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Title: The Preacher's Complete Homiletic Commentary on the Books of the Bible, Volume 13 (of 32) - The Preacher's Complete Homiletic Commentary on the Book of the Proverbs
Author: Harris, W. S. (William Shuler)
Language: English
As this book started as an ASCII text book there are no pictures available.
*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The Preacher's Complete Homiletic Commentary on the Books of the Bible, Volume 13 (of 32) - The Preacher's Complete Homiletic Commentary on the Book of the Proverbs" ***
Transcriber's Notes
- This book uses SMALL CAPS in headings throughout. You might need
to experiment with browsers and fonts to find one that shows SMALL
CAPS correctly.
- The text of the series shifts among font sizes and between one and
two column presentation, in an effort to maximize the amount of
text that can appear on the printed page. This transcription will
dispense with that formatting because costs are so much lower in
the digital world.
- The text comments on, but does not include, the text of the
Scriptures. A copy of the King James Version of the Bible (also
known as the "Authorised Version") should be available from the
same source where you obtained this e-book.
- The author refers to "Canticles," which is another name for the
Biblical book "Song of Solomon." He also refers to two books that
are not in the Protestant canon: "Ecclesiasticus" and "The Wisdom
of Solomon." These books are found in a Roman Catholic Bible or
on-line, if desired.
- This book is a collection of men's opinions on the book of
Proverbs in the Bible, the inspired Word of God. The book was
printed toward the end of the 19th century. Some of the comments
might be considered culturally insensitive today.
- Details of the Transcriber's changes are enumerated after the
text.
THE PREACHER'S
COMPLETE HOMILETIC
COMMENTARY
ON THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE
WITH CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES,
INDEXES, ETC., BY VARIOUS AUTHORS
THE OLD TESTAMENT
_Volumes 1-21_
THE NEW TESTAMENT
_Volumes 22-32_
Volume 13
The Preacher's Complete Homiletic
COMMENTARY
ON THE BOOK OF THE
Proverbs
_By the_ REV. W. HARRIS
_Author of the Commentary on Samuel_
[LOGO]
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY
NEW YORK
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction and Preface
VERSES CHAPTER I.
Critical Notes
1-4 The Author, His Method and His Object
5, 6 The Characteristics of a Wise Man
7-9 The Root of True Knowledge and the Means of Its Attainment
10-19 Enticement to Sin and Exhortation Against Yielding to It
20-33 The Cry of Wisdom
CHAPTER II.
Critical Notes
1-5 Human Understanding and Divine Knowledge
6-11 God as a Giver, and Man as a Receiver
12-20 The Character of Those from Whom Wisdom Preserves
21, 22 The Contrast in the End from the Contrast in the Way
CHAPTER III.
Critical Notes
1-4 Blessings from the Remembrance of God's Commandments
5, 6 Exhortation to Confidence in God
7-12 The Way (1) to Health, (2) to Wealth, (3) to Endurance
13-18 Wisdom and Her Gifts
19, 20 One of the Proofs of God's Wisdom
21-26 God's Keeping, the Reward of Man's Keeping
27-29 Doing Justice and Loving Mercy
30 Unlawful Strife Forbidden
31-35 The Oppressor Not to Be Envied
CHAPTER IV.
Critical Notes
1-4 The Reciprocal Duties of Parents and Children
5-13 The One Thing Needful
14-19 Contrasted Paths and Opposite Characters
20-27 The Path of Safety
CHAPTER V.
Critical Notes
1-20 Bitter and Sweet Waters
21-23 Three Reasons for Avoiding the Way of Sin
CHAPTER VI.
Critical Notes
1-5 Self-Imposed Bondage
6-11 Industry and Indolence
12-19 A Student of Iniquity
20-23 The Law of God's Word
24-35 A Special Sin and Its Penalties from Which He
Who Keeps God's Law Will Be Kept
CHAPTER VII.
Critical Notes
1-4 The Source of True Life, etc.
5-27 A Picture Drawn from Life
CHAPTER VIII.
Critical Notes
1-3 The Nature of Wisdom's Call
4-9 God's Speech Meeting Man's Need
10, 11 Wisdom Better Than Wealth
12, 13 Wisdom and Prudence
14-16 The Source of True Power
17-21 The Reward of Earnest Seekers
22-31 The Personal Wisdom of God
32-36 Exhortation Founded on Human Obligations to Divine Wisdom
CHAPTER IX.
Critical Notes
1-12 Wisdom's Feast
13-18 The Feast of Folly
CHAPTER X.
Critical Notes
1 Parental Grief and Gladness
2 The Comparative Value of Righteousness and Riches
3, 4 Divine and Human Providence
5 The Use and the Neglect of Opportunities
6, 7, & 11 The Way to Present Blessedness and Future Fame
8 The Doer and the Talker
9, 10 Opposite Characters
12 Love and Hatred
13, 14 Laying Up to Give Out
15, 16 A False and a True Estimate of Life
17 The Influence of Example
18 Three Degrees of Moral Foolishness
19-21 Speech and Silence
22 The Source of True Riches
23 A Touchstone of Character
24 The Inheritance of Fear and Desire
25 The Whirlwind and the Sure Foundation
26 The Vexatiousness of a Sluggish Servant
27 Long Life
28 Hopes Realized and Disappointed
29 God's Way, Destruction and Salvation
30 The Earth the Possession of the Righteous
31 Outlines and Suggestive Comments.
32 Acceptable Words
CHAPTER XI.
Critical Notes
1 Just Weight
2 Pride and Humility
3 The Infallible Guide
4 See Homiletics on chap. x. 2
5, 6 Made or Marred by Desires
7 The Death of the Wicked
8 The Wicked Coming in the Stead of the Righteous
9 The Just Man Delivered from the Mouth of the Hypocrite
10, 11 The Reward of the Righteous Citizen or Ruler. The Fate
of the Unrighteous One
12, 13 Contempt and Tale-Bearing
14 Helmsmanship
15 Outlines and Suggestive Comments.
16 A Gracious Woman
17 Mercy and Cruelty
18-20 Sowing and Reaping
21 Deliverance from a Confederated Opposition
22 Precious Things Possessed by Unworthy Owners
23 The Desire of the Righteous, and the Expectation
of the Wicked
24-26 The Liberal and the Niggardly Man
27 Diligent Seekers
28 Trust in Riches, and Trust in God
29 Foolish Home Rulers
30 The Winner of Souls
31 The Recompense of the Righteous and the Wicked
CHAPTER XII.
Critical Notes
1 The Love of Knowledge and the Proof of It
2 Outlines and Suggestive Comments.
3 A Right Desire and the Means of Its Attainment
4 A Husband's Crown
5-8 Thoughts and Words and Their Result
9 Show and Reality
10 Care for Animals and Cruelty to Men
11 Satisfaction from Tillage
12-14 The Desire of Wicked Men and the Fruit of Righteousness
15, 16 Two Examples of Foolishness and Wisdom
17-19 & 22 Wounding and Healing
20 Joy from Peace
21 All Working for the Good of the Righteous
23 The Concealment of Knowledge and the Proclamation
of Foolishness
24 The Reward of Diligence
25 Heaviness of Heart and Its Cure
26 The Guide and the Seducer
27 The Loss of the Slothful, and the Gain of the Diligent
28 The Way of Life
CHAPTER XIII.
Critical Notes
1 The Wise Son and the Scorner
2, 3 Keeping the Mouth
4 The Disappointment of the Sluggard's Desires
5 A Lawful Hatred
6 Overthrow by Sin
7, 8 The Law of Compensation
9 The Abiding Light
10 The Parent of Strife
11 The Ways of Growing Rich
12 Deferred and Accomplished Hope
13 Bound by Law
14 Living by Rule
15 A Bad Way and a Good Understanding
16 Dealing with Knowledge
17 A Social Link
18 The Way to Honour
19 The Abomination of the Fool
20 Companionship, Constructive or Destructive
21 Pursuit and Repayment
22 An Inheritance Incorruptible
23 Land and Its Tillers
24 The Child and the Rod
25 Want and Satisfaction
CHAPTER XIV.
Critical Notes
1 The House Builder and the House Destroyer
2 Fearing and Despising the Lord
3 Speech a Rod
4 The Clean Crib
5 Outlines and Suggestive Comments.
6 Seeking, but Not Finding
7-9 The Fool and the Prudent Man
10 Secrets of the Heart
11 Outlines and Suggestive Comments.
12 What Seems to Be, and What Is
13 True and False Mirth
14 Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction
15-18 Revelations of Character
19 A Levelling Law
20, 21 An Aggravated Crime, a Questionable Virtue,
and a Present Blessing
22 A Fatal Error and a Certain Good
23 The Profit of Labour
24 Wealth, with and without Wisdom
25 Deliverance by Truth
26 A Sure Refuge
27 Outlines and Suggestive Comments.
28 A King's True Glory
29 Great Understanding
30 A Sound Heart
31 The Oppressed and Their Oppressors
32 The Death of the Righteous and the Wicked
33 The Hidden Made Manifest
34 National Salvation
35 A Wise Servant
CHAPTER XV.
Critical Notes
1, 2 The Use of Knowledge
3 Divine Intelligence
4, 5 Outlines and Suggestive Comments.
6 Like in Circumstances, but Unlike in Character
7 Outlines and Suggestive Comments.
8, 9 Praying and Living
10 Out of the Way
11 Two Worlds
12 Self-Destroyed
13 A Cheerful Face and a Broken Spirit
14 Outlines and Suggestive Comments.
15 The Continual Feast
16 A Treasure Without Trouble
17 Two Feasts
18 Outlines and Suggestive Comments.
19 The Way of the Slothful and the Righteous
20 Outlines and Suggestive Comments.
21 Opposite Tastes
22 Outlines and Suggestive Comments.
23 Joy from a Seasonable Word
24 The Upward and the Downward Path
25 Destruction and Establishment
26 Wicked Thoughts and Holy Words
27 The Curse of Covetousness
28 Studying to Answer
29 God Near and Far Off
30 Cheerfulness and Good Tidings
31-33 How to Give and Take Reproof
CHAPTER XVI.
Critical Notes
1 The Heart and the Tongue
2 The Weigher of Spirits
3 The Establishment of Thoughts
4 All Things for God
5 Heart-Pride
6 The Purging of Iniquity
7 Pleasing God
8 Outlines and Suggestive Comments.
9 Man Proposes, God Disposes
10-15 Kings
16 Outlines and Suggestive Comments.
17 Soul-Preservation
18, 19 The End of Pride
20, 21 The Fruits of Trust in the Lord
22-24 An Unfailing Spring
25 Outlines and Suggestive Comments.
26 The Mainspring of Human Industry
27-30 Different Species of the Same Genus
31 A Crown of Glory
32 Taking a City and Ruling the Spirit
33 The Lot and Its Disposer
CHAPTER XVII.
Critical Notes
1 See Homiletics on chap xv., 17
2 The Foolish Son and the Wise Servant
3 The Trier of Hearts
4 The Evil Speaker and the Listener
5 A Double Revelation
6 Father and Children
7 A Twofold Incongruity
8 The Power of Gifts
9 How to Make Friends and How to Separate Them
10 Correction Must be Adapted to the Character of
the Offender
11-13 Phases of Evil
14 The Beginning of Strife
15 Inversion and Restitution
16 Neglected Opportunities
17, 18 True Friendship
19 Outlines and Suggestive Comments.
20, 21 See Homiletics on chap. x. 1, 13, 14, etc.,
and on verse 24
22 The Merry Heart
23 Bribery
24 The Eyes of a Fool and Those of a Wise Man
25 See Homiletics on chap. x. 1
26 Smiting the Just
27, 28 Two Badges of a Wise Man
CHAPTER XVIII.
Critical Notes
1, 2 Solitude
3 The Short-lived Prosperity of Evil Men
4 A Good Man's Mouth
5 See Homiletics on chap. xvii. 15 and 26
6-8 Folly and Its Results
9 Twin-Brothers
10, 11 Two Citadels
12 See Homiletics on chap. xi. 2 and xvi. 18
13 Answering Before Hearing
14 Sickness of Body and Wounds of Soul
15 Prudence and Knowledge
16 The Influence of Talent
17 Cross-Examination
18 The Use of the Lot
19 Castle Bars
20, 21 The Power of the Little Member
22 A Twofold Good
23 Rich and Poor
24 The Obligations of Friendship
CHAPTER XIX.
Critical Notes
1 The Better Part
2, 3 Ignorance Leading to Sin
4 Suggestive Comment.
5, 9 The End of a False Tongue
6, 7 Two Proofs of Human Selfishness
8, 9 See Homiletics on verses 2 and 5,
and on chaps. viii. 36, and ix. 12
10 Incongruities
11, 12 Two Kings
13, 14, 18 Domestic Sorrow, and How to Avoid it
15 See Homiletics on chap. vi. 9, 10
16 A Double Keeping
17 The Best Investment
18-20 Relative Duties
21 Many Plans Working to One End
22 Poverty of Heart and Poverty of Circumstance
23 See Homiletics on chaps. x. 27, xiv. 26, xviii. 10
24 See Homiletics on chap. xxvi. 12-16
25, 29 See Homiletics on chap. xvii. 10
26-29 Possibilities of Human Depravity
CHAPTER XX.
Critical Notes
1 Strong Drink
2, 3 See Homiletics on chaps. xiv. 29, xvi. 32, xix. 12
4 See Homiletics on chap. x. 4
5 Deep Sea Dredging
6-12 An Universal Challenge, a General Rule, and a Rare Virtue
10 For Homiletics see also chap. xi. 1
13 For Homiletics see chap. vi. 10, 11
14 Bargaining
15 See Homiletics on chaps. iii. 14, 15, viii. 11,
xii. 14, xviii. 20, 21
16 Necessary Security
17 Bad Bread
18 Thought Before Action
19 See Homiletics on chaps. x. 19, xi. 13
20 An Unnatural Child and a Natural Law
21 See Homiletics, chaps. xiii. 11, xxi. 5, 7
22 The Recompenser of Evil
23 See Homiletics on chap. xi. 1
24 God over All
25 Religious Vows
26, 28 Pillars of Government
27 The Candle of the Lord
29 The Glory of Youth and Age
30 Pain as a Preventive of Pain
CHAPTER XXI.
Critical Notes
1 The King of Kings
2 See Homiletics on chap. xvi. 2
3 The More Acceptable Sacrifice
4 The Ploughing of the Wicked
5-7, 17 Two Ways to Wealth
8 Two Ways
9, 19 An Angry Woman
10 The Desire of the Wicked
11 Instruction for Those Who Need It
12 God's Surveillance of the Wicked
13 The Cry of the Poor
14 The Pacification of Anger
15 The Joy of Righteousness
16 Like to Like
18 The Ransom of the Righteous
19, 20 See Homiletics on verses 5, 7, and 9
21 A Noble Pursuit and a Rich Prize
22 A Wise Man and a Mighty City
23 See Homiletics on chap. xiii. 2-3
24 A Name of Degrees
25, 26 The Sword of the Sluggard
27 The Sacrifice of the Wicked
28 Outlines and Suggestive Comments.
29 The Face and the Way
30, 31 Counsel Against the Lord
CHAPTER XXII.
Critical Notes
1 Better Than Gold
2 Levelling Down and Levelling Up
3 See Homiletics on chap. xiv. 16
4 See Homiletics on chap. iii. 1-18
5, 6 A Hedged-Up Way
7 An Analogy Affirmed and a Contrast Suggested
8 A Worthless Seed and a Rotten Staff
9 The Bountiful Eye
10 A Man Who Ought to Dwell Alone
11 A Road to Royal Friendship
12 The Preservation of Knowledge
13 An Active Imagination
14 A Deep Pit
15 A Fact Stated and a Duty Inferred
16 Oppression and Servility
17-21 Trust from Knowledge, and Blessedness from Trust
22, 23 God the Spoiler of the Spoiler
24, 25 An Infectious and Dangerous Disease
26, 27 Suretyship and Its Dangers
28 See Homiletics on chap. xxiii. 10
29 The Destiny of the Diligent
CHAPTER XXIII.
Critical Notes
1-3 The Temptations of the Table
4, 5 The Deceitfulness of Riches
6-8 Feigned Generosity
9 The Morally Incurable
10, 11 The Rights of Private Property
12-28 Parental Duties and Parental Joys
29-35 The Drunkard's Picture
CHAPTER XXIV.
Critical Notes
1-6 House Building
7 A False Estimate and a True One
8, 9 See Homiletics on chap. vi. 12-19
10 The Day of Adversity
11, 12 Positive Punishment for a Negative Crime
13, 14 Honey and Wisdom
15, 16 A Social Ambush
17, 18 The Fall of an Enemy
19, 20 See Homiletics on verse 1, and on chap. xiii. 9
21, 22 Rule and Reverence
23-26 Impartiality of Truth
27 Plan and Patience
28, 29 An Uncalled-For Testimony
30-34 The Sluggard's Vineyard
CHAPTER XXV.
Critical Notes
1-3 God's Mysteries and Man's Research
4, 5 See Homiletics on chap. xx. 26 and 28
6, 7 Self-promotion
8-11 Two Ways of Treating an Enemy
12 Giving and Taking
13 See Homiletics on chap. xiii. 17
14 Clouds Without Rain
15 Forbearance and Persuasiveness
16 Use and Abuse
17 Obtrusiveness
18 See Homiletics on chap xii. 18
19, 20 Misplaced Confidence and Unseasonable Songs
21, 22 A Blessed Recompense
23 The Way to Treat a Backbiter
24 See Homiletics on chap. xxi. 9
25 Cold Water and Good News
26 The Evil Result of Moral Cowardice
27 Too Much of a Good Thing
28 A Defenceless City
CHAPTER XXVI.
Critical Notes
1 A Gift Wrongly Bestowed
2 The Causeless Curse
3-11 A Low Level
12-16 Self-Conceit and Indolence
17 Needless Interference
18-22 See Homiletics on chaps. xvii. 14, xviii. 6-8
23-28 Counterfeit Friendship
CHAPTER XXVII.
Critical Notes
1 Divine Property
2 Self Praise
3, 4 Wrath and Envy
5, 6, 9-11, 14 Tests of Friendship
7 Want of Appetite
8 A Man and His Place
12 See Homiletics on chap. xiv. 15
13, 15, 16 See Homiletics on chaps. xix. 13, xx. 16
17 A Social Whetstone
18 The Reward of Service
19 A Correct Likeness
20 Insatiability
21 A Crucible for Character
22 See Homiletics on chaps. xvii. 10, and xix. 26-29
23-27 Moral Farming
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Critical Notes
1 Cowardice and Courage
2 The Penalty of Revolt
3 The Most Inexcusable Oppressor
4, 5 Lawkeepers and Lawbreakers
6 See Homiletics on chap. xix. 1
7 See Homiletics on chap. x. 1
8 See Homiletics on chap. xiii. 22
9 See Homiletics on chap. xv. 8, 9
10 See Homiletics on chap. xxvi. 23-28
11 Wisdom in Wealth and Poverty
12 See Homiletics on chap. xi. 10-11
13 Confession and Forgiveness
14 See Homiletics on chaps. xii. 15, xiv. 15-18
15-17 Vice and Virtue in High Places
18 See Homiletics on chaps. x. 9-10, xi. 3
19 See Homiletics on chap. xii. 11
20, 22 See Homiletics on chaps. xiii. 11, xxi. 5
21 See Homiletics on chap. xvii. 23
23 See Homiletics on chap. xxvii. 5, 6
24 Robbing Parents
25a See Homiletics on chap. xiii. 10
25b, 26 Self-Confidence
27 See Homiletics on chaps. xi. 24-26, xiv.-31
28 See Homiletics on chap. xi. 10-11
CHAPTER XXIX.
Critical Notes
1 Reproof and Destruction
2 See Homiletics on chap. xi. 10-11
3 See Homiletics on chaps. x. 1, v. 1-20
4 See Homiletics on chap. xvi. 10-15
5 See Homiletics on chap. xxvi. 23-28
6 A Snare and a Song
7 See Homiletics on chaps. xiv. 31, xxiv. 11, 12
8 The Citizen's Enemy and the Citizen's Friend
9 See Homiletics on chaps. xxiii. 9, xxvi. 3-11
10 Soul-Seekers and Soul-Haters
11 See Homiletics on chap. x. 19-21
12 A Moral Cancer in a King's Court
13 See Homiletics on chap. xxii. 22-23
14, 15 See Homiletics on chaps. xvi. 10-15, xiii. 24,
xix. 13, 14, 18
16 Victory Not with the Majority
17 See Homiletics on chap. xix. 13, 14, 18
18 Divine Revelation and Human Obedience
19, 21 Masters and Servants
20, 22 See Homiletics on chap. xiv. 17 and 29
23 See Homiletics on chaps. xi. 2, xvi. 18-19
24 Criminal Partnerships
25, 26 Safety from a Snare
27 See Homiletics on chap. xxviii. 4
CHAPTER XXX.
Critical Notes
1-9 The Sources of True Humility
5, 6 The Word of God
7-9 The Middle Way
10 See Homiletics on chap. xxiv. 28, 29
11-17 Four Manifestations of Ungodliness
18-20 Depths of Wickedness
21-23 Burdens Grievous to be Borne
24-28 Lowly Teachers
29-31 Kingly Qualities
32, 33 See Homiletics on chap. xvii. 14
CHAPTER XXXI.
Critical Notes
1-9 Divine Commands from a Mother's Lips
10-31 A Model Matron
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY
ON
PROVERBS
INTRODUCTION AND PREFACE.
The Hebrew word for proverb _(mashal)_ means a comparison. Hence it
includes more than we generally understand by the English word, viz.,
a pithy sentence expressing in a few words a well-known or obvious
truth. When books were few it was most natural that observations on
life and manners should be compressed into the smallest possible
compass: hence proverbial teaching has been employed from the most
remote antiquity. It is highly probable that all proverbial sayings
were at first literally _comparisons,_ as this would tend to fix them
more indelibly upon the memory. But the word by degrees came to
express that which we now understand it to signify.
Although a few more lengthy discourses are found in this book, it
consists mainly of a few short proverbial sentences, often
illustrated and enforced by most striking metaphors. It has been
almost universally received by both Jewish and Christian writers as
the inspired production of Solomon. The most convincing proof of its
canonicity is the fact that the New Testament contains many
quotations from it. Compare Prov. iii. 11, 12 with Heb. xii. 5, 6;
Prov. iii. 34, with Jas. iv. 6; Prov. x. 12, with 1 Pet. iv. 8; Prov.
xi. 31 _(Sept.),_ with 1 Pet. iv. 18; Prov. xxii. 9 _(Sept.),_
with 2 Cor. ix. 7; Prov. xxv. 21, 22, with Rom. xii. 20; Prov.
xxvi. 11, with 2 Pet. ii. 22; Prov. xxvii. 1, with Jas. iv. 13, 14.
But, were these wanting, its superiority to every other book of a
similar character would constitute a most weighty internal evidence
of its Divine inspiration. Moses Stuart says of it: "All the heathen
moralists and proverbialists joined together cannot furnish us with
one such book as that of the Proverbs." And Wordsworth remarks: "The
Proverbs of Solomon come from above, and they also look upward. They
teach that all true wisdom is the gift of God, and is grounded on the
fear of the Lord. They dwell with the strongest emphasis on the
necessity of careful vigilance over the heart, which is manifest only
to God, and on the duty of acting, in all the daily business and
social intercourse of life, with habitual reference to the only
unerring standard of human practice, His will and Word. In this
respect the Book of Proverbs prepared the way for the preaching of
the Gospel, and we recognise in it an anticipation of the apostolic
precept: 'Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as unto the Lord.'" Dr.
Guthrie considered that "the high character which Scotsmen earned in
by-gone years was mainly due to their early acquaintance with the
Book of Proverbs." (_Sunday Magazine,_ Oct., 1868, p. 15.)
Although the greater part of the book was doubtless compiled by
Solomon during his life, chapters xxv.--xxix. were not copied out
until the days of Hezekiah, and the last two chapters are assigned in
the book itself to other authors, of whom we know nothing. It seems
startling at first sight that a man whose character we know from
other parts of the Holy Scripture to have been marred by so many
serious defects, should be the author of an inspired book, but Dr.
Arnot remarks on this point that "practical lessons on some subjects
come better through the heart of the weary, repentant king than
through a man who had tasted fewer pleasures, and led a more even
life. . . . Not a line of Solomon's writings tends to palliate
Solomon's sins. . . . The glaring imperfections of the man's life
have been used as a dark ground to set off the lustre of that pure
righteousness which the Spirit has spoken by his lips." It is evident
from the most cursory study of its contents that this book is rather
ethical than doctrinal. The following Commentary has for its main
object the setting forth the great moral lessons contained in it in a
homiletic form. It does not pretend to be a critical Commentary,
although the latest and best criticisms have been quoted where they
seemed to throw any new light upon the text. But the book of Proverbs
is not easy to treat homiletically. Prof. Lockler, the author of the
expositions on the works of Solomon in Dr. Lange's Commentary,
says,--"A theological and homiletical exposition of the book of
Proverbs has difficulties to contend with which exist, in an equal
degree in but few books of the Old Testament, and in none in quite
the same form. . . . To treat the book homiletically and practically,
in so far as regards only brief passages, is rendered more difficult
by the obscurity of many single sentences; and in so far as it
attempts to embrace large sections, by the unquestionable lack of
fixed order and methodical structure."
The main DIVISIONS of the Book of Proverbs are:--I. A series of
discourses on the excellency and advantages of wisdom, and the
destructive character of sin (ch. i.--ix.). II. A collection of
unconnected maxims on various subjects (ch. x.--xxii. 16). III. Short
discussions on a variety of subjects (ch. xxii. 17--xxiv. 22), with a
brief appendix of maxims (ch. xxiv. 23, 24). IV. The collection of
Solomon's proverbs made in the time of Hezekiah (ch. xxv.--xxix.).
V. A supplement containing the words of Agur (ch. xxx.) and of King
Lemuel (ch. xxxi.). [_Annotated Paragraph Bible._]
* * * * * *
CHAPTER I.
CRITICAL NOTES.--+1. Proverbs.+ See Introduction. +2. Instruction,+
properly "chastisement," signifying moral training, admonition, then
good habits, the practical side of wisdom. +3. Wisdom.+ A different
word from that in ver. 2. It means "prudence." +Justice+ relates to a
man's attitude in relation with God, and would be better translated
"righteousness." +Judgment+ includes our duties to our fellow-man and
should be rendered "justice." +Equity+ is "uprightness," "sincerity
of purpose." +4. Subtlety,+ "prudence." +Simple,+ literally "the
open," those easily persuaded. +5. Wise counsels,+ or "capability to
guide," literally _"helmsmanship."_ +7. Fools,+ derived from a word
meaning to be gross and dull of understanding. Gesenius understands
it to signify "one who turns away," the "perverse." +10. Entice
thee,+ "lay thee open." Miller here reads, "if sinners would make a
door of thy simplicity, afford thou no entrance." +17.+ Some
interpret this verse as referring to the godly who escape the snares
laid for them, others to the wicked, who, not so wise as the bird,
plunge themselves into ruin by plotting against the good. Then the
_blood_ and _lives_ of ver. 18 refer to the blood and life of the
sinner. +20.+ The word _wisdom_ is in the plural form in the Hebrew.
+27. Desolation,+ or "tempest." +28.+ To seek early denotes
"earnestly." See ch. viii. 17, Hos. v. 15. The person now changes
from the second to the third, "as though wisdom were increasingly
alienated." _(Miller)._ +32.+ The +turning away+ of the simple,
_i.e.,_ their rejection of wisdom. +Prosperity,+ "Security," "idle,
easy rest."
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 1-4.
THE AUTHOR, HIS METHOD, AND HIS OBJECT.
+I. Four things connected with Solomon would tend to commend his
proverbs to the Hebrew nation.+ 1. _His remarkable antecedents._ The
influence of any man in this world depends very much upon his
antecedents. If they happen to be such as are held in esteem by
society, they form at once letters of commendation for him, and often
prove stepping-stones to great positions. The question, "_Whence_ art
thou?" is more often asked than "_What_ art thou?" Perhaps this was
even more true of Hebrew society than it is of English. Solomon was
the son of a king. The king whom he claimed as his father was the man
whom God had honoured more than any other since the days of Moses. He
was not only a king, but a prophet and a poet, who had no equal in
the day in which he lived. He was more than this. His reputation as a
warrior, more than anything else, endeared him to a people who looked
upon him in this light as the best representative of their nation.
The fact that Solomon was the "son of David," would ensure him the
ear of the Jewish people throughout all their generations. 2. _His
personal position._ He was not only the son of a king but a king
himself--a king who had attained the highest pinnacle of royal
greatness. 3. _His practical wisdom._ The instance of this narrated
in 1 Kings iii. 16-28, proved to Israel that "the wisdom of God was
in him to do judgment." Who so fit to utter proverbs concerning human
life as a man who could thus so skilfully bring to light the hidden
counsels of the heart? The Son of God Himself speaks of Solomon as a
wise man (Matt. xii. 42). 4. _The variety of his experience._
Experience is always a good reason why men should speak their
thoughts. Those are most fitted to counsel others who have travelled
by the same path before them. Solomon's experience had been great and
varied. He knew the real value of all that is held in estimation by
men. See Eccles., chapters i. and ii. These considerations gave
weight to his words in the day in which he lived and among his own
people, and have done so in every succeeding age and in every nation
in which his proverbs have been made known.
+II. The form in which Solomon communicates his thoughts.+ A proverb
is a large amount of wisdom wrapped up in the fewest possible words.
It is like a corn-seed which, though a tiny thing in itself, encloses
that which may expand and increase until it furnishes food for
millions. Even a child may carry a large sum of money when it is in
the form of golden coin, although his strength would be quite unequal
to the task if the same amount were in a baser metal. One diamond may
constitute a small fortune, and may be easily carried and concealed
upon the person, but its value in iron could only be lifted by the
united strength of many. The proverb stands in the same relation to
mental and moral wisdom as gold and diamonds do to copper and iron.
It is so portable that it can be carried and retained by the weakest
memory.
+III. The main object of the utterer of these proverbs.+ "To give
subtilty to the simple." The man who has to travel a dangerous path
may be ignorant of the way to arrive at his destination in safety.
His simplicity arises from his ignorance. Anyone who has gone the
same way before, and has thus experimentally gained the knowledge
which he lacks, can make him wise upon this subject. Solomon has
trodden the greater part of the path of human life, those who had not
done so were the _simple,_ or ignorant, to whom he here desires to
impart the knowledge which might save them from moral ruin. There
were those in the days of Solomon, as there are now, who would take
advantage of simplicity to destroy character. Solomon desires to
preserve and strengthen character by showing how to avoid and resist
sin.
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS.
Verse 1. The Bible is not given to teach us philosophy, but religion:
not to show us the way to science, but the way to holiness and
heaven. Notwithstanding, therefore, the extent and variety of
Solomon's knowledge in botany, in natural history, and other
departments of science, we have in preservation none whatever of his
discoveries or his speculations on such subjects.--_Wardlaw._
The Queen of Sheba came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear
Solomon's wisdom. Did she come so far upon uncertain reports, and
shall not we receive with gladness his instructions, since he is come
to us to be our teacher?--_Lawson._
Verse 2. The general idea of wisdom is, that it consists in the
choice of the best ends, and of the best means for their attainment.
This definition admits of application both in a lower and higher
department. In the first place it may be applied to the whole conduct
of human life,--in all its daily intercourse and ordinary
transactions, and amidst all its varying circumstances. . . . To
accommodate our conduct to these variations--to suit to all of them
the application of the great general principles and precepts of the
Divine law, and "to guide our affairs with discretion in them all,"
requires _"wisdom."_ And for enabling us to act our part rightly,
creditably, and usefully, from day to day, there is in this book an
immense fund of admirable counsel and salutary direction.
And then, secondly, the knowledge of wisdom may be taken in its
higher application--to interests of a superior order, to spiritual
duties, to all that regards true religion and the salvation of the
soul. Wisdom, in this book, is generally understood in this its
highest application, as might indeed be expected in a book of
instructions from God. How important soever may be the successful and
prudential regulation of our temporal affairs, yet in a Divine
communication to man, as an immortal creature, we cannot conceive it
to be the only, or the principal subject.--_Wardlaw._
Verse 3. "To perceive the words of understanding" is a phrase which
may be interpreted as meaning the power of justly distinguishing
between good and evil counsel--between that which is right in its
principle and salutary in its operations, and that which is unsound
and pernicious.--_Wardlaw._
All through Ecclesiastes and throughout the present book, the more
mental aspects of sin are always made prominent--piety is called
wisdom. The saints are _the wise._ The impenitent man is _a fool._
Nothing could be more natural than that just here there should be the
broad assertion that knowledge is piety. Nothing could be more
seminal. A new heart comes from a new light. If a man sees, he
believes, he loves, he hopes, he serves, he repents, he rejoices; and
this as but new forms of the one blessed illumination.--_Miller._
Verse 4. There are none that need to be politicians more than they
that desire to serve God because they have to deal with the most
politic enemies. . . . No gift is worse taken, though never so well
bestowed, than this is, where there is no feeling of the want of it.
The simple seeth not his defects, the young man thinketh that he
seeth great abundance of ability in himself.--_Jermin._
The teacher offers to save the young and inexperienced from the
slower and more painful process of learning by
experience.--_Plumptre._
Over the gates of Plato's school it was written: "Let no one who is
not a geometrician enter." But very different is the inscription over
these doors of Solomon: "Let the ignorant, simple, foolish, young,
enter."--_Cartwright._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 5, 6.
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A WISE MAN.
+I. He will hear.+ He shows that he values what he has already
attained by giving heed to those who are able to add to his
knowledge. Those who know the most are the most open to receive fresh
knowledge. +II. The necessary consequence of this willingness to hear
is a growth in knowledge.+ The wise man "will increase learning."
There is an absolute promise in connection with spiritual wisdom.
"Whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and whomsoever hath not, from
him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have" (Luke
viii. 18). He who has wisdom to give heed shall have his wisdom
increased by giving heed. To those who are willing to hear, that what
was once dark and difficult becomes clear and plain. They "understand
a proverb and the interpretation; the words of the wise and their
dark sayings." This hearing implies more than a mere reception of
sound. It includes a desire to translate precepts into deeds. Many
who can understand the grammatical construction and literal meaning
of the Divine oracles cannot apprehend their spiritual signification
because they do not desire to submit to their guidance. This was the
condition of many of the Scribes and Pharisees in the days of our
Lord. They saw and yet were blind (Matt. xiii. 13; John ix. 39). "If
any man will do his will, he shall _know_ of the doctrine," etc.
(John vii. 17). +III. This growth in knowledge gives a man a guide
for his own life and enables him to guide others.+ (For "wise
counsels," see Critical Notes). Such a man will not sound all the
mysteries of life or of God, but enough will be made plain to give
him a compass by which to steer; and he will be able to lead others.
A diligent pupil will by-and-by be fit for a teacher. How fully was
the truth of these verses exemplified in the history of the Apostles.
What dull pupils they were at first, and even until after their
Master's resurrection. (Luke xxiv. 25.) But their willingness to be
_disciples_--_learners_--fitted them at length to "go and teach all
nations." (Matt. xxviii. 19.) Continuing in Christ's Word, they came
to "know the truth," according to His promise. (John viii. 31.)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 5. True wisdom is never stationary, but always progressive;
because it secures the ground behind it as a basis for further
advances. "He who is not adding is wasting; he who is not increasing
knowledge is losing from it," says Rabbi Hillel.--_Fausset._
As long ago as the time of Melanchthon it was recognized as a
significant fact that wisdom claims as her hearers and pupils, not
only the simple, the young, and the untaught, but those who are
already advanced in the knowledge of the truth, the wise and
experienced. It is indeed Divine wisdom in regard to which these
assertions are made, and it is precisely as it is within the
department of the New Testament with the duty of faith, and of growth
in believing knowledge, which duty in no stage of the Christian life
in this world ever loses its validity and its binding power. Compare
Luke xvii. 5; Eph. iv. 15, 16; Col. i. 11; ii. 19; 2 Thess. i. 3;
2 Pet. iii. 18.--_Lange's Commentary._
Verse 6. If the law be dark to any, the fault is not in the lawgiver,
but in those that should better understand it.--_Trapp._
The _sayings_ of the wise are but _words_ (two or three words), and
it is their shortness that maketh them to be dark. Now, David said:
"I will incline mine ear unto a parable"--there is his study to
understand; "I will open my dark saying upon the harp"--there is the
interpretation. It is not David, but He who came from David, that
there is spoken of, and who, despising inanimate instruments, having
made this world and the little world man, and by His Holy Spirit
having compacted his soul and body, doth praise the Lord by an
instrument of many voices, and to this instrument man doth sing the
knowledge of His truth. Wherefore to understand the words of His wise
prophets and penmen, we must go to Him.--_Jermin._
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 7-9.
THE ROOT OF TRUE KNOWLEDGE AND THE MEANS OF ITS ATTAINMENT.
When the husbandman comes to examine a fruit-tree, he disregards
everything in the way of leaf and branch; if he does not also find
evidence of fruit in the appointed season, he considers that the end
of the planting is not attained. God, the great Husbandman, here
declares that all human wisdom and intelligence avail nothing unless
they have for their basis that fear of Him which enables a man to
attain the end for which he was created. +I. The fear of the Lord
springs+ 1. _from a practical recognition of His existence_. God, to
the vast majority of mankind, is but a name; they no more recognize
the personality and moral character of the Divine Father than they
recognize a personality and moral attributes in the wind or the
sunlight. He has no influence upon their hearts; to them,
practically, there is no God. There is no fear of God before their
eyes, because there is no God. 2. _From an experimental knowledge of
His kindness_. The mightiest being cannot be reverenced for his
power; that may produce the "fear which hath torment," but not the
"reverence and godly fear" which leads to willing obedience. When a
king's character is such that his subjects taste of his kindness and
feed upon his bounty, it begets a reverence which makes them fear to
break his law. The "fear of the Lord" is synonymous with
heart-religion, and must be born of a personal experience of Divine
mercy. This fear says, "O taste and see that the Lord is good:
blessed is the man that trusteth in Him" (Psa. xxxiv. 8). +II. The
means by which this beginning of knowledge ought to be attained.+ The
rule in creatures below man is, that they instruct their offspring as
soon as they are capable of instruction. The eagle teaches her young
to fly: she "stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young,
spreadeth about her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings."
(Deut. xxxii. 11.) And this is what God expects every parent to do in
a moral sense. A child ought to get his first ideas of God from his
parent, and his father's and mother's love ought to be the
stepping-stones by which he rises to apprehend the love of his Father
in heaven. This exhortation takes for granted that the parents will
be possessors of this true knowledge, and will impart it to their
children. +III. The reason given to the young for receiving and
retaining parental instruction.+ The coronet on the brow of the noble
proclaims his place in society--sets forth his high position. The
necklace of pearls on the young and beautiful maiden proclaims the
wealth of the wearer, and adds to her attractiveness. So the
obedience of a good son to a true father proclaims him to belong to
the noble in spirit--sets a crown upon his character. And a
daughter's reverential love for a good mother is a true indication of
moral wealth. That mother's words, treasured in the memory and
translated into life, are so many precious pearls of soul-adornment,
and are in the sight of God of great price.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 7. This, "the fear of the Lord," comes as the motto of the
book. The beginning of wisdom is found in the temper of reverence and
awe. The fear of the finite in the presence of the Infinite--of the
sinful in the presence of the Holy; self-abhorring, adoring, as in
Job's confession (xliii. 5, 6), this for the Israelite was the
starting point of all true wisdom. What the precept "Know thyself"
was to the sage of Greece, that this law was for _him_. In the book
of Job (xxviii. 28) it appears as an oracle accompanied by the
noblest poetry. In Psa. cxi. 10, it comes as the choral close of a
temple hymn. Here it is the watch-word of a true ethical education.
This, and not love, is the _beginning_ of "wisdom." Through
successive stages, and by the discipline of life, love blends with it
and makes it perfect.--_Plumptre._
Why is this the only way that God hath pointed out for the attaining
to wisdom? 1. One reason may be the falseness of man's spirit. The
heart is deceitful above all things, and so God will not entrust it
with such estimable treasures of durable wisdom before a trial hath
been upon it. "To him will I look, even to him that is of a pure and
contrite spirit, and _trembleth_ at my words." 2. Here is another
argument, viz., _impossibility_. "The natural man perceiveth not the
things of the Spirit of God," &c. (1 Cor. ii. 14). "The eye sees not
the sun, unless it bear the image of the sun in it;" nor could it
receive that impression if it were covered with dirt and filth. So
the necessary foundation of true wisdom is unfeigned righteousness
and pureness. The purging of a man's soul takes away the main
impediments to true knowledge,--such as self-admiration, anger, envy,
impatience, desire of victory rather than of truth, blindness
proceeding out of a love of riches and honour, the smothering of the
active spark of reason by luxury and intemperance, &c.--_Henry Moore._
Where God is, there is fear of God; and where the fear of God is,
there are all things which God requireth.--_Jermin._
The fear of the Lord consists, once for all, in a complete devotion
to God--an unconditional subjection of one's own individuality to the
beneficent will of God as revealed in the law (Deut. vi. 13; x. 20;
xiii. 4; Psa. cxix. 63, &c.)
How, then, could they be regarded as fearing God who should keep only
a part of the Divine commands, or who should undertake to fulfil them
only according to their moral principles, and did not seek also to
make the embodying letter of their formal requirements the standard
of life.--_Lange's Commentary._
Verse 8. The relation of the teacher to the taught is essentially
fatherly.--_Plumptre._
In Scripture and that Oriental speech framed to be its vehicle,
narrow examples stand often for a universal class. "Honour thy father
and mother," means--obey all superiors. "Thou shalt not steal,"
means--keep clear of every fraud. In those patriarchal countries,
obedience to a father was the finest model of subordination. . . .
Let the child take the first and obvious meaning; let the man look
deeper. The earlier principles having been settled, the Proverbs have
begun with a grand practical direction--that we are to listen to our
teachers; that we are to begin at our firesides, and obey all the way
up to God.--_Miller._
Verse 9. The instruction and discipline of wisdom do at first seem
difficult and hard, and are like fetters of iron restraining the
corruption and rebellion of nature; but at length they are like
chains of gold, worn like ornaments and no burden at all.--_Jermin._
Nothing so beautifies as grace doth. Moses and Joseph were "fair to
God," (Acts vii. 20) and favoured of all men.--_Trapp._
As Christ prays, "Hallowed be thy name," as his first petition, so
Solomon put first in his promises mere beauty, the mere prize of
being right. The best thing in being pious is the mere comeliness of
piety.--_Miller._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 10-19.
ENTICEMENT TO SIN AND EXHORTATION AGAINST YIELDING TO IT.
+I. Youth will certainly be tempted.+ 1. _Because he is in an evil
world._ In this world everything that possesses life is in danger of
losing it. The tree is liable to have its root eaten by the worm, the
smaller creatures in the animal world are beset with danger from
those above them in size and strength, the fish in the sea is ever in
danger of the hook and the net, the bird of the fowler's snare, the
forest king of the hunter's gun. Man, in respect to his mere bodily
existence, is surrounded by influences antagonistic to the
preservation of his animal life. And this danger often presents
itself in the form of _enticement_. The crumbs lure the bird into the
trap, the bait tempts the fish to bite the hook. A smooth sea and
light sunshine in the morning tempts the fisherman to the voyage upon
the treacherous deep, which becomes his grave in the evening. Moral
life is not excepted from this rule. Wherever the youth finds himself
in the world he will be tempted, because he is everywhere surrounded
by influences which war against his soul life. 2. _Because it is an
ordination of God._ The Divine Ruler has ordained that men shall
suffer temptation. There are things in this world which are the
common lot of all men, from the highest to the lowest. Disease and
death come alike to the proudest monarch and his meanest subject, to
the man of highest intellect and to the most unlettered savage. And
temptation is also an ordained heritage of man. Not even the "second
Adam, the Lord from heaven," was exempted from this rule. 3. _Because
it is necessary for the formation of moral character._ The seaman
needs to come into conflict with the stormy winds and the rough waves
of the ocean if he is to become a skilful mariner. The very effort
which he puts forth to overcome them makes him more fit for his
calling. So men must have temptation in order to test their powers of
resistance; the struggle against sin, if successful, strengthens the
moral character.
+II. The elements which form the strength of the temptation.+ 1. _The
secresy promised by the tempter._ "Let us _lay wait_ for blood," let
us _lurk privily_ for the innocent, etc. No one commits a crime
against his fellow man, without an underlying hope that he will not
be found out; he even persuades himself that it is hidden from God.
"They say, how doth God know, and is there knowledge in the Most
High?" (Ps. lxxiii. 11). 2. _The hope of gain._ Advantage of some
kind is supposed to be the fruit of every sin. That which the tempter
uses here is an increase of wealth. "We shall find all precious
substance," etc. This temptation is most common. A man is persuaded
that by a very slight risk he can make a large fortune, that the deed
will never come to light, and these two persuasions have been the
ruin of hundreds. 3. _The number of the tempters._ Here several are
represented as tempting one. "Come with us." Numbers always influence
us even when no persuasion is used. Men are naturally inclined to do
what the many do, to go with the multitude. There is an undefined
feeling that safety is with the majority, or, at least, that the
being involved with many others lessens personal responsibility. This
element of temptation is very powerful in a world where "the many" go
in at the gate which leadeth to destruction, and "few" walk in the
way which leadeth to life (Matt. vii. 13, 14).
+III. The way of escape from the tempter.+ 1. _Calling to mind his
filial relation._ "My son." It is a great help to a youth who is in
danger of being drawn away from his steadfastness in the path of
virtue to call his parents to mind. His father's instructions and
example, his mother's love and prayers, the grief that his fall would
bring upon them will, if reflected on, be a means of escape from the
tempter's snare. The thought that he is a _son_ ought to be
sufficient to keep him from straying. 2. _A consideration of the
certain end of sinners._ Those who promise themselves and others
secresy shall be taken openly. The bird will not be decoyed into the
net if he sees it spread, the trap must be laid in secret if it is to
be successful. But sinners go on in sin although they are forewarned
by God, by their own consciences, by the law of human society, and by
the experience of others what the end will be. "Be sure your sin will
find you out," is written, not only in the book of God, but within us
and around us. The young man is to bear in mind that they are _fools_
who tell him there is gain to be had by sin. Those who seek to take
life in order to enjoy the property of others, or in any way to wrong
their fellows for their own fancied gain, shall themselves, like
Haman, be hanged upon the gallows which they have made. Let the youth
reflect upon the sad histories of those who now fill our
convict-prisons, and he will feel that it is indeed true that
evil-doers "lay wait for their _own_ blood."
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 10. +I. A supposition implied,+ that sinners will entice. Sin
is of so virulent and malignant a nature, that it tainteth the whole
air about it and filleth it with infection, and there is no safety to
be found within its neighbourhood without the blessed antidotes of
piety and carefulness. And the sinner will take as much pains to
pervert his companions, as the Jews did to make proselytes, and with
the same fatal design and consequence, viz., to make them twofold
more the children of hell than themselves. For since the good have
all other advantages, and vastly outweigh them in intrinsic worth,
they will endeavour to come as near a level as they can by making up
in number what they want in value. Besides, it silences in some
measure the loud alarms of their own consciences, when they join with
them in their vicious performances, and the approbation of others, by
complying with their practices, lulleth them to sleep in a dull
security. +II. A caution subjoined,+ "Consent thou not." To which
end--1. Consider the baseness and danger of consenting. We must
sacrifice our reputation, render ourselves unfit for the company of
men of worth, and exchange the glorious liberty of the children of
God for that of vassals of iniquity. We must call in question the
existence of God, and expose ourselves to that avenging hand which
will lie heavy upon sinners to all eternity. 2. Take some plain and
short directions to secure yourself against their enticements. Repel
the first attempts upon your character. When that which is wrong is
spoken or acted in your presence, do not suffer yourself to give it
inward approbation. Withdraw from such society as soon as possible.
Seek God's assistance.--_Nicholas Brady, D.D._
This verse, in brief compass and transparent terms, reveals the foe
and the fight. With a kindness and wisdom altogether parental, it
warns the youth of the _danger_ that assails him, and suggests the
method of defence.--_Arnot._
Carry a severe rebuke in thy countenance, as God doth (Psa.
lxxx. 16). To rebuke them is the ready way to be rid of
them.--_Trapp._
Verses 11-13. Two unreasonable and insatiable lusts they propose to
gratify. 1. _Their cruelty._ They thirst for blood, and hate those
that are innocent, and never give them any provocation. Who could
imagine that human nature should ever degenerate so far that it
should ever be a pleasure to one man to destroy another? 2. _Their
covetousness._ What, though we venture our necks, we shall fill our
houses with spoil. See here (1) the idea they have of worldly wealth.
They call that precious substance which is neither substance nor
precious; it is a shadow and vanity, especially that which is gotten
by robbery. It is the ruin of thousands, that they overvalue the
wealth of this world. (2) The abundance which they promise
themselves. Those who trade with sin promise themselves mighty
bargains. But they only _dream that they eat_, the housefuls dwindle
into scarcely a handful.--_Henry._
Verse 11. The warning, as such, is true for all times and countries,
but has here a special application. The temptation against which the
teacher seeks to guard his disciple is that of joining a band of
highway robbers. At no period in its history has Palestine ever risen
to the security of a well-ordered police system, and the wild license
of the marauder's life attracted, we may well believe, many who were
brought up in towns (Judges xi. 3; 1 Sam. xxii. 2), and the bands of
robbers who infested every part of the country in the period of the
New Testament, and against whom every Roman governor had to wage
incessant war, show how deeply rooted the evil was there. The history
of many countries (our own, _e.g._, in the popular _Traditions of
Robin Hood_ and _Henry V._) presents like phenomena. The robber-life
has attractions for the open-hearted and adventurous. No generation,
perhaps no class, can afford to despise the warning against it. . . .
_Without cause_ may mean _in vain_, and receive its interpretation
from the mocking question of the tempter: "Doth Job serve God for
nought?" The evil-doers deride their victims as being righteous
gratis, or in vain.--_Plumptre._
If sinners have their "come," should not saints much more? Should we
not incite, entice, whet, and provoke one another, rouse and stir up
each other, to love and good works? (2 Pet. i. 13; Heb. x. 24; Isa.
ii. 3; Zech. viii. 21.)--_Trapp._
Verse 12. The force of the verse noteth the allurement of wickedness
from the cleanly despatch of it, so that nothing appeareth of the
doing of it.--_Jermin._
We will be as Sheol, or Hades, as the great underworld of the dead,
all-devouring, merciless. The destruction of those we attack shall be
as sudden as that of those who go down quickly into Sheol. (Numb.
xvi. 30, 33.)--_Plumptre._
Verse 13. Wickedness has always been a very bragging boaster. These
sinners make a brag like that which the devil made to Christ: "All
these things will I give thee." Covetousness is a strong chain to
draw men on to wickedness.--_Jermin._
Verse 14. The first form of temptation is addressed to the simple
lust of greed. The second, with more subtle skill, appeals to
something in itself nobler, however easily perverted. The main
attraction of the robber-life is its wild communism, the sense of
equal hazards and equal hopes. To have "one purse," setting laws of
property at nought among themselves, seems almost a set-off against
their attacks on the property of others.--_Plumptre._
Verse 15. "God will not take the wicked by the hand." (Job viii. 20.)
Why, then, should we?--_Trapp._
The affairs of this life are the highways of the King of Heaven; thou
mayest walk in the ways of them, but not with the wicked. It is an
argument of a wicked man but to company with the wicked. We judge
evil accompanyings to be next to evil deeds.--_Jermin._
Verse 16. They may talk of walking, of walking in pleasures and
delights, to get thee to walk with them. But, though, from what thou
findest at first, thou little thinkest what will be the end, yet let
me tell thee that it is to evil the journey tendeth; to that it will
quickly come, for their feet _run_ unto it. What shame it is that
evil should be so pursued after!--_Jermin._
Verse 17. These men are plotting with their eyes wide open. The verse
teaches the great doctrine of deliberateness to ruin. Men go to hell
when they expect it; at least, they go when it is a trap to them, of
which they know the setting. They go open-eyed on into the
gin.--_Miller._
The great net of God's judgments is spread out, open to the eyes of
all, and yet evil-doers, wilfully blind, still rush into
it.--_Plumptre._
Verse 18. These couriers of hell, who carry the despatches of the
devil, cannot run faster to the hurt of others than they do to their
own mischief; they cannot make more haste to shed the blood of others
than they do to shed their own blood.--_Jermin._
Verse 19. These "ways" are certainly some of the worst. The persons
described are of the baser sort; the crimes enumerated are gross and
rank. Yet when these apples of Sodom are traced to their sustaining
root, it turns out to be _greed of gain_. The love of money can bear
all these. When this greed is generated, like a thirst in the soul,
it imperiously demands satisfaction wherever it can most readily be
found. In some countries of the world it still retains the
old-fashioned iniquity which Solomon has described. In our country,
though the same passion domineer in a man's heart, it will not adopt
the same method, because it has cunning enough to know that it will
not succeed. Dishonesty is diluted, and coloured, and moulded, to
suit the taste of the times. But the ancient and modern evil-doers
are reckoned brethren in iniquity, despite the difference in the
costume of their crimes. . . . This greed, when full-grown, is coarse
and cruel. It has no bowels. It marches right to its mark, trading on
everything that lies in the way. If necessary "it taketh away the
life of the owners thereof." Covetousness is idolatry. The idol
delights in blood. He demands and gets a hecatomb of human
sacrifices.--_Arnot._
Midas, the Phrygian king, asked a favour of the gods, and they agreed
to grant him whatever he should desire. The monarch, overjoyed,
resolved to make the favour inexhaustible. He prayed that whatever he
touched might be turned to gold. The prayer was granted, and bitter
were the consequences. What the king touched _did_ turn to gold. He
laid his hand upon the rock and it became a huge mass of priceless
value; he clutched his oaken staff, and it became in his hand a bar
of virgin gold. At first the monarch's joy was unbounded, and he
returned to his palace the most favoured of mortals. Alas for the
shortsightedness of man! He sat at table, and all he touched turned
to gold--pure solid gold. The conviction rushed upon him that he must
perish from his grasping wish--die in the midst of plenty; and
remembering the ominous saying he had heard, "The gods themselves
cannot take back their gifts," he howled to the sternly smiling
Dionysius to restore him to the coarsest, vilest food, and deliver
him from the curse of gold.--_Biblical Treasury._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 20-33.
THE CRY OF WISDOM.
+I. The wisdom of God is the voice of God.+ 1. _The wisdom of God in
nature, in the heavens which declare His glory and in the firmament
which sheweth His handiwork is Divine speech which speaks loudly of
eternal power and Godhead._ 2. _There is a voice of wisdom in the
laws and economy of the old dispensation, although that voice gave
sometimes but an indistinct sound concerning Divine mercy and
judgment._ 3. _The wisdom of God as displayed in the plan of
salvation by Christ is the loudest, the most persuasive and
unmistakable voice of God._
+II. God's voice of Wisdom is an earnest voice.+ Wisdom _crieth_. The
voice of the mother who thinks that her children are in danger rings
upon the ear with no uncertain, theatrical sound. When the voice of
Paul rang through the Philippian prison and fell upon the man who was
about to destroy himself, it was a _loud_ voice, because he was in
earnest. God has to deal with his human children who are in danger,
and therefore He speaks with earnestness when He says, "Do thyself no
harm." The voice of God in the human conscience sometimes speaks as
loudly as the trump of Sinai. He said by His prophets in the days of
old, "Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways, for why will ye die, O
house of Israel?" (Ezek. xxxiii. 11). The voice of Christ was an
earnest voice. His death enforced the earnestness of the appeals
which He uttered in His life. It proved the reality of His own and
His Father's desire that "all should come to repentance." The voice
of the Gospel ministry is an earnest voice. Those who have been
baptised by the Spirit of God, _beseech_ men to be reconciled to God
(2 Cor. v. 20).
+III. God's voice of wisdom has been uttered where men could hear
it.+ Wisdom uttereth her voice "in the streets," "in the chief places
of concourse," "in the gates." The merchant brings his silks and
diamonds to the crowded cities, because in them he is most likely to
find purchasers. The vendors of goods seek the broad thoroughfares,
because there they find streams of human beings to whom they offer
their wares. God has observed this method in offering His Divine
wisdom to the sons of men. The highest wisdom of God--the Gospel--was
first proclaimed in the city of Jerusalem, at a time when there were
gathered there men "out of every nation under heaven" (Acts ii. 5).
The apostles of Christ preached in the chief cities of the civilised
world, in Corinth, Athens, Antioch, Ephesus, and Rome. And now the
voice of wisdom cried in the principal centres of the population of
the world. The fishermen spread their nets where most fish
congregate, and the fishers of men are attracted to the places where
most human souls are gathered.
+IV. God's voice of wisdom addresses all classes of sinners.+ 1. _The
simple ones._ The unwary and those easily misled. Some men sin
through ignorance or through the influence of others. As the unwalled
garden is open to the foot of every dog that passes by, so the man
who has no principle of his own to defend him is liable to have his
soul entered and taken possession of by the first tempter who passes
by. 2. _The scorner._ He is a sinner of a deeper dye. The child who
is indifferent to his good father's love and the attractions of his
happy home is a sinner, but the son who mocks his parents and holds
up their words to ridicule is certainly a greater sinner. The simple
man denotes a sinner who is passive in the hands of evil, but the
scorner is active against good. He is placed before us in Holy
Scripture as one who has reached the climax of human iniquity (Psa.
i. 1). 3. _Fools are addressed._ The man who would rather use means
to increase his disease than seek to cure it, may very properly be
called a fool. The blind man who chooses to remain blind when he
might be healed is certainly a fool. And certainly this is an
appropriate name for those who love moral darkness rather than light.
He who hates the knowledge which would save him and prefers death to
life is the most unwise man upon the face of God's earth.
+V. Although sinners may differ in degree, the same reproof and
invitation are addressed to all.+ A rich man may be able to satisfy
the wants of a hungry multitude, although all may not be equally
hungry. If a physician possesses remedies which can heal men whose
disease is deeply rooted, he will be able to cure those upon whom it
has as yet a lighter hold. The voice of God to men offers but one way
of satisfaction and soul-healing, viz., _repentance_. "Turn ye at my
reproof." And the gift of His Spirit which accompanies repentance
(Acts ii. 38) is powerful to change the greatest sinner into a saint.
+VI. The rejection of Wisdom's voice of invitation changes it to one
of threatening.+ The refusal of the invitation to the Gospel feast
shut out to retribution those who rejected it (Luke xiv. 16). The
space given for repentance will not last for ever. A time is here
foretold when God will not hear them who have refused to hear Him.
Their cry for help will be treated as they once treated the earnest
cry of wisdom. "I will mock when your fear cometh."
+VII. The blessed condition of those who accept Wisdom's invitation.+
The promises given under this Old Testament dispensation referred in
a large degree to the present life. Dwelling safely here doubtless
has its immediate reference to a home in Canaan, as in Isaiah i. 19.
"If ye be willing, and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land."
Yet the underlying principle is that God will take charge of the real
interests of those who yield themselves to Him--who fall in with His
plans for their real eternal good.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 20. What was in the views of godly men, in Solomon's days, an
abstraction, became concrete when Christ was manifested on earth. The
manifold character of this Divine wisdom (Isa. xi. 2, 3), and the
multiplicity of all messengers of this wisdom of God in all ages of
the Church accord with the plural form. (See "Critical
Notes.")--_Fausset._
The Orientals used the plural form to denote the highest excellence.
But _wisdoms_ may be plural to denote wisdom in all forms, or all
"_wisdoms_" in one; specially two forms of wisdom--wisdom in a
worldly sense, and wisdom in the spiritual sense which the natural
man does not discern. Wisdom in both these senses unites in piety.
The pious man has spiritual wisdom of which the sinner knows nothing;
and fleshly or natural wisdom to avoid hell and to secure heaven, to
provide for death and get ready for an eternal world, to a degree
altogether superior to a fleshly nature.--_Miller._
After that Solomon hath brought in a godly father warning and
instructing his sons, now he raiseth up, as it were, a matron or
queen-mother provoking her children unto virtue.--_Muffet_
The words of men may be wise; but when God speaks, Wisdom itself
addresses us.--_Lawson_
Perhaps some wide law of association connecting the purity and
serenity of wisdom with the idea of womanhood, determines the
character of the personification. Not in solitude, but in the haunts
of men, through sages, lawgivers, and teachers, and yet more through
life and its experiences, she preaches to mankind. Something of the
same kind was present, we may believe, to Socrates when he said that
the fields and the trees taught him nothing, but that he found the
wisdom he was seeking in his converse with the men whom he met as he
walked in the streets and _agora_ of Athens. (Plato, "Phædrus," p.
230.)--_Plumptre._
"In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and
_cried_, saying 'Come unto me and drink.'" (John vii. 37.)--_Trapp._
In the Scriptures, Wisdom cried unto men. "They testify of me," said
Jesus. The prophets all spake of His coming. The sacrifice offered
year by year, continually proclaimed aloud to each generation the
guilt of men, and the way of mercy. The history of Israel, all the
days of old, was itself Wisdom's perennial articulate cry of warning
to the rebellious. The plains of Egypt and the Red Sea, Sinai and the
Jordan, each had a voice, and all proclaimed in concert the
righteousness and mercy of God. And the things were not done in a
corner. . . . But the wisdom of God is a manifold wisdom. While it
centres bodily in Christ, it is reflected and re-echoed from every
object and every event. There is a challenge in the prophets, "Oh
earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord!" The receptive earth
has taken in that word, and obediently repeats it from age to
age. . . . He hath made all things for Himself. He serves Himself of
criminals and their crimes. From many a ruined fortune, Wisdom cries,
"Remember the Sabbath-day, to keep it holy." From many an outcast in
his agonies, as when the eagles of the valley are picking out his
eyes, Wisdom cries, "Honour thy father and mother, that thy days may
be long." From many a gloomy scaffold Wisdom cries, "Thou shalt not
kill."--_Arnot._
Verse 21. Wisdom's walk through the streets. The Lord and His Spirit
follow us everywhere with monition and reminder.--_Lange's
Commentary._
In verse 10 sin was represented as trying to get in. Here wisdom is
represented as trying to reach out. Sin is harmless unless it can get
into the conscience. Wisdom is utterly helpless unless it begins with
the flesh. One strives to get in, the other yearns to reach out. "The
natural man discerneth not the things of the Spirit." She must begin,
therefore, without. The impenitent can only hear _natural_ reasons.
"The law is a schoolmaster." The terrors of death are applied by the
Almighty to draw us nearer, within, and finally into the region that
is spiritual. It is "out of doors," therefore, that Wisdom must life
up her voice.--_Miller._
The voice of wisdom is heard everywhere. It sounds from the pulpit.
From every creature it is heard (Job xii. 7, 8). The word is in our
very hearts, and conscience echoes the voice in our souls. Let us go
where we will we must hear it, unless we wilfully shut our
ears.--_Lawson._
In the Temple she crieth for holiness and reverence, in the gates she
crieth for justice and equity, in the city she crieth for honesty and
charity. Or else by accommodation we may thus take the words, the
_head_ is the chief place of concourse in man, where all the
faculties do meet and all affairs are handled: the openings of the
gate are the outward fences, the city is the _heart_, to all which
wisdom strongly applieth her instructions. In the head she crieth for
a right understanding, in the outward fences for watchfulness, in the
heart for upright sincerity.--_Jermin._
Verse 22. Men are always going to be wise, and therefore, Wisdom
plunges upon this very difficulty. You are going to repent; but when?
And, as a still more imperative question, "How long first?" You are,
perhaps, a grey old man, and your resolutions have been for fifty
years.--_Miller._
Lovers of simplicity and haters of knowledge are joined together; for
where there is a love of simplicity, there is a hatred of knowledge,
where there is a love of vice there is a hatred of virtue.--_Jermin._
Scorners _love_ scorning. The habit grows by indulgence. It becomes a
second nature.--_Arnot._
These simplicians are much better than scorners, and far beyond those
fools who hate knowledge. All sins are not alike sinful, and wicked
men grow worse and worse.--_Trapp._
Verse 23. The two things mentioned here are to be taken in connection
with each other. The latter is the result of the former--the former
in order to the latter. There can be no plea, therefore, for
continued ignorance. The Word of God is in possession, and the Spirit
of God is in promise.--_Wardlaw._
When it is said: "Turn," &c. could an essay to turn be without some
influence of the Spirit? But that, complied with, tends to pouring
forth a copious effusion not to be withstood.--_J. Howe._
When we turn at His reproof, He will pour out His Spirit; when He
pours out His Spirit, we will turn at His reproof: blessed circle for
the saints to reason in.--_Arnot._
Little as we might have expected it, the teaching of the Book of
Proverbs anticipates the prophecy of Joel (ii. 28) and the promise of
our Lord (John xiv. 26; xv. 26.) Not the _Spirit_ alone, with no
articulate expression of truths received or felt: nor _words_ alone,
spoken or written, without the Spirit to give them life.--_Plumptre._
He that reproves and then directs not how to do better, is he that
snuffs a lamp, but pours not in oil to maintain it.--_Trapp._
There are no words that can make known Wisdom's words but her own,
and there is no one that can make known Wisdom's words but herself.
She can, and here she saith: "_I will._" And it is as she _will_, not
as she _can_, and yet freely and fully too, whereof she saith: "I
will _pour out_."--_Jermin._
+I. The reproof God administers.+ God reproves (1) _by the
Scriptures;_ (2) _by ministers;_ (3) _by conscience;_ (4) _by
Providence._ +II. The submission He requires.+ Turn (1) _with
penitent hearts;_ (2) _with believing minds;_ (3) _with prompt
obedience._ +III. The encouragements He imparts.+ The Spirit is
(1) _convincing;_ (2) _quickening;_ (3) _comforting;_
(4) _sanctifying._--_Sketches of Sermons._
Verse 24. It is an honour to be invited to the feast of an earthly
prince; how much more to be bidden unto the banquet of the King of
kings! And as the desiring of any to dinner or supper is a sign of
love and goodwill in him that offereth this courtesy, so it is a
point of great ungentleness and sullenness for a man, without just
cause, to refuse so kind a proffer; for, in so doing, he sheweth that
he maketh none account at all of him, who not only hath borne toward
him a loving affection, but he made declaration thereof in some sort,
and gone about to seal it by certain pledges of friendship; yea, that
which is yet more, he causeth him to lose the cost which he hath
bestowed about provisions and entertainment, and his messengers to
lose their pains and their travail. Then, when those who are bidden
to the kingdom of God (Luke xiv. 18) desire to be excused, how can
this be but a great sin? but, when God shall not only call with His
hand to a rebellious people, continuing His Word preached with all
means pertaining thereunto; as the grace offered in this respect is
doubled, so the sin of not profiting thereby is mightily
increased.--_Muffet._
God called for a famine on the land, and was not refused; God called
for a drought upon the land, and was not refused; and, no doubt,
should God call any other of His creatures, they would not refuse to
come unto Him, seeing those things which are not, when they are
called, do come to God. Only man refuseth. Surely hence it is that
the prophets of God do so often speak unto insensible things, as:
"Hear, O heavens; give ear, O earth." For it is not seldom that God
calleth to men and is refused.--_Jermin._
Verse 26. There is not in the Lord any such affection or disposition
of mocking as in man; but when in the course of His providence He so
worketh that He leaves the wicked to his misery, or maketh him a
mocking stock to the world, He is said in the Scripture to scorn, or
have them in derision (Ps. ii.), because He dealeth as a man which
scorneth.--_Muffet._
If God laugh, thou hast good cause to cry.--_Trapp._
There is, as has been said, a Divine irony in the Nemesis of history.
It is, however, significant that in the fuller revelation of the mind
and will of the Father in the person of the Son, no such language
meets us. Sadness, sternness, severity there may be, but from first
to last no word of mere derision.--_Plumptre._
_Even I,_ not, "I also," _I,_ who have warned you so often, so
tenderly, so earnestly.--_Stuart._
Verse 27. Cataline was wont to be afraid at any sudden noise, as
being haunted with the furies of his own evil conscience. So was our
Richard the Third after the murder of his two innocent nephews, and
Charles the Ninth of France after the Parisian massacre. These
tyrants became more terrible to themselves than ever they had been to
others.--_Trapp._
You cannot paint an angel upon light: so mercy could not be
represented--mercy could not be, unless there were judgment without
mercy, a ground of deep darkness lying beneath, to sustain and reveal
it.--_Arnot._
Here also the parallelism which we have traced before holds good. The
"coming of the Son of Man" shall be as "the lightning" in its
instantaneous flashing. And at that coming He will have to utter the
same doom. "Many shall seek to enter in, and shall not be
able."--_Plumptre._
Verse 28. Does the sinner ever cry, and not get answered? Does he
ever seek diligently, and God laugh at him? The passage is the
profoundest Gospel. A man has two ways of seeking, before he becomes
a Christian, and after he becomes a Christian. Before he becomes a
Christian he seeks from _natural_ motives, otherwise he would be
already spiritual. We cannot say that natural seeking has no promise.
We think it has. A man can only start outside the camp to get in. The
man who out of a deep sense of terror flies toward the wicket-gate
under that schoolmaster the law, will reach it if he keep on, and
that by promise. If he begs God to make him spiritual and to give him
the true motives of the kingdom with even a proper common spirit
though it be under the terrors of escape, he draws nearer all the
time to being spiritual. The light will at last break. If he keeps on
in that way he will emerge some day into the light of the blessed.
The action of common grace will merge into that which is saving. But
if his motives are too carnal; if his state is mere terror; if his
moral part has been so abused that it has passed the boundary which
our text suggests; if there be the mere terror of the lost, and the
mere selfishness, such as wakes up at the judgment day, we could
easily understand that oceans of such tears would drift a man only
further off. They are only a more insidious carnality. The sum of the
doctrine is, that _natural_ motives may become instruments of
conversion if we seek God early, but if we sin away the day of grace,
no terror, however selfishly and therefore passionately expressed,
can become a saving prayer to bring us any nearer to the
Redeemer.--_Miller._
This was Saul's misery: "The Philistines are upon me, and God will
not answer me." This was Moab's curse (Isa. xvi. 12). This was the
case of David's enemies (Ps. xviii. 41). Even if God answer him at
all, it is according to the idols of his heart (Ezek. xiv. 3, 4) with
bitter answers, as in Judges x. 13, 14. Or, if better, it is but as
He answered the Israelites for quails and afterwards for a king;
better have been without. Giftless gifts God gives
sometimes.--_Trapp._
Verse 29. Those who do _not choose_ the fear of the Lord are
condemned no less than those who hate it. Not to choose is virtually
to dislike, and ends in positive hatred. (Matt. xii. 30.) Men are
free in choosing destruction, so that the blame rests wholly on
themselves. "Ye judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life." (Acts
xiii. 46.)--_Fausset._
God will give them a reason of their punishment. No marvel if they
who hate knowledge do not choose the fear of the Lord. For knowledge
is the guide of election, and if the guide be bad the choice cannot
be good. And to show the badness of the choice, there being many
fears proposed to man's choice to which man's life is subject; to
choose the fear of the Lord, freeth from all the rest; not to choose
that, is to be a slave to all the rest.--_Jermin._
Verse 30. There is not a word here of _disability_, it is all
unwillingness. Point me to one passage in the Bible where sinners are
represented as being condemned for not doing what they _could not_
do. The blessed God is no such tantaliser. When, at any time
inability _is_ spoken of, it is inability all of a moral nature, and
resolves itself into _unwillingness_.--_Wardlaw._
Can it be that _none_ of God's counsel should be followed? Can it be
that _all_ his reproof should be despised? Yes; not to have a care of
following all God's counsel is to follow none: not to have a mind
that regardeth all His reproof, is to despise all. . . . As the wings
of the living creature which Ezekiel saw, were joined together, so is
the joining together of God's commandments, our desire of yielding a
general obedience unto them, that must carry us up to
heaven.--_Jermin._
Verse 31. Their miserable end is the fruit--not of God's way, but of
their own. _His_ plan, _His_ device for them, was a plan of
salvation.--_Wardlaw._
If a man plants and dresses a poisonous tree in his garden, it is
just that he should be obliged to eat the fruit. If our vine is the
vine of Sodom, and our clusters the clusters of bitterness, we must
leave our complaint on ourselves, if we drink till we are drunken,
and fall, and rise no more.--_Lawson._
The sinner's sin is its own punishment (Isa. iii. 9-11.) Hell is not
an arbitrary punishment, like human penalties, which have no
necessary connection with the crimes, but a natural development of
the seed and the bud (Isa. lix. 4; Gal. vi. 8). "Filled with their
own devices"--_i.e._ filled even to loathing, which is the final
result of the pleasures of sin. "They did eat, and were well filled;
for He gave them their own desire; . . . but while the meat was yet
in their mouths, the wrath of God came upon them" (Psa. lxxviii. 29).
Men's own desires fulfilled are made their sorest plagues (Psa.
cvi. 11).--_Fausset._
Bad will it be for them that shall eat of it; and yet due will it be
to them to eat of it, because it is their own. . . . It is not said
they shall _gather_ the fruit of their ways, which were some
expression of their misery, but they shall _eat_ it, it shall enter
into them, and be made, as it were, their very substance. This it is
that _filleth up_ the misery, filling is of their own devices, that
it is, that maketh it be pressed down.--_Jermin._
Verse 32. When Jeshurun waxed fat, he kicked (Deut. xxxii. 15). Thus
the objection is met, that sinners often prosper now. Yes, replies
wisdom; but that very prosperity proves their curse, and accelerates
the judgment of God. It is they who are "settled on their lees that
say in their heart, The Lord will not do good, neither will he do
evil" (Zeph. i. 12).--_Fausset._
Prosperity ever dangerous. 1. Because every foolish or vicious person
is either ignorant or regardless of the proper ends and rules for
which God designs the prosperity of those to whom He sends it.
2. Because prosperity, as the nature of man now stands, has a
peculiar force and fitness to abate men's virtues and heighten their
corruptions. 3. Because it directly indisposes them to the proper
means of amendment and recovery.--_South._
Because they are fools, they turn God's mercies to their own
destruction; and because they prosper, they are confirmed in their
folly.--_Baxter._
When sinners are moved a little by wisdom and _turn away_, it is
deadly; it is worse than if they had never listened. _Prosperity_ or
_tranquillity_ (see "Critical Notes"). The mere doing nothing of
impenitent men is carrying them downward.--_Miller._
Bernard calls prosperity a mercy that he had no mind to. What good is
there in having a fine suit with the plague in it? A man may miscarry
upon the soft sands as soon as upon the hard rocks.--_Trapp._
Not outward prosperity, but the temper which it too often produces;
the easy going indifference to higher truths is that which
destroys.--_Plumptre._
Verse 33. He shall enjoy genuine security. His mind will enjoy
unmoved tranquillity amidst all the turmoils and all the vicissitudes
of this life (Phil. iv. 6, 7). And he shall be quiet from the fear of
ultimate evil. The season of the impenitent sinner's last alarm shall
be to him the season of peace, and hope, and joy.--_Wardlaw._
Be it so, that some fits of fear, like grudgings of an ague, in the
midst of fiery temptations, begin sometimes to cause the faithful to
quake a little, yet the grace of God's Spirit will drive them out in
time, and put them all to flight in such manner at the end, that
instead of timorousness, stoutness; of unquietness, peace; of
bashfulness, boldness; of shrinking, triumph will arise. O, the
valiant courage and unterrified heart of the Christian knight and
spiritual champion, who is furnished with the whole armour of God
(Eph. vi.), and fighteth under the banner of Divine wisdom, his
renowned lady and mistress!--_Muffet._
1. Temporally. 2. Mentally. 3. Spiritually. 4. Externally. (Isa.
xxvi. 3, xxxiii. 15, 16; Jer. xxiii. 6; Deut. xxxiii. 12,
28.)--_Fausset._
His ark is pitched within and without; tossed, it may be, but not
drowned: shaken, but not shivered.--_Trapp._
Eternal life, secure in the world to come, casts a bright beam of
hope across, sufficient to quiet the anxieties of a faint and
fluttering heart in all the dangers of the journey through.--_Arnot._
There is now _dwelling_ but in heaven; hell is a _prison_; earth is a
_pilgrimage_. In Heaven there be many mansions, wherein every room is
the lodging of quietness, the walls whereof are safety, the gates
security, and all fear of evil shut out for ever.--_Jermin._
* * * * * *
CHAPTER II.
CRITICAL NOTES.--+2. Incline.+ To _sharpen_ or prick the ear, like an
animal. +5. God.+ _Elohim._ One of five instances in the book in
which God is thus designated, the appellation Jehovah occurring
nearly ninety times. In explaining the all but universal use of
_Jehovah_ as the name of God in the Proverbs, while it never occurs
in Ecclesiastes, Wordsworth says: "When Solomon wrote the book of
Proverbs he was in a state of favour and grace with Jehovah, the Lord
God of Israel; he was obedient to the law of Jehovah; and the special
design of that book is to enforce obedience to that law." +7. Sound
wisdom.+ Miller translates this word "_something stable_." It is used
but twelve times in Scripture; in Job v. 12, it is translated
"enterprise," but the rendering given here would well fit in the
context there; and so in every other case. +That walk uprightly,+
literally "the walkers of innocence." +8.+ (_Heb._) _so as that_ "He
may keep," or _protect_ the paths, etc., _i.e._ He manifests Himself
as a shield that He may cause the upright to keep the paths of
judgment (_Fausset_). +9. Righteousness,+ _etc._, the same three
words used in chap. i. 3 (see Notes). +Every+ or "the whole" path.
+10. When.+ Rather "if" or "because." This verse is antecedent to the
consequence expressed in ver. 11. +Heart,+ the "seat of desire, the
starting point for all personal self-determination" (_Lange_).
+12. Deliver,+ "snatch," as a brand out of fire. +Evil man,+ rather
"an evil way." +13.+ "Level" paths. +16. Strange,+ "unknown,"
"_wanton_" (see 1 Kings xi. 1-8). +17. Guide,+ or "companion,"
"confidant," her lawful husband. +18. House,+ in the East means
"interests;" a man's whole blended well-being (Ex. i. 21).--_Miller._
(On Vers. 16-18 See Note at the beginning of Chap. vii.)
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 1-5.
HUMAN UNDERSTANDING AND DIVINE KNOWLEDGE.
+I. Divine knowledge is within the reach of human understanding.+
When a physician has created an appetite in his patient, he sees that
he is provided with food that will satisfy his hunger. As God has
given the eye, so He has given light to meet its needs. God has
created man with a _need_, and with _capabilities_ of knowing Him,
and has therefore placed such knowledge within his reach. "The Word
is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart, etc." (Rom. x. 8).
+II. The conditions of its attainment.+ 1. _Attention_. In all
departments of knowledge we must begin by doing the easiest thing.
The first thing we have to do is to listen to what the teacher has to
say. Everybody can do that. This is the first thing to be done in
order to attain a knowledge of God. We can listen to His message. We
can "receive" His words, "incline our ear." "Faith cometh by
hearing." 2. _Retention_. The simple attention of the soul is not the
reclaiming power. The hearing will not bless us if we do not hold the
truth in our memory. "And some seed fell by the wayside, and the
fowls came and devoured them up" (Matt. xiii. 4). But the ploughed
earth receives the seed, and holds it, and hides it, and by
_retention_ comes seed to the sower and bread to the eater. We must
not only "receive" but "hide" the words of God. 3. _Reflection_. This
prevents forgetfulness; this is indispensable to retention. The rules
or grammar, or of arithmetic, must not only be received into the
memory, but meditated upon. We must "apply" our minds to them in
order to understand them. The soul which receives and holds Divine
truth must apply itself to the understanding of it.
4. _Supplication_. If the learner has not only the book, but the
author of the book at hand, he can turn to him and ask him to unfold
the meaning of the difficult passages, or to show him how to apply
the rules. We have not only the Divine Word of God, but we have the
Divine Spirit; not only the Book of Wisdom, but the Author of the
Book, the source of wisdom. And He has promised to give wisdom for
the asking. "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that
giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be
given him" (Jas. i. 5). There must be an asking in order to receive.
"If thou criest after knowledge, etc." 5. _Perseverance._ Those who
find a few diamonds upon the surface of the ground do not then bring
their labours to a conclusion. They dig down beneath, and toil on for
months and years if the mine yields. They do not cease while they
think there is more to be gained. The Divine wisdom is a mine which
yields a little on the surface, but we must not stop there: we must
dig down deep, we must continue to hear, to remember, to meditate, to
cry for enlightenment,--we must ask, and seek, and knock, and never
cease to "search" for the hidden and exhaustless treasures of wisdom.
+III. The certainty of success if the conditions are fulfilled.+ Then
_shalt_ thou understand, etc. The mariner puts out to sea, and
fulfils all the conditions known to him for reaching the country to
which he is bound, but he may find a grave midway between his
starting-point and his goal. The husbandman sows the seed, and
fulfils all the conditions upon which a good harvest depends. But his
crop may fail notwithstanding: he may not reap the golden grain. But
no such disappointment ever befals the earnest seeker after the
knowledge of God.
_ILLUSTRATION OF VERSE_ 4.
"There are frequent allusions to hid treasure in the Bible. Even in
Job we read that the bitter in soul dig for death more earnestly than
for hid treasure. There is not another comparison within the whole
compass of human action so vivid as this. I have heard of diggers
actually fainting when they have come even upon a single coin. They
become positively frantic, dig all night with a desperate
earnestness, and continue to work until utterly exhausted. There are,
at this hour, hundreds of persons engaged in it all over the country.
Not a few spend their last farthing upon these ruinous efforts. . . .
It is not difficult to account for this hid treasure. The country has
always been subject to revolutions, invasions, and calamities of
different kinds. . . . Warriors and conquerors from every part of the
world sweep over the land, carrying everything away that falls into
their hand. Then, again, this country has ever been subject to
earthquakes, which bury everything beneath her ruined
cities."--_Thomson's "Land and the Book."_
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verses 1 and 2. The sinner is here told how he may become serious. In
any conceivable path if thou wilt do that lowest conceivable
thing--just listen; and, that thy listening may not be a mere passing
flash, if thou wilt pause upon it, and attend. If a man just takes a
chair and thinks for a moment of death and judgment and eternity, his
heart begins to feel, and it will go on feeling to any length. It
required the Spirit, no doubt; but what is the Spirit but the Spirit
of the God of Nature? He will come in the track of thought just as
surely as a star is dragged after Him in the track of
gravitation.--_Miller._
The Word of God is a vital seed, but it will not germinate unless it
be hidden in a softened, receptive heart. It is here that Providence
so often strikes in with effect as an instrument in the work of the
Spirit. The place and use of providential visitations in the Divine
administration of Christ's kingdom is to break up the way of the word
through the incrustations of worldliness and vanity that encase a
human heart, and keep the word lying hard and dry upon the
surface.--_Arnot._
Angels, who are so much our superiors, apply themselves to the
learning of it: they are already supplied with the stories of truth,
and yet they desire to pry deeper into the mystery of it. Surely,
then, the wisest of us ought to apply our whole hearts.--_Lawson._
There are some who _do_ hear, or rather, _seem_ to hear. They profess
to be all attention; but it is mere pretence--the mere result of
politeness and courtesy to the speaker. This is worse than not
hearing at all, inasmuch as it is the reality of neglect, with all
the guilt of hypocrisy added to it.--_Wardlaw._
Verse 2. Lie low at God's feet and say,--"Speak, Lord, for thy
servant heareth." His saints "sit down at His feet, every one to
receive His word."--_Trapp._
Even as worldlings, when they hear of some good bargain, hearken very
diligently; or as they who think that one speaketh of them put their
ears near to him that speaketh.--_Muffet._
Verse 3. Earthly wisdom is gained by study; heavenly wisdom by
prayer. Study may form a biblical scholar; prayer puts the heart
under a heavenly pupilage, and therefore forms the wise and spiritual
Christian. But prayer must not stand in the stead of diligence. Let
it rather give life and energy to it.--_Bridges._
Knowledge is God's gift, and must be sought at His hand, since He is
the "Father of Lights," and sells us "eye-salve" (Rev.
iii. 17).--_Trapp._
It is not any longer a Nicodemus inclined towards Jesus, he cannot
tell how, and silently stealing into His presence under cloud of
night; it is the jailer of Philippi springing in and crying with a
loud voice: "What must I do to be saved?"--_Arnot._
Verse 4. The same image occurs in John v. 39: "_Search_ the
Scriptures." Not merely scrape the surface and get a few superficial
scraps of knowledge, but dig deep, and far, and wide. The "treasures"
are "hidden" by God, not in order to keep them back from us, but to
stimulate our faith and patient perseverance in seeking for
them.--_Fausset._
Men never prayed that way and were not answered. Men seek
money--(1) always; (2) as a matter of course; (3) against all
discomfitures; (4) under all uncertainties.--_Miller._
Will not the far-reaching plans, and heroic sacrifices, and
long-enduring toil of Californian and Australian gold-diggers rise up
and condemn us who have tasted and known the grace of God? Their zeal
is the standard by which the Lord stimulates us now, and will measure
us yet. Two things are required in our search--the right direction
and the sufficient impulse. The Scriptures point out the right way,
the avarice of mankind marks the quantum of forcefulness, wherewith
the seeker must press on.--_Arnot._
This intimates (1) a loss or want of something. Else men seek not for
it. (2) A knowledge of this want or loss. Else men sit still.
(3) Some goodness indeed, or, in our own opinion, of the thing
sought. Men are, or should be, content to lose what is evil. (4) Some
benefit to ourselves in it. Else few will seek it, though good in
itself. (5) An earnest desire to find it. Else men have no heart to
seek it. (6) A constant inquiry after it, wheresoever there is any
hope to find it. Else we seek in vain. So in seeking wisdom--we must
want it, and know that we want it, and see good in it, and that to
ourselves, and seek it earnestly and constantly, if we would find
it.--_Francis Taylor._
Verse 5. That which impels men to the pursuit is also the prize which
rewards them. If any distinction between God (Elohim, see "Critical
Notes") and the Lord (Jehovah) can be pressed here, it is that in the
former the glory, in the latter the personality of the Divine nature
is prominent.--_Plumptre._
He understandeth the fear of the Lord, whose understanding feareth
the Lord. The knowledge of God is found in all His creatures, but he
findeth the knowledge of God who, being lost in his sins, is found by
God in the acknowledgement of them. . . . And as fear advanceth to
the knowledge of God, so the knowledge of God bringeth us to the fear
of Him.--_Jermin._
This knowledge of God is the first lesson of heavenly wisdom. On the
right apprehension of this lesson all the rest necessarily depends.
Wrong views of God will vitiate every other department of your
knowledge. Without right views of God you can have no right views of
His law. Without right views of His law you can have no right views
of sin, either in its guilt or in its amount. Without right views of
sin, you can have no right views of your own condition, and
character, and prospects as sinners. Without right views of these you
can have no right views of your need of a Saviour, or of the person,
and the righteousness, and atonement of that Saviour. Without right
views of these you can have no right views of your obligations to
Divine grace, etc. . . . The fear of the Lord, founded on the
knowledge of Him, is something to the right understanding of which
experience is indispensable. To a man who had never tasted anything
sweet, you would attempt in vain to convey, by description, a right
conception of the sensation of sweetness. And what is true of the
sensations is true also of the emotions. To a creature that had never
felt _fear_ you would hardly convey, by description, an idea of its
nature; and equally in vain would it be to make love intelligible to
one that had never experienced that affection. It is thus to a
depraved creature with regard to holy and spiritual affections. "This
fear of the Lord"--a fear springing from love and proportioned to
it--such a creature cannot _understand_ but by being brought to
experience it.--_Wardlaw._
The knowledge of God regulates the fear and prevents it from sinking
into terror, or degenerating into superstition, but guides it to
express its power in checking and subduing every corrupt affection
and animating the soul to every instance of obedience.--_Lawson._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 6-11.
GOD AS A GIVER AND MAN AS A RECEIVER.
+I. The fact stated+--_that God gives._ The nature of the good is to
give. God is the best of all beings, therefore He is the greatest
giver. 1. The _kindness_ of God is manifested in the character of His
gifts. 2. The _resources_ of God are revealed in the abundance of His
gifts. The character and disposition of men are made known by _what_
they give and by _how_ they give. God's gifts are "good and perfect,"
and are given ungrudgingly (Jas. i. 5-17). But men's resources are
not always equal to their desires to give. But God is rich, not only
in mercy, but in power; He has given _up to Himself_ in the gift of
His Son, in whom dwell all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and
beyond whom the Father Himself cannot give.
+II. Some of His gifts enumerated.+ 1. _Wisdom. Sound wisdom._ Real
wisdom as opposed to that which is only a sham (see "Critical
Notes"). The serpent--the devil--possesses _cunning_, but not real
wisdom. Our first parents were led astray by believing a _lie_--the
fruit of following the tempter's guidance was unsoundness of body and
soul. The results of this "wisdom of the serpent" proved its falsity.
God gives the true wisdom. He gives men the _truth_. A knowledge of
the truth about themselves, about Him (ver. 6), brings stability of
character--leads men into the right way of life (ver. 9)--and thus
tends to peace and blessedness of soul. 2. He gives _protection_ by
giving true wisdom. "He is a _buckler_," etc. (ver. 7). When Abraham
undertook to deliver Lot from the hands of his enemies, the skill
with which he planned and carried out the attack (Gen. xiv. 14)
showed his wisdom. After the victory God came to him and said, "Fear
not, Abraham. I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward" (Gen.
xv. 1). How had God just proved Himself to be his shield? Not by
sending a legion of angels to deliver him, but by giving him the
wisdom by which he had defended himself. This is how He is a buckler
to His children. He "preserveth the way of His saints" (ver. 8) by
giving them wisdom and grace to "understand" and keep "every good
path" (ver. 9).
+III. Man as a receiver of God's gifts.+ 1. This wisdom and
protection is only given to those who fulfil certain conditions.
_Wisdom_ is for the _righteous_, the _buckler_ for them that _walk
uprightly, preservation_ for his _saints_. These terms must be
regarded as relative, as we shall see presently; but the fact that
God has "laid up" His "wisdom," implies that it must be sought. God
had laid up a store of wisdom of Joseph's guidance when Pharaoh
summoned him from the prison, even as Joseph afterwards stored up
corn for the needy people; but in both instances the gifts had to be
sought for (Gen. xli. 16). Daniel had wisdom laid up for him, but he
had to ask for the wisdom kept in store for him (Dan. ii. 18).
2. _This best gift of God must be received into man's best place._
The knowledge which God gives must enter the _heart_, the
affections--thus it will be _pleasant_ to the soul (ver. 10). He who
holds the rudder guides the vessel. There may be many important
positions in a fortified city, but he who holds the highest place
commands all the rest. Understanding the word _heart_ here to mean
the affections, the heart commands the man. The will, and even the
conscience to an extent, are wheeled about by the affections. They
are the rudder of the man; they are the key to the position in the
town of Man-soul. 3. _Man, by thus receiving God's gifts, attains a
relative perfection._ The "understanding" of every good way implies a
walking in them. Those who receive God's wisdom "walk uprightly"--are
"saints." The man who has long followed any profession may be said to
be a perfect master of his business, of his handicraft. This does not
imply that he can go no further--can attain to nothing higher. The
Apostle Paul speaks of an absolute and a relative perfection. He had
attained to the last but not to the first (Phil. iii. 12-15). To know
what we ought to strive after and to choose the right way, is the
relative perfection, which leads on to that which is absolute and
entire.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 6. One may, indeed, by natural knowledge, very readily learn
that God is a benevolent being; but how He becomes to a sinner the
God of love, this can be learned only from the mouth of God in the
Holy Scriptures.--_Lange._
Verses 1 to 5 teach plainly that a man may get "light," and that
there are steps to it like money-getting; and yet hardly have the
words left his lips before Solomon guards them: "_Jehovah gives
wisdom_"--and guards them in a striking way, for he says: "For," that
is, the fact that it is the gift of God is the reason it can be
proceeded so hopefully after by man.--_Miller._
Solomon knew this by experience. The "for" gives the reason why he
who is anxious to have wisdom should learn to know and worship
God.--_Fausset._
Every beam of reason in men is communicated from the wisdom of God
(1 John i. 9). The simplest of the mechanical arts cannot be acquired
unless men are taught of God. How, then can we be expected to
understand the mystery of the Divine will without light from the
Father of lights.--_Lawson._
Verse 7. We are ill keepers of our own goodness and wisdom: God,
therefore, is pleased to lay it up for us,--and that it may be safe,
Himself is the buckler and safeguard of it. . . . In this life, he
that walketh, although he walk uprightly, and seeing evil, shuns it,
yet may receive hurt behind, where backbiters too frequently make
their assaults. Wherefore, as he walketh to God before him, so God
walketh after him, and even there, where they cannot help themselves,
He will be a _buckler_ to His servants. . . . But learn also that the
buckler shows that they who will live uprightly must strive and
fight.--_Jermin._
Heb., substance, reality (see "Critical Notes"): that which hath a
true being in opposition to that which hath not.--_Trapp._
He layeth up _that which is essential_ for the righteous.--_A.
Clarke._
The righteousness of our conduct contributes to the enlightenment of
our creed. The wholesome reaction of the moral on the intellectual is
clearly intimated here, inasmuch as it is to the righteous that God
imparteth wisdom.--_Chalmers._
"He lays up" or "hides away." 1. That the wicked may not find it.
2. That the righteous may have to dig to get it (the verb is the same
as that from which "hid treasures" is derived in Verse 4). 3. That it
may be safe from the evil one.--_Miller._
He walks uprightly who lives with the fear of God as his principle,
and the Word of God as his rule, and the glory of God as his
end.--_Wardlaw._
The most dreadful enemies of those who walk uprightly are those who
endeavour to turn aside the way of their paths; but against these
enemies God defends, for He keepeth the paths of wisdom and
righteousness.--_Lawson._
Verse 8. Well may they walk uprightly that are so strongly supported.
God's hand is ever under his; they cannot fall beneath it.--_Trapp._
"Paths of judgment" or "justice" are here, by the substitution of the
abstract for the concrete expression, paths of the just, and
therefore synonymous with "the way of His saints."--_Lange's
Commentary._
We have certain vicarious rights. One is, to come out all well at
last. Another is, that all things shall work together for our good.
Another is, that we shall grow up into Christ, increasing day by day.
To realise each and all is required of God. The track this takes Him
into for all is, as to each man, His path of judgment. Each such path
He must walk in strictly. To do so, He must watch the
saints.--_Miller._
He is not the guardian of the broad way--the way of the world and of
sin. _That_ way Satan superintends, "the god of this world"--doing
everything in his power, by all his various acts of enticement and
intimidation, to keep his wretched subjects and victims from leaving
it.--_Wardlaw._
He preserveth the way of His saints both from being drawn out of that
way, and from all evil while they walk in it.--_Jackson._
If men will not keep their bounds, God will keep His. There is a
right way for the saints to walk in. 1. Because else it were worse
living in God's kingdom than in any other kingdom. For all kingdoms
have rules of safety and of living. 2. God would be in a worse
condition than the meanest master of a family. He would have no
certain service.--_Francis Taylor._
Verse 9. Not as standing in speculation, but as a rule of life.
Knowledge is either apprehensive only, or effective also. This
differs from that as much as the light of the sun, wherein is the
influence of an enlivening power, from the light of torches.--_Trapp._
Not only does it enlarge our _knowledge_ of God, but it brings us to
a full _understanding_ of every practical obligation.--_Bridges._
Good signifies, 1. That which is just and right. 2. That which is
profitable. 3. That which is pleasing. 4. That which is full and
complete (Gen. xv. 15). . . . Men must grow from knowledge of some
good duties to knowledge of others. They must go on till they know
every good path.--_Francis Taylor._
Verse 10. Another picture of the results of living unto the Lord. Not
that only to which it leads a man, but that from which it saves him,
must be brought into view. Here, as before, there is a gradation in
the two clauses. It is one thing for wisdom to find entrance into the
soul, another to be welcomed as a "pleasant guest."--_Plumptre._
Spiritual joy mortifies sin. His mouth hankers not after homely
provision that hath lately tasted of delicate sustenance. Pleasure
there must be in the ways of God because therein men let out all
their souls into God, the foundation of all good, hence they so
infinitely distaste sin's tasteless fooleries.--_Trapp._
It was to open thus thy heart for wisdom that Christ's heart was open
upon the cross; it was to make an entrance for wisdom into thy heart
that the spear entered into the heart of thy Saviour. And what though
wisdom enter thy heart at a breach, a wound? It is this that must
heal thee and make thee sound.--_Jermin._
Here only has it any life or power. While it is only in the head it
is dry, speculative, barren. . . . Before it was the object of our
search; now, having found it, it is our pleasure.--_Bridges._
It is pleasure that can compete with pleasure. It is joy and peace in
believing that can overcome the pleasures of sin. . . . A human soul,
by its very constitution, cannot be frightened into holiness. It is
made for being won, and won it will be, by the drawing on this side
or the drawing on that.--_Arnot._
Verse 11. The man who has let knowledge come into his heart does but
watch afterwards as he does in common walking: "discretion" or
"reflection" will keep him straight.--_Miller._
Men are subject to many dangers till they get wisdom. 1. Their
reputation is in danger. 2. The goods and estates are in danger.
3. Their body and life are in danger. 4. The soul is in danger of
eternal misery. Therefore sin is called folly, and wicked men that go
to hell are chronicled as fools all over this book.--_Francis Taylor._
Though the heart of man by nature be a rebellious fort, so that
wisdom at first must enter it by a kind of force, yet, being entered,
it makes itself pleasant, and keeps out and preserves the soul which
kept her out.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 12-20.
THE CHARACTER OF THOSE FROM WHOM WISDOM PRESERVES.
+I. The evil man.+ 1. _His speech is corrupt_, verse 12. The closed
grave contains death and holds within it the seeds of pestilence, but
while it remains unopened the corrupt influence remains enclosed in
its narrow walls. But should it be opened, and its foulness allowed
to fill the air, it begins to set in motion that will strike men down
to its own level. The mouth of the wicked man while kept shut is a
closed grave, his iniquity is shut up within himself, but when he
speaks out the thoughts of his heart his mouth is as an open
sepulchre, and he spreads around him moral disease and death. 2. _He
is a man of progressive iniquity._ "He walks in the ways of
darkness." When a stone is set in motion, the momentum given to it,
if no other law comes into operation to prevent it, will carry it to
the lowest level in the direction in which it travels. The progress
of wickedness is downhill, and walking in the ways of darkness
implies a destination which in Scripture is called "outer darkness."
3. _He delights in his downward progress._ Sorry and joy are reveals
of human hearts. The saint rejoices in whatever things are pure,
lovely, and of good report, and in his increase of power to do the
same. That which rejoices him reveals his heart. The sinner that
"rejoices to do evil and delights in the frowardness of the wicked,"
brings to light the hidden things of darkness that are within him.
+II. The wicked woman.+ 1. _She is, pre-eminently, a
covenant-breaker._ The ribs of a vessel hold and keep together the
whole structure, and enable it to keep its cargo safe. If the ribs
give way, all goes to pieces, and the precious things which have been
stored up within the ship are lost in the ocean. Human society is
belted together--kept from going to pieces--by covenants. They are
the ribs which keep together the State. The marriage covenant holds
the first place. The woman whose character is here depicted has
broken the bonds of this most sacred covenant--to which God was a
witness (the covenant of an institution of His own ordination)--and
has taken to the "strange" way of the devil. Well may she be called a
_strange_ woman. That a woman should be guilty of such a
crime--should choose such a course of life, so opposed to all that is
pure and womanly--is indeed a mystery. 2. _She is a destroyer, not
only of herself, but of others._ When the river has broken through
its proper boundaries there is a _present_ and _continual_
destruction, of which the bursting of its banks was only the
beginning. This woman in the past broke the moral boundaries of her
life, and is now not content to go to ruin herself, but tries to take
others with her. To this end are her false and flattering words, of
which we shall hear more in chapter v. 3. _She carries her victims
beyond hope of recovery._ There are no rules without exceptions. We
know that there are those who have for a time been under the
influence of such characters, and have returned to the paths of
virtue and honour. But these are rare exceptions. In the main, it is,
alas! true that "none that go unto her return again." A vessel
founders at sea, and we say that the crew is lost, although one
survivor may have been rescued. We speak of an army being destroyed
if one escapes to tell the tale. Where one who has taken hold on her
paths struggles back to life and purity, thousands go down with her
to death, bodily, social, and spiritual.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 12. To _snatch_ (see "Critical Notes"). "The way of evil." The
terms begin gently. It is only the gentle aspects that are dangerous
at first. These are so fascinating that it requires us to be
_snatched_ to keep us out of the ways of darkness.--_Miller._
Verse 13. Among the pests of men, none are such virulent pests of
everything that is good as those that once made a profession of
religion, but have _left the way of uprightness._ The stings of
conscience which such persons experience, instead of reclaiming them,
tend only to irritate their spirits, and inflame them into fierce
enmity against religion.--_Lawson._
Darkness, as thus set in contrast with uprightness, may be
interpreted as descriptive both of the _nature_ of the ways, and of
their _tendency_ and _end_. The man who walks in uprightness walks in
light. His eye is "single." There is "none occasion of stumbling in
him." He has but _one_ principle; his "eyes look right on, his
eyelids look straight before him." He is not always looking this way
and that, for devious paths that may suit a present purpose, but
presses on ever in the same course; and this all is light, all plain,
all safe. "The ways of darkness" are the ways of concealment,
evasion, cunning, tortuous policy and deceit. He who walks in them is
ever groping; hiding himself among the subtleties of "fleshly
wisdom": and being ways of false principle and sin, they are ways of
danger, and shame, and ruin.--_Wardlaw._
There is a strictly casual and reciprocal relation between
unrighteous deeds and moral darkness. The doing of evil produces
darkness, and darkness produces the evil doing. Indulged lusts put
out the eye-sight of the conscience; and under the darkened
conscience the lusts revel unchecked.--_Arnot._
The light stands in the way of their wicked ways as the angel did in
Balaam's way to his sin.--_Trapp._
Verse 14. Though it be wormwood which they drink (Lam. iii. 15), yet
being drunk with it, they perceive not the bitterness thereof, but
like drunken men rejoice in their shame and misery.--_Jermin._
Better is the sorrow of him that suffereth evil than the jollity of
him that doeth evil, saith St. Augustine.--_Trapp._
Here is a note of trial to discern our spiritual estate. Wicked men
rejoice in sin; good men sorrow more for sin than for troubles. . . .
Many triumph in their evil deeds because they have no good to boast
of. And men are naturally proud and would boast of
something.--_Francis Taylor._
Verse 16. There is no viler object in nature than an adulteress.
Though born and baptised in a Christian land, she is to be looked
upon as a heathen woman and a stranger, and as self-made brutes are
greater monsters than natural brute beasts, so baptised heathens are
by far the worst of pagans.--_Lawson._
This strange woman is an emblem of impenitence. The passage 16-19,
means the seductiveness and yet the betraying wretchedness of
impenitence. The woman who has left her husband has also left her
God; and the _nulla vestigia retrorsum_ witnessed in her dupes is the
warning for the saint by which he keeps clear of her undoing. No man
would err who would treat of adultery as having its lessons here. But
no man would understand the passage who did not understand it further
as a great picture of impenitence. The warnings are two: (1) the
un-stopping-short character of sin; she who wrongs her husband will
be seen universally wronging God: and (2) the unrecuperative history
of the lost.--_Miller_
Twice Solomon uses a similar expression, "the strange woman (even)
the stranger," to impress more forcibly on the young man the fact
_that her person belongs to another._ The literal and spiritual
adulteress are both meant. The spiritual gives to the world her
person and her heart, which belong by right to God. In this sense the
foreign women who subsequently drew aside Solomon himself, were
"strange women," not so much in respect to their local distance from
Israel, as in respect to being utterly _alien to the worship of God._
Lust and idolatry were the spiritual adultery into which they
entrapped the once wise king. How striking that he should utter
beforehand a warning which he himself afterwards
disregarded.--_Fausset._
We are not to forget that the accomplished seducer has herself
perhaps been seduced. The fair and flattering words, the endless arts
of allurement, are on both sides.--_Wardlaw._
One who is as it were, a stranger to her own house and husband by
faithlessness (Hitzig), and hence a type of anything that is false
and seductive in doctrine or practice. . . . By God's goodness
Solomon's words in this Divinely inspired book were an antidote to
the poison of his own vicious example.--_Wordsworth._
Verse 17. False doctrine and false worship are in Scripture compared
to harlotry and adultery. (Numb. xiv. 33; Judges ii. 17; viii. 33;
Psa. cvi. 39; Rev. xvii. 1, 2; xviii. 3.)--_Wordsworth._
It is God that is the guide of her youth, whoever may be under Him;
it is God's covenant that is made, whosoever may be the contractor in
it. It is God who is first _forsaken,_ then _forgotten;_ forsaken in
the beginning of wickedness, forgotten in the hardened practice of
it. God hath appointed guides for youth--to stay the weakness of it,
and to which, as unto God, youth ought to yield obedience. For elder
years He hath appointed covenants as bonds and chains to hold them
sure.--_Jermin._
There is no trusting them that will fail God and their near friends.
If they fail God, they will fail men for their advantage. If they
fail friends--much more strangers.--_Francis Taylor._
Verse 18. When you get into the company of the licentious, you are
among the dead. They move about like men in outward appearance, but
the best attributes of humanity have disappeared--the best affections
of nature have been drained away from their hearts.--_Arnot._
Her house is not a building reared up, but inclined and bowed down,
and she who dwelleth in it will, by her life, bring thee to the
dead. . . . Death is here twice mentioned to show that it is a double
death, a temporal death, and an eternal death, to which she bringeth
men.--_Jermin._
Verse 19. Who would cast himself into a deep pit in the hopes of
coming out alive, when almost all that fell into it were dashed in
pieces.--_Lawson._
It is as hard to restore a lustful person to chastity as it is to
restore a dead person to life.--_Chrysostom._
A sin which, I am verily persuaded, if there be another that slays
her thousands, may with truth be affirmed to slay its _ten_
thousands.--_Wardlaw._
Verse 20. Here follows the whole ground of the exhibition: "That,"
_for the very purpose_ that "_thou_ mayest walk in the way of good
men." This is a grand, pregnant doctrine. This bad life was abandoned
to its worst partly as a lesson.--_Miller._
It is not enough to shun the evil way, unless man walk in the good
way.--_Muffet._
He that walks in the way of good men shall meet with good men, and
that shall keep him from the company of evil men and women. The paths
of the righteous are too narrow for such: he shall not be troubled
with them.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 21-22.
THE CONTRAST IN THE END FROM THE CONTRAST IN THE WAY.
If men walk in two directly opposite directions they cannot possibly
arrive at the same goal. +I. The historic illustration of this
truth.+ The first inhabitants of Canaan were allowed to dwell in the
land until they defiled it to so great an extent by their sins that
they were "rooted out," to be replaced by the Hebrew people. These,
in their turn, became "transgressors" of God's law, and consequently
forfeited their inheritance. +II. The reasonableness of this
dealing.+ Uprightness leads to industry, and the land which is
industriously cultivated fulfils the end for which God gave it to the
children of men. Uprightness leads to the rightful dividing of the
land or of its produce among all its inhabitants. It is God's will
that none of his creatures should suffer bodily want: if all men were
truly upright and godly, the poor and needy, if they did not cease
out of the land (Deut. xv. 2) would have a much larger share of its
good things than they at present enjoy. The Hebrew civil and social
laws show us what God's intentions are in this matter. Therefore none
ought to complain if they are deprived of a gift which they have
mis-used. +III. The typical suggestion of the subject.+ Dwelling in
the land of Canaan was typical of the eternal dwelling in the
heavenly country. Some of the first inhabitants of _that_ country
have been "rooted out" because of sin (2 Pet. ii. 4), others have
dwelt safely there for ages, because they are, literally, _perfect_.
This is the destined home of all just men made perfect (Heb. xii. 23;
xi. 13-16. Matt. xxii. 32).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 21. The Israelite was, beyond the power of natural feeling,
which makes home dear to every one, more closely bound to his
ancestral soil by the whole form of the theocracy: torn from it he
was in the inmost roots of his life itself, strained and
broken.--_Elster._
As surely as a righteous man hath this right unto temporal things
which a wicked man hath not, that God doth account him to be worthy
of them . . . . Wherefore it is observed, that in Scripture, although
the wicked are said to possess the things of the earth, they are
never said to inherit them; but the godly are said to inherit the
good things of the earth as receiving them from the love of their
heavenly Father.--_Jermin._
Verse 22. The very earth casts out the wicked. . . . The whole has a
typical meaning. This earth, many conjecture is to be restored as
heaven. In that event, the old Canaan types will be very
perfect.--_Miller._
Must not the righteous leave the earth too? Yes; but the earth is a
very different thing to the righteous and to the wicked. To the
latter it is all the heaven they will ever have; to the righteous it
is a place of preparation for heaven.--_Lawson._
The event seemeth to be contrary to the promise here made, for the
earth commonly is possessed by those who take evil ways, whilst in
the mean season the godly are tossed up and down with many
afflictions. But we must consider for our comfort that, the wicked
wrongfully and unlawfully as usurpers, possess the earth and the
goods of this world; and again, that by many troubles, and by death
in the end, they are put out of possession at last. As for the godly,
they, by right, inherit the earth, so that, as Abraham was the heir
to the land of promise even when he had not a foot of ground therein,
in like manner all the godly are heirs of this world, according to
the saying of the apostle, that all things are theirs (1 Cor.
iii. 22); howsoever often here they possess little or nothing. In
right they are heirs, and in part possessors, looking for a new
heaven and a new earth, wherein the just shall dwell (2 Pet.
iii. 13).--_Muffet._
Suddenly, when they have feathered their nests and set up their rest,
the wicked may die sinning. The saints shall not die till the best
time--not till the time when, if they were rightly informed, they
would desire to die.--_Trapp._
* * * * * *
CHAPTER III.
CRITICAL NOTES.--+1. Keep.+ This word, says Miller primarily means to
look _hard at_, and generally to _keep watch over_, as over a
vineyard. +2. Length of days,+ properly "extension of days."
+4. Good understanding,+ or "good success," "good reputation." Some
read "good _intelligence_," _i.e._, thou shalt be esteemed before God
and man as one of good understanding. +6. Acknowledge,+ "take notice
of," "recognise" Him. +Direct,+ "make level" or "smooth."
+8. Navel,+ "body" or "muscles." +Marrow,+ literally "refreshing,"
"moistening," in contrast to the condition described in Psa.
xxxii. 3, 4. +11. Despise not,+ or "loathe not," "shrink not." The
word, according to Miller, means "to melt." +Chastening,+
"discipline," "correction." +12.+ The latter clause of this verse
should be read, "and holds him dear, or does him a favour, as a
father does his son." +13. Gets,+ "draws out." +18. Lay hold,+
"grasp," from a Hebrew root _strong_. +Retaineth,+ "holds her fast."
+20. Depths,+ &c., "were the floods divided" into rivers and streams
for the blessing of man. +Dew,+ or "gentle rain," or else the clouds
signify the lower regions of the atmosphere where the dew is formed.
+21. Them,+ _i.e._ "sound wisdom and discretion;" +Sound wisdom,+ the
same word as in chap ii. 7 (see notes there). Miller translates here
as there, "_something stable_." +25. Desolation of the wicked.+ This
is interpreted in two ways. 1. The desolation in which the wicked
strive to overwhelm the good; or, 2. The destruction which will sweep
away the wicked, leaving the godly unharmed. "A positive decision is
probably not possible" (Lange's Commentary). Stuart, and most modern
commentators, adopt the latter view. +26. Confidence.+ "Jehovah shall
be as loins to thee" (Miller). +27. Withhold not, &c.,+ literally
"hold not good back from its master," _i.e._, from him to whom it
belongs. +31. Envy thou not, &c.,+ or "emulate not" (Vulg.) "_Do_ not
anxiously covet" (Stuart). +32. Secret.+ His "secret compact,"
"familiar intimacy." +34.+ "If," or "Seeing that He scorneth the
scorners," &c. +35. The promotion,+ &c., literally "shame lifts up,"
_i.e._, in order to sweep away and destroy them; so Lange translates.
Miller reads, "fools are each piling shame." Stuart says on this
verse, "Glory means here honour or an exalted station. Ziegler and
Ewald render the next clause, 'Shame shall elevate fools,' spoken
sarcastically. I prefer the meaning sanctioned by Ezek. xxi. 23; Is.
lvii. 14, viz., to take off, to sweep away, as the dust which is
elevated by the wind and is swept off, as may be seen in Isa.
xvii. 13. Compare Isa. xxix. 5; Psa. xxxv. 5. At least, the image
understood in this way is very vivid. It stands thus: 'Fools are
elevated like the light dust, and then are _swept away_ in the same
manner.'"
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 1-4.
BLESSINGS FROM THE REMEMBRANCE OF GOD'S COMMANDMENTS.
+I. The natural desire of a moral instructor.+ Every teacher desires
that his pupil should remember his instructions, and unless that
which has been given is remembered it is useless to carry him further
on. Memory holds a very important place in the formation of moral
character. "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the Gospel which I
preached unto you; . . . by which also ye are saved, if ye _keep in
memory_ what I preached unto you" (1 Cor. xv. 1 and 2). Paul likewise
exhorts his son Timothy by means of his memory (2 Tim i. 6). See also
Hebrews x. 32; 2 Pet. i. 15, iii. 1, etc. Solomon knew that his son
could only profit by his counsel so long as he remembered it.
+II. When the memory does not retain moral teaching, it is a moral
rather than an intellectual fault.+ "Let thine _heart_ keep my
commandments." We find it difficult to forget where we love. If a
child loves his father, he is not likely to forget his words. Christ
reminded his disciples that they did not "remember" because their
_hearts_ were hardened (Mark viii. 17, 18).
+III. When the heart keeps the Divine Word, mercy and truth will not
forsake the character.+ Where God's precepts find a place of abode,
there will likewise be found a merciful disposition towards men, and
a truthful and sincere piety before God. If a tree has its roots in
the waters, we know that its greenness will not fail: "its leaf shall
not wither." The freshness and beauty of the foliage is the necessary
outcome of its roots dwelling in the stream. The mercifulness and the
truthfulness of a man's character will be in proportion to his
affection for, and consequent retention of, the words of God.
+IV. The blessings which will accompany a remembrance of the Divine
teaching.+ 1. _Length of days._ We may infer from this that, as a
rule, long life is to be desired. The longer distance a pure river
runs through a country, the greater the amount of blessing which it
diffuses on its way to the ocean. The longer a man of "mercy and
truth" lives, the more he is enabled to bless his fellow-creatures. A
long life gives a man time to attain great knowledge of God, and thus
enables him to glorify Him upon the earth. A long life is also to be
desired because the peculiar experience of earth belongs to the
present life only. When that is ended we have reason to believe that
we shall enter upon an entirely new experience; that which belonged
to earth will have passed away with our earthly life. It has often
been remarked that a godly manner of life is favourable to "length of
days." Sin and anxious care tend to bring men to an early grave,
while purity, and trust in a living and loving Father are promoters
of bodily health. 2. _Divine and human favour._ The human ruler is
favourable to those who make it their business to obey his commands.
A wise and good father makes a difference in his treatment of those
children who seek to please him and those who defy his authority. God
is the Father, and consequently the rightful Ruler of men, and having
made laws for the guidance of His children, it follows of necessity
that those who seek to obey those laws must find favour with Him. He
is in this sense a respecter of persons. He has respect to those who
"have respect unto his commandments" (Psa. cxix. 6). Favour in the
sight of man is also promised. The value of a man's favour depends
upon a man's character. To find favour with some men would be to be
known as an enemy of God (James iv. 4). It is written that Jesus
increased "in favour with God and man" (Luke ii. 52). But we know
that He found little favour with the rulers of the Jews. Therefore,
these words must be taken to refer to the favour of those whose
favour is worth having. 3. _Peace_ (Verse 2). Where the conscience
and passions are at war there can be nothing but unrest, but when the
conscience is reinforced by the Divine precepts, she rules, and the
soul, as a consequence, enjoys peace. Peace must flow from the
possession of Divine favour, and also from the consciousness of the
good-will of good men.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 1. Here we advance another step. Not only is it necessary to
renounce and shun evil (i. 10) and to listen to the voice of Wisdom
and go in quest of her (i. 20; ii. 1-4), but it is also requisite to
hold her fast under trial and tribulation (ver. 11), and to practise
her rules by love to God and man (verses 9, 27, 30).--_Wordsworth._
"My law." He who made us knows what is good for us. Submission to His
will is the best condition for humanity. Our own will leads to sin
and misery. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the
soul. . . . Silently to forget God's law is a much more common thing
amongst us than blasphemously to reject it.--_Arnot._
Where love makes the impression, care locks it up. . . . Philo saith,
"Thou forgettest God's law, because thou forgettest thyself." For
didst thou remember thine own condition, how very nothing thou art,
thou couldst not forget His law whose excellency exceedeth all
things; and therefore to fasten His law in our hearts, God saith no
more than that it is _my law_, as if the strength of that reason were
sufficient to strike them into us not to be forgotten.--_Jermin._
We should be able to say to Wisdom as Cœnis did to her lady Antonia,
"You need not, madame, bid me do your business, for I so remember
your commands, as I need never be reminded of them."--_Trapp._
The mental faculties have a close relation and a mutual dependence
upon each other. There are, without doubt, original diversities in
the power of memory. But memory depends greatly on _attention_, and
attention depends not less upon the interest which the mind feels on
the subject. He who feels no interest will not attend, and he who
does not attend will not remember.--_Wardlaw._
Verse 2. _Length of days_ is the promise to the righteous--whether
for earth or for heaven as their Father deems fittest for them. In
itself, the promise, as regards this life, has no charm. . . . But
_peace added_ forms the sunshine of the toilsome way.--_Bridges._
The original is "length of days and years of lives." They are lives
which religion promiseth, one on earth, another in heaven: here such
a long life as short days can make up, but there days shall be years:
there shall be but one day, lengthened into eternity.--_Jermin._
Where is the consistency of promising long life to wisdom? Where is
the truth of such an assurance? But certain grammatical endings give
us immediate signs of another interpretation. The verb "add" is
masculine; the words "law" and "commandments" are feminine. On the
contrary, all are masculines among the nouns of the next clause.
Unless there should be reason to do violence by an ungrammatical
exception, the nouns should be the subjects rather than the objects
of the verb. We translate therefore, "For length of days, and years
of life, and prosperity, shall make thee greater."--_Miller._
Such declarations are certainly not to be interpreted as a promise of
long life in this world in every instance, as the result of obedience
to God's commands. There are promises to Israel of their days being
prolonged in the land which are greatly mistaken when interpreted of
the life of individuals; and as pledging in every case its
prolongation to all the good. Such passages relate to the continued
possession of the land of promise by the people, if they, in their
successive generations, continued to serve God.--_Wardlaw._
Simple duration of life in itself to Jewish mind, a great gift of
God. "Years of _life_," _i.e._, of a life truly such, a life worth
living, not the lingering struggle with pain and sickness (compare
the use of "life" in Psalm xxx. 5, xliii. 8).--_Plumptre._
Verse 3. There was such a similitude of nature between the twins of
love that at once they wept, and at once they smiled; they fell sick
together, and they recovered jointly. Such are these twins of grace.
In policy, mercy without truth is a sweet shower dropping upon barren
sands, quite spilt, and no blessing following it; truth without mercy
is extreme right and extreme injury. Consider them toward God and
heaven. A faith of mere protestation without good works, such as
truth without mercy, and all the integrity of the heathen, all the
goodness that Socrates could teach, such is mercy without
truth.--_Bishop Hacket._
The _neck_ is, in Solomon's writings, the organ and symbol of
_obedience_. To bind God's law about the neck is not only to _do_ it,
but to _rejoice_ in doing it; to put it on and exult in it as the
fairest ornament.--_Wordsworth._
+I. The matter to be recorded+--mercy and truth. These two, meeting and kissing
in the Mediator, constitute the revealed character of God Himself; and He
desires to see, as it were, a miniature of His own likeness impressed upon His
children. +II. The tablet for receiving it+--the human heart. The reference is
obviously to the tables of stone. The tables were intended to be not a book
only, but a type. An impress should be taken on our own hearts, that we may
always have the will of God hidden within us.--_Arnot._
Let these graces be, as with God, in combination. The want of one
buries the commendation of the other. "Such a one is merciful to the
poor, but there is no truth in him." "Such a one is very just in his
dealings, but he is as hard as a flint." Nor must these virtues be in
occasional and temporary exercise. "Let them not _forsake_
thee."--_Bridges._
Intimating--I. Their forsaking us is more than our forsaking them.
Our forsaking them may come of our weakness, but their forsaking us
comes of our wilfulness and hardness of heart in not entertaining
them. II. It sets out the easiness of the loss of them through our
corruption. III. It sets forth our great need of them. IV. It
intimates our great care and pains needful for the retaining of them.
They are easily lost, but hardly kept. A hawk must be well tamed
before he is let fly, else he will return no more. These graces must
be as carefully kept as providently gotten, like riches. And they
must both be kept together, else mercy may lie to do good, and truth
may reveal without cause what may do hurt. Therefore join both as God
does (Ps. lxxxv. 10).--_Francis Taylor._
Mercy and truth are dear sisters, blessed companions in God, sweet
companions in man. Mercy loveth truth, truth loveth mercy, God loveth
both; and if man love himself, he will do so likewise.--_Jermin._
These words correspond to the two tables of the law. Benevolence is
at the bottom of the command, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour," and
what is right is that great glory which we are to love in
God.--_Miller._
Verse 4. In other words, "Thou shalt be favoured and truly prospered,
God and man both bearing witness to thy well-directed
efforts."--_Stuart._
He that shows mercy to men shall find mercy with God . . . and men
love to be dealt truly and mercifully with themselves, even though
they deal not so with others; especially they that get good by our
merciful and just dealing will favour us.--_Francis Taylor._
This favour of God and man, _i.e._, not of all indiscriminately, but
first and pre-eminently of the wise and devout, such as agree with
God's judgment, is evidently in the view of the poet the highest and
most precious of the multiform blessings of wisdom which he
enumerates. What, however, is this favour of God and man but the
being a true child of God, the belonging to the fellowship of God and
His people, the co-citizenship in the kingdom of truth and
blessedness? We stand here manifestly at the point at which the Old
Testament doctrine of retributions predominantly earthly begin to be
transformed into the supersensual or spiritual realistic doctrine of
the New Testament (Matt. v. 10-12; xix. 28-30).--_Lange's Commentary._
The promise is all one with that of the Apostle Paul, when, speaking
of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost, he saith, "that
he which in these things serveth Christ, pleaseth God and is
acceptable to men" (Rom. xiv. 18).
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 5 _and_ 6.
EXHORTATION TO CONFIDENCE IN GOD.
Man is so constituted that, in some respects, he must have objects
outside of himself to lean upon. As a child, he leans upon a wisdom
and strength which is superior to his own, and few men are so
self-sufficient as entirely to lay aside this habit in after life. In
many things we must, whether we will or not, depend upon the guidance
and help of others. Every man, in common with the lower creatures,
must of necessity lean upon a power greater than his own. "The eyes
of all wait upon Thee" (Psa. cxlv. 15). But this is a leaning which
needs no exhortation: it springs from necessity. The exhortation of
the text implies that in some things men have to choose whether they
will lean upon God or not.
+I. What is necessary in order to comply with the exhortation.+ 1. _A
knowledge of God._ We cannot place entire trust in any person of
whose character we have no knowledge; or, if we do so, we show our
want of discretion. If a traveller across Central Africa were to give
himself up to the guidance of the first native whom he met, he would
probably find that his confidence had been misplaced. The youth who
trusts in the first companion who offers his friendship is like a
blind man placing his hand in that of any stranger who may offer him
guidance. All lasting trust is based upon knowledge. "They that
_know_ Thy name will put their trust in Thee" (Psa. ix. 10). The
confidence of a wise man is born of knowledge of character. God can
be known. His only-begotten Son hath declared Him (Luke x. 22; John
i. 18, xvii. 3). 2. _Love to God._ The character must be known, and,
being known, must be loved, if there is to be a lasting confidence.
We shall not lean with much weight where we do not love. The trust of
a Christian will be in proportion to his love to his Lord. The more
intimate the knowledge, the deeper will be the love; the deeper the
love, the more entire the trust. Our Lord Jesus Christ knew His
Father (John xvii. 25) as no creature could know Him, and His love
being based upon this profound knowledge, His trust was entire and
His obedience perfect, even in His darkest hours. "But that the world
may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave me
commandment, even so I do." "_Arise let us go hence_" (John xiv. 31).
We cannot do better than write after this copy.
+II. The necessary effect of such a confidence.+ We shall acknowledge
God in all our ways. This must mean--1. _A practical recognition of
His presence._ We may be in the presence of a superior, and know that
we are in his presence, without acknowledging it by showing him the
respect that is due to him. If this is the case, we virtually ignore
his existence. A child whose behaviour is not deferential to his
parent practically ignores him. Acknowledging God in all our ways
implies a reverent attitude of soul towards Him. 2. _A belief in
God's care for the individual life._ God makes himself known as the
God of the individual man. The care of the individual is his
self-imposed task. "I am the Lord God of _Abraham_, thy father, and
the God of _Isaac_, . . . and behold I am with _thee_, and will keep
_thee_ in all places whither thou goest" (Gen. xxviii. 13, 15).
3. _The reference of all our affairs to His guidance, and a
submission of our will to His._ This will be easy and natural in
proportion to our knowledge, and love, and conviction that God will
not think any of our concerns beneath His notice. Our submission will
be in the ratio of our confidence--our confidence in the ratio of our
knowledge.
+III. The promise of direction guaranteed to compliance with the
exhortation.+ 1. _Men have many ways in life._ Man's many ways spring
from his many needs. He has a living to earn in the world. His hunger
must be satisfied--his body must be clothed and fed. His social wants
must be met--he must have companions, form relationships. His mind
must have food as well as his body. The aspirations of his spirit
form another way, and demand direction and enlightenment. But one
way--the way of acknowledging God--is needful to make any and all the
other ways profitable and pleasant. 2. _The certainty of right
guidance from the foreknowledge and power of the guide._ An Alpine
guide, who has traversed a road many times, knows from memory what is
at the end of the journey. He sees the end while he is on the way.
God's foreknowledge answers to our memory. He sees the end to which
He is bringing us while we are on the way. And His power makes the
accomplishment of His plans certain. He can speak of them as finished
before the means are set in motion to bring them to pass. He said to
Joshua: "Behold, I have given into thine hand Jericho" (Josh. vi. 2),
before any steps had been taken to overthrow it. His guidance makes
it certain that His designs will be accomplished, whatever becomes of
our plans.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verses 5 and 6. The heart, the seat of the affections, and also, in
Hebrew psychology, the conscience, which is not a sure guide unless
it is regulated by the Lord's will and Word.--_Wordsworth._
Once, indeed, man's understanding gave clear, unclouded light, as
man's high prerogative--created in the image of God. But
now--degraded by the fall, and darkened by the corruption of the
heart--it must prove a false guide. Even in a renewed man--a prophet
of God--it proved a mistaken counsellor (2 Sam. vii. 2, 5). Yet throw
it not away; cultivate it; use it actively; but _lean_ not to
it.--_Bridges._
"He shall Himself," _i.e._, by His own Spirit. There is an emphatic
pronoun. When we walk, it is not we that walk, but God.--_Miller._
"Leaning to our own understanding" is, as far as it prevails, a kind
of practical atheism. To form and prosecute our plans in this spirit
of self-confidence, is to act as if there were _no_ God--as if the
fool's _thought_, or the fool's _wish_, were true.--_Wardlaw._
+I. The duty enjoined.+ 1. _Entire._ 2. _Exclusive._ 3. _Uniform._
+II. The blessing promised--Direction.+ _Necessary_ on account
of--1. Our fallibility. 2. The hazards of the way. 3. False guides.
_Promised._ 1. By the pointings of Providence. 2. By the lessons of
the Bible. 3. By the influences of the Holy Spirit.--_Outlines by
Rev. G. Brooks._
The fundamental principle of all religion, consisting in an entire
self-commitment to the grace and truth of God, with the abandonment
of every attempt to attain blessedness by one's own strength or
wisdom.--_Lange's Commentary._
The distant and unconfiding will come on occasion of State
formalities to the sovereign; but the dear child will leap forward
with everything. The Queen of England is the mother of a family. At
one time her ministers of State came gravely into her presence to
converse on the policy of nations; at another, her infant runs to her
arms for protection, frightened at the buzzing of a fly. Will she
love this last appeal because it is a little thing? We have had
fathers of our flesh who delighted when we came to them with our
minutest ailments. How much more should we bring all our ways to the
Father of our spirits, and live by simple faith on Him.--_Arnot._
We may be led for the exercise of our faith into a way of
disappointment, or even of _mistake_. But no step well prayed over
will ever bring ultimate regret.--_Bridges._
Every enlightened believer trusts in a Divine power enlightening the
understanding; he therefore follows the dictates of the understanding
more religiously than any other man.--_M. Cheyne._
The moralist, in preaching this trust in God, anticipates the
teaching that man is justified by faith.--_Plumptre._
See your confidence be not divided, part on God and part on man. Such
a confidence may keep you from the lions (2 Kings xvii. 25) but it
cannot keep you out of hell. A house built partly on firm ground,
partly on sand, will fall. To trust in God is so to lean upon Him
that if He fail thee thou sinkest.--_Francis Taylor._
He shall direct, as He carefully chose out the Israelites' way in the
wilderness; not the shortest, but the safest way.--_Trapp._
1. That our reliance may be rational we should know what it is that
God has promised, and what we may expect from Him; else we may be
disappointed in all our hopes. 2. Reliance must be accompanied with
obedience, with a purpose, and endeavour to do the things that are
pleasing to God. 3. Reliance must also be connected with particular
supplications to Him to bless us. 4. It must be accompanied with
diligence and prudence in our worldly affairs. 5. It excludes
immoderate cares, vain desires, fretful discontent. 6. Although
reliance be so advantageous to us, even for the present, that it
ought to be considered rather as a privilege than a duty, yet it is a
noble virtue and a disposition of mind most agreeable to God. It is
the greatest honour we can pay to Him. By it we show our belief in
His wisdom, power, equity, and goodness.--_Jortin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 7-12.
THE WAY (1) TO HEALTH, (2) TO WEALTH, (3) TO ENDURANCE.
Three exhortations are here given, to each of which is attached a
promise on reason to induce the young man to obey. +I. An exhortation
to humility.+ (Verses 7 and 8.) Its peculiar appropriateness and
importance will be seen if we consider--1. _The person to whom the
exhortation is addressed._ "My son" (ver. 1). Lack of experience has
a great tendency to breed self-conceit. As a rule, those who have
lived the longest and have most acquaintance with men and things are
the least disposed to be "wise in their own eyes." Ignorance is the
mother of self-conceit. These words are addressed to a young man,
because his youth would render him very liable to this fault.
2. _That self-conceit does not end with oneself but is dangerous to
others._ The man who insists upon the correctness of his knowledge of
a dangerous way, and will not listen to the experience of those who
are better acquainted with it, is sure to find some who believe in
him and follow his guidance. Thus he may not only lose his own life,
but be the murderer of others. 3. _It shuts a man up to his
ignorance._ The only way to become wise is to feel we are ignorant.
As a lunatic must be shut up with others in a like condition while
his madness is upon him, so a self-conceited man must be imprisoned
with the fools of the universe while he remains in that condition.
4. _The Divine woes which are levelled against such an one._ All the
woes pronounced by our Lord against the Scribes and Pharisees were
against sins born of this sin. The charge against them was that they
were wise in their own eyes. "For judgment am I come into this world,
that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be
made blind. And some of the Pharisees which were with him said, Are
we blind also? Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have
no sin: but now ye say, _We see;_ therefore your sin remaineth" (John
ix. 39-41). "Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and
prudent in their own sight" (Isa. v. 21). +II. The remedy against
self-conceit.+ "Fear _the Lord,_" etc. When those who are wise in
their own eyes begin to reverence those who are much wiser than they
are, they will begin to depart from this evil which is the root of
many evils. Esteem for those who deserve esteem will lessen their
esteem for themselves. A knowledge of the character and wisdom of God
will produce reverence. When a man renders to God the reverence which
is due unto Him, and which is born of a right appreciation of what
God is, the scales of self-conceit will fall from his own eyes. As
the sun melts the hoar-frost from the windows and leaves a clear
medium for the rays of the sun to enter the chamber, so the contact
of God with the human soul will melt away the self-esteem which shut
Him out. How entrenched was Saul of Tarsus in his own opinions before
he met the Lord on the road to Damascus. How high an estimate he had
of himself, but how great was the change which acquaintance with
Christ wrought. When Job got an insight into God's greatness, he
said, "I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes" (Job xlii. 6).
Self-conceit cannot live where there are right views of God.
+III. The promise here given to those who walk reverently before
God.+ Certain it is that such a mode of life leads to bodily health.
Those who walk in the fear of the Lord live lives of purity, of
temperance, of freedom from the consuming passions and corroding
cares of the ungodly. Other things being equal, or anything like
equal, godliness has the promise of the life that now is in this
respect as in others. But if we understand the words in this narrow
sense only, they seem to express only a small part, and the inferior
part, of the blessing that comes to a man from the "fear of the
Lord." The bones here, as in Psalm xxxii. 3, xxxv. 10, are put for
the whole man. And as the Psalmist, in the first-mentioned psalm,
expresses his sad condition of soul as well as body when he says, "My
moisture is turned to the drought of summer," so the "marrow," or
"moisture," of the bones here expresses a vigour of the entire man.
Sin breaks the bones of a man's spirit; the consciousness of the
Divine favour which will flow from a reverential walk with God makes
them "to rejoice" (Ps. li. 8).
Verses 9 and 10 contain--+I. An exhortation to a right use of
temporal riches.+ 1. _Those who honour God with their gifts honour
Him who has first honoured them with their stewardship._ The man who
is entrusted with the property of others, has an honour put upon him
by the trust. Potiphar put a great honour upon Joseph when he
committed all that he had into his hand, and Joseph felt that it was
so. This of itself should be a motive to a strict integrity and to
devotion to the interests of One who has thus honoured us with
confidence. All temporal, material blessings are given to men as
stewards of God's property (Luke xvi. 1-12), and in this light they
ought to regard themselves. 2. _If men honour God with their
substance, they turn what would otherwise be a snare into a
blessing._ The tendency of wealth is doubtless to make men
god-forgetting, self-confident, selfish (Mark x. 23; Luke xii. 16;
Jas. v. 1). But those who use it for the advancement of God's
kingdom--for the alleviation of human suffering--make a _friend_ of
this "mammon of unrighteousness" (Luke xvi. 9). 3. _God cannot be
honoured with our substance unless we first give ourselves to Him._
The great desire of a true father in relation to his children is to
secure their love. Having that, everything else that is theirs will
be his. Without that, no offering, no service, can be acceptable. God
must have the man before He will accept his wealth.
+II. The promise annexed to this exhortation.+ This cannot be the
_motive_, but it is the _consequence_. Any man who gave his wealth
because he believed it was a good investment in this sense, would not
be honouring God with it. We must _give_, as we are commanded to
_lend_, hoping for nothing again (Luke vi. 35). And, although the
material rewards which are appended to a certain line of conduct
under the old dispensation do not invariably follow it in the new and
more spiritual one, there is probably no Old Testament promise of
earthly reward which is, and ever has been, fulfilled with so few
exceptions.
Verses 11 and 12. +I. An exhortation to patient endurance of
affliction.+ 1. _From the constitution of our nature we can but
dislike or loathe_ (_despise_, see "Critical Notes") _affliction
itself._ There has never been one of the human kind who has welcomed
affliction for its own sake; nay, more, there has never been one who
has not shrunk from it, considered by itself. No man can do other
than grieve for the death of his friend when he considers his own
loss merely. No child of God can love pain or loss. The man who is
under the knife of the surgeon must groan in the unnatural condition
in which he is placed. Even Christ Himself, though He delighted to do
the will of His Father (Psa. xl. 8), shrank from the bitter cup of
suffering. If, then, pain--probably mental pain--was felt to be
bitter by the Sinless Man, how much more will a sinful man find it
hard to bear. 2. _The pain itself is that which renders us unable to
see the connection between it and the benefit it is to work out._
While a man is suffering pain of body or mind, his feelings, more or
less, overpower his reason. Although we know that it is to work good
in the future, we fail often to realise the fact--feeling holds us
down to the present.
+II. Four considerations to help us in times of affliction.+ 1. _Its
individuality._ "_My_ son, despise not _thou_," which implies that
God chastises men as individuals--that he distinguishes between them.
There may be many sons and daughters in a human home; no two are
exactly alike, therefore a wise discrimination must be exercised with
regard to the chastisement or the discipline administered. So God
discerns the needs of His children. No son or daughter need think
that another cross would suit them better; they may be assured that
the one they bear is the one that has been especially prepared for
them and is therefore peculiarly adapted for them. 2. _Its end._ It
is educational. It is correction, not destruction. Even if it is
rebuke, or punishment for a particular sin, it is designed to
eradicate that sin, and thus add to the character; and we are
assured, on the highest authority, that tribulation worketh patience,
experience, and hope--all of which graces go to form a higher type of
man (Rom. v. 2, 3). 3. _Its signification._ It means son-ship,
adoption. It means that God has taken us in hand; that He is Himself
presiding over our education; that He loves us and desires our
spiritual growth. 4. _Its Author._ "The Lord." We accept that from
one who we know, which we would not from a stranger. If we can be
sure that a man's motives are pure, we judge of his conduct
accordingly. The consideration that affliction comes from the
"righteous Father," the King who cannot wrong any of His subjects,
ought to help us to take the rebuke with meekness,--to bear the pain,
although we cannot now see the profit.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 7. This warning against self-confidence is closely connected
with the preceding verse. _The wise in his own eyes_ is he that
_leans to his own understanding_. How striking is this connection
between the fear of the Lord and the fear of sin (ch. xiv. 27;
xvi. 6. Gen. xxxix. 9-10; Neh. v. 15).--_Bridges._
Get all the wisdom thou canst. That is the very burden of these
Proverbs. But as thou gettest it if thou seemest wise, be sure that
thou art weighed down with folly. Gabriel, who has never sinned, is
foolish because he knows not the end from the beginning, and we are
foolish from a further cause, that our wisdom has remains with it
that are corrupt.--_Miller._
The greatest hindrance to all true wisdom is the thought that we have
already attained it.--_Plumptre._
Fear God, and fear evil; fear God to go to Him, fear evil to depart
from it. The wings of fear to carry thee to God are love and care,
the wings of fear to carry thee from evil are shame and
sorrow.--_Jermin._
Verse 8. The constant, steadfast, self-diffident operation of the
religious principle is beneficial alike to _body_ and _soul_. It
preserves the mind in tranquility and peace (Isa. xxvi. 3), and this
is in a high degree conducive to the health and vigour of the bodily
frame.--_Wardlaw._
Two sadnesses flow from not fearing Jehovah--worn muscles and dried
bones (see "Critical Notes"). The two are perfectly distinct. One
means "aching labour," the other, "horrible despondency." The fear of
God delivers from both.--_Miller._
All God's laws come from one source and conspire for one end. They
favour righteousness and frown on sin. The law set in nature runs
parallel as far is it goes to the law written in the Word. Vice saps
the health both of body and mind.--_Arnot._
Verse 9. Works of piety and charity are evidently
included.--_Wardlaw._
Who art thou, that thou shouldest be able to honour Him, who is
Himself of infinite honour? Who would not in this respect employ his
substance in God's fear, seeing thereby thou dost honour Him, whom to
serve is a high honour to the highest angels.--_Jermin._
To devote a portion of our substance directly to the worship of God,
and the good of men, is a duty plainly enjoined in the Scriptures. It
is not a thing that a man may do, or may not do, as he pleases. There
is this difference, however, between it and the common relative
duties of life. For the neglect of it no infliction comes from a
human hand. God will not have the dregs that are squeezed out by
pressure poured into His treasury. He loveth a cheerful giver. He can
work without our wealth, but He does not work without our willing
service.--_Arnot._
Verse 10. At first sight the motive may be regarded as a selfish one.
But second thoughts give another view. _It is a trial of faith._ And
it is a trial than which few are found more difficult. It is hard to
persuade a man that giving away will make him rich. We look with new
confidence to bank interest, or the still better interest of a vested
loan, than to a return of profit from what is wholly given
away.--_Wardlaw._
Men take care how to use their money to the best advantage by sea, by
buying land or cattle, or by usury, an easy trade; thy best trade
will be to maintain God's worship.--_Jermin._
The consecration of substance, as the seed-corn for the harvest, is
as strange to the world as would be the casting of the seed in the
earth to an untutored savage. Yet is the result secure in both cases:
only with the difference, the temper of the earthly sower has no
influence on the harvest; whereas the fruitfulness of the spiritual
harvest mainly depends on the principles of the work. Most important
is that we _honour the Lord_--not ourselves.--_Bridges._
Verse 11. Two things are forbidden here. 1. Do not make light of
(despise) the Lord's chastening, as if thou couldst easily cast it
off--in insensibility to it, not recognising the Lord's hand in it,
and not humbling thyself under it. 2. Do not, on the contrary through
pusillanimity, be weary, and impatient, and despondent under the
burden.--_Cartwright._
Not to feel thy evils would be inhuman; not to bear them,
unmanly.--_Seneca_
Fainting and wearying may take place in two ways. The heart may be
overwhelmed by sudden trials, giving an effect so stunning and
overpowering that the spirit sinks into a temporary stupefaction,
and, as the Apostle has it, "we faint." Or it may become wearied out
and exhausted by the long continuance of the same trial, or by a
rapid succession of different strokes of the rod.--_Wardlaw._
Having stated the blessings of wisdom, it is logical to consider the
apparent exceptions.--_Miller._
For if God did despise thee, He would not chasten thee, if He was
weary of thee, He would not correct thee.--_Jermin._
Some think it a goodly thing to bear out a cross by head and
shoulders, and wear it out as they may, never improving it. As a man
that, coming out of a shower of rain, dries again, and all is as
before.--_Trapp._
Prosperity and adversity, in their wise mixture and proportion, for
our present condition. Each is equally fruitful and honouring the
Lord; in prosperity, by a wise consecration of our substance; in
adversity, by a humble and cheerful submission. . . . It is
correction, this is for your humbling; it is only correction, this is
your consolation. It is the declared test of our legitimacy (Heb.
xii. 7, 8). His discipline is that of the family, not of the school,
much less of the prison.--_Bridges._
Solomon here anticipates a covert objection, if all the favour in the
sight of God and man, and the health which have been attributed to
the fearers of the Lord (ver. 1-10) really be theirs, how is it that
we see them so often sorely afflicted? The reason is, the Lord sends
these afflictions, not for evil, but for good to His
people.--_Fausset._
Consider the afflictions we meet with in the character which the text
assigns to them, viz., as _corrections_. What reasons have we for
viewing them in this light? 1. They are _of God_, and God takes no
pleasure in the misery of His creatures. By some other demonstrations
than the dark demonstrations of sorrow, we know the benevolence of
God; and as afflictions are from Him, we have reason to deem them a
part of the discipline of His love. 2. The rule or order of human
afflictions indicates their corrective intent. All do not come under
this principle, but many do. It is manifest that many miseries of
life are the results of sin, and if we could see further, it is
extremely probable that we should attribute many human miseries to
human sin which we now attribute to the naked sovereignty of God.
3. There is every reason to believe that a state of innocence would
have kept the world from all suffering. Evils that extend so far, or
are of such a nature that our reformation could not shun them, are
instructive monitors that sin strikes deep, and requires for its cure
the hand that rules the world. 4. Our afflictions have many
alleviations. If they were intended as mere punishments they would
have been made more destructive.--_Dr. Spencer._
The first distinct utterance of a truth which has been so full of
comfort to many thousands, the summing up of all controversies, like
those of Job's friends (Job v. 17) or our Lord's disciples (John
ix. 2) as to the mystery of suffering. It was the lesson which the
book of Job had proclaimed as the issue of so many perplexities. Here
it enters into the education of every Jewish child taught to
acknowledge a Father in heaven chastening him even as he had been
chastened by an earthly father. The Apostle writing to the Hebrews
can find no stronger comfort.--_Plumptre._
Especially the well-beloved Son, who (ver. 12) was made "perfect
through sufferings."--_Wordsworth._
God's strokes are better than Satan's kiss and love; God smites for
life, Satan caresses for death.--_Egard._
The kingdom of God in this world is a kingdom of the cross; but all
suffering tends evermore to the testing and confirmation of faith
(1 Pet. i. 6-7).--_Lange._
God's chastenings and corrections are no signs of anger, but of love;
they are the pains which our healing and cure demand. Those who lie
under the cross are often more acceptable to God than those who taste
and experience His dainties. He finds pleasure in our crosses and
sufferings for this reason, because these are His remembrance and
renewal of the sufferings of His Son. His honour is also involved in
such a perpetuation of the cross in His members (Eph. iii. 13; Col.
i. 24, etc.), and it is this that causes Him this peculiar
joy.--_Berleburg Bible._
God loveth not thy correction, but thee He loveth.--_Jermin._
He that escapes affliction may well suspect his adoption.--_Trapp._
The same stroke may fall on two men, and be in the one case judgment,
in the other love. "In vain have I smitten your children, they
received no correction" (Jer. ii. 30). All were "smitten," but they
only obtained paternal correction who, in the spirit of adoption,
"received" it as such. You may prune branches lying withered on the
ground, and also branches living in the vine. In the two cases, the
operation and the instrument are precisely alike; but the operation
on this branch has no result, and the operation on that branch
produces fruitfulness, because of a difference in the place and
condition of the branches operated upon.--_Arnot._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 13-18.
WISDOM AND HER GIFTS.
+I. Wisdom is to be found.+ She does exist. Precious metals and
choice stones are to be found. They have an existence, and they exist
in regions which may be reached by the exercise of man's intelligence
and labour. Those who find them have to dig for them, to seek for
them, to give time, and strength, and wealth to the search. So
Wisdom, although she is within reach of man must be diligently sought
after, must be _drawn out_ (see "Critical Notes") by painstaking
diligence. 1. Wisdom is to be found in, and drawn out from
_affliction_. The bee is said to suck honey from bitter herbs as well
as from sweet flowers. The context to these words is closely
connected with them, and declare him to be truly blessed who becomes
by affliction a wiser and a better man. It is within the reach of
intelligent faith in God thus to extract the honey of wisdom from the
sorrow which to "the world worketh death" (2 Cor. vii. 10). 2. Wisdom
is to be found by _study of the Divine Word_. All Scripture is given
by inspiration of God--they are able to make thee wise unto salvation
through faith which is in Christ Jesus (2 Tim. iii. 15-16). The
record which God has given of His Son is a revelation of His highest
wisdom. A crucified Christ is a manifestation of the wisdom of God,
and by the study of Him as revealed in Holy Scripture, we may "draw
out understanding" of how a man may be "just with God" (Job ix. 2),
and how a justified man may become a perfect man. 3. Wisdom is to be
found in the _practice of Divine precepts_. "If any man will _do_ His
will, he shall know of the doctrine" (John vii. 17). He shall know
the reality, the power, of the wisdom which cometh down from above by
personal and blessed experience. Understanding in these matters is
"drawn out" by doing. 4. Wisdom is found by _communion with God_.
Those who talk much with men who are their superiors in goodness and
intelligence, and live on friendly terms with them, must become wiser
and better through the intercourse. The stronger soul will mould the
weaker. The man who holds converse with the highest and best
Intelligence, with the Fountain of Wisdom, must draw understanding
out of this Living Spring. 5. Wisdom for special needs, the
understanding how to act in emergencies, is drawn out from God by the
_confession of our ignorance and the pleading of God's promises_.
Solomon was himself an example of this. By special prayer, by obeying
his own precept (verses 5-6), he obtained the gift of an
understanding heart to judge the people (1 Kings iii. 5-12).
+II. Wisdom is beyond comparison with anything outside herself.+ She
is better than wealth because she gives blessings which wealth cannot
buy. 1. She gives real _heart-satisfaction_. Money will bring much
ease and luxury to the bodily life, but mere material comfort cannot
gladden the inner man or keep away old age and sickness. But Wisdom
gives a joy which has its home in the heart, and which increases with
the increase of years. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, because
they are ways of holiness. Love, and joy, and peace, and all the
graces which are the fruit of the Spirit of God are the very elements
which in perfection constitute the blessedness of God Himself. They
are the fruits which His servants pluck from the tree of life, which
is in the midst of the paradise of God (Rev. ii. 7). To be holy is to
be happy in the true, deep sense of the word. 2. She introduces to
_better society_. Wealth will do much in this way. Gold is a passport
to honour in the world generally, often to the Church in the world.
But the holy character which is born of heavenly wisdom is the only
possession which will open the doors of the "Church of the
firstborn," which will admit to the society of God, His angels, and
His redeemed ones. This is the true honour. 3. Her gifts are _for
eternity_. No matter how precious or how great the joy, the honour of
earth passeth away (1 Cor. vii. 31). The gifts of Wisdom are for
ever. The length of an eternity of days is in her hand.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 13. Never will this solid happiness be known without singleness
of judgment and purpose. The inestimable blessing must have the
throne. The waverer and half-seeker fall short. Determined
perseverance wins the prize (Phil. iii. 12-14).--_Bridges._
If God loves a son, He corrects him; and then, "O the blessedness of
the man!" It actually makes us wise. Let us not forget the doctrine
that affliction--as, indeed, everything--always benefits the
Christian.--_Miller._
The coherence between this verse and the one preceding it is not to
be neglected. To persuade the more to patience under God's afflicting
hand, he tells us, it is one way to get wisdom and happiness. What
though thou suffer chastisement, and that be bitter to thee! if thou
get wisdom by it, thou art happy.--_Francis Taylor._
Saving wisdom is to be "found" and "gotten." It is not required that
we create it. We could not plan, we could not execute, a way of
righteous redemption for sinners. . . . This is God's doing, and it
is all done. All things are now ready. . . . But we are required to
seek the salvation which has been provided and brought near. . . .
Understanding is a thing to be gotten. It comes not in sparks from
our own intellect in collision with other human minds. It is a light
from heaven. Religion is not all and only an anxious, fearful
seeking: it is a getting too, and a glad enjoying.--_Arnot._
It was man who, by losing wisdom, became unhappy; and it is man who,
by finding wisdom, or rather being found by the wisdom of God, is
made happy again. It was man whose understanding was deceived by the
subtle serpent: and it is man who, by getting understanding,
deceiveth the serpent of his prey.--_Jermin._
Verse 14. Here as in ii. 4, we have traces of the new commerce, the
ships going to Ophir for gold, the sight of the bright treasures
stimulating men's minds to a new eagerness.--_Plumptre._
Wisdom brings more profit than any worldly riches, because it brings
better things than riches can. 1. It can quiet a man's mind, which no
wealth can do. Rich men have many cares--many griefs; crowns are
crowns of thorns: nothing but wisdom can poise the soul in all
tempests. 2. It affords a ladder to climb to eternal things, like
Jacob's ladder, that did reach from Bethel on earth, to Bethel (God's
house) in Heaven.--_Francis Taylor._
One grain of grace is far beyond all the gold of Ophir, and one
hour's enjoyment of God to be much preferred before all the King of
Spain's annual entradas. "Let me be put to any pain, any loss, so I
get my Jesus," said Ignatius. What is all the pomp and glory of the
world but dung? (Phil. iii. 7, 8). "I esteem them no better" (surely)
"that I may win Christ," said Paul, that great trader by land and
sea. This gold we cannot buy too dear, whatever we pay for it. The
wise merchant sells all to purchase it (Matt. xiii. 44, 46).--_Trapp._
The gain of fine gold weigheth very heavy in man's account; but the
gain of fine wisdom is better, for that weigheth heavy in the balance
of God's esteem. Tertullian, comforting the Christian martyrs,
writes: "If you have lost some joys of this life, it is but a
merchandise--to lose something to gain greater."--_Jermin._
Verse 16. As in the vision of Solomon at Gibeon, so here; Wisdom
being chosen does not come alone, but brings with her the gifts which
others who do not choose her choose in vain. The words are almost the
echo of those in 1 Kings iii. 11-13.--_Plumptre._
It is certainly not a uniform experience that a man lives long in
proportion as he lives well. Such a rule would obviously not be
suitable to the present dispensation. It is true that all wickedness
acts as a shortener of life, and all goodness as its lengthener; but
other elements enter, and complicate the result, and slightly veil
the interior law. If the law were according to a simple calculation
in arithmetic, "the holiest liver, the longest liver," and
conversely, the moral government of God would be greatly impeded, if
not altogether subverted. He will have men to choose goodness for His
sake and its own, therefore a slight veil is cast over its present
profitableness. Some power is allowed to the devil, to try them that
are upon the earth.--_Arnot._
If God give his people a crown, he will not deny them a crust. If
they have the good things of a throne, they shall be sure of the good
things of the footstool.--_Trapp._
St. Augustine telleth us that length of days is eternity, for
whatsoever hath an end is short: but riches and honour, which by men
are esteemed good things, they are in the left hand. It is not
forbidden thee to enjoy the good things of this life, but do not put
that in the right hand which should be in the left; do not prefer
temporal things before eternal. Let us use the left hand for a time,
but desire the right hand for eternity.--_Jermin._
The right hand in the Bible everywhere means one's highest
instrumentality or agency (Rev. ii. 1). We understand the text to
mean, therefore, that wisdom is able to use long life as a splendid
agency.--_Miller._
It is eternity that filleth the right hand of Wisdom. _Days_ for the
clarity, _length_ for the eternity. As the glory is clear for the
countenance, so is it long for the continuance. The gift of the left
hand is short and temporal. +I. Riches and honour are God's gifts,
therefore, in themselves, not evil.+ Saint Augustine: "That they may
not be thought evil, they are given to good men; that they may not be
thought the best good, they are given to evil men." Chrysostom
remarks that Christ doth not say: "Ye cannot _have_ God and mammon,"
but, "Ye cannot _serve_ God and mammon." +II. All are not so, but
some; and therefore it is necessary for us to learn whether God gave
us the riches and honour which we have.+ They came from God if
(1) _they are honestly gotten_, (2) _justly disposed_, (3) _patiently
lost_. +III. Wealth and worship are, for the most part, companions;
for both those gifts lie in one and the same hand.+ Riches are the
stairs whereby men climb up into the height of dignity, the
fortification that defends it, the food it lives upon, the oil that
keeps the lamp of honour from going out. +IV. Though riches and
honour are God's gifts, yet they are but the gifts of His left hand.+
Therefore it follows that every wise man will seek the blessings of
the right. Let us strive for the latter without condition; for the
other, if they fall in our way, let us stoop to take them
up.--_Thomas Adams._
Verse 17. +I. The ways of religion are ways of pleasantness.+
1. There is a pleasure in the duties relating immediately to God--in
_love, faith, reliance, hope, prayer,_ and _thanksgiving_. 2. There
is a pleasure in those occupations in which a religious man will be
frequently employed--_in studying the works of God and the Holy
Scriptures: in meditating on the perfections of the Almighty, etc._
3. There is a pleasure in that behaviour towards others, and that
manner of prosecuting our worldly affairs, which ever accompany a
religious disposition--in _calm integrity, honest industry_, and
_acts of beneficence_. 4. There is a pleasure in performing our duty
to ourselves--in _temperance_ and _control of the passions_. +II. The
ways of sin are not ways of pleasantness.+ 1. No man can be happy who
acts against his conscience. 2. If men persuade themselves that there
is no future life, the expectation of perishing utterly presents no
agreeable prospect to the soul, which has a natural desire of
immortality. 3. Every act contrary to reason and religion is, if not
always, for the most part, hurtful, even in this life.--_Jortin._
The excellency of the pleasure found in Wisdom's ways appears--+I. In
that it is the pleasure of the mind. II. That it never satiates nor
wearies. III. That it is in nobody's power, but only in his that has
it.+--_South._
I am confident that the true Christian hath more true pleasure in
suffering for Christ, or in one act of mortification, or victory over
one lust, than the highest earthly potentate hath in all the honour
that is done him, or good things enjoyed by him all his
days.--_Swinnock._
+I. Wisdom of itself is satisfactory, as it implies a revelation of
truth, and a detection of error to us.+ We are all naturally endowed
with a strong appetite to know, to see, to pursue truth; and with an
abhorrency of being deceived and entangled in mistake. +II. In its
consequences it is pleasant and peaceable.+ 1. It assures us we take
the best course and proceed as we ought. He that knows his way and is
satisfied it is the true one, goes on merrily and carelessly, not
doubting he shall in good time arrive at his destined journey's end.
Wisdom therefore frees us from the company of anxious doubt in our
actions, and the consequence of bitter repentance; for no man can
doubt of what he is sure, nor repent of what he knows good. 2. It
begets in us a hope of success in our actions, and is usually
attended therewith. What is more delicious than hope? What more
satisfactory than success? And well-grounded hope confirms resolution
and quickens activity, which mainly conduce to the prosperous issue
of designs. 3. Wisdom prevents discouragement from the possibility of
ill success, yea, and makes disappointment itself tolerable. For we
have reason to hope that the All-wise Goodness reserves a better
reward for us, and will some time recompense us, not only the good
purposes we unhappily pursued, but also the unexpected disappointment
we patiently endured. 4. Wisdom makes all the troubles of life easy
and supportable, by rightly valuing the importance and moderating the
influence of them. . . . If sin vex and discompose us, yet this
trouble Wisdom, by representing the Divine Goodness and His tender
mercies in our ever-blessed Redeemer, doth presently allay. And for
all other adversities it abates their noxious power by showing us
they are either merely imaginary or very short and temporary: that
they admit of remedy, or at most do not exclude comfort. 5. Wisdom
hath always a good conscience attending it, that purest delight and
richest cordial of the soul; that brazen wall and impregnable
fortress against both external assaults and internal
commotions.--_Barrow._
Some degree of comfort follows every good action, as heat accompanies
fire, as beams and influences issue from the sun. Thus, saith one, is
a fore-reward of well-doing. "_In_ doing thereof (not only _for_
doing) there is great reward" (Psa. xix. 11).--_Trapp._
The paths of wisdom bring us to the peace of reconciliation with God;
to the peace of society and friendship with the angels of God: to the
peace of comfort and quietness in our own hearts.--_Jermin._
They must be "ways of pleasantness" because "Thus saith the Lord."
And if we feel them not to be so, we know them not.--_Bridges._
Her ways are sometimes on hot coals and to burning stakes. If there
is anything unpleasant in her way, it is to promote wisdom and so to
promote more "pleasantness" another time. _All_ her paths peace, or
"prosperity." More thoroughly "all" of them than in the case of
pleasantness. While the happiness of a Christian may flag in this
world, his "prosperity" never stops a moment. His "way" is
prosperous, _i.e._, he gains by every inch.--_Miller._
Both the way and the end to which the way leads is peace. There are
many ways in the world pleasant but not safe; others safe but not
pleasant.--_Fausset._
Verse 18. Like that planted in Paradise and promised by Christ to all
that overcome.--_Wordsworth._
It is remarkable that this and other references in Proverbs xi. 30,
xiii. 12, xv. 4, are the only allusions in any book of the Old
Testament, after Genesis, to the "tree" itself, or to its spiritual
significance. . . . The tree of life which Adam was not to taste lies
open to his children. No cherubim with flaming swords bar the
approach. Wisdom is the tree of life giving true
immortality.--_Plumptre._
Wisdom beareth not her fruit for everyone. She is a tree of life to
them that _lay hold_ of her, not to them that touch her with a light
hand, that seek after her in a perfunctory manner, that think a
little wisdom, a little godliness, to be sufficient for
them.--_Jermin._
The tree of life was the means ordained of God for the preservation
of lasting life, and continual vigour and health, before man sinned.
So true wisdom maintains man in the spiritual life of God's grace,
and the communion of His Spirit.--_Diodati._
One view of man's true dignity arises from the amount of his
susceptibilities of enjoyment on the one hand, of suffering on the
other. Think of what man was, of what he is, of what he is capable of
becoming. His capabilities are such that nothing beneath God Himself
can satisfy them. His soul can be filled from no created fountain.
Wisdom provides for him a portion adequate to his most unbounded
desires, to his most expanded capabilities.--_Wardlaw._
As the tree of life in Paradise, which was a sign of God's favour, or
the tree which sweetened the waters of Marah, or the tree seen in the
Revelation, or any living or good tree which bringeth forth fruit
whereby men live.--_Muffet._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 19, 20.
ONE OF THE PROOFS OF GOD'S WISDOM.
+I. God had a personal existence before the world.+ If we say that a
man founded an institution--built a house--we imply that he existed
before the institution or the house, and that he exists as a separate
entity from that which he has built or founded.
+II. The world did not come by chance+--it is not an orphan; it had a
Creator, a Father. The world is not eternal. The Lord founded it. He
"laid the foundations of the earth" (Job xxxviii. 4).
+III. That the world which God has made bears the impress of Infinite
Wisdom.+ Scientific investigation and discovery bear out the
assertion of Solomon, that the Lord "by wisdom founded the earth."
The discoveries of astronomers reveal to us more and more the
"understanding" which "established the heavens." Solomon here selects
one example of the wisdom of God, as displayed in relation to the
earth, viz., the process by which it is watered--by which God "maketh
it soft with showers, and thus blesseth the springing thereof" (Psa.
lxv. 10), and so gives seed to the sower and bread to the eater. This
"philosophy of rain," as it has been called, is one which illustrates
creative wisdom in a remarkable manner. Dr. Ure says, "To understand
the philosophy of the beautiful and often sublime phenomenon, so
often witnessed since the creation of the world, and essential to the
very existence of plants and animals, a few facts derived from
observation and a long train of experiments must be remembered.
(1) Were the atmosphere everywhere at all times of a uniform
temperature we should never have rain, or hail, or snow; the water
absorbed by it in evaporation from the sea and the earth's surface
would descend in an imperceptible vapour, or cease to be absorbed by
the air when it was once fully saturated. (2) The absorbing power of
the atmosphere, and consequently its capability to retain humidity,
is proportionately greater in warmer than in cold air. (3) The air
near the surface of the earth is warmer than it is in the region of
the clouds. The higher we ascend from the earth, the colder do we
find the atmosphere. Hence the perpetual snow on very high mountains
in the hottest climate. Now, when from continued evaporation the air
is highly saturated with vapour, though it be invisible and the sky
cloudless,--if its temperature be suddenly reduced by cold currents
descending from above, or rushing from a higher to a lower latitude,
its capacity to retain moisture is diminished, clouds are formed, and
the result is rain. Air condenses as it cools, and, like a sponge
filled with water and compressed, pours out the water which it cannot
hold. How singular, yet how simple, the philosophy of rain. Who but
Omniscience could have devised such an admirable arrangement for
watering the earth?" Solomon could not have known _how_ the earth was
watered, but he knew enough to awaken his admiration of Providential
love and skill.
+IV. The exhibition of God's wisdom in creation is intended to lead
men to listen to his Word of Revelation.+ To this end the subject is
introduced here by the preacher. When such a Being speaks, it must be
worth men's while to listen and obey. The heavens and earth have a
speech or language (Psa. xix. 1, 2). They counsel us to seek Him "who
hath measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and meted out
heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a
measure,"--Him "whose word shall stand for ever" (Isa. xl.).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 19. Hitherto Wisdom has been thought of in relation to men. Now
the question comes: What is she in relation to God? and the answer
is: That the creative act implies a Divine wisdom, through which the
Divine will acts. We have, as it were, the first link of the chain
which connects this wisdom with the Divine Word, the Logos of St.
John's Gospel (John i. 3).--_Plumptre._
The wisdom, so spiritual as to belong only to the pious, nevertheless
has its reachings into all wisdom, as we saw in chap. i. 20, where it
is called "wisdoms," as embracing all forms of it. Creative wisdom,
therefore, is part of the broad array. But now, as a more important
teaching, creative wisdom must include the spiritual. God could not
found the heavens without that holy character that makes the system
possible. Its enormous intricacies could not be kept up without the
harmonising influences of holiness. Government, of course, is built
upon it; justice, of course, is part of it; and the whole world would
be an unmeaning mass unless Jehovah, by wisdom, shaped it, viz., in
those Diviner forms in which He is the governor as well as the
builder and original schemer of the universe. God _would_ not have
built the world without holiness, and therefore, in the very
strictest sense, "by wisdom He founded" the heavens, because only
that holy light, which is the light of love, could be the inspiring
motive for building the habitations of His creatures. We are to
understand this verse as meaning, therefore, first, that creative
light merges into all light, as one grand omniscience; but, second,
that creative light would be nothing without spiritual light; that
God's love and justice were the very spring and harmonious law
whereon all are builded.--_Miller._
The spirit of the recommendation seems to be that, as it is "the Lord
which giveth wisdom," that which comes from such a source must be
worthy the desire and the solicitation. Think of what Wisdom, as it
exists in Deity, has done!--the wonders it hath wrought! This will
recommend God's lessons.--_Wardlaw._
The river and the fountain are both of one nature, and when pure
water hath been looked on in the stream, it is a pleasant thing to
behold it in the conduit head.--_Muffet._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 21-26.
GOD'S KEEPING, THE REWARD OF MAN'S KEEPING.
Here as we have the _keeping_ of the Divine commands resulting in a
_being kept_ by Divine power and love.
+I. There is a possibility of losing what has been attained.+ The
injunction here given is not, as in chap. ii. 10, to seek wisdom, but
as in verse 18 of this chapter, to keep a hold upon what has been
already gotten. The Scriptures abound in such exhortations. Barnabas
exhorted the Church at Antioch to "cleave unto the Lord," and he and
Paul, when in Pisidian Antioch, persuaded the disciples "to
_continue_ in the grace of God" (Acts xi. 23; xiii. 43). The word of
Our Lord to the Church at Thyatira was "That which ye have hold fast
till I come" (Rev. ii. 25). There is no safety but in continual
watchfulness and in constant study of Divine precepts. "My son, let
them not depart from thine eyes." A mariner may set out on his voyage
with his vessel's head pointing in the right direction, but if he
does not hourly keep consulting the compass, it will not avail him
much that he started right. The Apostle speaks of men having "made
shipwreck of faith and a good conscience" (1 Tim. i. 19). The world,
the flesh, and the devil are cross currents and contrary winds which
can only be met and overcome by constant, watchful reference to chart
and compass.
+II. The blessing which will result from "keeping wisdom," viz.,
Soul-life.+ As food and an observance of physical laws are the means
by which the body is enabled to perform the functions which are
natural to it, so a constant receiving of God's thoughts and an
observance of God's laws will enable the soul--the spiritual man--to
fulfil the end for which it was created--to glorify and enjoy God.
Such a man has the assurance that he is under the special
guardianship of God. All the subjects of this realm are under the
protection of the monarch, but she has a special and personal care
for her own children. So God is the "Saviour of all men, specially of
those that believe" (1 Timothy iv. 10). This particular regard of God
for those who have become His children, by falling in with His method
of making the right with themselves and with Him, is
guaranteed.--1. _In the ordinary events of life._ As the heirs of the
monarch are always accompanied by those who count it an honour to
serve them and, if needful, to protect them, so the heirs of
salvation are ever attended by their body-guard, the angels who are
"ministering spirits to the heirs of salvation" (Heb. i. 14). In the
night not only do they encamp round about them that fear God (Psa.
xxxiv. 7), but the Lord Himself is said to be their keeper (Psa.
cxxi. 5). His peace "keeps (lit. _garrisons_) the heart" (Phil.
iv. 7) and gives the sweet sleep promised in verse 24, even although
outward circumstances may be apparently adverse (_see illustration_).
This was the experience of David in the night of his adversity, even
although he had brought it upon himself (Psa. iii. and iv). And the
certain guidance which is promised in verse 6 insures an avoidance of
all real danger (ver. 23). 2. _In times of special visitation_ (ver.
25). There was a "desolation of the wicked" in the days of Noah, but
he and his house were "shut in" the ark by God Himself (Gen.
vii. 16). In the day when the Lord "rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah He
delivered just Lot" (2 Pet. ii. 6). When the "abomination of
desolation stood in the holy place" at Jerusalem as foretold by our
Lord (Matt. xxiv. 15), those who obeyed His command and fled to the
mountains escaped the terrible fate of those who remained in the
city. (This is recorded by Eusebius). This assurance of constant
guardianship and guidance is "life" to the soul (Psa. xxx. 5). Fear
of the future paralyses a man's energies, but confidence in an
over-ruling personal God gives him strength for action.
_ILLUSTRATION OF VERSE_ 24.
THE LAST HOURS OF THE NINTH EARL OF ARGYLE, EXECUTED BY JAMES II.
So effectually had religious faith and hope, co-operating with
natural courage and equanimity, composed his spirits that, on the
very day on which he was to die, he dined with appetite, conversed
with gaiety at table, and, after his last meal, lay down, as he was
wont, to take a short slumber, in order that his body and mind might
be in full vigour when he should mount the scaffold. At this time one
of the Lords of the Council, who had probably been bred a
Presbyterian, and had been seduced by interest to join in oppressing
the Church of which he had once been a member, came to the castle
with a message from his brethren, and demanded admittance to the
Earl. It was answered that the Earl was asleep. The Privy Councillor
thought that this was a subterfuge, and insisted on entering. The
door of the cell was softly opened, and there lay Argyle on the bed,
sleeping, in his irons, the placid sleep of infancy. The conscience
of the renegade smote him. He turned away, sick at heart, ran out of
the castle, and took refuge in the dwelling of a lady of his family,
who lived hard by. There he flung himself upon a couch, and gave
himself up to an agony of remorse and shame. His kinswoman, alarmed
by his looks and groans, thought that he had been taken with sudden
illness, and begged him to drink a cup of sack. "No, no," he said,
"that will do me no good." She prayed him to tell her what had
disturbed him. "I have been," he said, "to Argyle's prison. I have
seen him within an hour of eternity sleeping as sweetly as ever man
did. But as for me----."--_Macaulay._
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 21. Simply attend to them. "Watch" like a sentinel, intently
eyeing. Solomon enjoins the voluntary, and promises the involuntary.
The voluntary we can do, save only for that grand helplessness, an
aversion of the will itself. The involuntary we cannot do, save only
mediately through obedient acts. Attention is within our power if God
gives grace to the will. This is the drift of the promise: You do
your part and God will do His.--_Miller._
Eye these things as the steersman doth the load-star, as the archer
doth the mark he shoots at, or as the passenger doth mark his way,
which he finds hard to hit and dangerous to miss.--_Trapp._
Verse 22. Wisdom reveals the righteousness of God, whereby a believer
lives before God. Without this the man is dead in sins (Heb. ii. 4,
Eph. ii. 1).--_Fausset._
There is no life in the soul till knowledge come into it. There was
no living creature in the world till light was made. God clears the
understanding before He rectifies the will and affections; He keeps
the same method in the little world that He did in the great
world.--_Francis Taylor._
Verse 23. This promise has a direction embodied with it, "Thou shalt
walk in thy way." We are required to keep the way of the Lord, and in
the affairs of life to attend to our own concerns, shunning the
character of busybodies by not meddling in the affairs of
others.--_Lawson._
Good success in the way may be crossed again; what is crowned with
good success in the end can never by crossed.--_Francis Taylor._
There shall be no cause to make thee stumble. For he that is blind or
weak may stumble, though he be never so careful; and he may stumble
that is careless, though he be never so well able to walk safely. But
wisdom shall take away thy blindness, thy weakness, thy
carelessness.--_Jermin._
Thou shalt ever go under a double guard, the peace of God within thee
and the power of God about thee.--_Trapp._
Verse 24. Peter in prison, in chains, between two soldiers, on the
eve of his probable execution, when there seemed but a "step between
him and death." Yet in such a place, in such company, at such a
moment, did he lie down so fearlessly and sleep so sweetly, that even
the shining light failed to disturb him, and an angel's stroke was
needed to awaken him.--_Bridges._
Surely the way to sleep quietly in this world is to be asleep to the
world; his sleep is sweetest, when he is asleep, who, when he is
awake, doth sweetly sleep in a neglect of worldly crosses or
contentments.--_Jermin._
Verse 25. So safe will all thy ways be that to fear will be a
sin.--_Plumptre._
From the terms before used, respecting the final destruction of the
wicked, it is most likely that to it the reference is in this
verse.--_Wardlaw._
"Be not afraid" is at once a precept and a promise to the godly. They
shall have no cause to fear evil tidings, therefore it is their
privilege that they are not to fear them (Psa. cxii. 7;
xci. 5).--_Fausset._
The Christian is threatened by the sinners in all their ills, whether
for them or by them. Sin breeds the whole of them; and the wise man
would magnify the grace by saying that they are all equally
indifferent. "Let cares, like a wild deluge come."--_Miller._
Let a David "walk through the vale of the shadow of death" he will
not fear, no, though he should go back the same way; "for Thou art
with me," saith he. He had God by the hand, and so long he feared no
colours.--_Trapp._
Verse 26. Beware of mistakes here. Do not say God is your confidence,
if He be only your dread. An appalling amount of hypocrisy exists in
Christendom, and passes current for devotion. He who is himself most
worthy is often more disliked than any other being, and, as if this
ingratitude were not enough, men double the sin by professing that
they have confidence in Him. I have observed that sea-going ships do
not trust to themselves in the windings of a river. Where they are
hemmed in between rock and quicksand, grazing now on the one and now
the other, they take care to have a steam-tug, both to bear them
forward and to guide them aright. They hang implicitly upon its
power. They make no attempt at independent action. But as soon as
they get clear of the narrows--as soon as they have attained a good
offing and an open sea--they heave off and hoist their own sails.
