too and for men to practise things that are unfeemly, either in their demure look or in their uncouth garb; as if to be contemptible and defpicable in this way, were the perfection of the chriftian ftate. Against these two mistakes, the fournefs and morofity of mal-contents, and the fuperftitions of the factious, I have obferved that the prophet faith, do not glory, but doth neither deny the things as gifts of God, nor difallow our having of them, neither doth he take away the ufe of them, nor deny advantage by them. But Secondly, It is, glory not, glory not. I will give you an account of that, in four particulars which are denied. 1. We ought not upon occafion of our wit or parts, or of our power and intercft, or of our wealth and revenue, we ought not to think ourselves fufficient, and that we are provided for. That is challenged in the parable, Luke xii. 19. I will fay to my foul, thou haft much goods laid up for many years; take thine eafe, eat, drink and be merry; he was a fool for faying fo, much goods laid up; that is not the use of these things, for a man to account himself well accommodated, furnished to all purposes. 2. We ought not upon this occafion to have any proud reflections upon our own excellencies, as Nebuchadnezzar did, Dan. iv. 30. Is not this great Babylon which I have built for the house of the kingdom, by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty ? 3. We are not to have mental fatisfaction, acquiefcence in them, as if they were ultimate, which is the miscarriage of Babylon, Rev. xviii. 7. How much she hath glorified berfelf and lived deliciously, fo much torment and farrow give her; for fhe faith in her heart, I fit a queen and am no widow, and fhall fee no forrow. Confidering thefe things, things within the mind, health in the body, things about us; we ought not to think we are accomplished by them. 4. We ought not to have any of these things, or use them in the place of God: the prophet Jeremiah gives us an account of that, Jer. xvii. 11. As a partridge fitteth on eggs and hatcheth them not: fo he that getteth riches and not by right, fall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end fhall be a fool. And the pfalmift gives us an account of that, Pfal. xvii. 14. From the which have their portion in this life. Pfal. x. 4. God is not in all his thoughts. Luke xii. 21. So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich towards God. Thefe four things are excluded by glory not; we must not think ourselves fufficient, or that we are provided; we must not proudly reflect upon ourfelves, and think these our excellencies; we must not have fatisfaction, acquiefcence in them, as if we had nothing farther to look after; we must not have them instead of God; but as inftruments, and for the honour and fervice of God. men of the world, Thirdly, In the next place I fhall give you an account why there may be a temptation from thefe things to glory. First, There may be a fhew of reafon for glorying in wisdom, upon a five-fold account. 1. Because wisdom is the excellency of a fpirit, the excellence and accomplishment of fpirits, 'tis the perfection of the interior man. 2. It is in itself a real truth. 3. It is to be permanent and continue as long as fouls do, yea to be further perfected; whereVOL. IV. S as as the things of the body fail when the body fails. 4. It doth really recommend a man without any abatement; that he is a wife and understanding man, it is a real commendation. 5. It is the proper improvement of the natural faculty.-In the fecond place there is much lefs colour for glorying in bodily ftrength, and that for feven or eight reasons. I. Sickness may foon take it away; a man falls downward in a moment, but recovers leisurely. Yea perhaps a man may retain a great measure of bodily health and strength, yet in a fickness his disease will burn the more, as fire in green-wood; fickness may foon take this away: ficknefs which may begin from what is necessary and unavoidable, as eating, drinking, fleeping, exercise: which are the neceffaries of life, and things most useful for the body, yet fickness may be occafioned from any of these; yea fickness may fuddenly furprize us; and for ought we know, the beginning of a disease may be upon us already; and though we do not feel it, yet it may feize upon us next moment: therefore there is no glorying in bodily perfection; which is called might and ftrength. 2. There is no glorying in bodily ftrength, because an accident may foon deprive men of it; a casual fall, a wound, a fraction, the very change of air, the change of weather, any thing unkindly, any indigeftion, any thing unfeasonable: any of these things may difpoffefs a man of his bodily ftrength or health. 3. Take it with all its advantages, it doth not recommend rational intellectual natures; because the beafts which are below us, excell us in it, the ox, in ftrength, the horse, in swiftnefs: and in all the perfections of Our our fenfes both internal and external, we are excelled by certain animals; despicably mean creatures do excell us in all of them. 4. The dulleft fpirits of all, oftentimes have the strongest and healthiest bodily constitution: yea, this is the misery of it, nimble fouls, well improved minds, quick, nimble and active; they are too active for the body, that it can. not thrive and profper under them. You may take it for granted, that the wifeft of men in general, and the fittest for intellectual employments, have the weakest bodily conftitution; therefore it is not a thing to be refted on. 5. It is but a refpective thing; for might is no might in compare with mightier : if this be a strong man, if he meet with one that is stronger, he is weak in comparison with him. 6. There is no fecurity for the things of the body, either against treachery or affaffination, or a fudden furprize; for we are wont to fay, he is mafter of another man's life, that doth despise God and the law for it is the utmost a government can do, to require a life for a life; which can neither certainly protect nor make recompence, because it cannot restore. 7. and lastly, Might is nothing but ufurpation and infolence, if it be against or divided from right: therefore this is no matter of glorying. And what are the great conquerors of the world? He that conquers nations and kingdoms, he is but a great disturber, if he have not right on his fide as well as might. Wherefore bodily ftrength or might, is not a folid foundation of glory. Thirdly, Nor riches or wealth. And for this I will offer to you abundance of fuggeftions. 1. These things are things without us; and the philofopher in computing S 2 : computing of enjoyments, fays, we do not call them our own things, that are without us. 2. They are uncertain; for riches make to themselves wings and fly away, Prov. xxiii. 5. 3. They are perishable and wasting commodities, worfe by lofs of weight, worfe by lofs of virtue, &c. 4. They are the conquerors, if they prevail; they are our own but in part before. 5. We cannot truly be faid to have them even while we have them; for we must neceffarily truft, and cannot have them always in our hands, nor always in our fight. The friend by falfhood, and the thief by flight and craft, and the man of might by his power; in respect of all these, we are in danger. 6. They who have these things, have them for others. Eccl. v. 11. When goods encrease, they are encreased that eat them; what good then is to the owner thereof, faving the beholding them with his eyes? 7. Riches are but at the best, as Plutarch faith, a multitude of inftruments. They are but tools, they are but materials, they are medial, they are not final, they are not ends. 8. They are often for the owner's hurt, Eccl. v. 13. There is a fore evil which I have feen under the fun, viz. riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt. 9. They are perilous and dangerous to pofterity, for those that they leave behind them. For it is too often feen, that they who never had either the care or wit to get a penny, will never have the fkill to keep a pound; easily come, eafily go; that waftes eafily in the hand, that never knew the getting. 10. None of these things do mend any man's mind; and a man's inner man is the man; they do not tend to the reforming of any vice, or to the informing of a man |