Chapter
147
The Poor and Our
Duty Toward Them
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Is the Lord
indifferent to the condition of the poor?
"The Lord heareth the poor." Ps. 69:33. See also Ps. 72:12.
What was our
Saviour's attitude toward the poor?
"He hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor." Luke 4:18.
"Whensoever ye will ye may do them good." Mark 14:7. Read also
Acts 20:35.
What promises
are made to those who consider the poor?
"Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver
him in the time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him, and keep him
alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him
unto the will of his enemies. The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of
languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness." Ps. 41:1-3.
When one gives
to the poor, how does the Lord consider the act?
"He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord: and that
which he hath given will He pay him again." Prov. 19:17.
Will the Lord
bear in mind His promise to repay these acts of kindness?
"For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love,
which ye have showed toward His name, in that ye have ministered to the saints,
and do minister." Heb. 6:10.
If one turns a
deaf ear to the pressing cry of those in need, how will the Lord regard him?
"Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry
himself, but shall not be heard." Prov. 21:13.
Who are
specially mentioned as those who should be cared for?
"Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge
the fatherless, plead for the widow." Isa. 1:17.
How is such a
work designated in the New Testament?
"Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is
this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep
himself unspotted from the world." James 1:27.
What kind of a
fast would God have His people hold?
"Is not this
the fast that I have chosen? ...Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and
that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the
naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own
flesh?" Isa. 58:6, 7.
What promise is
for those who do this work?
"Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt
cry, and He shall say, Here I am." Isa. 58:9.
Will such have
darkness and discouragements?
"And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted
soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the
noonday." Isa. 58:10.
And what may he
be sure of?
"And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy
soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered
garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not." Isa. 58:11.
In view of the
promises to those who carry out these things, whose example ought all to follow?
"I was a father to the poor; and the cause which I knew not I
searched out." Job 29:16.
What did the
Saviour enjoin upon the rich young man, that he might have treasure in heaven?
"Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou
hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come
and follow Me." Matt. 19:21.
What will the
Saviour say to the saints when the time comes for them to inherit the kingdom?
"For I was an hungered, and ye gave Me meat; 1 was thirsty and ye gave Me
drink; I was a stranger, and ye took Me in; naked, and ye clothed Me; I was
sick, and ye visited Me; I was in prison, and ye came unto Me."
Matt. 25:35, 36.
When the
righteous shall ask in surprise when they performed these good deeds, what will
the Saviour say unto them?
"And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, In
as much as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have
done it unto Me." Matt. 25:40.
Is it true,
then, that if we neglect a poor saint in any degree, we thus neglect the Saviour?
"Then shall He answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, In as
much as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to Me."
Matt. 25:45.
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