2 Cor. viii. 13 — 15. I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened : but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abun- dance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality: as it is written. He that had gathered much had nothing over ; and he that had gathered little had no lack.
YOU have heard the king's letter read to you^ : and if St. Paul thanks God for " putting into the heart
* This was for the Relief of the Distressed Manufacturers, Jan. 1827. And this exordium is inserted, in order to shew what, on such an occasion, may justly be admitted. But to such occasions it should be confined. Of course, for any other Charity, the exordium should be changed.
of Titus an earnest desire" to improve his influence at Corinth for the rehef of the distressed Christians at Jerusalem'', well may we acknowledge with thankful- ness the goodness of God, who has " put it into the heart of our king" to exert his influence with us in behalf of our distressed brethren in the north : and I do trust, that a measure of the same success which Titus was favoured with at Corinth, will attend the appeal now made in the king's name to your libe- rahty on this occasion. The distress being extremely great and urgent, I will shew you,
I. What the inequalities of Divine Providence call for at our hands — That there are great inequalities in the states of men, is obvious, in all places and in all ages. Even in the country which was governed more immediately by God himself, it was declared, that " the poor should never cease out of the land":" much more, therefore, may we expect to see the same dispensa- tions in our land.
Certainly there are great inequalities in the states of men —
[These occur, from hirth, from education, from accident. One person is born to opulence, and, from the moment he comes into the world, enjoys all that this world can afford : another, from the first instant of his birth, is destitute of the most common necessaries of life, or would be so if they were
not supplied by the hand of charity One, from early
infancy, is instructed in some branch of knowledge that may fit him for a higher sphere ; whilst the mind of another is left without any culture whatever : and hence we see some, even of the lower classes of society, rise to wealth and eminence ; whilst others, for the want of such advantages, are left to per- form the most degrading offices in life And from
what we call accident, that is, from occurrences which could neither have been anticipated nor avoided, have the most astonishing changes been produced ; the rich being reduced to penury, and the poor being elevated to situations of wealth and dignity. The greatest acquisitions have been made by some unforeseen event, that has prepared the way for them, and almost forced them, as it were, upon us. On the other
^ ver. 16. c Deut. xv. 11.