TWENTY-NINTH DAY.-MORNING.

• Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye hare robbed me, even this whole nation,' Mal. iii. 8, 9.

tion. And hence Jehovah, under the Jewish dispensation, had frequent occasion to complain of being robbed of tithes and offerings. His altars did not receive the allotted and appropriate oblations, and his priests and ministers, -the temple and the synagogues-did not obtain from the produce of the soil the support to which they were entitled. The unbelief and covetousness of men robbed God of his rightful property.

The form under which men rob Him in Christian countries now, may not be precisely the same, though in many cases He is robbed in regard to tithes, where publicly sanctioned as a means of supporting Christianity; but there are still a multitude of ways in which professed Christians apply to their own use what is due to God. Is there not a too general withholding from His cause both at home and abroad; a meagre and niggardly way of giving to religious objects, which strangely contrasts with the profusion which men expend upon themselves, and families, and houses? When it is thought necessary to retrench, are not religious objects the first to suffer, as those which are so unimportant that they may well be spared on? Are not contributions to the church of God often postponed to subscriptions for other interests? Do not religious men frequently die more wealthy than is creditable to their Christianity? Is it not to be feared that in these, and many other ways, God may say, 'ye have robbed me, even this whole nation?"

WELL may we, like Israel of old, when such a question is put, Will a man rob God?' ask, Who would have the daring to do so, or who, though sufficiently audacious, would have the power? How is it possible to rob the Universal Proprietor and Lord-the All-seeing and Omnipotent One? It may be easy to deceive and defraud the most penetrating of men, but to rob God, how vain the effort! how monstrous the idea!' We are assured, however, that ancient Israel, in a corrupt and degenerate period of her history, did rob Jehovah; and though not precisely in the same way, yet substantially is he robbed by all men, and even his professed church, now and in every age. In one sense indeed, God cannot be robbed-he cannot be deceived, nor can any thing which he would retain be taken from him. Still by their sins do men deprive him of his rights, and thus constitute themselves the greatest and most serious of robbers. They are guilty of sacrilege. When God gave to man the earth for his use, he seems to have reserved a tenth part of the produce for himself; at once as a test of man's obedience, an acknowledgment of God's universal proprietorship, and also as a mean of provid- And what are the consequences? Is it a small ing religious instruction for all classes, particu-matter to rob God, either of his day or his prolarly the poor and destitute. This institution of perty? No. He pronounces upon all such the tithe was recognized under the patriarchal dis- most direful doom, Ye are cursed with a curse.' pensation, and was expressly embodied among the This sin is a national sin, as well as an individual laws of the Jews. Whether or not it was in- one, and though it may be little thought of, the tended to apply in every country and generation result is appalling. The candlestick is taken may admit of question; though more can be urged away from the church-the candlestick of sound on the affirmative side, than men in general who doctrine and pure ordinances, and in regard to the have not studied the subject can well imagine. country it is said, the 'nation and kingdom that But however that may be, there can be no doubt will not serve God shall perish. Men deceive that it is an eminently wise institution, and that themselves in imagining that in withholding or it possesses this singular advantage of rising with alienating from Him what is due, they shall still the progress of improvement, and so with the prosper. It was remarked at the period of the moral and religious necessities of the nation. It Reformation, that the families which robbed the supplies also the people with the means of grace Church-fallen and corrupt as she was so as and salvation, without provoking, as public grants to alienate the tithes and lands from supportof money are apt to do, the hostility of some ing the preaching of the gospel to which the part of the community, and so in a considerable Reformers were anxious to apply them, did not degree of defeating the very end of a public prosper even for this world, but speedily come to provision for the maintenance of religion. But poverty. It is a true, yea, an inspired saying, of whatever divine wisdom there may be in the the wise man, there is that scattereth, and yet tithe arrangement, it requires more faith in the encreaseth; and there is that withholdeth more word of God, than the covetousness of man than is meet, and it tendeth to poverty.' It was generally allows, to permit of its smooth opera- not without reason, then, that good John Brown,

