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TEE
DIVINE LAW OF BENEFICENCE;
ZACCHEUS,
OR
THE SCRIPTURAL PLAN OF BENEVOLENCE;
AND
THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH,
OR
SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.








THE DIVINE
LAW OF BENEFICENCE
BY R,EV. PARSONS COOKE,
LYNN, MASSACHU SET"r.
Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he saidjIt is more blessred;" give than to receive.-ACTS 20: 35.
PUBLISHED BY THE
AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY,
150 NASSAU-STREET, NEW YORK.




CONTENT S.
I. God's design in requiring beneficence.... 
II. The Old Testament law of charity,...    12
III. The New Testament law of charity,.... 19
IV. Law of periodical alms-giving, 1 Cor. 16: 1  d,  27
V. Reasons for compliance with the law,.... 51
1. It is one of the most important means of grace,  51
2. This system of benevolence tends to thrift,.. 66
3. The superior efficiency of this system,      7.5
4. Example of the primitive church,....  78
Conclusion,........... 84




THE DIVINE
LAW OF BENEFICENCE,
I. GOD'S DESIGN IN REQUIRING BENEFICENCE.
GOD is not dependent on us for the support of his
poor. He could have so diffused the gifts of his prov.
idence as to have had no poor. Or he could so have
fitted our frames to the world, and the world to them,
that all the elements of human life and comfort would
have been as abundant and free as air and water, so
that, like the lilies of the field, the whole human
race might meet every want without toil or spinning;
and he might have published his gospel to every
creature without our aid. He might have made his
angels, in another sense, "ministering spirits, sent
fobrth to minister to the heirs of salvation." Or he
might have written out the whole on the face of the
heavens, and made them in a higher sense "declare
the glory of God;" and made it in a higher sense true,
that " their line is gone out through all the earth."
He does not ask us to do this work or that, because
of any dependence on us. He says, " Every beast of




6           LAW OF BENEFICENCE.
the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand
hills. If I were hungry I would not tell thee, for
the world is mine and the fulness thereof:"
Whatever necessity there is of our agency he
has purposely laid, in the present arrangement of
things, for our good.  His benevolence could have
reached its object without our concurrence, if it had
not made us also its object, and formed the design of
blessing us in its course by enlisting us as coworkers.
He knew that it was " more blessed to give than to
receive." And when he put in motion the broad
mechanism of his mercy, he put upon it laws of action
and reaction, and made the work of heavenly charity,
in all its branches, twice blessed —blessing him that
gives, and him that takes. He laid on us a necessity
of cultivating benevolent affections. If we could so
arrange one's circumstances, and throw around him
such influences, as to keep him habitually and constantly giving to the poor-if we could attach to him
dependent relatives, or in some other way bring to
act upon him a constant succession of calls that he
would not resist, we should bring him under the best
means of cultivating benevolent dispositions; and
this is what God does with us, in laying on us this
necessity of giving alms.
The fact that he could have published the gospel
and fed his poor without us, while he could not, without our concurrence in giving, secure to us the blessedness which attaches to those that give, indicates




'GOD'S DESIGN.                7
that his main design in laying on us the necessity
of giving, was to give scope to our benevolent affections. For this end he has ordained that we shall
have the poor with us always, in so many forms of
human distress besetting our path, pleading at the
bar of our conscience for the forth-puttings of that
charity which is the high excellence of our nature.
Yea, he has placed all the interest which we have in
evangelizing the world on such a footing, that it will
advance no further than his redeemed people pour
forth the means of its advance; that in that forthpouring the church may take in those riches of grace
in which the whole work of redemption has its termination. In other words, he will not have the evangelizing of the world advance faster than the sanctifying of his church; and will sustain a reciprocal
action between the two, advancing together.
Nor do we exaggerate in presenting this as the
main ground of what necessity there is for almsgiving; for all the ends of redemption accomplished
upon man are comprehended in his renovation from
a state of supreme selfishness to that of perfect benevolence; and if we should say that all these occasions
for benevolent action were created for the sole purpose of furnishing means of exercising men to benevolence, we should not make the means disproportionate to the end.  The whole work of Christ, his
humiliation, ministry, death, resurrection, and mediatorial government, the whole work of his gospel and




8          IVLAW OF BENEFICENCE.
his Spirit, and all the enforcements of his providence
look to this end. We speak therefore not without
warrant, when we say that all the human suffering
that now pleads for human charity, and all the
heathen darkness that lingers upon the nations for
human benevolence to enlighten, is suffered to exist,
among other purposes, as a means of developing
Christian character.
But let none imagine that the necessity for giving
alms is on that account the less real. Divine wisdom has appointed it, and made it as unchangeable
and imperious as if God himself were bound by it.
The poor that God has cast upon the charity of men
will inevitably suffer and die, if men do not feed
them. The people that are perishing for lack of
vision will continue to perish, until Christian men
convey to them the light of life. God will not lay
this work on men for wise reasons, and then send
down his angels to take it out of their hands.  It is
by establishing such an order of things, and sustaining it after he has established it, that he gives reality
and force to the motives to benevolence, and to the
means of drawing out and strengthening benevolent
affections. And all his purposes to secure the sanctification of his people and the whole ends of his
redemption, will lead him to an inflexible support of
this order of things.
The sum of the matter thus far is this, that God
throws on us his poor, for the purpose of enriching us.




GOD'S DESIGN.                9
He sends the poor, as the representative of himself,
and of the cause of his gospel, out to begging of us, and
so, as it were, repeats the act of his humiliation, that
the din of their solicitations ever sounding in our ears,
and the sighs of a ruined world borne on every breeze,
may draw forth from us those benevolent emotions
and acts that shall more and more assimilate us to
him " who, though he was rich, yet for our sakes became poor." God takes the place of man: in his poor
he asks, and man bestows; that in bestowing, man
may accumulate the true riches-more precious than
gold, which perishes. It is God himself who asks;
and our enriching with grace is the end for which
he asks. He asks in the only way in which he c6uld
test and exercise our benevolence. For this purpose
he must needs ask as a beggar, and not as a king.
Should he come to us in regal splendor or heavenly
glory, his asking would be a command, which we
should not dare to disobey; but our giving would be
no act of compassion or benevolence. But now he
comes to us in the person of his poor-he comes as
the king dethroned and dependent-banished from
heaven, covered with rags, pining in want-he comes
uttering the tale of misery and real suffering, unless
w-e afford relief. And now what we give is given
by the promptings of compassion, and from no sordid motives. Here is both a proof and exercise of
benevolence. Yet, to enforce his calls, he gives us
to know that it is He that speaks and pleads for




]0          LAW OF B ENEFICENCE.
compassion, through the open wounds and uttered
agonies of dying men; and that every donation shall
be acknowledged by him in person when he shall
come in the glory of his Father, with all the holy
angels, and say to every one who has exercised compassion on his poor, "Inasmuch as ye did it unto
one of the least of these, ye did it unto me." It
is not for his good but ours, that he thus beggars
himself, and pleads as a beggar before us.  "Our
goodness extends not to him." A wise father often
draws out the dispositions of his child by bestowing
gifts and then soliciting a portion in return, or getting
proxies to solicit for him, anxious to open the child's
heart to an expansive generosity.  So Christ clothes
himself in rags and casts himself on our compassion,
for no purpose so much as to give us the reflex benefit of our own benevolent acts.
And here we wish it to be specially remarked, that
this design appears prominent in the manner in which
the duty of alms-giving is inculcated in Scripture.
Like the other graces, this charity seems to be insisted onfor its own sake-not because there is so much
suffering to be relieved, but because it is good and
right for us to engage in its relief.  God will have
us give, not of necessity, but from the spontaneous
flowings of the heart. " Every man according as he
purposeth in his heart, so let him give: not grudgingly, or of necessity; for God loveth a cheerful
giver."  Almost in every instance, you will observe,




GOD'S DESIGN.                11
the duty is enforced from higher grounds than the
fact that here is so much suffering to be relieved. In
one case'we are exhorted to " do good and communicate, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased."
In another, we are prompted to remember " the grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, though he was rich,
yet for our sakes became poor."  In another, the
parity of reason drawn from the other graces is urged'
"Therefore as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and
utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and
in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace
also." In another case it is, "Freely ye have received, freely give." In another, " Give alms of
such things as ye have, and all things shall be clean
unto you," as if charity were the centre in which all
virtues meet.  When the poor Christians at Jerusa
lern were in great suffering, and the apostles went
round to solicit relief of Gentile churches, their inspired letters, sent here and there, contained no rhetorical painting of the distresses to be relieved.  In
all that they said, there appears next to nothing
adapted to draw upon the natural sympathies. In
this work they seem to be laboring with a single eye
to the sanctification of the Christians of whom they
asked relief-as if no relief was wanted.  The fact
that God was to be glorified, and the hearts of men
were to be sanctified, was their main argument. One
of the most distinct references to the distress was
this: " For the administration of this service not only




12         LAW OF BENEFICENCE.
supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant
through many thanksgivings to God."  And here
the revenue of praise to God is the great consideration absorbing the other.
Now, for a right appreciation of the views which
we are to present, this fact, that man's sanctification
for the glory of God is the main design of the scriptural provisions for alms-giving, and the main thing
aimed at in the methods in which the Scriptures
inculcate the duty, should be kept well in view; for
by overlooking it we have lost a principle that is
the key to the understanding of this portion of the
Scriptures.
II. THE OLD TESTAMENT LAW OF CHARITY
From the foregqing remarks, it may appear that a
habit of charitable giving holds a higher place in the
divine method for saving a lost world, than most have
realized; and the Christian who is wont to ask,
"Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" may be
expected to go to the Scriptures, not to find there the
vague doctrine that he ought to be occasionally generous, and generally charitable, but something that
will inform him why, and how he shall do it. And
he will find that, both in the Old Testament andl in
the New, it is made a matter of distinct command,
not that we shall do occasional acts of benevolerhce,
when thee appeal is too strong to be resisted, or the




OLD TESTAMENT LAW.               13
public sentiment allows of no evasion, but that we
shall enter upon a series of periodical acts of selfdenial for the good of others; and thus sustain a system and fixed habits of giving   Whatever diversity
there may be between the 014 Testament and the
New, they agree in this, that both, by express precept, require habits of' periodical appropriations from
our income to sustain religion and feed the poor.
And they require that the habit of doing this should
be as much a part of the character of the children of
God, as the habit of prayer. They require a man
not simply to hold himself in a position to be as it
were forced to give now and then for the relief of
distress, but to enter on the formation of an active
character of beneficence, by keeping in constant flow
a stream of bounties, lesser or larger, in proportion
to his means.
Alms-giving did not originate with the Mosaic
economy. There appears to have been a standing
custom of giving gifts for religious ends, as an act of
homage to God and benevolence to man, long before
the Mosaic system was framed. Abram gave tithes
to Melchizedek, the priest of the most high God.
The custom is fully recognized in the book of Job.
Jacob at Bethel vowed to give a tenth.  And the
principle of giving gifts under religious obligation is
doubtless as ancient as religion itself-coeval with
that of sacrifices in the family of Adam. And this
may account for the early and wide diffusion which




14          LAW OF BENEFICENCE.
it had among all heathen nations.  And though
neither the customs of the patriarchal ages, nor the
institutions of Moses are binding on us, they may
serve to illustrate God's general plan of dealing with
his people. He having his chosen nation before him
in the wilderness, and about to enter upon the land
flowing with milk and honey, put them under such
laws as might bind them, as far as laws could bind,
to a periodical series of acts that would counterwork
their selfishness, foster their sense of dependence, and
cultivate their love to God and man.  These laws
are found inwoven with the Mosaic ritual; and in
their general design they concur with the New Testament law of charity. They required gifts to be
made at stated times, often recurring, to insure the
formation of the habit, and not to let the heart, opened by one gift, have time to close up before it opened
for the next.
As to the amount required, there was as much
definiteness as was needful to guide to a generous
result, and as much as consisted with the other ends
of the requirement; while room was left for the heart
and conscience to play between different degrees of
generosity.  The nature of an act of charity requires
some liberty of determining when and how much to
give. If our Lord, after the purchase of our redemption, had written and hung out upon the skies a
tariff adjusting each one's tax for charities to his
inlcomlle, so that he might see at a glance that his




O-LD TESTAMENT LAW.             15
Redeemer required him to give just so many dollars
and cents, he would have brought the requirement
down to bind the conscience. But he would have
constructed a system  of taxation, rather than of
charity. That would have changed the whole nature of the duty, and its whole influence upon the
heart.
Two things were required in the law of charity:
the terms must be specific enough to guide us to a
course of habitual and generous giving; and they
must be indefinite enough to allow us to show our
heart, and give exercise to our love to God and man
in what we give. And these ends were provided for
in the Hebrew economy.  The lawgiver seemed to
have designed to set God's mark on the most common articles of property; so that while employed in
his fields and with his flocks, and in gathering his
harvests, each one should be constantly reminded of
God's claims, and of his own obligation and dependence.
In the first place, each one was required to give
the first fruits both of his flocks and of his field.
The first fruits of the harvest were by custom a sixtieth part of the whole.  Then money was to be paid
as the ransom of the first-born male child. Then iri
reaping, the corners of the field were to be left for
the poor; here also custom defined the requirement
to be a sixtieth of the whole. Then whatever fell
from the reaper's hand belonged to the poor  Then




1 6         L LAW O F BENEFIE N NC E.
every seventh year all the fields were to be left untilled, to produce spontaneously for the poor. Then
a tenth of all the products of' the fields was to be
given to the Levites. Then there were trespassofferings, sin-offerings, and specified portions of most
of the sacrificed animals devoted to the priesthood
and Levites. Then every seventh year all debts
must be remitted; and the three yearly journeys to
Jerusalem, which were required of all the males, at
the festivals, must have been no small tax.  Added
to these were the half shekels for the sanctuary, and
abundant hospitalities and gifts for the poor. So
that a conscientious Hebrew could hardly have spent
less than one-third of his income in religious and
charitable gifts.
Nor did this generous charity hinder the secular
thrift of the people. It was so adapted to their welfare, spiritual and temporal, and so sustained in the
providence of God, that the people were prosperous
or straitened in proportion as they obeyed or disobeyed
this law.  When they honored the Lord with their
substance, and the first fruits of all their increase,
their barns were filled with plenty. When they
robbed God in tithes and offerings, they soon found
that they had robbed themselves. And both in giving such a law, and in its providential enforcement,
God impressively taught that he would have his
people respond to his gifts by large and systematic
outlays from them. Call this law, if you please, one




OLD TESTAMENT LAW.              17
of the rigors of the Hebrew economy which Christ
has set aside. It rigorously bound that people to
that course for the attainment of their highest good.
It was really no burden, except when their transgressions involved them in the penalties of the breach
of it.
The specific provisions of the tithe system have
now vanished with the whole fabric of Hebrew institutions; but the end for which it was framed has
never for a moment departed from the mind of the
Framer, and the general obligation to extend religion
and feed the poor, by freewill offerings, was far from
being set aside in the more full unfolding of the
mercy of God in the gospel. In displacing the ancient ritual with a simpler and nobler economy, the
gospel has given vastly higher enforcements to what
was of moral and permanent obligation in the Hebrew religion; and this is preeminently true of the
substance of the ancient law of charity. Before the
frame of Judaism was reared, the requirement for
man to love God with all his heart, and his neighbor
as himself, was recorded on tables of stone, to stand
unobliterated for all ages. Then came in Judaism,
specifically defining in what forms that love should,
under such institutions, have expression. But when
Judaism passed away, the original law stood unimpaired, and the gospel came in, specifying other forms
of expressing this love.
On the basis of the original law of love, the gospel
Law of Benef.




1is        LAW OF BENEFICENCE.
lays another specific law of alms-giving. The temple
and its costly apparatus, its sacrifices and its army
of priests are set aside, and with them many of the
occasions for the gifts prescribed. But the provisions of the gospel bring in vaster occasions for the
employment of the grateful ofierings of redeemed
sinners. The command to publish the gospel to
every creature, and to feed the poor which we are to
have with us always, brings upon the Christian
world occasions as great and urgent as those of the
old economy; nor is there any intimation or ground
of inference that the gifts of pious men under the
gospel were to be more stinted than before. If the
principle announced by Christ, that to whom much
is given, of him will much be required, is applicable,
a much more generous charity is required of us.
There were many things in Judaism adapted to
narrow the range of charity. It confined the view
to one small nation, as the field of all benevolent
operations. It gave no hint of the conversion of the
world as a present duty. And yet, if a good man's
charity, confined to such nariow bounds, was expected to consume one-third of his income, can less be
expected of us whose charity is bound to embrace
the world?  Not that the poorest of us are required
to give as much; but taking men of all conditions,
who shall say that our average ought not to be as
great?




NEW TESTAMENT LAW.              19
[II. THE NEW TESTAMENT LAW OF CHARITY.
Before we come to the direct inquiry, as to what
is the specific law of the New Testament on this
subject, it may be well to see how the law of gospel
love, as written in the hearts of the first Christians,
expressed itself in their conduct. In other words,
we will notice the effects produced on the church, in
this particular, by the setting aside of the Hebrew
law; and watch the motions of the first converts to
Christianity, and see if they understood the New
Testament law of charity as requiring less than that
of the Old. Charity, in the form of gifts to the
needy, because it was a prime element of Christian
character, was made one of the most prominent traits
in those specimens of that character that were first
given to the world. There was no result of the first
outpouring of the Spirit, after Christ's ascension,
which the historian records with more of zest and
delight, than the remarkable spirit of individual
sacrifice for the good of the whole.  On no other
trait of character does he so much expand his description. And after an interval of two chapters, he
returns to it again, and gives us other particulars, as
if here were one of the most surprising phenomena
o'f the whole. But this was a specimen of Christian
character in its first formation. And would any one
gather from it, that the law of charity had contracted its compass in passing over from Judaism to




20          LAW OF BENEFICENCE.
the gospel; or that the spirit of love breathed less
freely in the heart of a redeemed sinner under the
clearer light and intenser quickening power of the
new covenant?
But a common misconception here intervenes, and
robs us of the practical instruction of this luminaus portion of Christian history.  Most Christians,
in determining their own duty, are wont to lay this
wholly out of view, in the conceit that it is an
instance of the practice of the community system,
and of course impracticable for them. And it may
be worth the while to devote a few paragraphs in
rescuing this instructive portion of history from this
perversion. If, by the community system, we understand the relinquishment of all private property, and
consolidating the goods of all in a common stock,
nothing like that resulted from the pentecostal revival.
This appears from the fact, that the sequel of the
history speaks of these and other Christians as being
in possession of their private property after these
scenes had passed away, and it gives us no trace of
the common stock, nor of its managers, nor of any
community of people gathered around it. Afterwards, Christians are casually spoken of as having
their own houses, here and there, like other people;
as in the case of Mary the mother of John, Tabitha,
Simon the tanner, and Lydia. Nor did Paul think
of a community system when he said, "If any provide not for his own, and especially for those of' his




NEW TESTAMENT LAW.               21
own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse
than an infidel."
We have, then, no reason to believe that there
was here a melting down of all individual property
into a common mass, to be controlled by managers
of the common fund; but that in laying the foundations of Christian institutions in the mother church
at Jerusalem, and in meeting the wants of multitudes of strangers detained there long beyond their
expectations, those Christians who had property submitted it to the free use of the whole, as far as the
existing occasion required.  This limitation is expressly inserted. " Distribution was made unto every
man according as he had need;" but there was not
an alienation of property beyond the present need.
There was no actual formation of a common stock;
but, for a limited time, there was a subsistence of the
strangers upon the freewill offirings of those at home
in Jerusalem. Peter, after this mode of action had
been in use, makes an express acknowledgment of
each one's right of property, by saying to Ananias,
"While it remained, was it not thine own; and after
it was sold, was it not in thine own power?" The
assertion that they "had all things common," had a
parallel in this Pythagorean proverb, "With friends
all things are common." But the Pythagoreans did
not mean by this, that among friends each one had
not his own wife, children, property, profession, and
business. Nor does the community of those first




22          LAW OF BENEFICENCE.
Christians exclude such distinctions. The historian
says, " Neither was there any among them that
lacked; for as many as were possessed of lands sold
them, and brought the prices of the things that
were sold, and laid them down at the apostles' feet;"
but to show that the sale of possessions went no
further than the wants of those that " had need,"
and that it was not a general and entire alienation
of property, one person is named who actually gave
up all, and one who pretended to have done it. One
would not have been thus named, if the same had
been done by all.
It is not asserted, then, that all gave up all their
property, but that all subjected their property to a
free use, so far as the existing occasions required.
This fully justifies the broad terms of the historian.
In a like sense, the disciples were said to have left
all and followed Christ. Yet they neither alienated
their estates, nor dissolved their families. For after
that, Christ went to Simon's house, and found his
family, even to his wife's mother, in it. After that,
he taught in Peter's ship, and committed his mother
to John's adoption and support-an act unmeaning,
if John had no separate family nor means of support.
And, after his death, the disciples seem to have returned to fishing in their own ships. Indeed, neither
here nor in any other scripture, can we find a shred
of a warrant for a community of goods. Such a system would nullify the whole law of alms-giving;




NEW TESTAMENT LAW.               23
fobr, how can they exercise themselves in giving alms
who have no property to give?
That development of the spirit of Christian charity,
which was one of the greatest wonders of the pentecostal scene, was then no abnormal condition of the
church, no production of a peculiar and temporary
policy, but the natural unfolding of the Christian
spirit, under the quickening influence of the Holy
Ghost. It was nothing more than what would be
required of all Christians, in the same circumstances. It was alms-giving, occupying the due
relative position among the other Christian graces.
It seems wonderful to us, because so strange to
our present habits, so above our low conceptions of
the duty. It involves no principle which cannot
be shown to be universally binding. And as we
pass from Hebrew institutions over into the first
practice of Christian alms, we not only come into
the sphere of a more expanded charity-a charity
well escaped from confinement to a single nation,
and going forth to embrace the world-but also find
ourselves in a centre of light as to the duty in question.
In the first place, this example, vindicated from
misconception, shows by what tenure the Christian
holds his property. While those Christians had possessions of property, they had them "as though they
possessed not." Each felt that he had no claim to
his own which could bar the claim of Christ. And




24          LAW OF BENEFICENCE.
he let Christ fully into his houses, and lands, and
possessions, as far as the need of his people would
carry him. Here we have the germ of the all-pervading principle of Christian alms. That principle
makes every holder of property a steward, not an
original owner. That principle was here set up, in
the first setting up of the Christian church, claiming
deference as a fundamental law of Christ's kingdom,
in the whole work of raising supplies for the sacra
mental host of God's elect, in the conquest of the
world. And if this principle could now fully reassert its dominion in every Christian heart, both the
church and the world would soon be transformed.
New force would be given to the law of love in all
its ramifications. Let professed Christians feel that
they hold their property only as stewards, bound at
any time to surrender it when the wants of the poor
or of the church are such that the general good
requires the surrender, and the church will speedily
come in possession of the means for every conquest.
Let all, then, who have perplexities and cases of
conscience about the right use of property, come and
solve all doubts, by adopting the simple principle ot
those first Christians, and have "as though they
possessed not."
Another point of instruction in the example of the
early Christians is, that the exigencies of the church,
and of a spreading gospel, are not second to those
of suffering humanity in their claims on charity.




NEW TESTAMENT LAW.               25
The occasion for the pentecostal contributions was
chiefly religious. Those converts were no paupers,
nor beggars, but rather learners of the gospel, for
the instruction of the world. They had come up to
the annual festival of ingathering, as usual, with
sufficient provision for their return. But, having
themselves been gathered in, they found unexpected
occasions to protract their tarrying.  It was needful
that they should " continue steadfastly in the apostles'
doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and
in prayers."  Those were most busy and important
days. For there were the germs of the church for
a thousand cities and villages, sprinkled over the
world.  Jerusalem  was the only centre of light
where they could get the instruction and furniture
of mind which they needed, to become radiating
centres wherever they went. And the interests of
the whole Christian cause required that these first
Christians should tarry at Jerusalem long enough
to get adequate instruction, and the baptism of the
spirit of the gospel.  For, at that time, all the
Christianity in the world was there. Not a word
of it had been written; not a preacher of it had
gone anywhere else. And all these Christians must
there abide, till they got an adequate idea of what
they were to communicate to the world. Theso
interests, in such hearts, being paramount to all
others, extinguished, so far as any had need, all private claims to property.  This first and sublime




26          LAW OF BENEFICENCE.
instance of almns-giving, in the organized Cnhristian
church, was an instance of alms given for religious
ends-for the spread of the gospel.
This instance also shows what a high position religious charity holds amnong other Christian'duties
These men, after embracing religion in its transforming power, and then in its outward ordinances,
are said to have attended to Christian instruction,
prayer, and fellowship. And the next thing said of
them is, that among these prime duties of the Christiain life they exercised this remarkable liberality.
This duty is not located out on some remote branch
or twig of the system; where our habits have placed
it, but in the very heart and centre. And it is dwelt
upon, and repeated by the historian, as one of the
most delightful and characteristic events of the whole.
Surely the genius of Christianity, as there developed,
has entered but poorly into our conceptions.
There is also instruction in the fact, that those
Christians "sold their possessions" to raise money
for the emergency. This is a hint to us, that the
advantage of good investments of property must
yield to the higher law of the necessities of Christ.
Many cannot afford gifts proportionate to their
means, because their property is so invested that
they cannot command the ready money. And peihaps some unconsciously felicitate themselves that
they have their funds hid away from Christ, and
dream not of any obligation to change investments




PERIODICAL ALMS-GIVING.           27
of funds that are yielding good incomes, for any
emergencies of charity. Yet here we see, that in
the spring-time and primitive development of Christianity, men were of another mind.
You will next observe, that these gifts were all freewill offerings.  Each one's right of property was respected; no law imposed a fixed rate of contribution,
and none required the whole of any one's property.
One, prompted by his glowing love for the cause,
judged it to be his duty in his circumstances to surrender the whole.  Here operated that principle
which we have already noticed, leaving individual
hearts to spontaneous action, and yet securing a generous action. So much for the Christian law of alms,
as it appears on the first page of Christian history.
IV. LAW OF PERIODICAL AILMS-GIVING.
God's plan, in making the wants of the church
and of the poor a lever to bring the hearts of Christians up to higher elevations and habits of benevolence, appears on every page of the gospel, but our
purpose confines us to those passages wherein the
Christian rule of alms-giving is presented in its direct and specific form. We need not a law of charity which is every thing in general and nothing in
particular. W'e need that which comes as near to
regulating the proportion of each one's income, as
the design of alms-giving will allow. And this we
have in 1 Cor., 16:1. 2.




28         LAW OF BENEFICENCE.
"Now  CONCERNING THE COLLECTION FOR THE
SAINTS, AS I.HAVE GIVEN ORDER TO THE CHURCHES OF
GALATIA, EVEN SO DO YE. UPON THE FIRST DAY OF
THE WEEK, LET EVERY ONE OF YOU LAY BY HIM IN
STORE, AS GOD HAS PROSPERED HIM, THAT THERE BE
NO GATHERINGS WHIEN I COME."
We have here, as we propose to show, a rule
which binds all to the principle of setting apart,
every Sabbath, or at least statedly, a portion of their
income or their means of living, as God shall prosper
them, for charitable uses: it being understood, that
this, like all other rules of its class, binds in its general principle and intent, but is subject to modifications in its details, when brought to individual application. Even the law of the Sabbath, uttered in the
broadest terms, bends in adjustment to cases of needful mercy. And though the rule here given is as
universal in its terms, it does not of course bind those
who have no income to set apart a portion of income.
Nor does it bind the man whose salary or means of
living is received annually or quarterly, or the merchant engaged in large adventures, or any one who
cannot know at every week's end what his income
has been, actually to set apart a weekly proportion
of income. But it would seem to require that every
one should have his stated seasons for a conscientious
apportionment to his charity fund, either in cash or
by entry on a benevolent account, according to his
circumstances, and in such a mode as he shall see fit




PERIODICAL ALMS-GIVING.           29
to adopt. The intent of the rule cannot be answered without some form of stated, systematic action.
Each one is required to adopt some regular system
of charity which shall come within the spirit of the
rule; and it seems to have been a prominent design
of the Lawgiver to put each one upon the exercise of
his own judgment and conscience, in the execution
of the general provisions of his law.
For illustration, and for suggestion to those who cannot devise for themselves a better mode, we here state
the method in which two persons, unknown to each
other, and in circumstances widely different, have fulfilled their own idea of this rule, with benefit, as they
believe, to themselves and to the cause of Christ.
One, every Sabbath evening at the hour of his
private devotion, lays aside the sum which he thinks
he ought to devote for that week to charitable purposes. If he has not the money, he charges the
amount against himself in favor of his charity fund
When there is a call for donations, he takes from this
fund what he thinks he should give. If a call of
special urgency comes, which what he has set apart
will not fully meet, he overdraws the fund, and
charges against it the balance, to be cancelled by
future incomes. Thus in a very simple and easy
way the work is reduced to a system, in connection
with the spiritual exercises of the Sabbath.
The other is a prosperous merchant, who resolves
that whatever his future profits shall be, he will de



30          LAW OF BENEFICENCE.
vote a certain per cent. to charity, enlarging the percentage if his profits shall exceed a certain sum. On
the first day of every month he takes an inventory,
ascertains what have been his profits, and credits
the percentage on his charity account. When calls
are presented, he draws from this fund; and for some
years he has been surprised to find that it is so productive. He meets calls with pleasure, and is a
happy man in prayer and labor to obtain means, of
which not a stinted portion is sacredly consecrated
to God.
But to return to the passage before us: the first
point of instruction here presented is, that this rule
zs not given as mere advice, which we are at liberty
to disregard. Paul says, "I have given order" to
this effect. Nor was it a rule framed for mere local
and temporary use. He had imposed it before on
the Galatian churches, and now lays it on the Corinthian church, whose circumstances were very different; and it was laid in imperative terms by an apostle
speaking by inspiration.
The next point is, that it is not a mere exhortation to benevolence in general, but a speckic rule ercquiring action in a particular way, and bindz-ii rg
alike on all.  True, it has, like the command to
preach the gospel to every creature, been lost to the
church for a thousand years. Yet man's neglect calnot annihilate God's command. That it was intended for all is fully apparent.  The epistle is addressed




PERIODICAL ALiS-GIVING.            31
not to the Corinthians alone, but " to all that in everylplace call upon the nanze of Jesus Christ."  This
is not a mere unmeaning salutation. Paul could not
have saluted all Christians in his epistle in such
terms, unless he intended to address to them all, the
instructions contained in it, so far as they were in
nature and form applicable to all. And no part of
his epistle is more capable of general application than
this text. Nor does this rule here come out in a solitary instance in Paul's teaching. The same which
he here gives to the Corinthians, he had given, in
more than one instance, to other churches-" to the
churches in Galatia."
It is the way of the Spirit of inspiration to speak
to the whole church, or the whole world, through a
small company of immediate hearers.  How comes
it that Paul's letter " to the church of God which is
at Corinth," with all its details of instruction, reproof,
and correction in righteousness administered to them,
should have been put forth as God's book of inspira
tion for the regulation of our heart and life? Every
thing in that epistle which contains this rule, has as
much of a special direction to those Corinthians, as
this rule itself has.  For instance, this same epistle
contains directions about the discipline of the church,
which all churches acknowledge as binding on them:
yet they were given about a single case then existing
there.  It contains exhortations to purity of life, with
a relerence to impurities existing there.  It gives




32         LAW OF BENEFICENCE.
important principles touching the law of marriage,
with reference to cases existing there. It gives the
Corinthians rules requiring of them a support of
their ministry, and instructions respecting the Lord's
table-respecting the exercise of spiritual gifts, and
the like.  None have doubted that the instructions and rules given, on all these subjects, were as
much intended for us as for the Corinthians; and a
principle of interpretation that would set them aside
fiom present use, would exclude all the epistles from
the sacred canon, and indeed a greater part of the
other scriptures, for the great body of scripture is
written on the same principle; even the ten commandments, the eternal law of the universe, were
uttered specially to one people, and grounded on the
fact that God had brought themn out of the land of
Egypt, and out of the house of bondage. Scarcely one
of the rules in this epistle is given out with as much
formality as that before us; and such formal rules of
conduct, given by inspired men claiming to speak as
they were moved by the Holy Ghost, and to speak to
the few for the instruction of the whole world, may
be taken as meant for all, unless there be found in
their structure, context, or occasions, some implied
limitation. But no limitations are here implied.
There is another question: Did Paul require these
weekly deposits to be made, and appoint that there
should be no gatherings under the impulse of his eloquence when he should come, in expectation that he




PERIODICAL ALMS-GIVING,           33
would in this way make a larger collection for that
tize?  Evidently he was not providing for that
single occasion, but for the permanent influence of an
established rule. If for one occasion only, he would
most naturally have ordered the gathering to take
place after he had come and exerted the force of his
eloquence upon them in setting forth the details of
the distress which he asked them to relieve. Who
that knows with what force Paul could speak-how
he spoke on Mars-hill, before the assembled wisdom
of Greece —how he thundered in the ear and conscience of the hardened Felix-what effiect he wrought
upon Agrippa-who can doubt, that for a single collection, he would have secured vastly more if he had
said nothing of weekly deposits, and had relied upon
an appeal to the Corinthians with the electric force
of his eloquence, backed by the moral force of his
apostolic character and presence? It is clear, at a
glance, that his object in giving that order, could not
have been to get the greatest amount of money for a
single occasion; and if not, it follows that he was
looking to permanent results-forming the general
practice of alms-giving in that church; and if in that
church, why not in all churches?
If, then, the rule given have an evident fitness for
universal application-if the circumstances of those
for whom it was first made, show no reason why it
was more fit for them than for all-if, from reason
and the nature of things, the rule appears to be as
Law of Benef.       3




34          LAW OF BENEFICEINCE.
well adapted to all as to any, the case is clear that
this utterance of the divine oracle is the voice of God
to universal man.
And let it be well considered that all that is shown
in this discussion, of the fitness of this rule for the
cultivation of the divine life, and enlarging the
streams of Christian beneficence, is so much in confirmation of its claims to be considered a law of God
requiring your obedience; and if it be such a law,
you are as much required to act according to it, as
you are to keep the Sabbath. And those professing
Christians on the continent of Europe, who ignore
their obligation to remember the Sabbath-day and
keep it holy, have no more occasion to review their
theory touching that law, than you have yours respecting this. They are no more offenders against
the one law of God, than you are against the other;
and the Christian minister, or Christian teacher in
any sphere, who neglects to inculcate this rule, as
really neglects his duty, as the teacher who neglects
to inculcate the law of the Sabbath.
The next point is, that alms-giving is a work for
every Sabbath. " Upon the first day of the week, let
every one of you lay by him in store." Here nothing is said for- or against collections made in the
church on the Sabbath.  The command is, that as
often as the Sabbath comes, we should take out of
our means of living a portion, and devote it to charitable uses. And this, in its very terms, refutes one




PERIODICAL ALMiS-GIVING.          35
of the commonplaces of Christian penuriousness;
that the handling of money is a desecration of the
Sabbath, and the preaching about filthy lucre is a
profanation of sacred things; for here is an express
command of God, to handle money for one purpose
on the first day of the week. It would seem that.
the first Christians had such a type of religion, thai
their handling of money was indispensable to Sab
bath sanctification, and that their Sabbath prayers
and praises could not ascend, but as accompanied
with their alms.
Another penurious maxim is also set aside by this
text, to wit, that calls for charity are too frequent.
Enterprises of Christian philanthropy are so multi.
plied and various, that scarcely a month passes without a call from Christian pulpits for new donations,
and this is quite an annoyance to those who have
some conscience and less benevolence.  Now this
text points out a way in which this struggle between conscience and inclination can be forestalled.
Let every one come into a habit of not waiting for
any calls, but of setting apart every Sabbath, or at
other stated periods, the portion which he ought to
give, and he will experience no annoyance from the
frequent calis of agents. Until he does this, he fails
to come up to the apostolic rule as to the frequency
of his alms. This is the way to "make up befbrehaad your bounty, that the same may be ready as a
matter of bounty, and not as of covetousness"




36         LAW OF BENEFICENCE.
It will naturally be asked, Why thzs duty must
needs be done on the Sabbath? Whatever may
have been the reason of this provision, it is a matter
of fact, that the converted Jews had been accustomed to a like arrangement. Both Philo and Jose
phus inform us that the Jews were wont every Sabbath to make collections at their synagogues, of their
tithes and spontaneous gifts, to be sent to the temple.
This custom was adopted into the Christian church,
with such modifications as the new dispensation required. The appropriation required to be made at
home, irrespective of a church contribution, would
secure a more universal compliance, than if it was
to be made in the church from which some would
be detained; and yet it did not hinder public collec
tions, when convenience required them.
One of the reasons for connecting alms-giving with
the Sabbath doubtless was, to secure the periodical
and constant action of the heart in the work. To
make this action sure, a particular day of the week is
named when it should be done, and when it would
be less liable to be crowded out of mind by other
cares. And this order being obeyed, the habit of
frequent giving is secured. The mind as often as
the Sabbath comes round, is put upon reviewing the
course of providence, and the prosperity experienced,
and deciding in view of it how much ought to be
given, and so is kept in the constant exercise of benevolence, and holding constant checks on avaricious




PERIODICAL ALMS-GIVING.          37
aspirations. So this employment, while it secures its
main end upon the heart of the giver, harmonizes
with all the other employments of the Sabbath. For
the sanctification of the soul in its Sabbath work, it is
required, not only to bring the mind under the quiekening influence of the gospel, read and preached and
meditated upon, not only to engage it in acts of
prayer and praise, but to enlist it in acts of love to
man, and in conflict with selfishness. Our Sabbath
religion must be not only a matter of thought and
feeling, but of self-denying action.  "It is lawful to
do good on the Sabbath-day." This action, steadily
and habitually sustained, plays upon the very citadel
of our selfishness, which is the great enemy of our
sanctification: our keeping up a sleepless warfare
at this point, brings assistance to the other appropriate operations of the mind, and employs the whole
mechanism of the soul in harmony with Sabbath
engagements. And the constant repetition of small
gifts does more towards a benevolent formation of
heart, than the same amount given in larger sums
at wider intervals.
Another reason is, that gifts so often repeated,
most effectually secure a large amount.  The rule,
in its structure, bears an evident design to favor the
poorer classes, and give them an effective share in
the blessedness of benefaction. Living more from
hand to mouth, they have not the means at hand, if
they would, to make large donations, but by weekly




38        LAW OF BENEFICENCE.
additions to their charity-treasure, they may produce
a rich result at the year's end; and in all this process
of laying aside the little that they can spare, they
are making just as much sacrifice and cultivation of
heart, and of course doing as much towards the prime
purpose of giving, as their wealthy neighbors who
give ten times as much. The little sums thus laid
aside fall into their place in the ordinary calculation
of expenses, and are provided for at the same time
with our meat and drink; and in thus sharing, as it
were, our daily sustenance with the poor, and bringing the toil-worn missionary, as it were, to eat at our
table, we come into a most affecting form of communion with Christ, and all who love his cause,
while we are taking the best course to enable us to
make the most of our contributions from a slender income. Without some plan like this, the constantly
recurring calls for things needful and superfluous
would absorb our income, and for the most part exclude our charities. But were all who acknowledge
the obligation to give at all, including old and young,
rich and poor, to come under this rule, a vast increase
of charitable funds would be realized.
The first application of this rule in its definite
form, which we have on record, was to the churches
in Galatia, in which the poor abounded. And then
it was found to be equally suitable to the wealthier Christians at Corinth, situated amidst temptations to luxury and extravagance. At any rate,




PERIODICAL ALMS-GIVING.            39
It is at once adapted to operate kindly among the
necessities of the humbler classes, and to hold salutary checks upon the extravagances of the rich. It
brings each one, once a week, to a reckoning with
himself as to his use of the gifts of Providence.
Is there a Christian whose easily besetting sin is
extravagance, who is spending more than a good
conscience would dictate, in the matters of style, or
in the elegances and superfluities of life, this rule
would seem to have been made on purpose for him.
It arraigns him once a week before his conscience and
his God, to debate questions touching this very subject. Let him adopt the rule, and he is led at once
to a course of mental exercises, in which he cannot
retain both his peace of mind and his habits of extravagance. The Sabbath comes, and after engaging in
the devotions of the day, both public and private,
he sits down under the full impression of all he has
heard and read of Christ and his salvation, and of
all that he has himself uttered in his prayers and
praises, and makes his decision as to how much the
Lord has prospered him, and for what end, and what
obligations that prosperity confers; and he must be
slow to admit reproof if some of his superfluities are
not soon lopped off. If he fail to take the hint at
first, this debate in conscience is of course renewed
once a week, and he is brought back to the subject in
all varieties of circumstances and modes of feeling;
and if any thing can cure a Christian's habitual ex



40          LAW OF BENEFICENCE.
travagance, this must be the remedy. By imposing
this rule, God, as it were, every Sabbath takes each
Christian aside and puts to him the delicate question,
how he has been prospered, and how much he call
afford to give to Him from whom he receives all.
And he does this at the time when the rational powers and spiritual affections may be supposed to be in
the most vigorous exercise.
But there may be a more specific reason why this
day, and not any other of the week, is set apart for this
purpose, We may be invited to bring our grateful
offerings to the Lord's treasury on this day, because
the very design of the Sabbath makes it a day of
thanksgiving and of grateful remembrance of the
work of redemption. The Christian Sabbath celebrates a new creation as a subject of more elevated
praise than that on which " the morning stars sang
together."  And it is fitting, that our grateful joy
should have expression in substantial acts, as well as
in words and songs. He who made the mind, and
who best knows how to touch all its springs and
cause us to make melody in our hearts to the Lord,
knows that the giving of gifts is a natural expression
of grateful joy, and that the incense connected with
freewill offering, sweetly blends with our songs of
praise for redeeming love.
Again, the religious nature and oblzigations of the
duty of alms-giving, make the appointment of the
Sabbath for the time of doing it, peculiarly proper.




PERIODICAL ALMS- GIVING.           41
The several Sabbath employments naturally aid
each other. Prayer and praise quicken and elevate
the mind for more effectual meditation on the word
of God, and so all the fit employments of the Sabbath may tend to revive our sense of obligation, and
our benevolent emotions, and thus serve as prompters
to our acts of charity. The Christian mind as really
communes with God, in the act of devoting to a charitable use a portion of the gifts of God, as in prayer
and praise. God's authority binds the conscience,
and the love of Christ constrains the heart to the
act, and the mind moves responsive to the known
will of Christ. Such acts are a proper expression of
that charity of which Paul says, " Now abideth faith,
hope, charity, these three, but the greatest of these is
charity." This is, then, one of the graces of the Spirit,
and as the design of the Sabbath is for the quickening of grace, this grace should be called into action
on the Sabbath; and as this grace is in many minds
one of the most difficult of exercise, the aids which
other Sabbath exercises give should be called in, and
our prayers and our alms should go up together as a
memorial before God. The fitness of this connection
of things has illustration in the experience of ministers, who, after the exercises of the Sabbath, find their
minds vastly quickened in forming conceptions of divine truth, and in all spiritual exercises.
God has established this connection between our
Sabbath employments, and set the duty of almrs



42          LAW OF BENEFICENCE.
giving high among them, doubtless with the design
that it may have a more effective performance. A
time has been chosen when the mind may be supposed to be in the most favorable posture, a time
when we have retreated farthest from the world and
its excitements to avarice, and are most susceptible of
spiritual motives. If we wished to get a large donation from one, for some benevolent object, we should
choose our time to approach him, and especially the
time when the realizings of eternity were most upon
him. Thus God does, and comes to us for our gift
in the midst of our Sabbath devotions-in the midst
of our professions of gratitude and love. He comes
in and takes us at our word. We have perhaps been
singing,
"'All that I am, and all I have,
Shall be for ever thine;
Whate'er my duty bids me give,
My cheerful hands resign."
He then comes in with an opportunity for us to give
what our duty bids; hence the admirable fitness of
the time. If there is to be a set time, who will not
say that this is the time? If it had been a universal custom to do this work on one particular day
of the week, and that not the Sabbath, and if now a
transfer were to be made, and the work were to be
brought within the Sabbath, a great advance in the
amount given would doubtless be realized.  Even
the merchant, who monthly or at other stated times




PERIODICAL AIMS-GIVING.           4,
carries to a benevolent account the sum devoted to
charity, may derive great advantage from sitting
apart on the Sabbath a little season for' grateful
communion" with Christ in reference to the claims
of the various departments of benevolence, and in
prayer for direction and a blessing on his humble
offerings.
Further, the duty is laid on every one.  "Let every
one of you lay by him in store."  Though those who
are themselves objects of charity and have nothing
to give, would not come within the rule; and though
those whose incomes do not admit of so detailed a
distribution, would be allowed to answer the intent
of the rule in the form which their circumstances require; yet, with such modifications, the rule is universal with rich and poor. If it be thought an objection
that too much of religious charities must thus come
from the gifts of the poor, we answer, it will not be
so, provided they do not go beyond the measure of
the prosperity which God has given them. Hitherto religious enterprises have been mainly sustained
by the confluence of small streams, coming in from
those in moderate conditions. Yea, it is one of the
excellences of these enterprises, that they unite the
hearts of rich and poor; and convey to the poor as
much of the benefit of giving as to the rich. And
will any count it treason to allow the poorest to share
in the luxury of sending the gospel to the poor? Has
not the gospel done enough for the poor to warrant




44         LAW OF BENEFICENCE.
such responses of gratitude from them? Has nol
God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith and
heirs of the kingdom? And has he denied to these
heirs of the kingdom all share in the work of advancing his kingdom? His order to the churches in
Galatia, where the poor abounded, was, " Let every
one of you lay by him in store."
Nor did he intend to impose a burden, but to confer a privilege. And he has so shaped the requirement, because unwilling to exclude the poor from a
needful means of grace. He who was anointed to
preach the gospel to the poor, would not so frame
his system as to cut off the poor from the channels
through which he conveys the riches of his grace;
and most impressive is the assurance which he has
given us of this, in the value which he stamped on
the widow's farthing. While sitting in the temple
and watching the people casting their gifts into the
treasury, and after some had made princely donations, he saw a poor widow come and drop in two
mites, which made a farthing. That went to his
heart; and with solemn emphasis in the use of that
"Verily," or Amen, which only he ever used in such
a way, he asserted that the value of the widow's gift
exceeded the sum total of all the rest; and why?
Because there was more of sacrifice made, more of
benevolent heart expended, and so a deeper and richer participation of sanctifying experience had, which
is the ultimate end of all gifts.




PERIODICAL ALMS-GIVING.           45
Here is presented such a scale of valuation of oui
gifts as brings the rich and poor upon one level, and
puts to flight all reasons that would exclude the poor.
Whatever others may think, Christ makes the smallest gifts of the poor as indispensable, and of as much
value, as the large donations of the rich.  Ever
watchfuil for fit incidents from which to flash forth
instruction upon all ages, lie here seized upon a case
of the smallest donation made by extreme poverty,
and held it forth as our warrant to value all gifts according to the sacrifice made, and so make the gifts
of the poor, not only as acceptable to God, but as valuable towards the ultimate end of filling the world
with the glory of God, as the proportionate gifts of
the rich. And so when he said, "It is more blessed
to give than to receive," he intended not to utter
startling paradoxes, but to declare a plain matter of
fact in that divine plan which in many ways betrays
a generous partiality to the poor, in the distribution
of spiritual favors; and to sustain this partiality, he
must give,the poor an equal share in the blessedness
of giving, and this, and even more than this, they
have ever had.
But if it be a general law of Christ's kingdom,
that gifts in charity weigh in the balance of the sanctuary according to the amount of the sacrifice made,
the concurrence of those of the smallest income is
indispensable. Suppose you can give but a cent a
week, that shall introduce you to all the soul-enrich



,46        LAW OF BENEFICENCE.
ing influences of giving. As an instrument of communion with Christ, and of binding your soul to him,
your copper coin is as effectual as the gold of others.
And who can tell, that carrying a special blessing
with it, and guided to its result by the partial regards of the Redeemer, it may not actually produce
more than the larger gifts, made with less sacrifice
and prayer?  Cases are not wanting of the single
penny-tract having originated trains of light and salvation, branching forth and extending beyond human
computation. And who caln tell that these small
grains of mustard-seed, that have produced the great
trees, have not come from those whose " deep poverty abounded to the riches of their liberality."
Make the small gifts of the poor a matter of indifference, and confine to the rich the obligation to give,
and you would render the whole commandment a
nullity. If God had left to all but the poor the command to give, this would have been a poverty-stricken
world. To make it of any effect, it must run impartially from the highest to the lowest. It must hold
the pence as carefully as the pounds.
Indeed, imperfectly as this rule has been understood,
the greatest aggregate of gifts has come from those
of more limited means. Never did charities more
abound than in the primitive ages; never did evangelizing go forward with greater rapidity and power'
yet, " not many wise men after the flesh, not many
mighty, not many noble were called." It was the




P'E RIOIICAL ALMIS-  IVING.       4'7
gifts of the humbler classes, flowing in countless
minuter rills, which cut the channels to convey the
riches of salvation over the civilized world. That
broad and fertilizing shower that in the space of one
generation made the wilderness bud and blossom as
the rose, was composed of single drops. And so is
every other shower. He who is the Father of the
rain, and who begets the drops of the dew, finds it
not beneath him to produce the single drops and the
smallest drops, without which there can be no showers. Sometimes when the ground, under a scorching sun, is opening the seams on its bosom, imploring from heaven the mercy of a shower, a thin cloud
comes over, dispensing a large drop here and therea fair similitude of what the work of charity, confined
to the rich, would be. The drops are large and generous in themselves; but they are too few, and do
but mock the distress.  It is the constant distilling
of the small rain by which God gladdens the earth.
And this law of charity lays itself on men in all
varieties of condition, with an admirable equality
of pressure. It requires each to give according
to his mzeans, and according to his ownzjudgment,
formed with an enlightened conscience and a benevolent heart.  It puts into the hands of each one
a scale of duties, ascending and descending with
the increase or decrease of his means. The poor
man is expected to " labor, working with his hands,
that he may have to give to him  that needeth."




