238
eartspnmtr.
A GAMBLER'S OWN STORY.
BY BEV. ElYWAilb PAYSON ruatMOND
I have often found my ow 4 fdith
strengthened to pray for hardeked sin
ners by considering the miracle of the
raising of Lazarus, in contrast with that
of the bringing to life of the son of the
widow Nein, (Luke 17E12) and jairus'
,44tighter, (Luke% 411 ,
The little daughter of : jairns was but
twelve Years Clcage.r , When the Saviour
entered her fettiefq house, she had but
just breathed herlast. There she lay, a
beautiful sleeping child, and yet the cold
hand of death s had been laid upon her
and she was dead. But the earnest
prayer of the father had moved the heart
of 'joins • and "He took her by the hand,
saying, Maid, arise ; and.her spirit came
egain and she arose straightway. And
her parents were astonished." (Luke viii.
55.) But the son of the widow of Nein
had been much longer dead, for he was
just being carried away to the silent
grave. The funeral procession was in
motion as our Lord approached the gate
of the city. His heart was moved with
compassion. It would have seemed,
from a human point of view, that a
greaterlamonnt of Divine power must be
exercised to perform this miracle. But
His confident words to , the sorrowing
mother are, " Weep not." " And:A - le - Said
the young man, I say unto thetii,&.
And he that was dead 'stood up, sitar:tie
gan to speak ; and they glorified 'God."
(Lnke viL -43)4, while 4 41airns'
daughter had been dead but ti.' very short
time, and , the wid o w's eon' but (1 fciw
days, 401%4 !‘ t iit,,the grave
four. dau,s,'', so that t his very bode bode had'
becereeleftensive!
When' Martha heard the copmand;
"Take,y . iiti,*itYlifisionegshisiras ready
to oßposeitus pore tharenselesti. fl "Jesus
._said unto her, said I notomto thee; that
if thou wouldst belieie, thou shouldst
x see,the glory clf, God i" It is but, little
wonder that she was unable to realize
the mighty power of the Lord Jesus.
She had never witnessed a miracle of
the kind, though so often in the presence
of Jesus • still it.must have been diffi
cult for her to look upon Him as very
God incarnate' " 'Then they took away,
the atone froin the place where the dead
was laid," and after a prayer , to His
Father; Jeans "cried with a loud voice,
Lazarus, come' forth, . And he that was
dead came forth bound hand and foot
with grave' clothes.' ,'
xi. 43, 44.)
These three cases illustrate three
classes of sinners. First, children who
'rare spiritually, dead, and yet in their
seeming innocence beautiful in death ;
again, by the son of the widow of Nain,
kqe 'are reminded of a class ;who are dead
m trespasses and sins, but who , have
not gone to 'Poll depths. of inignity, and
who in , the sight of men are , notAorally
offensive. The ease of Lhzurns - calls,to
mind those who have - plunged into the
very depths of .sin and Tice,, and
we are too prone ink' `
ill Over
listen to the .call of our Divine • Lord,
• though he shotild err" with. a' loud
voice."'
Every , reader can to miiid the
eases, of many; such guilty, abandoned
sinners, Tor whom;from'a commen stand
point, it seems , uselesi•to pray. We ire
ready to say that it is no use to remove
the stone away from before the door of
such hearts, for nothing but moral im
purity will come forth, only to disgust
and drive away all that is pure and
lovely.
But can we not hear our Mistersay
ing to us, as to Martha, " Said I not unto
thee, that if thou wouldst believe thon
shouldst see the glory of God?"
*O, that we might exercise a stronger
faith in the power of God to bring to
life those who have beep long dead in
sin I
I have been led to these thoughts by
finding among my papers the following
letter from a gambler. It has strength
ened my faith to read it. It should teach
us that none are beyond hope—that
"He is able to save them to the utter
most that come unto God by Him, see
ing He ever'liveth to make intercession
for them." Would that Chistians all
over our land, with kind, persuasive
words, might seek to win gamblers to
abandon their soul-dastroying work. By
doing this they would apply the Saviour's
command : " Take ye away the stone."
0 that gamblers in -every town and
city where the AMERICAN PRESBYTE
RIAN is read, could with this one say,
"-Several Christians came, with tears in
their eyes, and urged me to leave
~ n vi
wicked ways and, flee to Jesus." It
would not be long before we should also
hear them saying, ," I thought it was
time for me to take some interest in my
own. soul's salvation."
Yes, gamblers, can 'be converted: by
the mighty power of God. I hamknown
numbers daring the lea few years, who
havb abandoned their gambling profes
sion, and who, through faith in the Lord
Jesus, have since led consistent Chris
tian lives.
When seventeen years old, I commenced
playing cards for small sums of money. This
I kept a secret from my parents,. for although
they were not professors of religion at that
time,l should have beer' reproved for my
wickdness, if they had found it out. At
eighteen I went to the city, where I remained
three months, taking part in ail kinds of vice
' and wickedness. I then enlisted in the army.
