6. That G.o.d made us to be almoners of his bounty to others.
Reciprocity is the pillar of every social system; it is of the human family. This principle was practically developed in Eden. On this ground, Paul argued that there should be equality between those who are in want and those who have abundance. (3 Cor. viii. 14.) Every man was designed to stand like a conductor of the electric fluid, to convey the influences of heaven to those around him. Our Creator has made the duty of benevolence as obligatory as that of justice. One is as much bound to help other, and thus, unless in very extreme cases, to contribute of his substance for the benefit of the needy, as to be honest. When, therefore, we pa.s.s a portion of the good things of life to others as they are conveyed to us, we are fulfilling the great end of our social being; when we grudgingly retain it, we are defeating that end. This sentiment must be riveted in our minds. It is a hard lesson for selfish men to receive; yet it must be learnt. It is indeed the n.o.blest idea of our natures; the link that unites us to purer intelligences.
7. A lively remembrance of the Source of our blessings; realizing that they are all streams from the Father of mercies. Had he been other than Jehovah, they would long ere this have been stayed. For how have we sinned, and forfeited every claim to good; and yet he has continued to uphold and refresh us. We have repeated the sin, and under aggravated form,--abused his bounties, despised his Son, grieved his Spirit, disregarded his warnings, and slighted his entreaties; and still his blessings have continued to flow as if nothing could provoke him to withhold them. What unutterable goodness! What exhaustless mercy!
Surely the gifts of such mercy should be devoted to the works of mercy; and how more appropriately than in aid of that wondrous scheme which the agonized Jesus died to accomplish? While we enjoy our blessings, let us turn our eyes upward to the overflowing Source, and while we gaze, let the streams of grat.i.tude gush forth. As we have freely received, freely let us give.
8. The importance of praying over the gifts of Providence, and the varied calls of charity. As the reception of our income should be one of the special occasions of consecrating a portion to the Lord, so in the gladness of the moment of its reception, we should make it our rule to decide as to the amount to be thus consecrated on our knees before G.o.d. Also, when the claims of the dest.i.tute are presented, let the amount of our contributions be fixed upon so far as practicable in the same way; determining, at whatever sacrifice to our own feelings, to give just what G.o.d requires. Prayer, while a privilege at all times of doubt and perplexity, is a special duty on such occasions;--first, because, when alone with the Searcher of hearts, brought up, as it were, into the full blaze of his presence, our consciences will be quickened, and speak truthfully; while the humble att.i.tude of the suppliant is peculiarly fitted to inspire grat.i.tude, and render it effective;-- secondly, because such are hours of special temptations; the adversary of all good and our wicked hearts combining their efforts to prevent a generous liberality; and there is great danger that selfishness, rather than mercy, will gain the ascendency, and, under artful guises, control our determinations;--thirdly, because our decisions on such occasions are some of the most influential in their consequences, both upon ourselves and others, which we are ever called to make in the common routine of duties. Take a simple instance. The question whether we give to the Bible Society one dollar or ten, fifteen dollars or twenty-five, is virtually whether we will send forth for the enlightening and felicitating of this dark and wretched world, four or forty, sixty or a hundred, volumes of the Word of Life. And when, aside from all the distorting and hardening influences exerted on our own moral natures by a grudging refusal to meet the calls of benevolence, we consider the civil and social melioration which has attended the pathway of this heavenly light, together with its refining and sanctifying influences of the individual soul; when we stretch our thoughts into the eternal world, and catch the songs of joy, unuttered and unutterable by mortal tongues, which will thrill forever the souls of the redeemed, what acts of life can the thoughtful mind contemplate, demanding more solemn consideration, more fervent prayer, than such decisions?
Thus the practice of coming to our determinations of charity with prayer, a practice involving, as it does, both mental and moral principles of the first importance, and even leading on to interminable consequences, may not be neglected. We should cultivate, therefore, a docile temper, a simple, child-like spirit towards Christ. We should cherish such vital nearness to our Lord, that we may commune as freely with him as friend communes with friend; feeling that we can and would do nothing, even in the common affairs of life, without his aid and guidance. It is said of a lady in one of our cities, whom an intimate acquaintance urged to spend a few days with her in the country, that she replied, "I should like to, but I don"t know, it may not be best;" and added with great simplicity, and in agreement with the spirit of her life, "I will go and ask my Saviour." Thus, on the reception of worldly treasures, or in determining beforehand what proportion of our expected increase we shall appropriate to the Lord, we should go to Jesus with the same sweet simplicity and earnestness, crying, "Lord, what proportion of these thy bounties shall I share with the dest.i.tute?" failing not to devote that portion which our consciences, enlightened by scripture, shall dictate when kneeling before the mercy-seat.
