human obfervation, and may be che rifhed without the fear of any temporal punishment. As for theft, tho poverty lays men under ftrong temptations to it, yet none but the most profligate and abandoned wretches have the courage to commit it, because it is a crime of fo flagrant and enormous a nature, and an iniquity to be punished by the judges: but a man may indulge himself in envy, and no body be ever the wifer; he may repine at the felicity of his neighbour, and ftill maintain his character among men, for they cannot tell the fecrets of his heart; or if they fhould by any means discover his envious thoughts, yet they cannot apprehend him for them, or bring him before an earthly judicature.

Again Poverty is a temptation to infidelity for when men are destitute of the neceffaries of life, they are ready to fufpect whether there is a wife and intelligent being who fuperintends human affairs: for if there was, they can't help thinking that he would be more equal in the difpenfation of his favours, and not be fo niggardly to them whilst he is fo liberal to others who are no better, nay, perhaps a great deal worse

than

than themselves. A poor and needy creature will be apt to reason after this manner: "If there is an almighty and

infinitely good being, who has created me, how comes it to pass that he does not provide for me? Whom should he "take care of if not of his own off"foring? If I am his creature, why does "he fuffer me to perish with hunger, cold, and nakednefs? Surely he would "not be more unkind than an earthly CC parent; and yet an earthly parent will "not deny neceffaries to his children: "therefore fince I feel no effects of his bounty, I can hardly believe that "there is fuch a being."

But if poverty does not tempt men to down-right infidelity, and make them call in question the being of God; yet it has a tendency to leffen their regard and reverence for him: for 'tis natural for men to have but little respect for those who treat them with neglect and indifference. Now when perfons are in a poor and low condition, they are ready to imagine that God treats them with neglect, and has little or no concern for them; and therefore they cannot tell how to love him with all their heart, and with all their foul, and with all their ftrength. They leave that to thofe

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those who have received large expreffions of his goodness; but as for themfelves, who have received fo fparingly, they think a small share of love, gratitude and obedience, may fuffice. These are the temptations of poverty. Let us next confider the temptations of riches.

Riches are certainly a temptation to pride and vain-glory; for they bring men out of that obfcurity which is proper to a poor and mean condition of life, and give them fome fignificance and figure in the world. When men have great poffeffions, they are much obferved and difcourfed of, they are courted and careffed by every body; and these things are apt to blow them up into a very high conceit of themfelves, and to make them look down on those who are below them with scorn and contempt.

Again; Riches are a temptation to luxury and prodigality; for they enable men to live fplendidly and voluptuously, and that is very agreeable to the bulk of mankind. Indeed there are fome perfons of a contrary difpofition, who the more they poffefs, the less they will enjoy: but the number of these is small

in comparison: the generality of men are of another humour, and are inclined rather to a profufe and extravagant, than to a fordid and penurious way of living. And it must be acknowledged that riches are a ftrong temptation to luxury: for when we have it in our power to furnish ourselves with a variety of fenfual delights, there is great danger of our running into excefs. Since we have fo much of the animal in our frame, 'tis no wonder that we have fo great a relish of the pleasures of the animal life. Now thefe pleasures offer themselves in the most advantageous manner to rich men, who may purchase them with the greatest ease, and indulge their appetites without controul. Such perfons will therefore be apt to follow Solomon's example; who kept not from his eyes whatsoever they defired, and withheld not his heart from any joy: they will be continually cafting about in their minds how they shall gratify their senfual appetites. When they are glutted with one pleasure, they will be purfuing another; and be running on in a perpetual fearch after new pleasures, till at length their minds are wholly fenN 2

fualized,

fualized, and they have in a manner extinguished the fentiments of religion and virtue. They trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches. Their inward thought is, that their boufes fhall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names; Pfalm XLIX. 6, 1 1.

These are some of the fnares of riches. And the temptation of worldly honours are very near a-kin to them. They alfo tend to puff men up with a vain conceit of themselves, and to hinder their progress in religion, by turning their thoughts another way. Thus we have seen that the things of this world are a great impediment to a religious courfe of life.

If to thefe we add the temptations arifing from evi examples which furround us on every fide; and from that oppofition which wicked men are always ready to make to holiness and virtue, wherever they fee it beginning to take root; it will further appear how extremely difficult it is for a man to preferve his integrity, and to run the way of God's commandments.

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