The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1910-04-06
THE PULPIT.
A BRILLIANT SUNDAY SERMON BY
THE REV. EDWARD NILES.
Theme: Systematic Giving.

South Bushwick Reformed Church,
preached on Systematic Giving"
The text was from Mark 1874:
Jesus sat down over against the
treasury and beheld how the multi
tude cast money into the treasury"
Mr.. Niles said:
The stage setting Of this scene Is
a court of the temple area. Around
three sides of its 200 feet square sur
face ran a raised balcony for the
women. Against the wall on the
fourth side stood thirteen trumpet
like chests, narrow at the mouth,
wide at the bottom. A placard told
the purpose for the money deposited
in each. One and two received the
tribute money of every Israelite which
paid the running expenses of the tenn
pie, including salaries.
In three and four were deposited
the equivalent in coin for the sin Of
fering Of animals. The next three
provided for the sacrifcial wood, in
cense and furnishing. The labels Of
the other six showed that, they re-
ceived thank offerings Of various
kinds. Nearby was a miniature
chamber of the silent" for gifts to
educate the children Of the poor.
Thus seven of these fourteen treas
ury boxes were for dues obligatory
upon the members Of Gods visible
kingdom. The sever for offerings Of
gratitude, supported disabled priests
and their widows, taught those who
could not afford tuition fees, supplied
the needy, went for PROSECUTING or
mission work.
The time was Tuesday of Holy
Week. The characters were a multi
tude. Every one of them patronized
the 1.-THE boxes, many those for chart
ty. The two important characters
were:
First-A widow. She had come to
pay her dues. All she had were two
what were vulgarly called "lepta" or
"peelings," the smallest possible OF
coppers. To drop one into the 1.-THE
box meant one-half instead of the
prescribed tenth, but to give less was
impossible. To support her church
was q matter of course, however, and
without hesitation she put in. Only
a lepton left for her living! Then
she looked at the boxes for benef-
cence. She thought not of her wants,
but of her blessings. With Joy that
at least a lepton was hers to give, she
made her offering for the needy.
The chief character was Jesus. He
had watched the rivers of gold and
silver flowing into the treasury, and
it must have been a bright spot in
that sad week to note how many gave
49, 9.oo r,;11 o4par{pno Tho 1icntn1nc
glad at the amounts given, knowing
the need of widows, orphans, slum
workers, said. "The people are very
generous to-day, Rabbi" Jesus was
interested in the amounts the givers
took away, supremely intent upon the
mind rather than the money. He had
no word to say until the widow made
her supreme sacrifice. He felt no
pity for her; but pleasure in her as
He made the startling statement,
"She has cast in more than all they
that are casting into the treasury"
We would naturally have expected
the Great Teacher to have sat over
against the pulpit, watching how
some eloquent rabbi expounded and
applied the law and how the congre-
cation listened; or in some quiet
place of the choir loft beholding how
the cantor led and the great choir Of
Levites rendered the worship of
praise and the chorus took it up. IN
douDtedly, He noted these things, but
the only inspired record Of His in
terest in the temple worship tells of
His sitting against the treasury. The
concrete result. Of preaching and
praise appealed to Him more than
their matter in preparation or their
method in delivery.
As He was then, so He Is to-day.
The essential in our worship Is how
we cast into Gods treasury. That
part of the service should be the SER
vices centre. The Communion table
is its only fit receptacle. To adver-
tise mo Collection" Is to eViscerate
worship and turn it into a combina-
ton lecture and concert. Money is
the tangible evidence Of work accom-
plished. Our work belongs to God,
and the more it is consecrated, the
more Of ourselves we dedicate to
Him.
In systematic support Of the church
this congregation has made rapid
progress. The average given by each
member, man, woman and child, IS
larger now than yer before. I said
"given." The word is misleading.
We don't "give" our taxes to pay for
schools, teachers, books and janitors.
When we go to a musicale, we don't
! give our dollar for a seat, nor do we
give something to the doctor or the
%roofer, when we pay their bills.
Taxes for religious instruction IN
! the Sunday school, for church prop
erty, repairs and improvements,
for music, for a man to spend all his
time in the care Of souls and thus
be as proficient as the man we pay
to give all his time to the care of
bodies, are obligatory in England,
Germany and Russia. They are vol
untary here, but no less really the
equivalent Of value received, the New
Testament continuation of the tenn
pie dues.
l am beholden to none Of you if,
as the preacher of the Gospel, I live
by the Gospel. You are beholden to
me to see that the time I ought to use
for m work Is not diverted to Wor-
rying over my modest bills.
/ The one mite was the widows due.
Her credit that far Vas the simple one
Of any person who does his duty.
. Her glory is that because the times
were hard she did not omit giving
for some one else. Because she
put her beneficence on the same
basis with her obligations, she is I'M