21. The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again. Partly because he will not, but mainly because he cannot. Want follows
upon waste, and debt remains un-discharged. Often are the wicked thus
impoverished in this life. Their wanton extravagance brings them down to the
usurer’s door and to the bankrupt’s suit. But the righteous showeth mercy,and giveth. Mercy was given to him, and therefore he gives in mercy. He is
generous and prosperous, not a borrower but a giver. So far as the good man can
do it, he lends an ear to the requests of need, and instead of being
impoverished by what he imparts, he grows richer, and is able to do more. He
does not give to encourage idleness, but in real mercy, which supposes real
need. How much better it generally is to give than to lend! Generally, lending
comes to giving in the end, and it is as well to anticipate the fact, and by a
little liberality forestall the inevitable. If these two sentences describe the
wicked and the righteous, the writer of these lines has reason to know that in
and about the city of London the wicked are very numerous.
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