They never want a steamer till they come into narrow waters again.
Such is the trust in God which the unreconciled experience. In
distress they are fain to lean upon the Almighty. While they are in
the narrows they would hang on the help of a Deliverer. . . . The
line of their dependence seems ever tight by their constant leaning.
But when they begin to creep out of these shoals of life they heave
off and throw themselves upon their own resources. . . . This is not
to have confidence in God.--_Arnot._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 27-29.
DOING JUSTICE AND LOVING MERCY.
True wisdom in the heart will show itself in right dealing between
man and man. He who holds back any good thing by which it is in his
power to bless another man is a thief. The withholding is a crime for
which God will visit. This is true in relation not only to debts of
justice (Jas. v. 4) but to so-called debts of mercy. When the Son of
Man shall come in His glory, there will be some against whom He will
bring the charge--"I was an hungered, and ye gave Me no meat; I was
thirsty, and ye gave Me no drink; I was a stranger, and ye took Me
not in; naked, and ye clothed Me not; sick and in prison, and ye
visited Me not" (Matt. xxv. 42, 43). There are _five_ reasons against
the postponement of any act of justice or mercy until the morrow.
1. The person who is in need to-day may be beyond your reach
to-morrow. Death may remove him from your reach, and he may go into
eternity your creditor. Men and women have been saved from taking a
step which would have been their ruin, by a kindly word or act which
would have come too late on the morrow. 2. If your needy friend does
live to be helped on the morrow, you may not live to give him help,
and you will then enter the presence of God a debtor to your brother.
To-morrow is God's property, to-day is man's. 3. If your brother is
not beyond your reach to-morrow, his need has been increased by the
delay. If a man's condition calls for medical aid to-day, and it is
withholden, the disease will have a firmer hold to-morrow and will be
harder to cure. What physician would say to a sick man in such a
case, "Go, and come again?" Human need is a disease that is increased
by delay in dealing with it. It is a weed that grows apace. What is
only a seed to-day will be a sapling soon. If you delay the moral and
intellectual training of the ignorant, the chains that bind them will
be harder to break to-morrow than they are to-day. So that delay
makes the demand greater, and the debt which might have been easily
paid when it was due becomes hard to meet by withholding. 4. To do
the good to-morrow which might be done to-day is not to be an
imitator of God. The Divine Father makes His sun to shine to-day upon
the evil and the good. He does not say, "To-morrow I will give thee,"
but, "now is the accepted time." 5. The postponement of that which is
due is "a devising of evil in the heart against thy neighbour" (ver.
29). Our Lord, in his parable of the good Samaritan, has answered for
us the question, Who is my neighbour? (Luke x.). It is the man who is
in need, and whose need we can relieve. It is not merely a negative,
but a positive sin to withhold help to such a one--it is a violation
of that rule of life which Christ Himself declares "is the law and
the prophets" (Matt. vii. 12).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 27. The borrower is then to repay his debt to the lender; the
finder to restore that which he hath taken up to the loser; he which
hath received anything into his custody, is to bring it forth to him
who reposed trust in him; the master is to pay the servant his wages.
Finally, everyone is to practise that precept of the Apostle (Rom.
xiii. 8).--_Muffet._
This practical injunction may be applied: 1. To all lawful debts, for
articles purchased or work performed. 2. To government taxes, which
ought to be regarded as debts due to the community. 3. To debts of
charity and benevolence. For such debts there are. They cannot indeed
be claimed; they cannot be made good in law. But they are _due_--due
on the principle of the "royal law" (Matt. vii. 12).--_Wardlaw._
Here Solomon passes from general recommendations of wisdom to
particular precepts of it. He reverts to instances of "mercy and
truth" (ver. 3). He who is in need has a claim of ownership upon our
property by the law of love, which is the law of God. Need makes the
poor the owner, and God makes thee the dispenser of the goods which
thou hast and which he needs: so such benefits are called
"righteousness," _i.e.,_ a righteous debt or obligation (2 Cor.
ix. 9; Matt. vi. 1, "alms;" Greek, "righteousness"). The same
principle applies in the case of spiritual knowledge which thou hast
and thy neighbour has not.--_Fausset._
With the luxuries of grace, the wise man mixes in its conditions.
They are rugged like those of the Apostle (1 Cor. xiii). If we enjoy
the good of the Gospel, we are to render again according to the
benefits shown us.--_Miller._
It is the hungry man's bread which we hoard up in our own barns. It
is his meat on which we glut, and his drink which we guzzle: it is
the naked man's apparel which we shut up in our presses, or which we
exorbitantly ruffle and flaunt in: it is the needy person's gold and
silver which we closely hide in our chests, or spend idly, or put out
to useless use. We are, in thus holding, or thus spending, not only
covetous, but wrongful, or havers of more than our own, against the
will of the rightful owners.--_Barrow._
1. They who have had much experience in the world may be of infinite
use by giving _salutary advice._ 2. If we are afraid of being thought
meddling, we can benefit others by a _good example._ 3. By
_vindicating the characters_ of those who have been unjustly defamed.
4. By not only giving alms, but _attention, care,_ and _friendship_
to the needy. 5. _By recommending_ our brethren to God in
_prayer_.--_Bishop Porteous._
Verse 28. This conduct is too common. It may arise--1. From an
avaricious reluctance to part with the money. The avaricious man is
so loath to part with the object of his idolatry that even a day's
delay pleases him. 2. From indolent listlessness. The man is not in a
mood to be troubled. He is occupied about something else, or he is
not disposed to be occupied at all. 3. From insolent
superciliousness. This is often discovered towards inferiors, or
towards persons against whom there exists a grudge. It is the vice of
little minds--ungenerous, unjust, unmanly.--_Wardlaw._
He gives twice to one in need who gives at once.--_Publius Syrus._
Keep as few good intentions hovering about as possible. They are like
ghosts haunting a dwelling. The way to lay them is to find bodies for
them.--_Arnot._
Verse 29. This evil may be practised in a great variety of ways. As,
for instance--A man in business does what he can to obtain another's
confidence; or, whether he acts from this view or not, he knows that
he has that confidence, and he takes advantage of it to obtain large
quantities of goods from him, when aware that his own affairs are
precarious and his credit sinking. There are not wanting cases in
which the most nefarious crimes have been perpetrated through the
medium of unsuspecting confidence. The wife of a man's bosom, or the
child of his paternal love, has been seduced by the unwitting
confidence he has reposed in a seeming friend. It is the very sin by
which "the devil beguiled Eve through his subtilty.". . . All
therefore who act such a part are of "their father the
devil."--_Wardlaw._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 30.
UNLAWFUL STRIFE FORBIDDEN.
+I. Strife is unlawful when no good can come from striving.+ The
purpose or end of the strife must be the test as to whether it is
right or wrong. Mere assertion of our rights or material gain is not
the highest good. If Abraham had pushed the quarrel between his
herdsmen and those of Lot there can be no doubt that Abraham could
have established a lawful claim to a choice of the land. But the good
to be gained by striving was not worthy to be compared with the harm
that would have been done, and therefore Abraham nobly forbore to
insist on his rights.
+II. Causeless strife is a self-infliction.+ A man can hardly be
involved in lawful strife without mental agitation, how much more
when he strives without cause. When the four winds of heaven seem to
meet upon the sea, the waters foam and toss in ceaseless agitation.
The winds must cease to strive before the calm can come. A man
involved in an unlawful quarrel is like such a troubled sea. Reason
and passion, heaven and hell, contend within him for the mastery, and
while the battle lasts he must be miserable.
+III. Strife rarely ends with those who begin it.+ Man's relationship
to his fellow renders it impossible for the results of his good or
evil deeds to remain with himself alone. If the head of a family
enters into a quarrel, the children will probably imbibe the spirit
and suffer from the consequences. If kings and rulers involve a
nation in unnecessary war, they bring needless suffering upon
thousands of innocent people. This consideration alone ought to make
men beware of entering into a quarrel.
+IV. Causeless strife in the children of God gives a false
representation of their Father's character.+ They are God's
representatives upon earth, they are expected to fashion their lives
upon the Divine model (Matt. v. 48). God is a God of peace (1 Thess.
v. 23). His contention is only with sin, and its end is the
establishment of peace upon earth by righteousness.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 31-35.
THE OPPRESSOR NOT TO BE ENVIED.
The children of Wisdom are strongly tempted sometimes to do this.
Like Asaph (Psalm lxxiii.), they see the prosperity of the wicked
encompassed with pride, and clothed, as it were, with violence (verse
6), and they are tempted to say: "Verily I have cleansed my heart in
vain, and washed my hands in innocency."
Such a state of mind is--+I. Dangerous.+ It is the first step to
becoming like him. Envy of the oppressor may result in "choosing his
ways." A conviction that there is anything belonging to the oppressor
that can be envied may lead to becoming oppressors ourselves.
+II. Unwise.+ 1. _Because the oppressor is held in universal
abhorrence by men._ True it is that he possesses power, or he could
not oppress, but sooner or later the power will be transferred to the
hands of those whose rights he has trampled on, and the outburst of
rejoicing at his overthrow is the revelation of the hidden hatred of
which he has all along been the subject. 2. _Because he is an
abomination to the Most High_ (verse 32). As there is in the noblest
of human kind an intense loathing of those who use their power to the
injury of others, so this feeling exists more strongly in the mind of
God in proportion as his goodness and benevolence exceeds that of the
most perfect man. This is not only declared in revelation, but is
manifested in the retributions of Providence. Since Pharaoh and his
hosts were overthrown in the Red Sea, God has been slaying "mighty
kings" who have followed in Pharaoh's footsteps, because "He is good,
and His mercy endureth for ever" (Psa. cxxxvi). 3. _Because of the
contrast in the character, and in the present and future reward of
the oppressor and the child of Wisdom._ The oppressor is "froward."
He will not submit to the voice of instruction or correction, but
will be his own absolute lord and master. His actions, if not his
words, say: "Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice?" The
righteous are submissive to the Divine will--they are the "lowly,"
who are willing to learn of Him who was meek and lowly in heart
(Matt. xi. 29). Such opposite characters must necessarily meet with
opposite dealing from a righteous Ruler. It is a righteous law that
"Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" (Gal. vi. 7). With
the froward Thou wilt show Thyself froward--with the merciful Thou
wilt show Thyself merciful--are the curse and the blessing which rest
respectively upon, not only the froward and lowly man, but upon those
to whom they belong--their _house_--those who are bound to them in
family relation. The scorn of the froward man reaps a harvest of
scorn, but "grace" is the reward of lowliness and humility (verse
34). The contrast in the future inheritance is still greater. The
present curse and blessing may not be always evident to onlookers,
but the future glory and shame will be manifest to the universe
(Matt. xxv. 31-36).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 32. The Lord will freely reveal to the righteous what He keeps
from others--the truths and promises, the blessings and joys of His
covenant of peace, secret to the soul that possesses them,
intransferable, "passing all understanding," "unspeakable and full of
glory."--_Wardlaw._
There is no less a secret of godliness than there is of any other
trade or profession. Many profess an art or a trade, but thrive not
by it because they possess not the secret or mystery of it, and many
profess godliness but are little the better for it, because they have
not the true secret of it. He hath that with whom God is in secret in
his heart, and he that is righteous in secret where no man sees him,
he is the righteous man with whom the secret of the Lord
is.--_Jernim._
They shall be of His cabinet council who choose rather to lie in the
dust than to rise by evil arts, by wicked principles.--_Trapp._
Verse 33. Whatever cost be there, there can be no true cheer, for
God's curse mars all; this will either rot the timber, and pull it
down, or undermine the foundation, and blow it up. Possibly there may
be in thy house a loving wife, loving children, many servants,
stately rooms, costly furniture, dainty fare, great earthly delights;
but, man, the curse of God is there. A spoonful of this, like
copperas, will turn all thy wine into ink; thy sea of honey into gall
and wormwood. How can thy sweetest dish be savoury, when the curse of
God is thy sauce: Or thy finest raiment delight thee when in every
suit there is the curse of God like a plague-sore? or how can thy
most beautiful building content thee, when this curse of God on thee
for thy wickedness turns it into a prison to keep thee, who art in
the bond of iniquity, till the hour of death, the time of thine
execution?--_Swinnock._
The houses of the wicked are of two kinds, some dwell in their
merits, others in their vices. The Pharisees of the world dwell in
the lofty houses of their own meritorious holiness. But as St.
Bernard saith, What more foolish than to dwell in a house yet hardly
begun? The debauched people of the world dwell in the dirty houses of
their wicked lives, and cannot be gotten out of them. But the curse
of God is upon both. The righteous dwell in God's mercy which
covereth them from the anger of His justice. . . . The rich glutton
may keep out Lazarus, but he keeps in God's curse.--_Jermin._
Here are the gods--could the philosopher say of his poor habitation,
meaning his heathenish household gods--whatever else is wanting to
me. How much more may the saint say so of his God.--_Trapp._
Verse 35. They shall be promoted, indeed, but their exaltation shall
be like that of Haman, who was exalted when he was hung upon a
gallows fifty cubits high.--_Lawson._
This last contrast carries us forward to the coming day when all
shall "discern" in the full delight of eternity (Mal. iii. 18). The
wise--the heirs of glory--are identified with the lowly (verse
34)--the heirs of grace. Self-knowledge--the principle of
lowliness--is the very substance of wisdom. Their inheritance also is
one--grace and glory (Psa. lxxxiv. 11). For what higher _glory_ can
there be than the _grace_ which hath redeemed a worm of the earth and
made him a king and priest unto God?--_Bridges._
Humility is both a grace and a vessel to receive grace.--_Trapp._
* * * * * *
CHAPTER IV.
CRITICAL NOTES.--+2. Doctrine,+ Literally something received, handed
over; the author so describes it because he received it from his
father. The Septuagint and the Vulgate translate by +donum,+ "a
gift." +3. Tender and only,+ "dearly-beloved"--not that Solomon was
Bathsheba's only son (1 Chron. iii. 5). +5. Get,+ Heb. "acquire or
buy"--spare no cost. The repetition of the verb makes the injunction
more imperative. +Forget+ is a word in Hebrew that takes the
preposition _from_. In the idea of forgetting there is naturally
involved that of turning aside or away from the object to be
remembered. +6.+ Miller translates the last clause: "Love her, and
she shall stand sentry over thee." +7.+ The first clause of this
verse contains only four words, viz.: +Beginning,+ or "principal
thing;" +Wisdom; get wisdom.+ Its terseness has led to various
translations. Hitzig and others read: "The highest thing is wisdom."
Miller translates: "As the height of wisdom, get wisdom."
Delitzsch--The beginning of wisdom is: "Get wisdom." +With,+ not to
be taken in the sense of "in connection with," but "by means of," or
"at the price of." +8. Exalt+ or "esteem." +9.+ Last clause, or "she
shall compass thee with a crown of glory." +10.+ As is all other
instances (see Notes on Chap. iii. 2), Miller translates the promise:
"And they shall grow greater to thee through years of life." +14. Go
not.+ The Heb. is literally "to go straightforward;" also, "to
pronounce happy." +15. Avoid,+ "Let it go," "reject it." +Turn from
it,+ _i.e._, even if thou hast entered, turn back. +16.+ Miller here
reads: "For the mere reason that they sleep not, rest assured they do
mischief; and that their sleep is stolen, rest assured they occasion
stumbling:" and understands it to mean that the more sleepless the
industrious impenitent, the faster he is carrying everything to
eternal ruin. But all other commentators of importance read as in the
English version. +18. Shining light,+ Lit. "the light of dawn that
grows and brightens even to the establishment of the day."
+19. Darkness,+ "thick darkness," the gloom of midnight.
+22. Health,+ or "healing." +23.+ "Above all other watching, keep thy
heart," some read: "Keep thy heart with all (kinds of) keeping."
_Issues_--"currents," "outgoings." +24. Froward mouth,+ Lit.,
"distortion," "crookedness." +26. Ponder,+ "make level, or straight."
NOTE ON VERSE 20.--There is an aspect of sameness in these
beginnings. But they _are_ beginnings. One of the characteristics of
Scripture is a division, like Childe Harold into cantos, or separate
sonnets. They are most conspicuous in the prophet Isaiah; and, like
grapes upon a bunch, each wrapped in its individual rind, but all
clustered on a common stem. If we ventured a conjecture, it would be
that this suited the Israelitish worship. The synagogue would take
one of these cantos and use it for the day. They were of irregular
length, but that would allow variety. They have some repetitions, but
so have missals and breviaries, that allow of choice on different
occasions. There was an aim to provide most of the points for
recitation on each occasion. What for one reading would seem very
same, for many readings would seem wonderfully diversified.--_Miller._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 1-4.
THE RECIPROCAL DUTIES OF PARENTS AND CHILDREN.
+I. Parental Duty.+ "He taught me." Solomon, and all children, have
many claims upon their parents to receive from them instruction in
the revelation of God. 1. _Parents are responsible for the existence
of their children._ They are the instrumental cause of their child's
being in the world, and his being in that state of probation upon
which hang such "infinite possibilities." 2. _The child is so
absolutely ignorant of the life into which he comes._ Unavoidable
ignorance has always a claim upon knowledge, and the claim is
assuredly increased in proportion as those who know and those who do
not know are related to each other by a divinely constituted bond. "I
am a stranger in the earth" is the claim which every child puts in as
a reason why he should be instructed and taught in a way which he
should go. "Hide not God's commandments from me" is the appeal which
the child's ignorance makes to those who have had some experience in
the world. 3. _Children claim instruction because of their future
relationship to others._ The neglect of a child's education is a sin
against more than himself. He will come, in his turn, to influence
others. Upon his character will depend, in a great degree, the
characters and eternal destinies of many in generations yet to come.
4. _Children have a claim upon their parents because they belong to
God._ If a proprietor of land hands over to the cultivator a piece of
virgin soil, he does not relinquish his own claim thereby--he demands
that his property shall be restored to him increased in value by
being brought under cultivation. The child is given to its parent by
God in its undeveloped moral condition, but God retains His own
inheritance in the gift. He looks for nurture, for cultivation; He
demands from the parent such a fulfilment of parental duties as will
ensure to Him that His gift shall grow of more and more worth in the
moral universe. A day of reckoning on this matter will assuredly
come. Solomon recognises the claim which children have upon their
parents by recording his own parents' conduct in relation to himself
and by giving us an example of his own method of instructing his
children.
+II. Filial Duty.+ "Hear, ye children." Parents have claims upon
their children. 1. _From the simple fact of the relationship._ A good
father claims the obedience of his son because he is that child's
ordained guide and ruler. He is to his son God's viceregent so long
as his commands are in accordance with God's law. 2. _From their
larger experience._ They have trodden the path which the youth has
yet to traverse, they have climbed the hill which rises yet before
him, they have tested the worth of the things which will allure him.
Their superior knowledge entitles them to say, "Hear the instruction
of a father." 3. _From the self-denial which, as parents, they have
exercised._ All that a good mother and father have done and suffered
in order to advance the welfare of their children, their toil and
forbearing love, constitutes a powerful claim to their children's
grateful, reverential, attention and love. Solomon here gives an
example of the honour in which every child should hold godly parents.
A PARENT'S MOST PRECIOUS GIFT.
+Good Doctrine.+ Verse 2. 1. _Because without it there can be no good
character._ There can be no right feelings towards God unless there
has been right teaching about Him. True views of God can only come
from true doctrine concerning Him. Without a right view of God there
is no motive power to form character. A man must know God as He is
before he can begin to follow Him. There must be a true mirror to
give a correct reflection. 2. _Because if there is not the beginning
of a good character, there will be an increasingly bad one._ When men
have no right doctrine concerning God, in other words, when they do
not know Him as He is, they invariably make a God after their own
conceptions. They bring God down to their level. "Thou thoughtest
that I was altogether such an one as thyself" (Psa. l. 21), has been
the fatal mistake of men in all ages. If a man falls overboard from
the deck of a vessel, he will not remain long at the level of his
first fall. If he is not rescued he will sink to such a depth as will
be out of all comparison with it. He will go lower and lower till his
body finds the bottom of the ocean. Man's first fall from obedience
to disobedience was a great fall, but he has not been content with
this moral distance between himself and his Maker, he has tried to
drag God down with him and thus has brutalised and demonised the
divine that was still within him. In more than a material sense he
has "changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made
like unto corruptible man" (Rom. i. 23). This changing of the truth
of God into a lie will always take place where there is an absence of
the right conceptions of God, and the result must always be the moral
deterioration which Paul gives as the result in Rom. i. 26-32. There
is as much relation between "good" or "right" doctrine and good and
holy character as there is between good bread and pure water and a
healthy body. Good bread will make good muscles and sinew, bad bread
will not nourish the human frame. Pure water is indispensable to
health, stagnant water will breed a hundred diseases. And mistaken
views about God must be fruitful of soul disease. Results prove this
to be the case. National and individual history prove the truth of
it. "By their fruits ye shall know them" (Matt. vii. 20). As we can
foretell what the quality of the harvest will be from the seed sown,
so can we tell what has been the character of the seed from that
which it brings forth.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 2. The common cry is "Who will show us any good?" and every man
will lend both ears to a good bargain. The doctrine here delivered is
good every way, whether you look to the _author, matter_, or _effect_
of it.--_Trapp._
God's commandments are not like the commandments of any other, which
are directed to the benefit of the commanders: but God's commandments
do only bring good to him that is commanded. . . . What is there so
absurd, as to despise His commands who doth command that He may have
matter for rewarding: for God doth not want our obedience, but we do
want His commanding. Therefore it is said, "As the eyes of servants
look unto the hand of their master, and the eyes of a maiden to the
hand of her mistress, so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God until he
have mercy upon us," that is, until He command us something, and
that, thou, O David, callest mercy.--_Jermin._
Good. +I. In itself.+ It is most majestic, as containing not trivial
and common sentences, but high parables and extraordinary mysteries.
It gives the highest direction in the greatest things. +II. It is
good to us.+ Good for profit and pleasure. Good for soul and body
(1 Cor. xv. 2; Deut. xxviii. 1). Good for this life and the life to
come (1 Tim. iv. 8). Good when it pleaseth us (Psa. cxix. 7). Good
when it crosseth us (Isa. xxxix. 8).--_Francis Taylor._
Verse 3. Noteworthy is the prominence given to the mother's share in
the training of the child. Among the Israelites and the Egyptians
alone of the nations of the old world, was the son's reverence for
the mother placed side by side with that which he owed to his
father.--_Plumptre._
Verse 4. Training, discipline, not foolish indulgence, is the truest
evidence of affection to our tender and beloved ones (chap. xiii. 24;
with 1 Kings i. 6).--_Bridges._
"He taught me." The prayer of Solomon, at Gibeon, for wisdom, as the
principal of God's gifts, was suggested to him by his father David,
just before his death. (See 1 Chron. xxviii. 9,
xxix. 19).--_Wordsworth._
Here Solomon again commands the involuntary, because he has shown the
steps to it. We cannot, of all other things in the world, _live_ by a
voluntary act, but we can "keep watch over the commandments." I mean,
we can, as it is a voluntary act, if God makes us willing. But we
cannot live as a voluntary thing except through some form of anterior
obedience.--_Miller._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 5-13.
THE ONE THING NEEDFUL.
+I. Human nature has many needs.+ 1. _There are the needs of the
body, which begin upon our entrance into life, and never cease until
the day of our death._ These are common to all men, and keep every
man in an attitude of getting all through his life. It is the demand
of these needs--the effort to get what will supply them--that is the
motive-power which keeps the world of men in motion. 2. _Men's needs
are multiplied in proportion to the greatness of their sphere and
their intellectual activity._ The needs of a judge upon the bench are
more than those of a crossing-sweeper. Both have some wants in
common, but the intellectual and social position of the former has
multiplied his needs far beyond those of the latter. The needs of a
master in a house of business, or of a mistress in a family, are more
than those of their servants. They have more claims to meet--more
responsible positions to fill. But the aim of each individual man,
woman, or child is to supply their natural or acquired--their real or
their supposed--wants, whether material, or intellectual, or
spiritual.
+II. There is one need above all other needs--one thing to be gotten
before all other gettings--viz.: Wisdom, taking the word to mean
godliness.+ The husbandman finds that the field that has been given
him to till needs many things before it will yield him a golden
harvest. But there is one thing, among others, that is indispensable,
viz.: the sunlight. He will plough, and harrow, and sow in vain if
this want is not supplied. So all a man's gettings will fail to bring
him a harvest of soul-satisfaction if this primal element be wanting.
+III. The blessings which follow the getting of godliness.+ They have
already been enumerated in chap. iii. 21-26. See homiletics on that
paragraph. On verse 9 see homiletics on chap. i. 9.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 5. We cannot do it directly, but there immediately follow the
rules to be observed, "forget not," etc. It is astonishing how much
is made of attention. It is the only voluntary thing, not
muscular.--_Miller._
For so much a man learns as he remembers. The promise also of
salvation is limited to "keeping in memory what we have received"
(1 Cor. xv. 2).
1. Because of the _excellency_ of it. Things of high birth are
excellent. This wisdom is from above (James iii. 17). Things rare are
precious. True wisdom is not found in many. 2. Because of the
_pleasure_ of it (chap. iii. 17). No content in the world like that
wisdom gives. 3. Because of the _profit_ of it. Every trade will tell
you that wisdom thrives, and folly beggars men. So in spiritual
things. 4. Because of the _necessity_ of it, which is the strongest
argument. Without it die, nay be damned.--_Francis Taylor._
Verse 6. Jerome wrote to a friend, "Beg now for me, who am
grey-headed, of the Lord, that I may have Wisdom for my companion, of
which it is written, 'Love her and she shall keep thee.'"
Forsake her not, and thou will love her, for love is bred by
continuing together; love her and thou will not forsake her, for love
liketh not of parting. The manner of speech seemeth to intimate a
union of marriage, and indeed Wisdom is a fit spouse for man's noble
soul.--_Jermin._
We turn an eye to Wisdom, and she turns an eye to us. We watch and
she watches. In our ungodly state we cannot think of Wisdom that she
does not turn and step back to us by common grace. And, if we think
so long, and strive so earnestly as that she comes to us and is full
in sight, then each new fondness fascinates her and brings her close.
Each wise thing that we do makes us wiser.--_Miller._
It is worse with him that leaves good, than with him that never did
it (2 Pet. ii. 21). One goes blindfold to hell and hath less pains
there; another, seeing, hath more.--_Francis Taylor._
Verse 7. Make religion thy business, other things do by the bye. As
Cæsar, swimming through the waters to escape his enemies, carried his
books in his hand above them, but lost his robe.--_Trapp._
It can have no place if it has not the first place. If it be anything
it will be everything.--_Bridges._
The mistake of the principal thing is that which maketh the principle
disorder in man's heart. . . . But as that is light which showeth the
light unto us, so that is the principal thing which showeth the
principal thing unto us, even wisdom alone.--_Jermin._
I. _What_ we are to acquire. Both divine and human learning, which
differ as means do from the end. Were there no Divine learning, human
learning would lose great part of its value: limited to the present
life, it must terminate on the confines of the grave. And had we no
human learning, now that the days of inspiration have passed, we
should not be able to attain that which is divine. II. _How_ we are
to acquire it. We must be taught by those who were in the world
before us. Weeds and thistles only will be the spontaneous produce if
the ground is _not_ broken up and good seed sown. III. _Why_ we are
to acquire it. The pleasures of wisdom exceed all others--in kind,
degree, and duration.--_Bishop Horne._
The world's maxim, on the contrary, is--money is the principal thing;
therefore get money; and with all thy getting, get more.--_Fausset._
Amidst all thy other acquisitions acquire this, without which all
others will be useless and even hurtful.--_Menochius._
"With," rather "by means of" (see "Critical Notes"). We are to turn
all our gettings into the channel of more grace. We are to use all
our properties for growing wiser. We are to grind up all our corn
into the bread of spiritual nourishment.--_Miller._
Venture all for wisdom rather than miss it. 1. What we lose is
transitory, what we get is durable. A fee-simple is better than a
leaf. 2. What we lose is hollow and empty, what we get is full and
substantial. A sound timber tree is better than one hollow within,
though the latter make a bigger show. 3. What we lose is vain, what
we get is profitable. A piece of gold is better than a counter.
4. What we lose is often matter of danger, what we get is matter of
safety and security.--_Francis Taylor._
Verse 8. Of this recommendation of religion it is the more necessary
to fix our attention because it is often refused to it by men of the
world. Their notions of honour are apt to run in a very different
channel. . . . A distinction must be made between fame and honour.
The former is a loud and noisy applause; the latter a more silent and
internal homage. Fame floats on the breath of the multitude; honour
rests on the judgment of the thinking. Fame may give praise while it
withholds esteem; but honour implies esteem mingled with respect. The
one regards particular distinguished talents; the other looks up to
the whole character. It follows, therefore, that in order to discern
where man's true honour lies, we must look at the whole of what forms
a man. A mind superior to fear, to selfish interest, and corruption;
governed by this principle of uniform rectitude, the same in
prosperity as in adversity, such is the mind which forms the
distinction and eminence of men. And such a character is formed
solely by the influence of true religion. II. The honour which man
acquires by religion and virtue is independent and complete. It is
independent of anything foreign or external. Wherever fortune is
concerned it is the rank which commands our deference. Where some
shining quality attracts admiration, it is only to a part of the
character that we pay homage. But with goodness, it is the whole man
whom we respect. III. This honour is divine and immortal. It is
honour not only in the sight of man, but of God, whose judgment is
the standard of truth and right. It enters with man into a future
state; and continues to brighten through eternal ages.--_Blair._
Not only "get," "keep," and "love" her, but also "exalt her." We are
apt to think less of those things which we have, however precious,
after the novelty has worn off. Beware of this feeling in religion.
Religion richly repays in kind all that we can do to "embrace" her.
She exalts them who exalt her (Psa. xxx. 1), and gives them fresh
reason for exalting her (Psa. xxxvii. 34).--_Fausset._
Verse 9. She is the diadem which bindeth up the shattered thoughts of
man's understanding: she it is which covereth and succoureth the
broken cracks of man's invention: she it is which delivereth the
authority of sovereignty to the head, and maketh the head to be the
head, in bearing rule and commanding the inferior affections and
lusts of the heart and other members.--_Jermin._
Crowns were anciently given to many sorts of persons as tokens of
general favour and esteem. 1. To wise men and learned; to those who
excelled in the arts and sciences. Godly-wise men deserve them much
better. 2. To men famous for justice and other moral virtues; to good
lawmakers and judges. Godly-wise men excel in theological virtues,
which are far more excellent. 3. To conquerors. A wise man is a
conqueror over his passions and affections, which make other men, and
great ones too, very slaves. 4. To bridegrooms when they were
married. A wise man is married to Wisdom, the fairest bride in the
world. 5. To kings on their coronation day. So shall godly men be
crowned when they die. They know how to rule their own souls here,
and to direct others, and to get an eternal crown in Heaven. A beggar
being once asked what he was, answered: "I am a king!" "Where is thy
kingdom?" "It is in my soul. I can so rule my external and internal
senses that all the faculties of my soul are subject to me." And who
doubts that this kingdom is better than all the kingdoms of the
world?--_Francis Taylor._
Verse 11. He may boldly call to be heard who himself doth what he
teacheth. Christ placeth doing before teaching (Matt. viii. 19), for
good doing leading the way, though teaching doth not follow, yet good
works can, as clear as the light, teach those that look upon us. Paul
saith, "We have received grace and apostleship to the _obedience_ of
faith;" one would have thought he should have said rather to the
government and direction of faith, but he saith, _obedience_, because
examples do direct and govern better than words.--_Jermin._
The two branches which constitute the sum of parental
tuition--_instruction_ and _direction_--teaching truth and guiding to
duty. The one part relates to _knowledge,_ the other to _practice._
In all rightly conducted education, the two should never be
disjoined. To teach duty without truth is to teach action without
motive--virtue without its principle. To teach truth without duty is
to teach motive without the practice to which it should lead. They
are both partial, and, if kept asunder, both worthless.--_Wardlaw._
Verse 12. Having a good mixture of zeal and knowledge; so that thy
zeal doth quicken thy knowledge, and thy knowledge guide thy
zeal.--_Trapp._
The way of wisdom is indeed narrow, but in a narrow way there may be
large steps; for though our feet may be straightened from going
aside, yet they are not straightened from going on apace.--_Jermin._
As "goest" refers to the ordinary course, so "runnest" refers to
extraordinary undertakings, wherein the believer has to put forth
more than common energy.--_Fausset._
The word _straightened_ seems to express the case of one in difficulty
and perplexity--contradictory impulses and obstacles pressing and
hindering him on every side, perpetually producing embarrassment and
apprehension--hedging up the way, and hemming us in, and destroying
the freedom and comfort of advancement. Such is the case of a man who
walks according to a worldly and carnal policy. He is ever at a loss.
As circumstances are ever shifting, he is ever shifting his
principles and plans to suit them. But the "wisdom from above"
inspires a simplicity and a unity of principle by which a vast amount
of this painful and agitating perplexity is taken away.--_Wardlaw._
Verse 13. Often a ship's crew at sea are obliged suddenly to betake
themselves to their boats, or abandon the sinking ship. Such a case
was recently reported of an American whale-ship in the South Seas.
The huge leviathan of the deep, wounded by the art of man, ran out
the distance of a mile by way of getting a run-race, and thence came
up with incredible velocity against the devoted ship. She began to
fill. . . . The word was given. All hands went to work, and soon all
the seaworthy boats were loaded to the gunwale with the prime
necessaries of life. The deck was now nearly level with the water,
and the boats shoved off for safety. After they had pulled a hundred
yards away, two resolute men leaped from one of the boats into the
sea, and made towards the ship. They disappear down a hatchway. In a
minute they emerge again, bearing something in their hands. As they
leap into the water the ship goes down; the men are separated from
each other and their burden in the whirlpool that gathers over the
sinking hull. They do not seem to consult their own safety. They
remain in that dangerous eddy until they grasp again the object which
they had carried over the ship's side. Holding it fast, they are seen
at length bearing away to their comrades in the boat. What do these
strong swimmers carry, for they seem to value it more than life? It
is the compass! It had been left behind, and was remembered almost
too late. Now they have taken fast hold of it, and will not let it
go. Whatever they lose, they will at all hazards keep it, for "it is
their life." When shall we see souls, shipwrecked on the sea of time,
take and keep such hold of the truth as it is in Jesus?--_Arnot._
Fasten and do not let slack. One rough grapple is not enough. Wisdom
insidiously glides away if we give time to the arch deceiver. We are
like a child trying to wake: he grasps the apple that one gives, but
_slackens_ as drowsiness creeps back.--_Miller._
+I. Because many thieves lie in the way to rob us of what wisdom
teaches.+ 1. _The devil steals away the seed of the word_ (Matt.
xiii. 9). 2. _Wicked men also, by seducing us._ Sometimes by
persecuting us to make us forsake the truth (Matt. xiii. 21). 3. _The
world with its cares and profits seek to take this treasure from us_
(Matt. xiii. 22). The flesh presents many pleasures to us which drown
our wits. +II. Because we may lose wisdom ourselves by
negligence.+--_F. Taylor._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 14-19.
CONTRASTED PATHS AND OPPOSITE CHARACTERS.
+I. The just man's path.+ 1. It is a _pre-ordained_ one. The path
which the sun takes through the heavens, the path in which our earth
encircles the sun, are the paths which God has pre-ordained for them.
They are the only paths which they could take and preserve the
harmony of the system to which they belong. They are the orbits which
are exactly adapted to the fulfilment of the end for which God
created them. So the path--the manner of life--of the godly man is
the path in which God intended man to walk when He created him. He
called him into being in order that he might "walk before Him and be
perfect" (Gen. xvii. 1). "The highway of holiness" is the
God-ordained path of man, the old way which was trodden by His
creatures for ages before man had any existence. 2. It is a
_blessing-dispensing_ path. The sun, by keeping God's pre-ordained
path, is a blessing to the world. Its rays possess a quickening power
which develops the hidden life of the plant, and so clothes the earth
with beauty and fruitfulness. Without its heat and light our globe
would be a great Sahara--a vast wilderness of black barrenness. It
likewise brings into operation a sense in man which would otherwise
be dormant. The light of the body is the eye, but where would sight
be without sun? Creatures who have lived for years in darkness appear
to lose the power of sight, even if light shines upon their
eye-balls. The constant contact of the eye with light keeps alive the
power of vision. So with the just man's path. Without the godly this
world would be a moral wilderness. All the beauty of goodness there
is in it comes from the life of the children of wisdom. "They that
dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn
and grow as the vine; the scent thereof shall be as the wine of
Lebanon" (Hosea xiv. 7). And He keeps alive the inner eye of man--the
conscience. It, too, needs external light to play upon it to keep it
alive. And the holy walk of the godly does this for the ungodly, it
prevents the conscience from being utterly stifled by sin. 3. It is a
_progressive_ path. It shines more and more. The light of dawn has
glories all its own, but it is not strong enough to do the work of
the noon-day rays, its heat is not able to penetrate beneath the
surface of the earth and wake up the life out of the seed-corn hidden
there; its brightness touches the mountain-tops, but does not scatter
the shadows in the valleys. But when the sun reaches its meridian
"there is nothing hid from the heat thereof." So with the children of
wisdom. When they first set out upon their journey their godliness is
not so manifest to others, nor does it yield so much comfort to
themselves as when they have trodden the path for years. But it must,
from a necessity of nature, go on unto perfection. "Just men will be
made perfect" (Heb. xii. 3). "They go from strength to strength"
(Psa. lxxxiv. 7). They come "to the perfect day."
+II. The wicked man's way.+ It is in every point the converse of that
which has just been sketched. 1. _It is his own way_ (chap. i. 31):
_not God's way, not the way in which he was destined to walk_. It is
an _old_ way (Job. xxii. 15), but not the _oldest_ way; it is a path
cast up by the will of man and pre-Adamite sinners. 2. _It is a way
of darkness, because it is a way of blindness._ Blindness puts a man
in the dark, and, being in the dark, he has only the experience that
springs from darkness. Wickedness puts out the eyes of the soul, and,
like a blind Samson, it sits in darkness and the shadow of death. A
state of blindness is a state of _ignorance_. A blind man cannot
avoid objects that come in his way, and when he falls in consequence,
he knows not the object that caused him to fall. So the wise man here
describes the ungodly as one "who knows not at what he stumbles"
(verse 19). He has no realisation of the real character of his
tempters, no insight into the sinfulness of sin; the lack of a
guiding principle turns his walk into a series of stumblings. It
follows of necessity that such a path is one of _danger_. It is more
dangerous to walk in the night than in the day. The footpad or the
highwayman can hide himself from our view in the darkness, and come
upon us unawares. We may fall over the precipice at night that we
could easily avoid in the day. So it is in a course of sin. A man who
shuts his eyes to the light within him, and rejects the light which
is to "lighten every man" (John i. 9), will, unawares, be overtaken
by retribution, and fall into depths of remorse upon which he little
counts. 3. _Like the path of the just, it is a progressive path._ No
man stands still in it. The darkness thickens as the blindness
increases, and the blindness grows the longer men refuse to "come to
the light" (John iii. 20). Men do not at once come to the height or
descend to the depth of iniquity described in verse 16, when, unless
they have done some iniquitous act, they feel that they have lost a
day. The merchant may feel he has lost a day when he has failed to
make a good bargain; the scholar feels it when he has not added to
his stock of knowledge; the heathen emperor reckoned a day lost when
he had not benefited some one; but for a man not to sleep except he
has done a mischief, surely expresses as "perfect a night" as it is
possible for human nature to attain to. Surely he then proves himself
to be a child of him whose business it is to "go about seeking whom
he may devour" (2 Pet. v. 8). 4. _It is a path which is destructive
to others._ As the good man, by walking in God's path, blesses his
fellow-creatures as well as himself, so the wicked man, in his path
of darkness, is a curse to others as well as himself. The force of
evil example alone is pernicious to all who surround him, but
although he may begin in this negative way, he soon advances to
positive acts of sin, until he lives upon the misery of others. It
becomes his meat and drink to drag others to destruction with him,
or, failing that, to do them as much injury as he can (verses 16 and
17).
+III. The means of escape from this path of darkness and ruin.+
"Enter it not," and, to make sure of not entering it, give it a wide
berth--"pass not by it, turn away" (verses 14, 15). When we see those
whom we love in danger, we multiply words of warning, and are not
careful to avoid repeating words which may have little or no
difference in their meaning. So Solomon's anxiety shows itself here
in the repetition of his exhortations. But there is some gradation
observed in them. 1. _We are not to enter the paths, not even to set
one foot upon the forbidden way._ Men may be tempted to venture a
step or two just to take a glance, and intend to turn back as soon as
they have done so, but it is enchanted ground, and it is more than
likely if they are once upon the track they will go further than they
at first intended. But if they do not _enter_ it, they cannot _walk_
in it. 2. _If you have already entered, do not persevere another
moment, turn from it at once._ If the captain of a ship becomes all
at once aware that he is steering his vessel upon the rocks, he puts
about at once. The next best thing to not going wrong at all is to
turn back--in Bible language, to repent, to put the face in the
opposite direction, to turn the whole man back to the opposite goal.
3. _In order to escape the danger of entering at all, or of
re-entrance after having once forsaken it, avoid its very
neighbourhood, pass not by it, go not in the way of temptation._ If a
youth has been induced to gamble, and has resolved to give up the
habit, let him not go near the gambling house--let him give up all
intercourse with gamblers; if he has been once under the fatal
influence of strong drink, he must taste it no more--not even "_look
upon_ the wine when it is red" (ch. xxiii. 31). He must "flee
youthful lusts" and the most certain method of doing this is to
strike out another course--to "follow after righteousness" (1 Tim.
vi. 11, 12), to get well into the way of wisdom, to know from
experience the blessedness of the path of the just. Men must have a
"way" in life, there is no neutral ground; or if some men seem for a
time to be living in the border-land, a time will come when they must
declare for one side or the other.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 14. We must all "enter" somewhere. We are all travelling. We
all necessarily follow something. Don't take the path of the wicked
for it. That is the doctrine.--_Miller._
Sin is like a whirlpool. He who once ventures within the circle of
its eddying waters in the self-sufficient assurance that he may go a
certain length, and then turn at his pleasure and stem the current
back, may feel the fancied strength of the sinews of his moral
resolution but weakness in the moment of need, and may--nay, almost
certainly will--be borne on further and further, till, all power of
resistance failing, he is carried round and round with increasing
celerity, and sucked into the central gulf of irrecoverable
perdition.--_Wardlaw._
Jortin, in his remarks upon Ecclesiastical History, relates the story
of a colloquy between a Father of the second century and an evil
spirit in a Christian, whom he sought to expel. Upon inquiring how he
dared be so impudent as to enter a Christian, the evil spirit
replied, "I went not to church after him, but he came to the
playhouse after me, and, finding him upon my own ground, I sought to
secure him for myself." Whatever becomes of the story, the moral of
it deserves attention.--_Leifchild._
We pray to be kept from temptation, and our practice ought not to
contradict our prayers; otherwise, it is evident that we mock God by
asking from Him what we do not wish to have.--_Lawson._
Verse 15. This triple gradation of Solomon showeth, with a great
emphasis, how necessary it is to flee from all appearance of
sin. . . . Entireness (_friendship_) with wicked consorts is one of
the strongest chains of hell, and binds me to a participation of both
sin and punishment.--_Brooks._
Come not near. 1. Because our corruption is so great that, if we come
near it, we will both smell it with delight and smell of it.
2. Because wicked men stand upon the edge of their way to draw others
into it, as thieves watch for their prey. 3. We may stumble into that
way ourselves, if we be not pulled into it by others. He that walks
on the brink of a river may fall in. There is but a narrow bridge
between lawful and unlawful. And that which is lawful to-day may, by
a circumstance, be made unlawful to-morrow.--_Francis Taylor._
It would not be complaisance, but cowardice--it would be a sinful
softness which allowed affinity in taste to imperil your faith or
your virtue. It would be the same sort of courtesy which, in the
equatorial forest, for the wake of its beautiful leaf, lets the
liana, with its strangling arms, run up the plantain or orange, and
pays the forfeit in blasted boughs and total ruin. It would be the
same sort of courtesy which, for fear of appearing rude or
inhospitable, took into dock the infected vessel, or welcomed, not as
a patient, but as a guest, the plague-stricken stranger.--_Jas.
Hamilton._
Verses 16 and 17. The devil, their taskmaster, will not allow them
time to sleep, which is very hard bondage.--_Trapp._
The character of the wicked is here drawn in their father's
image--first sinners; then tempters. . . . Judas with his midnight
torches (John xviii. 3); the early morning assembly of the Jewish
rulers (Luke xxii. 66); the frenzied vow of the enemies of Paul (Acts
xxiii. 12); and many a plot in after ages against the Church--all
vividly pourtray this unwearied wickedness.--_Bridges._
The fearful stage of debasement when the tendency to sin is like the
craving for stimulants, as a condition without which there can be no
repose.--_Plumptre._
The trouble of others is the rest of the wicked.--_Jermin._
Just as bread forms the flesh, and makes it grow, according as it is
eaten, so wickedness is the food of the spirit. "My meat is," says
Christ, "to do the will of Him that sent me, and to finish His work"
(John iv. 34). "Thy words were found, and I did eat them" (Jer.
xv. 16). So in chap. i. 31. "Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of
their own way"--the meaning being, that a man's way, spiritually
considered, is all that forms him. He feeds upon it. If it is
righteous, it nourishes him in life. If it is wicked, it nourishes
him in death. He feeds on food of wickedness, and grows exactly in
proportion as he sins. His very life is in its very self a deadly
self-banqueting.--_Miller._
They sin, not of frailty, but of malice; not by occasion, as it were,
but by an insatiable desire of committing wickedness.--_Muffet._
Verse 18. He sets forth betime in the morning and travels to meet the
day.
The sun is an emblem, not of the just, but of the Justifier. Christ
alone is the light of the world. The just are those whom the Sun of
Righteousness shines upon. . . . When any portion of the earth's
surface begins to experience a dawn diminishing its darkness, it is
because that portion is gradually turning round towards the sun, the
centre of light fixed in the heavens. When any part of the earth lies
away from the sun, and in proportion to the measure of its aversion,
it is dark and cold, in proportion as it turns to him again its
atmosphere grows clearer, until in its gradual progress it comes in
sight of the sun, and its day is perfect then. So is the path of the
just. Day is not perfect here in the believer's heart . . . but the
machinery of the everlasting covenant is meantime going softly and
silently as the motion of the spheres; and they that are Christ's
here, whatever clouds dim their present prospect, are wearing every
moment farther from the night, and nearer to the day.--_Arnot._
There is a day to be which shall be a day indeed, without cloud,
without night, without morning, without evening. Unto this day
leadeth the path of the righteous, and which going on, shineth more
and more, until at last when it seemeth to go out, it shall be
received into that light which never goeth out.--_Jermin._
Light is emblematical of _knowledge, holiness_, and _joy._ The three
bear invariable proportion to each other--holiness springing from
knowledge, and joy from both. . . . "The entrance of God's word gives
light." But the entrance of this light into the mind is often, like
the early dawn, feeble, glimmering, uncertain. . . . But it does not
abide so. . . . He who is enlightened from above is eager for more of
the blessed light. He thirsts for knowledge, and is on the alert to
obtain it. . . . With growth in knowledge there is growth in
holiness. At the first dawn of spiritual light some faint desires are
felt after God and sanctity. These progressively increase, and they
show their influence in the increase of practical godliness. . . .
And joy is the natural attendant of spiritual illumination and inward
sanctity. It, too, is progressive. Like the sun in every stage of his
diurnal course, it may be overcast by occasional clouds. But as the
sun appears the brighter on his emerging from the cloudy veil, so the
trials of the just serve to give lustre to their virtues.--_Wardlaw._
Verse 19. It is interesting to note the resemblance between these
words and those of our Lord (John xi. 10; xii. 35).--_Plumptre._
Strange enough: it is a confessed darkness. There is a sort of common
light that tells a man that impenitence is darkness. And yet it does
not teach him better. Like mere physical light at times, some
chemical ray is absent. The darkness that remains is a darkness that
may be felt. It constitutes our eternal chains (2 Pet. ii. 4); it
binds a man on the car of ruin. And like a Christian, who, in his
partial light, may fail to know what is blessing him, so the sinner
in his absolute darkness, takes industry for virtue, and family love
for wholesome righteousness; and does not know the incidents of life
that are stumbling blocks to eternal ruin.--_Miller._
Sinners are in such darkness that they are insensible to the objects
that are leading them to ruin, thus they stumble--1. At the great
deceiver. 2. At one another. 3. At Divine Providence. 4. At their
common employments. 5. At the nature and tendency of their religious
performances. 6. At the preaching they hear. 7. At the blindness of
their hearts.--_Emmons, from Lange's Commentary._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 20-27.
THE PATH OF SAFETY.
_For Homiletics on Verses_ 20-22, _see chap._ ii. 1-5, _etc._
Verses 23-27. +I. A man's most precious and real possession.+ "Thy
heart." The heart here, and in other parts of Holy Scripture, is that
part of a man for which the Bible exists, that in man to which the
revelation of God appeals, that which places a great gulf between him
and all other creatures in the world, that which links him to the
angels of God, that which entails upon him responsibilities and
endows him with capabilities which will last throughout all the ages
to come. It is that spiritual nature which our Lord calls a man's
"own soul" (Matt. xvi. 26), which Paul speaks of as the "inner man"
(Ephes. iii. 16).
+II. The need of "keeping," or "guarding" the heart.+ There are
elements of evil as well as good in it. In any kingdom where there
are bad subjects as well as good, there must be a watch kept over
those out of whom submission to law is not to be got voluntarily.
They must be guarded lest they get the upper hand and overpower and
tyrannise over the peace-loving obedient citizens. In every human
body there is some organ which is more prone to disease than others.
While some are strong and vigorous, others are more or less delicate;
therefore a man needs to exercise care over his body. So in the heart
of the child of wisdom there is an evil element as well as a good
one. "I see another law in my members," says Paul, "warring against
the law of my mind" (Rom. vii. 23). Every godly man has a tendency to
moral weakness, some opening in his spiritual armour, some weak part
in his moral constitution. Therefore it behoves him to keep guard
over, to watch vigilantly, the lawless, rebellious, or diseased
elements within him, lest sin have dominion, if only for a time,
where grace ought to rule.
+III. The importance of keeping the heart.+ "Out of it are the issues
of life." The physical heart of man is well defended by nature,
because it is the spring of our bodily life. From it, as from a well,
issues life-blood, which flows into every part of the body, and
without which a man ceases to live. The strong ribs and the inner
coverings of the heart which so well defend it show the necessity
there is that it should be free to do its work without let or
hindrance. "A sound heart is the life of the flesh," says Solomon
(chap. xiv. 30). If the heart is healthy, the benefit is felt to the
extremities of the body; if it is diseased, the whole physical frame
suffers. Out if _it_ are the issues of animal life. A man who has
charge of a well of water is bound to keep it covered and secured
against the entrance of anything that might poison or even defile it.
Upon its safe keeping depends, perhaps, not only the health of
himself and his household, but that of an entire district. It is a
centre of health if pure, of disease if impure. So upon the condition
of the inner man depends the character of the outward life. It is a
well-spring of life in the sense that it determines the character of
the life. The streams which issue from it are the actions of man,
actions repeated are habits, and habits form character; and character
influences other lives. What a man _is_ blesses or curses those
around him, and entails blessing or curse upon generations to come. A
good man in a neighbourhood is like a well of living water, he
diffuses and preserves moral health all around him.
+IV. The way to keep the heart.+--The vigilance of a sentinel is
manifested by his notice of the distant motion of the grass under
cover of which the enemy is creeping towards the citadel. He is ever
on the look-out for the distant enemy. The watchful general notes the
first symptom of mutiny in the army, and treads out the spark before
it becomes a flame. So the watchful heart-keeper takes notice of the
first movement of rebels within. The thoughts take their rise in the
soul under the eye of none but God and the keeper, and he must be on
the alert at the first motion. And as when the sentinel sees the
first movement of the enemy he never thinks of advancing to fight him
alone, but communicates with one who has the power to overthrow him,
so when a man becomes aware of the first motion of evil in his heart,
God must receive the information--He must be called upon to exercise
His power to disperse or take prisoners the thoughts before they can
become actions. Keeping of the heart includes a guarding of every
inlet of temptation, a watchfulness over the senses, and any organ of
the outward man which might lead us into temptation. Hence Solomon
exhorts his son to guard his _eyes_ and his _feet._ It has been
asserted by some that there is nothing in the mind which has not
first been in the senses; and though this is a disputed point, we are
quite sure that there is much in the heart, both of good and evil,
which entered by those gates. There are thoughts there which have
been kindled by what we have seen, as Achan's covetous desires were
created by the sight of the goodly spoils of Jericho. The eye of
David was the entrance-gate of the thought which ended in adultery
and murder. And the feet may lead us in forbidden paths--into the way
of temptation--into the society of those whose words, finding
entrance by the ear, may sow seeds of impurity within.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 20. Still he calls for attention. It fares with many of us as
with little children, who, though saying their lessons, must needs
look off to see the feather that flies by them.--_Trapp._
The former verse having spoken of hearing God's Word, this speaketh
of reading it. For the beginning of obedience is to be willing to
know what is commanded, and it is a part of performance to have
learned what is to be performed. . . . Let God's Word be in our
heart, it will be in the midst of it. For the heart hath no outside,
all is the midst there: the heart hath no outward show, all there is
inward truth.--_Jermin._
Verse 21. The terms of this verse may be compared, for illustration,
with those of Deut. vi. 6, 8: "And these words, which I command thee
this day, shall be in thine heart. And thou shalt bind them for a
sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine
eyes." Amongst the Jews there was a sad propensity to take the latter
injunction _literally_ and _externally._ Hypocrites and formalists
satisfied themselves with having little scraps of the law written on
parchment, and worn as frontlets on the forehead. But this was a
delusion. The laws of God are never rightly "before the eyes" unless
they are "in the heart." The meaning of the former clause of the
verse is, that the commandments of God should be kept _constantly in
view_ as the guides of the whole conduct. And this will be the case
when they are kept "in the midst of the heart."--_Wardlaw._
Verse 22. Some medicines are good for one part of the body, some for
another. This is good for all the body, and all the
soul.--_Cartwright._
Verse 23. That thou mayest keep thy heart sincere, to use the
similitude of a castle, for so the heart is,--1. Repair and fortify
it diligently. Weak walls are soon broken down. Breaches give
occasion for an enemy to enter. Thou wilt find something to mend
every day in the understanding, or conscience, or memory, or will, or
affections, if not in all of them. 2. Victual this fort, else it
cannot hold out against a siege. Feed it with good meditations from
the creatures, and out of the Scriptures. Starved soldiers cannot
defend a fort. 3. Set up a regiment in thy soul. No fort can be kept
without government; soldiers, else, will rebel and betray the fort.
Commit that charge to a well-informed conscience; submit all
thoughts, and words, and deeds to it. 4. Get arms in it to keep out
enemies; to wit, God's prohibitions and threats in His Word. This is
the _sword of the Spirit_ (Ephes. vi. 17).--_Francis Taylor._
The man is as his heart is. The heart is the spring and fount of all
natural and spiritual actions, it is the _primum mobile,_ the great
wheel that sets all other wheels agoing; it is the great monarch in
the isle of man, therefore, keep it with all custody and caution, or
else bid farewell to all true joy, peace, and comfort. When the heart
stands right with Christ He will pardon much and pass by much. . . .
Therefore we should keep our heart as under lock and key, that they
may be always at hand when the Lord shall call for them. . . . The
word heart is here put comprehensively for the whole soul, with all
its powers, noble faculties, and endowments, together with their
several operations, all which are to be watched over. . . . It is a
duty incumbent upon every Christian to keep his own heart. Thou
mayest make another thy park-keeper, thy housekeeper, thy shopkeeper,
thy cash-keeper, but thou must be thy own heartkeeper. "With all
diligence." Some understand this of all kind of watchfulness. 1. As
men keep a prison. How vigilant are they in looking after their
prisoners. 2. As they keep a besieged garrison, or castle, in time of
war. A gracious heart is Christ's fort-royal. Against this fort Satan
will employ his utmost art, therefore it must have a strong guard.
3. As the Levites kept the sanctuary of God and all the holy things
committed to their charge (Ezek. xliv. 8-15). Our hearts are the
temples of the Holy Ghost, and therefore we should keep a guard about
them, that nothing may pass in or out that may be displeasing,
grieving, or provoking to Him. 4. As a man keeps his life. The same
word (_shamar_) is used in Job. x. in reference to life. With what
care, what diligence, do men labour to preserve their natural lives.
5. As men keep their treasures. There are few men who know how to
value their hearts as they should. It is that pearl of price for
which a man should lay down his all. 6. As spruce men and women do
their fine clothes. They won't endure a spot upon them. Let not
others be more careful to keep their outsides clean, than you are to
keep your insides clean.--_Brooks._
The fountains and wells of the East were watched over with special
care. A stone was rolled to the mouth of the well, so that "a spring
shut up, a fountain sealed," became the type of all that is most
jealously guarded (Song Sol. iv. 22). So it is here. The heart is
such a fountain--out of it flow "the issues of life." Shall we let
the stream be tainted at the fountain head?--_Plumptre._
Keep the heart. 1. Because it falls directly under the inspection of
God. Man can judge only by what is external, but "I, the Lord, search
the heart." 2. Because of the influence the heart has upon the life.
He that is concerned about making the tree good will probably make
the fruit so. 3. Care in keeping the heart is greatly to be regarded
for itself. Is there nothing pleasant, nothing honourable in being
masters at home--in being possessors of our own spirits? Is it
nothing that the peace of the kingdom is broken, even though the
constitution of it be not overthrown?--_Doddridge._
A heart purified by the grace of God, and firmly rooted in truth as
its ground, is the source and common fountain for the successful
development of all the main activities and functions of human life,
those belonging to the sphere of sense, as well as to the psychical
and spiritual realms, and this must more and more manifest itself as
such a centre of the personality, sending forth light and
life.--_Lange's Commentary._
Though to keep the heart be God's work, it is man's agency. Our
efforts are his instrumentality.--_Bridges._
All vital principles are lodged there, and only such as are good and
holy will give you pleasure. The exercises of religion will be
pleasing when they are natural, and flow easily out of their own
fountain.--_John Howe._
Although Solomon repeats himself, he always advances upon the
thought. There is always some characteristic novelty: and that
novelty is the hinge of the purpose, and imbeds its meaning in the
life of the passage. Here it is the function of the heart. It
circulates life. Give it good blood, and it will throw off disease;
give it bad blood, and it will produce disease. Give it health
enough, and it will throw off incipient mortification; give it no
health, and it will produce mortification. Solomon weaves this into
experimental godliness. . . . Guard the great central guard-post, and
no out-station will be cut off. If it be, for a time, the heart will
win it again.--_Miller._
Verse 24. While we speak, we should never forget that God is one of
the listeners. . . . Take the principle of Hagar's simple and sublime
confession, accommodated in thought to the case at hand "Thou, God,
_hearest_ me." If our words were all poured through that strainer,
how much purer and fewer they would be.--_Arnot._
It is true that vigilance over the heart is vigilance over the
tongue, inasmuch as out of the abundance of the heart the mouth
speaketh. . . . There is no surer index of the state of the "inner
man." As is the conversation, so is the heart.--_Wardlaw._
While a fire is confined to one man's house, even if it burns that
house to its foundation, all other dwellings are unharmed; but when
it lays hold of surrounding buildings, all the city is endangered.
When an evil thought is confined to a man's own spirit, kept within
the limits of thinking or desiring, though it may char his own soul
with the blackness of perdition, the evil ends with himself. But when
he allows his thought to become words, he kindles a fire outside
himself which may go on burning even after he has forgotten it
himself.
Verse 25. Let them be fixed upon right objects. . . . Be well skilled
in Moses' optics (Heb. xi. 27). Do as mariners do that have their eye
on the star, their hand on the stern. A man may not look intently
upon that he may not love.--_Trapp._
Like one ploughing, who must not look back.--_Cartwright._
Had Eve done so she would have looked at the command of God, not at
the forbidden tree. Had Lot's wife looked straight before her instead
of behind her, she would, like her husband, have been a monument of
mercy. . . . In asking the way to Zion, be sure that your _faces are
thitherward_ (Jer. i. 5). The pleasures of sin and the seductions of
the world do not lie in the road. They belong to the bye-paths. They
would not, therefore, meet the eye looking right on.--_Bridges._
Verse 26. Lift not up one foot till you find firm footing for
another, as those in Psa. xxxv. 6. The way of this world is like the
vale of Siddim, slimy and slippery.--_Trapp._
The habit of calm and serious thinking makes the difference between
one man and another.--_Dr. Abercrombie._
The feet of the soul are generally understood to be the affections.
And surely we have need to ponder the path of them before we give
away to them. St. Bernard maketh the two feet to be nature and
custom, for, indeed, by them we are much carried, and great need we
have to ponder the path of them, so that they do not lead us
amiss.--_Jermin._
The best time to ponder any path is not at the end, not even in the
middle, but at the beginning of it.--_Arnot._
Verse 27. It is as if the royal way was hemmed in by the sea, and a
fall over either side were danger of drowning. Some are too greedy;
others ascetic. Some are too bold; others too diffident. Some neglect
the one Mediator; others seek more mediators than one. Some flee the
cross; others make one. Some tamper with Popery; others, from dread
of it, hazard the loss of valuable truth.--_Cartwright._
* * * * * *
CHAPTER V.
CRITICAL NOTES.--+2. Discretion,+ Lit. "reflection," "prudent
consideration." +3. Drop as an honey-comb,+ "distil honey."
+4. Wormwood.+ In Eastern countries this herb, the _absinthum_ of
Greek and Latin botanists, was regarded as a poison. It has a bitter
and saline taste. +6.+ This verse is rendered in two ways. The forms
of the two verbs may be in the second person masculine, and so apply
to the tempted youth, or in the third person feminine, and so be
understood to refer to the harlot. Most modern commentators take the
latter reading. Delitzsch translates: "She is far removed from
entering the way of life: her steps wander without her observing it."
Stuart: "That she may not ponder the path of life, her ways are
become unsteady, while she regards it not." The rendering in _Lange's
Commentary_ is, "The path of life she never treadeth, her steps
stray, she knoweth not whither." The Authorised Version is, however,
supported by Rosenmuller and Michaelis. +9. Honour,+ or "power,"
"bloom," or "freshness." +11. Mourn,+ or "groan," "_at the last,_"
lit. "at thine end." +14.+ Readings here again vary. Miller
translates: "I soon became like any wicked man." _Lange's
Commentary:_ "A little more, and I had fallen into utter
destruction." The renderings of Stuart and Delitzsch are
substantially the same as the Authorised Version. +16.+ In order to
make the idea in this verse agree with those preceding and following
it, Stuart and other commentators insert a negative: "Let (not) thy
fountains," &c. _Lange's Commentary_ considers this needless, and
retains the same idea by conceiving the sentence to be an
interrogative indicated, not by its _form,_ but by its _tone:_ "Shall
thy fountains?" etc. So also Hitzig. Holden, Noyes, Wordsworth,
Miller, &c., read as in the Authorised Version. +19. Be ravished,+
lit. "err," used in the next verse in a bad sense, and in chap xx. 1,
and Isa. xxviii. 7, of the staggering gait of the intoxicated. It
seems to express a being transported with joy. +21. Pondereth,+ or
"marketh out." +22. Shall be holden,+ rather "is holden."
+23. Without,+ "for lack of."
_ILLUSTRATION OF VERSE_ 19.
Here we have started up, and sent leaping over the plain, another of
Solomon's favourites. What elegant creatures those gazelles are, and
how gracefully they bound. We shall meet them all through Syria and
Palestine, and the more you see of them the greater will be your
admiration. Solomon is not alone in his partiality. Persian and Arab
poets abound in reference to them. The fair ones of these fervid sons
of song are often compared to the coy gazelle that comes by night and
_pastures_ upon their hearts. They are amiable, affectionate, and
loving, by universal testimony, and accordingly no sweeter comparison
can be found than that of Prov. v. 19.--Thompson's _Land and the
Book._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 1-20.
BITTER AND SWEET WATERS.
+I. A wrong relation.+ The relationship here forbidden is wrong.
1. _Because it is a sin against the tempter._ The tempter in Eden had
his load of iniquity increased by the yielding of the tempted one to
his persuasion. He increased his crime when he made another a
partaker of his disobedience. Satan, doubtless, becomes worse every
time that he persuades another to sin. The gambler's guilt and misery
is increased in proportion to his success in bringing others to ruin.
The young man in the text increases the guilt of the "strange woman"
by yielding to her enticements. He burdens her with new guilt and
intensifies her iniquity, and therefore helps to treasure up for her
a greater remorse when her conscience shall awake and arise from the
grave of sensuality. 2. _Because it is a sin against a man's own
body._ That which is our own is generally valued by us, and there is
nothing material which is ours in a more exclusive sense than our
bodily frame. It is nearer to us than any other material possession,
and to sin against _it_ is to sin against that which stands in the
nearest relation to our personal moral individuality. There are sins
done in the body by the mind which are purely mental, from which the
body does not suffer; but adultery forces the body into a relation
which brings misery and disease upon it, and in due season consumes
and destroys it like a devouring flame. "Every sin that a man doeth
is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth
against his own body" (1 Cor. vi. 18). 3. _Because it is a sin
against human nature in general, and national life in particular._
Human nature is like the human body, every man is linked to his
fellow-men as the several members of the body are parts of one whole.
This _solidarity_--this union of interest--is more obvious when
considered in relation to a particular community or nation; and, as
no member of the human body can be disfigured without bringing the
whole frame into a state of imperfection and loss of dignity, so no
man can degrade himself without bringing degradation upon the whole
race. The fornicator is a plague-spot upon the body of humanity; and
although other sinners bring disfigurement upon the body universal,
there is none who defiles it as he does. God has written His mark
upon the crust of the earth against this enormous sin (Gen. xix. 24,
25). 4. _Because it makes God, in a sense, to bear the iniquity with
the transgressor._ The youth who spends the money his father gives
him in furthering his own wicked purposes makes his father an
unwilling partaker of his crimes, because the money was supplied by
him. God made this complaint against sinners in the olden time. The
good gifts of the earth which God bestowed upon the Hebrew people
were used by them in their debasing idol-worship. God gave them the
means of honouring Him, and they used His gifts in dishonouring His
name. So God gives to every man power to glorify Him and to bless
himself and the world by the formation of right relations. When the
power thus given is used in an unlawful manner, God's own gift is
used against Himself. The sinner turns the Divine gift against the
Divine Giver; and while in God he lives, and moves, and has his
being, he lives and moves but to sin against his Maker. Thus in
Scripture language God "is made to serve" with the sinner, while He
is "wearied with his iniquities" (Isa. xliii. 22-24).
+II. The bitter waters which flow from this wrong relation.+ (Verse
4.) 1. _The loss of honour._ (Verse 7.) To some men this is dearer
than life. The captain would rather go to the bottom of the sea with
his ship than live with a shadow upon his good name and reputation.
The man who has lost his honour in the eyes of others has lost his
honour in his own eyes, and the loss of self-honour or self-respect
is a calamity that is very bitter to the soul. The man who will
indulge in unlawful intercourse, will find that he not only loses the
respect of others, but he will be unable to respect himself, and this
loss is the greatest that a man can sustain on this side of hell. It
is a draught which, although there might be pleasure in the
_drawing_, will be very bitter in the _drinking_. 2. _The loss of
manhood's vigour and opportunities._ He will "give his years to the
cruel, his strength to the stranger." The loss of youthful strength
and energy is the loss of years, the youth becomes old before he is a
man. The vessel or the mansion that is charred by fire before it is
completed presents a strange contrast. The newness and freshness of
the walls or the timbers that have escaped make the destruction of
the rest more lamentable. The building has been marred just upon the
verge of completion, the ship has been spoiled when she was all but
ready for the voyage. It is sad to see an old tree blasted by the
lightning, but it is a greater misfortune when the tree is in its
prime, when it is laden with fruit about to come to perfection. But
these are faint shadows of the sad spectacle which is presented by a
youth who has become prematurely old by unlawful indulgence before he
has reached his prime. He is unfit to battle with the sea of life at
the very time when he ought to be setting out on his voyage. He falls
short of fulfilling the demands of God and man at the moment when he
ought to be bringing forth abundant fruit. Surely such a
consciousness must be as bitter waters to the spirit. 3. _The action
of conscience and memory in a dying day._ "And thou mourn at the
last," etc. (Verse 11.) The lamp that hangs from the stern of the
vessel throws a light upon the wake of the ship and reveals the path
that she has travelled. Memory is such a lamp to the human soul. In
the parable of the rich man and Lazarus we find memory throwing such
a light upon the past, and enabling him to look back upon the path
which had brought him to his present abode. Conscience sat in
judgment upon it and united with memory to make his present cup a
bitter one. The bitterness that is always mingled with the life of
the profligate becomes doubly bitter at the end. Memory throws her
light upon his past, and shows him the strength, and honour, and
opportunities of life squandered in licentiousness, and conscience
anticipates future retribution and makes him feel the truth of the
word of warning. "Whoremongers and adulterers God will judge" (Heb.
xiii. 4). The bitterness is increased by the reflection that the sin
was committed in defiance of counsel to act differently. And thou
say, "How have I hated instruction and my heart despised reproof"
(verse 12). Those who sin against the light of nature _only,_ find a
recompense which is terrible, yet which an inspired Apostle declares
to be "meet" (Rom. i. 27). The sins here mentioned are sins against
nature, and nature asserts her right to punish her broken law and
leave her mark upon the fornicator. But when revelation, and
instruction, and good example are added to the light of nature, the
cup contains ingredients of tenfold bitterness. "Whoso breaketh one
hedge, a serpent shall bite him" (Eccles. x. 8). How much sharper
will be the sting if a double--a threefold--hedge is broken through.
+III. Sweet waters flowing from a right relationship.+ The waters are
sweet or living--1. _From a consciousness that a chaste wife belongs
to him alone_ (ver. 15). The profligate can lay no such claim for the
woman of his choice; she is, by her own consent, common to all. The
husbandman has a very different feeling concerning his own field,
which he alone has a right to till, and the common land which is open
to all comers. So the true husband has a feeling towards his wife to
which the licentious man is an entire stranger. 2. _Because such a
life is in harmony with the rights of society._ The brooks and rivers
of the land cannot be pure if the springs are defiled. The social
life of a nation can only be healthy while the purity of the marriage
relation is maintained. God has written his doom whenever and
wherever this sacred bond has been violated. The consciousness of
being a blessing to the world swells the stream of satisfaction which
arises from a faithful observance of this relationship. 3. _Because a
true marriage is man's completion._ The sinless man in Eden felt a
want until Eve was given to him, even though God had created him in
His own image. How much more does man now feel the need of a
"helpmeet for him," such as he finds only in a faithful wife. 4. _The
waters are further sweetened by the reflection that this relationship
is used to symbolise that existing between Christ and His Church._
Christ is the Head of His Church for her good. The true husband feels
that he is the head of the wife for the same end. The relationship
becomes doubly blessed when looked at from this point of view.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verses 1 and 2. When the Word of God enters the heart, it will banish
all pollution from the tongue.--_Lawson._
Perhaps painful experience (1 Kings xi. 1-8, Eccles. vii. 26) had
given the wise man _wisdom_ and _understanding._ Therefore let us
attend to it with fear and trembling.--_Bridges._
God allows us to call that knowledge ours which originally is His.
1. Because God give it us, and that he gives a man land allows him to
call it his. 2. Because it is given for our good as well as other
men's. We are not like the builders of Noah's ark, that could not be
preserved in it.--_Francis Taylor._
Verse 3. The "strange woman" occurs so often in this book, that it is
not probably she is introduced simply to denounce licentiousness.
Indeed, she so stands twin picture to wisdom, that we come to a firm
belief that she is introduced as the picture of
impenitence.--_Miller._
To hear her one would suppose that she was possessed of the most
generous and disinterested spirit. Her tongue is taught by him who
betrayed Eve to paint the vilest sin with the most beautiful
colours.--_Lawson._
Verse 4. The wise counsel of the father puts those things together,
in his words which the folly of sinners putteth far asunder in their
thoughts, the beginning and end of lustful wantonness. He that by
foresight shall taste the bitter end will never lick the honeycomb.
He that by a wise consideration shall feel the sharp edges of the
issues of it, will never delight to smooth himself with the flat
sides of the sword.--_Jermin._
Verse 5. Possession of hell is taken by the wicked before they come
into it; the devil giveth them that when he by wickedness possesseth
their hearts. There is no more to be done than to set up their abode
in it.--_Jermin._
Verse 6. The words, if taken to refer to the woman, describe with a
terrible vividness the state of heart and soul which prostitution
brings upon its victims; the reckless blindness that will not think,
tottering on the abyss, yet loud in its defiant mirth, ignoring the
dreadful future.--_Plumptre._
Verse 7. Let no one think what he will do when he is in danger, and
how he will get from her, when once she hath got him to her, but hear
_now_ what ye are to do to keep out of danger.--_Jermin._
Verse 8. The devil will tempt you enough without your own help. To
tempt is his business. As you love your life and your own soul, give
him no assistance in the work of destruction.--_Lawson._
He that is the farthest from fire is safest from the burning of it;
he that is most remote from the way and course of the river is in
less danger from the overflowing of it. It argues too much mind to be
in the house, for anyone to come near the door of it. It is more safe
not to be in danger of perishing, than being in danger not to perish.
Chrysostom, speaking of Joseph, saith, "It doth not seem so wonderful
to me, that the three children in the furnace overcame the fire, as
that Joseph, being indeed in a more grievous furnace than that of
Babylon, came forth untouched."--_Jermin._
1. Because of thy proneness to evil. Straw will quickly take fire.
Gunpowder is no more pat to take fire than our corrupt nature to be
provoked to this sin. 2. Because flight is the best fight here. No
struggle comparable to a safe retreat.--_F. Taylor._
Verse 10. It is said that Demosthenes gave this answer to a harlot
who desired to seduce him from the path of virtue, and demanded a
hundred talents for her hire: "I will not buy repentance so
dear."--_Jermin._
One keenest torment of the damned will be to find that they are
working hard in the very pit of the universe; submitting to the
sentence (Matt. xxv. 28), "Take, therefore, the talent from him and
give it to him that hath ten talents." The adulterer might make
himself a bankrupt, and get himself sold for his transgression; but
that is a trifle compared with the sweeping surrender that must be
made of all by the finally impenitent.--_Miller._
Verse 12. The climax goes on. Bitterer than slavery (ver. 9); poverty
(ver. 10); disease (ver. 11) will be the bitterness of self-reproach,
the remorse without hope, that worketh death.--_Plumptre._
Though in respect of God's infinite mercy, it be never too late in
this life, yet take heed how we stay too long. It is true that the
thief on the cross found mercy at the last hour; but it hath been
well remarked, "It was not the last hour, but the first, of the
thief's knowing God; as soon as he knew Christ he was converted." If,
therefore, thou hast long known Christ, and hast not repented, do not
presume too rashly of mercy at last.--_Jermin._
There are no infidels in eternity, and but few on a
death-bed.--_Bridges._
Verses 11, 12. _Dying regrets._ +I. The subject of these regrets.+ It
is a man who has disregarded through life the means employed to
preserve or reclaim him. What instructors has a man living in a
country like this? _First,_ Your connections in life. You may have
been a member of a pious family, or had an instructor or a reprover
in a brother, friend, or religious neighbour. _Second,_ The
Scriptures. _Third,_ Ministers. _Fourth,_ Conscience. _Fifth,_
Irrational creatures. Can you hear the melody of the birds and not be
ashamed of your sinful silence? Can you see the heavenly bodies
perform unerringly their appointed course and not reflect on your own
numberless departures from duty? _Sixth,_ The dispensations of
Providence. God has chastened you with sickness. You have stood by
dying beds. +II. The period of these regrets.+ It is a dying hour. It
is "at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed." Such a
period is _unavoidable._ The last breath _will_ expire, and the last
Sabbath _will_ elapse, and the last sermon _will_ be heard. Such a
period cannot be _far off._ "For what is our life? It is a vapour
that appeareth for a little time and then vanisheth away." It is a
flood. It is a flower. It is a tale that is told. It is a dream. Such
a period _may be very near._ Such a period is sometimes _prematurely
brought on by sin._ +III. The nature of these regrets.+ This mourning
is (1) _dreadful._ A dying hour has been called an honest hour. The
world then recedes from view. The delusions of imagination give way.
Criminal excuses vanish. Memory goes back and recalls the guilt of
the former life, and conscience sets the most secret sins in the
light of God's countenance. (2) _It is useless._ Not as to others,
but as regards the individuals themselves. We are to describe things
according to their natural and common course, and not according to
occasional exceptions. And in this case exceptions are unusual. And
we are borne out in this assertion (1) _By Scripture._ There we find
_only one_ called at this hour. (2) _By observation._ We have often
attended persons on what seemed their dying bed: we have heard their
prayers and their professions; we have seen their distress and their
relief, and, had they died, we should have presumed on their
salvation. But we have never known one of these, who, on recovery,
lived so as to prove the reality of his conversion! We have often
asked ministers concerning the same case, and they have been
compelled to make the same awful declaration.--_Jay._
Verse 14. In a spiritual sense this may be applied to those who "hold
the truth in unrighteousness" (Rom. i. 18), and who, although they
dwell in the midst of holy men in the Church of God, set their
example at defiance by evil lives.--_Bede._
Verse 15. Desire after forbidden enjoyments naturally springs from
dissatisfaction with the blessings already in possession. Where
contentment is not found at home it will be sought for, however
vainly, abroad. Conjugal love is chief among the earthly gifts in
mercy granted by God to His fallen creatures. . . . Whatsoever
interrupts the strictest harmony in this delicate relationship, opens
the door to temptation. Tender domestic affection is the best defence
against the vagrant desires of unlawful passion.--_Bridges._
Do not steal water from others. Although the strange woman saith,
"Stolen waters are sweet," yet remember that the dead are there (ch.
ix. 17, 18). The wife is called a vessel in 1 Pet. iii. 7. These
words also have been expounded by ancient interpreters in a spiritual
sense, which may well be present to the reader's mind; and they have
been applied to the pure waters of Divine wisdom, a sense which is
suggested by Jer. ii. 13.--_Wordsworth._
If God had laid all common, certainly
Man would have been th' incloser: but since now
God hath impaled us, on the contrary,
Man breaks the fence, and every ground will plough.
O what were man, might he himself misplace!
Sure to be cross he would shift feet and face.--_George Herbert._
+Spiritual Self-helpfulness.--I. Man has independent spiritual
resources.+ He has a "cistern," a "well" of his own. First: He has
independent resources of thought. Every sane man can and does think
for himself. Thoughts well up in every soul, voluntarily and
involuntarily. Secondly: He has independent resources of experience.
No two have exactly the same experience. Thirdly: He has independent
powers of usefulness. Every man has a power to do a something which
no other can--to touch some soul with an effectiveness which no other
can. Wonderful is this well within--inexhaustible and ever active.
+II. Man is bound to use these resources.+ "Drink waters out of thine
own cistern;" do not live on others. Self-drawing--First: Honours our
own nature. Secondly: Increases our own resources. Self-helpfulness
strengthens. The more you draw from this cistern the more comes.
Thirdly: Contributes to the good of the universe. The man who gives
only what he has borrowed from others adds nothing to the common
stock. The subject--First: Indicates the kind of service one man can
spiritually render another. To priest, rabbi, sectary, I would
say--Man does not require your well; he has a cistern within. What he
wants is the warm gospel of love to thaw his frozen nature, and to
unseal the exhaustless fountain within, to remove all obstructions
from its out-flow, and to make it as pure as the crystal. The
subject--Secondly: Suggests an effective method to sap the foundation
of all priestly assumptions. Let every man become self-helpful, and
the influence of those who arrogate a lordship over the faith of
others will soon die out. The subject--Thirdly: Presents a motive for
thankfully adoring the Great Creator for the spiritual constitution
He has given us. We have resources not, of course, independent of Him
the primal fount of all life and power, but independent of all other
creatures. We are not like the parched traveller in the Oriental
desert, who, because he cannot discover water, dies of thirst.
Spiritually, we can walk through sandy deserts bearing an exhaustless
spring within.--_Dr. David Thomas._
Verse 18. It is not only to feed and clothe her, and refrain from
injuring her by word or deed. All this will not discharge a man's
duty nor satisfy a woman's heart. All the allusions to this relation
in Scripture imply an ardent, joyful love. To it, though it lie far
beneath heaven, yet to it, as the highest earthly thing, is compared
the union of Christ and His redeemed Church. Beware where you go for
comfort in distress, and sympathy in happiness. The Lord Himself is
the source of all consolation to a soul that seeks Him; yet nature is
His, as well as redemption. He has constructed nether springs on
earth and supplied them from His own high treasures; and to these He
bids a broken or a joyful spirit go for sympathy. To "rejoice in the
wife of thy youth"--this is not to put a creature in the place of
God. He will take care of His own honour. He has hewn the cistern,
and given it to you, and filed it, and when you draw out of it what
He has put in, you get from Himself and give Him the glory.--_Arnot._
Verse 19. In a spiritual sense, this imagery, derived from the limpid
fountains and beautiful animals of the natural world, is regarded by
the ancient expositors as descriptive of the delicious refreshment
and perfect loveliness of Divine truth, and the infinite blessings
which it bestows on those faithful souls which are united to it in
pure and unsullied love.--_Wordsworth._
Verse 20. A rare instance in which a canto does not begin with "My
son," but with "Why." The question is intended to be pressed. The
commerce with "the strange woman" is so plainly mad that the rightly
educated impenitent cannot possibly answer the wise man's
question.--_Miller._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 21-23.
THREE REASONS FOR AVOIDING THE WAY OF SIN.
These verses contain three reasons why the way of sin should be
avoided, and the way which God has appointed should be followed.
+I. Because there is no place secret enough to commit sin.+ The
sinner often comforts himself with the thought that what he has done,
or is in the habit of doing, is not known--that the actors of the
deed were the only persons privy to it. The text declares that there
is no such thing as a secret place, because there is no place where
the eyes of the Eternal do not penetrate. God is a witness of every
crime committed in secret. He is not only a witness _after_ the
_deed_, but _of_ the deed. Therefore there is no place secret enough
to be a place of sin. The thought of the ever-present God should
deter the sinner. 1. _Because the Divine presence is a_ pure
_presence._ People who are in the habit of committing the sin against
which the whole of this chapter is directed, would possibly shrink
from being guilty of it in the presence of a pure man or woman. How
much more should they be deterred by the fact that the eye of the
pure and holy God is upon them. 2. _Because the presence of God is
the presence of One_ who has authority to punish. The presence of the
chief magistrate of a nation would be sufficient to prevent the most
hardened criminal from committing crime. A thief would not steal
before the face of the man whom he knew could punish him. The
presence of God is the presence of the highest authority in the
universe, of One who is irresponsible to any other for His acts (Job.
ix. 12), of One who hast power most terrible, of One who has always
visited this sin with penalty. The presence of such an Authority
ought surely to make the adulterer quake at the very thought of his
sin.
+II. Because, though the sinner may not be apprehended by human law,
he shall be laid hold of and bound by his own deeds+ (verse 22). Many
sinners of this kind go at large in the world, and are never reached
by human law. No officer of justice will ever lay his hand upon them,
and no material chains will ever bind them. But they are already
taken and imprisoned by their own evil habits, which have bound them
in chains of increasing thickness as the acts of sin have been
repeated. This is a thraldom from which escape can come in only two
ways. A man must either _cease to be,_ or he must _repent,_ before he
can be free. Annihilation would set him free, because in ceasing to
be he would cease to sin. But the repentance demanded by God is the
only thing which will break his chains and permit him to retain his
existence. We have no proof that there will ever be any way of escape
by the first means, but we have abundant proof that the second is
open to all men on this side of death.
+III. Because the unrepentant adulterer will die as he has lived--a
fool+ (ver. 23). A fool is a man without knowledge, one who acts from
impulse rather than from reason. The sinner here pourtrayed is not a
fool because he had not had instruction, but because he has not
heeded it. Nature, History, Revelation and Conscience were his
instructors, but he has disregarded them all. If he had listened to
them he would have gained an experimental knowledge of the
blessedness of godliness and purity, of which he must now go out of
the world as ignorant as he entered it.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 21. Practical atheism is the root of human depravity. The eye,
even of a child, is a check upon a man, but the thought of an
all-seeing God inspires no alarm.--_Bridges._
The sin is not against man, nor dependent on man's detection only.
The secret sin is open before the eyes of Jehovah. In the balance of
His righteous judgement are weighed all human acts, this not
excepted. There is a significant emphasis in the recurrence of the
word used of the harlot herself in verse 6: "She ponders not, but God
does."--_Plumptre._
Because the ways of a sinful man are not before his own eyes,
therefore are they before the eyes of God: because sinful man doth
not ponder his goings, therefore the Lord pondereth them; because man
doth not look on his ways with the eye of care, therefore the Lord
looketh on them with the eye of wrath; because man doth not weigh his
goings in the balance of due consideration, therefore God doth weigh
them in the balance of severe justice. The opening of our eyes over
our sins is the shutting of God's eye towards them; the shutting of
our eyes upon them is the opening of God's eyes against them. For
though we hide our ways from ourselves, we cannot hide them from God.
We hide Him from ourselves; we do not hide ourselves from
Him.--_Jermin._
The meaning is, that directly in God's eyes are the ways of every
man, as though there were no other creature in the universe; as
though the wise man were saying, "Why, because the way seems smooth,
and you seem helped in your folly, do you go on in your impenitency,
and embrace the bosom of this wanton?" "For" the way of every man is
directly in the sight of God. He takes the most emphatic interest in
our schemes, whether we are doing well or ill. He helps us either in
sinning or doing right, for "He levels all (one's) paths" (see
Critical Notes). Not that we are to involve Him in the folly of any
sin, but if a man desires to drink, He levels the way for Him. If he
wishes liquor, He gives it; if he desires to steal, He gives the eye
and the nerve. . . . The Divinity seems to help the struggling,
whether saint or sinner, but the impenitent must not therefore
imagine that it is righteous to go on.--_Miller._
Verse 22. The licentious flatter themselves that in old age, when the
passions are less fiery, they will easily extricate themselves from
the dominion of their lusts, and repent and seek salvation. But Job
xx. 11 declares that the old sinner's "bones are full of the sins of
his youth, which shall lie down with him in the dust." Augustine,
after experience, says: "While lust is being served the habit is
formed, and whilst the habit is not being resisted necessity is
formed."--_Fausset._
Verse 23. Surely it is most just that he who lived without following
instruction should die without having instruction; he that in his
life would not do as he was instructed, deserveth that at death he
should not be instructed what to do.--_Jermin._
* * * * * *
CHAPTER VI.
CRITICAL NOTES.--+1. With+ a stranger, rather, "for" a stranger.
+3. When thou art come,+ rather, "for thou hast come." +Humble
thyself,+ literally "let thyself be trodden under foot." +Make sure,+
"importune," "urge." +11. One that travelleth,+ "a highwayman," "a
footpad." +Armed man,+ literally, "a man of the shield." +12. A
naughty person,+ "a worthless man." +13. Teacheth,+ "motions."
+14. Frowardness,+ "perverseness." +16.+ Six, yea, seven. "A peculiar
proverbial form, for which Arabic and Persian gnomic literature
supply numerous illustrations." Elster probably gives the simplest
and most correct explanation, deriving it "purely from the exigencies
of parallelism." "The form of parallelism could not, on account of
harmony, be sacrificed in any verse. But how should a parallel be
found for a number? Since it was not any definite number that was the
important thing, relief was found by taking one of the next adjacent
numbers as the parallel to that which was chiefly in mind" (_Lange's
Commentary_). +17. A proud look,+ literally, "haughty eyes."
+21. Continually,+ "for evermore." +22.+ _Lange's Commentary_
translates into the imperative form, "+let+ it lead thee," etc.
+24. Evil woman,+ literally "the woman of evil." +26.+ Last clause
means "an adulteress allures to that which may cost a man his life"
(_Stuart_). +30. Despise.+ Some translators render this word "scorn,"
others "disregard." Stuart, Wordsworth, and others adopt the former
and understand the words to mean "men do not despise the thief, they
do despise the adulterer." Noyse and others, adopting the latter
rendering, take the sentence to mean "men punish even a thief, how
much more an adulterer." +32.+ Last clause, literally "Whoso will
destroy his life, he does it." +34. Jealousy,+ _i.e._, of the injured
husband.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 1-5.
SELF-IMPOSED BONDAGE.
+I. Man's highest glory may become the chief instrument of his
trouble.+ The human tongue, or rather the power of speech, is a gift
that stands preeminent among the good gifts of God to His creatures.
It is man's most potent instrument of good or evil. The tongue of the
statesman, when used wisely, may bring blessings on millions, but
when it is made the tool of ambition it may entail misery upon
generations. The tongue of a Christian, when used wisely, may be the
means of bringing others into the way of life, but his unguarded
words may be a stumbling-block in the way of many. The warning of the
text reminds us that when the tongue is not kept in check by reason
and consideration the glory becomes the means of ensnaring the whole
man. The horse is a most useful servant to man, but the creature must
be under proper control or he may be the means of inflicting the most
serious injury upon his rider. If the rudder of a vessel is left to
the guidance of the waves, the vessel is very likely to find herself
upon the rocks. So with the tongue of man, it must be under the
control of reason or it may bring its owner into danger and disgrace.
When a man binds himself by solemn promises to a stranger of whose
character he must be ignorant, he is very likely to involve himself
and those dependent on him in much trouble, and perhaps in dishonour.
A promise hastily made without due consideration of the consequences
has often entailed upon a man years of suffering.
+II. The same instrument which, thoughtlessly used, brings a man into
a snare, may, when rightly guided, be the means of his deliverance.+
The promise made by Herod to Herodias (Matt. xiv. 7) was one which
ought never to have been made. The king was ensnared by allowing his
tongue to utter rash words, of which even _he_ upon reflection
repented. In his case, without doubt, it would have been a much less
sin to have broken his promise than to keep it. But in the case
before us, the advice given by Solomon to his pupil is, not to break
his word, but to use the same instrument by which he bound himself,
to obtain, if possible, a release. This he is to do--1. _By means
purely moral._ There are other means which a man might try. He might
use threatening; he might employ falsehood; but these would be
sinful. The only lawful means are those here implied, viz., words of
persuasion and entreaty. 2. _Without delay._ He must endeavour to
rectify his error at once; every day that passes over his head may be
bringing nearer the day when he may be called upon to redeem his
promise, and so he is to give "no sleep to his eyes nor slumber to
his eyelids."
+III. This advice is to be followed as a matter of duty.+ The man who
has acted imprudently is bound to endeavour to deliver himself by
lawful means. He is not to allow pride to hinder him (ver. 3). He is
bound to try and prevent his life from being marred in the
future--perhaps to its very close. For a man who is fettered by a
promise which ought never to have been made, is like a creature born
to enjoy freedom who has been taken captive by the hunter or the
fowler. And as it is more than lawful for the roe or the bird (ver.
5) to try to regain its freedom, so is it the duty of man to use all
right means to the same end.
_ILLUSTRATION OF VERSE_ 1.
The custom of striking hands at the conclusion of a bargain has
maintained its ground among the customs of civilised nations down to
the present time. To strike hands with another was the emblem of
agreement among the Greeks under the walls of Troy, for Nestor
complains, in a public assembly of the chiefs, that the Trojans had
violated the engagements which they had sanctioned by libations of
wine and by giving their right hands. (Iliad, Book II. i. 341, see
also Book IV. i. 139). The Roman faith was plighted in the same way;
for in Virgil, when Dido marked from her watchtowers the Trojan fleet
setting forward with balanced sails, she exclaimed, "Is this the
honour, the faith, _En dextra fidesque?_" Another striking instance
is quoted by Calmet from Ockley's _History of the Saracens._ Telha,
just before he died, asked one of Ali's men if he belonged to the
Emperor of the Faithful, and being informed that he did, "Give me,
then," said he, "your hand, that I may put mine into it, and by this
action renew the oath of fidelity I have already made to him."
(Calmet, vol. iii). See also Job xvii. 3; 2 Kings x. 15.--_Paxton's
Illustrations of Scripture._
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 1. The two characters are carefully distinguished. 1. The
companion, on whose behalf the young man pledges himself. 2. The
stranger, probably the Phœnician money-lender, to whom he makes
himself responsible.--_Plumptre._
God graciously directs our temporal affairs by His providence, and
condescends, in His word, to give us instructions concerning them. If
we regard not these, we need not be surprised though His providence
convince us, by dear-bought experience, of our folly and
sin.--_Lawson._
The son has just been warned against the deadly wound of a stranger.
He is now cautioned against a hurt from in imprudent friend. . . .
Our God, while he warns against _suretyship,_ has taken it upon
Himself. He has given His word, His bond--yea, His blood--for
sinners: a security that no powers of hell can shake.--_Bridges._
Solomon, on different occasions, condemns the practice of suretyship.
This condemnation is general. It does not follow, however, that what
he says is to be taken as an unqualified prohibition, to which there
are no circumstances that can constitute an exception. . . . There
are cases in which it is unavoidable; and there are cases in which
the law requires it; and there are cases in which it is not only in
consistence with law, but required by all the claims of prudence,
justice, and charity. These, however, are rare. And it may be laid
down as a maxim regarding the transactions of business, and all the
mutual dealings of man with man, that _the less of it the better_. In
such cases as the following, it is manifestly inadmissible, and may
even, in some instances, involve a large amount of moral turpitude.
+I. It is wrong for a man to come under engagements that are beyond
his actually existing means.+ Such a course is not merely of
imprudence, but there is in it a _threefold injustice._ First, to the
creditor for whom he becomes surety. Secondly, to his family, if he
has one, to whom the requisition of payment must bring distress and
ruin. Thirdly, to those who give him credit in his own transactions,
with the risks of his own trade. +II. The same observations are
applicable to the making of engagements with inconsideration and
rashness.+ The case here supposed is evidently that of suretyship
_for_ a friend _to_ a _stranger._ And the rashness may be viewed
either in relation to the _person_ or to the _case._--_Wardlaw._
It may at first excite surprise that Solomon should have thought it
needful to dwell so much as he does in the Proverbs on the evil of
suretyship (xi. 15; xvii. 18; xx. 16; xxii. 26; xxvii. 13), and that
in his lessons of moral prudence he should assign the first place to
cautions against it. The reason is probably to be found in the
peculiar circumstances under which the Proverbs were written, and the
special design of the author in writing them; although, doubtless,
Solomon had a general and universal purpose in composing them, and
the Holy Spirit, who employed his instrumentality in the work, looked
far beyond Solomon and his times, and extended his view to all ages
and nations of the world. . . . But the occasion which gave rise to
the writing of the Proverbs was a personal and national one. Many
strangers resorted to Jerusalem in the days of Solomon from all parts
of the civilised world, for the purpose of commerce and trade.
Borrowing and lending money was much in vogue; and many shrewd and
crafty adventurers speculated on the credulity of rich capitalists.
Solomon addresses his _son_ Rehoboam (ver. 3). He was born before his
father's accession to the throne, and Solomon reigned forty years. We
hear nothing of him until his ripe maturity, and then we are told of
an act of egregious folly. It was evident he was just the person to
be the dupe of licentious spendthrifts and griping usurers. The
courtly parasite who desired to find means for paying his own debts,
or indulging his own vices, and the avaricious money-lender, would
find a victim in the princely heir to the throne, whom they would
flatter with eulogies on his generosity, and would puff up with proud
notions of the exhaustless wealth to which he was the
aspirant.--_Wordsworth._
Verse 2. In the passage before us the warning is not so much against
suretyship in general as merely against the imprudent assumption of
such obligations, leaving out of account the moral unreliableness of
the man involved; and the counsel is to the quickest possible release
from every obligation of this kind that may have been hastily
assumed. With the admonitions of our Lord in His Sermon on the Mount,
to be ready at all times for the lending and giving away of one's
property, even in cases where one cannot hope for the recovery of
what has been given out (Luke vi. 30-36: comp. with 1 Cor. vi. 7),
this demand is not in conflict. For Christ also plainly demands no
such readiness to suffer loss on account of our neighbour, as would
deprive us of personal liberty, and rob us of all means of further
beneficence.--_Lange's Commentary._
For bills and obligations do mancipate the most free and ingenuous
spirit, and so put a man out of aim that he can neither serve God
without distraction nor do good to others, nor set his own state in
any good order, but lives and dies entangled and puzzled with cares
and snares; and after a tedious and labourious life passed in a
circle of fretting thoughts, he leaves at last, instead of better
patrimony, a world of intricate troubles to his posterity, who are
also taken "with the words of his mouth."--_Trapp._
Verse 3. This appeal is not, obviously, to the bond-giver, who has
seduced us to endorse him, and is as helpless as we to get anybody
off; but the bond-holder, for a securityship is to beg off in the
most unspeakable abjectness, and to press and to urge the credit to
release our name. Now, I say, this is not _simpliciter_, the gist of
the inspiration. But if we introduce the Gospel; if we see in this a
great picture of our guilt; if we see in the bond-holder the Friend
to whom we are to appeal; if we see in the bond-giver sin in all the
seductive forms in which it has come down to us from the original
transgressor; if the grip of the suretyship is the law, and the form
of the law is the broken covenant; if the act of our "striking hands"
is the way we have accepted the curse of Adam, and the way we have
volunteered under this _stranger's_ burdens, then the whole passage
becomes complete, and we are ready for the appeal, "Go, humble
thyself," &c. That is the very Gospel.--_Miller._
St. Gregory, Bede, and other ancient expositors, apply these
injunctions in a spiritual sense. "To be a surety for a friend is to
take upon thee the charge of looking to another's soul," says St.
Gregory, who also, reading the latter clause of the verse in the
sense of _"urging"_ and _"importuning"_ (see Critical Notes),
explains it thus: "Whosoever is set before others for an example of
their living is admonished, not only to watch himself, but to rouse
up his friend: for it sufficeth not that he doth watch well, if he do
not rouse him also over whom he is set from the drowsiness of sin."
Verse 4. Has this precept any connection with our spiritual
interests? It has. It is a part of the eighth commandment, and though
men regard it rather as a loss than as a sin to endanger their
outward estate, it is both a sin and a temptation. Men who once
seemed upright in their dealings have brought reproach upon religion
by living and dying in other men's debt, and by having recourse to
unjustifiable methods, suggested by distress, to relieve themselves.
The effect of suretyship, even with the most upright men, has often
proved hurtful to their souls, embittering their days, and unfitting
them for the cheerful service of religion. We are the servants of
Christ, and must not disqualify ourselves for His service by making
ourselves needlessly the servants of men.--_Lawson._
Verse 5. It is evident, however, that the language implies, If, with
all your efforts, you are unsuccessful in obtaining your discharge
you must stand to your engagement. Treachery would be a much greater
loss in character.--_Wardlaw._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 6-11.
INDUSTRY AND INDOLENCE.
A contrast. +I. The industrious insect.+ 1. _Nature is intended to be
a moral teacher to man._ The most saintly natures of ancient and
modern times have regarded God's works in this light, and God Himself
has led the van in so often pointing man to animate and inanimate
Nature for instruction and comfort. He first announced this truth
when He said to Noah, "I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be
a token of a covenant between Me and the earth" (Gen. ix. 13). This
is the first record of the enlistment of Nature as a helper to the
human soul, the first recorded instance of God's pointing out to man
what He intended all natural objects to become to his spiritual
nature. Here the son of Solomon is exhorted to gain instruction--to
be stirred up to a sense of duty--from a study of one of God's
inferior creatures. _2. Nature becomes the instructor of those only
who consider her ways._ The existence, within a man's reach, of the
most beautiful painting in the world will be of no advantage to him
unless he studies it. It is only as he _considers_ it that it will
convey to him the thought of the painter. The works of God are within
the reach of men, but they must be looked at and _considered_ if they
are to be to him what God intended them to be. God placed the bow in
the cloud and the tiny ant upon the ground to be subjects of
meditation. The Psalmist _considered_ the heavens before he was moved
with a sense of his own littleness and God's majesty (Psalm viii.).
Solomon's precept is, "Consider the ant." 3. _The lessons which are
to be learned from the study of the ant._ Industry, improvement of
opportunities, and individual action. The amount of work done by this
insignificant insect ought to be enough to shame an indolent man into
activity. Her care in embracing present opportunities is a loud
rebuke to those who would put off until to-morrow what, perhaps, can
only be done to-day. She says, by her diligent use of present hours,
"I must work the works of Him that sent me while it is day; the night
cometh, when no man can work" (John ix. 4). Especially her individual
effort is held up as worthy of imitation (ver. 7). While some men
wait for another to take the initiative, to clear the path for them,
she puts forth her own individual effort without guide, overseer, or
ruler. Each man must do his own work in the world, each one has
responsibilities of his own which will not admit of being discharged
by proxy. He must find out his individual duty, and not try to shift
the burden upon the shoulders of another, or wait for another to go
before him in the way.
+II. The indolent man.+ 1. _He does the right thing at the wrong
time, or indulges to excess in a gift of God which is intended to be
used in moderation._ Sleep is one of God's most precious gifts to man
in his present condition. It is a necessity of human nature. The
prophet Elijah had an angel of God to watch over him while he slept.
God saw that it was the medicine he most needed in that hour of
bodily fatigue and mental depression. But if he had been sleeping at
the hour of evening sacrifice, when the nation had to choose between
God and Baal on Mount Carmel, he would have been guilty of a great
sin against himself, his nation, and his God. Israel was promised the
land of rest after they had fought their way through the desert. Rest
is the reward of labour and not to be substituted for it. And
although intervals of rest are necessary and right, life is meant for
work, and the motto of every man ought to be that of the famous
coadjutor of the great William of Orange, St. Aldegonde, "Repos
ailleurs" (rest elsewhere). The sin of the sluggard is the abuse of a
great blessing, the doing of a right thing at the wrong time. 2. _The
consequence of such conduct._ This can be abundantly illustrated from
human experience. If the farmer rests when, regardless of cold and
storm, he ought to be ploughing or sowing, poverty will be coming
upon him when his barns ought to be filled with plenty. The man who
lets slip his spiritual opportunities through soul-indolence, will
find himself in a state of soul-poverty at the end of life. When he
ought to be reaping an abundant harvest of soul-satisfaction from a
life whose energies have been used to bless himself and others, he
will find himself in a state of soul-destitution. The rich man said
to his soul, "Take thine ease," when he ought to have aroused it to
prepare for the future which was coming up to meet him. But for the
neglect of this God branded him as a "fool" (Luke xii. 20).
_ILLUSTRATIONS OF VERSES_ 6-8.
When I began to employ workmen in this country, nothing annoyed me
more than the necessity to hire also an _overseer,_ or to fulfil this
office myself. But I soon found this was universal, and strictly
necessary. Without an overseer very little work would be done, and
nothing as it should be. The workmen will not work at all unless kept
to it and directed in it by an overseer who is himself a perfect
specimen of laziness. He does absolutely nothing but smoke his pipe,
order this, scold that one, discuss the how and the why with the men
themselves, or with idle passers-by. This overseeing often costs more
than the work overseen. Now the ants manage far better. Every one
attends to his own business and does it well. In another respect
these provident creatures read a very necessary lesson to Orientals.
In all warm climates there is a ruinous want of calculation and
forecast. Having enough for the current day, men are reckless as to
the future. . . . Now the ant "provideth her meat in summer." All
summer long, and especially in harvest, every denizen of their
populous habitation is busy. As we ride or walk over the grassy
plains, we notice paths leading to their subterranean granaries; at
first broad, clean and smooth, like roads near a city, but constantly
branching off into smaller and less distinct, until they disappear in
the herbage of the plain. Along these converging paths hurry
thousands of ants, thickening inward until it becomes an unbroken
column of busy beings going in search of or returning with their
food. I read lately, in a work of some pretension, that ants do not
carry away wheat or barley. This was by way of comment on Prov.
vi. 8. Tell it to these farmers, and they will laugh at you. Ants are
the greatest robbers in the land. Leave a bushel of wheat in the
vicinity of one of their subterranean cities, and in a surprisingly
short time the whole commonwealth will be summoned to plunder. A
broad, black column stretches from the wheat to the hole, and, as if
by magic, every grain seems to be accommodated with legs, and walks
off in a hurry along the moving column.--_Thompson's Land and the
Book._
Solomon's lesson to the sluggard has been generally adduced as a
strong confirmation of the ancient opinion, that ants have a magazine
of provisions for winter; it can, however, only relate to the species
of a warm climate, the habits of which are probably different from
those of a cold one; so that his words, as commonly interpreted, may
be perfectly correct and consistent with Nature, and yet be not at
all applicable to the species that are indigenous to Europe. But
Solomon does not affirm that the ant laid up in her cell stores of
grain, but that she gathers her food when it is most plentiful, and
thus shows her wisdom and prudence. The words thus interpreted will
apply to the species among us, as well as to those that are not
indigenous.--_Kirby and Spence's Entomology._
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 6. We may _infer_ Rehoboam's character from such exhortations
as these. And these and following precepts derive much interest from
what we have reason to believe was his character. His position bore
some resemblance to that of our own Charles II., at the voluptuous
court of Versailles, before his accession to the throne, and the
character of the one was in some respects similar to that of the
other. The unhappy example of his own father Solomon, in his old age,
was more potent for evil than the precepts of the Proverbs were for
good. At the age of forty-one Rehoboam was a feeble libertine. The
warnings of the _Icón Basiliké_ fell flat on the ears of the royal
author's own son, and Rehoboam derived little benefit from the book
of Proverbs.--_Wordsworth._
Verses 6 to 8. Our whole present life is the time for action; the
future for retribution, which shall be ushered in by the judgment:
the latter is the harvest (Matt. xxv. 3, 4).--_Fausset._
How is man degenerated from the nobility of his creation, that an
insect must be a pattern unto him. He that goes well without a guide
is fit to be a guide, he that does well without an overseer is fit to
be an overseer, he that orders himself well without a ruler is fit to
be a ruler. Let the ant, therefore, be a guide unto the sluggard, and
teach him to guide himself, who guides herself so carefully. Let the
ant be his overseer, which he sees to overgo himself so much in pains
and labour. Let the ant be his ruler, and by her example command him
to work which rules herself so well in working.--_Jermin._
First, as the ant in summer gathereth whereupon to live in winter, so
every Christian in a time of quietness should gather out of God's
word, that in trouble and adversity he may have wherewith to live
spiritually. Secondly, we ought to labour by the example of the ant,
that we get the fruit of good works, in the harvest of this present
life, so sedulously and diligently, that in the time of winter and
judgment we perish not with hunger.--_St. Augustine._
These precepts have a spiritual meaning and are to be applied to the
soil of the heart and mind. As Bede says here, "The present life is
compared to summer and harvest, because now, in the heat of trials,
we must reap and lay up for the future, and the day of death and
judgment is the winter for which we must prepare, and when there is
no more any time for preparation."--_Wordsworth._
Man, that was once the captain of God's school, is now, for his
truantliness, turned down into the lowest form, as it were to learn
his A B C again; yea to be taught by these meanest creatures. . . .
Let no man here object that word of our Saviour, "Take no thought for
the morrow." There is a care of _diligence,_ and a care of
_diffidence;_ a care of the head and a care of the heart; the former
is needful, the latter sinful.--_Trapp._
Verse 9. Much more loudly would we call to the spiritual
sluggard--thou that art sleeping away the opportunities of grace; not
"striving to enter in at the strait gate" (Luke xiii. 24); taking thy
salvation for granted; hoping that thou shalt "reap where thou has
not sown, and gather where thou hast not strawed" (Matt. xxv. 26);
improve, after this pattern, the summer and harvest season--the time
of youth, the present, perhaps the only moment. _The ant hath no
guide._ How many guides have you?--conscience, the Bible, ministers!
_She has no overseer._ You are living before Him "whose eyes are a
flame of fire." _She has no ruler_ calling her to account. "Every one
of us must give account of himself to God."--_Bridges._
Epaminondas, finding one of his sentinels asleep, thrust him through
with his sword; and, being chidden for so great severity, replied, "I
left him but as I found him." It must be our care that death serve us
not in like sort, that we be not taken napping. . . . Our Saviour was
up and at prayer "a great while before day" (Mark i. 45). The holy
angels are styled "watchers" (Dan. iv. 10), and they are three times
pronounced happy that _watch_ (Luke xii. 37, 38, 43).--_Trapp._
Verse 11. Two things are denoted in this imagery. 1. That idleness
will _quickly_ bring poverty. 2. That it will come as a
_destroyer._--_Stuart._
I look upon indolence as a sort of suicide, for the man is
effectually destroyed, though the appetite of the brute may
survive.--_Lord Chesterfield._
God will not support thee without work, but by work, that is His holy
ordinance (Gen. iii. 19): Do thy part, and God will do His.--_Egard._
A most dreadful simile! One who has waited for a fight knows how
slowly the armed men seem to come up. They may be hours passing the
intervening space. There is no sound of them. They are not on the
roads, or on the air, either in sight or echo; and yet they are
_coming on!_ The intervening time is the sluggard's sleeping time;
and it seems an age. But his want will come. . . . All slothfulness
is, no doubt, rebuked; but especially that which has all heaven for
its garnered stores; all hell for its experience of want; all time
for its season of neglect; and all eternity to break upon its
sleep.--_Miller._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 12-19.
A STUDENT OF INIQUITY.
+I.+ We have in these words a picture of a man so wicked that he
makes it his study how to commit sin. The sin of many men, perhaps of
most men, arises from thoughtlessness, weakness, or slothfulness (see
verses 9, 10), but there are others who make sin their business, and
apply themselves to it with as much diligence as the merchant gives
to his trade, or the man of letters to his pursuit of knowledge. "He
deviseth mischief" (verse 14), "his heart deviseth wicked
imaginations" (verse 18). 1. _Those who wish to compass any
particular end must think upon the means by which they can accomplish
it._ Progression in iniquity is not always accomplished without
thought, and wicked men have to plan much and think deeply sometimes
before their malicious devices are ripe for execution. The thief has
to study his profession before he can become an accomplished burglar.
The sharper must spend much time in acquiring the skill by which he
preys upon less experienced gamblers. The murderer must ponder deeply
how he is to do his bloody deed without detection. It cost Haman a
good deal of thinking before he could devise a scheme likely to
injure Mordecai. The chief priests and scribes held many
consultations before they compass the death of Christ (Mark xi. 18,
xiv. 1-55, etc.). The wicked man of the text is a student of ways and
means. 2. _He is constant in his studies._ If a man professes to make
any branch of knowledge his particular study and only applies himself
to it by fits and starts, we know he is not much in earnest about it,
but if he is constant in his application, he demonstrates by his
perseverance that he intends, if possible, to excel. The wicked man
here pictured by Solomon has made up his mind not to fail through
lack of continuous application, "he deviseth mischief _continually_"
(ver. 14). If one plan fails, he begins to form another; when one
scheme has brought the desired end, he at once sets to work at a
fresh one; as a natural consequence--3. _He makes progress,_ "he
walks with a froward mouth" (ver. 12), his feet become "swift in
running to mischief" (ver. 18). The man who is always in the practice
of any art can hardly stand still in it. He can hardly fail to become
more and more of an adept. He sees where he might have done better
yesterday and supplies the deficiency next time. And this is true of
the work of wickedness as of any other work, "practice makes
perfect." There are men, for instance, who from constant practice
"lie like truth." The more the man studies how to injure his
fellow-creatures, the more easily he can plan; the oftener he plans,
the easier he finds it. 4. _In order to carry out his designs he
invents an original language_ (ver. 13) There is no member of the
body which cannot become a medium to convey thought. The eye is very
eloquent in this work, the hand, the lip, the finger, the whole body
may do this to some extent, and are sometimes blessedly so employed
when affliction has shut out our fellow-man from hearing the human
voice, but this man of wickedness makes his whole body a medium for
the conveyance of his evil plans and desires. He yields his "members
as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin" (Rom. vi. 13). The common
every-day language of outspoken honest men will not do to convey his
thoughts, because his thoughts are against the welfare of his fellow
creatures. This compels him to use a language which is comprehended
only by those who are like himself. The eye can be used in this way
as a more safe and swift instrument than the tongue. A look may
embody a thought that would need many words to express. The glance of
one wicked man to another has often been the sentence of death to
many. And so, in a less degree, perhaps, with the foot and the hand,
as Matthew Henry says, "Those whom he makes use of as the tools of
his wickedness understand the ill meaning of a wink of his eye, a
stamp of his feet, the least motion of his fingers. He gives orders
for evil-doing, and yet would not be thought to do so, but has ways
of concealing what he does, so that he may not be suspected."
+II. The end of such a man.+ (Verse 15.) 1. _His very success will
bring his ruin._ The man who makes it the business of his life to lay
plans against the comfort of his fellow-creatures may succeed for a
time, but by-and-by he will find himself so famous, or infamous, that
a reward may be offered for his person, and his very success in
deceiving others in the past will possibly so throw him off his guard
as to make him an easy prey to those who now lie in wait to bring him
to justice. But if he escape the messenger of human retribution, he
is sure of the Divine Nemesis. God's law and the universe are against
him. In sowing discord in the world, he has sowed destruction for
himself, and he must reap it. However cleverly he may have outwitted
his fellow-men, he has not deceived God, and _His_ law is that
"Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" (Ephes. vi. 7).
2. _The punishment will come when least expected._ "Suddenly shall he
be broken" (verse 15). The thief makes it his study to find an
entrance into his victim's house when he least expects him, and he
finds himself one day repaid in his own coin. When he is enjoying his
fancied security an officer of justice visits him, and suddenly he is
summoned to answer for his crimes. This we find is generally the case
with retribution; it not only comes certainly, but at a time when it
is least looked for. 3. _His ruin will be complete._ "He shall be
broken without remedy" (verse 15). The crime of murder is regarded by
our code of law as one which deserves the extremest penalty which man
can inflict upon man. The murderer, as a rule, is visited with a
punishment which, so far as his earthly existence goes, cuts off all
hope for the future. The man who is pictured to us in these verses is
one who appears to have completed his character as a sinner. The
number seven is often used in Scripture to denote
perfection--completion; and this student of iniquity appears to have
succeeded so well in his studies that there is no vice which is not
found in one of the seven things which go to make up his character.
His pride leads him to refuse God's yoke, and to carve out for
himself a way without reference to the will of Him in whom he lives
and moves. But his lying tongue betrays a sense of weakness. He fears
that his plans, though so skilfully laid, may not succeed, and
therefore he has recourse to deception to help him out with them. And
so cruel is he that he shrinks from no misery that he may bring upon
others in the furtherance of his own designs; neither the character
nor the life of his victims is spared. He is "a false witness that
speaketh lies and soweth discord," his "hands shed innocent blood."
For so diseased a member of the body politic there seems nothing left
but amputation. So complete a sinner must suffer a complete ruin.
_Finally,_ that such a character should be an abomination to the Lord
(verse 16) is most natural, if we consider how entirely it is at
variance with what God is Himself. Like seeks and loves like. The
musical soul seeks and delights in those who love music. The
courageous Jonathan delights in the courageous David. God is humble.
He makes a right estimate of Himself and others. This is true
humility. "Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high,
who humbleth Himself to behold the things that are in heaven and in
the earth"? (Psa. cxiii. 5, 6). How great a contrast is He in this
respect to the man of "proud look"? God is a "God of truth" (Psa.
xxxi. 5), it is a blessed impossibility with Him to lie (Titus i. 2).
How can He do other than abominate a "lying tongue"? He is the
Saviour of men (1 Tim. iv. 10); this sinner seeks to destroy them. He
is the Author of peace and the lover of concord; this man's aim has
been to "sow discord" even "among brethren."
_ILLUSTRATION OF VERSE_ 13.
It should be remembered that, in the East, when people are in the
house they do not wear sandals, consequently their feet and toes are
exposed. When guests wish to speak so as not to be observed by the
host, they convey their meaning by the feet and toes. Does a person
wish to leave the room in company with another? he lifts up one of
his feet; and should the other refuse, he also lifts up a foot and
suddenly puts it down again. When merchants wish to make a bargain
with others without making known their terms, they sit on the ground,
have a piece of cloth thrown over the lap, and then put a hand under,
and thus speak with their fingers. When the Brahmins convey religious
mysteries to their disciples, they teach with their fingers, having
the hands concealed in the folds of their robe.--_Roberts, in
Biblical Treasury._
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 12. He who is nobody in deeds is often strong in words. He
whose hands are idle has a tongue anything but idle; and he tries by
words suited to men's humours to win that favour which he cannot by
deeds.--_Cartwright._
"Walketh" implies _progress_ in _evil,_ as the tendency of all sin is
to grow more and more inveterate.--_Fausset._
Every idle man is a "naughty" man; _is_, or ere long, _will be_, for
by doing nothing men learn to do evil. And "thou wicked and slothful
servant," saith our Saviour (Matt. xxv. 26). He putteth no difference
between the idle person and the wicked person. The devil will not
long suffer such an one to be idle, but will soon set him to work.
Idleness is the hour of temptation.--_Trapp._
Verse 13. He conveys his meanings, and carries on his scheme, and
promotes his ends, in every sly, covert, unexpected way.--_Wardlaw._
Not speech only, but all other means by which man holds intercourse
with man, are turned to instruments of fraud and falsehood. The wink
which tells the accomplice that the victim is already snared, the
gestures with foot and hand, half of deceit, half of mockery--these
would betray him to anyone who was not blind.--_Plumptre._
Verse 14. The wise man had showed before the outward rivulets, now he
shows the inward fountain, a corrupt heart. This is added lest we
should think that only outward signs and gestures are evil. If
neither by outward signs nor gestures a wicked man dare express
himself, yet his heart is evil.--_Francis Taylor._
As the agriculturist applies himself wholly to the ploughing and
sowing of his land, so the froward gives himself wholly to iniquity,
seeking his harvest of gain, or of enjoyment of malignity, in
traducing or lying, or in praising with words whilst all the time
traducing by signs.--_Fausset._
Where frowardness soweth the field, what can grow but contentions
only? But these are first sown in the heart by mischievous devices,
and their being come to a ripeness, then are they gathered, and are
again sown in the outward actions of discord, one harvest serving to
bring on another until they bring the seedsman to the harvest of
destruction. The force of the verse is, that when wickedness is
silent outwardly, it is devising mischief inwardly, that it may
practice it the more abundantly.--_Jermin._
Verse 15. _Therefore_, if a thing be so ruinous; if it be a fountain
of sin; if it be sending forth corruption in such a manner as to
increase the mass of it, and never diminish it; if it be putting
forth causes of quarrel both with God and man, then that thing must
be crushed. We would expect a sharp, clean end. If it be a root, it
must be threaded to its very eye, and all the life of it must be
traced and crushed quite out of it in the soil.--_Miller._
The word "suddenly" shows the vanity of the sinner's hope that he
shall have the time or the gift of repentance (Job. xxi. 17, 18; Psa.
lxiii. 19).--_Fausset._
It were pity such a villain should go without his reward. The wise
man, therefore, doth not leave him without his judgment denounced,
and it is a grievous one. For he that spendeth time to devise
mischief shall not have time at last to devise help for the
preventing of his own sudden mischief. He that by plots maketh the
breaches of strife, shall at length be broken suddenly into pieces,
without hope of piecing himself together again. . . . Of Satan it is
said that he fell like lightning from heaven, the fall whereof is
most sudden, and so that it never riseth again. And so cometh the
calamity of malicious, froward hearts: such is the breaking fall of
their destruction.--_Jermin._
Verse 16. This, curtly, is a restatement of the picture just passed;
not exactly, but ripened a little, and advanced into a more mature
expression.--_Miller._
It is an evidence of the good-will God bears to mankind, that those
sins are in a special manner provoking to Him which are prejudicial
to the comfort of human life and society.--_Henry._
The things which God hateth are the things which the devil maketh. He
cannot be the author and hater of the same thing. And therefore it is
not man, but the wicked things in man, which God abhorreth, and
which, did not man love, God would still love man, although He hateth
them.--_Jermin._
Verse 17. A proud look or "lofty eyes" might seem to have little to
do with a "worthless man" (see Critical Notes on verse 12), but a man
is a man of emptiness solely because he is depending, in divers ways,
upon himself. Humility is the very first lesson towards salvation. A
man could not live a whole long life taking "a little more sleep" if
he was not arrogantly depending upon something within himself. "Hands
that shed innocent blood:" The movements of such a man are all
deadly. The amiable may be fairly stung by such rude speech, but the
wise man intends to imply that a deceived impenitence deceives and
festers all about it. The worldly father that misguides his son sheds
his blood. It is astonishing how much there is in the Bible of this
cruel language (Psa. v. 9; Isa. i. 21, &c.).--_Miller._
Verse 18. The heart underlies the seven vices which are an
abomination to God, and in the midst, because it is the fountain from
which evil flows in all directions.--_Starke._
Verse 19. If the heavenly "dew descends upon the brethren that dwell
together in unity" (Psa. cxxxiii.), a withering blast will fall on
those who, mistaking prejudice for principle, "cause divisions" for
their own selfish ends (Rom. xvi. 17, 18). If we cannot attain unity
of opinion, "perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the
same judgment" (1 Cor. i. 10), at least let us cultivate unity of
Spirit (Phil. iii. 16).--_Bridges._
Verses 12-19. As respects the arrangement in which the seven
manifestations of treacherous dealing are enumerated in verses 16-19,
it does not perfectly correspond with the order observed in verses
12-14. There the series is--mouth, eyes, feet, fingers, heart,
devising evil counsels, stirring up strifes; here it is eyes, tongue,
hands, heart, feet, speaking lies, instigating strife. With reference
to the organs which are named as the instruments in the first five
forms of treacherous wickedness, in the second enumeration an order
is adopted involving a regular descent; the base disposition to stir
up strife, or to let loose controversy in both cases ends the
series. . . . The six or seven vices, twice enumerated in different
order and form of expression, are, at the same time, all of them
manifestations of hatred against one's neighbour, or sins against the
second table of the Decalogue; yet it is not so much a general
unkindness as rather an unkindness consisting and displaying itself
in falseness and malice that is emphasised as their common element.
And only on account of the peculiarly mischievous and ruinous
character of just these sins of hatred to one's neighbour, is he who
is subject to them represented as an object of especially intense
abhorrence on the part of a holy God, and as threatened with the
strongest manifestations of His anger in penalties.--_Dr. Zöckler, in
Lange's Commentary._
Verses 16-19. There is one parallel well worthy of notice between the
seven cursed things here and the seven blessed things in the fifth
chapter of Matthew. In the Old Testament the things are set down in
the sterner form of what the Lord hates, like the "Thou shalt not" of
the Decalogue. In the New Testament the form is in accordance with
the gentleness of Christ. There we learn the good things that are
blessed, and are left to gather thence the opposite evils that are
cursed. But, making allowance for the difference in form, the first
and the last of the seven are identical in the two lists. "The Lord
hates a proud look" is precisely equivalent to "Blessed are the poor
in spirit;" and "He that soweth discord among brethren" is the exact
converse of the "peacemaker." The coincidence must be designed. When
Jesus was teaching His disciples on the Mount He seems to have had in
view the similar instructions that Solomon had formerly delivered,
and, while the teaching is substantially new, there is as much of
allusion to the ancient Scripture as to make it manifest that the
Great Teacher kept His eye upon the prophets, and sanctioned all
their testimony.--_Arnot._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 20-23.
_On verses 20 and 21, see Homiletics on_ chap. i. 7-9, _and_ iv. 1-4.
THE LAW OF GOD'S WORD.
+I. The Divine law as a lamp.+ 1. _It is like a lamp because it is
portable._ A light that cannot be carried from place to place will be
useless to a man who has to find his way home in the dark on an
uneven road. Life is such a journey, and the commandment of the Lord
can be carried in man's memory and heart: "Thy Word have I hid in
mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee" (Psa. cxix. 11).
2. _Its existence declares that men need light from a source outside
themselves._ A man's eyes on a dark night are not sufficient to
enable him to find the right road. If he depends simply upon them he
will find that the "light within him is darkness" (Luke xi. 35). He
must have external help. The existence of God's revelation in the
world proves that man has not enough light within him to guide his
feet into the way of peace. His own spiritual perception will not
enable him to find his way through the night to eternal day. 3. _It
is in constant requisition._ The position and relation of our globe
to the sun makes it certain that night will constantly succeed the
day. And while the night continues to follow day the lamp will be
needed to illumine the darkness. The Divine lamp will never be out of
use while temptation, and doubt, and sin, and ignorance beset the
path of man, as certainly as the revolution of the globe brings the
night.
+II. The commandment as a guide.+ "When thou goest, it shall lead
thee" (verse 22). Where leading is promised ignorance is implied. The
man who trusts to another to guide him acknowledges by the act that
the guide knows more than he does. Scripture takes for granted that
man is ignorant. Its existence implies that man needs information and
direction concerning his life.
+III. The commandment as a guard.+ "When thou sleepest, it shall keep
thee." A keeper, or guard, implies danger in general, and in this
instance in particular. There is a general danger in times of
pestilence, and there is a special danger in some places and under
some circumstances. There is a danger common to all vessels when
sailing the ocean, but there are some parts which are especially
dangerous. So it is with men in relation to sin. There is the general
liability to fall into sin common to all men, but there are dangers
which more especially beset youth and inexperience, and there is one
sin above all others which is terrible in its effects and ruinous to
the whole man. The text applies to a general keeping from the common
danger and to a special keeping from this special danger (verse 24).
+IV. The commandment is a keeper, a guide, and a lamp to those only
who keep it.+ A man binds his sandal upon his foot and it keeps his
foot, because it has itself been kept in its right place. There is a
mutual keeping. There can be no keeping _by_ the word unless there is
a keeping _of_ the word. A greater than Solomon has told us this
truth. Our Lord, in His parable of the sower, reminds us of those
wayside hearers who, not keeping the word, were not kept by it, and
of those who, like the rocky or thorny ground, kept it only for a
while and were only kept by it until the time of temptation scorched
them, and their profession withered away (Matt. xiii. 1-7). And our
Lord Himself used the commandment in the hour of His temptation to
keep Him. To all the advances of the tempter he replied, "It is
written."
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 20. The first feature that arrests attention in this picture
is, that effects are attributed to the law of a mother which only
God's law can produce. The inference is obvious and sure. It is
assumed that the law which a mother instils is the Word of God
dwelling richly in her own heart, and that she acts as a channel to
convey that Word to the heart of her children. To assume it as
actually done is the most impressive method of enjoining it. Parents
are, by the constitution of things, in an important sense mediators
between God and their children for a time. . . . Your children are,
by grace, let into you, so as to drink in what you contain. The only
safety is, that you be by grace let into Christ, so that what they
get from you shall be, not what springs within you, but what flows
into you from the Springhead of holiness. To the children it is the
law of their mother, and therefore they receive it; but in substance
it is the truth from Jesus, and to receive it is life.--_Arnot._
We have already noticed (ch. i. 8) the fifth commandment as
comprehending the first five; just as the tenth commandment
comprehends the latter five. They ought to be painted so in churches.
Handed down so, we verily believe, to Moses, each table must have
carried five commandments. Honouring our father, in all the broad
meaning of that term, is the first commandment "_in,_" not "_with_"
(as in Eng. version), "promise" (Eph. vi. 2).--_Miller._
Verse 21. "Bind them continually" signifieth such a care of firm
binding as when one, to be sure of binding strong, doth as it were
always hold the strings in his hands, and is continually pulling
them. And surely we had need so to bind continually God's
commandments and law to our hearts and necks, for they are but loose
knots which the best of us make, and they are ever and anon slipping
back, unless our diligence be still pulling hard to keep them close.
To bind that to our hearts which bindeth us to godliness, is to loose
ourselves; to tie that about our necks which ties us to religion, is
to free ourselves. A good father's commandment, a good mother's law,
doth tie us in observance unto God's law; if, therefore, we shall
bind the one upon our hearts continually, if we shall tie the other
about our necks, this will give us the freedom of true sons, both
with God and man. This hearty binding, and willing tying of
ourselves, taketh away all burdensome feeling of any tie or binding
for us.--_Jermin._
Bind them upon thine heart "for ever," because through all eternity
these commandments will be the very highest objects of affection.
Holiness will be the greatest treasure of the blessed. And, second,
"tie them about thy neck" for a still higher reason Holiness is a
bright ornament. It is precious on its own account. It is worthy, not
on account of what it does, or of what it seems, but of what it is.
That is, if we neither had joy in it or won profit by it, it would be
glorious like a necklace upon the blind, intrinsically, and on its
own account.--_Miller._
Verse 22. No such guide to God as the Word, which, while a man holds
to, he may safely say, "Lord, if I be deceived, Thou hast deceived
me; if I be out of the way, Thy Word has misled me." If thou sleep
with some good meditation in thy mind it shall keep thee from foolish
and sinful dreams and fancies, and set thy heart in a holy frame when
thou awakest. He that raketh up his fire at night shall find fire in
the morning. "How precious are Thy thoughts unto me, O God" (Psa.
cxxxix. 17). What follows? "When I awake, I am still with Thee"
(verse 18).--_Trapp._
+I. The thing to be done.+ The Word of God is to talk with us. A
man's character is obviously much influenced by his habitual talk.
Sentiments received in conversation powerfully affect the mind. . . .
The idea of dealing with the Holy Scripture as a conversible
companion is implied in the very name, "The Word of God," and in the
statement that "God, who in sundry times, and in divers manners,
_spoke_ to the Fathers, by the prophets, has _spoken_ to us by His
son" (Heb. i. 1). 1. _The Word of God will talk to us instructively._
No part is addressed to mere speculation or curiosity. It has always
in view the object of furnishing the mind with that which shall be
useful in the highest sense, and for the longest duration. 2. _It
will talk without flattery._ Our best friends seldom dare to tell us
all that is thought of us. But the Word of God tells us what we
actually are, and where our faults and danger lie. 3. _It will talk
with us affectionately._ "Faithful are the wounds of a friend," yet
they may be "wounds" after all, to minds too susceptible. But there
is a depth of love even in the sternest rebukes of the Word of God.
+II. The particular time when the Word of God may talk with us.+
"When thou wakest." 1. _To forewarn us._ Every day is a little life,
and who can say what the coming hour may bring forth. 2. _To fore-arm
us._ There is not an hour in which some temptation may not present
itself, or some principle be severely tried. A spiritual armour is
therefore necessary, while a part of that armour, which is
indispensable, is "the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God" (Eph.
vi. 17). 3. _To pre-occupy us._ "How is it," said a friend to a
learned physician, "that amidst such employment and continual
exercise of mind you preserve such unruffled tranquillity?" "It is,"
said he, "because I give the first hour of every morning to the Holy
Scriptures and to prayer." Much benefit may well be expected from a
pre-occupation of the mind and heart, so entirely consonant to the
whole tenor of man's relations to his Maker and perpetual
benefactor.--_Bullar._
Observe three benefits of keeping instruction, and in each the fit
time and the act. A man walking, needs a guide; sleeping, needs a
watchman; awaking, needs a friend to talk with him.--_Francis Taylor._
Verse 23. The reproofs of the law may alarm and terrify, but they are
not to be less valued on that account. The threatenings of hell guard
the way to heaven, and strongly urge us to keep the King's highway,
the only way of safety.--_Lawson._
The parallelism with Psalm cxix. 105, deserves special notice. The
alliteration, "the law is light," like the Vulgate, "lex, lux,"
reproduces a corresponding _paronomasia_ in the Hebrew.--_Plumptre._
He that hath the word of Christ richly dwelling in him, may lay his
hand upon his heart and say, as dying Ecolampadius did: "Here is
plenty of light." Under the law all was in riddles; Moses was veiled;
and yet that saying was then verified. There was light enough to lead
men to Christ "the end of the law" (Rom. x. 4). "Reproofs of
instruction," or "corrections of instruction." A lesson set on with a
whipping is best remembered.--_Trapp._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 24-35.
A SPECIAL SIN AND ITS PENALTIES FROM WHICH HE WHO KEEPS GOD'S LAW
WILL BE KEPT.
+I. From the huntress of souls.+ The animals of tropical jungles are
compelled at intervals to forsake their safe retreats and come down
to the brink of the river to quench their thirst. This necessity of
their life involves them in danger. The instinct of the lion tells
him that the antelope will be compelled, by the cravings of his
nature, to come to the place of water, and therefore he lies in wait
there to make him an easy prey. And the hunter, being fully aware of
the same fact, crouches by the river-side and takes both the lion and
his prey. Thus the natural bodily instincts are used as means by
which the lives of the creatures are destroyed. The danger of which
the young man is here warned arises out of the existence of a
God-given and, therefore, lawful desire. The huntress of souls--as
she is well named in verse 26--takes advantage of this lawful
propensity and uses it as a means of the destruction of her victim.
She knows that the young man, from the strength of his lawful
desires, is, comparatively, an easy prey to the seducer, hence it is
to him that she points her weapons. These weapons are: 1. _Flattery._
Fair words cost nothing. A score of base coin can be purchased for a
copper, and are worth exchanging for one golden piece. The dogs lick
the hand of the vendor of their meat, but this not out of any
affection for him. They do not use their tongue out of any affection
for _him_, but for _what he has._ So the adulteress, and so indeed
all flatterers. They give the base coin only in the hope of getting
gold in return--fair words for real benefits. They will lick the back
of the hand in order to get something out of the palm. 2. _Her
beauty._ The beauty of a woman is a powerful weapon, and, if rightly
used, may be a means of greatly blessing others. But, alas, how often
has it been debased to the vilest purposes, how many times have
strong men been cast down by it, how many sons of the mighty has it
brought low, even to the dust! The keeping in the heart of the law of
God's word will teach the young man to estimate flattering words and
mere external beauty at their real worth.
+II. From the inevitable marks left upon both constitution and
character by unlawful intercourse+ (vers. 27, 28). A man's raiment
cannot be kindled into a flame without its retaining the marks after
the fire has been extinguished. The scar of the burn will remain even
after the wound is healed. So those who yield to the solicitations of
the "strange woman" will find that soul and body will suffer from the
effects of the sin long after the action has been committed.
+III. From the deserved contempt of all the pure-minded+ (vers. 30,
31). It is a sin compared with which a theft is a light crime in the
eyes of God, and therefore in the eyes of the best men. A thief may
make restitution for his crime, but this sin cannot be atoned for by
an after act. Gold may be repaid fourfold, but dishonour brought upon
a husband by a wife's infidelity is a blot which cannot be effaced.
The loss of the poor man's ewe-lamb might be atoned for, but David
could not have restored to Uriah an innocent wife. (See 2 Sam.
xii. 1-6). Hence the much heavier punishment under the Mosaic law for
adultery than for theft. (See Exod. xxii. 1-4; Lev. xx. 10.)
+IV. From the fury of a lawful jealousy+ (ver. 34). Where there is
true love there is a jealousy for the honour and reputation of the
object loved. The man who is not jealous for the honour of his
country is not a patriot. The father who is not jealous for the
reputation of his family is not worthy of the name. And so the
husband who is not jealous of his own and his wife's honour is a
stranger to real love. There is a right and lawful jealousy. God
calls Himself "a jealous God" (Exod. xx. 5). There are rights which
belong to Him alone, and He is justly displeased if they are given to
any other being. Paul tells the Corinthian Church that he was
"jealous over them with a godly jealousy" (2 Cor. xi. 2). He was
their father in Christ, and he felt that his honour as well as theirs
was staked upon their living holy lives. And the righteous jealousy
of the injured husband spoken of in the text is to be dreaded,
because _it is righteous_--because it has just grounds for its
existence, and because God will see to it that the wrong is avenged.
_ILLUSTRATION OF VERSE_ 25.
This probably refers to the care with which women in the East paint
their eyelids, in a great measure in order to captivate the men, who,
from the manner in which they are muffled up, can often see no more
of their persons than their eyes--which may, indeed, be one reason
why so much pains are taken to set them off.
_ILLUSTRATION OF VERSE_ 28.
The image would hardly occur to us, who never go barefoot, and are
never or rarely exposed to any liability of _treading_ upon burning
coals. If we decided to expose the same sentiment by a similar image,
we should say, "Can one _handle_ hot coals and not be burned?" But in
the East travelling parties kindle fires in the open air for cooking
and for warmth, and a passenger might easily burn his naked foot by
treading inadvertently upon the hot but not glowing place of one of
their recently quitted fires.--_Kitto._
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 24. Bound and kept in the heart as a friend, that law will
prevail to keep the youth "from the strange woman." Observing a great
swelling wave rolling forward to devour him, this faithful teacher
imparts to the young voyager on life's troubled sea a principle which
will bear him buoyant over it. A slender vessel floats alone upon the
ocean, contending with the storm. A huge wave approaches, towering
high above her hull. All depends upon how the ship shall take it. If
she go under it she will never rise again: if she is so trimmed that
her bows rise with the first approaches, she springs lightly over it,
and gets no harm. The threatening billow passes beneath her, and
breaks with a growl behind her, but the ship is safe. The law and
love of the Lord, taught by his mother in childhood, and maintaining
its place yet as the friend of his bosom and the ruler of his
conscience, will give the youth a spring upward proportionate to the
magnitude of the temptation coming on.--_Arnot._
That which is said of Jael is true of the strange woman. She brought
forth soft words, but a hard nail; in her mouth was a gentle hammer,
but in her hand a heavy one. Open force is more easily resisted, but
that which is hid in the beginning with fair words in the end
stingeth most cruelly.--_Jermin._
"_Flattery._" That constitutes the risk. If impenitence would tell
the truth, or even if we would allow the truth, there would be no
danger. But hers is an alien tongue in this,--that though we
deliberately admit it is a cheat, we accept its flattery.--_Miller._
Verse 26. A famine of bread followeth the gluttony of lust, and it is
life itself that is destroyed by it. He that is thus brought to a
morsel of bread on earth, shall be brought to a drop of water in
hell, if repentance do not in time beg a gracious pardon for him.
That man's life is precious, the devil himself affirmeth, who seeketh
to make it vile; he saith, who laboureth to destroy it, that "Skin
for skin, all that a man hath will he give for his life" (Job ii. 4).
How unworthy valuers are they therefore of their own lives who esteem
them less than the devil does, and who makes them a prey to the
adulteress, who as a lion hunteth after them.--_Jermin._
Nothing is so bewitching as womanly enchantment. Nothing _in esse,_
when it is base, is so contemptible. Nothing sweeps a man with such a
perfect storm of influence. Nothing leaves him so perfectly defrauded
and unpaid.--_Miller._
Verses 27 and 28. "_Fire_" is a favourite emblem for wickedness.
"Wickedness burneth as the fire" (Isa. ix. 18, see also Isa. lxv. 5).
The (1) _pain,_ the (2) _waste,_ the (3) _growth,_ and the (4) _small
beginnings_ of sin are all instanced in the fire. "Bosom." Here is
just where sin is taken. Sin is not only the inward but the outward
enemy, not only the coals in our bosom but the coals (or fierce
tempting occasions) in the midst of which we walk.--_Miller._
Sin and punishment are linked together by a chain of adamant. "The
fire of lust kindles the fire of hell," says Henry. He cannot
afterwards plead the strength of the temptation. Why did he not avoid
it? Who that knows how much tinder he carries about with him would
wilfully light-up the sparks?--_Bridges._
Perhaps such an one may think to tread upon coals, thereby to tread
them out, but he will first tread the fire into his own feet: perhaps
such an one may think to walk in the ways of lust, thereby to walk
them out, but he will first walk out the strength of his body and
means. The affections are the feet of man's soul, and if they walk
upon this fire they will be inflamed suddenly.--_Jermin._
Verse 29. Though the plea of a sleepy conscience be _not guilty,_ the
sentence of God is, _not innocent._ It was for this wickedness that
God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah; it was for it He brought the deluge
of waters upon the world, and as it is observed, for no other sin do
we read, that God is said to have repented to have made man, but for
this.--_Jermin._
Verse 30. Compared with an adulterer, a thief is not treated with so
much ignominy. The laws of modern society have reversed the maxims of
Solomon; and, to the dishonour of Christian nations, an adulterer,
who steals what is most precious to a man, and what is irretrievable,
is treated by the law with more lenity than a thief, who robs him of
what is comparatively of little value and may be easily
replaced.--_Wordsworth._
Adultery is worse than theft. It is before us in the commandments as
the greater sin (Exod. xx. 14, 15). 1. It is a far greater theft.
2. The provocation to theft is greater. What drives the one,
wantonness draws the other. One may preserve his bodily life by his
sin, the other destroys it. Hunger is a great provocation to evil
(ch. xxx. 9). Necessity is a sore weapon.--_Francis Taylor._
Verse 33. The three things here mentioned may be referred to three
causes. The wound to the devil, the enemy of mankind, the dishonour
to God, dishonoured by the adulterer, the reproach to sin, which is
the true object of reproach. The devil woundeth out of malice, God
dishonoureth in justice, sin reproacheth by nature; and where nature
hath fastened the reproach or stain it is not any art that can take
it out or wipe it away. He that giveth this good counsel was himself
an example of what he writeth. As Jerome saith, Solomon, the sun of
men, the treasure of God's delights, the peculiar house of wisdom,
blurred with the thick ink of dishonour, lost the light of his soul,
the glory of his house, the sweet perfume of his name, by the love of
a woman.--_Jermin._
What an indelible blot is the matter of Uriah upon David
still.--_Trapp._
Verse 34. Howbeit he may not kill the adulterer, but if no law will
relieve a man, yet let him know that he shall do himself no
disservice by making God his chancellor.--_Trapp._
* * * * * *
CHAPTER VII.
CRITICAL NOTES.--+2. Apple of the eye,+ the "pupil," literally the
"little man" of the eye, referring to the reflected image of a man
seen in that organ. +3. Bind them+ "refers to the rings with large
signets, upon which maxims were inscribed" (_Stuart_).
+4. Kinswoman,+ rather, "an acquaintance, a familiar friend."
+7. Simple,+ "inexperienced." +8. Went,+ "moved leisurely,
sauntered." +9. In the black and dark night,+ literally, "in the
apple," or "pupil" of the night. +10.+ Literally, "a woman, the
attire of a harlot," with no connecting word between, as though the
woman were nothing but such a dress. +Subtil,+ "guarded." Wordsworth
renders "her heart is like a walled fortress." +11. Stubborn,+ rather
"boisterous, ungovernable." +14.+ The offerings here named are those
of thanksgiving for blessings received. Of such offering, which, in
accordance with the law (Lev. vii. 16), must be eaten by the second
day, the guests partook, so that a rich feast is here offered to the
young man under the garb of religious usage. +16. With carved works,+
rather, "variegated coverlets of Egyptian linen." +20. The purse,
etc.,+ indicating long delay; +the day appointed,+ rather, "the day
of the full moon." +22. Straightway.+ "The Hebrew implies that he had
at first hesitated, until the fear of his to take the decisive step
was overcome by evil appetite, and he now, with passionate
promptness, formed the vile purpose and executed it at once, to cut
off all further reflection. Here is evidently a stroke in the picture
of the profoundest psychological truth" _(Lange's Commentary)._ The
latter clause of the verse is literally, "and as fetters for the
punishment of a fool." It has been variously rendered. Many
expositors read, "As the obstinate fool is suddenly caught and held
fast by a trap lying in a forbidden path, so has the deceitful power
of the adulteress caught the young man." +23.+ "The +liver+ stands
here as representative of the vitals in general as in Lam. ii. 11, as
in some instances the heart, or again, the reins" (Psa. xvi. 7;
lxxiii. 21, etc.). According to Delitzsch, the liver is here made
prominent as the seat of sensual desire. "Since the ancient Greeks,
Arabians, and Persians, in fact, connected this idea with the organ
under consideration, this view may be received as probably correct"
_(Lange's Commentary)._ +Knoweth not that it is for his life,+ _i.e._
"that his life is at stake."
NOTE ON THE SIGNIFICATION OF THE "STRANGE WOMAN" OF THIS CHAPTER, AND
OF MANY KINDRED PASSAGES IN THE BOOK.--Although most modern
commentators attach no other meaning to this woman than that which
would occur to the general reader, there are some who, as will be
seen from the comments, agree with most of the early expositors in
attaching to the representation an ideal meaning also. Wordsworth,
referring to the original meaning of the word _mashal,_ or proverb
(see preface), says, "By a consideration of the proper meaning of
this word _mashal,_ used in the title of the book, and by reflecting
on the use made of it in the Gospels, we are led to recognise in the
Proverbs or Parables of Solomon not only moral apothegms for
practical use in daily life, but to ponder deeply upon them as having
also a typical character and inner spiritual significance concerning
heavenly doctrines of supernatural truth, and as preparing the way
for the evangelical teaching of the Divine Solomon, Jesus Christ, in
parables on the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven." Following out
this principle of interpretation, he continues, "As in Solomon's
delineation of Wisdom we recognised Christ, so in the portraiture of
the 'strange woman,' who is set in striking contrast to Wisdom in
this book, we must learn to see something more than at first meets
the eye. Doubtless we must hold fast the literal interpretation, and
must strenuously contend for it; . . . but in the gaudy and garish
attire and alluring cozenage of the strange woman we may see a
representation of the seductive arts with which the teachers of
unsound doctrine, repugnant to the truth of Christ, endeavour to
charm, captivate, and ensnare unwary souls, and to steal them away
from Him. There is a harlotry of the intellect--there is an adultery
of the soul, and this harlotry and adultery are not less dangerous
and deadly than the grossest sins and foulest abominations. Indeed
they are more perilous, because they present themselves in a more
specious and attractive form." Hengstenberg, commenting on Eccles.
vii. 26, says, "There are strong grounds for thinking that the woman
of the Proverbs is the personification of heathenish folly, putting
on the airs of wisdom and penetrating into the territory of the
Israelites. . . . The key to Prov. ii. 16, 17, is Jeremiah iii. 4-20.
In Prov. v. the evil woman must needs be regarded as an ideal person,
because of the opposition in which she is set to the _good_ woman,
Wisdom. If Wisdom in chap. vii. 4, 5 is an ideal person, her opponent
must be also. . . . In chap. ix. again, the evil woman is put in
contrast with Wisdom; . . . the explanation is, in fact, plainly
given in verse 13. Last of all, in chap xxii. 14, we read, 'the mouth
of a foreigner is a deep pit,' etc. That the writer here treats of
false doctrine is clear from the mention of the mouth. Nahum iii. 4,
presents an analogous instance of such a personification. . . . To
the woman here, corresponds in Rev. ii. 20: 'the woman Jezebel,' a
symbolical person." Miller, as will be seen in the suggestive
comments on chap. ii. 16, looks upon this woman as an emblem of
_impenitence._
The following comment is by Professor Plumptre: "The strange woman,
the 'stranger,' may mean simply the adulteress, as the 'strange gods'
the 'strangers' (Deut. xxxii. 16; Jer. iii. 13), are those to whom
Israel, forsaking her true husband, offered an adulterous worship.
But in both cases there is implied also some idea of a foreign
origin, as of one who by birth is outside the covenant of Israel. In
the second word used, this meaning is still stronger. It is the word
used of the strange wives of Solomon (1 Kings xi. 1-8), and of those
of the Jews who returned from Babylon (Ezra x.), of Ruth, as a
Moabitess (Ruth ii. 10), of heathen invaders (Isa. ii. 6). Whatever
form the sin here referred to had assumed before the monarchy (and
the Book of Judges testifies to its frequency), the intercourse with
Phœnicians and other nations under Solomon had a strong tendency to
increase it. The king's example would naturally be followed, and it
probably became a fashion to have foreign wives and concubines. At
first it would seem this was accomplished by some show of
proselytism. The women made a profession of conformity to the
religion of their masters. But the old leaven breaks out. They sin
and 'forget the covenant of their God.' The worship of other gods, a
worship in itself sensual and ending in the foulest sin, leads the
way to a life of harlotry. Other causes may have led to the same
result. The stringent laws of the Mosaic code may have deterred the
women of Israel from that sin, and led to a higher standard of purity
than prevailed among other nations. Lidonian and Tyrian women came,
like the Asiatic hetaeræ at Athens, at once with greater importunity
and with new arts and fascinations to which the home-born were
strangers."
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 1-4.
THE SOURCE OF TRUE LIFE, ETC.
+I. The true life of man depends upon his relation to the Word of
God.+ "Keep my commandments, and live" (verse 2). The life which is
given to man upon his entrance into this world is not life in its
highest sense, but an existence in which he is to obtain life. "It is
not all of life to live." Those who do not keep God's commandments
are living existences, but in the moral signification of the word
they are _dead._ It was said by the highest authority--by the Son of
God Himself--that "it had been good for Judas Iscariot if he had not
been born" (Matt. xxvi. 24). Existence is not a blessing, oftentimes
a curse, unless a man is "born again," "not of blood, nor of the will
of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (John i. 13).
Christ taught the same truth when He said, "Man shall not live by
bread alone, but by every word of God" (Luke iv. 4). Man is not flesh
and blood only, he has not a mere animal existence, but moral
capabilities and needs, which must be nourished by the thoughts of
God. If this is not done, he has no life worth the name.
+II. The relation that a man should have to the Word of God is like
that which a rich man has to his banked money.+ "Lay up my
commandments with thee." The best place for money which the merchant
wishes to use constantly is a safe bank, from which he can draw out
at any time of need. So the Word of God must be laid up in the mind
ready for constant use. The Word of God must "dwell in us" (Col.
iii. 16). It must be stored up to furnish us with encouragement and
admonition in the unceasing warfare with temptation which we are
called upon to wage. It must be at hand at the moment of need.
+III. It is to be guarded with the same care as the eye is guarded by
the eyelid.+ "As the apple of thine eye." The eye is carefully
protected by nature because it is the organ of a most precious
sense--of a sense of which we stand in the greatest need--without
which we walk through the world in darkness. The revelation of God in
the Holy Scriptures is the only light which enlightens us amid the
darkness of ignorance and mystery by which we are surrounded. Without
it all our future would be darkness indeed. Hence its preciousness,
and hence the value we ought to set upon it.
+IV. It is to hold to us a relation like that of a pure, and tender,
and beloved sister.+ "Say unto Wisdom, Thou art my sister." The Word
of God is the highest wisdom. The relationship of brother and sister,
where it is what God intended it to be, is a very tender and pure
relationship, involving willingness to undergo self-denial for the
sake of her who is loved, to listen to her advice, to seek her
welfare. In this light we must regard the wisdom of God as revealed
in the Word of God if existence is to become _life_ to us. We must
exercise self-denial for her sake. "I prevented the dawning of the
morning, and cried: I hoped in Thy word" (Psa. cxix. 147).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 2. As God would have us keep His law as the apple of our eye,
so He keeps His people (Deut. xxxii. 10), in answer to their prayer,
as the apple of His eye (Zech. ii. 8). We guard the eye as our most
precious and tender member from hurt, and prize it most dearly. As we
guard the pupil of the eye from the least mote, which is sufficient
to hurt it, so God's law is so tender and holy a thing that the least
violation of it in thought, word, or deed, is sin; and we are so to
keep the law as to avoid any violation of it. The law resembles the
pupil of the eye also in its being spiritually the organ of light,
without which we should be in utter darkness.--_Fausset._
The instruction of the Word is the same to the soul which the eye is
to the body. For as the body without the sight of the eye runneth
upon many things that hurt it, and falleth at every little
stumbling-block, so the soul most fearfully runneth into sins if it
want the light and direction of the Word.--_Muffet._
Man are off and on in their promises: they are also slow and slack in
their performances. But it is otherwise here: the very "entrance of
Thy Word giveth light" (Psa. cxix. 130), and the very onset of
obedience giveth life. It is but "_Hear,_ and your soul shall live"
(Isa. lv. 3). Sin is homogeneous, all of a kind, though not all of
the same degree. As the least pebble is a stone as well as the hugest
rock, and as the drop of a bucket is water as well as the main ocean,
hence the least sins are in Scripture reproached by the names of the
greatest. Malice is called manslaughter, lust, adultery, etc.
Concupiscence is condemned by the law; even the first motions of sin,
though they never come to consent (Rom. vii. 7). Inward bleeding may
kill a man. The law of God is spiritual, though we be carnal. And as
the sunshine shows us atoms and motes that till then we discerned
not, so doth the law discover and censure smallest failings. It must
therefore be kept curiously, even "as the apple of the eye," that
cannot be touched, but will be distempered. Careful we must be, even
in the punctilios of duty. Men will not lightly lose the least ends
of gold.--_Trapp._
In some bodies, as trees, etc., there is life without sense, which
are things animated, but not so much with a soul as with a kind of
animation; even as the wicked have some kind of knowledge from grace,
but are not animated by it. Or rather the wicked do not live, indeed,
for life consisteth in action, and how can he be said truly to live
whose words are dead? But keep God's commandments, and live indeed,
live cheerfully with the comfort of this life, which makes life to be
life; live happily in the life of glory hereafter, which is the end
for which this life is lent us.--_Jermin._
Verse 4. Since, O youth, thou delightest in the intimacy of fair
maidens, lo! here is by far the loveliest one, Wisdom.--_Cartwright._
Wisdom has been represented as a wife, and here she is called a
sister. As Didymus says (in _Catenâ,_ p. 104), "Wisdom is called a
mother, a sister, and a wife." She is a mother, because, through her,
we are children of Christ; she is a wife, because, by union with her,
we ourselves become parents of that which is good; she is our sister,
because our love to her is chaste and holy, and because she, as well
as ourselves, is the offspring of God. Such is the love of Christ,
who is the true Wisdom, and who is all in all to the soul. Compare
His own words, applied to every faithful and obedient soul: "The same
is my brother, and my sister, and mother" (Mark iii. 35). "Do thou
love the true faith with sisterly love, it shall keep thee from the
impure love of the strange women of false doctrine"
(Bede).--_Wordsworth._
Holiness is positive. Sin is negative. The one is to love God, and
also our neighbour. The other is not to love God or our neighbour.
The one shows itself in a positive delight in the abstract holiness;
the other not in a positive delight in the opposite, viz., in an
abstract sin, but a delight in women, a delight in money, a delight
in praise, a delight in everything except moral purity, and therefore
a delight in things which are innocent when in limits, and that are
only guilty when the soul is let in upon them without curb of
superior affection. If a man calls Wisdom his kinswoman, then he may
love wine or love without moral danger.--_Miller._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 5-27.
A PICTURE DRAWN FROM LIFE.
The woman depicted here has been before us twice before. (See on
chap. ii. 16-19 and vi. 24.) We will therefore confine ourselves in
this chapter to the picture of her dupe. He fully justifies his right
to the title here given to him, viz., "a young man void of
understanding."
+I. Because he did not wait for temptation to seek him, but went
where he knew it would meet him.+ Those who carry gunpowder upon
their persons ought never to go into a blacksmith's forge, ought
never even to approach the door lest some sparks fall upon them. How
much more foolish is he who, knowing that there is a tendency to sin
within him, seeks out the place where the spark will be fanned into a
flame. This young man is found "near the corner" of the house of his
temptress, "he went the way to her house."
+II. He goes to ruin with his eyes wide open.+ The woman's character
is plainly written upon her dress and upon her face. There is no
pretence at disguise. She boasts of her infidelity to her husband.
Yet he yields to her invitation; yet he believes her professions of
attachment to himself. The most silly fish that swims will not bite
if the steel hook gleams through the bait, but this simpleton takes
the hook without any bait. The ox resists when he feels that he is
being driven to death, but this fool goes deliberately to the house
of death. He walks into the snare which he knows has been the death
of myriads of his fellow creatures. The remedy for this folly is
found in vers. 1-4.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verses 5-27. From the earlier and copious warnings against adultery
the one now before us is distinguished by the fact, that while
chapter v. contrasted the blessings of conjugal fidelity and chaste
marital love with unregulated sexual indulgence, and chapter
vi. 20-35 particularly urged a contending against the inner roots and
germs of the sin of unchastity, our passage dwells with special
fulness upon the temptations from without to the transgression of the
sixth commandment. It also sets for the folly and the ruinous
consequences of yielding to such temptations, by presenting an
instructive living example. . . . Aside from the fact that it is
nocturnal rambling that delivers the thoughtless idle youth into the
hands of temptation (verse 9), and aside from the other significant
feature that after the first brief and feeble opposition, he throws
himself suddenly and with the full energy of passion into his
self-sought ruin (verse 22, comp. James i. 15), we have to notice
here chiefly the important part played by the luxurious and savoury
feast of the adulteress, as a co-operating factor in the allurement
of the self-indulgent youth (verse 14 seq.). It is surely not a
feature purely incidental, without deeper significance or design,
that this meal is referred to as preceding the central or chief sin;
for, that the tickling of the palate with stimulating eats and drinks
prepares the way for lust is an old and universal observation (comp.
Exod. xxxii. 6, 1 Cor. x. 17, as also similar passages from the
classical authors).--_Lange's Commentary._
Apart from the external blandishments which are portrayed in this
passage, there belongs to them a power of internal deception the most
fallacious and insinuating--and this not merely because of their
strength, and of their fitness to engross the whole man when once
they take possession of him, and so to shut out all reflection and
seriousness--those counteractives to evil passions; but because of
their alliance with, and the affinity which they bear to, the kindly
and benevolent and good feelings of our nature. As the poet
says--himself a wild and wayward, and most dangerously seductive
writer--the transition is a most natural one, from "loving much to
loving wrong." Let all such affections be sedulously kept at bay, and
the occasions of them shunned and fled from, rather than hazarded and
tampered with. Let them never be wilfully encountered, or
presumptuously braved and bid defiance to, lest the victory be
theirs; and no sooner do they win the heart than they war against the
soul.--_Chalmers._
Verse 5. This woman not only represents the harlot and the adulteress
literally, but it is also a figure of whatever seduces the soul from
God, whether in morals or religion, and whether in doctrine and
practice, or in religious worship.--_Wordsworth._
_Strange,_ indeed, if she alienate us from the very God that made
her, and stir the jealousy of the very Being that gives us our power
to love her. (Hosea ii. 8.)--_Miller._
Verse 6. God is ever at His window, His casement is always open to
see what thou dost.--_Jermin._
Verse 8. Circumstances which give an occasion to sin are to be
noticed and avoided. They who love danger fall into it. The youth (as
verse 21 shows) did not go with the intention of defiling himself
with the "strange woman," but to flatter his own vanity by seeing and
talking with her, and hearing her flatteries. It is madness to play
with Satan's edged tools.--_Faussett._
_The beginning of the sad end._ The loitering evening walk, the
unseasonable hour (Job xxiv. 15; Rom. xiii. 12, 13); the vacant mind.
"The house was empty," and therefore ready for the reception of the
tempter (Matt. xii. 44, 45), and soon altogether in his possession.
How valuable are self-discipline, self-control, constant employment,
active energy of pursuit, as preservatives under the Divine blessing
from fearful danger.--_Bridges._
Verses 7-9. The first character appears on the scene, young, "simple"
in the bad sense of the word; _open_ to all impressions of evil,
empty-headed and empty-hearted; lounging near the place of
ill-repute, not as yet deliberately purposing to sin, but placing
himself in the way of it; wandering idly to see one of whose beauty
he has heard, and this at a time when the pure in heart would seek
their home. It is impossible not to see a certain symbolic meaning in
this picture of the gathering gloom. Night is falling over the young
man's life as the shadows deepen.--_Plumptre._
Verse 9. He thought to obscure himself, but Solomon saw him; how much
more God, before whom night will convert itself into noon, and
silence prove a speaking evidence. Foolish men think to hide
themselves from God, by hiding God from themselves.--_Trapp._
Verse 10. A careless sinner shall not need to go far to _meet_ with
temptation. The first woman met with it almost as soon as she was
made, and who meets not everywhere with the woman
Temptation?--_Jermin._
Verse 14. Though I indulge in amours, do not think I am averse to the
worship of God; nay, I offer liberally to Him: He is now therefore
appeased, and will not mind venial offences.--_Cartwright._
It is of course possible that the worship of Israel had so
degenerated as to lose for the popular conscience all religious
significance; but the hypothesis stated above (see note at the
beginning of the chapter), affords a simpler explanation. She who
speaks is a foreigner who, under a show of conformity to the religion
of Israel, still retains her old notions, and a feast-day is nothing
to her but a time of self-indulgence, which she may invite another to
share with her. If we assume, as probable, that these harlots of
Jerusalem were mainly of Phœnician origin, the connection of their
worship with their sin would be but the continuation of their
original _cultus._--_Plumptre._
An awful portraiture of the mystery of iniquity. It is applicable
also to corrupt churches, especially to the spiritual harlot
described by St. John in the Apocalypse. She professes zeal for God's
house and service, while she is offending Him by heretical doctrine,
and insulting Him by the fascinations of idolatrous worship, with
which she beguiles unwary souls to commit spiritual fornication with
her. (See Rev. xvii. 1-5; xviii. 9.) As Bede says, following in the
steps of Basil and others: All the description which is here given is
true, in a literal sense, of the meretricious allurements of an
adulteress; but it is to be interpreted also spiritually. False
doctrine tricks herself out with the embellishments of worldly
rhetoric and spurious philosophy, and is ever lurking at the corners
of the streets, to allure and deceive the simple, and to caress them
with her embraces; and she makes religious professions. She has her
couch adorned with heathen embroidery, and yet sprinkles with the
odours of spiritual virtues; but Christ says of her in the
Apocalypse, "I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit
adultery with her into the great tribulation, except they repent of
their deeds" (Rev. ii. 22).--_Wordsworth._
_The immoral devotionist._ 1. The absurd conduct of those who indulge
in immorality, and think to compound with God for so doing, by paying
Him outward forms of worship. 2. All external observances vain and
useless unless they are accompanied with purity of heart, and real
goodness of life. True religion is an end, and all external
observances are only means leading to that end. (See Micah. vi. 5.)
Agreeably to this St. Paul assures us that the end of the Christian
revelation is to teach men to "live soberly, righteously, and godly
in this present world" (Titus ii. 12). And Christ assures us that no
ceremonious method of atonement without practical goodness will
entitle us to the rewards of Christianity (Matt. vii. 21). All duties
enjoined by God can be enjoined by Him only for the good they do us.
"Can a man be profitable unto God, as he that is wise is profitable
to himself?" (Job xxii. 2). And in which way can we possibly conceive
how an immoral man can reap any benefit from the mere forms and
ceremonies of religion? Is there any reason to think that God will
accept this religious flattery instead of purity of life? No, rather
it is an aggravation of his crimes. (See Isa. i. 11.)--_N. Ball._
Verse 15. O how diligent is wickedness, thinking that thing never
done soon enough which is too soon done at any time! O how diligent a
helper is Satan of wickedness, administering all opportunities for
it! And, therefore, as the harlot seeketh diligently, so she findeth
readily. Which is the shame of religion in many that profess it, and
who are so slow in the performance of religious duties, as if they
were both servants and masters, and had the commandments of God at
their own command, to do them at their pleasure; which is a great
reason that they are so ill observed. But if they would use their own
diligence, they should find God much more diligent to give a blessing
to it.--_Jermin._
Verse 16. Her coverings of tapestry could not cover her naughtiness,
her carved work could not embellish her own deformed work, her white
Egyptian linen could not make white her black Egyptian
soul.--_Jermin._
Verse 17. This might have minded the young man that he was going to
his grave, for the bodies of the dead were so perfumed. Such a
meditation would much have rebated his edge--cooled his
courage.--_Trapp._
Verse 18. But what if death draw the curtains, and look in the while?
If death do not, yet guilt will.--_Trapp._
Verse 19. Instead of saying, "_My_ husband," she contemptuously calls
him "_the_ goodman," as though he were unconnected with
her.--_Fausset._
Man may not be at home, but God is always at home, whose house is the
world: man may be gone a far journey, but God's journey is at once to
be everywhere; His farthest off, to be present always. . . . She
talketh that the goodman was not at home, but the good woman was not
at home either; she saith that her husband was gone a far journey,
but she herself was gone much farther from her duty. If she had been
at home, to have heard her conscience the home reprover of
wickedness, the goodman, though not at home, had not been so much
wronged; if she had not gone far from her covenant, her husband,
though gone far, had still been near and present in her
heart.--_Jermin._
Our hearts must be guarded against the admission of sin by stronger
motives than the fear of detection and disgrace, for artful
solicitors to evil will easily baffle such restraints as these.
Joseph might have expected his master's favour by complying with the
wishes of his mistress, but the motive that induced him to decline
her company was irresistible,--"How can I do this great wickedness,
and sin against God?"--_Lawson._
Verse 22. He goeth to the slaughter when he thinketh he goeth to the
pasture; or as those oxen brought forth by Jupiter's priests, with
garlands unto the gates, but it was for a slain sacrifice (Acts
xiv. 13).--_Trapp._
The butcher's yard would show the meaning of this first similitude.
In every sort of way the ox may be coaxed, and apparently to no
purpose. But though he may stand, ox-like, like a rock, yet the
experienced herdman knows that he will suddenly start in. This is his
nature. One inch may cost a hurricane of blows; but at a dash, as the
butcher expects, he will suddenly rush in to his doom.--_Miller._
Verse 25. Cut off the beginnings of desire. The first trickling of
the crevasse is the manageable, and therefore, more culpable, period
of the difficulty.--_Miller._
Verse 26. As Solomon himself subsequently was (Neh. xiii. 26). So
Samson and David previously. It is better to learn by the awful
example of others than by our own suffering. Experience keeps a dear
school, but fools will learn in no other.--_Fausset._
The house of the harlot had been compared before to the grave, to the
world of the dead; now it is likened to a battle-field strewn with
the corpses of armed men. The word speaks rather of the multitude
than of the individual strength of those who have
perished.--_Plumptre._
In a figurative sense, some of the greatest teachers of Christendom
have been seduced by the allurements of heresy, and have been cast
down from their place in the firmament of the Church, like stars
falling from heaven.--_Wordsworth._
The valour of men hath oft been slaved by the wiles of a woman.
Witness many of your greatest martialists, who conquered countries,
and were vanquished of vices. The Persian kings commanded the whole
world, and were commanded by their concubines.--_Trapp._
The secret thought that one can saunter toward her house (verse 8),
and at any time turn back, is cruelly met by most discouraging
examples. The whole passage is the more impressive, if we consider it
as a warning against confidence in strength, and particularly grand,
if we mark the second clause. . . . All men are strong, and strong in
the most substantial sense. All men, saved, are princes (Rev. i. 6);
and they are offered the second place in God's kingdom (Isa. lxi. 7.)
All men are bone of Christ's bone; all men are born with a birthright
to be kings and priests, if they choose to be, and brothers of
Emmanuel.--_Miller._
* * * * * *
CHAPTER VIII.
CRITICAL NOTES.--+Places of the paths+ "in the midst of the
highways." "These ways are roads, solitary paths, not streets in the
city, and the delineation proceeds in such an order as to exhibit
Wisdom; first, in verse 2, as a preacher in the open country, in
grove and field, on mountains and plains, and then in verse 3, to
describe her public harangues in the cities, and in the tumult of the
multitudes" (_Zöckler_). +3. At the entrance of its doors,+ _i.e._
"standing on the further side of the gateway" (_Zöckler_) "at the
entrance of the avenues" (_Stuart_). +4.+ The Hebrew words for men
are different in the two clauses, "the first signifies men of high
position, the second men of the common sort" (Psa. xlix. 2)
(_Fausset_). +5. Wisdom.+ This is a different word from the one used
in verse 1, and may be translated "subtilty," or "prudence," and
though it is here used in a good sense, may, when the context
requires it, be translated "artful cunning." +6. Excellent,+
literally "princely," generally rendered "plain," "evident,"
"obvious." +7. Mouth,+ lit. "palate." +Speak,+ literally "meditate;"
the word originally meant "mutter," and grew to mean "meditate,"
because what a man meditates deeply he generally mutters about
(_Miller_). +8. Froward,+ literally "distorted," or "crooked."
+9.+ "Right to the man of understanding, and plain to them that have
attained knowledge" (_Zöckler_). "To the men of understanding they
are all to the point" (_Delitzsch_). +11. Rubies,+ "pearls."
+12. Dwell with+ or "inhabit." +Witty inventions,+ "skilful plans"
(_Stuart_), "sagacious counsels" (_Zöckler_). +14. Sound wisdom,+ the
same word as in chap. ii. 7 (see note there). Stuart reads here, "As
for me, my might is understanding;" Delitzch, "Mine is counsel and
promotion." +17. Early,+ _i.e._, "earnestly" (see on ch. i. 28).
+18. Durable.+ Zöckler thinks this rather signifies "growing."
+21. Inherit substance,+ "abundance." +22. Jehovah possessed me.+ The
signification of this verb has been the subject of much discussion;
ancient expositors, believing Wisdom here to be the eternal Son of
God, deemed it necessary to reject the translation of the Septuagint,
etc., who rendered it _created_, as the text then became an argument
with Arians against the eternal co-existence of the Son. But most
modern commentators, whatever view they take of the signification of
"Wisdom," agree in rejecting the reading of the Authorised Version.
The majority render it, "created;" Delitzch reads, "brought me
forth;" Wordsworth and Miller, "got possession of," or "acquired."
Wordsworth says, "The word occurs about eighty times in the Old
Testament, and in only four places beside the present it is
translated 'possess;' viz., Gen. xiv. 19-22; Psa. cxxxix. 13; Jer.
xxxii. 15; Zech. xi. 5; in the last two it may well have the sense of
getting, and in the former of creating." +23. Set up,+ Stuart,
Miller, and early expositors render "anointed;" Delitzch and Zöckler
prefer the Authorised rendering. +26. Earth, etc.,+ "the land and the
plains, or the beginning of the dust of the earth." +27. Set a
compass, etc.,+ "marked out a circle," _i.e.,_ "when He fixed the
vault of heaven, which rests on the face of the ocean." +30. As one
brought up,+ "as director of His work," or, "as a builder at His
side." +36. Sinneth against,+ "misseth," so Stuart, Delitzsch, and
Miller.
NOTES ON THE PERSONIFICATION OF WISDOM.--There has been great
discussion among expositors as to who, or what, is to be understood
by this personification. Many modern and all ancient expositors
consider that it refers exclusively to the Divine Word, the Eternal
Son of God, others understand it as relating entirely to an attribute
of the Divine nature. There is a middle view, which is thus put by
Dr. John Harris in his sermon on verses 30-36: "Others, again reply
that it refers exclusively to neither--but partly to that wisdom
which begins in the fear of the Lord, partly to the Divine attribute
of wisdom, and partly to the Son of God, the second person in the
Godhead." We cannot do better than give the views of a few eminent
expositors and writers. Delitzsch thus comments on verse 22: "Wisdom
takes now a new departure in establishing her right to be heard and
to be obeyed and loved by men. As the Divine King in Psa. ii. opposes
to His adversaries the self-testimony: 'I will speak concerning a
decree! Jehovah said unto me, Thou art my Son, this day have I
begotten Thee;' so Wisdom here unfolds her Divine patent of nobility;
she originates with God before all creatures, and it the object of
God's love and joy, as she also has the object of her love and joy on
God's earth, and especially among the sons of men. (See his
translation of the verb in this verse--Critical Notes). Wisdom is not
God, but is God's; she has personal existence in the Logos of the New
Testament, but is not herself the Logos; she is the world idea,
which, once projected, is objective to God, and not as a dead form,
but as a living spiritual image; she is the archetype of the world,
which originating from God, stands before God, the world of the idea
which forms the medium between the Godhead and the world of actual
existence, the communicated spiritual power in the origination and
the completion of the world as God designed it to be. This wisdom the
poet here personifies; he does not speak of the personal Logos, but
the further progress of the revelation points to her actual
personification in the Logos. And since to her the poet attributes an
existence preceding the creation of the world, he thereby declares
her to be eternal, for to be before the world is to be before time.
