"Wealth maketh many friends; but the poor is separated from his neighbour. A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape. Many will entreat the favour of the prince: and every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts. All the brethren of the poor do hate him: how much more do his friends go far from him? he pursueth them with words, yet they are wanting to him. He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul: he mat keepeth understanding shall find good. A false witness shall not be unpunished and he that speaketh lies shall perish. Delight is not seemly for a fool; much less for a servant to have rule over princes. The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression. The king's wrath is as the roaring of a lion: but his favour is as dew upon the grass. A foolish son is the calamity of his father; and the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping. House and riches are the inheritance of fathers; and a prudent wife is from the Lord. Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger."
There is a sense, and an important one, in which "wealth" not only may, but ought to "make friends;" in which, to the extent of its possession, it is the Saviour's injunction to his disciples so to. use it:-"Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail. they may receive you into everlasting habitations." * "The mammon of unrighteousness," is a designation given by our Lord to the riches of this world, because among the men of the world it is so very frequently the occasion of unrighteousness-gotten by unrighteous means, and used for unrighteous ends.
* Luk_16:9.
He inculcates on his disciples its legitimate use; it being, of course, implied, that they who use it according to his will, have also so acquired it. The employment of it in the benefactions of kindness, is evidently what is commanded; by which the grateful affections of others, the objects of that kindness, may be secured; and, having become the source of satisfaction, and, it may be, of benefit, in the present world, may meet us even in the world to come, giving us a cordial welcome to the "everlasting habitations" prepared by our heavenly Father for his redeemed family, whom his mercy has pardoned, and his Spirit has renewed and made like himself.
But this way of "making friends" is evidently not what is meant by Solomon here; as the antithesis sufficiently indicates:-"Wealth maketh many friends; but the poor is separated from his neighbour." "Wealth" has many means of "making friends," of which poverty is destitute. It can operate, for its own selfish ends, on the selfish principles of others. These principles lead those under their influence to court the favour of the rich, and to catch with eagerness at every symptom of it, while, in many instances, it is only selfishness versus selfishness;-the showing of the favour, and the catching at the favour, being prompted alike by the same motive. "Wealth" can "make friends," by gifts, entertainments, and various modes of aid to others, which the poor cannot command; and even by exciting and maintaining expectations, which are as foolishly formed and cherished, as they are selfishly encouraged. Let wealth become poverty; then comes the test of the friendship. Let "riches make themselves wings and fly away;" and the selfish friends find wings immediately too. The attraction is gone. The magnet has lost its virtue; or rather its poles are reversed, and it has become repulsive, driving away what before it held in close cohesion. He who, when rich, was surrounded by flattering friends, is now, when poor, found troublesome. Excuses are devised for keeping him at a distance; he is "separated from his neighbour." The reason is, that formerly he could give, but now he needs; and the selfishness of human nature likes better to get than to give. O how different from the tendencies of that corrupt nature is the divine maxim of Jesus-"It is more blessed to give than to receive!" What a world would this be, were this maxim universally adopted, and consistently acted upon! The former part of this verse would continue true:-wealth would still "have many friends;" but they would be all of the description of grateful friends, made and held by its benevolent use. But the latter part of the verse would bo true no longer; the poor being courted as the object of kindness, for the sake of the blessedness of giving-the luxury of doing him good-would no longer be "separated" and shunned.
It is a comfort to the poor who fear God, that there is One from whom their poverty never "separates" them. "God hath chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him;"-and of Him who, when on earth, "had not where to lay his head," it is said-"He shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper." In Him let "the needy" put their trust.
Verse Pro_19:5. "A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape."*-Truth is a part of the conventional morality of the world. Society could not subsist without it. There is a constant tendency in our corrupt nature-I will not say to prefer falsehood to truth when there is no temptation to the former,-no end to be gained by it; but to set truth aside when there is a temptation,-any object of self-interest to be attained by its opposite. And falsehood is too frequently practised, to defeat the ends of justice. Were it not for the corruption of our nature, there would be no use for oaths. When an oath is administered in any case, falsehood becomes perjury; against which the laws of every well-regulated community direct severe punitive visitation. And even, should the "liar" and the "false witness" escape discovery and punishment among men-"he shall not escape" when "God shall bring every work into judgment with every secret thing." "All liars"-and not less false swearers-"shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone."
