The Power of Holiness is to be Shown in the Christian’s WORLDLY EMPLOYMENTS 2/2

       

Fourth.  When the Christian is content with the portion, little or much, that God upon his endeavours allots to him; not content because he cannot have it otherwise.  Necessity was the heathen’s schoolmaster to teach content­ment; but faith must be the Chris­tian’s, whereby he acqui­esces in the dispositions of God’s providence with a sweet complacency as the will of God concerning him.  Here is godliness in triumph—when the Christian can carve contentment out of God's providence, whatever the dish is that is set before him.  If he ‘gathers little,’ he lacks not, but is satisfied with his short meal.  If he ‘gathers much,’ he hath ‘nothing over’—I mean not more than his grace can well digest and turn to good nourishment; ‘nothing over’ that turns to bad humours of pride and wantonness.  This was the pitch Paul attained unto, Php. 4:12.  He knew how ‘to abound and to suffer need.’  Take contentment from godliness, and you take one of the best jewels away she wears in her bosom.  ‘Godliness with contentment is great gain;’ not godliness with an estate, but ‘godliness with contentment,’ I Tim. 6:6.

           Fifth.  When the Christian’s particular calling doth not encroach upon his general.  Truly this re­quires a strong guard.  The world is of an encroaching nature, hard it is to converse with it, and not come into bondage to it.  As Hagar, when Abraham showed her some respect more than ordinary, began to con­test with, yea, crow over, her mistress, so will our worldly employments jostle with our heavenly, if we keep not a strict hand over them.  Now the power of holiness appears here in two things.

1. When the Christian suffers not his worldly business to eat upon his time for communion with God,but keeps it inviolable from the sacrilegious hands of the world.  The Christian may observe, that, if he will listen to it, he shall never think of setting about any religious duty, but some excuse or other, to put off, will present itself to his thoughts.  ‘This thing must be just now done; that friend spoken with, or that customer waited for;’ so that, as the wise man saith, ‘He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap,’ Ecc. 11:4. In the same way he that will regard what his own sloth, worldly interest, and fleshly part suggest, shall never pray, meditate, or hold communion with God in any other religious duty.  O it is sad! when the master must ask the man leave when to eat, and when not—when the Christian must take his orders from the world, when to wait on God and when not, where­as religion should give law to that.  Then holiness is in its power—as Samson in his strength—when it can snap asunder these excuses, that would keep him from his God, as easily as he did his cords of flax —when the Christian can make his way into the pres­ence of God, through the throng of worldly encum­brances.  ‘Behold,’ saith David, ‘I have prepared for the house of the Lord an hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver,’ &c, I Chr. 22:14.  He had ways enough to have disposed of his treasures, if he would have been discouraged from the work; he might have had a fair apology from the wars he was all his reign involved in—which were continually draining his exchequer—to have spared this cost.  But as Rome showed her puissance in sending succours to Spain when Hannibal was at her gates; so David would show his zeal for God and his house, by laying aside such vast sums for the building of a temple in the midst of the troubles and expenses of his kingdom.  He is the Christian, indeed, that lays aside a good portion of time daily, in the midst of all his worldly occasions, for communion with God. Whoever he compounds with and pays short, he dares not make bold with God, to serve him by halves.  He shall have his time devoted to him, though others are put off with the less; like the devout man, who, when the time for his devotions came, what company soever he was with, would take his leave of them with this fair excuse, that he had a friend that stayed to speak with him (he meant his God).
2. When his worldly employments do not turn the edge of his affections, and leave a bluntness upon his spirit as to holding communion with God.  Here is holiness in the power.  As the husband, when he hath been abroad all day in this company and that, yet none of these makes him love his wife and chil­dren the less.  When he comes home at night, he brings his affections to them as entire as when he went out, yea, he is glad he got from all others to them again.  This is a sweet frame of spirit indeed.  But alas! how hard to keep it.  Canst thou say, O Christian! after thou hast passed a day amidst thy worldly profits, and been entertained with the delight and pleasures which thy full estate affords thee, that thou bringest thy whole heart to thy God with thee, when at night thou returnest into his presence to wait on him?  Thou canst say more than many can that have some good in them.  Oh it is hard to converse with the world all day, and shake it off at night, so as to be free to enjoy privacy with God.  The world does by the Christian as the little child by the mother; if it cannot keep the mother from going out, then it will cry after her to go with her.  If the world cannot keep us from going to religious duties, then it will cry to be taken along with us, and much ado to part it and the affections.