1. The manner of his passing out of the world. He is "driven away."

2. The state he passeth away into. He dies in a hopeless state. The righteous hath hope in his death. He has the grace of hope, and the well-founded expectation of better things than he ever had in this world.

I. HOW, AND IN WHAT SENSE, ARE THE WICKED "DRIVEN AWAY IN THEIR WICKEDNESS AT DEATH." What is meant by their being "driven away"? Three things; they shall be taken away suddenly, violently, and irresistibly. Whence are they driven and whither? They are driven out of this world, where they have sinned, into the other world, where they must be judged. They are driven out of the society of the saints on earth, into the society of the lost in hell. They are driven out of time into eternity. They are driven out of their specious pretences to piety. They are driven away from all means of grace, quite out of all prospect of mercy. In what respects may they be said to be driven away in their wickedness? In respect of their being driven away in their sinful, unconverted state. They die sinning, acting wickedly against God, loaded with the guilt of their sins, and under the absolute power of their wickedness.

II. THE HOPELESSNESS OF THE STATE OF UNRENEWED MEN AT THEIR DEATH. Consider four things.

1. Death cuts off their hopes and prospects of peace and pleasure in this life.

2. When death comes, they have no solid ground to hope for eternal happiness.

3. Death roots up their delusive hopes.

4. Death makes their state absolutely and for ever hopeless. Exhortation.(1) Take heed that you entertain no hopes of heaven but what are built on a solid foundation. Beware of hope built upon ground that was never cleared. Beware of that hope which looks bright in the dark, but loses all its lustre when it is set in the light of God's Word. Beware of that hope which stands without being supported by Scriptural evidences.(2) Hasten, O sinners, out of your wickedness, lest you die in your sin.(3) Be concerned for others, lest they be "driven away."

III. THE STATE OF THE GODLY IN DEATH IS A HOPEFUL STATE.

1. They have a trusty good Friend before them in the other world.

2. They shall have a safe passage through to the other world.

3. They shall have a joyful entrance into another world. Objection: How comes it to pass that many of the godly, when dying, are full of fears, and have little hope? Answer: The fears are usually consequences of states of bodily health; but they may be due to flagging spiritual life. Improvement: How to prepare for death, so that we may die comfortably.

(1)Let it be your constant care to keep a clean conscience.

(2)Be always watchful, waiting for your change.

(3)Employ yourselves much in weaning your hearts from the world.

(4)Be diligent in gathering and laying up evidences of your title to heaven, for your support and comfort at the hour of death.

(5)Despatch the work of your day and generation with speed and diligence.

(T. Boston, D.D.)

II. THE TRUTH ASSERTED IN THE TEXT. The assertion is true, though there may be some apparent exceptions There is nothing preceding, attending, or following death, which can destroy the foundation of the hope of the righteous.

1. A clear and just sense of their guilt and ill desert in the sight of God cannot destroy their hope in Christ.

2. There is nothing in the thoughts of leaving this world which can destroy their hope.

3. There is nothing in the prospect of having a more constant and realising sense of the Divine presence which can destroy their hope.

4. The prospect of being for ever united with perfectly holy creatures cannot destroy their hope.

5. Nor in the prospect of the holy employment of heaven.

6. Nor in seeing the displays of Divine justice upon the vessels of wrath after death.

7. Nor in seeing all the Divine purposes completely accomplished and unfolded.

8. Nor the prospect of existing for ever. Improvement of the subject:(1) If the righteous have hope in their death, then they are essentially different from the wicked.(2) If only the righteous have hope, then multitudes will be fatally disappointed in their dying hour.(3) The death of the righteous may be peculiarly instructive and beneficial to the living.

(N. Emmons.)

1. There is the hope of Divine support in death itself.

2. There is the hope of complete deliverance from the evils incident to a physical existence.

3. There is the hope of introduction to unmingled and permanent good.

(James Foster, M.A.)

