SUMPTUARY LAWS WORTHLESS.

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Thou hast preserved me, O Father of the fatherless and Judge of the widow." And there are cases where that spirit should be imitated with joy-at this hour there are many throughout the world who can imitate it and rejoice. But upon the general subject, our Father who is in Heaven has made his mind abundantly clear, as upon every other topic which bears upon the blessedness of man, and for that purpose his word is to be searched.

Another question is also left open here-To what extent may Christians indulge their taste for the elegancies of life? In some countries, and at some periods, sumptuary laws have been made to regulate men's dress, their table, and personal deportment, down to the minutest particular. Sparta, Geneva, England, indeed most of the historical nations, at certain stages of their progress, furnish us with examples. In other cases, men who are friendly to the cause of truth have pled for a wide range of freedom. They have specified elegant mansions, with costly furniture, picture galleries, rich gardens, and the countless appliances by which taste ministers to our enjoyment, or luxury stimulates indulgence, as things which are not to be all condemned. Conceding the extent to which they are abused, such men argue at the same time, not merely for their toleration, but for their usefulness up to a certain point.

Upon that question, however, we do not require to enter so as to dogmatize. It cannot be discussed, except in terms so general as to render the discussion often fruitless, or tantalizing to an inquirer. scriptural method is to implant great

Here also the

truths in the

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THE ONLY CHART-THE WORD.

soul-like the love of the Saviour upon the one hand, or of the perishing upon the other, and then leave these truths, blessed by the Spirit, to produce their appointed fruits-to rectify, to regulate, or utterly put down men's practices, according to the wisdom which comes from above. That millions are annually squandered upon luxuries which are worse than worthless, no man with the Bible in his hand can deny, and that many might learn a lesson even from the wild revolutionists of France is no less certain. When Robespierre, for instance, was executed, he was found possessed of just thirty-six francs, or three days' supply at the rate which he and his brothers in atrocity allotted to themselves from the public purse. But we would try to adopt the Bible's method of correcting all abuses. The distinction of ranks is to be regulated, not effaced. Society is not a prairie, with its leagues of level stretching away beyond our ken. There are Alps in it; there are even Andes. Thus society is, and thus it will remain-for thus the God of providence designed it to be.

Moreover, what would be luxury in one case, or one age, is becoming, or even necessary in another. To deny that were to throw the world back upon barbarism, or to oppose, in one department, the great law of human progression; and all attempts to draw a sharp, or a definite line in such cases, appear to betray a desire to be wise above what is written. God has given his people liberty they are responsible to Him for its use, or abuse, and here as everywhere, his word is to be our only chart while on the way to eternity.

SYSTEMATIC GIVING.

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Neither do we in this volume adopt any absolute, or rigid proportion as applicable to the givings of all to the cause of God-say a tenth of our income, a seventh, or any other ratio. It will hereafter appear that there should be, and if we be faithful to God, there must be, a righteous proportion between what He has bestowed upon us, and what we devote to his cause. Men must learn to act towards the Sovereign Proprietor as the upright do to all besides, and instead of lavishing his stores at discretion, or at random, they must be prepared with an account of their stewardship. But still to fix upon an unvarying tenth as some have done, would often be to adopt a low and a defective standard. One of our chief designs, as will afterwards appear, is to urge every man conscientiously to decide for himself what he should devote to God from year to year. Instead of leaving that to impulse, to hazard, to casualty, or caprice, it should be done deliberately, under the eye of God, and with the conscience sensitively alive to his righteous claims. For want of system, or of faithfulness in this matter, His cause languishes in the world; His glory is shaded or eclipsed, and the covetous can quietly despise the churl who calls himself bountiful, or professes that he is "not his own," while his grasping and tenacity vie with those of the veriest devotees of wealth.

At present, however, it is enough to say that, as property varies in amount, or as providential circumstances, viewed in the light of Scripture, may indicate, the proportion devoted to God must rise or fall, and that not merely in different cases, but in the same case at different times.

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THE REAL MOTIVE-THE LAMB.

In this connection, we are called to admire the wisdom of the word of God not merely in what it enacts, but also in what it does not stipulate:-when it is silent, and when it speaks, it is equally signalized by the wisdom which comes from above. The Bible is the book of the whole world, as well as of God. The millionaire, and the inmate of an almshouse, the Briton and the Esquimaux, are equally to find their religion there; and to fix upon any single ratio as being applicable to all these, seems sufficiently unwise. As a more excellent way, God has taken our hearts into his hand. He has explained his plan, his purposes, and his claims. He has pointed us both to the Lamb, and to the wretched for whom he died, and then dismissed us to our duty, saying,-Go now, be a steward for Me,-assured that if that motive do not sway us, the bribes which fascinate will become bitterness at last, as the silver of Judas which had once glittered so brightly, afterwards stung him to death.

Behind such concessions as have now been made, some may retreat, and feel free to disregard all that can be said on the subject of proportion between what God bestows upon us, and what we employ in directly advancing his cause. If property may be accumulated, they will accumulate; if children should be provided for, parents may hoard :—but even although these concessions may be thus misconstrued or abused, where conscience is flexible and principle weak, no attempt should be made to support the cause of truth by extreme opinions. Such a course is ever a cause of weakness, and seldom fails to produce a reaction or recoil.

THE RULING PASSION.

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Our object, then, is to guide, upon scriptural principles, to a right answer to the question, "How much owest thou to my Lord?" A sound public opinion regarding even the Christian's position as a steward, still requires to be created, and we would help forward its creation. It is not necessary to describe at length the sin which the word of God brands under the name of Covetousness, and always associates with whatever is most offensive and most vile, "the root of all evil," by bad pre-eminence, "Idolatry." We assume its existence. It will not be denied. Its spell is upon all. It is the abuse and perversion of a great law of man's nature, the law which teaches him to aspire heavenward and Godward; or of a law not less primary-the law of self-preservation. It is the ruling passion of nearly all men, of all tastes and all times. "Take heed and beware of covetousness," said the All-wise; and though his word teems with such warnings against the sin, men have not been warned. At one time they call it "the great queen-regent of the world;" at another, "the all-consuming cancer" of the church; at another, her "deadly upas;" at a fourth, “a fatal opiate," while others assure us, that at the best, man is only the heir of a vault, or the lord of a grave. Yet vain are all such exposures. Though it creeps stealthily upon man like grey hairs or dropsy, the conquests of covetousness continue far wider than those of Alexander. The monarch and the menial are alike its slaves. The phlegmatic are covetous, because this freezing sin specially suits their nature; the earnest, because it stimulates; the licentious, because it can pamper; the