April 21
GOD REPAYS
"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
We are to give to the poor out of pity. Not to be seen and
applauded, much less to get influence over them; but out of pure
sympathy and compassion we must give them help.
We must not expect to get anything back from the poor, not even
gratitude; but we should regard what we have done as a loan to the
Lord. He undertakes the obligation, and, if we look to Him in the
matter, we must not look to the second party. What an honor the Lord
bestows upon us when He condescends to borrow of us! That merchant is
greatly favored who has the Lord on his books. It would seem a pity to
have such a name down for a paltry pittance; let us make it a heavy
amount. The next needy man that comes this way, let us help him.
As for repayment we can hardly think of it, and yet here is the
Lord's note of hand. Blessed be His name, His promise to pay is better
than gold and silver. Are we running a little short through the
depression of the times? We may venture humbly to present this bill at
the Bank of Faith. Has any one of our readers been a bit of a screw to
the poor? Poor soul. May the Lord forgive him.