Chapter 12. Showing What the Prize Is Which Believers Wrestle for Against Principalities, Powers, and Spiritual Wickedness in High Places

SECT. I.

THese words contain the last Branch in the description of our grand enemy, which have in them some ambiguity, the Adjective being only exprest in the Original; [illegible], that is, in heavenlies; the phrase being defective, our Translatours read it in high or heavenly places, as if the Apostle intended to set out the advantage of place, which this our enemy, by being above us has of us Indeed this way most Interpreters go, yet some both ancient and modern reade the words not in heavenly places, but in heavenly things, interpreting the Apostles mind to set out the matter about which, or prize for which we wrestle with Principalities and Powers, to be heavenly things.[illegible], (says Oecumenius) is as much as if the Apostle had said, [illegible]: We wrestle not for small and trivial things, but for yea, for heaven it self, and our Adoption, as he goes on. The same way Chrysostome carries it, in coelestibus, id est, pro coelestibus Dei. And after him Musculus, and other modern Writers. The Reasons which are given for this Interpretation are weighty.

First, the word elsewhere indefinitely set down, is taken for things, not places, Hebrews 8:5. nay, one observes this word to be used almost twenty times in the New Testament, and never for any aërial place, but alwayes for things truly heavenly and spiritual; the word indeed properly signifies supercelestial, and if applied to places, would signifie that where the devil never came since his fall.

Lastly, there seems no great argument to render Satan formidable by his being above us in place; 'tis some advantage indeed to men, togain the hill, or be above their enemies in some place of strength, but none at all to spirits; but now take it of things, and then it addes weight to all the other branches of the description. We wrestle with Principalities and Powers, and Spiritual wickedness, and against all these, not for such toyes and trifles as the earth affords, which are inconsiderable whether to keep or lose; but for such as heaven holds forth, such an enemy, and such a prize makes it a matter of our greatest care, how to manage the combate. The word thus opened, the note will be this:

SECT. II.

The chief prize for which we wrestle against Satan is heavenly. Or thus, Satans main designe is to spoil and plunder the Christian of all that is heavenly. Indeed all the Christian has, or desires as a Christian is heavenly; the world is extrinsecal, both to his being and happiness; it is a stranger to the Christian, and intermeddles not with his joy nor grief. Heap all the riches and honours of the world upon a man, they will not make him a Christian; heap them on a Christian, they will not make him a better Christian. Again, take them all away, let every bird have his feather, when stript and naked he will still be a Christian, and may be a better Christian. It was a notable speech of Erasmus, if spoken in earnest, and his wit were not too quick for his conscience; Nihilo magìs ambio opes & dignitates, quàm elumbis equus graves sarcinas: He said he desired wealth and honor no more than a feeble horse does a heavy cloak-bag. And I think every Christian in his right temper would be of his minde. Satan should do the Saint little hurt, if he did bend his forces only or chiefly against his outward enjoyments; alas, the Christian does not value them, or himself by them: this were as if one should think to hurt a man by beating of his clothes when he has put them off. So far as the Spirit of grace prevails in the heart of a Saint, he has put off the world in the desire of it, and joy in it; so that these blowes are not much felt: and therefore they are his heavenly treasures, which are the booty Satan waits for.

SECT. III.

First, the Christians nature is heavenly, borne from above; As Christ is the Lord from heaven, so all his off-spring are heavenly and holy: now Satans design is to debase and deflower this; 'tis the precious life of this new creature that he hunts for; he has lost that beauty of holiness which once shone so gloriously on his Angelical nature; and now like a true Apostate he endeavours to ruine that in the Christian which he has lost himself. The seeds of this warre are sowen in the Christians nature; you are holy, that he cannot endure; Milet feri faciem, was Caesars speech, when to fight with the Romane Citizens, he bade his souldiers strike at their face, these Citizens (said he) love their beauty, marre that and marre all. The soul is the face whereon Gods image is stamp't: holiness is the beauty of this face, which makes us indeed like God, this Satan knowes God loves, and the Saint is chary of; and therefore he labors to wound and disfigure this, that he may at once glory in the Christians shame, and pour contempt upon God in breaking his image; and is it not worth engaging limbe and life in battel against this enemy, who would rob us of that which makes us like God himself? Have you forgot the bloody Articles of peace that Nahash offered to the men of Jabesh-Gilead? no peace to be had, except they would let him thrust out their right eyes, and lay it for a reproach upon all Israel, which how it was entertained reade, 1 Sam 11.6. The face is not so deformed that has lost its eye, as the soul is that loseth its holiness; and no peace to be expected at Satans hands except he may deprive us of this: Me thinks at the thought of this, the Spirit of the Lord should come upon the Christian, and his anger should be kindled much more against this cursed spirit, then Sauls and the men of Israels was against Nahash

Secondly, the Christians trade is heavenly; the merchandize he deals for is of the growth of that heavenly Countrey, Philippians 3:20. Our conversation is in heaven. Every mans conversation is suitable to his calling; he whose trade lies in the earth minds earthly things: and he whose trade is heavenly followes that close. Every man mindes his own businesse, the Apostle tells us. You may possibly finde a Tradesman out of his shop now and then, but he is as a fish out of the water, never in his element till he be in his calling again. Thus when the Christian is about the world, and the worldling about heavenly matters, both are men out of their way, not right girt, till they get into their employment again. Now this heavenly trade is that which Satan does in an especial manner labor to stop. Could the Christian enjoy but a free trade with heaven a few years without molestation, he would soon grow a rich man, too rich indeed for earth; but what with losses sustained by the hands of this Pyrate Satan, and also the wrong he receives by the treachery of some in his own bosome, (that like unfaithful servants hold correspondence with this robber) he is kept but low in this life, and much of his gaines are lost. Now the Christians heavenly trade lies either within doors or abroad; he can be free in neither, Satan is at his heels in both.

