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 The path to wealth 
 
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THE AUTHOR. 
 
MAY 14 1948 
 
 mtmtk to mmimiLJs!^ 
 
 OR, 
 
 LIQHT KROM MY KORQE. 
 
 A DISCUSSION OF GOD'S MONEY LAWS. 
 
 THE RELATION BETWEEN GIVING AND GETTING. 
 
 CASH AND CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 BY 
 
 A BLACKSMITH. 
 
 ADDITIONAL PAPERS ON SYSTEMATIC BENEFICENCE, WRITTEN 
 ESPECIALLY FOR THIS WORK, 
 
 Rev. E. C. B. HALLAM. 
 
 Rev. F. R. BE A TTIE, Ph. D., D. D. 
 
 Rev. R. W. WOODSWORTH. 
 
 Rev. yOHN POLLARD, D. D. 
 
 Rev. WM. TAYLOR, Bishop of Africa. 
 
 WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY 
 
 Rev. J. H. VINCENT, D.D., LL.D., Bishop of M. E. Church, 
 Chancellor of ChatUauqua College of Liberal Arts, etc, 
 
 B. F. JOHNSON & CO., 
 
 RICHMOND, VA. 
 
Copyrighted by 
 B. F. Johnson & Co. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 
 God's Money IvAW — Revealed in the Bible and nature — Neg- 
 lected by average Christian — Give and get, keep and lose — 
 Sad ignorance of the people — Clearness of the Scriptures — 
 God guarantees a man's financial success — Solomon's plan for 
 getting rich — Piety cultivated — Will convert the world — Book 
 for busy men — Characters real — Experiences true — Black- 
 smith shop — Baptist Church — "Talks " rather than chapters — 
 Stenographically reported 7-10 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 By Dr. Vincent — Whirlpools in the great sea of society 
 — Everything centres in self — Social cyclones — Selfishness the 
 root of all personal and social evil — "Perilous times" of 
 " the last days " — Gardens of modern civilization— Fountains 
 imparting new life and strength — Evil combinations : politi- 
 cal, commercial and ecclesiastical — The fountain-life of grace 
 — One-sided view^s of religious life — Self-sacrifice — Awakening 
 needed on the subject of systematic, conscientious, spiritual 
 and worshipful giving— Old time giving— Modern giving — 
 Business aspects of the subject — The Church ought to be a 
 model for society— Value of the gift depends upon the motive 
 of the giver 13-24 
 
 TALK No. I. 
 
 The B1.ACKSMITH Shop— Village philosophers— Too many 
 
 collections — God's books, the Bible and nature— Nature shows 
 
 the need of benevolence — The Bible law— God's mininmm 
 
 demand— " There is money in it"— Tithe always means tenth 
 
 (v) 
 
vi Contents. 
 
 — No necessary connection between poverty and piety — Ma- 
 terial promises of the Bible — Health and wealth rewards of 
 tithing — Origin of tithe-giving — Abraham and Melchizedec — 
 Jacob at Bethel — Jacob's bargain with God — Jacob's marvel- 
 lous success — Laban changes Jacob's wages ten times — Jacob 
 became rich and made I^aban rich — A result of Jacob's vow — 
 God takes care of the finances of His children — God com- 
 mands all men to pay ten per cent. — When the Jews obeyed 
 they prospered — Disobedience brought disaster — To rob God 
 of money brings punishment in kind — Vitality of the Jews — 
 Great money makers — This tithing command binding on 
 Christians — God's laws are eternal — Needs of the Church 
 greater than ever — She goes a-begging — Bazaars, concerts, lot- 
 teries, etc. — Spasmodic and hap-hazard benevolence — New 
 Testament sanction of the Tithe 25-71 
 
 TALK No. 2. 
 Who Shoui<d Tithe ? — Increased attendance at the meeting — 
 All men should tithe — Objections— Fourteen per cent, of time, 
 ten per cent, of income— Experience proves it pays to obey — 
 "There is that scattereth and yet increaseth " — God's tithe 
 the seed-money of wealth — " He that soweth sparingly shall 
 reap sparingly " — Christians trust a Bank with their money, 
 but doubt God — Poor men should pay tithes— A man in debt 
 should pay tithes— Debt a curse— The children of a king gen- 
 erally well off — Bad economy to sell seed- wheat to pay debts 
 — Rich men should tithe their incomes— The cry, "wicked 
 rich men," good poor men — Paying tithes makes God a 
 partner— Insurance against bankruptcy — Experience of a 
 physician — God's cause suffering for lack of money — Ten per 
 cent, of income would supply the need — The salvation of the 
 world reduced to a question of money — Great spiritual impulse 
 — Obedience and spiritual enjoyment — Sentimental consecra- 
 tion—Start it at ten per cent, in cash— Tithers generally 
 spiritually minded — Companionship with Jesus . . 73-1 ^ 5 
 
 TAIvK No. 3. 
 History of Tithing — Practised by heathens — Tradition from 
 
Contents. vii 
 
 Eden — Abraham found the practice in existence — Presuinption 
 that Cain and Abel paid a tenth — Why Jesus said no more 
 about it — Paul's rule — Writings of the Fathers— Primitive 
 Church Councils — Tithing introduced into England— Parish 
 Church Tithes — Variety of Tithes— Tithes made obnoxious by 
 the State Church — Why other Churches have neglected the 
 system — The Pilgrim Fathers — Christianity of America and 
 Canada — The historic Church a unit in saying the tenth is the 
 Lord's — Advantage of tithing — Tithing compared to sowing — 
 — Investing in the bank of Heaven— Systematizes one's 
 benevolence — Gives a man strength in his business — Compels 
 one to keep accounts - Draws a man near to God . 1 17-144 
 
 TALK No. 4- 
 Objections and Questions— Great interest manifested— The 
 motive of reward should not be appealed to — God does it — 
 Self-interest a powerful motive to virtue— Children— Solomon, 
 Jesus and Paul urge the motive to give for the sake of gain — 
 Love is a higher motive — Should one take out his living ex- 
 penses before tithing? — How can a farmer tell his income? — 
 Bad debts— How to keep the tithe account— vShould a minister 
 pay tithes ? — Paupers — Indoor servants— Property that has not 
 been tithed— Pew rents— Horse sheds— Life assurance — Earn- 
 ings of children— A physician's gratuitous services to the poor 
 — Should inherited property that has been tithed be tithed 
 again?— Should income from capital be tithed?— Money paid 
 for books— Ministerial education and the tithe account— Was 
 the Jewish Tithe equivalent to our municipal taxes ?— Is not 
 the law done away with and our givings left to the free will 
 of love ?— Important suggestions— Experience meeting — Pub- 
 lish a book . . . ... . . 145-187 
 
 TALK No. 5. 
 Testimonies and Experiences— Given to God not less than 
 ten per cent, for five years — Have had more left for myself 
 than before— Given systematically nine years— Am a general 
 merchant— Always have funds on hand— If the law says ten 
 per cent., love ought to do more — A minister's experience — 
 
viii Contents, 
 
 Given a tenth since September, 1883 — Commenced when 
 financially oppressed— Brought great joy— Easy finances — 
 Adopted tithing system seven years ago — My income has 
 quadrupled since — The rich ought to give more than a tenth — 
 All followers of Jesus should support His cause — Convinced 
 some years ago that a tenth was the minimum — Did not then 
 adopt it — Financial loss — Have paid a tenth for two years — 
 Financial affairs in better condition than ever before — A farm- 
 er's experience — A warning — Gave a tenth and had prosperit}' 
 — People said I was crazy — Gave it up — A long list of failures 
 followed — Adopted it again — Will never more give it up — 
 Commenced to pay God his financial claim some years ago — 
 Have had success ever since — For four years I have paid a 
 tenth — Would not abandon it — Giving is a luxury — A voice 
 from Novia Scotia — I am a general merchant — Have paid 
 tithes two 3^ears — M}^ business has doubled since — Have tithed 
 for a few months— When I withheld a tenth, God took it from 
 me — A stock broker's experience — Have carried out the rule 
 for years — Sometimes have doubled the amount — Love and 
 gratitude to Jesus — Experiences of two Methodist ministers — 
 A Baptist minister's experience — Twenty-five years' testimony 
 — Bible finance in India — A young lady's experience — Salary 
 raised in two months — Experience from Calcutta, India — In- 
 crease of salary — A farmer who tithed, saved from a plague- 
 Financial victory for years — An experience from the Congre- 
 gational Church^oy in giving — Plenty to give with — Ex- 
 perience of a young lady stenographer — The same old story — 
 Pleasure and profit— A clergyman's experience — Saves from 
 worry — The nine-tenths is more than the whole — Another 
 farmer heard from — Experience from the head-master of a 
 school — A shoemaker's experience — Ten years' experience of 
 a lady — Another lady testifies — An extraordinary testimony — 
 Big giving— Wonderful spiritual and financial reward — Closing 
 remarks 189-233 
 
 PAY YOUR DEBTS. 
 
 BY REV. E. C. B. HAI,I,AM. 
 
 No Giving untii. Debts are Paid— A tenth is the Lord's— 
 
Contents. ix 
 
 Many Christians withhold it— Paying not giving— Three kinds 
 of tithes— Two annual tithes, one triannual— Two tithes abol- 
 ished— The tithe " for the service of the sanctuary " still bind- 
 ing—Tithing prior to Judaism— God's alphabet of self-denial- 
 Christian honesty demands its payment— New Testament en- 
 dorsation— Jesus— Paul— Moses and Paul on tithing— A tenth 
 stored once a week— System just and equitable— Tenth mini- 
 mum for rich and poor— The rich should "give " after having 
 "paid "—Bible finance—" That the Lord may bless thee"— 
 lyittle love for giving means little likeness to God . 235-251 
 
 BIBLE GIVING: ITS NATURE AND RULE- 
 
 Introductory— Giving to rehgious objects important— Religion 
 and luxury— Money needed for religion at home and abroad- 
 Liberal soul made fat— Delicacy of the subject— Stewards- 
 Early experience— First tea-meeting— Reform needed— Di- 
 vision of the subject — Nature and rule of giving . 253-259 
 
 Chapter I.— Bibi.e Giving : its Nature. 
 BIBI.E for teaching— Good foundation laid— Right building 
 on it — Rock v. sand — Principles and their application 261,262 
 
 Section I. — Bible foundation. 
 B1BI.E OPENED— Cain and Abel— Noah —Abraham— Mosaic code 
 —Three classes of offerings— Those for permanent religious 
 service— Those for direct support of priests— Those for altar 
 offerings— Five principles involved in these offerings— Owner- 
 ship— Consecratiou—Firstfruits— Freewill— Representation :— 
 Tabernacle— Temple— Talmud— Kurtz— Spencer — Cases quo- 
 ted—Same principles in New Testament— Ananias— Still 
 binding on men— Hence foundation in Old and New Testa- 
 ments 262-301 
 
 Section II. — Applications. 
 Average Christian community — Support of religious teach- 
 ers — Building churches— Ancient, mediaeval, and modern 
 times— Church debts bad continually— Unscriptural — Hurtful 
 — Pew rents condemned — History of system — Unscriptural — 
 
X Contents. 
 
 Not voluntary — Distinctions between rich and poor— Unequal 
 — Indirect modes of raising money— Commercial : Bazaar — 
 Soiree — Social : Concert and lecture — Lottery — Not direct 
 giving — Unscriptural — Often wrong — End does not justify 
 the means — Checks liberality — Not cheap, but dear — Costs 
 far more than direct giving — Social Church life . 301-345 
 
 Chapter II. — Bible Giving: its RuIvE- 
 Rule needed.— in the dark — God's word — Three questions : 
 How much ? — Where ? — When ? .... 347-348 
 
 Section I. — How much ? 
 
 System required — Hap-hazard giving — All should give a 
 share— The tithe — Ancient rule — Older than Moses — Natural 
 religion — Heathen nations — In New Testament — Not a State 
 tax — Rule of voluntary giving— Advantages— Secures system 
 — Giving intelligently — More money given— Brings temporal 
 blessing — Brings spiritual blessing . . . 349-358 
 
 Section II. — Where? 
 
 Giving a religious duty — An act of worship— Mosaic law 
 proves — Temple customs— New Testament — Like Christian 
 Sabbath — All offerings made at church — Pastor's salary — 
 Mission funds— Make giving divine . . . 358-363 
 
 Section III— When ? 
 
 At religious services in olden time— New Testament first 
 day of week — Hence at God's house — Weekly offering system 
 — No pew rent — All voluntary — More money raised — Burden 
 less felt — Worthy of adoption for all givings — Conclusion — 
 Summary— Need of God's Spirit to give life and liber- 
 ality 363-371 
 
 THE PROPERTY TRUST. 
 
 Chapter I. 
 Infinite obligation to Christ— Love the constrainer— Holy 
 
Contents. 
 
 XI 
 
 Scriptures full aud clear on the subject— The extent of our 
 givings — The Jewish tithe— Of ancient origin — Adopted by 
 Moses— Perpetual obligation— The Sabbath law— One-seventh 
 of time, one-tenth of income— Violation entails loss— A great 
 demand for consecrated property— Magnificent chance for 
 saving a lost world — Privilege, another word for duty— Pente- 
 costal consecration — Sold out all for God — The same act now 
 would make a stir— Pentecostal baptism— Covetousness the 
 plague of the Church— Selfishness restrains the grace of God 
 — Meagre givings of Christians— The honest Jew gave at least 
 one-third — Giving, a moral duty — One-tenth the minimum — 
 Scene at the erection of the Tabernacle— Three thousand mil- 
 lions of dollars for the Temple— Should a man in debt pay 
 tithes ? — Obedience pays — God's laws made in our interest — 
 Secular and spiritual advantages— It pays for poor men to 
 keep God's property law — Disaster follows disobedience — An 
 example — Wonderful prosperity— One-tenth of all things the 
 Ivord's 373-398 
 
 Chapter II. 
 
 God's ci.aim on the pocket-book — Doing business for God- 
 Jehovah's charge to His people— All wealth from God — Ability 
 to plan from God — " Will a man rob God ? " — Church finance 
 requires revision — No success without sacrifice — Men bear 
 great trouble for worldly success — The motive of the Cross — 
 " I gave my life for thee " — Infinite love vs. human selfishness 
 — Love transforms duty into luxury — Conquest of the world 
 for God — Mammon and Christ — Investigate this property 
 question — Blessedness of giving .... 399-409 
 
 Chapter III. 
 
 Divine pledges of blessing — Penalties of disobedience- 
 Distress and scarcity — Jehovah's charge of robbery — God's 
 challenge to prove Him — Great material prosperity promised 
 to tithers — Trust first, blessing afterwards —Tithes demanded 
 when the people were poor — Covetousness punished— God's 
 house first— Much sowing, little reaping — "A bag with holes " 
 
xii Contents. 
 
 — Drought and scarcity — For refusing two, God takes twenty 
 — Giving always the condition for getting . . 41 1-4 17 
 
 GIVING AND E.ECEIVING. 
 
 More bi^ksskd to give than to receive — Who believes 
 that? — All acts of receiving must precede all giving in the 
 highest sense — The fountain is pure, and sparkling, and at- 
 tractive — The sewer dark, filthy, and repulsive — The fountain 
 gives, and the sewer receives — God has promised much to 
 giving, nothing to receiving — Give and it shall be given unto 
 you — Receiving has no recompense in the next world, and 
 giving has 419-431 
 
 THE TITHE. 
 
 Human right to six days per week— God's right to the 
 seventh — God reserves the tenth of all net proceeds for pur- 
 poses of mercy — Uses man as disbursing agent — Mental ap- 
 petence for property — Right to accumulate and hold property — 
 Varieties of value — "Will a man rob God?" — What is the 
 penalty? — "The devourer "—Pharisee and Publican — The 
 tithes should be promptly " laid by in store " . . 433-440 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Frontispiece ....••• 2 
 
 Bishop J. H. Vincent 12 
 
 How THE Talks Began 26 
 
 The Shoemaker 27 
 
 The Blacksmith 29 
 
 The Scene of Jacob's Tithe Vow ... 39 
 
 Jacob and Laban 41 
 
 Moses and the Law 44 
 
 Sir Moses Montefiore, the Jewish Philan- 
 thropist 55 
 
 The Publican 65 
 
 Hon. John McDonald 72 
 
 The Sower 81 
 
 General Gordon 102 
 
 The Missionary 104 
 
 Rich Pharisee going with his Tithes to the 
 
 Priest . 121 
 
 Laying Aside the Lord's Portion . . .125 
 
 English Tithes, Twelfth Century . . 127 
 
 Farmer Posting his Books . . . . 15^ 
 
 (xiii) 
 
XIV 
 
 List of Illustrations, 
 
 George Peabody 
 
 The Protested Note 
 
 God's Treasury 
 
 The Hindoo who gave Tithes 
 
 ''There is a Lad here which has Five Barley 
 
 Loaves and Two Small Fishes 
 Charles Spurgeon 
 Priest Offering Sacrifice 
 Peter Cooper 
 
 Old-Fashioned Tea-Drinking 
 Matthew Vassar 
 Hebrew Bringing First-Fruits 
 Epaphroditus Bringing Gifts to Paul 
 The Log Church .... 
 
 Renting Pews 
 
 Cake Voting 
 
 Rejecting Meat Offered to Idols 
 St. Paul Writing .... 
 The Envelope System 
 Miss Angela Georgina Burdett Coutts 
 Burning the Note .... 
 Gold Digger 
 
 PAGE 
 179 
 208 
 
 238 
 249 
 
 260 
 
 277 
 
 332 
 
 337 
 361 
 366 
 
 369 
 396 
 404 
 
AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 
 
 This book is written in the interests of 
 God's money law. This law is cleariy re- 
 vealed in the Bible and is plainl}^ manifest in 
 nature. At the same time, it is either entirely 
 neglected or manifestly misunderstood by the 
 average Christian. It is evident, so much so 
 *' that he who runs ma}^ read," that God has 
 constituted nature and grace according to the 
 principle that the wa}^ to get is to give, and the 
 way to lose is to keep. Most men, however, 
 shut their eyes and will not see this great 
 truth. 
 
 The lack of a knowledge of God's monetary 
 demands upon the people on the one hand, and 
 the bearing of these demands upon our finan- 
 cial success on the other hand, is simply amaz- 
 ing, in view of the clearness of the teachings 
 of Holy Scripture, and in view of the impor- 
 tance of the subject. I trust the pulpit will not 
 
 (7J 
 
8 Author's Preface. 
 
 come in for the largest share of the blame for 
 this ignorance. 
 
 It is a matter of certainty to me that a prime 
 condition for the financial success of the indi- 
 vidual is in giving to God the amount He de- 
 mands ; or, to put it stronger, God pledges 
 Himself for the financial success of that indi- 
 vidual who renders obedience to the Divine 
 money claim ; and hence the title of this book 
 is given in no figurative or secondary sense, 
 for an infallible answer to the question, *' How 
 to acquire wealth?" is, "Bring all the tithes 
 into the storehouse." To tell the simple truth 
 ought never to be considered beyond the 
 bounds of modesty, and I believe it to be the 
 truth when I say, that this book now sent out 
 to the public proves beyond doubt the wisdom 
 of the command and the truth of the promise, 
 " Honor the Lord with thy substance and with 
 the first-fruits of all thine increase, so shall 
 thy barns be filled with plenty and thy presses 
 shall burst out with new wine." But for fear 
 Solomon's words should be so construed by 
 the doubting as not to mean hard cash, then I 
 
Author's Preface, g 
 
 will state plainly, that this book proves from 
 the Bible and experience that poverty is always 
 driven away and piety generally cultivated by 
 paying to God ten per cent, of our income. 
 Incidentally it is shown that obedience to God's 
 money claim upon Christians would convert 
 the world to Christ in a very short time. 
 
 An effort has been made to state each point 
 briefly, so that the time of busy men may not 
 be occupied longer than is necessary to make 
 each argument clear and convincing. A book 
 twice the size could be easily written were the 
 same arguments elaborated to their fullest ex- 
 tent. The characters introduced to the reader 
 are real, and the objections interspersed, for 
 the most part, written in the language in which 
 they were stated by actual and not imaginary 
 men. The experiences are not only true in 
 their statement, but each experience is given 
 by a different individual with the trade or pro- 
 fession as stated, while the name of each person 
 could be given were it deemed prudent. 
 
 The idea of the blacksmith, his son and the 
 blacksmith shop has a foundation in fact, but 
 
lo Author's Preface, 
 
 the school house and the Baptist church are 
 introduced for the sake of variety, and to give 
 added interest to the subject under discussion. 
 The book is divided into " Talks " rather than 
 chapters ; first, for the sake of something new, 
 and second, in order to be true, as it is really 
 made up of talks stenographically reported by 
 a lady who has been converted to the doctrine 
 and practice of tithing through the instrumen- 
 tality of the Author, and out of love for the 
 cause she did the work. 
 
 It is the earnest wish and devout prayer of 
 the writer that this book may be productive of 
 good, and lead many a man to '^ Bring all the 
 tithes into the storehouse'' in response to the 
 
 demand of God. 
 
 The Author. 
 
BISHOP J. H. YINCFJS^T. 
 
 (12) 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 There are whirlpools in the great sea. 
 There are whirlpools in the great sea of soci- 
 ety. In a whirlpool the circling waters tend 
 toward the central vortex, and everything that 
 comes within their swirl and sweep is caught, 
 and finally swallowed down to that deepest 
 deep which makes neither return nor report of 
 its victims. Whatever counter-currents and 
 temporary eddies may play on the other lines 
 of this great gyration, deceiving at first both 
 observer and victim, the controlling current 
 soon proves itself master, and ere long the 
 power of the whirlpool is asserted and con- 
 firmed. Everything centres in a central self 
 which greedily engulfs leaf, feather, fish, reck- 
 less fowl, flotsam and bark, feasting but never 
 satisfying the measureless maw of the insatiate 
 sea. The ver}^ air is whirled into a cyclone 
 over this consuming maelstrom — terrible sym- 
 bol of an all-dominating selfishness. 
 
14 In troduction . 
 
 In the great sea which God made there are 
 but few such fatal vortexes. The sea of society 
 is full of those who have perverted a normal 
 selfhood, and that true self-love which is the 
 bond of man's individuality, into a selfishness 
 which is the only centre of life, and which 
 lives neither for God's glory nor for the good 
 of men. Such souls are the maelstroms of 
 society. They live for self They measure 
 everything by the personal Jvdvantage which 
 they hope to secure. The far-reaching sweep 
 of their own ambition lays hold of whatsoever 
 they account good and desirable, and steadily, 
 by forces of cunning plot and unrelenting pur- 
 pose, they appropriate to themselves the things 
 they account of greatest good in their personal 
 life. They live for gold, for place, for power, 
 for prominence, for ease and luxury. The 
 Ego is the centre of their universe. They not 
 only ask, ^' What shall we eat, and what shall 
 we drink, and wherewithal shall we be 
 clothed?" but they ask nothing else, and ac- 
 count as the best things of God's creation and 
 providence, and the best things of human so- 
 ciety, that which feeds and adorns their own 
 dying and unprofitable bodies. They sacrifice 
 the interests of others at the shrine of their 
 
Inh'oductioii. 
 
 15 
 
 own advancement. They get all they can and 
 keep all they can. They are willing that the 
 poor shall continue poor, if they themselves 
 may grow more rich. They are content to 
 build their princely fortunes on a pitiable mass 
 of society bound down and ground down by 
 oppression. 
 
 These social whirlpools maybe developed in 
 individual life, and in a larger way in associ- 
 ated commercial, political and ecclesiastical 
 life. What the one unsanctified selfist seeks 
 daily to do on a small scale, these combinations 
 of society seek to. accomplish on a colossal 
 scale. Thus are formed the great maelstroms 
 of trade, of politics, of nobility and royalty, and 
 of priestly tyranny, which, in the so-called 
 ^' church " of the ages, has sucked down into 
 ignorance and superstition — the blackness of 
 darkness — so many millions of deluded souls. 
 
 Thus the root of all personal and social evil 
 is selfishness. This is the deadly whirlpool. 
 The apostle to the Gentiles, in his prophecy 
 concerning the "perilous times" of the "last 
 days," strikes at the very secret of all deterio- 
 ration and crime in a single sentence : — " For 
 men shall be lovers of their own selves." No 
 wonder, therefore, that he adds — " covetous, 
 
1 6 Introduction. 
 
 boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to 
 parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural 
 affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incon- 
 tinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 
 traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures 
 more than lovers of God, having the form of 
 godliness but denying the power thereof." 
 
 There are fountains in the sweet gardens of 
 our civilization. There are up-springing jets 
 of water from lofty, out-of-sight sources, which 
 play in the sunlight, filling the surrounding 
 air with freshness, imparting new life and 
 strength to grass, plants, trees, washing the 
 leaves of overhanging branches and the petals 
 of fragrant blossoms in the neighborhood, caus- 
 ing them to shine with a new beauty, and to 
 render a lovelier ministry of color and fra- 
 grance to the passer-by. These up-springing 
 fountains describe curves of beauty, and give 
 one constantly a sense of strength and of gen- 
 erous intention. The fountain puts gladness 
 into the hearts of men ; causes childhood to 
 leap in very excess of joy; giving back to the 
 benevolent sun light for his light, life for his 
 force, and beauty for his glory. 
 
 In the gardens of our modern society there 
 are some, alas ! too few, such fountains. They 
 
In troduction . 1 7 
 
 are the men and women supplied from divine 
 reservoirs with the water of life. They give 
 freely, having freely received. The sources 
 of their life are in the heavens. They beautify 
 the neighborhood in which they live. Flov/ers 
 bloom more brightly, birds sing more sweetly, 
 the air is more bracing, the foliage fresher, the 
 sunshine brighter, the earth and heavens more 
 glorious because of the divine love which leaps 
 up in looks and words and deeds from these 
 fountain-hearts. 
 
 These live for others. They are not whirl- 
 pools, but fountains. They do not ask, " What 
 can this do for me?" but "What can I do for 
 others ? ' The spirit of help is the spirit of 
 their lives. The cry of their souls is not, " Lift 
 me up," but "Whom shall I lift up ? " They 
 do not take souls away from the light, but they 
 bring souls into the light. To them giving is 
 better than receiving, serving better than being 
 served. 
 
 As the selfist combining with his fellow-self- 
 ist constitutes the great selfish social organiza- 
 tions and forces which ruin society, so does the 
 unselfish child of the all-loving God, combin- 
 ing with other fountain-lives, create great spir- 
 itual social organizations, and generate mighty 
 
1 8 httroduction, 
 
 spiritual energies which tend toward millen- 
 niums of blessing. What on the one hand the 
 evil combinations — political, commercial and 
 ecclesiastical — do for the degradation of hu- 
 manit}^, the spiritual, loving combinations in 
 the true Church of Christ do for the regenera- 
 tion and uplifting of humanity. 
 
 The great need of the age is the fountain-life 
 of grace which shall neutralize and destroy the 
 whirlpool life of self. And this radical change 
 in society must be effected through the indi- 
 vidual members of the church, who, loving 
 their kind, denying themselves, and giving 
 their substance, create in every community 
 personal and social centres from which flow 
 fountains of living waters for the refreshing 
 and for the healing of the nations. 
 
 It is mortifying to the intelligent Christian, 
 and sorely embarrassing to the promoters of 
 true reform, to find in the church merely one- 
 sided views of religious life. There are people 
 who ignore the essentials. They hold with 
 tenacity to the doctrinal formulas, forgetting 
 that no finite being in the universe holds 
 larger measures of truth than Satan himself. 
 There are people who exalt forms and ceremo- 
 nies in religious worship, forgetting that par- 
 
Introduction. 19 
 
 rots can talk, ^olian harps emit sweet sounds, 
 and sparrows chatter in the leafy wood, and all 
 without thought, love or motive. There are 
 people who put stress on sentiment and emotion 
 in religion. If they "feel good," they have no 
 doubt as to their personal security and their 
 acceptance with God, although acceptance with 
 God is valuable to them chiefly as it gives them 
 a guarantee of security, all of which is only 
 another form of selfishness, and lacks the very 
 first element of religious character. These 
 people covet moods and states of feeling. 
 They revel in songs and prayers and hallelu- 
 iahs. The thrill of sentiment and the warm 
 currents of emotion are "the all and be-all " of 
 religion. Such saints forget that mere mental 
 exhilaration and good feeling may co-exist with 
 carnal hearts, selfish aims, and utter worldli- 
 ness of temper. There are people who have 
 everything in the religion of Jesus Christ — 
 which is a religion of sacrifice — but the spirit 
 and act of sacrifice. They have ideas and 
 ideals, reverent postures, ritualistic recitations, 
 spontaneity in prayer and glow of hope, but 
 they never make sacrifice of self in the service 
 of their Saviour. They give little or nothing ; 
 they believe in a "free gospel;" the law of 
 
20 Introduction. 
 
 one-tenth has never put its iron into their con- 
 sciences ; the demand of the heathen has never 
 sounded from beyond the sea into their inner 
 life ; they give at random under pressure ; they 
 give when funny stories are told, when rivalries 
 between men and classes and sexes and socie- 
 ties are started, when suppers and shows and 
 feasts — the fruit of cunning devices — are given ; 
 there is no conscience in their giving ; there is 
 no prayer before it, nor is the offering of money 
 mingled with the incense of worship ; they re- 
 gard all finance as a secular part, and solely a 
 secular part, of the church life; they ridicule the 
 law of the tithe as the crotchet of a crank ; 
 the grace they profess never touches the 
 " pocket-nen^e." No wonder that the church 
 is limited in her resources ; no wonder that sal- 
 aries are deficient, and the treasuries of the 
 benevolent departments empty. 
 
 The church needs to-day an awakening and 
 a revival on the subject of systematic, consci- 
 entious, spiritual and worshipful giving. It 
 must understand that giving is the law of the 
 fountain-life. What is grace but giving? 
 God's grace — God's gift ! God's grace in us — 
 the giving of ourselves, the giving of our 
 powers, the giving of our all to humanity. 
 
/;/ trodiiction . 2 1 
 
 This is full surrender; this is symmetrical 
 piety ; this is a true religious harmony in 
 which the whole of life becomes one with the 
 divine law of life. 
 
 There is, moreover, a business aspect which 
 this subject assumes, worthy of our most care- 
 ful attention. The church ought to be a 
 model of society, a picture of the millennium, 
 when love and wisdom shall abound in the 
 hearts and lives of men. On this theory, busi- 
 ness men ought to be able to turn to the 
 church and watch her methods of transacting 
 business as models for them in the affairs of 
 everyday life. Money should be collected, ac- 
 counts kept, expenditure made in a manner so 
 honest, systematic and becoming that the hard 
 sense of an unsanctified world would be com- 
 pelled to pay tribute to the integrity, thorough- 
 ness and charm of our church-management. 
 Children brought up in the church should 
 acquire commercial and ethical ideas and be- 
 come familiar with business modes, all so com- 
 mendable as to make them better business 
 men in the after years because of their training 
 in the Church of Christ. 
 
 We have a beautiful picture of systematic, 
 spontaneous and universal giving in the days 
 
22 Introduction. 
 
 of Moses and Israel, when the call of the Lord 
 was heard, and the ''offering" of the people 
 given " willingly." " Speak unto the children 
 of Israel, that they bring me an offering ; of 
 every man that giveth it willingly with his 
 heart, I shall take my offering." It is said 
 that '' all the congregation of the children of 
 Israel came very near whose heart stirred him 
 lip, and every one whom his spirit made willing, 
 and they brought the Lord's offering to the 
 work of the Tabernacle of the congregation, 
 and for all his service, and for the holy gar- 
 ments." " Every man," " every one," " all 
 the men that were wise-hearted," '' all the 
 women whose hearts stirred them up," and the 
 " rulers " and all the " children of Israel 
 brought a willing offering unto the Lord." 
 Great ideas exalted them, divine commands 
 impelled them, and divine work full of beauty 
 and of incalculable use inspired them. And 
 with marvellous unanimity and heartiness 
 and promptness the nation poured forth its 
 gifts to the Lord, gifts of every sort and ac- 
 cording to individual ability. This sponta- 
 neous movement, so brilliant, so wise and 
 worthy, was so turned into the steady and legit- 
 imate service of the people, that a tenth of all 
 
Introduction . 2 3 
 
 that tliey had was to be placed on the altar 
 of their God. Such inspirations, incentives 
 and systematic methods are this day needed in 
 the Church of the Most High. Home should 
 teach the doctrines underlying systematic be- 
 nevolence. The pulpit should proclaim them. 
 The Sabbath school should reiterate them. The 
 administration of the church should illus- 
 trate them. Then will the coffers of Zion 
 be filled to overflowing, and the work of the 
 Lord shall be carried on in the earth, and the 
 heart of the people, made glad by giving, shall 
 be made twice glad by the vision of the result, 
 as the blessing of the Lord shall consecrate 
 and crown their work. 
 
 In all giving of our resources to the cause 
 of God, we must remember that the value of 
 the gift depends upon the motive of the giver. 
 Great ideas must incorporate themselves in 
 noble character, and the gift must be the fruit 
 of character. The Sabbath collection may 
 thus be made a more splendid expression of 
 true religion than any anthem that choir ever 
 rendered, or any song that ever sounded forth 
 from the congregation. When the gifts that 
 drop into the passing baskets come from great 
 hearts, sustained by great ideas, and contem- 
 
24 Introduction. 
 
 plating great aims, and are in themselves 
 prayers whicli take the form of deeds — then 
 is the " collection " worship, and the ringing 
 of silver and copper and gold sweet music in 
 the heavens. 
 
 John H. Vincent. 
 
 Chautauqua, N. Y., 
 August 28, 1888. 
 
SYSTEMATIC GIVING. 
 
 The following talks were commenced in our 
 blacksmith shop to a number of customers and 
 their friends, who came to hear what I had to say 
 on " Systematic Giving," as they call it, but 
 what I prefer to call " Systematic Paying " of 
 what we owe to God. 
 
 I am a blacksmith, the son of a blacksmith, 
 
 and the grandson of a blacksmith. The old 
 
 shop in which these talks commenced had 
 
 been occupied by three successive generations, 
 
 my grandfather, my father, and myself Each 
 
 of us in turn shod all the horses of the little 
 
 village, repaired all the ploughs and wagons, 
 
 and, in short, did all the blacksmithing that 
 
 was to be done for miles around. At nights, 
 
 the men and boys of our little communit}^ used 
 
 to assemble in our shop, and while father and 
 
 myself would transform old horse shoes into 
 
 new ones, there would be a general discussion 
 3 (25) 
 
HOW 
 
 THK TALKS BEGAN. 
 
 (26) 
 
The Path to Wealth, 
 
 27 
 
 of things, both light and grave, the conversa- 
 tions being enlivened by the blaze of the forge, 
 and made merry by the cling-clang of hammer 
 and sledge, as they rattled on an anvil which 
 gave '' no uncertain sound." 
 
 THE SHOEMAKER. 
 
 We had some profound philosophers in our 
 village, and some equally noted for their knowl- 
 edge of the Bible. The shoemaker, the doctor 
 and the man that kept the only shop in the 
 village, where we bought our dry-goods, gro- 
 
28 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 ceries, hardware and stationery, were tlie best 
 talkers, and seemed to know the most; although 
 after I was converted, it did seem remarkable how 
 much God revealed to me of the Bible, myself, 
 and everybody else ; and how He let loose my 
 tongue none know better than our nightly com- 
 pany at the blacksmith shop. On the day pre- 
 ceding this particular night when these talks 
 commenced, there were several farmers in with 
 work to be done, and while waiting they had a 
 general conversation on the great demand for 
 money from the churches, and the general 
 subject of Christian giving, some complaining 
 that there was nothing but collections and 
 subscriptions, while others explained the reason 
 why, and justified the demands, but objected 
 to the general system by which the people 
 gave their contributions. They struck a sub- 
 ject upon w^hich I had very decided views, for 
 I had given it considerable attention, and 
 thought I knew the Bible plan, and I said some 
 things which seemed new and startling to 
 them, although my ideas were as old as Abra- 
 ham at least. 
 
or^ Light from my Forge. 
 
 29 
 
 By some kind of general consent, an nn- 
 usually large number came to the shop that 
 night to hear what I had to say on that sub- 
 ject. An influential business man from the 
 city was visiting the doctor, and he brought 
 
 THE BLACKSMITH. 
 
 him along, while our company was also graced 
 with the presence of our own minister, who 
 found out what was going on, and came to 
 listen. It was a representative gathering and 
 I tried my best to be equal to the occasion, 
 
30 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 and '' give saint and sinner their portion in 
 due season." All work was laid aside for that 
 night, and as the company sat around upon 
 the benches, the forge, and upon boxes, I sat 
 upon the anvil, with my leathern apron for a 
 cushion, and began my discourse on 
 
 '' SYSTEMATIC PAYING." 
 Talk No. i. 
 " There are some duties which can be found 
 out without the aid of the Bible, and there are 
 a great many things which are necessary to 
 know that the Bible was never intended to 
 teach, and yet there are a great many other 
 things which we could never discover if the 
 Bible had not been given us. God has given 
 us two great books — the Bible and Nature — 
 and in one or other of these books each duty 
 of man to man, and of man to God, is clearly 
 revealed to us. Nature is God's first book, 
 and the Bible is His supplement : what is not 
 revealed in one is communicated in the other. 
 From nature we learn there is great need of 
 benevolence, but she reveals to us no law for 
 
(?r, Light from my Forge. 31 
 
 its exercise^ or adequate motive to prompt its 
 action. The Bible steps in and confirms nature 
 as to the need of benevolence, but, in addition, 
 it supplies powerful motives for its exercise, and 
 gives exact rules for its guidance. There are 
 attached to all the laws of God, whether as 
 seen in nature or revealed in the Bible, rewards 
 and penalties. No man can keep a law with- 
 out being blessed, and no man can break a law 
 without being cursed. So far as what is gen- 
 erally called natural law is concerned, this is 
 evident to all, and no time need be taken to 
 prove it. If I put my hand in the fire it is 
 burned, no matter how pious I may be ; and if 
 I do not eat I shall starve. Both of these 
 disasters would be the result of the natural 
 operation of well-known laws. Experience 
 proves that the laws of the Bible are equally 
 unyielding, for, be it remembered, the Bible 
 does not make any of its laws : it simply reveals 
 what already exists in the very nature of 
 things, but which could not be found out by 
 unaided reason. 
 
 " I shall attempt to make it very clear, in 
 
32 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 my talk, that God has communicated to us the 
 exact minimum sum which we are to contribute 
 of our means to the support of His cause ; that 
 His will has been communicated to us in the 
 Bible in such a way that it has all the force of 
 a law, or a direct command, and what I have 
 just said concerning the keeping or the break- 
 ing of other laws is appropriate to this subject. 
 I trust also to be able to prove that there are 
 very great blessings, both temporal and spirit- 
 ual, promised to the man who gives the pro- 
 portionate amount of his income as demanded 
 by the Bible. Probably I shall put the stress 
 on the temporal blessings ; and, from a business 
 standpoint, attempt to prove that there is 
 money in it. The careful reader of the Bible, 
 particularly of the Old Testament, must see 
 how often God promises material blessings to 
 His people if they keep His commandments, 
 and how often God promises to bless His 
 people with earthly good if they regularly and 
 faithfully tithe their income. 
 
 *' Over and over again, by different writers 
 and under different circumstances, it is in 
 
or^ Light from my Forge. 33 
 
 effect most distinctly asserted that ' The tenth 
 is holy nnto the Lord,' and the prophet Mal- 
 achi, who is the last prophet under the old 
 dispensation, and who may be said, in some 
 sense, to be the prophet who ushered in the 
 New Testament dispensation, uses this signifi- 
 cant language concerning tithing (Mai. iii. 
 10, II, 12) : ' 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 win- 
 dows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, 
 that there shall not be room enough to receive 
 it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your 
 sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of 
 your ground ; neither shall your vine cast her 
 fruit before the time in the field, saith the 
 Lord of hosts. And all nations shall call you 
 blessed : for ye shall be a delightsome land, 
 saith the Lord of hosts.' 
 
 " It is not necessary for me to state that the 
 word tithe^ when used in the Bible, always 
 means tenths and is never used in any other 
 sense. Putting this expression into modern 
 
34 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 language, it means, that ten per cent, of our 
 net earnings are to be devoted to God and to 
 His cause ; that is, to religious and benevolent 
 purposes. God distinctly promises that, if we 
 will be faithful and pay Him ten per cent, 
 regularly, or, as the Bible puts it, ^ Bring all 
 the tithes into the storehouse,' He will give 
 us both material and spiritual blessings. I 
 fear there is a tendency in modern religious 
 teaching to postpone all blessings until we get 
 to heaven, and perhaps unduly associate 
 * poverty and piety,' forgetting that Jesus 
 said, ' The meek shall inherit the earth,' and 
 Paul taught that godliness is equally good to 
 make money with or to take a man to heaven. 
 This modern teaching states that if God 
 blesses us here in the performance of our duty, 
 the blessings will be of a spiritual character ; 
 but I afi&rm that there are more promises in 
 the Bible of a material character, promising 
 those who keep the commandments material 
 blessings, than there are promises of a spirit- 
 ual character. I do not state that material 
 prosperity in itself is to be compared, in im- 
 
<?r, Light from my Forge, 35 
 
 portance, to spiritual prosperity ; for, compar- 
 atively, one is dross and tbe other is gold, 
 one is the bubble on the ocean and the other 
 is the ocean, one relates to time and the other 
 to eternity, and there is no comparison. But, 
 for some reason or other, the Bible gives 
 greater prominence to the earthly advantages 
 of obedience to God than modern religious 
 teaching; and the reason is likely found in 
 the fact, that our material condition very greatly 
 affects our spiritual advancement, and that of 
 the world. 
 
 "It is easier for a man with health and 
 wealth to be good, than it is for a man stricken 
 with disease and oppressed by poverty. The 
 grace of God can, and does, equal any 
 difficulty that may be in the way of any 
 man's piety ; but granting that two men are 
 equally good and that they represent the con- 
 ditions to which I have referred, there can be 
 no comparison between the possible influence 
 of the one upon the spiritual condition of the 
 world, and the influence of the other ; so that, 
 in a relative sense, the blessings of health and 
 
36 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 wealth are of overwhelming importance, and 
 are to be coveted. I affirm that God promises 
 to give us health and wealth if we will pay 
 Him our tithes. He promises to fill our barns, 
 to give us houses and lands, to make our busi- 
 ness successful, to protect our families, and, in 
 every way, blessings of a temporal character 
 are promised to those who will keep this com- 
 mandment of paying ten per cent, to His 
 cause. 
 
 ^' It may be profitable for me, in the first 
 place, to talk a little on 
 
 ((( 
 
 THE ORIGIlsr OI? TITHE-GIVING.' 
 
 " If you will turn to Genesis xiv. 20, you 
 will there learn that Abraham paid tithes to 
 Melchizedek, the priest of the most high God. 
 It appears that Abraham had been engaged 
 in a warfare with Chedorlaomer, a heathen 
 prince, and was successful. God had given 
 Abraham the victory, and enabled him to 
 rout the enemy. In returning from the war 
 he brought much spoils with him, and meeting 
 
6>r, Light from my Forge, 37 
 
 Melchizedek, the priest of the most high God, 
 he gave him a tenth of the prize he had cap- 
 tured. Whether this was a spontaneous thank- 
 offering to God for the signal victory which 
 he had achieved, or whether he was carrying 
 out a commandment he had received, we are 
 left to conjecture. 
 
 '' I am inclined to think, by some means 
 or other, God had communicated to Abraham 
 His will, that He demanded of His people 
 ten per cent, of their income for the carrying 
 on of His cause. There is strong presump- 
 tive evidence of this, of which I will not 
 now. speak, but I may do so hereafter. 
 Whatever the truth may be concerning this, 
 it is certain that God afterwards adopted the 
 tenth as His share of the increase of the peo- 
 ple. We find that it became incorporated in 
 the Jewish statute books ; we find it coming 
 from the lips of the prophets, from the kings, 
 and from all those who were in authority over 
 God's ancient people. 
 
 '' The next reference to tithe-giving is in the 
 memorable case of Jacob, when he was fleeing 
 
38 The Path to Wealth, 
 
 from Esau, and on the road to his uncle Laban 
 at Padan-aram. The story says that on the 
 road he laid him down to sleep, and he dreamed 
 a dream ; in his dream, he saw a ladder 
 reaching from earth to heaven, with angels 
 ascending and descending, while God was on 
 the top of the ladder, and had a conversation 
 with Jacob. At the conclusion of the conver- 
 sation, Jacob made a bargain with God (Gen, 
 xxviii. 20, 21, 22} : ^And Jacob vowed a vow, 
 saying. If God will be with me, and will keep 
 me in this way that I go and will give me 
 bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I 
 come again to my father's house in peace ; then 
 shall the Lord be my God : and this stone, 
 which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's 
 house : and of all that thou shalt give me, I 
 will surely give the tenth unto thee,' It is 
 not irreverent to say, that this was a business 
 bargain of a man with his Maker; and it 
 seems that God was pleased with it, and gra- 
 ciously accepted its conditions, and He fully 
 carried out His share of the bargain. 
 
 "Jacob reached the house of Laban in safety^ 
 
THE SCENE OF JACOl'/S TITHE VOW. 
 
 (39) 
 
40 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 and hired with him as a keeper of sheep. 
 While he was there he fell in love with Rachel, 
 one of the daughters of Laban, and served 
 seven years for her; but at the end of the 
 term he was cheated by his old heathen uncle, 
 and received Leah instead ; at the end of an- 
 other seven years, he was rewarded with 
 Rachel. It seems, during the fourteen years 
 which Jacob had been in the employ of Laban, 
 that the latter's flocks had wonderfully pros- 
 pered; and Laban, with an eye to business, 
 valued Jacob's labor, and manifested great 
 anxiety to retain his services.. Jacob had now 
 quite a large family around him, and wanted 
 to leave Laban, so that he could provide for 
 his household, but Laban prevailed upon him 
 to stay, saying (Gen. xxx. 27, 28) : *And 
 Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have 
 found favor in thine eyes, tarry : for I have 
 learned by experience that the Lord hath 
 blessed me for thy sake. And he said. Ap- 
 point me thy wages, and I will give it.' 
 
 "A bargain was made between them, that 
 Jacob was to have all the spotted and speckled 
 
oi\ Light from my Forge. 
 
 41 
 
 sheep and goats for his share. Jacob reminded 
 Laban that before he came to him he had but 
 little, but now he had a multitude of sheep and 
 goats, and that the Lord had blessed him for 
 his sake. The bargain, as just mentioned, 
 
 JACOB AND LABAN. 
 
 was made between them ; and it seems won- 
 derful, that from this time on, most of the 
 sheep and goats came spotted and speckled, 
 the strong lambs of the flock were nearly all 
 
42 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 marked that way. Laban, stirred with j ealousy^ 
 changed Jacob's wages, and paid him on an- 
 other plan ; but it would seem from the narra- 
 tive that Jacob's share of the sheep was always 
 larger than Laban's, and that Laban, filled 
 with envy, changed the nature of his wages 
 ten times ; but it made no difference what kind 
 of sheep were to be Jacob's share, his would 
 always be the largest. Jacob increased won- 
 derfully, and the story says (Gen. xxx. 43) : 
 'And the man increased exceedingly, and had 
 much cattle, and maid-servants, and man-ser- 
 vants, and camels, and asses.' God, in a con- 
 versation with Jacob, states, in substance, that 
 the reason of all this increase was because he 
 had taken Him into partnership, and given 
 Him a tenth of his earnings ; for in the con- 
 versation referred to, God cited Jacob back to 
 the years gone by, when he was a refugee, and 
 had nothing but his staff, to the time and 
 place where Jacob made the bargain with God, 
 and said (Gen. xxxi. 13), 'I am the God of 
 Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, and 
 where thou vowedst a vow unto me : now 
 
or^ Light fro7n viy Forge. 43 
 
 arise, get thee out from this land, and return 
 unto the land of thy kindred.' 
 
 "It is reasonable to suppose that God would 
 take special care of the business of that man 
 in which He had a one-tenth interest, even if 
 the Bible were silent upon the subject ; but the 
 Bible is by no means silent, as it expressly de- 
 clares, over and over again, that the reason 
 why His people were so blessed in their 
 worldly goods, was because they regularly 
 paid Him the tenth ; and at other times it 
 expressly declares, that the reason why diverse 
 circumstances overtook them was because 
 they robbed Him of the tenth which He de- 
 manded. 
 
 " So far as I can see, the next reference to 
 tithing in the Bible is a direct command from 
 God. If you turn to Leviticus xxvii. 30, 31, 
 32, you will find the following: 'And all the 
 tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the 
 land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's : 
 it is holy unto the Lord. And if a man will 
 at all redeem ought of his tithes, he shall add 
 thereto the fifth part thereof. And concerning 
 
44 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of 
 whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth 
 shall be holy unto the Lord.' 
 
 "And then please turn to Deut. xiv. 22, 28, 
 
 MOSES AND THE LAW. 
 
