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A SERMON
PREACHED IN
St. Timothy’s Church,
NEW YORK,
tElje tEfjirti ^utttiap in Anient, 1873,
BY THE
' h r	•
Rev. CHARLES R; H ALE.
PRINTED BY REQUEST.
NEW YOR K. :
American Church Press Co., Printers, 4 St. Mark’s Place.
1874.
"D<5toe an account of C&p §>teftmjcO0f»p.
St. Luke, xvi. 2.
\
Thoughts of a judgment to come may well oc-
cupy the minds of those who, living in a state of
probation, are liable anj^ hour to be called to
enter upon an eternity where change can never be.
Prone as we all are to put such considerations
aside, right well is it for us that the Church in
the Advent season “sings of mercy and judg-
ment,” tells of Christ’s coming in great humility
to redeem, long ages past, tells of His second com-
ing in glorious majesty to be our Judge, a com-
ing which cannot be long delayed and may be
soon. “ Who may abide the day of His coming,
who shall stand when He appeareth?” If .we
judge ourselves we shall not be judged of the
Lord. If we examine our lives and conversa-
tion by the rule of God’s Holy Word, and where-
insoever we perceive we have offended, accuse
and condemn ourselves for our faults with full
purpose of amendment of life, we shall find mer-
cy in that day, for Jesus’ sake.	A
The demand of our text will soon be made tp4
each of us “ Give an account of thy stewardship ;
for thou mayest he no longer steward.” Let us
conceive the question put to each of us now,
could we give in our account with joy ? or would
it not be given in , the case of very many of us,
with deepest shame and grief?
The talents for which we must give account
are the opportunities of all kinds for honoring
Goo and doing good to our fellow men.
But, as a searching inquiry is best conducted
by coming down from generalities to particulars,
let us on the present occasion—putting aside for
the time being the thought of health, strength,
influence, mental abilities—ask ourselves how we
have used, how we are rising, the earthly posses-
sion Goo has put into our hands.
The question is one more important than we
are apt to think. It is our Saviour Himself who
asks, “'If'ye have hot been faithful in the un-
righteous mammon, who will commit to your
trust the true riches?"” The gift of Goo cannot
be pier chased with money, but money not rightly
used may cause us to miss heaven. -	- ::l
It is of our use of the good things of this life
that St. Paul speaks, when he warns us “ Be not
deceived; Goo is notmocked; Ionwhatsbevehia
man sbweth, that shall he also reap:” -	~ :5,
We all admit that whatever we have comes to
us from God. We do not say in words uMy
power and the might of mine hand hath gotten
me this competence which I enjoy.” But though
we admit with our lips that we have nothing
but what we have received from God, and that
all belongs to Him, still to do with* it as He
pleases, while we are but His stewards, do we
say the same in our actions, as in our words ?
How far could any one gather from our use of
our means that we believe at all as we profess to
believe ? Men of the world see Christians give, too
often—too generally—in scant measure, and with
evident want of heartiness. And for the giving of
even so much, and in such way, worldly men are
apt to ascribe to Christians the motives they feel
would influence themselves. Too often the Christ-
ian’s conscience, if honestly appealed to, cannot
but admit, that the motives alleged are, in part at
least, the true ones ; that of the little he has given,
no small portion has been given from motives de-
fective, if not worse, motives of which he does
not himself care to think afterwards, which he
trusts man does not imagine, and which lie vainly
wishes might escape the eye of Him to “ Whom
all hehrts are open, all desires known, and from
Whom no secrets are hid.”6
How seldom can tlie Christian say to himself
4 c This I give back to my Heavenly Father Who
gave it to me, caring not to have men know of my
gift, wishing only to show my love to Him and to
win His approval.
