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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Psalms XLIX].</TITLE>
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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1710)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>P S A L M S</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>PSALM XLIX.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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This psalm is a sermon, and so is the next. In most of the psalms we
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have the penman praying or praising; in these we have him preaching;
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and it is our duty, in singing psalms, to teach and admonish ourselves
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and one another. The scope and design of this discourse is to convince
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the men of this world of their sin and folly in setting their hearts
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upon the things of this world, and so to persuade them to seek the
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things of a better world; as also to comfort the people of God, in
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reference to their own troubles and the grief that arises from the
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prosperity of the wicked.
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I. In the preface he proposes to awaken worldly people out of their
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security
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+49:1-3">ver. 1-3</A>)
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and to comfort himself and other godly people in a day of distress,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+49:4,5">ver. 4, 5</A>.
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II. In the rest of the psalm,
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1. He endeavours to convince sinners of their folly in doting upon the
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wealth of this world, by showing them
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(1.) That they cannot, with all their wealth, save their friends from
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death,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+49:6-9">ver. 6-9</A>.
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(2.) They cannot save themselves from death,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+49:10">ver. 10</A>.
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(3.) They cannot secure to themselves a happiness in this world,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+49:11,12">ver. 11, 12</A>.
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Much less,
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(4.) Can they secure to themselves a happiness in the other world,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+49:14">ver. 14</A>.
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2. He endeavours to comfort himself and other good people,
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(1.) Against the fear of death,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+49:15">ver. 15</A>.
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(2.) Against the fear of the prospering power of wicked people,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+49:16-20">ver. 16-20</A>.
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In singing this psalm let us receive these instructions, and be
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wise.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ps49_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps49_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps49_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps49_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps49_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>A Call to Attention.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<CENTER>
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<P>To the chief musician. A psalm for the sons of Korah.</P>
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</CENTER>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Hear this, all <I>ye</I> people; give ear, all <I>ye</I> inhabitants of the
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world:
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2 Both low and high, rich and poor, together.
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3 My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my
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heart <I>shall be</I> of understanding.
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4 I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark
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saying upon the harp.
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5 Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, <I>when</I> the
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iniquity of my heels shall compass me about?
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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This is the psalmist's preface to his discourse concerning the vanity
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of the world and its insufficiency to make us happy; and we seldom meet
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with an introduction more solemn than this is; for there is no truth of
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more undoubted certainty, nor of greater weight and importance, and the
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consideration of which will be of more advantage to us.</P>
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<P>
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I. He demands the attention of others to that which he was about to say
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+49:1,2"><I>v.</I> 1, 2</A>):
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<I>Hear this, all you people;</I> hear it and heed it, hear it and
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consider it; what is spoken once, hear twice. <I>Hear and give ear,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+62:9,11">Ps. lxii. 9, 11</A>.
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Not only, "Hear, all you Israelites, and give ear all the inhabitants
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of Canaan," but, <I>Hear, all you people, and give ear, all you
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inhabitants of the world;</I> for this doctrine is not peculiar to
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those that are blessed with divine revelation, but even the light of
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nature witnesses to it. All men may know, and therefore let all men
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consider, that their riches will not profit them in the day of death.
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<I>Both low and high,</I> both <I>rich and poor,</I> must come
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together, to hear the word of God; let both therefore hear this with
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application. Let those that are high and rich in the world hear of the
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vanity of their worldly possessions and not be proud of them, nor
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secure in the enjoyment of them, but lay them out in doing good, that
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with them they may make to themselves friends; let those that are poor
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and low hear this and be content with their little, and not envy those
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that have abundance. Poor people are as much in danger from an
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inordinate desire towards the wealth of the world as rich people from
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an inordinate delight in it. He gives a good reason why his discourse
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should be regarded
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+49:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>):
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<I>My mouth shall speak of wisdom;</I> what he had to say,
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1. Was true and good. It is wisdom and understanding; it will make
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those wise and intelligent that receive it and submit to it. It is not
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doubtful but certain, not trivial but weighty, not a matter of nice
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speculation but of admirable use to guide us in the right way to our
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great end.
