their Hearts are apt to reply as the Priests did to Judas What is that to us see ye to it The Terrors of the Lord no more affect them than Thunder does the Deaf or Lightning the Blind In short tho charged and adjured by all the Threatnings of the Law and the neglected Gospel tho intreated by all the precious Promises of Mercy they continue hardned in their voluptuous sins they despise the eternal Rewards of Holiness and Wickedness as incredible and impertinent and Ministers as men of vain talk and imaginations For the Infidel Senses are not affected with things future and Sinners whilst prosperous are under their Dominion 3. Suppose in preaching the Word a sharp ray of Truth darts through the deep and setled darkness of the Heart yet 't is soon dampt and without saving effect upon Sinners in their Prosperity They may be terrified but are not subdued by the Armour of Light for they presently take sanctuary in the World to escape the strokes of it The carnal Passions dare not appear before such Objects as awaken the Conscience the Senses strongly apply the Mind to things that touch them the Fancy is the spring of of distraction in the thoughts and these reign in their full power in prosperous Sinners so that they do not by serious consideration apply things of eternal consequence to themselves The Heart of Man with difficulty changes its end the outward actions may be suspended or over-ruled for a time but the love that is natural and predominant in the Heart to the present World cannot be purified and raised to Heaven without the Divine efficacy of the Word applied by most solemn and frequent thoughts How plain and convincing are the words of our Saviour What will it profit a Man if he gain the whole World and lose his own Soul But how few in hearing them have found their Souls that were lost in the corrupting Vanities of this World The most seem not to know they have immortal Souls whilst they live as if they had none The Reason is they will not consider duly their unvaluable worth and the woful folly in neglecting them When the Bird often straggles from the Nest the Eggs are chil'd and unprolific for want of its warming incubation Divine Truths are without life and vigour when they only lie in the memory without serious and frequent reflections on them Many are enlightned but not affected or affected but not resolved or resolved but their resolutions are not prevailing and permanent because the Word does not sink into their Minds by deep consideration 2. The other external means of recovering a Sinner from the snares of Death is private admonition either authoritative or meerly charitative by shewing him his Sins and the fearful Consequences that attend them The neglect of this Duty is a sign and effect of the greatest hatred as the command of it implies Thou shalt not hate thy Brother in thy heart and suffer Sin to lie upon him The performance of it with prudence and meekness with dear and earnest love has a special advantage and efficacy being directly applied to the Person whose Soul is concern'd The Reproofs of a Preacher are levell'd in common against the Sins of Men but not applied in particular to every Sinner 'T is the Office of Conscience to bring home to every Man's Bosom what is proper to his Case and singularly to observe in himself what is spoken in the general But in private Admonition the Superior or Friend supplies the part of Conscience And in this sense wo be to him that is alone that wants a faithful Friend to supply the Duty of Conscience either to preserve him from falling into Sin or to raise him when down Now a prosperous Sinner is most unlikely to receive the Benefit design'd by admonition If the Patient does not assist the Cure by receiving holy Counsels with humility respect and thankfulness they prove ineffectual and much more if they be rejected with aversness and contempt When a Superiour like a Father that holds a Child over a Pit to make him fear where there is danger with solemnity admonishes him of his Guilt and approaching Judgments he is apt to slite his Person as censorious and his Admonition as impertinent When a Friend by faithful reproof endeavours to save his Soul from Sin and Hell he entertains his Reproof with scorn or with conviction and indignation Thus the wise observer of Men declares the careless wretched disposition of Sinners in their Prosperity by their sorrowful reflections in Adversity Thou shalt mourn at the last when thy Flesh and thy Body are consumed and say How have I hated Instruction and my Heart despised reproof And have not obeyed the Voice of my Teachers nor inclined mine Ear to them that instructed me Instruction to prevent Sin Reproof to correct Sin were disregarded with an implicit hatred or rejected with absolute and express hatred To conclude this part of the Argument Experience sadly proves that Sinners are never reclaimed from their stubborn Folly but by sharp Afflictions They will not believe the evil of Sin till by a real and sensible conviction they take a measure of the Evil they have done by the Evil they suffer Affliction tames the stubborn heart and makes it humble and relenting Even Pharaoh that was a bold Atheist in his Prosperity and stood upon high terms with Moses saying Who is the Lord that I should obey him yet was an humble Suppliant in his Distress And Pharaoh sent and called for Moses and Aaron and said unto them I have sinned the Lord is righteous and I and my People are wicked Intreat the Lord that there be no more mighty Thundrings and Hail This is set forth in a true and lively comparison by the Prophet Jeremy As a wild Ass used to the Wilderness that snuffs up the Wind at her pleasure in her occasion who can turn her away When fir'd with Lust she ranges about swiftly without a Rider to guide and a Curb to restrain her All they that seek her will not weary themselves but in her mouth they shall find her 'T is in vain to pursue her then but when she is bagg'd and heavy they will tame her Thus when Sinners are prosperous the call of God and Conscience and of Teachers do not stop them in their voluptuous course but affliction confines and reduces them to obedience 5. Prosperity renders Men averse from suffering for the sake of Christ when they are called to give testimony to his Truth and support his Cause Self-denial with respect to the present Life and all the Ornaments Comforts and Endearments of it is absolutely necessary by the Law of Christianity when the preserving of it is contrary to the Glory of Christ and inconsistent with our Duty to him Then said Jesus to his Disciples If any Man will come after me let him deny himself and take up his Cross and follow me The Cross implies all kinds
Heaven to save the World and when the Cross with its Infamy and horrour was in his view he avowed his Heavenly Kingdom And all those who suffer with him for his Truth and in conformity to his Pattern with his Meekness and Patience his Charity and Constancy shall reign with him And what is more powerful for the consolation and establishment of Christians than that their Sufferings for Christ shall end in Glory This is the Victory that overcometh the World even our Faith This did Miracles in the first Ages of the Church conquering all that was terrible to Flesh and Blood The Heathens despised the Hopes of Christians as wretched Illusions and with impious scorn upbraided them for their constancy under Persecutions Where is the God that can raise the dead and not rescue the living Unbelief is blind and cannot see beyond this World to the Eternal State But Faith in the blessed Redeemer opens a Prospect into the World to come so full of Glory that no Person that has an understanding and will to discourse and choose if he stedfastly believes it but must despise all the Evils that the wit and strength of Persecutors can inflict in comparison of it I reckon saith the Apostle that the sufferings of the present Life in all their kinds and degrees are not to be compared with the Glory that shall be reveal'd Inlightned Christians esteemed their Sufferings for the Cause of God no Arguments of his Weakness but his Wisdom to exercise and try their Loyalty and cordial Obedience before he rewarded them and had reason to admire his Providence not to suspect his Power and Love They knew that the power of Tyrants could only reach the Body the vile frail and mortal part of Man but the precious Soul was entirely exempted from their rage and Faith assur'd them of a glorious Resurrection after Death The Body of a Martyr shall be revived as a Phaenix out of its Ashes when the Body of a Persecutor shall be quickned as a Serpent out of a Dunghil the one to be glorified the other tormented for ever The belief of this made them extremely valiant in the face of all their threatning cruel Enemies But the evil Heart of unbelief causes a departure from the living God He that suspects God's fidelity in his Promises will suspend his own Nature will shrink at the first sight of imminent Dangers An Infidel that lives as if he were all Body and no immortal Soul judges the loss of the present Life and the comforts of it as his utter undoing and total perishing He has an appearance of reason to secure his present Possessions what-ever becomes of Religion for he expects no future Good that will infinitely more than countervail his present loss And that Prosperity inclines Men to Atheism and Infidelity has been proved before 2. The Love of God inspires Believers with a heavenly Fortitude to endure the worst Evils that may befal them for his sake Perfect Love casts out Fear keeps its Supremacy inviolate in the midst of the greatest Dangers Love is an active invincible Affection as strong as Death that none can vanquish The Love of God is a never-dying Flame in the Hearts of the Saints because it depends upon the unchangeable Love of God to them We love him because he first loved us Love esteems God as the greatest Reward A Saint does not so much love God for Heaven tho a place of inconceivable Glory as Heaven for God because