per name, by the general name of ftellionatus, and dolus malus; fo here in the decalogue, after God had inftanced in the chief and most common forts of injuries which men are guilty of towards their neighbour, as murder, adultery, theft, bearing of falfe witness; he fums up all the reft, which could not fo eafily be reckoned particularly, in this fhort and general prohibition, thou shalt not covet; that is, thou fhalt not be injurious to thy neighbour in any other kind; in his wife, or fervant, or house, or cattle, or any thing that is his. Covetousness, or any inordinate defire of that which is our neighbour's, being commonly the root and parent of all thefe kind of injuries.

And for the fame reafon St. Matthew, instead of the tenth commandment, puts this general precept, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, as being the fenfe of it in other words: Matth. xix. 18, 19. Thou fhalt do no murder, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not fteal, thou shalt not bear falfe witness, honour thy father and thy mother, and thou halt love thy neighbour as thyself. And this command of loving our neighbour as ourselves, our Saviour elsewhere tells us was the fum of the duties of the second table; and it is the fame in fense with that precept of our Saviour, Matth. vii. 12. Therefore all things whatfoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even fo to them. That is, as thou wouldeft have no man to be injurious to thee in any thing, fo be not thou to any other man in any kind. And the Apostle, Rom. xiii. 8, 9, 10. fhews us upon what account this general precept, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, is the fum of the fecond table. He that loveth another hath fulfilled the law: for this, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear falfe witness, thou shalt not covet; and if there be any ather commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this faying, namely, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyfelf. And then he adds in the next words, Love worketh no ill to his neighbour; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. That is, he that truly loves his VOL. V.

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neighbour, will not be injurious to him in any kind: Therefore love is the fum of the law.

The defign of all this is to fhew, that he that is injurious to his neighbour in his estate in any kind, is properly guilty of the fin of covetousness, which is forbidden in the tenth commandment. So that all arts of fraud and oppreffion whereby men endeavour to get and increase an eftate by the injury of their neighbour, is a branch of the fin of covetousness.

2. The vice of covetousness in getting wealth, does likewife confift in an anxious and tormenting care about obtaining the things of this life. The regular and due temper of a man's mind about the things of this world, is to commit ourfelves to the providence of God in the use of honeft and lawful endeavours, and to refer the fuccefs of all to his good pleafure; and whatsoever is beyond this, is a branch from the evil root of covetousness. We diftruft the providence of God, when, after we have used our best endeavours, and begged his bleffing upon them, we torment ourselves about the iffue and event of things. And as this is finful, fo it is vain, and to no purpose. Diligence in our bufinefs is the way to get an eftate; but no man was ever the richer for tormenting himfelf because he was not fo. The reason why men feek the things of this world, and take pains to get them, is to make life convenient and comfortable; and confequently he that torments himself about the getting of these things, contradicts himself in his own defign, because he makes his life miferable, that he may make it comfortable.

3. The fin of covetousness in getting, confifts in feeking the things of this life, with the neglect of things infinitely better, and which are of far greater and nearer concernment to us. He is a covetous man, who fo minds the world, as to neglect God, and his foul; who is fo bufy and intent upon making provifion for this life, as to take no care of the other; fo concerned for a few days of his pilgrimage here, as to have no confideration and regard for his eternal abode in another world. God allows us to pro

vide for this life, and confiders the neceffities which do continually prefs us while we are in the body: But while we are making provifion for thefe dying bodies, he expects that we fhould remember that we have immortal fouls; which, fince they are to have an endless duration in another world, ought to be provided for with far greater care. It is an inordinate defire of riches, when men fo lay out all their care and industry for the obtaining of them, as if nothing else were to be regarded, as if no confideration at all were to be had of another world, and of that better part of ourselves which is to continue and live for ever. All defires and endeavours after riches, which take men off from the business of religion, and the care of their fouls, which allow men neither the leifure and opportunity, nor the heart and affection to love God, and to ferve him, are to be referred to this fin of covetousness, which is here condemned by our Saviour in the text.

