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CHAPTER II. Evils of Mammon. List of the grounds of argument in support of Ministerial Tithes. I. Of the Divine SovEREiGNTv. 1. Dean Comber, on the Divine claim to Tithes. 2. Two-fold relation of Deity. 3. His dignity recpires a certain support for His Priesthood 4. Free-will offerings also required. 5. Hooker on Tithes, as due to God. II. The Dignity of Christ REQuiKKs Tithes, i. He claims them for His minis- try. 2. Christ careful of His own dignity. 3 Dis- honor to Him of a pauper priesthood. rv CONTENTS, CHAPTER [II. III. Revelation-. (1.) Of the Old Teslameui. 1. Coin- mou error. 2. Tithes paid by Abel. 3. By Melchi- sedec. 4. By Jacob. 5. ^y the Israelites. 6. As due to God. 7. Not typical. 8. Principles taught in the Old Testament still in force. (2.) Of \ho New Testament. 1 The New Testament does not annul the Old Testament. 2. Christ enjoined Tithes anew, 3, 4. St. Paul teaches the same thinir. VI. CHAPTER IV. IV. Evidence from Pagan Usack. 1. Admissions of Selden. 2. Abundance of Evidence. 3. Grecian Tithes. 4. Roman ditto. 5. Whence this universal payment. 6. Extract from Comber, on Pagan Tithes. 7. Ditto, on our obligation, as learnt from Pagans. CHAPTER V. V. Catholic Consent. 1. Reason why nofparly posi. tive law for Tithes. 2. Bishop Patrick on Gospel Obligation. 3. Selden on early Christian liberality. 4. Testimony of the Fathers. .5. Opinions of the Reformers, Thorndyke, &c. i f CONTENT.-;. ti. 1. Coni- Hy Alelchi- tes. f). As es taught ill Df the Neu) s not annul ithes anew. missions of ?. Grecian s universal gan Tithes, 'agans. CHAPTER V'l. \'(. X£Ci:SSlTV TO THE EFFICrKXCY OK niK ClIL'Rcu. 1. Voluntaryism uncertain; oirended at Pastors. 2. Degrades Clergy intellectually. .1 lu their social position, 4. Every human scheme has failed ; United t>tate.s. 5. Insecurity of all human systems ; Canada, b". Why Kesorvcs permitted to be taken away. CHAPTER YU. VH. TrruKS a Benefit to thosk who i-av tiie.m. I. Produces equality. 2. Temporal and spiritual profit. 3. Sacramental grace. 4. Scriptural pro- mises. r>. Jiuhjmcnl arjainst those who nerjlect 6. Hezekiah's Reformation. 7. St. Augustine's Expos- tulation. S. Judgments against Henry Vnr.,&c. 9. America. 10. Enormous Poor-rates. 11. Misery of France. IBarly posi- on Gospel liberality. ns of the CHAPTER VIH. VfH. AxswER Popular Objections. (1.) Objection: Cannot afford, l. God seeks our child-liko confi- dence, and rewards abundantly. 2. Strange to doubt. (2.) Objection: Not required now. 1. Gos- pel not of sight, but of faith : most important doctrines require searching out. 2. Not necessary to repeat VI CONTENTS. command. 3. Unity forbids it, (3.) Objection Would make Clergy too rich. Not so, or God had not instituted it, 1. Objection based on low views of clerical position. Jewish Clergy rich. 2. Why was this? Answered, 3. Clergy provided for the poor, and built churches. 4, Case of wealthy parishes, 5, Want of Bishops, 6. Church has '• Her seed in her- self." 7. Tithes of Clergy provide more Bishops. 8- 9. Extract from Comber, "Duty to pay readily.'' 10. " Frees Clergy from ruinous fees." 11-12. "Tithes easy and just, and bring a blessing; exhorted to pay cheerfully." c gave Objection irod had not w views of 2. Why was or the poor, parishes. 5. seed in her- Bishops. 8- adily.'' 10. •12. ''Tithes orted to pay i PREFACE. WATCHMAN, WHAT OF THE NIGHT !" CnRiST dishonored, His Priesthood beg- gared, His truth trampled upon, and His redeemed ones perishing ! Here is my apology for daring to bring so bitterly unpopular a subject as the Christian duty of paying Ministeeial Tithes before covetous disciples and a flesh-loving generation. I would clear my own soul ; and, if the grace be vouch- Vlll PREFACE. safed me, awaken a few amongst the faitliful, to tlie awful consequences of a " motli-eaten" Cliurcli. Christ has Him- self shown US the j'eniedy. " His seed is in herself" May this be the day of His power, in which His people shall " be made willing" to see and to do their duty ; at length bringing their Tithes and offering abundantly unto Him !" A. T. The Glebe, near Dunnville, C. W., Fehrunrij, 1855. ongst the Bnces of a has Jlirn- 3is seed is Lay of His shall "be do their rithes and A. T. INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. NECESSITY OF ASSURED HESl'ECTAnLE INCOME FOR THE CLEH(iV. 1. It is beyond a question, that one of the most serious practical dilHculties connected with the Church on this Continent is the want of an assured resjiectahle income for its ministers in general. 2. The Church is, if such an expression may be allowed, God's great Fact upon earih ; it is the only Reality in this shadowy world ; hence it cannot, will not fail. And, as our reformed Anglican branch thereof is (according to the only tokens by which we are permitted to know It here) the sole legitimate portion of Christ's Church in Britain and this North American Continent, we cannot but hope and believe, that, notwithstanding all the sad shortcom- 1 10 THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. * ings of her members, " the gates of hell shall never prevail against her." Nevertheless, the time of her full efficiency, the salvation of the present race of men, and the clearing of our own skirts from the blood of souls, all appear to be dependent upon present human agency. Now, the great want of the Church, in this all-important work, is a numerous, able min- istry. 3. Rome, I must think, has received her death-blow. She may for a while exhibit the violent, spasmodic efforts of dying agony ; and once more dazzle the nations by the unnatural brightness of her, alas, so often bewitching eyes, before they close forever in night ; but to Oxford has undoubtedly been given the honor, in these later days, of destroying her boasted outworks, beyond all hope of redemption ; while it has been the unhappy fate of the Mistress of the Seven Hills to have the last robe that covered her nakedness irreparably rent in pieces^ by the furious zeal of her adopted sons — as, for instance, in the learned madness of such suicidal works as the " Ideal Church," and the " Theory of Development." At the same time, Protestant Dissent is so destroying itself by infinitesimal division, that its thinking members are ready to THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. 11 of hell shall srtheless, the ation of the g of our own appear to be ncy. urch, in this ,s, able min- 'eceived her ! exhibit the ; agony ; and he unnatural L bewitching light ; but to n the honor, her boasted fiption ; while le Mistress of st robe that •ent in pieces? sons — as, for such suicidal the " Theory ne, Protestant infinitesimal ! are ready to cry, almost in scorn, *' What is truth ?" and those within its bounds, who are devoid of heart, are sighing, in sorrowing sadness, for the prom- ised peace of the Gospel, and yearning in their inmost souls for that Communion of Saints so sweetly pictured in the Scriptures. Rome, then, is in her last death throes ; and modern Sectarianism is . aggering with the drunkenness of incertitude. Disgusted, there- fore, with the tyrannous deception of an un- faithful priesthood ; or sickened with the mise- rable contradictions of ever-changing modes of faith ; what is to save men from seeking free- dom from all religious restraints in the refuge of a universal skepticism ? And for this fearful termination of the religious struggles now goincr on, the licentious independence of these western worlds is but too well preparing its victims. 4. What, then, is to save the people ? The Truth of Christ in the Church of Christ, and nothing else, will ! But, " how shall they hear without a preacher ? Or, how shall they preach except they be sent ?" But, is it reason to ex- pect men to be willing to be sent, except they see some prospect of being able to "provide things honest in the sight of God and man," according to that station which a Christian 12 THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. minister, in ii Cinistimi land, ought to ho ex- pected to hold ? When Cin'ist first sent his Apostles, He promised them miraculous sup- port, as well as inspired wisdom ; and after- wards, the offerings of the faithful were so abundant, that none were less in danger of poverty than the priests of God, even amidst the dire opposition of a heathen world. There never was, therefore, a more shallow untruth, than to speak of the poverty of the early minis- ters of Christ, as compared with the rest of the Church. Yes, I repeat, one of the greatest wants of the Church, on this Continent, is, an assured re- spectable support for her ministers. 5. Men rolling in wealth, or those who are al- most, if not quite, selling their souls to acquire it, cant about the self-denying simplicity in which ministers oug;ht to be content to live. Why do they not act as well as preach! Is here one creed and one heaven for the layman, and another creed and another heaven for his minister ? Why, also, do they not begin to teach their sons that self-denial, that so they may be willing to enter a starving, or, at least, a poverty-stricken priesthood ? Is it not a fact, on the contrary, as the revered Diocesan of I I THE SACEllDOTAL TITHE. 13 ;lit to l)c cx- irst sent liis 'aculous suj)- ; and aftcr- iful were so in danger of even amidst orld. There Jlow untruth, 3 early minis- he rest of the t wants of the 1 assured re- se who are al- luls to acquire simplicity in itent to live. s preach ! Is or the layman, leaven for his not begin to , that so they ;, or, at least, a it not a fact, 1 Diocesan of Toronto complains, that, with a few honorable exceptions, scarcely any of the gentlemen of this country are training and educating their sons for the sacred ministry ? And in a recent Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church, in Buffalo, so strong was the feeling as to the evil consequences, even as respects the very lowest grade of the ministry, resulting from their small and uncertain incomes, that a committee of lay- men was appointed to investigate the matter ; and in the pastoral, which was published at their request, by their very able Bishop, he states, that the average income of his clergy, from their parishes, is from $350 to $400— in some, abso- lutely not exceeding $100!— and this in a land glorying in its abundance, as do the United States! Nor is that Diocese by any means singular, in this respect. A respectable clergy- man in Connecticut told me, that, for twenty years, during portions of which he had served two parishes, his clerical income had barely ave- raged $350 per annum. A similar statement was also put forth, not long since, by the clergy of Massachusetts. But not only do grave offi- cial documents prove this lamentable state of things, with respect to those who share the Priesthood of Christ on the Continent of Ame- 1* 14 THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. 'W rica; but the popular literature of the day is eloquent upon the same sad subject, and as ex- tending to ministers of all denominations. In- deed, the miserable support which, especially, the country clergy receive in the United States, is patent to all those who have investigated the subject. Again, Bishop Eden, of the Scottish Church, recv.'"tly, and publicly, gave, as tlie rea- son why the Church had not more influence with the Scottish gentry, ** that many of the poor clergy of the North were not sufficiently well educated to be suitable companions for them, or to have any great hold upon them." And what is the result of this indifference of the aristo- cracy? Why, that, as God is pleased to work by means, the want of their influence causes the Scottish Church to make comparatively little progress amongst the people. Let America take warning! A poorly paid clergy is a nation's curse ! as thereby God is dishonored, intellect unsanctified ; and, consequently, the wealthy and educated are ungodly, while the masses al- most necessarily follow their example. And yet, we repeat, that, .as the general rule, the clergy are, most of them, shamefully crippled in their means. Our young men, whose hearts, we trust, are yet right in the sight of God, are fearing to of the day is ict, and as ex- linations. In- 2h, especially, United States, vestig;ated the f the Scottish ,ve, as the rea- nore influence ny of the poor efficiently well IS for them, or 1." And what of the aristo- leased to work nee causes the aratively little t America take ' is a nation's lored, intellect , the wealthy the masses al- iple. And yet, 'ule, the clergy ippled in their learts, we trust, , are fearing to THE SACERDOTAL TITHE, 15 enter u ministry in which they know not but fey may hav. to be;j, dig, or starve : while the wealthier parents, actuated by the same fear, rather hold back their sons, than cncourarre them to take Orders. 6. What is, then, the remedy > Certainly not •^i^noiuntanj system, as that term is generally used. I Ins has been tried, till Christ has been so hitterly dishonored, that His Priesthood is shrunk from as being the grave of honorable independence ; while the doctrines of Christ li.'ive been deeply corrupted by a thousand igno- rant teachers, to the eternal injury, it is to be loared, to an innumerable multitude of souls What, tlien, is the remedy ? I fearlessly an- ■swer-a system, voluntary, perhaps, as respe'cts human law ; but not voluntary as regards God and our own consciences ; and no system can liave this force, but one ordained by God him- self. Now, this was unquestionably done, when JL' instituted the paijment of the Tenth of all thar increase by His people for the support of Ills ministers. I f C 11 ATT Ell 11. THE SOVEKEIGNTT OF GOD.