9. The responsibility of maintaining a healthful and enlightened conscience in respect to benevolence. The Bible is the great teacher and rectifier of the conscience. We must in the first place, then, take fair, impartial, disinterested views of all the precepts, examples, promises, and teachings of the Scriptures on this point. We must investigate them thoroughly, and be sure that we obtain precisely the mind of the Spirit. Dim or distorted views either cripple the springs of action, or give them wrong direction. True, the scriptural standard towers high, and shines brightly. Some would obscure its brightness; would wrest those pa.s.sages most vividly presenting it; would convince themselves that so great sacrifices as some, in their zeal, have prescribed, are not required; that we are permitted to enjoy our own interests, and, to a great extent, seek our own happiness; and if we barely obey the suggestions of natural sympathy, and manifest common generosity, it is enough. They would bring down this exalted standard to our own diminutive stature, so that we can measure ourselves by it without inconvenience. But all such efforts are high-handed rebellion, and will prove utterly vain. G.o.d has placed it on a pedestal high as the eternal throne, and there it will stand and burn forever. We must bind our consciences to this standard; they must rise to its height, and shine with its radiance. If to our selfish hearts it appear a blood-stained cross, we must nail them to it, and let them bleed and agonize there. To gratify our selfish desires, G.o.d will never lower his claims. We must come up to them. If unwilling to do it in time, we shall meet them in all their solemn realities at the final bar; if we have been obedient, there receiving the smile of our Judge; if not, his everlasting frown.
Secondly, we should keep ourselves informed of the spiritual wants of our race. Every one is bound to be in earnest in this work. He should strive to enstamp on his heart a full-drawn image of the world scathed by sin. We should realize how great a portion of our globe is yet untouched by the vivifying light of the Cross; that the desolating systems of idolatry, of Mohammedism, of Romanism, and other false religions, are now overshadowing and blasting the nations. We should search for distinct knowledge of the intellectual degradation, of the moral corruption, of the oppression, wretchedness, and woe, of the groans uttered, and the tears shed, by the millions now subject to their galling sway, "as for hid treasures." Ignorance on these topics, at the present day, cannot be excusable. The organs of the various benevolent societies come weekly or monthly to our doors, detailing scenes of sottish ignorance, of pollutions and misery, which cause philanthropy to weep. They are indeed distressing to the feeling heart; and I have sometimes thought there were those, who shrink from the affecting view of a world ravaged, enslaved, and tortured by sin, lest it should work too strongly on their sympathies, and thus forcing the guards of covetousness, open their treasures against their more settled purposes; while others have been too heartless in their investigations. But this is treason to the Divine government; it is an unwillingness to know exactly our relations, and thus the claims of the human family on our regards. Such treachery and indifference cannot go unpunished. Did Christ shrink from contemplating the loathsomeness and woe of our outcast race? He not only contemplated, he shared our sorrows. Let every one then survey the world as it is, and let its appalling scenes glare on his conscience.
In the third place, we should hold up before our minds striking examples of benevolence. G.o.d has raised up some with great hearts, who have given bountifully in proportion to their means, to promote his cause.
Such were the poor widow, who gave "all that she had," the Macedonian Christians, whose liberality exceeded their means, and the King of the Friendly Islands already mentioned. Such was the late Mr. Goodell of Vermont, who, with a house and farm not estimated at over $1,000, contrived by labor, frugality, and self-denial, to pour his hundreds and tens of hundreds into the treasury of the Lord. Such were the late Mr.
Smith of Hartford and Mr. Cobb of Boston, "the sweet savor" of whose names awakens the kindliest a.s.sociations, and whom G.o.d sustained, made cheerful and happy in all their sacrifices for him. Such was the aged African of Jamaica. He had earned, while a slave, ninety-six dollars.
