{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_24293/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_24293","id":"gutenberg_24293","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/24293","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Religion/Spirituality","Christian life","Stewardship, Christian"],"text":"Produced by David Haslam\n\n\n\n\nCHRISTIAN DEVOTEDNESS,\nor\nThe Consideration of Our Saviour's Precept,\n\"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth\".\n\nBy Anthony Norris Groves (1795--1853).\n\nSecond Edition,\n\nLondon, James Nisbet,\nBerners Street,\nMDCCCXXIX.\n\n\nBefore this second edition was issued Groves had taken the step which\nhe here had advocated. The tract is a revelation of the man, and\naffords an insight into the spirit and the glow which made his\nministry attractive to sincere souls, and effectual. It being long\nsince unobtainable we give it in full. By it he, being dead, may yet\nspeak, and other hearts be enlarged and enriched, to the glory of\nGod. It reads:--\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE\n\n\nIn sending a second impression of the following little work into the\nworld after a lapse of four years from the publication of the former\nedition, it may be right to state, that my views on the subject of\nit, have undergone no change in the way of relinquishment; but on the\ncontrary the experience of every day in my own history,--every\nobservation I have been able to make on the history of those with\nwhom I have come into the closest contact, and who have either\nreceived or rejected the view, and in whatever degree, has tended\nexceedingly to strengthen the conviction on my mind, of the\ninfinitely deep knowledge of the human heart, and springs of human\nactions which these injunctions of our Blessed Lord manifest: and\nthat he means simply what he says in \"Lay not up for yourselves\ntreasures upon earth,\" etc. There is an eye-salve in this doctrine,\nwhen received by faith, that wonderfully clears the field of our\nspiritual perceptions; therefore, he that can receive it, let him\nreceive it. Many more, certainly, have been influenced by it, and\nsome to a much greater extent than I had expected; and the clusters\nthat have adorned their branches seem to be of the true Eschol\ngrapes; however, of these, and many other things, time will be the\nmanifester, and the Lord the judge.\n\nThe principal objections urged, seem to arrange themselves under\nthree heads:--The influence of which this principle would rob the\nChurch;--the children it would leave without a provision;--and that\nit would require those having estates to sell them, and would not be\nsatisfied with the dedication of the interest or profits arising out\nof such property. My business, however, is not with the consequences\nof the precept, but with the precept itself. Yet still I would say,\nthere is in this reasoning as deistical a disregard of the Lord's\nespecial government of his Church and people, as could be expected\nfrom an infidel.\n\nI purpose publishing, the Lord sparing me, a few remarks separately,\nin relation to the first of these subjects--that of Influence;--the\nnature of that which is Christian, and its distinction from that\nwhich is worldly, and which operates either upon worldly men, or that\nworldliness which still adheres to every one of us. And I shall\nendeavour to show, that a grain of the pure gold of Christian\ninfluence, which is the exhibition, in truth, of the mind of Christ,\nspringing from the love of Christ in the soul, is no wise increased\nin value by being beaten out into plates as thin as imagination can\nconceive, and employed to gild the brassy admixture of earthly\ninfluence,--the titles, honours, rank, wealth, learning and secular\npower of this world. It looks indeed like a mighty globe of gold; and\nthe eyes of the inexperienced may be caught by it; but the least\nscratch proves its brassy character. If this simple principle had\nbeen perceived, how differently would many public religious bodies\nhave been constituted for the purpose of extending the influence of\nChrist's Kingdom.\n\nWith regard to the other two points, I feel they may be disposed of\nunder one general argument, which is this: That the principle of\nGod's government is paternal; and therefore its primary object is the\ndevelopment in us of the character of dear children, the essential\nfeature of which is unlimited dependence. But, of course, this\nrelation implies its co-relative, the Fatherly character of God; and\nthe least entrenchment upon daily dependence for daily provision,\neither for temporal or spiritual supplies, affects God's honour in\nthis character. Then, as to our children, David knew that they shall\nnot beg their bread--at least, that he, who had been young and then\nwas old, had not seen such a thing; and to suspect such a thing, is\nto suspect the perfection of the Fatherly character of God; of whom\nour blessed Lord said, \"Your Father knoweth you have need of all\nthese things,\" and, therefore, \"all these things shall be added unto\nyou.\" As to capital and estates, after knowing that our loving Father\nwill supply us in every need, the sooner we are disencumbered by\ndisbursement, for His honour, and His service, the better; for then\nwe shall have the happiness of seeing it spent for the glory of Him\nchose it is, and for whom we are only stewards; whereas were we to\ndie to-morrow, we do not know whether the capital and estates may\nfall into the hands of a wise man or a fools so that we may be cut of\nafter spending part of a year's income for God--say one hundred, out\nof a thousand pounds, and this, I think, would be called Christian\ndevotedness by many--and the fool comes in and spends the whole\nresidue, twenty thousand pounds perhaps, for Satan and the corruption\nof the world. But some may say, Are not all things given us richly to\nenjoy? Yes; but it would be degrading indeed to the members of the\nKingdom of Christ, to make their rich enjoyment appear in consuming\non their own lusts like the members of the kingdom of Satan, those\nthings which they are permitted to apply to the exaltation of their\nLord and Redeemer. Be assured, my dear friends, the sooner we can see\nit appropriated to God's service and glory the better. For then it is\ngone for the Lord; and the world, the flesh, and the devil, cannot,\nthough combined bring it back, and the Lord will not allow us to wish\nit were, so graciously will He receive our weak services and so\nkindly and overwhelmingly repay them with the light of His\ncountenance, and the secret assurance in our own souls, that our\ndedication has been acceptable at our hand.\n\nA. N. G.\n\nLondon, May 16, 1829.\n\n\n\n\nCHRISTIAN DEVOTEDNESS, ETC.\n\n\nThe writer of the following pages has been deeply affected, by the\nconsideration of the strange and melancholy fact--that Christianity\nhas made little or no progress for fifteen successive centuries: and\nhaving, as he trusts, perceived, in an attentive perusal of the\nGospel History,[1] that primitive Christianity owed much of its\nirresistible energy to the open and public manifestation by the early\ndisciples, of their love to their Redeemer and King, and to one\nanother, by the evidence which they gave of it in their conduct, and\nbeing moreover convinced that the exhibition of this love tends\ndirectly and most powerfully to augment the prosperity of the Church\nof Christ within its own bosom, and to extend its influence\nthroughout the world in all ages; he ventures to lay the result of\nhis reflections open to the candid consideration of the sincere\ndisciples of that Saviour, \"who, though he was rich, yet for our\nsakes became poor, that we through his poverty might be rich\" (2 Cor.\n8. 9).\n\nThis manifestation of love he believes to have been made by the\nentire and real (not figurations) devotion of themselves, their\nproperty, time and talents to Christ, their Lord and King. The\nsubsequent remarks, however, more especially relate to the bestowment\nof property, and that whether of capital already possessed, or of\nincome to be acquired by industry.\n\nThe object proposed by the writer is to prove that such a Dedication\nis invariably enforced by the commands of our Saviour, and that it is\nillustrated by the practice of his Apostles and their immediate\ncontemporaries[2]: and he entreats of all the sincere disciples of\nChrist, that they will weigh what is written in the balance of the\nSanctuary, and not in the balances of this world;-that they will pray\nearnestly to the \"Father of lights\" to have, in their search after\ntruth, a single eye to the glory of Him whose they are and whom they\nought to serve, and to the extension of His Kingdom--that they will,\nwhile they search and pray, have a tender regard both to their own\nsouls; and to those of the Millions of \"Jews, Turks, Infidels, and\nHeretics\", whose ignorance and wretchedness they profess to deplore.\nIf in our enquiry into the meaning and extent of our Saviour's\nwords--\"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth,\"--we should\nbe led to the persuasion that he meant them, and that the Apostles\nand their companions received them, in their most unrestricted sense;\nmay the Holy Spirit of God enable us to lay firm hold on the most\ncomfortable and consolatory permission thence arising--to cast all\nour cares upon Him, because we know that He careth for us. All that\nis, or that can fairly be, claimed, in investigating the question\nbefore us, is, that the various precepts and arguments, along with\nthe uniform practice, of our Saviour and his Apostles, be allowed to\nexplain his meaning in this particular instance. I shall, therefore,\nconsider in the first place, the direct Scriptural account of the\nPrinciple, to which we have alluded, as it is enforced by precept and\nillustrated by example; and I shall next consider its important\nbearing upon other momentous commands, which, without it, are\nrendered exceedingly difficult, nay, impossible, to be understood and\nreceived. I shall then conclude with a few arguments to prove that,\nif the extension of the spirit of Christ's Kingdom be the proper\nobject of the churches' pursuit, these views are as consonant with\nreason as they are with revelation.\n\n\nI. I shall begin with the passage from which the motto is taken.\n\"Lay not up for yourselves\" says our Saviour, in his Sermon on the\nMount, \"treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and\nwhere thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves\ntreasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and\nwhere thieves do not break through nor steal: for where your treasure\nis, there will your heart be also. The light of the body is the eye:\nif therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of\nlight; but if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of\ndarkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how\ngreat is that darkness! No man can serve two masters: for either he\nwill hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the\none, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore\nI say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or\nwhat ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is\nnot the life more than meat, and the body than raiment. Behold the\nfowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather\ninto barns; yet your Heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much\nbetter than they? Which of you, by taking thought, can add one cubit\nunto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the\nlilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they\nspin; and yet I say unto you that even Solomon, in all his glory, was\nnot arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass\nof the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven,\nshall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore\ntake no thought, saying--What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink?