Sermon 65. Lions Lacking-But the Children Satisfied

(No. 65)

Delivered on Sabbath Morning, February 10, 1856, by the

REV. C.H. SPURGEON

At New Park Street Chapel, Southwark.

On behalf of the Baptist Fund for the Relief of Poor Ministers.

"The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger; but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing."-Psalm 34:10.

RIGHT truly did Paul say, "Whereby he hath given unto us exceeding great and precious promises;" for surely this promise isexceeding great indeed. In the entire compass of God's holy word, there is not to be found a precious declaration which canexcel this in sweetness; for how could God promise to use more than all things? how could even his infinite benevolence stretch the line of his grace farther than it hath gone in this verse of the psalm?-"They that seekthe Lord shall not want any good thing." There is here no reserve; nothing is kept back; there is no solitary word ofexception. There is no codicil in this will striking off the smallest portion of the estate; there is no caveat put in to warn us that there are domains upon which we must not intrude; a large field is laid before the children of God;a wide door is open, and no man can shut it. "They that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing."

Now, we shall notice, first of all, the Christian character beautifully delineated. "They that seek the Lord;' secondly, we shall notice a promise set in a glorious light by a contrast, "they shall not wantany good thing," although the young lions do lack and suffer hunger;" and thirdly, we shall consider whether we cannot bringsome evidence to prove the fulfilment of the promise.

I. First, we have here a very short, but very beautiful DESCRIPTION OF A TRUE CHRISTIAN: he is said to "seek the Lord." "Theythat seek the Lord (Or Jehovah, as the original has it) shall not want any good thing." Ah! beloved, if some of us had thedrawing up of this description we should have made it too narrow. Possibly some of you might have said, "They that seek theLord in the established church, within the pale of the state religion, shall not lack any good thing;"others might have said, "They that seek the Lord in the orthodox Calvinistic manner shall not lack any good thing;" andothers might have said, "They that seek the Lord in the Baptist fashion, or the Methodist fashion, or some other, shall notlack any good thing." But it is not written so. It is written, "They that seek the Lord," in order that it may take in theLord's people of all classes and denominations, and all shades of character. It is a description very brief, yet full andcomprehensive, including Christians in all stages and positions. Now let me show you that the Christian, in whatever portionof his spiritual history he may be, is one that seeks the Lord.

We commence with conviction of sin. That is where God begins with us, and no man is a Christian unless the Holy Spirit has revealed to him in his own entirehelplessness, his want of merit, and absence of power ever to accumulate merit in the sight of God. Well, then, the man whois under a conviction of sin, and feels his need of a Saviour-what is he doing? What is his occupation, now that he is hungeringand thirsting after righteousness? Why, he is seeking theLord. Ask him what is his one want, and he will say, 'Christ is all my desire: I rise early in the morning, and the firstthought I have is, 'O that I knew where I might find him?' I am in my business, and my ejaculatory prayers go up to heavenlike hands searching for Jesus; and when I lie down again upon my bed, my heart says, 'I seek him whom my soul loveth: I seekhim, but I find him not.'" Such a man will offer prayer. Why? Not because there is any merit in it, not because he will bepraised for it, but to seek the Lord. He turns the pages of Scripture, not as he would a book of philosophy, from curiosity,or for mere instruction, but to seek the Lord. He has one passion, one desire-to seek the Lord. For that he would barter his life, and be content to have his name cancelled from the register of men below, if he might but findthe Lord Jesus, desiring above everything to have his name recorded in some humble place in the Lamb's book of life. Are youthus inthe dim morn of spiritual life seeking the Lord? Is he your one object of pursuit? Rejoice then, and tremble not, forthe promise is to you in this earlier stage of your calling, when you are only just struggling into being, "They that seekthe Lord shall not want any good thing."

But let us go a stage further on, when the Christian has found the Saviour, and is justified, when he can say, in those sweet words I so often repeat,

"Now, freed from sin I walk at large,

My Jesu's blood's my full discharge."

