozen of guilty perſons ſhould periſh, then a whole Kingdom ſhould be undone: theſe Counſellors juſtly maintaining, that theſe Favorites were not to commit ſuch an act, although they had a Warrant from the King: Subjects being not bound to obey the commands of their Prince in things that be contrary, and forbidden by the Law of God, as murder is; and ſo theſe Counſellors were for ever after much honored of the King and of the whole Kingdom for their wiſdom and fidelity. It was a wiſe Counſel grounded upon humanity and ſound Policy, that the Biſhop ofiSee the Hiſtory of Spain in Charls the fifth's life. Oſma gave to the Emperor Charls the fifth, after Francis the firſt King of France became his Priſoner at the battel of Pavia, that he ſhould for his own glory, and the future good of Spain, ſet the ſaid King of France at free liberty, without ranſome or capitulations at all, and have him conducted with an honorable Train to the Borders of his own Kingdom; but this good counſel being traverſed by the Machavilian policy of the Duke d'Alva, they made a prey of the ſaid King, which was the cauſe after the Kings releaſe of a bloody war, that was fatal to the Emperor and the Kingdom of Spain: whereby it appears, that by Prudence and juſt Policy, men may attain to worldly honors, and that Machavilian policy is ever deſtructive, and ſubject to ſhame and ignominy.
For the eighth and the laſt, which is Valour, it hath ever been one of the firſt ſteps to worldly honors, and is a commendable means, ſo mens valor be exerciſed in the ſervice of their Prince, and propagation of the true Proteſtant Religion, and for the deſence of the Liberties of their native Countrey; for by their valour in ſuch caſes they attain to the perſonal Nobility, which is, as I have ſaid before, the ſpring of the Nobility of race or deſcent; for the Nobility obtained by valour in any of theſe three caſes, is the moſt honourable Nobility of all: neither is it true valor to kill any one in duel, but rather an effect of an inconſiderate wrath, and of a deſperate vindication, and a meer murder in the ſight of God; for true valor appears onelyonly in the Field againſt an open enemy, and not to kill our friends for a word ſpoken unadviſedly or unawares; and it hath been obſerved, that theſekRoarers are … v…liant. roaring Gallants that make a trade of killing of men for punctillios of honor in duels, are commonly cowards, and are the firſt that truſt to their ſpurs in a pitcht Field; by which it appears that their valor is rather a raging Paſſion then a vertuous valor which is always guided by Reaſon and Judgment. Now by theſe eighth means, by which minds moſt commonly attain to honour in the world, the Reader may judge, whether there by any probability that worldly honors ſhould afford men any true content, ſith the means by which they are obtained, are ſubject to ſo many accidents, and are ſo vain, and full of vanity and vexation of ſpirit.
For the ſecond branch of this Diſcourſe, concerning the perſons that deſerve to be honoured, I will be very brief, becauſe all rational men are acquainted with this duty: firſt, in the firſt of S Peter, Chap. 2. ver. 17. there is a general charge, Honor all men, love the brotherhood, fear God, and honor the King: and Solomon in hislProv. 39. Proverbs goes further; for we are not onelyonly to fear God, but we are alſo to honor him; Honor the Lord, ſaith he, with thy ſubſtance, and with the firſt fruits of all thine increaſe; and next to God and the King, we are to honor our Parents;mExod. 20 12. Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee: God to induce men to honour their Parents, makes here a precious promiſe to obedient and reſpective children; the next to our Parents we are to honor civil Magiſtrates, and the Meſſengers and Miniſters of God; and next to them the grave and ancient men;nLevit. 19.32. Thou ſhalt riſe up before the hoary head, and honor the face of the antient; and yet who are more deſpiſed then old men in this corrupt Age? for young men are now preferred to places of Dignity, Profit, and Truſt, contrary to former Ages; for Solomon by theſe words, As ſnow in Summer, and rain in Harveſt, ſo is honor not ſeemly for a fool; intimates, that young men are not to be honored with places of Truſt in Church or Commonweal, becauſe they are for want of experience no better then fools, and yet they account themſelves generally out of a vain preſumption, wiſer then old men, whom they call doting fools: for want of the knowledge of this Proverb, Before Honor is Humility; for were they truly wiſe, they would be humble, and not preſumptuous; for preſumption is the companion of Folly; beſides vertuous, learned, wiſe, prudent and valiant men are to be honored. I diſtinguiſh Learning from Prudence and Wiſdom, becauſe learned men are not always wiſe nor prudent, although Learning is a means to attain to Wiſdom; but Learning is the theorical part of Wiſdom, and without a long practical experience a Learned man cannot attain to Prudence or Wiſdom. As for rich men, which are above all others honored in theſe days, except they be Magiſtrates, or publike Officers, or have any of theſe qualities above ſpoken of; I ſee no reaſon why they ſhould be honoured above the common civility for their Riches; yet an ancient Greek Philoſopher, being demanded which of the two, the Rich or the Wiſe ſhould be moſt honored, anſwered, The wiſe; yet, ſaith he, I ſee both the learned and the wiſe court and attend upon the rich: but above all other the true ſanctified children of God ſhould be honoured, becauſe they are the onelyonlyoPſal. 16.3. excellent upon earth.
For the laſt Branch of this Diſcourſe, which is the joy and comfort that men reap from ſpiritual honors: 1. They that will attain to ſpiritual honor, muſt above all things honor God; for if they honor any above him, they ſhall be lightly eſteemed; this is confirmed in the firſt of Samuel, Chap. 2. verſ. 30. When the Lord by one of his Prophets reproved Eli for honoring of his ſons above him; I ſaid indeed that thy houſe, and the houſe of thy p1 Sam. 2.29, 30.father ſhould walk before me for ever; but now the Lord ſaith, Be it far from me; for them that honor me I wil honor; and they that diſpiſe me, ſhall be lightly eſteemed. 2. They qProv. 3.7.are to fear the Lord, and to depart from evil. 3. They are to rExod 20.6. Deut. 5.10.truſt in the Lord with all their heart, and lean not to their own underſtanding. 4. They muſt ſExod. 23.25.love him, and keep his Commandments, that he may ſhew them mercy unto thouſand generations; for Love and Obedience are inſeparable companions, 5. They are to ſerve thet2 Chron. 20.21. Lord their God that he may bleſs them. 6. And laſtly, They are to praiſe the Lord, for his mercy endureth for ever; and in ſo doing they ſhall be honored of him, and be as his precious Jewels. Men in theſe days account it a great favor to be honored of a King; but to be honored of God, who is the King of Kings, it is a ſuperlative favour and honor; Nay, to be ſo beloved of God, that hath notuRom. 8.32. ſpared his only Son, but hath delivered him up to the death of the Croſs, to redeem them that truly love and honor him; this is an unparalleld love and honor, or to make ſome out of his free grace x2 Tim. 2.20.veſſels of honor, when he might have made them veſſels of diſhonor, this is a ſuperlative love and honor. Now what greater joy or comfort can men attain unto, then to be aſſured to be the adopted children of ſo loving and gracious a God, and to be his pretiousyMal. 3 17. Jewels, and reputed by him as the onlyzPſal. 16.3. excellent upon earth, and in whom is all his delight? This is then the onelyonly honor they ſhould ſtrive to attain to; for it is permanent and eternal; but worldly honors vaniſh away like ſmoak, and are meer vanity and vexation of Spirit.