The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1904-03-23
AN ELOQUENT SERMON
why the Righteous Suffer and the Ur-
godly Prosper"
God Permits Affections to Come Upon His
People as a Character Test.

KINGSTON, N. Y In the Reformed
Church of the Comforter on Sunday morn
ing the Rev. G. l.. Palmer preached a
scholarly discourse entitled "Why the
Righteous Suffer and the Ungodly Pros
per-" He took his text from Psalm 70: 5:
For was envious at the arrogant, when
i saw the prosperity of the wicked"
The Seventy-third Psalm was probably
composed by Asaph, who was pious jew,
and one of the leaders of the temple
chorus. The phraseology and contents in
dicate that he was intelligent and spiritual.
and that in the course OF his religious ex.
perience was exposed to the ravages of
doubt, However. upon maturi delbera-
tion 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. II God is perfectly righteous in
Himself, and suprenely just in all His
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 affliction?
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 suffioed the psalmist.
Before undertaking to develop so impor-
tant subject it is necessary that we di-
vest our minds of one possible misconcep-
tion 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
ungodly, or that all believers are afflicted
because they are believers 1t is not true
fhat oil tho worldly aniny and oil
the righteous are discontented, unhappy
and unsuccessful. The psalmist was in
pessimistic mood ct 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 he
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.
der why the unrighteous prosper and the
godly are afflicted.
/. WHY THE UNGODLY ENJOY TEN
PORAL PROSPERITY.
We cannot deny that many worldly peo-
pie have an abundance of LIES blessings,
and that they appear to be quite free from
adversely 1t is well known that many of
our most wealthy people seem to be indf-
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 infallibls 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 un-
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
cess 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
possible for one to succeed in the direction
of his ambition.
Unbelevers are often less scrupulous.
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 do
the same? A true disciple of the Great
Teacher would not consciously transgress
any civil or religious requirement, even II
by such violation he would increase his
means and comfort.
The attention of unbelievers is more
concentrated on the accumulation of
wealth and on personal comfort. It is
ahnnt all thinls Of Tbnv thint- about
money when they retire. They dream
about it at night. 1t is upon their minds
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 that
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
lanthropic and charitable organizations are
largely sustained by those who bear the
Christian name The church has great rea-
son to thank God for those who give so
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 plunder is well known.
See you not, said he, to those who were
with him, how the gods favor the sacrileg.
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.
III. WHY THE RIGHTEOUS HAVE AID.
VERSITY
Having admitted that the ungody often
enjoy temporal prosperity, it remains to
acknowledge that the righteous are fre-
quently subjected to the greatest suffer
ing of body and mind, and il possible TO
ascertain the cause. Not all are greatly
affected, though it is very likely that every
heart sustains some burden.
- Even our limited knowledge of the
,riptures and imperfect religious exper-
pces 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
or they labor the moro thew arc disan.