Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1880-07-07
Freely.

President Wayland used to express the
opinion that more professed Christians will
probably lose their souls through covetous-
ness than by any other sin. And what is
covetousness "Covetousness which is idol
atry," says the Scripture. The difference
between covetousness and charity is this,
then: In charity you give your money to
God, as an act of worship; in covetousness
you make your money into god and wor-
ship that. Have you noticed that we have
the account of two very remarkable collec-
tions taken up among the Israelites while
they were in the wilderness ? One was
collection for building the tabernacle.
4" And they came," so the record runs,
"both men and women, as many as were
wiling-hearted, and brought bracelets and
earrings and rings and tablets, all jewels of
gold, and every man made an offering unto
the Lord" That was charity contribu-
tion, and it had the two great elements of
acceptance in it it was willing-hearted and
it was self.denying, since they took the Jew
elry off their persons for the Lords treas
ury. But there was another collection. The
people broke off the golden earrings which
were in the ears of their wives and in the
ears of their sons and their daughters, and
had them fashioned into golden calf for
them to worship-that was covetousness
which is idolatry." And that golden calf has
a long line of descendants. Every great for
tune held for admiration and pride and self
qualification and luxury has clear pedi-
gree running back to that calf. Every plea
sure on which we lavish time and money
and affection for purely selfish ends is a
lineal descendant of that golden calf. Every
idol of dress or fashion or pride which we
set up in our lives and make the almost ex-
elusive object of our interest, however re-
fined and well approved it may be by man,
because it takes away what belongs to God,
is Of the same lineage with that golden calf.
And man with any jealousy for Gods
honor will be as panied to see the ravages of
that golden calf in Christian congregation
as Moses was when it broke loose in the con-
gregation of Israel. And because man has
such an innate and almost ineradicable ten
dency to such idolatry, God has set up the
great and holy claim of charity as safe
guard and protection against it. " Freely
give" This quality of free willingness is
always required. In Old Testament and
New, from Hebrew and Christian, the same
condition is demanded. EVERY one will
ingly offered free-will offering unto the
Lord" is the language of the Old Testa.
hcho CouoenHtiy icpcdoCu' IL iiot tHcIo pc
a willing mind, it is accepted according to
what man hath, and not according to that
he hath not" This willingness is every.
where dwelt upon in the Scriptures. 1t con
stitutes the very fragrance and divine aroma
of our sacrifices. 1t is the wing which
bears our aims 10 heaven, which our reluct-
ance might make so heavy that it would fall
only with dull thud upon the bottom OF
the contribution box. Whatever you give
be it much or little, let it be willingly. In
deed, we are reminded that this is the un
varying condition in Gods dealings with us
Whether we give our receive, our free-wil
must come into activity. "Whosoever will
let him take the water of life freely" says
God and whosoever has willing mind lei
him give freely. Why, what is the differ
ence between robbery and charity 1t il
simply the action of the will that constitutes
that difference; that is all. If | ask you
for contribution to good object, and you
| give it of your own free will, that is char
ity. If ] take the same amount of money
from you, for the same object, but without
the consent of your will, that is theft. Tha
shows the heaven-wide difference in an ac
which consent of the will makes. And Goo
will have this voluntariness, or he will no
have our gifts. "Will man rob God p
asks the prophet. And we reverse the ques
ton, and ask, viii God rob man ? Nay
He says, freely give" And not an ounc,
of violence will he use to force open tn,
hand to get a contribution for his treasury
The Wdtchword.