v. 12. _The harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and
wine are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of
the Lord, neither consider the operation of His hands._
+I. Prosperity ought to lead to praise.+ We should have expected that
when a man was able to spread a feast, and God had caused his "cup to
run over" with bounties, his heart would have overflowed with
gratitude to the Giver of all good. II. As a matter of fact,
+prosperity is hostile to the spiritual life.+ Experience teaches
that in proportion as men prosper, they seek luxury, invent
pleasures, and give up allegiance to God;[1] and as soon as men yield
to the passions of the flesh, and pursue the fashions of the world,
all adequate sense or knowledge of the operations of a Supreme Being
is gone; all serious views of life are set aside; and the end of such
a career is banished from view.[2] +III. To permit the pleasures of
life to absorb our attention is degrading to the nature entrusted to
us by God. IV. It is destructive of the happiness which thus is
mistakenly sought.+ In the hearts of the guests at a feast there is
often anything but festivity. Many vacant minds and languid hearts
are there; some who are in reality fleeing from themselves, and
drowning rising reflections in fresh engagements of pleasure.[3]
Could you see those hearts as God sees them, if you are a Christian,
you would be thankful that you are excluded from the festivity.
APPLICATION.--1. _To the rich and prosperous._ Be on your guard. In
your prosperity there is a deadly peril. Remember that while innocent
enjoyment is lawful, there are other duties of more
importance--duties of mind and soul, of influence and responsibility;
duties toward the men of our generation, and towards God to whom we
are accountable. 2. _To the poor._ Murmur not that prosperity has
been denied you. Wealth might have been your eternal ruin. Envy not
the momentary flash of worldly pomp: soon the deluded soul must be
summoned into the solitude of the chamber of death; nothing to
console the vacant mind; nothing to cheer the throbbing heart; the
rolling eye looks in vain for rest, but the life of vanity closes,
and conscience pierces the departing soul with this declaration,
"Thou art weighed in the balances and art found wanting."--_B.
Thompson, Church Sermons by Eminent Clergymen,_ i. 395-400.