PART III.

We are now prepared to present in detail that general system of

beneficence, demanded alike by Scripture and reason, and best fitted to

secure permanent and ever-growing results.

While universal, it must be a system in its nature adapted to each

individual, and binding on the individual conscience; one founded on,

and embracing, the entire man,--his reason, his heart and will,

including views and principles, feelings and affections, with their

inculcation, general purposes and resolutions, with corresponding

action. The tree must be symmetrical from its roots to its topmost

bough. Beneficence may not stand alone; it must spring out of a

consistent character, must be a branch of activity, harmonizing with

other shoots from the common stock. Else, it will be like a verdant

twig on a rotten trunk, growing up amid broken and withered limbs, the

sighing monitors of its own decay.

Some, I know, would advocate a system of beneficent actions without the

heart; others would direct it merely to one or a few favorite objects.

But these are views neither broad nor deep enough. It is grafting

consistency on inconsistency. True benevolence is a spirit of

universality, and hence, of harmony, gushing forth in streams numerous

as our relations. No reason can be assigned why one should contribute

of his property to save the souls of others, while he neglects his own;

or spend his substance for the spiritual benefit of those at a distance,

while he neither puts forth personal efforts, nor manifests a holy

example, to rescue perishing immortals immediately around him. A system

thus partial has a worm at the root; its protecting shadow will be as

transient as Jonah's gourd.

I. _There must be a system of intellectual views, and a harmonizing

train of desires and affections flowing naturally from them_.

I will, therefore, present a series of principles, sentiments, and

obligations, which, by being lodged in the intellect, and quickened by

the Spirit, warm the heart, and awaken appropriate feelings; thus

forming not only the basis, but a constituent part, of an efficient

system of benevolence.

I would premise, however, that these intellectual views may also be

regarded as _inducements to munificence_, and thus to the adoption of an

individual system, fitted to each one's peculiar relations; for they

will thus operate from the nature of the case; the very object of

fastening them systematically in the understanding being, that

penetrating to the heart, and binding themselves on the conscience, they

may lead on to rational activity.

1. We should bear in mind that we were not made for ourselves, but for

the service of God. Let the truth, "Thou art God's," be written with

fire on the heart, as well as its legitimate consequence, that all that

appertains to our being is his;--our strength, our health, our powers of

reason and love, our capacities of acquisition, our property, our time,

our all, so that its thrilling accents, "All that thou hast is God's,"

will ring in our ears at every turn. As Jehovah created us for himself,

has preserved us for himself, and redeemed us for himself, we ought at

once to acknowledge his claim and devote ourselves to his service. This

self-surrender is the true foundation of all giving to the Lord. Any

system of beneficence not built on this must crumble. Giving one's

self is an earnest and pledge that everything else will be given; on

the contrary, while self is withheld, there is no warrant that our

possessions will be yielded, much less that God will accept the offering.

But self being surrendered, all is virtually conveyed over to the Lord

and sealed forever his.

2. That all right feeling is feeling as God does in the same

circumstances, and in respect to the same objects. There must be a holy

sympathy of soul with him,--a oneness of affection, of desire, of will,

of purpose. We must feel concerning ourselves as God does, who desires

to see our hearts burning with the same hallowed love that fills his

own. We must feel concerning sinners as the Father does, "who so loved

the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth

in him should not perish, but have everlasting life;"--as the Son, who

exchanged the abodes of peace for the abasement of flesh and the agonies

of the cross;--as the Holy Ghost, who is willing to dwell in our

polluted hearts, consuming the dross with his own vital energies. We

must imitate the angels, who, sympathizing with the Triune Jehovah,

strike their lyres with new and more rapturous hallelujahs at the

repentance of the returning sinner. No other feelings in kind or

strength, in proportion to our capacities, are right feelings. The

sacrifices of Christ were, indeed, stupendous; but we must be willing to

make as disinterested sacrifices for a perishing world; else we are not

in sympathy with our crucified Lord. Let us often visit the scenes of

his sufferings, hear the groans of Gethsemane, and witness the blood and

agony of the cross, and there learn what it means to have the same mind

"which was also in Christ Jesus." Let us make this love the great

standard of feeling and action, and cultivate the habit of trying

ourselves by this, and this alone; inquiring daily, "Oh, am I benevolent

as Christ?" "Do I sympathize with him over a ruined world?"