— II. THE DIGNITY OF CHRIST. "Of all the principalities in hell, there is none like Mammon, who dares rival God to His face : there is none who has rebelled with that success, and made such havoc of the souls of men. " Therefore God has, from the beginning, guarded us with the greatest caution against this Devil. He has commanded him to be sacri- ficed upon His altar, and made that a part of the worship of God." Hence, doubtless, the chief reason of the first institution, and continued obligation of the payment of Tithes by God's faithful people. I proceed, then, to vindicate, with as much brevity as I have skill to use, that Divine obli- TJIK HACERDOTAL TITHE. 17 THE DIONITT hell, there is al God to His lied with that f the souls of le beginning, lution against im to be sacri- .t a part of the •eason of the ligation of the iful people, with as much It Divine obli- •latioii to the payment of Ministerial Tithes— a doctrine whicli I hold to be essentially inipor- tunt to the efficiency of the Church of God, and to the assured growth in grace of the members of Christ mdividually ; and which I would, there- lore, earnestly endeavor to impress upon all the faithful. The grounds upon which I do so are the IbK lowing : — I. The Divine Sovereignty. II. The dignity of Christ. III. Revelation. IV. Pagan usage. V. Catholic consent. VI. The necessity of such a law to the Church. VII. The benefit thereof to private Christians, and the temporal evils resulting from its neglect. VIII. I shall endeavor to meet some of the most popular arguments by which it is at- tempted to disprove the moral and evangelical I obligation to pay Ministerial Tithes. I. And first, of the Divine Sovereignty. __ 1. "Almighty God, the Creator and give: of all good things we enjoy, doth so comm'unicate jHis blessings to us, that, though we have the IS THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. :ill i ft ; I still His right to them all ; for usu, ^^^ o-» retains __.. - ^ „ , . ' the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof. And in this sense, when we dedicate anythinj^ to Him, we do but give Him His own. But, thoucrh all we have be His, with respect to this ireneral right; yet He doth not require we should actually give Him all, provided we own His bounty and acknowledge His right, by offering some part to His honor ; which, being as a quit-rent, tendered to the Supreme Lord of the world, gives us right to enjoy the rest. We conclude, therefore, that the Patriarchs thought it a necessary duty to pay Tithes ; and that their practice, with the principle on which they pro- ceeded, are evident proof that they believed the Tenth Dart was due to God, by sufficient mam- festations of His will •, and therefore they paid it as due jitre Divino." \ Thus 'far, Dean Comber, 1681, whose unan- swerable reply to the learned Selden's crafty "History of Tithes," I would were m all hands. 2 The Most High God bears a two-fold rela- tion to man-one of Sovereignty, and anothei of Love. By confounding these two very dif ent claims which the Divine Being has upon us, many Christians make fundamental, and, n their r natui ; them : pose that < tion i ^ velop ] is a n ; Savic I ceive j licit ^ I yet 1 I creati I Heav OUtW£ nent ] to the of all reignt quires as sue the si] are H and hi till, il !^e ha ninati THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. 19 their results, very injurious, mistakes as to the nature ol" that service which He requires from them. Because God is love, they seem to sup- pose that He cares to receive no homage but that only which is prompted by a similar affec- tion in our own bosoms, and directed in its de- velopments by our own feelings. Now, herein is a manifest error; for while, as our Father and Saviour, the Eternal is doubtless pleased to re- ceive, and even, as it were, condescends to so- licit voluntary proofs of our gratitude to Him ; yet He never forgets what is due from His creatures to Himself, as the Eternal Majesty of ^e^ven. Hence it is, that He has instituted -y believed the 1 outward formal worship ; and, holding a promi- ;ufficient mani- | "^"t place amongst such worship, is the offering efore they paid 1^0 the Lord of our substance. As the Creator I of all things, He constantly claims the Sove- reignty of the Universe, and most jealously re- quires to be paid the honor due unto His throne as such. Thus He tells us that " the gold and the silver and the cattle upon a thousand hills ^ two-fold rela-' "^^ ^^^^ >'" that it is He who gives us " seed-time ty, and another ^"d harvest ;" and that, let us labor as we may, le two very dif J^^^^' it is He alone who " giveth the increase." ng has upon uaM^ has also unmistakably manifested nental, and, n\ them all ; for Iness thereof. 3ate anything s own. But, respect to this »t require we vided we own His right, by , which, being preme Lord of the rest. We iarchs thought ; and that their ^hich they pro 1, whose unan- Selden's crafty d were in all a lation mow- 20 THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. ledged by man, in all his earthly career. This He did by instituting the Sabbath ; by | His rigorous laws. against all creature- worship ; by that awful reverence which He so positively requires to be paid to His Uoly Name ; and by the command to render unto the Lord ot ouv substance. ., 3 Reason itself would teach us, that the Al- mighty must reciuire a constant acknowledg- ment of His being the Lord of all, in our use ot whatever worldly goods we may possess ; espe- 1 cially as it is earthly property, which, beyond all other things, is so apt to estrange our hearts altogether from Him. Neither would it be con- sistent with the dignity of the Divine Majesty to leave it uncertain what proportion ot our earthly goods are to be thus paid in homage, or as worship to Him. Where offerings are simply| designed as proofs of individual affection, then, indeed, their measure may very properly be leltj to be determined by the degree of that affection^ But the offerings of which we now speak, hav-j incr respect to the honor of God, as the solej Ruler of the universe, rather than designed as ;| criterion of human devotion, it appears eviden. that a certain fixed portion of the products o^ the earth, or of its other wealth, must have beeri reqi to ] R. THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. 21 irthly career. Sabbath; by iture-worship ; e so positively sfame ; and by ,e Lord of our as, that the Al- t acknowledg- II, in our use of possess ; espe- which, beyond anszp our hearts ^'ould it be con- Divine Majesty yportion of our| d in homage, or rings are simply . affection, then, properly be lelt=J of that aflection,| now speak, hav-; ^od, as the sold an designed as , appears eviden ■ the products o| , must have beei^^ required by the Divine Majesty, as an offering to Himself, in acknowledgment of his Sove- reignty from the very foundations of tiie earth. " When we approach to worship God, we must sacrifice of our mammon before Ilim, to show that we depend upon God for our wliole subsis- tence," says Leslie. This much even reason teaches, as it contemplates tiic awful majesty of the Eternal. 4. Here it may be proper to explain, that this certain portion of our goods, which is demanded as an act of worship or iiomage to the Divine Majesty, was never expected to comprise the whole of our offerings to God. That we give as subjects ; but there remains beyond, and, if you please, superior to it, those willing offerings of love and gratitude which we bring as children. Thus, the Eternal demands the Lord's-Day ; but does any one suppose that He will be pleased with those who worship Him only on that day. So, the Israelites, over and above the tithes and offerings required by the law, in the days of their purity, gave liberally both to the poor and to the Temple. In fact, it would seem to be those willing offerings which we present, after having first paid our dues to the Lord, that we shall, if faithful, find in the day of eternity to •22 THE *»ACERDOTAL TITHE. I 111 be peculiarly, " treasure laid up in heaven ;'' they serving as tokens to show, that even our legal obedience has not been forced, since it is thus accompanied by voluntary acts i)lainly re- sulting from self-denying and grateful love. 5. 1 will conclude this section in the words of the " judicious" and venerated Hooker—" Sup- pose we, that nothing of our wealth and sub- stance is immediately due to God ; bat all our own, to bestow and spend as ourselves think meet ? Are not our riches as well His as the days of our life are His ? Wherefore, unless with part we acknowledge His supreme domi- nion by Whose benevolence we have the whole, how give we honor to whom honor belongeth ? or how to God the things that are God's ? I would know what nation in the world did ever honor God, and not think it a point of their duty to do Him honor with their very goods ? So that we may boldly set down as a principle clear in nature, an axiom that ougln t.ot to be called in question, a truth manifest and infalli- ble — that men are eternally bound to honor God with their substance, in token of thankful cknowledgment that all that we have is from Fhn. To honor Hirn with our worldly goods h a duty • /hich all meu are bound unto, and a THE aACEIlDOTAI. TITllli. 23 heaven ;'' t even our , since it i.s plainly re- 1 love, le words of 3r — " Siip- I and sub- bat all our Ives think His as the ore, unless 3me doini- the whole, )elongeth ? God's? I d did ever their duty Dods ? So principle not to be nd infalli- to honor f thankful ve is from Idly goods ito, and a pan of that ven/ worship of God, which, as the law of God and nature itself requireth, so we nro, the rather to think all men no less strictly bound thereunto than to any other natural duty." II. Further-thc Dinmrv r,F C„kist requires that they who partake of His priesthood should also share — 1. His right to the goods of His people. Let it not be said, that Christ claimed nothinn- of His i)eopIe when He came to them ; for That were a great mistake. It is expressly declared, that, " He came to His own, and His own re- ceived Him not." How did He come,-as a private individual ? Nay ; but as the Great High I^riest of our profession—" the end or ful- filment of the law;'^vho, in the persons of the Aaronic Priesthood, had been the Receiver of all the Tithes and offerings offered under the law.^ But, because "His own received Him not," in His true character, He refused all sacer- dotal intercourse with them. Yet, mark! no sooner had He a people who acknowledged Him as their Lord and Christ, than He at once re- ceived as His right those offerings which they - freely i)aid to Him. Thus it is written, " For so 24 THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. liii: II!' as many as were possessors of land or houses sold them, and brought the prices. of the things that were sold, and laid them down at the Apos- tles' feet." But why at " the Apostles' feet ?" if not that, from the instinct of a holy faith, they felt that, as the Apostles possessed the spiritual functions of their Master's priesthood, so from regard to his honor., as well as in holy justice, they must possess the temporal rights of that priesthood ; even as Christ had Himself deli- vered it to them. " As my Father hath sent me, ereri so send I you." He further told those Apostles, and through them their successors, that, though men should revile and persecute them, yet, that He Himself would watch over every hair of their heads, as being His anointed ambassadors. Is it, then, to be imagined, that He withheld from them, and without the slight- est intimation that He did so, the right hith- erto inherent in that ministrv which lie so formally bestowed upon them, to a certain pecu- liar portion of the goods of the flocks over whom they were placed ; thereby leaving their tempo- ral wants to be supplied at the mere will of their people, whether zealous as the Ephesians, or cold as the Laodiceans ? Such an idea is, in THE SACEllDOTAL TITHE. 25 I or houses the things t the Apos- is' feet ?" if faith, they le spiritual od, so from ioly justice, hts of that imself deh- • hath sent l' told those successors, [ persecute vatch over is anointed ,gined, that ; the slight- right hith- lich lie so rtain pecu- over whom leir tempo- vill of their hesians, or idea is, in i truth, as derogatory to the dignity and charac- ter of Christ, as it is repugnant to every feeling of what is just and right. 