cern them; or, if they attend to you, and understand your interpretations, they will think they are quite in the secret, and set themselves down for deep Christians; when, in truth, they know nothing yet as they ought to know. And as to real Christians, their souls will either pine under your ministry, or, by contracting a false taste, will thirst after the froth of human fancy, to the neglect of the sincere milk of the word; and instead of growing in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, will make no progress in either.

It is an easy thing for a man of a luxuriant imagination, unircumbered by judgment, to make any thing he pleases of the scriptures, as well as any other book; but in so doing he must destroy their simplicity, and of course their efficacy; which in fact is. reducing them to nothing. If they be not applied to their appropriate uses, they are perverted; and a perverted good proves the greatest of evils. Thus it is that characters abound who are full of scripture language, while yet they are awfully destitute of scripture knowledge, or scriptural religion.

ON COVETOUSNESS.

Luke xii. 13-21.

WHEN Our Lord was preaching on subjects of eternal importance, a certain young man interrupted him, requesting him to speak to his brother to divide the inheritance with him. It seems as if his father had lately died, and that his brother could not be induced to do him justice in the division of the estate. He might VOL. VIII.

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possibly have heard of some such case as that of Zaccheus ; in which Jesus, by a few words speaking, had rendered a selfish man both just and generous. Jesus, however, instead of complying with his wishes, disclaims having any thing to do in such matters; and warns others, from his example, to take heed and beware of

covetousness.

Allowing the propriety of our Lord's declining to be a judge in such matters, as not comporting with the spiritual nature of his kingdom, yet how was it that he should take occasion from hence to warn his followers against the sin of covetousness? There is nothing in the story that gives us to suppose that the young man coveted what was not his own. Wherein then consisted his sin? Let us suppose a person under a mortal disease, who, seeing an eminent physician passing by him, instead of telling him his case, should request him to settle a dispute in his family! What should we say? If any thing, it would be to this effect :- Settle those matters as you can; in applying to the physician, treat him in character, and have regard to your life.' For a sinner to come to the Saviour on a mere secular business, and this while his soul was in a perishing condition, must prove his heart to be set supremely on this world, and his regard to Christ to be only a wish to render him subservient to his temporal interest.

Here then we perceive the species of covetousness that our Lord meant to censure. It is not that which breaks out in acts of robbery, theft, or oppression ;-not that which withholds the hire of the labourer, or studies the arts of fraud ;—it is not any thing, in short, which respects the conduct of man to man ;-but that which immediately relates to God, withholding the heart from him, and giving it to the world.

Such is the idea conveyed by the parable of the rich fool, which is here introduced by our Lord in illustration of the subject. He is not accused of any thing injurious to those about him; his grounds brought forth plentifully; and who can blame him for this? All that he proposed was, by the bounty of Providence, on his labours, to accumulate a fortune, and then to spend it on himself. And what harm (most men will ask) was there in this? Truly, it is the general opinion of mankind that this is all fair and

right. If a man regard not God, but himself only, so long as he acts well towards them, he will not only be acquitted, but applauded at their tribunal : Men will praise thee when thou doest well to thyself. Howbeit, this is not the doctrine of Christ. In his account, it is not the miser only that is covetous, but he who sets his heart upon the world rather than God, even though he lays out a part of his substance in building and other accommodations; and proposed, when he has got things a little in order, to eat, drink, and be merry with the surplus.

In the case of the young man who came to Christ on a secular errand we see that things in themselves lawful, by being pursued out of place and out of season, may become sinful. It is lawful, at proper seasons and in subordination to higher objects, to follow our worldly affairs; but if we go to the house of God with this end in view, it is profaning it. The same is true, if while we are there our thoughts are employed in forming plans and schemes for the week, by which we may promote our temporal interest. Such things are nor is it confined to the house of God. Even when upon our knees, the busy mind will wander after this and that pursuit, till we have in a manner forgotten where we are! Nor does the evil of such things consist merely in a few volatile, wandering thoughts, but in that of which they are an indication ; namely, a mind cleaving to the earth instead of ascending to God. In the case of this young man, we may also see the danger of regarding Christ and religion in only a secondary or subordinate manner, while the world is treated as supreme. Religion may have changed a bad husband into a good one; or induced a customer to leave off his expensive habits, and to pay his bills with punctuality and promptitude; and, as such, you may respect it; but such respect will not be approved of Christ. If we have any thing to do with him, it must be in his proper character of Lord and Saviour. To attempt to render his religion subservient to worldly interest, is to lean upon him, while you are worshipped in the temple of mammon.