3. That God created us to occupy a position near himself. As all our

springs are in him, communion with him was to be our life and joy. We

were to be full of God; to see him everywhere and in everything, and to

value nothing only as the work of his power, the fruit of his love, or

as showing forth his praise. We were to dwell so far up the mount, that

earthly objects would appear insignificant; approach continually its

lofty summit, till our views of the world and the glory of it should

harmonize with God's views of them; for not only were our feelings to

accord with Jehovah's; but also our sentiments concerning sublunary

things were to be in unison with his own. So familiar were we to be

with the glories of our spiritual existence; our tastes and moral

sensibilities were designed, by intercourse with Infinite Purity, to

become so elevated and refined, that the glitterings of gold, and the

fascinations of wealth, would fail to charm. Our home was to be so near

the throne, that its light would perpetually shine in upon our souls;

its spirit always bathe our spirits; so that seraph-like, possessing the

benevolence of heaven, we should breathe the love of heaven on all

around.

4. That merely becoming rich is not the great object for which we were

sent into the world. Man's being aims at a higher goal. This is a

point which should be distinctly understood; and to bring out the

thought clearly, I will make two distinctions. 1. The very obvious

difference between benevolence and indifference to property or its

acquisition. Benevolence means "wishing well," and beneficence "doing

well," to others. Benevolence, then, bears no resemblance to

undervaluing money. I know that the gentleman who used to _skip_ his

silver dollars on the fair bosom of the Connecticut for the amusement of

his friends, and he who freely tosses around the social glass to his

boon companions, may be pronounced generous fellows. But such may be as

entirely destitute of all true benevolence as the most determined miser,

and, what is more deplorable, as offensive to Infinite Love. Property

is God's gift, and he does not require us to undervalue his gifts, but

to use them with his own good-will to men. To be willing that our labor

or capital should be unproductive is no indication of a faithful

steward. 2. There is a difference between the design of becoming rich,

and that of acquiring property. The latter, under certain restrictions,

is a duty incumbent on all. One may have a peculiar talent in this

direction;--a turn for business, a sagacity to lay plans, to foresee the

favorable changes in the commercial world, and all that shrewdness so

essential to success in the career of opulence. It is an endowment of

heaven, and should be used in such a way as heaven will approve. While

regulated strictly by the principles of Revelation, it should be

employed in the acquisition of property, as a means of usefulness. But

it is a common opinion, that money may be made solely for the sake of

accumulation. Parents instil the idea into the minds of children, so

that they grow up with the conviction, that the great end of life is the

procuring of wealth. Implanted in the tender mind, and nurtured with

its strength, it assumes the tenacity of a first principle. But it is

altogether erroneous. It is the product of the selfish heart. No

sentiment is more fertile in covetousness, or more blighting to that

generous humanity, which it is the first object of the Christian to

cherish. It is a sentiment grovelling in its tendency, bowing

multitudes, it is feared, even of professedly good men, to a species of

slavery, over which devils smile, and angels weep; knowing that it

obstructs the flow of thousands into the treasury of the Lord. A

sentiment so hurtful should be eradicated from the public mind. It

should be discarded from the individual breast. The toils of pecuniary

gain must be pervaded by a loftier motive. It should be sought, not as

a gratification to avarice; but, in the fear of the Lord, by industry,

by economy, by frugality, by forecast, by the most profitable

investments of capital, and with a heart full of mercy, as an instrument

to enlighten the ignorant, and relieve the sorrows of human-kind. This

idea has not taken so firm a hold of the christian public as its

importance deserves. How useful might some, who have little talent

either for learning or public speaking, become, would they

disinterestedly devote their lives to the acquisition of money for

purposes of beneficence. Wealth, pursued with this spirit, will never

beget avaricious desires, and thus acquired, will be a treasury of

blessings to multitudes here, and a source of enjoyment to the pious

owner forever. Its worth will survive the grave. Let it be an abiding

thought--money may be invested where it will yield an eternally

increasing revenue.