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2. It was what he had himself well digested. What his mouth spoke was
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the <I>meditation of his heart</I> (as
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+19:14,45:1">Ps. xix. 14; xlv. 1</A>);
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it was what God put into his mind, what he had himself seriously
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considered, and was fully apprized of the meaning of and convinced of
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the truth of. That which ministers speak from their own hearts is most
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likely to reach the hearts of their hearers.</P>
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<P>
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II. He engages his own attention
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+49:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>):
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<I>I will incline my ear to a parable.</I> It is called a
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<I>parable,</I> not because it is figurative and obscure, but because
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it is a wise discourse and very instructive. It is the same word that
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is used concerning Solomon's proverbs. The psalmist will himself
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incline his ear to it. This intimates,
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1. That he was taught it by the Spirit of God and did not speak of
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himself. Those that undertake to teach others must first learn
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themselves.
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2. That he thought himself nearly concerned in it, and was resolved not
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to venture his own soul upon that bottom which he dissuaded others from
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venturing theirs upon.
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3. That he would not expect others should attend to that which he
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himself did not attend to as a matter of the greatest importance. Where
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God <I>gives the tongue of the learned</I> he first <I>wakens the ear
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to hear as the learned,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+50:4">Isa. l. 4</A>.</P>
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<P>
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III. He promises to make the matter as plain and as affecting as he
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could: <I>I will open my dark saying upon the harp.</I> What he learned
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for himself he would not conceal or confine to himself, but would
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communicate, for the benefit of others.
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1. Some understood it not, it was a riddle to them; tell them of the
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vanity of the things that are seen, and of the reality and weight of
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invisible things, and they say, <I>Ah Lord God! doth he not speak
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parables?</I> For the sake of such, he would open this dark saying, and
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make it so plain that he that runs might read it.
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2. Others understood it well enough, but they were not moved by it, it
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never affected them, and for their sake he would open it upon the harp,
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and try that expedient to work upon them, to win upon them. <I>A verse
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may find him who a sermon flies.</I> Herbert.</P>
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<P>
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IV. He begins with the application of it to himself, and that is the
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right method in which to treat of divine things. We must first preach
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to ourselves before we undertake to admonish or instruct others. Before
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he comes to set down the folly of carnal security
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+49:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>),
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he here lays down, from his own experience, the benefit and comfort of
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a holy gracious security, which those enjoy who trust in God, and not
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in their worldly wealth: <I>Wherefore should I fear?</I> he means,
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<I>Wherefore should I fear their fear</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+8:12">Isa. viii. 12</A>),
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the fears of worldly people.
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1. "Wherefore should I be afraid of them? Wherefore should I fear in
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the days of trouble and persecution, <I>when the iniquity of my
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heels,</I> or of my supplanters that endeavour to trip up my heels,
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<I>shall compass me about,</I> and they shall surround me with their
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mischievous attempts? Why should I be afraid of those all whose power
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lies in their wealth, which will not enable them to redeem their
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friends? I will not fear their power, for it cannot enable them to ruin
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me." The great men of the world will not appear at all formidable when
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we consider what little stead their wealth will stand them in. We need
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not fear their casting us down from our excellency who cannot support
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themselves in their own excellency.
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2. "Wherefore should I be afraid like them?" The days of old age and
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death are the <I>days of evil,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+12:1">Eccl. xii. 1</A>.
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In the day of judgment <I>the iniquity of our heels</I> (or of our
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steps, our past sins) will compass us about, will be set in order
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before us. <I>Every work will be brought into judgment, with every
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secret thing;</I> and <I>every one of us must give account of
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himself.</I> In these days worldly wicked people will be afraid;
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nothing more dreadful to those that have set their hearts upon the
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world than to think of leaving it; death to them is the king of
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terrors, because, after death, comes the judgment, when their sins will
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surround them as so many furies; but wherefore should a good man fear
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death, who has God with him?
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+23:4">
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Ps. 23:4</A>.
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When his iniquities compass him about, he sees them all pardoned, his
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conscience is purified and pacified, and then even in the judgment-day,
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when the hearts of others fail them for fear, he can lift up his head
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with joy,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+21:26,28">Luke xxi. 26, 28</A>.