in his Catechism for children, places almsgiving | important, and is most apt to be misunderstood, among the direct means of getting on in the and in some aspects is frequently and seriously world. The countries which rob God most seri- infringed, we shall confine our attention to it. ously of his day, are not the most prosperous. The general rule is submission, even to the most Britain and the United States of America, which tyrannical governments, and that not merely for keep the sabbath, are far ahead of any nation wrath's sake the fear of punishment in the which profane it. Let no professing Christians event of disobedience, but for conscience' sake, then presume to rob God. None would dare because commanded of God who has appointed to do so directly were He visibly present; let civil government as one of his ordinances for His none do so in spirit and reality. Let them con- own glory, and the good of the world, as truly as sider that it is not for his own sake, for his own he has appointed the Christian church for the happiness or glory, that He requires offerings on same ends. his altar and a day for his worship; that these are demanded solely for their good. Let them consider how much they are indebted to Christianity, how much it has done for them, from how many expensive vices it has kept them, and how much worldly wealth it has been the means of pouring into their lap, and let them be liberal in their donations to the cause of God in return. Let them beware of covetousness and unbelief, and remember that the circumstance, that the laws of society care little for the robbery of God, if the temporal interests of men be assailed, is just a reason why God guards the sanctity of his own institutions the more carefully, and why his people should fall in with his views the more unreservedly.

TWENTY-NINTH DAY.-EVENING. 'Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour, Rom. xiii. 7.

THE apostle Paul had been describing a very important class of duties, those which Christians owe to men placed over them in civil authority. This is at all times a matter of delicacy, and was peculiarly so in the day in which he lived, when the world was groaning under despotism, and men in power were watchful and jealous of Christianity as a new religion, interfering with their supposed rights. But he faithfully taught the Christian's duty for all times, it may be to the displeasure of not a few professed Christians, who would have wished for greater latitude in their submission. Passing from duty to the civil magistrates, he proceeds to duty to men in general where invested with authority. Under the general language of the passage we may comprehend the duties which children owe to parents, servants to masters, pupils to teachers, people to ministers; in short, duties to superiors: but as the duty which Christians owe to civil authority is very

Christians are required to render 'tribute to whom tribute is due, and custom to whom custom;' in other words, they are to pay their public taxes, however many and oppresssive they may be. They may use all constitutional means to have them mitigated or abolished, but so long as they have the force of law, they are bound, as Christian men, to render a cheerful payment. They are not entitled to start objections, and say that the proceeds of the tax are applied in ways of which they conscientiously disapprove, and that therefore they are released from the obligation of paying. This is a false principle, which would speedily prevent the payment of any tax whatever. A Christian's conscience has no responsibility in connection with the application of a tax. The moment the money is paid it ceases to be his. The responsibility belongs to the government or nation. It would be hard, indeed, if Christians were made responsible for the application of public taxes. They could never enjoy rest of mind. Their divine Master, in great condescension and kindness, has released them from all such perplexities, by requiring them to pay the tax where the civil authority is competent, and where they at the same time may use all legitimate means for its abrogation. No man should feel his conscience invaded, unless the ruling power requires him to do what it is impossible for him to do without sin. This never can be the case in paying a public tax, with the application of which those who pay have nothing to do. Our blessed Lord, though legally exempted, yet cheerfully paid a public tax, lest any should be 'offended' or stumbled by his refusal, nay, wrought a miracle to obtain the means, though of some parts of its application he doubtless could not approve.

