The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1910-10-26
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Theme;
THE COMPASSIONATE
CHRIST.
BY THE LATE REV. THEODORE
L. CUYLER, D D.

huhdn WedhHeSS as lie KNOWS IL, or
pities as He can pity. Every suffer-
ing of the body Is known 10 our SYM
pathizing Lord, and every grief that
makes the heart ache.
Human pity is often worn out from
overuse. 1t impatiently mutters, "Is
that poor creature here again? have
helped him dozen times already"
Or it says. THAT miserable fellow has
taken to drink again, has he? am
done trying to save him. He makes
himself a brute; let him die like the
brutes!" Human pity often gives way
Just when 1t should stand the heaviest
strain.
Compassion dwells In the heart of
Christ, as inexhaustible as the sun
light. Our tears hang heavier on
that heart than the planets which
His Divine hand holds in their orbits;
our signs are more audible to His ear
than the blasts of wintry winds are
to us. When we pray Alright, we are
reaching up and taking hold on that
compassion. The penitent publican
was laying hold of It when he cried
out of that broken heart, BE merci-
full to me, a sinner!" 1t Is His sub
lime pity that listens to our
prayers and hears our cries and
grants us what we want Therefore
let us come boldly to the throne Of
grace and make our weakness, our
guiltless, and our griefs to be their
own pleas to Him who is touched
with the feeling Of our inflrmities.
One of the most characteristics
stories Of Abraham Lincoln Is that a
poor soldiers wife came to the White
House, with her infant in her arms,
and asked admission to see the Presi-
dent. She came to beg him TO grant a
pardon to her husband, who was un-
der a military sentence. "Be sure
and take the baby up with you" said
the Irish porter at the White House
door. At length the woman descend
| ed the stairway, weeping for Joy; and
the Irishman exclaimed, "Ah, mum, it
was the baby that d1d it,"
So doth our weakness appeal to the
compassionate heart of our Redeem
er. There Is no more exquisite de-
scription of Him than in this touch:
"He shall feed His flock like shep-
herd; He shall gather the lambs in
His arms and carry them in His
| bosom; He shall gently lead those
| that are with young" Such is our
blessed Masters tender mercy to the
weak. 1t is tender because It never
the feeblest spark.
This world of ours contains vastly
more weak things than strong things.
Here and there towers q mountain
pine of stalwart oak; but the frail
reeds and rushes are innumerable.
Even in the Bible gallery Of charac-
ters, how few are strong; yet none
but had some weakness. Abraham's
tongue is once twisted to a false
hood; the temper OF Moses IL not al
ways proof against proyocation; Eli
jah loses heart under the juniper tree,
and boastful Peter turns poltroon un-
der the taunts of a servant-maid. But
evermore there waits and watches
over us that infinite compassion that
knoweth what Is In poor man, and re-
membereth that we are but dust. For
our want-book He has an infinitely
larger supply-book. The same sym
pathizing Jesus who raised the Jew
ish maiden from her bed Of death.
who rescued sinking Peter. and pitied
a hungry multitude, and wept with
the sisters of Bethany ere He raised
a dead brother to life. Ia living yet.
His love, as Samuel Rutherford said,
hath neither brtm nor bottom"
This compassionate Jesus ought to
be living also in the persons OF those
whom He makes His representatives.
"Bear ye one another's burdens and
80 fulfill the law OF Christ" That law
Is love.
This law OF Christian sympathy
works In two ways; 1t either helps
our fellow-creatures get rid OF their
burdens, or II failing in that, It helps
them to carry the load more lightly.
I'VE that are strong ought to bear
the infirmities of the weak. and not
10 please ourselves"
Here, for example, Is a strong. rich,
well-manned church, some OF Its
members are dying OF dignity and
others are debllitated with Incidence
Yonder is feeble church in numbers
and money. Let the man who counts
one in the strong church go where he
can count ten in the weak church. II
the compassionate Christ should come
into some of our churches, suspect
that He would order more than one
rich, well-fed member on his cushion
and send him TO work IN some mission
school or struggling young enter
prise.
That early Church was saturated
with the compassionate spirit OF theil
Lord. They fulfilled the "law o
Christ" The only genuine successors
of those apostles are the load-lifters
Jesus Christ exerted His Divine Nigh
and infinite love In bearing the loaC
OF mans sin and sorrows. Consecra
tion means copying the compassionate
Christ. Power means debt-the deb
we owe TO the poor, the feeble, th'
sick, the ignorant the fallen. the gull