THE GARLAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 3398, 30 April 1919, Page 53

THE GARLAND.

FOR THE QUIET HOUR. No. 296. By Duncan Weight, Dunedin. A CLOWN PREACHES. OVER AGAINST THE TREASURY. Over against the treasury this day The Master silent sits, whilst, unaware Of tba/t celestial Presence, still audi fair, The people pas» or pause upon their way. And some go laden with His treasures sweet. And dressed in oostly robes of His device, To cover hearts of stone and souls of ice, Which bear no token to the Master's feet.

And. some pass, gaily singing, to and fro, And cast a careless gift before His face Amongst the treasures of the holy place, But kneel to crave no blessing ere they go. And some are travel-worn; their eyes* are dim; They touch His shining vesture as they pass, But see not —even darkly through a glass— How sweet might be their trembling gifts to Him.

And still the hours roll on; serene and fair The Master keeps His watch, but who can tell The thoughts that in His tender spirit swell, As one by one we pass Him unaware?

For this is He Who on an awful day Cast down for us a price so vast and dtead. That He was left for our sakes bare and dead, Having given Himself our mighty debt to pay.

Oh, eh&ll unworthy gifts once more be thrown. « Into His treasury by Whose death we live? Or shall we now embrace His cross, and give ■ f . Oufsielves and all we have to Him alone?

I quote from a well-known and accredited American magazine: "During the exhibition of "a travelling menagerie and circus in a Virginia town the painted jester of the ring delivering the following homily: —'To-day we Have taken in 600 dollars—more money, I venture to then some ministers of the Gospel in this community would receive for a year's services. A large part of this money was given by church members and a large portion of this audience is made up of members of the church. When your preacher asks you to aid in supporting the Gospel you are too poor to give anything. Yet you come here and pay dollars to hear me talk nonsense. I am a fool because I am paid for it—l make my living by it. You profess to be wise, and yet you support me in my folly. But perhaps you say you did not come to see the circus, but the animals. Well, if you did come to see the animals only, why did you not simply look at them and leave? Now, this is a pretty place for Christians to be in. You ought to blush!' "

We may ask: "Were these scathing words really spoken by a painted clown?" I really don't know.

« But this I do know, that there are, we fear, some good men whose tongues are tied, and they simply dare not utter such words or they would suffer. But a painted jester may, for the sake of merriment, give a homily to his auditors, and with loud laughter and clapping of hands they express approval. If on Sunday last some of the deserving and hard-pressed, struggling preachers had uttered sentiments within half a mile of the clown's sermon they would have been very severely criticised by some; others would have gone off in high dudgeon; and in certain quarters words like the following would have been heard : "Did you ever hear such language from tne lips of a* preacher? Most insulting! What does he mean?" Well, let me say that, with nearly half behind me, I know quite as many pastors, preachers, and teachers as you do, and wherever I meet faithful, devoted men, quite irrespective of church or creed, I love them for the Gospel's sake, and only wish they were more generously supported and were saved from needing to appeal for money.' With long years of Christian work behind me I personally dare not complain—most generously have my heart and hands been sustained.

Are the following strong clear words_ of Scripture obsolete, or are they binding upon Christians to-day? "KriowNye not that they which minister about sacred things eat of the things of the temple, and they which wait upon the altar have their portion with the altar? Even so did the Lord ordain that they which proclaim the Gospel should live of the Gospel. Of the meanness of some church-goers and the extravagance of others I dare not speak in case of exaggeration. "And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury; and many that were rich cast in much.

"And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. "And He called unto Him His disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in than all they which have cast into the treasury; "For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living." "Giving money," says. Andrew Murray, "will have no value except we first give ourselves."

Give, give, be always giving. "Who gives not is not living; The more we give The more we live. Give! as th« morning that flows _out od

heaven; Give! aa the -wave* when the channel is

Give! as tho free aix and -funehine im given; Laviehly, utterly, joyfully, gT*e. —Rose Terry Cook«w To those who subscribe towards Gospel ordinances reasonably and cheerfully this message has no application whatever, but if some readers realise that giving is a real joy, and act accordingly, we shall be well satisfied. Bishop Coxe tells us of a man in West. ern New York (isn't it nice that all thes* yarns come from over the seas?) who pats five cents (say 2£d) in the offerings in the church on Sundays, but pays 800doj (say £160) a season for an opera box; but the church matches him with a millionaire who subscribes Idol (4s 2d) a Sunday, but stops payment during his winter excursions in the south, in which he spends thousands of dollars upon himself and family! Yankee again. But of New ZeaJanders who would eve* hint at such glaring cases of meanness? Who Indeed ? I have enjoyed the friendship of some who give, and give for religion and benevolence with a liberal hand on condition that their names are not to be published, and truly they .have thei* reward.* Who gives and hides tlio giving hand Nor counts on favour feme, or prai&e Shall find his smallest gift outweigh* The burden of the oea and land. —Whittier. In our day we speak about collections, and special collections, but what are these in the light of the offerings in the splendid old days and the old-fashioned way of giving to God? . . . "And they came, every one whose heart stirred: him up, and every one whom. his spirit made willing, and they brought the Lord's offering to the work of tho tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments. "And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing-hearted, and brought bracelets, ,and ear-rings, and rings and tablets, all. jewels of gold; and every man that offered, offered an offering of gold unto the Lord." Exodus xsxyi read* more like the Arabian Nights than plain matter-of-fact giving. In August, 1878, Frances Ridley Havergal (the saintly singer) wrote the following words: The Lord has shown me another little, step, and, of course, I have taken it with extreme delight. 'Take my silver and my gold' now means stripping off all' : my ornaments (including a jewel cabinet* which is really fit for a countess) to the Church Missionary House, .where they will be accepted and disposed of for me. I retain only a brooch or two for daily. wear, which are memorials of my dear/ parents; also a locket with the only por* trait I have of my niece in heaven, my' Evelyn; and her 'two rings' mentioned in 'Under the Surface.' But these I redeem, so that the whole value goes to the Church Missionary Society. I had no> idea I had such a jeweller's shop, nearly 50 articles are being packed, off. I don't think I need tell you I never packed i box with such pleasure." In both case* the women of B.C. 1491 and the women of 1878 were "willing-hearted" and full of a great gladness.

"Ifc is said that on a certain feast day all the people in a little Italian town were bidden to come to the ( treat cathedral, march down tho dim aisles, and lay upon the altar a gift for the Lord; and to him who should offer the most acceptable gift heaven would giant a sign. The people came, and they bore in their hands costly spices, rare laces, ves. - sels of gold, priceless garments, wonderful statues, a-td pictures. They bore their gifts proudly and in deep expectation, looking to see the sign; but as one after another reaohed out his hands over th» altar to lay down the gift, 10l it disappeared. With terror-stricken faces they went back down the other long dim aisft and out-into the sunshine, hardly daring to look at one another. At last, late in the afternoon, ther« came a maiden poorly clad, who looked at no one, and as the'people gazed at her they -could see nothing in her hands. She went slowly to the altar and knelt there. While the curious crowd wonr dered, they saw her reach out both hand« and lay them on the altar for a long time, and when she rose and came out into the sunshine her face wore a look of peace and great joy. Then the people looked back at the altar where nothing had been, and there saw two beautiful white lilies which had burst Into bloom upon the altar and filled the cathedral with fragrance. The story is an allegory of the lives of manv in our day—and should be of many more —who, having nothing, yet * give 'more than they all' in real selfforgetfulnesa and loving service," This is precisely the teaching of II Con viii, 5, which see.