a sound heart he must live upon the word he cannot go a day and not read the word nor meditate on the promises that 's a sickly if not a dead heart which doth so but a sound heart will be feeding upon sound truths relish and digest the same Thirdly A heart that is sound in the Statutes of God doth look at the Statutes of God for themselves for their own sakes many you know do look at learning they will learn at the Grammar School and they will profit at the University but they do not look at learning for learning but for credit and to get a living and be some body in the world this is base So many look at the Statutes of God but not for the Statutes sake but that they may be encreased in knowledge and be sav'd at last but a sound heart looks at Gods Statutes for themselves in Psal 119. I have chosen the way of truth and v. 31. I have stuck unto thy Testimonies O God and he saith he doth prize them above thousands of Gold and Silver and above great spoils and they are his Songs in the house of his Pilgrimage why he look'd at them for themselves O! Gods Statutes they are such precious truths that let me have them though I have nothing of the world Some you know look at a Diamond because of the shining and sparkling of it self not because they shall Merchandize with it and make themselves rich So that 's sound when a man looks at Gods divine truths they are full of Glory they are beams of Gods wisdom there 's excellency in them this argues soundness of heart but many look at the truths of God as suitable to their humours they have such a lust and this will agree with their lust and so they will pick here and there which argues unsoundness as a sickly Stomach will pick a bit here and there but a sound heart looks at Gods Statutes for themselves and that excellency and worth is in them Fourthly A sound heart labours to know the will of God and seeing it to be the will of God sticks not at hard things at reproachful things let the things be never so hard never so reproachful it sticks not at it well is this the will of God saith the sound heart I will embrace it saith Christ It is written in the volume of thy Book that I should do thy will and loe I come but consider what this will is thou must be a servant thou must be persecuted into Egypt thy life must be sought among the little Children thou must be accounted an enemy to Caesar a breaker of the Sabbath thou must be reproach'd and hanged upon a Cross and be Crucifyed between Thieves and Murderers what wilt thou go now I it 's written in the volume of thy Book that I must do thy will and loe I come he sticks not at any or all of these things saith God to Abraham Abraham go and Sacrifice your onely Son Isaac unto me O Lord might he say this is a hard business what murder my Son what will my Wife say it will be her death what will the Nations say here was a bloody man to murther his Son and so I may be put to death for it I but it was the will of God and so he stuck not at it Fifthly a sound heart may be known by this that it is willing and ready to part with any thing for the Lords sake saith a sound heart what will this do me good if I lose my integrity if I lose my sincerity if I lose now my fitness to do God service by defiling my self what shall I get you know the young man comes to Christ and saith Good Master what shall I do to inherit eternal life saith he keep the Commandements Why all these things have I kept from my youth up saith Christ go and sell all that thou hast and give to the poor and come and follow me and thou shalt have treasure in heaven One would think here had been promise enough for him and treasure enough for him but he had rotten principles in him he had the world in him his heart was for the world and the creature and nothing of it for God Simon Magus went further than this man did he was a Professor and got into a Church Relation he brings out his bags of Gold and Silver and would give them to the Apostles that he might have that power they had to give the Holy Ghost but saith Peter thy heart is not right therefore pray if it be possible that the thoughts of thy heart may be forgiven thee But now a gracious heart indeed will part with all saith Paul I account all less and dung Phil. 3. All my priviledges all my learning all that ever I have I account it loss and dung for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ and say the Disciples Master we have left all to follow thee and you know Galeatius left all for Christs sake and comes to Geneva that he might enjoy the Gospel And the Martyrs they left their lives what dearer than a mans life yet they were ready to let go their lives rather then to let go their foundness Sixthly A sound heart is that which doth fill up all its relations what relation soever it stands in towards God towards man towards the publick towards its family it will fill up its relations Acts 24.16 saith Paul herein do I exercise my self to have alwayes a Conscience void of offence towards God and towards man saith Paul I stand in relation to God and I do exercise my self in