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Note, The children of God, though ever so poor, are in this truly
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happy, above the most prosperous of the children of this world, that
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they are well guarded against the terrors of death and the judgment to
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come.</P>
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<A NAME="Ps49_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps49_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps49_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps49_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps49_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps49_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps49_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps49_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps49_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Vanity of Worldly Riches; The End of the Wicked.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>6 They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the
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multitude of their riches;
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7 None <I>of them</I> can by any means redeem his brother, nor give
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to God a ransom for him:
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8 (For the redemption of their soul <I>is</I> precious, and it
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ceaseth for ever:)
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9 That he should still live for ever, <I>and</I> not see corruption.
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10 For he seeth <I>that</I> wise men die, likewise the fool and the
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brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others.
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11 Their inward thought <I>is, that</I> their houses <I>shall
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continue</I> for ever, <I>and</I> their dwelling places to all
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generations; they call <I>their</I> lands after their own names.
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12 Nevertheless man <I>being</I> in honour abideth not: he is like
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the beasts <I>that</I> perish.
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13 This their way <I>is</I> their folly: yet their posterity approve
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their sayings. Selah.
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14 Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on
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them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the
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morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their
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dwelling.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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In these verses we have,</P>
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<P>
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I. A description of the spirit and way of worldly people, whose portion
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is in this life,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:14">Ps. xvii. 14</A>.
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It is taken for granted that they have wealth, and a multitude of
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riches
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+49:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>),
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houses and lands of inheritance, which they call their own,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+49:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
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God often gives abundance of the good things of this world to bad men
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who live in contempt of him and rebellion against him, by which it
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appears that they are not the best things in themselves (for then God
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would give most of them to his best friends), and that they are not the
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best things for us, for then those would not have so much of them who,
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being marked for ruin, are to be ripened for it by their prosperity,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+1:32">Prov. i. 32</A>.
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A man may have abundance of the wealth of this world and be made better
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by it, may thereby have his heart enlarged in love, and thankfulness,
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and obedience, and may do that good with it which will be fruit
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abounding to his account; and therefore it is not men's having riches
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that denominates them worldly, but their setting their hearts upon them
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as the best things; and so these worldly people are here described.
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1. They repose a confidence in their riches: <I>They trust in their
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wealth</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+49:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>);
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they depend upon it as their portion and happiness, and expect that it
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will secure them from all evil and supply them with all good, and that
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they need nothing else, no, not God himself. Their gold is their hope
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+31:24">Job xxxi. 24</A>),
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and so it becomes their God. Thus our Saviour explains the difficulty
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of the salvation of rich people
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mk+10:24">Mark x. 24</A>):
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<I>How hard is it for those that trust in riches to enter into the
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kingdom of God!</I> See
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ti+6:17">1 Tim. vi. 17</A>.
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2. They take a pride in their riches: <I>They boast themselves in the
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multitude of them,</I> as if they were sure tokens of God's favour and
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certain proofs of their own ingenuity and industry (<I>my might, and
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the power of my hand, have gotten me this wealth</I>), as if they made
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them truly great and happy, and more really excellent than their
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neighbours. They boast that they have all they would have
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+10:3">Ps. x. 3</A>)
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and can set all the world at defiance (<I>I sit as a queen, and shall
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be a lady for ever</I>); therefore <I>they call their lands after their
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own names,</I> hoping thereby to perpetuate their memory; and, if their
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lands do retain the names by which they called them, it is but a poor
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honour; but they often change their names when they change their
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owners.
