Morning journal and courier., 1883-10-29
Calvary Baptist Church.
Christian Charity for Orphan and Dest
 fufa ChFFdrau

Christian Charity for Orphan and Desti- tute Children.
 Rev. MT. Samson, of the Calvary Baptist church, preached to his people last evening from the words in Exodus, second chapter and ninth verse: Take this child away and nurse it for me- and I will give thee thy wag
 The daughter of the King of Egypt had come down to the river Nile to bathe Three months before there had been born to one of the Hebrew women in Egypt @ male child who was destined to become the emancipator of his oppressed countrymen.S Alarmed at the rapid numerical increase of his Hebrew subjects and fearing for the stability of his empire, the King of Egypt had issued de- cree requiring his subjects to cast into the river all the sons that were born to the Hebrews, but to leave the daughters alive. Induced by the exceeding beauty of her new born babe, this Hebrew mother had taken extraordinary precautions to save him from the general destruction of the male children of Israel. When she could no longer hide him she made basket of bal rushes and laid the child therein and put it in the flags by the river's bank. The Egyp- tiaD princess, attended by her slaves, came down to the sacred river to bathe. She saw the basket and directed her maid to go and
 
 at hand, inquiries whether sine shall call Q nurse of the Hebrew women, and, having been directed to do so, she brought the mother of the child to whom the text was spoken. There were three persons conspicu- ous in the mental vision of this Egyptian princess as she looked at the babe, herself, the child and a nurse This indicates hap py and natural train of thought in discuss ing the text. There is, first, the friend of the destitute child. You say it was perfectly natural for this daughter of Pharaoh to be interested in that child. It WAS perfectly natural, you also say, for the priest and the Levite to pass by without noticing the robbed and wounded Jew. We call the same act of man, in this respect, both natural and un- natural. This is a vital point We have come suddenly upon the essential character istic of our spiritual depravity. Sin makes us unnatural, unreasonable, unreliable. The gospel sets us right in this matter. It not only reveals the nature of our depravity, but through the mercy of God in Jesus Christ it overcomes this effect of sin. It did in the case of Pharaoh and his daughter. When we have experienced the grace of God in the renewal of our hearts we shall have @ higher and better appreciation of our relig- ions duty to the many fatherless and mother less, houseless and homeless little ones who are cast out upon the world and going-God only knows where.
 But there is, secondly, the destitute child What provision shall Christian charity make for it 1? There is time in the life of every human being when he has no other want than that of his body ard the most fervid Christian charity can do no more for an in- fant than supply this want. In the evangeli- zation of the world it is a great question whether education, knowledge of the useful arts, shall -precede or follow the efforts for the immediate conversion of men. Our city missionaries tell that it is difficult to reach
 
 with hunger or disease. What says the gos pei? What did Christ do? What brought him hither? He came to save the souls of men. But salvation is @ contradiction of terms unless the convictions of the mind, the desires of the heart and the purposes of the will are reached and controlled through the media of persuasion and conviction which God himself has provided Men in sickness or suffering have never misunderstood any act of disinterested benevolence. It was said of Christ that he went about doing good. He endeaVored to win the confidence and con- vince the judgment of men. He healed but a few comparatively and these few for time only. The Work..of healing was perfect, but not permanent. LazarKs was again laid in the tomb. The son of the widow of Mana was again borne to burial. The woman with the issue of blood and the man sick of the palsy were smitten again with incurable disease. The redemption of the soul-that want of your nature and mine-to which we are not insensible, if we are indifferent, brought Jesus hither, and this is the great work for which you and must live and sacrifice
 But, thirdly, the daughter of Pharaoh was not so much engrossed with her own sensi- bilities as not to think of the need of hay ing guardian for the child. That which costs little is worth little. That was not Christian charity or piety which the priest and Levite displayed. When poor begear comes to the door for help. it helps him but little to say, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled '' If PharaohIs daughter had contented herself with weeping, if she had not provided a nurse for the child, instead of the glory of giving Moses to Israel and the world there would have been nothing in her life worth the re- membering. If you will resolve to It's last analysis every good deed performed or great thing achieved in this world, you will find that labor and sacrifice have been it's pro ducing cause. Every great thing done in the cause of humanity or the name of Christ represents a sacrifice of time and toll and money. I look into your faces. I see no trace of the gaunt finger of poverty. think of your comfortable and happy homes, and then think of the poor and homeless. They arc Gods creatures and your brotherg