The Sermon on the Mount.
24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one,
and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.
Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
....
III. We must take heed of hypocrisy and worldly-mindedness in choosing
the master we serve, v. 24. No man can serve two masters. Serving two masters
is contrary to the single eye; for the eye will be to the master's hand,
Ps. cxxiii. 1, 2. Our Lord Jesus here exposes the cheat which those put
upon their own souls, who think to divide between God and the world, to
have a treasure on earth, and a treasure in heaven too, to please God and
please men too. Why not? says the hypocrite; it is good to have two strings
to one's bow. They hope to make their religion serve their secular interest,
and so turn to account both ways. The pretending mother was for dividing
the child; the Samaritans will compound between God and idols. No, says
Christ, this will not do; it is but a supposition that gain is godliness,
1 Tim. vi. 5. Here is,
1. A general maxim laid down; it is likely it was a proverb among the
Jews, No man can serve two masters, much less two gods; for their commands
will some time or other cross or contradict one another, and their occasions
interfere. While two masters go together, a servant may follow them both;
but when they part, you will see to which he belongs; he cannot love, and
observe, and cleave to both as he should. If to the one, not to the other;
either this or that must be comparatively hated and despised. This truth
is plain enough in common cases.
2. The application of it to the business in hand. Ye cannot serve God
and Mammon. Mammon is a Syriac word, that signifies gain; so that whatever
in this world is, or is accounted by us to be, gain (Phil. iii. 7), is
mammon. Whatever is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the
eye, and the pride of life, is mammon. To some their belly is their mammon,
and they serve that (Phil. iii. 19); to others their ease, their sleep,
their sports and pastimes, are their mammon (Prov. vi. 9); to others worldly
riches (James iv. 13); to others honours and preferments; the praise and
applause of men was the Pharisees' mammon; in a word, self, the unity in
which the world's trinity centres, sensual, secular self, is the mammon
which cannot be served in conjunction with God; for if it be served, it
is in competition with him and in contradiction to him. He does not say,
We must not or we should not, but we cannot serve God and Mammon; we cannot
love both (1 John ii. 15; Jam. iv. 4); or hold to both, or hold by both
in observance, obedience, attendance, trust, and dependence, for they are
contrary the one to the other. God says, "My son, give me thy heart." Mammon
says, "No, give it me." God says, "Be content with such things as ye have."
Mammon says, "Grasp at all that ever thou canst. Rem, rem, quocunque modo
rem--Money, money; by fair means or by foul, money." God says, "Defraud
not, never lie, be honest and just in all thy dealings." Mammon says "Cheat
thine own Father, if thou canst gain by it." God says, "Be charitable."
Mammon says, "Hold thy own: this giving undoes us all." God says, "Be careful
for nothing." Mammon says, "Be careful for every thing." God says, "Keep
holy thy sabbath-day." Mammon says, "Make use of that day as well as any
other for the world." Thus inconsistent are the commands of God and Mammon,
so that we cannot serve both. Let us not then halt between God and Baal,
but choose ye this day whom ye will serve, and abide by our choice.
The Sermon on the Mount.
25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what
ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall
put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 26 Behold
the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather
into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better
than they? 27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his
stature? 28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of
the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29 And yet
I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like
one of these. 30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which
to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more
clothe you, O ye of little faith? 31 Therefore take no thought, saying,
What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be
clothed? 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your
heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But seek
ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things
shall be added unto you. 34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for
the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto
the day is the evil thereof.
There is scarcely any one sin against which our Lord Jesus more largely
and earnestly warns his disciples, or against which he arms them with more
variety of arguments, than the sin of disquieting, distracting, distrustful
cares about the things of life, which are a bad sign that both the treasure
and the heart are on the earth; and therefore he thus largely insists upon
it. Here is,
I. The prohibition laid down. It is the counsel and command of the Lord
Jesus, that we take no thought about the things of this world; I say unto
you. He says it as our Lawgiver, and the Sovereign of our hearts; he says
it as our Comforter, and the Helper of our joy. What is it that he says?