It seems now, as it the evil , one caused me to
join the regi tutu I did, for without doubt,
It WKS compoed of the worst set of men I
ever saw. Gambling and robbery prevailed
to an alarming extent. After an absence of
nearly two years. I re urned to my home a
co-firmed gambler. I no longer kept it a
secret rather boasted of it. The next year
I spent in going to all of our neighboring
towns, for no other purpose than tokamble or
pass counterfeit money. Many tittles I have
had Christians take me by the hand and urge
me to leave my wicked companions, and go
with them to the meetings. At last, Rev.
Mr. H— urged me to come so hard, that,
to get rid of him, I promised to come and,
hear you.
The first Sabbath afternoon you were here;
I went to the hotel, and when everybody
started off for your meeting . I went with the
crowd. Monday; several' 'of , my old corn,
panions in guilt 'end' sin' fieni: Thie, who had
been converted 'and learned - love Jesus
last winter, panieiffi to , do - Witt good they
could. AS a mark 'of :Csiiirteek, f l went with
them to th 6, cl urch. Severa l Christians
who I knew were ray frierids'ea*p, with tears
in their `eyes t arid,',urgßtl,. ,to leave my
wicked ways arid lee to F Jesus. At last, I
thought that if others took such an interest
in my welfare, it was tiMehr,Tnelo take some
interest in my own soul's salvation. I then
made up my mind to ask for the prayers of
God's people. But when gave the in
vitation, although Jesus kept knocking loudly
at the door of my heart, the evil one said;
" Sit still ; what will such an one say?"
At last it seemed to me as if the blessed
Jesus took me by the hand and lifted me on
my feet. I thank God for it. I went home
and prayed, for the'Orst: time in illy. lif9 My
prayer was shOrt, simple and — feeble. But,
praise God, it was heard in heaven. The
next day I prayed all day,. and the next I
had the assurance that my sins were forgiven.
And now, thank the blessed Jesus, I am at
peace with all the world. Now I can take
Christians by the hand and love them. Si*.
weeks ago, I should have struekthem if they
had spok.en to me. I can truly say, my cup
of happ iness is filled to overflowing. My
father, brother and sisters are all. commeno
ehg_o-serle-Jesus at the Same time. I now
i loie.to.pray for those who have not opened
their. hearts to Jesus. I feel that no one is
complete without a new heart: Will- you
. pray that 1 4 may always prover faithful' to
Jesus? Vizir true friend,,
THE ; ; SIN - AND PERCH,
of •
AIMING T E R B I CHI
'BY REV T ' 41 . 61 DANCE. •
Rxtga.,o
.. from Minutes, of
,Erie, Pres4tery,
Jurne.27-;71866.1; ,
,
"Presbytery hereby requests' of tlki` RSV:
J ViAce, A . cop.Tof his sermon preaphed be
fore.'this body last'eveni ng, on, l Tim; vi. 9,
for publication.:_ ,
The. Tequeit*as:kranted.
Whereupon the Stated'Olerlt was ordered to
transmit to the' editor ofthe . ilargarpA.
Dr
PREssiurraudi s copy of the sermon,afore
said, with the respectful request i d the Pres
bytery for its publication in the aforesaid
paPer.
':They that will be rich fall into temptations and a
snare andinto mappfoolish and kitrtful, lusts which
drown men' in dostruotion and perdition."—l Tut.
vi. 9.
It may not be easy to account for the fact
thati while the 'Word - of God treats often;
exphcitlY, and terrifically of the sin'and peril
'of money-loving, the pulpit is nearly silent
on the subject. For years I have felt
pressed with the obligation to bring, this mat
ter before you Who attend. on .my ministry,
but as long time had forborne. And I can
gir,polettertreason-,for my-course than the
cowardlyfear tat thnfaithful eihibitibirof
what God teaches on this point might offend
some sensitive ears. ..But, God helping me,;
I will yield to this unworthy reason no longer.
If a true moral census of this community,
or of congregation, Worizetaken-such a
census as will virtually meet us at the day of
judgment=-We shianld probably learn from it
_that no greater or more common sin is per
•tetrattid among nig than that Which at t inti=
mated in the text: What I feel urged to bay
touching. this .sin and the ...peril Attending it,
is implied ini . Oiny nt i Orangebioft the Divine
Word: such as, "Lay notlP for' yourselves
treasures ,on earth,
,where moth_ and_ rust
doth corrupt anctwhere thieve r fibreak through
and steal." "Wo unto you that are rich,
for you lave Teceived your consolations."
-" Take heed and beware of covetousness."
"Go VP; now, ye rich men, weep and howl
for your miseries that shall come upon you."
But my remarks will be,confined to the text.
EXPOSITION OE. THE TEXT.