We admit, I say, that all we have comes from
GfoD, and to make ns realize it the better, Goo
sometimes takes away, in a moment, possessions
in the holding of which we felt secure. But
must we force God in His goodness to employ
such means to make us recognize the true posi-
tion in which we stand to Him ? Should we not,
as reasonable creatures, freely and fully own our
dependence upon Him Who made and Who pre-
serves us, and from Whom all good things do
come ? Should the wish ever enter into our minds
to even seem independent of Him Who not only
made and keeps us and all, but when men had
rebelled against Him, gave His only Begotten
Son to redeem us, and by His death give back to
us the life our sins had forfeited 3
How does it become us, being the stewards of
God to use what His bounty has entrusted to us ?
Certainly not as if it were all our own, to ad-
vance our own plans and promote simply our
own interests.
All our time belongs to God. By hallowingeach Lord’s Day as He has bidden ns, we admit
that onr time is His And when we fully admit
this, He grants us His blessing on the days of
the week which He permits us to use in great part
for ourselves. Now let the same principle be ap-
plied to our means as to our time. That this
should be so, we could not only gather by fair
inference, but we are taught it by express words
of our Saviour, “ Give alms of such things as ye
have, and behold all* things are dean unto you.”
Use part of your means religiously for God and
when you have paid Him thus due honor, you
can with a good conscience enjoy with thanks-
giving the gifts of His bounty.
If we duly realized that we owe everything to
God, we should not need a command to give, an
intimation that He would mercifully receive what
we might offer would be sufficient. Just as we
grudge nothing we can do for those we love on
earth, so .would hearts grateful to God for His
goodness gladly give Him what they might give.
In order to test our love to Him, and by exer-
cising to strengthen and deepen this love, God has
seen fit to provide many—almost numberless
ways in which we can so use earthly good things
as to promote His glory. It is for our own good
He has appointed this. He might have caused8
that those who proclaimed His word should be
supported by miracle, instead of ordaining that
“they who preach the Gospel should live of the
Gospel,” that he “ that is taught in the Word
minister unto him that teacheth, in all good
things.” The Christian who grudges to give those
who have sown to him spiritual things a fair share
of worldly things, shows little appreciation of
God5 s goodness in sending the G ospel to him. God
might have provided in other ways, had he seen
fit, for the relief of the poor and needy, but He
has been pleased to permit us to relieve them,
enticing us thereto by most precious promises.
“He that hath pity upon the poor, lendeth unto
the Lord, and look, what he layeth out, it shall
be paid him again.55 “Blessed is the man that
provideth for the sick and needy, the Lord shall
deliver him in time of trouble.55 And our
Saviour tells us, that what we minister to
one of the least of His brethren an hungered,
or athirst, or a stranger," or naked, or sick,
or in prison, he counts as done to Himself.
God might have ordained that we should wor-
ship Him, not in houses set apart for His Name,
but in buildings erected and used for other pur-
poses ; or if we built sanctuaries, that, whatever
our abilities might be, these should be of the9
plainest and least expensive kind—that His wor-
ship should cost us as little as might he. But, on
the other hand, when “ devout and holy men, as
well under the Law as under the Gospel, moved
either Tby the express command of God, or by the
secret inspiration of the blessed Spirit, and acting
agreeably to their own reason and sense of the
natural decency of things, have erected houses
for the public worship of God,” the best that
they could build, such pious works have ever been
“ approved of, and graciously accepted by our
Heavenly Father.”
God has, in His love, permitted that in these and
other ways, we may use our means for Him ; “ not
as though He needed anything,” for “the whole-
world is His and all that is therein.” We should
feel that we have a high honor and privilege con-
ferred upon us in being allowed to do anything
for Him, rather than, as I fear we too often do,
consider it an unwelcome duty to give to Him in
supporting His Church, or helping His poor.
