most holy faith.”  John tells us that—­“he that believeth that Jesus is the Christ, is the born of God;” and Paul tells us that, not by merit nor by works, but by trust or reliance only, can be formed that state of soul by which man is reckoned just before God.  In these expressions, the apostles only develope their Master’s meaning, when He uses such words as these, “All things are possible to him that believeth:”  “O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?”

 These two words are brought into diametrical opposition in the text,
 so that it branches into a two-fold line of thought

    I. The Christian’s enemy, the World. 
   II.  The victory of Faith.

In endeavouring to understand first what is meant by the world, we shall feel that the mass of evil which is comprehended under this expression, cannot be told out in any one sermon; it is an expression used in various ways, sometimes meaning one thing, sometimes meaning another;-but we will endeavour to explain its general principles—­and these we will divide into three heads; first, the tyranny of the present; secondly, the tyranny of the sensual; and lastly, the spirit of society.

 1.  The tyranny of the present.

 “Christ,” says the Apostle Paul, “hath redeemed us from this present
 evil world;” and again, “Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this,
 present world.”

Let a stress be laid on the word present.  Worldliness is the attractive power of something present, in opposition to something to come.  It is this rule and tyranny of the present that constitutes Demas a worldly man.

In this respect, worldliness is the spirit of childhood carried on into manhood.  The child lives in the present hour—­to-day to him is everything.  The holiday promised at a distant interval is no holiday at all—­it must be either now or never.  Natural in the child, and therefore pardonable, this spirit, when carried on into manhood, is coarse—­is worldliness.  The most distinct illustration given us of this, is the case of Esau.  Esau came from the hunting-field worn and hungry; the only means of procuring the tempting mess of his brother’s pottage was the sacrifice of his father’s blessing, which in those ages carried with it a substantial advantage; but that birthright could be enjoyed only after years—­the pottage was present, near, and certain; therefore he sacrificed a future and higher blessing, for a present and lower pleasure.  For this reason Esau is the Bible type of worldliness:  he is called in Scripture a profane, that is, not a distinctly vicious, but a secular or worldly person—­an overgrown child; impetuous, inconsistent, not without gleams of generosity and kindliness, but ever accustomed to immediate gratification.

In this worldliness, moreover, is to be remarked the gamester’s desperate play.  There is a gambling spirit in human nature.  Esau