this that I may have my Conscience cleer and free I will do all my duties towards God that he calls for otherwise I shall not have a Conscience free and towards men in every relation I stand in towards men I am careful to fill up those relations So that a sound heart is wonderful cautious in doing any thing in any relation that may not fill up its relation as Joshua Ch. 24.15 Let others do what they will I and my house will serve the Lord Others will serve their lusts and serve the times and serve men and serve Devils but I and my house will serve the Lord I am Master of this Family and I will see my Wife and Children and Servants and all under my roof to serve the Lord so saith God of Abraham I know that he will instruct and teach his Family Gen. 18.19 And so David in Psal 101. I will walk in my house with a perfect heart I will not suffer a wicked person to stay within my Family No Drunkard no Swearer no Sabbath-Breaker no prophane wretch shall stay in my Family So that a sound heart fills up its relations some make no Conscience at all of their places they are unfaithful they can hardly be trusted in any place they are in but they have no sound hearts Husbands to Wives Wives to Husbands if not
them to do them good to build them up so far was he from seeking himself in his calling Thirdly For a man to seek to be rich in his calling and to make that his end is against that great and glorious principle of the Gospel self-denyal It 's a great principle and a glorious truth self-denyal in the 16. Matth. saith our blessed Saviour v. 24. If any man will come after me let him deny himself and take up his Crose and follow me he must deny himself now if I make gain or profit my end in my calling I dont deny my self but I set up my self and this is complained of by the Apostle Phil. 2.21 Every man seeks his own things and no man seeks the things of Christ every man is for himself his own honour profit and pleasure and dont deny himself Now self-denyal is a great and glorious truth that every man and woman should take notice of and put in practice else he is none of the Disciples of the Lord Christ Fourthly It is but a base and low end and directly against Scripture for a man to propound gain in his calling to be his end Prov. 23.4 Labour not to be rich that must not be your end most men do labour to be rich and to be great in the world but it should not be their end Labour not to be rich so that it 's directly against the Scripture it self Joh. 6.27 Labour not for the meat that perisheth but labour for that which endures to everlasting life There should be a mans end to labour for the meat that endureth to everlasting life and not for the meat that perisheth Fifthly Lastly men should follow a calling whether they get any gain or no they are to follow a calling and that to glorifie God God set Adam in a calling that he might glorifie him 1 Cor. 10.31 Whether ye eat or drink or whatsoever ye do do all to the glory of God This should be the end of men in their callings do all to the glory of God And in the 6. Eph. 5 6 7. speaking of servants in their calling Servants be obedient to them that are your Masters according to the flesh with fear and trembling in singleness of your heart as unto Christ They must serve Christ and glorifie Christ in their callings be they never so mean the lowest and meanest Servant in a family should serve Christ Not with Eye-service as men-pleasers but as the Servants of Christ doing the will of God from the heart with good will doing service as to the Lord and not to men They should not be men-pleasers they should not seek themselves but serve the Lord and seek to honour the Lord knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doth the same shall he receive of the Lord whether he be bond or free They shall have a reward of the Lord if they be right in their callings and dont make gain profit to be their aim end And so much for that question I shall now come to the uses of the point that those that are in a state of grace whether they be little children or young men or fathers ought not to love the world or the things of it Vse 1. This doth inform us of the corruption of our natures which are very prone to love the world and the things of the world and therefore God gives a flat prohibition Love not the world nor the things of the world intimating that men and women since the fall are most prone to lvoe the creature for in their fall they were turned from God to the creature to leave the creator and to run to the creature and we are so turned to the creature that we do Idolize the creatures affect the creatures dote upon the creature and spend our time and strength about creatures and forget God and the things of God The water is not more prone to run downward nor the fire to go upwards then our hearts are to run out to creatures this is common to all men an universal sickness and disease in all men and their hearts and natures are exceeding corrupt that are so prone to these things that are forbidden It should humble us that we are so corrupt and go the