Moth and rust doth corrupt.-The gifts." And let us heartily thank things of this world are liable to corruption and decay; they perish in the using; they contain in themselves the elements of destruction. Thieves break through and steal. We are liable to lose them also by acts of open violence from without. And even if we keep them as long as we live, that great thief death will come at last, and take them from us. So surely do riches "make to themselves wings and fly away." Therefore, let us not set our hearts upon them; let us not "trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy " (1 Tim. vi. 17). Let not any earthly comfort or apparent good be the object of our inordinate affection, of our eager and restless pursuit, of our vain trust and confidence. Let us not seek to lay up our treasure on earth. God, our heavenly Father, who has placed those treasures within our reach, through the merits and work of our adorable Redeemer! "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ," says St. Peter (1 Pet. i. 3, 4), "which, according to his abundant mercy, hath begotten us again unto a lively hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away;" "Where," to use our Saviour's own emphatic language, "neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal." For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.-Your desires and affections will certainly be carried out after the things which, whether truly or falsely, you regard as your chief or highest good. We may know what things we have chosen for our treasure, "by our high estimation of the worth of themby our sensible apprehension of the want of them-by the torrent and tendency of our affection towards them--and by our laborious diligence and endeavours in the pursuit of them." Well, indeed, may we adopt that confession and prayer of the Psalmist, "My soul cleaveth to the dust; quicken thou me accord But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.- Desire, as your chief good, the favour of God, and those good things which God has promised to bestow, for Christ's sake, upon those who love him. Divine favour and blessings may well be prized above all other possessions: the gifts of God, in themselves abundantly sufficient for the comfort and welfare of the soul, can never be too ardently desired, or too diligently increased; and they are such as willing to thy word!" last for ever-enduring throughout all eternity, to the full and adequate satisfaction of our immortal souls. These, then, are our treasures. Let us continually regard them in this light; and "covet earnestly the best The light of the body is the eye; i. e., the eye is the organ which makes use of light for the guidance and direction of the different members of the body; if, therefore, thine eye be single-i. e., sound, in good health, and so rightly discharging its things; "if this be darkness-if it office, thy whole body shall be full of light-all your faculties will be guided by the light which is shed around you; but if thine eye be evil i.e., diseased-thy whole body will be full of darkness-all will be in confusion and disorder; it will be the same as though you were enveloped in darkness. By this very simple comparison our Lord calls our attention to the necessity of purity and simplicity of intention, or a correct practical judgment concerning the chief good, or the means of happiness. Our intentions, practical judgment, and consequent affections, are to the soul precisely what the eye is to the body, inasmuch as they become the guides and directors of all its motions. The eye of the soul is sound or healthy, when it is our great "design to 'know God, and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent;' to know him with suitable affections, loving him as he hath loved us; to serve God (as we love him) with all our heart, and mind, and soul, and strength; and to enjoy God in and above all things, in time and in eternity." If, therefore, the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness.-If the supreme object of our affections, desires, and aims, be the world, instead of God, what confusion and ruin will follow! "If the intention, which ought to enlighten the whole soul, to fill it with knowledge, and love, and peace; and which, in fact, it does so long as it is single," or pure, "so long as it aims at God alone," or above all | aims," chiefly, "at anything besides God-and, consequently, cover the soul with darkness instead of light, with ignorance and error, with sin and misery, O how great is that darkness! It is the very smoke which ascends out of the bottomless pit! It is the essential night, which reigns in the lowest deep, in the land of the shadow of death!" HYMN. Great God! our souls with wonder view Thy liberal hand, with worldly bliss, Oft makes their cups run o'er! And in the covenant of thy love They find diviner store. Good Lord! what treasures yet unknown How happy is our home! And what shall mortal worms reply? Or how such goodness own? But 'tis our joy that, Lord, to thee Thy servants' hearts are known. Thine eyes shall read those grateful thoughts Since time's too short, all-gracious God, OLNEY H. § XXII. CHAP. VI. 24-34. Of serving God and Mammon.-Christ exhorteth not to be careful in worldly things, but to seek God's kingdom. 24 *No man can serve two masters for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. "Ye cannot serve God and mammon. 25 Therefore I say unto you, *Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment ? 26 "Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28 And why take ye thought for raiment ? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek :) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But 'seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. x Luke xvi. 13. y Gal. i. 10. 1 Tim. vi. 17. Jam. iv. 4. 1 John ii. 15.-z Ps. Iv. 22. Luke xii. 22, 23. Phil. iv. 6. 1 Pet. v. 7.-a Job xxxviii. 41. Ps. cxlvii. 9. Luke xii. 24, &c.