I do not venture to speak of the issues beyond the grave. It is not
for a man to press these on his brethren. But even from the standpoint
of this Book of Proverbs, it is certain that 'the righteous shall be
recompensed in the earth, much more the wicked and the sinner.'
Probably it was the earthly consequences of wrongdoing that were in
the mind of the proverb-maker. And we are not to let our Christian
enlightenment as to the future rob us of the certainty, written large
on human life here and now, that with whatever apparent exceptions in
regard to prosperous sin and tried righteousness, it is yet true that
'every transgression and disobedience receives its just recompense of
reward.' Life is full of consequences of evil-doing. Even here and now
we reap as we have sown. Every sin is a mistake, even if we confine
our view to the consequences sought for in this life by it, and the
consequences actually encountered. 'A rogue is a roundabout fool.'
True, we believe that there is a future reaping so complete that it
makes the partial harvests gathered here seem of small account. But
the framer of this proverb, who had little knowledge of that future,
had seen enough in the meditative survey of this present to make him
sure that the consequences of evil-doing were certain, and in a very
true sense, penal. And leaving out of sight all that lies in the dark
beyond, surely if we sum up the lamed aspirations, the perverted
tastes, the ossifying of noble emotions, the destruction of the
balance of the nature, the blinding of the eye of the soul, the
lowering and narrowing of the whole nature, and many another wound to
the best in man that come as the sure issue of evil deeds, we do not
need to doubt that every sinful man is miserably 'holden with the
cords of his sin.' Life is the time for sowing, but it is a time for
reaping too, and we do not need to wait for death to experience the
truth of the solemn warning that 'he who soweth to the flesh shall of
the flesh reap corruption.' Let us, then, do no deeds without asking
ourselves, What will the harvest be? and if from any deeds that we
have done we have to reap sorrow or inward darkness, let us be
thankful that by experience our Father is teaching us how bitter as
well as evil a thing it is to forsake Him, and cast off His fear from
our wayward spirits.