For if he places her at the head of the creatures, as the first of
them, so therewith he does not seek to make her a creature of this
world having its commencement in time; he connects her origination
with the origination of the creature only on this account, because
that _à priori_ refers and tends to the latter; the power which was
before heaven and earth were, and which operated at the creation of
the earth and of the heavens, cannot certainly fall under the
category of the creatures around and above us." Wordsworth, in
accordance with the principle of interpretation set forth in the note
at the beginning of chapter vii. says, "We should be taking a very
low, unworthy, and inadequate view of the present and following
magnificent and sublime chapters. . . . If we did not behold Him who
is essential wisdom, the co-eternal Son of God, and recognise here a
representation of His attributes and prerogative." The arguments in
favour of this view are thus summed up by Fausset: "Wisdom is here
personal Wisdom--the Son of God. For many personal predicates are
attributed to Him: thus, _subsistence by or with God,_ in verse 30;
just as John i. 1 saith, 'The Word was with God,' which cannot be
said of a mere attribute. Moreover, the mode of subsistence imparted
is _generation_, verse 22, 24, 25 (see CRITICAL NOTES). In verse 22
God is said to have _possessed_ or _acquired_ wisdom, not by
_creation_ (Psa. civ. 24), nor by adoption, as Deut. xxxii. 6, Psa.
lxxiv. 2, but by _generation._ The same verb is used by Eve of her
firstborn (Gen. iv. 1). Moreover, other attributes are assigned to
Wisdom, as if she were not an attribute but a person--'counsel,'
'strength,' etc. Also, she has the feelings of a person (verse 17):
'I love them that love me.' She does the acts of a person. She
enables kings to rule, and invests them with authority (verses 15,
16). She takes part in creation, as one brought up, or _nursed_, in
the bosom of the Father, as the only-begotten of His love (John
i. 18). She cries aloud as a person (verses 1-4), and her 'lips' and
'mouth' are mentioned (verses 6, 7). She is the _delight_ of the
Father, and she in turn delights in men (verses 30, 31), answering to
the rapturous delight into which the Father breaks forth concerning
Messiah (Isa. xliii. 1; Matt. iii. 17, xvii. 5; Eph. i. 6). She
builds a house, prepares a feast, and sends forth her maidens to
invite the guests (ch. ix. 1-3). All which admirably applies to
Messiah, who builds the Church, as His house, upon Himself the rock
(Matt. xvi. 8, etc.), and invites all to the Gospel feast (Luke
xiv. 16, etc.). He is Wisdom itself absolute, and as the Archetype,
from Him wisdom imparted flows to others. As such, He invites us to
learn wisdom from Him who is its source, 'counsel' and 'sound wisdom'
(ver. 14), are in Him as attributes are in their subject, and as
effects are in their cause. The parallel (ch. i. 20, 23), 'I will
pour out my spirit unto you' (see John vii. 38), conforms the
personal view. The same truth is confirmed by the reproof (ch.
i. 24), 'Because I have called,' etc., compared with Christ's own
words (Matt. xi. 28, etc.) So Christ is called the Wisdom of God
(Col. ii. 3). As Wisdom here saith 'I was set up,' or 'anointed from
everlasting,' so the Father saith of Messiah, 'I have set' or
'anointed my king' etc. (Psa. ii. 6). As in verse 24, Wisdom is said
to be 'brought forth' or _begotten_ by God before the world, and to
have been _by Him in creating all things_ (verses 27-30), so Messiah
is called the 'Son of God,' and is said to have been _with God in the
beginning_, and to have _made all things_ (John. i. 1-3) and to have
been begotten before every creature (Col. i. 15-17); and His _goings
forth_ are said, in Mic. v. 2, _to have been from of old, from
everlasting._" The argument for the opposite view is thus stated by
Dr. Wardlaw: "The objections to its meaning Christ, or the Word, are,
to my mind, quite insuperable. For example: (1) The passage is not so
applied in any part of the New Testament. I do not adduce this
consideration as any _direct objection_ to the interpretation in
question. I mean no more than this, that from its not being so
explained there, we are relieved from any _necessity_ of so
explaining it. Such necessity, then, being thus precluded, the direct
objections may be allowed to have their full force. Observe, then
(2), Wisdom here is a _female personage._ All along this is the case.
Now, under such a view, the Scripture nowhere else, in any of their
figurative representations of 'the Christ,' ever thus describe or
introduce Him. The application, on this account, appears to be
exceedingly unnatural. (3) Wisdom does not appear intended as a
_personal_ designation, inasmuch as it is associated with various
other terms, of synonymous, at least, of corresponding import (verse
1, chap. iii. 19, 20). Were it meant for a _personal_ designation,
like the _Logos_ or _Word_ in the beginning of John's Gospel, this
would hardly have been admissible. (4) That the whole is bold and
striking _personification_ of the attribute of Wisdom, as subsisting
in the Deity, appears further from what she is represented as saying
in verse 12: 'I, Wisdom, dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge
of witty inventions.' Here Wisdom is associated with prudence; and
the import of the association is, that Wisdom directs to the best
ends, and to the choice of the best means for their attainment; and
_prudence,_ or _discretion,_ teaches to shun whatever might, in any
way or degree, interfere with and impede, or mar their
accomplishment. This is precisely what wisdom, as an attribute or
quality, does. And it is worthy of remark, that this association of
wisdom with prudence, is introduced by the Apostle as characterising
the greatest of the Divine inventions and works--that of our
redemption. Wisdom was associated with prudence in framing and
perfecting that wonderful scheme (Ephes. i. 7, 8). (5) It is very
true that there are many things here, especially in the latter part
of the chapter--indeed through the whole--that are, in a very
interesting and striking manner, applicable to the Divine Messiah.
But this is no more than might have been anticipated, that things
which are true of a _Divine attribute_ should be susceptible of
application to a _Divine person._" We quote, in conclusion, the
remarks of Dr. Aiken, the American editor and translator of this
portion of Lange's Commentary: "The error in our English exegetical
and theological literature with respect to our passage has been, we
think, the attempt to force upon it more of distinctness and
precision in the revelation of the mysteries of the Divine Nature
than is disclosed by a fair exegesis. . . . If it be not unworthy of
the Holy Spirit to employ a bold and graphic personification, many
things in this chapter may be said of and by the personified Wisdom
which these authors regard as triumphantly proving that we have here
the pre-existent Christ, the Son of God. . . . We can, to say the
least, go no farther than our author has done in discovering here the
foreshadowings of the doctrine of the Logos. We are inclined to
prefer the still more guarded statements, _e.g.,_ of Dr. Pye Smyth
(_Scripture Testimony to the Messiah_), that this beautiful picture
cannot be satisfactorily proved to be a designed description of the
Saviour's person; or that of Dr. John Harris (Sermon on chap.
viii. 30-36): 'At all events, while, on the one hand, none can
_demonstrate_ that Christ is here directly intended, on the other,
none can prove that He is not contemplated; and perhaps both will
admit that, under certain conditions, language such as that in our
text may be justifiably applied to Him. One of these conditions is,
that the language be not employed _argumentatively,_ or in _proof_ of
anything related to Christ, but only for the purpose of illustration;
and another is, that when so employed, it be only adduced to
illustrate such views of the Son of God as are already established by
such other parts of Scripture as are admitted by the parties
addressed.'"
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 1-3.
THE NATURE OF WISDOM'S CALL.
Even if we reject the direct Messianic interpretation of this
chapter, and understand Wisdom here to be only a poetical
personification of an abstract attribute of God, it would be
impossible, we think, for any minister of the New Testament to teach
from it, and not find his way to Him who was "in the beginning with
God" (John i. 2), to the Christ who is the "Wisdom of God" (1 Cor.
i. 24), "in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge"
(Col. ii. 3). To say the least, the language is admirably adapted to
set forth the Incarnate Son, the Saviour of the world. The
introductory paragraph reveals _the intense desire of Wisdom to win
disciples._
+I. From her taking the initiative.+ Wisdom addresses man first. When
two persons have become estranged by the wrong-doing of one, he who
is in the wrong will be slow to find his way back to the other to
acknowledge his fault. Because he is in the wrong he may conclude,
and in many cases would rightly conclude, that an advance on his side
would be useless. But an advance from him who is in the right would
be more likely to be successful; such a course of conduct on his part
would carry with it a powerful magnetic force to draw the offender
back, and would be a most convincing proof of the desire of him who
had been rightly offended to effect a reconciliation. And if the
offence had been committed, not once, but many times, the reluctance
of the offender to face his offended friend would be increased in
proportion to the number of times the act had been repeated, and if,
notwithstanding these repeated offences, advances should continue to
be made from the other side, the desire for reconciliation would be
made more and more manifest. Wisdom is here represented in this
light, and God in Christ did take the initiative in "reconciling the
world unto Himself" (1 Cor. v. 19). The Incarnate Wisdom _came_ to
men because men would not, and could not, by reason of their moral
inability, come to Him first. In proportion to the distance men
wander from God do they feel the impossibility of returning to Him
unless they can receive from Him some encouragement to do so. This
encouragement they have in the fact that "the Son of Man came to seek
and save that which was lost" (Matt. xviii. 11), that, "while we were
yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. v. 8).
+II. From the variety of places where Wisdom's voice is heard+
(verses 2 and 3). If a man has goods to sell, he seeks those places
where he will be most likely to find buyers; if he has thoughts which
he wishes to make public, he goes where he will find the most
hearers. The pilot has wisdom which he wants to sell the less
experienced ship-master, and he runs his cutter out into the highway
of the channel. He is found at "the entrance of the gates" of the
water-ways, at the mouths of the rivers; he places himself in the way
of those who need his wisdom, and who will pay a good price for his
skill. In proportion to a man's earnestness to obtain a market, or a
hearing, will be his endeavour to seek out the places where he will
most likely succeed. Wisdom is here represented as frequenting the
most conspicuous places, the most crowded thoroughfares, to find
buyers for that spiritual instruction which is to be had "without
money and without price" (Isa. lv. 1). Christ was found imparting the
treasures of His wisdom wherever men would listen to His words. He
"went up into a mountain and taught" (Matt. v. 1). He was found in
the streets of the cities, in the temple, at the publican's feast
(Luke v. 27), in a boat on the shore of the lake. When multitudes
were gathered at Jerusalem at the feasts, He was among them (John
vii. 14 and 37). At other times "He went about all the cities and
villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the Gospel of
the kingdom" (Matt. ix. 35). And thus He revealed His intense desire
to give unto men those words which He declares to be "spirit and
life" (John vi. 63).
+III. From the earnest tone of her call.+ "Doth not Wisdom _cry._"
When the voice of Christ was heard upon earth it was in no
indifferent tone He addressed His hearers. He was "moved with
compassion" towards the multitudes who followed Him (Matt. xiv. 14).
On the "great day of the feast He stood and _cried_, saying, If any
man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink" (John vii. 37). With what
earnestness must He have uttered His lament over Jerusalem: "If thou
hadst known, even thou, in this thy day, the things which belong unto
thy peace" (Luke xix. 42). A man's tone is more or less earnest to us
in proportion as he gives proof that he is willing to follow up words
by deeds. Judged in this light, how earnest must the call of Christ
to men sound when they consider that He was willing to face
Gethsemane and Calvary to give effect to His words. On this subject
see also Homiletics on chap. i. 20, 21.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 1. She crieth by the written word, by ministers, and by the
dealings of Providence. Instead of the clandestine whisper of the
adulteress in the dark, Wisdom "puts forth her voice" openly in the
day, and in a style suitable to every capacity, so that all are left
without excuse if they reject her, preferring darkness to
light.--_Fausset._
The eternal Son of God gathers, plants, builds His church by a voice
_i.e.,_ His Word. All true teachers of the Word are crying voices
through which Christ calls. Out of Christ's school is no true wisdom.
So long as Christ's wisdom is still speaking outside thee it avails
thee nothing; but when thou allowest it to dwell in thee it is thy
light and life.--_Egard._
We cannot promulgate as doctrine, but we think the last day will show
that wisdom plied every art; that what was, "all things working
together for good" in behalf of the believer, was something analogous
in tendency in the instance of the sinner; that if the sinner thought
his lot defeated repentance, he was mistaken; or that, could he have
fared otherwise, his chances would have been improved: all this was
largely error; moreover, that he will be held accountable at last for
quite the opposite, and punished for a life singularly favoured and
frequently adapted as the very best to lead him to
salvation.--_Miller._
In her ministers, who are criers by office, and must be earnest (Isa.
lviii. 1). See an instance in holy Bradford. "I beseech you," saith
he, "I pray you with hand, pen, tongue, and mind, in Christ, through
Christ, for Christ, for His name, blood, mercy, power, and truth's
sake, my most entirely beloved that you admit no doubting of God's
final mercies towards you." Here was a lusty crier indeed.--_Trapp._
This form of interrogation, which expects as its answer an assenting
and emphatic "yes, truly," points to the fact clearly brought to view
in all that has preceded, that Wisdom bears an unceasing witness in
her own behalf in the life of men.--_Zöckler._
Verse 2. "Standeth" implies assiduous perseverance. Instead of taking
her stand in dark places, in a corner, like the harlot (chap.
vii. 9), she "standeth" in the top of high places.--_Fausset._
Wisdom is representing as haunting all human paths. Folly lives upon
them, too. Wisdom does not claim them as her own; Folly does. Wisdom
has but one path. And she haunts every other to turn men out of such
diverse journeyings into the one great track of holiness and
truth.--_Miller._
Verse 3. Thereby intending (1) to reach the whole concourse of the
lost, and (2) to make human life at these great rallying places of
men, speak its own lessons, and utter the loudest warnings against
the soul's impenitence.--_Miller._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 4-9.
GOD'S SPEECH MEETING MAN'S NEED.
+I. Divine Wisdom has spoken because God's silence would be human
death.+ When a man is lying in prison awaiting the execution of the
extreme penalty of the law, after he has petitioned the monarch for a
reprieve, the silence of the monarch is a permission that the
sentence is to be carried out. His silence is a death-knell to the
criminal who has asked for pardon. It is an anticipation of the steel
of the executioner, of the rope of the hangman. He longs for the word
that would bring pardon. There is _death_ in the _silence._ In the
history of men's lives there are many other instances when the
silence of those whom they desire to speak embitters their life.
There are many who keep silence whose speech would fall upon the
heart of those who long for it, as the dew and gentle rain falls upon
the parched earth. A word or a letter would be like a new lease of
life, but the silence brings a sorrow which is akin to death, which
perchance is the death of all that makes life to be desired. A parent
who has no word from his absent son goes down in sorrow to the grave.
Jacob was thus going down mourning when the words of Joseph reached
him. Then "his spirit revived" (Gen. xlv. 27), and the aged,
sorrowful patriarch renewed his youth. The life of man--all that is
worth calling life--depends upon God's breaking the silence between
earth and heaven. His silence is that which is most dreaded by those
who have heard His voice. Hence their prayer is, "Be not _silent_
unto me; let, if Thou be silent unto me, I become _like them that go
down into the pit_" (Psa. xxviii. 1). If a man had been left without
any communication from God, he must have remained spiritually dead
throughout his term of probation. For he is by nature what is called
in Scripture, "carnally-minded," which "is death" (Rom. viii. 5).
Every man, if left to himself, forms habits of thinking and of acting
that cause him "to be tied and bound with the chain of his sins." And
if God had not spoken he must have remained in this condition, which
is spiritual death. Therefore, God has broken this silence with an
"Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead" (Ephes. v. 14).
The nations were walking in the darkness and the shadow of death when
the "light shined" upon them (Luke i. 79), in the person of Him who
is the Word and the Wisdom of God, who, Himself, declared "_The words
that I speak unto_ you, they are spirit, and they are _life;_" "I am
come that they might have life, and that they might have it more
abundantly" (John vi. 63, x. 10).
+II. Human nature needs the voice of Divine Wisdom because the soul
cannot rest upon uncertainties+ (verses 6-8). If a man is in the dark
upon any subject, he is in a condition of unrest; there is a desire
within him to rise from the state of probability to one of certainty.
If a boy works a sum and does not know how to prove that it is right,
he does not feel that satisfaction at having completed his task that
he would do if he could demonstrate that the answer was correct.
After all his labour he has only arrived at a may-be. So the result
of all efforts of man's unaided reasonings concerning himself and his
destiny was but a sum unproved. There was no certainty after ages of
labourious conjecture. There might be a future life and immortality,
but it could not be positively affirmed. Although the sum _might be
right_ there was a possibility that it was wrong. The world by wisdom
arrived at no certain conclusions in relation to the Divine character
and the chief end of man, and uttered but an uncertain sound on the
life beyond the grave. "How can man be just with God?" "If a man die
shall he live again?" were never fully and triumphantly answered
until the Incarnate Word stood by His own empty grave and said, "I
ascend unto my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God"
(John xx. 17). He brought "rest" to the weary and heavy laden (Matt.
xi. 28), because His words were truth, and plainness, and certainty
(see verses 6-8); before they had been only error, or obscurity, or
conjecture.
+III. The wisdom of God is appreciated by those who have realised its
adaptation to human needs.+ (Ver. 9.) There is a twofold knowledge,
or "understanding," of Divine truth, as there is of much else with
which we are acquainted. There is an acquaintance with the general
facts of Divine revelation--a theoretical understanding of its
suitableness to the needs of men, and there is a knowledge which
arises from an experience of its adaptation to our personal need--a
practical understanding which springs from having received a personal
benefit. The chemist knows that a certain drug possesses qualities
adapted to cure a particular malady, but if he comes to experience
its efficacy in the cure of the disease in his own body, he has a
knowledge which far surpasses the merely theoretical. It is then
"plain" to him from an experimental understanding. The wisdom of God
in the abstract, or in the personal Logos, is allowed by many to be
adapted to the spiritual needs of the human race. They see the
philosophy of the plan of salvation in the general, but its wonderful
adaptation and "rightness" is only fully revealed when they have
"found" the "knowledge" by an experimental reception of Christ into
their own hearts. To him that thus "understands" all is "plain."
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 4. Christ offers Himself as a Saviour to all the human race.
+I. The most awakening truth in all the Bible.+ It is commonly
thought that preaching the holy law is the most awakening truth in
the Bible, and, indeed, I believe this is the most ordinary means
which God makes use of. And yet to me there is something far more
awakening in the sight of a Divine Saviour freely offering Himself to
every one of the human race. . . . Does it not show that all men are
lost--that a dreadful hell is before them? Would the Saviour call so
loud and so long if there was no hell? +II. The most comforting truth
in the Bible.+ If there were no other text in the whole Bible to
encourage sinners to come freely to Christ, this one alone might
persuade them. Christ speaks to the human race. Instead of writing
down every name He puts all together in one word, which includes
every man, woman, and child. +III. The most condemning truth in all
the Bible.+ If Christ be freely offered to all men, then it is plain
that those who live and die without accepting Christ shall meet with
the doom of those who refuse the Son of God.--_McCheyne._
They are called to repentance, they are called to the remission of
their sins; they may and must repent, and they, by repentance, are
sure of pardon for all their sins. The good angels have not sinned,
the bad angels cannot repent; it is _man_ that hath done the one, it
is _man_ that must do the other.--_Jermin._
"O men." Some render it, "O ye eminent men," (see Critical Notes),
whether for greatness of birth, wealth, or learning. But "the world
by wisdom knows not God" (1 Cor. i. 21); and "not many wise men, not
many mighty, not many noble, are called" (verse 26). And yet they
shall not want for calling, if that would do it. But all to little
purpose, for most part. They that lay their heads upon down pillows
cannot so easily hear noises. "The sons of men," _i.e.,_ to the
meaner sorts of people. These, usually, like little fishes, bite more
than bigger. "The poor are gospelised," saith our Saviour. Smyrna was
the poorest, but the best of the seven churches.--_Trapp._
_Several ways whereby God addresses Himself to men._ How different
the method which God uses towards the _rational_ from that which He
uses towards the _material_ world. In the world of matter God has not
only fixed and prescribed certain laws according to which the course
of nature shall proceed, but He is Himself the sole and immediate
executor of those laws. . . . It is to Himself that He has set those
laws, and it is by Himself that they are executed. But He does not
deal so with the world of _spirits._ He does not here execute the
laws of _love,_ as He does there the laws of _motion._ He contents
Himself to prescribe laws, to make rational applications, to _speak_
to spirits. He speaks to them because they are _rational,_ and can
understand what He says, and He does _but_ speak to them because they
are _free._ And this He does in several ways. 1. _By the natural and
necessary order and connection of things._ God, as being the Author
of nature, is also the author of that connection that results from it
between some actions and that good and evil that follows upon them,
and which must therefore not be considered as mere natural
consequences, but as a kind of rewards and punishments annexed to
them by the Supreme Lawgiver, God having declared by them, as by a
natural sanction, that 'tis His will and pleasure that those actions
which are attended with good consequences should be done, and that
those which are attended with evil consequences should be avoided.
Not that the law has its obligation from the _sanction,_ but these
natural sanctions are _signs_ and _declarations_ of the will of God.
2. _By sensible pleasure and pain._ A thing which everybody feels,
but which few reflect upon, yet there is a voice of God in it. For
does not God, by the frequent and daily return of these impressions,
continually put us in mind of the nature and capacity of our souls,
that we are thinking beings, and beings capable of happiness and
misery, which because we actually feel in several degrees, and in
several kinds, we may justly think ourselves capable of in more,
though how far, and in what variety, it be past our comprehension
exactly to define. 3. _By that inward joy which attends the good, and
by that inward trouble and uneasiness which attends the bad state of
the soul._ This is a matter of universal experience. It is God that
raineth this pleasure or this pain in us, and that thus differently
rewards or punishes the souls of men, and thus, out of His infinite
love, is pleased to do the office of a private monitor to every
particular man, by smiling upon him when he does well, and by
frowning upon him when he does ill, that so he may have a mark to
_discern,_ and an encouragement to _do_ his duty.--_John Norris._
Verse 5. A man may be acutely shrewd and yet be a fool, and that in
the very highest sense. Nor is this a mere mystic sense. He must be a
fool actually, and of the very plainest kind, who gives the whole
labour of a life, for example, to increase his eternal
agonies.--_Miller._
The _heart_ is frequently used, simply for the mind or seat of
intellect as well as for the affections; so that "an understanding
heart" might mean nothing different from an _intelligent_ mind. At
the same time, since the state of the heart affects to such a degree
the exercise of the judgment, "an understanding heart" may signify a
heart freed from the influence of those corrupt affections and
passions by which the understanding is perverted, and its vision
marred and destroyed.--_Wardlaw._
Verse 6. The discoveries of Wisdom relate to things of the highest
possible _excellence_; such as the existence, character, works, and
ways of God; the soul; eternity; the way of salvation--the means of
eternal life. And they are, on all subjects, "_right._" They could
not, indeed, be excellent themselves, how excellent soever in dignity
and importance the subjects to which they are related, unless they
were "right." But all her instructions are so. They are _true_ in
what regards _doctrine,_ and "holy, just, and good" in what regards
_conduct_ or _duty._ There is truth without any mixture of error, and
rectitude without any alloy of evil.--_Wardlaw._
Right for each man's purposes and occasions. The Scriptures are so
penned that every man may think they speak of him and his affairs. In
all God's commands there is so much rectitude and good reason, could
we but see it, that if God did not command them, yet it were our best
way to practise them.--_Trapp._
The teaching is not _trifling,_ though addressed to _triflers._
"Right things"--things which are calculated to correct your false
notions, and set straight your crooked ways.--_Adam Clarke._
Verse 9. If aught in God's Word does not seem to us right, it is
because we, so far, have not found true knowledge. "To those who have
bloodshot eyes, white seems red" (Lyra). He who would have the sealed
book opened to him must ask it of the Lamb who opens the book (Rev.
v. 4-9).--_Fausset._
The first part of this verse wears very much the aspect of a
_truism._ But it is not said, "They are plain to him that
understandeth _them;_" but simply to him that "_understandeth._" It
seems to signify, who has the understanding necessary to the
apprehension of Divine truth--spiritual discernment. "He who is
spiritual _discerneth all things._" "They are all plain" to him who
_thus_ understandeth. It may further be observed, how very much
depends, in the prosecution of any science, for correct and easy
apprehension of its progressive development to the mind, on the clear
comprehension of its _elementary principles._ The very clearest and
plainest demonstrations, in any department of philosophy, will fail
to be followed and to carry conviction--will leave the mind only in
wonder and bewildering confusion, unless there is a full and correct
acquaintance with principles or elements, or a willingness to apply
the mind to its attainment. So in Divine science. There are, in
regard to the discoveries of the Divine Word, certain primary
principles, which all who are taught of God know, and which they hold
as principles of explanation for all that the Word reveals. They who
_are_ thus "taught of God," perceive with increasing fulness the
truth, the rectitude, the unalloyed excellence of all the dictates of
Divine wisdom. All is "plain"--all "right." The darkness that brooded
over the mind is dissipated. They "have an unction from the Holy One,
and know all things" (1 John ii. 20).--_Wardlaw._
When a man gets the knowledge of himself, then he sees all the
_threatenings_ of God to be _right_. When he obtains the knowledge of
God in Christ, then he finds that all the _promises_ of God are
_right_--yea and amen.--_Adam Clarke._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 10, 11.
WISDOM BETTER THAN WEALTH.
+I. Wisdom is to be preferred to wealth because it belongs to a
higher sphere.+ The wisdom by which men succeed in finding gold and
silver reveals the superiority of mind over matter. The apparatus of
the miner or digger reveals that his thought, by which he is enabled
to find the precious metal, is more than the metal itself. The
precious stones which the merchant gains by trading are inferior to
the wisdom he puts in operation to gain them, even though it is a
wisdom which is only devoted to gaining money. The mental power which
he puts forth shows that he is possessed of intelligence, which,
belonging to the region of mind, belongs to a higher sphere than
material wealth. When the wisdom is that spoken of in the text, the
wisdom which springs from the very Fountain of goodness, it is not
only preferable because it is the offspring of mind, but because it
belongs to the higher region of spiritual purity.
+II. Wisdom is to be preferred to wealth, because it had an existence
before wealth.+ The world, with all its precious stones, and rich
mines of gold and silver, is but of yesterday compared with wisdom.
The mental and spiritual wealth of God was before matter; upon that
wisdom--as we learn in this chapter--depended the existence of the
material (vers. 22-32; chap. iii. 19, 20). Mental wealth is eternal,
material wealth belongs only to time. Gold had a beginning, because
the earth had a birthday, but wisdom is as old as God.
+III. Wisdom is to be preferred to wealth, because it is an absolute
necessity to man's well-being, which gold is not.+ The first man, in
his state of sinlessness, had no need of what men now call wealth,
but wisdom--spiritual wisdom--was absolutely necessary to his
continuation in a state of blessedness. Men need worldly,
intellectual wisdom, even to make money. Many who inherit wealth lose
it because they lack wisdom to use it rightly. But they can be blest
without wealth, but not without the wisdom which leads to holiness.
Wealth may bring pleasure with it, but to do so it must be united to
true wisdom. Many who roll in riches have no pleasure in them;
sometimes their very wealth adds to their unhappiness. Mental wealth
enables men to extract some enjoyment from material wealth, but the
riches of goodness makes gold and silver a means of increasing men's
happiness.
+IV. Wisdom is to be preferred to wealth, because the latter may be
destructive to character, and the former is its constructive power.+
Many men have been morally destroyed by their riches. But true wisdom
is that by which a holy character is formed, the sustenance of the
spiritual life. Riches may ruin; the wisdom which God gives to those
who seek it at His hand can but bless.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 10. Thou canst not make as thy chief aim the acquisition of
silver and that of true wisdom at one and the same time, for those
aims mutually conflict, and each claims the whole man (Matt. vi. 24).
To accept the one involves the rejection of the other as the chief
portion. He who lives for money is void of wisdom (Luke xii. 16, 20),
and is called in Scripture a "fool."--_Fausset._
Had it been said, Receive silver, who would not have held out his
hand to receive it? Had it been said, Receive gold, who would not
have been forward and glad with both his hands to have taken it? But
it is instruction and not silver, wherein, lest a worldly heart be
afraid that the taking of silver were forbidden him, the next words
show the meaning, that is but instruction _rather_ than silver, as it
is knowledge _rather_ than gold. . . . He that seeketh gold and
silver diggeth up much earth, but finds little of them, but he that
receiveth instruction and knowledge, which are, indeed, of a golden
nature, even in a little shall get and find much. Wherefore Clemens
Alexandrinus saith, "It is in the soul that riches are, and they
alone are riches whereof the soul alone is the treasure."--_Jermin._
The first warning uttered by this wisdom from above is the repetition
of a former word. The repetition is not vain. Another stroke so soon
on the same place indicates that he who strikes feels a peculiar
hardness there. The love of money is a root of evil against which the
Bible mercifully deals many a blow. There lies one of our deepest
sores. Thanks be to God for touching it with "line upon line" of His
healing Word. . . . A ship bearing a hundred emigrants has been
driven from her course and wrecked on a desert island, far from the
tracks of men. The passengers get safe ashore with all their stores.
There is no way of escape, but there are means of subsistence. An
ocean unvisited by ordinary voyagers circles round their prison, but
they have seed, with a rich soil to receive, and a genial climate to
ripen it. Ere any plan has been laid, or any operation begun, an
exploring party returns to head quarters reporting the discovery of a
gold mine. Thither instantly the whole company resort to dig. They
acquire and accumulate heaps of gold. The people are quickly becoming
rich. But the spring is past, and not a field has been cleared, not a
grain of seed has been committed to the ground. The summer comes, and
their wealth increases, but the store of food is small. In harvest
they begin to discover that their stores of gold are worthless. A
cart-load of it cannot satisfy a hungry child. When famine stares
them in the face a suspicion shoots across their fainting hearts that
their gold has cheated them. They loathe the bright betrayer. They
rush to the woods, fell the trees, till the ground, and sow the seed.
Alas! it is too late! Winter has come, and their seed rots in the
soil. They die of want in the midst of their treasures. This earth is
a little isle--eternity the ocean round it. On this shore we have
been cast, like shipwrecked sailors. There is a living seed; there is
an auspicious spring time; the sower may eat and live. But gold mines
attract us; we spend our spring there--our summer there: winter
overtakes us toiling there, with heaps of hoarded dust, but destitute
of the bread of life.--_Arnot._
Verse 11. First, because everything else without it is a curse, and
with it just what is needed; second, because it is necessary to all
beings, and even to God himself, as the spring of action; third,
because it is glory and wealth in its very nature.--_Miller._
Surely he that thinketh himself adorned with precious stones, showeth
himself to be of less price than the stones are. To whom Clemens well
applieth that saying of Apelles, who, when one of his scholars had
painted Helena set out with much gold, said unto him, "Alas, poor
young man, when thou could'st not draw her fair thou hast made her
rich." for so, when many have neglected the jewel of the soul they
seek to prank out the body with jewels.--_Jermin._
The wisdom of goodness, or virtue. 1. _Is absolutely and without any
limitation good, absolutely and without any limitation useful and
desirable._ It alone can never be misapplied, can never be criminal.
This we cannot pronounce of any other good. Riches may be a snare,
honours a burden, even the endowments of the mind may be a snare to
us. 2. _It is far more unchangeable than the value of all other goods
and endowments._ The value of riches is regulated by our wants and
the wants of the society in which we live. The value of honour
changes according to the opinions, the usages, the political
institutions of mankind. The value of sensual pleasure depends much
on our constitution, age, and health. Even the value of mental
endowments is subjection to vicissitudes. The value of true wisdom
alone is invariably the same. 3. _It is much more independent of
station than any other good._ Riches would cease to be riches if all
men lived in abundance. Honour would lose much of its value if it
gave us no precedence over others. A great proportion of the value of
sensual and mental pleasures would be reduced to nothing if every man
possessed them, and each in the same degree. But no man loses
anything if another be virtuous likewise, but if all were virtuous
all would infinitely profit thereby. 4. _It has a pre-eminent value,
by the effects it produces in us._ It renders us: (1) much better,
(2) more useful, (3) more happy. 5. _It alone fits us for a better
life._ It passes for as much in heaven as it does upon earth, and
much more. It alone assimilates us with God. What we call riches,
power, and knowledge, are poverty, weakness, and darkness, with
Him.--_Zollikofer._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 12, 13.
WISDOM AND PRUDENCE.
+I. Wisdom and prudence are here represented as dwelling together in
express unity of action.+ Elster remarks upon this passage: "Prudence
denotes here right knowledge in special cases, in contrast with the
more comprehensive idea of intelligence in general; the practical
realisation of the higher principle of knowledge found in wisdom."
Prudence is as necessary to wisdom, as the hand is to the will.
Prudence asks what is the best time, the best place, and the best
manner in which to carry out what wisdom has designed. It has
therefore been defined as "wisdom applied to practice." Wisdom
decrees that a certain word is to be spoken. Prudence decides upon
the best time, place, and manner in which to say it. Prudence must
always dwell with wisdom, if the designs of a wise man are to be
brought to a successful issue. In all God's plans both are always in
operation. Consider their manifestation in the plan of redemption.
The wisdom of God is manifested in the conception of plan. His
prudence was shown in the choice of the _time,_ _place,_ and _manner_
of the manifestation. 1. The _time_ was "the fulness of time" (Gal.
iv. 4), when all the streams of human wisdom and greatness which had
been flowing through the world for ages, had converged into one head
and were seen to be powerless to accomplish the regeneration of the
world. Then "God sent forth His Son." 2. The _place_ of the
manifestation. When the wisdom of a commander has decided that a
battle must be fought, his prudence is called in to decide where it
must take place, where all lawful advantage will be upon his side.
Our world was chosen by Divine prudence as the scene of the battle
between the powers of Good and Evil because, seeing that here the
human race had been most shamefully defeated by the devil, it was
most fitting that here the Prince of Darkness should be defeated by
One in human form--that the victory should be won where the defeat
had been sustained. 3. _The manner in which, or the means by which,
man's redemption was accomplished._ The life of the Incarnate Son of
God was adapted to influence the hearts of men. His death for their
sins was calculated as probably no other event could have been, to
beget within them a love which is powerful enough to make them new
creatures. The fact that millions of men and women have been thus
born to a new life through the cross of Christ is a revelation of its
adaptation to human needs, and a manifestation that Divine wisdom
dwelt with Divine prudence in the plan of redemption; that in this,
as in all His other workings, there is no exhibition of "sagacious
counsels" (see Critical Notes).
+II. Divine wisdom and prudence act in union for the promotion of
moral ends+ (verse 13). There is a wisdom and prudence which do not
act in concert for this purpose, but for the very opposite. There is
a manifestation of prudence choosing the best time, place, and method
in which to work out an evil design. The plan of the tempter to ruin
our first parents was a great display of united wisdom and prudence.
The _time,_ the _place,_ the _means_ chosen were all calculated to
effect the purpose. But the wisdom and prudence of God unite to put
down sin, to banish its evil influence from the universe. As we see
the combination of wisdom and prudence in the Father's plan of
redemption, so we see them combined in every act and word of the Son
of God while He was manifest in the flesh. The means He used to
silence His enemies, to instruct His disciples, to enlighten the
ignorant multitude, were all revelations of His Divine wisdom and
prudence.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 12. That is, this spiritual light, which the very first proverb
(ch. i. 2, 3) says is holiness; takes possession of any _intellect;
dwells in it;_ nay, _makes a dwelling in it;_ for holiness can dwell
in nothing else; and that intellect, though it may be the very mind
of God, is stirred up by nothing else to _do_ all that is grand in
its total history (verses 22-30). Satan, with such splendid
intellect, what is he but the universe's insanest fool? He toils for
worse wages than anybody in the whole creation. But could wisdom get
a lodging in that peerless intellect, what different results! She
gets a lodging in our earthly faculties, and turns us about from
sowing to our death, to a splendid harvest of eternal
favour.--_Miller._
Wisdom, in the most comprehensive aspect, is to be regarded as giving
origin to all arts and sciences, by which human life is improved and
adorned; as by her inventive skill developing all the varied
appliances for the external comfort and well-being of mankind; as
planning the "wondrous frame" of universal creation, which, with all
its varied beauty, fills us, in the view with astonishment and
delight; and conceiving, in the depths of eternity, the glorious
scheme--a scheme "dark with brightness all along"--which secures the
happiness of man for ever, and in which she appears in her noblest
and most attractive display, the whole, from first to last,
discovering "the manifold wisdom of God."--_Wardlaw._
In the first address of Wisdom (ch. i. 22-33), her words were stern
and terrible. The first step in the Divine education is to proclaim
"the terrors of the Lord," but here she neither promises nor
threatens, but, as if lost in contemplation, speaks of her own
excellence. "Prudence." The subtilty of the serpent, in itself
neutral, but capable of being turned to good as well as evil. Wisdom,
high and lofty, occupied with things heavenly and eternal, does not
exclude, yea, rather, "dwells with" the practical tact and insight
needed for the common life of men.--_Plumptre._
Wisdom here beginneth to draw her own picture, and with her own
pencil. . . . The force of the verse is, that Wisdom is there where
there is a fitness of worth to entertain her.--_Jermin._
I draw all into practice, and teach man to prove by their own
experience, what is "that good, and holy, and acceptable will of God"
(Rom. xii. 2).--_Trapp._
All arts among men are the rays of Divine wisdom falling upon them.
Whatsoever wisdom there is in the world, it is but a shadow of the
wisdom of God.--_Charnock._
Prudence is defined, _wisdom applied to practice;_ so, wherever true
wisdom is, it will lead to action. . . . The farther wisdom proceeds
in man the more practical knowledge it gains, and, finding out the
nature and properties of things, and the general course of
Providence, it can contrive by new combinations to produce new
results.--_Adam Clarke._
Verse 13. To fear retribution is not to hate sin. In most cases it is
to love it with the whole heart. It is a solemn suggestion that even
the _religion_ of dark, unrenewed men is in its essence a love of
their own sins. Instead of hating sin themselves, their grand regret
is, that God hates it. If they could be convinced that the Judge
would regard it as lightly as the culprit, the fear would collapse
like steam under cold water, and all the religious machinery which it
drove would stand still.--_Arnot._
The godly avoid evil and do good--not merely from habit, education,
the hope of reward, or the fear of punishment, but from hatred of
evil and love of goodness.--_Cartwright._
The affection of hatred as having sin for its object is spoken of in
Scripture as no inconsiderable part of true religion. It is spoken of
as that by which true religion may be known and distinguished.--_Jon.
Edwards._
Wisdom having shown where she dwelleth, she showeth likewise where
she dwelleth not. . . . He that saith, "The fear of the Lord is to
hate evil," is Himself the Lord that hateth evil. And, doubtless,
every one should hate that which He hateth, whom all must love. Now,
in an evil way, there be some ringleaders, and such are "pride,
arrogancy, and the froward mouth," for these draw many other after
them. . . . And as for the Eternal Wisdom, how much He hateth them,
His little regard of Himself showeth plainly and fully. For it was
His hatred of Satan's pride, reigning in wickedness, as well as His
love to man captivated by it, that made Him to become man; yea, a
worm, and no man, and by His humility to destroy pride, which He so
greatly hated.--_Jermin._
It is not only Divine _holiness,_ observe, that "hates evil," it is
Divine _wisdom._ This conveys to us the important lesson that the
will of God, along with his abhorrence of all that is opposed it, is
founded in the _best of reasons._ All that is evil is contrary to His
own necessary perfection, and, consequently, to "the eternal fitness
of things."--_Wardlaw._
As it is impossible to hate evil without loving good; and as hatred
to evil will lead a man to abandon the evil way, and love to goodness
will lead him to do what is right in the sight of God, under the
influence of that Spirit which has given the hatred to evil, and the
love to goodness; this implies the sum and substance of true
religion, which is here termed the fear of the Lord.--_Adam Clarke._
God's people partake of the Divine nature, and so have God-like
sympathies and antipathies (Rev. ii. 6). They not only leave sin, but
loathe it, and are at deadly feud with it. They purge themselves--by
this clean fear of God (Psa. xix. 7)--from all pollutions, not of
flesh only, worldly lusts, and gross evils, but of spirit also, that
lie more up in the heart of the country, as pride, arrogancy,
etc.--_Trapp._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 14-16.
THE SOURCE OF TRUE POWER.
+I. Moral wisdom is the strength of kings.+ "I have strength; by me
kings rule." There is a kind of strength in all wisdom. The serpent's
strength is in his subtlety. The strength of the kingdom of darkness
consists in a kind of wisdom of which our Lord speaks, when He says,
"The children of this world are in their generation wiser than the
children of light" (Luke xvi. 8). Many kingdoms have been founded and
governed upon the basis of merely human sagacity. But in all such
government there are elements of weakness. The foundation of all
lasting, true government is to be found only in moral wisdom, in
other words, in holiness. That king or ruler will in the long-run
have the firmest hold upon his subjects who is himself ruled by
Divine wisdom. His strength will be found in the fact, that he rules
himself before he attempts to rule others. His personal character
will be his chief strength. Christ Himself is strong to rule, because
He is pre-eminently the "Holy One."
+II. Without moral wisdom there can be no righteous government.+ "By
me princes decree justice." A man's laws will be the outcome of his
character. He will not make righteous laws unless he has himself
submitted to moral rule. We are assured that all God's decrees in
relation to all His creatures are righteous, because we know Him to
be altogether righteous. He was been declared by Him who knows Him
best to be the "righteous Father" (John xvii. 25), therefore we know
that only righteous laws can be decreed by Him. And it is only in
proportion as rulers are influenced by Him, and partake of His
character, that they rule in righteousness.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 14. Wisdom's life is a thing of system. It has an assured
result. It is the card-building of the spirit. One card supports
another. It builds out with a declared dependence to the very
end.--_Miller._
The Son of God is a counsellor, as Isaiah calleth Him; for He is both
of the privy council of His Father, and the adviser of His Church.
Moreover, He hath strength in Him, being the arm of God to conquer
sin, with hell and Satan, and is able to do whatsoever He will.
Substance (sound wisdom, see Critical Notes), or the being of things,
is likewise His, for He causeth all creatures to be and
subsist.--_Muffet._
Direction how to act in all circumstances and on all occasions must
come from wisdom: the foolish man can give no counsel, cannot show
another how he is to act in the various changes and chances of life.
The wise man alone can give this counsel, and he can give it only as
continually receiving instruction from God: for this Divine Wisdom
can say, substance, reality, essence, (see Critical Notes on Sound
Wisdom), all belong to me: I am the fountain whence all are derived.
Man may be wise, and good, and prudent, and ingenious; but these he
derives from me, and they are _dependently_ in him. But in me all
these are independently and essentially inherent.--_Adam Clarke._
Many things are done, but not having _counsel_ for the foundation of
them, are weak and rotten and fall again to nothing. Many have
_understanding_ what is to be done, and how to do it, but have not
_strength_ to effect it: again many have _strength_ of effecting, but
have not _understanding_ how to go about it. But the eternal wisdom
hath all. It is no strength which by His strength is not supported,
no understanding which by His understanding is not enlightened, no
counsel which by His counsel is not guided.--_Jermin._
"Knowledge is power," and knowledge in union with wisdom--the ability
to use knowledge aright--multiplies the power. In proportion as there
is "understanding" and "wisdom," is there "strength"--moral and
spiritual strength--strength to act and to suffer, to _do_ and to
_bear._--_Wardlaw._
Verses 15, 16. The chief monarchs of the world come unto their
sceptres by the power and permission of the Son of God. Lawgivers and
counsellors, by His direction and inspiration, give advice and invent
politic laws. Inferior rulers keep their places, countenance, and
authority by His assistance, whereunto they also rise by His secret
disposing of matters. Finally, judges and justices who used to keep
courts and sit on benches, do by Him, from Him, and for Him,
pronounce sentence, handle matters of state, execute laws, and
finally determine all cases.--_Muffet._
Here is a Divine prophecy concerning Him who said, "All power is
given unto me in heaven and in earth" (Matt. xxiii. 18), and who has
"on His head many crowns" (Rev. xix. 12), and "on his vesture and on
His thigh a name written, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords" (Rev.
xix. 16), and of whom it is written, "that by Him were all things
created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and
invisible, and He is before all things, and by Him all things
consist" (Col. i. 16, 17).--_Wordsworth._
Kings are kings only as they are wise, that is, wise in the sense of
holiness. It does not mean holiness as altogether distinct from
virtue, but holiness as that moral right which belongs to all ranks
of moral intelligences. The virtue that belongs to God, and the
virtue that belongs to Gabriel, and the virtue that remains in man,
and the virtue that is wrecked in hell, are not all different
qualities of moral right, but are all identically the same. One moral
quality inheres in all. Government being a moral work, the man that
governs must have a moral heart. And, as there are no two sorts of
virtue, he truly exercises his kingship just in proportion as he is
holy, _i.e.,_ in the language of this inspired book, just in
proportion as he is spiritually wise.--_Miller._
Every kingdom is a province of the universal empire of the "King of
Kings." Men may mix their own pride, folly, and self-will with this
appointment. But God's providential counter-working preserves the
substantial blessing.--_Bridges._
This language may be considered as implying 1. That human government,
in all its branches, is the appointment of Divine wisdom. 2. That all
who sustain positions of authority and power should set habitually
under the influence of Divine wisdom. 3. That no authority can be
rightly exercised, and no judicial process successfully carried out,
without the direction of Wisdom. 4. That Divine wisdom exercises
control over all human agents in the administration of public
affairs.--_Wardlaw._
"By me kings reign," not as if men did behold that book, and
accordingly frame their laws, but because it worketh in them when the
laws which they make are righteous.--_Hooker._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 17-21.
THE REWARD OF EARNEST SEEKERS.
+I. The mutual love which exists between Wisdom and her children.+
There is always a mutual love between a true teacher and a diligent,
receptive pupil, and the love on each side has a reflex influence on
both master and pupil, and renders it more pleasant to teach, and
more easy to learn. When a child loves his parent, and the parent is
teaching the child, love oils the wheels of the intellectual powers,
and furnishes a motive power to conquer the lesson. And when the
parent feels that he is loved by his child and pupil, the love is a
present reward. There is such a love between Christ and His
disciples. Peter appealed to Christ's consciousness of being loved by
him when he said, "Lord, Thou knowest all things; Thou knowest that I
love Thee" (John xxi. 17). And Christ loves His pupils. "Greater love
hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."
"As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you" (John xv. 9, 13).
This mutual love imparts patience on the one side and perseverance on
the other. It was Christ's "first love to us" that gave Him patience
to "endure the cross and despise the shame" (Heb. xii. 2). And it is
the responsive love of the disciple that enables Him to endure unto
the end. It is the love that is born of the consciousness of being
loved that stirs up to the _diligent seeking_ of the latter clause of
the verse, which expresses--
+II. A certain success to the seekers of wisdom.+ In Holy Scripture
earnest seeking and finding are complements of each other. The one
does not exist without the other. Seeking ensures finding. Finding
implies seeking. "If any man lack _wisdom,_ let him ask of God, who
giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not" (Jas. i. 5). God's
promise is absolute. It can only fail on one of three suppositions.
1. That when God made the promise He had no intention of keeping it,
or--2. That unforeseen circumstances have since arisen which render
Him unable to fulfil His word, or--3. That the conditions have not
been fulfilled on the part of the seeker. We know that God's holiness
and omnipotence render the first two impossible, and therefore,
whenever there is no finding, we are certain that there has been no
real, earnest seeking. For the promise is limited by the condition,
"they that seek me early, or earnestly." If a traveller has a long
journey to perform and many difficulties to overcome in the way, he
shows his determination to arrive safely at his destination by
setting out at early dawn. Those who are anxious to make a name, or a
fortune, show their anxiety by rising early and sitting up late.
There are degrees of earnestness in seekers after Divine wisdom as in
all other seekers. But those whose seeking is the most earnest will
receive the most abundant reward. The Syro-Phœnician woman who
besought Christ to heal her daughter was a type of earnest seekers.
She redoubled her efforts as the apparent difficulties increased. She
_asked,_ she _sought,_ she _knocked._ And she received not only what
she sought, but a commendation from the Lord for her earnest seeking
(Matt. xv. 28).
+III. What those find who find God.+ The reward promised to those who
seek God is God Himself. In finding Him they find 1. _The lasting
riches of righteousness_ (vers. 18, 19). This a wealth which will
_last._ However great the satisfaction, however many the blessings
which may flow from the riches of the earth, "passing away" is
written upon all. Yea, long before the end of life the riches may
"make themselves wings" (chap. xxiii. 5). Among many other qualities
that make moral wealth incomparably superior to material wealth, not
the least is its _durability._ (See on vers. 10, 11; also chap.
iii. 15, 16.) 2. _Guidance,_ ver. 20. (See on chap. iii. 6, etc.)
3. _Reality in opposition to shadow,_ ver. 21. The hungry man who
dreams that he is feasting experiences a kind of pleasure. But the
feast is only in vision. There is no power in it to appease his
hunger, or nourish his frame. But, if on awaking, he finds a table
really spread with food, he then has the substance of that of which
in his dreams he had only the shadow. Worldly men walk, the Psalmist
tells us, in a "vain show," _i.e.,_ in an "image," an "unreality"
(Psa. xxxix. 6). "They walk," says Spurgeon on this verse, "as if the
mocking images were substantial, like travellers in a mirage, soon to
be filled with disappointment and despair." There are many who dream
that they are being satisfied while they are morally asleep. But by
and by they awake and find that they have been feeding on visions of
the night, that they have been spending their money for "that which
was not bread, and their labour for that which satisfieth not" (Isa.
lv. 2). To all who are conscious of this soul-hunger, eternal wisdom
here offers substantial heart satisfaction, "a well of water
springing up into everlasting life."
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 17. The philosopher could say, that if moral virtue could be
seen with mortal eyes, she would stir up wonderful loves of herself
in the hearts of the beholders. How much more, then, would "the
wisdom of God in a mystery!" (1 Cor. ii. 7), that essential wisdom of
God especially, the Lord Jesus, who is "altogether lovely," "the
desire of all nations." "My love was crucified," said Ignatius, who
"loved not His life unto the death" (Rev. xii. 11). Neither was there
any love lost, or can be, for "I love them that love me." Men do not
always reciprocate, or return love for love. David lost his love upon
Absalom; Paul upon the Corinthians; but here is no such
danger.--_Trapp._
+The characters whom Christ loves.+ _Christ loves those who love
Him._ (1) _Because He has done and suffered so much for their
salvation._ We naturally prize any object in proportion to the labour
and expense which it cost us to obtain it. How highly, then, must
Christ prize, how ineffably must He love His people. For this, among
other reasons, His love for them must be greater in degree, and of a
different kind from that which He entertains for the angels of light.
(2) _Because they are united to Him by strong and indissoluble ties._
The expressions used to describe this union are the strongest that
language can afford. The people of Christ are not only His brethren,
His sisters, His bride, but His members, His body, and He
consequently loves them as we love our members, as our souls love our
bodies. (3) _Because they possess His Spirit, and bear His image._
Similarity of character tends to produce affection, and hence every
being in the universe loves his own image when he discovers it.
Especially does Christ love His own image in His creatures, because
it essentially consists in holiness, which is of all things most
pleasing to His Father and Himself. (4) _Because they rejoice in and
return His affection._ It is the natural tendency of love to produce
and increase love. Even those whom we have long loved become
incomparably more dear when they begin to prize our love and to
return it. If Christ so loved His people before they existed, and
even while they were His enemies, as to lay down His life for their
redemption, how inexpressibly dear must they be to Him after they
become His friends.--_Payson._
Seeking wisdom early implies 1. That it engages our first concern and
endeavour, while matters of an inferior consideration are postponed.
2. The constant use of the proper means to obtain it. If we see one
continually practising any art, we judge that it is his intention to
be master of it. 3. The using them with spirt and vigour. The
superficial and spiritless performance of duty is as faulty as the
total omission.--_Abernathy._
All fancy that they love God. But those who either do not seek God at
all, or seek Him coldly, whilst they eagerly seek the vanities of the
world, make it plain that they are led by the love of the world more
than by the love of God.--_Fausset._
It is His love to us that makes us to love Him; and, doubtless, He
that loves us so as to make us to love Him, cannot but love us when
we do love Him.--_Jermin._
Seek early, as the Israelites went early in the morning to seek for
manna (Exod. xvi. 21), and as students rise early in the morning and
sit close to it to get knowledge. To seek the Lord early is to seek
the Lord (1) _firstly;_ (2) _opportunely._ There is a season wherein
God may be found (Isa. lv. 6), and if you let this season slip, you
may seek and miss Him. (3) _Affectionately, earnestly_ (Isa.
xxvi. 6). That prayer that sets the whole man a-work will work
wonders in Heaven, in the heart, and in the earth. Earnest prayer,
like Saul's sword and Jonathan's bow, never returns empty.--_Brooks._
Verse 18. Spiritual riches are durable. 1. Because they are gotten
without wronging any man. Temporal riches are often gotten by fraud
and violence, and, therefore, are not lasting. The parties wronged
use all means to recover their own, and God punishes unjust persons.
Spiritual riches no man can challenge from us. 2. They are
everlasting riches, and therefore durable. That must needs last long
which lasts ever. These are true, not transitory riches, which often
change their masters. They will swim out of the sea of this world
with us, out of the shipwreck of death. Neither fire nor sword can
take them from us.--_Francis Taylor._
In the matters of rank and riches, the two strong cords by which the
ambitious are led, the two reciprocally supporting rails on which the
train of ambition ever runs,--even in these matters, that seem the
peculiar province of an earthly crown, the Prince of Peace comes
forth with long challenge and conspicuous rivalry. Titles of honour!
their real glory depends on the height and purity of the foundation
whence they flow. They have often been the gift of profligate
princes, and the rewards of successful crime. And the best the
fountain is low and muddy: the streams, if looked at in the light of
day, are tinged and sluggish. Thus saith the Lord, "Honour is with
me." He who saith it is the King of Glory. To be adopted into the
family of God,--to be the son or daughter of the Lord Almighty,--this
is honour. High born! We are all low-born until we are _born_ again,
and then we are the children of a King.--_Arnot._
Verse 20. Christ guides infallibly by--1. _His Word._ It is all
truth. 2. _His Spirit._ Men mistake and think they are guided by
God's Spirit when they are guided by their own, or by a worse spirit.
But certainly when Christ's Spirit guides He guides aright. 3. _His
example._ All other men have their failings, and must be followed no
further than they follow Christ. He is the original copy; others are
but blurred abstracts.--_Francis Taylor._
"I lead in the way of righteousness," which is to say, I got not my
wealth by right and wrong, by wrench and wiles. My riches are not the
riches of unrighteousness, the "mammon of iniquity" (Luke xvi. 9);
but are honestly come by, and are therefore like to be "durable"
(ver. 18). St. Jerome somewhere saith, that most rich men are either
themselves bad men or the heirs of those that have been bad. It is
reported of Nevessan, the lawyer, that he should say, "He that will
not venture his body shall never be valiant; he that will not venture
his soul never rich." But Wisdom's walk lies not any such way. God
forbid, saith she, that I, or any of mine, should take of Satan,
"from a thread even to a shoelatchet, lest he should say, I have made
you rich" (Gen. xiv. 23).--_Trapp._
Verse 21. The great "I AM" (Exod. iii. 14) is the only substantial
reality to satisfy the disciples of Wisdom.--_Fausset._
The followers of Christ shall be no losers by Him. They shall not
inherit the wind, nor possess for their portion those unsubstantial
things, of which it is said, _they are not_ (chap. xxiii. 5), because
they are not the true riches. It is not for want of riches to bestow,
nor for want of love to His people, that He does not bestow upon
every one of them crowns of gold and mines of precious
metals.--_Lawson._
Here is no yawning vacuum, but a grand object to give interest to
life, to fill up every vacancy in the heart--perfect happiness. All
that we could add from the world would only make us poorer, by
diminishing that enjoyment of God for the loss of which there is no
compensation. There is one point--only one--in the universe where we
can look up and cry with the saintly Martyn, "With Thee there is no
disappointment."--_Bridges._
"I will fill their treasures." This is a great promise. It is made in
a kingly style. There is no limit. It will take much to fill these
treasures, for the capacity of the human spirit is very large. God
moulded man after His own image, and when the creature is empty,
nothing short of His Maker will fill him again. Although a man should
gain the whole world, his appetite should not be perceptibly
diminished. The void would be as great and the craving as keen as
ever. Handfuls are gotten on the ground, but a soulful is not to be
had except in Christ. "In Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead
bodily, and ye are complete (_i.e.,_ full) in Him."--_Arnot._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 22-31.
THE PERSONAL WISDOM OF GOD.
+I. The antiquity of the Personal Wisdom of God.+ Wisdom in the
abstract must have existed before the creation of the world, because
the world bears marks of wisdom. There must have been in Solomon the
wisdom to design the temple before it took the form of beauty which
made it so famous. There is skill hidden in the artist's mind before
it is manifested upon his canvas--the very existence of the picture
proves the pre-existent skill. The world is a temple of large
proportions, the beauty of which man can but copy afar off, and its
existence proves the pre-existence of wisdom resident in a
pre-existent person. As the world bears evident marks of great
antiquity it proclaims an All-wise Cause which must necessarily be
older still. There is no person known to the human race who claimed
to have an existence before the world except Jesus Christ. He
claimed--and it is claimed for Him by those who bore witness to
Him--to have been before the world was, and to have been conscious of
His divinity before the foundation of the world. He claims to have
been possessor of "a glory with the Father before the world was"
(John xvii. 5), a glory which included intellectual and moral wisdom.
And the claim of His apostle concerning the pre-existence of the
"Word of God" is most unmistakable (John i. 3). The existence of
other and inferior "sons of God" before the creation of this world is
implied in Scripture (Job. xxxviii. 7), but we have no direct
revelation concerning them. We feel that we could not apply to them,
or to any creature, the words of the text, "The Lord possessed me in
the beginning of His way," etc. But, in the light of the New
Testament revelation, if we give them a personal application, we must
apply them to the Son of God, the Eternal Word, and to Him alone. The
words point to an existence _distinct from_ God. "I was by Him," and
"I was with Him." And yet the intimate relationship and fellowship
described does not express _inferiority,_ but finds its fulfilment
only in Him who not only "was in the beginning with God," but who
"was God." (On this subject see note.)
+II. The Personal Wisdom of God the delight of the Eternal Father.+
"I was daily His delight" (verse 30). (1) Likeness in character is a
foundation of delight. A man who is godly delights to see his own
godly character reflected in his son. The recognition of moral
likeness in the uncreated Son gave delight to the Eternal Father.
Nothing gives God so much joy as _goodness_. Hence His joy in His
only-begotten Son. (2) Equality of nature is a source of delight to
the good and true. Fellowship with an equal gives joy. Christ, when
on earth, ever claimed this equality with the Father. He claimed an
_eternity of being._ "Before Abraham was, I am" (Exod. iii. 14; John
viii. 58). _Omniscience_ is claimed for Him, and He gave evidence
that He possessed it. "He knew what was in man" (John ii. 25). "And
Jesus knowing their thoughts," etc. (Matt. ix. 4). _Divine energy._
"My Father worketh hitherto and I work" (John v. 17). _Independent
existence._ "As the Father hath life in Himself, so hath He given to
the Son to have life in Himself" (John v. 26). _Holiness._ "Which of
you convinceth me of sin?" (John viii. 46). _Almighty power._ "All
power is given unto me in heaven and in earth" (Matt. xxviii. 18). In
the eternal ages, before the creation of the world, the Father looked
upon this "brightness of His glory and express image of His person"
(Heb. i. 3), and this Divine Equal gave joy to the uncreated God
(Isa. xlii. 1).
+III. The delight of the Personal Wisdom of God in the creation of
the home of man.+ "Rejoicing in the habitable parts of the earth"
(verse 31). The artist has joy in the thought of his completed work
while it is in progress. He joys in that which _is not_ as yet in
outward form, but which _is,_ in the completeness within his mind.
The architect, who sees day by day the building being reared which he
knows will be the wonder of coming ages and the means of yielding
comfort to thousands, rejoices in the thought of the blessing that is
to come out of his work. He experiences an emotion, with which a
stranger cannot intermeddle (Prov. xiv. 10). And so Eternal Wisdom is
here represented as regarding the future home of man. He saw its
adaptability to the wants of the creatures who were to inhabit
it--its inexhaustible resources for the supply of all man's physical
and many of his intellectual wants, and the thought of the missions
to whose happiness the earth's riches and beauties would minister
throughout the ages gave Him joy. The best natures among human-kind
delight when they are able to produce what will increase the
happiness of their fellow-creatures. The poet rejoices when he feels
that his thought will cheer the hearts of other men. The inventor is
glad when he has made a discovery which he knows will be a boon to
his race. And so the Eternal Wisdom of God looked with joy upon the
earth which He had called into being for the habitation of the race
whom He was about to create. The joy that would be theirs gave Him
joy when He looked upon creation with their eyes.
+IV. The special delight of Personal Wisdom in man himself.+ "My
delights were with the sons of men." 1. _His delight in man would
arise from the fact that he was a creature different from all
pre-existing creatures._ Man is a link between mind and matter. He is
a compound of the animal and the angel, of the dust of the earth and
the breath of God. The material creation was called into being before
man. The angelic and spiritual creatures existed before man. Man was,
as it were, the clasp which united the two, and his unique character,
we may well believe, made him a special object of interest to his
Creator. New combinations give joy to those who, by combining forces,
or material, or thoughts for the first time, bring about a new thing
in the earth. They create a power or an idea which would not have
existed if these elements had remained separate. Man, as he came
originally from the hand of God, was such a perfectly balanced
compound of mind and matter, of body and spirit, that his Creator had
joy in the contemplation of His work, and declared it to be "very
good" (Gen. i. 31). If we apply the words of the text to the second
person of the Godhead, we know, from Scripture testimony, that He was
the Creator of man, for "without Him was not anything made that was
made." He is as rich in invention as He is in goodness. 2. _The
delight of Christ would be especially with men, because in His own
nature God and man would meet in an eternal combination._ The
commander who can pluck victory out of the jaws of defeat, by the
combination of certain forces not yet brought upon the field with
others which have been already defeated, is allowed to give evidence
of the highest military skill. The statesman who, anticipating the
defeat of one measure, reserved another method of tactics in the
background which he knew would ensure an ultimate success, and who
used the very means by which he had been defeated as a lever to
establish a better law and a more lasting benefit, would be
considered to display ability of the first degree, and to be a
benefactor of his race. And the contemplation of such a victory
beforehand must be an occupation of the deepest interest to the mind
which originates the plan and carries it into action. Christ is,
beyond all comparison, the leader of men. He saw beforehand that
human nature would be defeated in its first conflict with evil. He
knew that Satan would enter in and spoil this new principality of
God. But He had already made preparation for this defeat, and He
purposed, by means of the very human nature which would be thus
defeated, in combination with His own divinity, to spoil the spoiler
and lead captivity captive. By the eternal union of His own nature
with the human He purposed to place man on a firmer standing ground,
and gain for him the power of an endless life. Christ becoming the
head of the race has defeated sin in the human nature that was itself
defeated, and the grace which He has thus imparted to man has lifted
him to a higher level than that in which he was created. And if the
first edition of man, which was "of the earth, earthy" (1 Cor.
xv. 47), gave joy to his Creator, how much more must He have rejoiced
in the prospect of that second edition which was to be made after His
own likeness, and to be the reward of "the travail of His soul" (Isa.
liii. 11), although even then He knew at what a cost this work would
be accomplished (1 Pet. i. 20).
NOTE ON THE RELATION OF THE SON OF GOD TO THE FATHER. (Verses 22-30,
John i. 1). On this subject Dr. John Brown says, "That the Son is
essentially and eternally related to the Father, in some real sense,
as Father and Son; but that while _distinct_ in person (for 'the Word
was with God'), He is neither _posterior_ to Him in time (for 'in the
beginning was the Word'), nor _inferior_ to Him in nature (for 'the
Word was God'), nor _separate_ from Him in being (for 'the same was
in the beginning with God'), but _One Godhead_ with the Father;" this
would seem to come as near to the full testimony of Scripture on this
mysterious subject as can be reached by our finite understanding,
without darkening counsel with words without knowledge.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 22. "The beginning of His way" evidently means the commencement
of creation, when Jehovah set out in His course of creative and
consequently of providential manifestation of His eternal
perfections. _When_ this was we cannot tell. We may know the age of
our own world, at least according to its present constitution. But
_when_ the universe was brought into being, and whether by one
omnipotent _fiat,_ or at successive and widely varying periods, it is
beyond our power to ascertain. One thing we know for a certainly
revealed fact, that there were angelic creatures in existence
previous to the reduction of our globe to order and to the creation
of man upon it. These holy intelligences contemplated the six days of
work of Divine wisdom and power in this part of the universe with
benevolent transport. "The morning stars sang together, and all the
sons of God shouted for joy." How many other creatures, and of what
descriptions--how many other worlds, and how peopled, might have
existed before man and his earthly residence we are unable to affirm.
When men, indeed, begin to talk of its being absurd to suppose the
universe so recent as to have been only coeval with our own globe, or
our own system, they forget themselves. They do not speak
considerately nor philosophically. There is no lapse of ages or any
point of measurement in eternity. . . . Beginning is as inconsistent
with the idea of eternity as termination is. Go as far back as
imagination, or as numbers heaped on numbers, can carry you, there
still remains the previous eternity, during which our speculative and
presumptuous minds may wonder that Divine power had not been put
forth.--_Wardlaw._
Verse 23. It was in the last times, that the Eternal Wisdom was set
forth unto us, but it was _from everlasting,_ that He was set up to
be a king over us. It was in the fulness of time that He offered
Himself for us, but it was from the beginning that He was anointed to
be priest unto us. It was upon the earth that His gracious lips
taught us, but it was before the earth was that He was ordained to be
a prophet for us. It is in Him that all are chosen who come unto
eternity, and He Himself was chosen from eternity. From everlasting
he was set up our King, to set us up an everlasting kingdom. From the
beginning was He anointed our priest, to anoint us in a priesthood
that shall never end. Before the earth was, He was ordained our
prophet, to order our feet in that way which shall bring us from
earth to heaven; He was chosen that we might be the chosen people of
God.--_Jermin._
Verse 24. The order of creation corresponds to that which we find in
Genesis i. Still more striking is the resemblance with the thoughts
and language of the book of Job, chap. xxii., xxvi., xxxviii. A world
of waters, "great deeps" lying in darkness--this was the picture of
the remotest time of which man could form any conception, and yet the
co-existence of the uncreated wisdom with the eternal Jehovah was
before that.--_Plumptre._
At the period referred to here, creation was not yet actually framed
and executed, it was only framed and planned; the whole being at
once, in all its magnificence and in all its minuteness, before the
eye of the omniscient mind, in its almost _infinite_ complexity,
extent, and variety, yet without the slightest approach to confusion!
All there, in one vast and complicated, yet simple idea!--_Wardlaw._
Verse 27. God's "setting a compass upon the face of the deep" seems
to refer to His circumscribing the earth when in its fluid state,
assigning to it its spherical form, and fixing the laws by which that
form should be constantly maintained. I think it probable that this
refers to the earth in the state in which it is described previous to
the beginning of the six days' work, by which it was reduced to
order, and fitted for and stocked with inhabitants. How was the fluid
element held together in the spherical form? The answer is, God "set
a compass upon the face of the deep, saying, This be thy just
circumference, O World!" By the power of gravitation, affecting every
particle, drawing it to the common centre, the equilibrium was
maintained, the globular form effected and kept; which may here be
meant by the poetical conception of sweeping a circle from the
centre, and defining the spherical limits of the world of
waters.--_Wardlaw._
Verse 29. Though great be the noise of the roaring of the sea, great
the inconstancy of the tumbling waves, great the looseness of the
flowing waters; yet the voice of God's decree is easily heard by
them, constant is their obedience unto God's commandment, firmly do
they keep the bounds of His law. But in the noise of our disorders,
little is God's Word heard by us, in the lightness of our hearts,
much is the will of God slighted, in the looseness of our lives every
way doth a careless regard of God's law spread itself, which could
not but drown us in a sea of God's wrath, did not He who was when the
bounds of the sea were decreed, purchase by the red sea of His blood
a gracious pardon for us. . . . Fitly is God said to appoint the
foundations of the earth only; for that alone founded the whole
earth, no more was needful for it. But how little doth God's
appointment prevail with man, a little piece of earth. How often are
God's purposes in the means of salvation disappointed by him. To lay
firm the foundations of grace in man's heart, the Eternal Wisdom, who
was when the foundations of the earth were appointed, came down from
Heaven, and here was pleased to work out His life thereby to
accomplish the work of our redemption. And shall not this, then, make
us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling?--_Jermin._
Verse 30. To Wisdom the work was no laborious task. She "sported," as
it were, in the exuberance of her strength and might.--_Plumptre._
Verse 31. What was it that here attracted His interest? Man had been
created in the image of God--free to stand or fall. This freedom was
the perfection of his nature. His fall was permitted as the
mysterious means of his higher elevation. His ruin was overruled for
his greater security. This _habitable earth_ was to be the grand
theatre of the work that should fill the whole creation with wonder
and joy. Here the serpent's head was to be visibly bruised, the
kingdom of Satan to be destroyed, "precious spoil to be divided with
the strong" (Isa. liii. 12). Here was the Church to be framed, as the
manifestation of His glory, the mirror of His Divine perfections
(Ephes. iii. 10, 21). Considering the infinite cost at which He was
to accomplish this work, the wonder is that He should have _endured_
it; a greater wonder that, ere one atom of the creation was
formed--ere the first blossom had been put forth in Paradise, he
should have _rejoiced_ in it.--_Bridges._
Of all earthly creatures, Christ delights most in men. 1. Because man
is the chief of God's creatures upon earth, made after God's image,
and for whom all the rest were made. 2. Because He took on Him the
nature of men, and not of angels (Heb. ii. 16). 3. He conversed most
familiarly with men when He was incarnate. Men only had reason and
wisdom to delight in Christ's company, and to give Him occasion to
delight in theirs. 4. Because He gave His life for them, that they
might live with Him for ever. It seems, then, that He took great
delight in them, and means to do so for ever.--_Francis Taylor._
Did our Saviour, before His incarnation, rejoice in the habitable
parts of the earth, and delight in visiting and blessing the sons of
men? Then we may be certain that He still does so; for He is,
yesterday, to-day, and for ever, the same. Still, He prefers earth to
heaven; still, His chief delights are with the sons of men; and
while, as man, He intercedes for them in Heaven, He still, as God,
visits our world, to meet with and bless His people. . . . And how
great will be our Saviour's happiness after the final consummation of
all things! . . . If He loved, and rejoiced, and delighted in them
before they knew and loved Him, how will He love and rejoice in them,
when He sees them surrounding His throne, perfectly resembling
Himself in body and soul, loving Him with unutterable love,
contemplating Him with ineffable delight, and praising Him as their
deliverer from sin, and death, and hell, as the author of all their
everlasting glory and felicity.--_Payson._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 32-36.
EXHORTATION FOUNDED ON HUMAN OBLIGATIONS TO DIVINE WISDOM.
+I. Because Christ, the Eternal Wisdom, has manifested His sympathy
with man, we are under obligations to come into sympathy with Him.+ A
man who has manifested his sympathy with, and delight in, another's
welfare by most substantial acts of benevolence and self-denial, has
taken the most reasonable method of awakening an answering sympathy
in the breast of him whom he has thus regarded. And the obligation on
the part of the recipient is increased in proportion to the amount of
self-sacrifice undergone on his behalf. If such a benefactor desires
and asks for the friendship of him whom he has befriended, it would
seem impossible that such an appeal could be made in vain. The
eternal wisdom of God has gone to the utmost of even His infinite
capacity of self-denial to show His delight in, and regard for the
human race. This, coupled with His eternal existence and His almighty
power, is here made the basis for an exhortation to men to listen to
His words, "Now, therefore, hearken unto me, O ye children!"
+II. Those who are thus drawn into sympathy with Eternal Wisdom come
under conditions of life.+ Here is a repetition of an oft-repeated
truth of revelation, that life and God's favour are
inseparable--identical (ver. 35). We can see shadows of this truth in
the intercourse of men with their fellow-creatures. If a poor outcast
child, surrounded by influences of evil to which he must yield if
left to fight them single-handed, is lifted out of his degradation
into a godly home, the favour of the friend who thus raises him
changes his miserable existence into something worth calling life in
comparison. The child who, by wilfulness, has forfeited the favour of
a good parent, feels his entire existence clouded, but forgiveness
through reconciliation brings light and life back to his life. How
much more is it so when we come into sympathy with Christ by
hearkening to His voice and taking His yoke, and are by Him lifted
out of a life of bondage to sin into the glorious liberty of the sons
of God.
+III. Those who refuse thus to come into sympathy with Eternal Wisdom
are self-destroyers, because they are God-haters.+ He who refuses to
drink of the Fountain of Life, must, of necessity, be left to
soul-death. There is nothing that gives more sorrow to a human being
than to know that the evil from which he is suffering is
self-inflicted. If a man loses his sight through a wound which he
receives from another, although he feels his blindness to be a
terrible calamity, it lacks the element of bitterness which would be
added to it if it had been brought about by his own wilfulness. The
man who loses a limb in lawful battle looks upon his loss as an
honour, because it was inevitable. But his feeling would be very
different if he knew that he had been crippled for life by his own
folly. It will be the main ingredient in the bitter cup of those who
disregard the invitations of Divine Wisdom that they are moral
suicides. The consciousness of this is a perpetual hell to the human
spirit. And the mere neglect is sufficient to give the death-blow. It
is not necessary to be in positive opposition to God and goodness.
Not to listen is to refuse. Not to wait on God is to sin against
Him--is to despise the provisions of His mercy.
_ILLUSTRATION OF VERSE_ 34.
Hovering about the avenues of a royal residence, there are in Eastern
as well as in other countries, always to be seen groups of people,
some of whom are attracted by the impulse of curiosity, others by the
hope of obtaining some mark of royal favour. The assiduity and
perseverance requisite for succeeding in their suit, and waiting the
propitious moment of presenting themselves in the presence of their
sovereign, is not, as may be easily supposed, at all times consistent
with personal ease and convenience, and, accordingly, here and there
may be observed individuals seated upon a stone, or reclining upon
the grass, in anxious expectation for the appearance of the sovereign
on his way to daily exercise. To sit at the gates of a king is a
custom of great antiquity.--_Paxton's Illustrations of Scripture._
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 32. O sweet courtesy! as if it were but a small matter that the
Eternal Wisdom should become our Master, and teach us as His
scholars; or that, being our Lord, He should teach us as His
servants; or that, being God, He should teach us as men; yet greater
is His love, and, as a Father He teacheth us as His children. And
well may He call us His children, for it is He that teacheth us who,
by adoption, hath made us to be His children, which by hearkening
unto Him we show ourselves to be.--_Jermin._
Verse 34. Uriah watched at David's gate as a token of service (2 Sam.
xi. 9). Lazarus watched at Dives' gate as a token of dependence (Luke
xvi. 20). Courtiers at royal entrances for smiles of favour. Let the
sinner do all these things.--_Miller._
Not watching awhile, and then going away if they be not let in
presently, but waiting patiently till they be let in. Not only taking
occasion of learning offered, but waiting to find occasions, as
petitioners wait on great men till their causes be ended.--_Francis
Taylor._
Wisdom here appears as a sovereign, separate and secluded, in the
style of Oriental monarchs, so that only those know anything of her
who diligently keep watch at her doors. Wisdom, who is universal in
her call and invitation (verses 1-3), yet, in the course of
communication in order to test the fidelity of her admirers, veils
herself at times in a mysterious darknesss, and reveals herself only
to those who never intermit their search (Matt. vii. 7).--_Von
Gerlach, in Lange's Commentary._
There ought to be an expectation raised in us that the vital savour
diffused in and by the Word may reach us; and many are ruined for not
expecting it--not waiting at the posts of Wisdom's door.--_John Howe._
Verse 35. 1. _Natural life_ is found by it, not in regard to the
beginning of it, but in regard of the comfort and continuance.
2. _Spiritual life,_ or the life of grace. Wisdom is the life of the
soul, and what were the world worth if there were no light?
3. _Eternal life,_ or the life of glory. This is indeed the life that
Christ, the wisdom of God, died to purchase for us, and lived among
us to show us the way to it.--_Francis Taylor._
Verse 36. Doing without is a stupid misery; but hating wisdom is an
insane marvel.--_Miller._
Not to love and earnestly seek Wisdom is to _sin against her._ To
disregard her is to _hate_ her, and is virtually, though
unconsciously, to love death; for it is loving things, which as being
opposed to wisdom, bring with them death.--_Fausset._
What meaneth this _all_ where one would think there could be none?
Can there be an all to hate Him who loveth all that is? But if it
were not so, why do so many resist His holy will, despise His
heavenly laws, rebel against His sacred pleasure? Are not these
effects of hatred? Besides, so doth He challenge the _all_ of our
affection, as not to hate all things for His sake, is to hate Him.
Now they that hate Him, which can they love? Surely it must needs be
_death,_ because in all things else He is. But that is the fruit of
sin, and they that love the tree must needs love the fruit also. But
to whom do we speak these things, or why do we speak them? Where
shall we find open ears, or seeing eyes, when now almost men care not
whom they look after, so that they do not look after
themselves?--_Jermin._
A child or an idiot may kindle a fire which all the city cannot
quench. In spite of their utmost efforts, it might destroy both the
homes of the poor and the palaces of majesty. So a sinner, though he
cannot do the least good, can do the greatest evil. The Almighty only
can save him, but he can destroy himself.--_Arnot._
_Sin is a self-injury._ There are three facts implied in these words:
Firstly, _That man is capable of sinning._ This capability
distinguishes man from the brute, and belongs to all moral
beings. . . . It is our glory that we _can_ sin; it is our disgrace
and ruin that we do so. Secondly, _That sin is something directed
against God._ All the laws of man's being--physical, organic,
intellectual, and moral--are God's laws, and violating of them is
rebellion against heaven. Thirdly, _That sin against God is a wrong
done to our nature._ This is true of all sin, physical as well as
spiritual. We cannot violate the laws of physical health, without
losing at the same time something of the life, elasticity, and vigour
of the mind. That sin injures the soul admits of no debate: it is a
patent fact written on every page of history, and proclaimed by the
deep consciousness of humanity. From this unquestionable fact we may
fairly deduce three general truths. I. _That God's laws are
essentially connected with the constitution of man._ From this fact
two things follow. (1.) That all sin is unnatural. (2.) That an
evasion of the penalties of sin is beyond the power of the creature.
II. _That God's laws are the expression of benevolence._ We wrong our
souls by not keeping God's laws. Obedience to them is happiness. The
voice of all Divine prohibitions is, "Do thyself no harm," the voice
of all Divine injunctions is, "Rejoice evermore." We infer from this
_fact_--III. _That God's laws should be studiously obeyed._
(1.) Right requires it. All God's laws are righteously binding upon
the subject, and disobedience is a crime. (2.) Expediency requires
it. A life of sin is a life of folly, for it must ever be a life of
misery.--_Dr. David Thomas._
Verses 30-36. I. From the beginning, the welfare of man engaged the
complacent regard of God our Saviour. He derived delight from the
_material_ creation because it was to be subservient to man. II. We
may therefore expect that all His communications and intercourse with
us would be made to harmonise with our welfare also. We are warranted
in expecting that all His communication with us will harmonise with
the wants of our nature--that the means will be adapted to the end.
Accordingly verses 35 and 36 imply that so perfect is that adaptation
between the provisions of mercy and the necessity of man, that he who
rejects them wrongs his own soul, that who receives them receives
life. III. May we not infer that, even of this habitable part, He
would rejoice in some spots more than in others, especially in such
as are set apart for the diffusion of His truth and the promotion of
His designs.--_Dr. J. Harris._
* * * * * *
CHAPTER IX.
CRITICAL NOTES.--+1. Wisdom,+ in the plural, as in chap. i. 20, to
express excellence and dignity. +2. She hath mingled her wine.+ Some
commentators understand the mingling to be with water, others with
spices; both were customary among ancient Orientals. +7.+ Latter
clause. Most commentators translate, "he that rebuketh the wicked, it
is his dishonour," or, "it is a dishonor to him," _i.e._, to the
wicked man. +10. The Holy,+ generally understood to stand in
apposition to Jehovah. +13. A foolish woman,+ rather, "the woman of
folly," an exact opposition of the personified wisdom of the former
part of the chapter. +Clamorous,+ "violently excited" (_Zöckler_).
+15.+ Who go right on their ways. "Who are going straightforward in
their paths" (_Stuart_).
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 1-12.
WISDOM'S FEAST.
+I. The home to which Divine Wisdom invites her guests is one which
has cost time and labour in the preparation.+ "Wisdom hath _builded_
her house." The building of anything implies the expenditure of time
and labour. When the eagle builds her nest and prepares a house for
her yet unborn young she spends much time in her work and bestows
much labour upon it. In the building of a house for human habitation,
whether it be a palace or a cottage, time and care, and thought and
labour must be given to the building. And so it is in mental
building; when thoughts are to be gathered together and fashioned
into a book, the gathering and the building involves the expenditure
of mental labour, and of many hours and days, and sometimes years,
before the work is completed. And God has not departed from this rule
in the works which He has wrought for the benefit of His creatures.
The house which He has built for the habitation of man was not
brought into its present form all at once. God did not create the
heavens and the earth in one day or in a short period of time. We
read that "in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and
all that in them is" (Exod. xx. 2), and the record of the rocks
confirms the testimony of revelation that the preparation of the
earth for man was a work of time. In creation Divine Wisdom "builded
her house." And what is true of creation is true also of redemption.
The incarnation of the Son of God took place in the days of Tiberius
Cæsar, but the process of building the plan of redemption had been
going on for ages. In the Mosaic dispensation it was seen in outline.
Its sacrifices were shadows of the house which God intended hereafter
to build in the human nature of the man Christ Jesus. The temple of
Herod was forty-six years in building (John ii. 20), but the temple
of God was in course of preparation for more than forty-six
generations before it was brought to completion in "the Word made
flesh" (See Hebrews, chap. ix).
+II. That which has been long in preparation is strong and enduring
in character.+ It hath "seven pillars." The snow-flake is not long in
being formed, and it is not long in duration. The bubble upon the
stream is built in an instant, and passes away as quickly. But the
coral island has taken many years, and cost a million lives, to build
it, and now it stands a rock in the midst of the ocean, and has
become the home of man. All that is strong and lasting in the world
has taken time in its formation. So is it in the refuge where that is
found which will satisfy the soul of man. It was long ere it was
completed, but it is a lasting edifice, built upon a sure foundation
(Heb. vi. 18, 19).
+III. The house which Wisdom has builded contains that which will
satisfy human need.+ The soul-blessings which God offers to men are
often compared to a feast (Isa. xxv. 6; Matt. xxii. 4). Here Wisdom
is spoken of as having "killed her beasts, mingled her wine,
furnished her table." 1. _It is plain that the human spirit needs a
feast from the fact that God has spread the board._ When the Lord
Jesus furnished a table in the wilderness for the multitude it was to
supply a manifest need. It was to meet Israel's need that God fed
them with manna in the wilderness. Man's spiritual nature must starve
without the feast which God's wisdom has prepared. The existence of
the feast proves the existence of the need. 2. _This feast is of the
best quality._ The man who prepares a feast for his guests prepares
of his best. The feast prepared by a poor man will be the best at his
command; the banquet of a king will be such as befits his rank and
resources. The banquet to which Divine Wisdom invites her guests is
furnished with the most costly provisions that even God has to give.
Christ, who declares Himself to be meat and drink to the spirit of
man (John vi. 51, 54, 56) is the best gift that God can bestow upon
man--the best food that Heaven could furnish. 3. _Wisdom's feast is
one in which there is variety._ There is _flesh_, _wine_ and _bread_
(verses 2 and 5). The feasts of the rich and great consist of many
different dishes, and the variety adds to the enjoyment of the
guests. God has provided many different kinds of food to satisfy our
bodily appetite. Although they are all adapted to the same end, viz.,
to the nourishment of the body, the difference in the composition and
flavour adds much to man's enjoyment. The human spirit, like the
human body, craves a variety in its food, and God has satisfied that
craving. The revelation of God in Christ (in other words, the Gospel)
reveals a great variety of spiritual truths upon which the spiritual
nature of man can feed. There are things "new and old" in the Gospel
treasury (Matt. xiii. 52). And new revelations of life and
immortality will be brought to light throughout the coming ages, and
the feeling of those who partake of the royal banquet will be like
that of the ruler of the feast at Cana: "Thou hast kept the good wine
until now" (John ii. 10).
+IV. Those who invite to Wisdom's feast must be pure in character.+
The sending forth of "maidens" seems to convey this idea. Maidenhood
is a type of purity. The character of the inviter must be in keeping
with the nature of the invitation. If a man gives an invitation to
the Gospel-feast, he will find that those whom he invites will look
at the invitation through the glass of his character, and unless it
is one through which the invitation can be favourably viewed, there
will be little hope of his words proving effectual. Character and
doctrine are inseparable. God intends the first to be a
recommendation of the last. The invitation to "Come," from the lips
of the Lord Jesus, was mighty in its power, because the purity of His
teaching was equalled by the purity of His life. The great power of
the invitation to Wisdom's feast in the mouths of the first Christian
teachers sprang from the character of those who gave the invitation
(see 2 Cor. i. 2).
+V. The means by which the guests are brought in.+ They are
_invited._ There can be no compulsion in bringing men to the feast of
Wisdom. No man can be compelled to partake of a feast. Persuasion can
be used, and men can be induced to eat of it from a sense of need,
but force is useless. A man may be placed at the board and kept there
against his will, but the eating must ever be his own act. And so it
is with the spiritual blessings which God has prepared for men. All
the force that can be exercised is the force of persuasion. The first
servants who went forth to invite men to the Gospel-feast were fully
convinced that the weapon which they were to use was that of
_persuasion._ "Now then _pray you_ in Christ's stead, be ye
reconciled to God" (2 Cor. v. 20). "Knowing the terrors of the Lord
we _persuade men_" (2 Cor. v. 11).
+VI. The publicity and general nature of the invitation.+ "She crieth
upon the highest places of the city." On this head see Homiletics on
chaps. i. 20, 21; viii. 2, 3.
+VII. The different characters with whom Wisdom's servants meet in
giving her invitation.+ They meet with the wise and just man (ver.
9), and with the wicked, who are again classified as the _simple_
(ver. 4), and the _scorners_ (ver. 7). There is often a great
difference in things of the same class and kind. All the fruit upon a
tree may be bad, but all may not be equally bad. So among sinners are
men of different degrees of sinfulness. There are the _simple_--those
who are merely heedless of Divine teachings through a culpable
ignorance and thoughtlessness, there are men so bad that they _scorn_
all God's invitations and set at nought His threatenings. This
character is held up in Scripture as having reached the climax of
iniquity, (See Homiletics on chap. i. 22.) The just man (ver. 9), is
here synonymous with the wise man. He only is a wise man who has a
worthy end which he sets himself to attain, and who uses the best
means to attain that end. Hence the good or just man is the only
truly wise man. He lays hold of all the means within his reach to
increase his godliness, to get power to enable him to do justly, to
love mercy, and to walk with God, and thus shows himself to be a
member of the kingdom of the good which is the kingdom of the wise.
He must be a _just_ man, one who is upright in all his relations in
life, one who will not knowingly leave undone his duty to his
fellow-men. A man who is right in his relations towards God will not
fail in his relations towards men. Simeon was a _devout_ man,
therefore he was a _just_ man (Luke ii. 25), so was Cornelius (Acts
x. 2, 22). But these wise men are not all equally wise, and none are
so wise that they cannot increase in wisdom, and therefore Wisdom
sends forth her invitations to all to the wise and just men as well
as to the simple and the scorner.
+VIII. The opposite effects of the invitation upon opposite
characters.+ The scorner _hates_ it--the wise men _loves_ it (ver.
8). When the sun shines upon a diseased eye it produces a sense of
discomfort, but the same light falling upon a healthy eye gives a
sensation of pleasure. The opposite feelings are the results of
opposite conditions. The different receptions which are given to
God's invitations arise from the different spiritual conditions of
the men who hear them. The man who "loves darkness rather than light
because his deeds are evil" is pained when he receives wisdom's
invitation, because the very invitation condemns him. It is a rebuke
to him (verses 7 and 8) for continuing to reject the feast for husks,
for preferring to spend "money upon that which is not bread and his
labour upon that which satisfieth not." Hence he who thus reproveth a
scorner gets to himself shame, and he that rebuketh a wicked man
getteth himself a blot (verse 7). The preacher of the Gospel endures
the shame of the cross when he delivers his message to such an one,
but it meets with quite an opposite reception from the wise and just.
A wise man because he is wise desires more wisdom. Those who know
most about a good thing are those who desire to know more, and this
desire prevents them from being offended with those who offer to give
them more knowledge. Even if Wisdom's invitation takes the form of a
_rebuke_ (ver. 8), the wise man, considering that the end of the
rebuke is to do him good, loves the ambassador of Wisdom who
administers it. When a sick man receives severe treatment from a
physician, he accepts it patiently because he bears in mind the end
in view, viz., his restoration to health. And this is the light in
which all wise men regard Divine reproof, whether it comes directly
from Himself in the form of providential dispensations, or through
the medium of the lips of one of His servants. The message which is a
"savour of death" to the scorner, is a "savour of life" to them.
+IX. If the invitation is effectual, there will be a forsaking and a
fearing.+ "Forsake the foolish and live" (verse 6). "The fear of the
Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (verse 10). A forsaking of the wrong
path must go before the entrance into the right one, and a fear that
we may go wrong will help to keep us in the right way. A wholesome
dread of God's displeasure will lead a man to repentance, which is
but another name for a change in life's end, and aims, and purposes.
A conviction that he has been going in the wrong direction will cause
him to lend a willing ear to those who invite him to set out on the
right path; and the acceptance of the invitation is the beginning of
a life of true wisdom, because it is the beginning of the only safe
and satisfying course of life.
+X. Whatever reception is given to the invitations of Divine Wisdom,
God is above all human approbation.+ "If thou be wise, thou shalt be
wise for thyself; but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it"
(verse 12). The sun will go on shining, whatever men think or say
about it. All the approbation of all the world will not add to the
glory of the light that rules the day, and if men were to find fault
with the manner in which it dispensed its light and heat, it would
still hold on its way "rejoicing, as a strong man to run a race." The
children of Wisdom, who accept the Divine invitation, and fall in
with God's way of saving them, do not make God their debtor in any
way. He would still be the moral Sun of the universe, if all mankind
were to turn a deaf ear to His invitation, and all the praise of all
the good in Heaven and earth cannot add one ray to the moral glory of
His being. The scorn of the scorner cannot harm the God whose
revelation he scorns, any more than a man could injure the wind that
blows upon him by beating it. If men disapprove of God's way of
governing the world, or of His conditions of salvation, it cannot
harm the Divine Being in any way. He is above all the approval or
disapproval--all the rejection or acceptance of any finite creature.
Eliphaz, the Temanite, spoke truly when he said, "Can a man be
profitable to God, as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself?
Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that thou art righteous? Or is it
gain to Him that thou makest thy ways perfect?" (Job xxii. 2, 3). It
therefore follows, as a matter of course, that the Divine plan of
redemption has been devised solely out of regard to His creatures;
that love is the only motive that prompts Him to multiply invitations
and warnings; and that the sufferings which are entailed upon men by
their rejection of His provisions spring from nothing selfish or
arbitrary in the Divine character.
+XI. The acceptance of the Divine invitation is an obedience to the
lawful instinct of self-love.+ Self-love is often confounded with
selfishness, but they are widely different. The principle of
self-love is recognised as lawful and right throughout the Bible. God
commands a man to love his neighbour _as_ he loves himself, thereby
laying down the principle that self-love is necessary and right. Our
Saviour appeals to this Divinely-implanted instinct when He urges men
to save their souls, because of the infinite _profit_ which they will
thereby gain (Mark viii. 36). And the fact that God has made
self-love the standard whereby we are to measure our love to others,
and that it is urged upon men as a motive by the Divine Son, at once
places a great gulf between it and selfishness. Obedience to
self-love leads men to obey Wisdom's invitation and thus to become
truly wise themselves. Self-love leads men to desire to make the best
of their existence, and no man can do this unless he accepts the call
to the feast which Wisdom has prepared. The Hebrew nation thought
they could get profit to themselves apart from the acceptance of the
Divine proposals. They persuaded themselves that they could do
without God's way of life, and that the feast which He had prepared
could be neglected with impunity. But they found when too late they
had done themselves an eternal wrong by "making light" of the call of
the king's servants. (See Matt. xxii. 14). But "Wisdom is justified
of her children," and although our Lord likens the men of that
generation to children who neither dance to the sound of joyful music
nor mourn to strains of lamentation (Luke vii. 31-35), there have
always been some who have so regarded their real interest as to be
willing guests of the Divine Inviter. Obeying His call they come into
possession of a righteous character, the only attainment of real
profit which can be gotten out of existence. It is the only end worth
living for. The end of a true soldier's existence is not the _keeping
of his bodily life._ That with him is quite a secondary
consideration. Neither is it his _happiness._ These things are
nothing to him in comparison with the attainment of a character for
bravery and fidelity to his trust. And so with every man in God's
universe. Not ease and comfort, nor fame or high position, but
_character_ is that only which will make existence really profitable,
which will make it a gain to life. Happiness will, of necessity,
follow godliness, but it is not the thing to be aimed at. The
attainment of the highest earthly fame, or the amassing of vast
riches, will not necessarily make a man a good companion for
_himself,_ and if he is not this, he has failed to draw true profit
out of his existence. He may be a wise man according to men's
judgment, but if he has failed to consult his own true self-interest,
he is a fool. A position in heaven would be nothing to such a man if
he could obtain it. The blessedness of the heavenly world springs
from the holy character of those who inhabit it, and this can be
obtained only by listening to Wisdom's voice, and so gaining that
"fear of the Lord which is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge
of the holy, which is understanding" (ver. 10). "If thou be wise,
thou shalt be wise for thyself" (ver. 12); in other words--thou
thyself shall reap the first and principal benefit.
+XII. The consequence of the rejection of Wisdom's invitation must be
borne+ +by him who rejects it.+ "If thou scornest, thou alone shalt
bear it." If a man refuses to use the power which he possesses to
walk, he will, in the course of time, lose the power of using his
limbs. The man who will not listen to the promptings of self-love
will stifle its voice. But though he may destroy self-love, he cannot
destroy himself. That belongs to God alone. Man can make his
existence into a terrible burden, can change that which God intended
to be a blessing into a curse, and in this sense he can destroy
himself--can "lose his soul;" but he must live still, and bear the
consequence of his choice. We can burn up the most costly articles
and reduce them to black ashes, but no power of man can annihilate a
single particle of the ashes. They exist still in some form or
another. So men, by scorning God's invitations, can blacken and spoil
the existence which God has given them, but they cannot annihilate
themselves. They must live and bear the self-imposed burden.
_ILLUSTRATION OF VERSE_ 3.
This may derive some illustration from a custom which Hasselquist
noticed in Egypt, and which may seem to be ancient in that country.
That it has been scarcely noticed by other travellers may arise from
the fact that, although they may have seen the maidens on their way,
they had not the means of knowing on what errand they were bound. He
says that he saw a great number of women, who went about inviting
people to a banquet in a singular, and without doubt, in a very
ancient manner. They were about ten or twelve, covered with black
veils, as is customary in that country. They were preceded by four
eunuchs; after them, and on the side, were Moors, with their usual
walking staves. As they were walking, they all joined in making a
noise, which, he was told, signified their joy, but which he could
not find resembled a joyful or pleasing sound.--_Kitto._
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 1. "_House_" among the Hebrews was an image of all well-being
(Exod. i. 21). It means shelter. It means nurture. It means repose.
It means the centre of all provision. It means the home of all
convivial feasts. If Wisdom has built such a shelter for the lost, it
means she has furnished for them every possible necessity. An Eastern
house depended upon columns that were around a court. Samson put his
hand upon such interior supports. If Wisdom "_has hewed out her seven
pillars,_" It means that the provision she has made for the saints is
absolutely secure. The very number "_seven_" betokens a perfect,
because a sacred support; and we have but to ask upon what the Gospel
rests in its eternal promises and in the righteousness of its Great
Head, to settle the question as to these sacred pillars.--_Miller._
The Holy Spirit--having described in the foregoing chapter the office
and work of Christ, as Creator, in the world of nature--now proceeds
to describe His office and work in the world of grace. Solomon, the
son of David, and the builder of the holy house at Jerusalem, here
describes the operation of His own Divine Antitype, the Essential
Wisdom, in building His house. The Son of God, having existed from
eternity with the Father, in the fulness of time became Incarnate,
building for Himself a mystical body--the Church universal. . . .
Wisdom's seven pillars represent the perfection and universality of
Christ's work in both respects.--_Wordsworth._
Pillars, and polished pillars. Anything is good enough to build a mud
wall; but the church's pillars are of marble, and those not rough but
hewn; her safety is accompanied with beauty.--_Trapp._
If Wisdom dwell anywhere, herself must build the house; if she set up
the pillars, herself must hew them. Nothing can be meet to entertain
her which is not her own work. Nothing can be fit for God's
residence, which is not made fit by God's influence.--_Jermin._
In the preceding chapter, Wisdom represented herself as manifest in
all the works of God in the natural world; all being constructed
according to the counsels of an infinite understanding. _Here,_ she
represents herself as the great _potentate,_ who was to rule all that
she had constructed; and having an immense _family_ to provide for,
had made an abundant provision, and calls all to partake of
it.--_Adam Clarke._
Verse 2. "She hath mingled her wine," viz., with spices and other
exhilarating ingredients, as was the custom in the East (Cant.
viii. 2). Not _with water_ which is the emblem of degeneracy. The
wine mingled with aromatic spices is the exhilarating joy and
comforts of the gospel (Isa. lv. 1, Matt. xxvi. 29).--_Fausset._
Does Christ give us His own flesh and blood, to nourish and refresh
our souls? what grace, what comfort, what privilege will He withhold?
He is most willing to communicate this provision to us.--_Lawson._
God's favour and grace is always ready to be found when it is
faithfully sought. Our faith can never make Him tardy in desiring
that at the present which He cannot give till hereafter, or in being
beforehand to demand that which His ability is behindhand to perform.
The messengers say not in the Gospel, Be there at such a time, and in
the meanwhile things shall be prepared, or, Go with me now, and
dinner will be ready anon; but Come, for all things are now
ready.--_Dod._
Christ provideth for His the best of the best; "fat things full of
marrow, wines on the lees" (Isa. xxv. 6); His own blood, which is
drink indeed; besides that continual feast of a good conscience,
whereat the holy angels saith Luther, are as cooks and butlers, and
the blessed Trinity joyful guests. Mr. Latimer says that the
assurance of salvation is the sweetmeats of this stately
feast.--_Trapp._
Without asking what the flesh and wine especially mean, they are
figures of the manifold enjoyment which makes at once _strong_ and
_happy._--_Delitzsch._
Verse 3. "_Her maidens._" Sermons and providential strokes, the whole
heraldry of the doctrine of salvation.--_Miller._
Wisdom being personified as a feminine word, fitly has maidens as her
ministers here. May there not also be an intimation (as Gregory and
Bede suggest) of the natural _feebleness_ of the Apostles and other
ministers of the Gospel who have their treasure in earthen vessels
(2 Cor. iv. 7), and also of the tender _love_ which the preachers of
the Gospel must feel for the souls of those to whom they are
sent? . . . The great Apostle of the Gentiles speaks of himself
spiritually as a _nurse_ and a _mother_.--_Wordsworth._
She, together with her maids, crieth; she puts not off all the
business to them, but hath a hand in it herself. "We are workers
together with God," saith Paul.--_Trapp._
Verse 4. Ignorance is not a cause that should stay men from hearing
the Word of God, but rather incite them to it. Their necessity doth
require it, for who hath more need of eye-salve than they whose eyes
are sore? And who have more need of guides than they who have lost
their sight and are become blind? And especially when the way is
difficult and full of danger.--_Dod._
Verse 5. Not for the first time, in John vi., or on the night of the
Last Supper, had bread and wine been made the symbols of fellowship
with eternal life and truth.--_Plumptre._
Indeed, to _come_ and to _eat;_ to come to Wisdom by attention is to
eat of her instructions by receiving it into the soul.--_Jermin._
The invitation is _free._ So it is throughout the Bible. The
blessings of salvation are the gift of God. They are offered to
sinners with the freeness of Divine munificence. Not only _may_ they
be had without a price, but if they are to be had at all it _must_ be
without a price. This is one of their special peculiarities. In
treating with our fellow-men in the communication of good, we make
distinctions. From some, who can afford it, we take an equivalent;
from others, who cannot, we take none. We _sell_ to the rich, we
_give_ to the poor. In the present case there is no distinction. All
are poor. All are alike poor; and he who presumes to bring what he
imagines a price, of whatever kind, forfeits the blessings, and is
"sent empty away." The invitation, too, is _universal;_ for all men,
in regard to divine and spiritual things, are naturally inconsiderate
and foolish, negligent and improvident of their best and highest
interests. And it is _earnest, repeated, importunate._ Is not this
wonderful? Ought not the earnestness and the importunity to be all on
the other side? Should not we find men entreating God to bestow the
blessings, not God entreating men to accept them? _Wonderful?_ "No,"
we may answer in the terms of the Negro woman to the missionary when
he put the question, "Is this not wonderful?" "No, Massa, it be _just
like Him._" It is in the true style of infinite benevolence. But is
it not wonderful that sinners should refuse the invitation? It is not
in one view, and it is in another. It is _not,_ when we consider
their depravity and alienation from God. It _is,_ when we think of
their natural desire for happiness, and the manifest impossibility of
the object of their desire being ever found, otherwise than by their
acceptance of them.--_Wardlaw._
Verse 7. The reproof given is duty discharged, and the retort in
return is a fresh call to repentance for sin past, and a caution
against sin to come.--_Flavel._
Here caution is given how we tender reprehension to arrogant and
scornful natures, whose manner it is to esteem it for contumely, and
accordingly to return it.--_Lord Bacon._
The three verses, 7-9, in their general preceptive form, seem
somewhat to interrupt the continuity of the invitation which Wisdom
utters. The order of thought is, however, this: "I speak to you, the
simple, the open ones, for you have yet ears to hear; but from the
scorner or evil-doer of such, I turn away." The rules which govern
human teachers, leading them to choose willing or fit disciples, are
the laws also of the Divine Educator. So taken, the words are
parallel to Matt. vii. 2, and find an illustration in the difference
between our Lord's teaching to His disciples and to them that were
without.--_Plumptre._
The passage is telling the consequences to the poor hardened man (see
Critical Notes). Man is not like a thermometer, raised or sunken by
every breath, but he is the subject of a change which makes a
difference in moral influences. Without that change, instruction
hardens him. With that change, it moves him and makes him better.
Without the change the thermometer is always sinking; with the change
it is rising all the time. This teaching is had in all forms in the
New Testament. John says, "I write unto you, little children, because
your sins are forgiven you" (1 John ii. 12); his plain implication
being, that it would be useless to write except for the grace of
forgiveness. We hear of a "savour of death unto death" (2 Cor.
ii. 16); and Christ tells (John xv. 24) that "if He had not come
among them, and done the works that none other man did, they had not
had sin."--_Miller._
Verse 8. By which I do not understand that we are forbidden to preach
to the impenitent, but that we are to contemplate two facts: first,
that unless they are changed our preaching will make them worse, and,
therefore, second, that though our preaching is a chosen instrument
of the change itself, yet, if they are _scorners--i.e._ if they are
what our Saviour calls "swine" (Matt. vii. 6), and He means by that,
specially incorrigible--we are not to scatter our pearls to them. We
are not to intrude religion upon scoffers. We are to withhold the
good seed to some extent (yet with infinite compassion for all,) for
what may more reasonably be hoped to be the good and honest ground
(Mark iv. 8).--_Miller._
We must distinguish between the ignorant and the wilful scorner. Paul
"did it ignorantly, in unbelief" (1 Tim. i. 13). His countrymen
deliberately refused the blessing, and shut themselves out from the
free offers of salvation.--_Bridges._
Verse 9. _Instruction may be given with advantage to the wise._
(1) No truly wise man will account it impossible to make accessions
to his wisdom. Such a man is not wise in his own conceit (Rom.
xii. 16). His entrance into this course is of too recent a date, and
the efforts which he has made to gain wisdom too defective, to permit
him to think his wisdom incapable of augmentation (John viii. 2). And
(2) every wise man, whatever be the nature of his wisdom, will wish
it to be increased as much as possible (Prov. xviii. 15). Hence
(3), whatever instruction is given to him which is adapted to his
character and circumstances, that is, which shows wherein he is
defective, either in the end which he is pursuing, or in the manner
of his pursuit, no matter by whom the instruction is given, he will
account himself happy in having it, and will be the better for
it.--_Sketches of Sermons._
Verse 10. Men cannot begin to be wise except in holiness; unless it
begins to be the fact that God is teaching a man, you cannot teach
him.--_Miller._
The heart that is touched with the loadstone of Divine love trembles
still with godly fear.--_Leighton._
This "knowledge of the holy" is the knowledge of all that is involved
in _hallowing God's name;_ knowing experimentally all that tends to
our sanctifying the Lord in our hearts and in life.--_Fausset._
Some of the true wisdom is a nucleus, round which more will gather. A
little island once formed in the bed of a great river, tends
continually to increase. Everything adds to its bulk. The floods of
winter deposit soil on it. The sun of summer covers it with herbage
and consolidates its surface. Such is wisdom from above once settled
in a soul. It makes all things work together for good to its
possessor.--_Arnot._
Verse 12. As we are not aware that the mass of the impenitent
actually scoff at religion, we must look at this word, so often
selected by Solomon, as meaning that practical scorn, by which men,
who profess to respect the Gospel, show it the practical contempt of
their worldliness.--_Miller._
The principle involved in the parable of the talents (Matt. xxv.) is
embodied in the first intimation. The talents are in the first
instance not won by the servant, but given by the master. So wisdom
is specifically the gift of God (James i. 5). Those servants who use
the talents well, are permitted to retain for their own use both the
original capital and all the profit that has sprung from it; whereas
he who made no profit is not allowed to retain the capital. Thus the
Giver acts in regard to the wisdom which it is His own to bestow. The
wisdom, with all the benefit it brings, is your own. Every instance
of wise acting is an accumulation made sure for your own benefit. It
cannot be lost. It is like water to the earth. The drop of water that
trembled on the green leaf, and glittered in the morning sun, seems
to be lost when it glitters in the air unseen; but it is all in safe
keeping. It is held in trust by the faithful atmosphere, and will
distil as dew upon the ground again, when and where it is needed
most. Thus will every exercise of wisdom, though fools think it is
thrown away, return into your own bosom, when the day of need comes
round. Equally sure is the law that the evil which you do survives
and comes back upon yourself. The profane word, the impure thought,
the unjust transaction, they are gone like the wind that whistled
past, and you seem to have nothing more to do with them. Nay, but
they have more do with you. Nothing is lost out of God's world,
physical or moral. When a piece of paper is consumed in the fire and
vanishes in smoke, it seems to have returned to nothing. If it bore
the only evidence of your guilt, you would be glad to see the last
corner disappear before the officers of justice came in. All the
world cannot restore that paper and read the dreaded lines again. The
criminal breathes freely now no human tribunal can bring home his
crime. But as the material of the paper remains undiminished in the
mundane system, so the guilt which it recorded abides, held in
solution, as it were, by the moral atmosphere which encircles the
judgment-seat of God. Uniting with all of kindred essence that has
been generated in your soul, it will be precipitated by a law, and
when it falls, it will not miss the mark. Thou alone shalt bear it.
Those who have not found refuge in the Sin-bearer must bear their own
sin. Sins, like water, are not annihilated, although they go out of
our sight. They fall with all their weight either on the sin-doer or
on the Almighty Substitute. Alas for the man who is "alone" when the
reckoning comes.--_Arnot._
A man's self is not that which he is for a short time and space, but
that which he is for continuance, indeed for an endless continuance.
And therefore that which we are in this life is not ourselves, but
that which we shall be, that is ourselves. So that whosoever is wise
for that time is wise for himself, and for that time we shall be wise
if we be made so by the instruction of Eternal Wisdom.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 13-18.
THE FEAST OF FOLLY.
That which strikes one upon reading this description is the analogy
and the contrast which it presents to the feast of Wisdom. +I. Its
analogies.+ 1. _Both appeal to elements in the nature of man._ Man is
a compound, a complex being. He possesses a moral nature, a
conscience, which can be satisfied only with moral truth and
goodness, to which Wisdom appeals with her wine and bread of God's
revelation, and whose cravings they alone are able to appease. And he
has sinful inclinations and passions which hanker after forbidden
things, to which Folly appeals when she sets forth the attractions of
her "stolen waters" and her "bread eaten in secret" (verse 17). God's
wisdom and love are shown in appealing to the first, and Satan's
cunning and malice are manifested in the adaptation of his appeal to
the second. 2. _Both invite the same kind of character,_ viz., the
"_simple,_" the inexperienced, those who have not tasted the sweets
of godly living, yet "know not" from experience that the "dead" are
in the house of Folly, that "her guests are in the depths of hell"
(verse 18). Two potters may be desirous of possessing the same lump
of clay in order to fashion it each one after his own desire. It is
now a shapeless mass, but they know its yielding and pliable nature
renders it capable of assuming any form, of taking any impress, which
they may please to impart to it. The inexperienced in the
experimental knowledge of good and evil are very much like potter's
clay; and here Wisdom and Folly, God and the devil, holiness and sin,
stand side by side bidding for the clay, the one desiring to fashion
out of it a "vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the
Master's use" (2 Tim. ii. 21), and the other anxious to make it a
"vessel of wrath fitted to destruction" (Rom. ix. 22). 3. _Both
invite to the feasts through those who possess powers of persuasion._
Though in the first Wisdom herself does not go forth, but sends her
maidens, and in the second the woman herself goes out into the
streets, yet they both belong to the sex which is, by common consent,
allowed to be most skilled in the art of persuasion. History is full
of instances of their power to influence for good and evil. There
have been many Lady Macbeths, both in public and private life, and
many "handmaidens of the Lord" whose influence has been as mighty on
the side of good. Both Wisdom and Folly possess ambassadors whose
persuasive powers are mighty. 4. _They utter their invitations in the
same places._ Wisdom "crieth upon the high places of the city" (ver.
3). Folly "sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in the high
places of the city" (ver. 14). They both give invitations where they
are most likely to obtain guests. In the places where many congregate
are found the greatest variety of characters and those who have the
most varied wants, and as in such places those who have wares of any
kind to sell are sure of finding some to purchase, so the ambassadors
of Divine wisdom and the emissaries of evil are certain, where the
multitudes are gathered together to find some to listen to their
respective voices. 5. _Both use the same words of invitation, and
offer the same inducements._ A feast is promised in both cases,
_i.e.,_ both inviters promise satisfaction--enjoyment--to their
guests. If a man coins bad money he must make it look as near as
possible like the gold or he would not get anyone to accept it. It is
only afterwards that his dupe finds that it lacks the ring of real
gold. So the tempter to evil must make the advantages he professes to
dispense look as much like real good as he possibly can. The false
friend will often-times adopt the phraseology of the true, and will
never be wanting in arguments to win his victim. The incarnate wisdom
of God reminded His disciples that they might, in this respect and in
others, learn something from the "children of this world," who, in
some matters, "are in their generation wiser than the children of
light" (Luke xvi. 8). 6. _Both make the invitation wide and free._
"Whoso" is the word used by both. The kingdom of darkness, as well as
the kingdom of light, is willing to gather of "every kind" (Matt.
xiii. 47). The only condition is "Enter in and partake of the banquet
prepared."
+II. The Contrasts.+ 1. _In the character of the inviters._ In the
one case they are "maidens," emblematical (as we saw in considering
the first feast) of purity; in the other she who invites is evidently
a bold and wanton woman, identical with the one described in chapters
v. and vii. (compare v. 6, vii. 11, 12, with verses 13, 14). Each one
who invites is an embodiment of the principles ruling in the house to
which she invites; each one sets forth in her own deportment what
will be the result of accepting the respective invitations. So that,
although the words used may be similar, the simple might be warned
from the difference in aspect and demeanour of those who use them.
2. _In the place to which the simple are invited._ "In the former
case," says Zöckler, "it is to a splendid palace with its columns, to
a holy temple of God; in the latter to a common house, a harlot's
abode, built over an entrance to the abyss of hell." The first
invitation is to the abode of a righteous king, where law, and order,
and peace reign; the second is to an abode of lawlessness and
self-seeking, and consequently of incessant strife and misery. Those
who dwell in the first are ever magnifying the favour by which they
were permitted to enter; the inhabitants of the latter are eternally
cursing those by whose persuasions their feet were turned into the
path which leads to death. 3. _Wisdom invites to what is her own;
Folly invites to that which belongs to another._ Wisdom hath killed
_her_ beasts and mingled _her_ wine; she cries, "Come, and eat of
_my_ bread" (verses 2, 5). Folly saith to her victim, "stolen waters
are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant" (verse 17). The
first is therefore a lawful meal: its dainties may be enjoyed with a
full sense that there is no wrong done to oneself, or to any other
creature in the universe, by participating in it. It may be eaten
publicly; there is no reason for concealment--no sense of shame. But
the guests of Folly are all wronging themselves, and wronging God,
and wronging their fellow-men by sitting down at her table. And they
feel that it is so even when the waters taste the sweetest, and the
bread the most pleasant. Hence their banquet is a secret one, "for it
is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in
secret" (Ephes. v. 12). Hence they "love darkness rather than light;"
they "hate the light, lest their deeds should be reproved" (John
iii. 20, 21). 4. _The contrast in the results._ There are poisonous
fruits which are pleasant to the taste, but which lead to sickness
and death. And there are bitter herbs which are not palatable, but
which bring healing to the frame. Some of Wisdom's dishes are
seasoned with reproof and rebuke (verse 8), but the outcome of
listening to her call is an increase of wisdom and a lengthening of
days and years (verses 9-11). The feast of Folly is sweetened with
"flattery" (chap. ii. 16, vii. 21). The lips of the tempter "drop as
an honey-comb" (chap. v. 2), but there is a deadly poison in the
dish. Eating of her food brings a man down into a devil; the bread
and wine of Wisdom nourishes and strengthens him until he becomes
"equal unto the angels of God" (Luke xx. 26).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verses 1-18. The prototypical relation of the contents of this
chapter to our Lord's parables founded on banquets (Matt. xxii. 1-14,
Luke xiv. 16-24) is evident, and therefore its special importance to
the doctrines of the call of salvation.--_Lange's Commentary._
Verse 13. "Clamorous," that is, so bustling as to allow no time for
repentance (see 5, 6), like Cardinal Mazarin, of whom it was said
that the devil would never let him rest. The sinner is so hurried
along in the changes of life, as apparently to unsettle any attempted
reformation. "Knows nothing;" an expression grandly doctrinal. The
impenitent is blankly dark. Eccles. vi. 5 represents the perishing as
like an untimely birth. "He hath not seen the sun, nor known
anything." "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of
God; neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned"
(1 Cor. ii. 14). "Where can Wisdom be found?" says the inspired man
(Job xxviii. 14-22). "The depth saith, It is not in me; and the sea
saith, It is not with me." The woman of folly is blankly ignorant;
for the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and if she had
not the beginning, then mental light, if she have any, must be but as
"darkness" (Matt. vi. 23).--_Miller._
A foolish woman is clamorous, and hath many words, but they are words
only, for she knoweth nothing; the folly of sin is clamorous, and
maketh many promises of pleasure and contentment, but they are
promises only, and she performeth nothing.--_Jermin._
Verse 15. Her chief aim is to secure the godly, or those inclined to
become so; for she is secure as to others, and therefore takes no
great trouble in their case.--_Fausset._
Even the highway of God, though a path of safety, is beset with
temptation Satan is so angry with none as with those _who are going
right on._--_Bridges._
Verse 16. Wisdom sets up her school to instruct the ignorant: Folly
sets up her school next door to defeat the designs of Wisdom. Thus
the saying of the satirist appears to be verified:--
"Wherever God erects a house of prayer,
The devil surely builds a chapel there;
And it is found, upon examination,
The latter has the larger congregation."--_Defoe._
--_Adam Clark._
Folly does not invite the scorners, because she is secure of them,
but only the "simple," _i.e.,_ those who are such in the judgment of
the Holy Spirit. Scripture expresses not what she says in outward
words, but what is the reality. Whosoever turns in to her is a
simpleton. _Cartwright_ takes it that she calls the pious "simple."
Verse 15 favours this.--_Fausset._
Verse 17. Folly shows her skill in seduction by holding out, in
promise, the secret enjoyment of forbidden sweets. Alas! since the
entrance of sin into the world, there has been perverse propensity to
aught that is forbidden, to taste what is laid under an interdict.
The very interdiction draws towards it the wistful desires, and
looks, and longings of the perverse and rebellious heart.--_Wardlaw._
The power of sin lies in its pleasure. If stolen waters were not
sweet, none would steal the waters. This is part of the mystery in
which our being is involved by the fall. It is one of the most
fearful features of the case. Our appetite is diseased. . . . Oh, for
the new tastes of a new nature! "Blessed are they that hunger and
thirst after righteousness." When a soul has tasted and seen that the
Lord is gracious, the foolish woman beckons you toward her stolen
waters, and praises their sweetness in vain. The new appetite drives
out the old.--_Arnot._
Many eat that on earth that they digest in hell.--_Trapp._
Indirect ways best please flesh and blood. "Sin, taking occasion by
the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence" (Rom.
vii. 8). We take this from our first parents, a greedy desire to eat
of the forbidden fruit. All the other trees in the garden, although
the fruit were as good, would not satisfy them. . . . Such is the
corruption of our nature, that we like best what God likes
worst.--_Francis Taylor._
Verse 18. Of course "he knows not." If the sinner only knew that he
were already dead, he might wake up with a bound to the work of his
salvation.--_Miller._
All sinful joys are dammed up with a _but._ They have a worm that
crops them, nay, gnaws asunder their very root, though they shoot up
more hastily and spread more spaciously than Jonah's gourd. . . .
When all the prophecies of ill success have been held as Cassandra's
riddles, when all the contrary minds of afflictions, all the
threatened storms of God's wrath could not dishearten the sinner's
voyage to these Netherlands, here is a _but_ that shipwrecks all; the
very mouth of a bottomless pit, not shallower than hell itself. . . .
As man hath his _sic,_ so God hath His _sed._--_T. Adams._
* * * * * *
CHAPTER X.
We here enter upon the second main division of the Book of Proverbs,
which is composed of a number of distinct propositions or maxims,
having but little connection with each other and answering to the
modern signification of the word proverb. Wordsworth here remarks
that "the Proverbs of the present chapter are exemplifications in
detail of the principles, practices, and results of the two ways of
life displayed in the foregoing chapters which constitute the
prologue."
CRITICAL NOTES.--+1. Heaviness,+ "grief." +3. The soul of the
righteous,+ literally, "the spirit of the righteous." +But He casteth
away, etc.+ Zöckler and Delitzsch have read, "but the craving of the
wicked He disappointeth." Miller thus translates the whole verse:
"Jehovah will not starve the righteous appetite, but the craving of
the wicked He will thrust away." +4. Dealeth,+ rather, "worketh."
+6.+ Zöckler and most commentators translate the second clause of
this verse, "the mouth of the wicked hideth or covereth violence or
iniquity." Stuart reads, "the mouth of the wicked concealeth injury."
Miller adheres nearly to the Authorised Version, and understands it
to mean that "wrong shuts up all chance of feast and comfort." It
will be observed, that this latter reading renders the clause
antithetical to the former part of the verse, which is not the case
with the other renderings. +9. Be known,+ _i.e.,_ "be made known," or
discovered. +11.+ For second clause, see on verse 6. +14. Lay up,+
literally, "conceal," _i.e.,_ "husband the knowledge and
understanding which they possess for the right time and place, do not
squander it in unreasonable talk or babbling" (_Zöckler_). +Near
destruction,+ rather, _is a_ near destruction, _i.e.,_ "is a quickly
destroying agency" (_Lange's Commentary_). +16. Labour,+ _i.e.,_ "the
gain," "the reward of labour." +Fruit,+ "gain," antithetical to the
subject of the first clause. +17.+ Not, +He is in the way,+ but "He
_is_ the way." +Erreth,+ causeth others to err. +18.+ Not, +with
lying lips,+ but "is of lying lips." "The meaning of this second
clause does not stand in the relation of an antithesis to the
preceding, but in that of a climax, adding a worse case to one not so
bad. If one conceals his hatred within himself, he becomes a
malignant flatterer; but if he gives expression to it in slander,
abuse, and base detraction, then, as a genuine fool, he brings upon
himself the greatest injury" (_Zöckler_). +22.+ Delitzsch and
Zöckler read the second clause, "and labour addeth nothing thereto,"
_i.e.,_ "God's blessing is in itself all in all, and makes right
without any effort." Stuart and Miller translate as the Authorised
Version, and the former understands it to signify that "sorrow shall
not necessarily increase by riches when it is Jehovah Himself who
bestows them." +25.+ "_When_ the whirlwind passeth, the wicked is no
more." +29.+ "Jehovah's way is a fortress to the upright, but _it is
destruction_ to the workers of iniquity." +31. Cut out,+ "rooted out."
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 1.
PARENTAL GRIEF AND GLADNESS.
The generalisation of the first nine chapters here descends into
particular applications. The chemist dilates upon the power and
excellence of certain elements, and then illustrates what he has
affirmed by showing their action in particular cases. Solomon has
dwelt long upon the general blessings which will flow from listening
to the counsels of Divine Wisdom, and he now shows some particular
instances of it. He begins with its effect in the family. Consider--
+I. How the author here speaks from personal experience.+ 1. _In his
relation to his father._ Men in positions of far less importance than
that which David held are solicitous that their sons should possess
such a character and such mental qualifications as will enable them
to fulfil the duties which they will bequeath to them at their own
departure from the world. The owner of a large estate, if he has a
right sense of his own responsibilities, desires that his heir should
be one who will exercise his stewardship wisely and generously. The
head of a mercantile firm hopes that the son who is to succeed to his
position will be prudent and far-seeing, and possess an aptitude for
business. If a monarch is what he ought to be, and feels how very
great is his power for good or evil, it will be a matter of the
deepest anxiety to him that the son who is one day to sit upon the
throne should be one who will discharge his weighty duties wisely and
well. David was such a monarch, and we can well imagine how great was
his solicitude that his well-beloved son Solomon should possess such
gifts and graces as would enable him worthily to fulfil the high
position he would one day be called to occupy. And, from what we know
of Solomon's youth and early manhood, we have every reason to believe
that he was such a son as gladdened his father's heart. In the
wonderful seventy-second Psalm--which, although it has its entire
fulfilment only in the "greater than Solomon," refers, doubtless, in
the first instance, to the great king--we have a glimpse of David's
desires and hopes concerning him. He begins with a prayer for him:
"Give the king Thy judgments, O God, and Thy righteousness unto the
king's son" (verse 1). And then he gives utterance to the hopes which
he cherished concerning his prosperous and beneficent reign--hopes
which, alas! would have been sadly dimmed could he have foreseen the
cloud which overshadowed Solomon's later days, but which were founded
in the evidences which he gave of youthful piety and devotion.
Solomon knew that he had been the gladness of his father's heart,
because he had been a "wise son," and therefore he spoke from
experience when he uttered the first clause of this proverb. But he
spoke no less from experience when he gave utterance to the opposite
truth. Solomon was a father as well as a son, and he speaks 2. _In
his relation to his son._ Rehoboam's youth and manhood--for he was a
man long before his father's death--were not, we may fairly conclude,
of such a character as to give his father much joy, but was such as
to awaken the gravest fears concerning his conduct when he should
become absolute master of the kingdom. We well know how these fears
were justified by his conduct on his accession to the throne. The
great crime of David's life had been committed before Solomon's
birth, and had, therefore, had no bad influence upon him, but the
sins of his own old age were a bad example to set before his son, and
could not have been without their evil influence. From what we read
of Rehoboam, we can but conclude that he had been a "foolish" son,
and that Solomon's heart was heavy with sadness concerning him when
he penned these words. These thoughts suggest a lesson which parents
should deeply ponder, viz., _that whether parents shall have gladness
or grief in their children depends not so much upon the excellence of
their words as upon the godliness of their lives._ Solomon uttered
thousands of moral precepts, but had he uttered as many more, they
would not have had much effect upon Rehoboam. What his son needed
more than wise sayings was the power of a godly life. This must ever
accompany moral teaching: nay, it must go before it, for a child can
receive impressions from a holy example before it is old enough to
appreciate abstract teaching. A parent's wise _sayings_ will never do
a child any good unless there are correspondent _doings_. A good
example is the best education. Consider--
+II. How very much our joy and sorrow in this world depend upon our
relationships.+ In proportion as the wise are related to the foolish
or to the wise, will be their grief or their gladness. Distant
relationships are not very effective in this way, but near
relationships are powerful in proportion to their nearness. And the
relation of parent to child is in some respects nearer than any
other--nearer, perhaps, even than that of husband and wife. Our
children are a part of ourselves, and what they are makes or mars our
lives. How much does that little pronoun "my" carry with it! To hear
that _any_ young man has disgraced his manhood and thrown away his
opportunities is an occasion of sadness to us. This is increased if
he is the son of anyone we have known and loved. But if good parents
have to reflect that "my" son has become a reprobate, how bitter is
their sorrow. But when the folly is not so great as this there may
still be much "heaviness" in a parent's heart. "Wise" and "foolish"
are relative terms. A good father's joy is proportionate to his son's
goodness, for we understand wisdom and folly here to stand for the
wisdom of goodness and the folly of sin, and a very little amount of
wickedness will make a good mother's heart heavy. _Let children then
learn from this text to reflect how much power to give joy or sorrow
rests with them, and to act accordingly;_ and _let parents,
considering how entirely their future happiness or misery will depend
upon the character of their children, begin to train them, both by
example and precept, from their tenderest years._ (On this subject
see also Homiletics on chap. iv. 1-4.)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The future may be imperative. We prefer this view. "_Let_ a wise son
make a glad father." If a man has a good son, let it be his one
all-sufficient gratification. . . . Men toil for their children, and
give themselves pain in their behalf to an extent absolutely heroic,
considering how they abnegate self, but to an extent altogether
disproportioned, as between their temporal and eternal warfare. This
is one way we destroy our children. If their temporal inheritance is
threatened, we are all on thorns; but if they are doing well or ill
in piety, we give it but little notice. The verb, therefore, as an
imperative, means most. "_Let_ a foolish son be the grief of his
mother," that is, an unconverted son. He may be all smiles and
amiableness, and the father's business may be doing well, but if he
is a fool, spiritually, it should be his mother's grief. And then
follow the reasons--(For) "treasures of wickedness profit nothing,"
etc.--_Miller._
Perhaps this first sentence may have been placed in the front to
point to the value of a godly education in the personal, social,
national influence, connected both with time and eternity.--_Bridges._
The father is specially said to be gladdened by a wise son as he is
of a more severe nature, and not so likely to form a partial
estimate, and therefore not so easily gladdened as the mother; so
that it is the stronger praise of the wise son to say that not only
the mother, but also the father, is gladdened by him. On the other
hand, the mother is apt, through fondness, to ignore the errors of
her son, and even to encourage them by indulgent connivance. The wise
man admonishes here that she is laying up "heaviness" in store for
herself.--_Fausset._
After the previous general description of Wisdom, Solomon begins with
what is uppermost in his own mind, What would be the character of his
successor? What would become of his throne, his wealth, his people,
after himself? See his melancholy forebodings in Proverbs xvii. 2-21,
25; xix. 13; Eccles. ii. 18, etc. Solomon has one son, and he is
Rehoboam. This thought lies underneath many of the sayings in the
Proverbs.--_Wordsworth._
Every son should be an Abner, that is, his father's light, and every
daughter an Abigail, her father's joy. Eve promised herself much in
her Cain, and David did the like in his Absalom. But they were both
deceived. Samuel succeeds Eli in his cross, though not in his sin.
Virtue is not, as lands, inheritable. Let parents labour to mend by
education what they have marred by propagation.--_Trapp._
Do you hear this, young man? It is in your power to make your father
glad, and God expects you to do it. Here is an object for your
ambition, here is an investment that will ensure an immediate return.
Come now, make your choice. Whether you will try to please these
fools who banter you here, or to gladden your father's heart that is
yearning for you there? . . . These companions that come between you
and him--what have they done for you, and what would they do for you
to-morrow, if you were in distress? They have never lost a night's
rest by watching at your sick bed, and never will. But your father
what has he done, and yet will do? The command of God is that you
gladden your father and not grieve him. Your conscience countersigns
that command now. Obey.--_Arnot._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 2.
THE COMPARATIVE VALUE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS AND RICHES.
+I. Wealth when lawfully gotten is profitless for many very important
things.+ Death is mentioned in the text, it has no power over that in
any form. 1. _Wealth will not deliver you from the daily dying, which
is the lot of all men._ It has been said that as soon as we are born
we begin to die, and we know that it is certain that as soon as men
have attained their prime, their outward man perisheth day by day
(2 Cor. iv. 16). The richest man cannot purchase exception from this
law with all his wealth. 2. _Neither can wealth prevent the death
which we call premature._ Man of vast fortunes are often brought down
to an early grave; the seeds of disease within them hasten the
operation of the law of death which has passed upon the whole human
race. A galloping consumption cannot be held in check even with
_golden_ reins. 3. _Treasures of wealth will not insure a man against
sudden death._ The morning finds the rich man looking over his vast
acres, or counting up his dividends, and saying "I have much good
laid up for many years;" and before the sun sets another has entered
into possession of all his riches. 4. _Lawfully-gotten wealth will
not only not deliver from premature death, but may sometimes bring it
on._ Wealth is very apt to produce very mistaken views in a man's
mind. When he has amassed a large portion of this world's goods, and
is in a condition of moral bankruptcy, he is very prone to imagine
that he is secure in the enjoyment of all that he has acquired, and
that nothing can come between his riches and himself. Then God may
read him a lesson by saying, "Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be
required of thee" (Luke xii. 20). Had the man in the parable been a
poor man he would not have died so soon; his wealth not only could
not deliver him from death, but it hastened his end. And many men
walking in his footsteps have been brought to their graves in a
similar manner and for a similar reason even when the wealth has been
honestly gained. We have no reason to think that the rich fool
amassed his riches dishonestly; his sin consisted, not in his
_having_ riches, but in his _trusting_ in them.
+II. If treasure gotten by honest toil is profitless to deliver from
death and other evils, how much less will the "treasures of
wickedness," i.e., ill-gotten wealth, be profitable to work such a
deliverance.+ The means used to obtain it were opposed to the law of
righteousness, which does rule in the universe notwithstanding all
the apparent exceptions, and it is as foolish for a man to expect to
derive real profit from it as it would be for a man to expect to
construct a pyramid which would stand upon its apex. The latter would
not be more contrary to natural law than the former is to spiritual
law. And treasures of wickedness are not simply _profitless,_ they
bring the man who has them under the curse of the Righteous Ruler of
the world. They not only bring no _profit_ but they bring great
_loss._ No man can make an unlawful bargain or commit any other
dishonest act to gain money without bringing a blight upon his
spiritual nature, without entailing upon himself moral death. And if
the acquirement of "the treasures of wickedness" must subject a man
to this greatest calamity, how impossible is it that they can be
profitable to deliver from any lesser evil.
+III. Righteousness, on the other hand--+1. _Has often delivered from
bodily death._ All the extraordinary deliverances from death recorded
in the Bible took place in connection with righteousness, thereby
showing us that righteousness is stronger than death. Enoch did not
see death because he was a righteous man. Noah and his family were
exempted from the premature death which overtook the rest of the
world for the same reason. All the resurrections from the dead were
wrought either through the instrumentality of righteous men or by the
immediate action of the righteous Son of God. 2. _Does deliver always
from the curse of bodily death._ Death is the penalty of sin; it is
therefore a curse. We read that "The sting of death is sin; and the
strength of sin is the law" (1 Cor. xv. 56). But "Christ hath
redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us"
(Gal. iii. 13). We are justified by His righteousness if we
appropriate it by faith (Rom. iii. 21-26), and thus obtain the
"victory" over death "through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Cor. xv. 57).
Here a _relative_ righteousness delivers from the _condemnation_ of
death. But this is the foundation of a _personal_ and _actual_
righteousness of character which delivers from _spiritual death now_,
and will one day deliver the _body_ from the grave. "If Christ be in
you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because
of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Christ from
the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall
also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you"
(Rom. viii. 10, 11). Here Paul argues from the greater spiritual
deliverance to the lesser bodily one, and shows how, in all senses,
"righteousness delivers from death."
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The proverb means the treasures of an unsaved man. . . . The highest
opulence of the dead sinner is of no possible profit: but the
righteousness of the saved sinner, even without any opulence at all,
is a fortune; for, like the "charm of the lamp," it makes for him
everlasting blessedness.--_Miller._
A man may seem to _profit_ by them, and to come up wonderfully for a
time. But what was the profit of Naboth's vineyard to Ahab, when in
his ivory palace he was withering under the curse of God? (1 Kings
xxi. 4-24 with xxii. 39). What was the profit of the thirty pieces of
silver to Judas? Instead of _delivering from death,_ their
intolerable sting plunged him into death eternal (Matt.
xxvii. 5).--_Bridges._
Righteousness delivereth from death, to wit, in the time of
vengeance; for uprightness is that mark of election and life which
the Lord, spying in any when He plagueth the wicked for their
transgressions, spareth them, and preserveth them from destruction.
Thus, although the righteousness of the just person deserveth nothing
at God's hands, neither is any cause of man's preservation or
salvation, yet it serveth as a sovereign treacle to preserve the
evil-doer from that deadly plague, which is sent from the Lord to
destroy the disobedient, and as a letter of passport to safe-conduct
the faithful person in perilous times, and to protect him from all
dangers.--_Muffet._
Observe--+I. The excellency of these comforts in themselves.+ They
are _treasures_--that is, heaps of outward good things. The word
includeth a _multitude,_ for one or two will not make a treasure; and
a _multitude of precious things,_ for a heap of sand, or coals, or
dust, is not a treasure: but of silver or gold, or some excellent
earthly things. It is here in the plural, treasures, noting the
greatest confluence of worldly comforts. +II. The impiety of the
owners.+ They are treasures of wickedness. The purchaser got them by
sinful practices. They were brought into his house slyly at some back
door. He was both the receiver and the thief. Treasures of
wickedness, because gotten by wicked ways, and employed to wicked
ends. There is an English proverb which too many Englishmen have made
good, "That which is got over the devil's back is usually spent under
the devil's belly." When sin is the parent that begets riches it many
times hath this recompense, that they are wholly at its service and
command. +III. The vanity of those treasures:+ they profit nothing.
They are unable to cheer the mind, to cure the diseases of the body,
much less to heal the wounds of the soul, or to bribe the flames of
hell. Alas! they are so far from profiting, that they are infinitely
prejudicial. Such powder-masters are blown up with their own ware.
These loads sink the bearer into the unquenchable lake. Aristotle
tells us of the sea-mew, or sea-eagle, that she will often seize on
her prey, though it be more than she can bear, and falleth down
headlong with it into the deep, and so perisheth. This fowl is a fit
emblem of the unrighteous person, for he graspeth those heavy
possessions which press him down into the pit of perdition. "They
that will be rich (that resolve on it, whether God will or no, and by
any means, whether right or wrong), fall into temptations, and a
snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in
destruction and perdition" (1 Tim. vi. 9). Men that scrape an estate
together unjustly are frequently said in the Word of God to get it in
haste, because such will not stay God's time, nor wait in His way
till He send them wealth, but must have it presently, and care not
though it be unrighteously. Fair and softly goes far. None thrive so
well as those that stay God's leisure, and expect wealth in His
way. . . . 1. _Be righteous in thy works or actions._ Deal with men
as one that in all hath to do with God. If thou art a Christian, thou
art a law to thyself; thou hast not only a law without thee (the Word
of God), but a law within thee, and so darest not transgress. Thy
double hedge may well prevent thy wandering. . . . Be righteous in
buying. . . . Take heed lest thou layest out thy money to purchase
endless misery. Some have bought places to bury their bodies in, but
more have bought those commodities which have swallowed up their
souls. Injustice in buying is a canker which will eat up and waste
the most durable wares. In buying, do not work either upon the
ignorance or the poverty of the seller. Be righteous in selling. Be
careful, while thou sellest thy wares to men, that thou dost not sell
thy soul to Satan. Be righteous in the _substance_ of what thou
sellest, and that in regard of its quality and quantity. God can see
the rottenness of thy stuffs, and heart too, under thy false glosses,
and for all thy false lights. Be righteous in regard to the quantity.
They wrong themselves most who wrong others of their right. The
jealous God is very punctual in this particular (Lev. xix. 35, 36).
2. _Be righteous in thy words and expressions, as well as in thy
works._ The Christian's tongue should be his heart's interpreter, and
reveal its mind and meaning; and the Christian's hand should justify
his tongue, by turning his words into deeds. The burgess of the New
Jerusalem is known by this livery: "He walketh uprightly, worketh
righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart; he sweareth to
his own hurt, and changeth not" (Psa. xv. 2, 4). His speech is the
natural and genuine offspring of his heart; there is a great
resemblance between the child and the parent. There is a symmetry
between his hand and his tongue; he is slow to promise, not hasty to
enter into bonds, but being once engaged, he will be sure to
perform.--_Swinnock._
Wickedness is in itself a treasure laid up against the day of wrath;
and as that profiteth nothing, so neither do the treasures of
wickedness. For as he that setteth himself to any employment, perhaps
may lose one way and get another, but if, in the general upshot and
confusion, he finds his estate to be bettered, then is his employment
said to be profitable; so in the treasures of wickedness, there may
be gain of wealth, honour, pleasure, and loss of credit, quiet,
comfort, but in the conclusion the loss will be most grievous, and
therefore profitable they cannot be.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 3, 4.
DIVINE AND HUMAN PROVIDENCE.
+I. A general rule. God supplies all the needs of His children+
(verse 3). We take the word soul here to mean what it often does in
the Old Testament, viz., the _bodily life,_ and, therefore,
understand the promise to be similar to that in Psalm xxxiii. 19,
etc. God's special providential care is over the righteous. This we
should have expected if this and like promises did not exist. The
animal creation, as a rule, care and provide for their own offspring.
There are men and women who have fallen so low as not to care for the
well-being of those dependent on them, but wherever there is any
virtue left in human beings it will certainly manifest itself in
making some efforts to secure from want those who are nearly related
to them and dependent upon them. God has laid it as a charge upon His
creatures to care for the bodily wants of their children, and He has
implanted within men and women an instinct which is generally strong
enough to lead them to do it. It is an apostolic sentence--"If any
provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he
hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel" (1 Tim. v. 8).
God has taught us that the righteous are bound to Him by a closer tie
than we are bound to each other by flesh and blood relationships.
"For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven,"
said Christ, "the same is my brother, and sister, and mother" (Matt.
xii. 50). He was more nearly related to His disciples than to those
of His brethren who did not believe on Him. They were Christ's "own"
(John xiii. 1) in a sense in which other men were not, and He
provided for their necessities because they held this special
relation to Him. God has a general care for all that He has made. He
cares for the life of the tiniest wild flower, and feeds it with
light and moisture according to its need. "He giveth to the beast his
food, and to the young ravens which cry" (Psalm cxlvii. 9). He maketh
His sun to shine and His rain to fall upon the fields of the unjust,
and is kind to the unthankful and the evil (Luke vi. 35). Then it
follows from necessity that He, the _Righteous Father,_ will not
suffer the souls of the "righteous" to famish. When ordinary means
will not meet their need, He will employ special means to do so.
There are many instances upon record in the history of God's Church
in which, the supply not being obtainable within the ordinary working
of His providence, He has gone into the region of the supernatural
for sustenance for His children.
+II. Special exceptions to this rule.+ If we understand these words
as referring to the bodily life, we must admit that there have been
exceptions to it. Some of God's children have suffered from want,
some have starved to death in dungeons _because_ they have been
righteous. But these special exceptions have been for special ends.
Solomon's father, when he was haunted by Saul, was doubtless often in
want of food, but this severe discipline fitted him for the position
he was afterwards to occupy as the King of Israel. Paul tells us that
he was often "in hunger and thirst, in fastings, in cold and
nakedness" (2 Cor. xi. 27), but he likewise tells us that he "gloried
in tribulation," because it "worketh patience, and patience
experience, and experience hope," etc. (Rom. v. 3, 4). Whenever there
are partial or entire exceptions to this rule, we may rest assured
that those who are the subjects of the exceptions have their material
loss more than made up to them.
+III. Special relationship to God will not secure exception from want
unless the necessary conditions are fulfilled.+ "He," whether saint
or sinner, "becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand" (ver. 4).
If a godly man is not diligent in business, he will come to want as
certainly as an ungodly one. God's children are not exempt from the
working of the natural and providential laws of the world in which
they live. If they transgress any physical law, they must pay the
penalty. The disregard of such law is a "tempting of the Lord their
God" (Matt. iv. 5-7). And what is true of physical laws is true of
providential laws. If a husbandman is ever so prayerful and trustful,
he will not have a crop in harvest unless he works hard in the days
of ploughing and sowing. And the most spiritually-minded tradesman
will not earn a living unless he gives due attention to his business.
"God's promises were never made to ferry our laziness" (_Beecher_).
It is sheer presumption to expect God to give us our daily bread if
we neglect to do all within our power to earn it. Even in Paradise
nature would not yield her treasure without diligence on the part of
man. Adam was to "till the ground," to "dress and keep" the Garden of
Eden (Gen. ii. 5-15). And this dependence of success upon diligence
is--1. Good for the man himself. He has bodily and mental powers
which cannot be developed without constant exercise. 2. Good for
others. A man who does not bring all his powers into play defrauds
society of the benefit it might receive from his latent abilities.
+IV. When the conditions of growing rich are fulfilled by unrighteous
men, the wealth attained by diligence shall be taken away by
justice.+ Riches and poverty are comparative terms; it is certainly
not true that every diligent man makes a fortune; probably Solomon
means no more than that diligence always brings some amount of
reward. However that may be, we must put the declaration "The hand of
the diligent maketh rich" side by side with that in the preceding
verse, "He casteth away the substance of the wicked." The
professional thief exercises a diligence which is not surpassed by
many honest men, if by any. He deals with no slack hand, and he
generally succeeds in getting rich for a time. But if he is
_diligent,_ the detective officer is _vigilant,_ and the substance he
has gathered will one day be scattered by the hand of justice. And
there are many unprofessional thieves in the world who gain their
riches by means quite as unlawful as their professional brethren,
although they sail under other colours. Substance thus obtained is as
surely marked by God for scattering as that of the housebreaker or
highwayman, although He sometimes delays long the apprehension of the
culprit. Against all such the sentence has gone forth, "Yea, they
shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown; yea, their stock
shall not take root in the earth: and He shall also blow upon them
and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as
stubble" (Isa. xl. 24). There are three reasons why wealth, which has
been gathered by unrighteous diligence, should be scattered. 1. _Such
unrighteous dealing is a sin against God._ It is a defiance of the
eighth and tenth commandments, for all men who get rich unlawfully
must both covet and steal. When God's "thou shalt not" is thus
disregarded, we may be certain that He will vindicate His right to
give laws to His creatures. 2. _It is a sin against man._ Such a
man's diligence must have caused much misery to many of his
fellow-creatures. Men cannot satisfy lawless desires without bringing
unhappiness to others. 3. _Wealth unlawfully gained is sure to be
made an instrument of oppression._ Wealth always gives some amount of
power, and he who has trampled on the rights of others to get riches
will be sure to use them for their oppression when he has obtained
them. Verse 4 may be applied spiritually. If material good cannot be
obtained without diligence, most assuredly spiritual blessings cannot
(2 Pet. i. 5, 10, etc.). It is as necessary for the spiritual powers
to be kept in constant exercise, if they are to be healthy and
strong, as it is for the body or the mind. The needs of others as
well as our own demand diligence in spiritual things. And whatever
exceptions there may be in the rule in relation to material good,
this higher wealth will always be in proportion to the diligent use
of means.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 3. Should the wicked by permitted to hold their substance all
their days, Death, that terrible messenger, shall at last drag them
from it; nor shall their glory descend after them to the grave, but
that wickedness by which they acquired it shall lie down with them in
the dust and torture their souls in hell.--_Lawson._
The substance of the wicked is "of the earth, earthy." It pertains
not to the soul, and partakes not of its imperishable vitality. O the
miserable but sadly common mistake of the rich man in the parable,
when he addressed his _soul_ in terms of congratulation, as if, in
the abundance of worldly good, it had got what would give it real and
permanent satisfaction (Luke xii. 16-21). "_Casting it away_" is an
act indicative of regarding it as _worthless._ The substance of this
world is that on which the hearts of the sons of men are set. But
"God will cast it away." He will not only bereave them of it--and
that, it may be, suddenly--but what is there in all this substance
that can avail as purchase money for the soul and for heaven? Had a
man "the world" to offer, God would "cast it away." He would say,
"Thy money perish with thee!" "Riches profit not in the day of
wrath." The famished soul must then die, and die for ever.--_Wardlaw._
As the end of the former verse must chiefly be understood of
spiritual death, because temporarily the righteous die as well as the
wicked, so, with St. Jerome, I understand this of a spiritual famine.
Now, as the course that is needful to preserve the body is so to
nourish it that it may neither be glutted with fulness nor pined with
emptiness, but in such sort to feed it that it may still have
appetite for food, the same is the care which Almighty God taketh of
the soul's health; for He so feedeth the righteous that He will not
suffer them to famish, and yet He doth not so fill them as that they
do not hunger and thirst after righteousness. The time of fulness is
heaven, where, as there will be no danger of sickness to the soul, so
no lack of plenty.--_Jermin._
It might be objected, If I strain not my conscience, I may starve for
it. Fear not that, saith the wise man. Faith fears not famine.
Necessaries thou shalt be sure of (Psalm xxxvii. 25, 26; xxxiv. 15);
superfluities thou art not to stand upon (1 Tim. vi. 8).--_Trapp._
Verse 4. "The diligent" (Hebrew, _charutzim,_ from _charatz,_ to _cut
short,_ or _settle_); those who are _decisive_ in all things, who
economise their time and means--prompt in movement.--_Fausset._
Riches were first bestowed upon the world as they are still continued
in it, by the blessing of God upon the industry of men, in the use of
their understanding and strength.--_Bishop Butler._
The Lord's visits of favour were never given to loiterers. Moses and
the shepherds of Bethlehem were keeping their flocks (Exod. iii. 1,
2; Luke ii. 8, 9). Gideon was at the threshing-floor (Judg. vi. 11).
"Our idle days," as Bishop Hall observes, "are Satan's busy days."
Active employment gives us a ready answer to his present temptation.
"I am doing a great work, and I cannot come down" (Neh.
vi. 3).--_Bridges._
Not only will God provide for the wise, but wisdom itself is a
provision. "The hand of the diligent makes riches," even if it earn
little; the meaning being that active work is itself a treasure; or,
passing into the realm of piety, which is the one intended, he is a
poor man who is a sluggard in his soul's work, and a rich man who is
awake and active. Our treasure is within. "My meat is," said our
Great Exemplar, "to do the will of Him that sent me." And on our
dying bed our money will be of small account, but our work will be
the splendid fortune that will follow the believer (Rev.
xiv. 13).--_Miller._
_The advantages of virtuous industry._ 1. The industrious man
performs and accomplishes many things which are profitable to himself
and others in numberless respects. Let his station be never so
humble, yet that which he does in it has influence more or less upon
all other stations. If he completely fulfil his duty, every other can
more completely fulfil his. Let the faculties, the endowments of a
man be never so confined, yet by continued uninterrupted application
he can perform much, often far more than he who with eminent powers
of intellect is slothful or indolent. 2. He executes them with far
more ease and dexterity than if he were not industrious. He has no
need of any long previous contest with himself, of long previous
consideration how he shall begin the work, or whether he shall begin
it at all. But he attacks the business with alacrity and spirit and
pursues it with good-will. 3. He unfolds, exercises, perfects his
mental powers. And this he does alike in every vocation; because it
is not of so much consequence to what we apply our intellectual
faculties, as how we employ them. Whether we apply them to the
government of a nation or to the learning and exercise of some useful
trade makes no material difference. But to learn to think
methodically and justly, to act as rational beings, with
consideration and fixed principles, to do what we have to do
deliberately, carefully, punctiliously, conscientiously, that is the
main concern. Virtuous diligence is a continual exercise of the
understanding, of reason, of reflection, of self-command. 4. The
industrious man lives in the entire true intimate consciousness of
himself. He rejoices in his life, his faculties, his endowments, his
time. He can give an account of the use and application of them and
can therefore look back upon the past with satisfaction and into the
future without disquietude. 5. He experiences neither languor nor
irksomeness. He who really loves work can never be wanting in means
and opportunities for it. To him every occupation is agreeable, even
though it procure him no visible profit. 6. He alone knows the
pleasure of rest for he alone really wants it, he alone has deserved
it, he alone can enjoy it without reproach. 7. The industrious man
alone fulfils the design for which he is placed on earth, and can
boldly give an account to God, to his fellow-creatures, and to
himself how he has spent his life.--_Zollikofer._
This rule applies alike to the business of life and the concerns of
the soul. Diligence is necessary to the laying-up of treasures,
either within or beyond the reach of rust. . . . A world bringing
forth fruit spontaneously might have suited a sinless race, but it
would be unsuitable for mankind as they now are. If all men had
plenty without labour, the world would not be fit for living in. In
every country and under every kind of government, the unemployed are
the most dangerous classes. Thus the necessity of labour has become a
blessing to man. . . . It would be a libel upon the Divine economy to
imagine that the tender plant of grace would thrive in a sluggard's
garden. The work is difficult. The times are bad. He who would gain
in godliness must put his soul into the business. But he who puts his
soul into the business will grow rich. Labour laid out here is not
lost. Those who strive lawfully will win a kingdom. When all counts
are closed, he who is rich in faith is the richest man.--_Arnot._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 5.
THE USE AND THE NEGLECT OF OPPORTUNITIES.
+I. Man has opportunities given to him which it is a mark of wisdom
to embrace.+ 1. _He has the literal and temporal summer._ When the
harvest is ripe the reaper must take down his sickle and toil at the
ingathering of the grain if he would have bread to eat in the days of
winter. The fisherman must spread his net in the season when the fish
are abundant and watch his opportunity to catch the passing shoal.
The merchant must take advantage of the flood-tide of commercial
prosperity to make money so that he may not be brought to bankruptcy
in times of depression. These things cannot be done at _any_ time,
but the _opportune_ time must be laid hold of and improved. 2. _He
has a mental summer._ Youth is the season usually given to man to
develop his mental faculties and lay up stores of knowledge for use
in after life. Those who embrace this season and industriously
improve it, that "gather" in this "summer," are "wise sons," and reap
an abundant reward in the time of manhood and old age. 3. _He has an
opportunity given to lay the foundation of a godly character._ The
season of youth is most favourable for this work. The youthful mind
is more susceptible of moral impressions than those of a man who has
grown to manhood without yielding to their influence. The young tree
can be easily trained to grow in the desired direction, but it is
impossible to bend the trunk when it has acquired any degree of
strength. So it is comparatively easy to form habits of godly thought
and action when we are young, although by the power of God's grace it
is not impossible at any time. He who subjects his will to the Great
Teacher in his early days will enjoy an abundant blessing in old age
from this "gathering in summer."
+II. He who neglects thus to improve his opportunities
is--+1. _Likened to a man who sleeps through the season of harvest._
He sets one blessing of God in opposition to the other. Toil and rest
are both Divine ordinances, and both are good and blessed in their
season. Sleep is felt to be an incalculable boon at the end of each
day of toil. The rest of the Sabbath is a priceless gift of God, and
is needed to renew both body and mind after the six days' labour.
Longer seasons of rest are good and needful at certain periods of
life, and it is a sin against God not to use the ordinary
opportunities of rest which are given to all, or ought to be, or to
refuse to make use of extraordinary opportunities when they are given
to us by the providence of God. But this is quite a different thing
from making life a time of indolence--from neglecting to do work
either belonging to the body, mind, or spirit; which, if done at all,
can only be done in the given opportunity, or cannot be done so well
at any other time. 2. _Such a sleeping in harvest brings
shame_--(1) _To the man himself._ He is accused by his own
conscience. Conscience will recognise the authority of God's
institutions, and the lazy man will be brought to feel that he is out
of harmony with the Divine ordinations which govern the world. A time
will come in his experience when he will feel the want of the
material good, or of the knowledge, or of the favour of God, which he
would have possessed if he had used his opportunities, and his
poverty in one or all of these respects will make him ashamed when he
compares himself with those who "gathered in summer." (2) _It brings
shame upon others._ No man can suffer alone for his own sin. Those
related to him suffer also in proportion to the nearness of their
relationship and to the affection which they bear to him. The son who
fritters away the season of youthful opportunity disgraces his
parents. By-and-by he becomes a father, and his children partake of
his shame. The whole subject reminds us that bare admission into the
Divine family is not the end, but the beginning of a Divine life.
There must be a "gathering" ever going on. "And _beside this_" (see
verses 1-4), "giving all diligence, add to your faith, virtue; and to
virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance,
patience; and to patience, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly
kindness; and to brotherly kindness, charity" (2 Peter i. 5-7).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Look at the _large harvest of opportunity in labouring for God._ The
great and diversified machinery of religious societies, needing
direction and energy; the mass of fellow sinners around us, claiming
our sympathy and helpfulness. "While we have time, let us do good"
(Gal. iv. 10). How high is the privilege of gathering with Christ _in
such a harvest!_ (Matt. xii. 30). How great the _shame_ of doing
nothing, where there is so much to be done! What a _harvest_ also is
the present "accepted time" (2 Cor. vi. 2). Mark the abundance of the
means of grace, the living verdure of the gospel. Can I bear the
thought of that desponding cry of eternal remorse--"The _harvest_ is
past, the _summer_ is ended, and I am not saved?" (Jer.
viii. 20).--_Bridges._
The opportunity is in all matters carefully to be observed. He
gathereth in summer who, redeeming the time, maketh his best
advantage of the season; for the summer is that fit season wherein
the fruits are got into the barn for the whole year following. He
that thus in due season provideth for his body or soul, is worthily
called a son of understanding, or a wise man; for he hath not only
prudently foreseen what is best to be done, but wisely took the
occasion offered unto his best advantages. On the contrary side, he
sleepeth in harvest who fondly letteth slip the most convenient means
or opportunity of doing or receiving good. Such a one is a son of
confusion, that is to say, one that shall be ashamed or confounded,
by reason of the want or misery whereunto he shall fall through his
own folly.--_Muffett._
The use of the word "son" in both clauses implies that the work of
the vine-dresser and the plough had been done by the father. All that
the son is called to do is to enter into the labours of others, and
reap where they have sown.--_Plumptre._
As the former verse commendeth labour and pains and therein
diligence, so this commendeth the diligence of watchfulness, in
taking opportunity and not omitting it. For there may be much
labouring, but there will be little benefit, unless there be a
gathering in summer. The taking of pains may show a mind to gather,
but the unseasonableness of the pains will not show the wisdom of the
mind.--_Jermin._
+I. God affords opportunities for good.+ In this view we may regard
the _whole period of life._ 1. You are blessed with a season of
Gospel grace while many are sitting in darkness and in the shadow of
death, upon you _hath the light shined_. 2. You have a season of
civil and religious liberty. What advantage do we possess above many
of our ancestors who suffered for conscience sake! They laboured, and
we have entered into their labours. 3. Who has not experienced a day
of trouble? 4. Where is the person who does not know what we mean by
a season of conviction? +II. I would enforce upon you the necessity
of diligence to improve your reaping season.+ 1. Consider how much
you have to accomplish. The salvation of the soul is a great--an
arduous concern. Religion is a race, and you must run; it is a
warfare, and you must fight. The blessings of the Gospel are free,
but they are to be sought, and gained. 2. Consider the worth of the
blessings which demand your attention. . . . Is it not desirable to
be redeemed from the curse of the law; to be justified freely from
every charge brought against us at the bar of God; to be delivered
from the tyranny and rage of vicious appetites and passions? Great is
the happiness of the good here; but who can describe the exalted
glory and joy that await them hereafter? 3. Remember that your labour
will not be in vain in the Lord. The husbandman has many
uncertainties to contend with, but _probability_ stimulates _him_;
how much more should actual _certainty_ encourage _you_. 4. Remember
that your season for action is limited and short. Harvest does not
last long. Your time is _uncertain_ as well as short. 5. Reflect upon
the consequences of negligence. Is a man blamed for sleeping in
harvest? Does every one reproach him as a fool? You act a part more
absurd and fatal, who _neglect this great salvation._ Having made no
provision for eternity, your ruin is unavoidable. It will also be
insupportable.--_Jay._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 6, 7, _and_ 11.
THE WAY TO PRESENT BLESSEDNESS AND FUTURE FAME.
We connect the first and last of these verses, because the latter
clause in both is the same. +I. Opposite characters revealed by a
great contrast in speech+ (verse 11). When a righteous man opens his
mouth, it is as if the cover was removed from a pure, clear well of
water. He has no evil intentions to conceal; his words are an index
to his heart. By them men may read his thoughts with the same ease as
they can see what is at the bottom of a clear spring of water. There
is medicinal virtue in them--they _heal_ as well as _refresh_ the
spirits of men. What a well of life have the words of Christ been for
centuries to millions of the human race. But a wicked man cannot let
all the thoughts of his heart be laid open to the light of day. His
"mouth conceals injury" (see Critical Notes). He has plans which are
not devised for the good of his fellow-creatures, and he must use his
words not to reveal, but to hide what is in his mind. And if he lets
his tongue loose, and permits his thoughts to flow out into words,
they do not bless his hearers, but are like a poisonous stream,
carrying moral death wherever they flow.
+II. Character yields a present blessing or a present curse.+
"Blessings _are_ upon the head of the righteous," etc. A man's
present comfort within himself, and the inheritance of good-will he
now receives from his fellow-men, as well as the favour of God, are
all dependent upon what he is in his character. The kingdom of heaven
is _now_ inherited by him. All the beatitudes uttered by our Lord
speak of a present blessedness. "Blessed _are_ the poor in spirit,"
etc. The opposite truth is not expressed, but it is implied. Curses,
not blessings, are the present inheritance of the man whose "mouth is
covered by violence."
+III. Character determines the nature of our future fame+ (verse 7).
1. _The memory of the righteous is blessed, because what they did
upon the earth is the means of bringing blessings upon others after
they are gone._ Many a son has received kindness for the sake of the
righteousness of his father. God blesses the children for the
father's sake. "I will make him prince all the days of his life _for
David my servant's sake,_ whom I chose, because he kept my
commandments and my statutes" (1 Kings xi. 34). "Fear not," said God
to Isaac, "for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy
seed for _my servant Abraham's sake_" (Gen. xxvi. 24). Cyrus was
raised up to deliver Israel _for Jacob's sake_ (Isa. xlv. 4). Men can
but bless the memory of those whose past godliness is the means of
bringing blessings upon them in the present. 2. _The just man's
memory is blessed because he leaves behind him reproductions of his
own character._ All life will reproduce itself. After a tree has
decayed and gone to dust, others will be in full life and vigour that
were seedlings of the old tree. Intellectual life is reproductive.
The man of mighty genius leaves disciples to carry out his ideas
after he is gone. Good men are the parents of good children, or make
other men good by their words and lives. "They that dwell under his
shadow shall return," and "_they_ shall grow as the vine" (Hosea
xiv. 7). The good must be held in blessed remembrance so long as
there are those upon earth who are the reproductions of their
character. 3. _The memory of some is blessed because they did deeds
which never can be reproduced by others--which have left a fragrance
behind them which can never be repeated._ The one act of Abraham,
when he prepared to offer up Isaac at God's command, can never be
repeated; but it is the one which, above all his other acts of faith,
causes him to be held in everlasting remembrance. And so it has been
with many of the leaders of the Church in all ages. They have
performed acts of godly heroism which we cannot imitate, but of which
we reap the reward, and for which we bless their memory. Especially
is this true of Him who is pre-eminently the Holy One and the Just,
whose glorious "name is blessed for ever" (Psa. lxxii. 19), because
"He endured the cross and despised the shame." But the converse of
all this is the lot of the wicked. We can but remember them when we
are brought face to face with the evil they have left behind them;
but we turn from the remembrance as we turn from some offensive
putrid object, while the memory of the just is as a sweet savour.
Contrast the feelings with which Christendom now regards the emperors
of Rome and the fishermen of Galilee.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 6. Not one, but many blessings are on the head of the
righteous: the blessing of peace, the blessing of plenty, the
blessing of health, and the blessing of grace, shall be upon them.
The precious ointment of the Lord's favour and blessing shall be so
poured upon their heads as that it shall not here stay, but run down
to the rest of the members of their bodies, and enter into their very
hearts.--_Muffet._
"_Blessings:_" not simply good things, but good things bestowed by
another; not simply good things bestowed by another, but divinely
bestowed as sacred _benedictions._ "_Blessings_" are for the
righteous exclusively, that is, for no one else. "_For the head;_"
not the mouth, not the hand; because often without either's agency.
"_On his head;_" because unconsciously, and sometimes even when
asleep.--_Miller._
Verse 7. The memory of the just is blessed (1) because of his winning
friendship; (2) because of his unfeigned piety; (3) because of his
steadfast patience; (4) because of his noble, public-minded
activity.--_Ziegler, from Lange's Commentary._
And what signifies an empty name? It brings honour to God, and
prolongs the influence of his good example who has left it. His good
works not only follow him, but live behind him. As Jeroboam made
Israel to sin after he was dead, so the good man helps to make others
holy whilst he is lying in the grave. Should it so happen that his
character is mistaken in the world, or should his name die out among
men, it shall yet be had in everlasting remembrance before God; for
never shall those names be erased from the Lamb's book of life, which
were written in it from the foundation of the world.--_Lawson._
Not what he remembers, but what is remembered of him. He blesses
after he is dead. So does the wicked, but, like most other growths in
nature, by his decay. "_Name;_" that which is known of a man. The
"name of God" is that which may be known of God. "The memory of the
righteous," viz., of the Church of God, is that which propagates her,
and causes her to hand down her strength. Our walk about Zion, our
telling her towers, our marking her bulwarks, is for this grand aim,
among the rest, that we may tell to the generation following (Psa.
xlviii. 12, 13).--_Miller._
I. The memory of the just is blessed, self-evidently so, for the mind
blesses it and reverts to it with complacency, mingled with
solemnity,--returns to it with delight from the sight of the living
evil in the world, sometimes even prefers this silent society to the
living good. They show in a most evident and pleasing manner the
gracious connection which God has constantly maintained with a sinful
world. His uninterrupted connection with it by justice and sovereign
power has been manifest in mighty evidence: but His saints have been
the peculiar illustration of His grace, His mercy, acting on this
world. II. It is so, when we consider them as practical
illustrations, verifying examples of the excellence of genuine
religion; that it is a noble thing in human nature, and makes, and
alone makes, that nature noble;--that, whatever scoffers may say, or
this vain world would pretend to disbelieve, here is what has made
such men as nothing else, under heaven, could or can. III. Their
memory is blessed while we regard them as diminishing to our view the
repulsiveness and horror of death. Our Lord's dying was the fact that
threw out the mightiest agency to this effect. But, in their measure,
His faithful disciples have done the same. When we contemplate them
as having prepared for it with a calm resolution--as having
approached it--multitudes with a calm resignation and fortitude, and
very many with an animated exultation;--as having passed it, and
emerged in brightness beyond its gloom--they seem to shine back
through the gloom, and make the shade less thick. IV. It is blessed,
also, as combined with the whole progress of God upon the earth--with
its living agency throughout every stage. He has never, and nowhere,
had a visible cause in the world, without putting _men_ in trust with
it. . . . Think of what men have been employed and empowered to do in
the propagation of truth, in the incessant warfare against evil, in
the exemplification of all the virtues by which he could be
honoured.--_John Foster._
Verse 11. A Church is but a body of righteous men. What would the
world do without the Church? The influences of a Church, and that a
land is ruined without a Church, and that one generation hands on the
worship of God to another, are all illustrations on a grand scale of
how _the mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life._ A good man
will constantly be doing good to others. But "wrong covers the mouth
of the wicked," so that he can give no blessing; so keeps him from
any possible usefulness, that he cannot utter good, or make his
mouth, as the righteous can, "a fountain of life" to all about
him.--_Miller._
In a hot summer's day I was sailing with a friend in a tiny boat on a
miniature lake, enclosed like a cup within a circle of steep, bare
Scottish hills. On the shoulders of the brown, sun-burnt mountain,
and full in sight, was a well, with a crystal stream trickling over
its lip, and making its way down towards the lake. Around the well's
mouth, and along the course of the rivulet, a belt of green stood out
in strong contrast with the iron surface of the rock all around.
"What do you make of that?" said my friend, who had both an open eye
to read the book of Nature and a heart all aglow with the lessons of
love. We soon agreed as to what should be made of it. It did not need
us to make it into anything. There it was, a legend clearly printed
by the finger of God on the side of these silent hills, teaching the
passer-by how needful a good man is, and how useful he may be in a
desert world. . . . The Lord looks down, and men look up, expecting
to see a fringe of living green around the lip of a Christian's
life-course.--_Arnot._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 8.
THE DOER AND THE TALKER.
+I. A definition of a wise man.+ He is one that "will receive
commandments." The reception of commandments implies a commander, and
a willingness to obey his laws. The wise man is willing to obey good
laws even at the expense of some self-sacrifice, because he has a
strong conviction of the benefits that will arise from submission.
The laws which govern a well-ordered State will not be irksome to a
right-minded citizen. He feels that submission to them will bring
only comfort to him. The yoke will bring ease, and he proves that he
is a wise man by accepting it. The commandments here are the
commandments of Jehovah. He only is a truly wise man who is willing
to submit his will to the Divine will, to take upon himself the yoke
of Him whose "yoke is easy" (Matt. xi. 30), who is the Lawgiver who
"makes free indeed" (John viii. 36). He obeys His commandments from
the full conviction of the benefits and blessings which flow from
keeping them. He knows that the obedience must come before the
comfort, that Incarnate Wisdom has placed the commandment first, and
then the reward "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command
you" (John xv. 14). He can say, from past experience concerning the
Divine commands, "In keeping of them there is great reward" (Psa.
xix. 11), and the blessedness that he has tasted he knows to be but
the earnest of what is to be in the future, and therefore he is
willing to sacrifice present advantage and worldly ease to obedience
to them. He is like the trader who has received a sample of a rich
cargo from a distant land, and who is so convinced of the value of
the whole from that which has come to hand, that he is willing to
undergo any present privation in order to become its possessor. The
Son of God likened such an one to "a wise man, which built his house
upon a rock," for it is evident that to "receive" commandments is
here equivalent to "doing" them (Matt. vii. 24).
+II. A distinguishing mark of a fool.+ He is a _prater._ He is one
who is willing to talk, but not to act; willing to give out words,
but not to receive instruction; and therefore he is one who can give
out nothing by speech that is worth giving. Unless the earth receives
good seed into its bosom, it cannot give out "seed to the sower and
bread to the eater." Unless a man receives into his heart the good
seed of the kingdom, he can never bring forth moral fruit (Matt.
xiii. 23), and he can never do more than _prate_ about spiritual
truths. There are many words but no meat. There is only one Being in
the universe who can be a giver without first being a receiver, and
that is God. Outside of Him, all must receive of His fulness if they
would be anything more than mere _talkers_ on eternal realities. All
such men are fools. "Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is
the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of
this world?" (1 Cor. i. 20).
+III. The end of such a mere talker.+ He shall fall. 1. _In the
estimation of those who he pretends to instruct._ No men are so prone
to assume the office of instruction as men who are ignorant, but such
men cannot long hold a place in the estimation of others. 2. _He
shall fall into deeper folly._ Those who refuse to receive that
Divine commandment which will make them truly wise, must sink lower
and lower into sinful folly. The longer he refuses the offered
wisdom, and refuses to put his neck under the yoke of God's
commandments, the heavier will grow the chains of sinful habit, and
the more firmly will they be riveted. 3. _He shall fall into
righteous retribution._ This will be proportionate to the
opportunities he has had of receiving wisdom. "And thou, Capernaum,
which art exalted unto heaven, shall be brought down to hell" (Matt.
xi. 23).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
A fool is in nothing sooner and better recognised than in his
conversation.--_Geier._
It is striking how often Solomon dwells upon sins of the tongue; no
member is so hard to control; none more surely indicates the
man.--_Fausset._
The heart is the seat of true wisdom, and a teachable spirit is the
best proof of its influence. For who that knows himself would not be
thankful for further light. No sooner, therefore, do the commandments
come down from heaven, than the well-instructed Christian _receives
them_, like his father Abraham (Heb. xi. 8; Gen. xxii. 1-3), with
undisputing simplicity; welcomes the voice of his heavenly teacher
(1 Sam. iii. 10, Acts x. 33, Psa. xxvii. 8, cxliii. 10), and when he
knows that "it is the Lord, girds himself" with all the ardour of the
disciple to be found at His feet (John xxi. 2-7). But look at the
professor of religion destitute of this _heart-seated wisdom._ We
find him a man of creeds and doctrines, not of prayer; asking curious
questions rather than listening to plain truths; wanting to know
events rather than duties; occupied with other men's business to the
neglect of his own (Luke xiii. 23, 24; 1 Tim. v. 13).--_Bridges._
It is one of the marks of true wisdom, and none of the least, that it
is not self-sufficient and self-willed. This is the evident import of
the former part of this verse. We might consider the disposition in
reference both to _God_ and to _men_--to the Supreme Ruler and Lord
of the conscience,--and to existing human authorities. The "wise in
heart will receive" _God's_ "commandments." _This,_ true wisdom will
do _implicitly._ It will never presume on dictating to God, or on
altering and amending His prescriptions; but, proceeding on the
self-evident principle that the dictates of Divine Wisdom must in all
cases be perfect, will bow in instant acquiescence. With regard also
to _earthly superiors,_ a humble submission to legitimate authority,
both in the family and in the State, is the province of wisdom. There
is a self-conceit that spurns at all such authority. It talks as if
it would legislate for all nations. It would _give_ commandments
rather than _receive_ them. It likes not being dictated to. It plumes
itself on its skill in finding fault. There is no rule prescribed at
which it does not carp, no proposal in which it does not see
something not to its mind, no order in which it does not find
something to which it cannot submit. This is folly, for, were this
temper of mind prevalent, there would be an end to all subordination
and control. The prating fool, or the _fool of lips,_ may be
understood in two ways. First, the self-conceited are generally
superficial. There is much talk and little substance: words without
sense: plenty of tongue, but a lack of wit. Light matter floats on
the surface, and appears to all; what is solid and precious lies at
the bottom. The foam is on the face of the waters; the pearl is
below. Or, secondly, the reference may be to the bluster of
insubordination; the loud protestations and boasting of his
independence on the part of a man who resists authority, and
determines to be "a law to himself."--_Wardlaw._
The word "_commandments_" (E.V.), might often be translated "_laws_."
One set of passages would just change words with another. The word
translated "_commandments_" means primarily "_something fixed_." It
answers to the New Testament "_law_" (Rom. viii. 3), and is adapted
to the reasonings of the apostles. "_He of the wise heart_" means the
truly wise. _He of the fool heart_ might seem good for the rest of
the sentence. But a deep philosophy reminds the inspired man that men
are not such fools as to believe in sin, as the pardoned Christian
does in holiness. They know a great deal more than they either act or
utter. A vast deal of the worldliness of men is a mere lip service,
like that to the Almighty. And, knowing that the lost man is aware of
his perdition, and has been told his folly, the proverb does not
account him a fool in his deep sense, so much as superficially, and
in the mad actings of his folly. In his _heart_ he knows he is
deceived. In his _lips_ he is constantly deceiving himself. In his
acts he keeps up a fictitious life.--_Miller._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 9-10.
OPPOSITE CHARACTERS.