First, within doores. This I may call his home-trade which is spent in secret between God and his own soul, here the Christian drives an unknown trade: he is at heaven and home again, richly laden in his thoughts with heavenly meditations before the world knows where he has been. Every creature he sees is a text for his heart to raise some spiritual matter and observations from: Every Sermon he heares cuts him out work to make up and enlarge upon when he gets alone. Every Providence is as winde to his sailes, and sets his heart a moving in some heavenly affection or other suitable to the occasion. One while he is wrap't up with joy in the consideration of mercy, another while melted into godly sorrow from the sense of his sins. Sometimes exalting God in his praises, anon abusing himself before God for his own vilenesse. One while he is at the breast of the Covenant, milking out the consolations of the Promises; at another time working his heart into a holy awe and feare of the threatenings. Thus the Christian walks aloft, while the base worldling is licking the dust below. One of these heavenly pearles which the Christian trades for, is more worth then the worldling gets with all his sweat and travel in his whole life. The Christians feet stand where other mens heads are; he treads on the Moon, and is clothed with the Sun; he looks down on earthly men (as one from a high hill does upon those that live in some fenne or moore) and sees them buried in a fog of carnal pleasures and profits, while he breaths in a pure heavenly aire, but yet not so high as to be free from all stormes and tempests; many a sad gust he has from sin and Satan without. What else mean those sad complaints and groans, which come from the children of God, that their hearts are so dead and dull, their thoughts so roving and unfixt in duty, yea, many times so wicked and filthy, that they dare hardly tell what they are, for feare of staining their own lips, and offending the eares of others by naming them? Surely, the Christian findes it in his heart to will and desire he could meditate, pray, heare, and live after another sort then this, does he not? yes, I durst be his surety he does. But so long as there is a devil tempts, and we continue within his walk, it will be thus more or lesse, as fast as we labor to clear the spring of our hearts, he will be labouring to royle or stop it again; so that we have two works to do at once, to performe a duty, and watch him that opposs us, trowel and sword both in our hands. They had need work hard indeed, who have others continually endeavouring to pull down, as they are labouring to rear up the building.

Secondly, that part of the Christians trade, which lies abroad, is heavenly also. Take a Christian in his relations, calling, neighbourhood, he is a heavenly trader in all; the great businesse of his life is to be doing or receiving some good; that company is not for him that will neither give nor take this. What should a Merchant be where there is no buying nor selling? Every one labors (as his calling is) to seat himself where trade is quickest, and he is likest to have most takings. The Christian (where he may choose) takes such in relations near to himself, (husband, wife, servants) as may suite with his heavenly trade, and not such as will be a pull-back to him; he falls in with the holiest persons as his dearest acquaintance: if there be a Saint in the town where he lives, he'll finde him out, and this shall be the man he will consort with; and in his conversation with these and all else, his chief work is for heaven, his heavenly principle within inclines him to it. Now, this alarums hell. What, not contented to go to heaven himself, but by his holy example, gracious speeches, sweet counsels, seasonable reproofs, will he be trading with others, and labor to carry them along with him also? This brings the Lion fell and mad out of his den, such to be sure shall finde the devil in their way to oppose them. I would have come, (says Paul) but Sacan hindered me. He that will vouch God, and let it appear by the tenure of his conversation that he trades for him, shall have enemies enough if the devil can help him to such.

Thirdly, the Christians hopes are all heavenly, he lots not upon any thing the world has to give him. Indeed he would think himself the most miserable man of all others, if here were all he could make of his Religion. No, 'tis heaven and eternal life that he expects; and though he be so poor as not to be able to make a Will of a groat, yet he counts himself a greater heire, then if he were child to the greatest Prince on earth. This inheritance he sees by faith, and can rejoyce in the hope of the glory which it will bring him. The masquery and cheating glory of the great ones of this world, moves him not to envy their fanciful pomp, but when on the dunghil himself, he can forget his own present sorrowes to pity them in all their bravery, knowing that within a few days the crosse will be off his back, and the crowns off their heads together, their portion will be spent when he shall be to receive all his. These things entertain him with such joy that they will not suffer him to acknowledge himself miserable, when others think him and the devil tells him, he is such. This, this torments the very soul of the devil, to see the Christian under saile for heaven, fill'd with the sweet hope of his joyful entertainment when he comes there, and therefore he raiss what stormes and tempests he can, either to hinder his arrival in that blessed Port, (which he most desires, and does not wholly despair of) or at least to make it a troublesome winter-voyage, (such as Pauls was, in which they suffered so much losse,) and this indeed very often he obtains in such a degree, that by his violent impetuous temptations beating long upon the Christian, he makes him throw over much precious lading of his joyes and comforts; yea, sometimes he brings the soul through stresse of temptation to think of quitting the ship, while for the present all hope of being saved seems to be taken away. Thus you see what we wrestle with devils for. We come to Application.

SECT. IV.

Use 1 This is a word of reproof to four sorts of persons.

First, to those that are so far from wrestling against Satan for this heavenly prize, that they resist the offer of it. In stead of taking heaven by force, they keep it off by force. How long has the Lord been crying in our streets, Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand? how long have Gospel-offers rung in our ears? and yet to this day many devil-deluded souls furiously drive on towards hell, and will not be perswaded back, who refuse to be called the children of God, and choose rather the devils bondage then the glorious liberty with which Christ would make them free, esteeming the pleasures of sin for a season greater treasures then the riches of heaven. 'Tis storied of Cato (who was Caesars bitter enemy) that when he saw Caesar prevail, rather than fall into his hand and stand to his mercy, he laid violent hands on himself, which Caesar hearing of, passionately broke out into these words, O Cato, cur invidisti mihi salutem tuam? O Cato, why did you envie me the honor of saving your life? And do not many walk as if they grudged Christ the honor of saving their souls? what other account can you give sinners of rejecting his grace? Are not heaven and happiness things desirable, and to be preferr'd before sin and misery? Why then do you not embrace them? or are they the worse, because they come swimming to you in the blood of Christ? oh how ill must Christ take it to be thus used, when he comes on such a gracious ambassage? may he not say to you as once he did to those officers sent to attach him, Do you come out against me as a thief with swords and staves? If he be a thief, 'tis only in this, that he would steal your sins from you, and leave heaven in the room: O, for the love of God think what you do, 'tis eternal life you put away from you, in doing of which, you judge your selves unworthy of it, Acts 13:46.

Secondly, it reproves those who are Satans instruments, to rob souls of what is heavenly. Among thieves there are some ye call Setters, who enquire where a booty is to be had, which when they have found, and know such a one travels with a charge about him, then they employ some other to rob him, and are themselves not seen in the businesse. The devil is the grand Setter, he observes the Christian how he walks, what place and company he frequents, what grace or heavenly treasure he carries in his bosome; which when he has done, he has his instruments for the purpose to execute his designe. Thus he considered the admirable graces of Job, and casts about how he might best rob him of his heavenly treasure: and who but his wife and friends must do this for him? (well knowing that his tale would receive credit from their mouths.) O friends, ask your consciences, whether you have not done the devil some service of this kinde in your days. Possibly you have a child or servant who once look't heaven-ward, but your brow-beating of them scared them back, and now (may be) they are as carnal as you would have them: or possibly your wife before acquainted with you, was full of life in the ways of God, but since she has been transplanted into your cold soile, what by your frothy speeches and unsavoury conversation, at best your worldlinesse and formality, she is now both decayed in her graces, and a loser in her comforts. O man, what an enditement will be brought against you for this at Gods bar? you would come off better, were it for robbing one of his money and jewels, then of his graces and comforts.

