In the third place, Another evil incident to affluence is disregard of the Author of our being. That practical impiety which sometimes accompanies the possession of riches forms another barrier to the entrance of the rich into the kingdom of God. This, it must be acknowledged, is not a very obvious consequence of great possessions. One would imagine that the very opposite would be the result, -that, surrounded with the bounties of a liberal Providence, the heart of the rich man would rise in gratitude to the Giver of all good, and that this gratitude would be expressed in acts of frequent and fervent devotion. But so it is, those circumstances which inflame man with pride toward his brethren, too often lead to impiety toward his Maker. From boasting of his independence of man, the child of prosperity begins to dream of being independent of his God. They that are rich and high minded, the Scriptures tell us, trust in uncertain riches and not in the Living God. Like true idolaters, they transfer to the gift the homage that is due to the Giver. We wonder at the folly of the poor heathen who is contented to worship the sun, the moon, and the stars, and rises not to the adoration of the Power that created and upholds them; and yet his folly is not half so great as that of those who "make gold their hope, and say to the fine gold, thou art our confidence." Whenever a human being places his confidence in any created object, to the exclusion of the God that made him and the Saviour who redeemed him, he is in imminent and fearful peril. A curse is denounced against them

who make flesh their arm; and to make gold our trust is declared to be an iniquity to be punished by the Judge, and a denial of the God that is above. Of course, we do not affirm that this is a state of mind common to all the possessors of wealth or the holders of great possessions, and that these awful denunciations apply without discrimination to them all. These are merely the dangers incident to their lot,— temptations peculiar to them whom the world designates and hails as the favourites of fortune,-and afford an additional illustration of the solemn affirmation of our Lord,-" How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God !"

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This affirmation is far,-blessed be God, very far, from representing the salvation of the rich as hopeless. It merely represents them as encumbered with difficulties in their journey to immortality peculiar to themselves, and from which persons in inferior and less opulent conditions are exempt. have now seen what some of these difficulties and temptations are; and when we reflect that pride, insensibility to distress, and impiety towards God, are among the vices to which affluence often tempts its envied possessors, we perceive at once the truth and solemnity of that inference which our Lord drew from the result of his interview with the young ruler; and the illustrations of this affecting inference which have now been given, may afford the counsel of caution to the prosperous, and deliver the lesson of contentment to the poor.

Let the children of prosperity, then, hearken to and obey the admonition which these illustrations

of our text delivers to them. You must ever regard your prosperity, not merely as a proof of Divine goodness, but as the trial of your virtue. The ground you occupy, though envied by the world, is dangerous ground. Sin is never so deceitful as when she approaches us in the garb of wealth and power. The path you tread is smooth and verdant; but a serpent may be among the flowers. To Him, then, who alone is able to keep you from falling, and to preserve you blameless amid the dangers of your envied lot, let your faith and supplications evermore be turned. Guided by his Word, and sustained by his Spirit, you shall pass unhurt through all the dangers of your lot to that land where there is fulness of joy, and pleasures for evermore. Wherefore, "we charge you that are rich in this world, that ye be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God,-that ye be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; laying up in store a good foundation against the time to come, that ye may lay hold on eternal life."

Here, also, is a lesson of submission and contentment to them whom Providence hath placed in humble circumstances. Although Providence has placed you in an humble sphere, why should you repine, since you are thus removed to a distance from the snares in which you see others entangled, and have fewer allurements to withdraw you from the road to bliss. Had this young man been poor, he would not have gone away, and might now have

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been bearing his part in the anthems of the skies. But beware of imagining that the mere circumstance of poverty can be to you a pledge of the Divine favour. As the rich will not be condemned merely because they are rich, so neither will the poor be requited merely because they are poor. Neither the wealth of the one, nor the poverty of the other, will be of any account in the judgment of the great day: in regard to every man, the only question of any importance will be, Has he been rich toward God? Has he laid up treasure in heaven? But as poverty exposes to fewer temptations and dangers than beset the wealthy, the poor may well be resigned and contented with their humble lot. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

SERMON XIV.

1 TIMOTHY, iv. 16.-" Take heed unto thyself."

IN the epistles which St Paul has addressed to Timothy and Titus, there is nothing so interesting and delightful as the manner in which he blends a general concern for the prosperity and edification of the Church, with a particular anxiety for the personal improvement and salvation of these ministers of Christ. While his heart burns with zeal for the extension and glory of the Redeemer's kingdom throughout the world, he breathes, at the same time, the most ardent solicitude for the improvement of these his intimate friends in knowledge and holiness. We find him at one time delivering to them general counsels for the government and edification of the Church, and at another directing them to the means of securing their own peace and salvation; and while he points out to them the varied and momentous duties to which they were called as ambassadors of Christ, he keeps them in mind of those personal graces which became them as Christians. With those general rules which he lays down for their guidance as pastors and rulers of the Church, he blends the most minute and pointed directions for the regulation of their personal habits; and never for a moment does he suffer them to forget, in the