2. A privilege all must envy. Hope in death.

3. A dispensation all must approve of. The righteous hath hope in his death.

(Sketches of Four Hundred Sermons.)

2. Where he is driven to. Out of time into eternity, and from the presence of God.

3. What he carries with him. His wickedness; the accumulated sins of a whole life, and a fixed character of evil. Learn —(1) What "a dreadful view of life and death for the wicked.(2) The greatness of Christ's salvation from the greatness of the ruin from which it saves.(3) The value of the gospel hope from the happiness it secures in life and death.

(Sketches of Four Hundred Sermons.)

1. The difference is real, not imaginary. It is in the inward disposition, as well as in the outward conduct.

2. The difference is manifest. The ruling disposition, which is the life of character, and which is essentially different in both, makes itself known by its fruit.

3. The difference is increasing. These two characters continue to show forth their difference, and to go further from each other for ever.

II. IN DEATH. "The wicked is driven away in his wickedness" —

1. As by a storm. He has no foundation to stand upon. He has no hold upon anything real, lasting.

2. As a culprit is led away to his execution. There is no resignation on his part to a superior will than his own. He views the past with remorse, and anticipates the unknown future with gloom and fear. "But the righteous hath hope in his death." This is an indication of strength, not weakness. He hath hope, even in death, when all things that are seen vanish away.Some reasons for his hope:

1. The Bible, as he reads it and believes it; the light which came from heaven drives away the gloom of the dark valley, and reveals the land beyond.

2. He is at peace with God. God is known by him as his Father, Friend, and Saviour. Love to God, in his heart, has put away fear.

3. He is confident that his Redeemer has absolute control over all things; that He is Lord of the future. His hope, therefore, is such that, like Fuller, he is not afraid to plunge into eternity. The text is a proof of a belief in a future state of rewards and punishments in the time of Solomon.

(Homiletic Monthly.)

1. The name of the offender. Wicked.

2. The nature of the offence. Malice.

3. The punishment; in three degrees. As begun in this life. Increased at the time of death. Perfected at the day of judgment.

II. THE CONCLUSION OF THE RIGHTEOUS.

1. What is a righteous man?

2. What is it to have hope in death?

(S. Hieron.)

1. The condition in which he dies. "In his wickedness." He lived careless and indifferent, encased in false hope; or hardened and scoffing, fighting against God. So he dies. Driven away not from, but in his wickedness. Death makes no change of character. "Unjust still."

2. The compulsion under which he dies. "Driven away." Ejected from this life's engagements, enjoyments, and means of improvement. Torn away from possessions, pursuits, pleasures, and prospects here. "This night — thy soul — then whose," etc.? Death takes no bribes. Wishes and protests unheeded. "Driven... chased out," etc. (Job 18:18).

II. THE HOPEFUL. Whose, "the righteous" in moral position, principle, practice. What? — Hopeful of —

1. The Divine support in it.

(1)Needed, because of body's pains, affections' ties, conscience failures.

(2)Promised. "As day... strength." "When thou passest," etc.

(3)Realised. "Yea, though I walk," etc.

2. Decisive victory over it. Prospective — Grave robbed. "Resurrection of life."

3. Heavenly glory after it.

(1)Angelic convoy. "Lazarus carried by angels."

(2)Immediate entrance. "Absent from body... at home," etc.

(3)Then reunion of soul and body in heavenly glory. All must die. Which — yours? A sheriff's arrest, or a Saviour's arrival? (John 14:3).

(Homiletic Review.)

I. THE OBJECTS.

1. His hope of support in death; of the immortality of the soul; of the resurrection of the body; and of perfect happiness in heaven.

II. THE GROUNDS AND EVIDENCES. The foundation of the hope is the free mercy of God, which can be communicated only through Jesus Christ. Evidence of this hope is that the righteous man finds, upon a thorough trial, that the characters which God has declared essentially necessary to salvation do belong to him.