\nor, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (for after all these things do\nthe Gentiles seek;) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have\nneed of all these things. But seek ye first the Kingdom of God and\nhis righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take\ntherefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take\nthought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil\nthereof\" (Mat. 6. 19, etc.).[3]\n\nThe principal points to be attended to, in the above passage,\nare,--The importance attached to a \"single eye\" and the clear\ndeclaration of our Saviour, that riches disturb the clearness and\nsimplicity of its vision;--God's care of the lowest of his creatures,\nand his provision for those which have neither storehouse nor\nbarn;--the inference thence deduced by our Saviour, that he will much\nmore care and provide for those who singly and earnestly seek the\nKingdom of God and his righteousness, though they have neither\nstore-house nor barn;--and the source of all our distrust and doubt,\nclearly intimated in the expression--\"O ye of little faith.\" The\nparallel passage in St. Luke is almost verbally the same. It is,\nhowever, more striking, as it is introduced by a practical warning\nderived from the conduct of the \"rich man\",[4] who cries out, on the\ncontemplation of his security from want,--\"Soul, thou hast much goods\nlaid up for many years\", and to whom God replies...--\"Thou fool, this\nnight shall thy soul be required of thee; then whose shall those\nthings be which thou hast provided\" (Luke 12. 13-14). It also\nconcludes with an exhortation somewhat different from that in St.\nMatthew. In the latter it is said--\"Lay not up\"; whereas in St. Luke\nit is said,--\"Sell all that thou hast, and give alms; provide\nyourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that\nfaileth not.\"\n\nTo all arguments drawn from passages of this description, the usual\nanswer is, That the exhortations contained in them are not to be\ntaken literally, but are to be considered merely as loose general\nstatements, strongly, and only in appearance absolutely, made, with a\nview of producing greater effect. In endeavouring, therefore, to\nascertain their true meaning, let us examine the evidence supplied by\nthe remarks and conduct of our Blessed Lord and his Apostles, in\nthose cases which bear upon the point in question.\n\nWhen the young man came to enquire what good thing he could do to\ninherit eternal life, after having mentioned several duties, our Lord\nsays,--\"Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and\ndistribute to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and\ncome, follow me. And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful, for\nhe was very rich. And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he\nsaid,--'How hardly shall they, that have riches, enter into the\nKingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's\neye, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God!' And they\nthat heard it said,--'Who then can be saved?' And he said,--'The\nthings, that are impossible with men, are possible with God.' Then\nPeter said: 'Lo, we have left all and followed thee.' And he said\nunto them,--'Verily I say unto you, there is no man that hath left\nhouse, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the Kingdom\nof God's sake, who shall not receive manifold more in this present\ntime, and in the world to come life everlasting'\" (Luke 18. 22-30).\n\nIf then this is the judgment of him in whom we believe to be \"hid all\nthe treasures of wisdom and knowledge\",--who \"Knew what was in\nman\"--who was acquainted with all the secret influences by which his\nheart is governed; shall we, in opposition to his solemnly recorded\njudgment,--that if it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of\na needle, than for those who have riches to enter into the Kingdom of\nGod\"--strive, by the amassing of wealth, effectually, as far as in us\nlies, to stop our own heavenward course, as well as that of those\ndear little ones, whom our heavenly Father may have committed to our\npeculiar and tender care? We may, without anxiety, contemplate the\ncircumstance (I shall not say the misfortunes of dying and leaving\nour families to struggle with many seeming difficulties in this\nworld) should obedience to the Divine Commands bring us and them into\nsuch a situation; because our faith could lay hold, for support and\nconsolation, on the well-known declarations and the acknowledged\ntruth--that the Captain of our Salvation was made \"perfect through\nsufferings\", and \"learned obedience by the things that he suffered\"\n(Heb. 2.10, and 5.8);--that the Apostle \"gloried in tribulations,\nknowing that tribulation workers patience, and patience experience,\nand experience hope--even a hope which maketh not ashamed\" (Rom. 5.\n5);--that he could describe himself \"as sorrowful--yet always\nrejoicing; as poor--yet making many rich; as having nothing--and yet\npossessing all things\" (2 Cor. 6. 10). But a Family left, by our\nlabour and contrivance, in a situation in which, as our Blessed Lord\nhimself declares, it is all but impossible that they should be\nsaved,[5] presents an object of contemplation widely different. Faith\ncan only lay hold of the fearful declaration;--\"It is easier for a\ncamel to go through the eye of a needle, than for those who have\nriches to enter into the Kingdom of God\"; and if the situation of\nsuch a family is irretrievably fixed, and that by our exertions, the\ncontemplation of it may well bring alarm and sadness and distress\nupon the last hours of a Christian Parent. And these feelings may\nwell rise to anguish, if he is conscious that his system of\naccumulation was carried on in defiance of solemn admonitions; and if\nhe is persuaded that the wealth he has amassed--as it were to shut\nout heaven from the hopes and prospects of his children--if it had\nbeen dedicated day by day, as God had prospered him, as a\nmanifestation of his love, and a tribute of his gratitude to his Lord\nand King, might have been the means of feeding with the bread of life\nsome of the hundreds of millions who lie in darkness, hopelessness,\nand sin, because the Son of Righteousness has not arisen on them with\nhealing in his wings. Such are the views and feelings which an\nunbiassed consideration of the words of our Saviour is calculated to\nproduce.\n\nSome, however, may be prepared to assert that his words give no\nencouragement or allowance to any such conclusions; and this\nassertion they may support by another--that a love of riches was the\npeculiar failing of the young man, whose conduct suggested the\nobservations of our Saviour. It ought, however, to be remarked that\nhe does not say, How hardly shall this rich man enter into the\nKingdom of God!--but in the most general terms,--to \"How hardly shall\nthey that have riches enter into the Kingdom of God!\"--it may be\ndesirable for those who consider the expression...--\"Trust in\nriches\"--used in the parallel passage of St. Mark (10. 24) as\nmitigating considerably the severity of our Saviour's declaration to\nview the connection of the several parts of the passage in which the\nexpression is found. 23. \"Jesus looked round about, and saith unto\nhis disciples--'How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the\nKingdom of God.' 24. And the disciples were astonished at his words.\nBut Jesus answered again and saith unto them,--'Children, how hardly\nshall they that trust in riches enter into the Kingdom of God!' 25.\n'It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for\na rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God.' 26. And they were\nastonished out of measure, saying among themselves, 'Who then can be\nsaved?'\" Our Lord, in the 23rd verse, asserts it to be almost\nimpossible for those who have riches to enter into the Kingdom of\nGod. When he observes the astonishment of his disciples, he explains\nto them the reason of his passing a judgment so severe, by stating\nthe cause of that difficulty, of which he spoke as amounting almost\nto an impossibility. It is next to Impossible for a rich man to enter\nthe Kingdom of God, because he trusts in his riches. So that the\nexpression is not introduced with a view of making riches appear less\ndangerous to the possessor, but rather with a view of explaining why\nthey are so dangerous.\n\nThe repetition of the general declaration in the strongest terms as\nit is found in the 25th verse, shows that this is the meaning of our\nLord; and the increased astonishment of the Disciples plainly gives\nthe same intimation. It is evident that they were not led, by this\nexplanation, to consider the case of the rich less hopeless or\ndeplorable; for they cry out: \"Who then can be saved? \"--evidently\nthe expression of men whose difficulties were confirmed, not removed,\nby the answer they had received. The simple meaning, therefore, of\nthe passage seems to be this; The danger of riches is their being\ntrusted in; and the difficulty of possessing them, and not trusting\nin them for happiness and protection, is as the difficulty of a\ncamel's going through the eye of a needle: therefore, \"lay not up for\nyourselves treasures upon earth, for where your treasure is, there\nwill your heart be also\". But the man whose soul the love of Christ\nhas touched, does not look on the question as one merely involving\ndanger to himself: he looks on wealth, as well as every other gift,\nas an instrument of bringing glory to his Lord, by feeding the little\nones of his kingdom, or in some way extending the savour of his name.\nIt is not a matter of law, but a golden opportunity on which\naffection seizes, to bring a leaf to the wreath of praise and honour,\nthat crowns Him Lord, to the glory of God the Father, who has won the\nhearts, and is entitled to the uncontrolled dominion of his own\nsaints.\n\nFrom the observations suggested by the conduct of the \"young man\" let\nus pass on to the memorable comment of our Lord on the charity of the\npoor Widow, as recorded by St. Mark (12. 41, etc.). \"Jesus sat over\nagainst the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the\ntreasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a\ncertain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a\nfarthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto\nthem,--'Verily, I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast more\nin, than all they which have cast into the treasury: for all they did\ncast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that\nshe had, even all her living.'\" In the world's estimation nothing\ncould be more improvident or more improper than her conduct; and I\nfear that few of us would have the heart to commend one who should go\nand do likewise. But how does our Blessed Lord judge, who judges not\naccording to appearance, but righteous judgment? Observing that she\nants quite according to his precept of giving up all, He does not\ncall his disciples round him, to warn them, by her example, not to\ntake his words literally, as he did Peter on the use of the sword;\nbut, on the contrary, points out carefully the peculiarity and\nunequalled greatness of her sacrifice, and holds her up to admiration\non account of it. The rich cast in of their abundance, much; she, of\nher penury, cast in a little; but it was all that she had, even all\nher living. We have now only to go one step farther in order to\nascertain in what sense the Apostles understood that command of our\nSaviour now under consideration. The conduct of them and their\nadherents is thus recorded by St. Luke (Acts 2.44, etc., and 4.32, 34\nand 35.) \"All that believed were together and had all things common:\nand sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as\nevery man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the\ntemple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat\nwith gladness and singleness of heart. The multitude of them that\nbelieved were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them\nthat ought of the things that he possessed was his own; but they had\nall things common. Neither was there any among them that lacked: for\nas many as were possessors of lands, or houses, sold them, and\nbrought the prices of the things that were sold, and laid them down\nat the Apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man\naccording as he had need.