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3. They flatter themselves with an expectation of the perpetuity of
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their worldly possessions
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+49:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>):
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<I>Their inward thought is that their houses shall continue for
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ever,</I> and with this thought they please themselves. Are not all
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thoughts inward? Yes; but it intimates,
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(1.) That this thought is deeply rooted in their minds, is rolled and
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revolved there, and carefully lodged in the innermost recesses of their
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|
hearts. A godly man has thoughts of the world, but they are his outward
|
|
thoughts; his inward thought is reserved for God and heavenly things:
|
|
but a worldly man has only some floating foreign thoughts of the things
|
|
of God, while his fixed thought, his inward thought, is about the
|
|
world; that lies nearest his heart, and is upon the throne there.
|
|
|
|
(2.) There it is industriously concealed. They cannot, for shame, say
|
|
that they expect their houses to continue for ever, but inwardly they
|
|
think so. If they cannot persuade themselves that they shall continue
|
|
for ever, yet they are so foolish as to think <I>their houses</I>
|
|
shall, and their dwelling-places; and suppose they should, what good
|
|
will that do them when they shall be no longer theirs? But they will
|
|
not; for the world passes away, and the fashion of it. All things are
|
|
devoured by the teeth of time.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. A demonstration of their folly herein. In general
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+49:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>This their way is their folly.</I> Note, The way of worldliness is a
|
|
very foolish way: those that lay up their treasure on earth, and set
|
|
their affections on things below, act contrary both to right reason and
|
|
to their true interest. God himself pronounced him <I>a fool</I> who
|
|
thought his goods were laid up for many years, and that they would be a
|
|
portion for his soul,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+12:19,20">Luke xii. 19, 20</A>.
|
|
|
|
And yet their posterity approve their sayings, agree with them in the
|
|
same sentiments, say as t hey say and do as they do, and tread in the
|
|
steps of their worldliness. Note, The love of the world is a disease
|
|
that runs in the blood; men have it by kind, till the grace of God
|
|
cures it. To prove the folly of carnal worldlings he shows,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. That with all their wealth they cannot save the life of the dearest
|
|
friend they have in the world, nor purchase a reprieve for him when he
|
|
is under the arrest of death
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+49:7-9"><I>v.</I> 7-9</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>None of them can by any means redeem his brother,</I> his brother
|
|
worldling, who would give counter-security out of his own estate, if he
|
|
would but be bail for him: and gladly he would, in hopes that he might
|
|
do the same kindness for him another time. But their words will not be
|
|
taken one for another, nor will one man's estate be the ransom of
|
|
another man's life. God does not value it; it is of no account with
|
|
him; and the true value of things is as they stand in his books. His
|
|
justice will not accept it by way of commutation or equivalent. The
|
|
Lord of our brother's life is the Lord of our estate, and may take both
|
|
if he please, without either difficulty to himself or wrong to us; and
|
|
therefore one cannot be ransom for another. We cannot bribe death, that
|
|
our brother should still live, much less that he should live for ever,
|
|
in this world, nor bribe the grave, that he should not see corruption;
|
|
for we must needs die, and return to the dust, and there is no
|
|
discharge from that war. What folly is it to trust to that, and boast
|
|
of that, which will not enable us so much as for one hour to respite
|
|
the execution of the sentence of death upon a parent, a child, or
|
|
friend that is to us as our own soul! It is certainly true that <I>the
|
|
redemption of the soul is precious and ceaseth for ever;</I> that is,
|
|
life, when it is going, cannot be arrested, and when it is gone it
|
|
cannot be recalled, by any human art, or worldly price. But this looks
|
|
further, to the eternal redemption which was to be wrought out by the
|
|
Messiah, whom the Old-testament saints had an eye to as the Redeemer.
|
|
Everlasting life is a jewel of too great a value to be purchased by the
|
|
wealth of this world. We are <I>not redeemed with corruptible things,
|
|
such as silver and gold,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Pe+1:18,19">1 Pet. i. 18, 19</A>.
|
|
|
|
The learned Dr. Hammond applies the
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+49:8,9">8th and 9th verses</A>
|
|
|
|
expressly to Christ: "<I>The redemption of the soul shall be
|
|
precious,</I> shall be high-prized, it shall cost very dear; but, being
|
|
once wrought, it shall cease for ever, it shall never need to be
|
|
repeated,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+9:25,26,10:12">Heb. ix. 25, 26; x. 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
And he (that is, the Redeemer) <I>shall yet live for ever, and shall
|
|
not see corruption;</I> he shall rise again before he sees corruption,
|
|
and then shall live for evermore,"
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+1:18">Rev. i. 18</A>.
