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God asks for nothing that we have not to give. He asks that we will give to Him of what He has given to us, that we will put to its true and highest use what He for that end has bestowed. We cannot give fruit that we do not bear, or that is green and unripe, but only that which is fresh and mature, waiting to be gathered in.

I. God asks for the first ripe fruits of our EDUCATION. The wise man's education is never finished. To cease to learn is to cease to grow; to cease to grow is to decay in force and faculty. Yet there is a special sense in which education ceases. The youth leaves school, the scholar the university, the apprentice is "out of his time." Then we have to think and act for ourselves, and use the knowledge we have acquired. We have to face the great questions that concern man's life and destiny. Then God asks from us the first ripe fruits of our education in the use of our intelligence and feeling and conscience. He asks us to face these great questions; to think soberly and ponder the path of our feet.

II. God asks from us the first ripe fruits of our TOIL. The Jews gave this in kind — from flock, vineyard, or field. We give an equivalent — money. The first money earned is the first-fruits of toil. From that lay by something for God.

III. God asks from us the first ripe fruits of our CONVERSION. I have often seen a child so overcome with an unexpected gift that he has forgotten to say "Thank you," but surely Christ does not expect such forgetfulness from those whom He has snatched from the burning.

IV. Then there are some first-fruits of EXPERIENCE which God commands us to offer to Him. "I have learned by experience" is the confession sometimes of self-convicted folly, sometimes of grateful wonder. How near have we been to spiritual death! How well hidden the pit. falls under our feet! How strong the arms that have held us up! How wonderful the consolations! How sweet the grace of the Divine! So experience enriches the soil in which we are planted to produce a lustier and richer growth. Now to offer to God the first ripe fruits of experience is surely to learn and profit by its lessons. It is to remember; to take warning; to know our own selves — our peculiar weaknesses and danger; it is to trust God more and self less; to look for larger answers to prayer, and more wonderful vindications of faith.

V. Does not God want THOSE LOVELY AND PRECIOUS FRUITS WHICH GROW ON THE HOUSEHOLD VINE? The only true dedication of children to God is that Christian nurture which leads to their dedicating themselves.

(R. B. Brindley.).

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KJV: Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me.

WEB: "You shall not delay to offer from your harvest and from the outflow of your presses. "You shall give the firstborn of your sons to me.