+I. He who walketh uprightly.+ 1. _Is a restorer of an ancient path._
The way of uprightness is much older than the human race, and was
originally the only way known in the universe to intelligent and
moral creatures. Uprightness is as old as God. Crooked walking is of
the creature and but of yesterday compared with uprightness. He who
walks uprightly is a restorer of the breach made in heaven, and
re-establishes the old paths (Jer. vi. 16) of righteousness upon
earth. The way of uprightness was the way in which man walked in
Eden. In Eden also man lost his way by entering the by-path of
transgression and thus ceased to walk with God. He shall "be called a
repairer of the breach, a restorer of paths to dwell in" (Isa.
lviii. 12). A man who reopened up some ancient and important highway
to a great city would be regarded by the citizens as a benefactor;
how much more ought he to be held in esteem whose life reveals this
ancient highway of holiness, who by his uprightness becomes himself a
way to others. 2. _He obeys an ancient command._ "When Abram was
ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto
him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me and be thou
_perfect_"--upright (Gen. xvii. 1). Often the great want of a
partially-civilised country is a straight and level road, by which
commerce can easily find its way to the central city, and a royal
edict is sometimes issued that such a road should be made. The great
want of the world in the day when this command was given to Abram was
an example of uprightness in human life. The need of the world in
this direction is still great, and the ancient command given to the
patriarch is still in force. 3. _His walking is not limited to the
present life._ He walks in the same way after death as before it. "He
shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds, each one
walking in his uprightness" (Isa. lvii. 2). Heaven has no better way
of walking than the way of uprightness, and death will not make any
change in the moral characteristics of the godly man, except to
intensify and strengthen them. The death of the seed-corn will not be
the means of giving birth to a different _kind_ of seed, but only of
making an _increase_ of the same kind. Death is needful, not to
change one thing for another, but to make much out of little. Death
will bring heaven to the godly and upright, but it can give nothing
to an upright man better than his uprightness, but this it can do, it
can render him more entirely and completely upright. Hence the path
of the upright is a path which death cannot end--a path which, begun
to be trodden in time, will be continued in throughout eternity. The
happiness of the human creatures who make up a family, or a larger
community, will depend very much upon the uprightness of each member.
Heaven's blessedness springs from the perfectly upright character of
each citizen of that perfect city. 4. _His upright walk is sure, or
safe, because it is preservative of character._ Uprightness is to
character what salt is to food. He who walks uprightly can never
become _less_ godly and righteous, but must of necessity become more
and more so; hence the Psalmist's prayer, "Let integrity and
uprightness _preserve_ me" (Psalm xxv. 21).
+II. The two phases of character are placed in contrast to that of
the upright man.+ 1. _That of the man whose evil nature does not lie
entirely upon the surface._ "He that perverteth his ways" and yet
endeavours to cloak his perversion, to hide his wrong-doing. The
"winking of the eye" mentioned in verse 10 indicates an effort after
concealment. Those who "pervert" their ways pervert nature in order
to attain their ends. The eye is intended by God to be a revelation
of the soul, and where integrity and sincerity dwells, it is so. But
he who walks crookedly or perversely makes an unnatural use of his
eye, and by means of it endeavours to work ill to his neighbour. But
all his efforts at concealment will at some time or other be
ineffectual; the very means he uses to conceal his evil plans may be
the means of awakening suspicion. And if he succeeds in blinding the
eyes of his fellow men, "the Lord will bring to light the hidden
things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the
hearts" (1 Cor. iv. 5). The day of judgment will reveal the guilty
secrets of many who have never yet--nor ever will be until that
day--fully "_known._" 2. _That of him whose perversity is manifest to
all._ The "prating fool" cannot conceal what he is. Upon him and upon
his destiny, see Homiletics and Suggestive Comments on verse 8.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 9. An _upright walk_ is Christian, not sinless, perfection (Job
i. 8); "walking before God," not before men (Gen. xvii. 1). Impurity,
indeed, defiles the holiest exercise. But if the will be rightly
bent, the integrity will be maintained. "Show me an easier path," is
Nature's cry. "Show me," cries the child of God, "a _sure_
path."--_Bridges._
To walk uprightly, or to walk in integrity, means to act according to
one complete scheme: not as the fool does (verse 8), behaving one way
and believing another. It means to aim for "something stable" (chap.
ii. 7); and hence, of course, not to lay our plans so that we
ourselves know they must ultimately fail. He walks surely or
_securely, i.e.,_ must certainly succeed.--_Miller._
The dissembler walks in crooked paths. Like Judas, who put on a cloak
of charity to hide his covetousness (John xii. 6), he conceals the
selfish principles which regulate his behaviour under the appearances
of purity, prudence, and other good qualities. But he cannot hold the
mantle so tight about him as to conceal from the wise observer his
inward baseness. It will occasionally be shuffled aside, it will at
length drop off, and he shall be known for what he is, abhorred by
all men, and punished with other hypocrites.--_Lawson._
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: While Dr. Wardlaw may think Proverbs an
exception, II Tim. iii. 16 tells us that "All scripture is given
by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for
reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness."
_Walking uprightly_ stands opposed to all duplicity, all tortuous
policy, all the crooked arts of _manœuvering,_ for the purpose of
promoting reputation, interest, comfort, or any other end whatsoever.
He who walketh thus, _walketh surely._ He walks with a comfortable
_feeling of security,_ a calm, unagitated serenity of mind. This
springs from the confidence in that God whose will he makes his only
rule. In the path of implicit obedience he feels that he can _trust._
And further, the way in which he walks is the _surest_ for the
attainment of his ends. Proverbs are generally founded in observation
and experience, and express their ascertained results. Hence, even
though not inspired, they have generally truth in them. It has become
proverbial that "honesty is the best policy." The meaning is, that
acts of deceit very frequently frustrate the object of him by whom
they are employed, and land him in evils greater than the one he
meant, by the use of them, to shun.--_Wardlaw._
_First_--the heart of the upright man hath God's own eye to behold
it, and His Spirit to testify the faithfulness of it, and so
receiveth comfort from Him, as Job did, when in the confidence of his
cause and conscience he saith, "O that some would hear me, behold my
desire is that the Almighty would answer me" (Job xxxi. 35).
_Secondly,_ the course of their actions is such as will endure light,
and the more they are examined the better they will prove, and
therefore they need not fear any might or malice, or cunning
adversaries that shall seek their disgrace. And upon the assurance of
this the prophet professeth his undaunted courage and magnanimity,
with challenge also to his calumniant enemy, whosoever he were, "I
have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be
ashamed. He is near that justifieth me," etc. (Isa. l. 7, 8).
_Thirdly,_ their bodies and state are in God's custody, and He hath
undertaken the defence and preservation of them, whereas the wicked
are out of God's protection and perpetually go into peril.
_Fourthly,_ their souls are prepared for death and for judgment, and
therefore more desire to be dissolved than are afraid to hear of the
nearness of their dissolution.--_Dod._
I. An upright walker is sure of easily finding his way: it requires
no laborious dealing to find out what is _just_. II. He treads upon
firm ground; upon solid, safe, and well-tried principles. . . . The
practice built on such foundations must be very secure. III. He walks
steadily. A good conscience steers by fixed stars, and aims at fixed
marks. An upright man is always the same man, and goes the same way;
the external state of things does not alter the moral reason of
things with him, or change the law of God.--_Sydney Smith._
I. The way of uprightness is the _surest for despatch_, and the
shortest cut towards the execution or attainment of any good purpose,
securing a man from irksome expectations and tedious delays. II. It
is _fair and pleasant_. He that walketh in it hath good weather and a
clear sky about him; a hopeful confidence and a cheerful satisfaction
do ever wait upon him. Being conscious to himself of an honest
meaning, and a due course in prosecuting it, he feeleth no check or
struggling of mind: no regret or sting of heart. III. He is secure of
his _honour and credit_. He hath no fear of being detected, or care
to smother his intents. IV. _He hath perfect security as to the final
result of his affairs_, that he shall not be quite baffled in his
expectations and desires. He shall prosper in the true notion of
prosperity, explained by that Divine saying, "Mark the perfect man,
and behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace."--_Barrow._
Verse 10. The connection of the clauses is--to speak feignedly and to
speak rashly are both alike dangerous: to do the former hurts others,
to do the latter hurts oneself. When we avoid _cunning_ and _feigned
speaking,_ we are not to run into the opposite extremes of _prating
folly._--_Fausset._
The one shuts his eye to conceal his subtlety, the other opens his
mouth to declare his folly. The one winketh, but sayeth nothing; the
other says too much, but thinketh not what he says. The one giveth
sorrow to the deceived in his malicious bounty; the other taketh a
fall from the superfluous bounty of his own words.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 12.
LOVE AND HATRED.
The lawfulness or unlawfulness of hatred and strife depends upon the
subject or occasion of such feeling. God hates sin, and we know that
this hatred is the fruit of one of His highest attributes. The Divine
and Incarnate Son of God foretold that He had not "come to send peace
on earth, but a sword" (Matt. x. 34), and therefore even He was an
occasion of strife because He was a hater of sin. There is then a
holy as well as a wicked hatred, a lawful as well as an unlawful
strife. But the hatred of the text being placed in contrast with love
is evidently the malicious hatred of a wicked man.
+I. The hatred of the wicked is+--1. _Insatiable._ It has been said
that those who hate have first injured. This is doubtless true, but
there must have been some amount of hatred to prompt the injury. But
after the injury has been inflicted, the hatred is not diminished,
but is generally increased. Herodias prevailed upon Herod to put John
the Baptist into prison, but this did not lessen her malice. It was
such a devouring flame as could be quenched by nothing but his blood.
The pain which conscience inflicts upon him who has injured another
is put to the account of the injured person, and goes to increase the
bitterness of the anger against him. 2. _It is generally impartial._
Wicked men generally begin by hating good men, but they come in time
to a habit of hating bad men too. The blind man will be as likely to
strike his friend as his foe. Hatred is blind, and those who begin by
hating those whom they consider their enemies, generally end by
hating their so-called friends.
+II. The effect of hatred.+ It stirs up strife. This implies that the
materials for strife are already in existence. There are no signs of
mud upon the surface of a peaceful lake, but it only requires some
disturbing element to be thrown in to show that it is lying at the
bottom. The spirit of the most sanctified man has some evil
tendencies within it, which may be stirred up by undeserved hatred.
Only One who ever wore our human nature had with Him no germ of
strife which might be stirred up by hatred. Only One could say that
temptation found "nothing" in him (John xiv. 13). The elements which
may be stirred up by strife have a lodging place in the most
sanctified human spirit, and when strife is thus stirred up by hatred
the whole soul or the whole society is influenced for evil. When the
lake is stirred up from the bottom all the waters are more or less
troubled, and when the elements of contention are at work even in a
good man or in a Christian community the whole man or the entire
community is ruffled and disturbed. In contrast with this hatred,
which is not only sin in itself but, by stirring up strife, is an
occasion of sin in others, is placed the love which "covereth" or
does away with sin.
+I. Love covers sin by forgiving it.+ Malicious hatred, even when it
is directed against sin, will but incite to more sin. But forgiveness
of the sin may lead to its being forsaken, and the mere fact of being
forgiven may give the sinner an impulse after a better life in the
future, and thus enable him to efface the remembrance of the past. If
a man is deeply in debt to another, and that other gives him a
discharge of his debt, the very fact of his being legally free may
give him such new energy to work as may enable to pay that which he
owed. And a sense of being forgiven a moral debt will sometimes have
this effect upon the soul. God's covering up of sin by forgiveness is
the beginning of a new life to those who are willing to accept His
pardon (Psa. xxxii. 1, 1 John i. 7).
+II. Love covers sin by forgetting it.+ It is in the nature of love
not only to forgive an injury, but to forget that the injury has ever
been done. And a consciousness that our sin is covered by being
forgotten is very healing to the spirit. For a soul that has lived a
sinful life is like a man that has passed through a campaign and
received many wounds. He requires skilful treatment and gentle
nursing; and when the wounds have been bound up, and have perhaps,
begun to heal, care must be taken that no rough hand re-opens them,
and causes them to bleed afresh. A work spoken which shows that the
sinful past is still remembered by those who have professed to
forgive, may re-open the wounds with a fatal effect. Love covers sin
as God declares that He covers it. His promise is not only "I will
forgive their iniquity," but, "I will _remember their sins no more_"
(Jer. xxxi. 34).
+III. Love covers sin by making active efforts to recover the
sinner.+ Love will not be content with forgiving when forgiveness is
sought, but it will go out of its way to recover the erring. The
godly man will walk in the footsteps of Him who came to _seek_ that
which was lost. God did not wait until man returned to Him before He
held out hope of forgiveness. As soon as Satan's hatred had led man
into sin, He held out hope of return to holiness by the promise of
Him who "should bruise the serpent's head" (Gen. iii. 15). And in the
fulness of time, by the gift of His Son, He showed the depth of His
love and His desire to cover the "sin of the world." And as in many
human homes there are those who owe their present moral standing, the
recovery of all that makes existence worth having, to the love that
followed and sought them when they were outcasts, so those who people
the heavenly home--that multitude which God alone can number--are the
fruit of that Divine love which not only covered a multitude of sins
by forgiving and forgetting the sin, but sought out the sinner in
order to forgive him.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
"Love covereth all sins," saith Solomon, covers them partly from the
eyes of God, in praying for the offenders; partly from the eyes of
the world, in throwing a cloak over our brother's nakedness;
especially from its own eyes, by winking at many wrongs offered
it.--_T. Adams._
Hatred disturbs the existing quiet by railings; stirs up dormant
quarrels on mere suspicions and trifles, and by unfavourable
constructions put upon everything, even upon acts of kindness. As
hatred by quarrels exposes the faults of others, so "love covers"
them, except in so far as brotherly correction requires their
exposure. Love condones, yea, takes no notice of a friend's errors.
The disagreements which hatred stirs up, love allays; and the
offences which are usually the causes of quarrel, it sees as though
it saw them not, and excuses them (1 Cor. xiii. 4-7). It gives to men
the forgiveness which it daily craves from God.--_Fausset._
To abuse the precept in 1 Peter iv. 8 (where this text is quoted)
into a warrant for silencing all faithful reproofs of sin in others,
would be to ascribe to charity the office of a
procuress.--_Cartwright._
_First,_ it makes us to cover and pardon the wrongs that others do
us. _Secondly,_ a loving carriage maketh others pardon the wrongs
that we do them. _Thirdly,_ it maketh God to pardon the offences
which we commit against Him.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 13, 14.
LAYING UP TO GIVE OUT.
+I. The practice of the morally wise man.+ He "lays up knowledge"
(verse 14). The present position of a man in social life is often the
result of a "laying up" in the past. The man who has made it the
business of his past life to lay up money is now a rich man. His
present wealth arises from his past storing. An artificer or
professional man who laid up knowledge in his youthful days is able
to command a good position in his mature life. But there are
differences between those who lay up riches, or mere intellectual
wisdom, and him who stores moral wisdom--the only real and lasting
wealth. _The man spoken of in the text lays up that which is truly
his own now, and will be throughout eternity._ The riches of godly
wisdom are not transferable either before or at the time of death.
Material wealth may go at any time in our life, and must be left
behind when we leave the world. And while we call it ours it is but
lent us by God. He takes a wider range, and lays up for a life beyond
time, and what he lays up now will make him what he will be in the
ages beyond death. He is determined to be crowned rich towards God in
the day when he shall be summoned to appear and give an account of
his stewardship. Most men are layers up of riches and knowledge in a
greater or less degree. The truly wise man banks for moral character,
and intends to be considered rich in the city of God.
+II. It is because spiritual knowledge is laid up that "wisdom is
found in the lips"+ (verse 13). The possession of wealth or of
intellectual knowledge is no guarantee that wisdom will be found with
it. A rich man may not know how to use his riches to the best
advantage. He might know how to gather it, but may not know how to
spend it for his own good. A man may gather much intellectual
knowledge without being able to make it profitable, or a source of
enjoyment either to himself or others. A man may be able to gather
timber and stones together and yet not know how to build a house out
of them after he has gathered them. A housewife may collect a store
of wool and stuffs, but not be skilful enough to fashion the
materials into garments for herself and her household. So knowledge,
in its general sense, is not necessarily accompanied by wisdom; but
_spiritual_ knowledge and _spiritual_ wisdom are never separated. The
one is always joined to the other. When there is a laying up of the
knowledge of God, there wisdom will be found. No man can truly know
God and not have wisdom enough to reduce his knowledge to practice in
the building up of a godly character. Where knowledge is in the heart
there will be wisdom in the lips and life.
+III. This knowledge and wisdom will be used for the benefit of
others.+ It will be found in the lips. The man who is "instructed
unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder,
which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old" (Matt.
xiii. 52). He has a store from which he draws according to the need
of those whom his words can benefit. His instructions are like the
viands of the thrifty housewife, stored up in abundance against the
time of need, and suited, both as to quantity and quality, to the
wants of the needy soul (verse 21).
+IV. The influence and the fate of him who refuses to lay up
knowledge.+ His mouth is a near destruction (see rendering in
Critical Notes). The man who refuses to lay up the knowledge of some
calling or profession is both a fool and a knave, because by such
neglect he makes himself dependent when he might be independent, and
because he eats the bread earned by industrious men. How much more
foolish is he who will not lay up that by which he may acquire a
character which would make him an equal with the angels of God. But
his neglect injures others beside himself. He wrongs his fellow-men
by withholding his influence from the side of that which is
righteous, and consequently defrauds the world of that which it is
the duty of every man to give it. But he does not stop here. (1) He
adds the positive evil influence of sinful words. The Bible speaks
often of the evil influence of sinful speech. It likens it to the
poison of venomous reptiles (see Psalm lviii. 4; cxl. 3; Jas.
iii. 8). But these creatures can only destroy the body, whereas the
fool's mouth is often a destruction to both body and soul. (On this
subject see homiletical remarks on chapter i. 10-19). (2) But he is a
curse to his own existence as well as to that of others. That which
is a destruction to them makes a rod for his own back (verse 13).
Such a man's mouth utters falsehood and slander by which he creates
enemies _without._ That which he speaks brings guilt upon his
conscience, which becomes an instrument of chastisement _within._ And
a guilty conscience creates imaginary enemies as well as keeps us in
remembrance of real ones. An old writer says, "The guilty conscience
conceives every thistle to be a tree, every tree a man, every man, a
devil,--afraid of every man that it sees, nay, many times of those
that it sees not. Not much unlike to one that was very deep in debt
and had many creditors, who, as he walked London streets in the
evening, a tenter-hook caught his cloak. 'At whose suit?' said he,
conceiving some sergeant had arrested him. Thus the ill-conscienced
man counts every creature he meets with a bailiff sent from God to
punish him." Such a conscience is indeed a "rod for the fool's back"
(chap. xxvi. 3).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 13. Through the lips of the Christian other men get wisdom. If
we will think of it, men get it in no other way. "Faith cometh by
hearing" (Rom. x. 17). The Church hands itself down, by the blessing
of heaven, from lip to lip. But then from the same lips comes a
_rod._ The good man, not listened to, becomes a scourge. Christ
Himself becomes an instrument of death.--_Miller._
Solomon and his son admirably illustrate this contrast. Such wisdom
was found in his lips, but fruit of an understanding heart, that "all
the world came to hear of it" (1 Kings iv. 31). Rehoboam was as
_void,_ as his father was _full,_ of understanding. His folly
prepared a rod for his back (1 Kings xii. 13-24). Learn then to seek
for wisdom at the lips of the wise. The want of this wisdom, or
rather the want of a heart to seek it, will surely bring us under
_the rod._ In many a chastisement we shall feel its smart; for the
loose education of our children (chap. xxix. 15); for carnal
indulgence (2 Sam. xii. 9-11). And how different is this _rod_ from
our Father's loving adoption (chap. iii. 11, 12); this, the mark of
disgrace. Will not the children of God cry, "Turn away the reproach
that I fear, for Thy judgments are good" (Psa. cxix. 39).--_Bridges._
The wise man carries the ornament of his wisdom in his _lips;_ the
fool shall bear the disgrace of his folly on his back.--_Fausset._
He who trembleth not in hearing shall be broken to pieces in
feeling.--_Bradford._
The dwelling of wisdom is in the heart, but there it is _hid;_ in the
lips it is _found._ There it sitteth, like an ancient Israelite, at
the gates of the city, marking what goes out, and weighs it before it
passeth, that nothing issue forth which may disparage the honour or
wrong the estate of the city. There shall _folly find it,_ as smart
and heavy in the reproof of it as a rod is to the back, and which is
fit for him whose tongue is void of understanding. For it is reason
that his back should bear, whose tongue will not forbear.--_Jermin._
Verse 14. To "lay up" knowledge very obviously implies that value is
set upon it. Men never think of seeking and accumulating what they
regard as worthless; and in proportion as an object is prized will be
the degree of eagerness with which it is pursued, and of jealous
vigilance, with which it is "laid up" and guarded. Thus the _miser._
With what an eye of restlessness and eager covetousness does he look
after the acquisition of his heart's desires! with what delight does
he hug himself upon his success!--with what avidity does he add the
increase to his treasures, carefully secreting them from all access
but his own! With a care incomparably more dignified and useful how
does the man of science mark and record every fact and observation,
whether of his own discovery and suggestion or of those of others!
How he exults in every new acquisition to _his_ stores! He lays all
up in his mind, or, fearful of a treacherous memory, in surer modes
of record and preservation. Hints that lead to nothing at the time
may lead to much afterwards. Some one in another generation may carry
out into practical application, or into the formation of valuable
theories, the facts and conjectures that are now, in apparent
isolation, "laid up" for such possible future use. The true
philosopher, to use a colloquial phrase, "has all his eyes about
him." He allows nothing to escape notice, and nothing, if he can help
it, to pass into oblivion. But, alas! in this respect, as in others,
"the children of this world are, in their generation, wiser than the
children of light."--_Wardlaw._
Who would not heedfully foresee where his arrow shall hit, before he
shoot it out of his bow; lest it should destroy any person or other
creature through negligence? Who would not be very circumspect and
wary in discharging a piece, lest he should do mischief by it? And
yet, by these, a man may affright, and not hurt; and hurt, and not
kill; and kill, and not die himself; but what arrow, what shot, what
artillery, what murdering piece is to be compared to the mouth of a
man that is not guided by a wise and watchful forethought? Great woe
is worketh unto other men, but it surely bringeth death unto himself;
every word that breaketh another man's skin doth certainly break the
caul of his own heart; and he that doth aim at another to give him a
wound, surely cannot miss himself to violate his own life.--_Dod._
The part of wisdom is to treasure up experience, and hold it ready
for use in the time and place of need. Everything may be turned to
account. In the process of accumulating this species of wealth, the
wonders of the philosopher's stone may be more than realised. Even
losses can be converted into gains. Every mistake or disappointment
is a new lesson. Every fault you commit, and every glow of shame
which suffuses your face because of it, may be changed into a most
valuable piece of wisdom. Let nothing trickle out, and flow away
useless. After one has bought wit at a heavy price, it is a double
misfortune to throw it away. As a general rule, the dearer it is the
more useful it will be.--_Arnot._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 15, 16.
A FALSE AND A TRUE ESTIMATE OF LIFE.
+I. A false estimate of life in its relation to riches.+ It is a
mistake to look on wealth as a "strong city" in which we can be
secure from the evils of life. A commander, who knows that there is
behind him a fortress into which he can retire in case of need, may
be brought to ruin by forming an over-estimate of its security. He
may underrate the ability of the enemy to follow him thither.
Strongholds have been undermined, and those who had trusted in their
strength have been destroyed by that very confidence; or pestilence
has broken out on account of the number who have taken refuge in the
fortress, and so that which they deemed their strength has been their
weakness. These events have proved that the estimate taken of their
safety was a wrong one--that even the refuge itself might be the
cause of destruction. So with a "rich man's wealth." If he looks upon
it as a resource under all emergencies--if he thinks it can purchase
him immunity from all ills--he is a terrible self-deceiver. Wealth
cannot drive back disease; nothing can keep death from storming his
stronghold; and sometimes a single day brings together such an army
of adverse circumstances that the strong city goes down before it,
and is never rebuilt, or the very refuge itself is the cause of moral
ruin. Therefore "Let not the rich man glory in his riches" (Jer.
ix. 23).
+II. A false estimate of life in relation to poverty.+ It is a
mistake also to look on poverty as a "destruction." If the rich man
errs on the side of excessive confidence, the poor man errs on that
of fearfulness. He should remember--1. _That the blessedness of life
here does not consist in what a man has, but in what he is._ Wealth
may be a curse to existence, and so may poverty, but a good
conscience, a godly character, is a continual feast. And it is quite
_as_ easy, perhaps more so, to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk
humbly with God in poverty as in wealth. "A man's life consisteth not
in the abundance of the things which he possesseth" (Luke xii. 15).
This is the declaration of Him who created man, and who, therefore,
knows his needs. The poor are the objects of His special regard.
"Hath not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith, and
heirs of the kingdom which He hath promised to them that love Him?"
(Jas. ii. 5). 2. _He should keep in mind the day of levelling and
compensation._ "Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst
thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things, but now he is
comforted, and thou art tormented" (Luke xvi. 25).
+III. A right estimate of that which constitutes life, viz.,
righteous labour+ (verse 16). The first clause of this verse suggests
(1) that there can be no true life without righteousness; (2) that
righteousness must show that it exists by honest labour; (3) that the
honest labour of a righteous man, whether of hand or brain, shall
bless his existence. From the second clause we learn (1) _that
godless men likewise labour for a harvest._ There are as hard workers
among the godless as among the good. They toil for earthly gain all
the more earnestly because they have no other to possess: that which
belongs to the present life is their all. (2) _That there is no
blessing in the gain of the ungodly._ The gain of a sinner only tends
to confirm him in his ungodliness--it "tendeth to sin." If a tree is
bad at the root the larger it grows the more bad fruit it will bear.
The richer a bad man grows the worse he becomes, the greater are his
facilities for sinning himself, and the more evil is his influence
upon others. Sin being at the root of his actions, sin will be in the
fruit. The whole subject teaches us not to make poverty and riches
the standard by which to measure a man's blessedness or misfortune.
Beecher says, "We say a man is 'made.' What do we mean? That he has
got the control of his lower instincts, so that they are only fuel to
his higher feelings, giving force to his nature? That his affections
are like vines, sending out on all sides blossoms and clustering
fruits? That his tastes are so cultivated that all beautiful things
speak to him, and bring him their delights? That his understanding is
opened, so that he walks through every hall of knowledge and gathers
its treasures? That his moral feelings are so developed and quickened
that he holds sweet communion with Heaven? O, no, none of these
things. He is cold and dead in heart, and mind, and soul. Only his
passions are alive; but--he is worth five hundred thousand
dollars! . . . And we say a man is 'ruined.' Are his wife and
children dead? O, no. Has he lost his reputation through crime? No.
Is his reason gone? O, no; it is as sound as ever. Is he struck
through with disease? No. He has lost his property, and he is ruined.
The _man_ ruined! When shall we learn that 'a man's life consisteth
not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth'?"
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 15. It is not _a_ strong city, but _his_ strong city. You see
how justly the worldling is called an idolater, for he makes not God
his confidence, but trusts to a thing of nought; for his riches, if
they are a city, are not a strong city, but a city broken down, and
without walls. How hard is it for rich men to obtain an entrance into
that city that hath foundations, when it is a miracle for a man that
hath riches not to trust in them.--_Muffet._
The rich man stands independent, changes and adversities cannot so
easily overthrow him; he is also raised above many hazards and
temptations; on the contrary, the poor man is overthrown by little
misfortunes, and his despairing endeavours to save himself, when they
fall, ruin him completely, and perhaps make him at the same time a
moral outlaw. It is quite an experienced fact which this proverb
expresses, but one from which the double doctrine is easily derived:
(1) That it is not only advised, but commanded, that man make the
firm establishing of his external life-position the aim of his
endeavour. (2) That one ought to treat with forbearance the humble
man; and if he always sinks deeper and deeper, one ought not to judge
him with unmerciful harshness, and in proud
self-exaltation.--_Delitzsch._
As soldiers look upon a strong city as a good place which they may
retire to for safety in times of flight, so worldly men, in their
distress and danger, esteem their wealth the only means of relief and
succour: or, as a marching army expects supply, if need be, from a
well-mannered and well-victualled city, so men in their fainting
fits, and under dreadful crosses, expect to be revived by their
earthly cordials.--_Swinnock._
The word "destruction" is capable of two meanings. First, there are
temptations peculiar to poverty as well as to riches. Agur was aware
of these when he prayed, "Give me not poverty, lest I steal and take
the name of my God in vain" (chap. xxx. 7-9). He who gives way to
such influences of poverty ensures "destruction" as much as he who is
"full and denies God, and says, Who is the Lord?" Secondly, as we
found in the preceding clause to refer to the state of mind--the
_confidence of safety_ inspired by his wealth in the bosom of the
rich, it seems fair and natural to understand the latter clause on a
similar principle. "The destruction of the poor" will then mean, that
which, _in their own eyes,_ is their destruction; that which
engenders their fears and apprehensions--their constant dread of
destruction. They are ever apt to contrast their circumstances with
those of their wealthy neighbours, and to deplore their poverty, and
fret at it as that which keeps them down, depriving them of all good,
and exposing them to all evil. And, without doubt, it is the source
of many and heavy sufferings, both in the way of privation and
endurance. But the poor may indulge their fears, and make themselves
unhappy without cause. Their forebodings may be more than groundless.
If by their poverty they are exposed to some evils, they are exempted
by it from others. . . . Let the poor seek the peace, and comfort,
and safety which are imparted by the Gospel; and thus, possessing the
"true riches," they will not need to "fear what man can do unto
them." The worst of all destructions will be far from
them.--_Wardlaw._
The "wealth of the rich," even in this world, is their great capital.
The "destruction of the poor" is the helplessness, and
friendlessness, and creditlessness, and lack of instruments incident
to "poverty." In the spiritual world the distinction is entire. The
rich get richer, and the poor get poorer, and both by inviolable
laws. All works for good for one, and all for evil for the other. The
last Proverb explained it. Wisdom, by its very nature, grows, and so
does folly. All other interests vibrate: sometimes worse, and
sometimes better. But Wisdom, like the God that chose it, has no
"shadow of turning." If it begins in the soul it grows for ever. If
it does not begin it grows more distant. There is never rest. Wealth
in the spiritual world, by the very covenant, must continually heap
up; and poverty, by the very necessities of justice, must increase
its helplessness.--_Miller._
Naturally the author is here thinking of wealth well earned by
practical wisdom, and this is at the same time a means in the further
effort of Wisdom; and, again, of a deserved poverty, which, always
causes one to sink deeper in folly and moral need. Compare the verse
following.--_Lange's Commentary._
Surely this should humble us, that riches,--that should be our rises
to raise us up to God, or glasses to see the love of God in--our
corrupt nature useth them as clouds, as clogs, etc., yea, sets them
up in God's place, and saith to the fine gold, "Thou art my
confidence" (Job xxxi. 24). _The destruction of the poor is their
poverty._ They are devoured by the richer cannibals (Psa. xiv. 4), as
the lesser fish are by the greater. Men go over the hedge where it is
lowest. "Poor" and "afflicted" are joined together (Zeph. iii. 12).
So are "to want" and "to be abased" (Phil. iv. 12).--_Trapp._
Here he is describing what is, rather than prescribing what ought to
be. The verse acknowledges and proclaims a prominent feature in the
condition of the world. It is not a command from the law of God, but
a fact from the history of men. In all ages and in all lands money
has been a mighty power, and its relative importance increases with
the advance of civilisation. Money is one of the principal
instruments by which the affairs of the world are turned, and the man
who holds that instrument in his grasp can make himself felt in his
age and neighbourhood. It does not reach the Divine purpose, but it
controls human action. It is constrained to become God's servant, but
it makes itself the master of man.--_Arnot._
The rich man often goes about his Sion, or rather his Jericho, and
views the walls thereof; he marketh the bulwarks, and telleth the
towers of it. He looks upon his wealth, he marks his bags, he tells
his moneys, and therein is his confidence; thereby he thinketh to
outstand any siege or assault, and, placing his security on it,
dareth to oppose his strength to any right or reason; whereas God
with a blast of ram's horns is quickly able to throw down all his
might and his greatness.--_Jermin._
Verse 16. The labour of the righteous tendeth to life or "serves as
life." 1. Because it is a good thing in itself. 2. Because it
procures good, each stroke earning its pay. 3. Because it increased,
and that on for ever, making us holier and happier, and making other
holier and happier through the endless ages. It "_serves_"
pre-eminently "_as life_," therefore, literally, "_is for life._" But
the fruit, or "_gains of the wicked_" (and we must not fail to note
the crescendo in the second clause, "The _labour_ of a righteous
man"--"the _gains_ of a wicked man"; the righteous still toiling, the
wicked having made his harvest,) serve to sin or "_as a
sin-offering._" That is, they are all demanded by justice, and are
all consumed by the expiation of his sins. Pious acts are a life.
Wicked gains go to swell what our great creditor seizes.--_Miller._
Labour, not idleness, is the stamp of a servant of God; thus cheered
by the glowing confidence, that it tendeth to life (John vi. 27).
"Occupy till I come"--"Do all to the glory of God" (Luke xix. 13;
1 Cor. x. 31)--this is the standard. Thus the duties even of our
daily calling tend to life. God works in us, by us, with us, through
us. We work _in_ and _through_ Him. Our _labour,_ therefore, is His
work--wrought in dependence on Him; not _for_ life, but _to_ life
(Rom. viii. 13; 1 Cor. xv. 10; Phil. ii. 12, 13).--_Bridges._
The words are fitly chosen: "labour" in honest industry is the
righteous man's ordinary way of living. "Revenue" (fruit) not gained
by honest labour is frequently the wicked man's
livelihood.--_Fausset._
It is not directly said, as the previous clause might lead us to
expect, that the "fruit" of the wicked tendeth to "death," but to
"sin." This, by the wise man, is considered as the same thing. It
"tendeth to sin," and, consequently, to _death_. Thus it is said,
"When lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is
finished, bringeth forth death" (Jas. i. 15). Between the two there
is an intimate and inseparable connection.--_Wardlaw._
The righteous are laborious, as knowing that to be the end of their
life. For themselves they labour, to lead their lives with comfort
here, to get the life of glory hereafter. For others they labour, to
supply the wants of their disconsolate life on earth, and to help
them forward to the blessed life of heaven. Wherefore St. Bernard
saith well, "When we read that Adam in the beginning was set in a
place of pleasure to work in it, what man of sound understanding can
think that his children should be set in a place of affliction for to
play in it."--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 17.
THE INFLUENCE OF EXAMPLE.
We take here the rendering of all recent commentators as given in the
Critical Notes, and understand the verse to set forth the truth that
"no man liveth to himself." His character is reproduced in others.
+I. A good man is a way, because he is the means to an end.+ The way
to the city is the road by which we reach it. The life of a holy man
is a way to spiritual and eternal life, because it is the means by
which men come home to God. If there were no good men in the world,
there would be no means by which sinners could be brought from death
unto life. Christ is pre-eminently "_the way,_" because His life is
the great means by which men learn to know and to return to God. "No
man cometh unto the Father but by Me" (John xiv. 6). The longer a
path is trodden the more distinctly it proclaims itself as a way. So
a good man becomes a more evident way the longer he lives. A good
life is so distinct in its teachings that both sage and savage are
compelled to admit its influence, and the longer it exerts its power
for good the more pronounced it becomes. The Son of God has for ages
been the way to life, and the longer He continues to be so the more
distinctly is He seen to be the means to this end.
+II. The conditions to be fulfilled in order to become a way of
life.+ 1. _The man must keep instruction._ It is not enough to
_receive_ it. The Word of God must not only be _heard,_ but must be
_kept._ "If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them" (John
xiii. 17). 2. _He must submit to discipline even when it takes the
form of reproof._ This is implied in the last clause of the verse,
"He that refuseth reproof causes to err." The man who has attained a
position in any profession, and has thereby become qualified to lead
others, has done so because he has submitted to discipline even when
it has been in the unpalatable form of reproof. Such a man can well
exhort others to submit to that by which he has become fit to be
their guide. Even the Son of God "_learned obedience_ by the things
which He suffered" (Heb. v. 8).
+III. An ungodly man injures others as well as himself.+ He not only
wanders from the path himself, but he "causeth (others) to err." We
often hear it said of a godless man--of one "who refuseth
reproof"--that "he is nobody's enemy but his own." This cannot be. It
has been truly said that "nothing leaves us wholly as it found us.
Every man we meet, every book we read, every picture or landscape we
see, every word or tone we hear, mingles with our being and modifies
it." This being so, every man makes every man with whom he comes in
contact better or worse, and as every good man draws others into the
path of life, so every man who refuses to submit to Divine discipline
drags others with him in the broad road that leads to destruction.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
St. Basil, answering the question, "With what mind anyone ought to
receive the instructions of reproof administered unto him," giveth
this answer, "With the same mind that befitteth him who, being sick
of some disease and troubled for the preserving of life, receiveth a
medicine, namely, with the greatest desire of recovering his health."
For there is a way of life though a man be not _sick_ but _dead_ unto
sin. And the hand that putteth into this way is instruction, and that
which must keep us in the way is the keeping of instruction: for he
that refuseth reproof erreth, erreth in refusing, erreth more by
refusing.--_Jermin._
This is the idea of other verses (11-13): that a man going to heaven
blazes a path for others. He _is_ a way. Others travel upon him in
his prayers and in his example.--_Miller._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 18.
THREE DEGREES OF MORAL FOOLISHNESS.
+I. A liar.+ 1. _A liar is a fool because he fights for a weak
cause._ When a case can only be made out by lying it is manifestly a
bad one. A man who will strive to uphold such a cause reveals his
folly. 2. _Because he makes use of a weak weapon._ Among tribes
ignorant of the methods of civilized warfare we find weapons which
are little better than slim rods, and, although their points are
sharp and poisoned, yet they proclaim their weakness when they come
into collision with an experienced swordsman. Lying is such a weapon,
and its use reveals the utter folly of him who wields it. It can no
more stand against truth than the wooden spear of a savage can turn
aside the thrust of a Damascus blade. 3. _Because by lying he
degrades his moral character._ The serpent lost his upright position
by being linked with lying, instead of going erect, God passed upon
him the sentence--"Upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou
eat all the days of thy life" (Gen. iii. 14). The liar finds that
this is his doom. He can no longer hold up his head like an honest
man among his fellow-men, he must henceforth crawl and wind his way
through the world, and eat the dust of ignominy and scorn. Men turn
from a liar as they do from a serpent. It is assuredly the height of
folly for a man thus to throw away that which alone makes him worthy
to be called a man.
+II. A liar who conceals hatred by lying.+ This man displays a higher
degree of iniquity and folly. There are those who lie simply to serve
their own purposes and have no dislike to the person whom they
deceive. There is often much lying when there is no special malice.
But when lying is used to conceal hatred--which is murder (1 John
iii. 15)--there is a double folly because there is a double sin. The
lying of the "father of lies" is simply a blind to conceal his
intense hatred of the human race, and this makes him the greater
sinner.
+III. A liar who utters slander.+ When malice finds vent in lying
slander we have an exhibition of greater iniquity and therefore of
greater folly. It is bad to be a liar, it is worse to conceal hatred
by lying, but it is worse to let the hatred of the heart break forth
into false accusations of the innocent. The tree that is most richly
laden with the ripest fruit is the one upon which the birds will
congregate. We never find them passing by such booty to peck at green
fruit. The pirates lay in wait for vessels with a rich cargo, empty
vessels pass by unmolested and secure from attack. So it is always
the best men who attract slanderers, men of little or no moral worth
are not considered foemen worthy of their steel. God declared Job to
be the best man in all the earth, "perfect and upright, one who
feared Him, and eschewed evil" (Job i. 8). And it was because he
stood thus pre-eminent that the tongue of the great slanderer was
used against him; being from the beginning a liar and a murderer of
character he gave one of the most complete exhibitions of his real
nature when he pointed his lying hatred against the best man of his
day. The Holy One of God did not escape the tongue of the slanderer.
He was a "man gluttonous, and a wine-bibber" (Matt. xi. 19), "one
that perverteth the people" (Luke xxiii. 14). When "He bore our
griefs and carried our sorrows" He was esteemed "smitten of God and
afflicted" (Isaiah liii. 4). All lying and malice, whether concealed
or manifested, becomes the most palpable folly when looked at in the
light of the "coming of the Lord, who both will bring to light the
hidden things of darkness and make manifest the counsels of the
hearts" (1 Cor. iv. 5).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
If we desire the credit of wisdom let us use better means to obtain
it than artificial disgracings of our brethren, for that cometh not
from above; it is no gift of God; it is sensual, carnal, and
devilish. Do not hearken to the reports of such wicked persons as
seek to defame others and detract from their good name; they are but
foolish and base pedlars that utter such infectious wares, and
therefore they cannot be wise chapmen that traffic with them and
receive them at their hands. Here is consolation for them that are
molested and vexed unjustly for the Gospel's sake by clamorous and
false accusers; let them consider what account God maketh of their
malicious adversaries; He calls them fools and derideth their
practices, and, therefore, in the end it shall be seen that when they
have spat all their venom they have but shot a fool's bolt and
procured shame and sorrow to themselves.--_Dod._
+The folly of slander.+ 1. _If this practice be proved extremely
sinful it will thence be demonstrated no less foolish._ And it is
indeed plainly the blackest and most hellish sin that can be; that
which giveth the grand fiend his name, and most expresseth his
nature. He is the _slanderer,_ _Satan,_ or _dragon_ spitting forth
the venom of calumnious accusation, the _accuser of the brethren,_
_the father of lies,_ the great defamer of God to man, of man to God,
of one man to another. And highly wicked that practice must be
whereby we grow namesakes to him. 2. _The slanderer is plainly a fool
because he makes wrong judgments and valuations of things,_ and
accordingly driveth on silly bargains for himself, in result whereof
he proveth a great loser. He means by his calumnious stories either
to vent some passion boiling within him, or to compass some design
which he affecteth, or to please some humour that he is possessed
with; but is any of these things worth purchasing at so dear a rate?
Can there be any valuable exchange for our honesty? Can anything in
the world be so considerable that for its sake we should defile our
souls? 3. _Because he uses improper means and preposterous methods of
effecting his purposes._ As there is no design worth the carrying on
by ways of falsehood and iniquity, so there is scarce any (no good
and lawful one at least) which may not more surely, more safely, more
cleverly be achieved by means of truth and justice. . . . He that is
observed to practise falsehood will be declined by some, opposed by
others, disliked by all. 4. _The slanderer is a fool, as bringing
many great inconveniences and troubles upon himself._ (1.) By no
means can a man inflame so fierce anger, impress so stiff hatred,
raise so deadly enmity against himself, and consequently so endanger
his safety, ease, and welfare as by this practice. Men will rather
pardon a robber of their goods than of their good name. (2.) And he
is not only odious to the person immediately concerned, but generally
to all men who observe his practice; every man presently will be
sensible how easily it may be his own case to be thus abused. (3.) He
also derogateth wholly from his own credit, for he that dareth thus
to injure his neighbour, who can trust him in anything that he
speaks? (4.) This practice is perpetually haunted with most
troublesome companions, inward regret, and self-condemnation.
(5.) The consequence of this practice is commonly shameful disgrace,
with an obligation to retract and to render satisfaction; for seldom
doth calumny pass long without being detected and confuted. (6.) The
slanderer doth banish himself from heaven and happiness. For, if none
that "maketh a lie" (Rev. xxii. 15) shall enter the heavenly city,
assuredly the capital liar, the _slanderer,_ shall be far excluded
from felicity. All these things being considered, we may, I think,
reasonably conclude it most evidently true that "he who uttereth
slander is a fool."--_Barrow._
Better. _He who hideth hatred is of lying lips._ The alternative is
offered with a delicate touch of irony. He who cherishes hatred must
choose between being a knave or a fool--a knave if he hides, a fool
if he utters it.--_Plumptre._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 19-21.
SPEECH AND SILENCE.
+I. The wisdom of not always using the tongue when we might.+ "He
that refraineth his lips is wise." The reputation of a good man may
be much injured by even speaking the truth at certain times and to
certain persons. The silence of a man who can speak wisely and
eloquently is a revelation of self-control, and often adds more to
the dignity of his character than words can. The Son of God "opened
not His mouth" before His false accusers, and thus revealed His power
of self-control--His moral majesty. That He could be silent in such
circumstances is a manifestation of the deep ocean of conscious
innocence within Him, and is an unparalleled exposition of His own
precept, "In patience possess ye your souls." 1. _Silence is wisdom
when we feel that speech would be useless to convince._ When we feel
that a foregone conclusion has been arrived at which no argument or
appeal could shake. This has been the case in the history of the
confessors and martyrs of the Church in all ages, and was
pre-eminently so when the Lord Jesus Christ stood to be tried before
men who had determined to murder Him. 2. _Silence is sometimes more
convincing than speech._ Men are often more impressed by acts than by
words, by a spirit of forbearance than by a passionate vindication of
our rights. 3. _Silence does not necessarily imply acquiescence._ The
Eternal Himself is sometimes silent from displeasure. "These things
hast thou done and I kept silence" (Psalm lv. 21).
+II. The blessing of using the tongue when we ought.+ "The tongue of
the just is as choice silver." The lips of the righteous feed many
because they supply a need. Man needs a medium by which to express
the value of his labour or his merchandise, and silver supplies this
want. And he likewise needs a medium by which to express his
thoughts, and speech is this medium. But unless it is the speech of a
_just_ man it will be a curse and not a blessing. It must convey
_good thinking_ if it is to be as choice silver to a needy man. The
prisoner who stands at the bar charged with a crime of which he is
innocent feels that the tongue of the man who pleads his cause is
more precious to him than much silver. To the man who is seeking
after God, the tongue of one who can tell him "words whereby he shall
be saved" is as choice silver (Acts xi. 14). The words of Peter were
so esteemed by Cornelius. The heart of the Ethiopian eunuch was more
rejoiced by the preaching of Philip the Evangelist than it would have
been by the possession of the treasure of his mistress (Acts
viii. 26-39). The words of Him who was "the Just One" (Acts iii. 14)
are and ever will be "a strength to the needy in his distress" (Isa.
xxv. 4); more precious to those who are conscious of their
soul-poverty "than thousands of gold and silver" (Psalm cxix. 72);
and it is in proportion as men are like Him in character and
disposition that their speech will bless the world.
+III. The sin of using the tongue too much.+ The shell and the kernel
of the fruit were intended by God to grow together; the latter cannot
grow to perfection without the former, yet the shell only exists for
the kernel. The soul and body are ordained to grow together; the body
only exists for the soul, yet the soul can only manifest itself
through the medium of the body. But the body without the soul is
worthless. Man's thought and word were intended by God to act
together; thoughts are useless without speech in which to clothe
them; words without thoughts have no reason for existence, they are
shells without kernels, bodies without souls, and their use is a sin
against God's ordained method. Where there is a "multitude of words"
there is not much thought, and therefore there is sin.--1. _Against a
man's self_, because "every idle word that men shall speak they shall
give account thereof in the day of judgment" (Matt. xii. 36).
2. _Against society_, because the man utters sounds which contain
nothing to benefit. God has ordained thought to feed the soul as He
has ordained bread to feed the body. Where there are words men have a
right to expect thoughts upon which to feed, as they have a right to
look for the kernel within the shell. When they get the first without
the last they are robbed of what is their due.
+IV. The origin of idle and worthless talking.+ "The heart of the
wicked is little worth." "Fools die for want of wisdom." Where there
is no moral wisdom there can be no real worth; no thoughts can be
generated in the heart that is not under the influence of Divine
teaching that will supply the needs of needy men. As is the fountain
so must be the stream. "The tree is known by its fruit. O, generation
of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? For out of the
abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh" (Matt. xii. 33-34).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 19. A man of inordinate talk runs inordinate risk. He must be a
God that can talk all the time and never trespass. And, therefore, as
blunders "come home to roost," he is a _prosperous_ man who reduces
the volume of his speech.--_Miller._
The fool talks for ever upon nothing, not because he is full, but
because he is empty; not for instruction, but for the pure love of
talking. . . . The sphere of social intercourse that stimulates the
conversational powers at the same time teaches the wholesome
discipline of the tongue--that beautiful accomplishment of silence
which, however, alike with its opposite grace, derives its chief
loveliness as the fruit of Christian humility and kindness. The
_wisdom_ is especially valuable under provocation (1 Sam. x. 27;
2 Kings xviii. 36). And even in the unbending of innocent recreation
the discipline of godly sobriety is of great moment. The sins of this
"little member" are not trifles.--_Bridges._
"Refraineth" as with a bridle, for we must by force bridle our tongue
as an untameable member (Jas. iii. 2-8). _Xenocrates,_ in "Valerius
Maximus," says, "I have been sometimes sorry that I spoke; I never
have been sorry that I was silent."--_Fausset._
If thou be master-gunner spend not all
That thou canst speak at once, but husband it,
And give men turns of speech; do not forestall
By lavishness thine one and others' wit,
As if thou mad'st thy will. A civil guest
Will no more talk all than eat all the feast.--_George Herbert._
+I. The general vice here referred to is not evil speaking from
malice, nor lying or bearing false witness from indirect selfish
designs, but it is talkativeness:+ a disposition to be talking,
abstracted from the consideration of what is to be said, with very
little or no regard to, or thought of doing, either good or
harm. . . . Those who are addicted to this folly cannot confine
themselves to trifles and indifferent subjects: they cannot go on for
ever talking of nothing, and, as common matters will not afford a
sufficient fund for perpetual continued discourse, when subjects of
this kind are exhausted, they will go on to scandal, divulging of
secrets, or they will invent something to engage attention: not that
they have any concern about being believed otherwise than a means of
being heard. . . . The tongue used in such a licentious manner is
like a sword in the hand of a madman: it is employed at random, it
can scarce possibly do any good, and, for the most part, does a world
of mischief. +II. The due government of the tongue.+ The due and
proper use of any natural faculty or power is to be judged of by the
end and design for which it was given us. The chief purpose for which
the faculty of speech was given to man is plainly that we might
communicate our thoughts to each other in order to carry on the
affairs of the world; for business, and for our improvement in
knowledge and learning. But the good Author of our nature designed us
not only necessaries, but likewise enjoyment and satisfaction. There
are secondary uses of our faculties: they administer to delight as
well as to necessity, and the secondary use of speech is to please
and to be entertaining to each other in conversation. This is in
every respect allowable and right: it unites men closer in alliance
and friendship, and is in several respects serviceable to virtue.
Such conversation, though it has no _particular_ good tendency, yet
it hath a _general_ good one; it is social and friendly, and tends to
promote humanity, good nature, and civility. . . . The government of
the tongue, considered as a subject of itself, relates chiefly to
conversation, and the danger is, lest persons entertain themselves or
others at the expense of their wisdom or their virtue. The cautions
for avoiding these dangers fall under the following particulars:
1. _Silence._ The wise man observes that "there is a time to speak,
and a time to keep silence." One meets with people in the world who
seem never to have made the last of these observations. But the
occasions of silence are obvious, namely, when a man has nothing to
say, or nothing but what is better unsaid: better either in regard to
particular persons he is present with, or from its being an
interruption to conversation itself, or to conversation of a more
agreeable kind, or better, lastly, with regard to himself.
2. _Talking upon indifferent subjects._ Be sure that the subject is
_indifferent,_ that it be in no way offensive to virtue, religion, or
good manners; that it be in no way vexatious to others, and that too
much time be not spent in this way. 3. _In discourse upon the affairs
and characters of others._ Consider, first, that though it is equally
of bad consequences to society that men should have either good or
ill characters which they do not deserve, yet when you say some good
of a man which he does not deserve, there is no wrong done him in
particular; whereas, when you say evil of a man which he does not
deserve, here is a direct formal injury done to him. Secondly, a good
man will, upon every occasion, and often without any, say all the
good he can of everybody, but, so far as he is a good man, will never
be disposed to speak evil of any, unless there be some other reason
for it besides barely that it is the truth.--_Bishop Butler._
Verse 20. If, as regards this world's wealth, the Lord's poor must
say, "Silver and gold have I none," at least they may scatter _choice
silver_ with a widely extended blessing. "As poor, yet making many
rich" (Acts iii. 6; 2 Cor. vi. 10).--_Bridges._
_A wicked man hath his worst side inward._ Though sinful persons make
never so great a show on the outside, yet there is nothing within
them worth anything. To that purpose tend the words of the Apostle
collected out of the Psalms: "The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the
wise to be but vain." If the point had stood upon man's opinion there
might easily have been an error in it; but he bringeth the testimony
of God, upon sure and infallible knowledge, to confirm it. . . .
Therefore, do not too much magnify and admire them, nor too far
depend on them. For better things are not certainly to be expected
from them than are in them.--_Dod._
The antithesis runs through every word of both clauses. The tongue,
the instrument of the mind, is contrasted with the mind itself; the
just with the wicked; the choice silver with the worthless "little."
In each case there is implied an _a fortiori_ argument. If the tongue
is precious, how much more the mind! If the heart is worthless, how
much more the speech!--_Plumptre._
As pure and choice silver giveth a clear and sweet sound, so the
tongue of the wise soundeth sweetly and pleasantly in the ears of
men. It is also as choice silver, because therewith he is ready to
buy the hearts of men to virtue and goodness. But the heart of a fool
being of little worth, hence it is that he buys it not. . . . Now if
the tongue of the just be as choice silver, his heart must needs be
of fine gold. And if the heart of the wicked be little worth, his
tongue must needs be worth nothing at all. Well therefore it were, if
that the wicked would get the just man's tongue to be his heart; or
else get the tongue of the just to infuse some of his metal into his
heart; for that is able to put worth into it, and from thence to
derive worth into his tongue also. The proverbial sense is, that the
excellent words of wisdom work not upon a foolish heart, that having
not worth to value the worth of it.--_Jermin._
+I. By a just man is meant+--1. _A renewed man,_ for naturally our
lips are polluted. "I am a man of unclean lips," etc. (Isa. vi. 5).
Sin of the tongue is most frequent, and that not without difficulty
avoided. The corruption of men by nature is described (Rom. iii. 13).
This is man's true character, as he is in his natural estate. The
pure lip is the fruit of God's converting grace (Zeph. iii. 9). 2. _A
man furnished with knowledge of the things which concern his duty;_
for every renewed man is an enlightened man (Prov. xv. 2). Unless a
man understand his duty, how shall he speak of it? 3. _The renewed
man is a mortified man;_ for otherwise he will only stickle for
opinions, and be one of the disputers of this world, but will not
warm men's hearts and excite them to practise. That must be first
upon the heart which will afterwards be upon the tongue; and unless
the heart be cleaned the tongue will not be cleansed. If the heart be
upon the world, the tongue will be upon the world (1 John iv. 5).
4. _This renewed man must be biassed with a love of God and Christ
and heaven before he can edify others._ To restrain the tongue from
evil is not enough, we must do good. To heartwarming discourse, faith
is necessary. +II. His discourse is as choice silver.+ 1. _For
purity._ Choice silver is that which is refined from all dross, and
there is much evil bewrayed by the tongue, such as lying, railing,
ribaldry (Eph. iv. 29), cursing, idle discourse, etc. 2. _For
external profit._ Money is very profitable for worldly uses, the
discourse of a good man is very profitable to others. +III. By a
wicked man is meant one that is not regenerate or renewed by the Holy
Spirit.+ They are of several sorts. 1. _Some have great natural
abilities,_ as Ahithophel (2 Samuel xvi. 23), yet his heart was
nothing worth. 2. _Some have plausible shows of piety,_ but that will
not help the matter (Matt. xxiii. 27, 28). 3. _Partial obedience
availeth not_ (2 Chron. xxv. 2). Amaziah was right in the matter, and
he did many things right, but his heart was nothing worth. 1. _What
is in the heart of such a man?_ See Gen. vi. 5. This is the mint that
is always at work; sin worketh in the heart all day, and playeth in
the fancy all night; there is no truce in this warfare. 2. _What
cometh out of such a heart?_ See Mark vii. 21, 22. 3. _In what sense
is it little worth?_ (1.) As to acceptation with God. (2.) As to the
benefit and profiting of others. Observe--1. _That the heart of the
wicked is spoken of in the softest terms._ Elsewhere it is said to be
deceitful above all things and desperately wicked (Jer. xvii. 9). And
this teaches us that it is not enough to do no harm by our speech,
but it must benefit others. 2. _Till we make conscience of our
thoughts, we cannot well order our words._ 3. _Familiar converse with
those whose hearts are nothing worth, will tend to our hurt._ 4. _Be
sure that you get another heart._ For though it be not in our power
to make ourselves a new heart, it is our duty to get it.--_Manton._
Verse 21. A great housekeeper he is, hath his doors ever open, and,
though himself be poor, yet he "maketh many rich" (2 Cor. iv. 10). He
well knows that to this end God put "honey and milk under his tongue"
(Cant. iv. 11), that he might look to this spiritual lip-feeding. To
this end hath he communicated to him those "rivers of water" (John
vii. 38) that they may flow from him to quench that world of
wickedness, that, being set on fire of hell would set on fire the
whole course of nature (Jas. iii. 6). They are "_empty_ vines that
bear fruit to themselves" (Hosea x. 1).--_Trapp._
This bread of life which the disciples distribute is not like common
bread. The more you give of it to the needy, the more remains for
your own use. It is the bread which Jesus blesses in the
wilderness--the bread from heaven, which Jesus is; and when from His
hand, and at His bidding, you have fed three thousand on five loaves,
you will have more bread remaining in your baskets than the stock you
begin with. . . . Fools, so far from being helpful to other, have
nothing for themselves. They have taken no oil in their vessels, and
the flames of their lamp dies out.--_Arnot._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 22.
The Source of True Riches.
This proverb cannot be understood to assert that a man needs nothing
but God's blessing to make him a wealthy man in the ordinary sense of
the word, because we know that there are many cases in which men
would never have been rich if they had not toiled hard to obtain
riches. Industry has been joined to the blessing of the Lord, and so
they have become rich. God's favour does not generally make a man
rich except he works; it is presumptuous sin to expect God to make us
rich without honest toil. But the lesson to be learnt is evidently
this--that diligence cannot command riches, that God must be taken
into account in all our efforts to make money, that the "race is not"
_always_ "to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet
bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding" (Eccles.
ix. 11), even when the runners and the warriors are men after God's
own heart. Placing the words beside our experience, we learn--
+I. That when a good man gains riches through hard toil, it is by
reason of the Divine blessing on his labour.+ There are among us many
possessors of vast wealth who have risen early and sat up late, and
eaten the bread of carefulness, but have acknowledged that, after
all, it was the blessing of the Lord that had made them rich. They
can point to others equally diligent, and, in some respects, superior
to themselves, who have fallen in the race and have died
comparatively poor. Such examples are admonitions not to trust to
one's own wisdom or effort to the exclusion of the will of God. Jacob
worked hard for his riches for twenty years; "in the day the drought
consumed him, and the frost by night--and the sleep departed from his
eyes." But he declares that his wealth was a gift from the God of his
fathers--"I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all
the truth which thou hast showed unto thy servant, for with my staff
I have passed over this Jordan, and now I am become two bands" (Gen.
xxxi. 40; xxxii. 10). A good man cannot use unlawful means of getting
rich, therefore he may enjoy the amount of success which follows his
efforts as a token of Divine favour.
+II. That when men inherit, or become possessed of wealth for which
they have not laboured, it is by the blessing of the Lord.+ The
riches of Solomon were bestowed upon him without so much as the
expression of a desire on his part, and were a token of the Divine
approval. "Because . . . thou hast asked for thyself understanding to
discern judgment . . . I have also given thee that which thou hast
not asked, both riches and honour" (1 Kings iii. 11-13). Looked upon
as God's gift, wealth will be rightly used, and will be the blessing
that it was intended to be.
+III. That there is a moral truth contained here which has nothing to
do with material riches or poverty.+ Solomon has, over and over
again, directed his hearers to riches which are far more precious
than silver or gold (see chap. iii. 14-15; viii. 11-19; also
Homiletics and Comments of those verses). The blessing of the Lord is
_itself_ wealth. 1. _Because it enriches us with Divine knowledge_
(1 Cor. i. 5). Solomon's knowledge was a higher kind of wealth than
all his gold and precious stones, how much more a knowledge of Him
whom to know is "life eternal" (John xvii. 3). 2. _Because by means
of it men obtain a Divine character_ (2 Pet. i. 2-4). This wealth men
can claim as theirs in other worlds beside the one upon which they
now live; this is their perpetual untransferable property.
+IV. That when sorrow comes to men who have been enriched by God, it
springs from some other source than the riches.+ The text does not
apply in any sense to ill-gotten gain; that is dealt with elsewhere
(chap. i. 19; xv. 27). It refers only to that which a man may
lawfully call his own. 1. _But this may be the occasion of sorrow._
Solomon's great wealth was the occasion of sorrow, insomuch as he
used it for sinful purposes, but this sorrow was added by himself and
not by God. The misuse of riches, or of any other gift of God, will
be followed by a penalty which will bring sorrow; but this is man's
work, and not God's. 2. _Or sorrow may spring from another, and an
independent source._ Sorrow in one form or another is the lot of
fallen man. The incarnate Son of God was a "Man of sorrows."
God-given and sanctified sorrow is often a token of greater Divine
favour than temporal prosperity (chap. iii. 12). But there is no
necessary connection between wealth and sorrow.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 22. The sluggard looks for prosperity without diligence; the
practical atheist from diligence alone; the sound-hearted Christian
from the _blessing of God_ in the exercise of diligence. This wise
combination keeps him in an active habit; humble, and dependent upon
God (John vi. 27). For, "except the Lord build the house, they labour
in vain that build it" (Psa. cxxvii. 1). . . . He addeth at least no
sorrow but what turns to a blessing. Accumulation of riches may be
the accumulation of sorrows. Lot's covetous choice was fraught with
bitterness. . . . Gehazi was laden with his bags, but the plague of
leprosy was upon him.--_Bridges._
There is no sorrow added to them which is not a blessing, and, being
a blessing, it cannot well be said to be sorrow. Now thus the verse
may be understood as well as temporal as of spiritual riches; for it
is the blessing of God, with which sorrow cannot stand. . . . It is
God's blessing alone which, being true riches, doth truly make rich.
Other things esteemed in the world may be added together in great
heaps of plenty; but, having sorrow added with them, they cannot be
that weal of man which truly makes wealth. It is the blessing of God
which, taking away sorrow, giveth true riches unto man. And,
therefore, when Job wisheth "that he were as in the months past"--the
months of his plenty and prosperity--it is with this addition, "as in
the days when God preserved me." He desireth God's blessing with the
things of this world, or else he careth not for them. For that it is,
as St. Gregory speaketh, which so bestoweth the help of earthly
glory, as that thereby it exalteth much more in heavenly
happiness.--_Jermin._
Those three vultures shall be driven away that constantly feed on the
wealthy worldling's heart--care in getting, fear in keeping, grief in
losing the things of this life. God giveth to His, wealth without
woe, store without sore, gold without guilt, one little drop whereof
troubleth the whole sea of outward comforts.--_Trapp._
The truth here is twofold. The cord, as it lies, seems single, but
when you begin to handle it, you find it divides easily into two. It
means that God's blessing gives material wealth, and also that they
are rich who have that blessing, although they get nothing
more. . . . It is a common practice to constitute firms for trade,
and exhibit their titles to the public with a single name "and
company.". . . Reverently take the All-seeing into your commercial
company and counsels. If you cast Him out, there is no saying, there
is no imagining, whom you may take in. . . . One peculiar excellence
of the riches made in a company from whom councils God is not
excluded, is, that the wealth will not hurt its possessors, whether
it abide with them or fly away. A human soul is so made that it
cannot safely have riches next it. If they come into direct contact
with it, they will clasp it too closely; if they remain, they wither
the soul's life away; if they are violently wrenched off, they tear
the soul's life asunder. Whether, therefore, you keep or lose them,
if you clasp them to your soul with nothing spiritual between, they
will become its destroyer.--_Arnot._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 23.
A TOUCHSTONE OF CHARACTER.
The painter uses the dark background of his picture to set off the
bright foreground. Sunlight never looks so beautiful as when shining
upon a black thunder-cloud; it is the power of contrast. Solomon in
his character-painting is constantly making use of this power. He is
ever setting the dark and the light side by side--making the foolish
or wicked man a dark background upon which to portray the moral
features of the truly wise. The fool looks more foolish, and the good
man more wise, by the contrast.
+I. That which is an object of mirth is a touchstone of character.+
The fool makes sport out of mischief, out of that which does harm to
his fellow-creatures, and consequently involves them in misery. If we
saw a man making merriment over the burning of his neighbour's house,
we should conclude that he was either a maniac or utterly without a
heart. A man who realised the meaning of such a calamity, and had any
sympathy within him, could but be grieved at the sight. But men find
occasions of mirth in matters that are far more serious moment. The
wise man tells us in chap. xiv. 9, that "fools make a mock at
_sin_"--that great "mischief of the universe." The saint is made sad
by that in which the sinner finds an occasion of mirth. "Oh that my
head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might
weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people" (Jer.
ix. 1). "Verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye shall weep and
lament; but the world shall rejoice" (John xvi. 20). But the fool not
only makes sport _at_ mischief, it is his sport to _do_ mischief; the
one leads to the other. The fool who thinks sin is a laughing matter
will not hesitate to commit sin himself, or to do his brother the
irreparable mischief of leading him in the path of sin and death.
+II. Men cease to make light of sin in proportion as they have
"understanding."+ The text implies that a man who has any right
comprehension of the end of life, the value of the soul, the reality
of Divine and eternal things, will not, _cannot,_ make a sport of
mischief in any shape or degree, especially of the mischief of moral
wrong. A baby might laugh at a blazing house, although its own mother
might be enwrapped in the flames, but this would only be an evidence
of his want of understanding. Nothing proclaims a man to be a fool so
plainly as his mockery of sin. A man of wisdom has too just a sense
of its terrible and ruinous consequence to feel anything but sad when
he thinks of it. He knows what mischief it has worked, and is working
in the universe, and his understanding of those things makes that
which is the sport of the fool the subject of his most solemn thought.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The difference between the lost and the saved is, that to one it is
but trifling to life; to the other it is the gravest
"_wisdom._"--_Miller._
That man has arrived at an advanced stage of folly who takes as much
pleasure in it as if it were an agreeable amusement. This, however,
is to be expected in its natural course. Sinners at first feel much
uneasiness from the operation of fear and shame, but they are
hardened by the deceitfulness of sin, till at length they not only
cast off all restraints, but become impudent in sin, and think it a
manly action to cast away the cords of God, and to pour insult and
abuse on their fellow-men. But it were safer far to sport with fire
than with sin, which kindles a fire that will burn to the lowest
hell. It may now be a sport to do mischief, but in the lake of fire
and brimstone, it will be no sport to have done it.--_Lawson._
When a man diveth under water he feeleth no weight of the water,
though there be many tons of it over his head; whereas half a tubful
of the same water, taken out of the river and set upon the same man's
head, would be very burdensome unto him, and make him soon grow weary
of it. In like manner, so long as a man is over head and ears in sin,
he is not sensible of the weight of sin: it is not troublesome unto
him; but when he beginneth once to come out of that state of sin
wherein he lay and lived before, then beginneth sin to hang heavy
upon him, and he to feel the heavy weight of it. So, so long as sin
is in the will, the proper seat of sin, a man feeleth no weight of
it, but, like a fool, it is a sport and pastime unto him to do evil.
And it is therefore a good sign that sin is removed out of his
seat--out of his chair of state--when it becomes ponderous and
burdensome to us, as the elements do when they are out of their
natural place.--_Spencer's Things New and Old._
The fool is then merriest when he hath the devil for his playfellow.
He danceth well in his bolts, and is passing well afraid for his
woful bondage.--_Trapp._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 24.
THE INHERITANCE OF FEAR AND DESIRE.
These words treat of things desired and of things not desired coming
to be possessed.
+I. Ungodly men have fears concerning the future.+ These fears
proceed from a consciousness of past sin and present guilt, and prove
the existence within man of a moral standard of action. In the
natural world, we know that certain effects invariably follow certain
causes. Sunlight and genial rain produce fertility and beauty, the
hurricane and the flood leave behind them desolation. There are
certain particles whose action, if diffused abroad in the air, breed
disease and death; there are others whose effects are most refreshing
and healthful to the body frame. Coming into the region of human
action and moral responsibility, there are certain actions of men
which clothe the spirit with gladness, making the soul as a field
which the Lord God hath blest, and there are acts which leave behind
them a sting which brings utter desolation. There are deeds done by
moral agents which are followed by the disapprobation of conscience
in proportion as conscience is educated by moral light, and there are
those which are well-springs of joy in the human heart. It is to
conscience that we must refer the fears of the wicked in relation to
the future.
+II. The certainty that the fears of the wicked will be realised.+
1. _From the inequality of rewards and punishments in the present._
There are men whose characters seem to be almost perfect who have not
the reward at present which their integrity and uprightness deserve.
There are many men who sit, as it were, like Lazarus, at a rich man's
gate in poverty, who are much better men than the rich man himself.
The difference in the character of the man who passed the sentence of
death upon Paul, and Paul himself calls for a more manifest
impartiality on the part of the Divine Ruler in the eternity to come.
We feel certain that elsewhere a just sentence has been passed upon
Paul and Nero. The inequality in the present dealings of God with the
righteous and the wicked demands that in the future the "fear of the
wicked shall come upon him." 2. _From the admonition of conscience._
Although the mariner's compass is sometimes unsteady, its direction
is always towards the north. And the human conscience, however it may
occasionally waver, points to a future judgment. It is not an
_occasional_ occurrence but so _universal_ as to be a prophecy of a
fact. 3. _From the necessity that God should fulfil His own
appointment._ Revelation declares that, "He hath appointed a day, in
which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He
hath ordained" (Acts xvii. 31). The Righteous Judge of all the earth
must keep His own appointment, therefore every wicked man must have
what he does not desire, viz., a fair and impartial trial.
+III. Good men have had desires which have not been granted.+ The
gratification of such desires would have been an injury to themselves
and others. Moses desired to see God in the sense in which the
Incarnate Son tells us He had seen Him. But if this desire had been
granted Moses must have died, the Hebrew nation would have lost the
only man who could lead them, and he would have missed the completion
of the glory of his life (Exod. xxxiii. 20). Peter desired that His
Master should not suffer at the hands of the chief priests and
scribes (Matt. xvi. 21). But what a calamity this would have been for
Peter himself and the human race.
+IV. But that which a righteous man desires above all other things
shall be granted.+ 1. _For himself in the present life, he desires a
holy character._ This he regards as the "one thing needful" above all
other personal possessions. And God desires this for him, therefore
this desire shall be granted on the fulfilment of the pre-ordained
conditions (1 Thess. iv. 3). 2. _For the world he desires that God's
kingdom may "come," that right may in the end triumph over wrong._
Now this desire also must be granted, because Christ has taught His
disciples to pray for its accomplishment, and because He Himself at
the right hand of God is "henceforth expecting, till His enemies be
made His footstool" (Heb. x. 13). 3. _He desires for himself in the
future a complete redemption of both soul and body from the curse of
sin_ (2 Cor. v. 1-4). But this desire is implanted within him by that
God who can fulfil his desire, and who has already given an earnest
of its fulfilment. This alone is a guarantee that it shall be
granted. "Now He that hath wrought us for the self-same thing is God,
who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit" (2 Cor. v. 5).
He has also the direct promise of Him who is "the Resurrection and
the Life," the assurance of His inspired apostle that this desire of
the righteous shall be granted (John v. 28-29; 1 Cor. xv. 49-54).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
But _if our desires be granted,_ and even exceeded (Gen. xlviii. 2;
1 Kings iii. 13; Ephes. iii. 20), faith and patience will be tried in
the very _grant._ Growth in grace is given by deep and humbling views
of our corruption. Longings for holiness are fulfilled by painful
affliction; prayers are answered by crosses. Our Father's
dispensations are not what they seem to be, but what He is pleased to
make them.--_Bridges._
The best way to have our will satisfied is to be godly. For to such
there is a promise made. Wherein yet these rules are to be observed:
_First,_ that our will be agreeable to God's will, the desire must be
holy, and seasoned with the Spirit; and not carnal and corrupted by
the flesh. _Secondly,_ that sometimes lawful desires are not
performed in the same kind, but exchanged for better, and that which
doth more good is bestowed instead of them. Moses desired to enter
into the land of Canaan; he was denied that, but he entered sooner
into the heavenly and blessed rest of everlasting life. _Thirdly,_
that we tarry the Lord's leisure, and depend on His hand, to
minister, in fittest time, all those good things which our souls
desire, and so we shall not fail to receive them when He seeth that
they will be most expedient for us.--_Dod._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 25.
THE WHIRLWIND AND THE SURE FOUNDATION.
+I. The resemblance of a wicked man to a whirlwind.+ 1. _They are
both destructive forces._ A whirlwind passes over a district and
everything that resists its advance is either overthrown, broken, or
made to bend to its fury. Every wicked man in his sphere is a
destroyer of human happiness and of moral life, but the image is
especially applicable to tyrants who have been destroyers of the
lives of thousands of their fellow-creatures, and have ruined the
happiness of thousands more in their unscrupulous onward march for
the attainment of their own selfish ends. Isaiah describes such a one
when he says, "Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that
did shake kingdoms; that made the world as a wilderness, and
destroyed the cities thereof?" (chap. xiv. 16, 17). 2. _They often
burst forth with sudden fury, and seem beyond the control of ordinary
laws and methods of operation._ A whirlwind often descends upon a
peaceful valley without any warning, and its fury is the more
terrible by reason of its suddenness, and because of the
impossibility of foretelling its course and where it will fall in its
most destructive power. So a wicked man is a lawless man, he is not
guided by principle but by passion and impulse, none of his
fellow-creatures can foretell what will be his next act of violence,
or who will be the next victims of his selfish ambition. It is this
lawless, uncontrollable destructiveness which makes both the moral
and the physical whirlwind the terror of the human race, and leads
men instinctively to avoid them if possible. 3. _The triumph of both
is short._ How soon nature rights herself after the passage of a
whirlwind. She covers the broken rocks with verdure, the trees put
forth branches clothed with fresh leaves, others grow up in the
places of those which were uprooted, grass and corn spring again, and
all looks lovely as before the visitation. The whirlwind "passeth,"
and so does the wicked man. It is soon written of him that he is "no
more," and men who have trembled at his name take heart, and nations
and peoples whom he seemed to have annihilated spring into existence
again, and the world rights itself. How many such instances stand
recorded in history from the days of Nebuchadnezzar to those of
Napoleon. How many times has the experience of the Psalmist been
repeated: "I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading
himself like a green bay tree, yet he passed away, and lo, he was
not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found" (Psalm xxxvii. 35,
36). How often has the world had occasion to repeat the song, "How
hath the oppressor ceased! . . . The Lord hath broken the staff of
the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers. He who smote the people in
wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is
persecuted, and none hindereth. The whole earth is at rest, and is
quiet: they break forth into singing. Yea, the fir trees rejoice at
thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no
feller is come up against us" (Isa. xiv. 4-8).
+II. In what respects a righteous man is "an everlasting
foundation."+ 1. _His character is something to build upon._ Nothing
can be built upon a whirlwind, but a substantial structure can be
raised upon a good foundation. Men may build hope upon the word and
character of a righteous man. A promise given by him is a solid
ground of confidence upon which the heart of the brother-man may rest
securely. Thus righteousness is a constructive force in the world--a
foundation without which society cannot exist. Especially is this
true of the ideal man, Christ Jesus. Because He is the Righteous One
(Isa. xi. 4) His promises are as anchors of the soul to the children
of men. In resting upon His word His disciples build upon a "sure
foundation" (1 Cor. iii. 11). Upon His character rests all their
hopes for their own blessedness in the future, and for the
restoration of a fallen world. Every man is a _foundation_ if
"righteousness" is the chief element of his character. 2. _Because
for his sake the world stands._ The owner of a house may let it stand
if there is a good foundation of solid rock, although the
superstructure may be comparatively worthless. Our Lord tells us
concerning the tribulations which he foretold, that "except those
days should be shortened, there would no flesh be saved; but for the
elect's sake those days shall be shortened" (Matt. xxiv. 22). This
teaches us that the righteousness of the godly is the power which
averts the destruction of the wicked, and keeps the world in
existence. In this sense, therefore, the righteous are a foundation.
3. _The righteous are an "everlasting" foundation, because
righteousness is the basis of confidence in eternity as it is in
time._ The blessedness of the life to come is founded upon
righteousness. The Kingdom of God in both worlds is "established in
righteousness" (Isa. liv. 14). The immutable character of the
heavenly world is founded upon the righteousness first of its
righteous King, and then upon that of His righteous servants.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The righteous may be poor, and, in his sinful state, anything but a
stately building to the Lord, but in his meanest infancy he is a
"_foundation._" Very little appears above the surface. But he is a
basis of all that is to be built, and that basis is to be
"_eternal._"--_Miller._
The proverb reminds us of the close of the Sermon on the Mount, and
finds the final confirmation of its truth in this, that the death of
the godless is a penal thrusting of them away, but the death of the
righteous a lifting them up to their home. The righteous who often
enough perish in times of war and of pestilence; but the proverb, as
it is interpreted, verifies itself, even although not so as the poet,
viewing it from his narrow Old Testament standpoint, understood it;
for the righteous, let him die when and how he may, is preserved,
while the godless perishes.--_Delitzsch._
The continuance of the wicked is but while they dig the pit of their
own destruction.--_Jermin._
The Lord will lay "a more sure foundation," and "he that believeth
shall not make haste" (Isa. xxviii.16). These two promises lie
together in the Scripture. When your heart's hope is fixed on that
precious corner-stone, you need not be thrown into a flutter by the
fiercest onset of the world and its god.--_Arnot._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 26.
THE VEXATIOUSNESS OF A SLUGGISH SERVANT.
+I. He is as smoke to the eyes.+ Smoke in the eyes prevents the
accomplishment of a man's purposes, or at least it hinders and annoys
him in their execution. The eye is the light of the body; if vision
is in any way obstructed or impaired, delay and vexation must ensue.
So the employer of a sluggish servant must be the victim of
perplexity and annoyance. He sends him on an errand, or entrusts him
with a work which is important should be done within a certain time.
But he lingers over it until the time is long past, and perhaps an
opportunity is lost which can never be recalled. Much often depends
upon the performance of duties _up to time._ The want of punctuality
sometimes is as disastrous as not doing the thing at all. How many
plans have been frustrated, how many sufferings have in various ways
been entailed upon men, by delay in the performance of duty. A master
who has to depend upon a sluggard is like a man in the midst of the
smoke of a burning house; he is uncertain as to his present
whereabouts, and ignorant of what mishap may befal him next.
+II. He is as vinegar to the teeth.+ He is most irritating to the
temper. As vinegar sours everything with which it comes in contact,
so a sluggard sours the temper of those with whom he has to do, and
makes them sometimes not only irritable with him who is the offender,
but with the innocent also.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Does, then, the sluggard disappoint and provoke his earthly master?
See that we be not such sluggards to our Heavenly Master. Laodicean
professors are especially hateful in his sight (Rev. iii. 16). The
slothful minister carries in a tremendous account to _Him that sent
him_. No more pitiable object is found that the man who has time to
spare, who has no object of commanding interest, and is going on to
the end as if he had spent his whole life in a children's play, and
had lived to no useful purpose. . . . Why "standeth he idle in the
market-place?" It cannot be--"No man hath hired him." His master's
call sounds in his ears--"Go ye into the vineyard." And at his peril
he disobeys it (Matt. xx. 7-30).--_Bridges._
Sluggishness is a cutting, vexing thing. If we are Christ's, we
should crucify this self-pleasing affection of the flesh. . . . It is
a sin to waste another man's time, so much as to waste his property.
"Whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." No doubt it is the
natural disposition of some people to be slovenly and unexact. But
what is your religion worth if it does not correct such a
propensity? . . . If any man be in Christ he is a new creature. If
the new life is strong in the heart, it will send its warm pulses
down to the extremest member. . . . He who is a Christian in little
things is not a little Christian; he is the greatest Christian, and
the most useful. The baptism of these little outlying things shows
that he is full of grace, for these are grace's overflowings; and
they are ever the overflowings of the full well that refreshes the
desert. The great centre must be fully occupied before the stream can
reach that outer edge.--_Arnot._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 27.
LONG LIFE.
This verse must be looked at--
+I. Generally.+ The fear of the Lord prolongs life because, other
things being equal, godliness tends to bodily health. A good man
governs his life by some kind of law, his passions and inclinations
do not play the lord over his conscience and will. This has a
beneficial influence upon his bodily health. He has contentment with
his present lot, trust in his God amid all the anxieties of life, and
hope for the future. Such a state of mind tends to soundness of
bodily health, whereas the manner of life of a godless man is opposed
to health and consequently to long life. If a complicated machine is
permitted to work with some of its parts improperly adjusted and
fretting against each other at every turn of the wheel, the friction
will soon wear away the parts, and ere long they will cease to act. A
soul without godliness is a complicated mechanism which has never
been rightly adjusted. There is no ruling principle, no guiding hand,
one passion wars against another, the man bears the burden of life
alone, he is at times a prey to the fears spoken of in verse 24, and
the rule of all these devils in the soul has a tendency to wear out
the body before its time. This is a truth universally admitted. But
the words must also be regarded--
+II. Relatively.+ That is, with a due regard to other circumstances.
The length of a good man's life does not always depend upon himself,
but upon the age in which he lives--upon the people by whom he is
surrounded. The godliness of Abel shortened his life very materially.
If his works had not been righteous, his brother would not have
murdered him. The first Christian martyr met with an early and a
violent death because he was a "man full of faith and of the Holy
Ghost" (Acts vi. 5); and the fear of the Lord has shortened the days
of millions since then. The ranks of the "noble army of martyrs" have
been filled up by volunteers of every age and many nations since
Stephen fell asleep, testifying to the fact that, so far as life in
this world is concerned, other things must be taken into consideration
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
There is no such wholesome air--there is no such kindly physic--there
is no such sovereign cordial--as the fear of the Lord. That makes the
_days_ of the godly as long as the _years_ of the wicked.--_Jermin._
The righteous' days are _great_ and _noble,_ and the wicked's days
are _mean_ and _small._ And this is the meaning of the Proverb. "Made
little," literally, "shortened" (E.V.). We thought at first that this
was decisive against our sense, and against our rendering of all the
verses expounded in chap. iii. (verses 2-16). Our thought of this was
increased by Job xvi. 1, and by all the expositions. But when we
turned to Psalm cii. 23, our own sense was wonderfully confirmed.
That verse reads, "He weakened my strength in the way; He shortened
my days:" where "_shortened_" must have a sense coincident with
continued living. And what that sense is, such passages as these: "Is
my hand shortened?" (Isa. l. 2), "The soul of the people was (lit.)
_shortened,_" "The days of his youth hast Thou shortened" (Num.
xxi. 4; Psa. lxxxix. 45), and nearly all the other instances
strikingly confirm. The meaning is, Wisdom makes our days grander and
grander, and Impenitence makes them weaker, and always of less
account.--_Miller._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 28.
HOPES REALISED AND DISAPPOINTED.
+I. The righteous man's present possession--"Hope."+ We saw in
treating verse 24 that the righteous man possesses God-begotten
desires, and that he has good ground for believing that these desires
will be granted, therefore he _expects_ their fulfilment, and desire
and expectation constitute his hope. Hope is a fortune in itself. It
gives a present gladness, and therefore a present power. It is in
itself a tower of strength. Nothing upholds us so surely in present
difficulties as the hope of a brighter future. If in the hour of
darkness a man can say to his soul, "Why art thou cast down, and why
art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God" (Psalm xlii. 5), he
holds in possession a sheet-anchor which will prevent him from making
shipwreck upon the rocks of despair and infidelity. The hope of the
righteous is a present salvation. "We are saved by hope" (Rom.
viii. 24). It is "an anchor of the soul" (Heb. vi. 19).
+II. The righteous man's future inheritance--gladness.+ If the hope
of an expected good gives gladness, how much more its realisation! A
man is glad when the title deeds of an estate are handed over to him
even if he cannot at once enter upon its possession, how much more
glad is he when he enters into the full enjoyment of his inheritance.
The righteous man's hope is a more certain guarantee of his future
inheritance of gladness than the most indisputable deed ever written
upon parchment. It is as we saw before (see on verse 24) an earnest
of its own fulfilment. The hope begotten in the heart of a child, by
the inspiration of his father's character and genius, that he may one
day be like his parent, is a hope that the father himself will not
disappoint. Love for his child and a regard for his own honour will
impel him to do all that lies within his reach to satisfy the
desire--to fulfil the expectation--of his child. If, in addition, he
was able to promise the child that his hope should be realised,
nothing could acquit him of his obligation to perform his promise
except inability. The Eternal Father has by His Spirit and by His
promise begotten such a hope with His children and "begotten them"
unto the hope (1 Pet. i. 3). This is "the hope" of the righteous, and
the character and the omnipotence of Him who gave it birth is a sure
pledge that it shall be "gladness." Closely connected with it are the
hopes of the coming of God's kingdom, and of the "adoption of the
body" (Rom. viii. 23), noticed in considering "the desires of the
righteous."
+III. The doom of the expectation of the ungodly man.+ If the wicked
man has fears concerning the future (see on verse 24), he has also
vague hopes concerning it, although his desires and expectations are
chiefly in relation to the present world. As to his desires of a
state of happiness after death, they are not strong enough to lead
him to comply with the conditions of entering upon it. Any
expectation of this nature can be based upon nothing outside himself,
and it must therefore perish. His expectation of the results of his
own earth-born and devilish schemes will also perish. He may
apparently bring them to a successful issue, but the end will show
that it is not so. If he succeeds in gaining wealth or power, he will
not get what he expected out of them. Any expectation which he forms
as to the overthrow of the good will meet with the same doom. Pharaoh
expected to be able to retain the Hebrews in bondage, but his
expectation was broken to shivers upon the shield of Eternal
Omnipotence. The chief priests and scribes expected to stamp out the
name and influence of the Nazarene by crucifying Him, but the result
contradicted their expectations. In these instance may be seen a
reflection of the doom of every expectation which is out of harmony
with righteousness.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Christian! make sure the ground of your hope (2 Pet. i. 10). Then set
out its gladness as becomes an heir of glory. Let not a drooping
spirit tell the world the scantiness of your hope. But show that you
can live upon its gladness until you enter into its perfect and
everlasting fruition. Doubtfulness leaves believers and infidels
nearly upon the same level.--_Bridges._
The proverb means literally--"The hope of the righteous (itself)
turns to joy." Faith is the beginning of felicity. . . . The
expectation or "_assurance_" of the impenitent man, even if he finds
it well placed, "_perishes_" as of its very nature. "The world passes
away and the desire thereof." The lost may have had all he wished,
but his very wishes perish at the last day (1 John ii. 17).--_Miller._
All the hopes of the wicked shall not bring him to heaven; all the
fears of the righteous shall not bring him to hell.--_Bunyan._
It would be better for "hope" and "expectation" to change places.
Even the expectant waiting of the righteous is joyful at the time,
and ends in joy; the eager hope of the wicked comes to nought (comp.
Job viii. 13).--_Plumptre._
The wicked cannot choose but fear, and, therefore, Eliphaz says of a
wicked man, the sound of fear is in his ears (Job xv. 21). And in
Isaiah (xx. 17) they are compared to the troubled sea, which cannot
rest. And because where fear is, it is some ease to think, if not to
hope, that the evil feared may not fall upon them; this ease is taken
away, for the fear _shall come_. Come it shall, as it were of itself
without sending for, because it is most due unto them. An instance of
this is given in those who lived at the time of building of the Tower
of Babel, and who saying "Let us build it lest we be scattered abroad
upon the face of the whole earth," it followeth soon after, "and the
Lord scattered them upon the face of all the earth." On the other
side, the righteous having tasted of goodness cannot choose but
desire it; and because where desire is, it is some trouble to think,
if not to doubt, that the good desired may not be accomplished, this
trouble is taken away, for _He_ shall give who can give whatsoever
Himself will, whatsoever they can desire.--_Jermin._
Attachment to futurity has a remarkable influence on the operation of
the human mind. The present, whatever it be, seldom engages our
attention so much as what is to come. The present is apt to be
considered an evanescent scene, just about to pass away; and in the
midst of wishes and desires, of hopes and fears, which all respect
futurity, we may be said to dwell. As on these the life of man is so
much suspended, it becomes a material part of wisdom and duty to
attend to any regulations by which they may be properly conducted.
The anticipations of the _righteous,_ conducted by prudence, and
regulated by piety, mislead him not from his duty, and afford him
satisfaction in the end. While the expectation of the _wicked,_
arising from fantastic imaginary prospects, delude him for a while
and terminate in misery. Let us consider, what we may, and what we
may not, reasonably expect from the world. +I. We must not expect the
uninterrupted continuance of any measure of health, prosperity, or
comfort, which we now enjoy.+ +II. We are not to expect, from our
intercourse with others, all that satisfaction which we fondly wish.+
. . . Such is the power which the sophistry of self-love exercises
over us, that almost everyone may be assured that he measures himself
by a deceitful scale; that he places the point of his own merit at a
higher degree than others will admit that it reaches. . . . Were
expectations more moderate, they would be more favourably received.
If you look for a friend in whose temper there is not to be found the
least inequality, who upon no occasion is to be hurt or offended by
any frailties you discover, whose feelings are to harmonise in every
trifle with yours, whose countenance is always to reflect the image
of your own, you look for a pleasing phantom, which is never, or at
most, very rarely, to be found; and if disappointment sour your mind,
you have your own folly to blame. You ought to have considered that
you live in a region of human infirmity, where everyone has
imperfections and failings. +III. We are not to expect constant
gratitude from those whom we have obliged and served.+ I am far from
saying that gratitude is a rare virtue, but our expectations of
proper returns must be kept within moderate bounds. We must not
imagine that gratitude is to produce unlimited compliance with every
desire we indulge, or that those whom we have obliged will altogether
desert their own interest for the sake of their benefactors. I shall
next show what a good man may reasonably expect from human life.
I. _Whatever course the affairs of the world may take, he may justly
hope to enjoy peace of mind._ This to the sceptic and the profligate
will be held as a very inconsiderable object of hope. But, assuredly,
the peace of an approving conscience is one of the chief ingredients
of human happiness; provided always that this self-approbation be
tempered with due faith. II. _He has ground to expect that any
external condition into which he may pass shall, by means of virtue
and wisdom, be rendered if not perfectly agreeable, yet tolerably
easy to him._ The inequality of real happiness is not to be measured
by the inequality of outward estate. A wise and good man is never
left without resources by which to make his state tolerable. Seldom
or never do all good things forsake a man at once. What is very
severe of any kind, seldom lasts long. Time and continuance reconcile
us to many things that were at first insupportable. III. _We have
ground to expect that, if we persevere in studying to do our duty
towards God and man, we shall meet with the esteem and love of those
around us._ The world, as I have before observed, is seldom disposed
to give a favourable reception to claims based on superior talents
and merits. But, with respect to moral qualifications, the world is
more ready to do justice to character. Unaffected piety commands
respect. Candour never fails to attract esteem and trust. Kindness
conciliates love and creates warm friendships. I have considered only
what the righteous man has to hope for in the ordinary course of the
world. But--IV. _He has before him a much higher object of hope, even
the hope which is laid up for him in heaven; the assured expectation
of a better life in a higher and better world._ Put the case of a
servant of God being overwhelmed with all the disappointments which
the world can bring upon him, here is an _expectation_ which will
always be _gladness._--_Blair._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 29.
GOD'S WAY DESTRUCTION AND SALVATION.
+I. In common with all His intellectual and moral creatures, God has
a way, or plan of action.+ A skilful artificer has a _way_ by which
he brings forth a certain result in a work of skill. His way is the
out-come of his previous thought and purpose; he does not go about
his work in uncertainty as to what he is going to do, or how he is
going to do it. The architect proceeds to erect his building in
accordance with a certain plan, in a certain _way_ before determined
on. The public instructor has _ways_ of teaching which are the
out-come of previous thought; he would otherwise work at random.
Those who are leaders of others must think and teach within the
limits of certain rules, in pursuance of some definite end, otherwise
there could be no result from their teaching. God, the skilful
Artificer and wise Architect of the material universe, the Great
Instructor of men, is no exception to this rule. 1. He works in
_nature_ according to a definite and pre-ordained rule or law. All
that we see around us reveals Divine forethought and intention,
proclaims that the Creator works for a definite end, that He walks in
a pre-arranged way. He has a way, or method, of producing day and
night, summer and winter, of developing the seed-corn into the full
ear, of watering the earth by clouds, and so fitting it for the
habitation of men. 2. He has a way in _Providence,_ and though here
it is far more difficult than even in nature to trace His working or
unravel His purposes, we know that He works in accordance with a
definite plan for the accomplishment of a certain purpose, and that
there is nothing of chance in the mysteries of life. A child may look
on while his father is putting together the works of a watch, he
cannot judge of the adaptation of certain processes and actions, but
he knows that his father has made many watches before, and he judges
from what _has been,_ of what _is,_ and what _shall be._ And so with
God's way of providence, we cannot trace the way of His operation, we
cannot see the issue of His actions while He is at work. The workings
are too complicated for us to trace the adaptation of the means to
the end. But from past results we conclude what will be the issue of
His present dealings, from what _has been_ we know what _shall be,_
viz., that all will be seen to be part of a great plan or way of
action, and that the verdict of the universe at last will be, "just
and true are Thy ways, Thou king of saints" (Rev. xv. 3). Clouds and
darkness have been around God's working in the past, but
righteousness and justice have come out of the darkness, and so we
know it ever shall be. 3. God has a _way_ of grace. Here His way is a
way of forgiveness through a Divine Atoner, and of sanctification
through a Divine Spirit, meeting human need if that human need is
felt and confessed. The need of a man who has broken God's law must
be felt and acknowledged before the way of forgiveness and
restoration is brought into operation. This is the law by which men
are loosed from the bonds of sin, "God was in Christ, reconciling the
world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them" (2 Cor.
v. 19). This is Jehovah's "way of salvation."
+II. The opposite effects of the Divine way upon opposite
characters.+ "The way of the Lord is _strength_ to the upright, but
_destruction_ to the workers of iniquity" (see Critical Notes). All
men who are not numbered with the "upright," whose moral nature has
not been lifted up by contact with the Divine, are "workers of
iniquity." Dr. David Thomas says of iniquity, "The word is
negative--the want of equity. Men will be damned not merely for doing
wrong, but for not doing the right" (see "The Practical Philosopher,"
p. 132). We take the words therefore to signify the two great classes
into which Christ divides the world, "He that believeth and he that
believeth not" (John iii. 18), and consider the different effect upon
these two opposite characters of--1. _Jehovah's way of nature._ To
the upright there comes strength from the contemplation of God as
revealed in His material works. He feels that God is a necessity to
account for what he sees around him. All created things speak to him
of the wisdom, the power, and the goodness of their Maker and
Upholder, and his faith is strengthened by this manifestation of "the
way of the Lord." He obeys the injunction of the prophet, "_Lift up
your eyes on high and behold, who hath created these things, that
bringeth out their host by number; He callest them all by names, by
the greatness of His might, for He is strong in power, not one
faileth._" And thence he draws the prophet's argument, "_That the
everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth,
fainteth not, neither is weary,_" that "_He giveth power to the
faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength,_" and
in thus "_waiting upon the Lord_" he "_renews his strength,_" he
"_runs and is not weary, he walks and does not faint_" (Isa.
xl. 26-31). But how different is the effect of the works of nature,
when the God of nature is not acknowledged. They harden men in
materialism, God's own laws are used to bow Him out of His own
universe, and their working becomes so many forces of destruction
because they drive men further from their only hope and help. As Paul
tells us, such men "_hold_ (back) _the truth in_ (or, by)
_unrighteousness, because that which may be known of God is manifest
in_ (or, to) _them; for God hath showed it to them. For the invisible
things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being
understood by the things that are made, even His Eternal Power and
Godhead._" But, "_professing themselves wise, they became fools, and
worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator_" (see Rom.
i. 18-32). This is destruction to any man. 2. _Of Jehovah's way of
providence._ Faith in a personal God, in a Divine Saviour, makes this
"way" also "strength to the upright." If a seaman has faith in his
captain, this gives him strength for his duty even in the roughest
weather. He feels that he is not altogether left to the mercy of the
blind elements, but that there is a strong and wise will guiding the
ship. So confidence in an All-wise Father, in a King who "can do no
wrong," is the stronghold of the upright amidst all the apparent
contradictions and mysteries of life. He knows who is at the wheel of
all human affairs, that
"When He folds the cloud about Him,
Firm within it stands His throne;"
and the knowledge that "God is Light, and in Him is no darkness at
all," makes what would otherwise overwhelm him in Doubt, and
consequently in weakness, a source of strength, a power of life. But
where God is not known, this confidence is absent, and nothing but
chance, or an arbitrary Judge, sits upon the throne of the Universe.
The terrible perplexities of life are like the rings of the wheels in
Ezekiel's vision, "so high that they are dreadful," and, as such a
man does not discern above them the "man upon the throne" (Ezek.
i. 18-20), they are to him only mighty and resistless engines of
destruction. 3. _Of Jehovah's way of grace._ The upright man has
gained his strength to be upright from the way of Divine forgiveness.
Even a child feels stronger when assured of his father's restored
favour, and the forgiveness of God sets a man upon his feet and gives
him that "joy of the Lord" which is "strength" (Neh. viii. 10).
Unforgiven sin breaks the bones of the soul. "When I kept silence, my
bones waxed old," but "I said I will confess my transgressions unto
the Lord; and Thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin." "Make me to
hear joy and gladness: that the bones which Thou hast broken may
rejoice. Hide Thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine
iniquities" (Psa. xxxii. 3-5, li. 8, 9). And he gains strength to
continue in the way of uprightness by communion with an unseen
Saviour, by the indwelling power of the Holy Ghost. Christ is "the
power of an endless life" to all who believe in Him (Heb. vii. 16).
This is the "_way_" or _law_ of the kingdom of grace. "To as many as
received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even
to them that believe on His name" (John i. 12). But to those who
reject the way of grace, this "righteousness of God" (Rom. iii. 22),
this "way of salvation," becomes a power of destruction; that which
was ordained to be a "savour of life" becomes a "savour of death."
Christ crucified is a stumbling-block and foolishness to such (1 Cor.
i. 23). "Whosoever shall fall upon this stone shall be broken; but on
whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder" (Matt.
xxi. 44). The way of Jehovah is in no instance the _cause_ of the
destruction of the wicked but it must be the _occasion._ The words
and works of Christ were the _occasion_ but not the _cause_ of the
great national sin of the Jewish nation. "If I had not come and
spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak
for their sin. If I had not done among them the works which none
other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and
hated both me and my Father" (John xv. 22-24). The knife in the hand
of the surgeon is an instrument to save life, but the patient may use
it to kill himself if he be so minded. A candle may be used to give
light and comfort to all in the house--this is its use with regard to
honest men--but the same light may be the means of the discovery and
punishment of a thief. The light and heat of the sun, falling upon a
bed of flowers fills the air with fragrance and the spirit of man
with delight, but if it fall upon a noisome stagnant pool, or a dead
body, it will hasten decomposition and spread the seeds of disease
and death. It is not the nature of sunlight to destroy, but the
objects upon which it falls turns the blessing into a curse. So with
"the grace of God which bringeth salvation" (Titus ii. 11). "It is
not true," says Maclaren, "that every man that rejects Christ does in
verity _reject_ Him, and not merely _neglect_ Him; that there is
always an effort, that there is a struggle, feeble, perhaps, but
real, which ends in the turning away. It is not that you stand there,
and simply let Him go past. That were bad enough; but it is more than
that. It is that you turn your back upon Him! It is not that His hand
is laid on yours, and yours remains dead and cold, and does not open
to clasp it; but it is that His hand being laid on yours, you clench
yours the tighter, and _will not_ have it. And so every man (I
believe) that ever rejects Christ does these things thereby--wounds
his own conscience, hardens his own heart, makes himself a worse man,
just because he has had a glimpse, and his willingly, almost
consciously, 'loved darkness rather than light.' The message of love
can never come into a human soul, and pass away from it unreceived,
without leaving that spirit worse, with all its lowest
characteristics strengthened, and all its best ones depressed, by the
fact of rejection. . . . If there were no judgment at all, the
natural result of the simple rejection of the Gospel is that, bit by
bit, all the lingering remains of nobleness that hover about the man,
like scent about a broken vase, shall pass away; and that, step by
step, through the simple process of saying, 'I will not have Christ
to rule over me,' the whole being shall degenerate, until manhood
becomes devilhood, and the soul is lost by its own want of faith"
(See Sermons, Vol. I. p. 7). And so it is all with man, and in no
degree with God, that "His way," which He intends to be the fortress,
the strength of every human soul, becomes a destruction to "the
workers of iniquity."
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
This promise implies help for our work, and not rest from our labour.
We shall have _strength_ for the conflict. But "there is no discharge
from the war." There is supply for real, not for imaginary, wants;
for present, not for future, need. The healthful energy of the man of
God is also supposed. He is alive in the way; his heart is set in it.
This makes it practicable. What before was drudgery is now meat and
drink. Indeed, the more godly we are, the more godly we shall be. The
habit of grace increases by exercise. One step helps on the next.
Thus was the way of the Lord strength to the upright Nicodemus. His
first step was feebleness and fear. Walking onwards, he waxed
stronger; standing up in the ungodly council, and ultimately the bold
confessor of his Saviour when his self-confident disciples slunk back
(John iii. 2, vii. 50, xix. 39). . . . Thus "the righteous shall hold
on their way, going from strength to strength," strengthened in the
Lord, and walking up and down in His name (Job xvii. 9; Psa.
lxxxiv. 5-7; Zech. x. 12). . . . No such resources support the
workers of iniquity. Captives instead of soldiers, they know no
conflicts; they realize no need of strength.--_Bridges._
The way of the earth doth weary them that walk in it, and doth take
away their strength: but _the way of the Lord is strength to the
upright,_ so that the more they go _in_ it, the more able are they to
go _on_ in it. Or else because he walketh in the ways of God's most
gracious providence over him, and that must needs be a strength unto
him. A strong staff, that is, to support him, a strong bulwark to
defend him, a strong arm to fight for him. The angel, therefore,
might well say to Gideon, "Thou mighty man of valour" when he had
first said, "The Lord is with thee." But as the way of the Lord is
upright the way of His gracious providence over them, so He hath
another way for the _workers of iniquity,_ and that is the way of
judgment.--_Jermin._
_Sin is man's destruction._ 1. Sin brings many evils upon man, from
which, if he were virtuous, he would be totally free, such as a
decayed body, a wounded conscience, a disconnected heart, vexation in
the present, fear for the future. 2. Fear puts man out of condition
to render tolerable those evils which he cannot avoid. He feels the
burden of them in all their pressure because he is destitute of the
supports of reliance and hope. He cannot perceive in his afflictions
the hand of a father, but is forced to confess them the punishment of
an offended sovereign. 3. Sin prevents man from the full enjoyment of
the good which outweighs the evil in the world. The Christian finds
pleasure in the works of creation, the methods of providence, in
beneficence, in friendship, in domestic happiness. Sin deprives us of
a taste for these pleasures by enervating the mind, by selfishness,
by pride. 4. Sin incapacitates us for the state of pure and perfect
happiness in the world to come.--_Zollikofer._
Sometimes, by the way of the Lord, the observing of God's law,
sometimes the course of God's providence is meant in Scripture, as
here in this place. It is said to strengthen the upright, not only
for that it fortifieth their hearts, but because it preserveth them
by sundry means from destruction. The manner of the Lord's desiring
with the wicked is quite contrary; for the Lord plagueth them and
crosseth them for their iniquities, and in their evil doing, even
throughout the whole course of their life, which is unfortunate and
full of many miseries.--_Muffet._
The "_way_" Jehovah personally walks in (as, for example, His way of
justice) "_is a fortress._" To Gabriel, for instance, it is the arch
that shelters him for ever; to the poor saint it is a sworn certainty
of defence; but to the wicked it is an eternal vengeance. The way of
mercy--that is, in the cross of Christ--is life unto life to the
saint, and death unto death to the rebellious sinner. Elihu pictures
this in the outward creation (Job xxxvi. 31); "For by them" (that is,
by the same elements of Nature) "judgeth He the people; He giveth
meat in abundance." The same showers fertilise the earth, or tear to
pieces with a deluge.--_Miller._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 30.
THE EARTH THE POSSESSION OF THE RIGHTEOUS.
+I. From their relation to God it is theirs now.+ The estate of an
English nobleman is the portion of all his family to a certain
extent. They all live upon it, and partake of its productions. But
the eldest son has a special inheritance in it--it is the perpetual
possession of the heir of the house, and it is therefore his in a
sense in which it is not the property of his brothers and sisters.
"The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof" (Psa. xxiv. 1),
and it is therefore the property of His children--of those who are
His sons and heirs (Rom. viii. 17). All men enjoy to some extent the
blessings of the earth, but _it belongs_ only to them whom Paul
addresses when he says, "All things are yours, whether . . . the
world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come"
(1 Cor. iii. 21, 22).
+II. From their relation to God it shall be theirs in the future.+
The regenerated earth is to be the eternal abode of the righteous.
The glorified body of the redeemed man will have enough of his
present body to enable us to identify each other. Although we have
not now the "body that shall be" (1 Cor. xv. 37), there will be such
a relationship between the present and the future as shall make them
the same individual man. So, although the earth is to be "a new
earth" (2 Pet. iii. 13), there will be that about it which will
enable the regenerated man to recognise his old home. And if in the
new earth there is to dwell "righteousness," it is because it is to
be the abode of righteous beings. On this subject see also Homiletics
on chap. ii. 21, 22.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 30. Love of home is an impulse and emotion natural to man; but
to no people was fatherland so greatly delighted in, to none was
exile and banishment from fatherland so dreadful a thought, as it was
to the people of Israel. Expatriation is the worst of all evils with
which the prophets threatened individuals and the people; and the
history of Israel in their exile, which was a punishment of their
national apostasy, confirms this proverb, and explains its
form. . . . In general, the proverb means that the righteous
fearlessly maintains the position he takes; while, on the contrary,
all they who have no hold on God lose also their outward position.
But often enough this saying is fulfilled in this, that they, in
order that they may escape disgrace, become wanderers and fugitives,
and are compelled to conceal themselves among strangers.--_Delitzsch._
The desire of the righteous is not to stay upon earth, neither is
that the reward which God hath appointed for them. They know a better
place to go unto, and where better things that the earth can afford
are provided for them. Hugo de Sancto Victore saith, therefore,
making three sorts of men, "He is very delicate whose own country is
delicious unto him; he is valiant to whom every country is his own;
he is perfect to whom the world is a banishment. The first hath
fastened his love upon the world, the second hath scattered his love
in the world, the last hath extinguished his love from the world."
And this is the _righteous man_ of whom it is here said that he shall
never be removed, because he shall never be taken hence with an
unwilling and reluctant mind. He having never set his affection upon
the world, can never be _removed_ from it. When he goeth hence, he
goeth cheerfully and gladly; it is not a _remove_ of him, but a
pleasant passage to him.--_Jermin._
_Moved,_ not _re_moved, but _shaken_ shall not be seriously
disturbed.--_Miller._
See also comments on chap. ii. 21, 22.
For Homiletics on Verse 31, see on Verses 13, 14, and 20, 21.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The figure here is of a _sprout_ or _seedling_ which has the capacity
to grow for ever. "_Wisdom_" is such a tree. It grows from the mouth
of the good man, and will grow for ever; that is, the good man will
incessantly spread abroad wisdom. God, who is invisible, spreads
abroad wisdom only through the creature. But the ungodly tongue,
literally "_the tongue of upturnings,_" overturning everything, and
being in this world the great instrument for leading others astray,
will be put in a condition to be foiled of such an influence: as the
inspired sentence expresses it, will be "_cut out._"--_Miller._
As a tree full of life and sap brings forth its fruit, so in Isaiah,
lvii. 19, the cognate word is translated "the fruit of the lips." The
froward tongue is like a tree that brings forth evil and not good
fruit. It "shall be cut down." What is meant is, that the abuse of
God's gift of speech will lead ultimately to its forfeiture. There
shall, at last, be the silence of shame and confusion.--_Plumptre._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 32.
ACCEPTABLE WORDS.
+I. The righteous man knows what words are acceptable to God from a
study of Divine laws.+ The courtier knows how to approach his
king--in what words to address him--because he has made himself
acquainted with the laws of the court. The righteous man is well
acquainted with the laws of the kingdom of God, and, being so, he
knows how to draw near to the Divine King--he sets his words in order
before Him as the wood is laid in order upon the altar for the
sacrifice. God has not left man in ignorance of what kind of words
are acceptable to Him (Hosea xiv. 2; Mal. iii. 16; Matt. vi. 9;
Ephes. v. 19, 20, etc).
+II. He knows what words are acceptable to men from a study of their
character.+ Man's character is a prophecy of the kind of words that
will be acceptable. The righteous man makes it his business, and
regards it as his duty to frame his speech--so far as it is
consistent with righteousness--in such a manner that those to whom he
speaks will be won to listen to his words.
+III. He speaks what are acceptable words from the habit of his
heart.+ It is natural for a good tree to bear good fruit, and it is
the nature of a righteous man to speak words of humility and faith to
his God and of kindness to his fellow-men. As the tree is, so is the
fruit. As the man's heart is, so, with rare exceptions, are his
words. (See on verse 20.)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 32. The plain sense is, that the righteous speak those things
whereby they have the favour both of God and man, and whereby they
are in friendship and peace both with heaven and earth. But the mouth
of the wicked careth not to offend either God or man, and seeketh not
for love anywhere, being wholly pleased in perverseness. But many
know what is _acceptable_ to God and man, but their lips do not know
it. So the liar knoweth truth to be _acceptable_ to God and man, but
their lips _do not know it:_ the profane person knoweth prayer to be
acceptable, but his lips do not know it: the ill governor knoweth the
reproof of vice to be acceptable, but his lips do not know it: the
brawler knoweth mildness of speech to be acceptable, but his lips do
not know it. Yea, the lips also of many speak that which is
acceptable, but their lips do not know it; their speaking of it being
in such a manner as maketh that which pleaseth God and pleaseth man,
and he speaks it in a pleasing manner. Or else as _Clemens
Alexandrinus_ readeth, the lips of the righteous know high things in
speaking the high praises of the highest God, and in opening the
truth of high things unto men.--_Jermin._
How, what, when, to whom to speak, is a matter of great wisdom. Yet
this consideration of _acceptableness_ must involve no sacrifice of
principle. Let it be a considerate accommodation of _mode_ to the
diversities of tastes; a forbearance with lesser prejudices and
constitutional infirmities; avoiding not all offences (which
faithfulness to our Divine Master forbids), but all _needless_
offences, all uncalled-for occasions of design and irritation. "The
meekness of wisdom" should be clearly manifested in Christian
faithfulness (Jas. iii. 13). Thus Gideon melted the frowardness of
the men of Ephraim (Judg. viii. 2, 3). Abigail restrained David's
hands from blood (1 Sam. xxv. 23, 33). Daniel stood fearless before
the mighty monarch of Babylon (Dan. iv. 27). Their lips knew what was
acceptable, and their God honoured them.--_Bridges._
HOMILY ON THE ENTIRE CHAPTER. The pious and ungodly compared in
respect--1. To their earthly good; 2. To their worth in the eyes of
men; 3. To their outward demeanour in intercourse with others; 4. To
their disposition of heart as this appears in their mien, their
words, their acts; 5. To their diverse fruits, that which they
produce in their moral influence upon others; 6. To their different
fates as awarded to them at last in the retribution of
eternity.--_Lange's Commentary._
* * * * * *
CHAPTER XI.
CRITICAL NOTES.--+1. Just weight,+ literally, "a stone of
completeness, a full stone." Stone was a very ancient material for
weight; not rusting, it was not changeable. +2.+ Literally, "there
hath come pride, there will come shame." Stuart reads, "Does pride
come, then shame will come." +3. Guide,+ "lead" "as a shepherd his
sheep, and therefore in the path of safety and peace" (_Stuart_).
+Perverseness,+ "slipperiness," "falseness." +Destroy.+ An intensive
word in the Hebrew, "to lay hold of them with violent force"
(_Stuart_). +5. Direct,+ "make smooth or even." +6. Naughtiness,+
"cravings," "desires," "covetousness." +7. His+ and +men+ are not in
the original, and the verse is variously rendered. Stuart reads,
"When the wicked die, all the hopes perish; and when they are
afflicted, their expectation of recovery or alleviation will be
frustrated." Zöckler--"With the death of the wicked hope cometh to
nought, and the unjust expectation has perished." Miller--"By the
death of a wicked man hope is lost, and the expectation of sorrowing
ones is lost already." +9.+ Zöckler here reads, "The hypocrite with
his mouth destroyeth his neighbour, but by the knowledge of the
righteous shall they (the neighbours) be delivered." +12. Void of
wisdom,+ literally, "of heart." Zöckler inverts the phrase, "He that
speaks contemptuously of his neighbour lacketh wisdom." +13.+ "He who
goeth about as a slanderer." +14. Counsel,+ literally, "pilotage,"
"steersmanship." +15. Suretyship,+ literally "striking hands." See
notes and Illustrations on chap. vi. 1. Stuart translates this verse,
"An evil man showeth himself as evil when he giveth pledge to a
stranger," _i.e.,_ by hastily pledging himself and then not redeeming
his pledge. +16.+ Last clause "as strong men retain," or "grasp at
riches." +17.+ Or, "He who doeth good to himself is a merciful man,
but he who troubleth his own flesh is cruel." So Stuart and Miller,
Zöckler and Delitzsch read as the Authorised Version. +18.+ "The
wicked gaineth a deceptive result, but he that soweth righteousness a
sure reward" (Zöckler). +21.+ The Hebrew here is simply +"hand to
hand, the wicked,"+ etc. Zöckler and Delitzsch understand it as a
formula of strong asservation derived from the custom of becoming
surety by clasping hands, and hence equivalent to "assuredly,"
"verily," "I pledge it." Stuart says, "Different meanings have been
assigned. 1. Hand against hand, _i.e.,_ the injurious man. 2. From
one hand to another, _i.e.,_ from one generation to another.
3. Joining hands in way of assurance--"verily." All these are little
better than guesses. The phrase is evidently proverbial and doubtless
abridged. The most simple interpretation is that of Michael, "Hand
joined to hand will not protect the guilty. Let the evil man struggle
with all his might he will not escape." +23. Wrath,+ _i.e.,_ God's
wrath (Zöckler). +25. Liberal soul,+ "the soul of blessing," _i.e.,_
"the soul that blesses others." +27. Procureth,+ rather "seeketh."
+Favour,+ _i.e.,_ God's favour. So it is generally understood. But
Delitzsch reads "He who striveth after good, seeketh that which is
pleasing," _i.e.,_ that which pleaseth or doeth good to others.
+28. Branch,+ rather, "a green leaf." +30.+ Or, "the wise man
winneth" or "taketh" souls. +31.+ Miller transposes this verse and
reads, "Behold the righteous on earth shall be recompensed," etc. +On
earth+ may be placed either with "the righteous," or with
"recompensed."
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 1.
JUST WEIGHT.
The judgment on a false weight is a two-fold revelation.
+I. It reveals the existence of a true standard.+ We only know what
is false by knowing what is true. If a mason looks at a stone and
declares that it is uneven, he declares at the same time that there
is such a thing as an even stone, or that there is a possibility of
making a stone perfectly level and square. He reveals his knowledge
of what is even by passing judgment upon what is uneven. When a judge
declares that a man has not fulfilled the requirements of the law, he
thereby proclaims the existence of a law which ought to have been,
and might have been obeyed. As Paul tells us, "Sin is not imputed
where there is no law" (Rom. v. 13). And if a weight is condemned as
false, the condemnation implies that there is a certain standard of
weight which ought to have been reached. God, who here tells men that
He abominates a false balance, declared by His condemnation of it
that there is such a thing as a true weight: that there is that which
He recognises as _justice_ between man and man. And much that men
call "a full stone," a "fair day's wages," is not so regarded by God.
It is not dealing truly with a man to give him the smallest possible
amount for the work he does--to take advantage of his poverty or
ignorance to beat him down to the lowest sum for which his need will
induce him to give his labour, and thereby condemn him to all the
evils of insufficient means. "Behold!" says Carlyle, "supply and
demand is not the one law of Nature; cash payment is not the sole
nexus of man with man,--how far from it! Deep, far deeper than supply
and demand are laws, obligations sacred as man's life itself!" This
is the law of the Divine kingdom: "All things whatsoever ye would
that man should do to you, do ye even so to them" (Matt. vii. 12).
Less than this is a "false balance," this is the "full stone," which
is God's "_delight._"
+II. It reveals the character of God.+ If a man declares that certain
actions are displeasing to him, the declaration reveals his
character: if the actions that he hates are wicked in themselves and
hurtful to men, his hatred of them proclaims his own righteousness
and benevolence. That God is a hater of false weights and measures in
every sense and of every kind proclaims Him to be a God of mercy and
truth, a Ruler who will Himself "not pervert judgment," who "will not
lay upon man more than right," but who will "give everyone according
to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings" (Job
xxxiv. 12, 13; Jer. xxxii. 19). And the text likewise proclaims God's
notice of what men sometimes call little things. The farthing kept
back from the child, and the ounce taken from the pound, are as much
marked by Him as the short wages given to the man, the unjust
sentence passed upon the prisoner. Dr. Guthrie says "God sees the
water in the milk, and the sand in the sugar." There are no great and
small transactions in a moral sense, one action contains the sin as
much as another.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
In this emphatic reproduction of the old rule of Deut. xxv. 13, 14,
we may find, perhaps, a trace, as in chap. vi. 1, of the growing
commerce of the Israelites, and the danger of dishonesty incidental
to it. While the words have a wider range and include all unequal and
unrighteous judgments, there can be no doubt that the literal meaning
is the prominent one. The stress laid on the same sin in chaps.
xvi. 11, xx. 10, bears witness to the desire of the teacher to
educate the youth of Israel to a high standard of integrity, just as
the protest of Hosea against it (ch. xii. 7) shows the zeal of the
prophet in rebuking what was becoming more and more a besetting
sin.--_Plumptre._
Hither may be referred corruptions in courts, and partialities in
Church businesses. See that tremendous "charge" to do nothing by
partiality or by "tilting the balance" (1 Tim. v. 21). Those that
have the "balances of deceit in their hand" (Hosea xii. 7) are called
Canaanites, so the Hebrew hath it, that is, mere natural men (Ezek.
xvi. 3), that have not goodness in them, no, not common honesty; they
do not as they would be done by, which very heathens
condemned.--_Trapp._
Surely he that weighs in a false balance is himself weighed by God in
a balance of justice, and for the gain he gets he getteth to himself
from the Lord His just abomination; not only His dislike or
condemnation of it, but the _abomination_ because it is a theft
cloaked with the colour of justice, even the exact justice of
weighing. But a just balance is such a delight unto God as that He
delighteth, as it were, to be a seller in that shop, and that He
maketh others to delight to come and buy at it. Surely such a
"perfect stone" (see Hebrew) is a perfect jewel, and a precious stone
in the sight of God. But in a spiritual sense there is no such false
balance as when man weigheth heavier than God, earth heavier than
heaven, the pleasures of sin heavier than the crown of glory, a
momentary contentment heavier than eternal blessedness. And justly
are such false balances an abomination to the Lord. But that is a
just weight whereby the light vanity of worldly things is rightly
perceived, the levity of earthly greatness is truly discerned, the
weightiness of God's promises is duly considered, the heaviness of
God's threatenings is carefully apprehended. Such a weight is God's
delight, doth overbalance all whatsoever the world delighteth
in.--_Jermin._
That which is hurtful to our brother is hateful to God, and therefore
can never be helpful to us. If He judge it unrighteous we shall find
it unprofitable: if it be damnable in His sight, and therefore His
soul doth hate it, it will at last be in our sense, and our souls
shall rue it. Here is consolation to them that do constantly and
conscionably addict themselves to the practice of equity. None hath
truly learned this but such as have been apprentices to heaven, whom
the Lord hath informed in the mysteries of that trade.--_Dod._
Weight and balance are judicial institutions of the Lord, and every
weight is His work. But marriage compacts, also political
confederacies, civil compacts, judgments, penalties, etc., are
ordinances of Divine wisdom and justice, and are effectively
superintended by God.--_Melanchthon._
This is repeated with varied language three times (xvi. 11; xx. 10,
23). The tendency of all commentators is to treat it as descriptive
of _men._ It seems conspicuously to be asserted of the Almighty.
Sentences like chap. x. 29 make the doctrine a very timely one, that
God is in His very essence just; that He takes no liberties of an
arbitrary nature; that He is the administrator, not at all of fate,
for this is blind and unreasoning, but of eternal rectitude; that we
need give ourselves no care of our government, for that He has no
temptation to do us wrong, because "false balances" are an
abomination to Jehovah. "_Delight_" is rather a strong version. It
only means that the Almighty has the eternal _desire_ to be
absolutely just. Omniscience, _omnipotence,_ and this _desire_ must
make an immaculate administration. God will not, by a false balance,
become an abomination to Himself.--_Miller._
Commerce is a providential appointment for our social intercourse and
mutual helpfulness. It is grounded with men upon human faith, as with
God upon Divine faith. Balance, weights, money are its necessary
materials. Impositions, double dealings, the hard bargain struck with
self-complacent shrewdness (chap. xx. 14)--this is the false balance
forbidden alike of the law and of the Gospel (Matt. vii. 12; Phil.
iv. 8).--_Bridges._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 2.
PRIDE AND HUMILITY.
+I. Pride comes to the human spirit.+ "When pride _cometh._" There
are certain weeds that come at certain seasons of the year without
being sent for or desired. They tarry not for the will of man, but
appear in the most well-kept gardens and in the most carefully tilled
field. The only will that the proprietor has in the matter is whether
they shall be allowed to stay. If they stay, they will assuredly
spread and increase in strength. Self-sown plants are the first to
spring up in the ground, and will be the last to disappear. Nothing
will kill them but uprooting and consuming the entire plant by fire.
So pride will spring up in the human heart. The seeds are there, and
the soul is congenial to their germination and growth. According to
the highest authority on the subject, pride is its natural outgrowth.
"For from within, out of the heart of man proceed evil thoughts . . .
pride" etc. (Mark vii. 21, 22). The question for every man to settle
when pride comes up in the blade, is whether it shall be allowed to
go on to the full ear--whether the feeling shall be allowed to remain
until it is manifested in action, or whether the fire of the Holy
Ghost shall be called in to consume the very root. "Pride," says
Adams, "is like the heart, the first thing that lives and the last
thing that dies in us."
+II. When pride is permitted to remain, shame will follow.+
1. _Because it tends to ingratitude._ If a man permits a wrong
estimate of himself to grow up and strengthen within him, growing
daily in a sense of his own importance and his own deserts, he will
soon be ungrateful to men for their acts of goodwill, and to God for
the position in which He has placed him in the world. Ingratitude is
a high road to shame before God and before men, because it prevents
men from taking advantage of present opportunities. 2. _Because it
keeps men ignorant._ There is a shame arising from ignorance, when
men have had no opportunities of acquiring knowledge. But pride leads
men to refuse instruction when it is offered to them, and thus it
leads to wilful ignorance, which, being _wilful,_ is doubly
_shameful._ 3. _Because it makes men useless._ If a man has received
many gifts from the Divine hand and yet lacks that
spiritual-mindedness and humility which is the salt to season them
and make them acceptable to the hearts and consciences of mankind, he
will be to them like a fountain of beautiful and polished marble
without any water, and will only vex the thirsty traveller by
reflecting the rays of light from the basin which he hoped to find
filled with water. He is a cloud without water, lovely to the eye,
but not refreshing to the thirsty land. And men will turn from and
despise _gifts_ without _graces,_ especially the grace of humility.
+III. Lowly men are wise men, and are in the way of becoming wiser.+
1. _This we know from the Divine promise._ "I dwell in the high and
holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit"
(Isa. lvii. 15). From the nature of things, those who are alike in
character will seek to dwell together. The good and the bad each go
"to their own company" in this world, and must do so in every world.
There is no pride in the Divine character: "He humbleth Himself to
behold the things that are in heaven and in the earth" (Psa.
cxiii. 6). Because He can rightly estimate everything and every
person, pride cannot dwell with Him. Therefore He dwells with those
who are like Himself, and the man with whom God dwells, and who is
"taught of the Lord" (Isa. liv. 13), must be ever increasing in
wisdom. 2. _This we know from experience._ The wisest men in the
world, the men who are most able to teach others, are those who have
been willing first to stoop to learn: those who have been willing to
their own ignorance and need, and so have been willing to sit at the
feet of those who knew more than they did. Wise men are always lowly
in estimating their present acquirements, whether of intellect or
character, and this keeps them in the way of ever becoming wiser.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Trite as the words now are, the appearance in many languages of the
same maxim points to the delight with which men have in all ages
welcomed this statement of a fact of general experience, in which
they saw also a proof of a Divine government. A Rabbinic paraphrase
of the latter clause is worth quoting: "Lowly souls become full of
wisdom as the low place becomes full of water."--_Plumptre._
Where pride is in the saddle, shame is on the crupper. He is a "proud
fool" saith our English proverb. But "God gives grace to the humble"
(Jas. iv. 6); that is, as some sense it, good repute and report among
men. Who am I? saith Moses; and yet who fitter than he to go to
Pharaoh? He refused to be called Pharaoh's daughter's son; he was
afterwards called to be Pharaoh's god. (Exod. vii. 1.)--_Trapp._
When Nebuchadnezzar was bragging of his Babel which he had built for
his glory, he was banished from all habitation, not having so much as
a cottage, and like a beast made to lie among the beasts of the
field, with ignominy. When Haman thought to ride on horseback and to
be baited on like a king, he was driven to lackey on foot, and to
wait attendance like a page, and purposing to hang Mordecai on high
to honour himself, he prepared a high gallows to be hanged on
himself. When Herod thought himself good enough to take on him the
state and honour of a god, the Lord declared him to be bad enough to
be devoured of contemptible vermin. . . . Whereas the humble are
always in the way of preferment, either to come to honour in a great
place, or for honour to come to them in a mean place.--_Dod._
It is the prayer of David, _Let not the foot of pride come against
me, or unto me:_ for pride and shame ride in one chariot, they come
both together; he that entertaineth the one, must entertain the
other. And howbeit pride set open her bravery, and shame awhile be
masked, yet shame at length shall open itself, and pride shall not be
seen. For how can shame choose but be joined with pride, which, says
St. Ambrose, knows not how to stand, and when it is fallen, is
ignorant how to rise. On the other side, although lowliness goes on
foot, yet wisdom is her companion, which not only preserveth the
lowly from shame, but highly advanceth them in the esteem of God and
man. And indeed what greater wisdom is there than humility, which,
says St. Ambrose again, by desiring nothing, obtaineth all that is
despised by it.--_Jermin._
The folly and wickedness of pride--1. _Of station._ "Man will not
long abide in honour, seeing he may be compared to the beast that
perisheth" (Psa. xlix. 12). In the sight of God, the greatest and
proudest of men are but dust and ashes. 2. _Of birth._ Even an
ancient heathen could see its absurdity and say, "As to family and
ancestors, and what we have not done ourselves, can scarcely be
called ours." We certainly had no hand in producing these
distinctions. 3. _Of riches._ They cannot give dignity of character,
superiority of intellect, vigour of body, peace of conscience, or any
one of those advantages which form the chief blessings of life.
4. _Of talent or learning._ A disease, an accident, may overset the
mind, and turn all our light into utter darkness, and even should our
abilities and learning continue with us till the end of our days here
below, they must then vanish and be extinguished. It was the
consciousness of their uncertain and transient endurance, as well as
their imperfection, that made the wise Agur say, "Surely I am more
brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man;" and
which drew from Solomon the confession, "In much wisdom there is much
grief; and he that increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow" (Eccles.
i. 18). 4. _Of beauty._ "All flesh is grass, and the goodliness
thereof is as the flower of the field." 5. _Of spiritual pride._ Of
all description of guilt this appears to be the most odious to God
and unbecoming to man, and as such is denounced throughout the
Scriptures. Everlasting shame is made the portion of every one "that
exalteth himself."--_Warner._
Gabriel is the prince. He is solely from the Spirit. It is because
God gave him the Spirit that he remained in grace; and it was because
God took the Spirit that Satan fell into apostasy. _Pride,_
therefore, is a mad vanity. If "false balances" are an abomination to
God, He would not be apt to let "pride" flourish. And yet pride does
flourish in worldly things. The "shame" here must mean that spiritual
contempt which looks to the whole eternity. It is only (1) out of
contempt for him that God lets a man be proud; and it is only
(2) contempt and shame that can follow upon the proud thought. Pride
itself is an evidence of God's contempt. And being "humble" not only
(1) invites "Wisdom," and makes her feel at home; not only (2) flows
from Wisdom because she is at home, but (3) actually "_is_ Wisdom."
It would not do to say, Has humility entered? There also enters
Wisdom; for humility _is_ wisdom, and could not exist unless Wisdom
had entered already.--_Miller._
Perhaps the reference in the words before us may especially be to the
influence of pride in our intercourse with men. In this view of them
they are verified in different ways. For example--the manifestation
of pride,--of supercilious loftiness and self-sufficiency--strongly
tempts others to spy out defects, and to bring down the haughty man
from his imaginary elevation. Everyone takes a pleasure in plucking
at him, and leaving the laurel-wreath which he has twined for his own
brow as bare of leaves as possible; and thus to cover him with
"shame." Another way in which it tends to "shame" is, that it leads
him who is the subject of it to undertake, in the plenitude of his
confident self-sufficiency, to fill stations for which he is
incompetent; by which means he, ere long, exposes himself to the
derision or the pity of his fellows. He shortly finds himself in the
position of those described in our Lord's parable, who "choose for
themselves the highest seats," but in the end, abashed and
crest-fallen, "begin with shame to take the lowest rooms." That
parable (Luke xiv. 7-11) is a graphic commentary on the words before
us.--_Wardlaw._
Pride was the principle of the fall (Gen. iii. 5), and, therefore,
the native principle of fallen man (Mark vii. 22). When pride had
stripped us of our honour, then--not till then--_cometh shame_ (Gen.
iii. 7, with ii. 25). This is the wise discipline of our God to
scourge the one by the other. . . . What a splendour of wisdom shone
in the lowly child "sitting at the doctors' feet, astonishing them at
His understanding and His answers" (Luke ii. 47). And will not this
Spirit be to us the path of Wisdom? For the Divine Teacher "reveals
to the babes what He hides from the wise and prudent."--_Bridges._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 3.
THE INFALLIBLE GUIDE.
+I. The upright man is in danger.+ To say that a man needs a guide is
to say that he is exposed to some kind of danger--that the path which
he has to tread is one in which it is possible to sustain loss of
some kind. A man does not need a guide when he is walking in a road
where he knows every step of the way, where his path lies straight
before him, beset with no danger. An upright man hath much to lose.
He can lose much in losing _one_ thing, he can, indeed, lose _all_ in
one thing, his all for time and eternity, viz., his _moral
character._ If his uprightness of character sustains any loss, if any
stain is permitted to fall upon _that,_ it will only regain its
erectness and purity at the cost of much pain and time. What was
gained with difficulty at first will be harder to regain. It is
up-hill work to redeem a lost character, and if it is not redeemed,
existence is cast away and the man is said to be _lost. And the very
fact that a man is godly places him in danger._ The thief is never
found measuring the height of the wall or testing the security of the
locks of the house where poverty reigns. He does not haunt such a
dwelling, and reckon up the opposition he would be likely to meet
with _there._ Such a house has no attraction for him, and is safe
from all danger so far as he is concerned, because there is no silver
or gold there. But the house filled with plate and jewels is the one
around which he paces with stealthy steps, and whose means of defence
and unguarded doors or windows he takes note of. Such a house draws
him towards it as the magnet draws the needle. So the godless man has
little or no attraction for the enemy of souls. The very poverty of
his moral nature renders him an unattractive object to the great
thief of character. But an upright man he considers a foeman worthy
of his steel, and the rich graces that dwell within the heart of such
a one have a magnetic power for him who was "a murderer from the
beginning" (John viii. 44), and for all his emissaries and agents,
whether they be devils or men.
+II. The infallible guide for the godly or upright man: Integrity.+
What is integrity? Dr. Bushnell says: "As an integer is a whole, in
distinction from a fraction, which is only a part, so a man of
integrity is a man whose aim in the right is a whole aim, in
distinction from one whose aim is divided, partial, or unstable. It
does not mean that he has never been a sinner, or that he is not one
now, but simply that the intent of his soul is to do and to be wholly
right with God and man." Old Simeon was such a man. It is said of him
that he was _just,_ that is, he was single in his purpose in relation
to man, and that he was _devout,_ which expresses his _wholeness_ of
his aim in relation to God. Paul was such a man. "What shall I do,
Lord?"--"This one thing I do" was the key note of his life. (Acts
xxii. 10; Phil. iii. 13.) 1. _This guide is one whose voice is not
easily mistaken._ If a man sets his own interest before him as the
guide of his life, he is very likely to be mistaken as to what his
own interest really is even so far as regards the present life. We
are so short-sighted as to be unable to foretell what may be the
issue of any act of life in relation to our own personal and present
well-being looked at from a material point of view. If we are more
unselfish and adopt the famous principle of "the good of the greatest
number," we involve ourselves in a still greater perplexity. This
problem is one which can be solved by God alone. But every man whose
conscience is not wholly depraved can determine as to the right and
wrong of his actions, and thus possesses a clue to guide him step by
step through every intricate path of life. Darkness of soul and
circumstances may at times surround him, but here is a pole-star
which will shine through the gloom. "In the darkest hour through
which a human soul can pass," says Robertson, of Brighton, speaking
of the doubts and perplexities to which the most sincere men are
often the most liable, "whatever else is doubtful this is certain,
that it is better to be generous than selfish, better to be chaste
than licentious, better to be true than false, better to be brave
than a coward. Blessed beyond all earthly blessedness is the man who,
in the tempestuous darkness of the soul, had dared to hold fast to
these venerable landmarks. Thrice blessed is he, who, when all is
drear and cheerless within and without, has obstinately clung to
moral good. Thrice blessed because his night shall pass into bright,
clear day." Thus "the integrity of the upright shall guide them."
This virtue is a guide as recognisable as sunlight. The eye of every
man, in every nation, recognises the sun as the light which is the
guide of his life; and integrity, honesty, and _complete dealing_
between man and man is recognisable by every man whose conscience is
not wholly blinded by long-continued persistence in wickedness (see
Luke xii. 57). 2. _It shall guide a man to happiness._ We have seen
that happiness or self-interest cannot be the guide of life, either
in relation to the one man or to the many. The happiness of one man,
in this narrow and low sense of the word, may mean misery to another;
but right-doing is the high road to the happiness of the individual,
and the promoter of the happiness of all to whom he is related.
Though happiness is not the aim of the upright man, yea, _because_ it
is _not_ the aim of his life, he will be guided into it. The man who
does right simply because it is right, and without hope of reward,
will have a reward. Integrity must lead to the happiness of the
upright man. The approbation of conscience is a large element of
blessed happiness, and the certainty that right-doing can wrong none
of his fellow-creatures, but may add much to their well-being, is
another element in the reward. There is also happiness in the
possession of a single aim, an undivided purpose in life. The
concentration of all a man's powers to one point increases his power
to accomplish the task to which he has set himself. He is like a man
steering for the harbour, with his eye upon the compass and his hand
upon the wheel; he is conscious of a power to carry out his purpose,
and the certainty of success is in itself a reward. 3. _It must guide
a man to heaven._ All the "rendering unto God the things that are
God's"--loyal obedience to His conditions of salvation, and then, as
a necessary result, rendering unto their fellow-men that which is
their due.
ILLUSTRATION OF THE SECOND CLAUSE OF VERSE_ 3.
"The perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them." _A Grecian
legend._--An old diver was wont to boast of his skill to bring up
treasures from the sea. To test his power the people threw many a
golden coin and silver cup into deep water, all of which he brought
to the surface with triumph. But one day a disguised fiend threw a
tinsel crown into a whirlpool, and challenged the confident diver to
bring it up, promising him, if he succeeded, the power to wear it,
and to transmit it to his children. Down he sprung after the bauble,
but the Nereids of the sea, hearing the clangour of the crown when
it fell upon their grottos, closed around him as he was grasping his
prize and held him fast till he perished. The most daring may dare
once too often; folly, though long successful, will plunge its victim
into ruin at last.--_Biblical Treasury._
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
All obliquity and trick in the intercourse of men is a libel on
Providence. Every recourse to falsehood is a direct distrust of God.
Truth is both the shortest and the surest road in every difficulty.
How much labour is lost by adopting tortuous paths? A great part of
life's labour consists in following a crooked course, and then trying
to make it appear a straight one. The crooked line is far more
difficult at the first, and the defence of it afterwards doubles the
labour.--_Arnot._
"I will walk in mine integrity," was David's staff, and in doing
anything there is no such guide to do it well as the integrity of the
heart. Knowledge is requisite, and is a good director: counsel may be
needful, and is a good conductor; but the master pilot is the
sincerity of the heart. If that be wanting the others will not be
following, if that be present the others will not be
wanting.--_Jermin._
Everyone that is truly godly hath a faithful guide and an upright
counsellor in his own breast. A sound heart is the stern of the soul,
and a good conscience is the pilot to govern it.--_Dod._
A man, to be led, must have a way; and, to have a way, he must have
an end at which he is aiming. The end of the "upright" man is
righteousness itself. If the great joy of heaven is uprightness, and
the price of wisdom is above rubies, of course "integrity" is the
best guide in the world, because of course righteousness is the best
guide to righteousness; and, poor or rich, the righteous man is
always advancing in his treasure. Righteousness is also the best
guide to happiness, for no good thing shall be withholden from them
that walk uprightly. Sin, on the other hand, by increasing itself, is
itself its own seducer.--_Miller._
Sincerity is one eminent branch of the good man's character.
Nathaniel was a man without guile. We accordingly find that, though
prejudiced against Jesus of Nazareth, his sincerity appeared in the
means which he employed to arrive at a knowledge of the truth, and he
was led by it in the right way. Christ's enemies were men of perverse
spirits. They crucified Him with a view to maintain their honour and
preserve their nation; but by their perverse conduct both were
destroyed.--_Lawson._
Every man who comes into a state of _right intent,_ will forthwith
also be a Christian. Whoever is willing to be carried just where it
will carry him, cost him what it may, in that man the spirit of all
sin is broken, and his mind is in a state to lay hold of Christ and
to be laid hold of by Him. . . . "For the eyes of the Lord run to and
fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf
of them whose heart is perfect toward Him" (2 Chron. xvi. 9). God is
on the lookout always for an honest man--him to help, and with him,
and for him, to be strong. And if there be one, God will not miss
him; for His desiring, all-searching eyes are running the world
through always to find him.--_Bushnell._
I. The guidance of integrity is the _safest_ under which we can be
placed. Perfect immunity from danger is not to be expected in this
life. But let us inquire who the persons are that, in all the
different lines of life, have gone through the world with most
success, and we shall find that the men of probity and honour form by
far the most considerable part of the list; that men of plain
understanding, acting upon fair and direct views, have much oftener
prospered than men of the deepest policy, who were devoid of
principle. II. It is unquestionably the most _honourable._ Other
qualities may add splendour to character; but if this essential
requisite be wanting, all its lustre fades. He who rests upon an
internal principle of virtue and honour, will act with a dignity and
boldness of which they are incapable who are wholly guided by
interest. He is above those timid, suspicious, and cautious
restraints which fetter and embarrass their conduct. III. This plan
of conduct is the most _comfortable._ Amidst the various and
perplexing events of life, it is of singular advantage to be kept
free from doubt as to the part most proper to be chosen. The man of
principle is a stranger to those inward troubles which beset men who
consult nothing but worldly interest. His time is not lost, nor his
temper fretted, by long and anxious consultations. One light always
shines upon him from above. One path always opens clear and distinct
upon his view. He is also delivered from all inward upbraidings, from
all alarms founded on the dread of discovery and disgrace. The man of
virtue has _committed his way to the Lord._ He co-operates with the
Divine purpose. The power which sways the universe is engaged on his
side. By natural consequence, he has ground to expect that any
seeming disappointments which he may now incur shall be over-ruled in
the end to some salutary result. IV. He has always in view the
prospect of _immortal rewards._ That surely is the wisest direction
of conduct, which is most amply recompensed at last.--_Blair._
For Homiletics of verse 4 see chapter x. 2. The thought of the first
clause of verses 5 and 6 is the same as that treated in verse 3.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE LATTER CLAUSES OF VERSES_ 5 _and_ 6.
MADE OR MARRED BY DESIRES.
The word translated "naughtiness" should be rendered "lust" or
"desires." (See Critical Notes.)
+I. Sin is compliance with desires that do not harmonise with moral
righteousness.+ A traveller on a lonely and dangerous road may have
two guides offered to him by the opposite promptings of his own mind.
He may have a strong desire to explore a path which looks most
pleasant and attractive but which he knows does not lead to his
destination, and is beset with many perils although its aspect is
inviting. On the other hand, his good sense tells him it is unwise to
run the risk of injury by thus turning aside from the road that he
knows leads to the goal which he desires to reach, although the path
may be rough and toilsome. If he yields to his first desire and
pursues the dangerous path until it is too late to retrace his steps,
he may lose his life by a false step over a precipice and so be
destroyed by his own desires. All men are under the dominion of
desires, and if their desires after God and righteousness have the
rule they will be guided by them into the ways of deliverance and
safety, as we saw in considering verse 3. But if they yield
themselves up to the guidance of desires which run counter to the law
of God and right, as they are made known both by conscience and
revelation, they sink lower and lower in the scale of moral being and
become slaves when they might have been free men. "Whosoever
committeth sin is the servant of sin." "Know ye not, that to whom ye
yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye
obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness"
(John vii. 34; Rom. vi. 16).
+II. The sinner is the forger of his own fetters.+ If a man labours
in his field, his garden, or his vineyard, in harmony with the known
laws which God has ordained to be observed, he may reasonably expect
a good crop--an abundant harvest. But if he sets at naught these
laws--if he yields to desires of self-indulgence--or in any other way
acts contrary to the conditions which are indispensable to
success--he has no one to blame but himself if he find himself a
beggar when he might have had plenty. The law of God's moral universe
is written in revelation, upon conscience, in the history of men,
that "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap," that "The
wages of sin is death" (Gal. vi. 7; Rom. vi. 23). If men are "taken,"
are first enslaved by sin and then suffer the penalty of sinning,
they have themselves digged the pit of their own destruction--have
forged the chains by which they are bound.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 4. How badly led those are who are not righteous, appears in
this: that while _righteousness_ does everything for a man in
journeying to his end, _wealth_ does nothing for him. "Wealth," which
seems to be the great guide of the human family, not only cannot
_deliver,_ but cannot _profit_ in the crisis of fate. While
"_righteousness,_" all covered with stains, lets no day go to waste;
lets no mile be utterly lost; lets no fear ever be realised; still
grapples a man's hand; and still guides a man's tread, till he steps
at last into the regions of safety.--_Miller._
It were no bad comparison to liken mere rich men to camels and mules;
for they often pursue their devious way, over hills and mountains,
laden with India purple, with gems, aromas, and generous wines upon
their backs, attended, too, by a long line of servants as a safeguard
on their way. Soon, however, they come to their evening
halting-place, and forthwith their precious burdens are taken from
their backs; and they, now wearied, and stripped of their lading and
their retinue of slaves, show nothing but livid marks of stripes. So,
also, those who glitter in gold and purple raiment, when the evening
of life comes rushing on them, have nought to show but marks and
wounds of sin impressed upon them by the evil use of riches.--_St.
Augustine._
Riches will not even obtain "a drop of water to cool the tormented
tongue" (Luke xvi. 19-24). In vain will "the rich men of the earth"
seek a shelter "from the wrath of the Lamb" (Rev.
vi. 15-17).--_Bridges._
While the words are true in their highest sense of the great _dies
iræ_ of the future, they speak, in the first instance, as do the like
words in Zeph. i. 15-18, of _any_ "day of the Lord," any time of
judgment, when men or nations receive the chastisement of their
sins.--_Plumptre._
"Wherefore should I die, being so rich?" said that wretched Cardinal,
Henry Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester, in Henry VI.'s time. "Fie,"
quoth he, "will not death be lured? Will money do nothing?"--_Trapp._
If righteousness delivereth not from the day, yet it delivereth from
the wrath of the day: if it deliver not from death, yet it delivereth
from the death of the wicked.--_Jermin._
Verse 5. "The righteousness of the man of integrity," is perfect only
in heaven, and how it "_directs_" or "_levels_" his way appears best
by the perfect facility of walking in that bright abode. It will be
no trouble there to travel forward. While more work will be done in
heaven than here, yet there it is done so easily that it is called a
"Rest." The paths of this world are not only difficult, but deadly.
"_The wicked_" will not only struggle, but "_fall_" in them; and the
roughnesses at which he stumbles are not ever in the paths
themselves, but really his "_own wickedness._"--_Miller._
_Greedy desire_ (see Critical Notes) will strongly tempt men to sin,
and so they will be ensnared.--_Stuart._
The first part of this text may be taken--I. As declaring _a fact_. A
real Christian takes, for direction in his way, the rule of
righteousness. The question that he continually puts to himself
is--"What ought I to do?" This is the character of a believer in the
abstract; and though none may lay claim to perfection, yet none can
be justly called believers, unless their lives in the main answer to
this description. II. As propounding a _promise_. It is nowhere
promised that the righteous shall not come into trouble, but the
strait road goes _through_ them. The other statement of the text may
also be regarded--I. As an _assertion_ proved by experience. The
drunkard ruins his health and shortens his life by excesses. The
spendthrift brings himself to beggary. The contentious man brings
himself to mischief. They often dig a pit for others and fall into it
themselves. II. As a _threat._ It does not always happen that men are
visited for their sins in this life. Still it may be said to every
ungodly man, "Be sure your sin will find you out."--_B. W. Dibdin._
Verse 6. Godliness hath many troubles, and as many helps against
trouble. As Moses' hand, it turns the serpent into a rod; and as the
tree that Moses cast into the waters of Marah, it sweeteneth the
bitter waters of affliction. Well may it be called the Divine nature,
for as God doth bring light out of darkness, so doth grace.--_Trapp._
There need no blocks to be laid in the way of the wicked, no enemies
need to thrust him down, for his own _wickedness_ being his way, by
_that_ he shall fall. . . . Wickedness is fastened, by the devil,
like a cord about the wicked; by that he pulls them after him: by
that he makes them fall, first into shame and misery here, and into
hell when they are gone hence.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 7.
THE DEATH OF THE WICKED.
+I. An inevitable event in relation to a wicked man.+ "When a wicked
man dieth." He must die. "It is appointed unto men,"--to the good and
to the bad--"once to die" (Heb. ix. 27). 1. This inevitable event is
most undesired by the wicked man. The certainty of any coming event
will make it to be dreaded in proportion as it is felt that its
advent must be followed by unpleasant consequences. The man who knows
that on a certain day of reckoning he will be unable to meet his
liabilities, and that the day will as surely arrive as the planets
will hold on their way in the heavens, can only look forward to the
future with the most gloomy apprehensions. That coming day is ever
hanging over his present, and imparting a sting to every hour in
which he allows his thoughts to dwell upon it. The certainty of death
is a most painful subject of contemplation for a wicked man.
Conscience tells him that he has no resources wherewith to meet the
demands of that day--he knows that he is unfit to face that most
ruthless of all creditors, and the knowledge that nothing can turn
aside his footsteps is often a bitter drop in the cup of his present
apparent prosperity and security. 2. The wicked man takes refuge from
the thought of the _certainty_ of the _event_ in the _uncertainty_ of
the _time_ when it will take place. He indulges in "hopes," and
"expectations," concerning the present life, because of the
indefiniteness of its length. Although he knows that death must come
one day, he hopes that it may be many years hence. The rich fool in
our Lord's parable knew that he must die some day--he admitted that
certainty. But he made the uncertainty of the time an excuse for
taking present ease. He refused to take into account the possibility
that the summons had gone forth: "This night thy soul shall be
required of thee." 3. The certainty of the death of the wicked is a
most painful subject of thought to good men. They look at the present
condition of the ungodly, and, knowing the indispensable and intimate
connection between present character and future happiness or misery,
the certainty of the death of the wicked man is often a more
saddening thought to them than to the man himself. The contemplation
of such an event must give pain to the soul in harmony with God and
goodness. 4. Yet, looked at with regard to his relation with others,
the certainty of the death of the wicked is most desirable. If one
portion of the body has become so diseased that the whole body is
likely to suffer from it, a severance between the diseased part and
the sound body must take place, however painful the operation may be.
The loss of the part is indispensable to the salvation of the rest.
There have been, and there are, men who are so morally diseased that
their removal from the world is to be desired for the sake of others.
It must be regarded as a blessing for the world that the death of the
wicked is certain. The death of one wicked man is sometimes the means
of bringing peace to many to whom his existence was a curse. There
are men who do the best thing for the world when they leave it--their
exit from it is the greatest benefit they have ever conferred upon it.
+II. The wicked man is in his worst condition when he has the most
need of being in his best.+ It is at _death_ that his expectation and
hope perish. The time when we approach a crisis in our history is a
time when we need to be most furnished with all the resources that
will be demanded to meet it. It was more necessary that David should
be filled with faith and courage when he went forth to meet Goliath
than when he was keeping his sheep in his father's fields. When a
youthful candidate for academical honour comes to the day of his
examination, he needs to concentrate all his past days of study into
one focus. If on that day all his mental powers are not at their very
best, he is likely to be overwhelmed with disappointment instead of
to be crowned with honour. It is sad indeed to be dragged down by
fear and despair at the moment when we need all the inspiration of
confidence and hope to bear us up. The day of death is the great
crisis to which all human life is tending--it is the day when a man
needs every possible support to enable him to meet the solemn fact
with which he stands face to face. Hope of a blessed immortality
should then bear us up. We ought to be able to say, "I know in whom I
have believed;" "I am now ready to be offered and the time of my
departure is at hand" (2 Tim. iv. 6). But this is the hour when a
wicked man's hope takes wing and flies away. He is at his worst when
he needs to be at his best.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Men derive almost the whole of their happiness from hope. The wicked
man laughs at the righteous because he lives by hope; but the wicked
man himself does the same with this difference, that whilst the hopes
of the one are coeval with eternity, those of the other are bounded
by time. The present situation of the wicked man never yields him the
pleasure which he wishes and expects . . . if his hope is deferred,
his heart is sick; if it is accomplished, he is still unsatisfied;
but he comforts himself with some other hope, like a child who sees a
rainbow on the top of a neighbouring hill, and runs to take hold of
it, but sees it as far removed from him as before. Thus the life of a
wicked man is spent in vain wishes, and toils, and hopes till death
kills at once his body, his hope, and his happiness.--_Lawson._
It is sad to be drawn into ruin by "desire" (see last verse); because
it breeds only "hope," and that is sure to perish. "The world passes
away, and the desire of it" (1 John ii. 17).--_Miller._
There have been some who have questioned whether the doctrine of a
future state was understood under the former dispensation. They have
regarded that economy as to such an extent carnal, worldly, and
temporary, as to have excluded from it all reference to that subject.
I might show, from many passages, the falsity of such a sentiment. In
this verse we have _one_ of them. Nothing can be clearer than that,
were there not such a future state, the expectation and hope of
righteous and wicked alike must perish together, and that the very
distinction so evidently made here between the one and the other
proceeds upon the assumption of a state beyond the
present.--_Wardlaw._
He died, perhaps, in strong hopes of heaven, as those seem to have
done that came rapping and bouncing at heaven's gates, with "Lord,
Lord, open to us," but were sent away with a "Depart, I know you not"
(Matt. vii. 22). His most strong hope shall come to nothing. He made
a bridge of his own shadow and thought to go over it, but is fallen
into the brook. He thought he had taken hold of God; but it is but
with him as with a child that catcheth at the shadow on the wall,
which he things he holds fast. But he only _thinks_ so.--_Trapp._
He never had any good by any hope, which hath not the fruition of his
hope at death. Though a man should never obtain his desire in any
earthly thing during his life, yet, if he enjoy salvation after this
life, he hath failed of nothing. Though a man should miss of nothing
that his heart could wish for, while breath is in his body, yet if he
be damned, when the soul goeth out of his body, he hath never gained
anything.--_Dod._
Hope and expectation are long-lived things; though weak, and sick,
and blind, yet they hold out. They live with the longest liver, and
seldom die in any, until they die themselves in whom they are. But
the hope of the wicked doth not only die, but _perish_, that is, is
lost in some unlooked-for, unthought-of manner.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 8.
THE WICKED COMING IN THE STEAD OF THE RIGHTEOUS.
+I. This proverb must be fulfilled from the nature of the case.+ If a
vessel is being steered straight for the rocks nothing can prevent
her from being dashed upon them except a change of course. Nothing
else can avert the catastrophe, unless a supernatural power removes
the rock out of the way. This last cannot be; the first alternative
rests with the will of the commander. If another vessel is going in
an opposite direction she must as necessarily escape the doom to
which the other is hastening. There is nothing of fate about their
different destinies, they are the outcome of a choice of opposite
courses. So with the opposite ends of the righteous and the wicked.
Deliverance for the first, an inheritance of trouble for the latter,
are the result of no arbitrary fate but the outcome of their pursuing
opposite courses. Unless God will remove His everlasting laws out of
the universe it must be so, and to expect Him to do that is to expect
Him to change His nature, which would be a much more dire calamity
than the trouble which comes upon the wicked from his course of
wilful opposition to righteousness. For in this life it is always
open to a man to turn round, to change his course, and so to escape
the shipwreck of his existence upon the rocks of perdition. "Let the
wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let
him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our
God, for He will abundantly pardon" (Isa. lv. 7). God will not remove
His righteous laws out of the sinner's way, but He holds out every
inducement and encouragement to the transgressor to come into harmony
with them.
+II. The proverb has received abundant illustrations in the history
of our race.+ Pharaoh designed to drive the Israelitish nation into
the Red Sea and so to destroy them. God delivered them, and their
oppressors "came in their stead." Daniel's persecutors planned to
take his life, "the righteous man was delivered out of trouble," and
his wicked slanderers met with the death to which they had hoped to
bring him. Instances might be multiplied in which this truth has been
illustrated both in Scripture history and in more modern times.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
It is a "righteous thing" with God (2 Thess. i. 6, 7), though to men
it seems an incredible paradox, and a news far more wonderful than
acceptable, that there should be such a transmutation of conditions
on both sides, to contraries.--_Trapp._
Though the afflictions of good men seem sharp and grievous, yet they
are not perpetual. Before ever God bring His into troubles, He
appointeth how they shall be preserved in them, and pass through
them, and get out of them. He doth as well see their arrival, as
their launching forth, and the end of the boisterous storms which
they must endure as well as the beginning and entrance
thereof.--_Dod._
In this world trouble is a common place, as the world is, both to the
righteous and the wicked, and it beseems them both. The one has his
proper and due place, the other has his place of honour. For, as St.
Basil saith, He that saith that tribulation doth not beseem a
righteous man, saith nothing else but that an adversary doth not
beseem a valiant champion. Sometimes God Himself doth put the
righteous into trouble, and then as the place belongeth to them, so
St. Chrysostom tells us, God doth it rather by the trouble to bring
us to Himself. Sometimes the injustice or malice of men doth thrust
them into it, and then, God delivering them, puts the wicked in their
place. For this world is full of misplacings, the wicked being seated
where the godly should be, the godly seated where the wicked should
be. God Almighty is pleased sometimes to put things in order, and,
showing mercy to the righteous, doth give the wicked their due
place.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 9.
THE JUST MAN DELIVERED FROM THE MOUTH OF THE HYPOCRITE.
+I. We have here+--1. _A character most difficult to maintain._ The
actor cannot always be playing his part, he must have times when his
own individuality asserts itself--when he appears the man he really
is. The man most in love with the dramatic art finds a few hours'
practice at a time enough for him, and feels it a relief to throw off
his stage character and be himself again. He cannot, if he would, be
ever trying to live in an experience that does not belong to him--be
ever assuming an individuality which is not his own property. It
would be an intolerable burden to be always endeavouring to sustain a
part. A hypocrite has set himself a hard task. He has undertaken to
pretend to be living a life which he knows does not belong to him,
and which he never can possess unless his whole nature is
regenerated. Now to keep up the deportment and to use the language
that belongs to a true nature must be as difficult as for a
professional actor always to be playing the part of a king. The
hypocrite must sometimes feel that his life is a sort of treadmill,
and must sometimes be overcome by his real self in spite of all
efforts to prevent nature from asserting her rights. No hypocrite can
be always in his stage dress. The character is difficult to sustain.
2. _A character most injurious to mankind and most miserable for the
man who owns it._ The actor plays his part by assuming the character
of another man, but he does this without necessarily injuring himself
or any of his fellow-creatures. But it is not so with the hypocrite.
If a bad man assumes the garb of a good man he tends to lessen the
estimation of real goodness in the minds of men. The existence of
false coin makes us suspicious of genuine gold. The hypocrite must be
conscious that he is a _living lie,_ and so a living curse to his
fellow-creatures, and this consciousness can but make him miserable.
3. _A character in danger of becoming irreclaimable._ A man who tries
to pass for a scholar when he is utterly ignorant is the most
difficult person to change into a scholar. The man who desires to be
always first among his fellows is the least likely to become a
qualified leader of men. We have it on the best authority that
whatever such a man may desire, that "whosoever will be chief shall
be a servant" (Matt. xx. 27). He is only fit for a low position who
is ever straining every nerve after a high one. The hypocrite is ever
desiring to pass for what he is not--he is ever desiring to fill a
place for which he is utterly unfit. He is less likely than the most
openly vicious man ever to become in reality that which he is ever
seeming to be. This was the judgment of the Son of God concerning the
hypocrites of His day: "Verily I say unto you that the publicans and
the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you" (Matt. xxi. 31).
4. _A character most hateful to God and to man._ A hypocrite must be
disliked by those whose character he endeavours to personify. The
good must hate hypocrisy because, as we said before, it lessens the
power of goodness in the world by making men suspect the really good.
A hypocrite is hated by other hypocrites. If a man wants to utter
false coin himself, he prefers to enjoy a monopoly of the business.
The more of it there is in circulation the less likely people are to
be deceived by it. A hypocrite is hateful to God. No sin is so
denounced under both the old and new dispensations as the sin of
hypocrisy. "Incense is an _abomination unto Me;_ the new moons and
the calling of assemblies, _I cannot away with it._ . . . Your new
moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth" (Isaiah i. 13, 14).
The God of Israel reserves these burning words for His own people,
who were drawing near to Him with their lips, while their hearts were
far from Him. The most terrible denunciations of the Son of God were
uttered against those who were guilty of this sin. "Woe unto you,
Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites," is repeated again and again in
one discourse (Matt. xxiii).
+II. The chief instrument used by the hypocrite. "The mouth."+ The
power of speech is a most precious gift of God, and is intended by
Him to be an instrument of blessing to the human race. It is the most
precious instrument of good that the hypocrite is here represented as
turning into an all-devouring weapon of destruction. He is like a man
who gives potent poison for healing medicine. He may have disguised
its deadly nature under an unknown and high-sounding name, but this
will not lessen its deadly effects. The hypocrite is the man who
above all others is skilful in making words the means of concealing
thoughts--who speaks so plausibly that men believe they are drinking
a healthful draught when they are imbibing a deadly poison. The
tongue of the hypocrite destroys his neighbour because he makes him
believe that he has his welfare at heart when he is really plotting
his destruction. He makes him believe that some utterly worthless
commercial speculation is sound and profitable, and so involves him
in material destruction. Or he persuades him that a certain course of
dishonest conduct is without moral danger, and so brings him into
spiritual destruction. His neighbour's destruction is certain in
proportion to the strength of his confidence in the words of the
hypocrite.
+III. The means of deliverance from the hypocrite's mouth.+ "Through
knowledge shall the just be delivered." The just man possesses a
knowledge of God, and thus has a correct standard of character by
which to judge men. If a man walks in the light of the sun he will be
able to avoid pitfalls and open graves. A just man has an
acquaintance with the character and the laws of God. He "walks in the
light" (1 John i. 7). And this gives him an insight into
character--this furnishes him with a test to "try the spirits whether
they are of God" (1 John iv. 1). The more men come into contact with
reality the more quick will they be to detect unreality. The more men
know God the more correct will be the estimate they form of their
fellow-men. The Spirit of wisdom is a Spirit of "enlightenment" on
this point as on all others (Eph. i. 18). The scripture which is the
"inspiration of God" "furnishes the man of God" with a means of
escape from the snare of the hypocrite's mouth (2 Tim. iii. 16). The
knowledge which is derived from its study is a foil for the attacks
of the most subtle seducer.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Haman, under the pretence of loyalty, would have _destroyed_ a whole
nation (Esther iii. 8, 13). Ziba, under the same false cover, would
have _destroyed his neighbour_ (2 Sam. xvi. 1, 4). The lying prophet,
from mere wilfulness, ruined his brother (1 Kings xiii).
Then look at the hypocrite in the church--"a ravening wolf in sheep's
clothing," devouring the flock (Matt. vii. 15); "making merchandise
with feigned words" (2 Pet. ii. 1, 3); an "apostle of Satan," so
diligent is he in his master's work of destruction (2 Cor. xi. 3,
13). "These false Christs," we are warned, "deceive many," if it
_were possible the very elect_ (Matt. xxiv. 24). . . . Learn the
value of solid knowledge. Feeling, excitement, imagination, expose us
to an unsteady profession. (Such as Eph. iv. 14.) _Knowledge_
supplies principle and steadfast. "Add to your faith _knowledge_"
(2 Pet. i. 5).--_Bridges._
Hypocrites are awful stumbling blocks. Full many has the detection of
their true character hardened in sin and worldliness, and established
in infidelity. Full many have they thus destroyed.--_Wardlaw._
When God converts a soul, He gives it light. That light makes it
invulnerable. All things afterward help it. "Virtue may be assailed,
but never hurt." Satan is one of the blessings of a
Christian.--_Miller._
It was an ordinary prayer of King Antigonus, "Deliver me from the
hands of my friends." When asked why he did not rather pray for
preservation from his enemies, he answered, "That he guarded against
his enemies, but could not guard against false friends."--_Lawson._
_How to detect a hypocrite._ To make a man a good man all parts of
goodness must concur, but any one way of wickedness is sufficient to
denominate a bad man.--_Tillotson._
A hypocrite is hated of the world for seeming to be a Christian, and
hated of God for not being one.--_Mason._
The meaning of the verse as a whole is, "By the protective power of
that knowledge that serves righteousness, they are delivered who were
endangered by the artifices of that shrewdness which is the
instrument of wickedness."--_Elster._
The just man is too wise to be flattered, and too knowing to be
plucked away with the error of the wicked (1 Pet. iii. 17,
18).--_Trapp._
Beware of carrying deadly weapons. An untrue man is a moral murderer,
his mouth the lethal weapon, and his neighbour the victim.--_Arnot._
"Neither man nor angels can discern
Hypocrisy, the only evil that walks
Invisible, except to God alone,
By His permissive will, thro' heaven and earth;
And oft though Wisdom wake, suspicion sleeps
At Wisdom's gate, and to simplicity
Resigns her charge, while goodness
Thinks no ill
Where no ill seems."--_Paradise Lost._ Book iii.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 10 _and_ 11.
THE REWARD OF THE RIGHTEOUS CITIZEN OR RULER. THE FATE OF THE
UNRIGHTEOUS ONE.
+I. The words imply that it does not always go with the righteous.+
"_When_ it goeth well," etc. A good man's plans and efforts for the
good of his fellow-citizens or fellow-countrymen are not always
successful. They may need more resources to make them effectual than
he has at his command. The men whom he desired to benefit may not
themselves be willing to exercise the self-denial for their own
welfare that he is willing to undergo for them. They would be willing
to reap the harvest of joy, but they do not like to sow the seed of
suffering. It often happens that a righteous man is in the midst of a
generation who cannot appreciate his moral worth and his intellectual
wisdom. It has been said that the intellectual struggles of one age
are the intuitions of the next, and men that are now regarded as
grand and noble were perhaps looked upon as of little worth in the
generation in which they lived. Or a man may not live long enough to
complete his plans for the public benefit--the best things are often
slow in coming to maturity, and many a righteous man has been called
away before he has perfected his designs of blessing for his race.
Although the good and faithful servant will always have the
"Well-done" of his master, his plans and purposes are often seemingly
frustrated by the shortness of this life, the scantiness of his
resources, or the misconception of his fellows. History abounds with
illustrations of this truth.
+II. That there must come a time when it will go well with the
righteous.+ It is an ordination of God's providence that the
righteous man should pass through both experiences. The soldier needs
defeat as well as victory to develop all his latent talent, to make
manifest all the heroism that is within him. The mariner must pass
through storms as well as fair weather if he is to learn the true art
of navigation. And so the righteous man must have the experience of
apparent failure and defeat to develop faith, and patience, and
courage, which would otherwise remain hidden or dwarfed. But when
this has been accomplished, a "set time to favour him will come." "He
that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall
_doubtless_ come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him"
(Psalm cxxvi. 6). The worth of his character and his work will be
recognised freely and generously by many, and must be acknowledged,
although it may be with reluctance, even by his opponents. Joseph
passed many years in servitude and imprisonment, but by and by his
worth was freely acknowledged. "Can we find such a one as this is, a
man in whom the Spirit of God is?" (Gen. xli. 38.) Both king and
people decided that it ought to go well with him, and it did go well
with him now that his ability and character were known.
+III. The blessing and consequent joy that comes to others when the
time has come for it to "go well with the righteous."+ By the
blessing of the righteous the city is exalted--"the city" as a
consequence "rejoiceth." Even the bad in a kingdom have cause for joy
when the righteous have the pre-eminence in a community, whatever be
their condition they would be much worse off under the rule of
unrighteousness. The lost in hell and those who are being lost on
earth are in a better condition from having the Righteous God upon
the throne of the universe. The greatest criminals in our prisons
find it better to have a just and righteous gaoler than an
unrighteous one. So the whole city has reason to rejoice in the
pre-eminence--in the success of the righteous. Such men exalt a
city--1. _By forming a basis for commercial enterprise._ The role of
the unrighteous in a city will, in time, prevent commercial
prosperity by destroying public confidence. 2. _By promoting the just
rights of all._ That community is blessed where each citizen enjoys
freedom to live his life and do the best for himself and others
without trampling on the rights of his fellows. Tyranny on the one
hand provokes rebellion on the other, and misery to both parties is
the issue. The head is intended to think and plan for the rest of the
body, the limbs are intended to carry out the designs of the head; if
either the one or the other fails to perform its work, suffering
comes to the whole frame. So in the body politic. Righteous men
strive for the union of all classes for the good of all, and this
unity exalts a city--gives peace at home, and is the surest defence
against foes without. Righteousness is a stronger wall than any
material defence. This is the safeguard of the ideal city of Isaiah's
prophecy. "I will make thine officers peace, and thine exactors
righteousness. Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting
nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls
Salvation, and thy gates Praise" (Isa. lx. 17-18). 3. _By averting
Divine judgments._ Sodom would have been spared if there had been
_ten_ righteous within the city. Unrighteousness in a nation must
bring national calamity, but a minority of good men delays the
visitation. "Except the Lord of Hosts had left unto us a very small
remnant, we would have been as Sodom, and we would have been like
unto Gomorrah" (Isa. i. 9). "For the elect's sake, those days shall
be shortened" (Matt. xxiv. 22).
+IV. That as the character and services of the righteous man shall
meet with public and grateful recognition, so the man who by his
wicked influence has brought misery upon his fellow-creatures shall
meet with public execration.+ Just as the righteous man often seems
defeated by untoward circumstances, and all his unselfish and
patriotic plans seem nipped in the bud for a time, yet success comes
to him in the end, or, if not so, yet at his death his real worth is
seen and acknowledged; so a wicked and selfish man may seem to carry
all before him for a time, and may even succeed in blinding men to
his real character, yet the time comes when his worthlessness and
self-seeking meet with their terrible yet just reward. There is a
tendency generally in human nature to condone a man's sins after he
is dead, but instances are not few in the history of the world when
this humane tendency has been stifled by the exceeding curse that
some men have been to the world.
_ILLUSTRATIONS OF VERSES_ 10 _and_ 11.
A more vivid illustration of what has been said here concerning a
righteous man cannot be found than in the life and labours of William
the Silent, Prince of Holland. This noble man gave his all to the
liberation of the Netherlands from Spanish tyranny. For many years he
bore the whole weight of a struggle which Motley designates "as
unequal as men have ever undertaken." "To exclude the Inquisition,"
he continues, "to maintain the ancient liberties of his country, was
the task which he appointed to himself when a youth of three and
twenty. He accomplished the task, through danger, amid toils, and
with sacrifices such as few men have ever been able to lay upon their
country's altar; for the disinterestedness of the man was as
prominent as his fortitude. A prince of high rank and with royal
revenues, he stripped himself of station, wealth, almost at times of
the common necessaries of life, and became, in his country's cause,
nearly a beggar as well as an outlaw." At times it seemed as if the
cause to which he had thus devoted himself was lost, even this
disinterested man did not escape the envy and suspicion of those whom
he was trying to serve. But he lived to see his work accomplished,
and when he fell at last by the hand of an assassin, he was
"entombed," to quote again from his biographer, "amid the tears of a
whole nation." "The people were grateful and affectionate, for they
trusted the character of their 'Father William,' and not all the
clouds which calumny could collect ever dimmed to their eyes the
radiance of that lofty mind to which they were accustomed, in their
darkest calamities, to look for light. As long as he lived, he was
the guiding star of a whole brave nation, and when he died, the
little children cried in the streets."--_Motley's Rise of the Dutch
Republic._
Illustrations of the latter clause of verse 10 abound in history.
"Memorable in the prison experiences of Herod Agrippa was the arrival
of news that the tyrant of Capreæ was dead. Immediately on the death
of Tiberius, Marsyas, Agrippa's faithful bondslave, hastened to his
master's dungeon, and communicated the joyful intelligence, saying,
in the Hebrew language, "The lion is dead." The centurion on guard
heard the rejoicing, inquired as to the cause, ordered the royal
prisoner's chains to be struck off, and invited him to supper. But
more memorable was the exultation, widely felt and cruelly expressed,
at Agrippa's own death--that loathsome death, so strange in its
surroundings, of which a tale is told in the Acts of the Apostles.
The inhabitants of Sebaste and Cæsarea, as we learn from Josephus,
and particularly Herod's own soldiers, indulged in the most brutal
rejoicings at his death,--heaping his memory with reproaches. . . .
