returns, is it enough if only the watchmen upon the tower proclaim it by sound of trumpet? May not on such an occasion one neighbour be allowed to shout aloud to another, "Peace, peace"? To more than this the laity do not pretend. They do not claim the pulpit, nor the priestly gown, nor the right to administer the sacraments. Let them, then, proceed as far as the Lord bids them. Whether they have been bidden or not will soon appear, when it is seen whether they preach with anything but the lips; for certain it is that if a layman suffer his preaching to impair his faithfulness in "that which is little,” even the great things with which he presumes to meddle will not prosper in his hand. And nothing can be more odious than the set of babblers who do what St Paul blames in young widows, saying, "Withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not."1 In general there is so much to do, and which needs first of all to be done in the right building up by every one of his own house to the glory of God, that men are willing to leave the task of building up the Church to those to whom the Lord has assigned it. There are few professions which have not their own peculiar flaw, bequeathed in succession from father to son, and from son to grandson. Advocates, by the exorbitance of their fees, and the defence of what is obviously unjust, often do more harm than good. Merchants have one set of weights with which to buy and another with which to sell, and deal in unwholesome wares; farmers work their labourers like horses and feed them like sparrows, against whom both apostles and prophets utter woe; 2 innkeepers by double charges put salt into the travellers' soup; artists attempt to paint before they have learned to mix colours; doctors reckon talk to be a branch of their trade; scholars are seldom free from absurdities, that make people fear they have lost half of their wits; and philosophers, above all, because they make the calendars, 11 Tim. v. 13. 2 Jer. xxii. 13; James, v. 4. fancy that they can also make the weather. Soldiers, too, there are, who, though averse to fighting, are commonly mighty at boasting; and clergymen who think that their office consists in wearing a gown. In short, there is not a single profession which, along with its own peculiar cares, has not its own peculiar flaw; and hence the man who firmly sets his face against it, and, instead of excusing himself for doing what is wrong with the plea that others do the same, earnestly strives, according to the exhortation of the apostle, "to be in all things blameless and harmless, the son of God, without rebuke,"1 will find the task a hard one; and yet it is a task which, as a Christian, he must undertake. In hours of calm reflection we ought to ponder before God all the sins and temptations which cleave to our line of life, in order faithfully to watch and protect ourselves from them. In cases where God vouchsafes blessing and success to a family, so that it increases in numbers, and at the same time in wealth and substance, a new temptation is apt to take its rise. On the one hand there are some who believe that they can now dispense with prayer, and who make flesh their arm, and put their trust in the things that perish; although the Lord understands quite as well how to make a rich man suddenly poor as how to make a poor man suddenly rich, according to the words of James, "Let the rich man glory in that he is made low, because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away." And great is the mistake were any one to imagine that when riches enter the house there is less of temptation to cleave to pence, seeing that experience teaches, on the contrary, that in such a case the attachment of the heart to earthly good becomes so much the stronger, according to the proverb, The more a man has the less he gives away, and he grows miserly as he grows rich. It seems a strange thing to affirm, but yet it is true, that the fear of want is always greatest where wealth is most abundant. It was said by Frederick II. that superfluity blinds even the strongest minds; and the truth 1 Phil. ii. 15. of the observation is exemplified by the fact, that the more a man possesses, the less is he disposed to think that he possesses enough. True it is that as a family increases their wants multiply. The children must have clothes and shoes, and the servants wages and food; but who have had larger experience than virtuous parents blessed with a numerous offspring that God can drop His gifts into men's bosoms in a way they know not of, and that when the children multiply so likewise do the loaves from day to day, though they know as little from whence these come? On this subject Luther observes, "That the increase of children generally deteriorates men by making them more penurious, and leading them to scrape and pare and save wherever they can, in order that their offspring may be well provided for. They do not know that every little child before he is brought into the world has had his portion -what and how much he is to have, and what he is to become - already marked out for him." Moreover, there is this danger inherent in the pursuit of riches, that one has not the power to stop where he would wish, which is especially true of merchants. They are driven from one speculation into another, and become ever more and more entangled with worldly cares, and so forget that here on earth we are pilgrims. Inasmuch, then, O my God and Father, as I am thus apprehensive of deviating now to the right hand and now to the left, I implore of Thee to give me above all things the true pilgrim frame of mind. Certain it is that here we have no permanent place of abode, but are strangers and sojourners on the earth; vouchsafe to me, therefore, a contented heart, which shall count it enough to have food and raiment when to these Thou dost add Thy grace. If Thou give me riches, I will use them for no other purpose than to be rich in good works, and to lay up treasures as a fund for the life to come. If Thou send me poverty, then also will I praise Thee, for then I shall be less exposed to temptation. And if the mite which the poor widow cast into the treasury outweighed the costly offerings of the rich,1 so also will my penny, if given with a willing heart, be counted as great as if I had wealth to give. This poor life of ours is but a brief winter day; it will soon be gone, and then its poverty or riches will lie behind us like a dream, while the good things of eternity shall recreate our hearts for ever. To these point all the desires of my soul, and to these conduct me by Thy grace. 59. There are many Members, but one Body. You marvel that the Lord, who made All things according to a plan, Sets on so manifold a grade The motley family of man. For some are nobly born and bred, A prince imperial is one, Another toils his bread to gain; But earth has other trees beside The lordly palm that towers on high; And lesser orbs than sun and moon 1 Luke, xxi. 2. Why marvel, then, if He who guides All earthly things by counsel wise, Where many meet upon a plain, And all must room convenient find, Must needs consent to stand behind. BUT IF WHERE'ER THEIR LOT MAY FALL, FIND THEIR APPOINTED PLATE AND PLACE, I WONDER ANY MAN OF SENSE CAN HERE PRETEND TO TAKE OFFENCE. I COR. xii. 17-20. "If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? if the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased Him. And if they were all one member, where were the body? But now are they many members, yet but one body." ECCLUS. X. 22. "Whether he be rich, noble, or poor, their glory is the fear of the Lord." "W ́HEREFORE henceforth," saith the apostle, “know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we Him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."1 This is what always happens when Christ awakens the soul, and makes it acquainted with Himself. In surveying the whole family of man upon earth, the only things we then observe are, whether they are or are not the children of God; and dividing them into two classes, we turn our hearts towards the one and away from the other. So great and momentous does the new creatureship in Christ appear, that we look upon 1 2 Cor. v. 16, 17. |