Rules How to Use the World, Chapter 1
CHAP. I.
The things of the World are prohibited our Love.
IT is part of our Corruption since the Fall, that we only Use what we should Enjoy, and Enjoy what we should only Use; Viz. That we Use God in order unto a fuller enjoyment of the World, which should be only used in order unto a fuller enjoyment of Him, a prohibition therefore is necessary, not simply, but comparatively, not absolutely, but conditionally, not as simply considered, but as limited, not as excluding all Love to the World and the things of it but that only which is inordinate, viz. the overvaluing them in our Judgments, the unsatiable lusting after them in our Affections, and the overgreedy seeking them in our Actions.
Every Superlative supposes a Positive, but every Positive does not imply a Superlative.
To cast off all Affection to them, was the absurdity of the Stoical Philosophers; to exceed in it, was the irregularity of the Epicureans. The lawful Possession of them is not Condemned, but the evil Affection to them. We may Use them, and Possess them too, but must not be Possessed 1 John 2. 16. Non dicit, nolite habere sed nolite diligere; cupiditatem reprehendit, non facultatem.of them; and love them, so we do not over-love them; Truely, but not Immoderately. Wholly to Renounce them, so as not to make use of them for Gods Glory, and our Comfort, as well as necessity, is as unbecoming Christians, as it would be for a Souldier when bid to forsake all and follow his Leader, to throw away his Arms and go naked after him. We must not then (with Crates the Rebus non me trado sed commodo. Seneca.Theban) cast them away, nor (like the Prodigal) profusely spend them, but avoid the danger incident to them, viz.
When they are in our Hands, we Psal. 62. 9, 10. Nolite opponere cor.must keep them out of our Hearts.
No Sin finds more Excuses in this World, nor any, greater Aggravations in the World to come.
With Men, it is a Vertue (good Husbandry, Frugality, a commendable Wariness, a making the most of their own) but in Gods account it is a Vice; and that, of the deepest Dye. The Sin is Idolatry, Col. 3. 5. Psal. 10. 3. Non intelligitur secundum speciem sed secundum similitudinem, non exhibitione ceremoniarum sed oblatione concupiscentiarum.and the Sinner (the Idolater) is abhor'd of the Lord, and since no punishment is appointed for it in this World, he himself will be the Avenger of it in the World to come.
The Covetous, who is an Idolater Eph. 5. 5.(how great so ever his Inheritance is in this World) has no Inheritance in the Kingdom of God.
No Sin is more disown'd in the World, then Covetousness. There are many Achans that hide this Sin, both from God and Man as much they can; (the Aged say they have left it, the Young that they have not liv'd long enough to know it, the Rich that they have no room, and the Poor, that they have no entertainment for it) but yet, no sin is more common, it being as natural to us to love the World, as it is to live in it. Some Diseases affect some Bodies and Ages only; and some Plants thrive but in some soil proper to their Nature; but this sin (as Briers and Thorns in every Hedge, and Weeds in every Ground) is in common to all; for, it has a root in our Nature, we being all naturally (as the Woman in the Gospel under a spirit of Infirmity Luke 13. 11.was penally) bowed down to the Earth, and not able to lift up our selves, or (as the Psalmist Psal. 17. 11.says) with our eyes bowing down to the Earth, and not able to look up, and the more common, the more dangerous (as Diseases when Epidemical and Mortal) and the greater the danger, the greater must the care be, to eschew, and avoid it, and there is good reason so to do, for, love to these things,
(1.) Is inconsistent with love to God.
(2.) Is unsutable to our present state.
(3.) Will be injurious and prejudicial to us.
(1.) It is inconsistent with love to God.
Love to these things simply consider'd, is not inconsistent with love to God, (for, there is a love to them, that he allows, and commands) but that only which is exorbitant and irregular.
The Egyptians could judge of the plenty or scarcity of a year by the rise of the water of Nilus to the markes of a Pillar set near to the brink of it, and by the infallible Rule given to guide our love to these things, it may be known when it is inconsistent with love to God, viz. then, when risen to a high Estimation of, an inordinate Desire after, an entire Friendship with, and a great Complacency in them.
There cannot be two Equals in the same Throne, nor two Objects in chief at once, in the same Soul, they are as inconsistent as heat and cold in intense Degrees, both cannot, one may, but if the World, then not God, for,
He will have the Throne, and command in Chief, or not at all.
God and the World are as the Center, and the Circumference, and the nearer the lines of our Affections are drawn to the Circumference of the World, the further they will be from him, the great Center of Love.
The Earth is the Center for a Stone, God only is the proper Center of our Hearts.
God is the Fountain of all our good, it flows from him as streams from the Ocean, the nearer the streams of our Affections run to the World, the more impure they will be (like streams of Water that contract filth passing by a corrupt Soil) and the further from God, in whom as in a great deep, they should all be swallowed up.
From him they came at first, and to him they should return again.
The Friendship of the World is Enmity with God, all Love therefore upon equal terms with him, is a comparative hatred to him.
The Serpent that went upon the Ground was an abomination to the Lord.
