Deuteronomy 7:12-16 -

The rewards of obedience.

If Israel fulfilled its vocation, in keeping itself separate from the idolatries of the heathen, and in destroying them from the land; if further, in possession of the land, it adhered to God's commands, God would make his blessing rest on it in every sphere and department of existence.

I. TEMPORAL PROSPERITY IS A LEGITIMATE OBJECT OF DESIRE . Otherwise it could not be named as part of the blessing, nor could the hope of it be held out as an encouragement to the obedient. We naturally desire to see our affairs prospering. We justly rejoice in the prosperity of our nation. We are glad when trade is brisk, wages good, the comforts of life diffused through the different orders of society. But:

1. Prosperity is to be desired only in subordination to higher ends ( Matthew 5:33 ).

2. Only in so far as it is good for us ( 3 John 1:2 ).

3. Not in excess ( Proverbs 30:8 , Proverbs 30:9 ). If God, in the exercise of his higher wisdom, withhold prosperity from us, the loss will be compensated by better blessings.

II. TEMPORAL PROSPERITY , IN SUCH MODES AND DEGREES AS GOD SEES BEST , IS AN EFFECT OF THE DIVINE BLESSING . Godliness has promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come ( 1 Timothy 4:10 ). It naturally tends to prosperity. Religion teaches men to be sober, righteous, and godly ( Titus 2:12 ). It condemns idleness, waste, dishonesty, and the whole series of vices which wreck health, squander property, and destroy confidence. Where religion prevails, men will be industrious, conscientious, orderly, and reliable. But, in addition to this natural tendency of religion to prosperity, there rests on the good man's lot what is distinctively spoken of as the Divine blessing. This will mingle itself with all he has and with all he does. It gives him favor in the eyes of men ( Genesis 39:21 ). It opens up his way for him ( Psalms 37:5 ). It protects him from injury ( Psalms 37:33 , Psalms 37:39 ). It overrules all events and influences, so that they work for his good. This is forcibly illustrated in the text, where blessing is represented as descending on the home, on the products of the land, on flocks and herds, on the bodily life, etc. The counterpart of the blessing is the curse ( Deuteronomy 7:15 ). The wicked often prosper, but it is prosperity unblessed and unenduring.—J.O.