A supplement to The Morning-exercise at Cripple-Gate, or, Several more cases of conscience practically…

6. Prop. Another branch of predominant love to the world, is to make the Creature the object or matter, not only of our use, but also of our supreme fruition, complacence, and satisfaction. So much is implied in our text, [Greek or Hebrew], make not the world the object of your entire contentment, acquiescence, and satisfaction, draw not your choicest comforts and delights from terrene goods. There is some kind of contentment and complacence in worldly goods, which may consist with the love of God; but when the heart makes any worldly good the entire, or main object of its fruition and satisfaction, this denotes predominant love to the world. For Divine Wisdom hath put this Law or Order into things; that all Creatures are to be the object of our Use; but God himself the supreme object of our fruition and satisfaction, whence, to make any Creature the chief matter of our fruition and satisfaction, what is it, but to violate and pervert the order of the Creation, and set up the Creature in the place of the Creator? and doth not this bespeak predominant love to the Creatures? This our Lord elegantly describes in that parable of the rich glutton, Luke 12.15.19. you have the scope of the parable, v. 15. beware of Covetousness. [Greek or Hebrew] here, as elsewhere, signifies an avaricious greedy humour, or desire of having abundance, not only for use, but to pamper lust. The Metaphor being taken from the plethora or excess of any humour in the body. And our Lord adds the reason of this caution, for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. The sense seems this: all these lower things, which man's covetous heart doth so much lust after, are not the matter of our fruition and satisfaction, but Use only; therefore our life doth not consist in the abundance of them; but in an ordinate love to, and moderate use of them: to use them in that measure, and with that mediocrity as becomes them: whence they who make them the chief matter of their fruition and satisfaction, are possest with a predominant love unto them. This is exemplified in the following parable of the rich man, specially v. 18. all my fruit and my goods. He calls them his goods, as they were the main object of his complacence and delight, so v. 19. I will say to my soul, i. e. I will then recreate and satiate mine heart, with mine acquired goods:

6. Prop. Another branch of predominant love to the world, is to make the Creature the object or matter, not only of our use, but also of our supreme fruition, complacence, and satisfaction. So much is implied in our text, , make not the world the object of your entire contentment, acquiescence, and satifaction, draw not your choicest comforts and delights from terrene goods. There is some kind of contentment and complacence in worldly goods, which may consist with the love of God; but when the heart makes any worldly good the entire, or main object of its fruition and satisfaction, this denotes predominant love to the world. For Divine Wisdom hath put this Law or Order into things; that all Creatures are to be the object of our Ʋse; but God himself the supreme object of our fruition and satisfaction, whence, to make any Creature the chief matter of our fruition and satisfaction, what is it, but to violate and pervert the order of the Creation, and set up the Creature in the place of the Creator? and doth not this bespeak predominant love to the Creatures? This our Lord elegantly describes in that parable of the rich glutton,