2. Indeed, had Christ left His ministers with- out a moral claim to a certam ratio of support, He must have been indifferent to His own dig- nity, both personal and official. That our blessed Redeemer, however, is not thus indiffe- rent, we know ; because it would be inconsis- tent with that self-respect for His own exalted nature, which, as a perfect being. He must pos- sess ; and, indeed, the sacred Scriptures afford abundant evidence of His holy jealousy herein. The High Priest, under the Mosaic Dispensa- tion, was His personal type, and he was sur- rounded with all honor; being, when not the first, the second person in the nation. So, also, on the Mount of Transfiguration, the only time during His humiliation that He assumed the dignity which rightfully belonged to Him, it is evident that He appeared in the greatest splen- dour. Yet further, wherever spoken of in the Book of the Revelations, He is ever represented as being clothed with glory, and as receiving thepro- ioundest homage from a!! the angelic hosts Now the Apostolic Ministry is His representative upon earth. Its members, because they share His o* 20 THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. i iiinnin Priesthood, are distinctly d(!clared in Holy Writ, to be " ambassadors for Christ." The person of an ambassador, even amongst earthly poten- tates, is always held to be sacred ; and his style and retinue are expected to bear some propor- tion to the rank and power of his sovereign. The dignity of an ambassador of Christ is, how- ever, mainly supported by the sacred and myste- rious excellence of his ofRcial powers. StiD, is it for a moment to be believed, that the exalted Jesus so forgot the reverence due to His own Divine humanity, as to neglect to make a posi- tive earthly provision for the social respectabi- lity of those who, as His ambassadors, represent that humanity upon earth ? Why; He secured His ministers the most ample support, even un- der the Jewish Dispensation, though the Priest- hood then only prefigured that Divine humanity which had, as yet, no existence. Is it reason, then, to suppose that He would fail to do the same, now that His actual humanity demands our deepest adoration, insomuch that at His hu- man name of Jesus, everv knee is commanded to bow ! 3. And, that an almost pauper- priesthood does cause the human nature and priestly office of Christ Himself to be lightly esteemed by the THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. 27 multitude, is beyond dispute, witli ull those who are able to understand the lessons of experience, as taught by modern Christendom. It is unde- niably evident, therefore, that the holy care for His own human and priestly dignity, which ne- cessarily possesses the mind of our adorable Saviour, must have caused Him to continue some certain and positive law for the suitable maintenance of His ambassadors, at least as stringent as that which He instituted, on so much less grounds, under the Old Law. Verily, a socially degraded priesthood, (such as is the ordmary consequence of the supposed absence of a Divine law positively ordaining the ratio of their support), can never be consistent with re- presenting Him whose " Name is to be above every name." lii|j:;;| 'i i CHArXER HI REVELATION. III. The third argument, by which the Divine and moral obhgation to the payment of a tenth of our increase for the support of God's minis- ters is sustained, is Revelation. (1.) And, first, of the Old Testament Scrip- tures. 1. It is a common error, and yet one whicli proves a sadly careless reading of the word of God, to suppose that Tithes were first instituted by the law of Moses, whereas it is exceedingly probable that they were required from man when he was first created ; and it is certain, that they are as ancient as the patriarch Abraham. The reason which the Most High gives for re-enacting the payment of ministerial Tithes us part of the Mosaic ritual is, that all belongs to Him ; hence it seems an almost necessary conclusion that as all equally belonged to Him from the beginning, so from the beginning He should have required this same acknowledgment of His Sovereign right. Indeed it is worthy of THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. 29 note that the judicious Hooker has given the sanction ofhis profound judgment to this opinion. After speaking of the fact that Abraham, Jacob, and even Pagans paid Tithes, he proceeds : "Ima- gine we, that this was for no cause done, or that there was not some special inducement to judge the tenth of our worldly profits the most conve- nient for God's portion ? Three being the mys- tical number of God's unsearchable perfection withm Himself; seven the number whereby our own perfections through grace, are^most ordered ; and ten the number of nature's perfections, (the highest we can rise unto, without iteration of numbers under it,) could nature better acknow- ledge the power of the God of nature, than by assigning unto Him that quantity which is the continent of all she possesseth ?" 2. Thc?t Tithes were thus ordained by God irotn the first, seems all but positive from the statements which are made respecting the sin of Cain. The LXX's translation of Genesis, iv. 1, Js, " If thou hast offered aright, but hast not di- vided aright, hast thou not sinned ? Hold thy peace." And let it be remembered that this translation of the Pentateuch has the high sanc- tion to its correctness of our Lord's having quoted from it. In this sense also, tbe early t I ! I iii; In :J0 THE yACEIlDOTAL TITHE. council of Hispalis, (Anno 590,) understood it ; for it. enforces the payment of Tithes, by the curse which followed Cain, for "not dividing aright," i. c, keeping back part of the tenth which God required from him. And the Apos- tle gives the same account of Cain's sin, (Heb. xi. 4,) where he calls Abel's offering "a larger sacrifice," which is the more exact translation of the words than that which our version gives. Again, Abel is said to "offer by faith;" now faith must be grounded on some declaration of the Divine Will, hence it is concluded by learn- ed authors that God had Himself instructed Adam, and he his sons, as to the exact nature and quantity of the offerings to be made to Him out that Cain, from a faithless, covetous dispo- sition, did not offer the required portion. In- deed, the reasoning on this subject by Comber in his reply to Selden, by Leslie in his very ex- cellent "Essay on Tithes," by Hooker, &lc., must carry great weight to every unprejudiced mind. The very learned Grotius also, though not a ChurchmaUs and therefore with prejudices rather opposed to the principles of a primitive Catholicity, yet sanctions the idea that Cain did not offer of the best, or else gave a less portion THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. 31 than the tenth, " which," says he, " from the most ancient ages was the portion due to God, and the vestiges thereof remain in the Greek and Latin histories." The first men, then, were required to give a certain part of their goods to God, and what part does reason teach us that that would be, but the same which we find Abraham, Jacob, the Israelites, and Pagans of- fering. 3. The next account of Tithes is, where we find Abraham oifering them to Melchisedec. And we learn from St. Paul that this was not merely a free-will offering, but, in obedience to a right which Melchisedec possessed, as " priest of the Most High God ;" indeed, the Apostle's phrase in verse 6th of the Vllth chapter of the Hebrews, strictly rendered is, " Melchisedec Tithed Abram," i. e., took or received them as his right. Now it seems probable that this Melchisedec was no othw than Shem, the eldest son of Noah, who himself entered the ark in adult age ; therefore his claiming such a right as the priestly representative of Jehovah vastly strengthens the evidence that Tithes were, like the Sabbath, a part of the Divine Law before the Deluge. 4. But Jacob also gave Tithes to God, and if 32 THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. ill II :( i^ ' m ■Hii'i mn it be objected that this was a mere voluntary offering in conseciuence of a vow, I ask, how came he to fix upon that particular sum, neither more nor less, than what Abram had paid, or than God afterwards, by a renewed law, de- manded from the Israelites, or than was com- mon in the pagan world, if not, that he knew it to be a part of the Divine Law, but which, as a mere member of his father's household, he had not previously been called upon to perform ? Indeed, the whole history of Jacob's vow, upon this occasion, seems to be this : that, bavins left his father's house to enter upon life for himself, he promised that if God would pardon his past deceptions and sins, and condescend to bless and guide him as He had done his father, then he, Jacob, would serve llim as faithfully, and pay Him Tithes in worship as punctually, as his father Isaac had done. If we are to suppose that Tithes were not a.law because Jacob vowed to pay them, then we must equally think that Jacob was under no obligation to take the Lord for his God, until he had vowed to do so ; the two, God and Tithes, as regards Jacob's vow, stand exactly on the same basis. On the con- trary, however, the fact of Jacob's promising to pay Tithes, at the very time that he was making THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. 33 a covenant to serve God, seems to demonstrate, especially when considered in connection with the other facts stated in the Holy Scripture, that Jacob knew the pavment of Tithes to be a very chief jiart of the law and worship of God. 5. That the Israelites were commanded by Jehovah Himself, to pay one-tenth of all their yearly mcreasc or income, as an act of positive vvorship to Himself; which tenth He gave lo the Priests and Levites for their support, I suppose none will deny. And I would again impress upon the reader, because it has an important bearing upon the continued obligation to the pay- ment of this priestly Tithe, that its primary ob- ject was not the support of the priesthood, but an act of worship to Almighty God. Hence 1 ithes are spoken of in the same, or rather in a higher tone, than is used concerning those direct sacrifices and offerings to God which His ancient people were also required to make to Him ; thus "the Tithes of the children of Israel, which they otter as an heave-offering unto the Lord." " All the Tithe of the land, or of the fruit of the trees, IS the Lord's ; it is holy unto the Lordr And so' not to multiply quotations, in Deut. xxvi, Tithes are called " the hallowed thing." 6. Mark, then, I repeat, the ground upon which M THE SACERDOTAL TITHK. these Tithes are required. It is not, as just intimated, the necessities ol" llis priesthood ; these He could have provided for in a thousand ways; it is this, that " the earth is the Lord's, and the luhiess thereof; consetjuently so long as this remains true, so long must it continue the duty of those who en joy that earth, to render unto God that portion of its substance wliich He thus requires. To use a plain, and almost coarse simile, the earth is the Lord's, and he rents it to us upon the direct payment to Him, through his priesthood, of o ir-tentli of its produce, and this of' course, a]iplics to the pro- fessional man, the merchant, or the laborer, equally with the husbandman ; for all our in- crease comes through the providence of God ; yea, indeed, all may be said to be derived from the earth, as wrote the wise men so many ages ago, '' moreover the profit of the earth is for all, the king himself is served by the field." 7. The sacrifices and ofierings of the law being typical, ended with the coming ot Him who was the end of the law ; but Tithes being, as I have shown, like the Sabbath, an ancient institution, long previous to the Jewish law, and ordained for the purpose of paying homage and worship to God as the Sovereign Owner of the earth, rJIU HA(JER1)0TAL TITIIK. ;ir> are evidently of force and obligation uj.on all the servants of (iod, so lon.ir as the earth itself shall last. Hence, Tithes having becMi paid from the; be- ginning to God, as tlu; Sovereign Jlulor and J»os. sessor of all things ; and having been solemnly re-enacted when Ife condescended to reveal Himself more fully to His people, and there never having been one single intimation given that He has repealed this law. it certainly appears that the man who will deny that the payment of ministerial Tithes is still bindincr upon the people of God, must be alike bold for mammon, and reckless concerning the wili of God. I say " ministerial Tithes." because, as I have beiore shown, it is with all plainness revealed, that though Tithes are to be paid as an act of worship to God, it is to be through the hands, and for the support of His ministers. ♦K^'r.