Justin Collantes Apolonio BSN 2051494 God and Human Life

November 24 2018 PIC Attendance Reflection

Scripture Reading

“Mark the blameless man, and behold the upright; For the man of peace will have a

posterity.” (Psalms 37:37)

Reflection

Mark the perfect man - In contrast with what happens to the wicked. The word

“perfect” here is used to label a righteous man, or a man who serves and obeys God. The word

“mark” here means “observe, take notice of.” The argument is, “Look upon that man in the end,

in contrast with the prosperous wicked man. See how the close of life, in his case, differs from

that of a wicked man, though the one may have been poor and humble, and the other rich and

honored.” The point of the psalmist remark turns on the end, or the “termination” of their course;

and the idea is, that the end of the two is such as to show that there is an advantage in religion,

and that God is the friend of the righteous. Of course, this is to be understood in accordance with

the main thought in the psalm, as affirming what is of general occurrence.

behold the upright - Another term for a pious man. Religion makes a man upright; and

if a man is not upright in his dealings with his fellow-man, or if what he professes does not make

him do “right,” it is the fullest proof that he has no true piety, 1 John 3:7-8.
 For the end of that man is peace - The connection - the contrast with what happens to

the wicked, Psalm 37:36, Psalm 37:38 - would seem to imply that it is used here particularly and

especially with reference to the close of life. The contrast is between the course of the one and

that of the other, and between the “termination” of the one course and of the other. In the one

case, it is ultimate disaster and ruin; in the other, it is ultimate peace and prosperity. The one

“issues in,” or is “followed by” death and ruin; the other is succeeded by peace and salvation.

Hence, the word may be extended without impropriety to all the future - the whole hereafter. The

word “peace” is often employed in the Scriptures to denote the effect of true religion:

(a) as implying reunion with God, and

(b) as representing the calmness, the tranquility, and the happiness which results from such

reunion, from his friendship, and from the hope of heaven.

As a usual fact, religious men die calmly and peacefully, sustained by hope and by the

presence of God; as a universal fact, they are made happy forever beyond the grave.