able, then, though assailed by showers of arrows, it would receive no wound, for wounds arise not from the hand that shoots the arrows, but from the bodies which receive them; in like manner insults and the dishonour attending them have their subsistence, not in the madness of those persons who offer them, but in the weakness of those who receive them. If then we are influenced by that wisdom which is from above, we cannot be insulted, we cannot yield to (the impression of these external) evils. Such a one insulted you,...you did not feel it, it did not grieve you, (that is) you were not insulted: instead of being wounded yourself, you have on the contrary inflicted a wound; for when the injurious person perceives that the blow which he aimed does not reach the heart of those for whom he intended it, he is greatly mortified; and while they who are assaulted hold their peace, the stroke rebounds of its own accord from them upon the man from whom it came.

Wherefore, my beloved, let us on all occasions study and practise this divine philosophy [of invincible meekness], then poverty will not be able to hurt us, it will even become a great benefit, it will render us more glorious than we could ever have been without it, and richer than the richest of the sons

of men. What could be poorer than Elijah? yet he surpassed all rich men on this very account, because he was so poor, and had chosen that condition by reason of the affluence of his mind; for he embraced such extreme poverty because he considered the greatest abundance of wealth unsuitable to the elevation of his soul, beneath the dignity of his ascetic life: thus, if he had highly esteemed the things of the present life, a mantle made of sheepskin would not have been the whole of his property; but to so great a degree did he condemn all the vanity of this world-looking upon all (its) gold as so much

worthless clay-that he possessed nothing but that external garment [the leathern mantle]. Wherefore a king was desirous of meeting with this poor man, and he who had much gold hung on all he spoke, though he was owner of nothing but a leathern mantle; so much more splendid was that rough garment than a purple robe, and the cave of the righteous man than the palace of a king. Wherefore, when ascending to heaven, he left nothing to his disciple but this sheepskin: with this, he said, I have wrestled with the devil, take and arm yourself with it against his assaults: for poverty is a strong shield an impregnable shelter, a tower that cannot (be undermined and) shaken. Elisha received the mantlet as a very great inheritance; and a very great inheritance it really was, more valuable than abundance of gold: and from that time he was invested with a double portion of his master's spirit; and Elijah, though ascended on high, remained still below (in the person of his successor). I know that you have a peculiar veneration for this just man, and that you each of you wish that his case were your own: but what if I can convince you that

I suppose he means Ahab, who searched for him throughout his dominions, and took an oath of the inhabitants of them. cities that he was not concealed among

This mantle is five times mentioned. The prophet wrapped his face in it when God spoke to him in the still small voice: he threw it over Elisha when he was at plough, and thereby called him to the prophetic office. Twice it divided Jordan, and, falling from Elijah as he went up, this AWT [adareth, in Hebrew, which was caught by his disciple and successorBishop Patrick says means also a splendid and furred vest] was like the rod of Moses, an appendage to his prophetic office--and might not be altogether a rude be all he possessed, for he had a servant, and homely dress; nor does it appear to in which circumstance other accommodations are strongly implied:-still the hardships and severities of Elijah's life will in general justify Chrysostom's observations, abating some exaggeration, which is a prevailing fault of his oratory.

we who have been initiated in our sacred mysteries, have all received something much greater than this? For Elijah indeed left his mantle to his disciple; but the Son of God, when he ascended, left us his own flesh, and Elijah (left his gift) by divesting himself of it: but Christ carried his along with him when he ascended, and yet left it behind him for us. Let us not then be dejected, nor give way to grief, nor be alarmed at the present difficult and dangerous crisis of our affairs, for he that did not refuse to shed his blood for (us) all, he who made us partakers of his flesh and of that same blood again, what is there that He will refuse to do for our preservation? Animated by such hopes as these, let us then invoke (his aid) continually; let us be urgent in prayers and supplications, and fulfil all our other duties with the greatest exactness, that we may escape this danger that now hangs over us, and may be accounted worthy of the blessings of the world to come; which may we all obtain, through the grace and goodness of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom and with whom be glory unto the Father with the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.

FAMILY SERMONS.-No. CCII.

Jeremiah ii. 11. Hath a nation changed their gods which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit.

THE records of all ages exhibit to us the strange obstinacy with which the heathen usually cling to their evil customs and superstitions. If we except the triumphs obtained over Paganism by the Gospel of Christ from the Apostolic age up to the present moment, some of which even in our own day have been most signal and consoling, the idolatrous nations of the world still perpetuate the absurd, and cruel, and unholy

practices transmitted to them by their fathers. Human sacrifices, voluntary tortures, ceremonies the most preposterous, opinions the most irrational, are handed down from generation to generation as their best birth-right, their highest privilege. Long and widely must knowledge and civilization extend their influence before they subvert even the grosser rites of heathenism; nay we find that the most polished and classical nations of antiquity wandered as far from truth and righteousness in their idolatries, and were as tenacious for their fabled gods, as the most barbarous tribes of savages.

Most urgent then is it upon all who profess themselves to be Christians, to feel pity for their fellowcreatures sunk in the darkness and guilt of heathenism, and to exert themselves to the utmost of their power in their various spheres of life to assist in sending to them the word of God, and Christian teachers, to rescue them from their fearful condition.

