recognized in the Money Market, but it goes further than men of business generally ndmit. The precious metals have a certain utility and beauty of their own; but there are circumstances under which they become mere incumbrances; e.g. on board a sinking ship, in a besieged city, on a desert island, in great sickness, at death. They are chiefly valued as money, i.e. as a medium of exchange, But when there is nothing to exchange them for, their money value is lost. This must be the case in a state of social insecurity, when no one can depend upon holding his property from one day to another. Then the purchasing power of money will fall, even though there be plenty of articles for sale, because the purchase of goods may be nullified by the loss of them. In a famine at first the rich man may buy dear food which the poor man can- not afford to get; but when all the food is exhausted, be cannot feed on bis gold and silver. In times of great son·ow the value of gold and silver falls almost to nil. It will not supply the vacant place of the dead, nor will it heal the smart of unkindness or ingratitude. He is poor indeed whose wealth consists in nothing better than gold and silver, The worship of Mammon is a miserable idolatry, certain to be most fatal to the most devoted worshipper-and, alas! bow many such our money-loving age pro- duces I What Wordsworth wrote of the plutocracy of his day is little less true now. "The wealthiest man among us is the best: No grandeur now in nature or in book Delights us. Ro.pine, avarice, expense, This is idolatry: and these we adore: Plain living and high thinking are no more: The homely beauty of the good old cause le gone ; our peace, our fearful innocence, And pure religion breathing household laws." • II, THERE ABE CIRCUMSTANCES WHICH LEAD TO THE ABANDONMENT 01" GOLD il,"1) SILVER, 1. Necessity. "A.11 that a man bath will be give for bis life." The drowning man will drop his money-bags rather than be dragged down to death with them. Yet there are men who behave as slaves to their money, consenting to a slow death of exhaustion from devotion to business rather than preserve health and life nt the cost of pecuniary loss. 2. Folly. Extravagant people "cast their silver in the streets." Money spent in sin is worse than lost; it is invested in funds from which the dividends will be pain and death. 3. Oharity. There are the poor of the streets, and the rich and well-clad man who sees his brethren sbiveriug and hungry bas a good call to cast his silver in the streets-not, indeed, for a loose scramble in which the most worthless will seize most, not in indiscriminate charity which breeds idle paupers and neglects modest poverty, but in wise and thoughtful alleviation of misery. The young man whom Jesus loved was bidden to sell all and give to the poor (Matt. xix. 21). St. Francis of A.ssissi and many another did so. Those who do not practise this " counsel of perfection " should see the duty of making real sacrifices for their brethren as for Christ (Matt. xxv. 40). 4. Oonsecration. Men may cast aside their care of wealth, and even let the proceeds lie in neglect while they devote themselves to a higher ministry; or they may bring their wealth and lay U at the feet of Christ, to be spent on bis work in the streets of earth.
Ver. 26 (first part).-Rumour. "And rumour shall be upon rumour." One element of the dark times of the destruction of Jerusalem is the constant accession of new and terrifying rumours-one contradicting another, yet all presaging fearful events. This is always an accompaniment of times of unrest, and Ch1ist referred to it in bis picture of coming evils (Matt, xxiv. 6). \Ve may have seen some such thing in our own happier days; but the telegraph and the newspaper have done immense service in substituting authentic news for vague and floating rumour, so that it is difficult for us to understand the. distress of less rapidly informed ages, which must have been far more the prey to uncorroborated reports and chance rumours. I. TnE MISCHIEF Ql!' BUMOUB, 1. Rumour distresses by its prophecy of coming evil. There may be rumours of good, to cheer. But in the present instauce we have only rumours of evil brought to our attention. Such reports cloud the present with dim visions of a possible dark future. It is bard enough to face the difliculties of to-day; add to these the portents of to-morrow, and the load may be crnshing. "Sufficient 126 THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET EZEKIEL. [cH. vn. 1-27.