48         LAW OF BENEFICENCE.
If this rule presses heavily anywhere, it is on
those who have difficulty in meeting their urgent
wants from week to week. But even they could
make a cent a week sacred to the cause of benevolence, without any sensible increase of their burdens; and that for them might answer all the ends
of the requirement, and make them equal co-part
ners in the soul-enriching and world-enriching com
merce of benevolence. But to an amount lesser
or larger, each is bound to form the habit of giving
a portion of his income-to act every week on the
question of apportioning his gifts to his income.
Among the duties of the Sabbath, comes that of dividing off a portion for alms. And this is a duty no
more to be forgotten than that of prayer. The act
involves an exercise of conscience and of heart-of
love to God and man, in giving back a portion of
God's gifts. The Sabbath's sun invites you anew
to settle the question, how much you ought to deny
yourself for Him who gave his life for your ransom.
The flexibility of this rule is one of its advantages.
It bends in perfect adjustment to each one's circumstances, and to all changes of circumstances. It does
not require, that one shall, at the beginning of a year,
commit himself to give so much for the year, not
knowing whether his present ability will continue
through the year, or whether it may not be increased;
he may determine on the proportion, or percentage
of income which he will contribute, and that, if his




PERIODICAL ALMS-GIVING.           49
income shall exceed a certain sum, he will give a
larger percentage, " as God shall prosper him."  It
does not require each one to give just so great a
proportion of his income; but it makes each one
to judge for himself, in view of all his circumstances. There may be circumstances which would
require one to give twice the percentage of his
income which another gives. One may be under
obligations to creditors, and bound to be just before
he is generous; while the other, with the same income, is free from debt-though the man who early
adopts and adheres to the scripture rule, will find
it operating as a powerful dissuasive from contracting needless debts. There are a thousand other circumstances which may vary the proportion that
different persons ought to give; and these are wisely committed to be judged of by each one's own
conscience.
There is still another important point of instruction in this text: " That there be no gatherings when
I comenc." This detects a capital error in our present
policy of benevolence; in that we are wont to wait
to be lashed up to our duty by the periodical visits
of the agents of the several benevolent societies.
Paul was operating as an agent for gathering funds
to relieve the distress of Christians at Jerusalem.
But he did not tell the Corinthians, Wait till I come
and lay before you the thrilling details of that distress, and by dint of eloquent appeals, move you to
Law of Benef.       4




50         LAW OF BENEFICENCE.
an amount of donations which you would not otherwise reach. He placed no reliance on such means.
He preferred that all should be done without a word
from him. He would have every dollar that was to
be given, actually in the treasury before he came,
"that there be no gatherings when I come."  This
uncovers a grand feature in the divine plan, and it
may show us the error in our policy which makes it
so hard to bring the churches up to this duty. We
begin at the wrong end. We make the great reason
why we should give to be, that somebody will suffer
if we do not. And we depend on our agents to set
forth that suffering, with an energy of eloquence
which those only can command who give themselves
wholly to a single branch of the work. And the result is, that the main spring appointed to move the
soul to this work, is left untouched. The animal
passions and natural sympathies are quickened, the
understanding is convinced of the fitness of the work,
and the justice of its claims upon us; in a secondary sense the religious affections are enlisted; but the
whole energy of the heart is not roused, because we
do not place the main reliance on the main motives.
We wait for Paul to come first, and tell us all about
the sufferings of the poor saints at Jerusalem; expecting by that communication of intelligence, to be
led into the great and moving inducements to give.
But Paul just reversed this process. He relied on
the intelligence of higher and more moving facts,




PERIODICAL ALMS-GIVING.           51
which had already been communicated to them.
He reminded them of their obligations to Christ, who
had given himself for them —of the fact that they haa
already " given their own selves to the Lord," which
gift involved all the donations that were needed from
them; he reminded them that he was proving the
sincerity of their love-that he was seeking the cultivation in them of one of the parent graces-that
all their supplies came from God, who would cause
them to reap bountifully from a bountiful sowingand that the great end which he sought, was the enriching of their souls " to all bountifulness."  These
were the motives on which he relied. His great care
was, not to stir their sympathies in view of the distresses of the needy, but to make those distresses
an occasion of their exercising one of the Christian
graces. And this he did by reminding them of their
relations to God and Christ. His argument was
purely evangelical-made out of the prime elements
of the gospel. He was thus saved the necessity of
descending to lower themes. He put the Corinthians upon the formation of habits of giving constantly
and from principle, and so secured the gifts in actual
preparation, when call should be made for them.
Now, so far as our present system has departed
from this principle, we shall sooner or later be compelled to retrace our steps. There has long been
with many, a desire to save the necessity of employing agents in the collection of funds; and yet, there




52         LAW OF BENEFICENCE.
has been a prevalent conviction, that in the present
condition of the churches, they could not be safely
dispensed with. Most experiments of dispensing with
them have resulted unfavorably. And it is plain,
that any change of the temper and habits of the public mind, that will warrant our dispensing with then),
must have a gradual introduction. If we are not
mistaken, that change, so much desired by all-and
by none more than by our most efficient agentscan be secured by the restoration of this rule of
alms-giving, and by our ministry returning to the
scriptural method of inculcating the duty. If a
display of facts and statistics, and the communication of intelligence respecting the particular charity
for which the agent pleads, is to be the great lever
to lift the church up to an apprehension of its duty,
then we shall ever want agents to do the work.
But if the more excellent way be found to be, to
bring the obligations to bear on Christian hearts first
and mainly for their own sanctification, then the
regular ministry will be the best of all agencies
And while we find it necessary to employ agents,
they will find it for their advantage to take a standpoint nearer the heart and centre of the gospel, and
make less reliance on their facts, statistics, and pathtic appeals. The nearer they come to the plan
of Christ and his apostles in this matter, the more
effective will be their command over the hearts of
their hearers. Their main endeavor should be to dig




PERIODICAL ALMS-GlVING            53
broader and deeper fountains of benevolence in the
heart of the church, and not to eke out the largest
possible stream from the shallow fountains that now
exist.
There is then great wisdom in that single stroke
of the inspired pen, " that there be no gatherings
when I come." It tells us, that our gatherings have
been so meagre, because not before prepared in habits of giving, and in affections of the soul previously
cultivated under the application of motives more
purely evangelical. And it reveals a capital error
in our present mode of action, and shows the remedy
for existing deficiencies. Let the work of charity be
taken up, like that of repentance, to be done because
it is right, because the wants of the soul require it,
because it is due from us as homage to God, and in
gratitude to Christ. Let the ministry urge it on
these grounds mainly, and let the great themes of
redemption come to bear on the heart in a way to
enlarge its fountains of benevolent feeling, and the
result will be most happy.
Thus have we endeavored to give the spirit of
Paul's injunction, to engage in alms-giving every Sabbath. In this we show a definite rule, formed by
divine wisdom, binding by divine authority, requiring
us to sustain a constant habit of giving more or less
according to our means, and independently of particular calls; and so as to be beforehand, and ready for
them when they come.  This rule we propound to




54        HLAW OF BENEFICENCE.
every one, as claiming his obedience. It is as definite and authentic as any of the rules by which the
revenues of the Hebrew church were gathered.
But you will perhaps plead, that it has become
obsolete; and say, that it has for many centuries
been unknown to the Christian world. And so have
many other things, which are as clear as the sun
when attention is effectually turned to them, been
unknown to the Christian world. The great duty
of evangelizing the world, which is in some sense
the sum of all duties, has, till within a short time,
been buried from the sight of the church. The command to "go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." stood plainly forth on the
inspired page. It was "read and conned by rote"
among the lessons of childhood. It was a theme for
the pulpit and the commentary. But it was but
yesterday when its true meaning, simple as it is,
began first in modern times to flame forth, and
awake the hearts of a slumbering church. And it
is nothing more strange. that this other command,
written by an apostle, clear as a sunbeam, has slumbered so long.
Facts compel us to open our Bibles with the impression, that the church is committing some great
error somewhere, in her practical sense of her duty,
as to furnishing the means of evangelizing. There
must be something out of joint. Some principle to
which God has committed a moving power, is dis



A MFANS OF GRACE. 5
located and bereft of its power. And previous to
examination, who can say that the oversight has
not been committed on this very page? The language is plain, binding every one to make alms-givinhg a matter of business, of habit, and part of his
Sabbath work. And the fact that all Christians
have so strangely overlooked this duty, is by no
means a solitary fact. Nor can the united vote or
non-user of all Christendom, vacate such a Christian
duty. Remembering what a new impulse was received when the church began to recover the meaning of the command to evangelize the world, let us
seek to recover the force of the command which binds
us to furnish the means of that evangelizing.
Such is the law of the New Testament, binding
us to interweave with our Sabbath-keeping, a constant habit of consecrating to God a portion of our
means of living. We pass now to some reasons for
a compliance with this law.
V. REASONS FOR COMPLIANCE WITH THE
LAW.
I. IT IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT MEANS OF GRACE.
This we place first in order, because it is the first
in importance. We have shown, that all other ends
of alms-giving terminate in this; and that the duty,
in Scripture, is enforced chiefly on the ground of its
being a means of sanctification to the heart of the
giver  We have shown, that it is indispensable to




56         LAW OF BENEFICENCE.
the growth of Christian character, that Christian be.
neficence have exercise; that it has been appointed
that we shall have the poor with us always, as the
means of exercising us in those habits which will
promote us to true riches. If God's poor suffer, or if
God's cause suffer, it is to give scope for cultivating
the graces of those who exercise compassion. So
when the poor saints at Jerusalem were in distress,
and claiming the compassion of gentile Christians,
the apostles were with divine skill making their sufferings an occasion of growth in grace to others.
See how Paul uses the occasion with the Corinthians: " Therefore as ye abound in every thing, in faith,
and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence,
and in your love to us, see that ye abound inz this
grace also." Here, this grace, which has exercise in
alms, is set into one and the same family with faith,
love, and Christian diligence. And the same reasons why we should abound in one, are made good
reasons why we should abound in the other. This
branch of benevolence is here recognized as a grace.
And what is a grace, but one of those qualities of
mind, gratuitously imparted by the Spirit of God in
regeneration, and put forward in sanctification-one
of those qualities which make out the Christian
character?  It is one of a sisterhood that is never
separated from the rest. Those who think that they
can be good Christians, and have nothing to do with
charities-those who abound in verbal faith and or



A MEANS OF GRACE.               57
thodoxy, and in fluent prayers, while they are deaf
to all calls to give for the love of Christ, are strangers
to the power of godliness. The Spirit of God never
committed such an oversight, as to regenerate a soul
aud then leave it under the power of covetousness
complete. The product of the new birth is a new
man, with all the' members of a man developed; and
not one mutilated and wanting in this or that limb.
Every grace of the Spirit has a proportionate, though
it may be a feeble development.  And it would be
no more absurd to speak of a Christian without faith,
than of a Christian without beneficence. A Christian infidel is no more a contradiction in terms, than
a Christian without charity.
True and healthy piety involves in itself an advance of the several graces in fit proportions, as the
growth of the body advances in all its several limbs.
And to say that such a one is an earnest Christian in
every thing else, but that he will give nothing and
sacrifice nothing for the cause of Christ, is an abuse
of language. Of such a one the Scripture says, " How
dwelleth the love of God in him?"  When we see
large developments of Christian character in other
respects, connected with small developments of benevolence, the large must be taken with some allowance-keeping good the principle, that as ye abound
in the other, ye will "abound in this grace also."
This grace hlas its root in our self-conzsecrqation to
God.  For the apostle in tile same connecti(n, ell



58          LAWV OF BENEFICENCE.
forcing this grace from the example of liberality in
the churches of Macedonia, says, they "first gave
their own selves to the Lord, and to us by the will
of God." Here is the beginning of all charity. The
man ceasing to live to himself, and beginning to live
for God, asks himself, not how shall I most successfully rear a separate and selfish interest; but how
shall I best employ my means, great or small, towards the true end for which I live? He has in his
soul a propensity to acts of Christian generosity;
and this propensity is the grace that is to be cultivated in harmony with the rest.
This propensity has its main impulse in the love
of Christ. As Paul intimates in the same connection, it " knows the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who, though he was rich, yet for our sakes became
poor, that we through his poverty might be rich."
In every gift, the Christian, acting as a rational being, has a reason for his act. And though he may
not have analyzed his feelings, so as to be conscious of it, his chief motive is, that he acts in harmony with the will and benevolent design of the
Saviour, who embraced poverty to confer on the redeemed the riches of heaven. The loss which he is
to incur by his gift, reminds him of the amazing loss
by which Christ bestowed on him an unspeakable
gift. When his selfishness begins to rally, and he is
half resolved to withhold his reasonable share in any
good work, the thought comes back, that He who




A MEANS OF GRACE.               59
was rich in all the wealth of heaven, emptied himself of all, and had not where to lay his head, that
he might hereafter have a house of many mansions
to open, and an inheritance incorruptible to make
over to him. Seeing what Christ has done and lost
for him) to confer the wealth of the eternal God as a
free gift, and seeing that all he demands in return is
the natural response of a grateful heart, he becomes
ashamed of his best gifts, and says,
" Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all."
If such a thing could be, as a redeemed sinner inflamed with the love of Christ, and now and then
lifted to rapturous elevations and well-nigh mingling
with the white-robed harpers before the throne, in
that song, " Worthy is the Lamb," and yet this same
redeemed sinner with a heart of stone against every
appeal to benevolent feeling, he would be a monster
for which we have no name.
Thus the same motives which actuate every other
grace, are the motives to this; and these may all be
reduced to one, the love of Christ constraining us.
It is as important that this love should have expression in this form, as in other appropriate forms.
And this grace, like the rest, grows by exercise-by
bringing the motives to bear, and calling it into frequent action.  That the love of God may be called




60          LAW OF BENEFICENCE.
forth and cultivated to be a strong and permanent
principle of character, it is made our duty to be much
in acts of prayer and communion with him. So als,,
that our benevolent affections may have strength, it
is made our duty to hold ourselves to constant repetitions of benevolent acts. For this reason, divine
wisdom has appointed that each Christian shall enter upon a series of such acts, and hold himself to
them while the weeks and years go round, that he
may bring to bear upon his soul a divinely constructed mechanism, for its gradual transformation into
the divine image. You have then the great reason
for this rule of habitual and systematic charity, in
that it is the will of God for your sanctification —in
that it is among the most important means of grace.
And that it may still further appear to be such,
let us contemplate it in the opposite view-in the
antagonism which it presents to the native covetousness of the heart.  That which most effectually promotes our benevolent affections, best counterworks
our avarice; for our evil affections are displaced only
by bringing in their opposites. And these habits ot
constant giving are prominent among the means
which God has appointed for our habitual resistance
to that love of the world which is idolatry, and that
lawless will to be ric/h which involves us in a " snare,
and in many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown
men in destruction and perdition."
The purpose to accumulate money for its own




A MEANS OF GRACE.               61
sake, or for the selfish gratifications which it ministers, when once admitted to rule the mind, takes
possession and spreads and fortifies itself, and leaves
no place in the heart for homage to God. Every
power of the soul submits, as if smitten with a palsy.
All motions are excluded that do not obey the im
pulse of this ruling passion: the understanding can.
not entertain the thoughts of God, for it is tasked to
its utmost in gainful contrivances; the memory is
imbecile as to all remembrance of God, for its main
power is exhausted upon other things. The affections are so occupied with treasures of earth, that they
set no value on the pearl of great price.  In short,
this love of accumulation is the easily besetting sin
of the world, and one of the most dangerous enemies
of our salvation; and the strategy of our spiritual
warfare needs to be specially directed against it.
Selfishness is the parent form and central element
of all sin; and the love of money is one of the main
branches of selfishness, " the root of all evil;" and
upon this " root of all evil," this dangerous enemy of
our salvation, the enginery of redemption is made
effectually to play, in the formation and nurture
of habits of benevolence. Aware that this was our
great point of danger, Christ said to them that " trust
in riches," that is, them that come under the power
of this love of money, that it is easier for a camel to
go through a needle's eye, than for them to enter
heaven.  And having given command to take heed




62         LAW OF BENEFICENCE.
and beware of this covetousness, he has also shown
the way of resisting it, by bringing the benevolent
affections into vigorous and constant play. The
Christian law of alms-giving he has made to give
a benevolent character and a sanctified direction to
our necessary employments for gain.
He who, out of a principle of true benevolence, con
secrates to a benevolent use whatever can be wisely
spared from his income, and possesses the rest as
though he possessed not, holding it as God's steward,
does in fact write " holiness to the Lord" on all that
he acquires. In all his labor of acquisition he is as
much actuated by a benevolent design, as if he were
laboring with the intent to give every cent of his
gains to the poor; and in all his labors he is as much
accepted of God, and is doing as much for the sanctification of his own heart, as if-his own and his
family's support being provided in other ways-he
was laboring exclusively for God's poor. Accordingly the apostle says, "Let him that stole, steal no
more; but let him labor, working with his hands,
that he may have to give to him that needeth."
Here, it is not labor to supply his wants, or support
his family; but he must be actuated by a design which
looks beyond these, while it embraces them both.
The adoption of this principle of laying off the Lord's
portion from our income, if done from right motives
changes the whole direction of our labor for gains,
and enables us to " do it heartily as unto the Lord,"




A MEANS OF GRACE               63
to make his glory the end of our ordinary cmployment; and this inverts the whole machinery of the
mind, that had before labored to accumulate for
selfish gratifications.
Most have need of the diligent pursuit of some
methods of gain, as the means of living. They are
put upon constant toil and care to keep up theii
supplies; and they make more or less acquaintance
with anxious solicitudes about the future. This experience will operate to promote inordinate desires
to be rich: the details of gathering cents and dollars
by the hardest, for subsistence and for children's
bread, tend to form habits of inordinately desiring
riches; and these habits, with no counteracting force,
would soon fearfully contract the heart.
Then the multiplicity of cares which come upon
one devoted to worldly accumulations, and the keen
solicitudes employed on money-adventures, are so
exhausting to the benevolent affections, so adapted
to fix an undue value on money, that we need, for
our own safety, all possible engagements of mind in
opposite directions.  No apolbgy for neglecting the
soul is so much in use as that of the multiplicity of
cares, the want of time occasioned by labors and enterprises for gain. Risks must be run; the issue of
pending adventures must be anxiously waited; new
plans must be framed; the eye must be out on all
turns of times and shifts in the currents of business.
Alternations of hope and fear, of success and disaster,




A4       ELAW OF BENEFICENCE.
must keep the mind upon a stretch. And here is the
occasion for the action of some counteracting element;
for this is the reason why the gospel, preached to
anxious worldlings, is a precious seed thrown away
among thorns. The cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word; they follow a man
like his shadow, engrossing his thoughts, absorbing his
soul, even while his body is in the house of God.
Now the more one is exposed to this deluge of
cares, all tending to put forward the growth of selfish
affections, the more he needs that method of counteraction provided in the divine rule under consideration.
The mind acting so much in one direction, needs to
regain its health and balance by much action in the
other; and God has interposed to bring relief to this
point of danger, and laid on us the duty of combating our love of money by making sacrifices of money.
In this way he engages us to put one of our greatest
enemies to the torture, and crucify him till he dies.
This is a main branch of that great duty of mortifying the flesh with its affections and lusts: we give
our love of money a new wound as often as we make
a sacrifice in a gift to the poor. It comports with
the economy of grace, that our giant enemy shall not
die by a single blow; his destruction must be the
work of' time, of our whole life; and the plan of warfare best suited to its design, and to our natures, is
one which engages us to a constant repetition of
wounds, under which he dies by inches.




A MEANS OF GRACE.              65
We have often seen those who, when in comparative poverty, were generous with their little, but who
have become penurious in becoming rich.  While
their means were small, their outgoes trod close
upon their incomes; their habit of giving was exercised and strengthened in some proportion to that of
receiving, and the passion for accumulating had not
room to spread its roots. But when the gains began
sensibly to advance beyond the outgoes, a habit was
formed of calculating how long it would take to reach
such and such a sum; and with no active principle
of benevolence proportionally counterworking the
growing passion for gains, every little increase served
to feed the passion, and every call for charities was
resisted, because it postponed the time of reaching
the proposed amount to be laid in. Aware of this
principle of human nature, divine wisdom has given
the caution, "If riches increase, set not your heart
upon them;" hinting to us that the " setting of the
heart upon them" is a common result of increase.
How many thousands have said in their hearts, 0
if I were as rich as such a one, how would I multiply
the streams of my bounty; I would do nothing
else than employ my wealth in doing good. - But all
such talk is vain; the process of becoming so rich
would expose you to the fiercer heats of temptation,
consuming all benevolent affections. The process of
increasing wealth, without the outgoes of benevolence, is a process of confirming a feeling of poverty,
Law of Benef.       5




66          LAW OF BENEFICENCE.
a grasping desire for more, which like the grave will
be ever crying, Give, give. A case has been known
of a man at the age of threescore and ten, with his
hundred thousand dollars, free from debt, and well
invested, and yet crying like a child in apprehension
of a possible experience of poverty. And this state
of feeling was induced by a most natural process, by
a mind given up to the passion of accumulating, without the counter-process of distributing. This is an
invariable result of human experience in like circumstances, and it shows the importance of some law of
conduct to keep our benevolent activities in use. Our
condition is like that of a leaky vessel, which needs
the constant labor of the pump in throwing out, to
prevent its being submerged.
This fact in human nature should be well considered by the young, who are just entering upon a
course of business, and upon the formation of char,
acter. Here is a powerfill element in the production
of character, which one cannot overlook without great
damage to himself.  Whether the young person regards his happiness and usefulness for time or for
eternity, it is immensely important that he adopt this
divinely appointed method of enlarging his heart.
And the church as a whole, and each professed
Christian, has a special interest in this matter, because covetousness is more especially the sint of the
visible church. It is so, because it is of such a nature
that it can better conceal itself under a Christian




A MEANS OF GRACE.              67
profession.  Spurious conversions more often consist
of a change of the dominion of one lust for that of
another; and as long as the heart remains unchanged,
the lesser changes must consist in some substitution
like this-an outward reformation must have its cornpensation in indulgences of inward lusts. It is no
easy matter to be a drunkard, or profane, or dishonest, or licentious, and maintain a reputable standing
among Christians; but one may indulge his supreme
love of the world in the form of covetousness, and
yet maintain a specious semblance of religion, and a
fair standing in the church: indeed, the church is
quite too charitable towards her uncharitable members, and that because her own standard of beneficence is too low, and her own perceptions of Christian
obligation in this matter are dim. There is now and
then in human society what. is called a miser-a man
of large means, whose selfishness is so extreme, as to
defeat its own purpose and inflict misery on himself.
Such a one is held in general abhorrence, as a violator of the primitive law of society. Living only for
himself, and refusing to contribute to the pleasures
and advantage of society, he is by the common consent of men degraded to a lower order of beings;
men make themselves merry at his expense, and
find amusement in discourse of his strange habits.
But the man who, under more decent appearances,
lives wholly to himself in the church of Christ, is
even a more gross violator of the primitive law o'




68         LAW OF BENEFICENCE.
that society, and his character deserves no more in
dulgence. Yet, for the reasons which we have given,
it finds a degree of indulgence; and worldly minds in
the church can indulge their covetousness, when they
could not other forms of sin as gross; and for the
same reason, there are probably many in the church
in supreme devotement to this form of sin, without
being conscious of it. Hence, this sin should be the
more guarded against in the church, by extending
and confirming those habits of beneficence that counterwork it.
The grace of God first finds us in love of the world,
inveterate, and supreme.  It comes "teaching us,
that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should
live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present
world." But its most effectual form of teaching this,
is by experience and active resistan'ce. It uses not
only the word of instruction, but the power of action.
All must be wrought into us, and wrought out by
us. We cannot be put into the possession of a benevolent temper, and delivered from the tyranny of
selfishness, by mere intellectual processes-by a mere
presentation of reasons and inducements to benevolence. There is a work for the Holy Spirit; and,
under that, there is occasion for all the processes of
the human mind, by which the temper and habits
are changed. And in the gospel law of alms, every
Christian is bound to address himself to the cultivation of the benevolent affections, as one great end of




A MEANS OF GRACE.              69
life. ChIist made it the duty of every one to pray,
because his soul has need of all the quickening influences which prayer attracts; and so he has made
it the duty of every one to be constantly giving, because the heart has need of all these acts, for its own
enlargement.
It is very possible, however, that some have never
felt any want of the aid of such habits, and have
never thought of giving as a means of crucifying the
old man-just as many a prayerless man has never
felt any need of those influences of the divine life
which the good mail secures by prayer. Of course,
they have nothing in their own experience by which
they can appreciate this Christian law of alms. They
have no conflicts with the power of selfishness,
because they have always been submissive to it.
Such, however, would soon discover what is wanting, should they set this Christian rule before them,
and endeavor to adopt it as the law of their conduct.
Ye who have no need to cultivate a more benevolent heart, will of course find no reluctance to put in
practice a rule of benevolence so reasonable.  And
if ye are reluctant, that reluctance is proof of your
selfishness, and your need to enter a school of vigorous discipline. This reluctance is proof that you
have need to exercise your heart to self-denials as
constantly as the rule contemplates.




70          LAW OF BENEFICENCE.
2. THIS SYSTEM OF BENEVOLENCE TENDS TO THRIFT.
Another reason why each one should enter upon
these habits of systematic beneficence is, that God so
attaches his blessing to them, that even the temsporal
interests of the giver are usually promoted by thern.
Out of the gifts of God to us, we bestow our gifts;
and out of our gifts he brings the elements of our
increase.  There is here a circulation not unlike to
that between the clouds and the earth watered by
them. Suppose the clouds should withhold their
gifts, and all the waters in the bottles of heaven
should be hoarded there, for fear of exhaustion; the
earth would soon become parched, and its lakes and
rivers dry, and the supplies of rising vapor to fill the
clouds would be diminished. But let the clouds
freely dispense their treasures, and these treasures
will have prompt returns.
In order to illustrate the principle that benevolence
tends to thrift, let us now leave out of view every
other purpose, and treat of the habit of giving simply
as a means of benefiting ourselves. The Scriptures
speak abundantly of this result. Take one example
out of many, and one wherein temporal and spiritual
benefit are intimately blended in the result. " He
that soweth sparingly, shall reap also sparingly; and
he that soweth bountifully, shall reap also bountifully.
Every man, according as he purposeth in his heart,
so let him give, not grudgingly, or of necessity, for




TENDS TO THRIFT.               71
the Lord loveth the cheerful giver; and God is able
to make all grace abound towards you, that ye
always, having all sufficiency in all things, may
abound in every good work."  The increase here
promised is "all sufficiency in all things," to enable
us to "abound in every good work."  And as the
giving of alms is one of the good works, a supply of
the means for future gifts must here be included
with the increase of grace which is promised. ~ The
imagery holds forth the idea of a rich soil, well prepared, and which requires only a generous dispensing
of seed, in the shape of alms, to produce abundant
increase of the seed sown. It tells us, that if we
withhold the seed, we shall lose the advantage of a
richly prepared soil; and if we dispense with a liberal
hand, we shall have proportionately liberal returns.
In other words, a wise and generous use of our property to charitable ends is, like the sowing of seed, a
means of enriching ourselves, both spiritually and
temporally.
That is, indeed, a narrow view which sees a reward in nothing but what terminates on ourselves.
"None of us liveth to himself."  The Christian
blends his spiritual prosperity with that of the cause
of his Redeemer. If he gives his money to carry
and deposit the seed of the word in the most distant
climes, and afterwards finds that that seed is bearing fruit sixty or a hundred-fold, he has his rewardthat increase is a rich compensation for his money.




72          LAW OF BENEFICENCE.
His own soul is enriched, both by sowing the seed
and reaping the harvest. This is one of the most
encouraging views of this work. By "dispersing
abroad" and "giving to the poor," we "sow beside
all waters," and deposit seeds which God watches
over with delight. We have a wide and hopeful
field on which to plant. And if the field be overgrown with briars and thorns, such agencies, under
the divine economy, go along with the seed-such a
powerful hand of a divine Cultivator prepares for it
a place, that it will not return void.
"He that goeth forth bearing precious seed," goes
in the strength of all the agencies that, in the economy of salvation, precede and enforce the word dispensed. And he that gives his alms to give wings
to gospel truth, mingles his agencies with those of
the Redeemer, labors in an enterprise which fills the
heart of a God of mercy, which commands the ministry of angels, and which is sure to give glorious
returns to all benevolent action. He casts his seed
on a field where showers of grace are to fall, and
over which the life-giving breath of the Spirit of God,
like the winds of heaven, is to sweep. This is doing
more than to give impulse to the most powerful
human agencies. It is touching the springs of divine
power, and securing results proportionate to that
power. We also enter into the advantage of the
precious nature of the seed sown. It is the living
word of the living God, "the incorruptible seed,




TENDS TO THRIFT.              73
which liveth and abideth for ever," which lives by
an ever-expansive life, shooting forth new roots and
branches, and yielding seed for new plantings, long
after the hand that planted is laid in the grave.
By contributing to convey the gospel into contact
with the minds of men, whether through the pulpit
or press, we are sowing seeds for a glorious harvest.
We are applying heaven's remedy to the deadly
wounds of a world. True, some of the seed will be
devoured by the fowls, some will be choked with
thorns, and yet, in the general result, the sower will
not be disappointed. The purpose and promise of
God insures him. Thus saith the Lord, "As the rain
cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth and
maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give
seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall
my word be, that goeth forth out of my mouth.  It
shall not return unto me void. But it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the
thing whereto I sent it."  God has " magnified his
word above all his name." The more it has been
dishonored hitherto, by a world's rejecting it, the
more is he pledged to magnify and vindicate it in
time to cq.ne. And among the great events yet to
transpire upon the face of this world, no event, or
series of events, will compare with the lustre of that
in which God will bring forth to view the power and
glory of his own truth.




74         LAW OF BENEFICENCE.
Into this work we enter when we contribute for
the sowing of this seed. We not only cultivate our
own benevolence, in acts of giving, but in the participation of the hopes, and prayers, and efforts for
a world's conversion, we are holding our hearts in
communion with God, and enriching them with all
divine communications.
But, in a narrower sense, these habits of giving
tend to thrift, and promote our temporal interests
Jacob, in that crisis of his history when he was
thrown out from his father's house, empty upon the
world, with his whole fortune to make, made a vow,
responsive to the heavenly vision which he had at
Bethel, that of all that God should give him he
would give a tenth. He adopted essentially the
same rule which we here recommend-a rule which
is within the reach of all. And how he prospered
under it we are well informed. And, in the general
result, it will be found that men will accumulate
property faster under the rule of habitually giving
a due proportion of their income, than they would
without it. Nor does the fact that men often come
into possession of property in disregard of this rule,
show the contrary. For though men often acquire
property without diligence, economy, or honesty, yet
these virtues tend to thrift.  So, all other things
being equal, one may be said to be more sure to
thrive with habits of beneficence than without them.
Sometimes the reciprocity between the incomes and




TENDS TO THRIFT.               75
outgoes is sc manifest as to strike the most careless
observer. Providence has a thousand ways of sustaining it.
Habits of giving favor the formation of other habits
that tend to thrift.  This rule operates as a law of
conduct in the use of one's income, which excludes
the waste made upon many frivolous, not to say
hurtful gratifications. Most are wont to spend on
needless things many small sums, whose aggregate
is a large sum. But he who taxes his income to do
good, soon finds in doing it a gratification greater
than in all those little wasteful expenditures, and
saves more than the amount of his charities. He
has a better estimate of the value and use of money, and he feels a steadier impulse both to benevolence and to a wise economy. He has inserted
into his mind a better regulator, and so saves what
without it he would have wasted upon his vices.
And not only his economy, but his industry, and
indeed the whole sisterhood of thrifty virtues, are
fostered by his habits of charity. Then these virtues, by a natural attraction, draw him into connections with others of like mind, and so secure him
against temptations to wasteful expenditures.
This habit of benevolence also involves a practical acknowledlgment of God and his blessing as the
source of all thrift, which acknowledgment is a direct means of securing blessings. Then, as it is a
general law of Providence that thrift shall follow




f76         LAW OF BENEFICENCE.
diligence, so it is a general law that thrift shall follow benevolence. There is in this what may be
called a secondary rule of retributions, having relations to human society somewhat similar to those
which the retributions of the last day have to the
kingdom of God. God, when higher interests do
not interfere, sustains a providential retribution in
the secular affairs of men, that they may learn from
others' experience how to regulate their own conduct. These retributions are conducted according
to general laws, which exist for reasons similar to
those for which he sustains the constancy of nature's
works. Nature in all her processes is unvarying,
that we may use her best by knowing and obeying
her laws, that we may know before we try it, that
fire will burn, and water will drown. And for a
like reason, God maintains a law that the benevolent
shall thrive. It is written in the book of his providences as well as in that of his revelation, " Cast
thy bread upon the waters, and thou shalt find it
after many days."  And there is nothing in human
experience that gainsays it. There are indeed exceptions. For now and then God has some better
and higher ends to answer, which require him in
individual cases to suspend the rule.
That it is really a rule of divine Providence, is
abundantly asserted in such scriptures as these:
"Honor the Lord with thy substance, and the first
fruits of all thine increase. So shall thy barns be




TENDS TO THRIFT.              77
filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out
with new wine." " There is that scattereth and yet
increaseth, and there is that withholdeth more than
is meet, but it tendeth to poverty."  "The liberal
soul shall be made fat, and he that watereth shall
be watered also himself."  " He that hath pity on
the poor, lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he
hath given, will He pay him again." " He that hath
a bountiful eye shall be blessed, for he giveth of his
bread to the poor." " Bring ye all the tithes into
the storehouse, and prove me now herewith, if I
will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour
you out a blessing, that there shall not be room
enough to receive it." These scriptures have a
meaning, and the meaning which they plainly express, and one which an observant eye will see verified in human experience. You hear God himself
saying, " With what measure ye mete, it shall be
measured to you again. Give, and it shall be given
unto you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over." Thus is the liberality
of men paid first in their own coin, and then paid
again in the coin that goes current in heaven. While
bad crops, bad debts, midnight fires, and the like
disasters may soon consume what is gained by withholding more than is meet.
But you will ask, If this principle have been in
operation, why is not the wealth of the world concentrated in the hands of the benevolent, or of the




78          LAW OF BENEFICENCE.
church? One reason is, that there has been with
professed Christians a sad want of habits of testing
the power of this principle. When the Jews were
under a blight and curse for withholding their tithes,
their poverty was no disproof of the principle. And
the like to some extent may be said of us. But
there is another view. Christianity usually begins
to work on the lower strata of society, and thence
works upward, with a steady elevating influence on
all. Leaving the mountains of hoarded wealth, she
comes to preside over the countless agencies that
work for the elevation of the humbler classes. Her
influence in this particular may be best seen as
exerted on a whole community. For instance, the
foundations of New England were laid by self-sacrificing men, whose "deep poverty abounded to the
riches of their liberality." With smallest ability,
they secured the best means of mental and spiritual culture then had in all the world. And they
did it in a spirit of self:sacrifice for the honor of God.
And all this was done in the rigors of a life in a
newly opened forest. The gifts of gold and precious
stones which they contributed to adorn their tabernacle of God, were gifts made while dwelling in the
wilderness. And to that wise generosity every subsequent year has been bringing in returns in secular
advantages. The present vigor of the New England character, and all that it has achieved for this
country and the world, is traceable to that liberality.




EFFICIENCY OF THIS SYSTEM.          79
And there are luminous- illustrations of our principle wherever the descendants of the pilgrims are
found.
But if any doubt the soundness of the principles
they have an easy and satisfactory way of resolving
their doubts. Let them try it. Let them begin by
giving a due proportion of their income for charities.
and observing the result. There would be less of
doubt if there were more experiments. But there
have been some examples of those who, in some
good degree, have lived not to themselves.  Most of
these, occupying humbler stations, have been little
noticed; yet their record is on high. But some
have stood forth conspicuous, both in wealth and
liberality; and also as illustrations of the principle,
that "he that watere-th shall be watered also himself." Andrew Fuller says the poor people of Glasgow used to say, "David Dale gives his money by
sho'elsful, and God Almighty sho'els it back again."
3. THE SUPERIOR EFFICIENCY OF THIS SYSTEM.
It belonged to divine wisdom to lay the plan for
raising supplies for the wars of the cross-the plan
for gathering from a people, few, scattered, and poor,
as the first Christians were, the funds for the wide
propagation of the gospel.  And the plan which
divine wisdom devised for this purpose is above the
products of human wisdom in its measure, as much
as is the plan of salvation by the cross. In its sim



80          LAW OF BENEFICENCE.
plicity, there is a comprehensive and far-reaching
skill. In its seeming foolishness, there is the wisdom
of God and the power of God.
Let us contemplate this rule of beneficence given
by Paul under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, as a
part of the system employed to gather resources for
the first propagation of the gospel. Here was, so to
speak, a great and expensive war to be sustained.
The little company of Christians were about to engage with the powers of darkness, entrenched in the
strongholds of heathen Rome. Jehovah had summoned them to conquer the empire that had conquered the world; and he gave them a plan for raising
the supplies, that was equal to the emergency. He
saw that if all Christians, as fast as they became
such, adopted this rule of Sabbath-gifts, the war
would be self-supporting in its progress and cumulative in its energy. Look then at the merits of this
rule, considered simply as a part of a system of
finance for such a vast enterprise.
And let not its great simplicity conceal its merits;
for this itself is one of its great advantages, betoken
ing its divine origin. All that comes from God unites
simplicity with comprehensive utility and grandeur.
And this, unlike the complex systems of national
finance, requires not the profound skill of the statesman to execute it. Its simplicity puts it into the
hand of the merest child; it makes each person a
treasurer for the Lord, and appoints his conscience a




EFiICIEN CY OF TlJ'S SYSTEM          81
collector of the weekly dues, and disbursing agent to
meet all demands upon the treasury.  The great
wisdom of the plan consists much in this, that so
many and great ends are secured by a provision so
simple, so easily and universally applicable;
Nearly allied to this feature is that of its great
economy.  Most systems of finance consume a large
percentage of the funds in the expense of collecting;
and the same is true of our benevolent agencies.
But the universal adoption of this rule will, as we
have seen, save what is now a great loss, which we
suffer as the penalty of our neglect of the heaventaught plan. We may, if we will, retain our old
habit of passive giving under casual appeals, and
pay for working the machinery that gives the impulses; but if one and all should adopt the system
which makes each a vigilant and conscientious treasurer for the Lord, there would be, through the length
and breadth of Zion, an omnipresent and spontaneous inflow, every cent of which would be available
to the main purpose.
Then this rule secures us against ruinous burdens. Our revolutionary statesmen were often at
their wit's end to find how to get adequate supplies
for so exhausting a war without absorbing the means
and alienating the hearts of the people. But in this
war of the cross, the wealth of the people from
whom the supplies must come is in still less proportion to the wants; yet here is a rule of finance which,
law of Benef.        6




82         LAW OF BENEFICENCE.
if fully adopted, would fill the treasury, and leave
every contributor none the poorer and more attached
to the cause; for its whole tendency is to nourish
and cultivate our love to the cause, to widen and
deepen the fountains of our benevolent feeling, while
it guards against laying heavy burdens, by leaving
each to judge of his own obligations.
The equity of the rule is another advantage of it
in a financial view. Paul says, "I mean not that
other men be eased, and ye burdened; but by an
equality, that now at this time your abundance may
be a supply for their want, that their abundance also
may be a supply for your want: that there may be
equality." In respect to the equality of the pressure of the burdens, the universal adoption of this
rule would effect a great change. Now the main
burden is borne by a part of those whom it concerns.
Probably one half of professing Christians contribute
nothing. And it deserves to be considered, whether
their neglect has not, at least in part, come from our
neglect of the scriptural mode of laying the demands
upon them-from our neglect to convince them that
there is such a specific and universal law of benevolence binding upon them. But if this rule of Christian finance could be restored, and set in the place
where the Holy Spirit has put it, every Christian's
conscience might be reached. Let those who are
now in a habit of giving, contribute by-their example to make it a common law of Christian life that




EFFICIENCY OF THIS SYSTEM.           83
each shall keep his treasury for Christ, and the time
will soon come, when it will not be easy to hold a
fair repute among Christians while avoiding every
pecuniary burden of the Christian cause. Why is it
a matter of common law in the church, that all professing Christians shall habitually partake of the
communion? That is not more expressly and repeatedly enjoined in the Bible than this duty. But
there is in the case of the Lord's supper a specific
rule generally acknowledged. Let such a rule be
generally acknowledged as to acts of beneficence, and
it is easy to see how the restoration of this rule
would tend to equalize the burden and work.
But the inculcation of this rule is desirable not
so much for the purpose of equalizing the burdens,
as for multiplying the bearers of them.  If it be
true, that one-half of professing Christians, to say
nothing of others, are practically disowning their ob
ligations to give alms of such things as they have
for evangelizing the world, some means not now in
use are requisite to awake the public conscience
where it slumbers.  What is wanted, in order that
the work should advance with the requisite rapidity
and all-pervading energy, is, that every individual
of' the church should be an actual coworker in itthat every church, lesser or larger; that every family, rich or poor; that every individual Christian;
yea, every one who means to maintain a practical
sense of allegiance to Christ, shall become a regular




84         LAW OF BENEFICENCE.
source of supply. And it is natural to ask, In what
way shall this result be secured?  The present mode
of presenting the claims of Christ upon his church,
has, for the last quarter of a century, made little
progress in this direction.  The proportion of persons
in the church who contribute next to nothing, has
scarcely diminished in that time. It is hence plain
that some different mode of reaching the public conscience is requisite. And who will say that this
requisite lies not in a restoration of this apostolic
rule?' If those who now sustain habits of beneficence were to adopt the rule, and in their practice to
commend it to the public mind as an acknowledged
law of Christian life, it would soon acquire a living,
moral force upon the public conscience, such as it
cannot have while it is treated with neglect, and
such as it would not be easy to resist. For who
does not see, that a requirement taking this specific
and imperative form, and laying its grasp on "every
one," would reach many that cannot be reached by a
mere general exhortation to benevolence. Every one,
indeed, thinks himself already benevolent, after some
sort. Every one thinks he is in a degree complying
with the spirit of the general requirements, even if
he give not a cent a year. But ask him to do this
thing in this way, and he will see that you require
what he is not doing. Tell him that God requires
him to do it in this way. Let him see that the
church are practically regarding this rule as binding




EFFICIENCY OF THIS SYSTEM.          85
on,. e 1ch and all, and that in his neglect of it, he is as
much setting aside a law of the divine life as he would
be in the neglect of daily prayer, and you would
reach his conscience with a force entirely new. So
it strikes us, that here is the remedy for that widespread neglect of this branch of Christian obligation
over which Zion mourns. Give to this specific rule
of beneficence the binding force of a living command
of God, addressed to every man; let it live and
breathe and speak through the common practice of
those who sustain the work of evangelizing, and very
soon all professing Christians would either adopt the
rule, or disburden the church of their connection
with it.
It also gives omnipresence and ceaseless activity
to the collecting agencies. It saves the expenses of
itinerant agents by establishing a local agency in
every man's mind, and so commanding the gratuitous services of a thousand agents where it dismisses
one. It gives to each conscience an agent's commission, a pulpit to occupy, a sermon to preach, and
a collection to take up every Sabbath.  And as
every Christian's conscience is supposed to be quickened and guided by the ever-present Spirit of God,
these countless agents are supposed to act under the
guidance and control of one central mind.  So that
the universal adoption of this rule would secure a
countless host of collecting agents, all acting harmoniously under the omnipresent agency of the Spirit




86          LAW OF BENEFICENCE.
of Christ. Seen from this view, this system has a
simplicity and grandeur unrivalled.
And then no odium attaches to these collecting
agencies.  Having learned the excellence of the
work of gathering treasures for beneficence, we are
in the best way to be reconciled to such agencies.
If an appointed agent of some benevolent society
were, like Paul, to come to receive the gatherings
made before he came, we should receive him as an
angel of mercy.  Now, when an agent comes, some
give him a cold reception, because they think he
wants their money; but if they had first commenced acting under their appointment as the Lord's
treasurers, having a portion of his funds in charge,
they would welcome the agent as a convenient
bearer of the Lord's funds to the point of their destination.
In some rare cases, this rule is needed as a check
on those who, giving from casual impulse, give more
than they ought. Some may perhaps do injustice to
themselves and families, by an inconsiderate profusion of their gifts.  One excellent minister's wife
said, that she rejoiced that her husband had adopted
this rule, because she was now sure that his gifts
would'be regulated by his deliberate judgment, and
not exceed his ability. And if the reader has a like
amiable weakness, here is his protection. Let all
your gifts go first into the Lord's treasury, kept in
your own house; then, when a case of want appeals




EFFICIENCY OF THIS SYSTEM.          87
to you, the simple question will'be, how much of
that portion of the Lord's money under your hand
you ought to appropriate to that case. And when
demands are made for undeserving objects, or when
you are tempted to give, as the easiest way to dispose
of a troublesome applicant, the question will be,
Shall I take this portion of my Lord's money, which
is sacred to his uses, and thus throw it away?
This rule also aids to a discrimination between
what are, and what are not objects of charity. There
is such a gradual shading off between gifts in charity
and gifts for other purposes, that we are likely to
credit ourselves too much on the score of charity,
unless we have first made it a rule to take every
gift in charity out of a fund already distinctly appropriated to the Lord. In that case, we should avoid
underrating our obligations through our overestimate
of our actual gifts.
This financial rule works admirably, in producing
large results from small means, in that it both generates wealth where it gathers it, and makes massive ingots out of the carefully-garnered grains and
dust of gold. A financier for a nation plans to gather
into the public treasury the needed percentage of the
existing wealth of the people. But Paul's plan of
finance was laid to work where wealth was notamong those required to labor, working with their
hands, that they might have to give to him that
needeth. God has not set in progress a kingdom of




SS         LAW OF BENEFICENCE.
poor men, and put it upon a work that involves great
expenses, without putting it upon a course of action
that will furnish the supplies. This is done by graduating the value of the gift of each by the ability
and sacrifice of the giver-by putting the widow's
farthing as high as the rich man's pound; thus making sure of the small grains, that will grow into the
mass of a mountain. As it is not the dash of a single water-spout here and there that fertilizes the
broad bosom of the earth, but the countless little
drops falling thick and fast over the whole surface,
so it is with the accumulations of evangelical finance.
The wonderful capacity of that system lies in its
power of generating and gathering up the minute
grains, till they produce effective funds; and the
secret of the power which brings forth even the
smallest gifts, lies in the consideration given to the
smallest gifts proceeding from the love of Christ
The plan which puts the poor man's cent on a par
with the rich man's dollar, generates funds where
there are none, gathers the thick and pregnant cloud
from accumulations of vapor too thin to be visible.
It enables the poor to join in making many rich.
But we have not the whole of this idea, till we
have seen how this system increases the giver's
ability. Other systems only transfer a portion of the
people's wealth to the public treasury; but this goes
in among the contributors, and disciplines them to
economy, diligence, temperance, and all the virtues




EFFICIENCY OF THIS SYSTEM.          89
that tend to thrift, and so generates more wealth
than it gathers. If the poor man wishes to enter
upon a thrifty course, he does well to begin where
Jacob did, when, an exile and a penniless wanderer,
he lodged in Bethel, with a rock for his pillow and
heaven for his canopy, and when he made that vow,
" Of all that thou shalt give me, I will surely give
the tenth unto thee."  It is no miracle, but the
ordinary process of providence, that makes this habit
of returning a portion of' God's gifts contribute to our
wealth. And this process of providence challenges
our observation as much as the miracle by which the
widow's handful of meal and cruse of oil wasted not,
according to the word of the Lord.
A special beauty of this system is, that whatever
it brings into the Lord's treasury, it brings by means
most purely voluztary.  There is not even the cornpulsion of eloquent appeals to sympathy.  The Lord
loves a cheerful giver, and will have his conquests
made with no forced supplies. He will have the
energy of his cause sustained by the concurrence of
willing hearts. For this reason, he frowns on, all
attempts to sustain his gospel in its purity by compulsory means. Those battles of the warrior which
are with confused noise and garments rolled in blood,
may well be sustained by supplies raised by force.
Before them is the garden of Eden, and behind them
a wilderness. But Zion's King seeks this as his especial honor, that when his conquests shall be complete,




90         LAW OF BENEFICENCE.
and the world shall have welcomed his sceptre, it
may be seen that all the supplies of his armies have
come from the spontaneous gifts and the loyal hearts
of his people. He has a right, indeed, to make forced
loans; for in them he would only be drawing upbn
his own funds, since the silver and the gold, and the
cattle upon a thousand hills, are his. And he does
in many ways force an unwilling service from hearts
and hands that intend it not. Yet his wisdom has
appointed, respecting the carrying forth of the gospel
to the benighted, that through your mercy they shall
obtain mercy-that thus faith shall come by hearing
the preachers of your sending. He will have it appear in the grand result, that the very essence of his
kingdom and its self-expansive power, consists in that
love to God and man which has expression in gifts
for the spread of salvation. And that mode of benevolent action most intimately harmonizes with his
plans, which is most purely spontaneous on behalf of
his people coworking with him.
Another desideratum in public finances is, that the
supplies shall be steady and reliable. And were
this plan generally adopted, there would be no need
of the expenses of our evangelizing societies running
beyond their income-no need for extra and spasmodic efforts to throw off a crushing debt; for the
income would be a steady stream, supplied by countless everflowing springs.
Another advantage of the rule is, that it has that




