A SERMON.

MAKE TO YOURSELVES FRIENDS OF THE MAMMON OF UNRIGHTEOUSNESS; THAT, WHEN YE FAIL, THEY MAY RECEIVE YOU INTO EVERLASTING HABITATIONS.-LUKE XVI. 9.-(From the Gospel for the Ninth Sunday after Trinity.)

I TRUST that it is unnecessary for me to attempt to vindicate myself, in this place, for endeavouring to elucidate a somewhat difficult passage of God's Word. There are many persons, doubtless, who are better pleased by what they think "more profitable" discourse, on plain and uncontroverted texts, but believing, as we do, that "every word of God is pure," and profitable, too, "for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness," we should hardly be justified in seeking out just what

seemed to us, the more plain and practical, and systematically overlooking the rest.

Concerning

It is a text which has come down to us without any Catholic interpretation. most parts of the New Testament, we cannot be considered as left to the exercise of our own ingenuity; we are not at liberty to display our individual acuteness in discovering meanings we are able to say how the whole Church Universal, from the very beginning, has interpreted the general Christian Scriptures; nevertheless, there are passages of Holy Writ, concerning which, no uniform Catholic interpretation has been transmitted; and our text seems to be one of them. Many and widely different have been the opinions of intelligent and gifted expositors, as to its real meaning,— but not only has the Church uttered no authoritative opinion about it, but her judgment cannot be gathered, as it oftentimes may, from incidental notices of the Fathers of different ages, nor from the general teaching of the Priesthood; (which last is, with the many, one of the safest and most practically useful forms in which the

Among these

Catholic truth is recognised.) diverse opinions of the expositors, there seems, if I might venture to say so, the uniform fault, of attempting to fix the meaning from the mere force of the words, too much apart from the consideration of the general drift of our Lord's teaching in the preceding chapters. A close attention to this might, perhaps, furnish the clue to the true interpretation. It would here be impossible to detail and examine the variety of explanations which have been given by doctors and commentators. Many of them only differ in some unimportant minutiæ, - and taken altogether, they may, perhaps, be divided into two distinct classes, which, for the sake of clearness, we will call the Romish and Protestant interpretations. We will confine our examination to these two distinct views.

"Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations." The language, of course, is highly figurative and the questions necessary to be decided are these:-Who are the persons addressed? Who

are the "friends spoken of, as so important to be gained? What is the "mammon of unrighteousness?" What the meaning of " when ye fail?" And what are the "everlasting habitations?"

Now, Romish interpreters reply to these questions thus:-The persons addressed, are the CHRISTIAN Church. The "friends," are the SAINTS in glory. The "mammon of unrighteousness," the RICHES and goods of this present world. To "fail," to DIE. And the " everlasting habitations," the blessedness of a FUTURE STATE.

On the other hand, likewise, the common Protestant interpretation is-That the persons addressed are the Christian Church; and the

mammon of unrighteousness," the riches and goods of this present world; and, that "to fail," is to die; and the "everlasting habitations," future blessedness: and the expression, "make to yourselves friends," is taken to be merely a figurative way of saying, “make a good use of" riches, and the like. So, then, the Romish meaning of the text would stand thus: Secure to yourselves the friendship and the prayers of the saints, by a suitable distribution

of your worldly property, that when you come to die, they may be waiting to receive and conduct you, at once, to blessedness.' And the Protestant interpretation might stand thus : 'Make a charitable distribution of your riches, and so your liberal alms doings may turn to a good account hereafter; and when you come to die, may be causes of your greater acceptance with God, and everlasting happiness.' There are of course various modified ways of expressing these two interpretations; but unless I greatly err, they are substantially what I have set them forth. Of the two, perhaps, the former seems the better, and more complete, viewed only as an interpretation, as it is simpler and more literal, affording a tangible and much less doubtful meaning to the term "friends;" for it seems better to refer it at once to the "saints," than to suppose it a figurative representation of the good consequences of our good works.*

* One modification of the Protestant exposition makes the benefitted POOR, to be the "friends" alluded to. I only mention this, as proof of the felt unsatisfactoriness of the other interpretation; not as supposing that this very far-fetched hypothesis has any real plausibility. It is rather too large an assumption, that the relieved poor,—as such,— will have the possession, necessarily, of the heavenly kingdom, much less the disposal of it to others.