Being afterward emanc.i.p.ated, he came to the missionary, and offered the whole for the service of Christ; and when told it was too much, replied, with the most generous devotion, "No, _I want to give it all_." Such was the poor colored woman, who, while she had no dependence for support but the labor of her hands, gave $60 at one time to educate pious young men for the Gospel ministry. "When she offered the above sum, the agent refused to receive it all, until pressed by the humble donor, who said that she had reserved five dollars; and that she hoped to earn enough to provide for her wants in her last sickness, and for her funeral." This is said to be but a specimen of her liberality; and her hopes in regard to her earthly wants were not disappointed.
Perhaps in the small circle of our personal acquaintance, we can number some few, who, with souls more elevated and spiritually refined by grace, have bestowed in benefactions all their income; peradventure, even common farmers and mechanics--such as have fallen under the notice of the writer--who, after frugally supplying the wants of their families, have generously given the remaining proceeds of their labor to the Lord.
On these, and such as these, we should fix our eyes; they are stars of the first magnitude which G.o.d has fixed in the dark canopy of time as guides. We may not be able to give as they did; but the sacrifices they made, we can and ought to make. If we seek to ward off the force of their example by arguing that they gave too much, or by referring at once to professedly good men who have given far less, we may reasonably conclude that covetousness is still grasping and palsying our christian sympathies. Such efforts are clearly but the struggles of selfishness, to ease the conscience of the dart. For, from such generous deeds, the voice does, and will come inevitably, "Go, and do likewise."
10. The felicity of beneficence. That "it is more blessed to give than to receive," is the voice of inspiration. Jehovah"s felicity flows mainly from that fundamental element of his being, disinterested or holy love, and its infinitely diversified and glorious workings. He created us in his own image; and when this love has possession of our hearts, and our conduct is in obedience to its laws, the mental machine works in harmony, and the result is enjoyment; but when the opposite principle controls, its movements are obstructed, and the result is sorrow. It is a law of our being, as fixed as the ordinances of heaven, that we drink the richest draughts when holding the cup of enjoyment to another"s lips. Happiness eludes the grasp of the pursuer; while like a flower that sheds its sweetest fragrance when crushed, only tread it under foot in the eager pursuit of another"s good, and its subtle influence vibrates through all our frame. The blessedness of self-denying efforts for the salvation of souls cannot be estimated. It is G.o.d-like; it is harmonizing with our dying Lord; co-working with him in carrying out the redemptive scheme; wakening a joy which the harps of eternity alone can utter. "They that turn many to righteousness shall shine as the stars forever and ever." What a revenue of glory will forever flow into the enraptured souls of such men as Baxter and Doddridge, and Swartz and Martyn, and Goodell and Norman Smith, as they cast their crowns at the feet of the Saviour; for it is the highest fruition of the redeemed that all their glory is ultimately Christ"s. Who, as he contemplates the perpetually increasing joy and brightening exaltation of a soul restored to the image of G.o.d, becoming through unnumbered years more and more a.s.similated to its glorious Head, would not partic.i.p.ate in a work so transporting in its results? Perhaps you have had some feeble conception of its blessedness, some half-waking desires to become a standard-bearer in the hottest of the fight with the foes of G.o.d,--a minister or missionary of the Cross, so as to labor more efficiently in saving souls. But in your circ.u.mstances you find it an idle wish. Do you hence smother these kindling emotions and fold your hands in despair? The Gospel may be preached by your alms. There are many links in the chain of influences which G.o.d employs in rescuing sinners from death; and one of the most effectual at the present period, is the bestowment of funds to send forth the heralds of salvation. These desires, therefore, that feebly burn in your breast, may be gratified.
In an important sense, you may preach the unsearchable riches of Christ to the nations, thereby becoming a coadjutor in a work, the sublimest of heaven and the most felicitating to man. This is an interesting truth.
Let it blaze quenchlessly before the mind, warming the heart to mercy.
11. The sin and danger of covetousness. Covetousness is unlikeness to G.o.d, to our compa.s.sionate Saviour, to the blessed spirits before the throne, whose only symphonies are love. When indulged, the frown of the holy universe is fastened upon us. It is violating the laws of our mental frame,--an instrument so exquisitely attuned that the slightest vibration of its delicate chords awakens notes of joy or wailings of sorrow; and it thus becomes the source of irritation and remorse here, and of disquieting premonitions of the most appalling woes in the world to come. Hear what G.o.d hath spoken: "But fornication and all uncleanness or _covetousness_, let it not be once named among you. For no wh.o.r.emonger, nor unclean person, nor _covetous_ man, who is an _idolater_, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of G.o.d.