\"\n\nBy what arguments can it be shown that such a \"union of heart and of\nsoul\", as is here described, is not just as important to us now, as\nit was to the primitive Christians? If this community of hearts and\npossessions was according to the mind of the Spirit then, why not\nnow? We have the general precept enforcing the conduct of our Blessed\nLord himself;--a particular exhortation to it in his conversation\nwith the \"young man\"; and a most pointed approbation of it in the\ncase of the poor widow. We have, moreover, to encourage and urge it,\nnot only the example of the Apostles, but that of all those who\nbelieved in Jerusalem. The former truly said, \"Lo we have left all\nand followed thee\"; and of the latter it was also truly\nwritten,--\"Neither said any of them that ought of the things which he\npossessed was his own\". I would just remark that such conduct does\nnot essentially involve the institution of a common stock, but will\nbe effectually secured by each individual blending himself with the\nwhole household of faith, feeling their wants, and rejoicing in their\nwelfare, as his own. This sympathy of the members of the holy family\ntoward each other, is strongly enforced, and beautifully illustrated\nby St. Paul. \"Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though\nhe was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his\npoverty might be rich. I mean not that other men may be eased, and\nyou burdened; but by an equality, that now at this time your\nabundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also\nmay be a supply for your want, that there may be equality; as It is\nwritten: \"He that gathered much had nothing over; and he that had\ngathered little had no lack\" (2 Cor. 8. 9, 13, 14, 15). As then\nhere, the superabundance of him, who had gathered much, ministered to\nthe deficiency of him who had gathered little; so now, whatever the\nbounty of God may bestow upon us, above a sufficiency for our present\nnecessities, is to be esteemed a blessing in proportion as it is\ndistributed to relieve the temporal and spiritual wants of others.\n\nAgain I ask--How do we evade the application of all these precepts\nand arguments and exhortations and warnings and examples to our own\ntimes? Is there in the Holy Scriptures any limitation as to the time\nwhen the love which distinguished the primitive church was to be in\nexercise? Is not humiliation and suffering, the very character of\nthis dispensation, as of the life of Him who introduced it? Are there\nno farther ends to be obtained by the crucifixion of self and selfish\ninterests, and manifesting the mind that was in Christ Jesus? Let the\ndisputes and divisions in the Church of God, and the 600,000,000 who\nhave never heard the name of salvation by the blood of Jesus declare.\nLet the Agents of our Societies declare, who travel from one end of\nthe land to the other, to gather a scanty pittance from\nhalf-reluctant Christians--nay, who are often led to sharpen their\ngoads at the Philistines' grind-stones, to the dishonour of the cause\nof God. What then is the ground of evasion? Why, that those were\napostolic times and apostolic men. Could there be a stronger reason\nurged for following their steps? Their having supernatural aids, in\naddition to moral, makes the obligation to use moral more imperative\non our part, if possible, than on theirs; for we have now only the\nsilent and unobserved influences of the Spirit of God operating by\nthem. Those, who may be inclined to ask--Were not the miraculous\npowers, entrusted to the Apostles for the advancement of\nChristianity, also subservient to their personal comfort, amidst\ntheir want and pain and distress? We would refer those who enquire to\nthe words of the Apostle Paul. \"Even unto this present hour,\" says he\n(1 Cor. 4. 11 and 2 Cor. 11. 27), \"we both hunger, and thirst, and\nare naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling place. I\nhave been in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger\nand thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.\" It was,\nindeed, the very ground of the Apostles' glorying and rejoicing--that\nthey were counted worthy to suffer for the sake of Him who had died\nfor them; and it was these very sufferings which they endured, and\nsacrifices which they made, that proved most effectual in converting\nothers to the faith, by drawing their attention to Him whom they\nloved, and for whom they suffered gladly the loss of all things. They\nfelt the beneficial effects of suffering on their own souls, and they\nsaw it blessed to the conversion of the souls of others: and, looking\nbeyond things which are seen and temporal, they beheld that\n\"exceeding and eternal weight of glory\" which their sufferings were\nworking out (2 Cor. 4. 17);--they knew that, if they suffered with\ntheir master, they should also reign with him. Considering the\npreceding remarks to establish the sense, in which the Apostles\nreceived the command of our Saviour in regard to giving up all, as\nwell as the meaning of our Saviour Himself; it may appear superfluous\nto state anything farther; particularly as my only desire is, to open\nthe eyes of those who love their Lord and Master with a pure heart,\nfervently to the understanding of his mind on the subject of this\nlittle book; for it is not money, time, and talents, that I desire to\nsee brought into the external service of Christ, as such; but only as\nthe incense of praise and thanksgiving to Him \"who has loved us, and\nwashed [properly \"loosed\"] us from our sins in His own blood, and\nhath made us kings and priests unto God the Father\", from His own\nredeemed, yea, the ransomed of the Lord, not the extorted, but\nvoluntary homage from those hearts which would crown Him Lord of all.\nAnd certainly, any farther statement would be superfluous, if we were\ncalled upon to sit in judgment on the meaning of writers, whose\nopinions laid us under no practical obligation, or whose sentiments\nwere in unison with our whole nature. Here however, the case is\nwidely different; we have an old nature for this earth, as well as a\nnew nature for heaven; and therefore, things require to be stated as\nfully as may be, that Satan may be stopped at every turn by \"it is\nwritten\". To admit an opinion--is to admit a truth; and to admit a\ntruth--is to admit the obligation to act upon it, against our earthly\nconstitution. And as the admission and reception of the particular\ntruth now under consideration, strikes at the very root of many of\nnature's most fondly cherished feelings, and of many apparently so\namiable, that we scarcely allow ourselves to doubt that they are of\nGod; it may be necessary to enlarge still more upon the subject, and\nshow that the reception of this truth prepared the way for the\nsuccess of the Apostles, by leaving them free to follow Him who had\ncalled them to be soldiers, and that it will, by the grace of\nGod,--promised to us as well as to them;--accomplish as great things\nin our days as it did in theirs, springing, as it did, and ever will,\nfrom this one source, Christ in us the hope of Glory, dwelling in us\nrichly in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; yea: in those cases\nwhere the world think we fail, as well as those in which we seem to\nsucceed: for if Christ and the spirit of His Kingdom be manifested,\nwe are a sweet savour of Christ unto God, whether they receive our\ntestimony or reject it; yea, though we preach as Noah did, an hundred\nand twenty years, and no man regard us.\n\n\nII. I come, therefore, secondly, to consider the important bearing of\nthe Principle, I have endeavoured to establish and illustrate, on\nseveral momentous commands which, without the reception of it, are\nrendered exceedingly difficult, nay, impossible, to be understood and\nreceived; notwithstanding that the import and object of these\ncommands are abundantly obvious, and the performance of them tends\nmost directly and most powerfully to promote the highest good which\nthe church is capable of enjoying.\n\n\"Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature\"\n(Mark 16. 15),--was the parting command of our Blessed Saviour; and\nit was on the literal reception of this command that the momentous\nalternative hung of our knowledge, or ignorance of the only Name\nunder heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved; for \"how\nshall they hear without a preacher, and how shall they preach except\nthey be sent?\", still is the order of God's government. Had there\nbeen the same doubt of the meaning and obligation of this precept in\nthe infancy of Christianity, which these last ages have exhibited, it\nwould scarcely have extended its influence beyond the confines of\nJudea. But, thanks be to God, the first Christians felt the gospel,\ncommitted to their trust, to be \"the power of God unto salvation to\nevery one that believeth\"; and they felt it to be the mind of Him who\nhad loved them with an everlasting love, and given Himself for them,\nthat this great act of surpassing love should be published to every\ncreature, for His own glory, and for salvation to the ends of the\nearth; and therefore they counted all things but loss, that they\nmight fulfil His will, and advance His Kingdom. Why has this spirit\nfor so many centuries been slumbering? Because men have been seeking,\nevery one his own things, and not the things of Christ. Let any one\nask his own heart, as in the presence of God, in which state he\nshould feel most disposed to embrace the command, \"Go into all the\nworld and preach the Gospel to every creature\"--whether, when he is\nlabouring for, and enjoying the comforts and conveniences of life,\nand providing against the future possible wants of himself and his\nfamily; or when, like the Apostles and first Christians, he has laid\naside every earthly encumbrance, and waits ready to go or to stay, as\nthe Spirit of God may appoint. To the enquiry--\"Who will go for\nus?\"--can there be a doubt whose heart would be most ready to reply\n\"Here am I, send me\"? (Isa. 6. 8). The one, having the eye single,\nsince to glorify his Lord is the only object of his life, will be\nready to answer--\"Here am I \"; while those who are surrounded by the\ncares and comforts of this world, have so many earthly claims and\nrelations to adjust, that the general result will be that of standing\nstill, and the enquiry,--\"Who will go for us? \"--will sound unwelcome\nto the ear, will chill, not animate, the noblest sympathies of the\nheart, and set the seal of silence on the lips. It is not meant\nabsolutely to say that every man should become a Missionary, in the\nproper sense of the term. \"There are diversities of gifts, but the\nsame Spirit; and there are differences of administrations, but the\nsame Lord\" (1 Cor. 12. 