members, and to regard every thing which is done for them, not only as done for him, but as done personally to himk. O what a thought is this to one who feels his obligations to Christ ! I suppose there is scarcely an enlightened Christian in the universe, who has not envied, the women who had the privilege of " ministering to him of their substance1:" but the man who delights in comforting the poor, occupies their pro- vince -tand is privileged to view, as it were, the very person of Christ in all such guests. Verily, he can have but little love for his Saviour who does not feel more delight in this thought, than in all the gratifications which high company and a well- spread table ever afforded.]
2. Of benefit—
[All the benefit that the feasting of the rich brings with it, is, the getting a good name among them, and the being invited to their feasts in return. The latter of these is what our Lord rather teaches us to dread, inasmuch as it cancels the obligation we have conferred, and makes our expenditure in vainm. It is to be lamented, however, that amongst his reputed followers, the being invited to feasts is no great object of dread. But the man who feasts the poor, can look for no recompence from them ; (except indeed in their blessings and their prayers ;) but from God, he shall be recompensed a hundred-fold.
The communications of grace and peace shall abound to- wards him whose delight is in doing good : " having watered others he shall be watered himself." This is declared by an inspired writer in the most express and most eloquent terms: " If thou deal thy bread to the hungry, and bring the poor that are cast out to thy house ; if when thou seest the naked, thou cover him, and hide not thyself from thine own flesh ; 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 noon-day : 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 notn." What a glorious recompence is this !
But there is a time coming when his recompence shall be complete. " At the resurrection of the just," God will ac- knowledge all that has been done for the poor as " a loan lent to him; and he will repay it" all with interest0. We take for granted indeed that the person is a believer in Christ, and that, in relieving the poor, he does it for Christ's sake, and not from an idea of establishing a righteousness of his own. This
k Matt. xxv. 35 — 40. x Luke viii. 3. m ver. 12.
n Isai. lviii. 7 — 11. ° Prov. xix. 17. 1 Tim. vi. 17 — 19.