The Mankato free press., 1913-07-25

| wishing that nothing might disturb
/ their wonderful progress for the future
! and these are looking for their bless
ings and prosperity in direction the
reverse of that indicated by the Word
/ of God
Jesus prophetically foreknew anu
foretold the crisis of the Jewish nation
His Message gathered out of that ma
| ton the "Israelites indeed. in whom
was no guile Then the nation W
given over to itself. fhe Divine Hand
which had guided it safely in the past
let go the rudder: and human passion
accomplished the wreck in the anarchy
which overthrow the nation In A. d,
20. Similarly. we may understand that
now has come the Harvest of this
Gospel Age: that now God is gathering
| His Elect: and that as soon as this
| work shall have been accomplished. the
! Almighty's Hand which has held in
check the powers OF human passion un-
til now. will release its hold.
Then manlSnd. left to themselves,
will wreck their present civilization.
AS the rich of Jesus day suffered most
keenly in their time of trouble. so the
rich will suffer most keenly in the time
of trouble now near. Thank God. how
ever. that these woes. both upon the
Jews and upon Christendom today, are
not woes OF eternal torment.
Compensations In Nature.
Who has not been struck with Ma
lures compensations? The rich, the
learned. the favored. have trials and
difficulties. perplexities. cares. doubts
and fears. which the poor. the unlearn-
ed. know nothing about. The clerk.
the mechanic and the laborer may fin
ish their toll under certain hours and
be care free, while the employer often
faces perplexing problems which him
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
self-gratifcatiOn. more riches for which
to be responsible. more education by
which. under present conditions. errors
are more likely to be gained than truth.
The rich in influence have more to di-
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
ent 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. the 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. gentleness.
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-
experiences of the poor and ignorant
tend to develop meekness. teachable
ness. whereas the experiences of the
learned tend naturally toward self-con-
ceit. The experiences of the great in
dealing with subordinates tend to be-
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 they
would predominate among the Lords
elect class.
Not All Poor Are Blessed.
Our text. however. does not refer to
poor people in general. but to special
class of poor. BLESSED be ye poor:
for yours is the Kingdom of God."
Some poor. instead of being drawn to
God by their poverty, cultivate spir-
it 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
hungering after righteousness. and
who have approached the Fountain of
Blessing. the Almighty and have been
received as children of God. The poor
include all of Gods people. whether
or not poor as respects earthly goods,
earthly honor. fame, etc. Whatever
earthly blessings they may have had.
they gave up, sacrificed. that they
might thereby become hein of God,
joint-heirs with Jesus Christ. OF the
Redeemer it is written. ''He was rich.
yet for your sakeS He became poor.''
AS the Master made full surrender
of His will and talents. and all. so also
must all who. hearing the Masters
voice. become His disciples. or foot
step followers.-2 Cor SO: Matt 1924
This does not mean that the Lords
people must of necessity throw away
or give away their property and be-