?The Greek term, (B pi) translated
"will,::" is more tbrcible than our English
equivalent. It means what - we.do by the
expreasion, "Do it 'with d Oia." "Rich,"
as commonlYnsed, has no absolute,; but only
a relative, meaning ; a meaning; hOwever,
not difficult to be ascertained. Poverty - is
the lack of things necessary tp healthful and
comfortable existence. Subsistence is a bare
supply of necessaries. Ccimpetencis is a sup
ply of all the necessaries of life; of the varied
machinery for pushing adVantageously the
whole, rational and proper enterprises of com
fortable and useful together with a mo
dest surplus that may be , drawn upon in
emergencies; or used as "the means of gener
ous beneficence. Here, however, there may
be (within certain limits) an almost , endless
variety of the measure that constitutes com
petence. For example : if a brick-layer has
a:,home furnished, ten dollars worth of tools,
:and a hundred dollars more than , sufficient to
Meet the demands 'of the next pay-day, it
cannot be denied that he has a competence ;
whereas, a farmer may have five. thousand,
or fifteen thousand dollars invested in a farm
and its stock and implements, and yet be in
straits. True, he holds more property than
the bricklayer but it is to a great extent in
the form of tools necessary to his work. The
mere proprietary relation of a man to a cer
tain amount of money or other property,
does not decide the question of competency.
A definition in whichl think all reasonable
men would agree, Would ,be, that when, with
due diligence and a j*it economy, a man's
average income.moderatelY exceeds his aver
age expenditure',' he is pbbsessor of a compe
tence. Thiglefinition will hold, whether in
the case of *Whose effort is - directed to the
payment for property yet- incumbered with
debt, or to the: mederato increase of his goods
or money:beYend the measure of " owing no
man anythitig but love." Now all: 'beyond
rthirik; may be fairly placed in the in
ventbry' of riches. It may Ile small or great ;
but itiisiirplus; it is riches lititruti'
But thia measure falls altog4ther short of
the idea of wishing to ,he 'rich, given in the
text. 4,,1ga be rick h e re means:* to, possess
heaps of righes; to acquire the ownership of
a fountain which may pour"in for one a
stream of inco m e that shall buoy him - up ; to
have a fortune td be above the common
plodders who hilve'only a competence:, to be
a millidnaire; to have an income from inter
est orients alone, which - shall - give one a posi
tion among the , monied aristocracy.
" Temptations ' ' the radical idea is, things
used to entice animals into a trap in order to
victimize them; enticements to seduce men
into sin. "Snares:" traps, machines to
catch and hold securely whatever living thing
may venture within their 'grasp. "Lusts :''
desires, passions not curbed, controlled, or
governed by right reason; not subordinate to
Divine law; desires that break over, go be
yond, set aside the great law that God en
. joins. "Foolish lusts:" inordinate, irra
THE AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN, THURSDAY, JULY 26, 1866
i tional, senseless, idiotic desires ; desires de
-1 termined on having the bait, notwithstanding
the risk of being caught in the trap. "Hurt
ful lusts:" destres, which indulged, work
detriment to him who indulges them. The
strong desire of the drunkard for his cup is
hurtful to him. And so the lust of riches is
hurtful to the lover of them. ' •
The structure of the text seems to indicate
that the, hrase "foolish and Inlaid lusts,"
is
,explicative of the preceding ter "snare;"
giVing us the idea that the soar into which
those deterinined to.be rich fall, s their lusts
theinselves. ' The sense of the, , 't, i .then, is,
:that those who fix their .pur ‘ p , to get and
Tay up wealth,,ffill iii yitli e tic:dui:int& and
intoa.trap,
_'even c ieito niany„f lish and hurt
fall liiiiiii which drawn Men an `''' ' ction and
,PpidiOn• :
6, - • ci*AP- 16 : 1 i1' .3 •
I T
~ .. Look; nowy at , the,..graphic gore in ,the
text by which God Sets •forth he ,resulte to
which the desire of riches•le - alien. • 'See
yon trapper plying his.artifice dud. engines to
take; the wary fox - 'rather to let .the for to
take himself. • He conceals d strong, ,agile
trap under a covering of leavidor earth ; ''he
fastens. pon it •:a delicious hilt ; which will
'wake up the fox's appetite to limited sharp : .
ness. The hungry Reynard cosies in sight or
scent of the lure. Seizing thetaiit , be fastens
the jaws of the trap upon hi*elf, He thus
throws himself,• pinioned anhelpless, into
the hands of the trapper, to be despatched
with ease. And so it is, say: the text, with
the man—any man, every m- , who-resolvesupon gathering and storing ri es for himself.
The seducing, enticing thinv is placed by
Providence along' his path ,oflilife. It meets
his eye, it excites. his Stronggesire, or lust.
To his wealth-loving heart,. Ai appeal is not
unlike. that of Naboth's • i yard to Ahitb;
he must have it. God warns . ~ that itis a
-bait; that it is a part of. the , achinery of a
trap'; that to let his desire ten upon'. it
will involve the risk uf his a ,to ruin. But
c r e
.1
his strong desire blinds and b is him. He
bids reason and conscience a eternal conse
quences; and God, all • into' yance. He
,consults his I.nst only. • • He :si s• the bait in
g le
skits fascinating ;witchery, aii as if at an
infinite. emove from all dan .. He seizes
it , ; . but the jaws of the trap • ave fastened .
neon him ; he has " Caug4 !
the Tartar.'
.Theiatal.result. upon....,hims was..consum!-
mated before he tasted' or to l ched the de
sired riches: I .0; 'What a press' -sof reasons
g
urged ni to'lliay, 'Lead:midi t into temp.
tatio'' . .
, • TRACMAL LBSSON,,oF ,TEXT.