It is this, and he that hath ears to hear, let him hear it. Take no thought
for your life, nor yet for your body (v. 25). Take no thought, saying,
What shall we eat? (v. 31) and again (v. 34), Take no thought, me merimnate--Be
not in care. As against hypocrisy, so against worldly cares, the caution
is thrice repeated, and yet no vain repetition: precept must be upon precept,
and line upon line, to the same purport, and all little enough; it is a
sin which doth so easily beset us. It intimates how pleasing it is to Christ,
and of how much concern it is to ourselves, that we should live without
carefulness. It is the repeated command of the Lord Jesus to his disciples,
that they should not divide and pull in pieces their own minds with care
about the world. There is a thought concerning the things of this life,
which is not only lawful, but duty, such as is commended in the virtuous
woman. See Prov. xxvii. 23. The word is used concerning Paul's care of
the churches, and Timothy's care for the state of souls, 2 Cor. xi. 28;
Phil. ii. 20.
But the thought here forbidden is, 1. A disquieting, tormenting thought,
which hurries the mind hither and thither, and hangs it in suspense; which
disturbs our joy in God, and is a damp upon our hope in him; which breaks
the sleep, and hinders our enjoyment of ourselves, of our friends, and
of what God has given us. 2. A distrustful, unbelieving thought. God has
promised to provide for those that are his all things needful for life
as well as godliness, the life that now is, food and a covering: not dainties,
but necessaries. He never said, "They shall be feasted," but, "Verily,
they shall be fed." Now an inordinate care for time to come, and fear of
wanting those supplies, spring from a disbelief of these promises, and
of the wisdom and goodness of Divine Providence; and that is the evil of
it. As to present sustenance, we may and must use lawful means to get it,
else we tempt God; we must be diligent in our callings, and prudent in
proportioning our expenses to what we have, and we must pray for daily
bread; and if all other means fail, we may and must ask relief of those
that are able to give it. He was none of the best of men that said, To
beg I am ashamed (Luke xvi. 3); as he was, who (v. 21) desired to be fed
with the crumbs; but for the future, we must cast our care upon God, and
take no thought, because it looks like a jealousy of God, who knows how
to give what we want when we know not now to get it. Let our souls dwell
at ease in him! This gracious carelessness is the same with that sleep
which God gives to his beloved, in opposition to the worldling's toil,
Ps. cxxvii. 2. Observe the cautions here,
(1.) Take no thought for your life. Life is our greatest concern for
this world; All that a man has will he give for his life; yet take no thought
about it. [1.] Not about the continuance of it; refer it to God to lengthen
or shorten it as he pleases; my times are in thy hand, and they are in
a good hand. [2.] Not about the comforts of this life; refer it to God
to embitter or sweeten it as he pleases. We must not be solicitous, no
not about the necessary support of this life, food and raiment; these God
has promised, and therefore we may more confidently expect; say not, What
shall we eat? It is the language of one at a loss, and almost despairing;
whereas, though many good people have the prospect of little, yet there
are few but have present support.
(2.) Take no thought for the morrow, for the time to come. Be not solicitous
for the future, how you shall live next year, or when you are old, or what
you shall leave behind you. As we must not boast of to-morrow, so we must
not care for to-morrow, or the events of it.
II. The reasons and arguments to enforce this prohibition. One would
think the command of Christ was enough to restrain us from this foolish
sin of disquieting, distrustful care, independently of the comfort of our
own souls, which is so nearly concerned; but to show how much the heart
of Christ is upon it, and what pleasures he takes in those that hope in
his mercy, the command is backed with the most powerful arguments. If reason
may but rule us, surely we shall ease ourselves of these thorns. To free
us from anxious thoughts, and to expel them, Christ here suggests to us
comforting thoughts, that we may be filled with them. It will be worth
while to take pains with our own hearts, to argue them out of their disquieting
cares, and to make ourselves ashamed of them. They may be weakened by right
reason, but it is by an active faith only that they can be overcome. Consider
then,
1. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? v. 25.
