to leave unreaped, for the poor, the corners;
not to glean their fields, olive-yards, or vineyards; and, if a sheaf
was left, by mistake, they were not to return for it, but leave it for
the poor. When a man sent away a servant, he was thus charged: "Furnish
him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy
wine-press." When a poor man came to borrow money, they were forbidden
to deny him, or to take any interest; and if, at the sabbatical, or
seventh, year, he could not pay, the debt was to be cancelled. And to
this command, is added the significant caution, "Beware that there be
not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, the seventh year, the year of
release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and
thou givest him nought; and he cry unto the Lord against thee, and it be
sin unto thee. Thou shalt surely give him," "because that for this thing
the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou
puttest thine hand unto." Besides this, the Levites were distributed
through the land, with the intention that they should be instructors and
priests in every part of the nation. Thus, one twelfth of the people
were set apart, having no landed property, to be priests and teachers;
and the other tribes were required to support them liberally.

In regard to the time taken from secular pursuits, for the support of
religion, an equally liberal amount was demanded. In the first place,
one seventh part of their time was taken for the weekly sabbath, when no
kind of work was to be done. Then the whole nation were required to
meet, at the appointed place, three times a year, which, including their
journeys, and stay there, occupied eight weeks, or another seventh part
of their time. Then the sabbatical year, when no agricultural labor was
to be done, took another seventh of their time from their regular
pursuits, as they were an agricultural people. This was the amount of
time and property demanded by God, simply to sustain religion and
morality within the bounds of that nation. Christianity demands the
spread of its blessings to all mankind, and so the restrictions laid on
the Jews are withheld, and all our wealth and time, not needful for our
own best interest, is to be employed in improving the condition of our
fellow-men.

In deciding respecting the rectitude of our pursuits, we are bound to
aim at some practical good, as the ultimate object. With every duty of
this li