Proverbs 11:19 As righteousness tends to life: so he that pursues evil pursues it to his own death. Every sinner plans and acts against his own personal interest; and fond as he is of life, he is a self-destroyer. He is allured by false appearances, enveloped in sense and sensual delights, and follows a path that ends in destruction. I. THE COMMENCEMENT OF MORAL EVIL IN THE HUMAN SOUL. He is born in a state of impurity. Evil is interwoven in the very texture of his being. It commenced with the first family of the human race, and the evil spirit of unrighteousness has been transmitted from father to son. When a man is not properly acquainted with the corruption of his nature, he mistakes a want of opportunity to sin for moral purity of heart, and the absence of temptation for a truly virtuous mind. Evil in actual operation in human life — 1. Springs up in thoughts. 2. Finds expression in overt acts. II. THE PROGRESS OF MORAL EVIL. "He that pursueth evil" There is not the root only, but also the tree and the growth. A man seldom becomes a sudden profligate. By a continuance in evil the feelings become less affected with its enormity, the conscience is less tender and scrupulous, the base inclinations and passions of the heart gather strength, and temptation finds an easy dupe to every impious proposal. Sin has not a resting-place. It carries within itself the power of perpetual motion. Sin hardens the heart. III. THE COMPLETION OF MORAL EVIL. It has its seed-time, its growth, and its harvest. 1. The completion of sin is the death of reputation. 2. The death of enjoyment. 3. The death of the body. 4. The death of the soul. (Thomas Wood.) Parallel Verses KJV: As righteousness tendeth to life: so he that pursueth evil pursueth it to his own death.WEB: He who is truly righteous gets life. He who pursues evil gets death. |
    |