Let no man deceive you; for because of these things cometh the wrath of G.o.d upon the children of disobedience." This is terrible language, and explicit as terrible. According to the plainest principles of interpretation, covetousness is here put in the same category with some of the worst vices that degrade man and provoke the wrath of heaven.
Indeed, if benevolence is required equally with justice, then covetousness is as distinctly a violation of the divine law as injustice; and he who h.o.a.rds as the expense of the suffering poor, is as guilty in the sight of G.o.d as he who rifles another"s goods. And is it strange that he who nurtures a principle thus pernicious in its tendencies, should be excluded from heaven? No. Let us not flatter ourselves; we cannot indulge in covetousness without imminent peril.
Who will dare thus offend his gracious Sovereign, and incur his wrath?
Let this bright, but awful truth, flash in our faces, deterring us from the fearful sin, and inducing a sleepless vigilance over our selfish propensities, lest they grow with our growth, and strengthen with our increasing wealth.
12. The dignity and responsibilities growing out of the fundamental truth before partially unfolded, that G.o.d, under the gospel, having given us general principles and laws touching benevolence, has left the amount and frequency or our contributions to our own decision. The position we occupy under the new dispensation is full of interest and solemnity. As it is one of peculiar dignity, it is one of peculiar peril. G.o.d has now raised us to the true platform of intelligent and moral beings; given our reason and consciences free scope to exercise their own energetic and controlling powers. He has, indeed, always given man this prerogative, but in a higher sense under the Gospel than before; in other words, placed him in a position better fitted for the development of his whole being. He has thrown him more entirely on his personal responsibility and the decisions of individual judgment, by laying down general principles from which he is to ascertain his every-day duties. All the n.o.ble powers of the soul, directed by the Spirit"s influences, are to be brought into full operation and work in concert; the heart, without impediment, concurring with the reason; the purposes, with the affections. This is "the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free."
Paul has beautifully ill.u.s.trated this subject by comparing the condition of a son before and after becoming of age.*[Gal. iv.] While a minor, he is kept in subordination to his father; "under tutors and governors,"
his judgment in the management of affairs is under the control of another. While a minor, he is kept in subordination to his father; "under tutors and governors," his judgment in the management of affairs is under the control of another. But when he comes of age, he is elevated to a new position, a.s.sumes new interests and new responsibilities. He must then reason, judge, and act for himself. So under the Jewish dispensation, G.o.d dealt with our race as minors; left them not to the direction of their own individual wisdom--to form specific rules from general principles; but led them by definite precepts; not such always as rise out of the nature of things; but such as he saw best fitted, by a sort of foreshadowing, to prepare them for the more glorious state to which they were approaching. Hence all those positive laws, rites, and solemn festivals--appointed "days, and months, and times, and years," t.i.thes and double t.i.thes to which they were in bondage. But when Christ came, this bondage was broken. We were emanc.i.p.ated from this system of tutelage; henceforth, breathing the spirit of adoption and enjoying the freedom of sons, we were to act according to the dictates of our sanctified hearts and enlightened judgments, like beatified spirits, who, swayed alone by reason, conscience, and love, in the highest sense free and intelligent, speed on their course in harmony with Jehovah. So, under the dispensation of grace, every act must spring voluntarily from the mind, enlightened by comprehensive views of Scripture principles. Charged with obligations inalienable as our very being, we are sent forth on the career of probationary existence, amenable alone to our own consciences and the bar of final awards. G.o.d, so to speak, has reposed confidence in us, and it may not be abused. This is true in relation to charity, as well as to other duties. For the free discharge of this duty is one of our most solemn trusts. Each one, enlightened by the great principles of disinterested benevolence, is left to the decisions of his own mind in shaping his conduct and alms to its requisitions. To be permitted to judge for ourselves in matters of such high and solemn import is an exalted dignity. But to every degree of dignity and privilege, there is attached an increase of responsibility.
Such is our present att.i.tude in relation to the work of benevolence.
