zeal for God's glory is a very rare thing. Certain it is, that much of what has been carried on under the authority of this truly sublime phrase, has emanated from a far less hallowed principle. The Gospel has been preached by ministers; places of worship have been built by hearers; distant lands have been visited by missionaries; yea, imprisonment and death may have been sought by martyrs, in some cases, not from pure zeal for God's glory, but under the influence of selfishness. All sorts of artful practices have been supported, all kinds of stormy passions have been indulged, all kinds of injuries have been inflicted,―under the pretence of glorifying God; but which, in fact, are to be ascribed to this disposition. When a man is identified with a party, that party is himself, and what he does for the one, he does for the other.

The same remarks will apply to many of those actions which are performed on the professed ground of regard for the public good. Pure patriotism is a scarce virtue, and is found but rarely in the breasts of those who are loudest in their praises and professions of it. Many a noisy and self-eulogized patriot-many a zealous supporter of public institu tions-many an active reformer of popular errorsmany a liberal contributor to humane or religious societies could their motives be exposed, would be. found to act from no higher aims. than to get a name for themselves, and to be praised by their fellow creatures.

Some indulge this disposition under the pretext of regard for the truth. Attaching an overweening importance to their own opinions, as if they

possessed the attribute of infallibility, overbearing in debate, impatient of contradiction, determined to crush the opinions and resist the influence of those who are opposed to theirs, they quiet their conscience, and silence the voice of remonstrance, with the plea that their vehemence is pure zeal for the interests of truth. They should be less anxious, they say, if it were their personal interest at stake; but they have a right to be earnest, yea, even contentious, in defence of the faith. But they know not themselves, or they would discern that their conduct springs from a proud, imperious, and selfish spirit.

. It is time to contemplate the evil of selfishness." It is a direct opposition to the divine benevolence, and is contrary to the habitual temper of our Lord Jesus Christ, "who pleased not himself." It is the cause of all sin, the opposite of all holiness and virtue; is the source of innumerable other sins, and is placed by the apostle as the head and leader of the eighteen vices which he enumerates as the marks of perilous times, "Men shall be lovers of themselves.". This was the sin which introduced all guilt and misery into the world; for the first transgression, by which Adam fell from innocence, and by which his posterity fell with him, was an effort to raise himself into a state of independence; by selfishness, he laid the world under the burden of the divine condemnation. It is a rejection of all the claims, and an opposition to all the ends and interests, of society; for if all persons were under the influence of predominant selfishness, society could scarcely exist; let each one covet and grasp his own, to the

injury or neglect of the rest, and the world becomes a den of wild beasts, where each ravins for his prey, and all worry one another. This disposition defeats its own end. God has endowed us with social affections, in the indulgence of which there is real pleasure: the exercise of kindness and the enjoyment of delight are inseparable. "If there be any comfort of love," says the apostle: by which he implied, in the strongest manner, that there is great comfort in it; and, of course, in proportion as we extend the range and multiply the objects of our love, we extend the range and multiply the sources of our happiness. He that loves only himself, has only one joy; he that loves his neighbours, has many. To rejoice in the happiness of others, is to make it our own; to produce it, is to make it more than our own. Lord Bacon has justly remarked, that our sorrows are lessened, and our felicities multiplied, by communication. Mankind had been labouring for ages under the grossest mistake as to happiness, imagining that it arose from receiving; an error which our Lord corrects, by saying, “That it is more blessed to give, than to receive." A selfish man who accumulates property, but diffuses not, resembles not the perennial fountain, sending forth fertilizing streams; but the stagnant pool, into which, whatever flows remains there, and whatever remains, corrupts : miser is his name, and miserable he is in disposition. Selfishness often brings a

terrible retribution in this world: the tears of its wretched subject fall unpitied; and he finds, in the gloomy hour of his want or his woe, that he who determines to be alone in his fulness, will generally

be left to himself in his sorrows: and that he who, in the days of his prosperity, drives every one from him by the unkindness of his disposition, will find, in the season of his adversity, that they are too far off to hear his cries for assistance.

This is not an incurable temper; but it is a disease that requires immediate and diligent attention. Where it not only exists but predominates, the spring of human action must be renewed by regeneration, and we must have that new heart, which is brought to love God supremely, and our neighbour as ourselves. We must meditate often upon the deep criminality of this disposition, and look upon it in all its deformity, till we hate it: being careful, in order to this, to strip it of all the disguises which the deceitfulness of the heart has thrown over it. We must abound in contemplation of the character of God, as infinite in love, and of Jesus Christ as an incarnation of pure disinterested affection. We must exercise great mortification, labouring to the uttermost to subdue, and if possible to eradicate, this vile disposition; and repeating this again and again, till we begin to taste the pleasure, and to feel the habit, of kindness: at the same time praying earnestly for the help of the Holy Spirit, to assist us in the mighty work of vanquishing a selfish temper.

CHAPTER XII.

THE UNSUSPICIOUSNESS OF LOVE.

"Charity thinketh no evil."

THERE are two senses which may be attached to this beautiful description of love.

I. It does not devise evil. What a horrible demon-like disposition has the Psalmist ascribed to the individual who has no fear of God before his eyes!" He hath left off to be wise and to do good; he deviseth mischief upon his bed." Such is the delineation given by the inspired writer of the character of some wretched men; and the original is often to be found. They are perpetually scheming to do injury; even their hours of rest are devoted to the impulses of a wicked heart, and they sleep not except they have done mischief. Instead of communing with God upon their bed, this is to commune with the devil, and to hold nightly conference with him who goeth about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. But without going to the extent of those who live by plunder, extortion, or oppression, and who, as the wolves and tigers of society are ever prowling about for their prey, there are many who maintain a