ry interested
feeling. _The merciful man doeth good to his own soul.[9] He that hath
pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given
will he pay him again.[10] 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 not.[11] Blessed are the merciful; for they shall
obtain mercy._[12] Are there not then abundant rewards promised to deeds
of beneficence?--rewards, how far transcending our best services, how
more, infinitely more than adequate to our most painful labors, our
greatest sacrifices. God has a right to all we have, for he only lends
us all, yet he condescends to receive a portion from us again, as if a
favor were conferred upon himself, and he has put in his stead the sick,
the naked, the hungry and the afflicted, and says, _inasmuch as ye have
done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto
me_.[13] And not only does he condescend thus to accept our charitable
deeds, but gives them his blessing and reward. _Blessed is he that
considereth the poor; the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble._[14]

While then, my brethren, we have every encouragement to persevere in
works of beneficence, though they may be accompanied with labor, and be
repaid with human ingratitude, let us be duly thankful that there are
other occasions on which we can discharge duty, and at the same time
open a source of the purest and noblest gratification. Yes--painful as
may be some of those walks of charity which the christian must pursue,
and revolting as are some of those objects which he must encounter, we
know that there are paths for the benevolent where their footsteps fall
pleasantly, and a refreshing fragrance surrounds them, and smiling
objects meet them, and satisfactions the most delightful, urge them
forward. We can sometimes give, and pleasure shall accompany the act,
and unmingled good shall follow it, and gratitude shall reward it, and
God himself shall crown it with the brightest wreath. Say I not true
when I speak of giving to the destitute orphan? Is not this a deed of
unalloyed satisfaction, is it not one upon which the _bountiful eye_ may
look to fill the soul with an unrestrained generosity? Here