ness of "the fire which is never quenched;" the raging anguish, the fearful despair, the want of the least pity or commiseration; the insolent scorn and cruelty of wicked associates; the "weeping and wailing, and gnashing of teeth," which form only a portion of future misery; how would the folly of your conduct startle, and confound you, in hazarding such an awful, and interminable retribution, for the short-lived enjoyment of trifles light as air! Let such considerations sink deep into the heart of every worldling, and, without a moment's delay, let him take refuge from "the wrath to come," by betaking himself to "the hope set before him," and by consecrating to the service of God all his riches and treasures, all his powers and affections. To all the deceitful promises and prospects, which the world and the flesh may set before you, oppose those emphatic and momentous words of Him who is Lord of the visible and invisible worlds,— "What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"

III. Considerations addressed to CHRISTIANS, on whom God has bestowed wealth and influence.

To you, my beloved brethren, who "know the truth as it is in Jesus," and who feel an ardent desire for its universal propagation, I would offer a few considerations and motives," to stir up your pure minds, by way of remembrance."

In the first place, I would have you consider, that a far greater proportion of your substance than has ever yet BEEN thought of by Christians in general, should be devoted to the service of God, and the promotion of the best interests of your fellow-men.

God is the original proprietor of your estates; from Him you derived them; and if, by the exertion of your own powers and activities, you have acquired the wealth you possess, you are aware, that the faculties which enabled you to acquire riches, were gifts bestowed upon

you by his bounty, and that the train of circumstances which led to your success, was the result of the arrangements of his Providence. You might have been born a changeling, destitute of both bodily and mental energies; you might have been placed in other circumstances, which would have prevented your acquisition of wealth, and doomed you to perpetual poverty; or you might have commenced your existence in the centre of New Holland, or the wilds of Patagonia, where you could never have experienced the blessings and privileges you now enjoy. Over all such circumstances you had no control; and, therefore, you are indebted to God for all these arrangements of his providence, which have placed you in the midst of your present comforts. It is GoD who "hath given you power to get wealth;" for, "both riches and honour come from Him." These are truths which the world in general, and which even Christians themselves too frequently overlook.

You are, therefore, bound by every rational and scriptural tie, to consecrate the wealth and influence you possess to his honour and glory. He does not call upon you to part with any thing which is necessary to your rational and sensitive enjoyment. For the exuberant bounty of his Providence is such, that there is abundance provided, in the system of nature, for supplying the wants of all his creatures, rational and irrational, when their desires are confined within the bounds which reason and nature prescribe. But, he has judged proper to demand a portion of the wealth of voluntary agents, to accomplish his benevolent and gracious purposes in the world; and, it is a high honour conferred on man, that he is invited to be "a worker together with God," in promoting the regeneration of the world.

You are not, therefore, to imagine that the wealth you have acquired, is exclusively your own, and that you may do with it as you please. You are bound, as a Christian, by the most sacred ties, to devote all that is not essential to your rational comfort, in the situation in which you are placed, to such purposes as I have stated

in a preceding chapter.* And, if you entertain a lively sense of God's providential goodness towards you, and of your obligation to Him, who hath redeemed your souls from destruction, and crowned you with spiritual and heavenly blessings; you will resign to his service, without a murmur, nay, with the utmost cheerfulness, a large portion of those treasures, which his bounty has bestowed.