^f't^^''"'^''''^'''"^ my argument from the Uid Testament Scriptures, which might have been greatly and very profitably lengthen- ed, I beg to remind my readers, that every prin- ciple, yea, every law therein, which has not been clearly fulfilled, or distinctly abrogated, is still binding upon the consciences and practice of Christians ; for that it is the whole of the 'M THE SACERDOTAI. TITIlIi. Sacred Canon, and not the Now Testament only, which is the Bible, and consequently the law of the Christian Church. And let it not be forgotten, that it is the Old Testament Scrip- tures which our blessed Lord and His Apostles direct us to search for " instruction in righteous- ness," as the law of holy living. (2.) Let us proceed then to consider the evi- dence which the New Tcstavient, as more exclu- sively containing the Scriptures of the Cospel dispensation, aflbrds of the Christian obligation to pay Ministerial Tithes. L And first, it is commonly objected that Tithes not being expressly commanded afresh in the New Testament, have no longer any pe- culiar divine sanction. But this fallacy arises from the very palpable mistake that the Gospel abolished every law, and almost every principle, which God had previously instituted. Tills I have already stated to be a total error. That the bringing in of a better dispensation did not destroy what was good in the old is evident ; thus the Decalogue, though two of its com- mandments at least (the 2d and 4th) are deci- dedlv ceremonial, is still the law of the Church ; public worship remains in force ; the priest- is not abolished, as St. igt ig€ THE HACERDOTAL TITHE. .37 l^aul teaches us:— in fact Christ distinctly cle- clangs that lie " came not to destroy, but to ful- fil the law; hence whatever was not fulfilled in Ilirn, we have thus His own authority for dc- daring to ho still in force. For this very rea- son Ho^ directs us to " search" the Old Testa- ment Scriptures, assuring „s that in them "we have eternal life." How strange then is the supposition, that, before the precepts of the Old Testament can be bindinjr upon us, they must he re-written in the New ! \ow that Tithes were not fulfilled in Christ, I have already shown ; in fact their obligation is rather in- creased by His liaving in His hivian nature assumed the Head and Sovereignty both of His Church and the world, since in addition to the homage we owe Him as God over all, Christ now claims the tribute of the earth, and of the riches of men, as being due to his humanity as High Priest and Monarch. 2. We have, moreover, the highest positive authority of the New Testament sanctioning the payment of Tithes to God, in the teaching of Christ Himself, where He says, speaking of pay. mg Tithes, even of the sma" things ?t thin,' These ye ought to have done." Again, in His 3d, as St. I parable of the Pharisee and the Publican He 3* 38 THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. reckons paying of Tithes amongst the righteous acts of the Pharisee, without the smallest inti- mation of His having abrogated them, or intend- ing to do so. And, as before hinted, by referring us to the law and the prophets to learn respect- ing Himself and His law — John v. 35 — He did thereby absolutely enjoin anew upon us, whatso- ever was commanded therein, excepting what was clearly done away by Himself. Hence, it again plainly appears that Tithes are of renewed obligation under the Christian dispensation, by the authority of the New Testament itself. 3. Further, the Apostle's reasoning, in Heb. vii. 8, is most striking ; he there argues the superiority of the priesthood of Christ, typified by Melchisedec, because He liveth and receiveth Tithes. Now if Tithes were abrogated, this reasoning would surely be a deception ; but this cannot be ; hence, therefore, so far from hav- ing abolished Tithes, He here confirms them by requiring that, as He received Tithes in the priesthood of Melchisedec, before the calling of the Aaronic line, so he shall continue to receive them through the Christian Priesthood, till time shall be no more. 4. Finally, here ; St. Paul, in 1 Corinthians, ix. 11, 15, most conolusively argues the right of THE 8ACERD0TAL TITHE, Hi) the Christian ministry to be supported in the same tnanner, and on the same principle—- even so"— as those who served the temple and the ahar had been ; yea, insomuch that he even asserts his power,— that is, his ecclesiastical power,— tomsist upon its being so done to himself 'as one of Christ's appointed priesthood. Now in order to see the full force of the Apostle's rea- sonmg, it must be remembered that he was writmg to those who knew of no other method of ministerial support, by Divine ordering, than that of Tithes, except, indeed, those legal sacri- fices and offerings which had been done away in Christ, and the priestly portion of the land of Judea, upon which, of course, the apostles had no claim. Here, therefore, I ask any honest man of common understanding. What, save the pay- ment of Tithes, could the Corinthian Christian understand St. Paul as meaning, when he thus wrote so reiteratedly, not only of his claim, but of his power to demand a ministerial support identical with that which the Jewish priesthood had received ? Hence, as St. Paul here insists upon the ministerial rights of himself and his brethren to "JiTm of ♦h^O — r-al " --- *u • • i n - ^ ui iR;^ ^^^.^pgj^ ^J^^ jljg principle of a positive, certain payment, (and which I have shown could be understood of nothing else 40 THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. 1 than Tithes,) it is evident that that '' power'' ol" receiving Tithes must also have descended to all their lawful successors in that ministry. And what gives immense additional force to all this, is, that the Apostle positively declares that tlds transfer of Jewish priestly rights to His ambas- sadors luas made by Christ Ilimself: — *' Even so," saith the Apostle, "hath the Lord ordained that they who preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel." CHA1>TEH IV EVIDENCE FROM PAGAN USAGE. Though the strength of the positive argu- ment proving the obligation which rests upon Christians to pay ministerial Tithes, has perhaps been presented in the foregoing chapters, still there remain those collateral evidences which, though deserving serious consideration, will' not need to draw so largely upon the patience ot the reader. To proceed then : IV. Pagan usage affords strong presumptive evidence of the Divine origin of Tithes. 1. Even the prejudiced and temporizing, though learned, Selden, notwithstanding his un- hallowed and very disingenuous efforts to dis- prove the obligation to the payment of Christian Tithes, confesses, as is shown both by Dean Comber, Leslie and others, that it "was the custom of the Gentiles to offer the Tithes of their goods ; and gives several instances, for ex- ample, of the Arabians and Phojnicians in Asia, among whom Melchisedec was both a king and 42 THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. a priest; the Carthaginians and Egyptians in Africa, and the Grecians and Romans in Europe ; and even king Cadwalla, in England, about the year 686, before he was a Christian, and others." Thus much confesses an adversary ! 2. Hence the difficulty is to comprise the mass of evidence that crowds upon us within the space which the limits of this little treatise demands ; I shall therefore be compelled to con- tent myself with a few of the principal evidences of the very general prevalence of the custom of paying Tithes amongst the heathen. 3. Plutarch, in his life of Theseus, says that the Troezenians offered their first-fruits (or Tithes) to Neptune. Indeed, so universal was the payment of Tithes amongst the Greeks, that Julius Pollux, as quoted by Dean Comber, reckons the phrases, "to offer a Tithe," "to vow a Tithe," " to dedicate a Tithe," as being synonymous with that of " Divine Worship." Thus, Pisistratus, chief magistrate of the Athe- nians, received Tithes from the people, which, as his letter to Solon proves, he spent upon the gods. At Delos, Apollo had the Tithes ; indeed, this god was called the Tithe-taker, because dedications were usually made in that propor- tion. And Demosthenes called ii sacrilege in THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. 43 jyptians in in Europe ; , about the nd others." Tiprise the us within tie treatise led to con- I evidences custom of ', says that -fruits (or i^ersal was reeks, that Comber, ithe," "to " as being Worship." the Athe- Die, which, t upon the s; indeed, r, because It propor- icrilege in '7 a those who detained the Tithes due to Pallas. But most striking is the account in Xenophon how he himself and the other Grecian Generals after the Asiatic Expedition, consecrated the Tithe of their gains to Apollo and Diana of Ephesus. 4. Again, respecting the Romans, the testi- mony is equally full. Pompeius Festus, who lived in the reign of Augustus and Tiberius, says, as quoted by Paul the Deacon, "the ancient (Romans) offered every sort of Tithe to their gods." Fiodorus Siculus expressly saith, "many of the Romans, not only of meaner estates, but of the very rich men, consecrated their Tithe to Hercules." Thus Plutarch tells us that "Sylla gave the people a magnificent entertainment on account of his dedicating the tenth of his sub- stance to Hercules." He also tells us that Ca- millus the Dictator vowed to give the tenth of the spoil of the city Veii to the Pythian Apolio. Again, " Pliny, in his Natural History, b. 12, c. 14, witnesses of the Arabians, who paid Tithes to their god Sabis. And (c. 19) of the Ethio- pians who paid Tithes to their god Assabinus. And this they observed so strictly, that it was not lawful for the merchants to buy or sell any 44 THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. of their goods till tiie priest had first taken out the tenth for their cfods.' 5. Let these suffice as abundantly showing how common was the payment of Tithes amongst the heathen. Now, whence came a custom so contrary to our selfish nature to be thus univer- sal, and exactly the same in its amount, unless it had been derived, all over the world, by tradi- tion from one and the same source ? And what would have had sufficient force to cause so general an acceptance of such a self-denying law as that of Tithes, except the original com- mand of God Himself, preserved after the disper- sion at Babel, by a universal tradition founded on a deep conviction that it was one of the very most important acts of Divine worship, and de- signed to be observed by all men in all ages ? 6. I cannot conclude this chapter better than by the following quotations from the very able work, (written about 1682,) before alluded to, of the lucid and erudite Dean Comber, in answer to Selden's History of Tithes :—«' To conclude, we may discern the Tithe was [everywhere reckoned God's part, and originally the priest's portion. The Gentiles who had not the law, we-re in this point a law to themselves ; their gods, their priests, their temples had Tithes paid t taken out THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. 45 of all kind of prof is. If this universal a^rree- ment came from some tradition of the primitive Patriarchs-, then it was first revealed from God, If It came from the equity of the thing itself or rather, were continued upon this ground when It had been first introduced by the other then It is agreeable to natural reason, and it is a monstrous absurdity for Christians to murmur or dispute against that, as a heavy tax, which 1 urks and Pagans freely consent unto. Would the bare h'ght of nature, and an obscure tradi- tion of which no original appeared, {i. e., to them), suffice to lead the Gentiles to this duty ? and shall we, who know the practice of the primitive Patriarchs, the precepts of the law, (never yet repealed as to a single tentii), the practice of the Jews, the fair intimations of its continuance in the New Testament, and the opinion, as well as the custom of the old Chris- tians: shall we, I say, (who know all this), be backward to believe the Divine right of Tithes ? Surely, not only the Jews, but the very Gentiles and barbarous nations of the world will rise up m the judgment against us, and condemn us if we should give less toward religion than they did ; and the obligation which we affirm God hath laid upon us to pay tithes, is no more than 46 THE SACERDOTAL TITIIE. what all nations and religions have laid upon themselves; and so must be acknowledged a reasonable and moderate imposition, and the prudentest way of supporting religion that ever the wisdom of God or man proposed." 7. Again, in another place, the very learned Dean, after summing up the vastly accumu- lating evidence of the prevalence' of Tithes amongst the heathen, thus proceeds :—" All which are evident manifestations that Tithes came to be used among the Gentiles from the practice of Abraham and those old Patriarchs, who (as we have showed before) had it from God himself. And yet, withal, 'tis plain that this proportion of a tenth part of all profits for the use of the gods, was very agreeable to the reason of mankind. Since this tradition was spread so far, embraced so universally, and rooted so deeply, this very thing hath made some take it for a law of nature ; because, in everything, the consent of all people is to be taken for a natural law ; ' and 'tis an argu- ment that is certainly right, which appears so to all.' However, it must be granted, that who- ever reproaches or condemns this proportion, he arraigns the wisdom of all mankind ; and it is both infamous and impious for any Christian THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. 