In his account of the death of the Emperor Maximin, Gibbon says, "It
is easier to conceive than to describe the universal joy of the Roman
world on the fall of the tyrant." The death of Richelieu is said to
have been felt by France like the relief from a nightmare; from the
king to the lowest rhymster, all joined in the burden of the couplets
that proclaimed it--_Il est parti, il a plié bagage, ce
cardinal._--_Jacox._
+Judge Jeffreys.+ A disposition to triumph over the fallen has never
been one of the besetting sins of Englishmen; but the hatred of which
Jeffreys was the object was without a parallel in our history, and
partook but too largely of the savageness of his own nature. The
people, where he was concerned, were as cruel as himself, and exulted
in his misery as he had been accustomed to exult in the misery of
convicts listening to the sentence of death, and of families clad in
mourning. The rabble congregated before his deserted mansion in Duke
Street, and read on the door, with shouts of laughter, the bills
which announced the sale of his property. Even delicate women, who
had tears for highwaymen and housebreakers, breathed nothing but
vengeance against him. The lampoons which were hawked about the town
were distinguished by an atrocity rare even in those days. Hanging
would be too mild a death for him: a grave under the gibbet would be
too respectable a resting place: he ought to be whipt to death at the
cart's tail: he ought to be tortured like an Indian: he ought to be
devoured alive. . . . Disease, assisted by strong drink and by
misery, did its work fast. He dwindled in a few weeks from a portly
and even corpulent man to a skeleton, and died in the forty-first
year of his age. He had been Chief Justice of the King's Bench at
thirty-five, and Lord Chancellor at thirty-seven. In the whole
history of the English bar there is no other instance of so rapid an
elevation or so terrible a fall.--_Macaulay._
+Foulon, a French Official in the time of the great Revolution.+ This
is that same Foulon named _âme damnée_ (Familiar demon) _du
Parlement;_ a man grown gray in treachery, in griping, projecting,
intriguing and iniquity: who once, when it was objected, to some
finance-scheme of his, "What will the people do?" made answer, in the
fire of discussion, "The people may eat grass:" hasty words, which
fly abroad irrevocable, and will send back tidings. . . . We are but
at the 22nd of the month, hardly above a week since the Bastile fell,
when it suddenly appears that old Foulon is alive; nay, that he is
here, in early morning, in the streets of Paris: the extortioner, the
plotter, who would make the people eat grass, and was a liar from the
beginning! It is even so. The deceptive "sumptuous funeral" (of some
domestic that died); the hiding-place at Vitry towards
Fountainebleau, have not availed that wretched old man. Some living
domestic or dependent, for none loves old Foulon, has betrayed him to
the village. Merciless boors of Vitry unearth him, pounce upon him,
like hell-hounds. Westward, old Infamy! to Paris, to be judged at the
Hôtel-de-Ville! His old head, which seventy-four years had bleached,
is bare; they have tied an emblematic bundle of grass upon his back;
a garland of nettles and thistles is round his neck: in this manner,
led with ropes, goaded on with curses and menaces, must he, with his
old limbs, sprawl forward; the pitiablest, most unpitied of all old
men. Sooty Saint-Antoine, and every street, musters its crowds as he
passes; the Hell of the Hôtel-de-Ville, the Place de Grève itself,
will scarcely hold his escort and him. Foulon must not only be judged
righteously, but judged there where he stands without delay. Appoint
seven judges, ye Municipals, or seventy and seven; name them
yourselves, or we will name them, but judge him. Electoral rhetoric,
eloquence of Mayor Bailly, is wasted for hours, explaining the beauty
of the law's delay. Delay, and still delay! . . . the morning has
worn itself into noon, and he is still unjudged. . . . "Friends,"
said a person, stepping forward, "what is the use of judging this
man? Has he not been judged these thirty years?" With wild yells
Sans-culottism clutches him in its hundred hands: he is whirled across
the Place de Grève to the _Lanterne_ (lamp-iron), which there is at
the corner of the _Rue de la Vannerie,_ pleading bitterly for
life--to the deaf winds. Only with the third rope--for two ropes
broke, and the quavering voice still pleaded--can he be so much as
got hanged. His body is dragged through the streets; his head goes
aloft upon a pike, the mouth filled with grass: amid sounds as of
Tophet, from a grass-eating people.--_Carlyle's French Revolution._
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Two things, as herein is showed, do move the righteous unto joy. The
one is, the honouring and good success of the just. When it is well
with them that do well, the well-disposed multitude cannot but be
inwardly glad, and outwardly justify this inward joy by signs and
tokens of mirth. The other thing that moveth the well-disposed to
rejoice, and even to sing (or shout) is the destruction of the
wicked. There is great cause why the people of God should rejoice at
the vengeance that is executed on the ungodly; for they persecute the
Church, or infect many with their evil counsel and example, or draw
God's punishments on the places wherein they live. Thus did the
ancient Israelites rejoice in old time, when the enemies of God were
overthrown; and thus did we of late sing and triumph when the proud
Popish Spaniards were drowned and confounded. . . . A kingdom is
overthrown by the flattery, heresy, foolish counsel, and conspiracy
of mischievous and ungodly persons. Thus a tongue can even build and
overthrow a city.--_Muffet._
The world, in despite of the native enmity of the heart, bears its
testimony to consistent godliness (ch. xvi. 7; Mark vi. 20). . . .
The people of God unite in the shouting occasioned by the overthrow
of the wicked; not from any selfish feeling of revenge; much less
from unfeeling hardness towards their fellow-sinners. But when a
hindrance to the good cause is removed (ch. xxviii. 28; Eccles.
ix. 18); when the justice of God is against sin (2 Sam.
xviii. 14-28), and his faithful preservation of His Church (Exod.
xv. 21; Judges v. 31) are displayed, ought not every feeling to be
absorbed in a supreme interest in His glory? Ought they not to shout?
(Psa. lii. 6, 7, lviii. 10; Rev. xviii. 20). The "Alleluia" of heaven
is an exalting testimony to the righteous judgments of the Lord our
God, hastening forward His glorious kingdom (Rev. xix. 1,
2).--_Bridges._
_By the good of the righteous;_ not "in the good" or "when it goeth
well." "_By the perishing of the wicked,_" not when the wicked
perish. A city is very far from exulting in the good of the
righteous, or in the destruction of the wicked. But "by," or "by
means of," as the unacknowledged cause there comes the exulting and
shouting. That is, a city is blest by the prosperity of righteous
men. "_Good._" This word cannot be properly translated. It means both
_good_ and _goodness_. If we say "good," the "_good_ of the
righteous" will mean their _welfare._ If we say "goodness" it will
mean their piety. The word in the Hebrew means both. The text to be
complete must confine itself to neither. The city is not only blessed
by the good that characterises the righteous, but by the good that
happens to them. How glorious this becomes when "the righteous" means
the Church! The wilderness and the solitary place have been glad for
her. It is true of all the universe. As the history of heaven and
hell, the "good of the righteous," and "the perishing of the wicked"
will breed universal benefit. It was such texts as these that moved
the Papists to realise the good by actually slaughtering the wicked
out of the land. . . . Piety is in proportion to usefulness. If a
Christian does not bless his city, it is a mark against him.
"_Bless_" means to _invoke good_. "The mouth of the wicked" pulls
down a neighbourhood by every form of teaching. The righteous builds
it, and especially by prayer.--_Miller._
"The mouth of the wicked." Whether he be a seedsman of sedition or a
seducer of the people, a Sheba or a Shebna, a carnal gospeller or a
godless politician, whose drift is to formalise and enervate the
power of the truth, till at length they leave us a heartless and
sapless religion. "One of these sinners may destroy much good"
(Eccles. ix. 18).--_Trapp._
Good men have not only God's hand to give them good things, but godly
men's hearts to be joyful for them. When Mordecai was advanced, the
city of Shushan rejoiced and was glad. When the Lord showed His great
mercy on Zacharias and Elizabeth in giving them a son, their kinsfolk
and neighbours came and rejoiced with them. . . . It is well known
that righteous men will make their brothers commoners with them in
their prosperity; when they are advanced, others shall not be
disgraced thereby: when they are enriched, others shall not be
impoverished thereby: when they are made mighty, others shall not be
weakened thereby; And so it is said concerning Mordecai, that when
the royal apparel was on his back, and the crown of gold on his head,
that unto the Jews was come light, and joy, and gladness and honour
(Esth. viii. 16). . . . Here is instruction to them that be desirous
to gain the hearts of honest men. . . . Many men desire to be
popular, but few to be righteous. . . . Good liking is not gotten by
pomp and power, and favour is not gained by wealth and riches, and
love is not commanded by authority and dignity. These may be allured
with goodness, but never compelled by violence.--_Dod._
Such is the nature of righteousness, that though it cannot make all
to love it, yet it maketh all to love the welfare of the righteous.
Origen therefore saith, that the few righteous which were in
Jerusalem were not carried into captivity for their own offences, but
that the captive people might rejoice in their welfare. For, saith
he, had the wicked only been carried away, and the righteous
remained, the wicked had never had the comfort of returning. On the
other side, such is the nature of wickedness, that though many
embrace it themselves, yet they are pleased to see it destroyed in
others.--_Jermin._
The exultant shout of relief at a man's death might almost wake the
dead man. It is hideous to think of a choral symphony of voices,
jubilant at a dead march, making the welkin ring with huzzas at
death's last fest, and welcoming it to the echo. For those tumultuous
pæans have a vengeful curse in every note. They mean malediction; and
they say what they mean. The bad man dead and gone is such a good
riddance. The multitude account it for themselves, not for him, such
a happy release. The greatest of the greater prophets of the Old
Testament indites the "triumphant insultation," of his country and
his countrymen against the dead and gone king of Babylon, when that
oppressor ceased. . . . (Isa. xiv. 4). When Alexander Jannæus,
desirous of a reconcilement with his people, asked them what he
should do to make them quite content;--"Die!" was the response. It
was the only way. The death of Ethwald, in Joanna Baillie's tragedy,
points the moral to the same bitter tale. Here are the closing lines
of the drama:--
"Through all the vexed land
Let every heart bound at the joyful tidings,
Thus from his frowning height the tyrant falls
Like a dark mountain, whose interior fires,
Raging in ceaseless tumult, have devoured
Its own foundations. Sunk in sudden ruin
To the tremendous gulf, in the vast void
No friendly rock rears its opposing head
To stay the dreadful crash. . . . The joyful hinds
Point to the traveller the hollow vale
Where once it stood."
--_Jacox._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 12, 13.
CONTEMPT AND TALE-BEARING.
+I. He who lacks moral worth will be indifferent to the worth of
others.+ He will despise the character that he does not possess. In
the minds of some men who have no learning there is a disposition to
undervalue the attainments of others. They do not value it because
they do not possess it. In order to esteem it rightly they must come
to the possession of it. Some men pretend to despise wealth and call
gold sordid dust, but most, if not all people of this kind have very
little of what they despise in their own possession. Some translate
here "a heartless man despiseth his neighbour." A man without moral
wisdom is a man without a kind heart, and he despises his neighbour
because he lacks the heart which is probably possessed by the man
whom he despises. A man must have something good in himself to enable
him to see what is worthy of honour in his brother. There must be
light in the eye if we are to appreciate the light of the sun. A man
must have something of a musical nature to be able to appreciate the
musical gifts of another. A man shows that he is void of wisdom if he
despises the meanest of his fellow creatures.
+II. A special form in which contempt for others is often
manifested.+ "A tale-bearer revealeth secrets." If a man holds his
neighbour in contempt, he is not careful of that neighbour's
reputation. Being himself without moral worth he has nothing to lose,
and therefore esteems lightly what is most valued by his brother man.
Men who by their own folly are always poor are ever anxious to bring
others down to their own level, and so men without reputation are
very often disposed to rob others of their good name. This they
attempt to do by revealing what they ought to conceal. There are
times when we ought faithfully to keep within our own bosoms what we
know about another, even although what we know is in the highest
degree honourable to him. In the plan which Christ had marked out for
Himself there were times when He desired that even His deeds of
benevolence should not be made known. To some whom He healed He
charged "that they should not make it known" (Matt. xii. 16). If it
is good sometimes to conceal what is only honourable and
praiseworthy, how much more should a man be careful not to reveal any
real or seeming inconsistency in a good man--anything which may in
any way lower him in the estimation of others--any painful secret
which might be mis-construed to his dishonour or lessen his influence
for good in the world.
+III. The contrast exhibited in the conduct of a man of moral worth.+
He, "being a man of understanding," knows the value of every human
soul. He may _pity_ his degraded fellow-man, but never _despises_
them. He sets too high an estimate upon his neighbour to hold in
contempt even those who are far beneath him in moral excellence, how
much less will it be possible for him to despise those who are his
equals or superiors. Around the imperfections of all he throws the
robe of that charity which even "thinketh no evil" (1 Cor. xiii. 5),
much less _speaks_ a word that could be interpreted to his
neighbour's disadvantage. He holds the good name of others as a
sacred trust. He guards it as a man of a "faithful spirit" would
guard any precious possession belonging to another.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 12. "_A heartless man._" All such are titles of the unsaved
man. The same negative state, _i.e._, a want of the Spirit, and hence
a want of benevolence, not only keeps men from blessing their city
(ver. 11), but makes them contemptuous. Others' interests do not
weigh a feather. See a fine description of this in 1 Cor. xiii.,
where men are supposed even to "behave unseemly" from this high
theologic fact. They do not care for their neighbours, and,
therefore, do not care to behave well. If a neighbour is disgraced,
they are too contemptuous to care for its effect. They are reckless
in their talk of his disgrace, while a "man of understanding" is
silent.--_Miller._
No human creature is to be despised, for he is our neighbour. He is
our own flesh, our brother, sprung from our common father Adam.
Honour all men. Men were made in the image of God; and though that
image is now lost, it is still a sufficient evidence of the
sinfulness of despising, as well as of murdering, our neighbour, that
in the image of God man was made, and that we cannot say whether the
persons who we are tempted to despise are not in that happy number of
the chosen of God for whose sakes the Son of God hath dignified our
nature by assuming it, and whom He will again beautify with that
glorious image which was effaced by the fall. Do you allege that your
neighbour is worthy of contempt, on account of his poverty or
meanness, or some remarkable weakness, by which he is rendered
ridiculous? I ask you whether he is a fool. You say, No. Then confess
that your contempt ought to rest upon yourself; for Solomon says you
are one, and want of wisdom is far worse than the want of riches, of
beauty, or polite accomplishments.--_Trapp._
Not remembering that he is his neighbour, cut out of the same cloth,
the shears only going between, and as capable of heaven as himself,
though never so poor, mean, deformed, or otherwise despicable. The
man of understanding refraineth his tongue even if he be slighted or
reviled. He knows it is to no purpose to wash off dirt with
dirt.--_Trapp._
Verse 13. The difference is a sharply drawn one, the distinction a
distinctly defined one, between fidelity and unfaithfulness, between
the treacherous and the loyal. There is a Danish proverb, quoted in
the Archbishop of Dublin's book, which warns us well against relying
too much on other men's silence, since there is no rarer gift than
the capacity of keeping a secret: "Tell nothing to thy friend which
thy enemy may not know." One should be careful not to entrust another
unnecessarily with a secret which it may be a hard matter to keep;
nor should one's desire for aid or sympathy be indulged by dragging
other people into one's misfortunes. "There is as much responsibility
in imparting your own secrets, as in keeping those of your
neighbour," says Helps.--_Jacox._
This expression comes from trading. He who gads about to indulge in
gossiping, will gratify his taste by scandals that he did not intend
to divulge. "Secrets" or "secret counsels," that formal divan, where
purest privacy is the thing that has been expected. It is these
slight lusts, as we call them, that divulge character. The man that
is born again will be of a "faithful spirit," and will scorn to
gratify scandal at a neighbour's expense.--_Miller._
A note to know a talker by, is that he is a walker from place to
place (see Critical Notes), hearing and spying what he can, that he
may have whereof to prattle to this body and that body. Thus carrying
of tales the Lord forbiddeth in his law, where he saith, "Thou shalt
not go up and down as a tale-bearer among thy people" (Lev.
xix. 16).--_Muffet._
Here we see that a well-governed spirit will govern the tongue. An
unrestrained tongue is an evidence of levity, or of some worse
quality in the heart. And if the spirit be faithful, the tongue will
be cautious and friendly. The communication between the spirit and
the tongue is so easy, that the one will certainly discover the
quality of the other, for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth
speaketh.--_Lawson._
There are various ways of acting the "tale-bearer." There is that of
_open blabbing._ And this, as it is the simplest, is, in truth, the
least dangerous. The character becomes immediately known; and all who
have secrets which they _really wish kept_ will take care to withhold
them from him. There is the next that of _confidential
communication._ The secret-holder affects to look this way and that,
to ascertain that no one is within hearing; and then with many
whispered _doubts_ whether he is doing right, and whispered _no
doubts_ that he is perfectly safe with the dear friend to whom he
speaks, imparts it in a breath that enters only his solitary ear, as
a thing received in the profoundest secrecy, and not, on any account
whatever, to go further--thus setting the example of broken
confidence as the encouragement and inducement to keep it. There is
that also of _sly insinuation._ The person who has the secret neither
openly blabs it nor confidentially whispers it, but throws out hints
of his having it--allusions more or less remote as to its nature--by
which curiosity is awakened, inquiry stimulated, and the thing
ultimately brought to light; while he who threw out the leading
notices plumes himself on having escaped the imputation of a
tale-bearer. Now these and whatever others there may be, _are all
bad;_ and the greater the amount of pretension and hypocrisy, so much
the worse.--_Wardlaw._
Reticence is commended from another point of view. The man who comes
to us with tales about others will reveal our secrets also.
Faithfulness is shown, not only in doing what a man has been
commissioned to do, but in doing it quietly and without
garrulity.--_Plumptre._
He is a rare friend that can both give counsel and keep
counsel.--_Trapp._
The Holy Ghost, here and elsewhere, compareth busybodies and such as
delight to deal in other men's matters, to petty chapmen and pedlars,
which carry wares about, selling in one place and buying in another.
A slanderous tongue trafficketh altogether by exchange, it will
deliver nothing to you, but upon condition to receive somewhat from
you. It will never bear an empty pack, but desireth, where aught is
uttered and taken out, there to take somewhat to put in, that it may
have choice for other places.--_Dod._
We must regard every matter as an entrusted secret, which we believe
the person concerned would wish to be considered such. Nay, further
still, we must consider all circumstances as secrets entrusted, which
would bring scandal upon another if told, and which it is not our
certain duty to discuss, and that in our own persons and to his
face.--_Leigh Hunt._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 14.
HELMSMANSHIP.
+I. The many (the people) are dependent upon the few for guidance.+
The word counsel is literally "pilotage," "helmsmanship." The many
passengers in the vessel are dependent upon the few who guide it. The
dependence of the many upon the few for guidance runs through every
phase of human life. The dependence of the children upon their
natural head is but prophetic of all the periods of after life, which
very much consists in the dependence of the many upon the few. The
child's life at home and at school is a preparation for the rough
handling of circumstance in this matter in the time of manhood.
Although the man's ability to guide his own life is far greater than
that of the child, yet his need of counsel and guidance has increased
with his years and responsibilities. This need of guidance springs
from men's unequal gifts. The physical, mental, and moral
inequalities of men create and supply the demand for leaders--for
counsellors for the many. This inequality is an ordination of the
Divine Ruler of the universe--God is the Author of the inequalities.
In nature we see that the strong give shelter to the weak. The mighty
oak protects the tiny plant at its roots. Counsellors are the giant
trees which give shelter by giving guidance to those who are in some
respects inferior to them. Men may be born _free,_ but they are
nowhere born _equal_ in mental and physical qualities. Hence some
must _counsel,_ others must _be counselled._ Guidance is felt to be a
necessity, and men make a virtue of the necessity. The passengers on
board a vessel submit to the direction of the pilot because they feel
that their safety depends upon submission, and so do the members of a
nation--the citizens of a city. They know from experience that the
way out of a difficulty is not found by those who follow, but by
those who lead--that if they would enjoy the advantages of civil
peace and safety, they must submit to the guidance and direction.
+II. That "no counsel" in a nation will end in their being no nation
to counsel.+ "Where there is no counsel the people fall." The
passengers in a ship who have no one to steer the vessel will soon
cease to have need of a helmsman. So the nation which has no head--no
government--will cease to be a nation. Its national existence will be
ruined by the anarchy that must follow.
+III. Many men to give counsel are as a rule better than one.+ When
the sea is heavy and breakers are ahead, one man at the wheel of a
vessel would not be able to hold her on her course, many hands at
once must be at work--the united strength of the many is
indispensable. "In the multitude" there is "safety." So it is
generally in the case of the ship of the State. As a rule, there is
more wisdom and ability in the union of many men than in one--there
is likewise less danger of despotic rule. But there have been many
exceptions to this rule. Joseph knew how to provide for the safety of
Egypt when all the rest of Pharaoh's counsellors were at their wits'
end. Before the battle of Plassey--which laid the foundation of
British rule in India--Clive called a council of war to decide
whether or not the battle should be fought. The majority pronounced
against fighting. But it is now generally allowed that if the advice
of that council had been followed the British would have never been
in possession of India. Clive decided to act in opposition to the
opinion of the majority, and the day was won for England. (_See
Macaulay's Essay on Lord Clive._) Sometimes in the multitude of
counsellors there has been national ruin. "All the council" of the
Jews sought to put Jesus to death (Matt. xxvi. 59), and so brought
about the destruction of their nation. But these are exceptions to a
rule.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The case supposed, appears to be that of a self-willed,
self-sufficient, headstrong ruler who glories in his power; who
determines to wield the rod of that power in his own way, and who
plays the hasty, jealous, resolute, sensitive and vindictive tyrant;
who disdains to call in counsel, or who does it only for the pleasure
or showing his superiority to it by setting it at nought. I conceive
the phrase, "Where no counsel is," to be intended to convey not a
little of the character of him by whom it is declined or disregarded.
We have an example of such a character in Solomon's own successor
_Rehoboam._ And yet, at the same time, in his case we are taught the
necessity of understanding all such maxims as admitting of
exceptions. Rehoboam _did_ take counsel; and his counsellors were not
few. Had they been _fewer,_ there would in that instance been _more
safety._ Had he stopped with the "_old men_ who had stood before
Solomon his father," all would have been well. . . . How much better
would it have been for Ahab, had he taken for his sole counsellor
Micaiah the son of Imlah than it was when he preferred the four
hundred prophets of Baal! The maxim, therefore, is _general._ It
affirms the danger of solitary self-sufficiency, and the safety of
deliberate and, in proportion to the complexity and difficulty of
each case, and the nature and amount of its consequences, of
extensive and diversified consultation.--_Wardlaw._
It is a penalty inflicted by God on a sinful state to give it princes
void of counsel (Isa. iii. 4; chap. xv. 22).--_Fausset._
Care seems to be taken after a proverb lauding silence, always to put
in a eulogy of speech. (See chap. x 20, 21.) Secrets are not to be
hid until the whole community is one covered over wickedness. The
same faithfulness that conceals a secret, intrudes counsel, and
grasps control, and saves the people by that leadership that the
pious alone are intended to achieve. The word _counsel_ or
"helmsmanship" is from a root meaning a _cord;_ hence the tacking of
the helm; and, now, that princely guidance, which piety in the world
(though the world does not think so) does actually bestow.
"_Safety_"--or "_salvation._" The inspired sentence-maker is always
managing what the music men would call a _crescendo,_ for the second
clause. The first clause speaks of the people as _falling,_ the
second as not only "_not falling,_" but though fallen, as actually
raised.--_Miller._
Tyranny is better than anarchy. And yet "Woe also to thee, O land,
whose king is a child"; that is, wilful and uncounsellable. . . . One
special thing the primitive Christians prayed for the emperor was,
that God would send him a faithful council.--_Trapp._
It is not said that in the multitude of counsellors there is safety,
but in the _largeness_ or _muchness_ of a counsellor, that is, such a
counsellor as is furnished with a variety of counsels, and can look
many ways for direction. For such a one is indeed of many, nay, often
far better; because he can sooner resolve what is best, than many
will or can. And therefore, though it be good to have many, and when
they agree perhaps to follow them, yet it may be better to have one
of many counsels, on whom to rely.--_Jermin._
Probably one is more struck, on reflection and in reading, with the
exceptions to the rule, than with confirmatory examples of it, that
in the multitude of counsellors there is safety. . . . A modern
historian finds in the unlicensed discretion reposed by the Roman
Senate in the general, the most efficient aid to the extent of Rome's
early conquests, and he points by way of contrast, to the modern
republics of Italy, as denying themselves scope for larger conquests
by their extreme jealousy of their commanders. Anarchy in Antwerp is
the heading of one of Mr. Morley's graphic pages, and a lively
picture it offers us of the confusion that ensued when the hydra
heads of the multitudinous government were laid together. In Drake's
expedition of 1585, there were too many in command; and after losing
time in debate which Sir Francis, if alone, would have spent in
action, they were obliged to give up the attempt on the Canaries,
with some loss. The otherwise unaccountable action of De Witt in 1671
is explained at once when the anarchical constitution of the Dutch
republic is remembered--its want of a central authority, and the fact
that, to raise money or troops, the consent of a number of petty
councils was necessary, in the multitude of whose counsellors was
anything but safety. "In the multitude of counsellors there may be
safety," says Alison, "it is in general safety to the counsellors,
not to the counselled." The quality of the counsel, and the ability
of the counsellors, are elements of main import in the maxim of the
king.--_Jacox._
For Homiletics on verse 15, see on chap. vi. 1-5.
_ILLUSTRATION OF VERSE_ 15.
The melancholy instances of ruin, in consequence of becoming surety
for others, are exceedingly numerous in the East. Against this they
have many proverbs and fearful examples; but nothing seems to impart
wisdom. Nearly all the Government monopolies, both among native and
European rulers, are let to the highest bidders, and as the whole of
the money cannot be advanced till a part of the produce be sold,
sureties have to be accountable for the amount. But as men generally
enter into these speculations in order to better a reduced fortune,
an extravagant price is often paid, and ruin is the consequence both
to the principal and his surety. This practice of suretyship,
however, is also common in the most trifling affairs of life. "Sign
your name," is a request preferred by every one who is desirous of
obtaining additional security to a petty agreement. In every legal
court or magistrate's office may be seen, now and then, a trio
entering, thus to become responsible for the engagements of the
other. The cause of all this is probably the bad faith which prevails
amongst the heathen.--_Roberts._
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The traffic of ancient times was small, in comparison with the vast
system of exchange which now compasses the whole world like network;
but the same vices that we lament marred it, and the same
righteousnesses that we desiderate would have healed its ailments.
Neither the law of gravitation nor the law of righteousness has
changed since the times of Solomon; both are as powerful as they then
were, and as pervasive. . . . In those primitive times, it seems, as
in our own, some men desired to get faster forward in the world than
their circumstances legitimately permitted. They will throw for a
fortune at another's risk. . . . The warning does not of course
discourage considerate kindnesses in bearing a deserving man over
temporary pressure. . . . The Bible permits and requires more of
kindness to our brother than we have ever done him yet; but it does
not allow us to do a certain substantial evil, for the sake of
distant, shadowy good.--_Arnot._
The heart and mind of every one is a stranger to every one except to
God alone. He therefore that is a surety for another, is surety for a
_stranger_.--_Jermin._
. . . be not surety, if thou be a father,
Love is a personal debt. I cannot give
My children's right, nor ought he to take it: rather
Both friends should die, than hinder them to live.
Fathers first enter bonds to nature's ends;
And are her sureties, ere they are a friend's.--_Herbert._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 16.
A GRACIOUS WOMAN.
+I. What is a gracious woman?+ 1. She is one who stands in right
relations to God. Every thing depends upon right relationship. Upon
the right relationship of the earth to the great centre of the solar
system depends all that makes the earth of worth to us--all its
glorious fruitfulness and beauty. If there was not this adjustment of
relationship between the earth and the sun, our planet would not only
be an unfit abode for man, but would be a positive blot upon God's
universe. This is true also of man's relations to each other, and is
specially so in respect to our relationship to God. Nothing but a
right relationship to Him can develop these moral beauties which
alone make a true woman. She is accepted or "justified" by God's most
gracious favour on God's own conditions. She lives in the eternal
sunlight of His gracious influence, and is held to the most Blessed
Being in the universe, by the sweet persuasiveness which flows from
His blessed character. The thoughts of the Eternal God are the food
of her spirit, and from this relationship to Him comes all the grace
of her character. Is there any other relationship which can make such
a woman? There is none, not only so, the absence of it may end in
making even a woman a blot, a positive evil, in the moral universe.
There can be no true graciousness where there is no union with Him
whose most attractive attribute is His graciousness, who makes
Himself known, as "the Lord God, merciful and gracious." (Exod.
xxxiv. 6). A gracious woman must be in right relationship with a
gracious God. 2. In consequence of this, a gracious woman is right in
her human relationships. Being right in the greater matter, she must
be in that which is less. The earth, because she preserves her right
relation to the sun, is right in her relationship to the other
planets, that is, her path in the heavens is just that which is best
for the whole planetary system--that which enables them also to keep
their orbits, and prevents one of them from exercising a baleful
influence over another. A woman whose spirit is under the influence
of a gracious God will be a gracious daughter, a gracious wife, a
gracious mother, a gracious friend and neighbour--that is, all her
doings and sayings will be irradiated and warmed by that holiness and
love which is the essence of the character of God Himself. In the
summing up of the Divine law, Christ makes the right human relation
depend upon a right Divine relation. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy
God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy
strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself." (Luke
x. 27), and He repeats this foundation in principle in His last
discourse with His disciples before His death, "_By this_ shall all
men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."
(John xiii. 35).
+II. A woman with such a character wins honour.+ The strong men to
whom she is compared (see Critical Notes) are warriors who take the
spoil by strength of hand, such men as Othniel, the son of Kenaz, who
took Kirjath-sepher by reason of his strength and military skill. For
the strong men must _gain_ their spoil before they can _retain_ it.
So with a gracious woman. She must _win_ honour before she can
_retain_ it, and this she most certainly will do. She will be
honoured by God because she is fulfilling His purpose in sending her
into the world--because she is bringing glory to Him by showing to
the world what He meant a woman to be. And as a necessity she will be
honoured. Those in nearest relation to her will honour her. "Her
children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also and he
praiseth her." But she is honoured in a wider sphere by a larger
circle--"Her own works praise her in the gates." (chap. xxxi. 28, 31).
+III. What she has won she will retain.+ Strong men, when they have
won their prize, hold it fast. It is more difficult to obtain wealth
than to retain it. Having done the first by reason of their strength,
it is comparatively easy to do the second by the same means. So with
a gracious woman. Honour is the guerdon of her gracious character,
this she has won without any striving. Her _character_ is that for
which she has striven, and this it is which is the strength by which
she retains _her_ riches, viz., her _honour._
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Albeit the woman is the weaker vessel, yet when she is gracious, that
is to say, graced, not so much with beauty, as with wisdom and
virtue, she keepeth honour, that is, maintaineth her credit and
preserveth her chastity. It were a hard thing to rob or spoil a
strong man of his goods; but to take away the chastity of an honest
matron, be she never so weak, it is impossible, who will rather die a
thousand deaths than to be stained with the least speck of
dishonesty.--_Muffet._
A woman is powerful by her grace as the mighty are by their strength.
In grace there lies as great force as in the imposing nature of the
mighty; nay, the power of the strength of the latter gains only more
property, while the woman gains honour and esteem, which are of more
worth.--_Rueetschi, from Lange's Commentary._
Thus Deborah "retained honour" as a mother in Israel, the counsellor
and stay of a sinking people. (Judges iv. 4; v. 7). Esther "retained"
her influence over her heathen husband for the good of her nation
(Esth. ix. 12, 13, 25). And still the gracious woman retaineth honour
long after she has mingled with the dust. Sarah, the obedient wife
(1 Pet. iii. 5, 6); Hannah, the consecrating mother (1 Sam. i. 28);
Lois, Eunice, and "the elect lady" (2 Tim. i. 5; iii. 15; 2 John
1-4), in the family sphere; Phœbe and her companions on the annals of
the Church (Rom. xvi. 2-6; Phil iv. 3); the rich contributor to the
temple (Mark xii. 42-44); the self-denying lover of her Lord (Mark
xiv. 3-9); Mary in contemplative retirement (Luke x. 39); Dorcas in
active usefulness (Acts ix. 36):--Are not these "good names" still
had in _honourable_ remembrance? (Psalm cxii. 6).--_Bridges._
It is true of both sexes, which Solomon here affirms of women only,
that _gracious_ persons, they who are in the grace and favour of God,
and are strengthened by His gracious assistance, shall from the
generality of men gain an inward esteem, and for the most part, an
outward respect. There are many instances in which virtue has been
rather contemned and ridiculed,--and I will mention none other than
the most signal of all, God Incarnate--but goodness has an
inseparable splendour which can never suffer a total eclipse, and
when it is most reviled and persecuted, it then shines brightest out
of the cloud. So that all who are not wilfully blind, who will but
make use of their eyes to see, must acknowledge the force of its
rays. But why does Solomon here instance the woman rather than the
man? Either this, that as vice is more odious and more detested, so
on the other hand, virtue is more attractive, and looks more lovely
in women than it usually does in men. Or it is, because men have more
advantages of aspiring to honour in all public stations than women
have, and the only way for a woman to gain honour, is an exemplary
holiness. Or it is, because women are made of a temper more soft and
frail, are more endangered by snares and temptations, and more
inclinable to extremes of good and bad than men, and generally
speaking, goodness is a tender thing, more hazardous and brittle in
the former than in the latter, and consequently a firm and steady
virtue is more to be valued in the weaker sex than in the stronger;
so that a _gracious woman_ is most worthy to receive and to _retain
honour_. Or it is, because women in all ages, have given so many
heroic examples of sanctity, that there is that peculiar to the sex
which naturally renders them more pliable to the Divine grace than
men.--_Bp. Ken._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 17.
MERCY AND CRUELTY.
+I. A blessed human character--+"A merciful man." The blessedness of
any human existence depends upon the amount of mercifulness found in
it. It will be blessed in itself, and a blessing to others in
proportion as this Divine characteristic is found in the spirit. God,
as a God of power, would be a wonderful and awe-inspiring Being, but
He would not be "the blessed God" (1 Tim. i. 11) if this were His
only attribute. So far as Men are concerned, He would only be a
Person who added to the mysteries and miseries of human life. There
is plenty of power in the world, but power is not the one thing
needful for fallen and sorrowful humanity. A complex and mighty
machine may, and does, excite our wonder and even our admiration, but
it has not sympathy. God would be no more to us if He were not "The
Lord God, merciful and gracious." He could otherwise add nothing of
blessedness to our existence--yes, His very existence would be a
calamity for sinful man. So, no man is a real blessing to his
fellow-creatures if he is not merciful. He may be a great genius, he
may be a great intellectual power, he may be possessed of great
influence from one source or another; but none of these things alone,
or all of them put together, will add anything to the sum of human
happiness if he is not _merciful._ He is simply a hard machine, and
will never make any wilderness heart rejoice or any moral waste
blossom as the rose. But mercy is a moral force, which works as
subtilely and as certainly upon human hearts to bless them as do the
mysterious influences of the spring-time upon the barren earth. The
absence of mercifulness makes hell the barren world that it is, and
fills heaven with moral light and joy. On earth, mercifulness is felt
to be most needful. The scum of humanity are not insensible to its
blessed influence, and there is no man, however exalted above his
fellow-men, who does not sometimes stand in need of its exercise.
+II. The region which is first blest by the exercise of mercy.+ The
merciful man's "own soul." There are things which by the constitution
of the material universe cannot be separated. Where there is flame,
there is certain to be heat; where the sun's rays come, there must be
light. So mercifulness of disposition must bless a man's own soul.
The exercise of kindliness is in harmony with the law of self-love. A
man is but obeying this law when he exercises mercy. "Thou shalt love
thy neighbour _as_ thyself," implies that a man is to love himself.
Loving his neighbour is the surest way--the only way--of truly doing
good to himself. God has ordained that all exercise of loving
kindness shall have a reward _in_ the doing and _for_ the doing. "He
that watereth others shall be watered himself" (ver. 25). 1. His own
spirit will be filled with a sense of blessedness. 2. His character
will be daily growing more and more like God. 3. He will have mercy
extended to him when he stands in need of it. "Blessed are the
merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." "For with what measure you
mete, it shall be measured unto you again" (Matt. v. 7, vii. 2). And
so is that mercy--
"Is twice bless'd;
It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes."
We have not to consider the opposite character:--
+III. A curse to human kind.+ "A cruel man." He is an inflicter of
pain upon others from a malicious disposition. Pain is the common lot
of men. In the present constitution of things in this world it is a
necessity, and will remain so while sin remains in human nature.
Sometimes pain has to be inflicted upon human beings from the purest
motives, and by the most benevolent of beings. The kindest physician
in the world is obliged constantly to inflict severe physical pain.
The moral teacher--the loving parent or master--must often be the
means of inflicting mental pain. But in these cases the motive is not
_ill_-will, but _good_-will. The pain is contrary to the disposition
of the person who inflicts it. He would not give the pain if the end
could be obtained without it. He intends by present pain to give
future pleasure. But a cruel man inflicts pain from _choice,_ for the
purpose of making men miserable. His cruelty is the outcome of his
malicious nature. Hence he is a curse to his race. To the unavoidable
and necessary pain of the world he adds that which is worse than
needless. He would often inflict more than he does, if he had the
power. Did not experience teach the contrary, we should not believe
it possible that there could be such monsters in the garb of men.
They are, indeed, of "their father the devil" (John viii. 44), who
finds his only delight in the misery of others.
+IV. That, in the end, the cruel man will inflict the most pain upon
himself.+ 1. He will "trouble his own flesh," or his whole being in
the present. He will be tormented by his conscience which now and
again will rise from its deathlike slumber and avenge the miseries of
those upon whose rights he has trampled--whose lives he has taken, or
worse, whose souls he has ruined. While he is still pursuing his
course of cruelty he will have the sting of the serpent remorse
poisoning the life-blood of his spirit--a prophecy of future
retribution possibly in this world, certainly in the next. 2. He is
laying up trouble for himself in the future. _Men may_ return his
cruelty with compound interest,--(see comments and illustrations on
verse 10), whether _they_ do or not _God certainly will_. The Divine
decree has gone forth, "He shall have judgment without mercy, that
hath showed no mercy." (James ii. 13). His experience will be that of
the cruel tyrant of Bezek. "As I have done so God hath requited me,"
(Judges i. 6, 7), or that of Shakespeare's _Richard III._
O coward conscience, how thou dost afflict me!
The lights burn blue.--It is now dread midnight.
Cold fearful drops stand on my trembling flesh.
What; do I fear myself? there's none else by:
Richard loves Richard; that is, I am I.
Is there a murderer here? No;--yes, I am:
Then fly,--What, from myself? Great reason, why?
Lest I revenge. What? myself on myself?
I love myself. Wherefore? for any good
That I myself have done unto myself?
O no; alas, I rather hate myself,
For hateful deeds committed by myself.
* * * * * *
My conscience hath a thousand several tongues,
And every tongue brings in a several tale,
And every tale convicts me for a villain
* * * * * *
All several sins, all used in each degree,
Throng to the bar, crying all,--Guilty! guilty!
I shall despair.--There is no creature loves me:--
And, if I die, no soul will pity me:--
Nay, wherefore should they, since that I myself
Find in myself no pity to myself.
_ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE LATTER CLAUSE OF THE VERSE._
Buchanan, the Scotch historian, relates that John Cameron, Bishop of
Glasgow, was so given to extortion and oppression, especially upon
his tenants and vassals, that he would scarcely afford them bread to
eat, or clothes to wear. But one Christmas eve, as he lay in his bed
in his house at Lockwood, he heard a voice summoning him to appear
before the tribunal of Christ, and give an account of his actions.
Being terrified with this notice, and the pangs of a guilty
conscience, he called up his servants, and commanded them to stay in
the room with him. He himself took a book in his hand, and began to
read; but the voice, being heard a second time, struck all the
servants with horror. The same voice repeating the summons a third
time, and with a louder and more dreadful accent, the bishop, after a
most lamentable and frightful groan, was found dead in his bed.
+The Last Days of Nero.+ Nero had landed in Italy about the end of
February, and now, at the beginning of June, his cause had already
become hopeless. Galba, though stedfast in his resolution, had not
yet set his troops in motion; nevertheless, Nero was no longer safe
in the city. . . . Terrified by dreams, stung by ridicule or
desertion, when his last hope of succor was announced to have
deceived him, the wretched tyrant started from his couch at supper,
upset the tables, and dashed his choicest vessels to the ground;
then, taking poison from Locusta, and placing it in a golden casket,
he crossed from the palace to the Servilian gardens, and sent his
trustiest freedman to secure a galley at Ostia. He conjured some
tribunes and centurions, with a handful of guards, to join his
flight, but all refused; and one, blunter than the rest, exclaimed,
tauntingly, "_Is it, then, so hard to die?_" At last, at midnight,
finding that even the sentinels had left their posts, he sent, or
rushed himself, to assemble his attendants. Every door was closed; he
knocked, but no answer came. Returning to his chamber, he found the
slaves fled, the furniture pillaged, the case of poison removed. Not
a guard, not a gladiator, was at hand, to pierce his throat. _I have
neither friend nor foe,_ he exclaimed. He would have thrown himself
into the Tiber but his courage failed him. He must have time, he
said, and repose to collect his spirits for suicide, and his freedman
Phaon at last offered him his villa in the suburbs, four miles from
the city. In undress and barefooted, throwing a rough cloak over his
shoulders and a kerchief across his face, he glided through the
doors, mounted a horse, and, attended by Sporus and three others,
passed the city gates with the dawn of a summer morning. The
Nomentane road led him beneath the wall of the prætorians, whom he
might hear uttering curses upon him and pledging vows to Galbo; and
the early travellers from the country asked him as they met, _What
news of Nero?_ or remarked to one another, _These men are pursuing
the tyrant._ Thunder and lightning, and a shock of earthquake, added
terror to the moment. Nero's horse started at a dead body on the
roadside, the kerchief fell from his face, and a prætorian passing by
recognised and saluted him. At the fourth milestone the party quitted
the highway, alighted from their horses, and scrambled on foot
through a canebrake, laying their own cloaks to tread on, to the rear
of the promised villa. Phaon now desired Nero to crouch in a sand-pit
hard by, while he contrived to open the drain of the bath-room, and
so admit him unperceived; but he vowed that he would not go _alive,_
as he said, _underground,_ and remained trembling beneath the wall.
At last a hole was made through which he crept on all fours into a
narrow chamber of the house, and there threw himself on a pallet. The
coarse bread that was offered him he could not eat, but swallowed a
little tepid water. . . . Suddenly was heard the tramp of horsemen,
sent to seize the culprit alive. Then at last he placed a weapon to
his breast, and the slave Epaphroditus drove it home. . . . Nero
perished at the age of thirty years and six months.--_Merivale._
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
There are two descriptions of mercy. There is mercy to _sufferers,_
and mercy to _offenders._ Mercy to sufferers is the disposition to
_relieve;_ mercy to offenders is the disposition to _forgive._ The
two are infinitely united in God. Under his government all sufferers
are offenders. It is only _as_ offenders that they are sufferers; and
when He pardons the offence, He cancels the sentence to suffering.
And in every good man the two are united. They should, indeed, be
regarded as one principle, operating in different departments. Now
"the merciful man" whether considered in the one light or the
other,--in exercising forgiveness or in relieving
distress--effectually consults his own interests. He does so, even
for present enjoyment. The Divine sentiment of the Saviour--"It is
more blessed to give than to receive," has its full application here.
Jesus Himself, above all that ever lived on earth, experienced its
truth. He "delighted in mercy." He came from above on an errand of
mercy. The "merciful man" participates in the blessedness of the Son
of God. . . . He, moreover, procures favour with his fellow-men;--he
"makes himself friends of the mammon of unrighteousness;" he causes
society to feel an interest in him--to regard and treat him as its
friend and benefactor. This is eminently gratifying and pleasing;--to
know that in the hearts of our fellow-men our names are associated
with affection and blessing, and that when we "fail," there will be
some ready to receive us into "everlasting habitations," who have
been made friends by our kindness during their sojourn in the
wilderness. But above all, the mercy of the merciful is associated
with the favour and blessing of God. . . . But the cruel stirs up
resentment, instead of conciliating favour; so that on every hand, in
every face, he sees an enemy, from whom he dreads the fulfilment of
the Saviour's maxim,--"With what measure ye mete it shall be measured
to you again." How can he be happy? There is unhappiness in his very
passions. The opposite of the character of God, they cannot but be
associated with misery.--_Wardlaw._
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: This next paragraph includes the word
"niggardliness," which is a fine word meaning "stinginess"
or "parsimony." However, it can sound like a racial slur
especially to people who are not familiar with the word or
are not paying close attention. When teaching this material
please consider substituting a synonym.
We are to preserve, as much as in us lies, these two parts of our
nature, our souls and our bodies. . . . He that may truly be called a
kind man, is kind to his own soul, in comforting his own heart, and
in granting thereunto the delight which may be received by sleep, by
food, and the use of all things necessary and pleasant. Wherefore the
counsel which the son of Sirach giveth is good and worthy to be
followed: "Love thy soul, and comfort thine heart, and put heaviness
far away from thee." (Ecclus. xxx. 21, etc.) On the contrary side the
cruel person, either for niggardliness, or travail, or sorrow,
pincheth, consumeth, or pineth his body. He ceaseth not to labour,
nor saith, For whom do I travail and deprive my soul of good
things.--_Muffet._
The merciful man will ever find a merciful God. (Psa. xli. 1. Matt.
v. 7). The widow of Sarepta and the woman of Shunem, each for their
kindness to the Lord's prophets received a prophet's reward. (2 Kings
iv. 16. vii. 1, 6). The alms of Cornelius brought _good to his own
soul._ (Acts x. 2, 4). Even now "God is not unrighteous to forget our
work and labour of love." (Heb. vi. 10. Matt. x. 42). At the great
day He will honour it before the assembled universe. (Matt.
xxv. 34). . . . Cain found his brother's murder an intolerable
"_trouble to his flesh._" (Gen. iv. 13, 14). The doom of Ahab and
Jezebel was the curse of their own cruelty. (1 Kings xxii. 38.
2 Kings ix. 36, 37). The treasures of selfishness will eat as a
canker in _our own flesh._ (Jas. v. 1, 3).--_Bridges._
Why did not the wise man say, "He that is cruel troubleth his own
soul?" He knew that a cruel man cares nothing for his soul. If you
would obtain a hearing from the merciless man, say nothing about his
soul. He values it less than his dog. But if you could convince him
that his want of mercy will be hurtful to his flesh, he would think a
little about his ways. And it is evident from Scripture, that his
flesh, no less than his soul, is under a fearful curse.--_Lawson._
His chief business is with and for himself: how to set all to rights
within, how to keep a continual Sabbath of soul, a constant
composedness. He will not purchase earth with his loss of heaven. And
inasmuch as the body is the soul's servant, and should therefore be
fit for the soul's business--it ought not to be pinched or pined with
penury or overmuch abstinence, as those impostors (Col. ii. 23), and
our Popish merit-mongers, that starve their genius, and are cruel to
their own flesh. They shall one day hear, "Who required these things
at your hand?"--_Trapp._
In every act that mercy prompts there are two parties who obtain a
benefit,--the person in need, who is the object of compassion, and
the person not in need, who pities his suffering brother. Both get
good, but the giver gets the larger share. . . . The Good Samaritan
who bathed the wounds and provided for the wants of a plundered Jew,
obtained a greater profit on the transaction than the sufferer who
was saved by his benevolence. It is like God to constitute His world
so. Even Christ himself, in the act of showing mercy, has His
reward. . . . And a man cannot hurt his neighbour without hurting
himself. The rebound is heavier than the blow. . . . Such is the
fence which the Creator has set up to keep men off his fellows. This
dividing line is useful now to keep off the ravages of sin; but when
perfect love has come, that divider, no longer needed, will be no
longer seen. It is like one of those black jagged ridges of rock that
at low water stretch across the sand from the edge of the cultivated
ground to the margin of the sea, an impassable, an unapproachable
barrier: when the tide rises, all is level, and it is nowhere seen.
This law of God, rising as a rampart between man and man, is confined
to this narrow six thousand year strip of time. In the perfect state
it will act no more, for want of material to act upon.--_Arnot._
It is to his own soul that a merciful man doeth good. For it hath
been well said, there is nothing so much a man's own as that which is
given to the poor. That which men do, they do as to a poor soul, of
as noble birth, and by nature of as great excellency as their own
soul is, and so they do it, as it were, to their own. That which God
doth, He doth to a sinful soul, degenerate from the birth which He
gave it, and turned to be a rebel against Him. So that God is more
ready to be good to His enemies, then we are to be good to
ourselves.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 18-20.
SOWING AND REAPING.
+I. The life-work of the wicked contains within itself the germs of a
three-fold bane: A deception, a death, and an abomination.+ 1. _A
deception._ The wicked man expects from his life-work that which it
cannot possibly yield. It is against the moral constitution of the
universe that a life of wickedness, or an evil understanding in that
life should yield satisfaction or any degree of real comfort to the
worker. If a man sowed darnel in his field and expected to get a crop
of wheat, he would be "working a deceitful work," that is, he would
be a victim of self-deception. Nature cannot go out of her way to
gratify his desires, to prevent his disappointment. The ungodly man
lives a life of ungodliness--he "pursues evil," (ver. 19), he
perversely chooses his own course, in other words, he "is of a
froward heart," (ver. 20), and he promises himself some kind of
advantage. But it cannot be, he is doomed to disappointment. However
much _he lies_ to work his work, the _issue of his work_ will not
lie. The earth will not lie concerning what kind of seed is placed in
her furrows. If wheat is hidden there she will not disappoint the
husbandman by returning him tares--if tares are sown she will render
back of what has been entrusted to her care. She will speak the truth
about the sowing by giving according to that which she has received.
The sinner wants to make God a liar. "In the day that thou eatest
thereof thou shalt surely die," is the Divine sentence. "Ye shall not
surely die," is the assurance of the great deceiver. But the end will
ever be what it was when man first suffered himself to entertain a
doubt upon the matter. The man who builds himself a house upon the
side of a volcano may promise himself, or may be promised by others,
safety and peace, but unless he can quench the internal fires, that
promise cannot be kept. The elements of destruction are ever at work
under his very feet, the day will come when the devouring flame will
burst forth and consume the work and the worker together. 2. _Death._
There are three kinds of death which are all the fruit of sin and
which are developed out of one another as the blade, the corn in the
ear, and the full corn are successive developments of one seed. There
is that present paralysis of all the spiritual capabilities of the
man which the Bible calls _carnal mindedness._ (Rom. viii. 6). Into
this condition Adam came at once as soon as he worked his wicked
work, and every son of his who lives a life of oppression to the
Divine will is even now "dead" in this sense. The death of the body
is but the outcome of this spiritual death, and although it is the
portion of those who have been made spiritually alive, its character
is changed from a curse into a blessing. But the consummation of both
these "deaths," is that irrecoverable paralysis of spirit, and that
correspondent condition of body known as the "second death." This is
what the man "pursues" who "pursues evil." 3. _An abomination._ A
musical soul hates discord, an honest man hates dishonesty, the
pure-minded turn with loathing from all impurity. Although God loves
His creatures, He holds in abomination all that is unholy; a
persistent frowardness--a constant refusal to fall in with the Divine
plan of separating sin from the human soul will--it is here and
elsewhere declared--result in the very creature whom He has made
becoming an offence to his Divine Creator.
+II. The life-work of the righteous will meet the certain reward of a
Divine character and Divine delight.+ 1. _A Divine character._ He is
now a partaker of spiritual life. A man's present healthy life is in
itself a reward for any self-denial he may practise in observing the
laws of health. There is a joy in living which a diseased man knows
nothing of. So there is a present joy in being in a state of
spiritual health, in the exercise of all the graces which are the
fruit of the spirit, (Gal. v. 22), to which a man who is morally
diseased and dead is an entire stranger. The spiritual life which is
the harvest of "sowing righteousness" or uprightness, is a present
reward. But the present spiritual live and health is a prophecy and
an earnest of a completed and perfected life in the city of God.
Righteousness is the very life of God, and in proportion as His
children attain perfection of character they attain a more perfect
life. (See Homiletics on chap. vii. 1-4). 2. _Divine delight._ God is
the Author and Fountain of all the righteousness in the universe, and
He can but take pleasure in the work of His own hands. He delights in
men of uprightness because He sees in them a reproduction of His own
character. His "soul _delighted,_" (Isa. xlii. 1), in the work and
character of His elected servant, His only-begotten Son, because He
was, pre-eminently "the Righteous." (1 John ii. 1). He delights also
in His created sons in proportion as their character comes up to that
perfect standard.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 18. 1. _Opposite characters._ The radical idea of the word
righteousness seems to be that of equality, as the equilibrium of a
pair of scales, etc. Hence, applied to moral or religious matters, it
makes a correspondence between our obligations on the one hand, and
our performance on the other. But as the rightful claims of God and
man are embodied in the Divine law, righteousness is considered as
obedience and conformity to that law (Deut. vi. 25). And as this rule
rather declares what it enjoins to be fit and proper, than makes it
so, righteousness, in relation to the arrangement and constitution of
things, is order, fitness, reality, truth. The radical meaning of the
word here employed to denote the wicked man appears to be that of
inequality, unfairness. Hence _wicked,_ that is, _unequal,_ balances
(Mic. vi. 11). Agreeably to this idea, the word, when used in a moral
sense, means a want of correspondence between duty and
performance--nonconformity to the laws of God. As righteousness is
order, etc., so that which is the essence of wickedness, is disorder,
incongruity, deception, a lie, an unsound principle. 2. _Opposite
practices._ As is the tree, so is the fruit. Righteousness renders to
God and to man their due. The unrighteous man robs God (Mal. iii. 8,
9) of time and talents which should have been devoted to His service.
His work is--Deceitful (often) in its intention. Deception is the
very object proposed. Deceitful (always) in its nature. Weighed in
the balances, it is found wanting. 3. _Opposite results._ The
deceiver himself often becomes the dupe of his own delusions. By
abuse the moral sense becomes blunted, etc., then follows what is
described Isa. xliv. 18, 20; 2 Tim. iii. 13. Deceitful in its
results--generally in this world. A tradesman who makes a point of
telling profitable lies, is detected and disbelieved even when he
speaks the truth, and, being deserted, comes to ruin.--Certainly in
the world to come. Every man loves happiness; but sin will leave the
sinner to weeping and wailing, etc. On the contrary, the righteous
has a sure reward. His reward is--1. Certain. The perfections and
word of God assure this. 2. Suitable; a reward of truth, a reward in
kind, an increase of correct and pious feeling (Matt. v. 6, 8).
Hence, 3. Satisfying (Psalm xvii. 15). 4. Abiding (Psa.
xix. 9).--_Adapted from Sketches of Sermons._
Although the ungodly person labour much, yet he doth a work which
neither shall continue, nor bring any fruit unto him. The hypocrite
giveth alms oftentimes to be seen by men, but he shall never be
rewarded for his liberality by the Lord. The transgressor of God's
law buildeth himself upon the show of an outward profession: such a
house will fall. The vain teacher delivereth the straw and the
stubble of error and vanity for true doctrine and sound divinity.
This work cannot abide; the day will reveal it, and the fire will
consume it.--_Muffet._
None would be so rich and happy as he servants of Satan, were his
promises all performed; but the misery is, that he will promise
kingdoms, though he cannot, like Chaldean robbers, have a single
sheep without the Divine permission; and what is worst of all, those
that trust his promises are paid with fire and brimstone. The devil
was a liar from the beginning, yet so infatuated are men, that they
will trust him more than a God that cannot lie. The devil places
pleasure and profit before them; God, by the threatenings of His
word, sets an everlasting hell before them. But they will venture
through it, in order to enjoy the vanities with which the great
tempter allures them.--_Lawson._
By necessity of his condition, every man's life, and every moment of
it, is a sowing. The machine is continually moving over the field and
shaking; it cannot, even for a moment, be made to stand still, so as
not to sow. It is not an open question at all whether I shall sow or
not to-day; the only question to be decided is, Shall I sow good seed
or bad?--_Arnot._
If righteousness be our main end, God will make it our best friend;
nor will He, as the world has done, reward us with ciphers instead of
gold.--_Bridges._
Nothing is durable that a wicked man does except his crimes.--_A.
Clarke._
Our wage is better than ordinary, the whole crop that we sow is given
us for our labour, and therefore let us not be too hasty to reap it
before it be ready. Good farmers indeed pay the ploughman sooner than
the corn is ripe, but cheaper than the corn is worth: Whereas God
bestoweth freely upon his labourers all that they have sown, it is
their own, and therefore let them tarry till harvest, and they shall
find their hire will far surmount their travail.--_Dod._
Let us inquire why this gracious course of consecrating a man's self
to God in the practice of godliness is called a _sowing_ of
righteousness. It is because of the likeness which is betwixt the
practice of godliness, and the sowing of the seed--(1) _in some
things which do go before the sowing._ Two things, then, have to be
looked after, viz., _the preparation of the ground and the choice of
seed._ In the sowing of righteousness the like to these two are of
great behoof. The preparation of the heart and the choice of
particulars belonging to a Christian course. (2) _In some things
which do accompany the sowing, viz., the time of sowing and the
plenty of sowing._ When the season comes, the husbandman falls to his
work, though, perhaps, it be not so seasonable as he could desire. So
in spiritual business--the seed time for righteousness is this life:
the opportunity must be taken when it comes. If I meet with many
encumbrances, shall I cease sowing and tarry for a calmer season? God
forbid. Through with it I must, in season, and out of season. If I
look for a better time, upon a sudden, there will be no time at all.
Then the seedsman casts not in one seed alone, but a handful at once,
one handful after another. To sow righteousness is to be rich in good
works, to do good once and again, to join with faith virtue; with
virtue knowledge, etc. Some do now and then drop out a good work,
some little devotion to God, some petty office of mercy to men, but
it is to no purpose in the world; no plenty in sowing, no fulness in
reaping. (3) _In things which follow after sowing._ Great is the care
that the seed put into the ground may thrive and prosper; the fields
be hedged, the cattle be shut out, etc. It is ever and anon looked
to, to see how it be going on. So it is in vain to have entered upon
a good course if it be not continued (Phil. iv. 1; 1 Thess. iv. 1;
2 Pet. iii. 18; Heb. vi. 1). Thus we see that to sow righteousness
is--1. The submitting a man's self to have his heart broken up by the
power of God's word. 2. A diligent inquiry into the best way of
pleasing God. 3. A pressing forward amid many encumbrances. 4. A
striving to be fruitful in good works. 5. A watching with continued
diligence.--_Hieron._
Verse 19. The courses of rivers is to return to the sea, from whence
they issue, and so righteousness, coming from the ocean of life,
thither tendeth again, and evil, coming from the black sea of
darkness, bendeth thither also. The difference which the passengers
find is this: that in the waters of righteousness all the tempests
and rough waves are in the river, but going on with it to the sea,
there is nothing but calmness, security, and pleasantness, in which
they bathe themselves for evermore. In the waters of wickedness the
passengers find the river to be easy often, and smoothly to carry
them along, but following the course of it, when they come to the
sea, there are nothing but horrid storms, raging winds, and gaping
gulfs of death, wherein they are for ever swallowed up.--_Jermin._
Our principal pay will be in _life_, whereof we have part in hand by
grace in our souls in this world, and the rest is behind until the
pay day in the world to come. So that a sinner cannot discern the
happiness of a Christian, nor conceive how God dealeth with him. For
the comfort of a heart is a thing unknown to him, and the glorious
life is hid with Christ in God, and shall not fully be seen before we
appear with Him in glory.--_Dod._
If righteousness is a seed, and is sown, and has a certain crop,
then, in this way, "righteousness is unto life," but he that pursues
evil does so to his death; that is, he sows in spiritual corruption,
and that eternally. He grows in spiritual corruption, not because
creatures are self-subsistent, and advance by laws implanted in
themselves; but because sin is the punishment of sin, and advance by
laws implanted in the Almighty. Eternal justice declares that sin
must be given up to an advance in sin.--_Miller._
It is frequently possible for man to screen themselves from the
penalty of human laws, but no man can be ungrateful or unjust without
suffering for his crime; hence I conclude that these laws must have
proceeded from a more excellent legislator than man.--_Socrates._
Verse 20. Uprightness is a noble quality, for the Lord greatly
delights in it. He boasted, if we may speak so, to the devil of Job's
invincible integrity. Christ speaks of an upright Nathaniel as a
wonder in the world. How wonderful is the grace of God, that takes
such kind notice of grace so imperfect as that which may be found on
earth.--_Lawson._
"An abomination to Jehovah," as taught in this book, is a thing so
radically full of mischief that it must be forced out of the way some
day, by the very necessities of the universe.--_Miller._
Not only those that pursue and practise wickedness, but they also
that harbour it in their hearts, are hated of God. (Luke xvi. 15). A
man may die of inward bleeding; a man may be damned for contemplative
wickedness. The antithesis requires that he should say, such as are
upright _in heart._ But He chooseth rather to say, _in their way,_
not only because a good heart ever makes a good life, but to meet
with such as brag of the goodness of their hearts when their lives
are altogether loose and licentious. Whereas holiness in the heart,
as the candle in the lantern, well appears in the body.--_Trapp._
A pearl upon a dunghill is worth stooping for, and a gracious man or
woman is worth looking after. Sure it is that God looks on them as
His jewels, as a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, His delight.
His dear children, and what not. It much concerns us then, to set a
true value upon them, make a true estimate of them, and (as much as
lieth in us) to be mindful of them, comfortable to them, and willing
on all occasions to do them good.--_Spencer's Things New and Old._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 21.
DELIVERANCE FROM A CONFEDERATED OPPOSITION.
+I. The wicked will certainly confederate against the good.+ They
will join "hand in hand." 1. _On account of their nearness to each
other._ If two nations who are near neighbours feel that the advance
of one in possessions, in power, in wealth, will be the correspondent
retrogression of the other, there will be a confederation of each
nation. Their nearness to each other will necessitate a _defensive_
confederation--most likely an _offensive_ one, for each will feel
that its existence depends upon a union of its members. The wicked
and the good in the entire universe make but two hostile camps,
although they are not separated into distinct nationalities or
divided by geographical boundaries in this world. Some of each side
are found in every nation, in every city, in every hamlet, often in
the same house, and while this is the case there will be
confederation on both sides we have here to do only with that of the
wicked. Hatred of the good is often the only bond of union between
wicked men, they feel that, if the good are to be held back from
possessing the earth, they must unite to oppose their work. Hatred of
Christ united Herod and Pilate (Luke xxiii. 12). 2. _This
confederation of the wicked is against both persons and principles._
The good fight only against the _principles_ of the godless--they
love their _persons,_ the wicked hate both the _persons_ and
_principles_ of the good. 3. _The wicked will confederate because of
the tremendous issues depending upon the conflict._ If the principles
that govern the good should triumph in the world, they instinctively
feel that there will be no place left for their persons and
principles. 4. _Confederation implies choice, confidence in numbers,
thought, and a covenant to stand by each other._ Those who join hand
to hand show that they choose each other's society--choice is a
revelation of character--those who join hands with the wicked reveal
that they are wicked also. It implies confidence in numbers. Numbers
have a wonderful influence in begetting confidence. They inspire men
with hope of success. It seems impossible that so many can be
defeated. The fact that the wicked are in the majority in this world
is often a strong point with them. This was the hope of Pharaoh
(Exod. xiv. 6, 7) and of Sennacherib (Isa. xxxvi). The first Napoleon
made it his boast that "Providence fought always on the side of great
battalions." It likewise implies thought. They do not go to their
work without taking counsel together as to the best means of
accomplishing their ends. This "multitude of counsellors" (ver. 14)
is one of the advantages of confederation. It likewise implies
covenant. There is something even in a wicked man that makes him slow
to break an agreement--to violate a solemn promise. Even the wicked
Herod would keep his oath to the daughter of Herodias, although the
thought of the crime which he must commit to do so startled him for a
moment (Matt. xiv. 9). All these things together make up the strength
of the confederation of the wicked; but, notwithstanding,--
+II. They will be defeated.+ "The seed of the righteous will be
delivered." The end of all their planning and plotting was the
destruction of the good, but it will not be. Another confederation
has been formed which has in it a stronger Person than any in the
confederation of the wicked. _God_ is in it. God has chosen the good
for His confederates because they have chosen Him (Isa. xli. 8, 9).
Although the wicked have many on their side there are more in numbers
on the other side (2 Kings vi. 16). Those unseen defenders of the
good cause must be taken into account. God has thoughts and plans
which embrace and overrule all the plans and schemes of the wicked.
He has likewise made a covenant, and He cannot "alter the thing that
has gone out of His lips" (Psalm xxxix. 34). Therefore the righteous
may meet their foes with this challenge: "_Associate yourselves, O ye
people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye
shall be broken in pieces. Take counsel together, and it shall come
to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand; for the Lord is
with us_" (Isa. viii. 9, 10).
+III. The members of the wicked confederation will be punished.+ Men
think that individuals will be lost in the crowd. They think there is
safety in being one of many. But it is not so. God will deal with men
as individuals. He will "render to _every man_ according to his work"
(Psalm lxii. 12). This is the word of the Lord to those who dare "to
take counsel together against the Lord and against His anointed"
(Psalm ii. 2)--"_Judgment also will I lay to the line and
righteousness to the plummet; and the hail shall sweep away the
refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding-place. And
your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement
with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass
through, then ye shall be trodden down by it_" (Isaiah
xxviii. 17-18). And this is His word to "the seed of the
righteous,"--"_Behold they shall surely gather together, but not by
me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy
sake. Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the
fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have
created the waster to destroy. No weapon that is formed against thee
shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise against thee in
judgment thou shalt condemn_" (Isaiah liv. 15-17).
_ILLUSTRATION._
A very solemn method of taking an oath in the East is by joining
hands, uttering at the same time a curse upon the false swearer. To
this the wise man probably alludes. This form of swearing is still
observed in Egypt and the vicinity; for when Mr. Bruce was at Shekh
Hunner, he entreated the protection of the governor in prosecuting
his journey, when the great people who were assembled came, and after
joining hands, repeated a kind of prayer about two minutes long, by
which they declared themselves and their children accursed, if ever
they lifted up their hands against him in the tent, or in the field,
or the desert, or in case that he or his should fly to them for
refuge, if they did not protect them at the risk of their lives. Or,
sometimes, when two persons make a contract they bring the palms of
their right hands into contact, and raise them to their lips and
forehead. At other times they rub the forefingers of their rights
hands together, repeating the words "right, right," or "together,
together."--_Paxton's Illustration._
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
What many wicked cannot do, in saving one wicked man from wrath, that
shall one godly man do for many. For not only _himself,_ but his
_seed_ shall be delivered.--_Jermin._
The best way for any man to do his children good, is to be godly
himself.--_Dod._
The "_seed of the righteous_" is not simply the children of righteous
people, because it includes the parents themselves; not simply the
parents, because it includes the children; not both parents and
children, because many children perish; but the _seed_ of the
righteous in this sense (1) that righteousness runs in lines;--there
is a generation of them that seek Him (Psa. xxiv. 6)--and (2) that
the righteous, as far as they are righteous in the parental relation,
will have godly children (Gen. xviii. 19; Titus i. 6). Righteousness
itself (by its fidelities) has its offspring in Christian families.
This is the favourite method of the Church's growth.--_Miller._
Let sinners beware of the danger and the inevitable result of
fighting against God! "He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength;
who hath hardened himself against Him and prospered?" What fearful
odds--the creature against the Creator! the sinner against his
rightful Judge! the arm of flesh against the hand of Omnipotence.
Though the wicked could league all creation with them in conspiracy
and rebellion, how powerless the combination! "He that sitteth in the
heavens should laugh; the Lord should have them in derision. He
should speak unto them in His wrath, and vex them in His sore
displeasure." Companions in sin shall be companions in banishment and
suffering. "Forsake the foolish, then, and live." Choose another
fellowship. Give your hand to God's people, giving your heart to God
Himself.--_Wardlaw._
When we hear of the wicked, we are apt to think that man of abandoned
lives can alone be meant. Hence, when we read the text we have a
picture brought before us of some overbearing tyranny, or some
perfidious conspiracy. Such specimens of evil are doubtless intended;
still, after all, much more is included in its meaning, much which we
see before our eyes. Is not the world itself evil? Is it an accident,
is it an occasion, is it but an excess, or a crisis, or a
complication of circumstances, which constitutes its sinfulness? or,
rather, is it not one of our three great spiritual enemies at all
times, and under all circumstances? (See Jas. iv. 4; Ephes. ii. 2;
Rom. xii. 2; 1 John ii. 15). Let us be sure, then, that the
confederacy of evil which Scripture calls the world--that conspiracy
against God of which Satan is the secret instigator--is something
wider, and more subtle, and more ordinary than mere cruelty, or
craft, or profligacy: It is that very world in which we are. It is
not a certain body or party of men--it is human society
itself.--_J. H. Newman._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 22.
PRECIOUS THINGS POSSESSED BY UNWORTHY OWNERS.
+I. There is an analogy between gold and beauty.+ 1. _They are both
gifts from God._ Whether a man possesses gold by inheritance or as
the result of labour it is a gift from God. In the first instance no
praise or blame is due to him for being a rich man, he can no more
help it than he can help being in existence. And it is no less a gift
from God when it has been earned by toil (see Homiletics on chap.
x. 22). Beauty is also a gift from God, those who possess it deserve
no honour for being beautiful, those who lack it are not to be
despised on that account. 2. _Both have a certain value._ Gold may
add much to a man himself, it increases his opportunities of
spiritual and intellectual growth. It enables him to add much to the
joy and comfort of others, to give them opportunities of growth also;
a rich man can, if he pleases, serve his generation most effectually
by a right use of wealth, and thereby increase a thousandfold his own
happiness as well as that of others. Beauty is precious also. A woman
who possesses physical beauty possesses an influence which she can
use, if she pleases, as a lever to raise the moral tone of those who
come under her influence. A beautiful woman may use her beauty so as
to earn for herself a good reward, and gladden the hearts of her
fellow-creatures. 3. _Both may make their possessors worthy of praise
or blame._ Although neither praise nor blame can be attached to the
_possession_ of them, much may be to their _use._ He who uses gold as
we have just indicated will receive the "well done," which is the
highest praise that man can receive (Matt. xxv. 21). But if, like a
sponge, he sucks up all the blessings that his gold can give into his
own life, and leaves others unsuccoured and unblest, he will deserve,
and he will receive, the sentence passed upon the rich by the Apostle
James (chap. v. 1). So with the use or the abuse of beauty. For the
right use of this gift of God, praise will be accorded to its
possessor, for its abuse she will be called to render an account.
+II. Gold and beauty, each in a wrong relation.+ An ornament of gold
is a fitting and becoming adornment of the human person. But the same
thing in a swine's snout is utterly out of place; the conjunction of
the two strikes us as entirely incongruous. But it is not more so
than to find a fair face united to an unlovely soul--to a soul which
lacks the purity and modesty without which a woman is the most
repulsive of God's creatures. For the word translated discretion
evidently means _womanliness_--_virtue,_ and when we see a beautiful
face and find that it belongs to one with a foul spirit, we seem to
see heaven and hell united in one person. The analogy goes further;
the swine uses his snout to grovel in the mire in search of that
which will satisfy his animal and swinish nature, he could put a
jewel of gold to no other use. And the woman of the proverb does the
same thing with her beauty. She debases this jewel of God's own
workmanship to the vile use of satisfying her own grovelling and
lawless desires, and thus renders the resemblance most striking.
_ILLUSTRATION._
Nearly all the females of the East wear a jewel of gold in their
nostrils, or in the septum of their nose; and some of them are
exceedingly beautiful, and of great value. The Oriental lady looks
with as much pleasure upon the jewel which adorns her nose as any of
her sex in England do upon that which deck their ears.--_Roberts._
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
We cannot, if we are ourselves right-minded,--if we have even good
sense, apart from piety--admire such beauty. It hardly deserves the
name. True loveliness consists not in mere exquisite symmetry of
features. It cannot exist without _expression._ To constitute true
beauty, the countenance must be the index of the mind and heart--of
what is intellectual and what is amiable.--_Wardlaw._
The most direct proverb, in the sense of "_mashal,_" or _similitude,_
which has yet reached us.--_Plumptre._
Beauty is an earthly jewel, and is a comely ornament, where God and
nature have bestowed it. But if there be no discretion to consider
whence it cometh, and by whom it is preserved; if there be no
understanding to perceive what the nature of it is, to what at last
it cometh, and how soon it fadeth, it is then but a jewel of gold in
a swine's snout.--_Jermin._
God makes no more reckoning of sinful people without understanding,
than of brute beasts without reason. Though they have human nature,
and carry the shape and form of men and women, with best show, yet if
there be nothing but flesh and blood and sinfulness, no beauty no
bravery, make the best of them, is more acceptable to Him than is the
basest of all the other creatures. It is a very homely comparison
wherewith the Holy Ghost disgraceth the wicked in this book, and yet
so true, that He toucheth it again in the New Testament (2 Pet.
ii. 22).--_Dod._
It is small praise, saith one, to have a good face and an evil
nature. No one means, saith another, hath so enriched hell as
beautiful faces. Art thou fair? saith an author; be not like an
Egyptian temple, or a painted sepulchre. Art thou foul? let thy soul
be like a rich pearl in a rude shell.--_Trapp._
Beauty in the possession of an unthinking woman is more dangerous
than a drawn sword in the hands of an idiot.
Beauty, unaccompanied by virtue, is as a flower without perfume.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 23.
THE DESIRE OF THE RIGHTEOUS, AND THE EXPECTATION OF THE WICKED.
We cannot understand the first clause of this verse to mean that
_all_ a righteous man's desires are good. 1. _History contradicts
it._ Solomon must have known it was not true of his own father. David
was a righteous man, but some of his desires were not only not good,
but inhuman and devilish. Of all the good men of whom we read,
whether in inspired or uninspired history, there is hardly one of
whom some act is not recorded which reveals that their desires were
sometimes sinful. 2. _Present experience contradicts it._ If those
who are now looked upon as the salt of the earth were appealed to
upon this matter they would emphatically deny that their desires were
at all times and altogether good. But this we may affirm. I. _That
the main desire of a righteous man is that he may be good, and that
to all his fellow-creatures "good may be the final goal of ill."_
II. _That there will be a period in his history when his desires will
be "only" good._ In nature all things tend towards a perfection--a
completion. If no untoward circumstances prevent, a tree or a flower
will go on growing until it has attained to the perfectness to which
it has been ordained. The Christian is destined to attain to
perfection of moral beauty. And when this completion is arrived at
his desires will be _only_ good. See 1 John iii. 1, 2, etc. (For full
treatment of the verse see Homiletics on chap. x. verses 24 and 28.)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Here we are to contrast a wish and an _assurance_ (expectation) like
that class of passages already alluded to where the last clause is
intensive. The mere _wish_ of the righteous is an intrinsic good;
either _first,_ because _all_ writings of his heart, whether wise or
unwise will exercise him (Psalm lxxxiv. 7), and will speed him to his
celestial state; or _secondly,_ because the wish of a righteous man,
_quoad_ a righteous man, will be a righteous wish, and, therefore,
will be good in itself, and will be sure to be gratified. The wish of
a righteous man, like the spongelets of a tree, is that which goes
searching for God's gifts, and is sure in the end to attain them.
Therefore, emphasising "_only_" the wish of a righteous man will be
made altogether to work for his good, however disappointed, and
however kept low and troubled in the difficulties of the present
life. But "_an assurance_ of the wicked;" that is, a thing so grasped
and reached as to be no longer a "_wish,_" but a certainty; wealth,
when it is made his, or honour, when it is actually grasped, will not
only be lost; will not only be followed by "_wrath_" in the sense of
actually bringing it; but "_is wrath_" in the sense of being sent as
punishment, and in the further sense that the sinner knew it all the
time; and that his assurance, though it seemed to be a certainty of
joy, was, lower down, a certainty of punishment; we mean by that an
assurance (which he would confess if he were asked) that all his
properties could end only in increasing retribution.--_Miller._
"Desire is the wing of the soul, whereby it moveth, and is carried to
the thing which it loveth as the eagle to the carcase, to feed itself
upon it, and be satisfied with it" (Bishop Reynolds). The desire of
the righteous must be good because it is God's own work (Psalm x. 17;
Rom. viii. 26, 27). It must be _only good,_ because it centres in
Himself (Psalm lxxiii. 25; Isa. xxvi. 8, 9). . . . The corrupt
mixture of worldliness, selfishness, and pride is against our better
will (Rom. vii. 15). In despite of this mighty assault--"Lord, all my
desire is before thee; thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I
love thee" (Psalm xxxvii. 9; John xxi. 17).--_Bridges._
Evil motions haunt his mind otherwhiles, but there they inhabit
not. . . . As the ferryman plies the oar, and eyes the shore
homeward, where he would be, yet there comes a gust of wind that
carries him back again, so it is oft with a Christian. But every man
is with God so good as he desires to be. They are written in the book
of life that do what they can, though they cannot do what they
would.--_Trapp._
Verse 23 and chap. x. 24. I. _What, or who is the righteous man?_
1. He is one whom God makes righteous by bestowing righteousness upon
him--by counting the righteousness of His Son for his (Rom. v. 19). A
man must be righteous by imputation before he can be made good, for
the Spirit which makes our persons good--which sanctifies our
nature--is the fruit of the righteousness which is by Jesus Christ.
2. God makes a man righteous by bestowing upon him a principle of
righteousness. Man must have eyes before they can see, tongues before
they can speak, and legs before they go: even so a man must be made
habitually good and righteous before he can work righteousness 3. The
man is practically righteous. Fruits show outwardly what the heart is
principled with. Mark how the apostle words it: "Being made free from
sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness"
(Rom. vi. 22). The works flow from the heart of a righteous man--of a
man that before he had any good work had a twofold righteousness
imparted to him--one to make him righteous before God, the other to
principle him to be righteous before the world. II. _What a righteous
man desires._ A righteous man is sometimes taken for his best part,
or as he is a second creation as in 2 Cor. v. 17; Col. iii. 10, etc.
In which places the sinful flesh, the old man, the outward man--all
of which are corrupt according to his deceitful lusts--are excluded,
and so pared off from the man, that he is righteous. As Paul in Rom.
vii. 15-17 severs himself in twain,--himself as he is spiritual from
himself as he is carnal--so the righteous man here must be taken for
the I that would do the good, the I that hates the evil. There is a
spring that yieldeth water good and clear, but the channels through
which this water comes to us are muddy and foul: now, of the channels
the water receives a disadvantage, and so come to us savouring of
what came not with them from the fountain of grace--the Holy
Ghost--but from the channels through which they must pass. The
desires of a righteous man, then, are comprised under, 1. those they
would have accomplished here, and 2. those which they know cannot be
enjoyed until after death. And the first are comprised under
communion with God in spirit and the liberty of enjoyment of His
ordinances. And the second are comprehended under the desire of that
presence of the Lord which is personal, and their desire to be in
that country where their Lord personally is. These last have a long
neck: for they look over the brazen wall of this, quite into another
world. They breed a divorce betwixt the soul and all inordinate love
of the world; their strength is such, that they are ready to dissolve
that sweet knot of union betwixt body and soul and to grapple with
the King of Terrors. These desires do deal with death, as Jacob's
love to Rachel did with the seven long years which he was to serve
for her. III. _What is meant by granting the righteous man's
desires._ It is to accomplish them. There is nothing that God likes
of ours better than He likes our true desires. For, indeed, true
desires are the smoke of our incense, the flower of our graces, the
vital part of the new man. Right desires jump with God's mind; they
are the life of prayer; they are a man's kindness to God; (chap.
xix. 22) and they which will take him up from the ground, and carry
him after God to do His will, be the work never so hard. Is it any
marvel then, that God has promised they shall be granted?--_Bunyan._
The desire of all, as it is desire, is only _of good;_ but as desire
is accomplished, so it is the desire of the righteous only that is
good, and their desire accomplished is _good only._ It is simply
good, there is no mixture of evil added to it, yea, it is not only
all good, but all the good that desire can wish.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 24-26.
THE LIBERAL AND THE NIGGARDLY MAN.
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: Be very careful with the word
"niggardly" because it can sound like a racial slur,
especially to those who do not know the word or who are not
paying attention. Consider substituting "miserly,"
"sparing," or "parsimonious."
We have here a twofold contrast under two similitudes--
+I. A man who withholds what he ought to give out.+ "He withholdeth
more than is meet--he withholdeth corn" when he ought to sell it.
1. _He is a sinner against the law of necessity which runs through
all human things._ The earth will only yield of her good things by
first having good things cast into her bosom. The farmer who is
sparing of labour and of money in the tillage of his fields will
never be a rich man. The same principle is at work in the mart and on
the exchange. There must of necessity be a wise scattering of wealth
before there is any increase. 2. _He is a sinner against the Divine
ordination and commandment._ When God organized the Hebrew
commonwealth He ordained that the "poor should not cease out of the
land" (Deut. xv. 11), and that they should be helped by the rich. The
same principle was proclaimed by Christ, when He said "Freely ye have
received, freely give" (Matt. x. 8), God has given to you that you
may give to others. This is the fast that Jehovah has chosen, "_Is it
not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor
that are cast out to thine house? When thou seest the naked that thou
cover him, and that thou hide not thyself from thy own flesh_" (Isa.
lviii. 7). 3. _He is, as a necessity, a sinner against his fellow
creatures._ He sins against their need. In times of scarcity those
who have abundance and will not _give_ of their abundance are guilty,
how much more those who have the material to feed the people and will
not even _sell_ it, but withhold it to raise the price. Such men are
robbers and murderers. They murder by refusing the means of life.
4. _He is a sinner against himself._ He will not be so rich as he
would have been if he had used what he had in accordance with the
laws of nature and morality. A man who does not put his money out to
a lawful use cannot make more by it. More than this, he is a stranger
to that blessedness of which Christ spake when He said "It is more
blessed to give than to receive" (Acts xx. 35). But this is not all,
he is under a Divine and human curse. God's ban is upon him. If a
tree is constantly receiving from the fatness of the earth and the
heavens and yet brings forth no fruit for the service of man, it is
marked for the woodman's axe. The message of God to such cumberers of
the ground is, _"Go to, now, ye rich man, weep and howl for your
miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and
your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and your silver is cankered,
and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat
your flesh as it were fire"_ (Jas. v. 1-3). "The people shall curse
him." How can they do otherwise? They feel that he has robbed them of
their rights when he will not even sell what they are willing to buy.
+II. The man who gives out liberally of that which he possesses.+ He
yields first of all to the necessity of things. He scatters his
wealth wisely in order to increase it. But this is his lowest motive
and his smallest blessing. So far as more trading goes this
scattering to increase is a mere matter of necessity. He knows he
must cast a bushel of corn into the ground if he would have it
increase--that he must spend a thousand pounds before he can gain ten
thousand. In this way he shows that he has faith in the ordinary law
of multiplication. But he goes further than this. "He selleth corn"
at a fair price, when, by withholding it, he might exact more. This
is a sample of all his dealings with his fellow-men. He does not take
advantage of their necessities to enrich himself (see Homiletics on
verse 1). He goes beyond this--he not only _sells_ at a fair price,
but he is a _giver._ He scatters in the way of giving out of his
abundance, "looking for nothing again" (Luke vi. 35). But he is a
great gainer. 1. _He will very likely get richer in material wealth
by giving._ This is not positively affirmed in the text "there is
that scattereth and yet increaseth." But he will certainly never be
the poorer, for he makes God his creditor. "He that hath pity on the
poor lendeth to the Lord" (chap. xix. 17). 2. _He will certainly be
richer in more precious wealth._ "He will be watered himself." He
will have a double blessing. Men will call down blessings on his
head. Those who partake of his wealth will give him in return love,
honour, and respect. God will add to his personal character that
which will increase tenfold the blessedness of his existence. He
will, according to the apostolic promise, "_make all grace to abound
toward him, that he, having all sufficiency in all things, may abound
to every good work._" He will "_increase the fruits of
righteousness_" (2 Cor. ix. 6-11), and water his soul with His own
Divine influence. "_If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and
satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity,
and thy darkness be as the noon-day: and the Lord shall guide thee
continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones;
and thou shalt be like a watered garden, whose waters fail not_"
(Isa. lviii. 11).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verses 24, 25. Is not this just one of the appropriate ways of
putting faith to the test on God's part, and showing its reality on
ours? Is it not precisely the defectiveness of this faith that makes
us timid, cautious, parsimonious in giving? ever fearing that we may
stint ourselves and feel the want of what we expend on suffering
humanity and on the cause of God? Is it not thus by unbelief that we
are tempted to sow sparingly? And ought it to be, that the husbandman
trust more to the laws of nature than the Christian does to the
covenant of his God?--_Wardlaw._
The Jews in Haggai's time had no prosperity till they made the house
of the Lord their chief object (Hag. i. 6, 9-11; ii. 15-19). So far
is the true wealth of the withholder from being increased by
withholding what is meet to be given for the glory of God and the
good of man, that he is at last deprived even of that which he had
(Matt. xiii. 12).--_Fausset._
Men may scatter in improvidence and sin, and it tendeth to poverty
(chap. xxi. 17). But the man of God, "dispersing abroad" the seed of
godliness (Ps. cxii. 9), consecrating his substance and influence to
the Lord, "as he has opportunity, doing good unto all men" (Gal.
vi. 10), shall receive a plentiful increase.--_Bridges._
The liberal man will ever be rich; for God's providence is his
estate, God's wisdom and power are his defence, God's love and favour
are his reward, and God's word is his security.--_Barrow._
The liberal soul is made fat in the healthful vigour of practical
godliness. The minister is refreshed by his own message of salvation
to his people. The Sunday-school teacher learns many valuable lessons
in the work of instruction. The Christian visitor's own soul glows in
carrying the precious name of Jesus to a fellow-sinner. Every holy
temper, every spiritual gift, every active grace is increased by
exercise.--_Bridges._
Give, and thou shalt receive. John Howard, when he grew sad about his
piety, put on his hat and went about among the poor. He came back a
gainer. He diverted his mind from his own interests, and yet promoted
them in a higher assurance. Religion being benevolence, as well as a
love of holiness, doing good to others is a philosophic way of
ripening it in ourselves. Verse 24 has its Poor Richard phrase as
well as a higher one. Being "penny wise and pound foolish" is
understood even in our shops. But the grand sense is evangelical.
"_Inserviendo allius consumor_" may be true of poor impenitents, but
a candle is no emblem for a Christian. He is a glorious sun who, by
some strange alchemy, brightens by shining. _Watereth_ refers to the
ground, or to animals. "Giving plenty to drink" is the meaning of the
word as applied to man.--_Miller._
Wherefore doth the Lord make your cup run over, but the other men's
lips might taste the liquor? The showers that fall upon the highest
mountains should glide into the lowest valleys.--_Secker._
Man is God's image, but a poor man is
Christ's stamp to boot; both images regard.
God reckons for him, counts the favour His:
Write, so much given to God; thou shalt be heard.
Let thy alms go before, and keep heaven's gate
Open for thee, or both may come too late.
The last clause of ver. 25 is literally _he that raineth shall
himself become a river._ The water that falls in refreshing and
fertilising irrigation is not lost, but becomes a fair stream. So the
bounty of the liberal man, which rains down blessings, will flow on
for ever in a beautiful river.--_Wordsworth._
The well-being of all is concerned in the right working of each. One
necessarily affects for good or evil all the rest in proportion to
the closeness of its relations and the weight of its influence. You
draw another to keep him from error: that other's weight which you
have taken on keeps you steadier in your path. You water one who is
ready to wither away; and although the precious stream seems to sink
into the earth, it rises to heaven and hovers over you, and falls
again upon yourself in refreshing dew. It comes to this, if we be not
watering we are withering.--_Arnot._
Poor men are not excluded from the grace and blessing of being
merciful, though they attain not to the state and ability of being
wealthy. Mercy is not placed with money in the purse, but dwelleth
with loving-kindness in the heart. He that can mourn with such as do
mourn, he that can pray for them that be in distress, has a "soul of
blessing."--_Dod._
St. Gregory applieth the words particularly unto ministers and saith,
He that by preaching doth outwardly bless, receiveth the fatness of
inward increase. And to this sense the Chaldee reads it, saying, "He
that teacheth shall himself also learn." And then the former part of
the verse may be taken thus, the soul that bestoweth abroad the
blessings of a wise instruction shall profit much in his wisdom,
according to a common saying among the Jews, "I have profited more by
my scholars than by all things else."--_Jermin._
Bounty is the most compendious way to plenty; neither is getting, but
giving, the best thrift. The five loaves in the Gospel, by a strange
kind of arithmetic, were multiplied by a division and augmented by
subtraction. So will it be in this case. St. Augustine, descanting
upon Psa. lxxvi. 5, says, "Why is this?" "They found nothing in their
own hands, because they feared to lay up anything in Christ's hands."
"The poor man's hand is Christ's treasury," saith another
Father.--_Trapp._
Verse 26. He that withholdeth corn holdeth, as it were, the gracious
hand of God, yea, pulleth it back by his covetousness, when God in
bounty hath stretched it forth unto a land. . . . Now, what is said
of a countryman concerning his corn, let the citizen also mark
concerning his wares, "Let not profit overcome honesty, but let
honesty overcome profit." And what is said to the citizen let the
minister also observe, and bind not up by a damnable silence that
good word which may profit many.--_Jermin._
The point of antithesis apparently fails only to give stronger
security to the blessing. The _curse_ comes directly from the
_people_; the _blessing_ from _above_.--_Bridges._
The prevailing maxim of the world, ever since the first murderer gave
utterance to the tendencies of human nature, after its fall, in the
question, "Am I my brother's keeper?" has been, "_Every man for
himself._" The identity of human nature in all ages is stamped upon
the book of Proverbs. What presented itself to view in Solomon's days
is no rarity still. . . . There can hardly be a more affecting
exemplification than this of the power of an avaricious disposition
in hardening the heart.--_Wardlaw._
Such a man, like a corrupt, imposthumated member, would draw all the
nourishment to himself, and cares not, though the other parts of the
body perish. This oak, which will suffer no small trees to thrive
near it, will in time fall with the breath of so many
curses.--_Swinnock._
Modern political economy may have taught us that even here the
selfishness of the individual does, in the long run, by limiting
consumption, and maintaining a reserve, promote the general good, but
it is no less true that men hate the selfishness and pour blessings
upon him who sells at a moderate profit. Our own laws against
forestalling and regrating schemes for a maximum price of bread, as
in the famine of the French Revolution, histories like that of M.
Manlins, legends like that of Bishop Hatto and the rats, are tokens
of the universality of the feeling.--_Plumptre._
Literally, "breaketh it," like Joseph to his brethren and the people
in Egypt. In a spiritual sense this verse may be applied specially to
pastors and to churches. He that withholdeth corn--he that keepeth
back from others the bread of life, which is the Word of God, the
Holy Scriptures--the food of the soul, he shall be accursed; but
blessings are upon him that fully and freely dispenses
it.--_Wordsworth._
To be an object of aversion among his neighbours is a heavy
infliction upon a human being. No man can despise it. . . . This, in
the last resort, is the protection of the poor and the punishment of
the oppressor. The mightiest man desires the blessing of the people,
and dreads their curse. Wealth would be a weapon too powerful for the
liberty of men, if he who wields it were not confined within narrow
limits by the weakness of humanity, common to him with the meanest of
the people.--_Arnot._
Here is consolation to them that bring an upright heart to selling,
though they cannot be large in giving: therein they do a service to
God and perform a work of love to their neighbour.--_Dod._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 27.
DILIGENT SEEKERS.
+I. An object worthy of search.+--"Good." There is. 1. Material,
temporal good. The human race need no exhortation to stimulate them
to go in quest of this good. The child begins his search after this
good as soon as he is conscious of need and finds himself in
possession of power to seek it. And until old age these good things
are sought without any admonition from God to lead a man to seek
them. 2. But there is a higher good--the good which ministers to the
spiritual nature and forms a holy character--the good of which Christ
speaks when He says, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His
righteousness." (Matt vi. 23). Men need to be exhorted to seek this
good, and the Bible puts before them every kind of motive to
stimulate men to the search--motives drawn from the happiness of a
future heaven and a future hell, and from the present heaven or hell
which will result from the search or from the neglect of this true
good. Men are, as a rule, too much occupied with seeking the lower
and the transitory good to seek that which is spiritual and
eternal--that Supreme Personal Good--God Himself. God is the Good
that the soul needs because He unites in Himself all that can
minister to our better nature. The soul needs truth--and God is
truth. The soul needs something above itself to worship, to love, to
obey. There is nothing can supply this need but the living God.
+II. How this good is to be sought.+ "Diligently." The diligence will
be in proportion to the desire. The word here translated diligently
is the same as that translated "early" in chap. viii. 17. (See
Homiletics on that passage.)
+III. The reward of diligent seekers after real good.+ "Favour."
1. Of God. He loves to see men value that upon which He sets value,
viz., their own spiritual and eternal gain 2. Of good men _always._
Of bad men _often._ For the diligent seeking of this highest good
does not make a man selfish--on the contrary, the more earnest he is
in the search, the more he will lay himself out to serve his
fellow-men. In this the contrast is marked between the diligent
search after material and spiritual good. The sentiment of the verse
is the same as that in chap. iii. 4 (see Homiletics on that verse).
+IV. A most unworthy object of search.+ "Mischief." Understanding
this of evil in general which is most mischievous in its working and
its results, we remark--1. That it requires no great diligence to
work moral mischief towards a man's self. To abstain from seeking
good is to seek and to find mischief. To "neglect salvation" (Heb.
ii. 3) is enough to ruin. 2. That the man who plots to work mischief
to another often sets the seekers after good an example of diligence.
How much of planning--what an expenditure of thought and activity is
often put forth to ruin another! 3. That the man who seeks mischief
is certain to find it. It will not wait even to be found--it will
"come" to meet him. But there may and will be some amount of
disappointment. If he seeks his own ruin he will certainly succeed,
but if he seeks to do another a mischief, he may miscarry, but the
intention will be fulfilled in himself. Whether he succeeds in
harming another man or not, it is a law of moral gravitation that
"His mischief shall return upon _his own head_ and his violent
dealing shall come down _upon his own pate_" (Psalm vii. 16).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
There is no negative existence. Man is born for action. All of us are
living with a stupendous measure of vital activity for _good_ or for
_mischief_. Man was never intended--least of all the Christian--to be
idle. Our Divine Master "went about doing good." He is a counterfeit
who does not live after this pattern. Usefulness is everything. We
must not rest in life received, nor must we wait to have it brought
to us. We must seek it.--_Bridges._
From the last proverbs it has appeared that going after our own
selfish gain, is really going after evil. Joy is innocent in itself;
and yet, gone after absorbingly, it is an evil end. "Whosoever shall
seek to save his life, shall lose it" (Luke xvii. 33). Solomon,
therefore utters a most philosophic truth when he says "He that
diligently seeketh good," etc., that is, who forgets himself, and is
_early_ (for that is the original sense) after what is intrinsically
right and holy, that man is really the person who is seeking or
_hunting up_ favour; that is, if he could really gain it by hunting
it up directly, and for his selfish good, he could not gain it more
directly than by forgetting it, and striving for what is pure. (See
Matt. vi. 33). Then follows the antithesis. He that seeks mischief,
etc., as one is conscious that he does when he turns his heart
selfishly even after innocent joys. He goes after that which may in
itself be innocent, like money, or like the support of life; in a way
that to his own conscience makes it confessedly evil, shall have it
"come to him" at the end of his course, infallibly as evil.--_Miller._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 28.
TRUST IN RICHES AND TRUST IN GOD.
+I. The trust in riches springs,+ 1. _From the fact that gold, and
what it can do for us, is within the reach of our senses._ Unless the
bodily senses are counterbalanced by the moral--the spiritual--sense,
they have a tendency to shut us in upon the seen--to shut out the
unseen. This is why men make to themselves gods that they can see and
carry about with them. The rich man can look upon his gold and upon
all that it has purchased for him, his mansion, his lands, his
sumptuous table, his obsequious servants. All these things are daily
before his eyes, and if his spiritual sight is not keen, they are
very likely to become his confidence. 2. _From the fact that gold can
do very much for men._ It can afford him opportunities of the best
education. Gold can place the son of a tradesman side by side with
that of a nobleman in this respect. It can surround him with all the
refining influences of life. It will open to him positions of power
and influence, its magic power will surround him with friends. When a
man feels that he owes all these good things to gold, he is very
prone to trust in it. 3. _From the fact that gold is so universal in
its influence in the present world._ There is no place upon the
globe, where there are human beings, where gold, or what gold can
purchase, will not do something for a man. No monarch has such a wide
dominion or so many subjects as this King _Gold_.
+II. But he that trusts in riches will find them fail him.+
1. _Because he is more than the object of his trust._ Man is more
than gold because it was made for him and not man for gold. God made
it to be his servant, but when a man makes it the object of his
supreme hope and confidence, he inverts the Divine order and becomes
its slave. And man needs something more than himself to be the object
of his trust. 2. _Because there are comforts for existence that gold
cannot buy._ Faith in a living God, a good conscience, hope for the
future, present peace and rest of soul cannot be purchased for all
the gold of the Indies. Nebuchadnezzar could make an image of gold,
but all his riches could not purchase the faith and godly courage of
the three Hebrew youths. The rich man in hell needed comfort that all
his earthly wealth could not have purchased. 3. _Because the only
Being who can supply man's deepest needs cannot be bribed._ Pardon of
sin cannot be "gotten for gold neither shall silver be weighed for
the price thereof." A holy character "cannot be valued with the gold
of Ophir, with the precious onyx or the sapphire. The gold and the
crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for
jewels of fine gold." (Job xxviii. 16, 17). The Holy Ghost--that
"gift of God," cannot be "purchased with money." (Acts viii. 20). A
golden key will not open the gate of heaven. Therefore _"Charge them
that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust
in uncertain riches, but in the living God"_ (1 Tim. vi. 17).
+III. The righteous man shall not fall, but flourish as a branch,
because as a branch in a tree he is in connection with life.+ Gold is
a dead thing, but the God of the good man is a Living Person, a Being
who can understand and supply all his soul's need--a Being who is not
only King of the present and the seen, but of the future and the
unseen. _"I am the vine, ye are the branches." "Because I live, ye
shall live also"_ (John xiv. 9, xv. 5). He shall not only _live,_ but
_flourish_--"his leaf shall not wither"--"he shall bring forth fruit
in his season" (Psa. i. 3). The cause of the _branch_ being laden
with fruitfulness and beauty is because of its connection with the
_root. Trust_ is the link between the creature and the Creator, which
makes the one a partaker of the fulness of the other. _"Blessed is
the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he
shall be like a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out
her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her
leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought,
neither shall cease from yielding fruit"_ (Jer. xvii. 7, 8).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
I have read of one that, upon his dying bed, called for his bags, and
laid a bag of gold to his heart, and then cried out, "Take it away,
it will not do, it will not do!" There are things that earthly riches
cannot do. They can never satisfy Divine justice, nor pacify Divine
wrath, nor quiet a guilty conscience. And till these things are done,
the man is undone.--_Brooks._
As sheep that go in fat pastures come sooner to the slaughter-house
than those which are kept upon the bare common: so, likewise, rich
men, who are pampered with the wealth of this world, sooner forsake
God, and therefore are sooner forsaken of God than others.--_Cawdray._
He that trusts in riches may trust in that which may not disappoint
him. That is, it may remain great, and may follow him to the grave.
But while his riches are piling up, he himself is withering away. It
is not the rich, but they that _trust in riches_ (Mark. x. 24). The
truly important thing is the man himself; and while the unregenerate
_falls,_ or decays, the righteous, even without money, prospers. He
grows from within. That is _he_ grows, and not his money.--_Miller._
Be not proud of riches, but afraid of them, lest they be as silver
bars to cross the way to heaven. We must answer for our riches, but
our riches cannot answer for us.--_Mason._
Riches were never true to any that trusted in them. The rich churl
that trusted and boasted that he had "much goods laid up in store"
for many years, when, like a jay, he was preening himself in his
boughs, came tumbling down with an arrow in his side.--_Trapp._
Riches are of a falling nature, now they fall to a man, now they fall
from him, not they fall to this man, now to that, now to another.
There is no holdfast of them, and less holdfast by them. He,
therefore, that trusteth in them shall fall, fall into their hands
and power, who seek his hurt and mischief, because not trusting in
God, he receiveth no succour from Him.--_Jermin._
Good men have the Lord Jesus Christ for their root, and God, the
Father to dress and keep them, therefore the drought of adversity
shall not hurt them, nor the dews of wholesome prosperity fail them.
They shall have safety for their bodies, graces for their souls,
competency for their state, and all good furtherances for their
everlasting glory.--_Dod._
Money, thou bane of bliss, and source of woe,
Whence com'st thou, that thou art so fresh and fine?
I know thy parentage is base and low:
Man found thee poor and dirty in a mine.
Surely thou didst so little little contribute
To this great kingdom, which thou now hast got,
That he was fain, when thou wert destitute,
To dig thee out of thy dark cave and grot.
Then forcing thee, by fire he made thee bright;
Nay, thou hast got the face of man: for we
Have with our stamp and seal transferred our right:
Thou art the man, and man but dross to thee.
Man calleth thee his wealth, who made thee rich,
And while he digs out thee, falls in the ditch.--_Herbert._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 29.
FOOLISH HOME RULERS.
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: Be very careful with the word
"niggardly" because it can sound like a racial slur,
especially to those who do not know the word or who are not
paying attention. Consider substituting "miserly,"
"sparing," or "parsimonious."
+I. There are many ways of troubling thine own house.+ Many sparks
fly from one anvil, but one is sufficient to set a house on fire.
Some home-destroyers emit many sparks, but one evil habit or temper
is enough to consume all the peace of home-life. A man may trouble
his house by--1. _Selfishness._ When a dry sponge is placed in a
vessel of water, it will soak up every drop of water that it can
hold, and very probably will leave the vessel empty. So the selfish
head of a household will absorb all the comforts of the
household--take to himself all the luxuries and enjoyments which
ought to be distributed among all its members. 2. _Hasty temper._ A
human father and husband that will complain at every trifle and blaze
into a passion when nothing has been done or said worthy of notice,
will be a great troubler of his house. He will not be heeded when
there is real occasion for his displeasure. The perpetual rattle of a
daily siege so dulls the ear of the soldier that he does not notice
the roar of the cannon on the day of special battle. So the members
of a household who are always being subjected to the rattle of an
ungovernable tongue make no account of reproof when there is really
an occasion for it. 3. _A perpetual assertion of authority._ There
can be no joyful obedience in a family where its head is always
insisting upon the fact that he is their master. Such a constant
proclamation of the right to rule makes this a bondage which would
otherwise be a glad service. 4. _Prodigality or niggardliness._ He
who wastes that which belongs to his children is a robber, and so is
he who from avaricious motives deprives them of those home comforts
with which he is able to furnish them. These are but samples of the
many ways in which a man may trouble his house--ways which are not
altogether unknown in some homes whose head is a professor of
godliness. Such a man is a far-reaching curse. The members of such a
home scatter themselves abroad in the world carrying with them none
of the blessed influences that they ought to have received from their
home-life, and are very likely in their turn to become the troublers
of _their_ houses. The gold receives its form and polish, its image
and superscription at the mint. Home is the mint where the value of
the character for its entire future is often impressed upon it. The
child generally bears the image and superscription of his parent.
+II. Such a troubler is a fool.+ 1. _He can reap no possible
advantage by it._ To "inherit the wind" is to inherit cold cheer. A
wintry wind is poor comfort for a man with little raiment on a cold
night. Wind is an unsatisfying substitute for food to a hungry man.
But a man in such a condition is an apt illustration of a man in the
winter of life who has forfeited that love and honour which would
have been the reward of a different course of conduct. 2. _He shall
go down in social position._ The man who has ruled his household well
must win the respect and confidence of those outside of it. It is an
inevitable consequence that he will go upon the estimation of his
associates while one of the opposite character will go down and so
"be servant to the wise of heart."
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
He that troubles his own house in any form of impenitence; he that
takes the trouble to live without the gospel; he that chases wealth
when he admits that it will breed him vengeance; he that goes through
the self-denials of the world to accumulate worldly benefits which he
knows are mischiefs to his soul, is absolutely "fool" enough to be
the "servant" in all these trials, and that through eternal ages, of
wiser and better creatures.--_Miller._
He shall leave at last but the wind of his breath to deplore his
folly and to beg help for his misery. St. Gregory taketh the latter
part of the verse that a fool serveth the wise in heart even by
ruling over him and oppressing him, for he advanceth him to a better
state and condition of goodness.--_Jermin._
He that would not undo himself, let him not undo his family and
domestic affairs. It nearly concerneth a householder to know that his
house is laden with his whole estate, that his people sail together
with him in the same vessel, for his use.--_Dod._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 30.
THE WINNER OF SOULS.
+I. Souls can be won to God and goodness.+ 1. _There is in every man
a natural light to which to appeal._ If a sick man has something in
his constitution upon which the physician can fix as a basis of
operation, there is hope of recovery. But where the constitution is
utterly and entirely bad, the very effort of the physician is a proof
of his lack of wisdom. Man is morally diseased, but he is not so
depraved as to make his being won to God a hopeless attempt. There is
in him a moral base of operation, he has a conscience which is more
or less enlightened. Men are, according to the highest authority, "a
law unto themselves," "that which may be known of God is manifest in
(or to) them." (See Rom. i. 19, 20, ii. 14.) They would not be
"without excuse," as the Apostle there declares that they are, if
they had no moral consciousness. 2. _The very existence of the Bible
proves that man is not hopelessly lost._ Wise men do not waste words
and efforts where they know that they would be thrown away. They do
not set on foot plans to help those for whom they know there is no
hope. A wise physician will not harass his patient and waste his own
energies when he knows there is no possibility of cure. It is kinder
to let him die in peace. God is too wise and too kind to send man a
revelation which he knows would be useless to him. He would not
tantalise him with hopes which could not be realised. 3. _The history
of Christ confirms this view._ He claimed to come to this earth for
the special purpose of seeking and saving men. He was pre-eminently a
winner of souls. There can be but one explanation of the Incarnation.
4. _The moral difference in men is another proof._ For every effect
there is a cause. That there is an immense difference in the
character of men is admitted by all; and the difference is that some
have been won from sin to God.
+II. Souls can only be won.+ There are but two kinds of power in the
universe--force and persuasion. The mother who desires her child to
take a certain place may attain her end in two ways--she may take the
child in her arms and carry it where she desires, or she may use
moral suasion and induce the child to fall in with her wishes by the
exercise of its own free will. The thing may be done either by
strength of muscle or by the strength of love. Souls cannot be dealt
with in the first way. The soul can only be won _to_ God by the same
kind of power as it was won _from_ God, viz., by that of persuasion.
If the tempter had tried force he would have failed with our first
parents. He knew human nature too well to attempt the use of such
means. Force is of no avail to bring about a _friendship,_ and the
winning of a soul is bringing about a _friendship_ between man and
God. Therefore the Apostle "beseeches" and "prays" men to be
reconciled to God (2 Cor. v. 20). To be won to God is to be won to
_service._ Two kinds of service may be rendered to a human parent or
ruler. There is a service of the _body only_ which is prompted by
fear, and there is the service of the _whole man_ which is the fruit
of love. God must have the latter or none (Isa. i. 11, etc.,) hence
the soul must be "drawn," "constrained," by the power of moral force.
(See Hosea xxi. 4; John xii. 32; 2 Cor. v. 11, 14).
+III. Souls are won by fruit.+ Human nature will not be influenced by
words without actions. The actions which make up a holy life are here
called _fruit._ When two men are at variance and hatred is deeply
rooted, he who would be a peace-maker must _be_ something as well as
_say_ something. Words alone will not kill enmity--there must be
correspondent deeds. This constituted our Lord Jesus Christ the great
Reconciler--that He brought forth the fruits of holiness and
self-sacrifice, and so gave weight to His words of persuasion. So
many souls have been won by Him because so much fruit was brought
forth by Him. And all who would win souls must in their measure do
likewise. In this sense they must obey His injunction and be made
partakers of His promise: "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of
men" (Matt. iv. 19).
+IV. The fruit that wins souls must be a "tree of life" both to the
winner and to those who are won.+ The vine-dresser has joy in rearing
his fruit, and the eater has joy in partaking of its sweetness. When
he who seeks to win souls brings one to taste the sweets of godliness
for himself, there is joy for both. The righteous man is a "tree of
righteousness," hence he is himself a "tree of life." Others partake
of his fruit and live unto holiness, and become fruit-bearing trees
in their turn. And in this sense "he that reapeth and he who soweth
rejoice together," and the precious harvest is a "tree of life"--an
undying source of soul-satisfaction to both.
+V. He who thus wins souls is a wise man.+ He saves men from a
present and real misery. The end of all practical wisdom is to
elevate the human race--to lift men out of misery and degradation--to
solve the problems of every day social life. The man who wins a soul
to God is a truly scientific man--he has reduced his moral science to
practice in his own life, and then has brought it to bear upon the
lives of others. He is a wise general who can turn the guns of the
enemy against the foe. He who wins a soul can teach a man how to turn
the forces that have been against him into powers and influences that
shall work for him. He is a wise financier who can devise means by
which a man can free himself from debt. The winner of souls can show
his fellow-man how to be freed from moral debt. He is a wise
physician who, by healing one man of a deadly pestilence, prevents
the spread of disease. The man who turns another from the error of
his ways, not only "saves a soul from death," but hides a multitude
of sins (Jas. v. 20) by, in some measure, lessening the increase of
sin in the universe.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
+I. Christians are a blessing to the world.+ 1. _There is the
influence of personal character, showing what religion is, viz., a
living principle in the hearts of the faithful, which must spread its
radiance._ It may be said of a good man, as it was said of Christ,
"He could not be hid" (Mark vii. 24). 2. _There is a force of the
great principles they advocate--Freedom, Education, etc._ They raise,
in this way, the standard of public opinion. 3. _There are their
habits of active beneficence._ +II. To win souls the highest wisdom
is requisite.+ 1. _Consider the preciousness of the object--souls._
Made in the image of God, and designed to reflect His glory. Of
infinite value in the esteem of Him who came to redeem them. 2. _How
greatly they are endangered by sin, held captive by Satan, in bondage
by the world, entrenched in long habits of evil._ The soul, in its
present depraved state, is not inclined to seek God, nor anxious to
obtain deliverance. 3. _The difficulty is increased by the shortness
of the time and the limitation of the means at our command._ The
preacher has only the Sabbath; Satan and the world have all the week
wherein to exert their influence. It is more or less so with all who
endeavour to win souls.--_S. Thodey._
He may begin as a "leaf" or "branch" (verse 28), but he ends as a
"tree." The tree of life made the partaker of it immortal. "The fruit
of the righteous" is immortal life to many a poor sinner. The latter
clause may read either: "The wise is a winner of souls," or "The
winner of souls is wise." It doubtless should be read in both. The
grand "tree of life" on earth is the man converted already. The man
converted already will be a "tree of life." Both doctrines are true,
and, therefore, in so terse a passage, I see no resource but to
understand the Hebrew as pregnant of both. It is of the very essence
of wisdom to be benevolent, and it is the very height of benevolence
to catch the souls of the impenitent. Moreover, no soul is caught but
by the wise.--_Miller._
What is dealt on is the power of wisdom, as we say, to win the
_hearts_ of men. He that is wise draws men to himself, just as the
fruit of the righteous is to all around him a tree of life, bearing
new fruits of healing evermore. It is to be noted, also, that the
phrase here rendered "winneth souls," is the same as that which is
elsewhere translated by "taketh the life" (1 Kings xix. 4; Psa.
xxxi. 13). The wise man is the true conqueror.--_Plumptre._
To win souls is one special fruit of the tree of life. This is a
noble fruit indeed, since our soul is more worth than a world, as He
hath told us who only went to the price of it (Matt.
xvi. 26).--_Trapp._
In this verse we have set forth to us the excellency of a righteous
man. I. _He is more useful than others._ He is not a barren tree, but
a fruitful bough, as Joseph was. And he doth not bring forth fruit
unto himself. As the tree of life would give life to them that would
eat thereof, so those that will hearken to the counsel of the
righteous shall partake with him of eternal life. II. _He is more
skilful than others._ He wins souls--1. By Scripture demonstration.
Thou canst never throw down the devil's strongholds except by God's
own weapons. 2. By earnest supplications. As the prophet did pray
life into the dead child, so thou shouldst strive in prayer for dead
souls. 3. By kind obligation. Labour by kindness and courtesy to gain
upon all thou dost converse with, that thou mayst get within him,
that thou mayst be in a capacity to do good to his soul. 4. By
faithful reprehension. 'Tis quite contrary to Christian love to let
sin lie upon thy brother (Lev. xix. 17). Show your love to souls by
the faithful rebuking of sin, not as a token of your displeasure, but
as an ordinance of God. 5. By convincing conversation. Live before
all thou dost converse with in the convincing power of a holy life.
6. By careful observation of all those advantages that God puts into
your hand. Take advantage of his affliction. Make use of thy near
relation or of his dependence upon thee, or of thy interest in him.
It may be he is concerned in thy goodwill to him, or hath some
affection for thee. Make use of it for God.--_Alleine._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 31.
THE RECOMPENSE OF THE RIGHTEOUS AND THE WICKED.
+I. The righteous man will receive a present chastisement for his
sins+--1. _Because of his near relation to God._ "You only have I
known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you
for all your iniquities" (Amos iii. 2). Is this a strange principle
of action? Is it not one which is, or ought to be, acted upon among
men? If the son of a king commits a crime, is it not felt that his
high position and his special privileges make him more deserving of
punishment? Our Lord recognised this truth when He said "To whom men
have committed much of him they will ask the more" (Luke xii. 48).
Those who stand in special relation to God are expected to show it by
a holy life, and when they fall into sin greater dishonour is brought
upon the name of God than by many sins of the ungodly. Hence the
necessity for their chastisement. 2. _Because he will not be punished
in the next world._ The whole tenor of Bible teaching recognises this
truth, and Paul asserts it: "We are chastened of the Lord, that we
should not be condemned with the world" (1 Cor. xi. 32). 3. _To
overthrow that doctrine of devils--"Let us sin that grace may
abound"_ (Rom. vi. 1, 15). Many false doctrines have gone abroad in
the so-called church, but surely none is so manifestly from the devil
as this which proclaims that the more a child of God sins the more
God is glorified! Will the man whose wound has been closed and whose
bleeding has been stanched by the surgeon, tear off the bandage and
reopen the wound in order to afford the physician another opportunity
of displaying his skill? May he not, by such an act, be guilty of
suicide? May he not so incur the anger of his doctor as to make him
refuse to re-dress the wound? If any man thinks that the abounding
mercy of God is a licence for sin, let him read the history of David,
and ask himself if it does not prove that he is wofully mistaken.
David himself most certainly was, if he presumed upon his high
standing with the God whose "gentleness had made him great" (Psa.
xviii. 35) when he sinned the great sin which was the curse of all
his after life. The God whom men fancy will be thus indulgent is not
the God of the Bible--the God of Sinai--the God who visited the sin
even of His servant Moses. "Let us sin that grace may abound" came
from the forger of the oldest lie in human history. Mount Hor, Mount
Nebo, and Mount Zion, each of which was the scene of a penalty
inflicted on a distinguished saint of God for a particular and
specified sin, bear witness to the truth that the "righteous will be
recompensed on the earth." And of these instances that of Moses is,
perhaps the most striking. Here is the chastisement of the greatest
man in the Old Testament dispensation--the specially elected leader
and lawgiver of the chosen people. And though he had been and still
was--yea, _because_ he was the most honoured of Old Testament saints,
he was shut out of the land to which he had been journeying for forty
years for assuming a Divine prerogative--"die in the mount whither
thou goest up, and be gathered to thy people, as Aaron thy brother
died at Mount Hor, and was gathered to his people: because ye
trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of
Maribah-Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me
not in the midst of the children of Israel" (Deut. xxxii. 50, 51).
Such a sentence testifies that God is a consuming fire to sin, in the
righteous as well as in the wicked.
+II. If God's friends are chastised, His enemies must be.+--For they
not only _sin_ but make light of sin, either by denying the fact or
blaming their circumstances, their temperament, or their tempters,
laying the blame anywhere except upon themselves, and this increases
their guilt. If those who acknowledge and confess their sin must yet
be chastised for it, how much more those who refuse to do either! The
sin of the righteous is the exception of his life, but the entire
life of the ungodly man is a course of opposition to the law of God.
If, therefore, the isolated instances are visited, how much more such
an accumulation of moral debt! The very justice of God demands that
if He punish the saint He shall also punish the sinner. This is New
Testament teaching as well as Old. "For the time is come that
judgement must begin at the house of God; and if it first begin at
us, what shall be the end of them that obey not the Gospel of God?"
(1 Pet. iv. 17).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
But where is the righteous person thus scourged, judged, and
recompensed? On the earth, even in this life, and in the world. The
earth is not that seat which the Lord hath properly appointed for
judgment or vengeance, neither is this life the day of the great
assize; yet rather than sin shall be unpunished, yea, even in the
elect, the Lord will keep a petty sessions in this life, and make the
earth a house of correction.--_Muffet._
The righteous are under the _discipline_ though not under the
_curse,_ of the rod.--_Bridges._
The best must look for stripes, if they will take liberty to sin
against God. True it is that the Lord taketh not advantage of
infirmities, He passeth by them, He smiteth not His children for
them: but when they grow too bold, He will nurture and awe them with
correction. In this sense He may be said to be no respecter of
persons, that as He will not endure the sinfulness of the wicked,
though they be never so great, so He will not allow of the sins of
the godly, though they be never so good. First, _God herein
respecteth His own glory,_ who will have His people to know that He
doth look for service at their hands. And the wicked see by this that
His is neither remiss towards all nor partial towards any. Second,
_He respecteth the good._ How wanton, how froward, how stubborn would
children be, into what perils would they cast themselves should they
be altogether exempted from the rod. They should never feel comfort
of their parents' favour unless they sometimes found the smart of
their displeasure. . . . And the tribulation and afflictions of good
men do not bring them behind the wicked, but show that the plagues
and punishments of the wicked are yet behind.--_Dod._
The righteous Lord shall pay His debts even to the righteous. Sin
makes God a debtor.--_Jermin._
* * * * * *
CHAPTER XII.
CRITICAL NOTES.--+1. Instructions,+ "discipline" or "disciplinary
instruction." +2. Obtaineth,+ literally "draws out." +4. Virtuous,+
literally "strenuous," "capable" (used in Ruth iii. 11).
+5. Thoughts,+ or "purposes." +Right,+ "judgment," "justice."
+7.+ Wordsworth here reads, "When the wicked turn themselves," etc.,
_i.e._, on any reverse of their fortunes, however slight, they
perish. +9.+ This verse is read in two ways. Zöckler reads, "Better
is the lowly that serveth himself than he that boasteth and lacketh
bread." Wordsworth agrees with this view. Delitzsch and Stuart render
as the Authorised Version (see comments on the verse).
+10. Regardeth,+ literally "knoweth." Delitzsch reads, "knoweth how
his cattle feed." "Cruel is singular, denoting that each one of his
mercies are cruel" (Fausset). +11. Vain persons,+ or "vanity,"
"emptiness." +12. Net.+ Delitzsch, Zöckler, and Miller translate this
word "spoil" or "prey." The Hebrew word means also a "fortress."
Maurer, therefore, translates it "defence," and understands it to
mean that the evil combine for mutual protection. This agrees with
Zöckler's rendering of the second clause, "the root of the righteous
is made sure." +16. Presently,+ literally "in that very day," _i.e.,_
"at once." +Covereth shame,+ or "hides his offence." +17. Speaketh,+
literally "breathes." +18. Speaketh,+ literally "babbles." +Health,+
"healing." +19. A moment,+ literally "while I wink." +20.+ Delitzsch
reads, "cause joy." +26. Is more excellent than his neighbour,+
rather "guides his neighbour." Delitszch reads, "looketh after his
pastures." The Hebrew word signifies "abundance" (see Miller's
remarks in the comments on the verse). +27.+ The word translated
+roast+ does not occur in this sense elsewhere. In the Chaldee of
Dan. iii. 27, it is used in this sense. It may be read "catcheth not
his prey." The second clause should be, "a precious treasure is
diligence," or "a diligent man." +28. No death,+ literally
"no-death," _i.e.,_ "immortality."
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 1.
THE LOVE OF KNOWLEDGE AND THE PROOF OF IT.
True knowledge is to be loved--
+I. For what it can do for him who loves it.+ 1. _It refines a man._
Gold when it is in its natural condition is valuable because it is
gold, but when it has been purged from its impurities by the refining
process it is more to be valued and is more beautiful. So a man may
be sterling gold without much knowledge, but when the dross of
ignorance is removed, he is worth more and is more attractive. If
this be true of knowledge in the general, it is pre-eminently true of
the knowledge which comes from above. If any knowledge exercises a
refining influence upon the human mind, much more does the highest
knowledge--the knowledge of God. 2. _It will open up sources of
enjoyment that would otherwise be hidden._ The blind are deprived of
many enjoyments by lack of sight. There is an abundance of beauty all
around them, but their want of vision makes it useless to them.
Intellectual ignorance is intellectual blindness; the ignorant man is
a stranger to a thousand pleasures which are enjoyed by a
well-informed man. Especially ignorance of Divine things shuts a man
out from the highest, the only lasting unalloyed source of joy.
3. _It makes a man less dependent on the outward and visible._ A man
who has stored up knowledge will be good company for himself. He can
find refreshment by meditating on what he has within him, and need
not be ever seeking it in external things. The contemplation of
Divine and eternal truths especially, will ever be "within him a well
of water" (John iv. 14).
+II. For what it will do for others.+ If a man makes money only to
dig a grave and bury it, he sins against himself and all whom he
might bless by its use. So there are men who seem to have no other
end in getting knowledge than to bury it. Such a man is an
intellectual miser, and a sinner against human kind. There ought to
be a love of giving, as well as a love of getting. For a man who
possesses any kind of knowledge can bless others by its use. And this
being true of all useful knowledge, how much more true is it of the
knowledge which makes "wise unto salvation?" Christ insists that no
Christian make himself a grave in which to bury this knowledge, but a
medium to communicate it (Matt. v. 16). And the influence of
knowledge which has been acquired is not limited to the short life of
a man upon the earth. How much are we indebted to the knowledge
gained by earnest seekers in every department of knowledge long
before we were born? One earnest seeker may gain a knowledge that
will be a light to men as long as the world lasts. Especially those
who have been earnest seekers after Divine truth leave a legacy of
blessing behind them, the influence of which will outlive the world.
For all these reasons men ought to love knowledge.
+III. The proof of loving knowledge.+ He will seek instruction. This
is the only way to knowledge. If a man loves the object of his
pursuit, he will show his love by the use of means. 1. Seeking
instruction is a confession of ignorance, and to be convinced that we
are ignorant is the first step to becoming wise. Self-conceit is the
fatal barrier to a man's gaining knowledge. 2. It involves
self-denying labour. Little that is worth having can be obtained
without labour. The gold-digger has to labour long and painfully
before he finds the precious nuggets. If men would drink of a
springing well of pure water they must dig deep down for it. The
student must plod over dry details if he wishes to taste the sweets
of learning. 3. It generally involves correction by the instructor.
If a man sets out to dig for gold or to dig for water, he will most
likely make mistakes while he is a novice. If he is really in earnest
about his work he will receive "reproof," although it will not be
altogether palatable. So with the scholar, he must suffer the reproof
of the master. Doubtless the main reference here is to that knowledge
which regenerates the character; and certainly the man who loves this
highest knowledge will confess his ignorance, will not shrink from
labouring to attain it, will accept that "reproof" which is an
indispensable element in Divine instruction. If the man of God is to
be "thoroughly furnished" or "perfected" he must accept "reproof" and
"correction," as well as instruction (2 Tim. iii. 16, 17).
+IV. The character of the man who does not love reproof.+ He is
"brutish." The great difference between a man and a brute is that the
one can grow intellectually and morally and the other cannot. Many
animals possess great sagacity, and to a certain extent that can be
developed. They sometimes, too, possess admirable qualities, but they
are not capable of _soul-enlargement._ But man is, and in order to
attain it he must submit to the instruction and reproof of those who
are wiser than himself. He must stoop before he can rise. If he will
not do this, he will never attain to the high destiny for which he
was created--ever to be rising higher and higher in the scale of
being. His lower nature will rule his spirit, and he will be little
better than the beast. He must submit to the correction and
instruction of His God if he would not be classed with "the horse and
the mule, which have no understanding" (Psa. xxxii. 8, 9). The man
who will not take reproof will certainly have to submit to it, and
this not only from those who are wiser than himself, but from his
companions in ignorance. A terrible reproof will be administered by
Divine Wisdom to those who refuse reproof (chap. i. 24-31). And he
will not escape upbraidings from those who are involved in the same
sentence. Ungodly men are the first to upbraid their companions in
ungodliness when they are all involved in the same penalty.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Here is shewed that adversity is the best university, saith an
interpreter. Corrections of instructions are the way of life. Men
commonly beat and bruise their links before they light them, to make
them burn the brighter. God first humbles whom He means to
illuminate; as Gideon took thorns of the wilderness and briars and
with them he taught the men of Succoth (Judges viii. 16). M. Ascham
was a good schoolmaster to Queen Elizabeth, but affliction was a
better, as one well observeth. He that hateth reproof, whether it be
by the rebukes of men, or the rod of God, is fallen below the stirrup
of reason, he is a brute in man's shape; nothing is more irrational
than irreligion.--_Trapp._
The most we can attain to in this life is, not to know, but only to
have a love of knowledge; we know in part, and a partial knowledge is
not to know indeed. If we can love knowledge entirely, that is the
entireness of knowledge in this life. Now as knowledge cometh from
instruction, so the love of knowledge from the love of instruction.
He that is servant to the one, will soon be a master to the other. A
loving obedience in receiving doth even command love to keep what is
received. . . . There is the reproof of an _enemy_ and there is the
reproof of a _friend,_ the one seeketh reproach, the other amendment,
but neither is to be hated, for howsoever reproof be used it is a
profitable thing.--_Jermin._
Reproof is not pleasant to nature. We may learn its value from its
results, but it will never be sweet to our taste. At the best it is a
bitter morsel. The difference between a wise man and a fool is not
that one likes it and the other loathes it; both dislike it, but the
fool casts away the precious because it is unpalatable, and the wise
man accepts the unpalatable because it is precious.--_Arnot._
The grand secret of life is to hear lessons, and not to teach
them.--_Haliburton._
It is the property of all true knowledge, especially spiritual, to
enlarge the soul by filling it; to enlarge it without swelling it; to
make it more capable, and more earnest to know, the more it
knows.--_Bishop Sprat._
Ignorance is the curse of God,
Knowledge the wing with which we fly to heaven.--_Shakespeare._
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: The name "Hottentot" originally
referred to particular African, tribal people. It may be
considered offensive. Dr. Miller does not use it as a
compliment in his remarks.
This is a great text. We may expect great texts where there is a look
of commonplace. The thought raises itself two stories at least in the
respect of doctrine. He that, instead of fretting at that mysterious
Providence of God that we call _evil,_ enters into the deep
experiences, and learns to value it as precious to his soul--that man
loves light, or Gospel "knowledge." That is the first story. But,
now, he who takes a much wider view, and looks at all the gains from
evil to the universe--how impossible would be high forms of
knowledge, how utterly unconceived by anyone not Infinite, without
the foil of either observed or experienced misery--that man
acquiesces in all the evils that are seen in the creation, _loving
discipline because he loves knowledge,_ and acquiescing even in hell
itself, because he suspects its absolute necessity in the
providential system. Mourning over our griefs, which seems to be the
work often of a refined and delicate nature, is here asserted to be
"_brutish._" He is but a Hottentot in the ways of the Almighty who
does not see that the crushing of his hopes has been one of the
tenderest methods of his redemption.--_Miller._
He, and he only, that loves the means, loves the end. The means of
knowledge are "instruction" in what is right, and "reproof" for what
is wrong. He who is an enemy to either of these is an enemy to the
end.--_A. Fuller._
Is there any man so like a beast as not to love knowledge? Solomon
tells us, that those who hate reproof are brutish. Let us, therefore,
examine ourselves by this mark. . . . He is surely not a rational
creature who has swallowed poison, and will rather suffer it to take
its course than admit the necessary relief of medicine, lest he
should be obliged to confess his folly in exposing himself to the
need of it.--_Lawson._
It was when Asaph recovered from that strange temptation, under the
power of which he seemed to forget the eternity of man's being, and
to confine his estimate to the present life, that he exclaimed, "So
foolish was I, and ignorant; I was _as a beast_ before Thee" (Psa.
lxxiii. 22). And the same comparison is repeatedly used respecting
the ungodly. They sink themselves even below the level of the brutes,
for _they_ fulfil the ends of _their_ being, under the impulse of
their respective instincts and appetites; but the man who forgets his
immortality and his God, does _not_ fulfil the end of _his._ There
may also be comprehended in the expression, the absence of what every
rational creature ought to have--_spiritual discernment and taste;_
the destitution of all right sentiment and feeling in reference to
God and Divine things. This is the character of him whom Paul
denominates the "natural" or animal "man," who receiveth not the
things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto
him.--_Wardlaw._
The subject of Verse 2 has been treated in previous chapters. See
Homiletics on chap. iii. 1-4; xi. 21, etc.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 2. Or "hath what he will of God." Thus it is written of Luther,
that by his prayers he could prevail with God at his pleasure. When
gifts were offered him, he refused them with this brave speech, "I
solemnly protested to God that I would not be put off with these low
things." And on a time praying for the recovery of a godly useful
man, among other passages, he let fall this transcendent rapture of a
daring faith, "Let my will be done," and then falls off sweetly; "My
will, Lord, because Thy will." Blessed is he that hath what he will
and wills nothing but what he should. If an evil thought haunt his
heart, it is the devise of the man, he is not the man of such
devices.--_Trapp._
A man can no way be so happy as by being in God's favour. If any
other thing were better than this, it would here be named; for His
purpose is to promise and perform the best. Good men do set their
wits to work to find the way whereby they may best please Him, and He
doth set His wisdom to work to frame a recompense that may best
pleasure them. It is precious--1. In regard of the rareness of it, it
is a flower which groweth only in God's own garden. It is a privilege
and freedom peculiar to the children of God. 2. In regard to the
continuance of it, it is not worn out by time, it vanisheth not away,
it is never taken from them upon whom it is bestowed. 3. In regard to
those good effects wherewith it is always accompanied--defence from
enemies, safety from danger, gladness of heart, the love and favour
of God it doth minister to everyone that partakes of it.--_Dod._
Were the goodness of the godly such as it should be, it would from
God's goodness even deserve praise, not stand in need of remitting
favour, it would carry favour with it, it would not be put by seeking
to obtain it. But in the best, so little it is, that he must even
fetch it out from the Lord with many prayers, earnest suit, and at
last it is the great mercy of God that he doth obtain it. But yet,
such is the mercy of God toward the good, that however He dealeth
with the good man he still obtaineth favour from Him. St. Augustine
saith, "Thou receivedst benefit both from His coming and His going;
He cometh to the increase of thy comfort, He goeth to the increase of
thy care. He goeth away sometimes lest continual presence should make
Him despised, and that absence should make Him more
desired."--_Jermin._
A man of wicked devices may be artful enough to disguise his selfish
plans under the mask of religion and benevolence, like the old
Pharisees; but the eyes of the Judge of the world are like a flame of
fire, they pierce into the secrets of every soul, and there is no
dark design harboured which shall not be completely disclosed in the
day of Christ.--_Lawson._
Let blind reason condemn God. (see on ver. 1.) He who has Gospel
light will see Him as one out of whom he can draw favour. A man not
only pure himself, but doing good to others, looks upon God as a
fountain of blessing.--_Miller._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 3.
A RIGHT DESIRE AND THE MEANS OF ITS ATTAINMENT.
+I. There has always been a desire in men for establishment--for
fixedness.+ 1. _It is a good and God-given aspiration, and manifests
itself in many ways._ Men rightly desire to have a settled home--a
spot on earth to which they may attach themselves and from which they
cannot be driven. This is a desire especially strong in the western
and northern nations, and has been a powerful element in their
development. Men desire a permanent and certain income, and the
desire to obtain it is a great motive power to induce them to acquire
knowledge of mechanical arts and professions. Men desire to earn a
fixed reputation, and the desire acts as a moral power in the world.
2. _It is a desire very old in its manifestation._ Very early in the
history of our race we have an instance of man's desire for fixedness
of position on the earth, and for a permanent reputation. It was this
that prompted the men of Shinar to say one to another, "Go to, let us
build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let
us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the
earth" (Gen. xi. 4). They desired to have a centre of unity in the
world--a spot where they could settle down together and establish a
name that would outlive them. The building of Babel is a parable of
what has been going on ever since, and will go on until the end of
time. The building is not of bricks and mortar, but the desire is the
same.
+II. Men can only have this desire satisfied in one way.+ The man who
purposed to build the tower of Babel used wrong means to fulfil a
lawful desire. It was right to aspire towards reaching the fixedness
of heaven, but that cannot be done with _bricks_ were they never so
many or so well burnt. They did "make a name," but not the name they
desired. And so it is with men now. They want to gain for themselves
a permanent resting place and a lasting name, and they think to
attain their desire by linking themselves with something belonging
only to earth, they desire to reach the heavenly with the earthly.
And if they could use all the clay upon the globe to make their
bricks they would find their tower fall far short of reaching heaven.
All life without God is a life of wickedness, and such a life cannot
be an _establishment_ because it is contrary to Divine law. But this
desire towards the immutable is intended by God to lead man to turn
his face towards "those things which cannot be shaken" (Heb.
xii. 27), that righteous character which fits a man for the "house
not made with hands, eternal in the heavens" (2 Cor. v. 1), which can
be obtained by union with Him who is immutable--"The same yesterday,
to-day, and for ever" (Heb. xiii. 8). Men may build upon a foundation
which shall not be removed, they may send their roots deep down into
an eternal abiding place by falling in with the conditions laid down
by Christ Himself in Matt. v. 24, 25.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
_Established_ may have reference not to the stability of his
_fortunes,_ but to that of his _mind_--to tranquil self-possession
and firmness. Even if, in the providence of God, his substance should
fail, he himself remains unshaken and entire in all his best
blessings, and in all his hopes.--_Wardlaw._
A man, being wicked, how shall he expect anything, except that he
shall be disturbed? While the saint, though "_shaken_" in leaf and
bough, and storm-tossed, and, perhaps, broken in his branches, yet
"_shall not be shaken_" in his "_root._"--_Miller._
Ahab strove to establish himself in despite of the threatened curse
of God. He increased his family, trained them with care under the
tutelage of his choicest nobility. And surely one, at least, out of
seventy, might remain to inherit his throne. But this was the vain
"striving" of the worm "with his Maker." One hour swept them all away
(1 Kings xxi. 21, with 2 Kings x. 1-7). The device of Caiaphas, also
_to establish his nation by wickedness,_ was the means of its
overthrow (John xi. 49, 50, with Matt. xxi. 43, 44).--_Bridges._
A man shall not be established by wickedness, for he lays his
foundation upon firework, and brimstone is scattered upon his
housetop: if the fire of God from heaven but flash upon it, it will
all be aflame immediately. He walks all day upon a mine of gunpowder;
and hath God with His armies ready to run upon the thickest bosses of
his buckler, and to hurl him to hell. How can this man be sure of
anything? Cain built cities, but could not rest in them; Ahab begat
seventy sons, but not one successor to the kingdom. Sin hath no
settledness. But the righteous, though shaken with winds, are rooted
as trees; like a ship at anchor, they wag up and down, yet remove
not.--_Trapp._
We shall lose our labour in seeking any sinful helps. We shall but
make quicksand our foundation, and mud our stonework, and stubble and
reeds our strongest timber. It is time for us to pull down our own
ruinous building, lest it should fall upon our heads. For though it
be so slight, and as weak as a cobweb, to be a cover over us, yet it
is very heavy, and as weighty as a mountain to press us under
it.--_Dod._
Many are established in wickedness, and cannot be removed from it,
but none shall ever be established by it.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 4.
A HUSBAND'S CROWN.
+I. A woman possessed of a quality which time will not destroy or
impair.+ Virtue is not a mere negative good--it is not simply an
absence of evil. A virtuous person is one who has _overcome_
evil--one who is prevented from being a worker of evil by being a
worker of good. Virtue is a thing of growth--human nature has to
struggle to acquire moral excellence--to attain that strength of
goodness which we call virtue. It has its seat in the regenerated
heart. The river that is always flowing with pure, living water, is
not fed from a cistern, but from a living spring which is in
communication with the parent of waters. So virtue is not a native of
this fallen world--it is of celestial birth--it is derived from the
source of all goodness and consequently partakes of the
indestructibility of all eternal things. There is no annihilation of
virtue. Stabbing cannot kill it. Burning cannot destroy it. It will
break the bonds of calumny and rise from the dead. Virtue adorns
either sex, but it is especially attractive in a woman. It is _her_
crown, and because she is so crowned, she crowns her husband.
+II. Man needs such a woman to complete, or crown his life.+ Even the
first man in his sinless condition, with all the peculiar joys
springing from his sinless nature, felt his existence incomplete
until God gave him the woman as the filling up--the crown and finish
of his life. But this woman was crowned herself with innocence and
purity or she could not have crowned her husband. If man in his
sinless condition needed a wife to complete his life, how much more
does he need now a virtuous woman to be a helpmeet for him. 1. _He
needs her because he needs help from virtue outside himself._ The
most perfect of imperfect men must lean upon some human support, and
they will consciously or unconsciously do so. A man who has a
virtuous wife has ever about him an atmosphere which is strengthening
to his own virtue. She will help him to preserve his integrity more
effectually than any other person because she is so constantly about
his path. She will give him that moral sympathy which is so helpful
to men struggling to keep a good conscience in an evil world, which
is like oil to the wheels of life, and makes what would otherwise be
very difficult easy and pleasant. 2. _He needs an intellectual
companion._ He must have a rational and intelligent spirit in his
home if his life is to be what God intended it to be--one with whom
he can converse and to whom he can impart his thoughts on things
human and divine. He cannot be _crowned,_ in the full sense of the
word, unless he has such a wife, and the word virtue may embrace
intellectual vigour as well as moral excellence. (See Comments on the
verse.) When a man has such a wife as we have described his life is
completed or crowned. The word among the Hebrews was also symbolic of
joy and gladness (Cant. vi. 11), and such a woman is of necessity a
joy to her husband.
+III. The man who would be thus crowned must be wise in his choice of
a wife.+ The most precious things are not generally to be obtained
without some amount of seeking. Pebbles can be gathered upon any
shore, but diamonds are only to be had for patient seeking. Pinchbeck
ornaments are to be had for a trifle, but a golden diadem costs much
money. There are plenty of women who may be won without much seeking,
but a wife who is virtuous in the sense of the text is not to be met
with every day or in every place. To find such an one he must ask
counsel of Him who provided the first man with the woman who supplied
his need in this respect. Though we have no record that Adam asked
God for a helpmeet for him, yet we do not know that he did not. This
we do know, that God's best gifts, as a rule, are only had for
asking. And when we reflect upon the terrible blight that an ungodly,
unsympathetic, incapable wife is to a man, causing him such shame as
is "rottenness to his bones," we can fully see the need of seeking
Divine guidance in forming a relationship which has so much to do
with "making" or "marring" a man.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Here we have a king and a crown, a _holy woman_ the _crown;_ a _happy
man,_ the _king._ I. _Inasmuch as a woman of grace is here called her
husband's crown we learn that a good wife is the husband's best
outward blessing, the worthiest mercy that a man may have in this
world._ It follows: 1. That as he who would be introduced into the
crown of any kingdom or monarchy must match himself into the king's
race, so, he that would be sure to have a crown for his wife must
take the same course, he must marry into the house of heaven, with
some one to whom the King of Kings is a father, and who is by grace
of the lineage and offspring of the Lord of Hosts. 2. The wife being
the husband's crown must be much respected by her husband. Crowns are
no contemptible things. The Apostle Peter is exact in commanding this
(1 Pet. iii. 7). She is called the "glory of the man" (1 Cor. xi. 7)
and his companion (Mal. ii. 14) his second-self (Ephes. v. 28, 29).
If in these regards God hath made a woman an honour to a man, the
Lord looks that man should give honour to a woman. 3. A wife being a
crown, requireth maintenance as much as her husband's estate will
afford. The crown must be maintained, it is for the honour and safety
of the king, and for the content of the subjects that it have meet
support. II. _If the wife be the crown, the husband is the king._
Therefore: 1. She must acknowledge him and obey him in all
matrimonial loyalty and love. The proverb is, there is no service to
compare with that of a king, but, certainly there is no king's
service to this. Kings can give the greatest about them, but
_rewards_ when they have done their best; but the husband gives the
wife _himself_ for her obedience. 2. It is her duty to grace him. To
be a woman, and to be a wife, is not enough to be a crown, a man may
have both these and yet she that he hath may be a shame unto him.
There go more than _two_ words to this bargain; to be a woman, a
wife, and _gracious,_ and she that is so cannot fail of her
glory.--_John Wing_ (1620).
Man, though made for the throne of the world, was found unfit for the
final investiture until he got woman as a help. . . . When the
relations of the sexes move in fittings of truth and love, the
working of the complicated machinery of life is a wonder to an
observing man and a glory to the Creator God. . . . We need not be
surprised by the announcement of the horrid contrast. It is according
to law; the best things abused become the worst. Woman is the very
element of home. When that element is tainted, corruption spreads
over all its breadth and sinks into its core.--_Arnot._
The word implies the virtue of earnestness, or strength of character,
rather than of simple chastity.--_Plumptre._
The weakness of women is never a reproach unto them, but when it
appeareth in not resisting sin. And therefore the original is _a
woman of strength,_ such a woman as is by God's grace strong enough
to withstand sin: a _manlike_ woman, the Syriac hath it, in spiritual
courage. But contrariwise she, who is not ashamed of her sinful
weakness in yielding unto sin maketh him ashamed for whom she was
created, and as rottenness in his bones destroyeth his strength,
making him weak through grief, as she is through folly, for such
grief enters deeply, and it is the bones that it wasteth, when she is
naught who was made of man's bone.--_Jermin._
Let man learn to be grateful to woman for this undoubted achievement
for her sex, that it is she--she far more than he, and she, too
often, in despite of him--who has kept Christendom from lapsing back
into barbarism, kept mercy and truth from being utterly overborne by
those two greedy monsters, money and war. Let him be grateful for
this, that almost every great soul that has led forward, or lifted up
the race, has been furnished for each noble deed, and inspired with
each patriotic and holy inspiration, by the retiring fortitude of
some Spartan--some Christian mother. Moses, the deliverer of his
people, drawn out of the Nile by the king's daughter, some one has
hinted, is only a symbol of the way that woman's better instincts
outwit the tyrannical diplomacy of the man. Let him cheerfully
remember, that though the sinewy sex achieves enterprises on public
theatres, it is the nerve and sensibility of the other that arm the
mind and inflame the soul in secret. Everywhere a man executes the
performance, but woman trains the man.--_Anon._
The figure in the second clause is strong. We may consider it as
conveying _two_ ideas! 1. The "bones" are the _strength_ of the
frame. Upon them the whole is built. There is, therefore, in the idea
of _caries,_ or rottenness in them, that of the _wasting_ of the
vigour of body and mind, and the bringing of the man prematurely to
his grave; and that, too, by means which cost him, ere this result is
effected, exquisite suffering. 2. The "bones" are _unseen._ The poor
man is pierced with inward and secret agony, which he cannot
disclose; pines in unseen distress--distress of which the cause is
hidden, while the _effects_ are sadly and rapidly visible.--_Wardlaw._
"Capable;" sometimes "virtuous," literally _strong._ "It is well
observed by Michaelis (Supp. No. 17), that in the early stages of
society, when the government and laws had little influence, fortitude
was the first and most necessary virtue; and might therefore
naturally give its name to the other virtues. Hence _virtus_ in
Latin, and ɑρετη in Greek, which, according to their etymology,
denote mainly strength and fortitude, came, at length, to signify
virtue in general (Holder)." "_Crown,_" that is (1) _ornament,_ and
(2) _source of power._ A virtuous woman is both to her husband. A
spendthrift, drunken, or adulterous wife is so entrenched in our
being, that our very bone, that is, our dearest interests (Psalm
xxxv. 10; John xix. 36), are rotten, when these qualities begin their
influence. A man, linked with such disorders, cannot complain of his
inevitable reproof (ver. 1). Does he link himself with evil, he must
partake of the storms that buffet it. Women, however, in all this
book, seem to be types of qualities;--of Grace (xi. 16); of Wisdom
(xiv. 1); of Folly (ix. 13). The "virtuous woman" has not stood
before us in all her true light, till she stands as Wisdom; nor "One
that causes shame," till we make her Impenitency. "The virtuous or
capable woman" is our "_crown,_" for, with faith, all things are
ours; and her great rival is our shame, for, with unbelief, there is
"rottenness" in our very "bones." This disposition always to see a
figure must not be set down as fanciful, till the Woman of Grace, of
Folly, and of Wisdom, and other still more artificial cases (Rev.
xii. 1), have been thoroughly considered.--_Miller._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 5-8.
THOUGHTS AND WORDS AND THEIR RESULT.
+I. The thoughts of the righteous or godly man are right.+
1. _Because he has the best material out of which to build his
thoughts._ The kind of building which is reared will depend mainly
upon the quarry from which the stones are hewn. The man of God gets
the material of his thoughts from the revealed Word of God. He obeys
the Divine command.--"This book of the law shall not depart out of
thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night" (Josh.
i. 8). 2. _Because his thinking is under the rule of law._ He does
not allow his mind to dwell upon every suggestion that comes into it,
he forbids certain things to enter there, or if they enter in an
unguarded moment, he will not give them a dwelling place. He does not
give unqualified assent to the boast that "thought is free." The
righteous man does not aspire to be a "_free_-thinker," if he did he
could not be a _good_ thinker. He rules his thoughts according to the
legislation of Christ (Matt. v. 28; xv. 18), and endeavours to bring
_every thought_ into obedience to Him (2 Cor. x. 5).
+II. The speech of the righteous.+ A man's words are never worse than
his thoughts. In a good man they are the outcome of his thoughts. As
the child is the undeveloped man, and the seed the undeveloped tree,
so thought is the seed of speech. If the child's constitution is good
and the seed is good, the man and the tree will be healthy and
vigorous. If the thought is healthy and wise the speech will be so
likewise, for "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh"
(Matt. xii. 34).
+III. The thoughts of the wicked.+ They are such as spring
spontaneously from the human heart, which is, according to the
estimate of One who knows, "deceitful above all things" (Jer.
xvii. 9). In such a heart counsels or thoughts of deceit must be
generated. His own life-work will be a deceit (chap. xi. 18), and he
will deceive others. The verse evidently refers to thoughts which
purpose harm to other people. When a man's thoughts are not in
subjection to the law of God, they have a tendency to go from bad to
worse. The ungodly man, either directly or indirectly, injures others
as well as himself.
+IV. The words of the wicked.+ The ungodly are here represented, as
in chap. xi. 21, as combining to injure the godly (see Homiletics on
that verse). Their words are the outcome of their evil and malicious
thoughts. Most ungodly men try to lessen the influence of the good by
depreciating their character when they do not dare to attack their
property and their lives. This lying in wait for blood may cover all
schemes to bring about the downfall of the good. The two characters
now stand before us. Let us look at what is in store for each. I. For
the righteous. 1. _Deliverance from the machinations of the wicked._
This is effected by means of the godly man's own words. He is able to
refute what his enemies bring against him. This proverb cannot of
course be taken to assert that the righteous are always delivered
from death at the hands of their persecutors. They are delivered as
Christ was delivered from the counsels of deceit, and from the bloody
plans of the Scribes and Pharisees. The words here used exactly
describe their character, and the deliverance of the righteous is
such a deliverance as our Lord wrought for Himself by the words of
truth and wisdom with which He silenced them Take the instance of the
tribute-money as recorded by Matthew (chap. xxii. 15). "Then went the
Pharisees and took counsel how they might entangle Him in His talk.
And they sent out unto Him their disciples with the Herodians,
saying, Master, we know that Thou art true, and teachest the way of
God in truth, neither carest Thou for any man; for thou regardest not
the person of men. Tell us, therefore, What thinkest Thou? Is it
lawful to give tribute unto Cæsar, or not? But Jesus perceived their
wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? Show me the
tribute money. And they brought Him a penny. And He saith unto them,
Whose is this image and superscription? They say unto Him, Cæsar's.
Then saith He unto them, Render therefore unto Cæsar the things which
are Cæsar's, and unto God the things which are God's. When they had
heard these words, they marvelled, and left him, and went their way."
Two other instances of Christ's delivering Himself by His "mouth" are
given in the same chapter. And many of His followers have in like
manner defeated the plans of their enemies. 2. _The establishment of
his family._ His thoughts and words bless his own house--they are the
means of reproducing other characters whose thoughts and words are
like his own. This of itself is a good reason why his house should
stand. Each member of it thus becomes a centre of influence for good,
and in this way the world is preserved from moral corruption and
ruin. And it is a law of God's kingdom that the godliness of the head
of a family or race should bring a blessing upon his posterity. God
defended the people of Jerusalem in the days of Hezekiah for "His
servant David's sake" (Isa. xxxvii. 35). He blessed Isaac for "my
servant Abraham's sake" (Gen. xxvi. 24). And the same law is at work
in New Testament times, "The promise is unto you and to your
children" (Acts ii. 39). 3. _General commendation._ The wise and the
righteous are synonymous in the book of Proverbs, the wisdom of the
8th verse is, doubtless, _moral_ wisdom. Paul calls his Corinthian
converts, whom he had begotten by his holy thoughts and wise words,
his "letters of commendation" (2 Cor. iii. 1-3). Every godly man has
some such commendatory epistles in the living souls who his life and
words have blessed. Men can but acknowledge that he is a blessing to
his fellow-creatures while he lives, and after he has left the world
he is praised by, and because of, those whom he "turned to
righteousness" (Dan. xii. 3). II. But for the wicked there must
be--1. _Overthrow._ They entered the lists against a power must
stronger than their own, and must therefore come to ruin. The stubble
of the field can contend for a time against the fire, but the latter
grows stronger the longer it burns, and the stubble is less and less
able to resist its power, until presently there is nothing left but a
few ashes which are soon scattered by the winds, and the place that
once knew them knows them no more, _"For behold the day cometh, that
shall burn as an oven, and all the proud and all that do wickedly
shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith
the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch"_
(Mal. iv. 1). 2. _General contempt._ The wicked or "perverse of
heart" will not be able to respect himself, how then can he expect
others to hold him in honour? And in the day of his overthrow the
contempt or indifference with which both he and his fate will be
regarded will not come from those who he has striven to injure, but
from those who are like himself. Those who have already met with
their overthrow will be those who will meet him with the taunt, _"Art
thou also become weak as we? Art thou become like unto us?"_ (Isa.
xiv. 10). And those whose time of judgment is yet in the future will
not stoop to pity or succour him.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 5. That thoughts are free, is his lesson, by which we are made
slaves unto sin. For if the thoughts be corrupted, the affections
will soon be polluted, and then the actions are easily perverted. If
the flies of Egypt get into our eyes, the frogs of Egypt will soon
get into our chambers, the caterpillars of Egypt will soon destroy
our fruits, the actions of our lives. The counsels of the wicked are
deceit--they deceive God of His honour, their neighbour of his right,
themselves of their salvation.--_Jermin._
The stress lies upon the words, "thoughts" or "purposes," and
"counsels." Habits of good and evil reach beyond the region of
outward act to that of impulse and volition.--_Plumptre._
To the righteous are ascribed simple and clear thoughts, to the
godless, prudently thought through schemes and measures, but on that
very account not simple, because of their tendency.--_Delitzsch._
If good thoughts _look_ into a wicked heart, they _stay_ not there,
as those that like not their lodging; the flashes of lightnings may
be discerned into the darkest prisons. The light that shines into a
holy heart is constant, like that of the sun, which keeps due times,
and varies not the course for any of these sublunary
occasions.--_Trapp._
At the first creation man was made to excel brute beasts more by the
reason and gifts of the soul than by the fashion and shape of the
body, so at the second, a Christian is made to excel sinful men more
by the holiness and working of the soul than by those of the
body.--_Dod._
The mere _thoughts_--the unpremeditated _resolves_ of a righteous
man--are _right;_ the _deliberate counsels,_ the very _deliberations_
of the wicked, are _deceit._--_Burgon._
Many indeed are the deviations of the righteous. But there is an
overcoming law within that, in despite of all opposition, fixes _his
thoughts_ with delight on God and His law (Pas. cxxxix. 17, 18; Rom.
vii. 15, 23), and gives to them a single bias for His service. Widely
different are the thoughts of the wicked, ripening into _counsels_
fraught with _deceit._ Such were those of Joseph's brethren to
deceive their father; of Jeroboam, under a feigned consideration of
the people; of Daniel's enemies, under pretence of honouring the
king; of Herod, under the profession of worshiping the infant
Saviour.--_Bridges._
This verse has been rendered, _"The policy of the just is honesty;
the wisdom of the wicked is cunning."_ The righteous man deals in
rectitude, and from his actions you know his thoughts. It is not so
with "the wicked." He thinks one way and acts another. His words and
deeds are not the fair index of his thoughts.--_Wardlaw._
_"The plans of the righteous are a judgment."_ This word, which is
very common in the Bible, means a judicial decision. The "judgment"
of the wicked is a verdict of the Almighty consigning them to hell.
The "judgment" of the righteous, by what Christ has wrought out, is a
verdict of eternal reward. . . . The "plans of the righteous,"
however disastrous they may seem, "are a judgment." And, as the
"judgment" of the righteous is in his favour, his plans, however bad,
are shaped in him for his good. Whatsoever storms they may lead to,
they are from a most prosperous verdict, and have been allowed to
supervene, for his highest, and well-graduated good. Mark now the
climax (as in ch. xiv. 11). It says, the _plans_ of the righteous,
leading us to suppose they might be very wretched But it says "the
_helmsmanship_ (counsels, see on chap. xi. 14) of the wicked,"
leaving us to suppose they are very shrewd. The keenest calculations
of the wicked, where a cool eye is at the _helm,_ and where instead
of marrying a foolish wife (ver. 4), he has built grandly for the
world; still, as a _judgment,_ I mean by that, as the whole verdict
in his case, his very _helmsmanships_ are a deceit. (1) His own
wisdom cheats him in ordering his life; and (2) God Himself, as a
part of His award, takes care that he be deceived as to his total
well-being.--_Miller._
Verse 6. The law of parallelism leaves it open to us to refer the
pronoun at the end of this verse to the righteous themselves, or to
those, the unwary and innocent, for whom the words of the wicked lie
in wait.--_Plumptre._
The fiercer ebullitions of humanity may, indeed, be softened down and
restrained. But the principle remains the same. The fiery elements
only lie in slumbering cover, and often break out, wasting the very
face of society.--_Bridges._
_The words._ Speech is the great instrument of man. Talking is his
trade. Wall Street and Lombard Street make their fortunes by the
tongue. The "words of the wicked" are, therefore, their highest
activities, and our proverb declares that these high acts are "a
lying in wait for blood." We would not deny that this may include the
blood of others; but in the light of the last verse the grand victim
is themselves (chap. i. 18). Each order on change is for a man's last
discomfiture.--_Miller._
Though nature hath denied man the weapons of his teeth, yet
wickedness giveth to some such _words_ as are more bloody beasts. The
false witness will frame his tale so cunningly as if he intended
nothing but a clearing of the truth, whereas he seeketh nothing but
the shedding of blood. The corrupt judge will couch his words so
closely, as if he meant nothing but to have justice executed, whereas
they are nothing but ambushments to surprise innocent blood. But
there are words which issue from the mouth of the upright, as making
a sally out of some adjoining fort, whereby the prey is rescued, the
pillagers are defeated, the innocent are delivered, the upright as
victorious is crowned with the diadem of his judgment as in Job it is
called (ch. xxix. 14); and which St. Gregory saith is rightly called
a diadem, because by the glory of an excellent work it leadeth to the
crown of a glorious reward. Now such were the words of Job's mouth,
who brake the jaws of the wicked and plucked the spoil out of his
teeth, being eyes to the blind, feet to the lame, and a father to the
poor.--_Jermin._
The prayers of God's people ascend up to God's presence for His help,
and those mouths prevail mightily that seek for redress of wrong at
His hands. Herod thought it would be too late for all the friends
which Peter had to minister help to him when he had clapped him in
prison. But he remembered not how swift the godly be to prayer and
how soon a prayer can come to God.--_Dod._
Verse 7. The _persons_ of the wicked are _overthrown and are not,_
the _house_ of the righteous (the very roof that sheltered him) shall
_stand._--_Burgon._
He that is strong may be overthrown and may rise again, he that
riseth not to what he was may rise in part to something, he that
riseth not at all, may lie where he has fallen; but in the overthrow
of the wicked all hope is gone of anything, for they themselves are
_nothing._ They _were not_ in goodness, they _are not_ by their
wickedness. They are not to be recovered from their overthrow,
because they are not changed to repentance by their overthrow. On the
other side, not only the righteous shall stand, their family, their
posterity shall stand, for God shall stand by them, and then no fear
of falling can be unto them.--_Jermin._
When a change of the estate of the ungodly is made from prosperity
unto adversity, their utter destruction is commonly wrought, for
their house being built upon the sand, the tempests and the winds
arise and quite overthrow it. The whole manner of the overthrow is
described in Job xviii. 15.--_Muffet._
The righteous shall "have a place in the Lord's house," immovable
here (Isa. lvi. 4, 5), and in eternity (Rev. iii. 12).--_Bridges._
Solomon had a signal exemplification of this in the case of _Saul_
and his father _David._ Possibly this instance might be in his eye at
the time.--_Wardlaw._
Eventually there must be _overthrow,_ even if it be no overthrow but
death. When the wicked do fall, there is positively _nothing of them
left._ While in the deepest disasters of the righteous, nothing is
not _left. "His house,"_ and by that is meant every possible real
interest (1 Sam. ii. 35) shall stand for ever.--_Miller._
Verse 8. Sometimes, and very often, the wicked shall commend him,
commonly the righteous, and always the Lord Himself, but most of all
at the last day, before all men and angels. They that are not void of
uprightness shall not be destitute of praise and honour. Though some
be blind that they cannot discern their understanding and graces, yet
others have their eyesight and behold them. Though some be dumb and
will not speak of their virtues, yet others have their lips open to
commend them.--_Dod._
And all wisdom consists in this, that a man rightly know and worship
God. Apollonius, Archimedes, and Aristotle were wise in their
generations, and so accounted, but by whom? Not by St. Paul, he hath
another opinion of them (Rom. i. 22). Not by our Saviour (Matt.
xi. 25).--_Trapp._
_According_--"in exact proportion;" such as the meaning of the
Hebrew. A man is more applauded for good sense than perhaps anything
else. _Wisdom_--"shrewdness;" that attribute that leads to success.
Therefore it sometimes means success (2 Kings xviii. 7). Successful
shrewdness is a very positive sort. Such is the shrewdness of the
righteous man (ver. 7). _Perverse heart_--"crooked sense," literally
_heart;_ though heart contains more of sense (νοʊς) than we ascribe
to it. If a man whose mind works crookedly every time becomes an
object of contempt, why ought not the wicked to become so, whose very
helmsmanships are a deceit? (ver. 5).--_Miller._
How thrilling will be the _commendation of wisdom_ before the
assembled universe! (Luke xii. 42-44). Who will not then acknowledge
the _wise_ choice of an earthly cross with a heavenly
crown?--_Bridges._
This is capable of two interpretations. It may refer to commendation
by _men,_ or to commendation by _God._ In the one case it may mean
mere _secular discretions,_ in the other it must mean _religious
principle,_ according to the invariable testimony that "the fear of
the Lord, that is wisdom." This is not the wisdom that secures the
eulogy of men; but it will ever secure that of the infinitely Wise,
the Infinitely Good. And, indeed, the two things may be united. A man
who fears God will always be a _faithful_ counsellor, and if at the
same time he have sound discretion in regard to the affairs of life,
this will form the perfection of character, and there will be
commendation both from _men_ and _God._ . . . In the pride of your
hearts, you may affect to hold very cheap the contempt of men; though
even that is often mere pretension than reality, disappointment
rankling at the heart, while scorn is curling the lip. But what must
it be to be "lightly esteemed" at last, to be "despised" by that God
who has in his hands the destinies of the universe!--_Wardlaw._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 9.
SHOW AND REALITY.
Whichever rendering we adopt of this verse the subject is the
same--that of one man's allowing his vanity, his love for
appearances, to rob him of all real comfort, and that of his wiser
brother's preference of comfort to outside show.
+I. The wise man who is despised.+ Men who have the moral courage to
live in a simple style, and to labour with their own hands, will
certainly be regarded with contempt by some, but by whom? By those
whose good opinion and honour is not worth having. Children are taken
with what is showy on the surface--they have little regard for what
lies underneath. They will be more delighted with a soap-bubble than
with a diamond. But _men_ look on things with different eyes. So it
is only men and women of childish minds who estimate a man by his
clothes, his house, or his establishment, and it is only such who
will despise the first man mentioned in the text. If we take the
common rendering of the verse, then this man is more useful to
society than the other; for, instead of spending all his money on
himself, he keeps a servant, and so gives another a means of living.
For as it is implied that he does not lack bread himself, so he will
not let those in his employ want the necessaries of life. Other
things being equal, the man who, by a judicious use of his means,
gives employment to others, is a greater benefactor to his race than
he who spends his money in selfish luxury. At any rate, this man is a
wiser man than the other, for he has the good sense to prefer the
greater to the less. It is only obeying a natural instinct to satisfy
the bodily wants, and to supply ourselves with all the substantial
comforts of life before we spend money on things which do not, after
all, add in the least to our real enjoyment, and yet the majority of
men do sacrifice some of the former to the latter. He who has the
moral courage not to do so shows his real wisdom. And by such a
course of conduct he blesses others as well as himself--he does
something to stem the tide of passion for keeping up appearances
which in our age and country is the fruitful source of so much crime
and misery--he, and he only, is the truly honest man, for he is
content to pass for just what he is as to wealth.
+II. The foolish and wicked man who "honours himself."+ 1. _He is a
fool._ Vanity is one of the most despicable passions that can possess
a man--it often leads a man to the most childish actions. No man of
modern times was more entirely under its dominion than Voltaire,
whose only aim in life seemed to be to gain that unsubstantial homage
which afforded his spirit at the last such an unsatisfying portion.
He did not literally lack bread, but he did find himself in his old
age without anything which could give him any real comfort. The man
mentioned in our text is so bent upon obtaining this false honour
that he will "lack bread"--suffer positive bodily discomfort--rather
than not obtain it. 2. _He is a sinner._ He lies in action, if not in
word. While he is resorting to the meanest shifts in secret he is
trying to make people believe that he is much better off than he
really is. By stinting himself in the common comforts of life he sins
against his own body and against his creator, for "the Lord is for
the body" (1 Cor. vi. 13), and it is man's duty to feed that house of
the soul which is so "fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psa.
cxxxix. 14). He therefore sins against himself and against society.
It is worth while to inquire whether anybody will honour him after
all his foolish efforts. God cannot, for He hates all hypocrisy. Men
may, for their own interest, flatter him, and feign to respect him,
but he will obtain no real honour, either from men like him in
character, or from those who are better and wiser. "I have read,"
says Thomas Adams, "of Menecrates, a physician that would needs be
counted a god, and took no other fee of his patients than their vow
to worship him. Dionysius Syracusanus, hearing of this, invited him
to a banquet, and, to honour him according to his desire, set before
him nothing but a censer of frankincense, with all the smoke whereof
he was feasted till he starved, while others fed on good meat." Such
smoke as this is all the return such a man as the one pictured in
this proverb will get for starving himself, and for sinning against
his own body, against society, and against God.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
We give a few of the many renderings of this verse:--
Better is he that laboureth and aboundeth in all things than he that
boasteth himself and lacketh bread.--_Wordsworth._
This proverb, like xv. 17, commends the middle rank of life with its
quiet excellencies. A man of lowly rank, who is, however, not so poor
that he cannot support a slave, is better than one that boasts
himself and is yet a beggar. The first necessity of an Oriental in
only moderate circumstances is a slave, just as was the case with the
Greeks and Romans.--_Delitzch._
Better is the condition of the poor man, who has the means under his
control of aiding his exertions for sustenance, than the nobleman,
real or fancied, who is in a state of starvation.--_Stuart._
Each interpretation is tenable grammatically. (1) He whom men
despise, or who is "lowly" in his own eyes (the word is used by David
himself, 1 Sam xviii. 23), the trader, the peasant, if he has a
slave, _i.e.,_ if he is one step above absolute poverty, and has
someone to supply his wants, is better off than the man who boasts of
rank or descent, and has nothing to eat. Respectable mediocrity is
better than boastful poverty. (2) He who, though despised, is a
servant to himself, _i.e._ supplies his own wants, is better than the
arrogant and helpless.--_Plumptre._
Some do think it more miserable to be known to be miserable than to
be so, and are more grieved to be disesteemed for it than to be
pinched by it, wherefore they will feed the eyes of others with a
show of plenty, although they have not bread to feed themselves. But
he is better who, disesteeming the esteem of others and being servant
to himself, does get his own bread, and is contented with it. For as
he is servant, so is he master also; and howbeit he serveth, yet it
is at his own pleasure. And this is his comfort, that while he
serveth himself he hath to serve his need and occasions, when he that
_honoureth himself_ is fain at last to live by others. Or else take
the meaning thus: the ambitious itch of many is so great, and so
disquieteth their hearts, that they can lack anything, even bread
itself, rather than honour and preferment; so that when they are
swollen big in greatness and dignity they are even starved in their
estate, and have not of their own the next meal to feed themselves.
But better is he, especially if he be a good man, who--having to keep
himself and a servant--doth keep within his means; and though he be
_despised_ by them that overlook him, yet he looks upon himself with
thanks to God that it is so well with him. And, indeed, how can this
man but be better than the other, when his servant is better than the
other is. For as Chyrsostom speaketh, it cannot be but that he who is
the slave of glory should be servant of all, yea, more vile than all
other servants. For there is no servant commanded to do such base
things as the love of glory commandeth him.--_Jermin._
The son of Sirach, who may well be called an interpreter of this book
of the Proverbs, hath a very like saying to this where he speaketh
thus, "Better is he that worketh and aboundeth with all things, than
he that boasteth himself, and wanteth bread" (Ecclus.
x. 27).--_Muffet._
When men are such slaves to the opinion of the world, they rebel
against Him who makes no mistake in His allotments and often appoints
a descent from worldly elevation as a profitable discipline (Jas.
i. 10, 11; Dan. iv. 32-37). Yet it is hard, even for the Christian,
as Bunyan reminds us, "to go down the valley of humiliation and catch
no slip by the way." We need our Master's unworldly elevated spirit
(John vi. 15) to make as safe descent. . . . "Let our moderation be
known unto all men," under the constraining recollection, "The Lord
is at hand" (Phil. iv. 5). How will the dazzling glory of man's
esteem fade away before the glory of His appearing!--_Bridges._
Paul travelling on foot, and living on the wages of a tent-maker, was
more respectable than the pretended successor of his brother apostle,
with a triple crown upon his head.--_Lawson._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 10.
CARE FOR ANIMALS AND CRUELTY TO MEN.
Even the animal is benefited by being related to a righteous man.
+I. The righteous man regardeth the life of his beast.+ 1. _Because
of the entire dependence of the creature upon him._ Animals which are
the property of man are entirely at his mercy. They have no power to
change a bad master for a good one--no voice to utter their
complaints--no means of getting redress for their wrongs. All these
considerations tend to make a good man care for them, for the
righteous man's sympathies are always drawn out in proportion to the
need of the object. And with regard to the animal creation, it may be
that the present life is the only opportunity a man may have of
showing kindness to them. If, on the other hand, animals live in
another world, it may be all the better for men to treat them well
here. 2. _Because of his dependence upon his beast._ Men are very
largely indebted to animals for the sustaining of their life--it
would be very difficult for the work of the world to be carried on
without their help; man would certainly have to labour much harder if
they had it not. Therefore, the righteous man feels that he is paying
_a debt_ when he "regards the life of his beast." 3. _Because the
animal is an object of Divine care._ The Bible has many references to
the brute creation, and many passages which show that "_God_
regardeth the life of the beast." Christ tells us that not a
_sparrow_ falls to the ground without His Father's notice, and God
has given special commands with reference to the care of dumb
creatures. _"Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the
corn"_ (Duet. xxv. 4). Seeing, then, that "God doth care for oxen," a
righteous man will do likewise. 4. _Because of the lessons that may
be learned from the animal creation._ God often sends man to learn of
them (see Isa. i. 3; Jer. viii. 7), and much suggestive teaching may
be got from observation of their dispositions and habits. It would be
ingratitude not to repay them with considerate care.
+II. The wicked man is cruel.+ Wickedness is, in its nature,
destitute of kindliness. The sea is by nature salt, and its saltiness
makes it unfit to sustain human life. The father of wickedness is a
cruel being--his only aim is to increase the misery of the universe.
All his children have partaken more or less of his character since
the first human murderer killed his brother. It is said here that
even his acts of mercy are cruel. History gives many instances of men
whose so-called acts of mercy were only refined cruelties. It follows
that if wicked men are cruel to their fellow-creatures--to men and
women of their own flesh and blood, they will be even more
indifferent to the welfare of creatures below man.
_ILLUSTRATIONS._
Sir Robert Clayton, as commander of a troop of British cavalry, which
after service on the Continent was disbanded in the city of York, and
the horses sold, could not bear to think that his old
fellow-campaigners, who had born brave men to battle, should be
ridden to death as butcher's hacks, or worked in dung-carts till they
became dogs' meat, he therefore purchased a piece of ground upon
Knavesmire heath, and turned out the old horses to have their run for
life. What made this act to be the longer had in remembrance, was the
curious fact, that one day, when these horses were grazing, a
thunder-storm gathered, at the fires and sounds of which, as if
mistaken for the signs of approaching battle, they were seen to get
together and form in line, almost in as perfect order as if they had
their old masters on their backs.
Sir James Prior tells us, in the last year of the life of Burke, that
a feeble old horse which had been a favourite with young Richard--now
dead--and his constant companion in all his rural journeyings and
sports, when both were alike healthful and vigorous, was turned out
to take the run of the park at Beaconsfield during the remainder of
his life, the servants being strictly charged not to ride or in any
way molest him. This pour worn-out steed it was that one day drew
near to Burke, as the now childless and decrepit statesman was musing
in the park, and after some moments of inspection, followed by
seeming recollection and confidence, deliberately rested his head
upon the old man's bosom. The singularity of the action, the
remembrance of his dead son, its late master, and the apparent
attachment and intelligence of the poor brute, as if it could
sympathise with his inward sorrows, rushing at once into his mind,
totally overpowered his firmness, and throwing his arms over its
neck, he wept long and loudly.
John Howard writing home from the Lazaretto, himself sick and a
prisoner: "Is my chaise-horse gone blind or spoiled? Duke is well, he
must have his range when past his labour; not doing such a cruel
thing as I did with the old mare. I have a thousand times repented of
it."--_Jacox._
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
What a cruelty of the wicked is, at its words, words might seem
wanting to show, after it has been said that the tender mercies of
the wicked are cruel. But "a righteous man regardeth the life of his
beast." Jacob, as flock-master, is studiously careful for his flocks
and herds as well as for his tender children; "if men should
over-drive them one day, all the flock would die;" so "I will lead on
softly," said he to Esau, "according as the cattle that goeth before
me is able to endure." The angel of the Lord standing in the way,
rebukes Balaam for smiting his ass three times: that unrighteous man,
wishing there were a sword in his hand, too literally regardeth not
the life of his beast. . . . We certainly ought not, pleads Plutarch,
to treat living creatures like shoes or household goods, which, when
worn out with use, we throw away; and, were it only to learn
benevolence to human kind, we should be merciful to other creatures.
To be kind to these our fellow-lodgers is common humanity. To be
cruel to them is to be below it. It is almost, if not quite, to be a
little lower than themselves. It is, maintains, Sir Arthur Helps, an
immense responsibility that Providence has thrown upon us in
subjecting these sensitive creatures to our complete sway, and he
avowedly trembles at the thought of how poor an answer we shall have
to give, when asked the question how we have made use of the power
entrusted to us over the brute creation. . . . The question of
interposing law has been a vexed one, upon which the humanest have
differed. . . . So hard-headed and cool-headed a thinker as Stuart
Mill is decisive and incisive in his arguments in favour of legal
intervention. Mr. Lecky's suggestion of a doubt whether cruelty to
animals can be condemned on utilitarian grounds, is met by the
obvious answer that a utilitarian may rationally include in his
definition of the greatest number whose happiness is to be the aim of
human beings, not only human beings themselves, but all animals
capable of being happy or the reverse; besides which it is urged
that, even if we limit our view to the good of our own species, the
argument is as strong as can be desired. "If the criminality of an
action were to be measured simply by its direct effects on human
happiness, we might probably urge that the murderer of a grown-up man
was worse than the murderer of a child, and far worse than the
torturer of a dumb animal. Yet, as a matter of fact, we should
probably feel a greater loathing for a man who could torment a beast
for his pleasure than for one who should ill-use one of his equals."
For such cruelty is held to indicate, as a rule, a baser nature. A
murderer, though generally speaking a man of bad character, is not of
necessity cowardly or mean; he may not improbably show some courage,
and possibly even some sensibility to the nobler emotions. The
tormenter of animals, on the other hand shows callousness of nature,
a pleasure in giving pain for the sake of giving pain, which has
about it something to be described as devilish. . . . John Foster
declared it to be a great sin against moral taste to mention
ludicrously, or for ludicrous comparison, circumstances in the animal
world which are painful and distressing to the animals that are in
them; the simile, for instance, "Like a toad under a
harrow."--_Jacox._
Lit. "knoweth." The Authorised Version gives the right application,
but the words remind us that all true sympathy and care must grow out
of knowledge. The righteous man tries to _know_ the feelings and life
even of the brute beast, and so comes to care for it. _"Tender
mercies."_ Better "the feelings, the emotions" all that should have
led to mercy and pity towards man. The circle expands in the one
case, narrows in the other.--_Plumptre._
When the pulse of kindness beats strong in the heart the warm stream
is sent clean through the body of the human family, and retains force
enough to expatiate among the living creatures that lie beyond. . . .
