The Penn's Grove record., 1904-03-25

AAhActfons 10 come Upon HIS People
as a Character Test.
KINGSTON, N. Yin the Reformed
Church of the Comforter on Sunday morn
ing the Rev. G. l.. Palmer preached a
scholarly discourse entitled "NVhv the
Righteous Suffer and the Ungodly Pros
per-" He took his text from Psalm 70: 8:
For | was envious at the arrogant, when
/ saw the prosperity of the wicked"
The Seventy-third Psalm was probably
composed by Asaph, who was a pious Jew,
and II of the leaders of the temple
chorus. The phraseology and contents in
dictate that ne was intelligent and spiritual,
and that in the course of his religious ex-
perience was exposed to the ravages Of
doubt. However, upon mature delibera-
ton all doubt was overcome, and he be-
came strong in the faith.
The particular problem that confused
him was why the righteous suffer and the
ungodly prosper. Why the most vicious
and consecrated disciples be subjected to
suffering. If God is perfectly righteous in
Himself, and supremacy just in all His
dealings with men, why does He allow the
ungodiy to succeed and the believer to
fail? Why does He not obliterate every
sinner and preserve every saint? WIZ
does He permit the godly to pass through
so many deep and raging seas of affection?
Why are many of the Christless so free
from human misery? These are questions
which have been fresh in the mind of every
generation, and the only satisfactory an
swer is the one that suficed the psalmist.
Before undertaking to develop so impor-
tant a subject it is necessary that we d.
vest our minds of one possible misconcep-
ton. The implication Of the text is not
that all the wicked prosper, and that all
the righteous are afflicted. 1t is not that
all the ungodly prosper because they are
ungodly, or that all believers are afflicted
because they are believers. 1t is not true
that all the worldly enjoy success, and all
the righteous are disconnected, unhappy
and unsuccessful. The psalmist was In a
pessimistic mood at the time of writing,
and describes a condition from which he
was eventually extricated. 1t is true that
some goddess men and women seem to be
happy and prosperous, and that some de-
voted disciples are greatly afflicted. But
1t is far from the natural deduction OF
Scripture and experience that all the godly
are unsuccessful and the wicked prosper
Gus, though we do acknowledge that the
ancient sentiment of the text is not with
out its modern application. We still Won
DER why the unrighteous prosper and the
cody are afflicted.
/. WHY THE UNGODLY ENJOY TEN
PORAL PROSPERITY.
We cannot deny that many worldly peo-
pie have an abundance of life's blessings,
and that they appear to be quite free from
adversely. 1t is we'll known that man. OF
our most wealthy people seem to be indif-
ferent to religion. They spend their time
and means either in business or seeking
pleasure. Our contention Is that human
success or failure is not an infallible criter-
ion by which we are to justify or condemn
the government of God.
1t is not uncommon for goddess people to
inherit property. Nor is it unusual for I'M
believing parents to leave an inheritance
to their children. That while there has
been utter indifference to Christianity
there has been no want Of concern in the
accumulation of wealth. And many pos
sess a disinterested temperament that pro-
tects them from needless care and anxiety.
Unbelievers are often more shrewd than
Christians. "Ihe children of this world
are wiser in their generation than the chill
dren of light" A life of utter absorption
in the accumulation and management OF
money develops an acumen, one who read
lily discovers whatever will contribute to
his personal and temporal advancement,
And since we are free moral agents it is
DOSSlDIG lOT Oue 10 SuCCSGQ IL t4C QlICCltOu
of his ambition.
Unbelievers are often less s~crupulous.
They will do many things for temporal
comfort that others will not. A goddess
mortal will keep a saloon or a gambling
den, from which the profits are very large.
! He will desecrate the Sabbath or violate
any of the divine laws without hesitation
SO long as his personal interest is encour-
aged. His motto is "eat, drink and be
merry, for tomorrow we die" Would a
reborn soul and heir of the kingdom dc
the same? A true disciple of the Great
Teacher would not consciously transgress
any civil or religious requirement, ever il
by such a violation he would increase his
means and comfort.
The attention of unbelievers is more
concentrated on the accumulation o.
wealth and on personal comfort. 1t /:
about all many think of. They think about
money when they retire. They dream
about it at night. 1t is upon their mind;
when they awake in the morning, and they
labor for it during the day. 1t is the only
desire they have, and it is not strange tnat
they should obtain it.
Christians are unwilling to deprive them
selves of the comfort and blessing of CIV
ing. Our churches are supported by the
professed followers of Christ. All the phi
LGllAlLOpAS du0 ilO Al0D4O OLSaAAA0eAOAS 50
largely sustained by those who bear the
Christian name. The church has great rea'
son to thank God for those who give Sc
literally toward her support, while the
world is either boarding or wasting Its
means, they are applying their gifts to the
social, intellectual, moral and eternal I'M
provement of others.
The long suffering of God is not to be
ignored. God permits ungodly people to
obtain the desire of their hearts. The
sneering Jest of Dionysius, the younger, a
tyrant of Sicily, when, after having robbed
the Temple of Syracuse, he had a prosper
Gus voyage with the plumber is well known.
See you not, said he, to those who were
with him, how the gods favor the s~acrileg-
ious? The Interpretation of the incident
was from the standpoint of a heather.
God simply permitted him to escape.
Doubtless the ungodly are allowed to
prosper, in order to test and prove the
righteous. 1t is a test for the faithful but
unfortunate to see some goddess mortal
carried on the sea of prosperity. But it Is
a test that we are %abundantly able to sus-
tain. Socrates, being asked what would be
vexatious to good men, replied, the pros
perity of the bad. What would vex the
bad? the prosperity of the good. 1t is
not and cannot be made to appear in
compatible with the perfection of Gods
government that the ungodly should have
a measure of material prosperity.
II. WHY THE RIGHTEOUS HAVE AID
VERSITY
Having admitted that the ungodly often
enjoy temporal prosperity, it remains to
acknowledge that the righteous are fire.
quently subjected to the greatest suffer
ing of body and mind, and is possible to
ascertain the cause. Not all are greatly
affected, though it is very likely that every
heart s~ustains some burden.
Even our limited knowledge of the
Scriptures and imperfect religious exper-
fences enable us to understand why believ-
ers are often afflicted. 1t seems as if some
were destined to be unfortunate. Every
thing they undertake fails, and the hard
er they labor the more they are disap-
pointed. We utterly repudiate the doc
trine of fate, but find ourselves confronted
with the fact that some seem to be crea-
lures of misfortune.
Many of life's adversities are brought
upon ourselves. We may accuse others
or even God, but in our inner conscious
ness find ourselves confronted with the
conviction that we have been the cause OF
our own suffering. A man who attempted
to steal wheat from an elevator brought
down an avalanche of the staff of life
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