There is another and a far more frequent error, or rather sin, connected with the public taxes, and that is, the notion that men may lawfully, or at least with little guilt, defraud the revenue. Many it is well-known, of ordinary integrity in their transactions with private individuals, think themselves entitled, if able, to appropriate what belongs

to the nation. In short, they make a distinction | society, and the most devoted patriots of their between public and private property, and think country; that to render to God the heart as there is no harm in cheating revenue officers. his due, and in the first place, is the best way, But scripture recognises no such distinction. On and the strongest motive to render to all men the contrary, it condemns it. We are required their dues; tribute to whom tribute.' without reserve to pay tribute to whom tribute is due, and custom to whom custom.' Christ's example, and that of his primitive disciples, are in full harmony. It is a violation of justice, a sinful indulgence of covetousness, and a solemn breach of the eighth commandment.

And

And is submission then to civil authority unlimited? Are there no exceptions? Is resistance in every case sinful? No! There are important exceptions. In some cases resistance is one of the highest Christian duties. Happily there are examples in scripture to guide us in such delicate questions. It is a duty to disobey magistrates where they prostitute their power by commanding what is contrary to God's law. The midwives of Egypt, the faithful Israelites who refused to worship Jeroboam's calves, Mordecai, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, the prophet Daniel, the apostles Peter and John, and many others, are all examples of divinely approved resistance. The nature and constitution of the Christian church where living and pure, also leads to resistance. The men of the world cannot endure its doctrine, and still less its discipline and government. Hence under various pretexts they stir up the civil power to interfere with these. This interference directly invading conscience of course, creates a lawful resistance to civil authority. In such cases the authority is a usurpation, and resistance a duty

THIRTIETH DAY.-MORNING.

That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter; because that the Lord is the avenger of all such,' 1 Thess. iv. 6.

THE sum of the second table of the law is, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. It obviously results from this, that the rule of obedience laid down in the eighth commandment is, that we should have the same regard for our neighbour's property as we have for our own. It seems especially necessary to bear this in mind, when we come to consider such an injunction as that which has been quoted above. How very dif ferent is it in its very aspect, from the ordinary maxims of worldly morality! How very different from the ordinary conduct of men in their dealings one with another! The contrast is especially discernible in the busy traffic of a mercantile community. To a keen observer, the aspect which there presents itself is not of men who studiously guard against going beyond their brethren in any matter, but of men whose great study it seems to be to perpetrate this very iniquity. If, for example, a merchant has become possessed of some exclusive information regarding the state of markets, and while every body else From the views which have been presented, is counting upon a continuance of the same prices, let Christians be led to admire the wisdom of he, from his earlier and better information, can Christianity, which though a religion of high calculate most surely upon a sudden rise or fall; principle is so constructed as not to alarm the he avails himself immediately of the opportu rulers of this world. Let them admire the wis-nity to become an extensive buyer or seller, acdom with which it strongly enjoins submission to cording to the circumstances, and thus effects a civil authority, and not less the courage with large transfer of capital from the coffers of his which it exhorts to the maintenance of its prin- neighbour into his own. For a man to do this ciples, even to the disregard of that authority is literally to go beyond his brother. Such conwhere it interferes with the claims of conscience duct may be consistent with worldly honour, and and the will of God. Let Christians be eminent for worldly morality; it is expressly denounced in their exact obedience to civil rulers; their meek the Bible, and is inconsistent with the Christian submission to civil authority though oppressive, character. It is a manifest violation of the eighth provided it be competent. Yea, let them be all commandment, which requires us to treat our the more anxiously obedient, that, in some cases, neighbour's property as we would our own. they must refuse subjection, and are the only For no man who expected a rise in prices would persons who have principle enough to do so. Let sell largely, till he was able to obtain the higher them shun a spirit of turbulence and vain-glorious price for his goods. patriotism. In short, let them show the men of The extent to which this sin of going beyond the world, that while living members of a true our brethren prevails, is abundantly indicated by church, they are also the most useful members of the eagerness universally displayed in the mer

