The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1903-04-03
A SERMON FOR SUNDAY
AN ELOQUENT DISCOURSE ENTITLED
" POVERTY AND PlETY"

The Rev. james Alexander Jenkins Says
That the Preaching 81 the Gospel 10
the Poor is AN Evidence Of Far-Heach-
Ing MercJ OF God.
NEW YORK CITY. Poverty and piely'
was the subject of this sermon delivered
by the Rev. James Alexander jenkins,
pastor OF Emmanuel Congregational Church.
LIS text was chosen from Matthew Ni r:
them"
The words Of our text constitute part OF
the reply of Jesus 10 John when lie sent
two OF His disciples with the anxious ques.
ton, Art Thou lie that should come or
DO We look for another" In this 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 Ills own work as meeting the require.
ments. The blind see. the lame walk. the
lepers are ceansed 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
! may be regarded as only an evidence Of the
tar reaching mercy Of the great God, but
Il may also be regarded as testiiying to the
preparation OF the poor for receiving and
spreading the good news from God. ii we
believe in the fitting of means to ends in
VIZ NAAAA Va AAhhAEs II We AIt NDNOlMEIh
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 for the reception of the
truth. If we concede this we behold in the
preaching OF the gospel to the poor an ar
| rqngement OF providence, a far reaching
! plan of God.
The pages Of the gospels reveal Jesus as
the preacher to the poor. The rich He re-
| garded as being for some reason less lifted
/ 70 be chosen as pioneers in the work Of es-
| tabshlng 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 is easier for a camel
to 60 through the eye of a needle than for
/ rich man to enter into the kingdom Of
| God" From this statement we naturally
inter that the absence of wealth or poverty
/ is most favorable to 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.
! lie did not preach to the poor because 9TH
! ers would not hear Him. The influential
de could have commanded, strength of
! arms lie 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 poor and makes them the
object OF His ministry. And what is more
! peculiar, He visibly 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, 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, lie
began at the bottom, and so His work. be-
| cause it was true to nature, was lasting,
abiding, eternal.
The twentieth century finds society di-
vided, as it has always been divided, into
two classes, the rich and the poor Civil.
cation 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 1t 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
! socloIoglst, economist or preacher, is con.
tronted by the difficulty of adjusting one
| part OF society to another We are con
stantiy asking certain questions and clam
orlng for a reply. Can the poor man Sc
cure just share of the good things al
earth! Is it possible for him to get an ed.
ucation? VIII society receive him? And
now, it seems, another question presses
upon us. What is the relation between
poverty and piety?
1t would seem that the world in an.
Bwering 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
| for the soul culture which every human
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 las
come to seem the advocate of impossible.
ties, but this attitude of mind is not con,
fined to the simple and unthinking, for we
are reminded that even thoughtful writers
seem to assume the existence of natural
hostility between poverty and piety.
Let us keep in mind the attitude Of the
Lord Jesus toward the poor as He deiv
cred His message, and let us, remembering
that, ask ourselves what that piety is, the
relation of which to poverty we are to de
termine. Let us ask whether there is il
piety any element to the producing o
which poverty is hostile, and let us find
on the other hand, whether it may not b.
possible that poverty assists the soul III its
endeayor to become the possessor of true
piety.
Piety is not, primarily, something in thc
atmosphere; it is the rather something il
the heart Of man. Among the elements
which enter into it, few of the princDa
ones may be mentioned: Sensitiveness O
things true, beautiful good; receptivity