EFFICIENCY OF THIIS SYSTEM.         91
in its own structure and use which disarms objections. If one absolutely refuses tribute to Christ,
and denies that he has any money-account to keep
with him, he has indeed no use for it; but let any
one admit his obligation to give alms of such things
as he has, and he can give no valid reason why he
should not do it in the way which this rule describes.
If alms-giving be no part of your religion-if you
think that your having been "bought with a price"
confers no pecuniary obligations, you must be left to
settle your accounts with the Redeemer at the final
reckoning. But those who think alms-giving as much
a duty as prayer or honesty, have here a rule which
God has given for its performance. It claims their
adoption by divine authority, and by reason of its
intrinsic excellence and manifold advantages. And
any one who refuses to adopt it, may be asked to
bring against it a reasonable objection.  Is it, that
it would bind you to do more than you are able?
The terms of the rule show the contrary. Is it, that
your ability is small, and your gifts would be inconsiderable?  It was for just such cases that the rule
was more especially mnade. Is it, that you cannot
always be sure of having the money in hand at the
time? That is not needful. Is it, that you cannot
so often judge of your ability? You do as often judge
of your ability, in graduating your ordinary expenditures. Do you say that many have gone well through
life without such a rule?  Now, a command of God




92         LAW OF BENEFICENCE.
which has slumbered for a thousand years is coming
to life, and you will do well to heed it.
Furthermore, this plan of finance exceeds all others in its ezfo)rccqments.  In these the great Contriver
employs his infinite wisdom, and shows his control of
the springs of our minds. He proposes an end to be
accomplished upon ourselves by what we give to
him; and he asks our gifts, not so much because he
or his cause needs them, as that he may have them
as proofs of our self-devotement to him. He comes,
not so much to awaken our sympathies fbr the suffering, as to constrain us by the love of Christ. When
he calls us to beneficence, he speaks not so much of
the sufferings of man, as of the mercies of Christ.
He says, "Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes
he became poor." And by a substitution, warranted
by his having stood as surety for a dying world-his
having come to seek and save the lost, and his having made the lost his own —he says, " Inasmuch as
ye have done it unto one of the least of these, ye have
done it unto me."  So he causes the wants of the
world to plead with us out of his own mouth, and
to plead all that he has done for us, and all the
claims which he has upon us. And the whole is
backed by eternal sanctions. He does not bind this
law upon us with civil pains and penalties. If men
prefer to set aside his claims, and snatch and hoard
all that he gives them, he holds his peace for the




EFFICIENCY OF THIS SYSTEM.          9)3
time. It may be, he lets the stream of his bounty
flow on, and lets them pass with credit among men,
and without censure in the church. But in a corning day he will say, " Inasmuch as ye did it not to
one of the least of these, ye did it not to me."
This rule then commends itself to our adoption by
its superior efficiency as a mode of financial action.
It was evidently appointed by divine wisdom, not
only because of its being best adapted to cultivate a
benevolent character, but because best adapted to
increase the amount given in charity.
It opens a way in which the poor can contribute a
considerable amount.  Indeed, there is no other way
fobr a large class of Christians, many of whom are
the excellent of the earth, the true nobility, to bear
any considerable part in the most excellent of all
enterprises. The amount which they can give at
any one time, without the previous process of laying
aside a little now and a little then, is so small, that
they would be discouraged from attempting any
thing.  But let this rule be adopted in the church,
and restored to its proper place, and secure a general
concurrence in it, and you will vastly multiply the
hearts and hands engaged to swell the general
amount. The single deposits of each will be small;
but even the poorest at the year's end will bring
you a handsome donation. And the aggregate donations of the poor will surpass all previous expectadons. Of those whose means are smallest, there are




94         LAW OF BENEFICENCE.
some who, taught by an instinctive benevolence and
sagacity, have adopted the substance of this rule as
their only means of procuring their share in the luxury of beneficence, and are now actually laying aside
their penny at a time, to nurse it up to the pound, to
be devoted to the cause of Christ. But while this is
true of some, the greater part are discouraged and
excluded, in our exclusion of God's appointed rule,
which is their deed of partnership in the enterprise.
A restoration of this rule would then bring at once
a strong reinforcement to the army for subduing this
world to Christ.
But the reinforcements would come not alone from
the poor. Let this rule be recovered from oblivion,
and let it come to be a universally admitted truth,
that every Christian is bound to obey it, as much as
he is bound to keep the Sabbath, and the habits of
a large portion of professed Christians will be revolutionlized.
But the greatest increase will be from the operation of the rule on those who now sustain the burden of these enterprises. Let them come under a
regular system, and from week to week set apart a
portion "as God has prospered them," and they will
soon find themselves giving more, with less of seeming sacrifice. They will come out at the year's end
with much greater amounts deposited in the treasury
of the Lord, and with their own funds not lessened
by that increase. They will find their beneficence,




PRIMITIVE EXAMPLES.             95
as it has become a matter of more frequent recurrence, and more constant business, to have become
also a matter of more substantial satisfaction; thus,
mnore will be done with more pleasure, and with more
ability for doing it.
Here then is a method by which, if the church is
willing to obey a simple and plain command of her
Lord, a vast increase may be secured to the means of
evangelizing the world. And this fact pleads with
unlimited power, when we reflect to what rich account all means can now be turned —when we reflect
that the whole world is one inviting field of missionary labor-that Bibles will be received and used as
fast as they can be made and given-that preachers
will find a hearing in as great numbers as they can
be sent-that colporteurs might advantageously be
increased a hundred-fold, and that Christian presses
might find employment in unlimited numbers. This
is the time to sow abundantly beside all waters, and
if there is any principle of action, that can put us in
possession of ten-fold the presenrt incomes of our evangelizing societies, we want it now.
4. EXAMPLE OF THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH.
The example of the primitive church may instruct
us in this duty. The type of benevolence that appeared in the pentecostal revival, was nobly sustained
in the church for several ages. The church first
gathered at Jerusalem being scattered abroad, went




(936       FLAW OF BENEFICENCE.
everywhere preaching the word and kindling the
fires of their own zeal and love; and apostles testified of the new churches reared in Gentile nations,
that " their deep poverty abounded to the riches of
their liberality," and that they extended their gifts
even " beyond their power." Next to bringing their
own minds into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
their chief care was the conversion of others.
The history of the first two centuries of Christianity abounds with remarkable facts, showing with
what zeal and entireness of soul, the church went
into the work of converting the world.  Those who
perilled their lives and suffered the loss of all things
in preaching, were not the only ones who made sacrifices for the spread of the gospel. Some spent all
besides a bare support of themselves, to furnish the
means of evangelizing others; those who had no
property gave the avails of their labor; and it is recorded of one man that he sold himself as a slave to
a heathen family, to get access to them for their conversion, and for years cheerfully endured the labor
and condition of a slave till. he succeeded with the
whole family, and took his liberty from the gratitude
of the converts.  The same person, on a visit to
Sparta, again entered himself as a slave in the family of the governor of Sparta and served two years,
and again succeeded in his design. The fires of such
a benevolence, burning wherever a company of Christians was gathered, could not fail soon to overspread




PRIMITIVE EXAMPLES.             97
the world, and in the space of one generation most
of the nations then known to the civilized world,
were more or less evangelized. And if such a tone
of benevolent action could be now restored to the
church, another generation would not pass before the
earth would be " full of the knowledge and glory of
God, as the waters cover the sea."
And their kindness to the poor was boundless.
Christians felt as much bound to this as to prayer, or
to the hearing of the gospel. Contributions and actaal exertions for their relief, were made indispensable
parts of Sabbath exercises. At the close of public
worship, lists of the needy, the widows and orphans,
were produced and considered, and additions were
made from time to time as new cases occurred; and
the wants of these were supplied from the funds
gathered by free contributions. No heart-stirring
appeals were needed to awake dormant sympathies.
The spontaneous flowings of the fountains of their
benevolence supplied every stream. There were no
hospitals for the poor and sick- except of their creating, and few of the heathen ever entered abodes of
suffering on errands of mercy. The Christians supported not only their own needy, but bore the burden
which hardness of heart in their heathen neighbors
cast upon them; and the zeal with which they
entered into every labor of love is well-nigh incredible. Ladies of highest rank acted as nurses for the
sick, exposing themselves to contagions, and devoting
LaRW of Bencf.      7




X98       LAW OF BENEFICENCE.
their purse, their toil, their prayers, and their instructions, to pour consolation into the cells of extremest wretchedness. It was a day when scenes of
wretchedness specially abounded-when the world
was often visited by famines and pestilences, and
the heathen had become shockingly corrupt in morals, and desperate and reckless under the fearful
visitations of heaven; and the miracles of Christian
benevolence shone brighter through the da:tkness,
and contrasted strangely with the cold indifference
of the heathen towards their nearest friends. For
instance, in the time of Cyprian, the plague came
upon Carthage with fearful and protracted visitations.
The heathen abandoned their sick and dying. The
highways were strewed with corpses which none
dared to bury. But Christians faced every danger,
and often sacrificed life in alleviating sufferings and
burying the dead, whether of Christians or heathen.
While, among the heathen, parents deserted their
own children, and children trampled on unburied
corpses of parents.
But one of the greatest taxes on primitive benevolence was laid by persecution, which now and then
went through the church like a tempest. No sooner
did the report go abroad that a fellow-Christian was
in a dungeon, than crowds of Christians came around
the prison-doors begging admission, meekly bearing
the insults of surly guards, and using every means
to procure the prisoner's release.  Some would beset




PRIM I I2VE EXAMPLES.            99
the prison-walls days and nights, praying for the deliverance, or the triumphant death of the imprisoned
martyrs. When any were doomed to waste their
lives in toil in distant and unwholesome mines, contributions were sent for their relief, by the hands of
those who undertook long journeys to convey the
sympathies and offerings of the church. To show
the temper of the times, a party set out from Egypt
in the depth of winter, to relieve some brethren in
the mines of Cilicia.  They came to Cesarea, and
there the heathen seized a part of them, put out their
eyes, and horribly mutilated them. But in spite of
such dangers, such journeys were often performed.
No floods of persecution could quench the desire to
convey consolation to those suffering for Christ's sake.
And those who lived to return and tell what they
had seen of martyrs in the mines-how they toiled,
and bore their chains, and honored their Redeemer,
were loaded with many honors.
To supply resources for this great variety of pressing calls for charity, there was the Sabbath contribution, commenced by order of Paul, in which all,
rich and poor, concurred. Then, in case of great
public calamities, the people held fasts, and gave to
the church what they saved by abstinence from food.
In pressing emergencies, the plate which the church
had acquired in more prosperous days was melted
down and sold. Others bound themselves to set
apart a certain portion of their income; others held




10        LAWNr OF BENEFICENCE.
periodical fasts, devoting the saving thereby to the
church. Some wealthy individuals, when converted,
sold their whole estates, and betook themselves to
manual labor for their own support. Others managed their estates, devoting the whole income to the
cause.
Indeed, so much did the first Christians excel in
acts of charity, that these constituted their peculiar
characteristic, and the wonder of the heathen world.
If the church had any thing whereof to boast, it was
this. This is illustrated by the well-known act of
the deacon of the church at Rome, in the time of
the emperor Decius.  The tyrant demanded that
the treasure of the church should be surrendered.
The deacon required one day's time to gather it.
In that time, he assembled all the blind, lame, sick,
and poor, that were supported by the church, and
then called in the emperor, and said, these are the
treasures of the church! In the time of Chrysostom,
the church under his care had on its catalogue of
sick and poor, three thousand regular beneficiaries,
besides extraordinary applications every day for assistance.
Indeed, so glorious and impressive was the robe
of Christian charity worn by the primitive church,
that Julian the apostate, seeking to effect in his day
a resurrection of the prostrate heathen institutions
endeavored to put this robe upon paganism, expecting that it would, like the bones of Elisha, give life




CONCLUSION.                101
to the dead. Here is the ever-memorable testimony
of that crafty and politic emperor: " Let us consider
that nothing has so much contributed to the progress
of the superstition of Christians, as their charity to
strangers. I think we ought to discharge this obligation ourselves. Establish hospitals in every place.
For it would be a shame for us to abandon our poor,
while the Jews have none, and the impious Galile
ans provide not only for their own poor, but also for
ours."
CONCLUSION.
Place, now, distinctly before the mind, what, if
we have rightly read the New Testament, the Lord
requires of you, be your property less or more. It
is, that you shall now commence, if you have not
already, a habit of setting apart a portion of your
income on the Sabbath, or at other stated times, for
charitable uses, regulating with a generous heart and
a good conscience the amount appropriated by the
ability which God shall give you. Knowing this to
be a plain requirement of Christ, can you hesitate?
If you can, you are not able to say, " The love of
Christ constraineth us." Indeed, what right of choice
have you in the case?  "Ye are not your own: ye
are bought with a price," and are bound to " glorify
God," not only with your money, but with "youi
body and your spirit, which are his." "Ye are bought
with a price "-" not with corruptible things, as sil



102        LAW OF BENEFICENCE
ver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ."
Where Christ asks your silver, he has given his
blood. Do you realize that he has borne the curse
for you, and snatched you from the gates of hell?
And yet, have you no generous emotions when he
asks for these gifts, in token of your love? Do you
forget the mercy of " our Lord Jesus Christ, who,
though he was rich, yet for your sakes became poor,
that ye through his poverty might be rich?" And
now that through his poverty you are becoming rich,
or think you are, now that the riches of his grace
begins to flow in upon your soul, and God is endow
ing you with the wealth of the divine nature, and
he comes to you in the person of his poor, and asks
for a portion of his own gifts to be returned, have you
a heart to deny him? After all your hopes and professions, is this the real temper of your mind? Look
the thing in the face again. By becoming poor, he
has made you rich; and in his poverty, which pleads
in the mouth of his poor, he asks you to return enough
of the gifts which he has put into your hand, to serve
as a substantial token of your grateful love. And
have you no heart to give it? We ask you, then,
just to realize what is the state of your heart. We
ask, how dwelleth the love of God in you? We
ask you to realize with whom you are dealing, and
to whom he will say, " Inasmuch as ye did it not to
one of the least of these, ye did it not to me."
Furthermore, this mode of consecrating our prop




CONCLUSION.               103
erty to Christ was included in the terms of our oath
of allegiance, or surrender to him. That surrender
included all that we are and have. Any thing short
of this would not bring us into covenant with God.
And if we have really covenanted with him, we
stand pledged by oath to make such a use of our
property. And as far as we are coming short of this,
are we not keeping back a part when we had sworn
to devote the whole?  And how does this differ from
the sin of Ananias and Sapphira?
But you say, perhaps, that the great body of pro.
fessed Christians, and those of reputable standing
have gone through life without any such rule of ac
tion, and why should more be required of you? " The
times of this ignorance God winked at." A veil rested upon the minds of most respecting this matter;
but the views of the Christian world are in the process of a great change. As new enterprises have
been thrown upon our hands, new light has come
into our minds. We now begin to see this thing as
it is, and are now without the excuse which our fathers had. We are in a state of transition to positions of purer light and more scriptural benevolence;
and soon the church will look upon neglect of this
rule as we now look upon preceding ages, that for a
thousand years gave scarcely a dollar for the conversion of heathen.  We trust the time is not distant,
when the professed Christian who has no habit and
system of alms-giving, will be regarded in the church




104        LAW OF BENEFICENCE.
as the miser now is in society. This living to one's
self, and withholding from Christ, will be as odious
as is now the trade of the swindler.
But perhaps some will still say, that they admit
the obligation to practise a generous charity, but
they hold that the gospel leaves every one to decide.
for himself how much he ought to give; and why
not let each one decide as to the mode of giving?
Why insist so much on its being done in this particular way? You might say the same about the duty o!
Sabbath-keeping. You admit the obligation to preach
and hear and pray and praise; but why insist on its
being done on that particular day? We could in
both cases give many reasons. But this is enough,
that God has commanded it; and the command to
do this work of charity on the Sabbath, or at other
stated times, is as explicit as the command to keep the
Sabbath. Some individuals might devote as many
hours to spiritual exercises, if there were no Sabbath;
and some individual might give as much in charity,
if there were no law requiring this stated appropriation of portions of income. - But to make the matter
sure with all, divine wisdom has made this appointment, and who are we, that we set it aside?




ZACCHEUS;
OR,
THE SCRIPTURAL PLAN
OF
BENEVOLENCE9
BY REV. SAMUEL HARRIS,
CONWIAY, MASS..A&dl Zaccheus stood and said unto the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my
goods I give to the poor.-LmE 19: 8.
PUBLISHED BY THE
AMERICAN TRACT SOCTIETY,
150 NASSATT-STREET, NEW YORk.








CONTENT S.
CHAPTER I.
PLAN PRESCRIBED IN THE BIBLE, -----------------------  5
CHAPTER II.
PRINCIPLES WHICH GUIDE IN REDUCING THE SCRIPTURAL
PLAN TO PRACTICE, -------------------------------------- 13
CHAPTER III.
THE DUTY OF SYSTEMATIC BENEVOLENCE INFERRED
FROM THE NATURE AND MOTIVES OF PIETY, -------- 19
CHAPTER IV.
SUPERIOR EFFICIENCY OF SYSTEMATIC BENEVOLENCE IN
PROVIDING FUNDS FOR BENEVOLENT ENTERPRISES, 25
CHAPTER V.
TENDENCY TO SECURE GOD'S BLESSING ON BUSINESS AND
TO ENLARGE THE MEANS OF GIVING, ----------------- 37
CHAPTER VI.
THE ANTIDOTE OF COVETOUSNESS, —-------------------- 49
CHAPTER VII.
ESSENTIAL TO THE HIGHEST SPIRITUALATTAINMENTS, 61
CHAPTER VIII.
INCREASES THE SPIRITUAL POWER OF THE CHURCH, 71
CHAPTER IX.
PROMOTES HAPPINE SS, - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  - - - - - - - - -    -   74








'SCRIPTURAL
PLAN OF BENEVOLENCE,
CHAPTER I.
PLAN PRESCRIBED IN THE BIBLE.
THOUGHTFUL readers cannot but observe the importance ascribed in the Bible to acts of charity;
the boldness with which the inquirer for salvation
is commanded, "Sell that thou hast, and give to
the poor;" the preeminence in deadliness assigned to
the love of money as " the root of all evil;" the earnestness and frequency with which men are warned
of its perils, and of the absolute incompatibility of
serving God and mammon; the elevation given to
the standard of benevolence, " Let this mind be in
you, which was also in Christ Jesus;" and the vital
connection everywhere implied between alms-giving
and the highest attainments of piety, of spiritual
power, and spiritual joy. They cannot but be startled, sometimes, with the apprehension that there is
a strange contrast here between the Bible and the
church; that the faithful applying of scriptural truth
on this point, might make many a professed disciple




6        SCRIP rURAL BENEVOLENCFE.
go away, like the young ruler, sorrowful, or cry, as
they did of old when Christ had been preaching on
this very subject, " Who then can be saved?" And
they cannot but be justified in inferring that this very
contrast between the church and the Bible is a prominent cause of embarrassment in our benevolent enterprises; of the prevailing worldliness of Christians;
the limited success of efforts for the conversion of
souls; the fewness of those who enter into the deepest experience of the spiritual life; and the absence
of that rapidity of enlargement and energy of action
which marked the apostolic church.
But the Bible not only teaches the importance of
charity, it lays down principles systematizing it. To
secure its divinely appointed prominence in advancing the enterprises, the piety, the power, and the
blessedness of the church, it is necessary to understand and to practise the divinely appointed plan of
SYSTEMATIC BENEVOLENCE.
" UPON THE FIRST DAY'OF THE WEEK LET EVERY
ONE OF YOU LAY BY HIM IN STORE, AS GOD HATH PROSPERED HIM."'
This requires that charitable appropriations be
systematic. It requires some plan, deliberately and
prayerfully adopted, assessing on the income a determinate proportion for charitable purposes. It forbids
giving merely from impulse, as under the excitement
of an eloquent charity sermon, or the accidental sight
of distress It forbids giving merely at random what




PLAN PRESCRIBED.                7
happens to be convenient. It transfers the control
of charity from the capriciousness of sensibility and
the parsimony of convenience, to the decisions of reason and conscience. It regulates impulse by principle. It brings the whole subject into the closet, to
be determined by prayer and deliberation, according
to the rules of the Bible, in the fear of God, and the
spirit of consecration to him. In carrying into effect
the plan thus deliberately adopted, charitable appropriations will enter into the calculations as much as
the necessary expenditures on the person, the family,
or the business; they will be managed with as systematic exactness as any branch of business; they
may with advantage be as regularly booked. A line
written on a memorandum of his charities, kept by a
systematic giver and found after his death, suggests
an important reason for keeping such a record: "I
keep this memorandum lest I should think I give
more than I do."
They who obey the scriptural rule of benevolence,
do not wait to be solicited. Like the impoverished
but liberal Macedonians, they are " willing of themselves." If a way of conveying their gifts is not
at hand, they seek one out, as Paul describes the
Macedonians: " praying us with much entreaty that
we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints." Thus, according to the inspired plan, the urgent solicitation is
not on the part of the agent of benevolence to draw




8        SCRIPTURAL BENEVOLENCE.
charity from the giver, but on the givers' part to find
the agent to receive and disburse their charities. Let
this system be adopted, and the funds of benevolent
societies would flow in unsolicited, and the expense
of collecting agencies would cease.
The scriptural rule requires frequent and stated
appropriations. " On the first day of the week, let
every one lay by him." If it is allowable sometimes to depart from the letter of this law, the
spirit of it must be regarded. Having adopted his
plan of giving, the giver is required at frequent and
stated times to examine his income, assess on it the
prescribed proportion, and set aside the amount sacred to benevolence. His appropriations must be
frequent, to keep pace with his earnings and with
the constant calls of benevolence; stated, that they
may not be forgotten. This is inconsistent with giving a large sum, and then for a long time nothing,
and with the intention of giving only or chiefly at
death.
The text cited requires that charities be proportionate to the income. In the laws regulating the
Jewish tithes and offerings, God prescribed precisely
what proportion should be given. This was prac
ticable in a system of laws for a single agricultural
people, among whom every family was entitled to
an inalienable inheritance in the soil; but the gospel, designed for all nations and ages, could not with
equity fix the precise proportion. And it fits the en



PLAN PRESCRIBED.               9
tire character of the gospel-free grace from God,
free love from man -to leave the decision of this
point to the unconstrained love of those who have
freely given all to Christ; for " God loveth a cheerful giver." But the principle by which the proportion to be given is determined, is most explicitly
stated. " Let every one lay by him in store, as God
hath prospered him."  Nothing can satisfy God's
claim less than a consecration to benevolence of an
amount proportioned to the prosperity God has given. Do you think yourself benevolent because you
give something —much? If you give less than " according as God hath prospered you," yours is but the
benevolence of Ananias and Sapphira.
This principle of proportionate benevolence is repeated in various forms in the Bible. " If any man
minister, let him do it as of the ability that God
giveth."  "As every man hath received the gift,
even so minister the same one to another, as good
stewards of the manifold grace of God." "As we
have opportunity, let us do good unto all men."
" I am debtor" to put forth benevolent efforts " as
much as in me is."  "Honor the Lord with the
first-fruits of all thine increase." There are three
points in this requirement of benevolence proportioned to the income.
1. All must give.  "Let every one."  The gospel does not release the poor from giving. The
smallest income can pay a proportion.  Nothing,




10       SCRIPT URAL BENEVOLENCE.
short of the tota' cessation of God's gifts can exempt
from the law, " As God hath prospered him." The
Macedonian church were praised for giving in "their
deep poverty." The story of the widow's two mites
settles for ever the acceptableness to God of offerings
from the poor. And one dollar thus given, has
often a moral power greater than a thousand. The
benevolence of Louisa Osborn the colored domestic,
who, from the wages of one dollar a week, paid
twenty dollars a year to educate a youth in Ceylon,
as it has been brought to light by the missionary
who witnessed the unusual benefits of her donation
to the mission, has thrilled the hearts of American
Christians. The widow's two mites, which were
all her living, lifted to the gaze of the universe and
illuminated by the Saviour's commendation, have
exerted and will exert a power which no mine of gold
can equal-as if a dew-drop, expending its whole
being to refresh one tiny flower, had been transformed, as it exhaled to the skies, into a star, and
fixed in the brightness of the firmament to bless the
creation for ever.
2. Donations should increase with the increase of
ability to give.  "As God hath prospered him."
This requires the rich to give proportionally to their
increasing wealth, though, in order to do it, they
must give thousands of dollars where they used to
give one. And these great donations are not to be
regarded as specially praiseworthy, more than small



PLAN PRESCRIBED.              1l
er gifts which cost as great sacrifice and are proportionally as much. In both cases the giver has but
"done what it was his duty to do."
3. The rich must give a larger proportion o0
their income than the poor.  A poor widow with a
helpless family cannot give a tenth of her earnings
without taking bread from her children. Will any
imagine that a man who has wealth, or even a competency, is required to give no larger a proportion
of his income than that widow? A poor laborer
may be subjected to more inconvenience by giving
five dollars, than a man of wealth by giving five
thousand.  Hence, the greater a man's wealth, the
larger must be the proportion of income which he
gives. Hence the propriety of a rule adopted by
Mr. N. R. Cobb, a merchant of Boston: to give from
the outset one quarter of the net profits of his business; should he ever be worth $20,000, to give one
half of the net profits; if worth $30,000, to give
three quarters; and if ever worth $50,000, to give
all the profits.  This resolution he kept till his
death, at the age of 36, when he had already acquired
$50,000, and was giving all his profits.
Different individuals, who have aimed at systematic benevolence, have come to different conclusions
as to the proportion which they ought to give; and,
perhaps, each one to a correct conclusion, in his particular circumstances.  Zaccheus gave half of his
goods to the poor, besides restoring fourfold his unjust




12       SCRIPTURAL BENEVOLENCE.
gains. The first converts at Jerusalem, to meet their
peculiar circumstances, sold their possessions and
made distribution of the avails, as every man had
need. Paul repeatedly intimates that he had suffered the loss of all things. Others have adopted
plans similar, in the main, to that of Mr. Cobb, already cited. Others, after paying what has been
needful for a most economical support, have given all
their income. John Wesley is an example. "When
his income was ~30 a year, he lived on ~28, and
gave away ~2; the next year his income was ~60,
and still living on ~28, he had ~32 to give. The
fourth year raised his income to ~120, and steadfast
to his plan, the poor got ~92." Others, again, have
given a tenth of the gross amount of their receipts.
Such is the scheme of Christian beneficence devised in heaven and enjoined by inspired wisdom.
Let every man consider that in neglecting it, he sets
at naught the authority and the wisdom of God.
Men may deride it; and so it is written of one of
cur Lord's many discourses on the right use of property, " The Pharisees, who were covetous, heard these
things, and they derided him."




REDUCED TO PRACTICE.             13
CHAPTER II.
PRINCIPLES WHICH GUIDE IN REDUCING
THE SCRIPTURAL PLAN TO PRACTICE.
WE now suppose that the child of God, convinced
that the foregoing is the scriptural plan of beneficence, has retired to his closet solemnly to adopt this
plan, and to determine the details of its application
to himself. We direct his attention to three principles which should guide him.
1. The aim of all business must be to glorify
God. This aim must give simplicity and unity to
the entire life. Property is to be sought, not as the
chief end, but as a means of doing good. The Christian is not to ask, " What part of my income shall I
consecrate to God's service?" By the very act of
becoming a Christian, he consecrated ALL to God's
service in doing good. He has only to ask what part
he must devote to this particular way of serving
God-charitable gifts-in order that his whole property may accomplish most for God's glory. He is
to remember, that the same principle is to regulate
every step in the conduct of business, every new enterprise, every investment, every expenditure; that
he is not at liberty to appropriate a dollar in any
way, except as he can see that by so appropriating
it he can do most to glorify God. He is not to think
of setting aside a certain proportion for God, and do



14.}     SCRIPTURAL BENEVOLENCE.
ing what he pleases with the rest; he is to devote
all to God's service, and expend, invest, or give it, in
such proportions as will effect most for that end.
The law of systematic benevolence, therefore, does
not forbid spending money on ourselves, educating
children, laying aside something for the future. It
does not forbid acquiring property; we may make
the five pounds, ten. We are even required so to do
serving God in the act; " not slothful in business
serving the Lord." But no act of acquiring or spending money can be justified, unless it appears that by
it most can be accomplished for God's glory.
The Bible everywhere exhibits business as wholly
subservient to this great end.  " Whether ye eat, or
drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of
God."  "Seek ye first the kingdom  of God."  It
teaches that Christians are stewards, having nothing
but the talents which God has intrusted to them to
be increased for him.  The requirement, " Sell that
ye have and give alms," the similar direction given
by Christ to the young ruler, cannot mean less than
that all worldly business and possessions are to be
entirely subservient to doing good.
Benevolence, then, must be not only systematic,
but systematizing, pervading and regulating the whole
business  How is it possible to be seeking first the
kingdom of God, when, practically, the controlling
aim of all the transactions of business is to make
money; when giving to the treasury of the Lord




REDUCED TO PRACTICE.             lb
is only occasional and secondary, seldom occupying
the thoughts; called forth, perhaps, only by solicitation; trifling, it may be, in amount; and determined
only by the impulse or convenience of the moment?
It is as if the steward of an estate should devote its
income to himself, making only an occasional and
trifling gift to the family of the absent owner, nay,
leaving its members to suffer without caring for their
wants. It is reversing the sentiment of the humble
suppliant, " The dogs eat of the crumbs which fall
from their master's table," and giving the crumbs to
the master, while the dogs eat at the table.
In view of this principle, let the Christian decide
what part of his income the promotion of God's glory
and the advancement of his cause require him to expend on himself and his family, what part to invest,
what part to give.
2. The Christian will recognize the duty of selfdenial.  Does he say, " I give all that is convenient?" This language has widely different meanings on different lips. Some do not find it convenient
to dispense with the most costly; or even the most
hurtful luxuries.  Some do not find it convenient to
give half as much in a year as they spend on a single article of luxury, or in the indulgence of a single
pernicious habit. The Bible does not say, "Do
good as much as is convenient," but, "as much as
in you is." The necessity of self-denial is too plainly
revealed to allow the thought that the scriptural




16       SCRIPTURAL BENEVOLENCE.
law of benevolence can be obeyed without it. It is
not only reiterated in direct commands, but is woven
into all the inspired teachings respecting the Christian life. The spirit that breathed on the cross is
presented as the spirit which must breathe through
the whole church. If the church is "the body of
Christ," Christ's heart beats within it, sending to the
remotest limb the throbbings of its own love. He
who is not thus " in Christ," and imbued with his
self-sacrificing love, is none of his. The Christian,
then, must make his appropriations to charity in the
spirit which says, "What things were gain to me,
those I counted loss for Christ."
Here, however, every Christian is left to the decision of his own mind, guided by the rules and animated by the love of Christ. The following fact
shows Wesley's practice: "In 1775 the AccountantGeneral sent him a copy of the excise order for the
return of plate:' Rev. sir, as the commissioners cannot doubt but you have plate for which you have
hitherto neglected to make entry, etc.'-to which he
wrote this memorable answer:'Sir, I have two silver tea-spoons at London, and two at Bristol. This
is all the plate which I have at present, and I shall
not buy any more while so many around me want
bread.' " Normand Smith of Hartford, deeming his
house too expensive to be consistent with his rules of
Christian benevolence, determined to sell it. An account was published in the newspapers a few years




REDUCED TO PRACTICE.             17
since of a man who lived in a garret, on bread and
water, that he might have the more to give. The
writer knows a minister and his wife who lived
without many of the comforts of life, for the same
object. Admit that some have gone to an extreme.
But is not this nobler and more acceptable to God,
than to go to the extreme of indulging self, without
any denial? And where one goes to an extreme in
this direction, are there not thousands in the churches who have never learned by experience what selfdenial is? And which is most like Him who had
not where to lay his head?  As to the extent to
which self-denial must be carried, "let every man be
fully persuaded in his own mind;" as to its necessity
to full compliance with the scriptural rule of benevolence, let every one heed the Saviour's words, " If
any man will come after me, let him deny himself."
And it is to be supposed that the rich are not excused
from the duty, nor debarred from the privilege, more
than the poor.
3. The Christian will regard his charities, however great, as the discharge of an obligation.  The
right to give or withhold at pleasure belongs to God
alone. To his creatures God says, " Ye are not your
own;" and emphatically to his ransomed children,
"Ye are not your own; ye are bought with a price."
The very beginning of the religious life is an act of
entire consecration to God. The Christian's profession is a constant proclamation to the world, that the
Zaclleus.




18   -  SCRIPTURAL BENEVOLENCE.
claim of Him who bought him with his blood, covers
his estate, his faculties, his all. " What hast thou
that thou didst not receive?" Therefore, ransomed
sinner, whatever thou givest, thou dost but "render
unto God the things that are God's." So Paul felt.:
"I am debtor both to the Greeks and to the barbarians."  But why a debtor rather than a giver?  Because he was not his own, but bought with a price.
So are we all debtors to the ignorant, the wretched,
and depraved of whatever nation; and when we pay
into the Lord's.treasury for their benefit, must say,
" Oh Lord our God, all this store that we have prepared cometh of thine hand, and is all thine own."
Hence the terrible declaration of God-not against
those who gave nothing, but against those who gave
what was of inferior value-" Ye have robbed God."




MOTIVES OF PIETY              19
CHAPTER III.
DTUTY OF SYSTEMIATIC BENEVOLENCE INFERRED FROM THE NATURE AND MOTIVES OF
PIETY.
PIETY begins with a change of heart.  The greater part.of life is usually occupied with the acquisition and use of property. A change of heart, if real,
cannot leave this principal part of life unaffected.
The subject of it must be expected to show that he
has found a more valued treasure in heaven by his
new aims in getting, his new principles in using the
treasures of this world. If, in that chief part of life
occupied with gaining and using property, the professed subject of a change consisting in placing the
affections on things above, continue to show the same
estimate of property as the great end to be sought,
the same eagerness in getting, the same tenacity in
holding, the same self-seeking in using it, need it
be surprising that his worldly competitors doubt the
reality of the change?  Must not Christ repel such
professors with his own searching question, "What
do ye more than others?" There is nothing less
than absurdity in the idea of a change, in which the
man becomes "a new creature in Christ," in which
"old things are passed away, behold, all things are
become new," which yet does not carry a new spirit
through the business and consecrate the property as




20      2SCRIPTURAL BENEVOLENCE.
well as the heart to God-in which the theory is
all for the glory of God; the practice, all for making
money.
Religion is love. And love is active. It is as natural for love to act beneficently, as for a fountain to
flow, or a star to shine; and its action is ungrudging,
unstinted, delighting in toil for the loved object.
Witness, for instance, the toils of parental love.
Can love to God and man be the very essence of the
character, while beneficent efforts are left to hazard,
crowded into the by-corners of life, supplied by chippings and remnants?  Can love control the heart,
and not control the action of the life?
Christians are laborers together with God. God
is always giving: if we labor with him, we must labor in his work; we must give. God is love; if we
labor with him, we must labor in the work of love.
God would form us into his likeness; to this end, we
are no sooner brought into his kingdom, than we are
put to doing his work. In revealing his will by inspired men, in the conversion of every soul, in the
whole work of spreading the gospel through the
world, we discover this sublime partnership in labor
between God and his children.
Behold, then, believer, your sublime position, working with God in delivering the world from ruin. To
reclaim men to holiness is God's great work; to it
he has moulded his plans, and for it ordered his providence, since time began. May you be a laborer with




MOTIVES OF PIETY.              21
God, and make that secondary which he regards as
first; pursue without plan, energy, or steadfastness,
the object which he seeks with a steadfastness which
knows no abatement, a zeal which spares no sacrifice, an outpouring of treasure which arithmetic can.
not calculate? A laborer with God, and yet that
object to which with him the destiny of nations and
the movements of heavenly hosts are subordinate, be
with you secondary to money-getting, to furniture,
equipage-a mere appendix to business?  Let the
great fact possess your soul with the fulness which
its reality demands, that you are a laborer together
with God, and you will lose sight of self in the greatness of man's salvation, and instead of beneficence
being an appendix to business, business itself will
become but a means of beneficence.
The cross of Christ urges to systematic benevolence.  "Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes
he became poor, that ye through his poverty might
be rich." This is one of the most touching appeals
to Christ's sufferings. Yet Paul wrote it expressly
as a motive for taking up a charitable collection at
Corinth. This beautiful sentiment in such a connection may seem sadly out of place to those who
are wont to regard a charitable collection as an annoyance; but it shows the apostolic view of the
connection of this duty with all that is sublime and
affecting in the cross of Christ.




22       SCRIPTURAL BENEVOLENCE.
The peculiar motive of Christianity is expressed
in the affecting words so often on the lips of Jesus,'; For my sake." "Blessed are ye when men shall
revile you, and persecute you, for my sake"-".hated
of all men for my sake " —"hath left houses and
lands for my sake"-" loseth his life for my sake."
Te presents this motive as effectual to induce the
greatest sacrifices, even of property and life. And it
would seem that a sinner, pardoned through Christ's
blood, could not, for very shame, lift his eye to meet
the melting look of his dying Saviour, if he felt not
the overcoming power of that appeal-if he could
not, like the apostle, say, "I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions; in
distresses, for Christ's sake."  "What things were
gain to me, those I count loss for Christ."
In a world so intensely selfish, it was needful that
the cross of the divine Redeemer, sacrificing himself
to save transgressors, should stand in the centre of
the plan of salvation: the first object which greets
the eye of the convert, and the last which cheers the
dying saint; the source of the Christian's hope and
strength through all his warfare, his joy on earth,
and the anticipated theme of his everlasting songthat the great lesson of self-denying, all-consecrating
benevolence may always be before the view-that
with every look at the bleeding Author of salvation,
may fall on the soul, with an eloquence too deep for
words, the admonition, "Forasmuch as Christ hath




MOTIVES OF PIETY.               23
suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise
with the same mind;" "he that saith he abideth in
Christ, ought himself also so to walk even as he
walked."
If God himself were in our circumstances, how
would he measure his efforts for the good of men?
Receive the answer in the conduct of Christ, " God
manifest in the flesh." He would sacrifice his riches
and lay aside his glory; he would consume all the
energies of his earthly existence; he would lay down
his mortal life, to do them good. The first promise of
the arch-deceiver was, "Ye shall be as gods" —ye
shall become so by gratifying self. Christ has uttered
the same promise, " Ye shall be partakers of the divine nature;" but ye shall become so by denying self.
" Gratify self, get, and ye shall be as gods," is Satan's lie. " Deny self, give, and ye shall be partakers of the divine nature," is Christ's truth.  Satan
has blinded mankind by this lie, so that they look
for bliss and exaltation only by getting; Christ overturns this whole scheme, and teaches to find godlike
bliss and exaltation by giving. This is godlike in
man, to sacrifice self for the good of others. That
was the highest elevation of human nature when it
was lifted on the cross in the blood of its own agony
for man's redemption; then human nature was exalted to participate in the sublimest of all the displays of God's glory. And there is no elevation of
man to the godlike, except as he is elevated to the




24       SCRIPTURAL BENEVOLENCE.
spirit of the cross. Who then can imagine that he
has been made by regeneration a partaker of the
divine nature, if he does not systematically devote
of his choicest treasures, as God hath prospered him,
for the good of men. And how little even that gift
appears in the light of the cross; how little in contrast with the offerings of many who have laid down
their lives for Christ's sake!
Thus systematic benevolence, instead of being an
isolated and uninteresting topic, is seen to be a duty
based on the very nature of piety, and enforced by its
most affecting motives.




SUPERIOR EFFICIENCY.           25
CHAPTER IV.
SUPERIOR EFFICIENCY OF SYSTEMATIC BE.
NEVOLENCE IN PROVIDING FUNDS FOR
BENEVOLENT ENTE RPRISE S.
SYSTEM always promotes efficiency. What would
become of a man's worldly business, if he managed
it;without system, never executing a plan or making
an investment till solicited, and abandoning labor to
the control of impulse or convenience? And can he
hope for any better results from a like disregard of
system as a steward of God? From such lack of
order, what but embarrassment and failure can result
to the enterprises of benevolence? And what shall
we say of those professors of Christ's religion who
show so thorough an understanding of the necessity
of system in worldly business, so utter a neglect of
it in their contributions to benevolence: who are full
of forethought and anxious calculation to realize the
utmost of worldly acquisition; deliberate and farsighted in planning, cautious in executing, lynx-eyed
to discern an opportunity of gain, exact to the last
fraction in their accounts, but heedless and planless
in all they do for charity?  Verily, " the children of
this world are wiser in their generation than the
children of light;" but "the children of light" show
no lack of' that wisdom, till they come to use property for the benefit of others than themselves.
9




26       SCRIPTURAL BENEVOLENCE.
Systematic benevolence will usually dispose the
giver to increase his contributions.  If a man gives
without system, he will commonly give too little.
Under the hallowed influences of the closet, let him
estimate the claims of a world lying in wickedness,
and the means of benevolence with which God has
blessed him; let him ponder what amount of charity
would be acceptable to God and is demanded by the
love of Christ; and it will be strange if he isnot convinced that he ought to increase his donations.
It is more convenient to set apart money for charity in frequent instalments.  He who neglects to provide for his charities until the call for them is made,
may find it inconvenient or impossible to raise at the
time the one dollar, or the hundred dollars, or whatever sum it is his duty to give. But had he set
apart a proportion from his earnings as they were
received, he would not be incommoded by giving the
sum required. Persons even in the most moderate
circumstances, adopting the practice of systematic
benevolence, are often surprised at the amount they
can give without serious inconvenience.
System will enlarge the amount of money expended in beneficence by being a barrier against the
temptations of selfishness.  Many a man means to
answer the calls of charity, but does not weekly or
monthly set apart a specific sum as sacred to the
Lord. Hence, when he sees some tempting article
of luxury, having by him ur. appropriated the money




SUPERIOR EFFICiENCY.            27
which should have been the Lord's, he buys it;
when some tempting, though perhaps hazardous investment presents, having the money by him unappropriated, he invests it. Thus, through lack of systemrn, many sums in the purses even of the benevolent are turned aside from the Lord's treasury. Selfinterest has the advantage in being beforehand and
having constant access to our hearts.  Systematic
charity helps to put the interest of Christ's cause on
an equal footing.
System prevents yielding to second thoug/hts and
withholding a purposed charity. Many a man, under
the influence of a charity sermon, or of the teachings
of conscience, or of the sight of distress, purposes in
his heart to give a certain amount. As the subject
first strikes his unbiassed judgment, such an amount
seems not too large for the urgency of the case and
his own means. But selfishness steps in and argues
the point; it presents to the man his various wants,
and pretty soon convinces him that the purposed sum
is quite too much; then, forgetting Paul's injunction,
"Every man, according as he purposeth in his heart,
so let him give," he gives little or nothing. But let
a man have a fixed plan, in accordance with which
he consecrates a fixed proportion to the Lord as regularly as he meets his notes when they fall due, or
pays the expenses of his family, and the matter is
settled.  Here is a breastwork by God's grace impregnable against all the pleading of selfishness.




28       SCRIPTURAL BENEVOLENCE.
System increases the contributions by making it
more pleasant to give. When a man has no system of charity, every call to give is unprovided for:
if he comply, he must give from money which he
was expecting to spend otherwise; it is so much
taken from what he had reckoned his own; it seems
so much dead loss. Hence, every donation chafes
him; he is tempted to make it as small as possible;
giving comes to be surrounded in his mind with unpleasant associations; he often looks back with regret, when he gives any thing, that he gave so much;
and the call of charity becomes repulsive. But when
he systematizes his charities and at stated times sets
apart to benevolence a sum proportioned to his income, he no longer reckons that consecrated money as
his own, or depends on it for the supply of any want
When the call of charity is heard, he is not obliged to
take from what he had reckoned his own, but from
what was already consecrated to the Lord. He can
give both largely and cheerfully, and with no drawback from the blessedness of doing good.
System removes many common excuses of selfishness for "withholding more than is meet:" " I have
lately given to another cause;" "I give as much
as convenient; " "I have so many expenses;" "I
give as much as others."
System increases the amount of charities by forming habits of benevolence. From earliest life, habits
of gaining and using money for self have been




SUPERIOR EFFICIENCY.              29
strengthening, and these consolidated habits have
never been overcome. Even in the church the covetous use of property is too generally the habit, the
benevolent use of it only an occasional act. And it
is but dimly apprehended that the gospel requires it
to be otherwise. Hence, the gifts of the church are
exceedingly stinted. To remedy this evil, it is necessary to make the beneficent use of property the habit
of the Christian's life, and thus turn to the advantage
of Christ's cause that law of habit which has been all
against it. To do this, there must be systematic benevolence. It were the extreme of folly to think of
subduing these consolidated habits by desultory efforts-to send up now and then a platoon of light
troops against these most massive and well-appointed
fortifications of selfishness. We must approach them
by well-concerted, persevering siege, till they fall into
our hands and the guns are turned against the foe.
Mere occasional, unsystematized donations scarcely
make a perceptible impression in subduing selfish and
forming benevolent habits.  But when beneficence
is systematized, the habit of doing good is formed, it
moulds the whole life, it becomes second nature, and
shows in all its results its efficacious vigor.
These considerations show the duty of Christian
parents to train their children to the habit of systematically making a benevolent use of money.
One of the greatest difficulties in the way of obtaining an increase of funds, is found in another influ



30       SCRIPTURAL BENEVOLENCE.
ence of this same law of habit.- Of those who contribute regularly to particular causes, and thus have
made an approach to system, a large portion are in
the habit of giving from year to year about the same
sum. The same twenty-five cents, the same dollar,
or five dollars, stands from year to year against their
names. The wants of benevolent enterprises increase, the property of the giver increases, but the
contribution is stereotyped. The attempt to increase
this amount breaks up their settled habits of thought
and action. They have never thought that perhaps
Christ requires a revision of their whole plan of be
nevolence. The adoption of the divine plan of frequent and proportionate appropriations would remove
this difficulty.
It must be added, that systematic benevolence may
be expected by God's blessing to increase the giver's
means of usefulness. But this thought will be reserved for a more extended examination in another
chapter.
In these various ways the scriptural system increases the funds of benevolence.  Were it universally
adopted by the churches, nothing but the experiment
would show how immense would be the resulting
increase. Without expense of collecting agencies,
thousands in the churches who now give nothing,
would begin to give; and a permanent and growing
increase would be realized at. once from those who
have given occasionally. Then would the channels




SUPERIOR EFFICEINCY.             31
of benevolence be like " the river of God which is
full of water," and the waters of life issuing from
the sanctuary with their healing power, would flow
as the prophet saw in vision, ever swelling to the
ends of the earth.
The following facts confirm the argument of this
chapter. In 1844, Rev. Dr. Baird received, in two
payments, thirty-eight dollars for some benevolent
cause, from " one of the poor disciples of Jesus;" in
acknowledging which he says, "The donor of it
commenced giving, in a strictly systematic manner,
the tenth part of all the money which he earned
from the time of his conversion, and through God's
blessing he has been enabled to give sums from time
to time, to many, if not all the great enterprises for
building up the kingdom of our Lord, varying from
five to twenty-five dollars."
There is a farmer in one of the retired mountain
towns of Massachusetts, who began business on his
farm in 1818, being six hundred dollars in debt. He
began with the determination to pay the debt in six
years, in equal instalments, and to give all his net
income, if. any remained, above those instalments.
The income of the first year, however, was expended
in purchasing stock and other necessaries for his farm.
In the six next years he paid off the debt, and having abandoned the intention of ever being any richer,
he has ever since given his entire income, after supporting his family and thoroughly educating his six




32       SCRIPTURAL BENEVOLENCE.
children. During all this period he has lived with
the strictest economy, and every thing pertaining to
his house, table, dress, and equipage has been in the
most simple style; and though he has twice been a
member of the state senate, he conscientiously re
tains this simplicity in his mode of life. The farm
is rocky and remote from the village, and his whole
property, real and personal, would not exceed in
value three thousand dollars. Yet sometimes he has
been enabled to give from $200 to $300 in a year.
Let it be further considered in this connection,
that some feasible plan of enlarging the funds of
benevolence must be adopted, in order to realize the
hopes of the churches from their missionary enterprises. This is apparent from the difficulty of sustaining these enterprises on their present scale. This
deficiency is not owing to a want of means in the
church. There is money in profusion for railroads,
manufactories, any enterprise which promises a return to self. But where is the money for the Lord?
"The great current of Christian property isas yet
undiverted from its worldly channel. The scanty
rills of charity which at present water the garden
of the Lord, and the ingenuity and effort employed
to bring them there, compared with the almost
undiminished tide of selfish expenditure which still
holds on its original course, remind one of the slender rivulets which the inhabitants of the East raise
from a river by mechanical force, to water their




SUPERIOR EFFICIENCY.             33
thirsty gardens; the mighty current meanwhile,
without exhibiting any sensible diminution of its
waters, sweeping on in its ample and ancient bed."
The aggregate of gifts from its members to the
church was probably larger in the times of its great
est corruption than now. When it was believed that
salvation might be bought by charity, wealth from
the poor and the rich was lavished on churches and
monasteries. But as, in the advance of the Reformation, charities with this motive have ceased, the
churches have failed adequately to bring in the gifts
of gratitude and love in their stead. It should make
the ears of him that heareth it to tingle, that in this
boasted age of progress, this nineteenth century, less
is probably bestowed in charity by the Protestant
churches to spread the true gospel through the world,
than was given in the darkest ages to heap up the
treasures of the church of Rome-that the love of
Christ constrains to less valuable gifts than the arts
and deceptions of a corrupt priesthood.
But the church is aiming at the conversion of the
world. It is plain as sunlight that the world cannot
be supplied with the means of grace without an
immense enlargement of these operations. It was
this contrast between the greatness of the enterprise
which Christians profess to prosecute, and the littleness of the means which they devote to it, that wrung
from the godly Abeel the exclamation respecting our
missionary work, " If the great God could despise
Zacheus.,




%Cw 4    ~SCRIPTURAL BENEVOLENCE.
his creatures, it would be despicable in his sight."
There must be some way devised of realizing such
enlargement, if the world is to be converted. Nor
is the expectation of realizing it vain. The scriptural system of benevolence, generally adopted, would
realize it without embarrassment to the church.
Let it also be considered, that when God by his
providence proclaims, " Behold, I have set before you
an open door," " he openeth, and no man shutteth "
Then, if his church will enter, no obstacles or opposition can prevent her triumph. But if his people
will not enter, presently the door is shut; and " he
shutteth, and no man openeth." Ages may pass before, in the revolving cycles of his providence, he will
open it again. And when thus shut, the costliest
labors of his church are labors where God is not.
One day God opens Canaan to the Israelites afid
urges them to go up, assuring them that the Anaks
and( the cities walled and great shall not retard them.
They will not go. Next day they are all eagerness
to go, but the door is shut; the pillar of cloud
moves not-they go up only to perish before their
foes. All history demonstrates this principle-demonstrates, that as we must follow God's movements
in the circling seasons, would we reap in harvest; so,
in the enterprises of benevolence, we must not fall
behind the workings of his providence, would wE.achieve success. When God in his own spring-time
drives the ploughshare through the nations, as wil l




SUPERIOR EFFICIENCY.             35
such startling energy he of late has done, then must
his people cast in the seed of truth; lest, neglecting
it, they be compelled to fruitless toil till another
spring-time returns. And when the time is come to
set the fore-front of liberty and Christianity face to
face with the hoary forms of Asiatic despotism and
idolatry-when God reveals from the bowels of the
earth the treasure which he had kept hid for this
very juncture, and calls a population together from
every land, and a nation is born in a day-then must
his church bind the new-born state with the sweet
influences of religion, and guide it to the advancement of piety in the earth, or it will lift its young
and giant energies to smite her. God's providence
never stands still. His church must move with it,
if she would move effectively-if even she would
avoid disaster. Hence, the necessity of adopting
some mode of increasing promptly and efficiently the
contributions of the church, so as to improve at once
the precious opportunities which God opens.
It only remains to add, that the prophecies foretell
that, in accomplishing the renovation of the world,
an increase of appropriations to God's treasury, like
what has been urged, will take place. " The daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift; the rich
among the people shall entreat thy favor."  " The
wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great
abundance. In that day shall there be upon the




36       SCRIPTURAL BENEVOLENCE,
bells of the horses, HOLINESS TO THIE LORD." " Sure
ly the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver
and their gold with them, to the Holy One of Israel."
" I will shake all nations, and the Desire of all nations shall come. The silver is mine, and the gold
is mine, saith the Lord."  Psalm 45: 12; Zechariah
14: 14, 20; Isaiah 60: 9; Haggai 2: 7, 8.
Thus the necessities of benevolent societies, the
claims of a ruined world, the indications of Providence, and the predictions of the Bible, unite in demanding a great increase of benevolent contributions.
These contributions, as now usually conducted, warrant no hope of realizing this increase. But the
general adoption of the scriptural plan of frequent,
systematic, and proportionate charities, will easily
meet the demand.




