erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through ⚫ with divers forrows: for they that will be rich, fall into temptation, and a fnare, and many foolish and hurtful lufts. O man of God, (faith he to his be⚫ loved friend Timothy) flee these things, and follow ⚫ after righteousness, faith, love, patience, and meek• nefs ".' §. VI. Peter was of the fame mind; for he maketh covetousness to be one of the great marks of the false prophets and teachers that fhould arife among the Chriftians; and by that they might know them; 'Who (faith he) through covetoufnefs, fhall, with feigned words, make merchandize of you'.' To conclude, therefore, the author to the Hebrews, at the end of his epiftle, leaves this (with other things) not without great zeal and weight upon them: Let (faith he) your converfation be without covetoufnefs,' (he refts not in this generality, but goes on) and be content with fuch things as you have; for God hath faid, I will never leave thee, nor forfake thee: What then? Muft we conclude that those who are not content, but feek to be rich, have forfaken God? The conclufion feems hard; but yet it is natural: for fuch, it is plain, are not content with what they have; they would have more; they covet to be rich, if they may; they live not with thofe dependencies and regards to Providence, to which they are exhorted; nor is godlinefs, with content, great gain to them. §. VII. And truly it is a reproach to a man, especially the religious man, that he knows not when he hath enough; when to leave off; when to be fatisfied: that notwithstanding God fends him one plentiful season of gain after another, he is fo far from making that the caufe of withdrawing from the trafficks of the world, that he makes it a reafon of launching farther into it; as if the more he hath, the more he may. He therefore reneweth his appetite, beftirs himself more than ever, that he may have his share in the fcramble, while any • Heb. xiii. 5. 1 Tim. vi. 9, 10, 11, 3 thing is to be got: this is as if cumber, not retirement, and gain, not content, were the duty and comfort of a Christian. O that this thing was better confidered! for by not being fo obfervable nor obnoxious to the law as other vices are, there is more danger, for want of that check. It is plain that most people strive not for fubftance, but wealth. Some there be that love it ftrongly, and spend it liberally, when they have got it. Though this be finful, yet more commendable than to love money for money's, fake. That is one of the basest paffions the mind of man can be captivated with: a perfect luft; and a greater, and more foul-defiling one there is not in the whole catalogue of concupifcence. Which confidered, fhould quicken people into a ferious examination, how far this temptation of love of money hath entered them; and the rather, because the steps it maketh into the mind are almoft infenfible, which renders the danger greater. Thousands think themselves unconcerned in the caution, that yet are perfectly guilty of the evil. How can it be otherwise, when those that have, from a low condition, acquired thousands, labour yet to advance, yea, double and treble those thousands; and that with the fame care and contrivance by which they got them. Is this to live comfortably, or to be rich? Do we not fee how early they rife; how late they go to bed? how full of the change, the fhop, the warehouse, the custom-house of bills, bonds, charter-parties, &c. they are? running up and down as if it were to fave the life of a condemned innocent. An infatiable luft, and therein ungrateful to God, as well as hurtful to men; who giveth it to them to ufe, and not to love: that is the abuse. And if this care, contrivance, and industry, and that continually, be not from the love of money, in those that have ten times more than they began with, and much more than they spend or need, I know not what testimony man can give of his love to any thing. §. VIII. To conclude, It is an enemy to government in magiftrates; for it tends to corruption. Wherefore thofe that God ordained, were fuch as feared him, and K4 hated hated covetoufness. Next, it hurts fociety; for old traders keep the young ones poor: and the great reason why fome have too little, and fo are forced to drudge like flaves to feed their families, and keep their chin above water, is, because the rich hold fast, and press to be richer, and covet more, which dries up the little streams of profit from fmaller folks. There fhould be a ftandard, both as to the value and time of traffick; and then the trade of the mafter to be shared among his fervants that deferve it. This were both to help the young to get their livelihood, and to give the old time to think of leaving this world well, in which they have been fo bufy, that they might obtain a fhare in the other, of which they have been so careless. §. IX. There is yet another mifchief to government; for covetousness leads men to abuse and defraud it, by concealing or falfifying the goods they deal in: as bringing in forbidden goods by stealth, or lawful goods fo as to