“Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of Mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.”
—Haggai i. 9.
Churlish souls stint their contribution to the ministry and missionary operations, and call such saving good economy; little do they dream that they are thus impoverishing themselves. Their excuse is that they must care for their own families, and they forget that to neglect the house of God is the sure way to bring ruin upon their own houses. Our God has a method in providence by which He can succeed our endeavours beyond our expectation, or can defeat our plans to our confusion and dismay; by a turn of His hand He can steer our vessel in a profitable channel, or run it aground in poverty and bankruptcy. In a very wide sphere of observation, I have noticed that the most generous Christians of my acquaintance have been always the most happy, and almost invariably the most prosperous. I have seen the liberal giver rise to wealth of which he never dreamed; and I have as often seen the mean, ungenerous churl descend to poverty by the very parsimony by which he thought to rise. Men trust good stewards with larger and larger sums, and so it frequently is with the Lord: He gives by cartloads to those who give by bushels. Where wealth is not bestowed the Lord makes the little much by the contentment which the sanctified heart feels in a portion of which the tithe has been dedicated to the Lord. Selfishness looks first at home, but godliness seeks first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, yet in the long run selfishness is loss, and godliness is great gain. It needs faith to act towards our God with an open hand, but surely He deserves it of us; and all that we can do is a very poor acknowledgment of our amazing indebtedness to His goodness.—C. H. SPURGEON.
Sin Contending for Power
An unsound and unrenewed heart may abstain from one sin, because it is contrary to, and inconsistent with, another sin. It is with the sins of our nature as it is with the diseases of our bodies. Though all diseases are contrary to health, yet some diseases as the fever and palsy, are contrary to each other. So are prodigality and covetousness, hypocrisy and profaneness. These oppose each other, not for mutual destruction, as sin and grace do, but for superiority, each contending for the throne, and sometimes taking it by turns. It is with such persons as with the possessed man, Matt. xvii, 15, whom the spirit cast sometimes into the fire, sometimes into the water. Or if one subdue the other, yet the heart is also subdued to the vassalage of that lust which is uppermost in the soul.—FLAVEL.
Giving
I never prospered more in my small estate than when I gave most and needed least. My own rule hath been: 1, To contrive to need myself as little as may be, and lay out none on need-nots, but to live frugally on a little. 2, To Serve God in my place upon that competency which He allowed me to myself, that what I had myself might be as good a work for common good as that which I gave to others; and, 3, To do all the good I could with all the rest, preferring the most public and the most durable object, and the nearest. And the more I have practised this, the more I have had to do it with; and when I gave almost all, more came in (without any’s gift) I scarce knew how, at least unexpected; but when by improvidence I have cast myself into necessities of using more upon myself, or upon things in themselves of less importance, I have prospered much less than when I did otherwise. And when I had contented myself to devote that stock which I had gotten to charitable uses after my death, instead of laying out at present, that so I might secure somewhat for myself while I lived, in probability all that is like to be lost; whereas when I took that present opportunity, and trusted God for the time to come, I wanted nothing and lost nothing.—BAXTER.
Prayer at Opening of Sittings of The House of Lords.
Almighty God, by whom alone Kings reign and Princes decree justice; and from whom alone cometh all counsel, wisdom and understanding: we Thine unworthy servants, here gathered together in Thy Name, do most humbly beseech Thee to send down Thy Heavenly Wisdom from above, to direct and guide us in all our consultations; and grant that, we having Thy fear always before our eyes, and laying aside all private interests, prejudices, and partial affections, the result of all our counsels may be to the glory of Thy blessed Name, the maintenance of true Religion and Justice, the safety, honour and happiness of the King (Queen), the public wealth, peace and tranquility of the Realm, and the uniting and knitting together of the hearts of all persons within the same in true Christian Love and Charity—one towards another.