truth. Good men in all ages have seen this. "Know, therefore, that the Lord thy God, He is God, the faithful God.” (Deut. vii. 9.) “God is not a man that he should lie." (Num. xxiii. 19.) "Thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds.” (Psalm xxxvi. 5.) "And His truth endureth to all generations." (Psalm c. 5.) Thus we might go on, gathering from the scriptures, and taking from the book of experience, and still find ourselves incapable of declaring "all the faithfulness and all the truth of Him." "His compassions fails not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." (Lam. iii. 22, 23.) "Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my

words shall not pass away." (Mark xiii. 31.)

29. Thus we have seen the invisible God, in His works and in His word. And although the contemplation of this ineffably glorious Being must be elevating, yet how few men are there, yea, how few of us professing Christians, who think of Him as we ought. Let us no longer rest under this stigma, but listen to the dying charge of David: " And thou, Solomon, my son, know thou the God of thy father." (1 Chron. xxviii. 9.) Let these dying words of David sink into our hearts. Especially may they sink into the hearts of the young. No subject can be so worthy of our thoughts; yea, no object ought to be so dear to our hearts.

30. Some people have an idea that knowledge is not desirable but I cannot see what ground there is for such a notion. In a periodical now before me, the writer places wisdom and power among the incommunicable attributes of God, and states it is not even desirable to possess them as they might prove dangerous, perhaps ruinous. But we must go from the teaching of man, and hearken as I stated at the outset, to the Divine Teacher, who sets that matter at rest; in fact, makes our future existence to depend on the knowledge of God. "And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God," and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent." (John xvii. 3.) There is no true wisdom in elevating one of the attributes of God, namely, goodness, which this writer does at the expense of the others. May we rather take the book of nature in one hand, and the book of Revelation in the other, and, reading in both, we must come to the conclusion: There is but ONE GOD, SELF-EXISTENT, INDEPENDENT, A PURE SPIRIT, ETERNAL, FILLING IMMENSITY, OMNIPOTENT, OMNISCIENT, IMMUTABLE. No creature, of course, can lay claim to these incommunicable perfections possessed alone by God. But then, God is infinitely WISE, HOLY, JUST, GOOD, FAITHFUL, and TRUE. And although He possesses these perfections without limitation, yet, if we are devout students, we may humbly say, as we study His nature and attributes from the books of nature, and revelation, "And of His fulness, have all we received, and grace for grace." (John i. 16.) And going on and on in this elevating and delightful study, we "may be able to comprehend with all saints, what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love. of Christ, which passeth knowledge; and be filled with all the FULNESS OF GOD." (Eph. iii. 18, 19.)

one.

9

THE DUTY AND RULE OF GIVING.

To pay one's way in the world honestly and honourably, without breaking in other people's debt, is thought by some persons to be all that is implied in the right use of money; and they think that any man may spend what he pleases, in any way he pleases, and save what he pleases, to any amount that he can, so long as he "owes no man anything," and does wrong to no Others there are who say that a man ought to "get all he can " by honest 66 means, save all he can by strict frugality, and "give all he can;" that is to say, to "give all he has," after having supplied the plainest wants of himself and family, and of those who are directly dependent upon him. The question is, which of these two views is right, according to the teaching of Scripture? or, is either of them supported by Scripture teaching?

The first view may be dismissed at once; because the Bible abounds with the subject of giving, much more, even, than with that of paying; and some lengthy passages, of both the Old Testament and the New, are wholly about giving, without a word about paying. The Bible requires all men to be honest. Does it require them also to be generous? Let us try to learn the mind of God from the Word of God, upon the subject of giving? We will look at the subject, not in the light of Judaism, but of Christianity. We will consider the teaching of the apostle Paul. We will not torture his language to make it speak what was not intended, but will note its plain and natural meaning.

