vii. 12. Now what do I wish
in this particular that others should do to me, but that they should
not seek to keep away persons from dealing with me; but if I use such
like expressions in my advertisements, as have been mentioned, what
do they imply but, that I wish all people should come to me, and deal
with me. If, however, already under the old covenant it was said,
"Thou shalt not covet," how much more sinful and altogether
unbecoming is it for us children of God, who are in fellowship with
the Father and the Son, to make use of such means, in order to ensure
to ourselves pecuniary advantages. But, however much the Lord may
allow a man of the world to prosper in using such means, they are
only hinderances to the child of God to getting on in his calling,
because the Lord sees that they are substituted instead of trust in
Himself; and should the Lord for a season allow His child apparently
to be benefited by them, it will only be for his chastisement and
connected with leanness in his soul. Therefore, my brethren in the
Lord, I beseech you to put away all these things out of your calling,
lest you should be hindering instead of furthering your real welfare.
6, Likewise of a similar character is the following point, which God
may suffer to be a real hinderance to His children in their calling,
it is, To seek the very best, (and therefore the most expensive)
situations which can be had in a town or city. Now I do by no means
intend to say, that in our trade, business, art, or profession, we
should seek the most obscure, retired, out of the way place possible,
and say, "God will provide, and I need not mind in what part of the
town I carry on my calling." There are most assuredly certain things
to be considered. The persons who are likely to buy the articles I
sell, or employ me, are to be considered, and I have not to say, it
matters nothing to me, whether I make them come a mile or two to my
house, or to the most dirty and disagreeable part of the town; this
would be the extreme in the other way. But whilst there is a certain
consideration to be used with reference to those who may employ us in
our calling, yet if the trust of the child of God respecting temporal
prosperity is in the fact that he lives in the best situation, the
Lord will surely disappoint him. He will have to pay a very high rent
for the best situation, and yet not succeed, because his trust is in
the best situation. He is substituting it for dependenc