* See Pro_6:19; Pro_14:5; Pro_14:25.
Verses Pro_19:6-7. "Many will entreat the favour of the prince; and every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts. All the brethren of the poor do hate him; how much more do his friends go far from him? he pursueth them with words, yet they are wanting to him." The contents of these verses are, in their spirit, very similar to those of verse fourth. The truth of them arises out of the same principle-the selfishness of our fallen nature; and it was practically evinced then, as it is still. Wherever the gratification of its wishes is to be got, selfishness will be found,-plying all its arts. The throne, as might, from the power of this principle, be anticipated, has many parasitical and self-interested attendants; hangers on for places, and pensions, and gifts. The gates, and halls, and antechambers of royalty,-or of the representatives and almoners of royalty, will ever be found crowded with applicants. This is one, it may be, of the gratifications and honours, but surely also of the annoyances and mortifications of power and station. It is an annoyance, from the frequent troublesomeness and importunity of the applicants; and it is a mortification,-the prince being well aware that it is not for his own sake that the court is paid,-not from any attachment to his person and character,-but solely to his princely power. If he sinks, and another is about to succeed him, he will be forsaken for the successor,-for him who is about to have the gifts and the berths at his disposal. The worship will be withdrawn from the setting, and devoutly paid to the rising sun.
In the latter of the two verses, "brethren" means, as in many other places, near relations; while "friends" signifies simply companions, or persons who have become intimate, but have no consanguinity.-We must not suppose "the poor" to have merited dislike by their own conduct. Then, indeed, they would not be entitled to love. The dislike and distance would be only their due. Idleness or profligacy would disfranchise them, in regard to the obligations of their friends to help them. The general sense of the words relates to the tendency of poverty itself to cool affection and to alienate friendship. This may arise from two causes-both alike selfish and unworthy. First, "the brethren of the poor" are not fond of owning him as one of their circle. They court alliance with the rich, the honourable, the great,-those who have their place in what the world call good society. They take every way of making their connexion with such persons known. They speak of it themselves, and are delighted when it is spoken of by others:-but their poorer relatives they rather keep out of sight. They make no mention of them themselves; and when others stumble upon the mention of them, they try to make the connexion as distant as possible, and to put the best face on what they feel to be disreputable, and do not like to hear of. And this, alas! is too frequently the case, even when, in regard to character, and the qualities which should render men estimable, the advantage is all on the side of the poverty. If any kin can be claimed with the great, it is eagerly done, even let their characters be ever so profligate; while connexion with the poor is concealed and all allusion to it avoided, although they are of the "excellent of the earth" in whom God himself has complacency. Even God's people are too much in danger of being tempted, by a false and unworthy shame, to feel and act thus,-and to let their countenance sink when a poor relation is mentioned, and brighten at the notice of the rich connexions of the family;-although they know how different is the estimate of Him whose followers they profess to be.-O let Christians be on their guard against such conformity to the world! What are children to think, when they see it in their parents;-and when they are thus taught, by example, to value men, and to value relations, not according to character but to mere wealth and station! But there is another reason for the dislike and the distance. Poor relations are burdensome relations. They stand in need. They present demands, directly or indirectly, upon the purse; and this touches selfishness in another point. They are apt to be thought intrusive and troublesome. They are looked upon with jealousy. Their visits are discouraged. They are received with coldness; and are given to understand that the longer they are of coming back, so much the better. If they do venture sooner, their repulse becomes sterner. They find a deaf ear, or are put off with fair but indefinite and distant promises; and when by such means they are got rid of for the time, they are followed with a fretful wish that it may be many a day ere their face is seen again.
If such the treatment by relatives, what is to be expected of mere friends and acquaintances?-The latter part of the verse is very pouching:-"he pursueth them with words, yet they are wanting to him." Exigency produces importunity. The poor reduced relation or companion urges his suit; reminds of former days of intimacy, and of past professions of friendship-of the claims of kindred-of the urgency of want. But this becomes irksome. It frets the temper; and sometimes frets it the more, in proportion as the justice and truth of the appeal are felt, because then conscience secretly puts in its sting; and they are sent away with an imperious and angry scowl.-O! that we would but accustom ourselves, in the true spirit of the "royal law," to exchange conditions, and to consider how, in such an exchange, we should ourselves like to be so treated!-And if Christians would but bethink themselves what would become of them, if God were to deal with them, in their time of need and of application to Him, as they are thus tempted to deal with needy, dependent, and importunate relatives and friends!
