238 eartspnmtr. A GAMBLER'S OWN STORY. BY BEV. ElYWAilb PAYSON ruatMOND I have often found my ow 4 fdith strengthened to pray for hardeked sin ners by considering the miracle of the raising of Lazarus, in contrast with that of the bringing to life of the son of the widow Nein, (Luke 17E12) and jairus' ,44tighter, (Luke% 411 , The little daughter of : jairns was but twelve Years Clcage.r , When the Saviour entered her fettiefq house, she had but just breathed herlast. There she lay, a beautiful sleeping child, and yet the cold hand of death s had been laid upon her and she was dead. But the earnest prayer of the father had moved the heart of 'joins • and "He took her by the hand, saying, Maid, arise ; and.her spirit came egain and she arose straightway. And her parents were astonished." (Luke viii. 55.) But the son of the widow of Nein had been much longer dead, for he was just being carried away to the silent grave. The funeral procession was in motion as our Lord approached the gate of the city. His heart was moved with compassion. It would have seemed, from a human point of view, that a greaterlamonnt of Divine power must be exercised to perform this miracle. But His confident words to , the sorrowing mother are, " Weep not." " And:A - le - Said the young man, I say unto thetii,&. And he that was dead 'stood up, sitar:tie gan to speak ; and they glorified 'God." (Lnke viL -43)4, while 4 41airns' daughter had been dead but ti.' very short time, and , the wid o w's eon' but (1 fciw days, 401%4 !‘ t iit,,the grave four. dau,s,'', so that t his very bode bode had' becereeleftensive! When' Martha heard the copmand; "Take,y . iiti,*itYlifisionegshisiras ready to oßposeitus pore tharenselesti. fl "Jesus ._said unto her, said I notomto thee; that if thou wouldst belieie, thou shouldst x see,the glory clf, God i" It is but, little wonder that she was unable to realize the mighty power of the Lord Jesus. She had never witnessed a miracle of the kind, though so often in the presence of Jesus • still it.must have been diffi cult for her to look upon Him as very God incarnate' " 'Then they took away, the atone froin the place where the dead was laid," and after a prayer , to His Father; Jeans "cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come' forth, . And he that was dead came forth bound hand and foot with grave' clothes.' ,' xi. 43, 44.) These three cases illustrate three classes of sinners. First, children who 'rare spiritually, dead, and yet in their seeming innocence beautiful in death ; again, by the son of the widow of Nain, kqe 'are reminded of a class ;who are dead m trespasses and sins, but who , have not gone to 'Poll depths. of inignity, and who in , the sight of men are , notAorally offensive. The ease of Lhzurns - calls,to mind those who have - plunged into the very depths of .sin and Tice,, and we are too prone ink' ` ill Over listen to the .call of our Divine • Lord, • though he shotild err" with. a' loud voice."' Every , reader can to miiid the eases, of many; such guilty, abandoned sinners, Tor whom;from'a commen stand point, it seems , uselesi•to pray. We ire ready to say that it is no use to remove the stone away from before the door of such hearts, for nothing but moral im purity will come forth, only to disgust and drive away all that is pure and lovely. But can we not hear our Mistersay ing to us, as to Martha, " Said I not unto thee, that if thou wouldst believe thon shouldst see the glory of God?" *O, that we might exercise a stronger faith in the power of God to bring to life those who have beep long dead in sin I I have been led to these thoughts by finding among my papers the following letter from a gambler. It has strength ened my faith to read it. It should teach us that none are beyond hope—that "He is able to save them to the utter most that come unto God by Him, see ing He ever'liveth to make intercession for them." Would that Chistians all over our land, with kind, persuasive words, might seek to win gamblers to abandon their soul-dastroying work. By doing this they would apply the Saviour's command : " Take ye away the stone." 