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God Blesses Those Who Consider the Poor, September
22
Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in
time of trouble.
Psalm 41:1
.
We are God’s servants, doing His service. Into the great web of life
we are to draw no thread of selfishness; for this would spoil the pattern.
But, oh, how thoughtless men are apt to be! How seldom do they make the
interest of God’s suffering ones their own. The poor are all around them,
but they pass on, thoughtless and indifferent, regardless of the widows and
orphans who, left without resources, suffer, but do not tell their need. If
the rich would place a small fund in the bank, at the disposal of the needy
ones, how much suffering would be saved. The holy love of God should
lead every one to see that it is his duty to care for some other one, and
thus keep alive the spirit of benevolence.... He honors us by making us
His helping hand. Instead of complaining, let us rejoice that we have the
privilege of serving under so good and merciful a Master
Hear what Isaiah says: “Bring the poor that are cast out to thy house;
when thou seest the naked, cover him.... Then shall thy light break forth
as the morning.” Your souls shall be like a watered garden, whose waters
fail not....
I remember the case of a poor man, who lived near a rich widow....
She had had her orchard trimmed, and the limbs and sprouts thus cut off
lay by the fence. This poor man asked of her the small favor to give him
this brush to use for fuel; but she refused him, saying, “I want to keep
them; for the ashes will enrich my ground.” I never pass the house of that
woman without thinking of this incident. Ground enriched to the neglect
of the poor
When there is a failure to appreciate the necessities of humanity, an
unwillingness to be God’s helping hand, the most costly offerings, the
grandest display of liberality, are abominable in His sight
It is in a life of service only that true happiness is found
[273]
50
The S.D.A. Bible Commentary 1:1118, 1119
.
51
The Review and Herald, December 23, 1884
.
52
Letter 8, 1901
.
53
The Review and Herald, May 2, 1907
.
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