cherish in your hearts is the due love of God and the love of thy neighbour and this will be an excellent weapon to keepe under covetousnesse for if a man do love God and love his neighbour as he ought at least it will take him off from all basenesse of covetousnesse hee will not be base to the service of God pinching his soule forbearing to allow any thing to the advancement of the kingdome of Christ nor will he bee injurious to oppresse and defraud his neighbour if he be not altogether for himselfe for covetousnesse ariseth extremely from selfe-love when a man regards not God nor his neighbour hee cares not whom he pinches from so hee may advance himselfe now the love of God and of his neighbour will be a great preservative and there fore labour to ingraff those affections in thy heart 3. The third payre of graces which I would have you to labour for is heavenly mindednesse and contentednesse if a man be heavenly minded that his face is towards Ierusalem towards heaven if that be the great designe of his life it will infinitely keepe him off from covetousnesse he will not stoop to those base things as rich men do because he hath more high thoughts and a more generouâ— aime his mind is not set on the world but on heaven what needs he trouble himself with the cares of the world which hath placed all his happinesse in heaven And so for a contented spirit as the Apostle speakes godlinesse with contentednesse is great gaine and for he which can frame himselfe to a contented spirit a little will suffice if he have but food and raiment meere necessities a contented SERM. III spirit can rest quiet and not restlesly reach after great things in the world 4. Labour to get and to cherish both faith and spirituall wisdome it would be an excellent preservative in this case if a man get faith a true and lively faith and adherence to Christ bring Christ into thy heart the love of Christ and the prizing of him and adherence to Christ will infinitely make Dagon fall as Dagon fell before the Arke so this breakes the neck of all sinnes all will fall to the ground and particularly this base sinne faith in the assurance of Gods promise that I believe the promises of God in his word that he will not leave forsake or faile them in their necessaries which are carefull not to faile in dutie towards him this faith will bee an admirable antidote against covetousnesse Spirituall wisdome also is a great helpe for the root of all the poyson is not any defect in the actions or affections but in the understanding if men were wise to know the great good and to desire what was most desirable and advantagious for them they were then in the right way to put themselves towards that great thing but if men bee foolish and thinke all lieth in wealth nothing else is worth talking of but wealth nothing will make a man really good which hath any feeling with it but so much wealth if a man be thus poysoned with these foolish conceits he will despise and undervalue all the wisdome and all the godlinesse and the excellencie that is in any man measuring all excellencie according to a mans estate SERM. III as indeed the world goes too farre this way all Magistracie is chosen by estate all reputation by estate these things do secretly poyson and as the wiseman saith that estate will never excell in vertue in which there is a high price set on riches if men would get spirituall wisdome to discerne the excellency of things and to moderate a mans selfe according to the worth of things it would bee a good meanes to keepe backe the overweaning after wealth which hinders the growth of goodnes and advances covetousnesse There be these habituall graces that must bee gotten into the heart 2. I shall give you a briefe touch of the other branch There be some other things actuall to be done which are of great importance I will mention all in foure steps and degrees and but meerely name them 1. We must watch 2. We must pray 3. We must strive 4. We must meditate upon those things which may give us victorie 1. Wee must watch against and take heed lest we be surprized and drawn unawares to it 2. We must also pray against it many sinnes we fall into because we beg not Gods assistance if we would pray ingenuously and sincerely as David did Lord incline my heart unto thy testimonies and not to covetousnesse if men make their daily prayers unto God especially those which finde themselves prone thereto as every one should do against his master sinne it would be an excellent meanes to preserve the soule from this sinne 3. We must strive against it labour to mortifie these our members on earth and this amongst the rest we must strive continually and wrastle against this corruption not cherish it and make a darling of it and cockering it because the gaine is sweet but because the sinne is odious therefore we must strive against it 4. Lastly we must meditate upon these things which are conducible to establish