Disaster pursues sinners, but prosperity is the reward of the righteous. Sermons
These are striking words, and they give us a graphic picture of penalty in pursuit of the guilt which is seeking and hoping to escape, but which is certain to be overtaken. I. SIN AND SUFFERING ARE INSEPARABLY ASSOCIATED IN THOUGHT, In our judgment and in our feeling they go together; they belong to one another. There is no need to go beyond this point; it is ultimate. If we sin, we deserve to suffer, and must expect to suffer. It is right that we should, and the hand that brings it about is a righteous hand. 11. THEY OFTEN SEEM TO BE DIVIDED IN FACT. As we observe human life, we see that the murderer sometimes escapes the reach of law, that the swindler sometimes flourishes upon the losses of his victims, that the tyrant sometimes reigns long over the nation he has defrauded of its freedom, that sometimes the man who lives in the practice of vice continues to enjoy health for many years, that the dishonest author may reap a considerable reputation and may long remain unexposed, etc. but in this case - III. PENALTY IS PURSUING SIN AND WILL OVERTAKE IT. "Evil pursueth sinners" Justice is on the track, and sooner or later will lay its hand upon its victim. 1. It will most likely do so here. Very frequently, indeed almost always, some penalty immediately overtakes guilt; if not in bodily loss or suffering, yet in spiritual injury. And if not at once, penalty soon follows crime, vice, wrong doing. Or if not soon, yet after many years, the "evil" comes and lays its stern hand upon the shoulder. The man may not, probably does not, see or even believe in its approach. Its step is silent, and it may be slow, but it is constant and certain. The "evil" may be physical, and very of, on it is so; or it may be mental, intellectual; or it may be circumstantial; or it may be in reputation; or it may be in character, and this last, though least seen and often least regarded, is in truth the saddest and the most serious of all, for it affects the man himself - he "loses his own soul." Thus, "though leaden-footed," penalty is "iron-handed." 2. It will surely do so hereafter. (See Matthew 25:31, 32; 2 Corinthians 5:10, etc.) Yet not inconsistent with all this, - IV. THERE IS ONE MERCIFUL INTERCEPTION. If we truly repent of our sin, we shall be freely and abundantly forgiven. 1. God will change his condemnation into acceptance and parental favour, so that we shall walk thenceforward in the light of his countenance. 2. He will avert the heavier consequences of our sin by introducing into our heart and life all the remedial and restorative influences of righteousness. And there must be considered - V. THE CONVERSE BENEFICENT LAW AFFECTING THE RIGHTEOUS. "To the righteous good shall be repaid." 1. All right acts are immediately followed by an inner and spiritual blessing; we must be something the better in soul forevery really right thing we do. 2. All right actions, done in a reverent and filial spirit, will bring God's blessing down further on. He is "not unrighteous to forget our work of faith and our labour of love." Such blessings come in many forms, and at various intervals; but they do come; they are following the upright, and they will overtake them and cream them. 3. The reward of integrity and faithfulness only comes in part below; God holds great things in reserve for us (Matthew 25:21; 1 Corinthians 4:5). - C. Evil pursueth sinners:but to the righteous good shall be repaid. The practice of righteousness is men's true interest, even in this present life. Wickedness is generally attended with great misery, even here as well as hereafter. Exceptions must, of course, be made in cases of persecution for truth and righteousness' sake. 1. Consider mankind in general, under the notion of one universal community. Then the only thing which distinguishes men from wild beasts, with regard to any true happiness of life, is religion, or a sense of the just and right, and of the difference between moral good and evil. Reason, dissociated from moral obligation, only makes men more effectually destroy one another. Reason implying a sense of moral obligation is the secret of happiness in human life. 2. Take a less general view of mankind, in their more restrained political capacity, as formed into particular distinct nations and governments. In this view the only true and lasting happiness depends on the practice of righteousness and true virtue. In proportion as justice, and order, and truth, and fidelity prevail, the happiness of society is secured. 3. Consider men singly, every one in his mere private and personal capacity. Still the only possibility of lasting happiness is the practice of righteousness, charity, temperance, and universal virtue. Illustrate in relation to health; riches, honour, and reputation; inward peace and satisfaction in a man's own mind. Here virtue triumphs absolutely without control, and has no competitor. () The pursuit is a successful pursuit. The evil not only follows the transgressor, but it lays hold of him at last, and wrings out its penalties. Much sin is committed in spite of the remonstrance of conscience, and with the secret acknowledgments, on the part of the perpetrator, that he is doing wrong, and exposing himself to punishment. These men must have some specific with which they quiet their apprehensions, and procure for themselves an ease in the doing of what they know to be wrong. Direct attention to one form of deceit — the expectation of concealment, and therefore of impunity. It is unquestionably thus in regard of those offences of which human laws take cognisance. And much sin is committed with the secret hope that God will not observe it, or that He will not be extreme to take