 29, and you will find the following: ^Thou 
 shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, 
 that the field bringeth forth year by year. At 
 the end of three years thou shalt bring forth 
 
or, Light from my Forge. 4 c 
 
 all the tithe of thine increase the same year, 
 and shall lay it up within thy gates. And the 
 Levite (because he hath no part nor inherit- 
 ance with thee) and the stranger, and the 
 fatherless, and the widow, which are within 
 thy gates, shall come, and shali eat and be 
 satisfied ; that the Lord thy God may bless 
 thee in all the work of thine hand which thou 
 doest.' Numerous other texts might be cited 
 reaffirming the same commandment, but those 
 already quoted make it very clear that God 
 demanded a tenth of His people's income as 
 His share; and this commandment was just 
 as binding upon the conscience of His people 
 as any commandment imposed upon them. 
 
 '' I wish to notice, in the next place, that 
 obedience to this commandment was essential 
 to the prosperity of God's ancient people. The 
 Old Testament is full of directions concerning 
 the method of giving the tenth, and it states 
 and re-states the advantages and blessings 
 which will follow the observance of this com- 
 mandment, and the dire calamities which will 
 come upon them if they rob God, or fail in the 
 
46 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 performance of this duty, to pay Him the por- 
 tion of their income which He demands. It is 
 very clear that, when the people of God obeyed 
 this commandment, they prospered wonder- 
 fully, they were blessed with material increase, 
 their crops were plentiful, the health of the 
 people was remarkable, and, in fact, in every 
 way they enjoyed material and spiritual pros- 
 perity. It is also very clear that, when they 
 disobeyed this commandment and gave God 
 a less sum than ten per cent., the curse of 
 God came down upon them ; their crops were 
 blighted and mildewed, they fled from the 
 presence of their enemies, they were scattered 
 and driven from one place to another ; and I 
 shall show you, in a moment, that God dis- 
 tinctly states that these calamities came upon 
 them because they robbed Him of His dues, 
 and kept for themselves what He demanded 
 for His cause. 
 
 '' In the reign of good king Hezekiah, the 
 people gladly paid their tithes, and as a result, 
 they were very prosperous. Please turn to II. 
 Chronicles xxxi. 5-10 : * And as soon as the 
 
or^ Light from my Forge, 47 
 
 •commandment came abroad, the children of 
 Israel brought in abundance the first fruits of 
 corn, wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the 
 increase of the field ; and the tithe of all things 
 brought they in abundantly. And Azariah 
 the chief priest of the house of Zadok answered 
 him, and said. Since the people began to bring 
 the offerings into the house of the I^ord, we 
 have had enough to eat, and have plenty left ; 
 for the Lord hath blessed His people, and that 
 which is left is this great store.' Here 3^ou 
 see, my statements are fully borne out. It is 
 distinctly stated that the children of Israel 
 brought in their tithe of all things with glad- 
 ness, and as a result, God blessed His people ; 
 they had enough and to spare for themselves, 
 and the house of the Lord was abundantly 
 provided for; it not only was provided with 
 enough for the necessities of the priests, Le- 
 vites, and the poor, but there was abundance 
 to spare. To summarize this Biblical quota- 
 tion, we get the following : 
 
 " (i) Tithing was a commandment. It 
 
48 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 was for all the people, for it was published 
 
 * abroad.' 
 
 " (2) The children of Israel gladly kept this 
 commandment, and tithed all they possessed, 
 not excepting anything. 
 
 " (3) Azariah, the chief priest, told the king 
 that the people were bringing in their offer- 
 ings according to the directions of God, and 
 that from the very day they commenced the 
 observance of this commandment, the follow- 
 ing were the results : {a) The house of God 
 was abundantly provided for; His servants, 
 the priests and Levites, and all who worked 
 about the Temple, received their pay ; there 
 was no lack of means to carry on the expen- 
 sive machinery of conducting worship for the 
 people, (b) God had blessed His people with 
 great material prosperity because they kept 
 this commandment. [c) So great was the 
 prosperity of the people that their tithes had 
 formed a surplus in the house of God, for after 
 all the demands had been met, there was a 
 
 * great store ' left. 
 
<9r, Light fro77t my Forge. 49 
 
 '' In this instance we see demonstrated that 
 by paying God ten per cent, the ninety per 
 cent, which the people retained for themselves 
 was a larger sum than the whole would have 
 been if it had all been retained. Such a state- 
 ment may be contrary to a narrow material- 
 istic philosophy, but it is not contrary to the 
 experience of the Church of God in all ages, 
 and it is in full harmony with the experience 
 of the devout and the enlightened Christian 
 in any country, and under all sorts of circum- 
 stances. ^ There is that giveth and yet in- 
 creaseth.' 
 
 '' From this historical event, it is fair to argue 
 that the same results would follow in any age 
 where the same conditions exist. Hence, what 
 we need to make all the people prosperous and 
 to give the Church of God abundance, is for all 
 the people to pay tithes ; and, as the less is in- 
 cluded in the greater, what is needed for each 
 individual to bring down the blessing of God 
 upon his enterprises, and give him prosperity, 
 is, for him to tithe his income. 
 
 "These are propositions which cannot be 
 
50 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 successfully controverted, unless it can be 
 sliown that this law has been repealed in the 
 Bible, or that Christian men are not under its 
 obligations ; but no such repeal is found either 
 in the Old or New Testament, nor can any 
 good reasons be adduced to show that the law is 
 not binding on Christians. Certain it is, that a 
 great many people to-day observe this law ; and, 
 so far as can be learned, they each claim that 
 God deals with them as He did with His ancient 
 people the Jews, and they are greatly blessed. 
 " Now, I wish to show you that, when the 
 people of God failed to pay Him ten per cent., 
 the curse of God came down upon them. 
 Turn to Malachi iii. 7, 8, 9 : * Even from the 
 days of your fathers ye have gone away from 
 mine ordinances, and have not kept them. 
 Return unto me and I will return unto you, 
 saith the Lord of hosts ; but ye said. Wherein 
 shall we return ? Will a man rob God ? Yet 
 ye have robbed me. But ye say. Wherein have 
 we robbed thee ? In tithes and offerings. Ye 
 are cursed with a curse, for ye have robbed me, 
 even this whole nation.' 
 
or, Light from my Forge. 51 
 
 " In the tenth verse, which has already been 
 quoted, He promises that if they will bring in 
 their tithes He will bless them abundantly 
 with material and spiritual blessings, and 
 states, in the next verse, that He will rebuke 
 the devourer for their sakes, and promises that 
 their fruits shall not be destroyed in the 
 ground, nor shall their vine cast her fruit be- 
 fore the time in the field, and declares that all 
 nations shall call them blessed, and that they 
 shall become a delightsome land, I want you 
 to observe that these are blessings of a mate- 
 rial character — ^blessings of wealth, and honor, 
 and power, and prosperity; all the blessings 
 that an individual or a nation can expect or 
 desire ; and these blessings are promised if 
 they will bring the tithes into the storehouse, 
 or, in other words, pay to God one-tenth of their 
 income. 
 
 '' In summing up the statements of this 
 quotation, we get the following : 
 
 " (i) That God claims the tithe of all things 
 as His. 
 
52 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 '' (2) That to withhold the tithe from God 
 is robbery. 
 
 '^ (3) That God punishes such robberies in 
 kind, that is, they rob Him of His share of 
 their earthly substance, and He punishes them 
 by devouring worms, which destroy their crops, 
 b}^ blight, which causes the vine to cast her 
 grapes before they are ripe ; in short, He brings 
 a material curse upon them for a material sin, 
 and in all their borders their enterprises are 
 unsuccessful. 
 
 " These calamities came upon the Jews be- 
 cause they did not pay tithes. 
 
 *' (4) God invites them to return to Him, 
 and to bring in their tithes as aforetime. 
 
 " (5) That if they do so, He will return to 
 them, and give them great material prosperity, 
 as He did in other days. 
 
 " It is very clear to the Bible student that 
 the prosperity of the Jews ran parallel with 
 their observance of this commandment, and 
 that their adversities and many sad national 
 
<?r, Light from my Foige. 53 
 
 calamities ran parallel with their disobedience 
 to this commandment. It is worthy of note 
 that Jacob is the first man to formally make a 
 business bargain with God, for he distinctly 
 stated that, if God would be with him, give 
 him bread to eat, and bring him again to his 
 father's house in safety, he would give Him 
 one-tenth of all he earned. Jacob faithfully 
 kept his part of the bargain, and as a result, 
 God did bless him in his business, gave him 
 wonderful material prosperity, and returned 
 him to his own land a great and a rich man. 
 
 " Now, it is natural to suppose that, as 
 this was such a success in the case of 
 Jacob, he would impress it upon his children, 
 and endeavor to get them to follow in his 
 footsteps. His example and influence upon 
 his posterity was so great, that this law of 
 the tithe seems to be interwoven in their 
 natures ; and the giving of the tithe, after a 
 time, seemed to be so essential to their pros- 
 perity, that they kept this commandment when 
 they had backslidden in all other matters. 
 
 '^It is an historic fact that no nation has 
 
54 The Path to Wealth, 
 
 Had the vitality and rebound of tHe Jewish 
 people. They have been scattered among all 
 nations ; they have been banished from nearly 
 every land under the heavens ; they have been 
 a hissing and a by-word. This nation has 
 resembled the bush Moses saw, /which was 
 burning and yet not consumed.' History tells 
 us that the Jewish people have always been a 
 money-making people. No sooner are they 
 expelled by one nation, with all their goods 
 confiscated, than we find them in another 
 country, and they speedily become the mer- 
 chant princes, the great money loaners, and 
 the bankers. 
 
 *' I believe this quality of success, or pro- 
 pensity to make money, in the Jews is at- 
 tributable to the fact that no matter what laws 
 they neglected, they were careful to pay God 
 His tenth, and God was in honor bound to 
 bless them with material prosperity, because 
 He had promised it in the Bible, and He com- 
 pels nature to yield her fruits freely to the 
 man or nation who gives back to nature's God 
 one-tenth of her produce. Such is the char- 
 
SIR MOSES MONTEFIORE, The Jewish Philanthropist. 
 
 Born in London, 1784, and died in 1884, just after his one- 
 hundredth birthday. A man of great piety and extraordinary 
 benevolence. He spent his time and vast fortune in aiding 
 the down-trodden of his own race. In their interest he visited 
 Russia, Poland, Morocco, Syria and other parts of the world. 
 In 1867 he built and endowed a large Hospital at Ramsgate,. 
 England, for the benefit of all classes. 
 
 (55) 
 
56 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 acteristic of money-making in the Jews, that 
 it has become a proverb to say 'As rich as a 
 Jew.' Jacob, the father of the Jews, learned 
 the secret of making money, and every man 
 who has imitated him has had similar success. 
 I think it is clearly seen from what I have 
 said, that to give a tenth of their income was 
 a command of God for His ancient people, and 
 that they greatly prospered in its observance, 
 and were equally hindered when they failed to 
 observe it. These are statements which, I 
 think, no Bible student will deny. 
 
 '' Now, I wish to show you, in the next 
 place, that this tithing command is binding 
 UPON Christians. God's laws are eternal; 
 they are like Himself, and ' He is the same 
 yesterday, to-day and forever.' All the laws 
 of the Old Testament that are applicable now, 
 are equally binding now, even though there 
 may be no re-affirmation of them in the 
 New Testament. We often hear people speak 
 about being ' free from the law,' but to many 
 minds I fear that expression contains as much 
 error as it does truth. If it means that we 
 
<9r, Light from my Forge. 57 
 
 are free from the moral law, or that Christians 
 have a right to break any of the command- 
 ments, it is tnily a very great error, for each 
 and all of the ten commandments are as bind- 
 ing now upon Christians as they were upon 
 God's ancient people, when those command- 
 ments were first given ; and this remark ap- 
 plies with equal force to all the moral laws or 
 commandments of the Old Testament. 
 
 ^' There are certain ceremonial laws that 
 typified the coming of the Lord Jesus, which 
 are now done away with, because Christ 
 has come and fulfilled that of which these 
 were the types. There were also certain laws 
 which had only a local application, which are 
 no longer applicable, and therefore no longer 
 binding. Then, again, all that are in Christ Jesus 
 are free from the curse of a broken law, because 
 Jesus ' bore our sins in His own body on the 
 tree,' and thus became the curse for them. 
 Thus the punishment of a broken law cannot 
 be inflicted upon the Christian, and only in this 
 sense is it true that any man is ' free from the 
 law.' This I believe to be Paul's meaning in 
 
58 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 the text, ' for ye are not under the law but 
 under grace.' 
 
 " All the great moral and fundamental 
 laws of the Bible, which are applicable now, 
 are just as binding now as when they were 
 first given ; and it is a remarkable fact, that 
 their adaptability to all ages and conditions 
 of society is recognized by all civilized govern- 
 ments. No person can say that ten per cent, 
 of the income of God's people was more needed 
 in olden days than now. The Church then 
 had a very narrow sphere ; it was confined, 
 for the most part, to the Jews, for they knew 
 nothing of missionary enterprise. When the 
 Church had this narrow sphere, and was so 
 circumscribed, God demanded the tenth of His 
 people's earnings to carry it on ; but now, with 
 the ever widening field for Christian activity, 
 if there is any need for change, it would be 
 that the sum to be contributed be larger rather 
 than smaller. 
 
 '' The world is now open for the mis- 
 sionaries of the Cross, and the teeming 
 millions of the earth's population are crying, 
 
or^ Light from Tny Forge. 59 
 
 ^ Come over and help us,' and their hearts are 
 saying, ' Men and brethren, what must we do 
 to be saved ? ' There are, in our own large 
 cities and centres of civilization, tens of thou- 
 sands who are practically as heathen as the 
 heathens of Africa, and the Gospel must be 
 taken to these home heathens. The demand 
 for tracts. Bibles and missionaries was never 
 so great as now; and, although the liberality 
 of Christian people is on the increase, yet the 
 Church of God cannot respond to the demands 
 of the hour, and tens of thousands are living 
 and dying without Christ, and the Church 
 goes a-begging, and the people continue to 
 perish. There are very few churches carrying 
 on even their present home enterprises with 
 the voluntary givings of the people, and none 
 of them can enter all the doors which are 
 continually opening to them. The missionary 
 field is restricted, the field for labor is limited, 
 all because the means are not forthcoming 
 to carry on the work of God. Not only is 
 there a great lack of funds for missionary enter- 
 prises, but how many local churches are 
 
6o The Path to Wealth; 
 
 there that can pay their own local and legiti- 
 mate expenses from the voluntary givings of 
 the people ? 
 
 " We find the Church of God descending 
 to business methods in order to raise money 
 enough to pay its expenses ; hence, we have 
 tea-meetings, bazaars, concerts, and, what is 
 still more abhorrent, kissing parties, voting, 
 lotteries, dumb socials, necktie parties, and all 
 sorts of schemes to raise money ; while the vast 
 majority rob God of His tithes, and hypocrit- 
 ically sing : 
 
 * Were the whole realm of nature mine, 
 That were a present far too small ; 
 Ivove so amazing, so divine, 
 
 Demands my soul, my life, my all.' 
 
 If Christian people would live up to the Bible 
 demand, and pay God one-tenth of their in- 
 come, there would be no need for such methods 
 of raising money — there would be enough and 
 to spare ; and I believe the millennium would 
 soon be upon us ; for the conversion of the 
 world is, in my opinion, now reduced to a 
 
<?r, Light from my Forge. 6i 
 
 question of money. We liave the men and 
 women whose hearts God has touched, and 
 whose souls are aflame with missionary zeal ; 
 we have a Gospel that meets the requirements 
 of all sorts and conditions of men ; full pro- 
 vision has been made for the salvation of the 
 world, ' For whosoever shall call on the name 
 of the Lord shall be saved. ^ How then shall 
 they call on Him in whom they have not be- 
 lieved ? And how shall they believe in Him 
 of whom they have not heard ? And how shall 
 they hear without a preacher ? And how shall 
 they preach except they be sent ? And how 
 can they be sent without money ? And how 
 can they get the rhoney except it be given 
 them in God's appointed way, by the tithes 
 of the people 'who have heard the joyful 
 sound ? ' As a matter of fact, it is doubtful if 
 the givings of Christian people amount to three 
 per cent., whereas the demand of the Bible is 
 ten per cent. 
 
 '' Now, I ask, if God demanded a tenth of 
 the earnings of His people under the Old Tes- 
 tament dispensation, surely He cannot demand 
 
62 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 a less sum now. If there were no New Testa- 
 ment endorsation of giving ten per cent., would 
 not the law, given in the Old Testament for 
 the maintenance of God's Church, be binding 
 upon Christian men under this dispensation ? 
 Who would dare say that such a reasonable 
 demand, a demand which had worked so well 
 in the past, both as to those who paid tithes 
 and the cause which received them, is now 
 done away with ? 
 
 " God has so arranged in nature, that all 
 the needs of nature are met by adequate sup- 
 plies ; shall God be inconsistent with Himself, 
 and make provision for His Church less than 
 her needs ? But under the present spasmodic 
 and hap-hazard way of supporting His cause, 
 the needs of the Gospel, of humanity, and of 
 benevolence, are not met ; and, as near as can 
 be figured, if all the people adopted the Bible 
 plan, the revenue of the Church would be in- 
 creased nearly, if not quite, fourfold ; and if 
 this were to happen, the supply would equal 
 the demand, and the purposes of God would 
 then be accomplished. But fortunately, under 
 
or^ Light from my Forge. 63 
 
 the new dispensation, ' God has not left Him- 
 self without witnesses ; ' and, as a matter of 
 fact, this commandment is not without New 
 Testament sanction — very much stronger sanc- 
 tion than we have for keeping holy one day in 
 seven. Please read Matthew xxiii. 23 : " Woe 
 unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for 
 ye pay tithe of mint, and anise, and cummin, 
 and have omitted the weightier matters of the 
 law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought 
 ye to have done^ and not to leave the other un- 
 done.' 
 
 " The scribes and Pharisees were so particular 
 about tithing their earnings, that they brought 
 it down to the most insignificant matters, and 
 tithed the very herbs. We learn from this 
 quotation, that even when they neglected the 
 weightier matters of the law, such as judg- 
 ment, mercy, and faith, they did not neglect 
 to tithe their incomes, undoubtedly keeping to 
 this tithing habit since they learned that there 
 was money in it; just as men will continue to 
 sow their crops, and expect God to bless the 
 seed sown, whether they have religion or not ; 
 
64 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 just as worldly men in these days subscribe 
 to the building fund of a church, for the rea- 
 son that the church will increase the value of 
 their property. ' For the children of this 
 world are wiser in their generation than the 
 children of light ; ' so these scribes and Phari- 
 sees had learned, that it was a law of God to 
 pay a tenth of their income, and that this tenth 
 bore the same relation to money as seed does 
 to a crop. In other words, they believed that 
 earthly prosperity had been promised to the 
 man who would tithe his income, regardless of 
 his moral character, in the same way as ' God 
 maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the 
 good.' Now, you will notice in this quotation 
 that Jesus states, that they ought to tithe their 
 incomes, as they did, but that they ought not 
 to neglect the weightier matters of the law, 
 judgment, mercy and faith. If you strictly 
 analyze this quotation, you will see that it is a 
 direct endorsation of the law of the tithe. 
 
 '' The story of the Pharisee and the Publican 
 I take as at least an indirect endorsation of 
 paving: ten pei cent, of our income to God. 
 
or^ Light from my Forge, 65 
 
 The Pharisee boasted of the fact that he fasted 
 twice in the week, and gave tithes of all he 
 possessed, and thanked God that he was not 
 
 THE PUBLICAN. 
 
 an extortioner, nor an adulterer; while the 
 Publican, standing afar off, smote upon his 
 breast, saying, ' God be merciful to me, a 
 
 sinner. 
 
66 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 *'Now, you will please notice that each of 
 the things which the Pharisee thanked God 
 for was good : he thanked God that he was 
 not addicted to the vices mentioned, that he 
 fasted twice in the week, and gave tithes of 
 all he possessed, that is, gloried in his self- 
 righteousness. Notice, that the language put 
 into the Pharisee's mouth by the Saviour 
 makes him ^ abhor that which is evil, and cleave 
 to that which is good,' and one of the good 
 things which he glories in is the fact that he 
 pays tithes. It was not what this man did 
 that Jesus condemned, but the fact that he ex- 
 pected to be saved by his good works ; whereas 
 the Publican understood the plan of salvation, 
 and leaned wholly upon the mercy of God. I 
 take it that this story is an endorsation of the 
 Old Testament commandment. As I look 
 into this story, it affords much stronger evi- 
 dence of the position I take concerning the 
 New Testament endorsation of the tithe than 
 I first thought. 
 
 " The force of this illustration is increased 
 tenfold when we clearly see what Christ wishes 
 
<?r, Light from my Forge. 67 
 
 to illustrate. The Pharisees were a self-right- 
 eous sect ; they were sticklers for keeping the 
 letter of the law, and held that salvation came 
 only that way. Theirs was pre-eminently a 
 salvation by works ; they were the advocates 
 of the letter of ' the law given by Moses/ and 
 when ' grace and truth ' came by Jesus Christ, 
 the new doctrine was bitterly opposed by them. 
 The teaching of Jesus, as explained by Paul, 
 was : ^ Therefore by the deeds of the law there 
 shall no flesh be justified in His sight, for by 
 the law is the knowledge of sin.' 
 
 " To enforce this idea, and to emphasize the 
 truth that salvation is wholly of the mercy of 
 God, He told this story of the Pharisee and the 
 Publican. He represents the most perfect 
 man He can find from the law's standpoint ; 
 He invests him with the best qualities possible, 
 and makes him the faithful observer of the 
 laws that are at the very root of human wel- 
 fare ; he was a man of prayer ; he was honest 
 with his fellows; he was just to all; he was 
 chaste and virtuous ; he was so devout that he 
 fasted twice in the week, and he gave tithes 
 
68 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 of all he possessed. Thus, when Jesus would 
 picture a man who was as good as he could be 
 without the grace of God, He makes him a 
 man who pays tithes, and tithing is associated 
 in the same rank of merit as prayer and devo- 
 tion, as justice and honesty, as virtue and 
 chastity. Thus Jesus appro\ es of tithing as 
 He does the other good things, which are not 
 disputed. 
 
 "Again, we learn from Hebrews that Jesus 
 is made an high priest forever after the order 
 of Melchizedek, and not a priest after the order 
 of Aaron. Jesus, then, is in the line of Mel- 
 chizedek, and Abraham paid tithes to him. 
 Now, if Jesus stands in the same relation to 
 the world as Melchizedek did, it is clearly our 
 duty to give a tenth of our income to Jesus, 
 just as Abraham did to Melchizedek. I refer 
 you particularly to the seventh chapter of 
 Hebrews for a clear discussion of the priest- 
 hood of Jesus, showing that it is in the Mel- 
 chizedekan line, and of a much higher order 
 than the Levitical priesthood. The latter 
 seems to have been limited to the Jews merely, 
 
or^ Light from my Forge, 69 
 
 and each priest held the office for life only ; but 
 this wonderful and mysterious Melchizedek 
 seems to have had a universal priesthood. He 
 was the king of the notorious Canaanites at 
 Salem, as well as priest of the most high God. 
 His priestly office extended over Jews as well 
 as Gentiles, for he officially blessed Abraham, 
 the father of the faithful ; and the fact of Abra- 
 ham humbly and gladly accepting his blessing, 
 and paying him tithes of all, shows that he was 
 greater than ' he that had the promises,' and 
 Abraham acknowledged Melchizedek as stand- 
 ing in the place of God. 
 
 '' Then his priestly office had no end, but 
 made like untc the Son of God, abideth a priest 
 continually. Now, consider how great this 
 man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abra- 
 ham gave the tenth of the spoils ; and here men 
 that die receive tithes, but there he receiveth 
 them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth. 
 And it is yet far more evident, for that after 
 the similitude of Melchizedek there ariseth 
 another priest who is made not after the law 
 of a carnal commandment, but after the power 
 
70 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 of an endless life ; for he testifieth, ' Thou art a 
 priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.' 
 
 " Several things are very clear from this 
 chapter : Melchizedek was a king, Jesus is a 
 king ; Melchizedek was a priest with universal 
 jurisdiction, whose office and functions should 
 last forever ; Jesus is a priest forever after the 
 same order. One of the requirements of this 
 priestly office was, that the people should pay 
 tithes — a requirement which was met with 
 gladness and profit by ' the father of the faith- 
 ful,' and since then by all who have been * like 
 minded.' And inasmuch as the office and its 
 functions overlap and extend beyond every 
 other dispensation, and survive all other priestly 
 authority, its heavenly authority and demands 
 not being affected by time, then it is as clear 
 as the noonday sun that Jesus demands tithes 
 of all the people as a right ; and when the tithe 
 is paid, then giving or benevolence can start. 
 
 " I dare to affirm that the Christian man is 
 under the same obligation to keep this com« 
 mand of God, to give a tenth of his income, as 
 he is to keep any other law, as he is to tell the 
 
<?r, Light from my Forge. yr 
 
 truth, or to keep holy the Sabbath day. Each 
 law of God is equally binding on the heart and 
 conscience of every good man. If it be proven 
 that God demands a tenth of our income, as I 
 think I have proven, then it should bind the 
 conscience of all among us.'' 
 
 I here concluded my first talk amid cries of 
 *' Go on, go on ; we are not tired." But, if they 
 were not, I was ; so I promised to give another 
 talk on the same question the next evening. 
 
Hon. JOHN MACDONALD. 
 
 Mr. Macdonald was born in Perthshire, Scotland, in 1824. He 
 started in Canada, a poor clerk. From the beginning he gave a 
 tenth to God, and hence, we believe, his marvellous success. He 
 is an earnest Christian worker, and a great giver. No person 
 knows the full extent of his givings. As this note is written a 
 gift of $40,000 from him is announced towards the erection of a 
 Hospital at Toronto, Canada. 
 (72) 
 
TALK No. 2. 
 Who Should Tithe? 
 
 Our company in the blacksmith's shop had 
 returned to hear what further remarks I had 
 to make concerning '^ systematic giving." I 
 had no idea in commencing the talk on this 
 subject, that it would extend to another even- 
 ing, but there were so many things pressed 
 upon my mind — so many Biblical and other 
 considerations as I warmed to the subject — 
 that I found it was impossible to get through 
 on the first evening, and so by the unanimous 
 request of all present, I agreed to resume the 
 conversation on the following evening. 
 
 The prominent business man from our 
 neighboring city drove all the way out from 
 his place of business on purpose to be present 
 at the next conversation, and all who were 
 there previously were on hand again. They 
 also brought others including two more 
 preachers, so that all the boxes, boards and 
 
 6 (73) 
 
74 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 barrels we could find around the place were 
 brought into requisition for seats, and then a 
 number had to stand. I had made up my mind 
 during the day to talk this evening on the 
 question : 
 
 WHO ARE UNDER OBLIGATION TO TITHE 
 THEIR INCOMES ? 
 
 I made my first proposition, namely, that all 
 intelligent men are obligated to keep this com- 
 mand as laid down in the Bible. On stating 
 this proposition I thought I saw looks of dis- 
 sent in the Doctor's face, so I asked him to 
 give us the benefit of his thoughts on that 
 subject, whereupon he said, that '' if all are 
 under obligation to give ten per cent, of their 
 incomes, the law would be unjust, for while 
 some could give a tenth very readily, it would 
 be simply oppression in the case of others. 
 Ten per cent, to some is really less than five 
 per cent, to others, and God surely cannot 
 make such an unjust and unequal demand 
 upon his people." He also stated that ^' the 
 
or, Light from my Forge. 75 
 
 New Testament gives people perfect freedom 
 as to wliat they shall give, and each is ex- 
 pected to give according as he has been pros- 
 pered." 
 
 These objections were argued at some length. 
 I listened very attentively to the Doctor's 
 remarks, and then, without being the least 
 flurried, for I felt perfectly sure of the position 
 I had taken, I proceeded as follows : 
 
 " So far as I can understand the Bible, the 
 command to give a tenth is addressed to all 
 sorts and conditions of men, and it is a uni- 
 versal obligation. I find that the priests 
 and Levites were required to tithe their tithes, 
 or to pay a tenth of their income. Their 
 income was derived from the tithes of the 
 people, yet these same priests and Levites were 
 required to pay to God ten per cent, of their 
 income. 
 
 " The Bible makes no exception whatever ; 
 the command is as universal as ' Thou shalt not 
 steal,' or 'Thou shalt have no other gods before 
 me.' Each man is commanded to bring in his 
 tithes, no matter what his condition may be,, 
 
^6 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 whether he be rich or poor, in debt or free 
 from debt ; nor can I find that any profession 
 whatsoever is exempt. Poor men are under the 
 same obligation to pay their tithes to God as 
 rich men. 
 
 '' Our good friend, the Doctor, has argued 
 that it would be a small matter for the man in 
 receipt of a large salary to give the tenth, while 
 it would be an infliction upon the man who 
 earned just enough to live upon. He states 
 that a man in receipt of four thousand dollars 
 per annum could give four hundred of it to 
 the Lord with much less sacrifice than a man 
 in receipt of four hundred dollars per annum 
 could give forty of it to the Lord. 
 
 " I admit that the Doctor's argument looks 
 logical, but I assure you that it is a fallacy if 
 you get below the surface. This you will 
 readily see from the following considerations 
 upon a parallel case : God commands us to give 
 Him one day in each seven days, which is 
 over fourteen per cent, of our time. Time 
 is essentially money to ninety-nine per cent, 
 of us ; and, from the standpoint of the objec- 
 
or^ Light from my Forge, 77 
 
 tion, it is a very sore affliction for mechanics 
 and laboring men to lose one day's wages in 
 seven days, by being compelled not to work on 
 that day by a law of God. 
 
 " Take a man earning one dollar a day, and 
 by God's direct command he is required to 
 give one day in seven to Him, and forfeit 
 one-seventh of his income, or over fourteen 
 per cent., amounting in one year to the large 
 sum of fifty-two dollars. This is a larger sum 
 than many wealthy men give in money ; and 
 yet this poor man, who can hardly give his 
 family sufficient food and clothing, is required 
 by Divine law to give the same proportion of 
 his time to God as a rich man. Without taking 
 the great God into consideration, and reasoning 
 apart from experience, nearly everybody would 
 say that such a law is monstrously unjust; 
 but reasoning as we do from the historic 
 standpoint, with the centuries behind us, hav- 
 ing at our command the experience of the 
 nations of the earth, with the testimony of the 
 great and the good ; in fact, with the universal 
 testimony of the ages in favor of the Sabbath 
 
78 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 day for man and beast, we all say that this 
 law is wise and good, and good in proportion 
 as a man may be weak in ' mind, body or 
 estate ; ' a blessed provision for the rich and 
 strong, and an indispensable boon for the poor 
 and needy. 
 
 " Now then, in view of this, would you ad- 
 vise the man with four thousand dollars per 
 annum to give one-seventh of his time to God 
 and advise the other, with four hundred dol- 
 lars per annum, to work that day simply 
 because he was poor ? Certainly not ; and the 
 reason lies in this, that in some way or other, 
 by actual experiment on the part of individuals 
 and nations, a man can accomplish more in his 
 lifetime by giving fourteen per cent, of his 
 time to God, or by working six days a week 
 and giving God the seventh, than he can by 
 working seven days a week. 
 
 " The only way to account for it is because 
 it is a law of God; and the same reason- 
 ing applies to the tithe. If God demands forty 
 dollars per annum from the man who receives 
 only four hundred dollars, then certainly the 
 
or, Light from my Forge. 79 
 
 remaining three hundred and sixty dollars will 
 go a great deal further than the four hundred 
 would if all were kept. 
 
 " The whole subject hinges upon the ques- 
 tion, ^ Does God require it ? ' The Bible is our 
 authority, and it is accepted as such by each 
 one of you, and I think that there is no duty 
 mentioned in the Bible more distinctly than 
 the duty of giving the tenth unto the Lord. 
 We have seen it commanded and practised un- 
 der each dispensation ; the good in all ages have 
 practised it, and it comes to us with all the 
 authority of a 'thus saith the Lord.' Patri- 
 archs, prophets, priests and kings have taught 
 it by precept and example. 
 
 "It is always safe to do what God bids us 
 without asking questions, but more particularly 
 is this the case when experience bears such 
 unequivocal testimony to the profit of keeping 
 this command. Verily ' godliness is profitable 
 unto all things having promise of the life that 
 now is ; ' and the Bible distinctly says, ' There 
 is that scattereth, and yet increaseth ; and there 
 is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it 
 
8o The Path to Wealth, 
 
 tendeth to poverty.' Again, ^ He that giveth 
 to the poor lendeth to the Lord ; ' and, as Dean 
 Swift once said, in preaching a charity sermon 
 from this text, * If you accept the security, 
 down with the dust.' 
 
 '' Let us put it another way. Which farmer 
 is under the greater obligation to put in a 
 plentiful crop, the poor man or the 'rich man ? 
 The Bible distinctly compares giving to sow- 
 ing, and says, * He that soweth sparingly shall 
 also reap sparingly, and he that soweth boun- 
 tifully shall reap also bountifully.' The Apos- 
 tle uses this in strict reference to money ; Paul 
 uses it in connection with directions concerning 
 taking a collection, and it was one of his argu- 
 ments when he wanted a liberal contribution 
 for the saints. He tells the Corinthians that 
 God will bless them with money in proportion 
 as they give money to His cause ; he urges 
 them to give liberally and cheerfully, and backs 
 up his exhortations by saying, ' 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.' 
 
- — ■ '.^^ 7^^x^'--«^^>^5r^^^ 
 
 
 THE SOWER. 
 
 (8i) 
 
82 The Path to Wealth ; . 
 
 ''It is most astonishing how blind hosts of 
 Christians are when they read the Bible! 
 These rich promises of material prosperity are 
 either not noticed, or when they are, they are 
 very rarely taken in their plain and obvious 
 sense, as God states them ; some forced, and 
 generally figurative or spiritual interpretation 
 is put upon them; and poor Christian men 
 who will loan their money to a bank and sleep 
 in perfect assurance of getting it when they 
 need it, worry themselves beyond measure for 
 fear they may give too much to God's cause, 
 and may ultimately come to want, in spite of 
 the many strong and explicit declarations of 
 the Bible, that the way to get is to give. Solo- 
 mon said, ' He that hath pity upon the poor 
 lendeth unto the Lord, and that which he hath 
 given will He pay him again.' A greater than 
 Solomon said, ' Give and it shall be given unto 
 you, good measure, pressed down and shaken 
 together, and running over, shall men give 
 into your bosom.' 
 
 '' The same amount of faith exercised in the 
 Bible, as business men use with one another 
 
or^ Light from my Forge, 83 
 
 day by day, would soon convince ^he poorest 
 Cliristian man that his financial success is 
 guaranteed by the great God on the condition 
 that he ' lays up his treasure in lieaven, where 
 neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where 
 thieves do not break through nor steal.' If 
 these promises and statements mean anything, 
 and if the Bible can be trusted even a little, 
 then it is certain that the only way for a poor 
 man to get better off — the only way for a man 
 in receipt of four hundred dollars a year to get 
 that amount increased — is to tithe that which 
 he does get ; for the express condition of a 
 plentiful blessing, both temporal and spiritual, 
 is to ' bring all the tithes into the storehouse,' 
 or to put in a plentiful crop. 
 
 " Reasoning without experience, it seems a 
 very foolish thing for a farmer to take the little 
 grain which he may have left and during seed 
 time deliberately throw that grain away, hand- 
 ful after handful. Particularly would this be 
 so if he had not enough grain to provide bread 
 for his family during the year. If a stranger, 
 who had no experience in the laws of vegeta- 
 
84 Th£ Path to Wealth; 
 
 tion and growth, were to come to this earth, he 
 would surely say that the man was very foolish 
 to thus throw away deliberately the bread 
 which he needed for his family ; and yet, if he 
 would stay until the harvest, he would learn 
 that the grain thus sown had increased, ' some 
 thirty, some sixty, and some a hundredfold,^ 
 and that it was the highest wisdom that 
 prompted that farmer to throw away the little 
 grain he had, for by giving he got ; while if he 
 had kept it, he would have lost the little which 
 he had. 
 
 ''Now God distinctly states that giving 
 money to His cause bears the same relation 
 to wealth as giving seed to the ground does 
 to a plentiful harvest. ' He that soweth 
 bountifully shall reap bountifully, and he 
 that soweth sparingly shall also reap spar- 
 ingly.' This is said in reference to money. 
 God promises dollars for dollars, and if a 
 man has faith enough in God's promises 
 to sow the proper amount of wealth seed, 
 God will surely honor him with a crop just 
 as he honors the farmer, who sows the 
 
or^ Light from my Forge. 85 
 
 proper amount of grain per acre with good 
 crops. 
 
 *' I shall perhaps surprise you by making 
 even a stronger proposition, namely : 
 
 A MAN IN DEBT IS UNDER OBLIGATION TO 
 PAY A TENTH OF HIS INCOME TO GOD, 
 
 and to yield to God the first fruits of that 
 income, or pay God his tenth before touching 
 any part of the remaining nine-tenths." This 
 seemed too much for the shoemaker, and with 
 much warmth he stated, " You cannot make 
 me believe that ; charity begins at home, and a 
 man must be just before he is generous ; a man 
 who does not pay his debts is a dishonest man, 
 and the money a man gets who is in debt does 
 not belong to him but belongs to his creditors, 
 and for him to give away this money to the 
 Church or to the poor is dishonest, and God 
 cannot accept of any such offerings." 
 
 I smiled at this earnest remark of my good 
 friend, the shoemaker, and proceeded. " If the 
 overhanging black cloud of debt, the cloud 
 
S6 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 which has cursed many an eloquent minister's 
 usefulness, and blighted the happiness and 
 ruined the hopes of many a Christian man,, 
 could be represented, say by a weight of ten 
 thousand pounds, I firmly believe that seven 
 thousand five hundred pounds of it is caused 
 by robbing God of his dues, and it may be that 
 the remaining two thousand five hundred 
 pounds is the result of improvidence. 
 
 " Sometimes povert}^ is a misfortune over 
 which the pious poor have no control ; at other 
 times it is a blessing from God ; but both of 
 these conditions are, in the very nature of 
 things, exceptional, inasmuch as the rule must 
 of necessity be that the children of the king 
 are well provided for, and the normal and 
 ordinary condition of God's obedient children 
 is that of comfort. Confirmed poverty or 
 financial disaster, for the most part, is blame- 
 worthy ; and, taking the Bible for our guide, 
 it is clear that these things are sent upon us 
 more often to punish us for our sins than to 
 bless us, excepting as punishment may cause 
 us to forsake the sins that brought upon us 
 
or, Light from my Forge, 87 
 
 our disasters. In such cases punishment itself 
 is a blessing. 
 
 " A man in debt is weak at some point or 
 other, and probably disobedient to God as well 
 as weak. Now, if he would free himself from 
 this intolerable burden, he had better take a 
 partner into his business, who, upon the receipt 
 of one-tenth of the profits, pledges himself for 
 the prosperity of that business. God certainly 
 agrees to do this, and any man who professes 
 to have faith in His precious promises must 
 take Him at His word. A man in debt, a 
 farmer, for instance, would exercise false 
 economy, and would be really dishonest with 
 his creditors, if he should sell his seed wheat 
 and seed potatoes, and pay the proceeds to 
 the liquidation of his debt ; for by so doing he 
 would be cutting off the very means he had of 
 paying his obligations. 
 
 " I think the analogy holds good in the case 
 of a man who takes his seed money — that 
 which belongs to God — and pays his debts with 
 it. He also is practically dishonest although 
 he may not seem to be ; for, by paying his 
 
88 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 tithes, lie has God's promise that he shall be 
 ^ blessed in his basket and in his store.' God 
 has distinctly promised that if we bring in all 
 the tithes into the store-house, He will ' pour 
 us out a blessing that there shall not be room 
 enough to receive it.^ 
 
 " Again, when a man is in debt, it is right 
 for him to pay that debt first which seems to 
 have the greatest claim upon him. There are 
 certain obligations which appeal to a debtor's 
 honor more than others, and a sensitive man 
 always gives these obligations the preference. 
 Surely, if God demands the tithe of His 
 people, then it is a legitimate debt, and a 
 debtor is under at least equal obligation to 
 pay this debt as he is to pay other debts ; 
 and, under all the circumstances, I think all 
 will admit that this is a debt which appeals 
 to his generosity and sense of right-dealing 
 more than any other, and by paying it first 
 he consults the true interest of the other credi- 
 tors. 
 
 " Again, a man in debt must not pay his 
 debts at the expense of starving his family ; he 
 
or, Light from my Forge. 89 
 
 must feed his children. Nor is he justified in 
 starving himself. He is surely under obliga- 
 tion to give his children a certain amount of 
 education. He is also under obligation to 
 supply their spiritual and mental requirements 
 in the same way as he is bound to supply 
 their physical wants. The same remark ap- 
 plies to his own spiritual and mental require- 
 ments. 
 
 " Now, God has commanded that one-tenth 
 of a man's income shall be devoted to the culti- 
 vation of the spiritual nature of himself, his 
 family, the community and the world ; for, on 
 the one hand, the money thus given will help 
 to evangelize the world, and, on the other, his 
 own spiritual nature is cultivated by works of 
 benevolence and charity. 
 
 ''But it seems to me that the strongest argu- 
 ment in favor of a man in debt paying tithes 
 to God is the fact that he has God's promise 
 that, by paying Him first, he will be in a posi- 
 tion to pay every other creditor. God certainly 
 promises to put all men in that position who 
 will obey Him, and any man who is not sham- 
 
90 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 ming faith in God's precious promises must 
 take Him at His word. We trust God's prom- 
 ises for the forgiveness of our sins and for 
 taking us to heaven ; and, since we trust 
 Him for the greater, why is it that we cannot 
 trust Him for the lesser ? The man who risks 
 his all upon the promises of God which are to 
 be fulfilled during this life, will find that his 
 faith is mightily increased in the promises 
 which are not fulfilled until death. If I am to 
 trust a man for a very large sum, I can do so 
 with much more assurance, if I have been 
 doing business with him in a small way, and 
 have found him true to his word. This is 
 precisely the experience of men who trust God 
 in regard to earthly or material promises, ' for 
 God is not slack concerning His promises.' 
 
 '' Ye men in debt, it is time that you learned 
 the Bible truth that the way to get is to give, 
 and the way to lose is to keep what you have, 
 for ' There is that scattereth and yet increas- 
 eth ; and there is that withholdeth more than 
 is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.' There is 
 a story in the Bible which, in some measure, 
 
6>r, Light from my Forge. 91 
 
 illustrates this truth : There was a great 
 famine in a certain land; no rain had fallen 
 for years ; the cattle were all dying ; vegeta- 
 tion was all parched ; the streams had all 
 dried up ; the wells were all empty ; men and 
 beasts were dying by the thousands. During 
 these troublous and trying times, a prophet of 
 God, when on a journey, saw a poor woman 
 outside of her cottage gathering sticks, and 
 he addressed her thus : ' Bring, I pray thee, a 
 morsel of bread in thine hand ; ' and she said, 
 'As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a 
 cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and 
 a little oil in a cruse ; and behold, I am gather- 
 ing two sticks, that I may go in and dress 
 it for me and my son, that we may eat it and 
 die; 
 
 "And the man of God said, 'Fear not, go 
 and do as thou hast said, but make me thereof 
 a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and 
 after make for thee and for thy son. For thus 
 saith the Lord God of Israel, the barrel of meal 
 shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil 
 fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain 
 
92 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 upon the earth.' And she went and did ac- 
 cording to the saying of this man of God, and 
 the results were just as he predicted. She 
 came to the barrel day after day, and found the 
 meal did not waste ; she came to the cruse of 
 oil day after day, and found that it did not 
 fail ; and yet she fed the prophet, her son and 
 herself day by day. 
 
 ^' Now, if this woman had disobeyed the 
 voice of God spoken by His servant, she and 
 her son would have eaten the cake which she 
 was about to prepare, and then would certainly 
 have died, as thousands of others did ; but she 
 believed God, and by some law, known only to 
 God, He kept the meal from wasting, and the 
 oil from failing. 
 
 '' We have evidence enough to believe that 
 the same God lives to-day, and acts practically 
 as He did in the case to which I have referred ; 
 and hence, if we give what He commands us to 
 give, and consecrate it to His cause, we shall 
 be protected. Our fortunes will not fail but 
 increase, as in the case of the widow who fed 
 Elijah during the great famine. 
 
or^ Light fro7n my Forge. 93 
 
 " But, again, 
 
 RICH MEN ARE UNDER OBLIGATION TO TITHE 
 THEIR INCOMES. 
 
 I fear ricli men get too little sympathy from 
 the majority of us ; but, alas, there is many a 
 poor rich man, bowed down with care and 
 worn out with anxiety, who is a fitting subject 
 for our sincere sympathy. The little experi- 
 ence I have had of life, and the knowledge I 
 have gained from the experience of other men, 
 teach me that a man's happiness and peace of 
 mind does not always increase in proportion to 
 his wealth. 
 
 " There are many rich men who can look 
 back to the days of their poverty as their hap- 
 piest days ; and, although they have now 
 accomplished what they dreamed of accom- 
 plishing when they started out in life, and are 
 in possession of the wealth which they have 
 striven for, yet they find wealth and power fail 
 to bring them the peace and contentment which 
 they expected, while riches entail great respon- 
 
94 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 sibilities and anxieties, and involve great risks. 
 What a consolation it is for a rich man to have 
 a partner at his back who has unlimited capi- 
 tal, and never-failing wisdom, with infinite love 
 and tenderness. Such is the condition of the 
 rich man who takes God into his concern. 
 
 " I have no sympathy with the cry we often 
 hear of ' wicked rich men,' and ^ good poor 
 men.' I believe there is as great a proportion 
 of rich men who are good as there are of poor 
 men. It is certainly easier for a man in com- 
 fortable circumstances to be good than for a 
 poor man ; for, although the temptations which 
 come to wealth are great, still those which are 
 a result of poverty are greater. But, while 
 this is true, the wealth of our rich men is not 
 consecrated to God as it ought to be; and, 
 when a man is in possession of any power with 
 which he can do good, and fails to use the 
 power and accomplish the good, he brings guilt 
 upon his soul. 
 
 " If our rich men and prosperous business 
 men would tithe their immense incomes, what 
 a vast amount of good would be accomplished I 
 
or^ Light from 7ny Forge. 95 
 
 How the ignorant would be educated, the poor 
 be fed, and the heathen brought to the feet of 
 Jesus ! What a mighty impulse, the conse- 
 cration of this wealth would give to the cause 
 of God and humanity ! Is there anything 
 which could make more glad the heart of 
 Jesus ? 
 
 " And, on the other hand, the paying to God 
 His share would give wealthy men a perma- 
 nent hold upon their possessions, for this is 
 the declaration of God in the Bible, expressed 
 or implied, repeated scores of times. It is 
 said, ' Riches take to themselves wings and fly 
 away,' and nothing is so uncertain as business. 
 From carefully gathered statistics, we learn 
 that four out of five business men become 
 bankrupts at some period of their lives, and, 
 alas, a great many go to the wall altogether ; 
 but I believe a case is yet to be found of a man 
 paying his tenth to God, who did not pay 
 every other man one hundred per cent., and 
 who has not been prospered as a result of his 
 tithing. 
 
 "A gentleman who is very earnest in prop- 
 
96 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 agating this Bible doctrine states, tHat lie 
 wrote a circular letter to every clergyman in 
 the United States of America, asking them 
 their experience on this point, whether they 
 had ever known a man to become bankrupt 
 who had systematically tithed his income; 
 and he states, that from the thousands of re- 
 ports received, there was not a single instance 
 where a man had been a loser by tithing his 
 income, but there were instances by the hun- 
 dred where men attributed all their wealth 
 and prosperity to the fact of their paying God 
 tithes. Very many of them commenced tith- 
 ing when their earnings were very small, and 
 they were now rich, and attributed all their 
 success to God. 
 
 " Personally, I have never known a man to 
 be a permanent business failure who thus took 
 God into partnership, and I appeal to your 
 own experience whether you have ever known 
 such a man or not. I know very rich men 
 who attribute their wealth to paying God ten 
 per cent., and who declare that all their earthly 
 possessions have been given to them by God 
 
or, Light fro77i my Forge. 97 
 
 in reward for their obedience in keeping this 
 commandment." 
 
 At this point I was interrupted by a gen- 
 tleman who was sitting on a Life Assurance 
 advertising board, which generally stood out- 
 side of the shop, but had been brought in to 
 do duty as a bench. The gentleman was a 
 stranger, well dressed and intelligent-looking ; 
 he had a sharp, thin face, and eyes that sparkled 
 with determination. He spoke with ease and 
 deliberation, and all eyes were turned upon 
 him. He said : " You will pardon me, sir, for 
 interrupting you, but my own experience so 
 strongly confirms what you say that I cannot 
 resist the temptation to give it for the benefit 
 of those who are present, and as a confirmation 
 of your theory ; although the idea of paying 
 tithes because it is financially profitable, I con- 
 fess I do not believe in, and I have but little 
 faith in the man who tithes his income for that 
 purpose ; but, notwithstanding my opinion, 
 as a matter of fact my personal experience 
 confirms the theory we have had advocated to- 
 night. 
 
