Special Promises to the Liberal.
By D. T. Bourdeau
The Bible contains special promises for those who freely give of their means to sustain the cause of God. Here are some of them: “There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. The liberal soul shall be made fat; and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.” Prov. 11:24, 25. “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly, and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. . . . . . . And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work; (as it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor; his righteousness remaineth forever. Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness).” 2 Cor. 9:6-10. Like begets like. Covetousness in us begets covetousness in others, while benevolence and liberality displayed in our lives tend to inculcate the same traits in our fellow creatures; so that it is for our temporal interest to be liberal in our deal with our fellow-men. Hence the Saviour says, “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” Luke 6:38. The same is true in our deal with God. If we are liberal with God, he will be liberal with us. But if we withhold from God the means that he justly claims to advance his cause, he will withhold from us temporal blessings, and very often he will scatter the very property that we place our affections upon. Anciently, God promised to make those who obeyed him plenteous in goods, in the fruit of their cattle, and in the fruit of their ground, Deut. 28; and from the second passage quoted above, we see that similar blessings are promised to the liberal in this dispensation. But the withering curse of God is pronounced against disobedience and covetousness in his people; “for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth. . . . But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.” Heb. 12:6-8. Those who are all bound up in covetousness, and yet go on year after year without reaping the legitimate fruits of their selfishness, are in a far worse condition than those who are chastened of the Lord. Their case is far worse than that of the ungodly. Their example is bad in the church, and instead of laying up for themselves treasure in Heaven, they are laying up a sure foundation for bitter remorse and wailing, when it shall be said to professors who “have heaped up treasures together in [Greek] the last days,” “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.” James 5:1, etc. The rust of gold and silver is here used to represent that they were not freely circulated to push forward the cause while probation lasted, and souls could be saved by a proper use of means. What unutterable anguish shall come upon those who will awake to a sense of their duty with reference to their property, when troubles commence to come upon earth, when strangers cast the people of God and others out of their houses, and rob means and treasures that should have been sent to the bank of Heaven, and means are no more needed to advance the cause of truth. Who can express the burning anguish of those who in the day of the Lord shall cast their means far from them as the stumbling block of their iniquity, and for fear of the Lord when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth? Who can describe the full sense of guilt and sad despair of the miser when he and his treasures shall pass away in the burning day? From the words of Paul quoted above, we learn that when God adds to our property and gives us sufficiency in all things, he does it that the fruits of our righteousness may be increased, and that we may abound in every good work. This agrees with what Paul says 1 Tim. 6:17-19: “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; that they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; laying up for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.” Giving of our means to advance the work of the gospel is here made a condition of eternal life. We all need this rich boon. But those who have riches are in danger of not realizing their dependence upon God, who gives us wealth and bestows eternal life on his faithful, sacrificing children. Dear brethren and sisters, when we have been blessed with additions to our property, have we remembered God, the author of every good and perfect gift? or have we been bound up in selfishness, and deprived God of his just due, that we might add to our earthly treasure? Let us stop197and reflect on the past, and see if we cannot discern the hand of God in reverses and losses. Many who have been backward in paying up their Systematic Benevolence, and added farm to farm, etc., have lost hundreds and thousands of dollars, that might and should have gone into the cause. They perhaps excused themselves on the ground that they owed debts. But did they owe no debt to God? Have we any right to run into debt to add to our property, so that we cannot give God his just due? Is not selfishness at the bottom of all this? God help us to realize our obligations to him, and to look to him for wisdom in the management of the property he has given us, that we may redeem the past, make God, Christ, and holy angels, our friends by a right use of our means, that when earthly things fail, we may be received into everlasting habitations, and have a part in the eternal inheritance. Let us turn a new leaf, and see if we shall not realize the truthfulness of this Scripture: “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of Heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” Mal. 3:10. Some may claim that they are not rich, and that therefore this article does not apply to them. But God requires of us according to what we have, and enjoins upon every one to lay by for the cause as God has prospered him. 1 Cor. 16:1, 2, etc. A poor man can be as covetous over the little that he hath as the rich man is over his abundance, and it is a rare thing even for the rich to acknowledge themselves wealthy, especially when they are invited to render unto God the things that are God’s. Then away with our excuses! Let us act as in the presence of God, remembering that he who sows bountifully shall reap also bountifully.