he there reveals his Perfections to his People This Holy Love makes the Christians faithful and obsequious to Christ and to prefer his Honour incomparably before the present World The Martyrs of the divinest Courage were animated by this holy Affection they loved not their lives unto the death but chearfully offered them as a Sacrifice to his praise Love kindled in them a sacred Vehemence in despising all the glittering temptations of the World Love inspir'd them with a victorious Patience to blunt the edg of Cruelty They never repented the choice of his Religion but rejoiced when his Glory was set forth by their Ignominy and when their love to Christ appear'd in its radiancy and vigor through their Sufferings Love is the Principle of Constancy by which Religion reigns on Earth and is crown'd in Heaven On the contrary when Riches Honours and Pleasures are the Idols of Mens Heads and Hearts the chief Objects of their esteem and affections they will sacrifice their Souls rather than lose the World their dear Felicity Therefore St. John earnestly dehorts Christians Love not the World neither the things that are in the World If any Man love the World the love of the Father is not in him they are utterly inconsistent partly because the Heart cannot be entirely set upon contrary Objects and partly because love to the one requires what is directly contrary to love to the other From hence St. James vehemently upbraids carnal Professors Ye Adulterers and Adulteresses know ye not that the friendship of the World is enmity with God Whosoever therefore will be a Friend of the World is the Enemy of God The World is the powerful Star whose Aspect he regards and tho with the dishonour and displeasure of God he will by irreligious compliance secure his temporal Interests The pure refined Truth of the Gospel that has past the fiery Trial he will corrupt and embase by carnal temperaments the precious Truth so dearly bought by the Blood of the Martyrs he will vilely sell for the things of this World Nay of a Professor he will by degrees turn Persecutor of those who stedfastly own the Truth The love of the World so strangely inchants infects the Mind that a false Religion which a Man did abhor from yet when recommended by secular Advantages will appear tolerable then eligible then necessary and consequently the divine Truth must be supprest that contradicts it There are such frequent Examples of this in every Age that to insist upon many particular Instances were to tell great numbers of the dead to prove that Men are mortal The Young Man that so earnestly addrest himself to Christ for his direction how to obtain Eternal Life when commanded to give all his Estate to the Poor and to follow Christ he would not gain at so dear a rate Celestial Treasures but went away sorrowful Whereupon our Saviour declares with solemnity to his Disciples Verily I say unto you that a rich Man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven We read of two Tribes of the Israelites that chose their Inheritance on this side Jordan and would not have a share in the Land of Canaan thus the earthly-minded prefer the present World the Object of their choice and love before the heavenly Canaan The Ecclesiastical Historian relates that in the time of Persecution by Decius the rich Men among the Christians were most easily and miserably foil'd the love of the World was a dangerous earnest in
Love of God includes an Act of the Understanding a transcendent esteem of his Favour Thy loving-kindness is better than Life it inspires the Soul with ardent desires after him My Soul follows hard after thee it produces the most joyful satisfaction in Communion with him The Thoughts of God are unspeakably precious and sweet the Ordinances the blessed Means of conveying his Grace are highly valued and Sin that displeases and separates from God is hated as the greatest Evil. Now the Soul must be refined to a heavenly temper to some degrees of Angelical Purity before 't is capable of Light to see his spiritual Excellencies and Love to enjoy them And if the Soul does not make the Body Heavenly and Spiritual the Body will make the Soul Earthly and Fleshly From hence it is that the affluence of things pleasing to the Senses fastens the carnal Heart to the World as its Happiness and Heaven it darkens the Mind and vitiates the Affections that the Soul can neither taste nor see how good the Lord is 'T is the universal Character of Men in the carnal State they are lovers of Pleasure more than lovers of God And a remisser degree of Love is comparative Hatred A Sin of astonishing guilt and not less odious to God and damning in its Nature tho little observed and resented by carnal Men for the highest dishonour of God is complicated with disobedience in it A Sin that deserves and inflicts the sorest Punishment for God alone whose goodness is infinite can make us perfectly and eternally happy and the spiritual separation from him is such an unvaluable loss that when truly understood is the foundation of the heaviest sorrow 3. The Fear of God is a most distant affection from the Heart of the foolish Sinner in his Prosperity The Fear of Reverence and the awful esteem of God that proceeds from the reflection upon his glorious greatness is a grace that remains in Heaven the Angels in all their bright degrees of Excellence cover their faces before his Throne The fear of Circumspection that restrains from displeasing him upon the account of his Justice and Power is a proper Affection to Men in the present state The Blessed in Heaven are above this Fear being confirm'd in a state of unchangeable perfection and felicity the Damned in Hell are below this Fear in that no change can make their Condition worse but 't is most useful and congruous in this middle state This Fear of God is the beginning of Wisdom the first and chiefest part of it in respect of Order and Dignity For the true Notion of Wisdom consists in the foresight of Evils in the choice and use of effectual means to avoid it and it is the best Wisdom that avoids the greatest Danger This Fear is the Principle of Conversion from Sin to Holiness exciting us to make God our Friend who is so dreadful an Adversary so Holy and Just that he will not connive at Sin and spare the Guilty and Impenitent and so powerful that with one stroke he can utterly destroy his most stubborn Enemies Carnal Security is directly opposite to this Fear of God and nothing does more harden and fortify Men in Security than a prosperous State The Voluptuous and Sensual are without apprehension of Danger till imminent and in their view Because they have no changes therefore they fear not God Uninterrupted Prosperity tempted them to Atheistical Security and as none are sollicitous and in anxiety lest the Sun whose presence is the support and beauty of the World should not arise in the morning because its regular course is establish'd and constant and it would be a Miracle contravening the Order of Nature if it should be stop'd Thus the long enjoyment of Plenty and Ease and Peace renders Men constantly secure and fearless as if the tenor of their Prosperity were invariable and no evil could disturb it or at least they will set back the expectation of Evil at a great distance like those prophane Scorners mentioned by the Prophet They say the Vision he sees is for many days to come he pro phesies of the times afar off and with a brutish stupidity slight the Divine Threatnings And from hence it follows that none are so rebelliously and boldly disobedient as the prosperous Sinner which is the fourth thing to be considered 4. Entire Obedience is due to the Supreme Lawgiver who is able to save and destroy for ever yet he is mercifully inclin'd to pardon the Infirmities of Men and greater Sins retracted by Repentance There are Sins of Ignorance when a Man dashes blindfold against the Law and of suddain surreption when there is no time to deliberate and for recollection and the best are not exempted here from Sins of this nature there are Sins of deadly malignity when Men are careless of God's Commands and indulge their Lusts tho not without some remorse But the prosperous Sinner is usually most presumptuous he sins with a high hand and incurrs a greater guilt and shall be exposed to greater punishment When the Fear of God is extinguish'd Luxury takes the Reins and breaks through the Hedg of the Law without feeling the wounding Thorns the fearful Threatnings in it and drives on through all the degrees of Sin 'T is the aggravation of the Israelites Ingratitude Jesurun waxed fat and kicked and lightly esteemed the Rock of his Salvation They were like Beasts high fed that become fierce and untractable will endure no Yoke upon them The prosperous Sinner securely despises the Commands of God and by an implicit Blasphemy dares his offended Omnipotence as if he were stronger than the Lord. He concludes his safety from his present success and says in his heart I shall have peace tho I walk in the imagination of mine heart and add sin to sin The Lord will not spare him but the anger of the Lord shall smoke against that Man to his destruction 3. Prosperity exposes dangerously to the tempting Power of Satan whose Subtilty Malice and Diligence is always exercised in training Men to Perdition His destructive Power cannot make immediate impressions on the Soul but he tempts by Objects without and the Affections within the World and the Flesh that are in combination with him He is accordingly stiled the God of this World as he reigns in the Men of the World by using the things of the World to obtain and establish his Kingdom He blinds their eyes by glittering Temptations deceives and surprizes them by his Fallacies And altho 't is difficult to conceive and unfold his internal Agency and pernicious Operations and 't is certain he cannot make a forcible entry into the Soul and tempt with prevalency and success without the consent of the Will yet we are told that he is a prime Mover in the sins of Men. He entred into Judas and by putting a lustre on the Silver exciting his covetous desires prevail'd with him to betray the Lord of Glory He