4). While one has that ministration of the\nSpirit which leads him to go and preach the gospel in person, another\nshows that he is guided by the same Spirit in carefully supplying the\nwants of him who thus goes \"taking nothing of the Heathen\" (3 John\n7), from the abundance yielded by devoted diligence in his honest\nvocation, and by rigid habits of self-denial.[6]\n\nAgain, consider the important command, \"Love thy neighbour as\nthyself\" (Leviticus 19. 18). Can we, with any truth, be said to love\nthat neighbour as ourselves, whom we suffer to starve, whilst we have\nenough and to spare? May I not appeal to any, who have experienced\nthe Joy of knowing the unspeakable gift of God, and ask--Would you\nexchange this knowledge, with all the comforts and blessings it has\nbeen the means of imparting, for a hundred worlds, were they offered?\nLet us not then withhold the means by which others may obtain this\nsanctifying knowledge and heavenly consolation. Is it a profitable\nemployment of our wealth, to raise it as a bulwark against those\ndifficulties, which, if they meet even the children's children of the\nservants of God, are sent as especial proofs of their Father's\nlove--for what son is he whom the Father chasteneth not?--and are\ndesigned to work out for them a far more exceeding and eternal weight\nof glory? Are not these very difficulties, dangers, and afflictions,\nagainst which we so anxiously desire to provide, the very marks by\nwhich Jesus Christ himself, his Apostles and Prophets, and all the\nchosen servants of God, have ever been distinguished, and the means\nby which they have been perfected.[7] Can then our wealth be so\nbeneficially employed, either with reference to our own advantage or\nthat of others, in removing from our Christian course these means of\nadvancement, and characteristics of our profession, as in helping on\nthe Kingdom of Christ with all that energy which a single eye can\nimpart to the most limited powers, when directed and sustained by the\nSpirit of God?\n\nIt has been remarked that some pious men have, from their imprudence,\nleft their children a burden upon the Christian public, and thus\ndisgraced their profession. If, however, the unprovided state of\nthese children was owing to an enlarged view of devotedness to God on\nthe part of these Parents, accompanied by frugal appropriations to\nthemselves, and that strict honour and honesty, which must ever\nprecede beneficence to others; all the disgrace, and ultimately all\nthe loss, must rest on those that survive, who are so dead to the\nprivileges of the Gospel, as either to forget that it was ever\nsaid,--\"Whosoever receivers one such little one in my name, receivers\nme\" (Matthew 18. 5), or to neglect the opportunity, despise the\nhonour, and spurn away the blessing, of entertaining such a guest.\nOh! if we really believed our Saviour's declaration, how dearly\nshould we value, and how warmly embrace, such an opportunity of\nglorifying our Master, of blessing ourselves, and of showing again to\nthe world \"how these Christians love one another\"![8] All our\nmisconceptions on this subject seem to arise from one deeply rooted\nopinion, learnt of Satan and the world over which he presides, that\nriches and comforts are better for our children, than poverty and\ndependence. The whole tenor of the New Testament, however, pronounces\nthe opinion to be false; and were a hundred individuals appointed to\nthe once of choosing a portion for their children, in accordance with\nthe obvious principles of Christianity, and with the declarations of\nits Author and his Apostles--such a portion as bore the most\nfavourable aspect on the acquisition of the prize of the high calling\nof God in Christ Jesus; and were they conscientiously to perform\ntheir office, they would all unite in choosing a portion poor and\ndependent.[9] Yet whilst our Lord says: \"How hardly shall they that\nhave riches enter into the Kingdom of God! \"--we act just as though\nhe had said--How hardly shall they enter in, who are without them!\nHere I would leave the sovereignty of the Lord unlimited. It is\ndoubtless the same thing to Him to work by many or by few--by the\nrich or the poor: but still \"how hardly shall they that have riches\nenter into the kingdom of heaven\" must stand.\n\nIf there had been an unerring physician of the body sent to a\nconsumptive family who left it as his prescription: \"How hardly shall\nthey survive the climate of the North; it is easier for a camel to go\nthrough a needle's eye than your children escape destruction in the\nblasts of the North\"; if after this you saw the parents struggling\nfor northern climates, you must say they either did not believe the\nphysician, or they were deliberately doing what they could to destroy\ntheir children.\n\nAgain I say, let me not be misunderstood, as though I wished to make\nall Christianity consist in giving up money, time, and talents,\nunless they are the expressions of love to the Lord, and flow from a\ndesire to meet His mind and promote his glory, they are but sounding\nbrass and tinkling cymbals. Yet surely, they are the natural external\nexpressions of internal love; and although they be insincerely\nassumed by Hypocrisy, it is her homage to truth; and although the\nself-righteous Pharisee may present the semblance of devotion, as a\nvain and hateful barter for heaven, yet it requires very little\nspirituality of mind to discern that this arises in a different\nsource and terminates in a different object: the one begins in self\nand ends in self; the other begins in Christ, and ends in Christ.\nWhen, therefore, the Lord requires his Church to be careful for\nnothing, it is only that He might display his watchfulness and\ncarefulness over her. Surely it is a most unspeakable privilege to be\nallowed to cast all our cares upon God; and to feel that we are\nthereby delivered from the slavery of earthly expectations, and made\nfree to speak the truth m love, without fear or apprehension? What is\nthe glorious liberty of the children of God, but to be dependent only\nupon One, \"who giveth liberally and upbraideth not,\"--who\nsays,--\"Ask, and ye shall receive; seek, and ye shall find; knock,\nand it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh,\nreceiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth: and to him that knocketh it\nshall be opened.\" God, in pity to our weakness and unbelief,\ncondescends to reason with us thus:--\"What man is there of you, whom,\nif his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish,\nwill he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give\ngood gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father, which\nis in heaven, give good things to them that ask him?\" (Matthew 7. 7,\netc.). Let us therefore do the will of such a Father to the utmost of\nour ability now, and trust him for the future: \"for he hath said, 'I\nwill never leave thee, nor forsake thee'; so that we may boldly say,\n'The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear, what man shall do unto\nme'\" (Heb. 13. 6). \"Trust therefore in the Lord, and do good; and\nverily thou shalt be fed\" (Ps. 37. 3). Oh! if every one, who believed\nhimself ransomed by the precious blood of Christ, felt himself so\nentirely the purchased possession of Him, who thus so dearly bought\nhim, as to determine henceforth to know nothing save Jesus Christ and\nhim crucified; nor to labour for anything, but that the unspeakably\nglad tidings of salvation through Him might be spread throughout the\nworld, till every heart of the ransomed family drank of the same\noverflowing cup of consolation; how soon would the wants of the whole\nhabitable earth be answered by thousands crying out,--\"Here am I,\nsend me\"; while those sheep to whom the glad tidings would be borne,\nwould discern the shepherd's voice, receive with thankfulness such\nmessengers of peace, seeing by their fruits \"that God was in them of\na truth\".\n\nThink not that this is carrying things too far. Our blessed Lord\nsays,--\"This is my commandment, that ye love one another as I have\nloved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down\nhis life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I\ncommand you\" (John 15. 12). Here our Blessed Lord tells us to love\none another, as He has loved us; and then points to the laying down\nhis life, as the most exalted proof of that love which could be\ngiven. If then, as the example of our Saviour and the exhortation of\nthe Apostle testify, \"we ought to lay down our lives for the\nbrethren\"[10] how much more ought we to impart to them our substance.\n\nWe all know what a persuasive power the deaths of the Martyrs exerted\non the minds of those who witnessed them; and, in its just measure\nand proportion, would the dedication of property, time and talents,\nhave a similar effect at the present day. It would convince those,\nwhom we are anxious to convince, of the reality of our faith in that\nRedeemer and that inheritance, which they now think only a name, in\nconsequence of the secular spirit that disfigures the Christianity of\ntoo many of its professors. How differently would the Heathen look on\nour endeavours to publish the mercy of our glorified Lord, if the\nhardy and suffering spirit of primitive times were to descend again\non the silken age into which we are fallen! and if they perceived in\nus that love which led them to endure all things for the elect's\nsake, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ\nJesus with eternal glory. Example is a far more fruitful source of\nself-denial than the influence exerted on the mind by precept. If we\ncall on those, who know nothing of the savour of that Name which is\nas ointment poured forth, to give up all for Christ, and this you\nliterally do to every Hindoo and Mahomedan; let us, who thus call,\nand who profess to know much of the power of His Name, do so\nlikewise; that they may catch a kindred spirit from a living\nexhibition. Let us evidence, in very deed, that we love not the\nworld, neither the things of the world, but that the love of the\nFather is in us. \"For all that is in the world, the lust of the\nflesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the\nFather, but of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust\nthereof; but he, that doeth the will of God, abideth for ever\" (1\nJohn 2. 15).\n\n\nIII. I shall now conclude with a few arguments to prove, that if the\nextension of the spirit of Christ's Kingdom be the proper object of\nthe Church's pursuit--which is, on earth, essentially a spirit of\nself-denial for others' good--the entire surrender contended for, is\nas consonant with reason as it is with revelation; and consequently\nthe great end of our existence should be the extension of this\nspirit; and the most important enquiry, in which we can be engaged,\nis,--how this may be most effectually accomplished.\n\nLet us, therefore, begin with the consideration of our children, as\nit regards their apprehension of this spirit of our Lord's kingdom.