0 that gamblers in -every town and city where the AMERICAN PRESBYTE RIAN is read, could with this one say, "-Several Christians came, with tears in their eyes, and urged me to leave ~ n vi wicked ways and, flee to Jesus." It would not be long before we should also hear them saying, ," I thought it was time for me to take some interest in my own. soul's salvation." Yes, gamblers, can 'be converted: by the mighty power of God. I hamknown numbers daring the lea few years, who havb abandoned their gambling profes sion, and who, through faith in the Lord Jesus, have since led consistent Chris tian lives. When seventeen years old, I commenced playing cards for small sums of money. This I kept a secret from my parents,. for although they were not professors of religion at that time,l should have beer' reproved for my wickdness, if they had found it out. At eighteen I went to the city, where I remained three months, taking part in ail kinds of vice ' and wickedness. I then enlisted in the army. It seems now, as it the evil , one caused me to join the regi tutu I did, for without doubt, It WKS compoed of the worst set of men I ever saw. Gambling and robbery prevailed to an alarming extent. After an absence of nearly two years. I re urned to my home a co-firmed gambler. I no longer kept it a secret rather boasted of it. The next year I spent in going to all of our neighboring towns, for no other purpose than tokamble or pass counterfeit money. Many tittles I have had Christians take me by the hand and urge me to leave my wicked companions, and go with them to the meetings. At last, Rev. Mr. H— urged me to come so hard, that, to get rid of him, I promised to come and, hear you. The first Sabbath afternoon you were here; I went to the hotel, and when everybody started off for your meeting . I went with the crowd. Monday; several' 'of , my old corn, panions in guilt 'end' sin' fieni: Thie, who had been converted 'and learned - love Jesus last winter, panieiffi to , do - Witt good they could. AS a mark 'of :Csiiirteek, f l went with them to th 6, cl urch. Severa l Christians who I knew were ray frierids'ea*p, with tears in their `eyes t arid,',urgßtl,. ,to leave my wicked ways arid lee to F Jesus. At last, I thought that if others took such an interest in my welfare, it was tiMehr,Tnelo take some interest in my own soul's salvation. I then made up my mind to ask for the prayers of God's people. But when gave the in vitation, although Jesus kept knocking loudly at the door of my heart, the evil one said; " Sit still ; what will such an one say?" At last it seemed to me as if the blessed Jesus took me by the hand and lifted me on my feet. I thank God for it. I went home and prayed, for the'Orst: time in illy. lif9 My prayer was shOrt, simple and — feeble. But, praise God, it was heard in heaven. The next day I prayed all day,. and the next I had the assurance that my sins were forgiven. And now, thank the blessed Jesus, I am at peace with all the world. Now I can take Christians by the hand and love them. Si*. weeks ago, I should have struekthem if they had spok.en to me. I can truly say, my cup of happ iness is filled to overflowing. My father, brother and sisters are all. commeno ehg_o-serle-Jesus at the Same time. I now i loie.to.pray for those who have not opened their. hearts to Jesus. I feel that no one is complete without a new heart: Will- you . pray that 1 4 may always prover faithful' to Jesus? Vizir true friend,, THE ; ; SIN - AND PERCH, of • AIMING T E R B I CHI 'BY REV T ' 41 . 61 DANCE. • Rxtga.,o .. from Minutes, of ,Erie, Pres4tery, Jurne.27-;71866.1; , , "Presbytery hereby requests' of tlki` RSV: J ViAce, A . cop.Tof his sermon preaphed be fore.'this body last'eveni ng, on, l Tim; vi. 9, for publication.:_ , The. Tequeit*as:kranted. Whereupon the Stated'Olerlt was ordered to transmit to the' editor ofthe . ilargarpA. Dr PREssiurraudi s copy of the sermon,afore said, with the respectful request i d the Pres bytery for its publication in the aforesaid paPer. ':They that will be rich fall into temptations and a snare andinto mappfoolish and kitrtful, lusts which drown men' in dostruotion and perdition."