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

1872.] FINANCES OF THE CHURCH. 343
fruits of all thine increase. So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and
thy presses shall burst out with new wine." Prov. iii. 9, 10.
THE Pnop~xrs. "They shall bring gold and incense, and they shall
show forth the praises of the Lord." Isa. lx. 6. "For from the rising
of the sun unto the going down of the same, my name shall be great
among the Gentiles, and in every place shall incense be offered unto my
name and a pure offering." MaL i. 11.
THE WISE M~. "And when they were come into the house, they
saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and fell down and worshipped Him; and when they had opened their treasures, they presented
unto Him gifts; gold and fraukincense and myril~." Matt. ii. 11.
Oun LouD. "Jesus sat over against the treasury.... And there
came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a
farthing." Mark. xii. 41, 42. "But I say unto you... Give and it
shall be given unto you good measure, pressed down and shaken together,
and running over, shall men give into your bosom; for with the same
measure that ye mete wiil~al, it shall be measured to you again." Luke
vi. 38. "For even the son of man came not to be ministered unto, but
to minister and to give His life a ransom for many." Mark x. 45.
"And I say unto you make to yourselves friends of the mammon of
unrighteousness, that when ye fail, il~ey may receive you into everlasting
habitations." Luke xvi. 9.
T~ Arosro~c Cuuucu. "Now concer4in~ the collection for the
Saints, as I have given order unto 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 hath prospered him." 1 Cor. xvi. 1, 2.
"Therefore as ye abound in everything, in faith, in utterance, and
k~owledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound
in this grace also." 2 Cor. viii. 7.
"If there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man
bath, and not according to that he hath not." 2 Cor. viii. 12.
Out of these, and a multitude of other similar declaration~
of the Word, comes, as naturally as light from the sun, this
broad principle and doctrine. Whenever an offering is made
to God as a sincere and devout expression of the faith, and
obedience, and love of the soul, it is an act of worship. To
worship God, therefore, by contributing the largest amount
and as frequently as our means will permit, is both a precious
privilege, and an imperative duty.
We come now to the form in which the work of the Church
should be presented to the people. It has been deemed a
matter of great importance to separate the different depart