wrong way and mind poor perishing vain things and neglect God himself who only can say I am that I am I am Substance and Being I am excellency I am worthy of love and yet I am not beloved 2. If those in a state of grace should not love the world nor the things of the world then I infer from hence that the number of such is very few there are very few that are truly in the state of grace very few little children very few young men very few fathers that love not the world the love of the world is so common that it proclaims to the world they have no grace or but seeming grace not saving grace All men seek their own saith Paul no man the things of Christ 't was so in the Apostles dayes they loved the world the things of the world the honours of the world and the preferments of the world and places of power and riches and pleasures and things of that nature which were sutable to the flesh and the old man they loved these and Christ was not regarded so in the Revelations All the world wondered after the Beast 'T is rare to find a man estranged from the world to live above the world Our conversation saith Paul is in Heaven where is a man now whose conversation is in Heaven 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 our Common-wealth is in heaven we are Citizens of heaven our affections are in heaven our trading is in heaven 't is very rare to find such a man Thirdly If such should not love the world then those who are gracious godly should be content with a little of the world a little of the world should serve their turns a little will suffice nature and less will suffice grace a little will carry us to our Journeys end and 't is not wisdom to load our selves with thick clay when we have a Journey to go a Race to run The Apostle saith in the 13. Heb. 5. Let your conversation be without covetousness and be content with such things as ye have You are Christians you are in a Church state you are Young men you are Children you are Fathes be content with such things as ye have and be not covetous after the world and the things of the world and in the 1 Tim. 6.7 We brought nothing into this world and it is certain we can carry nothing out and having food and rayment let us be therewith content A gracious heart should consider I brought nothing into the world I shall carry nothing our if I have Food and Rayment and things convenient for me while I am in the world what should I trouble my self any further to moyl and labour and keep a do for I know
goods be lost to morrow may be a fire in thine house therefore wilt thou set thine Eyes upon that which is not But if we get grace that will continue with us if we get peace and joy none can take them from us if we get interest in Christ none can pluck us out of his hand Thirdly Suppose we do get them and we can keep them yet they will not satisfie our souls and therefore to be put upon that which will not satisfie and let go that which will satisfie the soul is unreasonable Eccles 5.10 He that loveth Silver shall not be satisfied therewith If we love the world the honours the pleasures or any thing in the world we shall not be satisfied with it for every creature hath a cranny in it yea there is a curse goes along with it In the 6. Mich. 14 15. Thou shalt eat but not be satisfied and thy casting down shall be in the midst of thee Thou shalt be cast down though thou gettest never so much And that which thou deliverest will I give up to the Sword Thou shalt sow but thou shalt not reap thou shalt tread the Olives but thou shalt not anoint thee with oyl and sweet wine but shalt not drink wine There 's a vacuum in all creatures every creature hath but dry breasts it will not yield that which we expect and look for at it There is not that in Riches and Honours or Trades or Health or Wives or Children or Estates which men expect Haman had great honour and greatness in the world as much as a man could desire yet he wants Mordecai's cruse and that doth sowâ— all unto him There is vanity and vexation in all estates and conditions Solomon hath written that Inscription upon all things here in the world Vanity of vanities all is vanity and vexation of spirit Therefore to love the world and the things of it puts us upon unreasonable things But now the things of God are better than the things of the world Fourthly it puts us upon the worst things all the things in the world are perishing things but the things of God are durable things These things are but Dogs meat as Paul calls them but the things of God and of Heaven and of the Kingdom they are excellent things There 's an excellency in grace there 's an excellency in the knowledge of Christ now we let these things go and choose the other that 's unreasonable Thirdly We should not love the world because it 's scandalous to the wayes and things of God when professors are as the men of the world it is a scandal unto the wayes of God To love it and the things of it so that nothing appears but a profession of Religion 2 Tim. 3.5 Having a form of Godliness but denying the power Who are those that have