98 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 " I am a physician, and I started tithing my 
 income when I commenced to practise ; my 
 tithe the first week was fifteen cents, which 
 represented an income that would not pay my 
 board. But I recognized the claims of God 
 with the little I had, and from that day to 
 this the amount of my tithe has steadily in- 
 creased, until it is now my great privilege to 
 pay about four hundred dollars a year to God's 
 cause. * Bringing the tithes into the store- 
 house ' has been a great help to me in many 
 ways, but whether I should have been pros- 
 pered as I have, if I had commenced tithing 
 with the motive which has been appealed to 
 this evening, I cannot say. I am inclined to 
 doubt it. I think the better motive to which to 
 appeal is that of love, regardless of financial 
 benefit." 
 
 This honest and intelligent speech caused 
 quite a ripple of excitement in our little com- 
 pany. However, I was greatly pleased at the 
 interruption, for although my opinions were 
 not endorsed by the Doctor in his theory, still 
 I got a better endorsation in his own experi- 
 
or^ Light from 7ny Forge, 99 
 
 ence, wliicli was so honestly stated. I resumed 
 my talk by saying : "I am very much 
 obliged to our friend for tbe earnest words he 
 has spoken, and I will take occasion, at some 
 future time, to refer to the opinion expressed. 
 One fact is worth a hundred opinions, and I 
 am glad we have heard the statement of a fact 
 which confirms my theory. 
 
 ^' I was about to say, when our friend the 
 Doctor interrupted me, that it is possible there 
 may be men whose faith has been tried, but 
 God always comes to the rescue in the right 
 time. It is not supposed that men who tithe 
 their incomes will never have business per- 
 plexities and difficulties ; but I do state, hav- 
 ing the Bible to back me, and having all the 
 experience which is available to confirm the 
 Bible, that a man who tithes his income, be he 
 rich or poor, takes God into partnership, and 
 God becomes responsible for that man's finan- 
 cial success, and pledges His word that he 
 shall be prospered with earthly or temporal 
 advancement. 
 
 " In my talk, so far, I have referred chiefly 
 
lOO The Path to Wealth; 
 
 to the personal and material results following 
 obedience to this commandment; but there 
 are results of very much greater importance 
 than those to which I have hitherto referred, 
 although these can scarcely be overestimated. 
 As I take it, the most important result of pay- 
 ing tithes is, that God's cause will be abun- 
 dantly provided with money for carrying on 
 the evangelization of the w^orld. 
 
 *' The facts, as they exist to-day, demon- 
 strate that God's cause is greatly in need of 
 means. How many churches, for instance, do 
 you know which are out of debt ? How many 
 churches are there that can get along with the 
 voluntary offerings of the people, and without 
 doing something of a business nature to raise 
 money ? How many churches are there that 
 care for their own poor ? How many denom- 
 inations are there whose missionary societies 
 are out of debt ? I can answer these ques- 
 tions for you, if you will tell me how many 
 churches there are whose members give a 
 tenth of their income. I fear many churches 
 much resemble the Jewish Temple when Jesus 
 
<?r, Light from my Forge, loi 
 
 made a scourge of small cords and drove out 
 those who bought and sold oxen, and over- 
 threw the tables of the money changers. 
 
 *' When God made the requirement of the 
 tithe, He doubtless made it upon a proper basis, 
 and knew just how much it would require to 
 carry on His cause and to extend His king- 
 dom from pole to pole. I, for one, believe, 
 that if the churches could be converted to this 
 Bible doctrine ; if they could be brought back 
 to this primitive commandment — to this clear 
 duty which God imposes upon them — that it 
 would not be long until the day when ' They 
 shall not teach every man his neighbor, and 
 every man his brother, saying. Know the 
 Lord: for all shall know me from the least to 
 the greatest.' That man who personally adopts 
 the tithing system, and who endeavors to per- 
 suade others to adopt the same system, is do- 
 ing more for ushering in the millennial day of 
 the Lord than by any other work which he 
 could possibly do. 
 
 " The printing of Bibles, tracts, and good 
 books to disseminate Christian knowledge, 
 
GENERAL GORDON. 
 Killed at Khartoum, January, 1885. 
 
 Few know Chinese Gordon only as a remarkable soldier, but 
 he equally excelled as a Christian humanitarian. While at home, 
 his house was school, hospital, and almshouse in turn. 
 (102) 
 
The Path to Wealth, 103 
 
 is resolved into a question of money. The 
 education of home and foreign missionaries ; 
 the sending of missionaries into destitute 
 places in our own cities ; the sending them to 
 christianize our own Indians ; the sending 
 them abroad to Africa, China and Japan, 
 is a question of money. There are plenty 
 of men and women whose hearts God has 
 touched, who have the goodness and ability 
 to be missionaries of the cross of Jesus Christ, 
 but who are doomed to stay at home and keep 
 their message, because money is not forth- 
 coming to send them to the fields where their 
 talents could be utilized in preaching the 
 Gospel of the Kingdom of God. * Will a man 
 rob God ? ' Yet we rob God in our tithes 
 and oflferings, and as a result. His cause goes 
 a-begging. 
 
 " I think it can be demonstrated, that if the 
 people would all pay tithes, the millennial day 
 would soon be upon us. How long it will take 
 to usher in that day with our present system 
 of giving — which, indeed, is no system — I 
 cannot tell. Whether ' the kingdoms of this 
 
I04 
 
 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 world ' ever shall become ' the kingdoms of 
 our Lord and of His Christ,' on about three 
 per cent, of the income of professed Christians, 
 
 
 THE MISSIONARY. 
 
 I will leave you to answer. In nature, God 
 has adjusted the causes to the effects to be 
 produced ; the supplies of nature are equal to 
 her demands, and it does seem to me that ^ the 
 
<?r, Light from my Forge. 105 
 
 God of all grace ' is equally logical and consist- 
 ent, and that He has made the conditions of 
 the world's salvation equal to the necessities 
 of the case. If the conditions meet, the work 
 will be accomplished and not otherwise. 
 
 "It is doubtful if the people are giving God 
 as much as one-half of ten per cent. If you 
 just take time to reckon up your income for 
 the past year, and take pains to figure up the 
 exact sum you have given to religious and 
 benevolent purposes, you will be surprised to 
 see how small a percentage your givings have 
 been in comparison with your income ; and, if 
 this same question could be asked of all Chris- 
 tian men who do not give systematically, there 
 would be one and the same answer. 
 
 '' Another result of giving tithes would, I 
 think, be the great spiritual impulse which 
 the cause of God would receive. Temporal 
 prosperity, as a reward for tithing, is only the 
 lesser blessing which God has promised, for 
 He promises to the individual great spiritual 
 blessings. The text, which I quoted to you 
 in my talk last evening, is as suitable as any 
 
 8 
 
io6 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 text I know of to illustrate this truth. God 
 promises, in return for bringing all the tithes 
 into the storehouse, to open the windows of 
 heaven and pour out blessings that there shall 
 not be room enough to receive. 
 
 " It is a singular fact that all the blessings 
 we get, temporal and spiritual, come from the 
 heavens. There are three heavens ; one where 
 the birds fly, or our atmosphere ; another 
 where the sun, moon and stars are ; and the 
 other where God dwells. All our temporal 
 blessings ; all our national and individual 
 prosperity ; all material wealth ; in a word, all 
 our riches come from the earth and the heavens ; 
 and, inasmuch as the yield of the earth de- 
 pends wholly upon the air, the dew, the rain 
 and sunshine of the heavens, we can say 
 practically, that all our temporal blessings 
 come from heaven. Now, God pledges Him- 
 self to open the windows of heaven and pour 
 us out the divinest blessings — overflowing 
 blessings, ' heaped up, pressed down, shaken 
 together, running over,' that * there shall not 
 be room enough to receive it.' 
 
<9r, Light from my Forge. 107 
 
 *' Here is God's direct pledge for temporal. 
 blessings ; and I am simple enough to believe 
 it, and intend to comply with tlie conditions 
 and risk the consequences. It is a very easy 
 thing for God to withhold or grant temporal 
 prosperity. Stored up in the heavens is 
 enough wealth to make every living man rich ; 
 and my God, whose pledge I have, can at any 
 time open a little window and let down upon 
 me a gentle shower of His blessings, which 
 will provide for me and mine so long as we 
 need temporal good. ' Trust in the Lord and 
 do good, so shalt thou dwell in the land, and 
 verily thou shalt be fed.' ' He that watereth 
 shall be watered also himself * Honor the 
 Lord with thy substance, and with the first 
 fruits of all thine increase, so shall thy bams 
 be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall 
 burst out with new wine.' These are rich and 
 precious promises, and they will be fulfilled 
 only when we comply with the conditions and 
 pa}^ our tenth to God. 
 
 "A good deal of our preaching, our think- 
 ing, and even our devotions, either vaporize or 
 
io8 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 spiritualize God's promises. Our natural un- 
 belief tends to put off the fulfilment of them 
 until we get to heaven, or to some time in the 
 future. Unbelief hates literal and present 
 tense promises. But these promises are literal 
 and material ; they are for here and now ; they 
 are to be enjoyed on earth ; they challenge us 
 to a contract or bargain with God. As stated 
 before, He promises money for money ; you 
 pay me a tenth, says God, and I will give you 
 earthly and material blessings. I will give 
 your fingers skill as mechanics ; I will incline 
 employers towards you ; you shall get the 
 highest wages ; strikes shall not affect you ; 
 I am with you, and will see that you are pro- 
 vided for. 
 
 " I will make you prosperous as business 
 men ; I will incline you where you can make 
 good bargains ; I will send the people around 
 to you to buy ; while the man next door, who 
 neglects my cause, may become bankrupt, this 
 curse shall not touch you. I will look out for 
 your bills when they are coming due ; I will see 
 that your bank account is sufiiciently large ; in 
 
or^ Light from my Forge. 109 
 
 a word, I am your partner and will look out 
 for the interests of your business. 
 
 ^^And to you thinkers, who earn your living 
 by your brains, I will make your thoughts 
 clear ; I will give you the holy impulse to 
 originate ' thoughts which breathe, and words 
 which burn ; ' your productions shall stir men's 
 hearts ; your work shall be in demand ; I will 
 make people buy the productions of your heart 
 and brain ; only pay me your tenth, and you 
 shall be cared for. 
 
 '' Seed time and harvest shall never fail you 
 farmers ; I will bless your crops ; I will mul- 
 tiply your stock ; the blight and the mildew 
 shall be kept from your farms ; remember, I 
 am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob ; I 
 will do to you as I did to them, only remember 
 me as they did. 
 
 " I will give health to all of you ; death shall 
 not take away your little ones ; they shall 
 live to a ripe old age ; I will open the windows 
 of heaven and pour you out a blessing that 
 there shall not be room enough to receive it. 
 These are blessings promised by God in the 
 
no The Path to Wealth; 
 
 Bible. Who among this company will this 
 day pledge his tenth to God ? 
 
 "As intimated just now, this wonderful 
 blessing promised in this passage of Scripture, 
 and in other passages of Scripture, as a reward 
 of obedience, is more than mere temporal pros- 
 perity. Not only will God open the windows 
 of heaven from whence comes material wealth, 
 but He will open the windows of the upper 
 heavens where He dwells, the centre of the 
 universe ; and from His gracious fullness He 
 will shed down upon those who are obedient, 
 blessings which are inexpressible and full of 
 glory. 
 
 " There is a remarkable and, it would seem, 
 a necessary connection between obedience and 
 great spiritual enjoyment. Not only shall he 
 who does the will of God know the doctrine 
 of God, but he shall also understand the ex- 
 perience and bliss which comes through being 
 in communion with Him. 
 
 " There is a good deal said in these days 
 about consecration, and a good deal of unreal 
 sentiment expressed about giving to God our 
 
or^ Light from my Forge, iii 
 
 bodies and spirits, our time and our earthly 
 store ; but it is my experience that when a 
 man does this practically, and commences by 
 acknowledging God's claim to a tenth of his 
 income, that he grows in grace, and God opens 
 the windows of heaven and pours out upon 
 him, day by day, rich spiritual blessings, so 
 that he walks in the light of the Lord, and 
 knows the mind of the Lord. 
 
 " I have stated elsewhere in these talks, that 
 God promises material prosperity to any man 
 who pays a tenth, regardless of that man's 
 character ; and, while I believe this statement 
 to be true, still, as a rule, unconverted men 
 have not faith enough in the Bible to take the 
 risks, and there are few of them who live up 
 to this Biblical requirement. It has been my 
 experience, however, that as soon as a man does 
 begin to tithe his income it develops in him 
 spirituality, if he had not any previously ; and 
 it wonderfully intensifies and strengthens his 
 spirituality if he was a Christian when he first 
 yielded obedience to this commandment. 
 
 " So far as my personal experience goes, and 
 
112 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 so far as I can get hold of the history of men 
 who have kept this law, they are mostly de- 
 vout and spiritually-minded men, and they 
 bear universal testimony to this proposition : 
 that by obeying God in this particular, their 
 faith in God has been greatly increased; and 
 the wonderful deliverances which He has 
 brought about for them of a temporal charac- 
 ter, have developed in them a spirit of thank- 
 fulness, as well as a holy trust and a blessed 
 assurance. A remarkable companionship 
 springs up between the obedient and the Lord, 
 to which others are strangers. One thing is 
 remarkable in the experience of those who 
 thus systematically tithe their income, and 
 that is, though they may have commenced to 
 do so from a sense of duty, they continue the 
 practice from a sense of pleasure and profit, 
 and their hearts are influenced by the noblest 
 feelings of love to God and man. 
 
 '' There may be a solitary case here and there 
 of a man who has abandoned the practice of 
 tithing; yet, as a rule, those who commence 
 it persevere to the end, and have wrought into 
 
^r, Light fro jn my Forge. 113 
 
 tHeir souls an experience, which is only an 
 experience of the lips to the average Christian, 
 namely, ' that it is more blessed to give than 
 to receive,' ' Godliness is profitable unto all 
 things, having promise of the life that now 
 is, and of that which is to come,' ' The good 
 and obedient shall eat the fat of the land.' 
 These are promises which provide for great 
 earthly blessings, but these earthly blessings 
 are also invariably accompanied with great 
 spiritual comfort and enlightenment." 
 
 At the conclusion of this talk, there was a 
 unanimous request that I should continue the 
 conversation the following evening. During 
 the talk this evening, a great many came in, 
 so that the shop was crowded with listeners, 
 and it was proposed that we should meet the 
 next night at the school-house. One of the 
 school trustees who was present said there 
 would be no objection ; and, accordingly, we 
 agreed to meet the next night at the school- 
 house as suggested. I was thus suddenly 
 thrust into greater notoriety than I had 
 
114 ^/^^ Path to Wealth; 
 
 dreamed of, and I devoutly prayed God to 
 keep 'me humble, and to make my usefulness 
 equal to my humility. I had got very earnest 
 on the subject in the two talks I had pre- 
 viously given ; and a great many things oc- 
 curred to my mind while I was speaking, which 
 I thought I would like to say to my friends 
 and acquaintances in the neighborhood before 
 I gave up the subject. 
 
 According to agreement, we met next night 
 in the school-house. I thought I was getting 
 there in good time, but before I arrived the 
 house was full. The news of the meetings we 
 had in the blacksmith shop seems to have 
 spread far and wide, and we had a great many 
 on this evening from other neighborhoods, and 
 several business men drove out from the city. 
 A widespread interest seems to have been en- 
 listed in the subject, and quite a few converts 
 had been made to the doctrine of the tithe. I 
 pressed my way to the desk ; and, when every- 
 thing was ready to commence, some person 
 proposed that we have a regular and formal 
 meeting, and, accordingly, the Doctor was 
 
07% Light from my Forge, 115 
 
 voted to the chair, and he called upon the 
 Rev. Mr. Jones to open the meeting with 
 prayer, after which I was introduced, and com- 
 menced : 
 
TALK No. 3. 
 
 A Short History of the Tithe and 
 Other Matters. 
 
 '' My friends, I will not take up your time 
 hy preliminary observations, although I feel 
 wholly inadequate to the task of addressing 
 and instructing so large and intelligent an 
 audience upon this most important Biblical 
 subject. I am glad to see, however, that my 
 humble efforts to enlighten you upon this 
 subject, and to teach you what I know con- 
 cerning the Bible doctrine, is appreciated. I 
 am also glad that so many of you are begin- 
 ning to see eye to eye with me, and have 
 commenced to tithe your incomes. I am per- 
 fectly willing to stake my reputation upon all 
 that I have said concerning the effect that 
 your observance of this commandment will 
 have upon your material and spiritual pros- 
 perity. It is clear to me that the Bible most 
 
 distinctly promises these blessings to those 
 
 [in) 
 
ii8 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 wHo keep this commandment, and I dare to 
 risk all I have upon a ' thus saith the Lord.' 
 I am also greatly confirmed in this from my 
 own experience, and from the experience of 
 all who have tested those promises of God. 
 
 "To-night, I thought I would give you a 
 short history of the tithe during the Christian 
 dispensation, and make some other remarks 
 on the subject, which may be suggested by 
 important things that may be developed in 
 the conversation of the evening. It is most 
 remarkable that this practice of tithing has 
 been discovered in several heathen nations^ 
 and it has been interwoven with their religious 
 and civil codes. There is no proof concerning 
 the origin of this practice among them : pos- 
 sibly these heathen nations learned it from 
 God's ancient people the Jews ; but, more 
 probably, the practice is as ancient as Adam, 
 and the Gentile nations who observed the tithe 
 laws were keeping up a tradition from the 
 Garden of Eden. 
 
 " We have positive proof that the practice 
 of tithing is as ancient as Abraham, and strong 
 
<9r, Light from Tuy Forge. 119 
 
 presumptive evidence that the latter found it 
 already in existence, and that when he paid 
 tithes to Melchizedek he was performing a re- 
 ligious duty. No person can read the narra- 
 tive without being struck with its naturalness ; 
 for, on the one hand, Abraham paid the tenth 
 without any explanation or argument, such as 
 would be natural if he were making a simple 
 present, or was giving a simple token of his 
 gratitude to Almighty God for his victory ; 
 and, on the other hand, Melchizedek accepts 
 the tenth as a matter of course. He took it as 
 though he expected it, or as if it belonged to 
 him ; and he there and then blessed Abraham in 
 the name of the Lord, just as God in later 
 years said that all the people who paid tithes 
 should be blessed. There is enough evidence to 
 satisfy me that the law and practice of the tithe 
 was in existence prior to Abraham, and that 
 God's priests were maintained that way. If 
 this be so, then the Canaanites, of whom 
 Melchizedek was both king and priest, were in 
 the habit of paying tithes. 
 
 " That some well-defined system of giving 
 
I20 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 to God was practised in the days of Adam is 
 certain, for we find that both Cain and Abel 
 gave systematically to God, for ' Cain brought 
 of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the 
 Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the first- 
 lings of his flock, and of the fat thereof.' God 
 in some way had made known His will touch- 
 ing this matter. As to the proportion He 
 required, we are not told ; but the presump- 
 tion is that it was a tenth, for when the pro- 
 portion is first mentioned in the Bible, that is 
 the amount specified. From these considera- 
 tions the strongest inference is, that the idea 
 and practice of tithing found in heathen na- 
 tions has been handed down by tradition from 
 the Garden of Eden. 
 
 '' There is not a great deal said about tithing 
 in the New Testament, as it did not enter par- 
 ticularly into the work of the Saviour and His 
 apostles to impress this doctrine and prac- 
 tice upon the people. It would seem that at 
 the advent of the Saviour the Jews critically 
 and technically kept this law, so that Christ 
 had to say, ' Woe unto you, scribes* and Phari- 
 
RICH PHARISEE GOING WITH HIS TITHES TO THE PRIEST, 
 9 (121) 
 
122 The Path to Wealth ; 
 
 sees, Hypocrites ! for ye pay tithe of mint, and 
 anise, and cnmmin, and have omitted the 
 weightier matters of the law, jndgment, mercy 
 and faith : these ought ye to have done^ and 
 not to leave the other undone.' Hence, there 
 was no need for Christ and His apostles to 
 formally impress this Biblical command upon 
 the people. 
 
 " The same thing is true of the Sabbath day, 
 as the obligations imposed upon the Jews by 
 these two commandments seem to have been 
 fully realized by them, and faithfully dis- 
 charged. In the present century, it is most 
 important that Sabbath observance should be 
 taught, and that the people should be indoc- 
 trinated into the duty and practice of keeping 
 holy the Sabbath day, because the tendency 
 now is to overlook the sanctity of this day 
 and to consider all days alike. During the 
 Saviour's time this was not so; and, hence, 
 but little was said by Him or His immediate 
 followers about the importance of keeping one 
 day holy in seven. 
 
 ^' The attitude of the Jews to the tithe was 
 
or^ Light from my Forge. 123 
 
 precisely similar to their position in regard to 
 the Sabbath ; for the history of their nation 
 was before them, and they knew by national, 
 and, doubtless, many of them by individual 
 experience, that their earthly prosperity de- 
 pended, in a great measure, upon their obedi- 
 ence to God's time and money requirements, 
 and depended upon these two obligations as 
 inuch as upon all other conditions besides. 
 
 " No wise teacher will spend his time in 
 teaching that which is well known, nor will 
 he exhort people to do what they are already 
 noted for doing even to excess. Hence, it is 
 only by allusion or illustration that Jesus re- 
 fers to either of these important duties ; but 
 when He does so, it is always of the nature of 
 approval, and herein is a strong argument for 
 my present contention. 
 
 '' From the comparative silence of Jesus 
 upon the question of tithing, a considerable 
 argument is built by those who do not believe 
 in it. They say that if it were of so much 
 importance, surely the Saviour would not have 
 omitted it from His discourse ; but taking the 
 
124 ^^^ Path to Wealth; 
 
 circumstances into consideration, and the state- 
 ments I have just made, I think the very 
 thing complained of strengthens the position 
 taken by me rather than otherwise. We find, 
 however, in the writings of the apostles, state- 
 ments and exhortations which clearly teach 
 the law of the tithe. Paul says : ' Upon the 
 first day of the week let every one of you lay 
 by him in store as God hath prospered him.' 
 Here we have systematic giving ; and I may 
 take occasion in this or some other Talk to 
 explain this text more fully. 
 
 " Paul states elsewhere that ^ God loveth a 
 cheerful giver,' and again, ^ If there be first a 
 willing mind it is accepted according to that 
 a man hath, and not according to that he hath 
 not,' that is to say, a man must give according 
 to his wealth, or give a certain proportion, the 
 poor giving a portion out of their poverty, and 
 the rich out of their abundance. Paul in his 
 charge to Timothy says : ' Charge them that 
 are rich in this world, that they be not high- 
 minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but 
 in the living God, who giveth us all things 
 
or, Light from my Forge, 125 
 
 richly to enjoy ; that they do good, that they 
 be rich in good works, ready to distribute, 
 
 LAYING ASIDE THE LORD'S PORTION. 
 
 willing to communicate.^ And yet another 
 quotation, ' He which soweth sparingly shall 
 reap also sparingly; and he which soweth 
 
126 The Path to Wealth, 
 
 bountifully shall reap also bountifully.' And 
 Jesus says, ' Inasmuch as ye have done it unto 
 one of the least of these, my brethren, ye have 
 done it unto me.' Paul, in his address to the 
 elders of the Church at Ephesus, uses this 
 language : ' I have showed you all things, how 
 that so laboring ye ought to support the weak, 
 and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, 
 how He said, it is more blessed to give than to 
 receive.' 
 
 " The writings of the Fathers of the Church 
 contain abundant reference to tithing, showing 
 that it was practised by the early Christians ; 
 but it would seem that for many years the 
 practice of tithing was purely a form of volun- 
 tary offering for the support of the clergy, and 
 for benevolent purposes generally. The first 
 Christian emperors acknowledged the duty of 
 paying tithes to support the clergy, although 
 they did not formally enact laws making this 
 compulsory. The council of Tours, 567 A. D., 
 the second Council of Macon, 585 A. d., and 
 that of Rouen, 650 A. D., also of Nantes, of 
 Metz, and some others, distinctly sanction the 
 
ENGLISH TITHES, TWELFTH CENTURY. 
 
 (127) 
 
i2S The Path to Wealth. 
 
 law of the tithe, but it remained for Charle- 
 magne to establish the practice in certain por- 
 tions of the ancient Roman Empire. From 
 this law and other sources, it became a duty 
 for all persons to pay a tenth to the Church, 
 which extended throughout western Christen- 
 dom. 
 
 " The practice of tithing was first introduced 
 into England by Offa, king of Mercia, in the 
 close of the eighth century. Other divisions 
 of Saxon England took up the same usage, 
 and it was made general all over England by 
 Ethelwolf All persons were required to pay 
 tithes to the Church, but it seems to have 
 been optional with each man as to the Church 
 to which he should pay his tithes ; and men 
 then did as they do now, supporting the Church 
 to which they belonged, but at that time it 
 was distinctly required that each man should 
 pay tithes to his own particular Church. But 
 a decree was sent by Innocent III. to the Arch- 
 bishop of Canterbury in the year 1200 A. D., 
 to the effect that all were to pay tithes to the 
 clergy of their respective parish churches, that 
 
^r, Light fro77i my Forge. 129 
 
 is, the State Church, and this parochial distri- 
 bution of tithes has been the law in England 
 ever since. 
 
 ^' It does not enter into my purpose to go 
 into detail as to the various laws in England 
 concerning tithing. There is a great variety 
 of tithes, and a great many complicated laws 
 have been enacted, at one time and another, 
 in reference to tithing. All I wish to point 
 out to you in this Talk is the fact, that this 
 practice has been observed from the day 
 Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek, the priest 
 of the most high God, until this day, and in 
 all probability dates back to the day of Adam. 
 It is true that the tithing laws in England 
 have become obnoxious to the majority of 
 God-fearing people in that land, and the chief 
 reason why titning has not been practised by 
 the Methodist and other non-conforming 
 Churches is because the State interfered in re- 
 ligious matters, and made compulsory what 
 God had placed upon each man's individual 
 conscience, the individual standing or falling 
 according as he obeyed or disobeyed God's law. 
 
130 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 '' So long as there was only one Cliurcli in 
 England, there was no inequality, nor so long 
 as that Church was doing God's work, even 
 though it were a State Church, and the people 
 were compelled to pay tithes to her by the 
 civil law, there would seem to be no real in- 
 justice or inequality. Certain it is, that God's 
 blessing came down upon the people, and Eng- 
 land during these years showed an unparal- 
 leled degree of prosperity; but, when that 
 Church became corrupt and ceased to teach 
 the doctrines of the Cross, and godly men pro- 
 tested against the impious practices of the 
 clergy, and joined themselves into organiza- 
 tions for the purpose of worshipping God and 
 teaching the pure Gospel, then the injustice 
 of having to pay tithes to a State Church, and 
 to support their own Church as well, became 
 apparent. From that time until now, these 
 Churches have, to a great extent, rebelled 
 against tithing, and the majority of them have 
 not distinguished the false from the true ; and, 
 in their protestations against compulsory tith- 
 ing enacted by the civil laws, they have un- 
 
or^ Light from my Forge. 131 
 
 wittingly protested against the law of God as 
 revealed in the Bible. 
 
 '^ In England the tithe laws have worked 
 very nnjustly, and have borne with great 
 hardship upon those who were the most pious 
 and godly, and I believe the reason why so 
 few to-day systematically tithe their income, 
 and why there are so many in practical igno- 
 rance of this Bible requirement, is because of 
 the hatred which was engendered by this 
 compulsory taxation to the support of the 
 State Church, while these same men had to 
 support their own Churches. It may be re- 
 marked, however, that notwithstanding this 
 injustice and inequality, England has been 
 blessed as no other nation ; she has always 
 been a lender of money and not a borrower. 
 She has been to the world what the sun is to 
 the universe, and has sent out her light and 
 civilization the wide world over. She has 
 furnished more missionaries than any other 
 nation. She has done more for the enlighten- 
 ment and evangelization of the world than 
 any other nation. She has been the greatest 
 
132 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 in peace, and the miglitiest in war of any na- 
 tion npon the face of the earth, and I dare to 
 think that her wealth, and power, and influ- 
 ence have been due, in no small measure, to 
 the fact that the incomes of her people have 
 been tithed for the maintenance of God's cause. 
 '' When the Pilgrim Fathers left England to 
 seek a land of liberty in America, where they 
 could worship God in their own way, they 
 doubtless came here with a hatred to system- 
 atic giving, as the yoke had galled them so 
 badly in the old land. When Christian min- 
 isters and members of the non-conforming de- 
 nominations came to this country, they came 
 with similar feelings, so that the Churches in 
 this country have been supported by the vol- 
 untary givings of the people, though these 
 voluntary givings have been spasmodic, irreg- 
 ular, and unsystematic. Very few, if any, of 
 these earlier Christians recommenced the law 
 of the tithe, although there are some distin- 
 guished exceptions to this statement, and the 
 reason of this almost total abandonment of 
 this Bible law, I believe, I have just given you. 
 
or^ Light from my Forge. 133 
 
 " The Christianity of America and Canada 
 has been of a most vigorous and progressive 
 type, and the Churches have developed, in 
 view of all circumstances, a wonderful liber- 
 ality ; but I believe it can be demonstrated, 
 that if all the giving had been regulated by 
 some w^ell-defmed system, and a certain pro- 
 portion of the income of Christian people had 
 been devoted to the cause of God, that the 
 advancement would have been very much 
 greater than we see to-day. I think it can be 
 demonstrated, that if the Churches had taught 
 and practised the doctrine of the tithe, that a 
 larger proportion of the population of this con- 
 tinent would have been christianized. I am 
 glad to see, however, that this old Bible doc- 
 trine is being revived, and that there is a wide- 
 spread interest manifested in the subject of 
 ' Systematic Giving ' all over the continent. 
 People are beginning to distinguish between 
 the abuse of this doctrine and commandment, 
 as seen in England, and the uses of it as laid 
 down in the Bible. 
 
 ^' We have now reviewed chiefly the history 
 
134 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 of the tithe, and have distinctly traced it back 
 to Abraham, demonstrating that it was prac- 
 tised by the ' Father of the faithful,' and seeing 
 strong reasons to believe that at this ancient 
 day it was a practice of the Canaanites. We 
 have also proved from sacred history, that in 
 the days of Adam there was some plan of 
 ' systematic giving,' which clearly recognized 
 God's claim as the first claim upon a man's 
 earnings ; and it is a legitimate supposition, 
 from what follows in the Bible, that this claim 
 was a tithe. 
 
 " We have followed the history of this prac- 
 tice through the Old and New Testaments, 
 and have seen that what is most distinctly 
 given in the former as a commandment is en- 
 dorsed and reaffirmed in the latter. We have 
 also historically traced this practice down 
 from the days of Jesus until now. The his- 
 toric Church is a unit in declaring that ' the 
 tenth is holy unto the Lord ; ' and if modern 
 Christian opinion is shown to have been more 
 against than for this doctrine, I think I have 
 given the reason why. Certain it is, this law 
 
or, Light from my Forge. 135 
 
 of God has never been rescinded ; and the 
 overwhelming weight of evidence goes to show 
 that it is now in force. If there had been any 
 change it seems equally certain that the change 
 would have demanded a larger rather than a 
 less sum than ten per cent. If the Jews gave 
 a tenth with their obscure light, certainly 
 Christians are under obligation not to give a 
 smaller amount. 
 
 " I will now talk a while to you on : 
 
 ^SoME Advantages of Modern Tithing.' 
 
 I shall not have time to state all the advan- 
 tages, for they are legion, but I will give some 
 which are uppermost in my mind. First, then, 
 the tithe is the seed money of wealth ; it is 
 compared to sowing, and the more a man sows 
 the more he has to sow. It is compared to 
 lending money to the Lord, which He gives 
 back with interest. It is a way of ' laying up 
 treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor 
 rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not 
 break through nor steal.' It guarantees the 
 success of one's business : ' The earth is the 
 
136 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 Lord's and the fullness thereof,' and God com- 
 pels the earth to yield her products to the 
 man who keeps this law. ^ The silver is mine 
 and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of Hosts,' 
 and He promises to yield up these precious 
 treasures to the man who will tithe his income. 
 
 '' I do not think that the Bible means that 
 every man who tithes shall become rich, but 
 it does mean that each man who does so shall 
 be well cared for ; and experience proves that 
 most of them are in comfortable circumstances, 
 and not a few of them are rich. It relieves a 
 man of all anxiety as to his earthly sustenance, 
 for ' the word of our God is sure,' and He will 
 honor those who honor Him ; and he who 
 cares for God's cause, and appropriates to His 
 service one-tenth of his income, will never 
 lack a tenth to give. 
 
 "Another advantage of tithing is, that it 
 systematizes one's benevolence. The man who 
 does anything without system is a weak man, 
 and is blown about by every wind, and swayed 
 by every feeling ; but a man who has a system 
 and then works to it, always knows what he 
 
or, Light from my Forge, 137 
 
 is doing, and stands a better chance of success. 
 Men who give without system, give according 
 to their feelings ; sometimes they feel poor 
 and refuse aid to that which is deserving; 
 at other times, when their feelings are touched, 
 and when their hearts are made tender by some 
 appeal, they are inclined to give, though they 
 are in no better financial condition than they 
 were when they felt poor. In such cases, a 
 man gives from feeling rather than from prin- 
 ciple. Such a man is like a ship without a 
 rudder ; like a mariner without a compass ; but 
 he who tithes his income sets apart a certain 
 portion to spend in works of benevolence and 
 for the propagation of God's cause, and knows 
 just what he can do. 
 
 "Another advantage of tithing is in the fact 
 that it gives a man great strength in his busi- 
 ness. He realizes that God is his partner; that 
 the God of all the earth, who has the hearts of 
 all men at His command, is interested in his 
 business ; and, in times of darkness, God is his 
 light ; in times of perplexity, God becomes his 
 
 wisdom. When the arm of flesh fails him, he 
 10 
 
138 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 leans liard upon God, for the tendency of this, 
 practice is to promote dependence upon our 
 Heavenly Father, and no man has ever yet 
 been disappointed who thus placed confidence 
 in Him. 
 
 '' Another great advantage of tithing is, that 
 it compels a man to keep a proper record of his. 
 financial affairs. A great many men fail in 
 business because they do not keep proper books 
 of account. One reason why the majority of 
 men live beyond their income is, because they 
 do not keep a record of their income and ex- 
 penditure. I fully believe, the reason why 
 many farmers are not more successful is be-- 
 cause they carry on the work of their farms 
 without any record as to the profit of any given 
 crop, or investment. A man who tithes his 
 income is under obligation to know his finan- 
 cial standing. If he pledges a tenth to God, 
 it is a prime necessity, in order to keep that 
 pledge, that he should have proper books of 
 account. This produces system and regular- 
 ity; a man carries on his business with his 
 eyes open, and knows what he is doing. 
 
or, Light from my Forge. 139 
 
 '' But the great advantage of tithing, as in- 
 timated in my last talk in the blacksmith 
 shop, is in obedience to God, and this draws a 
 man nearer to God than all things beside. It 
 causes a man to take God as companion and 
 guide ; it develops confidence in God ; help 
 after help is accorded to such a man day after 
 day, all the days of his life, and signal business 
 victories are given to him. He is enabled to 
 overcome dif&culties which he thought were 
 insurmountable ; he sees, in the progress of 
 his business, God's guiding and delivering 
 hand, and this adds to his faith, courage and 
 love. He approximates more and more to 
 ' the mind which is in Christ Jesus,' as his in- 
 tercourse becomes more and more familiar 
 with God our Father. 
 
 " Obedience to God's laws brings us nearer 
 the spirit world. Our communion with God,, 
 and our fellowship with saints and angels is 
 made more precious than by any other means 
 whatever. If a Christian is in any measure 
 disobedient, the heavens seem as brass, he can- 
 not penetrate them with his prayers ; but when. 
 
140 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 all the tithes are brought into the storehouse, 
 the windows of heaven are opened and rich 
 spiritual blessings descend upon his soul. 
 
 "I strongly advise you, dear friends, to test 
 this matter for yourselves. God distinctly 
 challenges every one of you to make the test, 
 saying, ^ prove me herewith.' I would strongly 
 advise you to commence here and now the 
 practice of ' Systematic Giving.' Devote a 
 tenth of your income to God and benevolence, 
 and the richest blessings of heaven and earth 
 shall be yours. 
 
 " And now, my friends, I think I have talked 
 to you long enough for this evening ; but, be- 
 fore we part, I shall be very glad to answer, so 
 far as I am able, any questions you may wish 
 to ask. I do not wish to provoke a discussion 
 for the sake of seeing which can produce the 
 stronger argument ; but if any among you have 
 doubts on the main question, and are earnestly 
 seeking the truth on this subject, I shall be 
 glad if you will state them fully and frankly. 
 Or, if any of you being convinced that it is 
 your duty to tithe your incomes, and are de- 
 
<?r, Light from my Forge. 141 
 
 sirous of information on any point, I shall be 
 glad if I can be of assistance to you. I would 
 rather have you ask me the questions publicly 
 than privately, that others may have the benefit 
 of the conversation." 
 
 I no sooner took my seat than a dozen men 
 were on their feet, each being anxious to speak 
 and unwilling to give place to the others. 
 They all seemed to speak words of commenda- 
 tion, but, with the confusion they caused, the 
 meeting was getting rather excited, and our 
 good village doctor, the chairman of the even- 
 ing, called them to order. He said : '' With 
 the consent of the speaker, I suggest that we 
 now dismiss the meeting, and have another 
 meeting to-morrow evening in this school- 
 house, or in the Baptist church up at the 
 cross roads, if it can be secured. Most of us 
 have had to stand to-night, and the crowd will 
 likely be greater to-morrow. I would further 
 suggest that all questions to be asked of the 
 speaker, and all objections to be made, be put 
 in writing and handed in at the blacksmith 
 shop by noon to-morrow, in order that such 
 
142 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 questions or objections maybe answered at the 
 night meeting." 
 
 The pastor of the Baptist church, Rev. H. 
 S. Waterkins, said that the church was at our 
 disposal, as he felt the agitation now begun 
 would doubtless do great good and increase 
 the liberality of the people, although he took 
 exception to some ideas advocated, but agreed 
 with the speaker on the main question. He 
 confessed that he had not given the subject 
 much thought, and was astonished at the con- 
 vincing arguments brought forward in support 
 of tithing. 
 
 I accordingly accepted the suggestions of 
 the chairman and the kind invitation of the 
 Baptist minister, and agreed to be on hand the 
 next night to answer the objections or ques- 
 tions which might be brought forward. 
 
 Rev. F. Perseverance, a Presbyterian minis- 
 ter present, pronounced the benediction, and 
 the meeting adjourned. 
 
 The next night when I arrived at the cross- 
 roads, I had to elbow my way through the 
 crowd to get even to the church door. Such 
 
or^ Light from my Forge, 143 
 
 an excitement had never been known in our 
 neigHborliood ; it seemed that the people did 
 nothing else but talk " Tithing." Tracts and 
 books had been sent for; the Bible had been 
 searched, and many an earnest discussion was 
 held over the subject. I had made between 
 twenty and thirty converts, and these were 
 the most solid and godly men in our county, 
 so that I had strong influences at work on 
 the Bible side of this question. The wide- 
 spread interest taken had filled the Baptist 
 church, and there were as many people outside 
 as in. 
 
 The pastor of the church presided, and 
 opened the meeting with prayer and a short 
 address. He thanked me for the blessing I 
 had been the means of conferring upon him 
 personally, in convincing him of the truth of 
 the Bible doctrine of tithing. He knew that 
 it was a law for the Jews, but did not think 
 that it was binding upon Christians ; he was 
 now convinced of his error. His objection, 
 suggested the night before, to the theory 
 set forth in these meetings, was that a man 
 
144 ^^^ Path to Wealth, 
 
 who started to tithe his income because it 
 was financially profitable, would be tempted 
 to look upon it from that standpoint only, 
 and thus he would be actuated by the wrong 
 motive, which would produce spiritual lean- 
 ness. 
 I was then introduced, and commenced : 
 
TALK No. 4. 
 Objections and Questions. 
 
 "My friends, I am glad to meet you and 
 greet you in the name of the Lord, who re- 
 quires ^ tithes of all.' I consider that a great 
 honor is conferred upon me in being permitted 
 to * contend for the faith once delivered to the 
 saints,' and to do a little toward bringing back 
 the people to God's fundamental law of success 
 for individuals, churches and nations. 
 
 *'I would that I could excite the whole 
 world on this question as this neighborhood 
 seems excited, for I feel that it is the absorb- 
 ing question of this generation. The speedy 
 subjugation of this world to the Lord Jesus 
 Christ depends upon the speedy acceptance of 
 God's great money law by the people. When 
 that law is accepted, and the people ' bring in 
 all their tithes,' then look out for the ^windows 
 of heaven ' being opened in all parts of the 
 
 world, and such blessings descending that the 
 
 (145) 
 
146 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 world itself will not be large enougH to con- 
 tain them ; ^ For the earth shall be full of the 
 knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover 
 the sea.' 
 
 " But I am to answer questions and objec- 
 tions to-night, and I will now proceed to do 
 so. I hold in my hand a number of them ; 
 and, after referring to the remarks of our ex- 
 cellent chairman, I will proceed to take them 
 up one by one as they come. Before doing 
 so, I may state, however, that some of the 
 questions and objections handed in to me were 
 anticipated in former talks ; but, evidently, 
 my arguments were either not satisfactory or 
 have not been heard by parties who repeat 
 them. I shall, however, endeavor to answer 
 everything as though no previous attempt had 
 been made. 
 
 "The difficulty which our chairman finds 
 with my theory is the one I most frequently 
 meet with from devout people. It is undoubt- 
 edly true that the motive a man has in per- 
 forming a given action gives it moral quality 
 more than the outward act itself; and, hence, 
 
6>r, Light from my Forge, 147 
 
 the men who are accustomed to look beneath 
 the surface, and analyze motives in judging of 
 character rather than forming their judgment 
 from actions, most naturally bring up this ob- 
 jection to my theory. 
 
 *' I wish, however, to state that there are 
 times when it is advisable to persuade men who 
 are indulging in wrong acts, to change the 
 mode of their lives and to practice virtue, even 
 though the motive appealed to be simply that 
 of self-interest. There are experiences, con- 
 ditions and dispositions where a motive of 
 self-interest is much more powerful than a 
 higher one, and if you can induce men who 
 have been living wrong to give up the wrong 
 and commence on the right course, even though 
 the motive appealed to be not the highest, the 
 effects are salutary, and the motives often be- 
 come iiltimately of the purest. There is some- 
 thing in the practice of virtue, unless a man 
 be a confirmed hypocrite, where the very out- 
 ward act has a tendency to compel correspond- 
 ing inward virtue ; hence, in the training of 
 children, we, of necessity, appeal to lower mo- 
 
148 The Path to Wealth ; 
 
 tives than we do in adnlts, as tHey have not 
 the capacity to appreciate that which is higher. 
 In such cases, the object is to have children 
 commence the practice of right acts, and we 
 consider ourselves happy to train them me- 
 chanically good, trusting to time and the grace 
 of God to mould their motives, and develop in 
 them moral purity and spiritual life. 
 
 ^' Certain it is that the Bible addresses itself 
 to the same motive to which I have appealed 
 in these Talks. Perhaps a full and sufficient 
 answer to this objection will be given by 
 quoting a passage or two of Scripture, where 
 God appeals wholly to self-interest, and exhorts 
 His children to give to Him with no higher 
 incentive whatever than the promise of His 
 giving something to them in return. God, 
 speaking through Solomon, says, ^ Honor the 
 Lord with thy substance, and with the first- 
 fruits of all thine increase, so shall thy barns 
 be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall 
 burst out with new wine.' And I suppose no 
 person will object to the words of the wise man, 
 or find fault with the motive to which he ap» 
 
or^ Light from my Forge. 149 
 
 pealed. Jesus is yet more emphatic, if that 
 were possible, in saying, ' Give and it shall be 
 given unto you, good measure, pressed down, 
 and shaken together, and running over shall 
 men give into your bosom.' I need not tell 
 you that these words were spoken by the 
 Saviour in connection with the giving of alms, 
 and they directly refer to contributions of 
 money. 
 
 " The words of Paul, although quoted on a 
 previous evening, are most appropriate to this 
 objection, * He which soweth sparingly shall 
 reap also sparingly, and he which soweth 
 bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every 
 man according as he purposeth in his heart 
 so let him give, not grudgingly or of necessity ; 
 for God loveth a cheerful giver.' And, to go 
 back again to Solomon, ' He that hath pity 
 upon the poor lendeth to the Lord, and that 
 which he hath given will he pay him again.' 
 The Holy Scriptures abound in such passages ; 
 and, if it is safe for God to appeal to such 
 motives, it is certainly fair for me to follow the 
 same line of argument. 
 
150 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 '' The paper I hold in my hand reads as fol- 
 lows : — ' Should a man take out his living ex- 
 penses before tithing what he earns ? ' I 
 answer, most certainly not, for if he did so the 
 average man would have nothing to tithe, as 
 in the majority of cases he spends as much as 
 he earns. The Bible declares that the in- 
 crease ' of a man's business must be tithed ; in 
 other words, the net profit of one's business 
 or profession, and then God graciously permits 
 that the other nine-tenths shall be given into 
 the custody of His steward, to spend upon 
 himself and his family. 
 
 " The next question I am to answer is as 
 follows : — ' How can a farmer tell his net 
 income ? ' I suppose a farmer can only tell 
 what his net earnings are by keeping proper 
 books of account as other prudent business 
 men do. If a man in business promiscuously 
 takes out of his business money for his house- 
 hold and private needs, and keeps no record 
 of the amount thus drawn, it is impossible for 
 him to tell what the net profits of his business 
 are ; and if a farmer runs his farm in the same 
 
or^ Light frofu my Forge. 
 
 151 
 
 hap-hazard fashion, keeping no account of his. 
 income or expenditure, it will be impossible 
 for him to arrive at his income with any degree 
 of certainty. 
 
 " I have heard of different systems being 
 adopted by farmers in order to keep out their 
 
 M^ 
 
 FARMER POSTING HIS BOOKS. 
 
 tenth for God, but the only correct way is for 
 a farmer to keep proper accounts, and debit his 
 farm with all he expends for seed, implements, 
 labor, or any other necessary expense, and 
 credit his farm with the produce used by his 
 family, as well as with all the cash he receives. 
 
152 
 
 The Path to Wealth 
 
 for tiie produce sold; and the difference be- 
 tween the debit and credit is the amount of his 
 income, and, consequently, the amount he must 
 tithe. For instance, if the total expense of 
 running the farm amounted to, say five hun- 
 dred dollars, and if the farmer sold one thou- 
 sand dollars' worth of produce, and used in his 
 family five hundred dollars' worth, then the 
 net income would be one thousand dollars, of 
 which one hundred dollars, or ten per cent., 
 belongs to God. 
 
 ^' ' How can a business man estimate his in- 
 come for the purpose of tithing, so as to allow 
 for bad debts or possible shrinkage of values ? ' 
 is the question upon this paper. This, I have 
 no doubt, is a very perplexing question to 
 many business men, and yet, if we would act 
 toward God and keep our tithe account with 
 Him upon ordinary business principles, there 
 would be no need for asking me to solve the 
 problem. Suppose the business man who 
 wrote this question had a partner, and the 
 partnership was so arranged that his partner's 
 share was ten per cent, of the net profits of 
 
or^ Light front my Forge. 153 
 
 the business, would lie have aii}^ difficulty in 
 settling with him upon a proper business 
 basis ? I think not. Then why should there 
 be any greater difficulty in keeping God's 
 tithe account than in keeping the account 
 supposed ? 
 
 " What I would advise a business man to do 
 is, to tithe the money he draws out of his 
 business weekly or monthl}^ as the case may 
 be, and once a year tithe the net profits of the 
 business during the year. If it should prove 
 during the following year that some of the 
 accounts or other assets which had been tithed 
 turned out bad, then it would be proper to 
 charge back ten per cent, of the loss to God's 
 tithe account ; and the same remark applies to 
 shrinkage in values of any character whatsoever. 
 
 " Some person asks, upon this paper : ' What 
 system would you advise for keeping the tithe 
 account ? ' The answer is very simple, and 
 I give it from my own method and practice. 
 I call the account, 'The Lord's Tithe Account.' 
 I have a debit and credit column, and I keep 
 the account upon the same system as a Cash 
 
154 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 Account, debiting it with ten per cent, of my 
 earnings, as I receive them, and crediting it 
 with all I pay to the Lord's cause, specifying 
 each item for future reference. I wish all my 
 hearers were sufficiently advanced in their 
 belief in this doctrine to manifest anxiety 
 upon this question. The chief thing is for a 
 man to have the disposition and purpose to 
 tithe his income, and some good system of 
 keeping the account will suggest itself to him 
 from his own experience. 
 
 " I am glad of an opportunity to answer the. 
 following question : ' Should a minister of the 
 Gospel pay tithes ? ' In one of my talks I said 
 the Bible most distinctly taught that the priests 
 under the Jewish dispensation were required to 
 tithe their incomes, and I take it that what 
 God then required of those who devoted them- 
 selves to the spiritual welfare of the people, he 
 now requires. I refer you to Numbers xviii. 
 26, 27: ' Thus speak unto the Levites, and say 
 unto them, When ye take of the children of 
 Israel the tithes which I have given you from 
 them for your inheritance, then ye shall ofifer 
 
or, Light fi^oin my Forge. 155 
 
 lip an heave-offering of it for the Lord, even a 
 tenth part of the tithe. And this your heave- 
 offering shall be reckoned unto you, as though 
 it were the corn of the threshing floor, and as 
 the fullness of the wine-press.' 
 
