But do they not know Who it is that has said, "That of every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment?"

66

And if " idle words" are to be so strictly accounted for, what shall be said for words of blasphemy, and profane jests, often against the Bible itself, and very often indeed against the Church, and the Church Prayer Book? For people to say that they do not mean any thing," when they give utterance to such language as this, or when they read, or suffer others to read, books or papers wherein such things are, they show themselves cruelly indifferent to the honour of ALMIGHTY GOD, and to the everlasting good of their fellow-creatures and fellow-Christians.

But, chiefly, they give hereby the greatest encouragement to the spirit of infidelity, which is far more common amongst us than good persons are aware of, both among rich and poor people. And then, if the infidel looks to the Christian world, (so called,) to the ways of those who are really in earnest, more or less, in their profession, and sees in some so much practical indifference, even on high and essential points of truth, and in others so much bitterness and unkindness, so much party spirit of one towards another, then the two things together, the one's indifference about the truth, and the other's unfeeling hardness, make him (as is said of the false Jew1) "bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart;" though I have really no faith, and am without God in the world; though I have really no fears of hell, nor hopes of Heaven.

Now, God forbid that we, my Christian brethren, should wilfully encourage this dreadful increasing tendency to infidel practices and professions. Still we have need to be on our guard, lest we should incur this guilt, unknown to ourselves; and this, for the present, I leave to the consideration of those who are disposed to be considerate.

1 Deut. xxix.

SERMON CCCXXXIII.

COVETOUSNESS.

(ST. MATTHEW'S DAY.)

1 TIM. vi. 10.

"For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the Faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.".

THE Church this day holds in grateful remembrance the illustrious Apostle, Evangelist, and Martyr, St. Matthew. And in the Collect appointed for the day, we are taught to make it our especial prayer that "ALMIGHTY GOD would grant us grace to forsake all covetous desires, and inordinate love of riches, and to follow the LORD JESUS CHRIST." For here, as in other instances, the Church would instruct her faithful children to seize hold (as it were) of whatever statements, characters, or events are recorded in the histories of past times, and most especially in the Scripture history, and to make them serve to our own edification. And particularly, we are instructed to make such matters the subject of our prayers, that by them we may be put in mind to seek to GOD for strength to follow after all that is good and right, and to renounce and cast off all this evil.

Thus, to mention a few instances out of many, of this manner of the Church's teaching.

On St. Andrew's day, and also on St. James's day, we are

VOL. X.

reminded by what is said of those two Apostles, how greatly it concerns us, without delay, to give up ourselves to follow the LORD JESUS CHRIST. And this is the prayer of both the Collects. The most remarkable circumstance recorded of St. Thomas gives occasion for a prayer, that ALMIGHTY GOD would give us perfect unreprovable faith in His Blessed SoN. The martyrdom of St. Stephen teaches us to pray that we may be enabled in every case, to love and bless our persecutors; and that of the Holy Innocents, to pray that we may be enabled to glorify God by Innocency of Life, and constancy of Faith, even unto death. The eventful history of St. John the Baptist warns us to pray that we may be enabled "truly to repent according to his preaching, after his example constantly to speak the truth, boldly to rebuke vice, and patiently to suffer for the truth's sake." And to mention no more, the consideration of St. Matthew's original employment or business, (as we call it,) and of his conduct when our SAVIOUR called him to follow HIM; this suggests the devout and earnest prayer, that we, each of us, like that holy man, may have grace to forsake and keep clear of all covetous desires, all inordinate love of riches, and faithfully to follow the same MASTER which he did.

Thus does the Church teach us to turn every circumstance into matter for Prayer, and especially circumstances in the histories of the Apostles, Saints, and Martyrs of the Primitive Church: reminding us, as it may seem, that we have the same Arm to protect and support us which they had, and that, whatever our difficulties may be, they are no greater than holy men before us have had to undergo.

