The Apostle's Exchequer

“My God shall fulfil every need of yours”

(Phil. iv. 19, 20).

The Philippian brethren had ministered to the Apostle; the Lord, in return, shall minister to them. It was only through the Lord that any return became possible. The Apostle was a poor man. He had “suffered the loss of all things.” He could not “put his hand in his pocket” and minister to material needs. In one of his letters he jubilantly describes himself as “having nothing, yet possessing all things.” And it is in the triumphant conclusion of this description that we discover the secret of his noble pride. His poverty had a glorious plus. His earthly bank was empty, but he had another exchequer which was overflowingly full. Not a single square yard of

earth could he call his own and yet he owned the Lord of all the broad acres which stretched themselves in sunny prodigality in every land and clime. He could not boast of “my money” but he was most joyfully proud of “my God.” That resource was never impoverished. The “river of God” was always “full of water.” It was here, therefore, that he looked for his “return department” when he wished to requite his friends. The return kindness travelled by way of God. “My God shall fulfil every need of yours.”

And so the very poorest saint has the wonderful privilege of remitting his love-debts to the heavenly bank. We can bless our benefactors through “the heavenly places.” Our own hands may be obtrusively empty, but we can tell our affairs in the ears of Him who commands all the hidden treasures and essences of the universe. It may not be ours to make a return in “gold, frankincense and myrrh,” but it is always in our gift to send heavenly spices, soft winds of gracious inspiration, even the things which the Lord Himself regards as “excellent.” And so the poor man can make a return to the rich man. Don’t let any man sit down in his material poverty and pine and mope, because to him belongs only the art and exercise of receiving; he, too, can lead a positive and active life; he, too, can be a giver, privileged to co-operate with the Lord in distributing the wealthy merchandise of grace. It is our glorious prerogative, as the consecrated children of God, to steer argosies of benediction to those who have kindly ministered to our need.

And how can we be sure of this? The assurance is given to us in the heartening news that the Lord is identified with His people in the vital bonds of an inconceivable intimacy. “Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of the least of these, My brethren, ye did it unto me.” There is a nervously sensitive correspondence between our affairs and our Lord. To touch the one is to touch the other. A kindness done to a saint is incense offered to the Lord. A service rendered to a finger-tip is discerned in the court of the mind, and service rendered to the humblest subject of the kingdom is felt and appreciated by the King. How vast, then, is the range of an apparently local kindness! We thought we were ministering to a pauper, and in reality we were conversing with the King. We imagined that the fragrance would be shut up in a petty neighbourhood, and lo, the sweet aroma steals through the universe. We thought we were dealing only with Paul, and we find that we were ministering to Paul’s Saviour and Lord.

And therefore, Paul, in his poverty, confidently anticipates that the kindness of the Philippians shall be more than returned by the Lord who shared it. The vast wealth of the Infinite shall move in reciprocal response. The earthly ministry shall be repaid by “riches in glory.” And there one is compelled to lay down the pen in simple wonder. These “riches” are “unsearchable,” unexplorable, vein beyond vein, mine beyond mine, continent beyond continent, every new discovery of the heavenly treasure sharpening the eyes for the detection of treasure which is yet concealed. And it is from this unspeakable and unthinkable glory that our kindly services are to be repaid. Heaven is to move towards us, and endow us with heavenly gifts and graces. The great ocean of grace is to flow up to the shores of our life, and fill every bay and cove with its shining flood. The man who does a kindness to a brother will find that he entertains his God. “According to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus;” according to the glory that shone and burned in our Saviour, such shall be the measure of the heavenly movement towards the children of men.

I do not wonder that the Apostle, after the contemplation of his Divine resources, should break into doxology. “Now unto our God and Father he the glory for ever and ever.” With his growing experience of grace, Paul became increasingly grateful, and the letters of his old age abound in thanksgiving. He had learned the secret of keeping a wakeful spirit by the ministry of “a grateful psalm.” And really there is nothing like gratitude for keeping people young. The pestering microbes, which are so destructive of the peace and happiness of old age, cannot live in its fine and tonic air. To be an expert at the “grateful psalm” is to be immune from the devil. “No plague shall come nigh thy dwelling.” That man shall be “compassed about with songs of rejoicing.”