ENLARGES MEANS OF GIVING.           37
CHAPTER V.
TENDENCY OF SYSTEMATIC BENEVOLENCE
TO SECURE GOD'S BLESSING ON BUSINESS,
AND TO ENLARGE THE MEANS OF GIVING.
THIS is a subject of difficulty, yet of importance.
There is danger of extravagant theories on the one
hand, and on the other, of an unbelief which shuts God
out of the daily business, and practically denies that
" godliness has the promise of the life that now is."
It is not to be supposed that systematic benevolence will insure wealth. Wealth is, in God's judgment, too cheap a gift to be made the reward of his
servants.
" Wealth on the vilest often is bestowed,
To show its vileness in the sight of God."
Multiplied as are God's warnings of the dangers
attending wealth and the love of it, and his exhortations to set the affections above, it would be preposterous to suppose that he offers wealth as the reward
of obedience-the gratification of cupidity as the reward for denying it. And he whose heart is on a
better portion, whose longings for God and holiness
forbid his finding satisfaction with any thing less
than being with God and like him, would feel it the
bitterest mockery to be turned off with the promise
of riches as his reward.
But there are various ways in which systematic




38       SCRIPT URAL BENEVOLENCE.
beneficence tends to promote prosperity. It promotes
industry, energy, and enterprise. The man has
placed before himself a lofty object, suited to draw
out all his energies. Henceforth he is no trifler, but
an earnest man, sharing in the very sentiments of
earth's purest and greatest ones. The grand idea of
toiling to rescue the world from sin never mastered
a man's soul without enlarging it, without stimulating all his faculties to unprecedented vigor, unfolding
resources not imagined to be in him, and producing a
concentration and perseverance of action, which cannot fail of realizing great results. An account was
published some years ago of two shoemakers whose
hearts had begun to glow with zeal for the salvation of men. The elder proposed to the younger to fit
himself to preach, promising to support him by his
labor. The proposal was accepted; the promise was
kept. The sublime purpose which had mastered that
man's soul, and which surrounded his humble shop
with a grandeur that never ennobled worldly greatness, gave him an energy and industry which enabled
him to educate his companion, and to sustain him as
he went out to preach to the destitute. When Christendom shall be full of missionary merchants, farmers,
and mechanics, plying their business with the sublimle aim of saving mankind from sin, no doubt it
will be full of energy and industry unsurpassed.
Nor does the practice of scriptural beneficence
stimulate the active powers alone. It promotes so




ENLARGES MEANS OF GIViNG.           39
briely and economy.  With an object so glorious in
full possession of his soul, the man will have no time
nor money for gratifying either vicious or luxurious
desires. What others waste on dress, delicacies,
equipage, and show, he will save for the Lord. He
finds, in advancing the cause to which he is wedded,
a gratification, compared with which the daintiest
gratifications of selfishness are insipid.
Such a course attracts the favor of the good, wins
their confidence, and if the man be poor, or a youthful beginner, their friendship gains him employment
and otherwise promotes his interests. Besides, being thrown into company with such, he avoids the
temptations of evil associates.
The habits offidelity to his trust, of watchfulness,
system, and exactness, which systematic benevolence
forms, are the very habits to win for a young man
respect, employment, and friends, and to lead to a
judicious management of business through life.
Systematic benevolence tends to restrain from
1azardous adventures. In prosperous times, when
business is brisk and its returns speedy and large,
men become discontented with slow and steady gains;
they''make haste to be rich " and " fall into a snare;"
they become inflated with a rash confidence; they
rush into hazardous and ruinous adventures and
speculations; or the ostentatious desire of displaying
a large business, tempts to an enlargement beyond
their means, and to consequent ruin. But when a




40       SCRIPTURAL BENEVOLENCE.
man has consecrated his business and its gains to the
Lord, according to the scriptural law of benevolence,
the feverish haste to be rich abates, and he is less
tempted to dangerous speculations. Accustomed to
do business with a sense of constant dependence on
God, he is not puffed up with rash confidence by
temporary prosperity.  Accustomed to determine
every enterprise with prayerful seeking God's will,
and to regard property as sacred to his service, he
will not thoughtlessly risk the Lord's money in hazardous adventures. Absorbed with the grand desire
of aiding Christ's cause, he will be in little danger of
ostentatious but unsafe expansion. Thus, " he that
considereth the poor, shall be blessed upon the earth;"
but " he that hasteth to be rich, considereth not that
poverty shall come upon him."
It may be added that benevolence, in an important sense, identifies the giver with Christ's interests, and therefore may naturally be expected to secure Christ's blessing. The Saviour says, "Inasmuch
as ye have done it to one of the least of these my
brethren, ye have done it unto me." He receives
into his own bosom every favor to his church. Nor
is there any surer ground of expecting the continued
prosperity of an individual, a church, or a nation, than
that by their abundant efforts for Christ's kingdom,
they have identified themselves with his cause, and
are likely to be carried on in its triumphs. The very
beast of which it was said, " The Lord hath need




ENLARGES MEANS OF GIVING.          41
of him," had his way strewed with palms and garments, as it bore the Saviour to Jerusalem. The individual or the community that gives abundantly to
advance religion, is the humble instrument of bearing
the Saviour onward in his triumph. Of such it may
reverently be said, " The Lord hath need of them;"
and it may reasonably be expected that their way
will be made prosperous before them.
In these several ways compliance with the scriptural law of benevolence may tend to temporal prosperity. There may be other ways known only to
Him who holds all the invisible lines of influence in
his hand.
If now we open the Bible, we find it full of prontmises of temporal blessings to the benevolent. A few
must serve as specimens of the many. " Thou shalt
surely give thy poor brother, and thy heart shall
not be grieved when thou givest unto him; because
that for this thing the Lord thy God shall bless
thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest
thy hand unto." Deut. 15: 10. "He that giveth
to the poor shall not lack." Prov. 28: 27. "Honor
the Lord with thy substance, and with the first-fruits
of all thine increase; so shall thy barns be filled with
plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new
wine " Prov. 3: 9. "The liberal soul shall be
made fat; and he that watereth shall be watered
also himself." Prov. 11: 25. "Seek ye first the
kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added
10




42        S CRI'PTURAL BENEVOLEN CE.
unto you."  Matt. 6:'33.  "Give, and it shall be
given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and
shaken together, and running over, shall men give
into your bosom."  Luke 6: 38.  And in urging the
Corinthians to give, Paul said, "He which soweth
sparingly, shall reap also sparingly; and he which
soweth bountifully, shall reap also bountifully." 2
Cor. 9: 6.* To these special promises the benevolent
are entitled. Resting on them, they may give with
the expectation that the Lord will follow them with
his blessing and protection. They will not fear want
while they can hear God saying, " Trust in the Lord
and do good, and verily thou shalt be fed." The same
Being who made the Bible, orders the events of providence; and by what he does in the latter, he will
not contradict what he says in the former. The principles of the Bible fit into all the windings of providence, like a key to all the wards of a lock for which
it was made. Hence, however obscure the plan of
Providence, and however uncertain what shall be on
the morrow, he that conducts his business in conformity to all the rules.of the Bible, may be sure that
he has found the track of God's goings in the world,
and that, if he continue to follow it step by step, it
will guide him in the way of the divine blessing.
*See also Matt. 6: 3, 4; Psa. 37: 3; Prov. 11: 24; 19: 17;
22:9; 25:21; 24: 11, 12; 13:7; Ps. 41:1, 2, 3; 112:5,
6, 9; Eccl. 11: 1; Isa. 32: 8; 58: 6-11; Mal. 3: 9-12; Dan
4:27; 2 Cor. 9: 6, 7, 8, 11.




ENLARGES MEANS OF GIVING.            43
It will be seen from the foregoing reasoning, that
it is not pretended that God's servants will be uniformly led in the way to worldly prosperity, and sinners visited with adversity in this life., The Bible
makes no such representation. It teaches, that in
this probation temporal benefits are scattered on the
good and the evil, and refers us to the other world
for the solution of this seeming confusion of right and
wrong. " When the wicked spring as the grass, and
when all the workers of iniquity do flourish, it is
that they shall be destroyed for ever." It teaches
that wicked men are prospered, but "the prosperity
of fools shall destroy them." It teaches that God
sometimes gives men " their request, but sends leanness into their souls." Their selfish wishes are gratified; but the gift comes, like the quails to the longing
Israelites, attended by God's curse. Their riches increase; but they wrap the soul in the flames of covetousness, and "eat as it were fire." Their riches
increase, but their "portion" is "in this life, and
in the labor that they take under the sun." They
are rich as Dives; yet soon will they be impoverished to beg " a drop of water to cool their tongues."
Thus, inspiration explains these inequalities, and
teaches, that " a little which a righteous man hath,
is better than the riches of many wicked;" that Elijah, fed by unclean birds, but receiving his portion
with God's smile, has no need to envy Ahab, cursed
in the riches of a palace; that Lazarus the beggar,




44       SCRIPTURAL BENEVOLENCE.
with a home nowhere but in Abraham's bosom,
is more blessed than Dives with a home nowhere
but in his own luxurious palace. But at the same
time it teaches, that he who humbly uses what God
has given for the honor of the Giver, freely giving
as he has freely received, may feel at peace in the
thought, that all his business is blessed with his
Father's smile.
Facts corroborate the foregoing sentiments. There
are, indeed, comparatively few facts to furnish data
for this argument. Yet the writer knows a considerable number of instances, in which a greater or
less approach to scriptural benevolence, has been
attended with unusual prosperity. Mr. Cobb, whose
case has been mentioned, giving away a quarter,
then half, and then three quarters of his income, not
only became worth $50,000 before the age of thirtysix, but gave besides more than $40,000. Normand
Smith, a saddler of Hartford, Connecticut, after practising for years an elevated system of benevolence,
bequeathed in charity $30,000. An anonymous
writer says of himself, that he commenced business
and prosecuted it in the usual way, till he lost $900,
which was all he was worth, and found himself in
debt $1,100. Being led by his trials, through God's
grace, to trust, as he hoped, in Christ, he, at the age
of forty, determined to take God's word for his guide
in his business, and consecrated his earnings to the
Lord  The first year he gave $12. For eighteen




ENLARGES MEANS OF GIVING.          45
years, the amount has increased by about 25 per
cent., and the last year he gave $850; and he says,
he did it easier than, during the first year, he paid the
$12. Besides, though with nothing but his hands
to depend on when he began this course, he paid the
whole debt of $1, 100 with interest, though it took
him nine years to do it. Jacob went out from his
father's home "with his staff," a poor man; but at
Bethel he vowed to give to God the tenth of all that
God should bestow on him. Commencing thus, God
blessed him, and in twenty years he returned with
great riches.
We may also refer to the history of communities,
in confirmation of the argument. When God issued
his laws to the Jewish nation, he required, besides
other liberal offerings, the tenth of all their income.
We are not to suppose that every specific regulation
for the Jews is the best for all nations. But in his
dealings with the Jews, God meant to illustrate the
principles on which, as to worldly affairs, he deals
with all; and this is one reason why their history is
so minutely recorded. Thus, we find the law of
tithes and offerings incorporated into their system as
an exemplification of a universal principle in God's
dealings with men. Many have pitied their unhappy lot in being compelled to give so much; infidels
have delighted in the objection that the wretched
Jews were taxed so terribly for the support of religion. But the All-wise knew best what regulations




46       SCRIPTURAL BENEVOLENCE.
would harmonize with the course of his providence,
and prescribed accordingly. And it ever proved that
the nine tenths were worth more to them than the
ten tenths. If ever, to increase their gains, they
robbed God by hoarding the tenth, or by bringing
the lame and the blind, disaster and loss were sure to
follow. Say not this was all a miraculous interposition. Inspiration has only lifted the veil here from
the workings of that providence which, unseen, untraced, is ever working in the affairs of men on the
same principles and with the same aim. Say not,
either, that the tithe was a positive institution.
True; and as to its specific form it might, therefore,
pass away, as it already has. But was there ever a
positive institution of God not founded on something
permanent, either in man's nature or God's scheme
of providence and grace? Therefore was the law
of the tithe founded on a principle as enduring as
God's government on earth; and as the tithe was a
blessing to the Jews, so regard to that principle will
be always a blessing. We may find facts of the same
import in modern times. Those churches which are
most systematic and liberal in their contributions,
are, without exception, the most prosperous. The
same is true of nations. The history of New England is a striking instance. The first settlers were
men who, in a great trial of affliction, and in deep
poverty, abounded in the riches of their liberality, in
sustaining schools, and ministers, and colleges, and




ENLARGES MEANS OF GIVING.            47
in laying deep a foundation for Christ's kingdom in
this new world. It is*not so fitly said that they contributed much, as that they offered all to Christ.
And it is admitted that New England is, and in all
her history has been preeminent in contributions and
efforts to sustain every benevolent institution and enterprise. And where is the state or the nation which
has ever possessed more of all the elements of true
prosperity?
But an appeal to facts in the history of churches
and communities must rest on imperfect data;- for
where is there one in which the efficiency. of the
scriptural law of benevolence, in developing and enlarging the resources of benevolence, has been fully
put to the test?
In closing the argument, the thought may be suggested, that business, conducted as it is on the maxims of selfishness, when viewed as a system in its
management and results, presents a picture of any
thing rather than of permanent and healthy prosperity. The number of business men who fail once
or oftener in the course of life; the numbers doing
business who, should they pay up the as yet unpaid
debts of their past lives, would strip themselves of
all or a large part of their present property; the
small proportion of those commencing mercantile
life in cities, who, in the final winding up of their
affairs, possess a comfortable independence; the fact
that the property of those who die rich so often proves




4S8      SCRIPTURAL BENEVOLENCE.
a curse to their children, and that so many who are
born rich, die poor; the peri6dical recurrence of a
" crash " in the commercial world; the alternation of
commercial prosperity and distress, which for generations has marked the history of business, realizing
the inspired declaration, "He hath swallowed down
riches, and shall vomit them up again;" all these
facts indicate any thing rather than a system of business which, as a whole-whatever may be true of
individuals-receives the smile and blessing of God;
they present evidences of the divine displeasure such
as might be expected to mark a selfish and ungodly
system of business.
The discussion of this part of the subject, will not
have been in vain, if it help to remove the impression, that the rules of the gospel cannot be obeyed to
the last jot and tittle in business, consistently with
its successful management; to rebuke the practical
atheism which shuts God out of the details of daily
life; to make men's hearts alive to the thought that
the hand of God is on their ships, their merchandise,
their cattle, and their shops; that the claims of his
law and the promises of his gospel are twined about
all the acts and gettings of daily toil, not less than
about their destiny for the life to come; and that
there is a reality here on earth in God's smile on
those who heed his claims, in his blight and curse
on those who disregard them.




ANTIDOTE OF COVETOUSNESS            49
CHAPTER VI.
THE ANTIDOTE OF COVETOUSNESS.
COVETOUSNESS is deadly in its influence. "Covetousness is idolatry." It is inconsistent with piety.
It is unmitigated rebellion against God. It is the
object of God's abhorrence and curse. It is classed
by inspiration with fornication, drunkenness, theft,
and extortion.  It is "a temptation and a snare."
It is unsurpassed in its power to harden the heart
and make it impervious to divine truth, to deaden
all the religious sensibilities, and to resist the Spirit
of God.
Covetousness is prevalent. The miser is one of
the most universally abhorred of men. But plume
not yourself that you are not covetous, because you
are not a miser. Misers are the rarest specimens of
this sin. Under other forms, it rankles everywhere.
You are warned against a covetousness of a more
respectable appearance. It may exist unsuspected.
There may be covetousness in saving-parsimony
under the " alias" of frugality, avarice, which nevei
parts with.money without a twinge.  Oftener there
is covetousness in getting-sometimes rapacity which
scruples at no means if money may be gained; but
much more generally the more respectable form of'
worldliness, keeping within the limits of honesty but
swallowing all the energies in money-getting, deadenZacheu.




an0      SCRIPTURAL BENEVOLENCE.
ing the benevolent susceptibilities, pinching and shrivelling the soul, living only to " buy and sell and get
gain." Covetousness may be found even in connection with prodigality: greediness to acquire, to supply
the extravagance of expense. It enslaves multitud:s
who are neither misers in hoarding, nor rapacious
nor extortionate in getting.  In its diversified forms
it is one of the most prevalent of the vices, and often,
under its various disguises, honored rather than condemned; as it is written, " The wicked blesseth the
covetous, whom the Lord abhorreth."
And there is a liability to become covetous and to
grow in covetousness, to the existence and dangers
of which the most of men seem not to be awake.
In the prosecution of business, the love of money is
freezing deeper and harder into their souls, and sealing up the springs of benevolence, and they know it
not. One remarkable feature in the Saviour's teaching, is the frequency and earnestness with which he
rebuked this sin, and pointed out the dangers of
wordly acquisitions. He exposed it in the mansions
of wealth and the circles of devotion, in the temple
and in the street, in amiable inquirers after salvation,
in pharisaical professors and vicious publicans. His
warning was, " Take heed and beware of covetousness. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." The
frequency and earnestness of his warnings contrast
strangely with the eagerness and security with which
his professed followers make haste to be rich, and




ANTIDOTE OF COVETOUSNESS.            51
show that he saw a danger imminent and prevalent
to which they are strangely blind. We do not vary
from the spirit of his teachings in saying, that covetousness is the most common, the most insidious, and
the most dangerous form of selfishness, the one which
the most deadens the church, and is the most likely
to crush it.
A little consideration will show the reality of this
danger.  "Money answereth all things."  It is the
representative of all commodities and the means of
procuring them. It is natural that selfishness should
fasten with peculiar strength on an acquisition which
is the quintessence of all objects of desire. Besides,
men are necessarily occupied during the most of their
waking hours in earning money. To this end the
thoughts must plan and the hands must toil. It is
natural that what so occupies the man should gradually grow upon his mind; as a picture long gazed
at intently, gradually fills the eye and enlarges to the
dimensions of a real landscape.  Especially must
this result be expected, when the object which thus
occupies the attention is one so pleasing to the selfish
heart.
Besides, it is the nature of covetousness to grow by
what it feeds on. Acquisitions increase its strength.
In accordance with this well-known fact, the tendency of gainful business is to make the man more
covetous.
These tendencies would be exceedingly strong, and




52       SCRIPTURAL BENEVOLENCE.
would need to be most diligently guarded against,
under circumstances the most favorable to benevolence. But they are strengthened by outward circumstances.
There is a perverted public sentiment, a prevalent
overvaluing of wealth, which silently sinks into the
inmost soul-the scarcely acknowledged, yet controlling feeling, that wealth is the great good of human
existence, which has incorporated itself into our very
language; so that "to do well," "to be success
ful," "to accomplish much in life," are phrases synonymous with making much money; "gain" is
equivalent in our language to "filthy lucre" in God's,
and " goods" on our lips, is " the unrighteous manmmon" on Christ's; and a late writer has suggested
the idea, that we speak of a man as being " worth
much," or " wzcorth nothing," as if all worth centred
in money.
Worldliness, too, is the general character of the
community, and a man finds few examples of scriptural benevolence, to show him his own selfishness
by contrast, and to stimulate him to beneficence.
It is also an important circumstance, that the man
has been trained from childhood under worldly influences; he has seen, perhaps, that whatever their professions, the chief actual anxiety of his parents concerning him has been to have him making money,
and that to get him "a good situation," and a "situation where he can make money," and to "give him




ANTIDOTE OF COVETOUSNESS.          53
a good start," and to "start him well in the career
of acquiring property," mean in their minds about
the same thing; and that in all his training for business, he is taught that "the main chance" is to
make money, and in effect, that a man's life does
consist in the abundance of the things that he possesseth. From childhood he has been indoctrinated
by precept and example with the maxims of worldly
policy, rather than the principles of benevolencewith the proverbs of "Poor Richard" respecting
property, rather than the precepts of Jesus Christ.
All these circumstances tend to make wealth the
central idea of the mind, to beget a materializing,
deadening worldliness, to blight benevolence, and to
make men as laborious and untiring in their business,
and at the same time as callous to the interests of
others, as so many iron steam-engines at their work.
The pious and benevolent, who mingle constantly in
business, know that the danger is imminent; they
know that the maintenance of benevolence is opposed
by silent but powerful influences, with which contact
with the world every day surrounds them; and they
tremble at their own liability to fall under the insidious but fatal power of covetousness. It is alarmingly easy for gold and silver to "canker," and the
love of it to become an eating cancer on the soul.
Hence, the multitudes whose benevolence never grows
with their riches; who, when rich, give nothing like
the proportion which they gave when poor; nay,




54       SCRIPTURAL BENEVOLENCE.
who give no more —who give less than they gave
then. Hence is explained the admitted fact, that the
greater part of the funds of benevolent associations
comes from those of moderate means. Hence arises
the general necessity of agents for collecting funds,
and of the most pungent appeals for contributions.
Itave you ever considered seriously your own danger,
and taken measures to guard against it? If not, your
very thoughtlessness is presumptive evidence that you
are already consuming with the love of money.
We see, then, that the path of worldly business is
fraught with constant danger of a deadly evil. He
who sets out on that path must climb a snow-capped
mountain, where every step is along icy precipices,
where the air chills to the heart the spiritual life,
where every touch is upon nipping frost, and where
the cold is perpetually producing a sleepiness almost
resistless, but which, if indulged, will be the sleep of
death.  It is, then, a question of spiritual life or
death, "How shall I do my necessary business, and
escape covetousness-benumbing, paralyzing, deadly
covetousness?" Alas, that Christians so seldom ask
this question-so little take the tremendous meaning
of Christ's assertion, " Ye cannot serve God and mammon "-so little realize the danger which gives the
thrilling emphasis to his warning, " TAKE HEED AND
BEWARE of covetousness."
He who knows what is in man, has provided a
safeguard against this danger.  He has, indeed, so




ANTIDOTE OF COVETOUSNESS.          ~5
contrived the plan of salvation, that all the motives
of the gospel, radiating as they do from the cross of the
Son of God offering the stupendous sacrifice of himself,
may bear directly against selfishness and tend to unfold
self-sacrificing benevolence. But this is not all. He
has enjoined systematic benevolence. This is God's
remedy for covetousness. Infinite wisdom would not
trust to unsystematized contributions, knowing that
irregular efforts, sustained by no habit, no fixed time,
no predetermined plan, giving way to every casual
expenditure, would be but a slender barrier against
a tendency so constant and powerful. God requires
systematic and proportionate benevolence.
This plan is most beautifully fitted to this design.
It accords with the laws of the human mind. There
is no way of subduing one of our active propensities,
but by refusing it indulgence, and so starving it to
death. This the scheme of beneVolence does to the
sinful love of money. As fast as treasures are gained,
it tears them from the gloating eye of covetousness
to consecrate them to the Lord. It compels the man
to give something from the wages of every day, from
the profits of every enterprise and investment. Thus,
drop by drop, it drains the lifeblood of that giant passion. And as the gains enlarge, God follows with
his enlarging claims: should money come into the
hands by thousands a year, there would be none left
as food for covetousness, and the man would be necessitated to obey the command, " If riches increase,




56       SCRIPTURAL BENEVOLENCEI.
set not your heart upon them." And there is no
way of strengthening our active propensities but by
exercising them. Therefore God's rule requires appropriations to charity every week, that benevolence
may be strengthening itself by frequent exercise, and
the disposition to give be consolidated by habit; it
requires appropriations from all the earnings, that
benevolence may preside in every department, and
the heart, kept always open, may have no opportunity to contract; and it requires appropriations proportionate. to the means, that whereas covetousness
naturally grows by increasing acquisitions, this advantage may be wrested from it and given to benevolence. Thus the practice of this scheme becomes,
with God's grace, like a fire-proof coat, in which the
wearer may walk collectedly in the fiercest furnace
of worldliness, and " not the smell of fire pass on
him." It is impossible, according to the laws of the
mind, to practise on this plan without continually
weakening covetousness and strengthening benevolence; nay, the wonted influence of worldly pursuits
is reversed: by pouring treasures into the lap avarice
is starved, while even by the toils of money-getting
benevolence is exercised and strengthened.  Thus,
by the very processes of business the power of benevolence goes on enlarging, till she stands up in her
godlike majesty, the queen of the soul, and crushes
beneath her heel the tyrant that had enslaved it.
We must not leave this part of the subject with



ANTIDOTE OF COVETOUSNESS.            57
out considering its bearing on the community, as we
have already considered its bearing on the individual.
Since the revival of commerce, the warlike spirit of
chivalry, the love of martial glory and of conquest
hlave been gradually giving place to the spirit of
trade; this spirit has been gradually extending, till
it has become, more than any other, the controlling
influence in the world.  This change constitutes an
era in history, the causes, development, and effects
of which are worthy of the most serious study.
While it has produced many happy effects, as in mitigating the spirit of war, it is yet a problem what
results it will finally work out —a problem which,
alarming as already is the tendency of the public
mind to covetousness, is one of the most momentous subjects. now demanding the attention of philanthropists.  There is an absorption of all interests
and energies in money-getting, such as was never
witnessed in the world before. Under this stimulus
the country is filling with power-looms, steam-engines, and telegraphs, and energies and resources are
employed in the prosecution' of peaceful business,
which would once have been more than enough to
build the pyramids or to conquer the world. We
acknowledge all the blessings of these inventions.
But while every orator and every newspaper is
dwelling on our commerce whitening every sea, our
enterprise penetrating every country, on the miracle-working of the iron horse and the lightning
11




5q8      SCRIPTURAL BENEVOL, ENCE.
messenger, on our boundless territory and exhaustless
resources; and while a manufacturing city is laid
out in an uninhabited spot, and built up in a year or
two, as the early settlers would have built a frame
house-we cannot blind ourselves to the alarming
tendency in the public mind to regard these things
as the sum total of all prosperity and the essentials
of all blessedness; nor to the fact. that the energies
which are so effective in aiding the acquisition of
wealth, are scarcely less effective in stimulating the
love of it. We cannot blind ourselves to the danger
that the love of money will become more and more
the ruling influence, absorbing into itself even that
powerful passion, ambition; swallowing up the love
of office in the love of the salary; overshadowing the
enterprises of religion by the gigantic and spirit-stirring achievements of business; drawing the church
into the current of the world, and making its members undistinguishable in their pursuit of money from
worldlings; nullifying the influence of the means of
grace, choking the word and making it unfruitful,
and finally overwhelming in worldliness the piety of
the church-the danger that the spirit of trade, not
checked as it should be, by a contrary example from
the good, will engulf the nation in a Dead sea of
cupidity and luxury, or degenerate into that mercenary spirit which, reckless of honor and virtue, unscrupulous, untrusty, rapacious, despicable, has no
principle but the Judas question, " What will ye give




ANTIDOTE OF COVETOUSNESS.           59
me?" no measure of good and evil but the profit
and loss of dollars and cents.
Systematic benevolence is God's appointed safeguard against this danger. Practised generally and
fiom the heart, it will introduce a loftier end of existence than the acquisition of property; will ennoble
the pursuit of business by the spirit of love; will
hold up a spiritual and sublime principle in antagonism to the materializing tendencies of the spirit of
trade; will make civilization centre no longer on
wealth, but on " charity that seeketh not her own,"
and thus will form it into a civilization pure, generous, heavenly, expressing in every aspect the godlike
purpose of doing good; a civilization uncursed by
want, ignorance, and crime, unblighted by oppression, unclouded by irreligion, because wherever were
misery and degradation, millions of hearts will throb
in pity, millions of hands be extended and purses be
opened to relieve; a civilization which we see only in
bright glimpses revealed in the prophecies of God.
From all these views of the relations of the subject to covetousness, it is plain that, to the church,
systematic benevolence is a first duty of self-preservation. She has no walls and battlements but her
own active benevolence, no army with banners but
her sons and her daughters toiling to do good. If the
church do not bless the world, she must be buried in
it. If the piety of the church, as it makes its way
through this wilderness, do not, like a fertilizing




60       SCRIPT URAL BE-NEVOLENCE.
stream, make all its banks " rejoice and blossom as
the rose," it must be swallowed up in it like a river
lost in the desert sands which it fails to make fruitful. But let the scriptural law of charitable appropriations be adopted, and thus let benevolence keep
pace with advancing business, following it into every
new path, and laying her gentle hand on all its un
folding resources, then will covetousness wither amid
increasing enterprise, and benevolence- will unfold
with an energy-rivalling the energies of business, and
making them her ministers. Then the enterprises of
religion, no longer cast into the shade by the achievements of worldliness, will encircle the earth with a
vastness and a vigor more amazing than the triumphs
of commerce and manufactures, and the miracles of
modern art.
We must gratefully notice the rermarkable coincidence of God's providence in calling his children to
great enterprises, and in opening the world for unlimited effort, at the very time when, from  the
unprecedented pressure of worldliness, there is unprecedented need of such counteraction to covetousness.  Let Christians understand that it is God's
mercy which multiplies the calls to give, to save
them from the multiplied assaults of covetousness.
Let them know that they neglect these calls at
their peril-the peril of perishing in covetousness,
of drowning in the "destruction and perdition" of
them " that will be rich."




SPTRITUAL ATTAINMENTS.           61
CHAPTER VII.
SYSTEMATIC BENEVOLENCE ESSENTIAL TO
THE HIGHEST SPIRITUAL ATTAINMENTS.
ALMS-GIVING was thought so important in the ancient church, that it used to be called one of the wings
of prayer; and the angel seems to have placed them
side by side as means of access to God's favor, when
he said to Cornelius, " Thy prayers and thine alnns
are come up for a memorial before God." So Christ
said, " If ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous
mammon, who will commit to your trust the true
riches?" plainly declaring the intimate connection,
now so little appreciated, between high spiritual attainments and the right use of property.  In the
duty of systematic benevolence, then, may be found
an essential requisite, seldom thought of, for securing
that elevated tone of piety, the want of which is so
much lamented.
It produces a more vigorous and elevated tone of
piety by givitg,' to love that exercise which is essential to its health and growth.. Love is the essence
of piety; and it is as preposterous to expect it to
thrive without the habitual exercise of beneficence,
as to expect the body to be healthy in perpetual inaction. Piety cannot thrive as an ineffectual sensibility, exhausting itself on its own emotions in
the heart; but from the spiritual affections of the




62       SCRIPTURAL BENEVOLENCE.
inmost soul, it must issue, a transforming and controlling influence, pervading the whole life. it is a lifeblood, which it is death to drive back on the heart;
which as the only condition of health, must flow
through the whole being, and throb with living
power in the remotest and minutest acts. This con
dition of spiritual health systematic benevolence is
indispensable to secure; and thus it is essential to
meet one of the greatest wants of the churches, and
to remove one of the greatest, though not one of the
most noticed obstacles to higher attainments in the
spiritual life.
It aids growth in grace by promoting a constant
intimacy with God. It requires the will of God to
be considered in every act of business, and links every
expenditure with a regard to his glory. "The hand
of God is recognized in our worldly affairs; his presence is invited, so to speak, into the very heart of our
prosperity, whence the world is most anxious to exclude him, invited to audit the account of our gains."
Thus it leads to "walk with God."
It awakens a deeper earnestness for' the salvation
of mzen, and of course, a greater fervor in prayer.
It is a law of our natures, that doing kind deeds to
others strengthens our love for them more than receiving kind deeds from them. We love most those
for whom we do most. Hence, the more we do fbr
the welfare of men, the more we shall feel and pray
for them. Thus systematic charity keeps the spirit




SPIRITUAL ATTAINMENTS.              63
of prayer lively and the religious feelings tender and
fiesh.  He who practises it will be likely to become
an eminent Christian, entering with all his heart
into every effort to do good, sympathizing ill every
feeling with the soul of Christ, and electric to every
touch with his loving and self-sacrificing spirit.
It concentrates the energies, and thus favors spiritual growth.  It prevents the division of purpose
which is the great hinderance of success, fills, enlarges, and nerves the soul with the sublime purpose of
doing good, and bending every power to that one
object, enables us to say with Paul's earnestness,
"This one thing we do."
But its most important influence in promoting the
spiritual growth, is in counteracting the deadening
infltences of worldly business.  It has already been
considered as the antidote for covetousness.  In thus
grappling directly with this mother sin, it withers
the strength of some of the most powerful temptations, and exerts a varied and extensive influence in
unfolding the whole Christian character in its beauty.
It extracts the poison from worldly pursuits; it counteracts their usual perniciousness; and not only so,
it compels them to become actually helpers to growth
in piety, as the exercise and discipline of heavenly
afiection; so that Christians may be
"' Like ships in seas, while in, above the world,"
and all the agitations of busy life be but the bounding
billows which bear them on their appointed course.




64       SCRIPTURAL BENEVOLENCE.
It is a common impression that the highest excrcise of religion is incompatible with the highest activity and enterprise in worldly business; that as
business increases, the activity of piety must decline;
and that revivals are not to be looked for in those
periods when business is peculiarly urgent. This inlpression is wholly unscriptural. The Bible requires
us at the same time to be "not slothful in business,
fervent in spirit, serving the Lord"-a requirement,
plainly, that fervor and activity in God's service go
hand in hand with fervor and activity in business.
Nothing is plainer than that the whole system of precepts, promises, and warnings in the Bible is adapted
to man amid the annoyances, temptations, and cares
of every-day business. Should a man become a hermit for the better exercise of religion, he would find
a large part of the Bible with no applicability to his
circumstances.  Besides, such a withdrawal is impossible, for necessity is on the most of men to spend
their time in business. God requires them to be industrious in some useful calling.  To suppose God
requires a piety which it is impossible to exercise in
its higher degrees in the midst of that business which
his providence makes necessary and his law enjoins,
is to charge God with unreasonable and inconsistent
requirements.
But such an impression prevails. Not only so, but.
it is certain that business, as usually conducted, justifies it; for it has tendencies almost sure to cheek




SPIRITUAL ATTAINMENTS.             65
the growth of the Christian, so that the good feeling
aroused in the closet or on the Sabbath is benumbed
as by the shock of a torpedo, as soon as he takes his
worldly affairs in hand; and it has tendencies to prevent the unconverted from attending to religic n, and
to harden them  in hopeless inpenitence.  Business
occupies the time so that the prayer-meeting is neglected, and sometimes the family altar, the closet,
and the word of God; so that the fatigue of excessive toil through the week causes slumber in the sanctuary, or is made an excuse for absence. Sometimes
the pressure of business, or the fear that machinery
will lose a few hours in the week, leads to flagrant,
perhaps habitual profanation of God's day.  Business occupies the thoughts, so that all the week long
nothing else obtains a lodgment in the mind, and
though the body be in God's house on the Sabbath,
the thoughts are on the world; and thus, like one
perishing in the water, the man of business scarcely
gets his head above the worldliness which ingulfs
him, to catch a breath of the pure air of heavenly
life.  And worse than all, his business seizes his
heart; there is a fascination about it which draws to
itself all his affections and energies.  "He makes
gold his hope, and says to the most fine gold,' Thou
art my confidence.'"  In short, it is tending perpetially to make him at last a worldling, for whom the
claims of benevolence and the schemes of philanthropy have lost their charm, who has no eye for the
Ziaclheus.




66       SCRIPTURAL BENEVOLENCE.
glories of heaven, no ear for the terrors of hell;
who heeds his "piece of land," his "merchandise,"
his " five yoke of oxen," more than the invitations
of mercy and the attractions of the cross; whose
heart is in his purse, and his life circumscribed to his
farm, his counting-room, or his shop; who as to spiritual life is dead and buried in worldliness, and his
prosperity is but the magnificent monument of his
soul's burial-place, on which all who weep his untimely ruin, may read with shuddering the inscription which God's finger has engraved: "Lo, this is
the man that made not God his strength, but trusted
in the abundance of his riches." " So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward
God."
Systematic benevolence restrains this pernicious
influence of business. But mere restraint is not all.
It is not enough to ask how business is to be kept from
injuring the church. Doing business is not necessarily serving mammon, therefore not necessarily the
antagonist of serving God. It is dangerous for Christians to stand merely on the defensive here, and
think merely to shield religion from the onslaught of
worldliness. We must go further. The question
must be, " How shall we bring business within the
pale of religion, make it a part of religion, and an
aid to its growth? How make it help in exercising
and strengthening piety, as really as does prayer?"
The Bible requires business to be thus identified with




SPIRITUAL ATTAINMENTS.             67
God's service, and never will the church be saved
from wasting worldliness and grow to her full stature
in piety, till she carries the war into the enemy's territory, " overcomes the world," and makes it tributary to herself; and that, not merely by securing the
silver and gold for her enterprises, but by securing
in the very acts of worldly business a discipline of
piety and an exercising and strengthening of grace.
Business must occupy almost all the time of the
most of God's children: how preposterous to expect
them to make great attainments in piety if this business, like a poisoned atmosphere, is perlptually enfeebling their strength; if their religion is confined
for its sources of nourishment to the Sabbath and the
closet, and during almost their entire waking existence, is helplessly exposed to an ever-blighting agency
from  their own pursuits.  They must bind their
business on God's altar, or it will bind them on the
altar of mammon.
The practical separation of business from religion,
the belief that the former is necessarily antagonistical to the latter, and conducting it so as to make it
so, are among the principal causes why the tone of
piety is so low, and the mass of the church are but
babes in Christ. Nor till this difficulty is removed
have we a right to expect the church to "look forth
as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun,
and terrible as an army with banners."
Systematic benevolence is a most important and




68       SCRIPTURAL BENEVOLENCE.
an indispensable agency in making business a helper
and not a foe to the religious growth.  When a man
acts on this principle, his place of business becomes
a Bethel; every transaction becomes like a renewal
of his consecration to God; money and bills and la
bor are associated with his obligations to his Master,
and fragrant with the memory of the cross; and like
the attraction drawing every part of the earth and
binding it to the sun, divine love fastens its attraction on every possession, on every toil, and every
gain, and binds him with all that he has to God
the centreof his whole life's orbit.  Then he is
intimate with God not less on the exchange or the
farm, than in the closet. Then his whole course of
life becomes a help and not a hinderance to his spiritual progress; and like a healthy child, he grows
steadily and unconsciously amid the ceaseless activity of lifc.
Floemand Smith, when roused to a more entire conser,ration to God, falling in with the common notion
that a life of secular business is incompatible with a
life of eminent usefulness and piety, seriously purposed to abandon it. But more scriptural views led
himn to continue in' business, consecrating it to God.
He put on record the " purpose to engage in my business, that I may serve God in it, and with the expectation of, getting to give."  His biographer says,
"From that time it was observable by all who knew
him, that he made rapid progress in religion.  There




SPIRITUAL ATTAIN MENT S.           69
was a fervor and engagedness of spirit, a purity and
elevation of aim, that could not be misunderstood or
concealed.  He rose towards heaven like the lark of
the morning."  From  that time "he found no tendency in his worldly engagements to chill his piety,
or to enchain his affections to the earth. His business became to him a means of grace, and helped
him forward in the divine life, just as truly as readiilg the Scriptures and prayer."
When a similar habit shall become general in the
church, one of the most important steps will have
been taken to secure that elevation of piety for
which as yet we sigh in vain; and the law of love,
now written in Christ's word, will be written on the
hearts of his disciples and read by all the world in
their lives.
Says President Edwards of alms-giving, " There is
no external duty, by which persons will be so much
in the way, not only of receiving temporal benefits,
but also spiritual blessings, the influences of God's
Spirit in the heart in divine discoveries and spiritual
consolations."  " That this is one likely means to
obtain assurance, is evident from 1 John, 3: 18, 19,'My little children, let us not love in word, neither
in tongue, but in deed and in truth.  And hereby
we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure
our hearts before him.' " " If God's people in this
land were once brought to abound in such deeds of
love, nothing would have a greater tendency to bring




70       SCRIPTURAL BENEVOLENCE.
the God of love down from heaven to earth; so amiable would be the sight in the eyes of our loving and
exalted Redeemer, that it would soon as it were fetch
him down from his throne in heaven, to set up his tabernacle with men on the earth and dwell with them."
" The late remarkable revival of religion in Saxony,
which began by the labors of the famous professor
Franke, and hasnow been carried on for above thirty
years, and has spread its happy influences into many
parts of the world, was begun and has been carried
on by a wonderful practice in this duty." Thoughts
on the Revival, part 5, sect. 3.




BLESSING THE CHURCH.             71
CHAPTER  VIII.
SYSTEMATIC BENEVOLENCE INCREASES THE
SPIRITUAL POWER OF THE CHURCH.
THE increase of spiritual power will be the necessary consequence of the increase of piety. And by
promoting an increase of piety, systematic benevolence imparts an efficacy to the prayers and teachings of the church, an influence to her character, a
success to her enterprises, a mightiness through God
to the pulling down of strong holds, such as money
cannot bestow.
Here, also, we may consider principally its influence in counteracting worldliness. No argument is
oftener urged against religion than that founded on
the alleged inconsistencies of its professors.  The
chief foundation for this plea, so far as it has any, is
the conformity of Christians to the world in all the
aims, the maxims, and the manner of getting and
spending money, so that too commonly, Christians,
away from their devotions, can scarcely be distinguished from the better sort of worldlings. Let the
scriptural law of benevolence be usually obeyed; let
the world behold Christians actuated by the sublime
desire to do good in all their gettings and their expenditures, and consecrating spontaneously to the Lord
as he hath prospered them; let it be seen, when men
become Christians, by the change in their pursuit of




72       SCRIPTURAL BENEVOLENCE.
earthly treasure, that they have fobund a better poItion, and now have their hearts and their treasure in
heaven; and the church will stand up before the
world with a consistency and elevation of piety which
will prove that gainsaying springs only from opposition to goodness —with a triumphant power which
will compel the exclamation, " God is in the midst
of ler; she shall not be moved" —with a manifest
and practical renunciation of' the world, like that
which in the apostles' days compelled both Jews and
Gentiles to confess the reality and feel the power of
religion, and which, reappearing in the church, will
go far towards restoring the like rapidity and glory
to her conquests.
It would be ungrateful, indeed, not to acknowledge, among the striking characteristics of this age,
the revival, in a degree, of the benevolent and missionary spirit of apostolic times. We hail it as an
omen of good; we have marked already its happy
results; we wait as " they that watch for the morning," for' the glory that should follow."  But alas,
how much in vain' For the icebergs and snowfields of the long winter still linger, and the piercing
winds from them wither the plants of righteousness
and keep back the buds of promise, and when we
might be looking for the luxuriance of summer, behold the lingering, frost-bitten growth of a backward
and chilling spring.
"Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, and




BLESSING T'Ra CHURCH              7O
prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I
will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour
you out a blessing, that there shall not be room
enough to receive it."  We so constantly spiritualize this text, as to forget that its literal and proper
application is to contributions to the Lord's treasury. Paying these fully is declared here to be the
condition of God's great blessing.  Let this challenge of the Most High be accepted.  Let his sincerity in it be-as for generations past, by the church
generally, it has not been-put to the test. Let his
disciples " prove " him, by giving all that he requires,
and see if, through its direct and indirect influence,
it will not elevate the piety and enlarge the power
and successes of the church-if spiritual stupidity
will continue to be, for the larger portion of the time,
the lamentation of the churches at home, and slow
and limited success the history of benevolent operations abroad.




74        1 C1IPTUttAL B ENEIVLENCS.
CHAPTER IX.
SYSTEMATIC BENEVOLENCE PROMOTES
HAPPINESS.
IT is a privilege to give, and a reason for thankfulness to have the opportunity and the means. Money
given to the Lord leaves a sweetness like the perfume of the alabaster-box of precious ointment, filling the soul long after the offering has been poured
out. Those who have given most regularly and in
the largest proportion, remember with the most joyous gratitude what God has enabled them to do.
VWhen David and his people had contributed immense treasures "willingly" to build the temple, we
read that " the people rejoiced, and David the king
also rejoiced with great joy. And David said, Our
God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name.
But what am I, and what is my people, that we
should be able to offer so willingly after this sort?
for all things come of thee, and of thine own have
we given thee." The first Christian converts, after
"parting their goods to all men," "did eat their meat
with gladness."  Mr. Cobb said, " By the grace of
God —nothing else-by the grace of God, I have been
enabled to give more than $40,000. Ihow good the
Lord has been to me!"  Said a man in moderate
circumstances, who was giving his whole net income,
"I could not feel happy to spend the money on my



PROMOTES  RAPPINESS.            76
self, while so much is to be done for the needy and the
perishing. I could not enjoy myself if I should do
it."  At another time, when necessary extra expenses greatly diminished his charities for a time, he
said, "I find it one of my greatest trials, that I cannot do more for the heathen."
Systematic benevolence promotes happiness by its
influence in subduing covetousness and strengthening benevolence.
As we have already seen covetousness to be a
principal hinderance to the spiritual growth and the
spiritual power of the church, so now we find it a
hinderance to spiritual enjoyment-nay, to human
happiness in the broadest sense.  And that'same
divine scheme which we have already seen to be
essential, chiefly by its influence in subduing covetousness, to the growth of the church's piety and the
advancement of its triumphs, we now see to be essential, in the same way, to happiness. This combined view of these arguments may show us at once
the far-reaching and appalling dangers of covetousness, and the simplicity, efficacy, and unfailing adaptedness of God's scheme of prevention.
The covetous or selfish scheme of doing business
is always tormenting.  It is accompanied by great
anxiety. He who does business on this system is
perpetually anxious and chafed, feverish with an excitement and perturbation, which are avoided by him
who calmly does business for the Lord, and asks only




76t      SO''RSRIPTURAL BENEVOLENCE.
what the Lord would have him do. "What shall 1
do for the hundred talents which I have given to
the king of Israel?" is like the feverish questioning of
the former. "The Lord is able to give thee much
more than this," is like the trustful reply of the latter.
Normand Smith incidentally shows what a preser,
vative he had found for unruffled calmness amid the
annoyances of business, by the following entry in his
diary: " I have forgotten and broken my resolutions
to conduct all to the glory of God. This has been
manifested in my being fretted at what I deemed
untimely calls for settlement and for debts." He
seems to imply that so long as he adhered to his
"resolutions," fretting at the annoyances of business
was not a thing to be expected. A man who for
years has been doing business in one of our cities on
the scriptural plan of benevolence, but who had previously done business otherwise, says of himself, that
" the anxiety, the feverish excitement, and the impatience to get the news and the results of sales, or
the results of their own business operations, which
merchants, speculators, and others are continually
burdened with, and at times almost to distraction,
and from which there seems to be little or no prospect of relief, all such perturbations of mind, cornmon to others, were once common to his experience;
but he now seldom feels any thing of the kind; for
he has learned in his Bible to'cast his burden on
the Lord.'"