—l Tut. vi. 9. It may not be easy to account for the fact thati while the 'Word - of God treats often; exphcitlY, and terrifically of the sin'and peril 'of money-loving, the pulpit is nearly silent on the subject. For years I have felt pressed with the obligation to bring, this mat ter before you Who attend. on .my ministry, but as long time had forborne. And I can gir,polettertreason-,for my-course than the cowardlyfear tat thnfaithful eihibitibirof what God teaches on this point might offend some sensitive ears. ..But, God helping me,; I will yield to this unworthy reason no longer. If a true moral census of this community, or of congregation, Worizetaken-such a census as will virtually meet us at the day of judgment=-We shianld probably learn from it _that no greater or more common sin is per •tetrattid among nig than that Which at t inti= mated in the text: What I feel urged to bay touching. this .sin and the ...peril Attending it, is implied ini . Oiny nt i Orangebioft the Divine Word: such as, "Lay notlP for' yourselves treasures ,on earth, ,where moth_ and_ rust doth corrupt anctwhere thieve r fibreak through and steal." "Wo unto you that are rich, for you lave Teceived your consolations." -" Take heed and beware of covetousness." "Go VP; now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you." But my remarks will be,confined to the text. EXPOSITION OE. THE TEXT. ?The Greek term, (B pi) translated "will,::" is more tbrcible than our English equivalent. It means what - we.do by the expreasion, "Do it 'with d Oia." "Rich," as commonlYnsed, has no absolute,; but only a relative, meaning ; a meaning; hOwever, not difficult to be ascertained. Poverty - is the lack of things necessary tp healthful and comfortable existence. Subsistence is a bare supply of necessaries. Ccimpetencis is a sup ply of all the necessaries of life; of the varied machinery for pushing adVantageously the whole, rational and proper enterprises of com fortable and useful together with a mo dest surplus that may be , drawn upon in emergencies; or used as "the means of gener ous beneficence. Here, however, there may be (within certain limits) an almost , endless variety of the measure that constitutes com petence. For example : if a brick-layer has a:,home furnished, ten dollars worth of tools, :and a hundred dollars more than , sufficient to Meet the demands 'of the next pay-day, it cannot be denied that he has a competence ; whereas, a farmer may have five. thousand, or fifteen thousand dollars invested in a farm and its stock and implements, and yet be in straits. True, he holds more property than the bricklayer but it is to a great extent in the form of tools necessary to his work. The mere proprietary relation of a man to a cer tain amount of money or other property, does not decide the question of competency. A definition in whichl think all reasonable men would agree, Would ,be, that when, with due diligence and a j*it economy, a man's average income.moderatelY exceeds his aver age expenditure',' he is pbbsessor of a compe tence. Thiglefinition will hold, whether in the case of *Whose effort is - directed to the payment for property yet- incumbered with debt, or to the: mederato increase of his goods or money:beYend the measure of " owing no man anythitig but love." Now all: 'beyond rthirik; may be fairly placed in the in ventbry' of riches. It may Ile small or great ; but itiisiirplus; it is riches lititruti' But thia measure falls altog4ther short of the idea of wishing to ,he 'rich, given in the text. 4,,1ga be rick h e re means:* to, possess heaps of righes; to acquire the ownership of a fountain which may pour"in for one a stream of inco m e that shall buoy him - up ; to have a fortune td be above the common plodders who hilve'only a competence:, to be a millidnaire; to have an income from inter est orients alone, which - shall - give one a posi tion among the , monied aristocracy. " Temptations ' ' the radical idea is, things used to entice animals into a trap in order to victimize them; enticements to seduce men into sin. "Snares:" traps, machines to catch and hold securely whatever living thing may venture within their 'grasp. "Lusts :'' desires, passions not curbed, controlled, or governed by right reason; not subordinate to Divine law; desires that break over, go be yond, set aside the great law that God en . joins. "Foolish lusts:" inordinate, irra THE AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN, THURSDAY, JULY 26, 1866 i tional, senseless, idiotic desires ; desires de -1 termined on having the bait, notwithstanding the risk of being caught in the trap. "Hurt ful lusts:" destres, which indulged, work detriment to him who indulges them. The strong desire of the drunkard for his cup is hurtful to him. And so the lust of riches is hurtful