Deus propitius esto mihi peccatori !

PROV. xxii. 2.

"The rich and poor meet together: The Lord is the Maker of them all."

SUCH is the constitution of things around us. In our goings out and our comings in, everywhere and in every place, we see it to be so. And if we know not that the Lord is the Maker of us all, that is our foolishness. For besides that in ourselves we are "fearfully and wonderfully made," the operation of the Almighty's hand is nowhere not visible. heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament sheweth his handy work '."

"The

Whatever our estate in life may be, wherever our lot may be cast, whether our lines shall fall in pleasant places, or a goodly heritage shall be denied us, still, all is of God. Every man's situation, every man's vocation in life, if he but look to it diligently and faithfully, and with a holy hope and fear, is over

' Ps. xix. 1.

ruled to good. The Almighty's fostering care is over all, and beneath us are the everlasting arms. As St. Paul spake unto the Athenians on Mars' Hill, "God that made the world, and all things therein, hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation 2."

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Such is the language of the Bible. It teaches us that the different estates of life are God's appointment. High and low, rich and poor, one with another," are his ordering. "He taketh up the simple out of the dust, and lifteth the poor out of the mire; That he may set him with the princes, even with the princes of his people "." Again, "He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble and meek. He hath filled the hungry with good things and the rich he hath sent empty away1.”

But should this disparity of conditions, this ordinance of riches and poverty, lead us to discontent, and repining and grudging if we be not satisfied? Far from it! The will of Heaven is clean otherwise. Hear an Apostle; "Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, aud it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which

2 Acts xvii. 24. 26.

3 Ps. cxiii. 6, 7.

Luke i. 52, 53.

drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows Here, Christian brethren, is no spirit of discontent, but a warning rather. Moreover it is incumbent upon us all, and for our good always, to learn that lesson which St. Paul had learnt: "I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me"."

This is indeed a goodly lesson, for the discontent that is in the world arises from minding earthly things too much, from digging and delving in them to little purpose. We acknowledge not the heavenly witness, that "God is no respecter of persons." This one, it is true, may abound in worldly goods, that one

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Phil. iv. 11-13.

"I remember that Agricola, in his book, 'De Animalibus Subterraneis,' tells of a certain kind of spirits that used to converse in the mines, and trouble the poor labourers; they dig metals, they cleanse, they cast, they melt, they separate, they join the ore; but when they are gone, the men find just nothing done, not one step of their work set forward."—Jer. Taylor, Works, vol. vi. p. 516. Hales of Eaton, in his Treatise "Of Dealing with Erring Christians," quotes the same passage, and nearly in the same words.-Vol. ii. p. 66, ed. 1765, 8vo.

8 Acts x. 34.

may be weighed down by poverty, but the value of their souls is equal. "The rich and the poor meet together the Lord is the Maker of them all."

Now, with these words before us, we may well consider the doctrine of Holy Scripture concerning the several estates of men in the world, which will include their duty to God, "the Maker of them all,” and their duties severally to each other, "made after the similitude of God"."

And here, in the first place, with an eye to doing good, it may be well to mark out who may be considered rich, and who poor; and for this reason, because, when the needy crieth, many a one is apt to think that his circumstances are not such as imperatively bid him open his heart and his purse to his ill-provided brother. There may be then, as there are, some very rich, and some very poor; but, withal, there is a middle class, and this, though poor when compared with the former, is rich when compared with the latter. So that in this sense, the upper and the middle classes may both be considered rich, and they cannot hold their souls excused if they pass by the nakedness of those beneath them. All, in some sort, who have a sufficiency, are rich. Whereas, the

poor are those, who, so to say, are fed by the bounty of heaven. They are such as go forth to their work and to their labour until the evening, eating what is earned by the sweat of their brow. These, whether

'James iii. 9.

tillers of the land, or artizans,-" in some close city pent,”—are severally, without doubt, the poor amongst the people. They live from hand to mouth. Their's and their children's bread depends upon their strength to labour, which is the gift of God. Sickness comes upon them, and they are faint and hungry. Such are the poor, such have that claim upon the resources of others who acknowledge that charity should have its perfect work. The rich are bound to open their hands to these, and, in small degrees, to imitate the Almighty's beneficence, who filleth all things living with plenteousness. And the middle classes "must remember, that whether, in common language, they do or do not pass under the denomination of rich, yet they really are so, with regard to the indigent and necessitous: and that considering the great number which make up this middle rank among us, and how much they mix with the poor, they are able to contribute very largely to their relief, and have in all respects a very great influence over them 1."

These, then, are the rich and the poor, and of each it will be necessary to speak more fully by and by. Meanwhile, they "meet together." As I said, we go forth, and we see it. The poor beggar Lazarus and the lords of the Philistines walk the same soil. The same sun shines alike on the both, the same rain descends from heaven to bless them. Whether the vineyard be Naboth's or Ahab's, the little pearls of

1 See Bp. Butler's Sermon on this text, p. 308.