the soule against covetousnesse I will runne them over in generall because I cannot go through the particulars 1. Consider the events of it which I named formerly if we did but consider how much it opposeth all good it choakes all gracious thoughts and all the means of grace the very word of God is choaked when a man is brim full of this errour then Gods word cannot enter it opposeth and choakes all the good of nature a man becomes like to a beast or Tiger he hath no bowels of compassion a man hath no noble ingenuous thoughts in him that is covetous hee is all blurred with dirt and the image of God is blotted out 2. Consider how it exposeth to all kindes of evill both of sinne and punishment first of sinne against God and against his neighbour yea against himselfe he is injurious to all and as it exposeth to all evill of sinne so secondly to all evill of punishment to the wrath of God to the scorne of men to all punishments in this life and the life to come it barres a man out of heaven and from any reputation on earth not capable by Gods law of any excellencie neither if all were well should be by mans law And for those arguments I should have propounded which our Saviour mentions in this discourse immediately after the Text I know not any in sacred or prophane writings where it is so admirably pressed as it is here and in those paralell places which I mentioned before Now there bee two steps and degrees of those arguments First hee labours to beat it out of him that disturbed him Secondly out of his Disciples First our Saviour deales more generally with those of his ranck he which came to disturbe him in his heavenly course and then hee proceeds to other
base drudge and the longer he is in it the more beast-like he is the better he likes it and whereas age cures many distempers time when it comes to end frees a man being wearie and having runne themselves out of breath with their foolish waies but covetousnes growes upon a man in his age the nearer a man growes to the earth the greedier he is after the earth his mouth will be full of earth one day and yet quo minor via eo plus viaticum the lesse way he hath to goe the more tenacious he is 4. Which is the principall thing it is a most dangerous sinne a sinne of a dangerous and a hidious consequence I thought now to have demonstrated it by some places of Scripture wherein I should set downe the black stampe and fearefull name that this sinne hath so fearefull that it should make every man shie of it and abhorre it yea the very thoughts of it for there is not a blacker sinn in all the booke of God in some respects of an ordinary morall sinne then this sinne of covetousnesse Some examples I should give I shall briefly touch some of them besides many negative examples which Divines doe observe there is not any one man in Scripture which was noted for a godly man which hath ever beene tainted with this sinne of covetousnesse not any one example though you may meet with examples of many sins yet with none of this Noah was touched with drunkennesse David with murder and adulterie Peter denyed his master we shall not meet with any one instance that the Scripture approves for a godly man that was ever tainted with this sinne it is so little kin to godlinesse not that I will say that there never was any yet it shewes it is very farre from pietie and Christianitie from the way thereof and those affirmative examples that we have of any that were covetous we shall see they are set downe unto us to shew that they are most contemptible persons as the most vile and odious persons to be abhorred I had thought also to have shewed it by ground of reason briefly in generall to touch it but in a word referring the main of this the application to the next time There be two things by which a man may see the danger and follie of this sinne of covetousnesse 1. It opposeth all the good of nature and all the good of grace it checks all graces and the wayes thereof and the whole Spirit of grace it casts a dampe and chokes a man from hearing the Word from doing the worke of the Lord and thriving by the meanes of grace it stifles every grace in the soule the groweth of it it chokes all the good of nature so that a man that is tainted with this sinne hath not commâ—â— humanity no bowels of compassion as though he were made of flint it doth so farre estrange him from the power of the excellency of grace that it degrades him of all the sweetnesse of nature 2. The second generall thing is that it exposeth him to all kinds of wickednesse there is no evill whether of sin or punishment but covetousnesse exposeth a man to 1. It leads a man into a thousand snares hee which is once set on with a greedy desire after the world will not sticke to commit any sinne in the world to run upon the swords point hee is drawn into the trap by the baite suppose a man hold a peece of gold at the end of a sack the Divell hee doth so a covetous