The greaepracticallesson of, he text is; the
sin , and peril-Waved .Iti ai rig tto be:rich.
That the love of -riches is f a in, of •flarant
.
enormity will spear as we ceed, without
31
being formally emonstrated l`ere. The de
ceitftdness of this form , of - fin' Shonld put
every man on the watch asprist it. In no
other form of sin, probably, s one so liable
to fatal self-deceptien. fee indulgence,
though bindinghlin a very s ive of , lust, and
as a marked.Victim.of perdit.m, yet deludes
him with the vain fancy that he is in the
high road to the largest edom and the
happiest elevation among ortals. While
the perpetrators' . of-some oth form of sin—
the drunkard or the libertiri seem , to feel
1
that their course is a disgusti burrowing in
degradation toward the Lowe depths of in
famy, the successful pursuer o riches regards
himself as ascending a grade eminence of
solid, precious worth, up which he climbs
with the self-gratulatory fanc that he is in
creasinghonor, imp rtance, power,
1 3
in glory,
and enjoyment; with the feel g too, that he
is drawing after him the ,a¢miration, the
deference, the approbatton of those below
him, evoking their praises, aspiring their
emulation, till, having reached the giddy sum
mit, he plunges thence into , the depths of
endless "tribulation , and anguish.' : In ihe•
present world,,. he is donned, flattered,
praised, emnlated—perhaps
,envied7-self
esteemed, self-gratified, a very " Lucifer;
'son of the morning . ;" in the next world he
wakes to' the overwhelming consciousness
that he is poorer than`the paupef that begged '
prumbs at, his door; that he is al loathed, ac-.
cursed,. dogrel:led, ruined wretch , groping in
the miserable caverns, of the bo toreless rtit,
ha-, t ea
,by all,"hated by hinisel crushed by .
the just wrath of God, who take vengeance,
on the idolatrous worshippers f mammon;
no, less than on the worshippers f wood and
stone.
NaTIIBAL CHARACTER' OF THE LASS; WHO
WILL BE MOIL
,r
Whoever will carefully examine' the matter
will probably arrive at the copvichen that of
all the forms of sin, the, love of riches, has
the mightiest control, 'among that class of
men and women who are regarded-as having
large mental endowments - and strong willi—
the very class marked by,•their natural pow
ers as fitted to be God's most exemplary and
efficient nobility in all that is hOnorable and
virtuous and beneficent; the every men and
women who might -be,• -Peals, and Luthers,
and Calvins, and Lady HuntAgdons. t- 'IN o
other form of sin• has such mighty control
over this class of large-minded: strong-Willed
persons, to dwarf or suppress the expansion
,of their nobler faculties, or to pervert them
into deformed monsters of comparative moral
worthlessness in the associations of their fel
low-men. Nor is the mischief to this. class
of' men bounded by time. We have only to
look abroad through the community, and the
conviction fastens upon our minds that no
other form of sin binds with its adamantine
chains and leads BO many large-minded,
strong-willed men along "the broad way"
which terminates in perdition. Other forms
of sin may lead to destruction larger numbers
of' victims from among those of lesser endow
nients ; but theloie of -ricliks. - works terrific
havoc among those who, by their superior
endowments, are , fitted to be the champions
among their fellow-men of All.khat is, grand,
and good and ,God-like. 0, could thesenien
open their eyes and take a fall viewpf what
God-given powers they are perverting to 'the
base achievements.Ofesin ; what , splendid en
dowmentss,theywe I , mploy . ing ,in the degra
ding service 'of Elf and the'devir; what noble
specimens—their immortal selves—of God's'
creating power, they, ,by their love of riches,
are inouldifiginto they
vesselilOfwiath fitted for
destruction " would, hey : doubt, that their sin
is enormous?' Could 4 ;their deny that strug
gling to get rich' is a 'flagrant sin? Could
they have' the fialliardYfrabhi(eal -tb, a:Persist
in their chosen • form didolptry ?
ENORMITIES TO WHICH THIS PURPOSE IMA'DS.
How blind to facts those „must be who en
ter;taitr the" - entiiilent; that the Ceske Of
heaping up richea for themielves is not a sin
of deepest dye- See wttat enormities it has
committedj,lat t it,.tiy its fruits. It moved
Hamor and`'' mitt kingdom, to
seek admission into, the Visible Church of
God by a lying profession of,Ae faith of
Israel ; it inspired the Pharisees - to like by-
pocrisy ; dote the same in thousands
of cases of later date ; WWII' lead a man to
lie in giving a statement,of alleßd facts, or in
giving a Judgment on a questicirof-Ouity
or in making out an inventory ofirhe amount
of his income; it will move- out! "to swear to
the truth of known falsehood; cheat in
bargains; to sell small weight, or small mea
sure, or worthless quality ; to pay in bad cur
rency ; to forge coin, notes, bills, receipts ;
to boil barley, rye ' and corn into deadly fire
water, and sell "liquid death and distilled
damnation" to infatuated, suicidal drinkers;
it will take the bed from the drunkard's
wife and children, the clothes from their
backs, the bread out of their mouths,
turn them hungry, cold and couchless, into
the street ; it will drive the plow, the harvest
reaper, and thresher, and trundle the heaven
given breadstuff to the brew-house and dis
tillery, to keep running over the intoxicating
fountain of destruction. It will gamble,
swindle, pilfer, steal, 'rob; it will kidnap, en
slave'and murder men. Can worse be done?
