Cheraw gazette. [volume] (Cheraw, S.C.) 1835-1838, 1836-11-29
~ HAVE DONE GIVING.

anu III death.
81 HAVE DONE GIVING"
! 4 gentleman of high rcspcc,abiity. 2nG
! Il member of Christian church, made this
remark the other day, when informed thai
an application was about to b. made 10 hm
in behalf Of some charitable object, | have
done giving said he. When | hearl o
this remark, it awakened in my mind a
train of reflections, which have thought
it might moi be amiss to communicate
through your medium.
Done giving!"-IIas he, indeed! Why
Has he given all Has he nothing left to
give? Has this disciple done what his
Master did? Was he rich. and has he be.
come poor for the sake Of others, that they,
through his povcry, might be rich 20:
no he is rich sill! lie has more lhan
enough to keep him in elegance, and enable
him to leave an ample inheritance 10 lis
children.
What, if he has given a great deal ?
H. has not only not impoverished himself,
but is probably ii;her now, through the IA
vor of Providence, than he wou'd nave been
had he never given any things Now, if,
by honoring the Lord with his substance,
his barns, instead Of being cmptied, have
been filled with plenty, nc had better CONT
nue. this mode ofhonoring him. lie should
rather increase than lessen his libclaIity.
"Donc giving;" Why! Is there no
more need of giving! Is every want abun-
dainty supplied? Is the whole population
Of oar country furnished with the means
of grace? Is the world cvangeized? Have
missionaries visited every shore? Is the
Bible translated into every language, and
distributed d in every land-a cepy in every
family, and every member of every family
taught 10 pead it! Are the accommodations
for widows and orphans as ample as they
should be! Is there a house Of refuge for
every class of the human family that needs
one! Or have the poor ceased from the
land? Oh, no; there arc no such reasons
us these for ceasing to give. Why, then,
has he done giving! Is it because others
do not give as they ought? But what is
that 10 him? VIII he make the practice of
others his rule of conduct, rather than The
preccp;s Of Jesus Christ? If others do not
give. so much the more he should impart.
Will he add another name to the list Of
niggards? ?
Docs he feel worse for having given away
so much ?--TIas it made him unhappy? Is
his experience different from that of the
Lord Jesus, who said. "it is more blessed
to give than TO receive"
Has he, who thinks he will give no more,
been I'D 10 tha: conclusion, by having found
lha, what HTS been given hitherto has done
no good! And is II 50, that no good has
been done by all the Bibles Published, and
all the trac.s distributed, all the missionaries
sent abroad into our own land and into the
world, and all the schools established, and
all the children taught to read, and all the
civilization introduced, and all the asylums
opened, and all the poverty relieved ?
Has no good been done? Good, great good
has been done by what has been given;
but still moro will be done by what si"i} be
given hereafter. Bibles can Low be
printed at a cheaper raic than hereto.
fore, and the conductors OF our charita.
bic works have learned by experience
that economy which can be learned in no
other way. And vet at This time, when
a sovereign goes so far in doing good, here
is Il man who says, Il have done CIV
ing" IfI had his ear for a momcn', |
would ask hlm if he had done receiving ?
IfGot had done giving to hm? | would
ask him, moreover, if he has done spending,
or done boarding, or done was ing? Now,
if he has not, he surely should not cease
giving. When he ceases to waste, to hoard,
and to spend, except for the mercst neccS-
saricS, then he may stop giving, but never
till then.
"Donc giving!' done lending to the
Lord! Done sowing and watering! Done
oiIaring the sacrifices with which God is
well pleased! done making the widows
heart leap for joy, and bringing on himself
the blessing of them that were ready to
perish! Well, | am sorry--sorry for the
sake Of the poor, the rich, the orphan, the
ignorant, and the hcalhcn. But no less
sorry am | tor the mans own sake. Poor
man? poor with all his alfluence for there
is no one really more poor than he. who,
with the ability to give, has not the inclna-
ton. He has it in his power to give. but
not in his heart. He is enriched with abun-
dance, but not with lberaliy.
"Donc gir;nr," Well. rL"n. if lie viii