The Best Thing in the Best Place
(No. 3002)
A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 1906.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD'S-DAY EVENING,
OCTOBER 31, 1875.
"The Law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide."
Psalm 37:31.
THIS verse occurs in a Psalm in which the contrast between the
righteous and the wicked is drawn in a very vivid fashion. The wicked
are depicted as being very frequently rich and prosperous, yet no one
who is truly wise would wish to change places with them. The Psalmist
so plainly points out the brevity of their prosperity, the certainty of
their ultimate fate if they continue unregenerate and the terror of
their overthrow, that we are not tempted for a single minute to be
envious of them. As for the righteous, David gives us abundant hints
that they will be tried, persecuted, hated and so on, but he indulges
us with such sweet promises from the mouth of the great Father,
Himself, that we feel perfectly satisfied to share the lot of His
children, however hard it may sometimes be. If we wish to share the lot
of the righteous, we must be as they are and, among other things, this
text must be realized in our experience as it is in theirs. The Law of
our God must be in our heart that our steps may not slide.
I remember, when I was a lad, hearing a sermon from a text which is
almost a parallel to the one before us–"Your Word have I hid in my
heart, that I might not sin against You." The divisions of that
discourse were so excellent and they fixed themselves so firmly upon my
memory, that I shall borrow them for my own use on this occasion, for I
cannot make any better ones for myself. The preacher said, "Here we
have the best thing–'Your Word.' In the best place–'have I hid in my
heart.' For the best of purposes–'that I might not sin against You.'"
Those are to be the divisions of my text, only altered thus–the best
thing–"the Law of his God." In the best place–"is in his heart." With
the best result– "None of his steps shall slide."
I. So I am first to speak, for a few minutes, about THE BEST
THING–"The Law of his God."
In these Gospel days we must use this expression in a wider sense than
may have been originally intended by David and take it to mean a great
deal more than the moral Law. If we are Christians, we delight in that
Law, but we are not under it as a rule of condemnation and of judgment,
but we rejoice to obey it. We could not suggest an alteration to it
which would be an improvement. The Ten Commandments are very simple,
but absolutely perfect for the purpose for which they were intended. To
add another to them, or to take one away from them would be to spoil
the whole. We "delight in the Law of God after the inward man." Whoever
may be Antinomians, that is, those who are "against the Law," we are
not to be numbered among them, for we can say with Paul, "The Law is
holy and the Commandments holy and just and good." And though we are
carnal, and often feel ourselves "sold under sin," yet we cannot find
any fault with the Law of God. If eternal life could have come by any
law, it would have come by that Law–and even though that Law can now
do nothing for us but condemn us, yet, as we hear its terrible
sentence, we feel that the Law "is holy, and just, and good." We
desire, then, to have even the moral Law in our hearts, and to have it
written there, that none of our steps may slide.
But we cannot use David's expression in that limited sense only! It
must nowinclude the whole Book of God, and all its teachings, for it is
often used in that sense. "The Law of his God is in his heart." Take
this expression as referring to the whole of Scripture, and I may truly
say that it is the best thing. O my Brothers and Sisters, what can be
better for informing the understanding than the Word of God? Would you
know God? Would you know yourself? Then search this Book! Would you
know time and how to spend it? Would you know eternity and how to be
prepared for it? Then, search this Book! Would you know the evil of sin
and how to be delivered from it? Would you know the plan of salvation
and
how you can have a share in it? This is the Book which will instruct
you in all these matters! There is nothing which a man needs to know
for the affairs of his soul, between here and Heaven, of which this
Book will not tell him. Blessed are they that read it both day and
night–and especially blessed are they who read it with their eyes
opened and illuminated by the Divine Spirit! If you want to be wise
unto salvation, select the Word of God, and especially the Spirit of
God, as your Teacher. There is nothing else that is equal to the Bible
for inflaming, sanctifying and turning in the right direction all the
passions of the soul.