Now shall we abuse this confidence, despise our privileges, and show ourselves unworthy of our almost angelic exaltation? Shall we make this liberation from the specific requisition of t.i.thes "an occasion to the flesh," an excuse for less pecuniary sacrifices than the Jews were subjected to? What ingrat.i.tude! How displeasing to our Heavenly Father who has raised us thus high!
Hence, exemption from t.i.thes, instead of relaxing our obligations to beneficence, rather strengthens them. As charity is purely a matter of voluntariness, the whole soul must be enlisted in it. We must not only guard against a betrayal of our trust, but against dispositions in the least at variance with its duties. We must keep our hearts in sympathy with Christ; lest, failing in sympathy with him, we fail to imitate him.
Let these responsibilities, together with the ingrat.i.tude and contempt of G.o.d"s favor implied in the non-fulfilment, be earnestly contemplated.
Let us tremble lest we make the privilege of a more spiritual beneficence, and excuse "for withholding more than is meet," and turn the blessing into a curse.
13. That benevolence is the measure of personal piety. Personal piety is personal resemblance to Christ. "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." Christ"s character is essentially love. This induced him to die for lost man. Now just so far as we resemble Christ we shall imitate him, and, therefore, feel for those on whom the wrath of G.o.d is still abiding. And just so far as we feel for them, we shall be willing to do for them; and just so far as we are willing to do for them, we shall contribute of our substance in proportion to our means to relieve their spiritual necessities. So that our beneficence or sacrifices for the extension of the Redeemer"s kingdom, will be the just measure of our love to him. This truth we should wear in our hearts.
We should make it a principle to give that amount which we shall be satisfied to recognize as the exponent of our piety, and be content that others should thus regard it; such as we shall be willing to pen down and hang up in our bed-chambers, so that we can contemplate it every evening and morning as our full estimation of Christ"s dying love;--such that after counting our herds and flocks, examining our barns and granaries, surveying our merchandise, and reckoning up our dues, we can enter our closets and pray for the conversion of the world without blushing before G.o.d. Does any one shrink from this criterion of his piety? I fear he will shrink away from the presence of his final Judge, and bury himself in the darkness of h.e.l.l; his works and conscience alike testifying his unfitness for the world of light.
14. That the true mission of the church in the present age is beneficence. Though the gospel has been preached nearly 2000 years, yet a deep night of spiritual darkness is still brooding over the greatest portion of the world. Millions on millions have no knowledge of the Saviour, and other millions have no right appreciation of his truth and grace; while, blinded by sin and fascinated by its treacherous charms, they are treading their way, rank after rank, to woes everlasting.
G.o.d"s providence seems now to be moving upon the spiritual chaos, preparing it for the reception of light. Obstacles to the introduction of the gospel into benighted regions are fast giving way. The kingdoms spread beneath the sun, from north to south, from China to the farthest verge of the west, are seemingly in the posture of waiting for evangelical instruction. The Macedonian cry is coming up from the four winds. It is made to the church, the sacramental host of G.o.d"s elect; and _they must answer it_.
G.o.d appoints, in some respects, special duties to different ages and nations. It was the peculiar mission of European Christians in the sixteenth century to break the yoke of papal supremacy; of England in the time of Cromwell to waken those notes of ecclesiastical and civil freedom which are still reverberating among the mountains of Europe, and shakings dynasties; of our fathers to achieve the political independence of the United States,--to plant the genial tree of liberty, and water it with their blood. Now what does the providence of G.o.d indicate as the special ministry of the church in the present age? It is written all over the face of the world. We learn it in the awakened condition of heathen, barbarous, and half-civilized countries; in the stir of intellectual energy which is sweeping over the kingdoms, jostling thrones and alarming monarchs; in the tottering pillars of corrupt religions, and of long-established inst.i.tutions of iniquity; in the progress of governmental science in connection with political liberty, and the extension of the arts of civilization; in augmented facilities for traveling, together with increased efforts for education, and the consequent quickening of mind; in the degradation of those "who know not G.o.d," the wants of seamen, of the oppressed, of the spiritually dest.i.tute both in our own and other lands, and in the charitable movements of the times. All these seem to declare unequivocally that the special work of the church in this age is benevolence--to toil, to endure privations, to make sacrifices of ease and of property to evangelize the nations. G.o.d has opened channels flowing past almost every man"s door, ready to convey his donations to distant regions of the globe, carrying light and salvation wherever they go. The appalling condition of the heathen in bygone ages has been as great and pitiable as now; but never have there been so many available opportunities to reach them. These opportunities impose new obligations.
