with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase." Here, my brethren, is a direct command, it is not left to our option; for, although a promise is annexed to it of a most influential kind, the command would be equally binding had not the promise been thus annexed; but God in his mercy never requires any duty for which he does not in some way or other provide its appropriate reward. The latter part of the command shows in what manner it can be best carried into effect; "Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase." God is not a hard master, he only requires a portion of that all of which he has given : and surely, my friends, if we rightly consider it, gratitude will compel us to come forward in obedience to the command, when the glory of God is the object in view. If we for one instant take a retrospect of our life, and view how, under different circumstances, God has appeared for us and blessed us, we surely cannot hesitate to obey his commands, and thus

prove our gratitude to him who has given unto us life and breath, and all things. And here I would for one moment turn to an objection which I find often made, often probably from principle, but whether so or not, it has generally the effect of closing the purse-strings against the calls of charity and the claims which our heavenly Benefactor has upon us. We must be just, it is said, before we are generous; a juster proposition was never made, and if carried out with a proper regard to the claims of all, nothing can be more in accordance with the command in the text. For what is justice but the rendering to every one that which is his due? Apply the principle, God is the giver of all things we possess; he has a right to state his own claims first, and to have those claims satisfied; and these claims are, the first fruits of all thine increase. Have we, my brethren, complied with these claims; have we consecrated the first fruits of our gains to him to whom they are undoubtedly due; have we, during our lives, or

during the last five years, or even during the last year, examined our increase, and given a just portion to God? If not, let us not talk or think of our generosity, let us not talk of our regard for justice; the word may issue from our lips, but our consciences, if we let them speak, will tell us that we are ungrateful as well as unjust.

Our heavenly Father has, however, not left us with a bare command, he has added a blessing to the right performance of our duty, which leads us to consider, in the third place, the reward promised-" So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine."

These expressions of course refer to a state of temporal prosperity, the attainment of which is ever a subject of anxiety; and however paradoxical it may appear, there is no doubt, that if the life and actions of men could be investigated, the reward would be seen to follow in this, as decidedly as in other cases. The word of God is invaluable in this respect, that its attentive perusal opens to

us the human heart, with all its changes and motives; and we find, the more we examine, the more evident its truths become. "It is more blessed to give than to receive.' says our Saviour: the world laughs at the idea; and it is not until we weigh well the feelings-put into one scale the enjoyment giving affords, and find that there is real luxury in doing good; and in the other, the dependence, the reception of favours implies, and the obligations it imposes, that we find our Lord's maxim embued with the highest wisdom, and the deepest insight into the heart of man. "Blessed are the meek," says our Saviour: the man of spirit, as he is called, laughs at it as folly, but the principle is no less true, and the meek man is no less blessed; and although we cannot, perhaps, understand how giving our property away on the one hand is to ensure the increase of it on the other, still, reasoning from analogy, we may show that it is not contrary to experience, and we have here revelation strongly insisting upon the fact.

Nothing is more common than for a man to speculate on the increase of his gains by the outlay of a part of that which he already possesses. Thus we see the husbandman cast into the ground the tender seed, relying upon the Lord of the harvest to give him an abundant crop. The merchant consigns his bark laden with goods to the treacherous deep, in the full belief that He who ruleth the wind and the seas will bring it again favourably into port. They will both tell you they act from experience the experience of ages as well as their own. The man of property entrusts his wealth to the state, assured that at the close of the year he shall receive an increase from its use; and if you ask him the ground of his confidence, he will tell you that the honour and credit of his country is pledged to its payment, and of the fulfilment of that pledge he has no doubt. The outlay of a part of our property for the acquisition of more, is then by no means uncommon; the great difference is that, in the one case, we are induced