“For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy in thy land.”Deuteronomy 15, 11.
(WM 15)
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Blessed Are the Merciful—The Lord Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.”Matthew 5:7. There never was a time when there was greater need for the exercise of mercy than today. The poor are all around us, the distressed, the afflicted, the sorrowing, and those who are ready to perish.
(WM 15.1) 2 I
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Those who have acquired riches have acquired them through the exercise of the talents that were given them of God, but these talents for the acquiring of property were given to them that they might relieve those who are in poverty. These gifts were bestowed upon men by Him who maketh His sun to shine and His rain to fall upon the just and the unjust, that by the fruitfulness of the earth men might have abundant supplies for all their need. The fields have been blessed of God, and “of His goodness He hath prepared for the poor.”Psalm 68:10. —The Signs of the Times, June 13, 1892.
(WM 15.2)
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Suffering and Misery Not Intended by God—There are many who complain of God because the world is so full of want and suffering, but God never meant that this misery should exist. He never meant that one man should have an abundance of the luxuries of life while the children of others cry for bread. The Lord is a God of benevolence.—Testimonies for the Church 6:273.
(WM 15.3)
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