|
|
|
|
Christ did that for us which all the riches of the world could not do;
|
|
well therefore may he be dearer to us than any worldly things. Christ
|
|
did that for us which a brother, a friend, could not do for us, no, not
|
|
one of the best estate or interest; and therefore those that <I>love
|
|
father or brother more than him are not worthy of him.</I> This
|
|
likewise shows the folly of worldly people, who sell their souls for
|
|
that which would never buy them.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. That with all their wealth they cannot secure themselves from the
|
|
stroke of death. The worldling sees, and it vexes him to see it, that
|
|
<I>wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+49:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
Therefore he cannot but expect that it will, at length, come to his own
|
|
turn; he cannot find any encouragement to hope that he himself shall
|
|
continue for ever, and therefore foolishly comforts himself with this,
|
|
that, though he shall not, his house shall. Some rich people are wise,
|
|
they are politicians, but they cannot out-wit death, nor evade his
|
|
stroke, with all their art and management; others are fools and brutish
|
|
(<I>Fortuna favet fatuis--Fools are Fortune's favourites</I>); these,
|
|
though they do no good, yet perhaps do no great hurt in the world: but
|
|
that shall not excuse them; they shall perish, and be taken away by
|
|
death, as well as the wise that did mischief with their craft. Or by
|
|
the wise and the foolish we may understand the godly and the wicked;
|
|
the godly die, and their death is their deliverance; the wicked perish,
|
|
and their death is their destruction; but, however, they leave their
|
|
wealth to others.
|
|
|
|
(1.) They cannot continue with it, nor will it serve to procure them a
|
|
reprieve. That is a frivolous plea, though once it served a turn
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+41:8">Jer. xli. 8</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>Slay us not, for we have treasures in the field.</I>
|
|
|
|
(2.) They cannot carry it away with them, but must leave it behind
|
|
them.
|
|
|
|
(3.) They cannot foresee who will enjoy it when they have left it; they
|
|
must leave it to others, but to whom they know not, perhaps to a fool
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+2:19">Eccl. ii. 19</A>),
|
|
|
|
perhaps to an enemy.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
3. That, as their wealth will stand them in no stead in a dying hour,
|
|
so neither will their honour
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+49:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Man, being in honour, abides not.</I> We will suppose a man advanced
|
|
to the highest pinnacle of preferment, as great and happy as the world
|
|
can make him, man in splendour, man at his best estate, surrounded and
|
|
supported with all the advantages he can desire; yet then he abides
|
|
not. His honour does not continue; that is a fleeting shadow. He
|
|
himself does not, he tarries not all night; this world is an inn, in
|
|
which his stay is so short that he can scarcely be said to get a
|
|
night's lodging in it; so little rest is there in these things; he has
|
|
but a baiting time. <I>He is like the beasts that perish;</I> that is,
|
|
he must as certainly die as the beasts, and his death will be as final
|
|
a period to his state in this world as theirs is; his dead body
|
|
likewise will putrefy as theirs does; and (as Dr. Hammond observes)
|
|
frequently the greatest honours and wealth, unjustly gotten by the
|
|
parent, descend not to any one of his posterity (as the beasts, when
|
|
they die, leave nothing behind them to their young ones, but the wide
|
|
world to feed in), but fall into other hands immediately, for which he
|
|
never designed to gather them.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
4. That their condition on the other side of death will be very
|
|
miserable. The world they dote upon will not only not save them from
|
|
death, but will sink them so much the lower into hell
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+49:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Like sheep they are laid in the grave.</I> Their prosperity did but
|
|
feed them like sheep for the slaughter
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+4:16">Hos. iv. 16</A>),
|
|
|
|
and then death comes, and shuts them up in the grave like fat sheep in
|
|
a fold, <I>to be brought forth to the day of wrath,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+21:30">Job xxi. 30</A>.
|
|
|
|
Multitudes of them, like flocks of sheep dead of some disease, are
|
|
thrown into the grave, and there death shall feed on them, the second
|
|
death, <I>the worm that dies not,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+24:20">Job xxiv. 20</A>.
