The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1900-07-21
YOUNG PEOPLES SOCIETIES.
Topic: THE Needy at Our Door
luke xvi, 1871,

The topic universal for the various de-
neininational young peoples societies mex,
/ sunday is The Needy at Our Door found
| Cd on the parable OF The Rich Man and
| lazarus; as recorded IN Luke XVI 1871
- ~Op4c; however. seems To- be based on
H4dt hl4sHt De termed the surface though
| ct the parable .atEer than upor its .ise1rr
NJ 1liihS II Is true. w have here "A Ci =.
~ ~ - E..c. ana we are amazed at the ap-
! In question. - ''-''''
eilce. and especially toward one ~ biS -,
nation! Surely Lazarus was not an mn
worthy object Of charity. for there is ucfh-
ins 70 indicate that he was In such condition
thioHSh any iau!t Of his own. The tiffi.ul'y
seems to lie wholly with Dives, who seems
10 have steeled his heart against every an
tedl from suffering humanity. The reason
Lor TINS Is In the fact that his riches had
eaten into his soul as a Canker bliyh.inSs
every impulse toward the alienation of hti-
man suffering and need and giyIur him a
ileart OF stone Not unlike Dives are an thos.
To-Day WHO nave amasSed great wealth and
VINO are seiilshly lavshing it upon them
sSiNes ana VINO are dead to the appeals of
those at their doors who have become i'm
iryerished and are In dire distress of bod,
anu mInd. The same IS true OF all who have
eAOush anu 10 spare and yet who do not
respond as literally as they should
=, but there Ia a deeper lesson in the parable
than this. and which bears directly anon
the me beyond. With master hand Christ
draws aside the curtain and gives ms A
glimpse OF the future life OF both Dives and
t-oLdau Us. bDtH 0!ci, ana the rich man WAS
Durieo; Nhiie Lazarus is said to have been
carried by the angels into Abyahan.s
BOSOM a Hebrew expression for th, hich-
est place OF happiness In the lif. To come
IL Is also stated that in he'll" the rich man
Iittd up his eyes. being in torrents and
Seeth Abraham atar of and Lazarus in hts
BOSOM Ihen follows the conversation be-
tween Abraham and Dives in which the lat
ter is given 10 distinctly understand that he
can nave no further communication with
the earth, and That so far his destiny is
concerned IL is fixed.
IEen the question arises, Why this ex-
IRENE reverse in the conditions in the In
turs life? Was it because Dives was ~
ITemeiy rich ana Lazarus extremely poor
,heIe IS certainly nothing in the parable
user or anywhere else in the Word OF God
that would justify any such conclusion s
man Is not TO lie consigned to eternal nun
L St,iiight because ne Is rich, nor To eternal
EdppihesS because he Is poor. Riches may
prove blessing or q curse last as they-
ma mn De g5ea and 80, too. with poverty and
.! all this. The apostle James saws thai
IT Is the love of money that is The root
oI an evil not the money itself. SO. too
poverty may curse and damn the soul II
situation. II the rich man takes the most
t!on mar he Is only the steward of God
then his riches become I. wonderful bIessinr.
10 mankind If on the other hard he
wraps himself I'D In his own selfishnesc
disreSardng the claims of him VIII ~:
gwen MN the power TO get wealth and re-
fuses 10 listen to the appeals of eI:fferi,y
humanity. then his riches viii become q
70 the depths Of woe and torment So TOO
poverty and atiliction may tend 10 the d.
Nelopment Of the soul and So me-. =
blessing in disguise
One Of the eaddest Lessons Of tho ,,a-,,,o
ustu.. consideration Is the utter hopeieSsness
OF Inc destiny Of Dives. The vorJs ~
Abraham, Between us and Won thor. ., n
great gulf fixed. so that they that wo1IJ
from hence to You cannot; neither can tbnv
pass 10 US that would come from thence
must nave fallen like despair upOn the son,
OF DIVES. surely there is no ground for ,ba
4pctfine OF future probaticn'' in such n
statement as this. Were these the U'oris
OF man. We might well doubt their fulI inn
port, btt when they are the words of him
VINO Spake as mover man snake" and ,rbn
knew perfectly all possible conditions OF tbe
iurHfe state. We may wei trernbIe
The closing lesson of the parabla ,,,ts
eSreclal honor on the Bible as the suprap,a
tutc or life: They have Moses and ,ba
prophets; Jet them hear them H. g. "
note Of warning for those who are :ncIi,add
10 question the auth lrity of the NJ -
GOD IN matters pertaining to this iifs ,ni
Ihat which is to come. 1t is idle 10 la"i-
LOT any new Revelation or any snocia
Inodihcation of the Old. Says the apostis
laui: III any man preach any other 6cs,sai
IMAM that which ] have preached lot bjr,
De accused Among the closing stat
ments OF the New Testament is This. "r,
any man snail take away from the woriys 90
me ocok az this prophecy. God shall faks
away ms part out of the Book of Life m
oui OF the holy city. and from rho tii,a.
winch are written in this book ''SoIen,n "a
portentous words these i ana