Cruelty is a characteristic of the wicked in general, and in
particular of antichrist--that one, wicked by pre-eminence, whom
Christ shall yet destroy by the brightness of His coming. By their
fruits ye shall know them. The page of history is spotted with the
cruelties of papal Rome. The red blood upon his garments is generally
the means of discovering a murderer. The trailing womanish robes of
the papal high priest are deeply stained with the blood of the
saints. The same providence which employs the bloody tinge to detect
the common murderer has left more lasting marks of Rome's cruelty.
The Bartholomew massacre, for example, is recorded in more enduring
characters than the stains of that blood which soaked the soil of
France. The pope and his cardinals rejoiced greatly when they heard
the news. So lively was their gratitude that they cast a medal to
record it on. There stands the legend, raised in brass and
silver--_"Strages Huguenotorum"_ (the slaughter of the Huguenots)--in
perpetual memory of the delight wherewith that wicked antichrist
regarded the foulest butchery of men by their fellows that this
sin-cursed earth has ever seen. That spot will not out with all their
washings.--_Arnot._
It is better to be the beast of a righteous man than the son of a
wicked man; nay, it is better to be the beast of a righteous man than
to be a wicked man. For the righteous will do right unto his beast;
the merciful man hath sense of mercy wheresoever is sense of misery,
and while in mercy he regardeth the life of the beast that is beneath
him, he is made like unto God, who is so far above him. But the
wicked man's tender mercies are "mercies of the cruel," or else his
tender mercies are cruel, hurting as much as severe cruelty; and
therefore many times a wicked father's fond affection is the utter
undoing of a petted child, and sparing pity, where evil should be
chastised, is the breeding nurse of mischief which cannot be helped.
The fond mercies whereby the wicked favoureth himself in sloth and
idleness, whereby he pleaseth himself with pleasures and delights,
whereby he pampereth himself with delicate and luscious meats,
whereby he restraineth not his lusts and desires--what are they but
cruelties whereby he tormenteth his body with sickness and quickly
killeth it, and whereby he wilfully destroyeth his soul.--_Jermin._
The worldly care of a high prosperous man may seem very tender to
those dependent on him and towards others; but the very tenderness of
an impenitent example is the higher snare, the tender mercies of the
wicked are cruel. . . . Religion has no austerities that make a true
saint careless of the life or feelings even of his _beast._ On the
contrary, it breeds the most pervading tenderness; whereas the wise
worldling, however careful of his home and tender towards all who
have any claim upon his care, yet in admitting that there is a hell,
and neglecting all prayer for his household, and all example, except
one that braves the worst, breeds children simply to destroy
them.--_Miller._
The tender mercies of the wicked are when base and guilty men are
spared that should be smitten with the sword of justice. Pity of this
sort is more cruel than cruelty itself. For cruelty is exercised upon
individuals, but the pity, by granting impunity, arms and sends forth
against innocent men the whole army of evil doers.--_Lord Bacon._
We have been used to hear much of the benevolence of infidels and the
philanthropy of deists. It is all a pretence. Self is the idol and
self-indulgence the object, in the accomplishment of which they are
little scrupulous about the means. Where self is the idol, the heart
is cruel. While they talk of universal charity, they regard not the
cruelty of robbing thousands of the consolations of religion. . . .
While they speak of harmless gaiety and pleasure they would
treacherously corrupt piety and pollute unsuspecting
innocence.--_Holden._
The word "regard" is of twofold application, and may either apply to
the moral or the intellectual part of our nature. In the one it is
the regard of attention; in the other it is the regard of sympathy or
kindness. But we do not marvel at the term having been applied to two
different things, for they are most intimately associated. They act
and re-act upon each other. If the heart be very alive to any
particular set of emotions the mind will be alert in singling out the
peculiar objects which excite them; so, on the other hand, that the
emotions be specifically felt the objects must be specifically
noticed. . . . So much is this the case that Nature seems to have
limited and circumscribed our power of noticing just for the purpose
of shielding us from too incessant a sympathy. . . . If man, for
instance, looked upon Nature with a microscopic eye his sensibilities
would be exposed to the torture of a perpetual offence from all
possible quarters of contemplation, or, if through habit these
sensibilities were blunted, what would become of character in the
extinction of delicacy of feeling? . . . There is, furthermore, a
physical inertness of our reflective faculties, an opiate infused, as
it were, into the recesses of our mental economy, by which objects,
when out of sight, are out of mind, and it is to some such provision,
we think that much of the heart's purity, as well as its tenderness,
is owing; and it is well that the thoughts of the spirit should be
kept, though even by the weight of its own lethargy, from too busy a
converse with objects which are alike offensive and hazardous to
both. . . . But there is a still more wondrous limitation than
this. . . . The sufferings of the lower animals may be in sight, and
yet out of mind. This is strikingly exemplified in the sports of the
field, in the midst of whose varied and animating bustle that
cruelty, which is all along present to the senses, may not, for one
moment, be present to the thoughts. . . . It touches not the
sensibilities of the heart, but just because it is never present to
the notice of the mind. The followers of this occupation are reckless
of pain, but this is not rejoicing in pain. Theirs is not the delight
of savage, but the apathy of unreflecting creatures. . . . We are
inclined to carry this principle must further. We are not sure if,
within the whole compass of humanity, fallen as it is, there be such
a thing as delight in suffering for its own sake. But, without
hazarding a controversy on this, we hold it enough for every
practical object that much, and perhaps the whole of the world's
cruelty, arises not from the enjoyment that is felt in consequence of
others' pain, but from the enjoyment that is felt in spite of
it. . . . But a charge of the foulest delinquency may be made up
altogether of wants or of negatives; and just as the human face, by
the mere want of some of its features, although there should not be
any inversion of them, might be an object of utter loathsomeness to
beholders, so the human character, by the mere absence of certain
habits or sensibilities which belong ordinarily and constitutionally
to our species, may be an object of utter abomination in society. The
want of natural affection forms one article of the Apostle's
indictment against our world; and certain it is enough for the
designation of a monster. The mere want of religion is enough to make
a man an outcast from his God. Even to the most barbarous of our kind
you apply, not the term of anti-humanity, but of inhumanity--not the
term of anti-sensibility; and you hold it enough for the purpose of
branding him for general execration that you convicted him of
complete and total insensibility. . . . We count it a deep atrocity
that, unlike to the righteous man of our text, he simply does not
regard the life of a beast. . . . The true principle of his
condemnation is that he ought to have regarded. . . . Our text rests
the whole cause of the inferior animals on one moral element, which
is in respect of principle, and on one practical method, which is, in
respect of efficacy, unquestionable: "A righteous man regardeth the
life of his beast." Let a man be but righteous in the general and
obvious sense of the word, and let the regard of his attention be but
directed to the case of the inferior animals, and then the regard of
his sympathy will be awakened to the full extent at which it is
either duteous or desirable. . . . The lesson is not the circulation
of benevolence within the limits of one species. It is the
transmission of it from one species to another. The first is but the
charity of a world; the second is the charity of a universe. Had
there been no such charity, no descending current of love and
liberality from species to species, what would have become of
ourselves? Whence have we learned this attitude of lofty unconcern
about the creatures who are beneath us? Not from those ministering
spirits who wait upon the heirs of salvation. . . . Not from that
mighty and mysterious visitant who unrobed Him of all His glories,
and bowed down His head unto the sacrifice, and still, from the seat
of His now exalted mediatorship, pours forth His intercessions and
His calls in behalf of the race He died for. Finally, not from the
eternal Father of all, in the pavilion of whose residence there is
the golden treasury of all those bounties and beatitudes that roll
over the face of nature, and from the footstool of whose empyreal
throne there reaches a golden chain of providence to the very
humblest of His family.--_Chalmers._
He prayeth best who loveth best
All things both great and small;
For the dear God that loveth us,
He made and loveth all.--_Coleridge._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 11.
SATISFACTION FROM TILLAGE.
+I. Satisfaction as the result of tillage depends--+1. _Upon the
performance of a Divine promise._ It is long ago since God gave Noah
the promise that "While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest,
and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not
cease" (Gen. ix. 22), and it has been so invariably fulfilled that
men have come to forget upon whom they are depending--in whom they
are exercising faith--when they plough the ground and sow the seed.
God's regularity in His performance has bred in men a contempt for
the promise and the promise maker. Men speak of the laws of nature
and ignore the fact that it is by the Word of the Lord that the "rain
cometh down and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but
watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may
give seed to the sower and bread to the eater" (Isa. lv. 10). But so
it is. The promise is the power that set the laws in motion at first
and that have kept them in motion ever since. There can be no tillage
without dependence upon God either acknowledged or unacknowledged.
The promise is an absolute one, and implies power in God to fulfil it
to the end of time. It can never fail unless God's power fail, or
unless He break His Word; these are blessed impossibilities with Him.
Therefore, so far as God is concerned the _shall_ of the text is
absolute. But it depends likewise--2. _Upon man's fulfilment of their
duties._ First, it is not _all_ tillage that will satisfy a man with
bread, the tillage must be painstaking and intelligent. The promise
of God does not set aside the necessity for the man to be very
laborious and to study carefully the nature and needs of the soil
which he tills. Agriculture is a science which must be acquired--a
man must learn how to till the ground. God claims to be man's
instructor in this matter (Isa. xxviii. 26). Then, again, it must be
_his_ land that he tills, not land taken by fraud or violence from
another. Neither if a man tills the land of another as his servant is
he always paid sufficient wages to be satisfied with bread. But this
is the greed of man interfering with God's ordination.
+II. The promise suggests symbolic teaching.+ We may look at it in
relation to the human spirit. As land must be ploughed and sown with
painstaking intelligence if a man is to have the satisfaction of
reaping a harvest, so the human soul must be the object of spiritual
tillage if it is ever to yield any satisfaction to God or man. There
is very much to be got out of the land, but no man can obtain the
full blessing unless he cultivate it. So it is with the man himself.
A human soul left to lie barren can never become as a "field which
the Lord hath blessed." 1. It must be prepared to receive the words
of God. The "fallow ground" must be broken up, lest the sowing be
"among thorns" (Jer. iv. 3), or the seed fall where it can find no
entrance (Hosea x. 12; Matt. xiii. 4). 2. Good seed must be sown. The
word of God (Mark iv. 14), that "incorruptible seed" by which men are
"born again" (1 Pet. i. 23). 3. And the spiritual sower must be
persevering and prayerful. It is true of natural tillage that "He
that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the
clouds shall not reap" (Eccles. xi. 4); it is equally so of
soul-husbandry. The world, the flesh, and the devil will be always
putting difficulties in the way of a man's caring for his "own soul."
But these obstacles must be surmounted, and if the seed is watered by
prayer God will assuredly send down the rain of the Holy Ghost.
4. And in spiritual tillage there is also a certainty of
satisfaction. This also depends upon not _one_ Divine promise but
upon many--upon the revelation of God as a whole. (Upon the opposite
character--him "that followeth vain persons," or vanity, instead of
tilling his land or his spiritual nature--see Homiletics on chapters
vi. 11 and x. 5, pages 79 and 147.)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
We might have expected that the antithesis of the second clause would
have ended with "shall lack bread," but the real contrast goes
deeper. Idleness leads to a worse evil than that of
hunger.--_Plumptre._
Vain persons or "_empty people_"--most signally the impenitent--for
they are empty of all good. "That follows after empty people" is a
fine characteristic of the impenitent man's decline. Following others
is the commonest influence to destroy the soul.--_Miller._
Special honour is given to the work of tilling the land. God assigned
it to Adam in Paradise. It is the employment of his eldest son. In
ancient times it was the business or relaxation of kings. A blessing
is ensured to diligence, sometimes abundant, always such as we should
be satisfied with.--_Bridges._
Of all the arts of civilised man agriculture is transcendently the
most essential and valuable. Other arts may contribute to the
comfort, the convenience, and the embellishment of life, but the
cultivation of the soil stands in immediate connection with our very
existence. The life itself, to whose comfort, convenience, and
embellishment other arts contribute, is by this sustained, so that
others without it can avail nothing.--_Wardlaw._
The only two universal monarchs practised husbandry. . . . Some
people think that they cannot have enough unless they have more than
the necessaries and decent comforts of life: but we are here
instructed that bread should satisfy our desires. Having food and
raiment, let us be therewith content. There are few that want these,
and yet few are content. . . . To be satisfied with bread is a happy
temper of mind, and is commonly the portion of the man of industry,
which not only procures bread, but gives it a relish unknown to men
that are above labour.--_Lawson._
Sin brought in sweat (Gen. iii. 19), and now not to sweat increaseth
sin. . . . _"But he that followeth vain persons,"_ etc. it is hard to
be a good fellow and a good husband too.--_Trapp._
Here is encouragement to those who travail in husbandry. They are of
as good note with God for their service, if they be faithful, as
others whose trades are more gainful, and better esteemed among men.
The merchants, and goldsmiths, and others of such places, are not so
often mentioned in Scripture as they be, nor animated with so many
consolations as they are. The grand promises for blessing on their
labour are made to them in special, and the rest must deduct their
comforts from thence by proportion.--_Dod._
In a moral point of view the life of the agriculturist is the most
pure and holy of any class of men; pure, because it is the most
healthful, and holy, because it brings the Deity perpetually before
his view, giving him thereby the most exalted notions of supreme
power, and the most fascinating and endearing view of moral
benignity.--_Sir B. Maltravers._
Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey,
Where wealth accumulates and men decay;
Princes and lords may flourish, or may fade;
A breath can make them, as a breath has made:
But a bold peasantry, their country's pride,
When once destroyed, can never be supplied.--_Goldsmith._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 12-14.
THE DESIRE OF WICKED MEN AND THE FRUIT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.
+I. Concerning wicked men we have--+1. _A blessed instance of their
inability to do all they desire._ Verse 12 speaks of their "desiring
the net of evil men"--of their reaching out after larger
opportunities of ensnaring their fellow-creatures than they have at
their command at present. The desires and abilities of _good_ men are
not always equally balanced. They have more desire to be good and to
do good than they have ability to be or to do. The first teachers of
Christianity desired a "net" that should enclose all to whom they
preached the gospel, and this has been the desire of godly men ever
since. They desire a "net" in which to catch their fellow-creatures
for their good, but their ability always comes short of their
desires. This is a saddening truth, but there is no denying the fact.
But "the net of evil men" desired by the wicked is one in which to
entrap men to their hurt. In this case it is a matter of rejoicing
that their desires and their ability are not balanced. If ungodly men
had their desires fulfilled they would soon transform the world into
a mirror in which they would see them reflected in every human
creature. We ought ever to give thanks to God that wicked men lack
power to do all they desire to do to good men, and that they cannot
even go to the length of their aspirations even with other ungodly
men. They hate each other often with deep hatred, and human and
Divine law alone prevents the world from being turned into a hell by
the fulfilment of their desires against each other. There are
outstanding debts always waiting to be settled whenever a net can be
found large enough to entrap the victim, but God's providence is a
larger net, and so arranges the events of human life that wicked men
are often prevented from committing greater crimes then they do
against each other. 2. _Retribution falling upon them._ A net is
laid, and prey is ensnared, but it is he who desired to entrap his
brother who "is snared by the transgression of his own lips" (ver.
13). It is as certain as that water will find its level that men who
lay traps for others will be entrapped themselves (see chap. xi. 8).
And this will come about not by another man's laying a net for them
but by their own plans being turned against them. Thus Haman made a
snare for his own feet by the "transgression of his own lips" when he
sought to persuade Ahasuerus that "it was not for his profit to
suffer the Jews" (Esther iii. 8). He thought this net would enclose
Mordecai, but it enwrapped himself in its meshes. So when Daniel's
enemies laid their plans against him. Many a time has a godly man had
occasion to sing David's song, _"The heathen are sunk down in the pit
that they made; in the net which they hid is their own foot taken"_
(Psa. ix. 15). It is a law of God's government. _"He that leadeth
into captivity shall go into captivity"_ (Rev. xiii. 10). This is the
"recompense which shall be rendered unto" the man who lays plans to
injure others (ver. 14).
+II. Concerning righteous men we have--+1. _A godly character
springing from a root of piety._ The principal thing to be aimed at
in building a house is to get a good foundation; if the foundation be
insecure, the house will be worthless. That which makes a healthy
fruit-bearing tree is a healthy, strong root; however fair the
branches may at present look, they will soon betray any disease at
the seat of its life. The root of a man's character is his _desire;_
if the desire is righteous, he is a righteous--though not a
perfect--man. As the wicked man was made by his evil desire, so the
good man is made by his desires after that which is true and
benevolent. 2. _That which is yielded by such a root._
(1) _Deliverance._ He is delivered from the net laid for him by the
evil counsels of the wicked. His character is often the means of
bringing him _into_ trouble, but the same character is a guarantee
that he shall come _out_ of it. The time of trouble is by permission
or by appointment of God, and it is only for a limited time. Job and
Joseph were both brought into trouble because their characters
awakened the envy--the one of angelic, the other of human sinners;
but their histories are left on record to show to all just men, who
find themselves in similar circumstances from the same cause, what
the "end of the Lord" is, and will be to them (Jas. v. 11). There
must come a final and blessed deliverance from all trouble for those
who yield the fruit of a holy life from the root of a holy character
(Rev. xxi. 4). (2) _Satisfaction_ (verse 14). One of the fruits of a
righteous man will be his holy and wise speech--speech which blesses
men in opposition to that "transgression of the lips" which is meant
to injure them (verse 13). From this "fruit of the mouth" he shall be
"satisfied with good"--he will have the reward of knowing that his
words bless others, and this will be to him a source of satisfaction.
Or his wise speech may be the means of bringing him material good and
temporal honour.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 12. Man is always restless to press onwards to something not
yet enjoyed. The wicked emulate each other in wickedness, and if they
see evil men more successful than themselves, desire their net (Psa.
x. 8-10; Jer. v. 26-28).--_Bridges._
The words are somewhat obscure, both in the original and in the
translation. The meaning, however, seems as follows: The "net of evil
men," as in chap. i. 17, is that in which they are taken--the
judgment of God in which they are ensnared. This they run into with
such a blind infatuation that it seems as if they were in love with
their own destruction. The marginal "fortress" (a meaning given to
the feminine form in Isa. xxix. 7; Ezek. xix. 9) gives the thought
that the wicked seek the protection of others like themselves, but
seek in vain the "root of the just" (_i.e.,_ that in them which is
fixed and stable), alone yields that protection. The latter rendering
is, on the whole, preferable.--_Plumptre._
Some render the latter clause, _He_ (_i.e.,_ the Lord) _will give a
root of the righteous;_ that is, will enable them to stand
firm.--_Wordsworth._
The impenitent does not prefer to work the soil of his soul, as in
the last verse, but is in hopes to gain by something easier; he likes
to seize as in the chase, or as robbers do. He likes to seize without
having produced or earned. But the righteous not only goes through
solid processes of piety, but (another intensive clause, chap.
xi. 14) earns for others, as well as for himself. While impenitence
would take heaven as in a net, religion works for it, and, in so
doing, "gives" or "yields."--_Miller._
The word "_net_" may be understood of _any means_ by which the wealth
and honours of the world may be acquired. Thus it is used in Habakkuk
i. 13-17. The net described here is that of the oppressor, who
regards his fellow-men as of any value only as he can render them
conducive to his own benefit and aggrandisement, and who uses them
accordingly, and when his oppressive powers prove successful vaunts
himself in the power and the skill by which the means has been
secured. There seems to be a special reference, in the verse before
us, to illegitimate or fraudulent means. When "the wicked" see the
devices of "evil men" succeed, they desire to try the same
arts. . . . If, in any case, conscience _should_ remonstrate and
restrain, and will not allow them to go quite so far, that yet envy,
and regret their restraints. They still _desire_ the net, even when
they can't bring themselves to use it. They wish they could get over
their scruples, and, in this state of mind, the probability is that
by and by they will. The "root of the righteous" might be understood
as meaning the fixed, settled, stable _principle_ of the righteous,
and the sentiment may be, and it is an important one, that, _acting
on rooted principle,_ the righteous may and will ultimately prosper.
I incline, however, to think that "the net" signifies the varied
artifice, cunning, and fraud employed to gain riches quickly, the
root of the righteous may rather represent the _source of his revenue
or income;_ and, in opposition to the art of making rich quickly, to
excite the surprise and the envy of others, a steady,
firmly-established, regularly; and prudently and justly-conducted
business, bringing in its profits fairly and moderately, as a tree,
deeply-rooted in the soil, draws thence its natural nourishment, and,
"receiving blessing from God," brings forth its fruit in due season.
The two views are closely, if not inseparably, connected.--_Wardlaw._
The wicked seek their good from without; the righteous have it
within, their own root, deep and firmly sunk, supplying
it.--_Fausset._
He so furiously pursueth his lusts, as if he desired destruction; as
if he would outdare God Himself; as if the guerdon of his
gracelessness would not come time enough, but he must needs run to
meet it. Thus thrasonical Lamech (Gen. iv. 23) thinks to have the
odds of God seventy to seven. Thus the princes of the Philistines,
whilst plagued, came up to Mizpeh against Israel, as it were, to
fetch their bane (1 Sam. vii.).--_Trapp._
Verse 13. The words _saphah_ (lip) and _lashon_ (tongue) occur, the
first in verses 13, 19, 22, the second in verses 18, 19 in the
chapter. The former occurs about _forty-five_ times in this book; and
the words connected with them, such as _strife, wrath, slander,
scorn,_ and their contraries, _love, peace, truth,_ etc., are very
frequent, showing the importance to be attached to the right
government of the tongue.--_Wordsworth._
Matters are so arranged, in the constitution of the world, that the
straight course of truth is safe and easy; the crooked path of
falsehood difficult and tormenting. Here is perennial evidence that
the God of providence is wise and true. By making lies a share to
catch liars in, the Author of being proclaims, even in the voices of
nature, that He "requireth truth in the inward parts." "The just
shall come out of trouble;" that is the word; it is not said he shall
never fall into it. The inventory which Jesus gives of what His
disciples shall have "now in this time," although it contains many
things that nature loves, closes with the article "persecutions"
(Mark x. 30). . . . Those who wave their palms of victory and sing
their jubilant hymns of praise, were all in the horrible pit
once.--_Arnot._
All human conduct is represented by the lips (verse 6 and chap.
xiv. 3). The tongue is a foremost business agent. The impenitent,
though he may stand out very clear, and see no tokens of a net, yet,
as his life is false his not seeing the snare shows only how the more
insidiously he may be entangled in. While the righteous, though he
may be born to the snare; originally contemned; and though he may be
caught in the toils of great worldly evil, yea, of sin itself; yet
out of the very jaw of the trap where he may have foolishly entered,
he will in the end by helped to get out.--_Miller._
They (the just) suffer sometimes for their bold and free invectives
against the evils of the times, but they shall surely be
delivered. . . . John Baptist, indeed, was, without any law, right,
and reason, beheaded in prison as though God had known nothing at all
of him, said George Marsh, the martyr. And the same may be said of
sundry other witnesses to the truth, but then by death they entered
into life eternal. . . . Besides that heaven upon earth they had
during their troubles. . . . The best comforts are usually reserved
for the worst times.--_Trapp._
Verse 14. Albeit the opening of the mouth is a small matter; yet,
when it is done in wisdom, it shall be recompensed by the Lord with
great blessing. For such as use their tongues to God's glory, and the
edification of their brethren, instructing them and exhorting them
from day to day, shall be loved by God and man, and taste many good
things. Now, as good words, so good works shall be rewarded. For the
recompense of a man's hands shall reward him; not only shall the
wicked be plagued for their evil doing, but the godly shall be
blessed for their well-doing.--_Muffet._
This is the whole question of capital and labour put in a nutshell.
_All_ is not to be claimed by the _hands_, for there is the mouth
that directs and orders. _As much_ is not to be claimed by the
_hands,_ for the Bible is a good, truthful book, and it claims for
the mind more than for the muscle. (See this distinction in Eccles.
x. 10.) "_A man of the better sort,_" with his education, and
expensive capital, earns more, according to the inspired Solomon,
than the "labouring man." What he demands of the Christian gentleman
is, that he shall make an estimate of all this, and, while he keeps
himself "_the earnings of the mouth,_" he render carefully to the
labourer the wages of his hands. We have no authority for this
interpretation. We present it as unquestionably just. The translation
it would be hard to give literally. But the words are about thus:
_"From the fruit of the mouth of a man of the better class, a good
man will be satisfied; and the wage (lit. the work) of the hands of a
common man he will render to him."_ This fair, calculating spirit, in
all questions between man and man, not tending to communism on the
one hand and not yielding to tyranny on the other, is the true spirit
of the inspired Gospel.--_Miller._
There are "empty vines that bear fruit unto themselves" (Hosea x. 1).
And as empty casks sound loudest, and base metal rings shrillest, so
many empty tattlers are full of discourse. Much fruit will redound by
holy speeches to ourselves--much to others. Paul showeth that the
very report of his bonds did a great deal of good in Cæsar's house
(Phil. i. 14). . . . One seasonable truth, falling upon a prepared
heart, hath oft a strong and sweet influence. Sometimes, also,
although we know that which we ask of others as well as they do, yet
good speeches will draw us to know it better by giving occasion to
speak more of it, wherewith the Spirit works most effectually, and
imprints it deeper, so that it shall be a more rooted knowledge than
before.--_Trapp._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 15 _and_ 16.
TWO EXAMPLES OF FOOLISHNESS AND WISDOM.
+I. The man who guides his life by his own self-conceit--rejecting
the advice of others.+ No finite creature possesses sufficient wisdom
within himself to direct his path through life. The largest and
deepest rivers are dependent upon small streams to sustain their
volume of water, and each little stream again must be fed from a
source outside itself, and the springs which feed the streams have
their origin in the ocean's fulness. So the very greatest minds are
in some things dependent upon minds which in many things are their
inferior, and it is a mark of wisdom to acknowledge this, and to be
willing to take advice of anyone who is able to give it upon matters
in which they are better informed. Thus men are led to exercise a
mutual dependence on each other, and all to depend upon Him whose
wisdom is the parent of all finite counsel that is of any value.
(1) A man who will not acknowledge and act upon this principle is a
fool, because he practically shuts his eyes to a self-evident fact,
and denies that he is a member of a race, the members of which are
evidently intended to supply each other's lack in such a manner as to
form a mutually dependent body. It is in human society as it is in
the individual human body--"the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have
no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of
you" (1 Cor. xii. 21), or if they do say so they only proclaim their
great want of wisdom. (2) He is a fool because he declines to profit
by the experience of men in the past. To recur to the simile of the
human body, it is intended to live upon material outside itself, and
a man is counted insane who refused to take food. So we are intended
to profit by the experience of men who have lived before us, and it
is quite as foolish to set it aside as useless to us as it is to
refuse to eat in order to live. It is indeed like expecting to keep
in health and strength by consuming one's own flesh. No man does
actually and in all cases refuse to profit by the wisdom and
experience of others, but he is foolish in proportion as he does so.
(3) He is a fool because he is so declared by the highest authority.
God by His offers of guidance, by the very existence of the Bible,
declares that men need counsel. (See upon this subject Homiletics on
chap. iii. 7, 8, page 34.) The human soul is like a blind Samson,
because of the blinding nature of sin relative and sin personal, and
all its endeavours to find a right way without harkening to Divine
counsel only result in stumbles and wounds, and finally, if persisted
in, in moral ruin. All a man's endeavours only increase his misery,
until he take the counsel offered him by God. He is like a
shipwrecked mariner suffering from raging thirst having drunk of the
briny water, every draught only increases the disease, and nothing
can save him but drinking of pure water. (4) This man is his own
destroyer. It is bad to be ruined by the temptations of others, but
there is this advantage, we can fall back upon the excuse of our
first parents: "The woman gave me of the tree and I did eat," or "the
serpent beguiled me" (Gen. iii. 12, 13). But when a man's rejection
of counsel ruins him, he finds himself in a "blind alley," from which
there is not even the outlet of an excuse.
+II. The passionate man.+ This is often the companion of self-conceit
and is indeed a proof of it. If a man is unable to hold a restive
horse well in hand, it proves that he has not taken lessons in
horsemanship. If a man cannot steer a vessel in ordinary
circumstances without running her upon the rocks, it shows that he
has not learned the art of navigation. A man who cannot keep his
anger from over-mastering him--who cannot keep a firm hold of the
rudder of his own spirit--proclaims that he has not subjected himself
to moral discipline, that he has disdained to learn the art of moral
rulership. Such a man is a fool, because a man in passion is always
despised by others, he often utters words which he would afterwards
give much to recall, and generally ends by losing his own
self-respect.
+III. In contrast to this character stands the man who is in all
respects the opposite--+him whose character is sketched in the first
clause of these verses, who "loveth instruction" (ver. 1) who
acknowledges that "he is a stranger in the earth and needs Divine
guidance" (Psa. cxix. 19), that "the way of man is not himself; it is
not in man that walketh to direct his step" (Jer. x. 23.--See
homiletics on chap. x. 8, page 151). Such a man is willing to listen
to the advice of any who are capable of giving it, and his prudence
in this matter is generally accompanied by an ability to "cover
shame"--to take a reproof or an insult in silence. He has learned to
take George Herbert's advice--
"Command thyself in chief. He life's war knows
Whom all his passions _follow_ as he goes."
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 15. All through our lost nature the truth of this proverb is
visible. A man may be on the road to hell, but think that he is fair
for heaven. A man may build by rapine, but think that he is the pink
of fair dealing. A man is not a judge about himself. A Christian,
therefore, will feel this, and while the impenitent is hard as to his
own right, the Christian will be humble, and will be glad, in
reasonable ways, to leave his duties to be advised upon by
others.--_Miller._
We have one great "Counsellor" Messiah, who is made unto us "wisdom"
(Isa. ix. 6; 1 Cor. i. 30). Let us "hearken unto" Him (chap.
i. 33).--_Fausset._
And such a fool is every natural man (Job xi. 12); wise enough, haply
in his generation--so is the fox too--wise with such wisdom as, like
the ostrich's wings, makes him outrun others upon earth, but helps
him never a whit towards heaven.--_Trapp._
The worse any man is, or doth, the less he seeth his evil. They that
commit the most sins have hope that they stand guilty of fewest; they
that fall into greatest transgressions, imagine that their faults be
the smallest; they that sink into the deepest dangers do dream of
greatest safety; they that have longest continued in rebellion
against God, of all others, for the most part are slowest to
repentance. . . . St. Paul testifieth that when he was in the worst
case, he knew nothing but that he had been in the best.--_Dod._
Every man's way is, and must be, in some degree, acceptable to
himself, otherwise he would never have chosen it. But, nevertheless,
whoever is wise, will be apt to suspect and be diffident of himself.
Let men's abilities be ever so great, and their knowledge ever so
extensive, still they ought not, and without great danger and
inconvenience cannot, trust wholly and entirely to themselves. For
those abilities and that knowledge easily may be, and often are,
rendered useless by the prejudices and prepossessions of men's own
minds. Nothing is more common than for men's appetites and affections
to bribe their judgments, and seduce them into erroneous ways of
thinking and acting. They are often entangled and set fast, not
through the want of light and knowledge, not through any defect of
their heads, but through the deceitfulness of their hearts. In many
cases where they could easily direct other men, they suffer
themselves to be misled, and are driven into the snare by the
strength of inclination, or by the force of habit. . . . This
acquired darkness, this voluntary incapacity, as well as the wont of
counsel thereby occasioned, nowhere appears more frequently, or more
remarkably, than in the transaction of our spiritual concerns, and
what relates to the discharge of our duty. "The way of Man," says our
royal author, "is right in his own eyes," though the end "thereof be
the ways of death." When we have wandered out of the road, and almost
lost ourselves in bye-paths, we can make ourselves believe that we
have continued all the while in the highway to truth and
happiness. . . . But, however lightly we may esteem the helps and
directions of men, shall we not attend to the counsels of Our
Heavenly Father, and the admonitions of the Most High? Can we have
more regard to what is "right in our own eyes" than to what is right
in His?--_Balguy._
Verse 16. "Covereth," with the mantle of patience and charity,
instead of exasperating himself, and losing self-control by dwelling
on the indignity of the word or deed, and the worthlessness of the
injurer. He does not publish the act to the discredit of the other,
but consults for the reputation of the other, lest he should add sin
to the injury suffered.--_Fausset._
Truly is _wrath_ called _shame._ For is it not a _shame_ that unruly
passions should, as it were, trample reason under foot, disfigure
even the countenance, and subjugate the whole man to a temporary
madness? (Dan. iii. 19.)--_Bridges._
A fool hath no power over his passions. Like tow, he is soon kindled;
like a pot, he soon boils; and like a candle whose tallow is mixed
with brine, as soon as lighted he spits up and down the room. "A fool
uttereth all his mind" (chap. xxix. 11). The Septuagint renders it
"all his anger." For, as the Hebrews well note in a proverb they
have, "A man's mind is soonest known in his _purse,_ in his _drink,_
and in his _anger._" But "A wise man covereth shame" by concealing
his wrath, or rather by suppressing it when it would break forth to
his disgrace, or the just grief of another. This was Saul's wisdom
(1 Sam. x. 27); and Jonathan's (1 Sam. xx. 34); and Ahasuerus's,
when, in a rage against Haman, he walked into the garden. The
philosopher wished Augustine, when angry, to say over the Greek
alphabet.--_Trapp._
The meaning of the Holy Ghost is not here to condemn all kinds of
anger, for it is one of the powers of the soul which God created as
an ornament in men, and godly anger is a part of God's image in him,
and a grace commended in Moses, Elijah, etc., and our Saviour
Himself, and he that is always altogether destitute of this doth
provoke God to be angry with him, for want of zeal and hatred of sin;
but it is a _passionate_ anger that is here reproved, which is not a
power of the soul, but an impotency. He that conceiveth the other is
an _agent,_ and doth a service to God; but he that is moved with this
is a _patient,_ and sin hath in that case prevailed against
him.--_Dod._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 17 _to_ 19,
_and verse_ 22.
WOUNDING AND HEALING.
+I. The mischief that may be done by a lying tongue.+ 1. _In a legal
matter._ It is the duty of a witness to testify exactly what he
knows, and no more nor less. If a man speaks deceitfully he may bring
much misery upon the innocent, whom his straightforward testimony
would have acquitted. And he may do this by withholding truth as well
as by uttering direct falsehood. The first is "showing forth deceit"
as well as the last. 2. _In common conversation._ The word
"speaketh," in verse 18, is "babbleth," and seems to point to those
who are great talkers, and who are not careful what they say. (See
Homiletics on chap. x. 19-21, page 168.) In both these cases words
may inflict a more deadly wound than a sword. If spoken _to a man_
they may break his heart, if spoken _of him_ they may kill his
reputation, which no sword of steel can touch, and which to the best
men is more precious than bodily life. A lying or even a _babbling_
tongue can pierce a much more vital organisation than flesh and
blood--it can enter the human spirit, and hurt it in its most
sensitive part; or by slander it can destroy all the joy of a man's
earthly life. And as a sword can in a moment sever the spirit and the
body of a man, and work such ruin and misery as can never be done
away with, so a lying tongue may by one word, or one conversation, do
mischief that can never be undone. The sword of steel can divide
human friends locally; but it cannot sever their love; it tends
rather to increase and brighten the flame; but a word of slander may
do all this, and estrange those who were bound in the tenderest ties,
until the God of Truth shall bring the truth to light. Though the
lying tongue is comparatively "but for a moment," yet in a moment it
can deal a thrust that will last as long as life. It can open a wound
whence will flow out all the joy of life, as the heart's blood flows
from a mortally wounded man.
+II. Its judgment and its destiny.+ It is an abomination in the sight
of a God of Truth, and, therefore, its life is comparatively
short--it is "but for a moment" compared with the eternal duration of
truth. A lying man or devil is the very antipodes of the Divine
character. All truthful men instinctively shrink from a liar as the
sensitive plant withdraws from the human touch. How much more must he
be held in abhorrence by Him who is a "God of Truth, and without
iniquity" (Deut. xxxii. 4). Christ characterises lying as the
cardinal sin of the greatest sinner in the universe (John viii. 44).
It was his lying tongue that "brought death into the world, and all
our woe," and so spoiled the Paradise which God had prepared for man.
How then can lying be any other than an abomination to Him? But,
because it is so, its doom is fixed. It is destined to destruction by
the victory of truth, as the night is destroyed by the overcoming
light of day. (On this subject see also Homiletics on chap. x. 18,
page 166.)
+III. The blessed results of a truthful and wisely-governed tongue.+
1. _it will "show forth righteousness."_ A man who speaks the truth
shows forth righteousness in two ways--(1) _in his own character._ He
reveals himself to be a righteous man. He gives a living example of
uprightness and integrity. (2) _He helps on righteousness in the
world._ By being a faithful witness he furthers the ends of justice
and righteousness--he helps on the just administration of the law.
2. _It will heal wounds inflicted by the untruthful tongue._ In
nature we have a two-fold exhibition of power. The hurricane comes
and breaks the branches of the tree, and strips off its leaves; but a
more beneficent power clothes it again with beauty. So the tongue of
a fool strips a man of what made life beautiful to him--takes away
his good name, or breaks bonds of close friendship--but wise and kind
words have a healing power in them--they help to cheer the wounded
spirit, and enable the bowed head to lift itself again. Such a tongue
of healing had the Divine Son of God, who came "to heal the broken in
heart" (Isa. lxi. 1), and to restore the friendship between God and
man, which was first broken by the slandering tongue of the
devil--that great slanderer of God to man, and of man to God (Gen.
iii. 5; Job i. 10). To Him the _"Lord God gave the tongue of the
learned, that He might know how to speak a word in season to him that
was weary"_ (Isa. l. 4). The tongue of all true servants of God is an
instrument of healing, for they are enabled to tell to their
fellow-men "words whereby they may be saved" (Acts iv. 12).
+IV. God's estimation of it and its destiny.+ It is "God's delight,"
verse 22. Whatever gives delight to a noble and benevolent man must
be a blessing to humanity, and everything will delight him that tends
to minister blessing to the world. This is pre-eminently true of the
good God. Truth is the great need of the race--truth in word and deed
and thought. To this end Christ came into the world "to bear witness
of the truth" (John xviii. 37), because that alone is the cure for
the world's woes. Then every man who is _true_ must bless humanity
and consequently delight God. A good father rejoices to see his own
excellencies of character appear in his son, and the Father of the
good likewise delights to see His children copy Him in "dealing
truly." (See also on chap. xi. 1, page 190.) And because it is God's
delight it will last for ever. Truth of any kind will be established
in the course of time. If a man proclaim a scientific truth, however
much he may be laughed at and disbelieved at first, his "lip," or his
words, will be established in the end. In the words of Galileo, when
he uttered the truth, that the earth moved round the sun, have long
since been "established." Time only is needed for any truth to take
root-hold--it can never be overturned, whether it be physical or
moral truth. Many truths which were scoffed at by most men, when they
were first promulgated, are now regarded as truisms by almost
everybody. And the lips that uttered them are now established and
held in honour. Such men, for instance, as Cromwell and Milton, when
they declared that the right of private judgment in religious
matters, the freedom of the press, etc., were the right of every man,
are now established in the estimation of this nation, and the truths
which they uttered are regarded by all Englishmen as undoubted facts.
"This," says F. W. Robertson, "is man's relation to the truth. He is
but a learner--a devout recipient of a revelation--here to listen
with open ear devoutly for that which he shall hear; to gaze and
watch for that which he shall see. Man can do no more. He cannot
create truth; he can only bear witness to it; he can only listen and
report that which is in the universe. If he does not repeat and
witness to that, he speaks of his own, and forthwith ceases to be
true. . . . Veracity is another thing. Veracity is the correspondence
between a proposition and man's belief. Truth is the correspondence
of the proposition with fact." It is to such
witness-bearers--especially to those who witness concerning moral
truth--that the promise of the text applies.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 17. He who is brought to a spiritual discernment of the
_"truth"_ "breathes" it like his breath, instinctively and
unconsciously. (See Critical Notes.) And he who does this not simply
"covers shame" (verse 16), but causes others to, for he _advertises_
righteousness--_i.e., publishes_ it. This, therefore, is the meaning
of the sentence: "He that breathes forth truth publishes
righteousness"--_i.e.,_ saving righteousness: and does it like
uttering forth his breath. While the "deceived" (false) witness;
literally, _the witness of falsehood;_ a phrase which is ambiguous,
because it might mean a _witness to falsehood_ (see chap. vi. 9)--the
"deceived witness"--_i.e.,_ the man who sees or witnesses falsehood
instead of truth, "_publishes_ (understood) _delusion"--i.e.,_ is a
constant fountain of deceit to other men. This sense of the witness
of falsehood is necessary to many proverbs (chap. xiv. 5), and saves
a number from tautological or truistic interpretations.--_Miller._
There is more here than lies upon the surface. It might seem enough
for a faithful witness to _speak truth._ But no--he must _show forth
righteousness;_ what is _just,_ as well as what is _true._ The best
intentioned purpose must not lead us to conceal what is necessary to
bring the cause to a righteous issue.--_Bridges._
The words read at first almost like a truism; but the thought which
lies below the surface is that of the inseparable union between truth
and justice. The end does not justify the means, and only he who
breathes and utters truth makes the righteous cause
clear.--_Plumptre._
He that _speaketh,_ ordinarily, in his common speech, that which is
true, will _show righteousness_--that is, will carry himself justly,
and further righteousness with his testimony, when he shall be
publicly called thereunto. There must be a training of the tongue to
make it fit for equity and justice, as of the hands, and other parts
of the body, to make them skilful in handling a weapon and bearing of
arms. . . . No man is competent for any work that is public unless
his former upright and honest conversation commend him unto it. The
rule which our Saviour gives in another case will hold as firmly in
this. _"He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also
in much"_ (Luke xvi. 10). For, _first,_ the mouth of the man is the
mouth of the man's treasure. That which he speaketh he best loveth.
That which is most in the lips hath greatest place in the heart. If,
therefore, the truth be dear unto him, he will certainly show it
forth when he shall stand forth before God and His substitute for
that purpose, and so do a good service of love and piety; but if he
have any fellowship with falsehood he will now take part with it,
being void of the fear of God, and afraid to displease man.
_Secondly,_ no man exerciseth the truth at any time conscionably, but
by the spirit of truth, and that directing men's hearts at other
times, in matters of less weight, will not fail them at their
greatest need, when they are to perform a duty of so great
importance; and so, on the other hand, Satan hath the disposing of
their tongues that give themselves to lying. He is their father, he
teachest them their trade, and tasketh them in their work, and they
be wholly at his commandment, and who doubteth but he will command
them to be on his side, and to take against the truth, so far as a
knowledge of the truth shall make against his practices.--_Dod._
Verse 18. _Wit,_ when not chastened and controlled by an amiable
disposition, often wounds deeply. Jibes, jests, irony, raillery, and
sarcasm, fly about. No matter what the wounds, or where they be
inflicted, if the wit be but shown. A _happy hit,_ a clever, biting
repartee, will not be suppressed for the sake of feelings, or even
the character of a neighbour, or, as it may happen, a friend. The man
of wit _must_ have his joke, cost what it may. The point may be
piercing in the extreme; but if it _glitters_ it is enough; to the
heart it will go.--_Wardlaw._
Abimelech and his fellow priests were killed with the tongue, as with
a rapier; so was Naboth and his sons; so was our Saviour Christ
Himself. An honest mind is ever more afflicted with words than blows.
You shall find some, saith Erasmus, that if they be threatened with
death can despise it; but to be belied they cannot brook, nor from
revenge contain themselves. How was David enraged by Nabal's
railings! Moses, by the people's murmurings! Jeremiah by the
derisions of the rude rabble! (chap. xx. 7, 8.)--_Trapp._
Among all the complaints which the godly, and God's own Spirit make
against the wicked in the Scriptures, they seldom complain of
anything more than of their virulent and pestiferous mouths (Psa.
lv. 21, lii. 2; Prov. xxv. 18; Rom. iii. 13). _First,_ they cause
swords to be drawn, and blood to be shed, and men to be slain, and
much mischief to be wrought. _Secondly,_ The sword, or any other
weapon, can only hurt them that are present, and in places near to
it; but the stroke of the tongue will light most dangerously upon
them that are absent; no place or distance can help against it, and
one man may do mischief to a great multitude.--_Dod._
Verse 19. Liars need to have good memories. A lying tongue soon
betrays itself. "No lie reaches old age," says Sophocles.--_Fausset._
The verse has been differently rendered. "The tongue of truth is ever
steady: but the tongue of falsehood is so but for a moment"
(_Hodgson_). There is unvarying consistency in the one case; for
truth is always in harmony with itself; while there is shifting
evasion, vacillation, contradiction, in the other.--_Wardlaw._
Who will gainsay the martyr's testimony--"Be of good comfort, Master
Ridley, play the man! We shall this day light such a candle in
England as I trust shall _never be put out._"--_Bridges._
The Christian shall utter for ever just the things that he utters on
earth.--_Miller._
Verse 22. Not merely they that _speak_ truly, but they that _deal_
truly. Deeds of true dealing must confirm words of fair
speaking.--_Fausset._
A lie is a thing absolutely and intrinsically evil; it is an act of
injustice and a violation of our neighbour's rights. The vileness of
its nature is equalled by the malignity of its effects; it first
brought sin into the world, and is since the cause of all those
miseries and calamities that disturb it; it tends utterly to
overthrow and dissolve society, which is the greatest temporal
blessing and support of mankind; it has a strange and peculiar
efficacy above all other sins to indispose the heart to religion. It
is as dreadful in its punishments as it has been pernicious in its
effects.--_South._
_Honesty_ is just _truth in conduct;_ and _truth_ is _honesty in
words._--_Wardlaw._
Such as speak the truth in uprightness will not vary in their talk,
but tell the same tale again, and be like to themselves in that which
they shall say; whereas liars be in and out, affirming and denying,
and speaking contradictions in the same manner. Only true men are
constant in their words. _First,_ their matter will help their
memory, for that which is truth once will be truth ever. _Secondly,_
the same Spirit that worketh a love and conscience of the truth,
whereby men are made to be true, doth never cease to be the same,
therefore, as it seasoneth the heart and guideth it at the first, so
it will establish it, and direct the lips to the end. For sincerity
and uprightness is of all things most durable, and least subject to
alteration or change. And that St. Paul assigneth for a cause of his
invariable constancy, that he minded not those things that he did
mind according to the flesh, whereby there should be with him, _yea,
yea,_ and _nay, nay_ (2 Cor. i. 17).--_Dod._
Truth is always consistent with itself, and needs nothing to help it
out; it is always near at hand, and sits upon our lips, and is ready
to drop out before we are aware; whereas a lie is troublesome, and
sets a man's invention upon the rack, and one trick needs a good many
more to make it good. It is like building upon a false foundation,
which constantly needs props to shore it up, and proves at last more
chargeable than to have raised a substantial building at first upon a
true and solid foundation.--_Tillotson._
Dare to be true, nothing can need a lie:
A fault which needs it most grows two thereby.--_Herbert._
God "desireth truth in the inward parts" (Psa. li. 6), and all His
are "children that will not lie" (Isa. lxiii. 8); they will rather
die than lie. As they "love in the truth" (2 John 1) so they "speak
the truth in love" (Ephes. iv. 15), and are therefore dear to the
Father in truth and love (2 John 3), especially since they "do truth"
as well as speak it (1 John i. 6), and do not more desire to be truly
good than they hate to seem to be so only.--_Trapp._
God doth never hate anything that is not hateful, and that most needs
be odious which He abhorreth, and especially when it is abomination.
Ye may know by their companions among whom they are marshalled what
account He maketh of them (see Rev. xxi. 8). . . . That truth which
is acceptable to God consisteth both in speaking and doing. 1. His
Spirit doth make every man that hath attained to the one to be able
to do the other. That which St. John setteth down in a more general
manner doth strongly confirm this particular point. _"If any man sin
not in word, he is a perfect man, and able to bridle all the body."_
His meaning is that some be absolute without sin in word, and
perfect, without infirmity in goodness; but that many be gracious
without sinfulness, though they have their slips in speeches; and
sincere, without wickedness, though they have their frailties in
behaviour. 2. Both are infallible and essential fruits of
regeneration, and the Apostle doth thereby persuade us thereby to
declare ourselves to be of the number of the saints, and faithful,
saying, _"Cast off lying, and let him that stole steal no more"_
(Ephes. iv. 24, 28). 3. Both are required of them that would know and
manifest themselves to be natural members of the Church in this
world, and inheritors of salvation in the life to come. (See. Psa.
xv. 1, 2.)--_Dod._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 20.
JOY FROM PEACE.
+I. There must be counsel if there is to be peace.+ There can be no
peace either in a soul, a family, or a nation, where there is no
counsel given and taken. There must be some centre of authority and
rule whence counsel issues, if there is to be any order, and where
there is no order there can be no peace. The peace of the text must
be peace based upon _righteousness,_ indeed all that bears the name
that is not built upon this foundation, is false and transitory. It
is like that house built upon the sand, which, when the winds come,
is swept away, although it may look like a solid structure on a
summer day. It is "the work of _righteousness,_" that _"shall be
peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance for
ever."_ "The mountains shall bring peace . . . by righteousness"
(Psalm lxxii. 3; Isa. xxxii. 17).
+II. Where there is true peace by righteousness there will be joy.+
Joy is the overflow of peace. Peace is like a river flowing
tranquilly between its banks, and joy is like the same river when
there is such a volume of water that it overflows the banks. When
there is "an abundance of peace" in a soul, or a family, or a nation,
it must overflow into joy--it must take a more active form. (The
subject of the first clause of this verse has been treated before.
See on verse 3.)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
That deceit is in the heart of him who deviseth evil appears to be a
platitude, for the devising is directed against a neighbour. But, in
the first place, it says that the evil which a man hatches against
another always issues in a fraudulent malicious deception of the
same; and, secondly, it says, when taken into connection with the
second clause, that with the deception he always at the same time
prepares for him sorrow. The contrast denotes not those who give
counsel to contending parties to conclude peace, but such as devise
peace--viz., in reference to the neighbour, for the word means not
merely to impart counsel, but also mentally to devise, to resolve
upon, to decree. Hitzig and Zöckler give to _peace_ the general idea
of welfare, and interpret _joy_ as the inner joy of a good
conscience. But as the _deception_ in the first clause is not
self-deception, but the deception of another, so the joy is not that
which men procure for others. Thoughts of peace for one's neighbour
are always of procuring joy for him, as thoughts of evil are thoughts
of deceit; and thus of procuring sorrow for him.--_Delitzsch._
Evil counsel most hurteth those that give it. By deceit is here meant
a deceitful reward; or an issue of a matter deceiving a man's
expectation--_Muffet._
They shall have peace for peace; peace of conscience for peace of
country; _pax pectoris_ for _pax temporis._ They shall be called and
counted the children of peace; yea, the children of God.--_Trapp._
_First,_ no man can soundly seek to reconcile man to God, or one man
to another, or give direction for his neighbour's welfare, unless he
himself be reconciled to God, and peaceable towards men, and have
Christian love in his heart, and these graces are never separated
from holy comfort and gladness. For the same sap that sendeth forth
the one, doth in the like manner also yield the other, as the apostle
testifieth (Gal. v. 22; Rom. xiv. 17). _Secondly,_ if their counsel
be embraced and followed, the good effect thereof, with God's
blessing, besides thanks and kindness which the parties holpen by
their counsel, will yield to them; as David to Abigail, and Naaman to
Elisha, etc. _Thirdly,_ though their advice be rejected, yet, as
Isaiah saith, their reward is with the Lord, and they shall be
glorious in His eyes (Isa. xlix. 4, 5).--_Dod._
_Deceit is in the heart (or cometh back to the heart) of them that
imagine evil (or practise mischief)._ +I. The persons are described.+
They are evil-doers, but not every evil-doer, but the practiser, the
trader, the artificer in evil, one wholly bent upon sin, not every
bungler or beginner, but an expert workman, that can despatch more
business of sin in one day than some other in a month or a year. Nor
is every evil here aimed at, but evil against others--_mischief._
Many evil men are only greatest enemies to themselves, intent to
serve and satisfy their own lusts; but these with whom we have now to
do, always have evil in their hearts or hands, in their consultations
and executions, whereby to hurt others. Again, this man in our text
is subtle in evil; as he is a cunning workman and active in high
designs of evil, so he carrieth his business as subtilely, for which
the whole work carries in the original the name of _deceit,_
pretending all fair weather, as still water is deepest and most
dangerous, or like a waterman that looks one way and rows another.
+II. The condition of these persons.+ Their deceit returns to them
that first hatched it; that is, brings unavoidable mischief on
themselves. 1. There is no small unquietness in the heart, while it
is plotting evil. 2. Whomsoever they deceive, they cannot deceive
God, Who will make them deceivers of themselves (See Job v. 12, 13).
3. Whereas sin is a sure paymaster, and the _wages death,_ the sin of
these men must needs slay them and play the part both of an _officer_
to apprehend them, of a _gaoler_ to hold them, and of an
_executioner_ to bring them to shameful death.--_Thos. Taylor, 1650._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 21.
ALL WORKING FOR THE GOOD OF THE RIGHTEOUS.
The first clause cannot, of course, mean that nothing that appears
evil--that no sorrow or loss happens to the just. Such an assertion
would be contrary to other teachings of Scripture, as well as to
experience and history. The righteousness of the first man who is
called righteous (Luke xi. 51) led to his murder. If Joseph had been
a less virtuous man, the iron of imprisonment would not have entered
into his soul (Psa. cv. 18). If John the Baptist had been a
time-serving godless man, he would not have had the bitter experience
of the dungeon of Machaerus. To these men, and to all the noble army
of martyrs, many of the things which happened were very evil in
themselves. The Word of God likewise forewarns men that all who will
live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution, that through
much tribulation they must enter into the kingdom of God (2 Tim.
iii. 12; Acts xiv. 22). And every just man now living has had
experience of evil befalling him in his health, his circumstances, or
in some other form. But--
+I. No evil shall really injure the godly man.+ It shall not hurt his
better part, that which is the man himself--his spiritual nature, his
moral character. The storms that cannot uproot a tree only make it
take deeper root-hold, and so add to its strength. If it break some
of the branches it makes it more fit to weather another tempest. So
all the trials of the just man tend to strengthen his character by
causing him to lay a firmer hold upon the things that are unseen and
eternal.
"Affliction then is ours;
We are the trees whom shaking fastens more,
While blustering winds destroy the wanton bowers,
And ruffle all their curious knots and store."--_Herbert._
The true interpretation of the text is found in the inspired
declaration of Paul, _"We know that all things work together for good
to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His
purpose"_ (Rom. viii. 28). Many elements work together to produce a
good harvest at the appointed time. Winter winds and snow, summer
breezes, gentle rain and noontide heat, all have a part in the work.
One of these agencies alone would not bring forth one golden ear, but
the "working together" will cover the land with fields of grain ready
for the sickle. Many and various materials and agencies must be
brought together to build a seaworthy ship. Iron and wood, fire and
water, men skilled in many different arts must work together to bring
about the required result. And so with the just man. Manifold
experiences, failure and success, joy and sorrow, make up his earthly
life. Not sorrow alone, nor joy alone, would fit him for his eternal
inheritance--would fit him to be presented "faultless before the
presence" of his Lord (Jude 24). But it is the combination of both,
that many things "working together," that effect the desired good.
And so no evil befals him, because all the evil shall work together
with the good for his eternal well-being.
+II. The wicked man shall likewise attain to a completion of
character.+ "The wicked shall be filled with mischief" teaches
(1) that wicked men are not so bad as they _can_ be. Thorns and
briars grow stronger year by year. Time is needed to transform the
blade into the full ear. As the present season of probation is but
the beginning of man's life, we conclude that men can go on eternally
progressing in the character which now belongs to them--that all
their present habits of thought and feeling can become must stronger
than they are at present. Therefore, a wicked man can grow worse than
he is at present. (2) That wicked men are not as bad as they _shall_
be. If a stone is set in motion down a hill it will keep on its
course unless it is arrested by some opposing force. So, unless a
godless man yields to a Divine influence, and so is brought to
repentance, he shall "wax worse and worse" (2 Tim. iii. 13). No man
can stand still in character; if he do not grow better, he must grow
worse. And this "filling up" of the measure of wickedness is but the
necessary reaction of his own actions. He is filled with his _own_
mischief. And the just man's present actions go to strengthen and
develop his spiritual nature, and to complete and perfect his
character in goodness, so every act of the godless man is one more
link of the chain of evil habit which binds him daily more tightly,
and sinks him every day a little lower in the moral universe of God.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
No "evil," or _calamity;_ literally nothing _worthless_ or _empty._
The root means _nothingness, entire vacuity._ The expression, too, is
peculiar. _"There shall not happen to the righteous any nothingness
at all."_ But as several of the nouns that mean evil, through a deep
philosophy, trace to the same kind of root, "calamity," or _actual
evil,_ is the proper translated sense. No event that turns out an
actual _calamity_ can ever happen to the saint. And if anyone points
to their tremendous agonies it is well enough to go back to the root,
_nothingness._ Nothing _worthless;_ that is, nothing that proves not
so useful as to be better than present joy. Nothing not actually
precious. In the whole course of their lives each is "filled" with
"their own proper lot." The wicked, if he have joys, will find them
sorrows; and the righteous, if he have sorrows, will find them, not
_nothings,_ but for his eternal joy.--_Miller._
The word signifies evil as ethical wickedness, and although it may be
used of any misfortune in general, it denotes especially such sorrow
as the harvest and produce of sin (chap. xxii. 8; Job. iv. 8; Isa.
lix. 4), or such as brings after it punishment (Hab. iii. 7; Jer.
iv. 15). That it is also here thus meant the contrast makes
evident.--_Delitzsch._
First, for evil of sin. God will not lead him into temptation; but
will cut off occasions, remove stumbling-blocks out of his way;
devoratory evils, as Tertullian calls them, he shall be sure not to
fall into "That evil one shall not touch him" (1 John v. 18) with a
deadly touch; nibble he may at their heels, he cannot reach their
heads, shake he may his chain at them, but shall not set his fangs in
them, or so far thrust his sting into them as to infuse into them the
venom of that sin unto death (1 John v. 17). Next, for evil of pain,
though "many be the troubles of the righteous" (Ps. xxxiv. 19), and
they "fall into manifold temptations" (Jas. i. 2), they go not in
step by step into these waters of Marah, but "fall into" them, being,
as it were, precipitated, plunged over head and ears, yet are bidden
to be exceeding glad, as a merchant is to see his ship come laden in.
Their afflictions are not penal, but probational; not mortal, but
medicinal. "By this shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged, and this
is all the fruit, the taking away of his sin" (Isa. xxvii. 9). Look
how the scourging and beating of a garment with a stick drives out
the moths and the dust; so doth affliction corruptions from the
heart; and there is no hurt in that; no evil thereby happens to the
just. . . . To treasure up sin is to treasure up wrath (Rom ii. 5).
"Every bottle shall be filled with wine" (Jer. xiii. 12); the bottle
of wickedness, when once filled with those bitter waters, will sink
to the bottom; the ephah of wickedness, when top full shall be borne
"into the land of Shinar, and set there upon her own base" (Zech.
v. 8, 11). He that makes a match with mischief shall have his
bellyfull of it (Hosea iv. 17; Prov. xiv. 14); he shall have an evil,
"an evil, an only evil" (Ezek. vii. 5), that is, judgment without
mercy, as St. James expounds it (chap. ii. 13). _Non surgit hic
afficitior,_ as the prophet Nahum hath it (chap. i. 9); affliction
shall not rise up the second time. God will have but one blow at him;
he shall totally and finally be cut down at once. The righteous are
smitten in the branches; but the wicked at the root (Isa. xxvii. 8);
those he corrects with a rod; but these with a grounded staff (Isa.
xxx. 32); and yet the worst is behind too. For whatever a wicked man
suffers in this world is but hell typical; it is but as the falling
of leaves--the whole tree will one day fall on them. It is but as a
drop of wrath forerunning the great storm; a crack forerunning the
ruin of the whole building; it is but as paying the use-money for the
whole debt, that must be paid at last.--_Trapp._
The great principle of self-preservation implanted in our nature
which puts us on our guard against the slightest inconvenience, and
maketh us arm for the repelling of a single evil, fails to engage men
in the pursuit of that which would powerfully protect us in the most
difficult circumstances, and universally secure us against all manner
of hazards. Piety alone is that armour of proof which renders those
that wear it safe and invulnerable, and yet, as if the Christian were
the only infidel, how few of us are so thoroughly convinced of this
great truth as to pursue it with an eagerness proportionate to its
value. The text assures us--_That a religious life and conversation
is the best security against all manner of evils._ All evil to which
we can be liable, may be reduced under three heads. +I. Such as are
inflicted immediately by God.+ Here it is necessary to distinguish
between such afflictions as He vouchsafeth in mercy and those with
which He visiteth in judgment. The best of men are not exempted from
the former, they are not always so intent upon their duty, but that
they stand in need of a remembrancer, or it pleaseth God to afflict
them for the trial of their faith, for the exercise of their
patience, and to wean them from the world. But these are but like the
more difficult talks of a discreet and loving tutor; which recommend
the pupils to a higher applause and a more excellent advantage, and
are, therefore, so far from doing them any harm that they ought to be
looked upon as most valuable blessings. Those inflictions therefore
of God, which may be justly entitled to the name of evils, are such
only as He visiteth in judgment, and from such nothing can more
effectually secure us than a godly life and conversation. +II. Such
as are occasioned by ourselves.+ Many evils are the effect of sin and
carelessness, and as it is the work and office of true piety to make
us at the same time holy and considerate, it will evidently appear
that none of these evils _shall happen to the just._ +III. Such as
are brought upon us by the malice of men or devils.+ These are only
tolerated by God's connivance and permission. The devil, furious and
malicious as he is, always drags his chain after him, by which he may
be drawn back to his infernal dungeon, and therefore, unless He hath
some such favourable ends, as I formerly instanced in His own
inflictions, He will certainly keep His own out of their ravenous
jaws. Shall we then neglect the only means by which we may be
defended against such numerous calamities? To be just is no more than
to follow after the thing that is good, and good is desirable in its
own nature; we have such an inward tendency towards it that nothing
which is ill can debauch our affections, but by taking upon itself
the appearance of being good. If, then, a seeming good doth so allure
us, how ought we to be enamoured of the real substances.--_Nicholas
Brady._
The wicked are hurt, wounded, or grieved, by every occurrence, and
nothing turns to their profit.--_A. Clarke._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 23.
THE CONCEALMENT OF KNOWLEDGE AND THE PROCLAMATION OF FOOLISHNESS.
+I. The concealment of knowledge is always a mark of self-control.+
It proves that a man has himself "well in hand." He is like a skilful
workman whose tools are all arranged in order, so that he can select
or reject them according to his need, or the need of others. Or he
resembles a skilful rider who is thoroughly master of his steed, and
can either arrest his course or urge him to put forth all his speed
at any moment. If a man does not possess this power over himself he
can never be a king among men, and even the possession of knowledge
will not prove very serviceable either to himself or others. All the
treasures of his mind ought to be under the lock and key of his will,
and his will under that of his conscience, for,
+II. Under some circumstances the concealment of knowledge is a mark
of prudence.+ 1. _It is so when to proclaim it would feed personal
vanity._ To reveal our knowledge from no other motive than to let
others know that we know is to sin against ourselves by ministering
to our pride. In such a case to conceal our knowledge is a means of
grace to a man's own soul, and will carry with it the approbation of
conscience. 2. _It is also prudent to conceal knowledge when we know
that it would not benefit others._ It is not always seasonable to
reveal even the most precious knowledge that we possess. Men are
sometimes manifestly unprepared for its reception--unable to
appreciate it. God concealed the gospel of salvation from the men of
the early ages of the world because the "fulness of time" (Gal.
iv. 4) had not come, by which we understand that the world then was
not in a condition to profit by a revelation of it. Our Lord charged
His disciples not to disclose what they had witnessed on the mount of
transfiguration until "the Son of Man should be risen again from the
dead" (Matt. xvii. 9). He exhorts them also not to "cast pearls
before swine" (Matt. vii. 6). Hence we learn that concealment of
knowledge is sometimes to be preferred to a revelation of it, and
that a due regard must be had to the mental and moral condition of
those to whom we would impart it. The revelation of scientific truth
would only bewilder people of little education and small capacity,
and the revelation of even moral truth would sometimes increase men's
guilt. It would only lead them to blaspheme the God of Truth and
scoff at His messengers, and thus harden them instead of enlightening
them. And even when this is not the case men cannot always receive
all kinds of moral truth. A parent conceals from his son when he is a
boy the knowledge of things which he will reveal to him when he is a
man. A wise teacher does not at once disclose to his pupil all that
he desires him to learn. Both bring prudence into exercise, and give
"line upon line, here a little and there a little" (Isa. xxviii. 10),
following the example of the Great Father and Teacher in His dealings
with His ancient people, and that of the Incarnate Son when He said
to His disciples, _"I have many things to say unto you, but ye cannot
bear them now"_ (John xvi. 12). All who are possessors of knowledge
should always remember to bring prudence into exercise in proclaiming
it, whether it be Divine or human truth that they have to reveal.
+III. The man who tells out all he knows without any regard to the
fitness of time and circumstances proclaims only his foolishness.+ He
is as much a proclaimer of his own folly as he who should sow seed on
the high road instead of in ploughed ground. He may be very injurious
to others. If a teacher of the young were to tell out all he knows
about men and things to those under his care he might inflict on
their spiritual nature a life-long injury. Indiscreet parents who
utter all their mind and tell out all their experience in the hearing
of their children not only "proclaim their foolishness," but are a
curse to their family. They are like an unskilful surgeon who takes
the first instrument that comes to hand, regardless of its fitness
for the needs of the patient. They are like men upon a fiery steed
without power to guide him--they not only put themselves in jeopardy
but endanger the well-being of others.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Not that he grudges to impart his knowledge to others, but he does
not obtrude it or make a display of it, nor babble out all that he
knows, in order that he may be counted wise. . . . The fool, trying
to make a display of knowledge, only betrays foolishness. Fools, wise
in their own esteem, babble out everything at random; not _wisdom,_
which they have not, but _foolishness,_ which they have. Proclaiming
foolishness is attributed to a fool's _heart,_ not to his _mouth,_
for a fool's heart is in his mouth. He has no sense within. On the
contrary, "The mouth of the wise is in their heart" (Ecclus.
xxi. 26).--_Fausset._
The Apostle _concealed his knowledge_ for fourteen years, and even
then mentioned it reluctantly, to vindicate his own rightful claims
of apostleship (2 Cor. xii. 1-6). Elihu, though "full of matter," and
longing to give vent, yet _prudently concealed his knowledge,_ till
his elders had opened his way (Job xxxii. 6, 18, 19). Circumstances
may sometimes _prudently_ dictate _concealment._ Abraham spared the
feelings of his family, and cleared his own path, by hiding the
dreadful message of his God (Gen. xxii. 1-7). Joseph _concealed_ his
kindred for the discipline of his brethren (Gen. xlii. 7). Esther,
from a _prudent_ regard of consequences to herself (Esth. ii. 10).
Nothing can justify speaking contrary to the truth. But we are not
always obliged to tell the whole truth. Jeremiah answered all that he
was bound to speak; not all that he might have spoken (Jer.
xxxviii. 24). In all these cases "the wise man's heart will discern
both time and judgment" (Eccles. viii. 5; xv. 2). . . . The fool is
dogmatical in dispute, when wiser men are cautious. He is teaching,
when he ought to take the learner's place; his self-confidence
proclaiming his emptiness (1 Tim. vi. 3, 4).--_Bridges._
True are the words of Paul, "knowledge puffeth up," and the
augmentation of it may only puff up the more. This produces a very
anomalous and incongruous combination, a mind filled with solid
information and a heart distended with the emptiness of vanity. And
this generates the _pedant,_ one of the most contemptible and
disgusting of all creatures--the man who is ever showing off, ever
aiming at effect, ever speaking as nobody else would speak, ever
dwelling on his own theme in his own terms, and in every word and
look and movement, courting notice of _self,_ as the only object of
his own admiration, or worthy of admiration of others. What a fool
even the man of _knowledge_ does at times make of himself!
exemplifying the truth of the old quaint adage, _"An ounce of mother
wit is worth a pound of clergy."_ Still it is true that, the more
extensive the knowledge which a man acquires, he is, generally
speaking, the more conscious of remaining ignorance, and consequently
the less vain; that it is in the early stages of acquirement that
self-sufficiency and conceit are most apparent. It is the _empty_
that are usually the most prone to vain glory.--_Wardlaw._
_"Prudent," subtle,_ from a root meaning _crafty, cunning;_ opposed
to _"stupid,"_ literally, _fat, crass._ The saint has the highest
_craft,_ and the lost are more _fat_ in mind than even the beasts
around them.--_Miller._
Another aspect of the truth of chap. x. 14. The wise are not quick to
utter even the wisdom that deserves utterance. He broods over it,
tests it, lives by it.--_Plumptre._
We deem them not the most thrifty husbands and wealthiest men that
will lock up nothing in their coffers, nor keep anything close in
their purses, but carry all their money in their hands and show it to
every comer-by, and so do they that have no more matter within their
hearts, than all the standers-by shall hear their lips deliver. It is
a point of humility to be silent in modesty, and their words are so
much more desirable, and better accepted as they are rare, and few,
and seasonable. The ointment that is close kept in a box will yield a
sweeter savour when it is poured out, than that which is continually
open. A wine fresh from the vessel hath a better relish than that
which was drawn long before there was any need of it.--_Dod._
Think not silence the wisdom of fools, but, if rightly timed, the
honour of wise men who have not the infirmity but the virtue of
taciturnity; and speak not of the abundance, but the well-weighed
thoughts of their hearts. Such silence may be eloquence, and speak
thy worth above the power of words. Make such an one thy friend, in
whom princes may be happy, and great counsels successful. Let him
have the key of thy heart who hath the lock of his own, which no
temptation can open; where thy secrets may lastingly lie, like the
lamp in the urn of Olybius, alive and alight, but close and
invisible.--_Sir T. Browne._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 24.
The Reward of Diligence.
+I. What is here meant by diligence?+ _It is not being always active,
but active in the right direction_--active in the right use of
talents and opportunities. There is an activity that is worse than
idleness, an activity that brings men into contempt and bondage
instead of enabling them to rule themselves or others. Men may have
great talent and keep it in constant exercise, and yet their diligent
use of it may be destroying both themselves and others. A machine
that is constructed to work in one direction may be very active in
going in the opposite direction--this is worse than if it stood
still, for it will certainly work injury to itself, and may do so to
other things and to those that have to work it. A thief may be very
diligent, but his diligent hand will not bring him to _"bear rule."_
It will probably, in the end, bring him into a most irksome
servitude. There was once a Roman Emperor who was very active in
catching flies; this was certainly not the diligence which would
enable him to bear rule. If a man who is capable of a high and noble
work spends his time in a childish and ignoble manner, he is not
diligent although he may be very active. Diligence consists not in
being very busy, but in being busy in what will build up our own
moral nature and, as a necessity, bless our fellow-creatures.
Moreover, diligence is not the right exercise of our talent or the
wise use of our time at intervals, by fits and starts, but a constant
and steady continuance of that exercise and activity.
+II. The consequence of such diligence.+ He who is thus diligent will
bear rule over the slothful man--over the man who wastes his time or
his talent. 1. _This is right._ Even the slothful man must, in his
conscience, feel that he deserves to be ruled by the diligent. The
human conscience will not sanction such waste--such a destruction of
character, and, while it is allowed to speak at all, will utter its
testimony against it. And all impartial judges must concede that it
is the just reward of diligence--that, when a man has rightly used
that which the Great Ruler of the universe has committed to his
trust, it is right that he should receive the reward. _"Well done,
thou good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few
things, I will make thee ruler over many things"_ (Matt. xxv. 21).
2. _It is necessary._ First, _for the slothful man himself._ When he
is under the rule of a diligent man he is doing better with his life
than if he were left to himself; he is compelled to act, whether he
will or not, and he has the guidance of the wisdom of another when
his slothfulness has prevented him from gaining any of his own. His
slothfulness grows greater, and therefore his guilt is increased
every day that he is his own master. His powers will become more and
more incapable of being exercised the longer they are unused, and the
only thing that can save him from being entirely buried in the grave
of his own sloth is that he become a servant to a diligent man.
Secondly, _for humanity in general._ A slothful man in power is a
curse to society. If he is a husband and father, and will endanger
their characters and industrious habits. Those who rule ought to be
wise, and no slothful man can be a wise men.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
_"Diligent;"_ from a root meaning _to cut._ Hence the idea of
something _incisive_ or _decided._ The primary _idea_ is _promptness_
or _determination. "Sloth;"_ primarily _remissness_ or what is
_indecisive._ In this world, diligence puts a man at the head. In the
eternal world, it will have made the man a king, and made all hell,
and of course, all "sloth, under tribute" to him.--_Miller._
This was Joseph's road to _bearing rule_ (chap. xxii. 29). But if it
does not raise in the world, it will command in its own sphere. The
faithful steward is made ruler over his lord's household (Matt.
xxiv. 45-47). The active trader _bears rule_ over many cities (_Ib._
xxv. 21). Diligence, therefore, is not a moral virtue separate from
religion, but rather a component part of it.--_Bridges._
The slothful are like Issachar, who saw that the rest was good, and
bowed down his shoulder to bear, and became a servant to tribute; by
their laziness they expose themselves to want, and reduce themselves
to a slaving dependence on those who, through the blessing of God on
their own diligence, or on that of their fathers, are in better
circumstances. Spiritual sloth weakens men, and exposes them to the
spiritual sloth of their spiritual enemies. We must be strong,
resolute, and active, if we would escape the tyranny of the rulers of
the darkness of this world (Ephes. vi. 10-18).--_Lawson._
The comparison is suggested by the contrast common in most ancient
monarchies in the east, between the condition of a conquered race,
compelled to pay heavy taxes in money or in kind (like the Canaanites
in Israel, Josh. xvi. 10; Judges i. 30-33), and that of the freedom
of their conquerors from such burdens. The proverb indicates that
beyond all political divisions of this nature there lies an ethical
law. The "slothful" descend inevitably to pauperism and servitude.
The prominence of this compulsory labour under Solomon (1 Kings
ix. 21), gives a special significance to the
illustration.--_Plumptre._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 25.
HEAVINESS OF HEART AND ITS CURE.
+I. The causes of "heaviness of heart" are many and various.+ It may
arise, 1. _From great bodily pain._ The human mind and the human body
act and re-act upon each other. The mind or spirit may be made heavy
by physical pain, as the body may be brought under the dominion of
disease by mental suffering. It is only when a more powerful
influence comes into operation that pain of body is prevented from
exercising a depressing influence upon the spirit. In the case of Job
we have an instance of severe bodily suffering, weighing down a
spirit that had borne other most terrible calamities without being
overcome (Job vii). In the case of Stephen, and many others, we see
intense bodily suffering exercising no depressing influence upon the
man, because he is lifted above it by supernatural interposition.
When this special grace is not given pain of body will make the heart
"to stoop"--that is, it will disqualify the man for duty by depriving
him of hope and courage, and will leave him more or less passive in
the hands of circumstances. 2. _Heaviness of heart is often caused by
bringing the future into the present._ The man that has every day to
carry a heavy burden upon his shoulders will find that an attempt to
carry the load of two days at once will weigh down his body beyond
all his power to rise and stand upright. The weight of the present is
as much as he can carry, his heart must "stoop," if he dwells upon
the possible or certain trials of the future. The right way to bear
burdens is to take the advice of One who Himself was a burden-bearer.
_"Take therefore no thought (no anxious care) for the morrow; for the
morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto
the day is the evil thereof."_ There are many other burdens which
make the heart to stoop, we will mention but one more. 3. _A
consciousness of unpardoned guilt._ There is no burden so heavy to
bear as this. Guilt makes the spirit feel as if the hand of God's
displeasure was sinking the soul lower and lower. The language of
Scripture is very vivid in describing the feelings of man in such a
case. _"When I kept silence my bones waxed old, through my roaring
all day long." "Mine iniquities are gone over mine head; as a heavy
burden, they are too heavy for me." "Mine iniquities have taken hold
upon me, so that I am not able to look up,"_ etc. (Psa. xxxii. 3;
xxxviii. 4; xl. 12).
+II. The human heart can be uplifted by seasonable words.+ "A good
word maketh it glad." Such words sometimes take the form of a promise
of help. A man bowed down by disease is made glad by the word of the
physician, which assures him that his malady can be cured. The debtor
who feels himself hopelessly involved is made glad by the promise of
one who engages to meet his debts. The man who is bowed down under a
sense of guilt is lifted out of his heaviness by the promises of a
forgiving God. In all these cases the worth of the word depends upon
the character of him who utters them. It is a "good word" if it is
not only a _cheering_ word, but a _reliable_ word--if the promise is
uttered by one whom we know would not promise what he was unable to
perform. It is this certainty which makes every promise of God so
_good_ a _word_ to the soul. And when a man's heaviness of heart
arises from a source which is beyond the power of human help, there
is no greater service that a friend can do him than to remind him of
some "good word" of the Heavenly Father which is suitable to his case.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Not "heaviness," but _"anxiety."_ This last is the fashion of most
griefs. We are bound to conquer it. The _determined_ man (see
comments on verse 24) is just the character to do it. "Anxiety"
discredits faith. "A good word," and such words are plenty in this
very book, should _gladden_ it, as the expression is; or, as a freer
translation, _"cheer it away."_ It is a sin for men to be dejected.
It is a great folly, too; for it broods over half their lives. Our
passage tells all this, and tells the mode to dissipate it. It was
the mode of Christ when he quelled the foul fiend. The sword of the
Spirit is the "word" of God (Ephes. vi. 17).--_Miller._
There is nothing that claims our grief so much as sin, and yet there
may be an excess of sorrow for sin, which exposes men to the devil
and drives them into his arms.--_Lawson._
A single good or favourable word will remove despondency; and that
word, "Son, be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee," will
instantly remove despair.--_A. Clarke._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 26.
THE GUIDE AND THE SEDUCER.
Translating this verse, "The righteous guides his neighbour aright,"
we remark:--
+I. That the righteous man guides his neighbour both by his word and
by his life.+ He guides him by wise counsel--by giving him "a word in
season" (see verse 25)--and he more especially guides him by his holy
life. His character is a revealer of the way of life. The light which
shines through a lantern reveals the path, not only to the man who
carries it, but to him who beholds it if he should be disposed to
follow in the same road. The righteous man is a light-bearer--he has
moral light within him, which breaks forth in the acts of his daily
life, and sets a good example to other men, and so, to some extent,
his life, like that of his Master's, is a "light of men."
+II. That he guides him aright because he shows him how to make the
most of his life.+ Men are generally anxious to live long, and the
righteous man shows his neighbour how to live _long_ by living
_well._ A husbandman values his trees, not by the length of time they
have stood in the ground, but by the amount of fruit they yield.
There are trees which bring forth more fruit in one season than
others do during the whole time they stand in the orchard. And the
length of a man's life is to be estimated not by the number of years
he has been in the world, but in the use which he has made of them.
Many men who leave the world comparatively young have lived longer,
because to more purpose, than others who have not died until they
were a hundred years old (On this subject see homiletics on chap.
x. 17, page 164).
+III. That the wicked man also exercises an influence upon his
neighbour; but his influence leads to evil.+ He is a _seducer_--one
who leads astray by false professions and promises. Like the good
man, he emits a light, but it is the false light of the _ignis
fatuus,_ which is the offspring of the stagnant swamp, and which will
only lure him who follows it to destruction. One of the chief
employments of the bad, and that which seems to afford them the
greatest pleasure, is to carry other men to ruin. And even when the
wicked man is not an _active_ seducer, his _way,_ or his life,
seduces his neighbour. The force of an evil example is very great,
and men are insensibly influenced by it. Men of ungodliness diffuse
around them an atmosphere of moral unhealthiness, which insensibly
affects those around them, who are not godly, and strengthens them in
all their downward tendencies. Such men are "as graves which appear
not" (Luke xi. 44), and are centres of spiritual disease and death.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
If then, the "righteous be more excellent than his neighbour," how is
it that men do not follow their way? Because "the way of the wicked,
which is apparently more _excellent,_ or _abundant_ in temporal
advantages, seduces them" _(Kimchi in Mercer),_ It "seduceth" with
false hopes, doomed in the end to destruction.--_Fausset._
The way of the godless leads them into error; the course of life to
which they have given themselves up has such a power over them that
they cannot set themselves free from it, and it leads the enslaved
into destruction. The righteous, on the contrary, is free with
respect to the way which he takes, and the place where he stays. His
view (regard) is directed to his true advancement, and he _looks
after his pasture_ (see Critical Notes), _i.e.,_ examines and
discovers where, for him, right pastures, _i.e.,_ the advancement of
his outer and inner life, is to be found.--_Delitzsch._
Let him dwell by whomsoever, he is ever a better man than his
neighbours; he is "a prince of God" among them, as Abraham was
amongst the Hittites. Said Agesilaus, when he heard the King of
Persia style himself the Great King--"I acknowledge none more
excellent than myself, unless more righteous; none greater, unless
better." "Upon all the glory shall be a defence" (Isa. iv. 5)--that
is, upon all the righteous, those only glorious, those "excellent of
the earth" (Psa. xvi. 2), that are "sealed to the day of redemption"
(Ephes. iv. 30). Now, whatsoever is sealed with a seal, that is
excellent in its own kind, as Isa. xxviii. 25. The poorest village is
an ivory palace, saith Luther, if it have in it but a minister and a
few good people. But the wicked will not be persuaded of the good
man's excellency, he cannot discern, nor will not be drawn to believe
that there is any such gain in godliness, any such difference between
the righteous and the wicked. He, therefore, goes another way to
work.--_Trapp._
I. _In regard to their condition in this present life._ They have all
prerogatives and preferments. By parentage every one of them is God's
child. By dignity they are all kings. By inheritance they have title
to heaven and earth; their food is heavenly manna, their clothing is
Christ's righteousness, their attendants are the holy
angels.--II. _In respect of their state that shall be in the life to
come._ They shall have perfect happiness, and be made like unto Jesus
Christ, more excellent and puissant than the most glorious
angels.--_Dod._
The _"wicked"_ man not only does not _"guide"_ his neighbour, but
does not guide himself, actually _"leads"_ himself _"astray."_ Here
is the same climax we have so often noticed (chap. xi. 14).--_Miller._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 27.
THE LOSS OF THE SLOTHFUL, AND THE GAIN OF THE DILIGENT.
+I. Even the slothful man may be sometimes roused to activity.+ He is
here represented as having made an effort, he has "taken spoil in
hunting." There are probably few men who are not sometimes roused to
exertion, who do not every now and then make a start towards an
industrious life, but they lack perseverance, they do not let one act
of industry follow upon another so as to form industrious habits.
Therefore--
+II. The slothful man loses by negligence what he has gained.+ "He
roasteth not that which he took in hunting." He is too lazy to finish
his work. He naturalises the one action by neglecting to perform the
other. The food that he has taken is wasted because he is too lazy to
roast it, and therefore he might as well have remained idle
altogether.
+III. He may thus rob an industrious man.+ The game which he has
taken and wasted might have fallen into better hands. Another man
might have taken it and put it to good use. A man has no right thus
to deprive another of what he is too lazy to put to a good use
himself.
+IV. A diligent habit of life is a fortune in itself.+ 1. _It is a
possession of which a man cannot be robbed by any of the mischances
of life._ A habit is a second nature, and if a man has once acquired
the habit of a diligent improvement of his time and opportunities, he
can no more lose it than he can his identity. It can be touched by no
rise or fall of the market, nor affected by any commercial panic. If
he is rich, he will be diligent, and if he becomes poor he will make
the most of what still remains to him. 2. _It is a source of
continual satisfaction._ God has made men for work, and a rightly
constituted mind is never so happy as when all its powers are
actively employed. It is a great source of consolation in times of
sorrow to have acquired industrious, active habits, for they often
help a man to forget, or to rise above his trials. 3. _It makes a
man, in one respect, an imitator of God._ The Eternal Ruler of the
universe is ever active; diligence is one of His attributes. It is
the boast of the Hebrew prophet, concerning the everlasting God, that
"He fainteth not, neither is weary" (Isaiah xl. 28). Christ declares
that He and His Father are unceasing in their activities: "My father
worketh hitherto, and I work" (John v. 17).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
What a diligent man gains becomes, in his hands, precious by the use
he makes of it. It is the means of further increase. And his
substance becomes "precious" to others as well as to himself. It is
industriously, profitably, benevolently used. In _this_ lies the true
value of a man's substance;--not in the _acquisition,_ but in the
_use._--_Wardlaw._
By translating _remiyah_ the _deceitful,_ instead of the _slothful_
man, which appears to be the genuine meaning of the word, we may
obtain a good sense, as the Vulgate has done. "The deceitful man
shall not find gain, but the substance of a (just) man shall be the
price of gold." But our version, allowing _remiyah_ to be translated
_fraudulent,_ gives the best sense. "The fraudulent man roasteth not
that which he took in hunting," the justice of God snatching from him
what he had acquired unrighteously. Coverdale translates "A
dis-creatfull man schal fynde no vauntage: but he that is content
with what he hath, is more worth than golde."--_A. Clarke._
The substance of a diligent man is great in value, whatsoever it be
in quantity, as a small boxful of pearls is more worth than mountains
of pebbles. The house of the righteous hath much treasure. He is
without that care in getting, fear in keeping, grief in losing--those
three fell vultures that feed continually on the heart of the rich
worldling, and dis-sweeten all his comforts. Jabal, that dwelt in
tents, and tended the herds, had Jubal to his brother, the father of
music. Jabal and Jubal, diligence and complacence, good husbandry and
well-contenting sufficiency, dwell usually together.--_Trapp._
Is not this a graphical picture of _the slothful_ professor? He will
take up religion under strong excitement. He begins a new course, and
perhaps makes some advance in it. But, "having no root in himself,"
his good frames and resolutions wither away (Matt. xiii. 20, 21). The
continued exertion required, the violence that must be done to his
deep-rooted habits, the difficulties in his new path, the invitations
to present ease, all hang as a weight upon his efforts. . . . No
present blessing can be enjoyed without grasping something beyond
(Phil. iii. 12-14). Godliness without energy loses _its full reward_
(2 John 8).--_Bridges._
The impenitent, who wait for something to turn up, are the same type
of lazy people as love hunting and fishing better than more regular
labour. The wise man goes to the root and says, There are no such
hunting gains in the spiritual world. He goes further. He seems to
remind his reader that character is all that will be left for a man
at the last. He seems to imply that man will bring home from his hunt
nothing but "his laziness," and would ask whether one can "roast"
that like a quail or a duck. And though we start at such horrible
absurdity, yet it brings out in keen light a very different
possibility for diligence. Diligence _can_ be roasted. It earns for
us an eternal heaven, and yet, for all it gets, it is itself our
richest dainty. _"One cannot roast laziness as something he has taken
in the chase; but a precious treasure of a man is a diligent one."_
It is tantalizing to come so near other and important renderings.
Many see very plausibly a meaning like this: _"The slothful man
roasteth not that which he took in hunting"_ (so far the English
version), meaning that he is wasteful, and suffers what he has
actually now to run to loss; _"but the substance of a common man"_
(making the distinction as in verse 14) _"is precious"_ (that is,
made account of, and kept) _"by a man of diligence."_ A sinner throws
away treasures; a saint values the very smallest. This would be a
fine sense if the verse before meant that the _"saint gains from his
neighbour."_ _Per contra,_ though, there are difficulties. _"The
slothful man"_ (E.V.) in the Hebrew is the _"sloth"_ or _"laziness"_
itself. And the word is feminine, and must be the object rather than
the subject of the verb. The meaning is, that sloth cannot be roasted
and eaten, but diligence can.--_Miller._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 28.
THE WAY OF LIFE.
+I. There is a way of righteousness in the world.+ 1. _This fact is
universally recognised._ Men regard each other as moral and
responsible beings. The doctrine of necessity will not do for
every-day life. In all positions and conditions, man is met with the
assumption that there is a "way of righteousness," and his fellow-men
deal with him accordingly. Man could not be held accountable for his
actions if a right way of life did not exist, in which it was
possible for him to walk. 2. _This fact is confirmed by conscience._
Bad actions are followed by remorse, and good deeds bring gladness to
the soul. If there were no way of righteousness, how could this be
the case? 3. _It is revealed to us by God._ The Bible sets forth two
paths, in one of which man must walk, it foretells a day in which God
will judge men, and will hold them guilty who have refused to walk in
the way of righteousness after it has been made known to them. Where
there is no way of righteousness there can be no transgression, and,
consequently, no penalty.
+II. The way of life implies+--1. _A beginning._ All ways or paths
have a starting-point, all methods or plans of life date from point
of time. 2. _An object in view._ If men walk in a certain road it is
presumed that they have some purpose in view. 3. _An end or goal._ So
the way of righteousness. Its beginning is "repentance towards God
and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ;" the object at which it aims by
"patient continuance in well-doing" is "glory, and honour, and
immortality;" its end is "eternal life" (Acts xx. 21; Rom. ii. 7),
for "in the pathway thereof is no death, or immortality" (On this
subject see also homiletics on chap. iv. 18.)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
From life being said to be in the way of righteousness, I should urge
the lesson from the deeds of the hand have a reflex influence upon
the state of the heart. There is life in spiritual-mindedness, and it
serves to aliment this life to walk in the way of
obedience.--_Chalmers._
And life, in any sense, is a sweet mercy, a precious indulgence. Life
natural is but a little spot of time between the two eternities,
before and after, but it is of great consequence, and given us for
this purpose, that glory may be begun in grace, and we have a further
and further entrance into the kingdom of heaven here, as Peter saith
(2 Peter i. 2). Christ hath unstinged the first death, and made of a
postern to let out eternal life, a street-door to let in eternal
life. Surely the bitterness of this death is past to the righteous;
there is no gall in it; nay, there is honey in it, as once there was
in the corpse of Samson's dead lion. And for the second death there
is no danger, for they shall pass from the jaws of death to the joys
of heaven. Yet, though hell had closed her mouth upon a child of God,
it would as little hold him as the whale could Jonah; it must,
perforce, regurgitate such a morsel.--_Trapp._
_"Righteousness,"_ which is the very path of the righteous man, is
itself eternal life. All men have a _"way,"_ and this implies that
all men have an _"end."_ The Psalmist had before announced (Psa.
i. 6) that "the way of the ungodly shall perish;" that is, not only
shall they not reach their end, but their very way shall die down and
perish. They shall cease to take an interest in it. But this passage
goes deeper. It says the path of righteousness is life itself, and
then, contrasting them with the wicked, it says, _"their way is a
path," i.e.,_ it leads somewhere; and then implies that all other
ways are _"a death."_ These are striking truths. Immortality is a
_path._ It travels the ages. It begins among believers. It is itself
its destiny. Impenitence is _"a death."_ It travels no where. The
very mind of the impenitent can announce no terminus for his way-worn
tread.--_Miller._
NOTE.--It will be seen from the foregoing remarks that Miller
translates the latter clause of this verse, _"The way is a path, not
a death."_
HOMILY ON THE ENTIRE CHAPTER.
On the true wisdom of the children of God as it ought to appear
(1) In the _home,_ under the forms of good discipline, diligence, and
contentment (vers. 1-11); (2) In the _State,_ or in the intercourse
of citizens, under the forms of truthfulness, justice, and unfeigned
benevolence (vers. 12-22); (3) In the _Church,_ or in the _religious
life,_ as a progressive knowledge of God, a diligent devotion to
prayer, and striving after eternal life (vers. 23-28).--_Lange's
Commentary._
* * * * * *
CHAPTER XIII.
CRITICAL NOTES.--+1. Instruction,+ or "correction." The Hebrew is
literally, "a wise son _is_ his father's correction," _i.e.,_ is the
product of his father's correction; or "heareth" may be supplied to
correspond to the verb in the second clause. +2. Shall eat,+ in the
second clause is, supplied by the English translation. Many
commentaries render this clause "the delight of the ungodly is
violence." So Zöckler and Delitzsch. Mill translates the verse, "Out
of the fair earnings of the mouth of a man a good man will get his
foot; but the appetite of the faithless out of robbery." +4. Fat,+
_i.e.,_ abundantly satisfied. +5. Lying,+ rather "deceit." Stuart
renders it "a false report." Zöckler translates the latter clause of
this verse, "the ungodly acts basely and shamefully." The
translations of Stuart and Delitzsch are nearly the same. Miller
reads the whole verse, "A deceiving business hates the righteous man,
but also shames and disgraces the wicked." +6. Sinner,+ literally
"sin," hence Miller reads "wickedness subverts the sin-offering," and
Zöckler "wickedness plungeth into sin." +7. Maketh,+ or "showeth."
+8.+ The latter clause of this is very obscure, but _rebuke_ is
generally translated "threatening," and is understood to mean that no
threatening can gain anything from the poor as they have nothing to
lose. Stuart understands it that "notwithstanding the obvious
advantage of wealth, yet the poor man will not listen to those who
rebuke him for sloth and wastefulness which have made him poor. The
supposition on this ground is that the man is poor by his own fault."
+9. Rejoiceth,+ "burns brightly." The words _light_ and _lamp_ are
regarded by most modern commentators as synonymous. +10.+ This may
read "Only by pride cometh contention," or "by pride cometh only
(nothing but) contention." +11. Vanity,+ rather "fraud." +By labour,+
literally, "by the hand," or "handful after handful." +12.+ Latter
clause, "a desire accomplished is a tree of life." +13. Shall be
destroyed,+ rather "is bound," or "is in bonds to it." +Rewarded,+
"be at peace." +14. Law,+ rather "doctrine," "instruction." +15. Good
understanding,+ rather "discretion." +Hard,+ "stony," "uncultivated."
This is the generally received rendering, but the word often
signifies "perpetual." Miller says "We find it in thirteen places,
and in every one of them it means perpetual." "_Strong_ or
_perpetual_ is thy dwelling-place" (Num. xxiv. 21). "Mighty rivers"
are _perpetual,_ or perennial rivers (Psa. lxxiv. 17). "Mighty
nation" (Jer. v. 15) corresponds with the next expression, "ancient
nation," and is to be rendered "perpetual" (or permanent). Umbreit
translates it "a standing bog" or "marsh." +16. Dealing with
knowledge,+ _i.e.,_ acteth with foresight. +Layeth open,+ rather
"spreadeth abroad." Delitzsch says, "There lies in the word something
derisive; as the merchant unrolls and spreads out his wares in order
to commend them, so the fool deals with his folly." +19.+ Literally
"quickened desire," "a desire that has come to be." Zöckler and
Miller say this cannot be designed to express "appeased desire," but
Delitzsch renders it "satisfied desire," and Stuart agrees with him.
The latter connects the second clause of the verse with the former,
thus, "Yet it is an abomination for fools to depart from evil,
therefore, they cannot be satisfied"; while Delitzsch understands it
to mean, "Because satisfied desire is sweet to the fool and his
desires are evil, therefore he will not depart from evil."
+23.+ "Tillage," rather "fallow ground" or "a new field," land which
requires hard labour.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 1.
THE WISE SON AND THE SCORNER.
+I. A condition implied.+ That the father who gives the instruction,
or administers correction, is a _wise father._ There are many fathers
who are incapable of instructing their children in the right way,
because they do not walk in it themselves. The "father" of these
proverbs is always pre-supposed to be one who is himself morally
wise--one whose life is a practical exposition of the good
instruction which he gives. The father who can only instruct with his
_lip,_ but not with his _life,_ cannot expect to command respect and
obedience. He is like a man who tries to save a vessel from sinking
by bailing out the water in bucketfuls, while he leaves the great
leak-hole unplugged. All that which is _done_ is more than
neutralised by what is left _undone._ If a physician prescribes a
certain medicine for a disease from which he is suffering himself,
but for which he refuses to take the remedy, he will find that his
patients will think, if they do not say, "Physician, heal thyself."
And children will not be slow to see if a father's practice fails to
endorse a father's precept.
+II. He who takes the advice of a morally wise father shows himself
to be wise also.+ The greatest proof of wisdom is a willingness to
learn from those who know more than we do. Other things being equal,
a father must know more than a son, and the son who hears his
instruction, and submits to his discipline, not only uses the means
by which to become wise, but shows that he is already wise enough to
use the right means to attain a desirable end. Christians are the
sons of God, if they are wise sons they will hear the instructions of
their Father. They show their wisdom in proportion as they submit
cheerfully to His discipline as to that of the "Only wise God"
(1 Tim. i. 17).
+III. He who will not listen to parental rebuke is in the last degree
a sinner.+ We understand the last clause of this verse to refer
likewise to a father and son. Parental instruction and correction are
God's ordained and special methods of training a human soul. There
are many reasons why a parent's rebuke should be regarded, if that of
strangers is not listened to (see Homiletics on chap. iv. 1-4, p.
53). He who disregards _that_ must be considered in as hopeless a
case as he who scuttles the lifeboat sent to save him. When the word
of a good father or mother is not obeyed it is practically _scorned,_
and a scorner is the most hopeless of sinners.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The language of this verse is capable of two meanings: either that
hearing instruction and not hearing reproof are the effect and the
manifestation, respectively, of a wise or a scornful mind; this wise
son showing himself to be so by "hearing his father's instructions,"
and the scorner showing himself to be so by "not hearing rebuke," or
(reversing cause and effect), that wisdom and scorning are the
results, respectively, of hearing or not hearing instruction and
rebuke. In other words--_"The son that is instructed by his father
turns out to be wise; he who receives no correction turns out a
fool."_ In the first of the two senses the abomination is chiefly to
_children_--in the second, to _parents._--_Wardlaw._
Piety is the fruit of training. If a man is a believer, it is a sign
that he has had believing nurture; and if a scorner, it is a sign he
has had _"no rebuke."_ This text reiterates the promise made to the
training of a child. To treat it as in our English version is simply
to evoke a truism, and might do very well, grammatically, if the verb
were future, and not perfect. The idea embraces the solemn lesson,
that Christians are not to be made without training.--_Miller._
Or heareth and jeereth; as Lot's sons-in-law, so Eli's sons, and
afterwards Samuel's. Samuel succeeds Eli in his cross, as well as in
his place, though not in his sin of indulgence. God will show that
grace is by gift, and not by inheritance or education.--_Trapp._
There is in the conscience of the scorner a hidden discouragement,
and privy despair, both of pardon of his sinfulness, and possibility
to leave it: and that doth exasperate him against such as shall be
dealing with it. Who is willing to have his wound laid open to his
disgrace and torment, when he taketh it to be altogether
incurable?--_Dod._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 2 _and_ 3.
KEEPING THE MOUTH.
+The human tongue needs keeping, or guarding.+ 1. _Because there is a
tendency in men to speak as soon as they think._ First thoughts are
not always the fittest thoughts to be made public. It is always
advisable to view them and review them in the light of our judgment
before we give them utterance. Hence our tongue ought to be always
"well in hand." 2. _Because when loosed it is a great power for evil
as well as for good._ It may bring much good to a man's life. "A man
shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth," when his mouth brings
forth good fruit--when "out of the good treasure of his heart he
bringeth forth that which is good." A tongue wisely used gives a man
the respect and confidence of his fellow-men, yields him the
satisfaction of having been a blessing to them (See Comments on chap.
xii. 6 and 14). But a tongue which is uncontrolled is mischievous to
others and to the man himself. "He that openeth wide his lips shall
have destruction." As we saw in chapter x. 19, there is often a sin
in _much speaking._ Such a tongue as that described in chapter
ii. 12, or that in chapter xii. 18 (see Homiletics and Comments on
those verses), destroy not only their victims but those to whom they
belong. Such a tongue, the Apostle tells us, is "a fire, a world of
iniquity: and is set on fire of hell" (Jas. iii. 6). 3. _Because it
is the last stronghold which is brought under complete control to
spiritual rule--the weak point in the spiritual man's armour where
the adversary's arrow may enter._ This we know from inspired
authority. _"If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect
man, and able also to bridle the whole body"_ (Jas. iii. 2). We have
an example of its truth in the case of Moses. That man who was "meek
above all men which were upon the face of the earth" (Num. xii. 3),
forfeited his right of entrance into the earthly Canaan by an
unguarded use of the tongue. The prayers of the Psalmist show us the
importance which he attached to the keeping of this stronghold and
the difficulty attending it, as well as that only sure means of
safety, that of calling in Divine help. _"Set a watch, O Lord, before
my mouth; keep the door of my lips"_ (Psalm cxli. 3). Every morally
wise man will make the resolve of David, "I will keep my mouth with a
bridle," not only "while the wicked is before me," but at all times
and in all places. Life is lost and won both in its higher and lower
senses by not keeping the mouth.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 2. The "mouth of a man" in that _viva voce_ country, as
formerly in our southern states, was the great instrument of a
business man. He lived by giving orders. The mail conducts our
business in our days. A _false lip_ stood for all sorts of bad
activity (Eccles. x. 12). A good man will be satisfied to earn his
living. The bad man, in some way or other, wants to steal it. But
apace with this secular meaning is one that concerns the saints. The
good man expects to fight for heaven; the lost man to get heaven by
deceit (see rendering in Critical Notes). It is true the tendencies
might seem reversed. The good man hails a work done for him, and
expects a ransom without money and without price. The bad man would
intersperse some struggles of his own. But, in fact, the Christian,
though saved by grace, works the more for it; and, in fact, the
sinner, rejecting grace and interposing his own works, is just the
man expecting blessings without costs, and without any earnest toil.
Not _"eat good"_ (English version) but "a good man will eat" (get his
food). "The earnings of the mouth." No one can go into a great city
now without noticing how much of men's money they make by their
mouth. The gainful merchants are talking all day long. No man can buy
salvation; but he reaches it by hard labour, and partly by earnest
speech.--_Miller._
Although the spirit and practice of _retaliation_ are nowhere
vindicated in Scripture, but everywhere explicitly and strongly
condemned: yet a treatment corresponding to their own treatment
towards others is what everyone may expect, even independently of
what deserves the name of _retaliation._ In the nature of things it
cannot be otherwise. It is not in _human_ nature, nor in _any_
nature, not even in the Divine itself, to love (with the love of
complacence) that which is _unamiable._ An amiable disposition alone
can secure _love;_ and it is greatly indicated by the _tongue._ The
man who is charitable in his judgments, and disposed to speak well of
others, will be himself the subject of charitable judgment, and of
cordial commendation. Thus "he shall eat good by the fruit of his
mouth."--_Wardlaw._
The mouth of a man doth _blossom_ when he speaketh fairly and
promiseth well, but then it _beareth fruit_ when that is performed
which is promised. And by this fruit it is, which though others eat,
yet a man himself eateth good, as having his soul cheered and
nourished by the comfort of it. But as for the soul of the perfidious
and false dealers, who make a show to do a thing, and do quite the
contrary, although they carry it slightly and without violence, yet
violence shall seize upon them, either to compel them to a
performance, or else to a just suffering for not performing, which
will be bitter food.--_Jermin._
Verse 3. Speech, though our great activity, gives us more toil in
holding it back than in actually employing it. So activity, which it
typically represents, is harder to hold than to promote. Religion is
an every-day battle. He that is not conscious of it, has no true
religion.--_Miller._
"Keep thine heart" (chap. iv. 23). This guards the citadel. _Keep thy
mouth._ This sets a watch at the gates. If they be well guarded the
city is safe. Leave them unprotected--thus was Babylon
taken.--_Bridges._
No wonder that the Holy Ghost here labours so much for the
reformation of the tongue; for the Apostle also (Rom. iii. 13, etc.),
when giving an anatomy of human depravity in the embers of the body,
dwells more on the tongue than all the rest.--_Cartwright_, from
_Fausset._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 4.
THE DISAPPOINTMENT OF THE SLUGGARD'S DESIRES.
+I. The desires of the sluggard cannot be satisfied--+1. _Because
they are contrary to the ordination of God._ The Divine ordination
is, "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread" (Gen. iii. 19),
in other words, that reward shall be the result of labour. If a man
is to have that which he desires, he must frame his desire in harmony
with the law of the universe, or he must be disappointed. If men
desire to bring about any material result they take care to work in
harmony with physical law. He would be looked upon as a madman who
expected to achieve anything by setting at nought the law of
_gravitation,_ for instance. It is quite as useless for men to desire
to set aside God's moral laws. 2. _Because they are contrary to the
practice of God._ God, as we saw in homiletics on chap. xii. 24, 27,
is a great worker. He desired to save man, but He used means to
accomplish His desires, even means which involved the highest
self-sacrifice. Shall men expect to realise his wishes without
effort, when God "spared not His own Son" (Rom. viii. 32) to bring
about the salvation of the world, when Christ "endured the cross" to
attain "the joy set before Him?" (Heb. xii. 2). 3. _Because they are
unfair to his fellow-creatures._ He desires to consume, but not to
contribute to the general good; he wants to have the reward of the
diligent without his toil. It would be unjust to the industrious to
give to him for _desiring_ what others gain by _working._ Therefore,
+II. He wearies himself far more by his laziness than he would do by
honest labour.+ If a man is constantly desiring and never having his
desires fulfilled, his life must become a weariness to him. Fulfilled
desires become an incentive to renewed activity--he who has reaped
one harvest as a result of his labour is quickened to new energy to
sow for another crop. The sluggard knows not the enjoyment which
comes to the man who has worked hard for the reward which he now
enjoys; he knows not what it is to enjoy rest and recreation, because
true diligence only can give them any true relish. (See also
Homiletics on chap. vi. 6-11 and xii. 24.)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The sluggard in religion _desires_ to overcome his bad habits, to
enjoy the happiness of God's people. So far, well. _Desires_ are a
part of religion. There can be no attainment without them. Many have
not even the desire, yet the sluggard hath nothing, because it is
_desire_ without effort. "Hell," says an old writer, "is paved with
such desires."--_Bridges._
Wishes and woulders are never good householders.--_Muffet._
Doddridge says most people perish by laziness. Laziness is the
attribute of a man who desires an object, but will not work for it.
The impenitent desires heaven--nay longs for it--yea, confidently
expects it (just as many a sluggard expects wealth), but religion
never "turns up," it never comes like game taken in the chase (chap.
xii. 27), it is a solid product; we must stir up ourselves to take
hold on God (Isa. lxiv. 7). With no exceptions, such as are on
"change," it is the _"diligent soul"_ that _"shall be made fat"_ and
the _yearning sluggard,_ at the very last, _"has nothing."_--_Miller._
The slothful man has one mighty objection against heaven, that he
cannot make sure of it in a morning dream.--_Lawson._
Labour is the original law of man's nature. The _fatigue_ and
_distress_ of labour, are, no doubt, the result of sin. Even in the
garden of primeval innocence, it was by his "dressing" and "keeping"
that everything was to thrive.--_Wardlaw._
The sluggard would and he would not, he would have the end, but would
not use the means; he would "sit at Christ's right hand," but he
would not "drink of His cup," or "be baptized with His baptism."
Affection without endeavour is like Rachel, beautiful, but
barren. . . . David, ravished with the meditation of the good man's
blessedness, presently conceives this desire and pursues it; not "Oh
that I had this happiness," but "Oh that I could use the means!" "Oh
that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes" (Psa. cxix. 4,
5).--_Trapp._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 5.
A LAWFUL HATRED.
+I. A righteous man hates lying.+ 1. _Because it is contrary to his
ruling disposition._ His own righteous character has been created by
believing the truth. His spiritual life is constantly renewed and
sustained by believing the truth, and reducing his belief to
practice. He is a child of the truth, and, therefore, apart from all
the consequences of lying he instinctively abhors it. 2. _He hates it
also because of its evil influence upon men._ Confidence in a lie
ruined our first parents, and confidence in a law has ruined whole
nations and mighty empires in the past. In proportion as men "believe
a lie" (2 Thess. ii. 11) in the same proportion will be their ruin.
The righteous man knows that the kingdom of God is a kingdom of truth
(John xviii. 37), and as his great desire is to see that kingdom
spread he must hate all that opposes it, and thus mars the happiness
of the human race.
+II. Wicked men are untruthful men.+ As the righteous man's character
is built by truth and upon truth, so that of an ungodly man is built
upon falsehood. All such men are the children of him who was a liar
from the beginning, and although they may not be _liars_ in the
common acceptation of the word, there is a lack of truthfulness in
the character of the most outwardly moral. In some shape or other he
is a liar--he is a subject of him whose kingdom is built upon lying,
and who could not retain under his influence a man who "hated lying"
in every form and under every disguise. Such a man must come to
shame. What would be the fate of a cripple if he were to challenge a
man with sound limbs to run a race? Must he not be worsted in the
end? Not more surely than will every subject of the kingdom whose
foundation was laid in a lie. There is an Italian proverb which says,
"A liar is sooner caught than a cripple." If "lying lips are an
abomination to the Lord," he who owns the lips must be an abomination
also (see Homiletics on chap. xii. 22).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Clear and round dealing is the honour of man's nature; and that
mixture of falsehood is like alloy in coin of gold or silver, which
may make the metal work the better but embaseth it. For these winding
and crooked courses are the goings of the serpent, which goeth basely
upon the belly, and not upon the feet. There is no vice that doth so
cover a man with shame as to be found false and perfidious; and,
therefore, Montaigne sayeth prettily, when he inquired the reason why
the word of the lie should be such a disgrace and such an odious
charge, "If it be well weighed, to say that a man lieth, is as much
as to say that he is brave towards God, and a coward towards men. For
a lie faces God and shrinks from man."--_Lord Bacon._
The natural man shuns lying and deceit on account of the outward
shame and reproach; the pious abhors them with all his heart for
God's sake.--_Starke, in Lange's Commentary._
The allegiance of the soul to truth is tested by small things, rather
than by those which are more important. There is many a man who would
lose his life rather than perjure himself in a court of justice,
whose life is yet a tissue of small insincerities. We think that we
are hating falsehood when we are only hating the consequences of
falsehood. We resent hypocrisy and treachery, and calumny, not
because they are untrue, but because they harm us. We hate the false
calumny, but are half-pleased by the false praise. It is evidently
not the element of untruth here that is displeasing, but the element
of harmfulness. Now he is a man of integrity who hates untruth _as_
untruth; who resents the smooth and polished falsehood of society,
which does no harm; who turns in indignation from the glittering
whitened lie of sepulchral Pharisaism which injures no one. Integrity
recoils from deception, which men would almost smile to hear called
deception. To a moral pure mind the artifices in every department of
life are painful. The stained wood which passes for a more firm and
costly material in a building, and deceives the eye by passing for
what it is not--marble. The painting which is intended to be taken
for reality; the gilding which is meant to pass for gold; and the
glass which is worn to look like jewels; for there is a moral feeling
and a truthfulness in architecture, in painting, and in dress, as
well as in the market-place and in the senate, and in the judgment
hall. "These are trifles." Yes, these are trifles; but it is just
these trifles which go to the formation of character. He that is
habituated to deceptions and artificialities in trifles will try in
vain to be true in matters of importance; for truth is a thing of
habit rather than of will. . . . And it is a fearful question, and a
difficult one, how all these things, the atmosphere of which we
breathe in our daily life, may sap the very foundation of the power
of becoming a servant of the truth.--_F. W. Robertson._
It is not said that a righteous man never lies. David lied more than
once, and yet he could say with truth that he abhorred lying. Though
he lied to Abimelech the priest, and to the king of the Philistines,
yet his fixed hatred of sin was an evidence of piety, to which those
can lay no claim who never spoke a lie in their lives, if their
abstinence from this sin was caused by some other motive than
hatred. . . . God and man agree in almost nothing but this, that a
liar is detestable to both, and therefore he must, sooner or later,
come to disgrace.--_Lawson._
The affections are of as great force in the service of God as the
words and actions, and the heart hath no less place than the members
of the body. It must be one and the principal agent in love, where
they have calling; and it must deal alone with detestation of those
abominations which they are discharged to intermeddle with. . . .
Here we have instruction to inform our hearts against all manner of
wickedness, that they may be the more incensed against it. The less
we like sin the more righteous we are, and the better the Lord will
love us. And the more agreement there is between sin and our souls,
the less peace there is between our souls and God. All the hurts and
miseries that have ever come upon us, or on Christ for our sakes, do
give just occasion to fall out with sinfulness, that hath been the
cause thereof.--_Dod._
Where grace reigns, sin is loathsome, where sin reigns the man is
loathsome.--_Henry._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 6.
OVERTHROW BY SIN.
For Homiletics on the first clause of this verse see on chap. xi. 3,
5, 6.
+I. The person overthrown--the sinner.+ 1. _To be a sinner implies
the existence of a law._ Where there is no law there is no
transgression. The sinner here spoken of is a transgressor against
moral, Divine law. 2. _There may be sin against a law which is in
existence but which is not known._ A man may not know of the
existence of a law, and thus may sin ignorantly. 3. _But the sinner
of the Bible is one who, if he does not possess a written revelation,
does possess a "law written in his heart"--his conscience._ (See Rom.
ii. 14, 15.) Though the guilt is incomparably greater when a man sins
against both conscience and revelation, yet he who transgresses the
law of the _first only_ is a sinner, and there must be overthrow in
both cases, because moral transgression contains within itself the
elements of destruction.
+II. His overthrow.+ 1. _For a man to be overthrown by breaking a
law, that law must be good._ There have been laws that common
integrity has compelled men to transgress, and men have been rewarded
by the Great Lawgiver for the transgression. There are still laws in
force in the world, the violation of which is a proof of moral
courage. But the sinner here doomed to overthrow is a sinner against
a law to which his own conscience bears witness that it is holy and
just, and good (Rom. vii. 12). 2. _The breaking of this law must
overthrow a man, even if no power were ever put forth against him._
Sin debases a man by the law of cause and effect. Nothing can prevent
a man who throws himself over a precipice from finding the bottom of
the chasm--nothing can keep a sinner from sinking lower and lower in
the moral scale. The first man finds a bottom--comes to the end of
his fall--he who sins keeps sinking lower and lower while he
continues in sin. 3. _The law against which the sinner transgresses
is backed by the highest authority, and by the greatest power of the
universe._ It represents the greatest Being. Sin is not directed
against an _abstraction,_ but against a _person._ He who has
promulgated it is a living personality, and has all power to enforce
its penalties. The Almighty God is against the sinner. Must he not
then be overthrown? 4. _The sinner can be placed in such a position
as will justify him from the guilt of his past transgressions, and
will enable him to keep the law in the future._ The Lawgiver has
Himself provided the way of escape. He Himself gives the power to
obey. Hence he who sins against this law sins against mercy too, and
doubles his condemnation, "is overthrown," not by God's law, but by
his rejection of God's method of deliverance from the guilt and power
of sin.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
_Wickedness is ruin._ 1. It exhausts a man's _property,_ whether much
or little. Sin is a very expensive thing; a person cannot commit it
to any extent, but at a considerable loss, not of time only, but of
substance. The passions are clamorous, exorbitant, and restless, till
gratified, and this must be repeated. The case of the prodigal is in
point, he wasted all his patrimony in riotous living. 2. It blasts
his _reputation._ Sin can never be deemed honourable on correct
principles; yet while sinners possess means of supporting themselves
in their vices, they still keep up their name and rank in the world;
not in the Church of God, or in the estimation of heaven. But when
the means of supplying fuel to feed the fires of foul desire and
towering ambition fail, then their outward splendours go out into
darkness. (See Prov. x. 7; xxiv. 30.) 3. It destroys _health._
Intemperance undermines the best constitution; it is a violence done
to the physical order of things; it renders a man old in
constitution, while he is young in years. 4. It hastens the approach
of _death._ Wicked men frequently do "not live out half their days"
(Psa. lv. 23), "for when they shall say, Peace and safety, then
sudden destruction cometh as a thief in the night" (1 Thess. v. 3).
Sometimes their passions hurry them forward to the commission of
crimes which terminate in the most disgraceful exit. 5. It effects
the damnation of the _soul._ A sinner "wrongeth his own soul" (Prov.
viii. 36). He quenches the Spirit of grace, neglects the salvation of
the gospel, till he goes to his own place. "The wicked shall be
turned into hell" (Psa. ix. 17).--_Theta,_ from _Sketches of Sermons._
Righteousness keepeth the upright, so that, though belied or abused,
he will not let go his integrity (Job xxvii. 5). David's "feet stood
in an even place" (Psa. xxvi. 12). The spouse, though despoiled of
her veil and wounded by the watch, yet keeps close to Christ (Cant.
v). Not but that the best are sometimes disquieted in such cases; for
not the evenest weights, but at their first putting into the balance,
somewhat swap both parts thereof, not without some show of
inequality, which yet, after some little motion, settle themselves in
a meet poise and posture.--_Trapp._
As he walketh safely in the way who hath a faithful convoy with him,
so he is most sure of a faithful convoy who is a strong convoy unto
himself. Righteousness alone is a puissant army, and he cannot perish
whom righteousness preserveth. But how can he escape who is beset in
the way by his own villainy. The Hebrew is, that wickedness
overthroweth _sin._ When a sinner is grown settled in sinning, he
justly getteth the name of sin, and such an one it is that is here
spoken of.--_Jermin._
_"Righteousness,"_ that good claim in law which merit gives some of
the creatures. Our _righteousness_ comes to us as the merit of
Christ. The condition of our being held righteous is faith and new
obedience. Therefore, if one is obedient, or, as this verse expresses
it, _"is upright"_ or "of integrity _in the way,"_ _"righteousness
keeps guard over him."_ Once righteous, always righteous. Having the
proof of our righteousness now, that righteousness, or good standing
in the law, shall guard us for ever; while sin, becoming equally
perpetual, does not only not guard us, but (another intensive second
clause) rejects what guard we have; that is, as it is most
evangelically expressed, _"subverts"_ or _"overturns"_ the
sin-offering. This word, _sin-offering,_ instead of _allowing_ such
an interpretation (see Critical Notes) _has_ it in all preceding
books. _"Sin"_ is the rare rendering. Some of the most beautiful
Scriptures, that are Messianic in their cast (Gen. iv. 7), are ruined
by the translation _"sin."_ Leviticus never has the translation
_"sin"_ even in the English version.--_Miller._
There is more bitterness following upon sin's ending than ever there
was sweetness flowing from sin's acting. You that see nothing but
well in its commission will suffer nothing but woe in its conclusion.
You that sin for your profits will never profit by your sins.--_Dyer._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 7 _and_ 8.
THE LAW OF COMPENSATION.
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: Be very careful with the word
"niggardly" because it can sound like a racial slur,
especially to those who do not know the word or who are not
paying attention. Consider substituting "miserly,"
"sparing," or "parsimonious."
+I. There may be pretensions to wealth where there is comparative
poverty.+ Many men endeavour to make other people believe that they
are richer than they are--indeed, it seems to be the common vice of
modern society. It is to be deprecated for several reasons. 1. _It is
an injury to the man himself._ It very often happens that his foolish
artifices fail to blind others; he is like the ostrich who, when he
places his head into the sand, thinks he has hidden himself entirely
from observation; he only makes himself an object of ridicule to
those who he thinks he has deceived. If, for a time, he that "hath
nothing" succeeds in making people believe he is rich, the truth
comes out in time, the bubble bursts, and the pretender comes to such
shame as would never have been his portion if he had been content to
pass for what he really was--a poor man. 2. _Such pretenders are a
curse to others._ One such man makes many others. His costly
furniture and brilliant entertainments, and all the adjuncts which
are necessary to keep up the reputation of being a millionaire, lead
his neighbours and associates to keep up appearances of the same
kind, and so the mischief grows. Then such men rob honest men by
leading them to trust them with their goods or money, and when the
end comes many are brought to ruin. Examples of this truth are not
far to seek, they are, alas, far too common in the present day.
3. _Such pretension is base hypocrisy._ A sin against which a
righteous God levels His sternest threatenings (see on chap. xi. 9).
+II. He who is really wealthy and yet does not use his wealth to the
glory of God "hath nothing."+ 1. _He is poor in relation to his
fellow-creatures._ The greatest beggar cannot do less for the world
than he does, and he is poor in the love and gratitude of those from
whom he might win a rich reward by the exercise of benevolence.
2. _He is poor in spiritual riches._ A miserly, niggardly man must be
poor "towards God" (Luke xii. 21)--must be destitute of all that God
counts worth possessing. The rich Church of Laodicea was so
"increased with goods" that she said, "I have need of nothing," but
in the sight of the Son of God she was "poor" (Rev. iii. 17).
+III. In a spiritual sense this text is true.+ Possibly the rebuke to
the Laodicean Church may refer to that satisfaction in spiritual
things "which maketh itself rich yet hath nothing," because its
possessor is destitute of any real knowledge of his own spiritual
needs and, consequently, of his spiritual poverty.
+IV. There are men who are in every respect the opposite of those
with whom we have been dealing.+ 1. _There is the miser who "maketh
himself poor, yet hath great riches."_ It is difficult to know what
motive can prompt a man to do this except covetousness--a fear that
he will be expected to part with some of his wealth for the good of
others. What, therefore, was said under the second head will apply to
him. 2. _There are those who make no show of wealth, yet having
enough to sustain their position in life are really rich._ The man
who is content to be known for what he really is, and has enough to
live honestly, is _rich,_ for riches and poverty are merely
comparative terms, and the riches of one man would be poverty to
another.
"For he that needs five thousand pounds to live,
Is full as poor as he that needs but five."
Therefore, "a man that maketh (or sheweth) himself poor" in this
sense, has great riches. He has a sufficiency for all his wants, he
retains his self-respect and the respect of his fellow-men. 3. _The
really poor man is rich when he spends his little with regard to the
glory of God._ Who of all those who cast their gifts into the
treasury was so rich as the poor widow who cast in "all her living?"
She was rich in the commendation of her Lord (Mark xii. 43), and all
such as she will have the same recognition and will be rich in the
gratitude and love of their fellow-creatures. Such an one shows that
he is in possession of the "true riches" (Luke xvi. 11) which alone
can preserve from moral bankruptcy. To them belongs the commendation
"I know thy poverty, but thou art rich" (Rev. ii. 9). Such "poor of
this world" are "rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom" (Jas.
ii. 5). 4. _Those who are thus really, because spiritually, rich have
always a sense of spiritual poverty._ They esteem themselves "less
than the least of all saints" (Ephes. iii. 8), their watchword is
"not as though I had already attained" (Phil. iii. 12), therefore, to
them belongs the rich possession of the friendship of "the High and
Lofty One, that inhabiteth eternity" (Isa. lvii. 15). Thus "making
themselves poor," they "yet have great riches."
+V. There are advantages and disadvantages connected both with
material wealth and with poverty.+ "The ransom of a man's life are
his riches." This was more literally true in Solomon's days than in
ours, and is more so now in Oriental countries than among the western
nations. There, even now, a man's riches often excite the greed of
some despotic ruler, or one of his irresponsible officials, and he is
accused of some crime in order that his accuser may pocket a large
ransom. In times of war, too, the rich are exposed to losses and
vexations from their conquerors, which the poor escape. Wealth is the
magnet which draws the plunderers upon them; although, at the same
time, it enables them to ransom their lives. This is one of the
penalties of riches. The spirit, although not the letter of the
proverb, may be applied to modern European life. It is the hall of
the nobleman what is exposed to the visits of the burglar. It is the
great capitalist that loses when banks fail, and when there is a
commercial panic. But none of these things touch a poor man. The
despots pass him over, because he has no riches wherewith to ransom
his life; in the time of war he is unmolested, as when Judea was
invaded, "the captain of the guard left of the poor of the land to be
vine-dressers and husbandmen" (2 Kings xxv. 12). No thief plans a
midnight surprise upon his humble abode; he cannot lose his money, he
has none to lose. Vultures are not attracted to a skeleton, they
gather round a carcase covered with flesh. So it is with those who
make it their business to live upon the wealth of others. They leave
the poor man free. He hears not "rebuke" or "threatening," he is left
undisturbed. "He that is down need fear no fall," says Bunyan. "He
that hath empty pockets may whistle in the face of a highwayman,"
says Juvenal. Therefore it is man's wisdom, whether poor or rich, to
be content with such things as he has (Heb. xiii. 5); to appear only
what he really is, and to dedicate his earnings, or his savings, or
his inheritance, to the glory of God; to follow George Herbert's
advice--
"Be thrifty; but not covetous: therefore give
Thy need, thine honour, and thy friend his due.
Never was scraper brave man. Get to live;
Then live, and use it; else, it is not true
That thou hast gotten. Surely use alone
Makes money not a contemptible stone."
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The teaching of chap. xi. 24 finds its echo here. There is a seeming
wealth behind which there lies a deep spiritual poverty and
wretchedness. There is a poverty which makes a man rich for the
kingdom of God.--_Plumptre._
This is a world of making show, the substance of truth is gone out of
it, and ever since man ceaseth to be what he should be, he striveth
to seem to be what he is not. Every sin masking in its own vizard;
the vainglorious and the covetous both seeking by their seeming to
gain some real advantage to themselves.--_Jermin._
These opposite faults originate in the same cause, an excessive
esteem of worldly riches. It is this that makes poor men pretend to
have them, and rich men conceal them for the purpose of preserving
them more safely. But although money is sometimes a defence, the want
of it is sometimes a shadow under which poor men live unmolested by
the plunderers.--_Lawson._
Surely it is just that riches should be the ransom of a man's life,
for it is by them that a man's life is brought into danger.--_Jermin._
The seventh verse is terse beyond all expression. Such are all these
proverbs. Making oneself rich may be itself the poverty, and making
oneself poor may be itself the wealth; inasmuch as these acts may
have been sins or graces of the soul, which enter by the providence
of Heaven into the very condition of the spirit. The meaning is that
outward circumstances are nothing in the question. A saint is poor or
rich as is most useful for him. The treasure is himself. _"There is
that maketh himself rich and is all nothing;"_ because himself, not
the wealth, is the important matter. On the other hand, _"There is
that maketh himself poor,"_ and not only "hath great riches," which
is the imperfect translation of our Bibles, but "is a great
treasure." He himself bereft of wealth, is all the greater for what
God may have assigned. Solomon expounds more specially in the eighth
verse: _Ransom,_ covering--_i.e.,_ the covering of his guilt. Poverty
is a mere incident. A man's true opulence is his eternal redemption.
He is not poor who is pinched by want; but he who has not listened to
rebuke.--_Miller._
It is not poverty so much as pretence that harasses a ruined man--the
struggle between a proud mind and an empty purse--the keeping up a
hollow show, that must soon come to an end. Have the courage to
appear poor, and you disarm poverty of its sharpest sting.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 9.
THE ABIDING LIGHT.
+I. The analogy between the righteous and the wicked.+ Both have a
light or lamp. The words here translated lamp and light are elsewhere
used interchangeably, and are often used to signify _prosperity_
(1 Kings xv. 4; 2 Kings viii. 19) _of any and every kind._ Prosperity
resembles a lamp in that _it is an attractive force._ A benighted
traveller in the darkness is drawn towards a light wherever he sees
it, although he does not know whether it is the light of a thief or
of an honest man. Tempest-tossed mariners look anxiously for a light
in their extremity, and hope for help from it whether it swings from
the masthead of a pirate or from a vessel which carries the police of
the seas. So prosperity in any man is an attractive force. A
prosperous wicked man attracts to himself the needy and unfortunate.
The unprincipled gather round him, hoping to share in some degree in
the light and heat of his worldly success, and the good man who is
poor is often compelled by need to do the same. The lamp of
prosperity, like the net of the kingdom, "gathers of every kind"
(Matt. xiii. 47), not because of what the prosperous man _is,_ but
because of what he _has._ Many saints are dependent on sinners for
their daily bread. Lazarus lay at the rich man's gate hoping to be
fed with the crumbs which fell from his table. The prosperity of the
righteous is equally attractive both to good men and bad for the same
reason. The great mass of men in the world are toiling upon the sea
of life for daily bread like tempest-tossed mariners, and wherever
they see the light of prosperity they make for it, hoping for help in
their need. And prosperity in the general acceptance of the world is
as often given to the good as to the bad--to the wicked as to the
righteous. Some commentators regard the _light_ or the _lamp_ as
emblematic also of _posterity._ The words in 2 Kings viii. 19 may be
translated "to give him always a light _in_ his children" (see Lange
on 2 Chron. xxi. 7), and in this sense also the analogy holds good,
seeing that both good and bad men become the heads of households, and
have joy and honour in their children.
+II. The contrast between the righteous and the wicked.+ 1. _The
righteous man will grow more and more prosperous._ Present and
material prosperity is but an earnest and a shadow of that higher
_light_ which shall _"rejoice"_ throughout eternity. For the contrast
implies that his light shall _not_ "be put out." And this continuance
has its root in his character. Although in this world character does
not govern circumstances, there is a world in which it does. And,
after all, a good man's light--or occasion of satisfaction--consists
more in what he _is_ than in what he _has,_ and this shines "more and
more unto the perfect day" (chap. iv. 18)--See Homiletics, page 58.
2. _The wicked man's prosperity will come to an end._ His candle
_will_ be put out by the hand of death. It may burn well for a time
and he may rejoice in its light, but even if it continue to shed its
rays around him till the last hour of earthly life, death will put it
out. All that has made him a prosperous man has belonged to the
earth, and this can shed no light beyond the grave. It _may_ be put
out by the hand of _retribution_ before death. Lamps kindled by
unjust means may burn well for a time, and human retribution may
never put out their light, because men may not know how they were
lighted; but God's providence may put them out. (On this subject see
next verse.) Or if Divine retribution reserves its extinguisher for
another world, another avenger may "put out" the light. _Conscience_
may assert its right, and without actually taking from a man that in
which he has promised himself satisfaction, may take the satisfaction
from it, and thus as surely "put out" his "lamp."
_outlines and suggestive comments._
How glowing, then, is the light of the Church in the combined shining
of all her members! Many of them have no remarkable individual
splendour; yet, like the lesser stars forming the Milky Way, they
present a bright path of holiness in the spiritual firmament. . . .
But it is the _light_ of the righteous that rejoiceth. Sin,
therefore, will bring the cloud. Do we hope to shine in the heavenly
firmament? Then we must shine with present glory in the firmament of
the Church. So delicate is the Divine principle, that every breath of
this world dims its lustre.--_Bridges._
The comfort of the righteous is a heavenly _light,_ whose shining is
_rejoicing,_ and which even in this life maketh the darkness of Egypt
to be light in Goshen, maketh the night of troubles to be day; but at
length it shall be such a sunshine of glory, as that it dazzleth the
human understanding to conceive it now. On the other side, the best
comfort which the wicked have is but a lamp or a candle which shineth
in the night; for as the light of a candle is shut up within a narrow
circle of space, so their comfort is shut up within a narrow compass
of time, until at length the candle be put out, never again to be
lighted. But what I say _at length,_ when Job saith the candle of the
wicked is often put out. Upon which words St. Gregory saith,
"Ofttimes the wicked thinks his child to be his candle, but when his
child, too much beloved, is taken away, _'his candle is put out,'_
and so with present honour or wealth." He, therefore, that desireth
not to rejoice in eternal things, cannot here always rejoice where he
would be eternal.--_Jermin._
They may not always rejoice, but their light will. _"The lamp of the
wicked"_ shines upon their own transitoriness. They never say that it
will last. They know _"that it shall be put out."_ This is rather a
dismal provision for being very cheerful. But _"the light of the
righteous,"_ however much they look at it, _"rejoices."_ The more
they try it, the more it burns. It does not shine upon its own lack
of oil. And, though they are not self-luminous, yet their _"light"_
is, for it is the light of the Spirit, and it shines more and more
through eternal ages.--_Miller._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 10.
THE PARENT OF STRIFE.
+I. Unlawful contention is the offspring of pride.+ If she is not her
_only_ child, she is her eldest-born. Scripture language more than
hints that pride was the beginning of contention among the angels.
Paul, speaking of the qualifications of a "bishop" or teacher, tells
Timothy that such an one is in danger of "being lifted up with
pride," and thus falling "into the condemnation of the devil" (1 Tim.
iii. 6), thus seeming to indicate that pride was at the bottom of all
the contention that is at present going on in the universe between
light and darkness, between good and evil. From the pride of this
fallen star has come contention in heaven, and earth, and hell.
He it was whose guile,
Stirred up with envy and revenge, deceived
The mother of mankind; what time his _pride_
Had cast him out from heaven, with all his host
Of rebel angels, by whose aid aspiring
To set himself in glory 'bove his peers,
He trusted to have equalled the Most High,
If he opposed, and with ambitious aim,
Against the throne and monarchy of God,
Raised impious war in heaven, and battle proud,
With vain attempt.
And in the history of man's dealings with man pride is the root of
contention. _"Whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not
hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?"_ (Jas. iv. 1).
And is not the lust of pride, or envy, which is her foster-sister,
the great cause of all domestic, and social, and national
contentions? Has it not been the cause of every unrighteous war from
the days of Chedorlaomer to the present century? And pride breeds
contention on a narrower battle-ground still. It often creates war in
the human spirit. Pride brings contention between duty and
inclination, and, although there is no bloodshed, the contest is
often very sharp and painful. The fact that "by pride cometh
contention" is so plain that it may be said to be written upon the
scroll of time, like Ezekiel's roll, within and without. It is
impossible that it should be otherwise. Pride is a thinking more of
ourselves than we are--an over-estimation of our own worth. This must
lead us to strive for supremacy over others who are our equals, or
even our superiors. This must bring contention, for they will not
willingly accord to us that to which we have no lawful claim.
Therefore, while there is pride in the universe contention will never
end. The fountain must be dried up before the streams cease to flow.
When a human soul is emptied of pride there will be peace within. In
proportion as it ceases to be a ruling force in the world contention
will cease. Pride keeps the fallen principalities in contention with
heaven, keeps the sinner in contention with his Saviour, and keeps
man in contention with man.
+II. Those who are not ruled by pride are well advised.+ 1. _Because
of the consequences that obedience to the dictates of pride must
bring to men themselves._ There is in all men a wholesome fear of the
consequences which flow from certain actions. If a child sees another
burnt from playing with the fire, he will avoid doing that which he
has seen to bring such pain and deformation to his brother. Self-love
deters him from the act. Those who are well advised, because advised
by the highest wisdom, know that the consequences of pride have been,
and take cognisance of the deformation of character which it works in
men around them. Therefore, the natural and spiritual instinct of
wholesome self-love leads them to dread that which would bring such
an additional scar to their already too much deformed character. The
children of wisdom are well advised to be afraid of pride on account
of its consequences to themselves. 2. _Because of the misery it would
bring to those nearly related to them._ Isolation is not possible in
this world. Every man, woman, and child is more or less nearly
related to some others. The relation may be physical, intellectual,
political, or moral--in some instances all are combined. A proud man,
or woman, or child, makes those who belong to them miserable. A proud
father makes his children miserable, a proud king involves his
country in war, and brings misery upon his subjects. How many friends
has pride severed? How many homes and countries has family or
national pride blighted? Surely, then, those are well advised who
shun it for the sake of those related to them. 3. _Because of its
consequences to humanity._ The miseries of the human race are
increased by pride, and the progress of the gospel is hindered by it.
The man who does not scruple to pour oil upon a burning house, not
only shows that he has no intention to help to extinguish the flames,
but that he intends to widen their influence. Each drop that he pours
upon the fire increases its intensity, and spreads the destruction.
There are men who do not hesitate, by the indulgence of pride, to
increase that war of passions which burns so fiercely and
destructively in the world and desolates ten thousand hearts and
homes. But the well advised, by the exercise of the grace of
humility, endeavour to quench the conflagration which, first kindled
by hell, has devastated the earth for so many generations.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Pride, if there be no cause of contention given, will make it.
_Transcendo non obedio perturbo_ is the motto written upon pride's
triple crown. . . . Pride is a dividing distemper. Bladders blown up
with wind spurt one from another, and will not close; but prick them,
and you may pack a thousand of them in a little room. . . . It was a
great trouble to Haman to lead Mordecai's horse, which another man
would not have thought so. The moving of a straw troubleth proud
flesh; whereas, humility, if compelled to go one mile, will go two
for a need; yea, as far as the shoes of the gospel of peace can carry
it. "The wisdom from above is _peaceable._"--_Trapp._
As to the great quarrel with God, which needs the _ransom_ (ver. 8),
and which is mended by the _righteousness_ (ver. 6), how long would
that last, if we abandoned pride?--_Miller._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 11.
TWO WAYS OF GROWING RICH.
+I. Wealth can be gotten.+ Wealth may be acquired by those who have
it not. The wealth of the sea is within the reach of the fisherman.
If he put down his net, sooner or later he will probably be rewarded
with some gain. There is wealth in the sea of human life. Although
the experience of some may be "to toil all night and to take
nothing," yet the rule is that men who make an effort will succeed in
bringing into their nets more or less of worldly gain. Some degree of
skill and toil are needed to do this, but probably there was never a
time when talent of any kind, or patient endeavour, was more certain
to meet with a reward than in the present day. Aptitude for business
will probably make a man a thriving tradesman if it does not make him
a merchant prince. Intellectual power and artistic skill have a wide
field in which to work, and are generally sure of liberal reward.
Probably there never was an age when those who have nothing but the
net of genius to spread upon the sea of life were so certain to land
gold upon the shore.
+II. But there are two ways of getting rich.+ There is the way of
_vanity._ Some men come into a fortune by a single throw of the
dice--by a fortunate speculation--a lucky hit. They may not be
dishonest as men generally understand the word, although as a rule
such transactions will not bear too much exposure to the sunlight,
but it is not the best way to get money. Then there are others who
for a lifetime have nibbled at the lawful gains of other men, and
have thus become rich. And others have gotten their wealth by some
one act of dishonesty, of which society is ignorant or is unable to
punish. All these ways of making money are vain in comparison _with
that of patient, honest, daily toil._ The reaper gathers in the
golden grain in the sweat of his face, an armful at each stroke of
the sickle; step by step, "hand by hand," he makes himself master of
the field and gathers the wheat into the garner. So patient daily
toil is the Divinely-ordained way to grow rich. The daily practice of
industrious habits and the exercise of patience, which are thus
rendered necessary, are beneficial to a man's moral nature.
+III. The possession of wealth will be permanent or short-lived
according to the way in which it has been acquired.+ 1. _Wealth
gotten at a leap is generally "diminished" by the man who gained it._
Such men are generally reckless in their expenditure, and squander a
fortune in almost as short a time as they gained it. Such a sudden
acquisition of wealth has been unfavourable to the formation of
thrifty habits, and the man is not equal to his position. Many a
gold-digger who has found in a day a nugget worth many thousands, has
been a poor man again in a few months, and the experience of most men
furnishes them with some similar illustration of the truth although
not perhaps so striking. 2. _Wealth gotten by dishonesty will be
diminished by God._ Time only is needed to make manifest the
righteous judgment of God upon wealth gotten by such "vanity." Like
the prophet's gourd, although it affords pleasant shelter to those
who sit under it now, there is a worm at the root which will
certainly bring it to nothing. Did we but know how some fortunes have
been acquired, we should be less surprised at their possessors being
suddenly reduced to beggary. It may be that those who are thus
brought low are not the makers, but the possessors only, of wealth
gotten by vanity, yet they have to pay the penalty. On the contrary,
the man who has patiently and honestly gathered, little by little, a
sufficiency, or even more, has gathered at the same time wisdom to
use it, and has not forfeited the blessing of the Lord (chap. x. 22).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
"It is easier to make a fortune than to keep it." So say the worldly.
Specifically forbidden is the keeping of the bread of heaven (Exod.
xvi. 19). It was to be gathered every morning. A man who keeps
gathering on the hand is the man to stay rich. But the saint who
hoards up the past, and lives upon the fortune that he had, is the
Israelite who kept the manna, and who found that it "bred worms and
stank." Even happiness is not promoted by over-guard. "Things won are
done; joy's soul lies in the doing." . . . Continuing to work not
only keeps wealth, but "increases it," most particularly spiritual
wealth.--_Miller._
The words admit of three renderings (1) That of the A.V. "Wealth
gotten by vanity," _i.e._, by a windfall, or sudden stroke of
fortune, not by honest labour, is soon diminished; or (2) wealth is
diminished by vanity, by empty or hollow ostentation; or (3) wealth
is diminished quicker than a breath. Of these (1) is believed to be
the best. In any case the general meaning seems to be that the mere
possession of riches is as nothing; they come and go; but the power
to gain by skill of hand is everything. By labour, "or by the hand,"
has three possible meanings (1) as in the A.V.; (2) in proportion to
his strength; (3) "in due measure."--_Plumptre._
Ill-gotten goods fly away without taking leave of the owner; leaving
nothing but the print of talons to torment him (chap. xxiii. 5). "But
he that gathereth by labour shall increase." Howbeit, sometimes, it
is otherwise. "Master, we have toiled all night, and taken nothing"
(Luke v. 5).--_Trapp._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 12.
DEFERRED AND ACCOMPLISHED HOPE.
+I. Two things are necessary to constitute hope.+ 1. _There is the
desire for the real or supposed good._ The man conceives there is in
the distance that which he esteems a good, and he desires to possess
it. No man desires what he deems is an evil. The fact that he desires
it shows that he regards it as a good. 2. _There is an expectation._
A man may desire a good thing without hoping for it because he may
feel that it is impossible to have his desire fulfilled. He has no
expectation of its accomplishment, consequently he has no hope. Hope
includes some amount of expectation, some foundation for the hope. A
man who knows that his disease is incurable may _desire_ to recover
his health, but as he has no reason to expect recovery he does not
_hope_ for it. Sometimes, also, hope is founded on the promise of
some person who is presumed to be both able and willing to perform it.
+II. The constant postponement of the attainment of the desired and
expected good produces mental sickness.+ Sickness of body enfeebles
its powers, so does sickness of soul. A man derives strength to work
when he possesses hope of enjoying some good thing in the future.
Hope is a kind of spiritual food, by feeding upon which a man renews
his energy. But the constant postponement of its realisation renders
the hope less and less strong, and has the same effect upon the mind
as insufficient food has upon the body, it enfeebles its resolution
and lessens its courage. If a hungry man finds each day that his
portion of food grows less, he will soon be conscious of the loss of
flesh and strength, and if the process goes on for many months he
will lose all power of action and probably his very life. The same
thing takes place in a man's spirit when hope is indefinitely
"deferred."
+III. The accomplishment of the desire and expectation renews mental
health and strength.+ "It is a tree of life." The fruit of the tree
of life in Paradise was designed to lengthen man's life, to
perpetuate his youth by constantly renewing his bodily vigour. It is
said of the tree of life in the Paradise yet to come that "its leaves
are for the healing of the nations" (Rev. xxii. 2). So the
realisation of hope renews the life of the spirit, quickens all its
powers, perpetuates its youth. And if the hope has been so long
deferred as to induce "heart sickness," its "coming" brings healing
with it. Bodily health is restored by the operation of something from
without. It is not usually brought about by that which is within us,
but by the coming to us of that which is without. A man desires
something which he has not--something outside of himself--either a
material or a spiritual good; and if he comes to possess it, it is to
the soul what healing medicine is to the body. And as those who eat
of the tree of life in the heavenly world are "children of the
resurrection," and sons of undying youth, so realised hope makes the
spirit conscious of new life, because it brings _joy,_ and when a man
is filled with joy he feels young, however many years he has lived. A
renewed youth brings renewed activity. It lifts up the hands which
hang down, and restores the feeble knees, and gives a man a new start
in the race of life. Applying the words to the revelation of the New
Testament, to the "hope of the Gospel" (Col. i. 23), we
remark--1. _That the Christian must be the subject of deferred hope._
He _must_ wait for the realisation of his desires and expectations.
That "adoption of the body" (Rom. viii. 23) must be waited for. A
glorified body would be out of place in an unglorified world. This
hope must be deferred until his Lord's expectations with regard to
this world are fulfilled. The Son of God is waiting until the Father
shall give the word that "time shall be no longer"--until the times
of restitution of all things (Acts iii. 21). He is "at the right hand
of God; from henceforth _expecting_ till his enemies be made His
footstool" (Heb. x. 13). When that _expectation_ is fulfilled, the
_desire_ of the Christian with regard to the resurrection body will
be fulfilled also. He must also wait until after death for perfect
victory over sin and its consequence, for the full revelation of what
it is to be one of the sons of God. _"Beloved, now are we the sons of
God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be." "When this mortal
shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the
saying that is written, 'Death is swallowed up in victory.'"_ (1 John
iii. 2; 1 Cor. xv. 54). 2. _That even the deferred hope of the
Christian is a tree of life._ It is an eater that yields meat. It
bears fruit (1) It gives birth to _patience,_ and there is no grace
that the human spirit needs more. According to apostolic teaching it
is needful to _"let patience have her perfect work,"_ if the
Christian is to _be perfect and entire, wanting nothing_ (Jas. i. 4).
It is the evidence of a great mind to be able to wait. The Eternal is
a "God of patience" (Rom. xv. 5). He can wait, because He is
infinitely great. (2) It brings forth joy. Paul says, _"We rejoice in
hope of the glory of God"_ (Rom. v. 2). (3) It satisfies the soul.
_"Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself"_ (1 John
iii. 3). (4) It gives sympathy with God in relation to unregenerate
humanity. God defers the realisation of the Christian's hope, because
He is not willing that any should perish (2 Pet. iii. 9). While we
wait the Divine desire grows in us also, that "all should come to
repentance."
_ILLUSTRATION._
Perhaps in all history there is not a more salient instance of hoping
against hope deferred than that of Columbus. Years and years were
wasted in irksome solicitation; years spent, not indeed in the drowsy
and monotonous attendance of ante-chambers, but, as his foremost
biographer narrates, amid scenes of peril and adventure, from the
pursuit of which he was several times summoned to attend royal
conferences and anon dismissed abruptly. "Whenever the court had an
interval of leisure and repose (from the exigencies of the Moorish
war), there would again be manifested a disposition to consider his
proposal, but the hurry and tempest would again return, and the
question be again swept away." . . . He came to look upon these
indefinite postponements as a mere courtly mode of evading his
importunity, and after the rebuff in the summer of 1490, he is said
to have renounced all further confidence in vague promises, which had
so often led to chagrin; and, giving up all hopes of countenance from
the throne, he turned his back upon Seville, indignant at the thought
of having been beguiled out of so many years of waning existence. But
it is impossible not to admire the great constancy of purpose and
loftiness of spirit displayed by Columbus ever since he had conceived
the sublime idea of the discovery. When he applied again to the court
after the surrender of Granada, in 1492, more than eighteen years had
elapsed since the announcement of the design, the greatest part of
which had been consumed in applications to various sovereigns,
poverty, neglect, ridicule, contumely, and the heart-sickness of hope
deferred, all that hitherto had come of it. Five years later, when
preparations were afoot for his third voyage, we read that, "so
wearied and disheartened did he become by the impediments thrown in
his way," that he thought of abandoning his discoveries
altogether.--_Jacox._
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
In his analysis of "the immediate emotions," Dr. Thomas Brown adverts
to that weariness of mind which one would so gladly exchange for
weariness of body, and which he takes to be more difficult to bear
with good humour than many profound griefs, because it involves the
uneasiness of hope that is renewed every moment, to be every moment
disappointed. He supposes a day's journey along one continuous
avenue, where the uniformity of similar trees at similar distances is
of itself most wearisome; but what we should feel with far more
fretfulness would be the constant disappointment of our expectation,
that the last tree that we beheld in the distance would be the last
that should rise upon us; when "tree after tree, as if in mockery of
our very patience itself, would still continue to present the same
dismal continuity of line." Lord Bolingbroke, a professed expert in
its power to weary and wear out, called suspense the only
insupportable misfortune of life.--_Jacox._
The rule, as expressed in the first clause, is universal, but in the
second clause it is applied to a particular case. . . . The second
member is a dividing word. The accomplishment of the desire is "a
tree of life." This belongs only to the hope of the holy. Many, after
waiting long and expecting eagerly, discover, when at last they reach
their object, that it is a withered branch and not a living tree.
When a human heart has been set on perishable things, after the
sickness of deferred expectation comes the sorer sickness of satiated
possession. If the world be made the portion of the immortal Spirit,
to want it is one sickness, to have it is another. The one is a
hungry mouth empty, the other is a hungry mouth filled with chaff.
The clog of disappointed possession is a more nauseous sickness than
the aching of disappointed desire. There is no peace to the wicked.
They are always either desiring or possessing; but to desire and to
possess a perishable portion are only two different kinds of misery
to men. They are like the troubled sea when it cannot rest. You stand
on the shore, and gaze on the restless waters. A wave is hastening
on, struggling and panting, and making with all its might for the
shore. It seems as if all it wanted was to reach the land. It reaches
the land, and disappears in a hiss of discontent. Gathering its
strength at a distance, it tries again, and again, with the same
result. It is never satisfied, it never rests. In the constitution of
the world, under the government of the Most Holy, when a soul's
desire is set on unworthy objects, the accomplishment of the desire
does not satisfy the soul.--_Arnot._
Aquinas noteth that hope in itself causeth joy, it is by accident
that it causeth sorrow. Inasmuch as it is a present apprehension of
good to come, it breedeth delight, but as it wanteth the presence of
that good, it bringeth trouble. It is therefore the delay of hope
that afflicteth. And indeed a lingering hope breedeth in the heart as
it were a lingering consumption. It is a long child-bearing travail
of a weak mind, for hope having conceived comfort is still in labour,
until it be brought forth. So it is with the servants of God with
respect to heaven. They having begun in hope their journey
thitherward, it makes them even _sick at heart_ to think how long it
is until they can get there. Wherefore, St. Gregory saith, the
punishments of the innocent are the desires of the righteous. For all
having lost heaven by sin, even the just are punished with the
_deferred hope_ of recovering it.--_Jermin._
Here is instruction--+I. To hope for nothing but that which is
haveable, and may well be had, and whereof we are capable, and that
doth belong unto us.+ For if protraction cause the heart to languish,
what will frustration and disappointment? It is one of the
threatenings against the wicked in Deuteronomy, that _"their sons and
their daughters shall be given unto another people, and their eyes
should look for them until they fail, and there shall be no might in
their hand"_ (chap xxviii. 32). Now what is meant by this is that
their expectation deceived should turn them to as much woe as if
their eyes had lost their sight. And that was because that they,
incurring the curse by their sinful behaviour, did yet presume of a
restitution to happiness as though nothing had appertained to them
but blessings. +II. Not to limit God or prescribe to Him in what
space He shall fulfil His promise.+ It was a heathenish speech of the
King of Israel's messenger, when he said, in blasphemous manner, that
he neither _would_ nor _ought to attend on the Lord any longer_
(2 Kings vi. 33). But we need not draw admonitions against this from
the infidelity of the wicked, but from the infirmities of the godly,
as Abraham and Sarah had much ado to believe that a child should be
gotten and conceived of their body after their natural vigour was
consumed, and, therefore, Hagar was brought in to help the matter.
+III. Not to depend on man, nor to repose our hope in flesh and
blood.+ For thereby we shall not only be delayed of our help too
long, but defeated of it altogether. For it is a righteous thing with
God, that they who will deify creatures with confidence, should be
deceived by creatures with confusion. The poor Israelites found and
felt this (Lam. iv. 17). +IV. Where we undertake to minister succour,
not to grieve the hearts of them that are in affliction by lingering
too long before we relieve them.+ God doth teach us to show
beneficence timely and in due season (chap. iii. 28). This was one
testimony of a good conscience that comforted Job in his extremities,
that "he had not held the poor from their desire nor caused the eyes
of the widow to fail" (Job xxxi. 16).--_Dod._
Hope's hours are full of eternity; and how many see we languishing at
hope's hospital, as he at the pool of Bethesda! Hope unfailable (Rom.
v. 5) is founded upon faith unfeigned. The desire will come to those
who patiently wait on God; for waiting is but hope and trust
lengthened. We are apt to antedate the promises and set God at a time
as they (Jer. viii. 20) who looked for salvation in summer at
furthest. We are short-breathed, short-spirited. But as God seldom
comes at our time, so he never fails at His own, and then He is most
sweet, because most seasonable.--_Trapp._
The fourth verse has said that "the sluggard desireth, and hath
nothing." This verse declares that longing, accompanied by
procrastination, _enfeebles the heart;_ but that a bold plunging
after the good, and attaining it, is a "tree of life." This, dimly,
is true in worldly affairs. A man who desires some worldly good and
wavers, enfeebles his heart, but he who will dash boldly in
strengthens it. . . . The least taste of arrived-at desire in the
spiritual world, like the apples of Eden, breeds "life." The soul
will go on after that eternally.--_Miller._
If Jacob serve the churl Laban seven years longer, if he think he
shall have Rachel at the end of it, it will be but as seven days.
Thus it is that the hope of better days sweeteneth the present
sadness of any outward condition. There is no grief so heavy, but if
a man tie heaven at the end of it, it will become light, but put them
together, and the one will be swallowed up in the other.--_Spencer._
The world dares say no more of its devices than _Dum spiro spero_
(while I breathe, I hope); but the children of God can add by virtue
of their living hope, _Dum expiro spero_ (while I expire, I
hope).--_Leighton._
Hope is the hunger that makes our food acceptable; but hope deferred,
like hunger prolonged, brings a kind of torture. . . . With the child
of God "the patience of hope" issues in "the full assurance of hope."
What was it to Abraham, when, after long deferred hope, the answer
came? Laughter. What was it when the Lord turned again the captivity
of Zion, and they were like unto them that dream? What was it to old
Simeon and the waiting remnant when "the _desire_ of all nations"
_came?_ What to the disciples, when, at the manifestation of their
risen Lord, their _sickening hearts_ believed not for joy, and
wondered? . . . But what will be the joy at the great consummation of
hope? (Rom. viii. 23-25).--_Bridges._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 13.
BOUND BY LAW.
The literal translation of the first clause of this verse is "Whoso
despiseth the law is bound by it," or "is in bonds to it" (see
Critical Notes).
+I. Divine law is a necessity of human nature.+ There must be a
standard of right and wrong for moral and responsible creatures, and
the law which is that standard ought to be appreciated in proportion
to its perfection. Law in a family is a necessity for its right
regulation, and in proportion as it approaches perfection it will
meet the needs of its members. 1. The law of God is a necessity, in
order to educate man's moral sense. The human conscience sometimes
lies buried under ignorance, or is passive in the hands of lawless
desire, and it needs the law to arouse it to perform its proper
functions, and thus prepare men for a Saviour. "Christ," says Paul,
"is the end of the law." It arouses men to feel their need of His
atonement. 2. It is needed as a basis of punishment and reward. There
are some actions upon which men, by almost universal consent, pass
judgment, and their judgment is embodied in their law, and thus forms
a basis of conviction for the transgressor. And there are other
actions which, by the same consent, are allowed to deserve reward,
and that universal consent forms a kind of law. So the holy, just,
and true law of God is needed as a standard by which men's actions
may be judged.
+II. Whether men honour or despise the law they are bound by it.+
There is no place and there are no circumstances in this world in
which men are not bound by _physical_ law. Every man finds that if he
would have health he must inhale pure air. No man can afford to
despise this law, but whether he do so or not, it will hold him in
bonds. He must obey it if he would have health, to disobey may be
death. If a moving object is coming to meet us, if it has more force
in it than we have, we shall be overthrown by it if we do not get out
of its path. We may do as we please about meeting it, but we cannot
be loosed from the law which governs it. These laws of our earthly
life may not be universal laws, they are doubtless many of them
confined to our present state of being, but the moral law of God is
in force throughout the universe and there is no escape from it. What
is good here is good everywhere, what is morally right now can never
be wrong through all eternity. Whether men obey it or defy it, they
will be for ever bound by it.
+III. It is seen to be a good law by the results of keeping it.+ "He
that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded," or "shall be at
peace." Even when men violate physical law they do not pronounce it
bad. But it is seen to be good by its effects on those who keep it.
Men who obey the laws of health recommend those laws in their own
persons. Those who acknowledge the binding nature of Divine law and
fear it, recommend it to others as good. "Great peace have they that
love Thy law and nothing shall offend them" (Psa. cxix. 165).
Self-love binds men to obey it. "Whoso breaketh" this "hedge, a
serpent shall bite him" (Eccles. x. 8). The whole Bible is an
exposition of this text. (See Homiletics on verse 6.)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The slave _fears_ the penalty; the child _the
commandment._--_Bridges._
In many things we offend all, but we are not all despisers of the
Word of God. Good men have reason to lament their manifold breaches
of the commandment, and yet they have a sincere love and esteem for
it.--_Lawson._
Whatever comes with Divine authority is a Divine commandment. The
Gospel is on this as well as other accounts called the "law of
faith," being the _Divine prescription_ for the salvation of
sinners.--_Wardlaw._
This word has a private and personal, as well as a public
application; but it is in the providential government of the nations
that its truth has been most conspicuously displayed. The kingdoms of
this world in these days prosper or pine in proportion as they honour
or despise God's Word. . . . Number the nations over one by one, and
see where property is valuable and life secure; mark the places where
you would like to invest your means and educate your family; you will
shun some of the sunniest climes on earth, as if they lie under a
polar night, because the light of truth has been taken from their
sky. Traverse the world in search of merely human good, seeking but
an earthly home, and your tent, like Abraham's, will certainly be
pitched at "the place of the altar."--_Arnot._
The more we despise the law, the more we are bound by it. "But he
that fears." This is a splendid picture of the Christian. He is not
one that keeps the law, but "fears" it, _i.e.,_ tries to keep it,
fears it with a godly fear, and as a climax, frequent in a second
clause (see chap. xiv. 11 and _passim_), he is not one who comes
simply less under bonds, but is forgiven altogether.--_Miller._
The word of Divine revelation is here, as it were, personified as a
real superhuman power, whose service one cannot escape, and in
default of this he comes into bondage to it, _i.e._, loses his
liberty.--_Lange's Commentary._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 14.
LIVING BY RULE.
+I. The wise man lives by rule or according to law.+ "The law of the
wise." Wherever there is any _force_ or _power_ there must be rule,
or there will be destruction _from_ the power and possibly
destruction _to_ the power. The power that sets in motion the
locomotive must be governed by law, or it will destroy the driver and
that to which it was intended to give motion. Under the guidance of
law it will minister to man's convenience, left to itself it will
injure him and put an end to itself. Power is lodged within the hand
of every human being which may be used to bless himself and others,
but in order that it may do so it must act in accordance with some
law, it must have some rule for its guidance. Nothing on earth is so
powerful for good or for evil as a human soul, because its power is
exercised in the domain of spirit, but without rule it cannot
exercise its power for the good of others, and will even destroy all
its capabilities of working good to itself. Where men live without a
rule of life there is power without law, and this must work evil and
not good. It is the characteristic of a morally wise man that all his
powers of mind and soul are under control, he has them well in hand.
+II. Living by rule gives distinctness and definiteness to life, and
thus augments its power.+ The chaff that is lifted from the sieve by
the wind has no definite destination, it is entirely at the mercy of
the breeze to carry it anywhere that it pleases. How different is the
course of the eagle out in the storm wind! He moves by rule, either
facing or cleaving the blast, or utilising its force to bring him to
his destination. The vessel that has no hand to hold the rudder is
bound for no special port. The sea will take her somewhere, either
before or after she has gone to pieces; but it is very uncertain to
which point of the compass she will be carried. How different is the
steady ploughing of the waves by the ship whose head is under the
rule of the helmsman. There is a definiteness in her path, which
shows that she has one point to make, one port in view. Those who
live without rule are "like the chaff which the wind driveth away."
The blasts of passion, the current of outside circumstances, carry
them whithersoever they list. But the wise man lives under a law by
which those winds are rendered powerless to drive him, and are made
to carry him forward in the path which he is treading. The man
without a rule is a vessel without a rudder, and is destined,
finally, to be washed upon the shore of eternity a wreck. The very
gait of the child of wisdom indicates that he is bound for a certain
destination. By the way in which he guides his bark he shows that he
has a port to make upon the sea of life. And this definiteness is
always about him, whether he is in solitude or among the multitude.
He lives by rule, in the private recesses of his soul (see on chap.
xii. 5), and this enables him to rule his outward life. He finds that
the rule which governs his private life is strong enough to keep him
in public. The power of the multitude is not strong enough to
overmaster the power that is resident in his single will, because
that will is under a rule which gives it definiteness; and,
therefore, increases its force of resistance. Elijah is a fine
example of such a man. He was a man emphatically whose whole forceful
nature was under Divine rule. Whether he was in the wilderness or
upon Mount Carmel he was in subjection to the law of his God, and
this made him a man whose life was possessed with one definite aim
and purpose. Hence the mighty wave of opposition with which he was
met had no more power to move him than the ocean has to move the
solid rock. So with his great antitype, John the Baptist. He lived by
rule as much when alone in the desert as he did when he was in the
midst of the multitude; and, therefore, neither their applause or
blame, nor Herod's outburst of rage, had any power to change his
pre-determined course. Hence the question of Him who declared the
Baptiser to be the "greatest born of woman." "What went ye out in the
wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind," implying that he was
no reed bending to every blast, but a storm-resisting cedar, which
amid the uproar of the storm holds its own, and comes out of it more
firmly rooted and grounded by the power of the elements which it has
resisted. This is the inevitable consequence of living by rule. The
unruled though mighty locomotive wastes and loses its power in
destroying, that which is under the guidance of law preserves and
increases it. A lawless man possesses a terrible capacity for
destruction; but his power diminishes, even while he exercises it,
while he who is under Divine rule grows stronger and stronger. Sin
weakens a man, goodness increases his power.
+III. Snares are laid to turn men's power into a wrong channel--to
bring their lives under the dominion of lawlessness.+ There are
"snares of death" set to entrap men's feet. The aim of every tempter,
whether human or Satanic, is to lead men to abuse that power which
God has put into our hands in giving us a will. This being the
supreme force in a human soul, it is the great aim of the devil that
it should not be "subject to the law of God." His aim in Eden was to
loose the bonds which had hitherto held it firm to the Divine
command. The end of the temptation was, and has always been concealed
under a specious pretence of freedom, hence it is a _snare._ It is a
_snare of death,_ because, as we have seen, power without rule
destroys itself and others. As soon as Eve had fallen into the snare
of the devil, she began to know what it was to be under the dominion
of sin--she was conscious of having lost her hold upon herself, and
of having set in motion within her spirit a mighty power of evil. The
great aim of Satan in his temptation of Christ was to get His will to
exercise its power, if only for a moment, in antagonism to the will
of His Father. If the devil could have prevailed upon the Saviour to
have but created a loaf of bread to satisfy His hunger, he would have
succeeded in getting Him to use His Divine power in a manner which
would not have been in accordance with the purpose or plan of God.
The same aim is seen in each temptation under different forms, to
endeavour to lead the Son of God to free Himself by His Divine power
from the law of His Father. But the snare was avoided in each
instance by close adherence to the words of the law. "It is written"
is a sure preservative from the snares of death.
+IV. The rule by which the morally wise are governed is--+First,
_Abundant._ It is a _fountain._ A fountain is supplied from a living
spring--a never-failing source--and it therefore yields an unfailing
supply of water for men of all classes and conditions whenever they
need it. The Divine rule which governs the gild of wisdom originated
in God. The fountain of Divine truth came from this Holy and
Infinite spring. Therefore it is an all-sufficient guide or rule of
life for men in all ages, and under all circumstances.
Secondly--_Lifegiving._ It is a "fountain of life." By being the
conserver and strengthener of his spiritual power, as we saw under
the first head, and by being the means of his escape from the great
soul-ensnarer. Allowed to flow through the garden of the soul, and
exert there its due influence, it produces fruit unto holiness, and
the end everlasting life (Rom. vi. 22). _The law of the Lord is
perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure,
making wise the simple; the statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing
the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the
eyes. . . . Moreover, by them is thy servant warned, and in keeping
of them there is great reward_ (Psalm xix. 7-11). This was the
testimony of one who had drunk long and deeply of the waters of this
life-giving fountain.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Of law there can be no less acknowledged than that her seat is in the
bosom of God, her voice the harmony of the world. All things in
heaven and earth do her homage; the very least, as feeling her care,
and the greatest, as not exempt from her power, both angels and men,
and creatures of what condition soever, though each in different sort
and manner, yet all with uniform consent admiring her as the mother
of peace and joy.--_Hooker._
The holy instructions of a wise man are to be valued in this world.
There is a living virtue in the world of truth, even when earthen
pipes are the channel of its conveyance.--_Lawson._
The figure leads to the idea of death as a fowler (Psa. xci. 3). If
it is not here a mean formula for the dangers of death, then the
proverb is designed to state that the life which springs from the
doctrine of a wise man as from a fountain of health, for the disciple
who will receive it, communicates to him knowledge and strength, to
know where the snares of destruction lie, and to hasten with vigorous
steps away when they threaten to entangle him.--_Delitzsch._
If we take the _law of the wise_ for the law of wise men as given by
them, we may thus consider the words. He that goeth on according to
the stream and course thereof, shall be sure at last to come to the
fountain. The law of the wise is but a stream for the fountain of
life, and he that keepeth to the stream shall be sure at last to meet
with the fountain.--_Jermin._
Sin is Satan's snare to catch men to perdition. He that is in the
power of it, and entangled therewith, is in great peril of perishing,
being caught in a trap and held fast there, till either grace deliver
him or death devour him. There is no safe treading but in the ways of
God. Every step without it, though the length and breadth of the
whole world, hath somewhat set in it to entangle us.--_Dod._
Even in defect of liberal prescript, the spirit of _the law_ will
supply practical rules for keeping the heart and life. Dr. Payson
says, "By the help of three rules I soon settle all my doubts--viz.,
to do nothing of which the lawfulness is questionable; to do nothing
which indisposes for prayer, or interrupts communion with God; to go
into no company, business, or situation in which the presence and
blessing of God cannot conscientiously be asked and
expected."--_Bridges._
The _"law of the wise"_ can be nothing but the Book of God. . . . It
is essentially _life-giving._ Its design is not to publish and
confirm the sentence of death, but to show how death may be escaped.
The declaration of the sentence of death is only intended to show the
necessity, and to impress the importance and value of the tidings of
_life. Life_ is the end of Divine revelation.--_Wardlaw._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 15.
A BAD WAY AND A GOOD UNDERSTANDING.
+I. Favour is here spoken of as a thing to be desired.+ It is
desirable to have the favour of _any_ man if thereby we can do him
any good. It was desirable that Joseph should have Pharaoh's favour,
as he was thereby enabled to gain his ear and help him in his
perplexity. The favour which Daniel obtained from Nebuchadnezzar
enabled him to be a great blessing to that monarch. A man who is
regarded by his fellow creatures with favour possesses a powerful
instrument which he may use to do them good. On this account the
favour of men is to be desired. It is also desirable to have the
favour of _good_ men as thereby we may _get_ good. Good men are the
only living representatives of God in the world, and next to the
blessedness of having the favour of the parent is the blessedness of
having that of His children. Therefore the favour of men is to be
desired both for their sakes and for our own.
+II. The instrument of obtaining favour.+ "Good understanding" or
"good intelligence." Man's highest and truest intelligence springs
from moral relation and sympathy with God. All intellectual
intelligence is derived from Him, and this intelligence alone will
often gain for men a large share of human favour. There are many men
of great mental intelligence, who do not acknowledge the existence of
God, who have won high places in the esteem of men. But these words
refer to those who have been enlightened by the teaching of the
Divine spirit, and are in sympathy with God and with His moral laws.
Such men are not less intelligent concerning other matters, but more
so. Other things being equal, a godly man's purely intellectual
powers are quickened by his godliness. If an ungodly man becomes a
true servant of God, all the powers of his mind are thereby
strengthened. Observation confirms this, and it is impossible that it
should be otherwise. If a man cannot come into communion with a wiser
_man,_ without gaining in intelligence, how can he come into
communion with the _Fountain of all wisdom_ without becoming a more
intelligent man in every sense of the word? What a capable man of
business Joseph was. When quite a youth, and without any previous
training, he became controller of the household of an Egyptian
nobleman; and when only thirty was not only the first lord of Egypt,
but showed himself fully equal to all the exigencies of his position.
Whence did his "good understanding" proceed? Was it not from his
moral relationship with the God of his fathers? "Can we find such an
one as this is?" said the heathen king,--"a man in whom the Spirit of
God is" (Gen. xli. 38). The possession of this "good understanding"
in temporal and secular matters gives a man favour in the eyes of
other men. The possession of _spiritual intelligence_ gives him
favour in the eyes of all the good. There is a relationship among all
true members of the family of God, which is stronger and deeper than
any merely human relationship. And this spiritual intelligence gives
a man a moral power among all his fellow-men. They cannot withhold
the testimony of their consciences, unless they are altogether
hardened they must secretly, if not openly, give him their esteem and
confidence. "Natural conscience," says Trapp, "cannot but do homage
to the image of God stamped upon the nature and works of the godly."
+III. The way of those who are destitute of this spiritual
intelligence.+ All such men are "transgressors." Their spiritual
nature is dormant--they are without spiritual discernment. In
scriptural phrase they are "blind" (Rev. iii. 17) and "dead" (Ephes.
ii. 1). Their way is _hard,_ however we use the word. (See Critical
Notes.) 1. _It is hard in the sense of being a well-trodden way._ It
has become hard by being much frequented--by being perpetually used.
It has several elements of attraction. 2. _Antiquity is on its side._
It is an _old_ way--it has been in use for ages. "No man," says our
Lord, "having drunk old wine, straight way desireth new" (Luke
v. 39). Men are naturally conservative--naturally inclined to go as
their fathers went. True it is that there is an _older_ way--the way
of the good (see Homiletics on chap. iv. 14-19, page 58), but still
the way of the transgressor is very ancient. 3. _Men's natural
inclination leads into that way._ Men are led by their inclination,
unless there is a stronger principle within them. We are born with a
tendency to evil rather than to good--to walk after the devices of
our own heart rather than according to the will of God. In most men
"inclination is as strong as will," and leads them to tread the "way
of the transgressor." 4. _It is attractive because of the numbers who
tread it._ "Many there be which go in thereat" (Matt. vii. 13). Many
men make that fact a city of refuge wherein to shelter themselves
from the admonitions of conscience. "I only do as others do" is
regarded by many men as an impregnable citadel wherein they can
securely await the righteous judgments of God (See Homiletics on ch.
i. 10-19, page 8, 2nd head). 5. _It is hard and therefore desolate,
unfruitful._ The common highway that is trodden down by many feet is
not the place in which to look for a golden harvest. The stony rock
is not a soil whence flowers spring. Men do not expect to gather
choice fruit on the desolate moorland. Neither can the way of the
transgressor yield the flowers or the pleasant fruits of life. Thorns
and nettles are there, but no golden harvest. The favour neither of
God nor man is his portion. He can only reap as he has sown (See
Homiletics on chap. xi. 18-20, page 223). 6. _It is a hard way in the
sense that it is a miserable way._ Every act carries with it present
judgment. Every action has its reaction of pleasure or of pain. Every
step, therefore, in the way of transgression has its accompanying
reproach of conscience. Then the way of sin is a way of
self-deception. What is more painful than to be the subject of
constant deception? We have just dwelt upon the heart-sickness of
hope deferred (verse 12); the sinner is a constant victim of this
malady. Nothing can be a more bitter experience than to stake our all
upon a promise, and when the time comes for its fulfilment, to find
that it was made only to be broken. Yet this is the experience of a
transgressor of God's law, not once or twice, but all through his
life. It is his lot not only to deceive but _to be deceived_ (2 Tim.
iii. 13). He is ever promising himself, and is ever being promised by
the master whom he serves, satisfaction as the result of his deeds,
but he is always finding that the performance falls as far short of
the promise as it did when the devil led our first parents into sin,
by the promise "ye shall be as gods," and performed it by making them
slaves to himself. This is another ingredient in the hardness of the
way. He is a slave to him who has deceived him. Many a man is fully
alive to the deceptive nature of sin--to its utter powerlessness to
give him real pleasure--and yet he goes on it. Why is this? He is
bound by a chain which he finds it well nigh impossible to break.
Evil habits, as well as good ones, grow stronger by exercise. Slavery
is hard under any master, excepting under Him whose service is
perfect freedom. How bitter, then, is slavery to one who has deceived
us. Yet this is not the _hardest_ part of the _hard_ way. None who
are thus victims of the great deceiver--none whom he has made his
bond slaves but feel that they are so by their own consent. Each evil
thought unchecked, each evil thought indulged, has forged a link in
the chain. Their condition has been likened, by an old writer, to
that of a man who has been busily at work in carrying stick after
stick to make a pile of wood, and then finds that he has only been
heaping up materials for a fire upon which he is to be burned.