We have seen in a preceding part of this essay, that our bounties should be in a compound proportion to calls and ability. This is a principle which the present generation would do well to consider; letting it penetrate the very heart"s core. To meet such emergencies as are now transpiring on the moral stage, perhaps, was one reason why Christ designated no specific ratio of income for charity. He foresaw there would be crises when no proportion would be adequate, and when the christian heart would yearn to give more than his income, even all his living. And may not the present be such a crisis?
Indeed, the multiplied opportunities afforded us of invading the dominions of the prince of darkness plainly intimate that the present is a crisis demanding the most generous sacrifices for G.o.d. The sigh of every breeze that sweeps over the blood-stained regions of idolatry declares it. The cries and outstretched arms of millions sinking into the everlasting gulf declare it. Then let it be laid up in the mind as a settled truth, that it is our peculiar ministry to break the chains of ignorance and superst.i.tion, to demolish the habitations of cruelty, to crush the thrones of intellectual and moral enthralment, to overthrow the temples of idolatry, and bring up man from his long degradation to reunion with G.o.d through the blood of the Lamb. There has probably been no age since the foundation of the world, which has demanded so great contributions as this, and, perhaps, no subsequent age will, till the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. At least in a few generations we trust the Gospel light shall illumine every sh.o.r.e. Then there will be no such urgent calls on our charities; certainly none pressing with such undying interests. This, therefore, is emphatically the age of _giving_; for the bulk of the church can aid effectually in bringing about the happy consummation of millennial glory in no other way. Would that Christians of the present generation could be induced to look at this truth in its intense application to themselves individually. Would that its accents could be made to ring over every hill top, and echo through every valley in Christendom; startling the soldiers of the cross to deeds of love, as the voice of Peter the hermit once bristled with arms the plains of Europe to shed the blood of infidels.
Not long since, thousands were starving and dying in Ireland. A cry of anguish came up, and thousands of generous American hearts responded to the call. This was n.o.ble. It was thought to be an especial occasion for benevolence. Who did not feel that every Irish landholder should have shared his abundance with the suffering and dying poor around him?
But what is the death of the body to the death of the soul! What is the temporal destruction of a few thousands to the eternal d.a.m.nation of hundreds of millions! Was it the duty of the wealthy Irish to feed their starving neighbors? And since the providence of G.o.d has made the remotest of earth"s dwellers who are perishing for lack of vision our neighbors, should we not supply them with the bread of heaven, and thus prevent untold agonies? I ask every candid reader, is not the present a _special occasion_ for benevolence? and if the church is to be the instrument by which G.o.d has determined to work in restoring the kingdoms to his Son, will it not be such an occasion till that blessed period arrives, when there shall be nothing to hurt or destroy in all G.o.d"s holy mountain?
15. The duties growing out of the possession of property in view of death, judgment, and eternity. The obligations imposed upon us by the possession of wealth may be irksome, but we cannot escape them; we must bear them to the judgment. In our pride we may resolve that we will use our money as we please; but G.o.d commands us to use it as he pleases. A vivid sense, then, of the tremendous scenes before us should be ever a.s.sociated in our minds with ideas of property. We should realize how our wealth will appear in the final hour, as its pleasures and enchanting illusions begin to fade from the dying eye, and as we reflect how short and unsatisfactory, like "a dream when one awaketh," all these enjoyments have been. Rioting amid the luxuries of affluence, and giddy with its bewildering joys, these may be unpleasant thoughts. But why regard thoughts of that which we cannot avoid, unpleasant? We must not only _think_ of these dread realities, we must _meet_ them, and experience all their joy or woe. Then let us realize, now and always, how all our uses of property will appear at the bar of G.o.d, where the thought of every misimprovement will be sharper than a serpent"s fang; how, in eternity, as we contemplate those who might have been saved by our liberality in undying misery; how, if we are lifting up our eyes with them in torments; how, if, while we ourselves shall be saved as by fire, we behold them excluded from those blissful seats by our covetousness. Let each one put these searching questions to his own conscience; and let him take heed that his gifts be such, that their remembrance will not only sweeten his dying moments, but diffuse a fragrance over all his future being.
