,or rude, y~u see en emanation from and a _reflection of the Eterno.1. As you mo.y eee ·the ocean ma dewdrop, you may see God m every throb of o.ff'ection In human souls. II. THAT IN SOME MEN IT IS MORE STRONGLY DEVELOPED THAN lN OTHERS, According to St. Paul, the "Churches of Macedonia" displayed it In a remarkable degree. It would seem from what Paul says concerning the beneficence of the Macedonian Churches that it was: 1. Self-sacrificing. "How that in a great trial of affiiction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the 1·iches of their liberality," It ~ould seem from this that they could ill afford-as the phrase is-to render nny help rn the way of property to others, and yet their contributions "abounded unto the riches of their liberality.'' 2. Spontaneous, "'l'bcy were wlllincr of themselves." They were not pressed into it by outward appeals. 'l'he only pressire was from love within. 3. Earnest. "Praying us with much entreaty that we would receive the gift." Instcnd of giving be?1luse they_ we~e besought by others to do so, they them- selves besouf;ht the_ reccp~1on of ~he1'. gifts. '!hey 1;11ight have presented plausible re_asons for w1t~bold1ug their ~ntnbut1ons to this chanty. 'l'hey might have pleaded distance, and said, "Jerusalem 1s a long way off, and charity begins at home." They might have pleaded lack of personal knowledge, and have said," We are utterly unac- quainted with any of these saints at Jemsa.lem; "or they might have pleaded their own affliction or poverty. But instead of that, they earnestly seized the opportunity to render what help they could. 4. Religious. "And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God." "'l'his means," says a modern expositor, "of course, that they bad done what was far beyond his hopes. And here the point lies in the fact that they gave, not their money only, but themselves, their time, thought, energy, primarily to Christ as their Lord, and then to the apostle as his minister. And this they had done because they allowed the will of God to work upon their will." Consecration of self to God is at once the cause and virtue of all our gifts to men. Unless we give ourselves to God, all our gifts to men arc morally worthless. III. THAT THOSE IN WHOM IT IS MOST STRONGLY DEVELOPED l\lIGBT BE URGED AS AN EXA.MI'LE TO OTHERS. Paul here holds up the beneficence of the Macedonians as an example to stimulate the charity of the Corinthians. It would seem that the Church at Corinth bad, throngh the influence of Titus, commenced a subscription for the poor at Jerusalem, and that Titus was about to return in order to obtain larger contributions. The charity of the Macedonian Churches Paul quotes as an example in order to help forward the work. His argument seems to be this-You have the advantages of the Churches at Macedonia in many things; you "abound in everything," you are wealthy, they are poor; yonr endowments are greater than theirs, your "faith, and utterance, and knowledge," and "in your lo,·e to us; " this being so, "See that ye abound in this grace nlso;" see that you excel in your contributions to this charity. It is wise and wellto hold up the good example of others to stimulate men to a. holy emulation. The good deeds of other men are amongst the Divine forces to purify and ennoble our own characlers. IV. THAT THE filGHEST EXAMPLE OF IT WE HAVE IN THE LIFE OF JESUS CHRIST, "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ," etc. Christ is the supreme Model of philanthropy. 1. His philanthropy was self-sacrificing. "Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor." Observe: (1) He was rich in material wealth before he came into the world. It is of material wealth that the apostle is speaking. (2) His existence on earth was that of material poverty. " The foxes have holes," etc. (3) He passed voluntarily from one stage to another. "For your sakes he became poor." Of all the myriads of men that have appeared on this earth, and that will appear, he alone bad the choosing of his circumstances, and he chose poverty. 2. His philanthropy aimed supremely at the promotion of spiritual wealth. "That ye through his poverty might be rich." Rich spiritually. Great is the difference between spiritual wealth and material. (1) The one is absolutely valuable, the_ oth~r ~ not. (2) The one. is esse?tial to hap- f>iness, the other is not. (3) The one 18 within tlte reach of all, the other 1s not.
Vers.10-15.-Genuine beneficence (2). "And herein I give my advice," ete. In these verBCS there is a continuation of the subject presented in the preceding passage, viz. genuine beneficence. And there a.re three further remarks sugGested concerning this all-important subject. OR. vm, 1-24.] THE BEOOND EPISTLE TO THE CORIN'l'HIANS. 109