PROMOTES HAPPINESS.              77
Besides, upon the covetous or selfish scheme of
business, a man can never be satisfied. " He that
loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver, nor he
that loveth abundance with increase."  This sentiment has been in the mouths of the wise from Solomon's day till now. Its truth must for ever cut off
the covetous man from  solid contentment.  The
more he acquires, the more he wants; and in the
midst of the greatest acquisitions, he remains the
very realization of those lean and ill-favored kine
which devoured all that was fair and thriving before
them, only to remain as lean, as ill-favored, and as
voracious as ever. There has appeared in the newspapers a horrible story about a man who had an
enormous tape-worm in his stomach: however much
the man ate, it was devoured by the ugly reptile
within, nourishing itself to greater bulk and voracity
thereby, while the wretched man was wasting in the
torment of perpetual starvation. Whether the story
be true or false, it is a lively picture of covetousness.
That is a worm  in the soul, nourishing itself to
greater strength and voracity by every acquisition,
and wasting the soul in the agony of perpetual want.
Relief, sought in vain by trying to satisfy, can come,
only by killing the devouring desire-by killing it
speedily, before it proves itself "the worm that never
dies."
It is related in the history of ancient Rome, that
an immense chasm once opened in the midst of the




78        SCRIPTURAL BENEVOLENCE.
city.  The superstitious Romans, to appease the god
whose anger, they supposed, had opened the abyss,
threw in the costliest garments and the richest treasures  but in vain.  At last one of the most distinguished nobles put on his richest armor, and mounting
his steed leaped into the abyss, and it closed. Covetousness, in its insatiability, realizes this fable. It is
an abyss yawning in the covetous man's path. Ile
gathers treasures and casts into it, but it closes not.
He toils harder, he gathers more and richer treasures
and casts into it, but it closes not-it closes not, till
the wretched man himself sinks into the widening
chasm, and it shuts on him in the gulf of perdition
fobr ever.
The very opposite is the result of love, which the
adoption of God's scheme of charity cherishes. There
is " comfort in love." In every act of relieving the
wretched which it requires, is a present bliss, which
partakes more of heavenly than of earthly joy. It
produces trustful peace amid annoyances, perplexities, and calamities.  It leads to satisfaction, even
with little. In peace of conscience, the consciousness of doing good and of receiving God's smile, it
imparts blessedness which gold selfishly used can
never buy. It gives a lasting joy. Spend money on
self, and how quick the gratification is gone. But
the joy of beneficence grows and brightens in the
remembrance. To know that by foregoing a selfish
gratification I have relieved the misery of a fellow



PROMOTES HAPPINESS..              79
man-that for my gifts and self-denial there is less
ignorance, less vice, less wretchedness in the world;
to know that I have helped to vindicate truth and
right, and to establish the blessed reign of Jesus; to
hope that, by God's blessing on my charities, even
one dark soul has been made acquainted with the
Saviour and led to everlasting bliss; what can thrill
the soul with a richer, and more lasting joy? And
at the bed of death, when all earthly treasures are
slipping from the grasp, and the memory of selfish
gratifications, now past for ever, but imbitters the
spirit, these memories of charities and sacrifices,
offered for Christ's sake and by his grace, will stand
like angels of mercy, fanning the soul with airs of
heaven, and cheering it with an undying joy in the
agonies of dissolution.
No language oftener meets a pastor's ear, than the
complaint, "I do not enjoy religion." The churches
present a painful contrast with the habitual happiness of the apostles, whose writings, though written
usually in the depths of distresses, more than any
human compositions overflow with a deep and exultant joy.  But there is little apprehension of what
is a prevalent cause of this lack of spiritual joy-the
withholding of charity, and the consequent increase
of worldliness and the stagnation of holy love. Happiness cannot be poured into the soul from without,
like water into a cistern; the water of life is not said
to flow into a man, but to flow " out of him."  To




80        SCRIPTURAL BENZEVOLENCZ.
regain lost enjoyment, the Christian must increase
the exertions and self-denial of love. Let him fill life
full of efforts and sacrifices to do good, and he will
fill it full of bliss. He can be blessed only in accordance with that law of the entire moral universe
expressed in the comprehensive words of Christ, " It
is more blessed to give than to receive."
Consider, now, the universality of this law.  God
is love. So far as any addition to his blessedness is
concerned, God never received any thing. If, as many
imagine, every thing given is just so much taken from
the comfort of the giver, God would have lost more
happiness than all his creatures, for he is always giving.  But he is the most blessed of beings; and he
is so, not so much in spite of his ceaseless beneficence,
as by means of it.  His infinitude of bliss is an eternal expression of the law, " It is more blessed to give
than to receive."
Angels toil for others, happy in what to selfish
hearts would be the humiliating and self-denying service of ministering to those immeasurably their inferiors in character and rank; waiting upon the very
"babes in Christ " in this nursery for heaven.
In hell is neither giving, nor blessedness. Selfishness reigns alone.
Thus the spirit of Christ's self-sacrificing love is
the spirit of all heaven, and the essence of its bliss.
The spirit of selfishness is the spirit of hell, and the,
source of its misery. The principle of the cross,




PROMOTEFS  HAPPINE MS.           81
"Give, give," carried out to all its results, makes
heaven. The principle of the worldling's search for
happiness, " Get, get," carried out to all its results,
makes hell.
The same law is discernible even in the confusion
of probation on earth. The purest joy is found, not
in halls of wealth, power, or gayety, nor yet in cottages where covetousness is always craving; but,
whether in palace or hut, in the heart most completely filled, the life most completely controlled by
self-sacrificing love. Even at the martyr's stake are
witnessed scenes of most ecstatic bliss, because there
selfishness is most effectually crushed, because there
love enfolds the martyr's soul brighter and purer
than the flames which enfold his body, and is the
chariot of fire and horses of fire which bear him up
to heaven.
Imagine a young lady surrounded with wealth and
luxury, who, instead of living to strew around her
blessings, is the spoiled child of indulgence, the victim of a selfishness that has always reigned unchecked.  She passes her existence, full of fretfulness and discontent, in the vain attempt to satisfy
desires which indulgence has made numerous and
insatiable as an army of locusts, and which, in their
devouring march through life, turn all the anticipations and opportunities of enjoyment opening invitingly before her, into unhappiness, and make the life
of their victim to be alwavys "like the garden of
ZaChe,.




82      ESCRIIPTURAL BENEVOLENCE.
Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness."
Contrast with this imaginary case an historical
personage. She was one of the first missionary
band that left our shores, when every step was uncertain and hazardous, and war redoubled the dangers of the untried undertaking. Arrived in Asia,
she is driven from the country, tossed again upon the
ocean, and buffSted with discomfort, sickness, and
difficulty, till she dies. But her life was blessedness,
and her death was peace. For the former, all outward circumstances combine to produce happiness;
but selfishness makes her miserable. For the latter,
all outward circumstances combined to bring discomfort; by her own self-consecrating act she had rushed
into the midst of trials; but all the floods of affliction could not quench the fire of her love, nor drown
the flame of joy which ever mounted from the altar
of her consecrated heart. The former will vapor
life away and die, and she and the silks that clothed
her will decay and be forgotten together; but the
memory of HARRIET NEWrELL will always refresh
the earth, and hope, and love, and self-denial will
spring ever with new freshness from  her sea-girt
grave. Yes; better is it, greater is it, that, in doing
good, we be like the sweet incense burned before the
Lord, consumed ourselves while spreading a sweet
savor of beneficence about us-better that we be like
the sacred oil of the seven-branched candlestick, con



PROMOTES HAPPINESS.              83
sumed ourselves, while giving a holy light to others,
than to gain for our own enjoyment' all that selfish.
ness ever won.
Paul and Silas, having " suffered the loss of a'l
things," bloody with scourging, fastened painfully in
the stocks in the inner prison, broke the silence of
midnight with songs of joy. And love always sings:
toiling, sacrificing, suffering, yet it sings. And in
proportion as that love fills our hearts, controls our
lives, subdues the tormenting covetings of selfishness, and makes it our " meat to do the will of Him
that sent us," in that proportion will be the fulness
and the continuity with which we shall join the
song of love-that song which no prison walls nor
stake of martyrdom can silence; which, ceaseless as
the exhalations from the bosom of the earth, is going
up everywhere from humble hearts toiling and sufferingo to do God's will-that irrepressible song,
which, when death shall have broken down the bars
of this mortality, shall burst into the shout of eternal and heavenly praise.
Thus has God made the universe according to that
law, "It is more blessed to give than to receive."
Let any intelligent being cease to seek the good of
others, and he ceases to be blessed himself. Let the
sun cease to pour his beams abroad, let him gather
his rays only into his own bosom, and he will not
only cease to shine on others, but will become black
and unseen himself in the universal night. So, while




84       SCRIPTURAL BENEVOLENCE.
any spirit that God has made lives not for itself, but
for its Maker and its Maker's works, it shines above
the brightness of the sun in glory. But when it begins to gather its efforts into itself and to pour its
blessings only into its own bosom, that moment its
glory goes out in night, and it becomes a part of " the
blackness of darkness for ever."
In vain, then, do you look for happiness, while the
business of life is not penetrated and controlled by
benevolence.  It were a contradiction and disordering of God's whole scheme of providence to permit
it. And it were equally a contradiction of God's
word; for as the word of God is true, they who
" will be rich," and therefore neglect in their business
the beneficence which God requires, must "pierce
themselves through with many sorrows."
Hasten, then, thankfully to adopt God's plan for
saving you from these many sorrows, and learn by
your own experience that " it is more blessed to give
than to receive."
Nor think that these sorrows are for this life only.
God has lifted the veil from the awful future, and
recorded the decision, " No covetous man hath any
inheritance in the kingdom of Christ."  "Be not deceived; neither thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards
shall inherit the kingdom of God." If there be one
cause more effectual than any other in satisfying men
with false hopes, or in turning the attention quite
away from religion, hardening the heart in impeni



COCL USZ.W 8!
tence, and peopling the realms of woe, that cause is
worldliness. If you value your immortal interests,
if you have any just apprehension how many and
powerful are the obstacles to your salvation, and
how imminent your danger of being snared into a
fatal negligence of your soul, it will be presumptuous
trifling with your eternal welfare, if you adopt not
the scriptural plan of subduing, by God's blessing,
that worldliness which is the deadliest of all these
opposing influences, and which the apostle so solemnly warns you is sure, if not subdued, to plunge you
"into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish
and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction
and perdition."
Such are the motives to systematic benevolence;
and such its vital and extensive connections with the
Christian life and the prosperity of Christ's kingdom.
And the force of these motives is enhanced by God's
own revealed estimate of the importance of the duty
of giving to relieve the wretched.  There is something peculiarly interesting in the language of Christ,
when guarding. his disciples against selfish motives in
alms-giving, and enjoining the precautions useful to
secure an eye single to the glory of God. "Thy Father, which seeth in secret, himself shall reward thee
openly."  As if the Monarch of the universe felt a
peculiar pleasure in the humble disciple whose aim is
to honor him by his secret charities, and would bring




SCR1%PTURAL BENEVOLENCEI
him before the assembled universe and with his own
royal hand encircle his brow with the incorruptible
crown. And verily, one " Well done, good and faithfiul servant," from the lips of the King of heaven,
mnay well outweigh all human applause, all selfish
gains. And as if to show the intensity of his interest,
and the particularity with which he notices and rewards what is given and what is withheld, God has
revealed from heaven that even so insignificant a
gift as " a cup of cold water only," given with right
motives, shall not lose its reward; and has transmitted to all generations the solemn record of his approbation of the widow's farthing.
And the Saviour has invested the duty with an
immeasurable sacredness, even with all the sacredness of love to him and regard to his sufferings; for
he declares from the throne of judgment, that every
gift, given with the pure desire to aid his church,
he receives as given to aid himself; and every refusal to give, he regards as a refusal to minister to
his own wants.  He puts himself in the place of his
church; he bares his bosom to receive every neglect
of her in her necessities; he opens his heart to treasure up as a favor bestowed on himself, every favor
bestowed on her.  "Inasmuch as ye did it," or did
it not, "to one of the least of these my brethren, ye
did it," or did it not, " to me."
Having thus invested these objects of charity with
the sacredness of his own person, and, as it were,




COiNCLUSION.                7
linked the performance or neglect of the duty with
every sensation of his own throbbing heart, he invests it with a new solemnity, and reveals in it a new
importance, by declaring, that in the final judgment
the duty of charity to the distressed will be selected
as the key to the whole life and the test of the whole
character. " Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit
the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of
the world; for I was a hungered, and ye gave me
meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was
a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed
me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison,
and ye came unto me." "Depart from me, ye cursed,
into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his
angels; for I was a hungered, and ye gave me no
meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drinkl; I
was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and
ye clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited
me not."
Behold, then, in God's own estimate of this duty,
that we have not overrated its importance. Behold
your hardihood, if you leave, unsystematized, to caprice and chance, a duty which is held so important
in the solemn estimation of God, and is presented by
the Judge himself, as the key and test of the character in the final decision. Behold with trembling
your peril, lest, though you have even sat at Christ's
table, you be found at last with those who have not
ministered to Christ.








TilE
MISSION OF THE CHURCH;
OR,
SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE.
BY REV. EDWARD A. LAWRENCE,
MARBLEHEAD, MASS.
Israel shall blossom. and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.
ISAIAH 27: 6.
PUBLISHED BY THE
AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY.
150 NASSAU-STREET, NEW VOORE.
13








C ONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
THE SPIRIT OR ELEMENTARY PRINCIPLES OF
BENEFICENCE.
The elements of Christian beneficence are,
1. An intelligent spirit,...............................    7
2. A diffutsive spirit,...................................  10
3. An equitable spirit,..................................  14
4. A benevolent spirit,... -..............................   15
5. A self-denying spirit,................................  17
6. A spirit of grateful love............................. -.    18
7. A spirit of prayer,................................... 22
CHAPTER II.
PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCE.
First general proposition.-Every man's charitable contributions
should be proportionate to the vastness and importance of the
objects sought in beneficence............................ 25
A brief survey of the fieid —Statement of the objects,..    25
Second general proposition-Every man's charitable contributions should be proportionate to the adequacy of the instrumentality to be applied,...................................... 37
The insufficiency of certain alleged remedial agencies-The gospel
the only adequate instrumentality-Harmony of the instrumentality with the objects of beneficence,....................... 38
TAird gel eral proposition.-Every man's charitable contributions
should be proportionate to his pecuniary means and facilities for
applying the instrumentality,         - - - - - - - -..... 55
1. The beneficence of the Jewisls church,..................   5 
2. The beneficent spirit of the early Christian church, -.- -  63
3. The scripture declarations concerning property, and the duty of:berality,  -- ---      ---—...........................................  68
b7erriczlar propositions.-Every man's beneficence should be proportionate,




4.                         COq'i'E 2N'1' S.
1. To the sum total of his property, -.....................  76
2. To his annual income, -..............................- - - -  -  83
3. To what he can earn by industry,............... 90
4. To what he can save by economy,.....................  96
5. To what he can spare by self-denial,................... - - - - 102
Motives.-Beneficence gives to wealth its greatest value, secures our
own highest interests, and promotes the glory of God, -  - -  - - 107
CHAPTER III.
SYSTEM IN BENEFICENCE.
I. Provisions of systemz.
1. Instruction concerning the use of property, and communicating
information respecting the condition and wants of the world, - 116
2. The appropriation by every one, at stated times, of a due proportion of his property to charitable purposes: 1. The weekly period.
2. The monthly  period.  3. The annnzal period.  4. Setting
apart a portion of each gain in every enterprise, -  - -...... 121
3. Some plan by every church for collecting its contributions, and for
applying them to their objects. - -  -   -   -  -......................... 130
II. Tendencies and advantages of system.
1  To diminish the expenditure of benevolent societies,- - -.- -    134
2. To secure a larger number of contributors,-................- - - - -135
3. To secure from each contributor an amount more proportionate to
his  ability,...........................................-       136
4. To give to charitable contributions the more scriptural form of
free-will offerings,.................................... —---   139
5. To make these free-will offerings the fruit of a more cheerful
spirit,  -................................................   142
6. To give consistency and efficiency to the character of Christians,
by bringing their life into harmony with their doctrines and professions,............................................... —  -- -— 145
7. To raise the church in its charitable contributions to a more elevated Christian devotion, -............................... 149
8. To promote union among Christians of different denominations,
and thus increase the power of the whole church for the good of
the world,............................................ 153
CoNCLUSION............................................  1.59




THE
MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
CHAPTER I.
THE SPIRIT, OR ELEMENTARY PRINCIPLES
OF BENEFICENCE.
THE mind that was in Christ, the spirit that
moved him through the whole period of hisearthly
life, was a deep, ever-flowing spirit of love. It was
an illimitable and inexhaustible benevolence. Every
stage of his history, from the manger to the cross, is
a peculiar expression of " good will towards men."
By his life he became an example, and in his death
he made atonement for sin; thus illustrating the
spirit of Christianity, and opening a way whereby it
might be infused into the hearts of his disciples. In
its impulses and operations, both in the Head of the
church and in its members, it is the spirit of beneficence. To be Christian, therefore, beneficence must
be prompted by the Christian spirit, and be in
harmony with the great design of Christ in his
redeeming work. This gives it the fullest scope in
the objects of the gospel, and the highest character
in the spirit of the gospel. By the development of




6        THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
this spirit in the church, through the perfecting of
the Christian life of its members, it finds its true
mission in seeking the salvation of the race. It thus
answers its fittest description-" the salt of the
earth," "the light of the world."
The spirit of Christian beneficence is distinguished
from mere human kindness, which is neither universal in its extent, uniform in its operations, not
Christian in its principle. It is distinguished from
natural pity, in that this arises from spontaneous
sympathy, and does not take into account the praise
or blameworthiness of its objects. It differs from
generosity, which is not scrupulous to abide by the
rules of justice, and has no end in the honor of God,
or the highest welfare of man. It is unlike that desire of applause, which in the spirit of Phariseeism
often prompts to liberal donations, but only "to be
seen of men." Its bestowments are dissimilar to the
grudging remittances made to purchase relief from
the wearying importunity of persevering applicants.
It is distinguished from the reluctant yielding of the
crumbs which fall from the table of abundance, in
order to pacify a clamorous conscience, and procure
exemption from its upbraidings. It is the antagonist
of that alms-giving which is relied on as the ground
of justification before God, thus making salvation
by grace superfluous and impossible.
Between all these and that beneficence which is
truly Christian, there is a wide difference. Chris



SPIRIT OF BENEFICENCE.            7
tian beneficence neither disowns the constitutional
principles or emotions, nor takes its character from
them. Incorporating into itself all the elements of
joy and sorrow, pity and sympathy, honor and generosity, it constitutes a complex principle, above and
beyond any one or all of them. Jesus was kind,
and sympathizing, and compassionate, and generous
But he was something more than these. Purer motives urged him-a higher impulse moved him-a
nobler spirit inspired him. It was the impulse of
love, whose spontaneous outgushings made his life
an example of the most sublime beneficence.
Among the peculiar and positive elements of beneficence, distinguishing it as Christian, is,
1. An intelligent spirit. Whosoever would discharge the duties of life, must first know what they
are. In nothing is this more manifest than in efforts
to do good. As all alms-giving is not from benevolence, so neither is it all beneficent.  It is as essential to the latter, that it should be directed to a right
end, as to the former that it should spring from
a right principle. Nor does even a good motive in
the donor necessarily secure to his deed the character
of beneficence, unless it is well directed; the action may be praiseworthy in its purpose, while, from
want of knowledge, it may be disastrous in its effects.
Under the incubus of ignorance, well-meaning men
may multiply the ills which they would remove.
Through unacquaintance with the condlition of those




8       THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
whom they wish to benefit, or through ignorance of
the proper remedial agencies or modes of applying
them, they may diffise the bane instead of the antidote, propagate darkness instead of disseminating
light, and carry havoc and dismay where they intended only healing and consolation. And the more
munificent is such ill-directed charity, the greater the
waste-the more wide-spread the ruin.
Christian beneficence walks not forth blindfold
amidst the world's mendicity and its mendacity,
scattering alike to both.  She wields not her fill
hands, as the Cyclops his huge limbs, at random.
Her zeal is an enlightened ardor, never roaming in
the dark, and never impatient of results that come
only through the gradual operation of appropriate
causes.
In this age of busy reform, all kinds of objects have
their solicitors. Men who aspire to philanthropy
even, must discriminate: much more does Christian
beneficence demand a wise and careful circumspection. She wishes to know what the work is, and
where it is, and how it is to be done. She sends
out her pioneers to survey the ground and gauge the
difficulties. She takes the altitude of mountains to
be brought low, and the depth of valleys to be filled.
She examines the crooked places to be made straight,
and the rough places to be made smooth, and traverses " the wilderness and solitary place," which, by
her culture, are to "bud and blossom as the rose."




SPIRIT OF BENEFICENCE,            9
By this pioneer service, in which such men as Howard and Buchanan and Martyn and Marshman have
been most successful explorers, benevolent men are
better enabled to adapt means to their ends. They
obtain a quicker discernment of the various phases of
wickedness and want, and of the avenues of access
to them. The delusive fancies of sentimental philosophers concerning the virtues and happiness of
the savage state, have been thus dispelled. The
glowing eulogies pronounced upon the mythology of
modern paganism, have, by the testimony of honest
and indefatigable examiners, been thrown into entire
discredit. The principles of evil, inherent in fallen
humanity, are found to hold their woful empire over
the comparatively mild inhabitants of Southern Asia,
" with such an absoluteness of possessive power, and
displaying this disposition in such wantonly versatile,
extravagant, and monstrous effects, as to surpass all
our previous imaginations and measures of possibility."
For those who desire information concerning these
things, the means are at hand. Let them study the
character and operations and claims of the various
humane and benevolent associations, as exhibited in
their lucid and condensed reports and other publications. Let them study the providences and prophedies and promises of God, in his works and word.
His providence is casting clearer light upon the
prophecies, and his Spirit is fulfilling the promises,




10      THE MISSION Or THE CHURCH.
to a degree that illumines the whole Christian world.
The spirit of Christian beneficence, in her reformatory power, is entering the convict's cell, and is
applying her benign and recovering agencies to the
condition of the poor, the orphan, the sick, the insane,
the deaf, the dumb, and the blind. She is penetrating the darkest nooks of heathenism, inspecting its
habitations of cruelty, and scattering light concerning the wants and woes of the race. A goodly
cluster of eleemosynary institutions-of almshouses,
hospitals, and asylums, is diffusing an ameliorating
and remedial influence throughout Christendom. A
bright constellation of Bible, Missionary, Tract, and
other kindred and affiliated societies, is pouring a
flood of light upon the world, demolishing the temples of paganism, hastening the wane of the crescent,
dissipating the delusions of Judaism, and discovering
the hoary abominations of the man of sin.  The Sun
of righteousness begins to gild the hill-tops of India,
Southern Africa, Syria, Persia, and Turkey, and has
generated moral greenness and beauty in many of
the islands of the sea.  These things, all who wish
to know, can know, and all who can know, should
know.
2. The spirit of Christian beneficence is a dijifsive spirit. The distinctions of home and foreign, far
off and near, it knows only as different spheres for the
occupancy of the same general agency, and for the
achievement of the same lofty ends. Remoter guilt




SPIRIT OF BENEFICENCE.            11
and misery affect the heart of the benevolent, if not
as sensibly, yet with as really a moving power, as
do those more near. Moral wretchedness makes
its appeal as urgently from India as from Ireland,
from the Celestial, empire as from Wisconsin. And
yet, in his beneficent mission to the far distant, the
benevolent man averts not his eye from sin and
suffering at his own door. No one is more eagleeyed to espy the mute signs of contiguous want, or
more ready to respond to the calls of charity at home,
than- he who, overstepping such narrow limits, carries the blessings of his bounty to the farthest verge
of sin and woe.
The plea of "charity at home" has passed into a
proverb, the significance of which seems often to be,
hoarding all one gets, and getting all he can. It
is sometimes only the sanctimonious garb of parsimony, put on to cover the shame of its nakednessthe formulary by which covetousness seeks baptism
at the hands of the Christian priesthood-a broad
phylactery worn by one who "devours widows'
houses." " Charity begins at home." True. And
where else should she begin? She is born at home,
and she begins to act where and when she receives
her birth. This is the order of nature. All vifal
principles work from the centre outwards. It is the
order of Providence also. But it is contrary both to
nature and to Providence, for charity to seek only
"her own," and allow her cultivated and fertile fields




12      THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
to do no more than "supply their own wants and
replenish their own wastes."
He, therefore, who in Christian beneficence ends
with the beginning, cannot be said to have begun at
all. And he who bestows nothing to relieve the
misery of which he only hears the description, will
be likely to turn away from that of which his eye
gives him the living picture. Or if perchance, by
some sudden antagonistical impulse, his iron-nerved
grasp be tremulously relaxed, it is but to let slip a
pittance much nearer the mockery of woe than its
mitigation. He who thus contravenes the order of
nature, of Providence, and of the word of God, gives
no equivocal proof of being tight bound in the chains
of icy selfishness. Covetousness has cast him into
her iron-cage, and crushing out of him all humane
and generous feelings, has contracted his aims to the
narrow circle of his own selfish involutions. Doing
good to his fellow-men is not his mission. He has
lost the primal dignity of man. He has set himself
aside from the human brotherhood, and his ear is
bored in servitude to mammon. He no less needs
a mission of mercy from the abode of angels, to reassert in him the power of conscience, and restore
him to his lost human fellowship, than does the poor
idolater who makes to himself a god of one piece of
his wood, and warms himself at the fire kindled by
the other. The one worships a god of wood-the
other, a god of gold.




SPIRIT OF BENEFICENCE.            13
The spirit of Christian beneficence neither halts
nor hesitates at geographical boundaries. Contiguity
of guilt and misery has the advantage only as affording opportunity for speedier relief. Hence, the faintest sigh of want, and the softest wail of sorrow, from
whatever source they come, touch a responsive chord
in the soul of the benevolent man, and vibrate there
as the voice of God.
Thus diffusive is the spirit of Christian beneficence.  Her "field is the world."  Her own nature
allows her no narrower limits as the sphere of her
action, and the circle of the globe no wider one.
Wyith "onward" for her motto, she shrinks from no
region however rigorous, and from no clime however
sultry or remote. No barbarism is too rude, and no
forms of error too venerable, for her assailment. No
human condition is so degraded and no misery so
woful, no wretchedness is so appalling and no terror
so intimidating, as to check her flowing sympathy or
daunt her adventurous courage.  The arm of power
may be raised to protect or to repel her, yet, with
her eye upturned to the throne of the Eternal, and
her hand fast hold of the cross, she goes forth to her
work. See the illustration of her diffusive energy in
the propagation of primitive Christianity, which, in
less than three centuries, she made the sole accredited religion of the civilized world.  See her too, in
this age, planting her standard amid the snows of
Greenland, and on the burning sands of India. She




14       THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
is unfurling the banner of the cross in every quarter
of the globe. She is climbing the snow-clad sides of
the Himmaleh and the Andes, crossing the Rocky
Mountains and ranging the coasts of the Pacific,
bearing in one hand the torch of truth, and pointing
with the other to the Lamb of God. Nor will she
rest, till every son and daughter of Adam is blessed
by the gospel, and the whole earth smiles with the
beauty and verdure of heaven.
"Breathe all thy minstrelsy, immortal harp,
Breathe numbers warm with love, while I rehearse
Thy praise, O Charity; thy labors most
Divine, thy sympathy with sighs, and tears,
And groans; thy great, thy godlike wish to heal
All misery, all fortune's wounds, and make
The soul of every living thing rejoice."
3. The spirit of Christian beneficence is an equttable spirit, recognizing the principles of stewardship.  From  just views of man's relations to his
Maker arises the idea of right; and from the idea
of right, comes the sense of moral obligation or duty.
It is indeed essential to true beneficence, that it
should be voluntary. " God loveth a cheerful giver."
But it is also essential that respect should be had to
a higher than human will, as the rule of duty. Thus
then stands the ease.  Man is free to give, and free
in giving. But he is also bound to give, and to give
equitably.
Every man is a steward of God. All that he




SPIRIT OF BENEFICENCE..15
possesses is committed to him in trust, with the injunction, " Occupy till I come." At a future day it
will be said, " Give an account of thy stewardship."
Of every one who hides his Lord's money by hoarding, or embezzles it by squandering, it shall be said,
"Bind the unprofitable servant, and cast him into
outer darkness." He, on the other hand, who employs it for the glory of his Master and the good of
mankind, shall receive the faithful servant's approval, " Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."
Give to this idea of stewardship a practical prevalence in the church, and it bars out covetousness, and
raises multitudes of nominal professors from guilty
worshippers of mammon, into honored coworkers
with Christ in the world's redemption.
4. The spirit of Christian beneficence is a benevolent spirit. " Love thy neighbor as thyself," is the
great philanthropic principle of the gospel. It annihilates selfishness, and brings men into the sweet
bonds of one common brotherhood. It plucks from
the heart the "root of all evil," and plants in its
stead the seeds of a universal charity.
We love our children, in some sense, as we love
ourselves; but this is not benevolence: our instincts
prompt it.  We make common cause upon some subjects, and on some occasions, with our kindred or
friends; but this is not benevolence: self-interest dictates it.  We join in civil compact, and pledge "our
i,'es, our fortunes, and our sacred honor," and some



16      THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
times pour out our blood like water for the common
weal; but this is not benevolence: call it patriotism,
or what we will, it has no Christian element, and
oftentimes conflicts with every gospel principle, and
charitable feeling. Benevolence makes a man the
denizen of the world. By its inherent tendency to
"do good unto all men," it annihilates distance, and
by sympathy brings remote evils near. It knows no
demarcation lines of sect, or tribe, or color. Its boundaries are the limits of humanity. In its expansive
schemes, it regards men as under one common condition of guilt and suffering; subjects of one common
righteous government; liable to one common woe;
and for whom there is provided one common divine
dispensary —one Gilead of the world. The African
is our " neighbor," and has fallen " among thieves;"
benevolence calls for the appliance of our " oil and
wine."  The Hindoo is our brother, and is "sick;"
it bids us bear to him the " balm" from  " Gilead,"
and tell him of the " Physician there."
To what enlarged schemes of beneficence would the
prevalence of this spirit prompt the church. What
masses of wealth would it consecrate to the cause of
humanity. What thousands of devoted men, glowing with the spirit of Mills and Martyn and Brainerd,
panting to carry the light of truth to lands darkened
by sin, would it bring into the educational processes,
preparatory to such a work. What fleets would it
give to the winds, taking their course towards the




SPIRIT OF BENEFICENCE.             17
heathen world, laden with the printed word, and the
living preacher.  How sublime the spectacle —the
whole Christian church moved by such a spirit of
beneficence.
5. The spirit of Christian beneficence is a self
denying spirit.  It is the nature of sin to exalt self
to preeminence. This disorders our relations both
to God and to our fellow-men.  It subverts the
law of love.  It discards the divine will as the rule
of action, and substitutes each man's own will. Its
tendency is to convert the world into an arena ot
ceaseless and sanguinary conflict, for as many separate interests as there are individual combatants.
Now, the tendency of Christianity is directly the
reverse of this. It casts down self and enthrones
the Creator in the soul. It meets the selfish spirit
in all its vicious cravings, with an imperative denial.
The foundation of the Christian faith was laid in a
sacrifice, " Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone."  And as each disciple is built on this
foundation, he receives from it a subduing power,
which imparts to him this self-denying spirit. The
beneficent career of Jesus on earth was marked in
every period by humiliation and suffering and sacrifice. And shall his followers have no fellowship
with him in these? Is the vital sap of the branches
unlike that which flows in the vine? Shall there be
self-sacrifice in the head, and self-indulgence in the
members?  Self-denial is the condition of spiritual
Miss. of Church.    14




l 8     THE MISSION OF THE CHURU(I.
progress. "A despicable indulgence," says Henry
Martyn, " gave me such a view of my character, that
on my knees, I resolved to live a life of greater selfdenial. The love and vigor of my mind rose rapidly,
and all those duties from which I usually shrank,
seemed recreations."  Self-denial is the very condition of discipleship. "If any man will come after
me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross
daily, and follow me."
See this spirit burning in the bosom of the apostle to the Gentiles. With unsurpassed devotion, he
lays his ease and learning and cherished hopes joyfully at the feet of his Saviour. He is "in perils of
waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by his own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city,
in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in
perils among false brethren; in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in
fastings often, in cold and nakedness." And does he
complain that his labors and sacrifices are too wearisome, or too costly?' Rather does he glory that to him
is " this grace given," that he may " preach among
the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ." The
same flame glowed in the breasts of the martyrs, and
the same holy fire should be kindled in the bosoms of
the whole company of the disciples, consuming selfishness, and converting their hearts into censers, whence
should perpetually ascend sweet incense unto God.'i. The spirit of Christian beneficence is a spirit of




SPIRIT OF BENEFICENCE.             19
grateful love. The most concise definition of the
Christian religrion is love. "God is love," and "love
is the fulfilling of the law."  "Though I bestow all
my goods to feed the poor, and give my body to be
burned, and have not love, it profiteth me nothing."
The love of Christ takes the deepest hold of all the
principles of our being.  It allows no rival.  It admits no equal. It must reign supreme in the soul, controlling all its emotions, and directing all its energies.
Under the influence of this love, benevolent impulses
become permanent affections. Our strongest desires
for the welfare of man and the glory of God, assume
the character of fixed principles. Beholding the
world as the scene of moral achievement, surveying
its desolations, its poverty and misery, its hatreds
and strifes, its malice and murders, how sublime appears the enterprise of its recovery. Ascending the
mount of vision fast by the cross, and witnessing the
vast funeral processions bearing annually on their
biers to the world of woe, twenty-five millions of lost
souls, how moving the spectacle, how imploring the
scene! Yea, Christian, mounting up to the throne
of the Eternal, see Him whom your soul loveth
casting down his cross upon the golden pavements
of the celestial city, and by all his agonies upon it,
by the accumulated worth of six hundred millions
of guilty human spirits, to whom the church has not
these eighteen hundred years carried his saving gospel, see him interceding for that church, that it may




?o0      THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
be filled with his own spirit, that it may become more
self-denying, that it may cease its strifes at home,
and go ori its mission abroad: see this, and if love does
not burn like a fire in your bones, if apathy does not
seem madness, and the consecration of all fit means
to such an end but a poor return, the very least you
can offer, thou hast not known the love of Christ.
When Dr. Doddridge, having procured a pardon for
a condemned criminal, entered the prisoner's cell, the
grateful man threw himself at his feet, exclaiming,
"Every drop of my blood thanks you, for you have
had mercy on every drop of it  Wherever you go, 1
will be yours."  So entire is the devotion prompted
by grateful love. But redeeming love! Oh, it is this
which awakens all that is tender in affection, all that
is generous and self-sacrificing in devotion, and which
gives direction to all that is executive in energy for
high moral achievement. It imparts to the meanest
sacrifice a divine fragrance.  It gives to " a cup of
cold water " a preeminence on the catalogue of beneficent acts, not reached by the pharisaic donor of
millions. It clothes the simplest prayer of the poorest disciple with a power for the world's conversion,
to which the most skilfully adjusted moral machinery
can make no approach. It is the divine alchymy,
which transmutes in its crucible the baser metals
into gold, and sets the smallest gift as a priceless
jewel in the diadem of Him on whose head are
"many crowns."




SPIRIT OF BENEFICENCE.               21
As Christ's mission was to the poor, these, wnom
we "have always " with us, should be regarded as
his representatives. To each of his disciples, he says,
"In these I am'an hungered;' feed me:'thirsty;'
give me drink: I am'sick' in the islands of the sea;
minister to me there: I am a prisoner in Asia; procure
my release: I am bound in Africa; seek my deliverance.'Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the
least of these, ye have done it unto me.'" And when
you have laid all your possessions and yourself with
them, at the foot of the cross, and viewed him suspended upon it, how insufficient seem all human energies and offerings as a requital of his love. You
wish that gold had a million times more value, and
you a million times more gold to devote to him; that
your energies were augmented into superangelic powers, that in the consecration of them all, your grateful
love might find more fit expression.
"Oh thou who keep'st the key of love,
Open thy fount, eternal Dove,
And overflow this heart of mine;
Enlarging, as it fills with thee,
Till, in one blaze of charity,
Care and remorse are lost, like motes in light divine.
"Till, as each moment wafts us higher,
By every gush of pure desire,
And high-breathed hope of joys above,
By every sacred sigh we heave,
Whole years of folly we outlive,
In His unerring sight who measures life by love."




22      THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
7. The spirit of Christian beneficence is a spirit
of prayer.  It is this which distinguishes the enterprises of the church from all other schemes for arneliorating the condition, and relieving the wants and
woes of the race. While it does not impair the feeling of responsibility, it impresses the sense of dependence. It impels the heart to look upward for wisdom to direct its efforts, and for power to render them
efficacious. Plans of moral achievement which, on
any other principle than that of the divine efficiency,
would be Utopian, by this are rendered rational and
hopeful. It clothes the most gigantic and daring
moral heroism with the garments of humility, and
elevates the simplest efforts of faith and love to the
most honorable position of successful instrumentality. Recognizing the divine agency as the sole efficient cause of all beneficent human agency, his people lay their gifts upon the earthly altar, and in
answer to prayer, the angel presents them as an
accepted offering upon the golden altar before the
throne. Without prayer, alms fall like lead to the
ground. On the wings of prayer they seek the skies,
and come up as an acceptable "memorial before
God."
Even Jesus the Son of the Most High labored not
to do good without prayer. His life was one fervent
intercession, the ardor of which abated not when it
had consumed him on the cross. It mounted up to
heaven. It still breathes and burns in the ear of




SPIRIT OF BENEFICENCE.            23
God, with a prevalence that gives birth, in the mission of the Spirit, to all human prayer, and efficacy
to all human instrumentality for the good of the
world.
See too how the apostles prayed when entering upon
their beneficent work.  Returning from the mount
from  which they had seen their Master ascend,
they retire to " an upper room," and continue with
one accord in prayer and supplication, until their
baptism by the Holy Ghost. They then go forth to
their labors praying with the conviction that they
can do nothing without prayer, and laboring as if
they could accomplish all things without it. Behold
the martyrs, kindling their ardor at the altar of
prayer, and pouring out their blood on the altar of
sacrifice. The period of the Reformation was a period of intense, concentrated prayer. And the efficient power of all beneficent enterprise is a power
answering to the voice of prayer, going up from the
heart of the church. Here is a field into which all
may enter as reapers.  The pathway to the throne
of grace is barred to none, and none are more accepted laborers than those who, having nothing else
to bestow, pour out their strongest desires and their
richest affections upon the angel's " golden censer."
Here is the divine philosophy of Christian beneficence. The church lays down her offerings at the
cross, and sends up her prayer to him who died upon
it, and one angel descends into the Bethesda around




24      THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
which earth's "impotent" are gathered, and another
" angel having the everlasting gospel," is seen flying
through the earth, "to every nation, and kindred,
and tongue, and people," and " great voices are heard,
saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the
kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall
reign for ever and ever."
Such are the leading elements which give character to beneficence as a Christian work.




PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCE          25
CHAPTER II.
PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCE.
EVERY man's charitable contributions should evidently be proportionate to the vastness and importance of the objects sought; to the adequacy of the
instrumentality; and to his pecuniary means and
facilities for applying that instrumentality.
FIRST GENERAL PROPOSITION.
EVERY MAN'S CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS SHOULD
BE PROPORTIONATE TO THE VASTNESS AND IMPORTANCE OF THE OBJECTS SOUGHT IN BENEFICENCE.
What, then, is the object or end which Christian
Beneficence proposes to secure? Comprehensively,
and in a word, it is, THE RECOVERY OF THE HUMAN
RACE FROM SIN TO HOLINESS. " The field is the
world."  Ascend some mount of vision and behold
the spectacle-a world in ruins. Sin has entered
and strode across it, and death follows, mercilessly
sweeping its guilty generations into the unfathomable abyss.
1. Look at Protestant Christendom, and what
do you see? In the most favored lands, where the
governments are popular and the people free, where
science is cherished and the arts flourish, where civilization smiles and the word of God has free course,
how do ignorance of the divine law and defiance of




26      THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
right join in unhallowed compact, and generate a
race of giants in wickedness! How are such lands
covered over with houses of correction, and jails,
and dungeons, and filled with the insignia of depravity-the proofs as well as preventives of dishonesty,
treachery, and crime. How are all remedial and
sanative agencies despised or disregarded by multitudes of the people; while cupidity gloats on gain
and ambition strives to supplant and trample on a
rival, and lust reeks in her dens of infamy, or saunters forth in the guise of innocence to capture and
destroy.
2. Inspect those portions of the earth's surface,
designated as Roman-catholic Christendom.  They
are left to the occupancy of a religious system that
incarcerates in dead languages the prophets and
apostles, and dispenses its dry dogmas and uncommanded ordinances where the Saviour has appointed the nutritious bread of heaven and the healing
waters of life-a system, in whose fiscal arrangements sin is set down as a marketable commodity,
by traffic in which, the guilty may purchase indulgence to any amount, and with no penalty except
the prescribed pecuniary one, may escape from Delilah's lap into Abraham's bosom-wherein prayers
and pardons, births and burials, suspensions of the
divine law and its satisfaction, every thing, in short,
is paid for in gold, except the liberty to believe and
to teach the pure gospel-wherein the living are laid




PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCE.          27
under tribute for the benefit of the dead, whom, not
content with assessing while in the flesh, it consigns
to purgatorial torments, release from which can be
procured only by purchased Pater-nosters and Ave
Marias: a system in which freedom is fettered, and
conscience is bound, and the right of private judgment has fallen among thieves, and the priest passes
by on the other side-in which the Redeemer of the
world is displaced from his mediatorial office by the
elevation of his virgin mother; and the holiness of
the poor canonized saint, is made transferable for
the benefit of the rich repenting sinner —in which
"science and ignorance, refinement and barbarism,
wisdom and stupidity, taste and animalism, mistaken
zeal and malignant enmity, may sanctimoniously
pour out their virulence against the gospel, and cry,'Hosanna,' while they go forth to shed the blood,
and wear out the patience of the saints of the Most
High.'"
And if in any thing the workings of this matchless machinery for deceiving the people and destroying its opponents, is less wasteful than formerly of
human blood, as the means of giving prevalence to
its dead but gigantic formalism, it is because its former plenary power has departed, and it is hemmed
in by moral and political influences which render
such means both impolitic and impracticable. It is
not, we believe, from any essential improvement in
the system. That is unchanged and unchangeable.




28      THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
Reform in the spirit and principles of the church of
Rome, would be its ruin. Let it but give an open
Bible to the people, with liberty to read and think foi
themselves, and it bites the dust. Yet, to the baleful nurture of this " mother of harlots," more than
one hundred millions of the dwellers on the globe are
subject, displaying the full " effects of knowledge denied "-of " a famine of the words of the Lord."
3. Next, turn your eye to the followers of the false
Prophet, of whom there are over one hundred millions more. Here, instead of the Bible, you find the
Koran-instead of the cross, the crescent. If the tutelary genius of Mohammed complimented the patriarchs, it was to " beguile the Jew." If the Saviour
of the world was admitted as among the prophets,
it was as a lure to nominal Christians. And by holding out to the faithful the certainty of sensual gratification, it was seen that a more easy conquest would
be secured over papists, pagans, and infidels. The
moral maxims from the Bible incorporated into the
system, were only sufficient to give plausibility to its
claims, and durability to the compact.  Strong and
resolute in the ignorance which it inculcates, its
darkness has "strangled the travelling lamp" of
truth, and its pride beaten back even the precursors
of knowledge. To make disciples was its first object. Its second, was to make them iron-nerved and
ferocious. The third, was to crush all whom it
could not lure or compel to the faith. Occupying




PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCE.            29
for centuries the fairest portions of the earth, it has
converted them into a wilderness, and covered them
with moral desolation. Thanks to an overruling
Providence, Islamism is in its dotage. " The keepers
of the house tremble, and the strong men bow themselves. The daughters of music are brought low;
fears are in the way, and the grasshopper is a burden. "
4. To complete the view of the field which beneficence seeks to occupy, cast the eye over lands shrouded in Paganism. Bereft of the idea of one all-perfect
and controlling divinity; with no standard of truth
and right-no guiding demonstration, leading to a
comparison of the false with the true, the malignant
with the good-the appetites and passions rising
into supremacy and converting the enfeebled remains
of moral sense into auxiliaries of debasement, what
can Paganism be but one "mighty labor of human
depravity to confirm its dominion?" Vedas and
shasters, filled with interminable genealogies, and
transmigrations of the human soul, and of male and
female divinities, are its holy books, containing neither
precept nor example of moral excellence. Brahma,
Vishnoo, and Siva, the consecrated patrons of the
vices, are its chief deities. Vain theorists, skilful
impostors, and lascivious sorcerers are its only guides
and intercessors. Parricide, infanticide, sutteeism,
self-torture, laborious pilgrimages, and obscene rites
are its most approved forms of religious service.