Perhaps you are not satisfied with merely knowing. You want something
or someone to love. You men and women with large hearts, whose one
desire is to have a worthy object for your affections to fix upon, turn
to this Word of God, this Law of God, this Gospel of His and you will
see there how God Himself becomes the Object of His creatures' love,
and how, in the Person of His Son, you have the loveliest Object upon
which human eyes ever gazed! You have, in Him, One who is so lovely
that a glance from His eyes is enough to set your soul on fire and to
make your heart enamored of Him forever! You who have mighty founts of
love welling up in your soul may come and let them flow most freely
here, for here is One who is worthy of them all! And when you have
loved Christ as much as you can, you have not loved Him half as much as
He deserves to be loved! Here your passions may burn and blaze and glow
with sacred ardor, without any fear of your being idolaters–and
without any risk of your being deceived!
And if you want something more than enlightenment for the understanding
and fullness of love to satisfy the heart–if you need practical
directions for your everyday life–this Book will supply you with them.
In every part of the sea of life in which a man may be, if this is his
chart, he will not miss his way or suffer spiritual shipwreck. If you
were a king, you might learn your duty here–and if you are a beggar,
or the poorest of the poor, you may find comfort and instruction here!
Fathers, you may here learn how to manage your households. Children,
you may learn here the duties of your position in your various
relationships. Servants, masters, husbands, wives, sick folk, people in
robust health, you who are poor and you who are rich–this Book is for
you all and when you consult it in the right spirit, it will talk with
you all! Into whatever condition you may happen to be cast, this Book
will follow you. It is such a wonderful Book that it adapts itself to
all sorts and conditions of men and women! It whispers softly by the
sick man's bedside and it has often called aloud, as with a trumpet
voice, amidst the fury of the storm. It has a message for you while you
are yet in the heyday of your youth and a promise for you when you lean
upon your staff and totter to your grave! It is Biblos, The Book, the
everyday book, full of wisdom for every day in the week all year round.
And when the circle of life is complete, you will see how the Book was
equally adapted to the children and to the aged man whose life is just
closing.
Perhaps, dear Friend, you say, "I know the path that I ought to take. I
know whom I ought to love and I trust I am instructed as to what I
ought to believe–for all this I prize the Bible very highly! But what
I really need is the courage of my convictions, the force of character
which shall enable me to tread in those ways which I know to be right."
Yes, I know what you mean. But where else will you find Truths that
have such power as those which glisten in the pages of this blessed
Book? Where will you read any records so calculated to fire men with
dauntless bravery as those that are contained in this Book? Above all,
in Him who is the sum and substance of this Book, to whom all its pages
point, you can see an example of disinterested love and perfect
consecration to God and man which will suffice if the Holy Spirit shall
bless it to you, to give you all the force of character and
courageousness of spirit that you can possibly need. If young men would
read their Bibles more, they would not be so easily turned aside as
they now are. When a young man puts his foot down for the right and
says, "I cannot and I will not tell a lie, or commit an act of
dishonesty in business, or frequent places of amusement where I cannot
go with a clear conscience," I believe that he has cleansed his way by
taking heed thereto according to God's Word. I see here the treasure
house of holy courage! Commune with God, commune with Christ Jesus,
commune with saints, martyrs and Apostles as you read these pages, and
you yourself will imbibe something of their determination and
resolution, something of their zeal and energy for the right and the
true!
It is here that true men are made! As they peruse these pages, the weak
grow strong and dwarfs develop into giants. Yes, and if you say, "I
often feel unhappy–there is an aching void within my spirit, a
something which prevents me from being perfectly satisfied. I have a
kind of horse-leech somewhere within me which cries, 'Give, give,' and
I have not yet found the food with which to stop its clamor." It is in
this Book that you will find the comfort which your spirit craves! Here
every grief may be allayed, every right desire satisfied and all wrong
desires and evil lusting be ejected from the spirit. When the Holy
Spirit applies this Book to the soul, it is food for man's hunger and
medicine for man's disease! It
lays its hand upon his fevered brow and cools him down to health. Or,
if he is too cold, it warms him into holy energy. In fact, there is no
end to the blessings which this Book bestows–
"This is the field where hidden lies The pearl of price unknown! That
merchant is divinely wise Who makes the pearl his own." This is the
best of books, as Christopher Harvey says–
"It is the Book of God. What if I should Say, God of Books? Let him
that looks
Angry at that expression, as too bold– His thoughts in silence smother
Till he find such another."
Its every page is a sheet of gold! No, rather let me say that Heaven's
banknotes are here, to be cashed by them who have faith enough to bring
them to the God that issued them, that He may make their souls rich to
all the intents of bliss! This, then, is the best thing–"The Law of
his God."
