The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-07-21

III
Gospel Age that now God is gatharinI
His Elect: and that as soon as thi
work shall have been accomplished til
Almightv's Hand which has held ii
check the powers OF human passion I'm
I'll now. will release its hold.
Then mankind. left to themselves
Will wreck their present civilization
AS the rich OF Jesus day suffered mos
keenly In their time OF trouble, So tn,
rich Will suffer most keenly lii the time
OF trouble now near. Thank God, how
ever, that these woes. both upon thu
Jews and upon Christendom today. arr
not Woes of eternal torment!
Congratulations In Nature.
Who has not been struck with Ma
lures compansations? The rich TIL
learned. the favored. have trials and
difficulties. perplexities, cares. doubts
and fears. which the poor. the unlearJ.
%. know nothing about. The clerk,
the mechanic and the Iaborer NAV An.
ish their toll under certain hours and
be care free, while the employer often
races perpiexing problems which hin.
der sleep and undermine health.
In matters of grace the same rule to
some extent, prevails. The rich have
more on which to set their hearts.
more to occupy their time. more to cul-
tiVate self-will. more opportunity for
Disqualification. more riches for which
to be responsible, more education by
which, under present conditions. errors
are more likely to he gained than truth.
the rich in influence have more to d.
vert them and to cultivate their pride.
The naturally noble. contrasting them
selves With. their inferior neighbors.
are inclined to resent the idea that
they are sinners. and as much depend.
n upon the Lords grace as the hum
blest and the meanest of their fellows.
No Partially With God.
We are not to understand that God
Is partial to the poor, the mean. the
illiterate. th@ ignoble. The Scriptures
assure US that God is impartial. All
other conditions being equal. riches.
honor, nobility of character. would
make the possessors more esteemed In
Gods. sight. But other conditions are
not equal. During this Age God is
choosing a special class. He puts
faith first. then meekness, g~entieness.
patience. ~brotherly kindness and love,
in their order.
Apparently the life experiences of
the poor and ignoble are as favorable.
or more so. than the conditions of the
rich and the talented. All Of their ex-
periences tend to develop faith, while
those of the rich tend rather to de-
velop self-reliance. self-assurance. The
experiences of the poor and ignorant
tend to develop meekness. %teachable-
less. whereas the experiences OF the
learned tend naturally toward self-con-
ceit. The experiences of the great in
dealing with subordinates tend to be-
get arrogance and self-assurance;
whereas If they become disciples Of
Christ, those qualities are serious hand
leaps and interferences. Thus we see
why not many rich. wise, great and
noble are amongst those upon whom
the Gospel Message takes serious eff
feet. Not only have the poor many
advantages in respect to hearing and
obtaining the Gospel Message: but
their being more numerous than the
rich would be another reason why ther
would predominant among the Lords
elect class,
Not All Poor Are Blessed.
Our text. however, does not refer to
poor people in general. butte a special
class of poor. BLESSED be ne poor.
for yours lie the Kingdom of Cod"
Some poor, instead of being drawn to
God by their poverty, cultivate a spir-
of anger. malice. hatred, strife, and
are thus not only embittered in spirit.
but have their faces turned in the OPP
posite direction from the one in which
Gods blessings come. Alas, how true
this is today
The class described by Jesus as I'VE
poor is composed of those who are
Aungering after righteousness, and
who have approached the Fountain of
Blessing. the Almighty, and have been
as children of God. The poor
include oil of Gods people. whether
n not poor as respects earthly goods.
earthly honor, fame, etc. Whatever
rarthly blessings they may have had.
they gave up, sacrificed. that they
might thereby become heirs of God.
ioint-heirs with Jesus Christ. OF the
Redeemer 1t is written. HE was rich,
vet for your sakes He became poor"
AS the Master made a full surrender
of His will and talents, and all, SO also
must all who. hearing the Masters
voice. become His disciples. or foot /
followers Cor. SO: Matt. 1924.
This does not mean that the Lords
people must of necessity throw away
Or give away their property and he
come penniless. 1T does mean. how
Y e that whatever property they once
called their own, by the terms of their
conservation became the Lords prop
arty, and they merely His stewards In
administration Of that property
and the use Of it in harmony with the
will.
Neither does this mean that. lie they !
aad riches Of learning, they must ig-
their knowledge. and speak ans
ignorantly. II means. however,
hat their learning Is no longer. theirs,
nut the Lords. 1t is no longer to be
lsed for self-gratiication. self .honor,
'elf-praise. but to be used in the serv-
q tnelf, hedeeruef, iorth
His praises, no matter ilegy unpopular