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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 I.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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This is a psalm of instruction concerning good and evil, setting before
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us life and death, the blessing and the curse, that we may take the
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right way which leads to happiness and avoid that which will certainly
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end in our misery and ruin. The different character and condition of
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godly people and wicked people, those that serve God and those that
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serve him not, is here plainly stated in a few words; so that every
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man, if he will be faithful to himself, may here see his own face and
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then read his own doom. That division of the children of men into
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saints and sinners, righteous and unrighteous, the children of God and
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the children of the wicked one, as it is ancient, ever since the
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struggle began between sin and grace, the seed of the woman and the
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seed of the serpent, so it is lasting, and will survive all other
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divisions and subdivisions of men into high and low, rich and poor,
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bond and free; for by this men's everlasting state will be determined,
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and the distinction will last as long as heaven and hell. This psalm
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shows us,
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I. The holiness and happiness of a godly man,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+1:1-3">ver. 1-3</A>.
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II. The sinfulness and misery of a wicked man,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+1:4,5">ver. 4, 5</A>.
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III. The ground and reason of both,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+1:6">ver. 6</A>.
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Whoever collected the psalms of David (probably it was Ezra) with good
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reason put this psalm first, as a preface to the rest, because it is
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absolutely necessary to the acceptance of our devotions that we be
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righteous before God (for it is only the prayer of the upright that is
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his delight), and therefore that we be right in our notions of
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blessedness and in our choice of the way that leads to it. Those are
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not fit to put up good prayers who do not walk in good ways.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ps1_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps1_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps1_3"> </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>The Happy Man.</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>1 Blessed <I>is</I> the man that walketh not in the counsel of the
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ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the
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seat of the scornful.
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2 But his delight <I>is</I> in the law of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>; and in his law
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doth he meditate day and night.
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3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
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that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall
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not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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The psalmist begins with the character and condition of a godly man,
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that those may first take the comfort of that to whom it belongs. Here
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is,</P>
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<P>
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I. A description of the godly man's spirit and way, by which we are to
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try ourselves. The Lord knows those that are his by name, but we must
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know them by their character; for that is agreeable to a state of
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probation, that we may study to answer to the character, which is
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indeed both the command of the law which we are bound in duty to obey
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and the condition of the promise which we are bound in interest to
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fulfil. The character of a good man is here given by the rules he
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chooses to walk by and to take his measures from. What we take at our
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setting out, and at every turn, for the guide of our conversation,
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whether the course of this world or the word of God, is of material
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consequence. An error in the choice of our standard and leader is
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original and fatal; but, if we be right here, we are in a fair way to
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do well.</P>
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<P>
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1. A godly man, that he may avoid the evil, utterly renounces the
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companionship of evil-doers, and will not be led by them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+1:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>):
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<I>He walks not in the council of the ungodly, &c.</I> This part of his
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character is put first, because those that will keep the commandments
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of their God must say to evil-doers, <I>Depart from us</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+119:115">Ps. cxix. 115</A>),
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and departing from evil is that in which wisdom begins.
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(1.) He sees evil-doers round about him; the world is full of them;
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they walk on every side. They are here described by three characters,
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<I>ungodly, sinners,</I> and <I>scornful.</I> See by what steps men
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arrive at the height of impiety. <I>Nemo repente fit turpissimus--None
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reach the height of vice at once.</I> They are <I>ungodly</I> first,
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casting off the fear of God and living in the neglect of their duty to
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him: but they rest not there. When the services of religion are laid
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aside, they come to be <I>sinners,</I> that is, they break out into
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open rebellion against God and engage in the service of sin and Satan.
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Omissions make way for commissions, and by these the heart is so
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hardened that at length they come to be <I>scorners,</I> that is, they
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openly defy all that is sacred, scoff at religion, and make a jest of
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sin. Thus is the way of iniquity down-hill; the bad grow worse, sinners
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themselves become tempters to others and advocates for Baal. The word
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which we translate <I>ungodly</I> signifies such as are unsettled, aim
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at no certain end and walk by no certain rule, but are at the command
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of every lust and at the beck of every temptation. The word for
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<I>sinners</I> signifies such as are determined for the practice of sin
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and set it up as their trade. The <I>scornful</I> are those that set
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<I>their mouths against the heavens.</I> These the good man sees with a
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sad heart; they are a constant vexation to his righteous soul. But,
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(2.) He shuns them wherever he sees them. He does not do as they do;
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and, that he may not, he does not converse familiarly with them.
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[1.] He does <I>not walk in the counsel of the ungodly.</I> He is not
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present at their councils, nor does he advise with them; though they
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are ever so witty, and subtle, and learned, if they are ungodly, they
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shall not be the men of his counsel. He does not consent to them, nor
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<I>say as they say,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+23:51">Luke xxiii. 51</A>.
