The same passage in the Epistle to the Hebrews, to which I have already
referred, goes on to bracket together the sacrifice of praise and of
deeds. It continues thus:--'But to do good and to communicate forget
not.' Again I say, logically this comes under the first division. But
still it may be treated separately, and it just carries this
thought--your praying and singing praises are worse than useless unless
you go out into the world an embodiment and an imitation of the love
which you hymn. True philanthropy has its roots in true religion. The
service of man is the service of God.
That principle cuts two ways. It comes as a sharp test of their prayers
and psalm-singing to emotional Christians, who are always able to gush
in words of thankfulness, and it confronts them with the question, What
do you do for your brother? That is a question that comes very close to
us all. Do not talk about being the priests of the Most High God unless
you are doing the priestly office of representing God to men, and
carrying to them the blessings that they need. Your service to God is
worthless unless it is followed by diligent, fraternal, wise,
self-sacrificing service for men.
The same principle points in another direction. If, on the one hand, it
crushes as hypocrisy a religion of talk, on the other hand it declares
as baseless a philanthropy which has no reference to God. And whilst I
know that there are many men who, following the dictates of their
hearts, and apart altogether from any reference to higher religious
sanctions, do exercise pity and compassion and help, I believe that for
the basing of a lasting, wide, wise benevolence, there is nothing solid
and broad except Christ and Him crucified, and the consciousness of
having been--sinful and needy as we are--received and blessed by Him.
Let the philanthropists learn that the surrender of self, and the fruit
of the lips giving thanks to His name, must precede the highest kind of
beneficence. Let the Christian learn that benevolence is the garb in
which religion is dressed. 'True worship and undefiled ... is this, to
visit the widow and the fatherless in their affliction.' Morality is the
dress of Religion; Religion is the body of Morality.