But there is also another prac tical consideration connected with a survey of the obstinate blindness and superstition of the heathen, and their devotion to their idolatrous worship; namely, the contrast which it affords to the conduct of too many who consider themselves worshippers of the one true God, and of Jesus Christ whom he hath sent. Such persons may not indeed have professedly thrown off the Christian faith, or bowed down before lifeless images; for to these particular sins they have no temptation; but, viewing the expostulation in the text in its full meaning and spiritual application, may it not too truly be said, "Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit.' The justness of this application will but too clearly appear if we compare their conduct, as to its real spirit, with that of the Israelites addressed in

the words before us; in which the prophet in the first place shews a twofold sin of the people, in forsaking God, and choosing idols; and in the second, a threefold aggravation of their conduct, in its sinfulness, its ingratitude, and its folly.

First, then, we have set before us the evil conduct of the people; which consisted in two particulars, forsaking the worship of the true God, and joining themselves to idols; as is expressed in most striking imagery in the thirteenth verse : My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water." God is God is the author of all blessings, both for the body and the soul; and whatever else men prefer before him, be it, as in the case of the Israelites, the idols of the heathen, or, as in the case of too many who call themselves Christians, the sins and vanities of the present life, or the uncertain possession of mere worldly blessings, they are guilty of the twofold sin here described.

1. The first step in the career of evil, is "forsaking God." This is the fountain and root of all other sins. If men lived as always in his presence, seeking to do his will, and placing their highest enjoyment in his favour, they would be preserved by his grace and protection, as with an impenetrable shield, from the power of sin and temptation. While the prodigal son remained contented and dutiful under his parent's roof, he knew nothing of the want, the poverty, the hunger, which he afterwards experienced, and the keen feeling of which convinced him of his folly in forsaking the duties and comforts of his paternal mansion. His first sin, and that which led to all the evils which overtook him, was his neglect towards his parent, his indifference to his approbation, his carelessness as to incurring his displeasure, his wish to cast off the duties he owed to him, and to live in utter sel

fishness and independence of pa ternal restraint. If then we would guard against evil, if we would not expose our immortal souls to certain ruin, we must watch over our hearts, and beware of forsaking God.

The more gross and open violations of his law, are readily discovered, and they are apt to startle us by their enormity; while perhaps we think little or nothing of that great sin which is the foundation of all others. Yet who is there that has not been guilty of this sin? who is there that can say, that he has not neglected the service of God; refused him the tribute of his affections, been indifferent to his glory, and disobeyed his commands? "I know you," said our Saviour to the Jews, "that ye have not the love of God in you;" and this still continues to be the great offence of all mankind.

2. But this sin leads to another; for we are not content, when we forsake God, that our hearts should continue a mere blank; we seek to fill up the void which his absence has made, and to find our satisfaction in other objects, which can never afford us true repose. Having forsaken God, we choose to ourselves idols; for, in the language of Scripture, every thing is an idol which usurps, in our affections, the throne to our Creator alone. Whether we place our chief delight in the desires of the flesh, that is, in sensual indulgences; or in the desire of the eye, that is, in a thirst for riches and temporal possessions; or in the pride of life, that is, in ambition, vain-glory, and the love of human applause, we commit the sin of spiritual idolatry: we break the first and great command, "Thou shalt have none other gods before me;" we prove that we do not love God "with all our heart, and soul, and mind, and strength;" and we incur the just displeasure of Him who has declared "I will not give my glory to another." Thus are all mankind proved to be guilty before God. In the words of the Almighty

in the chapter before us, "they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and become vain;" they even refuse his offers of peace and reconciliation; they reject his promises of grace and mercy, they despise the sacrifice which he has provided for their sins; they will not come unto Christ that they may live; they grieve his Holy Spirit; they are not willing to be born again and sanctified, and made new creatures in Christ Jesus; in a word, content with the world, satisfied for a time with the broken cisterns which they have substituted for the fountain of living waters, they choose their portion in this life, and overlook the concerns of the life to come. Secondly. Such is the universal offence of mankind against God: we proceed now to shew the sinfulness, the ingratitude, and the folly, which are involved in it, all of which are distinctly pointed out by the prophet in his solemn expostulation with the people of Israel and Judah. 1. Its extreme sinfulness.-Persons are apt to speak and to think of these subjects with the most careless indifference: they admit indeed that they are not so good as they ought to be, or hope to be; they own that they have too often failed in their duty to God; they do not profess to be perfect, and they trust that God will forgive them for the sake of Jesus Christ; but beyond this customary acknowledgment they proceed not a single step in the path of humility and sincere repentance. They do not consider themselves as virtually addressed in such words as those in the chapter which precedes our text, where Jehovah says by his prophet, "I will utter my judgments against them, touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods." Except perhaps as respects a few special transgressions, their conscience is little burdened with a sense of the enormity of their offences against the Most High. They do not open

their eyes to the aggravation of their crime, as pointed out even by our natural sense of obligation to our Creator, of which the very heathen are examples; for, says the Almighty, "hath any nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods?" The light of natural reason taught them that they ought to obey their Creator, their Preserver, and their Benefactor, though their ignorance, their superstition, and their vain imaginations had profanely changed his glory, "the glory of the incorruptible God, into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things."

But the proof of our sinfulness in forsaking God, and in placing our trust and happiness in the things of this present life, does not depend upon the mere light of natural conscience; for we have in our possession a revelation from himself, in which he plainly declares to us his own unerring decision upon the subject. When he chose the people of Israel to be peculiarly under his protection, he made with them this solemn stipulation: "Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice; and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him." The same obligation applies to all mankind; and we are told throughout Scripture, that "the wrath of God cometh upon the children of disobedience." When the Jews had neglected to obey the laws of God given to them in his word, it was said, "Great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according to all which is written concerning us." And so great was the sinfulness of such conduct, that, in the verse which follows the text, the heavens are called upon to be" astonished and horribly afraid," that a feeble and sinful creature should thus set himself as it were in systematic