3j0     THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
Caste, with its impassable walls, fixing unalterably
the station of each individual, annihilates all motive
to improvement in the lower classes, and gives to
the higher free course in vice and crime, by securing
them  against deposition or disgrace.  "The entire
empire of polytheism," says Harris, " is a realm of
diabolical dominion. It assembles its votaries only
to blaspheme the name of God; erects its temples
only to attract the lightning of the impending cloud
on their devoted heads; calls them around its altars,
only that, in the very act of supposed atonement,
they may complete their guilt; and gives them a
pretended revelation only that'they should believe
a lie."'
And the worst feature of all is, that in the systems
of Paganism, there is no element of imnprovement, no
principle of progress, except in the road from bad to
worse. Time only deepens the gloom, and legitimizes
among them the processes of ruin. Even the moral
sentiments that here and there shone out of ancient
heathenism, like stars in deep night, and the skill
and taste apparent in the temples and divinities of
Greece and Rome, find no place in modern Paganism.
It has no recuperative, but only a degrading and destructive power.
And does no Macedonian cry, coming up from such
an Aceldama, make its appeal to Christian hearts
for some more vigorous and sustained beneficent effort? Behold poor, abused, bleeding Africa, pillaged




PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCE.             31
and plundered by lawless and inhuman marauders,
yielding up her tawny, barbarous sons to still more
barbarous strangers from Christian lands. See Asia,
" wholly given to idolatry," her miserable poor crushed
under the heel of an oppressive and polluted priesthood-Asia, the cradle of the race, torn by intestine
feuds and foreign aggressions, pouring her dense
population of wretched and guilty spirits into the
abyss of woe-Asia, with no Bible and no Sabbath;
with no Saviour but the Ganges and her countless
idols; with no worship but that of demons, or reptiles, or monsters of vice; and with no morality except what hastens the desolating work, and hurries
human souls to perdition-how does she lift up her
imploring voice, and call on us for a deliverer.
"Oh, could I picture out the full effect
Of that soul-withering power, idolatry,
I'd write a page which, whoso dared to read,
His eye, instead of tears, in crimson drops should bleed.'
Now, it is the object of Christian beneficence to
recover this guilty and lost world to the service and
enjoyment of God. It is to purify the earth fiom
all its vile aborinations, and clothe it in the loveliness of moral beauty. It is not her work to admire
the proportions of ancient architecture, or the stateliness of modern palaces; to imitate the great masters in statuary and painting, or to gather the results
of modern science; it is not to adorn the galleries of
art, or enrich the collections of antique curiosities;




32      THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
not to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphics, or muse
on the remains of ancient grandeur, laudable as all
this may be; but it is her work to found hospitals,
open dispensaries, and establish asylums, wherein
the poor may be cared for, the sick visited, the blind'be made to see, the deaf to hear, and the dumb to
speak. For such beneficent institutions, there was
no place among all the public edifices, or structures,
or organizations of ancient heathenism, as for them
there was no name in all their languages. We might
say, it is the MISSION OF THE CHURCH to raise up
debased and brutalized mind, oppressed and degraded
almost to extinguishment, and impart to it vigor and
fertility; to give exercise to the kindlier sympathies
and more elevated sentiments of the heart, and to
restore liberty and supremacy to conscience. She
ains to bury every tomahawk, to " beat swords into
ploughshares and spears into pruning-hooks," to bear
the olive-branch into all climes, plant the tree of
peace in every soil, and bring wandering, warlike
tribes into a social, civil, and religious position, surpassing that of the happiest and most prosperous
community on the globe. What oects of temporal
good are comparable with these? What career more
like the earthly mission of Him who went about
doing good?
But beneficence has a still higher object than to
bless men in this life. She carries her projects for
consummation, across the boundary of time, into the




PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCE.           33
vast and indescribable eternity beyond. In the accomplishment of her design, she seeks to open a
moral Bethesda in every land, and to make the Bible,
God's directory to heaven, the-book of the world; to
" preach the gospel to every creature," and to make
it " the power of God unto salvation" in every heart.
She aims to break the frightful coalition of ignorance
and crime, formed by " the prince of the power of
the air," and to transfer the wretched captives from
the power of Satan unto God. She seeks to tear
down the funeral pile of the miserably devoted widow, and to give her, in her affliction, to the benign
influences of the heavenly Comforter; to detach from
the blood-stained car of Juggernaut its murderous
human propellers, to raise up from before its ponderous wheels the deluded human victims, and to send
them to the shrine of a pure worship, and to the altar of the living God. She enters the precincts of
the demon-temples, surveys the abominable, soul-destroying rites, weeps over the appalling spectacle,
and wrests from " the ruler of the darkness of this
world" the prostrate human spirits there trampled
into the dust. She points them to the cross of Christ,
and tells them that " God so loved the world, that
he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him, might not perish, but have everlasting life."  She stands by the Ganges, and assures
the suicidal worshippers that the path to heaven is
not through its turbid stream, opens to them Jesus!Miss. of Churh.     15




34      THE MISSION OF rTHE CHURCH.
as " the way," and bathes them in the pure waters of
the river of life. Like a visitant from the bosom of
love, she sits by the shrines of' Brahma, Vishnoo, and
Siva, and proclaims to the millions of eager votaries,
that these "cannot answer, and save them out of
trouble." She would bear the cross into the very
heart of Mohammedan imposture, and plant it within the grand mosque at Mecca, sprinkling the multitudinous mass of deluded pilgrims with the blood
which "cleanseth from all sin."  She would pour
the light of a pure Christianity upon the darkened
domains of Rormanism, and introduce " the power of
godliness" to a region wherein is found little save
its gorgeous but lifeless forms. She would dispel the
dark and inveterate disbelief of the Jews, scattered
and peeled and oppressed, and lead them, through
their own prophets, to the acknowledgment of Jesus
as the Messiah, and unite all the dwellers on the
earth under his tranquil and happy reign.
And is it nothing to you, that a mission is proposed for the accomplishment of such an object?
Are there found in such forms and fruits of sin any
sufficient remedial agencies to justify apathy and inaction? And is it thus you would shield yourself
from the urgency of appeal which the case presents,
and baffle the beneficent design of Immanuel in givilug his life a ransom for the world? Can you think
that pollution is as good as purity; that idolatry is as
likely to lead to heaven as the service of God; that




PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCE.          35
blasphemy and defiance of divine command are as
efficacious for salvation as faith in Jesus? Will the
eternal law of truth and rectitude be repealed, in
consideration of the prevalence of error, imposture,
and crime?  Will ablutions in the Ganges, or the
declaration of pardon by a darkened and ambitious
priesthood, make their robes white, as if washed in
the blood of the Lamb? Will the flames of sutteeisin purify the guilty soul like the sprinkling of the
clear waters of the gospel? Do the rumnblings of
Juggernaut's bloody car make sweet music in the
ear of God, like the prayer and praise of redeemed
spirits, uttering their thanksgiving and love? Oh,
speak it not-think it not. "Without faith it is
impossible to please God."  "But how shall they
believe on Him of whom they have not heard? And
how shall they hear, without a preacher? And how
shall they preach, except they be sent?"  Such is
the resistless logic of the apostle, which divinely de.
monstrates the necessity of a mission to the ignorant
and guilty in every land; and which proclaims the
gospel as the sovereign balm for all wounded spiritsthe grand panacea for all human ills-the " pharos
of a benighted world."
To carry this gospel to the guilty and miserable
of earth's teeming population, is the appropriate
rSitSION OF THE CHURCH. It is to tell them of the
amplitude of God's love to man, and raise them to
him by the efficacy of that love. It is to efface the




36      THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
foul blot of sin from the polluted soul of man, to restore primeval paradise to earth's outcast inhabitants,
to people, heaven with redeemed and blissful dwellers,
and to give back to God his revolted, dismembered
kingdom, in sweet and peaceful subjection.
How lofty is this aim! How sublime the end!
It is in agreement with the end of Jehovah in creating the race. It is promotive of the object for which
Christ died. It is included in the grand sweep of
God's providential plan for the government of the
world. It is identical with the main design of Heaven in the constitution of the church, and the continuance of redeemed ones for a time, as pilgrims on the
earth. All holy motives converge to this one point,
the glory of God in the salvation of men. All moral
arguments, in their loftiest bearings, strengthen and
confirm this. All spiritual appliances, in their ultimate reference and highest utility, minister to this
one comprehensive and sublime end, the healing of
the nations by the gospel of Christ, " to the praise
and glory of God's grace."  Nor will the period arrive when it can be said of the work, " it is finished,"
till
"The dwellers in the vales, and on the rocks
Shout to each other, and the mountain-tops
From distant mountains catch the flying joyTill, nation after nation taught the strain,
Earth rolls the rapturous Hosanna round."
Now, if we have succeeded in impressing the reader with the vastness and importance of the objects




PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCE.         37
of Christian beneficence, he has probably been led
to the following conclusion: if there is an adequate
instrumentality for the accomplishment of this object,
the question of expense is worthy to be considered
only so far as to ascertain whether it is within the
limits of possibility to meet that expense. He will
say, the cost is nothing in comparison with the end
to be gained. If the work is practicable, it cannot
cost too much. He feels that it is paltry meanness,
with such an object in view, to haggle about dollars
and cents; that it is treason against humanity. to
withhold giving, where such motives urge to liberality. He sees that he may never have taken a just
view of his own duty and responsibility in this matter, and he resolves that his rate of benevolent contribution, in time to come, shall be more proportionate
to the value and importance of the end sought in
beneficence. And he also determines that what is
done, should be done quickly. "Roma deliberat,
Saguntum perit "-While the church deliberates, the
heathen perish.
SECOND GENERAL PROPOSITION.
EVERY MAN'S CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS SHOULD
[BE PROPORTIONATE TO THE ADEQUACY OF THE INSTRIUbIENTALITY TO BE APPLIED.
The fallen world-what can raise it up from its
revolted and degenerate state, and give it back to
God redeemed, and clothed in its primeval loveliness




38      THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
and beauty? What can make atonement for sin,
and give satisfaction to the dishonored law of God,
and repair the ruin wrought? What can penetrate
the obdurate heart of man, and turn its selfishness
into benevolence, and impel the tide of its sympathies, ever tending inward to the contracted centre,
to flow outward to the circumference and upward
towards its Maker? Is there an adequate redeeming power? Are there sufficient remedial agencies
for a work so vast, so momentous? These are questions which press upon the spirit of every earnest
inquirer concerning the means of man's redemption,
and of the mission of the church to the world.
The great desideratum with Archimedes, for moving the world, was a place whereon to stand. This
was his necessity. A similar necessity meets the
Thristian philanthropist in the scheme for bringing
back the revolted world into the sunlight and favor
of heaven. The philosopher could obtain no such
stand-point. The Christian can. The one could
find no place outside of, or above the world which
he wished to move. The other takes his stand on
the Gospel of Christ, which is "from heaven" and
not "of men." This gives him a position and a
power fully adequate to his most enlarged and comprehensive benevolence.  All other expedients for
the conversion of the world are cumbered by the
same unremovable difficulty which met the Syracusan philosopher




PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCEI.          39
Within the most costly temples of Paganism, no
divine light illumines the benighted worshippers,
and no celestial fire warms their devotion into life.
In the very act of giving " the fruit of the body for
the sin of the soul," they but enhance the evil which
they would remove. Notwithstanding the smoke of
their ten thousand sacrifices, ascending to blacken the
heavens they would appease, the sting of conscience
rankles in their guilty bosoms still. In all these
things, "they feed on ashes."  " Pass over the isles
of Chittim and see, send unto Kedar and consider diligently, and see if there be such a thing. Hath a
nation changed their gods, which are no gods?"
Nor is there more hope in the alleged recuperative
power of reason, and the progress of science.  For
nearly six thousand years, there have been promulgators of' the doctrine of human perfectibility, and
dreamers of such a result through the devices of reason and the advance of science. And successive generations have been working out demonstrations of the
futility of the doctrine, as decisive as they are humiliating. Human reason has no such recovering
moral energy.  It can never relieve itself from the
dominancy of the passions, or rise from its subjection
to the perverse will.  It may intimate, in some
things, the right, the true, and the good; but it cannot compel to their observance. Reason and science
may polish the exterior into a degree of comeliness
antd decency, but they cannot successfully resist the




40       THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
on-workings of the law of sin. They cannot remove
from the soul its appalling sense of guilt. They cannot lead man to " deny ungodliness and worldly lusts,
and to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this
present world." See their boasted triumphs in the
reign of' terror which swept across France at the
close of the last century, deluging the land with
blood, and leaving it in a state.which forced from
the republic the humbling confession, that their
"children are without any idea of divinity, with
out any notion of what is just or unjust."
And what are the claims alleged in favor of civil
ization as a remedial agency? It should be a sufficient answer to say, that civilization contemplates
man only as an inhabitant of this terrestrial globe,
and provides not for his weal beyond. And its most
beneficent instrumentality is composed of the implements of agriculture, and of the mechanic arts.  It
sends to the savage tribes of the earth, as its best
boon, the plough, the spindle, and the loom, whereby
they may clothe themselves " in purple and fine linen,
and fare sumptuously every day;" but it leaves the
soul a prey to remorse, and under the frowN of heaven. It excites no hope of future good; awakens no
gratitude to the Father of mercies; points to no
divine, atoning work; tells of no redeeming love,
through which is seen,
"Up earth's. dark glade,
The gate of heaven unclose."




PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCE.          4 
The Bible, the Sabbath, and the cross constitute no
elements of beneficent power, in all its boasted instrumentality. In its happiest influences, it leaves
man as it finds him, guilty and miserable, in darkness
and distress, where he most needs light and relief.
Nor can there be more reliance upon the enactment of civi/ law.  This is only a defensive expedient, adopted by communities to prevent such overt
crimes as are injurious to the social compact. But
in preventing the criminal act, can it dictate to the
heart, and sway a resistless sceptre over its stormy
passions, and hush its wild discord into harmony and
peace? Can it carry the force of truth into the dark
caverns of the soul, combating and conquering iniquity, dethroning selfishness, purging away lust, casting out revenge, and turning the plottings of villany
into plans of benevolence?  Can it restore to the
conscience its legitimate supremacy, and cast down
pride, and introduce love and mercy and meekness?
Can it break up " the fallow ground," and "scatter
the good seed," and fructify the barren soil, and
cause it to bring forth a rich harvest unto God?
" Canst thou draw out leviathan with a hoo/k; or
bore his jaw through with a thorn?"  Law is a rule,
not a remedy. Its language to the guilty is of punishment, and not of pardon.  "The letter killeth."
It is the Spirit that giveth life. It is not the twelve
tables and the Justinian code that man needs, but the
four gospels and the twenty-one epistles.




42      THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
Literature and its refinements are no more adequate to the ends of Christian beneficence, than is
civilization or law. If we look to the periods of antiquity in which the arts were carried to the highest
degree of refinement, and the muses were most successfully wooed; if we take our stand at Athens, the
eye of ancient Greece, and muse on the banks of the
Ilyssus with Socrates, or sit in the academy with
Plato, or walk in the grove with the Stagyrite; or
if we ascend Parnassus to Apollo and the muses, or
sit by the Castalian fount, what do we see and hear?
Poetry, the enchanting priestess of Nature, by her
creative genius originating a popular, pantheistic mythology, breathing an ideal divinity into inanimate
objects; singing of Elysian fields, and delighting and
deluding the people by allegory, fable, and fictionSculpture, setting forth her matchless skill in the
works of a Phidias and Praxiteles, to maintain, amid
the perfection of physical development by gymnastic exercises, the endangered preeminence of the
gods-Eloquence, with ease, with grace, with action,
"pouring the persuasive strain," and stirring the
soul to deeds of daring and of blood-and " Philosophy, flitting across the night of Paganism like the
lantern-fly of the tropics, a light unto herself, but
alas, no more than an ornament of the surrounding
darkness."
In surveying the wide field of ancient literature.
the Christian eye scarcely rests upon one spot of




PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCE.            43
moral greenness and beauty. Rich in intenlectual
productions, abounding in the fruits of taste, acute
n metaphysical discrimination, and sparkling sometimes with admirable moral precepts, the mass of
ancient literature is nevertheless, in its moral influ
ences, corrupt and corrupting.
Nor has the literature of modern times, when divorced from Christianity, accomplished any thing
more beneficent for the world.  The offspring of
scepticism and sensuality, baptized by the priests of
mammon, it has sold itself as the servile minister of
selfishness, the base pander to lust, to pride and
power. It is the arsenal of evil, rather than an
auxiliary of good to mankind. The unsanctified literature, the prostituted press of the nineteenth century opposes one of the greatest obstructive forces
to the progress of Christianity.
Almost equally imbecile has a corrupted Christianity been found, in the work of repairing the ruin
of sin. When its doctrines are adulterated by the
subtleties of the schoolmen, and its morality is displaced by the refinements of Jesuitical expediency;
when the church, instead of transporting the word
of God to the benighted abroad, locks it up in cloisters at home, practically teaching salvation through
the efficacy of sacraments, rather than by the power
of the cross; when priestcraft joins unholy alliance
with kingcraft to pervert the pure gospel into an engine of state, fettering freedom and forging chains for




44      THE MISSION OF TI-IE CHURCH.
conscience; when pride and power put on the sacerdotal garb, and ambition strides into the metropolitan chair, and wicked men lord it over God's heritage, and shut up the fountains of living waters from
the thirsty people, and give the hungry children's
bread to dogs-then Christianity is shorn of its
mighty power, and grinds in the prison-house of its
enemies.  Such dreadful perversion blots out the
sunlight of heaven, and leaves men to walk in darkness. It intercepts them in their approach to the
inner court and the mercy-seat, and leaves them to
wander around their heavenly Father's house as
orphans or criminals. It bolts the windows of heaven, pushes back the hand reached down for human
deliverance, and turns out of its appointed channels
the current of divine life gushing forth for the cleansing of human souls. Oh, how has such corruption
made the church, instead of light and life and salvation, a kind of pestilence and plague, the occasion of
a more malignant development of the general disease, rather than of its cure! "If the light that is
in" her " be darkness, how great is that darkness!"
From all such instrumentality, Christian beneficence studiously withholds herself. Instead of relying upon such means, it is her appropriate work to
assail them, and by rectifying reason, sanctifying genius and taste, and leading men to the pure fountains of divine science, to transfer them from the
heathen to the Christian side of the conflict. For




PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCE.          45
this she levies no armies, except those' bearing the
weapons of a spiritual warfare.  She sends out no
fleets, save those under commission from the great
King. She lays no siege but for the bombardment
of the strongholds of principalities and powers, and
to pour forth the "junipers of hot conviction" into
the ancient battlements of spiritual wickedness in
high places.  She has no gaudy trappings, no glittering pageantry, no bewitching mysticism for the
vain-glorious and imaginative. She comes to us with
the Gospel of Jesus. The hopes of the race are suspended on the simple but powerful doctrine of the
cross, rendered efrectual by the Holy Spirit.
See now its operation. It lays its account directly
with the heart, and in the attire of simple truth,
seizes the conscience, piercing the innermost soul
with the conviction of sin, and pointing the guiltstricken sinner to the cross of Christ.  Subduing the
heart, its first conquest gives the pledge of victory in
all its subsequent encounters.  It unites the believer
through a living faith to a divine Redeemer, by whom
he is borne up into the dazzling visions of the spirit
ual world, and permitted to look upon glories that
eclipse the brightness of all earthly splendor.  It
presents to him the great overmastering truth, that
"God is love," and illustrates it to him by the cross.
"Herein is love."
" God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should




46      THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
not perish, but have everlasting life."  " What words
are those you read? What sounds are those I heard?
Let me hear those words again," exclaims a poor
South Sea islander, as the missionary Nott is reading this passage from the gospel of John.  "Is that
true?  Can that be true?  God loved the world
when the world did not love him' Can that be
true?"  And when assured that it is true, with a
heart too full for utterance, he retires to meditate on
the amazing love of God, which has reached and
subdued his soul. A wretched pilgrim on the coast
of Malabar inquires of his priests how he can make
atonement for his sins, and is directed to drive iron
spikes through his sandals, and walk four hundred
and eighty miles. While he reposes under a shady
tree, and waits for healing and strength, as from
the loss of blood he is often compelled to do, the
herald of the gospel comes forth, and preaches to
him from the words, "The blood of Jesus Christ
cleanseth us from all sin." The victim of Pagan
delusion rises from the ground, throws off his torturing sandals, and crying out, " This is what I want,"
becomes a living witness of the power of the truth
to which he listened. " That is what I want, that is
what I want," exclaimed a poor Hindoo, on hearing
lthat' the Son of man came to seek and to save that
which was lost."  And this is what the heathen
want-what all men want. It is light in darkness,
hope in despair, life in death.




PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCE.            47
And this is just the instrumentality which heaven
has provided. To the polluted, the gospel opens a
fountain of cleansing waters. To the condemned,
it presents a forgiving God. To the thirsty, it is a
river of life. To the hungry, it is the bread of heaven. The weary it lays in sweet repose on the bosom
of a loving Saviour.  The fallen heir of glory it
makes a king and a priest unto God. It illumines
the darkened understanding.  It rouses the slumbering conscience. It subdues the rebellious will. It
descends into the affections, and like the angel-visitant at Bethesda, imparts a purifying and healing
power, and recovers the whole man.
See, too, the harmony in the operations of this in.
strumentality, by principles seemingly paradoxical.
The doctrine of man's apostasy is most impressively
taught by the means appointed for his recovery.
The soul is impressed with a sense of its ruin by
that which takes from it the deep gloom of despair.
Provision is made for the pardon of sin in a way
which demonstrates that it cannot be palliated. The
gospel provides fobr moral purity by a transaction
which deepens the sense of moral pollution, and dispels the terrors of guilt by a fact that proclaims the
turpitude of transgression. It awakens the keenest
sensibility to the claims of duty by that which makes
propitiation for the sin of neglected duty.  It rectilies reason and subdues the will by a process which
elevates the moral sentiments.  It nurtures zeal




48      THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
without making zealots, and leads to the contemplation of mysteries, yet has no tendency to make
mystics.  It fosters alike reflection and action, joins
faith and charity, teaches dependence and responsibility, harmonizes the discordant elements of our
nature, and turns all our energies into the channel
of' sweet obedience and love. It unites sublimity
with simplicity, gives high moral dignity to the
smallest act of obedience, and chronicles for the ad
miration of the world the donation of " two mites"
as the testimonial of love. Prudent, it is neither
temporizing nor timid; cautious, it is nevertheless
decisive and energetic; "sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as having nothing, yet possessing all things."
Thus radically and thoroughly, and almost paradoxi
tally, does the gospel work in the heart of the indi
vidual, preparing its way to permeate and pervade
society.
Going forth into the world, the gospel knows no
truce with error, no compromise with sin, no compact
with artifice, no resort to stratagem. Openly and
boldly it lays the axe at the root of every evil tree,
and destroys its fruit, not by clipping off the twigs,
but by hewing down the trunk. It dries up the
streams of human woe, not by artificial processes
of heating the air, but by closing up the fountains.
And it gives good guarantee of its effectual working
by the class among whom it begins. "To the poor
the gospel is preached;" and from this class it works




PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCE.            4 
upwvaid through all the intermediate strata of society
to the highest.
The gospel comes to man as a benefactor in his
social relations.  Prescribing his duties, it utters its
severest anathemas against those who rudely trench
upon the rights and privileges, or overleap the boundaries of the social state.  It raises woman from servile, almost soulless barbarism, to civilized and Chris
tian refinement, and leads her, as among the Caffres,
to regard the missionary as "the shield of woman,"
and to consider his approach, as the female savages
of New England did that of Eliot, the "advent of
an angel." It nurses feeble infancy, and trains the
opening mind to virtue and happiness. It extendt
its protecting arm to infirm old age, and administers rebuke to the " child " that demeaneth himself
" proudly against the ancients."  All "the lesser
charities that soothe, and cheer, and bless," the domestic virtues, the sacred endearments which constitute the bliss and charm of social life, all find their
source in the gospel of Christ.
With equal efficiency and success, does the Christian religion operate upon the civil condition of' man.
By creating a sense of' individual responsibility, it
awakens a desire for personal freedom; and through
the restraint which it imposes, by motives drawn from
higher than human enactments, it makes that freedomn safe and salutary. It presents the Bible as the
great statute-book of' heaven for men, and creates
Miss. of Church.     16




U0'PTHE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.;
loyal subjects, by securing just rulers and the enactrnent of just laws. It maintains incessant warfare
with pride and ambition and false honor, the three
grand procurers of barbarism, brutality, and blood.
shed. It sets forth the law of equity, humility, and
love as the rule of international commerce, and
binds kings as well as subjects by the principles of
individual responsibility and honesty. Under the influence of the gospel, oppression shall cease from the
earth. The clarion of war shall no more call hostile
armies to the field of sanguinary conflict. The hero
shall be stripped of the guise of false glory, in which
men
"Smile assent at giant crime,
And call the darkest deeds sublime;"
ahd he only whose works of love and mercy procure
for him the approval of heaven, shall receive the
applause of men. A new standard of glory will
Christianity present. to the nations of the earth, and
challenge kings and potentates to a new style of
achievement.  To do good and not evil, to save man
and not destroy him, will characterize that day when
love shall smile in every eye, and peace shall dwell
in every bosom, and earth shall become a type and
foretaste of heaven.
The auspicious dawn of such a day already gilds
the eastern horizon.  What has swept idolatry with
its diabolical abominations from the Tahitian, Sandwich, and Society Islands, and from nearly a hun



PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCE.         51
dred adjacent and other islands of the sea, and is
leading to its downfall in India? The Gospel. What
has brought nearly half a million of the worshippers
of stocks and stones to the knowledge of the true
God, and gathered half as many more youthful and
adult pupils into schools in the process of intellectual and moral improvement? The Gospel. Behold
a New Zealand chieftain, the veteran warrior of
many battles, rising in the midst of a group of New
Zealand children assembled by their native teachers
for examination in the presence of their parents.
Hear him exclaim with irrepressible emotion, "Let
me speak; I mwust speak. 0 that I had known that
the gospel was coming! 0 that I had known that
these blessings were in store for us! Then I should
have saved my children, and they would have been
among this happy group, repeating these precious
truths; but alas, I destroyed them all, and now I
have not one left." Then bursting into tears, and
cursing the gods which they had formerly worshipped, he continues, " It was you that infused this savage disposition into us; and now I shall die childless,
although I have been the father of nineteen children.
0 that some one had seized my murderous hand, and
told me the Gospel is coming to our shores." What
has wrought this change? The Gospel. What has
enabled the missionary to exclaim of two hundred
thousand converts gathered into more than a thousand
Christian churches, as Paul did of the Ephesians, "Ye




52      THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
were sometime darkness, but now are ye light in the
Lord?" The Gospel. What has borne up before the
throne that bright throng of ransomed ones, " out of all
nations and kindreds and people and tongues," from
South Africa, from Eastern Asia, from Greenland,
from the savage tribes of North America, and from
the islands of the sea; and has put a new song into
their mouth, " Salvation to our God which sitteth
upon the throne, and unto the Lamb?" The Gospel
proclaimed by the missionary. Oh, it is this precious doctrine, Christ and him crucifJed, that shall
be the instrument of bringing down out of heaven
the new Jerusalem from God, " which shall have no
need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine in it;
for the glory of God shall lighten it, and the Lamb
shall be the light thereof." It is by this only, that
guilt is cancelled and sin taken away, the polluted
cleansed, the outcast called home, and the miserable
filled with " the peace of God " and "the comfort of
love." Who can compute the results of such an
instrumentality? They are measureless as the bliss
of heaven, endless as the duration of God.  Who
can estimate the importance of such instrumental.
ity? It is wise as the councils of heaven, "precious
as the blood of Christ," necessary as the salvation
of the soul, and commensurate with the most wvide.
spread and disastrous consequences of sin.
But can this instrumental agency prevail over all
the mighty and malignant foes which set themselves




PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCE.          53
against it? The trial has been met, the experiment
made. Benevolence has prevailed over selfishness,
love over hate, God over man. The church has survived, and not only so, but she has flourished in her
bitterest persecutions. Fire cannot burn her, water
cannot drown her, nor the "wild beasts out of the
wood" devour her. Two converts are born, for
every one that is burnt.  "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church." The fires burnish
her, and the waters purify her. Dangers enlarge
her, and the rack emancipates her. Her opposers
help her on, and her foes build her up. The fulminations of kings and cardinals against her hasten
the accomplishment of the purposes of the King of
kings in her favor. From  temporary defeat, she
rises with renewed energy for permanent triumph.
Every external pressure she throws off by the operation of an internal divine power. Decrees and
bolts and bars and fire and faggots hinder not her
progress. Bonds and tortures and terrors and death
prevent not her increase. Yea, in all these, and by
means of these, she triumphs. What would destroy
other things, developes the mighty power of the gospel. What would put back other causes, advances
this. Under those circumstances in which other
organizations would perish, the church prevails.
Do you ask how these wonders are to be accounted
for?  By the inherent divine power, by the elements
of increase and of immortality residing in the Gospel




54      THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
of Jesus. The covenant of the church, in carrying
out its grand beneficent work of converting the world,
is with her almighty Head, who sits above the storms,
and infuses his own insuppressible and indestructible
spirit of energy into the hearts of all his followers.
" The Lord her God in the midst of her is mighty."
" The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes
of all nations," therefore, " all the ends of the earth
shall see the salvation of our God," Is not this an
instrumentality adequate to the most sublime and
comprehensive benevolence of the church? Is it not
adapted to every want of man, in every clime and
every condition? It is the "power of God." What
can resist it?  It is "the wisdom of God."  What
can counterwork it? It involves the highest moral
energies, the purest moral influences, and the wisest
adaptation of moral means to their ends. It is heaven's matchless instrumentality  for accomplishing
heaven's own most gigantic purposes of love.
See now', how this instrumentality harmonizes
with the ends sought in beneficence. Are they vast?
It is commensurate in its achieving power with their
mightiest and most far-reaching aspirations.  Are
they important? It is equal in efficiency to the accomplishment of their weightiest results. The immortal soul, with its expanding capacities for happiness or misery, may be safely trusted to its redeeming
efficacy. It has borne millions of such souls from the
pollutions and miseries of earth, to bask in the sun



PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCE.            55
light anld bliss of heaven, clothing them in robes of
spotless purity, and placing on their heads crowns of
fadeless glory. Millions more, now on the earth, it
is bearing on to the same glorious consummation.
And of the countless spirits yet to pass through this
world of sin and sorrow, not one, to whom its mighty
power may be applied, shall fail to reach that " better land," where faith passes into bright fruition, and
hope melts away into the fulness of inexpressible
bliss, and love achieves her seraphic heights and
burns with more than seraphic fire.
" Rise, kindling with the orient beam;
Let Calvary's hill inspire the theme!
Unfold the garments rolled in blood.
0 touch the soul, touch all her chords
With all the omnipotence of words,
And point the way to heaven-to God."
THIRD GENERAL PROPOSITION.
EVERY MAN'S CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS SHOULD
BE PROPORTIONATE TO HIS PECUNIARY MEANS AND FACILITIES FOR APPLYING THE INSTRUMENTALITY.
This is the divinely established rule of proportion.
"According to the ability that God giveth."  "As
God hath prospered you."  "Every man according
to his several ability." In these and similar passages of the word of God, it is implied that every one
is able to do something, and it is affirmed that each
one should do according to that ability. The only
question on which there can be doubt or difficulty is,




5E G     THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
What is each man's ability?  In determining this
question, we shall be assisted by the three following
references.
1. By reference to the beneficence of the Jewish
church.  There is a tendency to make the beneficent economy of the former dispensation a directory
in the Christian dispensation; and most men feel
that by employing a tenth of their income for charitable purposes, they are meeting the requirement of
the Mosaic law, and consequently fully discharging
their duty. But there are two errors in such an
hypothesis. One is in supposing the proportion required by the Jewish system to be only a tenth; and
the other in assuming that the measure of liberality
which answered the law of Moses, equally harmonizes with the law of Christ.
After their deliverance from Egypt, the first-born of
every creature was required to be consecrated to the
Lord, in memory of that signal event. The firstborn child belonged to the Lord, and was to be redeemed at the age of one month, by a price paid to
the priest. Such beasts as it was not lawful to offer
in sacrifice, as horses and camels, might be redeemed
or exchanged for such as were lawful to be offered,
as sheep or oxen. The first-born of all clean beasts
were to be sacrificed, and their flesh given to the
priest. At the harvest and vintage, the first-fruits
of the fields, the corn and wine and oil, were to be
brought to the priest, and the gleanings and the




PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCE.           57
corners of the fields were to be left for the poor.
Also the first-fruits of the wool when the sheep were
shorn, of the wheat when threshed, of the dough
when kneaded, and of the bread when baked, were
to be offered before the Lord. Of fruit-trees, they
were allowed to gather nothing for themselves, until
after the fourth bearing year.  All fruit till this
period was considered sacred to the Lord, and was
given to the poor, as was also the spontaneous fruit
of the fields every seventh year. In addition to these,
one tenth was paid to the Levites, as a remuneration
for their services to the church and nation; and
after this, what remained was again assessed, and
another tenth was expended in the feasts and sacrifices of the temple, and for the poor.  At their
feasts, besides the Levites, widows, orphans, strangers, and the poor of every description, were to be
invited. And at the close of every third year, that
there might be no evasion of the law, all were required to make solemn asseveration before the Lord,
that the whole of this sFond tithe had been applied
to the prescribed objects. Lev. 27: 30-34; Deut.
12:17, 18; 14:22-29; 26:12-15.
And what was the chief point of instruction which
Jehovah designed to impress upon his people by such
an admirably arranged system of beneficence? That
he was the proprietor of their fields, their flocks, and
their herds, and that they were dependent on hir
tbr sunshine and rain, for seed-time and harvest




58     THE MISSION OF THE CIIURCH.
How expressively, then, does the patriarchal and
Mosaic doctrine of tithes carry along with it the
Christian idea of stewardship.  How suited to meet
and to counteract the tendencies of the human heart
to covetousness.  It should also be rememrlbered, that
this proportion, large as it is, was the mthimum measure of Jewish liberality, the least which their system
allowed; while the attractive and exciting circumstances under which they presented their tithes and
offerings, and the influence of the temple service,
especially of their public festivals, led them often
greatly to exceed the rule.
But there were peculiar exigencies in the history
of the Jewish church, which illustrate the spirit of
their beneficence even better than the annual imposts levied upon them by the law of Moses.  The
liberality of the Jews in the construction of the tabernacle, and the erection of the temple, has seldom
been equalled in the Christian church, and perhaps
never surpassed. Just emerging from the oppressive
bondage irt Egypt, and denined to be wanderers for
forty years in the wilderness, we should hardly have
expected them to be called on to make large offerings
for any purpose.  Yet scarcely were they free froln
their pursuers, ere the word of the Lord came to
Moses, saying, "Speak unto the children of Israel,
that they bring me an offering: of every man that
giveth it willingly with his heart, ye shall take my
offering. And this is the offering that ye shall talke of




PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCE.           59
them; gold, and silver, and brass, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair, and
rams' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins, and shittimwood, oil for the light, spices for anointing oil and for
sweet incense, onyx stones, and stones to be set in
the ephod, and in the breastplate."  Out of these,
the tabernacle and its utensils and appurtenances
were to be constructed, the ark of testimony, the
mercy-seat, the altar, and laver and candlesticks, all
wrought of the most precious materials, and overlaid
with pure gold. See now this people, just from their
degrading servitude, with comparatively small possessions, and little means of adding to them. When
religion is to be promoted at the call of God, they
-withhold nothing, until the end is accomplished.
All give with a willing mind, not a certain portion
of their income, but a large part of their possessions.
They devote it freely and joyfully to the service of
the church. And they thus give an example of liberality which it has pleased the Almighty to transmit to all following generations, as an incentive to
the same devotion, and a proof that inauspicious circumstances are not always an excuse for refusing the
calls of benevolence.
Pass now to the reign of David. It was not for
him to build the temple, although it was in his heart
so to do. Yet, before the affairs of his kingdom were
settled, and he was quietly seated on the throne, he
began the work of gathering materials for the mag



60      THE MISSION OF TIIE CHURClT.
nificent structure.  " Behold," says he to his son, "in
my trouble I have prepared for the house of the
Lord a hundred thousand talents of gold, and a
thousand thousand talents of silver; and of brass and
iron without weight, for it is in abundance; timber
also and stone have I prepared; and thou mayest add
thereto." " Of the gold, and the silver, and the brass,
and the iron, there is no number." With these immense and other additional materials, the vast and
splendid edifice was reared, at an expenditure estimated by some at three thousand mnillions of dollars. How did they respond to this extraordinary
call?  Reluctantly? No. Did they allege pleas of
poverty, or of concurrent claims for other objects?
Not one. The people rejoiced, for they offered willingly, and more than was needed. And David
blessed the Lord before all the congregation, and
said, "Who am I, and what is my people, that we
should be able to offer so willingly after this sort?"
Now, what is the principle upon which is made
this voluntary consecration of treasure unto the Lord?
This happy monarch's eucharistical prayer contains
its announcement: "0  Lord our God, all this store
that we have prepared to build thee a house for
thine holy Name, cometh of thine hand, and is all
thine own;" "for all things come of thee, and of
thine own have we given thee." It is the Christian principle of stewardship, which inheres as an
essential element of every dispensation from Gene



PROPORTION IN BENEFICENC.E.          61
sis to Revelation.  It is the doctrine, that " the silver
and the gold are the Lord's;" that he has an indisputable right to all that his creatures possess; that
there are higher uses to which it may be applied,
yielding purer and more elevated and permanent
enjoyment than personal aggrandizement or selfish
gratification; and that when God calls, whatever
may be the proportion or amount, man's cheerful
response always secures the divine favor.
When Christians refer to the tithing system of the
Jews, as a guide in adjusting the proportion of their
income which should be devoted to objects of beneficence, it is important to take into account the freewill offerings which accompanied the working of
the system, as well as the regular imposts laid upon
the people.  The deep, underflowing spirit of the
economy should be understood, as well as the simple
letter of its statutory enactments.  Yet, the careful
collation of these laws will be sufficient to explode
the popular idea, that the devotement of a tenth of
our income brings our beneficence into agreement
with the divine rule given to the Jews. The Old
Testament doctrine upon the subject of beneficence
cannot be fully exemplified by a less proportion, as
we have said, than one fourth of a man's income
And this proportion was required of the Jews,
under circumstances, in some respects, widely different from those under which Christians are called to
live. It was simply for charity, and the mainte



62      THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
nance of religion at home. The Jewish church had
received no commission to diffuse her religion abroad.
The difference in this particular, between the dispen
sations of Moses and of Christ, is great. The former
was simply conservative and defensive. The latter is
essentially reformatory and aggressive. The one was
a system of special rules and of a cumbersome ritual
service. The other is a system of religious principles,
and of spiritual worship. One was for the twelve
tribes; the other is for the world.  In the one, LHE
TRUTH dwelt in gorgeous symbols and attractive cerernonies; in the other, He manifested himself in "the
fulness of the Godhead, bodily," and still is present
by his spiritual and subduing power.
Can those living under dispensations so diverse,
with blessings so unequal, have devolved upon them
only an equal measure of duty and effort? Can we
make the rule of Jewish beneficence in a conservative system, the measure of our own in a diffusive
and an aggressive one? Can the Christian conscience be satisfied with a scale of liberality, for both
domestic and foreign beneficence, less than half as
large as that which the claims of one of these objects made upon the Jewish conscience?
An opulent man deducts one tenth from his income for charity.  Half of the remainder may be required for his necessary family expenditures. After
this he adds four times as much to his stock in trade,
or capital at interest, as he allows for charity. He




PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCE.           63
reserves for himself nine parts of all that with which
he has been blessed, and allows one part to God for
the salvation of the world. Is he benevolent?
There are circumstances, it is true, in which a
tenth of a man's income, would be a large proportion.
But there are other circumstances, in which it would
be a small proportion. In some, it would cost self:
denial.  In others, it would not be felt.  Three
fourths of a large income might be a less proportion
than one tenth, or even one fiftieth of a small one.
So that he who gave least would, in an important
sense, give most, for he would do it at the greatest
sacrifice. Such is the inequality which would result
from adopting any fixed proportion as applicable in
all cases.
2. A reference to the beneficent spirit of the early
Christian church. It will be admitted, that the
early Christians were in a condition, as favorable at
least, for forming a correct judgment in the matter
of beneficence, as any who have come after them.
Some of them were called by the Saviour himself.
They received instructions from his own lips. The
sweet and elevating influence of his personal presence and conversation, embalmed in their memory
the recollection of all that he did and said and suffered. Under this influence, they went forth to the
world, bright examples of Christian beneficence.
They " sold their possessions and goods, and parted
them to all men as every man had need." They




64      TTIE MISSION OF THE CHURUH.
felt that they were made the executors of their Saviour's last will and testament to a lost world, and
that whatsoever of their possessions could subserve
the accomplishment of the sacred trust, should be
freely laid upon the altar of sacrifice. Nothing short
of the dedication of their entire substance and lives
to the cause of such a Master, in the execution of
such a testament, met their ideas of duty, or expressed their sense of gratitude and love.  Their
renunciation of the world in its pride and pomp
and power, was actual and entire. They lived in
it only to do good. The glad tidings which they
had received, it was their great object to commurni
cate. They had contemplated the infinite riches
of the grace of God, and had lost the desire for
all other riches. Honor, power, wealth, learning,
eloquence, were valued by them only as they contributed to diffuse the blessings of the cross, or constituted the means of a more costly sacrifice to Him
who died upon it.  The cross! For this, they could
relinquish all, and endure all. In this, they gloried.
And in the ardor of love, inspired by this, they " took
joyfully the spoiling of their goods," and the crown
of martyrdom. Selfishness was nearly annihilated
by the antagonist power of the cross. Covetousness
was quite dead, from  the withholding of all that
whereby it lives. A parsimonious Christian would
speedily have obtained among them the unenviable
notoriety of an Achan, or a Judas  In giving them



PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCE.           65
selves to Christ, they gave all, and were made rich
by what they gave. More than this they could not
do; less, their love would not allow. And to make
more sure to themselves the blessings of such liberality, and as a safeguard against the growth of a
penurious spirit, "On the first day of the week,
they laid by in store as God had prospered them."
Of the Macedonian churches the apostle says, "In
a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their
joy, and their deep poverty, abounded unto the
riches of their liberality. For to their power, I bear
record, yea, and beyond their power, they were willing of themselves; praying us with much entreaty,
that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the
fellowship of the ministering to the saints."
The test and the fruit of discipleship among these
early Christians, was a spirit of entire devotion.
But were their obligations more imperative than
ours?  Was the commeind "to do good and to communicate," rlore binding then, than now?  Were
the blessings promised to the liberal soul, more rich
or full, or the danger and evils of covetousness less,
or the calls of sorrow and of want more urgent?
Were souls in greater peril then than now, or was
the Gospel more effectual?  No; the difference is
not in the gospel, but in the spirit of the men receiving it. They understood Christianity; they felt
its beneficent power, and they exemplified it. Taking
their divine Master as their model, they "pressed
tlAiks. of ("'.rch.  17




66      THE MTISSION OF  THE CHURCH.
towards the mark for the prize of their high calling." " Our blessed Lord," says one of the early
fathers of the Christian church, " ate his food from a
common dish. He sat upon the ground, and washed
his disciples' feet without a silver basin.  Nay, he
quenched his thirst from the earthen pitcher of a
poor Samaritan woman. And are we better than
he? Will not a table contain our food, unless its
legs be ivory? Certain it is, that a lamp made by
a potter will give light as well as if it were the
work of a silversmith."
The spirit of beneficence among these primitive
Christians, led them to make no provision for the
flesh. They counted self-denial better for themselves,
as well as more honorable to their Master, than selfindulgence.  They were Christians, and they gloried
in maintaining their consistency, despite the sword
and the stake.  Says another of them, - "We say we
are Christians, and we say it to the whole world,
under the hand of the executioner. Ix the midst of
all the tortures you can heap upon us to make us
recant, torn and mangled and covered with our own
blood, we still cry out as loud as we are able, we are
Christians. Call us by what names you please.
Fill our flesh with fagots to set us on fire, yet let me
tell you that when we are thus begirt and dressed
about with fire, we are in our most illustrious ap.parel. These are our victorious palms and robes of
glory; and, mounted on our funeral pile, we feel our



PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCE            67
selves as in a triumphal chariot. We conquer when
we die, and the spoils of that victory is eternal life."
"What you reproach us with as stubbornness, is the
best means of proselyting the world. For who has
not been struck with the sight of such fortitude, and
from thence pushed on to look into the reason of it?
And who ever looked well into our religion, but embraced it? And who ever embraced it, but was
willing to die for it?"
Does any one now ask what proportion of their
possessions such men devoted to beneficence? They
gave the whole, and themselves with it. Does he
ask how much they were able to do for the diffusion
of Christianity?  They were able to live for it-to
die for it. Their ability was measured only by the
extent of their possessions, the length of their lives,
and their capacity to labor and to suffer. They
stopped not a whit short of this. But was their lot
cast in a different dispensation from ours? No, it
was the same dispensation. What then constitutes
the difference? Ah, we repeat, it is in the spirit of
the men. The early Christians were wholly devoted
to their Master. The hearts of later ones are divided
between him and the world. Covetousness has crept
into the church, and like the strong man armed,
has bound its members and spoiled their goods. This
is the difference. We of the nineteenth century sow
sparingly and reap also sparingly. The early Christians sowed plentifully, and they reaped also plenti



68      THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
fully. We say, charity costs too much, and yield
only a pittance. They said, it cannot cost too much,
and laid down their lives.
3. A reference to the Scripture declarations relating to property, and to the duty of liberality.
"To the law, and to the testimony; if we speak
not according to this word, it is because there is no
light in us." What then saith the Scripture? Does
it prescribe the exact proportion of his income which
should be devoted to charitable purposes?  No. It
is a book of facts, of doctrines, of principles and precepts. It proceeds on the assumption that inquiry,
reflection, and prayer are essential to the development of the Christian character. It leaves men to
a sense of responsibility in employing the facts, and
applying the principles to the question of individual
duty. Does a man wish to know what proportion
of his property should be consecrated to beneficence?
He will not find it stated in so many words, whether
one tenth, or one fourth, or more, or less, ought to
be thus employed. But by a careful consideration
of the scripture doctrine contained in the following
passages concerning property and the duty of liberality, he may be led to conclusions as safe and as
certain, as if the amount were determined in every
case by specific divine command.
(1.) Riches arefrom the Lord, and belong to him.
"Both riches and honor come of thee." " The silver
is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of




PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCE.          69
hosts." " Every beast of the forest is mine, and the
cattle upon a thousand hills." " The earth is the
Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world and they
that dwell therein."  "The Lord maketh rich."
" The Lord thy God, it is he that giveth thee power
to get wealth."
(2.) Riches are in themselves a transient, unsatisfying, and disquieting possession. "Nor trust
in uncertain riches."  "Riches are not for ever."
"Riches make themselves wings and fly away."
"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth,
where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves
break through and steal." " There is that maketh
himself rich, yet hath nothing." " He that loveth
silver, shall not be satisfied with silver; neither he
that loveth abundance, with increase."  "There is
one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath
neither child nor brother; yet there is no end of his
labor, neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither
saith he, For whom do I labor and bereave my soul of
good? This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore travail."
"He that is greedy of gain, troubleth his own house."
" In the revenues of the wicked is trouble." " The
abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep "
" Then I looked on all the works that my hands had
wrought, and behold, all was vanity and vexation
of spirit; and there was no profit under the sun."
" For what hath man of all his labor, and of the vexation of his spirit wherein he hath labored? For all




70      THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
his days are sorrows, and his travail, grief; yea, his
heart taketh not rest in the night."
(3.) They bring no relief in man's greatest distress.'"Riches profit not in the day of wrath."
"Their silver and their gold shall not be able to
deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord."
"Because there is wrath, beware lest he take thee
away with his stroke: then a great ransom cannot
deliver thee. Will he esteem thy riches? No, not
gold, nor all the forces of strength."  "There was
a certain rich man which was clothed in purple and
fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day. The
rich man also died, and was buried. And in hell.
he lifted up his eyes, being in torments."
(4.) It is unlawful and dangerous to trust in and
to hoard them.  " If I have made gold my hope, or
have said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence;
if I rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because mine hand had gotten much; I should have
denied the God that is above."  "If riches increase,
set not your heart upon them." "Lay not up for
yourselves treasures upon earth." " Labor not to be
rich."  "Beware, lest when thou hast eaten and
art full, and when thy herds and thy flocks are multiplied, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied;
then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the
Lord thy God, and thou say in thine heart, My power,
and the might of mine hand, hath gotten me this
wealth."  " Covetousness, let it not be once named




PROPORTION IN BENE.FICENCE.         71
among' you, as becometh saints."  " He that trusteth
in his riches shall fall."  "How hard is it for them
that trust in riches, to enter into the kingdom of
God."  "The cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful."  " He that hideth his eyes from the poor
shall have many a curse."  " Woe unto them that
join house to house, that lay field to field."  " They
that will be rich, fall into temptation and a snare,
and into many hurtful and foolish lusts, which drown
men in destruction and perdition. For the love of
money is the root of all evil; which, while some
have coveted after, they have erred from the faith,
and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
But thou, 0 man of God, flee these things."  "1
have seen riches kept for the owners thereof to their
hurt." " Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl,
for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your
riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the
rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall
eat your flesh as it were fire." " No covetous man
hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of
God."  Balaam "loved the wages of unrighteousness, but was rebuked for his iniquity."  "Achan
answered Joshua, and said, Indeed, I have sinned
against the Lord God of Israel. When I saw among
the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty




72      THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took themAnd Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the
Lord shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel
stoned him with stones."  To G-ehazi, for coveting
the Syrian's silver and the garments, the prophet
said, " The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave
unto thee and unto thy seed for ever. And he went
out from his presence a leper as white as snow."
"Judas, when he saw that Jesus was condemned,
repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces
of silver to the chief priests and elders. And he
cast down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself."
(5.) Liberality is characteristic of the righteous,
and is expressly commanded. " The righteous showeth mercy and giveth."  "He that honoreth his
Maker, hath mercy on the poor."  "The righteous
considereth the cause of the poor."  "Withhold not
good from him to whom it is due, when it is in the
power of thine hand to do it." "Say not to thy
neighbor, Go, and come again; when thou hast it
by thee." " Give to him that asketh thee." " Give
to him that needeth." " Give alms of such things
as you have." "Honor the Lord with thy substance."  " To do good, and to communicate, forget
not, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased."
" Charge them that are rich in this world, that they
be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to
communicate; laying up in store for themselves a




PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCE.          73
good foundation against the time to come, that they
may lay hold on eternal life."  "Whoso hath this
world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and
shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how
dwelleth the love of God in him?"  " Thou shall
not harden thy heart, nor shut thy hand from thy
poor brother; but thou shalt open thy hand wide
unto him." " As ye abound in every thing, see that
ye abound in this grace also." "Freely ye have
received, freely give." "Upon the first day of the
week, let every one of you lay by him in store, as
God hath prospered him."
(6.) The highest and best use of riches is in bezeficence, which secures exemption from want and
the blessing of heaven. " Make to yourselves friends
of the mammon of unrighteousness." " The angel
of God said unto Cornelius, Thy prayers and thine
alms are come up as a memorial before God."
" Remember the words of the Lord'Jesus, how he
said, It is more blessed to give than to receive."
"And there came a certain poor widow, and she
threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And
he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them,
Verily I say unto you, that this poor widow hath
cast more in than all they which have cast into the
treasury. For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she
had, even all her living." " For if there be first a
willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man




74      THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
hath, and not according to that he hath not."  " IIe
that giveth unto the poor shall not lack."  "Trust
in the Lord and do good; so shalt thou dwell in
the land, and verily thou shalt be fed."  " Cast thy
bread upon the waters; for thou shalt find it after
many days."  "He that hath pity upon the poor,
lendeth to the Lord; and that which he hath given,
will he pay him again." " Honor the Lord with thy
substance, and with the first-fruits of all thine increase: so shall thy barns be filled with plenty,
and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.'
"Blessed is he that considereth the poor."  "He
that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed."  "He
that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he." " There
is that scattereth, and yet increaseth." " The liberal
soul shall be made fat; and he that watereth, shall
be watered also himself."  " Give, and it shall be
given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and
shaken together, and running over, shall men give
into your bosom."  "Do good and lend, hoping for
nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and
ye shall be the children of the Highest."  "When
thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the
lame, and the blind. And thou shalt be blessed;
for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of
the just."  " If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy
light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the
noonday. And the Lord shall guide thee continu



PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCE.          75
ally, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat
thy bones; and thou shalt be like a watered garden,
and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not."
Now, if the word of God is admitted as an infallible guide, will it not aid an inquirer in determining
his ability, to reflect upon these passages until his
mind is imbued with their spirit? Will it not give
the claims of benevolence a firmer hold on his conscience, and check the tendency to covetousness, to
read that God regardeth it as idolatry, that the
love of money is the root of all evil, leading the soul
into foolish and hurtful lusts, piercing it through with
many sorrows, and drowning it in perdition? Who
would not feel his ability to give in charity increasing under the growing conviction that he that soweth bountifully, shall reap also bountifully? Does
a wise man grudge the seed grain, when the increase
depends on the amount that he scattereth?  Will
he garner up what he gathers, when he feels that
much as he may have been blessed in receiving, he
would be more blessed in giving?  But alas, unbelief is the vampire that consumes the ability of the
church.  Men do not believe, when the mouth of
the Lord hath spoken it, else they would not be so
slow to lend to him. Let them study these passages in their full significancy, and imbibe their
heavenly spirit, until all doubt vanishes, and the
soul is raised up in liberality to the high ground of
the Bible doctrine. Stand by the cross and study




