chief ones of the earth! All they shall speak, and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like one of us? Thy pomp is brought down to the ground, and the sound of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee. How art thou fallen from heaven, 0 Lucifer, son of the morning!" And yet, let not the rich consider their wealth as an insuperable barrier in the way to glory. It is with respect to this very obstacle, our Lord observes, that "with God, all things are possible!" The Treasurer of Candace was a student in the school of Christ. There were saints even in "Cæsar's household." this moment, some of the noblest examples of simple and touching, tender, lowly, devoted religion, are to be found in the mansions of the great. At And, in the last days of the church, kings shall be its nursing fathers, and queens its nursing mothers." Surely, then, the inference from the whole subject is;-Let not either the rich man glory in his riches, or the poor man murmur at his poverty; but let both unite in the prayer, that the wealth of this world may never seduce us from the pursuit of heavenly riches; and that poverty may assist in leading us to Him who "takes the poor out of the dust....and sets him with princes." -"Poor, yet making many rich," was the motto on the banner of the first and best soldiers of the Cross: and, whatever may be our outward circumstances, let not the rust of our money, or the discontent of our hearts, witness against us at the Great Day. May our much, or our little, be consecrated to the Lord; and may that tender Master, who regarded the widow's mite, remember us, when he" comes to his kingdom!" IN nature's first and brightest morn, 'Twas the same voice, on Mamre's plain, Thus, too, in Judah's sacred streets The sorrowing thousands caught the sound: Where'er a mourning heart it meets, It soothes its sorrow, heals its wound; Though scribes and rulers spurned the word, The "common people gladly heard." The lame man laid his crutches by; fall: O God, upon my doubting ear, And, quickened by the awakening call, Shall pour its tributary vow Before the throne where angels bow. CHAP. XIII. VER. 37. What I say unto you I say unto all, Watch. THERE are no commands which our Lord more frequently urges upon his followers, than those which enjoin watchfulness of heart and practice. "Watch ye, for ye know not the hour in which the Son of man cometh: "What I say unto you, I say unto all, Watch." Nor did the outpouring of the Spirit, after his ascent to heaven, induce the disciples to relax in this arduous and all-important duty. Watch ye; stand fast in the faith; be strong:' "Let us watch, and be sober: "And, yet, considering our knowledge, both of the weakness of man, and of the character of the spi K |