47 > laid upon )vvledged a 1, and the 1 that ever ;ry learned Y accumu- of Tithes as :— " All hat Tithes s from the Patriarchs, ad it from plain that profits for ible to the lition was sally, and ath made ecause, in ! is to be an argu- •ears so to Lhat who- roportion, d ; and it Christian to give less to the Priests than the heathen did, or to think that part too much which tiiey thouoht too little— and therefore added many voluntary oblations besides. And it is now made evident, that, if we neglect to pay Titlies, we are so far from ' exceeding the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees,' that we fall short of the righteousness of the heathens, who were never obliged by Moses' law, and yet esteemed them- selves bound to pay Tithes which were first in- stituted by God, and then propagated by tradi- tion to all the world ; where it was so generally observed, when Christ came, that there seems to be no need of any express law in the Gospel for the proportion ; because Jews and Gentiles both agreed in that already, and both believed that God had a right to that proportion, which makes it most shameful and intolerable for Christians to lend the force of their wit to expose this ancient, reasonable, and universally prac- tised piece of religion, and to alienate men's hearts from a cheerful compliance with it. CHAPTER V. EVIDENCE FROM CATHOLIC CONSENT. V. Our next argument in support of the Christian obligation to pay M-'nisterinl Tithes, IS founded upon Catholtc Consent. That is upon tlie law, and what without exaggeration we may call the almost universal practice, of the Christian Church. 1. It is true, that we find no very early posi- tive law in the Christian Church respecting lithes; and for this simple reason, that the primitive Christians, convinced of the vast su periority of the Gospel over Judaism, and act- ing upon the holy principle that " where much IS given, much is required," gave so freely that the idea of tithes was almost lost in the far richer abundance of their offerings. Indeed, the ^arned Bingham, Comber, Thorndyke, Leslie, &c., &c., &c., all most convincingly show at large, that the principle of Tithes was the root as ,t were, of this abounding liberality, for thev considered them as of moral obligation, and not THR SACERDOTAL TITHE. 40 Mosaicnl merely. To prove this, thev satisf\ic- torily quote (in which, alas, n.v space forbids my follovvm- them so tliorou^crhly as I coulri wish) St. Ireiic^us, [grand disciple, as it were, of hi. John), Clemens Alexandrinus, Ori.ren and Cyprian, ^vho all flourished within about 150 years of the Apostolic age. The Apostolic (.anons aIiiied under r jealed by i held them ? constantly ; and here ancestors nd this in v the first Christians, the Gospel 1 it is ap- have the his matter therefore* ime to be ministers, be Gospel lemselves with the of their :e. And ove them arable a • the law of Moses ?" Alas, then, for the contempt of the Divine honor, and the miserable covetoiisness toward His Ministers, exhibited by most modern Christians ! 3. Even the bitter Selden confesses thus with regard to the liberality of the Primitive Church. " So liberal in the beginning of Christianity was the devotion of the believers, that their bounty to the evangelical priesthood far exceeded what the tenth would have been;'' and again, he says:— "In respect thereof Tithes \ad been a small part." Yea, he is compelled to admit— '< It had been little to the purpose to have had tithes of annual increase paid, while the most bountiful devotion of good Christians continued." I will, however, give the testimony of two or three of the early Fathers of ditierent ages and nations, as quoted by the authors above mentioned, m proof of their unanimity respect- ing the payment of Tithes, as the least which they could offer to God for the support of those who share the Priesthood of His Divine Son. St. Irenseus, Bishop of Lyons, in France, who, as St. Basil saith, was very near the time of the Apostles, affirms—" We ought to offer God the first-fruits of His creatures;" and, that he means in the proportion of a tenth, is evident, as heoson after adds— "the Jews for this cause i 52 THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. fullv ^nrl f r ■^ ^"^ ' '^'="'<=e cheer. hanthe rf {■ ""' ^'"°^^ ""-" ^^■'"■'''' - 'ess Ori"e„ of ;?' 'T' ''"' ^''' ^ ■^^««'- ''"Pe-" lit : more .hf"'" ^"'^'' "''" """-^^d death n. °? '"'"'^^^'' y^^>-^ «fter the Z '^f T ? ?•'''="'' ">« rightoousuess of taste oT ? '^''""^^^' "■ ">«y "-« r,o fru1tsl''£'^f,f«--'h. before fot. -t apart fo.^^ 1 t, ^3^. .f:^ f , -" ™es ofthe.,,|oso.e.hetitrofVeTfrtrt: he pnest knows not of them, the Levite iL no and,e^,e, o„,Ht to stand aeo:iT;lTe- oL„ ^'";''''' "' ^^"'^'■'g^. shortly after Afrion ol u ^"gustine, who lived in at.'' sf "c.:^:r!i'ri-'' -'' «'>«y year: Cyp fatr , "^^'P*'^^^"' expressly says— " Our fathers abounded in all plenty, belause the" gave THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. 53 Tithes. St. Epiphanius, St. Chrysostom, St Ambrose, all before the year 400, speak of first- fruits, using that term, as has been elaborately shown by the learned writers I have quoted, as in. elusive of Tithes,) as of Divine right under the Christian dispensation ; while St. Jerome, about the same date, speaks of himself as living on lithes. But I must refrain, my limits will not permit me to extend my proofs of the child-like iaith and willing liberality of the Primitive Church in this matter, further; suffice it to say, what perhaps not one will be reckless enou-h to contradict, that, after this period, the extension ot Christianity and the payment of Tithes, as bemg by Divine authority due to Christ and Wis priesthood, were almost identical. 5. In modern days, Thomas Becon, Chaplain to Archbishop Cranmer, speaks of Tithes, in his ''Jewel ofjorj," as being undoubtedly due, and censures the clergy of his time for spending them on riotous living, instead of being given to hos- pitahty ; which was the end, as he declares, for which God instituted them. Thus, also, Conra- dus Pelhcomes, an eminent Hebrew scholar, and therefore the better evidence, and one of th- early reformers, shows, in the following extract their opinions on this subject (I copv from' 54 THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. Bishop Patric!.)-.. All .he Tithe is the Lord's and remains so for evpr ^n • i .■ . ' Tithes irp fn i -^f ' ^ ' """'^ therefore right, and leljg.ously expended, according to Hi. appointment. Finally —h. vino- \ ^""'"^^^^^^ a noble ]ist of modern autho ties rat ""f lent Churchman, Mr. Th^S!]^ ^l^^X scaicei proportion to the maintenance of God'I service than tlie law requires " A„n- i "Infill^;,, ■•='|u"es. Again, he says— 'n fine, „, correspondence to the exchequer of with HI • ''" ■^''"'^ 'wd communion w.th H,„, ; so we, as Christians, by our Tires alta, of the Cross, and the sacrifice thereof r'r resented in the Eucharist",!^ ,u , P' nicate with God theS ' '""''" '°™'™- CHAPTER VI. NECESSITY OF TITHES TO THE EFFICIENCY OF THE CHUECH. VI. I r./.- ed, then, to show the NECEsaiTY to THE EFFK ,;..CY OP THE CHURCH, of Some Certain ' ^PO-t for the Christian ministry, which shall not be religiously voluntary, as regards its de- gree but enforced, as I have sho^vn Tithes to be, by a positive Divine law. But here I must content myself with little more than .u.^estin. a few thoughts and hints for the reader^fo m^! ture m h,s own mind; as, were I to attempt a detailed statement of the miserable consequences to true and enlightened piety resulting from mere voluntaryism, i might easily fill a Jarge volume; but it ,s the less necessary, as most of those for whom I write are thoroughly con- teof Go™" '" '""""''"' "^''''- "^"' " ^'''"°<" 1. This necessity for a Divinely fixed ratio of Himistenal income is evident, in the first place from the fact, that where it ia left to the mere' m in 66 THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. Will of the individual members of their flocks, it must, while human nature is what it is, he 'ex- ceedm^hj uncertain. Practical religious teach- mg IS necessarily most unpleasant to those who are endeavoring to trim between God and the world ; and do not these, alas, form the bulk of professed Christians? Hence, when offended with their pastor for his faithful teachincr, they wdl, and do, as every day's experience proves on some plea or other, throw up their pews, or withdraw their subscriptions. But in this ajre of bitter polemical controversy, a still more plau- sible excuse for thus acting is, when the mem- bers o a parish choose to fancy that their min- isters do not preach the truth ! Now, He who saw the end from the beginning, has provided tne only sure remedy against this ruinous evil whether it arises from the unholy living, or spir-' itual presumption of the flock, by commanding that our Tithes shall be paid to His priests and ministers, simply as His representatives, as a debt due from us to Himself, let the men re- ceiving them act or teach as they may, until they are removed from the ministry by lawful authority. '^ ^ ^«wiui r2. This necessity further appears from the consideration, that a meagre and insecure in- THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. 57 cotnb, sooner or later, produces a ministry de^ graded in its literary and intellectual standing. Of course there are splendid individual excep- tions, but being exceptions, they only prove the rule. Now, that such a ministry must have a very deleterious influence upon the Church, I suppose will in this age be generally admitted. JNot only will its members be unable to defend the truth against subtle and learned adversaries, but in their daily ministrations, the want of mental vigor will soon be felt, even by those of their flocks who are themselves too illiterate to understand whence it arises. The influence of such intellectually defective teachers amongst Iheir more educated people must also necessarily be small ; nor is this the worst, for, judgino- of religion by the mental grade of its adminis°ra. tors, the educated classes become a prey to a scornful intellectual scepticism, and the multi. tude, following in their wake, soon learn to laugh at all earnest spiritual religion. An illiterate priesthood laillform either a blindly superstitious or a brutally scoffing people ; probably, first one and then the other. 3. Again, mere voluntaryism is a sore injury to the Church from the personal poverty and social degradation to which it subjects her mmis> m 68 THE SACERD0T/\L TIT HE. try Goclhas so constituted us tl,af our inward fee hngs of respect and veneration are, and ever w,nbe,greatly influenced by our outward percep- t.ons Consequent y, the outward circumstances and appearance of the AnAassador of Christ ough to be sucli as at once to command the W„,p.o. of hi., people, and where they are cle to his usefulness to overcome. But ministe- ml poverty, or even uncenoiiy of income- he will T '"''' '■"'""' '^ ''^f'^'"'J«"' "Pon the will and capnce of his parishioners-is the Chust than that just named; inasmuch a, i lays a most fearful snare for ministerial faithful- nes.. The pure Church rightly sanctions a marned clergy ; but how shall a cir..yman with a wife and children, accustomed, as^t ley o ^1 1 to be, for the Church's own good, to social re 01 utter socal rum, not only to himself, but to them, by preaching mercantile, social, doctrinal or poht,cal truths, which, being oppoled to "he temper, sp„-,t, and conceited ignorance of the est portion of h.s congregation, or to do what .s worse for hun, make them bitter and most in THE 8ACERD0TAL TITHE. 59 fluential enemies ? The clergy, from Lake Su- perior to the Gulf of Mexico, will bear me wit- ness that these are no mere fanciful suppositions' It IS not, however, the ministerial sufferinrr, to which I would chiefly draw attention, but to the awful danger resuUwr^ to thejlock of Christ itself, from such powerful incentives to ministerial un- faithfulness. Can any one who knows the love ot Christ for His redeemed, believe that a system which thus ofl^ers a premium to unfaithful shep- herds, IS one of His ordaining, or that it can everreceive His blessing! 4. But the failure of every scheme which has been substituted in the place of TUhes, affords very strong presumption that they are intended by Divme wisdom and authority to be perpetual Subscription papers, pew rents, school teach- ing, and even endowments, when alone, have al- ways faded to secure a well educated, Christianly independent, socially influential, and sufficiently numerous ministry. If a voluntaryism depend- ent upon human will, could ever have answered any where, it ought to have been in the rjnited Mates, where social wealth is equally dis- tnbuted in an unexampled degrep. Rut w»^at IS the fact ?-A large number ^f its ministers are not nearly so well paid as railroad mechan- 1 • 60 THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. I! 'i ' ics ! If this be disputed, I am ready lo prove it by facts. We sometimes speak as though the Church in the United States had done great things, depending as it does upon voluntaryism alone.' We thank God for its comparative progress, especially of late years, considering the bitter puritan hostility, and still more ruinous volunta- ryism, with which it has to contend. But yet what is its positive position ? The United States possess a population of more general education and wealth, perhaps, than any nation upon earth; there then, surely, the Church of Christ ought to have won a singularly prosperous way. Instead of this, however, the Right Rev. Dr. DeLancey, Bishop of Western New- York, gives its gross pop-' ulation as twe ty-three millions, while he states Its Church population atonly one million five hun- dred thousand, and its clergy at one thousand sevenhundred,ablushing minority forsuchaland! At the same time the number of those who return themselves as being of no religion, is rapidly in- creasing ! But whence are these things so ? I answer, chiefly, from the poverty, and'^the con- sequent fewness, of the Church's ministers, and their being generally cramped by Church covet- ousness in their energies. How different would the religious aspect of the United States soon THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. 