III. THE VARIOUS LIMITATIONS AND DEGREES OF A GOOD HOPE IN DEATH. A good hope is always supported by evidence, and according to the degree of evidence is the degree of hope. Different believers, at different times, have different degrees of evidence. Much depends on weakness of body, mind, or heart. But every righteous man has a substantial reason to hope, whether he clearly sees it or not. Good men do, in fact, usually enjoy a comfortable hope.

(S. Davies, A.M.)

II. THE HOPE OF THE JUST. Hope, always lovely, is then sweetest when it beams from heaven through the gloom that gathers round the grave.

(W. Arnot.)

1. He is one who has been convinced of his unrighteousness.

2. One who is made the partaker of righteous principles.

3. One who is righteous and holy in his life.

II. THE HOPE OF THE RIGHTEOUS. This hope has for its object future spiritual and eternal blessings. It is called a "good hope through grace," because we are indebted for it to the grace and favour of God; and because it is wrought in us by the gracious influences of the Divine Spirit. Eternal life includes the immortality of the soul — the everlasting, conscious existence of the rational mind; the resurrection of the body; and the enjoyment of eternal happiness.

(J. Entwistle.)

I. A VERY SOLEMN CHANGE. He is "driven away."

1. Whence?(1) From all existing enjoyments; the beauties of nature, the circles of friendship, the pleasures of literature, etc.(2) From all secular engagements. The farmer, lawyer, statesman, etc.(3) From all means of moral improvement: churches, Bibles, teachers.

2. Whither? To the grave as to his body, to eternal retribution as to his soul. The death of the wicked implies —

II. A GREAT PERSONAL RELUCTANCE. He does not go away, he is not drawn away; he is "driven away."

1. All the sympathies of his nature are centred in this life. They are all twined around earthly objects, as the ivy around the old castle. They are all more deeply rooted in the earth than the oak of centuries. He is in the world, and the world is everything to him.

2. The future world is terribly repulsive to him. Not a ray of hope breaks through his tremendous gloom; it is one dense mass of starless thunder-cloud. This being the case, with what tenacity he clings to life! He will not go, he cannot go, he must be "driven." His death is not like the gentle fall of the ripened fruit from its old branch in autumn, but like the oak, uprooted, and dashed into the air, by a mighty whirlwind. It is not like a vessel gliding to its chosen haven, but like a bark driven by a furious wind to a shore it shrinks from with horror. "Driven away!" The death of the wicked, as here indicated, implies —

III. A TERRIBLE RETENTION OF CHARACTER. He is "driven away" in his wickedness. He carries his wickedness with him. This is the worst part of the whole. He carries his vile thoughts, his corrupt passions, his sinful purposes, his depraved habits, his accumulated guilt, with him. He will leave everything else behind but this — this adheres to him. He can no more flee from it than from himself. This wickedness will be the millstone to press him downward into deeper, darker depths for ever; the poison that will rankle in the veins for ever; the fuel that will feed the flames for ever. O sinner, lay down this wickedness at the foot of the atoning and soul-renovating Cross!

(Homilist.)

I. DESCRIBES THE DREADFUL TERMINATION OF A COURSE OF IRRELIGION AND OF SIN.

1. Who are the wicked? The term is generally restricted to "sinners of the baser sort" — those whose lives are grossly sensual. But Scripture regards it as the appropriate designation of all who are in an unregenerate state; all who are destitute of the fear and love of God, who habitually transgress His law, and practically disregard His gospel.

2. What will be the issue of their career? Note the manner in which he dies. Reluctantly. Unavoidably. The condition in which he dies. In his sins, with all his guilt on his head, and all his depravity in his heart.

II. DESCRIBES THE BLESSINGS OF THOSE WHO DIE IN THE LORD.

1. Who is righteous? Not simply believers, but regenerated and converted sinners.

2. What is the privilege of the righteous? He has hope in his death. That hope is glorious in its object. It is sure in its foundation. It is felicitating in its influence.