Thirdly, it reproves the woful negligence most show in labouring for this heavenly prize. None but would be glad their souls might be saved at last, but where is the man or woman that makes it appear by their vigourous endeavour that they mean in earnest? what warlike preparation do they make against Satan, (who lies between them and home?) where are their armes, where their skill to use them, their resolution to stand to them, and conscionable care to exercise themselves daily in the use of them? Alas, this is a rarity indeed, not to be found in every house, where the Profession of Religion is hang'd out at the door; if woulding and wishing will bring them to heaven, then they may come there; but as for this wrestling and fighting, this making Religion our businesse, they are as far from these, as at last they are like to be from heaven. They are of his minde in Tully, who in a Summers day, as he lay lazing himself on the grasse, would say, O utinam hoc esset laborare! O that this were to work, that I could lie here and do my day-labor! Thus many melt and waste their lives in sloth, and say in their hearts, O that this were the way to heaven! but will use no means to furnish themselves with grace for such an enterprise; I have read of a great Prince in Germany, invaded by a more potent enemy then himself, yet from his friends and Allies, (who flock't in to his help) he soon had a goodly Army, but had no money (as he said) to pay them, but the truth is, he was loath to part with it, for which some in discontent went away, others did not vigourously attend his businesse, and so he was soon beaten out of his Kingdom; and his coffers (when his Palace was rifled) were found thrack't with treasure. Thus he was ruined, as some sick men die, because unwilling to be at cost to pay the Physician. It will adde to the misery of damned souls, when they shall have leisure enough to consider what they have lost in losing God, to remember what means, offers and talents they once had, towards the obtaining of everlasting life, but had not a heart to use them.

Fourthly, it reproves those who make a great busle and noise in Religion, who are forward in Profession, very busie to meddle with the strictest duties, as if heaven had monopolized their whole hearts; but like the Eagle, when they tower highest, their prey is below where their eye is also. Such a generation there ever was and will be, that mingle themselves with the Saints of God, who pretend heaven, and have their outward garb faced and fringed (as it were) with heavenly speeches and duties, while their hearts are lined with hypocrisie, whereby they deceive others, but most of all themselves; such may be the worlds Saints, but devils in Christs account. Have not I chosen twelve, one of you is a devil? And truly of all devils none so bad as the professing devil, the preaching, praying devil. O Sirs, be plain-hearted; Religion is as tender as your eye, it will not be jested with; Remember the vengeance which fell on Belshazzar, while he carowsed in the bowles of the Sanctuary. Religion and the duties of it are consecrated things, not made for you to drink your lusts out of God. has remarkably appeared in discovering and confounding such as have prostituted sacred things to worldly ends. Jezabel fasts and prayes the better, to devoure Naboths vineyard, but was devoured by it. Absalom was as sick till he had ravish't his fathers Crown, as his brother Amnon till he had done the like to his sister, and to hide his treason he puts on a religious cloak, and therefore begs leave to go and pay his vow in Hebron, when he had another game in chase, and did he not fall by the hand of his hypocrisie? of all men their judgement is endorst with most speed, who silver over worldly or wicked enterprises with heavenly semblances, of this gang were those, 2 Peter 2:3. concerning whom the Apostle says, Their damnation slumbers not; and those, Ezekiel 14:7, 8. to whom God says, I the Lord will answer him by my selfe, and I will set my face against that man, and will make him a signe, and a Proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people, and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

Use. 2 Secondly, try whether they be heavenly things or earthly you chiefly pursuest; certainly friends, we need not be so ignorant of our souls state and affairs; did we oftner converse with our thoughts, and observe the haunts of our hearts, we soon can tell what dish pleass our palate best: and may you not tell whether heaven or earth be the most savoury meat to your souls? and if you should ask how you might know whether heaven be the prize you chiefly desire, I would put you only upon this double trial.

First, are you uniforme in your pursuit? Doest you contend [〈1 page duplicate〉][〈1 page duplicate〉] for heaven, and that which leads to heaven also? Earthly things God is pleased to retaile; all have some, none have all; but in heavenly treasure he will not break the whole piece, and cut it into remnants. If you will have heaven, you must have Christ; if Christ, you must like his service as well as his sacrifice; no holiness, no happiness. If God would cut off so much as would serve mens turnes, he might have customers enough. Balaam himself likes one end of the piece, he would die like a righteous man, though live like a wizzard as he was; no, God will not deal with such pedling Merchants; that man alone is for God, and God for him, who will come roundly up to Gods offer, and take all off his hands. One fitly compares holiness and happiness to those two sisters, Leah and Rachel. Happiness like Rachel seems the fairer, (even a carnal heart may fall in love with that,) but holiness like Leah is the elder and beautiful also, though in this life it appears with some disadvantage, her eyes being blear'd with teares of repentance, and her face furrowed with the works of mortification; but this is the Law of that heavenly countrey, that the younger Sister must not be bestowed before the elder. We cannot enjoy faire Rachel, Heaven and Happiness, except first we embrace tender-eyed Leah, Holiness with all her severe duties of repentance and mortification. Now Sirs, how like you this method? Art you content to marry Christ and his grace, and then (serving a hard Apprenticeship in temptations both of prosperity and adversity, enduring the heat of the one, and the cold of the other) to wait till at last the other be given into your bosome?

Secondly, if indeed heaven and heavenly things be the prize you wrestlest for, you will discover a heavenly deportment of heart, even in earthly things; whereever you meet a Christian, he is going to Heaven; Heaven is at the bottome of his lowest actions. Now observe your heart in three particulars; In getting, in using, and in keeping earthly things, whether it be after a heavenly manner.

