The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1908-12-30
THE PULPIT.
A BRILLIANT SUNDAY SERMON BY
( THE REV. JASON NOBLE PIERCE.
Subject: The Compassion of Jesus.

Subject: The Compassion of Jesus.
Brooklyn, N. YIN Puritan Con-
gregational Church Sunday the pas
tor, the Rev. Jason Noble Pierce,
preached on 1.-The Compassion of
Jesus" The text was from Luke
1913: "And when the Lord saw her
He had compassion on her and said
unto her, weep not" Mr.. Pierce said:
l have taken IS my subject this
morning one Of the most beautiful
and comforting themes in the Bible.
1.-THE Compassion of Jesus" II there
is any one present in this congrega-
ton who has been experiencing trial
and suffering, or who has been called
upon to bear some grievous burden
or suffer loss, / ask his attention, es-
pecially, to the consideration Of this
theme. And II there is any one here
who would make more u r Of Gods
personal love for His individual chill
'dren, let him discover that love as it
is revealed in the compassion of His
Son, our Lord and Saviour.
Briefly but clearly the author of
our Gospel presents the scene: Be
hold, there was q dead man carried
out, the only son of his mother, and
she was q widow; and much people
of the city was with her." From our
text we know that she was weeping.
and well she might, for death leaves
q smarting sting. This was not the
first time she had faced death in the
inner circle of her home. She was a
widow. But howIoften does the los
ing Of one member Of the family
make 1t any easier to part with an
other, especially when 1t is an only
son, a>young man, and probably the
main support and stay Of his wild
owed mother? Circumstances seemed
to conspire to make, the occasion full
of greatest sorrow for her. and as the
procession passes through the city
gate and turns toward the turying
ground the burning Gears course
down her cheeks and she sees naught.
feels snaught,: knows naught but the
grief that Is in her heart. s
OF all the helpless ones In Israel
she, passing out of the gate, was most
helpless. And that was the very hour
the mightiest one in all Israel drew
nigh to the city. Weakness and
strength; human need and divine
help; these are never far separated.
But will the divine grace become. OPP
erative? Will the Saviour act?.
when the Lord saw her He had
compassion on her and said unto her,
Weep not. And He came and touched
the bier; and they that bear him
stood still. And He said, Young man.
I say unto thee, arise. And he that
was dead sat up and began to speak.
And He delivered him unto his
mother" :
Halleluiah! What a Saviour!
II the issue could be avoided !
would gladly pass over q discussion
of the miracle involved In this lesson.
But how can I? IF I assume that you
all accept the miracles ascribed to
Jesus, I make a false assumption, for
I know from personal conversation
that some of you have questlonings
and uncertainties In your minds. If
I could separate the question OF Jesus
compassion from His; miracles I
might do that. But how can I?
Everywhere iin the Gospels where
Jesus compassion is referred to It is
In connection with some miracle. His
was not an inactive compassion. He
did nottdo as so many Of US do, allow
our sympathy to vent itself in empty
air. His great heart made demands
upon a great power, and the sight of
sorrow ever made Him exert Himself
for Its relief. Four times does st.
Matthew and four times does St.
Mark refer directly to Jesus compass
sion, and upon each occasion do we
find Him working a miracle. St.
Luke speaks directly concerning the
compassion of: our Lord only once
and that isSin our text. The subject
demands u attention.
There are some men who are not
greatly troubled concerning the mira
cles. They sweep them all in or all,
out of their theological acceptance
with no hard thinking or penetrat-
ing vision. Their theological house
is one Of the portable variety cheap
ly bought, ready made, quickly
clapped together over q foundation
of sand. It may serve on a fair day.
but when the test comes how Is It?
The rain descends and the floods come
and the winds blow and beat upon
that house; and it falls; and great is
the fall of it.
One Of the safeguardso of the church
Is the number Of thinking men and
women within 1t, who concentrate
not only their hearts, but their minds
unto the Lord, and who mediate
upon Him in the night watches. And
to all such comes soone or later the,
question of the miracles. We wres-
tie with these miracles, we pray over
them, we come to some conclusion
concerning them and our conclusions
are not always alike.
There are some who discriminate
among the miracles. Those they can
explain through understood laws they
accept; the rest they hold in abey-
ance. Some Of the most consecrated
and loyal followers Of the Master r
among these disciples. q
And there are those also who be-
lieve that through Jesus were done
many mighty works. l am of this
mind. This does not mean that we
give unqualified approval to ally that
Jesus was said to have DONE. His is
the only instance on record, II it is
so, that all that was said Of Him Is
But it does mean that through
Him deeds were done that the human
mind does not yet understand. 1t
does not mean that Jesus did these
mighty works in His own strength
and Of His own knowledge. II can
of mine own self do nothing" He
'hu the Father that dwe1leth