To the Editor of the INTELLECTUAL REPOSITORY. SOME friends at Wivenhoe desire an explanation of Luke xvi. 9 :"And I say unto you, make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that when ye fail, they [these "friends," that is,] may receive you into everlasting habitations." The spiritual sense can only be clearly seen when the literal sense is rightly apprehended. Our Lord gave a parable in which an unfaithful servant is described as making friends of his lord's creditors when he was about to be discharged, by suffering, or rather inciting them to give bonds for less than they really owed to his master. The appearance was, that he was befriending them, but the reality was, that he was seeking to make friends of a part of the unrighteous gain which he procured for them, hoping to receive it himself in the shape of being received into the habitations of the fraudulent debtors, and there lodged and fed, instead of being driven to the hard alternative of begging or labouring for his living. He sought to "make friends of the unrighteous mammon," that he might be received by these friends into temporary "habitations;" whence our Lord takes occasion to compare his politic proceeding, originating from evil, with the want of true wisdom perceptible in the professed" children of light," who, with a knowledge of the inestimable worth of the "everlasting habitations" of heaven, take little pains to secure them, that is, in the only way in which they can be secured, by making to themselves friends of riches,* spiritual and natural, by a * Mammon is a Syriac word signifying riches. right use of them; instead of making enemies of them by their abuse, in devoting them to the ends of pride and self-gratification. The phrase “mammon of unrighteousness" is the same in its import as unjust riches, and base gain, or "filthy lucre." (Titus i.) It is remarkable in what strong terms our Lord speaks of the danger of worldly wealth, the deceitfulness of riches; and he implies, (Matt. xix. 26.) that so deadly is their illusion, that it would have been impossible for any rich man to surmount it, and be saved, had not salvation been made possible to the rich as well as the poor by the assumption and glorification of Humanity, by which God made all things possible to himself appertaining to human salvation, and thence made "all things possible to him that believeth." (Mark ix. 23.) While man is in an unregenerate state, if he desires gain, it must be for the sake of gain; for not yet believing in the Lord, except, perhaps, formally, he cannot do any thing for the Lord's sake; and every thing done for the sake of self only is polluted with evil. The necessities of our bodily existence compel us to desire gain, and because so few are regenerated, while all must thus from necessity desire gain, therefore this desire with the generality of men is evil, and being so, it defiles its object when acquired, and makes riches-in this state of mind, necessarily misapplied to be as defiled objects in the Divine view, and thence, also, in the view of the spiritually-minded. Thus it appears, that the phrases, sordid gain, filthy lucre, unjust riches, or the mammon of unrighteousness, are justified by the facts of human nature, especially at the end of the church; and it was at the end of the Jewish church that the Lord was speaking. Now it cannot be a matter of doubt, that when riches are loved for their own sake, and not for the sake of the Lord as their true and rightful possessor, they are a curse rather than a blessing; they are enemies rather than friends to man's true well-being. Our Lord counsels the "children of light,"-those who are enlightened in the knowledge of himself,-to make "friends" of their worldly riches, by devoting them to heavenly uses; that when mortal life shall "fail," these "friends" may be the means of introducing those befriended by them into the "everlasting habitations" of heaven, which he places in contrast with the temporary "habitations" sought to be secured by the cunning contrivance of the unjust servant. When these ideas involved in the literal sense are clearly seen and firmly grasped, the spiritual sense, by correspondence, becomes readily perceptible. Man is in an unregenerate state until he is instructed in truth, which, as being the indispensable means of his regeneration, he must needs receive before his unclean loves can be removed. Truths, in the form of knowledges, are spiritual riches. They are at first received in the defiled ground of self, but mixed with somewhat of remains, for the things of the Lord and of man, at this period, are yet to be separated; and when this takes place, truths are then detached from the selfish affections which introduced and adhered to them, and united with goods from the Lord. Hence it is that the spiritual riches of truth, however pure in themselves, are, in their present connection with the defilements of the fall, rendered unclean, exactly answering to "filthy lucre," or the gains of the man who loves gain for the sake of self. Before the dominion of self, in the various forms it assumes, is broken, however opposed truths may be in themselves to self, there must be connected with them the desire to serve self by means of them ;—to promote personal influence—to procure personal honour-or to forward personal views of interest. Every spiritual Christian feels how much he is liable to temptation from these unrighteous tendencies, which seem, at times, almost incurably to defile his intellectual riches, and to turn them into enemies, by bringing him into greater condemnation, through their testimony against him, than if he had remained in the spiritual poverty of ignorance. Hence the Lord encourages every true child of light to make friends of the spiritual riches of Divine knowledge, through the application of them to their purifying purposes. It was noticed above, how dangerous natural riches are while they are in their state of defilement, and not less dangerous are spiritual riches, in their state of defilement. And why? because until, by the right use of them, they are converted into "friends" to our eternal well-being, they must prove our deadliest enemies, by riveting upon us the fetters of faith alone,-faith separate from charity-truth not united with good! The most subtle as well as most dangerous enemy to the church in man, is the propensity to abide in the grievously condemnatory state of faitli alone. Against this propensity