power they cannot make use of the Armor of God for their Defence and their Lusts are strong they are patient of his Drudgery constant at the Oar and faithful to their Chains And from hence 't is evident that Men are never more dangerously under the destructive power of Satan than when they enjoy Prosperity 3. Prosperity is destructive to many in that it affords them advantages to corrupt others and reciprocally exposes them to be corrupted by others Persons in Dignity Wealth and Power when depraved in their Inclinations and Actions are like publick Fountains poison'd that convey a spreading ruin abroad Their evil Example has a pernicious Influence and more commanding Efficacy as a Rule than their Laws they ordain as Rulers The Manners of Princes are as current as their Mony that being stamp'd with their Image and Superscription tho the Metal be base passes freely among the People The reason of it is evident for without the restraints of shame and fear the sensual Passions are riotous and licencious Shame is a displeasure at Evils that are attended with dishonour and infamy especially at sinful Evils that are so shameful in their own Nature that the most sordid things in comparison are less ignominious Now foul Vices when practis'd by Men of conspicuous Eminence do not seem with that turpitude and deformity as is inherent in their Nature As a muddy Vapour drawn up by the Sun and enamel'd with the Rays of Light appears amiable to the Eye not dreggy and foul as 't is in it self Innumerable miscarry by the vicious Examples of Persons in Honour for when Sins are gilded over with creditableness many think it necessary to be unholy that is truly vile that they may be fashionably noble And when those that are in Power abuse it as a privilege for licenciousness in Sin inferiors are viciously bold expecting Facility and Indulgence in the pardoning those Faults of which their Superiors are guilty And those who do not fear to be punish'd do not fear to sin Thus amongst the Heathens Lasciviousness was lawless because they ascribed their vicious Passions to their supposed Deities and did not fear their revenging Justice for what was practis'd by them Besides Prosperity exposes the Rich and Great to be more corrupted by others Servile Spirits will be cruelly obsequious to the Humors and Lusts of those upon whom they depend and the ready Instruments of accomplishing their irregular Desires 'T is their Interest to please them from whom they receive Favours and Benefits And how few have so firm a Vertue as to break the twisted Temptations of Pleasure and Profit The Rich and Great in the World are usually attended with a train of Dependents or vicious Associates whose compliance is very influential to harden a vicious Disposition into a corrupt Habit. These are underworkers to Satan the Mastertempter and feed the double Element of infernal Fire Lust and Rage in the Breasts of those with whom they converse 'T is the peculiar misery of Men in a high and flourishing Condition that they have many Flatterers and few Friends Few or none dare faithfully represent their Sins and Danger lest the sight of their Guilt in its true reflexion should offend them As Love is blind to others so especially to one's self and mercenary Wretches by the most vile flattery endeavour to make them believe of themselves what is pleasing to them to believe Such to ingratiate will commend the mere shadows of Vertue as substantial Vertue and excuse real gross Vices as but the shadows of Vice By deceitful Arts they colour and conceal the native ugliness of Sin under a thin appearance and name of Vertue The arrogant and revengeful they call generous the covetous frugal the lascivious gentile the prodigal magnificent the malicious wary and cautious the brutish and secure couragious The Conversation of such is infinitely dangerous and corrupting for under the disguise of Friendship they are the most deadly Enemies What greater danger of being poison'd can there be than when by Art the taste of Poison is taken away from the Poison and there is no suspicion of the Traitor that gives it Thus 't is further evident that Prosperity is very dangerous to the Souls of Men. 4. The Prosperity of Sinners usually renders the means of Grace ineffectual that should reclaim and reform them and consequently their Destruction is remediless The Means of Grace are Internal or External Internal the motions of the Holy Spirit and the Convictions and Excitations of Conscience External the Ministry of the Word and the Counsels of faithful Friends all which are usually made frustrate and inefficacious by the Vices and Lusts of the Prosperous 1. Prosperity makes Sinners more uncapable of receiving the heavenly Impressions of the Spirit and obstinate in resisting his gracious working The Flesh and the Spirit are contrary And accordingly as the carnal Appetite has dominion and over-rules in Men such is their opposition to his restraints from Evil or his motions to what is holy and good The sensual have not the Spirit They wilfully refuse to give admission to him when by inward impulses he sollicits them and have a stubborn and active contrariety to his Attributes and gracious Operations He is stiled the Spirit of Power and Love and a sound Mind He communicates a sacred Sovereign Vertue to the Soul whereby the irregular Passions are reduc'd to the obedience of the sanctified Mind and the reigning power of Sin is dissolv'd He is a free Spirit and restores the Soul to true and perfect Liberty by inlarging the Will and making it commensurate with the Divine Will and from hence it is the inseparable Character of a converted Person he is willing to do what God will have him do and to be what God will have him be But sensual Persons by the pleasant infusions of servility from the Tempter and carnal Objects have lost their power and desire of spiritual Liberty and resist the holy Spirit when he offers to break the Bands of their Lusts. The Spirit in converting the Soul inspires it with heavenly Love to God for the ever-satisfying beauty of his Perfections and from Love proceeds intellectual delight in communion with him in affectionate ascents to him and his gracious descents to the Soul but the Sensual are fastned in the Mire of their sordid Pleasures and can take no heavenly flight and relish no divine Comforts The Spirit produces a sound Mind to judg sincerely of things as they are And from hence the corrupting Vanities of the World lose their attractive Charms and eternal things appear in their reality and excellency and are chosen and sought with persevering diligence But the sensual Heart is a perpetual Furnace whose Smoke darkens the Mind that it cannot discover sublime and heavenly Excellencies and whose impure Heat fires the Will that 't is earnest in the pursuit of fleshly Pleasures Briefly nothing does more quench the Spirit in his
by Sinners in this World when they are shaken out of their stupifying slumber and fully awak'd to discover their evil Choice Thus the Apostle speaks What Fruit had you of those things whereof you are now ashamed for the end of those things is death When the memory of Sin is revived with a true judgment of it that which has Emptiness in the beginning and Death in the Issue must have Shame in the middle The Prophet tells us He that getteth Riches and not by right shall leave them in the midst of his days and at his end shall be a Fool. He was a Fool all along in his deceiving of others tho reputed worldly wise but in the issue when that which he gained cannot be kept and the Soul being lost can never be recovered by the conviction of his Conscience he is a Fool and reflects upon his past folly with confusion But at the last day the shame of foolish Sinners shall be displayed before the Eyes of the whole World 'T is foretold that some shall rise to shame and everlasting contempt Obscurity is the Mask of Shame but to be exposed a spectacle of Scorn before a thronged Theatre is the aggravation eminence of the Shame How confounding will the shame of Sinners be in the universal confluence of Angels and Saints and the presence of the glorious God the Judg of all the sense of their Guilt and Folly will sting them for ever 4. 'T is the most woful Folly Here such mischievous Effects proceed from it as deserve the saddest lamentation The Understanding the highest Faculty the Beauty and Excellency of Man is blinded the Will is fettered by corrupt Passions and the whole Man miserably inslaved to Satan What a spectacle of Compassion was Sampson in the slavery of the Philistines He that had been the General and Judg of Israel was deprived of his Sight and Divine Strength his warlike Hands that had been of equal power with an Army and perform'd such glorious Atchievements were imployed in turning a Mill the Work of a Beast and his Misery was pointed and made sharper by the insultation of his Enemies The true Emblem of the degenerate State of Men the Soul that was created in the Image of God and had a peaceful soveraignty over the sensual Appetites a superiority over sensible things is now inslaved and employed in the vile drudgery of Sin and become the derision of the Devils This is little thought of or lamented but therefore the more woful The loss of the Kingdom was not so dismal a Judgment to Nebuchadnezzar as the loss of his Understanding When his Reason was taken away and the Heart of a Beast was given to him 't was the lowest and saddest degradation But hereafter the misery of foolish Sinners will be extream The Apostle tells us that the love of the World causeth Men to fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish and hurtful Lusts which drown Men in Destruction and Perdition The Expressions are full to exaggerate the horror of their ruines and to signify that 't is absolute and irrecoverable The Lusts of Men are equally foolish and pernicious they please themselves in the Enjoyments of the World and