was the effect of irreligion and unbelief: he lived at ease, and God was not in all his thoughts. To his request Abraham replies, They have Mofes and the prophets, let them hear them: fhewing us again, that the fault of thefe rich men was contempt of the prophets and irreligion. The rich man tacitly owns this contempt, both for himself and his brethren, by faying, Nay, but if one went from the dead, they will repent: which was confeffing that they had not reverence enough for Mofes and the prophets, to repent upon their authority and admonition, but wanted fome greater motive, which he thought might be found in the appearance of one coming from the grave. From these circumstances it is evident, that the purport of the parable is not to represent to us the heinousness of any one particular crime for which the rich man fuffered; but to fhew how fatally riches influence the mind to irreligion, and make men forget God; whilft the poor, living in continual want, have a perpetual sense of their dependence, and do in all their dif tress look up to Him of whom cometh their falvation. This fenfe of dependence creates in the poor man a fear to offend, a defire to please; whilft the rich man, wanting, as he thinks, nothing from God, has no defire to court his favour; but grows negligent and remifs in all the parts of religion, from which it is a very easy step to infidelity.

It is from these confiderations that the love of the world is faid in Scripture to be enmity with God. All vices are not attended with hatred and contempt of God; not all the vices that are commonly afcribed to riches: and therefore the love of

the world, that is enmity with God, is not to be expounded by covetoufnefs or uncharitablenefs, or any other particular vice; but denotes the rich man's temper and difpofition, the habit of mind. that grows out of a plentiful eftate: and this indeed is very commonly enmity with God, inclining men not only to disobey his commands, but, as far as lies in them, to throw him out of the world, and depose him from the throne of heaven.

To the fame purpose our Lord speaks, when he tells us, No man can ferve two mafters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and defpife the other: ye cannot ferve God and Mammon. Here our Lord fpeaks without a parable, and tells us plainly what it is that makes wealth to be fo dangerous a poffeffion; namely, because it is the rival of God: and if it once get poffeffion of the mind, it will expel all truft and confidence in God, all regard to faith and religion: for ye cannot ferve God and Mammon.

From what has been difcourfed upon this fubject, we may learn, where a rich man ought to place his guard if he is not covetous or uncharitable, if he is not luxurious and intemperate, fo far it is well: but above all, let him take heed, that the pride and infolence of mind, too common in plentiful circumftances, grow not upon him; the pride, I mean, of felf-fufficiency, as if he were able to guide and to guard himself through the world, and had not fo much need of the care of God over him, as the poor who enjoy nothing: let him learn to know, that in riches is no fecurity, and that he wants the protection of Heaven as much as the pooreft wretch in the

world. A rich man, that has this fenfe as he ought to have, will in confequence have the other virtues proper to his ftate: he will be gentle, affable, kind, and charitable; and his fpirit, in the height of fortune, will be adorned with the meekness of the Gofpel of Chrift. A man of fenfe need not go far to learn this fubmiffion to God in the highest fortune: our Saviour's argument, that follows close after the text, will teach him the reasonableness of the duty: The life, fays he, is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. The utmoft riches can do, upon the largest conceffions made to them, is to provide food and raiment, and fuch like neceffaries and conveniences of life. Put the cafe then, that, by being mafter of a great eftate, you are mafter of food and raiment, and can have them in what quantity or quality you please: What then? Have you lefs reafon, upon this account, to depend upon God, and to implore his aid? Confider a little: To what purpose ferves food? Is it not for the fupport of life? But can food ward off death? Are you, in all your plenty of provifions, one jot fecurer against sickness, or any accident that may rob you of your life, than the poorest man? Will not a tile from an houfe kill a rich man, as well as a beggar? If this be the cafe, is it not very abfurd to plume yourself, and to think of fecurity, because of your plenty, when life itself, which is more than meat, is ftill expofed, and for which you can have no fecurity, but in the goodnefs of God? You have many changes of raiment, and the poor has only rags. What then? Will the gout or ftone or burning fever pay fuch refpect to fine clothes, as not to approach them? Will health

always attend upon gold lace and embroidery? If it will, you are right to multiply garments: but if, after all your care for raiment, you must still depend upon God, as well as the beggar, for health and strength of body, how ridiculous is the joy over many changes of garments! Is not the body more than raiment? Since then you must truft God for your life and strength, because they are things which no care of your own, no degree of wealth can insure; had you not even as good truft him a little farther, and case yourself of this unreasonable care for the things of life? From these and the like confiderations you may fee, that dependence upon God is as much the rich man's duty and intereft, as it is the poor man's; that to truft God, and to rely on his goodness, is to be rich towards God, and is that fort of riches which will make us easy and happy in this life, and glorious and ever-bleffed in that which is to come. By these means we may ftill enjoy our fortunes; and, as our Church has taught us to pray, "We may fo "pass through things temporal, that we finally lofe "not the things eternal."

DISCOURSE XXX..

LUKE xxii. 61, 62.

And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had faid unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.

THE fall of St. Peter would be a very melancholy inftance of human infirmity, did it not likewife fet before us a fignal example of the divine mercy, and of the power of grace triumphing over the weakness of nature. St. Peter seems to have had the greatest share of natural courage and refolution of any of the disciples, and the fulleft perfuafion of faith. He it was who made the first confeffion, and faid, Thou art Chrift the Son of the living God; by which he obtained the promise of his Lord, I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. He it was, who, when his Mafter's life was affaulted, drew the fword in his defence, and smote off the fervant's ear; and had left ftill greater marks of his courage and zeal, had not his Mafter rebuked his fire, bidding him put up the fword into its place again. When our Lord foretold the flight of his disciples, and that all fhould be offended because of