every one of the children of light must watch and pray," lest he "fall into temptation." Then will he make "friends" of knowledges even while they are defiled, and these will introduce into his mind, and be succeeded by, pure divine truths, 'everlasting habitations" of good, thus introducing heaven into his soul. Being found faithful in the " 'unrighteous mammon," the true riches" are committed to his trust; and being faithful in using the truths lent to him by the Lord, they became appropriated by union with good, and thus made his own; being found faithful in that which was another man's, (the property of his master, the Lord,) that more interior truth is, in consequence, given to him, which, being united with his ruling love of good his regenerate individuality-becomes his own by 66 66 right use of them; instead of making enemies of them by their abuse, in devoting them to the ends of pride and self-gratification. The phrase “mammon of unrighteousness" is the same in its import as unjust riches, and base gain, or "filthy lucre." (Titus i.) It is remarkable in what strong terms our Lord speaks of the danger of worldly wealth, the deceitfulness of riches; and he implies, (Matt. xix. 26.) that so deadly is their illusion, that it would have been impossible for any rich man to surmount it, and be saved, had not salvation been made possible to the rich as well as the poor by the assumption and glorification of Humanity, by which God made all things possible to himself appertaining to human salvation, and thence made "all things possible to him that believeth." (Mark ix. 23.) While man is in an unregenerate state, if he desires gain, it must be for the sake of gain; for not yet believing in the Lord, except, perhaps,. formally, he cannot do any thing for the Lord's sake; and every thing done for the sake of self only is polluted with evil. The necessities of our bodily existence compel us to desire gain, and because so few are regenerated, while all must thus from necessity desire gain, therefore this desire with the generality of men is evil, and being so, it defiles its object when acquired, and makes riches-in this state of mind, necessarily misapplied—to be as defiled objects in the Divine view, and thence, also, in the view of the spiritually-minded. Thus it appears, that the phrases, sordid gain, filthy lucre, unjust riches, or the mammon of unrighteousness, are justified by the facts of human nature, especially at the end of the church; and it was at the end of the Jewish church that the Lord was speaking. Now it cannot be a matter of doubt, that when riches are loved for their own sake, and not for the sake of the Lord as their true and rightful possessor, they are a curse rather than a blessing; they are enemies rather than friends to man's true well-being. Our Lord counsels the children of light,”—those who are enlightened in the knowledge of himself,-to make "friends" of their worldly riches, by devoting them to heavenly uses; that when mortal life shall "fail," these "friends" may be the means of introducing those befriended by them into the "everlasting habitations" of heaven, which he places in contrast with the temporary "habitations" sought to be secured by the cunning contrivance of the unjust servant. 66 When these ideas involved in the literal sense are clearly seen and firmly grasped, the spiritual sense, by correspondence, becomes readily perceptible. Man is in an unregenerate state until he is instructed in truth, which, as being the indispensable means of his regeneration, he must needs receive before his unclean loves can be removed. Truths, in the form of knowledges, are spiritual riches. They are at first received in the defiled ground of self, but mixed with somewhat of remains, for the things of the Lord and of man, at this period, are yet to be separated; and when this takes place, truths are then detached from the selfish affections which introduced and adhered to them, and united with goods from the Lord. Hence it is that the spiritual riches of truth, however pure in themselves, are, in their present connection with the defilements of the fall, rendered unclean, exactly answering to "filthy lucre," or the gains of the man who loves gain for the sake of self. Before the dominion of self, in the various forms it assumes, is broken, however opposed truths may be in themselves to self, there must be connected with them the desire to serve self by means of them ;—to promote personal influence to procure personal honour-or to forward personal views of interest. Every spiritual Christian feels how much he is liable to temptation from these unrighteous tendencies, which seem, at times, almost incurably to defile his intellectual riches, and to turn them into enemies, by bringing him into greater condemnation, through their testimony against him, than if he had remained in the spiritual poverty of ignorance. Hence the Lord encourages every true child of light to make friends of the spiritual riches of Divine knowledge, through the application of them to their purifying purposes. It was noticed above, how dangerous natural riches are while they are in their state of defilement, and not less dangerous are spiritual riches, in their state of defilement. And why? because until, by the right use of them, they are converted into friends" to our eternal well-being, they must prove our deadliest enemies, by riveting upon us the fetters of faith alone,-faith separate from charity-truth not united with good! The most subtle as well as most dangerous enemy to the church in man, is the propensity to abide in the grievously condemnatory state of faith alone. Against this propensity every one of the children of light must 'watch and pray," lest he "fall into temptation." Then will he make "friends" of knowledges even while they are defiled, and these will introduce into his mind, and be succeeded by, pure divine truths, "everlasting habitations" of good, thus introducing heaven into his soul. Being found faithful in the “unrighteous mammon,” the “true riches" are committed to his trust; and being faithful in using the truths lent to him by the Lord, they became appropriated by union withi good, and thus made his own; being found faithful in that which was another man's, (the property of his master, the Lord,) that more interior truth is, in consequence, given to him, which, being united with his ruling love of good his regenerate individuality—becomes his own by 66 |