A Vile Weed and a Fair Flower 2
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This covetousness is a great and crying evil! It is expressly forbidden in the Law—it has a commandment all to itself—"You shall not covet!" O Brothers and Sisters, would you wish to fly into an evil which the Lord, Himself, accounts so gross that He has branded it across the brow with one of the Ten Commands of the Decalogue—"You shall not covet"? Covetous people, I have often observed, are classed in Scripture with the worst of criminals. How revolting to be included in such bad company! Here in this very chapter we read, "Whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. Let your conversation be without covetousness." Thus covetousness is classed with the very filthiest of vices of the flesh! In another place the Apostle says, "covetousness, which is idolatry"—and thus it is identified with a loathsome impurity of the spirit. Let the Christian dread it!
God is not selfish, God is love—God hoards not—He gives liberally! He refuses not the poor, He delights in mercy. He spreads abroad in the midst of His creatures the good things which belong to Him and He bids them freely gather what He freely gives! Even thus would He have us distribute generously and disperse freely without covetousness.
Covetousness is an evil thing! It leads to all sorts of evil and it is especially evil in times of persecution. The Apostle knew that men who loved the world and hugged it were not the men to stand fast for God in the day of trial. Those who had the greatest fondness for worldly wealth were the first to turn aside and forsake the Savior when they had to undergo losses and crosses for His name’s sake.
Covetousness is a deadly poison, destructive of all virtue. It dries up the milk of human kindness in a man’s bosom and makes him hard, callous, indifferent towards the needs of his fellow creatures. How much infamy it fosters! The man whose heart is set on covetousness will do anything for gold—he will venture to stain his hands with blood, itself, if he may but gain it. I scarcely know any other vice which can more effectually damn its victim—and I speak the more earnestly about it because covetousness can readily enter into a man’s heart and he may not know it. St. Francis de Sales said that many came to him to confess all manner of sins—and many of them of a glaring nature. But he said that all his life long he never knew anybody acknowledge covetousness. Do you exclaim, "I wonder why this is?" Well, it is because a man does not like to think that he can be covetous! He cannot bring himself to acknowledge that he has quite gone to that length!
When his avarice is the most heartless, he generally calls it by a prettier name, such as prudence, thrift, or carefulness, so as to make it look more respectable. There is a great propensity about gold and silver and houses and lands to stick to one’s heart, and blind the judgment. It is difficult for those who have much to do with wealth, to be quite clear of SELF. Some men, by Divine Grace, get much and give much—they use the world and do not abuse it—but it is of the earth, earthy after all, and when it comes into contact with these hearts of ours it will corrupt and corrode. He who has this world’s goods has need to watch himself lest his possessions should injure him! And he who has them not, has need to watch himself, too, lest his indigence should injure him. There is an evil that comes by either the having or the not having. And let each man, therefore, be on his guard against it while he listens to the warning voice of the Apostle, "Let your conversation be without covetousness."
II. Secondly, as there is a vice to be shunned—so there is a virtue to be sought. The theme is more pleasing, now that we speak upon CONTENTMENT. "Be content with such things as you have." It is, after all, no very great virtue if we should attain it—the more pity, therefore—if we should miss it! The old moralists constantly remind us that we may have the necessities of life upon very easy terms—whereas we put ourselves to great pains for its luxuries. There have been contented people whose heads have been clear, their hearts simple and their habits temperate—though they have not known the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. We ought to surely, then, rise to that sanctity in which our moderation shall be known unto all men!
To be content with such things as we have, should be especially easy to us, because we have so much to be thankful for! We have such constant communications from the great Benefactor and so certain an assurance that He will withhold no good thing from those who walk uprightly! I am not speaking, now, of those who have houses and land and goods in abundance, for their complainings are discord, indeed, but I speak of all Christians.
This world is ours and worlds to come. Earth is our lodge—and Heaven our home! It ought to be easy for us to be contented since all things are ordered for our good. Arranged by our own dear Father’s hand, His appointments ought not to be difficult for a loving child to approve. The trial of our faith will soon be over—a long life of affliction is but a pin’s point of time. Be it ever so painful, we ought to be willing to bear the light affliction which is but for a moment. We know that God loves us, for we feel His love shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Should not contentment be easy under such circumstances? They say, "There is nothing ill that is well taken," and that is the testimony of a heathen—but that no harm can come of that which our God means for our good is quite certain. With His sorest chastisements often come to us His sweetest caresses.
Beyond this lower sky when this brief day is over—we shall be rich to all the intents of bliss! We have a heritage which will require everlasting ages to unfold! We have a treasure laid up which imagination cannot paint, of which it would sound fabulous to tell. Do we grope just now in darkness? Yet are we children of the day! In reversion now, in possession soon are the things that are to be revealed to us—and they are far more real than anything we have ever seen with these mortal eyes! It ought not to be a difficult thing for us to be content here for this brief hour. "What does it matter?" says a traveler, "I shall only stay here one night. I shall be up and away in the morning." And what does it matter to us, Brothers and Sisters? Until the day breaks and the shadows flee away, we may put up with a few hard things, for we may be where our Lord is in His Glory within the twinkling of an eye!