are secure as if bathing in the Fountains of Felicity when ready to be swallowed up in the Whirlpool of Death By sensual Vanities they are estranged from God careless of their Duty and are finally separated from his blessed Presence And as the enjoying God without a possibility of losing him is our consummate happiness so to lose him without hopes of ever enjoying him is extream misery The foolish Sinner is not affected with this now whilst he lives in pleasure he is content to be without God in the World but hereafter when he shall be deprived of these slight short-liv'd Pleasures and shall know the unvaluable loss of his Happiness Sorrows will overwhelm him for ever As it befel that Infidel in the 2 Kings 8. he saw the Plenty but was not suffered to taste of it so the damned shall see the Glory of Heaven shining in the Saints but shall not partake of it This misery will be amplified under the following Heads 3. We are to consider the Justice the certainty and the heaviness of the Destruction that shall seize on foolish Sinners that abuse Prosperity 1. To illustrate the Justice of God in their destruction I shall only insist on that Reason that is so admirably amplified in this Chapter for their conviction that is their Destruction is the Fruit of their own choice The Divine Wisdom allures and invites them by all the most tender and powerful Perswasives to forsake their ruinous Course and the Spirit of Grace should be poured upon them which is the Earnest of Glory but they would not be convinced and reformed they loved simplicity the vain volatile Pleasures of Sin though attended with Perdition They hated Knowledg Godliness though recommended by the assurance of a blessed eternal Reward therefore their Destruction is resolved into their own Choice Indeed no Man can directly and absolutely chuse Misery or reject Happiness but vertually and by real consequence the most do A Prodigal that wastes his Estate does not intentionally and deliberately chuse Poverty but thus he thinks this Expence is for my Honour this for my Pleasure and proceeding to innumerable Expences he at last becomes poor and his poverty is voluntary because 't is the issue of his voluntary exorbitant profuseness The evil of Sin though it be destructive and in that respect not eligible by Man yet 't is pleasing to his corrupt Nature and the depraved Will is so allured by the present Pleasure that it anticipates the Reflections of the Mind and chuses to gratify the Propensions of Nature with a brutish disregard of the terrible Consequences of Sin And the present disconvenience of serious Piety to the carnal Heart causes an averseness from it notwithstanding the heavenly Felicity that is promised to it Men prefer carnal Sweets before Communion with God and tho not ignorant of the Issue continue in their Sins And 't is the exactness of Justice to deprive Sinners of that blessedness which they obstinatly refus'd and to bring on them the misery they perversly chuse And when at the last Day the Son of God shall charge upon Sinners their neglect of his compassionate and repeated Calls that he often knock'd at the Door to get an entrance into their Hearts but all in vain the World was there and barr'd it against him The guilty graceless Souls will be struck with a defenceless silence not able to make a Request for Pardon but with despairing Tears must submit to their righteous Condemnation The Equity of God's Ways and the Iniquity of Mens will at the last be clear to every Eye Then all the Blessings they received will rise up in judgment against them as proofs of their Wickedness that makes them more guilty and deservedly miserable Then
Disease but modestly infinuates the Danger to those that are about the sick Person The good God can do all things he can revive the almost spent and expiring O pray for him 'T is advice given by a skilful Herbalist that particular care is necessary in planting the Seed of the Cardus for if they are not set upright they degenerate and produce a wild Herb. The Gospel is compar'd to Seed and if the conditional promises of Pardon and Salvation are not received in the Heart aright if the comfort of them be not applied according to the Qualifications that are requisite to give us an interest in them they produce a vain Presumption a false Hope a delusive Peace instead of an unfeigned Faith a purifying Hope a solid Peace God declares it with the most sacred solemnity As I live saith the Lord God I have no pleasure in the death of the Wicked if the carnal Heart like the Devil who abus'd Scripture by leaving out part of it shall not consider what follows but that the Wicked turn from his way and live but shall harden and fortifie it self in Sin with hopes of impunity God will rejoice in their just destruction He tells us that a converted Sinner shall be forgiven but that conversion must be uniform and lasting If the Wicked turn from all his Sins that he hath committed and keep all my Statutes and do that which is lawful and right he shall surely live and not die He has promised to be found of those that seek him but we are commanded to seek the Lord whilst he may be found implying it is not in our power when we please to find him with his pardoning Mercy and assisting Grace To apply the Word of God against the Mind of God is injurious to his Honour and pernicious to deluded Souls 3. The heaviness of the Destruction will be according to the aggravation of their Sin who abuse Prosperity 1. 'T is a Sin most contrary to the acknowledged Duty of Man and unbecoming the reasonable Nature 'T is an universal concession that springs from the purest Light of Reason that we should return good for good the Heathens agreed in it To be defective in observance and thankful respects to a Benefactor is unnatural but to requite Evil for Good is so direct a violation of the ingenuous Principles of Humanity that one is prodigiously wicked in doing it he ceases to be a Man and becomes a Devil Now this black Guilt cleaves to those who abuse Prosperity The Blessings of God are strong and sweet obligations to love him yet their perverse Hearts are thereby alienated from him his Mercies engage and enable them to serve and glorify him but are used to gratify their Lusts and to make them more capable and presumptuous to offend him Prosperity makes them luxurious and secure Riches makes them sin at a higher rate the patient Providence of God that waits for their Repentance such is their desperate corruption fortifies them in their rebellion against him This was the reason of that stinging Reproach of Moses to Israel Do ye thus requite the Lord O foolish People and unwise 2. The abuse of Prosperity is most injurious and provoking to God To sin against his Law is an high affront to his Majesty but to sin against his Love and Benefits is more contumelious to him The Apostle calls it a despising of God's goodness what is more contumelious than to employ his Benefits for the pleasing our dishonourable vile Affections as the Gift of a Friend is slited that is put to a base use or as one that will not be reconciled by the Presents of a Friend despises his Gifts thus when the Favours of God do not melt the Heart into kindly resentments and endear him to us they are despised If a Favorite that were raised by a Prince to the highest Honour and Trust should betray his Magazines both Arms and Treasures to his Enemy could there be a fouler wickedness and of this heinous nature is their Wickedness who abuse the Mercies of God in the Service of Sin and implicitly betray them into the Devil's hands who maliously wars against God What a contumelious indignity heightned with the basest ingratitude was Jeroboam guilty of who chang'd the Glory of the uncorruptible God into an Image like a corruptible Beast God advanc'd him to the Throne and he deprest the Deity to the rank of stupid Calves What a hateful abuse of his Bounty was it that the Israelites turned the Jewels of Gold wherewith he inricht them by the Egyptians into a detestable Idol of such Wickededness are Men deeply guilty when the precious Blessings that God bestows upon them are made the Idols of their heads and hearts and rob him of the Honour and Love that is incommunicably due to him What can more provoke the jealous God Mercy is his dearest Glory in which he peculiarly delights 't is the Attribute of which he is most tender and the abuse of it is to stab him to the Heart From hence we may justly infer the punishment of such Sinners will be most heavy in exact proportion to their most odious ingratitude Damnation is the recompence of every impenitent Sinner and is the most fearful effect of God's Wrath. Temporal Judgments are but the smoke of his Anger the flaming Coles are in Hell But there are degrees of torment in Hell according to the number and quality of Mens Sins Those who despise the goodness of God treasure up Wrath against the day of Wrath. As they continually abuse his Bounty and Patience they increase his Vengeance which will be as terrible as his Patience was admirable The Judgment of Babylon was a strict proportion to her Luxury How much she hath glorified her self and lived deliciously so much troment and sorrow give her Justice will exact all the Arrears of abused Mercies The lovers of this World shall pass from their good Things to the Flames that live by the Breath of God's revenging Wrath. Doleful exchange an hours feeling of that Fire is more tormenting than an Ages enjoyment of this World in all its abundance is pleasing But tho the Word of God has discovered the swift and thick-coming Sorrows that shall seize upon the Wicked yet so foolish and obstinate are Sinners in Prosperity they will not be perswaded to fly from the Wrath to come The Light of Reason and Illumination of Faith is too weak to make them sensible of their Danger they will not be convinc'd till shut up in the darkness of Hell It now follows that by Application we should make this great Doctrine more useful to our selves In the general 't is of excellent use to rectify our Judgments about the Things and Men of the World The most are miserably deluded and live in a blindness so gross and misleading that they are secure when near steep ruin Asclepius being blind mournfully complain'd that he was fain to be led by
