SECTION II

Threatenings to the disobedient

Deut 28: 15-26. But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command you this day, that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field. Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store. Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out. The Lord shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me. The Lord shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it. The Lord shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew, and they shall pursue thee until thou perish; and thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron. The Lord shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed. The Lord shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies; thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them; and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth. And thy carcass shall be meat unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray them away. See also Deut. 28: 27–68.

Prov. 1:29. They hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord.

Verse 31. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.

Ps. 63: 19.

Job 15: 24.

Job 18: 11.

Isa. 3: 11.

They (the wicked) are utterly consumed with terrors.
Trouble and anguish shall make him afraid.
Terrors shall make him afraid on every side.

Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him; for the

reward of his hands shall be given him.

Prov. 17:20. He that hath a froward heart findeth no good. Prov. 22: 5. Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward. Job 21: 17. How oft is the candle of the wicked put out? and how oft cometh their destruction upon them? God distributeth sorrows in his

anger.

Job 27: 13-23. This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage of oppressors, which they shall receive of the Almighty. If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword; and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread. Those that remain of him shall be buried in death; and his widows shall not weep. Though he heap up silver as the dust, and prepare raiment as the clay, he may prepare it, but the just shall put it on, and the innocent shall divide the silver. He buildeth his house as a moth, and as a booth that the keeper maketh. The rich man shall lie down, but he shall not be gathered: he openeth his eyes, and he is not. Terrors take hold on him as waters, a tempest stealeth him away in the night. The east wind carrieth him away, and he departeth, and, as a storm, hurleth him out of his place For God shall cast upon him, and

not spare he would fain flee out of his hand. Men shall clap their hands at him, and shall hiss him out of his place.

Job 36: 6. God preserveth not the life of the wicked.

Ps. 116. Upon the wicked, God shall rain snares, fire, and brimstone and an horrible tempest; this shall be the portion of their cup. Ps. 75: 8. For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture, and he poureth out of the same; but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them. Ps. 107 34. God turneth a fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein.

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Ps. 146 9. The way of the wicked he turneth upside down.

Prov. 3:33.

Prov. 10: 3.

Isa. 11: 4.
Job 4: 8.

game.

The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked.
God casteth away the substance of the wicked.
There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.

They that plough iniquity and sow wickedness reap the

Prov. 22 8. He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity.

Gal. 68. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap cor

ruption.

Job 15: 20.

Job 20: 12.

The wicked man travaileth with pain all his days.
Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth.

Verse 16. He shall suck the poison of asps.

Job 31 3.

to the workers Ps. 11 16.

Ps. 32: 10.

Is not destruction to the wicked? and a strange punishment
of iniquity?

The wicked is snared in the work of his own hands.
Many sorrows shall be to the wicked.

Ps. 37: 35, 36.

I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay-tree; yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not · yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.

Prov. 2: 22. The wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.

Prov. 4 19. The way of the wicked is as darkness; they know not at what they stumble.

Prov. 10 2. Treasures of wickedness profit nothing.

Prov. 115. The wicked shall fall by his own wickedness.

Verse 21. Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished.

Verse 31. The wicked and the sinner shall be recompensed in the earth.
Prov. 12: 21. The wicked shall be filled with mischief.

Prov. 135. A wicked man is loathsome, and cometh to shame.
In the revenues of the wicked is trouble.

Prov. 15: 6.

It shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he pro

Eccl. 8:13. long his days. Ps. 55 23. Bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days. Prov. 8:36. He that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me (wisdom) love death.

Prov. 11: 19. As righteousness tendeth to life, so he that pursueth evil pursueth it to his own death.

Isa. 11: 18. Wickedness burneth as the fire.

Isa. 57 20. The wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest whose waters cast up mire and dirt.

Ezek. 18: 20. The wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

Gen. 347.

Eccl. 2: 26

Prov. 113.

Prov. 13: 2.

God will by no means clear the guilty.

To the sinner God giveth travail.

The perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them.
The soul of the transgressor shall eat violence.

Prov. 26: 10. The great God, that formed all things, rewardeth transgressors.

Ps. 55: 10. Mischief and sorrow are in the midst of the wicked. Rom. 1 18. The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.

Rom. 29. Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil; of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile.

Eph. 5 6. For because of these things (uncleanness, covetousness, idolatry, &c.), cometh the wrath of God on the children of disobedience. Col. 3: 6. For which things' (same as above) sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience.

Rom. 6:23.

The wages of sin is death.

Rom. 8:6. To be carnally minded is death.

James 1: 15.

Sin when it is finished bringeth forth death.

Col. 3:25. He that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done; and there is no respect of persons.

Heb. 22, 3. If the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward; how shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?

SECTION III.

Instances recorded in the Bible of Divine punishment inflicted on the wicked in this life.

Case of Eve-for partaking of the forbidden fruit. Gen. 3: 16. And unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

Of Adam-for the same crime. Gen. 3: 17-19. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it; cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life: thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

And

Of Cain-for the murder of his brother Abel. Gen. 4: 10-13. he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground: and now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand. When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear.

Of the Antediluvians—for their great wickedness. Gen. 6. 5. And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth. Verse 7. And the Lord said, I will destroy man, whom I have created, from the face of the earth; both man and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air. Gen. 7: 21-22. And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowls, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth on the earth, and every man: all in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died. And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man,

and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth; and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.