man he will creepe into the sack to be catched by the Divell and cast into hell while he goeth into the sack after the gold It exposeth a man to all kind of punishments both because it takes away all that watchfulnesse that men observe not the season of danger hence it is that our Saviour wisheth them to take heed of being overcome with surfeting and drunkennes and the cares of this life lest that day come on them unawares a man which is laden not only with drinke but with luxury he grows wanton and so minds not when evill approacheth to avoid the storme this is the drie drunkennesse the cares of this life if a man be overburdened busie plodding after the world it makes him forgetfull of himselfe I remember a Story of a City in Sicilia being beseiged by the Romanes the maine experienced and most artificiall man in the City was one Archimedes he used many devices and did many wonders but at last for all his stratagems the City was surprized the Souldiers brake in and great meanes was made to finde out Archimedes at last the Souldiers hearing where he was brake into his house and he was in his Studie he never tooke any notice that the Citie was taken when the Souldiers opened his Study doore they found him busie drawing lines in the dust like some Mathematician the Souldiers stood still looking on him at last in scorne and disdaine one of the Souldiers seeing him so barbarous and inhumane drew his sword and killed him much against the Generals minde Although God beseige us round about though the Church be taken and surprized though a mans owne house bee in danger yet if a man be busie drawing lines in the dust after worldly things he will take no notice of any thing nor use any meanes to prevent it see no danger and so not be able to avoid danger LUKE Chap. 12. Ver. 15. SERM. III. And he said unto them take heed and beware of Covetousnesse THere was one point of Doctrine that we propounded out of these words and it was this that covetousnesse was a sinne subtile universall tenacious and dangerous cautiously to be avoided by all and carefully to be watched and warded against Two things wee propounded in the handling of it First to shew what was meant by covetousnes which we have already done Secondly to speake something concerning the predicate what we affirme concerning it which we came to the last time briefly to give you the heades In respect of it self covetousnesse foure things we affirmed First that it was a subtile sinne not easily discerned Second a universall sinne scarce any more or SERM. III. lesse but are covetous all are tainted with it Thirdly that it was a tenacious sin that sticks fast and cleaves close unto us c. Covetousnesse is so revitted into men that we can hardly get it out Fourthly it is a sin of dangerous consequence and great importance I shall only a little inlarge upon that it being the maine thing in the point I will illustrate that partly by Scripture partly by reason I mentioned then though I shall not name all that there were many pregnant Texts of Scripture which represent unto us the dangerous nature and condition of this sinne Colossians 3. 5. Mortifie therefore your members which are upon the earth fornication uncleannesse inordinate affection evill concupiscence and covetousnesse which is idolatry marke there how covetousnesse is
yoked and what is the consequence of it although it be a farre more subtile sinne hardly discerned yet it is rancked with fornication the sinnes that all the world cries shame of the Spirit of God rancks it among those nay more then so it sets a speciall brand on that above all the rest many doe penance for fornication scarce did ever any for covetousnesse the world takes no notice of such persons the world hath set adulterie in a white sheet but God himselfe hath stamped a black brand on it covetousnesse which is idolatry it is true there is no sin that carrieth the heart inordinately towards any creature but it may be termed idolatry the harlot is the lustfull mans idoll he makes an idoll of her preferment and honour is the ambitious SERM. III. mans idoll it leades him to it but yet we doe not find that the Scripture doth expresly brand any other sinne which is not directly idolatry with that name but only covetousnesse I conceive to omit other things there is one thing as the particular reason of it which is very considerable for there is a generall reason for other sinnes which is this what a man preferres before God that hee makes as his God exalts it in the throne of God and therefore for that generall reason covetousnesse is called idolatry But there is a speciall evill in covetousnesse which makes it idolatry in a deeper dye a covetous man besides that in the generall respect his money is his idoll in the particular he puts trust in it he hath a confidence in it and that is the greatest honour that God can have when we can put trust and secure our selves and beare our selves out upon Gods protection and in that respect there is a great deale of propriety in those words to this sinne for which things sake the wrath of God commeth upon the children of disobedience vers the 6. It is not only true of other sinnes which may be taken notice of but to provoke God in this secret sinne which the world takes not so much notice of for this thing the wrath of God commeth upon the children of disobedience One remarkable place wee have in the first of Timothy 6. 