THE WORLD'S BENEFACTRESS.

151

to the cause of God and of truth. The widow's "two mites," and the "deep poverty" of the Macedonians, are both forgotten where there is no standard but the sordid one of earth, or no motive to sway us but such as man can devise. Some of the poor themselves, however, have risen up to assert their privilege. Feeling the love of Christ, and seeking his glory, they have literally entreated others to receive their lowly offerings to the cause which they loved; with tears in their eyes, they have asked to be permitted to give "as God had prospered them." Their store might be small, but they knew that God did not despise it-they were rich at least in the heart to give; and that spirit proclaims aloud how the Church might become the world's benefactress, or "terrible as an army with banners" against all the allies of Satan, the enemies of man. All that is needed to promote these results is free scope for the motives which are designed to elevate, to purify, enlarge, and constrain the soul; but the suppressing, or the evading of these, leaves the Church beggared through the guilt of its members. It was in regard to such things that the Saviour significantly said, "Beware of men."

The question has been asked, How much more prosperous would our world have been, had men always remembered their place as only stewards, instead of usurping the power of proprietors ? of proprietors? How much more copiously would the rain and the dew have fallen? How much more genial would the sunshine have been, and how much more prolific the soil? To such questions no definite reply can be given; but one thing is

152

FEEDING UPON ASHES.

certain, "Them that honour God, God will honour," and had he been "honoured with the first-fruits of all our increase," this world would have been a happier and a richer home for man. But "they that plough iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same. By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed;" they may often in sadness exclaim,

"Alas! the hollow husk of life

Is all that's left for me."

-Wherever the Christian motives are ignored, men are found to be grasping at shadows, or feeding upon ashes. Poverty becomes rife in spite of our utmost ingenuity, and the breath of the Almighty shakes our strongholds till they totter and fall, wherever wealth is pursued more than the favour of God. India, for example, has long been the land of fabled wealth; the riches heaped up there have at once fostered men's covetousness, and deepened their delusion. And it is an instructive fact, that a single year* has witnessed bankruptcies connected with India to the extent of fifteen millions sterling. Now who shall compute the misery which arose from such disasters? or who can be blind to the lessons which they might teach? They are trumpet-tongued to proclaim the folly of making gold our confidence. They invite or they urge us to make the mammon of unrighteousness our friend and not our enemy-that is, to employ for God and his glory what others hoard or squander, without one thought of the Cross, or one emotion of love, either to the cruci

* 1833.

LABOUR AND SORROW.

153

fied One, or the perishing for whom he died, for of such men it continues to be true,

"Ye have sown much, and been bringing in but little;

Ye have been eating and not being satisfied;

Ye have been drinking, but not being filled;

Ye have been putting on clothes, but not being warmed;

And he who gathers wages, gathers wages into a purse with holes."

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PROPORTION IN GIVING.

CHAPTER VIII.

WHAT PROPORTION OF MY MEANS SHOULD I DEVOTE TO GOD?

"Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to feed the poor; if I have taken anything away from any man by false accusation, I restore it fourfold."-LUKE xix. 8.

Duty of adjusting the question-The binding clause-Tithes-Hints for adjusting proportion-Examples-Widow of Sarepta-The world might be our model-Vitellius-Apicius-The Chinese-An Example of system and proportion in giving.

We now approach the important subject of proportion in giving; but a fallacy may lurk under that form of the question which is here to be considered-the form in which it is most commonly put. It were safer to frame it thus" Is there any portion of my property which I may withhold from God?" In too many cases, as we have already seen, it is assumed that if I give some stipulated portion, I am then the sole proprietor of all that remains; my will alone need be consulted regarding it, or my objects alone promoted. The sum bestowed thus frequently becomes exemption-money; it at once fosters selfishness, and perpetuates a delusion; and such a view is opposed to all the Scriptures. The supreme

SOLEMN DEDICATION.

155

will is to regulate not merely a part, but the whole of our substance, and neither a tenth, nor a fifth, nor a half, nor any other rate can purchase exemption for a breath from the control of Him to whom the universe and the sandgrain alike belong.

But while we thus lay down the necessity of entire consecration as the basis, not less urgently should we press the duty which is incumbent upon all, deliberately and systematically to decide how much should be formally and directly devoted to the service of God. A matter so solemn is not to be left to hap-hazard. Nay, we reiterate, and return to reiterate, that each man for himself must calmly and deliberately decide from time to time, how much of his substance he should devote to sacred purposes; and if that be neglected, the cause of the Saviour is treated in a manner which would be censured in any mere earthly proceeding.

And it is not the standard of giving which prevails in my church or neighbourhood that is to guide me. That may be low, selfish, and worldly, and I must rise above it. The word and the claims of God are the standardand with calm deliberation should that criterion be adopted. For why should his cause not command our careful thought? Why are its interests alone to be left to casualty or caprice? Should it not rather be considered and disposed of, if need be, with all the formality of a solemn deed of dedication to God? Too long have his interests been left to fitful impulses, or the casualties of the hour, even by those who know that they are stewards. The time for a change has fully arrived; and though it