Can worse be imagined? What means the
whole black, atrocious exhibition of tyranny
and violence pervading the sections of earth
where barbarism 'holds domination ? It is
the lust of riches. What means the whole
Vast, costly machinery of civil governments
among enlightened nations—legislatures,
courts, juries, fines, jails, prisons, gibbets,
conquermg,nrushing armies? All this is the
PowerfUl, terrible array of force which human
society ha t s found it:necessary to organizc arid
- Maintain nt an immeasurable cost of life and
treasure, to resist the villainy growing out of
the.lust of riches. What;bad _human : ,lust
,had the diabOlical pre-eminence in bretraYin,g
and murdering the Son, of ; Glory? The love
of money.. What bad eminence: of men's
iiickedness mired God to dig, for them the
pit of hell and ordain its intolerable torments ?
It 'was the love of money. What necessitates
the continuance of - that abyss and those tor
nients? We may see the answer.in the Sa
viour's daguerreotype of the ever-current
;conduct of men : " They went their ways, one
to his farm, wither to his merchandize ;'
it is the reigning love of money in the hearts
of men now living, now pursuing the ac
quisition of riches with such a senseless,
frenzied, infatuated earnestness as blinds
them to their momentary danger of stum
bling into,," the fire that never shall be
quenched:Tr ,
LOVE OF MONEY IN THE CHUSCH
But money-loving has not confined its vile
developments to men outside of the ,Church.
If, we come into the familyof professed
Christian disciples and ask, What has always
'stood, (save, perhaps, during the apostles'
lives,) as the mightiest paralyzing influence
upon the energies of the friendi of God, the
mightiest opponent of their aggressive move
ments upon the world for its conquest to
,Christ, its disenthralment from sin and the
.41eiril, and its recovery to godliness' and
;bliss? The shameful answer is, the love' of
Money.
If we ask, What, is it that to-day hanipers
a thousand Christian ministers in the prose
cution of their heavenly embaSsy, compelling
them to turn half their strength from their
legitimate work that of acquking the'means
of subsistence? The answer is, It is the love
of money in the Church and the community
which they serve. If we ask, What r to-day,
hinders ten thousand youth and young men,
, converted in the glorious revivals of the
'present year from. consecrating . themselves
to the work of the Gospel ministry, and
taking direct part with the. enthroned Son
of God in His grand enterprise of mercy?
What hinders the Church from pouring
out millions of dollars, (now laid., up in
napkins or rusting in. coffers,) 'to educate
and equip these young soldiers for leaders
in this holy warfare, and to sustain them
in prosecuting it? The answer comes,
Not the poverty of those who constitute the
membership of the Church; but the love of
money—THE LOVE OF MONEY IS THE PARA
MOUNT HINDRANCE. And in all this, is there
no disloyalty to God? No virtual repudia
tion of Heaven's law of love? No flagrant
sin? If the master of the ship sent from
New York, a few years ago, freighted with
gratuitous bread for the hungry in Manches
ter, England, hid sold her cargo in Paris
and kept the money, who would not have
adjudged him worthy of the penitentiary for
life? And is it a less sin to withhold the
bread of eternal life from those who are ready
to perish for lack of it?
,GREAT RESULTS OF A PROPER USE OF Tiq
CHURCH'S WEALTH. ;
Were all the revenue, belonging to the
Lord, which is nol hoarded in the coffers Of
His professed friends, or invested in their
houses,". or their "fleldjoined to
fleld," , or laid up imbank stock, or loaned on
interest-bearing notes, restored to Him ;' were
all the tithes that are kept baok brought
into the Lord's storehouses were all'the
duetpthat surAwneloyalty an d OWE Him,
brought into His treasury, the Clinrch her
self would be astonished at the vast amount
of her own perpetrated embezzlement, and
astonished at- the overflowing wealth of her
Lord's treasury. Nor less would be her
wonder at the augmentation of her own
blessedness in the enjoyment of the love of
God shed abroad in her heart; wonder at
the• increased strength of her. own faith ;
the mighty prevalence of her prayers; at the
glorious on-going or her triumphs over the
world, and the rapid enlargement of the
domain of the "King of kings and Lord of
lords." It would be as life from the dead.
'lt would avail to force upon the world the
conviction that the Church is indeed what
she professes—" a holy nation, a royal priest
hood,a peculiar people, zealous of go9d
works;" "crucified to the world;" "risen
with Christ;" "the temple of the Holy
Ghost;" "the salt of the earth;" that her
heart throbs with the love which moved her
glorious Redeemer to make Himself poor
that He might make the poor rich ; that the
law in Christ's Church is the law of LOVE;
that her grand, absorbing, exhausting enter
prise is an enterprise in behalf of a deluded,
perishing world ; that on all her substance
she has written, " Holiness to the Lord;"
that in her own experience, as it was in His,
" it is more blessed to give than to receive. '
And the world seeing this spirit in the whole
life and conduct of the Church, would be
compelled to ponder in their own minds the
question, What makes these Christians so
noble, so truly good, se happy? And their
reasoning would lead to their own conviction
of _their deadness in sin; and their convic
tions, to the embracing of her doctrines 04
their surrender to her Saviour.
