"Freely ye have received. "The great outstanding contrast between law and grace, is that what one demands, the other gives. This was strikingly expressed by a Christian of early days, "Da quod jubes, et jube-quod vis."-"Give what Thou commandest, and then command what Thou wilt," There can be no question that man as a creature and dependent upon God owes Him fullest obedience. Nor can there be a question that this obedience is not, cannot be, rendered. "The carnal mind is enmity against God;" "They that are in the flesh cannot please God;" "What the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh." And then, blessed be our God, Grace,

"The sweetest sound
That ever reached our ears,"

pure, sovereign, unmerited grace, bringeth salvation, not by works of law but by the faith of Jesus Christ. Pardon, peace, justification, life, glory-all are freely given, on the ground of the perfect sacrifice of Christ our Lord, in the infinite love of God. The celebrated theologian, Dr. Charles Hodge, once in an address to his students asked, "Brethren, do you know grace?" Well may we ask ourselves this question, and daily seek to know better "the grace of our Lord Jesus, who though He was rich yet for your sakes became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich."

"Freely Give." Reception is the basis of all giving. We cannot give unless we have, and we cannot have unless we have received. There must be the intake before there can be an outflow. Of course the first great reception is when the empty broken-hearted sinner receives Christ, the Gift supreme, unspeakable. A beautiful illustration of this, and its effect, is seen in the "woman that was a sinner," Her sin brought her to the feet of Him of whom she had evidently heard-probably as one who welcomed and ate with publicans and sinners. His grace melts her heart and she can give the most precious of her possessions, pouring it as a sweet savor upon His feet.

And this shows us where the first "giving" is seen. It goes back to Him who has given us all. His love begets love in our hearts, and we gladly show our gratitude and appreciation by giving Him, if it be but the thanks of our hearts. We also instinctively desire to do something for Him.

With the consciousness of having received all from Him this desire to give will extend to all His own. When the Philippian jailor had received the grace of God into his own heart, his compassions went out to the dear servants through whom he had received the knowledge of this grace. "He took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes." Out of a joyful, believing heart, he gladly served.

The Woman of Samaria illustrates this same spirit. When she had the Christ revealed to her, the One who had shown her all her sin, and then Himself as the desire of her heart, she became a giver of this bounty to others. "Come, see a Man which told me all that ever I did; is not this the Christ?" She thus becomes a messenger of grace to others.

Preachers of the Gospel are made thus. They have freely received the knowledge of salvation through faith in Christ, and they yearn to make it known to others. A preacher is not primarily an eloquent man, or learned, or gifted, in the ordinary sense of the word. He has received and he desires to give. It was this that led Paul to say, "I am debtor both to the Greeks and to the Barbarians, both to the wise and to the unwise. So as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also" (Rom. 1:14,15). It was this which stirred Luther to make known far and wide the precious truth of justification by faith; that led Carey to India, Judson to Burmah, Moffatt to Africa, Taylor to China. It is this which makes the Church ever a witnessing body, testifying the gospel of the grace of God.

Our daily deeds of service spring from the same source. The cup of cold water, the smallest act of brotherly kindness, are the blossoms and fruits springing from the present stock of grace received. We can hear the same loving appeal, in the home, in the daily business of life, wherever we may be-"Freely ye have received, freely give." Are there sick to be visited, the aged to be read to, the discouraged to be cheered, the wanderers to be sought? Think what we have received, and let our service be in the joy of love, grateful that the Lord has given us such openings to make the slight return of acknowledgment for His unspeakable gift.

The Financial Question will find its full and satisfactory answer in this way. The least and last thing the Lord craves from His people is their money. And this, 'not grudgingly or of necessity, for God loveth a cheerful giver." It is amazing grace that He permits us to offer of our substance for His work. May we appreciate the privilege.

Many are the calls for the giving of money. There are the poor at our doors, the call for spreading a pure gospel literature, the ministry of temporal things to those who serve us with spiritual food. There is the call to support those who have given their lives to carry the precious gospel to foreign lands. Far from home, and from direct contact with fellow-Christians, the Lord counts specially upon us to see that they lack nothing. There are others who are ready to go to the white fields abroad, for whose outfitting, transportation and daily necessities the means should be forthcoming. Shall there be any lack here? As individuals, as gatherings, shall we not heed the simple, effectual direction of the apostle, "Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store as God hath prospered him." If the divine principle upon which we have been dwelling is our motive and guide, we are sure there will be no lack in every department of well-doing to which the grace of our blessed Lord has called us.

"FREELY YE HAVE RECEIVED, FREELY GIVE." S. R.