61 become, did even its million and a half of Churchmen pay their Tithes, thereby increasing Christ s appointed ministers at least ten or twelve fold, and placing them in a social posi- tion a little more nearly approacliing its mer- chants, lawyers, doctors, &c. 5. The insecurity of any humanly devised system for the suitable support of those entrusted with the sacred office of the Christian ministry, has been most singularly and painfully manifest- ed in the history of this Diocese, (Canada West.) When this Province was ceded to the British Crown, the monarch, George III., of pious mem- ory, while as yet its lands had only a nominal value, by and with the full consent of the other estates of tlie Empire, set apart one-seventh of the entire Province forever for the support of the clergy. A'ow no individual could by any possibility have any rights infringed upon, or be otherwise injured, as all the rights connected with the unbroken forest were vested in the Crown ; yet, ere a century has elapsed, we have beheld a reckless legislature, impelled by a fear- ful worldliness, or a deep hatred of the Church of Christ, alienate the last acre of those lands which was in their power; and leave the thou- sands literally scattered through the wilderness, 62 THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. without the slightest provision for their rehgious instruction or spiiiiual sustenance. 6. That lierein an awful robbery of God has been committed is undeniable. J3ut ^yhy has It been permitted by the great Head of the Church ^ Doubtless, as one reason, the people are being judicially left to reap the bitter fruits of then- own intense God-despising worldliness! iiut other peoples have been as sinful and worldly, and yet so speedy and complete a destruction of their most vital interests has not overtaken them. Does it not seem, therefore, that some deeper principle is the reason why so bitter an evil has been permitted now ^ And what is this but that the " Clergy Reserves," being designed to relieve the people from that constant self-sacrificing offering to Christ, through His Priesthood, of those tenths which He requires as the unfailing token of their obe- Qient reverence, He permitted the unholy spoiler to take them away ? And more especially so, because, with almost one consent, the members of Christ on this Continent, both British and iepublican, have robbed Him, by withholding their Tithes and offerings to an unprecedented! extent. ^ ^^' ■f ir religious of God has It why has cad of the tlie people )itter fruits orldliness ! sinful and omplete a 5ts has not liierefore, 3n why so w ? And Reserves," from that 3 Christ, hs which their obe- )ly spoiler jcially so, members itish and :hholding CHAPTER VTI. THE PERSONAL BENEFIT OF PAVING TITHES. VII. I proceed to show, (as our seventh line of argument), that the payment of priestly or ministerial Tithes is a personal benefit to those who do so; by securing the positive blessings of Almighty God, and averting His judgments. 1. It tends to produce equality, in that only place where equality is a blessing— namely, in the Church of Christ. The member of Christ whose income is only £50 per annum, but who pays out of that £5 to God, for the support of his ministers, has evidently as respectable a stand- mg in the Church, and, other things bein;^ equal, the same evangelically legal right to a voice in her affairs, with his rich brother, whose princely Tithe may amount to £lOO a year ; because both render back to God the same proportion of the goods with which He has intrusted him. 2. Unless we are too stupidly unbelieving to credit either the deductions of reason or the ex- 64 THE SACERDOTAL TITJIE. see H,at l,e consc,e„t,ous payment of Tilhes is th. w y to secure the blessing of increase u^on oui incomes. Not that Tithes •„,. .),„ , o«ngs.,ne,jGoae.peo.^ people , but, hciim the onJv /«,/, r under xvlunU ^ ^^ ^^ payment undei ulHcl, we are placed to Hi.n as the Ssovereifn ot 'iii ,•> ; ''"' t-io" 01 all, It IS reason to sunpose thit compliance with that will K • y\>"sc tiiat blessing; bu, fo, I, .K "^ ^^" '""P"'''^' peace ,,;i "Sher rewards of spiritual ai2 I '"■"'''^'•"^' °'"- "^^^o"-"" '""St cer- offerLs T'T'''"^ ''y •''''""''='"' free-wiil ■S 's.:mf:tfr''f r,'^"^- "ealsopaij theyvviHiniikT "'^ ''''^'''«"' love, doubtless fore stiterl ;. '""^^"- I» f the Lord." J, both body the " bread right to the ' American are tlireaU pay their 'ssful in niv ^ligation of ■ judgments et to do so, ty amongst I to certain 3 to excite urther sub- has been J be a part attend the payment of them, the consequence is implied, that a curse must be due to the non-payment of them, it being a contempt of God, and a neglect of His worship. Tithe being the tribute which God hath reserved to Himself, to deny that to Him is denying Ilim to he our God, by our acts, however we may acknowledge Him with our mouths." Hence, thus terribly doth the Lord Jehovah argue, through the Prophet Malachi, with His ancient people upon this subject :— " 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 have robbed me, even this whole nation !" The witling may scoff as it pleaseth him ; but having, I hope, unanswerably proved that Tithes are of Christian obligation, much I fear that we shall yet find that the Lord hath a sore controversy with this Continent for these things. Never, I believe, was there any portion of the cimlized world that rendered so little of their substance bach to God I 6. The character of the reformation which King Hezekiah instituted in Judea, after the kingdom of Israel had been destroyed, and the regulations of Nehemiah, after the return from the Babylonish captivity, both show that they 6 70 THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. considered the withholding of Tithes bv their forefathers to have been very prominent amongst the sins which brought such misery and ruin upon both kingdoms. And how awfully the threatenings of Jehovah, bv the last of their Prophets (Malachi), have been fulfilled let that soattered and peeled remnant who for 1800 years have been without home or country declare. ^' ^. When the love of Christians began to wax cold, then, also, the descendants of those who had cheerfully given their all to Christ, be-an to grudge even the tenth. And therefore" it was, that, early in the fifth century, when the Vandals were sorely troubling the Churches of Africa, St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, calls these inroads a judgment from heaven for their withholding their Tithes from God. In his forty-eighth Homily, he thus speaks : " Our fore- fathers abounded in plenty, because they gave to God and Caesar their due-that is, Tithes to C^od, and tribute to the king ; but now, because our devotion towards God is ceased, the impo- sition ot taxes is increased. We wculu n )t share with God in giving Him the tenth ; md now, behold, the whole is taken from us. The Exchequer has swallowed that which we re- THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. 71 les by their prominent mch misery And how , by the last 3en fulfilled, ant who for or country, Jgan to wax those who lirist, began :herefore it , when the 'hurches of tippo, calls in for their d. In his " Our fore- they gave , Tithes to >v, because the impo- vvg'jIu n »t enth; md us. I'he h we re- fused to give to Christ." Now, we confess to the amazing superstition of believing that the profound and holy Augustine was quite as safe an interpreter of the ways of God to man, under the Christian Dispensation, ps are the shallow sneerers of the nineteenth century. 8. It is well known that, at the period of tht Anglican Reformation, \cry many of its nominal setters weie actuated not by motives of purity, but robbery; and that consequently a large por- tion of the Tithes and other property of the Church was seized by unholy hands, to enrich the crown and the nobility. But it is not equally well known that Henry VIII., whose father had left a richly stored treasury, -^nd whose share of the Church's spoils was so lar^>^ that he assured the people that he would never need to tax them again for government purposes, before he died — his ill-gotten gain having melted like snow before the sun— did not only repeatedly tax his people, contrary to his promise, but became s( poor that he absolutely coined base money ; and that in the very next generation his seed had perished from the earth, and his throne passed away to a stranger and foreigner ! While of the nobility who shared his unholy plunder, Sir H. Spehnan, in his "History of Sacrilege," THE SICERDOTAL TITHE. States, that a greater number of ther^ nnri «h • children died on the scaffnl^ ! !k- ^'' years iffpr fU • ^^^^"'^'"^ withni twenty JhZf I . '"""'■" *^f theCimrch's property than for five hundred years previously d^ no' umi vit scattold-feed no- wir« nf ih^ i Yort . , /' r * °* "^^ houses of Ver ; , ' "°T' '''"' ''^^°''"«'' 'he empire, tl ;":.rA'V^ 7'^°' "'■■»' ''en;e,h that , ,'! ? ' ■«' '''•" Judgeth in the earti, " Indhtl^;lrh ''""™'''' '""'"'•"'g "-West nadaV ,h ; ^ T' '^'P'' P^'-"''''?^. Lower Ca- without the slightest reverence for the Divine Sovereignty. What is the result ? The wlst Indies are a pitiable wreck ! and hou- n a,w o Senfbr'ead'"" 1 '" """'"'' "'^^ «'"-'• -« cr„,Sr:;;L:::aruU°^"''^'^'''^^'-"- 1 '^ii. ^nai natural causes may be a«t agents. The very sites of Babylon and Nine veh have ee„ all but lost to the knowled „," men; whde the once almost miraculously l:.^ fulland oJ„d..- h,, become a con, .i-Ii :.;iy barren wildern.... all of which has '..done THE SACERDOTAL TITHE, 73 by a natural instrumentality. Yet, will any believer in a superintending Providence deny that the hand of God was in these bitter desola- tions ? 10. It is worthy, also, of especial note, with respect to England, that previous to the seizure of Church property and the alienation of a large portion of the Tithes, there was no such thingls a poor-rate known ! "Not a penny was impo'sed upon any layman for the maintaining of the poor ; the clergy did that amongst i/icmselves. They looked upon the poor as their charge, as a part of their family, and laid down rules and funds for their support. They had amberies for the daily relief of them, and infirmaries for the sick, maimed, or superannuate, with officers ap- pointed to attend them. They employed the poor in work, which is the most charitable way of maintaining them. It was the clergy who built most of the great cathedrals and churches of the nation, besides the building and endowing of colleges and other public works of charity and public good." How is it now that the Church of God has been despoiled of her patrimony, and the clergy reduced to comparative indi- gence ? Within the present century, the poor rates have in some years amounted to nearly 74 THE SACERDOTAL TITllE. 1 1 £7,000,000; and thi. is exclusiv,,. of all the very numerous hospitals, infirmaries, and incredibly tr/mT "'"■'"'' ■' ^'''"^''' ^^'^'■''h, such is the difficu ty now experienced in the raising of funds to build churches, to support additifna clergymen, and to establish schools to meet the wants of a vastly increased population, that the people are per.shmg Ibr lack of knowledo-e the wreched prey of the ignorant or tl. wick d Venly England n.ade, indeed, a "fool's bargain" w en she robbed the Church, thereby entailing such heavy taxation and so many social miseries upon herself Truly, the nation that robb h God shall, sooner or later, feel the bitter effects ofHis righteous indignation. 11. France, however, exhibits, perhaps mo-e nkmgly than any other modern nation, the G d anTTh"""" "' -""^S'-'^ly robbing God, and then systematically refusin.. to ac knowledge Ilis sovereignty, by withhoTdi „ the" payment of Tubes. Scarcely has a generat on passed away since France confiscated the pro- perty of the Church, and openly refused L ad m.t the ,.VA, of God to any por'^ion of the no ducts of the soil and of the incomes of I e p'eo-" p v;rtv"t ""'"'''y.'}''^'^^^ ''^ other n,iserie, Povetty IS so rapidly overtaking the people as i^xk^j THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. 75 all the very incredibly ich, such is 3 raising of additional meet the n, that the fledge, the le wicked. s bargain" ^ entailing il miseries t robbeth er effects ips mce tion, the robbing ? to ac- 'ding the sneration the pro- d to ad- the pro- the peo- niseries, 3ople as to threaten the entire ruin of the nation. There are (1845-'6) in France about seven million fa- miiies ; of these it is estimated that about five million five hundred thousand are landed pro- prietors. Now from official returns, it appears that the average annual revenues of these fivp million five hundred thousand families is only about £ll 10s. sterling ; while of very nearly the half of them, the income does not exceed £2 per annum ! Again, so involved in debt is the land of France, that out of its annual rental, as given by government, of £63,000,000, the interest on mortgage is £24,000,000 !