been effected,-in the contrast between previous stupidity, and pollution, and heartless and murderous ferocity, to intelligence, and purity, and virtue, and peace, and harmony, and happiness, we have the triumphs of the Cross, and the manifestation of the "certainty "—the divine certainty—" of the words of truth." They have thus shown themselves to be indeed "excellent things" by the excellence of their effects. We call upon all to examine for themselves. The Bible courts examination. It is the unwillingness and refusal to examine, that is most to be deplored. The genuine. ness of its writings, the authenticity of its histories, the reality of its recorded miracles, the fulfilment of its prophecies, the sublimity and consistent harmony of its doctrines, the purity of its precepts, the origin of its commemorative ordinances, and its tendency to personal and social virtue and happiness,all court examination. The testimony of the celebrated earl of Rochester, when converted from infidelity and profligacy to Christianity and virtue, will be found the truth. Laying his hand on the Bible, he would say " This is true philosophy. This is the wisdom that speaks to the heart. A bad life is the only grand objection to this Book."

LECTURE LXXI.

PROV. XXIII. 1—11.

"When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider uiligently what is before thee; and put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite. Be not desirous of his dainties; for they are deceitful meat. Labour not to be rich; cease from thine own wisdom. Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven. Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats; for as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee. The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words. Speak not in the ears of a fool; for he will despise the wisdom of thy words. Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless: for their redeemer is mighty; he shall plead their cause with thee."

DILIGENCE is commended in the close of the preceding chap

ter; this opens with the commendation of temperance or moderation. This virtue the people of God ought to practise in every thing. They should "let their moderation be known unto all men"-that is, their self-government in the desire, the use, the enjoyment, and the regret, of all that pertains to the present world. In the opening verses, we have one particular description of moderation,—the laying of a restraint, at all times, but especially on occasions of peculiar temptation, on the animal appetites. The verses suggest the following observations:—

1. There are few things, if any, more disgusting and degrading, than the studied and anxious indulgence of these appetites: to see a man surveying the table, with an epicure's eye; carefully selecting his favourite articles; and in

his manner of preparing and eating them, making it manifest to all about him that his whole soul is on the contents of his plate, and that nothing annoys him so much as any interruption such as endangers their getting out of season, and losing their nice relish. It is particularly loathsome, when the man appears to catch with extraordinary avidity the occurrence of a feast, and to be resolved on making the most of the opportunity. What man can be more despicably low than he "whose God is his belly?" When Solomon says " Consider diligently what is before thee,"—it is for a very different purpose, and in a very different frame of mind, from those I have been mentioning. It means-Con. sider well the scene of temptation that is before thee, and be upon thy guard.

2. There are, on such occasions, temptations to over-indulgence and excess. And then our self-jealousy and watchfulness should be proportioned to two things—namely, the strength of propensity, and the amount of temptation. This is the import of the strong expression in the second verse— “and put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite." The import seems to be-Eat as if a knife were at thy throat;-eat in the recollection and impression of thine imminent danger; remember that the knife wherewith thou dost feast thy delicate or thy gluttonous appetite had better be at thy throat than used for such a purpose,prejudicial to health, to reputation, to the credit of thy profession, to the interests of thy soul. In several versions we have the sense given-" Otherwise thou wilt put a knife to thy throat, if thine appetite have the dominion." For

3. A man's conduct, on such occasions, is marked;especially if he be a religious professor. He may, in this way, bring reproach upon religion: which ever ought, and which, when genuine and duly felt, ever will, impose a restraint on such indulgences. How sad, when a religious professor gives occasion to the ungodly, with the leer of sarcastic scorn, to say—“Ah! did you see how the holy man—the man of spiritual abstraction-how he did enjoy himself! he made the most of it!—with what a gusto, and

what culinary connoisseurship, he discussed his meal!" Thus are all his pretensions to spirituality turned to ridicule; and from his example encouragement is taken by others to persist in such indulgences and excesses: while any usefulness he might have is impaired and lost, and his reputation for consistency forfeited.

4. On the other hand, we should be on our guard against the ostentation of abstinence and plainness, the affectation of extraordinary abstemiousness;-declining this, and refusing that, merely for the purpose of drawing attention, and further fixing that attention by incidental remarks—incidental in appearance but studiously introduced and timed,for the express purpose of having it said-What a singularly abstemious man he is! how plain in his tastes! how exemplarily indifferent to the gratification of his appetite!-This would be little better than gratifying one carnal principle instead of another,-vanity, instead of gluttony or epicurism, the love of notice and distinction, instead of animal appetite and the love of dainty fare,—the lust of the mind, instead of the lust of the flesh.-Our duty, then, is-indifference to the indulgences of the table, without the obtrusive ostentation of it; eating and drinking in moderation, what is set before us, without the affectation of singularity.

5. There should be special vigilance, if there be reason to suspect any snare- -any intended temptation, for answering a selfish or a malicious purpose. Worldly men sometimes do, very wickedly, lay such snares for the godly. They do so to try them, for the diabolical satisfaction of witnessing the inconsistencies into which they thus seek to entice them. They then laugh at them, and make sport of their principles: for "fools make a mock at sin." —I do not say that anything of this kind is meant to be conveyed by the terms of verse third-probably not. The meaning of that verse seems to be no more than that evil often lurks under the semblance of good;-that while present enjoyment is promised and pressed upon us, the consequences, if we suffer ourselves to be thrown off our guard, may be bitter.-"When you see a number of dishes, of

very different kinds," says a sensible expositor, "think with yourself-Here are fevers, and agues, and gouts in disguise. Here are snares and traps spread along the table, to catch my soul, and draw me into sin. Sense gives a good report of this plenty; but reason and religion tell me to take heed, for it is deceitful meat."

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Verse 4. "Labour not to be rich; cease from thine own wisdom." "Labour not to be rich." What a startling interdict this! What an immense proportion of the world's toil, and especially in such a community as our own, does it bring under condemnation and proscription! Were all the labour directed to this forbidden end to cease,-how little would be left!-what a sudden stagnation would there be of the turmoil of busy activity with which we are daily surrounded! What are the great majority of men about,—in our city and in our country? What keeps them all astir? What is the prevailing impulse of all the incessant bustle and eager competition of our teeming population? Are not all,—with a wider or a narrower estimate of what riches mean, labouring to be rich?"—The love of fame has been called the universal passion. Is not the love of money quite as much, if not more, entitled to the designation? Yes; and many a time does the wisdom of the world set itself to the defence of the world's toil and the world's aim-alleging many plausible, and some more than plausible, things in its pleadings. Riches," say they, "keep a man and his family from dependence. Riches enable a man to enjoy many comforts that are in themselves lawful and desirable. Riches procure a man distinction and influence in society. By this and other means, riches put it in a man's power to do good: -why should we not 'labour to be rich?'" It is all true; and the plea is in part quite legitimate. Yet Solomon, by the Spirit, with the authority, and in the kindness of God, enjoins-" labour not to be rich."

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His meaning evidently is, that the acquisition of the worldly wealth must not be a man's primary aim—that which chiefly occupies his desires, his thoughts, his schemes, his time, and his toil,-to the neglect of concerns of incom