5. That in laying our pecuniary plans, we should be governed by a

single view to the glory of God. The plans we adopt must be chosen

because, in our deliberate judgment, we can do more to advance Christ's

interests by prosecuting them than in any other way. Every act sustains

relations of moral influence. Every kind of business or method of

carrying it on, has certain relations which will modify its results,

and, perhaps, its moral bearings, either on own usefulness, or the

spiritual well-being of the community at large. Now we are bound to

engage in that business, and adopt those schemes, whose results,

considering these wide-spreading relations, will be most favorable to

the kingdom of Christ. If we lay our plans recklessly, without regard

to their moral tendencies, or shrink from these moral discriminations

respecting them, we evince anything but a will in harmony with the

Divine will. I know some fondly cherish the opinion, that their

sagacity or peculiar tact for money-making at least is their own; and

that they may employ it in devising such pecuniary schemes as they

please, provided they are strictly honest, and do not interfere with the

privileges of others. But this is not true. This reference to the

Divine glory sheds the sunshine of heaven over all our employments, and

must be the guiding principle of all our enterprises. It is also

indispensable to any sustained system of munificence. If our schemes

have ultimate reference to self, we shall be likely to use their

proceeds as selfishness shall dictate; whereas, if our plans are laid

with a view to the honor of God, we shall be disposed to use their

results for the promotion of the same great end. This is a truth of

incalculable importance to our present subject. It should be bound to

the conscience of every Christian, and burn there with such intensity

that it can never be forgotten.

6. That God 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 pass 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 noblest 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 gratitude 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

God. Also, when the claims of the destitute 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 God 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 attitude of the suppliant is

peculiarly fitted to inspire gratitude, 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

destitute?" 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 passages 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. God 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, God 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. God 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 associations, and whom God 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 emancipated, 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 God 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 god-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 God, becoming through unnumbered years more and more

assimilated to its glorious Head, would not participate 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 God,--a

minister or missionary of the Cross, so as to labor more efficiently in

saving souls. But in your circumstances 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 God 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

God, to our compassionate 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 God hath spoken: "But fornication and all

uncleanness or _covetousness_, let it not be once named among you. For

no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor _covetous_ man, who is an

_idolater_, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

Let no man deceive you; for because of these things cometh the wrath of

God 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 hoards as the expense of the suffering poor, is as

guilty in the sight of God 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 God, 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. God 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 noble 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 illustrated 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, assumes new interests and new

responsibilities. He must then reason, judge, and act for himself. So

under the Jewish dispensation, God 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," tithes and double tithes to which they were in

bondage. But when Christ came, this bondage was broken. We were

emancipated 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. God, 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 attitude 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 tithes "an occasion to the

flesh," an excuse for less pecuniary sacrifices than the Jews were

subjected to? What ingratitude! How displeasing to our Heavenly Father

who has raised us thus high!

Hence, exemption from tithes, 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 ingratitude and contempt

of God'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 God 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 God. 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 hell; 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.

God'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 God's elect;

and _they must answer it_.

God 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 God 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 institutions 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

God," the wants of seamen, of the oppressed, of the spiritually

destitute 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. God 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 God. 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 superstition, 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 God 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 shore. 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 noble. 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 damnation of

hundreds of millions! Was it the duty of the wealthy Irish to feed

their starving neighbors? And since the providence of God 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 God 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 God'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 God commands us to use it as he pleases. A

vivid sense, then, of the tremendous scenes before us should be ever

associated 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 God, 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 hoarded 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 circumstances 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

hoarded 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 hoarded 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

space," 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

constituent 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 pass

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 circumstances 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

accumulates, 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 God; 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 substitute. 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 God

to assist 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 God 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 destitutions

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 God.

7. I will seize every opportunity for doing good by example, by

conversation, by labor, and by contribution.

8. I will daily and prayerfully consider whether the circumstances of

the age in which I live do not require of me as great sacrifices in

alms-giving as were made by the Jews in contributing two tenths of their

income to the service of the Lord.

9. In laying all my pecuniary plans, and in all my labors to carry them

into effect, I will have the glory of God uppermost in view, and

therefore make it one of my leading objects to acquire property for

distribution; being thus, according to the injunction of Paul, "not

slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord."

