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Wealth and Riches in His House

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Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Dec 23, 1913

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 40, No. 49.

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Wealth and Riches in His House

By Mrs. L. D. Avery-Stuttle

Apparent Prosperity of the Wicked — Real Prosperity of the Righteous
By MRS. L. D. AVERY-STUTTLE
What a wonderful psalm this is indeed! It begins with a benediction upon a certain class of people, and closes with a vivid description of the awful fate that awaits another class — the opposite of the first. Suppose we consider, for a moment, the characteristics and the particular merits of those upon whom the blessing is pronounced, so that we may imitate their virtues, and, if possible, draw upon ourselves a like benediction.

The Conditions for Obtaining Blessedness

First of all, we learn that the man or the woman who would be “blessed,” must fear the Lord.
“O, but,” objects some one, “it seems to me that just the opposite of this is true. There is Mr. B. He certainly is blessed with everything and in every way that any man can possibly be. His farm is the richest and his house the finest in the country. He has health and wealth and prosperity. But he is an absolute agnostic. He does not fear the Lord, nor does he even acknowledge His existence.”
And yet, believe me, that man is not truly blessed, neither is he truly happy. Perhaps he may be to all appearance; but He who reads the hearts of all men like an open book, declares that “the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it can not rest,” and that “there is no peace” to the wicked.

Delight in the Commandments

Not only must we fear the Lord in order to be blessed, but He declares that we must love His commandments — every one of them. Indeed, we must delight greatly in them. How, think you, must the great God of heaven regard the changing of that law which He wrote with His own divine hand — which with His own finger He chiseled upon the imperishable tablet of rock?
Then, hard upon the heels of this blessing that is pronounced upon the man who delights in God’s commandments, follows a most astonishing promise: “Wealth and riches shall be in his house.”
“What! Surely now there must be some mistake,” smiles the skeptic. “If you want to see a downright poor man or group of men, just look for them in the most unpopular and the most godly church you can find. Why, these Christians are almost always the poorest people in the world. So for once, I suppose, you will be obliged to acknowledge that the old Book has made a mistake.”
No, my friend, this can not be called a mistake, any more than the words of Christ, when He declared in that wonderful sermon, “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” Now if ever there comes a time when the meek are in actual possession of this earth, then surely it can be said of them that wealth and riches are in their house.

What the Inheritance Will Be

Will that time ever be? — Ah, it is not the wealth and riches of this poor, fleeting life, that is promised; nor is it this old earth, in its present form, that is to be given the child of God as an inheritance.
What then? — O heart of man, sick with hope long deferred, weary with the burdens of the way, homesick for a better country, yearning with unspeakable longing for the time to come when sin with all its dire effects shall be wiped from the fair universe of God, listen; and as the sweet words come echoing down the centuries, rejoice and be glad and shout for joy:
“Let not your heart be troubled.” “In My Father’s house are many mansions.” “I go to prepare a place for you.” “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away.”

Light in the Darkness

But there is one more promise in this beautiful psalm, that we must not forget to read:
“Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness.”
O fellow traveler, have you ever been in a position where it seemed that all hope had failed, where the light of sun and moon and stars was swallowed up in inky blackness? Have you ever stood with trembling feet at the parting of the ways, when you knew not which path to take, and when no light appeared? Have the demons of doubt and despair clutched at your heart, until courage failed and hope was well-nigh dead?
Rejoice! I bring you hope. Light shall arise in the darkness, if you hold fast your integrity. Was it not so of Abraham, when a “horror of great darkness fell upon him”? Was it not so when the voice that had bidden him take his lonely and agonized journey toward Moriah’s far-off peak, called again to him lovingly, “Lay not thine hand upon the lad”?
Was it not so of Jacob, torn with anxiety and sick with remorse and anguish at the brook Jabbok? In the darkest moment of agony, wrestling with his strange Antagonist for the victory, came the wonderful message, “Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.”
Did not God prove Himself abundantly able to fulfil this promise in the case of Joseph, in spite of the trembling faith of the bereft father, when he exclaimed in heart-broken bitterness, “All these things are against me”? Where was the God of Bethel? Where was the God of Jabbok? It had been long since the mighty Wrestler christened him at the brook. Had God forsaken His servant?—Surely it must be. The son of his beloved Rachel had been slain by ravenous beasts. Where was the Angel of the covenant?

Time Too Short for the Outcome

You and I know the outcome of that beautiful story—but stop—no! God’s providences are never finished in this life. Time, as measured by earth’s years, is too short a period in which to finish the wonderful plots of God’s great story.
But often, even in this life, the Master permits us to see something of the wonders of His almighty grace. We remember the astonishing history of Joseph, first the innocent victim of the cruel vindictiveness of his brothers, and then of the caprice and revenge of a vicious and designing woman. But up from the pit of death, out from the dungeon of the king, God delivered His own. Instead of fetters of brass, the astonished courtiers beheld jewels of gold; and instead of the dank, foul alleys of the dungeon, the servant of God steps forth into the corridors of the palace of Egypt’s proudest monarch.
No pit so deep, no dungeon so black, that the eye of the Eternal fails to pierce it.
“Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness.”
O, before the everlasting truth of this glorious promise, let infidelity and doubt and agnosticism hide their craven heads! Let this precious truth encourage the faint-hearted strengthen the hands of the weak, and bring light and cheer and courage and hope and happiness to the weakest and humblest and most despondent of the children of God.