is invariably enforced by the commands of our Saviour, and that it is illustrated by the practice of his Apostles and their immediate contemporaries^[2]: and he entreats of all the sincere disciples of Christ, that they will weigh what is written in the balance of the Sanctuary, and not in the balances of this world;-that they will pray earnestly to the "Father of lights" to have, in their search after truth, a single eye to the glory of Him whose they are and whom they ought to serve, and to the extension of His Kingdom--that they will, while they search and pray, have a tender regard both to their own souls; and to those of the Millions of "Jews, Turks, Infidels, and Heretics", whose ignorance and wretchedness they profess to deplore. If in our enquiry into the meaning and extent of our Saviour's words--"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth,"--we should be led to the persuasion that he meant them, and that the Apostles and their companions received them, in their most unrestricted sense; may the Holy Spirit of God enable us to lay firm hold on the most comfortable and consolatory permission thence arising--to cast all our cares upon Him, because we know that He careth for us. All that is, or that can fairly be, claimed, in investigating the question before us, is, that the various precepts and arguments, along with the uniform practice, of our Saviour and his Apostles, be allowed to explain his meaning in this particular instance. I shall, therefore, consider in the first place, the direct Scriptural account of the Principle, to which we have alluded, as it is enforced by precept and illustrated by example; and I shall next consider its important bearing upon other momentous commands, which, without it, are rendered exceedingly difficult, nay, impossible, to be understood and received. I shall then conclude with a few arguments to prove that, if the extension of the spirit of Christ's Kingdom be the proper object of the churches' pursuit, these views are as consonant with reason as they are with revelation.

I. I shall begin with the passage from which the motto is taken. "Lay not up for yourselves" says our Saviour, in his Sermon on the Mount, "treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light; but if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment. Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your Heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you, by taking thought, can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin; and yet I say unto you that even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying--What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (for after all these things do the Gentiles seek;) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof" (Mat. 6. 19, etc.).^[3]

The principal points to be attended to, in the above passage, are,--The importance attached to a "single eye" and the clear declaration of our Saviour, that riches disturb the clearness and simplicity of its vision;--God's care of the lowest of his creatures, and his provision for those which have neither storehouse nor barn;--the inference thence deduced by our Saviour, that he will much more care and provide for those who singly and earnestly seek the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, though they have neither store-house nor barn;--and the source of all our distrust and doubt, clearly intimated in the expression--"O ye of little faith." The parallel passage in St. Luke is almost verbally the same. It is, however, more striking, as it is introduced by a practical warning derived from the conduct of the "rich man",^[4] who cries out, on the contemplation of his security from want,--"Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years", and to whom God replies...--"Thou fool, this night shall thy soul be required of thee; then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided" (Luke 12. 13-14). It also concludes with an exhortation somewhat different from that in St. Matthew. In the latter it is said--"Lay not up"; whereas in St. Luke it is said,--"Sell all that thou hast, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not."

To all arguments drawn from passages of this description, the usual answer is, That the exhortations contained in them are not to be taken literally, but are to be considered merely as loose general statements, strongly, and only in appearance absolutely, made, with a view of producing greater effect. In endeavouring, therefore, to ascertain their true meaning, let us examine the evidence supplied by the remarks and conduct of our Blessed Lord and his Apostles, in those cases which bear upon the point in question.

When the young man came to enquire what good thing he could do to inherit eternal life, after having mentioned several duties, our Lord says,--"Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful, for he was very rich. And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said,--How hardly shall they, that have riches, enter into the Kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God!' And they that heard it said,--'Who then can be saved?' And he said,--'The things, that are impossible with men, are possible with God.' Then Peter said: 'Lo, we have left all and followed thee.' And he said unto them,--'Verily I say unto you, there is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the Kingdom of God's sake, who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting'" (Luke 18. 22-30).

If then this is the judgment of him in whom we believe to be "hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge",--who "Knew what was in man"--who was acquainted with all the secret