difcontent, which always accompanies it, as we may fee in the cafe of Ahab, 1 Kings xxi. 4.; for it goes always on a comparison of our neighbour's condition with one's own, the grudge being that they have more or as much as we.

I fhall fhew the evil of it, and the remedies thereof.

First, I fhall fhew the evil of it briefly.

1. View it in the ingredients thereof, whereof it is made up.

ift, Sorrow and grief for the good of our neighbour, 1 Cor. xiii. 4. (fo oppofite is it to charity); for envy makes the heart like the moon that fhines full and clear in the night, as long as itself is the top. ping light, but grows pale and wan as foon as the fun rifeth, John iji. 26. The profperity and welfare of others is a weight on the envious heart, a thorn in the evil eye, and a prick in that weak fide, Gen. xxxi. 1.

2dly, Fretting anger at their good, Pfal. xxxvii, 1. What makes others eafy makes the envious uneafy; and the more fresh and green others are by the providence of God, the more withered and fretted are they, Num. xi. 28. 29. So it was with Jofeph's brethren. The fun fhining on others burns them up; and the more it warms their neigh bour, the more it fcorches them, and makes the black fume of envy and grudge to afcend.

2 View it in the fprings and rife thereof, wasi! 1, Covetoufnefs of what is their neighbour's. Had not Ahab coveted Naboth's vineyard, he had not grudged him the poffeffion of it. The envious would draw all to themfelves; and what they are forry others fhould keep, they themfelves would fain poffefs. A heart knit to the world, and carnal felf-intereft, cannot mifs to be envious.

2dly, Difcontent. The envious are always difcontented that they have not more than others, or that they want what others do enjoy. Difcontent

makes an empty room with them, and envy frets that it is not filled up with what belongs to their neighbour.

3dly, Pride and felfishness, Gal. v. ult. Pride fo exalts one's felf, and depreffes others, that nothing is too much for the proud man, and nothing too little for his neighbour. Selfishnefs cares only for what is one's own, and has no regard to the intereft of our neighbour, quite contrary to the spirit of the gospel, that teaches, that every man fhould not look on his own things, but alfo on the things of others, Phil. ii. 4. Hence the man cannot endure to fee others like him, far lefs above him.

3. View it in the effects thereof. It has almost the fame as thofe of discontent, which may be well applied thereto. I will only fay, that envy is a fword, and wounds three at once.

1st, It strikes against God, being highly offensive and difhonourable to him. It quarrels his government of the world, and accufes him of folly, partiality, and injuftice, Matth. xx. 15. It cannot reft in the difpofals of holy providence, but is ever picking quarrels with its management. Some have too much, others too little, the world is ill dealt; though had they the dealing of it, where there is one complaint now, there would be ten in that cafe, for they would heap it up to themfelves, come of others what would.

2dly, It ftrikes against our neighbour. It is a bitter difpofition of fpirit, withing his ill-fare, and grudging his good; and not only binds up mens hands from doing him good, but natively tends to loofe them to his hurt. It will be at him one way or other in word or deed, and there is no escaping the evil of it, Prov. xxvii. 4. Who is able to stand before envy? Oft-times it drives on men to the greateft extravagancies, as it did Jofeph's brethren to murder him; which being ftopt they fold him for a flave, Gen. xxxvii. 11. .

3. It ftrikes at one's felf, Job v. 2. Envy flayeth the filly man. Though it be fo weak as to do no execution on others, yet be fure it never miffes a man's felf; and it wounds one's felf the deeper, that it cannot do much hurt to the party envied. It frets the mind, and keeps it always uneafy as upon tenter-hooks; nay, it ruins the body, and fi lently murders it, Prov. xiv. 30. Envy is the rottennefs of the bones, making a man to pine away, be

cause others thrive.

Thirdly, I fhall give the remedies of this fin.

1. Taking and cleaving to God himself as our portion, Matth. vi. 21. God is a full portion, and in him there is enough for all; and if our fouls rest in him, they will eafily bear others having other things that we want. But the world can never

fatisfy; and therefore when people look for their portion in it, it is no wonder they be always complaining, and think others have more and better than they, because if they had it all alone, they would not have enough.

