This, to the carnal mind, presents a difficulty not easy to be explained —
[There is in the mind of man a general idea that the Go- vernor of the Universe will testify by his present dis])ensations his love for virtue, and his hatred of iniquity. The friends of Job carried this notion so far, that, without any other evidence than
what
* Zeph. ill. 12. •* John xv. ]g, " 2 Tim. iii. 12.
"* Heb. xii. 6 — S. * J Pet. i. (j. ' ver. -i, 5.
^ Dan. V. 2Q. with ver. 6. '' ver. 7.
' ver. 8,9. Mark tlie language of ver. 9. '' ver. 11.
258 PSALMS, Lxxiii. 16, 17. [387.
what arose from his peculiar trials, they concluded, that he must of necessity have been a hypocrite and deceiver, whom justice at last had visibly overtaken. Nor could Job himself under- stand, how it should be, that the prosperity of the wicked should be so great, whilst he, who had walked in his integrity, was so overwhelmed with troubles ^ Even the prophet Jeremiah, who might be supposed to have a deeper insight into divine truth than Job, was stumbled at the same thing™: and therefore we must not wonder that it operates as a temptation in the minds of the generality.
Under the Mosaic dispensation, the difficulty of accounting for these things was certainly very great : for all the sanctions of the Law were almost, if not altogether, of a temporal nature : tem- poral prosperity was promised, and that too in very general and unqualified terms, as the reward of obedience ; and temporal judgments were threatened as the punishment of disobedience : and consequently, when the wicked prospered and the righteous were oppressed, it seemed as if the Providence of God were in direct opposition to his word. Nor did Moses alone give ground for such expectations : even David himself had said, that " they who sought the Lord should want no manner of thing that was good"." Nay more, the same language is used in the New Tes- tament : If we " seek first the kingdom of God and his righteous- ness, all earthly comforts shall be added unto us." And again, *' Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth °." Now it may be asked. How can this consist with the exaltation of the wicked, and the almost universal depression of the righteous, of whom it may be said, that '^ they are plagued all the day long, and chastened every morning??"]
But the Psalmist, having stated his difficulty, gives us, II. The solution —
To the carnal mind the difficulty is insurmount- able : but *' if we enter into the sanctuary of God," it will vanish instantly. There we shall see the lamentable state of the wicked in the midst of their prosperity ;
1 . The danger of their way — [*' Their feet are set in slippery places," where it is, humanly speaking, impossible for them to stand. This may appear a strong assertion ; but it is not at all too strong : it is the assertion
of our Lord himself 1 —Indeed, it is with great justice said
by
• Job xxi, 7 — 13. " Jer. xii. 1. " Ps. xxxiv. 10. & Ixxxiv. U. » Matt. V. 5. & vi. 33. «■ ver. 14.
•J Mark x 23—27.
387.] sinners' prosperity not enviable. 259
by Solomon, that '^ the prosperity of fools destroyeth them"^;" for it almost universally generates those very dispositions which are so strongly depicted in the psalm before us^ If riches in- crease, we are immediately ready "to set our heart upon them*," and to trust in them rather than in God". They foster pride in the heart of the possessor''; and lead not unfrequently to an op- pressive conduct towards the poor^', and to the most daring im- piety towards God ^. Are they then to be envied, who are placed in such perilous circumstances ? Are they to be envied, who, when running for their lives, have " their feet laden with thick clay?" Be it so, that the rich have many comforts which the poor taste not of: but what enjoyment can that man have of a feast, who sees a sword suspended over his head by a single hair, and knows not but that it may fall and pierce him the very next minute ? ►So the man who knows his own weakness, and the force of the temptations to which he may be exposed, will be well satisfied to have such a portion only of this world as God sees fit to give him ; and will abundantly prefer the eternal welfare of 'his soul before all the gratifications that wealth or honour can afford him.]