-b See 1 Kin, iii, 13. Ps. xxxvii. 25. Mark x. 30. Luke xii. 31. 1 Tim. iv. 8. READER. Our Lord solemnly assures us that we cannot serve God and Mammon; that is to say, we cannot yield to those two ruling principles, the love of God and the love of the world, at the same time. These are two masters of opposite interests, each of them claiming supreme affection, and neither of them disposed to be satisfied with anything less. The service here meant denotes an entire devotion and obedience,—such as that which was claimed by a master from a slave; and more complete, inasmuch as it is voluntary. Is not this the kind of service which many a man renders to the world? Is it not that which God claims from us when he says, “My son, give me thy heart?" or when, upon the ground of the great work of our redemption, the Apostle says, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service?" (Rom. xii. 1.)-Now, we cannot serve both these masters at once. The love of God must displace the love of the world; or, if our supreme affections be given to the world, then we depart from the love and service of our God. But we must make our choice. "Choose ye whom ye will serve."-And the verse before us speaks to us, as it were in the language of Elijah on memorable occasion, when he "came unto all the people and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him." 1 Kings xviii. 21. He will hate the one, and love the other; that is, he will love one more than the other. The question is concerning supremacy.—Thus it is said that Jacob hated Leah; that is, loved her less than Rachel. And God says, "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated;" that is, I have distinguished Jacob by a preference, and peculiar tokens of my favour. Take no thought for your life; that is, be not over anxious about the things of the present life,-let them not form the chief and absorbing objects of your care. Not that our Lord encourages us to be careless or improvident about our temporal concerns. Far from it. Slothfulness and improvidence are repeatedly condemned in Holy Scrip ture. And what says St. Paul? "This we commanded you, that if any would not work neither should he eat. For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies. Now them which are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread." 2 Thess. iii. 10-12. And again, "If any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel." 1 Tim. v. 8. But what our Saviour here so pointedly condemns is that spirit of eager, anxious, overwhelming solicitude concerning temporal affairs, into which men of the world,-those whose hearts are set upon earthly things, and who are without the comfort of a sure trust and confidence in God, are apt to fall. If a man practically believes that the things which are seen are his greatest good, he is of course most eager and anxious to possess them. If he has no reliance upon the superintending providence of a heavenly Father, and is persuaded that his attainment of earthly good depends entirely upon his own skill and ex ertion, then he is likely to be speed- | among the highest of his creatures ily involved in distracting cares and anxieties in the pursuit of his favourite object. And it is this compound of eagerness and distrust against which our blessed Saviour so affectionately and solemnly warns us in this passage. Oh what a mournful spectacle in the sight of Heaven is the care-worn, anxious, distrustful spirit of an earthly-minded man! It is idolatry, with a sore part of its punishment already annexed to it! It is captivity, galled and encumbered with its chain! How forcible are the arguments with which our heavenly Teacher here seeks to arm our minds against this kind of sin and misery! He says, Is not the life more than meat, i. e. food, and the body than raiment? If God has given you the greater, will he not also provide you with the less? If he has given you life and a body-wonderful beyond all measure in themselves-will he not be ready to give you those things which are inferior and subordinate? Will he not supply you with food and raiment, in the way of his providence, and according to the methods of his own appointment? Again, Behold the fowls of the air.-Consider how God provides for the smaller and weaker creatures of his hand. As the experience of God's greater mercies may lead you to hope for the less, so, on the other hand, your observation of his care for the lower parts of the creation, may encourage you to hope for his protection of yourselves, who rank upon earth.-Let us learn lessons of confidence and comfort from considering the riches and bounty of Divine Providence bestowed upon even the tenants of the forest and the air. "He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry;" Ps. cxlvii. 9. "These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them meat in due season; Ps. civ. 27. The hundred and fourth and hundred and forty-seventh Psalms form a beautiful commentary upon this part of our Saviour's discourse.Our Lord adds another argument against worldly anxiety; he says, Which of you, by taking thought, can add one cubit to his stature ?— Hereby we are reminded of our weakness; and of the utter uselessness of our most strenuous endeavours, except so far as it may please God to bless and prosper them. How would it repress our painful anxiety and laborious sorrow concerning the things of this life did we but rightly believe and feel our total dependence upon the will and providence of God! "This is the victory that overcometh the world" in every form, "even our faith."-Hear another argument; Consider the lilies of the field how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin.-How easily can God, if it please him, bestow upon us all that we need, even although we should be rendered unable to use any endeavours on our own behalf! He clothes the grass of the field, which grows without any efforts of its own; although its beauty is short |