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reiterates it, in the words wherewith He concludes this Parable; saying, "He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least, is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?" The contrast made here between things temporal and things eternal is most distinct. The former are called "least," the latter much;"-the former "unrighteous," (i. e. fallacious and transient) the latter "true," (i. e. real and lasting ;)—the former belonging to another, (i. e. entrusted unto us by a power wholly independent of ourselves, and which we have not the ability to secure or retain,) but the latter our own; for, although equally conferred upon us by a power independent of ourselves, yet the possession of them, like the mercy of Him who gave it, endureth for ever. They are the "treasures," which our Lord, elsewhere, hath commanded us to lay up for ourselves "in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal 1."

Notwithstanding, however, this marked contrast between things temporal and things eternal, there is

1 Matt. vi. 20.

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yet this congruity between them, that the disposition which rightly employs the one, is meet for the enjoyment of the other; and, that, which misapplies the one, is unfit for the reception of the other. The one is like the pale and flickering light, which, though often enveloped, and well nigh extinguished by the noxious damps and vapours of the world in which it exists, shall, nevertheless, like "the path of the just," shine "more and more unto the perfect day." The other is that impenetrable gloom of hatred, in which he who walketh, "knoweth not whither he goeth, because darkness hath blinded his eyes2 It is impossible for these to blend into each other, like the twilight of the morning or the evening. The line of demarcation between each is broad and definite. The grace of God, indeed, may "deliver us from the power of darkness, and translate us into the kingdom of His dear Son 3;" but it ' is impossible to be so translated, whilst the power of darkness remains upon us; it is impossible for those who sleep in the deep lethargy of unrepented sins, and are as men "drunken in the night, to be of the day" and "sober;" it is impossible for them, whilst they continue in that state, to put " on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation *." "For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what commu

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nion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel1?" If therefore the commandments given unto us,-to "come out from among them," and to "be separate, and touch not the unclean thing,"-joined with God's blessed promises that He will receive us, "and will be a Father" unto us, and that we shall be "sons and daughters" of " the Lord Almighty","-if such commandments and such promises be rejected, what remaineth for those who are guilty of these sins, but to be themselves rejected with shame and condemnation from their stewardship? Whilst faithfulness in the least shall lead the way to faithfulness in "much;" so injustice in the least, must continue injustice in “much." It is the solemn fiat pronounced by the angel of the Lord, saying, "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still 3."

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Realize this awful truth to your minds, ye who live on, from day to day, in the enjoyment of gifts for which you are responsible to the Giver, and yet are unmindful of the potent influence which the commission of single and daily acts has on the formation of your habits, whether for good or evil.

12 Cor. vi. 14, 15. 2 Ib. 16-18.

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3 Rev. xxii. 11.

Let it show to you the danger of swerving from the least of God's commandments, of forgetting for a single moment the position in which you all stand before Him as His stewards. Let it put to shame the pride of the presumptuous, the levity of the trifler, the boldness of the profligate. Let it sustain the lowly, with a motive as constraining as that which makes the lofty to bow down. Let it remind him that the single talent is as much a trust committed to the servant from his lord, and that an account will be as strictly required from him, as from those who have received the five, or the two talents; that, to each, "according to his ability "," is the distribution made by the Great Lord and Master of us all; and that, as there is nothing which they have not received, so there is nothing for which they shall not have to account. Your stewardship must soon be ended;-no man knoweth how soon. Your strength must fail; and with it fail, for ever in this world, your means and opportunities of grace: -but from "the book of remembrance 2" written before the Lord, shall they again come forth, as messengers of wrath to the unjust, of blessing to His faithful stewards.

1 Matt xxv. 15.

Mal. iii. 16.

SERMON VIII.'

ISRAEL IN THE WILDERNESS, A WARNING TO THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.

1 Cor. x. 11, 12.

Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he

standeth take heed lest he fall.

IN the Epistle for this morning's service, we have had presented to our notice, the whole context

1 Preached at Windsor Castle, before their Majesties and the other Members of the Royal Family, on the 16th of August, 1835, being the Ninth Sunday after Trinity. It may serve to explain some of the allusions made in the course of the Sermon, to state that the confirmation of Prince George of Cambridge had taken place in St. George's Chapel, Windsor, on Saturday, the 8th of August; that, on the Sunday following, he received the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, together with their Majesties and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge; and that, on the next Saturday, the 15th of August, he received the Investiture of the Order of the Garter.

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