a Child but carnal Men are voluntarily guided by Sence and Fancy the false Lights that rule in Children and blindly follow without considering who is their Leader and whether they are led Or like one in a slumber is strongly affected with slight things a Scene of Fancy in a Dream transports him as a glorious Reality a prick of a Pin makes him start as fearfully as if a Viper bit him thus carnal Men are as deeply affected with temporal good and evil things as if they were Eternal wherein their Blessedness or Misery consists And there is nothing of greater use and defence to the Soul than to make a true judgment of things that greatly and nearly concern us From thence proceeds a wise Choice a well-ordered Conversation and upon it our blessed End depends For as the Rudder is to a Ship the Will is to Man if it be duly turn'd it conducts him safely to Felicity The particular just Inferences from the Doctrine are 1. Temporal Prosperity is not a certain sign of God's special Favour There are some Benefits disperst by a general Providence to all like the common Benefits of a Prince to all within his Dominions some are like special Gifts to his Favorites Of the first kind are Riches and Honours and whatever is the support or comfort of the present Life of the second are spiritual and heavenly Blessings the Graces and Comforts of the holy Spirit of God the infallible Seal of his Love to us The Psalmist prays Remember me O Lord with the favour thou bearest unto thy People O visit me with thy Salvation there is a Favour common to all Men as his Creatures and the Fruits of it are promiscuous to the Evil and the Good but the Favour from whence proceeds Grace and Glory is the priviledg of his Chosen The temporal Prosperity of the Wicked is consistent with God's Hatred When Men turn his Blessings into the fuel of their Lusts and his Patience into an advantage of sinning more securely how flourishing soever they are in the World he looks on them with an avenging Eye He hates all the workers of Iniquity His seeming connivance is no Argument that he is not highly provok'd by their Sins or that they may obtain an easy Pardon Yet this is the inward principle of the gross and outward Sins in the lives of Men tho unobserved by them As the vital Heat is not felt in the Heart that is the Cause of all the Heat that is felt in the outward parts of the Body These things hast thou done saith God to the rebellious Sinner and I kept silence that is suspended the terrible Effects of Justice thou thoughts I was altogether such a one as thy self Astonishing blindness not to discern the apparent antipathy of such Connexions As if God's forbearance of the Guilty were forgiveness and rebellion against his Commands and the love of Sin which is enmity to him were consistent with the fruition of his Favour But we have the most clear and convincing assurance God cannot be pleased with Men without their being made like him in Righteousness and true Holiness He sees and hates Sin and abhors the Sinners tho for a time they are spared Justice and Patience are his Attributes He is slow to anger and great in Power and will not acquit the Guilty He endures with much long-suffering the Vessels of Wrath till they are fitted for destruction The presumptuous Sinner that is encouraged and harden'd as if Sin were not so hateful to God because he enjoys the World in abundance and expects an easy remission at last fearfully deceives his Soul He sows the Wind and shall reap the Whirlwind 3. The Prosperity of the Wicked is so far from being a sign of God's love that it often proceeds from his deepest Displeasure 'T is a Curse candied over with a little vanishing sweetness but deadly in the Operation It makes them careless of God and their Souls of Heaven and Eternity and they become incorrigible in their perverse Wills and wicked Ways and irrecoverable in their lost State Prosperity induces Security that presages and accelerates their ruin 'T is exprest as the most fearful and sorest Judgment by the Prophet The Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep an insensibleness of the worst Evils their Sins and the infinite danger that attends them This Judgment is usually inflicted from the righteous God by the prosperity of the Wicked and extreamly provokes him it being a Sin of the greatest Guilt as well as a Punishment of former high provocations 'T is a distinguishing Judgment inflicted upon his Enemies from which his Children are exempted Other Judgments that cause grief and trouble to Sinners often incline his Compassions to them but this Judgment inflames his Wrath. In short the Prosperity of the Wicked here is a fatal sign they are reserved for the severity of Justice for their abuse of the Riches of his Mercy and of all Judgments that is the most terrible that insensibly destroys and certainly brings damnation 4. From hence we are instructed to look upon Prosperous Sinners with pity not with envy and indignation They please themselves and triumph in their conceit and happiness as the Psalmist expresseth it Whilst he lived he blessed his Soul But how contrary is the Opinion of vain Men to the Judgment of Christ He pronounces and upon his Sentence depends Eternity Wo unto you that are rich for ye have received your Consolation Wo unto you that are full for ye shall hunger Wo unto you that laughnow for ye shall mourn and weep And we are told by the inspired Prophet Man that is in honour and understands not that does not consider the Vanity and frail Tenure of his present flourishing State nor his Duty and Interest to imploy his Riches Power and Greatness for securing his everlasting Feliciâ—ty is like the Beasts that perish stupid and insensible of approaching Ruin as the Beast that was to be sacrificed did not perceive that the guilding its Horns and adorning it with Garlands was a sign it was destin'd to Death They now live in ease and pleasures but they must shortly remove from their rich Possessions and splendid Palaces to the dark Regions of Woe and Death will be an entrance into endless Sorrows The laughter of Fools is like the crackling of Thorns under the Pot a short Blaze soon damp'd and extinguish'd 'T is a dreadful Imprecation of the Holy Psalmist Let their way be dark and slippery and let the Angel of the Lord persecute them To fly in the dark and in slippery places and so to fall into the Mire and Pits is a fit Emblem of their Condition who are prosperous and wicked They are hood-wink'd by Prosperity in a voluntary darkness and see not the Precipices that surround them And how slippery is their way by so numerous and insinuating Temptations how easily how frequently and dangerously do they
fall and both defile and wound themselves Briefly they are truly miserable here even whilst they most pleasantly and contentedly enjoy the World they are accumulating the Treasures of Wrath and preparing new Torments for their Souls they stand upon brittle Ice and Hell is beneath ready to swallow them up in its deepest Gulph As 't is said by the Apostle concerning the Saints darkend by Sorrows here that their glorious Life is hid in God and shall illustriously appear with Christ at his second Coming So the terrible Death of the Wicked whilst they flourish here is hid from the Eyes of Sense but shall be revealed in the Day of Wrath. And to a wise Observer to a serious Believer the prosperous Sinner is the most unhappy and compassionable Object in the World for he perishes by such a flattering kind of Death that he is neither apprehensive nor affected with his Danger And when an illuminate Christian sees the Marks of Damnation in Sinners whom Prosperity deceives and hardens he cannot but be tenderly moved and is obliged most earnestly to pray to the merciful Father of Spirits whose Grace is Omnipotent that he would recover their lapsed Souls bleeding to eternal Death If there be any heavenly Charity in our brests it will melt our hearts and dissolve us in tears to prevent or at least to solemnize and lament their heavy Destiny 5. From hence we are instructed to judg truly and wisely of Afflictions they are the necessary and merciful Dispensations of Heaven to recover Sinners corrupted by Prosperity and to return them to God Sense tho its principal end is to preserve the Body is not always a fit judg of things beneficial to it the Appetites and Aversions are sometimes pernicious One in a Dropsy drinks to quench his Thirst and increases his Distemper A bitter Potion is rejected by a sick Child not considering that a Medicine not Sweet-meats can cure his Disease The pleasure of the taste is no certain indication of what is wholsome for Health much more uncapable is Sense to judg of what is useful for the Soul Reason is entirely renounc'd and fallacious Sense is in the Throne when Prosperity with its gaudy Allurements is esteemed as our Happiness and Adversity is abhorr'd as the worst Misery The Wise Man instructed by dear Experience tells us It is better to go to the House of Mourning than to go to the House of Feasting for that is the end of all Men and the living will lay it to heart Sorrow is better than Laughter for by the sadness of the Countenance the Heart is made better The Heart of the Wise is in the House of Mourning but the Heart of Fools is in the House of Mirth Prosperity irritates and fortifies the sensual vile Affections the pleasing of which is fatal to the Soul As 't is observed by the natural Historian that the sparkling Colour and delicious Relish of Wine tempts Men to drinking without thirst and from Intemperance innumerable Diseases flow Prosperity diverts the Mind from considering the things that belong to our eternal Peace and the Will from consenting to them The Thoughts are so scattered abroad that few are left at home duly to ponder the miserable