First, In getting earthly things. If Heaven be your chief prize, then you will be ruled by a heavenly Law in the gathering of these. Take a carnal wretch, and what his heart is set on, he will have, though it be by hook or crook. A lie fits Gehazi's mouth well enough, so he may fill his pockets by it. Jezabel dares mock God, and murder an innocent man for an acre or two of ground. Absalom regnandi causâ what will he not do? Gods fence is too low to keep a gracelesse heart in bounds, when the game is before him; but a soul that has heaven in its eye is ruled by heavens law: he dares not step out of heavens road to take up a crown, as we see in Davids carriage towards Saul. Indeed in so doing he should crosse himself in his own grand design, which is the glory of God, and the happiness of his own soul in enjoying of him; upon these very termes the servants of God have refused to be rich and great in the world, when either of these lay at stake; Moses threw his Court-preferment at his heels, refusing to be call'd the son of Pharaohs daughter. Abraham scorned to be made rich by the King of Sodom, Genesis 14:22. that he might avoid the suspicion of covetousnesse and self-seeking; it shall not be said another day that he came to enrich himself with the spoil, more than to rescue his kinsmen. Nehemiah would not take the taxe and tribute to maintain his state, when he knew they were a poor peeled people, because of the fear of the Lord. Doest you walk by this rule? wouldest you gather no more estate or honor then you may have with Gods leave, and will stand with your hopes of heaven?

Secondly, doest you discover a heavenly Spirit in using these things.

First, the Saint improves his earthly things for an heavenly end, where layest you up your treasure? doest you bestow it on your voluptuous paunch, your hawks and your hounds, or lockest you it up in the bosome of Christs poor members? what use makest you of your honor and greatness, to strengthen the hands of the godly or the wicked? and so of all your other temporal enjoyments; A gracious heart improves them for God; when a Saint prayes for these things, he has an eye to some heavenly end. If David prayes for life, it is not that he may live, but live and praise God, Psal. 119 175. When he was driven from his regal throne by the rebellious armes of Absalom; see what his desire was and hope, 2 Samuel 15:25. The King said to Zadock, Carry back the Ark of God into the City: if I shall-finde favor in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me again, and show me both it and his habitation. Mark, not show me my Crown, my Palace, but the Ark, the House of God.

Secondly, a gracious heart pursues earthly things with a holy indifferency, saving the violence and zeal of his spirit for the things of heaven; he useth the former as if he used them not, with a kinde of non-attendency, his head and heart is taken up with higher matters, how he may please God, thrive in his grace, enjoy more intimate communion with Christ in his Ordinances, in these he spreads all his sailes, plyes all his oares, strains every part and power: thus we finde David upon his full speed; My soul presses hard after you, Psal. 63. And before the Ark we finde him dancing with all his might. Now a carnal heart is clean contrary, his zeal is for the world, and his indifferency in the things of God, he prays as if he did not pray, &c. he sweats in his shop, but chills and growes cold in his closet; O how hard to pully him up to a duty of Gods worship, or to get him out to an Ordinance? No weather shall keep him from the market; raine, blow or snow he goes there; but if the Church-path be a little wet, or the aire somewhat cold, 'tis apology enough for him if his pue be empty; when he is about any worldly businesse, he is as earnest at it, as the idolatrous Smith in hammering of his image; who (the Prophet says) works it with the strength of his armes, yea, he is hungry, and his strength fails, he drinks not, and is faint, Isaiah 44:12. so zealous is the muck-worme in his worldly employments, that he will pinch his carcase, and deny himself his repast in due season to pursue that; The Kitchin there shall wait on the shop: But in the worship of God, 'tis enough to make him sick of the Sermon, and angry with the Preacher, if he be kept beyond his hour; here the Sermon must give place to the Kitchin: so the man for his pleasures and carnal pastime, he tells no clock at his sports, and knows not how the day goes; when night comes, he is angry that it takes him off; but at any heavenly work, O how is the man punish't? time now has got leaden heels he thinks; all he does at a Sermon is to tell the clock, and see how the glasse runs: if men were not willing to deceive themselves, surely they might know which way their heart goes by the swift motion, or the hard tugging and slow pace it stirs, as well as they know in a boat, whether they row against the tyde, or with it.

Thirdly, the Christian useth these things with a holy feare, lest earth should rob heaven, and his outward enjoyments prejudice his heavenly interest; he eats in feare, works in feare, rejoices in his abundance with feare: as Iob sanctified his children by offering a sacrifice, out of a feare lest they had sinned; so the Christian is continually sanctifying his earthly enjoyments by prayer, that so he may be delivered from the snare of them.

Thirdly, the Christian is heavenly in his keeping of earthly things. The same heavenly Law which he went by in getting, he observes in holding them. As he dares not say he will be rich and honorable in the world, but if God will; so neither that he will hold what he has, he only keeps them while his heavenly Father calls for them that at first gave them: If God will continue them to him, and entaile them on his posterity too, he blesss God, and so he desires to do also when he takes them away. Indeed Gods meaning in the great things of this world, which sometimes he throwes in upon the Saints, is chiefly to give them the greater advantage of expressing their love to him, in denying them for his sake. God never intended by that strange Providence in bringing Moses to Pharaho's Court, to settle him there in worldly pomp and grandure, (a carnal heart indeed would have expounded Providence, and imported it as a faire occasion put into his hands by God to have advanced himself into the throne, (which some say he might in time have done,) but as an opportunity to make his faith and self-denial more eminently conspicuous in throwing all these at his heels, for which he has so honorable a remembrance among the Lords Worthies, Hebrews 11:24, 25. And truly a gracious soul reckons he cannot make so much of his worldly interests any other way, as by offering them up for Christs sake; however that Traitour thought Maries ointment might have been carried to a better market, yet no doubt that good woman her self was only troubled, that she had not one more precious to pour on her dear Saviours head. This makes the Christian ever to hold the sacrificing knife at the throat of his worldly enjoyments, ready to offer them up when God calls; over-board they shall go, rather than hazard a wrack to faith or a good conscience; he sought them in the last place, and therefore he will part with them in the first. Naboth will hazard the Kings anger, (which at last cost him his life,) rather than sell an acre or two of land which was his birthright. The Christian will expose all he has in this wotld to preserve his hopes for another: Iacob in his march towards Esau, sent his servants with his flocks before, and came himself with his wives behinde; if he can save any thing from his brothers rage, it shall be what he loves best: If the Christian can save any thing, it shall be his soul, his interest in Christ and Heaven, and then no matter if the rest go, even then he can say, not as Esau to Iacob, I have [illegible] a great deal, but as Iacob to him, [illegible] I have all, all I want, all I desire, as David expresss it; This is all my salvation. all and my desire, 2 Samuel 23:5. Now try, whether your heart be tuned to this note, does heaven give law to your earthly enjoyments? wouldest you not keep your honor, estate, no, not life it selfe to prejudice your heavenly nature and hopes? which wouldest you choose, if you couldest not keep both, a whole skin, or a sound conscience? It was a strange answer, if true, which the Historian says Henry the fifth gave to his Father, who had usurped the crown, and now dying sent for this his son, to whom he said, Fair Son, take the crown, (which stood on his pillow by his head) but God knowes how I came by it: to whom he answered, I care not how you came by it; now I have it, I will keep it as long as my sword can defend it. He that keeps earth by wrong, cannot expect heaven by right.