— thus leaving, when the taxes are paid, not oncthird of its increase for the use of the proprietors ! Further, from the minute democratic subdivi- sion of the land, the breeding of sheep, cattle, and horses is declining ; and this year France, an essentially agricultural country, is importing wheat ! Finally, the French government, a few- years ago, gave, as the average rations, in solids, of each individual in France, fifteen ounces bread, one and two thirds ounces meat ; while the same authority gives for each person in England— wh,.-r, thank God, the Church has still a legal existence, and Tithes are in a 76 THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. ve etaij/es, and six ounces meat. ouch is God's rev#»n. r^K^ir "graven;,., against sacr e^-e and rebellion ; such the sfnf*» r.f « r'u • • ° u-hioh r J ^^ ^ Christian country ■n j bread and iirrlege and an country tlies to the CHAPTER VIII. ANSWER OBJECTIONS. VIII. Wo come, tlien, in this, our fin ! chap- ter, to consider and endeavor to answer some OF THE most popular OIJJECTIONS BY WHICH IT 13 AT :mpted to disprove the moral and evan- gel 'L OBLfGATIO\ TO PAY PRIESTLY AND MINIS- TERIAL T/THErf. Having, of necessity, ah'eady noticed -ne or two of the principal of these, upon them I ? all not, of course, need a-jain to enlarge. 1. Foremost amongst the objections which remain, is the very common one, " We cannot afford to do so" In an age so luxurious as this, such an excuse does indeed sound strange in the ears of the faithfuL Yet, now, to expect a man with only £50 a year to pay £5 to his clergy- man, would be deemed most oppressive ; while, to look for a £100, in such Tithe, from the pos- sessor of £1,000 per annum, would be thought simply absurd ; even though such payments are requ'red only on the ground tliat clergymen are, 78 THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. • as tl,e appointerl ambassadors of God and the dispensers of Ilis infinite goodness to man ll,e representatives of that Eternal Majesty from "■'.'"'" ," ', "'"• '^'"■'hly goods as ,vell as our •■'pimual blessings are immediately derived Such an objection, however, proceeds from a secret distrust of God, which is nothing else but " fide ,ty of heart. Now, one very p°ominent object m the Divine dealings with man k evi- dently to increase the principle of simple child- tl rrTc", ''" ""' '"'^'"y °^ ^^'" Sadness ...Kl the faithfulness of His promises, even where we cannot trace His footsteps. Thus He dealt .1. iatLerland ; thus He dealt.with the Israelites, >n their journeyings through the wilderness, and even when they were permanently settled in the and of Judea To cherish this simple reliance upon Ifo goodness and truth, He instituted the !>abbat,cal 'year, in which they were neither to sow nor reap. He required that three times leira/r/' ''! '^" r", '^""'^ SO up to Jerusa- lem, and trust implicitly to the Divine promise alone to protect their wives, children, and coun! ry Irom those surrounding enemies with whom ' hey were so frequently at war. He established •i'e law of the Jubilee, and others of similar THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. 70 nature, which demanded the forgiveness of debts, the restoration of purchased lands, &;c. ; nd, finally, it was on the very same principle that the numerous sacrifices, offerings, Tithes, &c., in all amounting probably to more than an, entire third of their inconio, were ordained. In all these ways did Jehovah try the faith of His ancient people, and promised them that tempo, ral success and prosperity, as well as spiritual blessings, should be given to them, just in such proportion as they trusted in Ilim, by a full and willing fulfilment of His law in these and ail other respects. As my readers are, I trust, careful studiers of the Holy Scriptures, I need not stop to show how completely the history of the Israelites proves both the gracious faithful- ness and yet the just severity of Almighty God ; for that when they were honest and abun- dant in their payment and free-will ofierings to God, so great was their abundance that°the " silver and gold in Jerusalem were as plenteous as stones, and cedar trees were as sycamore trees that are in the vale for abundance." While, on the other hand, when they "robbed God in Tithes and oflerings, a drought was upon the land and upon the mountains, and upon the corn and upon the new wine, and upon the oil 80 THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. M and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon man, and upon cattle, and upon all the labor ol' the hands ;" until in that land, which was once " the glory of all lands, a land flowing with rnilk and honey," the misery and famine were such, that, as the Prophet Jeremiah saith, " the hands of the pitiful women have sodden their own children : they were their meat in the destruction of the daughters of my people." Such were the sore judgments with which a righteous God afflicted His own people for their sordid distrust of Him and His promises, 2. Now, most certainly, our covenant God ex- pects from us — who are still more closely His adopted children than were even the Jews — at least as full a confidence in His goodness and faithfulness as He required from them; and not that we should forbear to comply with a law that has His express sanction, on the shabby and unbelievin«jf plea, that *' we cannot afford it :" thus proving our doubt either of the abilities or the faithfulness of the Infinite Possessor of all things, to return an hundred-fold that which they gave unto Him. Strange it is how modern Christians trample under foot, with scornful unbeliei, the command and its promise — " Give, THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. 81 ingeth forth, upon all the land, which land flowing and famine t Jeremiah omen have were their bters of my ^ments with His own [im and His ant God ex- closely His le Jews — at odness and m; and not with a law shabby and afford it:" abilities or 3ssor of all that which ow modern h scornful 5e — "Give, give, and it shall be given unto you ; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom.". Yea, thus shall even their fellow-men be made to en- rich those who do cheerfully, justly, and libe- rally pay unto the Lord of His own. 2. The apology for not paying Tithes, founded on the supposition that " Thei/ are not required under the Christian Dispensation,'^ I have al- ready shown to be a fallacious one ; inasmuch as the teachings of the New Testament bind us to fulfil all those moral and religious duties which are commanded in the Old Testament, excepting such as were peculiar to the Jewish polity, or had their direct accomplishment in Christ. Neither of which, I think I have satis- factorily proved, was the case with Tithes. I. A further remark or two, however, may not be thrown away, in answer to the frequent objection. Why, if Tithes have indeed Divine authority under the Christian Dispensation, were they not more plainly and distinctly re-enacted in the New-Testament ? This objection is founded, it appears to me, upon an entire niisconcepiiou of the principle which directs the Divine conduct towards men in these " latter days." The Gospel u a dispen- 82 THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. sation, not of sight, but of faith. In the infancy of the Church, before the illuminating influences of the "blessed Spirit were, through the Divine Incarnation, fully developed, Jehovah conde- scended to lead His Israelitish flock by sight ; the Uritn and Thummim, the sacred fire, the mysterious Holy of Holies, with the frequent occurrence of miraculous signs, were the visible tokens by which He guided the Children of Israel. Under the Christian Dispensation it js otherwise. This was early manifested by our blessed Lord's own practice. He taught in parables, that "seeing they might see, and not perceive, and hearing they might hear, and not understand." That is, that the scofler and the careless should remain spiritually ignorant, even though surrounded by the light of the Gospel. \rea, now that the Holy Ghost is given to men. it is required that they who would know the Divine will so as to do it, shall humbly inquire and diligently search after the hidden things ol' God. Hence the doctrines most vitally con- nected with our salvation are scarcely any of them to be found upon the surface, even of the New Testament. The proper divinity of Christ, the personality of the Holy Ghost, the true relation of faith and good works, the obliga- i IE. THK SACERDOTAL TITHE. 83 In the infancy ting influences gh the Divine hovah conde- ock by sight ; icred fire, the I the frequent /eve the visible e Children ol" pensation it is ifested by our He taught in t see, and not hear, and not coffer and the ignorant, even 3f the Gospel, given to men. )uld know the lumbly inquire dden things of »t vitally con- 3arcely any of ■face, even of er divinity of oly Ghost, the rks, the obliga- t lion of Infant Baptism, Episcopacy, the priestly office, the real character of the Sacraments, &c..' &;c., — all, equally with that of Tithes, are doc- trines which, in order to be really known and believed, require that both the Old and New Testaments be very carefully searched, aided by the light and universal consent of a pure primi- tive Christianity. And, thus sought after, the payment of ministerial Tithes will, perhaps, be found to be as clearly revealed as an evangeli- cal duty, as are any of the important doctrines just named. 2. Another reason why doctrines and duties taught under the Old Dispensation, and neve?- repealed, should not be distinctly repeated in the teaching of Christ and His Apostles, would ap- pear to be, that it is sinrply unnecessary ; and God never trifles ! What he has once revealed to man as His will, must evidently be ever bind- ing upon us, until He Himself positively re- peals it. ♦ 3. Again : God is one ; His Church is one — Jewish and Christian being parts of the same fold. Bui to keep repeating the same injunc- tions, without anv necessity for so doing, would be, as it were, to witness against either His own unity or that of His Church. Hence Tithes, 84 THE SACERDOTAL TITHE, like SO many other doctrines, being once plainly made known to His Church, are subsequently only incidentally alluded to. (3.) Another popular objection to the pavment of 1 ithes IS, that They would make the clerr,y too rich. A sufficient answer to this is— Not so or God would never have instituted them. ' It niay, however, be further observed, that were the nature of the Christian ministrv better un derstood, and its mighty blessings a^ the execu- tive of the Church of Christ more fully appre- ciated, such an objection would- be much sel- domer made. The superintendence of daily pa- rochial schools; the far, far more general and frequent visiting of the people ; the more con- stant attendance upon the sick ; the blessinj^s of daily public prayer; and much more frequent Communion ; with the oversight and care of the Church's poor : all these things call for an mcrea^se of the number of the Clergy, beyond all that we dare at present to imagine; so that I am decidedly of opinion, the working of the system will show that the wisdom of God has required that particular proportion to be paid to Him, through His clergy, because He saw that H. would be required to support a sufficient number of them in that station of sober respect- THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. 85 ability and influence which He has ever or- dained for His priesthood. 1. The ground of this objection, however, is doubtless based on that low view so injurious to the Church of Christ, and yet so prevalent on this Continent, as to what is the proper social condition of the Clergy. I suppose it will not be denied that the Divine example herein is a xafe guide. Now, this we have in the Jewish Hierarchy, Priests, and Levites ; whose social status and relations were, to the minutest cir- cumstances, arranged by Jehovah himself^— an example, bo it remembered, which He has never in the slightest degree revoked ; and which the Christian Church, so soon as ever the Jewish Dispensation had been completely removed and the hand of the persecutor stayed, took as the divinely appointed authority for Her own pro- ceedings herein. It is commonly supposed that the Sacerdotal Tribe of Levi was left without any important share in the apportionment of the land of Judea. Bit *his is a serious error. True, it is said, thi t " They shall have no in- heritance among t?v^ CSjildren of Israel ;"' but this 'tVAiim esar^rn /^nlv ♦'> wiQ'-ri tK"** ♦K-^t- -l- -U "• — -••■' -r^-^llx •-••■iJ-J •-■^ Jj:ua,5i liias, tncV snuUiU have no whole country, or tract of land together, •et by lot, as the other tribes had ; since they had 86 THE SACEKDOTAL TITHE. ■*,; he,r forty.e,ght cities, vvitl. the land within two ^.ousand cub.ts round them. And, in Dean Comber s able work, this is, by an elaborate and Clear calcijlatmn, shown to comprise about 304 statute m,les, or above a thirtieth part of the land o Canaan. So that the Levites bei„c, as " 'f- "'« "'i«i«h part, or rather, indted ■nuch less, of the people, they had as m;ch land m proportion to their numbers, as any othe.: r.be ,f no ,,,„. „,„,.