vengeance. It is false to suppose that any sin will pass without recompense just because Christianity is a system which provides in full measure for its forgiveness. Our redemption through Christ does not at all exempt from the temporal penalties of sin. It so makes future happiness dependent on present holiness that every pardoned sin may be punished with the loss of something glorious in eternity. It is a mistaken objection to Christianity that the arrangements of the Christian system secure a certain class of men against the being pursued and overtaken in their sins, because it takes for granted that forgiven sin must go wholly unpunished. Evil "pursueth"; that is, hunts the sinner with the greatest pertinacity, tracking him through the various scenes of life, and then, when the man fancies he is safe, suddenly darting upon him, and exacting all the punishment. Illustrate by the vices and follies of youth-time, or by the mere idling away of the early years of life. No sin can ever be committed which is not, in one way or another, punished by God. This is true of sins committed after conversion, as well as before conversion. Then let no man depart and think that he may sin yet one more sin and not eventually be a sufferer. () I. THE LAW OF MORAL CAUSATION SHOWS THIS. Man's character is not the creation of a day or an hour, it is the result of past actions. When no change has taken place, like that of regeneration, the man's character to-day is the result of the whole of his past life, and will be, without such a renovation, the cause of the whole of his future. Character is a fruitful tree, it never ceases bearing, every branch is clustered, but the fruit is either misery or happiness, according to its own vital essence. II. THE CONSTITUTION OF MORAL MIND SHOWS THIS. Moral mind has at least two faculties. 1. One to recall the past. The law of memory compels us to re-live our past lives. 2. One to feel the past. The past does not flit before us as shadows on the wall, as images on the glass, making no impression; it falls on conscience, it stirs it into feeling. The soul is compelled to shudder at a wicked past, whilst a virtuous past fills it with a quiet and ineffable delight. III. THE TEACHING OF HOLY WRIT SHOWS THIS. The Bible assures us that God will render to every man according to his deeds (Joshua 7:20-26; Matthew 35.; Romans 2:6-10). ()
People SolomonPlaces JerusalemTopics Adversity, Evil, Misfortune, Overtake, Prosperity, Pursues, Pursueth, Recompensed, Recompenseth, Repaid, Repayed, Reward, Rewarded, Rewards, Righteous, Sinner, Sinners, UprightOutline 1. a scoffer does not listen to rebuke
Dictionary of Bible Themes Proverbs 13:21 5499 reward, divine Proverbs 13:15-22 6024 sin, effects of Proverbs 13:21-22 6040 sinners
7150 righteous, the Library The Tillage of the Poor
'Much food is in the tillage of the poor.'--PROVERBS xiii. 23. Palestine was a land of small peasant proprietors, and the institution of the Jubilee was intended to prevent the acquisition of large estates by any Israelite. The consequence, as intended, was a level of modest prosperity. It was 'the tillage of the poor,' the careful, diligent husbandry of the man who had only a little patch of land to look after, that filled the storehouses of the Holy Land. Hence the proverb of our text arose. It …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy ScriptureThe Poor Rich and the Rich Poor
'There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing; there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.'--PROVERBS xiii. 7. Two singularly-contrasted characters are set in opposition here. One, that of a man who lives like a millionaire and is a pauper; another, that of a man who lives like a pauper and is rich. The latter character, that of a man who hides and hoards his wealth, was, perhaps, more common in the days when this collection of Proverbs was put together, because in all ill-governed …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Practical Methods of Studying the Old Testament
[Sidenote: The various methods of approach] The Old Testament may be studied as literature, as history, as the record of an important stage in the evolution of religion, as the revelation of God to the race, or as a practical aid to the individual in living the true life. Each angle of approach calls for different methods and yields its correspondingly rich results. Studied in accordance with the canons of modern literary investigation, a literature is disclosed of surpassing variety, beauty, and …
Charles Foster Kent—The Origin & Permanent Value of the Old Testament The Song of the Redeemed
And they sung a new song, saying, Thou ... hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation ... T he extent, variety, and order of the creation, proclaim the glory of God. He is likewise, ^* Maximus in Minimis . The smallest of the works, that we are capable of examining, such for instance as the eye or the wing of a little insect, the creature of a day, are stamped with an inimitable impression of His wisdom and power. Thus in His written Word, there …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2 The Heavenly Footman; Or, a Description of the Man that Gets to Heaven:
TOGETHER WITH THE WAY HE RUNS IN, THE MARKS HE GOES BY; ALSO, SOME DIRECTIONS HOW TO RUN SO AS TO OBTAIN. 'And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain: escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.'--Genesis 19:17. London: Printed for John Marshall, at the Bible in Gracechurch Street, 1698. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. About forty years ago a gentleman, in whose company I had commenced my …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3 "And this is his Commandment," &C.
