Ver. 9.-The dangers of the t.ager haste to &e rich. I. THE EAGER PUBSUIT OJ' THE WORLD IB TO BE sHm.'NED. •• But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare." 1. The apostle does not condemn the possession of riches, which have, in reality, no moral character; for they are only evil where they are badly used. Neither does he speak of ricl:I men; for he would not condemn such men as Abraham, Joseph of Arimathrea, Gaius, and others; nor such rich men as use their wealth righteously as good stewards of God. 2. He condemns the haste to be rich, not only because wealth is not 11ecessary for a life of godly contentment, but because of its social and moral risks. II. THE DANGERS OF THIS EAGER PURSUIT OF WEALTH. They " fall into tempta- tion and a l!Il&l'e, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction aud perdition." 1. There i8 a temptation to '!1111,just gain whi.ch leads men into the snare of the devil. There is a sacrifice of principle, the abandonment of conscientions scruples, in the hurry to accumulate wealth. 2. The temptation in its turn make, tDay for many lusts which are "foolish," because they are unreasonable, and exercised upon things that are quite undesirable; and which are "hurtful," because they injure both body and soul, and all a man's best interests. 3. These lusts in turn carry their own retribution. They "drown men in destruction and perdition." (1) This is more than moral degradation. (2) It is a wreck of the body accompanied by the ruin of the immortal soul.-T. C. Ver. 10.-The root of all evil. "For the love of money is the root of all evil." This almost proverbial saying is intended to support the statement of the previous verse. 1. THE LOVE OF MONEY AS A ROOT OF EVIL. 1. The assertion iB not concerning money, which, as we have seen, is neither good nor bad in itself, but ~ncer~ing the love of m<m.ey. 2. It is not asserted that there are not ?ther_ roots of evif besides covetous- ness. This thought was not present to the apostles mrnd. 3. It u not meant that a covetous man will be entirely destitute of oll virtuous feeling. . 4. It "!eans tha_t a germ of all evil lies in one with the love of mo~ey; that there 18 no kin~ of ll'IJ1l to which a man may not be led through an abs<Y;bing greu!, for money: It 18 r!ally a root-sin, for it leads to care, fear, malice, deceit, oppression, envy, bnbery, perJury, con ten tiollBlless. II. UNHAPPY EFFECTS OF THE LOVE OF MONEY, "Which some having coveted after have wandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." 1. It led to apostasy. They made shipwreck of their Christian princ!ples. They surrendered the fai, h. The good seed of the Word was choked by the deceitful- ness of riches, and, like Demas, they forsook the Word, having loved this present world. 2. It involved the pangs of con~ciena, to the destruction of their own happi_ness. They felt the piercings of that inward monitor who forebodes the future destruct1on.-T. 0.
Ver. 11.-Peraonal adrrwnition addru,ed to Timothy himself. The apostle now -.n.1-21.] THE FIRST EPISTIJ& 'l'O TIMOTHY. 131