\nThere is no one calling himself a Christian, who does not profess to\ndesire, and there is no one really a Christian, who does not in\nearnest desire for his children, both the apprehension and attainment\nof this blessing. The lips of all, and the hearts of the saints\ncontinually declare it as their wish that their children may receive\nthe word of truth, \"not as the word of man, but as it is indeed the\nword of God\";--that they may esteem and receive it as \"a lamp unto\ntheir feet and a light unto their paths\";--that they may prize it as\nthe greatest and best gift of God, next to Him of whom it bears\ntestimony and to whom it owes its preciousness. How then is a\nChristian to direct most powerfully and practically, the opening and\nsusceptible minds of his children towards this Word of Truth? Is it\nto be done by exhibiting to them a life devoted to the study of that\nword, as revealing the will of Him whom he loves, and Him of whom it\ntestifies, so that they may attach true ideas to true words,\nfollowing simply its precepts as judging them concerning all things,\nto be right for himself, and promoting the extension of this\nknowledge as equally essential to others;--by a dedication of time\nand talents to this end;--by habits of continued self-denial, having\nfor their object the acquisition of greater means towards the\naccomplishment of a work for which he would have them to believe that\nJesus their Lord left the bosom of his Father and descended to earth,\nand for the furtherance of which Apostles and Martyrs regarded\nall;--temporal advantages as loss, and were ready to suffer the\nprivation of them all? Or is it to be done by speaking, in very high\nterms, of the excellence and importance of the work;--by accompanying\nthe words with a gift of one, five, fifty, or a hundred pounds a year\nfor the promotion of it, but, in other respects, providing for\ntemporal conveniences and enjoyments like the world? As long as the\nhuman mind is capable of being influenced by example, the first of\nthese two exhibitions must exert the most powerful influence on the\nyouthful mind. It must have a direct and almost invincible tendency\nto impress that mind with a conviction of the sincerity of our love\nof the Truth, of the reality of our devotion towards its great\nAuthor, of our deep feeling of its necessity as the only guide to\npurity and happiness, and of our ardent desire that all men may know\nand receive and embrace it. And although all this is infinitely\nremoved from a work of grace on the soul, the almighty work of the\nSpirit of God; yet they may be, and continually are, the instruments\nhe uses for arresting the sinner, and turning his attention to Jesus,\nand leading beyond the apprehension of the truth--in the\nunderstanding, to the Author and Finisher of faith for the\nrealization of it in the heart. But, on the contrary, every\nappropriation towards providing temporal comforts, and conveniences,\nand pleasures, either for them or for ourselves, has a tendency\ndirectly the reverse. It shows that there is, in this value for the\nworld, a rival interest in the heart; it weakens their conviction of\nour sincerity; and lessens, in exact proportion to its amount, the\npractical conviction on their minds--that there is but \"one thing\nneedful\" in our estimation.\n\nThe true servant of God knows, better than any man, the real value of\nmoney, the value of time, the value of talent of whatever order. He\nis accordingly the most assiduous in his vocation, the most\nparsimonious of his time, the most anxious to improve his talents so\nfar as they are subservient to the interests of Christ's Kingdom.[11]\nHe knows that the mysterious dealings of God have most intimately\nconnected us in the ways of his providence, with the salvation of one\nanother. He knows also that there is no means, humbly laid at the\nfoot of the cross, which He, who hung there, does not bless, and send\nforth, with the blessing resting on it, to accomplish purposes of\nmercy.\n\nAs to laying up for children,[12] believing it to be contrary to the\nletter and spirit of the Gospel, and therefore to the best interests\nof the children themselves, I have no hesitation in saying that, on\nthese grounds, I am persuaded it ought to be relinquished--as much\nso, as spending our means on the selfish indulgence of our own\ninclinations. The reason indeed of the commands, exhortations, and\nencouragements to abstain from all such provision, appears as\nobvious, from every day's experience, as that of any single command\nin the Scripture; so that it manifestly would be the happiness of a\nchild of God to pursue the conduct thus enjoined by his Lord, even if\nrevelation was far less explicit on the subject, than it clearly and\nundeniably is. A \"single eye\" can alone secure our fidelity in the\ndischarge of a stewardship so peculiarly trying as that with which\nthe wealthy[13] among us are entrusted. The circumstances of such a\nstewardship have a remarkable power in directing and drawing our\naffections toward improper objects; in fixing them upon others in an\ninordinate degree; in leading us to misapprehend the nature of true\nhappiness, and to estimate things by a standard entirely at variance\nwith the plainest, and most frequently reiterated declarations of the\nGospel. If, therefore, under such circumstances, personal\nconveniences and indulgences, the elevation of self in the world,\nunder the thousand alluring masks which Satan provides for those who\nwish to wear them, as means, he tells them, of influence, be allowed\nany weight in the argument, we may easily determine the judgment\nwhich will go forth; you will see every man looking on his own\nthings, not on the things of others. Nay, is not this now the aspect,\neven of the professing Church of Christ? Should any one rise, and\nsay, However this may be with others, it does not apply to me. I give\na guinea to this, and a guinea to that, and a guinea to another; I\nmight say, Yes, and as many hundreds, it may be thousands to Self,\nwhose desires were to be mortified and solicitations curtailed.\n\nHow much would the judgment of the Christian World be modified with\nregard to the Leadings of Providence, if the eye had always the glory\nof God as the single object on which it rested! If that glory were\nour only aim, we should be all led to press forward, in the path to\naffluence and honours, with a more fluttering step and chastened\nenergy. How slowly would a servant of Christ, who profitably labours\namong many thousand souls with a bare subsistence, be led to\ninterpret the possibility of obtaining a more abundant provision (if\nwith a less extensive sphere of usefulness) into a leading of\nprovidence which encourages and demands his removal. He might, on the\nother hand, be led sometimes even to suspect the possibility of its\nbeing only a temptation of Satan, laid in his way, with a view of\nlimiting the held of his usefulness. That malicious and powerful\nSpirit doubtless now tempts the servant, as he once did his Lord, by\nsaying,--\"All this power will I give thee and this glory: for that is\ndelivered unto me: and to whomsoever I will, I give it. If thou,\ntherefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine\" (Luke 4. 6). We\nshould never forget that this power of Satan over the world and the\nthings of the world, is acknowledged by our Saviour himself, when he\ncalls him \"the prince of this world\" (John 14. 30). With the\nsolicitations of this \"Prince of Darkness\" coming, as he often does,\nin the form of \"an angel of light\" there concur affections of our\nnature, called tender and amiable. The whole heart is misled; the\njudgment is biassed; and the understanding darkened. He, on the\ncontrary, who considers and uses an increase of means only as a\nsacred deposit, committed to him for the extension of Christ's\nKingdom, and not for individual aggrandizement, is liable to no such\ndeception with respect to the Leadings of Providence. He has no\npersonal interest in the pecuniary advantages attendant on any\nsituation; and his only question is--whether it be one in which he\nmay best serve and glorify his Master. When his heavenly Father sends\nhim prosperity beyond what is sufficient for his immediate wants, he\ndoes not ask himself--May not I possibly need this superabundance at\nsome future period? or, if I never require it myself, may not my\nWife, or Children, or Relatives? He dares not to ask a question so\nfull of unbelief, nor presumes to turn the very abundance of the past\nmercies of God into an argument against trusting Him for the future.\nHe knows that the best security for all spiritual blessings and all\ntemporal mercies, both to himself and to his friends, lies in doing\nthe will, and trusting unreservedly in the promises: of that God who\nhath said:--\"Can a mother forget her sucking child, that she should\nnot have compassion on the fruit of her womb? Yea, she may forget;\nyet will not I forget thee\" (Isaiah 49. 15). What, therefore, he has\nfreely received, he freely gives; and trusts for the future the\npromises of his Heavenly Father, with a sincere, filial, and\ningenuous confidence.\n\nThe view here taken may naturally lead the minds of many inquirers\nafter the truth to ask,--'Is not this tempting God?' To this\ndifficulty Scripture supplies us with many very interesting and\nstriking answers; from which I shall select a few.\n\nWhen Abraham was called to quit his kindred and country and to put\nhis trust under the shadow of the Almighty's wing,--his going,\nnotwithstanding that he knew not whither, and that he was perfectly\nunacquainted in what manner or to what extent he was to be provided\nfor, constitutes that peculiar feature in his obedience, which all\nChristians feel and appreciate, and the spirit of which they profess\nto desire to have animating their own. The same is also observable in\nthe sacrifice of his son. Compliance in this case seems the\ndeath-blow to his fondest hopes; and to trust that, notwithstanding\nhis compliance, the promises which God had made to him would be\nfulfilled, was a confidence resting on somewhat beyond the bounds of\nall human probability. Yet he does not hesitate to obey (and the\nauthor of the Epistle to the Hebrews tells us why), because he\nbelieved that God was able to raise his son up from the dead. Was\nthis then tempting God? What says his Word? \"The Angel of the Lord\ncalled unto Abraham out of Heaven the second time, and said, 'By\nmyself have I sworn, saith the Lord; for because thou hast done this\nthing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son; that in\nblessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy\nseed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the\nseashore: and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be\nblessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice'\" (Gen. 22. 15, etc.).\n\nAgain, in the 34th Chapter of Exodus it is written,--\"Thrice in the\nyear shall all your men--children appear before the Lord God, the God\nof Israel. For I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge\nthy borders; neither shall any man desire thy land when thou shalt go\nup to appear before the Lord thy God thrice in the year.\" Now, would\nobedience to this precept be tempting God? Doubtless not. Yet surely\nthere is a much greater natural difficulty in the way of protecting\nthe defenceless wives and families of a whole people during the\nabsence of all the males at Jerusalem, than there is in providing\nsubsistence sufficient for those who daily labour; for by this means\nthe great mass of mankind are, and ever have been provided for.\n\nThe institution of the sabbatical year appears to afford another very\napt illustration. Let us therefore for a moment consider the commands\nand promises annexed to its observance, as well as the threatenings\npronounced, and the punishments inflicted, in case of disobedience.\n\"Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune\nthy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof; but in the seventh\nyear shall be a sabbath of rest unto the Land, a sabbath for the\nLord; thou shalt neither sow thy held, nor prune thy vineyard. And if\nye shall say,--'What shall we eat the seventh year? behold we shall\nnot sow, nor gather in our increase':--then I will command my\nblessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit\nfor three years. And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat yet of old\nfruit until the ninth year; until her fruits come in, ye shall eat of\nthe old store. If ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk\ncontrary unto me, I will bring your land into desolation, and I will\nscatter you among the heathen: and your lands shall be desolate, and\nyour cities waste. Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as\nit lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies' land: even then shall\nthe land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths. As long as it lieth desolate\nit shall rest: because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when ye\ndwelt upon it\" (Lev. 25. 3, 4, 20; and C. 26.).\n\nWe see afterwards the execution of this threat:--\"Them that had\nescaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were\nservants to the King and his sons until the reign of the Kingdom of\nPersia; to fulfil the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah,\nuntil the land had enjoyed her sabbaths; for as long as she lay\ndesolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years\" (2\nChron. 36. 20).[14]\n\nNow these illustrations of the nature of the divine government are\nvery instructive, whether we contemplate Abraham's obedience and\nreward, or the disobedience and punishment of his posterity. Abraham\nappears to pursue a line of conduct, which must end in the loss of\neverything dear to him; yet in the way of obedience, unimagined\nmercies and favours meet him. His posterity, by neglecting to go\nthrice in the year to Jerusalem, or to obey the command respecting\nthe observance of the sabbatical year, seem to the natural eye to be\nin the way of safety and abundance; yet their enemies brought famine\nand desolation on their land, and they themselves, their wives, and\ntheir little ones, were carried away into captivity. Now the\nanxieties which led the Jews to ask,--\"What will become of our wives\nand our children during our absence at Jerusalem?\" or, \"What will\nbecome of our households during the seventh year?\"--are natural\nanxieties, as strong and as amiable as can influence the decision of\nthe human heart. Yet these very anxieties were the immediate cause of\ntheir doubts, their distrust, and their disobedience. If then the\nfollowing even these strong dictates of the heart, against a command\nof God, has proved perfect foolishness to those who have presumed so\nto do, let us take warning by their example; for to this end were\nthese things written.\n\nThere is one inference which, guided by the analogy of faith I would\ndraw from the preceding observations. If trusting against the natural\nappearance of things, was demanded under the comparatively dim light\nof the Old Testament,--a dispensation which, considered nationally,\nhad peculiar respect to temporal prosperity; much more might we\nexpect it to be required under the bright light of the Gospel,--a\ndispensation in which temporal prosperity and all temporal\ndistinctions are cast entirely into the shade: and as the\ndisobedience of the Jews cut them off--not only from the direct\nblessings promised to obedience, but also from the striking\nmanifestations of the divine providence over them, which the three\nyears' corn in one year, and the protection of their families and\npossessions during their absence at Jerusalem, would have afforded\nthem; so we, by our want of confidence in God, lose those endearing\nevidences of His love, which a simple trust in His promises is the\nappointed means of drawing down from His open and bountiful hand.\n\nWhat preachers of righteousness would these Jews have been, had they\nobeyed the commands of their God! What a sermon on God's providence\nover His chosen, would the three years' provision in one year, and\nthe miraculous protection of their coasts, have been to the Heathen\naround! It may be of importance for us to remember, that it is God\nalone whom we are afraid to trust. Where we have no doubt of the\nintegrity or ability of man, we fearlessly trust. If one of the\nPrinces of this world has an arduous undertaking to accomplish, which\nrequires the undivided care and attention of those to whom it is\ncommitted; and if he says to his servants,--\"Pursue steadily and\nsingly the business entrusted to you, without distraction about\npersonal provision, of which I will take sufficient care\"; how many\nare the candidates, how eager the contention, how secure the\nconfidence! Nay more, the obvious tendency of such a plan toward the\nattainment of the end in view, is seen, and its wisdom appreciated.\n\nYet when the King of Heaven, after manifesting his unspeakable love\ntoward us, in the sacrifice of his Son, demands of us a similar\nconfidence, we make no scruple to withhold it. When our Blessed Lord\nsays,--\"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth,\" that your\neye may be single in my service,--that your whole body may be full of\nlight to discern between good and evil: when He expressly\nsays,--\"Take no thought saying,--'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall\nwe drink?' or, 'Wherewithal shall we be clothed;' but seek ye first\nthe Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall\nbe added unto you\";--we see neither the wisdom nor goodness of His\ndesign. We begin to explain away His instructions concerning it; we\nhesitate about the meaning of His promises; we put far from us the\nprivilege of believing that He, who neither slumbers nor sleeps,\nhatchets over us. Whence then this confidence in man, whose breath is\nin his nostrils, who is absent in the moment of calamity; yet\ndiffidence in God[15] who is the Omnipotent, the very present, help\nin every time of trouble? Does it not arise from a fear--lest, if we\ntrust him with our provision, he might choose for us and ours the\nportion he chose for the Son of his love? Does it not arise from a\nsecret desire that our own wills may be done, and not His? Yet we may\nrest assured that, as it is not for the interest of a wayward child\nto be independent of the salutary control of an excellent Father,\nneither is it for ours to be able to say: \"Soul, thou hast much goods\nlaid up for many years.\"\n\nSo intensely am I convinced of this truth, that I can, with my whole\nheart, pray for myself and all who are nearest and dearest to me,\nthat we may be so circumstanced in life, as to be compelled to live\nby faith on the divine promises day by day.[16] \"Godliness with\ncontentment,\" says the Apostle, \"is great gain. For we brought\nnothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.\nAnd having food and raiment, let us be therewith content. But they\nthat will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many\nfoolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and\nperdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil (a root of\nall evils, Revised Version); which while some coveted after, they\nhave erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many\nsorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after\nrighteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness\" (1 Tim. 6.\n6-11). Let us therefore \"endure hardness, as good soldiers of Jesus\nChrist\", knowing that \"no man that warreth entangleth himself with\nthe affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him\nto be a soldier\" (2 Tim. 2. 3).\n\nNow that all this may not appear irresistible to many, I am fully\naware; and having been myself, in times past, led to wish that a few\npassages, such as 1 Tim. 5. 8: 2 Cor. 12. 14, had admitted of clearer\nexplanation, or, rather, required none, I shall now, in a few words,\nendeavour to explain what appears to me to be the principle of the\nNew Testament revelation, which is not to supply the logician with an\nirresistible chain of premises and conclusions, but the child with a\nlight to his Father's mind; therefore, on the divinity of our Blessed\nLord, the Lord's day, the principle of communion, of church\ndiscipline, and of literally giving up all--if a man wishes to be\ndisputatious and escape the easy and blessed yoke of Christ's love he\nmay, and therefore will walk in darkness, whilst the child is, in his\nsimplicity, surrounded by a food of light.\n\nI shall, therefore, briefly recapitulate the reasons why it appears\nto me that our Saviour spoke literal truth, and meant to be\nunderstood as so speaking, when he used such expressions as\nthese--\"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth\", and, \"Sell\nall that thou hast\":--\n\n    1. Because he commanded the young man to do so;\n\n    2. Because he commended the poor widow for doing so;\n\n    3. Because the Apostles and all who believed at Jerusalem, did\nso, by selling their goods, houses, and lands:\n\n    4. Because without this Dedication, it is impossible to receive\nthe command,--\"Love thy neighbour as thyself\":\n\n    5. Because, while it obviously tends to the general extension of\nChrist's Kingdom upon earth, it does also, in an equal measure\ncontribute to the happiness and usefulness of the individual, by\nextirpating carefulness and sloth, and causing to grow in\nabundance[17] the peaceable fruits of righteousness and love.\n\nShould I be asked, what I understand by giving up all for Christ, my\nreply would be that I believe this surrender to be made, when any\nindividual, following whatever lawful vocation he may, labours and\ncontrives therein, with all the assiduity and indefatigable diligence\nof which he is capable, to accomplish the known--the recorded will of\nhis Lord and Saviour. If that will requires that he should labour for\nthe souls, as well as the bodies of men; that he should strive to\nmake his fellows happy in time, and in eternity; that he should\nimpart to them the knowledge of Him who is \"the way, the truth, and\nthe life\"; he will labour with time, talents, means, and prayers, for\nthe attainment of these ends, as diligently as others labour from\nmotives of simple covetousness, or with a view of making provision\nagainst future contingencies for themselves or for their families. If\nany object to selling \"houses or lands\" it remains for themselves to\ndistinguish[18] between the motives, which induce them to retain\ntheir property, and those which induced the \"young man\" to retain\nhis. If they retain it from any private affection unsupported by the\nword of truth, and if it is not their own full conviction--that, in\nso doing, they are pursuing the path most directly tending to fulfil\nthe mind of Christ; neither the myriads of those who embrace their\nviews and follow their plans, nor the learning and authority by which\nthey are supported, will prove them to be wise, or true, or eligible,\nin that day when the judgment shall be set, and the books shall be\nopened. The principle I have here endeavoured to establish from the\nsacred volume, demands of no man the relinquishment of a present\nsphere of usefulness, till he is himself conscientiously convinced\nthat he is called to another, where he may accomplish more for the\ngreat cause for which he lives--the exaltation of Jesus, and the\ngathering his sheep. But though it does not require a relinquishment\nof present occupations, it is most uncompromising as to the end to\nwhich they must be directed.[19]\n\nThat the hearty reception of this principle may be connected, by\nnatural consequence, with many and great difficulties in this\nlife--no one, who knows any thing of human nature, as opposed to the\nnature of Christ's kingdom, or the Gospel History, can doubt. In this\nworld's history, great things are not accomplished but by great\nsacrifices. A life free from sufferings and sacrifices our Lord has\nnot promised, and the Apostles did not enjoy. Such a portion they did\nnot even expect, but were always prepared to live on the remembrance\nof the \"faithful saying--If we suffer with Him, we shall also reign\nwith Him\". It should therefore be no question of ours whether, in\nliterally fulfilling our Saviour's command, we shall be subjected to\nmany sufferings and privations, or not. The question is--Is it the\ncommand of Him, who loved us too well to enjoin any thing but for our\ngood; and whether in his sovereign arrangement, the embracing of it\nmay not be connected with the advancement of His Kingdom, and\npromotion of His glory? It would at least elevate the church from the\ndisgraceful position in which she now stands, striking hands with\nGeshem and Sanballat, to raise up the walls of Jerusalem. She would\nthen rejoice to say: \"We will do the Lord's work ourselves.