 "As I read the Bible, God demands ten per 
 cent, from all men, regardless of their position 
 or character. This sum is His tax upon the 
 earnings of mankind the world over, and upon 
 the produce of the earth ; and, undoubtedly, it 
 is just as profitable, from a mone}^ standpoint 
 — to appeal to no higher motive — for a minister 
 of the Gospel to pay his tithe as for men of any 
 other profession. 
 
 '' Some person has thought the following a 
 question of sufficient importance to present to 
 me for answer : — ' If all are under obligation 
 to pay tithes, how can a man who handles no 
 money whatever perform this duty ? ' Per- 
 haps I can answer this question best by asking 
 another. If God requires all men to labor, 
 how can a man perform that duty who is not 
 possessed of arms ? Certain it is, out of noth- 
 ing nothing comes. 
 
156 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 '' It is a fundamental law of God that a man 
 shall earn his living by the sweat of ' his face,' 
 3^et if a man is lacking either in brains to labor 
 intelligently, or is not possessed of arms with 
 which to perform the labor, it is impossible for 
 him to be obedient to this general law ; but in 
 this case, as in all others, the exception proves 
 the rule. If a man handles no money, but is 
 a pauper upon the bounties of his fellows, it is 
 a matter of impossibility for him to give any- 
 thing to God's cause ; yet if a pauper should 
 at any time become possessed of even twenty- 
 five cents, then a tenth of it would belong to God. 
 
 ^'A man who works for wages and his board, 
 asks the following question : — ' How shall a 
 servant, who is paid so much per annum and 
 his board, estimate his income in order that he 
 may know how to give ten per cent, of it to 
 the Lord ? ' I am glad this question has been 
 asked, as there are a great many persons, both 
 male and female, who are earning their living 
 in the capacity of servants, and it is most im- 
 portant that such persons should know exactly 
 what God demands of them. 
 
or^ Light fi'om 7ny Forge. 157 
 
 " My idea is that a person who derives his 
 income in the way stated, should estimate what 
 his services would be worth, providing he 
 received the whole amount in cash and boarded 
 himself; or, in other words, estimate what the 
 board and other conveniences which he re- 
 ceives as part of his pay would cost him pro- 
 viding he had to pay cash for them. After 
 reaching this conclusion, the way to do is to 
 add his money income to the amount which he 
 receives in the shape of board, and then ten 
 per cent, of this total income would be the 
 amount to pay to God. 
 
 " I am now to read to you a most practical 
 question, and one which, I trust, is agitating 
 the minds of many in this audience. ' When 
 a man is convinced that it is his duty to give 
 a tenth to the Lord, how shall he manage with 
 the property and money in his possession that 
 has not been tithed ? ' There is only one 
 answer to this question ; and I am sure that 
 answer is supplied by all your minds as soon 
 as the question is asked. I fear, however^ that 
 there are but few men who will act in harmony 
 
158 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 with the logical answer to this question with- 
 out a severe struggle, except they are aided by 
 the grace of God. 
 
 '^ There is no difficulty in a man rendering 
 obedience to the dictates of his conscience in 
 this particular, if he is possessed of but little 
 or no property ; but in proportion as he is 
 in possession of wealth, in that proportion will 
 it be difficult for him to obey God's law as in- 
 volved in this answer. The tenth of all you 
 have, or ever will have, belongs to God, and 
 whether you have one dollar in your posses- 
 sion or one hundred thousand dollars, which 
 has not been tithed, ' The tenth is holy unto 
 the Lord,' and the only sure way is to give 
 God His own. 
 
 " No wonder Jesus said, ' How hardly shall 
 they that have riches enter into the kingdom 
 of heaven.' How difficult it is for a man to 
 give to God ten per cent, of any considerable 
 amount of wealth is only known to those who 
 have passed through this experience ; and I 
 have reason to believe that, as I now speak to 
 you, there are many among you wrestling with 
 
or, Light from my Forge. 159 
 
 your consciences. Self-interest and blind pre- 
 judice, backed up by the devil, are arrayed on 
 tlie one side, while God's plain declaration and 
 your own conscience, as well as sound argu- 
 ment, are on the other side, and I most ear- 
 nestly exhort you to render obedience to these 
 messengers of God, and ' Bring all the tithes 
 into the storehouse.' Do not, I beseech you, 
 be as Ananias and Sapphira, and bring in a 
 part of the price only. 
 
 ** If duty and truth did not compel me to 
 thus speak, I should be inclined to lower God's 
 obligation in order to get you started in this, 
 the way of the Lord ; but, as the question has 
 been asked of me, I must answer it in the only 
 way it can be answered with fidelity, and I 
 trust the convictions of your own hearts will 
 be obeyed, and that you will trust implicitly 
 in God for the fulfilment of His promises. 
 Depend upon it, true self-interest is consulted 
 only when we render willing obedience to the 
 demands of God. 
 
 " I think there is no real need for further 
 argument to prove the correctness of my ans- 
 
i6o The Path to Wealth; 
 
 wer to the question under consideration, but 
 an illustration may make the truth more mani- 
 fest. Suppose a man who commences tithing 
 his income to-day should to-morrow come into 
 possession of, say one thousand dollars ; taking 
 it for granted that God demands the tithe, on 
 all hands we should agree that ten per cent., 
 or one hundred dollars of this sum, would be 
 the Lord's. Now, what is the difference be- 
 tween a man tithing what he had when he 
 commenced obedience to this duty, and what 
 he received one day after he commenced tith- 
 ing ? I think there is no dif&culty in perceiv- 
 ing the logic of my answer ; the only dif&culty 
 will be in getting the consent of your mind to 
 render obedience to it, and I pray that you may 
 be successful. 
 
 " The question I now hold in my hand is 
 undoubtedly written by a man from the city, 
 for he writes as follows : — ' I have to pay rent 
 for a pew in our church ; I also pay for a shed 
 in which to stand my horse. Must I reckon 
 this on my tithe account?' This question to 
 me is of more importance by what it suggests 
 
or^ Light Jrom my Forge. i6i 
 
 to my mind, than by the direct question itself, 
 although that may not be unimportant to the 
 person who asks it, as well as to others simi- 
 larly situated. 
 
 " In regard to the question, I give it as my 
 opinion, that the amounts paid for the pur- 
 poses stated legitimately belong to the Tithe 
 Account, notwithstanding my opinion that 
 pew rents are a curse to Christianity, a great 
 injury to our Churches, and totally subversive 
 of the plan and purpose of Jesus Christ, in 
 propagating His Gospel. It does not enter in 
 my plan to discuss the question of pew rents, 
 but inasmuch as this injurious system is an 
 invention of men to make up in some measure 
 for their robbing God of His tithes, there may 
 be some excuse accorded me in expressing my 
 opinion upon the question. 
 
 " Here is a practical question : — ' Should 
 money paid for life assurance be tithed, or 
 must that first be taken out of a man's income 
 before tithing ? ' If the life assurance is of a 
 business nature, and is taken out for business 
 purposes, to secure creditors, or for any other 
 
1 62 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 business reason, then the premiums so paid 
 should be reckoned as a business expense and 
 should not be tithed. But if the life assurance 
 is carried for personal or family reasons, then 
 the cost of such assurance should be tithed, as 
 it becomes one of the items of personal or 
 family expense. 
 
 ^' In answering this question, and deciding 
 similar ones, it is only necessary to distinguish 
 between what expenses are purely personal or 
 family expenses, and what expenses can be 
 legitimately charged as business expenditure. 
 Sometimes the two interests are so intimately 
 associated and become so lapped together, that 
 it is a little difficult to tell where business ex- 
 penses end and where family expenses com- 
 mence ; but, if a man is conscientious and does 
 what he verily believes to be right, and makes 
 the division with this spirit, there will be very 
 little probability of his going wrong. 
 
 '* I am now about to read and answer a 
 question which may be a type of many other 
 similar questions which will arise in the ex- 
 perience of a great many business men and 
 
oVy Light from my Forge, 163 
 
 mechanics. ' My daughter earns small weekly 
 wages, about enough to clothe her : should her 
 wages be tithed in view of the fact that I 
 have otherwise to maintain her ? ' Certainly, 
 this sum should be tithed, providing you are 
 under either moral or legal obligation to main- 
 tain your daughter. Suppose she lived at 
 home and earned nothing, and you had to sup- 
 port her out of your own income, then such 
 expense would be clearly a legitimate family 
 expense, and all the money used to meet it 
 would be tithed before so using ; hence, the 
 money she earns is simply supplementary to 
 your own income and must be tithed as the 
 rest of your income, no matter from what 
 source it may be derived. 
 
 '' If your daughter were of age and had 
 clearly gone beyond your control, and there were 
 neither natural, moral, nor legal obligations 
 resting upon you for her maintenance, then, 
 technically, I should answer the question in a 
 different way. There will arise in the experi- 
 ence of a great many similar difficult questions, 
 but my advice is to give the Lord at all times 
 
164 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 the benefit of tlie doubt, as ten per cent, is the 
 minimum of our givings to God; and as I 
 shall attempt to show before I get through with 
 all I have to say upon this subject, there is 
 abundance of arguments in favor of gifts 
 and free-will offerings to the cause of God, 
 over and above ' the absolute tax of ten per 
 cent, which our Maker imposes upon all 
 mankind. 
 
 " The next is a practical question, still a 
 little thought on the part of the person asking 
 it would bring its solution very readily. ^A 
 widow, who keeps a boarding house, would 
 like to know whether she must tithe all 
 the money that comes into her hands for 
 board ? ' My answer is, Most decidedly not. 
 Keeping boarders is of the nature of a busi- 
 ness, and in order that this woman may know 
 just what the amount of her tithe is, it will 
 be necessary to find out exactly what her busi- 
 ness expenses are; that is, what is the actual 
 outlay for provisions, fuel, rent, and other 
 necessary expenses involved in running a 
 boarding house ; then, after deducting these 
 
or^ Light from my Forge. 165 
 
 legitimate and necessary expenses from what 
 is received, you have the net income, and this 
 net income only is to be tithed. The same 
 principle precisely governs such a case as 
 would govern a business man, or a farmer, or 
 any person similarly situated. 
 
 " We have had several doctors attending 
 these meetings, and I am glad one of them has 
 handed in a question bearing upon the sub- 
 ject under discussion, and with reference to 
 his own profession. ' If a doctor professionally 
 attends poor people and gives them his services 
 gratuitously, ought he to charge the value of 
 such services to his Tithe Account ? ' I con- 
 fess this position involves more complications 
 than any question presented this evening, and 
 I could say a good deal on both possible 
 answers presented to this question, but after 
 giving it careful attention I am of the opinion 
 that it would not be fair for a doctor to charge 
 the value of such services to his Tithe Account, 
 for several reasons. 
 
 " First, it is income only that is to be tithed, 
 and although the doctor may give a small 
 
1 66 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 portion of his time gratuitously, still, he has 
 the income from his profession, and this in- 
 come must be tithed no matter how much 
 time is spent in Christian work. If the ser- 
 vices thus rendered from principles of benevo- 
 lence were paid for, there would be just so 
 much more to go to God's Tithe Account. 
 
 " In the next place, services given to poor 
 people by a physician would bear the same 
 relation to his income as bad debts do to the 
 income of business men. I suppose there is 
 a good deal of professional service rendered by 
 medical men charged on their books which is 
 not realized upon, and although many bad 
 debts may be reckoned into the sum total of 
 a physician's practice, still, in order to get at 
 his income, he first deducts these bad debts 
 and tithes only what he actually realizes. 
 
 " Still another reason, medical services ren- 
 dered to the poor are often of the nature of 
 advertisements, and though the physician may 
 get no pay directly, yet it has often happened 
 that the indirect results of services given gra- 
 tuitously have been very profitable. There- 
 
<9r, Light from my Forge 167 
 
 fore for the above reasons, and others which 
 could be mentioned, it is my opinion that such 
 benevolent services should not be charged to 
 the Tithe Account of medical men. 
 
 ''I do not know whether the questions 
 handed in to me to-day are, in all cases, ques- 
 tions entering into the experience of each per- 
 son asking them, or whether they have been 
 handed in for the purpose of testing my theory 
 and seeing whether it will apply to all the 
 possible contingencies of human experience. 
 Whatever may be the reason actuating the 
 next questioner, I will now answer this ques- 
 tion : ' Supposing a father who had tithed all 
 he possessed should die, and the property pass 
 into the hands of the son, who also practised 
 tithing, should this property be tithed again 
 when it had already been tithed ? ' 
 
 " In regard to this question, as well as some 
 others, the perplexity involved is only upon 
 the surface. To my mind there is no real dif- 
 ficulty in answering it. I believe that the 
 Bible does not demand that capital should be 
 taxed at all whether it is in the shape of land. 
 
1 68 llie Path to Wealth; 
 
 or money, or stock, or brains, but that the in- 
 come from any of these sources must be tithed. 
 You will notice that what is capital to one, 
 when it changes hands, becomes income to 
 another ; and although the father, in the case 
 supposed, had tithed all his income, and so 
 long as he lived he was under no further obli- 
 gation to tithe the capital upon which the real 
 tax had already been paid ; still, as soon as he 
 dies, and it passes into the hands of his son, 
 then it becomes the son's income, and he is 
 under obligation to pay ten per cent, of it, 
 whether the amount of property left be great 
 or small. 
 
 " The following question is also easily an- 
 swered : ^ Should the income from capital that 
 has been tithed be subject to tithing? ' That 
 is to say, if a man invests his money in city 
 property, should he pay tithes upon the rent 
 derived, or if he invests his money by loaning 
 it upon real estate, or good security, should he 
 tithe the interest thus realized? You will 
 readily see that the profits from either of these 
 supposed investments would be the income of 
 
or, Light fr 0711 my Forge. 169 
 
 the person investing, and hence this income 
 must be tithed. 
 
 '' The next question I am to present to you 
 is a little more complicated, and it may be you 
 will get different answers from men of equal 
 ability and good intent : ' Should money paid 
 for books be tithed before being so used ? ' I 
 do not know whether the person means strictly 
 to ask just what is expressed by his language, 
 or whether he means to ask, ' If money paid 
 for books should be taken out of the Lord's 
 Tithe fund ? ' These are two distinct ideas, 
 and I will endeavor to answer both of them 
 to the best of my ability. If the books are 
 bought for purel}^ business purposes ; if, for 
 instance, they are to furnish a lawyer with a 
 library, or necessary legal books for his pro- 
 fession, or to furnish a physician with the 
 necessary medical books, then the money in- 
 vested in such books should not be tithed be- 
 fore being so used, as such investments are of 
 the nature of business expense. 
 
 " Now, as to the other idea suggested by 
 this question, whether books bought for family 
 
170 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 and personal reading — useful books bought for 
 the purpose of improving the mind or cultur- 
 ing the heart, should be bought with tithe 
 money or not, is a question capable of two 
 answers. The money a man pays for the sup- 
 port of his pastor is supposed to be paid for 
 God's cause, and is legitimately charged to the 
 Tithe Account. Now, if money were invested 
 in a book of sermons, and the book were read 
 with the same motive as a good Christian man 
 listens to a minister of the Gospel, I do not see 
 why such an investment should not be charged 
 to the Tithe Account. 
 
 " There are many books bought and read, 
 even by good Christian people, with no par- 
 ticular religious motive ; books of travel and 
 general interest, scientific and historical, and 
 I think that it would not be legitimate to buy 
 such books with tithe mone3^ While I grant 
 that a book purchased wholly and solely for 
 the cultivation of spiritual life could be techni- 
 cally charged to the Tithe Account ; still, I 
 think it is getting rather near the line of de- 
 marcation, and I would strongly advise you 
 
or^ Light from my Forge, 171 
 
 not to use your money in this way, but to buy 
 all books for personal or family use out of the 
 nine-tenths of your income which God allows 
 you to use on your own behalf 
 
 ''I fear that there would be danger in charg- 
 ing to the Tithe Account that which we pur- 
 chase for our own use, or comfort, or self- 
 interest ; for once adopting such a principle, 
 there would be a strong temptation to spend 
 tithe money in that direction, when it could be 
 used more for the glory of God. I believe the 
 only safe way for a man to give his tenth is to 
 be governed by principles of love, for * God 
 loveth a cheerful giver,' and it does not pay to 
 be technical in giving to God who is so won- 
 drously good and kind to us. 
 
 '' I hope this next question is not asked with 
 more of unbelief than faith : ^ If a man who 
 practises tithing should become poor, how 
 would it affect your faith in the proposition, 
 that one is always better off by paying tithes ? ' 
 Well, my friends, let me ask you a question : 
 Suppose a man was in the habit of working 
 every day in the year, and he became converted 
 
172 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 to God and immediately commenced to rest on 
 the Sabbath day, thns giving to God a frac- 
 tion over fourteen per cent, of his time ; and, 
 after being converted and giving to God one 
 day in seven, he should become a poor man, 
 how would this affect your faith in the salu- 
 tary influence of Christianity? particularly 
 in the text, ' Godliness is profitable unto all 
 things,' and also in the Old Testament, ' But 
 the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy 
 God : in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, 
 nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-ser- 
 vant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor 
 thy stranger that is within thy gates.' 
 
 '' Would you advise him to abandon his faith 
 in God and Christianity, and regard with con- 
 tempt God's rest day? Or would you think it 
 any argument against the profitableness and 
 general salutary influence of Christianity, and 
 the benefit of keeping holy the Sabbath day, 
 upon men's earthly prosperity ? I think not, 
 and, therefore, please apply the same reasoning 
 to God's money requirements. As a matter of 
 fact, it will be necessary for you to present 
 
or^ Light froin my Forge. 173 
 
 such a case to me, before I could really tell you 
 what effect it would have upon my mind in 
 reference to the general propositions I have 
 laid down. I have never met or heard tell of 
 a man who has become poor on account of 
 tithing his income. I have written extensively 
 and advertised some, and have been in com- 
 munication with a great many, and on all 
 hands the testimony is, that it pays in every 
 way to ' bring all the tithes into the store- 
 house.' 
 
 '^ I do not know but that the question asked 
 is about as wise as the following one : ' Sup- 
 posing that the angles of a triangle should not 
 be equal to two right angles, how would this 
 affect your faith in the infallibility of geomet- 
 rical law ? ' Or, ' Supposing a man in a bal- 
 loon five hundred feet from the earth should 
 drop a cannon ball of one hundred pounds 
 weight and it does not fall to the ground, how 
 would this affect your faith in the unerring 
 laws of gravitation ? ' If the Bible be true, 
 the question simply means, ' Supposing that 
 having trusted the promises of God you find 
 
174 The Path to Wealth: 
 
 them to be untrue, how would this affect your 
 faith in God's honesty ? ' I think the question 
 is inspired by unbelief, and is born of a heart, 
 to this extent at least, full of infidelity towards 
 God. 
 
 ''A pious man who is so far consecrated to 
 God as to devote one of his sons to the work 
 of the ministry asks this question : ' Should a 
 father who is supporting his son at college for 
 the purpose of educating him for the ministry, 
 charge the money thus expended to his Tithe 
 Account ? I answer emphatically, no. If so, 
 the father who is supporting his son at college 
 for the purpose of making him a doctor, or the 
 father who is graduating his son for the pur- 
 pose of making him a lawyer, should also 
 charge the cost to the Tithe Account. 
 
 ^' If the college education of a young man 
 preparing for the ministry is to be charged to 
 the Tithe Account, then there is no reason 
 why the cost of ordinary school education 
 should not be so charged, and if his mental 
 education is to be charged to the Tithe Ac- 
 count, then why not charge his physical de- 
 
or^ Light from my Foige. 175 
 
 velopment or training to the same account, and 
 thus put to the Lord's account his board, cloth- 
 ing, etc. I can conceive where there may be 
 exceptions to this rule, but I certainly think 
 that the rule for the guidance of such fathers 
 is along the line of my remarks. A young 
 man joining the ministry of the Christian 
 Church in these days stands as good a chance 
 for a livelihood as he who enters the ranks of 
 any other profession, and though it is a privi- 
 lege fathers have of giving their sons to the 
 holy ministry, still, I think that they have a 
 perfect right to pay for the privilege out of 
 the nine-tenths of their income which God 
 graciously allows them to use for their own 
 purposes. 
 
 " I believe there are a great many men who 
 soothe their consciences and blind the eyes of 
 their understanding by belief in the erroneous 
 opinion intimated by the following question : 
 ' Did not the ten per cent, the Bible demands 
 of the Jews include that which is equivalent 
 to our municipal and other taxes ? ' I have 
 heard this question very often, and sometimes 
 
176 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 from men who ought to know better, and who 
 ought to be ashamed to display such ignorance 
 in regard to the teaching of the Bible. The 
 most casual reader cannot help seeing that ten 
 per cent, was the minimum sum required in 
 the Bible for God's ancient people, the Jews, 
 as well as for all the rest of mankind. 
 
 " In addition to the annual tithe, there were 
 a great many feasts held by the Jews to which 
 they had to contribute of their substance. 
 There was a special feast once in three years 
 for the poor ; in fact, these feasts were daily, 
 weekly, monthly and yearly, and each of these 
 feasts was supported by the voluntary offer- 
 ings of the people. Then there were sacrifices 
 of various kinds ; sacrifices of burnt offerings, 
 sin offerings, heave offerings, thank offerings, 
 and peace offerings. Each of these offerings 
 required the material substance of God's peo- 
 ple, and God states : ^ These things shall ye do 
 unto the Lord in your set feasts, besides your 
 vows and free-will offerings.' I think that if a 
 careful computation be made of the usual and 
 ordinary givings of pious Jews, it amounted 
 
GEORGE PEABODY, the Philanthropist. 
 
 Mr. Peabody was born in Danvers, Massachusetts, U. S., 
 February i8th, 1795, and died in Ivondon, Bng., November 4th. 
 1869. His body was interred in Westminster Abbey, until it 
 was carried to bis native home by Her Britannic Majesty's ship 
 Monarch. His vast fortune was chiefly made in London, and 
 there he spent ^60,000 in erecting a home for the poor. His 
 public benefactions amounted to |8, 470,000. 
 
 (177) 
 
178 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 to at least twenty-five per cent, of their in- 
 come; so tHat stingy Christian men cannot 
 get behind their municipal taxes, and ease 
 their consciences by supposing that these mu- 
 nicipal taxes stand in the stead of God's tithe 
 laws. 
 
 " I know one wealthy man who keeps his 
 tithe account with God in the following way. 
 He loans considerable money and usually at 
 large interest, and is not as careful in the mat- 
 ter of security as ordinary bankers, and all the 
 bad debts he has, he charges to God's Tithe 
 Account, holding God responsible for all the 
 bad debts he makes, so that at the end of the 
 year he has little or nothing to give to God's 
 cause, having charged up to the Most High all 
 the results of his own blunders. It requires 
 a large amount of ingenuity to create a robe 
 of charity large enough to cover up the incon- 
 sistencies and defects, not to saj the stinginess 
 and dishonesty, of a large proportion of pro- 
 fessing Christians. If we are to measure a 
 man's love for a cause by what he does for it, 
 then the real love for God is a very small quan- 
 
01% Light from my Forge. 
 
 179 
 
 tity in the breasts of a great many professing 
 Christians. 
 
 " The objection npon this last paper which 
 I intend reading to you this evening, is by no 
 means new, and is, I believe, often stated by 
 good honest Christian people, although to tell 
 
 THE PROTESTED NOTE. 
 
 the truth, it displays a lamentable lack of 
 knowledge of both the Old and New Testa- 
 ments. 
 
 '' ' The New Testament puts giving to God 
 upon higher ground than the Old Testament, 
 and appeals to our love, and in my opinion, 
 under the dispensation of grace, Christian men 
 
i8o The Path to Wealth; 
 
 are left to the promptings of their own hearts 
 in the matter of their givings. Paul distinctly 
 states, that we are to give as we have been 
 prospered ; some can give more than the tenth, 
 while it would be simple injustice to ask ten 
 per cent, of others.' 
 
 " Here are several propositions in one ; and, 
 for the sake of clearness in my answer, I will 
 analyze the statement and set out the objec- 
 tions it contains in order. It is stated (i) 
 That the New Testament puts giving upon 
 higher grounds than the Old Testament, be- 
 cause the former appeals to our love ; (2) 
 Und::r the dispensation of grace, Christian 
 men are left to their own will in the matter of 
 giving; (3) Paul is quoted to the effect that 
 we are to give according as we have been pros- 
 pered ; and (4) Some can give more than a 
 tenth, while it would be simple injustice to 
 claim a tenth of others. 
 
 " Now, as to the first proposition concerning 
 the nobler incentive of the New Testament 
 over the Old, I certainly have no objection ; 
 for if the incentive be higher or nobler, then 
 
07\ Light fro?) I my Forge, i8i 
 
 the results will be in proportion. We have 
 seen, what I think no intelligent person will 
 dispute, that the minimum sum demanded of 
 all persons in the Old Testament is a tenth. 
 Now, if a tenth was then paid as a tribute or 
 tax, and a stronger incentive is now appealing 
 to us, then surely our contributions to God's 
 cause will be greater now than then. But, as 
 a matter of fact, God's money law is like the 
 laws for truth, honesty and chastity, the same 
 under all dispensations. 
 
 *'It, in all probability, started with Adam 
 and was certainly observed by Abraham, and 
 ran all through the Jewish dispensation ; it 
 branched out in separate streams in all direc- 
 tions prior to the days of Abraham, as traces 
 of it are seen in Gentile nations. All these 
 streams meet again under the Christian dis- 
 pensation and form one mighty river. The 
 New Testament does indeed appeal to our 
 love, but there is no room for the exercise 
 of love in this matter until we have paid 
 our actual debt of ten per cent., as de- 
 manded in both Testaments. When this is 
 
i82 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 done, then love can prompt us to do generous 
 things. 
 
 ''As to the second objection, that Christian 
 men are left to their own wills, to give as 
 much or as little as they please, it has no 
 foundation in the teachings of Jesus or His 
 Apostles, unless we are to assume that the will 
 of the Christian is always in harmony with 
 God's will. Assuming that Christians are al- 
 ways thus sanctified, there can be no objections 
 to the statement; but, unless the great ma- 
 jority of professing Christians are consum- 
 mate hypocrites, and there be but few real 
 Christians, this assumption cannot be correct, 
 for Church statistics prove that the wall of 
 the majority is clearly opposed to the will of 
 God in the matter of giving, as the results 
 demonstrate that God's minimum sum even is 
 not reached, to say nothing of the display of 
 benevolence prompted by the nobler incentive 
 of love. I, therefore, conclude that it is not 
 safe to put our wills, or the promptings of our 
 own hearts, as regulators of our duty, but 
 rather, our wills and impulses must be formed 
 
or, Light from my Forge. 183 
 
 and regulated by God's will — ' to the law and 
 the testimony ' must be our appeal. 
 
 "As to the third objection, that we are to 
 give as we have been prospered, this must be 
 used without a proper apprehension of the 
 meaning of the language used by Paul, for it 
 certainly counts the other way. There can 
 be no stronger argument for ' Systematic Giv- 
 ing.' If we give according as we get, it means 
 giving proportionately. For instance, if last 
 year you made five hundred dollars, God de- 
 manded fifty ; if He blessed you this year with 
 one thousand dollars, He asks at your hands 
 one hundred dollars ; if you get fifteen hun- 
 dred dollars next year. His minimum demand 
 will be one hundred and fifty dollars. If you 
 commence giving to God according as He 
 prospers your business, you need not be sur- 
 prised if your income increases year by year, 
 for this is just the way He honors those who 
 honor Him. 
 
 " Concerning the last objection, that some 
 can give more than a tenth, while it would be 
 wrong to ask that much of others, I have to 
 
1 84 ^l^e P^^tli io Wealth; 
 
 say, that some can undoubtedly give more 
 than a tenth. It would be a great blessing 
 for them to do so, j ust as some can spend more 
 than one day a week in God's service if they 
 choose to do so, and derive great spiritual 
 blessings in so doing ; still, God's actual de- 
 mand is a tenth in the one case and a seventh 
 in the other, and all we give over is a free-will 
 offering. To say that it is unjust to ask of 
 any man ten per cent, of his earnings for the 
 cause of God, is a statement at once narrow 
 and untrue. Narrow, because it leaves God 
 out of the account — the God of infinite re- 
 sources, who has pledged His eternal word 
 that he who gives a tenth shall never lack a 
 tenth to give ; and untrue, because God never 
 demands that which is unequal or unjust, and 
 He most certainly demands the tithe from all 
 mankind. 
 
 " And now, my friends, I have done my best 
 to answer the questions and objections handed 
 in, and I must close my Talk for this evening 
 as it is getting late. I thank you for your 
 very kind attention, and I pray that our 
 
or^ Light fi'oin my Forge. 185 
 
 Heavenly Father ma}^ lead each one of us into 
 tiie light, anl give us glad hearts to ' run in 
 the way of His commandments.' " 
 
 When I took my seat there was for a mo- 
 ment the same marked stillness which char- 
 acterized this meeting all through, and then 
 it seemed that every man inside of the church, 
 and those looking in at the windows, simul- 
 taneously broke out in the most boisterous 
 applause. The chairman, after much effort, 
 restored comparative silence, and then made a 
 neat and complimentary speech, the sincerity 
 of which was proved by his statement that all 
 his objections to the doctrine of the tithe were 
 forever silenced. Fully a score of men at- 
 tempted to speak, and many were the sugges- 
 tions made as to the best method of spreading 
 this doctrine and stirring up the Churches to 
 the importance of Systematic Giving. Two 
 suggestions I made up my mind to adopt : the 
 one was to have a public testimony meeting, 
 and the other was to reproduce the conversa- 
 tions at all the meetings and publish them in 
 
 a book. 
 
 13 
 
i86 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 It occurred to me that the most competent 
 men to confirm or reject my theory were those 
 who have tested it ; and I made up my mind 
 not to have this testimony meeting for a week, 
 so that ample time could be given to publish 
 it abroad, and invite men to testify who had 
 been in the habit of paying tithes. As to 
 publishing a book containing a full report of 
 the meetings, it seemed the proper thing to do; 
 for the simple Bible truth which has caused 
 such a stir in and around our community, and 
 which has been productive of such good re- 
 sults, will equally stir the entire Christian 
 Church, if the truths can be brought to bear 
 on the minds of the people ; and nothing in 
 this age can do that as well as a book when it 
 is well circulated. I announced for the testi- 
 mony meeting one week from that evening, 
 and told them of my determination to publish 
 the book, and we adjourned at, I confess, a late 
 hour. 
 
 The time for the next meeting had arrived, 
 and I was on hand at the proper time. The 
 crowd was much greater than on any previous 
 
or, Light front my Forge. 187 
 
 occasion. We had visitors from great dis- 
 tances, many persons having written me of 
 their intention to be present. From the let- 
 ters received, I. knew that we were to have 
 strong testimonies, fully confirming all I had 
 stated as to the effects of tithing upon a man's 
 finances and upon his religious experience. 
 
 A Church of England clergyman, who had 
 preached and practised the Bible plan of tith- 
 ing for years, was present ; and, without ask- 
 ing his consent, I called upon him to open the 
 meeting with prayer. From the fervent prayer 
 he offered, we learned that he was on good 
 terms with God, and had been accustomed to 
 address Him without the Prayer Book. Every- 
 thing being ready, I announced that we would 
 proceed with 
 
TALK No. 5. 
 
 Testimonies and Experiences. 
 
 " Ladies and gentlemen, this meeting is the 
 last of a series of meetings which we have 
 been holding in this community in the interest 
 of God's money demand. The position taken 
 b}^ myself is known probably to all of you. I 
 hold that God has distinctly told us the mini- 
 mum sum He requires of us, so that no man 
 need stand in doubt. God promises material 
 and spiritual prosperity to those who are obe- 
 dient to His demands, and a plank of pros- 
 perity is invariably underneath those who 
 walk out upon the promises referred to. This 
 meeting has been called for the purpose of 
 testimonies and experiences along this line. 
 I need not detain you with the relation of my 
 personal experience. It will be sufficient for 
 me to state, that everything I have stated in 
 
 these informal Talks is confirmed by my ex- 
 
 -(189) 
 
190 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 perience, and, in a good degree, is born of my 
 experience. 
 
 '' I now tlirow tlie meeting open for any 
 person to speak who has systematically prac- 
 tised tithing. Do not be trammeled by any- 
 thing I have said, or attempt to make yonr 
 statements conform to my exact theory. Let 
 us have your experience just as it is, and it 
 will support the truth if you are walking in 
 the Divine order. Who 'will be the first to 
 testify ? " 
 
 Fir^st Witness. — '' I desire to get in my word 
 of testimony while some others may be* get- 
 ting ready. I am a general agent, and I have 
 practised giving not less than one-tenth of my 
 income to charitable, philanthropic and re- 
 ligious enterprises for nearly five years. I 
 have enjoyed givmg in this way more than I 
 did before adopting it ; and, although I have 
 given away a larger proportion of my income 
 than formerly, I have always had more left to 
 spend on myself than I had before. I believe 
 the practice of ' Systematic Giving ' has been a 
 blessing to me, both temporally and spiritually, 
 
<9r, Light from my Forge. 
 
 191 
 
 and it is my intention to follow the practice as 
 long as I live." 
 
 Second Witness. — " ' Systematic Giving ' I 
 believe to be the duty of every child of God, 
 and none can do it so well as those who have a 
 
 GOD'S TREASURY. 
 
 system. I have followed it now for over nine 
 years ; and, although my contributions have 
 been possibly a little liberal, yet I have not 
 missed the money. I began business nine 
 years ago as a general merchant, and in doing 
 so I got a small box and labelled it, ' The 
 
192 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 Lord's Treasury.' Every night I count the 
 cash taken in, and enter it in a book kept for 
 that purpose. On Saturday night I add up the 
 cash sales for the week, and deduct three per 
 cent, for ' The Treasury.' This is my fund 
 for the Church and benevolent purposes. For 
 the first two or three years I gave three per 
 cent. ; then I raised it and gave five per cent., 
 until the beginning of last 3^ear, when I was 
 rather hard run for cash, and thought pos- 
 sibly that I was drawing too heavily on the 
 business, and since then I have given three 
 per cent., and always have funds on hand. I 
 would like to hear from any one else who may 
 be able to give light and encouragement on the 
 subject, for I do not know whether it was a 
 test of m}/ faith or not when my funds were 
 getting short a year or two ago." 
 
 Leader. — '* I think the brother who last 
 spoke has missed the Scriptural idea of the 
 tithe ; besides, any given per cent of the gross 
 cash handled by a business man does not nec- 
 essarily involve a uniform per cent, of income, 
 as the profits on different lines of goods vary. 
 
(?r, Light from my Forge, 193 
 
 and besides there can be no account taken 
 of expenses in the system our brother has 
 adopted. The Bible plan is to ' tithe our in- 
 crease ' or income. I give it as my opinion 
 that our brother paid more than ten per cent, 
 of his income even when he paid only three 
 per cent." 
 
 Third Witness, — *' I am glad that some of 
 the Lord's people are thinking of their duty in 
 the matter of giving of their substance, or, 
 rather, returning of some of their substance to 
 His treasury. When I saw the notice of this 
 meeting I thought that I would like to attend, 
 and say a word to let the leader know that 
 there was one more, at least, of like faith and 
 practice with himself. As to the faith, I do 
 not believe that under the present dispensation 
 we are definitely commanded to give a tenth ; 
 but we are supposed to be energized by a far 
 greater power than that of law, viz., love ; and 
 if our love does not cause us to give willingly 
 as much as the law called for, it is not saying 
 much for its marvellous power of which we 
 talk so glibly. We are continually comparing 
 
194 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 our dispensation with that of the Mosaic, and 
 thanking the Lord that it is so much better ; 
 but is there any reality in our thanksgiving if 
 our estimation of it does not cause us to give 
 up at least a tenth of our income ? 
 
 " On this question no rule can be laid down 
 that will apply to all parties. While for one 
 man it would be right to give a tenth, his 
 neighbor might be doing wrong if he did not 
 give at least a fifth. The affair should be 
 settled in every case with Jesus Christ. How- 
 ever, I could not think much of a man's 
 honesty towards, and love for, Jesus, if he 
 came away from communion with Him on the 
 subject with an idea that he should give less 
 than a tenth. It can be done, and it will be 
 bettei for the man, no matter how small the 
 income. If it be true that both material and 
 spiritual blessings follow the giving up of sub- 
 stance to the Lord's work, then, I think, it is 
 safe to say that ninety cents is better with 
 God's blessing than one hundred cents with- 
 out it. 
 
 " But, how with those who have an abun- 
 
^r, Light fr 0771 77ty Forge, i^^ 
 
 dance of this world's goods ? Should they 
 retire to enjoy themselves while they have 
 health and strength to make more money ? 
 I do not think so. They are stewards, and in 
 that sense own nothing, and will be brought 
 to account for the way in which they have 
 used their Lord's substance. Surely it is the 
 duty of such to make all they can, not that 
 they may use some of it even in foolish 
 luxuries, but rather that they may give it all 
 to the establishment and spread of the Gospel 
 of Jesus Christ. This much about my faith, 
 now a word as to practice. 
 
 '' Shortly after I was converted, about fif- 
 teen years ago, and before I was baptized, I 
 decided to give at least a tenth of every dollar 
 that the Lord gave me. In my new found 
 joy I wanted to give more, but in talking with 
 the Lo-t-d about it I felt that I should not do 
 it. I have kept the rule of taking the tenth 
 out of the money as it came in, with the ex- 
 ception of about four years. During that 
 time I gave something, but did not set apart 
 a tenth of all the money that came in, for the 
 
196 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 simple reason that I did not think it my own. 
 On account of my peculiar connection with a 
 certain enterprise, and its unexpected collapse, 
 I was suddenly thrown into debt 'head and 
 ears.' 
 
 " I believe in a Christianity that pays one 
 hundred cents to the dollar, so I made things 
 point to the clearing off of debts. However, 
 I got through safely and had about five hun- 
 dred dollars over, which amount I immediately 
 tithed. I do not now, however, think I did 
 right; debt or no debt, I think now that I 
 should have stuck closer to my rule. In my 
 selling out to continue my studies at McMaster 
 Hall, I can see several places where I lost 
 quite heavily. It may be that these losses 
 would have been avoided had I been strictly 
 true to the principle. 
 
 '' However, in the meantime, it is my duty 
 to give a tenth, and I rejoice in the privilege, 
 and I hope to see the time when it will be my 
 duty to give more, but that will not be until 
 my income is greater than that of a student. 
 Having usually a little of the Lord's money 
 
or^ Light front my Forge. 197 
 
 on hand, I give not altogether as I ma}^ be 
 urged by eloquent emotional speeches, but to 
 the departments of work that I believe to be 
 most needy and deserving." 
 
 Leader. — '' I regard the testimony of the 
 young man who has just taken his seat as im- 
 portant, and all the more so, because he gives 
 it without knowing anything of my particular 
 theory, this being the first meeting he has at- 
 tended. His experience fully confirms the 
 promises of the Bible as interpreted b}^ myself, 
 and is a repetition, as an individual, of the 
 Jewish national experience, for when they 
 paid tithes they prospered, and when they did 
 not, disaster and defeat attended them. Our 
 brother certainly makes a mistake in express- 
 ing the opinion that the New Testament does 
 not demand the same minimum sum as the Old 
 Testament, and I am sure he will be convinced 
 of his error if he digs a little deeper into the 
 subject. 
 
 ''The meeting is now open for more testi- 
 monies." 
 
 Fourth Witness. — " I am a minister of the 
 
198 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 Gospel in a distant city, and I gladly give my 
 experience in the ' giving a tenth.' In Sep- 
 tember, 1883, after having the subject brought 
 before me in some pamphlets that were issued 
 by a ' layman ' in Chicago, and after earnest 
 prayer, I concluded to set apart henceforth one- 
 tenth of my income as the Lord's portion. It 
 required faith to take the step just then, for 
 my finances were in anything but a flourishing 
 condition, and my needs were pressing. How- 
 ever, from that hour, the question of giving 
 was settled with me, and now I have pretty 
 strong convictions on the subject of giving to 
 the Lord's work. I never had any real joy in 
 giving till I set apart a tenth as the Lord's, 
 and then giving became an easy, delightful 
 service. I was at once brought into a new fel- 
 lowship with Christ, and have been very much 
 blessed in the Lord's work. The most pros- 
 perous years of my ministerial career have 
 been since I sought thus to * honor the Lord ' 
 with my substance. 
 
 *' For a time I said nothing about my new 
 decision, determining to watch carefully the 
 
<9r, Light from my Forge. 199 
 
 effect upon myself and give it a fair trial be- 
 fore saying much about it. In a few months, 
 however, I felt that I could speak, and, as my 
 people know, I am now an earnest advocate 
 of ' proportionate giving,' and think the tenth 
 the smallest proportion that should be set apart 
 as the Lord's. 
 
 " I may say since I adopted the tithe system 
 I have had less worry about finances than ever 
 before, though my salary is below the average 
 city salary." 
 
 Leader. — " That experience is true to the 
 Bible pattern and is a fulfilment of the prom- 
 ises of God. I am under great obligation to 
 this city clergyman for his definite testimony. 
 Now let us have another." 
 
 Fifth Witness. — " I adopted the tithing sys- 
 tem seven years ago. My income since that 
 time has been about quadrupled. I may say, 
 however, that while an earnest believer in syste- 
 matic beneficence, I am by no means sure that 
 the tenth should be given by every one, regard- 
 less of their circumstances. If it is the proper 
 proportion for the poor and the struggling, 
 
200 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 then, assuredly, a larger proportion should be 
 given by those who are in circumstances of 
 ease or affluence. Some of the vexed and vex- 
 ing questions of the day would be speedily 
 adjusted if men generally would give as God 
 hath prospered them." 
 
 Leader. — " The gentleman who has just 
 spoken will pardon me if I more fully intro- 
 duce him to this audience. He is a Methodist 
 local preacher, of great acceptability ; he is also 
 a medical doctor, and, I believe, gave up a suc- 
 cessful practice of medicine for another line of 
 business in which he is eminently successful, 
 and has few equals in the same line. To say 
 the least, it is a strange coincidence that his 
 financial success dates from the time he com- 
 menced tithing his income. Now for another 
 witness." 
 
 Sixth Witness. — '' My experience of the 
 practice of tithing my income has been so 
 limited that I cannot speak positively of its 
 benefit to me, or other\vise. I have long be- 
 lieved that every one who professed to be a fol- 
 lower of Jesus Christ was bound, as a matter 
 
or, Light from my Forge, 201 
 
 of duty as well as love to Him to contribute of 
 his substance towards the support and exten- 
 sion of His cause. But while giving, as I 
 thought, liberally, it was spasmodically and 
 generally unsatisfactory to myself Some 
 years ago I thought this matter over to see if 
 there was no definite rule of Christian giving, 
 and came to the conclusion that every one 
 ought to devote at least one-tenth of his in- 
 come to the Lord. 
 
 "At that time I did not adopt the principle, 
 and whether through that neglect or not I am 
 not prepared to say, but of this I am confident, 
 had I given a certain sum which I felt I ought 
 to have given, and which I then had by me, I 
 would have escaped a great (for me) financial 
 loss. Had I given that money I would not 
 have been in a position to have gone into the 
 venture, which promised very great returns, 
 but which proved a great disaster, absorbing 
 not onl}'- the first sum put in, but many sub- 
 sequent ones, which I was under obligation to 
 pay. For the past two years I have adopted 
 
 the principle of ' systematic giving ' of at least 
 
 14 
 
202 The Palh to Wealth; 
 
 one-ten til of my income, and so far have found 
 no reason to regret the decision. During the 
 latter period my financial affairs have been in 
 the most satisfactory condition I have ever had 
 them." 
 
 Leader. — "As many of you know, the last 
 witness is a leading man in financial circles 
 in our neighboring city, as well as the man- 
 ager of one of the largest loan societies. 
 Now the gentleman who was on his feet can 
 speak.'^ 
 
 Seventh Witness. — ^' I am a farmer, without 
 any education, and not used to speaking in 
 public, but I came to this meeting to give my 
 experience as a warning to others, if for noth- 
 ing else. When I was giving the tenth of all 
 my income to God I prospered much tempo- 
 rally, and in spiritual experience as well. I 
 am sorry that I did not keep it up; one said" 
 that I was crazy, and another, it was not neces- 
 sary, as I am a poor man, and I did not know 
 myself for certain, so I gave it up. 
 
 '' Since then I could tell you of a long list of 
 failures. I commenced to give the tenth again 
 
or, Light from my Forge. 203 
 
 on the yth of April, and I intend to do so as 
 long as I live. I cannot tell how much it will 
 be, neither do I intend to let any one else 
 know. I will look for the promise in Malachi, 
 and believe what Christ says in the fifth chap- 
 ter of Matthew. My desire is to be satisfied 
 with my portion, as my life will soon be a 
 thing of the past. God help me to be faithful 
 to the end." 
 
 Leader, — '' You see, my friends, it is the 
 same old story of defeat and disaster while 
 living in disobedience, and blessed prosperity 
 when all the tithes are brought in. Now for 
 another witness to the truth of God." 
 
 Eighth Witness. — ^' I desire to make a state- 
 ment of my experience. Our family com- 
 menced, some years ago, to give, or rather to 
 pay, to the Lord the amount which His law has 
 set down as the minimum sum due to Him. 
 Before we were honest towards the Lord in this 
 way we were constantly meeting v/ith losses, 
 which undoubtedly we deserved for robbing 
 Him of His dues. First, we lost by fire a 
 house on which there was a very small insur- 
 
204 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 ance ; tHen we were burned out of a rented 
 house and shop, and lost most of our furniture 
 and part of our stock, both of which were unin- 
 sured ; shortly after that we lost one hundred 
 dollars in cash, and one of the family took sick 
 and the doctoring was a heavy cost, so that, in 
 one way and another, we had much more taken 
 out of us than we had withheld from the Lord. 
 After these losses our eyes were opened to see 
 our duty in this respect, and we never pros- 
 pered so well financially as since we set up our 
 tithe purse. Then, it is so pleasant when a 
 call is made asking aid for the Church or ben- 
 evolent purposes to always have money on 
 hand for the purpose.'^ 
 
 A man who stood waiting for his turn to 
 speak said : — '' I have for four years past 
 adopted the plan of setting aside one-tenth of 
 my earnings, and I would not abandon it. In- 
 stead of being worried every time I am. asked 
 for a subscription, I can always say at once 
 what I can do, and have realized what I never 
 did before, the ' luxury of giving.' I might 
 say more, but will give way for others." 
 
or^ Light from my Forge. 205 
 
 Another said : — '' I am from Nova Scotia. I 
 have been giving one-tenth of my income to 
 the Lord for a number of years, and have been 
 enabled to give from sixty to one hundred dol- 
 lars per year." 
 
 Another stood up and testified : — '' I am a 
 general merchant. I beg leave to say that I 
 adopted the plan of tithing about two years 
 ago. I have given on system for some years, 
 that is, I gave a certain sum, but being in 
 debt, as business men generally are, I did not 
 feel like giving a tenth until I read a tract on 
 Christian giving. I then adopted the plan, 
 and have no cause to regret it. My business 
 has nearly doubled since I started. I can say 
 with the Psalmist, as in the twenty-third 
 Psalm. I have distributed a number of tracts, 
 and others are about trying the plan." 
 
 A young man stood and testified as follows : 
 " For the past few months I have been tithing 
 my income, although I am in debt and strug- 
 gling to pay up. Formerl}^ I believed that so 
 long as I was in debt I had no business to give 
 to the Lord, but now I regard the debt to the 
 
2o6 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 Lord as the first and most important. I believe 
 that had I always adopted this plan, I would 
 to-day be in a better position financially. 
 When I have withheld the tenth from God, 
 He has taken it from me through sickness or 
 loss of some kind. I believe that a tenth is 
 the least that any Christian should give to the 
 Lord, and that every one should go as far be- 
 yond that as his income and circumstances will 
 allow." 
 
 Leader. — " The gentleman, to whose experi- 
 ence you have just listened, is the Secretary 
 of a Y. M. C. A. in one of our cities. If he 
 will pardon me, I will say, that if the Bible is 
 not true, and if human experience cannot be 
 relied upon, he is acting the part of a fool to 
 give away ten per cent, of his income while he 
 is in debt and expect to get out of debt thereby ; 
 but if the Bible is true, and the testimonies 
 of those who have tested its promises count 
 for anything, then his decision to tithe his 
 income is the outcome of the highest wisdom, 
 and his acts must be approved even by men 
 who look no higher than a safe financial in- 
 
or^ Light from my Forge. 207 
 
 vestmeut. Now we are ready for another wit- 
 ness." 
 
 Thirteenth WitJiess. — *' I hastened to enroll 
 myself amongst those who, for many years, 
 have carried out, and in some cases doubled 
 the tithe mentioned. My heart goes out to all 
 those who are carrying out this rule, not as a 
 matter of duty simply, but out of love and 
 gratitude to Jesus Christ." 
 
