heard truth at all. So true is it, that the " natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they . are foolishness to him." (1 Cor. ii. 14.)
We see in the last place, from this young man's case, that one idol cherished in the heart may ruin a soul for ever. Our Lord, who knew what was in man, at last shows His inquirer his besetting sin. The same search- ing voice which said to the Samaritan woman, " Go, call thy husband," (John iv. 16,) says to the young man, «' Go, sell tha^ thou hast, and give to the poor." At once the weak point in his character is detected. It turns out that, with all his wishes and desires after eternal life, there was one thing he loved better than his soul, and that was his money. He cannot stand the test. He is weighed in the balance and found wanting. And the history ends with the melancholy words, " He went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions."
We have in this history one more proof of the truth, " The love of money is the root of all evil." (1 Tim. vi. 10.) We must place this young man in our memories by the side of Judas, Ananias and Sapphira, and learn to beware of covetousness. Alas ! it is a rock on which thousands are continually making shipwreck. There is hardly a minister of the Gospel who could not point to many in his congregation, who, humanly speaking, are '' not far from the kingdom of God." But they never seem to make progress. They wish. They feel. They mean. They hope. But there they stick fest ! And why ? Because they are fond of money.
Let us prove our own selves, as we leave the passage. Let us see how it touches our own souls. Are we honest