|
|
|
|
Their own guilty consciences, like so many vultures, shall be
|
|
continually preying upon them, with, <I>Son, remember,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+16:25">Luke xvi. 25</A>.
|
|
|
|
Death insults and triumphs over them, as it is represented in the fall
|
|
of the king of Babylon, at which <I>hell from beneath is moved,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+14:9-23">Isa. xiv. 9</A>,
|
|
|
|
&c. While a saint can ask proud Death, <I>Where is thy sting?</I> Death
|
|
will ask the proud sinner, <I>Where is thy wealth, thy pomp?</I> and
|
|
the more he was fattened with prosperity the more sweetly will death
|
|
feed on him. And in the morning of the resurrection, when all that
|
|
sleep in the dust shall awake
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Da+12:2">Dan. xii. 2</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>the upright shall have dominion over them,</I> shall not only be
|
|
advanced to the highest dignity and honour when they are filled with
|
|
everlasting shame and contempt, elevated to the highest heavens when
|
|
they are sunk to the lowest hell, but they shall be assessors with
|
|
Christ in passing judgment upon them, and shall applaud the justice of
|
|
God in their ruin. When the rich man in hell begged that Lazarus might
|
|
bring him a drop of water to cool his tongue he owned that that upright
|
|
man had dominion over him, as the foolish virgins also owned the
|
|
dominion of the wise, and that they lay much at their mercy, when the
|
|
begged, <I>Give us of your oil.</I> Let this comfort us in reference to
|
|
the oppressions which the upright are now often groaning under, and the
|
|
dominion which the wicked have over them. The day is coming when the
|
|
tables will be turned
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Est+9:1">Esther ix. 1</A>)
|
|
|
|
and the upright will have the dominion. Let us now judge of things as
|
|
they will appear at that day. But what will become of all the beauty
|
|
of the wicked? Alas! that shall all be <I>consumed in the grave from
|
|
their dwelling;</I> all that upon which they valued themselves, and for
|
|
which others caressed and admired them, was adventitious and borrowed;
|
|
it was paint and varnish, and they will rise in their own native
|
|
deformity. The beauty of holiness is that which the grave, that
|
|
consumes all other beauty, cannot touch, or do any damage to. Their
|
|
beauty shall consume, the grave (or hell) being a habitation to every
|
|
one of them; and what beauty can be there where there is nothing but
|
|
the blackness of darkness for ever?</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ps49_15"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps49_16"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps49_17"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps49_18"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps49_19"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ps49_20"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Privilege of the Godly.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for
|
|
he shall receive me. Selah.
|
|
16 Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of
|
|
his house is increased;
|
|
17 For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory
|
|
shall not descend after him.
|
|
18 Though while he lived he blessed his soul: and <I>men</I> will
|
|
praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself.
|
|
19 He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall
|
|
never see light.
|
|
20 Man <I>that is</I> in honour, and understandeth not, is like the
|
|
beasts <I>that</I> perish.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Good reason is here given to good people,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. Why they should not be afraid of death. There is no cause for that
|
|
fear if they have such a comfortable prospect as David here has of a
|
|
happy state on the other side death,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+49:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
He had shown
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+49:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>)
|
|
|
|
how miserable the dead are that die in their sins, where he shows how
|
|
blessed the dead are that die in the Lord. The distinction of men's
|
|
outward condition, how great a difference soever it makes in life,
|
|
makes none at death; rich and poor meet in the grave. But the
|
|
distinction of men's spiritual state, though, in this life, it makes a
|
|
small difference, where all things come alike to all, yet, at and after
|
|
death, it makes a very great one. <I>Now he is comforted, and thou art
|
|
tormented.</I> The righteous has hope in his death, so has David here
|
|
hope in God concerning his soul. Note, The believing hopes of the
|
|
soul's redemption from the grave, and reception to glory, are the great
|
|
support and joy of the children of God in a dying hour. They hope,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. That God will redeem their souls from the power of the grave, which
|
|
includes,
|
|
|
|
(1.) The preserving of the soul from going to the grave with the body.