 Leader, — " For a leading stock broker in one 
 of our largest cities, this experience is good, 
 though it be short and given with characteristic 
 modesty. Now the next." 
 
 Fourteenth Witness. — '^ I am a Methodist 
 minister in charge of a city church. I have 
 made it a rule of my life to give one-tenth of 
 my income to benevolent enterprises. I set 
 aside one-tenth and then use it for the Lord to 
 the best advantage possible. I would not 
 abandon this practice." 
 
 Fifteenth Witness. — '' I, too, am a Methodist 
 minister, and I beg to say that since the be- 
 ginning of the year I have been keeping an 
 account so as to prove to myself that I am 
 
2o8 
 
 The Path to Wealth ; 
 
 giving not less than one-tenth. I thinK one- 
 tenth a low proportion, but I have only this 
 year begun ' systematic giving.' I am spe- 
 cially interested in the subject, and am doing 
 all I can to extend the doctrine.'^ 
 
 THE HINDOO WHO GAVE TITHES. 
 
 Sixteenth Witness. — " I am a Baptist min- 
 ister, and a returned missionary. If I take up 
 a little more time in this meeting than the 
 average speaker, I trust my long experience 
 and great love for the cause will be a sufficient 
 
or^ Light from 7ny Forge. 209 
 
 excuse. Some twenty-five years ago it was 
 my privilege to introduce the Bible system of 
 finance — a proportionate part of the income 
 regularly and systematically devoted to God — 
 into a feeble mission in India. Not a few of 
 my native brethren received the teaching 
 eagerly and obeyed it promptly. Among these 
 was one of my native preachers — Bhelsari 
 Naih. This man, prior to tithing his income, 
 was always in difficulty, even complaining of 
 the smallness of his income (he received $4.80 
 a month for a family of five adults). He 
 began at once to tithe himself After about 
 three months he and I met in connection with 
 our work among the heathen, and the follow- 
 ing conversation occurred : ' Well, Bhelsari, 
 how does the tithing system work ? ' ' Capitally, 
 sir.' ^ Ah, how is that ? you were always com- 
 plaining of being hard up, and even in debt, 
 when you used your whole income for self; 
 now, you give one-tenth to God, you have no 
 complaints.' ' Ah, sir, the nine-tenths, with 
 God's blessing, is better far than the ten-tenths 
 used to be without it.' This brother continued 
 
2IO The Path to Wealth; 
 
 to pay into my hands the snm of forty-eight 
 cents every month as long as he was associated 
 with me in that part of the field. What he 
 afterwards did, of course, I cannot say. 
 
 '' In 1865, in the town of Brunswick, Maine, 
 a young lady heard a sermon on this subject. 
 She was not then a Christian. Some three 
 months later, the minister who preached that 
 sermon heard a lady's voice calling to him in 
 subdued tones on the street. He paused and 
 entered into conversation with the lady. The 
 substance of the conversation is given below : 
 
 " ' You have the advantage of me. Miss, you 
 seem to know me ! ' ' Yes, sir, I heard you 
 preach at McLellan's Hall about three months 
 ago, on the subject of giving a tenth to God. 
 I am a telegraph operator. I have a widowed 
 mother and a younger sister to support. Your 
 arguments struck me as being Scriptural and 
 conclusive, and though not then a Christian, 
 I determined to obey, out of regard for the 
 authority of God. I paid my tenth from that 
 time, and I have been wishing to see you for 
 some weeks past to tell you that what yoxi 
 
<?r, Light from my Forge. 211 
 
 told us was proved true in my own experi- 
 ence. I had not tithed myself two months 
 before my salary was raised without any hint 
 or solicitation from me, to an amount suffi- 
 ciently large to more than cover the tithe paid 
 up to that time to God.' " This young lady had 
 been converted in the meantime. 
 
 ^'A young man in Calcutta, India, heard 
 the same sermon from the same preacher in 
 1873, and he became convinced of his duty 
 with reference to paying his tenth to God. 
 He was in the Government Treasury Depart- 
 ment on a salary of about eighty-five dollars 
 a month. His tithe was promptly and honestly 
 paid, hoping for nothing again. Now, mark 
 the result ; he told the preacher that within 
 two months his salary was raised to ninety- 
 six dollars a month without any solicitation on 
 his part. 
 
 "In 1863, in Oxford County, a farmer who 
 tithed himself was singularly saved from loss 
 by the weevil. That insect came into that 
 neighborhood in that year and ate up all be- 
 fore it. The crops of others all around were 
 
212 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 scarcely worth cutting. Several of his neigh- 
 bors wondered at the good crops scarcely 
 touched by the weevil which they saw on 
 neighbor H.^s fields. They offered him four 
 and even five acres of theirs for one of his. 
 Here is a literal fulfilment of Malachi iii. ii. 
 That farmer still lives, an old man of nearly 
 eighty-seven, and can ratify the statement here 
 made. 
 
 ^' In my own experience, during a period of 
 over twenty-five years, I have clear and in- 
 dubitable proof that the Lord God means what 
 he says in the passage quoted. For several 
 years the blessing came in the form of occa- 
 sional trifling increases in regular income, and 
 frequently in the shape of extraneous financial 
 aid over and above income, as need required. 
 In 1873, the income was doubled. In 1881, 
 we began to pay one-tenth and give one- 
 fortieth, equal in all to one-eighth of our in- 
 come, and the blessing has come in increased 
 measure, both spiritual and temporal. In 1879, 
 we had given, above our tithe, under pressure 
 of circumstances, nearly one-twentieth, or 
 
07% Light from fuy Forge. 213 
 
 about one-seventh of all, and just at that 
 juncture were ordered out of India, our then 
 present fieM of labor. We had to pay our 
 own expenses, and were short of means, lacked 
 nearly five hundred dollars, as we supposed. 
 We continued giving and asked the Lord to 
 supply our well. Just the last two weeks we 
 were in the country, He sent us from extra- 
 neous sources, without our asking any man for 
 help, the sum of four hundred and eight dol- 
 lars, which was enough, with what we had, 
 to pay our way home and have a little left. I 
 could greatly multiply instances of this kind 
 but I refrain. 
 
 " I will venture to give a recent demonstra- 
 tion of His faithfulness. The one-eighth is 
 still placed in the Lord's treasury, hoping for 
 nothing again, giving because we love to give, 
 would not be deprived of the privilege of 
 giving. During the first three months of this 
 year (1887), we were permitted to place, out 
 of comparatively small means, twenty-three 
 dollars in the Lord's treasury, that is, out of 
 our regular income. Now, mark, during that 
 
214 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 same period the Lord gave us from extraneous 
 sources entirely, outside our regular stipend, 
 the sum of seventy-three dollars, two hundred 
 per cent, interest. The Lord will alloiv no 
 man to be His creditor ! Instead of putting 
 our funds into so called insurance societies 
 or superannuated ministers' funds, we place it 
 in the Bank of Heaven, the Lord pays the 
 interest while we live, and should the husband 
 be removed, the wife will get the principal, 
 that is, if she personally trusts in Him. Jer. 
 xlix. II." 
 
 A young man rose and said : '' I belong to 
 the Congregational Church, and I desire to 
 say that I have practised the tenth plan of 
 giving, for religious and charitable purposes, 
 for two years, and the result has been to re- 
 move any doubt which may have existed in 
 adopting it. Previous to adopting this system, 
 I was frequently troubled as to what I should 
 give to this or that object, but now I know 
 at once what I can do by consulting my tenth 
 account. At the outset, intimate friends were 
 almost impatient with me because I was, in 
 
or, Light from my Fo7'ge, 215 
 
 tlieir opinion, giving more than I was able ; I 
 did not feel so, and the result has been very 
 satisfactory. It led me to look closely after 
 my expenditures, and I have saved sufficient 
 in that way to more than pay the increased 
 amount given. Then the Lord has blessed me 
 in greater measure during these two years in 
 temporal matters than before ; I have received, 
 from unexpected sources, outside of my em- 
 ployment, larger sums than I have given. I 
 shall adhere to the plan whether my revenues 
 increase or decrease, because I believe it to be 
 the right one, and because I can, in the ma- 
 jority of cases, give promptly and cheerfully to 
 objects which commend themselves to my 
 judgment." 
 
 A young lady said, with much modesty : "I 
 am a stenographer, and I should like to add 
 my testimony to what others have said. It 
 is now nearly two years since I first gave the 
 matter any serious consideration, and after 
 reading up the subject, and thinking it over 
 carefully, I came to the conclusion that it was 
 m}^ duty to give a tenth, and that God re- 
 
2i6 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 quired it of me, and once being fully convinced 
 that that was the proper way to give, I have 
 followed it ever since. I can truly say that I 
 have derived more pleasure from giving in this 
 way than ever before. Formerly, when asked 
 to give to charitable purposes, the question 
 would arise in my mind as to whether or not 
 I could afford to do so, but now, knowing that 
 I have just so much to give, I can proportion 
 it, and thus give to many objects I would have 
 had to refuse, were it not for this system of 
 giving one-tenth. 
 
 '' I consider the Lord's account as sacred as 
 any account between man and man, and regu- 
 larly each month, as I draw my salary, the 
 Lord's share is laid aside. I certainly do not 
 regret having adopted the system, and can 
 truthful! 3^ say that I never miss what I give in 
 this way." 
 
 A clergyman testified as follows : — " I am 
 a Minister of the Gospel, and I came here on 
 purpose to testify in behalf of this faith. I 
 have practised along this line for about a year 
 and have scrupulously devoted a tenth of my 
 
or, Light from my Forge. 217 
 
 income to the service of God, and by reflection 
 have learned to recognize several things. 
 
 " (i.) That by dividing the profits with God 
 I realize that He is a living partner with me 
 in my work : that He is the God of dollars 
 and cents, as well as the God of spiritual 
 blessings. It has enabled me to live nearer 
 to the requirement of Scripture, which says, 
 ' Take no thought for the morrow,' because, if 
 in trouble, I can talk with God, the wiser 
 partner, and He sets the matter right in a 
 little time ; in brief, it takes a load of worry off 
 my shoulders. 
 
 " (2) This last year has been the year of my 
 life so far, for * outgo ; ' that is, never since I 
 entered the ministry have I had so many 
 obligations to meet in one year, so that this 
 year has not been a favorable one by which to 
 test this question from a financial point of 
 view. Yet, during the year, I have held rig- 
 orously to the principle. You may ask the 
 question, ' did it interfere or cripple you in 
 your finances ? ' I have only one answer to 
 give and that is, the nine-tenths of my income 
 
2i8 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 met all my expenditure, and all my household 
 expenses, and did it easier than ever the whole 
 income did it before. This may seem strange 
 to some, yet it is true, though I cannot explain 
 it. It is like some other things that God does. 
 I cannot explain them, I only know them to 
 be facts. My experience teaches me, that if 
 a man pays his tenth to God, that $9 will sup- 
 ply his needs better than $10 will if he robs 
 God. 
 
 "(3.) Before adopting God's plan I often 
 suffered in my conscience, as any sincere per- 
 son must who does likewise, about doing my 
 duty in giving. Sometimes I thought I gave 
 too much, and sometimes I thought I gave too 
 little, but when my attention was called to 
 God's plan of giving, after a careful examina- 
 tion to see whether it was God's plan, I ac- 
 cepted it, and now I know when I have done 
 my duty, which knowledge greatly helps me 
 in the Divine life. Now I am at rest, for I 
 give as the Lord prospers me." 
 
 Another brother said : — '' I live on a farm 
 and have practised systematic giving about 
 
or. Light from my Forge. 219 
 
 three months, and find no difficulty in work- 
 ing it on a farm. As to the financial aspect 
 of the question, I have not had time to test 
 that." 
 
 The head master of a public school said : — 
 ^"^ I adopted this system about a year ago, and 
 find I have more to give to God and more for 
 myself than ever before. It helps both ways, 
 more for God and more for myself" 
 
 Another testified : — " I am a shoemaker. 
 Since I adopted this system my business is 
 better, and I am satisfied that it is the only 
 way of obeying God on the line of giving. I 
 am a warm advocate of the system for the 
 reason that it is a blessing to me, and I want 
 others to share in it." 
 
 A lady gave her experience next : — " I have 
 practised tithing for more than ten years ; dur- 
 ing that time I lived on a farm, and I find it as 
 easily worked on a farm as anywhere else. I 
 have prospered under the system, and always 
 have money on hand for the Lord's cause. I 
 do not stand in fear of being asked for money, 
 for it is a pleasure to give, as we look upon it 
 
220 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 as not our own and have no right to withhold 
 it." 
 
 Another lady testified as follows : — " It is 
 now over two years since I was convinced that 
 the tenth belonged to God, and I began to pay 
 Him this debt. Previous to this I had never 
 given in any kind of a systematic way, and 
 never derived any particular pleasure from 
 giving ; but since I started to tithe my income 
 and give systematically, I have taken real en- 
 joyment out of the little I have been able to 
 give. I keep an exact account of what comes 
 in, and tithe it and place it to the Lord's credit, 
 and I know at all times just what I can give 
 to this or that object, and have no fears, after 
 it is given, that I have been too hasty and have 
 given more than I ought or could afford. I 
 have never missed what I have given, and, in 
 fact, I have earned more money in the past two 
 years than ever before in my life." 
 
 A godly minister "gave the following ex- 
 traordinary testimony : — " I want to bear my 
 testimony to the privilege and luxury of giv- 
 ing away money for God. I am a Methodist 
 
or^ Light from my Forge. 221 
 
 minister, have a wife and three daughters to 
 support, and have never been in receipt of a 
 large income. However, with prudence and 
 economy, and, above all, with the blessing of 
 God upon our limited store, we live in comfort 
 and manage to lay aside, for benevolent and 
 religious purposes, a proportion of our income 
 that far exceeds one-tenth or even one-fifth of 
 the entire amount. For the encouragement 
 of others, and more especially for the Divine 
 glory, I will furnish you with a few of the 
 financial facts of my history. 
 
 '' Somewhat over ten years ago, when my 
 savings amounted to $600, I was deeply im- 
 pressed that I should contribute one-half of 
 that sum towards the cause of Christ ; and, 
 although it had been m}^ intention to devote 
 my small capital for an entirely different pur- 
 pose, I resolved to obey what I firmly believed 
 to be a Divine intimation, and accordingly the 
 sum of $300 was presented as a thank-offering 
 to God. The joy and rapture that filled my 
 soul in connection with this act of consecration 
 were more than a compensation for the bestow- 
 
222 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 ment of half my earthly substance for the 
 Master's use, teaching me these lessons: (i.) 
 That God does not remain long in His chil- 
 dren's debt. (2.) That what we get from God 
 is vastly more than what we give to God, and 
 (3.) That it is always safe to obey the voice of 
 the Spirit without question or debate. 
 
 " Within three days after subscribing the 
 sum named, it was all returned to me again. 
 This was a matter of great surprise to me, as 
 I had expected to pay the amount in full. 
 Shortly after this I contributed the sum of 
 $50 towards the erection of a church on my 
 charge, and a few months later, when the same 
 church was dedicated, I was led to promise the 
 sum of $1500 more, which, at that time, was 
 $900 more than all I possessed. Under ordi- 
 nary circumstances, I admit that such an act 
 would have been one of great imprudence and 
 even fanaticism ; but when God calls, the 
 measure of our ability is never the measure of 
 our duty. The Israelites had no ability to 
 open up a channel through the Red Sea, yet 
 they were commanded to go forward, and the 
 

 f^i- 
 
 THFRE IS A LAD HERE WHICH HATH FIVE BARLEY LOAVES 
 THERE 'SJ^LA^D^H ^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ „ ^^ ^^^^ ^, ^^^^^ 
 
224 ^^^ -Az//^ to Wealth; 
 
 disciples had but a beggarly supply of food in 
 the five loaves and two fishes ; nevertheless 
 they were instructed to feed the hungry multi- 
 tude. Verily, ' where wit and reason end, 
 there faith begins.' God, by His miraculous 
 power, cut a passage through the Red Sea for 
 the advancing hosts of His people, and the Di- 
 vine Christ multiplied the scanty provision in 
 hand till it satisfied the craving hunger of more 
 than five thousand people. Trust in God al- 
 ways comes out on the winning side. Having 
 pledged the sum of $1500, my soul was filled 
 with unutterable sweetness and joy. I felt 
 richer than ever, and also that I was a thou- 
 sand leagues beyond all necessity for human 
 sympathy and commiseration. Some sympa- 
 thizing friends, however, regarding my case as 
 a pitiable one, subscribed the sum of $600 to- 
 wards assisting to meet my heavy obligation. 
 This donation the Lord would not permit me 
 to accept, and I have never appropriated one 
 dollar of it to this day for my own benefit ; all 
 that was paid on it has long since been handed 
 over to the building fund of the said church. 
 
<?r, Light from my Forge. 225 
 
 It was the Lord's will that I should pay the 
 entire amount of my subscription unaided by 
 the kindness of my friends. By a succession 
 of providences I was enabled to pay every dol- 
 lar and part in advance, finding myself con- 
 siderably better off in earthly substance, to say 
 nothing of spiritual enrichment, than when the 
 subscription was made. Within six weeks 
 after the church to which I had given so 
 largely was dedicated sixty souls were con- 
 verted to God, making me feel, I can assure 
 you, that my investment for Christ was al- 
 ready bearing an enormous interest. 
 
 '' In the last ten years I have given away 
 not less than $3,500, and I cannot describe to 
 you the satisfaction, and joy, and blessing 
 that have come to me and my family as the 
 result. 
 
 '' This is my testimony, that the promises 
 of God, in reference to temporal blessings, are 
 just as reliable as those pertaining to spiritual 
 blessings, providing the conditions of consecra- 
 tion are observed. 
 
 " In regard to the tenth principle, I recog- 
 
226 TJie Path to Wealth; 
 
 nize it as an appointment of God for the reg- 
 ulation of the property trust, and believe it to 
 be of perpetual obligation. But if our hearts are 
 imbued with the self-sacrificing love of Christ, 
 our contributions will spontaneously overleap 
 this minimum regulation of the Divine law, 
 and constrain us to place our all in willing 
 disposal at the Master's feet ; and we may rest 
 assured that our Father in Heaven, whose 
 generosity knows no bounds, who clothes the 
 lily with beauty, and feeds the young ravens 
 when they cry, will leave us amply sufficient 
 for all our temporal needs. ' Praise God from 
 whom all blessings flow.' ' The earth is the 
 Lord's and the fullness thereof.' " 
 
 Closing Remarks. 
 
 I think we have had enough evidence pre- 
 sented here to-night to establish the Bible 
 case, and I deem it unnecessary to call any 
 more witnesses. The amount and kind of 
 evidence we have heard, if presented in any 
 
or. Light fi^oin my Forge. 227 
 
 court of law, would establish, to the satisfac- 
 tion of any judge or jury, the most improbable 
 kind of facts ; but when it is considered that 
 the evidence given is in support of what, with- 
 out it, is highly probable, the proof is simply 
 overwhelming, and if the human mind can 
 rest with absolute certainty in anything it 
 seems to me to be in the three general prop- 
 ositions which have been interwoven in all 
 our talks and in all the evidence submitted. 
 {a) That God demands of all mankind at least 
 one-tenth of income, {b) That in rendering 
 obedience to that command a man is invariably 
 better off financially, and (c) That if a man is 
 a Christian it draws him nearer to God and 
 makes his spiritual experience more real than 
 ever before. 
 
 I need not comment upon the testimonies 
 which have been given, as they are all clear 
 and unmistakable. I will simply point out 
 to any who may yet be doubters, that all the 
 witnesses, and all the evidence, will bear the 
 strictest tests with which legal minds weigh 
 evidence. There has been no collusion of 
 
2 28 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 witnesses, they are all strangers one to the 
 other, and one did not know what was to be 
 the evidence of the other. There has not 
 been a single contradiction, for while a slight 
 variation of opinion has been expressed, yet 
 as to the matter of fact there has been perfect 
 unanimity. The credibility of these witnesses 
 is beyond question, as they are the best men 
 in the various communities in which they live. 
 You will further notice that the evidence pre- 
 sented is not of the nature of an opinion, it is 
 not simply telling us what they believe, for in 
 this a man may be mistaken ; the testimony is 
 to the fact that they are better off financially 
 since they began to tithe their incomes. 
 
 The thought occurs to me as I speak, that 
 it is perfectly marvellous that no man can be 
 found who has become poorer since he began to 
 tithe his income, and yet such is the fact. 
 This meeting was fully advertised, and no pre- 
 arrangement made as to w^ho should testify, 
 and the result you have all heard. Perfectly 
 marvellous to a man of doubt, I should have 
 said, for if one could be found who had become 
 
^r, Light from my Forge. 22g 
 
 poorer on account of tithing his income, or 
 since he began to do so, then God would have 
 been found a liar, which never can be. Why 
 should it seem a marvel that God's material 
 promises are found to be true ? What is 
 clearer in the Bible than the fact that God 
 promises material blessings to those who obey 
 Him ? What is more reasonable than the 
 universal testimony that those who honor God 
 with their substance are honored by Him in 
 return, and in the same kind ? 
 
 I have some propositions I desire to make 
 before we close, to further strengthen the 
 evidence for systematic giving. 
 
 I St. It is perfectly reasonable that God 
 should demand a share of our earnings to carry 
 on His cause in the world. 
 
 We are subjects of His government, He has 
 put us under the fostering care of His church, 
 and as nothing can be done in this world with- 
 out money, it takes money to carry on the 
 cause of God among men. Now who is there 
 to pay this money but those who are benefited 
 by it ? And who are they ? Surely the an- 
 
230 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 swer is, all who have heard the glad tidings of 
 the Gospel ; all who live in Christian lands, 
 for what man is there who does not derive 
 benefit from Christianity? Every man is 
 under all reasonable obligation to pay his 
 share to God's cause, in the same way as every 
 man is under obligation to pay his share of 
 the taxes of the land in which he lives. I 
 have no hesitancy in saying that the man who 
 cheats the municipality in which he resides, or 
 the government under which he lives out of 
 legal taxes, is just as honest a man as he who 
 cheats God out of his royal tax. 
 
 2d. The demand for money from each in- 
 dividual is necessary. As just intimated, 
 nothing can be done without money. It takes 
 money to build churches ; money to print and 
 bind Bibles ; money to support ministers and 
 missionaries ; money to feed the hungry and 
 clothe the naked, and give shelter to the home- 
 less. The care of churches, lighting and heat- 
 ing them, and all other incidental expenses of 
 Christian work mean an expenditure of money. 
 This seems almost too simple a proposition to 
 
The philanthropist is often lost sight of in this great preacher. 
 He never gave away less than one-fifth of his income, it is said ; 
 but when we think of Stockwell Orphanage and the Pastor's Col- 
 lege, both of which are mainly supported by him, his giving 
 must largely exceed this proportion, 
 
 (231) 
 
232 The Path to Wealth; 
 
 make, but for the fact that many men seem 
 ignorant of it. 
 
 3d. This monetary demand made upon us 
 by God must certainly be proportionate. 
 
 He cannot expect as much from the poor as 
 from the rich, nor can He have left it to our 
 own whims or fancies. In all other things He 
 is a God of law, order and system ; and it is 
 not reasonable to suppose that in this im- 
 portant matter there is an exception to the 
 rule. 
 
 Then it would seem that God would make 
 the proportion adequate to the needs of the 
 case. . In nature all causes are adequate to the 
 effects to be produced, and I am of the opinion 
 that God has established the same rule in the 
 kingdom of grace. 
 
 From the last three propositions, which cer- 
 tainly appeal to reason, it would have been 
 very strange if God, in His revealed word, had 
 neglected to make adequate provision for funds 
 to carry on His cause in the earth. 
 
 But the clear provision has been made in the 
 Bible, and the demand of God is resting upon 
 
or^ Light from my Forge. 233 
 
 the people, and undoubtedly when the people 
 render obedience the cause of God will make 
 wonderful advances, and the kingdoms of this 
 world will soon become the kingdoms of our 
 God and of his Christ. 
 
 I will now close the meeting with this ex- 
 hortation, which you will please take in place 
 of a benediction : 
 
 " 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." 
 16 
 
|ag |0ttr §thU, 
 
 REV, E. C. B HALL AM, 
 
 (335) 
 
PAY YOUR DEBTS. 
 
 Wk talk of giving to the cause of Christ, and 
 most Christians think they are doing some- 
 thing in the way of giving of their means to 
 the Lord. But before making much preten- 
 sion as to liberality in giving, it might be well 
 to pause and ask ourselves whether or not our 
 just debts are paid. 
 
 The Lord Jesus does condescend to accept 
 gifts from us — gifts prompted by love — but not 
 until we have laid on His altar that which He 
 claims as His own. 
 
 This claim many Christians absolutely re- 
 fuse to recognize, and, therefore, never pay; 
 and yet they have much to say about giving to 
 the Lord. 
 
 It is written, in Leviticus xxvii. 30, that 
 the one-tenth of all we have " * * ' is the 
 Lord's ; it is holy unto the Lord." That is to 
 
 say, the Lord claims that proportion of our 
 
 (237) 
 
238 
 
 The Path to Wealth, 
 
 means as His portion, and requires that it be 
 honestly set apart for His work and worship. 
 
 Now, what belongs to God certainly cannot 
 belong to another, and no man has a shadow 
 of right to appropriate it, or any portion 
 
 PRIEST OFFERING SACRIFICE. 
 
 thereof, to his own use. In paying to God 
 one-tenth of the all He has given me, I am 
 not giving^ but paying honest debt ; giving 
 does not begin until the last fraction of the 
 debt is paid. Suppose one man owes another 
 
Pay your Debts. 239 
 
 ten dollars, which he refuses to pa}^, but in- 
 stead offers him a few cents occasionally as a 
 gift. Will he not refuse to recognize or re- 
 ceive the gift until the debt is acknowledged 
 and paid ? He most certainly will. 
 
 It may be said that such a rule would re- 
 duce the number of givers to a very small 
 minority. So much the worse for the so-called 
 givers. Is it not God's rule? Does He not 
 say to His people, ^' Pay me the tenth of all 
 that I have given you, and then bring your 
 free-will offerings, and I will accept them and 
 bless you." The whole tenor of the Word, in 
 its teachings on liberality, may be summed up 
 in that one sentence. Not a few excuse them- 
 selves and shirk the paying of a tithe be- 
 cause, as they say, " Tithing was a purely 
 Jewish institution, and it has passed away with 
 the system of which it formed a part." 
 
 This is only true in part. There were three 
 tithes required of the Jews, viz. : — 
 
 I. One every year for the service of the 
 sanctuary. Num. xviii. 21: "And, behold, I 
 have given the children of Levi all the tenth 
 
240 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 in Israel for an inheritance, for their service 
 which they serve ^ even the service of the taber- 
 nacle of the congregation!'^ 
 
 2. Another tithe was demanded every year 
 for religious festivals. Deut. xiv. 22, 23 : 
 *' Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy 
 seed, that the field bringeth forth year by 
 year. And thou shalt eat before the Lord thy 
 God in the place which He shall choose to 
 place His name there, the tithe of thy corn, of 
 th}^ wine, and of thine oil, '' etc., etc. This 
 second tithe was to be eaten by the people 
 themselves, " • • • that thou may est learn to 
 fear thy God always." 
 
 3. Still another tithe was demanded, once in 
 three years, for the poor. Deut. xiv. 28, 29 : 
 " At the end of three years thou shalt bring 
 forth all the tithe of thine increase the same 
 year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates : and 
 the Levite (because he hath no part nor in- 
 heritance with thee) , and the stranger, and the 
 fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy 
 gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied." 
 
 This law concerning the tithe for the poor 
 
Pay your Debts. 241 
 
 was peculiar to the Jewish polity, and passed 
 away with that polity. 
 
 The second tithe, for religious feasts, is not 
 now required, inasmuch as the feasts them- 
 selves have disappeared. 
 
 But the first tithe, for the service of the 
 sanctuary^ i. e., for the work and worship of 
 God, has never been abolished ; or, if it has, 
 the scriptural evidence of such abolition is 
 wanting. True, the sanctuary as then served 
 has passed away, but the work and worship of 
 God still remain. It was for this the tithe was 
 required, and not for the building in which 
 the service was rendered. 
 
 Tithing was prior to Judaism, i. e., prior 
 to " the sanctuary," because the work and 
 worship of God were prior to it. Why, then, 
 should not tithing survive Judaism, seeing 
 that the work for which it has been paid still 
 exists? Until the " service of the sanctuary" 
 in every form shall cease, the necessity for its 
 tithe exists. Until God surrenders His claim 
 upon us for the service of His sanctuary, the 
 "tenth IS the Lord's." 
 
2^2 The Path to Wealth, 
 
 This is God's minimum demand — God^s 
 alphabet of self-denial for His people. He 
 asks, at least, one-tenth of the all which He 
 has given to us, for Himself. 
 
 Surely every child of God ought to admit 
 this claim, and feel bound by the law of love 
 to pay God His tenth before he talks about 
 giving to God. Bound, not by a legal enact- 
 ment, as was the Jew, but by the law of love, 
 as were the patriarchs. They felt the moral 
 obligation to do this before any law was pro- 
 mulgated, and cheerfully did it. God recog- 
 nized the propriety and equity of the practice 
 by inserting a clause in His law requiring it 
 from His people. It was, however, a law 
 without a penalty, being left to the prompt- 
 ings of piety to decide as to its payment. 
 Hebrew piety cheerfully paid it, and shall 
 Christian piety withhold it ? Every Christian 
 knows that our obligations to God under the 
 Gospel are commensurate with our increased 
 privileges, and these are far superior to those 
 of the Hebrew under his restricted economy. 
 May it not be justly claimed, then, that 
 
Pay your Debts, 243 
 
 Christian honesty demands the cheerful, 
 prompt, regular and systematic payment of 
 at least one-tenth into God's treasury, because 
 " it is the Lord's." Others object to this prac- 
 tice because they " do not find any recognition 
 of it in the New Testament." Can they show, 
 by clear New Testament evidence, that it has 
 been abolished ? We think not. 
 
 Besides, were such evidence forthcoming, 
 with reference to positive statute^ it would by 
 no means prove that the duty is no longer 
 binding. Do not fathers often give positive 
 commands to their children, the moral reasons 
 for which the children utterly fail to compre- 
 hend ? Take, for instance, the law of the 
 consecration of the Sabbath. Christian fathers 
 insist upon Sabbath observance in their fami- 
 lies long before the child can understand the 
 moral reasons for such a law. But when the 
 child has grown up, and is no longer under 
 the positive law of his father, he feels the 
 duty of Sabbath consecration without the law, 
 and the Sabbath is kept, not because of the 
 father's law, now no longer binding, but for 
 
244 ^^^ Path to Wealth, 
 
 moral reasons, now thoroughly understood. 
 May not the same have been the case with re- 
 gard to the law of tithing ? Positive laws given 
 until the obligation should be well understood, 
 and then God's people left to the law of love. 
 
 Again, if the New Testament were utterly 
 silent on this subject, it might be argued that 
 it was silent because the principle was so 
 thoroughly understood, in New Testament 
 times, and the practice so general that men- 
 tion was not necessary. Is it not a very sig- 
 nificant fact that New Testament writers 
 make no mention of the abolition of this law, 
 if it be abolished ? How easy it would have 
 been for them to mention this, in connection 
 with other matters of whose " fulfilment " 
 (abolition) they did write! This omission 
 can only be accounted for on the supposition 
 that there has been no repeal of this law. 
 
 But is the New Testament silent on the 
 subject? Decidedly not. Read Matt, xxiii. 
 23 : " Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, 
 hypocrites ! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise 
 and cummin, and have omitted the weightier 
 
Pay yo7ir Debts. 245 
 
 matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and 
 faith : these ought ye to have done^ and NOT TO 
 LEAVE THE OTHER UNDONE." The Lord 
 Jesus Christ, in these words, teaches distinctly 
 that " the weightier matters of the law " should 
 receive our first attention ; but He does not 
 hint, even remotely, that the '' tithe of mint 
 and anise and cummin " were of no importance 
 at all, but rather that it was a matter not to be 
 left undone. Had He come to abrogate this 
 law, as He did to abolish (by fulfilment) some 
 other things in the law, this was an excellent 
 opportunity for Him to give us an intimation 
 of it. No such intimation is given, but, 
 instead. He rather enforces its authority, and 
 the law stands unrepealed. 
 
 It seems clear, then, that the obligation to 
 tithe himself, in love for Christ, rests upon 
 the Christian. The duty is here asserted, in- 
 cidentally it is true, but none the less emphati- 
 cally, by the very highest authority, that of 
 our beloved Master Himself. 
 
 Again, it is thought that the Apostles recog- 
 nized the principle in their epistles. In I Cor. 
 
246 The Path to Wealth, 
 
 xvi. 2, Paul says : " Upon the first day of the 
 week let every one of you lay by him in store 
 as God has prospered him, that there be no 
 gatherings when I come." What does this 
 phrase, '' as God has prospered him," teach ? 
 If it teaches anything — has any force at all — 
 it teaches that a definite proportion of our 
 income should be regularly and systematically 
 stored for God. The proportion is not here 
 mentioned, because it was well understood. 
 The Corinthian church, established by Paul 
 himself, was seven years old at the time of this 
 writing ; and surely Paul had not neglected to 
 instruct them in the precious privilege of 
 Christian liberality! Nay, rather, but his 
 epistles are burdened with such instruction! 
 (See chapters viii. and ix. of II Corinthians.) 
 Next to the great subject of Justification by 
 Faith, there is no one thing upon which Paul 
 has so much to say, as upon liberality. 
 
 Moses taught, " Pay a tithe of all to God for 
 the sendee of the sanctuary." Paul teaches, 
 '' Store it for God every week." Paul and 
 Moses do not disagree ; nor does Paul attempt 
 
Pay your Debts. 247 
 
 to modify or improve upon Moses' teaching ; 
 he merely ventures upon an enlargement of 
 the precept. Moses says, " Pay proportion- 
 all}^;" and Paul adds, '' Pay regularly and sys- 
 tematically." Moses' teaching was well un- 
 derstood, and Paul needed not to reiterate it. 
 He only found it necessary to enforce a regular 
 and systematic observance of it. 
 
 Paul's suggestion in regard to the weekly 
 observance of the rule is a wise one. 
 
 A person may be utterly unable to pay $26 
 a year in a lump, as his tithe, whereas he could, 
 with the utmost ease, pay 50c. a week, and 
 store it for God. 
 
 We have seen that the patriarchs practised 
 this principle, and that just as soon as God had 
 a separate people. He set His seal upon it by 
 incorporating it in His law for their gover- 
 nance. 
 
 The reasons for this are obvious. The sys- 
 tem is eminently just and equitable. 
 
 All must do something for God and His cause, 
 and God places the minimum in His law, at 
 not less than a tenth. Rich and poor alike must 
 
248 The Path to Wealth,^ 
 
 begin at this ; and no rich man, paying his 
 thousands, could upbraid his poor neighbor, 
 whose payments were away down in the units. 
 They gave in the same ratio. 
 
 Again, this system makes it easy for all, 
 especially for the poor man. He gives in small 
 sums regularly, and does not find it oppressive. 
 
 Then, the larger ability of the rich man was 
 not shut out. All must pay a tenth^ to begin 
 with ; but any man may give as much more as 
 his means will allow, and his love may prompt. 
 
 If all Christians would only adopt God's 
 method — Bible finance — they would be amazed 
 to find themselves paying into God's treasury 
 many times their present meagre payments on 
 the hap-hazard, give-as-you-please method. 
 
 It would be difficult to find a person who has 
 once honestly tithed his means for the cause of 
 Christ, and has wearied of it, and gone back 
 again to the no-system way of contributing. 
 
 Would that the Church generally could be 
 induced to adopt this principle and follow this 
 practice ! Beginning with a tenth, no man 
 need stop at that. As his means increase, he 
 
PETER COOPER. 
 He commenced life in the City of New York in 1791, and died 
 in the same city in 1883 By his own efforts he made an immense 
 fortune, and spent a laroje part of it in public and private chari- 
 ties. He is the founder of the famous "Cooper Institute," 
 which cost him $650,000; to which also he bequeathed $150,000 
 additional, at his death. 
 
 17 (249) 
 
250 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 can, after paying God the tenth He claims as 
 His own, begin to know something of the 
 luxury of giving. 
 
 No man is so poor that he cannot afford to 
 do this. Every man can afford to be honest 
 with God ! 
 
 Will God permit any man to suffer in doing 
 what He requires to be done? Read Dent, 
 xiv. 28, 29, and note especially the last clause, 
 " . . . that the Lord thy God may bless thee 
 in all the work of thine hand, which thou 
 doest." A still stronger statement is made in 
 Prov. iii. 9, 10 : " Honor the Lord with thy 
 substance, and with the first-fruits of all thy 
 increase, so shall thy barns be filled with 
 plenty, and thy presses burst out with new 
 wine." 
 
 To the obedient a very precious promise is 
 given in Mai. iii. 10, 11 : ^' Bring ye all the 
 tithes into the storehouse, that there may be 
 meat in my 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 
 
Pay your Debts. 251 
 
 to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer 
 for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the 
 fruit of your ground, neither shall your vine 
 cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith 
 the Lord of Hosts." Oh, that professed be- 
 lievers would take the Lord at His word, honor 
 Him with their substance, and trust Him. 
 
 As a matter of fact, Christians cannot afford 
 to pay less than a tenth, for they will invari- 
 ably find that the remaining nine-tenths with 
 God's blessing would be of far greater value to 
 them than the ten-tenths without it. If God's 
 children would pay up as God requires, and 
 then begin to give, as God has prospered them, 
 they would realize the preciousness of that say- 
 ing of Jesus, which Paul has rescued from 
 oblivion, "It is more blessed to give than it is 
 to receive." They would soon learn to give, 
 not as a mere matter of duty, but because they 
 love to give. God is always giving. God loves 
 to give — always gives His best gifts ; and those 
 who give, and give their best gifts, because 
 they love to give, are, so far, like God. Where 
 THERE IS LITTLE LOVE FOR GIVING, THERE IS 
 VERY LITTLE LIKENESS TO GOD. 
 
§ible iiiuiiig: 
 
 ITS NATURE AND RULE. 
 
 BY 
 
 REV. F. R. BEATTIE, D.D., Ph.D. 
 
 (253) 
 
BIBLE GIVING: 
 
 ITS NATURE AND RULE. 
 
 In this paper I wish to say a few things 
 about giving to religious and benevolent ob- 
 jects. What I have to say will be drawn 
 largely from my own observation, reflection 
 and experience, which, though by no means 
 varied or remarkable, may yet enable me to 
 say something useful on the subject. I shall 
 also try to express my ideas in as plain and 
 practical a manner as possible. 
 
 I may say that I have, of late, read a good 
 deal on this important topic ; I have recently 
 looked more carefully than ever before into 
 what the Bible says about giving to the sup- 
 port of religion ; I have tried to preach 
 several times during the past year on differ- 
 ent aspects of this subject ; and I have looked 
 into the actual practice of the average Chris- 
 tian in regard to his giving to the cause of 
 
 (255) 
 
256 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 Christ. The result has been that I am more 
 deeply impressed than ever with the impor- 
 tance of this subject, and at the same time I 
 have been humbled beyond measure to find 
 that the average Christian is sometimes con- 
 tent to spend more on a single luxury than he 
 gives to the support of religion. 
 
 I have observed that the matter of Chris- 
 tian liberality is pressed upon us not only by 
 the claims of the institutions of religion at 
 home, but also in connection with the duty of 
 the Christian Church to send the Gospel to 
 the heathen. The people in pagan lands are 
 not, as a rule, at first anxious to have the 
 Gospel preached among them. This entails 
 expense in sending missionaries, and this ex- 
 pense must be met by those in Christian 
 lands who send the missionaries. The energy 
 with which mission work is pushed on is one 
 of the hopeful signs of this age, for I have 
 observed that when Christian people are most 
 deeply concerned about others, they are most 
 likely to be prospered themselves. I am con- 
 vinced that the Bible is profoundly true when 
 
Bible Giving, 257 
 
 it says that " the liberal soul shall be made 
 fat." 
 
 This being the case, it has occurred to me 
 that no more important matter, of a practical 
 kind, can be brought before the minds of 
 Christian people than that of Christian liber- 
 ality. I confess that I have got over a kind 
 of delicacy which I once had in speaking 
 about money in connection with the preaching 
 of the Gospel, and the exposition of the Scrip- 
 tures. I am convinced that our giving to the 
 Lord's cause is a distinctly religious act, and 
 our duty in regard to that act ought to be 
 clearly understood. Christian people should 
 never forget that they are not absolute pos- 
 sessors of the money or other things which 
 they call theirs. They are only stewards of 
 the manifold gifts of God ; and, for my part, 
 I am exceedingly anxious to learn how I can 
 best attend to the duties of my stewardship. 
 
 Ever since I was a lad, I have been familiar 
 with several curious methods by means of 
 which money is raised for religious purposes. 
 I can remember my first tea-meeting, and how 
 
258 
 
 The Path to Wealth, 
 
 I thought what a strange thing it was to eat 
 and drink in God's house. I have been at 
 scores of such meetings since my childhood, 
 and I have seen almost every kind of device 
 brought into play, from the bazaar to the 
 
 OLD-FASHIONED TEA DRINKING. 
 
 cake or cane competition, for the purpose of 
 raising money for Church objects. Since I 
 have grown older I have looked with some 
 care at these things, and have become more 
 and more convinced that for the purpose of 
 
Bible Giving. 259 
 
 raising money for religious objects tHey 
 are all wrong in principle and injurious in 
 practice. 
 
 It Has, indeed, occurred to me that a general 
 reform is needed in this important matter. I 
 trust that paper may be helpful in doing 
 something in this direction. I shall group 
 my remarks on this subject under two main 
 heads. Under the first I shall treat of the 
 essential nature of Christian giving; and 
 under the second I shall seek to discover the 
 rule by which that giving should be deter- 
 mined. Hence we must, in the first place, 
 seek to get a clear and definite idea of what 
 Christian liberality involves ; then, in the 
 second place, we must try to find a well- 
 defined standard by means of which we may 
 be able to know when we do our duty in re- 
 gard to this important matter. Each of these 
 topics will be considered in a separate chap- 
 ter, and in as simple and conversational a 
 mariner as possible, so that ordinary readers 
 may be the more fully informed by what is set 
 forth. 
 
.<^:^^^ 
 
 MATTHEW VASSAR. 
 
 The founder of Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, N. Y., at a 
 cost of $400,000. Mr. Vassar was born in England, but was 
 taken to America when four years old. He began business as an 
 errand boy, and ended a very wealthy man An active member 
 of the Baptist Church, and rich in good works. 
 (260) 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 Bible Giving: Its Nature. 
 
 In seeking to understand the nature of 
 Christian Hberality, I wish to take the reader 
 to the Bible at once for instruction thereon, 
 for I am sure that every Christian will agree 
 that the Bible is the best place to get teach- 
 ing on this topic. In this, as in all other 
 vital matters, we should be guided, not by ex- 
 pediency or mere human opinion, but by what 
 God himself says in His Word. I shall, 
 therefore, seek to find out from the Scriptures 
 what they teach in regard to the real nature 
 of our giving to religious objects. 
 
 I desire to get a good foundation laid for 
 my practice, so that I shall not blunder in the 
 exercise of the grace of Christian liberality. 
 I shall only be satisfied, when I have laid the 
 foundation, not on the shifting sands of mere 
 human reasoning, but on the solid rock of the 
 Word of God. Having secured a good foun- 
 
 (26l) 
 
262 The Path to Wealth, 
 
 dation in this way, I vshall then proceed to 
 erect a suitable and durable building thereon. 
 In other words, having laid down the Scrip- 
 tural basis or principle of our giving to God's 
 cause, I shall proceed to make some applica- 
 tions of this principle to several concrete cases 
 to be found in actual practice. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 The Bible Foundation, 
 
 I ask you now to open the Bible, and trace 
 out with me, in a very general way, what it 
 says about giving to the Lord. Let me ask 
 you to turn to the beginning of the Book, for 
 it will be of great moment to find something 
 about gifts and offerings all through its dif- 
 ferent parts. 
 
 Turning to the fourth chapter of Genesis, 
 I find the first brothers of the human race 
 bringing offerings to God. " And in process 
 of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of 
 the fruit of the ground an offering unto the 
 Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the first- 
 
Bible Giving. 263 
 
 lings of his flock, and of the fat thereof" 
 There is no need to decide, so far as our pres- 
 ent purpose is concerned, why Abel's gift was 
 accepted and Cain's rejected, for what we re- 
 quire is only to observe that these two men, 
 of their own choice and under a sense of duty 
 or obligation to God, brought their respective 
 offerings to Him. I have no doubt that Abel's 
 spirit was better than Cain's, but both alike 
 brought an offering. 
 
 In regard to Noah, in the eighth chapter of 
 Genesis, we read, that after the waters of the 
 flood were dried up, " Noah builded an altar 
 unto the Lord ; and took of every clean beast, 
 and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt- 
 offerings on the altar." In the life of Abra- 
 ham, amongst the offerings which, from time 
 to time, he made, we read that he was required 
 on one occasion to make a remarkable offering. 
 In the twenty-second chapter of Genesis, we 
 find God speaking to Abraham in the follow- 
 ing way : " Take now thy son, thine only son 
 Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the 
 land of Moriali ; and offer him there for a 
 
264 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 burnt-offering upon one of the mountains 
 which I will tell thee of." Here God required 
 a very peculiar and precious offering from 
 Abraham ; and even though a substitute for 
 his son was found in the ram caught in the 
 thicket, the idea of an offering to God re- 
 mains. This is what we carry with us from 
 this event. 
 
 Now, as you read through the rest of Gen- 
 esis with me, you will find that the patriarchs, 
 from time to time and in various ways, made, 
 either by God's command or by an inward 
 spiritual impulse, offerings to the Lord. They 
 all illustrate the same thought of giving some- 
 thing which we call ours to the service of God. 
 
 When we come to the age of Moses, and 
 read on through Leviticus and Deuteronomy 
 in particular, we find ourselves among almost 
 endless offerings and givings required of the 
 Jews in connection with their religious duty 
 and service. I would like to help you to 
 study this vast system of offerings, for the 
 purpose of discovering, as far as possible, what 
 is the real nature of an offering which is ac- 
 
Bible Giving, 265 
 
 ceptable to God, and what should be the spirit 
 of the person making the offering, so that it 
 may be pleasing in His sight. I cannot go 
 into minute details, yet I trust that some gen- 
 eral outlines may help us to a proper knowl- 
 edge of Bible teaching on the subject of giving 
 for religious purposes. 
 
 As we read carefully through the writings 
 of Moses, we find that all the offerings he 
 speaks of may be divided into three general 
 classes. In the first place, I find those offer- 
 ings which were set apart for the permanent 
 service of God and of the sanctuary. In the 
 seventh chapter of Numbers we find these 
 offerings described in connection with the set- 
 ting up of the Tabernacle service. '' And they 
 brought their offering before the Lord, six 
 covered wagons, and twelve oxen ; a wagon 
 for two of the princes, and for each one an ox ; 
 and they brought them before the Tabernacle. 
 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Take 
 it of them, that they may be to do the service 
 of the Tabernacle of the congregation ; and 
 
 thou shalt give them unto the Levites, to every 
 18 
 
266 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 man according to his service." In the thirty- 
 first chapter of Numbers, 50th to 5 2d verses, 
 we find allusion to other offerings of a some- 
 what different kind, but for the same purpose. 
 " We have therefore brought an oblation for 
 the Lord, what every man hath gotten, of 
 jewels of gold, chains and bracelets, rings, ear- 
 rings and tablets, to make an atonement for 
 our souls before the Lord. And Moses and 
 Eleazar the priest took the gold of them, even 
 all wrought jewels. And all the gold of the 
 offering that they offered up to the Lord, of the 
 captains of thousands, and of the captains of 
 hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred 
 and fifty shekels." 
 
 In the class of offerings represented by such 
 cases as those just referred to, we have the 
 contributions which provided for the construc- 
 tion and furnishing of the sanctuary and the 
 maintenance of religious services therein, as 
 well as provision for the support of the per- 
 sons whose duty it was to attend to those ser- 
 vices. In this class, also, we have the type of 
 the provision to be made in all ages for the 
 
Bible Giving. 267 
 
 support of religious ordinances among men. 
 This is an abiding call for oiferings to be made 
 to God, for the duty of worship is a permanent 
 one. 
 
 In the second place, we find a large class of 
 offerings which were brought to God as a kind 
 of state tax in support of the priests and Le- 
 vites. The Jewish nation was a theocracy. 
 Jehovah was their king, and they held their 
 land in fee from Him. Hence certain offer- 
 ings were required, as a species of tax or rent 
 from the land. These offerings were of various 
 kinds, and are frequently spoken of in the writ- 
 ings of Moses. 
 
 In Exodus, the thirteenth chapter, we read : 
 "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 
 Sanctify unto me all the first-born, whatsoever 
 openeth the womb among the children of Israel, 
 both of man and beast ; it is mine." Hence, 
 as the first-born of every Jewish family, and of 
 their flocks and herds, were spared in Egypt, 
 so ever after God claimed these as His. 
 
