The Delight of thriving and profperity, &c. 153 You moil labour in obedience to God, and work as his fer- vants, and that with cheerfulnefs and delight, and deny that felfand flefh that would have cafe, if ever you would have the heavenly reward. CHAP. The Delight ofthriving andprderity, &c. k Nother felfifh Intereft to be denied,is, ADelight ix ..L1profperity, andfeeing ourfelves thrive, and, our defigns facceed for worldly things. Thepeffeffiert of thefe things cloth not fo much delight, as the Hopei and fucceffei of our endeavours to attain them. The very thoughts of Profpering in our un- dertakings , and of being in a thriving courfe, and likely to reach fome higher things which are in our eye and hope, is the greaten part of the content ofWordlings. Men think that the world can do more for them then it can, and is fweeter then it is ; and therefore they are very eager in feeking it , and pleafe themfelves much with the thoughts of their fuppofed felicity : But when they have reacht the matter of their de- fires they find it is not the thing they took it for. But in the mean time they feed themfelves with fanciq.and expeftations, and think that though this doth not content them, which they haveattained, yet fuch or fuch a thing more would do it : and when they have that, yet fomewhat more woulddo and {fill though they come fhort of the felicity they expect yet it pleafeth them that they think they are in the way to it, and fee their endeavours feem to profper. The, poor man that hath a defire but to reach but to a competency doth pleafe himfelfmuchwhen he perceiveth that he is fair for it. Much more do the rich in the profpering of their defigns, .for the increafe, of their riches. And thus the turning away of the limp doth flay them, and the profperityoffools dothdefiroy them, Prov. I. 32. Iftheir profperity be fuch an eye-foreeven to the godly in temptation, when they judge according to the flefh, X no
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