to the lover of them. ' • The structure of the text seems to indicate that the, hrase "foolish and Inlaid lusts," is ,explicative of the preceding ter "snare;" giVing us the idea that the soar into which those deterinined to.be rich fall, s their lusts theinselves. ' The sense of the, , 't, i .then, is, :that those who fix their .pur ‘ p , to get and Tay up wealth,,ffill iii yitli e tic:dui:int& and intoa.trap, _'even c ieito niany„f lish and hurt fall liiiiiii which drawn Men an `''' ' ction and ,PpidiOn• : 6, - • ci*AP- 16 : 1 i1' .3 • I T ~ .. Look; nowy at , the,..graphic gore in ,the text by which God Sets •forth he ,resulte to which the desire of riches•le - alien. • 'See yon trapper plying his.artifice dud. engines to take; the wary fox - 'rather to let .the for to take himself. • He conceals d strong, ,agile trap under a covering of leavidor earth ; ''he fastens. pon it •:a delicious hilt ; which will 'wake up the fox's appetite to limited sharp : . ness. The hungry Reynard cosies in sight or scent of the lure. Seizing thetaiit , be fastens the jaws of the trap upon hi*elf, He thus throws himself,• pinioned anhelpless, into the hands of the trapper, to be despatched with ease. And so it is, say: the text, with the man—any man, every m- , who-resolvesupon gathering and storing ri es for himself. The seducing, enticing thinv is placed by Providence along' his path ,oflilife. It meets his eye, it excites. his Stronggesire, or lust. To his wealth-loving heart,. Ai appeal is not unlike. that of Naboth's • i yard to Ahitb; he must have it. God warns . ~ that itis a -bait; that it is a part of. the , achinery of a trap'; that to let his desire ten upon'. it will involve the risk uf his a ,to ruin. But c r e .1 his strong desire blinds and b is him. He bids reason and conscience a eternal conse quences; and God, all • into' yance. He ,consults his I.nst only. • • He :si s• the bait in g le skits fascinating ;witchery, aii as if at an infinite. emove from all dan .. He seizes it , ; . but the jaws of the trap • ave fastened . neon him ; he has " Caug4 ! the Tartar.' .Theiatal.result. upon....,hims was..consum!- mated before he tasted' or to l ched the de sired riches: I .0; 'What a press' -sof reasons g urged ni to'lliay, 'Lead:midi t into temp. tatio'' . . , • TRACMAL LBSSON,,oF ,TEXT. The greaepracticallesson of, he text is; the sin , and peril-Waved .Iti ai rig tto be:rich. That the love of -riches is f a in, of •flarant . enormity will spear as we ceed, without 31 being formally emonstrated l`ere. The de ceitftdness of this form , of - fin' Shonld put every man on the watch asprist it. In no other form of sin, probably, s one so liable to fatal self-deceptien. fee indulgence, though bindinghlin a very s ive of , lust, and as a marked.Victim.of perdit.m, yet deludes him with the vain fancy that he is in the high road to the largest edom and the happiest elevation among ortals. While the perpetrators' . of-some oth form of sin— the drunkard or the libertiri seem , to feel 1 that their course is a disgusti burrowing in degradation toward the Lowe depths of in famy, the successful pursuer o riches regards himself as ascending a grade eminence of solid, precious worth, up which he climbs with the self-gratulatory fanc that he is in creasinghonor, imp rtance, power, 1 3 in glory, and enjoyment; with the feel g too, that he is drawing after him the ,a¢miration, the deference, the approbatton of those below him, evoking their praises, aspiring their emulation, till, having reached the giddy sum mit, he plunges thence into , the depths of endless "tribulation , and anguish.' : In ihe• present world,,. he is donned, flattered, praised, emnlated—perhaps ,envied7-self esteemed, self-gratified, a very " Lucifer; 'son of the morning . ;" in the next world he wakes to' the overwhelming consciousness that he is poorer than`the paupef that begged ' prumbs at, his door; that he is al loathed, ac-. cursed,. dogrel:led, ruined wretch , groping in the miserable caverns, of the bo toreless rtit, ha-, t ea ,by all,"hated by hinisel crushed by . the just wrath of God, who take vengeance, on the idolatrous worshippers f mammon; no, less than on the worshippers f wood and stone. NaTIIBAL CHARACTER' OF THE LASS; WHO WILL BE MOIL ,r Whoever will carefully examine' the matter will probably arrive at the copvichen that of