We have had the lesson of the next verse, in its spirit and substance, and almost in the very terms, repeatedly before us. It is a lesson of which the importance is so fundamental,-lying as it does at the root of all happiness for time and eternity, that it cannot be too often or too urgently pressed on practical attention, and immediate and hearty compliance:-"He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul: he that keepeth understanding shall find good." Let a man's intellect be ever so clear and sound on other matters, he is insane if he forgets God, and neglects his "Soul." This is the prevailing insanity of the world,-the monomania of the entire race.
Verse Pro_19:10. "Delight is not seemly for a fool; much less for a servant to have rule over princes."-The word rendered "delight" is here to be understood as meaning prosperity, and abundance of life's desired enjoyments, from which the delight of men arises:-and a "fool" means a man who is little in mind, destitute of knowledge and discretion, or base in character; or all the three. There is an incongruity between the man and his situation. His prosperity and condition attract notice and attention. There is a certain admiration and influence connected with them; but these are ill supported by his mental and moral qualities. What he has is out of keeping with what he is. You would smile, if you saw a poor man's ass decked out in trappings of embroidery and gold. Not less incongruous is the union of prosperity and folly. The man occupies a conspicuous position; but there is no corresponding dignity or elevation of mind and character. Besides, in most cases, the "fool" cannot bear his good fortune, it renders him vain, insolent, self-sufficient, consequential, and overbearing. He assumes airs, such as only make his imbecility and folly the more apparent, and the unseemliness the greater and the more offensive. And still further-he has not wit enough to use his prosperity rightly. He perverts it to foolish, improper, unbecoming purposes; not only failing to apply it for the glory of God and the true benefit of men, but actually applying it to useless, silly, frivolous, fantastic ends, which expose him to universal ridicule.
"Much less," adds Solomon, "for a servant to have rule over princes."-The case is one which has not unfrequently been realized in history. Even when the servant, as sometimes happens, is superior in mental talent and vigour of intellect, and discretion of management, to the prince,-yet still there is unseemliness,-an inversion of established and necessary order. He ought not to be a prince, whose imbecility subjects him to a servant's rule. It seems evident, however, that by a servant, or slave, is meant a person who, while he is of low extraction, has mind, and education, and habits correspondingly low; a base-born, grovelling, ignoble spirit. The influence and authority of such a one is of all things the most unseemly and disgustful. In whichsoever sense the words are taken, the unseemliness is equally great. The sense has been given by one interpreter very briefly thus:-A fool knows not how to use abundance, nor a slave authority. The slave may not be naturally inferior; yet his education and habits of life render him altogether unfit for the acts of government. There have been exceptions. Among such, however, it is quite improper to place the case of Joseph; inasmuch as Joseph, though, in the mysterious providence of God, a slave in Egypt, was not such by birth or education; but by both, as well as by the grace of God, fitted for rule.
Verse Pro_19:11. "The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression."*
* Comp. Pro_12:16; Pro_14:29; Pro_15:18.
A man of true "discretion" and sound understanding will not be "easily provoked." This is one of the attributes of genuine prudence, as really as of genuine charity. A quick and touchy irritability is the mark of a weak and foolish, rather than of a vigorous and sensible mind. Wood that is light and porous,-in which the sap, which is its life and strength, has ceased to circulate,-is proverbially the most easily fired.
When provoked, the man of discretion exerts his self-control; restrains resentment; checks and curbs it; knowing well that the instant indulgence of anger,-giving loose to its first emotions, so that they burst forth in ebullitions of violence,-is sure to carry the subject of it to extremes; and that when this is the case in the administration of reproof or reprehension, it at once exposes the man himself, and wrongs his neighbour. "It is his glory to pass over a transgression." It is so because it is much more difficult-self-control requiring far greater effort than self-indulgence; because it shows the operation of high moral and spiritual principle,-a regard to God's authority, such as overcomes the fear of man, especially of his contempt and ridicule, the worst of all to bear; and because it is the greatest glory of man, or of any creature, to be like God, whose Name is still, as it was of old-"The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin," Exo_34:6-7.