Effects of Sin Now in this the Rules of natural and spiritual Medicine agree that one Extream is to be cured by another The Devil cruelly destroys the Souls of Men by the pleasures of Sin and God the wise and compassionate Physician recovers them by bitter Sorrows the most congruous and powerful means for that blessed Effect Affliction makes us retire within our Hearts and shuts out the noisy throng of worldly distracting Objects and then Truth and Conscience that were under unrighteous Restraints will break the Fetters and speak loudly and terribly to the Sinner Affliction fixes the Mind upon those Objects that duly considered are able to terrify the most determin'd and resolved Sinner There is no Man so prodigiously bad so perfectly a Brute but has at times some twinges of Conscience some workings in his Spirit some desires of Salvation Even Balaam who in the judgment of the Angel was more stupid than the Ass he rode on yet had some springings in his heart towards Heaven O that I might die the Death of the Righteous and my last end may be like his but these are fleeting and variable and so weak in comparison of the Opposite desires of the Flesh while Prosperity continues that they prove abortive Now affliction deads the flaming edge of the Affection to Vanity When the Sinner feels the truth of the divine Threatnings then he is effectually convinc'd of the Evil of Sin and understands by the beginning of Sorrows here what the Issues will be hereafter and retracts his foolish choice In the time of Affliction our Sins find us out and 't is most likely we shall then find our Sins out and with repenting tears acknowledg them and with hatred renounce them Now the consideration of the designed Benefit by Afflictions should reconcile them to our Wills and perswade us with patience and thankfulness to accept of them as the Testimonies of God's peculiar favour Our Saviour declares As many as I love I rebuke and chasten be zealous and repent God is often most angry when he makes no sensible discovery that he is so thus he threatens the rebellious Jews I will make my Fury towards thee to rest and my Jealousy shall depart from thee and I will be quiet and will be no more angry implying a final divorce a leaving them to their impure Idolatries without more correction If there be such a hardness of heart as the Fire cannot melt such a rust that the Fire cannot purify God will not waste his Judgments on such desperate Sinners He withdraws his chastising hand as hopeless of their amendment and that desertion is a fatal signature of Reprobation And on the contrary many times God's Love is most tender and compassionate to us when to Sense there is the least evidence of it Even the Heathens in the twilight between the darkness of Idolatry and the light of Nature discovered that Afflictions were the privilege of those that are singularly beloved of God And Christians have a more sure word for their instruction Whom the Lord loves he chastens and scourgeth every Son whom he receives There is not a stronger evidence of his fatherly wise Love than the discipline of the Rod and the afflicted returning Sinner may with an adoptive assurance come to the Throne of Grace By afflictions the World is less enticing and hurtful to us and Heaven is more amiable and desirable the things that are seen are vilified and distasted and invisible things are sought with our highest esteem and respect and zealous endeavours Those Lusts that spring and grow and flourish in Prosperity are blasted and wither and die in adversity Those who forget God when prosperous in the World are taught by the voice
of the Rod to adore his Majesty obey his Laws imitate his Holiness and humbly to accept of his Mercy By Afflictions the sensual Appetites are sudu'd and brought into order a low state is a protection from many strong and destructive Temptations Sickness that brings near the Grave and makes us feel how frail we are renders the World despicable that by their Lusts so powerfully infatuates Men to their ruin Sanctified Affliction is a happy preparative for the fulness of Joy in the blessed presence of God The first to whom our Saviour promis'd the Rest and Joy of Paradise was the Companion of his Cross. Let us therefore with free Judgments and sincere Affections make an estimate of all sensible things not judg our selves to be in the favour of God by the good Things received here nor under his Wrath by Evil Let us not be surpris'd at the Prosperity of the Wicked nor shaken at the Afflictions of the Godly but regulate our Thoughts by the unerring Wisdom of God so clearly revealed in his Word He is propitious when he denies or takes from us those temporal Enjoyments that we are apt to abuse and severe when he bestows them and seems to indulge Mens carnal Affections It is but a little while and the Pleasures of Sinners and the Afflictions of the Saints will end in a state directly contrary to what is enjoyed or suffered here With God a thousand Years are but as one day the World is not of a weeks standing in the Divine Account he measures all things by Eternity the Vessels of Mercy are by sanctified Afflictions made fit for Eternal Glory The Vessels of Wrath are by the abuse of his Bounty and Patience fitted for eternal destruction In the last place from hence we should be warned to be always circumspect to avoid the Evils that usually attend Prosperity to improve it to our eternal Advantage Prosperity is not like an infected Garment that transfuses a contagious Malignity into every one that wears it A Person that is rich and honourable and in Power may not only be a Saint but the more a Saint by his dedicating and employing the Gifts of God to his Glory and the Publick Good 'T is a Point of high and holy Wisdom and only taught in the School of Heaven how to manage the opposite states of the present Life so as not to be vainly swelling in Prosperity nor broken and flagging in Adversity but to preserve an aequanimity a constant composed mind the blessed imitation of the divine Unchangeableness St. Paul saith without vain arrogance I know both how to be abased and I know how to abound every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry both to abound and to suffer need 'T was a secret of Spirit not learn'd from Men but from the holy Spirit of God In some respects 't is a more difficult exercise to manage Prosperity than Adversity Many are like Hannibal victorious in Arms whilst conflicting with Adversity and vanquisht by enticing Pleasures 'T is observed of the Lamps in some of the Roman Tombs that have burnt for many Ages and are bright whilst kept close that as soon as they are open'd to the Air a breath of Wind extinguishes them Thus the Vertues of some shine in a low retired Condition when there are no Temptations no occasion of quenching them but when brought forth into the open World and should appear in conspicuous Operations their Vertues are of so weak and consumptive a Spirit that the Light expires and dies Even the Piety of David was chill'd by Prosperity 'T is said with an emphasis concerning Jehosaphat that he walk'd in the first Ways of his Father David Intimating that his Religion was not so exact when he was in the Throne as in his Banishment 'T is equally excellent as difficult To be holy and heavenly in the midst of sensual tempting Objects is the clearest discovery of the Truth and Power of Divine Grace of the piety ingenuity and generosity of the Christian Spirit Humility and Modesty in a low Condition are not so praise worthy as the absence of them is odious but Humility in a state of Honour is more illustrious than the Splendor of external Dignity Temperance in a Cottage where are only supplies of hunger and thirst seems rather the effect of Necessity than of wise Choice but to be temperate when abundance and variety tempt the sensual Appetites when the sparkling colour and delicious relish of the purest Wines tempt the Fancy and the Pallate is Vertue in a height and excellency To be pious and weaned from the World in Afflictions is no wonder but in Prosperity and Power to be serious in Religion and despise the splendid Vanities of the World is Vertue of a superior Order What is observed of the perfuming Gums of Arabia the Happy is applicable in this matter those that distil freely from the Tree excel in purity in fragrancy and value what comes from it when the Bark of it is cut Thus Obedience that comes from the heart in love with God for his Benefits is more valuable and precious than what is the effect of Compulsion that comes from the heart wounded with terrors in adversity I shall add farther The using Prosperity aright is most comfortable The Love of God can sweeten Afflictions and make a Dinner of green Herbs as savory as if they grew in Paradise and it gives a quick and high taste to all our temporal Blessings When his Love is conveyed and sealed to us by the Gifts of his Providence we have the purest enjoyment of them Now when Prosperity is made subservient to his Glory when it endears Obedience to us we have an infallible testimony 't is from his special Favour to us The Rules how to manage Prosperity for our everlasting Good are 1. Let us preserve an humble sense of our original meanness continual frailty and sinful unworthiness in the midst of Prosperity Men are apt to be high-minded and to cherish undue Conceptions of their worth when rais'd in the World as if they were not as inferior to the Majesty of God and as liable to his impartial Justice as others they lose the knowledg of themselves in a Mist of Vanity This provokes the high and holy One that inhabits Eternity to blast them in their most fluorishing and secure state and convince them how deceitful and insufficient the grounds of their pride are He puts them in fear that they may know themselves to be but Men. There are such great and just Allays of the vain Mind such Correctives of Pride that it is strange that any temporal Prosperity should occasion swelling Arrogance The Psalmist considering the Glory of God shining in the Heavens is in an extasy at his condescending Goodness What is Man that thou art mindful of him or the Son of Man that thou regardest him His Original is from the Earth the lowest