Yes, no doubt it is; so he says who had reason to understand the true value
of present things, for he made them, he supports them, and supports us
by them; and the thing speaks for itself. Note, (1.) Our life is a greater
blessing than our livelihood. It is true, life cannot subsist without a
livelihood; but the meat and raiment which are here represented as inferior
to the life and body are such as are for ornament and delight; for about
such as are for ornament ad delight; for about such we are apt to be solicitous.
Meat and raiment are in order to life, and the end is more noble and excellent
than the means. The daintiest food and finest raiment are from the earth,
but life from the breath of God. Life is the light of men; meat is but
the oil that feeds that light: so that the difference between rich and
poor is very inconsiderable, since, in the greatest things, they stand
on the same level, and differ only in the less. (2.) This is an encouragement
to us to trust God for food and raiment, and so to ease ourselves of all
perplexing cares about them. God has given us life, and given us the body;
it was an act of power, it was an act of favour, it was done without our
care: what cannot he do for us, who did that?--what will he not? If we
take care about our souls and eternity, which are more than the body, and
its life, we may leave it to God to provide for us food and raiment, which
are less. God has maintained our lives hitherto; if sometimes with pulse
and water, that has answered the end; he has protected us and kept us alive.
He that guards us against the evils we are exposed to, will supply us with
the good things we are in need of. If he had been pleased to kill us, to
starve us, he would not so often have given his angels a charge concerning
us to keep us.
2. Behold the fowls of the air, and consider the lilies of the field.
Here is an argument taken from God's common providence toward the inferior
creatures, and their dependence, according to their capacities, upon that
providence. A fine pass fallen man has come to, that he must be sent to
school to the fowls of the air, and that they must teach him! Job xii.
7, 8.
(1.) Look upon the fowls, and learn to trust God for food (v. 26), and
disquiet not yourselves with thoughts what you shall eat.
[1.] Observe the providence of God concerning them. Look upon them,
and receive instruction. There are various sorts of fowls; they are numerous,
some of them ravenous, but they are all fed, and fed with food convenient
for them; it is rare that any of them perish for want of food, even in
winter, and there goes no little to feed them all the year round. The fowls,
as they are least serviceable to man, so they are least within his care;
men often feed upon them, but seldom feed them; yet they are fed, we know
not how, and some of them fed best in the hardest weather; and it is your
heavenly Father that feeds them; he knows all the wild fowls of the mountains,
better than you know the tame ones at your own barn-door, Ps. l. 11. Not
a sparrow lights to the ground, to pick up a grain of corn, but by the
providence of God, which extends itself to the meanest creatures. But that
which is especially observed here is, that they are fed without any care
or project of their own; they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather
into barns. The ant indeed does, and the bee, and they are set before us
as examples of prudence and industry; but the fowls of the air do not;
they make no provision for the future themselves, and yet every day, as
duly as the day comes, provision is made for them, and their eyes wait
on God, that great and good Housekeeper, who provides food for all flesh.
[2.] Improve this for your encouragement to trust in God. Are ye not
much better than they? Yes, certainly you are. Note, The heirs of heaven
are much better than the fowls of heaven; nobler and more excellent beings,
and, by faith, they soar higher; they are of a better nature and nurture,
wiser than the fowls of heaven (Job xxxv. 11): though the children of this
world, that know not the judgment of the Lord, are not so wise as the stork,
and the crane, and the swallow (Jer. viii. 7), you are dearer to God, and
nearer, though they fly in the open firmament of heaven. He is their Master
and Lord, their Owner and Master; but besides all this, he is your Father,
and in his account ye are of more value than many sparrows; you are his
children, his first-born; now he that feeds his birds surely will not starve
his babes. They trust your Father's providence, and will not you trust
it? In dependence upon that, they are careless for the morrow; and being
so, they live the merriest lives of all creatures; they sing among the
branches (Ps. civ. 12), and, to the best of their power, they praise their
Creator. If we were, by faith, as unconcerned about the morrow as they
are, we should sing as cheerfully as they do; for it is worldly care that
mars our mirth and damps our joy, and silences our praise, as much as any
thing.
