The Mode of Raising Funds for Church Work [pp. 330-351]

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342 FP~ANCE5 OF THE CHURCH. ~ApAl,
of not appearing before the Lord empty will come to every
such heart with a power and preciousness that it could not
otherwise possibly possess.
Again, in the proportion that any Christian accepts and
truly believes this doctrine, in that proportion will he desire
and aim to practise it frequently, and to the extent in amount
that his means will allow. The same reasons that influence
him to be regular, conscientious and faithful in prayer, a~ming to send forth the true desires and aspirations of his soul,
will move him to be regular, conscientious and faithful in
giving. Let him heartily believe that it is his privilege and
duty to worship God by gifts and he will find the pressure of
the obligation to perform this duty, as frequently and largely
as his means permit, bearing upon him with constant force.
If this reasoning is correct, then two of the conditions
stated are fulfilled by the plan proposed. It bears with force
upon the mnltitude of church members who do not contribute
to benevolent objects; and it has a tendency to make the
conviction general and operative that each one is to give up
to his full ability.
But is this doctrine found in the Scriptures? A vital question. "To the law and to the testimony, if they speak not
according to this word it is because there is no light in them."
The Brick Church in New York, one of the most venerable
and powerful in the whole body, has adopted the plan of worshipping God by gifts cast into his treasury each Sabbath
morning. The Session of that Church has issued a circular
to its members, containing a series of pertinent texts, and a
plan of taking up a weekly collection. The Scriptural passages of that circular are transferred to these pages, and the
reader is invited to notice the fact that, as they stand in the
word of God, nearly all of them refer directly to His worship. -
T~ L~w. "And they shall not appear before the Lord empty. Lvery man shall give as he is able according to the blessing of the Lor~
thy God wjiich He hath given thee." Duet. xvi. 16, 17.
THE PSALMs. "Vow and pay unto the Lord your God; let all that are
round about him bring presents to him that ought to be feared. Ps.
~xxvi. 11.
P~ov~it~s. "Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the first