iii. 10, 11. _Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be
well with him; for they shall eat of the fruit of their own
doings. Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with them; for
the reward of his hands shall be given him._
Into these two orders, the righteous and the wicked, the Bible is
accustomed to divide the whole population of the globe.--A crimson
line runs between the righteous and the wicked, the line of atoning
sacrifice: faith crosses that line, but nothing else can. There can
be no righteousness where there is no faith.--This distinction is so
sharp and definite, that no man can dwell in a borderland between the
two conditions. A clear line of demarcation exists between life and
death, and such a division is fixed by God between the righteous and
the wicked. There are no monstrous nondescripts, who are neither
sinners nor saints. This text ought, therefore, to lead to great
searching of heart.
+I. The well-being of the righteous.+ 1. _It is a great fact that it
is well with the righteous._ It is well with him _always:_ in
prosperity, which is a time of peril; in persecution, which is hard
to bear; in childhood, manhood, and old age; in time, and throughout
eternity. 2. _We are assured of this fact on Divine authority._
Reason might assure us of it, but it is better to have it under the
hand and seal of omniscience. If thou canst not see it, let God's
word stand thee instead of sight. 3. _It is the will of God that His
people should know this great fact._ He would have his saints happy,
and therefore He says to His prophets, "Say ye," &c. 4. _With God's
people it is emphatically "well."_ When GOD says it is "well" with a
man, it must be well indeed. 5. _There are many obvious reasons why
it is well with the righteous._ (1.) His greatest trouble is past.
His greatest trouble was the guilt of sin. (2.) His next greatest
trouble is doomed. The dominion of sin over him shall speedily come
to an end. (3.) His best things are safe. His treasures are in
heaven. (4.) His worst things work only for his good. (5.) He is well
_fed,_ for he feeds upon Christ; well _clad,_ for he wears the
imputed righteousness of Christ; well _housed,_ for he dwells in God
who has been the dwelling-place of His people in all generations;
well _married,_ for his soul is knit in bonds of marriage union to
Christ; well _provided for,_ for the Lord is his Shepherd. (6.) God
has put within him many graces, that help to make things well;
_faith,_ which laughs at difficulties; _love,_ which accepts them;
_patience,_ which endures them; _hope,_ which expects a rest to come.
(7.) Day by day, God the Holy Ghost visits him with fresh life and
power. (8.) He has a bank that never breaks--the glorious "throne of
grace;" and he has only to apply on bended knee to get what he will.
(9.) He has ever near him a most sweet Companion, whose loving
converse is so delightful that the roughest roads grow smooth, and
the darkest nights glow with brightness. (10.) He has an arm to lean
upon that is never weary, never feeble, never withdrawn. (11.) He is
favoured with a perpetual Comforter, who pours wine and oil into
every wound, and brings to his remembrance the things which Christ
has spoken. It is well with the righteous in life, well when he comes
to die, and well after death. 6. _The blessedness of the righteous
rest upon a solid ground._ The text says, "they shall eat the fruit
of their doings." Those are the only terms upon which the old
covenant can promise that it shall be well with us; but this is not
the ground upon which you and I stand under the gospel dispensation.
Absolutely to eat the fruit of our doings would be even to us, if
judgment were brought to the line and righteousness to the plummet, a
very dreadful thing. Yet there is a limited sense in which the
righteous man will do this. "I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat,"
&c., is good gospel language; and when the Master shall say,
"Inasmuch as ye did this unto one of the least of these my people, ye
did it unto me," the reward will not be of debt, but still it will be
a reward, and the righteous will eat the fruit of his doings. I
prefer, however, to remark, that there is One whose doings for us is
the grounds of our dependence, and we shall eat of the fruit of His
doings.
+II. The misery of the wicked.+ To expound the woe pronounced against
him, you have only to negative all that I have already said about the
righteous. It is ill with the wicked; always ill with him; and it
shall be ill with him for ever.[1] But _why_ is it ill with the
wicked? 1. He is out of joint with all the world. Ordinary creatures
are obedient to God, but he has set himself in opposition to the
whole current of creation. 2. He has an enemy who is omnipotent.
3. His joys all hang on a thread. Let life's thread be cut, and where
are his merriments? 4. After these joys are over, he has no more to
come. 5. Of all the comforts and hopes of the righteous, he is
utterly destitute.--_C. H. Spurgeon, Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit,_
vol. xiii. 13-24.