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been given, of him also will much be required, and to whom little has been given, of him little will be required.

In most of our congregations, especially in the European German, it is a beautiful ancient custom, on every Sunday after divine worship to take up a cent collection. This was originally designed for the poor, and doubtless took its rise out of that apostolic ordinance; in many cases, however, it has been alienated from this object, and applied to the paying of the minister, and the necessary expenses of divine worship. Let us provide for these wants in some other way, return to that old christian custom, and with earnestness and zeal discharge our sacred obligations to the poor.

The proper managers of the alms of every congregation are the Deacons under the supervision of the minister and the elders. According to their original appointment, they were the overseers of the sick and the poor, as we learn from the sixth chapter of the Acts and from the subsequent history of the church. Our deacons for the most part alas! have become estranged from this duty, and there is hardly a shadow thereof remaining. This is a foul stain upon our church-organization, that should claim our most earnest consideration. We have no good reason to pride ourselves upon the apostolic character of our government, so long as our Deacons confine themselves to the business of carrying around on the Sabbath the purse, and of collecting the salary of the minister. For that purpose, the apostles would hardly have instituted a particular office in the church with a solemn ordination and installation.

Corresponding to the office of Deacons in the apostolic church, and onwards until in the thirteenth century, was the office of Deaconesses for poor and sick females of the congregation. Thus Paul mentions the deaconess Phoebe in Cenchrea with praise, (Rom. xvi: 1). Females have received particular gifts from the Lord, which should be organized and employed for the benefit of the church. It would therefore be of importance to revive that office; and to maintain thus an evangelical counter-part to the Roman Catholic institution of Sisters of Charity, founded A. D., 1634 by Vincent of Paul, which has already dried up innumerable tears, healing the wounds and soothing the pains of both body and soul. Yea, why should not every ecclesiastical district have an Asylum for the poor, the sick, orphans, and widows, where together with bodily help the comfort of eternal life might be imparted to the suffering. The restoration of the office of Deacons to its original significance, the revival of the similar office of Deaconesses and of the whole

ecclesiastical care of the sick and the poor, would render secret societies unneccessary, or at all events entirely harmless to the church, and remove the reproach, that she neglected works of charity, which Christ and His apostles impressed so urgently upon her, and which she in past times so abundantly practised. As truly as we are justified according to Paul by faith in the Saviour, so firmly on the other hand stands the word of James: "Faith without works is dead."

If now we comprise in a few words the result of this discussion, we would recommend: 1. In general sustained by the example of the Old Testament and of the first centuries of the christian church, the consecration of the one tenth part of our income-yet not as a legal requirement, but as a free-will offering-for religious and benevolent objects primarily in our own neighborhood, and then for the kingdom of God at large; 2. A special yearly contribution of not less than twenty-five cents for the general institutions and operations of our denomination, according to the Old Testament model of supporting the national sanctuary, Ex. xxx: 13-16; 3. A collection on every Sabbath for the benefit of the poor and the destitute, according to the apostolic direction, 1 Cor. xvi: 1-2, in connection with the revivification of the office of Deacons and Deaconesses. As it regards the application and distribution of the tenth to the different objects of divine worship, and the general activity of the church, as also with regard to the amount of contribution to the poor, every one must take counsel with his conscience, and act according to his means and his best judgment, remembering the account which he owes to God for all His gifts and benefits, and their faithful use.

In conclusion, we add a few practical remarks which every reader may carry out further for himself.

1. It is high time, for the German Churches in America to free themselves of the charge of penuriousness and covetousness, which hitherto has been attributed to them, and to emulate with all their strength the leading English denominations in the virtue of benevolence and liberality in the spread of the kingdom of God at home and abroad. Of course there are many, who are very liberal and yet strangers to the life of God and full of Pharisaic hypocrisy; but it is impossible that true piety should exist together with hard-heartedness and covetousness, which in the Holy Scripture is called a root of all evil. Economy is a virtue, for which the Germans especially are distinguished, but

covetousness is a vice, one of the most hateful forms of selfishness, by which man becomes at last as cold and heartless, as the stone and metal, on which he has set his affections. The example of the Moravian Society, which is almost entirely German, and has accomplished more comparatively for heathen missions than any other denomination, as also of the liberality of single individuals in almost all the German Churches, prove satisfactorily, of what devotion and self-sacrifice in this department the German is capable, when he is once properly inflamed with the fire of divine love, and awakened to a consciousness of his sacred duty. Then he also is known to give out of a full heart and out of pure love to God and man, and only such a giver is acceptable to the Lord.