II. Now, secondly, we have the best thing IN THE BEST PLACE–"The Law
of his God is in his heart." What does this mean?
It means, first, that he loves it. That which we love is always said to
be in our hearts, and the reason why he loves it is given in the
text–"The law of his God"–not merely the Law of God, mark you–but,
"The law of his God." Men do not love the Law of God until they know
that He is their God. Blessed, indeed, is this precious possession
which God gives us first, in Himself, and then in His Word! Do you not
all like to read a book which has been written by a near and dear
friend? It must have greater interest for you than the works of
strangers ever can say. You may pass over a hundred books on a stall,
or in a shop, but if you notice a volume which was written by one who
was your play fellow, or perhaps by one who is still nearer and dearer,
you take an interest in that book at once! So is it with this blessed
Book which was written by our Heavenly Father–this Book which tells us
of our elder Brother–this Book into which the Divine Spirit has
breathed the breath of Life and upon which He always shines as the
great Illuminator–this Book must always be indescribably dear to us!
How dear has the Bible been to God's saints in past ages! They have
even run the risk of losing their lives rather than part with it–and
many of them have actually died as martyrs because they would translate
it and pass its messages on to others! And this Book is equally dear to
us. Sooner than give up the smallest jot or tittle of its Inspired
teaching, I trust that we would be prepared to go to the stake as our
brave forefathers did in cruel Queen Mary's day. Precious Bible, you
are in our hearts because we love you!
But David meant more than that. The Law of his God was in his heart to
be remembered as well as to be loved. We soon forget what we only learn
in our head, so we tell our children to learn things "by heart." What
is written in the head may be erased, but what is written in the heart
abides there. Neither sickness, nor death, nor the devil, himself, can
ever take from us what is in our hearts. We have known people in sore
sickness suffer from loss of memory, and that is a very serious loss.
But we have known them retain their recollections of spiritual things
unimpaired when they have forgotten their own wives or husbands, so
strangely does the mind or heart hold most firmly to that which is most
deeply engraved upon it. If you have the Word of God in your hearts, it
will not matter who may try to tear it from you. All the Jesuits in or
out of Hell could not wrest from a man the Gospel that is written in
his heart! They could easily turn some people from their creed because
it is only a creed, lying loosely in their brain. But the Truth which
has really entered the heart of a man, neither Satan nor all his hosts
could ever take from him! See to it, then, that the Law of your God is
in your heart so deeply affecting you and so powerfully moving you,
that it abides so tenaciously in your memory that you can never give it
up!
"The Law of his God is in his heart," has a third meaning, namely, that
he obeys it, for the heart is the most influential organ of the body.
What is done in the heart affects every part of the man. Disease there
means that the man, as a whole, cannot be well. If the heart's
affections are set on God, all is right, for the intent, the motive,
sways the man. "As he thinks in his heart, so is he." If your heart's
eyes are single, your whole body shall be full of light! But if your
heart's eyes are evil, your whole body shall be full of darkness. If
the Law of God is in the heart, then every pulsing of that cerebral
organ will affect the entire man. If the man has led an evil life, he
will be altogether changed by it. And if, through the restraining Grace
of God, he has been somewhat better than others, the Law of his God
will operate in his heart and life and do for him all that he could
well desire to have done as he yields obedience to it.
To have the Law of God in your heart means, in fact, that you live by
it–that you have the Gospel as the food of your soul and that you have
the Christ of the Gospel as your hope for eternity. The heart is that
by which we live, so, if the Law of God is in our heart, we shall live
by it and draw our comfort, as well as our sustenance from it. Let each
one judge how far this is true concerning himself. We are not perfect,
but we wish we were–and this proves that the Law of our God is in our
heart. We sin, but we grieve that we sin–and this proves that there is
within us a longing for perfect holiness. We say, with the Apostle
Paul, "To will is present with me; but how to perform that which is
good I find not… When I would do good, evil is present with me." Yet
that willng and wouldng prove that our heart has the Law of God within
it! God looks upon you, dear Friends, very much according to what you
desire to be. And if there is, in your soul, strong pangs of desire
after that which is perfect, He accepts those desires and blesses you
through Christ Jesus, His Son. John Bunyan used to put it in one of his
simple allegories something like this. He says, "you want a man to
fetch a doctor, and you tell him to be quick. So he mounts his horse,
but it is a sorry jade, and very lame, and cannot go fast, yet you see
that your man would fly if he could, for he is whipping and spurring
the creature with all his might to try to make it go. So," says Bunyan,
"the Lord often sees that the spirit is willing–whipping and spurring,
but the flesh is weak–like the lame horse. He sees what His servants
would gladly be and accepts them as if they were really so." It is well
for us that we have so gracious a Master who looks so favorably upon
our imperfect service! Have the Law of God in your hearts, my Brothers
and Sisters, and albeit that you are foolish today, you will conquer
some of those follies tomorrow. And you will, by God's Grace, go on to
conquer more and more, until the Law, written on your heart, shall also
be written on all your members and you shall be presented spotless and
faultless before the Throne of God!
