and luxury,—and, by special wisdom, as the vehicula' of charity and mercy; but, of themselves, they add nothing of real value to a man. A poor man may be richer by one promise of the gospel, by laying up but one line of the scripture in his heart, than a Doeg, or a Nabal, by the cattle on a thousand mountains.

2. Rich men are at best but stewards; for "the earth is the Lord's :" we are but tenants, depositories, treasurers unto him. Now a steward, or prince's treasurer, is the self-same man; no change of state, no ebb, or flux of greatness, when he hath the custody of thousands, or of tens. And sure God gives us our riches to honour him, and not ourselves withal.

3. Rich men walk amongst more snares and temptations : for riches are the materials which provoke, excite, foment lust,-call forth sinful pleasures, worldly love, self-confidence, contempt of the world; endanger our apostasy in times of persecution, and our security in times of peace. And this is certain, that a full estate is like a full diet: as this requires more strength of nature,-so that more wisdom and grace, to order and to digest it. Therefore a rich man ought to look downward the oftener, to take care of his feet; and the higher the wind is, to hoist up the fewer sails, because there are rocks and shelves round about him.

4. In making men rich, and setting them in great places, God hath exalted them enough already, and they ought the rather to be more low in their own eyes. The highest boughs in a tree are the slenderest; the more nature hath raised them, the smaller they are in themselves, and by that means the less endangered by the tempests, which they so easily yield unto. And so it should be with us; the more we are exalted by God, the less we should be in our own esteem; and the less we are in our own esteem, the safer we shall be against any temptations. Humility is not only an ornament, but a protection. We see, the fruit grows upon the twigs and smaller branches of a tree, not upon a stock. Humility makes way to fruitfulness, and fruitfulness back again to humility. The more weighty the ears of corn, the more they hang downward towards the ground. The richer things are, the more humble they are. Ambition was the sin of the bramble; the vine, olive, fig-tree, were contented with their former dignity. Clouds, the fuller they are, are the mors

heavy; the earth is the richest, and yet the lowest element. Christ had in him the treasures of wisdom and grace, and yet, in nothing, more proposed himself unto us as an example, than in meekness and humility. (Matth. xi. 29. John xiii. 13, 14. Phil. ii. 5, 6, 7) And what comparison is there betwixt Christ the heir of all things, and the richest man on earth? When "the Lord of glory, who thought it no robbery to be equal with God, humbled and emptied himself, and made himself of no reputation;" what is there in sinful dust and ashes, that he should be proud? We see, in the body, one member hath more magnitude, nutriment, dignity, employment, than another; but none hath more humility than another. The head will be as ready to study for the hand, as the hand to work for the head; the tongue as forward to speak for the foot, as the foot to move for the tongue. And all Christians profess to be members of the same body; and therefore none should be proud or disdainful towards another.

5. Why should a man's work and service make him proud? Commonly pride and idleness go together. (Ezek. xvi. 49) Now the more riches God gives a man, the more work he sets him about. If we see a man's shop full of wares, of instruments, of servants, commodities continually imported,— we conclude such a man is full of business. When the Lord doth multiply men's estates, he doth multiply their employments. And we see tradesmen, though upon festival times they will put on rich apparel; yet, upon working-days, they go in a more plain and careless fashion. Now, of all other work, a Christian's work will not let him be proud.

Lastly, Why should I, for a little difference in this one particular of worldly wealth, despise or disdainfully overlook my poor brother? Doth a lawyer despise a physician, because he hath not read the Code or the Pandect? Doth a physician despise a lawyer, because he hath not read Galen or Hippocrates? Doth the eye despise the ear, because it cannot see; or the tongue the hand, because it cannot speak? Have we not all "one Lord, one faith, one hope, one spirit, one gospel, one common salvation?" When so many and great things unite us, shall our wealth only disunite us? One sun shines on both, one air refresheth both, one blood

bought both, one heaven shall receive both; only he hath not so much of the earth as I, and possibly much more of Christ. And why should I disdain him on earth, whom happily the Lord will advance above me in heaven? Why should I browbeat, and proudly overlook him, whom Christ hath adorned with his grace, and honoured with his presence?

We

Te see, a rich man hath no reason to be high-minded; but he that is so, will not stop there. He that makes an idol of his riches, will worship and trust in it, when he hath done; and therefore Timothy must give rich men a second charge:

"That they trust not in uncertain riches."] By which, First, he giveth us a plain intimation, That rich men are naturally apt and prone to trust in their riches: as it is said of Doeg, that he did not make God his strength, but "trusted in the multitude of his riches.” (Psalm lii. 7) And Solomon telleth us, "That the rich man's wealth is his strong tower, and a high wall in his own conceit." (Prov. xviii. 11) As Thrasylaus, by a melancholy fancy, judged all the ships in the harbour at Athens to be his; so a rich man judgeth all the safety and security that the world can afford, to be his own, because he hath that'unum magnum,' which will help it in the sorest extremities. Every man is conscious to himself, both of his wants, and of his dangers; what good he is defective in, what evil he is exposed to: and therefore doth what he can for assistance to procure the good he wants, and to repel the evil he fears; and of all assistances, he looketh upon this as the surest, because " money answers unto all." The fool in the gospel promised himself ease, long life, many years to eat, to drink, to be merry, and all in the confidence of his riches. (Luke xii. 19) How many men trust their wealth to uphold their wickedness, and lean upon it while they fall from God! How many take a liberty of violence, rapine,, cruelty, oppression, luxury, profaneness; because they think their wealth will be an advocate, and a varnish unto all! How many, if Christ and Mammon should come into competition, would say as Amaziah did, "What shall

h Athenæus, lib. xi.c. ult.