76      THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
them there, invoking the divine Spirit to guide you
into the truth. Cast yourself forward to the soul's
transit into eternity, and study them there. Place
yourself at the tribunal of God, amidst the throng
of ransomed spirits in the heavenly glory, and study
them there.  Behold those shining ones casting theii
crowns at the feet of Jesus, and sweeping their harpstrings in full chorus to his praise, " Saying with a
loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to
receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength,
and honor, and glory, and blessing:" do this, and it
will be easy to understand the scripture doctrine of
beneficence, and to determine the proportion of your
property which it is your duty and privilege to employ for Him on earth, who has all riches ascribed
to him in heaven.
PARTICULAR PROPOSITIONS RESPECTING
PROPORTION.
If the reader has gone along with us in our reference to the liberality of the Jewish church, to the
beneficent spirit of the early Christians, and to the
scripture declarations relating to property and the
duty of liberality, he will be prepared to consider the
subject of proportion in beneficence, in the following
particular propositions.
1. Every man's beneficence should be proportionate to the sum total of his property. It will be apparent in the outset, that we have to do with something




PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCE.         77
more than the single question of income. For although with a man who, from the commencement
of his business life, has regulated his charities by
the scripture rule, it might be only a question of
income, yet as there are few who have done this,
in determining each man's ability it is obvious that
any inquiry would be partial, and any result defective, which should not involve a consideration
of the sum total of a man's property. It may be,
that, lured out of the pilgrim's path by the winning
voice of Demas, you have been digging at the mine
in'"the little hill called lucre," and hoarding more
than is meet. It may be, that overpowered by the
spirit of worldliness which steals away the vigor of
piety, you have been adding income to capital, that
you might retire from business and live in ease and
luxury and splendor, until a rate of liberality adjusted
to your present ability would trench on your vested
capital, or break in upon your accumulated stores.
It may be, that the influence of fashion, or of increasing wealth, or of a plan of early retirement, like a
subtle poison, has benumbed the moral sensibilities,
and rendered you reluctant to draw, for benevolent
purposes, upon your vested funds. All this is very
natural and very probable. Early in life, John
Wesley said that he had known but four men, whose
piety had not suffered from their becoming rich.
Longer observation led him to make no exception.
His own case, however, may be alleged as an exam



78      THE MiSSI(ON OF THE CHURCH.
ple of the power of grace to withstand the withering
influence of increasing wealth. His income at first
was thirty pounds a year.  Of this, he reserved two
pounds for charity.  The next year, it was sixty
pounds.  Still using but twenty-eight for himself; he
employed thirty-two pounds in charity And when
his income amounted to a hundred and twenty
pounds, he lent ninety-two pounds to the Lord, and
lived himself on twenty-eight as at first. At his decease, his whole property was found to consist of his
clothes, his books, and a carriage, although he had
probably given away more than a hundred thousand
dollars. Did the root of all evil find no more congenial soil in the hearts of other men, than it did in
that of John Wesley, how different would be the state
of the world! But alas, it strikes deep, and entwines
its threads about every fibre of the soul, and " chokes
the word, that it becometh unfraitful."
Are you sure that a course of constant accumulation is right? Are you never troubled with doubts
in withholding your tens of thousands, and it may be
hundreds of thousands, from the cause of God, merely
as security for your own future ease, or for the gratification or aggrandizement of your children? Are
you certain, in view of the pressing calls in our owvD
land and from the heathen world, that such a course
is consistent with your public vows as a disciple of
Christ? Is it plain, that a portion of your interest
money and other income, is all that you are called




PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCE.          79
upon to consecrate to Christ, for the salvation of a
world for'which he diced?  Did you begil right?
And if so, have you continued as you began? Have
you, in past time, laid by in store for yourself, no
more than you should have done-no more than you
would have done, if your piety had been as elevated
as was that of Brainerd or Martyn, or your love as
glowing as that of John? Has avarice, or covetousness, or selfishness had no voice in determining the
amount laid up for yourself?  And if you have been
influenced by such a motive in amassing more than
was meet, is it from any better motive that you now
withhold what has been thus accumulated?  Might
not a portion of your property, invested in charity
for the poor, in missionary labor and in Bibles for the
conversion of the world, yield you a larger revenue of
happiness and enrich you more than the whole now
does? By the accredited maxims of the world, and
even of the church, we readily admit, that the man
who devotes all his income to charity is justly reputed liberal. But are you sure, that under your
circumstances, this is a rate of liberality proportionate to the " ability which God giveth?" Is it opening thy hand wide unto thy poor brother? Is it
sowing plentifully-abounding in the grace of giving?  Is it acting on the principle, that it is more
blessed to give than to receive? Is it fulfilling the
injunction, Freely ye have received, freely give 
We would not be understood as implying, that




80      THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH
there are no circumstances in which men may lawfully accumulate property. They may have large
schemes of benevolence, in reference to which they
are every day prosecuting their labors. There are
also departments of business, extensive manufacturing and commercial interests, the successful conduct
of which requires large capital. Under the influence
of a benevolent spirit, and on the principle of doing
all to the glory of God, this employment of funds
need not conflict with the claims of charity. But to
retain large fortunes with no such projects in view,
devoting only the income to beneficence, places a
disciple of Christ in a false position. His wealth is
out of proportion to his necessities, and to the claims
of benevolence. And nothing but the bestowment
of a portion of his accumulated treasure, will restore
him to his true position.
We are not unapprised of the plan whereby some
endeavor to recover their consistency. They have
made a testamentary bequest, a plan truly benevolent in circumstances which render an earlier disposal of property impracticable. But in many cases,
a will is only an expedient of covetousness, to satisfy
conscience, and atone for the sin of sending the needy
away empty in our lifetime, by allowing the claims
of charity to take effect when we are dead. God
has made youz his steward, and has nowhere authorized you to leave to others, that which he has required you yourself to do. -The calls of benevolence




PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCE.          81
will never be more urgent than now. Your property
will never do so much good as now. Every day
that you postpone its devotement, you by so much
lessen the time in which it might be bearing fruit
unto Christ. Therefore, God would have you the
executor of your own will. No one can administer
your charities so advantageously as yourself. By so
doing, you make the most profitable investment of
your money, and avoid the danger of losing, by reverse of fortune, what you had intended to bequeath
to benevolent objects.  God would also that your
death be deplored as a loss to the church, rather than
welcomed as a gain to its beneficent operations; that
the world be blessed with the influence of your beneficent example while livil.g, rather than be left in
doubt concerning the motives of your testamentary
charity when you are dead. He would not have you
deprived of the blessedness of giving, by the intervention of a will, rendering it necessary for you to be
cast out of your stewardship, before your Lord's
money can be put to " the exchangers."
We have read of "a faithful steward," whose
whole property at the commencement of his business life, besides the wilderness land on which he settled, valued at forty dollars, consisted of a horse and
Lit axe. WVvith this God gave him "power to get
wealth."  He begail on the principle of honoring the
Lord with his substance, and with the first-fruits of
dit his increase, and his barns were filled with plenty
Miss. of Chlurchll.  18




82'      II~THE MISSIO(N OF TH1E CHUIRCH.
and his presses burst out with new wine. Together
with the expense of rearing a large family of children, he is supposed to have contributed to benevolent objects not less than thirty-five thousand dollars.
"He made two wills at an interval of twenty-eight
years, but he lived to be his own executor, paying
his bequests and settling his accounts to the uttermost farthing; so that, in fulfilling his last testament, nothing remained to be looked after when he
was gone but his wearing apparel, the large Bible,
Scott's Family Bible, a psalm-book, the case in which
he had kept them, and the spectacles with which he
had read them. Not a pound-no, not a penny, was
found hid in the earth or laid up in a napkin."
Thence we conclude, that in adjusting each man's
proportion in beneficence, the sum total of his property should be taken into the account, and that charitable bequests are an unsatisfactory substitute for
living benevolence. In view of the subject, let us
"charge them that are rich in this world, that they
be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to
communicate, laying up in store for themselves a good
foundation against the time to come, that they may
lay hold on eternal life."
"Largely thou givest, gracious Lord;
Largely thy gifts should be restored:
Freely thou givest, and thy word
Is,' Freely give.'
He only who forgets to hoard,
Has learned to live."




PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCE.         83
2. Every man's beneficence should be proportionate to his annual income. As there are some with
whom the adjustment of their proportion might trench
on vested capital, so there are others from whom it
would require only a portion of their income. Wyre
now refer to the latter class. Your income, then, is
to be divided between your own personal and family
necessities, and the claims of benevolence. On what
principle should the division be made? You are a
young man just entering on business, wishing to
arrange your plans of benevolence according to the
principles of the gospel. You will thence seek to be
governed, in your expenditures, by Christian simplicity. In this, you will find the more difficulty, because the prevalent customs and fashions of society
are so adverse to it. Yet be not conformed to the
world, You can no more be a devotee of fashion,
than a worshipper at the shrine of mammon.
If you would make the duty of beneficence easy
and delightful, you will commence your charitable
donations where your income commences, and give
as the Lord prospers you. Let your maxims and
motives of liberality be drawn from the word of God,
and not from the practices and opinions of those
around you. Let your plans and principles be fixed
in the outset, subject only to such revision as increase
of light and love may suggest. Before the love of
money shall be strengthened by increase of gains,
you will be more likely to judge correctly in the




84      THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
matter of proportion.  Your liberality will then
readily grow into habit, and habit will make it a
delight, and both will perfect and confirm your principles of benevolence, and give symmetry and beauty
and energy to your whole Christian character.
Your danger is not of a too rigid economy, but that
you may practise it from wrong motives-with a desire of hoarding rather than of giving. Beware of
covetousness, which is idolatry. Here will be your
chief temptation, despite your firmest benevolent resolves. The present low standard of liberality among
older and more experienced Christians, and the fact
that covetousness scarcely militates against a reputable profession of Christianity, will enhance this danger.  Necessary contact with business men, with
whom a distinction between the morality of trade and
the morality of the Bible involves no solecism, will
add to it. The unhallowed estimate placed upon
money, by which " worth means wealth, and the only
wisdom, the art of acquiring it," will increase your
danger. The world is not atheistic, but the god it
serves is gold. " I do confess I am an atheist," says
Sir Thomas Brown.  " I cannot persuade myself to
honor that the world adores."  Fortify yourself
against all such peril in the beginning, by putting
on the whole armor of God. Resist the devil of
cupidity, when he proposes to give you all the kingdoms of the world, and he will flee from you.
When you are deciding on the proportion of your




PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCE.          85
income to be added to your capital, or invested for
future contingencies, two questions deserve particular attention: What are the objects for which you
make this reservation; and what are the motives
that prompt you to do it?
In reply to the first question you will probably say,
"My object is to make provision for the education
and settlement and usefulness of my children."  We
admit the legitimacy of the object, and only ask your
attention to the amount necessary for its accomplishment. You wish to employ your property, in respect
to your children, in such a way as shall prepare them
for the greatest usefulness here, and the highest happiness hereafter.
Now it is essential to this, that you should make
provision for the development of their physical, intellectual, and moral powers; that they should be instructed in relation to their social, civil, and religious
duties; that they should be subject to the influence
of pure examples, and brought under the power of
the gospel of Christ. You wish for them, under the
combined influence of culture and Christianity, that
mental expansion, that refinement of taste, that elevation of sentiment, and that firmness of moral principle, which will harmonize with their sphere of
action, and with the highest ends of their existence.
Is not this the sum total of what they require at your
hands, the substance of your parental duty? But is
it necessary for this, that you should lay up for them




86      THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
large stores of wealth? Would not these ends be
better secured by such a degree of liberality on your
part, as would leave them, when entering upon the
responsibilities of life, dependent, under God, chiefly
on their own exertions? Yea, do not facts abundantly demonstrate, that by exemption from the
necessity of effort, through reliance on inherited, or
expected wealth, their prospects of success in business or in professional life would be greatly darkened? On whom have the Indies bestowed their
richest treasures, and to whom have the mines of
Peru yielded most abundantly their shining dust?
Who are the master-spirits of the age, that in the
senate, at the bar, or in the pulpit, hold in their
hands the secret of power, and wield most resistlessly the sceptre of influence, and sway as by a spell
the councils of nations, and the destinies of men?
Are they those whose paternal ancestry spent their
lives in toil and parsimony that they might leave their
children rich? Are they those who commenced their
career cumbered by the cares of wealth, and subject
to influences which prevent personal exertion, and
paralyze the power of noble achievement? No; they
are generally those, for whom their parents could do
little except in the way of thorough mental and
moral training, and the formation of industrious habits; whose chief inheritance was a healthful influence and a bright parental example; and who came
forth to meet the trials of life, and to discharge its




PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCE.          87
duties, trusting in Providence, and dependent on their
own industry and skill.
But if you can overlook such well-attested facts,
and jeopard the temporal interests of your children,
by amassing for them the almost certain means of
their failure, turn to another aspect of the subject.
You desire above all things their usefulness, and their
religious welfare. What can you do better to render
them useful, than to be so yourself? You wish them
to form habits of benevolence. How can your desire
for them be more effectually accomplished than by
the influence of your own example of benevolence?
Withholding your property from objects of charity
will not teach them to be charitable. Hoarding yourself large stores of wealth, will not dispose them to
consecrate it to Christ. If you would teach them that
the value of money consists primarily in the good
which may be accomplished by it, in what way can
you do it so successfully, as by showing them that this
is the great end for which you are acquiring it? And
if you would secure to them the blessing of heaven,
how can you do it more certainly, than by demising'
to them your own bright example-the illustration
of your full conviction that the love of money is the
coot of all evil? In this way, a check will be early
given to the tendencies of selfishness, and their habits be formed on the principles of Christian benevolence. You will thus bring your children to the
altar, not like Hannibal, to swear eternal enmity to




88      1HE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
a hostile nation, but to encourage in them, by the
most sacred domestic influences, a desire to "do good
unto all men, as they have opportunity."
Recur now to the second question, the nzotives
which determine the proportion to be reserved for
future contingencies. Write down the various cbjects of benevolence which solicit your attention: the
claims of the poor, the ignorant, and the oppressed;
the calls of Home and of Foreign missions, of the
Bible, the Tract, Educational, and Seamen's associations, and other kindred humane and reforma
tory agencies. Against these, set down the amount
which you have appropriated to them. Considei
this amount as the measure of your regard for the
poor, your interpretation of the law of benevolence,
and the exponent of your love to Christ. Then write
down on the opposite page the items of your personal and family expenditure, with the several sums
applied to them. Look upon these as the index ol
your sense of personal and family necessities, as
what you have considered due to your station in life.
Then compare the balance-sheets. Carry them with
you to your closet, and when you pray " after this
manner," " Thy kingdom come," see how much you
are in earnest, by the portion of your income appropriated to the advancement of that kingdom. Aiid
when continuing, you repeat the petition, " Give us
this day our daily bread," inquire if you may not
have been taking much more than you have asked




PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCE.           89
from God, And when you further say, " Lead us not
into temptation, but deliver us from evil," ask yourself if some of your expenditures may not have had
a direct tendency to lead you into that from which
you pray to be kept, and to confirm in you that from
which you seek to be delivered. Write over one side
of the equation, " The claims of the poo, the blind
the naked, of ignorance, misery, and sin;" and over
the other, " The claims of myself and family soon to
pass to our final account."  Then decide whether
you have consecrated of your income to charity,
according to the ability that God giveth. Do this,
and the result will assist you in determining the motives by which you have been governed in your current expenditures, and in your reservations for future
use. Is this asking too much?  Does it seem unnecessarily exacting? But why should you shrink
from such a test? Is it that you are fearful of the
results? If your scale of liberality is such as your
own interests and the claims of beneficence require,
an examination like this would only confirm your
convictions of duty, and render its discharge more
easy and delightful. But if it is otherwise, and you
fear the necessity of retrenchment on the side of per.
sonal ease and gratification,
"Think heaven a better bargain, than to give
Only Ohy single market-money for it.
Join hands with God, in making men to live."
Oh, it is sweet to know that we are doing the will




90      THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
of God, and nowhere more so, than in dealing our
bread to the hungry, lighting up the abode of sorrow
with the smile of gladness, recalling the wandering
prodigal, and guiding the weary pilgrim to his heavenly home.
3. Every man's beneficence should be proportionate
to what he can earn by industry. Labor, although
connected with the curse pronounced upon man in
consequence of his sin, must yet be considered as a
blessing. His physical, mental, and moral condition
renders it necessary to his own welfare. The general law of equity also requires it. " If any man
work not, neither should he eat." " Not slothful in
business," holds an important place among the apostolic injunctions.  Idleness is therefore an evil and a
sin. It is burying our talent, and exposing ourselves
to the condemnation of the slothful servant. No
one, however opulent, is at liberty to be indolent.
Self-interest forbids it, and the law of benevolence
forbids it. To how many reputable disciples might
the Saviour now say, " Why stand ye here all the
day idle?" What are they accomplishing by their
personal exertions, for the honor of God or the welfare of men?  Nothing, absolutely nothing.  Yet
health, and time, and power of productive enterprise
are talents intrusted to us, even more directly than
is wealth, acquired by means of these. "It is God
that giveth power to get wealth." Well-directed
labor, either manual or mental, in some of the vari



PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCE.         91
ous forms of human effort, is therefore a means of
doing good, which cannot be left out of account in
estimating proportion in beneficence.
By this means, many a poor man might obtain the
blessing of giving, who now contents himself with
that of receiving. By toiling a little longer, or a
little harder, or by turning their labor into more productive channels, not a few, from being themselves
objects of charity, might become its happy distributers. Instead of drawing upon the resources of the
benevolent, they might help to swell their amount
by the addition of their own "farthing."  And if
they could do this, should they not do it? Would
not their temporal condition be improved by the
effort, and they find by sweet experience that it is
more blessed to give than to receive? We have
read of a woman in very needy circumstances, who
offered to subscribe a penny a week to the missionary fund.  "Surely," said one, "you are too poor
to afford this."  She replied, "I spin so many skeins
of yarn a week, for a maintenance: I will spin one
mor'e, and that will be a penny for the Society." How
beautiful in its simplicity is this illustration! Let
each poor man so employ the fragments of time, that
it may be said of him as of Henry Martyn, " He is
the man that never lost an hour," and he shall eat
the labor of his own hands, and "have to give to
him that needeth."
The rich, too, who in their ease can give of their




92      THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
abundance, by diligence would be able to abound in
this grace. Where is the warrant for a Christian to
retire from active life while in the full enjoyment
of his business powers? It is obvious, however,
that men may sometimes be called to leave the
sphere of labor in which they have accumulated
their property, in order to superintend its beneficent
expenditure. Public interests may require such a
portion of their time and attention as shall be incompatible with the continuance of their more private
business schemes.
But how different is this from the case of those
who bring to a period their active business career at
a time of life when they are most capable of continuing it with success. In the course of twenty or
thirty years of prosperous enterprise, a man finds
himself in possession of a competency, that is, he has
become affluent. Now he is content. He will retire and give place to others. He has enough. But
why does he retire? That he may enjoy the luxury
of dealing his bread to the hungry, and of endowing
institutions for the promotion of science and religion,
or for th2 mitigation of human woe and the reclamation of man from the power of Satan unto God?
No; but because he has enough.  Enough for what?
Enough for himself, for his idol, self-enough for his
own enjoyment, for ease and elegance-enough to
vie with the devotees of fashion, and to revel in
splendor. So, these are the motives which have




PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCE.          93
impelled him forward in his eager haste to be richease, elegance, splendor. No thoughts of God enter
into his purposes. No pity for the poor influences
his plans. Poor man, thou art dead while thou livest. Thou hast "denied the God that is above,"
and disowned thy brother. No beam of heavenly
light guides thee in thy dark career.  No genial
fire of love melts thy icy selfishness.  "Lo, this
is the man that made not God his strength, but
trusted in the abundance of his riches."  " The
righteous shall see, and shall laugh at him."  " Men
shall clap their hands at him, and hiss him out of
his place."
But it may be, that amid the smiles of Providence
and your increasing stores, you have not been altogether unmindful of the fatherless and the widow.
Yet you propose to retire from business. You are a
professed disciple of Christ and have sympathy with
suffering and sorrow, and have not forgotten "'; to do
good and to communicate," and yet you have enough.
And 6an you then do all that you desire for the cause
of God, and of humanity? Are there no poor that
will remain destitute; no benighted that will be left
sitting in darkness, when you have done what you
can?  Is the Bible translated into every tongue?
Has the missionary visited every land, and carried
the gospel to every tribe, and made it the power of
God ill every heart?  Oh, no. And yet you have
e7nough. You are ratiring from business, it may be,




94      THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
at the very maturity of your powers of business.
Has Providence then smiled on your efforts and poured
into your lap the fruits of the earth, or the products of
commerce, that you might take your discharge from
his service? " What, know you not that you are not
your own," and that "none of us liveth to himself?"
Have you forgotten the price with which you were
bought? Does gratitude call for no more self-denial?
Does the cross oppose no obstruction to your plan of
ease and indulgence?
You may indeed be giving according to what you
have. But are you giving according to what you
might have? Your powers of business are no inconsiderable part of the ability that God giveth.
His command is, "Go work in my vineyard." And
it is also, " Work while the day lasts."
Besides, if you would give more if you had it, why
cease acquiring? Is your beneficence on a large scale
now? By adding to it the products of your continued labor, you would make it still larger, and would
enjoy a richer blessing, both in what you bestow in
charity and what you expend for yourself. And this
blessing might come in the form of a better physical and mental, as well as of an improved spiritual condition. You would be preserved, from wasting indolence and enervating ennui. By continued
efforts to acquire, that you might abound still more
in giving, you would be kept from the danger of covetousness attending undue concern respecting what




PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCE.         9b
you now possess. By observing the command, " Occupy till I come," you would be protected from the
ensnarements accompanying a life of leisure, and
procure at last that highest approval of your Master,
"Well done, good and faithful servant; enter thou
into the joy of thy Lord."
What if Christ had retired from his work, ere he
had arrived at that period when he could say, "It is
finished."  What if he had ceased from his wearying toil, and ascended to his throne of glory, before
he had come to that labor of soul in the garden, and
that conflict of spirit on the cross —where would than
have been the hope of the world? And why did he
not thus retire? Ah, he was joined to his work by
the invincibility of his love, and his devotion to his
Father's will. Thence he toiled up to the very hour
of his death, and expended the last of his human
powers in completing his redeeming work. And
shall his example have no influence to retain his followers in the field?  0 thou Son of Mary and of
God, didst thou spend thy life in poverty and in toil
for the miserable and the guilty, and in a world all
thine own, have not where to lay thy head? And
shall we who reap the fruits of thy godlike labor,
seek exemption from service, and weary out our lives
in ignoble sloth? IDidst thou bear thy heavy cross,
and wear thy thorny crown, and drink thy bitter cup
that we, clothed in purple and fine linen, might recline upon our couch of ease?




96,      THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
"Woe worth these barren hearts of ours,
Where thou hast set celestial flowers,
And watered with the balmiest showers,
Yet naught we yield."
4. Every man's beneficence should be proportionate to what lie can save by econonzy.  In any adequate view of this subject, it is apparent that some
limits are to be placed to the scale of expenditure.
The gospel is no more explicit against covetousness,
than against prodigality. Nor is the sin of the one
greater than of the other, or the evil of it more afflictive to the church. These seemingly contradictory vices are sometimes found in the same person.
He covets another's wealth and squanders his own.
So intense sometimes is the sense of want occasioned
by wasteful expenditure, that the prodigal, as the
miser, not only " stoppeth his ear against the cry of
the poor," but rapaciously devours widows' houses,
as the means of continuing his riotous living. Thus
prodigality leads to covetousness, and covetousness
to rapacity. Unholy desire clamors for gratification,
and gratification only increases the intensity of insatiable desire, until, in the midst of abundance, the
soul finds itself in famine, flooded with waters, yet
pining in thirst.
The economy induced by the spirit of beneficence,
is equally remote from covetousness and from prodigality. It neither wastes nor buries the intrusted
talent, but uses it.  And the expenditure which is




PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCE.            97
consistent with the claims of charity, is also in harmony with what is due to our station in life. True
dignity is never found in conflict with benevolence.
When the calls of the latter are responded to by an
appropriation of the just proportion of our property,
the residue will be found to impart the highest dignity to rank and station, and the most benign and salutary influences to character. " Whatsoever things
are true; whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever
things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good
report," are in happiest agreement with its claims.
But it dissuades from enervating indulgences, from
effeminate voluptuousness, from factitious and extravagant conventionalism, as being as incongruous with
the spirit of the gospel, as the former virtues are becoming and accordant with it.
Nor can prodigal expenditures, coming as they do
into the class of unproductive consumptions, be more
easily justified by the principles of political economy,
than by the spirit of benevolence. Consumed as
they are in needless, if not hurtful self-indulgence,
the use of luxuries adds less to the national wealth
than do beneficent appropriations. Rightly directed,
Charity touches the deep springs of the mental and
moral energies, and instead of wasting them in profitless excitement, arouses them to the most healthful
and productive effort. She feeds the poor and clothes
the naked; she enlightens the ignorant, assists the
Miss. of Chucih.     19




98      THE MISSION OF TlHE CHURCH.
feeble, and raises up the fallen. She discourages
vice, that waster of time and money, that weakener
of physical, intellectual, and moral vigor. She encourages Virtue, and leads her into the field as the
most productive laborer for the weal of the race. She
excites industry and rewards it, and stanches earth's
flowing miseries by healing its deep wounds of sin.
She turns the current of human desire from war to
peace, from oppression to freedom, from idolatry, bigotry, and imposture, to the pure worship of the true
God.
Such is the productive mission of charity to which
we would divert the streams of wealth, now flowing
in the spendthrift channels of wasteful superfluity.
And for one who admits her claims as obligatory, it
would not seem difficult to arbitrate between them
and those of prodigality. Perceiving the difference
in their nature from their different results, he will be
sweetly impelled to economy, feeling that the nobleness of the end raises it above the suspicion of meanness, to the rank of the most generous and honorable
virtues. He will reflect that what he expends in
luxury and self-aggrandizement, is so much withheld
from the poor, so much refused as a loan to the Lord,
leaving a corresponding amount of grief unassuaged,
of vice unchecked, and of eternal misery unprevented  He will reflect that such expenditures not only
diminish his power, but lessen his desire to do good;
that they are not only a robbery of others, but an




PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCE.          99
injury to himself. He will remember that such superfluities, by placing him in the rank of eager competitors in the circle of fashion, take him out from
the simplicity of the gospel, and setting him in practical contradiction to its precepts, present him as a
tempter to others by his evil example.
Are you anxious to do good on a larger scale than
you have felt your means would allow? Inspect
your wardrobe, and see if something may not be
saved by economy from the imposts which it has
laid upon your resources, and your condition be as
comfortable and your attire as comely. Survey your
table, and see if something may not be spared from
its viands and dainties, and enough remain for rich
contentment and hospitable cheer. Make Conscience
the steward of thy house, holding his lamp, like that
in the urn of Olybius, "alive and light, although
close and invisible." Let him report of all your appropriations, how much is for the gratification of the
appetites, how much ministers to pride, to vanity, to
ambitious rivalry with lovers of themselves. Let his
inspection be minute, and deem him not an intermeddler. Accept his report, and from all upon which
he writes " extravagance," turn the current of your
expenditures into the channels of beneficence. Are
you reluctant to do this?  Reluctant to part with
your superfluities, your luxuries-ministers to pride
and fashion and voluptuousness-in order to obtain
the means of a more enlarged beneficence!




100     THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
But "my station in life is fixed, and I must conCorm to the circle in which I move."  If you belong
to a circle, the customs of which require you to waste
your Lord's money, may it not be your duty to
"come out from among them, and be separate?"
Would not this, besides enabling you to give more,
exempt you from many temptations and evils from
which your character and influence are now suffering.
Are you unable to give more in charity than you
now do? How can this be, when you are able to
spend so much in superfluous and costly attire, in
ornaments, "' the chains and the bracelets, the rings
and changeable suits of apparel, and mantles, and
wimples, and crisping pins?" If you are too pooi
to appropriate more in beneficence, are you not too
poor to wear such exponents of wealth, too poor to
feast on such costly dainties, too poor to dwell in
habitations which are the index of princely fortunes?
You can afford to give no more! Yes, if you will
economize, you can. If you will "remember the
words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more
blessed to give than to receive," you will feel that
you are too poor to give so little. Has not your economy, if you have practised it, been rather in the department of beneficence, than in that of superfluous
expenditures? Transfer retrenchment from the giving to the expending side, and you will be able to
give more. Wear less of your wealth, and you will




PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCE.    101
be able. Consume less in the Epicurean delicacies
of your table, and you will be able. Dispose of that
part of your plate and jewelry which subserves no
higher purpose than ostentatious display, and you
will be able to give more for the mitigation of hu.
man woe, and the salvation of the world. The very
decision to commence such retrenchment from benevolent motives, would bring your Christian character,
under God, to the period of a new development, and
the recollection of such economy, for such a purpose,
would be a sweet reflection mingling in your dying
thoughts.
Happy was that distinguished example of Christian simplicity, economy, and beneficence, John Wesley, in the generous devotion with which he consecrated his substance to the cause of humanity and
of God. Suspecting that he had more wealth than
was apparent, the Accountant-general sent him the
following note, with a copy of the " Excise order for
the return of plate." " Reverend sir-As the commissioners cannot doubt but you have plate, for which
you have hitherto neglected to make an entry," etc.
To this, the following answer was returned: " Sir,
I have two silver spoons at London, and two at Bristol, and I shall not buy any more while so many
around me want bread."
If all Christians would devote to beneficence the
fruits of a reasonable economy, from what practical
inconsistency would the church be reclaimed. From




102     rHE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
what reproach would she be saved, among those
who now see her bowing with the eagerness of a
devotee at the shrine of Fashion, that "Juggernaut
of Christian lands." Oh, how would it contribute
to make her "the perfection of beauty, the joy of the
whole earth."
gWe do not assume to prescribe any certain degree
of economy or scale of retrenchment, or to interfere
with the refinements and proprieties of a pure Chris
tianity; but only to assert, that no one can be sure
that he is doing what he ought in works of charity,
unless he has introduced the principle of saving by
economy. No rank or station or amount of wealth
can exempt him from the obligation involved in it.
And no one, from love to God, can thus bring his beneficence into harmony with his ability, without great
benefit to himself. Subjected to the influence of His
example who never wasted a single moment, nor
squandered a single feeling, but turned every thing
to the beneficent account of saving the world, his life
would be more happy, his death more peaceful, and
a brighter crown would wreathe his brow in the
heavenly glory.
5. Every man's beneficence should be proportionate to what he can spare by self-denial. What is
self-denial? Is it to give liberally of our income,
yet withholding for ourselves the whole of the vested
wealth from which it is derived? Is it to make
large donations to the destitute and miserable, retain



PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCE.          103
ingr enough to live according to the fashion of this
world, in luxury and splendor?  Is it to cut off the
extravagances and superfluities of life, reserving for
ourselves all its conveniences and comforts?  Is it
not something more than this?  Look at the spirit
of devotion signalizing the conduct of some Christian philanthropists, of Mrs. Fry, of Sarah Martin,
and of Howard, " the habitual passion of whose mind
was a measure of feeling almost equal to the temporary extremes and paroxysms of common minds."
Look at the self-sacrificing spirit of not a few modern
missionaries-rof a Harriet Newell, a Mrs. Judsonof a Swartz, a Cary, and a Morrison-of a Dober
and a Leopold, who, that they might tell the poor
negroes of a Saviour's love, offered to sell themselves
into slavery, if no other means could be found of
access to them. Look at the patriarchs-Abraham
offering up his son, his only son, at the command
of the Lord; Moses "refusing to be called the son of
Pharaoh's daughter, esteeming the reproach of Christ
greater riches than the treasures in Egypt." Look
at the apostles, counting not their own lives dear
unto them, " rejoicing that they were counted worthy
to suffer shame " in their Master's cause.  Look at
the life of Jesus, at his humiliation, his ignominy,
his agony, and learn what self-denial is. Are you
poor? So was he, yet it was for your sake. Are
you rich?  So was he, yet "he became poor, that ye
through his poverty might be rich." He " redeemed




104     THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for
us."  It is in Christ crucified as a sacrifice for sin,
that we are to learn the full significance of the term
self-denial. It was not simply in his leaving the
bosom of the Father, in his enduring the contradiction of sinners, that Christ's sacrifice consisted, nor
yet in the infamy of being pronounced guilty, and sentenced as a malefactor at a human tribunal; but it
was in the burden of sin which he assumed, and
on account of which he was forsaken of his Father
It was in the agony of soul-the anguish of a spirit
which " knew no sin, yet was made sin for us."  Here
is suffering-sacrifice-here is self-denial in its divinest form. The subjection of our personal ease
and tastes and conveniences, our comforts and time
and possessions, to the will of Christ, for his glory
and human good, is in us, its highest realization. It
leads to the performance of whatever may contribute
to Christ's glory, and to the relinquishment to his disposal of whatsoever of our possessions may subserve
the advancement of his kingdom.
Self-denial is the great law of our religion.  It
began in Christ, our Head. It must pervade all the
members. It led him to give up all for us. It should
lead us to give up all for him. Whosoever therefore
would become a benefactor of the race, must share the
wants and woes of his fellow-men by personal sacrifice,
in his efforts to relieve them. This is self-denial, the
subjection of self to the principle of love, the annihi



PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCE.    105
lation of selfishness, and the enthronement of Christ
in the soul. Away, then, with the idea of ease, of
luxury, when that work of mercy, commenced with
such a sacrifice, is pressing upon the church with all
the urgency of the Saviour's last command. Away
with the idea of convenience, of comfort, when such
a motive calls us to sacrifice and self-denial. Oh, it
is a shame that a work like this should be retarded
by the self-indulgence of the disciples of so self-denying a Master. It is a sin that devoted co-laborers
with him should be allowed to feel the necessity of
retrenchment in their heaven-commissioned work, to
stop their presses, disband their schools, and give back
half-reclaimed territory to the barrenness and blight
of Paganism; and this, because those who sent them
to the work, are unwilling to deny themselves.  We
blush to remember, that in the progress of modern
missions, laborers have been kept back from the
whitening fields, and the reaper's sickle has been
hung upon the bough, and the harvest has wasted
because there were none to gather it, and this for
want of nothing but self-dential.  And we pray the
Lord of the vineyard to forgive our apathy and selfindulgence, to blot out the record of the past, and to
save his people from causing it again to be traced.'Under the most pressing pecuniary embarrassments,
imbued with the beneficent spirit of the gospel, and
influenced by the example of Jesus and the worth
of souls, the church could have doubled her contribu



106     THE MISSION OF THE CHURCtH.
tions from what she might have spared by self-denial.
Constrained by the influence of such motives, selfdenial becomes a kind of self-gratification, and it is
tenfold harder to retain what can be spared by selfdenial, than to lay it at the feet of Christ. Before
the cross, the sanctified soul repels the idea of restricting its offerings to that which costs it nothing.
Gratitude casts all her living into the treasury of
the Lord, and Love pours her most precious ointment
upon the Saviour's dying head. The one feels that
her all is too little, and the other, that her most
costly tribute is too poor to express the fervor of her
affiection, and the entireness of her devotion.
Go, then, walk with Christ in the garden. Stand
by him upon Calvary, and witness his ignominy and
his agony.  Remember, that "He was wounded for
your transgressions," that " He was bruised for your
iniquities." By the crown which he left in heaven,
by the cross which he endured on earth, by the love
which he bears for you, by the worth of the soul for
which he died, he calls you to deny yourself.  By
the superior moral value of the gleanings of selfdenial over the surplusage of abundance, and by the
heavenly glory, the way to which is through his
own sacrifice, he calls you to deny yourself. He
calls you to this, as the only proof that "the same
mind is in you which was also in him." He asks
for your choicest treasures, your best services. Whom
wilt thou deny?  Him, or thyself? When, as from




PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCE.           107
the cross, ye hear him say, "Freely ye have received,
freely give," will ye not freely give? When, as
ascending up on high, ye see him pointing to the
whitening fields, will ye not deny yourselves, that
the wasting harvest may be gathered in?
" Commit to Christ thine all, so shall thy treasure be
Secure from moth and rust, from theft, and fire, and sea;
And in the final day, transmuted to pure gold,
Thy safe investment then shall yield thee wealth untold."
We have now submitted the main principles relating to proportion in beneficence. We have endeavored to show that each man's charitable contributions
should be proportionate to the ends sought, to the
instrumentality to be applied, and to his pecuniary
ability.  We have examined the question of ability
in the light cast upon it by the beneficence of the
Jewish church, by the beneficent spirit of the early
Christians, and by the Bible doctrine, as deduced
from the express declarations of Scripture. We have
also viewed the question of each man's ability, according to which his proportion should be adjusted,
in its relation to the sum total of his property, to
the amount of his income, to what he can earn by
industry, to what he can save by economy, and to
what he can spare by self-denial.
In concluding this part of our subject, we wish
comprehensively to re-state and to enforce the leading MOTIVES which should secure the practical adoption of the principles.




108    T'HE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
1. The devotement to beneficence of a just portion of our property gives to it its highest value
Nothing is more obvious than that the value of
money is wholly relative, and that it is determined
by its use. We concede the legitimate value and
use of property for sustenance and comfort, for intellectual and moral improvement. And the amount
thus applied- should be all that the circumstances
require. What is not necessary for these purposes,
finds its highest value when devoted to beneficence.
Compare its value, when thus consecrated, with that
which it possesses when expended for selfish purposes. One man accumulates and hoards. His gains
answer no higher an end than to inflame a sordid
desire for wealth, and to feed a hidden fire that consumes all humane and generous affections. He makes
" gold his hope, and says unto the fine gold, thou
art my confidence."  He toils for wealth, but when
obtained, he will not use it. And the more he acquires, the less he is satisfied with what he has.
His wants increase faster than his possessions, so
that the richer he becomes, the poorer he feels.
To such madness has this abuse of wealth been permitted, in judicial visitation, to carry men, that the
possessor of thousands has clung to his hoarded
treasures with such an insane tenacity, and been in
such an agony of want for more, that he has died of
actual starvation.  Truly, "There is that maketh
himself rich, yet hath nothing." Well does the




PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCE.    109
Scripture say of such an one, "He shall be buried
with the burial of an ass."  "His riches are corrupted, his garments are moth-eaten, his silver and
gold are cankered, and the rust of them shall be a
witness against him, and shall eat his flesh as it
were fire."
Another accumulates and squanders. Appetite
and pleasure absorb his substance. Disease is engendered, time wasted, vice nurtured, and mind
imbruted. And the more he squanders in sensual
gratification, the more imperious is the demand for
still farther gratification, until " the floor of the
wine-press shall not feed" him, and "he shall eat,
but not have enough." Thus, whether wealth be
hoarded or squandered, it loses its value.  It is an
abuse of the divine bounty-an abuse which deranges
the mental and moral, as well as the physical powers, and dooms the soul to eternal penury-an abuse
which has made the world an abode of paupers and
prodigals, of misers and maniacs.
See, now, the value of wealth when appropriated
to charity.  It feeds the hungry, clothes the naked,
is eyes to the blind, and feet is it to the lame.
It "visits the fatherless and the widow," reclaims
the vicious, and leads wandering, guilty man back
to the fatherly mansions, and to a forgiving God.
Such a use gratifies the benevolent desires, and this
gratification adds to their strength and intensity,
and every such increase of force imparts a greater




110     THIE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
excellence to the character, by bringing it into agree:
ment with the character of God. In this way wealth
attains its highest value. - Thus applied, it harmonizes with the benevolence of the Creator, and with
the compassions of the Redeemer. It is promotive
of the end for which God created man, and of the
objects for which Christ died. Its use is based upon
the recognition of a higher than sensual principle in
man, and a loftier than earthly destiny.  It sets
forth the cross as the grand central attraction, and
proceeds on the conviction that the noblest of all
influences, and the sublimest of all agencies, are
those which combine to draw men unto it. It is,
we repeat, precisely here that wealth attains its
highest value —in subserving the interests of humanity, and the glory of God. This end, from its
intrinsic dignity, imparts to whatsoever means it
employs their greatest worth.  Apart from  this,
nothing is truly noble or exalted. This makes giving the art of gaining-the true philosopher's stone.
It turns the hoarded gold into lead, and the given
mite into gold.  When one sees that beneficence
thus embalms his wealth in the form of its highest
possible value, and gives it to him as a perpetually
increasing fund, as an instrument of good, as a means
of grace, and as an auxiliary of heaven, will he not
labor to acquire, and acquire that he may give?
2. The devotement to beneficence of a just portion of our property, secures our own highest inter



PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCE.    111
ests. It is a satisfaction to know that the proportion
of our substance devoted to beneficence is in agreement with the divine will. It is an additional satisfaction to feel that our wealth is thus attaining its
highest value.  It is a happiness to witness the
blessed influence thus exerted, in the alleviation of
human woe, and the removal of human sin; in
kindling immortal hopes, and adding star after star
to Immanuel's diadem. To know and feel this, is
to enjoy the luxury of doing good.  "When the ear
heard me, then it blessed me; and when the eye
saw me, it gave witness to me: because I delivered
the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that
had none to help him. The blessing of him that
was ready to perish came upon me; and I caused
the widow's heart to sing for joy." Such a use of
our property brings us into harmony with the attributes of God, and with the highest interests of man.
It identifies our interests with the interests of Jehovah. Placing them under the protection of infinite
power and the guidance of infinite wisdom, by the
operation of all moral principles and the immutability of the divine purposes it secures them beyond
the possibility of invasion.
The great secret, then, of advancing our own interests, is in the annihilation of selfishness, and in
assimilation to God. His peculiar blessedness consists in doing good. He " giveth us richly all things
to enjoy."  Air and sunlight, rain and dew, are




112     THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
ceaselessly flowing from his hand. Our happiness
will be like his, as, in beneficence, our lives resemble
his. Hence, it is more blessed to give than to receive; for giving brings us into more perfect sympathy with Christ in his redeeming work, and pours
into the soul the blessedness which he contemplated,
when, "for the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross." What we give is given back to
us again, good measure, pressed down, and running
over. It is this that scattereth, and yet increaseth.
This maketh rich, and addeth no sorrow therewith.
We honor the Lord with our substance and our barns
are filled with plenty, and our presses burst out with
the new wine of joy. We sow bountifully, and we
reap also bountifully of all the fruits of the Spirit. All
that we thus give in charge to Providence, shall
return in the elements of a greater good. All that
we thus employ for Christ, will be treasure laid up
in heaven to await our arrival. For all that we thus
give to the poor, we " shall receive manifold more in
this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting." Thus is solved that old, paradoxical epitaph, "What I kept, I lost; what I gave, I have."
Truly, " There is that maketh himself poor, yet hath
great riches."  When we see that it is only what
we give that enriches us, shall we not give?  When
we see that, in respect to property, we are worth
just the amount of good which we do with it, shall
we not do good?  When we see that beneficence is




PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCE.           113
the chief work of God, that we live in a world of
which the fittest description is, it " is full of his goodness;" when we see that our happiness can be like
his, only as our character and conduct resemble his,
shall we not be beneficent?
3. The devotement to beneficence of a just portion
of our property, promotes the glory of God. This
is the highest motive which can influence holy beings,
the noblest end to which they can devote their lives.
This overwhelms all conflicting influences, and, going beyond all considerations of self-interest, leads to
entire consecration. -It is this-its direction to the
noblest end-that gives to Christian beneficence in
the simplest act, its intrinsic worth and dignity.
This joins, the " farthing" of a grateful love to the
ends for which Jehovah created and is governing
the world. It brings it within that system of means,
by which is to be wrought out, in the recovery of
a lost world, the demonstration that " God is love."
Every beneficent act ascends up high as the throne
of God, and, incorporated among the redeeming agencies of the cross, stretches wide as the curse is found.
It is in this connection of beneficence with the
means and influences by which the Almighty is accomplishing the redemption of the world, "to the
praise and glory of his grace," that we find the
most urgent calls to it. Here motive reaches its
highest power, and argument its most persuasive
appeal. In this is the realization of man's highest
Miss. of Church.     20




114     TIRE MISSION OF TRHE CIIURCIO.
interests, by the attainment of the highest ends of
his being-the ceaseless oblation of his substance
and himself to God, as a living protestation against
the selfishness which dishonors and would dethrone
him.
Is the divine glory promoted by human obedience?
Beneficence is obedience. Is God honored by the
expression of a grateful sense of his goodness? Beneficence is such an expression. Does he delight in
the testimonials of a fervent love? Beneficence is
such a testimonial. " Inasmuch as ye have done it
unto them, ye have done it unto me." Do the opposites of these dishonor God? Covetousness is the
concentration of them all. It closes the ear to his
claims in the cries of his poor, and withholds from
him the heart. It denies him his crown, and places
a stigma upon Christ's voluntary assumption of povorty for the redemption of the world. " Take heed,
and beware of covetousness." It is among the most
humiliating forms of sin-among the greatest triumphs of Satan. Shall we dishonor him whom all
the angels in heaven adore? Shall we withhold
from him what it should be our chief joy to lay at
his feet, our wealth, our influence, our all? By the
highest value of riches, by your own best interests,
by the honor of the Saviour, by the glory of God,
"trust not in uncertain riches."  By the goodness
of the Lord, by the love of Christ, by the bliss of
heaven, be "rich in good works, ready to distribute,




PROPORTION IN BENEFICENCHB.            115
willing to communicate, laying up for yourselves a
good foundation against the time to come, that ye
may lay hold on eternal life."
Thy gold's true worth, thy weal, God's glory, are agreed
Then scatter wide and free thy heaven-intrusted seed;
So shalt thou reap a golden harvest most divine,
And like the brightness of the firmament shalt shine."




