SERMON CLXXXV.

HOW TO MAKE MUCH OF A LITTLE.

FOR ST. MATTHEW'S DAY.

PSALM XXXvii. 16.

"A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked."

THE Apostle St. Matthew was employed in collecting the taxes for the Roman emperor ;—a gainful business, and reckoned even sure, in those days, to make men's fortunes who practised it ;— when our Blessed LORD, passing by, said only two words to him, "Follow ME:' and he left all, rose up, and followed HIM." He well knew what he was doing; giving up all that he had in this world, in order to take part with One who had no home, no place where He could make sure to lay His head. Why? Because St. Matthew had full faith in what ALMIGHTY GOD teaches concerning the true value of things. He felt quite sure and certain, that it was better to have ever so little, in common with HIM who is truly called the Righteous Man, than to have the greatest estate of the richest man in the world, or all the estates of all rich men put together. The smallest thing that CHRIST had to give, was more precious to him than all the wealth of the world; and therefore he at once gave it up, and would have given it up, had it been a thousand times more, in order to be admitted into CHRIST's company.

Now this, for aught we know, might be in St. Matthew no more, at the time, than a strong sort of intsinct or feeling, that

whatever else might be right or wrong, it must be right, and safe, and good, to obey all the commands of the Holy Person who was then speaking to him; to follow HIM, and give up all for His sake. He might have been watching CHRIST beforehand, and wishing secretly to be favoured with such a command; and CHRIST may have spoken to him, knowing what was in his heart. Or the call may have been altogether sudden: like the call of David from the sheepfolds, when he least thought of it, to be King over Israel. In any case, there is no reason to think that St. Matthew stood at all in doubt, balancing with himself what could be said for and against his following our LORD's invitation. He came as soon as ever he was called. He "made haste, and prolonged not the time, to keep the commandment." He took CHRIST's service, as it were, upon trial, like Abraham, not knowing whither he went. He felt, though perhaps he could not have proved, that CHRIST was that Righteous One, with whom a very little is better than the riches of all the publicans and great men in the world.

He felt this at first, and when he had really joined himself to CHRIST, no doubt every day and hour proved to him more and more that he had been in the right, that he had chosen the wise and safe course. He experienced how very far the least drop of earthly consolation and enjoyment would go, when a man was continually with the HOLY JESUS, seeing HIM and hearing His Voice.

So shall it be, even now, whenever a person closes heartily, at more or less cost of earthly goods, with the directions of JESUS CHRIST, distinctly declared to us by His Church. It may be mere good feeling, the warmth of his heart, at first; he may not be able to give any reason for it in words; but let him only go on, accompanying CHRIST and the Church in the practice of the like self-denying obedience, and there will be something he cannot mistake, which will tell him secretly, that so far as he acts thus, just so far he is in the right way; that an hour or a minute of devout prayer, or laborious charity to CHRIST's little ones, is worth a whole life of such pleasures as the world can give; and that even in sufferings, borne humbly and sincerely for His sake, there is a drop of sweetness which makes the whole draught palatable, however bitter and intolerable it may be in itself.

As we this day keep the memory of St. Matthew's deep trust in our SAVIOUR, it will not be unsuitable to call to mind some instances of this Divine power, given by the ALMIGHTY to true faith and devotion of heart: that it takes up, nourishes and cherishes, whatever is good and comfortable in our condition : makes the most of it: spreads, enlarges, ripens it, as the sun in spring time does the little flowers, which would otherwise quite wither away. While, on the other hand, there is in the love of the world, in all kinds of covetousness, a blighting, withering quality, which gradually causes the most abundant growth of prosperity to shrivel and contract and shrink into nothing. "A small thing that the righteous hath is better than great riches of the ungodly:" the largest store that the ungodly hath, is less than the least possession of the righteous.

See, for instance, in any poor cottage, where true devotion and honest industry abide, how far even very scanty wages will go towards providing the real comforts of life. It is not only that Christian patience makes them content with a little, but somehow or another, Christian prudence teaches them to make the most of that little, so that it seems to grow in their hands, and to reach further in the way of making them comfortable, than any one would have thought possible. In this, no doubt, is a secret blessing from GOD; but we may in part see the manner of it: we can understand, at any rate, how true religion, by making men contented, keeps them in sound hearty courage, to set about any thing which they see to be prudent and good for their families. They lose no time in complaining, languor, and idleness, but whatever their hand finds to do, they do it with all their might.