16. The worth of money h.o.a.rded or spent unnecessarily, contrasted with the worth of souls as gems in the Saviour"s crown. The true value of wealth as a worldly good we fully appreciate. It contains no hidden excellence which the circ.u.mstances of life conceal. But the true glory of a soul redeemed the mists of time obscure. Our attachment to the world and the hallucinations growing out of it, prevent its full appreciation. But soon all this illusion will vanish. Both will stand before us in their true light. One will be seen to be vanity as it is; the other to possess a worth which no language can express:--a worth consisting not merely of the endless blessedness and glory it is itself capable of enjoying, but also of the glory that will redound to the adorable Trinity through its redemption. Take a position most favorable for its true estimation. Transplant yourself into the heavenly state; contemplate a blood-washed soul in all its peace, its joy, it ravishment, as it circulates about the throne of love, approaching nearer and nearer to its blissful centre, constantly increasing in capacities, and more and more joyful in its high hallelujahs, till it shall enjoy more blessedness in a single hour, than Gabriel has enjoyed since the moment of his creation. Behold it, as it shines, a star, in the Saviour"s diadem; gaze upon it purifying and brightening there as revolutions of eternity"s time move on, till it shall attract the admiration of the heavenly throngs, and call forth from their wondering harps symphonies louder and more rapturous than have yet been heard in that world of sweetest hosannahs. The comparative worth of money h.o.a.rded or wasted, and the of the ransomed soul to itself, to the Saviour who redeemed it, to the adoring hosts whose fruitions are enhanced by the displays of grace evinced in its redemption, will be then clearly seen. Oh, how trifling will that money which has been squandered or grudgingly withheld from charity then appear, contrasted with the results in glorified souls of what was cheerfully and prayerfully bestowed. The condition of the churl and the liberal, how different then! He who h.o.a.rded most will then be found the poorest; and he who gave most with the greatest sacrifices, the richest.
17. The brevity of the period allotted us to labor and to make sacrifices for the salvation of men. "A point of time, a moment"s s.p.a.ce," is all we have. What we do in charity, the labors we perform, the privations we suffer, must all be accomplished or endured soon. The distress we relieve, the souls we save, the joys we inspire, must feel the quickening hand of mercy without delay. Time is on his rapid wing.
Thousands who need our help are perishing daily; the entire generation now occupying this stage of toil and probation, the great Destroyer will speedily sweep from the scene. Almost "in the twinkling of an eye" we shall stand together before the judgment throne. He who died to save the poor as well as the rich, the heathen as well as the evangelized, is now speaking from heaven; "whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might."
These are some of the intellectual views and obligations which should be _systematized_ in the mind, forming both inducements to, and a const.i.tuent part of, systematic beneficence. They should lie like blazing fuel on the heart, kindling their appropriate feelings and affections. I have briefly unfolded them, as a specimen of that process of reasoning and personal application, which, according to our mental laws, when attended by the Holy Spirit, is fitted to soften and harmonize the mind preparatory to benevolent action; a process which all, as rational beings, are bound to engage in and carry out. I know this part of the system requires unpleasant work. Most are willing to feel, but they would feel without principle; and if they act, they would act only from the impulse of the moment. They shrink from introspection; from working on their own hearts through the laborious operations of the intellect, so that the affections may be at once both right and rational. But if we would see the gorgeous palace towering in symmetry and grandeur, unpleasant work must be done; the rubbish must be removed, the soil excavated, the marble chiselled into form, and the unsightly timbers erected. Without these, though it might glitter in the sunbeams, it would be but a gossamer tissue. So this mental part is the bone and sinew, the life, of a system of beneficence. Confined to resolutions and conduct, its movements would be like the effects of galvanism on the muscles of the dead--unnatural and spasmodic. The truth is, there can be no system of action without some system both of intellectual views and of the moral sensibilities. All inconsistency among Christians arises from defects in one or other of these respects.
The fountain is not invariably at the same height, and therefore the stream alternately swells and sinks.
Resolutions are proverbially frail; and they are so, because they rest not on a mind consolidated by principles, and a heart glowing like a furnace with corresponding feelings. When resting on such a mind and heart, resolutions are not frail; but invincible as adamant.
