Covetousness brought to the bar of Scripture; or, A brief inquiry into the nature and evil of that sin

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COVETOUSNESS

BROUGHT TO

Section II. Wherein Consists The Evil And Sin Of Covetousness?

Having examined the nature and varieties of this passion of covetousness, it may next be inquired, Wherein the sinfulness of it consists? To a certain extent this question has necessarily been anticipated in the preceding remarks, and it might appear sufficient merely to refer to those passages of Scripture which have been already quoted, and some others of a similar import. But, in order to understand more clearly the ground and reasons of that condemnation which is passed against this sin with so much earnest repetition in the word of God, it may not be unprofitable to examine this part of the subject somewhat more closely, by attempting to analyze the effect and operation of the passion of covetousness upon the heart and mind of the individual, and as affecting his character and duty toward God and toward man.

And here it is proper to advert first to the very dif-

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ferent light in which the pursuit of worldly objects, whether these be riches themselves, or that honour and reputation which attend success in the prosecution of them, appears in the sight of God, from that in which it is seen by men. The world in general looks upon the possession of temporal wealth as a. great and positive good ; and approves and admires the skill and industry, and various resources of those who are so busily engaged in the pursuit. Their assiduity is commended, and held up as an example for imitation ; and their success, though it may be an occasion of envy, is secretly applauded from an inward sympathy, and the immediate or more distant prospect of advantage to accrue, or as an omen of like success to follow similar exertion. Again, the rich man is held in honour for his riches, independent of other qualifications ; his so ciety is sought, and acquaintance courted, and a multitude of willing retainers minister to his wishes. Neither do worldly persons in general stop to inquire by what means wealth has been obtained by its owner. The actual possession of it, and the influence which it gives, are usually the only objects of consideration, and seldom the lawfulness or unlawfulness of the acquisi tion.

" The rich hath many friends." — Prov. xiv. 20. " Wealth maketh many friends, but the poor is separated from his neighbour , . , Many will entreat the favour of the prince ; and every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts. All the brethren of the poor do hate him ; how much more do his friends go far from him ? he pursueth them with words, yet they are wanting to him." — Prov. xix. 4-6-7.

It is one of the most unpleasant features, and one of the worst symptoms of society in our own country, Britain, so highly favoured by providence, that money is accounted the measure of all things, not in commercial exchange merely, but in the intercourse of man with man ; that wealth is the most certain avenue to public deference, as well as the great object of individual pursuit. Hence the separation so strongly marked between those comparatively few who are the possessors of great riches, and all other classes of the community, and that opposition of interests and alienation of feeling which are thus generated. Nor is this false estimate of reputation confined to mere men of the world, Does it not prevail to a great extent among all classes of the community, and even with many of those who make the most open profession of the Christian faith ?

But what, on the other hand, is God's estimate of this wisdom of man ? "He accepteth not the persons of princes, nor regardeth the rich more than the poor." — Job. xxxiv. 19, " Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased ; for when he dieth he shall carry nothing

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away ; his glory shall not descend after him ; though while he lived he blessed his soul : and men will praise thee when thou doest well to thyself. He shall go to the generation of his fathers : they shall never see light." — Ps. xlix. 16-19. Here is the opposition and contrast distinctly and forcibly brought forward between the divine judgment and the false estimate of man* And it is marked in still stronger language by the same inspired pen, where it is said, " The wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the Lord abhorreth." — Ps. x. 3. And what were the first words with which Jesus opened his mouth and addressed his disciples? " Blessed are ye poor," blessed in being saved from the snares of w r ealth and deceitfulness of riches ; blessed in not having their affections set upon earthly things, not seeking the honour that is from men. When " the Pharisees, who were covetous ...derided him... Jesus said unto them, ye are they which justify yourselves before men, but God knoweth your hearts ; for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God." — Luke xvi. 14-15. There are, indeed, some features of this passion, which, independent of religious considerations, have always rendered it contemptible, if not hateful, to generous minds. Much has been said and written of the disquietude and disappointment attending great earthly possessions ; the slight tenure by which they are held even during the enjoyment ; and their total unfitness to be the chief portion of a reasonable being. The vanity of riches has been a fertile theme for the moralist in every age ; and the inordinate pursuit of them has been condemned by the wise and good among men of all times, as a base and unworthy occupation.

How many have there been of the great and honoured men among the heathen of ancient times, who might be our teachers in this moral lesson : of those Who could contemn Riches though offered from the hand of kings.

And, among those who have not been actuated byhigher motives than regard to the opinion of their fellow-men, we see cases in every age where wealth and high estate, with all their advantages, have been freely abandoned ; and

To give a kingdom has been thought Greater, and nobler done, and to lay down Far more magnanimous than to assume.