III. Now I must pass on to the last point, namely, THE BEST
RESULT–"None of his steps shall slide."
Here is a man who has God's Word in his heart and you notice that he
takes pains about his steps. A step is a very little thing. We must
take a good many hundreds of steps to walk a mile, but good men take
notice of little things. The man who has the Law of God in his heart is
scrupulous and conscientious about thoughts and imaginations, as well
as about words and actions. Hence, the promise in the text is suited to
him, for it is a promise about little things–"None of his steps shall
slide." I recollect–no, I hope it is so with me still–but I recollect
that just after my conversion, I used to be almost afraid to put one
foot before the other lest I should put it down in the wrong place. And
often have I paused, when I was speaking, for fear I would not say the
right word. That holy caution is most commendable in all who have it. I
wish that many more had it. What a hop, skip and jump some men's lives
are! Not only do they not look before they leap, but they do not even
seem to look afterthey have leaped! They rush on blindly and
heedlessly, presuming where they ought to be praying and self-confident
where they ought, with deep repentance, to be humbling themselves
before God! Our old proverb says, "Take care of the pence, and the
pounds will take care of themselves." And the same rule applies to our
actions. If we are careful about our little actions, the great ones
will be pretty sure to be right. Oh, that we were all very guarded
about how we act at home! Oh, that we were careful about our speech as
we sit around the tea table! Such a little thing as that may do almost
infinite mischief. I believe the worst evils in the world arise out of
little things. It is said that the seed of mischief is as small as a
gnat's egg, and so it is. Then, look well to those gnat's eggs, lest
they hatch out far greater evils.
I think, too, that whenever Christians go wrong, it is concerning
something about which they thought they were quite safe, like the
children of Israel with the Gibeonites. These people came to Gilgal
wearing old garments, old shoes and clouted, and carrying bread that
was dry and moldy. What need was there to ask counsel of God? It was as
clear as the sun at noonday that they had come from a long distance,
wishing to make a league with the Israelites because of the wonders
that God had worked for His people! So even Joshua did not pray about
the matter–and he was deceived, for these Gibeonites were near
neighbors and had thus tricked the Israelites into a league which was
always an impediment to them in their campaign. Always suspect where
you have no suspicion and be afraid where you are not afraid–be
especially afraid of a man who tells you that you have no need to be
afraid of him. There was a man who said to a friend of mine, "I need a
loan of so much from you. You know that I am all right. I have been a
member of a Christian Church for so many years. I am not like
So-and-So, and So-and-So who lately failed. You can trust me, you know
you can."
"No," said my friend, "you are the sort of man I would not trust with a
bad half-crown." And he was right, for those who did trust him lost
everything! Be very cautious in such cases as that. If you are dealing
with those who are known to be rogues, you hardly need to be put on
your guard, but if you are dealing with rogues who pretend to be honest
men, you must have all your wits about you or they will certainly take
you in. They have covered up their wolf nature with sheepskin, so you
had better see what is underneath the skin!
When David says, "The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps
shall slide," what does he mean by that last clause? He means that God
will guide him. As he has God's Law in his heart, he will have God's
guidance for his steps! In the 23rd verse, David says, "The steps of a
good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delights in His way." When a
man really carries God's Law in his heart, God will take care that he
does not carry that Law into any evil place, for, as David goes on to
say, "the Lord upholds him with His hand." There will come to every
man, whoever or whatever he may be, sudden assaults of temptation–but
if the Law of his God is in his heart, he will be forewarned and
forearmed against them! There will also come the long sieges of
temptation and many a man has fallen by little and little. But if the
Law of his God is in his heart, he will be safe against even them.