^ Consequently it was bes,des this large proportion of land, Lt, as i plainly appears, what with first fruits, sacrifices skins of the sacrifices. Tithes, &c., the Priests TJI^TT T"''^"'' "P*'""''^ °'' two-tenths, or one.fifth of the income of all the other tribes of Israel! Hence it is plain, that, in point of in- come, the sacerdotal Hierarchy must have been m a far better position than the rest of the people. 2. Now, why was this ? Doubtless, first, o" account of the Divine honor whose dignity thev represented before the people. Secondly That trom the high social position they held, thev might have the more influence over the people their instructions be more respeotfullv received ana tne worship they celebrated be ^ore punc- tually attended. Thirdly, That they might be THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. 87 above the necessity of neglecting their sacred calling for worldly pursuits : and, fourthly, that they might be placed beyond the temptation of "prophesying smooth things." Now, does not every one of the loregoing reasons ap- ply with yet greater force to the proper and dignified su])port of the Christian priesthood, than they ever did to that of the Jews ? Whose wisdom, then, shall the faithful of this day follow— that of Jehovah, who placed his servants amongst the princes of the people ? or that of the man of this day, who would place the ambassadors of Christ amongst the lowest servants of the people! And, J repeat, let it not be forgotten, that the social position of the priesthood derives its importance, not from the feelings or the wishes of the men them- selves, but from the awful relation which they hold to the glory of Christ and of God, and to the salvation of the Church. 3. Then, as an argument derived from expe- diency, it ought to be stated, that, when Tithes were honestly paid to God's ministers, there were no Poor Rates ; for Christ's ambassadors felt called upon, themselves, to care for, and even very chiefly to provide for, Christ's poor ; and that they also were amongst the most libe- 7*# 88 THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. ral builders of His houses of prfiyer. And these Temples of God, be it also recollected, were open at all times to the mourning and to the devout ; and were pre-eminently the churches of the poor, being free, in every part, to the meanest of the flock of Christ! Yes, when Tithes were conscientiously paid, there was no need to rent or farm out, and thus make merchandise of, " my Father's house," in order to feed his priests ! And are the ministry less holy now than in the days of Papal superstition ? May we not, therefore, reasonably hope that, when the members of Christ once more pay to Him and His ministers their lawful dues, that again they will thus care for the wants of the poor, and for the honor of Christ ? 4. But to meet the case of peculiarly wealthy parishes, whose tithes might be more than were required for their own ministry, how easy would it be for the Church to pass a canon that all Tithes beyond a certain amount, proportioned to the population, should be paid over to a gene- ral diocesan fund, for the aid of more needy places ? At the same time, be assured, it is not a holy nor a wise feeling, which, while it rejoices in the wealth of the merchant or the secular professional man, grudges everything approach- THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. 89 Jr. And collected, ning and Bntly the ^ery part, 3t ! Yes, lid, there hus make ' in order listry less jrstition ? ope that, 'e pay to ues, that ts of the wealthy lan were sy would that all )ortioned a gene- 'e needy it is not rejoices 5 secular pproach- ing to plenty and refinement to the ambassadors of Christ. Is Christ not worthy of being hon- ored in His servants ? Or are they themselves less worthy, or less likely to make good use of ample means, than the farmer, the merchant, the doctor, or the lawyer? 5. Finally, the Church suffers, as most of the faithful will allow, from the want of more abun- dant Episcopal sup hr vision. For the purpose of its extension, very vigorous efforts, as is well known, have been making for some years at home — such efforts having particularly in view the securing of permanent endowments for va- rious Colonial Bishoprics. This is well ; as, in the infancy of the Church in the Colonies, it could scarely be expected that she could provide for her own clergy, either parochial or episcopal ; especially in an age when her members, gene- rally, are suffering under the deadening influ- ences of a covetous distrust of God, which is eating the very material of Christianity out of their souls. But the secular facts of the Re- formation ; the history of the Church in Spain, Russia, and almost every European nation ; the present tampering of the Imperial Government with private ecclesiastical and religious educa- tional endowments ; the unprincipled conduct 90 THE SACERDOTAL TITFIE. 01 our Provincial Legislature, with respect to the Clergy Reserves ; and the determined onno- sition to the increase of such endowments in theUnif^d States; all speak, m language too piam to be misunderstood, of the miserable un- certamty attending all mere human devices for the support of the Church of the livinrr (iod 6. The truth is, that the Bride of the Lamb shares, m a pre-eminent degree, that remarkable perfection which attends all the works of the Great Creator. '' Her seed is in herself!" It i. trom l:.c poweribl operation of her own sacred prmcp.., that the Church of Christ is to be mamian.ed and extended. Thus, when her members are truly influenced by the graces of giatitude, humihty, and obedience, it will re quire, I imagine, far less evidence than I have adduced, to convince them that the payment of nnmsterial Tithes, accompanied by other abun- dant free-will offerings to Christ and His poor IS not only a binding duty, but a precious privi^ lege. A really Christian gratitude must cause its possessor to delight in every opportunity of proving its sincerity. 7. It is then to our own efforts, as mPmh.ve oi Christ, that we must eventually look for the support of the Episcopate, no less than of the TJIK SACEKDOTAL TITHE. 91 sspect to led oppo- ments in uage too rabJe un- vif'es for I God. le Lam]' narkable s of the r It is n sacred is to be hen her ;races of will re- I have ment of n- abun- [is poor, IS privi- t cause mhy of" ■enibftrs for the of the Parochial Clergy. Now, it is the payment of Tithes by the clergy which appears to be the Divinely indicated method of support! !]■ ^heir Bishops. And only mark how beautii the Supteme Wisdom orders these matters. From thiity to thirty-five clergy, with their parishes and ilocks, i an abundant charge i'or one chief overseer ; ai; . this would })e the result, upon the most moderate calculation, if all | arties were ( -mscientious in the payment of their Tithes : — 1 take the income of a Bishop at £ 1,000 to £1,200 per annum — the lov/est which the present state of society ought to admit ; and that of the clergy at certainly not less, taking the country clergy as the rule, than £350 per an- num — an amount which very few of our mer- chants or secular professional men would be willing to take as the ultimatum of their own incomes. Now, at this rate, including the larger salaries of the town clergy, the Tithes of the clergy would provide a Bishop for every thirtv of them — a consummation most devoutly to be wished. And this from the Church herself, in- dependent of dll mere human devices or worldly contingencies — a state of thinpis, .nlso, most ear- nestly to be desired and fervently prayed for by the faithful. ^% i^j^ ;^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 1^12.8 ■ 50 "^^ 25 li Ji 1.25 IIIIIM III '-8 1.4 lllll<> Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 873-4503 h // ^ :/. i/.. '^ V (/^ '^ ^9) V ». "b^ -%•' 92 THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. il I 8. And now to sum up, almost in the words of a very able writer upon this subject :— "And yet there is one consideration more, to prove that Tithes ought to be thought an easy pay- ment, which is— the end for which they are paid, and the benefits coming to those who pay them. The people have immortal souls of more value than the whole world ; and God hath so ordered this payment, that, though it be due to Him originally. He gives it back, as it were, to them, to reward His ministers with, who watch for their souls ; and who must be otherwise pro- vided for out of their own estates, if God did not order that His dues should be thus laid out. And when we spend the nine parts (chiefly save free-will offerings and the poor) on our bodies and the v/orld, can we call it a burden to lay out the tenth for our souls and for heaven ? What part is there of our goods which goes to a better use ? If our souls (and our resurrection bodies) be ourselves, as they really are, then this tenth part is laid out for ourselves, and spent upon our nearest and highest concern ; and, if we pay it freely, may help us toward eternal salvation. Whoever, therefore, value their souls, will think with St. Paul, ' It is no great thing that he which sows to us spiritual THE SACERDOTAL TITHE. 93 1 the words ct:— "And 5, to prove i easy pay- 1 they are 5e who pav uls of more od hath so ; be due to it were, to who watch ;rwise pro- if God did IS laid out. s (chiefly )r) on our burden to r heaven ? 3h goes to surrection are, then jlves, and concern ; IS toward )re, value * It is no 5 spiritual things, should reap our carnal things.' And it is a certain sign of an atheistical and vvorldly wretch, to nriurmur at that which is laid out for his soul, and expended for the convenience of prayers, and instruction, of sacraments, and all religious offices. It is easy to discern what value such men put upon the things of God. A good man pays nothing more cheerfully and more exactly, considering this just and easy payment as the acknowledgment made to God for His blessing, the requital to the priest for his labors, and the only price he pays for Divine offices — which are more comfort and benefit to him than all things in the world besides. And, if they be devout and obedient attenders on God's worship, and careful of their souls, for this small part thus disposed of, they are repaid again, in grace here and glory hereafter. 9. " And by this means, also, the clergy are treed from that servile dependence on the peo- ple which is inconsistent with their duty ; for such as live upon contributions and depend upon the charily of their parishioners, dare hardly tell them the truth, exhort them to their dutv, or reprove them for their sins. Or, if thev do either, their words are despised, or else they disoblige those on whom they and their families 94 TJIE SACERDOTAL TITHE. depend for breacl-which is u great temptation to many to indulge and flatter men to their ut- ter ruin. And, though the event of this be ill enough upon the clergy, because it renders them contemptible ; yet it is worse upon the people, vvho are by this means at liberty to go on in their evil ways to their damnation. Whereas when ministers live upon Tithes, they are be- holden to none for their subsistence, and thev may do their duty impartially and without fear^ and claim their reward as a matter, of ri-ht for which they do not depend upon anv but 'the Providence of God : and thereiore iheir only care is to please Him. And they may safelv instruct, exhort, and reprove thei; people, and do whatever is necessary to their salvation. 10. " To conclude : Since Tithes are so just and wise a way of maintaining the cler^ry • so easy and so beneficial to the people; so conve- nient and so honorable for the Ministers : since they serve so many good ends, and turn to so ^'ood an account, it is a horrid impietv and vile injustice to detain or diminish theni ; and a mighty shame to pay them grudgingly, or to need compulsion. U. "There was nev^er unv age whir-h ex pected or received more duty from the clergy; THE SACERDOTAL TITHE, t temptation I to their ut- of this be ill enders them 1 the people, to go on in Whereas, hey are be- 'e, and thev ithout fear; of right, for ny but the their only may safely people, and vation. ire so just clergy ; so so con ve- ers : since turn to so y and vile 1 ; and a ?ly, or to vhich ex- le clergy; 95 and therefore they ought not to be denied their dues. We haye now showed that Tithes are due by Divine right ; and that there are many reason^ for the payment of them, and do liope the event will be, that all who consider this will hereafter pay their Tithes fully, freely, and exactly, in obedience to the law'is of God and His Churcli; which will bring down that bless- ing of plenty on them, which God has promised to all that do this duty well ; and will oblige the clergy to love them and pray heartily for them And it will be hippy for the Church and the nation— for the minister and people also— if they do cheerfully provide for his temporal sub- sistence ; and he, in return of that, do most affectionately and industriously promote their everlasting salvation/' And now, may the blessing of Him who seeks ours, only that He may obtain us, accompany the hints plainly but reasonably and scripturally given in this short treatise. Gloria Dro. salus HOMIMBUS !