Section 1.

These words contain the last part of the description of our great enemy. They involve some ambiguity, since only the adjective is expressed in the original Greek — the word meaning 'in the heavenlies.' Because the phrase is incomplete on its own, our translators supplied 'in high places' or 'in heavenly places,' as if the apostle intended to describe the positional advantage our enemy has over us by being above us. Most interpreters follow this reading. However, some ancient and modern scholars read the phrase differently — not as 'in heavenly places' but as 'concerning heavenly things.' On this reading, the apostle is identifying not the location but the prize for which we wrestle against principalities and powers: heavenly things themselves. Oecumenius says the phrase is equivalent to the apostle saying: 'We wrestle not for small and trivial things, but truly for heaven itself and our adoption as sons.' Chrysostom takes the same view: 'in heavenly things, that is, for the heavenly things of God.' Musculus and other modern writers follow him in this. The reasons given for this interpretation carry real weight.

First, the word, wherever it appears without further qualification, refers to things rather than places — as in Hebrews 8:5. One scholar observes that the word is used nearly twenty times in the New Testament, and never for any aerial location, but always for things that are truly heavenly and spiritual. The word itself properly means 'supercelestial' — and if applied to a place, it would refer to somewhere the devil has never been since his fall.

Additionally, there is little reason to make Satan seem more formidable merely by placing him above us spatially. Height is an advantage for human soldiers — gaining the high ground against an enemy matters in physical combat — but it means nothing to spirits. But if we take the phrase as referring to heavenly things, it adds real weight to the rest of the description. We wrestle against principalities and powers and spiritual wickedness — and against all of these, not for the trivial things the earth offers, which hardly matter whether we keep them or lose them, but for what heaven holds out. Such an enemy and such a prize make it a matter of the greatest urgency to understand how to conduct this battle well. With the phrase understood this way, the teaching is as follows.

Section 2.

The chief prize for which we wrestle against Satan is heavenly. Put another way: Satan's main design is to plunder the Christian of everything heavenly. Everything the Christian has or desires as a Christian is heavenly. The world is external to both his being and his happiness — it is a stranger to him, and plays no part in his deepest joy or grief. You can heap all the world's riches and honors on a person, and it will not make him a Christian. Heap them on a Christian, and it will not make him a better one. Likewise, take everything away from him — strip him bare — and he is still a Christian, and may even be a better one. Erasmus made a striking remark — if he meant it sincerely, and his wit did not outrun his conscience — that he desired wealth and honor no more than a weak horse desires a heavy pack-bag. I think every Christian in a right spiritual frame would agree with him. Satan would do the believer little real harm if he directed his forces only or mainly against outward possessions. The Christian does not value himself by them — attacking them is like trying to hurt someone by beating the clothes he has already taken off. To the degree that the Spirit of grace governs a believer's heart, he has already put off the world in terms of desire and delight. So those blows are barely felt. It is the Christian's heavenly treasures that Satan is really waiting to plunder.

Section 3.

First, the Christian's nature is heavenly — born from above. As Christ is the Lord from heaven, all His offspring are heavenly and holy. Satan's design is to degrade and defile this. The precious life of the new creature is what he hunts for. Satan has lost the beauty of holiness that once shone so gloriously on his angelic nature — and now, like a true apostate, he works to destroy in the Christian what he has lost himself. The seeds of this war are sown in the Christian's very nature. You are holy — and that Satan cannot endure. Julius Caesar, ordering his soldiers to fight Roman citizens, reportedly told them to aim for their faces, saying those citizens loved their looks, and that marring their faces would mar everything. The soul is the face on which God's image is stamped. Holiness is the beauty of that face — what makes us truly like God. Satan knows that God loves this, and that the believer prizes it above everything else. So Satan labors to wound and disfigure it, that he might at once glory in the Christian's shame and pour contempt on God by breaking His image. Is it not worth giving everything in battle against this enemy — one who would rob us of what makes us like God Himself? Have you forgotten the terrible terms of peace that Nahash offered the men of Jabesh-gilead? There would be no peace unless they would let him gouge out their right eyes as a disgrace upon all Israel. Read how that offer was received in 1 Samuel 11:6. A face that has lost an eye is not as disfigured as a soul that has lost its holiness. And no peace is to be expected from Satan except on terms that strip us of this. At the thought of this, the Spirit of the Lord should come upon the Christian, and his anger should be kindled far more fiercely against this cursed spirit than the anger of Saul and the men of Israel was against Nahash.

Second, the Christian's trade is heavenly. The goods he deals in come from that heavenly country, as Philippians 3:20 says: 'Our citizenship is in heaven.' Every person's way of life matches his calling. The one whose work is in the earth thinks about earthly things; the one whose work is heavenly stays close to that. Every person attends to his own business, as the apostle tells us. You may sometimes find a tradesman away from his shop, but he is like a fish out of water — never in his element until he is back at his work. So when the Christian is absorbed in worldly affairs, or the worldly person is dabbling in heavenly matters, both are out of their proper place — off-balance until they return to what they are made for. This heavenly trade is what Satan works hardest to shut down. If the Christian could carry on free trade with heaven for a few years without interference, he would quickly grow rich — too rich, in fact, for this earth. But between the losses he sustains at the hands of this pirate Satan, and the betrayal he suffers from treacherous instincts within his own heart that secretly cooperate with the robber, he is kept poor in this life, and much of his gain is lost. The Christian's heavenly trade operates both privately and openly — and in neither sphere is he free from Satan, who is at his heels in both.

