10. Trust not in oppression, and become not vain in robbery. Wealth ill-gotten is the trust only of fools, for the deadly pest lies
in it; it is full of canker, it reeks with God’s curse. To tread down the poor
and silence their cries for justice is the delight of many a braggart bully,
who in his arrogance imagines that he may defy both God and man; but he is
warned in these words. The oppression of the innocent and the robbery of the
poor may be effected in human courts, but no twistings of the law, no tricks
and evasions will avail with the Court of Heaven. If riches increase, setnot your heart upon them. If they grow in an honest, providential manner,
as the results of industry or commercial success, do not make much account of
the circumstances; be not unduly elated, do not fix your love upon your money.
To bow an immortal spirit to the constant contemplation of fading possessions
is extreme folly. Shall those who call the Lord their glory, glory in yellow
earth? We must not rest in men; so neither must we repose in money. All the
wealth and honor the whole world can afford would be too slender a thread to
bear up the happiness of an immortal soul.
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