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When that wonderful effusion of the Holy Ghost, on the day of Pentecost, occurred, and three thousand were converted to Christ, and the number of the saved increased daily, their hearts overflowed with love and liberality to such an extent that "they had all things common, and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men as every man had need." (Acts ii. 44, 45.) The natural consequence of this overflow of liberality would be that more would be consumed than produced, and the common stock would daily diminish; so that when a hard time came there would be little to fall back upon, and that little would soon be done. Now, a hard time did come; for in the days of Claudius Cæsar there was a great dearth throughout the world." (Acts xi. 28.) This dearth was severely felt in Judea, and especially in Jerusalem; and the Christians of that city were great sufferers. The apostles and other leading men in the churches made their case known to the Gentile Churches; for they were in better circumstances, and able to afford them relief. And being able, they were willing, and were urged by St. Paul to give full play and expression to their benevolent feelings, by a bountiful contribution. "Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief to" them. (Acts xi. 29.)

Community of goods among the Christians at Jerusalem had proved a failure; but appeals for sympathy and help in destress never failed. That

was now tried, and tried with success. Paul appealed to the Gentile Christians for generous aid, and laid down a rule for their guidance. The rule he laid down is applicable in all cases, and may at any time be applied when circumstances arise to require its application. We may consider, first, however, the Christian duty of giving; and then the rule by which it should be regulated.

THE CHRISTIAN DUTY OF GIVING supposes the possession of means, that is to say, that a person has something to give. Where nothing is possessed, nothing can be given; but he who has anything may give something. A poor widow among the Jews, in our Lord's day, gave a farthing, which was all she had in the world. The blessed Saviour did not blame her for giving it; but neither did he intimate that others should give all they have. He observed what she did and what the rich people did; he remarked upon their givings, and contrasted hers with theirs. By implication, therefore, he commended the poor woman's liberality; a liberality which could not have been shown if she had possessed nothing; for out of nothing, nothing can come.

No man ought to give what belongs to other people. A man who knows himself to be insolvent ought not to give; for what he has is not his own; it belongs to his creditors; and he has no right to give what is theirs. If asked to give, he should not be ashamed to acknowledge his inability; but should say candidly, I am not able to give: what is in my hands is not my own; it belongs to other people, and I dare not give away their property.

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Why?

Those who

The duty supposes reasonable grounds on which it have money ought not only to spend, but also to give. Because, whatever a man has, if honestly obtained, God has given to him. If not honestly obtained, the devil was the giver, and the curse of God is upon it, and will cleave to it to the very last farthing. The sooner it be given up the better. But if earned by labour, whether of the hands, or brain, or both; or if inherited from others who earned it; in either case, the Lord gave it. A man may say, " O, but I worked hard for what I have, and am indebted to no one for it." Yes, you are; you are indebted to God. He does not pour money ready-coined out of heaven upon men, as he pours rain upon the thirsty soil, to make it bring forth flowers and fruits; but, whether you have bone-and-muscle power, or brain-and-nerve power, God gave that power by which you have got money, whether more or less. He gave you all the energy you have, all the skill of your hands and your head; and therefore every penny that you have obtained by honest toil, or in any honest way, has been as truly given to you of God as if it had come to you direct from his hand out of heaven, and He had said, "Here, take that, and use it for my glory."

From what God gives to us, we ought also to give; because God will have us to honour Him, and acknowledge his bountifulness to us, by our returning to Him a part of what He has given. And He has made the

poor to be his receivers. To them He commands us to give. They are "always with us," and we are never to neglect to "do them good." He requires us, also, to minister in temporal things to those who minister to us in spiritual things. Then "the messengers of the churches" have to be sent into the heathen world to make known the common Saviour and the " common salvation," and to gather Christian churches there. These have to be supported until the churches become numerous and strong enough to support their own ministers. Many other objects of benevolence and religion need aid.

All this shows the duty of giving. He that can spend, and yet will not give, is deemed impious; for he disregards alike his obligations to God, and the necessities of his fellow-creatures, and makes a god of himself. One of the marks of the latter-day apostasy is, that men shall be wrapped up in self-love, and so be neglectful of duty, both to God and to men. He who, having something, will give nothing, is dead while he liveth, and buried in the grave of his own selfishness.