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He does not take his measures from their principles, nor act according
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to the advice which they give and take. The ungodly are forward to give
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their advice against religion, and it is managed so artfully that we
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have reason to think ourselves happy if we escape being tainted and
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ensnared by it.
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[2.] He <I>stands not in the way of sinners;</I> he avoids doing as
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they do; their way shall not be his way; he will not come into it, much
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less will he continue in it, as the sinner does, who <I>sets himself in
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a way that is not good,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+36:4">Ps. xxxvi. 4</A>.
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He avoids (as much as may be) being where they are. That he may not
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imitate them, he will not associate with them, nor choose them for his
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companions. He does not stand in their way, to be picked up by them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+7:8">Prov. vii. 8</A>),
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but keeps as far from them as from a place or person infected with the
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plague, for fear of the contagion,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+4:14,15">Prov. iv. 14, 15</A>.
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He that would be kept from harm must keep out of harm's way.
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[3.] He <I>sits not in the seat of the scornful;</I> he does not repose
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himself with those that sit down secure in their wickedness and please
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themselves with the searedness of their own consciences. He does not
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associate with those that sit in close cabal to find out ways and means
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for the support and advancement of the devil's kingdom, or that sit in
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open judgment, magisterially to condemn the generation of the
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righteous. The seat of the drunkards is the <I>seat of the
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scornful,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:12">Ps. lxix. 12</A>.
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Happy is the man that never sits in it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+7:5">Hos. vii. 5</A>.</P>
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<P>
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2. A godly man, that he may do that which is good and cleave to it,
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submits to the guidance of the word of God and makes that familiar to
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him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+1:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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This is that which keeps him out of the way of the ungodly and
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fortifies him against their temptations. <I>By the words of thy lips I
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have kept me from the path of the deceiver,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:4">Ps. xvii. 4</A>.
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We need not court the fellowship of sinners, either for pleasure or for
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improvement, while we have fellowship with the word of God and with God
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himself in and by his word. <I>When thou awakest it shall talk with
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thee,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+6:22">Prov. vi. 22</A>.
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We may judge of our spiritual state by asking, "What is the law of God
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to us? What account do we make of it? What place has it in us?" See
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here,
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(1.) The entire affection which a good man has for the law of God:
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<I>His delight is in it.</I> He delights in it, though it be a law, a
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yoke, because it is the law of God, which is holy, just, and good,
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which he freely consents to, and so delights in, <I>after the inner
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man,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+7:16,22">Rom. vii. 16, 22</A>.
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All who are well pleased that there is a God must be well pleased that
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there is a Bible, a revelation of God, of his will, and of the only way
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to happiness in him.
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(2.) The intimate acquaintance which a good man keeps up with the word
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of God: <I>In that law doth he meditate day and night;</I> and by this
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it appears that his delight is in it, for what we love we love to think
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of,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+119:97">Ps. cxix. 97</A>.
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To meditate in God's word is to discourse with ourselves concerning the
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great things contained in it, with a close application of mind, a
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fixedness of thought, till we be suitably affected with those things
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and experience the savour and power of them in our hearts. This we must
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do <I>day and night;</I> we must have a constant habitual regard to the
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word of God as the rule of our actions and the spring of our comforts,
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and we must have it in our thoughts, accordingly, upon every occasion
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that occurs, whether night or day. No time is amiss for meditating on
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the word of God, nor is any time unseasonable for those visits. We must
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not only set ourselves to meditate on God's word morning and evening,
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at the entrance of the day and of the night, but these thought should
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be interwoven with the business and converse of every day and with the
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repose and slumbers of every night. <I>When I awake I am still with
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thee.</I></P>
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<P>
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II. An assurance given of the godly man's happiness, with which we
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should encourage ourselves to answer the character of such.
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1. In general, he is <I>blessed,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+5:1">Ps. v. 1</A>.
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God blesses him, and that blessing will make him happy. Blessednesses
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are to him, blessings of all kinds, of the upper and nether springs,
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enough to make him completely happy; none of the ingredients of
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happiness shall be wanting to him. When the psalmist undertakes to
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describe a blessed man, he describes a good man; for, after all, those
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only are happy, truly happy, that are holy, truly holy; and we are more
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concerned to know the way to blessedness than to know wherein that
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blessedness will consist. Nay, goodness and holiness are not only the
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way to happiness
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+22:14">Rev. xxii. 14</A>)
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but happiness itself; supposing there were not another life after this,
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yet that man is a happy man that keeps in the way of his duty.
