and, in his parables especially, every kind of iniquity is frequently represented under the garb of foolishness. In that from which the text is taken, he sets before us the picture of a worldly minded man, who, having passed his life in the constant occupation of heaping up riches, resolves at length to sit down at his ease, and enjoy the fruit of his labours, under the vain conceit that he has a long uninterrupted prospect of earthly comfort and pleasure before him. His ground has brought forth plentifully; so plentifully that he has no longer "room to bestow his fruits." Contemplating this abundant increase with the true selfish delight of a heart cleaving to the grovelling pleasures of this world, he sets his mind to lay plans and build designs for the enjoyment of his future life; and begins to form calculations founded upon the false supposition of there being but a very distant prospect of the termination of that luxury and ease which he proposes to himself. "And he said, This will I do, I will pull down my barns, and build greater, and there will I bestow all fruits and my

my

goods; and I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up in store for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink and be merry." A wise resolution! which none of the children of this world will hesitate to approve. He has ample means of enjoyment, and why should he neglect to use them? Notwithstanding all his prudence, however, he has forgotten one thing in his calculations : that, inexhaustible as his treasures appear to be, the time he may have for the enjoyment of them is by no means equally so-the many years of which he so exultingly boasts, may perhaps be curtailed to a few fleeting moments, after which his wealth (as far as he is concerned) will be useless. This failure is admirably pointed out in the words of my text. "But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee; then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided?"

It is one peculiar excellence of our Saviour's instructions, that while they often. cause the feelings of the heart to vibrate, they invariably speak conviction to our reason and

experience: and the truth of this is nowhere more forcibly illustrated, than in the parable before us. Look but around the world, my brethren, and you cannot fail to observe the number of characters exactly corresponding with the one here described. I do not mean among the profligate and vicious, but even among those to whom the world accords the praise of honesty sobriety and virtue-aye, and often of religion also: men in whom no fault can, apparently, be found; but who, on the contrary, seem exact in the fulfilment of every human duty. For, mark the progress of the majority of men from the moment of their launching out into life. In their earlier years, the whole mind is occupied in acquiring a knowledge of the profession which they intend to pursue their maturer age is passed in turning that profession to a profitable account; and, as the evening of life approaches, their chief consideration is how to enjoy that repose, which they conceive their former labours to have fairly earned for them. Having gained a competence-having, perhaps, laid up an ample

store of wealth, they then think but of "how they may bestow their goods"-how they may best enjoy the comforts which those goods have the power to afford. And in all this, you will say, there is no sin; their dealings have been honest, and free from oppression and fraud; they have not bereaved the widow and orphan of their mite, to add to their stores; but have gone on in one undeviating course of uprightness and integrity : nay, further, they have not violated the sabbath; they have attended regularly at church, and been punctual in the performance of their private devotions. All this is well yet with all this, they may still answer to the character of the man described in the parable. For observe, my brethren; this man is taxed with no crime, neither is any glaring omission of duty alleged against him. What then is the species of folly that is laid to his charge? Simply this, the supposing that "a man's life consisteth in the abundance of the things which he possesseth;">

Luke xii. 15.

in making his worldly pursuits his first and paramount object; in providing, with sedulous care, for the necessities of this life, and suffering the concerns of the next to be an object of secondary consideration, or perhaps of no consideration at all. And is not this the case with too many among ourselves, brethren? Are not our worldly interests too generally the first and most important theme of our meditations? Is not the whole day employed in their pursuit? Is not our repose at night often disturbed by thinking of them, by planning and devising schemes for their improvement? And how much of all this time do we devote to the service of God, and the making provision for eternity? Put together all that is allotted to devotion. and serious meditation, and how trifling will the amount appear, when compared with what we give to the world, to its business and its enjoyments! And is such a distribution of his time worthy of the Christianwho has his eternal salvation to work out? Shall we say that our duty is fulfilled, when we barely yield to our Maker the hundredth