cantile world, to get the earliest possible infor- | many who bear the Christian name, are as guilty mation regarding the state of markets. Such as the children of this world. They seem to act eagerness can only arise from one or two things. as if the commandment were that they should not Either the merchant is obliged to seek and obtain defraud their brethren in all things, and are conthe earliest information, in order to defend his tented as long as the world looks upon them as property from the encroachments of his covetous honest men. The law of God is against the neighbours, or he is himself anxious to go beyond slightest fraud. Thou shalt not go beyond thy and defraud his brother; and in whatever way we brother in any matter. It may in the eyes of regard it, we are constrained to believe that the men be trivial. No transgression is so in the eye morality of the world lags far behind the morality of God. How watchful then should all Chrisof the Bible. Human laws may not be able to tians be over their every thought and deed, that reach, and they may disregard such transgressions, none of them may suffer as a thief. 'but the Lord is the avenger of all such.' Were there but an abiding faith in such a solemn truth, there would be less over-reaching, less fraud in the world.

The commonness of fraud shows the multitude of temptations to the commission of it, and the facility with which the heart yields to them. Let us all then be watchful with prayer, that grace may be given us from on high. Let the

that the terrors of his wrath may persuade us. He is the avenger of every fraud,' and what will our-ill got gains avail us in the day of vengeance? His righteous judgments are especially threatened against such offences as human laws cannot reach. The commands to avoid such offences are the tests of obedience to God, and it would be better that we renounce the Christian name, than under it

It is even possible that a right view of the detestable character of the crime itself, might pre-fear of the Lord be continually before our eyes, vent many from indulging in it. It is frequently because men dress out their sins in a comely vesture, that they are able to reconcile their consciences to the commission of them. But let us see wherein he who goes beyond, or defrauds his neighbour, differs from the robber or the thief. Awed by the fear of the law, the thief and robber seek the covert of darkness to perpetrate their crimes, and bring to their aid all the watch-to make the world's laws the rule of our obediful cunning which may secure them against detection. But they profess no friendship for the victims of their crime, and society is on its guard against them. He who goes beyond and defrauds his brother,' is not recognized as an enemy. He goes forth in the broad light of day-he wears the aspect of kindness-he deceives his brother, while he wears a brother's face. All the ordinary defences whereby property is guarded, are overleaped by him. He occupies his place within them all, and deprives you of your property, under the guise of friendship and favour. Such

a man possesses a character more detestable than that of the common thief. He wears the mask of honesty, and believes-and often believes truly —that men will not be able to look beneath it.

And thus it is too, that such a man reconciles himself to his low cunning and fraud. He soon learns to look upon himself with the same eye as society does. He forgets all the while that there is one who seeth not as man seeth-who discerns the fraudulent purpose in the heart, and observes all its out-goings in action-One whose justice and truth is unswerving, and who will one day call him to an awful reckoning.

It might not be surprising that men who do not own God, and who profess not the knowledge of his ways, should go beyond and defraud their brethren. But it is lamentable to think that

ence. The temptation to get gain may be great. This one sentence is enough to subdue it: What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?'

THIRTIETH DAY.-EVENING.

'Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights,
Thou shalt not have in
a great and a small.
thine house divers measures, a great and a small.
But thou shalt have a perfect and just weight,
a perfect and just measure shalt thou have:
that thy days may be lengthened in the land
which the Lord thy God giveth thee. For all
that do such things, and all that do unrighte-
ously, are an abomination unto the Lord thy
God,' Deut. xxv. 13—16.

THE law of the Lord is perfect, and it is the only
perfect law. It takes cognisance of every thought,
it prescribes a perfect rule of action. There are
none of the dealings of men, amid all the varied
relations in which they stand to one another, in
which the law of God does not lay down, with
all clearness and simplicity, the manner in which
they are to be conducted. The laws of men vary
according to the circumstances in which they are

evil deeds. They are held in everlasting remembrance by him who is to judge us. And O what a dark record that will be, on which is inscribed every short-coming, and every transgression of that law which is holy, and just, and good, and which characterizes even our righteousness as filthy rags.