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2. His blessedness is here illustrated by a similitude
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+1:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>):
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<I>He shall be like a tree,</I> fruitful and flourishing. This is the
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effect,
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(1.) Of his pious practice; he meditates in the law of God, turns that
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<I>in succum et sanguinem--into juice and blood,</I> and that makes him
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like a tree. The more we converse with the word of God the better
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furnished we are for every good word and work. Or,
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(2.) Of the promised blessing; he is blessed of the Lord, and therefore
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<I>he shall be like a tree.</I> The divine blessing produces real
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effects. It is the happiness of a godly man,
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[1.] That he is planted by the grace of God. These trees were by
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nature wild olives, and will continue so till they are grafted anew,
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and so planted by a power from above. Never any good tree grew of
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itself; it is <I>the planting of the Lord,</I> and therefore he must in
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it be glorified.
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+61:3">Isa. lxi. 3</A>,
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<I>The trees of the Lord are full of sap.</I>
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[2.] That he is placed by the means of grace, here called <I>the rivers
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of water,</I> those rivers which <I>make glad the city of our God</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+46:4">Ps. xlvi. 4</A>);
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from these a good man receives supplies of strength and vigour, but in
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secret undiscerned ways.
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[3.] That his practices shall be fruit, abounding to a good account,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Php+4:17">Phil. iv. 17</A>.
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To those whom God first blessed he said, <I>Be fruitful</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+1:22">Gen. i. 22</A>),
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and still the comfort and honour of fruitfulness are a recompense for
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the labour of it. It is expected from those who enjoy the mercies of
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grace that, both in the temper of their minds and in the tenour of
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their lives, they comply with the intentions of that grace, and then
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they bring forth fruit. And, be it observed to the praise of the great
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dresser of the vineyard, they bring forth their fruit (that which is
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required of them) <I>in due season,</I> when it is most beautiful and
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most useful, improving every opportunity of doing good and doing it in
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its proper time.
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[4.] That his profession shall be preserved from blemish and decay:
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<I>His leaf also shall not wither.</I> As to those who bring forth only
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the leaves of profession, without any good fruit, even their leaf will
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wither and they shall be as much ashamed of their profession as ever
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they were proud of it; but, if the word of God rule in the heart, that
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will keep the profession green, both to our comfort and to our credit;
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the laurels thus won shall never wither.
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[5.] That prosperity shall attend him wherever he goes,
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soul-prosperity. <I>Whatever he does,</I> in conformity to the law, it
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<I>shall prosper</I> and succeed to his mind, or above his hope.</P>
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<P>
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In singing
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+1:1-3">these verses</A>,
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being duly affected with the malignant and dangerous nature of sin, the
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transcendent excellencies of the divine law, and the power and efficacy
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of God's grace, from which our fruit is found, we must teach and
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admonish ourselves, and one another, to watch against sin and all
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approaches towards it, to converse much with the word of God, and
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abound in the fruit of righteousness; and, in praying over them, we
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must seek to God for his grace both to fortify us against every evil
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word and work and to furnish us for every good word and work.</P>
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<A NAME="Ps1_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps1_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps1_6"> </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>Description and Doom of the Ungodly.</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>4 The ungodly <I>are</I> not so: but <I>are</I> like the chaff which the
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wind driveth away.
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5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor
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sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
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6 For the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of
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the ungodly shall perish.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here is,
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I. The description of the ungodly given,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+1:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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1. In general, they are the reverse of the righteous, both in character
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and condition: <I>They are not so.</I> The LXX. emphatically repeats
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this: <I>Not so the ungodly; they are not so;</I> they are led by the
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counsel of the wicked, in the way of sinners, to the seat of the
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scornful; they have no delight in the law of God, nor ever think of it;
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they bring forth no fruit but grapes of Sodom; they cumber the ground.
