The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-10-14

c 4I4non sin of uneharltaDle JudBllehe Oi others, lest we. by such means, miss the blessing that comes of entertaining an- gels unawares." The text is Genesis xvii, 9 And, To, three men stood by him.
 When a gentleman travels in the far east he does not stop at public inn but lodges with the people he meets on the way. Thus one day Abraham was sitting at the door of his tent. off in the distance he sees three travel stained men ap- preaching. At once, according to the so- eial customs then practiced and with the cordial hospitality of tho east Abraham runs toward these three travellers and kneels at their feet and says: Come and lodge with me. Tarry and rest yourself and eat of my bread. After refreshing yourselves you can continue on your journey" The three travellers accepted l this kind invitation Abraham spread oe- fore his guests the best food he had He killed calf His wife baked for them i some hot bread. After the meal was over l ono of the strangers said, "Where Is thy ] wife?' Abraham went and called Sarah. Then, as the three men were about to l go, they said practically these words; 1 "Oh, ye aged and childless ones, the i dearest wish of your hearts is about to be l fulfilled. In your old age you shall have d son." To make long story short Abraham and Sarah found out that their guests in human form were not simply three men. but three angelic messengers of God What an inconceivable privilege that wasl Let us think about 1t this morning, remembering that we. too, can i entertain angelic messengers almost every day if we will. We can entertain them, as did Abraham, when strange travellers ap- proach our dwellings and perhaps knock at the door for admittance. You may think these strangers are men, as dld Abraham, but they are not. They are messengers of God. Thus the questions which now confront us all are will we let in these angelic visitors? VIII we re- ceive from them the spiritual blessings which God intends us to get?'
 Shall we, In the first place. receive the angelic visitors who come from God dressed In the rough garments of poor men? These messengers come to us al- most daily, as the three messengers came to Abraham in olden time As we ap- proach the Hebrew patriarch's tent we see him sitting under the shadow It IS almost noon The intense Syrian sun Is beating down upon the plains. Most of I eattleman's day does not begin, as with many of us, at or 9 o'clock. These men start their work very early In the norn- ing While it is yet dark the busy wives and daughters are up preparing the early breakfast. Then with the first light or the day the sheep and the cows and the horses begin to get restless. They want to get out and feed upon the rich grasses. Then the focks and the herds begin to move and by 10 o'cloclc the animals arc well fed and are resting themselves un- der the shadows of the trees until late in the afternoon. Abraham, like a wise master. had seen that his herdsmen and shepherds had cared well for his stock. Then when the hot sun begins to beat down he goes back to his tent to prepare i for dinner and take rest and have quiet chat with his dear wife Sarah, for though Abraham at this time was over ninety years of age and Sarah had passed her three score years and ten, yet they were still lovers as when in their youth they had taken Journey into far off Egypt and the kings messenger wanted to select Sarah for Pharaoh's bride.
 The Three Travellers.
 While the busy Sarah is preparing the midnoon meal Abraham, sitting by his tent. suddenly puts his hand over his brow and begins to look. He seems to be watching something afar off. What is 1t, Abraham?" says his wife. Do you see anyone coming?' "Yes," answers the aged lover "I think l see three travellers. They are strangers to me. They must i be poor men. They are coming afoot, In this country horses are so cheap that all except the poorest can own one. These men have not even a donkey with them. l They must truly be very poor. l wonder 1 if they have enough food along. Poor fellows! See how tired and hungry they look Sarah. We have so much, let us give them a good meal and start them on their journey afresh. No man ought to be travelling in this awful heat" All right, Abraham" l think I hear Sarah ] say. All right. You go and ask them to tarry I will hurry up and prepare some meal, and you send and kill a calf. and we will give them feast fit for a king" | Thus Abraham runs and salutes these strangers who are travelling afoot. He says, Strangers, will you come and lodge with me?" Lesson the first. These three | angelic messengers came to Abraham's tent afoot. They came as poor men. They came as Gods messengers often come to us. when they look up into our faces and | plteously beg: Wilt thou feed me? Wilt thou clothe me? l am Gods poor. | Wilt thou care for me?"
 "oh, mo-" you answer; that cannot be. You are only making d pretty figure of | speech. An angelic messenger never comes clothed in rags. He may have come to an Abrahamic tent afoOt, but he cer- tainly never comes to me one of those dirty, filthy beggars who knock at my back door. He cannot come as the poor man with that sick wife and a 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 never pray The angel of God never comes as a tramp or pau per- 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 linen!" Nay. that is not Chrsts command. He says; If 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, pit eously looking at the iireside of happy homes and yet with no homes of their own" Have you not read the parable: When saw we the endangered and fed thee or thirsty and gave thee drink? When saw we thee stranger and took thee in or naked and clothed thee?" And the king shall answer and say unto you, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren. ye have done 1t 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!