Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1904-03-31
A SERMON FOR SUNDAY
AN ELOQUENT DISCOURSE BY ThE
REV. C, L. PALMER.

AN ELOQUENT DISCOURSE BY THE
REV. c. L. PALMER.
sssject: "Why the Righteous Suffer and
the Ungodly Prosper''-God Pe:saits
Amictions te Come Upon His People
as a Character Test.
klNGsTON, n. Yin the Reformed
Church of the Comforter on Sunday morn
scholarly discourse entitled why the
Righteous Suffer and the Ungodly Pros
per. He took his text from Psalm 73: 3:
For was envious at the arrogant, when
l saw the prosperity of the wicked
The Seventy third Psalm was probably
composed by Asaph, who was a pious Jew,
and one OF the leaders of the temple
chorus. The phraseology and contents in
dieate that he was intelligent and spiritual,
and that in the course OF his religious ex-
per1ence was exposed to the ravages Of
doubt However, upon mature dehbera-
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
criminal should enjoy material prosperity
and consecrated disciples be subjected to
suffering. If God is perfectly righteous in
IAilho0A' anu SopIe Iennely JuSC III dll Ills
| dealings with men, why does He allow the
| ungodly to succeed and the believer to
fail! Why does He not obliterate every
sinner and preserve every saint? Why
does He permit the godly to pass through
so many deep and raging seas Of affiietion? :?
Why are many of the Christless so free
from human misery? These are questions
which nave been fresh in the mind Of every
generation, and the only satisfactory an
swer is the one that suficed the psalnlist.
Before undertaking to develop SO impor-
tant a subject it is necessary that we di-
vest our minds of one possible miseoncep-
ton. The implication of the text is not
that all the wicked prosper, and that all
the righteous are afflicted. It is not that
all the ungodly prosper. because they are
ungody, or that all believers are afflicted
because they are believers. It is not true
that all the worldly enjoy success, and all
the righteous are discontented, unhappy
and unsuccessful. The psalmist was In a
pessimistic mood at the time of writing,
and describes a condition from which he
was eventually e2tricated. It is true that
some goddess men and women seem to be
| happy and prosperous, and that some de-
voted disciples are greatly afflicted. But
| it 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
Ger why the unrighteous prosper and the
godly are afflicted
I. WHY THE UNCODLY ENJOY TEN
PORAL PROSPERITY.
We cannot deny that many worldly peo-
| pie have an abundance of ife's blessings
and that they appear to be quite free from
adversitv. 1t is well known that many OF
fl1-, 10 to hn1 AZ
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 crlter
ion by which we are to Justify OF condemn
| the government Of God.
1t is not uncommon for goddess people te
inherit property Nor is it unusual for I'M
to their children. That while there has
been utter Indifference to Christianity
| there has been 40 want Of concern in the
| accumulation of wealth. And many pos
sess disinterested temperament that pro
| tects them from needless care and anxiety.
Unbelievers are often more shrewd thar
Christians. The children of this worle
are wiser in their generation than the chill
dren of light" A life of utter absorption
in the accumulation and management O
! money develops an acumen, one who read
| ilv discovers whatever will contribute tt
his personal and temporal advancement
And since we are free moral agents 1t Il
possible for one to succeed in the Director
! of his ambition.
Unbelevers are often less scrupulous
They will do many things for tempora
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 violat
| any of the divine laws without hesitation
so long as his personal interest Is encour
aged His motto is ''eat. drink and b.
merry. for tomorrow we die" Would
reborn soul and heir OF the kingdom d.
the same? A true disciple of the Grea
Teacher would not consciously transgres
any civil or religious requirement, even /
5v sucn VIOLA ton ne would increase hi
means and comfort.
The attention OF unbehevers is NOR
concentrated on the accumulation Q
wealth and on personal comfort, It
about all many think OF. They think abou
money when they retire. They drean
about it at night. It is upon their mind
when they awake in the morning, and the
labor for it during the day. 1t is the oni
| desire they have. and it is not strange tina
they should obtain it:
| christians are unwilling to deprive them
selves of the comfort and blessing Of Civ
| ing. Our churches are supported by th
professed followers of Christ. All the phi
lanthropic and charitable organizations ar
largely sustained by those who bear tn
Christian name. The church has great res
son to thank God for those who give S
literally toward her support, while tn
world is either boarding or wasting it
means, they are applying. their gifts to th
social, intellectual, moral and eternal III
provement of others.
The long suffering of God is not to b
ignored. God permits ungodiy people t
obtain the desire :of their hearts. Th
sneering jest of Dionysius, the younger,
tyrant Of Sicily. when, after having robbie
the Temple Of Syracuse, he had a prospe
Gus voyage with the plunder is well knowl
! See you not, said he, to those who wei
with him, how the gods favor the sacriles
ious? The Interpretation of the incider
was from the standpoint of heather
God simply permitted him to escape.
Doubtless the ungodly are allowed t
| prosper, in order to test and prove tn
} righteous It Us test for the faithful br
unfortunate to see some goddess mort;
carried on the sea of prosperity. But it
test that we are abundantly able to su
tain. Socrates, being asked what would
vexatious to good men, replied, the pro
perty of the bad What would vex tt
bad? the prosperity of the good. It
not and cannot be made to appear il
comnatihle with the DerfectiOn of God