Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1872-08-01
TUHgIna1J ]
PROSPERITY OF THE WICKED.

Many plous man has gazed with aston
ishment at the worldly prosperity of those
who have no fear of God before their eyes.
This troubled one of the best men the world
has ever seen. Unless closely examined it is
a difficulty. From the many gracious prom
ises which are made in the Bible to the right
eous, we would be led, on a partial examina-
ton of the subject, to conclude that every
thing the good man touched would be turned
into gold. On the other hand we might be
led to conclude that the home of the wicked
would be filled with squalid want. Such,
however, is not the case. At present, as of
old, the wicked often have more Of the good
things of this world than their hearts desire
while the righteous are supplied with only
daily bread.
There are many ways of accounting for this
seeming inconsistency. Worldly prosperity
depends simply upon strict obedience to the
laws of Gods providence. In the bestowment
of the gifts of providence, God does not pro-
pose to discriminate between the believer in
Christ and the in6del. On the contrary, in
the dispensations of his providence He is good
unto all. He sends his rain upon the just and
upon the unjust. The laws of God are of two
characters. The one is, by universal consent,
appropriately called the moral law the other
may with great propriety be called the natu-
raj law Neither of these oan be broken with
impunity; but the punishment which follows
the violation of the moral law is very different
from that which follows the violation of the
natural law. The penalty in each case is diff
ferent, both with regard to their character and
with regard to the time of their infiction.
The violator of the natural law suffers in his
body, and usually Immediately. The violator
of the moral law suffers in his soul, and mainly
in the world to come Men in the world to
come will not be punished, we suppose, for
violating the natural law of God; but for
transgressing the moral law. Obedience to
both or either of these codes is followed by
blessing commensurate with the obedience.
The same difference obtains with regard to the
rewards that it does with respect to the pun
ishment. Those who obey the natural law of
God are blessed in their bodies and those
who obey the moral law of God are blessed in
their souls The former receives his reward
in this world the latter must wait until time
ends and eternity begins.
When we make an application of these
principles, we can in most cases satisfactorily
account for the prosperity of the wicked men.
If food and raiment were in some mysterious
way brought to the homes of the ungodly,
then there would be real difficulty in the
case. Such, however, is not the case. Those
wicked men who prosper in the things of this
world, are obedient to the natural laws of
God. They are industrious and frugal, and
in perfect accordance with the natural law of
God, riches increase. The prodigal always
comes to want. This is the law of God and
the hand of the dilligent maketh rich. The
rebel against Gods providential laws must
inhabit parched wilderness.
When obedience is rendered both to the
moral and natural code, the greatest amount
of happiness is secured Then the soul basks
in the smiles of reconciled God, and plenty
of the good things of this world is supplied
to meet the demands of the body. We are
persuaded that practical understanding Of
these two codes of law under which the hu-
man family are placed, will explain many
seeming contradictions in the circumstances
of individuals.
M Should PRAYER offered in public be an