COVETOUSNESS OF CHRISTIANS A STUMBLING-
BLOCK
If there is one point on which, more than
others, the world claims to have doubts about
the sincerity of professing Christians; if there
is one pre-eminent thing in the, life of many
imminent church members, from which-they
gather the sentiment that the cost of the
"pearl of great price" is not the pliri4g
with the ownership of. all they have, it is
that many who profess to . be " crucified` to the
World," last after it as intensely, and' strug
gle. as assiduously to " lay
u p their treasures
on earth," as other men do. And is not tlie
blessed Saviour thus dishonored and the
Holy Comforter thus grieVed, and the Father
thus abused by those who are members of
`the visible household of heaven ? =ls it not
*true, that some who, by profession', are "the
light of the world," the " living epistles of
C'hrist," the exemplars leading others in the
way of"holiness a ,obnoxious to the charge
of laying stumbling-blocks re before the men
and children of the world, over which they
may stumble and tall into destruction? 0,
is - there no airi in the doings of these Achans
hiding the wedge of gold and goodly Baby
lonish garment in their tents; these Demases
who love the present world; these li g ht.
bearers who put their candles under a
bushel? Nothing else than a radical reform
that would take away these stumbling-blocks;
nothing else in the visible deportment of the
Christian Church would so bring her to
experience again the days of Primitive
Christianity, when Christ being enthroned
in her heart, and walking in her midst, made
sun, and
- her "fair as the moon, clear as the
terrible as an army with banners." And
further, were the foolish, hurtful lust of
riches excluded from the hearts of the mil
lions of unconverted meu and youth through
out all Christendom; were this cursed idola
try of mammon broken up, there would seem
to be kit small comparative hindrance- to
their flocking to Christ "as clouds and as
doves to their windows;"
and their whole
number pressin into the kingdom as under
the ministry of John the Baptist. "
WHAT SHALL A MAN GIVE " TN .EXCHANGE
FOR HIS SOUL'?"
Let me give an incident which was told me
by a minister who was my fellow-Presbyter •
mere than. thirty years ago. He , had Just
visited a yenng family that was -under his
pastoral care. The husband and father Mid.
'lately invested almost his whole property-in
`atdistillery,Lwhichithen and there was one of
Abel:post lucrative forms of business. He '
was, at the time, deeply, earnestly awake to
the peril of 'his soul' by But there
'seemed 'some hidden and insurmountable ob
stacle to his entering the fold' of salvation.
As the pastor left r the house, the young man
aceilmpanied him a feW steps, whenatopping,
with a struggle of emotion' that seemed
alutost overwhelming, he said, (at the same
time, pointing to his distillery,) Look there;
I know that must be sacrificed if I would be
conic a Christian, and my all is invested
there.. It is a money-making business to me.
To give - it up will make me poor. To' sell it
to another to be run as a distillery, would be
as wicked in me as to run it myself. I can
not sell it. lam shut up to the alternative to
sacrifice my property or lose my soul. What
shall Ido ?" And who, with a Bible in his
hand, and the. Spirit of God flashing its
truths upon his soqi could reach any other
conclusion than tat of this young man?
What hut the - love- of money hindered him
from accepting, the grace that would make
him an heir `of and give him a throne
and a crown in Heaven ? And is not this
young man the representative of millions in
the churches, and, Sabbath-schools, and
Christian families in Christendom to-day ?
"As I recall this incident, it seems a very
re=enactment of that case sketched by the
pencil of inspiration,. of a young man who
went away from the 'Saviour " very sorrow
ful; because he was very rich ;" and under
which the finger of Jeans wrote the'. tender,
Yet ' startling Warning=-" HOW ;hardly'shall
, they that have riches enter "into the king-
I don' of God ; for it is eaSier for a camel to
go through a needle's eye, than for a rich
'man to enter, into the 'kingdom of God."
The appropriateness of dila solemn Warn
ing, is, apparent in the fact, that where wealth
accuniulates'around those whose 'hearts are
set upon it, it developes' and gives domination
to their vain self-conceit; . a conceit that they
can do, something better for themselves than
bowing to God; that they know Something
better than to submit to God's, teachings ;
that, they can secure to themselves what is
better, and happier, and more ennobling than
the holiness, the meekness, the huinility, the
self-denial, the devotion, which are insepara
ble from the possession of the favor of. God.
Growing wealth nourishes this vain conceit.
It makes men feel that riches are a sure, re-=
liable basis of their trust ; that wealth actu
ally meets all their wants ; "that money
anSwereth all things;" that it is a resource
which will always transcend all their wants.
It inflates them to say to their soul, "Soul,
thou hest much goods laid up for many
years ;" to say to all the claims of religion,
to the pleadings of Christ's ambassadors, to
God himself, "Depart from us, we desire
not the knowledge of thy ways. Who is the
Lord, that-we should genie Hurt? and what
profit shall we have if we pray unto fHim ?"