\" Another\nquestion is, whether the gathering in the sheep of Christ out of a\nlost world, or even of a single one, be not worthy of all the\nsacrifices we are called upon to make; and whether the means we have\npointed out have not, in the appointment of the Lord, a tendency to\nthe accomplishment of this end? If, from the word of truth, we can\nanswer--\"Indisputably\"; troubles, dangers, and difficulties, should\nbe as nothing. \"Not my will but thine be done.\"\n\nIf the world esteem this madness, we must say with the\nApostle,--\"Whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God; or whether\nwe be sober, it is for your cause. For the love of Christ\nconstraineth us: because we thus judge, that if one died for all,\nthen were all dead [therefore all died]: and that he died for all,\nthat they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but\nunto him who died for them and rose again\" (2 Cor. 5. 13).\n\nThus I leave the question to those who love the Lord Jesus Christ in\nsincerity; who desire that his name may be a praise in the earth; and\nwho, seeing that the harvest is truly plenteous, but the labourers\nfew, are constant in prayer to the Lord of the Harvest that he would\nsend forth more labourers into it and that he would more abundantly\npour out his Holy Spirit upon his Church, that it may more fervently\ndesire, and more assiduously labour for, the coming of that day, when\nthe Lord shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired\nin all them that believe. And may the Lord direct all our hearts into\nthe love of God, and patient waiting for Christ, that if we should be\nalive and remain at his coming, we may be caught up to join the\nsaints who are to come with their Lord in the clouds; and so be ever\nwith the Lord; or if we go before, may we come with Him in the day of\nHis glory. Amen.\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDIX (referred to in note 1)\n\n\nIt may be necessary to notice the only preceptive passage in the New\nTestament which apparently bears a different aspect. This we shall do\nfor two reasons:\n\n1st.--to meet the readiness with which it is pleaded as a\ncounterpoise to the otherwise clearly universal doctrine of the New\nTestament; and 2ndly--, to prove that, far from its being in\nopposition to the principle for which we contend, it is another\nillustration of it. The text alluded to is contained in l Tim. 5. 8;\nwhere St. Paul is giving general directions relative to the provision\nto be made for widows, making a distinction at the same time between\nsuch as are to be relieved by the Church, and such as are to be\nrelieved by their relatives. In reference to the latter he says, \"He\nthat provident not for his own, and especially for those of his own\nhousehold, hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel\n[unbeliever]\"; which Hammond thus paraphrases, \"But if any man or\nwoman do not maintain those that belong to them, especially those of\ntheir family (as their Parents clearly are, having a right to live in\ntheir house, and a propriety to be maintained by them (or that they\ntake care and relieve them) supposing that they are able to it,) that\nman or woman doth quite contrary to the command of Christ, and indeed\nperforms not that duty to Parents that even infidels think themselves\nobliged to do\". And in his note he adds, \"To provide here does not\nsignify laying up by way of careful, thoughtful providence\nbeforehand, but only taking care of for the present, as we are able,\nrelieving, maintaining, giving to them that want.\"--Whitby in his\nannotation on the same verse says, \"Some here are guilty of a great\nmistake, scraping together great fortunes, and hoarding them up for\ntheir children, with a scandalous neglect of that charity to their\nChristian brethren which alone can sanctify those enjoyments to them,\nand enable them to lay up a good foundation against the time to come;\npleading these words to excuse their sordid parsimony and want of\ncharity; that 'he that provident not for his own household, hath\ndenied the faiths and is worse than an infidel'; whereas these words\nplainly respect the provision which children should make for their\nparents, and not that which parents should make for their children.\"\nSee also Doddridge, Scott, and Pole's Synopsis, in loco.--The meaning\nof the text then is simply this:--he who ministers not to the\nnecessities of his aged relatives, having the means so to do, is to\nbe esteemed worse than an infidel; for even the heathen acknowledged\nthis to be a duty. The precept, therefore, is to give and not to lay\nup, and consequently is in perfect accordance with the commando \"Lay\nnot up for yourselves treasures upon earth.\"\n\nFor the meaning of the passage--\"Provide things honest in the sight\nof all men\" (Romans 12. 17) (which some for want of more efficient\nsupport, are anxious to press into their service) see the above\nauthorities; where it will be seen to have reference only to the\nbeauty of character becoming and attractive in a Christian. See, as a\nScripture comment, Phil. 4. 8. 2; Ch. 8 and 21. [There appears a\nmistake in the reference here.]\n\nI shall now make a few remarks on the passage contained in II Cor.\n12. 14, that I may bring under one point of view all the evidence the\nNew Testament seems to me to afford, either in fact or by possible\nconstruction, against the view taken in this Essay. And this passage\nwe more particularly notice, as it really appears to present some\ndifficulty. \"Behold,\" says the Apostle, \"the third time I am ready to\ncome to you; and I will not be burthensome to you; for the children\nought not to lay up for the Parents, but the Parents for the\nchildren.\" Now the difficulty alluded to consists in determining the\nmeaning of the Apostle in this illustration. In the first Epistle to\nthe Corinthians, just before the dose of it, he gives the Corinthian\nChurch a precept, similar to the one he had given all the other\nChurches he established;--that they should lay by every Lord's Day,\nas God had prospered them, for the relief of the poor Saints. It\nappears, by the Apostle's remarks in the second Epistle to the same\nChurch that there were some who desired to impute base motives to him\nas though he wished to share in this bounty. He accordingly evinces\nhis disinterestedness, by declining all provision for himself. He\ntells them, however, that he did not decline receiving any thing from\nthem because he loved them less than other Churches by whose\nliberality he had been once and again supplied, but that he might cut\noff occasion from those who desired occasion to malign his motives.\nAnd he once more excuses himself, in the next Chapter, from being a\nparticipator of the bounty which they had laid up, and to which he\nhad encouraged them for the purpose of supplying the wants of the\npoor Saints in Judea; and he employs an illustration drawn from the\ncommon practice of mankind. \"The Children,\" says he, \"ought not to\nlay up for the Parents, but the Parents for the Children.\" And this\nillustration he employs as he does many others; just, for example, as\nhe illustrates the Christian Race by circumstances and practices\nattendant on the Olympic games. It is essential to the illustration\nof this passage to consider that the whole argument of St. Paul does\nnot refer to the providing against his future possible wants, with\nwhich alone this Essay has to do, but to the relief of his present\nactual necessities. It is evident indeed that the words cannot be\ntaken strictly. The Apostle begins with asserting that Children ought\nnot to lay up for their Parents, that is, ought not to provide for\ntheir present necessities; for, if this be not his meaning, the words\nhave no reference to the question between the Apostle and the\nCorinthians, and therefore cease to be an illustration at all; since\nthat question referred to present necessity on the one handy and to\npresent supply on the other. His simple object appears to be to\ndecline their bounty without giving pain; for it is clear from this\nvery epistle that he was in the habit of receiving assistance from\nother Churches, of which he was as much the Spiritual Parent as of\nthe Church of Corinth. The former he highly commends for the anxiety\nwhich they felt and the assistance which they afforded: from the\nlatter he declines receiving any pecuniary aid, as if it were not\nincumbent on them to give, and would be improper for him to receive.\nHe seems unwilling to recall to their minds the special reason of his\nrefusing to accept of their bounty, and endeavours to find one in the\ngeneral relation in which he stood to them, as their Spiritual\nFather.--Let any one read from the eighth Chapter to the end of the\nEpistle, and he will be fully satisfied that the idea of laying up in\nstore for future and possible wants never entered into the mind of\nthe Apostle. Let him read especially that part of the eighth Chapter\nbeginning with--\"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,\nthat though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor,\"--and\nending with--\"As it is written, He, that had gathered much, had\nnothing over; and he, that had gathered little, had no lack.\"\n\n\n\n\nFootnotes:\n\n\n[1] The texts which seem to give another aspect to this question,\nsuch as, \"He that provident not for his own, etc.\"--\"The parents\nought to lay up for the children, etc.\"--\"Provide things honest in\nthe sight of all men,\" are considered together in a note at the end\nof the Pamphlet. [see APPENDIX]\n\n[2] [It should be remembered that in this passage the words \"take no\nthought\" should have been rendered \"Be not anxious\". See the Revised\nVersion.]\n\n[3] \"He could not tell into whose bands his wealth would pass; nor\nwould it be any comfort to him, even for his children or friends to\npossess it, when he was torn from all which he loved and idolized,\nand plunged into the pit of destruction; and perhaps they too were\npreparing by it for the same dreadful end\"--(Scott).\n\n\"Though possessions are useful to sustain life, yet no man is able to\nprolong life, and to make it any thing more happy and comfortable to\nhim, by possessing more than he needs or uses, that is, by any\nsuperfluity of wealth. The only way to be the better for the wealth\nof the world, is to dispose and distribute it to the service of God,\nand benefit and comfort of others\"-[Hammond].\n\n[4] [The argument is not distinctly affected, but it is to be\nobserved that the Lord did not here speak of being \"saved\", but of\nentering the Kingdom. That the disciples at that time thought the two\nideas were the same does not establish it, for prior to the gift of\nthe indwelling Spirit of truth they misunderstood other things that\nthe Lord said. Matt. 16. 22: Luke 22. 36: Acts 1. 6. For the same\nthought compare Mat. 5. 20; 18. 1-3: 1 Cor. 6. 9, 10 ) Gal. 5. 19,\n21: Eph. 5. 5; all addressed to persons already \"saved\".]\n\n[5] Although this Essay seems to have respect rather to those who\nhave much to bestow, than those who have little, yet what the Apostle\nsays as an encouragement to labour, may be applied to every man\nhowever humble.--\"Let him labour, working with his hands the thing\nwhich is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth\" (Eph. 4.