CHAP. XIIII.
FOurthly, he puts his trust in his riches, & not in God, loves & serves Satan more then God; therefore he shall have his comfort, & reward from them and not from God. Yea Satan shall have more service of him for an ounce of gold, then God shall have for the Kingdom of heaven, be∣cause he prefers a little base pelf before God and his own salvation. He loves God well, but his money better, for that is his summum bonum: yea he thinks him a fool that does otherwise. What part with a cer∣tainty for an uncertainty? if he can keep both, well and good, if not, what ever betides he will keep his Mammon, his money, though he lose himself, his soul. And yet the Lord gives far better things for nothing, then Satan will sell us for our souls; had we the wit to consider it, as we may see, Isa. 55. 1, 2.
Again he loves his children better then the Lord, oppressing Gods children to inrich his own, for so his young ones be warm in their nest, let Christs members shake with cold, he cares not. He loves the Lord, as Laban loved Jacob, onely to get riches by him, or as Saul lo∣ved Samuel, to get honor by him. He will walk with God, so long as plenty, or the like does walk with him, but no longer; he will leave Gods service rather then lose by it.
That the Mammonist loves not God, is evident; for if any man love the world, the love of God is not in him, 1 John 2. 15. yea the two poles shall sooner meet, then the love of God and the love of money.
Nor is this all, for he not onely loves Mammon more then God, but he makes it his god, shrines it in his coffer, yea in his breast, and sacri∣ficeth his heart to it; he puts his trust, and placeth his confidence in his riches, makes it his hope, attributing and ascribing all his successes thereunto, which is to deny God that is above, as we may plainly see Job 31. 24, 28. Nor ought covetous men to be admitted into Christian society. We have a great charge to separate from the covetous, Eat not with him, sayes the Apostle, 1 Cor. 5. 11. and also wise Solomon, Prov. 23. 7.
Covetousness is flat idolatry, which makes it out of measure sinful, and more hanious then any other sin, as appears, Col. 3. 5. Ephes. 5. 5. Job 31. 24, 28. Jer. 17. 5. 1 Tim. 6. 9, 10. Fornication is a foul sin; but nothing to this, that pollutes the body, but covetousness defileth the