Nor is it less surprising, on the other hand, to see how irreligious ways wear out and destroy, no one knows how, if not the riches themselves of worldly men, at least all the enjoyment and pleasure that might be looked for in them. How often do we hear of great fortunes dissipated unexpectedly, and nothing, people say, to show for it all! How continually are the very richest in embarrassment, if they spend their wealth in a mere worldly way! It goes before they are aware, and they become poor, without any such blessing as is promised to those, who make themselves poor for CHRIST's sake.

This becomes still plainer, when we come down to more par

ticulars, to the things wherein people are supposed particularly to enjoy their wealth. "Better is a dinner of herbs, where love is, than a stalled ox, and hatred therewith." Who would not rather be St. John in the wilderness, with the leathern girdle about his loins, and his meat locusts and wild honey, than such a wealthy king as Herod, “making a feast to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee?" In the one case, every morsel is sweetened by the thought of God's blessing, and the comfortable hope of His approbation; in the other, the very object is to drive away all sorts of serious remembrance. This enjoyment cannot bear being thought of: that, the more you think on it, the higher it rises; for if it be really a token of God's love, no thought can come up to it. And thus one may readily imagine, how a very little circumstance in a good man's life may grow upon him, and cause him more happy thought, even in this world, than the greatest prosperity of a bad man.

It is the same in the matter of health and strength. A saint on a sick bed-Hezekiah turning his face to the wall and praying-shall do more, shall really exert more power to change the face of the world, than a mighty conqueror, such as Sennacherib, at the head of his army. Such an one will make the most of every little interval of comparative ease; it will be a matter of conscience to him to do so; and his minutes will often go further for the good he seeks to do, than other men's hours for their purpose, whatever it be.

Take another instance:-One chief supposed advantage of wealth is, that it enables men to choose their company, and to abound in all social enjoyment; but one sure friend that the righteous hath, is worth all the companions of the ungodly. Elijah in the wilderness, with now and then a visit from an angel: did he not find that the remembrance of those rare moments cast a light over all his long solitary hours, which quite prevented them from being tedious? Did he ever wish himself, think you, in Ahab's place, with his many friends and allies, and his seventy children?

Nay, and the same rule holds, not only in respect of outward things, but of knowledge also, and scholarship, and acquaintance even with divine matters. Solomon, at one time of his life, found by very sad experience, that "in much wisdom is much

grief, and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow;" and St. Paul "determined to know nothing among" the Corinthians, save JESUS CHRIST, and HIM crucified:" that knowledge, which the poorest among us all may have, if he will quietly bear his lot for CHRIST's sake; it is not even necessary that he should know how to read.

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Thus a little drop of knowledge, touched by divine grace, may swell into a sea: as the wise son of Sirach describes GOD's dealings with himself : I came out," he says, 66 as a brook from a river, and as a conduit into a garden: I said, I will water my best garden, and will water abundantly my garden bed; and lo, my brook became a river, and my river became a sea." Because he applied himself to his immediate and nearest duty with all his heart, GOD blessed him with large and high knowledge, beyond all the ungodly wisdom of the world. Thus that one little point, knowing what is next to be done and resolutely doing it, will tell as much in the way of knowledge, as the widow's mite, duly offered, in the way of riches.

Finally such is God's mercy on the one hand, and the perverseness of men on the other, that, even in respect of spiritual blessings also, the Psalmist's saying holds true, "A small thing that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked." A little measure of grace well employed, and received into a heart willing to be made righteous, is better, far better, than the highest spiritual privileges, when God, in His unsearchable judgments, has vouchsafed them to unworthy persons. This is like our SAVIOUR's saying, "Many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of Heaven, but the children of the kingdom shall be cast into outer darkness." And again, "The publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you." And of the ten lepers who were cleansed together, one only "returned to give glory to GoD," and "he was a Samaritan."

Here is comfort for those, who seem to be placed in less favourable circumstances than others; less within reach of the means of grace; farther from Churches, or with rarer opportunities of receiving the holy Sacraments. I do not deny that their loss is great: yet our LORD not doubtfully gives us to understand,