Verse Pro_19:12. "The king's wrath is as the roaring of a lion: but his favour is as dew upon the grass."-The "wrath of the king" affords indication of the danger arising from it in the effects which may follow:-just as the "roaring of the lion" does. The power of offended Majesty is thus intimated, and warning given for timely escape from its punitive inflictions. On the other hand, "his favour is like dew upon the grass." The image presents the natural association of freshness, beauty, glory, growth fruitfulness. The dew falls softly on the face of nature-refreshing, beautifying, adorning, enlivening, fructifying. Thus comes upon its fortunate object, as the world esteems him, the favour of the prince. O! if he is regarded as fortunate who escapes the one, and enjoys the other; what shall we say of the "wrath" and "the favour" of the King of kings!* Above all things to be shunned, O shun His wrath; above all things to be desired and sought, seek and desire His favour. There is no misery like the endurance of the one; there is no blessedness like the enjoyment of the other. The one will sink you to hell; the other will raise you to heaven. Nay, the one is hell; the other is heaven.
* Comp. 2Sa_23:4; Psa_72:6; Amo_3:6-8.
Verse Pro_19:13. "A foolish son is the calamity of his father; and the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping."-In this verse there are brought before us two sources of great unhappiness in domestic life. The first of the two is the subject of frequent reference.* Let not the words be understood as if this source of unhappiness were always to be regarded simply as a calamity in providence. Let not parents too readily so regard it, and thus "lay a too flattering unction to their souls." The blame may lie, and in most instances, if not in all, does lie, and must be, with themselves. Have their instructions been sufficiently scriptural? their admonitions sufficiently faithful? their example sufficiently consistent? their guardianship sufficiently vigilant? their entreaties and persuasions sufficiently affectionate? their efforts sufficiently united? their prayers sufficiently fervent and importunate? their faith in the promises of the covenant sufficiently firm and influential? O ponder, ye parents, such questions as these, and lay them deeply and solemnly to heart.
* See Pro_10:1; Pro_15:20; Pro_17:21; Pro_17:25.
Then we have-"the contentions of a wife"-presented under the figure of "a continual dropping." The idea is not simply that of uninterrupted constancy, although that is what is directly expressed;-it is in the effects of that constancy that the spirit of the comparison lies: As, first,-the most vexatious discomfort. The image is not that of mere falling rain, but of rain finding its way through the roof, and everywhere "dropping;" so that there is no escaping it:-it comes upon you in every corner:-you cannot abide in the house; or, if you do, it is amidst unceasing annoyance. Thus is it where dwells an angry, contentious, brawling woman. She banishes husband and children from the house. There is no living under the same roof with her. Or if a sense of duty, or a feeling of necessity obliges them to remain, it is in the midst of incessant irritation, and vexation of spirit. It is not easy, I should think, to determine, whether the clamour of the scolding termagant or the ill-natured discontented peevishness of the shrew, be the worse to bear. The man is to be pitied who happens upon either; the one ever passionate, the other ever complaining; the one angry at everything, the other pleased with nothing; the one ever furious, the other ever fretful. But further, their vexation and annoyance is not all:-the "continual dropping" is very injurious and destructive to the house,-rotting its timbers, loosening and disengaging its cement, and endangering its stability. So are "the contentions of a wife" ruinous to the family interests, as well as to its comfort and peace. They dishearten, dispirit, and paralyse exertion; they fret and sour the temper abroad as well as at home. When a man has cheerful domestic enjoyment at his own fireside,-unbending there after the toils of the day,-tasting with a happy husband's and father's relish the sweetest of earthly sweets, the sweets embosomed in the one word Home,-O with what cheerful alacrity does he set about and pursue his labour through the day, and, at its close, bring his earnings to the kind, smiling, industrious, frugal, managing, partner of his life! But when it is otherwise, his "hands hang down and his knees are feeble." He goes out to his daily labour with a heavy heart-and, instead of anticipating the evening as a time of relief and ease, and compensation for his day's fatigue, he sees the hour of his return home coming on with a sigh,-and lifts the latch of his door to enter his abode, with a heart still heavier than when he left it. Ah! this is a sad case.-But still further:-the respectability of the family is affected. Friends and neighbours keep aloof; and while the wife is blamed, and the husband is pitied, the blame and the pity are blended generally with feelings, and accompanied with expressions, that are more akin to scorn and ridicule than to respect. And what, in many cases, is the sad result? The poor man, finding no attraction at his own fireside has recourse to the club and the alehouse; and the history of a family, which might have been decent, wellprovided, respected, and happy, ends in destitution, wretchedness, and dependence:-like a tenement, which by a "continual dropping" has mouldered and decayed, and comes to ruin ere it has stood half its time.
