The Pulpit Commentary — Deuteronomy — Section 115

III. T,m TEACilING OF THE NEW TESTAME'NT IS STILL MORE EXPLICIT. (Sec Acts llll, 35; 1 C0r. x. 24 ; Phil. ii. 4, 5; and specially Eph. iv. 28.) The words of our blcssml Lord linger('d in the apostles' ears as the strains of a lovely song. His life too seemed to say," lie ever ready to gil"e up what is your own, if thereby you cau l1elp another." So that not only is th('re to be such respect for the rights of others, that we do not infringe on them by abstracting from his property; but over and above the institu- tion of properly, which is rC'cognizcd and guarded, there is the institution of labour, which is to be looked al, utilized, sanctified, so as to subscr'\'e the enrichment of others. So that we come at this specific rule: Labou,·, and sanctify youl' labour for others; then you w,:/1 be in no danger qf depriving them of the fruits of their labour I The political economist says, "Regulate labour so as best to subserve the production of wealth.'' So far, good. 13ut Christian maxims go higher, and say, "Pursue and regulate labour with a Yie"· of promoting each other's well-being." Now, in this sanctilicntion of labour there are four rnles to be observed. 1. L(1bom· as sei·vants of Christ. '.l'his is a :specific direction both for employer and employed. Both are amenable to him who is the Head and Lord of the human race. In his eye the interests of the human family nre the supreme concern on this globe. Material wealth is to him as nothing. Men are his purchased possession; and if by labour we increased the material wealth of this country a thousand-fold, if thereby one soul were destroyed, his curse would rest upon such Jabour. 2. Labour with an tye to the glory of God: not only as his servants, but so that all our labour may promote that great end for which he Jived and died; and just in proportion as this is the case, will Christ approve our toil. 3. Labour in accordance with andfor the promotion of another's good. We are to let all our labours be in harmony "ith another's well-being. We may not make ourselves rich at the ex- pense of others; but only as our weal accords with theirs. All this, of course, applies nationally as well as individually. It is as clearly wrong for a nation to steal a con- tinent as for a man to steal a shilling! And if we so labour as to· ignore the good of another, we shall find that "there is a God that judgeth in the earth!" 4. But it is no~ enough that there should be an absence of spoliation or greed, nor that Jabour should merely accord with human good; it is required of us that one direct obfect and aim <>f our labour should be the increase of our wealth that we may have the wherewith to give. As between man and man, the great God upholds our right to the produce of our labour. As between ourselves and him, he says, "Use for your brother's good, the wealth you get. You are but a steward. Nothing is yours absolutely. What bast thou that thou hast not received? Work, that you may get. Get, that you may have to give." "The poor shall never cease out of the land." If, by any sudden spurt, wealth could be equalized to-day, it would be unequal in twenty-four hours, and in twelve months scarcely a trace would be left of the readjustment. Some would be workers and some idlers; some spendthrifts and some misers; and any rectification of property, apart from the right-setting of men, would be of no avail. And, at any rate, so long as there are claims upon our sympathy, so long our labour is to have this stamp upon it: Lal,our, to gain the power of giving; and this is the antidote for any danger of breaking the eighth commandment. Yet, strange to say, there are not wanting thofl:' who object, on grounds of "political economy,'' to the withdrawal of a man's gains f~ the purposes of benevolence (sec llfr. Herbert Spencer, Contemporary Review, xix. 556), Now, no one would question that there is a large amount of unwise charity; but the proportion is insignificant between that and the vast amount of ill-gotten and ill- used wealth in our cities and towns. 'l'Le former is not worth naming by the side of the latter. And the hearts of men are not so over-generous that they need to be dis, suaded from giving, by arguments which could hold only if men were nought else but wage-getting animals! ]Jut whoever fulfils his laho11r in a_ spirit of loyalty to Christ and of kindliness to his brother, will find in labour so discharged, a holy and blessed discipline of character. Shall u·e live under the low, selfish calculations of earth, or und1:r the higher regulations of heaven? ']'here is a wealth-a wealth most to be covete:d-which comes not as a heritage of birth, but as the reward of giving to others according as they have need. Acting on worldly maxims, a man might live for a thousand years and he will never have it. Acting on Christ's rule, he will reap it as sheaves of golden grain. It is this: "The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me : and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy I " Clt. V. 1-38.J TH:g BOOK OF DEUTEitONOMY. 103