a form of Godliness but deny the power Covetous men lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God Now this brings a great scandal upon the wayes of God that men of the world say these Professors are as covetous as any love the world as much as any and early up and down late and as greedy after the things of the world as any others whatsoever what 's in their Religion so that hereby Religion suffers The Spies brought up an ill report upon the Land of Canaan So these bring up an ill report upon God and his Ordinances upon the Milk and Honey that is in that Land indeed They are ready to say such and such are great professors and make a noise in the world but Silver comes from them as a joynt from the body as blood from their veins they are so hard that there 's nothing to be gotten from them In Matth. 18.7 Woe be to the world because of offences And one of the great offences that comes is from Professors because they love the world so much Fourthly As it is scandalous so it is idolatrous when men love the world they make an Idol of the world The world hath their hearts their heart is glewed to the world Eph. 5.5 Nor covetous man who is an Idolater and in the 3d. Collos he tells you that covetousness is Idolatry We cry out of the Papists that they set up Images and Pictures and bow to them and we are greater Idolaters our selves if we love the world and the things of the world We set up Idols and Pictures in our hearts and certainly Idolatry is a great sin and an Idolater is a grievous sinner We would be loath to have that imputation fastened upon us to be Idolaters and yet if we love the world we are Idolaters and live in Idolatry Fifthly It 's a dangerous thing to love the world A man that loves the world whose bent is that way is in danger of two or three things 1. A man that loves the world by little and little grows a stranger to God a stranger to Christ we cannot at once have our eyes upon Heaven and upon Earth too When we are between two men or two mountains the nearer we draw to one the further we go off from the other So the further we go off from God the more we love the world When men do love the Cistern they leave the Fountain all the creatures they are but Cisterns and when our hearts run out to these then we leave God who is the Fountain 2. Another evil is that we grow acquainted with the worlds wayes and the wayes of worldlings we grow acquainted with their shifts and their over-reachings and their plots and designs and customs and many times with their oaths and wicked courses and we are defiled and hardened thereby 3. We expose our selves to divers Temptations and Snares which are hurtful Those that will be rich fall into a snare and into a temptation and many hurtful lusts 't is a thousand to one if we dont lose a good Conscience thereby Nay we are in danger of losing our very souls by loving the world and the things of the world In the 19. Matth. 23. Then said Jesus unto his Disciples verily I say unto you that a rich man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven What a danger is that man in that loves the world and the things of the world in danger of losing Heaven of losing his soul what will it profit a man to win the world and lose his soul And he that loves the world he is labouring to get the world and be great in the world and so to hazzard his soul 'T is dangerous to love the world Sixthly We should not love the world because it puts us upon impossibilities Matth. 6.24 No man can serve two Masters for either he will hate the one and love the other or else he will hold to the one and despise the other Ye cannot serve God and Mamon The Lord Jesus Christ tells you 't is an impossibility to serve God and Mamon every man saith I will serve God and love God I were not
worthy to live else but if we love the world we dont serve God and love God we cannot serve God and Mamon Mamon is Riches 't is an impossible thing and therefore the Lord Christ when he was tempted by the Devil Matth. 4.10 saith he Get thee hence Satan for it is written Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him onely shalt thou serve I cannot hearken to thy Temptations to imbrace the world no 't is impossible him Onely shalt thou serve God Onely is to be served and we cannot serve two Masters whosoever loves the world hath two Masters to serve God and the world and 't is impossible to serve them both Seventhly We should not love the world because hereby we make God our enemy 'T was a sad thing when God said to Jer. Behold I am against thee I am thy enemy to have the great God the Lord of Hosts the Lord of Sabbaths the Lord of Heaven and Earth to be our Enemy O dreadful whosoever loves the world is the enemy of God in 4. James 4. Ye Adulterers and Adulteresses know ye not that the friendship of the world is enemity with God That 's more than an Enemy Enmity to God Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the Enemy of God Would you be enemies to God Love the World If you would not be enemies to God dont love the world Better have all the world our