The first is his private trade — conducted in secret between God and his own soul. The Christian carries on a hidden commerce: he travels to heaven and back in his thoughts, richly loaded with heavenly meditations, before the world even knows where he has been. Every creature he sees becomes a text from which his heart draws some spiritual lesson. Every sermon he hears cuts out work for him to take up and develop when he gets alone. Every providence acts like wind in his sails, moving his heart toward some heavenly affection fitted to the moment. At times he is lifted up with joy in the contemplation of God's mercy; at other times he is melted into godly sorrow by the weight of his sins. Sometimes he exalts God in praise; sometimes he humbles himself before God for his own wretchedness. At one moment he is at the breast of the covenant, drawing out the consolations of the promises; at another he is working his heart into a holy reverence for God's warnings. In this way the Christian walks in a high and elevated place, while the worldling below is licking the dust. One of these heavenly pearls that the Christian trades for is worth more than anything the worldling gains through all his sweat and labor in a lifetime. The Christian's feet stand where other men's heads are. He treads on the moon and is clothed with the sun. He looks down on earthly people — as one from a hilltop looks down on those living in some bog or marsh — and sees them buried in a fog of worldly pleasures and profits, while he breathes pure heavenly air. Yet he is not so high as to be free from all storms and tempests. He still feels many painful blasts from sin and Satan. What else explains those grieving complaints and groans that come from God's children — that their hearts are so dead and dull, their thoughts so wandering and unfixed in prayer, and sometimes so wicked and filthy that they scarcely dare name what passes through their minds for fear of staining their own lips and offending others? Surely the Christian finds in his heart a will and desire to meditate, pray, hear God's Word, and live in a different way than this — does he not? Yes, I would confidently vouch for it. But as long as there is a devil to tempt us, and we remain within his reach, this will be our condition to some degree. As fast as we work to clear the spring of our hearts, he will work to muddy or block it again. We have two things to do at once: perform our duty and watch the enemy who opposes us — trowel in one hand and sword in the other. Those who are trying to build must work hard indeed, when others are continually pulling down what they are laboring to raise up.

The second part of the Christian's trade — the part that operates publicly — is also heavenly. Look at a Christian in his relationships, his work, his neighborhood: he is a heavenly trader in all of it. The great business of his life is to be doing or receiving some spiritual good. Company that will neither give nor receive such good is not for him. What would a merchant do in a place where there is no buying or selling? Every person naturally seeks to place himself where trade is most active and his gains will be greatest. The Christian, where he has the choice, chooses those closest to him — spouse, servants, household — who will support his heavenly trade, not hinder it. He seeks out the most godly people as his dearest friends. If there is a believer in the town where he lives, he will find that person and make him his companion. In all his dealings with these and with everyone else, his chief work is for heaven — the heavenly principle within him inclines him to it. This puts hell on high alert. What — not content to go to heaven himself, but by his holy example, gracious words, wise counsel, and timely correction, will he also be drawing others in and working to carry them along with him? This brings the lion furiously out of his den. Those who live this way can be sure of finding the devil in their path to oppose them. 'I wanted to come to you,' says Paul, 'but Satan hindered me.' Whoever commits himself openly to God, and makes it plain by the pattern of his life that he is trading for God's kingdom, will have enemies enough — if the devil can help it.

Third, the Christian's hopes are all heavenly — he sets his lot on nothing the world has to offer. He would consider himself the most miserable of all people if this present life were the best his faith could produce. No — heaven and eternal life are what he expects. Though he may be so poor that he cannot leave a penny in his will, he considers himself a greater heir than if he were the child of the greatest king on earth. He sees this inheritance by faith and can rejoice in the hope of the glory it will bring him. The hollow and deceptive glory of the powerful people of this world does not move him to envy their empty pomp. Even sitting on a dunghill himself, he can forget his own present sorrows to pity them in all their splendor — knowing that in a short time, the cross will be off his back and the crowns off their heads at the same moment. Their portion will be spent when he is just beginning to receive all of his. These truths fill him with such joy that he cannot acknowledge himself miserable, even when others think he is — and even when the devil tells him so. This is what torments the very soul of the devil: to see the Christian sailing toward heaven, filled with sweet hope of the joyful welcome awaiting him there. So Satan raises whatever storms and tempests he can, either to prevent the Christian from reaching that blessed port — which Satan most desires and does not completely give up hope of — or at least to make it a hard winter voyage, like Paul's journey in which so much was lost. And very often Satan succeeds to a degree: by his violent and relentless temptations battering the Christian, he causes him to throw overboard much precious cargo of joy and comfort. Sometimes, through the crushing pressure of temptation, he even brings the soul to consider abandoning the ship altogether, as all hope of being saved appears for a time to be gone. This is what we wrestle with devils for. We now turn to application.

Section 4.

Application 1. This is a word of rebuke for four kinds of people.

First, it rebukes those who are so far from wrestling against Satan for this heavenly prize that they actively resist the offer of it. Instead of taking heaven by force, they force it away. How long has the Lord been crying in our streets, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand'? How long have the offers of the Gospel rung in our ears? And yet to this day, many devil-deluded souls drive furiously toward hell and will not be persuaded to turn back. They refuse to be called children of God and choose the devil's bondage over the glorious freedom Christ would give them, esteeming the fleeting pleasures of sin as greater treasure than the riches of heaven. There is a story told of Cato — Caesar's bitter enemy — that when he saw Caesar prevailing, rather than fall into his hands and depend on his mercy, he took his own life. On hearing of it, Caesar broke out passionately: 'O Cato, why did you deny me the honor of saving your life?' And do not many live as though they begrudged Christ the honor of saving their souls? What other explanation can you give for sinners rejecting His grace? Are not heaven and happiness desirable things — to be preferred above sin and misery? Why then do you not embrace them? Or are they worse in your eyes because they come to you through the blood of Christ? How bitterly must Christ take it to be treated this way when He comes on such a gracious mission? May He not say to you what He once said to those sent to arrest Him: 'Have you come out against me as you would against a thief, with swords and clubs?' If He is a thief, it is only in this sense: He would steal your sins from you and leave heaven in their place. For the love of God, think about what you are doing. It is eternal life you are pushing away — and in doing so, you judge yourself unworthy of it, as Acts 13:46 says.

Second, it rebukes those who serve as Satan's instruments to rob souls of what is heavenly. Among thieves there are those called 'setters' — scouts who identify where a valuable target can be found. Once they know that someone is traveling with valuables, they send others to do the actual robbery while staying out of sight themselves. The devil is the master setter. He watches the Christian — how he walks, what places and company he frequents, what grace or heavenly treasure he carries in his heart. Once he has done this reconnaissance, he has ready instruments to carry out his plan. This is how he studied Job's remarkable graces and plotted how best to rob him of his heavenly treasure — and who better to use than Job's own wife and friends? He knew their words would be believed. Friends, ask your consciences whether you have not done the devil this kind of service at some point in your life. Perhaps you have a child or servant who once looked heavenward, but your harsh treatment scared them away from it — and now they may be as worldly as you wanted. Or perhaps your spouse, before she knew you, was full of life in the ways of God, but since being transplanted into your cold soil — through your empty talk and fruitless conversation, or at best your worldliness and mere religious form — she has now both declined in her graces and lost her spiritual comfort. What an indictment will be brought against you for this at God's bar? You would answer better for robbing someone of money and jewels than for robbing them of their graces and spiritual joy.