116     THE MIISSION OF THE CHURCH.
CHAPTER III.
SYSTEM IN BENEFICENCE.
I. PROVISIONS OF SYSTEM.
No system can be considered as complete, as suited to develope in the church the beneficent spirit of
the gospel, and secure from each of its members a
just proportion of his substance in charitable contributions, which does not make provision for proper
instruction concerning the use of property, and for
communicating information respecting the condi
tion and wants of the world; for the appropriation,
at stated times, by each one, of a due proportion of
his substance to beneficence; and for some plan on
the part of every church for collecting the contributions of its members, and for applying them to the
objects for which they are designed.
1. System in beneficence provides for instruction
concerning the use of property, and for communicating information respecting the condition and
wants of the world. Too much may have been presumed on the knowledge of Christians respecting the
use which God requires them to make of their property, and consequently, in the prosecution of their
business, they have, through ignorance, been exposed
to the growth of a covetous spirit, with the increase
of their possessions. From motives of delicacy, religious teachers who receive their support from the vol



SYSTEM IN BENEFICENCE.            117
untary subscriptions of their people, may have shrunk
from the same degree of explicitness upon this subject which they have felt to be necessary in respect
to other Christian duties. And the difficulty which
some pastors have experienced in securing the full
amount of their support, or the consciousness that
when received it was inadequate for this purpose,
has increased the embarrassment.
And many hearers, who have been ready to applaud the clearest and fullest exposition of dogmatic
truth, have sometimes evinced a remarkable sensitiveness to any direct application of the duty of beneficence. They are sound on all points of accredited
orthodoxy, and lend their approval to the rebukes of
all heresy, except that of believing that their money
is their own, and that they may expend it as they
please, without let or hinderance. That such has
been the feeling of not a few hearers, and such the
condition of some pastors, is quite certain; and as a
natural consequence, many churches, that have been
thoroughly taught in respect to other Christian doctrines and duties, have failed to receive due instruction upon the subject of Christian beneficence.
If a people feel that they are too poor to contribute
to charitable objects, let the pastor ascertain whether
it may not be merely a matter of feeling, occasioned
by the want of more scriptural views, or by the
absence of information respecting the wants of the
world, for which they may justly have looked to




118     THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
him. Are they poorer than the widow who cast
into the treasury of the Lord all her living? If not,
instruct them in the doctrine, and duty, and blessedness of Christian liberality, and they will give.
Spread out before them the wastes and wants of the
world, and they will give. Let them give a little
once, and they will wish to give again, and a little
more. And what they give to other objects will
not be taken from the support of him who is leading them to the luxury of doing good. The specific
for a pastor to starve himself away from his people,
is to decline instructing them in the duty of beneficence, and to withhold from them a knowledge of
the wants of a perishing world. By such a course,
he injures both them and himself, and dishonors his
Master. His people are entitled to instruction. It
is his duty to give it to them. This should enter,
as an important element, into his plans of ministerial labor among them. If they will be covetous,
let them know that no " covetous man, who is an
idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of
Christ and of God." If they refuse to deny themselves, they should understand that self-denial is the
condition of discipleship, and that they have turned
away from the cross, "sorrowful," it may be-yet
they HAVE turned away.
But no; those who love our Lord Jesus Christ
will no more disobey him here than elsewhere, if
they are rightly instructed in their duty.  The




SYSTEM IN BENEFICENCE.            119
church will respond to his calls, if she understands
them. She did do it in the days of the apostles and
primitive Christians, and she is beginning to do it in
our own days. Let the spirit of beneficence, as the
antidote to selfishness, be developed in the hearts of
Christians, by instruction from the pulpit, in the
concert of prayer, or convention. Let the claims of
benevolence be freely canvassed. They are founded
in principles of the most genuine philanthropy and
the purest religion. They are enforced by the power
of the cross. They are urged by the woes of countless millions, and by the bliss of which these millions are capable. Oh, let them be known, let them
be seen by the church, and she will open her arms
to receive them as the representatives of her divine
Redeemer, and honor them with her most precious
treasures. If we would displace covetousness from
the hearts of Christians, and introduce benevolence
in its stead, we must apply the power of Christian
doctrine, and open before them the channels of Christian beneficence, and lure them by the attraction of
Christian motives. This -is God's remedy, and, if
applied, it ~will be made effectual.
If the world is to be recovered by the propagation of Christianity, nothing is more evident than
that the rising generation is to be prepared, by
thorough instruction, for a more martyr-like devotedness, and a higher style of achievement than has
marked the present generation. The hope of the




120      THE MISSION OF THE CIIURCH.
church, in respect merely to its own perpetuity, is,
under God, in the young.  For any reasonable plans
of successful propagation, the main preparatory work
must be with them. The present generation has
accomplished more in this respect than did the last.
The next must go far beyond the present. But, for
this, the spirit of beneficence must be earlier infused
into it, that, through its deeper root in a richer soil,
it may yield a riper and more abundant fruit. " Tell
your children of this, and let your children tell their
children, and their children another generation."
But who shall give this instruction? We answer,
first, an important duty devolves on parents.  They
should teach their children, by precept and example,
to give liberally and systematically.  The shepherd
of the flock has also a responsible agency. It is his
work, made incumbent by his relations to his people,
and by the terms of his commission. The main reliance, under God, for the cultivation of a beneficent
spirit in the church, and for making her charity a
work of intelligence, of principle, and of habit, must
be upon her mninisters.  And auxiliary to the ministry in securing this important result, is the Christian press. By religious journals, and reports of
benevolent societies, by tracts and treatises upon
missions and beneficence, much may be done to diffuse information, cultivate a sense of stewardship,
and awaken the elevated sentiments of Christian
philanthropy. In this view, the religious press is




SYSTEM IN BENEFICENCE.            121
as the right arm of the Christian ministry, the cir —
culation of a good book like a perpetually self-repeating sermon, and all beneficent organizations are as
dutiful handmaids to the Christian church.
2. System in beneficence provides for the appropriation by every one, at stated times, of a due proportion of his property to charitable purposes. This
provision of the system is essential in order to secure
the full benefits of the former provision. Without
something of this, the principles inculcated might be
left inoperative, and the impressions made be soon
effaced, to be revived perhaps, from the pulpit, and
lost again by inaction, or the resumed reign of covetousness. There are three stated periods, the wee/ldy,
the monthly, and the annual, which deserve particular consideration.
(1.) The weekly period.  "UPON THE FIRST DAY
OF THE WEEK," says the apostle to the Corinthians,
" LET EVERY ONE OF YOU LAY BY HIM IN STORE, AS
GOD HATH PROSPERED HIM."  The same direction he
also gives to the Galatians. Here is a simple but
comprehensive system. Each one is required to give
something. This is beneficence. His charity is to
be " as God hath prospered him." This is proportion in beneficence., It is to be laid by " upon the
first day of the week."  This is system in beneficence.
The chief characteristics of this apostolic plan,
PROPORTION AND SYSTEM, are precisely those in re



122     THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
spect to which the beneficence of the church is most
defective. And it is a little singular, that this divine
type should have been left on record for the express
benefit of the church, and yet should have been so
little regarded. It is simple, easy of application,
and effective. That some such plan should not have
obtained general adoption, may perhaps be best accounted for by the absence of that beneficent spirit
which prevailed in the primitive church.
The advantages of this plan are obvious. It rs
the occasion of very frequent recurrence to the providence of God as the source of our prosperity, and of
a recognition of our dependence upon him, and of
our obligation to him for all that we receive. It is
suited to mingle thoughts of him with the pursuit
of all our worldly affairs, so that our religion, instead
of being secularized by our business, is made to elevate and sanctify it, by leading to its prosecution
upon the highest principles. By bringing us to so
frequent a review of our stewardship, it deepens the
feeling of responsibleness, and quickens the sensibilities to the condition of our fellow-men, and to our
final account. The mind being kept thus constantly
familiar with the ennobling principles and constraining motives of Christian beneficence, selfishness is
restrained, and covetousness meets with constant
and almost impassible barriers. Thus a more correct judgment will be formed of the proportion which
duty requires, and the devotement of that proportion




SYSTEM IN BENEFICENCE.          123
will be prompted by more elevated religious affections.
The most indigent can probably lay aside a cent
a week for an object to which they may feel unable,
at any one time, to contribute fifty-two cents. Many
more can invest in this way five, ten, or twenty
cents a week, who would think it impossible to subscribe two dollars and a half, or five dollars, or ten
dollars at any one time in the year, and who perhaps may not, at any one time, be in possession of
an amount so large. And yet, by giving it in small
weekly instalments, they will defraud no one; but,
doing it from gratitude to God and love to man, they
will become better neighbors, better citizens, better
men, and better Christians.
Some forty years ago, a worthy deacon of an
infant church in Vermont adopted this plan, from a
simple desire to obey the injunction of the apostle.
While under the elevating influence of the Sabbath
services, he consecrated to beneficence such a portion
of his income as would meet the measure of his
prosperity. From this deposit the various calls of
charity were answered, and the poor and needy were
never allowed to go empty away, unless it had been
previously much overdrawn. In this practice he
continued until his death, greatly to his own temporal and spiritual advantage; for "his root was spread
out by the waters, and the dew lay all night on his
branch." There are those who still remember the




124     THE MISSION OF THE CHTTRCG.
small tin trunk to which he committed these weekly
instalments, and who, receiving the rich legacy of
his example, bear testimony to its happy influence
upon themselves, the prosperity of the little church,
and the destitute around.
The only plausible objection to this plan may arise
from the difficulty which some might experience in
estimating the profits of their business, so as to adjust their weekly proportion.  With day-laborers,
and multitudes of others, this objection could have
little weight. With not a few it might be removed
by a different mode of conducting their affairs, and
the change might make them safer and more prosperous business men. But those whose vocations
are of such a nature that this plan could not be
fully carried out, might still lay by something,.and
refer the full adjustment of their proportion to the
monthly or annual estimate, as the Jews were allowed to close the appropriation of their tithes for feasts
and sacrifices at the expiration of every third year,
if not done before.
(2.) The monthly period. Those who cannot
decide on their degree of prosperity week by week,
may be able to do it once a month, and to "lay by
in store " accordingly. But for those who adopt the
monthly system, the temptation to withhold may be
increased by their being under the necessity of consecrating a sum four times as large as the weekly
adjustment would require. And there may be less




SYSTEM IN BENEFICENCE.           125
tendency to create a sense of constant dependence
upon God, and to form as perfectly the habit of associating his glory with the prosecution of all their
worldly affairs. Still, as a substitute, in the case of
those who cannot do it oftener, let them adopt the
spirit of the apostolic direction, and "lay by in
store " every month, " as God hath prospered them."
This has been found to possess important financial
as well as religious advantages. Says a prosperous
merchant who has adopted this plan, " This system
has saved me from commercial dangers, by leading
me to simplify business and avoid extensive credits.
It has made me a better merchant; for the monthly
pecuniary observations which I have been wont to
take, though often quite laborious, have brought me
to a better knowledge of the state of my affairs, and
led me to be more cautious and prudent than I
otherwise should have been. Since adopting this
plan, I have been no longer perplexed with doubts
about giving, and there is no one I meet with more
cheerfulness than a servant of Christ calling for
aid."
(3.) The annual period. To an annual survey
of one's business affairs, and an apportionment of
profits to beneficence, there can be no objection from
its impracticability. It accords with the principles
and habits of the best business men, to take an
annual account of stock, and estimate profits and
losses. The reputation and success of any one as a




126     THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
business man require this. Men who do nothing of
it evince so little practical wisdom, that not much
can be expected from them on the score of systematic
beneficence. If they give largely at one time, their
generosity may be at the expense of their justice,
and they cannot be counted upon as having any
thing to give when the call is repeated. But he who
annually casts up his accounts will know what are
his profits, and what the whole amount of his property. Then let him apply the rule of proportion,
and set apart for the cause of his Master, the amount
which that rule requires, and let the consecrated
sum be considered as sacred to charity. Only let
him be sure that the amount does not fall below the
claims of duty, and of well regulated self-interest.
And if he should act upon his right to go a little
beyond mere duty, transcending the stern mandates
of conscience, and borne on by the higher sentiments
of gratitude and love, he would neither do himself
wrong, nor his neighbor harm.
We cannot withhold a joint letter, written in 1822,
to the treasurer of one of our foreign missionary societies, by two individuals who had adopted a plan
similar to that which it has been our object to recommend.
" MWhen, a few years since, we commenced housekeeping, God in his providence saw fit to commit to
our care a small farm in a country town, for which
we owed about one-quarter of its value. We had




SYSTEM IN BENEFICENCE.          127
lead the various accounts of the benevolent exertions
of the day, and were anxious to join with our fellowChristians in their acts of charity. But how could
we obtain the means? Our family must be supported, and we must pay our debts, or we should wrong
one man while giving to another.
"After deliberating upon the subject, and reflecting that what we owed would not probably all be
wanted for several years, we concluded, in the first
place, to attend diligently to business, as God should
give us health and strength, and to expend nothing
for the support of ourselves and family but what was
absolutely necessary for our health and comfort
We then fixed upon a certain proportion of our debts,
which we would endeavor to pay annually, and so
much only, unless more was wanted; but if wanted,
we would pay to the last of our ability. After paying the proportion of our debts agreed upon, the
remainder of our income, whether more or less, was
to be expended, according to the best of our judgment, in doing good.
"WVVhen we adopted this plan, we concluded that
it was best to review it at stated periods, and if we
conscientiously thought it our duty, to alter it; but
not otherwise. After several years' experiment, we
are more and more convinced that it is our duty
strictly to adhere to it. God has blessed our labors
in a remarkable degree. We can almost say that
he has fulfilled to us his promise to Israel, that he




128     THE MISSION OF THIE CHURCH.
would bless them in all that which they should put
their hands unto."
How striking is this illustration of the ease with
which systematic arrangements may be introduced
into our beneficent operations, even in difficult circumstances. Let every disciple of Jesus go and do
likewise, and the days of retrenchment and penury
and mourning to the cause of benevolence would be
ended, and " Israel would blossom and bud, and fill
the face of the world with fruit."
(4.) There is yet one other plan, which has been
adopted by some with advantage. It is that of setting apart a certain portion of each gain in every
enterprise, and devoting it to beneficence. This perhaps approaches nearer to the Jewish system than
either of the others. Of all their several gains, the
Jews were required to give a portion to the Lord, in
the form of first-fruits and tithes. This brought them
almost constantly under the influence of some sacred
claim upon their substance. Everywhere they were
reminded of their dependence upon their Maker, and
of their obligations to him. Everywhere they were
taught that they were constant receivers, by being
called to be constant givers. And why was this but
to prevent and destroy covetousness, and to induce
habits of beneficence? And what could be more
admirably adjusted as means to the end, everywhere
meeting a divine claim, or the most animating motives to liberality? How must such a system bring




SYSTEM IN BENEFICENCE.           129
one into an all-surrounding atmosphere of beneficelnce.
Its advantages are nearly allied to those of the
first-named plan. And the near resemblance of the
system proposed by the Jewish lawgiver to that presented by the Christian apostle, is easily accounted
for by the fact, that both the lawgiver and the apostle were under divine guidance. It was in both
cases the all-creative Mind propounding to man:
principles of beneficence most suited to his character and condition, and most conducive to his highest
interests and the glory of God.
The operation of these principles is beautifully
illustrated in the following epistle, written in 1823,
and addressed to the secretary of one of our benevolent societies.
" I have long been desirous of rendering some aid
to your society.  My circumstances, however, have
been such that I knew not how to contribute money.
But having recently commenced business, with very
moderate prospects, it occurred to me that I had a?ight, if it were not clearly my duty, to set apart a
certain portion of the Lord's gifts, for his cause in
the earth. I have therefore taken a certain part of
every gain, small or great, and devoted it to the
service of God. I would not trouble you with this
communication, were it not to tell you of the saTisfaction I have derived from this plan. The money
laid aside is not considered mine. The only inquiry,
Mios. of Church.    2 1




130'T'ItT E IS ISSION 01F'I'lE  ('iiUI'tRCH.
when an application is made, is,' Have I any thing
in the treasury, and how can I dispose of it to the best
advantage?' I feel as though I were putting my hand
into the Lord's treasury and acting for him. I have
no doubt, sir, that the deductions made on every
gain have been saved in carefulness and economny."
Who can resist the conviction of the superior excellence of such principles as this letter and the preceding illustrations exhibit? Who can doubt the
utility of reducing them, as these Christians did, to
systematic operation? Were they not better for their
beneficence; richer in all that which constitutes
true worth-richer in the means and the desire of
doing good-richer in all the elements of rational
enjoyment here, and in the immortal hopes of blessedness hereafter?
3. System in beneficence provides for some plan
in every church for collecting its charitable contributions, and for applying them  to the objects for
which they are designed. It is obvious that this is
essential to the completion of a perfect system.
There are some objects to which the donors themselves should be the distributers of their own bounty,
as the poor, the sick, and the afflicted, within the
sphere of their immediate action. The benign and
salutary influence of bestowing private charities is
too precious to be lost by making another the almoner of our bounties, when we are in circumstances
to apply them ourselves.




SYSTEMI IN BENEFICENCE.          1a1
It is mainly with respect to the prominent and
accredited institutions of benevolence, whether relating to the claims of our own or of other countries,
that this part of our system is to be arranged. Foi
these various objects, collections are sometimes taken
at the close of public service, at the time when the
objects are presented.  It is an objection to this
method, that it leaves out of account those who may
on such occasions be absent, and secures a smaller
sum from those who are present, than a different
plan might elicit.  Cards are sometimes placed in
the slips of the church, upon which each one is
requested to write his name, with the sum which
he wishes to give.  In addition to the above-named
objection, which is equally applicable to this mode,
many who would otherwise contribute a little, disliking to place their names to a small sum, subscribe
nothing. We believe that by some wise system, a
larger amount may be secured, and with greater
advantage to the donor. The minutia of a plan
for charitable collections must be determined by the
peculiar circumstances of the case. Little more can
here be done than to draw the outline of one, which
can be filled up by those who may carry it into
operation.
Let provision be made by the church, at the openinlg of the year, for the presentation of the claims of
the various benevolent objects at stated times, and
let one or more suitable persons be appointed for




132     THE MISSION OF THE CHURCiI.
each different object, to solicit donations in its behalf.
When these stated periods arrive, it will be ill
harmony with the provision for systematic instruction, for the pastor, either himself or by an agent, to
present such facts and principgles as will increase the
religious intelligence of the people, elevate in their
minds the great work of Christian beneficence, and
bring them more under the influence of appropriate
motives to liberality, in behalf of the particular object presented.
Let the solicitors appointed follow the presentation
of these claims by calling3f'om house to house, giving an opportunity to each individual, children as
well as parents, to contribute what they may have
appropriated for the object, answering any inquiries,
and imparting such additional information as they
way be able to give.
Let each one of these solicitors make a list of the
names of those upon whom he calls, with the several sums contributed by each, to be given to the
pastor when the collection is completed. Of the
sum total of his collections let him also make a return
to a treasurer chosen for the purpose, or to the pastor, by whom the money will be transmitted as soon
as practicable to the treasurer of the society for
which it is designed.
From the lists returned for the several objects
during the year, let the pastor make arn annual




SYSTEM IN BENEFICENCE.            13
report to the church and congregation, with such
instructions and remarks as the facts in the case
may suggest.
Such are the provisions which seem essential to a
complete system in beneficence, whether viewed in
relation to the wants of the church, or the condition
of the world. A system like this imposes a duty
upon pastors, upon individual Christians, and upon
the church. It secures instruction and religious information, thus touching most effectively the springs
of beneficent action. It provides for a stated time,
at which each one shall apply the rule of proportion, and lay by in store according to the ability
that God giveth. It includes a simple but comprehensive plan for charitable collections, and for applying funds to the objects for which they are designed.
It is in harmony with the means appointed by the
Redeemer fbr the sanctification of his people, and
through them for the salvation of the world. And
it may be regarded as a recommendation to this plan,
that while it recognizes the instrumentality of the
general benevolent organizations, as the applying
agents of the church, their influence comes in to
confirm, rather than disturb the relations of the pastor to his people, and to impress upon the church its
responsibility in regard to its beneficent missioT as
the great divinely instituted body for the world's
conversion.




134     THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
II. TENDENCIES AND ADVANTAGES OF SYSTELM.
1. System in beneficence diminishes the expenditure of benevolent societies for agencies.  It is
one of the evils resulting from the present unsystematized beneficence of the church, that so much
expenditure is necessary for the support of agents
for collecting funds. There can be no doubt, that
in regard to the principal benevolent organizations,
some expenditure of this kind in the past state of
things has been necessary. But any considerable
appropriation for this purpose has come to be felt by
all to be a serious drawback, not only in respect to
the funds thus expended, but also from its tendency
to occasion distrust in the minds of the less informed
and less interested. And it is also felt that the
time has come when, by means of system, nearly
the whole of this expenditure might be saved. The
secretaries and officers could communicate intelligence to the pastors and churches through reports
and periodicals. The pastors could diffuse information by the circulation of these publications, and by
their own preaching impart such instruction as might
secure systematic contributions, and regular remittances to the treasurers of the several societies. This
plan carried out would be found effective, and would
save to the cause of beneficence thousands of dollars.
But would it be safe to discontinue all agencies
for the collection of funds? This question will find




SYSTEM IN BENEFICENCE.            135
anl answer in the reply to another question.  Will
the pastors and churches adopt the plan?  Will they
reduce their beneficence to system, and carry out the
system? If they will do this, it will be safe. Indeed,
there seems scarcely an alternative. The business
of raising funds belongs to the churches. The tendency, in the progress of benevolent operations, especially for the last few years, has been to devolve it
upon them. It should not be a matter of expense
to those organizations whose appropriate work is to
apply these charities. This expense is not allowed
in other corporate institutions. The stockholders
pay in their assessments at their own expense. And
thus it should be in furnishing supplies for our benevolent associations; and thus it might be, if Christians would conduct their beneficence as other men
do their business, on principles of economy and by
system, not allowing "the children of this world"
to be " wiser than the children of light."
2. System in beneficence tends to secure a larger
number of contributors.  It has been ascertained,
that of the professed Christians who regard one of
our oldest and most efficient boards as the organ of
their appropriations for foreign missions, but little
more than one half contribute any thing to promote
the object. Can it be that they feel no interest in a
work so plainly enjoined by the Head of the church?
Is not the reason rather to be found in the want of
instruction respecting their duty, of information con



136     THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
cerning the condition of the world, and of a systematic plan for securing their cooperation?
The churches which include the largest number
of regular contributors, are those on which most preparatory labor has been expended. Let the same
labor be bestowed upon other churches, and according to their ability will their members become interested and uniform coworkers with other laborers in
the vineyard of the Lord. Let them have arrangement, system, plan in beneficence, and they will
bring forth fruit in this department of duty as certainly, as by similar means they do in other departments. He who performs one religious duty from
the right principle, may be led by proper influences
to perform any other.
Thus does system in beneficence tend to secure to
charitable enterprises a larger number of contributors, and to make their cooperation more regular and
effective. It opens fountains of benevolence " in a
dry and thirsty land, where no water is," and turns
intermittent springs into the sources of perennial
streams, which shall fertilize the barren wastes, and
" make glad the city of our God."
3. System in beneficence tends to secure from
each contributor an amount more proportionate to
his ability. Men sometimes do less than duty requires, for no other reason than that they do not
know how little they are doing. System would tend
to remove this difficulty, and to raise the standard of




SYSTEM IN BENEFICENCE           137
their liberality. Those who give at random, and
from impulse, frequently imagine that the amount of
their charities is greater than it really is. This rnisapprehension leads them to withhold more than they
would otherwise feel at liberty to withhold. System
would correct this mistake, and enlarge their dona
tions. Many, also, give little, because they have no
plan for giving any thing. The thing wanting is a
purpose. There may be the elements of beneficence,
but they are chaotic. What is needed is development and direction. Temporary ebullitions are not
sufficient. Fitful, meteoric bursts of feeling are followed by a darker day of apathy and inaction. Extraordinary, spasmodic exertion, occasioned by the
galvanism of large assemblies and exciting speeches,
is not the kind of effort which the objects of beneficence demand. There may be excitement awakened-enthusiasm. No vast and noble achievements
are secured without this. But how unlike to an
elevated moral state are those flashes of benevolent
feeling, which for a moment astonish the beholders
by their glare, and in a moment more leave them in
equal amazement at the darkness which follows.
The excitement which the church needs to bring
its beneficence into agreement with its ability, is
occasioned by deeply pondering the principles of the
gospel, and considering the miseries and the guilt
of mankind; by constant contemplation of the character of Jesus, and communion and sympathy with




138     THE MISSION OF THIE CHURCHI.
him.  It is enthusiasm  generated by the spirit of
God in the deep well-springs of the soul, which bears
the whole man right on, over all obstacles, in the
steady prosecution of the great work of beneficence.
It is excitement and enthusiasm which come from
the union of the heart and the head, the blending of
feeling and intellect in a uniform, growing desire to
do good. Where this is, there is little danger that a
man's charities will be disproportionate to his means.
Every one in whose heart this healthful excitement
has been produced, will give "to his power," and
be willing even "beyond his power." Yet this is
no hot-bed process of forcing unnaturally the benevolent sympathies. Nothing is done that, in seasons
of serenest reflection, could occasion a moment's
regret. All is calm, quiet, Christian deliberation.
Reason approves it, conscience approves it, and the
word of God approves it.
But alas, for want of this, how comparatively lean
is the charity of the church. She grazes in barren
fields. Caprice, accident, self-indulgence, or apathy,
often determines the objects and time and amount of
charitable contributions.  Multitudes of the poor remain still unrelieved, of the ignorant unenlightened,
and of the vicious unreclaimed. The field ripens
faster than the reapers are ready to gather in the
harvest. To millions who need the gospel, and to
many who ask for it, the church does not give it.
The demand vastly outruns the supply. And so it




SYSTEM IN BENEFICENCE.            139
will be, until the church comes to act, in her beneficence, upon principle and by system.  Till then, in
her means of fulfilling her high mission, and executing the last charge of her Lord and Master, she will
be poor, while her individual members, for all other
purposes, may be rich.
4. System in beneficence tends to give to charitable contributions the more scriptural form offree-will
ofjerings, and thus to render them more acceptable
to the Lord, and a means of greater good to men.
The scriptural idea of charity is love, good-will; and
when donations to the poor are called charity, it is
by metaphor, wherein the action or the gift receives
the name of the feeling supposed to have prompted
it. But it is often a misnomer to apply such a word
to the donations of those esteemed charitable.  It is
true, that funds which are relinquished to the cause
of beneficence may be attended with good to the
recipients.  God may employ them for such a result
on the ground of his own right in them. But his
ordinary mode of procedure leads to the conviction,
that less good can be expected from such donations
than from the free-will offerings of affection, while
to such reluctant releasers of their property we filnd
no promised reward. And although, in respect t.o
the condition of the poor and the wants of the worll7,,
this is a better disposition of their wealth than to
hoard or squander it, still they lose the blessing which
follows the free-will offering, because, in what they




140     THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
do, "they sacrifice to their own net, and burn incense to their own drag."
There are others who have principle and feeling, which are called into action in other departments of duty, but not here. They pray from prin
ciple, but give grudgingly or of necessity; or they
contribute to sustain the gospel at home from love
to that gospel, but have made its diffusion a subject
of so little inquiry and prayer, that the same feeling
hardly prompts them to do any thing for extending
its blessings. So that often what they are constrained to yield to this object approaches, in their
mind, to a kind of religious extortion. Such a man
gives as little as he can, consistently with the generally received opinion that all professing Christians
should give something. When he can plead inability without incurring the odium of penuriousness, he
does it; and when he gives, it is reluctantly, and
without faith or charity.
Now, what such a man needs, in order to change
his views and his habits of giving, is, together with
a larger measure of the divine Spirit, system, instruction respecting his duty, and a plan for doing it. Let
him be taught whose is the silver and the gold, and
why it is intrusted to him; that the great business
of a disciple, so far as his property is concerned, is to
give asfreely as he has received.  Let his thoughts
dwell on the import of that petition which he so often
repeats, " Thy kingdom come," until he feels that by




SYSTEM IN BENEFICENCE.            141
his agency its advent may be hastened. Let him go
to the cross and view his possessions there, and he
will attain a moral elevation unreached before; his
eye will catch visions new and strange to him, and
he will begin to feel that wealth is power, and that
it is a blessed thing to wield that power for the good
of his fellow-men. He is now predisposed to look
with favor on some plan for beneficence which may
be submitted to his inspection. He has a new object
to live for. New enlargement is given to his mind.
New thoughts take possession of him. A new spirit
inspires him. His donations, now prompted by love,
are set apart as sacred to charity, and this gives to
them the form and spirit of free-will offerings. And
what is thus offered is accepted; for,
"Where love is, the offering evermore is blest."
This is the spirit of true beneficence, which leads to
the voluntary consecration of one's entire self, body,
soul, and spirit, "a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto the Lord." It puts charitable donations
into the most acceptable and pleasing form. It
writes " holiness to the Lord " upon every thing, and
converts human instrumentality into divine appliances for the recovery of lost man. How great would
be the addition of moral power to the beneficent
agencies of the church, if all her bounty came regularly and systematically as free-will offerings to
the Lord.




142     THIE MISSION OF THE CHURCI.
5. System in beneficence tends to make free-will
offerings the fruit of a more cheerful spirit, and renders beneficence a delight, as it is a duty.  "The
Lord loveth a cheerful giver," and he who gives
cheerfully finds delight in giving. But seldom does
one experience much pleasure in beneficence, who has
left it to the contingencies of accident or circumstance.  The call may come when he is "unprepared," because his bounty has not been "made up
beforehand;" or he may have some sense of duty, but
not be sufficiently influenced by the motives for doing
good to make it a pleasure.
In order that doing good may be a cheerful and
happy work, it should be, in principle at least, a
business. And in this, as in other things, practice
leads to perfection. Exercise gives strength to the
benevolent as well as to the social affections. Giving once is seed sown, of which the fruit is a disposition to give still more.  Scattering to the poor increases both the desire and joy of scattering. And
these will be still more increased by the adoption of
a regular, systematic plan for doing it.
By system, preliminaries are arranged, resources
provided, and the proportion adjusted and consecrated to the Lord. Nothing remains but to make the
appropriation. Such a man has no conflict with
covetousness. The battle has been fought, and the
victory won. He is impeded by no doubts respecting the worthiness and importance of the object.




SYSTEM IN BEN'FICENCE.           14:3
He is hindered by no pleas of human imperfection
in the workings of accredited disbursing agencies.
Nothing causes hesitancy or misgiving. He lays
his offering upon the altar with a cheerfulness and
delight which he has experienced in no other mode
of employing his property, and his only regret is, that
it is no larger. This is the pleasure of beneficence,
the luxury of doing good-to see joy lighted up in
the abodes of poverty and distress, to hear of blessings conferred through Bibles and books distributed,
and the gospel proclaimed. It is a pure and permanent delight.  When it has passed away as a
present consciousness, it continues as a joyful reflection, and a sweetly impelling force to still more
enlarged plans of beneficence.
One who thus regulates his charities by plan, is
always ready to give when he is called upon, and
always cheerful in giving, because he is ready. Far
from looking upon the solicitors for benevolent objects
as religious mendicants, whom he sends from his
door with only a covetous' Be ye warmed and filled,"
yet "giveth not those things which are needful," he
deals to them liberally of what he has " laid by him
in store," and to this adds his grateful God-speed
to them in so noble a mission. Yea, his benevolence
waits not to be asked, but impelling him by a spirit
which " seeketh not her own," he goes forth unurged,
unsolicited, to minister to the objects of want and ol
woe. He cannot keep his Lord's money long hid in




144      THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
a napkin. He puts it speedily to the exchangers,
that it may gain more for his Master's use. To do
good with his property has become his habit. It is
his business, his pleasure, his life. He has experienced the blessedness of doing good, and now nothing
can prevent him from continuing his enjoyment of
it. He has discovered the true value of wealth in
discovering the right way of using it. He is happiest himself when he does most to make others
happy.
Here is the great secret of happiness, the panacea
for half of earth's afflictive ills-" to do good, and to
communicate."  It is the intenseness of desires concentrated upon self which makes the soul a prey to
itself, and multiplies its artificial wants and its corroding cares, and deprives it of the joys of life. Let
men do good, and they will find happiness. To
many of a constitutionally morbid temperament, who
are almost strangers to the sweet sunlight of life, or
to those over whose spirits the blight of hope has cast
a cloud, let'it be said,
": Whoso would sun himself in peace, may be seen of her in
deeds of mercy,
When the pale, lean cheek of the destitute is wet with
grateful tears."
Where can the afflicted find consolation so readily
as in assuaging the griefs of others? In their missions of mercy, they shall find a blessed ministration
made to themselves by the great Comforter.




SYSTEM IN BENEFICENCE.              145
"Wouldst thou from sorrow find a sweet relief?
Or is thy heart oppressed with woes untold?
Balm wouldst thou gather for corroding grief?
Pour blessings round thee like a shower of gold.
*      *      *      -      X       *
The seed that in these few and fleeting hours
Thy hands unsparing and unwearied sow,
Shall deck thy grave with amaranthine flowers,
And yield thee fruits divine in heaven's immortal bowers."
6. System in beneficence tends to give consistency.znd eliciency to the character of Christians, by bringing their life into harmony with their doctrines and
professions. The piety of the church needs consistency and symmetry. And this because it needs system to bring its practice into harmony with its doctrines and professions. There is a glaring contrariety
between the standards cf the church and its beneficent action. This is observed by the infidel, and is
used as a reproach. It is perceived by the pagan as
soon as he understands our professed belief and our
practical disbelief " If you Christians have known
all these things," said an inquisitive heathen to the
first missionary at Bombay, " and really thought that
we heathens must perish unless we believe in your
Jesus Christ, how could you leave so great a part of
the world for so many generations to go down to perdition, without coming sooner to tell us of this only
way in which we can be saved?" How can such
most natural questions be answered, except by tho
admission of great inconsistency?
Miss. of Church.      22




146      THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
We recognize the justness of the comparison in ou
Saviour's declaration, that it shall profit a man nothing to " gain the whole world and lose his own soul,"
and yet we seem almost to have reversed the comparison in our systematic exertions, seeking the world
as the infinite good, and passing by the soul as of
little worth.  We admit that "the cares of the
world, and the deceitfulness of riches, cholie the word,
and render it unfruitful," and yet we cultivate these
cares and riches, as if they would make our hearts a
more fertile soil for the good seed. We profess to give
up all for Christ, and yet live much as if we admitted his claim to nothing. We admire the spirit
of the martyrs, but have little idea of witnessing for
the cause in which they died by the surrender of any
considerable amount of our property for its advancement. We profess to have laid up our treasure in
heaven, but from all visible appearances, far the
greater portion of it is still on the earth. In our
creeds, we renounce "the world, the flesh, and the
devil;" and in our lives practically renounce our
creeds, which contain such  a renunciation.  We
pledge ourselves, in our profession, to entire consecration, and seal our vows in " the cup of blessing,"
tand yet evince by our practical reservations'that we
do not feel obligated by these vows.  Doctrinally,
the church admits self-denial as the condition of discipleship; practically, as a body, she construes the
condition as consistent with the denial of almost




SYSTEM IN BENEFICENCE.            147
every thing rather than self. The practical signifi.
cancy of the golden rule with many, is the surfeiting, of self from the table of abundance, and the
bestowment upon our poor neighbor of the crumbs
that fall therefrom. Our great Exemplar was selfdenying, and we admit ourselves bound to be like
him, yet our course of life is eminently self indulgent.
The church is organized for aggressive movement,
but as a body remains stationary. As she strives
for more extended empire, she strengthens, and yet
she strives not. Inaction enfeebles her, and yet she
is comparatively inactive. It is by scattering that
she increases, and yet she scatters little.  Exporting
her treasures enriches her, and yet, for the greater
part, she consumes them at home. Keeping her
goods is her bane, and yet she keeps them. Hiding
her Lord's money, it shall be taken away, and yet
she hides it.
Is this consistency? Is there not a sea of apathy
lying between our creeds and our conduct, between
our doctrines and our deeds? The Saviour and the
perishing world are on one side; the body of the
church, with its wealth, is on the other. The voice
says, " Come over and help us;" but there is no answ-;ering movement.  There is indeed some stir in
the camp of the Lord's hosts, some feeble attempts
at crossing —a few bold leaders have seized the ark,
and borne it over. But what are these from  so
many?  And these are left to fight almost alone.




148      THE MISSION 01' THE CHURCH.
What are two or three thousand missionaries for six
hundred millions of benighted souls?
What, now, is needed?  We answer, consistency.
Nothing but consistency in the life of the church.
The fault is not in her creeds. Her organization is
in harmony with the letter and spirit of her cornmission. Her professions and admissions are explicit
and full.  The fault is in her practice-the life of
her members. In this, she virtually disowns her
creeds, repudiates her organization, and contradicts
her admissions and professions. Without plan in
beneficence, this contrariety is reduced to system.
Men pursue their various schemes for self-indulgence
or self-aggrandizement most systematically.  When
we contemplate the grandeur of the objects proposed
to her, and the comparative pittance which she
relinquishes for their accomplishment, we are constrained to say, that she is systematic in the diverston of her energies and her possessions from the
great end to which her doctrines and her professions
direct them-systematic in self-contradiction.
Now, let this order of things be reversed-let the
system be extended from schemes of selfishness to
those of benevolence-let plans be formed for harrnonizing the practice of the church with its doctrines
and professions-let her charitable contributions be
made from  an elevated Christian devotion, and be
proportionate to the legitimate objects of beneficence,
and regularly applied; and how changed will be the




SYSTEM IN BENEFICENCE.            149
whole aspect and condition of the church. As she
joins with Christ in his great work, he will join with
her in a visible success, that will animate her hopes
and strengthen her courage for renewed effort and
fresh victories. What symmetry and beauty would
such a change impart to her-to cease planning for
self-indulgence, and to begin to plan for the glory of
God. How would she put on her beautiful garments,
the fragrance whereof is like the smell of "myrrh
and of cassia."  " No weapon that is formed against
her shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise
against her in judgment, she shall condemn." " She
shall break forth on the right hand, and on the left;
and her seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make
the desolate cities to be inhabited."
7. System in beneficence tends to raise the church,
in her charitable contributions, to a more elevated
Christian devotion. Whatever shall lead the church
to a greater simplicity of purpose, and give her a more
single eye to the glory of Christ-whatever shall kindle in her the spirit of entire consecration-whatever
shall train her to a higher standard of faith and a
more ardent love, and a purer and more constant
zeal-whatever shall give an elevated Christian basis
to her benevolent efforts, and excite a more intense
longing after the coming of Christ's kingdom, will
directly augment her moral power, and give increased efficiency even to the present rate of charitable
contributions. God requires the pecuniary resources




150     THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
of the church, not because he cannot accomplish his
plans of redemption without them, but because he
sees that it will be for her advantage to do it by
means of those resources. His object is to perfect in
his people their estrangement from the world and
their devotion to him, while he employs this devotion
as the means of accomplishing his scheme of redeem
ing love towards the race.
And in proportion as this spirit of obedience and
self-denial and love is increased, however small the
amount of charitable donations which it yields, the
work of beneficence will be found advancing. If the
resources of the church are only as a "handful of
meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruise," with
the devotement of these in the spirit of entire consecration, "the barrel of meal shall not waste, neither
shall the cruise of oil fail," until the whole work be
accomplished.  He who could feed five thousand
with "five loaves and two fishes," can convert the
world through the generous, self-denying sacrifices of
his people, be they ever so small. On the other hand,
the absence of this spirit leaves the church to declension, and the world to perish, although the richest
mines in the bosom of the earth be dug up and cast
into her treasury.  Though we "bestow  all our
goods to feed the poor, and have not love, it profiteth
nothing."  Who have accomplished so much for modern missions, in proportion to their means, as the
Moravians?  When their whole number did not ex



Y.S'TErrtN  F' nEFICENCE.        151
ceed six hundred persons, a large part of whom were;
exiles, they began the beneficent work of Christian
missions.  At the expiration of ten years, they had
carried the light of truth to Lapland, Greenland, St.
Croix, Surinam, and to the Indians of North America; to Algiers, the cape of Good Hope, Ceylon, and
Tartary.  Whatsoever they possessed which could
subserve so sublime an end, they laid upon the altar
with a noble and self-denying devotion to Christ;
and their success was according to their faith and
love. So it was in the first propagation of Christianity. It was not their numbers, nor was it their
wealth which gave such signal triumphs to the primitive followers of Christ, but it was their invincible'moral courage, their ardent love, their untiring zeal,
their pure Christian devotion.
It is the spirit of entire consecration which makes
the soul rich in all the elements of liberality. It is
a simple, confiding trust in Providence, a warm and
glowing love to Christ, which, withholding all sacrifices to pride and fashion, and pervading the whole
business and arrangements of life with the spirit of
supreme devotion to God, produces a degree of beneficence which men who live unto themselves deem
extravagant and ruinous. This entire subjection of
the soul to Christ forms a style of philanthropists
who, in the esteem of many even in the church, are
so far beyond the requirements of reason and Scripture, that their influence is lost as examples, and




152     THE MISS10N OF THE CIIURCH.
they are considered as fit only for ridicule or admiration. And this, because the spirit of the world has
crept into and corrupted the church. Her beneficence is meagre, and upon low and earthly principles.
Her light is dim. Her strength is weakness.  Her
enemies exult over her. Feebly does she fulfil her
mission to the poor, the ignorant, and the vicious at
home. Still more feebly does she execute her conmmission to the PagaLn, the Mohammedan, and the
Jew abroad. Nothing but supreme devotion to Christ
will restore her beneficent power, and open fountains
of benevolence, and send forth streams, "to satisfy
the desolate and waste ground, and cause the bud of
the tender herb to spring forth."
Urgent as are the calls for funds from the wasteplaces of our own country and from heathen lands,
there is a greater urgency that the whole subject
of beneficence be canvassed and systematized, and
placed on a higher and broader ground of Christian
principle and Christian devotion.  This done, the
requisite amount of contributions will be made sure,
and the condition of their greatest efficacy will be
complied with.
The very attempt to form a system will give a
new impulse and elevation to all the beneficent movements of the church. And the incorporating in a
plan, of such influences as 1ed to its formation, will
give them permanency as causes, of which still other
advantages will be the legitimate effects. The plan




SYSTEM IN BENEFICENCE.            153
has given these influences prominence, as elements
of a man's daily life. They interweave themselves
in all his thoughts and business. What was low in
the church would thus be raised up; what was weak,
would be made strong; what was wavering, would
be confirmed, and her beneficent career become like
the rising light, "shining more and more unto the
perfect day."
" Oh, then, let her scatter broadcast of her seed,
Rich in prayer, and in alms, and in every good deed,
Till her seed-grain is garnered in ripe golden sheaves,
And her guerdon of glory from Christ she receives."
8. System in beneficence tends to promote union
among Christians of different denominations, and
thus to increase the moral power of the whole church
for the good of the world. The ground of hope that
the adoption of system in beneficence would increase
the spirit of union among the several denominations
is, that it presents a common object to be accomplished, and a common plan for accomplishing it.
How might all distinctions of name and sect be
blended in the great work of blessing the world, like
the primary colors in the beams of light, that gladden the earth and make it fruitful. Or, at least,
how might they be so harmonized, like these same
colors set in the resplendent arch of glory which
spans the darkened heaven, as to betoken that the
wrathful storms are past, and to give promise of
perpetual peace. And this hope is the greater, in



154     THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
asmuch as the main object is, not to unite the church,
but by new ccnquests to enlarge it-not to form a
new association, but to perpetuate and make universal an old one. It is not so much to harmonize
creeds, as to give system and consistency and efficiency to practice. However much may be gained
in the work of uniting the church by discussions and
conferences and alliances, it will readily be admitted
that much more may be done by leading the followers of Christ to a self-denying, systematic effort for
the conversion of the world.
It is to action, rather than discussion, that we
look with most sanguine expectations for the union
of the church. By the former, good men will work
themselves, in a common cause, into greater doctrinal or ecclesiastical proximity, while, by the latter,
they may reason and resolve themselves into a wider
separation. The one places them upon their points
of difference. Passion and self-interest, always irrelevant in the search after truth, creep in and blind
the eye, and inflame the zeal for fortifying and defending those points. The other sets them upon their
points of agreement, and all their ardor of engagement deepens their sense of the absolute and relative
importance of these points. Each will rejoice in
the fruits of the labor of all, as ripened by the same
divine influence, and gathered from the same common field. "Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and
Judah shall not vex Ephraim. But they shall fly




SYSTEM IN BENEFICENCE            155
upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the
west; they shall spoil them of the east together."
A common cause gives them  common sympathies
and bonds of attachment. By engaging in earnest,
and upon system, in the great work of doing good,
the whole church is pervaded by one spirit, the
spirit of Christian beneficence, influenced by one molive, elevated by one sentiment, the tendency of all
which is to overpower sectarian peculiarities, and
melt the whole company of disciples into one mass,
and mould them after one divine likeness. Instead
of repelling the world by her frowning battlements
reared for intestine warfare, the church, united in her
separate sections, like the several tribes of Israel in
one common phalanx, and moving at the sound of
the same " silver trumpet," towards the same land of
promise, would attract and subdue the world.
By what namne soever you may call yourself, if you
are a child of God, the points on which you differ from
your brethren are probably fewer, and certainly less
important, than those in which you agree with them.
The views and feelings which characterize both you
and them, as the friends of God and of man, are the
catholic views and feelings-the only bond of a common fellowship among all the regenerate and holy
on earth and in heaven. These constitute precisely
that character which qualifies all Christians to engage in the work of beneficence with the highest degree of success, and which, the more earnestly and




1 56    THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
systematically that work be prosecuted, assumes more
and more the ascendency over all dividing lines and
enfeebling agencies. This would give to the church
a union, and a power and stability from union, to
which she is now a stranger. The preponderating
force would be a centripetal force. The attraction
would be to a common centre, by a common law
of affinity. With what deep grief did the devoted
Martyn, an attached member of the church of England, hear, while at Aldeen, of an order of the
British government, to prevent his Baptist brethren
from preaching and distributing tracts. " So perplexed and excited was he by the intelligence," says
his biographer, "that it even deprived him of sleep.
And he spoke afterwards with so much vehemence
against the measures of government, as upon reflection, to afford him  matter of self-condemnation."
" How small and unimportant," exclaims this heroic
servant of God, in view of the combined powers of
evil that oppose the progress of the church in heathen lands-" how small and unimportant are the
hair-splitting disputes of the blessed people at home,
compared with the formidable agents of the devil,
with whom we have to combat here."
We would not affirm, that all differences of opinion and denominational distinctions would necessarily disappear, even in the most systematic and
successful prosecution of the work of beneficence.
We only say, that the elements of system are the ele



SYSTEM IN BENEFICENCE.            157
ments of success, and that these, combining a rule
that is safe with motives that are sufficient are
common to all the followers of Christ.  We say,
"the field is the world," the harvest is already ripe,
the command is, " Go, work in my vineyard." The
world is to be saved by the inculcation of those
essential doctrines on which the disciples of Christ
are agreed. Christianity is, therefore, incomparably
better than the peculiarities of any sect of Christians.
Let it be remembered, that our Saviour's last command to the church is, " Go ye into all the world,
and preach the gospel to every creature," and let
her begin this work in earnest and upon system,
and strifes will cease. Discordant tempers and conflicting interests will be harmonized in hearts fused
into one common constraining love, by the ardor of
their zeal in the accomplishment of one common,
sublime end. Let the church task herself to minister to the poor and distressed, to give the word of
God free course in every language and dialect under
heaven, to place Bunyan's Dream in the hand of
every pilgrim to the "celestial city," and to make
Doddridge and Baxter as living preachers in the
tent of the Arab, the hovel of the Hindoo, the hut of
the Hottentot, the wigwam of the Indian-in every
human habitation setting forth the simple power of
the cross-grace, in its beginning and continuance
iLa the soul, the same in every age and every clime,
Alad its consummation in "the saints' everlasting




158     THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
rest." Let the church begin and continue this work
systematically till it is completed, and in the symmetry and consistency and beauty and power acquired in such a work, let those who together have
achieved such victories, return and strive and
dispute with and malign each other, if they can.
Their differences would all disappear in their love
and labor for the common cause, or, by general consent, would be allowed to cause no unhallowed
division among brethren on earth, and would be
left to be lost in the harmonies of heaven.
We have now contemplated beneficence in its most
prominent aspects, as Christian, proportionate, and
systematic. We have analyzed it in relation to its
distinguishing spirit, in the elements or motives
which give to it its moral character. We have considered it in the degree of effort which each one is
called upon to make, as indicated by the wants of
the world, the instrumentality for supplying those
wants, and the ability of each one to aid in applying
that instrumentality. We have surveyed it in respect
to the presentation of its appropriate motives, and
the plan for carrying its principles into most efective
operation.  We have seen the tendency of system in
beneficence to diminishl the expenditures of beneVolent societies, and enable them to prosecute their
work on more effective plans; to enlarge the number
of contributors to benevolent objects; to give to their




SYSTEM IN BENEFICENCE.            159
contributions greater regularity; to make them more
proportionate to each man's ability; to impart to
them the more acceptable form offree-will offerings,
thus increasing their moral value; to render beneficence a delight, by causing it to flow from a more
cheerful spirit; to give increased consistency to
Christian character; to raise the benevolent action
of the church to a more elevated Christianc devotion; and to promote union among Christian denominations, thus bringing the whole united church
into active cooperation with Jehovah in the redemption of the world.
CONCLUSION.
We hardly need say, that in the work of reducing
beneficence to system in the church, and prosecuting
it vigorously, more, under God, depends upon pastors, than upon any other class.  They are the regularly constituted leaders of the flock. Their ordination is to this end.  Their calling is to explain
and enforce the doctrines of the gospel, and to develope and illustrate the spirit of that gospel, in its
beneficent bearings upon the church and the world.
Christianity is a mine of the richest ore.  Who shall
enter it as explorers, bring out its precious treasures,
and apply them fbr the enriching of the church, for
the good of the world, and for the glory of God, if




i60     THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
they do not? " It depends upon us," says a dist;nguished pastor to his brethren, with respect to the
great work of beneficence-" it depends upon us
mainly, under God, whether the blessing shall ooze
and trickle upon the world in scanty or occasional
drops, or whether it shall flow in mighty streams.
We are icebergs to the cause, or central fires in the
midst of our population."
All things conspire at the present period to call
out the beneficent power of the gospel, and to awaken
its benevolent spirit in the hearts of God's people,
for the salvation of the world. The prophecies and
promises and providence of God bear directly and
powerfully.on the church, to arouse it to its appropriate work of doing good. Who shall interpret
these to her, if her ministers do not?  Who stand on
such vantage ground as they, for bringing her to
feel her obligations, and discern her privileges? The
benevolent habits of her members need to be formed
upon higher principles, and their beneficent action
to be called forth by purer and more elevated motives.  Who can be instrumental in accomplishing
this, if they cannot? Who will lead the disciples to
walk in the garden with their divine Master, and
teach them to view their possessions there; or take
them to the sacred mount, where all selfish considerations are lost in the love of the cross: who will
lo this, if they do not?
And if it is the duty of the shepherd to lead, is it




CONCLUSION.                161
not the duty of the flock to follow? If he must inculcate the doctrine of beneficence, should they not
cherish and exemplify its spirit? It is the spirit of
Christ, and it flows out from him to the hearts of all
his followers. And from them it should go forth,
in ministries of love to the ignorant and suffering
and guilty of earth's teeming population. For the
diffusion of this spirit, the extension of Christ's kingdom, the church was constituted, and in this it is
"the light of the world," "the salt of the earth."
But it is only as ye Christians who compose this
church, are like your divine Exemplar-only as the
mind that was in him is also in you —only as ye commune with him in the garden, and have sympathy
with him on the cross, that these his declarations
can be verified. " Let your light so shine before men,
that they may see your good works, and glorify your
Father which is in heaven." " Remember the words
of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to
give than to receive." " Freely ye have received,
freely give."  "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto
them, ye have done it unto me."
" A poor wayfaring man of grief
Hath often met me on my way,
Who sued so humbly for relief,
That I could never say him nay:
I had not power to ask his name,
Whither he went, or whence he came;
Yet there was something in his eye
That won my love-I know not why.
Miss. of Church.     23




162     THE MISSION` OF'TiE CHURCHI.
" Once, when my scanty meal was spread,
He entered-not a word he spakeJust perishing for want of bread.
I gave him all; he blessed it, brake,
And ate, but gave me part again.
Mine was an angel's portion then,
And while I fed with eager haste,
The crust was manna to my taste.
"I spied him where a fountain burst
Clear from the rock; his strength was gone:
The heedless water mocked his thirst;
He heard it, saw it hurrying on.
I ran and raised the sufferer upThrice from the stream he drained my cup,
Dipt and returned it running o'er;
I drank, and never thirsted more.
c'Twas night, the floods were out, it blew
A winter hurricane aloof;
I heard his voice abroad, and flew
To bid him welcome to my roof:
I warmed, I clothed, I cheered my guest,
I laid him on my couch to rest,
Then made the earth my bed, and seemed
In Eden's garden, while I dreamed.
"Stript, wounded, beaten nigh to death,
I found him by the highway side;
I roused his pulse, brought back his breath,
Revived his spirit, and supplied
Wine, oil, refreshment: he was healed.
I had myself a wound concealed,
But from that hour forgot the smart,
And peace bound up my broken heart




CONCLUSION.                 163:"In prison I saw him next; condemned
To meet a traitor's doom at morn:
The tide of lying tongues I stemmed,
And honored him'midst shame and scorn.
My friendship's utmost zeal to try,
He asked if I for him would die;
The flesh was weak, my blood ran chill,
But the free spirit cried,'I will'-: Then in a moment to my view,
The stranger darted from disguise,
The tokens in his hands I knewMy Saviour stood before mine eyes.
He spoke, and my poor name he named.
Of me thou hast not been ashamed,
These deeds shall thy memorial be;
Fear not, thou didst them unto me.'"
MONTGOMEZIY.




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ELEGANT PRACTICAL WORKS.                    2
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REV. CLAUDIUS BUCHANAN, LL.D., HARLAN PAGE.
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