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appointed to preach at St. Pauls; and having chosen this passage for his text," Bastard slips shall not thrive," he enlarged on all the topics which could discredit the birth of Edward IV., the Duke of Clarence, and of all their children. He then broke out in a panegyric on the Duke of Gloucester, and exclaimed, "Behold this excellent Prince, the express image of his noble father, the genuine descendant of the house of York; bearing no less in the virtues of his mind, than in the features of his countenance, the character of the gallant Richard, once your hero and favorite; he alone is entitled to your allegiance; he must deliver you from the dominion of all intruders; he alone can restore the lost honor and glory of the nation." Such was a part of the fulsome oration of this Reverend sycophant, in favor of a despicable tyrant and atrocious murderer. It was previously concerted, that as the doctor should pronounce these words, the Duke of Gloucester should enter the church; and it was expected that the audience would cry out, "God save king Richard!" which would immediately have been laid hold of as a popu lar consent, and interpreted to be the voice of the nation. But Providence, not unfrequently, turns the schemes of the crafty into foolishness. By a ridiculous mistake, worthy of the whole scene, the Duke did not appear till after this exclamation was already recited by the preacher. The Doctor was therefore obliged to repeat his rhetorical figure out of its proper place: the audience, less from the absurd conduct of the discourse, than from their detestation of these proceedings, kept a profound silence; and the protector and his preacher were equally abashed at the ill success of their stratagem. For, "He who sits in the heavens," and whose eyes "behold the children of men," holds in derision" all such deceitful schemes, and "disappoints the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise."

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It is to be hoped, that there are, in our times, few persons connected with the sacred office, who would go all the length with the despicable sycophant to whom have alluded. But there is no one who reads the

daily journals, and has his eyes open to what is passing around him, but must perceive that there are characters within the limits of the British Empire, invested with the office of ministers of the gospel, who make a near approximation in their temper and conduct, to such political parasites. It becomes ministers of religion in general, to be particularly on their guard against such unhallowed propensities, so degrading to the office of ambassadors of Christ, and with the indulgence of which they have been so frequently charged. If their great object be merely "to please men,” they "cannot be the servants of Christ ;" and, in flattering the great, and pandering to their pride, from ambitious motives, they will be found subjecting themselves to that awful denunciation of our Saviour, "He that is ashamed of me, before men, of him will I be ashamed before my Father and his holy angels." And a more awful situation can scarcely be conceived than that of an ambitious and worldly minded minister standing before the bar of God, and commanded "to give an account of his stewardship," and of the souls committed to his care. The prospect of such a scene, and its appalling consequences, ought to make every such character tremble, if he really believes in a future retribution; and either throw aside all pretensions to the sacred office, or "break off his sins by righteousness,' and "flee for refuge from the wrath to come."

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In short, what was addressed by the prophet Malachi, in the name of Jehovah, to the priests of the Jews, might be addressed with propriety to many of the ministers of the New Testament Church, and ought to excite their solemn consideration: "Ye have departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; therefore have I made you contemptible and base before all the people; as ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law. Now, therefore, O ye priests, this commandment is for you-if ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory to my name, saith the Lord of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings,

yea I have cursed them already because ye do not lay it to heart."

7. Covetousness inclines men to presumption and self-sufficiency, as if they could live independently of their Maker, and consequently leads to a virtual denial of a superintending Providence.

God is the original source of existence and happiness. On Him all creatures, from the archangel to the worm, depend for every enjoyment they now or ever will possess. Throughout every region of the universe; all the laws of nature, and all the movements of the material system connected with these laws, are absolutely dependant upon Him "who spake, and it was done," who gave the command, "and all things stood fast." Consequently all the orders of intelligent beings, wherever existing throughout creation, are every moment dependant upon his superintendance and care, for the continuance of their existence, and for every comfort they enjoy., Were he to withdraw his supporting hand, their existence and enjoyments would cease, the wheels of nature would stop, and the vast fabric of the universe would soon be transformed into one frightful and universal ruin. "For in Him we live and move, and have our being;" his visitation sustains our spirits, and in his hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind. It is, therefore, one of the first duties of every rational creature, to look up to God for every blessing, to confide in him for every earthly comfort, and to acknowledge his goodness for every sensitive as well as spiritual enjoyment he confers. To act otherwise, is virtually to call in question his existence, and his overruling providence.