10. To give to charitable purposes such portion of my property as God,

by his Word and providences, seems to demand, I will deem as sacredly

incumbent upon me as to make an economical expenditure of it in the

support of myself and family.

11. For the sake of strengthening the benevolent tendencies of the

soul, I will perseveringly cherish all its generous impulses by doing or

giving as they shall dictate, so far as scripture and ability prescribe.

12. I will fix upon a system of giving which shall be made solemnly and

prayerfully in view of my circumstances and calls; in the clear light of

God's Word and of the awful retributions of the last tribunal. As to

amount and frequency of donations, I will endeavor to make them such as

I shall wish they had been, when, bowing before the great white throne,

I shall gaze into the face of my crucified and exalted Saviour; actually

participating in the fruits of his unutterable sacrifices for me.

13. Cherishing, amid the toils of gain, an abiding sense of the

strength of the selfishness of the human heart, and the consequent

dangers of acquisition, I will daily pray and strive for disinterested

benevolence as the greatest good; also for direction as to the amount of

sacrifices I ought to make; and then agreeably to my prayers, act

according to the dictates of conscience uttered in the presence of God.

14. I will frequently and at stated periods solemnly renew these or

similar resolutions.

Now, if you refuse to make these solemn resolutions your own, can you

assign any reason for such refusal, which you will be willing to utter

in self-justification when facing your Final Judge?

Whatever theories we may adopt concerning volition, or the governing

determinations of the mind, all will agree in the fact, that the

energies of the human soul, when aroused, may be strung like fibres of

steel, giving and adamantine firmness and indomitable force to the will.

We have seen this exemplified in the fortitude with which one sometimes

endures surgical operation; in the heated courage of the soldier,

rushing with the loud huzza into the very face of the engulphing

battery; in the cool, calculating resolution which carries the

unflinching column with steady tread into the very centre of bristling

squares. All this is but the strength of will when the energies of the

soul are stirred. Now one's resolution may and should become thus

iron-like in the war with his own covetousness. He should determine in

the strength of grace to break it down, however much it may cost. God

has given us this power of will, and to him we are responsible for its

proper exercise; ever remembering that it is strengthened by cultivation

of reiterated effort. The raw recruit cannot be trusted at the post of

danger like the veteran, who has repeatedly nerved up his spirit,

till by habit it has become as unyielding as a rock. The latter has

learnt to be brave. So we should learn to be soldiers in the war

with selfishness, by perseveringly girding our minds to the deadly

conflict.--Has depraved man such energy of will in spreading devastation

and death; and shall not Christians exhibit as great force of resolution

in diffusing the blessings of salvation? Who dare say, I cannot, or will

not, exercise it? Let us be mindful of our obligations. If our minds

may be wrought up to such invincible firmness and energy of resolution

to do evil; surely, God assisting, they may not only be inspired with a

lofty enthusiasm to resist the solicitations of selfishness, but also

roused to a sublimity of generous emotions, to engage, like a Mills or a

Howard, in disinterested and self-denying efforts for the good of

others.

III. We are now ready to take the last step in erecting a general

system of beneficence, viz.: the carrying into effect right principles

and well-directed resolutions. While, on the one hand, the intellectual

and emotional qualities of the mind give character and vitality to

action; on the other hand our conduct exerts a powerful reflex influence

on the affections and purposes. Nothing tends more to give strength and

spirit to a mental principle than accordant action; and nothing tends

more to obliterate an emotion from the breast, or to paralyze a

resolution, than the neglect of its appropriate manifestations. However

deeply the one may be engraven on the soul, or however solid the texture

or vigorous the life of the other, a few instances of neglect or

violation will strike them with the chills of death.

Principles and resolutions, then, are of little avail without

corresponding efforts. The "well of water" must not only spring up in

the soul, it must flow out in the life. We must act as well as think

and resolve; and act, as if we _felt_ that ourselves and all that we

have belong to God by the twofold right of creation and redemption; act,

as if selfishness were our deadliest foe, and as if it were our great

business to attain its mortification and overthrow; act, as if

disinterested love, a soul like angels, like God, were the greatest good

to be possessed by an intelligent being; act, as if we were prayerfully

watching the calls of Christ on our generosity, and were ready and

determined manfully to meet them; act, in laying our pecuniary plans, as

if the highest object of acquisition were the means of diffusing good;

act, as if self-denial were the main condition of our being on earth,

and as if the circumstances of the age were requiring of us peculiar

sacrifices in order to rescue millions, perishing in mental thraldom,

whose souls are as precious as our own; act, as if we were in earnest,

as if the whole soul were kindled to a blaze of zeal, and bent on the

most determined efforts for the exaltation of Christ in the salvation of

men; knowing that the time allotted for the accomplishment of a task

eternal in its consequences, is but a hand-breadth.