all the forms of sin, the, love of riches, has the mightiest control, 'among that class of men and women who are regarded-as having large mental endowments - and strong willi— the very class marked by,•their natural pow ers as fitted to be God's most exemplary and efficient nobility in all that is hOnorable and virtuous and beneficent; the every men and women who might -be,• -Peals, and Luthers, and Calvins, and Lady HuntAgdons. t- 'IN o other form of sin• has such mighty control over this class of large-minded: strong-Willed persons, to dwarf or suppress the expansion ,of their nobler faculties, or to pervert them into deformed monsters of comparative moral worthlessness in the associations of their fel low-men. Nor is the mischief to this. class of' men bounded by time. We have only to look abroad through the community, and the conviction fastens upon our minds that no other form of sin binds with its adamantine chains and leads BO many large-minded, strong-willed men along "the broad way" which terminates in perdition. Other forms of sin may lead to destruction larger numbers of' victims from among those of lesser endow nients ; but theloie of -ricliks. - works terrific havoc among those who, by their superior endowments, are , fitted to be the champions among their fellow-men of All.khat is, grand, and good and ,God-like. 0, could thesenien open their eyes and take a fall viewpf what God-given powers they are perverting to 'the base achievements.Ofesin ; what , splendid en dowmentss,theywe I , mploy . ing ,in the degra ding service 'of Elf and the'devir; what noble specimens—their immortal selves—of God's' creating power, they, ,by their love of riches, are inouldifiginto they vesselilOfwiath fitted for destruction " would, hey : doubt, that their sin is enormous?' Could 4 ;their deny that strug gling to get rich' is a 'flagrant sin? Could they have' the fialliardYfrabhi(eal -tb, a:Persist in their chosen • form didolptry ? ENORMITIES TO WHICH THIS PURPOSE IMA'DS. How blind to facts those „must be who en ter;taitr the" - entiiilent; that the Ceske Of heaping up richea for themielves is not a sin of deepest dye- See wttat enormities it has committedj,lat t it,.tiy its fruits. It moved Hamor and`'' mitt kingdom, to seek admission into, the Visible Church of God by a lying profession of,Ae faith of Israel ; it inspired the Pharisees - to like by- pocrisy ; dote the same in thousands of cases of later date ; WWII' lead a man to lie in giving a statement,of alleßd facts, or in giving a Judgment on a questicirof-Ouity or in making out an inventory ofirhe amount of his income; it will move- out! "to swear to the truth of known falsehood; cheat in bargains; to sell small weight, or small mea sure, or worthless quality ; to pay in bad cur rency ; to forge coin, notes, bills, receipts ; to boil barley, rye ' and corn into deadly fire water, and sell "liquid death and distilled damnation" to infatuated, suicidal drinkers; it will take the bed from the drunkard's wife and children, the clothes from their backs, the bread out of their mouths, turn them hungry, cold and couchless, into the street ; it will drive the plow, the harvest reaper, and thresher, and trundle the heaven given breadstuff to the brew-house and dis tillery, to keep running over the intoxicating fountain of destruction. It will gamble, swindle, pilfer, steal, 'rob; it will kidnap, en slave'and murder men. Can worse be done? Can worse be imagined? What means the whole black, atrocious exhibition of tyranny and violence pervading the sections of earth where barbarism 'holds domination ? It is the lust of riches. What means the whole Vast, costly machinery of civil governments among enlightened nations—legislatures, courts, juries, fines, jails, prisons, gibbets, conquermg,nrushing armies? All this is the PowerfUl, terrible array of force which human society ha t s found it:necessary to organizc arid - Maintain nt an immeasurable cost of life and treasure, to resist the villainy growing out of the.lust of riches. What;bad _human : ,lust ,had the diabOlical pre-eminence in bretraYin,g and murdering the Son, of ; Glory? The love of money.. What bad eminence: of men's iiickedness mired God to dig, for them the pit of hell and ordain its intolerable torments ? It 'was the love of money. What necessitates the continuance of - that abyss and those