2. Let us reflect, that liberality for the holy cause of truth, virtue and godliness has never as yet brought any person to beg gary, but according to the express promise of the infallible God, will even in time be blessed. When the Jews, under the old covenant, conscientiously paid their tithes and other contributions, they were prosperous, and had abundance; when they withheld from the Lord the gifts that belonged to Him, they only robbed themselves, and had to repent of it bitterly. At the present day, precisely the most liberal nations, as the English and the Scotch, are the most blessed with earthly prosperity, and it would be a very superficial view, if we should derive this last from their flourishing trade and commerce only, without any referance to the state of religion and morality among them. For why are other lands, which are much more favored by nature, and which once acted a more prominent part in the history of the world, but now morally ruined, also in an external aspect so distracted and full of poverty and misery?

3. Much greater, however, is the inward reward of benevolence, the serenity of conscience, the divine pleasure resulting from the consciousness of having done good. Active, self-devoting, self-sacrificing love is indeed one of the richest and purest sources of true happiness, and he, who closes his ear to the cries of the poor and the frequent claims of benevolence, robs himself in so doing of the noblest enjoyments, of which we can partake in this world. True indeed this joy is not seldom imbittered by the ingratitude and the unworthiness of the subjects, to whom we do good; but this should as little dishearten us, as the sower is discouraged, because some seeds of grain fall inevitably upon the hard way-side, others upon rocky ground, and others still are choked by the thorns and thistles. The greater part of seed, when it is carefully sown, falls nevertheless upon

good ground, and brings forth abundantly, some thirty-fold, some sixty-fold, and some an hundred-fold.

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4. If we ministers of the gospel expect greater zeal from our congregations in exercising the virtue of benevolence, then let us consider, that we shall reach this object best, if we set before them the light of a good example. We are by no means excepted from the duty of exercising the duty of love, compassion and benevolence, rather in this precisely lies our strength. It is true, our first and principal duty is to devote our mental pow ers, and all our time to the Lord; but this does by no means exclude the less important bodily gifts. Let us take an example from among apostolic men of modern and ancient times. John Wesley made it a rule to be satisfied with 28L., and to devote what was over to benevolent objects; in the first year he devoted 2, in the succeeding year 32, in the fourth 92, to the support of the poor, and so on; so that he gave much more away than he used for himself. Think of Augustus Hermann Franke, who notwithstanding his small means, accomplished incredible things, won for himself one of the first positions among the noblest philanthropists, and in his OrphanHouse, at Halle, erected an imperishable monument of love to mankind, of faith in God, of devotion and perseverance. will also not disdain to learn from that brilliant example of Roman Catholic piety, Charles Borromeo, the founder of Sabbath Schools so greatly blessed, whose charitableness almost surpasses description, who as Arch-Bishop of Milan, gave yearly the third part of his income to the poor, applied another third to the building and repairing of churches, and besides founded ten colleges, five hospitals, and a multitude of other benevolent institutions; whilst as for himself he lived in apostolic simplicity and humility, denied himself all comforts, at last even his own bed, and found his greatest pleasure in visiting the huts of misery, of poverty and sickness, and in giving counsel, comfort and aid to the needy and suffering. How we must blush, when we compare ourselves with the apostle Paul, who during the day preached the gospel, and in the still hours of night labored with his hands for his own and his companions' support, that he might not be burdensome to the congregations, and to leave them and all ministers of the gospel a lofty example of self-denying love for imitation! But above all we would hold out to view, the most sublime model of all virtue and piety, our adorable Saviour, to whom these and all saints look up with reverence and humility, from whom they receive all power for good, who exchanged His divine majesty for earthly poverty, to make us rich, who during

His earthly life, had no where to lay his head, that we might thereby be made partakers of His eternal glory!

5. Finally, however, we would not forget, that the chief matter and the first duty of the Christian in the end after all is to devote himself, his person, his heart, and his life to the Lord, who died for him, and that all other gifts of love lose their worth, when they do not flow from this great personal offering and from a living union with Christ. We may indeed overvalue external charity, if we separate it from its proper fountain. The apostle speaks of a sacrifice, that bestows all its goods upon the poor, and gives the body to be burned, but which after all is destitute of true charity, and therefore it profiteth nothing, (1 Cor. xiii: 3). Out of a living union of our whole person with Christ, alone sprout genuine piety and virtue, and with it also genuine charity and benevolence. If we have once surrendered ourselves, our heart and life to the Lord, then it will be a small thing for us, to devote our money, this dust of the earth, to His kingdom. Therefore let us,-this is the surest way to systemat ic benevolence, above all things labor with this end in view, to present ourselves and our congregations as a living sacrifice to the Lord, and to be as closely united to Him as the branch to the vine, the member to the head, so that we shall no more live, but Christ live, think and will in us, speak and testify out of us, and work and accomplish through us acts of seeking and saving love. Ministers and laymen of the German Reformed Church, let us not only commit to memory, but lay to heart, and act out in our lives, that precious answer to the first question of our excellent Heidelberg Catechism: "That I with body and soul, both in life and death, am not my own, but belong to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ.”

Mercersburg, Pa.

P. S.

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