|
|
The grave has a power over the body, by virtue of the sentence
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+3:19">Gen. iii. 19</A>),
|
|
|
|
and it is cruel enough in executing that power
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=So+8:6">Cant. viii. 6</A>);
|
|
|
|
but is has no such power over the soul. It has power to silence, and
|
|
imprison, and consume the body; but the soul then moves, and acts, and
|
|
converses, more freely than ever
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+6:9,10">Rev. vi. 9, 10</A>);
|
|
|
|
it is immaterial and immortal. When death breaks the dark lantern, yet
|
|
it does not extinguish the candle that was pent up in it.
|
|
|
|
(2.) The reuniting of the soul and body at the resurrection. The soul
|
|
is often put for the life; that indeed falls under the power of the
|
|
grave for a time, but is hall, at length, be redeemed from it, when
|
|
<I>mortality shall be swallowed up of life.</I> The God of life, that
|
|
was its Creator at first, can and will be its Redeemer at last.
|
|
|
|
(3.) The salvation of the soul from eternal ruin: "<I>God shall redeem
|
|
my soul from the sheol of hell</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+49:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>),
|
|
|
|
the wrath to come, that pit of destruction into which the wicked shall
|
|
be cast,"
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+49:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
It is a great comfort to dying saints that they shall not be hurt of
|
|
the second death
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+2:11">Rev. ii. 11</A>),
|
|
|
|
and therefore the first death has no sting and the grave no
|
|
victory.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. That he will receive them to himself. He redeems their souls, that
|
|
he may receive them.
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:5">Ps. xxxi. 5</A>,
|
|
|
|
<I>Into thy hands I commit my spirit, for thou has redeemed it.</I> He
|
|
will receive them into his favour, will admit them into his kingdom,
|
|
into the mansions that he prepared for them
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+14:2,3">John xiv. 2, 3</A>),
|
|
|
|
those everlasting habitations,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+16:9">Luke xvi. 9</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. Why they should not be afraid of the prosperity and power of wicked
|
|
people in this world, which, as it is their pride and joy, has often
|
|
been the envy, and grief, and terror of the righteous, which yet, all
|
|
things considered, there is no reason for.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. He supposes the temptation very strong to envy the prosperity of
|
|
sinners, and to be afraid that they will carry all before them with a
|
|
high hand, that with their wealth and interest they will run down
|
|
religion and religious people, and that they will be found the truly
|
|
happy people; for he supposes,
|
|
|
|
(1.) That they are made rich, and so are enabled to give law to all
|
|
about them and have every thing at command. <I>Pecuniæ obediunt
|
|
omnes et omnia--Every person and every thing obey the commanding
|
|
influence of money.</I>
|
|
|
|
(2.) That the glory of their house, from very small beginnings, is
|
|
increased greatly, which naturally makes men haughty, insolent, and
|
|
imperious,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+5:16">Ps. v. 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
Thus they seem to be the favourites of heaven, and therefore
|
|
formidable.
|
|
|
|
(3.) That they are very easy and secure in themselves and in their own
|
|
minds
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+49:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>In his life-time he blessed his soul;</I> that is, he thought
|
|
himself a very happy man, such a one as he would be, and a very good
|
|
man, such a one as he should be, because he prospered in the world. He
|
|
blessed his soul, as that rich fool who said to his soul, "<I>Soul,
|
|
take thy ease,</I> and be not disturbed either with cares and fears
|
|
about the world or with the rebukes and admonitions of conscience. All
|
|
is well, and will be well for ever." Note,
|
|
|
|
[1.] It is of great consequence to consider what that is in which we
|
|
bless our souls, upon the score of which we think well of ourselves.
|
|
Believers <I>bless themselves in the God of truth</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+65:16">Isa. lxv. 16</A>)
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and think themselves happy if he be theirs; carnal people bless
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themselves in the wealth of the world, and think themselves happy if
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they have abundance of that.
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[2.] There are many whose precious souls lie under God's curse, and yet
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they do themselves bless them; they applaud that in themselves which
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God condemns, and speak peace to themselves when God denounces war
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against them. Yet this is not all.