tor nients? We may see the answer.in the Sa viour's daguerreotype of the ever-current ;conduct of men : " They went their ways, one to his farm, wither to his merchandize ;' it is the reigning love of money in the hearts of men now living, now pursuing the ac quisition of riches with such a senseless, frenzied, infatuated earnestness as blinds them to their momentary danger of stum bling into,," the fire that never shall be quenched:Tr , LOVE OF MONEY IN THE CHUSCH But money-loving has not confined its vile developments to men outside of the ,Church. If, we come into the familyof professed Christian disciples and ask, What has always 'stood, (save, perhaps, during the apostles' lives,) as the mightiest paralyzing influence upon the energies of the friendi of God, the mightiest opponent of their aggressive move ments upon the world for its conquest to ,Christ, its disenthralment from sin and the .41eiril, and its recovery to godliness' and ;bliss? The shameful answer is, the love' of Money. If we ask, What, is it that to-day hanipers a thousand Christian ministers in the prose cution of their heavenly embaSsy, compelling them to turn half their strength from their legitimate work that of acquking the'means of subsistence? The answer is, It is the love of money in the Church and the community which they serve. If we ask, What r to-day, hinders ten thousand youth and young men, , converted in the glorious revivals of the 'present year from. consecrating . themselves to the work of the Gospel ministry, and taking direct part with the. enthroned Son of God in His grand enterprise of mercy? What hinders the Church from pouring out millions of dollars, (now laid., up in napkins or rusting in. coffers,) 'to educate and equip these young soldiers for leaders in this holy warfare, and to sustain them in prosecuting it? The answer comes, Not the poverty of those who constitute the membership of the Church; but the love of money—THE LOVE OF MONEY IS THE PARA MOUNT HINDRANCE. And in all this, is there no disloyalty to God? No virtual repudia tion of Heaven's law of love? No flagrant sin? If the master of the ship sent from New York, a few years ago, freighted with gratuitous bread for the hungry in Manches ter, England, hid sold her cargo in Paris and kept the money, who would not have adjudged him worthy of the penitentiary for life? And is it a less sin to withhold the bread of eternal life from those who are ready to perish for lack of it? ,GREAT RESULTS OF A PROPER USE OF Tiq CHURCH'S WEALTH. ; Were all the revenue, belonging to the Lord, which is nol hoarded in the coffers Of His professed friends, or invested in their houses,". or their "fleldjoined to fleld," , or laid up imbank stock, or loaned on interest-bearing notes, restored to Him ;' were all the tithes that are kept baok brought into the Lord's storehouses were all'the duetpthat surAwneloyalty an d OWE Him, brought into His treasury, the Clinrch her self would be astonished at the vast amount of her own perpetrated embezzlement, and astonished at- the overflowing wealth of her Lord's treasury. Nor less would be her wonder at the augmentation of her own blessedness in the enjoyment of the love of God shed abroad in her heart; wonder at the• increased strength of her. own faith ; the mighty prevalence of her prayers; at the glorious on-going or her triumphs over the world, and the rapid enlargement of the domain of the "King of kings and Lord of lords." It would be as life from the dead. 'lt would avail to force upon the world the conviction that the Church is indeed what she professes—" a holy nation, a royal priest hood,a peculiar people, zealous of go9d works;" "crucified to the world;" "risen with Christ;" "the temple of the Holy Ghost;" "the salt of the earth;" that her heart throbs with the love which moved her glorious Redeemer to make Himself poor that He might make the poor rich ; that the law in Christ's Church is the law of LOVE; that her grand, absorbing, exhausting enter prise is an enterprise in behalf of a deluded, perishing world ; that on all her substance she has written, " Holiness to the Lord;" that in her own experience, as it was in His, " it is more blessed to give than to receive. ' And the world seeing this spirit in the whole life and conduct of the Church, would be compelled to ponder in their own minds the question, What