valna hle; they provide us with shelter, with food, with rniment, with instruction, and even (in the sense of ver. 9) with friendship. But they neither supply to us nor secure for us lasting satisfaction. 1. They do not supply it in themselves. The possession of we9lth may give, at first, considerable pleasure to the owner of it• but it may ~c doub~ed wheth?r there is not more pleasure found in the pursuit than in the posses- s10n of 1t. And 1t cannot be doubted that the mere fact of ownership soon ceases to give more than a languid satisfaction, often balanced, often indeed quite outwei"hed by the burdensome anxiety of disposing of it. 2. They do not ensure it. They ea~ command a large number of pleasant things; but these are not happiness, much less are they well-being. That life must have been short or that experience narrow which has not supplied many instances in which the riches of this world have been held by those whose homes have been wretched, a.nd whose hearts have been aching with unrest or even bleeding with sorrow. II. THE SUPREME VALUE OF SPIRITUAL GOOD. 1. There are trm riches in reverence. To be living in the fear of Goe.; to be worshipping the Holy One; to be walkina daily, hourly, continually, with the Divine Father; to have the whole of our life hallo~ed by sacred intercourse with heaven ;-this is to be enriched and ennobled indeed. 2. There is real wealth in love. Our best possession at home is not to be found in any furniture; it is in the love we receive, and in the love we have in our own hearts: "The kind heart is more than all our store." And to be receiving the constant loving favour of a Divine Friend, and to be retuming his affection; to be also loving with a true and lasting love those for whom he died ;-this is to be really rich. 3. There are true riches in the peace, the joy, the hope, of the gospel of Christ. The peace that passes under- standing ; the joy that does not pa.11, and which no man taketh from us-joy in God and in bis sacred service; the hope that maketh not ashamed, that is full of immor- tality ;-these are the trne riches. To be without them is to be destitute indeed; to hold them is to be rich in the sight of God, in the estimate of heavenly wisdom.-C. Ver. 13.-The dividing-line. Ingenuity is an excellent thing in its way; it counts for much in the conduct of life; it renders valuable aid in our "taking possession of the earth and subduing it;" it has its place and fnnction in the spiritual sphere. A holy love will press it into its service and make it further its benign and noble aims. But there is a diriding-liue, which is such that no ingenuity will enable us to stand on both sides of it. We must elect whether we will take our place on this side or on the other of it. That line is found in the service of Jesus Christ. To be his servant is tu have withdrawn from the service of the world; to remain in the latter is to uccline "to serve the Lord." We may be loyal enough to this present world, may be animated by its spirit, governed by its principles, numbered amongst its friends, and- 1 YET MAKE A LOUD PROFESSION OF PIETY; or II. YET ENJOY A GOOD REPUTATION FOB BELIGION,-witness the Pharisees of our Lord's time and the false prophets of an earlier age; or- III. STILL OOUNT OURSELVES AMONG THE PEOPLE OF Goo j for many of those whom God "knoweth afar off" are persuaded of themselves that they are quite near and very dear to him. In nothing do men make greater mistakes than in the estimation that they form of their own moral and spiritual worth. But no man can live under the dominion of any one sin or with his heart yielded to the objects and interests of tiDle, and- IV. YET BE A TRUE SERVANT OF CHRIST. For to be the servant and follower of Christ is: 1. To have surrendered self to him, and the spirit of selfishness is the essential spirit of worldliness. 2. To have sworn undyinj!: enmity to all the false doctrines and pernicious habits which abound in "the world," and which both charac- terize and constitute it. 3. Not to be living for time, but to he building for etemity.-C.
Ver. 14.-The explanation of falsejudgment. "Herein is a marvellous thing," that the men who were reputed to be the best and wisest among the people of God went so fe.r astray in their judgment and their behaviour that they treated with positive con- tqmpt the Good and the Wise One when he lived before their eyes and spoke in their havmg. l t demands explanation. L AN .APPA.li.ENTLY UNACOOUNTABLE F.&.OT. Here we have: 1. Heavenly wisdom ou. xvi. 1-31.]. THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. LUKE. 79