A SERMON

ON THE DEATH OF MOSES BROWN, ONE OF THE ASSOCIATE FOUNDERS OF THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, ANDOVER; DELIVERED IN NEWBURYPORT, FEB. 18, 1827.

1 Tim. 6: 17-19.-CHARGE THEM THAT ARE RICH IN THIS WORLD, THAT THEY BE NOT HIGH-MINDED, NOR TRUST IN UNCERTAIN RICHES, BUT IN THE LIVING GOD, WHO GIVETH US ALL THINGS RICHLY TO ENJOY; THAT THEY DO GOOD; THAT THEY BE RICH IN GOOD WORKS, READY TO DISTRIBUTE, WILLING TO COMMUNICATE; LAYING UP IN STORE FOR THEMSELVES A GOOD FOUNDATION AGAINST THE TIME TO COME, THAT THEY MAY LAY HOLD ON ETERNAL LIFE.

THE duty of those who are rich, needs to be inculcated at the present day, as much as it did in the first age of Christianity. For, although we have seen many animating proofs of increasing benevolence in the Christian community; still the public benevolence falls far below what the exigencies of the world and the spirit of our religion demand. This deficiency greatly impedes the progress of divine truth, and retards the approach of that day, when the world shall be filled with the glory of the Lord. The various consequences which flow from the want of a more general and active benevolence, we have had many reasons to deplore.

The example of that friend of man, who has lately closed his eyes in death, will furnish a happy illustration of the principle which I shall aim to establish, and render more impressive the arguments by which I shall enforce it.

My position is, that those who are rich are under sacred obligations to devote a portion of their substance to benevolent purposes. I here speak of benevolence in its highest sense-benevolence directed to objects peculiarly Christian. The cause which I plead, is the cause of religious charity; charity exercised to promote the spiritual and eternal interests of men.

The first argument I urge is, that property is the gift of God. So it is represented in the text, "Charge them that are rich that they trust not in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us all things richly to enjoy." How often has it been demonstrated, that no economy or foresight, no degree of skilfulness in our plans, or diligence in our efforts, can secure to us the possession of riches, or even of competence, without the blessing of God. Calamities, which no human care can prevent, frequently occur, and reduce men from wealth to poverty, or from a state of competence to embarrassment and suffering. If then you have been successful in your exertions to acquire and preserve property, you owe it to that Almighty Being, who controls the winds, and the seasons, and all the affairs of men. all his gift. And no obligation can be obligation to use a gift according to the will of the giver. To neglect this would betray an ungrateful heart. And if the gift was bestowed upon us with the express design that we should devote it to a particular object; we could not use it in any other way without palpable unfaithfulness. These remarks introduce my

Be it more or less, it is more evident, than our

Second argument; namely; that God has made it known to be his will, that we should use the property which he entrusts to our care, for benevolent purposes. He indeed permits and requires us to provide for ourselves and our households. But the precepts of his word constantly urge us beyond this, and present it, as a prominent duty of all men, especially of the rich, to give of their substance for charitable uses. "To do good and, communicate forget not; for with such sacrifices God is well pleased." Again. "Let us do good unto all men, especially to them who are of the household of faith." God would have your benevolence expansive and uni

versal; but he would have its holy ardor exercised specially in advancing the interests of his kingdom. Our Lord directs us, to make to ourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that is, to make such a benevolent, pious use of riches, as to secure the friendship of God and his people. Besides this, he requires us, by general precepts, to devote ourselves and all that we possess, to him, and to do all things to his glory. Whenever he affords us an opportunity to do good, we are gladly to embrace it; considering that doing good is our great work. When he opens the way to send the Holy Scriptures or ministers of the gospel to those who are perishing in ignorance and wickedness ; it is obviously his will, that we should devote to these objects a portion of the substance which he has given us. This is required by those comprehensive precepts: "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself;" and "Whatsoever ye would that others should do unto you, do ye also the same unto them." For imagine, brethren, that you yourselves were in the wretched condition of the heathen world, without the light of the gospel, and enslaved to the basest idolatry; and let your consciences and your hearts say, whether it would not be an act of benevolence highly commendable in Christians, to send you the news of salvation, and to afford you the means of being delivered from the deepest ignorance and wretchedness. And if so, how can you neglect to perform the same act of benevolence towards those, who are in that very state of ignorance and wretchedness, and who have no prospect of deliverance, except through the influence of your pious charity? Í here urge the duty on the ground of that divine precept, which requires us to love our neighbors as ourselves, and to do to others as we would that they should do to us. There is no possibility of

evading this obligation.

