The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1903-03-18
A SERMON FOR SUNDAY
AN ELOQUENT DISCOURSE ENTITLED
POVERTY AND PETTY"

That the Preaching OF tho Gospel TO
tho Poor 10 nm Evidence Of Far-Reach-
Ing Mercy Of o
New York CITY.-"Povcrty and Piety'
was the subject OF this sermon delivered
BY the Rev. James Alexander jenkins,
pastor OF Emmanuel Congregational Church.
His text was chosen from Matthew ri: s:
The poor have the gospel preached to
them"
The words of our text constitute part Of
two Of His disciples with the anxious ques-
tinn, Art Thou He that should come or
do we look for another" In this reply
the Master assumes that John 10 familiar
with the character OF the work Of the ex.
pected Ono, so H. sets before the messen.
gers His own work as meeting the require
ments. The bind see, the lame walk. the
lepsrs are e;eansed, the deaf hear, the dead
are raised up. 1.-The poor have the gospel
preached to them"
The preaching Of the gospel to the poor
far reaching mercy Of the great God, but
it may also be regarded as testifying to the
preparation OF the poor for receiving and
spreading the good news from God. If we
believe in the fitting Of means to ends in
the world Of nature, II We are upholders
of the great law Of design. may we not
with reason st that the Father through
the course ,e ages prepared certain OF
the sons Of men for the reception OF the
truth. If We concedc this we behold in the
preaching Of the gospel to the poor an ar
raansement Of providence, a tar reaching
The pages Of the gospels reveal Jesus a.
the preacher to the poor. The rich He re
garded as being for some reason less lifted
to be chosen as pioneers in the work OF es-
tablishing His kingdom. OF the rich men
Of the New Testament, not Dives, not the
rich fool. but the young man who came to
Jesus with eager inquiry, may be regarded
as typical in the mind Of Jesus Of the
hosts of the rich and powerful. Thinking
OF him Jesus said: 1T il easier for . camel
to go through the eye of q needle than for
q rich man to enter into the kingdom OF
Cod" From this statement we naturally
infer that the absence Of wealth or poverty
ing truth. to the entering Of the kingdom.
Jesus Himself, coming AZ the founder OF
the kingdom Of God, chose the material
upon which that kingdom shall be built.
He did not preach to the poor because 9th:
ers would not hear Him.. The influential
He could have commanded, strength OF
arms He could have enlisted, wealth would
have served Him. But He chose, desired.
determined, to preach the gospel to the
poor. Says Dr.. Bushnell, speaking OF the
character Of the ministry Of Jesus: He
adheres to the Door and makes them the
object Of His ministry. And what 10 more
in their society, which is wanting in that
Of the higher classes, percsiving, apparent
", that they have a certain aptitude for
receiving right impressions which the 9th:
ers have not. They are not the wise and
prudent. filed with the conceit Of learning
and station, but they are the ingenious
babes Of poverty, open to conviction, pre-.
pared by their humble lot to receive
thoughts and doctrines in advance OF their
age" With equal acumen does this great
writer recognize the fundamental and dis.
tinguishing nature Of the choice Of Jesus,
as contrasted with the teachings Of the
statesmen and philosophers who had gone
before Him. They began at the top, He
cause it was true to nature, was lasting,
abiding. eternal.
The twentieth century finds society d.
vided, as it has always been divided, into
two classes, the rich and the poor. Civil.
zation has crept onward, changing. many
things, but it has not removed the distinc.
ton between wealth and poverty. The
distinction may be less brutal, less crude.
but it still exists. and the very refinement
of the classification Of men Is often the
cause of added bitterness. So to-day the
student of men and events, whether he be
sociologist, economist or preacher, is con-
fronted by the difficulty of adjusting one
part Of society TO another. We are con.
etantly asking certain questions and clam.
oring for q reply. Can the poor man &c.
cure a Just share Of the good things OF
earth? Is it pos1ible for him to get an ed:
ucation? Will society receive him? And
now, it seems, another question presses
upon ~. What is the relation between
poverty and piety?
It would seem that the world, in an.
gwering this question, has lost sight OF the
teaching and practice Of Jesus, for the con.
clusion usually arrived at is that the poor
man is at a disadvantage in his struggle
being should desire. Many. listening to
the reasoning of the world, have, because
OF their poverty, surrendered their religion,
deserted the church and rejected the
Christ. To them the Christian worker has
come to seem the advocate Of impossible
ties, but this attitude Of mind is not con.
fined to the simple and u%nthinking, for we
are reminded that even thoughtful writers
seem to assume the existence OF . natural
hostility between poverty and riety.
Let us keep in mind the attitude OF the
Lord Jesus toward the poor as He deiiv.
cred His message, and let us, remembering
that. ask ourselves what that piety IL, the
relation of which to poverty we are to de-
termine. Let US ask whether there is in
piety any element to the producing OF
which poverty is hostile. and let rs find,
on the other hand. whether it may not be
possible that poverty assists the soul IN its
endeavor 10 become the possessor OF true
piety.
Piety is not, primarily, something in the
atmosphere; it ia the rather something IN
the heart Of man. Among h elements
which enter into it, a few Of the PRINCIPAL
ones may be mentioned: Sensitiveness Of
things true, beautiful, good;. recep:ivity,
or the ability to appropriate the good that
appeals to the soul; power to apply the
principles of truth; recognition OF love as
the great animating sustaining, God
knowing principle. Let US see whether
poverty may not be an aid to the soul in
its development. along the lines indicated.
We may, ! think. claim with justice that
poverty renders the soul supremely scnsl.
tive to the best things. Poverty is too ire.
Quently regarded as synonymous with pau.
perism. and paupcrism is the embodiment
of grim, unfeeling heedlessness. Pauper-
ism is cod. indifferent, dead, but poverty
is warm, alert, alive. Poverty needs its
every faculty, its every power. 1t must
fight battles and anticipate the onslaught
Of unseen fees. 1t must read the signs OF
the morrow in the evening sky and adapt
itself to sun and shower and storm. The
man with the hoe" is not the poor man,
for poverty neither deadens nor brutalizcs.
Were ] to choose my illustration Of hon st
poverty | should find it in the humble toll.
ers of THE Angelus." Clad in the rough
garb of workers in the fields. holding in
their hands the eumbrous inst 'meats OF
their daily toll. they are, nevertheless,