Act with _forecast_. This is a point of unspeakable importance. I

would reiterate and enforce the thought, till it shall be wrought into

the very web of all our benevolent purposes. There must be

_contrivance_ to give. Worldly men make previous arrangements to

increase their stores. Lovers of pleasure contrive to support their

follies. Why should not lovers of Christ be equally wise to fill the

world with light, and heaven with anthems?

Act _systematically_. With a mind illumined with knowledge, a

conscience impressed with obligation, and a heart glowing with love of

God and man, form an individual system of beneficence; and let it be one

you will not blush to review in heaven. Be particularly careful,

therefore, that it be such as will come most strongly in collision with

the selfishness of the heart, and yield the richest revenue to the Lord;

requiring as generous and frequent contributions as circumstances will

allow, agreeably to the Divine injunction: "Every man shall give as he

is able, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God, which he hath

given thee;" in a word, let it be such as system as you will be willing

to hand in at the judgment-seat, as decisive testimony that you have

loved your neighbor as yourself. And when it is formed, never violate

its rules by giving _less_, except impelled by imperative necessity;

though ever stand ready to deviate from it, when Providence commands, by

giving _more_.

Let benevolence be ever operative, like the sun ever shining. Wait not

for the modest poor, or heedlessly perishing, to ask for aid; but go

forth in search of objects appropriate for philanthropy to relieve, to

enlighten, to cheer. Obey the voice from heaven: "Open thy hand wide

unto thy brother;" "Sow beside all waters;" scattering a little here and

a little there, and thus, to the extent of ability, aid in bringing back

"the state of Eden's bloom," and planting trees of righteousness all

over the world.

Let deeds of charity be consistent one with another, and harmonize

with a general deportment, elevated to the true Gospel standard of

self-consecration; so that they may exert an influence, not only in

relieving the wants of the needy and forlorn, but as examples of

heartfelt beneficence, inciting others to the glorious work. Let Christ,

therefore, be the pattern of all charitable efforts. Let the love that

moved him to endure a life of privation and a death of agony, take full

possession of the soul, prompting to the same unwearied and self-denying

activity in doing good. With a constancy and vigor based on this

life-giving principle, let each one endeavor to make his influence felt

throughout the world; becoming, in his sphere, like one of those fixed

stars that sparkle in the midnight sky--a blazing sun to those that are

near, a gem of sweetest ray to those afar.

Such is the system, and, as we believe, substantially the only universal

system of beneficence, with which God will be well pleased. It grows

out of our relations to him as intellectual and moral beings. Its

life-spring is in the heart. It is purely spiritual or moral in its

character. It rejects all machinery, and can be permanently helped

forward by no scheme of merely external actions. It occupies the whole

soul; with its roots winding round every intellectual and virtuous

principle, it shoots up its stately trunk, sending forth its far-reaching

branches, whose leaves are for the healing of the nations.

It is a system forming an essential part of Christian character. It

requires that the great themes of our meditation be spiritual and

eternal, that the mind be so imbued with thoughts of God, his government

and law, of Christ, his love, his sufferings and death, of the

restorative scheme thereby wrought out, of its relation to this apostate

world, of our responsibilities as co-workers with Christ in spreading

the knowledge of his name, and of the consequences both to ourselves and

others of fidelity to our trust--it requires that these thoughts be so

thoroughly impressed, and the heart so permeated, warmed, and animated

by their influence, that they shall become, as it were, inherent

elements of moral action, involuntarily suggesting themselves as often

as occasions for their operation arise. But all this is but another

process of thought and emotion descriptive of the _spiritually minded_.