1 John iii. 23.--"And this is his commandment," &c. There are different tempers of mind among men, some more smooth and pliable, others more refractory and froward. Some may be persuaded by love, who cannot be constrained by fear. With some a request will more prevail than a command. Others again are of a harsher disposition. Love and condescension doth rather embolden them, and therefore they must be restrained with the bridle of authority. It would seem that the Lord hath some regard to this in …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning Second Sunday after Easter
Text: First Peter 2, 20-25. 20 For what glory is it, if, when ye sin, and are buffeted for it, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye shall take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. 21 For hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that ye should follow his steps: 22 who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: 23 who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, threatened not; but committed …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. II How is Christ, as the Life, to be Applied by a Soul that Misseth God's Favour and Countenance.
The sixth case, that we shall speak a little to, is a deadness, occasioned by the Lord's hiding of himself, who is their life, and "the fountain of life," Ps. xxxvi. 9, and "whose loving-kindness is better than life," Ps. lxiii. 3, and "in whose favour is their life," Ps. xxx. 5. A case, which the frequent complaints of the saints manifest to be rife enough, concerning which we shall, 1. Shew some of the consequences of the Lord's hiding his face, whereby the soul's case will appear. 2. Shew the …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life Opposition to Messiah Ruinous
Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel T here is a species of the sublime in writing, which seems peculiar to the Scripture, and of which, properly, no subjects but those of divine revelation are capable, With us, things inconsiderable in themselves are elevated by splendid images, which give them an apparent importance beyond what they can justly claim. Thus the poet, when describing a battle among bees, by a judicious selection of epithets …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2 "But if Ye have Bitter Envying and Strife in Your Hearts, Glory Not," &C.
James iii. 14.--"But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not," &c. It is a common evil of those who hear the gospel, that they are not delivered up to the mould and frame of religion that is holden out in it, but rather bring religion into a mould of their own invention. It was the special commendation of the Romans, that they obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine into which they were delivered, (Rom. vi. 17) that they who were once servants, or slaves of sin, had now …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning "But Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God, and his Righteousness, and all These Things Shall be Added unto You. "
Matth. vi. 33.--"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." The perfection even of the most upright creature, speaks always some imperfection in comparison of God, who is most perfect. The heavens, the sun and moon, in respect of lower things here, how glorious do they appear, and without spot! But behold, they are not clean in God's sight! How far are the angels above us who dwell in clay! They appear to be a pure mass of light and …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning Blessed are the Poor in Spirit
Having spoken of the general notion of blessedness, I come next to consider the subjects of this blessedness, and these our Saviour has deciphered to be the poor in spirit, the mourners, etc. But before I touch upon these, I shall attempt a little preface or paraphrase upon this sermon of the beatitudes. 1 Observe the divinity in this sermon, which goes beyond all philosophy. The philosophers use to say that one contrary expels another; but here one contrary begets another. Poverty is wont to expel …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12 Proverbs
Many specimens of the so-called Wisdom Literature are preserved for us in the book of Proverbs, for its contents are by no means confined to what we call proverbs. The first nine chapters constitute a continuous discourse, almost in the manner of a sermon; and of the last two chapters, ch. xxx. is largely made up of enigmas, and xxxi. is in part a description of the good housewife. All, however, are rightly subsumed under the idea of wisdom, which to the Hebrew had always moral relations. The Hebrew …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Proverbs 13:21 NIV
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