Element all that he possesses to supply his want and satisfy his desires is from pure Mercy and the more eminent the advantage of some is above others in this World the greater are their Receits and Obligations and who would be proud that he is in a mighty Debt rich and poor honourable and mean are distinctions among Men but in respect to God all are equally mean and low Neither do these things give any inherent worth and make Persons more acceptable to God Poor Lazarus who was a miserable Spectacle his Body corroded with Ulcers yet had a precious Soul under it the glorious Angels descended from Heaven to receive it at the point of Death and convey it to the reviving presence of God but the rich Man was cast into Hell Besides how uncertain are all the admired things of this World Is he truly rich whose whole Estate lies in a Ship abroad that is to pass through Seas exposed to Tempests and infested with Pirats and runs a double hazard of being rob'd or cast away And the Consideration thereof is a proper Argument to cause us to keep a low Mind in a high Condition 'T is the Apostle's counsel Let the rich and the great in the World rejoice in that he is made low because as the Flower of the Grass he shall pass away when the florid Beauty is displayed it presently withers How many survive their Estates and Dignities and by unforeseen Revolutions become poor and low Many that were overflowing in Riches and Pleasures are as dry and desolate as the Desart And is it not a disparagement to our Reason to admire Shadows and be proud of transient Vanities But suppose they continue with Men here can they preserve the Body from Diseases and Death or the Soul from oppressing Sorrows And is it not miserable folly to pride themselves in secular Greatness that is so insufficient to prevent the worst Evils But especially the consideration how Man is vilified by Sin should make him be abased and low in his own Eyes As that blessed Martyr Bishop Hooper says Lord I am Hell thou art Heaven I am a Sinck of Sin thou art the Fountain of Holiness And the more gracious and bountiful God is to Men the more sinful should they appear to themselves Humility discovers our native Poverty in the midst of rich Abundance our true Vileness in the midst of glittering Honours that nothing is ours but Sin and Misery and makes us say with the Spirit of that humble Saint We are less than the least of all God's Mercies Now the more of Humility the more of Heaven is in the Soul 't is that disposition that prepares it to receive the Graces and Comforts of the Spirit in an excellent degree God resists the Proud the Self-conceited and Aspiring he is at defiance with and abhors them he justly deprives them of Spiritual Treasures who value themselves and bear it high for the abundance of this World But he gives Grace to the Humble The due sense of our Wants and Unworthiness makes us fit to partake of Divine Blessings 2. A meek temper and deportment is an excellent preservative from the evil of Prosperity Humility and Meekness are always in conjunction and most amiable in the Eyes of God and Men. A meek and quiet Spirit which is in the sight of God of great price They are the brightest Jewels that adorn Humanity and shin'd so gloriously in our blessed Saviour the supream Pattern of Perfection and are propounded as signally imitable by us Learn of me for I am meek and lowly When he came in his Regal Office he is thus described Rejoice greatly O Daughter of Sion Behold thy King cometh unto thee he is just and having Salvation lowly the Church is excited to rejoice in his mild Monarchy And Christians who in Profession are his Disciples are commanded to be gentle and to shew all meekness to all Men. This especially concerns those who are in a superior Order for Prosperity is apt to make Men insolent and intollerable and to treat with an haughty roughness those that are below them But there is nothing more becoming Men in Prosperity and Power than a sweetness of Spirit not easily provok'd by Injuries and easily pardoning them a gracious condescension exprest in Words and Actions even to all Inferiors And especially meekness is necessary in a submissive receiving Reproofs for Sin whether by the Ministry of the Word or by a faithful Friend Prosperity is never more dangerous than when Sin takes sanctuary in it when Men think Riches and Power to be a privilege to free them from sound and searching Reproof and damn themselves with less contradiction And an humble submission with respect to the Authority of God and an ingenious tractableness with respect to the sincere affection of those who are faithful in their Counsels for our Souls is an eminent instance of Meekness and preserves from the danger of Prosperity 3. Solmn and affectionate Thanksgiving to God for his Mercies sanctifies Prosperity This is the certain consequent of an humble disposition of Soul Pride smothers the Receits of God's Favours Thankfulness is the homage of Humility This is infinitely due to God who renews our Lives as often as we breath and renews his Mercies every moment yet so unjust and ungrateful are Men especially in Prosperity that they strangely neglect it From hence are those Divine Warnings so solemnly repeated to the Israelites When thou shalt have eaten and art full then beware lest thou forget the Lord. And lest when thou hast eaten and art full and hast built goodly Houses and dwelt therein then thy heart be lifted up and thou forget the Lord thy God This was the wicked effect of their Prosperity According to their pasture so were they filled they were filled and their heart was exalted therefore have they forgotten me There is a great backwardness in a carnal heart to thanksgiving for Mercies Prayer in our distress is a Work of Necessity but thankful Praise is an Act of Duty carnal Love is the cause of the one divine Love of the other Even David how ardently does he excite his Soul to the performing this Duty Bless the Lord O my Soul and all that is within me bless his Holy Name Bless the Lord O my Soul and forget not all his Benefits The earnest and repeated Address to make a lively and fervent Impression upon his Soul is a tacit intimation of the drowsy negligence he found in himself This Duty is Spiritual and to be performed by the Soul that is our noble part and capable to understand our Obligations to the Divine Goodness Indeed 't is often exprest in the vocal praises of God for there is a natural correspondence between the Tongue and the Heart as between the Hand of a Clock and the Motion of the Wheels within but the chief part is performed in the Soul and is only of value and acceptance
the lower Appetites is natural to Men but chiefly incident to those in Prosperity The great care of such should be to use worldly things with that modesty and measure that the Divine Part the Soul may be untainted by them that it may neither overvalue nor overdelight in them The first degeneracy of Man is by sensual satisfaction This expell'd him from Paradise and keeps him out ever since The excess of Pleasures darken the Mind stupify the Conscience extinguish the radiancy and vigour of the Spirit Wine and Women take away the Heart The Apostle speaks of those who are abandon'd to Pleasures they are past feeling without a quick and tender sense of their Sin and Danger That we may not in an unlawful degree use lawful things we should always be ordered by the Principles of Fear and Restraint not indulging our selves to the utmost of what may seem allowed for to be upon the Confines of Sin exposes us to be easily overthrown by the next gust of a temptation 'T is a Divine Command that Christians should rejoice as tho they rejoiced not and buy as tho they possessed not and use the World as not abusing it A Christian should converse with the World as a carnal Person converses with Heaven he prays for spiritual Blessings with that coldness as if he had no desire to obtain them he hears the Word with that carelessness as if he had no desire to profit by it He performs other Religious Duties without a Heart as if he had no desire to be saved such an indifferency of Spirit in outward Enjoyments is our Duty and Safety 'T is a prodigious disorder and the great Cause of the Sins and Miseries of Men that their Affections are lavishly wasted upon Trifles their Love Desires and Delights are let forth in their full vigour to the Honours Riches and Pleasures of this World but are wretchedly remiss to spiritual and eternal things They would enjoy the World as their Heaven and Felicity and use God for their Necessity And thus by embracing vanishing Shadows they lose the most substantial and durable Good 'T is a Point of great wisdom to consider the several respects of temporal things as they respect our sensitive Part and the present Life and as they respect our Souls and the future State and to use them that the outward Man may be a more active and ready Instrument of the Soul in working out our own Salvation 6. Let the Favour of God and Communion with him be most precious and joyful to us in the midst of Prosperity The highest esteem and most ravishing apprehensions of God the dearest delight in him as the most excellent suitable Good and in whom the Soul has the most intimate propriety is the honour due to his incomparable Perfection The Holy Psalmist often declares his transcendent Valuation and inflamed Affection towards God How precious are thy Thoughts unto me O God! no artifice of words could fully express it how great is the sum of them If I should count them they are more in number than the Sand when I awake I am still with thee As if he breathed not oftner than he thought of God with reverence and complacency Thus also he despises all that carnal Men pursue with violent desires in comparison of God's Favour There be many that say Who will shew us any Good that is a