It also requires the same intellectual and moral discipline which is

essential to the formation of the benevolent character. This does not

consist in a single act, a single out-gushing of generous activity, but

in a series of generous actions, flowing from an established principle;

a principle pervading the whole soul, never wavering, never succumbing

to the biddings of selfishness. But the benevolent character thus

deeply laid is the _Christian character_. The scheme further requires

consistency of moral and religious conduct. While it no more demands

regular and persevering beneficent action than it demands other

Christian duties, it imperiously demands regular and persevering

beneficent action as an essential branch of Christian conduct,

inevitably resulting from those immutable principles which form the

basis of the Christ-like character. Thus the particular or individual

system grows, by a moral necessity, out of the general system of

thoughts, affections, and volitions, here unfolded; it being a moral

impossibility for one cordially to adopt the latter, in all its length

and breadth, without determining upon such a private system of

beneficence as his means, his relations to God and to the wants and woes

of our species, demand. To refuse this system of benevolent principles

and correspondent actions, therefore, is to refuse to be spiritually

minded; is to refuse to exhibit consistency of holy conduct; is to

refuse to exert all our powers and embrace all opportunities to do good;

in a word, it is to wear a blot on our Christian name which many waters

can never wash out.

Hence the beauty of the system,--general and particular--here presented,

is that, resting down on the eternal and changeless foundations of the

spiritual universe, and consequently harmonizing with the spirit of

Revelation and with the laws of mind, it rises up and expands into a

beautiful exhibition of the fruits of the Gospel, the legitimate product

of its holy precepts. It gives no encouragement to the idea that God's

favor may be secured, or duty done, by any mere external system of

munificence, any farther than the external system proceeds from right

affections and sound principles. It must originate in the renewed

heart, be nourished by the life of grace, and increase its

productiveness as light and holiness increase in the soul. In its

perfect development, _it is the full and symmetrical development of the

Christian character_.

Thus it is a system equal in its pressure, and therefore adapted to

fasten on the conscience of every one, whatever his age or

circumstances. No one can justly plead exemption from its claims. None

can reasonably propose questions of casuistry to shield his bosom from

its shafts. None can shake off the convictions of duty it impresses,

but by shutting its principles from the mind, or by rousing the heart to

resistance. In short, it leaves every man to himself, facing his God,

his conscience laid bare to the quenchless rays of truth.

CONCLUSION.

Who will refuse thus systematically to reflect, to feel, to resolve, to

give? Will you, professed follower of the self-denying Jesus? Can you,

"bought with blood divine," when looking around on the possessions God

has bestowed, have a heart to deny that aid which undying millions

demand? Is it not beyond expression inconsistent to profess to give

yourself to Christ, and then withhold your property from him?--But what

are your relations to him as implied in this profession? and what are

his claims upon you, as growing out of it? With the last tribunal and

the sorrows of Calvary in view, will you give these a moment's prayerful

reflection?

Go back with me to those delightful scenes so full of gentle joy, of

ineffable sweetness, and hallowed peace, when first you cast your all on

Jesus, and felt

"The Saviour's pard'ning blood,

Applied to cleanse your soul from guilt

And bring you home to God."

Then, calm and trustful in spirit, transported in the freshness of a

new-born life, you could sing with a ravished heart,

"I am my Lord's, and he is mine:

He drew me--and I followed on--

Charm'd to confess the voice divine."

These were precious seasons. "How sweet their mem'ry still!" Then came

an hour of tender, impressive, and almost awful interest. You entered

the sanctuary of God, and in the presence of men, of angels, and your

adored Saviour, avouched the Lord Jehovah, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,

to be your God, consecrating yourself and all your possessions,

unreservedly, to his service. Was this an unmeaning ceremony? No. You

remember the occasion, the hopes and fears of your trembling faith,

those sweet experiences, those glimpses of your Redeemer's smiles, which

forced the tear to your eye; the solemn and faltering accents of your

beloved pastor; and the weeping sympathy of a dear father and mother--

now, perhaps, gone to their rest--who had long yearned over a

thoughtless child. Or you may remember your soul's peaceful trust in

God, as you stood _alone_, with no sympathizing kindred; and felt, as

you tasted the cup,--the emblem of your Saviour's blood, and the pledge

of the eternal sacrifice of yourself to him,--that you could cheerfully

forsake brother and sister, father and mother, all, for Christ. It was

a touching scene; and you thought you should never forget it. And, ah!

it never has been forgotten in heaven. The eternal Judge, and those

blest spirits who affectionately stooped to sustain and strengthen you

for the irrevocable vow, remember it.

