Matthew 11:5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up… Christ's gospel was one of mercy to the poor. His conduct fortified His words. His earliest life was of poverty. His miracles were not philosophical enigmas; but of mercy to helpless sufferers. Thus Christ represented the best spirit of the Old Testament. The genius of the Jewish Scriptures is that of mercy to the poor; the prophets denounced avarice. This view of the gospel also fits in with the order of the unfolding of human life and human society. It takes sides with the poor, and so the universal tendency of Providence and of history, slowly unfolded, is, nevertheless, on the whole, going from low to high, from worse to better, and from good toward the perfect. When we consider, we tee that man begins as a helpless thing, a baby zero without a figure before it; and every step in life adds a figure to it and gives it more and more worth. On the whole, the law of unfolding throughout the world is from lower to higher, and though, when applied to the population of the globe, it is almost inconceivable; still, with many back-sets and reactions, the tendency of the universe is thus from lower to higher. Why? Let any man consider whether there is not of necessity a benevolent intelligence somewhere, that is drawing up from the crude toward the ripe, from the rough toward the smooth, from bad to good, and from good through better toward best; and the tendency upward runs like a golden thread through the history of the whole world, both in the unfolding of human life and in the unfolding of the race itself. Thus the tendency of nature is in accordance with the tendency of the gospel as declared by Jesus Christ — namely, that it is a ministry of mercy to the needy. The causes of poverty are worthy consideration. 1. Climate and soil have much to do with it. Men whose winters last nine months, as in extreme north, cannot be rich. Some live on borders of deserts. 2. Bad government is a public source of poverty. Property is insecure. 3. Ignorance or undevelopedness of mind is a great cause of poverty. All property is matter that has been shaped to uses by intelligent skill. It is the husbandman who thinks, foresees, and calls on natural laws to serve Him whose farm brings forth one hundred fold. 4. The appetites and passions of men are the causes of poverty. The men of animalism are always at the bottom of society. All these causes indicate that the poor need moral and intellectual culture. To preach the gospel to the poor is to awaken the mind of the poor. It is a gospel of prosperity. Its primary result is to develop the man himself; to give him such qualities that he will not need relief. The gospel changed from a spirit of humanity into a philosophical system of doctrine, is perverted. Churches organized upon elective affinities are contrary to the spirit of the gospel. Art and intellectual communion right; but must not abandon humanity. The church needs poor men; it needs familiarity with universal human nature. (H. W. Beecher.) Parallel Verses KJV: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. |
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