majestic glory; or the moon," sole empress of the night," sheds her silver rays on the path he goes,-it is darkness still. All the various means which necessity invents on the removal of the luminary of the skies,-the welcome light of the candle, the shining lustre of the lamp, or the dazzling brightness of the kindled torch, afford no benefit to him. If there be, therefore, one individual of the human family deserving greater commiseration and tenderness than another, it is the man" who is born blind," or from whom the hand of his Maker has recalled the blessing of sight. Innumerable amusements and occupations may employ the attention of others, however disabled and infirm they may be, which are denied to him. Remember, therefore, the beautiful sentiment which a Christian poet has put into the mouth of children, but which is equally deserving the attention of adults :

"When I see the blind or lame,

Deaf and dumb I'll kindly treat them :

I deserve to feel the same,

If I hurt, or mock, or cheat them."

Secondly. Let us view the text metaphorically. Light is a beautiful emblem of happiness and joy. There is a kind of intuitive recognition of felicity in the blessing, and of mourning and woe in the opposite. Thus the term is employed in the sacred writings: "Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart." We read also, "Unto the upright there ariseth light in darkness." This is the mercy promised to the benevolent: "If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness shall be as the noon-day." Such also is the divine threatning against the oppressor: "The light of the wicked shall be put out, and the spark of his fire shall not shine. The light shall be dark in his tabernacle, and

his candle shall be put out with him."

What is the

cheering influence of divine favour? It is "the light of God's countenance." What is the expression employed to describe the absence of those alternations of gladness and gloom which characterize the present pilgrimage? It is the beautiful metaphor-" There shall be no night there." What is the bliss of the Paradise of God?" It is the inheritance of the saints in light." What is the glory of "the holy city-the New Jerusalem ?" It is the brilliance which adorns it: "It has no need of the sun, neither of the moon; for the glory of God doth lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof." May this happy region be our eternal dwelling-place.

Thirdly. Let us view the figure morally. Thus light is often applied to the intellectual part of man-to his understanding and his 'conscience. Men, enslaved by sin and corrupted by error, are represented as made blind by the god of this world. "I send thee," said a voice from heaven to the willing apostle, "to the Gentiles, to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God." Sometimes it denotes the dispositions of the heart: "Is thine eye evil because I am good?" which is to say, "are you grudging because I am generous? or dissatisfied because I am liberal?" So we often find darkness put for the ignorance of the unconverted, and light for the knowledge of the converted. Thus an apostle addresses the primitive churches: "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy."* And how does

* 1 Pet. ii. 9, 10.

St. Paul dissuade from the vices and impurities of the flesh? "Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them." And what will be the doom of the impenitent and unprofitable professor at the last? Awful in the extreme! "Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." "The Lord grant that we may obtain mercy of the Lord in that day." Let us notice,

II. THE TWO MASTERS.

"No man can serve two masters." By the first of these we are to understand the blessed God, "whose we are, and whom we are bound to serve." He has the chief, the only lawful claim on our constant gratitude and obedience. By the other, we understand, "the lust of the eye, the lust of the world, and the pride of life." Mammon is a Syriac word, and signifies riches. It has been supposed, that our Lord personates it in allusion to the Greeks, who had a fictitious god of wealth. Now, although the statue may be omitted, the idol is still adored. See it in the immoderate pursuits to acquire it. What is the breathless question of the multitude? "There be many that say, who will show us any good?" Ah! how men toil to be rich, though they "fall into divers snares, and hurtful lusts, which drown them in perdition!" See it in the means frequently employed. How many dishonest schemes, "deceitful balances, false weights and measures;" how much equivocation and duplicity practised "to heap up riches!" And even among persons who "hold fast their integrity" in their dealings, what corroding anxiety— what unwearied effort-what self-denying exertions— what personal sacrifices of ease, health, and often life itself to obtain possession of this mammon! See it in

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the obsequious regard which is paid to its possessors. How is their smile courted; their displeasure feared; their follies flattered; their errors concealed. Wealth can turn ignorance into knowledge; deformity into beauty; and vice into virtue. On the other hand, how are the poor commonly overlooked; their judgment despised, and their presence avoided! Be it so; the Scripture is still the rule of decision. "Better is a poor and wise child than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished."* I proceed to consider,

III. THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF SERVING BOTH, AND THE PROPRIETY OF GIVING GOD THE PREFERENCE.

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First. The impossibility of serving both. Ye cannot serve God and mammon"-because of their opposite interests. This is the foundation and principle on which the truth of the observation is built. Daily experience shows that a faithful and diligent servant may discharge the duties he owes to many masters, with satisfaction to them all. If we were, therefore, to take the declaration before us, in an absolute and unqualified sense, we should widely err. It is our duty to be "diligent in business, while we are fervent in spirit, serving the Lord." The text is perfectly consistent with the strictest regard to secular and relative affairs. Idleness is a sin in every man, who has strength to labour, either mentally or manually. The obligation we are under to serve the Most High, does not supersede the justice and necessity of industry in our respective callings. Indeed there can be no real devotedness to God without it. The duties of both tables, in this respect, perfectly harmonize. But the sentiment is, that whatever may be the case with worldly service, that which the pleasures of riches require is so totally dissimilar to those

Eccles. iv. 13.

which are required by religion, that no man can be the servant of both at the same time. The impossibility, therefore, which our Lord states arises from the different objects they have to advance. The interests of these masters are so opposite, that it is wholly impossible to unite them. Those of the one are ever at variance with the other, and there always has been a perfect contrariety between them. The world, as a master, calls us to pleasures, and sins, and amusements, and occupations, which are displeasing to God, and which He has plainly condemned. On the other hand, our "Master who is in heaven," demands us to give Him our heart, and devote ourselves to his love and commandments. The one bids us to seek happiness in the gratifications of the senses; the possession of wealth; the empty pageantry of the present world. The other, to place our felicity in the mortification of our members, and to make it our chief concern to overcome the spirit and maxims of the world. In a word, Mammon is a master that requires us to turn night into day, and day into night, to indulge every sensual desire, to banish every serious reflection, and to "eat and drink," reckless of to-morrow. But the blessed God commands us to "work out our salvation with fear and trembling," to "walk circumspectly,"-to "make no provision for the flesh to the satisfying of its lusts,”—to "deny all ungodly and worldly lusts, and live soberly, righteously, and godly, in the present world,"—to put off the old man with his deeds," to "crucify the flesh with its affections and lusts,"-and to "avoid every appearance of evil." Is it practicable, therefore, to serve two masters whose commands are so opposite? Besides, it is impossible from the nature of the flesh and the spirit. The impracticability of reconciling these two principles is manifest throughout the Scriptures, and attested by uniK K 2

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