Note, 1. The comfort of the people of God is the honour of the nation
in which they live. There is a great glory dwelling in the land when
the righteous do rejoice, when they have their liberty, the free
exercise of their religion, and are not persecuted, when the government
countenances them and speaks comfortably to them, when they prosper and
grow rich, and, much more, when they are preferred and employed and
have power put into their hands. 2. The advancement of the wicked is
the eclipsing of the beauty of a nation: When the wicked rise and get
head they make head against all that is sacred, and then a man is
hidden, a good man is thrust into obscurity, is necessitated to abscond
for his own safety; corruptions prevail so generally that, as in
Elijah's time, there seem to be no good men left, the wicked walk so
thickly on every side.