You will find that he has not left off seeking the Lord. No; he seeks now to know more of him; he seeks to understand moreof the heights and depths, and lengths, and breadths of the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge. I ask any one here whohas an assurance that he is a pardoned man, thoroughly justified and complete in Christ-are you not seeking the Lord? "Ohyes," you say, "I thirst, I long to know more of him; I feel that all I have ever known of him is like thewhispering of the sea in the shell, while the awful roar of the sea itself has not yet reached mine ears. I have heardthe whisperings of Christ in some little mercy, and I have heard his bounties sing of bottomless, eternal, unchangeable love;but oh! I long to plunge into the sea itself, to bathe myself in the broad ocean of his infinite generosity and love to me."No Christian ever fancies that he knows enough of his Master; there is no Christian who has found the Lord who does not desiretobe better acquainted with him. "Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest," is the cry of the man who has hadhis sins forgiven. He sitteth down at the feet of Jesus, and looketh up to him, and saith, "Master, teach me more; I am alittle child; thou art a great instructor; oh! I long to love and learn more of thee." He is ever seeking the Lord; and, inthis more advanced stage, the promise to him is, "They that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing."

But go a little further on, when the Christian has scarcely ever a shadow of a doubt of his acceptance; he has progressed so far in spiritual life that he has attained to the stature of a perfect man in Christ Jesus; his faithhas become so confident, that

"His steady soul doth fear no more

Than solid rocks when billows roar."

He can read his "title clear to mansions in the skies;" he has climbed the Delectable Mountain; his feet are standing fastupon a rock, and his goings are established; but even then he is seeking the Lord. In the highest flights of his assurance,on the topmost pinnacle of his faith, there is something yet beyond. When he had sailed farthest into the sea of Acceptance,there are Fortunate Isles that he hath not reached; there is an ultima thule, a distant land, thathe hath not yet seen. He is still seeking the Lord; he feels that he has "not yet attained;" he is still "pressing forwardto the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." But then he seeks the Lord in a different fashion;he seeks him that he may put a crown on his head; he is not seeking him for mercy, but to give him praise. Oh, that my heartcould find thee! that all its strings might sing sweet music to thee. Oh that my mouth could find thine ear, and that I mightbidit open and listen to the whisper of my song. Oh that I knew where thou didst dwell, that I might sing hard by the eavesof thy habitation, and that thou mightest hear me ever-that I might perpetually send the songs of my gratitude up to thy sacredcourts? I seek thee that I may break the alabaster box of praise on thy dear sacred head. I seek thee that I may put my soulupon the altar, and sacrifice my living self to thee. I seek thee, that I may go where cherubim are singing, whom I envy,because they

"All night long unwearied sing

High praises to the Eternal King."

I will seek thee in business, that there I may adorn the doctrine of God my Saviour in all things. I will seek thee in mysongs that I may hymn thy praise. I will seek thee in my musings, that I may magnify the Lord in my thoughts. I will seekthee in my words, that my conversation may show forth thy praise. I will seek thee in my gifts of benevolence, that I maybe like my Saviour. I will seek thee ever, for enough I have attained to know that I am thine and thou artmine, though I have nought else to ask of thee, seeing thou hast given me thyself; though thou art

"Bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh,

My kinsman near allied by blood,"

though now my soul stands perfect in thee, and

"Not a shadow of a spot

Can on my soul be found,"

yet still I will seek thee-seek to honor thee-seek to kiss those blessed feet that bled for me-seek to worship that dear "manwho once on Calvary died," and put crowns of eternal unfading honor upon his blessed, thorn-crowned, but now exalted brow.

Then bring the Christian to the last period of life, to the brink of death. Set him on those hoary rocks that skirt the edge of Jordan; let him sit there, looking down at the dark stream rolling rapidlybelow, not afraid to wade it, but rather wishing to die that he may be with Jesus. Ask the old man what he is doing, and hewill answer, "Seeking the Lord." But I thought thou hadst found him many a year, old man? "So I have, but when I found himI sought him more;and I am seeking him now-seeking him that I may be complete in him, at his appearing; that I may be like him when I shallsee him as he is. I have sought to understand more of his love to me, and now I do not know it all. I know as much as mortalcan know; I am living in the land of Beulah. See this bunch of spices; angel hands have brought it to me, a present from myKing; here are tokens of his love, his mercy, and his grace. And dost not see yonder the golden light of the celestial city?and didst not hear just now the sweet singing of the angels?" "Nay, nay," saith the young man, "I hear them not." "But,"the old man replies, "I am on the edge of Jordan, and my ears are open, whereas thine are dull, still I am doing what I havedone all my life-long-seeking the Lord, and till this pulse shall cease its perpetual beating, I will still seek him, thatdying, I may clasp him in my arms, the antidote of death."

You will readily confess that this description of a Christian is invariably correct. You may take the youngest child of God-yonlittle boy ten years old, who has just been baptized, and received into the church. Ask what he is doing? "Seeking the Lord." Follow him till he becomes a middle-aged man with all the cares of life about him. Ask what he is doing then? Still heanswers, "Seeking the Lord." Put a few grey hairs upon his head, and let him know that half acentury has gone. Again, ask what he is doing? "Seeking the Lord." Then make his head all frosty with the winters of oldage, and ask him the same question; and he will still reply, "Seeking the Lord." Take away those hairs until the head is entirelybald, and the man is trembling on the grave; what is he doing then? "Seeking the Lord." Ay, as long as we are in this body,whatever our position, or condition, this will ever apply to us: "They that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing."

But let us not leave this one point without asking you one solemn question. Will you answer it? I beseech you to answer itto yourselves. Are ye seeking the Lord? Nay; some of you there, if you only can have your bottle of wine and your fowl, thatwill satisfy you better than seeking the Lord. There is another-give you health and strength and let you enjoy the pleasuresof this world, and that will be better to you than seeking the Lord. There is another flying in theface of the Almighty, cursing and swearing-you are not seeking the Lord. Another is here this morning who once thoughtthat he did seek the Lord, but he has left off doing it now; he went away from us because he was not of us, for, "if he hadbeen of us, he doubtless would have continued with us." There is a young woman who thought she sought the Lord once, but shehas gone astray, she has backslidden, proving that after all that it was mere excitement. Would God I could include you allinthis promise this morning; but can I, dare I, must I? No, I must not. As the Lord liveth, if you are not seeking the Lord,the devil is seeking you; if you are not seeking the Lord, judgment is at your heels. Even now, the swift-winged angel of justice is holding the torchbefore the fierce messenger of vengeance who, with his naked dagger, is about to execute the wrath of God upon your spirit.Ah! take no lease of your lives; fancy not that you are to live for ever. If you have notsought the Lord, as Jonathan Edwards said, "thou standest over the mouth of hell upon a single plank, and that plank isrotten." You are hanging over hell by a single rope, and all the strands of the rope are creaking, snapping, breaking. Rememberafter death, judgment; and after judgment, woe; and after woe, nought; for woe, woe, woe, must be for ever. "The wrath tocome! The wrath to come! The wrath to come!" It needs a damned spirit to start from the grave to preach to you, and let youknowsomething of it; but though one should rise from the grave with all the scars of all his torments upon him, with his hairall crisp by the hot fire of vengeance, his body scorched in the flames which no abatement know, though he should tell youwith a tear at every word and a groan as a stop at every sentence, and a deep sigh on every syllable, how horribly he feels,how damnably he is tormented, still ye would not repent. Therefore we will say little of it. May God the Holy Ghost seek you,andthen you will seek him, and you shall be turned from darkness to light, from the power of Satan unto God.

II. Now we come to THE PROMISE SET FORTH BY WAY OF CONTRAST. "they shall not want any good thing:" that is the jewel. "Theyoung lions do lack and suffer hunger;" that is the foil to set off the jewel and make it shine more brightly. "They shallnot want any good thing." I can hardly speak of that, for there is too much to say. Did you never see a horse let into a widefield where the grass grew so thickly, that he scarcely knew where to begin to eat? If not, you have seenchildren taken into the field where wild flowers grow; it is so full of them in their liveries of white and yellow thatthe children know not where to pluck first, they have so wide a choice. That is how I feel when I have such a text as this:"They that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing." We have heard of the celebrated cheque for a million pounds whichhas been preserved; here is one for millions of millions. Here is a promise wide as our wants, large as our necessities, deepas ourdistresses. There are some persons whose ambitious desires are very much like the Slough of Despond, which, though theking's labourers cast in thousands of tons of good material, never could be filled up. But the Lord can fill them. Howeverbottomless our desires, however deep our wishes, however high our aspirations, all things meet in this promise, "They thatseek the Lord shall not want any good thing."

We take it concerning things spiritual. Are we wanting a sense of pardon? We shall not want it long. Are we desiring stronger faith? We shall not want it long.Do you wish to have more love to your Saviour, to understand more concerning inward communion with Jesus? You shall have it."They that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing." Do you desire to renounce your sins, to be able to overcome thiscorruption or that? to attain this virtue, or that excellency?"They that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing." Is it adoption, justification, sanctification, that thou wantest?"Thou shalt not lack any good thing."

But are thy wants temporal? Dost thou want bread and water? No, I know thou dost not, for it is said, "Bread shall be given thee, and thy water shallbe sure." Or, if thou dost want it somewhat, it shall come before long; it shall not be to starvation. David said, "I havebeen young and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread." Do you want clothes? Youshall have them. "He that clothes the lilies of the valley, will he notmuch more clothe you, O ye of little faith?" Do you need temporary supplies. You, shall receive them, for "your heavenlyFather knoweth that ye have need of these things." Whatever your desire, there is the promise, only go and plead it at thethrone, and God will fulfil it. We have no right to look for the fulfilment of the promises unless we put the Promiser inmind of them, although truly, at times, he exceeds our desires or wishes. He gives us these promises as his notes of hand,his billsof exchange, and if we do not take our notes to get them cashed at the throne it is our fault, for the promise is justas good: "they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing."

But here is a contrast, and we will proceed to that at once. "The young lions do lack and suffer hunger; but they that seekthe Lord shall not want any good thing." The old Psalter has it: "The rich had need, and they hungered; but seekers of the Lord shall not be lessed of all good." It appears that there is only thedifference of a very little mark in the Hebrew between the words "mighty men" and "young lions." But it is of very littleconsequence for, doubtless"the young lions" are put by way of figure to denominate certain characters of men who do "lack and suffer hunger."

There are certain men in the world who, like the lions, are kings over others. The lion is lord of the forest, and at his roar others tremble; so are there men who walk about among us-noblemen, respectable,great, honorable-persons who are had in reverence and esteem; and they suppose, sometimes, because they are lions they aresure never to have any spiritual hunger. They are great and mighty men; they have no need of a Saviour. Are they not the eldersof thecity? are they not mighty men of valour? are they not noble and great! They are, moreover, so excellent in their own esteemthat their proper language seems to be when they come before their Maker's bar: "Lord, I had not a very bad nature, and whereinit was a little bad, I made the best of it! and wherein I did not do quite as well as I ought, Jesus Christ will make it up."Talk to these men about being depraved! "Rubbish!" they say; they know better; their heart is pure enough. They have noneed of the Holy Spirit; they are young lions; you small mice may want it, but not they indeed! They have no need of another'srighteousness to cover them; their old shaggy mane is glory enough to them. But do you know these young lions "lack and sufferhunger;" ay, even when we do not know anything about it? They can play bombast before men, but they "lack and suffer hunger"when they are alone. A suspicion often crosses their minds that their righteousness is not good for much; they know verywell that while they can make a long prayer the poor widow's house sticks in their throat; that while they boast of theirgood works they are no better than they should be. You may think, perhaps, like David, that "they are not plagued like othermen." But you don't know that. They are very often plagued when they do not tell you. When they roar so loudly their manescarcely covers their bare ribs. "The young lions do lack and suffer hunger;" but, blessed be God, "they that seek the Lordshallnot want any good thing." Poor and helpless though they are, having no works of righteousness of their own, confessingtheir sin and depravity, they shall want no good thing. Is it not amazing? There is a poor sinner who has sinned against Godand in every way dishonored his name; yet he cannot lack any good thing.

"Poor, helpless worms in Christ possess

Grace, wisdom, peace, and righteousness."

Again, by young lions we may understand men of cunning and men of wisdom. The lion goeth out at night, and prowleth silently through the jungle. It hath a keen scent, and knoweth where to find itsprey. It scenteth the fountain, and knoweth that the antelope will go there to drink. When he comes, the lion croucheth down,with wild eyes looks upon him, and in a moment, ere the antelope is aware, he is in the fangs of the lion. Men of cunningand wisdom-haveyou not seen such? Have you not heard their boastful exclamation, "Submit myself to a dogmatical preacher! No, sir, Iwill not. Believe in the plenary inspiration of the Scriptures! I cannot believe in any such absurdity. Sit at the feet ofJesus and learn of him in the Scriptures! No, sir, I cannot. I like something to discuss; I like an intellectual religion;I cannot believe everything simply because God says it. I want to be allowed to judge for myself. Am I not wise learned?"And when hesees us in distress, sometimes he says, "Nonsense! you have no brains! you, poor Calvinists must be bereft of your senses."And yet we can show as many men of sense as they can, and we are not afraid of them, however much they glory in their wisdom.But sometimes the poor Christian is frightened by them; he cannot answer their sophisms; he does not see his way through theirlabyrinths, and cannot escape from their nets. Well, don't try to escape from them. Let them talk on; the best answer isoften silence. But do you know that these young lions so gloriously self-sufficient when in argument with you, in secrecyoften "lack and suffer hunger?" There was never an infidel in the world that did not suffer spiritual hunger, though he mightnot confess it. His creed did not satisfy him; there was a hollow place, an aching void somewhere, which the world could neverfill. But "they that seek the Lord," who take the Scriptures for their guide, who bow implicity to the words of Jehovah, "donot lack any good thing." They feel no hollow unoccupied; Christ has filled their hearts, and they are satisfied withhis presence and his love. "The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any goodthing."

Again, the young lions denote those who are very strong, so that they hope to save themselves, and very swift in their course of profession. Some are very fierce in the matter of religion, very anxious to obtain salvation; and theyare very strong, so that they think it scorn to borrow strength of another. Like the Jews, they follow after righteousness,but they do not attain it because they seek it by the works of the law. Have you never seen what they willdo? There is a goodly chapel they have built; they are engaged at six o'clock in the morning at prayers, and repeat somany Ave Marias and Pater-nosters; then comes the daily service, the mass, and all that rubbish-the messe, as they call it in France, and verily a mess it is; then they whip themselves, fetch blood from their bodies, and performall kinds of penances. Even among Protestants, meritmongery is not quite gone by; for there be many who are full of holy works,in which theyare thursting for salvation. The poor Christian says, "I cannot perform all these works; I wish it were in my power toserve the Lord more devoutly." But dost thou not know that these "young lions do lack, and suffer hunger?" The formalist isnever satisfied with all his forms; the hypocrite is never contented; there is always something he misses that makes his heartache.

Then we may take it in a temporal sense. Young lions may mean deep cunning schemers. Have you never seen men with their thousand schemes and plans to make themselves rich, men who can overreach others, whoare so subtle that you cannot see through them? Their instinct seems to be cunning. They are always lying in wait to takeadvantage of others; they prowl the world around, to seize on the helpless widow and the defenceless orphan. Or, perhaps,they may befollowing more legitimate schemes yet, such as are full of speculation and will involve the exercise of all their wits.Surely such can live if others stand. But no, they are just the men who "lack and suffer hunger;" their schemes all provefutile; the arrow which they shoot returneth on their own head and woundeth them. But they who lie gently down in passivefaith, singing

"Father, I wait thy daily will;

Thou shalt divide my portion still,

Give me on earth what seems thee best,

'Till death and heaven reveal the rest,"

do not lack any good thing.

Again, by "young lions," we may understand "rich men"-men who have abundance. We have known persons who have ridden in fine carriages and dwelt in noble mansions, brought tothe depths of poverty. Every now and then we hear of men, almost millionares, who are turned out into the very streets. Kingshave walked our soil without their crowns, and nobles even now are living on our charity. Daughters of men in high positionshave to work as menials, and long sometimesto be allowed to do that. The rich sometimes "lack, and suffer hunger;" but they that wait on the Lord," poor as theymay be, "do not lack any good thing."

Again, this may apply to you who earn your living by bodily labour. Perhaps you are a weak and sickly man; you are not oneof the "young lions," like your neighbour, a strong big fellow, who can earn his day's wages without the least difficulty.He says to you, perhaps, "I shouldn't like to be such a poor lean thing as you are. If you should be ill, what would becomeof you? You trust in Providence, but I trust in my big arms. The best providence is to take care ofyourself-to go and eat a good dinner, and keep yourself in trim." Nay, nay; have you not seen those young lions, "lackand suffer hunger?" Our missionary can tell of strong men whom he visits, who cannot find employment, but are brought almostto starvation; while he does not find that they that wait on the Lord lack any good thing. Don't be afraid because you havea sick and weakly frame; labour as hard as you can, and be sure, that if you wait on the Lord you will not lack any good thing.

Once more, the lion is a creature that overcomes and devours all others. We have some such in our society; you find them everywhere. They put their hand upon you, and you feel you are in a vice.They understand law better than you do: and woe be to you if you make a mistake! won't they take advantage of you? So in businessthey can always over-reach you; like sharks, if they do not devour you altogether, they leave you minus a leg or an arm. Yes,but you have seenthese men, too, "lack and suffer hunger." And amongst all the miserable miscreants that walk the earth, there is noneso destitute as the young lion that lacks, and suffers hunger. He puts his money into a bag full of holes; and methinks helllaughs at the covetous man, at him who grasps his neighbour's wealth. "Ha! ha!" says the devil, "damn thy soul to win-nothing!send thy soul to hell to win-a dream! A thing which thou hadst, but is gone; thou didst grasp it-it was a shadow! Soldthine immortal spirit to win a bubble which burst in thy grasp." Christian, do not be concerned about temporal things;trust in God; for while "young lions do lack, and suffer hunger, they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.

III. And now, I come to the third part, which is THE FULFILMENT OF THE PROMISE. Time fails me, and I shall not try to proveto you that God can in the ordinary course of his providence make a distinction between the righteous and the wicked; thatwould be an easy task. While God has the hearts of all men under his control, he can make the rich give where he pleases;and he can influence the church, and those that love the Lord, always to take care of the Lord's poor. But Iam going to state one or two facts by way of stimulating you to assist me in the noble enterprise of endeavouring to supportthe poor disabled ministers of the everlasting gospel. Amongst the particular Baptists we have a fund called the BaptistsFund. It was instituted in 1717, in order to afford assistance to ministers in England and Wales, who were in poverty anddistress, in consequence of the inability of their churches and congregations to furnish them with a competent maintenanceforthemselves and their families. During nearly a century and a half, it has carried out, so far as its funds were sufficient,the benevolent purposes for which it was established. It publishes its accounts yearly; and from the last printed statementfor 1854-5, it appears that in that year, one hundred and sixty-five cases were relieved in England, and sixty-five in thePrincipality, by grants in money to the amount of £1,560, no one receiving a larger sum than £10, and no grant being in anycase made where the minister's income from every source exceed £80. In addition to the money grants, books also of thevalue together of £155 have been presented to thirty-five poor ministers unable to purchase them. Towards raising the necessaryfunds to meet these cases, collections are annually made in this and in number, character, and circumstances of the objectsto be relieved, and the purpose for which the relief is afforded are considered, it will be well understood that this is noordinary collection. We have the right of four votes, one for the pastor and three messengers sent by us, owing to ourfathers having in olden times deposited £150 by way of starting the fund, the interest of which sum, and of that given byother churches, is spent every year. Different legacies having been left by other persons, a considerable sum has accumulated,and I believe the yearly income is somewhere about £2,000 at the present time. We need, however, much more. I am not goingtodetain you long by telling you about the fund, but I will read you one or two letters from the recipients. The first isfrom an old minister aged eighty.

[It is thought best not to print these, lest the worthy men who wrote them should feel aggrieved.]

I think I need add nothing more to move you. There are many poor ministers now, who, when they go up the pulpit stairs, areobliged to hold their arms pretty close to their bodies lest they should rend their coats to pieces; and I have seen themwith such coats on, as you would not like to put on if you were going into the meanest chapel in London. I have myself foundlivery for some of these holy men year by year, but one person cannot supply the necessities of all. Iknow the case of a preacher who walked to a chapel, within ten miles of this spot, and preached in the morning, and walkedback again; he also preaching in the evening, and had to walk back to his house; and what do you think the deacons gave him?The poor man had nothing else to live upon, and he was nearly eighty years of age. When he had finish (oh! don't hear it,ye angels! pray shut up your ears) they gave him-a shilling! That was for his day's work. Another brother told me sometime ago that he preached three sermons, walking eight miles and back again and going dinnerless all the while; and thedeacons gave him the munificent sum of-half-a-crown! Oh! if you knew all the circumstances connected with the fund, you wouldnot long restrain your benevolence. The funds are mostly given to those who preach the gospel-gospel ministers of the bestsort, men who preach what we consider to be gospel-Calvinistic sentiments. And the funds must always be given in that way,for so the deed directs it. I bless God for this society, and I ask you, under God, to take care of it, that while "theyoung lions do lack, and suffer hunger," the ministers of the Lord shall "not want any good thing."