How well has the vanity of earthly riches and grandeur been proved by those frequent and memorable reverses in the history of nations and individuals, where they, who were the pride and excellency of all the earth, who had set their nest on high, and sat, as it were, alone in the midst of their treasures, have been in a moment cast down from their summit, stripped of their great possessions, emptied of their pride, and buried, it may be, with the burial of an ass. Nor is it necessary to dwell on the character and history of those more private and obscure individuals, who have wasted their existence in penury and want, to amass a useless store, the slaves of mammon, who have toiled and dug into the bowels of the earth to collect the glittering dust, in whom the very lineaments of human nature appear to have been obliterated, whose lives were wretched, and whose memories rot. Such men have been ridiculed by the painter, and lashed by the satirist, in every age.

But let us turn rather to the weighty and authoritative language of holy writ, and hear the voice of inspiration, where it proclaims the end of the worldly and avaricious man, and the emptiness of his hope. First, It is a life full of disquietude: " Surely every man walketh in a vain show ; surely they are disquieted in vain : he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them." — Ps. xxxix. 6. " In the revenues of the wicked is trouble." — Prov. xv. 6. "It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows ;" — that is, of carefulness and trouble.— Psalm cxxvii. 2. We see thus how opposite are the state and feeling of the covetous man from those of the believer in Jesus. For the fruits of the spirit are love, joy, and peace ; but the fruits of covetousness are care and trouble, anxiety and distrust. Secondly, The acquisition does not bring even present satisfaction, for the

appetite still increases bv what it feeds upon, and this craving of the mind is never sated or allayed.— " Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man" — that is, of the avaricious man — "are never satisfied/'— Prov. xxvii. 20. " He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver, nor he that loveth abundance with increase : this also is vanity. When goods increase, they are increased that eat them ; and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes.*. The abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep." — Eccles. v. 10—12. Thirdly, They are not a foundation on which to build any hope of happiness. They are, at best, transient in their nature ; and they often bring ruin and destruction upon their possessor. " Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings ; they fly away, as an eagle toward heaven."— Prov. xxiii. v. " As the flower of the grass he" — the rich man — " shall pass away. For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth ; so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways." — James i. 10, 11. Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength, but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness."— Ps. lii. 7. " Riches profit not in the day of wrath." — Prov. xi. 4. " He that trusteth in his riches shall fall." — Ver. 28.

" The Lord casteth away the substance of the wicked." — Prov. x. 3. " Behold these are the ungodly who prosper in the world ; they increase in riches.... Surely thou didst set them in slippery places; thou castedst them down into destruction. . . . As a dream when one awaketh, so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image." — Ps. lxxiii. 12-18-20. " As the partridge sitteth upon eggs, and hatcheth them not, so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool." — Jerem. xvii. 11. Of Moab, it is said, " because thou hast trusted in thy works, and in thy treasures, thou shalt also be taken." — Jerem. xlviii. 7. And of Babylon, " O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness." — Jerem. li. 13. " In one hour so great riches is come to nought." — Rev. xviii. 17. And in the final overthrow of the Israelites, it is said, that " they shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed ; their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord : they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels." — Ezek. vii. 19. The ground of the rich man, in the parable, brought forth plentifully > but when he thought within himself, " thou hast much goods laid up for many years. . . . God said unto him, thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee ; then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided?" — Luke xii. 19. And the awful sentence of retribution for riches misapplied, is, " Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things ; but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented." — Luke xvi. 25. " Go to now, ye rich men, howl and weep for your miseries that shall come upon you." — James v. 1,

Such, then, are the vanity and the danger of riches, considered as an ultimate object of pursuit ; and such the disappointment and miserable end of those who make gold their hope, and the fine gold their confidence.

But it may be shown still more particularly, wherein the evil and sin of this disposition consist, and what are the grounds of the many awful denunciations against it which are contained in the word of God, not only as regards this life, but also that which is to come. In one view, it might be sufficient merely to say, that as it is expressly forbidden by God, and contrary to his will, the Christian requires no other motive or reason to influence him in flying from that as from every other sin. " Beware of covetousness." " Love not the world, neither the things of the world." This is the command of God. But the force of the prohibition will be more fully understood and felt, when we consider the effect of covetousness upon the heart and mind ; from a view of which, the Christian may be awakened to a greater jealousy over himself, and be made more earnest to shun the very appearance and first rising of this passion in his breast. The sin of covetousness may be considered in its effect upon the character, under these three heads, of spiritual, intellectual, and moral degradation.