The Constitution is denominated from the predominant Element, and delight in God, from its prevalency above all delight in the things of the World. It is not true, unless superlative; in him as the chiefest good; in him, not only more than in many things, but more than in all.
Love to the World is (in Gods Jam. 4. 4.esteem) Adultery and Ʋncleanness, for he admits no Rivals.
(2.) It is unsutable to our present state. We are Souldiers.
We are engag'd in a Spiritual Warfare, and as such, must not entangle our selves with the affairs of this Life, lest we either desert the cause, or become faint-hearted 2 Tim. 2. 3, 4.in it, like some Souldiers, who by seeking a Rich Booty, have lost the Battel, or by getting one have never after been good for Fighting.
The best Souldiers are moderate Spoilers.
We are Strangers, and Pilgrims.
Heaven is our home, Earth the Heb. 11. 13. 13. 14. Commorandi diversorium non habitandi. Patria juris, patria loci, extra patrium tendentes ad patriam.place of our present abode; there, we shall dwell, here we sojourn; that is our Countrey, this, our passage and thorough-fare to it. We are out of our Countrey, but going to it; not home-dwellers, but Travellers, and as such, we must not (with Peter on mount Tabor) say it is good to be here, nor take up our rest in it, but only pitch down a Tent, or Tabernacle, (a moveable House of Boughs) for a night or two, we must not be stopt in our way by the Pleasures we meet with, (as Jonathan was by Honey) nor stay 1 Sam. 14.at any place short of our home, nor overburden our selves with unnecessary Cares, that will retard our motion, and make us lag behind, nor seek superfluities, but necessaries only, which may help us on, and further us in our way.
Competency, not Superfinity, is the Pilgrims Weed and Staff, one of each is enough, more will be a hinderance.
If we are Really, what we are Nominally, it is unsutable to the Priviledges we enjoy, the Dignities we are call'd to.
We are born of God;
And therefore, like the Children of him our Heavenly Father, we must have the Earth for our Isaiah 66. 1.Footstool, and Heaven for our Dwelling-place.
We are not adopted Sons, unless we have the Spirit of the natural Son.
We are Citizens of the Heavenly Heb. 11. 10.Jerusalem, Burgesses of that City which has Foundations; there, must our business and Trade, our Traffick and Commerce be, Phil. 3. 20. foreign.our civil Conversation must be there, much more then our Spiritual; our Treasure is there, our Names are inroll'd and written there, and there must our Hearts Luk. 10. 20.be also; for,
We have Hearts, as well as Faces Ʋbi nondum sumus, ibi sumus.to look upward.
There they must be, while we are on Earth, like Jacobs Ladder, the top of which reacht to Heaven, whilst the other part stood upon the Earth.
And there they must be, more Hilary's similitude.than on Earth, like the Wheel, the greatest part of which is above the Earth whilst it moves upon it.
A Heavenly Disposition leads to a Heavenly Conversation.
We are Chosen out of the Gal. 1. 4. Psal. 17. 4.World, Redeem'd, and Deliver'd from it.
And therefore must not live as the men of the World, who have their Portion in it, and are Slaves to it.
The World is the Devils Dominion, and he is the Prince of it.
Our Hope is in Heaven.1 Pet. 1. 3.
We are begotten to a lively Hope, that is above, and so must our Affections too.
Like the Elements, the higher they are the purer they are.
We are Crucify'd with Christ, and therefore must be Crucify'd Gal. 2. 20.to the World.
There was an Eclipse on the World when Christ was Crucify'd in it, and so there is to all, that are Crucify'd to it.
We are risen with Christ.
He had his Ascension, and we must have ours too. He is risen and gone hence, and we must arise with our Affections and follow Col. 3. 1. Eph. 2. 6.him where he is, that we may sit together with him in Heavenly Places.
As present with our Spirits, whilst absent with our Bodies.
What Monsters then in Christianity are they, who dwell with their Heads and Hearts in a heap of Dust, and turn up their Heels in defiance against Heaven, that like Saul (though higher by the Head and Shoulders than others in profession yet) hide themselves among the stuff and rubbish of the World, that instead of making to themselves Friends of their unrighteous Mammon, make, not only that their Friend, but their God; and with the Israelites make this Golden God to pass before them; that shine and make a bright appearance in the World, as if they were clad with the Sun, but sit down in the Moon-shine, and have the Moon upon their Heads, and the Sun under their Feet; that soar aloft (like the Lark) in their Profession, but make their Nest here below (here, is their place of Rest) and take their flight as the Eagle to Heaven, but keep their Eye on the Earth as their prey, and after all their hovering fall down upon this Carcass, and thereby commit as great a Solecism, as he that pointed to the Earth and cried but, O Heaven!
Eagles plumes blend not with other Feathers.
(3.) It will be injurious and prejudicial to us.
