ONE of the worst mistakes we could make would be to judge our condition before God by our outward circumstances. Know you not that the ungodly have their portion in this life? They increase in riches; their eyes stand out with fatness; they have more than heart can wish. They are not in trouble like other men, “neither are they plagued like other men,” therefore pride compasses them about as a chain; violence covers them as a garment.
[The unsaved] have no joy in the world to come and, therefore, God permits them to have as much joy as they are capable of in this world. (But) they stand upon slippery slopes! How are they cast down as in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors.