Hartford Watchman

FOR THE WATCHMAN.

WHAT SHALL WE DO FOR THE HUNDRED TALENTS?

On a certain occasion, the king of Judah hired an army out of Israel for a hundred talents of silver, the more effectually to strengthen himself in his warlike enterprises. "But there came a man of God to him, saying, O king, let not the army of Israel go with thee; for the Lord is not with Israel, to wit, with all the children of Ephraim. But if thou wilt go, do it, be strong for the battle. God shall make thee fall before the enemy; for God hath power to help and to cast down. And Amaziah said to the man of God, What shall we do for the hundred talents, which I have given to the army of Israel? And the man of God answered, The Lord is able to give thee much more than this."

This example is important in several respects.

In the first place, it teaches us that God is displeased with his people, when, in his cause, they resort to the principles or aid of worldly policy. It seemed politic to the king of Judah to strengthen his hands by hiring men out of Israel. But in doing this, he depended on numbers and appearances, rather than on correct principles. The men of Israel were then in a state of rejection; they were in appearance, and perhaps in profession, on neutral ground between the cause of truth and the cause of error; but like all who profess neutrality in such a case, they were real enemies to the truth, and would ultimately betray it. It was then no addition to the strength of the people of God to hire such auxiliaries. If they went forward in this vain confidence, God would make them fall before their enemies. This should be a warning to all those who, in support of a good cause, resort to the principles of worldly policy. Such policy may do in a bad cause; that is to say, it may not be inconsistent, but it will not help, but will injure a good cause. Many good men, like Amaziah, greatly mistake in this matter. They betray and ruin the most important interests, by calling in the aid of those who have no sincere attachment, and whose motives are all mercenary and selfish.

They may think, perhaps, that it is only the wisdom of the serpent which dictates this course. But if it has the wisdom of the serpent, it lacks the harmlessness of the dove, and is therefore inadmissible. The best way to deal with neutral characters is to leave them to their neutrality, which the Judge of hearts will duly appreciate. But to hire an army of neuters to fight the battles of truth and righteousness, is highly preposterous.

In the second place, this example teaches us that good men may be left to such a state of mind as to think more of their money than of any thing else.

When the man of God told Amaziah that he should not prosper in his enterprise, and that it must be abandoned, the first thing which he thought of was the loss of his money. He seems to have forgotten his own folly and inconsistency, and the danger into which he had brought the cause of God, and the only question with him was, what shall we do for the hundred talents? The love of money is the root of all evil, and is a prominent feature in the human character. And when it remains unsubdued in good men, it constitutes a blemish in their characters, a stumbling block in their example. How many men, whom God has furnished with the means of eminent usefulness in his cause, would be blessings to the church and the world, if the first question with them were not that of Amaziah, what shall we do for the hundred talents? This is their weak side, the alloy in their gold, the dead flies in their ointment, the blot in their characters, the clog to their usefulness, the drawback in their example. And could I whisper in the ear of many a dear brother whom I see entangled in this snare, I would say to him, never mind the hundred talents, give them to Christ in promoting his cause, and they will be the best stock which you possess. When I see a good brother sleeping on the lap of covetousness, I feel like shouting at him—O, brother Sampson, awake, and escape from your Delilah, before she shears your locks, and the Philistines be upon you.

In the third place, this example teaches us that when good men fall into the sin of covetousness or parsimony, God is wont to strip them of the idol, by leaving them to circumstances in which the loss of money is inevitable. God took care that his servant Amaziah should be preserved from the fatal confederacy, but then he left him to go so far in his folly as to love his money. And the reason probably was that he loved money too well. And so when any of his children fall so far under the power of this temptation as to cling to the hundred talents while they forget every thing else, or very inadequately remember it, they may expect that God will leave them to make some foolish bargain, or to fall into the hands of some sharper, or to suffer losses and failures by the bad management or miscarriage of others. When I see a Christian man brooding over his funds with idolatrous fondness, and contriving every way to evade or avoid a demand for the cause of truth or benevolence, I look out for some stroke of the rod on his beloved idol. I expect to hear that his hundred talents are gone, in spite of his watchful care. O that monied Christians were wise, that they would devise liberal things for Zion, how much happier for themselves, and for their influence upon others, would be their example, than when their benevolent affections are bound in a golden chain.