talk of a tenth for theirs. I do not say how much is enough for poorer Christians, but I am sure that for rich ones this is a paltry sum to carry to him who gave his all for them. Ye rich Christians, read "Mammon." I say it, read it, and not only buy it. It is become a fashion to purchase it; I wish it may be a fashion to practice its principles. You are the people for whom it is especially designed, and therefore lay your souls open to its searching inquiries, and let it expel the sin of covetousness from your hearts. Remember the rule of blessing in propor: tion as you are blessed; and that, therefore, he whose prosperity flows in upon him by copious streams, but whose liberality is only like drops oozing from a rock, is robbing God, defrauding the world, and rendering it doubtful whether he is a Christian indeed, and in truth. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him."

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And now, dear brethren, take the alarm. Prosperity is a dangerous blessing. It is said of Mr. CECIL, that on being informed one of his congregation had become rich, he called upon him one day and addressed him thus: "Sir, I hear you are in great danger." "In danger of what?" said his friend; "I am not conscious of any danger to which I am exposed." "You are growing rich," continued the faithful minister, "and is not that a dangerous condition?" So sensible was another good minister of this danger, that, on his having a fortune left him, he devoted three days to humiliation and prayer, to be kept from the new perils into which he had been brought. Admit the danger, then. Do not put aside the subject with a light and careless air: this increases the peril ten-fold. The man who is walking on the edge of a precipice, but cannot be prevailed upon to take heed to his steps, is almost sure

to fall over. A constant sense of your peril will arouse you to caution. Do, do consider in how many instances prosperity has been injurious to the souls of men—of men that once stood high in the church as well as in the world. It is the green and flowery mount from which we may have slided down into the bottomless pit; for it has proved to many the occasion of apostacy. And even should it not lead to this, still, without great watchfulness and prayer, without incessant struggling, you will be sure to lose your spirituality, and gain much injury to your soul. In that case, the more you have of earth, the less you will have of heaven; your gain here will be a loss to you there. There are, as I have already said, degrees of glory; higher and lower seats in heaven; gradations of honour, and of capacity for bliss in paradise; and though your worldly-mindedness may not be such as to unchristianize you, yet it may be enough to make you Christians of a low standard, and therefore fit for only one of the lowest stations of the kingdom of God; while, on the other hand, sanctified prosperity may meeten you for one of the highest. Thus your prosperity will extend to both worlds; it will be immortal, and you will be made ruler of ten cities.

Give yourselves, then, to prayer. Call upon God. His grace can be made sufficient for you, and nothing else can. He giveth more grace, and you need more. "Ask and you shall receive; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you.'

"Remember Lot's wife." Remember the prosperous man, whose goods increased in abundance; but who was cut off in one night from his prospects, his possessions, and his folly. Remember the rich man who was clad in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day, but who died, and

in hell he lifted up his eyes being in torments; and to whose request for only a drop of cold water, no other answer was given than," Remember thou hast had thy consolation." May you not pluck the fruits of unsanctified prosperity for ever and ever in hell; but gather the harvest of a well employed abundance into the kingdom of heaven throughout eternity.

CHAPTER XV.

THE PROFESSOR IN ADVERSITY.

It is hard to say which is the more difficult and dangerous effort, to ascend or descend a steep and rocky mountain. In either case, to proceed with safety, is no easy matter. So is it a difficulty with some to decide, whether prosperity or adversity be more perilous to the Christian. Each has its snares, and each requires caution, watchfulness, and prayer. Each brings on a crisis in our religious history, and makes us either better or worse. It is an undoubted fact, that by far the greater number of God's people have been found, hitherto, in the humble vale of poverty, or in the secluded retreats of adversity; a fact, which, in connection with what the Scriptures say, is a strong presumption, that in the judgment of omniscient and infallible wisdom, piety is likely to flourish most in the shade. God could cause the sun ever to shine upon his people, and prevent any cloud from obscuring for a moment his rays; it is not for want of power to make them rich, that he suffers any of his children to be poor. All things are at his disposal and under his direction; he could give them all a patrimony in this world, which would exalt them above their fellows. He could make them all by acquisition, great in fame, and rank, and

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wealth-but he does not-and therefore it must be best that he should not. Each of them may look at the cross and say with an apostle, "He that spared not his own Son, but freely delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" There is no answering that logic: the conclusion is as just as the premises are true. disproportion between a crumb and a kingdom is not so great as that between a kingdom and God's onlybegotten Son." He that hath the Son may infer, with absolute certainty, that he has every thing else, which infinite wisdom sees it best he should have; there is nothing more certain under the heavens, than that infinite love, after having given a man Christ, can withhold nothing else that is for his real good.

How then should a professor conduct himself in adversity, so as to glorify God? By adversity, I intend three classes of persons,-the poor-the unfortunate-and the afflicted. I am aware that the word is usually restricted to the middle class; but if 1 were to use it in this limited sense, I should exclude many whom I wish to address.

There are some duties which are common to all these three classes alike.

Submission to the will of God is one of them.By submission, I mean the repression of all repining language, the resistance of all rebellious feeling, and the determined opposition of all hard thoughts of God, as if he had dealt unkindly or severely with us; together with an acquiescence in all he does as right and good. The temper, for instance, which is expressed in such language as this: "It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth good to him." "I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; because thou didst it." The grounds of submission are clear views and