 Again, in the eighteenth chapter of Num- 
 bers, we read : '' All the best of the oil, and all 
 
268 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 the best of the wine, and of the wheat, the first- 
 fruits of them which they shall offer unto the 
 Lord, them have I given thee. And whatso- 
 ever is first ripe in the land, which they shall 
 bring unto the Lord, shall be thine." Here 
 we have offerings from the produce of the land 
 dedicated to God. In the eighteenth chapter 
 of Deuteronomy we have a similar passage: 
 ^' The first-fruits of thy corn, of thy wine, and 
 of thine oil, and the first of the fleece of thy 
 sheep, shalt thou give him (the priest). For 
 the Lord thy God hath chosen him to minister 
 in the name of the Lord, him and his sons for- 
 ever." This passage indicates the special way 
 in which the priests were to be supported. It 
 is very interesting to notice that the laws re- 
 garding these offerings were renewed after the 
 captivity. Thus, in the tenth chapter of Ne- 
 hemiah, we read : '' And to bring the first-fruits 
 of our ground ; and the first-fruits of all the 
 fruit of all trees year by year unto the house 
 of the Lord : Also the first-born of our sons, 
 and of our cattle, as it is written in the Law, 
 and the firstlings of our herds and of our 
 
Bible Giving, 269 
 
 flocks, to bring to the house of our God, unto 
 the priests that minister in the house of our 
 
 God." 
 
 In the eighteenth of Numbers we find an- 
 other curious fact in connection with the giv- 
 ing of what the people possessed to the service 
 of the Lord: "And the firstlings of unclean 
 beasts shalt thou redeem. And those that are 
 to be redeemed, from a month old shalt thou 
 redeem, according to thy estimation, for the 
 money of five shekels, after the shekel of the 
 sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs. But the 
 firstling of a cow, or the firstling of a goat, 
 thou shalt not redeem; they are holy; thou 
 shalt sprinkle their blood upon the altar." 
 This passage emphasizes the distinction be- 
 tween things clean and unclean. Yet at the 
 same time God makes a claim upon both — 
 upon the clean directly, and upon the unclean 
 by redemption. 
 
 In the third general class of offerings are 
 includes all those which were laid upon the 
 altar, and consumed there, wholly or in part, 
 by fire. These were usually regarded as offer- 
 
270 The Path to Wealth, 
 
 ings of a higher and more sacred order than 
 those already mentioned. To enter into detail 
 here would lead us to discuss the whole s^^stem 
 of Jewish sacrifice, but it is not necessary for 
 our present purpose that we should do so. In 
 the first chapter of Leviticus we find the key- 
 note to the peculiarity of these offerings : 
 *' And the priest shall burn all on the altar, to 
 be a burnt-sacrifice, an offering made by fire, 
 of a sweet savour unto the Lord.'''' Again, 
 *^ It is a burnt-sacrifice, an offering made by 
 fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord^ The 
 two things which mark this class of offerings 
 are, first, that they were to be burned on the 
 altar ; and, secondly, that they formed a sweet 
 savour unto Jehovah. They were to be offered 
 to Jehovah personally, in the place where He 
 promised to meet with his people to bless them. 
 If we look carefully at these various offer- 
 ings, and seek to discover the spirit which 
 should prompt men to make them, we shall 
 find several important principles involved. If 
 we can seize these and apply them a great deal 
 will be gained. 
 
Bible Giving. 271 
 
 In the first place, you will observe that in 
 every case the offermg made must be the pr^op- 
 erty of the person snaking it. Many passages 
 of Scripture confirm this statement. In the 
 last chapter of II Samuel we read : " And 
 Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the 
 king take and offer what seemeth good unto 
 him ; behold here is oxen for burnt-sacrifice, 
 and threshing instruments and other instru- 
 ments of the oxen for wood. All these things 
 did Araunah, as a king, give unto the king. 
 And Araunah said unto the king. The Lord 
 thy God accept thee. And the king said unto 
 Araunah, Nay ; but I will surely bu}^ it of 
 thee at a price : neither will I offer burnt-offer- 
 ings unto the Lord my God of that which 
 doth cost me nothing. So David bought the 
 threshing-floor and the oxen for fifty shekels 
 of silver." 
 
 This statement is further confirmed by what 
 we find Ezra and Nehemiah doing in their 
 days. In the seventh chapter of Ezra we read, 
 in connection with the return from the Cap- 
 tivity : "And all the silver and gold that thou 
 
272 
 
 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 canst find in all the province of Babylon, with 
 the freewill offering of the people, and of the 
 priests, offering willingly for the house of their 
 God, which is in Jerusalem : that thou mayest 
 buy speedily with this money, bullocks, rams, 
 lambs, with 'their meat-offerings and their 
 drink-offerings, and offer them upon the altar 
 of the house of your God which is in Jeru- 
 salem." Nehemiah's words, in the tenth chap- 
 ter of his book, are equally significant : " Also 
 we made ordinances for us, to charge ourselves 
 yearly with the third part of a shekel for the 
 service of the house of our God ; for the shew- 
 bread, and for the continual meat-offering, and 
 for the continual burnt-offering, of the Sab- 
 baths, of the new moons, for the set feasts, and 
 for the holy things, and for the sin-offerings 
 to make an atonement for Israel, and for all 
 the work of the house of our God." 
 
 These quotations of God's Word, which we 
 have made at length, bring out the important 
 fact that everything brought to God as an 
 offering must be our own property, or ac- 
 cj^uired by u§ in a proper and honest way. 
 
Bible Giving. 273 
 
 The Jews were distinctly taught this, and in 
 our own day we need to observe that not only 
 must we be able to call what we give to God 
 our own, but we must be sure also that we 
 have come into possession of it in a perfectly 
 honest way. God will not honor the ways of 
 injustice, nor will He accept the fruits of dis- 
 honesty. We shall keep this in mind, for we 
 may have occasion to refer to it again in the 
 course of this paper. 
 
 In the second place, you will observe that 
 these offerings were all dedicated to God. 
 They were holy gifts, and, as such, were set 
 apart for God and appropriated to His service. 
 It mattered not if parts of some of the offerings 
 went to support the priests while attending to 
 their duties, they were nevertheless all re- 
 garded as given to God. They were made as 
 an acknowledgment of God's greatness and 
 goodness, and of the desire of the people to 
 enjoy the favor and fellowship of God. In 
 this connection it is interesting to read the 
 thirty-eighth verse of the twenty-eighth chapter 
 of Exodus. Of the plate of pure gold, which 
 
274 ^^^^ Path to Wealth. 
 
 was to be put on the mitre of the high priest, 
 it is said: ^^ And it shall be upon Aaron's fore- 
 head, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the 
 holy things, which the children of Israel shall 
 hallow in all their holy gifts ; and it shall be 
 always upon his forehead, that they may be 
 accepted before the Lord." Here it is evident 
 that the gifts, and the people with their offer- 
 ings, were to be dedicated to God, before the 
 right to claim acceptance and favor at God's 
 hand was the portion of the people. The peo- 
 ple were not to give that they might get similar 
 gifts in return ; they were to give that they 
 might render a service or make an offering 
 freely and fully unto the Lord. 
 
 It is clear, therefore, that these offerings had 
 value, not so much in themselves as in the 
 spirit and feelings cherished by the person 
 making the offering. The gift indeed may be 
 of great value. or of little worth in itself, yet its 
 value in God's sight will depend on the spirit 
 which moved the offerer in presenting his gift. 
 It is not the gift, but the giver in his gift, 
 which has meaning before God. It is the d^- 
 
Bible Giving, 275 
 
 vout spiritual feelings which the gift expresses 
 that make the real offering which God regards 
 and delights in. For their own sake or value 
 God can care but little for mere material gifts, 
 but the devotion of an earnest, humble, grate- 
 ful heart is ever a sacrifice pleasing in His 
 sight. 
 
 There is a passage in Kurtz's '' Sacrificial 
 Worship," page 55, which expresses the truth 
 here so well that I cannot forbear quoting it 
 at length, as better than any words of mine 
 could be here : "In these gifts, which were 
 justly his acquired property, gained by the 
 sweat of his face and the exercise of his earthly 
 calling, he offered, in a certain sense, an ob- 
 jective portion of himself, since the sweat 
 of his own labor adhered to it, and he had ex- 
 pended his own vital energy upon it, and 
 thereby, as it were, really gave it life. In this 
 way he gave expression to his consciousness 
 of the absolute dependence of his whole life 
 and activity upon the grace and blessing of 
 God, and to his obligation to devote it entirely 
 to God and to divine purposes in praise, thanks- 
 
276 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 giving and prayer. He gave partially back to 
 God what he received entirely from God, and had 
 wrought out and acquired through the bless- 
 ing of God. And in the part he sanctified and 
 consecrated the whole, or all that he retained 
 and applied to the maintenance of his own life 
 and strength, and with this his own life also, 
 to the maintenance of which he had devoted 
 if' 
 
 In the third place, the offermgs were to be 
 of the first-fruits of the possessions of the 
 offerer. The first produce of field and flock 
 was held sacred, and this, not the last or poor- 
 est, was to be dedicated to the Lord. The 
 first-born, both of man and beast, were claimed 
 by God, and these had either to be redeemed, 
 that their price might be set apart for religious 
 purposes, or they had actually to be given to 
 the Lord and His service. 
 
 There are so many passages of Scripture 
 which bring this out, that we need only quote 
 a few, as samples of the strong Bible basis 
 there is for giving the first and the best of our 
 possessions to God's service, In the twenty- 
 
Bible Giving. 
 
 277 
 
 second chapter of Exodus we read : ^' Thou 
 shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe 
 fruits, and of thy liquors ; the first-born of thy 
 sons shalt thou give unto me. Likewise shalt 
 thou do with thy oxen, and with thy sheep." 
 
 HEBREW BRINGING FIRST-FRUITS. 
 
 In the twenty-third chapter of Exodus we read: 
 '' The first of the first-fruits of thy land thou 
 shalt bring into the house of the Lord thy God." 
 In the twenty-third chapter of Leviticus we 
 read : ^'And the Lord spake unto Moses, say- 
 
278 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 ing, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say 
 unto them, When ye be come into the land 
 which I give unto you, and shall reap the har- 
 vest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the 
 first-fruits of your harvest unto the priest." 
 Similar passages might be quoted in great 
 numbers from Numbers and Deuteronomy. 
 
 In later times we find the principle of the 
 first-fruits enjoined. In the days of Solomon 
 we find in the Book of Proverbs the following: 
 " Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with 
 the first-fruits of thine increase." In the tenth 
 chapter of Nehemiah, and at the time of the 
 exile, we read : "And to bring the first-fruits 
 of our ground, and the first-fruits of all fruit 
 of all trees year by year unto the house of the 
 Lord; also the first-born of our sons and of 
 our cattle, . . . and the firstlings of our herds 
 and of our flocks, to bring to the house of our 
 God." 
 
 From these and scores of similar passages, 
 we learn the very important truth that the 
 first-born of man and beast, the first-fruits of 
 forest and field, were claimed by God, and that 
 
Bible Giving, 279 
 
 neglect to render to Him His dues was really 
 sinful. Not only were the first-fruits to be 
 rendered in a collective way by the congrega- 
 tion as a whole, but they were to be rendered 
 by each of the families of the people out of the 
 yearly produce which God might give them. 
 No fixed quantity was required as the proper 
 discharge of the duty. Each person was left 
 to the promptings of his own religious feelings 
 in this respect, as no doubt God regarded the 
 spirit in which the first-fruits were brought as 
 of more value than the amount of the gifts in 
 themselves. In the Talmud there are many 
 curious rules given regarding the presentation 
 of the first-fruits. It states that the sixtieth 
 was the least part that could be given ; while a 
 fortieth or a thirtieth was to be regarded as the 
 proof of a willing mind. In later times the 
 first-fruits were often turned into money by the 
 more distant Jews, and the money sent in in- 
 stead of the first-fruits themselves. 
 
 It is interesting to note in this connection 
 that the offerings of first-fruits was by no means 
 peculiar to the Jews. It prevailed in many of 
 
28o The Path to Wealth. 
 
 the leading pagan nations of ancient times. 
 Spencer presents many interesting facts in 
 regard to this practice among other nations 
 than the Jews. His quotations from ancient 
 writers go to show that there seems to have 
 been at the basis of this practice, a conviction 
 that the portions of the fruits which were first 
 ripe were the best, and that these belonged 
 specially to the gods, as a token of gratitude, 
 and as a ground of security for future years. 
 It was man's nature gift to nature's God. 
 From these facts in and out of the Bible, it is 
 evident that the feeling which prompted the 
 giving of the first and best of all kinds of pro- 
 duce was a deeply rooted conviction in the 
 minds of men. 
 
 The Talmud gives extended directions in 
 regard to the way in which the first-fruits 
 should be presented. When the offerer came 
 near to the sanctuary, we have the following 
 description : " When they were come thither, 
 they took every man his basket on his shoulder, 
 and said, ' Hallelujah, praise God in His sanc- 
 tuary ! ' and they went thus and sang till they 
 
Bible Giving. 281 
 
 came to the court-yard. When they were 
 come thither, the Levites sang, ' I will exalt 
 thee, O Lord, for thou hast lifted me up.' The 
 owner of the basket, while it was still upon his 
 shoulder, made the declaration, ' I profess this 
 day unto Jehovah, thy God, that I am come 
 into the land which Jehovah sware unto our 
 fathers to give it unto us.' Then he let down 
 the basket from his shoulder, and the priest 
 put his hand under it, and waved it, and he 
 said, 'A Syrian ready to perish was my father.' 
 And he left it at the altar's side, at the south- 
 west horn, on the south side of the horn, and 
 bowed himself down, and went out." Accord- 
 ing to this account the presentation of the first- 
 fruits was a distinctly religious act. 
 
 The fourth principle involved in these 
 various offerings is, that they were presented 
 as voluntary or freewill gifts. We have here 
 to note that certain offerings were called 
 " freewill offerings," and were in some respects 
 peculiar in their nature. In the twelfth chap- 
 ter of Deuteronomy we read : ''And thither 
 ye shall bring your burnt-offerings, and 
 
282 The Path to Wealth, 
 
 your sacrifices, and your tithes, and your 
 heave-offerings of your hand, and your vows, 
 and your freewill offerings^ and the firstlings 
 of your herds and of your flocks." In the 
 twenty-second chapter of Leviticus we read : 
 ^'And whosoever offereth a sacrifice of peace- 
 offerings unto the Lord to accomplish his vow, 
 or a freewill offering in beeves or sheep, it 
 shall be perfect to be accepted ; there shall be 
 no blemish therein." In these and like 
 passages we have a special kind of offerings 
 alluded to, and directions given concerning 
 them. 
 
 It is not so much to these passages, or to 
 the particular offerings called freewill offer- 
 ings, that our attention is turned by the vol- 
 untary or freewill principle. This principle 
 applies alike to all kinds of gifts and offerings 
 to the Lord. It requires that these shall be 
 rendered cheerfully and willingly to God. 
 This principle is found in such passages as 
 the following : — In the twenty-fifth of Exodus 
 we read : " Speak unto the children of Israel, 
 that they may bring me an offering : of every 
 
Bible Giving, 283 
 
 man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye 
 shall take my offering." Here we learn that 
 only those gifts were to be accepted which 
 were given willingly with the heart. In con- 
 nection with the preparations made by David 
 for the building of the Temple, we have a 
 striking example of this principle. In the 
 last chapter of I Chronicles we read : " Then 
 the people rejoiced, for that they offered will- 
 ingly^ because with perfect heart they offered 
 willingly to the Lord: and David the king 
 also rejoiced with great joy." The rulers and 
 the people alike made their gifts with great 
 alacrity and willingness. In this fact lies the 
 chief value of the offering made. In itself 
 it may be much or little, but in the spirit in 
 which it is offered there must be a willing 
 surrender of the gift to the Lord. We shall 
 see the import of this a little further on. 
 
 In the fifth place, the principle of represen- 
 tation comes into view in connection with all 
 the offerings before us. The offering repre- 
 sents the offerer, or his possessions, before God. 
 This principle is of deep and profound import 
 
284 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 in understanding tlie real purport of these 
 offerings the people were required to make. 
 A few passages will suffice here. In the 
 twenty-ninth of Exodus we read : " This shall 
 be a continual burnt-offering throughout your 
 generations, at the door of the tabernacle of 
 the congregation before the Lord : where I 
 will meet you, to speak there unto thee. And 
 there will / meet with the children of Israel^ 
 and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my 
 glory. And I will dwell among the children 
 of Israel, and will be their God." In the 
 thirtieth of Exodus we read : ''And thou shalt 
 take the atonement mojtey of the children of 
 Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of 
 the tabernacle of the congregation ; that it 
 may be a memorial unto the children of Israel 
 before the Lord, to make atonement for your 
 souls. ^^ In the first of Leviticus we also read, 
 concerning the sacrifices the people were to 
 bring : ''If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of 
 the herd ... he shall offer it of his own 
 voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle 
 of the Lord. And he shall put his hand upon 
 
Bible Giving. 285 
 
 the head of the burnt-offering : and // shall be 
 accepted for him^ to make an atonement for 
 himP In these passages we observe that the 
 offering represents the offerer. This is clearly 
 evident when the life of the victim is offered 
 in place of the life of him who offers it. In 
 many other offerings we have the feelings of 
 reverence and gratitude on the part of the 
 offerer represented. These offerings were part 
 of his own property, and, in a sense, they are 
 part of himself. When he makes the offering, 
 his spiritual feelings are really represented by 
 the gift made. 
 
 Then it may be added, that the principle of 
 the first-fruits and first-born really involves the 
 principle of representation. The first-fruits 
 represented the whole harvest, and the first- 
 born represents the whole family or flock. In 
 the giving of a part to the Lord, the whole was 
 dedicated to His service. The part represents 
 the whole, and at the same time sanctifies it. 
 
 From the Old Testament we have obtained 
 five very important principles regarding giving 
 to the Lord. First, what a man gives must be 
 
286 The Path to Wealth, 
 
 his own property, honestly acquired. Dis- 
 honest gain, or wealth gotten in wicked ways, 
 cannot be acceptable to God. Secondly, the 
 offering must be distinctly dedicated to God. 
 It is not to be given to a good cause in order to 
 make a good name, or get gain. Thirdly, the 
 giving must be of the nature of a freewill offer- 
 ing. It is not to be regarded as a tax imposed; 
 it is rather a privilege to be enjoyed. The 
 spirit must be entirely voluntary. Fourthly, 
 the offering must consist of the first-born and 
 first-fruits. The first and best, not the last 
 and worst, are the Lord's. Fifthly, the offer- 
 ing represents the offerer, and should express 
 his spiritual feelings. The gift may be of lit- 
 tle value or much ; the main import of the 
 offering is in the spirit which prompts the 
 giver to make his offering. 
 
 In order to make the Bible basis of our 
 views of giving to the Lord broad and stable, 
 we require to look at the teaching of the 
 New Testament on this subject. If we find 
 that its teaching agrees with that of the 
 Old Testament, then the Bible basis for 
 
Bible Giving. 287 
 
 right views of giving to Christ's cause is un- 
 derstood. 
 
 At the outset here we must keep in mind, 
 that while many things in the Law of Moses 
 were for Jews only, and were fulfilled when 
 Christ came, there are many things also en- 
 joined in the Mosaic Code which, on the grounds 
 of natural religion as well as revealed, are 
 always binding on men. Among those things 
 permanently binding on men in all ages, is the 
 duty of supporting the institutions of religion 
 in their midst. It by no means follows that 
 because men under the Gospel dispensation are 
 not required to bring animals of various kinds 
 for sacrifice, therefore they are not now under 
 obligation to give of their means to support 
 Christian ordinances, and to send the Gospel to 
 others in heathen lands. " The laborer is 
 worthy of his hire." " They that preach the 
 Gospel shall live by the Gospel." 
 
 Again, it must not be forgotten that, in un- 
 derstanding the connection between the Old 
 Testament and the New, we have to observe 
 that what is not fulfilled in nor repealed by the 
 
288 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 New Testament, is still binding on Christians. 
 Thus the ten commandments, and the Sabbath 
 law in particular, are still obligatory. They 
 are enjoined in the Old Testament, and were 
 binding on the Jews. They stand unrepealed, 
 and are, indeed, emphasized and expanded in 
 meaning in the New Testament, and Christians 
 are under obligation to observe such laws. 
 The sacrifices, on the other hand, were fulfilled 
 in Christ, and circumcision was no longer en- 
 joined, and so Christians are not required to 
 submit to the latter nor bring the former. 
 
 Now, if we look at the permanent offerings 
 of which we have already spoken, and which 
 were for the continuous support of the institu- 
 tions and ordinances of religion, and of those 
 who had charge of these institutions and ordi- 
 nances, we find that they were not abrogated, 
 or done away with. 
 
 We feel justified in concluding, therefore, 
 that the obligation to support the ordinances of 
 religion is still resting on men under the Chris- 
 tian dispensation. The relation between God 
 and man, as Creator and creature, is an abiding 
 
Bible Givmg. 289 
 
 one. It exists in the very nature of things. 
 Ont of this relation springs the dnty and privi- 
 lege of worship. This worship must be main- 
 tained and properly supported. To do this, 
 requires men to bring in their gifts and offer- 
 ings. The Old Testament gives injunctions 
 and directions in regard to these things. These 
 have not been repealed, nor fulfilled, in what 
 the New Testament teaches ; nor have the cir- 
 cumstances of worship so changed, as to ren- 
 der gifts and offerings of no use. Hence we 
 assume that the obligation rests on the Chris- 
 tian Church to maintain and support her 
 ordinances. 
 
 Now let us look at the New Testament, with 
 the view of finding out whether the five prin- 
 ciples discovered in the Old are implied or set 
 forth in the New. 
 
 In regard to the first, that the gift presented 
 to the Lord's cause must be our own property 
 honestly acquired, it is self-evident that this 
 principle must apply to the New Testament 
 and to the givings of Christian people to the 
 support of religious ordinances. But we find 
 
290 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 distinct recognition of this principle in several 
 passages^of the New Testament. In the fourth 
 chapter of the Acts we read : ''And with great 
 power gave the apostles witness of the resur- 
 rection of the Lord Jesus ; and great grace was 
 upon them all. Neither was there any among 
 them that lacked ; for as many as were posses- 
 sors of houses or lands sold them, and brought 
 the prices of the things that were sold and laid 
 them at the apostles' feet." Here we see that 
 the gifts offered were the possessions of those 
 making them. The property was turned into 
 money, and the money was given. 
 
 The case of Ananias and Sapphira, recorded 
 in the fifth chapter of Acts, involves the same 
 principle. Concerning it we read: " Whilst it 
 remained was it not their own ? and after it 
 was sold was it not in their own power ? Why 
 hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart ? 
 Thou hast not lied unto men but unto God." 
 Here we find ownership emphasized, and the 
 mistake Ananias made was in professing to 
 sell and give all the proceeds of his property 
 to the apostles, and at the same time he was 
 
Bible Giving. 291 
 
 keeping back part of it secretly. But the 
 property was his own, and from this he was 
 making a partial offering when he should have 
 given the whole. 
 
 In II Corinthians, the eighth chapter, we 
 find the Christian liberality of one place help- 
 ing the need of the Christians in another place. 
 " For to their power, I bear record, yea and be- 
 yond their power, they were willing of them- 
 selves ; praying us with much entreaty that 
 we would receive the gift, and take upon us the 
 fellowship of the ministering to the saints." 
 The gift here spoken of was no doubt from the 
 property of those making it, so that from the 
 abundance of some the need of others might 
 be supplied. 
 
 We have thus shown with some little care 
 that the principle of ownership which seems 
 so simple and self-evident, is clearly implied in 
 the New Testament. The reason why we have 
 emphasized this point is, that it condemns 
 many modern methods of raising money for 
 religious purposes. The aim of many of these 
 methods seems to be to get as much money as 
 
292 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 possible from outsiders, and thus save the 
 purses of the church members. These methods 
 are rather schemes by which others may be led 
 to give, and thus what is given is not our prop- 
 erty, and has not the stamp of ownership upon 
 it. This point will come before us again, and 
 we leave it with this mere hint now. 
 
 In regard to the second principle, that all 
 offerings are to be dedicated directl}^ or indi- 
 rectly to God, we need only say, that it is as 
 clearly involved in the New Testament as in 
 the Old. It, too, may be taken to be self- 
 evident, yet it will do no harm to recite a few 
 passages which enjoin this truth. The New 
 Testament basis of this principle will then be 
 unquestioned. We have Christ's remarkable 
 words in the twelfth chapter of Mark: "And 
 Jesus answered and said unto them. Render 
 unto Csesar the things that are Caesar's, and 
 unto God the things that are God's." Here 
 we have the principle involved, that religious 
 offerings are not a mere transaction between 
 man and man, but an act of consecrating the 
 gift and service to God. In II Corinthians, 
 
Bible Giving, 593 
 
 ninth chapter, we read in the same line : " Being 
 enriched in everything to all bountifulness, 
 which causes through us thanksgiving to God. 
 For the administration of this service not only 
 supplieth the want of the saints, but is abun- 
 dant also by many thanksgivings unto God ; 
 while, by the experiment of this ministration, 
 they glorify God for your professed subjection 
 unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal 
 distribution unto them, and unto all men." 
 Here the givings of Christians to relieve the 
 need of their suffering brethren is regarded as 
 an offering to God, producing thanksgiving 
 and bringing glory to Him. Our eating and 
 drinking, our serving and giving, should all be 
 done unto God and for His glory. 
 
 In the last chapter of Philippians we see how 
 Paul regarded certain offerings which one of 
 his friends and fellow-laborers brought him, 
 when he says : "But I have all, and abound ; 
 I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the 
 things which were sent from you, an odor of a 
 sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleas- 
 ing to God." Here what the Christian people 
 
294 ^^^^ Path to Wealth, 
 
 gave Paul was regarded by him as an ofifering 
 to God. In like manner, what was given to 
 support the laborer in the great gospel harvest 
 field is to be regarded as an offering to the 
 Lord. '' They that preach the gospel are to 
 live by the gospel," and that living is a sacred 
 gift, and not merely a simple financial trans- 
 action. The Old Testament and New, we be- 
 lieve, are at one on this point. The institutions 
 and ordinances of religion must be supported 
 by the Christian community, and that support 
 is to be regarded not simply as pay given to 
 certain men, but as an offering made to God 
 for the support of gospel ordinances in their 
 midst. 
 
 In reference to the third principle, that 
 these offerings should be of the first-fruits, we 
 find New Testament teaching clear and fre- 
 quent, so that the Christian as well as the Jew 
 is bound to give the first and best to the Lord. 
 In the New Testament there was not the same 
 scope for this principle as in the Old. In the 
 Old many different kinds of sacrifices and 
 offerings were required. These were to con- 
 
EPAPHRODITUS BRINGING GIF^IO PAUL, P„,.„P„..s .v. 
 
 (295) 
 
296 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 sist in the first-fruits and first-bom. They 
 were to indicate in this way that the best of 
 man's produce and of his service was to be set 
 apart to God. 
 
 The Christian presents himself and his pos- 
 sessions to God. Thus, in the eighth chapter 
 of II Corinthians, we read: "Praying us with 
 much entreaty that we would receive the gift, 
 and take upon us the fellowship of the minis- 
 tering to the saints. And this they did, not 
 as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to 
 the Lord, and unto us by the will of God." 
 Here the Macedonian Christians are said to 
 have first given themselves to God, and then 
 to have given their property, and particularly 
 the collection for the poor brethren at Jeru- 
 salem. In giving themselves, they gave the 
 best that was theirs. 
 
 This principle, which was very prominent 
 in the Old Testament, stands unrepealed - in 
 the New, and hence it is binding also on the 
 Christian. This principle runs all through 
 our Lord's teaching, and it reappears in the 
 writings of the Apostles. It also condemns 
 
Bible Giving. 2gj 
 
 the practice of some outwardly respectable 
 Christians, who give as if the last fruits rather 
 than t\iQ first fruits are the Lord's. Such peo- 
 ple, when their income falls below the average, 
 begin curtailing outlay. The very first place 
 where they begin to curtail is in regard to that 
 which is to be given to the Lord and His cause. 
 The first fruit is the Lord's, and should go to 
 Him in every case. 
 
 The fourth principle, that the spirit in which 
 the offering is to be made must be voluntary — 
 freewill — is on the very surface of the New 
 Testament. In our Lord's words of commen- 
 dation concerning the two mites which the 
 poor widow cast into the treasury, we see that 
 He valued the spirit in which the gift was 
 made, rather than the real amount of the gift. 
 The element of freewill and even voluntary 
 selfsacrifice, is that which enriches the gift in 
 the sight of God. 
 
 In the eighth chapter of II Corinthians, we 
 read : " For if there be first a willing mind, it 
 is accepted according to that a man hath, and 
 not according to that he hath not. " In these 
 
298 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 words the apostle brings out our Lord's teacli- 
 ing into clear and practical effect, in the case 
 of the givings of Christian people. In the ninth 
 chapter of the same epistle, we find it written : 
 '' Every man according as he hath purposed in 
 his heart so let him give ; not grudgingly, or 
 of necessity ; for God loveth a cheerful giver." 
 Many other passages might be quoted from the 
 New Testament in support of this principle, 
 hence we conclude without further discussion 
 that all our gifts to God and all our givings 
 to His cause, should be distinctly freewill offer- 
 ings. That which is given with a grudge is 
 of little value in God's sight, while that which 
 is freely and cheerfully given, even though it 
 involve sacrifice, is of very great value in His 
 eyes. 
 
 In regard to the last principle mentioned, 
 that of representation, little need be said con- 
 cerning its New Testament basis. Our gifts 
 should all represent our possessions on the one 
 hand and our feelings on the other. The offer- 
 ing, to have any meaning, must be the expres- 
 sion of the devout and reverent feelings which 
 
Bible Giving. 299 
 
 exist in the heart of the offerer. Here, all 
 those passages which speak of Christians as 
 stewards of God's mercies, temporal and spirit- 
 ual, come into view. 
 
 Concerning the good servant, in the parable 
 of the talents, we read : " His lord saith unto 
 him, Well done, thou good and faithful ser- 
 vant ; thou hast been faithful over a few 
 things, I will make thee ruler over many 
 things ; enter thou into the joy of thy lord." 
 Here the use made of the talents represented 
 the real spirit of fidelity on the part of the 
 faithful servant ; while the man who hid the 
 talent in the earth, by the use he made of his 
 gift, displayed the opposite spirit. In the New 
 Testament, as in the Old, we find that the gift 
 should represent all our property, which we 
 hold in stewardship at God's hand ; and it 
 should also represent our feelings, and express 
 them in suitable outward form. If you read 
 carefully the eighth and ninth chapters of II 
 Corinthians, you will find running all through 
 them the same twofold application of the prin- 
 ciple of representation. We need not, however, 
 
300 The Path to Wealth, 
 
 dwell longer upon it just now; we will have 
 something more to say about it further on in 
 our discussion. 
 
 We have thus sought to lay down what 
 seems to us to be the Bible foundation of our 
 giving to the Lord and his cause. The five 
 important principles found in the Old Testa- 
 ment have also their place in the New, and 
 thus the true Scriptural nature of Bible Giv- 
 ing has been unfolded. For the permanent 
 support of the institutions of religion we get, 
 in these principles, the key as to the manner 
 in which these institutions should be provided 
 for. In further treating of this subject we 
 shall endeavor to see how far these prin- 
 ciples now rule in the methods employed by 
 the Christian Church to raise money to sup- 
 port ordinances in the community. We, no 
 doubt, will find ourselves called upon to ex- 
 amine some of the ways by which religion 
 now-a-days is supported, and perhaps some of 
 these will be condemned. In our examination 
 we shall be careful to apply the test of God's 
 Word as expressed in the principles of owner- 
 
Bible Giving. 301 
 
 ship, of consecration, of first-fruits, of freewill, 
 and of representation. To this task we now 
 proceed. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 Practical Application. 
 
 In making some practical applications of 
 the principles which form the basis of Bible 
 Giving, w^e intend to look at the condition of 
 affairs in any average Christian community, 
 and try to discover how near we are keeping 
 to Bible teaching in our actual practice and 
 methods of raising money generally for the 
 Lord's cause. This will include the raising 
 of money to build churches, and pa}^ the 
 general running expenses of maintaining 
 divine service and religious ordinances. It 
 will also include all contributions to the sup- 
 port of colleges to educate the ministry of 
 the Church ; and it will also cover all money 
 given to the cause of missions to the heathen. 
 These are the chief items pertaining to the 
 support of the permanent institutions of reli- 
 
302 The Path to Wealth, 
 
 gion, and we now wish to get at the Bible 
 method by which these are to be kept up. 
 
 It is, of course, taken for granted that these 
 ordinances of religion are of permanent obli- 
 gation upon men. They are not matters 
 which men or nations dare neglect save at 
 their great peril. It is also taken for granted 
 that the Scriptures make provision for the 
 support of duly authorized teachers in con- 
 nection with religion. In the Old Testament 
 we find that the priests and Levites were to be 
 supported by the people. In the New Testa- 
 ment the ministry of the Christian Church is 
 to be supported by the liberality of the people 
 to whom they minister. In return for the 
 spiritual things which this ministry gives the 
 people, the people are to give their carnal 
 things. They that devote their lives to 
 preaching the Gospel are to get that which 
 they need to support them from the people. 
 The ox which was used to tread out the corn 
 in the olden threshing floor was not to be 
 muzzled, but was to be allowed to eat what it 
 liked; so in the Gospel harvest-field the la- 
 
Bible Giving, 303 
 
 borer therein is to have his hire in the form 
 of suitable maintenance. Now for some prac- 
 tical applications. 
 
 First, let us look at the matter of chiirxh 
 building. In early times the Jews had the 
 Tabernacle and Temple as the places of wor- 
 ship ; and in the days which followed the 
 captivity they had their synagogues all over 
 the land. At the time of Christ, and in the 
 early days of Christianity, we find that the 
 Gospel was preached in the synagogue and in 
 private houses or rooms hired for the purpose. 
 By degrees, as Christianity gained strength 
 and separated itself from Judaism, it was 
 found necessary to have suitable meeting 
 places provided. This was especially the case 
 when Christianity extended among the pagan 
 nations, where there was no synagogue that 
 might become the home of the Christian 
 Church. 
 
 During the dark middle ages it is very in- 
 teresting to observe, that when spiritual life 
 seemed to be at a very low ebb, church build- 
 ing and architecture appears to have reached 
 
304 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 its highest excellence. It was then that those 
 cathedrals were reared, which today, whether 
 in ruins or repair, are the admiration of all 
 who look upon them. The mechanical skill 
 and architectural genius displayed in many of 
 these mediaeval piles are still a standing 
 wonder to the world ; while the amount of 
 money necessary for such structures must 
 have been very great, at a time, too, when 
 money was scarce. 
 
 In our own day, we find church edifices of 
 all sorts and sizes, from the plain little chapel 
 to the vast modern cathedral. No particular 
 style prevails, but people build according to 
 their taste and means, unless they do what we 
 fear is sometimes done, go beyond their means. 
 The question before us now is, how should the 
 money needed to erect the church building be 
 raised? Along with this question, others 
 closely related to it arise. Should all the 
 money be in hand before the building is be- 
 gun ? Should the present generation pay all, 
 or is it justified in leaving a debt as a legacy 
 to future generations ? Can money used to 
 
Bible Giving, 305 
 
 pay interest on such debts be regarded as given 
 to the Lord at all ? Is there no danger of ex- 
 travagance in some of our modern luxurious 
 church buildings ? 
 
 No exhaustive discussion of these questions 
 is here possible, yet the principles of Bible 
 giving already set forth will help us to at 
 least a partial answer to some of them. It is 
 admitted that God's service should have our 
 best, even in regard to the matter of church 
 building. When people were living in log 
 houses it was all right to worship in log build- 
 ings ; but when people became better off, and 
 live in houses of brick and stone, it is fitting 
 that they should have edifices at least as good 
 to worship God in. At the same time there 
 is danger of needless luxury, and needless ex- 
 pense in our modern church buildings. In 
 their furnishings especially, they are so rich 
 and expensive that plain people do not feel 
 at home in them, and poor people cannot pay 
 what is requisite to keep them up. 
 
 The consequences are already seen in our 
 large towns and cities. Many of the laboring 
 
3o6 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 and mechanic classes have drifted away from 
 the regular churches, and are to be numbered 
 among the non-church goers. To bring the 
 Gospel to these we find the mission hall erected, 
 and earnest evangelistic work undertaken. 
 This is good so far, yet I am persuaded that it 
 will not turn out best in the end. The result 
 will be that in the fine church we will find the 
 rich, and in the mission hall we will find the 
 poor. This brings class distinction where it 
 should never be found, for in divine worship 
 and religious instruction the rich and poor 
 should meet together, for '' the Lord is the 
 maker of them all." 
 
 In regard to church debts, I have no hesi- 
 tation in saying that they are bad^ and that 
 continually. They are a constant drain upon 
 the resources of Christian people in paying 
 interest, and they paralyze the liberality of 
 the people in almost every respect. The ex- 
 istence of a debt will keep people from joining 
 any congregation thus burdened, and by the 
 people of the congregation, the fact of their 
 having a debt will be made a standing excuse 
 
^^^ 
 
 'V I r* — ^ 
 
 THE LOG CHURCH. 
 
 (307) 
 
3o8 . The Path to Wealth. 
 
 why they should not give to mission and other 
 deserving schemes. Any one who has had 
 any experience in this matter will endorse 
 what I have just said. People naturally feel 
 that paying interest on church debts is like 
 putting money into a sink-hole. It is not 
 even the same in some respects as paying in- 
 terest on money borrowed to invest in busi- 
 ness. In the latter case, the profit made may 
 be sufficient to pay the interest and leave a 
 margin of profit, but in the case of church 
 debts, they seem to make constant demands, 
 but give no return. Of all debts, therefore, 
 church debts are the worst. 
 
 It is always best to have no debt in view 
 when church building is undertaken. Church 
 boards and building committees should exer- 
 cise the utmost care in regard to the financial 
 burdens they incur for themselves and others, 
 and Christian people should open a liberal 
 hand to provide cheerfully and promptly suit- 
 able church accommodation for themselves and 
 those who meet with them. It would be a mis- 
 take, however, to conclude that new- churches 
 
Bible Giving. 309 
 
 should not be built where people are selfish 
 and mean in their giving to the Lord. In 
 such cases, the great thing is that these illib- 
 eral people should be stirred up to a sense of 
 their duty ; and then, according to their ability, 
 let them rise and build, paying for all as they 
 go. It is poor policy for a man to build a large 
 house for himself and family to live in with 
 borrowed money, so it is exceedingly improper 
 to have a debt on the house in which we wor- 
 ship God. 
 
 The example of the Jews in preparing to 
 construct the Tabernacle and in building the 
 Temple, is full of instruction in this connec- 
 tion. In the case of the Tabernacle, in the 
 thirty-fifth chapter of Exodus we read: "And 
 they came, every one whose heart stirred him 
 up, and every one whom his spirit made will- 
 ing, and they brought the Lord's offering to 
 the work of the Tabernacle of the congrega- 
 tion, and for all His service, and for the holy 
 garments." Further on in the same chapter, 
 we find it written : "And the children of Israel 
 brought ar willing offering unto the Lord, every 
 
3IO The Path to Wealth. 
 
 man and woman whose heart made them will- 
 ing to bring, for all manner of work which the 
 Lord had commanded to be made by the hand 
 of Moses." Here we have the proper spirit and 
 manner of giving to the Lord for the purpose 
 of making a place of worship. 
 
 In the following chapter of Exodus we find 
 the result of this spirit and method of giving 
 brought out in a very striking way : '^ And all 
 the wise men, that wrought all the work of 
 the Sanctuary, came every man from his work 
 which they made ; and they spake unto Moses, 
 saying, The people bring much more than 
 enough for the service of the work which the 
 Lord commanded to make. And Moses gave 
 commandment, and they caused it to be pro- 
 claimed throughout the camp, saying. Let nei- 
 ther man nor woman make any more work for 
 the offering of the Sanctuary. So the people 
 were restrained from bringing. For the stuff 
 they had was sufficient for all the work to 
 make it, and too much." Would that we might 
 see something like this spirit among Christian 
 people at the present day! Alas, that under 
 
Bible Giving. 311 
 
 the full ligHt of Gospel truth, we have so often 
 to be urged and pressed to do what is only sim- 
 ple duty, in giving for the erection of places 
 of worship ! When will we reach the ideal the 
 old Jews have put before us in connection with 
 this very matter ? Shall we ever have to say, 
 stop, friends, we have more than enough ? In 
 order to reach this position we must get nearer 
 the Bible basis of giving ; and by working out 
 the principles of Bible giving already set forth 
 I believe that we may yet see like liberality 
 among Christians. May the Lord hasten that 
 happy day ! 
 
 In connection with the building of the 
 Temple we find the same spirit exercised in 
 the last chapter of the book of I Chronicles. 
 The account runs all through the chapter, but 
 is summarized in David's own words : ^' As for 
 me, in the uprightness of mine heart I have 
 willingly offered all these things : and now 
 have seen with joy thy people, which are pres- 
 ent here, to offer willingly to thee." Here all 
 the money and material were ready before the 
 work was undertaken, giving us the hint that 
 
312 The Path to Wealth, 
 
 we should have the funds ready before we go 
 on to build our churches, and showing unto 
 us that if we have the right spirit the money 
 will be forthcoming. If this be attained, then 
 debts on church buildings would be unknown, 
 and the willing liberality of the people would 
 be amply sufficient to supply every need. 
 Many questionable methods of raising money 
 for church building purposes must stand con- 
 demned by these principles, but of these we 
 shall speak at length further on. 
 
 In the second place, we proceed to apply 
 these principles of Bible Giving to the Pew 
 Rent system. Concerning this system there is 
 little or nothing directly set forth in Scripture. 
 Neither in Tabernacle nor Temple service had 
 the custom of paying for a particular place any 
 existence. Nor do we read of any such method 
 of raising money in the early histor}^ of the 
 Church, contained in the Acts and hinted at in 
 the Epistles. If we desired to be very critical 
 in regard to the modern pew rent system we 
 might justly say that it is unscriptural, in the 
 sense at least that the Bible says nothing 
 
Bible Giving. 313 
 
 whatever about it. To take this position, how- 
 ever, would not serve any useful purpose in 
 this discussion. 
 
 We shall rather seek to find out how far the 
 pew rent system agrees with the principles of 
 Bible Giving which have been already set 
 forth, in order to discover thereby whether it 
 is expedient for the Christian Church to adopt 
 it. If, after examination, it is found that the 
 pew rent system is not consistent with these 
 principles, then it will be a proper thing to en- 
 quire what system should be adopted. 
 
 It would lead us away from our subject too 
 far to give any extended history of the custom 
 of renting pews in churches, though such a 
 history would be of very great interest. We 
 find the custom existing as a fact, and that is 
 really all we need for our present purpose. 
 We find it existing in various forms. Some- 
 times it consists in a kind of ownership or en- 
 dowment. This arises in certain cases when 
 the church is built as the result of large sub- 
 scriptions or bequests made for the purpose of 
 
 its erection. Thus a person giving such be- 
 21 
 
314 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 quest secures or is granted a right for himself, 
 and sometimes for his heirs after him, a kind 
 of vested or property right to a certain pew in 
 the Lord's house. There are many instances 
 of this in Britain, some in the United States, 
 and a few even in Canada. 
 
 Again, we find the pew rent system in the 
 form of a mere rental, with no real proprietor- 
 ship in it. This plan of working the system 
 takes different forms, some much more objec- 
 tionable than others. In some cases it is a 
 simple fixed rate, where so much is charged 
 for the sittings, and these singly or as whole 
 pews are let out to the applicants for them. 
 Then, under this plan in certain cases the front 
 or best pews will be held at a higher rental 
 than the rear ones or than those in the gallery. 
 The applicant then has the choice of the high- 
 priced or the low-priced location in the house 
 of God as he pleases or prefers. 
 
 In connection with the renting of the pews 
 the services of the auctioneer are sometimes 
 called for. This usually takes place in cjties, 
 and in connection with the financial manage- 
 
Bible Giving. 
 
 315 
 
 ment of large and fashionable churclies with 
 popular pastors. We need not specify names 
 or places here, but no doubt most of the readers 
 of these pages have heard about these auction 
 
 RENTING PEWS AT AUCTION. 
 
 sales of pews. According to this plan of work- 
 ing the system, the choice pews will some- 
 times be run up to a high figure under the 
 pressure of keen competition, and we often 
 hear of incidents taking place in connection 
 
3i6 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 with these pew sales which are not creditable 
 to religion. 
 
 Now, in all these cases we have the same 
 principles more or less distinctly involved. In 
 some of the cases cited the system is more ob- 
 jectionable than in others, but we do not hesi^ 
 tate to affirm that in every form the pew rent 
 system is inconsistent with, and entirely op- 
 posed to the principles of Bible Giving which 
 we have already deduced from Scripture. We 
 may admit, that as managed in certain cases, 
 when prudent Christian men have charge of 
 it, and where the people are all or nearly all 
 in circumstances of comparative comfort, its 
 evil results may not be very apparent. But 
 if it be unscriptural, and hence wrong in prin- 
 ciple, it must be inexpedient and often injuri- 
 ous in practice. As nothing is said about it in 
 the Bible, it cannot be argued that the system 
 has scriptural authority. What we assert, how- 
 ever, concerning it is that, though nothing is 
 forbidden or enjoined concerning it in Scrip- 
 ture, yet it is opposed to plain inferences from 
 Scripture, and that its results, in very many 
 
Bible Giving. 317 
 
 cases, are very hurtful to the best interests of 
 religion among all classes of a mixed commu- 
 nity. To show this we now proceed. 
 
 In the first place, the sy stern of renting peivs 
 is iriconsistent with the fulness and f'eeriess 
 of the Gospel. The Bible states distinctly that 
 the Gospel message is to be declared to all 
 classes of the people, and specially to the poor. 
 That the poor had the Gospel preached to them, 
 is adduced by our Lord as one of the proofs of 
 his Messiahship, in fulfilment of Old Testament 
 prophecy. If, therefore, the churches, by means 
 of a fixed pew rent, whether low or high, ren- 
 der it difficult, if not impossible, for a number 
 of poor people, to whom the Gospel message 
 is to be brought as well as to the rich, to attend 
 regularly the places where that message is de- 
 clared, then the system that does this in any 
 measure is not in harmony with the very spirit 
 of the Gospel. 
 
 That such is the effect of pew rents there 
 can be no doubt. Ten years' experience in the 
 pastorate has brought many cases of this kind 
 before my notice. People are poor and do not 
 
3i8 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 attend cliurch. Ask them why, and, rightly 
 or wrongly, in many cases the answer given is 
 that they are not able to pay the required seat 
 rent ; and, rather than to go to God's house as 
 paupers, however welcomed by the people of the 
 church, they prefer to remain away. In many 
 cases of this kind, any little regard which such 
 poor people may have had for religion soon 
 dies out. The children grow up neglected, and 
 go too often to swell the ranks of the lapsed 
 masses, which in large cities present such a 
 difficult problem alike to the statesman and the 
 philanthropist. I feel that I cannot emphasize 
 too strongly this important point in its bearing 
 on the pew rent system. Woe to the system 
 which in any way contravenes the spirit of the 
 Gospel, or narrows the scope of its application ! 
 In the second place, the pew rent system is 
 not in harmony with the Bible principles of 
 freewill and representation^ as already set 
 forth. The payment of a stated sum in a cer- 
 tain way, and for a certain purpose, renders it 
 dif&cult for the person making the payment 
 to look upon what he gives for pew rent as a 
 
Bible Giving. 319 
 
 freewill offering. It comes upon him in the 
 form of pecuniary obligation, rather than from 
 him as a voluntary offering. It is not denied 
 but in some cases the pew renter may be able 
 to look upon his dues as such an offering, but 
 it does seem natural to conclude that it will 
 always require more than an ordinary amount 
 of divine light and grace to look upon such 
 payment in that way. In the majority of 
 cases, it is to be feared that the pew rent is 
 regarded as a kind of debt owed to the Board 
 of Management, rather than as an offering to 
 God. Hence, the idea of dedicating the amount 
 to God is not so present as it ought to be, and 
 as it is possible to have it. The feeling will 
 lurk in the mind, that the pew rent simply 
 means so much money for so much room in 
 church ; and the conviction that all we give 
 for the support of the permanent institutions 
 of religion, is a gift consecrated to God, will 
 be further removed from the mind than it 
 should be. The effect of this upon the spirit- 
 ual life of the person making the payment will 
 be far from helpful. 
 
320 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 It follows from what has just been said, that 
 the principle of representation cannot have, 
 under the pew rent system, such a large place 
 as the Bible gives it. If a man pays his pew 
 rent as a mere financial transaction, the money 
 paid cannot represent so fully as is desirable 
 the devout and earnest feelings of the very 
 soul of the giver. As we have already seen, 
 the gifts we make to the Lord have value in 
 proportion as those feelings are imported into 
 the gifts, and expressed by them. A man 
 may pay a large sum as pew rent, but if he 
 pays it with a kind of grudge, there is then 
 no proper and acceptable feelings represented 
 by the payment. It is these suitable feelings, 
 rather than the mere material wealth as such, 
 that God is pleased with ; and our gifts, to 
 have value in the treasury of heaven, must 
 represent such feelings. This again will have 
 an effect on our spiritual life. In proportion as 
 a man feels that his very heart is represented 
 in his gifts, will he grow in grace. 
 