(2.) Look upon the lilies, and learn to trust God for raiment. That
is another part of our care, what we shall put on; for decency, to cover
us; for defence, to keep us warm; yea, and, with many, for dignity and
ornament, to make them look great and fine; and so much concerned are they
for gaiety and variety in their clothing, that this care returns almost
as often as that for their daily bread. Now to ease us of this care, let
us consider the lilies of the field; not only look upon them (every eyes
does that with pleasure), but consider them. Note, There is a great deal
of good to be learned from what we see every day, if we would but consider
it, Prov. vi. 6; xxiv. 32.
[1.] Consider how frail the lilies are; they are the grass of the field.
Lilies, though distinguished by their colours, are still but grass. Thus
all flesh is grass: though some in the endowments of body and mind are
as lilies, much admired, still they are grass; the grass of the field in
nature and constitution; they stand upon the same level with others. Man's
days, at best, are as grass, as the flower of the grass 1 Pet. i. 24. This
grass to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven; in a little while
the place that knows us will know us no more. The grave is the oven into
which we shall be cast, and in which we shall be consumed as grass in the
fire, Ps. xlix. 14. This intimates a reason why we should not take thought
for the morrow, what we shall put on, because perhaps, by to-morrow, we
may have occasion for our grave-clothes.
[2.] Consider how free from care the lilies are: they toil not as men
do, to earn clothing; as servants, to earn their liveries; neither do they
spin, as women do, to make clothing. It does not follow that we must therefore
neglect, or do carelessly, the proper business of this life; it is the
praise of the virtuous woman, that she lays her hand to the spindle, makes
fine linen and sells it, Prov. xxxi. 19, 24. Idleness tempts God, instead
of trusting him; but he that provides for inferior creatures, without their
labour, will much more provide for us, by blessing our labour, which he
has made our duty. And if we should, through sickness, be unable to toil
and spin, God can furnish us with what is necessary for us.
[3.] Consider how fair, how fine the lilies are; how they grow; what
they grow from. The root of the lily or tulip, as other bulbous roots,
is, in winter, lost and buried under ground, yet, when spring returns,
it appears, and starts up in a little time; hence it is promised to God's
Israel, that they should grow as the lily, Hos. xiv. 5. Consider what they
grow to. Out of that obscurity in a few weeks they come to be so very gay,
that even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these.
The array of Solomon was very splendid and magnificent: he that had the
peculiar treasure of kings and provinces, and studiously affected pomp
and gallantry, doubtless had the richest clothing, and the best made up,
that could be got; especially when he appeared in his glory on high days.
And yet, let him dress himself as fine as he could, he comes far short
of the beauty of the lilies, and a bed of tulips outshines him. Let us,
therefore, be ambitious of the wisdom of Solomon, in which he was outdone
by none (wisdom to do our duty in our places), rather than the glory of
Solomon, in which he was outdone by the lilies. Knowledge and grace are
the perfection of man, not beauty, much less fine clothes. Now God is here
said thus to clothe the grass of the field. Note, All the excellences of
the creature flow from God, the Fountain and spring of them. It was he
that gave the horse his strength, and the lily its beauty; every creature
is in itself, as well as to us, what he makes it to be.
[4.] Consider how instructive all this is to us, v. 30.
First, As to fine clothing, this teaches us not to care for it at all,
not to covet it, nor to be proud of it, not to make the putting on of apparel
our adorning, for after all our care in this the lilies will far outdo
us; we cannot dress so fine as they do, why then should we attempt to vie
with them? Their adorning will soon perish, and so will ours; they fade--are
to-day, and to-morrow are cast, as other rubbish, into the oven; and the
clothes we are proud of are wearing out, the gloss is soon gone, the color
fades, the shape goes out of fashion, or in awhile the garment itself is
worn out; such is man in all his pomp (Isa. xl. 6, 7), especially rich
men (Jam. i. 10); they fade away in their ways.