sensual Good for nothing is pleasant to them but what appears in a fleshly fashion Lord lift thou up the light of thy Countenance upon us Thou hast put gladness in my heart more than in the time that their Corn and their Wine increased The carnal Man who is a stranger to spiritual Joys has a sweeter relish of carnal things than a Saint that has a new Nature that deads the Appetite to dreggy Delights and in the Vintage and Harvest there is a Spring-tide of carnal Joy yet David feels a more inward joy and cordial contentment in the fruition of God's Favour than a natural Man has in the flower of his worldly Felicity Nay he prizes the Favour of God before Life it self which is our most precious possession in this World Thy loving kindness is better than Life therefore my lips shall praise thee Communion with God is the beginning of Heaven and differs from the fulness of Joy that is in the Divine Presence above only in the degrees and manner of Fruition As the Blushes of the Morning are the same Light with the glorious brightness of the Sun at Noon-day The natural Man is averse from this heavenly Duty and most in Prosperity 'T is the observation of holy Job They spend their days in Wealth therefore they say to the Almighty Depart from us we desire not the knowledg of thy Ways 'T is the malignant property of worldly things to deface the Notions and cause a disrelish of sublime and spiritual things The Objects that pleasantly affect the carnal Faculties draw the Soul from God This is the principal and universal temptation of the present World by the corruption of our Hearts and never so dangerous as in our Prosperity 'T is a rule in Building that chief care must be taken for the contriving of Windows for the transmission of a liberal Light to refresh the Inhabitants Now to build in a Plain where the Heavens are open on all sides and the pure Light shines 't is easy to make the House convenient but to raise a luminous Fabrick in a City thick set with Houses and straitned for room requires Art and the Building must be higher thus a Person that is surrounded with the Honours Riches and Pleasures of the World that are so apt to darken the Soul and to exclude the Influences of Heaven has need of holy Skill to preserve a free communication with God and to be always receptive of his Grace Then holy Duties should be frequent and fervent wherein the Soul ascends to God by raised desires and God descends into the Soul by the Operations of his sanctifying and comforting Spirit And as we see in Nature the Flowers of every kind open their Leaves to the rising Sun to be reviv'd with his vital Heat so we should every day open our Hearts to God in Prayer and Praises And since all his Mercies invite and conduct us to the blessed Author and temporal Benefits are sensible Arguments of his Love those who most richly enjoy them are obliged infinitely more to value and delight in the Giver than in the Gifts themselves If the Heart be set upon Riches which 't is very apt to be when they increase or upon pleasures God is neglected and vilified and tho many are not openly vicious and profane yet so pleasantly the things of the World insinuate into their Affections that they cannot taste how good the Lord is a sad indication of their unregenerate state for the Divine Nature in a Saint inclines him to God as his supream Good his only
natural Inchantment makes an exorbitant Figure a Dwarf to appear a Giant Now as Pride is the usual Concomitant of Prosperity so there is no Passion so inseparable from Pride and so proper to it as Anger By Pride comes Contention 't is the observation of the wisest Man confirm'd by universal Experience Pride makes Men imperious and impatient boisterous and stormy against all that offend them Pride Anger and Revenge like Serpents twine and wreath about one another Pride interprets an Offence as an high Contempt and raises Anger and Anger provok'd takes proportionable revenge to the conceived Injury We have a Tragical Instance of this recorded in Scripture * Hazael when foretold by the mourning Prophet that he would stain himself with the Innocent Blood of the Israelites slay their young Men with the Sword and dash their Children and rip up their Women with Child He startled at it as an execrable Cruelty And Hazael said But what is thy Servant a Dog that he should do this great thing And Elisha answered The Lord hath shewed me that thou shalt be King over Syria When advanc'd to empire he devested humanity Pride armed with Power is furious at opposition and the flaming Passion like a frightful Comet presages and produces terrible Effects Thus 't is evident how the Lusts of the Flesh are fomented by Prosperity 2. Prosperity inclines Sinners to an impious neglect of God that is a Sin of the highest Nature and prolifick of innumerable Evils All Sin is an irregularity either in the excess or the defective Extreme either in overvaluing and loving the Creature or in the disesteem and indifference to the Creator and Prosperity increases the aversion of the carnal Heart from God in the same degrees as it strengthens the propensity to the World For the opening this it will be necessary to consider the essential and eternal Respects due from the reasonable Creature to God And they are four comprehensive of all the rest 1. A solemn thankful recognition of him as the Author of our Beings and all the Comforts we enjoy 2. Supreme love to him 3. An humble fear of his Displeasure 4. Entire obedience to his Will As in this regular Universe every kind of being has its proper End so it cannot be denied without the most evident absurdity that God in all these respects is the chief End of Man 1. A solemn thankful recognition of God as the Author of our Beings and all our Comforts is continually due to him The neglect of this is so contumelious to the Majesty and Glory of God and so contrary to those most binding Obligations to his Mercy and Goodness that 't is an Offence infinitely provoking In every Transgression the authority of the Lawgiver is despised but this immediatly reflects dishonour upon the Deity As a common Felony is a breach of the King's Laws but Treason not only violates his Laws but strikes immediatly at his Person and Dignity Now Prosperity inclines sensual Persons to this wretched neglect of God The World with all its desirable things has the Dominion and full Possession of the Understandings Memories and Hearts of Men and serious Thoughts with warm Affections towards God are banish'd from them 'T is the Character of a Wicked Person but most proper to him in his Prosperity God is not in all his thoughts Of this Impiety there are several Degrees the highest is explicit Atheism a disbelief of God and his Providence of his Being and Bounty and this is sometimes occasioned by plentiful Prosperity And the Consequences are Pride that blasts the Mind as it were with Lightning and Confidence in the things of this World Of this we have astonishing Instances in the Scripture Nebuchadnezzar transported in a vain-glorious flush of Joy at the view of his magnificent Works breaks forth in those lofty insolent Expressions Is not this great Babel that I have built for the House of my Kingdom by the might of my Power and the honour of my Majesty as if he had been raised by his own power and did not owe his Greatness to the King of Heaven Thus 't is charg'd against the Prince of Tyrus Thy Heart is lifted up because of thy Riches and thou hast said I am a God and sit in the Seat of God and thou sets thine Heart as the Heart of God He presum'd that his Throne for Glory and Stability was like the Divine Kingdom that cannot be shaken and forgot that he was a frail Man in a mutable World Plentiful Prosperity is so strong a Temptation to Atheism that a wise and holy Saint earnestly deprecated it as a pernicious Snare Give me not Riches lest I be full and deny thee and say Who is the Lord The Carnal Heart in the full fruition of the World is apt to ascribe all to the course of Nature or to humane Contrivance and Endeavours without any serious acknowledgment of the Divine Liberality and Beneficence Prodigious Ingratitude and equal Folly As if one should imagine that a Fountain of Water had not its original from the Sea but from the Marble Stones through which it immediatly and visibly springs Or as if it were requisite the Hand of the Giver should be as visible as his Gifts Now altho few arrive to this heighth of Impiety in actual Thoughts and open Words yet prosperous Sinners are always guilty of an interpretative and virtual denial of God they have not a solemn grateful remembrance of their Benefactor and his Benefits and a due sense of their dependance upon him It was the wise and holy Counsel of Moses to Israel When they should be possest of Canaan a place full of delight and profit * When thou shalt have eaten and art full then beware lest thou forget the Lord. The Caution so enforc'd intimates a sinful disposition in the carnal Heart in Prosperity to neglect God There may be a notional remembrance of him in the Mind a naked ascription of all good things to his Providence a complemental visit in exterior Worship yet without an inward cordial sense of our dear Obligations for his most free Favours The Apostle charges the Rich in this World not to trust in uncertain Riches but in the living God So foolishly are Men prone to depend for protection reputation and provision of all things upon their Estates as if they were unconsumable and neglect God their Rock who is the alone sufficient Foundation of all our Hopes and Comfort 2. Supreme Love to God is an indispensable Duty from Men upon the account of his most amiable Excellencies and Benefits Thou shalt love the Lord with all thy Heart with all thy Soul with all thy Strength and with all thy Mind this is the first and great Commandment and consequently a coldness and indifferency to God much more a strong aversion from him is a sin of the most heinous nature now Prosperity has a special malignity to disincline the Heart from God The supreme