But riches, to which the covetous appetite is directed, incline men to presume on their own self-sufficiency, and to rob God of that homage and confidence which is due to him as the Supreme Dispenser of every blessing. In many cases, they virtually depose God from his throne, and set up the world as the object of adoration and confidence. Instead of directing

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the soul to trust in the Most High in the midst of dangers and distress-"the rich man's wealth is his strong city, and as a high wall in his own conceit," to which he looks for defence in the prospect of whatever may befal him. Hence, it is declared of Israel, after they were filled with abundance, "their heart was exalted, therefore have they forgotten me, saith the Lord;" and hence the declaration of the Psalmist in regard to such, they trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches." This confidence in wealth, and forgetfulness of dependence upon God, form some of the chief reasons why so many pointed injunctions are given in Scripture in reference to the evils of covetousness, and the danger attending the accumulation of wealth. It was on this account, chiefly, that the rich man "who had goods laid up for many years," was condemned. He trusted in these riches as the source of his happiness, and as a security in his own hands against every calamity; and he presumptuously calculated on the enjoyment of many years to come, forgetting that he was every moment dependent for existence on that Almighty Being, "in whose hand our life is, and whose are all our ways." This was likewise the characteristic sin of the rich voluptuary, "who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day." He was not a miser, neither were the poor driven with insolence from his door; for Lazarus lay at his gate, and was fed with the crumbs from his table. But he was forgetful of God; his riches were his confidence; and led him to scepticism and irreligion, and to overlook and even deny the great realities of the eternal world. This is evident from his request, that Lazarus would go, in the capacity of a prophet, and testify to his brethren the truth and reality of a future state of existence.

This confidence in riches has, in thousands of instances, been a snare to professors of religion, especially when the open profession of genuine Christianity exposed to hazard their worldly possessions. Trusting more in their wealth than in the promise of divine protection, and looking more earnestly on the things which

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are seen and temporal, than on those which are unseen and eternal, they have turned aside from the profession of their faith, and virtually "denied the Lord who bought them." Eusebius, the ecclesiastical historian, relates, that "in the time of the severe persecution of the church by the Emperor Decius, the rich men among the Christians were the most easily and miserably foiled." The love of the world vanquished their Christian fortitude, and led many of them to relapse into the profession of Pagan idolatry. In the time of the Arian persecution, many of the rich who occupied offices which should have led them "to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints," accommodated their profession to their desires after ambition and avarice. Like too many in our day, they had a political faith which was either orthodox or Arian, according as the State should determine, and as public favor and emolument should smile on the one or the other. The history of the church is full of examples of this kind, and there is too much reason to fear that there are many in our times, both among the clergy and the laity following in their footsteps. It therefore becomes every one, and especially those professors of religion who are possessed of wealth, carefully to examine the state. of their hearts on this point, and ascertain whether they are "trusting in the Lord" or "putting confidence in princes." In order to the exercise of confidence in God, it is necessary that we should sometimes be brought into straits and difficulties. When the poor are in want, or enjoy but a scanty portion of the good things of the world, if they be Christians, it naturally leads them to a sense of dependence, and to look up to Him from whom all comforts flow; and it is highly expedient for the exercise of faith and hope, that we should frequently feel that we are dependent creatures. But riches have a tendency, if we be not every moment upon our guard, to make us forget our dependence upon the Most High, and to beget a spirit of pride and self-sufficiency, as if we were able to guide, ourselves through the world, without being beholden to the care of Divine Providence. But, let such learn.

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