THE RULE OF GIVING is contained in the apostolic direction to the Corinthian Church, applicable to all cases :-"Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity; for God loveth a cheerful giver." (2 Cor. ix. 7.) This rule is as full and complete as can be expressed in human speech. It has its positive and its negative sides, and it goes down to the depths of the soul's emotions.

First, as to the positive part of the rule, the heart's own purpose is to determine, or regulate a man's giving. The rule is not absolute and inflexible. It is not that a man must give all he has, for that would be, in many cases, to beggar himself, and to disable himself from getting more. Manufactures, trade, and commerce require capital. If capital were not possessed by some persons, there could be no employment of labour with regularity and constancy. Men would have to look about for trifling jobs, that would be ill paid; and they would have no certainty of employment from day to day, but would be sunk in one common and helpless state of poverty. Capital keeps manufactures a-going, fills warehouses with goods, loads ships with merchandise, sending them to every part of the world, and then employs them in bringing cargoes of commodities of all kinds from every part of the world for our enjoyment. Capital, therefore, well employed, is one of the greatest blessings that God ever bestowed upon men. But if men must give away all they have, they could hold no capital, nor could they earn anything either to spend or to give. Neither could others be employed by means of their capital. If all were to give all, therefore, they must all sink into poverty and destitution together.

The purpose of the heart supposes consideration. A man must consider his own means, his own wants, and the wants of those who are dependent upon him; and also the necessity of the case which calls for what he can give. What have I got? What are the demands upon me?

What have I left? much is needed?

What is the object that needs assistance? How Who are to assist ? What can I give without wrong or suffering to those whose claims are first to be met? "For he that provideth not for his own, and especially those of his own house, hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel."

These considerations lead to a conclusion. I can give so much. I will give it. And I will give it, not as unto men, but as unto the Lord, from whom I received it, whose eye is upon me, and who demands this tribute from me, that I may glorify Him. That is the purpose of the heart. Not a purpose to give nothing, but to give according to Christian prudence, and the circumstances of the whole case. Then, secondly, there is the feeling and soul with which we are to give, expressed negatively: "Not grudgingly, or of necessity." Not grudgingly. Not grieving over it. The heart must not quarrel with what the hand does, but heart and hand be agreed in giving. If they are not agreed, the motive is vitiated: the giving is not simply to glorify God in doing good. Some people give to please men, or for fear of offending men. The motive, in such cases, is impure. The right motive is that which aims to benefit man and to glorify God, doing what we do as unto the Lord, and for his honour and glory only.

"Nor of necessity," says the apostle. That is to say, not by constraint; not by pressing and squeezing. Men sometimes talk of being unable to squeeze money out of such and such persons. They have no right to squeeze other people. We may say to such, Who put you into commission to sit in judgment upon other men's means and motives, and to go about to wring money from reluctant hands, or from hands that ought not to give it? No man has a right to press and urge another to give; neither ought any one to give from pressure and urgency. Be content to sit in judgment upon yourself. Do what God and your conscience tell you to be right in your own case, and leave others to do the same. Say all you can and will about the case you have in hand, so far as opportunity may serve; but make no attempt to apply the screw to any one, or to press and urge as though all depended upon your urgency and much speaking. God would have no man give by constraint.

"God

The mind of God in this matter is plainly enough declared. loveth a cheerful giver." Now, what is implied in cheerful giving? The very opposite of giving either grudgingly or by constraint. Where there is cheerful giving, and that according to a fixed purpose of the heart, there must of necessity be what the apostle further inculcates on the subject, -proportional giving. "If there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not." (ch. viii. 12.) On this principle, then, a single penny given in one case, may be as acceptable to God as the hundred or the thousand pounds given in another.

There is no rigid New Testament law on this subject of giving; but