Third, it rebukes the terrible negligence that most people show in pursuing this heavenly prize. Everyone would be glad for their soul to be saved in the end — but where is the man or woman whose vigorous effort actually shows they mean it? What warlike preparation do they make against Satan, who stands between them and home? Where are their weapons? Where is their skill to use them, their resolve to stand firm, and their conscientious daily practice in using them? This kind of Christian is a rarity — not to be found in every house that hangs out the sign of religious profession. If wishing and wanting could bring them to heaven, perhaps they might get there. But as for this wrestling and fighting, this making religion their serious business — they are as far from these things as they are likely to be from heaven in the end. They are of the mind of the man described by the Latin writer who, lazing in the grass on a summer's day, said: 'If only this were work! If only I could lie here and count it as a day's labor!' Many in the same way melt away their lives in sloth and say in their hearts: 'If only this were the road to heaven!' But they will use no means to equip themselves with the grace needed for such an undertaking. I have read of a great prince in Germany who was invaded by a more powerful enemy, but whose allies flocked to his aid until he had a strong army. He claimed to have no money to pay them — but the truth was he was reluctant to spend it. Some soldiers left in frustration; others did not give their full effort to his cause. He was soon driven from his kingdom, and when his palace was searched, his coffers were found stuffed with treasure. He was ruined the way some sick men die — because they are unwilling to bear the cost of paying the physician. It will add to the misery of damned souls when, in eternity, they have all the time they need to consider what they have lost in losing God — to remember what means, what Gospel offers, what gifts and opportunities they once had toward obtaining eternal life, and yet had no heart to use them.

Fourth, it rebukes those who make a great show and noise in religion — who are eager in their profession, busy with the strictest duties, as if heaven had captured their whole heart — but who, like an eagle at its highest point in the sky, have their eye and their prey on what is down below. There has always been such a generation, and there always will be: people who mix with the saints of God, claiming heaven, whose outward manner is edged and trimmed with heavenly words and duties, while their hearts are lined with hypocrisy. By this they deceive others — but most of all themselves. Such people may be the world's saints, but in Christ's assessment they are devils. 'Have I not chosen twelve? And one of you is a devil.' Of all devils, none is as dangerous as the professing devil — the preaching, praying devil. Be sincere. Religion is as sensitive as the eye — it cannot be trifled with. Remember the judgment that fell on Belshazzar as he drank from the vessels of the sanctuary. Religion and its duties are sacred things, not tools for drinking your lusts out of. God has repeatedly shown Himself in exposing and overthrowing those who have prostituted sacred things to worldly ends. Jezebel fasted and prayed all the better to devour Naboth's vineyard — and was devoured by it. Absalom was as consumed with seizing his father's crown as his brother Amnon had been with his own wickedness. To disguise his treachery, Absalom put on a religious cloak and begged to go pay his vow at Hebron — when he had a very different game in mind. And did he not fall by the hand of his own hypocrisy? Of all people, judgment falls most swiftly on those who silver over worldly or wicked schemes with a veneer of heavenly religion. Such were those described in 2 Peter 2:3, of whom the apostle says, 'Their condemnation has not been idle.' And such were those addressed in Ezekiel 14:7-8, where God says: 'I the Lord will answer him Myself, and I will set My face against that man and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of My people; and you will know that I am the Lord.'

Application 2. Test yourself: are the things you chiefly pursue heavenly or earthly? Surely, friends, we need not be ignorant of our own soul's condition. If we spent more time examining our thoughts and watching where our hearts most naturally wander, we would soon discover what kind of food our souls crave most. Can you not tell whether heaven or earth is the more satisfying meal to your soul? And if you ask how you can know whether heaven is truly the prize you most desire, I offer this twofold test.

First, is your pursuit consistent? Do you strive for heaven and also for what leads to heaven? Earthly things God is pleased to distribute in portions — everyone gets some, no one gets all. But with heavenly treasure He will not break off pieces and sell them in fragments. If you want heaven, you must have Christ. If you want Christ, you must embrace His service as much as His sacrifice. There is no happiness without holiness. If God were willing to cut away the parts that people find inconvenient, He would have customers enough. Even Balaam liked one end of the package — he wanted to die the death of a righteous man, though he lived like the sorcerer he was. But God will not deal with such petty merchants. The person who is truly for God, and for whom God is fully committed, is the one who comes fully to God's offer and takes the whole of it. Someone aptly compared holiness and happiness to the two sisters Leah and Rachel. Happiness, like Rachel, appears the fairer of the two — even a worldly heart can fall in love with that. But holiness, like Leah, is the elder, and beautiful in her own right — though in this life she appears at some disadvantage, her eyes reddened with tears of repentance and her face marked by the work of self-denial. But this is the law of that heavenly country: the younger sister may not be given before the elder. We cannot enjoy the lovely Rachel — heaven and happiness — without first embracing tender-eyed Leah, holiness, with all her demanding duties of repentance and mortification. So how do you feel about this arrangement? Are you willing to marry Christ and His grace, and then — serving a hard apprenticeship through temptations of both prosperity and adversity, enduring the heat of the one and the cold of the other — to wait until at last the other is given into your arms?

Second, if heaven and heavenly things are truly the prize you are wrestling for, you will show a heavenly orientation of heart even in earthly things. Wherever you find a Christian, he is on his way to heaven — heaven is at the bottom of his most ordinary actions. Examine your heart in three areas: in the getting, the using, and the keeping of earthly things — whether you do all of this in a heavenly manner.