Though a sober, rational thought upon the
question of their eternal well=being may some
times enter their. mind, "the deceitfulness
of riches" drives - it out. The vain feeling
within- them says; "I am rich,- and =increased
with goods, and , have need of 'nothing 1'
while the solemn feality is, they are ".wretch
ed,, and : miserable; andw podri, apd.hlind, and
naked." They shut their ear from hearing
the,pertinent utterance of Infinite Wisdom.
`'.Thou fool I" that layest lip treasure for
thyself, but art not ".rich towards.God."‘
.They deem it beneath; their self-importance
.to heed : the malediction-from the very-throne
of the Almighty, f : ` Woe unto you that .are
rich„ for , ye have ,received your consolations."
8108E63 TO, BE USED, NOT, REFUSED
But though the wishing to be rich, of the
text, is inseparable from .flagrant sin, though
the .peril it involves is alarming, and though
the malediction of God restssupon him whose
energies are bent to the laying up of his trea
sure on earth, yet let none draw hence the •
inference that we should desist from the dili
gence which brings wealth. Than Wesley's
rule, none uninspired is better: " Make all
the money you can, honestly; save all you
can ; give all you can." The ordinance of
Heaven for man is, "In the sweat of thy
face thairshalt eat bread." The new man
date of the Gospel enjoins diligence in busi
ness. And by the sovereign arrangement of
Providence, diligence gathers abundance :
"The hand of the diligent maketh rich."
If, then, God send you increasing riches,
what are you to do with it? Neglect it?
Let it waste?-No. How did Jesus, the
great, perfect Exemplar do? He brought
his wealth to our pauper abode, " that we,
through his poverty, might be made rich."
If God gives you a whole ship load of per
ishable food which cannot be kept from cor
ruption for a week—a thousand times more
than you need, must you gormandize upon
it to your own death? So does the man who
" lays, up treasure for himself, but is not
rich toweds God." He actually kills his
soul by feeding on riches. Will you imitate
his suicidal folly?
True, you have a thousand-fold more than
you need. But 'tis also true that a thousand
starving poor are within your reach, whose
lives may be saved, whose comfort may be
augmented, whose love and gratitude to you
may be aked up by your giving them a
f ro
supply m your surplus. God could as
easily giie to :each of these a thousandth
part of your store, as give the whole to-you.
But He imparts to you the 'power and the
high privilege 'at participating with Himself
in the very chiefest form of blessednesathat
of giving. He gives yeti a thousand-fold' be
yond the measure of your prayer—" Give
us this day our' daily bread;" that you may
bless your thousand hungry brathers at your
side. As you look on their misery, how it
swells your blessedness that you may hind
them bread, and'say, Dear brothers be filled.
Thus you may augment your own blessedness,
strengthen Your"own virtue, grow into the
moral likeness of your Father in Heaven;
thus you may lay up your treasure where
motb l and rust and thieves cannot disturb it;
where your fruition of <it shall be multiplied
by the number of those with whom you share
it: Thus you may bring upon your soul at
the great judgment -dayr the benediction,
"Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of the
least of theie my brethren, ye did it unto
me."
TRUE USE OF RICHES
But what shall be done with the accumula
tions already in your hands? Tint, take one
distinct, unselfish, rational view of them, and
of your connection with them, through Ilea
ven's true eye-glass, the text. Riches, to
the lovers of them, are the bait fastened in,
and cannot be got out of, 'the trap.
_lf your
hand is upon them, the deadly clutc h of the
trap IS 'UPON you. You are
_pinioned for
"destruction and perdition." Say not, God
is a hard master for having ordained this ar
rangement. It is not His arbitrary curs e
that constitutes the jaws of the trap which
holds yon. No, No. It - is your oum sordid
lore of riches that thus binds you. As drunk
en appetite binds the inebriate to the death
that is in the cup, so the love of riches binds
you to perdition. Let him break up his ap
petite, and the, poison cup will be to him
harmless as a cup of water. • So, break up
your "foolish," suicidal love of riches, and
they, too, will be innocuous to you, as the
:golden pavement of the heavenly Jerusalem
is to its unselfish citizens. Riches area good
crea nre o od, when used in the uhitation
of his own , tireless - genero,ty" . The. ismer
their, - abundance, the happier he that : has
thein,in trust,
Second. With the lighe'df, word
aid yiin, make thorough insPeption, and learn
with certainty, whether your ;riches fare ;now
in safe deposit, or "in,rbags; that • wax old,"
in place's- .` where thieves break th r ough and
‘
steal;" on " wings wheretvith u tlio way 'fly
away." If so; then ninin . your • antinnula
dens-into tile bank that: 'Gid has opened for
their eternal safe-keeping and increase. "Lay
up your treasure in heaven," and let your
heart go, with it. Give earnest; Manly, vig
orous exercise to your susceptibilities of true,
noble, godlike goodness in , the work of trans
ferring your wealth from the "old• bags,"
from the thief haunts, from the wimed de
positories where - they now are, 'to' Beaven's
- treasury. Summonyonr unostentationsgener
osity into full, free play. Let your eye rest