Secondly, As to necessary clothing; this teaches us to cast the care
of it upon God--Jehovah-jireh; trust him that clothes the lilies, to provide
for you what you shall put on. If he give such fine clothes to the grass,
much more will he give fitting clothes to his own children; clothes that
shall be warm upon them, not only when he quieteth the earth with the south
wind, but when he disquiets it with the north wind, Job xxxvii. 17. He
shall much more clothe you: for you are nobler creatures, of a more excellent
being; if so he clothe the short-lived grass, much more will he clothe
you that are made for immortality. Even the children of Nineveh are preferred
before the gourd (Jonah iv. 10, 11), much more the sons of Zion, that are
in covenant with God. Observe the title he gives them (v. 30), O ye of
little faith. This may be taken, 1. As an encouragement to truth faith,
though it be but weak; it entitles us to the divine care, and a promise
of suitable supply. Great faith shall be commended, and shall procure great
things, but little faith shall not be rejected, even that shall procure
food and raiment. Sound believers shall be provided for, though they be
not strong believers. The babes in the family are fed and clothed, as well
as those that are grown up, and with a special care and tenderness; say
not, I am but a child, but a dry tree (Isa. lvi. 3, 5), for though poor
and needy yet the Lord thinketh on thee. Or, 2. It is rather a rebuke to
weak faith, though it be true, ch. xiv. 31. It intimates what is at the
bottom of all our inordinate care and thoughtfulness; it is owing to the
weakness of our faith, and the remains of unbelief in us. If we had but
more faith, we should have less care.
3. Which of you, the wisest, the strongest of you, by taking thought,
can add one cubit to his stature? (v. 27) to his age, so some; but the
measure of a cubit denotes it to be meant of the stature, and the age at
longest is but a span, Ps. xxxix. 5. Let us consider, (1.) We did not arrive
at the stature we are of by our own care and thought, but by the providence
of God. An infant of a span long has grown up to be a man of six feet,
and how was one cubit after another added to his stature? not by his own
forecast or contrivance; he grew he knew not how, by the power and goodness
of God. Now he that made our bodies, and made them of such size, surely
will take care to provide for them. Note, God is to be acknowledged in
the increase of our bodily strength and stature, and to be trusted for
all needful supplies, because he has made it to appear, that he is mindful
for the body. The growing age is the thoughtless, careless age, yet we
grow; and shall not he who reared us to this, provide for us now we are
reared? (2.) We cannot alter the stature we are of, if we would: what a
foolish and ridiculous thing would it be for a man of low stature to perplex
himself, to break his sleep, and beat his brains, about it, and to be continually
taking thought how he might be a cubit higher; when, after all, he knows
he cannot effect it, and therefore he had better be content and take it
as it is! We are not all of a size, yet the difference in stature between
one and another is not material, nor of any great account; a little man
is ready to wish he were as tall as such a one, but he knows it is to no
purpose, and therefore does as well as he can with it. Now as we do in
reference to our bodily stature, so we should do in reference to our worldly
estate. [1.] We should not covet an abundance of the wealth of this world,
any more than we would covet the addition of a cubit to one's stature,
which is a great deal in a man's height; it is enough to grow by inches;
such an addition would but make one unwieldy, and a burden to one's self.
[2.] We must reconcile ourselves to our state, as we do to our stature;
we must set the conveniences against the inconveniences, and so make a
virtue of necessity: what cannot be remedied must be made the best of.
We cannot alter the disposals of Providence, and therefore must acquiesce
in them, accommodate ourselves to them, and relieve ourselves, as well
as we can, against inconveniences, as Zaccheus against the inconvenience
of his stature, by climbing into the tree.