True contentment is absolutely essential to happiness. There is a plant called selfishness and if you will pull it up by its roots you will find that it grows in the soil of misery! Were self completely renounced and Christ fully received as All in All, sorrow would be so sweetly accepted by us that the sting of it would be taken away. We must be satisfied with what God appoints or else we shall be constantly the prey of discomfort and the victims of disappointment. O Christian men and women, will you not seek to be content with such things as you have?
I believe that contentment depends very much upon taking right views of things. There is, to wit, a "short view". To live by the day is the way to be cheerful. If you try to live by the month, you will bring home a month’s troubles. God has not constructed His people to live by the month—their souls, like their bodies—are fashioned to live by the day. His supplies, His promises—the very prayers He puts into our mouths, all deal with days—"Give us this day our daily bread." "As your days so shall your strength be." Live by the day, then, and you will be content. But also take "long views" as well as short views. Take the view which says, "It will be all the same a hundred years hence." Take the view which says, "We shall soon laugh at this present little vexation." Take that distant view which says, "When I get to Heaven, this great trial will seem very small. When I look from the hilltops of Glory at my present dilemma, it will probably cause me many a smile to think that I should have been so vexed and tormented by it."
Take this view of things—that a man’s life consists not in the abundance of the things that he possesses. Full often the more your goods increase, the more your cares multiply—the care to keep is often greater than the care to win—while, after all, the care rightly to use ought to be the most weighty care of all! If your God has loaded a neighbor with 10,000 pounds a year, thank God that He has not burdened you in that way! Be glad if He has given you as much as you can easily carry and no more. When I go for a walk, I like a staff—just one, but I would not like to be compelled to carry a hundred! Some men appear to me to have a hundred times as much as they can possibly need and so they are hampered with what might, in moderation, have been their help. Be not eager for great riches, nor seek after large domains in this world—lest you wallow in wealth, stick in it as in a bog, and drown your soul! Why load yourself with more clay, when you have as much to carry, now, as you can get along with? Be not surprised, therefore, any of you, but rather be thankful if God does, sometimes, lighten your load a little, to quicken your pace in the heavenly journey.
The secret of true contentment and the way to get at it is admirably expressed in these words, "Be content with such things as you have, for He has said, I will never leave you, nor forsake you." Some of the most easy-going people in the world are those who have a government pension of so much a month. It is little, but it is sure. If all the banks break, they will get it. They have no trouble as to how the markets fluctuate, or how different stocks rise and fall in value—or what dividends they might derive from investments. It is not a large income that falls to their lot, ‘tis true—but then it is all they require and it is always sure. You say to such a person, "You may set your heart at rest because your supplies come from a sure source." Now, then, that is exactly where the child of God stands, for we know Who has said—"Your bread shall be given you, and your water shall be sure."
Between now and Heaven I do not know who may starve, but I never shall, because the Lord is my Shepherd and I shall not lack! Those clever lawyers, those sharp-teethed schemers, those greedy oppressors—those young lions may lack and suffer hunger; but those who fear the Lord shall not lack any good thing. The Christian man’s fortune is made! "Oh, but he may be in great straits." Yes, but he shall be supplied in due time. All that he needs in this time state, his heavenly Father will give him. He needs but faith to believe this and he shall find it to be really so—"For He has said, I will never leave you, nor forsake you."
God’s Word ought to be taken as the Truth of God, itself, because it is! A promise from the mouth of God is better than a bond signed and sealed by the wealthiest of men! No negotiable securities can be comparable in value to this declaration of the Lord, "I will never leave you, nor forsake you." It is put very strongly. In the original there are five negatives, as in the verse you sang just now—
"The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose,
He will not, He will not, desert to his foes!
That soul, though all Hell should endeavor to shake,
He’ll never, no never, no never forsake."
The five negatives in the last line of that verse correspond with the five placed in this text—"I will never leave you, nor forsake you." It means that in no one single instance will the Lord leave you, nor in any one particular will He leave you, nor for any reason will He leave you. If you have cast yourself upon His infinite power and Grace, He will carry you to the end.
Not only will He not desert you altogether, but He will not leave you even for a little while! He may seem, for a small moment, to hide His face from you, but He will still love you and still supply your needs. Behind the wall He will pour oil upon the flame—if in the front of the wall He permits Satan to throw water upon it. He will feed you somehow—by the back door, if not by the front—by the ravens if not by the doves. If the brook Cherith fails, He will find a widow woman, even in a distant land who, in all her straits shall, nevertheless, feed the servant of God.
"I will never leave you, nor forsake you." Surely we cannot fail to be content if we do but get fast hold of this promise! Are you not always in the Divine Presence? Doe He not say, "I will never leave you"? No carpet on the floor, no paper on the walls? No pictures, no furniture, room sparse and unsightly? Yes, but suppose God is there—what does it matter? Buckingham Palace has not a drawing room to compare with that little room upstairs against the thatch, or with that attic where you cannot stand upright, where the stars peep in at night between the tiles. If God is there, I would sooner live in the worst cottage’s worst room, on the pittance of the parish, than where the floor was paved with marble, and the richest hangings adorned the ample chambers—but the Divine Glory was unknown!
