allen, and they cry not
only to God, but to man for mercy. Think, my brothers, you who have
this world's good, how often have you answered the cry? Have you ever
stayed by the fallen traveller when others passed by; have you ever
poured in the wine of help, and the soothing oil of sympathy; have you
ever tried to bind up the wounds of one injured by the cruel tongues of
this hard world? Or did you pass by with the crowd on the other side,
saying how sad a sight it was, but still no affair of yours?

O brethren, for whom Christ died, for whose sake He went about with sad
eyes, and weary feet, seeking to save the lost, how can we look to Him
for mercy if we never show mercy, how can we ask forgiveness unless we
forgive? The earthly life of Jesus is, in every respect, the model for
our life. He came to seek and to save, to search for the lost sheep,
to call home the prodigals, to bind up the broken-hearted, to visit the
fatherless and the widows in their affliction, to assist the weary and
heavy-laden to find rest. As Christ's disciples, we are bidden in a
humbler way to go and do likewise. This world is full of sorrow and
sickness, doubt and anxiety. All around us there are brethren with
broken fortunes, or breaking hearts; there are those whose house is
left unto them desolate, and over whose threshold has fallen the shadow
of death. There are prodigals who only need a kind word to bring them
home, wandering sheep who only want a loving hand to turn them back to
the fold. And God bids us do what we can to help these our brethren,
saying that inasmuch as we have done it unto the least of them, we have
done it unto Him. We are all fellow-pilgrims through this world, and
we _must_ help one another. We are all dwelling in a world of sorrow
and sin, and we _must_ strengthen each other to bear their troubles.
"We know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain
together until now." Even "the dumb, driven cattle" have their share
of suffering, and look at us with beseeching eyes, asking for mercy.
And if we refuse mercy to them, our humbler brethren, or if we refuse
it to our fellow men, how dare we look for mercy on the day of Christ's
appearing? We are distinctly told that as we do unto others, so shall
it be done unto us. "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain
mercy. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged. Condemn not, and ye
shall not be condemned. Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven. Gi