To-day our prayer is particularly against all covetousness, because it appears that the Apostle St. Matthew's trial lay particularly in that way. He was, we read, a Publican, that is, a gatherer of taxes for the Romans, an office in which people often acquired great riches, and sometimes, perhaps generally, not in very honest ways. Accordingly, it is said of Zaccheus, that as he was chief among the publicans, namely, in that particular district, so "he was rich;" and it is added, that when he began seriously to think of following our Blessed LORD, the two things which chiefly grieved him were the thought, first, of his want of charity to persons in distress; secondly, of his having acquired much of his wealth by

unfair, or at least questionable, means. Therefore, with regard to the first, his confession was, "Behold, LORD! the half of my goods I give to the poor;" and with regard to the second, "If I have done any wrong to any man, I restore fourfold." And how acceptable this was to HIM who knows the hearts, we are immediately assured when our SAVIOUR SO solemnly pronounced the gracious sentence; "This day is salvation come to this family. Behold a true son of Abraham!"

Very like Zaccheus seems to have been the character and conduct of St. Matthew. For he too, no doubt, was a chief publican, and was rich. Yet when our LORD called him even from the receipt of custom, the very midst of his occupation and his gains, he followed HIм at once. We must, of course, suppose that St. Matthew had before given serious attention to the miracles and preaching of the HOLY JESUS, and had made up his mind to obey HIM implicitly. So when the trial came, he made no objection, but at once cast off all hindrances, being the first to realize the prophetic instruction of Isaiah long before in the Old Testament, describing, as it seems, the times of the Gospel.

"Who is blind, but my servant?

Or deaf, as my messenger that I send ?
Who is blind as he that is perfect?

And blind as the LORD's servant?"

Thus was St. Matthew deaf to the calls of the world, and blind to all its enticements, renouncing all selfish, covetous feelings, and only holding to and loving one Master, JESUS CHRIST.

As, however, time went on, and the number of the disciples was multiplied greatly, some were found who, though like Matthew and Zaccheus in profession, were not willing, like them, to renounce all for CHRIST's sake, but vainly endeavoured to serve God and Mammon both at once. Of such inconsistent Christians, the Apostle St. Paul makes indirect mention; writing about thirty years after our LORD'S Ascension, as if he "stood in doubt of" some persons, whom he does not expressly name, but no doubt St. Timothy knew whom he meant. "There are some," he says, "who suppose that gain is godliness;" that Religion is a sort of trade or business, or way of getting on in the world: "from such withdraw thyself." "For they that will (or desire to) be rich, fall into temptation and a snare, and

into many foolish and hurtful lusts (or fancies), which drown men in destruction and perdition." "For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they erred," wandered away "from the Faith," the pure truth and doctrine of the Church and Gospel of CHRIST; and not only this, but even failed of their own poor low notion of reconciling the love of God with the love of the world; and instead of securing to themselves a comfortable easy life, "pierced themselves through with many sorrows."

Now, whenever the love of money gains the ascendancy in any person's heart, the effects, though always evil, yet are not always the same. Thus, sometimes it makes persons morose, cross, and suspicious; and their behaviour, and almost their look, is as if they thought every body they had to deal with was a thief or a cheat. With other persons, this love of money has a different effect, they seem frank, cheerful, and active, quite full of business, and scarcely heeding small losses, provided they can secure great gains. Hence, sometimes, they appear to the world and even to themselves, as liberal and generous, being in fact very far from any thing of the kind. Again, sometimes this love of money makes people hate all Religion, even the very name of it, partly because it is coupled in their minds with the notion of expense, and partly because it calls off their thoughts from the idol of their hearts, their beloved money. And on the same principles, sometimes covetous people will go to a considerable expense, in order to indulge themselves in luxuries, bodily comforts, and pleasures, I mean by way of keeping all serious thoughts out of their minds. And other things might easily be mentioned, confirming and illustrating from our daily experience, the solemn warning of the HOLY SPIRIT, that “the love of money is the root of all evil," that is, of all sorts of evil, both in the hearts of individual persons, and to society in general.

We may further observe, that it is not the possession of riches which constitutes covetousness, but what is so emphatically called by St. Paul, the "love of money.". Now there may of course be the love of money in the heart of the poorest person, as well as in that of the most wealthy. And this is to be observed because people generally, when they talk of a covetous moneyloving person, mean one who has got something laid by. But