There will come, sometimes, the temptation which results from
loneliness, when he will be urged by Satan to do evil. As no human eye
is upon him, may he not do wrong? But, with the Law of his God in his
heart, he will not do any wrong even though he might never be found
out–that Law within his heart is a sufficient check to keep him from
evil! Sometimes he will be perplexed. I wonder whether every
businessman here is not, at some time or other, puzzled to know what he
ought to do? He is most anxious to do the right thing, but he does not
know which of two courses is right. Well, that is the time to let the
Law of your God, which is in your heart, be like a compass to you–and
to plead this promise and say, "O Lord, You have said that as Your Law
is within my heart, none of my steps shall slide! Fulfill Your Word
unto Your servant, whereon You have caused me to hope."
For your steps to slide would be for you to bring dishonor upon your
character. How many men who have stood firm for a while, either in the
Christian Church or in business life, have thus slid! I recollect
reading, some years ago, when there were some sad failures of this
sort, that "neither the white cravats of Exeter Hall, nor the drab
coats of Lombard Street could prevent some men from being great
rascals." And there has, sometimes, been only too much reason to say
that. But the Law of God in the heart is better than a white cravat at
the throat or a drab coat on the back, for it does keep men's steps so
that they do not dishonor their God. Trials may come to those who live
nearest to God– possibly they will come all the more because these
people have lived near to God–but there will not be the stain upon the
character, or the casting down from integrity which causes so much
sorrow. A true Christian would sooner die than that this should happen!
And he may comfort himself with the assurance that if the Law of his
God is in his heart, "none of his steps shall slide."
Nor shall he slide into despair. He may tremble, he may totter, he may
be almost down, but as he has the Law of his God in his heart, he shall
scramble to his feet again and shall still hold on his way! I hope all
of you who have to fight the good fight of faith and to journey as
pilgrims to Heaven, will take to yourselves all the comfort you can
possibly get out of this text. You have asked to have the Law of your
God in your heart and it is there. Well then, you shall be upheld! You
are going to live, young man, where there are no other Christians, but
your steps shall not slide, for the Law of your God is in your heart.
You are going, my Brother, to occupy a position where a large number of
people will be under your charge and you hardly know how you will
manage them. But with the Law of your God in your heart, none of your
steps shall slide. You are going, my young Sister, to live with ungodly
relatives where you will scarcely get an opportunity for private
prayer, yet, with the Law of your God in your heart, none of your steps
shall slide! My young Brother, you are about to become the pastor of a
large church and you tremble lest you should make some great mistake
and bring dishonor upon God. But if His Law is in your heart, none of
your steps shall slide. You need not mind about the slipperiness of the
way if the Law of your God is in your heart! Many slip when the road is
not slippery, and many a man, by God's Grace, stands fast where it
seems a miracle that he stands at all. Men are not in danger in
proportion to their position–they are in danger or in safety according
to the measure of their Grace! If the Law of your God is in your heart,
you might face a world in arms and not be afraid! If God should make
you the leader of a thousand squadrons of the armies of Heaven on their
white horses, you would be able to command them all if you had His Law
in your heart and yielded yourself wholly to Him!
Note also that if you have the Law of your God in your hearts, this
implies that you also have the Lawgiver there, for you cannot separate
the Divine Lawgiver from His Law. Do you love Him? Do you trust Him? Is
His name melodious to your ears? Is it like ointment poured forth, for
sweetness, to your spirit? If you love Him who gives you the Law, you
must love the Law that He gives. We are under Law–the Law of Grace–to
Jesus Christ. His yoke is easy, and His burden is light to those who
trust and love Him. If you trust and love Him, that proves that you
have His Law in your hearts.
Again, if you have the Law of your God in your heart, you also have
there the great Teacher of the Law, namely, the Holy Spirit. You are
conscious of His comforts, sometimes of His rebukes and often of His
encouragements. How is it with you in this respect? Do you know
anything about the work of the Holy Spirit in your heart? Alas, there
are many who do not know that there is a Holy Spirit, for they have
never felt His power. But the Law of God is never in the heart until
the Holy Spirit puts it there–and where He puts that Law, He abides
with it, to open our understanding that we may receive the Scriptures
and to open the Scriptures that our understanding may receive them.