And O! what shall be said, when the two evils in this verse unite! There cannot be a case more pitiable. Under the former alone, a man may be sustained and comforted by the cheering society and converse of a fond wife, the sharer and the soother of his sorrows, as he is of hers:-and under the latter alone, his misery may be not a little mitigated by the prudence, the sympathy, and the aid of a pious and affectionate son. But when the two come together-how deplorable!-the husband and the father alike wretched,-neither relation alleviating, but each aggravating, the affliction of the other!
Though my illustration, as you perceive, has been taken from inferior life,-from the dwellings of the labouring poor; yet be it remembered, the misery of such paternal and conjugal disappointments is very far from being confined to that class of the community. It is to be found in the highest circles of society, as well as in the lowest.-Nor let it be forgotten that the case might be reversed. It is not husbands alone that are made unhappy by peevish or passionate wives: many a wife leads a life of daily irksomeness and grief from the behaviour of a hasty and furious, or a selfish and sullen, and unreasonable husband. Let husbands then look well to themselves, how far they may be accountable for the tempers of their wives. "Few women have so little of the heart of a woman, or a human creature, as to make those men unhappy that treat them with discretion and tenderness; or, if women really deserve this character, gentle admonition and kind usage are the best means of reclaiming them."
The next verse is a following out of the same subject.-"House and riches are the inheritance of fathers"-the paternal inheritance; that is-not what fathers inherit, but what fathers transmit as an inheritance to their sons. They are things which a man may receive by inheritance from his father, without any labour for them of his own:-"But a prudent wife is from the Lord."-Not that "house and riches" are not from the Lord too. But the meaning seems to be, that when a young man has succeeded to his father's "house and riches," there is something yet before him incomparably more important and more closely connected with the happiness of his future life; namely, his obtaining a suitable companion to share that house and those riches with him-"a prudent wife." If he errs here-his inheritance will be of little avail to his happiness. The antithesis in the verse seems evidently to convey the idea that the latter of the two blessings is unspeakably the more precious of the two. The former-let the house be a palace for splendour, and the riches the most abundant that ever were accumulated,-could not confer happiness, were there strife and brawling, alienation and coldness, in the family. The poor peasant, to whom neither "house nor riches" have descended, but who labours with manly industry-
"From morn to noon, from noon to dewy eve,"
to share his little all with the active, economical, affectionate partner of his life,-for whom, on his return home-
"The busy housewife plies her evening care;-
Whose children run, to lisp their sire's return.
And climb his knees the envied kiss to share,"
has an infinitely happier lot than the wealthiest Nabob of the East, without that love-feast of connubial and domestic peace, contentment, and cordial harmony.
"A prudent wife"-called elsewhere "a virtuous woman," is one in whom "the heart of her husband can safely trust," in regard to rectitude of principle, and propriety of conduct; whose dealings he does not require to be for ever watching; who, from his full reliance on her judgment and integrity, keeps him "without carefulness;" who, in the language of the Apostle, "loves her husband, loves her children, is discreet, chaste, a keeper at home, good, obedient to her own husband:"-one who counsels him in difficulty, cheers him in depression, and, by joint participation, doubles to him every joy and divides every care and sorrow. Certainly, among temporal blessings there is not a more precious gift of heaven to man below. It is "from the Lord."-The meaning is, not, as some have, most falsely, and calumniously to the female character, alleged, that there is no possibility, from the artfulness of woman, of forming any right estimate of what any one of the whole sex is to be after she has become a wife,-that it is all a lottery. This, I repeat, is a false and calumnious representation. It is not that we must look to providence, as in a matter where any consideration and care of our own are of no avail. It is true, there are cases of artful concealment and simulation, in which, subsequently to union, tempers discover themselves, of which the existence was never previously suspected. But, generally speaking, the fault lies on the side of the choosing party. "A prudent wife" is not to be got by an imprudent mode of choice. The gift must be sought "from the Lord." But this does not mean that the Lord is supernaturally to point out the individual. Our own discretion must be put in exercise, along with prayer for the divine superintendence and direction, so as to bring about a happy result. And then the precious gift should be owned, and the all-bountiful Giver praised for his goodness in bestowing it.
