Proverbs 10:7 The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot. It is a trite saying that the present is the only period of time we can call our own; but it is a saying not less true than trite. Now is the moment of action. By our acts in this living present we shall become a power as a memory. In our footsteps our successors will trace our characters as the geologist traces those of the beasts end birds of antediluvian fame. I. WHAT DOES THE TEXT ASSERT OF THE NAME AND MEMORY OF THE WICKED? 1. A wicked man's memory lives in his children. Sometimes as a beacon to warn of danger. 2. In their sins the wicked perpetuate their memory. Those who are not content to be in the road to hell themselves, but must inveigle others into the same accursed paths, surely fasten their memories on the souls of their victims. What putrid animal matter is to our physical senses the memory of the wicked shall be to our moral sensibilities when they are gone. II. THE MEMORY OF THE RIGHTEOUS IS BLESSED. True, as a rule, in the case of the children of the good men. Exceptions prove the rule. Let our children find us faithful to our principles, to our professions, to our Saviour, and when we are gone our memory "shall be blessed." The memory of the just shall be blessed in their actions — their acts live long after they are gone, in their effects. Illustrate by the memories of the martyrs end reformers. And there are martyrs in humble life. We have, then, a work to do, that our memories may be a blessing and not a curse, that we may leave footprints behind for others to walk in. (W. Morris.) Parallel Verses KJV: The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot.WEB: The memory of the righteous is blessed, but the name of the wicked will rot. |
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