4. After all these things do the Gentiles seek, v. 32. Thoughtfulness
about the world is a heathenish sin, and unbecoming Christians. The Gentiles
seek these things, because they know not better things; they are eager
for this world, because they are strangers to a better; they seek these
things with care and anxiety, because they are without God in the world,
and understand not his providence. They fear and worship their idols, but
know not how to trust them for deliverance and supply, and, therefore,
are themselves full of care; but it is a shame for Christians, who build
upon nobler principles, and profess a religion which teaches them not only
that there is a Providence, but that there are promises made to the good
of the life that now is, which teaches them a confidence in God and a contempt
of the world, and gives such reasons for both; it is a shame for them to
walk as Gentiles walk, and to fill their heads and hearts with these things.
5. Your heavenly Father knows ye have need of all these things; these
necessary things, food and raiment; he knows our wants better than we do
ourselves; though he be in heaven, and his children on earth, he observes
what the least and poorest of them has occasion for (Rev. ii. 9), I know
thy poverty. You think, if such a good friend did not but know your wants
and straits, you would soon have relief: your God knows them; and he is
your Father that loves you and pities you, and is ready to help you; your
heavenly Father, who has wherewithal to supply all your needs: away, therefore,
with all disquieting thoughts and cares; go to thy Father; tell him, he
knows that thou has need of such and such things; he asks you, Children,
have you any meat? John xxi. 5. Tell him whether you have or have not.
Though he knows our wants, he will know them from us; and when we have
opened them to him, let us cheerfully refer ourselves to his wisdom, power,
and goodness, for our supply. Therefore, we should ease ourselves of the
burthen of care, by casting it upon God, because it is he that careth for
us (1 Pet. v. 7), and what needs all this ado? If he care, why should be
care?
6. Seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these
things shall be added unto you. v. 33. Here is a double argument against
the sin of thoughtfulness; take no thought for your life, the life of the
body; for, (1.) You have greater and better things to take thought about,
the life of your soul, your eternal happiness; that is the one thing needful
(Luke x. 42), about which you should employ your thoughts, and which is
commonly neglected in those hearts wherein worldly cares have the ascendant.
If we were but more careful to please God, and to work out our own salvation,
we should be less solicitous to please ourselves, and work out an estate
in the world. Thoughtfulness for our souls in the most effectual cure of
thoughtfulness for the world. (2.) You have a surer and easier, a safer
and more compendious way to obtain the necessaries of this life, than by
carking, and caring, and fretting about them; and that is, by seeking first
the kingdom of God, and making religion your business: say not that this
is the way to starve, no, it is the way to be well provided for, even in
this world. Observe here,
[1.] The great duty required: it is the sum and substance of our whole
duty: "Seek first the kingdom of God, mind religion as your great and principle
concern." Our duty is to seek; to desire, pursue, and aim at these things;
it is a word that has in it much of the constitution of the new covenant
in favour of us; though we have not attained, but in many things fail and
come short, sincere seeking (a careful concern and an earnest endeavor)
is accepted. Now observe, First, The object of this seeking; The kingdom
of God, and his righteousness; we must mind heaven as our end, and holiness
as our way. "Seek the comforts of the kingdom of grace and glory as your
felicity. Aim at the kingdom of heaven; press towards it; give diligence
to make it sure; resolve not to take up short of it; seek for this glory,
honour, and immortality; prefer heaven and heavenly blessings far before
earth and earthly delights." We make nothing of our religion, if we do
not make heaven of it. And with the happiness of this kingdom, seek the
righteousness of it; God's righteousness, the righteousness which he requires
to be wrought in us, and wrought by us, such as exceeds that of the scribes
and Pharisees; we must follow peace and holiness, Heb. xii. 14. Secondly,
The order of it. Seek first the kingdom of God. Let your care for your
souls and another world take the place of all other cares: and let all
the concerns of this life be made subordinate to those of the life to come:
we must seek the things of Christ more than our own things; and if every
they come in competition, we must remember to which we are to give the
preference. "Seek these things first; first in thy days: let the morning
of thy youth be dedicated to God. Wisdom must be sought early; it is good
beginning betimes to be religious. Seek the first every day; let waking
thoughts be of God." Let this be our principle, to do that first which
is most needful, and let him that is the First, have the first.
