They do According: (for there lies the very strength of these words) According to the multitude of his Fruit, and

They do ACCORDING: (for there lies the very strength of these words) ACCORDING to the multitude of his Fruit, and ACCORDING to the goodness of his Land, they have made goodly Images.

There is a great deal of elegancy in the words in the Hebrew, so that from these two expressions, According, and According, here is the Note: That the love that Idolaters bear to their Idols, it is proportionable to what abilities they have to shew their love; according to the multitude of their Fruit, and according to the goodness of the Land. When Idolaters are low they will yet do what they can, and as they grow up they will do more.

Virgil he has a very fine expression of the Idolater toward his Idol there: We now make you but of Marble, but if so be our flock does increase, and we have as many Lambs as we have Sheep, we will make you of Gold.

And thus the true worshipers of God should do in their service to God, that must be proportionable; if they be able to bestow but Marble for the present, if God raises their estates, their Marble is to be turned into Gold, and not only in regard of their estates, but of the gifts, and means they have, any abilities; know that that which God will accept of when you are low in your gifts, and means, and parts, it will not serve turn when God increases you in your gifts, and means, and parts. Have you more than others? Account it your shame that it should be said of any in the world, That there is such an one that has less mercies than I, and yet God has more service from him than he has from me. There is no proportion between many of your increases for God, and your increases from God. Now you must look to the proportion to make it as exact as can be, my increase from God, and my increase for God; Oh! be often parallelling these two together, and see whether one do not come longer than the other; and be not at rest, Oh Christian! except you can make your ends be even. Those who are rich, must be rich in good works. In (1 Timothy 6) God gives us richly; therefore be rich in good works. It is not enough for a rich man to give sixpence, or twelvepence for some great service, but he is to be rich in good works, and for relieving distressed ones, and the maintenance of the Gospel; he is to be rich in good works, and to account their riches to be as well in their good works as in their estates; you have so much comings in more than others, you are rich in that; yes, but what works goes from you more than others? Are you rich in that? If we should judge the riches of men and women by their good works, how many rich men would there be accounted very poor? Every man must be serviceable as God has blessed them (1 Corinthians 16:2). Oh! this meditation would be of very great use to those whose estates are blessed by God; think thus, Is there such a distance between what service I do for God, and the service others do, as there is between what I receive from God, and what others receive from God? This meditation (I say) would be very useful; cast up your accounts thus, Consider what service does others for God, and what do I? I do as well as others, I but is there as much distance between the service that I do, and the service my poor neighbor does, as between my estate, and his estate? You perhaps can look upon poor people carrying Tankards, earning dearly ten pence or twelve pence a day, and you have many hundreds a year coming in, now is there as much difference? You would be loth to be in such a condition as those are in, Oh! but is there as much difference between the glory that God has from you, and the glory that God has from them? It may be some of them when they have been hard at work all day, they get home, and get alone with wife and children and fall a praying, and letting their tears fall down, and blessing God for their bread and drink that they have. And perhaps you in your many hundreds a year, and many dishes at your table, are but discontented and froward, Oh! consider, that though God has raised you above others in estates, yet you are lower than many others in good works. If a man has increased his estate more than before you shall quickly see it in his clothes, and his house shall be finer than before, his furniture shall be finer than before, you shall see his estate raised that way; but can you see it raised in his good works more than before? Oh! that such a man does more for the service of God than before, more for the relieving of the woeful necessities of his poor brethren than before. Men are ready if so be that men come finer to the Exchange than they did before, they think, What is this man grown richer than he was before? You should (if God does raise your estates) make it appear in being forward with good works, in good works that are chargeable, as that men may take notice of your riches by your rich works, rather than your rich clothes; except there be a proportion between our plenty and our prosperity, there is no evidence that our prosperity comes in mercy. But if a proportion, then not only an evidence that our prosperity comes in mercy, but a good addition to the good of our prosperity. If a Merchant has his Ship come home and he has gotten a thousand pounds by the Voyage, now if God raises his heart in a proportionable way to the furtherance of the Gospel, that is more than ten thousand pounds; a man would account that well if he has gotten so much and he could employ it to get ten times so much more, think but thus: You have gotten in your estate by being proportionable in service for God, you do increase the blessing ten fold, you often think of the blessing of God in giving you an estate more than before, and others think of it, Oh what a blessing such a man has! Yes, but think of the other blessing that follows; but has God given him or her a heart to do a great deal of service? The second blessing is the great blessing indeed. When David had rest, he presently thinks of building God an house, and that proportionable in what God had blessed him in. And that is very observable in the difference of Moses' Altar and Solomon's Altar; you know Moses he was in times of affliction, and his Altar was five cubits long, and three cubits broad; and Solomon's was twenty cubits long, and ten broad; Moses he was low for outwards; Solomon he was high; therefore Moses was five cubits high, and three broad; and Solomon's was twenty cubits long, and ten broad. God does proportion his goodness to what we do for him, why should not we proportion our service with what he does for us? And therefore when God blesses any of you in your outward estate, it is very good to do somewhat presently, as thus; A man perhaps heretofore had but a little stock, and lived in a Parish where he had but poor and mean preaching, now God raises his estate and he would have his house better, and his clothes better, why then should not I have better preaching for my soul? And so many other ways, if God has blessed you with good preaching, then help your poor neighbors some way or other that the Gospel may be furthered by God's blessing, and that in a proportionable way.