of this world's goods, but they can never be truly happy; their consciences are often troubling them, and their minds are not at rest, as that of the good man is. And in the next world they are sure to be unhappy. They will have lost their riches, and they will be punished for the bad use they have made of them. The rich man in the parable said to himself, that he would pull down his barns and build greater, and say to his soul, Thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said to him, " Thou fool! this night thy soul shall be required of thee; then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided?" " Luke xii, 18-21. This shows us, that riches will not follow their owner into the other world. There will be neither rich nor poor, high nor low, for in these respects all will be alike. It will be of no consequence there, whether a man had here many flocks and herds, or a fine house or a large estate; but it will be of consequence whether he had good and holy dispositions, whether he had a heart that was inclined to do justice and to love mercy, and to walk humbly before his God.' Micah vi, 8 They who are found not to have these dispositions, will be very miserable. However exalted they may have been in this world, they will there be brought low; they will be reprov

ed for all their pride and vanity, and will find that their wealth, instead of being of any real service to them, has been a snare and temptation, and has brought them into the greatest trouble.

Still, perhaps, you are disposed to envy those who are rich, and you think it would be a very fine thing to ride in a carriage, and to have a grand house to live in, and servants to attend upon you. But consider, my dear children, how very short a time these things last; their owners possess them but for a very few years, and then they die, and have them no more; and in the next world, if you have lived virtuously, you will be as well off, or better than they. Consider, too, how many things your kind Creator has bestowed both upon the rich and the poor-how many things there are which all have alike. There are the same sun and moon to give light to all, and the same wind to refresh us all, and the same rain to make things grow. All men have the same sort of bodies, most curiously formed, and the same air to breathe, and to keep them alive. more than this, all men, in this

And what is

part of the

world at least, have the same word of God to show them the way to heaven. Jesus Christ preached both to the rich and to the poor; nay, he even preached more to the poor than to the rich, and gave them more comfort and en

couragement. He noticed the poor widow who threw her mite into the treasury; and he said, 'Blessed be ye poor, for yours is the kingdom of heaven.' Luke vi, 20. Do not then be always thinking how poor you are, and how much better off others are than you; but rather think how good your heavenly Father is to you all; how much, how very much, you all have to be thankful for; how many blessings you are daily receiving at the hands of God, and how cheerful and contented you ought therefore to be.

But you will say, 'Are we not then to try to get money? Yes; you must try to get mon-. ey, for without it you will starve. It is right that every one, when he comes to a proper age, should endeavor to support himself by the labor of his hands. You must try to get money by honest means, but you must never set the whole desire of your hearts upon it; you must never look upon it as the first and chief thing that is to be gained; but rather, as your Lord and Master has told you,' Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.' Matt. vi, 33. Endeavor, above all things, to be holy, just, and good,-to be pure in heart, and righteous in all your ways. Pray for God's blessing on your endeavors to serve him; and then, whether you be rich in this world's goods or

not, you will have that best of all treasures, a good conscience, as long as you remain on earth, and in the world to come you will be happy for ever.

ADDRESS V.

THE TOWER OF BABEL.

My dear Children,

You have all read in your Bibles, in the Book of Genesis, of the Tower of Babel; and I am going to explain to you this afternoon why men built that tower, and why God would not let them finish it.

In the early times of the world, when there were but few people on the earth compared with the numbers that now live upon it, as they moved about from place to place, they came to a large and fruitful plain, called the plain of Shinar, with a fine river flowing through the middle of it; (it was that plain on which the city of Babylon afterwards stood.) and as this was a very good and pleasant place to live in, they determined to stay here, and try to become a great nation. So they made bricks, and collected together bitumen

(which is a kind of slime,) for mortar, and resolved to build themselves a city.

But there was one thing of which they were very much afraid. They were afraid that as they wandered about over this immense plain, in search of grass for their cattle, and other things which they wanted, they might be separated and lose one another, which would put an end to their grand design of becoming a great nation. So, to prevent this, they determined to build a very high tower, the top of which should reach into the clouds. Some persons have supposed that the use of this tower was, that they might go to the top of it, and escape from the waters, if God Almighty should ever bring another flood upon the earth. But this could not be the use of it, for the top of one tower would not be large enough to contain all the people then on the earth. The use of it was to be a sort of land-mark, or object to look at;* so that, wherever they wan

For the words in our common version of Genesis, xi, 4, 'Let us make us a name,' it has been proposed by certain commentators to substitute, Let us make for ourselves a land-mark,' or a beacon, or signal tower: and I have no hesitation in adopting this correction, as it seems to be supported by critical authority, and as it gives an appropriate meaning to a clause, which, as it stands in our Bibles, is unintelligible.