master's goods. Whatever he has, belongs to his master; and choice
"What am I doing by my preaching? Is it of the right kind? Am I
giving prominence to those doctrines which my Lord would have me
put in the forefront? Am I caring for souls as He would have me care
for them?" It is a good thing thus to review one's whole life, and
inquire, "Do I give sufficient time to private prayer? Do I study the
Scriptures as intensely as I should? I hurry about to many meetings,
but am I in all this fulfilling my Master's orders? May I not be
gratifying myself with the appearance of doing much, whereas I
should really be doing more if I were more attentive to the quality
than to the quantity of the work?" Oh, to go often to the Master, and
to be right and clear in our accounts with Him!
5. To come to the main point: a steward is a trustee of his
master's goods. Whatever he has, belongs to his master; and choice
things are put into his custody, not that he may do as he likes with
them, but that he may take care of them. The Lord has entrusted to
each one of us certain talents, and these are not our own. Gifts of
knowledge, and thought, and speech, and influence, are not ours to
glory in, but ours in trust for the Lord alone. It is His pound that
gains five pounds.
We ought to increase our capital stock. Are all the young brethren
doing that? Are you increasing in gift and capacity? My brethren, do
not neglect yourselves. I observe that some brethren grow, and
others stand still, dwarfed and stunted. Men, like horses, are very
disappointing creatures; good colts drop suddenly lame, or develop a
vice of which they were never before suspected. Alas! too many
young men destroy our hopes; they are extravagant in their
expenses, make an unfortunate marriage, fall into ill humours,
wander after novel opinions, give way to laziness and self-
indulgence, or in some other way fail to improve themselves. Yet the
most needful and profitable labor is that which we spend upon our
own mental and spiritual improvement. Whatever you do, take heed
unto yourselves, and to your doctrine. Those who neglect thinking in
order that they may be everlastingly "jawing", are very foolish; they
resemble a bailiff who does nothing on the farm, but talks at great
length about what ought to be done. Dumb dogs cannot bark, but
wise dogs are not always barking. To be always giving out, and never
taking in, tends to emptiness.
Brethren, we are "stewards of the mysteries of God;" we are "put
in trust with the gospel." Paul speaks of the glorious gospel of the
blessed God which was committed to his trust. I hope none of you
have ever had the misfortune to be made a trustee. It is a thankless
office. In executing a trust, there is little scope for originality; we are
bound to carry out the trust with literal exactness. One person wishes
to receive more money, and another desires to alter a clause in the
deed; but the faithful trustee falls back upon the document, and
abides by its provisions. I hear him say, as they worry him, "Dear
friends, I did not make this trust; I am simply the administrator of it,
and I am bound to carry it out." The gospel of the grace of God needs
great improvement;—at least, so I am informed;—but I know that it
is no business of mine to improve it, my part is to act upon it. No
doubt many would improve God Himself from off the face of the
earth, if they could. They would improve the Atonement until it
vanished. Great alterations are demanded of us, in the name of "the
spirit of the age." Of course, we are warned that the very notion of
punishment for sin is a barbarous relic of mediaeval ages, and must
be given up, and with it the doctrine of substitution and many other
old-fashioned dogmas. We have nothing to do with these demands;
we have only to preach the gospel as we find it.
As a trustee, if my course of action is disputed, I keep to the letter
of the bond; and if any quarrel over it, they must take their
complaints to the proper Court, for I have no power to alter the
record. We are simply administrators; and if we are not allowed to
act, we will throw the whole thing into the heavenly Chancery. The
dispute is not between us and modern thought, but between God and
the wisdom of men. "Oh!" they say, "it is barbarous to go on prosing
with this old, old story." We care not how old the story is; since it
came from God, we repeat it in His Name. Call it what you like, it is
in the Book from which we derive our authority. "But you surely have
a judgment of your own?" May be we have, and as much of it as those
who oppose us; but our judgment does not invent a trust, it simply
guides us in the carrying of it out. Stewards must keep to their
orders, and trustees must carry out the terms of their trust.