1. Of its effect on the spiritual character and condition.

This effect and influence may be considered under four several aspects. 1. In so far as the love of earthly possessions is strong, and the attainment of them an object of anxious and inordinate pursuit, in the same proportion are the thoughts and desires necessarily withdrawn from things heavenly and spiritual. Riches have been elegantly, as well as justly, said to be the hindrances, or baggage, of virtue, impedimenta virtutis, a word for which our language does not afford a single, or full, equivalent. As the train and magazine of an army are an impediment to the easy and rapid movements of the soldier, so is great wealth a hindrance to the advance of virtue. Much more is this true of the Christian's warfare and spiritual progress. The rich man is so hampered with his possessions, so encumbered by his habiliments and stores, that he has not alacrity* and does not find space to go forward in the narrow

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way. " No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life ; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier." — 2 Tim. ii. 4.

Farther, not only is the attention occupied by the cares of life, but the heart also is engaged. He whose desire is much bent on the acquisition of temporal wealth, will not have his affection supremely placed upon the inheritance which is eternal. " Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." The effect may be greater or less, according to the intenseness of the desire and the ardour of the pursuit ; but the tendency of covetousness, in every case, and in all its forms, is to lessen the apparent value of spiritual things, and unduly to magnify the importance of things earthly and sensual. " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength, is the first commandment." But the avaricious man cannot give obedience to it, for he has another object and another desire which comes in competition with it. His mind and heart are transferred from God the Creator, and placed upon the creature. And so it has ever proved, that as the abundance of this world's goods has increased with any, so has the temptation to forget God likewise increased and become stronger. Of the effect of worldly prosperity in thus impairing the health of the soul, in producing an indisposition to

God's ways and commandments, and preventing that surrender of the heart which he requires, we have abundant proofs in Scripture history ; and we need be at no loss to find abundant proofs in daily life, of the same influence and results which are so strongly marked in the description of the Israelites. " They have not served thee. . .in the large and fat land which thou gavest before them ;" and therefore in that land were they made servants. — Nehem. ix. 35. " Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked ; . . .then he forsook God, which made him, and lightly esteemed the rock of his salvation." — Deut. xxxii. 15, " Beware," says Moses, "that thou forget not the Lord thy God... lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein, and when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied, then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thy God." — Deut. viii. 11-14. And how fully was the prediction verified, notwithstanding these warnings. For " they soon forgat his works; they waited not for his counsel; but lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert. And he gave them their request ; but sent leanness into their soul." — Ps. cvi. Of worldly men it is said, " they spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave. Therefore they say unto God, depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways : what is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit should we have if we pray unto him?" — Job xxi. 13-15. From a dread of such effects of prosperity, we find Agur deprecating riches ; " lest I be full and deny thee, and say, who is the Lord ? "

The worldly man, who is steeped in the cares of this life, soon wearies of the service of God, as an impediment to his pursuits, saying, " when will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn, and the Sabbath, that we may set forth wheat?" — Amos viii. 5. And his prayers are hindered, or do not receive an answer, or bring down a blessing ; for they are carnal. " Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts." — James iv. 3.

As a covetous disposition thus impairs the spiritual health, and indisposes for the service of God, it is necessarily, and for the same reason, a great obstacle to the reception of divine truth, and has always proved one of the great hindrances to the Gospel in the minds and hearts of men. When our Saviour and his apostles preached the kingdom of God, with how little effect did they commonly address the men of the world ! The young man whom Jesus desired to sell that which he had, and give to the poor, " when he heard that saying, went away sorrowful : for he had great possessions." — Matt. xix. 22. Though assured that so he should have treasure in heaven, he was unwilling to part with his treasure on earth ; he would gladly have possessed both, but was unable to sacrifice the latter, and was overcome by the temptation. Of those who were invited to the marriage feast, it is said that " they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise." — Matt. xxii. 5 ; or, as narrated by another evangelist, " they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it : I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused." — Luke xiv„ 18, 19. " And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things, and they derided him." — Luke xvi. 14. Thus is the Gospel message still neglected by worldly and avaricious men.

" If our Gospel be hid," says the apostle, " it is hid to them that are lost; in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." — 2 Cor. iv. 3, 4 a They are engrossed with things of the earth, and will not give time or heed to the things which belong to their everlasting peace. Hence it is, that " not many rich, not many noble," (in the estimation of man,) are among the number of those who are called. Or, if thev do for a season listen to the outward call, the good word is as seed sown among thorns; for " the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful." — Mat. xiii. 22. If they put their hand to the plough for a time, how often are they found looking back to the world, and walking no more with Christ ! " And Jesus looked round about, and, (finding the young man gone,) saith to his disciples, how hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God ! And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God." — Mark x. 23, 24, And to testify how strong is the temptation, and how difficult to resist the influence of wealth, it is added in these words of allegory, " It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." — Ver. 25.