+IV. But though the way of transgressors is hard, it is not too
hard.+ Its very hardness is intended to lead them to leave it.
Because the end will be worse than the way, it is the tenderest mercy
to make the way hard. It only tells him that he has taken the wrong
road. The pain that he suffers is only the voice of God, saying, "Do
thyself no harm." When a mountain pass becomes so blocked with fallen
rocks that every step is a misery, does it not admonish the traveller
to turn back before he makes a fatal slip? When in the regions of
eternal snow a man feels intense pain from the biting cold, and
encounters at every step the corpse of one who has been frozen to
death by persistently disregarding the voice of nature, is it not
suicide to continue? Can he say he received no admonition? Is it not
a sentinel with a drawn sword to turn back the unwary from the
precipice? Even so is the hardness of the way of the transgressor.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
For the most part the word translated "good understanding"
corresponds with that which, in a deep ethical sense, we call fine
culture, which shows men how to take the right side, and in all
circumstances to take the right key, exercise a kindly, heart-winning
influence, not merely to the benefit of its possessor, but such as
removes a partition wall, and brings men closer to each other. The
word translated "hard" denotes that which stretches itself far, and
with reference to time, that which remains the same during the course
of time. That which does not change in time, continuing the same,
according to its nature, strong, firm, thus becomes the designation
of the enduring and the solid, whose quality remains always the same.
The fundamental idea of remaining like itself, continuing, passes
over into the idea of the firm, the hard, and, at the same time, of
the uncultivated and the uncultivatable. The way of transgressors, or
of the _treacherous,_ _i.e.,_ the manner in which they transact with
men, is stiff, as hard as stone, repulsive; they follow selfish
views, never placing themselves in sympathy with the condition of
their neighbour; they are without the tenderness which is connected
with fine culture; they remain destitute of feeling in things which,
as we say, would soften a stone.--_Delitzsch._
Many _seek_ favour as the gift of others which it is in their own
power to give themselves. For, get a _good understanding,_ whereby to
understand well what thou goest about, and how to go about it. It is
true, as Tertullian speaketh, now and then it falls out, that in a
great tempest wherein sea and heaven are confounded, the haven is
attained by a happy error; and now and then, in darkness, the way of
entrance and going out is found by a blind happiness. But this is a
favour which has no holdfast--it is a _good understanding_ that
giveth favour.--_Jermin._
Is not the way of transgressors pleasant in prospect, although it
ends in death? No; sin barters away future safety but does not secure
present peace in return. Things are not always what they seem. The
pleasures of sin are not only limited in their duration, they are
lies even while they last. . . . The race is torture and the goal
perdition. . . . But the right way is not a soft and silky path for
the foot of man to tread upon; and, if one thing happens to all in
the journey of life, what advantage have the good? Much every way,
and specifically thus: The hardness which disciples experience in
following their Lord is righteousness rubbing on their remaining
lusts, and so wasting their deformities away; whereas the hardness of
a transgressor's way is a carnal mind in its impotent enmity dashing
itself against the bosses of the Almighty's buckler. . . . As the
pains of cure differ from the pains of killing, so differs the
salutary straitness which presses the entrance at the gates of life,
from the hardness which hurts transgressors as they flee from
God.--_Arnot._
Sin, as of its nature, sinks always lower under bond (ver. 13), and
must, therefore, _de jure,_ be _"perpetual"_ (see Miller's rendering,
in Critical Notes). For, strange enough, the man without "_good_
intelligence," _i.e.,_ the best kind of knowledge, neglects to act on
what knowledge he has. The worst man has knowledge enough to save
him--that is (to expound an averment which is only in one sense
true), God's goodness is such that if a man would use the light he
had, he would start from that point, and be helped into the
kingdom.--_Miller._
Different senses have been affixed to these words--1. "Good
understanding showeth favour to others"--_i.e.,_ is mild and
conciliatory, while the "way of transgressors is hard, unyielding,
stern." 2. "Ingenuous manners procure favour; but rugged is the path
of the artful"--_i.e.,_ exposing him to incessant difficulties, while
open dealing makes a man's way plain before him. 3. More probably the
meaning in both parts of the verse terminates on the person's self.
Intelligent and sound judgment, by fitting a man to be a wise and
useful counsellor, procures him favour. On the contrary, the "way of
transgressors," like "Bypath Meadow" in the _Pilgrim's Progress,_
presents at its entrance all that is tempting to allure into it, but
supplies no real enjoyment to the traveller in it at last.--_Wardlaw._
Wicked men live under a hard taskmaster. "I was held before
conversion," said Augustine, "not with an iron chain, but with the
obstinacy of my own will." The philosophical infidel bears the same
testimony. "I began to fancy myself in a most deplorable condition,
environed with the deepest darkness on every side" (Essays, I. 458).
Voltaire, judging of course from his own heart, pronounces, "In man
is more wretchedness than in all other animals put together. Man
loves life, yet knows he must die." "I wish," continues the wretched
witness for his master, "I had never been born." The worldly infidel
adds his seal to the record. Colonel Gardiner declared, that in his
course of wickedness he had often envied the existence of a
dog.--_Bridges._
_The hardness of the transgressor's way._ +I. A truth to be
confirmed.+ It is hard to themselves--to others, to their families,
their friends, to society. +II. A dispensation to be approved.+ It
illustrates the mingled justice and mercy of God, who has made the
way to hell difficult. The hardness of the way of sin is often the
means of stopping sinners in their course. The sufferings of the
wicked operate as a check and preservative to the righteous. +III. A
warning to be enforced.+ Take care how you take the first step. Be
anxious, if you have entered the road, to retrace your step. Remember
that the hardness of the way is nothing like the bitterness of the
end.--_S. Thodey._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 16.
DEALING WITH KNOWLEDGE.
For a definition of prudence see Homiletics on chap. viii. 12, 13,
page 109. Carrying out the thought that prudence is wisdom applied to
practice, we remark,
+I. That a prudent man deals, or acts with knowledge from a sense of
responsibility.+ 1. _In commercial life._ No prudent man will engage
in any business transaction without first making himself thoroughly
acquainted with it in all its bearings. He will, if possible, look
far into the future and weigh probabilities and calculate results, so
as to secure himself from ultimate loss. He will not deal with the
matter at all unless he understands it. This we conceive is "dealing
with knowledge." And it is the course pursued by every prudent man of
business from a sense of responsibility. He feels that he has
obligations to fulfil to others and a character to maintain, and
therefore he thinks before he acts. A man who values his life at all
will not deliberately walk over a precipice, and a prudent man will
not go very near the edge, he will know what is the safe distance at
which he may walk without even risking the possibility of a false
step. 2. _As a teacher or leader of others._ A man who undertakes the
guidance of his fellow-creatures in any way, is especially bound to
"deal with knowledge." If he is a teacher of youth, and is a prudent
man, he will make it his business to know his pupils, to become
acquainted with the best methods of imparting instruction and
developing their mental and moral powers. He feels that they are in
his hands very much as clay in the hands of the potter, and that it
depends very much upon him whether they become vessels of honour or
dishonour, and this invests all his dealings with them with a deep
sense of responsibility. So with the statesman, the Christian
teacher, or any other man who finds himself entrusted with influence
over his fellows. Prudence is almost as necessary as goodness and
right intentions. A man may have abundance of wealth at his disposal
whereby to accomplish some desired end. But if he does not know how
to use it, he may as surely miss his aim as if he were poor. So a man
may have much spiritual wealth and an earnest desire to use it for
the good of others, but if he is not a prudent man--if he neglects to
acquire a knowledge of the how, and the when, and the where to do it,
he may not only fail to realise his desire, but may cause his good to
be evil spoken of. And the principle applies to every good man,
however limited his sphere or humble his position. It is the special
trade of a _good man to do good,_ but he may greatly injure his trade
by neglecting to "deal with knowledge." _"What king,"_ says our Lord,
_"going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and
consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that
cometh against him with twenty thousand?"_ (Luke xiv. 31). It is
implied that this man has a sense of the importance of the
undertaking upon which he is about to embark, that he duly estimates
the possible loss or gain which may result from it. He may serve as
an illustration of what is meant by a prudent man "dealing with
knowledge" in any and every step of life, whether it be apparently
great or small, weighty or trivial. For there are no _little_ things
in human life--the greatest issues often hang upon what men
ignorantly call trifles.
+II. A fool by rash and inconsiderate conduct "layeth open" or
"publishes" his folly.+ It is implied by contrasting him with the
prudent man who "deals with knowledge" that he deals without it, that
he leaps before he looks and walks in the dark when he might avail
himself of a light to guide him. Such conduct arises from a lack of
the sense of responsibility. He does not consider what is involved in
his failure, how much misery may thus be entailed on himself and
others. Every man who does not weigh results proves himself thereby
to be a fool.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
He that is wise will not be doing or dealing in anything unless he
_know_ what it is wherein he dealeth, and unless he deal so as _he
knoweth_ that he should. He knoweth that a man is known by his
dealing. He knoweth that others look on his dealing, and therefore he
looketh so to it as that they may know him to be wise by it. But a
fool will be dealing, although by dealing he uncover his nakedness.
The shame of his folly shall be spread abroad as wide as his dealings
are heard of.--_Jermin._
Observes circumstances, and deports himself with discretion; thrusts
not himself into unnecessary dangers; carves not a piece of his heart
but to those he is well assured of. See an instance of this prudence
in Ezra, chap. viii. 22; in Nehemiah, chap. ii. 5. He calls it not
the place of God's worship--such an expression might have disgusted
the heathen king--but the place of his father's sepulchres. In
Christ, when He was tried for His life; in Paul, who lived two years
at Ephesus, and spake not much against the worship of their great
goddess Diana (Acts xxiii. 6, and xix. 10).--_Trapp._
Fools might be esteemed half-wise if they had sense enough to keep
their folly to themselves.--_Lawson._
Wide is the sphere for trading with this responsible talent. _In the
family economy_ (Judges xiii. 8-12; chap. xiv. 1; xxxi. 27). _In the
church;_ in a wise accommodation to circumstances (Gal. ii. 2); in
the conviction of gainsayers (Tit. i. 9); in forbearing with the
prejudices of the weak (Acts xv. 22-29); in the exercise of Christian
admonition (Rom. xv. 14).--_Bridges._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 17.
A SOCIAL LINK.
+I. An important link in human society--a messenger.+ This link may
or may not be important _in himself._ He may belong to the highest or
to the lowest stratum of human life. He may be a princely ambassador,
or he may be a telegraph boy. The link which holds two bodies
together may be of great intrinsic value. It may be of wrought gold,
and much skill may have been expended on its workmanship; but what it
is in itself is not of so much importance as what it is as a link.
Its beauty and costliness will not avail much if it gives way when it
is subject to strain, and thereby causes loss and vexation to its
owner. The link that holds the cable to the anchor is not in itself
worth much; but when it holds an ironclad off a rocky coast, there
hangs upon it half a million of money, and the sorrow or joy of many
human hearts for years to come. Untold loss or gain depend upon
whether that ring of iron can bear the strain or not. So it is with a
messenger. He may be a person of great intellectual powers, and of
great social importance, or he may not have either. But he is always
of value in his _relative position._ Like the link in a cable, he
always holds in his keeping more than he is. He may be the bearer of
the secrets of one who has hanging upon his will an army of many
thousands, and a nation of as many millions may be interested in the
message which he bears. Whether he be a prince or peasant is of no
importance in comparison with the fact that he bears a message.
+II. The one all-important qualification in a
messenger--faithfulness.+ No greater praise can be given to a man
than to say that he is _faithful,_ yet nothing less will make him
worth anything in human life. All men's hopes for time and eternity
rest upon the faithfulness of God. This is the sheet-anchor of
humanity that He is "a faithful Creator" (1 Pet. iv. 19). That He is
faithful that promised (Heb. x. 23). It is for _faithfulness,_ not
for _success,_ that He gives the "well done" (Matt. xxv. 21), to His
servants. In a messenger it is the one thing needful, and its
importance is increased in proportion to what hangs upon his message.
Life or death may depend upon it, and often not the fate of an
individual merely, but the destiny of a nation. An unfaithful
messenger _"falleth into mischief himself."_ He who betrays his trust
injures himself. He goes down in the moral scale. He loses his
reputation, and is not trusted again. If the link in the cable gives
way, it is itself broken. But this is not all, not the worst. He is
the cause of _mischief falling upon others._ How true is this in
social life. A message, coloured in its delivery, to gratify some
selfish purpose, may divide men who would have been friends, if it
had not been for the third person. And its omission, through
carelessness, may bring about a like mischief. And it is also true in
national relationships. The ambassador, who is entrusted to express a
nation's will, may be a fruitful source of mischief if he is
negligent or unwary when war and peace hang in the balance. Millions
of hearts may be made sad by an under or over statement of facts.
"But a faithful messenger is health," or "healing." He is health in
himself. A faithful messenger, apart from his official or
representative character, is an embodiment of moral health, and when
he is entrusted to make peace where there has been war, he is
"healing." He may be only a counsellor of peace between individual
men who have been at strife, or he may be the bearer of terms of
peace between hostile nations. But, whether in the one case or the
other, the faithful discharge of his duties will bring healing: for
all real peace must be founded on a truthful statement of facts. This
verse is especially true of an ambassador of Christ. He who is truly
sent of God will be faithful in the delivery of his message, and will
thus bring healing to many. He will _"not walk in craftiness, nor
handle the Word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth
commend himself to every man's conscience in the sight of God."_ And
so he will be the means of bringing moral health (2 Cor. iv. 2;
1 Cor. vi. 11).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Every man is a "messenger," and has an errand, and that is as a
witness for God (chap. xiv. 25). The word for _"messenger"_ is the
word for "angel." How soon did the wicked angel fall, when he became
of no use? and men, how long do they tolerate a false messenger? The
soul sent out by the Almighty, if wicked, shall fall; but a soul that
is _"faithful"_ is needed, and will hold its place.--_Miller._
A wicked messenger hath no sooner a business committed unto him than
he falleth into mischief, by betraying the trust reposed in him, and
therefore justly doth mischief fall on him. He that is a faithful
ambassador is, indeed, the ambassador of truth itself. He, being
sent, hath healing under his wings, whereby he giveth soundness and
health unto his business, whereby he giveth soundness and health to
those that employed him. The proverbial sense is, That the good or
bad success of a business proceedeth much from the goodness or
badness of him that is employed in it.--_Jermin._
How much more then, wicked ministers, those "messengers of the
churches" (2 Cor. viii. 23) that do the Lord's work negligently (Jer.
xlviii. 10), that corrupt His message (2 Cor. ii. 17). Who is blind
but my servant, or deaf as my messenger? (Isa. xlii. 19).--_Trapp._
While the wicked messenger prepares misfortune for himself, as well
as for his master, the faithful makes good even his lord's
mistakes.--_Von Gerlach._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 18.
THE WAY TO HONOUR.
+I. Man needs instruction because his natural intuitions are not
enough to meet the needs of human life.+ The instinct of the animal
is enough to enable it to fulfil its destiny. Its limited powers find
sufficient guidance in the use of the faculties which are born with
it. But it is not so with man. If, as some philosophers suppose, a
man comes into the world without any ideas, if he receives everything
from the outside world, instruction is so much the more needed, but
even if he does bring with him a small stock of knowledge, experience
shows us that the amount is very small, and he needs instruction for
body, soul, and spirit from the first day of his dawning intellect to
the last of his probationary life.
+II. Instruction is to be obtained.+ Somebody will teach him either
directly or indirectly. He will learn much from observation and much
from direct teaching. The word here, as in chap. xii. 1, includes the
idea of correction. This forms an inevitable part of man's
instruction in matters relating both to his bodily and spiritual
life. God has provided for man's instruction in relation to his
spiritual needs. It is within the reach of all men in a Christian
nation (See Isa. lv. 1-3.)
+III. If he refuses what he needs, he will have what he does not
desire.+ He will have _poverty._ This is a calamity when
self-inflicted. Whatever is the outcome of sin must be a calamity. If
a man refuses to submit to the correction and instruction of others
in connection with matters relative to every-day life, he shuts
himself up to his own ignorance and shuts out all possibility of
advancing in any profession or calling. Therefore he must be poor in
worldly wealth. And it is pre-eminently true of him who refuses the
disciplinary instruction of God. Such a man must be poor in a
spiritual sense throughout eternity. And this will bring shame. Shame
is always the result of sin. There is no shame in being poor in
material things when poverty is the outcome of righteousness, but
there is shame in poverty which is the result of neglected
opportunities. What is the root of this rejection of instruction? Is
it not pride? (See Homiletics on chap. xi. 2, page 193; also on chap.
xii. 1, page 246.)
+IV. Reproof is instruction.+ This is implied here, and in many other
passages in this book where the words are used interchangeably. A man
who reproves us gives us information about ourselves. He lets us know
how we appear in the eyes of others. This ought to be valued by us.
We are too partial to see our own defects, therefore we ought to be
glad when they are pointed out to us by another.
+V. Taking reproof in a spirit of humility is the only road to
honour.+ In the long run, men will give honour where honour is due.
They will give their esteem, and respect, and confidence to men who,
from moral or intellectual eminence, deserve it. And, as we have
seen, this height can be reached only by those who are willing to be
taught both by God and by man.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Poverty is in itself a want; but no misery unless shame be joined
with it. Shame is in itself a misery; but much greater if joined with
poverty, which hath no means to shelter or cover it. Now both are to
him that refuseth instruction. For, indeed, instruction is a glorious
treasure, offered and opened to him who hath need of it; and,
therefore, to refuse it, what can be but poverty and shame? And,
though it be the too common fault of those that are great, either in
riches or honour, to despise reproof, yet the most honor, the truest
riches, are to those that embrace it. St. Bernard, therefore, writing
unto a great person, but deserving reproof, saith "Charity hath
forced me to reproof thee, which grieveth with thee, although thou be
not grieved, and which pitieth thee, although thou pitieth not
thyself, and therefore it doth lament the more, because thou dost not
lament, who art to be lamented; therefore doth it pity thee the more,
because thou dost not pity thyself, who art in so pitiful a
condition."--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 19.
In common with most commentators we regard the first clause of this
verse as embodying the same thought as that expressed in the last
clause of verse 12. We will therefore consider the last clause only.
THE ABOMINATION OF THE FOOL.
This verse pourtrays a man whose character is most unnatural.
+1. He is unnatural because he belies his origin.+ What should we say
if we saw the son of a king taking delight in the society and in the
pastimes of the most degraded men? Or if we saw a man finding his
enjoyment in herding with the beasts of the field? We should judge
that they had lost all sense of their high origin. The sinner who is
in love with evil gives the lie to the historic fact that God made
man in His own image.
+2. He is unnatural, because he burdens himself unnecessarily.+ In
other matters men are not wont to carry heavier burdens than they are
obliged. They do not generally desire an increase of their load. They
are content with what is allotted to them. The burdens of life that
must be borne are numerous and heavy enough for men to bear, yet this
moral fool must weigh himself down with the evil that he need not
bear--the evil consequences of evil deeds. He prefers to carry about
with him the burden of his guilt, and all its accompanying evils. As
we saw in verse 15, his way is hard, yet he pursues it. In the face
of God's expressed desire (Isa. lv. 7), that he should be rid of his
burden, and although it weighs him to the earth "it is an abomination
to the fool to depart from evil."
+3. He is unnatural, because he is an unnecessary burden on the heart
of humanity.+ He burdens the hearts of God's children. They sigh over
him, because he is bad, and refuses to be better. They are weighed
down with a sense of his present sad condition, and the retribution
that awaits him. He is a burden to those who are less wicked than he,
because he prevents their being better, and he adds to the burden of
those who are as bad as himself, because he increases their guilt by
yielding to their temptations.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The sentence that fulfilled desire does good to the soul appears
commonplace; but it is comprehensive enough on the ground of Heb. xi.
to cheer even a dying person, and conceals the ethically significant
truth that the blessedness of vision is measured by the degree and
the longing of faith. But its application in its pairing with the
last clause of the verse give it quite another aspect. On this
account, because the desire of the soul is pleasant in its
fulfilment, fools abhor the renouncing of evil, for their desire is
directed to that which is morally blameworthy, and the endeavour,
which they closely and constantly adhere to, is to reach the
attainment of this design.--_Delitzsch._
A canon of interpretation in Proverbs is, _In antithetical clauses an
opposite member is often suppressed in one clause and has to be
supplied from the opposition of the other member in the corresponding
clause (Gataker)._ Thus, here, the desire of the wise or _good_ being
accomplished _by their departing from evil_ is sweet to their soul,
but as it is an abomination to fools to depart from evil, _their
desire being not accomplished is not sweet, nay, "it maketh the heart
sick"_ (ver. 12). Cf. Psa. cxlv. 19: "The Lord will fulfil the desire
of them that fear Him." As the wise desire the possession of the true
good, and by departing from evil attain to it, so that it is "sweet
to the soul," so fools desire the possession of what is good and
"sweet to the soul," but shall have bitter and everlasting grief.
Just as if there were two patients, both desiring health; the one
avoiding forbidden foods, and using the prescribed drugs, would
recover health, to his joy; the other, disliking the remedies, and
indulging his appetite, would fail to recover and would die
(_Gejer_). The reason why fools abominate to depart from evil is
because evil is sweet to them.--_Fausset._
I have three interpretations of this verse. 1. Solomon has been
thought to express the sentiment that the final attainment and
enjoyment of a desired good abundantly compensates for all the
self-denial and difficulty endured in waiting for it. This is a truth
of practical importance, holding out as it does encouragement to
perseverance. And it is a truth which holds with unfailing certainty,
in regard to spiritual blessings. But the fool cannot be persuaded to
deny himself the gratification of the passing moment, even for the
sake of the best and highest blessings and hopes. 2. Some render, "It
is sweet to the soul to enjoy what we love; therefore it is an
abomination" etc. Here the reason or principle is assigned, from
which it arises that fools will not depart from evil. Their enjoyment
is in it. They feel that there are pleasures in sin. These pleasures
they love. And, as these pleasures arise from sin, sin is what they
like; sin is sweet, and they will indulge their present propensities,
for the sake of the present pleasure they yield. 3. "Desire,"
subdued, restrained, or overcome "is sweet to the soul; but it is an
abomination," etc. According to this translation the former clause
expresses the inward satisfaction arising from the successful curbing
and subjugation of any sinful desire--any evil propensity. This forms
a fine and striking antithesis to the second clause. While the good
man can hardly enjoy a greater satisfaction than is imparted by the
exercise of self-control, and the overcoming of any powerful and
imperative desire that has tempted and endangered his virtue; on the
contrary, to the ungodly, the exercise of self-restraint is irksome,
the denial of any sinful propensity is misery. They "draw iniquity
with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart-rope." The
character is portrayed with great spirit in the tenth
Psalm.--_Wardlaw._
_A desire that has sprung up is sweet to the Soul._ (See rendering in
Critical Notes.) A sinner can get on comparatively well when a pious
_"desire"_ has been once enkindled. What is said of the lips of the
strange woman dropping honey (chap. v. 3) is true also in this case.
The soul is so near to the sinner that if there is anything sweet to
it it is easy to follow it on. The soul once converted and conceiving
its first desire will follow it afterward. And, therefore, the
Psalmist begs us to "taste and see" (Ps. xxxiv. 8), that we may have
this first desire. But the unconverted man finds it loathsome to take
the first step. His desires that have "come to be," are of another
nature. How can a man will when unwilling? "It is the first step
which costs."--_Miller._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 20.
COMPANIONSHIP, CONSTRUCTIVE OR DESTRUCTIVE.
We have here:--
+I. Habit, assimilation, and transformation.+ 1. _Habit._ A habit is
formed by the constant repetition of an act. Walking is the constant
repetition of an act. The child first gets courage to take a single
step, that step leads to another, and by degrees he acquires the
habit of walking. To walk with wise men is to have habitual
intercourse with them, either through reading their written thoughts
or by immediate contact with their living selves. As bodily walking
is only acquired by practice, so it is in soul-walking--in mental and
spiritual communion. It is at first difficult for the uninitiated to
master the arguments of the wise and grasp the truths which they
utter. But the power to do so comes by making the effort. If the wise
men are morally wise, it may not be so easy to apprehend Divine truth
as they do with their keener spiritual perceptions. But constant
intercourse and communion enable one to do so. The religious
faculty--the conscience--is thus developed. 2. _Assimilation._ The
law of assimilation is in operation within us and around us in the
world of matter. The plant drinks in the moisture and chemical
elements of the earth, and they are assimilated to itself and come
forth in bud, and flower, and fruit. Man eats vegetable and animal
food and it becomes flesh and bone. The man who walks with wiser men
than himself imbibes their thought, and those thoughts become part of
himself. As the health of the body depends upon the kind of food
which it assimilates and its power of assimilation, so the health of
the mind depends upon the character of the thoughts which it receives
and its power of making them its own. 3. _Transformation._ It is
implied that those here represented as walking are, when they begin
their walk, comparatively ignorant. But a constant reception and
assimilation of the wisdom of others, whether it be intellectual or
moral wisdom, will in time transform the pupil into a teacher--the
student into a master. The ignorant becomes in time a wise man. The
strong animal life nourishes the weaker--the new born--life until the
weak child becomes as strong as the parent. So in mind and soul life.
Hence the constant repetition in this book of exhortations to receive
instruction. The assimilating and transforming power of intercourse
with the Fountain of all Wisdom by the reception of the Divine
thought is thus set forth by Paul:--_"But we all, with open face
beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the
same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord"_
(2 Cor. iii. 18).
+II. That if our companionship is not a constructive influence, it
will be destructive.+ It is implied that human beings will have
companionship of some kind--that if a man does not "walk with wise
men," he will be "the companion of fools." 1. _Companionship in early
life the outcome of necessity._ A child of foolish parents cannot
help being "the companion of fools." This is the sad portion of
millions, and it is the destruction of millions in the sense that it
is the cause of their missing the great end of life--to glorify and
enjoy God. 2. _But there is a companionship of choice._ When a human
being comes to years of maturity he chooses his companions. He cannot
always choose his _associates,_ for then "he must needs go out of the
world." And there is no necessity that those with whom duty compels
him to associate should exert any evil influence upon his character.
But "companion" evidently means him with whom he communes--a man
whose society he chooses. And if this society is not morally good, a
man begins to deteriorate from the first moment that he enters it.
His choice of it is an indication of some moral flaw in his
character, and is a strong presumption that he does not intend or
desire to resist its destructive influence. If a sound apple is
placed beside one that has begun to decay, nothing is needed to
complete the work of destruction in both, but that they should remain
in contact. An utter missing of all that makes life worth
having--that which our Lord calls the "loss of the soul"--is the
portion of every man who does not continually grow in moral wisdom.
For there is no standing still. Neglect is ruin in most material
things. The house that is not constantly repaired will be ruined by
the constant action of the elements. A man is surrounded on all sides
by adverse moral influences, and if he only neglects to _grow_ he
will _die._ And to grow he must "walk with the wise."
_ILLUSTRATION._
The following statement was made to a Wesleyan minister by a young
man under sentence of death: "I am the child of pious parents, who
were connected with the Wesleyan body. At the age of 16, through
their instrumentality, and under the preaching of the Gospel, I
became the subject of religious impressions. These, in the course of
time, were effaced; but I still continued to read the Bible and
respect the Sabbath. One Lord's Day I went to hear a celebrated
minister deliver a discourse on 'Prophecy.' As I was returning I
expressed to an acquaintance who I met my admiration of the sermon.
He replied that no doubt Mr. ---- was a superior orator, and it would
afford him great pleasure to hear him discuss on any subject having a
true claim upon the attention of a rational being; but that such was
not the case with religion. A conversation followed, which led him to
invite me to his house, to hear his reasons for disbelieving the
Bible. There I met others, of a kindred spirit, and from that moment
they were my principal, because my favourite, associates. I soon
adopted all their opinions as my own, and used every effort in my
power to diffuse our common views. I could at this moment almost say
the bitterness of death is passed, if I were sure that no one had
become an infidel through me. But I have too much reason to fear that
many have. Before this time I had married a very respectable young
woman, and had entered into business. I was, however, brought to ruin
by my own folly and extravagance, and went to America. There, my
principles not fully satisfying me, I read _Watson's Apology for the
Bible_, and similar works, and again avowed myself a believer in the
Word of God. It was my bitter lot, however, soon to see that it is
much more easy to renounce the principles of error than to cease from
those evil practices of which they are the productive sources. It
will not be wondered that, even after I had disavowed the creed of an
infidel, I was confirmed in the habits of infidelity, and was
_still,_ on returning to my native land, ready to perpetrate any deed
of darkness which the fury of passion might prompt, or the straits of
poverty suggest. The act for which I may soon be suspended on the
gallows is the final consummation of a wilful disbelief in the
inspired record." The minister continues, "I was often with him, and
found him to possess an extensive acquaintance with the Scriptures,
and a considerable knowledge of our religious poets. As the person at
whom he fired, though severely wounded, was not killed, he seemed to
the last to expect a reprieve. The governor of the gaol entered his
cell half-an-hour before the time which had been fixed for his
execution, saying, 'I have a communication from the Secretary of
State.' A smile of hope played for a moment round his pallid face,
but it seemed only as if to give the gloom of despair the opportunity
of coming in deeper and more terrible shadows over his features, for
the governor instantly added, 'but there is nothing said respecting
you--_you must therefore die._' We were again alone, and pacing his
cell he said, with deep emotion, 'It is then a fact that I must
suffer the extreme penalty of the law. In a few minutes I shall be in
eternity, my wife will be a widow, and my children will be
fatherless, bearing part of my reproach, notwithstanding they had no
part in my guilt.' On his way to the place of execution we passed
through the turnkey's room. Seeing a lad seated in a distant corner,
he went to him, and said, 'Look at me, and learn never to stand in
the way of the ungodly, nor sit in the seat of the scorner of
truth.'"--_Evangelist._
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The influence of society upon man is great, and was intended to be
great. As the natural world is held together by the influence of
matter upon matter by the law of gravitation, so the moral world is
held together by the influence of mind upon mind. We are made to
attract and to be attracted, to influence and to be influenced, to
instruct and to be instructed. But this power of mind over mind is
not a neutral power, it is necessarily great for evil and for good.
Paul says that "Evil communications corrupt good manners." There is
nothing to be expected from evil companions but an increase of sin,
and an increase of punishment. The best is a briar, the most upright
sharper than a thorn-hedge, which will rob us of our fleece, if they
do not pierce our skin. Most likely they will do both.--_S. Thodey._
The literal meaning of the word _rahah,_ from which "companion"
comes, is to feed; boon-companions, who _feed_ together (chap.
xxix. 3). There is a play upon like Hebrew sounds, in "companion" and
"destroyed," _roheh_ and _roang._ The Greek _Theognis_ says, "Thou
shalt learn good from the good; but if thou wilt associate with the
bad, thou shalt lose even the mind thou hast." _Seneca_ says, "The
road is long by precept; it is short and effectual by example." What
one sees makes more impression than what one hears. As bad air
injures the strongest health, so association with the bad injures the
strongest mind.--_Fausset._
What you learn from bad habits and from bad society you will never
forget, and it will be a lasting pang to you. I tell you in all
sincerity, not as in the excitement of speech, but as I would confess
and have confessed before God, that I would give my right hand
to-night if I _could forget_ that which I have learned in evil
society; if I could tear from my remembrance the scenes which I have
witnessed, the transactions which have taken place before me.--_J. B.
Gough._
In the neighbourhood of Swansea, for miles round, no vegetation
exists, owing to the smoke from the large copper-works there: even
so, exposure to the influence of bad companions prevents man from
growing and flourishing in the Divine life.--_T. Jones._
It is not left to us to determine whether there shall be any
influence; only, what that influence shall be. Joash, while he
_walked with his wise_ guardian, was _wise._ But when, after his
guardian's death, he became _"a companion of fools,"_ he was
_"destroyed"_ (2 Chron. xxiv.). . . . The first warning to sinners
just plucked out of the fire, was--"Save yourselves from this
untoward generation" (Acts ii. 40).--_Bridges._
We shall never get the good "desire" (ver. 19) if we keep out among
the wicked. In heathen lands all are _"fools,"_ and therefore all do
badly. In Christian lands piety is in circles and in families, and
moves in lines. The mutual influences are immense. A noble way to be
_"wise,"_ is to go boldly among the good, confess Christ, and ask
their prayers and influence.--_Miller._
It is better--safer, I am sure it is--to ride alone than to have a
thief's company; and such is a wicked man, who will rob thee of
precious time, if he do thee no more mischief. The Nazarites, who
might drink no wine, were also forbidden to eat grapes, of which wine
is made. So we must not only avoid sin itself, but also the causes
and occasions thereof, amongst which bad company (the lime-twigs of
the devil) is the chiefest, especially to catch those natures which
are most swayed by others.--_Fuller._
Many scriptural illustrations press for notice. _The family of Lot,_
suffering from the fearful contamination of Sodom; _Rehoboam,_
following the counsel of his young companions in preference to that
of the experienced counsellors of his father, and losing thereby
five-sixths of his kingdom; _Jehoshaphat,_ associating with Ahab
"helping the ungodly, and loving them that hated the Lord" (2 Chron.
xvii., xix. 1, 2), wrath, therefore, coming upon him from
Jehovah.--_Wardlaw._
It is not talking with the wise, but walking with the wise that will
make you wise. It is not your commending and praising of the wise,
but your walking with the wise that will make you wise. It is not
your taking a few turns with the wise that will make you wise, but
your walking with the wise that will make you wise. There is no
getting much good by them that are good but by making them your
ordinary and constant companions. Ah, friends! you should do as
Joseph in Egypt, of whom the Scripture saith--Psa. cv. 22--(according
to the Hebrew phrase) that he tied the princes of Pharaoh's court
about his heart. If ever you would gain by the saints, you must bind
them upon your souls. The Jews have a proverb that two dry sticks put
to a green one will kindle it. The best way to be in a flame Godward,
Christward, heavenward, and holinessward, is to be among the dry
sticks, the kindle-coals, the saints; for as live coals kindle those
that are dead, so lively Christians will heat and enliven those that
are dead.--_Brooks._
_Character affected by intercourse. He that walks with religious men
will become religious._ Walking signifies a continued course of
conduct. To walk with religious men is not to mingle with them
occasionally, or to unite with them in performing some of the more
public duties of religion. Ahithophel, who died as a fool dieth,
walked with David to the house of God in company. It is not to live
in a pious family, for a person may do this without making its
members his associates. Nor does uniting with religious men in
promoting some of the great objects which the Christian world is now
pursuing, necessarily prove that we walk with them, for this may be
done from a wrong motive. To walk with them is to choose them for our
associates, our fellow travellers in the journey of life; and this
implies an agreement with them in our views and objects of pursuit.
Can two walk together, says the prophet, except they be agreed? In
order that two persons may walk together they must be agreed, first,
as to the place to which they will go, and secondly, they must agree
in opinion as to the way that leads to that place. If they disagree
on either point they will soon separate. Every religious man is
travelling towards heaven, and all who would walk with them must make
heaven the object of their pursuit. The only way to heaven is Jesus
Christ, and all who walk with religious persons must at least assent
to this truth although they may not immediately and cordially embrace
it. He who perseveres in this course will become religious. 1. The
simple fact that he chooses such associates proves that he is already
the subject of religious impressions--that the Spirit of God is
striving with him. 2. He will see and hear many things which
powerfully tend to increase and perpetuate his serious impressions.
He moves in a circle where God, the soul, and salvation are regarded
as of supreme importance--where religion is presented to him--not as
a cold abstraction, but living in the persons of its disciples. 3. No
one will continue to walk with religious persons after his serious
impressions are effaced, and it is presumed that no one who continued
to be the subject of religious impressions for any length of time
ever failed to become religious. It is true persons may be seriously
affected, occasionally, and perhaps for years together, and at
different seasons may associate much with religious characters
without becoming religious; but such persons cannot be said to walk
with good men in the sense of the text; for their religious
impressions are often effected for a considerable time, and long
intervals of carelessness succeed, during which they, in a measure,
forsake religious society.--_Payson._
It is not for us to let our hearts have their own way in the
selection of companions. On that choice depend interests too great to
be safely left to chance. The issue to be decided is not what herd
you shall graze with a few years before your spirit returns to the
dust; but what moral element you shall move in during the few and
evil days of your life, till your spirit returns to God who gave it.
I like this companion; he fascinates me; I cannot want him; an
enforced separation would be like tearing myself asunder. Well, if
that companion's heart be godless, and his steps already slipping
backward and downward, why not tear yourself asunder? The act will be
painful, no doubt, but "skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will
he give for his life."--_Arnot._
He that comes where sweet spices and ointments are stirring, doth
carry away some of the sweet savour, though he think not of it; so
holiness is such an elixir as by contraction (if there be any
disposition of goodness in the same metal), it will render it of the
property.--_Trapp._
All sorts of companions are market men, and they usually traffic
together, when they meet together, whether they be good or bad, the
wares being commonly precious or vile, according to the dispositions
of the persons who utter them.--_Dod._
It is not said, he that sitteth still with the wise, for both sitting
still, neither doth the one teach nor the other learn. But he that
when a wise man walketh in the ways of wisdom, walketh also with him
by following his example and steps, he it is that shall be wise. To
be with the wise, and not in their ways of wisdom, is to be out of
the way for getting any good by them. Be therefore with them so as
that their wisdom may be with thee.--_Jermin._
No person that is an enemy to God can be a friend to man. He that has
already proved himself ungrateful to the Author of every blessing
will not scruple, when it will serve his turn, to shake off a
fellow-worm like himself. He may render you instrumental to his own
purposes, but he will never benefit you.--_Bishop Coleridge._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 21.
PURSUIT AND REPAYMENT.
+I. Evil pursues sinners because sinners pursue evil.+ The huntsman
who pursues the hare in the direction of a precipice is pursuing a
course which, if continued, must be followed by evil. It is an evil
thing for him to follow such a trifle at such a risk. There is evil
before him in the form of the precipice, and evil will follow if he
continues to pursue his present course. Should he try his strength
against the law of gravitation by leaping over the precipice, he will
find that law will exact its penalty. There are but two things that
will prevent evil from pursuing him, either he must desist from his
present course or a great law of nature must be suspended. The first
alternative rests with himself, the second does not. He will find
that this "battle is to the strong," and that "the race is to the
swift," even to the mighty law which holds together the material
universe. So with sinners against the moral law. "Evil be to him who
evil thinks" is a wish that is always fulfilled. It is a law in
constant operation. The consequence of pursuing evil in the form of
evil thinking _is_ evil thinking, the consequence of evil feeling
_is_ evil feeling, the consequence of evil doing _is_ evil doing, for
it is the tendency of evil to repeat itself, and this in itself is a
punishment. Peter speaks of sinners who "cannot cease from sin"
(2 Pet. ii. 14). They have sinned until they have bound themselves in
fetters of sinful habit. Evil, in this sense, pursues them, and will
pursue them so long as they pursue it. Then there is, of course, the
positive retribution, which both in time and beyond time visits
pursuers of evil. Of this we have several times treated.
+II. Good men are repaid with good because their characters are
righteous.+ The law of repayment runs through nature. He who sows
seed is repaid by a harvest. All her forces--rain, sunlight, heat and
cold--combine to give back to the husbandman that which he has
entrusted to her care. And she repays of the same kind, wheat for the
sowing of wheat, thistles for the planting of thistles. She also
repays with liberal interest. One head of thistledown scattered over
a field will reproduce a hundred heads in a few months. One grain of
corn will produce an ear of thirty or forty grains. The law in the
kingdom of nature is also the law of the kingdom of grace. Evil sown,
as we have just seen under another metaphor, necessitates a reaping
of evil. Good sown endures a reaping of good. And grace is not behind
nature in liberal repayment. He who sows handfuls shall reap armfuls.
He that goes forth with the _seed basket_ returns with _sheaves_ (Ps.
cxxvi. 6). The one "corn of wheat bears much fruit" (John xii. 24).
This repayment begins in time, and extends beyond it. Righteousness
as well as sin is its own present reward, and is the present first
fruits. But the righteous man must wait for the "resurrection of the
just" for the abundant harvest.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
_"Evil"_ is rapacious in its gains. Each inch _"evil"_ holds. It
never lets back any advance. It is versatile to tempt, and ruins with
many instruments while the good, however, have just the opposite lot.
They gain by every advance. Each act that is holy in their lives is
rewarded by better acts and higher holiness on through their whole
probation,--nay, eternally! The pit is bottomless. But evil never
ceases to hound sinners and make them worse.--_Miller._
The reprobation here is very striking. "Evil _pursueth_ sinners." It
follows them every step. It keeps pace with the progress of time.
Each moment it comes nearer. Silent and unperceived it tracks them
through their whole course. Insensibly it gains upon them; and at
last--it may be suddenly and when least expected--it seizes and
destroys them.--_Wardlaw._
Not the smallest good, even "a cup of cold water to a disciple"
(Matt. x. 42), or honour shown to his servants (Matt. x. 41; 1 Kings
xvii. 16-23) shall "lose its reward" (Heb. vi. 10). And if a single
act is thus remembered much more "a course, a flight held out to the
end" (2 Tim. iv. 7, 8). How manifestly is this the constitution of
grace; that when perfect obedience can claim no recompense (Luke
xvii. 10), such unworthy, such defiled work should be so honoured
with an infinite overwhelming acceptance.--_Bridges._
To be out of the hands of evil is not to be free from it; for it
still pursueth sinners, and it ceaseth not until it be gotten to the
place where they are. . . . For, as St. Augustine saith, that God
doth not forthwith avenge sinners is His patience, not His
negligence. Wherefore it is to be feared lest by how much He stays
the longer that we may repent, by so much He will punish us the more,
if that we will not amend.--_Jermin._
Caius--Agrippa having suffered imprisonment for wishing him
emperor--when he came afterwards to the empire, the first thing he
did was to prefer Agrippa, and give him a chain of gold as heavy as
the chain of iron that was on him in prison. Those that lose anything
for God He seals them a bill of exchange of a double return.--_Trapp._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 22.
AN INHERITANCE INCORRUPTIBLE.
+I. A good man has always spiritual inheritance to leave his
children.+ He has always his own holy character and example. And this
is often of great service to them in a material point of view. Men
who have obtained fame in the world leave their children the
inheritance of a famous name, which is often a fortune in itself. The
son or daughter of a famous man can command positions of worldly
advantage which are closed against the children of obscure parents.
But while a famous father can leave his fame as an inheritance to his
children he cannot ensure to them the possession of the genius by
which he gained it. Talent is not hereditary, and it often happens
that a very gifted father has very common-place children. But moral
worth--a godly character--is an inheritance that not only makes a son
respected in the world for his father's sake, but is very likely to
make him also a partaker of the same godliness. A good man's
character is not hereditary, but it is very apt to propagate other
characters of the same kind. This inheritance of a good man is an
incorruptible inheritance. No inheritance of lands or money are
entirely out of reach of the changes and chances of human life, but
the example, and the memory, and the blessings which have come from a
godly parentage, make an inheritance which, like the heavenly one,
"fadeth not away." It is the best possible safeguard that a father
can leave his children against the temptations of the world, the
flesh, and the devil. The remembrance of what belief in the Gospel
did for a holy father has saved many a son for drifting on the
quicksands of infidelity. There have been times in the history of
many a child of godly parents, when such an anchor has been the only
one which has held them from "making shipwreck of faith" (1 Tim.
i. 19). The character of a good man is such an indisputable fact, and
is so entirely unexplainable on any other ground than that of the
existence of a supernatural and Divine power, that it constitutes an
unanswerable argument for the truth of revelation. And so with every
other form of evil that assails men. The inheritance which Christ has
left to his disciples--to His spiritual children--is His _character._
This has produced and reproduced its own kind through all the ages
since His sojourn upon earth. This has held them to the faith in the
dark days of persecution. And when the infidel himself has come face
to face with it, even he has been compelled to acknowledge the
intrinsic worth of the children's portion. This holy life, lived
among sinful men, has been the "unsearchable riches" (Ephes. iii. 8)
of one Christian generation after another, for more than eighteen
centuries, and it is by virtue of this inheritance that good men have
been enabled to transmit to their posterity their own godly lives and
examples.
+II. A good man may have a material as well as a moral inheritance to
bequeath.+ He may possess both character and substance. But the fact
that a man is good is no guarantee that he will have any worldly
wealth to leave behind him. If Lord Bacon's assertion be correct,
that "Prosperity is the blessing of the Old Testament, and adversity
the blessing of the New," he is quite as likely to die poor as rich.
Still there is often a blessing of some amount of material riches
given to honest labour, and probably there are far more godly men in
proportion to their number, who acquire _some_ inheritance to leave
behind them, than there are godless men. (See on verse 11, etc.)
+III. Good men sometimes inherit wealth which has been gathered by
bad men.+ It is not a universal rule, but it may be oftener fulfilled
than we are aware of. It may be inherited by generations of wicked
men and at last come into the hands of a just one. That it should be
so is seen to be a wise and good law of providence. 1. _Because a
good man will make a far better use of "the mammon of
unrighteousness."_ He will use it to minister to both the bodily and
spiritual needs of his fellow-creatures as well as his own.
2. _Because the laid-up wealth of the wicked has often been obtained
by defrauding the good._ God does not always cause it to be repaid to
the identical _persons_ who were thus defrauded, but He may often
cause it to be restored to identical _characters._ This proverb must
be taken to assert the straightforward motion of the wheels of
providence, although by reason of their "great height" (Ezek.
i. 18),--their vast circumference--they take a long time to go round.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The usurer lightly begets blind children that cannot see to keep what
their father left them. But when the father is gone to hell for
gathering, the son often follows for scattering. But God is
just.--_T. Adams._
That the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just appears to have
been a prominent feature of the Old Dispensation (chap. xxviii. 8;
Job xxvii. 16, 17), and it will be openly renewed in the latter-day
glory of the Church (Isa. lxi. 6).--_Bridges._
This is the direct promise of heaven (Psa. ciii. 17; Prov. xxii. 6).
That it ever fails, must be by palpable neglect. A man may be saved
himself, and lose his children; but the Bible speaks of this as the
parent's fault (1 Sam. iii. 13; Prov. xiii. 24), and brands it as the
great curse upon the earth (Mal. iv. 6). While the sinner not only
cannot send down his wealth, but cannot himself possess it. It is a
curse to him. It will be used for the saints (Matt.
xxv. 28).--_Miller._
It is quite clear that in this and other passages an inheritance is
regarded _as a good,_ and that no blame is attached to "the good man"
who leaves it to his children. The principle expressed in the latter
clause is the same as that laid down by the apostle, _"All things are
yours,"_ and, among other things, "the world." That may most truly be
called mine, from which I derive the greatest possible benefit it can
be made to yield. It would be strange, indeed, were I to wish
anything else, or anything more. . . . The wicked man calls his
wealth _his own._ But it is _God's._ God is the friend of His
children, and holds that property, like everything else, for their
good; so that it is _theirs_ by being _His._--_Wardlaw._
Personal goodness profiteth for posterity. God gives not to His
servants some small annuity for life only, as great men used to do,
but "keepeth mercy for thousands" of generations "of them that fear
Him." The opposite is not perpetually and universally true of every
wicked person, . . . but, together with their lands, they bequeath
their children their sins and punishments, which is far worse than
that legacy of leprosy that Joab left his issue (2 Sam.
iii. 29).--_Trapp._
An expression of trust like that in Eccles. ii. 26, that in the long
run the anomalies of the world are rendered even.--_Plumptre._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 23.
LAND AND ITS TILLERS.
+I. That untilled land+ (see Critical Notes) +possesses a latent
power to produce food.+ There are many things in nature in which
there exists a latent power to minister to man's needs; but his hand
must be put forth to arouse the sleeping power. There is heat in coal
to warm him, but he must kindle the coal before it will put it forth.
So in the earth, there are stores of life-giving power wrapped up in
its bosom, but the hand of man must till it before it will yield him
food. And it will yield food to the poor man as well as to the rich;
his hard toil will be rewarded by receiving bread for his labour.
+II. That though much food is to be got out of the land by the poor
man, yet more is to be got out of it by the rich.+ This is implied in
the contrast, though it is not directly expressed.--(See Fausset's
Note in the Comments.) The poor man cannot spend so much upon his
land as the rich man can. He can give little beside hard labour,
while the man who possesses wealth can call in every appliance to
increase the fruitfulness of the land. It is well known that the more
liberally a land is farmed the more abundant will be the crop.
+III. Yet want of judgment--_i.e.,_ a sense of justice, often leads a
rich man to neglect to cultivate his land so as to increase its power
of yielding food.+ All landowners are responsible to God for a right
use of His earth. Holding in their hands, as they do, the power of
making food abundant or scarce, they have much for which to give an
account to Him whose stewards they are. When they turn into
hunting-grounds and parks for their own exclusive use acres of land
which, if cultivated, would yield much food, and thus lighten the
burdens of their poorer fellow-creatures, they "destroy it for want
of judgment," or "justice."
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
By the rule of interpretation by the contrast of opposites, and by
supplying the wanting member in one clause from its opposite
expressed in the other clause, the sense is, "But there is food
(wealth) possessed by rich men that is destroyed for want of honesty
in its acquisition and its employment." The poor man's (honest)
labour forms the contrast to the rich man's "want of justice" in his
acquisitions. The _newly_ tilled land of the poor forms the contrast
to the rich man's possessions held for some time.--_Fausset._
What is the practical or extended application? If talents lie
inactive, or if their activity is not wisely directed, a rich harvest
is _destroyed for want of judgment._ The same ruin flows from a
neglect of religious advantages. The harvest of grace withers into a
famine. Slothful professor! rouse thyself to _till_ the ground; else
thou wilt starve for want of _food._ Then let thy roused energy be
directed by a _sound judgment;_ for want of which, the fruits of
industry, temporal, intellectual, and spiritual, will run to
waste.--_Bridges._
There seems an interesting connection between the former verse and
this. Talk of _inheritances!_ says the poor man, with his scanty
means and daily hard toil; _we_ have no inheritance, either _from_
our fathers, or _for_ our children: all is homely with us, and likely
to remain so. Well, says Solomon, the poor man is not without his
consolations, even of a temporal nature, _"much food is in the
tillage of the poor."_ The maxim is not to be confined to the one
kind of labour specified, but extends equally to all the different
modes in which the poor make their daily bread. The poor peasant, who
cultivates his plot industriously and by "the sweat of his brow,"
will, through the Divine blessing, procure thereby an ample supply of
_food_ for himself and his family, and industry and tidy economy will
make the cottage fireside and table snug and comfortable, and its
lowly tenants will enjoy plenty, though in a plain and homely form.
On the other hand, how often in the case of those who obtain
_inheritances_ may the poor see the saying verified, "There is that
is destroyed for want of _judgment._" By prodigality, by bad
management, they waste their fortunes. Their lands are extensive, but
unproductive; or if productive, the product is mis-spent and
squandered; it goes, no one can tell how. To such persons the homely
comfort of the poor is a just object of envy; far more, in many
cases, than the wealth of the rich is to the poor.--_Wardlaw._
The proverbial sense is, that a little is made much by God's blessing
and pains, and that much is made little by wickedness and
carelessness.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 24.
THE CHILD AND THE ROD.
+I. Pain is a necessary instrument in human training.+ The rod is to
be included in the means of education. Some natures need an
experience of pain to quicken their _mental_ capabilities. Sometimes
children are like untilled land (see ver. 23), they have large
capabilities lying dormant, which will not awaken unless they are
subjected to severe discipline and punished for their shortcomings.
And what is necessary in intellectual training is also necessary in
moral training. Children must be made to feel that pain is the
outcome of transgression, and evil habits must if possible be crushed
while in the bud. They can be overcome then at the expense of far
less suffering than when they have taken firmer hold, and the pain is
as nothing compared with that which the habits themselves will
inflict if they are allowed to go on through life and enthrall the
soul entirely. A thorn which has but just entered the skin can be
extracted with a very small amount of suffering, even by an unskilful
hand; if left for a few days it may produce a festering wound; if not
extracted at all, it may end in mortification. The fear of suffering
is also a great _preventive_ of sin. The Great Father of men uses it
as an instrument to dissuade men from breaking His laws. He warns
them, over and over again, of the suffering which they will bring
upon themselves if they disobey His commands and their experience of
the suffering that has followed sin in the past often leads them to
avoid it in the future. And what is effectual in the training of men
is effectual also with children. They will often avoid the repetition
of an act which they know has brought them punishment before and will
do so again. This fear of pain is not the highest motive for
abstinence from wrong-doing, but in both the child and the man it may
be the foundation of an upbuilding of character which shall by-and-by
go on growing in goodness without this instrumentality.
+II. That infliction of pain is compatible with the highest love, and
is often a token of it.+ The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews
tells us that God scourges His children whenever He sees that they
need it. And yet they have become His children only by the exercise
of His own Infinite love. But we know that He chastens not for His
pleasure, but for our profit (Heb. xii. 10); that He has love and
wisdom enough to see the "far-off interest of tears." So it is the
father or mother, who truly loves his or her child, who is willing to
undergo the present suffering of inflicting pain in order to ensure a
future blessing to their children. "You only have I known of all the
families of the earth; _therefore_ I will punish you for your
iniquities" (Amos iii. 2). What is true of the Divine parent is true
also of the human. It follows--
+III. That the neglect of chastisement is a proof of the want of real
love.+ "He that spareth his rod _hateth_ his son." What should we
think of a father who would see his child bleed to death rather than
bind up the wound, because in so doing he would inflict some present
bodily pain upon the child, and some mental suffering upon himself?
Or of the physician who would not use the knife to stop the progress
of mortal disease because the patient shrinks from the incision, and
he himself is averse to the sight of blood? We should say they were
destroyers of life which had been entrusted to them to preserve. But
what shall we say of a parent who is so fond of his child that he
cannot inflict pain upon him now for deeds that, if repeated until
they become habits, will ruin him for time and for eternity? Such
sickly sentimentalism in a parent makes him unworthy of his name, and
turns him who should have been his child's highest earthly blessing
into his direst curse. Many inmates of our gaols are there because
they have been the victims of this so-called love; and when God sums
up their misdeeds a large portion of the guilt will fall elsewhere
than on the child cursed by such a parent.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Fond parents think it love (that spares the rod), but Divine wisdom
calls it hatred.--_John Howe._
The discipline of our children must commence with self-discipline.
Nature teaches us to love them much. But we want a controlling
principle to teach us to love them wisely. The indulgence of our
children has its root in self-indulgence.--_Bridges._
The phrase "betimes," or "early in the morning," admonisheth parents
to procure the means of their children's welfare before all other
matters; and, as it were, as soon as they rise out of their beds. The
Lord be merciful to us for the neglect of this duty; for if we have
any worldly business to do we go first about that, and then teach and
instruct our children at our leisure. O reckless carelessness about
the chiefest matters! Oh that as we use to feed our children in the
morning so we could once be brought to instruct them also
betimes.--_Muffet._
Justice must be observed in the correction of children. 1. That there
is a fault committed. 2. That the fault so committed deserveth
punishment. 3. That the punishment do not exceed the quality of the
fault, which will otherwise seem to rage and revenge rather than to
chastise for amendment.--_Spencer._
_To spare the rod_ in the first clause being opposed to _chastening_
in the second, by the rod must be meant not only that particular
instrument of punishment, but everything besides that may prove the
means of our correction and amendment. And by chastisement is here
intended every means of correction, every means of effecting what we
intend by chastening, whether it be reproof, restraint of liberty,
disappointment of our children's wills, or corporal punishment. By
_loving_ and _hating_ is not here meant the exerting actually those
passions in the heart, for then the text would be untrue, but the
acting agreeably to the _reason,_ and not the _blindness_ of those
passions; the producing such effects as are in God's account, and in
wise men's too, and in our own when freed from partial prejudices;
the consequences and fruits of love and hatred acting regularly, such
as are commonly esteemed the effects of those two causes, whether
they indeed proceed from them or no. For if we are to reckon of love
or hatred by the effects, then it is easy to discern when parents
hate their children, namely, when, through neglect or fondness, they
permit them to enter on a course of ruin, and so let them fall into
such miseries as the utmost hatred of their inveterate enemies could
neither wish nor make them greater, whatever love there may be at the
bottom. A mother is as much a murderess who stifles her child in a
bed of roses as she that does it with a pillow-bear _(pillow-case)._
The end and mischief is as great, though the means and instrument be
not the same.--_Bishop Fleetwood._
He that spareth the rod from his son maketh him to be _his rod,_
wherewith he whips himself, and wherewith God whips both of them. It
is better thy son should feel thy rod than thou feel the sorrow of
his wicked life. And do not _hate_ him in not correcting of him, lest
he _hate thee_ by thy not correcting of him, and God shew His hatred
against both by His wrath upon you.--_Jermin._
The Koh-i-noor diamond, when it came into the Queen's possession, was
a mis-shapen lump. It was very desirable to get its corners cut off
and all its sides reduced to symmetry; but no unskilful hand was
permitted to touch it. Men of science were summoned to consider its
nature and capabilities. They examined the form of its crystals and
the consistency of its parts. They considered the direction of the
grain, and the side on which it would bear a pressure. With their
instructions, the jewel was placed in the hands of an experienced
lapidary, and by long, patient, careful labour, its sides were ground
down to the desired proportions. The gem was hard, and needed a heavy
pressure; the gem was precious, and every precaution was taken which
science and skill could suggest to get it polished into shape without
cracking it in the process. The effort was successful. The hard
diamond was rubbed down into forms of beauty, and yet sustained no
damage by the greatness of the pressure to which it was subjected.
"Jewels, bright jewels," in the form of little children, are the
heritage which God gives to every parent. They are unshapely and need
to be polished; they are brittle and so liable to be permanently
injured by the pressure; but they are stones of peculiar
preciousness, and if they were successfully polished they would shine
as stars for ever and ever, giving off, from their undimming edge,
more brilliantly than other creatures can, the glory which they get
from the Sun of Righteousness. Those who possess these diamonds in
the rough should neither strike them unskilfully nor let them be
uncut. . . . Prayer and pains must go together in this difficult
work. Lay the whole case before our Father in heaven; this will take
the hardness out of the correction, without diminishing its
strength.--_Arnot._
Correction is a kind of cure, saith the philosopher (Arist. _Ethic._
lib. ii.), the likeliest way to save the child's soul; where, yet,
saith Bernard, it is the care of the child that is charged upon the
parent, not the cure, that is God's work alone.--_Trapp._
In order to form the minds of children, the first thing to be done is
_to conquer the will._ To inform the understanding is a work of time,
and must, with children, proceed by slow degrees, as they are able to
bear it; but the subjecting of the will must be done at once, _and
the sooner the better;_ for, by neglecting timely correction, they
will contract a stubbornness and obstinacy which are hardly ever
conquered, and not without using such severity as would be as painful
to me as to the child. I insist upon the conquering of the will
betimes, because this is the only strong and rational foundation of a
religious education, without which both precept and example will be
ineffectual. But when this is thoroughly done, a child is capable of
being governed by the wisdom and piety of its parents till its own
understanding comes to maturity, and the principles of religion have
taken root in the mind.--_Mrs. S. Wesley._
It is _his_ rod that must be used, the rod of a parent, not the rod
of a servant.--_Henry._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 25.
WANT AND SATISFACTION.
+I. The limited truth of the assertion in relation both to the
righteous and the wicked.+ Read in the light of personal experience,
and in the light of history, it is found _true,_ and is found _not
true_ in the case of the righteous. Elijah _ate to satisfaction_
beside the brook Cherith, while many of his idolatrous countrymen
suffered _want._ But Paul was often in hunger (2 Cor. xi. 27), while
Nero lived in luxury. Christians have died from hunger, and others
have had all their bodily wants supplied all their lives, and
sometimes by most remarkable providential interpositions. Godliness
is often profitable in this sense for the "life that now is" (1 Tim.
iv. 8), but not always, and wickedness often brings a man literally
to the condition of the prodigal when he would "fain have filled his
belly with the husks that the swine did eat;" but many a wicked man,
like him of the parable (Luke xvi. 19), have "fared sumptuously every
day" from their cradle to their grave. To take our text as absolutely
true of material food would be to contradict the testimony of
Scripture itself.
+II. Its absolute truth in relation to both characters.+ 1. _That
wickedness gives a man no real satisfaction is a fact of experience._
Men have testified over and over again that while they lived in sin
they knew nothing of real heart-satisfaction and rest, and have borne
witness to the words of St. Augustine, who spoke from experience when
he said, "Thou hast made us for thyself, and the heart is restless
till it finds rest in Thee." A man who feeds upon unwholesome food is
always in want, because that upon which he feeds is not suited to
meet the demands of his physical frame, so it is with the soul of a
godless man. 2. _The history of the world testifies that it is so._
The unrest of the ungodly is the explanation of much of the ambition,
of many of the selfish schemes of some men, as well as the voluntary
asceticism, the self-imposed sufferings of others. The key to both is
that they have spent _"money for that which is not bread, and their
labour for that which satisfieth not"_ (Isa. lv. 2). The teaching of
Christ confirms it. Want was the condition of the prodigal; he wanted
the bread which his father's home and table alone could supply.
"Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, ye
have no life in you" (John vi. 53). On this subject see Dr. Arnot's
remarks on verse 12 in the comments on that verse. 3. _That there is
satisfaction in sainthood is declared by Christ, and testified to be
true by all His followers._ The bread upon which a renewed man feeds
is the Divine Word--the thoughts of God in the abstract, and the
personal thought or word _Jesus Christ._ "As the living Father hath
sent Me and I live by the Father, so he that eateth Me shall live by
Me" (John vi. 57). And life is but another word for satisfaction. "He
that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly
shall flow rivers of living water" (John vii. 38). Millions of men
and women in all circumstances, both poor and rich in worldly wealth,
have set their "seal that God is true" (John iii. 33) when He invites
men to "hearken diligently unto Him, and eat that which is good, and
let their souls delight themselves in fatness" (Isa. lv. 2).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
One of the confidences of the wicked is that he, at least, has his
pleasure in this world. The inspired Solomon denies it. He himself
has left us an experience (Eccles. i). The righteous man seeks
righteousness and peace, and these things do satisfy him. He seeks
them, not as the world does, under a mistake, but for what they
really are. He seeks them more and more as he knows them better, and
shall be seeking them and enjoying them though eternal ages. _"But
the wicked,"_ even in his _"belly,"_ wants. His delights, even of the
more carnal sort, are not to be directly gazed at. If they are, they
vanish. He cannot trust himself to theorise over any solid pleasures.
So hollow are they that he would not live over again the history of
the past, and so poor that he grows tired of enjoying them.--_Miller._
Have he more or less, he hath that which satisfies him. Nature is
content with little, grace with less. If Jacob may have but "bread to
eat and raiment to put on" it sufficeth him; and this he dare be bold
to promise himself. Beg his bread he hopes he shall not, but if he
should, he can say with Luther (who made many a meal of a broiled
herring) "Let us be content to fare hard here: have we not the bread
that came down from heaven?"--_Trapp._
To have to eat is the common mercy of God, who openeth His hand and
feedeth all things living. To have enough to eat is a great mercy in
itself, and greater than man's nature, which hath never enough of
sinning anyway deserveth; but to be _satisfied_ with that which is
enough is a peculiar property bestowed on the righteous. The belly of
the wicked wanting enough to eat in some degree is punished for
feeding too greedily on the husks of sin. Wanting all food is more
hardly punished, and it may be for the hardness of their hearts in
resisting all instruction; but that it shall _want_ though it have
enough, this is a severe punishment of wickedness, though thought to
be the least. The wise man doth not speak of the want of the _mouth_
of the wicked as showing that the mouth should have sufficient, and
yet the belly be punished with want in not being satisfied.--_Jermin._
_HOMILETIC TREATMENT OF THE CHAPTER AS A WHOLE._
"The true Christian education of children." (1) Its basis: God's Word
(vers. 1, 13, 14); (2) Its means: Love and strictness in inculcating
God's Word (vers. 1, 18, 24); (3) Its aim: Guidance of the youth to
the promotion of his temporal and eternal welfare (vers. 2 sq. 16
sq.)--_Lange's Commentary._
* * * * * *
CHAPTER XIV.
CRITICAL NOTES.--+1. Wise woman,+ or "woman's wisdom." +2. He that
walketh,+ etc., or, "He walketh in his uprightness who feareth
Jehovah, and perverse in his ways is he that despiseth Him"
_(Delitzsch.)_ +3. Rod,+ or "sceptre." Zöckler reads, "In the mouth of
a fool is a rod _for_ his pride." Stuart, "Haughtiness is a rod,"
etc. +5.+ Miller here translates, "He who witnesses things correctly,
does not lie; but of a deceived witness the very breath is lies" (See
his comments on the verse). +6.+ Rather, "The scorner has sought
wisdom," etc. +7.+ Stuart translates the latter clause, "_for_ thou
hast not discerned," etc.; Miller, "_and_ thou shalt not know," etc.
+8. Deceit,+ or "deception." +9.+ Many translators read this verse,
"The sacrifice," or "the sin-offering, makes a sport of," or "mocks
fools." So Zöckler, Elster, Ewald, Stuart, Wordsworth, etc. Miller
translates, "Sin makes a mock at fools." +Among,+ or "to."
+10.+ Zöckler reads the latter clause, "Let no stranger," etc. Miller
renders the whole verse, "A knowing heart is a bitterness to itself;
but with its joy it does not hold intercourse as an enemy."
+11. Tabernacle,+ "tent." +13. The heart is sorrowful,+ or "will be"
(perchance). +14. Filled with,+ _i.e.,_ "satisfied with." Stuart
translates the latter clause, "Away from him is the good man,"
_i.e.,_ he will keep aloof from the backslider. +16. Rageth,+ "is
presumptuous," or "haughty." +21. Poor,+ or "suffering"
_(Delitzsch)._ +24.+ Or, "It is a crown to the wise when they are
rich, but the folly of fools remains folly" _(Delitzsch)._
+28.+ Miller translates, "In a _great_ people." +30. A sound heart,+
"a quiet heart." +Envy,+ "passion," "perturbation." +32. Driven
forth,+ or "thrust lower" _(Miller)._ Delitzsch translates, "When
misfortune befals him, the wicked is overthrown, but the righteous
hath hope even in his death." +34.+ The Hebrew word for _reproach_
means also "mercy." Hence Gejer and Miller translate "Mercy for
nations is the sin-offering," the word _sin_ being often used to
express the sin-offering. +35.+ Miller reads, "The kindness of a king
is a wise servant, but his wrath becomes one that bringeth shame"
(See his comments).
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 1.
THE HOUSE BUILDER AND THE HOUSE DESTROYER.
+I. A woman's special sphere of work--her house.+ In this word is
included all that in any way relates to the home life. Woman's
relation to it is three-fold. 1. _The house--properly so-called--the
interior of the building, is under her especial care._ It is her
temple of service, she is its priestess. As the female priestess in
the Roman temple and the Hebrew priest in the temple of God were
responsible for the internal order of their temples, so is every
woman responsible for the order, the cleanliness, and comfort of the
house of which she is the social priestess. It is _her_ house, and in
it she is expected to perform duties to which she is not called in
any other house. Her oversight and presence, if not her actual
labour, are indispensable to the proper arrangement of everything in
it. 2. _The affairs or business of the house is her special care._ It
is for her to preside over the domestic economy of the house--over
that which we call _housekeeping._ All transactions of this nature
seem naturally to fall within her jurisdiction, and it looks odd and
out of place to see them in other hands. 3. _She is specially related
to the life of the house._ If she is a mother, she, above all others,
has the charge of the children, her opportunities for influencing
them are greater than those possessed by the father. Her life is
always before them. Her words are treasured up and repeated by them.
If she is a mistress, the servants are under her special jurisdiction
and guidance.
+II. The wise woman is a social architect.+ She "builds her house."
1. _Building implies a plan._ No man sets about building a house
without first having a plan, which is well considered in proportion
to the wisdom of the builder. No argument-builder, with any wisdom,
enters into an argument without first considering what he is going to
do, and how he is going to do it, in order, if possible, to arrive at
an unanswerable conclusion. So, to build a house in the sense of the
text, there must be a plan of action. Every wise woman has an end in
view in the government of her household. She has plans in relation to
each department. She knows what she purposes to do before she begins
to do anything. 2. _Building implies personal exertion on the part of
the architect._ All his work is not done when he has drawn the plan
and issued his orders. He must see that they are executed. He must,
if needful, show how they are to be carried out. In times of
emergency the general of an army must--like Napoleon at the Bridge of
Lodi--engage himself in a hand-to-hand fight with the enemy. So will
a wise woman. She does not always say, "Go," but sometimes, "Come."
She does not say, "_That_ is the way," when "_This_ is the way" is
necessary. She never contents herself with saying, "Do this," without
assuring herself that _it is_ done. 3. _Building implies a union of
diverse materials to form a complete whole._ Many and diverse
materials are brought together to build a house. It would be
impossible to erect a building of usefulness and beauty of one
material alone. So a wise woman brings together many different
elements, and blends them in due proportion, in order to make the
home-life true, and beautiful, and good. Her wisdom is shown in
developing the abilities and capacities of each member of the
household, so that each may contribute to the strength and comfort of
the whole. Upon the female head of the house, more than upon anyone
else, depends the unity, peace, and concord of this temple of living
stones.
+III. An unwise woman, who is at the head of a house, caricatures her
position by her conduct.+ Her position implies that she is a
builder-up. Her conduct has the effect of pulling down. A clown upon
a kingly throne is not more out of place than a foolish woman who
bears the name of mistress, wife, and mother. The reins are in her
hands, but she does not know how to guide the chariot; the materials
are in her possession but she has no skill to use them. She is not
only no centre of unity, she is a source of discord; she not only
cannot build the house herself but she makes it impossible for
anybody else to do anything towards it. She is not only no "crown to
her husband," but she is "rottenness to his bones" (chap. xii. 4).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
A good wife is heaven's last best gift to a man; his angel of mercy;
minister of graces innumerable; his gem of many virtues; his casket
of jewels; her voice, his sweetest music; her smiles, his brightest
day; her kiss, the guardian of his innocence; her arms, the pale of
his safety; the balm of his health, the balsam of his life; her
industry, his surest wealth; her economy, his safest steward; her
lips, his faithful counsellors; her bosom, the softest pillow of his
cares; and her prayers, the ablest advocates of heaven's blessings on
his head.--_Jeremy Taylor._
The following is a translation of a Welsh Triad:--A good wife is
modest, void of deceit, and obedient; pure of conscience, gracious of
tongue, and true to her husband; her heart not proud, her manners
affable, and her bosom full of compassion for the poor, labouring to
be tidy, skilful of hand, and fond of praying to God; her
conversation amiable, her dress decent, and her house orderly; quick
of hand, quick of eye, and quick of understanding; her face
benignant, her head intelligent, and provident, neighbourly, gentle,
and of a liberal way of thinking; able in directing, providing what
is wanting, and a good mother to her children; loving her husband,
loving peace, and God.--_New Handbook of Illustration._
_"House"_ means _all interests._ "Has built" is preterite. If all
interests are prosperous at present, it has been the work of the
past. The second clause wisely returns to the future, which we
commonly translate as the present, because the act is steadily
running on, and includes both the present and the future. _Wisdom in
woman_ has built _her house,_ beginning a long time ago; but
_"folly"_ in woman is an affair of the present. If it had been at
work long, it would have had no house to pull down. As entering upon
the work of the wise, ungodly mothers tear down the house which
generations of the righteous have been slowly building. The grand
comment, however, is that this womanly wisdom or wise woman, like the
woman of grace (chap. ix. 16), or woman of folly (chap. ix. 13) has
an allegoric meaning. Women do much toward building up. But the text
means more, that _"wisdom,"_ as personified, is the only builder of a
_"house,"_ and _"folly,"_ as impenitence, all that can pull it
down.--_Miller._
Only the characteristic wisdom of _woman_ (not that of the man) is
able to "build itself a house," _i.e.,_ to make possible a household
in the true sense of the word; for the woman alone has the capacity
circumspectly to look through the multitude of individual household
wants, and carefully to satisfy them; and also because the various
activities of the members of a family can be combined in a harmonious
unity only by the influence, partly regulative, and partly fostering,
of a feminine character, gently but steadily efficient. But where
there is wanting to the mistress of a house this wisdom attainable
only by her, and appropriate only to her, then that is irrecoverably
lost which first binds in a moral fellowship those connected by
relationship of blood--that which makes the house, from a mere place
of abode, to be the spiritual nursery of individuals organically
associated.--_Elster._
The fullest recognition that has as yet met us of the importance of
woman, for good or evil, in all human society.--_Plumptre._
With calm, clear eyes, deep insight, ready sympathy; active, without
bustle; alert, without over-anxious vigilance; ignorant perchance of
æsthetic rules, yet with subtle touches transforming into a fine
picture the home-spun canvas, and with soft fairy music blending into
harmony the noises of the day; apathetic about stocks and shares, and
far-off millions; but with a keen appreciation of new sovereigns and
no disdain for sixpences; a mere formalist, if professing interest in
city improvements and parochial reforms, but as touching torn
curtains and threadbare carpets much exercised in spirit; sure that
the commotions of Europe will all come right, but shedding bitter
tears at any outburst of juvenile waywardness, and praying earnestly,
"Oh, that Ishmael may live before thee!" with small belief in the
transcendental philosophy, and allowing that much may be said on both
sides, but in the interpretation of the Ten Commandments positive,
unreasoning, absolute; in theology hopelessly confounding the
theology of the schools, and in an innocent way adopting half the
heresies, but drinking direct from the fountain that living water
which others prefer, chalybeate, through the iron pipe, or ærated
from the filtering pond, and in a style which Calvin or Grotius might
equally envy teaching the little ones the love of the Saviour; the
angel of the house moulds a family for heaven, and by dint of holy
example, and gentle control, her early and most efficacious ministry
goes farther than any other to lay the foundations of future
excellence, and train up sons and daughters for the Lord
Almighty.--_Dr. Jas. Hamilton._
St. Ambrose noteth that when God asked Abraham, "Where is thy wife,
Sarah?"--He was not ignorant where Sarah was; but that He asked the
question that by Abraham's answer, "Behold, in the tent," He might
teach women where they ought to be--namely, in the house, and not so
much in the house as in the affairs of the house, making ready
provision to entertain God as Sarah was.--_Jermin._
The modest virgin, the prudent wife, or the careful matron, are much
more serviceable in life than petticoated philosophers, blustering
heroines, or virago queens. She who makes her husband and her
children happy, who reclaims the one from vice and trains the other
to virtue, is a much greater character than ladies described in
romance, whose whole occupation is to murder mankind with shafts from
their quiver or their eyes.--_Goldsmith._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 2.
FEARING AND DESPISING THE LORD.
+I. A wholesome fear.+ "The fear of the Lord." When we fear to grieve
or offend a person because of his or her goodness the fear does not
spring from dread of their power, but from our high estimate of their
character. It may exist where there is no power to injure. Strong men
have sometimes had this fear for little children. There is also a
fear which may spring from a conception of both goodness and power.
It is the feeling which a child has for a good parent. There is a
consciousness of the parent's goodness, and also a consciousness of
his power to enforce his authority. In proportion as these elements
are combined in relation to human creatures the fear which men have
for them is wholesome--is salutary. Benevolence alone tends to weaken
the fear--to lessen the reverence. Power alone is likely to produce
hatred as well as fear. But when benevolence is linked with power it
looks doubly attractive. The fear which a good man has for God arises
from a conception of both the Infinite power and Infinite love of the
Divine Father. If the first were wanting it would lack reverence; if
the latter it would be a fear that "hath torment."
+II. The proof that a man possesses this wholesome fear.+ "He walks
_uprightly._" Fear is a feeling of the mind. It can only be proved to
exist when it brings forth action. Uprightness of life is an
unanswerable proof that a man speaks truly when he says that he fears
the Lord. God asks for no greater (Gen. xvii. 1, 2). This
demonstration does not consist in a single act of integrity, but in a
constant succession of acts, in a habit of life. It is a _walk._ (On
"walking uprightly," see on chap. x. 9, 10, page 153.)
+III. The character of a perverse man--of a man whose walk is not
upright.+ He is a "despiser of God." His life proves it, even if his
words deny it. We despise that to which we do not attach a due value.
All men who perversely refuse to accept God's plan of salvation
_despise_ both the "riches of His goodness and forbearance and
long-suffering," which are intended to "lead them to repentance"
(Rom. ii. 4), and also that "power of His anger," of which no man can
form an estimate (Psalm xc. 11).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
+I. Grace and sin in their true colours.+ Grace reigning is a
reverence of God. Sin reigning is no less a contempt of God; in
_this,_ more than in anything, sin appears exceeding sinful, that it
despises God, whom angels adore. +II. Grace and sin in their true
light.+ By this we know a man that has grace, and the fear of God,
reigning in him, he makes conscience of his actions, is faithful to
God and man. But on the contrary, he that wilfully follows his own
way, is a wicked man, however he pretend to devotion.--_Henry._
A man walking over a field has a certain _level_ course (if there be
such) that he naturally follows. If he walk not _level,_ or if he
turn constantly out of his way, men think him either drunk or mad. It
is this reasonable instinct of our nature that our text embodies. We
do not say _uprightness,_ but _"levelness,"_ for it agrees with the
idea of walking. Such meaning is, that folly is self-condemned; that
if a man would put one foot before another, or mentally move as he
himself thinks level and right, he would practically _"fear"_ God;
but that he drops out of his own "way," and walks brokenly, and with
change of gait. It is careless to define _fear_ as anything beside
_fear_ itself. A holy _fear,_ however, is not terror; and yet a being
afraid more really and more tremblingly often than the sinner. It is
remarkable that when men have escaped wrath they begin most healthily
to _fear_ it, and when men are faithless even to their own ways, they
despise the most the law of the Almighty. This text, like many
another, is pregnant. Pregnant texts are ambidextrous, and the
alternative meanings, though distinct, are mutually embracing.
Another sense is grammatical and equivalent in thought. It would read
_"His"_ levelness, and _His_ ways, referring to Jehovah. It is only
substituting capitals. It would mean, _"He that walks in God's level
track fears Him; but he that is turned out of God's way,"_ that is,
he that has got out of the line for which he was made, instead of
_fearing,_ as he might, chooses that horrid moment for despising God.
He would rank this higher than an ambiguity; for God's ways and man's
ways, when they are _levelness_ and suited to our step, are the same
blessed track, for we are created in the image of God.--_Miller._
He that walketh so that the sincerity of his heart maketh the
uprightness to be _his,_ for a feigned uprightness is of the devil,
not a man's own. God is feared where goodness is embraced. And, as
St. Basil speaketh, the despising of the laws is the reproach of the
lawmaker.--_Jermin._
Here is consolation to faithful men, though not void of infirmities,
against the temptations of Satan, the calumniations of wicked men,
and the fears of their own hearts. None are so much accused of
contempt against God as those which are most religious. The devil
seeketh to persuade them there is nothing in them but fraud. Sinful
men, when they can charge against them no misdemeanours or lewdness
of life, exclaim that they are hypocrites, and many doubts arise in
their own souls by reason of the manifold imperfections of their
lives. But are they desirous impartially to keep every commandment,
if their power were answerable to their will? Do they endeavour to
please God, though they cannot do it perfectly? Then they are upright
in their ways, and walk in the law of the Lord; then God testifieth
of them here, that they are of the number of them that fear Him, and
elsewhere He testifieth that all those that fear Him they are
blessed.--_Dod._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 3.
SPEECH A ROD.
+I. Speech is a rod because it is emblematic of power.+ A rod is an
emblem of position and authority. It represents more than it is.
Speech is a sign of man's superiority to animal creation. Words in
themselves are not much, but they are mighty because of what they
represent, viz., the soul of man. The sceptre of a king may not in
itself be of much value, but it is of worth because of what it
signifies.
+II. Speech will be man's destruction or salvation according to his
character.+ The mouth of the fool represents the soul of the fool. We
have before noted the unwisdom and danger of him who is too proud to
receive instruction (see chap. xi. 1, page 192; xiii. 18, etc.). His
proud boasting speech will by-and-by become the cause of his
chastisement--a rod for his own back. And the godly wise speech of
the wise will be the means of his preservation and honour (See on
chap. xii. 5-8, page 255, vers. 17-19, page 274).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The fool's rod of pride is his _tongue,_ wherewith he assails and
strikes others. But it recoils on himself. The instrument of
punishment is called a rod, not a sword, to denote the contumely with
which the proud shall be visited.--_Fausset._
The _rod in the mouth_ is often sharper than the rod in the hand
(Jer. xviii. 18). Sometimes it strikes against God (Exod. v. 2; Psa.
xii. 3, 4; 2 Kings xix. 10); sometimes it is "the rod of His anger
against His people" (Isa. x. 5) permitted (Rev. xiii. 5) yet
restrained (Psalm cxxv. 3). Always in the end it is _the rod_ for the
_fool_ himself (Psa. lxiv. 8).--_Bridges._
The _"mouth"_ is the great word in the Proverbs for our whole earthly
agency. The word translated _"rod"_ is the favourite emblem of
sovereignty. A fool's life-work or energy is his sovereignty, by
which he would carve his way. But it is a _"sceptre of pride."_ His
kingship is a notion of pride. But the _"lips of the wise"_ do really
win, and do really govern. They have a true sceptre which shall
really guard them.--_Miller._
The lips of the wise preserve them. 1. _From doing wrong to others,_
in their loving mildness. 2. _From suffering wrong from others,_ by a
wary heedfulness. 3. _From the rod of God's anger,_ in a humble
craving pardon for their errors. The former part of this verse St.
Gregory applieth unto arrogant preachers, who desire more sharply to
reprove their afflicted hearers, than sweetly to comfort them, for
they study more how they may condemn evil things by blaming of them,
than how they may commend good things by praising them. They always
desire those things which, by fierce chiding, they may beat
upon.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 4.
THE CLEAN CRIB.
+I. An empty and clean crib does not fulfil the end for which it was
made.+ It was made for use; it was made to hold food for the ox, who
earns, by his labour, the means of keeping it full. When God first
created this world, and saw it lie before him in all its unsullied
beauty, He said that it _was very good._ But, beautiful as it was, it
was not to remain simply beautiful--it was to fulfil a higher
purpose: it was to be a dwelling-place for man. And God gave it into
the hands of men to build cities in it, to dig quarries in it, to mar
in many respects its first beauty and order, but to make it of more
real worth as man's dwelling, as his market, as his workshop. If man
had never been compelled by hunger to put forth his hand and blacken
its surface, and spoil some of its lovely landscapes, it would not
have become what it now is, his training-school for a higher life. It
would have been in perfect order and beauty, but it would not have
fulfilled the purpose for which it was created. So with a large
manufactory. No doubt it looks cleaner and fresher on the day that it
comes from the hands of the builder than it does when its chimneys
are pouring forth smoke and its floors are covered with grimy
machinery, but if its owner were to build it simply to keep it clean
by keeping it empty, he would be looked upon as a madman. So with the
crib. So long as there are no oxen to use it, it can be kept empty
and clean, but there is no use in having a crib unless it is put to
its use.
+II. If men want wealth they must not mind the labour and trouble of
getting it.+ This seems to be the idea of the proverb. A clean crib
can be kept, if there are no oxen to use it; but without oxen, in
Solomon's days (when wealth was chiefly gained by agriculture) there
would be no increase. Many men would like to be rich, but they do not
like the means by which alone they can obtain it. They would like to
handle the golden coins, but they do not like to soil their fingers
with honest toil to get it. They would like to gather in a harvest in
the sunny autumn, but they do not like to plough and sow in the days
of winter. They would like the increase which the ox would bring, but
they do not like the trouble of cleaning his crib and caring for his
wants. But this is not possible. The toil and the increase go
together; the labour must come before the wealth, whether in relation
to the body, the soul, or the spirit.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
In its liberal meaning a household proverb, "Labour has its rough
unpleasant side, yet it ends in profit." But here, as elsewhere,
there may be a meaning below the surface. The life of contemplation
may seem purer, "cleaner," than the life of action. The outer
business of the world brings its cares and disturbances, but also
"much increase." There will be a sure reward of that activity in good
works for him who goes, as with "the strength of the ox," to the task
to which God calls him.--_Plumptre._
The literal sense of this verse seems to commend the care and pains
of tillage. Or else we may take the words as shewing how the want of
any needful instrument denieth the success of that which is desired,
though other things be ready. But the words are more useful when
taken by way of application. Wherefore, in God's tillage, for "we are
God's husbandry" (1 Cor. iii. 9), the oxen are His ministers--they
are, as Jerome speaketh, oxen that bear the yoke of the Lord after
whose steps he that soweth seed is blessed; yea, God Himself is
pleased to be joined in yoke with them, for they are labourers with
God in His husbandry. They plough up the fallow ground by preaching
and pressing repentance, they bring the corn into the barn by
bringing home wandering sinners into the bosom of the Church; they
tread out the grains from the chaff and straw by subduing the
corruptions of nature, and separating it from the graces of God's
Spirit. Now, where these oxen are wanting, there the room will be
empty, swept and _clean_ for him to enter in, who quickly will fill
it with the filth of the corruption of death. But, by the pains of
the minister, much increase there is of corn in the field of the
Lord--much increase is there of the seed of grace in the hearts of
the people, and of the fruits of godliness in their lives.--_Jermin._
The ox is the most profitable of all the beasts used in husbandry.
Except merely for _speed,_ he is almost in every respect superior to
the horse. He is longer-lived, scarcely liable to disease, steady,
lives, fattens, and maintains his strength on what a horse will not
eat, and when he is worn out in labour his flesh is good for food,
his horns useful, and his hide almost invaluable.--_A. Clarke._
For Homiletics on verse 5 see on chapter xii. 17, 19, page 274; also
on verse 25 of this chapter.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The man not _walking in His levelness_ (see verse 2) shows by his
staggering that he does not _"witness things correctly."_ (See
Critical Notes for Miller's translation of this verse.) The grand
truth is here broached that the man who _lies_ does not see
correctly. This is a universal doctrine. Moreover, _lies_ stand for
all sin. All sin, therefore, flows from being deceived. _A deep moral
blindness is the source and measure of all possible transgression._
Several proverbs depend for their significance upon this meaning, a
_"deceived"_ rather than a _deceiving "witness."--Miller._
He that for conscience sake doth speak the truth in common and small
matters, he will also speak the truth in things of greater
importance; and he that is not ashamed of a lie in his private
dealing, he will also without shame bear false witness before a
judge. Here, then, we be taught in the least things to ensure our
tongues to speak the truth, so shall we be preserved from
false-witness bearing, for the Lord would not have us daily with
sin. . . . If we would not have Him punish our lesser frailties with
greater sins--if we would not have Him punish our secret sins with
open and notorious offences, then let us be afraid to tell a lie in
the very lightest and most secret causes.--_Greenham._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 6.
SEEKING, BUT NOT FINDING.
+I. A contradictory character--a scorner in quest of wisdom.+ It
would be strange to hear a man ask advice of a physician whose
opinion he held in contempt, or to ask guidance of a traveller whose
judgment and ability he despised. It would be obvious that the advice
given or the rules laid down would not be followed. So a scorner,
while he seeks wisdom, scorns the only method of becoming wise. He
asks advice of those whom he despises, he inquires the way to wisdom,
while he holds the road to it in utter contempt. The antithesis of
the verse implies that he does not find wisdom because he lacks
understanding--because he finds it above his comprehension. Two
children may be equally ignorant of knowledge, but if one has the
desire and the will to acquire it, and the other has not, what was
hard to both at first will only continue hard to him who despises
knowledge. So the scorner fails to find wisdom because he does not
value it enough to make an effort to acquire it. The spirit in which
he seeks is an effectual barrier against his finding.
+II. A man of teachable spirit is the only one who will ever find
wisdom.+ The man of understanding knows its value, and therefore
scorns neither it nor the means of attaining it. Therefore, to him
"knowledge" becomes "easy." A clever man and a dull one may be pupils
of the same master, but if the clever one thinks that he needs no
instruction and the dull one feels his need, what was above the
comprehension of both at first will become easy to the teachable
scholar, while it will remain out of the reach of the self-sufficient
one. Even a dull but willing pupil will learn faster than one who has
intellectual ability, but lacks the docile spirit. A seeker of wisdom
in any department of knowledge must become in relation to it as a
child before his teacher; he must acknowledge his ignorance, and be
willing to submit to the conditions of acquiring knowledge. The same
spirit is indispensable for the attainment of moral wisdom. Those who
would _learn_ of Christ must take his _yoke;_ those who would know of
the doctrine, whether it be of God, must be willing to do His will
(Matt. xi. 29; John vii. 17).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The Greeks sought after wisdom, but Christ crucified was foolishness
to them. They were already too wise to admit of the preaching of the
cross, and scorned a tent-maker who would inform them of new
doctrines which had never entered into their own minds, and who would
prove them by other methods than their favourite ones--eloquence and
reasoning.--_Lawson._
There are two descriptions of scorners. There are "scorners" of
_truth,_ from _pride of intellect;_ and there are "scorners" of
_authority,_ from the _pride of self-will._ They are nearly allied,
and they are frequently united. It is the former that is chiefly
meant here, seeing the subject is _knowledge_ rather than
_duty.--Wardlaw._
A page of Hebrew, what is it to a child? It is absolutely nothing.
But the whole was easy to the Hebrew eye. _"A scorner has sought
wisdom."_ Notice the past sense. Every scorner _has done_ it. Take
any impenitent man. We may be sure some day or other he has sought
spiritual intelligence. But he has done it selfishly. Moreover, he
has done it fitfully and feebly. He has groped. He has made a sort of
blind man's pass for knowledge, and has come back with the averment
that there is no such thing. Light is _simple, "easy;"_ literally,
_light_ as opposed to _heavy;_ light is obvious; nothing can be more
so; but then, as the inspired man advises us, it is only _"easy"_ to
the _"discerning,"_ or _"understanding,"_ man.--_Miller._
It is not by a one-sided action of the thinking power, but only by
undivided consecration of the whole nature to God, which therefore
involves, above all other things, a right relation of the spiritual
nature to Him, that true knowledge in Divine things can be attained.
The wise man, however, who has found the true beginning of wisdom, in
bowing his inmost will before the Divine, not as something to be
mastered by the understanding, but as something to be simply sought
as a grace by the renunciation of the very self; he can easily on
this ground, which God's own power makes productive, attain a rich
development of the understanding.--_Elster._
Wisdom estrangeth herself from the scorner, as a gentlewoman hideth
herself from a suitor whom she fancieth not. . . . As a loving
spouse, when he cometh to the door, whom she affecteth, will show
herself to him, and run to meet him, so the grace of God's spirit
offereth itself, and draweth near unto the humble and
modest.--_Muffet._
By knowledge we may understand, not the knowledge of the letter
floating in the brain, and flowing even at the tongue's end (which,
indeed, is not worth the name of knowledge); but the true
understanding of the word taught by the Spirit, which entereth into
the heart, and worketh on the affections, frameth to obedience, and
assureth of everlasting life. This, indeed, is healthful knowledge,
which the scorners, though they seek, shall never obtain. And
hereunto doth our Saviour give witness, when He saith: _"Many shall
seek to enter in, and cannot."--Greenham._
The finding of wisdom is that which needeth help from others. More
eyes than the eyes of one are requisite unto it. And, therefore, a
_scorner,_ who seeketh it with scorning of another's help; yea, who
scorneth not only the help of man, but of God also, how can he ever
find it? If it be offered to him by another, he will not accept it,
and if he seek it never so much in his own ways he shall not obtain
it. It is, says Clemens Alexandrinus, to draw out threads and to spin
nothing; and, therefore, whensoever he shall stand in need of it, he
shall not find it, for wisdom and a scorner shall never meet. But _to
him that understandeth_ his own defects and infirmities, to him that
understandeth how to make use of other men's abilities, and that in
the seeking of wisdom, the assistance of God is chiefly to be sought,
to him it is a short course to come to it; to him it is an easy
matter to obtain it.--_Jermin._
It is the constant profession of those who read the Bible that they
are seeking truth. Their likeness is taken here from life. They seek
wisdom, but do not find it. They want the first qualification of a
philosopher, a humble and teachable spirit. There is a race of men
among us at the present day who scorn bitterly against faith's meek
submission to God's revealed will. The divinity, they say, is in
every man; which means that every man is a god unto himself. It is,
in its essence, a reproduction of the oldest rebellion. A creature
discontented with the place which his Maker has given him strives to
make himself a god. If men really were independent beings, it would
be right to assert and proclaim their independence; but as matters
really stand, this desperate kicking against authority becomes the
exposure of weakness, and the punishment of pride. We are not our own
cause and our own end; we are not our own lords. We are in the hands
of our Maker, and under the law of our Judge. Our only safety lies in
the submission to the rightful authority and obedience to the true
law. The problem for man is, not to reject all masters, but accept
the rightful one. . . . In these days, when the pendulum is often
seen swinging from scepticism over to superstition, and from
superstition back to scepticism again, we would do well to remember
that there is truth between these extremes, and that in truth alone
lies safety for all the interests of men. . . . I see two men near
each other prostrate on the ground and bleeding, while one man stands
between them, with serenest aspect looking to the skies. Who and what
are these? The two prostrate forms are superstition and unbelief.
Superstition bowed down to worship his idol, and cut his flesh with
stones to atone for his soul's sin. Unbelief scorned to be confined,
like an inferior creature, to the earth, and was ever leaping up in
the hope of standing on the stars. Exhausted by his efforts he fell,
and the fall bruised him, so that he lay as low as the neighbour whom
he despised. He who stands between them neither bowed himself to the
ground, nor attempted to scale the heavens. He neither degraded
himself beneath a man's place, nor attempted to raise himself above
it. He abode on earth, but he stood erect there. He did not proudly
profess to be, but meekly sought to find God. This man understands
his place, and feels his need; to him, therefore, knowledge is easy.
To him that hath shall be given. He has the beginning of wisdom, and
he will reach in good time its glad consummation. "Blessed are the
poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom."--_Arnot._
There are _four_ things that particularly unfit a man for such a task
(the finding of wisdom), viz., a very _proud,_ or a very _suspicious_
temper, _false wit_ or _sensuality._ The two last generally belong to
the man whom we call a scorner, the first are essential to him and
inseparable from him. . . . _Pride_ makes a man see sufficient in his
own eyes for all manner of speculations and inquiries, and hence it
comes that he, not being duly qualified for every search, is fain to
take up with light and superficial accounts of things, and then, what
he wants in true knowledge, to make up in downright assurance. By
consequence it gives him just enough understanding to raise an
objection, but not enough to lay it; which, as it is the most
despicable, so it is also the most dangerous state of mind a man can
be in. He that is but half a philosopher is in danger of being an
atheist; a half physician is apt to turn empiric. In all matters of
speculation or practice, he that knows but little of them, and is
very confident of his own strength, is more out of the way of true
knowledge than if he knows nothing at all. And in this character
there is always a strange and unreasonable _suspicion,_ by which he
doubts everything he hears, and distrusts every man he converses
with. He is so afraid of having his understanding imposed upon in
matters of faith that he stands aloof from all propositions of that
kind, whether true or false. Which is, as if a man should refuse to
receive any money because there is a great deal of counterfeit; or
resolve not to make friendship with any man, because many are not to
be trusted. A third part of a scorner's character is a _false wit,_ a
way of ridiculing arguments instead of confuting them, and a _fourth_
is _sensuality._ That this, too, does for the most part accompany a
contempt of religion, I appeal to the observation and experience of
every man.--_Bp. Atterbury._
He seeks it as a coward seeks his adversary, with a hope that he
shall not find him; or as a man seeks his false coin, which he hath
no joy to look upon. "What is truth?" said Pilate in a jeer to
Christ, but stayed not the answer. "How can this man give us his
flesh to eat?" said the carnal Capernaites (John vi. 52), and away
then went--who, if they had stayed out the sermon, might have been
satisfied on the point. . . . He that comes to the fountain to fill
his pitcher must first wash it, and then put the mouth of it
downwards to take up water. So he that would have heavenly knowledge
must first quit his heart of corrupt affections and high conceits,
and then humble himself at God's feet, "everyone to receive His
words" (Deut. xxxiii. 3).--_Trapp._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 7-9.
THE FOOL AND THE PRUDENT MAN.
+I. How to know a fool.+ The dead carcase that is above ground is its
own evidence. No one needs to inquire what it is, or where it is. The
pestilential atmosphere which surrounds it tells its own tale. So a
fool is a self-evidencing person. His words proclaim his character.
He says nothing that is worth saying. Nothing that can enlighten a
man's mind or better his nature is to be found in his conversation.
"The lips of knowledge" are not with him. But there is not simply the
absence of wisdom. He is not a negative character. No man's soul can
remain like an empty house; if wisdom is absent sin comes in and
takes up the abode. The _fool_ is also a _knave._ "The folly of fools
is deceit," and in this also he will sooner or later be his own
evidence. Like particles of poisonous matter, his _deceit,_ as well
as his ignorance, will make its presence known. His words will sooner
or later betray his untruthful character. He will also be known by
his _profanity._ "Fools make a mock at sin." The most perfect beings
in God's universe regard sin as a serious matter, knowing, as they
do, the bitter fruits which spring from one sinful action. God
Himself treats sin as a terrible and awful reality. Yet men are to be
found who make light of it, and others so depraved as to laugh at
that which God regards with abhorrence, and visits with retribution.
+II. How to treat a fool.+ "Go from the presence of a foolish man."
There are three reasons why we go from the neighbourhood of a
polluted and polluting carcase. First, its odour is offensive to us.
Secondly, to linger near may generate disease in our bodies. Thirdly,
being diseased ourselves, we may become an occasion of injury to
others. So a man void of moral wisdom ought to be an offensive
presence to every man. Our moral instincts ought to be strong enough
without any outside voice to say, "Go from him." The "folly of a
fool," being deceit, he is an incarnation of the devil; our own
self-love should prompt us to quit his society. The man that mocks at
sin is a generator of moral disease, we cannot be in his company
without moral injury, and if we catch the pestilence ourselves we
shall in turn infect others with the disease.
+III. What constitutes a prudent or morally wise man.+ He
"understands his way." A fool cannot be said to have a _way_ or
method of life any more than the leaf which is driven before the
wind, or the timber that is floating down the rapid. Like them, he is
the victim of circumstances; he is driven hither and thither by the
currents of inclination or passion. He has no "way" to understand. He
is as a cloud driven before the hurricane. He floats like a
rudderless vessel upon the sea of life. But a prudent man has a
_"way,"_ or method of life (see Homiletics on chap. xiii. 14), and
the great business of his life is to "understand" it--to find the
best means of bringing his life into conformity with that rule of
righteousness which is his standard of life; to gather from the voice
of God in revelation, in conscience, and in Providence what course he
is to pursue, what at all times is the right thing to do, and what is
the right way of doing it. This is the life-study of the man who is
morally prudent, and the highest aim that a man can propose to
himself is to attain to a right understanding of his way. (On the
latter clause of verse 9 see Homiletics on chap. xiii. 14.)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 7. The path of sin is much more easily avoided than
relinquished. We can far more easily keep out of the course of the
stream than stem the torrent.--_Bridges._
Thou mayest tarry with a foolish man while he holdeth his peace, and
while he is willing and patient to hear thee. For he may get
knowledge by hearing, and thou mayest have comfort by speaking. But
it is time to be gone when by his lips thou perceivest knowledge to
be gone from them.--_Jermin._
In nature, some creatures are strong and bold, having both instincts
and instruments for combat: other creatures are feeble but fleet. It
is the intention of their Maker that they should seek safety, not in
fighting, but in fleeing. It would be a fatal mistake if the hare, in
a fit of bravery, should turn and face her pursuers. In the moral
conflict of human life it is of great importance to judge rightly
when we should fight and when we should flee. The weak might escape
if they knew their own weakness, and kept out of harm's way. That
courage is not a virtue which carries the feeble into the lion's
jaws. I have known of some who ventured too far with the benevolent
purpose of bringing a victim out, and were themselves sucked in and
swallowed up. To go in among the foolish for the rescue of the
sinking may be necessary, but it is dangerous work, and demands
robust workmen. . . . The specific instruction recorded in Scripture
for such a case is, "save with fear, pulling them out of the fire;
hating even the garment spotted with the flesh" (Jude 23). He who
would volunteer for this work must fear lest the victim perish ere he
get him dragged out, and fear lest himself be scorched by the
flame.--_Arnot._
Verse 8. We are not to infer, because _"wisdom"_ eludes the scorner,
that it is, therefore, something mystic. It fits earth so closely,
that it actually carves our _"way."_ Nay, more closely still, it is
actually path-finding itself. She takes a man from her very gate, and
tells him all that he must do. She not only discerns paths, but that
is all of her; she does nothing else. "The wisdom of the subtle is
the making discernible of his way," while, on the other hand, "the
folly of the stupid is _(its own)_ delusion." All of us having a way,
and all of us following it with the great energy of our lives, "The
excellency and knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that
have it." Wisdom grasps its end; folly never. Wisdom is the great
pathfinder; folly a "delusion."--_Miller._
Every man has a _final destination_ before him. The way of all is the
way to the grave, and to eternity. But in that eternity are _two_
widely different states. To the opposite states there are _two_
ways--"the narrow," and "the broad." Oh the infinite value of true
wisdom here,--the wisdom that understands both ways, and rightly
chooses between! _The folly of fools is deceit_ may mean that the
folly of fools proves to them deceit. Their confidence in it, and
their expectations from it, are sheer delusion. Or the sense may be,
"deceit is the folly of fools." "New stratagems," says Lord Bacon,
"must be devised, the old failing and growing useless; and as soon as
ever a man hath got the name of a cunning crafty companion, he hath
deprived himself utterly of the principal instrument for the
management of his affairs,--which is _trust._" Policy, therefore, on
this as on other accounts, is _"the folly of fools."--Wardlaw._
When men are acquainted with everything but what they ought to know,
they are only notable fools. If we had hearts large as the sands upon
the sea-shore, and filled with a world of things, whilst we remained
ignorant of the way of attaining true happiness, we should resemble
that philosopher who was busied gazing at the moon till he fell into
the ditch. . . . They are fools who know other people's business
better than their own. Some people, if you will take their own word
for it, could reign better than the king and preach better than the
minister. They know, in short, how to manage in every condition but
their own.--_Lawson._
Religion is an orderly thing, as wise as it is warm. Whatever be the
excitement of an irregular course, more good is done by steady
consistency. To break the ranks in disorder, to be eager to
_understand_ our neighbour's way (John xxi. 21, 22), obscures the
light upon our own. The true _wisdom is to understand_ what belongs
to us personally and relatively (1 Kings iii. 6-9; Eccles. viii. 5).
"As God hath distributed to every man, so let him walk, and abide
with God" (1 Cor. viii. 17). Let the eye do the work of the eye, and
the hand of the hand. If Moses prayed in the mount, and Joshua fought
in the valley (Exod. xvii. 10, 11), it was not because one was
deficient in courage, and the other in prayer; but because each had
his appointed work, and _understood his own way.--Bridges._
Every one that goeth on in the right way doth not _understand_ his
way. Hence it is that many so often wander out of it, hence that so
easily they are drawn from it. But he that is prudent looketh into
his way, considereth the dangers of it, provideth himself against the
enemies that he shall or may meet with, and being well assured of the
righteousness of the way, he goeth on with confidence and safety. And
this is _the wisdom of the prudent,_ this proves him to be
wise. . . . Again, the folly of fools, though it be folly in
themselves, it is deceit to the devil, who maketh them to think that
to be the right way, wherein they are clean out of the way.--_Jermin._
Verse 9. The word here used signifieth both the fault and the guilt
of it, whereby the offender is liable unto wrath and punishment. For
they being firmly joined together, the Hebrew joineth them in the
same word. Notwithstanding fools not finding the scourge of sin tied
immediately unto the act committed, as if they were mocked when they
are told of punishment to come, they make a mock at it. The favour,
therefore, which the righteous show them is quickly to make them feel
the rod of justice. For while they punish the offence they show great
love to the offender, not only in stopping the course of his sinning,
which is the stopping the increase of his misery, but it may be also
working his amendment, which is the salvation of his soul.--_Jermin._
The idea of sacrificial offering is that of expiation (see Critical
Notes for the renderings of the word translated sin): it is a
penitential work, it falls under the prevailing point of view of an
ecclesiastical punishment, a _satisfaction_ in a church-disciplinary
sense. The forgiveness of sin is conditioned by this, (1) that the
sinner either abundantly makes good by restitution the injury
inflicted on another, or in some other way bears temporal punishment
for it, and (2) that he willingly presents the sacrifice of rams or
of sheep, the value of which the priest has to determine in its
relation to the offence. Fools fall from one offence to another,
which they have to atone for by the presentation of sacrificial
offerings; the sacrificial offering mocketh them, for it equally
derides them on account of the self-inflicted loss, and on account of
the errors with which they must make good the effects of their
frivolity and madness; while on the contrary, among men of upright
character, a relation of mutual favour prevails, which does not
permit that the one give to the other an indemnity, and apply the
trespass-offering.--_Delitzsch._
_"Sin makes a mock at fools; but between upright beings there is
favour."_ Not makes sport, as a fool might, of engaging in his sins.
A fool may _make sport_ of sin, but hardly could be said to make a
mock at it. "Sin makes a mock at fools," but between "upright
beings," or "among the righteous," we cannot conceive of any mockery.
The upright God, and the upright saint; the upright saint and the
upright Saviour; grace and judgment; faith, and the scenes of the
last day; between these there must be _goodwill, i.e.,_ mutual
delight and favour. So 1 John iv. 17, 18, "Herein does the love gain
its end between us (that is, between God and us; see ver. 16), that
we may have boldness in the day of judgment; _because as He is, so
are we in this world,_" etc.--_Miller._
Among the righteous is favour; that is to say, the practice of virtue
and uttering of gracious speeches, joined with such goodwill and
sweet joy as their meeting is like the precious ointment that was
poured on the head of Aaron.--_Muffet._
The conduct of the man who makes a mock at sin
involves--1. _Impiety._ To mock at sin is to despise God's holiness,
set at nought God's authority, to abuse God's goodness, to disregard
and slight God's glory. 2. _Cruelty._ The scoffer may pretend to
humanity, but there breathes not on earth a more iron-hearted
monster. He may profess to feel for the miseries of mankind; for the
ravages of disease and death over their bodies; of fire, and flood,
and storm over their means of life and comfort; of melancholy, and
idiocy, and madness over their minds. But he makes a mock at the
prolific _cause_ of all. There is not an ill that man is called upon
to suffer that does not owe its origin to sin. Like the "star called
wormwood" in the Apocalyptic vision, it has fallen on very "fountain
and river" of human joy, turning all their waters into bitterness. It
is the sting of conscience. It is the venom and barb of the darts of
the King of Terrors. It is the very life of the "worm that dieth
not." Oh! the miserably-mistaken flattery that can speak of the
kind-heartedness of the man who laughs at that which is the
embryo-germ of all the sufferings of time, and all the woes of
eternity. 3. _Infatuation._ Sin is the evil that is ruining the
sinner himself--the disease that is preying upon his own vitals--the
secret consuming fire that is wasting his eternal all. Yet the
deluded victim of its power makes a jest of it!--_Wardlaw._
Some men are so like their father, the devil, that they will tempt
men to sin that they may laugh at them.--_Lawson._
To complete the antithesis, the sense must be supplied, fools make a
mock at sin (and so incur the wrath of God); but (the righteous
regard sin as a serious offence), and therefore among the righteous
there is the favour of God.--_Fausset._
_The fools' sport--sin._ 1. _Sin,_ which is so contrary to goodness
that it is abhorred of those sparks and cinders which the rust of sin
hath not quite eaten out of our nature as the creation left it.
2. _Sin,_ which sensibly brings on present judgments, or if not, is
the more fearful. The less it receives here, the more is behind.
3. _Sin,_ that shall at last be laid heavy on the conscience: the
lighter the burden was at first, it shall be at last the more
ponderous. The wicked conscience may for awhile lie asleep, but this
calm is the greatest storm. 4. _Sin,_ which provokes God to anger.
5. _Sin,_ which was punished even in heaven. 6. _Sin,_ which God so
loathed that he could not save men because of it, except by the death
of His own Son. Oh, think if ever man felt sorrow like Him, or if He
felt any sorrow except for sin. Did the pressure of it lie so heavy
upon the Son of God, and doth a son of man make light of it? Thou
mocked at thy oppressions, oaths, frauds; for these He groaned. Thou
scornest His gospel preached; He wept for thy scorn. Thou knowest
not, O fool, the price of sin; thou must do, if thy Saviour did not
for thee. If He suffered not this for thee, thou must suffer it for
thyself.--_T. Adams._
They dance with the devil all day, and yet think to sup with Christ.
Their sweet meat must have sour sauce, but among the righteous,
though they sin of infirmity, yet forasmuch as they are sensible of
and sorrowful for their failings, and see them to confession, God
will never see them to their confusion.--_Trapp._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 10.
SECRETS OF THE HEART.
+I. Opposite dwellers in the same spirit.+ "Bitterness" and "joy."
The world without us is a type of the world within us. In the world
of matter the bitter cold, the desolations of winter, alternates with
the brightness and joyous fruitfulness of summer. On the same globe
we have at the same time the vine-clad regions of southern latitudes,
and the dreary shores of arctic regions. Bitterness in the human
spirit is a fact of human consciousness, and so is joy. There are few
hearts that have not been at different times possessed by both. There
are few in which there does not dwell at the same time a root of
gladness and a root of sadness.
+II. A possession which its possessor may keep a profound secret.+ It
is within the power of a human soul to keep his sorrow or his joy to
himself if he so pleases, and under certain conditions this is a
desirable thing to do. A man or woman often finds himself or herself
surrounded by those who are entire strangers to the circumstances, or
the persons, or the experiences which have given birth to the sorrow
or the joy. To speak of it to such would be worse than useless. It is
a comfort in such circumstances to be able to lock the secret within
one's own breast. There is a consolation in sorrow, and a sense of
increase of joy in not being compelled to lay open our feelings to
the inspection of the unsympathetic. There are also sorrows of such a
nature as to be entirely beyond the power of the tenderest human love
to alleviate. To conceal such from all human ken is a kindness to
those who love us. We should inflict sorrow upon them without
lightening our own burden; and if we are unselfish, we are glad that
it is possible in such a case to keep our bitterness within our own
breast.
+III. There is One who possesses the secret even more truly than the
human possessor, and who should always be invited to intermeddle with
our sorrow or our joy.+ 1. _We should invite God to intermeddle,
because we can do so in the strictest secrecy of the soul._ It may be
impossible sometimes to put into words our joy or our sorrow, and
therefore no human being, even the nearest and dearest, _can always_
"intermeddle" with our deep emotions. But the _thought_ is _speech_
to God. He "knoweth what is in the mind of the spirit." 2. _Because
God's "intermeddling" will bring softening to our bitterness and
refinement to our joy._ He "knew the sorrows" of Israel in their
bitter bondage (Exod. iii. 7). He sent His Son to "bind up the
broken-hearted" (Isa. lxi. 1). That Son Himself has known a
bitterness that is unknowable by any creature. And as He can lighten
sorrow so He can refine and increase joy.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Within the range of human experience there is, perhaps, no expression
of the ultimate solitude of each man's soul at all times, and not
merely (as in Pascal's _Je mourrai seul_) at the hour of death, so
striking in its truth and depth as this. Something there is in every
sorrow, and in every joy, which no one else can share. Beyond that
range it is well to remember that there is a Divine sympathy, uniting
perfect knowledge and perfect love.--_Plumptre._
The first half of this proverb treats of life experiences which are
too complex a nature to be capable of being fully represented to
others, and, as we are wont to say, of so delicate a nature that we
shrink from uncovering them and making them known to others, and
which, on this account, must be kept shut up in our own hearts,
because no man is so near to us, or has so fully gained our
confidence, that we have the desire and the courage to pour out our
hearts to him from the very depths. If we were to interpret the
second clause as _prohibitive_ (see Critical Notes), then this would
stand in opposition, certainly not intended, to the exhortation (Rom.
xii. 15), "Rejoice with them that do rejoice," and to the saying,
"Distributed joy is doubled joy, distributed sorrow is half sorrow;"
and an admonition to leave man alone with his joy, instead of urging
him to distribute it, does not run parallel with the first clause.
Therefore we interpret the future as _potentialis._--_Delitzsch._
Not to let a man be private in his house is a great injury, but not
to let a man be private in his heart is a wrong inexcusable. And yet
this is the strange presumption of some. They know the _heart_ of
another; they know what troubles it and what pains it. Perhaps by
some discoveries thou mayest have some conjectures; but let not a
small conjecture make thee a great offender. Wrong not another with
unjust surmising. Every key a man meets with is not the right key to
this lock; every likelihood thou apprehendest is not a sure sign to
make thee know the heart of another.--_Jermin._
_"A knowing heart is a bitterness to itself; but with its joy it does
not hold intercourse as an enemy."_ We venture upon this translation.
We find no spiritual sense in the one heretofore given. . . . A heart
spiritually enlightened is a bitterness to itself on the principle
which Christ meant when He said, He "came not to send peace, but a
sword" (Matt. x. 34); but with its joy, weak as it may be, and small
and easily clouded, "it does not," as the impenitent do, "hold
intercourse as with an enemy." His _joy_ is like his _bitterness,_ a
friend; and all will work in opposite direction to the joy of the
wicked.--_Miller._
Eli could not enter into the "bitterness of soul" of Hannah (1 Sam.
i. 10, 13, 16): nor Gehazi into that of the Shunamite woman (2 Kings
iv. 27). Michal, though the wife of David, was "a stranger to his
joy" at the bringing up of the ark to Zion (1 Sam. xviii. 13, 20,
with 2 Sam. vi. 12-16).--_Fausset._
The two extreme experiences of a human heart, which comprehend all
others between them, are "bitterness" and "joy." The solitude of a
human being in either extremity is a solemnising thought. Whether you
are glad or grieved, you must be alone. The bitterness and the
joyfulness are both your own. It is only in a modified sense, and in
a limited measure, that you can share them with another, so as to
have less of them yourself. . . . Sympathy between two human beings
is, after all, little more than a figure of speech. A physical burden
can be divided equally between two. If you, unburdened, overtake a
weary pilgrim on the way, toiling beneath a load of a hundred pounds
weight, you may volunteer to bear fifty of them for the remaining
part of the journey, and so lighten his load by half. But a light
heart, however willing it may be, cannot so relieve a heavy one. The
cares that press upon the spirit are as real as the load that lies on
the back, and as burdensome; but they are not so tangible and
divisible. . . . There are, indeed, some very intimate unions in
human society, as organized by God. . . . The closest of them all,
the two "no longer twain, but one flesh," is a union of unspeakable
value for such sympathy as is compatible with distinct personality at
all. . . . The wife of your bosom can, indeed, intermeddle with your
joys and sorrows, as no stranger can do, and yet there are depths of
both in your breast which even she has no line to fathom. When you
step into the waters of life's last sorrow, even she must stand back
and remain behind. Each must go forward alone. The Indian _suttee_
seems nature's struggle against that fixed necessity of man's
condition. But is a vain oblation. Although the wife burn on the
husband's funeral pile, the frantic deed does not lighten the
solitude of the dark valley. One human being cannot be merged in
another. Man must accept the separate personality that belongs to his
nature.--_Arnot._
It is true, observes a philosophic essayist, that we have all much in
common; but what we have most in common is this, that we are all
isolated. Man is more than a combination of passions common to his
kind. Beyond them and behind them, an inner life, whose current we
think we know within us, flows on in solitary stillness. Friendship
itself is declared to have nothing in common with this dark
sensibility, so repellent and so forbidding, much less may a stranger
penetrate to those untrodden shores. We may apply Wordsworth's
lines,--
To friendship let him turn
For succour; but perhaps he sits alone
On stormy waters, tossed in a little boat
That holds but him, and can contain no more.
--_Jacox._
By this thought the worth and the significance of each separate human
personality is made conspicuous, not one of which is the example of a
species, but each has its own peculiarity, which no one of countless
individuals possesses.--_Elster._
Who but a _parent_ can fully know the "bitterness" of his grief who
"mourneth for an only son"--of him who is "in bitterness for his
first-born." Who but a parent can sympathise with the royal mourner's
anguish over a son that has died in rebellion against his father and
his God! Who but a _widow_ can realise the exquisite bitterness of a
widow's agony when bereft of the loved partner of her joys and
sorrows! Who but a _pastor_ can know, in all its intensity, the
bitterness of soul experienced in seeing those on whom he counted as
genuine fruits of his ministry, and on whom he looked with delighted
interest, as his anticipated "joy and crown" in "the day of the
Lord," falling away--going back and walking no more with
Jesus.--_Wardlaw._
The principal thought of verse 11 has been treated before. See on
chapter ii. 21, 22, etc.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The wicked build houses on the earth; the earth is their home, where
they desire to be, and they imagine to settle themselves in it. The
upright do set up tabernacles only, seeking another country, and as
knowing the uncertainty upon which the world standeth. For though the
habitation of the wicked be a _house,_ and rooted in the earth, yet
it shall not only be _shaken,_ but _overthrown,_ and though the
abiding of the upright be but a _tabernacle_ pinned to the earth, yet
shall it stand so safely that it shall _flourish_ like a rooted tree.
Wherefore, when in the Revelation we read "Woe to the inhabitants of
the earth" (chap. viii. 13), St. Jerome understands it of the wicked
only. For a godly man is not an inhabiter of the earth, but a
stranger and a sojourner. And his tabernacle doth so flourish, that
it reacheth to heaven, for he hath his dwelling in heaven to whom the
whole world is an inn.--_Jermin._
The "house of the wicked" may be a most prosperous one, and may seem
to be full of peace; but it is doomed. It must become "desolate,"
literally _astonished;_ which is the eastern way of describing great
downfalls. "But the tent of the upright" (another intensive clause)
his slenderest possessions; like a sprout; like some poor tender
plant, shall _bloom forth._ Such is the meaning of
_"flourish."--Miller._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 12.
WHAT SEEMS TO BE, AND WHAT IS.
+I. Human nature needs more light than is found in the human
conscience.+ The way which "seems right unto a man" may be "the way
of death." A mariner who has insufficient light to observe correctly
the needle in the compass, may think he is steering for the haven
when he is taking the vessel straight upon the rocks. He may be very
sincere in his conviction that he is going right, but his thinking so
will not make it so. He needs more light than he has. So the light of
conscience is not enough to guide a man with certainty in the true
and right way. If conscientious sincerity was an infallible guide
Paul would not have "delivered to prison" men and women for being
followers of Jesus of Nazareth (Acts. xxii. 4). The way that in his
ignorance seemed right to him, was felt by him to be a "way of death"
when his conscience was enlightened. Conscience may be deadened by
sin, or warped by prejudice or self-interest; it is not a reliable
and certain guide. If it were, it was needless for the Son of God to
visit the earth and make known the will of His Father--the revelation
of God's will in the books of the Old and New Testaments is a
superfluity. The existence of the Bible is explained by the fact
which is found to be true by all God-taught men, that "the way of man
is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps"
(Jer. x. 23). God, by speaking unto men in "sundry times and in
divers manners," and especially "in these last days by His Son" (Heb.
i. 1) declares plainly that man needs something outside of himself to
guide him into that path of righteousness which alone is a way of
life. The history of the world confirms this truth. Observation of
every-day life tells the same tale.
+II. The need of human nature has been fully met.+ All that the
mariner needs in order to keep the vessel's head right is light to
see the compass. God in Christ is a sufficient light to man. Paul
says: _"God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath
shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory
of God in the face of Jesus Christ"_ (2 Cor. iv. 6). Christ Himself
tells us that it is those only who "follow Him" who have the "light
of life" (John viii. 12). That the way thus revealed is fully adapted
to meet man's need is proved by the results which follow from walking
in it. The progress which a sick man makes towards health is the most
convincing proof of the efficacy of his physician's treatment. The
light which is shed upon men by the revelation of God, and especially
by the Gospel, has been proven by its result upon individuals and
upon nations, to be all-powerful to turn men from "darkness to light,
and from the power of Satan unto God" (Acts xxvi. 18). The way of sin
is the way of death--death morally, socially, and physically. The way
of holiness is the only way of spiritual life to the soul and to the
community, and ensures victory over the penalty of bodily death.
_ILLUSTRATION._
THE LAST WORDS OF HILDEBRAND.--One of the greatest of the sons of
earth (if we measure greatness either by posthumous fame or
posthumous influence) lay on his death bed. Prelates, princes,
priests, devoted adherents and attendants stood around. Anxious to
catch the last accents of that once oracular voice, the mourners were
bending over him, when, struggling in the very grasp of death, he
collected, for one last effort, his failing powers, and breathed out
his spirit with the indignant exclamation, "I have loved
righteousness and hated iniquity, and therefore I die in
exile." . . . That he went into the unseen world consciously and
deliberately with a lie in his right hand, is a supposition utterly
inadmissible. Passionate earnestness and intense conviction were
stamped upon all his words and works. . . . He had climbed the
slippery steps of intrigue to the Papal throne, and to set that
throne above all thrones of the earth, and to cause everyone, "both
small and great, rich and poor, free and bond," to bow down in the
dust before it, was thenceforward his sole aim and object. . . . It
was for this that he enforced that celibacy of the clergy which has
ever since been the law of the Church. He found thousands of married
priests ministering at her altars in innocence of heart, thinking no
sin, and fearing no dishonour. . . . He commanded them to put away
their wives on pain of excommunication, which meant deprivation of
all rights, spiritual, social, and human. . . . One cry of
indignation, one prolonged and bitter wail of agony, arose throughout
Europe, from the Apennines to the Baltic Sea. . . . Wives were torn
from their husbands, children from their fathers. Popular fanaticism
allied itself with Papal tyranny. . . . There was no pity for worse
than widowed wives, and worse than orphaned children flung out upon
the cold world to starve. The Pontiff trod his stern, remorseless way
over broken hearts. . . . But he had a dangerous antagonist to
encounter. . . . The Holy Roman Empire and the Holy Roman Church were
together to dominate the world. But which of them was to dominate the
other? Hildebrand's long contest with Henry IV. may be said to have
decided the question. But with what weapons was it fought? We see the
gallant Saxons tempted by bribes and promises to revolt, and then, in
their hour of distress, treacherously abandoned by him who was at
once their ally and "spiritual father," and to whom they addressed in
vain those noble and pathetic remonstrances which, even to this day,
cannot be read without emotion. Thus Hildebrand "loved
righteousness.". . . But the Pontiff, so stern to his antagonists,
could be mild to his allies. Keen swords in strong hands were
necessary to support his power, the heaviest swords in Europe were
borne by Norman knights. Robert, the conqueror of Sicily, William,
the conqueror of England, were the representative men of this fierce
and fiery race. . . . They were bloody, avaricious and unscrupulous.
No more cruel conquerors ever turned a fruitful land into a waste,
howling wilderness. No more remorseless oppressors ever trod down the
poor with a heel of iron. . . . But their crimes were unrebuked by
Hildebrand. . . . William was "addressed in the blandest accents of
esteem and tenderness," while Robert, the tyrant of Sicily, "was
embraced and honoured as the faithful ally of Rome." Thus Hildebrand
"hated iniquity." That "way" in which he walked all his life long
with a consistency of purpose and intensity of energy that moves our
admiration, seemed "right unto himself," nay, it seemed to be
pre-eminently the way of righteousness, but what shall we say of "the
end thereof."--_Etchings from History,_ by Miss Alcock. See _Sunday
at Home,_ February 15th, 1879.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Souls perish always with surprise. . . . But yet the _seeing_ here
noted must be taken _cum grano._ Deep in the lost heart of the
knowledge of its _"end,"_ rather its "afterpart." The way lasts for
ever, and its _afterward_ "is the ways of death!" Deep in the lost
man's heart he knows all this, and this makes a dark ground for his
gaieties. (See next verse.)--_Miller._
There are some ways which can hardly "seem right" to any man--the
ways, namely, of open and flagrant wickedness. But there are many
ways, which, under the biassing influence of pride and corruption,
"_seem_ right," and yet their _"end"_ is _"death."_ +I. The way of
the sober, well-behaved worldling.+ He thinks of the law as if it had
been only one table, the first being entirely overlooked. He passes
among his circle for a man of good character, and flatters himself,
in proportion as he is flattered by others, that all is right. . . .
But his way is not the way of life, for God is not in it. +II. The
way of the formalist.+ He follows, strictly and punctually, the round
of religious observance. . . . But his heart has not been given to
God. The world still has it. He compromises the retention of its
affections for the things of sense by giving God the pitiful and
worthless offering of outward homage. But it will not do. Those
services cannot _terminate in life,_ which _have no life in them._
+III. The way of the speculative religionist.+ From education, or as
a matter of curiosity, he has made himself an adept in religious
controversy. He holds by the creed of orthodoxy, and imagines that
this kind of knowledge is religion. But speculative opinion is not
saving knowledge--is not the faith which "worketh by love" and
"overcomes the world."--_Wardlaw._
Good intentions are not a justification for wrong doing (2 Sam.
vi. 6). Judges xvii. 6 gives an awful illustration of the end of
"every man doing that which is right in his own eyes." (Cf. the
prohibition of this, Deut. xii. 8.)--_Fausset._
This may be his _easily besetting sin,_ the _sin of his
constitution,_ the _sin of his trade._ Or it may be _his own false
views of religion:_ he may have an _imperfect repentance,_ a _false
faith,_ a _very false creed._ Many of the Papists, when they were
burning the saints of God in the flames of Smithfield, thought they
were doing God service.--_A. Clarke._
The self-delusion of one ends in death by the sentence of the judge,
that of another in self-murder; of one in loathsome disease, of
another in slow decay under the agony of conscience, or in sorrow
over a henceforth dishonoured and distracted life.--_Delitzsch._
Sin comes clothed with a show of reason (Exodus i. 10); and lust will
so blear the understanding, that he shall think there is great sense
in sinning. "Adam was not deceived" (1 Tim. ii. 14), that is, he was
not so much deceived by his judgment--though also by that too--as by
his affection to his wife, which at length blinded his judgment. The
heart first deceives us with colours; and when we are once a-doting
after sin, then we join and deceive our hearts (James i. 26), using
fallacious and specious sophism, to make ourselves think that lawful
to-day which we held unlawful yesterday. . . . But it falls out with
us as with him that, lying upon a steep rock, and dreaming of good
matters befallen him, starts suddenly for joy, and breaks his neck at
the bottom. As he that makes a bridge of his own shadow cannot but
fall into the water, so neither can he escape the pit of hell who
lays his own presumption in the place of God's promise.--_Trapp._
Some say, surely God will not punish a man hereafter who
conscientiously walks up to his convictions, although these
convictions be in point of fact mistaken. They err, knowing neither
the inspired Word of God nor natural laws. Do men imagine that God,
who has established this world in such exquisite order, and rules it
by regular laws, will abdicate, and leave the better world in
anarchy? This world is blessed by an undeviating connection between
cause and effect; will the next be abandoned to random impulses, or
left to chaos? . . . It is not even conceivable that the direction of
a man's course could not determine his landing-place. . . . Perhaps
the secret reason why an expectation so contrary to all analogy is
yet so fondly entertained, is a tacit disbelief in the reality of
things spiritual and eternal. We see clearly the laws by which
effects follow causes in time; but the matters upon which these laws
operate are substantial realities. If there were a firm conviction
that the world to come is a substance, and not merely a name, the
expectation would naturally be generated, that the same principles
which regulate the Divine administration of the world now, will
stretch into the unseen, and rule it all. . . . Truth shines like
light from heaven; but the mind and conscience within the man
constitute the reflector that receives it. Thence we must read off
the impression, as the astronomer reads the image from the reflector
at the bottom of his tube. When that tablet is dimmed by the breath
of evil spirits dwelling within, the truth is distorted and turned
into a lie.--_Arnot._
There is no way which doth not seem right in his eyes who liketh to
go in it. For man is led in all things by a seeming good; and such is
the foulness of doing amiss, that it must put on the painted colours
of doing right, or else it cannot draw the eyes of man's mind unto
it. But it is the not seeing the end which causeth the seeming
rightness of the way, and it is _to man_ that it seems so, who is so
apt to be deceived. He that hath a long fight, and in the beginning
can see the end, he maketh the shortest journey and speedeth the best
in it. If the beginning be a due consideration of the end, the end
will be a beginning of true joy and comfort. It is not so in the way
which seemeth to be right. For being but _a way,_ it is passed and
ended, and then begin _the ways of death,_ which are said to be many,
because there is an endless going on in them.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 13.
TRUE AND FALSE MIRTH.
This proverb, as it stands in our English version, cannot be taken as
universally true. The first clause is rendered by some
translators--"Even in laughter the heart _may be_ sorrowful" (see
Critical Notes), and experience and Bible teaching both necessitate
our giving a limitation to the second clause also.
+I. Whether mirth will end in heaviness depends upon its
character--therefore upon the character of the man who is mirthful.+
There is an innocent and right mirth, there is an ill-timed, guilty
mirth. The end of lawful mirth is not heaviness. It is good for the
_body._ A physician is glad to see his patient mirthful. He knows
that it will act most beneficially, and assist his recovery to
health. A mirthful man will not suffer so much physical injury from
the wear and tear of life as one who is always sombre and melancholy.
Lawful mirth is good for the _mind._ It is the unbending of the bow
which breaks if it is kept always at its extreme tension. A man who
is naturally mirthful--who is ever disposed to see men and things in
their brightest colours, must be a creature of hope, and hope has
power to surround those who possess her with a paradise of their own
creation, which is very independent of outward circumstances.
Natural, wholesome mirth will make a man much stronger to do and to
bear all the duties and trials of life. But natural, lawful mirth is
only proper to godly men. Christians are the only people in the world
who have reason to be glad. All those who are worthy of the name
ought to be able, amidst all the saddening influences of life, to
hold fast such a confidence in God as shall leave room for the play
even of mirth. But the man who is in a state of alienation from God
has no reason to be mirthful, his mirth must be either feigned or the
result of a thoughtless disregard of his own relations to God and
eternity. The "end" of such mirth must be "heaviness."
+II. Laughter is not always an index of feeling.+ There is doubtless
much that passes for mirth among the ungodly that is merely a blind
to conceal intentions or feelings deeply hidden in the soul. The
seducer laughs at the fears and misgivings of his victim, but his
laugh is not the laugh of the light-hearted, God-fearing man. Its
very ring tells any unprejudiced hearer that there is a flaw
somewhere, and it is only assumed to enable him to effect his
purpose. In such laughter there may not be present actual sorrow, but
there is an entire absence of gladness of heart. But laughter often
veils the deepest and most heartfelt misery. The poor drunkard will
laugh at the debauchery of the past night while he feels a bitter
consciousness of his degradation. Many a man laughs with his gay
companions, and all the while sees a dread future rising up before
him which he trembles to meet. The _character_ of him who laughs will
afford the best clue by which to determine whether or not the
laughter is the outcome of genuine mirth.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Already the wise king was beginning to experience what he more fully
states in Eccles. ii. 2; vii. 6. Men's very pleasures turn into their
opposites.--_Fausset._
Not of its own nature, of course; for a proverb has already said that
there is a _"joy"_ which is not our foe. Not this is always the case;
but there is such a case. Because the wicked get nothing really but
their "ways" (verse 14).--_Miller._
The sun doth not ever shine: there is a time of setting. No day of
jollity is without its evening of conclusion, if no cloud of
disturbance prevent it with an overcasting. First God complains, men
sing, dance, and are jovial and neglectful; at last man shall
complain, and "God shall laugh at their calamity." Who should God be
conjured to receive that spirit dying which would not receive God's
Spirit living?--_T. Adams._
As soon might true joy be found in hell as in the carnal heart. As
soon might the tempest-tossed ocean be at rest as the sinner's
conscience (Isa. lvii. 20, 21). He may feast in his prison, or dance
in his chains. . . . But if he has found a diversion from present
trouble, has he found a cover from everlasting misery? It is far
easier to drown conviction than to escape damnation. . . . But the
end of that mirth implies another with a different end. Contrast the
prodigal's mirth in the far country with his return to his father's
house when "they began to be merry."--_Bridges._
Every human heart carries the feeling of disquiet and of separation
from its true home, and of the nothingness, transitoriness of all
that is earthly; and in addition to this, there is many a secret
sorrow in everyone which grows out of his own corporeal and spiritual
life, and from his relation to other men; and this sorrow, which from
infancy onward is the lot of the human heart, and which more and more
deepens and diversifies itself in the course of life, makes itself
perceptible even in the midst of laughter, in spite of the mirth and
merriment, without being able to be suppressed or expelled for the
soul, returning always the more intensely, the more violently we may
for a time have kept it under, and sunk it in unconsciousness. From
the fact that sorrow is the fundamental condition of humanity, and
forms the back-ground of laughter, it follows that it is not good for
man to give himself up to joy, viz., sensual (worldly), for to it the
issue is sorrow.--_Delitzsch._
There are two sorts of joys--the joy natural and the joy spiritual;
the joy of vanity and the joy of verity; a joy in the creature and a
joy in the Creator; a joy in a mutable thing and a joy in a matter
immutable. The spiritual joys are the joys of the palace. The natural
joys are the joys of prisoners. These are to worldlings that are
without God seeming joys, because they know no better. They cannot
get Penelope, they will be suitors to her maidens. . . . The godly
are like the ant, they are first weary, then merry; but the ungodly
are like the grasshopper, first they sing and then they
sorrow.--_Bishop Abernethy,_ 1630.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 14.
SATISFACTION AND DISSATISFACTION.
+I. The position and character of the backslider.+ The word suggests
that there has been a time in the past when his moral standing was
high. There must have once been a going forward, if there is now a
sliding backward. Up to a certain time progress was made. Of many
followers of our Lord it is written that from a certain period "they
went back and walked no more with Him" (John vi. 66). They had walked
with Him in outward discipleship at least, and it is probable that
their hearts had been more or less influenced for good. Their
"walking no more" was a going back probably in outward life,
certainly in right disposition towards the Christ of God. The man of
our text is "a backslider in heart." Then there must once have been a
going forward of his soul towards God and goodness, and outward
movement towards righteousness and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
But the forward movement has ceased--the retrograde movement has set
in within the man, although it may not immediately be seen in his
outward conduct. Solomon was himself a sad example of a backslider.
In his early days his heart was turned towards his God, his desires
after righteousness were strong, his moral progress a reality. No one
can read his dedication prayer without feeling that the man who
offered it stood in right relations with his God--that his
aspirations were after righteousness of heart and life. He is himself
a proof of the certain fact that a man can terribly deteriorate in
character even after he has given evidence of a progression in the
good and the right way.
+II. His portion.+ "He shall be filled with his own ways."
Retribution will flow from both his past and present character. The
remembrance of what he once was will embitter the present. To think
of what _might have been_ is in itself a hell when a man feels that
by his own act he is now far lower in the moral scale than he once
was. How it must embitter the misery of the fallen angels to remember
that they once stood sinless before God's throne, and, but for their
own act, would stand there still. In one of the writings of Lucian,
he represents the ghost of a man who has left the world coming up for
judgment before the bar of Rhadamanthus. He had lived so depraved a
live that his judge exclaims that a new punishment is needed that
will be in some degree adequate to his unparalleled villany. A poor
cobbler, standing by, suggests that it will be enough if the cup of
Lethe, which was supposed to obliterate all remembrance of the past,
and which each shade was permitted to drink as he passed from the
dread tribunal, should, in this instance, be withheld. And the
criminal was therefore condemned to remember for ever what he had
done in life, and this was held to be retribution sufficient for the
worst of crimes. And if this is true of every wicked man, surely to
be filled with the remembrance of what he once was will be the
bitterest cup that can be the portion of every backslider.
+III. The portion of the godly man.+ He, too, shall be filled with
his own ways, but it will be the fulness of satisfaction. The
foundation of real happiness is in character alone. The blessedness
of the Eternal God comes from nothing outside of Himself. It has its
foundation in His own perfect character. So nothing outside a man can
yield him satisfaction. It must come from what he is--from his
partaking of some degree of the character of the ever-blessed God. In
proportion as he approaches that--in proportion as he brings forth
the fruits of righteousness--will he be conscious of a well-spring of
satisfaction which is quite independent of outward circumstances.
This well-spring has the advantage of being always at hand. A man may
often find himself shut out from external sources of joy, death may
part him from those who have largely ministered to his happiness, but
wherever he is--whether in this world or another--a "well of water"
which is "within him" (John iv. 14) is always at hand. It is needless
to remark that this well-spring does not originate with man, but is
the outcome of relationship and communion with God.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
_Temporary_ backsliding may take place in the true children of God;
but the "backslider" _here_ is evidently he who, in the language of
the apostle, "goes back into perdition." Solomon alludes to such
_perpetual_ backsliding on the part of those who thus prove
themselves to have been no more than professors--"having the form of
godliness, but denying the power thereof." Such characters, whatever
appearances they present to the eye of men,--even of the people of
God, with whom they associate, never were vitally and savingly one
with Christ, and one with true believers in Him. This is as plainly
affirmed as it is in the power of language to affirm it. _"They went
out from us but they were not of us; for if they had been of us they
would no doubt have continued with us; but they went out, that they
might be made manifest that they were not all of us"_ (1 John
ii. 19).--_Wardlaw._
Every spot is not the leprosy. Every mark of sin does not prove a
backslider. "A man may be overtaken in a fault" (Gal. vi. 1); or it
may be the sin of ignorance (Lev. iv. 2; Heb. v. 2) or sin abhorred,
resisted, yet still cleaving (Rom. vii. 15-24). _Backsliding_ implies
a _wilful_ step; not always open, but the more dangerous, because
hidden. Here was no open apostasy, perhaps no tangible inconsistency.
Nay, the man may be looked up to as an eminent saint, but he is a
_backslider in heart.--Bridges._
The upright is satisfied from his own conscience, which though it be
not the original spring, yet is the conduit at which he drinks peace,
joy and encouragement.--_Flavel._
The wicked are travelling; and they seek an end; and they confidently
expect it, but they never get it. What they do get, therefore is
their journey. The old man has got about enough of travelling, but
enough, if he be an impenitent man, of nothing else, in either world,
whatever. The saint may have very little on the earth, but he has
made more than his own journey. _"The backslider in heart."_ Not a
Christian. A Christian never really backslides. Not, therefore, what
our usage means, but a _heart sliding back,_ as every lost heart
does. The writer has but written a fresh name for the impenitent.
Such a sliding heart will just have its journey at last, and nothing
for it.--_Miller._
What a world of sound theology lies in the deliverance of this
verse--telling us much how the rewards and punishments of the Divine
administration lie in the subjective state, apart from the objective
circumstances.--_Chalmers._
Good men _know within themselves_ that they have in heaven a better
and more enduring substance (Heb. x. 34); _within themselves,_ they
know it not in others, not in books, but in their own experience and
apprehension. They can feelingly say that "in doing God's will"--not
only _for_ doing it, or _after_ it was now done, but even _while_
they were doing it--"there was great reward" (Psa. xix. 11).
Righteousness is never without a double joy to be its strength: "Joy
in hand and in hope, in present possession and in certain reversion"
(Bernard).--_Trapp._
All engineering proceeds upon the principle of reaching great heights
or depths by almost imperceptible inclines. The adversary of men
works by this will. When you see a man who was once counted a
Christian standing shameless on a mountain-top of impiety, or lying
in the miry pit of vice, you may safely assume that he has long been
worming his way in secret on the spiral slimy track by which the old
serpent marks and smooths the way to death. . . . Whatever the
enormity it may end in, backsliding begins in the heart. . . . There
is a weighing beam exposed to public view, with one scale loaded and
resting on the ground, while the other dangles high and empty in the
air. Everybody is familiar with the object, and its aspect. One day
curiosity is arrested by observing the low and loaded beam is
swinging aloft, while the side which hung empty and light has sunk to
the ground. Speculation is set on edge by the phenomenon, and at rest
again by the discovery of its cause. For many days certain diminutive
but busy insects had, for some object of their own, been transferring
the material from the full to the empty scale. Day by day the sides
approached an equilibrium, but no change took place in their
position. At last a grain more removed from one side and laid in the
other reversed the preponderance, and produced the change. There is a
similar balancing of good and evil in the human heart. The sudden
outward change proceeds from a gradual inward preparation.--_Arnot._
Every man, both good and bad, shall feel himself sufficiently
recompensed for his service.--_Dod._
"A good man shall be satisfied from himself." +I. He can bear his own
company, his own thoughts.+ What is it that makes solitude so irksome
to mankind? They cannot bear reflection. . . . Generally, we know,
all is not right. Men do not like to look steadily at themselves,
because, like the bankrupt tradesman who dreads striking a balance,
they have a secret suspicion that their lives will not bear a rigid
scrutiny. . . . The good man does not fear to probe his wound to the
bottom. +II. He is independent, as other men are not, of earthly
vicissitudes.+ Men who have their portion here are never safe. The
world is a disappointing world, but the good man's eyes are opened to
the glories of a better. . . . It is a doomed world, but his treasure
is safe. . . . Let other men be suddenly driven from the pleasures,
occupations, and companions with which habit has made them familiar,
and they are like shipwrecked voyagers whose wealth has all gone down
in the vessel in which they sailed. He is like a man who has escaped
to shore with a casket of jewels in which his whole fortune is
invested. +III. He stands for judgment, not at the world's bar, but
at the tribunal of his own conscience.+ "It is a small thing," said
St. Paul, "that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment." Was
he, then, a morose man who cared nothing about his neighbours? No,
but his conscience was ruled by God's law, and in the very act of
submitting himself to Christ as the Lord of his life and soul, he
became comparatively independent of all besides.--_J. H. Gurney._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 15-18.
REVELATIONS OF CHARACTER.
+I. Four marks of a foolish man.+ When a piece of ground is left to
itself--left in the hand of nature alone, without the intervention of
the hand of man--there will be a variety in its productions, but
there will be no wheat--no grain to give seed to the sower and bread
to the eater. When human nature is left to itself there will of
necessity be a variety in its productions, but, however unlike they
may be in many respects, they are all alike in this, that they are
equally unprofitable to God and injurious to man. We have
here--1. _The man who believes too much in others._ "The simple
believeth every word." It is possible to have too much faith. The
blessedness of having it in abundance depends entirely upon the
foundation upon which it rests--upon the object _in_ which a man
trusts--in the person in whom he believes. Those who have faith in
the words of men and women of worthless character--like the young man
of chap. vii. 7--will find their ruin will be in proportion to the
confidence. We stigmatise as a fool the man who shows his purse to
any wayfarer whom he meets upon the high road; we know that his
fellow-traveller may be only seeking a fitting time and place to rob
him. In this world of fallen men and women we must withhold our faith
until we have some knowledge. There are many now in the world whose
foolish credulity has led to the other extreme of universal
scepticism. From believing everybody and everything they have come to
believe nothing, and to brand "all men" as "liars." He who begins by
being a "simple one," and believeth every word, will most likely end
in being a disbeliever and a scoffer. We are not required to believe
in God without ground for our belief. He does not demand from us an
unreasoning credulity, but an intelligent faith. 2. _The man who
believes too much in himself._ He "rages," or is presumptuous, and is
"confident." As the foolishness of the first man took the form of
over-confidence in others, so this man shows his want of wisdom by
undue confidence in himself. (On this character see Homiletics on
chap. xii. 15, page 271.) 3. _The man who is easily offended._ Such a
man reveals his folly by the insignificance of the matters which
generally arouse his passion. The man who is "soon angry" is
generally more angry about trifles than about things of importance. A
parent who is easily vexed by his children's transgressions is
generally more severe in punishing those that really least deserve
punishment. Such a person does not take into account the amount of
moral wrong done, but the amount of immediate and personal
inconvenience which he suffers. For if a man is "soon angry" he has
no time to put things in their right light--to weigh the offence in
the balance of right and of reason. The man who is soon angry shows
that his mind is not filled with high and noble aspirations; if it
were, there would be no room for vexation at small offences. God is
"slow to anger," because only things worthy of His notice can arouse
it--because He is filled with high and holy purposes of good towards
the human race. (See also on chap. xii. 16, page 272.) 4. _The man
who, by wicked plots against his fellow-men, incurs their hatred._
This man possesses more mental activity than the others. But he uses
it against himself, because he uses it against his fellow-men. "He is
of wicked devices," and "is hated." A man cannot devise plans of evil
any more than of good without mental labour. Probably Satan is the
most active creature in the universe. He is ever "going to and fro in
the earth, and walking up and down in it." And many of his human
children imitate him in this respect. This man has not the simplicity
of him who "believeth every word," nor of him who haughtily rejects
the counsel of others, nor of him who allows his feelings to carry
him away. He sets about his plans with cool deliberateness, but he is
a fool for all that. He is a fool, because, as we have seen over and
over again, his plans of wickedness will not only fail, but will
overthrow himself (see chap. xii. 3, 5 and 7). But the special
element of foolishness in the man of wicked devices which is here
noted is that his way of life is sure to bring him the hatred of his
fellow-creatures. No man can afford to set at nought the good-will of
his fellow-men. To be an object of universal execration is only the
lot of a man who lives to injure others, and it is a very poor
investment of life to put it to a use which will only bring such
interest.
+II. The marks of a wise man.+ 1. _He walks through life with
caution._ To say that a man "looketh well to his going" is only
saying that he acts like a rational and responsible creature. Even
the animals, in obedience to the instinct of self-preservation, look
to their goings, and avoid many dangers which beset them. The smaller
birds, though apparently flying about without any care, have a quick
eye for the hawk soaring above them, or for the cat crouching
beneath. All creatures, whether brutes or men, instinctively look to
their goings so far as regards their bodily life. The traveller on a
dangerous road instinctively picks his way--does not set down his
foot without looking to see where there is firm ground to tread upon.
The man whose lot is cast in a city where a pestilence is raging
naturally takes all possible precautions to avoid the infection. A
mariner does his best to guide his vessel clear of rocks and
quicksands. The prudent man extends this caution to every act of his
life. As a merchant, he weighs probabilities before he embarks in any
enterprise. He does not enter into speculations as men engage in a
game of billiards. He considers the results of his actions in
relation to others as well as to himself. Above all, he looks to his
goings in relation to their morality; he frames his life, as we have
before seen (chap. xiii. 14), according to the law of God within him
in his conscience, and without him, in the revealed word. 2. _He
walks thus cautiously because he recognises moral danger._ He
_"fears."_ This makes all the difference in the lives of men. Some
recognise the fact that they are in a world full of moral pit-falls
and rocks which will be their ruin unless they take heed to their
ways, and others do not. Some know the moral atmosphere is laden with
moral pestilence, but others do not discern its impurity. The wise
man "departs from evil" as he would involuntarily turn aside if he
saw a deadly serpent lying in his path, or would parry a sword-thrust
made at him by an adversary. His main business is, not to take care
of his _life,_ but of his _character._
+III. The respective reward of the wise and foolish.+ The first are
_crowned_ by an increase of knowledge, the second have an
_inheritance;_ but it is only to be given over to their foolishness.
The wise man's moral sense becomes more developed "by reason of use"
it is more and more able "to discern good and evil" (Heb. v. 14). He
is more and more removed from that simplicity which "believeth every
word"--he can "try the spirits, whether they are of God" (1 John
iv. 1), while the foolish man is more and more the dupe of his own
credulity, or of his own self-conceit, and becomes more and more the
slave of uncontrolled passion.
_ILLUSTRATION OF VERSE_ 17.
Socrates, meeting a gentleman of rank in the street, saluted him, but
the gentleman took no notice of it. His friends, observing what
passed, told the philosopher that they were so exasperated at the
man's incivility that they had a good mind to resent it. But he
calmly made answer, "If you meet any person in the road in a worse
habit of body than yourself would you think you had reason to be
enraged with him on that account. Pray, then, what greater reason can
you have for being incensed at a man for a worse habit of mind than
any of yourselves?"
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 15. He who applies himself to wisdom takes heed of his own
ways, foreseeing dangers, preparing remedies, employing the
assistance of the good, guarding himself against the wicked, cautious
in entering on a work, not unprepared for a retreat, watchful to
seize opportunities, strenuous to remove impediments, and attending
to many other things which concern the government of his own actions
and proceedings. But the other kind of wisdom is entirely made up of
deceits and cunning tricks, laying up all its hope in the
circumventing of others, and moulding them to its pleasure, which
kind verse 8 denounces as being not only dishonest, but also
foolish.--_Lord Bacon._
"The simple believeth every word," whether true or false, useful or
injurious. Charity, indeed, "believeth all things" (1 Cor. xiii. 7),
but not things that are palpably _untrue._ It is the _truth_ which it
readily believes. It believes all that it can with a good conscience
to the credit of another, but not anything more. Epicharmus says,
"The sinews and limbs of faith are not rashly to believe" (Acts
xvii. 11). "The prudent man looketh well to his going"--whether it
tends to grace and salvation, or to sin and perdition; he "believeth
not every word"--as, for instance, the flattering words of seducers,
who commend to him false doctrine or licentious practice (Eph.
v. 15).--_Fausset._
We may apply the verse in all its emphasis of meaning to _eternal
concerns._ The simple hear different persons on the subject of
religion, and take for granted that all they hear is right. They are
easily bewildered by sophistical arguments; led away by appeals to
feeling; swayed and mastered by false eloquence; seduced by flattery.
They are the sport of all that is novel--"tossed to and fro, and
carried about with every wind of doctrine." On the contrary, when
interests so vast are at stake the prudent man will feel his way,
taking nothing upon trust. He first bends his earnest thought to the
question of the Divine authority of the Bible--a question next in
importance to that of the being of God; and having ascertained its
authority, to learn its lessons. Having the map he will examine for
himself the way to heaven. Having a Divine directory, he will trust
no human guide.--_Wardlaw._
History is full of examples of men who have lost their lives by means
of their credulity, amongst whom were those great men, Abner and
Amasa. . . . Some have been betrayed into the worst of sins, by
believing groundless reports of others, as Saul in the case of David,
and we might also add, David himself in the case of Mephibosheth. The
nation of the Jews was threatened with desolation by the easy temper
of Ahasuerus, who believed without examination the malicious
suggestions of the wicked Haman. . . . The whole world was ruined by
the simplicity of Eve, and the easy credit she gave the
serpent.--_Lawson._
To _believe every word_ of God is _faith._ To _believe every word_ of
man is _credulity._ Admit only the one standard; like the noble
Bereans, who would not believe even an apostle's word, except it was
confirmed by the written testimony (Acts xvii. 11).--_Bridges._
We are not willing to be blindfolded at our meat, nor to eat our
supper without a light, especially in strange places, where we
neither know well the fidelity of our host, nor what dishes are set
before us, and shall we be more provident for the outward man, than
for the inward? Shall we keep out of our bodies such food as is not
wholesome and savoury, and receive into our souls such food as will
poison us? . . . No wrong is thus done to any man. We used to tell
silver and weigh gold, and yet we prejudge not them at whose hands we
receive them.--_Dod._
Trust is a lovely thing, but it cannot stand unless it get truth to
lean on. . . . It is a well-known characteristic of the little child
to believe implicitly whatever you tell him. . . . It remains a
feature of the child until it is worn off by hard experience of the
world. . . . In this world a man is obliged to be suspicious. Man
suffers more from man than from the elements of nature or the beasts
of the field. A time is coming when this species of prudence will be
no longer needed. When the people shall be all righteous, there will
be no deception on one side, and no distrust on the other.--_Arnot._
A prudent man looks forward to the consequences of things, and
particularly to the consequences of his own conduct. O, how much
misery and mischief might be avoided or prevented by attending only
to this single principle, for what are most of the calamities we see
in the world owing to but this--that men will not look before them?
To the want of this wise foresight Moses attributed all the
rebellions and enormities of the Jewish people, and therefore
breathed forth this ardent prayer on their behalf, "Oh, that they
were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their
latter end" (Deut. xxxii. 29).--_Mason._
Verse 16. The "evil" from which the "wise man departeth" may mean
either _suffering_ or _sin._ Both may with propriety be included, the
one being the cause of the other.--_Wardlaw._
_Fear_ is sometimes thought to be an unmanly principle. But look at
the terrible extent of _the evil_ dreaded. Without it is vanity and
disappointment (Rom. vi. 21). Within it is the sting of guilt (1 Cor.
xv. 56). Upward we see the frown of God (John iii. 36). Downward
everlasting burnings (Mark ix. 44). . . . The _fool,_ however, never
_fears_ till he falls. . . . Such a _fool_ was the _raging_ Assyrian,
blindly _confident_ in his own might, till the God whom he despised
turned him back to his destruction (2 Kings xix. 28-37).--_Bridges._
He (the good man) can never _trust in himself,_ though he is
satisfied _from himself_ (verse 14). He knows that his sufficiency is
of God; and the _fear_ that causes him to _depart from evil_ is a
guardian to the _love_ he feels. Love renders him cautious; the other
makes him feel confident. His _caution_ leads him _from sin,_ his
_confidence_ leads him _to God._--_A. Clarke._
They which are in greatest safety are farthest from carnal security.
The godly have not so many sins as the wicked, and yet they feel them
more, and fear them more, and flee from them faster. And the wicked
have not more valour than the godly nor so much freedom from
punishment, and yet go beyond them in audacity and fleshly
confidence. When David was dealt with by Nathan, he confessed his
fault, he craved pardon, he set his heart to seek help from heaven
against his sin; but when Ahab was spoken to by Macaiah, he
persecuted the prophet, he proceeded in his purpose, he promised
himself a safe return. Josiah, hearing the law of the Lord read by
Shaphan, rent his clothes in grief and fear, but Jehoiakim hearing
the words of God read by Baruch, in regard of the curses therein
denounced, did tear the book and burn it in wrath and fury.--_Dod._
A wise man knows that the enemy is strong, and that his own defences
are feeble. His policy therefore is, not to brave danger, but to keep
out of harm's way. He seeks safety in flight. The fool's character is
mainly made up of two features; he thinks little of danger and much
of himself. He stumbles on both sides alike. That which is strong he
despises, and that which is weak he trusts. The dangers that beset
him are great, but he counts them as nothing; the strength that is in
him is as nothing, but he counts it great. Thus he is on all hands
out of his reckoning, and stumbles at every step.--_Arnot._
As a foolish fear is a betrayer of the strength of man, so a wise
fear is the safety of him. Wherefore Cyprian saith, the Divine wisdom
hath found out an excellent policy that by the help of fear we should
be delivered. Great is the benefit of God's providence, that
sometimes fear is made both a virtue and a victory. A wise man
departeth from evil before he cometh to it, for then the parting, as
most easily, so is most happily made.--_Jermin._
_Fear a religious principle._ The beginning of religion in the heart
is a subject of curious inquiry and of great practical importance.
There is no sufficient reason for supposing that it is in all men
alike, we have no rule for saying that religion must either
necessarily, or that it does usually proceed from the same cause.
Different men are affected by different motives; and what sinks deep
into the heart of one, makes little impression upon another. . . .
Thus it is, that religion sometimes, not seldom indeed, has a
_violent_ origin in the soul, and begins in terror: "A wise man
_feareth_ and departeth from evil."--_Paley._
Verse 17. Some pettish spirits are like fine glasses, broken as soon
as touched, and all on fire upon every slight and trifling occasion;
when meek and grave spirits are like flints that do not send out a
spark but after violent and great collision; _feeble_ minds have a
_habit_ of wrath, and, like broken bones, are apt to roar with the
least touch: it argues a very unsanctified spirit to be so soon
moved. Let it be like the fire of thorns, quickly extinct.--_Salter._
As small letters hurt the sight, so do small matters him that is too
much intent upon them; they vex and stir up anger, which begets an
evil habit in him in reference to greater affairs.--_Plutarch._
A man who falls into a passion does indeed commit a folly, but yet is
far preferable to the coldly and selfishly calculating villain.--_Von
Gerlach._
"A man of wicked devices," one, who when offended, represses the
indications of his anger, all the while meditating revenge, and
waiting for the opportunity when he can wreak it. As "he that is soon
angry dealeth foolishly" as regards himself, so he that wickedly
deviseth revenge, while deferring the expression of his anger,
bringeth on him the "hatred" of others. Thus there is danger on both
sides, in hastiness, and in deferring anger through malice. The
latter is the worst offence.--_Fausset._
The more hot-pulsed sinner may be lost; but the _deep-set_ fool
excels him both in guilt and danger. Alas! for the well-complexioned,
coolly-settled, morally-esteemed, and long-established hypocritical
professor. It is not all thinking that this book applauds, but that
which is discriminate, the watching of our feet.--_Miller._
Though religion alloweth to be angry, yet it forbiddeth to be _soon
angry,_ because he that is soon angry is as soon dealing foolishly.
The haste of his choler maketh him to outrun his understanding, and
the smoke of his anger putteth out the light of his
judgment.--_Jermin._
To be angry is to revenge the faults of others upon
ourselves.--_Pope._
As fine gold doth suffer itself to be tried in the fire six or seven
times, and yet the heat of the fire doth never change its nature or
colour; or as good corn is first threshed with the flail, and then
winnowed with the wind, and yet is neither broken with the one nor
carried away with the other; even so we should suffer ourselves to be
tried by injuries, and yet not by impatience, through anger, change
our nature, nor yet our colour, nor be carried away with any
inconvenience.--_Cawdray._
Verse 18. This proverb is especially instructive with respect to the
deep inner connection that exists on the one hand between foolish
notions, and a poor, unattractive, powerless earthly position,
destitute of all influence,--and on the other hand between true
wisdom and large ability in the department both of the material and
the spiritual. Von Gerlach pointedly says, "There is a certain power
of attraction, according as a man is wise or foolish; the possessions
also which the one or the other attains are in accordance with his
disposition."--_Lange's Commentary._
The child of Adam is born to folly (Job xi. 12). That is his
_inheritance._ He received it from his first father (Gen. v. 3; Psa.
li. 5). So long as he remains _simple,_ he confirms the title. Unlike
an earthly _inheritance,_ he cannot relinquish it. He holds it in
life, he still holds it firm in death, and reaps its bitter fruits
throughout eternity.--_Bridges._
The prudent has not inherited much at this present date. He has not
much of the world. He has not much of another. How shall we express
his excellence? He has this poor thing that he calls piety. Where is
its worth to him? Why, its worth to him is that it is a splendid
_"crown." He makes a crown of knowledge._ That is, he takes his
piety, which is a mean, weak beginning, and makes it the badge of a
glorious sovereignty. The Christian is a king. And by this is meant,
that, when he becomes pious, everything becomes subject to him
(1 Cor. iii. 22).--_Miller._
The world says that none dies without an heir: Religion says that
none dies without an inheritance. Everyone dying in this world is
heir to himself in the next world.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 19.
A LEVELLING LAW.
+I. This law is now manifest to the inner life of the wicked.+ If a
wicked man has any sense of right and wrong, he is conscious of the
superiority of the good man. There is an inward bowing down of the
evil to the good which is as real, although invisible, as any outward
bending of the person of one man before another. Indeed it is far
more real than much outward homage. There are many outward and
visible bendings and bowings which are mere matters of form, which
are only made to keep up appearances. But the involuntary bowing of
the evil man's soul in the presence of the good man is a real act of
homage, although there is in it an element of unwillingness. There is
a compulsory consent, so to speak, of the man himself against
himself. But this genuflexion of soul is no mere pretence.
+II. The good man is also conscious of it.+ He knows that it is so
because in the constitution of the universe good is made to rule
evil, because the head of the one kingdom--the kingdom of evil--is
compelled to acknowledge the authority of the head of the kingdom of
good. His own moral consciousness tells him that it must be so, and
he has the declaration of God to confirm it. _"No weapon that is
formed against thee shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise
against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of
the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of Me, saith the
Lord"_ (Isa. liv. 17).
+III. What has been occasionally manifested in the outward life, and
what is always the inner experience, will one day be universally
visible to all the universe.+ The revelation of God tells us that
there will be a universally visible manifestation of the submission
of the evil to the good. And our sense of justice demands that it
should be so. A day will come when, at the name of Incarnate
Goodness, "every knee shall bow" (Phil. ii. 10), and the servants
will have a portion of like reverence. "The sons also of them that
afflicted Thee shall come bending unto Thee; and all they that
despised Thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of Thy feet"
(Isa. lx. 14).--See also Rev. xx. 4. It is also revealed to us _when_
this visible manifestation shall take place. _"In the end of this
world,"_ at the close of the present dispensation, _"the Son of Man
shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom
all things that offend, and them which do iniquity. . . . Then shall
the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father"_
(Matt. xiii. 40-43). "For this manifestation of the sons of God" they
wait with "earnest expectation;" "creation groans" for it; Christ
Himself awaits it at "the right hand of God" (Heb. x. 12, 13; Rom.
viii. 19-22).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
At one time or another, in one respect or other, the ungodly serve
and crouch to the godly. Sometimes they that fear the Lord are lifted
up to honour, and then the evil men bow themselves before them.
Sometimes, again, the righteous wax rich through God's blessing on
their labours, and then come the wicked to their gates for alms and
relief. Not only the poor ones, but the great ones, who yet are
wicked ones, seek and sue now and then with all submission to the
godly for their counsel and help. And I cannot tell how, but such a
majesty there is in the godly oftentimes, that most desperately
wicked men reverence their faces, and are silent or courteous in
their presence.--_Muffet._
There is not the general rule in the present dispensation. Righteous
Lazarus _bowed at the rich man's gate_ (Luke xvi. 20). . . . But "the
upright shall have dominion over the wicked in the morning" (Psa.
xlix. 14; Mal. iv. 1-3). "The saints shall judge the world" (1 Cor.
vi. 2).--_Bridges._
There have been instances in which this proverb was verified in a
very remarkable manner. The Egyptians bowed down before Joseph, and
Moses, and the Israelites. The proud king of Babylon almost
worshipped the captive Daniel, and Elisha's favour was solicited by
three kings, one or two of whom were bad men.--_Lawson._
The wicked serve the righteous; and whether they do it knowingly,
they do it wholly, and through eternal ages.--_Miller._
In times of worldly prosperity, and while the wicked flourish, there
is none more lifted up in pride and bravery of outward shows than
they are; there is none, then, less esteemed, and more despised, than
the good and righteous are. They shall give long attendance before
the gates give way to them, and when they are entered a proud eye
shall mightily overlook them, a scornful language shall throw them
down at their feet. Wherefore Augustine calleth riches wings, by
which men in pride fly not only above others, but themselves also.
But if the time alter, and either some storm of common calamity beat
upon them, or else the hand of God privately seize on them, then none
are more dejected than the wicked, none then more esteemed than the
righteous are by them. Then their ways are to the gates of the
righteous, and much bowing there is to entreat their prayers unto
God, and to obtain help and comfort from them. Then Dives, but
fearing hell only, already sees Lazarus in heaven, and fain would
come unto him.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 20 _and_ 21.
AN AGGRAVATED CRIME, A QUESTIONABLE VIRTUE, AND A PRESENT BLESSING.
+I. A fourfold sin.+ A man who despises or hates his neighbour
sins--1. _In the simple exercise of the feeling._ Hatred, or even the
act of despising another, is in itself a sin. Here we must
distinguish between hatred of the _person_ and hatred of his
_practices_--between despising _a man himself_ and despising his
_actions._ God Himself hates and abhors evil character, but He makes
a distinction between a man's character and the man. To hate or to
despise any human creature is devilish. 2. _By hating or despising
him for his poverty._ Poverty is a calamity often--always a burden
and a cross. It is that for which a man should be pitied, and on
account of which he should receive the sympathy of his fellow-men.
Poverty is a burden heavy enough in itself, to add to it in any way
is diabolical. 3. _Because he hates and despises his
fellow-sufferer._ It is not a man beneath him, of whose trials he is
ignorant, but his _neighbour,_ one with whom he is on a level. The
proverb speaks of one poor man hating another. Cases are not uncommon
in which men who have risen from poverty to wealth hate and despise
the class from which they have risen even more than those do who were
born to rank and wealth. And sometimes men who have risen are hated
by those whom they have left behind in the race. But for a poor man
to dislike and to despise another poor man for his poverty, is a most
unnatural and aggravated crime. A common calamity generally makes men
feel a kinship for each other. Those who partake of a common lot
generally feel a common sympathy. The poor do not generally hate and
despise the poor. The poor man who does commit this sin against his
neighbour commits a double sin against himself, for he knows himself
the trials of his poor brother, and, therefore, does not sin through
ignorance or inconsiderateness. 4. _Against God._ God "putteth down
one, and setteth up another" (Psalm lxxv. 7). It is His ordination
that "the poor shall never cease out of the land" (Deut. xv. 11).
They are His especial care (Psalm xii. 5, etc.), and He will count
any addition to their burden as a wrong to Himself.
+II. A questionable virtue.+ "The rich hath many friends." Friendship
with a rich man may spring from _social equality._ There is a natural
tendency in men who are equals in anything to form friendships with
each other. Men of the same moral standing do so, men of the same
intellectual attainments are attracted to each other, and men who are
equals in social rank and in wealth are, by the force of
circumstances, often thrown into each other's society, and so a
friendship which is real _may_ be formed. But it is a more
questionable bond than that which unites men in the two
first-mentioned cases. It may be only a counterfeit of the genuine
article, and it is nothing more if wealth is the only bond.
Friendships formed upon similarity of intellectual and moral wealth
have a far firmer foundation, because they rest upon what is
inseparable from the man himself, while friendship founded upon
riches has for its foundation what may at any time take to itself
wings and fly away. Or the friendship may be one of _social
inequality._ A poor man may attach himself to a wealthy man. This,
too, _may_ be genuine. The friendship _may_ be built upon something
which both value more than wealth; but if the friendship of the rich
with the rich is regarded with doubt, and requires adversity to test
it, much more does the friendship of the poor for the rich. The proof
of the genuineness of the metal is the fire, the proof of the
seaworthiness of the vessel is the storm, and it is an universally
recognised truth that the proof of friendship is power to come
uninjured through the fire and storm of adverse circumstances.
+III. A present blessedness.+ "He that hath mercy on the poor, happy
is he." 1. Happy because "it is more blessed to give than to receive"
(Acts xx. 35), because gladness always comes to the heart when an
effort has been made to lighten another's burden. 2. Happy in
possessing the gratitude and confidence of his poor brother. 3. Happy
because he wins the favour of God. (See on verse 31.)
_ILLUSTRATION OF VERSE_ 20.
The bees were haunting the flowering trees in crowds, humming among
the branches, and gathering honey in the flowers. Said Gotthold,
"Here is an image of temporal prosperity. So long as there is blossom
on the trees, and honey in the blossom, the bees will frequent them
in crowds, and fill the place with their music; but when the blossom
is over, and the honey gone, they too will disappear." Temporal gain
is the world's honey, and the allurement with which you may entice it
whithersoever you will; but where the gain terminates, there likewise
do the love and friendship of the world stop.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 20. Alas! it is a mystery of knowledge to discern friends:
"Wealth maketh many friends" (chap. xix. 4); they are friends to the
wealth, not to the wealthy. They regard not _qualis sis,_ but
_quantas,_ not how good thou art, but how great. They admire thee to
thy face, but inwardly consider thee only a necessary evil, yea, a
necessary devil. . . . Worldly friends are like hot water, that when
cold weather comes, are soonest frozen. Like cuckoos all summer they
will sing to thee, but they are gone in July at furthest; sure enough
before the fall. They flatter a rich man, as we feed beasts, and then
feed on him.--_T. Adams._
How former friendship between two persons may be transformed into its
opposite on account of the impoverishment of one of them, is
impressively illustrated by our Lord's parable of the neighbour who a
friend asks for three loaves (Luke xi. 5-8).--_Lange's Commentary._
The same word in the original which signifieth a friend signifieth a
neighbour also, because a neighbour should be a friend. But though a
rich man has friends far and near, a poor man is hated even of his
neighbour. He that best knoweth his wants and should most of all pity
them, doth least regard him and use him worst. He that is nearest at
hand to help him is farthest off from helping him. Wherefore the
neighbourhood of men being so bad, God becometh his neighbour, and as
it is in the Psalms (cix. 31). _"He standeth at the right hand of the
poor man to save him."--Jermin._
Verse 21. The impenitent is the _poorest_ among men; and he who
neglects him, and lets him go on in his iniquity, of course, is a
cruel sinner. "They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the
firmament, and they that lead many to righteousness, as the stars for
ever and ever." He who despises his neighbour "sins," literally
"misses," "blunders." He wastes a splendid opportunity, not only for
his neighbour, but for himself. The appeal is to _self,_ and is made
more intense where, instead of _"despising"_ our neighbour, we
actually "devise evil" against him (See next verse).--_Miller._
1. _There is a sin against the arrangements of God's providence._
2. _Against the frequent and express commands of His Word_ (Deut.
xv. 7-11; Luke xii. 33; xiv. 12-14). 3. _Against the manifestations
of His distinguishing love._ God has not only avowed Himself jealous
for the poor, but "to the poor the gospel is preached," and of those
who become the subjects of God's grace, and heirs of glory, a large
proportion belong to this class. 4. _In the contempt of God's
threatened vengeance against all who neglect them, and of His
promised special favour to all who treat them with
kindness.--Wardlaw._
We show our contempt of the poor, not only by trampling upon them,
but by overlooking them, or by withholding that help for which their
distress loudly calls. The Levite and the priest that declined giving
assistance to the wounded traveller on the way to Jericho, were
notorious breakers of the law of love in the judgment of our Lord.
The Samaritan was the only one that performed the duty of a
neighbour.--_Lawson._
Through the gate of beneficence doth the charitable man enter into
the city of peace. . . . God makes some rich, to help the poor; and
suffers some poor to try the rich. The loaden would be glad of ease:
now charity lighteneth the rich man of his superfluous and wieldy
carriage. When the poor find mercy they will be tractable; when the
rich find quiet, they should be charitable. Would you have your goods
kept in peace? First, lock them up by your prayers, then open them
again with your thankful use, and trust them in the hands of Christ
by your charity.--_T. Adams._
He that hath mercy on the poor maketh the other's misery to be his
own happiness, and as the other is comforted by it, so is he blessed
by it. Blessed he is by the poor and his prayers for him, blessed he
is by God and His favours upon him. Tabitha had reached out her hand
to give unto the poor, and Peter reached out his hand in delivering
her from death. She had bestowed clothing on the poor, and life is
bestowed upon her. Wherefore the exhortation of Chrysostom is, "those
things which God hath given us, let us give Him again, that so with
advantage they may be again made ours."--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 22.
A FATAL ERROR AND A CERTAIN GOOD.
+I. The mistake of devisers of evil.+ 1. _They err in relation to the
success of their plans._ They think that their wicked devices will
succeed, so they would not go to the labour and trouble of devising
them. But they make a fatal mistake, because they ignore another
plan, which embraces theirs. They forget that there may be a circle
of action outside their circle, which may circumvent all their
schemes. A man may look at the sea from the lower deck of a vessel
and think he can see all that is to be seen. But his thinking so
would only prove him to be a fool. The man at the masthead can see
much further. A traveller on a plain may have an extensive view, but
he who is on the mountaintop takes in all that he can see, and much
besides. So it is with the man who devises evil. He can see a little
way before him and around him, he thinks, therefore, that he can take
in the whole situation at a glance, and can see what is needful for
him to do and what can be accomplished to bring his plans to pass.
But there is more beyond; God takes a higher position and has a wider
outlook. He takes in not only all that the wicked man has seen, but
much that he does not see. _"He taketh the wise in their own
craftiness; and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong"_ (Job
v. 13). The device of Haman was so well planned that it seemed to him
certain of success. But Mordecai's God had a plan which embraced and
out-flanked that of the murderer. The device of Joseph's brethren
seemed to embrace all that was necessary to accomplish his ruin, but
it was utilised by the righteous Ruler of the Universe to bring to
pass his exaltation. The device of evil against the Divine Son of God
is the most palpable instance that the universe has ever seen of the
short-sighted error of wicked men. 2. _He errs because he will meet
with retribution in his own person._ Human rulers are sometimes
involved in much perplexity because, although they know that plots
are being woven against their government, they are not only at a loss
to find a plan by which to bring home the crime to the conspirators,
but feel they have no force strong enough to punish them if they are
convicted. But God is never at a loss either for means to defeat the
purposes of those that devise evil, or to punish them for their
devices. He is never driven, by want of power, to yield to those who
oppose the good--who work iniquity. (See Homiletics on chap.
xii. 12-14, page 268.)
