But, behold! Divine Providence cuts him short, by cutting off his life on a sudden, and all his designs together with it. 5. And lastly, Consider that God professedly sets Himself to oppose the proud man that "glories in his own wisdom," to baffle his wisdom, and to turn it into folly, to cross and frustrate his designs and contrivances, and to bring his counsels to nought. It is a sad sentence to these men, which St. James hath, and St. Peter in his first Epistles; "God resisteth," sets Himself as it were in battle array, to fight with "the proud"." Indeed the proud man is an invader of the Divine glory, challenging that to himself which is God's; and against invasion, force useth to be opposed. Now who can stand against the Divine force and power? what wisdom is able to countermine the Divine wisdom? How easily, and how many thousand ways, can the almighty and the all-wise God confound the greatest politician! These considerations are sufficient to shew the great sin, vanity, and folly, of trusting to a man's own wisdom, without regard to the providence of God in the government of things, and the necessity of following the Wise Man's advice1; "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil." I proceed to the second part of the first observation. (2.) "Let not the mighty man glory in his might." Whether by that we understand might and strength of body, or a mighty interest in the world, or both. First, for bodily might and strength, men are generally apt to presume on it. The athletic man, he that enjoys a firm and robust constitution of body, seldom or never thinks of sickness, much less of death, as in any nearness of approach to him. He is upon the matter sure of a long life, and in this confidence (which is the greatest mischief) puts off and delays his repentance, giving himself up to vain and sinful pleasures and delights, and thinking it time enough many years hence to be serious and religious. This is a perfect vanity; for our own daily experience furnishes us with examples of the strongest men suddenly assaulted with Chap. iv. 6. * Ὁ Θεὸς ὑπερηφάνοις ἀντιτάσσεται. i Prov. iii, 5—7. weakness and sickness, and sinking under the burden of it into their graves, into dust and rottenness. The man whom we see brisk and lively to-day, so that we admire, and perhaps envy his health, within a few days hence we may hear sad news of, that he is either sick, or dying, or dead; and from being the object of admiration and envy, become on a sudden the object of our pity, grief, and sorrow. And it is a common observation, that many valetudinarians, many sickly persons, that scarce ever in their lives knew what health was, have yet outlived and trod upon the graves of those who have enjoyed it in the greatest perfection. These very frequently, either by a fever suddenly kindled in their blood or spirits, or by a surfeit taken in confidence of their strength to bear strong drink, or to digest the greatest load of meat; or by a fall, or some surprising accident, posting to the gates of death; to which the other march by the slow and leisurely paces of a long and lingering infirmity. Indeed God Himself delights to shew His strength in man's weakness, and His strength against man's strength; to teach us that we should not despond in the former, nor depend and trust in the latter. There are others that glory in their bodily strength, as their great and sure defence against their enemies; and indeed, in confidence of this, create enemies to themselves, braving and affronting all they meet with. But these persons generally at last meet with their match, yea, are overmatched: some of them fall as victims or beasts sacrificed to Bacchus, by a quarrel commenced in a drunken assembly: others die in the field, when they are neither drunk nor sober, by the sword of a private enemy, or perhaps a friend whom they would needs make their enemy, and are left there, as pitiful spectacles of grinning honour; and most of them come to an unfortunate and untimely end. But if by might we understand a great and mighty interest and power in the world; to trust in this is every whit as vain as our confidence in the former. For how often doth Almighty God "shew strength with His arm; scattering the proud in the imagination of their hearts, and putting down the mighty from their seats!" as it is excellently expressed in the Magnificat, or song of the blessed Virgin. How many examples * Luke i. 51, 52. power doth history, yea, our own age and observation, supply us with, of great and mighty men meeting with as great falls, and falling into the greatest ruin! But I shall not insist on this, as being a subject not so fit for this congregation. Only I shall make bold to send all great and mighty men, that trust in their and greatness, without a due dependence on Divine Providence, to take advice, and learn from a woman, but yet a woman divinely-inspired, and delivering the oracles of the great God; her name is Hannah, who', almost in the words of my text, thus bespeaks all the great men of the world: "Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed. The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girt with strength. The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich: He bringeth low, and lifteth up. