The Hedge of Thorns

‘* Wicked men are preserved in reference to the godly; they are but as a defence of thorns about a garden of roses. Now, whe7i the roses are cropped off, what will become of the thorns?’ This is a solemn question, and should arouse the careless. Ungodly men are a sort of scaffold to God’s house, and when the house is finished they must be pulled down. The husk is needful to the wheat at a certain time, but when the corn is ripe the husk is useless chaff, and must be separated from it. An ungodly mother is to a pious son as the chaff to the wheat, and ere long the chaff must be driven away. What think ye of this, ye unsaved parents of godly children .? What think ye of this, ye unregenerate brothers and friends, by whom the godly are succoured, while you yourselves remain unsaved?

When good men die the wicked should reflect that there is so much the less salt left to preserve society. There is one pleader less for the preservation of the barren tree. Every saint taken home brings the world so much nearer its end. Much as they may despise the godly, the deaths of righteous men ought to be solemn warnings to the thoughtless world, as they reflect upon what must happen to the world when those who are its light and its salt are taken away.