It was not without cause that our Saviour said, 'on this occasion, Take heed and beware of covetousness! Truly, this is a sin which presents itself under so many specious forms and names,

which so insensibly insinuates itself on almost all occasions, an d which may be indulged with so little danger of losing our good name among men, that, without much prayer and watchfulness against it, and much communion with Christ, there is no hope of overcoming it.

In observing my own mind, and the behaviour of my acquaintance, I see matter for both pleasure and pain. I see a goodly number of professing Christians, who appear to me to live not unto themselves, but unto him that died for them and rose again. I see some of this description, into whose hands God is pouring plenty, and who, though continually imparting, still increase. The poor people of Glasgow used to say of a late great and good man in that city, David Dale gives his money by sho’elsful, and God Almighty sho'els it back again.' Characters like-minded still live and long may they live and be blessings to the world! They afford a striking contrast to those described by David, Let them be as grass upon the house-top, which withereth before it groweth up: wherewith the mower filleth not his hand, nor he that bindeth sheaves his bosom; neither do they that go by say, The blessing of the Lord be upon you!—we bless you in the name of the Lord.

Nor is it in men of opulence only that this grace shines! I see men who have learned to be economical in order to be generous; men whose deep poverty abounds to the riches of their liberality! This is to cast our bread upon the waters; and this may be more in the esteem of Christ, than the most splendid donations of those who, in giving, exercise no self-denial.

But I see, on the other hand, not only sordid misers, but men who profess godliness, and who would be thought libera!, full of anxiety about appearance. They must dress, visit, and show away in their circle. The consequence is, they have nothing to spare in the way of doing good, or if they give a little, it is chiefly to save appearances. It may be thought this belongs to vanity, Father than covetousness; it is, however, living to ourselves rather than God; and this is the covetounsess against which our Saviour

warns us.

There are three descriptions of men, each of which, if I mistake not, has some peculiar temptations to this sin; and who, if

destitute of grace, are likely to be carried away by it these are the prosperous, the aged, and the professor of religion.

With respect to the prosperous, it is a fact which falls under common observation, that men who, while possessing little, were compassionate and willing to communicate, when they come to rise in the world are hard-hearted, and part with their money with great reluctance. This is not difficult to be accounted for. While necessity calls for nearly the whole of what is received, there is no room for a plan of accumulation: but when money flows in, and rises beyond the mark of immediate wants, and the advantages of it begin to be felt, a saving system is adopted; and the mind is employed in calculating the number of years necessary to the arrival at such and such a point; and when this comes to be the case, every application for benevolence strikes a damp upon the spirits, as interfering with the system, and lengthening the time ere it will reach the proposed point. Hence arises the force of the caution, If riches increase, set not your heart upon them. Hence also we perceive the folly and self-deception of thinking, that if we had such-a-one's estate, what great things we would do; or if we should live to possess so and so, then how charitable we will be! All such thoughts are framed to excuse the neglect of present duty; and are as if a person engaged in a race should desire, in order to make swifter progress, to have his feet laden with thick clay.

With respect to the aged, it is a fact which also falls under common observation, that persons as they get older get more covetous. This observation, however, is not universally true. There is a goodly number of men who bring forth other fruits in old age ; or who, as they draw nearer to heaven, become more heavenlyminded. The truth seems to be, that as every principle tends to maturity, those who have been covetous in their younger years provided there be no change of heart, will be more covetous in old age. The stream of depravity in early life had several channels, such as the lust of the flesh and the pride of life and these would of course diminish the strength of avarice: but in the last stages of life, those channels are in a manner stopped by the decay of the natural powers, and the whole current flows in