20. But lay up for your felves treafures in beaven, where neither moth nor ruft doth corrupt,and where thieves do not breakthrough and steal. 21. For where your treafure is, there will your heart be also. 22. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be fingle, thy whole body fhall be full of light. 23. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body Shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, bow great is that darkness. VOL. I. cidents of Moths, Weavels, and Thieves. 20. But endeavour, by employing your Wealth in good and charitable Works, to tranfmit your Effects to Heaven; and fo to lay up your Treasures there, where they will remain fafe and fecure to your Ufe, againft all Dangers and Cafualties whatsoever. 21. This will be a certain Means to cure you of worldlymindedness, and to fet your Affections on Heaven: For where-ever your chief Treafure is, your Affections will be there also. 22, and 23. And this is no fmall Advantage; for worldlymindedness (as indeed all other ftrong vicious Inclinations) cafts fuch a Mift before the internal Light of the Mind and Confcience, that it can't difcern Truth from Falfhood, or Right from Wrong; and this expofes a Man to innumerable wrong Steps in his Life and Converfation; as a dark Eye blinded with Rheum expofes a Man, who trufts to it without a better Guide, to many Dangers in his walking, efpecially in deep and rough Ways, where he muft D chufe chufe his Steps; whereas a Mind. fet on Heaven is a good Dire&tor in all your Actions, like a good Eye, which gives a clear Direction to the Body in all its Motions. 24. No man can serve two mafters: for either he will bate the one and love the other; or elfe be will bold to the one, and deSpife the other. Ye cannot ferve God and Mam mon. 25. Therefore I Jay unto you, take no thought for your life, what ye hall eat, or what je fall drink, nor yet for your body what ye fball put on: is not the life more than meat, eid Be not anxious, μὴ μεριμνάτε. and 24. Befides, this worldlymindedness is utterly inconfiftent with Religion and the Fear of God. For God and the World are like two Masters of contrary Tempers and Difpofitions, whofe Commands do generally interfere. No Man can ferve them both; for either he will inwardly love and outwardly obey the first, and hate and disobey the second; or else he will love and obey the fecond, and hate and difregard the first. 25. The Service of the World then being fo dangerous, beware that under Pretence of a lawful Care about the Neceffaries of Life, Meat, Drink, and Clothing, ye do not run into an exceffive Anxiety and Solicitude about thefe Things. Learn to truft Providence; for certainly God who gave you your Lives, and made your Bodies fubject to fo many Neceffities, and forbids your own anxious Care about thefe very Neceffities, (much more more about the Superfluities of Life) will take Care to fupply you with thofe Neceffaries upon your regular moderate Care, and without any exceffive Anxiety and Solicitude. 26. To encourage you to this Duty, behold thofe merry Creatures the Birds and Fowls of the Air, who can't do near fo much toward their own Subfiftence as ye can; for they can neither fow nor reap, nor lay up in Granaries; all which ye can and may do; yet they are taken. Care of, and fed by God's Providence. Have not ye much the better of them? And do not ye believe that God counts. you more deferving of his Care? 27. And indeed what fignifies all this exceffive Care, but to. shorten your Days, and to make your Lives uneafy; for ye can neither prolong Life, nor the healthy vigorous Part of it, by all your Anxiety; but may ea fily prejudice both. 28. Neither need ye be more. anxious for Clothes than for Vi&tuals; the fame Providence extending to both. For confider the wild Lillies and Tulips,how prettily they grow, without any of their own Care and Anxiety. D 2 They neither do they Spin. 29. And yet I fay unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of thefe. 30.Wherefore if God fo clothe the grafs of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is caft into the oven, fhall be not much more clothe you, Oye of little faith? ↑ Or Still, xi βανον. 31. Therefore take no thought, faying,what fhall we eat? or what fhall we drink? or wherewithal Shall we be clothed? 32.(For after all these things do the Gentiles They neither undergo the Field Labour nor the House Labour, which ye are capable of,towards providing your own Clothing. 29. And yet are clothed much finer than the greatest Princes, with all the Encouragements they can give to the skilfulleft Artists. 30. And if God's Providence extends it felf to such short-liv'd worthless Creatures as the Herbs and Flowers, which look gay to Day, and to Morrow are caft into the Still; fhall he not much more clothe you by Means of your own moderate regular Care and Industry, the Ufe of which ye are allowed; and without an exceffive diftruftful Anxiety, which he has forbid you. 31. To conclude then this Argument against worldly-mindednefs and Anxiety, lay afide all these diftruftful Thoughts about Meat, Drink, and Clothing. 32. Such exceffive Care about thefe Things is more excufable in Heathens, who are Strangers Seek) to feek) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye bave need of all these things. 33. But seek ye firft the kingdom.of God, and bis righteousness, and all thefe things fhall be added unto you. 34.Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow hall take thought for the things of it felf: fufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. Your to God's Providence. heavenly Father will not forget you; he knows ye have Need of all thefe Things, and will provide them for you, upon your moderate and regular Care, which he allows; and without your anxious exceffive Care, which he has prohibited. 33. But let your great and chief Care be to get to Heaven, by having a deep Senfe of Religion, and by promoting the Practice of it in your felves and others; a Study which will turn to the best Account; for ye fhall thereby both fecure your eternal Happiness; and all worldly Things, as far as they are neceffary or good for you, fhall be thrown in to the Bargain. 34. And as ye are not to extend your Care to the Superfluities, but to limit it (and without Anxiety too) to the Neceffaries of Life; fo neither are ye to ftretch your Care about thefe Neceffaries to any long Time to come: for the future, when it comes, will be more proper to provide for its own Occafions, and Circumstances. And the Troubles and Care of your prefent Circumftances, are uficient for the prefent Time. |