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and He hath set the world upon them. He will keep the feet of His saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail." And so I pass to the third and last branch of my first observation. (3.) "Let not the rich man glory in his riches," let him not trust in these. This indeed is the greatest prop that the carnal and worldly man is apt to rely on; this is the rock and fortress, the tower and castle, to which upon all occasions, and in the greatest exigencies, he hath recourse and flies to; and here, if any where, he promiseth himself safety. The wise man thinks this the most necessary tool and instrument to work his designs by, and despairs of doing any great matters without it. The mighty and powerful man believes his chiefest strength and interest to lie in his wealth; a rich exchequer being accounted the surest support of the greatest monarch. And, in a word, among all ranks and degrees of men this is held for a maxim: Quantum quisque sua, &c. "The greater riches, the greater reputation and credit in the world." 1 1 Sam. ii. 3, 4. 7, 8, 9. Uu Hence the wisest of men, Solomon, tells us, that "money answers all things m," i. e. it answers all the designs, desires, and necessities of men. This indeed is the saying of the wisest of men; but yet this saying is to be taken cum grano salis, “with a grain of wisdom;" the same, which the Wise Man gives us in the same book"; "Wisdom is good with an inheritance: and by it there is profit to them that see the sun. For wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence: but the excellency of knowledge is, that it giveth life to them that have it." Wisdom and wealth, a good soul and a good estate, are fitly matched together. For, Haud facile emergunt, &c. "The greatest virtues are oppressed by poverty." Drusius on the text gives us a proverb of the Hebrews, "The law is good with the way of the earth." The law, that is, the study of the law, true piety, is good with the way of the earth, i. e. with some advantage that may afford a man a liberal and useful subsistence in this world. For the poor man cannot always, and in all circumstances, make use of his wisdom; or if he can use it, he wants authority: men generally regarding not what is spoken, but who speaks; and there being a great difference between the same saying or action, when spoken by a rich man in credit and reputation, and a poor despised person. But yet so excellent is true wisdom, that itself alone gives life to the owner of it; i. e. a comfortable life, a long life, (when Providence sees it good,) yea, life eternal. But an inheritance without wisdom is a sorry possession, and really a very poverty. Wealth separated from piety is a most vain thing, and it is the greatest folly to trust in it. But perhaps the text may be otherwise interpreted, by understanding the wisdom spoken of in the first place, of secular or worldly wisdom and the knowledge last mentioned, of the only true knowledge and wisdom, which the same Wise Man often tells us consists in the fear of God and sincere piety and religion, and then the words are to be thus paraphrased: "Wisdom is good with an inheritance; for wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence," &c. i. e. worldly wisdom and worldly wealth are m Eccles. x. 19. • Bona est lex cum via terræ. seemingly a strong security and fence to the man that hath them both together. But indeed neither the one nor the other severally, nor both together united, are to be depended on; that wisdom and understanding, which consists in the fear of God, being man's chiefest, yea, only security and felicity; that alone, which gives him life, i. e. makes his life safe and comfortable here, and brings him perfect peace and happiness hereafter. This is a plain comment on my text: "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the rich man glory in his riches: but let him that glorieth, glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me," &c. However this is certain, that wealth and riches are very vain things to be gloried and trusted in, as a man's chief security and felicity. For, 1. Riches reach only to the outward man, and cannot cure the inward evils and diseases of the mind. What doth all the wealth of the world signify to the man that is naturally and incurably melancholy, that dwells in a continual cloud, and looks on all the brighter things without him through a black glass and a thick mist of darkness? Besides, if some accidental discontent seize upon the rich man, (and the richest men are not out of the reach of such discontents,) how doth this sour all his enjoyments and delights, and render him inwardly most miserable, in the midst of all his outward happiness! How apt is every real or imaginary affront from his inferiors, that are either indeed so, or thought so by him, to disquiet and disturb him! How was Haman vexed in the midst of all his glory, for want only of a bow from Mordecai; Ahab, the richest of the kings of Israel, having taken a fancy to Naboth's vineyard, and being denied it, "was heavy and displeased," and took his bed upon it, and could not sleep, and would not eat. We are often infinitely mistaken, and take the falsest measures, when we envy the happiness of rich and great men; we know not the inward canker that eats out all their joy and delight, and makes them really much more miserable than ourselves. But what if a troubled conscience assaults the rich man? And from this danger he is not free, nay to this he is, of all others, most subject. For riches are styled by our blessed Lord "the Esth. iii. 5. 1 Kings xxi. 4. |