Let us look at our conduct in the mirror of this particular law which we have quoted. It expressly prohibits the keeping of unjust weights or measures, and enjoins a perfect and just weight, and a perfect and just measure, but in its spirit it obviously reaches all our dealings, and tests their integrity. It is quite possible, for example,

placed. And even in their best forms they are felt, by the framers of them, and known by those subject to them, to be inadequate. But even though they were competent to meet, to check, to punish every crime as it arises, all codes of human law partake of the errors to which human nature is subject. At the best they are a transcript of a depraved nature. The law of the Lord stands out in admirable contrast to all of them. It is perfect in the cognizance it takes of every crime. It is perfect as a directory to the discharge of every duty. It leaves no case unprovided for, and its purity is perfect. It is a transcript of the mind of Him who is righteousness and truth. It manifests its own divine origin. It bears this attes-that in any article we sell by measure, we may tation to all, that its framer was not blinded, depraved man, but the righteous and unerring Jehovah. Conscience within us bears witness to this fact. Look to the testimony it bore to the divine morality of the bible, in the breast of a young Hindoo, as briefly recorded by Dr Duff, The testimony was elicited by the view of morality presented in the sermon on the mount. After hearing its precepts read, the young Hindoo perceived that 'there was something in them of such an overwhelmingly attractive moral loveliness; something which contrasted so luminously with all that he had been previously taught to regard as revealed by God that he could not help crying out in ecstacy: "O how beautiful, how divine! Surely this is the truth, this is the truth, this is the truth!" Such is the reluctant testimony of depraved nature to the divine, and perfect, because divine, morality of the bible. It is a testimony as striking and as valuable as that which the centurion was constrained at the foot of the cross to give when he exclaimed, 'Surely this man was the Son of God.'

It is more easy, however, to admire and to commend the far-reaching and pure morality of the bible, than to bear in mind that it is a reflection of the perfect righteousness of God, who is our witness, and who will be our judge. It is by this holy law we must be tried, and if God has displayed his righteousness in giving forth such a law, he will also display his truth and faithfulness in adhering to its declarations. It were well that we could bear in mind this solemn and momentous truth, in all our conversation, and that we should daily live in the consciousness that the righteous God is our witness. He searches and knows us. He knoweth our downsitting and our uprising. He is familiarly acquainted with all All things are naked and open to the eyes of him with whom we have to do. His memory is unfailing. We may forget our own

our ways.

give the full and just measure. Were we not to do so our crime would soon be detected; we would be exposed to disgrace and punishment, and the article we sold would be returned. Therefore we do not frequently find a literal violation of this injunction. But does it not amount to the same thing; does it not show the purpose of the crime existing in the heart, and is it not in reality a transgression of the law, if we ask a higher price for the article we sell than it is really worth, and obtain our price by representing it as more valuable than it really is? How many are there who durst not keep a small measure, who are ready to take advantage, in this way, of the ignorance of the buyer. A person enters the shop of such a dealer, and the first experiment that is made is upon his knowledge. If he be a judge of the article he buys, and knows the price of it, he is able to make a just bargain; if not, he is dealt with in the same way as if he received small measure, or a small weight. And yet the greater number of dealers seem to look upon such a practice as if it were no sin. Else why should it be necessary, when we want any article, that we should be obliged to ask the assistance of those who have knowledge and experience to enable us to make a just bargain? Why do we find shopkeepers asking a high, and taking a lower price? All such practices are forbidden by God. They are equivalent to the keeping of unjust measures and unjust weights.

It is worthy of observation and reproof, that the selfishness of human nature which leads to the transgression of this law is very early manifested. It is common enough to see children in their little dealings, acting the part of more mature wickedness. If they have to exchange, or wish to sell any article they possess, how apt are they to represent it as better and more valuable than they know it to be, that they may impose on the ignorance of their companions, and effect a good