I do for the hundred talents?" Ardua res hæc est opibus non tradere mores. So hard a thing it is not to give up our souls into captivity to our wealth. But,

Secondly, This ought not to be neither. For, First, The object must be commensurate and suitable to the affection, or else it is altogether unnatural and improper. But there is no suitableness between hope and riches: for hope and trust is ever' de futuro possibili; whereas riches are only present, év T vuv. No man can know vicissitudes of worldly things, what a day may bring forth. Belisarius, a great commander one day, and a poor beggar another. There must be permanency, stability, and fixedness in that which a man casts his anchor upon: but riches take to them wings, and fly away.

Secondly, The true object of hope and trust, is bonum arduum.' I trust in that, which can help me in such arduous and grand matters, wherein I cannot help myself; in that which is adequate to all mine extremities; which hath more good in it, than any of mine evils can embitter,—and more strength in it, than the weight of any of my extremities can overbear. But, now, riches are not all suitable to a man's greatest extremities. When my lungs are wasted, my liver dried up, stones in my kidneys too big for the passages; if all the stones in mine house were diamonds, and I would give them all for the removal of these distempers, it could not be done. When death comes, what crowns, or empires, can ransom out of the hands of the king of terrors? When my conscience stings med, and the arrows of God stick fast in me, and I am summoned to his tribunal, to be there doomed; in such cases, "neither treasures, nor multitude of riches, can deliver in the day of wrath." (Prov. x. 2, and xi. 4) Riches are but like the leaves of a tree, beautiful for a season; but when winter and storms arise, they fall off, and are blown away.

3. The apostle's reason in the text, They are "uncertain riches "."

Uncertain. 1. In their abode, subject to a moth, a rust, a thief. Some things are precious, but so thin, that a moth

Aquin. 1. 2, qu. 40. art. 1.

d Vide Gatak, Cinnum. lib. 1. c. 8.

• Ὁ δ ̓ ὄλβος ἄδικος, καὶ μετὰ σκαιῶν ξυνών, Ἐξέπλατ ̓ οἴκων, σμικρὸν ἀνθήσας xgóvov. Eurip. Electra, 949.

can eat them up. If more massy and solid, as gold and silver,-rust and canker, some slow and lingering lust, can insensibly eat them out: but both the one and the other subject to a thief, to some outward accident and miscarriage, which may spoil us of them.

2. In their promises and pretences: the fool promiseth himself long life, but was answered with a 'hàc nocte.' Many men's riches are like Israel's quails, promise meat, but bring a curse; like Ezekiel's book, (Chap. ii. 10, and iii. 3) tastes like honey, but is written with woes: like John's roll, "sweet in the mouth, but bitter in the belly;" like Belshazzar's feast, wine on the table, and a handwriting on the wall. Achan's wedge of gold; Gehazi's talents ; Ahab's vineyard"; Jehoiakim's wide house, and large chambers; were all but like the queen's feast unto Haman, as poisoned dainties, sweet to the taste, but attended with death. Beds of ivory, lambs of the flock, calves of the stall, instruments of music, wine in bowls, precious ointments, all comical harbingers of a tragical catastrophe. "They shall go captive, with the first that go captive.” (Amos vi. 4,7) Little reason to put trust in such false and uncertain things, which do not only lie and disappoint, but, like a broken reed, run into the arm of those that lean upon them; " kept to the hurt of the owners of them," as the Wise man speaks, Eccles. v. 13.

But great reason for rich and poor to trust in God, who is a God able to replenish the soul, to help it in greatest extremities, true and faithful in all his promises; and truth is the ground of trust. No attribute of God, which the soul may not rest upon. His eternity: He will never fail me, in him there is everlasting strength :-His 'immensity;' I have him ever with me:-His 'omniscience;' I want nothing but he knows it :-His omnipotence;' I suffer nothing but he can rebuke it :-His 'wisdom;' he can order every condition to my good. If I do my duty in the use of means, I may comfortably venture on his blessing for a happy issue. He is a living God, he ever abides; is a fountain of life to his poor servants; all that is desirable, is comprised in this one

·

f Josh. vii. 21. i Jer. xxii. 14.

s 2 Kings v. 23. k Psalm xxxvi. 9.

h1 Kings xxi. 15.