But, to come to particulars:-I shall suppose you have an income of £800 a year. What would you think of devoting £300 annually, exclusively for the purposes to which I have alluded? You will, perhaps, think it is bearing too hard upon you, to make such a demand. But, can you deny, that with the remaining £500, you can enjoy all the sensitive pleasures which a Christian, or any rational man ought to desire. You would perhaps require to part with some luxury in dress, food, clothing, or equipage, which is not essential to human happiness; but, are no small sacrifices to be made for the general good of mankind, and to testify your love to the Redeemer? What, if you were called upon by God, as the Apostles were, to forsake friends, and houses, and lands, for Christ's sake, and to travel into foreign countries, depending every day for supply on the providence of God? What, if you were required, as was once done, in the case of a certain rich individual, to "sell all that you have, and give to the poor," as an evidence of the sincerity of your Christian profession? or what if you were required to submit to persecutions and torments, like the first Christians, or to flee to deserts, and rocks, and mountains, like the pious and persecuted Waldenses? Would you consider such sacrifices too great for the sake of your Redeemer, and for the certain prospect of an eternal weight of glory? If not, how small a sacrifice is that now demanded, compared with the privations and sufferings of those illustrious characters of whom the world was not worthy, "who wandered about in sheep skins, and goat skins, in deserts, in mountains, in dens and caves of the earth, being destitute, afflicted, tor

*See Chapter VI. throughout.

mented?" What would those Christian heroes have thought, had God thought proper to grant them the tenth part of your income? How would they have exulted in the Divine Beneficence? and, like Mr. Park, when he received a mess of pottage from an old negro woman in the wilds of Africa-would have exclaimed, "Thou hast prepared a table for us in the wilderness, in the presence of our enemies; our cup runneth over; surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives, and we shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

To the proposal now made, you will perhaps object, that the station of life in which you have hitherto moved, requires you to spend nearly all your income, that you cannot think of being singular, or altogether out of the fashion; that you must forego sumptuous entertainments, and might be considered by your genteel friends and acquaintances, as mean and niggardly; that you behoved sometimes to walk, when you might ride in a carriage; that you would be obliged to occupy a house of seven apartments, instead of ten; to deny yourself the luxury of a fine painting, or an elegant piece of furniture, or a sumptuous dress, similar to those of your compeers; that you must provide portions for your children, when you are gone; along with many similar excuses which might be brought forward. But, on the slightest reflections, you will perceive that these are not Christian considerations, but arguments based on selfish principles and worldly views. To bring forward such excuses, is virtually to declare, that you consider the pomp and fashion of this passing world as more important than promoting the glory of Messiah's kingdom; that you would rather behold missionary enterprises frustrated, and the heathen perishing by millions, than part with the luxury of a gig, or a landau; that you would rather see the poor starving, and dying of want, as they are now doing in a neighbouring island,* than not enjoy with your gay friends your accustomed splendid entertainments; that you would see

* Ireland-see "Report of the Commissioners," &c. and Appen

dix.

the industrious labourer without employment, and living in wretchedness, rather than abstract from luxury a small sum for the melioration of human beings, and the improvement of society; that you would behold another generation rising up in ignorance and vice, rather than part with an expensive and unnecessary piece of furniture, in order to assist in laying the foundation of universal instruction; or, that you would rather see the earth overspread with deserts, and its inhabitants living in the most wretched hovels, than resign two or three apartments not necessary to your comfort, for assisting in the renovation of the world.

This is the plain English of all such selfish and fashionable excuses; and I am sure that no Christian, who has his heart deeply impressed with a sense of Divine things, and of his obligations to God, will consider them as valid. With regard to laying up portions for children, I have already offered some remarks, which need not be repeated.

As a follower of Christ, you are called "to take up the cross," and submit to some sacrifices for his sake. The Christian life is a warfare against the world, and the flesh, and "spiritual wickedness in high places;" and, therefore, you must lay your account to strive against many of the passions and propensities of your nature,— to counteract, in some cases, your own taste and worldly feelings, and even to be "accounted," as the Apostles were, "fools for Christ's sake." But O, my Christian friend! how small a sacrifice is it to resign enjoyments which are little more than ideal, while every comfort, essential to human happiness, is still retained! The consideration of the happiness you may thus be the means of diffusing in various directions, ought to be far more than a compensation for the slight sacrifice (if it may be so called) of a portion of your pecuniary treasures. The effect, too, which your conduct, in this respect, may have to excite hundreds of your fellow Christians to follow your example, and the influence it may have, even on future generations, should be a powerful motive to constrain you to "devise liberal things," in reference to the