The Monmouth inquirer., 1906-10-11

knock at my back door. He cannot
come as the poor man with that sick
wife and large brood of children who
] live in our back street Why, that man
and his wife do not believe in God.
They never read the Bible. They new
| er pray. The angel Of God never
comes as a tramp or pauper." Does
he not, my brother? Does he not? Do
not speak too quickly. What says
! Christ in the twenty-fifth chapter Of
Matthew? Does he say: "If you would
find my messengers, you should seek
them among the palaces and in the
kings throne rooms? You should seek
them clothed In purple and fine linenv'
Nay, that is not Christs command. He
says, eIf you would seek my messen-
gers, you shall find them clothed In
rags and with the pinched cheeks of
want and wandering around from
street to street as did John Howard
Payne, piteously looking at the fireside
of happy homes and yet with no homes
of their own" Have you not read the
parable: when saw we thee an-hun-
gered and fed thee or thirsty and gave
thee drink? When saw we thee a
stranger and took thee In or naked and
clothed thee" And the King shall
answer and say unto you, "Inasmuch
as We have done it unto one of the
least of these, my brethren, We have
done it unto me-" Does not Christ
mean by these words that when you
look after the poor you are looking
after his messengers and caring for
him?
The poor, the poor, the helpless poor!
o God, they seem to be everywhere.
They are thy angelic visitors. How
many of them last year have we helped
in thy ZANE? Have we put one cloak
about the bare shoulders? Have we
lifted one morsel of food to the famish
ling lips? Have we gone to one helpless
widow, struggling to keep large fam
lily of little ones together, and said:
SISTER, here Is coal to keep you from
freezing Here are coverlets for your
beds. Here are garments for your
wardrobe. Here is food for your cup
board. Here is schooling for your chill
dren. I know that God has sent you to
me that out of my abundance may
give you aid" Answer me friend, with
all your money and with all your luxu
ries of the past year, did you go out of
your way one step in order to help
Gods poor? Did you look after just
one family when there are so many
hungry and naked ones In the city
where you dwell? What-did you not
help feed just one hungry family?
Then you have slammed shut your door
of gospel opportunity in the face Of the
angelic visitors" Gods poor are al
ways around. They have come to bring
you spiritual blessing from heaven,
as the three strangers Of old brought
divine blessing to Abraham and Sarah
from their Master and King.
"Poor Fellows"
But when this noble Hebrew herds
man runs forward to PROSTATE himself
at the feet Of the three strangers I see
him sharply scrutinize their faces He
not only sees that they wear the travel
stained garments of poor men, but me-
! thinks I hear him mutter: Poor fell
lows! Poor fellowsI Perhaps they are
exiles from their own country. Per-
haps on account of kings hatred they
are fleeing for their lives. Perhaps
they once had sheep and oxen and
horses and manservants, as have, but
now, on account of bitter persecution,
they have lost all. I must be especially
kind to these poor fellows who are flee
ing for their lives.' Cannot you i'm
agine such thoughts passing through
Abraham's mind as he runs forward to
greet the three strangers? I can. And
i firmly behave that when any man
goes to the help of the prosecuted and
I the unjustly treated he is welcoming
to his home angelic visitors" who will
always bring to him spiritual blessing
from God.
| How many people there are who are
being unjustly persecuted How many
there are who are being lied about and
misrepresented! Like the devils that
were torturing the poor maniac's body,
who was running naked among the
tombs of the Gadara dead their names
seem to be legion Many of these poor
fellows who are being unjustly treated
are dying Of broken hearts, as did the
late Daniel D. Tompkins, who was one
of the most pathetic characters of
American history. In his prime no
name was more powerful in the po-
litical world than his. He rose from
office to Office AT last he became gov
ernor III New York state and then
vice president Of the United States.
The White House was almost his. But
suddenly his enemies were able to
head him off. Though his whole life
stood for honesty and purity and truth,
his political foes charged him with mis-
appropriating some of the public funds
when he was chief executive of New
York state. He Indignantly denied the
charge, but he could not produce evil
dence to vindicate himself. His enc
mics had stolen it. His forehead, like
that of Cain, had black mark of guilt
placed upon it, and he was Stunned by
his fellow men as an embezzler of pub
lf1 I- til \ 1Irsr,