Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-05-29

wrote: "Hearken, my beloved brat.
| rem. hath not God chosen the Door ~
| this world, rich in faith, and heir Of ~
kingdom?" The primitive church cboss
deacons on purpose to take care of tbo
moor, The whole history of Christi,,nn;o
ty shows that it is the friend of tha
poor. All our asynums, hospitals and
infrmaries are the outgrowth of tho
spirit which it has inspired. Every
benevolent and charitable institution 81
the age is noted in tho Bible. Such in,
situations were unknown until Jesus
came. and they flourish now only where
the Gospel has gone
But we may go farther than thiA Our
modern ideas of human equality, of tho.
dignity of labor, of the worth and tho
rights of man as man, without reference
to birth, or race, OF color, or situation
OF culture, or wealth, all have come
from the Bible. And there, too. wa
have learned about the law OF co-opera,
ton. of mutual sympathy and aid which
enables men to unite in brotherhoods
and to stand by each other to resist on.
position. Take away the Bible and the
world would soon drift back to that Con.
ditiop of poverty and slavery for the
masses, when might was right; when
selfishness ruled supreme. There are
clouds still in the sky. But they ara
being scattered by the Sun of Righteous
ness. just so fast and so far as the
Bible prevails wealth ceases % be AFRO.
CANT and oppressive and poverty ceases
to be bitter and hopeless. In the now
and holy light that radiates from the
cross, the rich learn to be humble and
| charitable, the poor learn to be patient,
s~elf-respecting and to trust in God. o.,
the one side we have the revelation that
wealth m from God, that those tt,
whom He gives it are His stewards, and
must give account to him for their use
or abuse of it. On the other hand We
have the revelation that the poor are
the children of the same Heavenly
Fathcr-that they are the wards of the
| rich, and can claim from them a portion
| of the ommon inheritance. But this,
claim they are to present, not to the
rich themselves, But to God. They
are to 90 to him, and trust to Him to
open the hearts and the hands OF their
brethren.
So generally recognized is the facs
that Christianity has brought in a new
| social law hat the word charity which
expresses the spirit of the Gospel has
come to be used for all kinds of aim,
given. The benevolence of which skep-
tics sometimes boast, they derived indi-
rectlv from the Bible. 1t was never
dreamed of in their philosophy. What
is moonlight with them is sunshine with
the church of Christ. Their humanita-
rianism is pale ard cold, ours is warm
and vivifying. Theirs is the philan-
throphy of words, OURS is that of deeds.
And now since these things are 50,
how cruel is that skep.icism which tries
to prejudice the poor against the word
of God. How snake-like, cold and ven
omousis that spirit which crawls among
the woa1ingmen, lifts up its head nthcir
shops and homes and club rooms, and
above all in the saloons, and Kisses in
their ears: ''The church is the ally of
the capitalist and the oppressor, ths
Bible is the rich mans book" That hiss
father of lies, and the deadliest foe Of
the human race. He would take from
poverty and toll their true solace and
hope. And how shall we counteract
this insiducus influence? We must get
these men to read the Bible for them
selves, and not to take the false reports
of its enemies and theirs. But above
all we must try to illustrate more fully
in our lives the spirit of our Master and
of HIS book. In our intercourse with
the poor and with all who are, or think
they are oppressed we must be living
epistles. We may rot be able to induce
them to read the Bible. But they will
read US. And if we are true witnesses
for God we shall not fail to secure in
time a verdict in favor of the Gospel
Chicago Interior.