avoid the payment of dues, or owning the goods of enemies for gain; or that they are not well made, or full measure; with abundance of that fort of deceit. $. X. But covetoufnefs has caused destructive feuds in families for eftates falling into the hands of those, whofe avarice has put them upon drawing greater profit to themselves than was confiftent with juftice, has given birth to much trouble, and caused great oppresfion. It too often falling out, that fuch executors have kept the right owners out of poffeffion with the money they fhould pay them, §. XI. But this is not all; for covetoufnels betrays friendship: a bribe cannot be better placed to do an ill thing, or undo a man. Nay, it is a murderer too often both of foul and body: of the foul, because it kills that life it fhould have in God: where money masters the mind, it extinguishes all love to better things: of the body, for it will kill for money, by affaffinations, poifons, falfe witnefs, &c. I fhall end this head of covetoufnefs, with the fin and doom of two covetous men, Judas and Simon Magus, Judas's Judas's religion fell in thorny ground: love of money choked him. Pride and anger in the Jews endeavoured to murder Chrift; but till covetoufnefs fet her hand to effect it, they were all at a lofs. They found Judas had the bag, and probably loved money; they would try him, and did. The price was fet, and Judas betrays his Master, his Lord (that never did him wrong) into the hands of his moft cruel adverfaries. But to do him right, he returned the money, and to be revenged on himself, was his own hangman. A wicked act, a wicked end, Come on, you covetous! What say ye now to brother Judas? Was he not an ill man? Did he not very wickedly? Yes, yes. Would you have done fo? No, no, by no means. Very well; but fo faid those evil Jews of ftoning the prophets, and that yet crucified the beloved Son of God; he that came to fave them, and would have done it, if they had received him, and not rejected the day of their vifitation. Rub your eyes well, for the duft is got into them; and carefully read in your own consciences, and fee, if, out of love to money, you have not betrayed the just One in yourselves, and fo are brethren with Judas in iniquity. I fpeak for God against an idol; bear with me: have you not refifted, yea, quenched the good fpirit of Chrift, in your purfuit after your beloved wealth? • Examine yourselves, try yourselves; know ye not your own felves, that if Chrift dwell not (if he rule not, and be not above all beloved) in you, you are ' reprobates';' in an undone condition? §. XII. The other covetous man is Simon Magus, a believer too; but his faith could not go deep enough for covetoufnefs. He would have driven a bargain with Peter, fo much money for fo much Holy Ghoft; that he might fell it again, and make a good trade of it; corruptly measuring Peter by himself, as if he had only had a better knack of cozening the people than himself, who had fet up in Samaria for the great power of God, before the power of God in Philip and Peter 2 Cor. xiii. 5. undeceived undeceived the people. But what was Peter's answer and judgment? Thy money (fays he) perish with thee: thou haft neither part nor lot in this matter: ⚫ thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity": a difmal fentence. Befides, it tends to luxury, and rifes often out of it: for from having much they spend much, and so become poor by luxury: such are covetous to get, to spend more, which temperance would prevent. For if men would not, or could not, by good laws well executed, and a better education, be fo lavish in their tables, houses, furniture, apparel, and gaming, there would be no fuch temptation to covet earnestly after what they could not fpend: for there is but here and there a mifer that loves money for money's fake: §. XIII. Which leads to the last and basest part of covetousness, which is yet the most fordid; to wit, Hoarding up, or keeping money unprofitably, both to others and themselves too. This is Solomon's mifer, ⚫ that makes himself rich, and hath nothing";' a great fin in the fight of God. He complained of fuch, as had ftored up the labours of the poor in their houses; he calls it their fpoils, and that it is a grinding of the poor, because they fee it not again. But he bleffeth thofe that confider the poor, and commandeth every one, to open freely to his brother that is in need';' not only he that is fpiritually, but naturally fo; and, not to withhold his gift from the poor. The apostle chargeth Timothy in the fight of God, and before Jefus Chrift, that he fail not to charge them that are rich in this world, that they truft not in their uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth liberally; and that they do good with them, that they may be rich in good works. Riches are apt to corrupt; and that which keeps them fweet and beft, is charity: he that uses them not, gets them not for the end for which they are given; but loves them for themselves, " Acts viii. 8, 9, to 24. ▾ Pfal. xli. 1. Deut. xv. 7. * Ifa. iii. 14, 15、 w Prov. xvii. 7. and |