Very often, when we give, we fail of obtaining
all the blessings we might have, through acting
from motives not wrong in themselves, but defec
✓
live. For instance, we give with kindly heart, to
relieve the necessities of the poor, and thus obey
the second part of the law bidding us “ love our10
neighbor as ourselves. But, if all the motives
which should influence us be brought into play,
we should realize that in helping the poor we
were giving to God, and in thus showing honor
to Him, we would keep not merely the second,
but also the first and great commandment “Thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”
, So too, in duly supporting those set over you in
the Lord, let not what you do be a mere business
transaction, fulfilling honorably pledges made,
nor merely an expression of personal kindness
and consideration. All this let it be, but above
all, try to realize that what you do for God’s sake
to His Minister, you do for Him, as Christ said
to His first ambassadors, “ He that receiveth you,
receiveth Me.”
If we felt as we should how blessed a thing it is
that we ar§ permitted to do anything for God, we
should never think “how little dare I give,” but
rather “how much can I give,” we should not
then ask “how can I give without feeling it.”
, And as we commence the week with the Lord’s
day, so should we consider God’s portion of oiir
means the first to be set aside, not providing for
pur own comforts and tastes, then giving to God
pf what is left, if there be any left.11
If we would be good stewards of God’s bounties.,
we should not act on mere impulse. If all set
times for prayer were done away with, should we
be likely to continue prayerful ? If God had not
seen fit to appoint a day for His especial service,,
think you that we should give Him even as
much of our time as we now give on other days
of the week ?
And let us neither give what we give all at
once, as wishing to be through with a distasteful
duty, nor put off as long as we can the discharge of
an obligation we would not fulfil if we could avoid
it. Our Lord does not bid us pray for sufficient to
be given us now, to supply next year’s wants—but
puts into our mouths the words, “ Give us tJlis
day our daily bread. ”s He wishes to keep us in
constant dependence upon Him. So He would
have us delight in finding occasion to give—
would have us give frequently.
St. Paul lays down the rule for the Churches of
Galatia and Corinth, “Upon the first day of the
week, let every one of you lay by in store as
God hath prospered him.” On the spirit of this
rule let us act, if not on its very letter. Let us
from time to time examine our gains and set apart
for God a fair proportion of them. Then, as op-
portunity presents itself, let us use this fund int
God’s service.12
The pledge system, as it is called, is an excel-
lent way of imparting method to onr giving, com-
bining many of the advantages of the subscrip-
tion and the unpledged offering, yet free from
some of their objectionable features.
Let us not be afraid of giving too much. It is
no common fault. If you have not others depen-
dent on you, surely you can deny yourself a little
in order to give. If you have others so depen-
dent, would it not seem like loving father or
mother, wife or child, brother or sister, more than
God, to spend well nigh all on the objects of your
earthly affection, to keep little for Him Who
most of all deserves your love ?
Could we not all give a tenth of our incomes
and yet give little enough ?
Offering to God a tithe was the practice of good
men even before the giving of the law. Abra-
ham gave tithes to Melchisedec, Priest of the
Most High God ; Jacob vowed at Bethel “Of
all that Thou givest me, I will surely give a tenth
to Thee. ’ 5 The Jews were required by the law to
give a tenth of their gains for religious uses, and
including all their offerings, gave far more.
True, in the Christian Church the law of tithes
no longer exists as a law. Yet let us not use
liberty as a cloak for covetousness. St. Augus-13
tine tells us we should set apart for God something
from our gains, and that a tenth is but a small
proportion. He reminds us of the words of the
Pharisee “I give tithes of all I possess,” and
that our- Loud declared ‘ ‘ Except your righteous-
ness exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and
Pharisees, ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of
heaven.” And then he asks, and the question
is a most pertinent one, “If he whose right-
eousness you are to exceed give a tenth, how can
you be said to exceed him whom you do not so
much as equal ? ”
It is not necessary to give much to win the
world’s approval; indeed if we give freely worldly
men will be apt to set it down as foolishness.
But it is a small thing to be judged of mail’s
judgment.
The day will soon come when the Master
whose stewards we are shall say to each of us
“Give an account of thy Stewardship.”
When our account is rendered, may we each
hear from His lips the plaudit, “Well done,
good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful
over a few things, I will make thee ruler over
many things ; enter thou into the joy of thy
Lord.”