V, 8. within the walls of these men; they tread their winepresses, and suffer thirst. From out of the populous city men groan, and the soul of the wounded crieth out: yet God imputeth it not for folly. These are of them that rebel against the light; they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof; God giveth them to be in security, and they rest thereon; and his eyes are upon their ways. They are exalted; yet a little while and they are gone; yea, they are brought low, they are taken out of the way as all other, and are cut off as the tops of the ears of corn. And if it be not so now, who will prove me a liar, and make my speech nothing worth? Job xxiv, 1-13, 23-25. (R.V.) The Prophets call on us to Consider Our Ways. 8. Then came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, saying, Is it a time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, while this house lieth waste? V, 9. Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. Thus saith the Lord of hosts: Con sider your ways. Haggai i, 3-7. (a.v.) 9. My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause.. We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil: cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse: My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path: So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof. Proverbs i, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 19. (A.v.) V, 10-13. 10. Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless for their redeemer is mighty; he shall plead their cause with thee. Proverbs xxiii, 10, 11. (A.V.) Description of the Life of the 11. There is that waxeth rich by his wariness and pinching, and this is the portion of his reward: When he saith, I have found rest, and now will I eat of my goods; yet he knoweth not what time shall pass, and he shall leave them to others, and die. Ecclesiasticus xi, 18, 19. (APOC.) 12. Let not thine hand be stretched out to receive, and closed when thou shouldest repay. Ecclesiasticus iv, 31. (APOC.) 13. The mean man is bowed down, and the great man is humbled, and the eyes of the lofty are humbled. Isaiah v, 15. (R.V.) V, 14-16. Exhortations to Generosity. 14. If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him to drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans xii, 20, 21. (R.v.) 15. Be as a father unto the fatherless, and instead of a husband unto their mother: so shalt thou be as a son of the Most High, and he shall love thee more than thy mother doth. Ecclesiasticus iv, 10. (APOC.) 16. To him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and from him that taketh away thy cloke withhold not thy coat also. Give to everyone that asketh thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. Luke vi, 29-31. (R.v.) V, 17-19. Example of Paul. 17. (Paul said), I coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel. Acts xx, 33. (R.V.) 18. Ye yourselves know that these hands ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. In all things I gave you an example, how that so labouring ye ought to help the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. Acts xx, 34, 35. (R.v.) Abraham's Courtesy in Business and the Generosity of the Children of Heth. 19. Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons of Heth, saying, I am a stranger and a sojourner with you give me a possession of a burying place with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight. And the children of Heth answered Abraham, |