 In the third place, the pew rent system in- 
 troduces an unscriptural distinction between 
 
Bible Giving. 321 
 
 the rich and poor. The rich man can pay for 
 the best pew, and the poor man must be con- 
 tent with the inferior location in church. The 
 consequence is that all the wealthier people 
 are gathered together in one place, and those 
 not so well off are grouped together in another. 
 The result is sure to be that the richer people 
 will tend to despise the poorer, and the poorer 
 people will incline to envy the richer in the 
 house of God. This separation between the 
 two classes — found more or less in every con- 
 gregation — will be carried out into everything 
 connected with church work and Christian 
 fellowship, and many churches to-day lament 
 what they say that the}^ cannot help, and 
 what we believe to be due in some measure 
 to the pew rent system. If these evil effects 
 follow the working of that system, and if 
 the mone}' needed for church purposes can 
 be raised in other ways, as we believe it can, 
 then there is good reason for abolishing the 
 system. 
 
 While we advocate this position, we do not 
 shut our eyes to the fact that in the nature of 
 
322 
 
 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 things there are distinctions in society, and 
 various classes among men ; but we do main- 
 tain that the place, of all others, where these 
 worldly distinctions should least obtain, is the 
 place of divine worship and religious ordi- 
 nance. The rich and poor are to meet together 
 here, and on common ground ; and as needy 
 men and women before God are they to as- 
 semble themselves together for worship and 
 instruction. The rich man is not to pride 
 himself in his worldly goods, and despise the 
 poor man ; nor should the poor man be envi- 
 ous or jealous of the rich man. Stripped of 
 all earthly distinctions they should both seek 
 to appear before God as men, and as sinful, 
 needy men sensible of common wants. 
 
 It is to be feared that churches sometimes 
 unconsciously foster this spirit which we are 
 condemning, by paying a little more attention 
 to, and making a little more of, a rich man 
 and his family than of a poor man and his 
 family. If any are to have special attention 
 shown and interest taken in them, it should 
 surely be the poor rather than the rich ; and, 
 
Bible Giving, 323 
 
 if ministers and chUrclies forget this or act in 
 the opposite way, the lines of distinction al- 
 ready naturally existing will be made all the 
 more painfully manifest. No church should 
 " have men's persons in admiration because of 
 advantage," and special care should be taken 
 to avoid treating lightly " the poor of this 
 world who are rich in faith and heirs of the 
 kingdom which He hath promised to them 
 that love Him." 
 
 The Apostle James in the second chapter of 
 his Epistle clearly has this in view when he 
 says: " My brethren, have not the faith of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ with respect of persons. For 
 if there come into your assembly a man with 
 a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come 
 in also a poor man in vile raiment ; and ye 
 have respect unto him that weareth the gay 
 clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a 
 good place ; and say to the poor, Stand thou 
 there, or sit here under my footstool." It is 
 to be feared that too often this striking de- 
 scription is fulfilled to the letter almost in 
 some of our modern churches, and that the 
 
324 
 
 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 evil here spoken of is due in some measure at 
 least to the system of renting pews. To avoid 
 any danger in this respect, it is far better to 
 have the pews all free, with no fixed rental 
 and no permanent ownership. If class dis- 
 tinctions do arise, then the churches by their 
 mode of raising money will not be to blame for 
 it. No one will complain of unfair treatment, 
 and no excuse will be left to any man for not 
 attending religious services. 
 
 In the last place, the pew rent system is 
 unequal or unfair in its operation. Accord- 
 ing to this system a certain sum of money is 
 expected for a certain amount of room in the 
 sanctuary. Now, suppose there are two men 
 possessed of the same means, and able to pay 
 the same sum for the support of religious or- 
 dinances ; and suppose further, that the one 
 has no family, and the other has a large fam- 
 ily. The one may need only two sittings, and 
 the other six, or a whole pew, perhaps. In the 
 working out of the pew rent S3^stem, the one 
 is required to pay only one-third the amount 
 of the other, while they are of equal financial 
 
Bible Giving. 325 
 
 ability. If they should seek to harmonize 
 matters by each taking and paying for four 
 sittings, then the man with no family would 
 be appropriating room which he did not re- 
 quire, and the man with the large family 
 would not have sufficient room for all his 
 household. In my experience I have often 
 found the latter to be the case. Good sensi- 
 tive people, who shrink from occupying any 
 more room in church than they can pay for, 
 where the pew rent is in vogue, are compelled 
 to leave certain members of the family at 
 home every day, and the result is irregular 
 attendance, and all the evils arising therefrom. 
 If the seats on the other hand are free, in 
 the sense that whether a man is able to pay a 
 large or small sum, he shall have enough room 
 for himself and all his family, all difficulty on 
 this score is avoided. And the rich man, too, 
 whether he need one sitting only or a whole 
 pew, is then free to give according to his abil- 
 ity ; and, in doing so, it may be that he will 
 give what would be equal to the rental of two 
 whole pews. In this way equality and fair- 
 
326 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 ness would be secured to a far greater extent 
 than is possible under the ordinary pew rent 
 plan. 
 
 The effort which some churches make to 
 overcome these difficulties by having, in the 
 gallery or in some corner, certain seats marked 
 '' free," cannot be called a success. Nor does 
 it deserve to be a success. No person with 
 any independent spirit, no matter how poor 
 he may be, cares to have his poverty declared 
 openly, by being put away in the pews " free 
 for the poor." It is surely better far to make 
 the room all really free in God's house, and 
 have all the money needed raised by volun- 
 tary offerings. This is now generally done in 
 the case of missionary money, and why not 
 adopt the same method for the ordinary reve- 
 nue to support religious ordinances ? By doing 
 so there is little doubt that more money would 
 be forthcoming, and that people would feel 
 their giving to be less burdensome because 
 properly equalized ; and above all the people 
 would feel that whether they gave much or 
 little they were giving not to a Church Board, 
 
Bible Giving. 327 
 
 or for so much sitting room, but for the sup- 
 port of religious ordinances, and as an offering 
 to God. 
 
 We cannot in the limits of this paper pur- 
 sue this very important topic further, though 
 many other points might be profitably consid- 
 ered. We conclude that the pew rent system 
 should be abolished as a means of raising 
 money for the maintenance of Gospel ordi- 
 nances in the congregation. The reasons we 
 have adduced are amply sufficient, we believe, 
 to show that the system is not in harmony 
 with the spirit of the Gospel, nor consistent 
 with the principles of Bible Giving as already 
 set forth. There is, we believe, " a more ex- 
 cellent way " of raising the money needed. 
 
 In the third place, we proceed to consider 
 the various indi7'ect methods^ by means of 
 which money is raised for religious purposes. 
 In the later ages of Christianity there has 
 grown up a great system, which may be called 
 the commercial^ or quid pro quo system of 
 getting money for Church purposes. We find 
 this system ready to adapt itself to almost 
 
328 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 any circumstances, and prepared to invent 
 any and every expedient by which money may 
 be obtained from saint and sinner alike. The 
 devices of this system are ingenious, and some- 
 times quite sensational. It is to be feared 
 also, that the methods by which it works will 
 sometimes not bear careful scrutiny, nor stand 
 the test of even honest business transactions. 
 It is time the Christian Church was thoroughly 
 aroused on this subject, and brought back to 
 the Bible method of giving for the cause of 
 religion. There are signs of awakening in 
 some quarters already, and we trust that the 
 movement against this system of indirect giv- 
 ing may go on until it is banished from the 
 Christian Church entirely. 
 
 To make plain what we mean, it may be 
 necessary to describe some of the main forms 
 this system assumes, and then we shall exam- 
 ine these in the light of the principles of Bible 
 Giving already unfolded. 
 
 In describing some of these indirect methods 
 in order, we may first mention the bazaar^ 
 which is usually regarded as a somewhat 
 
Bible Giving, 329 
 
 respectable institution, and even capable of 
 being used in a very proper way to raise money 
 for religious objects. The bazaar appears in 
 many forms ; some very simple and unadorned, 
 others elaborate and imposing in their nature. 
 The idea of the bazaar in general is, that 
 there will be made a great variety of articles, 
 useful and ornamental, and these will be ex- 
 posed for sale at a certain time and place. 
 These articles are usually in charge of some 
 energetic ladies, who seek to make the best pos- 
 sible sale of them, and thus realize as much 
 money as possible for the good object in view. 
 To enumerate all the species of the bazaar 
 race, would be out of the question. We have 
 the bazaar in general, and the special bazaar. 
 The special bazaar may be an apron bazaar, a 
 necktie bazaar, or a doll bazaar. Along with 
 the bazaar, as a kind of adopted child, we 
 sometimes find the autograph quilt, with so 
 much charged for having one's name put in 
 it, and then the whole sold for a handsome 
 price. In this way a sort of double price is 
 obtained from it. 
 
330 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 Then we may next mention the Soiree^ or 
 Tea-meeting. In connection with it the peo- 
 ple come together to eat and drink, and to be 
 entertained with music and addresses. Some- 
 times the provisions are all bought for the 
 meal provided ; in other cases the people pro- 
 vide all or nearly all the supplies. For days 
 before, there will be baking and cooking, 
 boiling and roasting to no end. On the occa- 
 sion of the tea-meeting, the crowd will gather 
 from all quarters, and Jew and Gentile will 
 mingle together, and for a time the sanctuary 
 of the Lord is turned into a place of feasting 
 and merriment. I need not describe this in- 
 stitution at length, for every reader has had 
 opportunity, no doubt, of beholding it in full 
 force in his community. The idea of the tea- 
 meeting is to raise money, and to get a social 
 hour together; but the financial element is 
 usually so prominent, that the social is largely 
 overlooked. 
 
 Then we have, next, the Church Social^ or 
 Sociable. This is a kind of minor, or half- 
 grown tea-meeting. It is sometimes held in 
 
Bible Giving. 331 
 
 the house as a parlor social, and it sometimes 
 goes to the church and invades the sacred 
 place of worship. Every conceivable kind of 
 refreshment and amusement, and many methods 
 of raising money are pressed into service. 
 Money is too often obtained in very strange 
 ways, which need not be here enumerated. 
 
 Then the Concert and Lecture^ though in 
 many respects much better than the institu- 
 tions already named, must after all be men- 
 tioned in the same category, if used to raise 
 money. Thus, if a church wishes to raise 
 money, it will get some celebrated lecturer, or 
 musical troupe, and pay for their service a 
 large fee perhaps, relying on the good fortune 
 which may give them a balance, after paying 
 all expenses, to go into the treasury of the 
 Lord's cause. 
 
 Then, worst of all, we have the Church Lot- 
 tery. This worldly and wicked affair some- 
 times puts on the garb of religion, and endea- 
 vors to pass itself off as a proper method of 
 raising money for the Lord's cause. Along 
 with the lottery we couple the cake and cane 
 
332 
 
 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 competitions. A fine cake is made ; two young 
 ladies are set up, and votes at a fixed price 
 for each are called for and taken, as long as 
 people are found who are willing to buy the 
 
 \ \ wf 
 
 CAKE VOTING. 
 
 votes. The cake then goes to the lady who 
 has the most votes, and the money is dedicated 
 to some religious object. In the other case a 
 handsome cane is procured, and two public 
 men, usually on opposite sides of politics, are 
 
Bible Giving. 333 
 
 named, and votes are taken at a certain price 
 for each as long as one is found willing to take 
 and pay for a vote. The successful politician 
 gets the cane, and the church treasury is 
 swelled by the money thus gotten. 
 
 This very brief sketch will bring before 
 the reader the general outline of the indir-ect 
 methods of raising money for the purposes of 
 religion. We must now enquire whether these 
 methods are consistent with the principles of 
 Bible Giving. We are satisfied that a little 
 careful consideration will show that all these 
 methods are unscriptural ways of raising 
 money to support the ordinances of religion, 
 and to carry on the Lord's work. A few brief 
 remarks may suffice to show this. 
 
 In the first place, they are all ifidirect^ not 
 direct ways of giving. From the side of the 
 giver, he may often never give one thought of 
 the object towards which his money is to go. 
 One buys his bazaar article perhaps at double 
 its real value, and that ends the matter so far 
 as he is concerned. Another gets his supper, 
 hears the music, or pays for his vote, and goes 
 
334 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 his way with not another thought of a religious 
 nature ever in his mind. We maintain that 
 the principles of Bible Giving require us to 
 give directly to the Lord. All our givings, to 
 have religious meaning so far as the giver is 
 concerned, must be given or dedicated to the 
 Lord. They must be gifts made intention- 
 ally to Him, and we maintain that all indirect 
 methods of giving render this almost im- 
 possible. 
 
 On the part of the church receiving money 
 made in this way, it may be admitted that such 
 money will do some good. If the financial 
 transaction was an honest business one, and if 
 the money obtained is dedicated in a proper 
 way by the church getting it, that money may 
 do good. But at the same time, the church 
 adopting these indirect methods, even the very 
 best of them, is educating her own people and 
 outsiders in a wrong way of supporting the in- 
 terests of religion. Such being the case, it is 
 far better for the church to abolish all such 
 methods, and seek to have all giving direct in 
 its nature. Then the teaching effect on the 
 
Bible Giving. 335 
 
 people will be good, and the offering can be 
 made more readily as an offering unto the 
 Lord, to come up as a sweet smelling savour 
 before Him. 
 
 In the second place, all these methods are 
 inconsistent with the p^eewill pinnciple^ which 
 should mark all offerings made for religious 
 purposes. On the part of the person who 
 gives money at a bazaar, soiree, social or con- 
 cert, it is a 'mere business transaction. He 
 gives so much, and gets so much in return. 
 It is a transaction between man and man, and 
 nothing more. Then, on the part of the church 
 obtaining such money, the freewill element 
 cannot be present in the same way as if the 
 people gave freely and spontaneously. It may 
 even be doubted whether the church is justi- 
 fied in going outside of her own people to get 
 money for religious purposes. Some excellent 
 people are inclined to favor this view. But 
 leaving this aside, we are convinced that the 
 freewill element in our offerings is destroyed 
 by these methods, and therefore they are un- 
 scriptural in their character. It is said, of 
 
336 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 course, that money is obtained in this way 
 which would not be secured in any other ; but 
 if the money is drawn from the people in any 
 indirect way, the Bible ideal is not reached, 
 and the offering can in no sense be termed a 
 freewill offering. This is a very important 
 point, and it condemns all these modes of 
 getting money. 
 
 In the third place, some of these methods are 
 in themselves wrongs and should never be men- 
 tioned in connection with religion or the sanc- 
 tuary. In this category we must place all 
 kinds of church lottery, no matter how refined 
 and seemingly pious the method may be. All 
 sorts of raffle sales, where fancy prices are often 
 extorted by schemes nothing less than im- 
 moral, are likewise to be classed here. Every 
 species of cake and cane competition, where 
 money is taken without scruple, and no proper 
 value given in return, comes under condemna- 
 tion here. 
 
 In regard to these and all kindred methods 
 we need only say, that, if they are wrong in 
 themselves, then their use to raise money for 
 
REJECTING MEAT OFFERED TO IDOLS. I COR. VIII. 
 
 337) 
 
338 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 church purposes must be wrong. To use them 
 under the garb of religion can never sanctify 
 those things which, in their very nature, are 
 inherently wrong, or essentially unholy. It is 
 one of the everlasting disgraces of the Chris- 
 tian Church that she will tolerate schemes of 
 raising money which the ordinary business 
 morality of the world will utterly condemn. 
 Surely this should be remedied without delay, 
 for there can be no doubt that great harm has 
 been done to the interests of religion by the 
 very methods we are now denouncing. Let 
 every lover of Christ's cause seek to keep un- 
 sullied the pure morality which He inculcates ; 
 and specially in all plans for raising money in 
 support of His cause, let every church by her 
 plans, and every Christian by his actions, 
 keep up the standard of the morality of the 
 Gospel, and of Christian conduct. 
 
 In the fourth place, these methods of indi- 
 rect giving are in danger of leading people 
 to think that the end justifies the means. These 
 various plans, having in view raising money 
 for a good object, tend to lead people to over- 
 
Bible Giving. 339 
 
 look, or to try to jiistif}^, the means taken to 
 get the money. Aloney is needed, sometimes 
 very much needed, and the people are nig- 
 gardly in giving, so that some scheme, more 
 or less doubtful in its morality and as novel 
 as possible, is set on foot to secure the money. 
 If the money comes, by fair means or foul, 
 people will shut their e^^es to the real nature 
 of the means, and rest satisfied that, as they 
 think, the end has been secured. 
 
 We need not spend many words in exposing 
 this vicious principle, which, alike in ethics 
 and theology, has had too often a place and an 
 influence in the councils of Christian people. 
 If a thing is wrong or unholy in itself, no pur- 
 pose — good or bad — for which it is used, can 
 make it right or hol}^ If the opposite were 
 true, then all sorts of crimes might be justified 
 in the name of religion, and even murder 
 might be considered a divine service. In the 
 case of these indirect methods of getting money 
 for religious purposes at church fairs and in 
 other ways, there is great danger that this 
 false view of the relation between means and 
 
340 The Path to Wealth, 
 
 end, which we now condemn, is put W^ore the 
 minds of the people. This danger constitutes a 
 strong objection to them all. 
 
 In the fifth place, these methods tend to check 
 the free and spontaneous liberality of the people. 
 If money is needed for any religious object, 
 instead of giving the sum directly, the people 
 say, Come now, let us get up a church fair, a 
 bazaar, or a tea-meeting, or something else ! 
 Let us get all the money we can, even from 
 people outside the church ! Let us do some- 
 thing that will draw the crowds, and enable us 
 to draw their money ! Let us also take good 
 care that our own purses do not suffer ! If we 
 can get all we need from other sources, we 
 may just as well save our own money for some 
 other purpose ! Who has not heard talk like 
 this ? 
 
 It is easy to see that the result of this is to 
 dry up the springs of liberality in the people 
 themselves ; and the longer this is allowed to 
 go on, the less liberal people will become, until 
 we find the meanest people in the world in the 
 Church, which surely is the last place on earth 
 
Bible Giving, 341 
 
 to look for the meanest man. Many a church 
 is suffering to-day on account of this very 
 thing, and it often takes many years, and 
 much earnest teaching, to again develop the 
 spirit of spontaneous Christian liberality, and 
 turn its streams into the proper channels. If 
 we would guard against these evil conse- 
 quences, let us away with all these indirect 
 ways of raising money, and let us seek to cul- 
 tivate, in ourselves and others, the spirit of 
 hearty and cheerful giving directly unto the 
 Lord, and to the support of religious ordi- 
 nances and mission work. 
 
 In the last place, it may be seriously doubted 
 whether, after all, these methods are really the 
 cheapest in the end. Take a church fair or a 
 bazaar, and count carefully the material used, 
 the work put on that material, and the time 
 occupied in connection with the making and 
 sale of the various articles prepared for sale, and 
 I doubt very much if the amount would not be 
 more than is actually realized from their actual 
 sale. In like manner, let the cost of the pro- 
 visions prepared for a tea-meeting, together with 
 
342 The Path to Wealth, 
 
 all the various items of time and expense, be 
 reckoned up, and I venture to think that in most 
 cases it would have been cheaper to have given 
 the money directly to the good cause at first. It 
 does seem a curious thing to do, for people first 
 to give the provisions, and then go some dis- 
 tance to God's house and there pay to eat it. 
 Better, surely, to eat the provisions at home, 
 and give the money without further trouble to 
 the Lord's cause. 
 
 If people wish to give the result of their 
 work, or anything else, to the Lord for re- 
 ligious purposes, it is far best to convert that 
 result into money, and give that money for 
 the good object in view, whatever it may be. 
 Let people make the articles they prepare for 
 the church fair or bazaar, and sell them at the 
 market price in a purely business way. The 
 money thus obtained would then be the prop- 
 erty of those who sold the articles, and could 
 be given as their property freely, directly and 
 unreservedly to the support of any good cause. 
 This would also secure the very desirable re- 
 sult that buying and selling, eating and drink- 
 
Bible Giving, 343 
 
 ing, would not be carried on in or about the 
 sanctuary, and all danger of our deserving the 
 treatment which Christ meted out to the money 
 changers and dove sellers in the Temple will 
 then be averted. 
 
 Every one who has a tender regard towards 
 the place of worship, where God has put His 
 name and has promised to meet with His 
 people, will surely lend a helping hand to bring 
 about this condition of affairs ; and all who 
 cherish a spirit of sincere reverence towards 
 the place where their minds are occupied with 
 holy thoughts, and their hearts stirred with 
 devout emotions, will do all in their power to 
 remove everything which is not in keeping 
 with the proper sanctity of that place. 
 
 It only remains to be added, that in all I 
 have said, I do not wish to be understood as 
 saying a single word against the careful de- 
 velopment of the social element in connection 
 with our church life and work. It must be 
 confessed that there is often a lack of this in 
 many congregations. Strangers are not made 
 to feel at home, no great interest is taken in 
 
344 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 those who are in trouble, and the stream of 
 warm Christian sympathy is not allowed to 
 flow freely in its rightful channels. Religion 
 has perhaps suffered not a little from the cold- 
 ness and indifference of its professors. 
 
 To secure this social and friendly inter- 
 course, and to give the members of a congre- 
 gation an opportunity of getting acquainted 
 with each other — and particularly with new 
 comers — a pleasant gathering at the church, 
 and in the lecture room there, held from time 
 to time, is of the utmost importance and value. 
 At such meetings a little light refreshment 
 might be served, and the meeting given almost 
 entirely to making acquaintanceships, and in- 
 terchange of friendly Christian feeling. This 
 can be secured far best when not a word is 
 said about money, and when it is no part of 
 the object of the meeting to raise money. The 
 effort to combine the two things — social inter- 
 course and money raising — is usually a failure, 
 so far at least as the members of the congre- 
 gation are concerned. Let the money required 
 for church purposes be given in accordance 
 
Bible Giving. ' 34 r 
 
 with the principles of Bible Giving already 
 
 obtained from Scripture, and let care be taken 
 
 to develop the warm sympathetic social life of 
 
 the congregation, and we venture to say that 
 
 a far healthier state of matters will soon exist 
 
 in regard to everything pertaining to religion 
 
 and philanthropy. 
 23 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 Bible Giving: Its Rule. 
 
 I NOW come to the second part of the dis- 
 cussion, in which, at no great length, I shall 
 make an attempt to unfold the Rule^ according 
 to which our giving to religious and other kin- 
 dred objects should be regulated. This is a 
 very necessary thing to have settled ; for a per- 
 son may have a very clear knowledge of the 
 Nature of Christian Giving, and be possessed 
 with an earnest desire to do what was right 
 in regard thereto ; and yet, if ignorant of the 
 Rule by which his giving should be regulated, 
 he will be at a loss to know when he has 
 really discharged his duty properly in this 
 matter. In a few brief pages we now endeavor 
 to give some directions on this point. 
 
 And here, as in the former case, I shall take 
 the reader to the Bible, and try to gather its 
 general teaching on the subject of the Rule of 
 Bible Giving. Much of our giving is in the 
 
 (347) 
 
348 The Path to Wealth, 
 
 dark, and often good people give without any 
 kind of rule or system to guide them. They 
 are often moved by circumstances rather than 
 by intelligence, and sometimes they are af- 
 fected by personal considerations rather than 
 by the teaching of God's Word. The result 
 is, that the real giving power of God's people 
 is never brought out, and the burden too often 
 falls on the few, instead of being distributed 
 over the many. 
 
 Many questions arise in connection with 
 this subject, but we can only take up the 
 three main ones. These are : First, how much 
 should be given — what proportion of our in- 
 come ? Secondly, where should we give — at 
 any particular place ? Thirdly, when should 
 we give — at any definite time ? To these three 
 questions we now turn the attention of the 
 reader, and we will consider each in a separate 
 section. 
 
Bible Giving, 349 
 
 SECTION I. 
 The Rule of Giving : Hoiu Much ? 
 
 From a practical point of view, this is one 
 of the most important questions which come 
 before us in this paper. The giving power of 
 the Christian Church has never yet been at 
 all fully developed, and much of the giving is 
 very unintelligent and desultory. At the same 
 time there are some good men who are giving 
 largely to the Lord's cause, and yet the total 
 result is very meagre indeed, when we reckon 
 what it is per head, even of professing Chris- 
 tians. Sometimes only a dollar or two is given 
 for the support of religion at home, and merely 
 a few cents to send the Gospel to the heathen. 
 For one dollar spent on religion, we often find 
 even Christian people spending ten on selfish 
 indulgence. 
 
 We are satisfied that if the rule and system 
 could be fully introduced into the mode of 
 our Christian giving, much more money would 
 be raised, and no one would feel that he was 
 
350 The Path to Wealth, 
 
 more burdened, than under the existing con- 
 dition of things. One great need of the Church 
 is greater system in the method of her liber- 
 ality. The general spirit of the Christian 
 community may be in a measure alive to the 
 importance of the grace of liberality ; yet, 
 either through imperfect information as to 
 the need, or through defective plan in regard 
 to the way of opening up the channel for this 
 liberality to flow freely, this spirit does not 
 manifest itself as it otherwise might. What is 
 needed, therefore, is the diffusion of informa- 
 tion regarding the spiritual need of the world, 
 and a good system or definite rule for getting 
 the money required for religious purposes. 
 
 In setting forth a few things on the rule of 
 Christian Giving, there are two points which 
 call for special attention. The first relates to 
 the propriety of all giving proportionately 
 according as the Lord sends worldly pros- 
 perity. The second refers to the precise pro- 
 portion of income which should be given, and 
 raises the important topic of tithing^ or giving 
 at least one-tenth of our income. 
 
Bible Giving. 351 
 
 In regard to the first of these points, only 
 a few brief remarks may be made. One of 
 the great weaknesses in our Christian liber- 
 ality meets us here. In almost every congre- 
 gation we find that a comparatively small 
 number give the larger part of the money 
 which is contributed for religious purposes. 
 This is specially true of what is given to the 
 support of missions at home and abroad. 
 Take almost any subscription list to missions, 
 and you will find that perhaps one-tenth of 
 the contributors give over one-half of the 
 amount given, while perhaps one-half of the 
 contributors give so little that it is not worth 
 while taking it into account, when their means 
 and ability are considered. 
 
 And it is not always the richest that give 
 the most. Sometimes, in some places often, 
 we find those who are in the medium circum- 
 stances of life giving the highest average, 
 while in not a few cases the working man 
 gives far more than his wealthy employer, in 
 proportion to their respective abilities. The 
 introduction of some good system, by means 
 
352 
 
 The Path to Wealth, 
 
 of whicli the stream of voluntary liberality 
 might have opportunity to flow in from every 
 source, large and small, in the Christian com- 
 munity, would be a great boon. 
 
 The second, and main point of which we 
 wish to speak here, when dealing with this 
 phase of the rule of Christian Giving, is the 
 Tithing System. The adoption of this system 
 would do a great deal, we believe, to remedy 
 the evils just alluded to, and it is surely 
 worthy of serious consideration by Christians 
 who sincerel}^ desire to do what is right in the 
 matter of liberality. 
 
 This system is often alluded to in the Bible; 
 and, in so far as any definite rule is laid down 
 in Scripture, in regard to the proportion to be 
 given to religious objects, is concerned, we have 
 this in the tithe. It has, therefore, general 
 scriptural authority ; and, if not absolutely 
 binding as a positive law, it is of great use in 
 giving to each individual Christian conscience 
 the proper rule to follow. The fact that it is 
 enjoined in the Old Testament and not re- 
 pealed in the New, is also of significance, and 
 
Bible Giving. 353 
 
 the titliing system, which consists in giving 
 the tenth of onr income to the Lord, should 
 not be lightly set aside, as in no way related to 
 the duty of a man, in regard to giving under 
 the Christian dispensation. 
 
 It is worthy of special remark, for we can- 
 not speak at length of this subject, that the 
 giving of a tenth in connection with the insti- 
 tutions of religion is a custom much older 
 than the Mosaic Law. It comes before us in 
 the days of Abraham, when Melchizedek of- 
 fered him tithes of all the spoil. From the 
 way in which this is spoken of, it seems to 
 have been a custom well understood at that 
 time. When the Law was given by Moses, 
 this tithing system was incorporated with the 
 Mosaic Code, and given a larger scope therein. 
 Then, during the history of the Jews, down 
 even to the days of Malachi, when they de- 
 clined in their religious life, one of the things 
 which they were condemned for neglecting 
 was the giving of tithes to the Lord. In the 
 New Testament, when the Apostle is enjoin- 
 ing systematic giving, it seems reasonable to 
 
354 T^^^ Path to Wealth. 
 
 suppose that the people were so familiar with 
 this rule, that there was no need of such spe- 
 cial reference to it as we would naturally ex- 
 pect there would be, if it were an entirely new 
 thing in the Christian Church. 
 
 We also find hints of the same rule of giving 
 in the religious customs of heathen nations. 
 Amongst the Arabians and early Phoenicians 
 this custom prevailed. The rule amongst the 
 Egyptians was one-fifth, or a double tithe. 
 How are we to regard these customs ? It 
 seems at least reasonable to suppose that these 
 heathen customs have come down from early 
 times, when, perhaps as the result of a very 
 early revelation, God made this rule known to 
 men. They are thus the shadows of a great 
 reality, or the echoes, as the sacrifices are, of 
 a very early voice, which spoke from heaven 
 a great fact, and found in man's need a ready 
 response thereto. 
 
 These two considerations, one from Scrip- 
 ture and the other from the pagan religions, 
 justify us, we believe, in putting the tithing 
 requirement on the grounds of natural, a3 
 
Bible Giving, 355 
 
 distinct from positive religion. By this is 
 meant, that the giving of the tenth of one's 
 income is a duty which springs out of the 
 very relation which exists, in the nature of 
 the case, between God as Creator, and man as 
 creature. If this be so, the tithe is really in- 
 dependent of, and antecedent to, the Mosaic 
 Law, and is binding universally upon men, 
 and thus the Christian is living under this 
 rule. It must be his duty, therefore, to con- 
 form his voluntary giving to this rule, and in 
 all his freewill offerings he should never for- 
 get that the tenth is the minimum which it is 
 to be expected that he should give. 
 
 Of course we do not advocate the tithe as 
 a tax, which the State may levy as a rate 
 upon the people for religious purposes, in the 
 same way as our municipal and other direct 
 taxes are levied upon us. This would be in- 
 consistent with the principles of Bible Giving 
 as already laid down, and would be sure to 
 lead to confusion and difficulty. We simply 
 present it as the rule by which the liberality 
 of the Christian may be intelligently directed. 
 
356 The Path to Wealth, 
 
 It means that a man with an income of one 
 thousand dollars shall pay one hundred for 
 the support of religion. It means that a con- 
 gregation of one hundred and fifty families, 
 with an average income of five hundred dol- 
 lars each, and having thus an aggregate in- 
 come of seventy-five thousand dollars, would 
 give seven thousand five hundred dollars to 
 the Lord's cause. How many come up to this 
 proportion, I wonder ? and yet this is only the 
 minimum of what I believe we should give. 
 
 The benefits arising from the adoption of 
 the tithing system are very many, but we 
 have not time to set them forth at length. 
 We may merely mention some which, I trust, 
 will commend this rule of giving to the earnest 
 and prayerful consideration of the reader. 
 
 In the first place, it would secure system in 
 our giving. The poor man, with his limited 
 income, would give his tenth ; and the rich 
 man, with his large income, will give his also. 
 
 In the second place, the giver will be able to 
 act intelligently in snaking his offerings. He 
 will know what he ought to give, and will not 
 
Bible Giving. 357 
 
 be troubled debating the subject of the amount 
 he should give every time he makes a contri- 
 bution. 
 
 In the third place, it will put at our dis- 
 posal such an increased sum of money ^ that the 
 treasury of the Lord^s cause will be much better 
 filled than it now is. I am sure I am quite 
 within the mark when I say that the amount 
 would be more than doubled. Our religious 
 institutions would be much better supported 
 at home, and we could do far more in mission 
 work. The tithe would revolutionize matters 
 in this connection. 
 
 In the fourth place, the experience of those 
 who have tried it is that it is a blessing. To 
 scores of testimonies that might be quoted here, 
 I can add my own, to the effect that ever since 
 I adopted this rule of giving, my income has 
 increased. Surely it is true in this connection, 
 that " there is which scattereth and yet in- 
 creaseth.'^ Never has one confessed that his 
 temporal affairs were injured by adopting the 
 tithing system as the Christian rule. 
 
 In the last place, the experience of those 
 
358 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 who give the tenth is that they are benefited 
 spiritually^ a^id enjoy giving as they never did 
 before. This is one of the best tests of its ex- 
 cellence. Anything which advances our spir- 
 itual interests is surely, by that very fact, 
 stamped as having divine approval and sanc- 
 tion. We do, therefore, put in a strong plea 
 for the tithing system, and will rejoice to see 
 many of God's people adopting it. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 1 he Rule of Giving : Where? 
 
 This question need not detain us very long, 
 yet it is worthy of serious consideration. The 
 answer to this question will in a measure de- 
 termine what the nature of the act of giving 
 really is, while a proper understanding of the 
 nature of giving for religious purposes will 
 help us to understand the proper place to make 
 our offering. Is giving for such purposes a 
 religious act ? Is it an act of worship ? If it 
 be, then the proper place to perform that act is 
 in connection with the services of God's house, 
 
Bible Giving, 359 
 
 and we should regard it as an act of worship. 
 The paying of pew rent as a kind of business 
 transaction during the week, or even the giving 
 of missionary money to collectors, effective as 
 this latter plan may be, does not lift up our 
 giving to its proper place as an act of worship. 
 It is evident, also, that all the various methods 
 of indirect giving, such as church fairs and 
 similar institutions involve, can scarcely, in the 
 nature of the case, be made acts of worship, 
 and hence these stand condemned on this 
 ground, as well as on the other grounds al- 
 ready mentioned. 
 
 Brief reference to the Mosaic Law confirms 
 the opinion that our giving for religious pur- 
 poses is an act of worship. This is involved 
 in the general fact, that all gifts made by the 
 Jews were to be laid down by the altar and 
 consecrated to God. The altar was the way 
 to God for sinful man to present himself and 
 his gifts unto God, and it was thus the cen- 
 tral point for worship. All offerings made 
 there were sacred, and the act involved in 
 presenting the gifts was an act of worship. 
 
360 The Path to Wealth, 
 
 In later times among the Jews, we find the 
 Temple the great centre round which the 
 worship of the people was gathered, and all 
 the gifts for religious and benevolent pur- 
 poses were to be brought to the Temple, and 
 dedicated to the Lord there. What was given 
 for the support of the priests was brought 
 there, and consecrated to the Lord first of all. 
 This gives the hint that what is given for the 
 support of the Gospel ministry should be re- 
 garded as a gift to God, for the maintenance 
 of the permanent institutions of religion. Even 
 what was given for the relief of the poor and 
 needy was also brought to the temple, and 
 given to the Lord, as it were, for the purposes 
 of benevolence. This gives us the hint that 
 charity is also a religious act, and should be 
 so regarded in relation to the Lord's deserving 
 poor. 
 
 In the New Testament, we find collections 
 of various kinds spoken of, and you will ob- 
 serve that they all have close connection with 
 religion and the place of worship. In the 
 opening verses of the sixteenth chapter of I 
 
Bible Giving. 
 
 361 
 
 Corinthians, we read : " Now concerning the 
 collection for the saints, as I have given order 
 to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. 
 Upon the first day of the week let every one 
 of you lay by him in store, as God has pros- 
 
 ST. PAUL WRITING. 
 
 pered him, that there be no gathering when 
 
 I come. And when I am come, whomsoever 
 
 ye shall approve by your letters, them will I 
 
 send to bring your liberality to Jerusalem." 
 
 In this passage it is clear that the offerings 
 24 
 
362 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 were to be made on the Christian Sabbath, 
 here called the first day of the week. It is 
 altogether likely that, as the early Christians 
 met for worship and religious edification that 
 day, the offerings would be made in connec- 
 tion with these services. It is also hinted 
 that the matter of giving should be attended 
 to with careful forethought, and not left to 
 mere chance, nor to the hurried subscription 
 list. 
 
 From these considerations it follows that 
 the proper place to make all offerings for the 
 purposes of religion is the sanctuary, and at a 
 religious service. Here, not at some man's 
 of&ce or house, should all that is needed to pay 
 the minister's salary and to provide for the 
 running expenses oY the church and Sabbath 
 school be given. Here, rather than by mis- 
 sionary collectors, should all money given for 
 missions be contributed. In this way, we are 
 satisfied our giving would be looked upon, not 
 simply as a mere business transaction, but 
 would be regarded as an act of worship. The 
 exercise of the grace of liberality in this way 
 
Bible Giving. 363 
 
 would be a far nobler and more spiritual act 
 than it is often considered to be, and in pro- 
 portion as it is regarded as an act of worship 
 will our suitable feelings be expressed by that 
 act, and in turn we will find benefit and derive 
 pleasure from our giving to every religious ob- 
 ject. It is important that congregations, by 
 the methods they adopt for raising their money 
 for various purposes, should keep in view the 
 great truth we are now setting forth. In no 
 case should they do anything to encourage the 
 merely commercial spirit in the method in 
 which the contributions are made. But we 
 cannot dwell longer on this practical topic, and 
 would close by commending it to the careful 
 and prayerful consideration of the Christian 
 community. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 The Rule of Giving : When f 
 
 The only question which now remains is as 
 to the time at which, and frequency with which, 
 the offerings should be made. From the gen- 
 
364 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 eral references to the offering of gifts in the 
 Old Testament, it would appear that no re- 
 ligious service was unaccompanied with offer- 
 ings of some kind. The Jewish ritual clearly 
 involved this. In the Book of Psalms we find 
 it written more than once : ^' Bring an offering, 
 and come into His courts." Such passages 
 clearly imply that, when the people came on 
 the Sabbath, at the annual feasts and at 
 other sacred times, they Avere to come with de- 
 votion in their hearts and an offering in their 
 hands. 
 
 In like manner, in the New Testament, the 
 passage already quoted in the preceding sec- 
 tion exhorts Christian people to make their 
 offerings on the first day of the week, which is 
 the Lord's day or the Christian Sabbath. The 
 inference, further, is that this should be done 
 every Lord's day, and at all religious services, 
 and that everything so given should be dedi- 
 cated to the Lord in this way. Whether it be 
 money to build a church, pay the pastor, or 
 support colleges and missionaries, I am con- 
 vinced that it should all be made as a volun- 
 
Bible Giving. 365 
 
 tary offering at the sanctuary, and consecrated 
 to the Lord thereby. 
 
 What emerges in this connection, as the 
 reader may already perceive, is the system of 
 Weekly Offerings. By this system we believe 
 the spirit of Christian liberality can be best 
 fostered, and the Bible Rule of giving will be 
 best followed. Equality and system will be 
 secured in the givings of the people, and they 
 in turn will feel the amount to be less and 
 more easily given than under any system yet 
 adopted. I am fully convinced that all our 
 giving for the support of Christ's cause at 
 home and abroad should be given in weekly 
 instalments, and at the public services of the 
 sanctuary. 
 
 I need not enter into a discussion as to the 
 details of working out this system. It abolishes 
 pew rents and makes all offerings purely free- 
 will in their nature. If one man can give 
 twenty cents a week, and needs five sittings in 
 church, let this be his portion ; if another can 
 give a dollar a week, and needs but three sit- 
 tingSj let that be the arrangement for him. 
 
366 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 And in regard to missions, let each one reckon 
 carefully what he can give per week, and let 
 this be laid aside and given every week, and 
 the result at the end of the year will be an 
 astonishment to everybody. 
 
 THE ENVELOPE SYSTEM. 
 
 The use of envelopes, one set for ordinary 
 purposes and another for missionary money, 
 makes the system simple and easily worked, 
 and the uniform experience of those who have 
 tried this plan is that it is far the best from 
 every point of view. Even if there were no 
 
Bible Giving, 367 
 
 such Scripture as there is in its favor, we are 
 sure that expediency would indicate that this 
 is the best method of raising money. I am 
 aware that there are prejudices against it in 
 certain quarters, yet I am sure that, when it is 
 universally adopted by the churches, a great 
 advance will be made in the matter of Chris- 
 tian liberality. My space only permits me to 
 commend the envelope or weekly offering sys- 
 tem to the earnest consideration of Christian 
 people. If rightly managed, I am satisfied 
 from experience that it will commend itself 
 wherever adopted. 
 
 Conclusion. 
 
 We need only add a line or two in conclu- 
 sion. We have tried to set forth the teaching 
 of Scripture in regard to the important duty and 
 privilege of giving of our means to the Lord 
 for the support of His cause. We have en- 
 titled this paper " Bible Giving," and have 
 dealt with its essential nature^ and have un- 
 folded its proper rule. 
 
 In regard to its nature, we have found in 
 
368 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 Old Testament and "New five important prin- 
 ciples. These are the following: ownership of 
 our gifts, dedication to God in the act of giv- 
 ing, freewill in the spirit in which we give, 
 first-fruits in regard to that which is given, 
 and representation in regard to the real mean- 
 ing of the gift. In the application of these 
 principles to several modem customs in regard 
 to giving to the Lord's cause, we dealt with 
 church debts, the pew rent system, and the 
 various methods of indirect giving. It was 
 seen that church debts are a very bad thing, 
 that pew rents should be abolished, and that 
 all indirect methods of raising money should 
 be given up. All giving should be a freewill 
 offering, made of our best gifts to the Lord, as 
 an expression of our devout feelings towards 
 Him and His cause. 
 
 In the second part of the paper we treated of 
 the Rule of Bible giving, and took up three 
 points in regard to it. First, the amount to be 
 given ; secondly, the place where the gift should 
 be made ; and, thirdly, the tiyne when the oflfer- 
 ings should be presented. In reply to the first 
 
MISS ANC.KLA GKOKGINA BURDETT CUUTTS. 
 A Christiau lady, who inherited a fortune of between two and 
 three million pounds sterling. She has spent this enormous sum 
 in works of charity, and for the extension of Christ's kingdom, 
 and is the founder and supporter of several diocesan missions. 
 She was born in Kngland in 1814, and is still living. 
 
 (369) 
 
370 The Path to Wealth, 
 
 question, we set forth the tithing system as the 
 rule for the amount ; in answer to the second, 
 we unfolded the idea that giving should be an 
 act of worship performed at God's house ; and 
 in response to the third, we advocated the 
 weekly offering system as the best and most 
 scriptural rule in this regard. 
 
 In closing the paper, we would remind our- 
 selves that all power and blessing in Christian 
 work and liberality is from the Lord. We 
 may have our plans and machinery perfect, 
 and yet if God's Spirit does not rest on these 
 in answer to our earnest prayers, little will be 
 done. As in the storming of a fortress, the 
 assailants may have the munitions of war all 
 ready. The cannon may be there, the powder 
 may be in its place, and the shot and shell 
 also ; but, unless the match be touched, there 
 will be no damage done to the fortress. But 
 let the match be set to the powder, then there 
 is the flash, the crash, the dismantled fortress, 
 and the victorious army. So in the conflict 
 with the evil which abounds in the world. We 
 may have all our church machinery in excel- 
 
Bible Giving, yji. 
 
 lent order and well arranged, but unless God's 
 power rests on these there will be no real bless- 
 ing. We may even have all our plans and 
 arrangements about giving in the best possible 
 order, and yet, unless God's Spirit — as with a 
 live coal from the altar above — touches the 
 whole, there will be no real headway made 
 against evil in the world. We must never for- 
 get, that it is not by might nor by power, but 
 by the Spirit of the Lord, that we can do His 
 work and gain the victory in the end. 
 
BY 
 
 REV. R. W. WOODSWORTH. 
 
 (373) 
 
THE PROPERTY TRUST. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Out of the free and abundant gifts of God 
 to us arise obligations on our part of the most 
 sacred and imperative character. Christ has 
 redeemed us with His own blood, therefore we 
 are under infinite obligations to serve Him 
 with heart, and head, and life, and means. 
 Freely we have received, therefore, if we 
 would avoid being guilty of the basest ingrat- 
 itude, freely we must give. " The love of 
 Christ constraineth me," was the lofty senti- 
 ment, and undying impulse of the Apostle 
 Paul in all his heroic, self-denying toil ; and 
 the same mighty motive should actuate us in 
 every work we perform, and in every sacrifice 
 we make for the Lord Jesus. The Holy Scrip- 
 tures furnish clear and ample instruction for 
 our guidance, in the management of the prop- 
 
 (375) 
 
376 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 erty trust as the responsible stewards of 
 God. We need therefore experience neither 
 confusion nor perplexity in answering the 
 question, " What should be the extent of our 
 giving to the cause of God ? " The Jewish 
 law of tithe or tenth, together with ancient 
 examples of freewill offerings, throws a great 
 deal of light on the subject of systematic 
 beneficence. 
 
 The "tenth" principle is one of very ancient 
 obligation. It was adopted by the patriarch 
 Abraham, and, later on, by his grandson Jacob; 
 it was enjoined on Israel by formal injunction, 
 and the regulations in regard thereto, having 
 been framed into a law, were placed on the 
 statute books of the nation. It is clear, then, 
 that this law was not merely a part of the 
 ceremonial economy of Moses, but one, the 
 observance of which dated back to time im- 
 memorial. It. was evidently designed to be a 
 regulating precept in all future dispensations 
 of the Church — a principle never to be set 
 aside. 
 
 It is true, it was re-enforced under the Mo- 
 
The Property Trust. 377 
 
 sale economy, just as was the Sabbath law; 
 but as the Sabbath law is just as much a law 
 of t*he Christian Church as it was of the Jew- 
 ish Church, so the property law, or tenth sys- 
 tem, is of perpetual obligation. No moral 
 precept has ever been repealed. God's law, 
 which regulates the property trust, is as 
 strictly of a moral character as that which 
 regulates the question of time. If, therefore, 
 the moral precept pertaining to the trust of 
 time be still binding, what authority have we 
 to declare that God's moral precepts in regard 
 to the disposal of property have been cancelled ? 
 They are equally parts of God's moral law, 
 and as such stand or fall together. But 
 they both stand, because Christ said, " I am 
 not come to destroy the law or the prophets, 
 but to fulfil." 
 
 It is evident that God claims for Himself 
 at least one-seventh of our time, and one-tenth 
 of our income, and neither of these laws can 
 be violated without entailing loss and suffering 
 on the transgressor. 
 
 If the Church under the old dispensation, 
 25 
 
378 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 with its inferior privileges, gave so largely to 
 the cause of God, surely the Christian Church, 
 in the possession of higher privileges and with 
 a commission to evangelize the world, should 
 not adopt a smaller scale of contribution. We 
 contend that the obligations and motives for 
 liberality have been immeasurably intensified 
 under this new dispensation, by reason of our 
 vastly increased privileges, and also in view of 
 the enlarged field of operation which God in 
 His providence has opened up before the 
 Church. Never before in the history of the 
 world was there such a demand for the con- 
 secration of property on the part of the 
 Church as now, in this latter part of the 
 nineteenth century, because never before did 
 God give her such a magnificent opportunity 
 for reaching and saving a lost race. The 
 sphere for the exercise of Christian benevo- 
 lence and missionary enterprise is extending 
 with amazing rapidity, and God calls upon the 
 Christian Church everywhere to concentrate 
 and consecrate all her forces for active service, 
 that she may measure up to the glorious emer- 
 
The Property Trust. 379 
 
 gencies of the hour. It is universally acknowl- 
 edged that with increased privilege there 
 comes increased responsibility. That being 
 the case, the Christian is under obligation to 
 devote his property to God, in larger propor- 
 tions than were those who only enjoyed the 
 feeble light and inferior privileges of the Jew- 
 ish dispensation. 
 
 It is quite evident that the early disciples, 
 under the Divine illumination of Pentecost, 
 were prepared to go a long way beyond the 
 bounds of Old Testament liberality. The cir- 
 cumstances were peculiar, requiring an entire 
 and universal surrender of their earthly sub- 
 stance for the benefit of the Church. The 
 Church had been inaugurated, and already 
 embraced a membership of over three thou- 
 sand souls, but her coffers were empty. Funds 
 must be secured in some way. What a beau- 
 tiful picture of self-sacrifice we have in that 
 Church under the constraining love of Christ. 
 Those primitive Christians advertised their 
 property for sale, and as soon as possible 
 turned their real estate into cash, and handed 
 
380 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 the money to the Apostles to meet the press- 
 ing needs of the Church. 
 
 Think of a man selling a house, or lot, or 
 part of a farm now-a-days to raise funds for 
 the extension of God's cause in the earth ! 
 What a stir such an act of sacrifice would 
 make in the community ! Yet just such occur- 
 rences were the order of the day in Apostolic 
 times. The whole church was imbued with 
 the spirit of unselfish love, and nothing in 
 their estimation was too precious to sacrifice 
 for the name and cause of Christ. l^Jo wonder 
 it is written, " And with great power gave the 
 Apostles witness of the resurrection of the 
 Lord Jesus : and great grace was upon them 
 all." The New Testament dispensation with 
 its antitypical realities, its Pentecostal bap- 
 tism, its sphere of action wide as the circum- 
 ference of the globe, certainly affords no shelter 
 for narrow covetousness or illiberal contribu- 
 tion. 
 