Verse Pro_19:15. "Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger."* The tendency of a slothful spirit is, to grow by indulgence; yawning indolence ending in a "deep sleep." And this is a time of defenceless exposure, both of person and property, as well as of entire unproductiveness. "He awaketh, and his soul is empty." But he must "suffer hunger;" and, as being the effect solely of his own folly, it is right that he should be left to feel it.
* Comp. Pro_6:8-11; Pro_10:4; Pro_15:19.
The sentiment holds as to spiritual concerns. Spiritual lassitude and sloth grows on the professor who indulges it. It becomes lethargy. It puts the soul in danger of falling into "a deep sleep." A torpor comes over all its living energies; and then, incapacity for any active exertion increases. This is a period of special peril to the divine life in the soul. Its last spark is in danger of becoming extinct, and spiritual death of ensuing. Satan takes the advantage; plies his temptations; drives the listless and indolent into the grossest and vilest sins, and fills the conscience with a despair, that rivets the bonds of iniquity.
The second part of the verse applies equally to what is spiritual. There is "hunger" in the spiritual, as well as in the natural or animal life. When the soul is in sound health, it "hungers after" the word and ordinances of God, and finds constant gratification and relief from the enjoyment of them But the "hunger" which the soul is here spoken of as suffering, is a painful feeling of want:-the result of indolence and inactivity, and that cannot be immediately relieved; an unsatisfied longing, a gnawing emptiness. When the divine word is neglected, or not studied with attention and care; when no new knowledge is acquired, and there is no enlargement of the old, there is a vacancy in the mind,-a painful craving,-an appetite that is in need of supply, and ill at ease without it. When the stomach, the principal organ of digestion in the bodily frame, has not a sufficiency of aliment to keep its chemical powers in action,-its digestive juices give pain-sometimes most severe-by acting gnawingly upon itself. Now the renewed soul lives on divine knowledge. This is its food. It must have something to keep its powers in action; new supplies of its appropriate and necessary nourishment. There is a peculiar satisfaction to the soul, in the acquisition of fresh knowledge; like the satisfaction experienced by the corporeal appetite from the introduction of food to relieve and satisfy the appetite of hunger. The pain produced by felt ignorance, arises from the unnatural state in which the soul is placed by the want of that on which its powers can operate, and from which their operation may extract enjoyment. This pain in reality springs from conscience. It is right it should be felt. When felt, it will prove a stimulus to seek the nutriment by which alone it can be removed, and which alone can restore the healthful activity of the vital principles of the divine life, and renewed and corresponding growth. If our souls "suffer hunger;" if they pine and starve-the fault is our own. In the divine stores there is no lack of suitable provision. Every kind of supply is to be found in abundance, laid up for us in God's word and ordinances. But there must bo diligence to obtain it. As corn in the granary will not nourish the body; so knowledge in the book will not nourish the soul. If you would not suffer from the gnawing "hunger" of ignorance, but would have the satisfaction and growth produced by knowledge, you must work for it; you must put forth effort to obtain it; you must find it, by such effort, in its native variety, and, by the process of "comparing spiritual things with spiritual," you must appropriate it to the varied wants of your higher nature. Attend, then, to the duty enjoined upon you, to "grow in grace, and in the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour;"-to "add to your faith, knowledge;" to "let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, in all wisdom;" to "work out your own salvation, with fear and trembling, that God may work in you, both to will and to do of his good pleasure." "Give diligence to make your calling and election sure; for if ye do these things ye shall never fall, but have an entrance ministered to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."
And let all remember,-that, although they may have no relish for the provision of God's word, as the nourishment of the soul,-this absence of spiritual relish is their sin; and that their souls, thus famished, shall "suffer hunger" in the world to come, for evermore; endure all the pangs of "the second death,"-all the means of life, which they had here rejected, being eternally withdrawn.
