The Wicked Driven Away; The Righteous Held by Hope

The wicked is driven away in his wickedness; but the righteous hath hope in his death (Proverbs 13:32).

The wisdom of religion is vindicated in the contrasting ends of good and evil men. For the most part, the end of good men is full of peace and comfort, with good hopes for their future condition; but the end of bad men proves quite contrary—full of anguish and trouble, without peace, comfort, or hope of any good to befall them afterwards.

This observation holds generally true. When good men approach death, they commonly possess great calm and serenity of mind, full of confidence in God's mercy and favour (Psalm 37:37). A religious and virtuous life provides real ground for peace and joy, even amid life's evils and calamities, especially at the hour of death. Conversely, impiety and wickedness establish a foundation of guilt and fear, of horror and despair in adversity and affliction, and more especially as death approaches.

The principles of religion, when tested in life's ultimate trial, hold firm and prove an unshaken foundation of peace and comfort. They minister comfort precisely when most needed and desirable. When men face death—that season when declarations carry greatest weight—they bear witness to religion's truth and virtue's reality, and against impiety's emptiness and vice's corruption. The righteous die hoping; the wicked die driven by their own darkness.