lovingly, gratefully, imitatively on Jesus,
your perfect, practical Exemplar. Look
abroad upon the'vast enterprise of love and
pity and beneficence toward men in which
He is engaged, and in which He invites your
co.operation.„ His is not a mean, or senseless,
or nnpaying work ; but the wise, grand, glo
rious enterprise of a King—the King of
kings. He invites you into •royal copartner
ship with himself. He is gathering crown
jewels for his own diadem. He asks yon to
buy with your riches gems for your own im
mortal coronets, to be worn in an eternal
heaven. In the New Jerusalem they pave
,His walks with crowns of gold. Will you not
with yOur gold gladlybuild ?. Where needed,
or adorn, where elready the earthly
tabernacle where He dwellm? Senwhether or
not, some "golden taches," or silver fill
ets," or " curtain& of , fine linen," or " in
struments of music, to'Praise - Withal," would
not make` His earthly sanctuary More worthy
of His glorious name, more attractive to men,
and thus more,effective ingatheiing them to
Himself. -
See whether yaw. riches might
not make some` grateful`co' 'n' tribUtion:to the
adequate provision bread and
books and parchments for the anibassadoni of
the King in their blessed work ,for the train
ing, and sanctification, and happiness of your
own souls, and for the Salve:tic:al of syour
households. See whether' our money might
not find good investment in your great Cap
tain's holy war for the recovery of the world
from the devils usurped domination, and its
happy annexation to that kingdom " which
is righteousness, and peace, and joy in the
Holy Ghost." Here is ..an• enterprise in
which Gabriel would gladly invest; one in
which the infinitely wise Gcki, your Saviour
and Sovereign felt no hesitation to invest the
whole wealth of the inheritance which was
His from the foundation of the world. Here
lay up your treasure : " Lend it to the Lord,
and he will repay it," "good measure,
pressed down,
shaken together ,
running
over: Here throw the weight of your ex
ample to induce the holy emulation , of others.
Here investment will be secure front the in
vasion of "rust" and "thieves;"will be to
your immortal honor, to your eternal wealth
of bliss; ,:while the rich ` ` fools" who stored
their treasure on earth and bound their
hearts to it there, will have the bitter, end
less experience that the mammon-god which
they idolatrously worshipped, and which en
chanted them with delusive visions of glory
and bliss, malignantly delights to burn them
with the-fire that is unquenchable.
THE BIBLE ITS OWN WITNESS.
The Rev. A. •L. Blatchforcl, writing from
Brazil, communicates to the . Bible Society
Record the following interesting statement
Of the attractive and instructive power of
the simple Word of God
"A"certain man had obtained a Bible,
and was reading it. His priest frightened
him into burning it, by, saying that it was
&hie, etc. Some two months since, he met
with a poor black lahorer who attends our
services, and was induced again to read a
New Testament which he lent him. He
became so much impressed, that he came to
this city to get a Bible for himself. He
would buy none but what had the same im
print as the Testainent he had with him
-London. Once again in possession or the
Bible, he read it with avidity. Soon after.
he fell sick unto death. He insisted on
having his oratory and images destroyed.
and finally made it his dying request. His
daughter, a girl of about seventeen, to
please her father, had them broken to
pieces. His family wished him to send for
the priest, to give him the last rites of the
Church. He said he did not wish nor
need the priest. They, however, called
him. His wife informed him that the
priest had come and wished to see hire
He replied that he had forbidden them to
call him, and did not wish to see him. The
priest, however, entered his room, and with
bland words tried to persuade him to con
fess. He said he had confessed to Christ
and that was enough. But,' said the
priest, you must take the most holy com
munion of the body of Christ.' He ri :
plied, ' I have Christ in my heart, and net.
nothing more.' He took up his Bible... Li.
asked, Is this true ?" Yes,' said th.
priest, no doubt to quiet him. Then
said he, 'I am safe,'and want nothinv, Etio
from you! The'priett got angry and
The Bible is true ;' but this book is false
The man, indignantly ordered him to less'
his presence. .He then sent for the no-'
black man to talk and pray with him;
Soon after, with his precious Bible by [.
aide, and holding his instructor by tt.
hand, he gently fell asleep in Jesus.
" After his death the black offered :•
buy, the Bible, to prevent it from beir:
destroyed, The daughter replied th
neither money nor priest could ever ua
from her.the blew' book which had gee
her father's sour, and which he love , i -
much."
13BoAD,CHITRCH COWARDICE. —Our Btei'
Church brethren indulge in bravado. Th':'
are the men in whom all free thought hre'
and With whom it will die. Attack the s
and they begin to whine, and call out Per' '
cation I They would have the public btlitcc
that they are martyrs, and that nowhere
such injured innocence be found as in . ( 16
Is this bravery? Is i t common man lnee
Can they bear no blows? Must they
and cry out, like those animals w hiLla, [-
less they are hurt, make the louder uoi,,
Honest men do not usually shrink from or
Shinn in promulgating their sincere op i i
af r ,
nor do they, like children, begin to cry
l' -
whipped.—English Paper.