conscious that his riches have ever been any great temptation to him-if he can remember no struggle and contest, in which Satan strove to beguile him by means of them-if he does not distinctly know and feel what the danger of riches is; as one who has recovered from some dreadful malady can realize the true nature and misery of sickness;-he has but too much reason to conclude, that "a deceived heart hath turned him aside," that "the deceitfulness of riches" has beguiled him, that he knows not the contest because he is an unresisting captive. For if the danger be so great, the temptation so overpowering, how shall a man flatter himself that he has encountered and overcome it without being aware that he has done so? "When a strong

man armed keepeth his house his goods are at peace;" such is the peace of him who has never felt the power of this world's riches, because he never resisted it.

If we examine the nature of that special temptation which accompanies wealth, we shall less wonder at its insinuating and treacherous power. Agur prays, "give me not riches, lest I be full and deny Thee, and say, Who is the LORD?" This open impiety is but the full developement of the mental habit of "trusting in riches;" and it is a temptation under the power of which hundreds have fallen who continue to call Christ their Master and LORD. A man trusts in riches, when they are more or less the

ground and foundation of his hope and security. We cannot but see that the majority of amiable domestic religious persons, in the middle and higher classes of society, are without fear and anxiety concerning their daily support. This is right; a Christian should not be careful for such things. But now why are they secure? Is it because Christ has promised, "seek ye first the kingdom of GoD and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you;" and, "your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of these things;" because they know, that "He who spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all," will "with Him also freely give us all things;" that to HIM who died for them, all power is given in heaven and earth, so that neither earth nor hell can hurt them but by His permission? If so, happy are they, for they trust in GoD, not in riches. Or, on the other hand, is it because they have much goods laid up in store for many years? because they have houses and lands, gold and silver; and they know that although the value of these things may be diminished, yet, according to the course of nature and the order of society, they can hardly be so much reduced as to bring them within the reach of want? If so, they "trust in riches," their wealth is the real reason of their security and contentment: it does that for them which a filial confidence in GOD, and a prevailing love for Christ ought to do, and will do where they exist.

Here is a test which each may apply to his own heart: yet while we may not judge individuals among our brethren, there are indications which give us much cause to fear that a worldly confidence in riches is too prevalent, even among those who believe that all their trust is in God. For if their substance is liable to be affected by the vicissitudes of commerce, and if some untoward position of affairs throws their all into sudden danger; if revolutions and wars, and distress of nations with perplexity should arise to shake the foundations of all property, however secured by houses and lands, and the stability of law and the sacredness of deeds; then do we not see the same persons too often without confidence, almost without hope, and not knowing whither to betake themselves? And why?-except because their former trust has been in the multitude of their riches. For if their hope had been founded upon the Rock of ages, it could not have been shaken by the storms and agitations of the world.

It is difficult for any man to understand the reality and power of trust in God, and the great obstacle which the possession of worldly riches opposes to it; except he be in the habit of holding intercourse and society with the pious poor. This is one part of the blessing which attends the " visiting of the fatherless and widows in their affliction ;" and finding out for ourselves, in lanes and alleys and cottages, yea in poorhouses

and prisons, the sick and afflicted members of our Lord's body. "If we converse in hospitals and almshouses, and minister with our own hand what our heart hath first decreed, we shall find our hearts endeared and made familiar with the needs and with the persons of the poor, those excellent images of Christ." And assuredly there is no one who habitually practises this duty, without finding in it its own reward. He will find "the poor rich in faith,” living from day to day, without store of this world's goods, on what may seem the casual chance of obtaining employment, not knowing literally how the necessities of the next week are to be supplied, nay sometimes almost finishing their last loaf, and not able to tell whence the next is to come; and yet with all this, calm and contented, happy and cheerful, knowing that theirs is an inexhaustible store, even the store of His possessions whose are all things in heaven and in earth and under the earth; living upon His promise, which they trust, because He has spoken it, and because they have long ago by experience proved its truth, and know that all needful things have ever been added unto them, and are confident that they ever will. Such is the faith of many a widow and orphan among the poor. And where else is it to be found? Even among those who trace all their worldly comforts to God's bountiful hand, and acknowledge them continually as His gift, is not the gift too often the object of

that trust which ought to rest upon the Giver? and both in the confidence of their prosperity, and the anxiety of their adversity, do they not fulfil the words of the Psalmist, "In my prosperity, I said I shall never be removed. Thou, Lord, of thy goodness hast made my hill so strong. Thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled ?" Their faith and hope are not ready to wait upon "a God that hideth Himself," because they have never understood and realized the full meaning of that prayer, Give us this day our daily bread.

And be it observed, that this danger from the deceitfulness of riches is by no means confined to the case of those who are lords of sea and land, and whose yearly revenues are counted by thousands or tens of thousands. That it cannot be so is evident enough from the condition of those to whom our Lord addressed Himself: they were poor fishermen, who would naturally regard as rich any man who had a fixed and certain income, which placed him above the necessity of daily labour, and the uncertainty which attends poverty. It is plain again, from the very nature of the danger; for the man who has thousands yearly differs from him who has hundreds, rather in the magnitude of his establishments and the number of his dependants, than in the security with which he holds his possessions as his own. The temptation to trust in riches accordingly, and to lean on the world, not on God, applies, almost in equal measure, to each.