Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1908-12-09

| quick was His response! How Suffi-
cient in power! His maxim was,
They that are whole have no need
Of the physician, but they that are
sick"
When the multitude penetrated the
desert whittier He had gone for retire
| ment and needed rest, when He be-
held their desire for Him and knew
the hunger and heart sickness that
impelled them to seek Him, HE was
moved with compassion on them be-
cause they were scattered abroad as
sneep having no shepherd.
When the blind and the demented
cried unto Him, the Lord of Light
and Spirit was mighty in deed. When
the leper of Galileesknelt before Him
saying, IF Thou wilt Thou canst
make me Clean" His heart was
touched. And Jesus, moved with
compassion, put forth His hand and
touched him and saith unto him,
will; be thou clean.
oh, the mighty love of Jesus! 1t
met that dear mother at the gate of
Main and did for her what none in all
the city could do, restore to her her
son. Can any of you imagine the
wonder and joy unspeakable that
came to her when Jesus delivered
him to her?
One of the striking characteristics
of the compassion of Jesus is its in
clusiveness. 1t knows no bounds. 1t
goes out to the multitude and to the
| Individual, to the stranger as freely
as to the friend, to the Jew and to the
Gentle. His heart went out for the
city and He wept over it and His
heart went out to the lone woman in
need of a Saviour. The one essential
was that there exist grief, burden,
a sorrow and Immediately His help
was forthcoming. Where the sick
were gathered by their friends, or
among the porches by the pool where
the impotent lay, there was Jesus to
bless. No custom delayed Him, no
fear tor life nor weariness OF the
flesh restrained Him, but freely He
ministered unto all who called upon
Him.
Another characteristic Of Jesus
compassion is its attitude toward evil.
He does not tell the blind man that
It is best for him to remain blind, nor
does He point out to the leper that
there are compensating blessings that
come through his affliction. His ac-
ton is rather to strike at the evil that
is responsible for their condition.
dare say that He could have visited
the widow Of Main and through His
revelation of the heavenly home and
the Fathers love He could have light
ercd her heart of much of its sorrow.
But His way was that Of the most in
cisive action against the cause OF her
grief. Affection and sorrow and pain
ara not regarded by Jesus as divinely
sent nor to be unnecessarily borne.
He opposed them. He threw the
weight of His teachings and life
against everything that tended to pro-
duce them. He set priceless value
not only upon human life, but upon
the liberty that life was to enjoy, and
everything that bound and dwarfed
that liberty He fought unto the end.
Oh, what judgment upon this coun-
try, where human life is held SO
cheaply, where men perish by thou
sands upon the railroads and in the
mines, where grinding industrial life
sweeps pinching poverty into the
homes, where selfishness and pleasure
allow disease and suffering to spread
far and wide with ravaging hand!
Jesus fought this misery and gave
Himself unstintedly to unburden the
lives OF men,.
And now in approaching the final
consideration of this theme it is i'm
|,portant that we bear in mind the
/ steps thus far taken, for they have an
immediate bearing upon what is to
| follow. We have seen that Jesus was
Ia fullest sympathy with all who car
! ried burden, and that all such found
a way of approach to Him at all times
In the second place, we have seen
that He was in such accord with His
Father. in heaven that the mighties1
of works were possible unto Him and
were accomplished through Him to
relieve human sorrow. And we have
seen, too, that His loving compassion
knew no bounds, that 1T embraced
the individual as we'll as the multi.
tude, that it left no. one with whom
He came in contact outside His al
fection. And lastly, we have consid-
cred the fact that Jesus opposed Him.
self to evil in whatever form 1t was
found, and regarded pain and Attic,
ton as enemies to be trodden under
foot.
Dear friends, while we have been
talking about Jesus we have in reality
been talking about our heavenly
Father. While we havs teen consid'
ering the compassion Of Jesus we
have been discussing the loving com.
passion OF God. The former is the
perfect manifestation OF the latter.
All that has been said o! Jesus com.
passion l now assert to be true OF
| Gods love. If there is any one here
with burden, heavy s2rroW, MD
den grief, let me tell you that you dc
not bear it alone. 1t may have
seemed ofttimes that the Father had
| forgotten you or had overlooked you
in the multitude, but the very mo-
ment that the hour has been dark
est is the time He has been most
near. iIe has always kept the way oi
approach open, which is more thar
we can say for ourselves. and otter
when our ear heard not and oul
heart inclined not His voice has beer
calling Come unto Me, all We tha
labor and are heavy laden, and viii
give YOU rest"
Nor has He overlooked one. NJ
one is beyond the reach of His love
1t may have been long ago that yol
turned aside from Him and you ma.
/ feel that you are indeed strange
with no claim upon Him. But 1t Il
not SO. His compassion is withou
bound.