bearts, the Devil hath your lives; for it is by the world that he deceiveth fouls: And do you think then that you are fit to dwell with God? Know ye not that the love of the world, is enmity to God? And that if ye will be friends of the world, you are Gods enemies? James 4. 4.

Object. 4. It is not by any unlawful means that I defire to grow rich: I wait on God in my lawful labour, and crave bis ble fing.

Anfw. It is not now your getting, but your loving the world that I am fpeaking of: If your hearts be more let on your riches or profperity, than on God, and the world by loving it be made your Idol, you do but turn prayer and labour into tin, (though they be good in themselves) while you abuse them to your ungodly worldly ends.

What wretched muck-worm would not pray, if he believed that praying would make him rich? I warrant you then their tune would be turned. They would not cry out, what needeth all this praying? If God would give them money for the asking, they would quickly learn to pray without Book, and long prayers would come into requeft, upon the Pharifees old account. Can any thing in the world b: more unlawful and. abominable, than to love the flesh and the world, above God and Heaven? And yet do you fay that you get not your wealth by any thing that is unlawful?

Object. 5. But I am contented with my condition, and defire no more.

Anfw. So is a Swine when his belly is full. But the question is, Whether Heaven and Holiness, or that worldly condition... which you are in feem more lovely to you.

O. je. 6. I give God thanks for all I have.

Anjw. So would every beggar in the Country give God thanks if he would make them rich. Some drunkards and gluttons, and fome malicious people, do give God thanks for fatisfying their finful lus. This is but adding hypocrifie to your fin, and to aggravate it by prophaning the Name of God, by thanking him as a cherisher of your lofts. But the question is, whether you love God for himself, and as your fan&ifier better than you do the gratifying of your flefh?

Obj. 7. But I give fomething to the poor, and I mean to leave them fombing at my death.

Anf. So it is like the miferable Gentleman did, in Luke 16. Or else why would Lazarus lie at his gates, if he used not to give fomething to the poor? What worldling or hypocrite is there that will not drop now and then an Alms, while he pampereth his fte fh, and fatisficth its defires? Do you look to be faved for doing as a Swine will do, in leaving that which he can neither eat, nor cary away with him? The question is, whether God or the world have your hearts? and what it is that you most delight in as your treasure?

Object. 8. I am fully satisfied that Heaven is better than Earth, and God than the creature, and holiness than the profperity or pleasure of the flesh?

Afw. Thousands of miferable worldlings, are fatisfied in opinion that this is true: They can fay the fame words that a true Believer doth: And in difpute they can defend them, and call the contrary opinion blafphemy. But all this is but a dreaming fpeculation: Their bearts never practically preferred God, and Holiness, and Heaven, as moft fuitable and beft for them: Mark what you love beft, and most long after, and most delight in, and what it is that you are lot beft to leave, and what it is that you most eagerly labour for, and there you may fce what it is that hath your hearts?

Object. 9. Worldliness is indeed a heinous fin, and of all people, I most base the covetous; and I use to preach or talk against it, more than against any fin.

Anfw. So do many thousands that are flaves to it themfelves, and shall be damned for it. It is cafier to talk against it, than to forfake it. And it is cafie to hate covetousness in another, because it will coft you nothing for another to forfake his fin; and perhaps the more covetous he is,the more he ftandeth in your way, and hindereth you from that which you would have your felves. Of all the multitude of covetous Preachers that be in the world, is there any one that will not preach against covetoufnefs? Read but the Lives of Cardinals, and Popes, and Popish Prelates, and you will fee the most odious worldlinefs fet forth without any kind of cloak or shame: How fuch a one laid his defign at Court, and among the great ones for preferment? How ftudioufly he profecuted it, and conformed himself to the humours & intereft of those, from whom

he

he did feck it? How they firft got this Living, and then got that Prebendary, and then got that Denary, and then got fuch a Bishoprick, and then got a better (that is a richer) and then got to be Archbishops, and then to be Cardinals, &c. O happy progrels, if they might never die! They blufh not openly before Angels and men to own this worldly ambitious courfe, as their defign and trade of life: And the Devil is grown fo impudent, as if he were now the confeffed Mafter of the world, as to fet Divines themselves at work,to write the hiftory of fuch curfed ambitious worldly lives, with open applause, and great commendations; yea to make Saints of them, that have a character far worse than Chrift gave of him in Luke 16. that wanteth a drop of water to cool his tongue: He openly now faith, All this will I give thee,and they as impudently boast, All this. I have gotten: but they forget or know not how much they have loft. A Judar kifs is thought fufficient to prove him a true Chriftian and Paftor of the Church, though it be but the fruit of what will you give me? Inftead of a fcourge to whip: out these buyers and fellers from Chrifts Temple, their merchandize is expofed without fhame, and their figns fet forth, and the trade of getting preferments openly proteffed, and it is enough to wipe off all the fhame, to put fome venerable titles upon this Den of thieves. But the Lord whom we wait for, will once more come and cleanse bis Temple: But who may abide the day of bis coming? for he is like a refiners fire, and like fullers Sope, and will throughly purge the Sons of Levi, Mal. 3. 1, 2,3,4.

