Therefore it is that we require such a Pastor and Minister.
SECOND ARTICLE.
_Secondly_, As the just tithe was established in the Old Testament, and
in the New covered all dues, so we will gladly furnish the just tithe of
corn, but only in a seemly manner, according to which it should be given
to God, and divided among His servants. It is the due of a Pastor, as
the Word of God clearly proclaims. Therefore it is our will that the
Church Overseers, such as are appointed by the Community, shall collect
and receive this tithe, and therefrom shall give to the Pastor, who
shall be chosen by the Community, suitable and sufficient subsistence
for him and his, as the whole Community may deem just. The surplus shall
be devoted to the use of the poor and needy, as we are instructed in the
Holy Scriptures. And so that no general tax shall be levied on the poor,
their share of such taxation shall be defrayed out of such surplus.
In villages where the right to the tithe has been sold, out of sheer
necessity, the buyers shall lose nothing, but their rights shall be
redeemed in a seemly manner. But those who have not bought the right to
the tithe from the village, but who or whose fathers have simply usurped
it to themselves, we will not and we should not give them anything. We
owe such men nothing; but we are willing out of the proceeds of such
tithe to support our chosen Pastor, and to relieve the needy as we are
commanded in the Holy Scriptures.
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