makes these Christians so noble, so truly good, se happy? And their reasoning would lead to their own conviction of _their deadness in sin; and their convic tions, to the embracing of her doctrines 04 their surrender to her Saviour. COVETOUSNESS OF CHRISTIANS A STUMBLING- BLOCK If there is one point on which, more than others, the world claims to have doubts about the sincerity of professing Christians; if there is one pre-eminent thing in the, life of many imminent church members, from which-they gather the sentiment that the cost of the "pearl of great price" is not the pliri4g with the ownership of. all they have, it is that many who profess to . be " crucified` to the World," last after it as intensely, and' strug gle. as assiduously to " lay u p their treasures on earth," as other men do. And is not tlie blessed Saviour thus dishonored and the Holy Comforter thus grieVed, and the Father thus abused by those who are members of `the visible household of heaven ? =ls it not *true, that some who, by profession', are "the light of the world," the " living epistles of C'hrist," the exemplars leading others in the way of"holiness a ,obnoxious to the charge of laying stumbling-blocks re before the men and children of the world, over which they may stumble and tall into destruction? 0, is - there no airi in the doings of these Achans hiding the wedge of gold and goodly Baby lonish garment in their tents; these Demases who love the present world; these li g ht. bearers who put their candles under a bushel? Nothing else than a radical reform that would take away these stumbling-blocks; nothing else in the visible deportment of the Christian Church would so bring her to experience again the days of Primitive Christianity, when Christ being enthroned in her heart, and walking in her midst, made sun, and - her "fair as the moon, clear as the terrible as an army with banners." And further, were the foolish, hurtful lust of riches excluded from the hearts of the mil lions of unconverted meu and youth through out all Christendom; were this cursed idola try of mammon broken up, there would seem to be kit small comparative hindrance- to their flocking to Christ "as clouds and as doves to their windows;" and their whole number pressin into the kingdom as under the ministry of John the Baptist. " WHAT SHALL A MAN GIVE " TN .EXCHANGE FOR HIS SOUL'?" Let me give an incident which was told me by a minister who was my fellow-Presbyter • mere than. thirty years ago. He , had Just visited a yenng family that was -under his pastoral care. The husband and father Mid. 'lately invested almost his whole property-in `atdistillery,Lwhichithen and there was one of Abel:post lucrative forms of business. He ' was, at the time, deeply, earnestly awake to the peril of 'his soul' by But there 'seemed 'some hidden and insurmountable ob stacle to his entering the fold' of salvation. As the pastor left r the house, the young man aceilmpanied him a feW steps, whenatopping, with a struggle of emotion' that seemed alutost overwhelming, he said, (at the same time, pointing to his distillery,) Look there; I know that must be sacrificed if I would be conic a Christian, and my all is invested there.. It is a money-making business to me. To give - it up will make me poor. To' sell it to another to be run as a distillery, would be as wicked in me as to run it myself. I can not sell it. lam shut up to the alternative to sacrifice my property or lose my soul. What shall Ido ?" And who, with a Bible in his hand, and the. Spirit of God flashing its truths upon his soqi could reach any other conclusion than tat of this young man? What hut the - love- of money hindered him from accepting, the grace that would make him an heir `of and give him a throne and a crown in Heaven ? And is not this young man the representative of millions in the churches, and, Sabbath-schools, and Christian families in Christendom to-day ? "As I recall this incident, it seems a very re=enactment of that case sketched by the pencil of inspiration,. of a young man who went away from the 'Saviour " very sorrow ful; because he was very rich ;" and under which the finger of Jeans wrote the'. tender, Yet ' startling Warning=-" HOW ;hardly'shall , they that have riches enter "into the king- I don' of God ; for it is eaSier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich 'man to