\n28). \"I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel. Yea, ye\nyourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my\nnecessities, and to them that were with me. I have showed you all\nthings, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to\nremember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, 'It is more\nblessed to give than to receive'\" (Acts 20. 33-35).\n\n[6] \"What shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of\nGideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae;--of David also,\nand Samuel, and of the Prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms,\nwrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of\nlions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword,\nout of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to\nflight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to\nlife again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that\nthey might obtain a better resurrection: and others had trial of\ncruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover, of bonds and\nimprisonment: they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted,\nwere slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheep-skins and\ngoat-skins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented: (of whom the world\nwas not worthy: ) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in\ndens and caves of the earth\" (Heb. 11. 32-38).\n\n[7] [In 1842 Mr. and Mrs. Groves adopted a child of eight as\ndaughter, \"an orphan who was commended to their care by her father on\nhis death-bed. This charge was a source of great comfort to them:\nthey undertook it as unto the Lord, who truly gave them their hire.\nThe child, being early converted to God, grew up to be a very\nefficient help in their mission work, when other labourers were\nwithdrawn; and she became to them, in every way, as a beloved\ndaughter\" (400).]\n\n[8] \"I see here Parents who are toiling night and day. 'What are you\ndoing?' 'I have a large family of children; and I am endeavouring to\nlay up a portion for them.' 'Why then do you not in truth lay up a\nportion for them! What! will you lay up a little dust, and call that\na portion? Is that a portion for an immortal soul? You are rather\nhanging a millstone about the necks of your children which may sink\nthem deeper into ruin. You may thereby tempt them to plunge into the\nworld: and there they may scatter what you have treasured up, and\ncalled a portion! 'The Lord is my portion, saith my soul,'--is the\ndeclaration of David; and till you lead your children to this\nportion, you are making no real provision for them'\" (Cecil).\n\n[9] \"Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his\nlife for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But\nwhoso hath this world's good, and teeth his brother have need, and\nshutters up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love\nof God in him?\" (1 John 3. 16, 17). And \"how dwelleth the love of God\nin him\" who can behold his fellows, by millions, perishing with\nignorance--that hunger of the soul--, without putting forth every\neffort, and making every sacrifice, that they may receive the bread\nof life.\n\n[10] The Christian Motto should be--Labour hard, consume little, give\nmuch, and all to Christ.\n\n[11] \"Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity\nof my heels shall compass me about? [Revised Version \"iniquity at my\nheels\", that is, enemies who would work iniquity.] They that trust in\ntheir wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;\nnone of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a\nransom for him; (for the redemption of their soul is precious, and it\nceaseth [faileth] for ever;) that he should still live for ever, and\nnot see corruption. For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool\nand the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others.\nTheir inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever,\nand their dwelling-places to all generations; they call their lands\nafter their own names. Nevertheless, man being in honour abideth not:\nhe is like the beasts that perish. This, their way, is their folly;\nyet their posterity approve their sayings.--The upright shall not be\nashamed in the evil time; and in the days of famine they shall be\nsatisfied. I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the\nrighteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread\" (Psalm 49. 5-13; and\n37. 19 and 25)--\"God hath fed me,\" says Scott, \"all my life long. I\ndie, but God can provide for my children, and children's children\nwithout me; I cannot without Him. I have not, since I came here,\nallowing for my house, cleared L100 a year: yet the Lord hath\nprovided; and I live in plenty, and can give something, and, if more\nmoney were good for me, he would give it.\"--What he farther says, in\nspeaking of the \"carnal\" anxiety of Parents for the temporal welfare\nof their children, though applied by himself to the clergy in\nparticular, is equally applicable to the laity. \"I often think what\nSt. Paul would say to ministers in our days, on this ground; when of\nthose in his days he says,--All seek their own, not the things of\nJesus Christ--(see my note on the passage.) I have long lamented that\nwe cannot serve God by the day, and leave it to ham to provide day by\nday for us and ours\" (Scott's Letters--London-1824; pages 296-7).\n\n[12] By wealthy, I mean those who have large incomes, as contrasted\nwith those who have a bare subsistence from their labours, or those\nwho have inheritances entailed upon them, so that they cannot enjoy\nthe privilege of disencumbering themselves.\n\n[13] Now many may say, these commands are so clear that none could\nmisunderstand them, but not so these under consideration; perhaps if\nwe were to analyze a little deeper our hearts, we should find that\nthe one owes its clearness to our freedom from any consequent burden\non finding them clear; the other its indistinctness from the reverse,\nnot having yet learnt the glorious liberty of depending on and\nyielding all to Christ. In heaven they are seen to be, I have no\ndoubt, equally clear, equally commands, or rather privileges, of the\nsaints of God.\n\n[14] How different the spirit and conduct of our Blessed Lord! Did he\nfear to leave, without temporal Provision, his widowed Mother to the\npromises and providence of God? No; he left her unprovided to an\nunprovided (Acts 3.1 and 6) disciple: and this he did, not at a time\nwhen probabilities were greatly in favour of a comfortable competence\nbeing easily procured, but when he knew that difficulties and dangers\nwould beset them at every step. Surely had laying up beforehand been\nthe duty of a child, our Saviour would have exhibited this virtue\namong that constellation of virtues which shone forth from his\ncharacter; for he knew that we were to follow his example. Why then\ndid he act thus, whilst we hesitate to follow his steps? Because he\nknew the truth, nature, and extent, of the promises of God, which we\ndoubt or deny. Some will say--\"But this was a provision!\" Yes,--the\nvery provision which God will ever make for those that trust in\nHim,--a provision at the moment of necessity.\n\n[15] \"I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor\npeople, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord. They shall feed\nand lie down, and none shall make them afraid\" (Zeph. 3. 12 and 13).\n\n[16] \"He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he\nwhich soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man\naccording as he purposely in his heart, so let him give; not\ngrudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God\nis able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having\nall sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: (as it\nis written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor; his\nrighteousness remaineth for ever. Now he that administereth seed to\nthe sower, both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed\nsown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness:) being enriched\nin every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us\nthanksgiving to God. For the administration of this service not only\nsupplies the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many\nthanksgivings unto God; (whiles by the experiment of this\nministration they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the\nGospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and\nunto all men:) and by their prayer for you, which long after you for\nthe exceeding grace of God in you\" (II Cor. 9. 6-14).\n\n[17] [I cannot refrain from inviting any candid and careful reader to\ncompare the rendering of this passage as given with the rendering in\nthe Revised Version, as an instance of the real need there was for a\nrevision of the English version. Especially is this seen from verse\n10 and onward. Let him notice the words--ministereth and\nadministration, experiment, professed; the change from \"both\"--expressing\na desire, to \"shall\"--making a promise or assurance. And if\nhe can compare the Greek he will notice the opening of verse 10,\nwhere the construction of the Greek was missed, \"bread for food\"\nbeing connected wrongly with the words following instead of with the\nwords preceding, and \"your\" was inserted; and then the last clause\nquoted (verse 14) made clear and emphatic in the Revised Version.]\n\n[18] It might be an examination of not less importance, to ascertain\nwhy provision for future possible wants is almost the only point, in\nwhich the Christian and the man of the world stand on the same\nground, pursue the same ends, and govern themselves by the same\nmaxims; and how it happens that this part of our duty, if it indeed\nbe such, coincides so exactly with our natural propensities.\n\n[19] What is here meant is--that the principle, contended for, by no\nmeans precludes the carrying on such pursuits as require a large\nstock. But, as he, who had ten talents, used them as a servant, and\nbrought the interest to his Master, so the Christian Merchant lives\nand labours as a servant purchased by his Lord, and considers his\ngains, as designed for his Master's service, not his private\nemolument. If he so arts, whatever his station may be, he has given\nup all for Christ. He remains where he is, not for his own private\nadvantage, but that, as a faithful steward, he may pour forth the\nrich abundance, which God grants to his labours, to nourish and build\nup the Church, and enlarge the confines of his Master's kingdom, and\nthe only personal advantage he has above his poorer brother is, he\nhas more anxieties (but for Christ, who sweetens them) every step he\nadvances up, and therefore would have no personal inducement to get\nup but the sense of duty, that he may have more abundantly to give to\nhim who needeth, and the guinea dedications and speeches from the\nrich, would pass out together as no longer needed; for one action of\nreal dedication would contain more argument than a thousand speeches\nabout it, from those who are laving in all the luxuries of life, and\nyield more help than a thousand guineas, and there would be left for\nthe poorer, and the poorest would bring in their blessed two mites.\n\n\n\n\nTranscribers notes:\n\n\nThe source for this etext is Chapter 5 of Lang, G. H. 1939. Anthony\nNorris Groves, Saint and Pioneer. London: Thynne & Co. Footnotes have\nbeen renumbered.\n\n[Footnotes enclosed in brackets are comments made by Lang rather than\nGroves. This expains what otherwise would be anachronous references\nto the Revised Version of the Bible which was published in 1881.]\n\nThe first edition of \"Christian Devotedness\" was published by\nHatchard 1825.","title":"Christian Devotedness","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":16408}