A Warning to the Rich
(1 Timothy 6:17–19)

1As for you that are rich: weep, and lament the miserys that are falling upon you. 2your wealth is wasted, your wardrobe is devour'd by the worm, 3and your gold and silver by rust: that rust shall convict you: that rust shall corrode your flesh like a caustic, which you have treasur'd up against the last days. 4hark! what a noise there is of hire, of which you cheated the labourers, who gather'd in your harvest! the cries of the reapers have reach'd even the Lord of the celestial militia. 5you have liv'd on the earth in voluptuousness and luxury: you have indulg'd your selves as in a day of sacrifice: 6you have condemn'd the just, you have put him to death, though he did not oppose you.

Patience in Suffering

7As for you, my brethren, bear your sufferings with constancy, till the advent of the Lord, the farmer, from the prospect of a golden crop, patiently expects the showers of the spring and the autumn. 8be you equally patient, and exercise your fortitude, for the advent of the Lord is nigh. 9don't repine, my brethren, against one another, for fear you should be condemn'd, behold, the judge is at the gate. 10let the prophets, my brethren, who were commission'd by the Lord, be your examples; suffer persecution with constancy like them. 11we pronounce those happy, who have so endur'd, you have heard of the constancy of Job, you know with what success he was crown'd by the Lord, who is all mercy and compassion.

12Above all things, my brethren, don't swear, neither by the heaven, nor by the earth, nor use any other oath; but let your affirmation, or negation, be sincere, lest you fall under condemnation.

The Prayer of Faith

13Is any among you afflicted? let him pray, is his mind serene? let him sing psalms. 14Is any of you sick? let him send for the pastors of the church, to pray for him, and after giving him the unction, in the name of the Lord, 15the prayer that proceeds from faith, shall save the sick; the Lord will raise him up, and his sins that may have been the occasion, shall be forgiven. 16confess then to one another the offences you have committed, and pray for one another, that you may be healed; the fervent prayer of a virtuous man has great influence. 17Elias was only a man, as we are; however, having ardently prayed, that it might not rain, it did not rain in that country for three years and a half: 18then be pray'd again: the heavens sent its showers, and the earth push'd out its fruit.

Restoring a Sinner

19My brethren, when any of you deviates from the truth, whoever sets him right, may be assured, 20that the retrieving of a sinner from his erroneous habits, is saving a soul from ruin, and cancels a multitude of sins.