they fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, such as drown men in destruction and perdition. Robertson says riches shut up the soul. He says, “No man fears riches, yet it is a fact, generally, that a man's liberality does not increase in proportion as he grows rich. It is exactly the reverse. He extends his desires. Luxuries become necessities. He must move in another sphere, keep more servants, and take a larger house. And so proportionately less than he did before."

in the end he gives Some years ago it

The rest of the people
The most splendid

was discovered that the aristocracy of England gave six thousand dollars a year for missions. of England gave several millions. aristocracy in the world gave a pittance; the work was carried on by the gifts of those of humbler rank and smaller possessions. Let it be known and remembered that covetousness may exist where there is little or no riches. What is needed is that we resist its debasing influence. The surest way to do that, perhaps the only way, is to maintain the habit of generous and joyful giving. With God's help this can be done; for with God all things are possible. As we abound in the other graces of the divine life, we should see to it that we abound in the grace of giving also. By doing this we shall help Christ save the world and in doing this we shall save our own souls. So shall we honour Him who loved us and gave Himself up on the cross for our redemption.

XVI

"IN THE MATTER OF GIVING AND RECEIVING"

T

PHIL. 4: 10-19.

HE Philippians did the giving; Paul did the receiving. While he was with them they ministered to his need. When he left them to carry on missionary

work in the regions beyond they followed him with substantial tokens of their loving interest in him and in his work. He adds that "even in Thessalonica" they sent once and again to his need. For a time indeed he received nothing from them; but this was not owing to any fault of theirs. They did take thought of him, but they lacked opportunity of communicating with him. Now their thought of him revived, as trees revive when the winter is over, and they found a suitable messenger in the person of Epaphroditus, Paul's fellow-worker and fellow-soldier, and their servant. By his hands they sent gifts which relieved his necessities and refreshed his spirit. Their action in this matter was the more noteworthy and honourable because no other church did so. The fact that it was fashionable to let the great apostle shift for himself did not affect the believers in Philippi. They acted without regard to the older and richer churches.

Paul was chosen of God to bear the name of Christ before kings and pagan nations and before the people of Israel. It was his high privilege to be a witness and a worker for his Lord. Paul was the greatest man of his age and the greatest man of all time. Martineau speaks of him as the travelled ambassador of Christ, who snatched Christianity from the hands of a local faction and made it a universal faith, whose powerful word

shook all the gods from Cyprus to Gibraltar, who turned the tide of history and thought, giving us the organization of Christendom for the legions of Rome, and for Zeno and Epicurus, Augustine, Eckhart and Luther. Fairbairn speaks of Paul as a foremost king of men, reigning by his imperishable words, clearest interpreter of the deepest mysteries of being, shaping noblest spirits to noblest uses, forming the men that lead the nations, making the men that make the thought and the faith and the freedom of the world. In his own time he was spoken of as one of the men that had turned the world upside down. In labour he was more abundant than all the other apostles combined.

The Philippians had none of Paul's genius. They could not preach with his eloquence. They could not help him in writing those immortal documents, the Epistles to the Romans, to the Corinthians, to the Galatians, to the Ephesians. They could not advise him how to proceed in entering new territory and how to prosecute the work to which he had been called by the Spirit of God. But they could and did contribute to his material and moral support. They relieved him to some extent of labouring with his hands to supply his own needs, and thus placed him in a better position for carrying on his evangelistic campaigns.

In Corinth and in Thessalonica Paul wrought at his trade and would eat no man's bread for nought, but in labour and travail, he worked day and night, that he might not be a burden to any. He had a right to a support. "For even so hath the Lord ordained that they who preach the gospel should live of the gospel." But he did not use his right to the full, that he might preach the gospel in those cities without charge. He waived his right that he might give the Judaizers no ground for accusing him of covetousness. His relations with the Philippians were more intimate and confidential. He could accept their gifts without subjecting himself to criticism or creating the impression that he was more concerned about

their money than he was about the salvation of their souls. For this reason the gifts they sent were gladly and gratefully received.

It was

Paul could travel and preach and establish churches. God had given him a great intellect and a great soul. He endowed him with the rare and wondrous gift of eloquence. Paul was educated in all the learning of his race. Great and effectual doors were opened before him. As long as his wants were supplied he travelled and preached the unsearchable riches of Christ. He did not care for dainties and luxuries. He was a soldier and he cared for only that which was necessary. only when supplies failed that he worked at his trade as a tentmaker. Like Agassiz, Paul had no time to make money; he had a greater work to do. The Philippians did not have the same gifts or the same opportunities. They worked with their hands and gave to the extent of their power, yea, and beyond their power. He did what he was best qualified to do, and they did what they were best qualified to do. The Lord's cause was greatly advantaged by this division of labour.

Gifted, as he was, and called of God as he was, and with such openings on all sides, Paul's feeling was this, "Woe is unto me if I do not preach the gospel." That was the special work the Lord wanted him to do. He was the one man living

best fitted to do it. If he should undertake to make money when the Lord called him to serve as a missionary, the triumph of the gospel would be arrested. No other living man could do his work. The Philippians could make money and aid in that way. It may be that their feeling was this, "Woe is unto us if we do not do so." The will of God for them was that they should aid according to their ability and privilege. They were not their own, they had been bought with a price. They were under as much obligation as was Paul to do all in their power towards the evangelization of the world. If they failed in this they would not be able to say that they were free from the blood of all men. The record

shows that Paul was sustained in his work by their generous and gracious assistance. He spoke in Athens, the intellectual centre of the world; in Rome, the governmental centre; in Ephesus and Corinth and other cities, with greater freedom and power because he partook of their bounty. Apart from them his great work could not have been done as it was done; his noble life could not have been lived as it was lived; he could not have attained the measure of perfection to which he did attain. If they had failed in their duty, it may be that he would have fainted and fallen and died.

The apostle commended them because they had fellowship with him in his service and in his affliction. The Philippians did not say to him, "Be you warmed and filled, and the blessings of the Lord be upon you," while they clung to their money. Had they done so he would have been hindered in his work, and the Lord would have been grieved.

They partook of the priceless spiritual gifts which he had bestowed upon them, and it was only fitting that he should now partake of their temporal things. They were his children in the faith; they owed him their own souls; it was proper that from time to time they should send him the things that he needed for his welfare and efficiency. While he commended them so cordially for what they had done he wished them to know that with him "gratitude was not a lively sense of favours yet to be received." He tells them that he has all he needs. "I have all things, and abound; I am filled." He repeats this thought three times for the sake of clearness and emphasis. He wished them to know how he felt. He was concerned on their account and not on his own. He did not wish anything for himself; he did wish interest to accumulate to their credit.

The relation that existed between this church and the great missionary to the nations is the relation that should exist between the churches of Christ everywhere and the missionaries in the service now. The churches should do the giving; the missionaries on the field should do the receiving.

Thus both