This then is my argument with every one who is rich. Who made you rich? Who entrusted such an estate to your care? And for what purpose? By putting such an estate into your hands, God has constituted you his steward. And being his steward, you will endeavor to learn his will respecting the objects to which you should devote his property. This you may do by

attending to the teachings of his word and providence. A part of your estate is manifestly needed for the supply of your own personal wants. More may be needed as a comfortable and honorable provision for your household. What then is to be done with the residue? There are at this day many great objects of benevolence; objects far above the ability of men in ordinary circumstances to accomplish. Such men must exhaust their feebler charities upon smaller objects, or must be content with doing a little for objects of loftier magnitude. A great work remains, which can never be done, except by the benevolent use of riches. Literary and religious institutions must be established and supported. Thousands of pious youth must be educated for the ministry. Thousands of missionaries must be maintained among the heathen. The Bible must be printed in all languages, and spread through all nations; while the means of instruction and reformation must be furnished to millions among ourselves.

These things, taken together, constitute a work which is exceedingly arduous, and which cannot be carried forward and completed, without large contributions from large estates. This work is certainly of great importance in the judgment of God. And can you suppose he did not think of it, when he prospered your efforts, and made you rich? Suppose the Lord Jesus should now come to you, and give you a particular amount of property, and should expressly say to you;- This property I commit to you in sacred trust, with this one direction, that you should use it to promote the cause which is dearest to my heart. Would you not think yourself happy to be made the steward of his bounty? And could you have a thought of devoting what was thus entrusted to you by your Lord, to any use but to promote his own cause? Now the silver and the gold are the Lord's; and to every one who has more or less wealth, he has in fact virtually spoken in the very manner supposed. He has entrusted you with wealth, and has made known his will respecting the uses to which it shall be applied. And no duty can be more obvious to reason, or more touching to the heart, than the duty of using the substance which God has given you according to his will and for the promotion of his cause.

Perhaps you may say, this property is your own.

So far as the

laws of civil society are concerned, it is so indeed. And no man on earth can interfere with the right you have to use it according to your own pleasure. But the God who made us, and who has given us our time and our property, comes forward with an authority which no being in the universe can question, and commands us to devote ourselves and all that we possess to him. The proper inquiry then is what use of God's gifts will be most pleasing to him? What use of them should we think best, if we *loved him with all our heart and soul and mind and strength? If the Apostle, who was ready to be bound and to die at Jerusalem for the name of Jesus, were here, and possessed of this property of ours; what use of it, would he think best? And what would be most agreeable to him who was rich, and who for our sakes became poor? If men of every degree of wealth should entertain just conceptions and feelings on this momentous subject, they could never doubt their obligation to employ a portion of their property in religious charities. They would deem it sacrilege, to dispose of their estates, living or dying, without giving the cause of Christ a prominent place in their thoughts and in their arrangements. Covetousness would cease. Private affections would be made subordinate to Christian benevolence. And it would be as uncommon for a man possessed of a considerable estate, to make no large contributions or bequests to the cause of the Redeemer, as it is now for a man to make none to his own family. Then the records of benevolence would exhibit frequent donations and legacies of thousands and hundreds of thousands of dollars, for the various purposes of religious charity; and from men of smaller estates, their smaller contributions, no less acceptable to God than the larger offerings of the rich. Then no great and pious undertakings would flag, no good institutions would languish, and no portion of the human family would be left in ignorance or wickedness for want of pecuniary means.

Such as I have now represented is the duty of the rich; such the demand which the supreme Proprietor of their wealth makes upon them as his stewards; such and so sublime the purposes to