(J. Corney.)

( Matthew Henry.)

II. THERE IS THE HOPE OF COMPLETE DELIVERANCE FROM THE EVILS INCIDENT TO A PHYSICAL EXISTENCE. In this life the soul is imprisoned. Its heavenly and spiritual tendency is retarded by its companion of dust. Spiritual life has its thought, feeling, and expression limited and baffled by physical boundaries. A prolonged mental exercise is followed by fatigue and reaction, so is it with spiritual exercises and pleasures. Death sets the righteous free from all these evils. It takes down the decaying, exposed, and inferior tabernacle, that the guest within may come forth to light and liberty. It introduces the soul to perfection of being, activity, and enjoyment.

III. THERE IS THE HOPE OF INTRODUCTION TO UNMINGLED AND PERMANENT GOOD.

(Jas. Foster, M.A.)

( G. Whitefield.)

(R. Scriver.)

(J. Vaughan, M.A.)

1. Wicked men are taken out of the world against their will, and by a power which they cannot withstand.

2. They die with their souls unrenewed and their characters unchanged.

3. They go to receive the punish- ment of their sins.

II. THE RIGHTEOUS HATH HOPE IN HIS DEATH. Though they may not be able to express themselves in the language of assurance and exultation, yet will there be a believing dependence on the mercy and faithfulness of God. And even though all hope should seem gone, and the manifestations of the Divine presence be withdrawn, yet even then would the declaration of our text be true. For as, on the one hand, the real certainty of our salvation is not augmented or diminished by our present feelings, however the evidence of it to ourselves may be affected, so, on the other, the position — the righteous have hope in their death — is not to be limited merely to express the feelings which the righteous may experience at death, but expresses also the security of their state. The foundation, as well as the objects of hope, remain firm and immutable. It is in the weakness of nature that the supporting energy of grace is most apparent, and the power of the Saviour is most conspicuously displayed. And how often hath it happened that, in the midst of utmost exhaustion, when all further utterance had ceased, the soul has seemed to catch a glimpse of future glory, and, reanimating the almost lifeless body, hath proclaimed its assurance of the Divine love and mercy and protection, and ascended to heaven in a song of holy triumph!

(Alex. Fisher.)

(W. Spring.)

     5014   heart, human
     8757   folly, effects of

Hollow Laughter, Solid Joy
'Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth is heaviness.'--PROVERBS xiv. 13. 'These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be fulfilled.'--JOHN xv. 11 (R.V.). A poet, who used to be more fashionable than he is now, pronounces 'happiness' to be our being's end and aim. That is not true, except under great limitations and with many explanations. It may be regarded as God's end, but it is ruinous to make it man's aim. It is by no means …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Satisfied from Self
'... A good man shall be satisfied from himself.'--PROVERBS xiv. 14. At first sight this saying strikes one as somewhat unlike the ordinary Scripture tone, and savouring rather of a Stoical self-complacency; but we recall parallel sayings, such as Christ's words, 'The water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water'; and the Apostle's, 'Then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone.' We further note that the text has an antithetic parallel in the preceding clause, where the picture is …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Sin the Mocker
'Fools make a mock at sin; but among the righteous there is favour.'--Proverbs xiv, 9. The wisdom of this Book of Proverbs is not simply intellectual, but it has its roots in reverence and obedience to God, and for its accompaniment, righteousness. The wise man is the good man, and the good man is the godly man. And as is wisdom, so its opposite, folly, is not only intellectual feebleness--the bad man is a fool, and the godless is a bad man. The greatest amount of brain-power cultivated to the highest …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

How a Man's Conduct Comes Home to Him
A sermon (No. 1235) delivered on Lord's Day Morning, May 16th, 1875, at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, by C. H. Spurgeon. "The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself."--Proverbs 14:14. A common principle is here laid down and declared to be equally true in reference to two characters, who in other respects are a contrast. Men are affected by the course which they pursue; for good or bad, their own conduct comes home to them. …
C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs

Godly Fear and Its Goodly Consequence
A sermon (No. 1290) delivered at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, by C. H. Spurgeon. "In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge."--Proverbs 14:26. In the Book of Proverbs you meet with sentences of pithy wisdom, which to all appearance belong entirely to this world, and pertain to the economy of the life that now is. I do not know whether it is true, but it was said that years ago our friends in Scotland had a little book widely circulated …
C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs

"Boast not Thyself of to Morrow, for Thou Knowest not what a Day May Bring Forth. "
Prov. xxvii. 1.--"Boast not thyself of to morrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth." As man is naturally given to boasting and gloriation in something (for the heart cannot want some object to rest upon and take complacency in, it is framed with such a capacity of employing other things), so there is a strong inclination in man towards the time to come, he hath an immortal appetite, and an appetite of immortality; and therefore his desires usually stretch farther than the present …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Work
(Twenty-fourth Sunday after Trinity.) Proverbs xiv. 23. In all labour there is profit. I fear there are more lessons in the Book of Proverbs than most of us care to learn. There is a lesson in every verse of it, and a shrewd one. Certain I am, that for a practical, business man, who has to do his duty and to make his way in this world, there is no guide so safe as these same Proverbs of Solomon. In this world, I say; for they say little about the world to come. Their doctrine is, that what …
Charles Kingsley—Town and Country Sermons

The Backslider in Heart.
Text.--The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways.--Prov. xiv. 14. I CANNOT conclude this course of lectures, without warning converts against backsliding. In discussing this subject, I will state, I. What backsliding in heart is not. II. What backsliding in heart is. III. What are evidences of backsliding in heart. IV. Show what are consequences of backsliding in heart. V. How to recover from this state. I. What backsliding in heart is not. 1. It does not consist in the subsidence …
Charles Grandison Finney—Lectures on Revivals of Religion

Have Read the Letter which You in Your Wisdom have Written Me. You Inveigh against Me
I have read the letter which you in your wisdom have written me. You inveigh against me, and, though you once praised me and called me true partner and brother, you now write books to summon me to reply to the charges with which you terrify me. I see that in you are fulfilled the words of Solomon: "In the mouth of the foolish is the rod of contumely," and "A fool receives not the words of prudence, unless you say what is passing in his heart;" and the words of Isaiah: "The fool will speak folly, …
Various—Life and Works of Rufinus with Jerome's Apology Against Rufinus.

Epistle Lxix. To Brunichild, Queen of the Franks.
To Brunichild, Queen of the Franks. Gregory to Brunichild, &c. Since it is written, Righteousness exalteth a nation; but sin maketh peoples miserable (Prov. xiv. 34), a kingdom is then believed to be stable when a fault that is known of is quickly amended. Now it has come to our ears by the report of many, what we cannot mention without exceeding affliction of heart, that certain priests in those parts live so immodestly and wickedly that it is a shame for us to hear of it and lamentable to tell …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Epistle xxx. To Eulogius, Bishop of Alexandria.
To Eulogius, Bishop of Alexandria. Gregory to Eulogius, &c. Our common son, the bearer of these presents, when he brought the letters of your Holiness found me sick, and has left me sick; whence it has ensued that the scanty water of my brief epistle has been hardly able to exude to the large fountain of your Blessedness. But it was a heavenly boon that, while in a state of bodily pain, I received the letter of your Holiness to lift me up with joy for the instruction of the heretics of the city …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

The Intercession of Christ
Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us! T he Redemption of the soul is precious. Fools make mock of sin (Proverbs 14:9) . But they will not think lightly of it, who duly consider the majesty, authority, and goodness of Him, against whom it is committed; and who are taught, by what God actually has done, what sin rendered necessary to be done, before a sinner could have a well-grounded …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2