 We speak advisedly, when we say that there 
 is nothing so dishonoring to God in the Church 
 to-day, and hindering the salvation of the 
 
The Property Trust, 381 
 
 world so much, as the glaring and almost uni- 
 versal disregard of the property trust. " Cov- 
 etousness is the plague-spot, the brand-mark of 
 the Church's present condition. It is an all- 
 consuming cancer in her soul, eating up the 
 vitals of her piety and bliss." If we could 
 only get covetousness out of the Church, we 
 should soon get power and soul-saving effi- 
 ciency into her. God is not chargeable with the 
 slow progress of the Church. He is bending 
 with infinite concern over a dying sin-stricken 
 world, but His plan of operation is to save by 
 the agency of the Church, which, alas ! is only 
 to a very limited extent imbued with the self- 
 sacrificing spirit of Christ. 
 
 The work of evangelization progresses just 
 as fast as the zeal and love and liberality of 
 the Church increase, and no faster. But is it 
 not evident to every spiritual mind that the 
 Church, in many instances, is so steeped 
 in the spirit of selfishness as to effectu- 
 ally hold the grace of God in restraint? 
 Grasping covetousness forms the granite bar- 
 rier which prevents the grace of Christ from 
 
382 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 flowing out to refresh and save a famishing 
 world. 
 
 Let us consider more particularly the old 
 Jewish regulations for the property trust, in 
 contrast with the meagre givings of Christians 
 in the present day, and in this the most highly 
 privileged dispensation that the world has ever 
 seen. 
 
 " It is commonly supposed that the devout 
 Jew gave a tenth of his means to God. A 
 careful examination of the facts convinces us 
 that his yearly offerings to God were on a 
 scale of liberality far greater. There was the 
 ransom for his first-born son, and also the 
 first-fruits of his flock. There were the first- 
 gatherings of his harvest, estimated at one- 
 sixtieth, and the corners of his field left in 
 reaping, another sixtieth. Then whatever 
 dropped from the hand in reaping was left 
 for the poor; and once in seven years the 
 lands were allowed to produce spontaneously 
 for the poor. Then there were the trespass- 
 offerings, sin-offerings, half-shekels of the 
 sanctuary, and the remission of all debts 
 
The Propel' ty Trust. 383 
 
 every seventh year. Then came the tithe for 
 the priesthood — a tenth of the produce of the 
 fields — and of what remained another tenth 
 for the Temple and the poor." 
 
 A careful summing up of all their givings 
 shows that the honest Jew was in the habit of 
 consecrating at least one-third of his income to 
 God. We find, therefore, that under the Jew- 
 ish dispensation laws regulating every depart- 
 ment of giving were not only clearly and ac- 
 curately defined, but w^ere solemnly and rigor- 
 ously enforced. 
 
 " In this, shall we say, advanced age, it be- 
 comes a serious question to what extent the 
 laws that regulated the givings of the Jews are 
 binding upon us. Many of those laws were 
 for the support of different objects in the Tem- 
 ple service, but this service, with its various 
 details, has passed away, and of necessity such 
 laws have become null and void. All that was 
 ceremonial and local has been repealed. We 
 venture, however, to afiirni that the principle, 
 the duty of giving, is not commercial, but 
 moral in its nature and influence. Let it never 
 
384 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 be forgotten that to give is a moral duty, and 
 part of the moral law. With no sanctuary 
 worship and its half-shekels, ' sin-offerings,' 
 etc., and no Jewish priesthood, the letter of the 
 law has been abrogated, but the spirit of the 
 law — the law itself — still lives, and is binding. 
 We have temple worship and a living ministry, 
 and the various institutions of the Church to 
 be supported in this age of Christian activity 
 and life ; and it is really a grave question 
 whether the earnest, prayerful and believing 
 Christian of the present day, in the possession 
 of means, is not under obligation to give to God 
 as much as the honest and devout Jew of a 
 former day." 
 
 The above quotation contains the opinion of 
 a devout minister of Christ in this Dominion, 
 who has given a great deal of time and 
 thought to the investigation of this question. 
 We think that no Christian, who apprehends 
 his superior privileges in t«his Gospel dispensa- 
 tion, and whose heart responds with Christ-like 
 sympathy to the crying needs of a perishing 
 world, will regulate his contributions by a 
 
The Prope7^ty Trust. 385 
 
 narrower scale than that which governed the 
 ancient Jew. 
 
 It wonld appear from a careful study of this 
 whole question, as it relates to the different 
 dispensations of the world's history, that we 
 are morally bound to lay aside as a minimum^ 
 one-tenth of our income for God, and then to 
 supplement that tenth by further contributions 
 and thank-offerings according to our resources, 
 and according to the demands of the Church in 
 her ever widening conquests for Christ. There 
 is perhaps no law in the Bible that is more 
 thoroughly misapprehended, and more gen- 
 erally disregarded than this very law, which is 
 designed to regulate God's claim upon the 
 earthly substance, which He has permitted 
 man as His steward to handle for the time be- 
 ing. Christians should be exhorted to study 
 the Word of God on this important subject, 
 that they may form proper conceptions of their 
 responsible duties pertaining to the manage- 
 ment and distribution of their material wealth. 
 
 Let us brieily review the situation. In the 
 earliest history of the remotest dispensation, 
 
386 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 the claims of God in this regard have been 
 prominently set forth. At the very gates of 
 Eden the godly Abel offered up sacrifice to his 
 Maker. Abraham gave one-tenth unto God, 
 and when called upon to surrender his only 
 son Isaac, immeasurably dearer to him than 
 all earthly substance, he promptly obeyed 
 the command. Jacob when at Bethel, on that 
 memorable night when he had the vision of 
 angels, vowed a vow unto the Lord, and this 
 was the purport of it ; that if God would be 
 with him and give him food to eat and raiment 
 to wear, he would surely serve God and con- 
 secrate one-tenth of his substance to the Giver 
 of all good. 
 
 The Mosaic dispensation, which afforded 
 higher privileges than that of the Patriarchal, 
 imposed a tariff of systematic tithing that 
 claimed about one-third of all the property 
 possessed by the Israelites. The regular stated 
 annual contributions of the Jews to the service 
 of God were very large, and yet, on special oc- 
 casions, when thank-offerings were called for, 
 how readily and nobly the people responded! 
 
The Property Trust. 387 
 
 Witness the scene at the erection of the Taber- 
 nacle. The people gave in such abundance, 
 that the building committee of the Tabernacle 
 complained to Moses of the surplus, and ac- 
 cordingly the leader of the people issued a 
 proclamation throughout the camp to this ef- 
 fect : — " Let neither fnan nor woman make 
 any more work for the offering of the Sanctu- 
 ary." " So the people were restrained from 
 giving. For the stuff they had was suf&cient 
 for all the work to make it, and too much." It 
 is not often now-a-days that a trustee board, in 
 building or repairing a church, is constrained 
 to send a notice to the pulpit, kindly request- 
 ing the people to withhold their gifts, inasmuch 
 as the contributions already made are amply 
 sufficient to meet all the demands in full. But 
 the time is coming when the treasuries of the 
 Lord will be flooded ; when railroads, and 
 steamboats, and manufacturing establishments, 
 and all the industries of Christendom will be 
 run for the glory of God, and the extension of 
 Gospel light and truth in the earth. 
 
 As another illustration of special liberality 
 
388 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 over and above the regular contributions, we 
 migbt instance the building of the Temple at 
 Jerusalem. David and his nobles headed the 
 subscription list with over two hundred and 
 forty millions of dollars, and this enormous 
 sum was augmented by subsequent contribu- 
 tions, till it reached an aggregate of three 
 thousand millions of dollars. Coming down 
 the ages to the dispensation of the Holy 
 Ghost, the highest dispensation the Church 
 has yet enjoyed, we find the primitive Chris- 
 tians transcending the bounds of Old Testa- 
 ment liberality. They literally sold out for 
 God, put their property into a common treas- 
 ury, and from this source distribution was 
 made to all men as every man had need. 
 
 And yet, with the precepts and example of 
 the ancient Church before us for a period of 
 four thousand years, with the sacrifices of love 
 made by the early Christian Church under 
 the wonderful illumination of Pentecost, with 
 the increased privileges and wealth of the 
 present dispensation, with a commission that 
 is not narrow and circumscribed like that of 
 
The Property Trust, 389 
 
 the Jewisli Church, but aggressive and uni- 
 versal, a commission to publish the Gospel to 
 all nations — with all these features of the 
 case before them, some have the assurance to 
 declare that God does not require His people 
 in the present day to contribute so large a 
 proportion as even one-tenth to His cause. 
 We claim that the whole tenor of Bible teach- 
 ing, from Genesis to Revelation, contradicts 
 and overthrows the position of those who 
 take this narrow view of the subject. With 
 increased privileges, increased ability for doing 
 good, a sphere of operation as wide as the 
 globe, how can it be otherwise than that the 
 obligations of the Church in the matter of 
 property consecration should be greatly in- 
 creased ? 
 
 The question is sometimes asked, " Should 
 a poor man, or a man that is in debt, give one- 
 tenth of his earnings to God ? " We would 
 reply by asking another question, *' Should a 
 poor man, or a man in debt, keep the Sab- 
 bath ? " The poor or embarrassed man might 
 defend himself against the claims of the fourth 
 
390 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 commandment, by an argument like the fol- 
 lowing : — " To me time is money. I can make 
 a dollar a day. There are fifty-two Sabbaths 
 in the year. To keep the fourth command- 
 ment and thus suspend labor for fifty-two 
 days, means simply fifty-two dollars out of 
 my pocket. I don't think that God requires 
 a poor man to set apart so large a proportion 
 as one-seventh of his time for religious pur- 
 poses, and, therefore, on what I regard the 
 principles of common honesty and justice, I 
 feel that I am guiltless in working at my busi- 
 ness on Sunday as well as Monday." 
 
 Could such a line of argument be accepted 
 in harmony with the teachings of the Chris- 
 tian faith ? Would not the practical outcome 
 of such sentiments utterly destroy the ver} 
 foundations of Christianity, and make every 
 man a law unto himself? It cannot be that 
 any man is more likely to improve his earthly 
 condition, and pay off all his debts by a sys- 
 tematic violation of the Sabbath, than by the 
 strict observance of that holy day. There 
 certainly can be no gain in deliberately set- 
 
The Property Trust, 391 
 
 ting at defiance the law of an infinitely wise 
 and benevolent God. If the voice of the 
 fonrth commandment were the voice of des- 
 potism, rebellion would be justifiable. But if 
 the command is reasonable and benevolent, it 
 is at once a matter of wisdom and prudence 
 on our part to yield a willing obedience. 
 
 Our liberties, our enjoyments, our prosper- 
 ity, our growth in every department of life are 
 all affected by the character of the government 
 under which we live. To surrender our liber- 
 ties, our freedom of speech and freedom of con- 
 science to the sceptre of tyranny, is to live the 
 crushed and degraded life of a slave. On the 
 other hand, to bow in joyful homage at the 
 throne of a government whose laws are whole- 
 some, broad, liberal, consulting the highest 
 freedom and dearest interests of the subject — 
 to bow in homage at such a shrine is to confer 
 upon ourselves honors and blessings untold. 
 Now, it will be found on investigation that 
 such is the unselfishness and benevolence of 
 the Divine government, that every law on the 
 statute books is framed in the interests of the 
 
392 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 subject. Not in some of their interests, but in 
 all of them, down to what might be termed the 
 most insignificant items and trifles of life. 
 And further, so thoroughly are these laws 
 based on the mental, moral, spiritual and physi- 
 cal constitution of man, that whilst obedience 
 thereto invariably brings blessing, disobedi- 
 ence just as invariably brings trouble and 
 penalty. The Sabbath law is an illustration 
 of this thought. This law claims one-seventh 
 of our time for physical rest and sacred pur- 
 poses. This, we claim, is pre-eminently a 
 benign and gracious law. Such is the physi- 
 cal constitution of man, that his body cannot 
 stand unremitting toil without serious injury. 
 Man will live longer and do more work by a 
 strict observance of the Sabbath than if he dis- 
 regarded this regulation of the Creator. The 
 human body demands the periodical rests indi- 
 cated in this great time-law of God. No indi- 
 vidual, no community, nor nation can set this 
 law at defiance, without entailing upon itself 
 untold misery and disgrace. The Sabbath 
 law, then, is a highly salutary and beneficent 
 
The Property Tricst. 393 
 
 law as far as the body is concerned. Still 
 higher are its spiritual advantages. For the 
 time being man is liberated from the usual em- 
 ployments of life, and with thoughts and ener- 
 gies withdrawn from secular pursuits, he is 
 afforded special opportunities for communion 
 with God and with His people, and for the de- 
 votional study of Divine truth, and through 
 these channels incomparable blessings come to 
 his heart and family and home. The hands 
 of this Sabbath law are full of benedictions for 
 the children of men. 
 
 What is said of the Sabbath law may be j ust 
 as truly said of every other law of God, viz., 
 that it is framed in the interests of the subject. 
 '* The command^ients of God are not grievous, 
 but joyous, and in keeping of them there is 
 great reward." Our argument then is this, 
 that if it is profitable for the poor man to keep 
 God's time-law, it must also be profitable for 
 him to observe God's property-law. Both pre- 
 cepts come from the same Great Lawgiver, and 
 are richly laden with blessings to those who 
 
 keep them. 
 26 
 
394 
 
 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 It always pays to be on the right side of 
 God's law, whatever the character of that law 
 may be. Obedience to divine instruction, 
 whether that instruction pertain to the conse- 
 cration of time, the stewardship of property, 
 the regulation of the bodily appetites and pas- 
 sions, or the direction and control of all the 
 higher spiritual faculties of our being — will 
 prove the enrichment of human nature in 
 body, soul and estate. O that the children of 
 men would learn to trust and obey God ! Then 
 would they find that all along the line of obe- 
 dience and faith the smile of Jehovah illumi- 
 nates and the rich benedictions of heaven fall. 
 On the other hand, all along the line of disobe- 
 dience we discover darkness, trouble and curse 
 growing out of the very nature of things. No 
 man need hope to outwit God or contravene 
 the tendency of His laws, by looking for bless- 
 ing on the side of disobedience. As all God's 
 laws are designed to uplift and bless, an indi- 
 vidual will be enriched rather than impover- 
 ished by consecrating at least one-tenth of his 
 substance to the cause of Christ. 
 
The Property Trust. 395 
 
 This subject might be illustrated largely 
 from practical experience. Let the citation of 
 one or two instances suffice. I was acquainted 
 with a man who lived on one of my early 
 charges who adopted the tenth principle, though 
 at the time his income was very small. He 
 lived in a log-house and owned a small farm 
 of twenty-five acres. He had been in the habit 
 of giving the scraps to the Lord, — a five cent 
 piece or a ten cent piece that he might happen 
 to have in his pocket when the demand for the 
 cause of Christ was made. His attention hav- 
 ing been directed to the subject of proportionate 
 giving, he resolved to govern his contributions 
 by the new light he had received. Accord- 
 ingly, when he sold five dollars' worth of 
 market stuff, he put aside fifty cents for the 
 Lord. If he only sold one dollar's worth, he 
 laid by ten cents. One-tenth of all sums, 
 whether large or small, was faithfully deposited 
 in a separate drawer for God. He soon found 
 that his contributions on the new plan would 
 be vastly in advance of his former givings, and 
 what surprised and delighted him was, that 
 
396 
 
 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 notwithstanding his greatly enlarged scale of 
 liberality, he had more left for himself than 
 when he gave only the trifles to God. About 
 this time the annual missionary meeting was 
 held in his neighborhood, and when the sub- 
 
 BURNING THE NOTE. 
 
 scription paper was circulated he contributed 
 the sum of seventeen dollars, which was more 
 than all the other farmers in the neighborhood, 
 put together, gave that year. 
 
 I knew another man who adopted the tenth 
 principle when in debt. A few weeks after his 
 
The Property Trust. 397 
 
 new decision, a note of one hnndred dollars 
 came due. The party holding the note came 
 to him and in the course of conversation re- 
 marked, ^' You have done a great deal for me, 
 and I never intend to ask you for this money." 
 So saying, he opened the stove-door and con- 
 signed the note to the flames. It is really 
 wonderful how much this man and his two 
 sons, both of whom have also adopted the 
 tenth principle, have given of late years to the 
 cause of Christ, and their testimony is this, 
 that God has abundantly blessed them — both 
 materially and spiritually — as the result. 
 During a ministry of twenty years, I have met 
 with a number of persons who have observed 
 this system of contribution, and every experi- 
 ence corroborates the beneficence of the law, and 
 the absolute reliability of the promises con- 
 nected therewith. 
 
 ** One-tenth of ripening grain, 
 One-tenth of tree and vine, 
 One-tenth of all the yield 
 
 From ten-tenths' rain and shine. 
 
398 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 One-tenth of lowing herds, 
 That browse on hill and plain : 
 
 One-tenth of bleating flocks, 
 For ten-tenths' rain and shine. 
 
 One-tenth of all increase 
 
 From counting room and mart ; 
 
 One-tenth that science yields, 
 One-tenth of every art. 
 
 One-tenth of loom and press, 
 One-tenth of mill and mine ; 
 
 One-tenth of every craft 
 
 Wrought out by gifts of Thine. 
 
 One-tenth of glowing words 
 That glowing guineas hold ; 
 
 One-tenth of written thoughts — 
 That turn to shining gold. 
 
 One-tenth ! and dost Thou, Lord, 
 But ask this meagre loan, 
 
 When all the earth is Thine, 
 And all we have Thine own ? " 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 The disregard of God's claims upon the 
 pocketbook is a crying evil in the Church 
 to-day, and one that leaves a blight upon 
 every department of Church work. Profes- 
 sors of religion are not, as a rule, doing busi- 
 ness for God. They are doing business for 
 themselves and devoting their incomes for 
 selfish purposes, whilst the cause of Christ 
 receives a very small and insignificant con- 
 sideration in their financial plans. They de- 
 clare that their property is their own, and 
 they have a right to do just what they like 
 with it, and this they affirm in spite of God's 
 published and repeated declarations to the 
 contrary. Listen to Jehovah's version of the 
 matter : " The gold and silver are mine." 
 " The cattle upon a thousand hills are mine, 
 if I were hungry I would not ask thee." 
 " The earth is the Lord's and the fulness 
 
 thereof" '' Ye are not your own, ye are 
 
 (399) 
 
400 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 bought with a price.'' In all these passages 
 the absolute proprietorship of the Almighty 
 is asserted. How significant and opportune 
 was Jehovah's charge to His ancient people, 
 in view of the wealth and prosperity of their 
 future settlement in Canaan. " Beware that 
 thou forget not the Lord thy God, when thou 
 hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly 
 houses and dwelt therein ; and when thy 
 herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver 
 and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou 
 hast is multiplied. And thou say in thine 
 heart, my power and the might of mine hand 
 hath gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt 
 remember the Lord thy God : for it is He that 
 hath given thee power to get wealth.^^ Would 
 that every prosperous business man realized 
 and practically recognized the secret spring 
 of his ever growing gains. Human independ- 
 ence is a myth. '^ My power and the might 
 of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth, " is 
 a vain and wicked boast. Well indeed may 
 God rebuke the folly and impertinence of 
 such self-commendation, with the reminder, 
 
The Property Trust 401 
 
 " Thou shalt remember the Lord thy God : 
 for it is He that giveth thee power to get 
 wealth." How readily could the Almighty 
 unnerve the right arm of industry, and render 
 the cunning workman a helpless invalid ! How 
 soon could He smite the brain with paralysis 
 and transform the shrewd business man into 
 a driveling idiot ! One touch of God's retribu- 
 tive providence would wither human beauty, 
 and blast human greatness, and close up every 
 avenue to wealth and prosperity. Should the 
 refreshing dews and genial showers and golden 
 sunshine be withheld, all vegetation must 
 necessarily cease and barrenness and death 
 universally prevail. 
 
 Trading in the rich resources and varied 
 treasures of Divine bestowment, man cannot 
 afford to raise the cry of self-derived success. 
 All the capital by which earthly possessions 
 are multiplied is furnished by the bountiful 
 hand of Providence. 
 
 Muscular strength, brain-power, mechanical 
 skill, inventive genius, atmosphere, soil, light, 
 rain and heat — the essential factors of human 
 
402 The Path to Wealth, 
 
 wealth, are all the gifts of God, and should 
 never be overlooked in considering our obliga- 
 tions to the Author of all good. 
 
 If the generous bestowal of material bless- 
 ing renders our obligations to God so great, 
 what shall we say concerning the strength 
 and perpetuity of those claims that grow out 
 of the gift of Christ to our fallen race, and 
 the whole plan of human redemption with its 
 unutterable and eternal benedictions ? 
 
 Who can describe the narrowness of soul, 
 the want of appreciation, the consummate 
 selfishness of the man who can summer in 
 all these Divine blessings, and yet begrudge 
 even one-tenth of his annual income for the 
 extension of Christ's Kingdom in the earth ? 
 " Will a man rob God ? " 
 
 The fact is, the entire system of Church 
 finance requires revision. It ought to be the 
 easiest thing in the world to raise money for 
 the cause of that blessed Jesus, who went 
 down to poverty and agony and death, that 
 He might lift us to riches and joy and life. 
 Instead of that, it is a matter of great diffi- 
 
The Property Trust, 403 
 
 culty to maintain the institutions of the Chris- 
 tian Church as they should be maintained. 
 It is far easier to raise money for a political 
 club, for holiday recreations, or a band tourna- 
 ment, or even for a miserable kalithumpian 
 procession, than it is to secure funds for 
 carrying the Bread of Life to a starving world. 
 
 There is nothing that seems to grieve some 
 people so much as an appeal for money on be- 
 half of Christ's Kingdom on the earth. Thou- 
 sands would like to see the cause prosper, but 
 want a kind of success that costs nothing — ^' a 
 cheap and inexpensive success that will sup- 
 port itself, and leave their cupidity untaxed 
 and undisturbed." Let us remember that 
 there is no success in any department of life 
 without sacrifice, much less in the extension 
 of Christ's Kingdom, which has its very foun- 
 dation in unselfish benevolence. 
 
 What sacrifices men will make at the shrine 
 of self! What sacrifices the commercial man 
 will make to put more working capital into his 
 business ! What sacrifices the farmer will 
 make to buy another farm, or to pay for the 
 
404 
 
 The Path to Wealth, 
 
 one he has ! What plans and self-denials 
 many a man will resort to in order to build a 
 fine house and adorn it with elegant furniture ! 
 What downright hardships and terrible ex- 
 
 posures men will submit to, away off in the 
 gold mines far from the blessings of civiliza- 
 tion and the comforts of home, in their resolute 
 determination to dig a fortune out of the earth ! 
 
The Property Trust. 405 
 
 We have no fault to find with all this. Self- 
 denial, sustained courage, persevering toil con- 
 stitute the highway to success in every avenue 
 of life. But we inquire, should the motive of 
 the merchant, or the farmer, or the fortune 
 seeker be stronger than the motive of the Cross ? 
 
 Where is the proof of our attachment and 
 love for the Saviour, if the motive of the Cross 
 does not move us with an all-absorbing impulse 
 to do large things for Him ? Have you thought, 
 dear reader, of those words, so often embodied 
 in Christian song — " I gave my life for thee," 
 and then of the question which follows — '' What 
 hast thou done for me?" 
 
 This statement and this interrogation reveal 
 the generosity of God and the ingratitude of 
 man. Here we have Infinite love on the one 
 hand and human selfishness on the other. 
 How^ grasping covetousness is confounded in the 
 presence of Calvary ! It is with the mysteri- 
 ous, unparalleled, infinite sacrifice of Jesus be- 
 fore our gaze, that we gather the highest in- 
 spiration for Christian liberality and Christian 
 work. 
 
4o6 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 " Sweet the moments, rich in blessing, 
 Which before the Cross we spend." 
 
 * ' Here we learn to serve and give, 
 And our narrow self deny ; 
 Here we gather love to live, 
 Here we gather faith to die." 
 
 It is beneath the vertical influence of this 
 manifested love that human selfishness re- 
 treats and vanishes, and the whole man — with 
 all the powers and possibilities of his life — is 
 surrendered to God. 
 
 Dear reader, if your heart rebels when you 
 are asked to do anything for Christ, if your 
 givings are small and contributed reluctantly at 
 that, I pray you take a long and lingering 
 look at the Cross. Look at it till you see its 
 glory ! Look at it till you feel its mysterious 
 power melting and subduing your heart, and 
 breaking all the bands of selfishness that have 
 so long imprisoned your soul ; and then, with 
 the generosity which an all-pervading love in- 
 spires, you will appreciate the sentiments of the 
 Christian poet when he cried : — 
 
The Property Trust, 407 
 
 Were the whole realm of nature mine, 
 That were a present far too small ; 
 
 Love so amazing, so Divine, 
 
 Demands my soul, my life, my all." 
 
 The love of Jesus Christ transforms the 
 matter of giving from an irksome duty into a 
 refreshing privilege, — a spiritual luxury. 
 
 Of all potent forces in the universe of God, 
 love stands forth in unrivalled strength. It 
 will carry more burdens, it will endure more 
 suffering, it will accomplish more work, it will 
 win more victories, it will give more money, it 
 will encounter and conquer more difficulties 
 than any other moral force that can be named. 
 It has been truly said that " To love, more 
 than to anything else, this world owes what 
 blessedness it enjoys." 
 
 O that the love of Christ might extend the 
 empire of its divine influence from the centre 
 to the circumference of every Christian heart ! 
 In that case the questions of church finance 
 and church work would soon be effectually 
 settled, and the conquest of the world for God 
 would be an event of early date. Love knows 
 
4o8 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 no burdens. Measured by this test, bow pro- 
 fessions of attacbment and loyalty to Christ 
 come short ! 
 
 Should a faithful, loving wife ask a w^ealthy 
 husband to procure her some article that she 
 was very much in need of, and he should 
 churlishly reply, " I cannot afford to get it for 
 you," you would conclude that he did not love 
 his wife much, or he would have granted her 
 reasonable request. And when Jesus Christ, 
 with his pierced brow and bleeding hands and 
 wounded side, approaches His professed fol- 
 lower to plead on behalf of His needy, suffer- 
 ing cause, and that man ties his purse-strings 
 and shuts his heart and sets himself like a flint 
 to resist the most pathetic entreaties, what is 
 the verdict ? Why, that Mammon has a much 
 stronger grasp on that man's heart than the 
 love of Christ. The most charitable mind 
 could reach no other conclusion. 
 
 I could wish that all Christians would inves- 
 tigate this property question, not only in the 
 light of scriptural command and scriptural 
 promise, but especially from the standpoint of 
 
The Property Trust, 409 
 
 the Cross ; for then, I am convinced, they would 
 be prepared to transfer the whole matter of 
 contribution to the institutions of the church, 
 from the legal basis of duty to the higher plat- 
 form of joyous privilege. " Ye know the grace 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was 
 rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that 
 ye through His poverty might be rich." 
 '^ Every man according as he purposeth in his 
 heart so let him give; not grudgingly or of 
 necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. 
 And God is able to make all grace abound 
 toward you ; that ye always having all sufiE- 
 ciency in all things, may abound in every good 
 
 work." 
 
 27 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 Wk now wish to call attention to some of 
 the Divine pledges of blessing on behalf of 
 those who faithfully observe the claims of His 
 property laws, and to the indirect penalties that 
 follow the violation of these laws. There is a 
 remarkable passage in the third chapter of 
 Malachi's prophecy that demands more than a 
 passing notice. 
 
 The Jews had been withholding from God 
 His prescribed proportion of the income, and, 
 as the result of this sin, the land was visited 
 with destructive insects and other pests, that 
 destroyed the fruits of the husbandman's labor. 
 At this juncture, when there was sore distress 
 and scarcity throughout the land by reason of 
 failure in the crops, Jehovah charged His peo- 
 ple with the worst kind of robbery, and having 
 commanded them to bring all the tithes into 
 the storehouse, he flung out the notable chal- 
 lenge : " Prove Me now herewith, saith the 
 
 (411) 
 
412 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the win- 
 dows of heaven and pour you out a blessing, 
 that there shall not be room enough to receive 
 it.'' "And I will rebuke the devourer for your 
 sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of 
 your ground ; neither shall your vine cast her 
 fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord 
 of hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed : 
 for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the 
 Lord of hosts." 
 
 It is a fact worthy of special note, that in 
 temporal as well as spiritual things, God places 
 trust first in the order of events, and blessing 
 afterwards. " Prove Me by trusting Me and 
 I'll honor you by blessing you," is the sub- 
 stance of the Divine challenge. 
 
 It might at first sight seem unreasonable for 
 God to demand all the tithes of the Jewish sys- 
 tem, under the circumstances. Nevertheless, 
 that is just what He did. It was done to pro- 
 mote humiliation and excite trust, and also to 
 show His people their entire dependence upon 
 Him for all the good things of this life. 
 
 The same principle of action is illustrated in 
 
The Property Trust. 413 
 
 God's dealings with His people in the days of 
 the prophet Haggai, about one hundred and 
 twenty-five years previous to the above-men- 
 tioned test. The Jews had returned from cap- 
 tivity, but instead of devoting their means and 
 energies towards the rebuilding of the Temple, 
 they were erecting comfortable homes for them- 
 selves, leaving the house of God neglected and 
 desolate. The visitation of God upon the peo- 
 ple and the land because of covetousness is 
 full of admonitory lessons to all succeeding 
 generations. ^' He that hath ears to hear let 
 him hear." 
 
 " Then came the word of the Lord by Haggai 
 the prophet saying, is it time for you, O ye, to 
 dwell in your ceiled houses, and this house lie 
 waste? Now therefore, thus saith the Lord 
 of hosts ; consider your ways. Ye have sown 
 much, and bring in little ; ye eat, but ye have, 
 not enough ; ye drink, but ye are not filled with 
 drink ; ye clothe you, but there is none warm ; 
 and he that earneth wages, earneth wages to 
 put into a bag with holes. Ye looked for 
 much, and lo it came to be little : and when ye 
 
414 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why ? 
 saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine 
 house that is waste, and ye run every man 
 unto his own house. Therefore the heaven 
 over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is 
 stayed from her fruit. And I called for a 
 drought upon the land, and upon the moun- 
 tains, and upon the corn, and upon the new 
 wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which 
 the ground bringeth forth, and upon men and 
 upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the 
 hands." Let the men who think to outwit 
 God by despising his money laws, ponder well 
 the import of this withering. Divine curse. 
 The prophet further reminds the people of 
 their folly by pointing them to the small re- 
 turns of the field and the vineyard : " Since 
 those days were, when one came to a heap of 
 twenty measures, there were but ten." God 
 would only have asked two measures out of 
 the twenty, but seeing the farmer was not dis- 
 posed to give any, the Lord took ten measures, 
 or, in other words. He took fifty per cent, by 
 penalty J when He would only have asked ten 
 
, The Property Trust. 415 
 
 per cent, by law. Again, '' When one came to 
 the pressfat for to draw out fifty vessels out of 
 the press, there were but twent}^" God only 
 required of them five vessels, but seeing they 
 were greedily determined to hold all and give 
 none, He took from them thirty vessels, or six 
 times as much, by penalty, as He would have 
 asked by law. ^' I smote you with blasting 
 and with mildew and with hail in all the labour 
 of your hands ; yet ye turned not to Me, saith 
 the Lord." 
 
 Shall the potsherd of the earth strive with 
 his Maker? Need insignificant man, depend- 
 ent on the Divine bounty for every breath he 
 draws and every atom of strength he possesses, 
 expect to cheat God with impunity ? 
 
 "Heaven, though slow to wrath, 
 Is never with impunity defied." 
 
 Here again, in the midst of poverty and famine, 
 God called upon the people to devote their time 
 and strength towards completing the Temple. 
 Modem prudence and wisdom would rebel at 
 this point and say : '' No ! let the people look 
 
4i6 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 after their own families first, and afterwards 
 take the interests of God's cause into consider- 
 ation." The Author of all wisdom and bless- 
 ing speaks otherwise. "Go up to the moun- 
 tain, and bring wood, and build the house, and 
 I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glori- 
 fied, saith the Lord." And then Jehovah 
 promised that from the very day they began to 
 obey Him the tide of their calamities should 
 be arrested, and an era of temporal and spirit- 
 ual prosperity should be opened up for them 
 by a smiling Providence. '^ From this day will 
 I bless you." 
 
 Oh that men would recognize the hand of 
 God in all relations of life. , Were the people 
 to observe the property laws of the Bible, we 
 should have such scenes of commercial and 
 agricultural prosperity as the world has never 
 seen. 
 
 * * The sun gives ever, so the earth 
 What it can give — so much 'tis worth ; 
 The ocean gives in many ways — 
 Gives baths, gives fishes, rivers, bays ; 
 So too the air, it gives us breath, 
 When it stops giving — comes in death. 
 
The Property Trust. 417 
 
 Give, give, be always giving, — 
 Who gives not is not living ; 
 
 The more you give, 
 
 The more you live. 
 
 "God's love hath in us wealth unheaped, 
 Only by giving is it reaped ; 
 The body withers and the mind 
 Is pent up by a selfish rind. 
 
 Give strength, give thoughts, give deeds, give pelf, 
 Give love, give tears, and give thyself. 
 Give, give, be always giving, — 
 Who gives not is not living ; 
 The more you give. 
 The more you live," 
 
 [We regret that want of space prevents us from publishing the 
 
 full paper on "The Property Trust."] 
 
 THE PUBLISHERS. 
 
(Hieing and ^umh^, 
 
 BY 
 
 J^EV. /NO. POLLARD, D, D, 
 
 (419) 
 
GIVING AND RECEIVING. 
 
 "To remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It 
 it is more blessed to give than to receive. ' ' — Acts xx. 35. 
 
 " More blessed to give than to receive ? " 
 Who believes that ? Some would deny it at 
 once even as a bare theory. Some, whatever 
 they might think of it as a naked proposition, 
 would promptly discredit it as a rule of life : 
 they think it would ruin them to act on it. 
 Others might not feel authorized to discard it 
 in any sense ; and yet they stand in doubt of 
 it. After the statement, *' It is more blessed 
 to give than to receive," they would "write a 
 stupendous interrogation point (?), as if to say, 
 '' Is that true ? " '' Can it be true ? " 
 
 What I propose to do is to help your faith 
 in the doctrine of the text by, showing that, 
 however strange or absurd it may appear, it is 
 
 in perfect accord with common sense and 
 
 (421) 
 
422 The Path to Wealth, 
 
 sound reasoning. At first it may seem a glit- 
 tering fallacy ; on examination it is found a 
 solid, sober truth. 
 
 Several preliminary remarks must be made. 
 Your tbougbts have perhaps already darted to 
 your pocket-books. 
 
 1. Let us not suppose that the giving and 
 receiving here referred to are the giving and 
 receiving of money alone. They are of course 
 included ; but the passage before us embraces 
 much more. It embraces the giving and re- 
 ceiving of sympathy, of prayers, of kind 
 words, of kind acts, of anything, of every- 
 thing that relieves, establishes, comforts, helps. 
 
 2. One act of receiving must precede all 
 giving in the highest sense. It is that act of 
 receiving referred to by John when he says, 
 '' But as many as received Him, to them gave 
 He power to become the sons of God, even to 
 them that believe on His name'' (John i. 12). 
 We must be filled and enriched by the pres- 
 ence of Christ with us and in us before we can 
 become givers to the world about us. 
 
 3. Christ, when on earth, acted on the prin- 
 
Giving and Receiving. 423 
 
 ciple of the text, " The Son of man came not 
 to be ministered unto, but to minister " (Matt. 
 XX. 28) : which is equivalent to saying, " I 
 came not to receive, but to give ; I came not to 
 set the current of benefits from the world to 
 me, but to turn that current from me to the 
 world." We have but to read the history of our 
 Lord to see how fully the acts of His hands 
 confirmed the utterance of His lips. His whole 
 life, as well as His death, was a giving, not a 
 receiving. The Son of God, being possessed 
 of infallible wisdom, must have sought the 
 object that was most desirable and most 
 blessed. 
 
 Now we proceed to the main argument. 
 
 I. The analogies of nature and life give us 
 no slight intimations of the teaching in the text. 
 Your writing-desk gives : from it you draw 
 your materials for correspondence or any liter- 
 ary work you may propose to yourself Your 
 waste-basket receives. You think much more 
 of your writing-desk than of your waste-basket. 
 You take your writing-desk and put it on the 
 table — the post of honor: you take your waste- 
 
424 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 basket and put it under the table — the station 
 of inferiority and humiliation. The fountain 
 gives : the sewer receives. The fountain is 
 pure, and sparkling, and attractive: the sewer 
 is dark, and filthy, and repulsive. Those sub- 
 stances in nature that receive all the rays of 
 the sun and absorb in themselves as much as 
 they receive are black — a color symbolic of 
 woe. Those substances that receive all the 
 rays of the sun, and, absorbing none, give 
 back all, are white — the color emblematic of 
 purity and glory. There is an inland sea that 
 has no outlet : — the Dead Sea, in Syria. It 
 has an inlet through which the rapid Jordan 
 is emptied into its bosom. It receives but 
 does not give. Its shores are a desert, on its 
 surface no sail is spread, through its waters no 
 fishes swim, in its tide no wild fowl bathe their 
 plumage. Amid frowning cliffs it lies, for- 
 saken of men, and accursed of God. 
 
 2. Look at the traits nourished by the two 
 processes. Receiving tends to nourish self- 
 ishness. It makes a man purseproud, and 
 sordid, and earthly. The horizon of this 
 
Giving and Receiving. 425 
 
 world completely bounds his vision. He will 
 see nothing beyond this world, and conse- 
 quently he will become narrow in his views 
 and sympathies. We might suppose that, in 
 the person that much receives and nothing 
 gives, at least one excellent quality would be 
 nourished — gratitude. But even here we find 
 ourselves disappointed. The person that only 
 receives is never grateful. His numberless 
 and never-ceasing blessings come to be re- 
 garded by him as a matter of course. He sees 
 not God the Giver in one of them. His greedy, 
 eager gaze is too closely fixed on the gift, for 
 him to see the hand that bestows it. He is 
 like the swine beneath the oak, too busy eat- 
 ing the acorns to look up to the boughs from 
 which they fall. Such are the traits nourisned 
 by receiving. What are the qualities de- 
 veloped by giving ? Generosity, benevolence, 
 fraternity, tenderness of soul, largeness of 
 view, and resemblance to Him that gives to all 
 life, breath, and all things. These are the 
 traits that giving fosters ; and these are the 
 
 traits that exalt and ennoble human nature. 
 28 
 
426 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 They as far surpass the qualities nourished by 
 receiving as fine gold surpasses the basest 
 metal. 
 
 3. Then I appeal to your own experience. 
 You have been doubting whether it was " more 
 blessed to give than to receive," when, if you 
 had only read aright your own history, you 
 would have known it was true. You have 
 sometimes received. You have felt joy in re- 
 ceiving. At other times you have given. 
 And you felt joy in giving. Both experiences 
 are then before you. Which do you prize 
 most ? Are you not perfectly conscious that 
 your joy in giving was of a better, purer, 
 nobler type than your joy in receiving? Do 
 you not feel that it was a joy that better became 
 a rational, immortal, accountable being ? Do 
 you not feel that it was a joy you would rather 
 think of and dwell upon amid scenes of afflic- 
 tion, and at the hour of death ? The joy of 
 receiving is like a sparkling dew-drop which a 
 passing footstep may brush away ; but the 
 joy of giving is like a glittering star set in 
 the sky of night, which will shine on over 
 
Giving and Receiving 427 
 
 decaying empires, and through revolving 
 ages. 
 
 4. God has promised much to giving^ nothing 
 to receiving. What does Jehovah promise to 
 giving ? It would require a volume to tell you. 
 I quote only one pledge that Jesus has made. 
 ^ Give, and it shall be given unto you ; good meas- 
 ure, pressed down, and shaken together, and 
 running over, shall men give into your bosom '^ 
 (Luke vi. 38). This blessed promise effectu- 
 ally answers those that ask, " How am I to 
 have anything to give, if I am to be giving all 
 the time ? " Give, and it shall be given unto 
 you. You have probably seen men load drays 
 with bagged hams. The man in the store will 
 throw to the one on the pavement, and the 
 man on the pavement to the man in the cart. 
 The man on the pavement is constantly pitch- 
 ing the hams away from him, and yet is as 
 constantly having a ham in his hands. Why? 
 Because, as rapidly as he parts from one, 
 another is thrown him. So, God deals with 
 the liberal soul ; as he parts from what he has, 
 God gives him more. Now search out yoiwx 
 
428 The Path to Wealth, 
 
 promise to the mere receiver ; and when you 
 have found it let me know. 
 
 5. Receivmg has no recompense in the next 
 world : giving has. Dives was a man that re- 
 ceived on earth. He was clothed in purple 
 and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every 
 day. But what did he get on the other shore? 
 Nothing, absolutely nothing. In the other 
 world, a drop of water to cool his tongue was 
 denied him. " Son, remember that thou in 
 thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and 
 likewise Lazarus evil things ; but now he is 
 comforted, and thou art tormented" (Luke xvi. 
 25). In contrast with this spectacle look at 
 the reward offered in the other world to giving. 
 Jesus says, " When thou makest a dinner or a 
 supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, 
 neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbors ; 
 lest they also bid thee again, and a recompense 
 be make thee." That is, take care how you 
 become a receiver in this world. " But when 
 thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, 
 the lame, the blind: and thou shalt be blessed; 
 for they cannot recompense thee : for thou 
 
Giving and Receiving, 429 
 
 shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of 
 the just" (Luke xiv. 12, 13, 14). If receiv- 
 ing has its rewards only on earth, but giving 
 its recompense both here and hereafter, surely 
 we may no longer doubt that "it is more 
 blessed to give than to receive." 
 
 OBJECTION. 
 
 But some one may say, " The principle you 
 advocate calls for us to discontinue all ac- 
 cumulation and do nothing but distribute." 
 Not at all. Your view completely overlooks 
 the true relation between accumuiacing and 
 distributing. We are not to dispense with 
 distributing in our accumulating: neither are 
 we to dispense with accumulating in our dis- 
 tributing. But we are to accumulate in order 
 that we may distribute. "Let him labor," 
 says the scripture, "working with his hands 
 the thing which is good, that he may have to 
 give to him that needeth" (Eph. iv. 28). Re- 
 ceiving must go on: but go on, not as a means 
 of accumulation, but as a means of giving. 
 This subject teaches us many important 
 
430 The Path to Wealth, 
 
 LESSONS. 
 
 1. It rebukes the error of constantly con- 
 sidering what we are receiving from others. 
 Some deal with this question almost entirely. 
 With them the only inquiry is, "What treat- 
 ment am I receiving from other people?" I 
 have met with such persons very often. They 
 have told me how cold, how distant, how un- 
 appreciative, how uncharitable, this one and 
 that one are towards them. This may be a 
 matter of some interest, but it is by no means 
 the sole matter or the main matter. If it is 
 true that "it is more blessed to give than to 
 receive," the question for us to ask is not how 
 other people are treating us, but how we are 
 treating other people; not what we are getting 
 from our fellow-men, but what we are meting 
 out to them. 
 
 2. It teaches us a lesson about accounts. 
 Few business men neglect to inquire, at stated 
 times, what their receipts have been. But in 
 the light of this text, I must ask whether that 
 should be all. When at the end of a year or a 
 month or a week, we are thinking of earnings 
 
Giving and Receiving, 431 
 
 or salary or income, we should not merely in- 
 quire what money we have received, but we 
 ought to add up also to see what we have 
 given. 
 
 " He only breathes, and never lives, 
 Who much receives and nothing gives, 
 Whom none can praise, whom none can thank, 
 Creation's blot, creation's blank." 
 
^\xt iitthe. 
 
 BY 
 
 ii£K WM. TAYLOR, Bishop of Africa. 
 
 (433) 
 
THE TITHE, 
 
 When God established human rights to six 
 days per week for all manner of honest in- 
 dustry and legitimate enjoyment in secular 
 lines of life, He reserved one day of each week, 
 a seventh of time, to which He gave us no 
 right except to use it for purposes of mercy to 
 man and beasts of burden according to His 
 plain injunctions in regard to the institutions 
 
 of the Sabbath. 
 
 So when God established human rights to 
 property, He reserved the tenth of all net pro- 
 ceeds for purposes of mercy, and never gave to 
 man any right to the tenth except as a dis- 
 bursing agent for Him. 
 
 He has given to mankind, ist, the mental 
 appetence for property; ad, the right to ac- 
 cumulate, to have, and to hold property ; and, 
 3d, property resources in vast variety; and He 
 
436 The Path to Wealth, 
 
 protects their property rights by the eighth 
 comraandment of the Decalogue. Having done 
 all this for all men, it would be extremely un- 
 like God's way of doing business to let them 
 riot in His vast domain, regardless of the rights 
 of the Sovereign who has provided and supplies 
 all its resources. 
 
 He opens His vast fields of wealth in all 
 their varieties to be developed by the human 
 race, giving fruitful seasons for the soil, water 
 power, wind power, steam power, and electric 
 power, with power of mind and muscle, requisite 
 to all mechanical and commercial pursuits, and 
 goes in partnership with each worker, demand- 
 ing as His share the tenth of the net proceeds 
 of their united labor. Abraham and Jacob 
 conformed to this fundamental law with con- 
 temporaneous nations of that day. It was 
 hence incorporated in the divinely appointed 
 Mosaic system of law. ''All the tithe of the 
 land, whether of the sea or of the land, or of 
 the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's ; it is holy 
 unto the Lord ; " not simply the Lord's in the 
 sovereign sense of '' the earth is the Lord's and 
 
The Tithe. 437 
 
 the fulness thereof," but in the sense of busi- 
 ness personal rights as explained in the next 
 verse. 
 
 "And if a man will at all redeem aught of 
 his tithes, he shall add thereto a fifth part 
 thereof" — he would receive in money a fifth 
 more than the current value of the tenth 
 bullock or other kind of tithe he wished to 
 redeem. ''And as concerning the tithe of the 
 herd, or of the flock," herd of cattle or flock of 
 sheep or goats, " even whatsoever passeth under 
 the yoke, the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord." 
 
 Four varieties of value are named to teach us 
 that all productions of human industry are 
 subject to God's reserved right of the tithe for 
 the relief of the poor and needy, and for the 
 support of the institutions of God for the 
 benefit of mankind. It will be observed that 
 this law of the tithe is not a ceremonial or a 
 typical law, having a limited tenure, but is as 
 enduring as " seedtime and harv-est," and 
 human life and labor on earth. The man who 
 refuses to give to God the tithe of his net 
 earnings or income, to be applied according to 
 
438 The Path to Wealth, 
 
 His best judgment, is guilty of defrauding his 
 Divine Sovereign. 
 
 " Will a man rob God? " The rascally fel- 
 low replies, '' wherein have we robbed Thee ? " 
 God replies, " in tithes and offerings." What 
 is the penalty ? "Ye are cursed with a curse." 
 What are the terms of reconciliation ? " Bring 
 the tithes into the storehouse and prove me 
 therewith, saith the Lord, and see if I will not 
 pour you out such a blessing as there shall not 
 be room to receive it." 
 
 He does not command them to bring the 
 freewill offering. The one is a legal right, the 
 other is an acceptable voluntary offering. He 
 goes on to indicate the curse visited upon those 
 who refuse to give to God His portion, and its 
 removal at their return to honest dealing with 
 Him. 
 
 " I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, 
 and the vine shall no more cast her fruit, and 
 ye shall have a delightsome land, and all 
 nations shall call you blessed." 
 
 The devourer is a generic term to represent 
 all extraordinary destructive things that waste 
 
The Tithe. 
 
 439 
 
 the tiller's toil, such as the caterpillar, the 
 locust, the Kansas grasshopper, the army 
 worm, the chinch bug, the potato bug, and 
 such like, and the mildew and blight of various 
 kinds which cause " the vine to cast her fruit," 
 the wasting or destruction of the maturing 
 crops of any kind, and of property in general. 
 
 God does not do this vindictively, but to 
 teach His subjects what a losing business it is 
 to defraud their Maker. These laws apply 
 alike to saints and sinners apart from the 
 question of personal salvation, upon a personal 
 acceptance of the Lord Jesus as the Saviour of 
 sinners. 
 
 The Pharisee who went up into the temple 
 to pray " paid tithes on all that he possessed," 
 and undoubtedly received the promised bless- 
 ing of God on his business, yet he did not 
 receive Christ and obtain justification by faith 
 as did the poor Publican. 
 
 All expenses involved in the production of 
 values must be paid before " net proceeds " can 
 be estimated, and tithed ; the personal and 
 family expenses of the producer must come 
 
440 The Path to Wealth. 
 
 out of tlie nine-tenths which fall to his share. 
 The tithes should be " laid by in store " 
 promptly ; the disbursement of it may be de- 
 layed, subject to the order of God by some 
 providential intimation that commends itself to 
 the judgment and conscience of His partner in 
 the business. '' We are workers together with 
 God " in this as we should be in all that per- 
 tains to life and godliness. 
 
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