Our purposes of charity, therefore, must rest on an unshaken foundation; and in order to this, the principles and considerations fitted to promote benevolent sentiments and feelings must be pressed on the mind, till in view of them the bosom warms, and throbs, and swells, and bursts forth in high and determined resolves. It is not enough that they pa.s.s like a burning ray across the mind, producing a single flash of benevolence. What is needed is a continuation of the same effect; and for this, the same cause must continue to operate. It is important, therefore, that these truths be systematically applied. Seasons should be set apart for daily meditating and reasoning upon them, attended by earnest supplication for the impressing influences of the Holy Spirit.
The mind must thus be drilled to reflection upon them till they become principles of action, so vital and permanent, that a shape and inflexibility shall be given to the moral sensibilities, which no wear of time or circ.u.mstances shall change or efface.
This is the only process by which the soul can be brought into, and kept in, that state of unity implied in volition; especially of that abiding unity implied in a general purpose, without which no scheme of action can be long sustained. This, too, is the only method by which unhappy influences exerted on the heart by the pursuits of gain can be counteracted. As one engages in active business, and his property acc.u.mulates, his thoughts usually become more engrossed, and his love of money increases. Why is it? Precisely on the principle recognized by the Psalmist, "While I was musing, the fire burned." It is a law of our mental nature, that the more we think of any subject naturally pleasing, the greater interest we feel respecting it. Now the management, the proper investment, and safe keeping of property, must engage, more or less, the attention; and owing to the extreme selfishness of the heart, are very liable to awaken a lively interest. Hence, the more people are employed in the acquisition of affluence or competence, the more covetous they usually become. This influence, so chilling to the generous affections, can be resisted only by a counter process of reflection. The truth that ourselves and all we have belong to G.o.d; the extreme selfishness of the natural man; the insufficiency of worldly good to satisfy the cravings of the soul; the dangers attending acquisition; the obligations and privilege of giving; the benevolent mission of the age; the spiritual wants of the world; the worth of a soul redeemed; and all those great and solemn considerations fitted to incite to munificence, must be presented before the mind as frequently at least as ideas of property, in order to counterbalance the influence of the latter; and, indeed, more frequently, so as to repress the strong tendencies of the selfish heart, which the avocations of gain are so well calculated to invigorate. This can be done by no merely external system of benevolent action, any farther than such a system has a reflex influence on the moral feelings. Farther than this, the effort would be like attempting to stop the floods of the Amazon with a bulrush.
The great work, therefore, in erecting a system of beneficence, must be wrought in the soul,--in impressing views and regulating affections.
For this there can be no subst.i.tute. This deep and steady current of truth and thought, is to the mind in connection with the Spirit"s operations, what showers are to the earth. If there are none, it soon becomes parched, and verdure withers; if they descend frequently and copiously, the ground is filled with moisture, vegetation blooms, and fruits ripen; springs burst forth, the streams dash along the valleys, sweep through the meadows, and pouring into the ocean, roll their mountain waves around the world.
II. Standing on this high ground of established principles and correspondent affections, we are prepared to take the second step in a universal system of beneficence; consisting in the exercises of the will in the formation of general purposes and resolutions. These should be made with a solemn sense of the responsibilities of our being; of our relations to the world and to the judgment-seat; and with a full conviction of our own weakness and entire dependence on the grace of G.o.d to a.s.sist us in their fulfilment.
Reader, with this humble reliance on Divine aid, will you now make the following resolutions your own?
1. As a foundation to all others, I solemnly consecrate myself, soul and body, to G.o.d in an everlasting covenant.
2. I will prayerfully endeavor to keep my heart in sympathy with the great principles and duties above unfolded.
3. I will make the benevolence of Jesus Christ, in its spirit and design, the pattern of my own, constantly carrying about the conviction, that I must practise great self-denial, and make continued sacrifices in imitation of my dying Lord.
4. I will make unremitting war on the selfishness of my heart, knowing it to be the worst of evils; and fully purposing that it shall never influence my decision, either in regard to a general scheme, or a particular act, of beneficence.
5. I will thoroughly and candidly consider the spiritual dest.i.tutions of our country and the world; the peculiar mission of the church in the present age; and manfully, and with a whole heart, make the renunciations thereby demanded.
6. I will regard my health, strength, life, and property, as valuable only as instruments of advancing the kingdom of Christ; and therefore hold them all without reserve at the call of G.o.d.
7. I will seize every opportunity for doing good by example, by conversation, by labor, and by contribution.