Some Helps to Mourning
Having removed the obstructions, let me in the last place propound some helps to holy mourning. 1 Set David's prospect continually before you. My sin is ever before me' (Psalm 51:3). David, that he might be a mourner, kept his eye full upon sin. See what sin is, and then tell me if there be not enough in it to draw forth tears. I know not what name to give it bad enough. One calls it the devil's excrement. Sin is a complication of all evils. It is the spirits of mischief distilled. Sin dishonours …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

Epistle Xlii. To Eulogius, Patriarch of Alexandria.
To Eulogius, Patriarch of Alexandria. Gregory to Eulogius, &c. We return great thanks to Almighty God, that in the mouth of the heart a sweet savour of charity is experienced, when that which is written is fulfilled, As cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country (Prov. xxv. 25). For I had previously been greatly disturbed by a letter from Boniface the Chartularius, my responsalis, who dwells in the royal city, saying that your to me most sweet and pleasant Holiness had suffered …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

How the Kindly-Disposed and the Envious are to be Admonished.
(Admonition 11.) Differently to be admonished are the kindly-disposed and the envious. For the kindly-disposed are to be admonished so to rejoice in what is good in others as to desire to have the like as their own; so to praise with affection the deeds of their neighbours as also to multiply them by imitation, lest in this stadium of the present life they assist at the contest of others as eager backers, but inert spectators, and remain without a prize after the contest, in that they toiled not …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

A Believer's Privilege at Death
'For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.' Phil 1:1I. Hope is a Christian's anchor, which he casts within the veil. Rejoicing in hope.' Rom 12:12. A Christian's hope is not in this life, but he hash hope in his death.' Prov 14:42. The best of a saint's comfort begins when his life ends; but the wicked have all their heaven here. Woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation.' Luke 6:64. You may make your acquittance, and write Received in full payment.' Son, remember that …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

"And These Things Write we unto You, that Your Joy May be Full. "
1 John i. 4.--"And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full." All motions tend to rest and quietness. We see it daily in the motions below, and we believe it also of the circular revolutions of the heavens above, that there is a day coming in which they shall cease, as having performed all they were appointed for. And as it is in things natural, so it is in things rational in a more eminent way. Their desires, affections, and actions, which are the motions and stretches of the soul …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Spiritual Hunger Shall be Satisfied
They shall be filled. Matthew 5:6 I proceed now to the second part of the text. A promise annexed. They shall be filled'. A Christian fighting with sin is not like one that beats the air' (1 Corinthians 9:26), and his hungering after righteousness is not like one that sucks in only air, Blessed are they that hunger, for they shall be filled.' Those that hunger after righteousness shall be filled. God never bids us seek him in vain' (Isaiah 45:19). Here is an honeycomb dropping into the mouths of …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

The Royal Marriage Feast.
PART I.--THE WEDDING GUESTS. "And Jesus answered, and spake unto them again by parables, and said, The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, and sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. But they made light of …
William Arnot—The Parables of Our Lord

"Now the God of Hope Fill You with all Joy and Peace in Believing," &C.
Rom. xv. 13.--"Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing," &c. It is usual for the Lord in his word to turn his precepts unto promises, which shows us, that the commandments of God do not so much import an ability in us, or suppose strength to fulfil them, as declare that obligation which lies upon us, and his purpose and intention to accomplish in some, what he requires of all: and therefore we should accordingly convert all his precepts unto prayers, seeing he hath made …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

How Christ is the Way in General, "I am the Way. "
We come now to speak more particularly to the words; and, first, Of his being a way. Our design being to point at the way of use-making of Christ in all our necessities, straits, and difficulties which are in our way to heaven; and particularly to point out the way how believers should make use of Christ in all their particular exigencies; and so live by faith in him, walk in him, grow up in him, advance and march forward toward glory in him. It will not be amiss to speak of this fulness of Christ …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life