of Paul to the Galatians, "Be not deceived: God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap." "Stand fast therefore in the Liberty wherewith Christ hath made you free, and be not again entangled with the yoke of bondage." That the 2000 ministers (whose courageous act in letting all go for conscience' sake we to-day commemorate),-that these brave men thoroughly believed in the principles they held, there cannot be a doubt. That they were (for the most part) good men, according to their light, and excellent and zealous Pastors over their flocks, there is ample testimony to prove. And that their devotion to what they believed to be good and right, and their noble example of giving up all for conscience' sake, has been of incalculable advantage to the world, must be gratefully acknowledged by every one to whom bravery, and unselfish integrity, and liberty, and progress, are dear. Therefore, whilst judging them, as I have now done, by a test they did not themselves acknowledge, we find them to have been heretics in Religion, fanatics in the propagation of their principles, and most thoroughly opposed to all toleration towards other men's beliefs,--that, judged by their own principles, we are bound to award them our approbation, to acknowledge our indebtedness to them, and, by consecrating this day to their memories, to award to them the tribute of cur gratitude and honor. And all this I trust we do; and although, in the interests of a higher Truth than they recognised, and purer Religion than they owned, it has seemed to me good and right to put you in mind of the whole truth, that is, to tell you whence, and by what means, adversity came upon them, as well as how they bore it. - THE UNCHRISTIAN CHARACTER OF RICHES. "And having food and raiment let us be therewith content."-PAUL'S 1st EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY, ch. vi., 8th verse. IT T would not be difficult, I think, under the influence of these words of the apostle to produce a very powerful impression upon a congregation of the very poor. It would, I conceive, be possible, to send them home, if not in love with poverty and wretchedness, at least contented with the hardship of their lot. It is the custom when preaching to the Poor to assure them that Poverty is far better for them than Riches; and that simple faith in Jesus as the atonement for all sorts of sin is of far more worth than all the showy pageantry and magnificence that comes of worldly gain. Some few years since, a very populous and uncivilised neighbourhood, in the suburbs of London, called the "Potteries," was visited by a member of the Episcopal bench, who in true primitive style preached to twelve or fifteen hundred of these poor people in the open air. He told them how the second person of the Trinity, while on earth, chose poverty for himself to shew us the blessedness of this condition,— told them of the needle's-eye-passage through which the rich have to make their perilous, if not impossible, way to Heaven; whilst for the poor there is no impediment if they will believe in Jesus, put their spare pence in the savings bank, feel thankful that they live in a Christian country, and rest contented with their condition. The good Prelate reminded them that all the Apostles were as poor as Job after his afflictions had come upon him; and of all they said touching the danger of riches, and of the heavy responsibility his hearers escaped through being poor. I can easily conceive the heavenly state of mind in which the Bishop left them in: I can easily conceive also, what a change would take place in the sentiments of the good Bishop during his drive from the Potteries to the House of Peers! But, my friends, Truth is one; and God is its author. Two and two are not eight in one place and four in another; nor can the same religion be one thing to the Rich and another to the Poor. Truth has no admixture of falsehood in it; nor can any ingenuity convert the one into the other. What God says to one, He says to all. The Scriptures admonish us that, "having food and raiment," we should "be therewith content." It is not for us to torture this plain admonition into divers meanings to make it square with the circumstances by which we are surrounded; but to make the circumstances by which we are surrounded square with it. If our Religion be not true, let us renounce it; but if true, let us do all we can to alter and reform the circumstances which stand in the way of its practical adoption. If the battle with these adverse circumstances is too hard for us, let us, at least, boldly look the difficulties in the face; admit the Truth into our minds; fearlessly proclaim the Truth; do what we can to make converts thereto; and thus prepare the way for the so-muchneeded reformation. This is my utmost hope. It is under the influence of this hope I am now asking your attention. "And having food and raiment," says the apostle, "let us therewith be content." These words are so simple and expressive, and the admonition they enforce on our attention is so plain, that it is only necessary to remind you they are the words of the Apostle Paul, founded on many admonitions to the same effect which fell from the inspired lips of Jesus—who, to the very letter, practised what he taught to convince you that there is more in this admonition than the world—and especially in this world of England, Christian though it be called, has shewn the slightest disposition even to admit. The whole chapter, whence our text is taken, is a most positive and emphatic warning-not to say denunciationagainst the hoarding up of superfluous wealth. You will not have forgotten this expression of the apostle, "The love of money is the root of all evil." There is so much truth in this axiom of the apostle that it has long since passed into a proverb. What is it that men will not do for money?—the rich that they may be richer; the poor that they may become rich; and the needy that they may avoid starvation? Among individuals, is there any crime, from a simple larceny up to murder notwithstanding the penalties they incur if detected --that men will not commit for money? And among Nations, what a black catalogue of rapine, murder, treachery, and oppression is there not recorded in the history of the world, the object of which is-and always has been-Money, or that of which money is the representative! Have Christian nations been less criminal in these respects, -less lucre-loving, or less unscrupulous in striving to enrich themselves at the expense of their neighbours, than the nations who know nothing about the gospel of Christ? Is there any sect of professing Christians that follow out these admonitions of Jesus and his apostles, and hold riches in contempt? There is but one answer to these questions; and as professed believers in the Bible; as professors of the gospel; as followers of Jesus; as a nation of Christians, to our shame must this answer be recorded. I am aware there is something to be urged on the other side of the question. It is this: Our love of money, though productive of sin, crime, and wide-spread evil beyond the power of human calculation to compute, is yet productive of incalculable good. It fosters literature, the sciences, and the mechanical and intellectual arts: and also, it fosters the most imposing apology for Religion that money can procure; and, if the latter is doing but little for the elevation and enlightenment of the world, the former are doing much: And furthermore, be it remembered, that but for money as the motive to exertion, the good which even these are doing would not be done at all. This certainly is all true: "and pity 'tis 'tis true:" for the good thus procured is not intended, and the motive is a condemnation to us as Christian men. My dear friends, if human nature were not essentially Good-good at its very core; if God's laws were not indelibly written by God's own finger on our souls; if Heaven's wondrous alchemy were not for ever converting the Evil |
