IV, 19-22. 19. Parable of the Unmerciful Servant. Thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou besoughtest me: shouldest not thou also have had mercy on thy fellow servant, even as I had mercy on thee? Matthew xviii, 21-35. (R.v.) 20. Parable of the Good Samaritan. Which of these three, thinkest thou, proved neighbour unto him that fell among the robbers? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. And Jesus said unto him, Go, and do thou likewise. Luke x, 30-37. (R.V.) 21. He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honour. Proverbs xxi, 21. (a.v.) The Punishment of Oppressors. 22. He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want. IV, 23-24. poor: Rob not the poor, because he is neither oppress Proverbs xxii, 16, 22, 23. (a.v.) 23. The Lord will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people, and the princes thereof: for ye have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses. What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor? saith the Lord God of hosts. Isaiah iii, 14, 15. (A.v.) 24. Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity! Behold, is it not of the Lord of hosts that the peoples labour for * the fire, and the nations weary themselves for vanity? For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. Habakkuk ii, 12-14. (R.V.) *A.V., "Shall labour in the very fire." IV, 25-27. 25. Judgment is without mercy to him that hath shewed no mercy: mercy glorieth against judgment. James ii, 13. (R.V.) 26. The days of visitation are come, the days of recompence are come; Israel shall know it: the prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is mad, for the multitude of thine iniquity, and the great hatred. Hosea ix, 7. (A.V.) 27. Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed; to turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless! And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory? Without me they shall bow down under the prisoners, and they shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger IV, 28-31. is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. Isaiah x, 1-4. (A.v.) 28. He hath oppressed and forsaken the poor; he hath violently taken away an house and he shall not build it up. Job xx, 19. (R.V.) Warnings against Oppressors. 29. Trust not in oppression, and become not vain in robbery: if riches increase set not your heart thereon. 30. Psalm lxii, 10. (R.V.) Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child. If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry; and my wrath shall wax hot. Exodus xxii, 22-24. (R.v.) 31. He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor. Proverbs xiv, 31. (A.v.) IV, 32-33. 32. Hear, I pray you, ye heads of Jacob, and rulers of the house of Israel: is it not for you to know judgment? who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones; who also eat the flesh of my people; and they flay their skin from off them, and break their bones: yea, they chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron. Micah iii, 1-3. (R.v.) The Misery of the Oppressed. 33. Then I returned and saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold, the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power, but they had no comforter. Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive; yea, better than them both did I esteem him |