The Folly and Misery of Impenitent Sinners

THE FOLLY and MISERY OF Impenitent Sinners.

PSALMS 5:5. The foolish shall not stand in your sight.

I shall not now spend time in inquiring after the occasion of the penning of this Psalm, or in analysing of it. Let it suffice to observe that David in verse 4, 5, 6 represents the miserable condition of wicked men, on the account of the holiness of God, as it stands engaged against sinners for sin. The summ of it is, that God takes no pleasure in them, but hates & abhors them, and therefore will not admit them into his favor, but will bring destruction on them: and one would think that every word should be an envenomed arrow in the heart or conscience of the ungodly. Our text is one of those shafts taken out of God's quiver, and shot at every unregenerate soul; and Oh! that they might be throughly wounded by it. The words before us are an assertion delivered by the mouth of Truth itself, and may well terrify and amaze every Christless soul. In them we may observe two things. 1. The subject spoken of, the foolish: I shall not insist on the various usages of this word in Scriptures; it is sometimes improved in a good sense; and sometimes it is made use of in a bad sense; and in this latter it is here: and thus it is frequently used for a fool, or a mad-man: and therefore many translations read it, Insani; the mad or distracted; men that are out of their wits. 2. The thing asserted concerning these, they shall not stand in your sight. Hebr. before your eyes, that is, God's, for of Him the Psalmist is speaking. Eyes are ascribed to God after the manner of men, for he is a spiritual being, and has neither senses, nor organs of sense: and the word [Stand] signifies to be in a settled condition: and it is in the last conjugation, which farther intends the signification. To stand then in God's sight, or before his eyes, intends an enjoying of, or being settled in his favor. It is a metaphor taken from the favourites of princes, who are admitted into their presence, and stand before them at all times. And in this negative the contrary affirmative is included, that is, they shall fall before him, and be thrust out of his sight; and it also intends that he cannot bear the sight of them, and will banish them his presence. This may be referred to the present life and time; but has a more peculiar respect to the great day of accounts.

Hence,