Of Sodom and Gomorrah. Gen. 19: 24, 25. Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven and he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.

Of Lot's wife. Gen. 19: 26. But his (Lot's) wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

Of Pharaoh and the Egyptians-for their cruel oppression of the Israelites. Exodus, chapters 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11. These judgments were nine in number. 1. The river Nile and all the waters of the land were turned into blood. 2. Frogs were sent into their houses, into their bedchambers, into their ovens, and into their kneading-troughs. 3. The dust of the land was turned to lice. 4. The cattle of the Egyptians were afflicted with flies, and a terrible murrain, insomuch that they died, and the Egyptians themselves with boils breaking forth with blains very grievous. 5. A grievous hail mingled with fire came upon them. 6. The whole land was filled with destroying beasts. 7. A dreadful darkness, "which might be felt," came upon them. 8. The first-born of them were slain by the destroying angel. 9. Pharaoh and his host were overwhelmed in the waters of the red sea, and cut off from the earth. See Ex. 14.

Of Abimelech -for the murder of the sons of Jerubbaal. Jud. 9: at verse 56 we are told :- Thus God rendered the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did unto his father, in slaying his seventy brethren.

Of the Shechemites

for supporting Abimelech in his wickedness. Jud. 9 at verse 57 we are informed:-. And all the evil of the men of Shechem did God render upon their heads.

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Of Ahab and his wife Jezebel-for their cruel murder of Naboth Kings 21. The sentence pronounced upon Ahab was:— In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine. Verse 19. Upon Jezebel. The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel. Verse 23. In chapter 22, we have an account of the execution of these

sentences.

Of the Ammonites. Ezek., chap. 21. At verse 30, God says, I will judge thee in the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy nativity. In chap. 22, we read that this sentence was executed. At verse 31, God says, Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord God.

Of Solomon-for licentiousness and idolatry. 1 Kings, chap. 11. In this chapter, we are told that God, as a punishment upon Solomon, stirred up enemies against him both at home and abroad, and gave him no peace in his kingdom during the remainder of his life and reign.

Of Jeroboam-for idolatry. 1 Kings, chapters 12 and 14. His family was cut off, and the peace of his kingdom destroyed. He himself was afflicted with a withered hand, for laying violent hands upon the "man of God."

Of Baasha -for the same sin. 1 Kings, chap. 16. He was afflicted with the same or similar judgments to those that befell Jeroboam. Of Ahaziah- for inquiring of Baal-zebub, instead of God, concerning his sickness. 2 Kings, chap. 1. He was punished with death.

Of Jehoram-for idolatry. 2 Chron., chap. 21. A great plague was sent upon his people, his children, and his wives. He was afflicted with great sickness - -an incurable disease of his bowels, which lasted two years, and finally terminated in death.

Of Manasseh-for the same. 2 Kings 21: 3-6. 2 Chron. 33: 2-15. In 2 Chron. 33: 10, 11, we read, And the Lord spake to Manasseh, and to his people; but they would not hearken. Wherefore the Lord brought upon them the captains of the host of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon.

Of Amaziah-for the same. 2 Chron., chap. 25. He was defeated in battle, and finally his subjects conspired against him and put him to death. Of Moses and Aaron. Numb. 20:12. The Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore, ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them. Accordingly both died without being permitted to enter Canaan.

Of the unbelieving Israelites. Deut. 1: 32. Moses said, Ye did not believe the Lord your God. Verses 34, 35. And the Lord was wroth, and sware, saying, Surely there shall not one of these men, of this evil generation, see that good land which I sware to give unto their fathers.

Of the wicked and rebellious Jews. 1 Sam. 12: 9. They forgat the Lord their God, and he sold them into the hand of their enemies. Lev. 18 25. The land is defiled, therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it. Verse 28. The land shall spue you out, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations before you.

Ps. 107: 11, 12. Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsels of the Most High; therefore he brought down their heart with labor; they fell down, and there was none to help.

Lam. 18. Jerusalem hath grievously sinned, therefore she is removed; all that honored her despise her.

Ezek. 39 24. According to their uncleanness, and according to their transgressions, have I done unto them, and hid my face from them.

Of Ephraim. Jer. 31: 18. Ephraim said, Thou hast chastised me as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke.

Of David. Ps. 38: 6. There is no rest in my bones because of my sin. 2 Sam. 22: 21. The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me. See, also, verse 25.

Of Ahaz. 2 Chron. 28: 2. Ahaz made molten images for Baalim. He burnt his children in the fire, after the abomination of the heathen. Verse 5. Wherefore the Lord delivered him into the hands of the king of Assyria.

Of Judas, for betraying Christ. Acts 1: 18. Now this man (Judas) purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.

Of Ananias and his wife Sapphira, for lying to God. Acts 5: 1—10. Both were struck down dead.

Of Herod. Acts 12: 21-23. And upon a set day, Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them. And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man. And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.

Of Elymas the sorcerer, for attempting to turn the deputy from the faith. Acts 13: 8-11. He was smitten with blindness for a season, and there fell on him a mist and a darkness.

The above instances are but a few out of the very many recorded in the Bible of Divine punishment inflicted in this world. We might cite the instances of God's judgments upon the Jewish