2. As a covetous disposition indisposes the mind to the contemplation and love of spiritual things, so it also engenders or betrays a want of confidence in God, and of trust in his providence ; of that firm and habitual dependence upon him for life, as w T ell as godliness, which he requires from his creatures, and which is characteristic of his people. In the exercise of this trust, the manna was to be gathered daily by the Israelites, and if greater provision was made, the residue corrupted and became unprofitable. The Christian is authorised to pray for his daily bread in like manner ; and, if actuated by this principle of faith and submission, the supply will be suited to his necessities ; he that gathers much will have " nothing over," and he that gathers little will have no "lack." — -Exodus xvi. 18. The covetous man is an unbeliever in the word and promises of God. " Trust in the Lord, and do good... and verily thou shalt be fed... I have been young, and now am old ; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread." — Ps. xxxvii. 3, 25. " 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 ? "—Mat. vi. 30. " Let your conversation" — your life and walk in the world — " be without covetousness, and be content with such things as ye have ; for he hath said I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." — Heb. xiii. 5. " Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you." — 1 Peter v. 7. " Go to now, ye that say, to-day or to-morrow, we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell and get gain ; whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow ... For that ye ought to say, if the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that." — James iv. 13, 15. The believer rests upon the promises of God for all things, both those pertaining to this life and to that which is to come. But the man of the world, above all the greedy and avaricious man.

virtually denies them ; he will provide for himself, trusting to his own wisdom, and his own foresight ; he would make himself independent of God, and lay up a store of goods for many years, vainly and impiously hoping that he will be thus placed above the accidents of time and change.

3. Connected with this feature of his character, which resolves into unbelief, is that pride and elevation of heart which is the usual concomitant and effect of great temporal prosperity. How naturally and how often does the man, whose whole mind and exertions have been employed in amassing riches, make them not only his boast, but his confidence. Instead of submitting the disposal of his lot to God, he resolves to be the artificer of his own fortune. But what says the Lord to this spirit of independence ? It follows after the words last quoted from the apostle : " But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil." — James iv. 16. Instead of resting upon the Lord, he trusts in his own arm, and leans upon his own understanding, and makes his great possessions the rock of his strength and his fortress. But, " woe to them," saith the Almighty, ..." that stay on horses and trust in chariots because they are many... but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the Lord." — Isaiah xxxi. 1. " They ...trust in their wealth/ and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches." — Ps. xlix. 6. "Is not this great Babylon that I have built," said Nebuchadnezzar^ in that day of his glory, and that hour which ushered his fall, " for the house of the kingdom* by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty ?"— Dan. iv. 30* " Thine heart," says the prophet to Tyrus, "is lifted up because of thy riches : therefore thus saith the Lord God, because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God, behold therefore I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations." — Ezek. xxviii. 5-7. " Beware," said Moses to Israel, " lest. ..when all that thou hast is multiplied, &c, thou say in thine heart, my power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth." — Deut. viii. 17. Pride, arising from the "fulness of bread," was among the sins which called 'down the judgment of God upon Sodom.—- Ezek. xvi. 49. w The rich man's wealth," says Solomon, " is his strong city, and as an high wall in his own conceit."— -Prov. xviii. 11. M According to their pasture, so were they filled: they were filled, and their heart was exalted ; therefore have they forgotten me." — Hos. xiii. 6. " They say, have we not taken to us horns by our own strength." — Amos vi. 13. Such is the fruit of unsanctified riches 5 whereas it is the " name of the Lord" which is w the strong tower" of the righteous, where he runneth and is safe. — Prov. xviii. 10. " Lo," says the Psalmist of the proud and wicked man, " this is the man that made not God his strength, but trusted in the abundance of his riches." — Ps. lii. 7.

4. But not only does this sin of covetousness impair the spiritual health and strength by drawing the mind unduly towards the earth, by lessening trust and reliance upon God's providence, and by generating pride of heart and presumption ; being connected thus with spiritual decay, unbelief, and hardness of heart; but the covetous man is farther represented in Scripture as an offender and rebel against the honour and majesty of God. He not only refuses to obey the injunction, " My son, give me thy heart," but sins against the positive commandment, " Thou shalt have no other gods before me." We know that idolatry consists not merely in the worship of graven images, and the outward service paid to the work of man's hands, but " in setting up any idol in the heart," through which we are " estranged from the service of God," and giving it the homage which is due to him alone. — Ezek. xiv. 3-5. As the covetous man gives his affections to the world, so he pays his homage to its authority, and says of its possessions, in reality, if not in words, " these be my gods ;" he worships them as his chief good, and sacrifices to the acquisition of them his talents and his time. Hence is he characterized in the word of God as an idolater*

It is remarkable that the heathen nations, even in their most corrupted times, and when altogether given to open idolatry and image worship, did not personify or consecrate a shrine to this passion, among the multitude of their false deities.