The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-09-21

city gate, and calling the -rtef they ue- livered to him an account Of their dls- covery in the Syrian camp. You are Ia miliar with the story of what ensued In samaria, and that on the morrow pro- visions were sold in the streets at prices suited to the needs of the people.
 In the tumult of the hour we lose sight of the four lepers and never hear of them again, out you will agree with me when l say that like Abel though dead. they yet speak to the generations of the living.
 Fountain of Sympathy.
 The record of their poverty has a magic power which today unseals the fountain of sympathy in the hearts alike of rich and poor, and sends forth a stream of generous and loving helpfulness to those unfortunate ones in whose lives are re- peated the conditions which we call ad- verse Here is a case of poverty as in- nocent and deserving as 1t was helpless and deplorable Banished from social and domestic life, debarred from any em- ployment by which he might earn a lv ing and afflicted with an ineurable dis ease the badge of the curse of God. his poverty was inevitable. And just because it was inevitable 1t appeals to the sym pathies of all men. In these days when DONefIY mas become d pIOltSSlOH anu begging a fine art, we are in danger of hardness of heart that will prevent our seeing the cases of genuine need These lepers still point us to those cases of inevitable poverty and their condition Is still an effectual advocate in behalf of the present needy. This record stands fixed in holy writ that 1t may testify to all generations that the really poor are the wards of God.
 A Message.
 The character of these men is a mes- sage to all generations. They were men whom poverty had not hardened. Few people pass through this extreme poverty without becoming embittered toward their brethren, who escape the tolls of want and hunger Though there were fruitful soil for the growth of envy, they had kept out this noxious weed. En- feebled by prolonged fasting and the rav- ages of disease sluggish from a heavy meal. and facing a hill of no small di- mensions they left their retreat and their treasure and made the fatiguing journey to the city gate and delivered to the porter an account of their discovery in the Syrian camp. Nothing short of gen. uine magnanimity of heart could prompt a man simply to bearing good news at such sacrifice. While there was every provocation to these men to play the dog in the manager, they showed themselves to be men with that touch Of sympathy which makes ail nature kin.
 The Tender Mercy of God.
 This incident. with irresistible eloquence. breaches the tender mercies of God to- ward the suffering poor, and beautifully illustrates that affectionate providence surrounding every creature of God. Not the least of the lepers sorrow is the thought that his disease has served every relationship binding to the plans of men and left him adrift on life's sea. Men found no place for him, but God shows those men that he can use in the accom- plishment of His plans. men pronounced useless. To feel that there is nothing l can ever do is bitterness enough for any soul Let those whose nfirmitles shut them from the ranks of the bread winners learn from this incident that they still sustain relations to their God and breth- ren which fits them for usefulness and service. The memory of this experience sweetened many an hour in the after lives of these leprous men. "When my father and mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up" It was for the despair ing that Jesus said of the sparrows, Not one of them is forgotten before God"
 Another Lesson.
 There is a lesson in this incident em- phasizing the necessity for prompt and generous response to missionary efforts among the heather. Besieged and famine stricken Samaria is a faint suggestion of that appalling picture rising in heather lands until 1t obscures every other object Two thirds of the human family besieged by the pestlenee, poverty and moral des- titution that abounds in these heather lands, rocking in pollution, and dying at every tick of the watch. without God and without hope-this is some hint of the sit- uation confronting us. We have found life and light; it Is a day of good tidings; let us hasten to their rescue ere they die in their despair and their ghastly features haunt us for our neglect.
 To the awakened sinner these men have left an example worthy of imitation. Hun gering for the peace which the world can not give oppressed by a sense of guilt and fear, the sinner. feeling his helpless ness, casts himself upon the mercy of God and finds to his joy that God does pardon his sins and commissions him to bear the good news to his unsaved friends.