1. As oppressing us with distracting Cares.
2. As exposing us to destructive Lusts.
3. As indisposing us to the work of Religion.
1. As oppressing us with distracting Cares.
Distracting Cares are the Serpents 1 Tim. 6. 10. Eccl. 5. 12.in this Paradise and Snakes in this Sunshine, that sting and torment, the Vultures that continually gnaw; the Thorns that with many sorrows pierce through both Head and Heart; and the maligenii, that night and day haunt all that maintain a Friendship and Familiarity with the World.
Lot liv'd in Sodom, but Abraham dwelt in a Tent, and he had the best rest.
2. As exposing us to destructive Lusts.
The World is an evil World, (through the common abuse of it) and not to be lov'd; Treacherous, and not to be trusted. It has Snares in its Joys, as well as in its Sorrows; and real Misery under the seeming Glory of it, it comes as Jael to Sisera, and Ehud to Eglon, with a Nail and a Hammer, as well as Milk; with a Dagger, as well as a Present. It invites to a Feast, (as Absalom did Amnon) to destroy; and Panther like, first allures with its sweet smell, and then devours.
The Caspian Sea afforded the sweetest Waters, and bred the greatest Serpents; the Pleasures of Egypt occasion'd Sins more bitter than those Pleasures were sweet, and the Streams of Pleasure though shallow, have drowned many that have lain down in them.
Ambition occasion'd Corah's Rebellion, Absolom's unnatural Treason, and Diotrephes's Pride in contemning the Apostles.
Riches led Achan to Thievery, Saul to Disobedience, Ahab to Murder, Gehazi, Ananias and Sapphira to Lying, Judas to Treason, (he was not so Covetous as Tertullian thinks, untill he carried the Bag) and Demas to Apostacy, and will all to Destruction, that 1 Tim. 6. 9, 10.indulge them.
The Romans greatest Evils (as Austin observes) sprang from their Prosperity, and it is the Prosperity of Fools (as Solomon Prov. 1. 32.says) that destroys them.
The belief of this, may be a good Argument to moderate our Desires after the things of the World, and to be content in the want of them.
Sisera had better have been without his Milk in Jael's Tent, than to have his Brains pay the shot of it. And Tarpeia the Vestal Nun without the Enemies Bracelets (which she bargain'd for upon her betraying the Capitol) then to have been prest to Death with the weight of their Bucklers, which they threw into her Lap with those Bracelets, as an overplus of their kindness. And Muleasses without the unhappy Excess of Costly Perfumes, then to have been betray'd by their Scent (when he hid through Fear) into his Enemies hands, to the loss both of his Eyes and Kingdom. And better it is to want, than to be destroy'd by Plenty; to have Water in a wooden Dish, than Wine mixt with Poison in a Golden Cup; to Toil all day, and catch nothing, than a Snare to catch our selves; and to be without the Worlds Embraces, than Perish by them.
Little do they think who hunt after the World, how many this Beast of prey has turn'd upon and devour'd.
3. As indisposing us to the work of Religion.
Love to Sodom made Lots Wife look back when in her way to Zoar; the Money in Jacob's Sons sacks, made their Hearts to sink; (their Hearts had been more light, Gen. 42. 27, 28.if their Sacks had not been so Heavy). Love to the Bag, sent Judas Mat. 26. 13, 14▪out of the Temple, into the Market, he left Christ's Sermon, to sell him for Money; and Love to the World, will either indispose us to the things of Heaven, or distract us in them. The Way is narrow where the Race lies that is set us to run, and the World (the great dust-heap) will obstruct our Entrance into it, the weight of Earth upon us (the thick clay Hab. 2. 6. nitidius lutum.we are laden with) will retard, or hinder our Motion in it. God, and Mammon, (two Masters that give Mat. 6. 21, 22, 23, 24.contrary Commands) cannot be serv'd together; Obedience to one, will be Disobedience to the other. Heaven and Earth cannot be beheld by our Eye at one and the same time. The Earth is at a great distance from Heaven, but Earthly Minds are at a greater; the greatest difficulty will be, to bring into one, the things of the greatest distance: We must therefore quit the Service of the World, if we would be at leisure (vacare Deo) to attend the Service of Heaven; and be, not as Martha, cumbered Luk. 10. 40, 41, 42.about many things, but as Mary, intent upon the one thing needful. Our Eye must be single to Mat. 6. 22, 23.Heaven (direct to that Point) if we would have a clear and full sight of it. We must (with Zacheus) get above the Earth, if we would behold Christ, the Sun of Righteousness; restrain the goings out of our Hearts after Covetousness, if we would not be (as Ephraim) without a Heart in the midst of Duty, stop the current of our Affections, that naturally run in the way of the Wilderness, that they may run swift and strong, into the Land of Promise; call in our heat, drawn out to the World, and cool in our Affections to it, if we would be Fervent in Spirit, serving the Lord, be dis-entangled from the things below, taken out of these Briars, and Thorns (as Abrahams Ram Gen. 22. 13.was from the thicket in which it was caught) if we would offer up a Living, Holy, and Acceptable Sacrifice to God, for nothing is more contrary to Godliness, than Worldliness.
When the Moon is at the Full, it is in greatest Opposition to the Sun.