2. Loving God for his own fake, and our neighbour for his fake. Did we thus love, we would rejoice in God's honour and our neighbour's welfare. This guarded Mofes and John against envy, and made them joy in what others grieved at and grudged. An envious fpirit is a narrow fpirit, that is never concerned for the one nor the other, but for fweet felf, to which all muft be facrificed by them.

3. Humility, which would make us low in cur own eyes, and make others high. He that is in his own eyes nothing, will not grudge though his part be lefs than others; the chief of finners will never think the higheft feat among the favourites of providence belongs to him. And whofo have a due regard for others, will not grudge that it is well with them.

I come next to confider how the corruption of

nature runs in concupifcence, luft, or inordinate affection. The two branches into which it divides it

felf are,

1. A luft after what is our own.

2. A luft after what is our neighbour's, or not

ours.

First, A luft after what is our own. What God has given us, we may like and defire for the ends he has given it. But when that desire is inordinate, it is finful, it is luft and inordinate affection, Col. iii. 5. Now the defire of or love to or liking of what is ours is inordinate in these several cafes following, all which are here forbidden.

1. The heart's being fo glued to them, that it cannot want them, cannot part with them, 1 Cor. V1. 12. There is but one thing needful, Luke x. ult. the enjoyment of God. So God has made it, and therefore he would have us fit loofe to all other things.

other then inftead of that the heart cleaves to

other things, fo that it cannot part with them, that is a luft to them, that must be killed by weaning therefrom, Luke xiv. 26. There the heart grips too hard, and must have it.

2. A too great eagernefs in the ufing of them, when the heart cafts off the, band of religion and reafon, and runs loofe after them. Thus a man may have a luft to his own meat or drink, 1 Sam. xiv. 32. For our affections even to lawful things need. a curb, because they are ready to be violent; and the violent pulfe of the affections to them is a fymptom of a feverish foul diftempered by original fin.

3. The defire of them for other ends than God has allowed or appointed; for then it is carried without the rule fet by the Lord, and cannot mifs to be inordinate. Thus oft-times God's good creatures are defired to be fewel to lufts, Jam. iv. 3. 4. To defire meat for our neceflity is not evil, but for our lufts is not good. Whatever God has made ours, it is not abfolutely, but with a referve, to wit, for VOL. III. D d

fuch ufes as he has allowed; if we go beyond that with them, it is a finful lufting after the fame, as if it were not ours at all. But alas! in thefe things men are often like a tenant, who having taken a houfe to dwell in, would make bold to pull it down, and burn it for fewel.

4. The being led to the ufe of them, without reafon, necessity, or expediency. Then we are under the power of them, and not they under our power, 1 Cor. vi. 12. It is lawful to eat, but to be a flave to unreasonable appetite is a fin, and fo in other cafes. For fo the foul is degraded, and made to ferve a luft, inftead of commanding and regula ting the defire, which ought always to be fubject to right reafon. And however common this is, and but little regarded, it is the native effect of origi nal fin, which has difturbed the order and beautiful harmony of the faculties of the foul; the affections, like an unruly horse, refusing to be held in by the curb of reafon.

5. The ufing of them to the hurt either of foul or body; in that cafe the defire cannot but be inordinate. Our fouls and bodies are the Lord's, and he fays as of his own, Do thyself no harm. It must needs be a luft that carries a man over the belly of this command. Yet alas! how many fuch motions and affections have people to what is even their own, that to fatisfy them they facrifice both their fpiritual and temporal interefts! Hence it is a good rule in the ufe of lawful things, That then people do exceed, when by the ufe of them they are unfitted either for the fervice of God, or their own interest.

6. The ufing of them without any regard to the honour of God, 1 Cor. x. 31. The old world were payores, eating like beasts. The glory of God fhould regulate us in all things, determine us to the ufe of what is ours, and determine us against it; all being to be cut and carved as may beft fuit that end.

Secondly, A luft after what is our neighbour's, or