this Fcwrunmoreoountertotheopinionsandprejudices of mankind. Few are so little believed. Yet this saying is true, and worthy of all acceptation. Kiches, which all desire to ohtain,-riches, for which men labor and toil, and become gray before their time,-riohes are a most perilous possession. They often inflict great mjury on the soul They lead men into many temptations. They en<.ross men's thoughts and affections. They bind heavy burdens on the heart, and make the way to heaven even more difficult than it naturally is.
Let -us beware of the love of money. It is possible to use it well, and do good with it. But for one who makes a rio-ht use of money, there are thousands who make a wrong use of it, and do harm both to themselves and others. Let the worldly man, if he will, make an idol of money, and count him happiest who has most of it. But let the Christian, who professes to have " treasure in heaven," set his face like a flint against the spirit of the world in this matter. Let him not worship gold. He is not the best man in God's eyes who has most money, but he who has most grace.
Let us pray daily for rich men's souls. They are not to be envied. They are deeply to be pitied. They carry heavy weights in the Christian course. They are of all men the least likely " so to run as to obtain." (1 Cor. ix. 24) Their prosperity in this world is often their destruction in the world to come. Well may the Litany of the Church of England contain the words, " In all time of our wealth, good Lord, deliver us."
The second thing that we leam in this passage, \sthe almighty power of God's grace in the soul. The disciples
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were amazed, when they heard our Lord's language about rich men. It was language so subversive of all their notions about the advantages of wealth, that they cried out with surprise, " Who then can be saved ?" They drew from our Lord a gracious answer, " With men this is impossible : but with God all things are possible."
The Holy Ghost can incline even the richest of men to seek treasure in heaven. He can dispose even kings to cast their crowns at the feet of Jesus, and count all thin2;s but loss for the sake of the kin2:dom of God. Proof upon proof of this is given to us in the Bible. Abraham was very rich, yet he was the father of the faithful. Moses might have been a prince or king in Egypt, but he forsook all his brilliant prospects for the sake of Him who is invisible. Job was the wealthiest man in the east, yet he was a chosen servant of God. David, Jehoshaphat, Josiah, Hezekiah, were all wealthy monarchs, but they loved God's favor more than their earthly greatness. They all shew us that ^^ nothing is too hard for the Lord," and that faith can grow even in the most unlikely soil.
Let us hold fast this doctrine, and never let it go. No man's place or circumstances shut him out from the kingdom of God. Let us never despair of any one's salvation. No doubt rich people require special grace, and are exposed to special temptations. But the Lord God of Abraham, and Moses, and Job, and David is not changed. He who saved them in spite of their riches, can save others also. When He works, who shall let it .? (Isaiah xhii. 13.)
The last thing that we learn in these verses, is the