Now have you acted up to this surrender of your all to Christ,

especially in relation to the duty of beneficence? In that impressive

hour, did you make a mental reservation, withholding certain sources of

private gratification,--the privilege of using your property as you

pleased, of seeing yourself and family supplied with the conveniences,

the comforts, and even the luxuries of life, ere you attended to the

cries of the myriads sinking to woes unutterable for the want of

Gospel light? Were you thus unfeeling? Did you think to deceive

the heart-searching Jesus? Oh, no! I cannot believe it; and you

are appalled at the suspicion. But what did you mean by those

all-surrendering vows? What do you mean, often as you renew them at

the sacramental board? Let the question come home to your conscience;

_what do you mean_? If they lead you not to hold your property at the

call of God, ought you not to tremble lest you never gave yourself away,

and are, therefore, with all your professions an heir of hell? Did

Christ once weep over covenant-breaking Jerusalem? Does he not now

weep over you, as he thinks of all his agonies to rescue you from

unquenchable fire; of your voluntary vows; your unfaithfulness; and your

mockery, as perhaps you have prayed that the kingdoms of the world might

speedily become his; while amid your numerous comforts, you have refused

to deny yourself scarce a convenience, or even superfluity, for the

salvation of those whom he died to redeem? How inconsistent! Well

might tears still bathe the Saviour's cheeks. Oh think, are these the

kind returns you owe for pardoning love? It is unreasonable that you

spend your worldly goods for him, who shed his blood for you? Go, I

beseech you, to your closet, and there plead, till from the heart you

can say: "Lord, here I am and all I have. Take the worthless sacrifice,

now and forever."

Will the rich, they who have enough and abound, reject this rational

scheme of principles, feelings, actions? What treatment is this of the

compassionate Giver of your abundance? Do you not owe to him alike your

being and possessions? Perhaps you refuse to give even _yourselves_ to

him; and employ to private ends those bodily and mental powers with

which you are endowed for his service. Is not this robbing God? And

how is it with the favors of his hand? Have not the crucibles of your

selfish hearts melted and moulded them into household gods? As the

streams of Providence have poured in upon you to overflowing, instead of

dispersing abroad as God intended, have you not carefully enlarged your

own reservoirs so as to retain the whole? Thus grasping all that lies

within your reach of that wealth which God has created for the

advancement of his kingdom, have you not withheld it from its

appropriate channel, and thus become doubly guilty of robbing God?

What a spectacle do you present to holy intelligences! They behold you

rational and accountable beings like themselves; upheld in existence by

Jehovah's mercy, partaking freely of his bounties, and treasuring up

future supplies; but resolutely refusing to share your abundance with

the perishing, even when the generosity required would but enhance your

personal enjoyment. And yet, perchance, you are the professed followers

of the compassionate Jesus. Dare you compare your spirit and conduct

with his?

Truly, you, who have redundant stores, sustain tremendous

responsibilities; would that you might realize them. You enjoy glorious

privileges; will you slight them? With the power, under God, of

relieving the sorrowful, enlightening the ignorant, elevating the

degraded, and diffusing a vital energy through every pore of this

suffering world, will you stand like some bleak Alpine cliff, breathing

perpetual frost, merely an object for the curious to gaze upon? so

live that your selfish heirs shall rejoice at your death, and the

judgment-day clothe you with eternal shame?