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(4.) They are in good reputation among their neighbours: "<I>Men will
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praise thee,</I> and cry thee up, as having done well for thyself in
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raising such an estate and family." This is the sentiment of all the
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children of this world, that those do best for themselves that do most
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for their bodies, by heaping up riches, though, at the same time,
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nothing is done for the soul, nothing for eternity; and accordingly
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they <I>bless the covetous, whom the Lord abhors,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+10:3">Ps. x. 3</A>.
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If men were to be our judges, it were our wisdom thus to recommend
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ourselves to their good opinion: but what will it avail us to be
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approved of men if God condemn us? Dr. Hammond understands this of the
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good man here spoken to, for it is the second person, not of the wicked
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man spoken of: "<I>He, in his life-time, blessed his soul, but thou
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shalt be praised for doing well unto thyself.</I> The worldling
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magnified himself; but thou that dost not, like him, speak well of
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thyself, but do well for thyself, in securing thy eternal welfare, thou
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shalt be praised, if not of men, yet of God, which will be thy
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everlasting honour."</P>
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<P>
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2. He suggests that which is sufficient to take off the strength of the
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temptation, by directing us to look forward to the end of prosperous
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sinners
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+73:17">Ps. lxxiii. 17</A>):
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"Think what they will be in the other world, and you will see no cause
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to envy them what they are and have in this world."</P>
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<P>
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(1.) In the other world they will be never the better for all the
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wealth and prosperity they are now so fond of. It is a miserable
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portion, which will not last so long as they must
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+49:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>):
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<I>When he dies</I> it is taken for granted that he goes into another
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world himself, but <I>he shall carry nothing away with him</I> of all
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that which he has been so long heaping up. The greatest and wealthiest
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cannot therefore be the happiest, because they are never the better for
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their living in this world; as they came naked into it, they shall go
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naked out of it. But those have something to show in the other world
|
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for their living in this world who can say, through grace, that though
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they came corrupt, and sinful, and spiritually naked, into it, they go
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renewed, and sanctified, and well clothed with the righteousness of
|
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Christ, out of it. Those that are rich in the graces and comforts of
|
|
the Spirit have something which, when they die, they shall carry away
|
|
with them, something which death cannot strip them of, nay, which death
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|
will be the improvement of; but, as for worldly possessions, as we
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|
<I>brought nothing into the world</I> (what we have we had from
|
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others), so it is certain that we shall carry nothing out, but leave it
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to others,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ti+6:7">1 Tim. vi. 7</A>.
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They shall descend, but <I>their glory,</I> that which they called and
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counted their glory, and gloried in, <I>shall not descend after
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them</I> to lessen the disgrace of death and the grave, to bring them
|
|
off in the judgment, or abate the torments of hell. Grace is glory that
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|
will ascend with us, but no earthly glory will descend after us.</P>
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<P>
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(2.) In the other world they will be infinitely the worse for all their
|
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abuses of the wealth and prosperity they enjoyed in this world
|
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+49:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>):
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<I>The soul shall go to the generation of his fathers,</I> his worldly
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wicked fathers, whose sayings he approved and whose steps he trod in,
|
|
his fathers who would not hearken to the word of God,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+1:4">Zech. i. 4</A>.
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He shall go to be there where they are that shall never see light,
|
|
shall never have the least glimpse of comfort and joy, being condemned
|
|
to utter darkness. Be not afraid then of the pomp and power of wicked
|
|
people; for the end of the man that is in honour, if he be not wise and
|
|
good, will be miserable; if he understand not, he is to be pitied
|
|
rather than envied. A fool, a wicked man, in honour, is really as
|
|
despicable an animal as any under the sun; he is <I>like the beasts
|
|
that perish</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+49:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>);
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nay, it is better to be a beast than to be a man that makes himself
|
|
like a beast. Men in honour that understand, that know and do their
|
|
duty and make conscience of it, are as gods, and children of the Most
|
|
High. But men in honour that understand not, that are proud, and
|
|
sensual, and oppressive, are as beasts, and they shall perish, like the
|
|
beasts, ingloriously as to this world, though not, like the beasts,
|
|
indemnified as to another world. Let prosperous sinners therefore be
|
|
afraid for themselves, but let not even suffering saints be afraid of
|
|
them.</P>
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