The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1903-03-06
A SERMON FOR SUNDAY
AN ELOQUENT DISCOURSE eNJiTLep
POVERTY AND PlETY."
The Rev. james Alexander jenkins ssys
That the Preaching OF the Gospel to
the Poor 10 an Evidence of Far Reach
Ing Mercy OF God.

q Tux ot
INV YORK CIrY.-"Poverty and Piety''
was the subject Of this sermon delivered
by the Rev. James Alexander jenkins,
pastor OF lmmanue! Congregational Church.
His text was chosen from Matthew xi: 3:
The poor have the gospe! preached to
them"
The words of our text constitute part oi
the reply Of Jesus 20 John when He sen,
two Of His disciples with the anxious ques.
tion, Art Thou He that should come or
do We look for another| In tins reply
the Master assumes that John is familiar
with the character Of the work of the eX-
pected One, SO He sets before the messen-
gers His own work as meeting the require
ments. The bind see, the lame walk the
lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear. the dead
are raised up, the poor have the gospel
preached 10 them
The preaching of the gospel 70 une poor
may be regarded as only an evidence OF the
far reaching mercy OF the great God. but
u may also be regarded as testifying TO the
preparation OF the poor for receiving and
spreading the good news from God. III 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 insist that the Father through
the course of the ages prepared certain of
the sons OF men Tor the reception of the
truth. III we concede this we behold IN the
preaching Of the gosnel 10 the poor an ar.
rangement of providence, a far reaching
plan OF God.
The pages of the gospels reveal Jesus as
the preacher TO the poor The rich lie re-
garded as being for some reason less ntted
TO he 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 10
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 is easier for a camel
10 90 through the eye of a needle than for
rich man TO enter into the kingdom of
God From this statement we naturally
| infer that the absence of wealth or poverty
| is most favorable 10 the reception of saw
ing truth. to the entering of the kingdom.
Jesus Himself, coming as 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, 10 preach the gospel to the
poor. Says DR.. Bushnell. speaking OF the
! character of the ministry of Jesus: "lle
adheres to the poor and makes them the
object of His ministry. And what is more
! peculiar, He visiblv has a kind of interest
| in their society, which is wanting in that
of the higher classes. perceiving. apparent.
! ly, that they have a certain aptitude for
! receiving right impressions which the 9th.
ers have not. They are not the wise and
! prudent, filled with the conceit OF learning
and station, but they are the ingenious
/ babes OF poverty, open 10 conviction, pre-.
pared by their humble lot 10 receive
/ thoughts and doctrines IN advance Of their
age With equal acumen does this great
writer recognize the fundamental and dis.
tnguishing 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, lie
began at the bottom, and so His work, he-
cause 1t was true Ia nature, was lasting
/ abiding, eternal.
The twentieth century finds society di.
vided as 1t has always been divided, into
! two classes, the rich and the poor. Civil.
zatlon has crept onward, changing many
things, but 1t has not removed the distinc.
/ tion between wealth and poverty. The
! distinction may be less brutal less crude
| but II still exists. and the very refinement
bf the classification of men Is often the
cause of added bitterness. So to-day the
student Of men and events. whether he be
soclOlogst, economist or preacher, ~ con
fronted by the difficulty of adjusting one
part OF society TO another. We are con
stantiy asking certain questions and clam.
oIng for n reply. Can the poor man Sc.
cure a Just share of the good things of
earth? Is IT possible for him TO get an ed.
ucationg Will society receive him? And
now, it seems, another question presses
upon us. What is the relation between
poverty and pietyy
IL would seem that the world, in an.
swering this question, has Sst 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
for the soul culture which every human
being should desire. Many, listening 10
the reasoning of the world. have, because
Of their poverty, surrendered their religion,
deserted the church and rejected the
Christ. To them tho Christian worker las
come to seem the advocate OF impossihili.
ties. but this attitude of mind is not con.
fined 10 the simple and unthinklng, FOR we
are reminded that even thoughtful writers
seem TO assume the existence OF natural
hostility between poverty and piety.
Let ms keep in mind the attitude OF the
Lord Jesus toward the poor az He deliv.
cred His message. and let MS, remembering
! that. ask ourselves what that piety is, the
relation OF which 10 poverty we are 60 de-
/ termine Let us ask whether there is IN
piety any element 10 the producing OF
which poverty Is hostile, and let IA find,
on the other hand, whether IL may not be
/ possible that poverty assists the soul ~ It's
endedvor to become the posscssor OF true
| piety.
Piety is not, primarily, something in the
atmosphere; It ~ the rather something IN
! the heart OF man. Among the elements
which enter into II, few Of the princlDai
| ones may be mentioned. Senstivencss oi
| things true, beautiful good; receptivity
or the ability TO appropriate the good that
appeals TO the soul; power 10 apply the
/ principles OF trJth; recognition Of love as
the great animatlng, sustaining, God
/ knowing principle. Let us see whether
poverty may not be an aid TO the soul IN
It's development along the lines indicated.
We NAV, think. claim with justice that
| poverty renders the soul supremey gCnsi'
| tive TO the Jest things. Poverty is too fre.
quently regarded as synonymous with pau.
| perism, and pauperism is the embodiment
! OF grim, unfeeiing heedlessncss Pauper.
| ism u cold, Indifferent, dead, but poverty
IS warm, alert, alive. Poverty needs its
every faculty, its every power. IL mast
| fight battles and anticipate the onsiaugh,
| OF unseen foes. u must read the signs Oi
| the morrow IN the evening sky and adapt
/ itself 90 sun and shower and storm. The
| man with the hoe ~ not the poor man,
| for poverty neither deadcns nor brutaiizes
| Were ] 10 choose my illustration oi hon 'si
| poverty ] should find IL IN the humble toll.
ers Of "The Angelus" Clad IN the rough
| garb Of workers in the fields. holding IN
| their hands the cumbrous instruments Oi
/ their daily toi'. they are, nevertheless
| keenly alive 30 the beauty, the poetry, the
suggestiveners Of the sounds waited upon
! the gently stirring summer breezes. Truly
| typical are they, a. with bowed heads they
| stand. OF the succeeding generations oi
| Gods poor, a., amid toll and tribu'ation
thsy seek 70 fin1 the good, % know God.
The sensitIvcncss oi honest poverty
see it IN the bttle children Of the rsbole a.