If God is there—("I will never leave you")—then wherever the child of God is cast, there is a Glory round about him which makes him sublime in the midst of his poverty. "I will not forsake you," by which I understand that, as He will not withdraw His Presence, so will He not withhold His help. "I need," you say. "I need, I need." Go on with the list. "I need a thousand things." "I will not forsake you," He says. "I will see you through the trial. I will carry you over the difficulty. I will bear you on. I will lift you over. I will bring you out. I will abide with you to the end. I will not leave you nor forsake you." Is not that enough for your faith to feed on? What more do you need? Suppose He had said, "I will send my angels with you," or, "I will move all mankind to help you"? It would still not come to so much in its real meaning as this—"I will never leave you, nor forsake you."
But when did God originally say this? Well, you cannot find the exact words in the Scriptures of the Old Testament, but He did say the same, in effect, to Jacob at Bethel and to Joshua before he went to the invasion of Canaan. David said it, in the Lord’s name, to Solomon and Isaiah said the same to the whole people of God. Whatever God says to one saint, He says, virtually, to all saints who have the same faith. This renders the Bible such a rich storehouse of comfort to us! No Scripture is of private interpretation, but all Scripture is given for our personal appropriation! No promise is hedged about as the exclusive property of the one man who received it. If you are of like character and in like case, you may, O Believer, take the Lord’s Words to others as being spoken to yourself! You may plead a promise which God made to Joshua or to Jacob with just as much confidence as if He had made it especially to you. Remember this and be content with such things as you have.
III. Our last point, upon which our time will only admit a word or two, is the CONFIDENCE with which we may encourage ourselves and bid defiance to a frowning world. "So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man can do to me." This promise of the Lord is fitted to nerve us with courage, as well as to solace us with contentment. Chicken-hearts and cowardly fears ill become the disciples of Christ! If we are oppressed, or if we have to encounter opposition, we may just go straight ahead in the strength of our text, and say, "What can man do to me?" If God is our helper, dear Brothers and Sisters, why should we shrink or falter? Why should we droop or look dismayed? Why should we hold our peace or speak with bated breath? Are there any of you who are afraid to confess my Lord’s name before men, to enlist in His service, to buckle on His armor, to admit yourselves His followers?
Parley no longer, I beseech you, with such ungracious fears! Great thoughts have stirred within your breasts while we have presented the consoling word and the Spirit of God has rested upon it. Be great in act as you have been in thought! Since He has said, "I will never leave you, nor forsake you," why are you ashamed to come and acknowledge Him? "I am afraid I might dishonor His name," you say. But He has said, "I will never leave you, nor forsake you." "I am very weak," you say. He has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." "I might bring dishonor upon the Church to which I should unite myself." Very likely you would if He left you, but He has said, "I will never leave you, nor forsake you." It is always safe to do what God bids. There can be no sound policy in neglecting a Divine precept. So come forward and say boldly, "The Lord is my helper."
Possibly some of you have been persecuted. Hard names have been hurled at you—I hope you did not cry because of that. Poor child of God, your strength is very small if you are afraid of an ugly name! We have had a good many in our time—they have not broken any of our bones, nor will they injure you. "Oh, but you do not know what the chaff of the shop is." No, but give them some of your wheat in return. Let them see how a Christian can bear and forbear when their fun grows foul—how he can endure reproach for righteousness’ sake! You will be master of the situation, yet. "Alas, Sir, but I am threatened with the loss of my job unless I will go contrary to Divine commands." Then do not flinch, but tell your heavenly Father all about it. Commit your cause to Him! Let not 50 jobs or 500 people make you swerve from the course that faith dictates and duty demands! Appeal to God and He will provide for you. Any temporary loss you may sustain will be much more than made up in the prosperity He awards you—or if not in that way, in the peace He promises you and the honor He confers on you in suffering for Christ’s sake!
Oh that this very night the veil might be taken off many faces, the burden unloaded from many shoulders, and fear dispelled from many hearts! If you have cast off your grievous disquietudes while I have been talking, do not put them on again when you get outside! I have known many a poor tried child of God forget his trouble when he was sitting here, but he looked it up before he reached his home and so he returned to his old condition.
"Cast your burden upon the Lord and He shall sustain you. He will never allow the righteous to be moved." You have been looking too far ahead, dear Brother, dear Sister! Cure that fault by looking still further! Remember the coming of our Lord and the joy of His appearing and you may ease your pains in the present. Oh to live exempt from care—by the energy of prayer! Oh, to believe implicitly in God, to rest calmly in Him, to trust steadfastly in Christ and to take His yoke upon us cheerfully—then we shall find rest to our souls by learning of Him! The Lord help us all to do so, for His name’s sake. Amen.
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