The Pulpit Commentary — Mark — Volume 1 — Section 205

suppose the case of men succeeding in the race for riches, and retain mg in securi1y the fruits of their labour. But by this time they are no longer young ; desire has failed, the power of enjoyment has ceased; the advance of age, with its accompanying decay and decrepitude, kept pace with the accumulation of wealth; and now in the end, after years of toil, they have no relish for the enjoyments they had anticipated; they have experienced "the deceitfulness of riches," and, what is worse, their heart is now hard, their conscience seared, the seed of truth has been so long stifled, and its instructions so long suffocated by the crowding thoughts of wealth. Further, riches deceive by their promises. 'l'hey promise hippiness, but instead of happiness they often bring miserable apprehensions; they promise peace of mind, but they often prove the chief disturbers of that peace; they promise contentment, but the craving for more produces restlessness and dissatisfaction; they promise to lighten the burdens of life, but they frequently superadd a crushing load of care to all its other burdens; they promise relief from care, but it is as true now as in the poet's day, that "black care mounts behind the knight." The seed of the Word may be sown on the rich soil of a young, warm heart, it may strike root deeply downward, it may develop a tender stem and green leaf upward, it may struggle for light and air, but in vain! These thorns rob the root of nourishment, and shut out the genial sunlight and healthy atmosphere from the top; and though there may be foliage, there is no fruitage. If, then, poverty distresses with its cares and distracts by its anxieties, riches may divert the mind by their abundance and deceive by their promises; in either case, the Word may be unfruitful, the life barren, heaven missed, salvation lost, and the soul ruined. 8. Other perila to profitable hearing. When we reflect on the dangers to our spiritual life and growth attending both poverty and riches, we may well say with the wise man," Give me neither poverty nor riches," or give me grace to bear myself discreetly and devoutly in either. But if the poor man is in danger from his poverty, and the rich man in danger because of his wealth, what of the man of pleasure? 'l'he word f3/os differs from (wh both in the classics and in the Scriptures; but the difference thus existing is reversed, so that in Scripture the latter denotes the higher kin<l of life, an<l is the word of moral meaning involving moral distinction, while the former is more closely connected with natural life, or that life which we have in common with other animals. Accordin:::ly, we read of "the pride of life" (/3,oii), "the affairs of life," and here" the pleasures of life," with the same word in each. "The pleasures of life," or of this life--our versions ~upply- ing the pronoun-may be the pleasures of sense and sin, such as the apostle enumerates under works of the flesh, when he says, in his Epistle to the Galatians (v. 19), "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, unclean- ness, lasciviousness, . . . drunkenness, revellings, and such like." Or the pleasures here referred to may be the less gross and more fashionable pleasures which minister to pride, to pomp, to luxury, and to ambition. These desires about the remaining or other things may refer to gay clothing, costly furniture, rich equipages, stately mansions, works of art, broad acres, wide domains, populnr applause, worldly advance- ment, and whatever else may be comprehended under "the lust of the eye and the pride of life." Even lawful desires inordinately pursued, proper objects too eagerly sought nfter, right employments and occupations too keenly followed, even natural affections carried to excess,-all these, when they are allowed to interfere with or draw away the attention from everlasting verities, the lessons of Scripture, and the concerns of the soul, and are not restrained by the grace of God, become spiritual thorns. 'l'hey choke the seed, distract and distress the mind, and in the end "make a death-bed difficult." We have read somewhere that when the famous FrE111ch cardinal Mazarin drew near his end, he caused himself to be dressed, shaved, rouged, and enamelled. Then he had himself rolled in an easy-chair through his pict'lre-gallery, exclaiming at times as he went along, "See that Correggio, this Venus of 'l'itian, that incomparable Caracci! Must I quit them nll? Farewell, beloved ones I None can know bow my heart bleeds to leave you." He was noxt wheeled into the promenade, where the feeble hands of the old sinner were actually held up while he joined in a game of car<ls! And so, it is added, he continued till the papal nuncio came to give him plenary indulgence. IX. PRAOTIOAL LESSONS. 1. The first le~son here that presents itself to our attention may be expressed in that exhortation of the Apostle John, " Love not the world.  202 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MARK. [err. rv. l-4L