that is greatest among you to be as the younger ; and him that is chief, as he that doth serve." And a better reason for which these honours should neither be coveted, nor puff up their possessor, cannot be given to the ambitious, than that which is declared in the solemn and impressive language of St. Peter, that the "glory of man is as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away; but the word of the Lord endureth for ever." The want of a proper sense of the relative value of these, and their placing earthly honour too high in the scale, caused the chief rulers and Pharisees to rush blindly on their destruction. We are told, they would not confess Jesus, "because they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God."

In these observations it is not intended to decry those motives to exertion, which the above objects present, but only to place them on their proper level, and confine them within their proper limits.

Only amidst the pressure of human claims, let the man be on his guard, lest he lose sight of his main point; lest he forget the great interests of religion, and lest, amidst the competition, the ingratitude, the disappointments, the jealousies, the injustice, which will cross his path, he may overwhelm in the press the pure and meek graces of the Gospel, and sacrifice at the shrine of worldlycare, or worldly praise, charity, humility, love of man, and love of God. Let him beware, lest, in

fixing his hopes too much on present objects of desire, he destroy the foundations of that hope, which is to afford comfort in his declining years, to illumine the approach to the grave, and shed unfading glories over the prospect of the resurrection.

The means, by which the middle aged man must guard against the deceitfulness of worldly care, comprise all the duties of religion; and none but himself can enter upon the various forms of applying those means, which his peculiar situation, propensities, and mode of life, may require, to overcome the temptations that assail him.

I shall mention, in this reference to the period of life now under consideration, only those general duties and precautions which concern every Christian-self-examination, private and family prayer, and a constant and scrupulous attendance upon the public ordinances of religion. Of the first three, the times and the seasons are left to the discretion and conscience of each individual; only I would intreat you to let them be practised as frequently and as earnestly as possible. Let them not be neglected upon any pretence of business, or any solicitations of pleasure. Forget not the admonition of the preacher of wisdom, that there is a time for every thing, a time for amusement, and a time for reflection; a time for business, and a time for prayer; a time for man, and a time for God. On no account presume to deny the concerns of your I i

VOL. II.

soul their due portion; frequently examine the state of your heart and affections, and regularly begin and end the business of the day with prayer for God's grace and blessing on your pursuits, and for His forgiveness of your sins. sins. Watch and pray; for unless you do both, the thorns will assuredly spring up, and choke the good seed, and it will produce no fruit in the day of the Lord of the harvest.

Of the last of the means just referred to, the public ordinances of religion, it may be remarked, that the seasons for the observance of them are generally determined by the Word of God, or by ecclesiastical authority. All that you have to do is to attend to them, not to yield, upon scarcely any necessity, still less upon slight pleas, to those pursuits, which would seduce you to neglect them. They, and especially the Sabbath, and the Lord's Supper, present periodical and fixed occasions, in which you may interrupt the fascinations, the cares, and bustle of life; calm your soul down to listen to the more tranquillizing voice of religion, examine the tendency of your ways, commune with your God; seek strength from the Holy Spirit of grace, and call to mind that great and glorious purpose, for which your Redeemer's precious blood was shed, and his spotless body offered upon the cross. These, and other topics of high and awful import, are brought before you at the above stated periods, and offer a favourable interruption to the clamour of

worldly cares. They interpose those considerations which alone can check the rank luxuriancy of earthly pursuits and desires, and prevent the good seed from being overgrown and choked.

If

Neglect them not, my brethren; beware of the deceitfulness of riches. The lessons of experience are recorded against them, the voice of inspiration denounces them. "Love not," says St. John, "the world, neither the things that are in the world. any man love the world the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father but of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lusts thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever." Labour not then to be rich; give not your whole heart to the cares of this life. Let not that period of your life, which combines maturity of judgment with full powers of intellect and of strength; which is so peculiarly adapted alike for reflection and for action; let not that period be wholly spent in labours, which the royal preacher again and again proclaims are but vanity, have neither certainty in the attainment of their object, nor permanency in their results. Be prudent and diligent in your worldly callings; but remember, at the same time, the inferior and secondary nature of these; let them not absorb all your faculties; let them be followed in subserviency to that labour which alone cannot be vain. Remember you are Christians, that you

have immortal souls to be saved; bless that gracious Being who hath furnished you with the means, and assurance, of crowning your labours with certain success. In that assurance work with him steadily, cheerfully, and gratefully. Such is the spirit, and such the advice of St. Paul, in whose animating words I state the same, for your admonition and encouragement: "Thanks be to God which giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord; forasmuch, as ye know, that your labour is not in vain, in the Lord."