Do you say, "My money is my own; I may use it as I please?" Hark! God

thunders, "Thy gold and thy silver is mine." Will you trifle with

Jehovah's voice, and incur his righteous wrath? Hear the terrible

denunciations of James: "Go to, now, ye rich men, weep, and howl for

your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and

your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the

rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as

it were fire." Absorbed in the pursuits of gain, or whirling on your

glittering rounds of pleasure, you may heedlessly disregard the appeals

of distressed humanity, and proudly congratulate yourselves on your

exalted positions, your honors and flatteries; but, rely upon it, you

are only heaping "treasure together for the last day." Every call of

charity from which you turn coldly away will be a drop of anguish to

your undying soul. How trifling your gifts to the Lord, compared with

the vastly greater sacrifices of many far poorer than yourself, and

whom, perhaps, you now despise. When these shall shine forth as the sun

in the kingdom of their Father, where, O, where will you be found? O,

how will all that affluence in which you have garnered up your hopes

appear, when hearing the voice of your Final Judge, "Inasmuch as you did

it not to one of the least of these my brethren, ye did it not to me;"

and bereft of your treasures and your hopes together, you find the

prison of despair a dread reality, where covetousness will eternally

work without restraint, and unrelieved; a fire shut up in the soul,

agonizing it evermore?

Will the young refuse to enter upon this systematic course of doing

good?--You who are in the warm glow of youthful affections and

sympathies, I presume are not prepared to answer in the negative. You

feel that it would be delightful, the highest grade of human excellence,

to go about scattering charities--feeding the hungry, relieving

distress, smoothing the dying pillow, and sending the light of salvation

to those on whom the dayspring of the Saviour's mercy has never dawned.

This, perhaps, you intend to do at some future time; but you cannot now;

you have not the ability; you must first amass the means. But let me

warn you; here lies the treacherous pitfall. You have within a subtle

and malignant principle, whose maturity is utterly destructive of

benevolence. This the very employment of acquiring the means of charity

will fan to a flame, unless, in all your plans and avocations, you carry

along with you the spirit of Christ's good-will to men. The work of

charity must be begun in the infancy of the selfish tendencies. A small

blaze among the withered leaves of autumn a child may extinguish; but

when the winds have hurled it, and the wild fire is running and leaping

from point to point, streaming up trees and wrapping the forest in

sheets of flame, it will take the energies of thousands to quench it.

So it is with the principle of avarice. It must be repressed early,

before its giant coils wind around the entire heart, crushing its better

purposes. Hence, as the morning of life is peculiarly favorable to the

formation and fixing of habits, the importance of inuring yourself to

battle with this inward foe, in this flexible season. Put on the armor

at once, and learn to wield it; for victory is as much dependent on

skill as on strength.

Let the spirit of benevolence be the warmest aspiration of the youthful

breast. Let it be the early, the earnest, the daily inquiry, "What can

I do for my race?" Good to others should be your aim when means are

small. True, its light at first may be no more than the feeble

glimmerings of the glow-warm by the pathway of the benighted traveller;

yet it will be genial, soothing many a sad and torn heart. In the very

commencement of business, then, cherish a Christ-like spirit; and,

adopting a system of accordant action, maintain it all along the path of

life; so that when you arrive at its close, it will be seen, a line of

light stretching around the world, with many a flower of Paradise

blooming on its borders. But wait till you obtain the means before you

begin to seek in earnest the benefit of others, and, unless Divine Grace

powerfully interpose, by the time, in your own judgments, the means are

procured, your hearts will have become like the nether millstone.

Be persuaded, then, to lay your youth a victim on the altar of charity.

Let your whole being burn there till life is extinct; and when you enter

upon the peaceful rest of heaven, you will find multitudes there, aided

thither by your timely munificence, with whom you may unite in

transporting hallelujahs forever.

Finally, let me entreat readers of every class deeply to ponder the

subject here unfolded. No rational being, with any sense of his

responsibilities, can treat it with indifference. I beseech you, pass

not over these pages with a hasty glance, and then throw them aside.

Meditate upon them till your hearts burn within you. Pray over them

till you feel a harmony of soul with Christ; and, in this spirit, come

to a solemn determination whether you will adopt or reject this system

of views, of affections, of resolutions, and of accordant actions. Do

one or the other. No other course is either rational or christian. And

while you deliberately decide, realize that the eye of the Triune

Jehovah is fixed upon you, and that that dread Judge, before "whose face

the earth and the heavens" shall flee away, will review the transaction.

How solemn your position! What amazing consequences are depending on

your present determination! It will affect your usefulness here, and

your relations in eternity. You are striking a chord of the mighty harp

of the universe, which will tremble with the songs of the redeemed, or

the moanings of the damned. Can you touch it heedlessly?