9 10. But they that will be rich fall into a temptation and a snare and into many foolish and hurtfull lusts c. For the love of money is the root of all evill which while some coveted after they have erred from the faith and peirced themselves through SERM. III. with many sorrowes this is as full a place as I can well conceive those that will be rich that are mad after the world they are in a most dangerous condition such men cast themselves upon a thousand dangers every expression every word is full of weight I will not take it now on me to dilate at full unto you on them I will leave it to your owne thoughts It is the root of all evill I will only speak of this it is true any sinne which is predominant may be the universall root of all evill in that man so that it may be applyed farther then the matter of covetousnesse but yet there is something emphaticall in covetousnesse above other things that precipitates a man into all evill for that man which is set upon gaine will not stick upon any evill course that may advance him that way it perverts the eyes of the wise makes them blind that they can see no danger thus we see that it is the root of all those evills which do arise in that man which is bent upon covetousnesse but there bee some other men which goe not upon the root of covetousnesse but upon some other grounds and so may breake into many evils And therefore there is a caution to be observed in these words all kinds of evill which is a large word for covetousnesse will not put a man into all kinds of evill if you take it in the strict signification for it will not put him on prodigality not in an ordinary course I say further then to advance covetousnesse unicuique aliquis est sumptus qui vult facere lucrum a man must bee at cost to gaine oftentimes but to adde another place SERM. III. Another place to prove this is in the 16 of Luke verse 14. And the Pharisees also who were covetous heard all these things and derided him A covetous heart is so farre out of frame towards any good from any possibilitie of recovering him to a good estate that the meanes of grace are but a scorne and derision to him our Saviour himselfe I dare bee bold to say the proudest and most captious man in the world could not except against his Sermon happily in any mans Sermon there may bee some infirmitie or weaknesse so that a man may except against it but our SAVIOURS Sermon was not obnoxious to any such thing And you see covetousnesse made our SAVIOUR himselfe derided when men deride wisdome it selfe this is a high pitch but covetousnesse doth this Therefore the Psalmist makes a prayer to GOD Psalme 119. verse 36. Incline my heart O Lord to thy Testimonies and not to covetousnesse implying there is an incompossibilitie betweene regarding GODS Word and covetousnesse if a man bee inclined to covetousnesse hee is cleane out of the way from obedience to GODS commands they are put in the ballance one against an other and David therefore here desires GOD that hee would incline his heart to keepe his Testimonies and therefore that hee would keepe him uprightly free from covetousnesse 1 Corinthians Chap. 6. vers 10. compared with Ephesians Chap. 5 verse 5. you shall finde that covetousnes SERM. III. bars a man out of Heaven there is the very same observation which I propounded in the first place Know you not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdome of God nor Thieves nor covetous observe that covetous persons are rancked with uncleane persons and with Thieves they goe altogether for they are no better then Thieves on the High-way in GODS estimate and shall as much bee barred out of Heaven how smooth a sinne soever it seemes to bee such cannot inherit the Kingdome of God 1 Corinthians 5. 10. 11 Not altogether with the fornicators of this world or with the covetous c. It is such an odious sinne and so abhorred of God that God would have all men to abandon it but especially his owne people and therefore amongst other persons which are vicious and sinnfull hee warnes the faithfull not to eat with a covetous man and therefore in the 11. verse If any man that is called a brother bee a fornicator or covetous c. with such an one no not to eat It is strange to see that they are so contagious and loathsome the Scripture saith no more of a Leprous person but onely that he should bee separated from the Congregation there is as much said of a covetous person one which is in the Church