1. Blessed is he that considereth the poor. This is
the third psalm opening with a benediction, and there is a growth in it beyond
the first two. To search the Word of God comes first, pardoned sin is second,
and now the forgiven sinner brings forth fruit unto God available for the good
of others. The word used is as emphatic as in the former cases, and so is the
blessing which follows it. The poor intended are such as are poor in substance,
weak in bodily strength, despised in repute, and desponding in spirit. These
are mostly avoided and frequently scorned. The sick and the sorry are poor
company, and the world deserts them. Such as have been made partakers of divine
grace receive a tenderer nature, and are not hardened against their own flesh
and blood; they undertake the cause of the downtrodden, and turn their minds
seriously to the promotion of their welfare. They do not toss them a penny and
go on their way, but inquire into their sorrows, sift out their cause, study
the best ways for their relief, and practically come to their rescue; such as these
have the mark of the divine favor upon them, and are as surely the sheep of the
Lord’s pasture as if they wore a brand upon their foreheads. They are not said
to have considered the poor years ago, but they still do so. Stale benevolence,
when boasted of, argues present churlishness. First and foremost, indeed far
above all others put together in tender compassion for the needy is our Lord
Jesus, who so remembered our low estate that, though he was rich, for our sakes
became poor. All his attributes were charged with the task of our uplifting. He
weighed our case and came in the fullness of wisdom to execute the wonderful
work of mercy by which we are redeemed from our destructions. His mercy is
always in the present tense, and so let our praises be. The Lord will deliver him in time oftrouble. The compassionate lover of the poor thought of others, and
therefore God will think of him. Days of trouble come even to the most
generous, and they have made the wisest provision for rainy days who have lent
shelter to others when times were better with them. The promise is not that
generous saints will have no trouble, but that they will be preserved in it,
and in due time brought out of it. How true was this of our Lord! The joy of
doing good, the sweet reaction of another’s happiness, the approving smile of
heaven upon the heart if not upon the estate, all these the niggardly soul
knows nothing of. Selfishness bears in itself a curse; it is a cancer in the
heart. In dark days we cannot rest on the supposed merit of almsgiving, but
still the music of memory brings with it no mean solace when it tells of widows
and orphans whom we have succored, and prisoners and sick folk to whom we have
ministered.
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