If talking against worldlinefs, would prove that the world is overcome, and that God is deareft to the foul, then Preachers will be the happieft men on earth. But it's easier to commend God, than to love him above all; and easier to cry out against the world, than to have a heart that is truly weaned from it, and fet upon a better world.

Obje&. 10. But all this belongeth only to them that are in profperity; but I am poor, and therefore it is nothing to me.

Anfw. Many a one loveth profperity, that bath it not : And. fuch are doubly finful, that will love a world which loveth not them: Even a world of poverty, mifery and diftrefs. Something you would have done, if you had had a full eflate, and honour, and fleshly delights to love. Nay, many poor men

think better of riches and honour, than those that have them; because they never tryed how vain and vexatious they are; and if they had tryed them, perhaps would love them lefs. The world is but a painted Strumpet; admired afar off; but the neerer you come to it, and the more it's known, the worfe you will like it. Is it by your own defire that you are poor? or is it against your wills? Had you not rather be as great and rich as others? Had you not rather live at ease and fulness? And do you think God will love you ever the better, for that which is against your wills? Will he count that man to be no worldling, that would fain have more of the world, and cannot? and that loveth God and Heaven no better than the rich? Nay, 'hat will fin for a fhilling, when great ones do it for greater fumms? who can be more unfit for Heaven, than he that loveth a life of labour, and want, and mifery better? Alas it is but little that the greatest worldlings have for their falvation: But poor worldlings fell it for less than they, and therefore do defpife it more.

Dirca. 4. Let the true nature and aggravations of the fin of worldlineß, be ftill in your eye to make it odious to you. As for inftance:

1. It is true and odicus Idolatry, Ephef. 5.5. Col. 3. 5. To have God for our God indeed, is to love him as our God, and to delight in him, and be ruled by him. Who then is an Idolater, if he be not one, who loveth the world, and delighteth in it more than in God, or eftcemeth it fitter to be the matter of his delight and is ruled by it, and feeketh it more? Ifa.55.1,2,3.

2. It is a blafphemous contempt of God and Heaven, to prefer a dung bill world before him: To fet more by the provisions and pleafures of the flesh, than by all the bleffed nefs of Heaven: It is called prophaneniß in Efau, to fell his birth-right for one morfel, Heb. 12. 16. What prophaneness is it then to fay, as worldlings hearts and lives do, The fatisfying of may fish and fanfie for a time, is better than God and the Foyes of Heaven to all eternity.

3. It is a fin of Intereft, and not only of Paffion; and therefore it poffeffeth the very Heart and Love, which is the principal faculty of the foul, and that which God moft referveth for himself. No adual fin, which is but little loved, is so heinous

and

and mortal, as that which is most loved. Becaufe thefe do moft exclude the Love of God. Some other firs may do more hurt to others, but this is wort to the finner himself. We juftly pitty poor Heathenish Idolaters, and pray for their converfion (and I would we did it more.) But do not you not think that our hypocrite-worldlings, do love their riches, and their bonours and pleasures, better than the poor Heathens love their Idols? They bow the knee to a creature, and you entertain it in your heart.

4. It is a fin of deliberation and contrivance, which is much worse than a furprize by a sudden temptation. You plot how you may compass your voluptuous, covetous and ambitious ends: Therefore it is a fin that ftandeth at the furtheft diftance from Repentance, and is both voluntary, and a settled babit.

5. It is a continued fin. Men be not alwaies lying, though they be never so great lyars; nor alwaies ftealing, if they be the moft notorious thieves; nor alwaies (wearing, if they be the profaneft swearers. But a worldly mind is alwaies worldly: He is alwaies committing his Idolatry with the world, and alwaies denying his Love to God.

6. It is not only a fin about the means to a right end(as mifchofen waies of Religion may be) but it is a fin against the End it felf, and a mifchufing of a falfe pernicious End. And fo it is the perverting, not only of one particular action, but even of the bent and course of mens lives: And confequently a mif-fpending all their time.

7. It is a perverting of Gods creatures, to a ule clean contrary to that which they are given us for; and an unthankful turning of all his gifts against himfelf. He gave us his creatures to lead us to him, and by their loveliness to thew his greater loveliness, and to taste in their sweetness, the greater fweetness of his love. And will you use them to turn your affections from him?

8. It it a great debafing of the foul it felf, to fill that noble Spirit with nothing but dirt and fmoak, which was made to know and love its God.

9. It is an irrational vice, and fignifieth not only much unbelief of the unfeen things which fhould take up the foul; but

alfo