ing voice of the Old Teftament; fet not your heart upon them. Let not the rich man glory in his riches: be that trufteth in his riches fhall fall. He that trufteth in the abundance of his riches, ftrengtheneth himself in his wickedness. Give me not riches; left I be full, and deny thee, and fay, who is the Lord (a)? In the New Teftament, the awful exclamation of our Saviour, How hardly fhall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God (b), would of itself be fufficient, after the most ample deductions which could be required on account of the peculiarity of the occafion on which it was uttered, to establish by the fanction of his immediate authority the antecedent declarations of prophets, and the fubfequent teftimony of apoftles, concerning the deftructive influence of the idol of mankind. That the love of money is the root of all evil; that there is no degree, no fpecies, of criminality to which the thirst of gold may not prove a fuccefsful incentive; that they who will be rich, they who are refolved on the accumulation of poffeffions, fall into temptation and a fnare, and into many foolish and burtful lufts which drown men in destruction and perdition: that, while fome have coveted

(a) Pfalm lxii. 10. Jer. ix. 23. Prov. xi. 28. Pf. lii. Prov. xxx. 8, 9.

(b) Mark, x. 23.

7.

after

after wealth, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many forrows, they have apoftatized from Chriftianity and overwhelmed themselves with remorse, anguish, and defpair: this is the recorded refult of the judgement and experience of St. Paul (c). But among the facred writers there is no one more frequent or more energetic than St. James in denunciations againft tranfgreffors, whom riches plunge into i enormities. The two leading fources of evil, which are reprefented in the inspired writings as derived from the influence of riches over the heart, are worldly-mindedness, and felf-dependence. Against thefe fortreffes of guilt, fometimes battered feparately, fometimes affailed in the fame onfet, the facred artillery of Scripture is unremittingly directed.

In the verses immediately under your confideration the apoftle points the vehemence of his attack against self-dependence. Go to, now, ye that fay, "To-day or to morrow we will

go into fuch a city, and continue there a year; "and buy and fell, and get gain." Whereas, ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth (c) 1 Tim. vi. 9, to.

8

away.

away. For that ye ought to fay: If the Lord will, we shall do this or that. But now ye rejoice in your boaftings; all fuch rejoicing is evil, Therefore to him that knoweth do do good, and doeth it not; to him it is fin.

These words comprehend feveral leffons highly important in themfelves, and clofely connected with each other. My intention is to fet them before you in order; and to ap ply them, one by one, under the bleffing of God, to your edification.

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I. Go to now, ye that fay; "To-day, or tomorrow, we will go into fuch a city; and continue there a year, and buy and fell, and get again." In this paffage St. James directs his reproof against that disposition so common among men, to form diftant and prefumptuous plans. Did you know nothing more concerning human life than is to be collected from the ordinary language which refounds in our dwellings and our streets; you might conclude that every circumftance in this world is capable of being fixed and fettled beforehand by us almoft, if not altogether, to a certainty. You hear men expreffing their purposes respecting their future proceedings in terms, which fcarcely admit the fuppofition that there can be any doubt whether the VOL. I.

Y

scheme

fcheme on which they meditate will be accomplished. If a perfon mentions a journey which he propofes to undertake some months hence; how ufual is it for him to fpeak of it as though it were can affair placed wholly within his own power, and to be decided merely by his own inclination. If fickness, or fome other change of circumstances, prevent him from executing his defign: how ready is he torgive way to fretfulness, and to adopt the danguage of disappointment; as though he had experienced fome strange and unufual event contrary to the natural courfe of just expectation. Others you hear speaking in terms equally confident concerning projects ftill more diftant. One perfon informs you, that when he shall have employed two or three future years in making himself master of his trade or profeffion at the place where he now refides; he fhall remove to fuch a town, or into the neighbourhood of fuch a manufactory, where like others before him, he shall speedily acquire a fortune. Another obferves, that after he fhall have conducted his bufinefs until his children, who are now fcarcely advanced beyond infancy, are able to take the management of it upon themfelves; he hall then withdraw from the concern, and shall enjoy himfelf in leifures and retirement. Another dibidw

wearies

wearies you with a detail of the alterations which he means to carry into effect, and the manner in which he defigns to live, when upon the death of some relation, at present neither old nor unhealthy, he shall inherit an addition to his eftate. Another is occupied in laying plans for the difpofal of a fucceffion of daughters in marriage and tells you that when he shall have settled the youngeft, he shall detach himfelf from the large circle of fociety in which he deems it neceffary to continue until that object is attained, and fhall remove into a more private and quiet part of the country. Thefe remote purpofes are stated with decifion and unconcern, as though they could be completed to-morrow. Or if an expreffion, alluding to a poffible uncertainty in human affairs, be interwoven it is too often accompanied with a tone and a countenance which evince that it comes not from the heart, but is inferted only to preferve appearances. The end to which St. James intimates that these fchemes are most commonly directed is gain. It is the end of the purfuits of most men. Our bleffed Lord looked upon riches with an eye very different from that of the world. He law, that they generally proved grievous hindrances to religion. To that memorable expreffion, în Y 2

which