What do you know about God the Son? Is He your Savior?
What do you know about the Holy Spirit? Is He your Quickener and
Comforter? If He is, be of good cheer, for none of your steps shall
slide. But if He is not, and if you reject this Law of God, remember
that solemn text, "Their feet shall slide in due time." They stand up
in their prosperity. They are great, famous, happy, full of mirth–and
we are apt to envy them as we see them upon their high places. But
watch! They are standing upon an Alp of ice! The pathway which they
tread is very narrow and, in a moment, when they do not expect it,
their feet shall slide and they shall descend into the abyss which has
no bottom! Down they go, lost, lost, LOST! The high places they once
occupied only increase the depth of their fall. They go from their full
wine cups to craving a drop of water to cool their parched tongues.
They go from the dainties of Dives' table to the uttermost woes of
Hell! Lazarus once begged for their crumbs and now they would gladly
turn beggars and ask a blessing of Lazarus, himself! Their day is
changed into night, their glory into shame, their banquets into
miseries, their honors into everlasting shame and contempt! Be wise,
men and women, and seek your Savior now, lest, as a dream when one
awakes, the beauty of your present mortal life should all pass away and
there should remain nothing but the ghastly form of a wasted existence
to be visited forever with the strokes of Jehovah's awful wrath–
"You sinners seek His Grace, Whose wrath you cannot bear! Fly to the
shelter of His Cross, And find salvation there! So shall that curse
remove By which the Savior bled And the last awful day shall pour His
blessings on your head." God bless you all, for Jesus Christ's sake!
Amen.
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON:
PSALM 37.
This is one of the Psalms of David which have often cheered the saints
of God when they have been perplexed because of the prosperity of the
wicked and their own troubles.
Verses 1, 2. Fret not yourself because of evildoers, neither be you
envious against the workers ofiniquity. For they shall soon be cut down
like the grass and wither as the green herb. What if their lot is
sweet? Yet consider how short it is. No wise man envies the bull which
is being fattened, for he knows that it is being fattened for the
slaughter. None will envy the ungodly their pleasures when they
remember how transient they must be. Let them have them and I would
urge all Christians to do their best to make the ungodly happy. This is
the only happy time they can ever have unless they repent and turn to
the Lord. So do not make them unhappy, but contribute all you can to
the little bliss they will ever know, for it will soon be over.
Certainly, if you are a child of God, you have no cause to envy them.
3, 4. Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shall you dwell in the land,
and verily you shall be fed. Delight yourself also in the LORD; and He
shall give you the desires of your heart. Here is a duty which is as
much a pleasure as it is a duty–no, it is even more a pleasure than a
duty–"Delight yourself also in the Lord." Here is a commandment to be
happy in the safest conceivable way. Of all delights, the most
delicious is delight in God, and to this we are commanded. But what a
privilege is that which is annexed to it– "He shall give you the
desires of your heart." Why is this? Because, when you delight in God,
your desires will be such as He can safely grant. Delighting in Him,
you will only desire that which is for His Glory and then, without any
restrictions, He may promise to you and give to you the desires of your
heart.
5. Commit your way unto the LORD.Blindly, yet believingly, put your
hand into His hand and follow wherever He may lead you.
5-7. Trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass. And He shall
bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your judgment as the
noonday. Rest in the LORD. Oh, what sweet precepts these are!–easier
to read and to hear than they are to practice, yet, if Grace is given
to us, we shall find them blessedly easy to practice. Surely, if it is
easy to rest anywhere, it must be easy to "rest in the Lord." There is
no such resting place anywhere else like that where Omnipotence and
eternal love are sweetly joined together–"Rest in the Lord."
7-9. And wait patiently for Him: fret not yourself because of him who
prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to
pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not yourself in any
wise to do evil For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait
upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth. I believe that in a right
sense, the child of God does get the best of both worlds. He may not
get, in this world, what ungodly men think the best. And as far as
worldly good is concerned, he often gets the worst, but God makes his
dinner of herbs to be sweeter to him than the stalled ox is to the
wicked. If I knew that I should die like a dog, I would still wish to
be a Christian. If there were no hereafter, no world to come and even
if my lot, judged after the manner of men, should be of all men's most
miserable, yet to have had God to be my Friend, here, would have turned
even that misery into happiness–
"O God of Love, how blest are they Who in Your ways delight! Your
Presence guides them all the day And cheers them all the night!"
10. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yes, you shall
diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. How often even the
place where he lived–his house–becomes a ruin. The very palace where
the tyrant dwelt is burnt down, or destroyed in some other way! Decay
seems to delight to work with the teeth of time upon the palaces of
despots!
11. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves
in the abundance of peace. There is a great fulfillment of that
prophecy yet to come in the latter days, but it is fulfilled even now.
Who does not see that the man who really enjoys life and enjoys the
world, is, after all, the meek, humble-minded Christian? That shepherd
of Salisbury Plain, of whom we used to read in our childhood, when he
was asked what he thought of the weather, said it was good weather, for
God sent it–and any sort of weather pleased him if it pleased God.
Anybody can see that a man of that kind is in a healthy state and that
he inherits the earth and possesses far more of what is worth
having–namely, ease and peace of mind–than the owner of broad acres
who has no true rest of heart in the Lord.
12-19. The wicked plot against the just, and gnashes upon him with his
teeth. The Lord shall laugh at him: for He sees that his day is coming.
The wickedhave drawn out the sword, andhave bent their bow, to cast
down the poor and needy, and to slay such as are of upright
conversation. Their swordshall enter into their own heart, and their
bows shall be broken. A little that a righteous man has is better than
the riches of many wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken:
but the LORD upholds the righteous. The LORD knows the days of the
upright and their inheritance shall be forever They shall not be
ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be
satisfied. Let me read that 19th verse again, so that any child of God
here, who is in great straits, may be able to lay hold upon it–"They
shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they
shall be satisfied."
20-25. But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall
be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they
consume away. The wicked borrows, and pays not again: but the righteous
shows mercy, and gives. For such as are blessed of Him shall inherit
the earth, and they that are cursed of Him shall be cut off The steps
of a good
man are ordered by the LORD: and He delights in his way. Though he
fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholds him with
His hand. Ihave been young, andnow am old; yet have Inot seen the
righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. We have often remarked
here that we, also, though we are not old, have never seen the
righteous forsaken and we do not think that the oldest man or woman
here has ever seen the righteous forsaken. David says that he had not
seen the seed of the righteous begging bread. Well, he was a king, so
he was not likely to see very many poor people, but we have several
times seen the seed of the righteous begging bread. It is not a common
thing, but we have seen it–and when the seed of the righteous
misbehave themselves–when they disgrace their father's name–they will
have to beg bread the same as other people's children do. They will
come to poverty through idleness and drink just as other people do. And
it has been my unhappy lot, within these very walls, to have to
minister relief to the unworthy and reprobate sons of Christian
ministers about whose piety I could entertain no doubt, and some of
whom are now in Heaven. These good men's children have walked contrary
to God, so God has walked contrary to them! I have often hoped that the
poverty I saw might be the means of bringing them to seek the God of
their fathers!
You who fear the Lord may depend upon this–if the Lord helps you to
train up your children rightly, He will take care of them. If they are
truly the seed of the righteous by being themselves righteous, your
children shall not beg bread, for the Lord will provide for them and
you will find that God always takes care of the children of those who
faithfully serve Him. He seems to say to them, "You mind My business,
and I will mind your business. If you look after My children, I will
look after yours." If we serve the Lord with all our hearts, we may
fairly reckon that the God of the fathers will be the God of the
children.
26-40. He is ever merciful, andlends andhis seedis blessed. Depart from
evil, and do good; and dwell forevermore. For the Lord loves judgment,
and forsakes not His saints; they are preserved forever: but the seed
of the wicked shall be cut off The righteous shall inherit the land,
and dwell therein forever. The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom,
and his tongue talks of judgment The Law of his God is in his heart;
none of his steps shall slide. The wicked watches the righteous,
andseeks to slay him. The LORD will not leave him in his hand, nor
condemn him when he is judged. Wait on the Lord, and keep His way, and
He shall exalt you to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off you
shall see it I have seen the wickedin greatpower, andspreading himself
like a green bay tree. Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yes, I
sought him, but he could not be found. Mark the perfect man, and behold
the upright: for the end of that man is peace. But the transgressors
shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off.
But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: He is their strength
in the time of trouble. And the Lord shall help them, and deliver them:
He shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they
trust in Him.