[2.] The gracious promise annexed; all these things, the necessary supports
of life, shall be added unto you; shall be given over and above; so it
is in the margin. You shall have what you seek, the kingdom of God and
his righteousness, for never any sought in vain, that sought in earnest;
and besides that, you shall have food and raiment, by way of overplus;
as he that buys goods has paper and packthread given him in the bargain.
Godliness has the promise of the life that now is, 1 Tim. iv. 8. Solomon
asked wisdom, and had that and other things added to him, 2 Chron. i. 11,
12. O what a blessed change would it make in our hearts and lives, did
we but firmly believe this truth, that the best way to be comfortably provided
for in this world, is to be most intent upon another world! We then begin
at the right end of our work, when we begin with God. If we give diligence
to make sure to ourselves the kingdom of God and the righteousness thereof,
as to all the things of this life, Jehovah-jireh--the Lord will provide
as much of them as he sees good for us, and more we would not wish for.
Have we trusted in him for the portion of our inheritance at our end, and
shall we not trust him for the portion of our cup, in the way to it? God's
Israel were not only brought to Canaan at last, but had their charges borne
through the wilderness. O that we were more thoughtful about the things
that are not seen, that are eternal, and then the less thoughtful we should
be, and the less thoughtful we should need to be, about the things that
are seen, that are temporal! Also regard not your stuff, Gen. xlv. 20,
23.
7. The morrow shall take thought for the things of itself: sufficient
unto the day is the evil thereof, v. 34. We must not perplex ourselves
inordinately about future events, because every day brings along with it
its own burthen of cares and grievances, as, if we look about us, and suffer
not our fears to betray the succours which grace and reason offer, it brings
along with it its own strength and supply too. So that we are here told,
(1.) That thoughtfulness for the morrow is needless; Let the morrow
take thought for the things of itself. If wants and troubles be renewed
with the day, there are aids and provisions renewed likewise; compassions,
that are new every morning, Lam. iii. 22, 23. The saints have a Friend
that is their arm every morning, and gives out fresh supplies daily (Isa.
xxxiii. 2), according as the business of every day requires (Ezra iii.
4), and so he keeps his people in constant dependence upon him. Let us
refer it therefore to the morrow's strength, to do the morrow's work, and
bear the morrow's burthen. To-morrow, and the things of it, will be provided
for without us; why need we anxiously care for that which is so wisely
cared for already? This does not forbid a prudent foresight, and preparation
accordingly, but a perplexing solicitude, and a prepossession of difficulties
and calamities, which may perhaps never come, or if they do, may be easily
borne, and the evil of them guarded against. The meaning is, let us mind
present duty, and then leave events to God; do the work of the day in its
day, and then let to-morrow bring its work along with it.
(2.) That thoughtfulness for the morrow is one of those foolish and
hurtful lusts, which those that will be rich fall into, and one of the
many sorrows, wherewith they pierce themselves through. Sufficient unto
the day is the evil thereof. This present day has trouble enough attending
it, we need not accumulate burthens by anticipating our trouble, nor borrow
perplexities from to-morrow's evils to add to those of this day. It is
uncertain what to-morrow's evils may be, but whatever they be, it is time
enough to take thought about them when they come. What a folly it is to
take that trouble upon ourselves this day by care and fear, which belongs
to another day, and will be never the lighter when it comes? Let us not
pull that upon ourselves all together at once, which Providence has wisely
ordered to be borne by parcels. The conclusion of this whole matter then
is, that it is the will and command of the Lord Jesus, that his disciples
should not be their own tormentors, nor make their passage through this
world more dark and unpleasant, by their apprehension of troubles, than
God has made it by the troubles themselves. By our daily prayers we may
procure strength to bear us up under our daily troubles, and to arm us
against the temptations that attend them, and then let none of these things
move us.