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2. In particular, whereas the righteous are like valuable, useful,
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fruitful trees, <I>they are like the chaff which the wind drives
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away,</I> the very lightest of the chaff, the dust which the owner of
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the floor desires to have driven away, as not capable of being put to
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any use. Would you value them? Would you weigh them? They are like
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chaff, of no worth at all in God's account, how highly soever they may
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value themselves. Would you know the temper of their minds? They are
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light and vain; they have no substance in them, no solidity; they are
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easily driven to and fro by every wind and temptation, and have no
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stedfastness. Would you know their end? The wrath of God will drive
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them away in their wickedness, as the wind does the chaff, which is
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never gathered nor looked after more. The chaff may be, for a while,
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among the wheat; but he is coming <I>whose fan is in his hand</I> and
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who will <I>thoroughly purge his floor.</I> Those that by their own sin
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and folly make themselves as chaff will be found so before the
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whirlwind and fire of divine wrath
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+35:5">Ps. xxxv. 5</A>),
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so unable to stand before it or to escape it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+17:13">Isa. xvii. 13</A>.</P>
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<P>
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II. The doom of the ungodly read,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+1:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
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1. They will be cast, upon their trial, as traitors convicted: <I>They
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shall not stand in the judgment,</I> that is, they shall be found
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guilty, shall hang down the head with shame and confusion, and all
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their pleas and excuses will be overruled as frivolous. There is a
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judgment to come, in which every man's present character and work,
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though ever so artfully concealed and disguised, shall be truly and
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perfectly discovered, and appear in their own colours, and accordingly
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every man's future state will be, by an irreversible sentence,
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determined for eternity. The ungodly must appear in that judgment, to
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receive according to the things done in the body. They may hope to
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come off, nay, to come off with honour, but their hope will deceive
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them: <I>They shall not stand in the judgment,</I> so plain will the
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evidence be against them and so just and impartial will the judgment be
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upon it.
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2. They will be for ever shut out from the society of the blessed. They
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shall not stand <I>in the congregation of the righteous,</I> that is,
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in the <I>judgment</I> (so some), that court wherein the saints, as
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assessors with Christ, shall judge the world, those holy myriads with
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which he shall come to execute <I>judgment upon all,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jude+1:14,1Co+6:2">Jude 14; 1 Cor. vi. 2</A>.
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Or in <I>heaven. There</I> will be seen, shortly, a <I>general
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assembly of the church of the first-born, a congregation of the
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righteous,</I> of all the saints, and none but saints, and saints made
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perfect, such a congregation of them as never was in this world,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Th+2:1">2 Thess. ii. 1</A>.
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The wicked shall not have a place in that congregation. Into the new
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Jerusalem none unclean nor unsanctified shall enter; they shall see the
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righteous enter into the kingdom, and themselves, to their everlasting
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vexation, thrust out,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+13:27">Luke xiii. 27</A>.
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The wicked and profane, in this world, ridiculed the righteous and
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their congregation, despised them, and cared not for their company;
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justly therefore will they be for ever separated from them. Hypocrites
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in this world, under the disguise of a plausible profession, may thrust
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themselves into the congregation of the righteous and remain
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undisturbed and undiscovered there; but Christ cannot be imposed upon,
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though his ministers may; the day is coming when he will separate
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<I>between the sheep and the goats, the tares and the wheat;</I> see
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+13:41,49">Matt. xiii. 41, 49</A>.
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That <I>great day</I> (so the Chaldee here calls it) will be a day of
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discovery, a day of distinction, and a day of final division. Then you
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shall return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, which
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here it is sometimes hard to do,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mal+3:18">Mal. iii. 18</A>.</P>
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<P>
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III. The reason rendered of this different state of the godly and
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wicked,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+1:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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1. God must have all the glory of the prosperity and happiness of the
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righteous. They are blessed because <I>the Lord knows their way;</I> he
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chose them into it, inclined them to choose it, leads and guides them
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in it, and orders all their steps.
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2. Sinners must bear all the blame of their own destruction.
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<I>Therefore</I> the ungodly perish, because the very way in which they
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|
have chosen and resolved to walk leads directly to destruction; it
|
|
naturally tends towards ruin and therefore must necessarily end in it.
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|
Or we may take it thus, The Lord approves and is well pleased with the
|
|
way of the righteous, and therefore, under the influence of his
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|
gracious smiles, it shall prosper and end well; but he is angry at the
|
|
way of the wicked, all they do is offensive to him, and therefore it
|
|
shall perish, and they in it. It is certain that every man's judgment
|
|
proceeds from the Lord, and it is well or ill with us, and is likely to
|
|
be so to all eternity, accordingly as we are or are not accepted of
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God. Let this support the drooping spirits of the righteous, that the
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Lord knows their way, knows their hearts
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+12:3">Jer. xii. 3</A>),
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knows their secret devotions
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+6:6">Matt. vi. 6</A>),
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knows their character, how much soever it is blackened and blemished by
|
|
the reproaches of men, and will shortly make them and their way
|
|
manifest before the world, to their immortal joy and honour. Let this
|
|
cast a damp upon the security and jollity of sinners, that their way,
|
|
though pleasant now, will perish at last.</P>
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<P>
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In singing
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+1:4-6">these verses</A>,
|
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|
and praying over them, let us possess ourselves with a holy dread of
|
|
the wicked man's portion, and deprecate it with a firm and lively
|
|
expectation of the judgment to come, and stir up ourselves to prepare
|
|
for it, and with a holy care to approve ourselves to God in every
|
|
thing, entreating his favour with our whole hearts.</P>
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