enter, into the 'kingdom of God." The appropriateness of dila solemn Warn ing, is, apparent in the fact, that where wealth accuniulates'around those whose 'hearts are set upon it, it developes' and gives domination to their vain self-conceit; . a conceit that they can do, something better for themselves than bowing to God; that they know Something better than to submit to God's, teachings ; that, they can secure to themselves what is better, and happier, and more ennobling than the holiness, the meekness, the huinility, the self-denial, the devotion, which are insepara ble from the possession of the favor of. God. Growing wealth nourishes this vain conceit. It makes men feel that riches are a sure, re-= liable basis of their trust ; that wealth actu ally meets all their wants ; "that money anSwereth all things;" that it is a resource which will always transcend all their wants. It inflates them to say to their soul, "Soul, thou hest much goods laid up for many years ;" to say to all the claims of religion, to the pleadings of Christ's ambassadors, to God himself, "Depart from us, we desire not the knowledge of thy ways. Who is the Lord, that-we should genie Hurt? and what profit shall we have if we pray unto fHim ?" Though a sober, rational thought upon the question of their eternal well=being may some times enter their. mind, "the deceitfulness of riches" drives - it out. The vain feeling within- them says; "I am rich,- and =increased with goods, and , have need of 'nothing 1' while the solemn feality is, they are ".wretch ed,, and : miserable; andw podri, apd.hlind, and naked." They shut their ear from hearing the,pertinent utterance of Infinite Wisdom. `'.Thou fool I" that layest lip treasure for thyself, but art not ".rich towards.God."‘ .They deem it beneath; their self-importance .to heed : the malediction-from the very-throne of the Almighty, f : ` Woe unto you that .are rich„ for , ye have ,received your consolations." 8108E63 TO, BE USED, NOT, REFUSED But though the wishing to be rich, of the text, is inseparable from .flagrant sin, though the .peril it involves is alarming, and though the malediction of God restssupon him whose energies are bent to the laying up of his trea sure on earth, yet let none draw hence the • inference that we should desist from the dili gence which brings wealth. Than Wesley's rule, none uninspired is better: " Make all the money you can, honestly; save all you can ; give all you can." The ordinance of Heaven for man is, "In the sweat of thy face thairshalt eat bread." The new man date of the Gospel enjoins diligence in busi ness. And by the sovereign arrangement of Providence, diligence gathers abundance : "The hand of the diligent maketh rich." If, then, God send you increasing riches, what are you to do with it? Neglect it? Let it waste?-No. How did Jesus, the great, perfect Exemplar do? He brought his wealth to our pauper abode, " that we, through his poverty, might be made rich." If God gives you a whole ship load of per ishable food which cannot be kept from cor ruption for a week—a thousand times more than you need, must you gormandize upon it to your own death? So does the man who " lays, up treasure for himself, but is not rich toweds God." He actually kills his soul by feeding on riches. Will you imitate his suicidal folly? True, you have a thousand-fold more than you need. But 'tis also true that a thousand starving poor are within your reach, whose lives may be saved, whose comfort may be augmented, whose love and gratitude to you may be aked up by your giving them a f ro supply m your surplus. God could as easily giie to :each of these a thousandth part of your store, as give the whole to-you. But He imparts to you the 'power and the high privilege 'at participating with Himself in the very chiefest form of blessednesathat of giving. He gives yeti a thousand-fold' be yond the measure of your prayer—" Give us this day our' daily bread;" that you may bless your thousand hungry brathers at your side. As you look on their misery, how it swells your blessedness that you may hind them bread, and'say, Dear brothers be filled. Thus you may augment your own blessedness, strengthen Your"own virtue, grow into the moral likeness of your Father in Heaven; thus you may lay up your treasure where motb l and rust and thieves cannot disturb it; where your fruition of