First, in getting earthly things. If heaven is your chief prize, you will be governed by a heavenly law in how you gather these things. Take a worldly person, and whatever his heart is set on, he will have it — by whatever means necessary. A lie comes easily enough to Gehazi's mouth if it will fill his pockets. Jezebel dares to mock God and murder an innocent man for an acre or two of ground. Absalom will stop at nothing for the sake of power. God's fence is too low to keep a graceless heart within bounds when the prize is in front of him. But a soul with heaven in view is governed by heaven's law. He will not step off heaven's road to pick up a crown — as David's conduct toward Saul shows. In fact, to do so would be to work against his own greatest purpose, which is the glory of God and the happiness of his own soul in enjoying God. On precisely these terms, the servants of God have refused wealth and worldly greatness when either of those things was at stake. Moses threw away his court advancement and refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. Abraham refused to be made wealthy by the king of Sodom (Genesis 14:22), to avoid any suspicion of greed and self-seeking. He would not have it said afterward that he had gone to battle to enrich himself with plunder rather than to rescue his kinsmen. Nehemiah refused to collect the tax and tribute to which he was entitled because he knew the people were already impoverished and burdened — and he did it out of fear of the Lord. Do you live by this rule? Would you gather no more wealth or honor than you can obtain with God's blessing and in a way consistent with your hope of heaven?

Second, do you show a heavenly spirit in how you use these things?

First, the believer uses his earthly possessions for a heavenly purpose. Where do you lay up your treasure? Do you spend it on your own indulgence, your recreation, your pleasures — or do you invest it in the lives of Christ's poor members? What do you do with your influence and position — do you use them to strengthen the godly or the wicked? The same question applies to all your other earthly resources. A gracious heart turns everything toward God. When a believer prays for earthly things, he has a heavenly purpose in view. When David prayed for life, it was not merely to go on living, but to live and praise God (Psalm 119:175). When he was driven from his throne by Absalom's rebellion, see what his longing was in 2 Samuel 15:25: 'The king said to Zadok, "Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, He will bring me back and let me see it and His dwelling place."' Notice — not 'let me see my crown, my palace,' but 'the ark, the house of God.'

Second, a gracious heart pursues earthly things with a holy indifference, saving the full strength and passion of his spirit for the things of heaven. He engages the former as though he were barely engaged at all — his mind and heart are occupied with higher things: how he might please God, grow in grace, and experience deeper communion with Christ through His appointed means. In these things he sets every sail, plies every oar, and strains every part of himself. This is how we find David at full intensity: 'My soul clings to You' (Psalm 63:8). And before the ark we find him dancing with all his might. The worldly heart is the exact opposite: his passion is for the world and his indifference is in the things of God. He prays as if he were not really praying. He sweats in his shop but grows cold and stiff in his private devotions. It is a struggle to drag him to worship or get him to a service. No weather keeps him from the market — rain, wind, or snow, he goes. But if the path to church is a little muddy or the air somewhat cold, that is reason enough for his pew to be empty. When he is at any worldly business, he is as intense as the idol-maker hammering away at his image — who, as the prophet says, works it with the full strength of his arms, even when he is hungry and faint, not stopping to eat or drink (Isaiah 44:12). The worldly person is so consumed with his earthly pursuits that he will deny himself meals at proper times to keep at it. The kitchen waits on the shop. But in the worship of God, a sermon that runs past the hour makes him sick of it and angry at the preacher. Here, the sermon gives way to the kitchen. When it comes to his pleasures and pastimes, he loses track of time entirely — when night comes, he is irritated that it pulls him away. But at any spiritual work, how punishing it all feels! Time seems to crawl. He spends the whole sermon watching the clock and counting the minutes. If people were not so determined to deceive themselves, they could easily tell which way their heart runs by how eagerly or how sluggishly it moves — just as clearly as a rower knows whether he is rowing with the tide or against it.

Third, the Christian uses earthly things with a holy fear, lest the earth steal from heaven and his outward comforts damage his heavenly interests. He eats with fear, works with fear, and rejoices in abundance with fear. Just as Job offered sacrifices for his children out of fear that they might have sinned, the Christian is constantly consecrating his earthly enjoyments through prayer, so that he might be delivered from the snare they present.

Third, the Christian is heavenly in how he holds on to earthly things. The same heavenly law that governed him in getting them governs him in keeping them. Just as he will not claim he will be rich and honored in this world unless God wills it, neither will he claim he will hold what he has. He keeps his possessions only as long as his heavenly Father — who first gave them — allows him to. If God continues them and passes them on to his children, he blesses God. And he desires to bless God equally when He takes them away. Indeed, when God abundantly provides worldly goods for the saints, His chief purpose is to give them a greater opportunity to show their love for Him by giving those things up for His sake. God never intended, when He brought Moses into Pharaoh's court through that remarkable providence, to settle him there in worldly comfort and grandeur. A worldly heart would have read that providence as God's way of opening the door for Moses to advance himself to the throne — which some say was within reach. But God's purpose was to make Moses's faith and self-denial all the more conspicuously glorious when he threw all of that away — for which he is so honorably remembered among the Lord's faithful in Hebrews 11:24-25. A gracious soul believes he cannot make the most of his earthly interests in any other way than by offering them up for Christ's sake. Though a certain traitor thought Mary's ointment could have been put to better use, no doubt the woman herself was only sorry that she had no more precious ointment to pour on her dear Savior's head. This keeps the Christian always with the sacrificial knife at the throat of his earthly enjoyments, ready to offer them up when God calls. Overboard they go rather than risk a wreck to his faith or a good conscience. He sought them last, and so he will part with them first. Naboth risked the king's anger — which ultimately cost him his life — rather than sell an acre or two of his ancestral land. The Christian will expose everything he has in this world to preserve his hope for the next. When Jacob marched toward Esau, he sent his servants with his flocks ahead and followed behind with his wives. If anything could be saved from his brother's rage, it would be what he loved most. If the Christian can save anything, it will be his soul — his interest in Christ and heaven. And if everything else goes, even then he can say not what Esau said to Jacob — 'I have enough' — but what Jacob said to him: 'I have all, all I want, all I desire,' as David expressed it: 'This is all my salvation and all my desire' (2 Samuel 23:5). Now test yourself: does heaven govern your earthly enjoyments? Would you refuse to keep your honor, your wealth — even your life itself — if doing so would damage your heavenly nature and hopes? If you could not keep both, which would you choose: a whole skin or a clear conscience? There is a striking answer, if true, that a historian attributes to Henry V. His father, who had seized the crown unlawfully, was dying and called his son to his bedside. 'Fair son,' he said, 'take the crown' — which lay on the pillow beside his head — 'but God knows how I came by it.' To which his son reportedly replied: 'I care not how you came by it. Now that I have it, I will keep it as long as my sword can defend it.' The one who keeps the earth by wrong cannot expect to receive heaven by right.