III. There is covetousness likewife in poffeffing or ufing an estate: And this confiits chiefly in these three things:

First, When men are fordid towards themselves, and cannot find in their hearts to use and enjoy what they poffefs; are continually adding to their eftate, without any defign of enjoyment; and take infinite pains to raise a huge fortune, not that they may use it, but that they may be faid to have it. This is a degree of covetoufnefs even beyond that of the rich man in the parable after the text: For he, it feems, after he had enlarged his barns to his mind, and laid up goods for many years, defigned at laft to have taken his eafe, and have fallen to the enjoyment of what he had gotten; to have eat and drank, and to have been merry; and this, though it proved but a foolish defign in the iffue, he being cut off in that very inftant, when he was come to the point of fatiffaction and enjoyment; yet is it infinitely more reafonable, than to take great pains to get an estate with a full refolution never to be the better for it, Secondly, Men are covetous in keeping an estate, when they do not use it charitably; when they can

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not find in their hearts to fpare any thing out of their abundance, to the relief of those who are in want. Though a man get an estate without covetousness, and have an heart to enjoy it, yet fo far he is covetous, as he is uncharitable. He loves money more than he ought, who having enough to fpare, choofeth rather to keep it, than to do good with it, and to use it to one of the principal ends for which God gives an eftate.

Thirdly, They likewife are covetous, who place their chief truft and happiness in riches, who (as the expreffion is, Job xxxi. 24.) make gold their hope, and fay to the fine gold, thou art my confidence. And this is the reafon,why covetousness is so often in fcripture called idolatry; because the covetous man sets up his riches in the place of God, putting his truft and confidence in them, and fetting his whole heart upon them, loving them as he fhould love God only, with all his heart, and foul, and ftrength And therefore mammon, which fignifies riches, is in fcripture reprefented as a deity, and the covetous man as a fervant, or worshipper of mammon.

So that in fcripture he is a covetous man who plaIceth his chief felicity in a great fortune, and will venture to lose any thing rather than to part with that; who will quit his religion, and violate his confcience, and run the hazard of his foul, rather than forfeit his eftate, or the hopes of advancing it to his mind.

And this in times of trial and difficulty, is the great temptation to which the covetous man is expofed. When a man may not only fave himself, but get confiderable advantage by departing from the truth; and in changing his religion, may have a good fum of money to boot, or which is equal to it, a good place; this to a covetous mind is a very strong temptation, - and almost irresistible. When error and delufion can bid fo high, and offer fo good terms, no wonder if it gain fome profelytes among the covetous and ambitious part of mankind. This the Apostle gives warning of, as a great temptation to rich men in times of fuffering, 1 Tim. vi. 9, 10. They that will

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be rich, fall into temptation, and a fnare: for the love of money is the root of all evil; which while Some have lufted after, they have erred from the faith. The young man in the gospel is a fad inftance of this kind, who chofe rather to leave Chrift, than to part with his great poffeffions. And fuch a one was Demas, who forfook the Apostles, and Christianity itself, to cleave to this prefent world.

Thus I have done with the first thing I propofed to speak to, the nature of this vice, which our Saviour in the text cautions men fo earnestly againft ; take heed and beware of covetousness. I fhall now proceed, in the fecond place, to fhew the evil and unreafonablenefs of this vice: But that fhall be the fubject of another difcourfe.

SERMON XCI.

The evil and unreasonableness of covetouf nefs.

LUKE xii. 15.

And he faid unto them, Take heed and beware of covetousness; for a man's life confifteth not in the a bundance of the things which he poffeffeth.

The fecond fermon on this text.

Have made entrance into a difcourfe upon these words, in which I have told you there are three things obfervable.

First, The manner of the caution, which our Saviour here gives, take heed and beware.

Secondly, The matter of the caution, or the fin which our Saviour here warns his hearers against, take heed and beware of covetousness: And

Thirdly, The reafon of this caution, because a man's life confifteth not in the abundance of the things which he poffeffeth...