"And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread" (Acts 20 :7).

"Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come'' -(1 Cor. 16:1,2).

In each of the above passages we have the same expression, "Upon the first day of the week;" but I think it is safe to say that among many of us the first one has a great deal more attention than the second. Delivered through mercy from man-made rules and methods of ecclesiastical procedure, it has been with much joy that we have learned from God's own Word something of the precious-ness and simplicity of gathering together on the first day of the week to the One only Name, assured of the Lord's presence in the midst, to remember Him in His own appointed way in the breaking of the loaf and the drinking of the cup. No formal commandment was needed to impress upon us the privilege of thus honoring Him who has redeemed us to Himself at so great a cost. We felt it was a very little thing indeed thus to remember Him who had remembered us in the hour of our soul's deep need, and had given Himself for us.

And yet at times possibly the legal spirit has controlled some of us, even in regard to this blessed feast of remembrance. We have thought of it as an implied command, even if not formally expressed. And so we have often been ready to sit in judgment on some who might not yet have seen their privilege in this, and were absent when the two or three were gathered together on the first day of the week. It is well to give way neither to legality nor license, but to be directly under the control of the Holy Spirit of grace, who ever delights to honor the Lord Jesus Christ.

But have we been as much exercised in regard to the distinct commandment of the Lord by the same Spirit through the same apostle, when he writes, " To all who, in every place, call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord" (i Cor. i :2), and positively commands us to "lay by in store, on the first day of the week, according as God has prospered us," and this in view of the collection for the saints. This latter term undoubtedly implies a putting-together of contributions into a common fund to be distributed by the assembly, as such, in ministering to the needs of the poor and the support of the Lord's servants at home and abroad. The matter of ordinary assembly expenses, such as paying the rent of a meeting-room, janitor-work, and similar things, is another matter altogether, though saints may agree to put aside for this at the same time.

How often, when a company of believers are gathered together on the first day of the week, can it be said that every one of them has first acted on the commandment of the Lord, and at home quietly and faithfully in the presence of God, has set aside the Lord's portion of their income, according as He had prospered them? Were this faithfully observed, how much more generous would be the offering for the care of the poor and sick among us, and for the sustaining of the work of the gospel!

Is it not a lamentable fact, and a cause for shame, that very frequently our offering at the Lord's day morning meeting consists of a few coins hastily selected from the purse or pocket without any godly exercise, or any thought of " setting aside " a portion which would, in any proper manner, set forth the Lord's goodness to us in the past week. Surely He who of old sat over against the treasury, and observed how the money was cast in, is not indifferent to the same thing at the present time.

But some will ask, What are we to understand by "giving as God hath prospered us ? " Surely none desiring to be faithful in this matter need be in any doubt. In His dealings with Israel of old, God commanded that the tenth of everything be set aside for Himself and the service of His house. None could give less than a tenth, many gave more. Without becoming legal, may we not take this as giving us at least more than a hint as to the Lord's portion ? Will not the willing heart be likely to say, "If I were a Jew under law I would be obliged to give a tenth. I could offer no excuse for giving less, no matter how small or how large my income ; the tenth would be the least. But I am not under law, I am under grace, and the love of Christ constraineth me. Can it be possible that I will now give less free-heartedly than I would be obliged to give if I were a saint on Old Testament ground ? "

I know it will be objected that some cannot afford to give a tenth, and that for others the tenth would be altogether too little. But both these objections are, I believe, very puerile and even utterly false For no matter how poor the person objecting might be, still the fact remains that if he were under the legal economy he would be obliged to give the tenth, and God guaranteed to make it up to him. Are any to-day poorer than the widow who cast in two mites, even all her living ? Did she suffer for this? Surely not for long; for He who said, " She hath cast in more than they all" would be no widow's debtor. And for those who can afford more, there need be no legal thought of limiting their gifts to a tithe, but they may gladly render all that a loving heart suggests to Him to whom they owe their all.

Suppose that on a given Lord's day morning, after the offering had been placed in the box, the Lord Himself were to appear visibly among the saints and say, "My command was to give as God had prospered you. I have observed everyone's offering, and through the coming week I will take you at your own estimate, and I will prosper you according as you have given to Me." How many of us would be ready for such an estimate ?

Of course one must recognize the fact that the Lord's portion need not all necessarily go into the common collection. Doubtless many will have special burdens laid upon their hearts for individual ministry, meeting particular needs, and thus do what is upon their heart in a quiet unobtrusive way, not so much as letting the left hand know what the right hand doeth. But, over and above this, there is to be taken into consideration the "collection for the saints," as indicated in the portion we are considering. Just what part of the weekly store laid by in the presence of God should go into this special ministry, each one must decide as between the Lord and himself.

It is, generally speaking, a praiseworthy, and certainly scriptural custom, for the assembly as such, to minister when possible, rather than merely for certain well-to-do saints to give individually. Doubtless many of the Lord's poor have often been hindered from ministering to a servant of His, through whom they have found refreshment and blessing, because they felt their gift was so small. And yet, small as it might be, a real need might have been met by their small offering. If the collection is made up from the gifts of all, however, the widow's few pence and the wealthy brother's dollars being put together, the offering is ministered as from the entire gathering, thus permitting all to have a happy share in communicating in temporal things in return for that which was spiritual.

The Lord put it upon all our hearts to be as faithful in carrying out i Cor. 16 :i, 2 as Acts 20 :7. Most beautifully the two sides of a Christian's worship and service are presented in Heb. 13 :15, 16:" By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name. But to do good and to communicate forget not:for with such sacrifices God is well pleased." Will the sacrifices of praise be really acceptable to God if the sacrifices of communicating, or sharing what we have with others, be neglected ? H. A. Ironside