enemy than God our enemy all the world to be against us than God to be against us And in Psal 10. It 's said The covetous whom God abhors A man of a covetous heart and covetous affections is greedy of the world and loves the world God abhors him To have God our enemy is sad what will become of that man or woman that hath God for their enemy The love of the world doth make God our enemy Eighthly We should not love the world because it makes us expensive of time which is better than the world Would any man lay out Gold and Silver for Straws and Stubble and Chips and Butterflyes and such things as these Those that love the world are at greater expences than the world is worth and they give that for the world which is better than the world The best things of the world are the riches and honours and pleasures and preferments and learning and gifts but now our souls are better than all these better than the whole world What shall a man give in exchange for his soul all the world is not worth one soul one soul is worth a Million of worlds Now to lay out our time strength understandings and souls about the world and the things of the world what expences are we at we give too much for the world the world is not worthy of our affections understandings strengths hearts therefore see what the Prophet saith in Isa 55.2 he comes there with a vehement expostulation wherefore do you spend money for that which is not bread 'T is not bread when you get it It 's not any thing will satisfie or advantage your souls And you labour for that which satisfieth not So that we are at too great cost and too great expences when we love the world and labour to get the world and buy it at so dear a rate Ninthly We should not love the world because it imbaseth the understanding that most noble faculty of the soul The world doth imbase our understandings and imbase our spirits our understanding was made and given us for God and for heavenly things that we might have Communion with God by virtue of our understanding and reason and apprehension and fall in with God Now if the Body be for God as in 1 Cor. 6.13 much more the soul and the understanding is for God and for heavenly things and not for the Earth and earthly things Now the world doth imbase our understandings for what is the world it's a meer dirty thing Rom. 8.20.22 You shall see that the world is subject to corruption subject to vanity the world is in bondage to corruption and the world lyes in wickedness 1 Joh. 5.19 It lyes like a piece of Carrion in a Ditch it lyes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the wicked one in the Devil And what can the world contribute to your understanding now to do you good No it imbases the understanding and makes the soul earthly drossy muddy and miery Now will you imbase a noble Soul to a dirty World in Dan. 2. There is mention made of a great Image and what was the best of that Image the Feet are Clay and the Legs are Iron and the Thighs are Brass and the Belly is Silver and the Head is Gold the best is but Gold and Silver and they are rusty things perishing things and these do imbase a noble Heroical Soul to be bowed down to these things for the Soul becomes that which it loves if it loves the earth it is an earthly soul Tenthly The world it is of a damning nature and therefore we should not love it The world doth not onely indanger us but it drowns the soul in perdition 1 Tim. 6.9 They that will be rich fall into Temptation and a Snare and into many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition The soul is drown'd in perdition whosoever is a lover of the world is a child of the world and so is a Son of perdition It 's said of the man of sin he is a Son of perdition the world doth make men leave Christ in the 19. Matth. 22. There 's a young man comes to Christ Master what shall I do to inherit eternal life keep the Commandments saith Christ He saith unto him which Jesus said Thou shalt do no Murther Thou shalt not commit Adultery c. The young man saith unto him all these things have I kept from my youth up what lack I yet Jesus saith unto him if thou wilt be perfect go and sell that thou hast and give to the poor and thou shalt have treasure in Heaven and come and follow me but he leaves Christ he went away sorrowful saith the Text why he had great Possessions So the Scribes and Pharises they leave Christ for their Credit Joh. 12.42 43. So in the 8. Matth. 34. The Gadarens desire Christ to be gone out of their Countrey they would have none of Christ but they loved their Swine which were drown'd in the Sea and the world drown'd them in perdition Eleventhly The world is a great enemy to growth in grace and Communion with God for the world and the things of it divert the heart from spiritual things Martha is cumbred about many things and diverted from Christ and hearing of him So in Matth. 13.22 He also saith Christ that received seed among the Thornes is he that heareth the word and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word and he becometh unfruitful So that the love of the world