+II. The reward of devisers of good.+ "Mercy and truth." 1. _Even a
deviser of good needs mercy._ The very act of devising good sometimes
brings a man to need mercy of his _fellow-man._ Daniel devised
nothing but good to the king of Babylon, but his very uprightness
made him an object of envy and brought him into a condition to need
mercy. Or a deviser of good may err in judgment. The best intentioned
man is liable to make mistakes. No human being, however benevolent
his life, can claim to be exempt from moral infirmities which will
sometimes mislead him. Every man therefore needs that his fellow
creatures should mingle charity with their judgment of him and with
their conduct towards him. And he always needs mercy from _God._ No
saint of ancient or modern times has ever been beyond the need of
God's mercy, although their very name implies that they are devisers
of good. 2. _He equally needs truth._ He needs to be able to depend
upon the _word_ of another, he needs a certainty of being justly
dealt with. A man's success in business largely depends upon his
being able to rest upon the fair dealing of others. He wants truth in
others to meet his own truthfulness--as he strives to deal justly,
and to love mercy, so he desires to be dealt with justly as well as
mercifully. 3. _Both these needs shall be met. Sometimes_ by men,
_always_ by God. Experience and history furnish us with many
exceptions to the first. Those men of God who have been most eminent
devisers of good have often met with anything but mercy and truth
from those whom they have desired to benefit. Ignorance or envy has
risen up against them, and so the missionary has been slain by the
club of the savage abroad, and the reformer has been made the mark of
slanderous tongues at home. But everyone has found the testimony of
the inspired Word to be true in his own experience: _With the
merciful Thou wilt show Thyself merciful. With an upright man Thou
wilt show Thyself upright_ (Psa. xviii. 25).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
If wicked men employ their thoughts to contrive mischief, and show so
much diligence in the service of sin, although they have such a
miserable reward, let God's people exercise the same diligence in the
service of righteousness, by seeking out and seizing opportunities of
doing good, and their labour shall not be in vain in the
Lord.--_Lawson._
Scripture traces actions to principles. Wicked as it is to _do evil,_
it is far more hateful to _devise it_ (see verse 17). _Devising
evil,_ therefore, if it comes not to the act, shows the purpose
(chap. xxiv. 8).--_Bridges._
To him who lays himself out in planning and executing designs of
benefit to others, there shall be _"mercy and truth."_ From his
fellow-men he shall experience universal love and esteem. He shall
find sympathy in his distresses and reverses, faithfulness in dealing
(for if anything will secure a man from being cheated and defrauded,
it will be a character for disinterested kindness), and the general
exercise of practical gratitude. And the Lord will make him to
experience His love, and will fulfil to him faithfully all His
"precious promises."--_Wardlaw._
Solomon here is no lawgiver, but an evangelist, leading us unto Jesus
Christ. For we can obtain no mercy but in Him only. For "the promises
of God are yea and amen in Him."--_Cope._
Can any one see any flaw in _"Mercy"_ and _"Truth?"_ _Mercy_ is pure
benevolence; and _truth_ is that other quality of the good, which is
commanded in the first table of the law, and answers to a love of
holiness. Is there anything right, outside of _"Mercy and Truth?"_ Is
there anything wrong that the vilest rebel can detect in either one
of them? Must "they not err that devise evil," if for no other cause
than that _"Mercy and Truth"_ stand on the opposite side, and,
through eternal ages, are busy in _devising good?--Miller._
Aristotle relateth of Socrates that he affirmed all virtues to be
sciences, all sins to be ignorances. And Aquinas saith of it, that
therein he judged in some sort rightly because the will never would
incline to evil, unless it were with some ignorance and error of
reason. The question, therefore, is not here asked of him that
deviseth evil, for he thinketh himself to be right, he doth not think
that to be evil which he doth, nor himself to err in doing of it. He
attaineth to the end at which he aimeth, and that persuadeth him that
he aimeth aright. But so to be in the right way, is quite to wander
from the right way; and howsoever such an one may not err in his
plans and plots, yet doubtless he erreth from the ways of
life.--_Jermin._
Mercy and truth were the best that David could wish for his fast
friend Ittai (2 Sam. xv. 20). These two attributes of God shall cause
that good devices shall not miscarry. His mercy moves Him to promise,
His truth binds Him to perform. "For Thy word's sake, and according
to Thine own heart Thou hast done all these things" (2 Sam.
vii. 18-21). "According to Thine own heart," that is out of pure and
unexcited love, Thou didst give Thy Word and promise, and "for Thy
Word's sake," Thou hast performed it.--_Trapp._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 23.
THE PROFIT OF LABOUR.
1. _The profit of social honour._ It is both natural and right that a
man should desire the respect and good-will of those around him.
Nothing is more certain than that he who lives without working in
some form or another, either for himself or for others, will not
receive this reward. Those who are poor, and do nothing, sink into
beggary and consequent dishonour; those who are rich, and have
nothing to do--or rather, who do nothing--are not held in honour,
either in life or after death. "Pray, sir, of what disease did your
brother die?" said the Marquis Spinola one day to Sir Horace Vere.
"He died, sir," was the answer, "of having nothing to do." "Alas!"
said Spinola, "that is enough to kill any general of us all." Honour
cannot come from idleness, but labour brings not only honour while
living, but gives us a title to be regarded with respect after we
have left the world. Of no man who has lived to any purpose can it
ever be said that _he died of having nothing to do._ 2. _The profit
of bodily health._ A body which does not labour, either with brain or
hand, is an easy prey to disease. The brain if used becomes
strengthened for further use. The whole bodily frame is kept in
health by wholesome work. 3. _Profit to the moral nature._ Labour
calls for some form of self-sacrifice. It develops habits of
painstaking and diligence which are helpful to a man's moral nature.
It helps the spiritual part of the man by helping the bodily,
inasmuch as a strong and healthy body is the best instrument for a
morally healthy soul. 4. _The profit of material gain._ In all free
countries a man gets some wages for work. It may not be a fair
remuneration, but there is some profit of this kind attached to it.
There are, of course, exceptions to this proverb, as for instance,
the labour of the man who devises evil in the former verse, or that
of those whose poverty compels them to work, even to the injury of
soul and body, for a miserable pittance which is not worthy the name
of wages. Such, alas, is the lot of many even in our own country. The
antithesis of this proverb, simply states that talk will not do
instead of work. When men do nothing but talk, their talk is certain
to be of that worthless kind condemned in chapter x. 19. (See
Homiletics on page 168.)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Get leave to work
In this world--'tis the best you get at all;
For God, in cursing, gives us better gifts
Than man in benediction. God says "Sweat
For foreheads," men say "Crowns" and so we are crowned,
Ay, gashed by some tormenting circle of steel
Which snaps with a secret spring. Get work, get work;
Be sure 'tis better than what you work to get.
* * * * * *
Be sure, no earnest work
Of any honest creature, howbeit weak,
Imperfect, ill-adapted, fails so much,
It is not gathered as a grain of sand,
To enlarge the sum of human action used
For carrying out God's end.--_Mrs. Browning._
There is a perennial nobleness, and even sacredness in work. Were he
never so benighted, forgetful of his high calling, there is always
hope in a man that actually and earnestly works: in idleness alone is
there perpetual despair. Work, never so mammonish, mean, _is_ in
communication with nature: the real desire to get work done will
itself lead one more and more to truth, to nature's appointments and
regulations, which are truth. The latest gospel in this world is,
Know thy work and do it. "Know thyself:" long enough has that poor
self of thine tormented thee; thou wilt never get to "know" it, I
believe! Think it not thy business, this of knowing thyself; thou art
an unknowable individual; know what thou can'st work at, and work at
it, like a Hercules! That will be thy better plan. It has been
written, "an endless significance lies in work," a man perfects
himself by working. Foul jungles are cleared away, fair seed-fields
rise instead, and stately cities; and withal the man himself first
ceases to be a jungle and foul unwholesome desert thereby. Consider
how, even in the meanest sorts of labour, the whole soul of a man is
composed into a kind of real harmony, the instant he sets himself to
work! Doubt, Desire, Sorrow, Remorse, Indignation, Despair itself,
all these like hell-dogs lie beleaguering the soul of the poor
day-worker, as of every man: but he bends himself with free valour
against his task, and all these are stilled, all these shrink
murmuring far off into their caves. The man is now a man. The blessed
glow of labour in him, is it not as purifying fire, wherein all
poison is burnt up, and sour smoke itself thereby is made bright
blessed flame?--_Carlyle._
Industry need not wish; and he that lives upon hopes will die
fasting. There are no gains without pains, then help hands, for I
have no lands, or, if I have, they are smartly taxed. He that hath a
trade hath an estate, and he that hath a calling hath an office of
profit and honour; but then the trade must be worked at, and the
calling followed, or neither the estate nor the office will enable us
to pay our taxes.--_Franklin._
He that labours is tempted by one devil; he that is idle by a
thousand.--_Italian Proverb._
As in religion, it is not the man who speaks but the man who does
that gives proof of his sincerity; so in earthly business, it is not
the man who talks fluently, and lays down plausible schemes of
business, but the man who labours and does all his work that has
reason to expect the blessing of Providence. Those that wear their
working instruments in their tongues are always the most useless, and
sometimes the most hurtful members of society.--_Lawson._
A busy tongue makes idle hands. If the mouth _will_ be heard, the
noisy loom must stop; and he who prefers the sound of his tongue to
that of his shuttle, had need at the same time be a man who prefers
talk to meat, hunger to fulness, starvation to plenty.--_Wardlaw._
Rich beyond conception is the profit of spiritual labour (chap.
x. 16). "The Son of Man gives to the _labourer_ enduring meat. The
violent take the kingdom of heaven by force. The _labour_ of love God
is not unrighteous to forget" (John vi. 27; Heb. vi. 10). But _the
talk of the lips_ gives husks, not bread. While there are only
shallow conceptions of the Gospel, and no experimental enjoyment of
Christian establishment, it is "all running out in noise." Says
Henry: "There is no instruction because there is no 'good treasure
within' (Matt. xii. 35)." "What manner of communications are these
that ye have one to another?" is a searching question (Luke
xxiv. 17). Ministers, doctrines, the externals, circumstantials,
disputations on religion--all may be the mere skirts and borders of
the great subject, utterly remote from the heart and vitals. . . . A
religious tongue without a godly heart tendeth _only to
penury.--Bridges._
This is a difficult sentence. We have found it hard to vindicate its
sense. The grammar is all obvious, and on the very account the
reading is singularly fixed. But _"all labour"_ is anything else than
_"profitable;"_ and the _"talk of the lips"_ (chap. xxxi. 26) is one
of the grandest ways of doing good among men. We understand it in a
religious sense. All these proverbs might be worldly maxims, some of
them actually in use; all of them with a show of wisdom; some of them
utterly unsound; but all of them, when adopted by the Holy Ghost, and
turned in the direction of the Gospel, true, in their religious
aspect. So, now, in this particular instance, _"all labour"_ might
seem to promise well among the thrifty, but sometimes ruins men, even
in this world, and is sure to ruin them, if worldly, in the world to
come. But now, as a religious maxim, it is without exception. _"All
labour,"_ of a pious kind is marked, and will be gloriously rewarded
out of the books of the Almighty. _"All labour"_ of the impenitent,
for their soul's salvation, has _"profit;"_ literally, _something
over._ It brings them nearer. If continued long enough, it will bring
them in; that is, if it be honest (Heb. xi. 6); while _"the talk of
the lips,"_ or, possibly, _"an affair of the lips,"_ that is, _mere
intention,_ does _"only"_ mischief. Mark the balance between _"all"_
and _"only."_ Seeking is _"all"_ of it an advance. Intending is
"only" a retreat. One gains a step, the other loses one. Starting up
actually to work, if honest, is an advance towards wealth; while
intention, which is but _an affair of the lips, tends only_ to make
us poor indeed.--_Miller._
When God gave man this curse, in labour thou shalt eat, he gave
labour this blessing, to increase and multiply. It is a plant that
prospereth in any soil, it is a seed that taketh well in any ground.
For the labourer's hire is never kept back by God. . . . Talking is
not truly labour, and labour is rather to hold one's peace. According
as St. Ambrose speaketh "It is a harder thing to know how to be
silent than how to speak. For I know many to speak, when they know
not to hold their peace." But it is a rare thing for any man to hold
his peace, when to speak no way doth profit him. But no labour is so
well spared as this, and sitting still is nowhere so commendable as
in the lips.--_Jermin._
They that painfully and conscientiously employ themselves in any
vocation, how base and contemptible soever it seems to be, are in the
Lord's work, and Him they serve, as the apostle speaketh even of
bondmen, and is it possible that His workmen shall work without wages
or sufficient allowance? He reproveth those men which neglect to give
to the hireling his recompense for his travail, or fail in due time
to discharge it, and shall we think then that He will be careless of
His own servants Himself? They have God's Word for their security
that they shall not be unprovided of so much as is expedient for
them. If He say once that in all labour there is profit, they shall
never have cause to contradict Him.--_Dod._
It is only by labour that thought can be made healthy, and only by
thought that labour can be made happy; and the two cannot be
separated with impunity.--_Ruskin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 24.
WEALTH WITH AND WITHOUT WISDOM.
+I. Both a wise man and a fool may attain to wealth.+ The
intellectually wise, and the man who lacks mental ability, may both
possess great riches. There are many who have vast estates and no
more wisdom to manage them than an infant, and there are those whose
ability is equal to their wealth and position. So with moral wisdom.
Abraham, the friend of God, "was very rich in cattle, in silver, and
in gold" (Gen. xiii. 2). Job, who had the Divine testimony to his
"perfectness" and "uprightness," was "the greatest of all the men of
the east" (Job. i. 3). But many godless men like these mentioned in
our Lord's parables (Luke xii. 16, 20; xvi. 19-24) have "much goods
laid up for many years," and "are clothed in purple and fine linen,
and fare sumptuously every day." God is no respecter of persons in
the distribution of temporal good in the shape of riches, but if
there is any leaning to one class of character more than to another,
He would seem rather to favour the ungodly. Because such "have their
portion in this life" (Psa. xvii. 14) and in this life _only;_
because they have only this heaven upon earth; because they have no
desire and conception of anything higher; it seems as if the Ruler of
the universe often gives them the only good they are capable of
appreciating. Some of the most miserable specimens of humanity that
the world has ever seen have sat upon thrones, and a few of the
greatest of God's human children have likewise wielded sceptres. So
with the crown of wealth; it has been and is worn by men quite
irrespective of moral character, but the preponderance seems to be in
favour of the moral fool. Looked at in the light of eternity there is
no injustice or even mystery in this.
+II. But wealth is an adornment to the wise man only.+ If you dress
an Ethiopian in pure white linen you will not change the colour of
his skin. The man is what he was though his raiment is changed, and
the whiteness of his garments makes his skin look all the blacker. If
a tree is barren, the most costly and perfect artificial fruit placed
among its leaves will not add to its beauty. It will only produce an
incongruity which will be altogether distasteful to the spectator.
Its barrenness is only made the more conspicuous. So no wealth can
give any dignity to a mental and moral fool. Wealth will not hide the
intellectual barrenness, nor cover the black stains upon the man's
moral character. Nay, the wealth only brings them more prominently
into view. However rich a fool is "the foolishness of fools is
folly," and nothing else. But a man who is wise enough to know how to
use wealth--especially if he is good enough to put it to the highest
and best uses--even though he be neither intellectually great or
highly polished, will make his riches a crown--will so use them as to
merit and receive the respect and goodwill of his fellow-creatures.
Wealth looks best upon the head of one who possesses both
intelligence and goodness, but whenever it is studded with the gems
of a wise and sympathetic liberality it is a royal diadem--it makes
its wearer a king.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The Christian is rich in this world. We read in the 18th verse of the
"prudent making a crown of knowledge." Aladdin was rich when he had
nothing but his lamp. If a ray of faith put creation in bondage to a
saint, then not only is his "knowledge a crown," but "his crown is
his wealth." What needs Aladdin further than his lamp? The
sovereignty of saints, even in a forlorn world, makes a perfect
opulence; while _"the folly of fools,"_ seeing that it could give
place to this; seeing that he also could have the lamp; seeing that
the crowned princes, the very best of them, were fools like him; and
therefore, that it can only be _because he is a fool_ that he does
not throw off his folly;--all this explains the closing clause, which
is terse in its very quaintness; for, for the very reason that "the
crown of the wise is their wealth, the foolishness of fools is
folly."--_Miller._
Though, as a fearful temptation (Matt. xiii. 22; xix. 23), no _wise_
man would desire riches; yet as a gift of God (1 Kings iii. 13; Psa.
cxii. 3)--the gift, indeed, of His left hand (chap. iii. 16)--they
may become His _crown._ What a _crown_ they were to David and his
wise son, as the materials for building the temple (1 Chron.
xxix. 1-5; 2 Chron. v. 1); and to Job, as employed for the good of
his fellow-creatures (Job xxix. 6-17). So that, though wisdom under
all circumstances is a blessing, it is specially pronounced to be
"good _with an inheritance_" (Eccles. vii. 11, 12). It is necessary
to distinguish between the thing itself and the abuse of it. Wealth
is in fact a blessing, when honestly acquired and conscientiously
employed. And when otherwise, the man is to be blamed, and not his
treasure.--_Bridges._
What is the most gorgeous and dazzling earthly crown compared with a
diadem of which the component parts are the blessings of the
destitute relieved, the ignorant instructed, the vicious reclaimed,
the afflicted comforted, the dying cheered with the hope of life, the
perishing rescued from perdition and brought to God!--_Wardlaw._
If good men are spoiled of their wealth, they need not lament, as if
they had lost their crown. For riches are an ornament of grace to the
head of wise men, even when they are lost. Job's patience in the loss
of everything, did as much honour to him as his extraordinary
beneficence whilst he was the richest man in the East. We honour his
memory still more, when he sewed sackcloth upon his skin, and defiled
his horn in the dust, than at the time when judgment was his robe and
his diadem.--_Lawson._
As a horse is of no use without the bridle, so are riches without
reason.--_Cawdray._
Not riches but wisdom gives a crown of glory (chap. iv. 9). "The
prudent are crowned with _knowledge,_" not with riches; therefore,
the sense is, "_Wisdom_ (the opposite of folly), being the crown of
the wise constitutes their true riches," and results in the heavenly
riches; but the foolishness of fools is not riches to them, as the
wise man's crown of wisdom is to him, but is, and continues folly,
_i.e.,_ emptiness--neither an ornamental crown nor enriching
wisdom.--_Fausset._
The seeming tautology of the second clause is really its point. "The
foolishness of fools is . . . ." We expect something else, but the
subject is also the predicate. "The foolishness of fools is
foolishness." That is the long and the short of it. Turn it as you
will, it comes to that.--_Plumptre._
Wisdom in a poor man is but a petty lord. He may rule himself well,
but he shall have little command or power over others. Riches make a
wise man a king, and as they crown him with honour by being well used
by him, so do they extend his dominion far and wide. Many are subject
to the law of his discretion, and the force of his wise authority
prevaileth many ways. Well, therefore, doth the crown of riches sit
upon his head, whose wise head it is that makes them to be riches.
But riches in a fool are his bauble, whereby he maketh himself and
others sport. . . . The wise being crowned by them are kings over
their riches. They command them to their pleasure and use them to
their honour. Whereas it is the folly of fools that they are
galley-slaves to their own wealth.--_Jermin._
Give riches to a fool and you put a sword into a madman's hand; the
folly of such fools will soon be foolishness. Why, was it not
foolishness before? Yes, but now, it is become egregious foolishness.
To what end is a treasure, if a man have lost the key that leads to
it.--_Trapp._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 25.
DELIVERANCE BY TRUTH.
+I. What is implied in a witness bearer.+ A witness is supposed to
give light. Those who have to decide upon a matter seek for the
evidence of those who are personally acquainted with the facts. They
are expected to testify as to what they have seen and heard, and by
thus throwing light upon the subject to further the cause of truth
and justice. A witness can only give light by speaking the truth. The
words of a truth-teller are like rays of sunlight falling upon an
object that was before indistinct, they make plain things which
without their aid would be incomprehensible. On the other hand the
testimony of a lying witness surrounds everything about which he
bears witness with a mist and a darkness, and so foils the efforts of
those who are desiring to get a right view of the subject.
+II. Life and death are often in the power of those who bear
witness.+ The evidence of a truthful man delivers from death--or from
worse than death--those who are innocent, whereas a false witness may
deliver them up to punishment. The one is like a lighthouse which
enables the sailor to bring his vessel safely into port, the other is
like the false light of the wrecker, by means of which the ship is
dashed to pieces on the rocks. The first witness for God in Eden who
did not belong to the heavenly family was a "false witness who spoke
lies." He testified to Eve that God was a hard master, that He had
imposed upon her restrictions from a selfish motive, that the
punishment which had been threatened would not follow disobedience to
the Divine commands. Since this first false witness led our first
parents on to death, many a human witness has, in like manner, given
to the world false views of the Divine Father which have ended in
like results. Both Satan and his servants murder character by bearing
false witness. The Incarnate Son of God was pre-eminently "The True
Witness" (Isa. lv. 4; Rev. i. 5). He came to deliver men by bearing
witness of the true character of God from His own personal knowledge
(John xvii. 25, 26). _"To this end was I born, and for this cause
came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth,"
"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free"_
(John xvii. 37; viii. 32). "The truth which Christ taught was chiefly
on these three points--God, man, immortality. . . . He exhibited _God
as love,_ and so the fearful bondage of the mind to the necessity of
fate was broken. . . . He taught the truth about the _human soul,_
that it is not in its right place, that it never is in its right
place in the dark prison-house of sin, but that its home is freedom,
and the breath of God's life. . . . He taught truth concerning
_immortality,_ that this life is not all; that it is not only a
miserable state of human infancy."--_(Robertson.)_ By such testimony
this "true witness delivered souls"--_"proclaimed liberty to the
captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound"_
(Isa. lxi. 1). On this subject see also on chap. xii. 17, pages
274-276.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
We noticed that what crowned the wise was _"truth"_ or _"knowledge"_
(verse 18). _Truth_ to become _knowledge_ must get into the heart. To
do so it must be _"witnessed."_ We noticed under the second verse
that a man staggered, that is, he did not _walk in levelness,_
because he did not see clearly. But, _per contra,_ if a man sees
clearly he walks in _level ways;_ and then, according to our present
proverb, he _"saves"_ unconsciously the souls of others. This is most
clear when the view is negative. Let there be no _witness of truth,_
and where are the saved? No sinners are rescued in a dead nation.
Every Christian is a centre of light. The Church is but a body of
Christians. Where there is no Church, where are the penitents? The
truth intended to be conveyed is, that he who sees the truth spreads
it. While he who sees only _"lies,"_ which is an exact portrait of
the unredeemed, serves in spite of himself as a delusion to his
friends, and deceives them into unbelief just in proportion to his
influence upon them. Woe be to the wife or child where the husband is
a _"deceived witness"_ (verse 5). _"Witness"_--not in this case one
who bears witness, but one who _witnesses,_ in the sense of
_seeing.--Miller._
While true testimony may condemn, false testimony may acquit; while
the former may destroy life, the latter may save it. It is probable,
therefore, that the intended antithesis relates not so much to the
_actual fact_ of truth saving and falsehood condemning, as to the
_dispositions and intentions_ of the faithful witness on the one hand
and the lying witness on the other. The faithful witness delights in
giving testimony that may save life, that will be salutary and
beneficial to his fellow-creatures. The lying witness will, in
general, be found actuated by a malevolent and wicked purpose; having
pleasure in giving testimony that will go to condemn the object of
his malice. The sentiment will thus be--_that truth is most generally
found in union with kindness of heart, and falsehood with
malevolence._ And this is natural; the former being both good, the
latter being both evil, falsehood being naturally more akin to
malice, and truth to love.--_Wardlaw._
Here again there is something like tautology in the second clause. We
expect "destroyeth life" as the antithesis to "delivereth souls." But
in this case also there is an emphasis in the seeming absence of it.
"A deceitful witness speaketh lies." What worse could be said of him?
All destruction is implied in falsehood.--_Plumptre._
It is the honour of God to be a deliverer of souls, and that is the
honour of a true witness. He delivers his own soul and another's: his
own from the wrath of God, another's from the injustice of men: his
own from wickedness, another's from injury. The deceitful man
speaketh not one lie, but many. The lie of perjury to God, the lie of
injustice to the judge, the lie of falsehood to the master. Not one
but many lies, because one lie usually bringeth many others with
it.--_Jermin._
The special work for which Christians are left in the world is to be
witnesses (Acts i. 8). . . . Christ does not send his angels to
proclaim His word or to wield His power. . . . The evidence by which
the Spirit will convert the world is His truth, uttered from the
Word, and echoed, still and small, from the meek and quiet
life-course of converted men. . . . Two qualifications are required
in a witness, _truth_ and _love_ (Ephes. iv. 15): these are needed,
but these will do. . . . A witness, in contested cases, after giving
evidence in chief, is subjected to cross-examination. A Christian's
profession is, and is understood to be, his direct and positive
testimony that he is bought with a price, and that he is bound to
serve the Lord who bought him: but as soon as this testimony is
emitted, the examination begins. If he be not a true witness, he will
stumble there. Either or both of two persons, with very different
views, may subject a witness to cross-examination--the judge or the
adversary. It is chiefly done by the adversary, and in his interests.
The Supreme himself puts professing disciples to the test before the
court of the world; but when He so tries His children, the truth
comes forth purer and brighter by the trial. He who goes about as a
roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour, tempts to destroy. He puts
the witness to the question in order to break him down. . . . We
speak of the evidences of religion, but, after all, Christians are
the best evidence of Christianity. . . . Let no man who bears
Christ's name lay the unction to his soul, that if he does no good he
does no evil. One of the heaviest complaints made in the prophets
against Jerusalem for her backsliding, is that she was a "comfort" to
Samaria and Sodom (Ezek. xvi. 54); that those who had the name and
place of God's people, so lived as to make the wicked feel at
ease. . . . If Christians live as like the world as they can, the
world will think itself safe in its sin; and those who should have
been the deliverers, will become the destroyers of their
neighbours.--_Arnot._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 26.
A SURE REFUGE.
+I. What is found in the fear of the Lord?+ "Strong confidence." The
confidence is in the Divine character, and is based upon a knowledge
of it, in contrast to a false security which has its foundation in
ignorance. There is a reverence of one being for another which is the
outcome of ignorance, but this cannot generate that strong confidence
which can be a sheet anchor to the human soul. The old Romans, in the
early days of their history, had a reverence for their divinities,
but it was a reverence of ignorance, it was a reverence for
unrealities, and could never yield them that confidence which all men
in all ages need to comfort them in trial and inspire them with hope
in the mysteries of human life. There are men now who are quite
ignorant of the Divine character and yet seem to possess great
confidence that all will be well with them--that God, in fact, will
not do what He has said He will do in relation to them. But this
confidence is also false; it is based, not upon fear of the Lord,
arising out of acquaintance with Him, but upon want of knowledge, and
consequently upon disregard of His claims. But the strong confidence
of our text is the fruit of a reverence which has its foundation in
acquaintance with the holiness of the Divine Father, which is the
outcome of a knowledge of His laws, of His threatenings, and of His
promises. It is the confidence which a child reposes in a good
parent, because it knows from experience--from an every-day
contemplation of that parent's life--what good grounds it has to
reverence and to trust him. This confidence is strong enough to
inspire the soul with courage to face the difficulties of human life
and to vanquish them. Confidence in a fellow-creature is often
inspiration. A soldier's confidence in his general, a seaman's
confidence in his captain, inspires to the performance of deeds of
heroism. And confidence in the living God, in that King who can do no
wrong, in that leader who can make no mistake, has been the
inspiration of millions of men and women in all ages and under all
circumstances. It has been found strong enough to enable them to be
heroes through a long life of poverty, of ignominy, of sickness, and
it has sustained all in the hour of death, and many in the death of
martyrdom. By the strength born of this "strong confidence," they
have _"subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises,
stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire,"_ etc.
(Hebrews xi. 33-38).
+II. This confidence gives men God for a refuge.+ 1. _He is a present
refuge from conscious guilt._ This is a need which every man feels as
soon as his conscience is awakened as surely as the man-slayer felt
his want of a stronghold of defence from the avenger of blood. The
God against whom man has sinned becomes, when His character is
understood, the object of hope for pardon. The sinner can only "flee
from God, by fleeing to God." 2. _He is a present refuge from all
foes, whether spiritual or human._ "Who is he that will harm you, if
ye be followers of that which is good?" (1 Pet. iii. 13) is a
question which can never be answered. It is impossible that the
children of God can ever be without a resource in whatever peril of
soul, body, or estate they find themselves, for--"If God be for us,
who can be against us?" (Rom. viii. 31).
_ILLUSTRATION._
The Rev. J. W. Fletcher had a profligate nephew, who was dismissed
from his post as an officer in the Sardinian army. One day, by
presenting a pistol to his uncle, General de Gons, he extorted from
him a draft for 500 crowns. With this he called on Mr. Fletcher, and,
as he exhibited it with exultation, Mr. F. took it, folded it up and
put it into his pocket, saying: "It strikes me, young man, that you
have possessed yourself of this note by some indirect method; and in
honesty I cannot return it but with my brother's knowledge and
approbation." Instantly the pistol was at his breast, and he was
told, as he valued his life, to return the draft. "My life," replied
Mr. Fletcher, "is secure in the protection of the Almighty power who
guards it." This led the nephew to remark that his uncle De Gons was
more afraid of death. "Afraid of death!" rejoined Mr. Fletcher, "do
you think I have been twenty-five years the minister of the Lord of
life to be afraid of death now? No, sir, thanks be to God who giveth
me the victory! It is for you to fear death who have every reason to
fear it. You are a gamester and a cheat, yet call yourself a
gentleman. . . . Look, there, sir, look there! See the broad eye of
Heaven is fixed upon us. Tremble in the presence of your Maker, who
can in a moment kill your body, and for ever punish your soul in
hell." The youth was disarmed, and the interview ended in his uncle
praying with him, and promising to give him a hundred crowns to
relieve his immediate necessities.--_From "The Proverbs Illustrated."_
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Fear is anything but a refuge in itself. But as faith was imputed to
the patriarch for righteousness (Rom. iv. 22), so this need not cloud
Christ's merit. Christ has so saved us that _fear_ becomes our hope.
He who has experienced _"fear"_ has gone into a retreat; nothing can
dislodge him from it. If the lost tremble, let them learn to _fear;_
for by _fear_ they become children of God, and as _children of God_
they have an eternal _refuge.--Miller._
Fear hath torment (1 John iv. 18; Acts xxiv. 25). It is the trembling
of the slave (Rom. viii. 15); the dread of wrath, not of sin. There
is no _confidence_ here. It is pure selfishness. It ends in self.
There is no homage to God. But the true _fear of God_ is a holy,
happy, reverential principle (see Psa. cxii. 1; xxxiii. 18;
cxlvii. 11); not that which love "casts out" (1 John iv. 18), but
which love brings in. We fear, because we love. We fear, yet we are
not afraid (Psa. cxii. 1-7). The holiest and humblest is the most
fixed and trusting heart. The fear of man produces faintness (Jonah
i. 3; Gal. ii. 12). The _fear of the Lord_--such is the Christian
paradox--emboldens. Its childlike spirit shuts out all terrors of
conscience, all forebodings of eternity. Abraham sacrificed his son
in the _fear of the Lord;_ yet fully _confident_ "that God was able
to raise him up from the dead" (Gen. xxii. 12, with Heb.
xi. 17-19).--_Bridges._
What confidence shall be strong, if this is not strong? He confides
in that which is all infinite:--the truth, the love, the wisdom, the
power of his covenant God! Whatever the love of God has induced Him
graciously to promise, no power or combination of powers in existence
can stay from being done.--_Wardlaw._
It does not mean that the fear of God is something on which one can
rely, but that it has (xxii. 19; Jer. xvii. 7) an inheritance which
is enduring, unwavering, and not disappointing in God, who is the
object of fear; for it is not faith, nor anything else subjective,
which is the rock that bears us, but this rock is the object that
faith lays hold of (Cf. Isa. xxviii. 16).--_Delitzsch._
Gregory, writing upon those words in Job iv. 6, "Is not this thy
fear, thy confidence?" etc., saith that although Eliphaz did
wrongfully reprove Job, yet he doth rightly set down the order of the
virtues, when he joineth fortitude to fear. For in the way of God we
must begin with fear that we may come to fortitude. For as in the
course of the world boldness breedeth courage, so in the way of God
it breedeth weakness, and as in the course of the world fear
begetteth weakness, so in the way of God it bringeth forth
confidence.--_Jermin._
The fear which brings a sinner submissive and trustful to the
sacrifice and righteousness of the Substitute is itself a
confidence. . . . Those who went early to the sepulchre and looked
into the empty grave where the Lord lay, departed from the place with
"fear and great joy." A human soul made at first in God's image has
great capacities still. In that large place fear and great joy can
dwell together. . . . The filial fear of the children may be known by
this, that it takes in beside itself a great joy, and the two
brethren dwell together in unity. . . . "His children shall have a
place of refuge." They "are kept by the power of God.". . . There are
two keepings very diverse from each other, and yet alike in this,
that both employ as their instruments strong walls and barred gates.
Great harm accrues for confounding them, and therefore the
distinction should be kept clear. Gates and bars may be closed around
you for the purpose of keeping you in, or of keeping your enemy out.
The one is a prison, the other a fortress. In construction and
appearance the two edifices are in many respects similar. The walls
are in both cases high and the bars strong. In both it is essential
that the guards should be watchful and trusty. But they differ in
this: the prison is constructed with a view to prevent escape from
within, the fortress to defy assault from without. In their design
and use they are exact contraries. The one makes sure the bondage,
the other the liberty of its inmates. In both cases it is a _keep,_
and in both cases the _keep_ is strong--the one to keep the prisoner
in, the other to keep the enemy out. The fear of the Lord to those
who are within, and have tasted of His grace, is the strong
confidence of a fortress to defend them from every foe; to those who
look at it from without, it often seems a frowning prison that will
close away the sunlight from all who go within its portals, and waste
young life away in mouldy dungeons. Mistakes are common on this
point, and mistakes are disastrous. . . . Though the refuge is
provided, and the gate standing open, and the invitation free, poor
wanderers stand shivering without because a suspicion clings to the
guilty conscience, that the "strong tower" offered as a safe dwelling
place will turn out to be a place of confinement from genial society
and human joys.--_Arnot._
FOR HOMILETICS ON VERSE 27 SEE ON THE PRECEDING VERSE AND ON CHAPTER
XIII. 14 PAGE 313.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verses 26 and 27. The whole system of religion is expressed in the
_fear of God._ A religion which makes this fear the principle of
action implicitly condemns all self-confidence and presumptuous
security, enjoins a constant state of vigilance and caution, a
perpetual distrust of our own hearts, a full conviction of our
natural weakness, and an earnest solicitude for Divine assistance. It
keeps men always attentive to the motives and consequences of
actions; always unsatisfied with present attainments; always wishing
to advance and always afraid of falling away. The blessings it brings
in its train are--1. _Security._ "Strong confidence." "Place of
refuge." "Great is the confidence of a good conscience." "Our God
whom we serve is able to deliver us, and He _will deliver_ us" (Dan.
iii. 17). "None of these things move me" (Acts xx. 24). When they
told Numa that the enemy was at the gates, he simply answered, "But I
am sacrificing." When Antonius was threatened, he replied, "We have
not so worshipped, neither have we so lived, that we should fear
their conquering us" (_Trapp_). If such was the confidence of
heathens, what should be that of Christians? God's children "know in
whom they have believed" (2 Tim. i. 12). 2. _Consolation._ "A
fountain of life." So called from the constancy of its supply. A
confluence of the blessings, grace here and glory hereafter--present
and future--upper and nether springs. David combines both when he
says, "Thou shalt guide me with Thy counsel and afterward receive me
to glory" (Psa. lxxiii. 24). He refers to the future when he says,
"Oh, how great is Thy goodness, which Thou hast laid up for them that
fear Thee, which Thou hast wrought for them that trust in Thee before
the sons of men!" (Psa. xxxi. 19). Here he speaks not only of what
God has _laid up,_ but of what He has _laid out_--not only of what he
has in prospect, but of what he has in experience. 3. _Deliverance
from dangerous temptations._ "To depart from the snares of death."
"The way of this world is like the Vale of Siddim (Gen. xiv. 19),
treacherous and slippery and full of snares" (_Trapp_). But he that
fears the Lord has many safeguards. "The integrity of the upright
shall guide them" (chap. xi. 3).--_S. Thodey._
Verse 27. "The law of the wise" is "the fear of the Lord," for of
both the same things are predicted (chap xiii. 14).--_Fausset._
Not only does Christian confidence open a cover from the guilt, but
it roots out the power of sin. For among the countless throngs of the
redeemed, not one finds a cover from condemnation, who is not
renovated into spiritual life.--_Bridges._
The fear of the Lord teacheth wisdom, and wisdom teacheth that an
evil feared is much the sooner avoided, and that it is a great safety
of life to fear death. Wherefore St. Cyprian saith, "Be ye fearful,
that ye may be without fear; fear the Lord, that ye may not fear
death." For the same fountain doth not send forth bitter waters and
sweet; life and death do not issue from the same spring.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 28.
A KING'S TRUE GLORY.
+I. Human rulers are dependent upon their people for honour.+ 1. _The
safety of the king's crown depends largely upon the number of his
subjects._ This was certainly the case in the days of Solomon, and is
so now to a large extent. Small kingdoms are very likely even in
these days to be engulfed by more powerful states--by those who can
bring into the field an overpowering number of warriors. Numbers hold
the diadems on the heads of the rulers of the great nations of
Europe. That Palestine was to some extent an exception to this rule
was due to the especial providence of Jehovah--that it was ever
overpowered by numbers was because its inhabitants forsook their
covenant God. But the general rule holds good. 2. _The prosperity of
their land depends upon its being well populated._ Other things being
equal, a populous kingdom will do more business with other
nations--will plant colonies and mix more with the inhabitants of
other lands; and all these things extend a nation's influence and so
make its ruler's position a more honourable one.
+II. It is therefore a matter of self-interest that a ruler should
govern his people righteously.+ There is a lesson which the
potentates of the earth have been slow to learn although the page of
history abounds with so many examples of the peril of disregarding
it. It would be the destruction of the head if it were to say to the
other members of the body, by which it is maintained in life and
health, "I have no need of thee." The existence of the one depends
upon that of the other. And it is not less so with the body politic.
The safety and honour of the king is bound up in the well-being of
his subjects. Where the one is dependent upon the many,
self-interest, as well as duty, point to his so ruling that his
people may enjoy peace and prosperity and so multiply.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
There is a natural tendency in the population of a country to
increase. When, therefore, population diminishes, there must be some
cause _counterworking nature._ The subjects of a country may be
wasted in destructive and depopulating wars; they may be driven by
oppression to quit their native land, and to seek a refuge in more
distant regions; they may be starved and reduced by measures that are
injurious and ruinous to trade--measures that keep up the price of
bread and depress the wages of labour. . . . The existence of a
thriving vigorous population is a mark of freedom, of wise and
impartial legislation, of paternal care--and it is the palladium of
all that is desirable in the results of human rule.--_Wardlaw._
A sentiment arrayed against feeble princes who nevertheless array
themselves with disproportionate splendour; and this, as also verse
34, is designed to call attention to the principle, that it is not
external and seeming advantages, but simply and solely the inward
competence and moral excellence, whether of the head or of the
members of a commonwealth, that are the conditions of its temporal
welfare.--_Lange's Commentary._
How great, then, is _the honour_ of our heavenly _King in the
countless multitudes of His people!_ How overwhelmingly glorious will
it appear when the completed number shall stand before His throne
(Rev. vii. 9, 10); each the medium of reflecting His glory (2 Thess.
i. 10); each with a crown to cast at His feet (Rev. iv. 10, 11), and
a song of everlasting joy to time to His praise (Rev.
v. 9).--_Bridges._
All grades depend upon their inferiors. The poor have us in their
power. To be kind to them is a dictate of common selfishness. Carried
into a spiritual light, the truth becomes much wider. Half of heaven
will be what we did for the poor. Solomon was familiar with this as a
king; but he marks the sentence as one for all humanity. If a man
wishes to be comfortable on earth, let him make his inferiors great.
And, if he wishes to be rich in heaven, let him cultivate with
assiduous zest the graces of the perishing.--_Miller._
The occurrence of this political precept in the midst of the maxims
of personal morality is striking. Still more so is its protest
against the false ideal of national greatness to which Eastern kings,
for the most part, have bowed down.--_Plumptre._
The people are the king's best treasury; in their scarcity he cannot
be rich. Worthy was the speech of that Goth, the king of Italy, who,
speaking of his subjects, saith, "Our harvest is the rest of
all."--_Jermin._
NOTE.--The population of England and Wales in 1700 was about
5,475,000. At the beginning of the present century it was between
eight and nine millions; it now exceeds twenty millions.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 29.
GREAT UNDERSTANDING.
+I. There are times and occasions when wrath is not only allowable,
but right.+ A man who is incapable of being angry lacks an element of
perfection. Anger against wrong-doing is possible without any feeling
of vindictiveness or malice towards the wrong-doer. There is much in
the Bible about the "wrath of God" (Rom. i. 18), although He is
"love" (1 John iv. 8). A child does not honour a parent the less, but
the more, because he knows that parent can be angry when there is
just occasion. Neither could we reverence God if He was a Being who
could not be displeased.
+II. But a man who is slow to wrath shows--+1. _That he understands
himself._ Even the holy and all-perfect God is "slow to anger" (Neh.
ix. 17). Although He could not misjudge any creature, and although He
could never by any possibility allow His wrath to exceed the bounds
of perfect justice and righteousness, He is not "soon angry." The man
who understands his own frailty and short-sightedness will not allow
anger to take possession of his spirit in a hurry, if he is to "be
angry and sin not" (Ephes. iv. 26), he must only be angry after due
reflection upon the cause of his anger. 2. _That he understands
others._ Hasty and passionate anger never convinces the offender of
his guilt, but awakens wrath in his breast also. But the displeasure
which is the result of calm consideration may carry some weight with
it. On this subject see also Homiletics on verse 17.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
"He that is hasty of spirit _exalteth_ folly." He gives folly for the
time being the throne and sceptre of his mind, and fulfils her
preposterous and mischievous dictates. And when reason, for the time
deposed, resumes her vacated seat, she finds no easy task before her
to repair the evils which have been done in the brief but stormy
reign of passion.--_Wardlaw._
+I.+ The passion of anger is like wind to the ship: so it is to the
soul called to steer its course to Immanuel's land. 1. If there be a
dead calm, and the winds blow not at all, or very weakly, the ship
does not make way. And if men be so stupid, indolent, and
unconcerned, that their spirits will not stir in them, whatever
dishonour they see done to God, these are standing still in the way
to heaven. And many there be, who are all fire in their own matters,
but in those of God their hearts are dead as a stone. Such was the
case of Eli: _"His sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them
not"_ (1 Sam. iii. 13). It was not so with Paul: for _"his spirit was
stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry"_ (Acts
xvii. 16). 2. If the wind is brisk enough, but yet is contrary, the
ship will at best have much ado with it, and may be driven into a
shore which the crew desired not to see. So if men's anger be in
itself sinful, if their anger burn against what is good and just:
such anger cannot fail of an unhappy event. 3. Though the wind be not
contrary, yet if it be too impetuous and violent, it may dash the
ship on rocks and split it. So though men's anger may have a just
ground, yet if it prove excessive and boisterous, it may run men
headlong into great mischiefs. Oft-times reason lets anger into the
breast; but then anger turns out reason to the door, and carries on
all precipitantly without reason or discretion: like one that brings
in coal to his hearth, because of the cold, but unwarily lets it fall
on tow, which sets the house on fire. +II.+ He that is slow to wrath.
1. _Is slow to take up anger in his own cause._ It is wisdom indeed
to be very tender of God's honour, but more indifferent about our own
personal interests, as Moses was. 2. _Manages it warily when it is
taken up._ He finds himself on slippery ground, and is therefore slow
in his motions. 3. _Is easy to lay it down_ (Ephes. iv. 26-27). He
shuts it out when there is no more use for it. +III.+ The passionate
man proclaims his folly--he proclaims himself--1. _A proud man,_ and
the proud man is a fool in God's account and in the account of all
who understand themselves. 2. _A weak man._ He is a slave to his
passions. 3. _An unwatchful man,_ who has his enemies within him,
without him, round about him, and yet cannot be brought to stand on
his guard (Prov. iv. 23, 24).--_Boston._
Wise anger is like fire from the flint, there is a great ado to bring
it out; and when it does come, it is out again immediately.--_Henry._
The intoxication of anger, like that of the grape, shows us to
others, but hides us from ourselves.--_Southgate's "Many Thoughts on
Many Things."_
The heaviest body is slowest in going, but his treading is the
surest; in like manner, he that is slow to anger recompenses the
dulness of his steps with the soundness of his proceeding; for he
taketh leisure (as it were) to look of his ways. Tertullian says,
"Where the injury is little, there is no need of patience; but where
the injury is great, there is the help of patience more needful
against it. If they be small wrongs, contemn them for their
smallness; if great wrongs, by patience give way unto them in respect
of their greatness." The original of _hasty,_ is _short-winded._ For
as haste in going maketh the breath to be short, so the haste of the
soul to anger maketh that to puff and blow on every small occasion;
so that the soul is as it were climbing up a great hill, there to
_exalt her folly,_ for all to behold it.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 30.
A SOUND HEART.
_The blessed effects of a contented spirit._ The "sound heart" being
here placed in contrast to "envy," shows that it means a spirit that
is content with its lot in life--that is not ever reaching after the
unattainable--that is not jealous of others who are in more
favourable circumstances. Such a quietness of spirit is--
+I. Favourable to bodily health.+ The mind of a passionate man wears
out the bodily frame, and no passion that can possess the soul is
more imperious and agitating, and consequently more injurious to
health than envy. Jealousy is said to be as "cruel as the grave"
(_Cant._ viii. 6), and it is cruel not only to the objects of it, but
also to him who allows it a dwelling-place in his spirit. Its
withering effects are felt even in the body, it is "rottenness of the
bones" in this sense. But a contented spirit goes a long way to
promote and to preserve bodily health. A quiet spirit is a stranger
to all those restless feelings which give sleepless nights and
anxious days to the envious man.
+II. It is indispensable to the attainment of a noble character.+
Calmness of spirit gives room for the development of all the graces
and virtues which go to make up the "perfect man" (Ephes. iv. 13).
Growth in nature demands some degree of quietness and calmness to
develop itself. The mighty forest oak of a hundred years has attained
its present noble dimensions by processes which have gone on for the
most part in days and nights of stillness. So a character of moral
strength and beauty can be formed only in the atmosphere of a calm
and well-governed spirit.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
_"Envy,"_ excitement of any kind; _perturbation;_ a wise saw,
perhaps, of the old hygiene, but true spiritually. Religion rejoices
in peace. Mad passion may be overruled; but so can our lusts be. As
much as lieth in us, we should have peace. The soul is a temple
(1 Cor. iii. 17), and "holiness becometh Thy house, O Lord, for ever"
(Psa. xciii. 5).--_Miller._
The word _sound_ signifies healthful, free from _moral
distempers_--the distempers of "the inner man," such as discontent,
malice, and envy. Strictly speaking a _"sound heart"_--a heart
entirely free from the evil passions that belong to fallen nature--is
not to be found. But in Scripture a _sound_ heart, and even a
_perfect_ heart, are phrases used to signify the real sincerity and
predominant rule of right principles and actions. Envy, perhaps the
most odious in itself, and the most corroding and torturing to the
spirit, is here called "rottenness of the bones"--not a mere _surface
sore,_ but a deep-seated disease; like _caries,_ or inflammation in
the substance of the bone itself.--_Wardlaw._
+I. The nature of envy.+ It is a pain, or uneasiness, arising from an
apprehension of the prosperity and good fortune of others; not
because we suffer from their welfare, nor that our condition may be
bettered by our uneasiness, but merely because their condition is
bettered. There is a strong jealousy of pre-eminence and superiority
implanted in our nature by Almighty God, for wise and noble purposes,
to excite to the pursuit of laudable attainments, and the imitation
of good and great actions. This principle is _emulation._ It is also
an uneasiness occasioned by the good fortunes of others; but not
because we repine at their prosperity; but because we ourselves have
not attained the same good success. Its effect is to excite us to
great designs, but when it meets with a corrupt disposition it
degenerates into envy, the most malignant passion in human nature,
the worst weed of the worst soil. So far from stirring up to
imitation, envy labours to taint and depreciate what it does not so
much as attempt to equal. +II. The cure for envy.+ 1. _That we
endeavour to take a right estimate of things._ The laws of God are
the eternal standards of good and evil; what they declare valuable,
or enjoin as wise, are truly so, and what they disclaim as hurtful or
worthless are, in fact, to be so regarded. 2. _That we try to make a
right judgment of our own worth and abilities._ If we do this, we
shall find that there are others in the world at least as wise and as
good as we are, and perhaps we shall also find, that if merit were
the standard of honour and affluence, we should not abound altogether
as much as we do. 3. _Reflect seriously upon the vanity of all
worldly advantage._ Shall we envy him _whose breath is in his
nostrils?_ whose glory _fadeth as the flower of grass?--Delany._
Envy is called a passion, and passion means suffering. The patient
who is ill of envy is a sinner and a sufferer too. He is an object of
pity. It is a mysterious and terrible disease. The nerves of
sensation within the man are attached by some unseen hand to his
neighbours all around him, so that every step of advancement which
they make tears the fibres which lie next his heart. The wretch
enjoys a moment's relief when the mystic cord is temporarily
slackened by his neighbour's fall; but his agony immediately begins
again, for he anticipates another twitch as soon as the fallen is
restored to prosperity. . . . The cure of envy, as wrought by the
love of Christ, is not only a deliverance from pain, it is, even in
the present world, an unspeakable gain. That man will speedily grow
rich who gets and puts into his bag not only all his own winnings,
but also all the winnings of his neighbours. . . . The Nile, contrary
to the analogy of other great streams, flows more than a thousand
miles without receiving the waters of a single tributary; the
consequence is, that it grows no greater as it courses over that vast
line. Other rivers are every now and then receiving converging
streams from the right and left, and thereby their volume continually
increases until it reaches the sea. The happiness of man is like the
flow of water in a river. If you enjoy _nothing_ but what is your
own, your tiny rivulet of contentment, so far from increasing, grows
smaller by degrees, until it sinks unseen into the sand, and leaves
you in a desert of despair; but when all the acquisitions of your
neighbours go to swell its bulk, your enjoyment will flow like a
river enriched by many affluents, growing ever greater as life
approaches its close. It is some such river that makes glad the city
of God.--_Arnot._
Socrates called envy the soul's saw; and wished that envious men had
more eyes and ears than others, that they might have the more torment
by beholding and hearing other men's happiness.--_Trapp._
Envy at last crawls forth from hell's dire throng,
Of all the direfull'st! Her black locks hung long,
Attired with curling serpents; her pale skin
Was almost dropped from her sharp bones within;
And at her breasts stuck vipers, which did prey
Upon her panting heart both night and day,
Sucking black blood from thence, which to repair,
Both day and night they left fresh poisons there.
Her garments were deep-stained in human gore,
And torn by her own hands, in which she bore
A knotted whip and bowl, which to the brim
Did with green gall and juice of wormwood swim;
With which, when she was drunk, she furious grew,
And lashed herself; thus from the accursed crew
Envy, the worst of fiends, herself presents,
Envy, good only when she herself torments.--_Cowley._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 31.
THE OPPRESSED AND THEIR OPPRESSORS.
+I. Those who are the objects of oppression--+"The poor." They are
made up of three classes. 1. _Those who have never known their
supplies to be equal to their positive needs--who have not only
always lived from hand to mouth, but whose hands have never been able
to obtain a sufficient supply for the mouth._ Such poor ones have
this advantage, they have never known better days--their life is like
a river whose shallow waters have never overflowed its banks--whose
channel has always been much deeper than the stream. There is no
force of contrast to add to the present bitterness. 2. _Those who
have been reduced from sufficiency to want._ To such poverty is a
greater hardship than to those just mentioned. The light and comfort
of the past makes the darkness and misery of the present harder to
bear. If their own wrong-doing or mistakes have been the cause of
their fall, the trial is all the heavier. 3. _There are those whom we
call poor who, though not actually in want, have to toil hard and
unceasingly for the necessaries of life, and who know nothing of the
luxuries of wealth and ease._
+II. The oppression of any or all of these is an insult to God.+ To oppress the
first is to oppress men for what they cannot help--for that for which they are as
irresponsible as for the colour of their skin, and therefore it is to reproach Him
who appointed them to their lot in life. To oppress the second is to insult God,
by afflicting them beyond the affliction which He has permitted to fall upon
them. Whether their present condition is retribution or chastisement, its
measure has been appointed by the hand of the All-wise Ruler of men, and it is
"reproaching" Him to add to it by oppression. If a child is being corrected
by its parent, or a criminal is paying the penalty which the judge has awarded
to him for his crimes, it is an impeachment of their judgment to add in any way
to the punishment that has been decreed. Those who oppress the third class
are guilty of a sin against those who have always been special objects of His
favour, and who make up a large proportion of the members of His kingdom.
(See Homiletics and Comments on verse 21.)
+III. Mercifulness to the poor reveals reverence for God.+ 1. _It
shows that the man regulates his conduct by Divine laws._ God, as we
have seen in considering the 21st verse, has been most explicit in
the revelation of His will in this matter. 2. _He sees in every man
some trace of his Divine Creator._
"Man is God's image; but a poor man is
Christ's stamp to boot."--_Herbert._
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
_"Oppression"_ means something more than the contempt and neglect
dealt with in verse 21. He who acts such a part "reproacheth His
Maker." For, _first,_ he acts as if the poor were of another
species--an inferior order of beings; whereas they have all the
attributes of the same manhood with him by whom they are condemned.
_Second,_ he acts as if the circumstances in which the poor are
placed were a warrant for him to imitate the Divine conduct and
depress them still further, which is a reproach of God, as if He
dealt with the poor in spirit of unkindness or partiality. . . . A
man may have mercy on the poor who does _not "honour God."_ Humanity
may, and often does, exist without godliness; but godliness cannot
exist without humanity.--_Wardlaw._
We treat God with no respect (1) when _"the poor,"_ who are His
children are not treated as such; (2) when the poor, who are his
dependents, are left unhelped, so as to seem to bring Him into
discredit, but (as is most intended, judging from the whole drift of
this part of the chapter) (3) when the poor, who are His instruments,
and are sent to exercise our virtues, are not treated as such, but
our _"Maker"_ thwarted in the work of _making us better_ by these
needy visitants. Life moves by such sort of influences.--_Miller._
God takes it for an honour, how should this prevail with us. How
exceedingly shall such be honoured in that great panegyris at the
last day, when the Judge shall say, "Come, ye blessed of My Father, I
was an hungered, and ye gave me meat."--_Trapp._
He that reproacheth the poor reproacheth his own Maker, and showeth
himself unworthy to have been made by Him; reproacheth the Maker of
the poor, as if either He could not help him, or else as if He had
made him to be oppressed by making him poor. But God, who suffereth
thee to oppress the poor, will not suffer thee to be unpunished for
it, and seeing thou sparest not to reproach Himself, will not spare
to scourge thee. Tully saith, "Men in nothing come nearer God than in
giving," and Gregory Nazianzen goes further, and tells us, "Thou
mayest even by no labour be made God, do not, therefore neglect the
opportunity of obtaining a Deity. Make thyself God to the miserable,
by imitating the mercy of God."--_Jermin._
The ancient Church possessed in full the glorious truth, that of all
the real compassion which flows through human channels, the
fountain-head is on high. He who gets mercy shows it.--_Arnot._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 32.
THE DEATH OF THE RIGHTEOUS AND THE WICKED.
+I. The wicked man dies unwillingly.+ He is "driven away." Our first
parents,--conscious of the severance of a moral bond between them and
God--knowing that they had fallen from their original position, in
which they would have gone fearlessly and joyfully to any part of
God's universe--ignorant of the unknown and dark future that lay
before them--left their first home unwillingly. They had to be
"driven out" of Eden (Gen. iii. 24). A man who is conscious of a
moral distance between himself and God, seldom quits this world
willingly. An _undefined_ dread, perhaps, but still a dread, of the
unknown state beyond death possesses him, and he is made subject to
the laws of death "unwillingly." As Adam had to be driven out of
Eden, so he quits his present abode, not from choice, but from
necessity. His unwillingness to go arises from his condition of
heart--from his moral standing. He "is driven away _in his
wickedness._" Adam's consciousness of guilt made him unwilling to
quit his abode in Eden. The same consciousness makes men fear to die.
"The sting of death is sin" (1 Cor. xv. 56). The man whose sins are
unpardoned is conscious that he has much to fear in the unknown
future. His spirit witnesses to the truth of the Divine Word, "After
death, the judgment" (Heb. ix. 27).
+II. But to the righteous man the hour of death is a time of hope.+
He does not die in his sin. A separation has taken place between him
and sin. He is conscious of having been delivered both from its guilt
and its dominion. The severance that has already been accomplished
has wrought a greater change than that which death can work. The
change of _relationship to God_ and of _character_ which he has
already experienced, has made a mere change of _place_ a matter of
small moment in itself, and the change from this world to the
heavenly city an occasion of hope and rejoicing. The angel of death
is no officer of justice to bring him before his judge, but a
messenger to guide him to his Father's house. The objects of this
hope have been considered in Homiletics on chap. x. 24, 28; pages 176
and 181.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The righteous dies by his own consent. It is a glad surrender, not a
forcible separation (Psa. xxxi. 5). The tabernacle is not rent, or
torn away, but "put off" (2 Pet. i. 14).--_Bridges._
"The wicked is thrust lower by his evil" (see Critical Notes).
_"Death,"_ that is, the worst form of _evil._ Observe the _crescendo.
"Evil,"_ which is supposed to be a discipline, _"thrusts down the
wicked;" death,_ the very grimmest of the list, becomes to the
righteous a gracious refuge. _"Thrust lower,"_ this is an intensive
expression. If trouble thrusts a man lower, how much more must joy
and intoxicating wealth. The idea is--all hurts him. Even discipline
hurts the lost.--_Miller._
Oh, the different departures of the reprobate and the Christian! The
one knows he changeth for the better; the other mistrusts, for the
worse; to the one death is a gulf of sorrow, to the other a port of
liberty; he, because he is stripped for a scourging; this, because he
lays aside his clothes, after his toil, to go to bed. . . . All our
loathness to depart, and fears in departing, arise from our own
unsettledness; we have not made sure to ourselves a dwelling in these
glorious heavens; many mansions there be (John xiv. 2), we have not
provided ourselves one.--_T. Adams._
A Christian should be a volunteer in death. Many of the martyrs were
as willing to die as to dine; went to the fire as cheerful as to a
feast, and courted its pale and ghastly countenance as if it had been
a beautiful bride. . . . Cyprian said Amen to his own sentence of
death. Bradford, being told by his keeper's wife that his chain was
a-buying, and he was to die the next day, pulled off his hat and
thanked God for it. . . . Ann Askew subscribed her confession in
Newgate thus, "Written by me, Ann Askew, that neither wisheth for
death nor feareth his might, and as merry as one that is bound
towards heaven." Indeed it is said of a wicked man that his soul _is
required of him,_ and that God _takes away his soul_ (Luke xii. 20;
Job xxvii. 8); but of a godly man that he _giveth up the ghost,_ and
he _cometh to his grave_ (Gen. xxv. 8; Job xiv. 10). . . . Socrates,
and some of the wiser heathen, comforted themselves against the fear
of death with this weak cordial, that it is common to men, the way of
all the earth. Hence it was, when the Athenians condemned Socrates to
die, he received the sentence with an undaunted spirit, and told them
that they did nothing but what nature had before ordained for him.
But the Christian hath a greater ground for a holy resolution, and a
stronger cordial against the fears of death, even the hope of eternal
life; and surely, if he that exceeds others in his cordials be
excelled by them in courage, he disgraceth his physician. . . . It is
no marvel that they who lived wickedly should die unwillingly, being
"driven away in their wickedness," as a beast that is driven out of
his den to the slaughter, or as a debtor driven by the officers out
of his house, where he lay warm and surrounded by all sorts of
comfort, to a nasty, loathsome prison.--_Swinnock._
It is storied of Godfrey, Duke of Bouillon, that when, in his
expedition to the Holy Land, he came within view of Jerusalem, his
army, seeing the high turrets, goodly buildings, and fair fronts,
being even transported with the joyfulness of such a sight, gave a
mighty shout that the earth was verily thought to ring with the noise
thereof. Such is the rejoicing of a godly man in death, when he doth
not see the turrets and towers of an earthly, but the spiritual
building of a heavenly Jerusalem, and his soul ready to take
possession of them. How doth he delight in his dissolution, when he
sees grace changing into glory, hope into fruition, faith into
vision, and love into perfect comprehension.--_Spencer's "Things New
and Old."_
If this be true, it is a demonstration on the side of religion, and
that upon three accounts. (1) Because the principles of religion, and
the practice of them in a virtuous life, when they come to the last
and utmost trial, do hold out. The belief of a God, the persuasion of
our own immortality, and of the eternal recompense of another
world--that _Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners_--is
commonly more strong and vigorous in the minds of good men when they
come to die; they have then a more clear apprehension and firm
persuasion of the truth and reality of these things, than ever they
had at any time of their lives, and find more peace and joy in the
belief of them. . . . And the principles of infidelity and vice are
more apt to shrink and give back at such a time. (2) The principles
of religion minister comfort to us in the most needful and desirable
time. If it be true of every day of our lives, _sufficient unto the
day is the evil thereof,_ much more of the day of death. It is surely
enough to have that one enemy to encounter, at which nature startles
even when the sting is taken away. . . . If there were nothing beyond
this life, it were worth while to provide for a quiet death. There is
no man that calculates things wisely that would, for all the
pleasures of sin, forfeit the peace and comfort of a righteous soul,
going out of the world full of the hopes of a blessed immortality.
(3) When men are commonly most serious and impartial, and their
declarations are thought to be of the greatest weight, they give this
testimony to religion and virtue, and against impiety and vice. Even
Lucretius says, "Men's words then come from the bottom of their
heart, the mask is taken off, and things then appear to them as
indeed they are." In these circumstances men generally declaim most
vehemently against their sins and vices, and declare on the side of
piety and virtue. Surely this is a great testimony on the side of
religion, because it is the testimony not only of its friends, but of
those who have been its greatest enemies.--_Tillotson._
A clear testimony to a future state of rewards and
punishments.--_Wordsworth._
Though there was no revelation of immortality and resurrection then,
still the pious in death put their confidence in Jahve, the God of
life and of salvation--for in Jahve there was for ancient Israel the
beginning, middle, and end of the work of salvation--and believing
that they were going home to Him, committing their spirit into His
hands (Psa. xxxi. 6), they fell asleep, though without any explicit
knowledge, yet not without the hope of eternal life. Job also knew
that (xxvii. 8) between the death of those estranged from God and of
those who feared God there was not only an external, but a deep
essential distinction; and now the wise man opens up a glimpse into
the eternity heavenwards (chap. xv. 24), and has formed (chap.
xii. 28) (see Critical Notes) the expressive and distinctive word for
immortality, which breaks like a ray from the morning sun through the
night of the _Sheol.--Delitzsch._
We are not able to form a right conception of what it is to be and to
abide in wickedness. Because it is so near us, we do not know it. If
it were a body standing before us, we could examine its proportions
and describe its appearance; but because it is a spirit transfused
through us, we remain ignorant of its character and power. . . . A
ship is lying in a placid river when winter comes, and is gradually
frozen in. The process was gentle, and almost imperceptible. There
was no commotion and no crash. The ice crept round, and closed in
upon the ship without any noisy note of warning. . . . Her own
element closed and held her. . . The ship is not shaken. No creaking
is heard--no strain is felt. She feels firm and easy. Even when the
pines of the neighbouring forest are bending to the blast, she sits
unmoved in her solid bed. That bed she has made for herself, and it
therefore fits her. This is very like the wicked in his iniquity, and
before he is driven away. . . . He stands steady in his element, and
no ripple disturbs its surface. When the ice of the river goes away,
the embedded ship goes with it. It is a dreadful departure. The water
swells beneath; the ice holds by the crooked banks awhile; but, after
a period of suspense, the flood prevails and the trembling, rending
mass gives way. Reeling icebergs and foaming yellow waves tumble
downwards in tumultuous heaps, and the ship is swept away like a
feather on a flood. If we had a sense for perceiving spiritual
things, the most heart-rending sight in the world would be a sinner
set fast in his element, and the flood of wrath secretly swelling
from beneath. . . . But he who has been begotten again to a living
hope has it at the time when humanity needs it most. A friend in need
is a friend indeed. Stars are a grateful mitigation of the darkness;
but we do not want them by day. Hope, always lovely, is then sweetest
when it beams from heaven through the gloom that gathers round the
grave. . . . The ship has set sail, and kept on her course many days
and nights, with no other incidents than those that are common to
all. Suddenly land appears; but what the character of the coast may
be the voyagers cannot discern through the tumult. The first effect
of a new approach of land is a very great commotion on the water. It
is one of the coral islands of the South Pacific, encircled by a ring
of fearful breakers at some little distance from the shore. Forward
the ship must go. The waves are higher and angrier than any they have
seen in the open sea. Partly through them, partly over them, they are
borne at a bound; strained, and giddy, and almost senseless, they
find themselves within that sentinel ridge of crested waves that
guard the shore, and the portion of sea that still lies before them
is calm and clear like glass. It seems a lake of Paradise, and not an
earthly thing at all. . . . Across the belt of sea the ship glides
gently,--and gently soon touches that lovely shore. It is thus that I
have seen a true pilgrim thrown into a great tumult when the shore of
eternity suddenly appeared before him. A great fear tossed him for
some days; but when that barrier was passed, he experienced a peace,
deeper, stiller, sweeter than ever he knew before. A little space of
life's voyage remained after the fear of death had sunk into a calm,
and before the immortal felt the solid of eternal rest. On life's sea
as yet was the spirit lying, but the shaking had passed; and when at
last the spirit passed from a peaceful sea to a peaceful land, the
change seemed slight.--_Arnot._
The text looks like the cloud between the Israelites and Egyptians;
having a dark side toward the latter, and a bright side toward the
former. It represents death, like Pharaoh's jailor, bringing the
chief butler and the chief baker out of prison; the one to be
restored to his office, the other to be led to execution. The wicked
are driven from this world to the other--from the society of saints
on earth into that of the lost in hell; out of time into eternity;
out of their specious pretences to piety; away from all means of
grace. . . . The following circumstances make the godly in their
death happy and hopeful. 1. _They have a trusty good Friend before
them in the other world._ Jesus Christ, their best friend, is Lord of
the land to which death carries them. When Joseph sent for his father
to come down to Egypt, and Jacob "saw the wagons Joseph had sent to
carry him, the spirit of Jacob revived" (Gen. xlv. 27). He resolved
to undertake the journey. I think when the Lord calls a godly man out
of the world, He sends him such good tidings, and such a kind
invitation to the other world, that his spirit must revive when he
sees the wagon of death sent to carry him thither. 2. _They shall
have a safe passage to another world._ They have the Lord of the
land's safe conduct, His pass sealed with His own blood. . . . It is
safe riding in Christ's chariot. 3. _They shall have a joyful
entrance into the other world._ . . . Is the bird in worse case, when
at liberty, than when confined in a cage? Death comes to the godly
man, as Haman came to Mordecai, with the royal apparel and the
horse.--_Boston._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 33.
THE HIDDEN MADE MANIFEST.
+I. The God-ordained place for moral wisdom--+"the heart." The
Divinely ordained place for the sap of the vine is its _root._
1. _It has its centre and spring there, that thence it may diffuse
itself into every branch and leaf, and give life and health to the
whole tree._ So the Divinely-ordained place for moral wisdom is the
_heart_--the _affections_ of a man. If it has its seat there it will
certainly influence all his thoughts, and words, and deeds. 2. _It is
not only the most influential part of a man, but it is the most
secure._ There, if anywhere, it is out of the reach of harm. If it is
only in the _head_--the intellectual part of a man--temptation may
rob him of it--false reasoning or adversity may shake it from its
seat, but if it has hold of the heart, it will hold its own against
every foe. 3. _It is the only place from which it can reach and bless
other human hearts._ The sap of the tree must issue direct from its
root if there is to be fruit that will sustain and give satisfaction
to the eater. So a life will bring forth no fruit to feed others
unless its religion is a religion of the heart. There is no way to
the heart except from the heart, those who have only an intellectual
hold upon moral wisdom cannot feed hungry souls. 4. _It is the only
place whence one can issue glory to God._ The whole man, spirit and
soul and body, must be under the guidance of moral wisdom if he is to
render acceptable service to God. Nothing less will satisfy Him who
"searches the heart of the children of men" (Jer. xvii. 10). If the
heart is right, the external service will not be wanting. (See
Homiletics and Comments on chap. iv. 23.)
+II. Where this wisdom of the heart is lacking, the life will betray
it.+ In all natural life there is a law by which its hidden secrets
are manifested in outward signs. The health of the root is seen in
the health of the tree, the disease of the internal bodily organs
manifests itself in the outward appearance. So it is with moral
health and disease. However men may try to appear what they are not,
the natural tendency of human nature often proves too strong for the
artificial restraint that is put upon it, and sooner or later men
reveal what they really are. "That which is in the midst of moral
fools is made known," although time is needed for the folly fully to
develop itself.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
"Resteth" implies the tranquil and modest spirit of the wise, and the
permanence of their keeping of wisdom; and especially that it is the
fruit of the spirit from above descending and abiding on them (Numb.
xi. 25, 26; Isa. xi. 2; 2 Kings ii. 15). Contrast Eccles. vii. 9. The
wise does not draw forth his wisdom from its resting place within the
heart at random, but in proper place and time, as the occasion may
require. But fools cannot long disguise their folly (see chap. x. 14,
xii. 23, xiii. 16). The Hebrew adage says, "A vessel full of coins
will make no noise; but if there be only one coin in it, it will make
a rattle." The more learned one is, the more modest he will be; the
more unlearned, the more presumptuous and ostentatious.--_Fausset._
In the heart of the understanding wisdom remains silent and still,
for the understanding feels himself personally happy in the
possession, endeavours all the more to deepen it, and lets it operate
within.--_Delitzsch._
There she keepeth residence and there she ruleth, and thither she
bringeth her treasures and her comforts, and every good thing that is
to be wished for. And therefore she calleth for it, as most meet for
her to possess; and safest for every wise man to yield unto her. "My
son, give me thine heart."
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 34.
NATIONAL SALVATION.
+I. Some standard of right and wrong is necessary to national
existence.+ There are men who have affirmed that there is no such
thing as virtue and vice--that they are only inventions of those who
desire to rule their fellow-creatures, and that the world could do
without them. But experience teaches the contrary. Every nation, if
it is to have an existence, even if it rejects a Divine revelation,
or is ignorant of it, must have some standard by which to judge human
actions. Without the recognition of such a standard, even if it is
only based upon the light of reason, not only would national
prosperity be impossible, but national existence. Rome and Greece had
such standards as well as Israel, although the first-mentioned
nations had no revelation from heaven except that of the natural
conscience, and if all the existing codes were abolished to-morrow
men would find it necessary to form others in order to preserve their
national, if not their individual existence.
+II. The prosperity and influence of a nation is in proportion to its
national righteousness.+ This is not the case of the individual man.
His present condition and circumstance, the measure of power that he
possesses, or the amount of the influence he exerts, is no index of
the amount of righteousness which he possesses. He may be a noble of
the land, or he may have no social standing; he may fare sumptuously
every day, or he may subsist on the crumbs that fall from the rich
man's table, and neither from the one lot or the other can any
conclusion be drawn as to what his moral standing is. There is
another world in which the righteous _man_ will be exalted, and the
unrighteous _man_ will reap the reward of unrighteousness; but
national righteousness and unrighteousness receive their reward in
this world. 1. _Righteous dealing in a nation promotes its commercial
prosperity._ If the merchants of a nation are known to be honest in
their transactions and truthful in their words, they will gain and
hold a high place in the markets of the world. 2. _It secures it an
influence among the governing powers of the world._ In proportion as
its intercourse with other nations is marked, not by a lust for
conquest or a desire to rule, no matter by what means--but by a
recognition of the rights of all--in that proportion will it acquire
a power far more real and far more lasting than that gained by its
ability to outdo other nations in the number of its soldiers or the
size of its navy.
+III. National reproach for sin will be in proportion to its
possession of a high or low moral standard.+ "Sin is a reproach to
_any_ people;" but it is the greatest reproach to those who possess
the greatest light. The sin of Israel was a greater reproach to them
than the sin of the Philistines was to them, because the one
possessed the light of a Divine revelation, and the other did not. So
in the present day, the nations who sin against the light of the
revealed Word of God are far greater sinners than those upon whom the
light has never shone. The principle to which the Divine Son gave
utterance concerning the Jewish nation is the one by which He judges
nations in the present day. _"If I had not come and spoken unto them,
they had not had sin; but now they have no cloak for their sin"_
(John xv. 24).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
As there is nothing in religion to counteract the design of a wise
system of civil polity, so there is nothing in a wise system of civil
government to counteract the design of the Christian religion. The
exaltation of the nation is the end of civil polity. Righteousness is
the end of religion, or rather is religion itself.--_Saurin._
It is the nature of sin (1) to lessen and diminish a people; (2) to
sink and depress the spirit of a people; (3) to destroy the wealth of
a people; (4) to deprive them of the blessings of freedom; (5) to
provoke the displeasure of God and to draw down His
judgments.--_Emmons, in "Lange's Commentary."_
Righteousness is both "the prop to make it subsist firm in itself and
a crown to make it glorious in the eyes of others" _(Bp. Sanderson)._
Greece in her proud science, Rome in the zenith of her glory, both
were sunk in the lowest depths of moral degradation (Rom. i. 23-32
was a picture of the heathen world in the best ages of refinement).
Their greatness consisted only in the visions of poesy or the dream
of philosophy. Contrast the influence of _righteousness,_ bringing
out of the most debased barbarism a community impregnated with all
the high principles that form a nation's well-being. Thus to
Christianise is to regenerate, to elevate the community, the "exalt
the nation," and that not with a sudden flash of shadowy splendour,
but with a solid glory, fraught with every practical blessing. "Those
princes and commonwealths who would keep their governments entire and
uncorrupt, are, above all things, to have a care of religion and its
ceremonies, and preserve them in due veneration. For in the whole
world there is not a greater sign of imminent ruin than where God and
His worship are despised." Such was the testimony of the profligate
politician Machiavelli. . . . What an enemy an ungodly man is to his
country! Loudly though he may talk of his patriotism, and even though
God should make him an instrument to advance her temporal interest;
yet he contributes, so far as in him lies, to her deepest
_reproach.--Bridges._
Religion and virtue do naturally tend to the good order and more easy
government of human society, because they have a good influence both
upon magistrates and subjects. 1. _Upon magistrates._ Religion
teaches them to rule over men in the fear of God, because though they
be gods on earth, yet they are subjects of heaven, and accountable to
Him who is higher than the highest in this world. Religion in a
magistrate strengthens his authority because it procures veneration
and gains a reputation to it. And in all affairs of the world so much
reputation is so much power. 2. _Upon subjects._ First, it makes them
obedient to government, and conformable to laws; and that not only
out of fear of power, which is but a weak and loose principle of
obedience, but out of conscience, which is a firm, and constant and
lasting principle, and will hold a man fast when all other
obligations will break. Secondly, it tends to make men peaceable with
one another. For it endeavours to plant all those qualities and
dispositions in men which tend to peace and unity, and to fill men
with a spirit of universal love and goodwill. It endeavours likewise
to secure every man's interest, by commanding the observation of that
great rule of equity, "Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto
you, do ye even so to them."--_Tillotson._
We find the great general principle of Divine Providence, in regard
to nations, thus laid down by Jehovah Himself to the prophet
Jeremiah--"At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation and
concerning a kingdom, to pluck up and to pull down, and to destroy
it; if that nation against whom I have pronounced turn from their
evil, I will repent of the evil which I thought to do unto them. And
at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a
kingdom, to build and plant it; if it do evil in My sight, that it
obey not My voice, then I will repent of the good wherewith I said I
would benefit them" (Jer. xviii. 7-10). This was a principle, not
applicable to _Israel_ exclusively--for we find it expressly applied
to the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the inhabitants of Sodom and of
Nineveh. And the Old Testament bringing before us specimens of the
Divine administration, the Spirit of God letting us so far into the
secrets of its principles and laws, we have every reason to believe
that in the government of God over the world, the same principle is
still in operation, that _we_ may not be able to trace it--that, had
we only an inspired record of what takes place now, we should see it
clearly in all cases; and even without such a record there are cases
in which it would be equal impiety and blindness not to discern and
own it.--_Wardlaw._
_"Righteousness"_ means _saving righteousness,_ and _"Sin-offering"_
is literally _sin._ (See Critical Notes.) _"Righteousness"_ lifts to
the very skies. _"The mercy of nations,"_ as the words literally are,
is not wealth, or peace, or a good king, or broad lands of plenty,
but an interest in Christ, "the sin-offering," and a home amongst the
happy.--_Miller._
_"Peoples"_ is plural, whereas _"a nation"_ is singular, implying the
paucity of the nations observing _righteousness._ The Hebrew word for
reproach meaning also mercy, Gejer translates, "Mercy is an
expiratory sacrifice for sin." Not that mercy puts away sin before
God, but before men, who are by _mercy_ reconciled to those who had
before been unmerciful to them.--_Fausset._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 35.
A WISE SERVANT.
In this verse we adopt Miller's translation as being the more
probable meaning. See Critical Notes and also his Comment.
+I. The law of kindness is a law of power.+ Whether a man be the
ruler of a nation or the ruler of a family, if he would acquire real
power over those whom he rules, he must obey this law himself. Human
nature is in a fallen condition, and it cannot be lifted into a state
of obedience even to wise and good laws except they are enforced in a
spirit of kindness. Kindness will bind men to loyal devotion with a
far firmer chain than any force. There is, indeed, no principle in
obedience to the latter; it rules only the bodily actions, and is
powerless over the heart. Those who desire more than the service of
half the man must issue their commands--must exercise their
authority--in the spirit of mercy. The king, the master or the
father, who is a despot, is only obeyed because he has power to
punish. Consequently the obedience will only last as long as the
power. This is a thought which parents especially should lay to heart.
+II. The law of kindness is a law of policy.+ He who rules to-day may
one day be at the mercy of him whom he rules. Kings have often needed
favour of their subject--the master has often been at the mercy of
his servant; and what has happened before will happen again in the
changes and chances of life, and those who have shown mercy will be
the most likely at such times to receive it. "With what measure ye
mete, it shall be measured to you again" (Matt. vii. 2) holds good in
this case. Therefore, the "kindness of a king is a wise servant; but
his wrath becomes one that bringeth shame." For remarks on the text
as rendered in the Authorised Version, see below.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Solomon gets back to his king-craft. These maxims were familiar to
him. It is rarely wise for "a king" to get in a passion with his
people (see verses 29, 30). "If thou wilt be a servant unto this
people" was said to the successor of this very man (1 Kings xii. 7);
if thou wilt "answer them, and speak good words to them, then they
will be thy servants for ever." But, more than king-craft, it is a
rule for saints. The law of "kindness" should be on our lips. The
power of gentleness is irresistible. If _"the mercy for nations is
the sin-offering"_ (see last verse), then we are all sinners
together, and modesty forbids that we should go among the lost with
anything but tenderness. The English version is due to the presence
of a preposition. "The king's favour is towards a wise servant." But
that proposition becomes idiomatic in certain cases. I say, "I want
such a thing _for_ a shelter." "The kingdom of a king is _for_ a wise
servant," _i.e.,_ serves as one. There is no preposition before the
words "brings shame;" but, on the contrary, the word _is_ is written
out, and, as usual in that case, means _"becomes;"_ all of which
state of facts is in favour of our new version.--_Miller._
These words state what _ought to be._ No one ought to be the king or
the queen's servant who is not wise; and toward every such wise
servant the royal favour should be specially extended. And who _is_ a
_wise_ servant? Not a servant who flatters royal vanity; accommodates
itself to royal foibles; indulges royal prejudices; chimes in with
royal caprices; tolerates and connives at royal vices, whether
personal or official. No; a wise servant must be a servant of
conscientious principle, and of bland but unflinching fidelity. He is
one who gives prudent and faithful counsel; who "speaks truth as he
thinks it in his heart;" whose counsels are dictated by a right
understanding of the times, and knowledge of what such times require,
not by a wish to ingratiate the minister with the prince, and so to
promote his own personal advantage, but by the principles of genuine
patriotism as well as loyalty. . . . That servant "causeth shame" by
whom that is encouraged from which reproach arises--who gives counsel
to his prince which must prove either prejudicial or abortive; such
as can hardly fail to render him unpopular with his subjects, and
expose him, by their failure, to the derision of foreign states--a
derision in which the kingdom as well as the throne, the people as
well as the monarch, are involved.--_Wardlaw._
Thus it is with the great King. All of us are His _servants,_ bound
to Him by the highest obligations; animated by the most glowing
encouragements (1 Cor. vi. 19, 20; Matt. xxiv. 44-46, xxv. 21-23).
All of us have our responsibilities, our talents, our work, our
account. Towards the "faithful and _wise_ servant," who has traded
with his talents, who has been diligent in his work, and who is ready
for his account--_His favour_ will be infinitely condescending and
honourable (John xii. 26). But _against him that causeth
shame_--reflecting upon his Master, neglectful in his work,
unprepared for his account--His _wrath_ will be tremendous and
eternal.--_Bridges._
Surely well is favour bestowed, where it reflecteth unto the giver's
honour: worthily is favour received, where wisdom's hands are the
receivers of it.--_Jermin._
* * * * * *
CHAPTER XV.
CRITICAL NOTES.--+1. Grievous,+ "bitter," "trying," +stir up;+
lit., "make to ascend," like a flame fanned by bellows (Fausset).
+2. Useth knowledge aright,+ rather, "makes knowledge attractive,"
_i.e.,_ speaks so as to win the attention of the listeners; +poureth
out,+ or "bubbleth up." +3. Beholding,+ rather, "watching,"
"observing" (so Stuart, Miller, and Delitzsch). +4. Wholesome,+
"gentle," "soft," +perverseness+ or "transgression," +a breach,+ "a
crushing," "a wounding." +6.+ Miller translates the first clause,
"The house of the righteous is great treasure" (see his Comment);
+revenue,+ rather "gain." +7. Disperse;+ some translators read
"winnow," or "sift." Stuart translates the last clause of this verse
"The heart of the fool is not stable;" Delitzsch reads, "Direction is
wanting to the heart of fools," _i.e.,_ it has not the _right_
direction. +10. Correction is grievous,+ or "there is grievous
correction." Miller reads, "Discipline is an evil to him." +11. Hell
and destruction,+ "Sheōl," and "Abaddōn," two different names for the
world of the departed. "Sheōl" is the unseen world in general,
"Abaddōn" the place of _destruction, i.e.,_ the place where their
bodies are destroyed (so Stuart, Zöckler, etc.). +How much more.+
Miller translates these particles by "because also" (see his
Comment). +14. Mouth,+ or, "the countenance." +15. Afflicted,+ or
"toiling." +17. Dinner of herbs,+ literally, "a traveller's meal."
+18. Stirreth up,+ lit. "mixes," implying the reciprocal idea of
giving and taking offence (Fausset). +19. Made plain,+ "is paved," or
"is a highway." +21. Walketh uprightly,+ rather "goes
straightforward." +24. The way of life is above,+ etc., rather "An
upward path of life," etc. +Hell,+ Sheōl, as in verse 11.
+25. Establish the border,+ or "Keep fixed the landmark." +26. The
words of the pure are pleasant,+ or "pure in His sight are pleasant
words." +27. Gifts,+ _i.e.,_ "bribes." +28. Studieth,+ _i.e.,
"considers."_ +33. Instruction of wisdom,+ rather "a discipline of
wisdom," or "a training to wisdom."
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 1 _and_ 2.
THE USE OF KNOWLEDGE.
+I. Knowledge is for use.+ The various gifts and acquirements of men
in every grade of social life, of whatever kind they are, are
intended by God to be used for the benefit of all. One man has what
another lacks, that he may use what he possesses for their mutual
good. Those who have wealth are bound to use it--they are not
expected to keep it locked up in their coffers, but to lay it out for
their own and their poorer neighbours' good. So with knowledge. He
who has a knowledge which can profit the body, the mind, or the heart
of another sins if he holds it back. He will find that such a
possession unused will be a witness against him in the day of
reckoning. He will be accused of wasting his Master's goods by not
using them (Matt. xxv. 27).
+II. Wisdom is needed to put knowledge to a right use.+ There are
many people who know a great deal, but they do not know how to use
it, either for themselves or others. They cannot make it of any
practical use--they cannot enlighten and help others with it. Or they
may put it to a wrong use. This is often the case with those who
possess intellectual knowledge, but who lack moral wisdom. They put a
good thing to a bad use.
+III. One mark of knowledge combined with wisdom is the right use of
the tongue in the presence of anger.+ A "soft answer" in the presence
of anger indicates a knowledge of human nature, and also wisdom and
self-possession to apply the knowledge. A man who can hold the helm
of the vessel in the presence of a storm, and keep her well in hand,
shows that he not only possesses knowledge but wisdom, and he to a
great extent disarms the fury of the tempest by his calm discretion.
+IV. A soft answer may turn away merited wrath.+ There are occasions
when the most holy beings--the Most Holy One Himself--display a wrath
which is only a proof of their perfect holiness. The "soft answer,"
the pleading words of an intercessor, may turn away this wrath. The
wrath of Jehovah was often kindled against Israel during their
wilderness journey, but the "answer" of Moses "turned it away." (See
Exod. xxxii. 11-14; Numb. xiv. 11-20, etc.)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 1--
Calmness is great advantage: he that lets
Another chafe may warm him at his fire,
Mark all his wanderings and enjoy his frets,
As cunning fencers suffer heat to tire.--_Herbert._
_"A trying word;"_ literally a word of labour or pain. In dealing
with sinners we ought to make the Gospel plain at first and not start
unnecessary difficulties. Paul did this (1 Cor. iii. 2). Words that
are not wrathful are often _"trying,"_ as presenting to an angry
inferior our reply in an easily misunderstood shape. We are to feed
men with milk, and not with strong meat, all the more for being in a
condition of fault.--_Miller._
Look at the effect of the quiet and dignified reply of Gideon to the
exasperated men of Ephraim, and at the case of Abigail and David. And
as an exemplification of the opposite style of answer, you may be
reminded of the contention between the men of Israel and Judah at the
time of David's restoration after the death of Absalom, where the
_fierce words_ of the latter drove off the former under the
rebellious standard of Shebna, and of the case of Rehoboam, who by
refusing to give _"a soft answer"_ to the people deprived the house
of David of the subjection of the ten tribes.--_Wardlaw._
Nothing doth better stop the fury of a bullet than a mud wall:
nothing doth sooner _turn away_ the fury of _wrath_ than a _soft
answer._ But where the pot is boiling, grievous words make it to boil
over. Wherefore Chrysostom tells thee that thine enemy reconciled is
more in thine own power than in his.--_Jermin._
If gentle words prevail so mightily with most men to appease their
anger, of what force shall the submissive supplications of penitent
persons be with the Lord?--_Dod._
We greatly need an instrument capable of turning away wrath, for
there is much wrath in the world to turn away. . . . That patent
shield is a soft answer. Christianity makes it of the solid metal,
and education supplies at a cheaper rate a plated article, useful as
long as it lasts, and as far as it goes. . . . The Roman
battering-ram, when it had nearly effected a breach in the walls of
solid stone, was often baffled by bags of chaff and beds of down
skilfully spread out to receive its stubborn blow. By that stratagem
the besieged obtained a double benefit, and the besiegers suffered a
double disappointment. The strokes that were given proved harmless,
and the engine was soon withdrawn. In our department a similar law
exists, and a similar experience will come out of it. . . . After
praying to "Our Father" for your offending brother and yourself, you
may speak to him with safety. . . . Pass your resentment through a
period of communion with Him who bought you with His blood, and it
will come out like Christ's, a simple grief for a brother's sin, and
a holy jealousy for truth.--_Arnot._
Verse 2. Eloquence, widely ordered, is very commendable, and availeth
much. "The tongues of the wise useth knowledge aright"--deals kindly
with her, offers her no abuse by venting her unseasonably, and making
her over cheap and little set by. But eloquence abused may well be
termed the attorney general, that makes a good cause seem bad, and a
bad far better than in truth it is.--_Spencer's "Things New and Old."_
Paul, instead of exasperating his heathen congregation by an open
protest, supplied their acknowledged defect, by bringing before them
the true God "whom they were ignorantly worshipping" (Acts xvii. 23).
He pointed an arrow to Agrippa's conscience, by the kindly admission
of his candour and intelligence (Acts xxvi. 27, 29). This _right use
of knowledge_ distinguishes "the workman approved of God, and that
needeth not to be ashamed" (2 Tim. ii. 15).--_Bridges._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 3.
DIVINE INTELLIGENCE.
+I. The Eternal has a perfect knowledge of all places.+ The sun, in
its meridian height, can only penetrate half the globe at the same
time, and even then there are deep valleys and caves of the earth,
and ocean beds where its rays never come; but God's eye rests at once
not only on all places of His dominion in this planet, which is but
as a grain of sand amongst the worlds, but upon every spot in His
boundless universe.
+II. He has a perfect knowledge of the spirits of His creatures.+ The
human soul has power to hide its secrets from the gaze of every
fellow creature. "For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the
spirit of a man which is in him?" (1 Cor. ii. 11). But God's
omniscient eye pierces into the hidden mazes of the soul and reads
the silent thoughts and intents of the heart. In this most secret
region He walks at large. _"O Lord, Thou hast searched me, and known
me, Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, Thou understandest
my thought afar off"_ (Psa. cxxxix. 1, 2). God is the one potentate
and judge who can claim a perfect knowledge of all His subjects from
a personal acquaintance with each individual. Not one is lost in the
crowd; each one stands before Him as distinctly as if he were the
only creature in the universe.
+III. God's perfect knowledge of His creatures leads Him to
contemplate both what is congenial and what is repugnant.+ He
"beholds the evil and the good." Men, when by Divine grace they
become partakers of the Divine Nature, are much moved to gladness by
the sight of that which is morally good, and turn with loathing from
the evil which they must also contemplate. Yet their happiness
springs from that which is within them and not from that which is
around, or the preponderance of evil would make life unbearable. So
the ever-blessed God, conscious of His perfect rectitude, has within
Him a source of eternal satisfaction notwithstanding the "evil" that
He beholds with Divine indignation and sorrow.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
He mentions the "evil" first because they avowedly, or else
practically, deny God's providence (Jer. xvi. 17).--_Fausset._
When we perceive that a vast number of objects enter in at our eye by
a very small passage, and yet are so little jumbled in the crowd that
they open themselves regularly, though there is no great space for
that either, and that they give us a distinct apprehension of many
objects that lie before us, both of their nature, colour, and size,
and by a secret geometry, from the angles that they make in our eye,
we judge of the distance of all objects, both from us and from one
another--if to this we add the vast number of figures that we receive
and retain long, and with great order, in our brains, which we easily
fetch up either in our thoughts or in our discourse, we shall find it
less difficult to apprehend how an Infinite Mind should have the
universal view of all things ever present before it.--_Burnet._
The darkness of the air may hide thee from men, and the darkness of
thine understanding may hide thee from thyself, but there is no
darkness can hide from God. . . . It was a pretty fancy of one that
would have his chamber painted full of eyes, that which way soever he
looked he might still have some eye upon him. And it was a wise
answer of Livius Drusus, when an artist offered so to contrive his
house that he might do what he would and none would see him. "No,"
saith Drusus, "contrive it so, rather, that all may see me, for I am
not ashamed to be seen." If the eyes of men make even the vilest
forbear their beloved lusts for awhile, and they that are drunk are
drunken in the night, how powerful will the eye and presence of God
be with those that fear His anger and know the sweetness of His
favour. The thoughts of this omnipresence of God will quicken thee to
holiness. The soldiers of Israel and Judah were prodigal of their
blood in the presence of their two generals (2 Sam. ii. 14). Servants
will generally work hard while their master looks on. The eye of God,
as of the sun, will call the Christian to his work. Those countries
that are governed by viceroys seldom flourish or thrive so well as
those kingdoms where the prince is present in person. Conscience,
God's viceroy, may much quicken a Christian to holiness, but God, the
Prince, much more. "I have kept Thy precepts," saith David, "for all
my ways are before Thee."--_Swinnock._
He is all-eye, and His providence like a well-drawn picture, that
vieweth all that come into the room. I know Thy works and Thy labour
(Rev. ii); not Thy works only, but Thy labour in doing them. And as
for the offender, though he think to hide himself from God by hiding
God from himself, yet God is nearer to him than the bark is to the
tree, "for in Him all things subsist" (Col. i. 17) and move (Acts
xvii. 28); understand it of the mind's motions also. And this the
very heathen saw by nature's rush candle. For Thales Milesius being
asked whether the gods know not when a man doth aught amiss, "Yea,"
saith he, "if he do but think amiss." "God is nearer to us than we
are to ourselves," saith another. Repletively He is everywhere,
though inclusively nowhere. As for the world, it is to Him as "a sea
of glass," a clear, transparent body; He sees through it. No man
needs a window in his breast (as the heathen Monus wished) for God to
look in at: every man before God is all window (Job
xxxiv. 22).--_Trapp._
Such is the extent of wickedness that in every place He beholdeth the
evil and the good. Yea, if there be but one in a place, that one is
both evil and good, and God beholdeth both his evil and his good. The
_evil_ God beholdeth first, but they are the _good_ on whom He
resteth, as approving of them, and as delighting in them. For their
eyes are upon God in every place, as God's eyes are upon them. The
other looketh not after God, and so God looketh after them, as that
He looketh from them in anger at their wickedness. He contemplates
and considers, which is more than simply to behold, for contemplation
addeth to a simple apprehension a deeper degree of
knowledge.--_Jermin._
The doctrine of Divine omniscience, although owned and argued for by
men's lips, is neglected or resisted in their lives. The unholy do
not like to have a holy eye ever open upon them, whatever their
profession may be. If fallen man, apart from the one Mediator, say or
think that the presence of God is pleasant to them, it is because
they have radically mistaken either their own character or His. They
have either falsely lifted up their own attainments or falsely
dragged down the character of the judge. . . . In every place our
hearts and lives are open in the sight of Him with whom we have to
do. The proposition is absolutely universal. We must beware, however,
lest that feature of the Word which should make it powerful only
renders it indefinite and meaningless. Man's fickle mind treats
universal truths that come from heaven as the eye treats the visible
heaven itself. At a distance from the observer all around the blue
canopy seems to descend and lean upon the earth, but where he stands
it as far above, out of his sight. It touches not him at all; and
when he goes forward to the line where now it seems to touch other
men, he finds it still far above, and the point which applies to this
lower world is distant as ever. Heavenly truth, like heaven, seems to
touch all the world around, but not his own immediate sphere, or
himself its centre. The grandest truths are practically lost in this
way when they are left whole. We must rightly divide the Word, and
let the bits come into every crook of our own character. Besides the
assent to general truth, there must be specific personal application.
A man may own omniscience and yet live without God in the
world.--_Arnot._
The subjects of verses 4 and 5 have been considered before. (See
Homiletics on chap. xii. 17, 18, page 274, and on chap. xiii. 1, page
293.)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 4. Rueetschi carries the idea of _gentleness_ (see Critical
Notes) through the two clauses as the central idea: "It is precisely
with this gentle speech, which otherwise does so much good, that the
wicked is wont to deceive, and then one is by this more sorely and
deeply stricken and distressed than before."--_Lange's Commentary._
That tongue which is "a witness of truth," and therefore "saves
souls" (chap. xiv. 25), _"is a tree of life."_ Go into any garden of
the lost, and where no such tree is, all are pagans. One sees,
therefore, how the figure is kept up. I am here born into a land
where there are gospel _tongues;_ that is, if, when I grow up, I am
not in China, and not in India, but in a Christian village, where
people have and spread the gospel, that _"tongue, as a healing
thing,_ is (my) _tree of life."_ Where I get "life" is from its
branches.--_Miller._
This verse may be compared with the second. The tongue which "useth
knowledge aright" has a morally and spiritually healing influence. It
imparts instruction to the ignorant. It speaks peace to the troubled
conscience. It soothes the anguish of the afflicted. It subdues the
swelling of passion. It allays the self-inflicted tortures of envy.
It heals divisions and animosities. These and other blessed fruits
entitle it to the designation, "a tree of life;" productive, as it
is, of genuine, varied, and valuable joys to all within the reach of
its influence. And when the tongue makes known God's "saving
health,"--the salvation revealed by Him in the Gospel,--it then gives
life in the highest and most important sense.--_Wardlaw._
A high image of what the tongue ought to be; not negative, not
harmless, but _wholesome,_ or _healing,_ as the salt cast into the
spring cleansed the bitter waters (2 Kings ii. 21). . . . But the
meekest of men felt _perverseness a breach in the spirit_ (Numb.
xvi. 8-15). The tongue of Job's friends broke "the bruised reed" (Job
xiii. 1-5). Even our beloved Lord, who never shrunk from external
evil, keenly felt the piercing edge of this sword (Psa. lxix. 19,
20).--_Bridges._
One stripe of the tongue woundeth three--the backbiter, him that
giveth ear to the backbiting, and the backbitten.--_Cawdray._
Saith the old philosopher, "Than a good tongue there is nothing
better, than an evil nothing worse. It hath no mean; it is either
exceedingly good or exceedingly evil. It knows nothing but extremes,
and is either best of all, or worst of all (Jas. iii. 8). The tongue
is every man's best or worst moveable. . . . A good tongue is the
best part of a man, and most worthy of the honour of sacrifice. This
only when it is well seasoned. Seasoned, I say, with salt, as the
apostle admonisheth; not with fire" (Col. iv. 6).--_T. Adams._
Everlasting benediction be upon that tongue, which spake, as no other
ever did, or could speak, pardon, peace, and comfort to lost mankind.
This was the _tree of life,_ whose leaves were for the healing of the
nations.--_Bishop Horne._
The root of this tree goeth down to the heart, whence it sucketh the
juice of wisdom; its body lieth in the head, where things are
ruminated and concocted by it; the branches of it are the several
speeches of the mouth; the fruit of it is spread abroad as wide as
good occasion is offered.--_Jermin._
Not a _silent_ tongue; mere abstinence from evil is not good. . . .
Idleness is evil under the administration of God. . . . Not a
_smooth_ tongue; it may be soft on the surface, while the poison of
asps lies cherished underneath. The serpent licks his victim all over
before he swallows it. Smoothness is not an equivalent for
truth. . . . Not a _voluble_ tongue; that active member may labour
much to little purpose. . . . Not a _sharp_ tongue: some instruments
are made keen-edges for the purpose of wounding. . . . Not even a
_true_ tongue. Truth is necessary, but it is not enough. The true
tongue must also be _wholesome._ Before anything can be wholesome in
its effects on others it must be whole in itself. . . . "Winged
words" have fluttered about in poetry and prose through all the
languages of the civilised world from old Homer's day till now. The
permanence and prevalency of the expression proves that it embodies a
recognised truth. Words have wings indeed, but they are the wings of
seeds rather than of birds or butterflies. We are all accustomed in
autumn to observe multitudes of diminutive seeds, each balanced on
its own tiny wing, floating past on the breeze. . . . Words are like
these seeds, in their winged character, their measureless multitude,
and their winged speed. They drop off in inconceivable numbers: they
fly far: they are widely spread. It is of deep importance that they
should be for good, and not for evil. The tongue is a prolific tree,
it concerns the whole community that it should be a tree of life, and
not of death.--_Arnot._
Verse 5. He that regardeth reproof is prudent. Wise he is, and wiser
he will be. This made David prize and pray for a reprover (Psa.
cxli. 5).--_Trapp._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 6.
LIKE IN CIRCUMSTANCES, BUT UNLIKE IN CHARACTER.
+I. The wicked and the righteous are often on a level as regards
material wealth.+ One may have "much treasure" and the other great
"revenues," or _gain._ The laws of nature have no respect to
character. God makes His sun to "shine upon the evil and the good,
and sendeth rain upon the just and upon the unjust" (Matt. v. 43), so
that the wicked man reaps a harvest as abundant as that of the
righteous man. And all the laws of Providence move with the same even
step, certainly showing no favour to the good man over the bad.
+II. But though their possessions may be equal, there is great
inequality in the enjoyment of them.+ Character makes all the
difference here. Even "a little that a righteous man hath is better
than the riches of many wicked" (Ps. xxxvii. 16). The wicked man is
troubled by a sense of being out of harmony with all that is holy,
and just, and true in the universe of God, and with a foreboding of
future retribution. The wealth of the spirit is so much more than
material wealth as the spirit is so much more than the body. It is
wealth to have _"a conscience purged from dead works to serve the
living God"_ (Heb. ix. 14), and to "lay up treasure" without being
thus "rich toward God" (Luke xii. 21) is only to _"spend money for
that which is not bread, and labour for that which satisfieth not."_
(See on chap. iii. 14, 15, viii. 11-19, etc.)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
"The _treasure_ in the house of the righteous" may be understood not
of mere wealth, but of whatever is possessed with contentment and
cheerfulness, with gratitude to God, with an assurance of His
fatherly regard, with the peace that passeth all understanding, with
resignation of spirit to the Divine Will, with the present enjoyment
of spiritual blessing, and the well-founded "hope of glory, honour,
and immortality." . . . We may suppose the revenues of the wicked to
be _acquired_ and _enjoyed_ wickedly. But if not--yet if possessed
and expended without the fear of God, and if the means themselves of
banishing that fear, and preventing the choice of a better
portion,--it may truly be affirmed that in them there is
_"trouble."--Wardlaw._
_"The house,"_ as we have repeatedly seen (see on chap. ix. 1,
xiv. 1), means a man's _whole interest._ The mere _interest_ of the
_"righteous,"_ whether it seem high or low; his lot, whether it be on
high or on a dunghill, his hap, just as it is, whether it be easy or
under pain, is, under the covenant of the Almighty, an enormous
riches; while not _"the house of the wicked"_ (for the wise man
intends another of his climaxes); but stating his condition in the
most favourable way, _"the revenue of the wicked,"_ imagining that to
be of the most favourable kind; and not _"the revenue of the
wicked,"_ but _in_ the revenue, as though the trouble were in the
revenue itself, is, literally, _the being troubled_ (Niphal). The
splendours of the lost will involve but _trouble_ in the whole
eternity.--_Miller._
The treasures of the wicked are too much for their good and too
little for their lusts. . . . But is it not the crown of the
Christian's crown, and the glory of his glory that he cannot desire
more?--_Bridges._
The riches of the wicked, in which they pride themselves, often
consist of paper, and if bonds and charters make a man rich, the
righteous cannot be poor, when they have bonds upon God Himself for
everything they need, and the charter which shows their sure title to
an everlasting inheritance. The devil robbed Job, but he could not
make him poor, for his chief treasure lay quite out of reach of the
enemy.--_Lawson._
Every righteous man is a rich man, whether he hath more or less of
the things of this life. For, _first,_ he hath plenty of that which
is precious. Secondly, _Propriety;_ what he hath is his own; he holds
all in _capite-tenure_ in Christ; he shall not be called to account
as a usurper. "All is yours" (1 Cor. iii. 22), "because you are
Christ's, and Christ is God's." And although he had little, many
times, in present possession, he is rich in reversion.--_Trapp._
His house is God's treasury, himself is God's treasure; wherefore God
watcheth over his house to defend and preserve it; and himself God
keepeth, as the apple of His eye.--_Jermin._
Even the trifling sum which the righteous keeps in his house is a
great treasure, because it has God's blessing; but all the revenues,
the large annual rents of the wicked from all his vast estate, are
mere troubles.--_Burgon._
The thought of verse 7 has been treated before. (See verse 2, etc.)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Utterance is a gift, and dumb Christians are blameworthy as well as
dumb ministers. "Speak, that I may see thee," said Socrates. When the
heart is full, it overfloweth in speech. We know metals by their
tinkling, and men by their talking.--_Brooks._
In their houses, they catechise their children; in the company of
their neighbours, they entreat of God's Word and works; in the
church, if they be teachers, they publish wholesome
doctrine.--_Muffet._
Most commentators say _scatter_ or _disperse. "Winnow,"_ which has
usage (Ruth iii. 2), bears better upon the second clause. (See
renderings in Critical Notes.) _Winnowing knowledge, i.e.,_ letting
the lips, under the guidance of wisdom, be an instrument for holding
folly back and giving utterance to knowledge, must be the finest
practice for getting strength to piety; while the second clause shows
the incompetence of folly to _"winnow"_ anything, by saying that
_"the heart of the foolish is not fixed"_ (and therefore lacks the
first principles of choice, in separating one thing from the
other).--_Miller._
The foolish sow cockle as fast as wiser men do corn, and are as busy
in digging descents to hell as others are in building staircases for
heaven.--_Trapp._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 8 _and_ 9.
PRAYING AND LIVING.
+I. God loves righteous men with a special love.+ God has a love for
all His human creatures--a love which springs out of His relationship
to them as their Creator. He loves the "world" (John iii. 16), but
this love cannot be said to spring from likeness of character between
Him and the objects of His love. There is a spontaneous love welling
up in the mother's heart towards her child long before that child has
developed any qualities to win love. The love springs from the
relationship that exists between the child and the parent, and it
exists before there has been time and opportunity to develop a
loveable character. And there is still love in the mother's heart
from the relationship, if, after there has been time to form a
loveable character, no such character is manifested--if there is no
response to the parent's love. There is this spontaneous love in God
for all His human children--a love that, even when it meets with no
response, does not cease to pity those who reject it. _"God
commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us"_ (Rom. v. 8). _"But after the kindness and love
of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness
which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us"_ (Titus
iii. 4, 5). But the spiritual love which God has to righteous men--to
men of integrity--to men who are sincere in their love of
righteousness, and who make conformity to it the end and aim of their
life (see on chap. xi. 3, page 196), is a love which springs from
likeness of character. It is the personal love of a perfectly
Righteous Being for persons whose characters, in some degree,
resemble His own. The good human father loves to see his own
character in miniature in that of his child. He delights to see his
son _"following after"_ him in his holy habits and feelings--he loves
him with a deeper and more joyful love as he sees in him the germs of
holy desires and aims which he knows will be more fully developed as
he grows into manhood. And so the "Heavenly Father" loves with the
love of delight (chap. xii. 22) those of His human sons and daughters
who have begun to reflect His image in their hearts and lives, and
waits with patience until the blade changes to the ear, and the ear
into the full corn--until they are not only _just men,_ but _"just
men made perfect"_ (Heb. xii. 23).
+II. One act of a righteous man which God regards with special
pleasure.+ "The _prayer of _ the upright." 1. _Because it is an
expression of conscious need._ A sense of spiritual need and weakness
is indispensable, even to the continuance of a righteous character,
much more to its growth. While a man feels his need, he will not only
keep what he already has, but will be in the way of getting more.
While he feels that he has not _"already attained"_ neither is
_"already perfect"_ he will _"follow after"_ perfection, he will
_"reach forth unto those things which are before, and press toward
the mark for the prize of the high calling of God"_--(Phil.
iii. 12-14), even to entire and absolute holiness of character. When
he prays, he expresses his sense of need, and thus gives proof of
that lowliness and contrition of heart without which no man can
receive supplies of Divine grace. Therefore God delights in his
prayer. 2. _It is an expression of filial confidence._ He not only
knows what he wants, but he knows who is able and willing to supply
his need. Prayer is in itself an act of faith--it is an expression of
belief that _"God is and that He is a rewarder of them that
diligently seek Him"_ (Heb. xi. 6). A human benefactor, especially a
human parent, feels that application to him for help is a tribute to
his goodness and to his power--it is a manifestation that those who
seek his aid are assured of his willingness and ability to meet their
need. So with the Divine Friend and Father. He loves to have His
compassion and His power confided in by His creatures. 3. _It is an
act of obedience._ God has commanded "men always to pray" (Luke
xviii. 1). It was a condition to be observed under the Old Testament
dispensation, as well as under that of the new. _"Thus saith the
Lord, I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel to do
it for them"_ (Ezek. xxxvi. 37). _ Ask and it shall be given you"_
(Luke xi. 9). The conditions are easy, but they are indispensable. No
wise parent gives his children what they desire, except certain
conditions are fulfilled. They may be very easy, but in no
well-governed family are they dispensed with. So in God's family.
True He knows what His children need before they ask Him, even better
than the wisest and most tender human parent, but the command is
absolute, the condition without exception. Prayer is therefore
acceptable to Him because it is an act of obedience to His command.
+III. God abhors the way of the wicked.+ 1. _Because they are at war
with their better nature._ There are instincts in every man which are
opposed to wrong-doing. There is a light which lightens every man
that cometh into the world. When men sin they war against their own
better nature. Cain possessed instincts which he must have stifled
and trampled down before he could shed his brother's blood, and so it
is with every son of Adam. God must hate that which debases the
creature whom He created in His own image. 2. _Because their ways are
at war with His purpose to bless them._ A wise statesman may conceive
a plan which he sees by his superior intelligence is calculated to
bring great blessings to his nation. He labours to make the nation
see it also--he uses all his reasoning power and all the force of his
eloquence to bring it into operation, to make it the law of the land.
But the very people whom it is intended to benefit may, from
ignorance and prejudice, oppose his wise and beneficent efforts. He
looks upon their opposition with the deepest displeasure, because it
is opposed to their own welfare. If a son rebel against the plans
which a wise and good father has formed for his benefit, the father
must be deeply displeased at the obstinacy which thus frustrates his
purpose of love and wisdom. God's complaint against Israel was, _"I
have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled
against Me"_ (Isa. i. 2)--rebelled against all His gracious plans and
purposes concerning them, and that is His quarrel with the ways of
wicked men in general that crosses all His purposes of mercy towards
them.
+IV. Their acts of worship are especially displeasing to Him.+ They
are offered with no sense of spiritual need--with no desire to
forsake sin. When such men engage in outward acts of worship it is as
if a thief were to offer to his judge some of his unlawful gain as a
bribe to be allowed to go free of punishment. God so regarded the
sacrifices of Israel when they came into His courts with _"hands full
of blood." "Your new moons and your appointed feasts My soul hateth"_
(Isa. i. 14, 15). They were an abomination to Jehovah because the
hearts of the men who offered them were in love with sin and desired
only, if possible, to escape the penalty due to it. Men in all ages
would have been well pleased to "be pardoned and to retain the
offence," but the very suggestion of such a thing is a gross insult
to the righteousness of God, and as this is the only construction
that can be put upon a drawing near to Him in outward service while
the heart is far from Him (Isa. xxix. 13), the _sacrifice_ of the
wicked must be the act most abhorrent to God of a way which is
altogether an "abomination unto Him."
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 8. When an ungodly man prays, it is not the _act of prayer_
that constitutes the sin, it is the want of a _praying heart._ The
sin is _in him,_ not in his prayer.--_Wardlaw._
The formal devotion of a faithless man is not worth the crust of
bread which he asks.--_T. Adams._
Man judges by acts, God by principles. _The sacrifice of the wicked,_
though it be part of God's own service, yet "will be found in His
register in the catalogue of sins to be accounted for" (_Bp.
Hopkins_). Is he then finally rejected? Far from it. His desire to
seek the Lord would be the beginning of the prayer that ensures
acceptance. That which brings acceptance is--not the perfection, but
the simplicity of uprightness.--_Bridges._
"Sacrifice and prayer" are not here contrasted as the higher and the
lower, but "sacrifice" is a gift to God, "prayer" is desiring from
Him (Comp. Isa. i. 11, 15, etc.). Yet this is by no means an
essential difference; for both sacrifice and prayer, which indeed
fall likewise under the category of offering in the broadest sense
(Ps. cxix. 108; Heb. xiii. 15) come under consideration here only as
general tokens of reverence for God; and the value of both is clearly
defined by this test, whether the state of heart is or is not well
pleasing to God.--_Lange's Commentary._
It is not works that make the man good, but when a man is justified
his works are also good. God in His grace makes well pleasing to
Himself the works that come of faith, even though great imperfections
still mingle with them.--_Starke._
_"The sacrifice of the wicked,"_ though it may be very costly--the
column of Stylites, the hook-swinging of the east, the millions of
anxious charity--without grace must be purely sin. _"The prayer of
the upright,"_ though it _asks_ instead of _gives,_ yet it is a
_delight,_ where the other is an _abomination._ A man may serve God
out of sheer selfish wickedness. Moreover, _all_ are abominable.
There is no just man upon earth. But the righteous has the
righteousness of Christ; while these others are left, without a
cover, to their own abominable guiltiness.--_Miller._
Works _materially_ good many never prove so _formally_ and
_eventually,_ viz.: (1) When they proceed not from a right principle;
(2) When they tend not to a right end. The glory of God must consume
all other ends, as the sun puts out the light of the fire. But the
prayer that proceeds from an upright heart, though but faint and
feeble, doth come before God, even "into His ears" (Psa. xviii. 6),
and so strangely charms Him (Isa. xxvi. 16) that He breaks forth into
these words: "Ask me of things concerning my sons, and concerning the
works of my hands command ye me" (Isa. xlv. 11). Oh that we
understood the latitude of this royal charter!--_Trapp._
Verse 9. "The way of the wicked is abomination." Not his sacrifices
only, but his civilities: all his actions--natural, moral,
recreative, religious--are offensive to God. The very "ploughing of
the wicked is sin" (Prov. xxi. 4). . . . But He loveth him that
followeth after righteousness, although he fulfil not all
righteousness, yet if he make after it with might and main, if he
pursue it and have it in chase, "if by any means he may attain to the
resurrection of the dead" (Phil. iii. 11); that is, the height of
holiness that accompanies the resurrection: this is the man whom God
loves. Now God's love is not an empty love; it is not like the winter
sun, that casteth a goodly countenance when it shines, but gives
little warmth and comfort. "Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and
worketh righteousness; those that remember Thee in Thy ways" (Isa.
lxiv. 5), "that think upon Thy commandments to do them" (Psa.
ciii. 20), that are weak but willing (Heb. xiii. 8), that are lifting
at the latch, though they cannot do up the door: "Surely, shall every
such one say, in the Lord have I righteousness and strength" (Isa.
xlv. 24). "Righteousness," that is, mercy to those that come over to
Him, and "strength" to enable them to come, as the sea sends out
waters to fetch us to it.--_Trapp._
The way of the wicked and the abomination of the Lord go on with
equal paces. It is his way, because he leadeth himself in it,
refusing to follow the guide of instruction: and God's way it is,
wherein His abomination pursueth after him. . . . St. Bernard saith,
"God loveth, neither doth this arise from anything in others, but
Himself it is from whence He loveth; and therefore the more
vehemently, because He doth not so much love, as rather Himself is
love."--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 10.
OUT OF THE WAY.
+I. There is a pre-ordained way for man to walk in.+ 1. _Nature
suggests this._ Everything there speaks of law and order.
2. _Conscience suggests it._ 3. _Revelation declares it._ (On this
subject see Homiletics on chap. xii. 28; xiii. 13, 14; pages 291 and
313.)
+II. A man may break loose from this God-ordained path.+ That he
_can_ do this is his glory; that he _does_ do it is his shame. A
convict is compelled to keep to a certain path, he is obliged to
conform to a routine laid down for him by another. His outward life
is governed by no will of his own, all his acts are prescribed by an
authority which he cannot resist. But God will not keep men in the
way in which He desires them to walk by such means. He did not so
fence about the angels in heaven. They were "free to fall," and so
are we. God treats His creatures as free men, not as prisoners. They
have power to choose when they will serve; they are free to choose
the way in which they will walk. All the force that is exerted over
them is the force of moral suasion.
+III. The correction that follows this forsaking of the way is
intended to punish and to reclaim.+ In all well-ordered human
governments, and in all well-governed families, the main intention of
punishment (except in the case of capital punishment) is improvement
of character. This ought to be the chief aim of all human correction.
It is the main intention in all the chastisements of God in this
world. There is no retribution which comes to man in this world which
will not, if accepted in a right spirit, become a means of restoring
him to the forsaken path; therefore
+IV. To hate reproof is to shut out all possibility of moral
restoration.+ A man who will not be reproved denies the imperfection
of his nature. Every imperfect being must need correction, and for
man to rebel against the chastisement of God is to pass sentence of
death upon himself. (On this subject see Homiletics on chapters
iii. 11, 12; xii. 1; xiii. 18; pages 247, 323, etc.)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
We should always look hopefully at a sinner under _correction._ For,
surely, so long as the physician administers the medicine, there is
no ground for despondency. . . . This costly teaching brings us on
wonderfully. Lord! let me know the smart of Thy rod rather than the
eclipse of Thy love.--_Bridges._
There are three sorts of passengers that go out of the way. He that
mistaketh the way, he that forsaketh his way, and he that loveth to
be out of the way. Many miss the way who never were in it, or, being
in the way, were missed from it, and these, oftentimes, are glad to
be corrected and brought into the way. He forsaketh the way who at
first is set in it, and seeing how to go on aright, yet willingly
departeth from it: to such an one correction is grievous, and he
suffereth it with trouble, but yet many times he is reduced by it. He
loveth to be out of the way who hateth reproof, and of his amendment
there is little hope. . . . The force of the verse is, that the
suffering of correction is grievous, but that the hating of reproof
is most pernicious.--_Jermin._
Of all sinners, reproofs are worse resented by apostates.--_Henry._
_"Discipline is an evil to him who forsakes the path."_ (See
rendering in Critical Notes.) In our common version this idea is not
brought out. It is a very grave one. Men not converted, but steadily
_"forsaking the path of holiness,"_ are injured by _"discipline."_ In
_"hating reproof"_ they go through the very soul-action which we mean
when we say, _"they die."_ Each _"hating"_ emotion kills them. And
this is the very philosophy of the _letter-killing_ (2 Cor. iii. 6);
not that it is poison in itself, but that the Gospel awakens
opposition, which, on its part, corrupts the mind.--_Miller._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 11.
TWO WORLDS.
+I. Two worlds out of reach of the human senses--the world of
departed men and the human soul.+ Both these mysterious worlds are
shut out or shut in from the eye of man by the bolts and bars of his
bodily senses. How exceedingly small a portion of the vast universe
of God is revealed to the eye of sense! The small globe upon which
man finds himself is nearly all that he can possibly know with his
bodily vision. Reason may tell him that there is much more, faith may
afford him clearer evidence of things not seen (Heb. xi. 1), but over
all there is a veil drawn. The vast world, where dwells the great
majority of the human race--that unseen home, peopled with the
spirits of just men made perfect, and the dwelling-place of the
spirits of the unjust--are regions entirely beyond the reach of human
sight. And there is another world equally out of the reach of his
vision. He has never seen the soul of any one of the thousands of
fellow-men with whom he has come in contact. He has never read the
heart of his most intimate friend. His own "living soul," even that
which is _himself,_ has never been apprehended by his bodily senses.
He has never touched or looked upon _that._
+II. But both these invisible worlds are entirely open to the eye of
God.+ The world of spirits and the individual soul of each man are
seen by Him as plainly as we see the material world around us, or as
we see the bodies of our fellow-creatures. And they are far more
fully comprehended by Him than the visible things upon which our eyes
rest every day are comprehended by us. For what do we really know of
the essential properties of that by which we are surrounded? Is not
our very bodily organism a mystery to us? But each soul of each
individual man in the body, and each "unclothed" (2 Cor. v. 4) spirit
in the worlds of the departed is "naked and open" in the eyes of Him
with whom each one "has to do" (Heb. iv. 13) as really and as
intimately as if in all the universe there was only one creature of
whom the omniscient Creator had to take cognizance.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
It is the gross persuasion of some, as if hell and destruction were
only things that God did set before us, and that they were not before
Him; as if they were things wherewith God did only terrify us, and
which should never be. But the wise man telleth us, that they are
before the Lord, and that though we know not where hell is and what
is done there, yet it is before God's eyes. And, therefore, though
the heart of the children of men be made as deep as hell by hellish
devices, yet much more is that manifest to God. The heart of man is
more manifest to Him than it is to himself. Wherefore St. Augustine,
speaking unto God, saith, "Thou wert within, and I was without." For,
indeed, God is often within and knoweth what our hearts are, when we
ourselves are without and do not know them.--_Jermin._
This terrible truth these hearts secretly know, and their desperate
writhings to shake it off show how much they dislike it. The Romish
confessional is one of the most pregnant facts in the history of man.
It is a monument and measure of the guilty creature's enmity against
God. . . . We have wondered at the blindness and stupidity of our
common nature in permitting a man, not more holy than his neighbours,
to stand in the place of God to a brother's soul. There is cause for
grief, but not ground for surprise. The phenomenon proceeds in the
way of natural law. It is the common, well understood process of
compounding for the security of the whole, by the voluntary surrender
of a part. The confessional is a kind of insurance office where
periodical exposure of the heart to a man is the premium paid for
fancied impunity in hiding that heart altogether from the deeper
scrutiny of the all-seeing God. . . . It is God's love from the face
of Jesus Christ shining into my dark heart that makes my heart open
and delight to be His dwelling-place. The eye of the just Avenger I
cannot endure to be in the place of sin; but the eye of the
compassionate Physician I shall gladly admit into this place of
disease.--_Arnot._
_"Because also the hearts of the children of men."_ (See Miller's
rendering in Critical Notes.) The intimation is _God knows hell
because He knows man._ He knows that "hating reproof," we die (verse
10), and just how fast we die or sink by each act of hating. In other
words, he knows how fast sin grows under an administration of
justice; and, therefore, how far a given sinner will have gone down,
at any date, through his eternal age.--_Miller._
This verse may denote that the deepest machinations of the prince of
hell, and of all his legions of fallen angels, are open to the Lord's
inspection, and must end in their disappointment and deeper torment;
how, then can man, who is so inferior in sagacity and subtlety,
expect to hide his counsels from God, or to prosper in rebellion
against Him? "There is nothing so deep or secret that can be hid from
the eyes of God, much less man's thoughts."--_Scott._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 12.
SELF-DESTROYED.
+I. That a scorner is in hopeless ignorance.+ "Neither will he go
unto the wise." If a thirsty man will not go to the river to which he
has free and easy access, there is no hope of his thirst being
quenched. If he will not apply to the only source whence his need can
be supplied, he must remain in his needy condition. If a man who is
sick will not apply to him who is able to cure his malady, the
probability is that he will remain under the influence of disease,
and die of his malady. If a man who is ignorant of the revelation of
God, and of the healing power of Divine truth, refuses to go where
wisdom is to be found--viz., among those who have been enlightened by
Divine wisdom, there is no hope of his ever emerging from his state
of ignorance. God uses one divinely enlightened man to turn another
from darkness to light. This is the method of His procedure in His
kingdom, and if the scorner rejects this means, he must remain in
darkness. He may "go unto the wise" by listening to the voice of the
living man, by observing the life of the morally wise, or by reading
their thoughts, especially those of the divinely-inspired writers of
the Scriptures. Men have begun to learn wisdom by each one of these
methods; generally there is the combined influence of the three.
+II. The true source of the scorner's dislike to the company of the
wise.+ He "hates reproof." As reproof is knowledge (see ch. xiii. 18,
page 323) so an increase of knowledge, if it is not used, is reproof.
The words of the wise and the lives of the wise reprove the scorner
by increasing his light, and thus adding to his guilt. He therefore
"cometh not to the light lest his deeds should be reproved" (John
iii. 20). He is like a man who is conscious that he is suffering from
a dangerous disease, but who will not submit to the examination of
the physician because he knows he would prescribe treatment which,
though it would cure, would be painful. No men love reproof any more
than they love the surgeon's knife; but wise men submit to the one
and the other for the sake of the health to soul and to body which
will follow. But the scorner hates the keen-edged weapon of reproof
because he does not value the good that would result from patiently
bearing the incision.
+III. Every scorner, therefore, is a self-destroyer.+ A man commits
suicide if, when he is sick, he refuses to use the means by which he
might be healed. If he die, he takes away his life as truly as if he
thrust a sword through his body. He is not accountable for his
disease, but he is responsible and blameworthy for neglecting means
of cure within his reach. So with men in relation to spiritual
knowledge. Ignorance is a crime only when the means of enlightenment
are within reach. He who scorns to avail himself of those means, he
who will not submit to reproof, he who rejects the invitation and
despises the threatenings of Divine Wisdom (see chap. i. 20-33) is a
moral suicide. (See also on chap. xiv. 6, page 346.)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Men should "run to and fro to increase knowledge" (Dan. xii. 4). The
Shunamite rode ordinarily to the prophet on the Sabbaths and other
holy days (2 Kings iv. 23). Those good souls in Psalm lxxxiv. 7
passed on "from strength to strength," setting the best foot forwards
for like purpose; yea, those that were weak and unfit for travel
would be brought to the ordinances upon "horses, in chariots, and in
litters" (Isa. lxvi. 20). But now the scorner holds it not worth
while to put himself to these pains, and is ready to say with
Jeroboam, "It is too much for men to go up to Jerusalem," to go up
"to the mountain of the Lord, to learn His ways" (Isa. ii. 3). Yea,
he set watches to observe who would go from him to Judah to worship,
that he might shame them at least, if not slay them (Hos. v. 1). He
would never have gone to the prophet to be reproved, and when the
prophet came to him, he stretched out his hand to apprehend him. So
Herod had a desire to see Christ, but could never find a heart to go
to hear him; and yet our Saviour looked that men should have come as
far to Him as the Queen of Sheba came to Solomon.--_Trapp._
Here is instruction for all men, to observe the state of their own
souls, and the better, when occasion is offered, to inform themselves
of others by the company which they most delight to frequent. He that
delighteth to associate himself with good men, is never to be deemed
a friend to evil ways, and he that embraceth the fellowship of sinful
persons, must needs be judged an enemy to godly behaviour. When David
would clear himself to be none of the wicked, he made it fully
manifest by this, _that he went not with vain persons, neither kept
company with dissemblers: that he hated the assembly of the evil and
companioned not with the wicked._ When he would prove himself to be
one of the righteous, he evidently confirmed it by this, that _he was
a companion of all them that feared the Lord and kept His
precepts.--Dod._
There is none that loveth more truly, that loveth more profitably,
than he that lovingly reproveth what he seeth amiss. And yet there is
none that a scorner loveth less. But what marvel if he loveth not
another, that loveth not himself! Where scorning is, there can be no
love, that was never love's disposition. Let no one that reproveth a
scorner look for love from him. . . . But let the wise reprove him
notwithstanding, and as St. Cyprian speaketh, if they cannot persuade
him, to make him to please Christ, let themselves perform to Christ
that which is their part, and let them please Christ by keeping his
commandments.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 13.
A CHEERFUL FACE AND A BROKEN SPIRIT.
+I. The outer man is to a large extent an index of the inner life.+
The joy of the heart is made visible upon the countenance. This is
one of the infinitely kind and wise arrangements of God which
minister so much to human happiness. We have but to consider the
influence of a cheerful face to know how great a blessing it is that
a merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance. "How blank would be the
aspect of the world," says Dr. Arnot, "if no image of a man's thought
could ever be seen glancing through his countenance! Our walk through
life would be like a solitary walk through a gallery of statues--as
cold as marble, and not nearly so beautiful."
+II. The effect of sorrow upon the human spirit.+ It _"breaks"_ it.
When a vessel's timbers are shivered by the fury of the storm she may
not go to pieces altogether. But she is no longer able to hold her
own against the elements, which she could once use as forces to
convey her from land to land. If she were now to put to sea, instead
of riding over the waves and making them her servants, she would be a
passive thing in their hands, a mere helpless bundle of timbers to be
tossed whithersoever they pleased, instead of "walking the waters
like a thing of life." So it is with the human spirit when the cross
seas and angry winds of adverse circumstances have quenched the hope
and paralysed the energy that once governed and inspired the man. He
is no longer able to face the storms of life, and outride them, or
even make them advance his interests. He is passive amid the changes
and chances of mortal life, and they drift him on wheresoever they
will. But this can never be the case unless a man has lost faith in
the character of God and his own high and immortal destiny. Then,
indeed, the elements which he was built to rule will rule him, and he
will fail to fulfil the end for which God launched him on the sea of
life.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
I have always preferred cheerfulness to mirth. The latter I consider
as an act, the former as a habit, of the mind.--_Addison._
The _"sorrow of heart"_ here spoken of, we may consider as that which
arises from an evil conscience, from envy, discontent, and other
similar sources.--_Wardlaw._
A "merry" or "glad" heart is one of the attributes of piety. It
(literally) _"does good to the countenance," improves it,_ as we say
in our idiom, "Come with us, and we will do thee good" (Numb.
x. 29).--_Miller._
This word _merriment_ is of frequent use among our old writers. It is
Foxe's favourite description of the holy joy of the
martyrs.--_Bridges._
It sits smiling in the face, and looks merrily out of the windows of
the eyes. But this is not till faith has healed the conscience, and
till grace has hushed the affections, and composed all within.
Stephen looked like an angel when he stood before the council (Acts
vi. 15); and the apostles went away rejoicing (Acts v. 41). There are
that rejoice in the face only, and not in the heart (2 Cor. v. 12);
this is but hypocrisy of mirth, and we may be sure that many a man's
heart bleeds within him when his face counterfeits a smile. It is for
an Abraham only to laugh for joy of the promise, and for a David to
"rejoice at the word as one that findeth great spoil" (Psalms
cxix. 162), wherein the pleasure is usually as much as the profit.
Christ's chariot, wherein he carries people up and down in the world,
and brings them at length to Himself, is "paved with love" (Cant.
iii. 9, 10); He brings them also into His wine cellar (Cant. ii. 4),
where He cheers up their hearts, and clears up their countenances,
and this is Heaven beforehand. These are some few clusters of the
grapes of the celestial Canaan. But as the looks are marred, so the
spirits are dulled and disabled by sorrow, as a limb out of joint can
do nothing without deformity or pain. Dejection takes off the wheels
of the soul, hinders comfortable intercourse with God, and that
habitual cheerfulness, that Sabbath of the spirit, that every man
should strive to enjoy. Afflictions, saith one, are the wind of the
soul, passions the storm. The soul is well carried when neither so
becalmed that it moves not when it should, nor yet tosses with
tempests of wrath, grief, fear, etc., to move disorderly. Of these we
must be careful to crush the very first insurrections; storms rise
out of little gusts, but the top of those mountains above the middle
region are so quiet that ashes, lightest things, are not moved out of
place.--_Trapp._
Mirth and cheerfulness make a man not only fitter for the occasions
of this world, but even for spiritual affairs also. Wherefore Elisha
calleth for a minstrel that, being angry with the king of Israel, by
the melody of the music a more soft and sweet disposition might
possess him. . . . "Joy," saith Aquinas, "is, as it were, a juice
spreading itself over the whole man, dispersing the comfort of itself
to all the faculties of the soul, and all parts of the body." But,
now, what is it that maketh a merry heart? Surely not the things of
this world. They only do beset the heart with a dream of mirth, they
do only make the heart drunken with some flushings of joy. A merry
heart indeed is that which the assurance of God's favour rejoiceth,
and that will make the countenance cheerful in any trouble, even in
death itself. It is true also that by sorrow of heart the spirit is
broken, the heart and the spirit being but one string of life. But
what is it by which the heart should be made sorrowful? Surely not
the things of this life, seeing the life of the heart is so far above
them. For it is a shameful folly to hurt a better thing for that
which is far worse. No; nothing should make the heart sorrowful but
repentance for sin, and as that casteth down the spirit, so will it
raise it up again. Wherefore Augustine saith, "Let the penitent
always be grieved, and let him rejoice for his grief." Nothing should
make the heart sad but the fear of God's displeasure, and if that
break the spirit, it will heal it again with endless
consolation.--_Jermin._
The principal thought of verse 14 is a repetition in a slightly
varied form of a truth that has been considered before. (See on chap.
xii. 1, xiii. 18, etc.)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
They are the wisest men that are most sensible of the imperfection of
their wisdom.--_Lawson._
_"The mouth of fools feed,"_ etc., literally, _pastures,_ like a
brute. A thing fed takes the texture of its nourishment. The
_"mouth"_ or _"face"_ (see Critical Notes) of the fool grows more and
more inane and brutal.--_Miller._
As a hungry man seeks meat, or a covetous man gold, the more he hath
the more he desires. Moses was no sooner off the mount where he had
seen God face to face, but he cries, "Lord, show me Thy glory!"
David, that knew more than his teachers, cries ever and anon, "Teach
me Thy statutes." Job prefers knowledge before his necessary food
(chap. xxiii. 12). The wise man finds no such sweetness in the most
delicate and dainty dishes, as in the search after Divine knowledge
(Psa. cxix. 103). Even Aristotle saith that a little knowledge,
though conjectural, about heavenly things is to be preferred above
knowledge, though certain, about earthly things. And Agur saith it is
to ascend into heaven (Prov. xxx. 4).--_Trapp._
_First,_ because the one sort is after the spirit, and therefore they
favour the things of the spirit; and the other sort is after the
flesh, and therefore they favour the things of the flesh. _Secondly,_
because the one sort is guided by judgment, and choose that which
will comfort their consciences; and the other is altogether led by
lust, and seek only that which will satisfy their senses. _Thirdly,_
faith makes the one sort to cast an eye to that which will follow
hereafter; and sensuality causeth the other (like brute beasts, made
to be destroyed) only to look to that which is present.--_Dod._
Knowledge is necessary for us, not only to manage the affairs of this
life, but also to perform the service of our Maker. Conscience may
dictate to us that things are right or wrong, but conscience may be
mistaken in her decisions, unless she call in reason to her
assistance, for a clear knowledge of the revealed will of God cannot
be understood without application of mind. . . . The desire of
knowledge is in some sense natural to us all and is manifested very
soon. We see how early curiosity exerts itself in lively children.
But this natural desire may be misused. 1. _It may be too little._
Some persons do not desire knowledge so much as they ought,
especially they are negligent in acquiring religious knowledge. This
negligence may proceed from too warm a pursuit of other things. But
what will this world avail us, if we are excluded from an inheritance
in the next? It may proceed from mere sloth. But the unprofitable
servant, who suffers his talents to lie useless, is to be cast into
outer darkness. 2. _It may be too much._ Some things there are which
we ought not to know, and a vain curiosity after them is an abuse of
our natural desire of knowledge. This curiosity brought on the fall
of our first parents, and still reigns among their posterity. Sin
should only be known, as the rocks at sea, that they may be avoided.
It becomes us also to be contented with such a knowledge of the
Divine nature, and the Divine administration, as we are capable of
acquiring, and of future events so far as God hath seen fit to reveal
them.--_Jortin._
The mouth of fools--the mouth of their souls and
understandings--feedeth upon anything; even foolishness itself is
good food unto them. Their distempered palate judgeth not the worth
of things. They have a mouth to receive knowledge, but they have not
a heart to consider and discern what they do receive. None is so ill
a feeder as fools. Such fools are they in the prophet Isaiah who say,
"Prophesy not unto us, right things speak unto us," as the original
word is, _bland_ things, pleasing things; but the word signifieth in
the first place _scattered_ things, such as coming from a scattered
brain have no order and aim at no material point. Or else scattered
things which may strike at none, which may hurt none, do no good to
any. And, indeed, too many such there are. The world is full of
speakers and talkers, that speak things they know not, and teach
things they have not learned.--_Jermin._
The Queen of Sheba, "coming from the utmost parts of the earth;"
Nicodemus and Mary, "sitting at the feet of Jesus;" the Eunuch,
journeying to Jerusalem; Cornelius and his company drinking in the
precious message of salvation; the Bereans, carefully "searching the
Scriptures," all these show _"the understanding heart seeking_ a
larger interest in the blessing."--_Bridges._
That in "_seeking_ knowledge" the idea of feasting on it is included,
is evident from the terms of the antithesis. It is a feast of
"knowledge" above all, of _divine knowledge_. He who has
"understanding,"--who is enlightened of God, and discerns the
excellency and glory of divine truth--_"seeketh"_ such knowledge.
From experience of the joy already imparted by it, he seeks more and
still more--the appetite growing by gratification, delighted with
every new discovery, yet never tiring of the old (1 Pet. ii. 1-3).
"But the mouth of fools _feedeth on_ foolishness." That is what they
like; that is therefore what they seek, and from which they have
their own poor and pitiful enjoyment. In regard to _religion itself_
they are taken with everything that serves the present purpose of
keeping all quiet within; that lets conscience alone; that dispenses
with serious thought, and preventing inward disturbance, allows them
to go on easily and comfortably. They have a relish for all doctrines
of this unannoying description--that "prick not" their hearts; that
embitter not present sweets by any forebodings of the future; that
"prophesy smooth things, and cause the Holy One of Israel to cease
from before them"--the _scarer_ of their thoughtless mirth and sinful
gratification. They have an appetite for everything of that
kind.--_Wardlaw._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 15.
THE CONTINUAL FEAST.
+I. All men have days of affliction.+ They may be traced to one of
four sources--1. _Men are afflicted by reason of their relation to
the first head of the human race._ Every man inherits bodily
weaknesses of some kind--is, in apostolic phrase, made subject to
vanity (Rom. viii. 20) of some kind or another for which he is not
personally responsible--which is not the fruit of his own character
or conduct, nor of that of his immediate ancestors. Mental sorrows
are also born of this remote relationship. The human mind is not now
what it was when it came first from the hand of its Creator. God at
the beginning made man perfect--his spirit was a reflection of the
perfect law of God, and all within was consequently harmony and
peace. But it is not so now, even with the best of the human race.
There has been a subjection to vanity through sin, and this is the
fruitful source of much mental pain and sorrow to all men, although
they are often unconscious of the origin of the darkness that
envelops their spirit. 2. _Men are afflicted by reason of their
immediate relationships._ A child who has a bad father suffers much
and grievously, the father who owns a wicked child often has many
days of deep affliction. A nation may be deeply afflicted by reason
of the viciousness or unwisdom of its rulers. Many and various are
the afflictions which come to men through those to whom they are
related, whether by family or national ties. 3. _Afflictions arise
from personal transgression of God's laws._ These transgressions may
be either of a negative or positive character--they may consist in
doing what we ought not to do, or in leaving undone that which it is
our duty to do. Much affliction comes to men because they have
neglected to do for mind, body, or estate that which they are
commanded by God to do. Men who neglect to work, or who neglect to
conform to the laws by which their mind or their body is governed,
must pay the penalty, and often suffer much affliction from the mere
neglect of duty. And much more will those know days of affliction who
are positive transgressors of any Divine law, whether physical or
moral. 4. _Affliction comes to men sometimes by Divine permission,
either to chasten men for sin or to increase the goodness of their
characters._ Affliction came to Job, and he had many evil days, not
because he was a sinner, but because he was a saint. Good man as he
was, he had many days of affliction--days which were to him very
evil--but they arose neither from his remote or immediate
relationships, nor from personal or relative transgression, but were
the outcome of Satanic agency, acting by Divine permission.
+II. Days of affliction are evil days.+ While the patient is under
the knife of the surgeon he is undergoing an experience which is in
itself an evil, which is an experience to be dreaded and avoided if
possible, however good may be the days of health which are the result
of it. No one can feel that affliction in itself is anything but an
evil--much good may come out of it, but that does not make the actual
suffering of body or mind good in itself. If the sufferings of the
present life were unconnected with the blessings which will spring
out of them, if they were not regarded in the light of Divine
revelation they would be unmitigated evils.
+III. Evil days work good to him who can rise above them.+ If a
seaman can be cheerful and hopeful in the midst of a storm, he is all
the better for having passed through it. His courage is strengthened
and his experience is enlarged, he is more of a man than before he
entered into conflict with the winds and waves. While others have
been overwhelmed with terror, he has been full of a calm
self-possession, and that which has shown how weak many men are, has
shown how strong he is. But in order thus to rise above outward
circumstances, there must be internal resources. Only those can come
through the storms of life stronger and the better for having passed
through them who have an unfailing well of hope and comfort within.
The martyrs of old revealed that they had a continual feast within,
although they had many days of affliction without. Their "merry
hearts," filled with true and unfailing gladness, lifted them above
the bitterness and evil of their circumstances. Thus to glory in
tribulation is to take "meat out of the eater and sweetness out of
the strong." But only those can practise this art who, like their
Master, "have meat to eat" of which men in general "know not of"
(John iv. 32).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The feast of him who is of "a merry heart," who has within himself
the sources of true joy, is not terminated--is not even suspended--in
the season of affliction. _His_ feast is independent of changing
condition. He often relishes it most when other sweets are
embittered. Often is his inward spiritual festivity the richest, when
the supply of his outward and earthly comforts is
scantiest.--_Wardlaw._
Affliction, as the fruit and chastening of sin, is an evil. . . .
Though the abounding consolation of Christian affliction does not
blot out its penal character, yet the child of God is not so
miserable as he seems to be (2 Cor. vi. 10). The darkest of these
_evil days_ can never make the consolations of God small with him
(Job xv. 11). He can sing in the prison (Acts xvi. 25), can "take
joyfully the spoiling of his goods" (Heb. x. 34), can praise his God
when He has stripped him naked (Job i. 21). What real _evil_ then can
affliction bring? Or rather what does it bring but many feast days? A
few days' feasting would soon weary the epicure. But here the _merry
heart hath a continual feast.--Bridges._
_"All the days of the toiling are evil, but a good heart is a
continual feast."_ A glorious comparison! A sour heart is fed by a
hard life; and yet, though the hard life is common to all, a
brightened spirit masters it, and not only masters it but sweetens
it. _Toiling._ the word is very peculiar. _"Afflicted"_ our version
has it. _"Humble"_ is the translation in many cases. Toiling strikes
us best, (1) because such is the root--the verb, first of all, means
to _toil_--and (2) because such is the sense; the toiling character
of life makes all groan together. We are not paid. Such is the toil
of our spirits that life is a battle. As a worldly maxim, _"a good
heart"_ carries the day; but, as an adopted text, the wise saw
strengthens itself. Under the toils of life, _"a good heart,"_
regenerate by grace, greets the same toil the lost man does, and
finds the _"heart"_ itself _"a continual feast."--Miller._
This is diligently to be observed, that none can have a cheerful mind
indeed but only such as, through faith in Christ having peace with
God, pollute not their consciences with detestable iniquities. For
indeed evils enter into such to trouble their minds, to profane their
joys, and to pull them from the continual feast of security here
spoken of, who either walk in the committing of gross offences, or
are close hypocrites and dissemblers.--_Muffet._
He that hath a heart merry in a good contentment can always invite
himself to a full feast. When he hath not wherewith to feast
others--yea, even when he wanteth perhaps what to eat, he wanteth not
wherewith to feast himself. It is not a feast that must have time to
provide it, and to make it ready, and which, being ready, is soon
passed over; but it is a continual feast, ever ready, and never
ended.--_Jermin._
The sincere heart, the quiet conscience, will not only stand under
greatest pressure, as did St. Paul (2 Cor. i. 9-12), but goes as
merrily to die in a good cause as ever he did to dine, as did divers
martyrs. Be the air clear or cloudy, he enjoys a continual serenity,
and sits continually at that blessed feast, whereat the blessed
angels are cooks and butlers, as Luther hath it, and the three
Persons in the Trinity gladsome guests. Mr. Latimer saith the
assurance of heaven is the sweetmeats of this feast. There are other
dainty dishes, but this is the banquet. Saith St. Bernard, "Wilt
thou, O man, never be sad? wilt thou turn thy whole life into a merry
festival? get and keep a good conscience." A good man keeps a holiday
all the year about.--_Trapp._
So far as we would live a comfortable life, we should seek to build
up our inward man more than our outward estates; that our hearts be
better furnished than our houses, and our consciences than our
coffers, that our stock of faith and everlasting goodness may exceed
our store of coin and temporal goods: and so shall we be fenced
against all perils, and provided for against all wants, and secured
against all accidents whatsoever.--_Dod._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 16.
A TREASURE WITHOUT TROUBLE.
+The fear of the Lord is better than worldly treasures--+I. _Because
the fear of the Lord tends to peace of mind._ In any piece of
complicated machinery the condition of the internal works is a much
more important matter than the ornamenting of the exterior. It is of
much more consequence that all within a timepiece should move in
harmony than that it should have a golden face or be set with jewels.
It is of more importance to a man that all his internal bodily organs
should be in perfect health than that he should be possessed of much
external beauty. A strong frame, and pure blood, and health of body
will minister much more effectually to his comfort than the most
comely countenance. And the state of a man's inner life has
infinitely more to do with his real happiness than his external
circumstances. He who has the fear of the Lord has the
foundation-stone of peace within, and he who has that does not need
an abundance of that which can only minister to the outer man. A
little material wealth will content him who has the rich inheritance
of a peaceful and contented spirit. Peace with God and love to man
are included in the fear of the Lord, and neither the one nor the
other of these good and perfect gifts can be bought with the treasure
of this world. The first is the very salt of life without which all
else is insipid and insufficient to satisfy the cravings of the human
soul, and where the first is there will the second, which is also a
great sweetener of poverty--(see ver. 17), be found also.
II. _Because of the trouble that is inseparable from worldly wealth._
The treasure of this world has a certain value--it can do much for a
man, both intellectually and materially. It can be so used by him as
to bring blessings upon himself and others; but it is never
unaccompanied by drawbacks. 1. There is trouble in _getting_ it. The
bare sufficiency to sustain life may be got without much strain or
anxiety; but if a man sets out to make a fortune, he must be content
to have many cares and anxieties--many weary days and sleepless
nights--before he obtains his object. Those that _will_ be rich
cannot avoid much real trouble in carrying out their determination.
2. There is trouble _after it is gotten._ When men have accumulated
great treasure they are not freed from trouble in connection with it.
There is the care of retaining it, the desire, and almost the
necessity, of increasing it. The more a man has the more he generally
desires, and the more he seems to need. New demands are the outcome
of a new position, and he who has amassed great treasure rarely
contents himself with what he has, but strains every nerve to make
the much, _more._ 3. There is great trouble attendant on its _loss._
Even if a rich man possesses the higher wealth--the fear of the
Lord--he is more to be pitied if he loses his worldly wealth than a
poor man is. The fall is so much greater, as the height from which he
has fallen so far exceeds that from which a poor man can fall the
hope of climbing it again is so much fainter, and he is in a more
helpless and hopeless condition than his brother, who had but little
to lose. But if he is destitute of the real treasure of human
existence, then he has trouble without any compensation. He can say
with Micah, "Ye have taken away my gods and what have I left?"
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The preposition gives choice of meanings. It may be, _by "the fear of
Jehovah,"_ in which case it would mean the "little" earned by piety;
or it may be "_in_ the fear of Jehovah;" in which case it would mean
the little held and got possession of in a devout state; or it may be
_"along with,"_ as the word often means. All the ideas are correct.
We choose as our English version, and, of course, for both parts of
the sentence; for the expression "therewith," has the same familiar
preposition, and the same chance of either of the alternative
meanings. _"Better"_ is a Christian's shieling, than an impenitent
man's palace (chap. xiv. 11). And that, not on account of heaven
alone, but for the intrinsic joys of piety (see next
verse).--_Miller._
Judas is bursar, and he shuts himself into his pouch; the more he
hath, the more he covets. The apostles, that wanted money, are not so
having: Judas hath the bag, and yet he must have more, or he will
filch it. So impossible is it that these outward things should
satisfy the heart of man. _Soli habitent omnia qui habent habentem
omnia_--They alone possess all things that possess the possessor of
all things. The nature of true content is to fill all the chinks of
our desires, as the wax doth the seal. None can do this but God, for
(as it is well observed) the world is round, man's heart
three-cornered: a globe can never fill a triangle, but one part will
still be empty; only the blessed Trinity can fill these three corners
of a man's heart. . . . The bag never comes alone, but brings with it
cares, saith Christ (Matt. xiii. 22); snares, saith Paul (1 Tim.
vi. 9). . . . It is none of God's least favours, that wealth comes
not trolling in upon us; for many of us, if our estate were better to
the world, would be worse to God. The poor labourer hath not time to
luxuriate: he trusts in God to bless his endeavours, and so rests
content; but the bag commonly makes a man a prodigal man, or a
prodigious man; for a covetous man is a monster. . . . It is no
argument of God's favour to be His purse-bearer; no more than it was
a sign that Christ loved Judas above the other apostles because he
made him His steward: He gave the rest grace, and him the bag; which
sped best? The outward things are the scatterings of His mercies,
like the gleaning after the vintage: the full crop goes to His
children.--_T. Adams._
Here also we trace the harmony of wisdom, _i.e.,_ of the Divine Word,
speaking through many different channels, and in different tones. The
proverb has its completion in the teaching which bids us "seek first
the Kingdom of God and His righteousness" (Matt. vi. 33), and finds
echoes in the maxims of the wise among other nations who have uttered
like thoughts.--_Plumptre._
It is not the great cage that makes the bird sing. It is not the
great estate that brings always the inward joy--the cordial
contentment. The little lark with a wing sees farther than the ox
with a bigger eye, but without a wing. Birds use not to sing when
they are on the ground, but when got into the air, or on tops of
trees. If saints be sad, it is because they are too busy here
below. . . . If the bramble bear rule, fire will arise out of it that
will consume the cedars; the lean kine will soon eat up the fat, and
it shall not be seen by them. It is hard to handle these thorns hard
and not to prick one's fingers. Riches, though well got, are but as
manna; those that gathered less had no want, and those that gathered
more, it was but a trouble and annoyance to them.--_Trapp._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 17.
TWO FEASTS.
+I. The equality here existing between the poor man and the rich
man--they both have a dinner.+ This is as it ought to be. God gave
the earth to the children of men, and when He enriched them with this
large donation He intended that every living creature upon the earth
should have enough to eat every day. When men lack sufficient food it
is not because there is any lack in God's gifts, either of herbs or
oxen. When both the rich man and the poor man are fed out of the
abundance of God's gifts His Divine purpose in giving them is
accomplished.
+II. The inequality between the dinner of the poor man and that of
the rich.+ The poor man is sustained upon the same kind of food as
the rich man's ox is fattened upon. In common with the beast he lives
upon the produce of the earth. The rich man eats the ox which has
been fed upon that which is the only food of the poor man. This is
not as it should be. God never intended that one part of His human
family would enjoy a monopoly of any of the food which He has
provided. When He gave the earth into the hands of the first man He
intended that all His children should be partakers of all the kinds
of food which the earth afforded, and which were suited to the part
of the world in which they lived. When it is otherwise it arises from
sin, either personal or relative. Poverty does not always spring from
indolence, or from inability to subdue the earth, and to obtain from
it a full share of all that it affords, and when it does not, the man
who is compelled to eat a dish of herbs while his neighbour feasts
from the stalled ox, is either sinned against in the present, or has
been sinned against in the past.
+III. Opposite states of mind which more than compensate the poor man
for his humbler meal.+ Hatred takes away all enjoyment from any of
God's gifts. If a rich man bears malice against the guest whom he is
entertaining at his table--if while he feeds him upon the best, he
desires for him the worst--he knows nothing of the pleasures of
hospitality. Hatred is murder in the germ, and he who harbours such a
devil within his breast cannot possess that peace of soul without
which the choicest viands cannot be enjoyed. But _love_ is a large
compensation for a dinner of herbs. Love to husband or wife, to
parent or to child, makes sweet every family meal, however homely the
fare--that charity which _"seeketh not her own, thinketh no evil,
beareth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things,"_ is a
sauce to the humblest dish which one man can set before another, and
more than lifts it above the rich man's feast given for the sake of
custom or expediency to guests to whom he has not a particle of
goodwill.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
A feast of salads, or Daniel's pulse, is more cherishing with mercy,
than Belshazzar's banquet without it.--_T. Adams._
Ruth and Naomi were happy when they lived on the gleanings of the
field of Boaz, and in the fulness of their satisfaction poured their
blessings on the head of him that allowed them the scanty
pittance. . . . The conversation of friends is far pleasanter than
any dish at the table. Where hatred is, there is silence or
sullenness, or at least hollow mirth and tasteless ceremony; but
where love and the fear of God are, the table conversation is
delightful and useful. We find even a heathen poet reflecting on the
pleasures of such an entertainment. (_O noctes cœnœque deûm!_--Hor.)
How blessed were the disciples of our Lord, when they sat at meat
with Him! Barley loaves and fishes were probably ordinary fare with
them, but they were entertained with Divine discourse. Such pleasure
as they enjoyed we cannot now expect; but His religion is admirably
fitted to promote our present happiness, for love is His great
commandment.--_Lawson._
The sentiment is applicable, with a special force of emphasis, to
_domestic life._ In proportion to the delightful sweetness of the
concord in which the fond affections of nature and grace bind the
members of a family in one happy social circle--all being of one
heart and of one soul--dividing the cares and more than doubling the
enjoyments of life by mutual participation and sympathy, all bosoms
throbbing with a common pulsation, all lips wearing a common smile,
and all eyes filled from a common fountain of tears, in proportion to
the delightful sweetness of such a scene is the wretchedness of its
reverse; and there is no one who has experienced either the sweetness
or the wretchedness--especially the former--that will not subscribe
to the sentiment so simply yet so strongly expressed.--_Wardlaw._
_"An allowance of vegetables."_ Not only _"vegetables,"_ but the
lighter sorts of them; more nearly _"herbs;"_ not only light fare,
like that, but a _limited amount;_ not only _flesh_ on the other
scale, but _"stalled"_ beef; not only _"stalled" beef,_ but no limit;
"_a stalled_ ox." Not only might this well be a worldly proverb to
represent the married state, and all the arena of human affection,
but signal when brought into religion. _"A dinner of herbs;"_ with
the blessed _"love"_ of the Redeemer, is better than a pampered feast
and the gloom of the impenitent.--_Miller._
If love be the entertainer, it matters not much what the provision
be: if true friendship be set upon the table of his heart that
inviteth thee, let that make thee to esteem well of whatsoever is set
on the table before thee. Thou comest with a gluttonous appetite--not
the affection of a friend--if thy cheer be that which thou lookest
after. Wherefore, then, though it be a dinner of herbs, yet if they
come from love's garden it is worthy of thine acceptance: thou mayest
be sure that no serpent lies hid in those herbs. If it be but so
smaller a dinner as a _traveller_ taketh with him (see Critical
Notes), yet if it bring affection with it, thou mayest be sure that
no hurt is coming to thee. But if thy dinner be a fatted ox, and
hatred be the hand that carveth it unto thee, perhaps it is but to
fat thee for the like slaughter.--_Jermin._
Mark well, it is neither said in the Bible, nor found in experience,
that they are all happy families who dine on herbs, and all unhappy
who can afford to feast on a stalled ox. Some rich families live in
love, and doubly enjoy their abundance; some poor families quarrel
over their herbs. Riches cannot secure happiness, and poverty cannot
destroy it. But such is the power of love, that with it you will be
happy in the meanest estate; without it, miserable in the highest.
Would you know the beginning, and the middle, and the end of this
matter, the spring on high, the stream flowing through the channel of
the covenant, and the fruitful outspread in a disciple's life
below--they are all here, and all one--Charity:--+"God is Love,"+
_"Love is of God,"_ "Walk in love."--_Arnot._
There were many great feasts in the times of the apostles, and yet
none of them are so much commended in the Scriptures as the meetings
of believers, who did eat together _with gladness and singleness of
heart,_ notwithstanding they had neither so much meat, nor so costly
dishes, as divers others had. It is noted of Abraham that he
entertained God and His angels to dinner. The Lord Himself would be
his guest, since he would be so good a housekeeper; and yet the
victuals which are mentioned are only butter and milk, the veal that
had not time to cool between the killing and the dressing;
notwithstanding his hospitality is preferred before the Persian
king's royal banquet, for the one purposed to show his greatness in
pomp, and the other his goodness in love. The one dealt exceeding
unkindly with his own wife and the other very courteously with them
that seemed to him to be mere strangers. They that dress most meat
are not always the kindest men, for our Saviour was full of
liberality when He gave but barley-bread and fish to His disciples,
and Nabal was but a churl, though he killed both sheep and oxen for
his sheep-shearers.--_Dod._
The subject of verse 18 has been treated in verse 1. (See Homiletics
on page 400, also on chap. xiv. 29, page 386.)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
In the pit, the blasphemy will rise and swell, as it is stirred up
one man by his neighbour. _Upbraidings_ are contagious, even in this
world. Ordinary quarrels are wonderfully quieted, if a man waits. But
_Divine quarrels,_ if we stay to look at God, and observe His
reasonings, are wonderfully held back, and by His grace signally
prevented.--_Miller._
Observe the principles of _hatred and love,_ contrasted in active
exercise. Some persons make it their occupation to sit by the fire,
to feed and fan the flame, lest it be extinguished. A useful and
friendly employment, were it a fire to warm. But when it is an
injurious, consuming, and destructive element, it would seem
difficult to discover the motive of these incendiaries, did we not
read, that "out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders,
wickedness, an evil eye, pride, foolishness" (Mark vii. 21,
22).--_Bridges._
Surely it is a _wrathful man_ that is the lawyer's best client. He is
altogether for _scire faciam,_ I will make thee to know what thou
hast done, what thou has said; which the lawyer does but turn into a
_scire facias,_ although at last himself pay dearest for the
knowledge which is gotten. But he that is slow to anger, hath a
_Quietus est_ for any suit before it is begun. His care is rather to
buy his peace with loss, than to sell his rest for gain. He
considereth it to be true which St. Ambrose teacheth him, that to be
freed from the loss of strife is not a little gain.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 19.
THE WAY OF THE SLOTHFUL AND THE RIGHTEOUS.
+I. The one thing common to these opposite characters--a "way."+ The
eagle and the snail both have a way of motion, although the one
swiftly cleaves the air, and the other drags itself slowly along the
ground. Unlike as they are in form and in habit, they are both
impelled to some kind of motion. So with the sluggard and the man who
complies willingly with God's ordinance of labour--they are both
compelled to some exercise of their bodily and mental organs, but
there is a great contrast in the way in which they exercise them as
there is between the way of the snail and the eagle.
+II. The contrast between the ways of these opposite characters.+
1. _That of the sluggard is a way of self-prevention._ He lessens his
power by neglecting to use it. The man who has power to pull against
a rapid at a certain point of the stream and will not use it, but
allows his boat to drift on until he comes into a current against
which he can make no headway, has thrown away his power, and is his
own destroyer. The effort which he neglected to put forth at a time
when it would have been effectual, is of no avail now that the time
has passed. Every man in health of body and mind has physical, and
mental, and moral powers which at a certain period in his life are
equal to the overcoming of all ordinary obstacles to his moral and
physical well-being. But if he neglects to use them the tide against
him will grow stronger, because his power will decrease, and his
neglect and inertness, whether in material or in spiritual things,
will raise around him a hedge of thorns, which will require much
extraordinary and painful effort to break through. A thorn-hedge in
its beginnings may be easily stepped over, or it may be almost as
easily uprooted; but if it is allowed to grow and strengthen itself
for several years it makes an almost impassable barrier--at least, a
barrier which cannot be overcome without a great and painful effort.
So with the sluggard, temptations to indolence--to neglect of powers
which God has given him to be used--might once have been easily
overcome, and have been so completely conquered as to cease to be
temptations. But yielded to until they have become habits, they form
around him as impassable a barrier, or one which can be broken
through only by as great and as painful exertion as a hedge of
thorns. Often we hear him complaining of the difficulties in the way,
and truly they are there, but they are mainly of his own creation,
the hedge is about him, but it is of his own planting--the lion is
there (chap. xxvi. 13), but the lion was placed there by the man who
is afraid to face him. 2. _The way of righteousness--of him who is
willing to strive after his moral and physical well-being--is a way
in which it is easier to walk the longer it is pursued._ It is "made
plain," or it is a "paved way." _(a) God helps to smooth his way,
because it is a Divinely ordained way._ He who rules the world has
ordained that many material gifts and all the most precious mental
and moral gifts shall be the reward of those only who earnestly
strive after them. The way of diligent continuance in well-doing is
as old as God Himself, and it is the way in which He requires His
creatures to walk. This being so, those who tread it may rely upon
His help to exalt the valleys, to level the mountains, and to make
the rough places plain which lie in their road. _(b) The way is made
plain by the man himself._ The continued repetition of acts makes
habit, and he who pushes boldly and fearlessly forward in the way of
righteous exertion finds the hard becomes easier and the stony places
smoother by the very constitution of his nature. He makes his way
plain by his resolution to walk in it, he leaps the hedge while his
slothful neighbour is counting the number of feet it is from the
ground. It is well to look before we leap, but some look so long that
they never take the leap, and the slothful man looks so long at the
difficulties in his way that he never finds courage enough to grapple
with them. But the very resolve to try brings strength for action,
and the power grows by use until what is a hedge of thorns to an
indolent man is a level road to his righteous neighbour. The word
righteous here being placed in antithesis to slothful shows how great
a sin it is to neglect to use the opportunities which God has given
for men to ensure their real and highest interests (See also on chap.
xiii. 4, page 296.)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
God's Word recognises the universal law of work. By frequent precept
and cheering promises, it consecrates our daily labour. Mindful of
the old Latin maxim, _"Laborare est orare,"_ "toil is prayer," the
Christian learns from the record of God's Will that honest,
faithful, diligent, God-fearing, and God-honouring work is itself a
worship acceptable to the great All-worker. Toil, hard toil, is duty.
Even the heathen world confessed that the gods gave nothing to men
without it had been earned by severe exertion. . . . God enjoins
diligence upon us by precept and by example. About us, all things
perform their allotment of work, and do it promptly and without a
thought of delay. The winds sweep over the face of the earth, attent
alone on the fulfilment of their appointed mission. Here they come on
silent pinions, to bear away the rising exhalation of death from the
lowlands or the pest-house; there they carpet the earth with the sere
and yellow leaves of autumn, covering the earth with russet and gold.
Now their task is the flushing of some sick one's pale cheek, as they
rustle through the spring blossoms, laden with sweet health. There
they hinder and destroy the else invincible Armada, creeping forth on
its purpose of spreading far and wide destruction and death. Thus,
too, the never-resting sea. Lashing its worn and rugged shore, the
incoming tides bear on their bosom the wealth of trade; or else,
lifting the waves in its fury, it engulfs those who go down into the
sea to do business in the deep waters. Thus, too, the hidden fires of
earth, ever smouldering within, ever restless in their workings--now
tossing the foam and spray of the geysers in their play, or now
opening in wide fissures of molten death, to scorch the surface of
the earth with the poisonous sulphur smoke, or bury for centuries in
dust and ashes, and under the lava tide, the homes and haunts of the
men of the past. Thus God teaches men by His own ceaseless workings
through ten thousand ever busy forces. And revelation utters the same
bidding to unremitting toil. . . . Diligent hands are speedily
rendered expert. Long use gives practice and perfection, until that
which was at first the toilsome labour of home becomes the easily
attained result of a few moments' application. And the diligent hand
teaches and trains the wary and observant eye.--_Life Lessons from
the Book of Proverbs, by Dr. Perry, Bishop of Iowa._
The wise man mentions righteousness in this place rather than
diligence, because the latter is included in the former, and is not
sufficient without it to make a man's way plain.--_Lawson._
Observe God's estimate of the slothful man. He contrasts with him not
the diligent, but the righteous, marking him as a "wicked, because a
_slothful,_ servant" (Matt. xxv. 26). The difficulties are far more
in the mind than in the path. For while the slothful man sits down by
the hedge-side in despair, _the way of the righteous_ (in itself not
more easy) _is made plain._ He does not expect God to work for him in
an indolent habit. But he finds that God helps those that help
themselves. . . . Following His commands, feeding upon His promises,
continuing in prayer, in waiting and watching for an answer to
prayer, _his way is raised up_ before him. He believes what is
written, and acts upon it without delay. As soon as ever the light
comes into his mind, at the very first dawn, this determines the
direction of his steps, and the order of his proceedings. Thus his
stumbling-blocks are removed (Numb. xiii. 30, xiv. 6-9; Isa.
lvii. 14).--_Bridges._
Grace has not only a _brighter_ (ver. 15) but an _easier_ time. We
see the like in worldly matters. Nothing is more striking than the
ease with which a prompt man works. His tackle is all right, so is
his ground, it has been made smooth by his last year's toil. His
hands are not blistered. His lazy neighbour admires, and longs after
his chance. Laziness begets labour. In the round year, the sluggard
fevers himself more than the diligent; while, in the spiritual world,
the proverb is more signal still. Just where the _upright_ stands
there is a smooth path--and let it be observed the upright means the
_smooth,_ the _level._ Just where the sinner stands is a _thorn
hedge._ He _cannot_ enter into life; so he imagines. And yet he is a
_sluggard,_ for he will not do the plainest duties. The proverb is
right, therefore, that it is the principle of sluggardism to create
"a hedge of thorns;" and that it is far smoother to take hold of the
faith by the right handle, and at once, than to be eternally kicking
against the pricks of the Gospel.--_Miller._
Because the latter part of the verse speaketh of the righteous, we
may by the slothful understand the wicked; for it is slothfulness in
not using the graces of God offered that maketh to be wicked. . . .
God giveth the righteous pleasure, even in the troubles of serving
Him. . . . In their conversation, by the lightsomeness and leap, as
it were, of eternal hope and internal contemplation, they do pass
over the impediments of temporal adversity.--_Jermin._
The way of a slothful man is perplexed and letsome, so that he gets
no ground, makes no riddance; he goes as if he were shackled when he
is to go upon any good course, so many perils he casts and so many
excuses he makes--this he wants, and that he wants, when in truth it
is a heart only that he wants, being wofully hampered and enthralled
in the invisible chains of the kingdom of darkness, and driven about
by the devil at his pleasure. . . . Never any came to hell, saith
one, but had some pretence for their coming hither.--_Trapp._
Every good service is hard or easy, according as men's wills are
inclined unto it. He that hath his mind pressed and ready to the
practice of any duty, either of piety, justice, or mercy, will
observe all the inducements that may lead him to the same; and he
that is averse and backward, will look to all the impediments that
may discourage him from it. That Israel should root out the
Canaanites, the unfaithful spies thought it no less impossible, than
for grasshoppers to overcome giants; but Caleb and Joshua knew it to
be no more unlikely than for armed soldiers to vanquish naked people,
or for hungry persons to eat up meat. _First,_ the one is fortified
by the force of _love,_ which is irresistible and _strong as death,_
that nothing can withstand it: and the other being destitute of all
love to any goodness, is likewise void of all power to proceed in,
and go through with any work that is good. _Secondly, faith_ showeth
to the one what help God will minister, and what reward He will
render to all them that apply themselves to His service. And
infidelity persuadeth the other that well-doing is needless and
fruitless, or chargeable and troublesome.--_Dod._
For Homiletics on verse 20, see on Chapter x. 1, page 137.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
One particular in which children show themselves _wise_ or else
_foolish_ and so can gladden or else _sadden_ their parents is by
giving or withholding due honour. "A foolish _man._" No age or state
exempts children from honouring their parents. Grown young men are
sometimes apt to look with some contempt on their mothers, because of
the weakness of the feminine mind.--_Fausset._
As for him that despiseth his mother--and who doth not so that
despiseth her careful admonition?--he is not a son, the spirit of God
doth not here style him to be so: he is a _foolish man._ For how can
he be otherwise, who knoweth his own mother so little as that he doth
despise her?--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 21.
OPPOSITE TASTES.
+I. Joy is a revealer of human character.+ A stone cast into a lake
will reveal the nature of its bed. If there is mud at the bottom this
simple test will reveal its existence by bringing it to the surface.
So objects presented to the mind show what is hidden in the heart.
The emotions produced by certain scenes or events are tests of
character. What a man rejoices in reveals what he is. Some objects
brought before the human mind excite the most opposite feelings in
different men. That which gives pleasure to the one gives pain to the
other, and when a man rejoices in that which is the outcome of human
depravity it is a certain sign that he is himself deeply depraved.
Like a stone cast into the water, it brings the hidden mud to the
surface. The same evil thought lodged in the minds of two men, one of
whom is a moral fool, and the other a "man of understanding," will
bring joy to the countenance of the first, and indignation to that of
the latter, and thus it becomes a revealer of the state of each man's
heart, and he to whom "folly is joy" is thus declared to be
"destitute of wisdom" in the real and highest signification of the
word.
+II. The joy of the moral fool turns him out of the way, and keeps
him out of the way.+ This is implied in the antithesis, which should
be "a man of understanding goes straight forward." He has found a
source of joy in _"whatsoever things are true, honest, just, pure,
lovely, and of good report"_ (Phil. iv. 8), and this joy holds him in
the path which leads to them. We are largely governed by that which
holds our affections, and love to that which is morally right, draws
us into the path of righteousness--leads us to pursue a steady and
undeviating line of conduct in obedience to the law of holiness, as
revealed by God. But the joy which the ungodly man feels in sinful
pursuits and habits draws him out of this good and true way, and
allures him into a path where he meets with objects that call forth
this unholy pleasure. Being governed by passion instead of by
principle, his walk in life is unsteady and uncertain--destitute of
fixed purpose. (On this subject see Homiletics on chap. xiii. 14,
page 313.) A vessel is held on her course by reason at the wheel, and
wind in the sails. The wind impels her to go forward, but if the
understanding at the compass did not hold the wind in subjection,
there would be no safety for the vessel; nobody could say where she
might be carried. Yet without the wind she could not be carried
forward at all--the compass and the helm would be useless. So,
although the "man of understanding" is a man of emotion--a man whose
life is under the influence of that which gives him joy, he brings
his emotions into subjection to the dictates of moral wisdom, and
before he follows their leadings he makes sure that they are in
harmony with that which is pure and holy. Then he may safely yield
himself to their guidance, and be sure that they will impel him
_straightforward._ Such a man is _constrained_ by the delights which
godliness yields to him to press on to higher attainments (2 Cor.
v. 14; Phil. iii. 12, 13), while the man to whom "folly is joy"
allows the pleasures of the world and the flesh to hold him from the
right path, even against his conscience and his better judgment. Such
a man can give no more convincing proof that he is destitute of
wisdom.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
This book of instruction proves our profession. What think we of
_folly?_ Not only does the ungodly practise it, but _it is joy_ to
him. . . . That which has turned this fair world into a sepulchre;
nay, that which hath kindled _"everlasting burnings,"_ is _his
joy.--Bridges._
Tastes differ wildly, and so, therefore, do enjoyments. Water is the
element of one creature, and air the element of another. The same
material is to this poison and to that food. Each species differs in
nature from all others, and nature will have her own way. Among men,
viewed in their spiritual relations, there is a similar variety of
tastes and pleasures. There is first the grand generic difference
between the old man and the new. . . . Besides the first and chief
distinction between the dead and the living, many subordinate
varieties appear, shading imperceptibly away into each other,
according as good or evil preponderates in the character. Two persons
of opposite spiritual tastes may be detected for once in the same act
of evil; but they do not walk abreast in the same life-course. . . .
Two young men, of nearly equal age, are both the sons of God-fearing
parents, were seen to enter a theatre at a late hour in a large city.
They sat together, and looked and listened with equal attention. The
one was enjoying the spectacle and the mirth; the other was silently
enduring an unspeakable wretchedness. The name of God and the hopes
of the godly were employed there to season the otherwise vapid mirth
of the hollow-hearted crowd. One youth, through the Saviour's
sovereign grace, had, in a distant solitude, acquired other tastes.
The profanity of the play rasped rudely against them. He felt as if
the words of the actor and the answering laugh of the spectators were
tearing his flesh. He breathed freely when, with the retiring crowd,
he reached the street again. It was his first experience of a
theatre, and his last. It is a precious thing to get from the Lord,
as Paul got a new relish and a new estimate of things. This appetite
for other joy, if exercised and kept keen, goes far to save you from
defilement, even when suddenly and occasionally brought into contact
with evil; as certain kinds of leaves refuse to be wet, and though
plunged into water come out of it dry.--_Arnot._
_A man of understanding walketh uprightly,_ and he doth it with
delight, as the opposition implies. Christ's "burden" is no more
"grievous" to him than the wing is to the bird. His sincerity
supplies him with serenity; the joy of the Lord, as an oil of
gladness, makes him lithe and nimble in ways of holiness.--_Trapp._
The folly here meant is the folly of wickedness, and he that joys in
that, may well be proclaimed a notorious fool. St. Ambrose saith, all
vile dispositions are delighted with the follies of others: but how
vile, then, is his disposition who is delighted with his own folly.
And yet, how many are there so drunken with this folly that they reel
and stagger, and hardly go a right step in all their lives. Now, what
is this joy, but a sign of the habit of wickedness generated within
them? But a man of understanding considereth his joy, and what it is
that causeth it: in joying he considereth, what it is he doth, and
how far he goeth, that so he may both walk _uprightly_ to joy, and
_walk uprightly_ in joy. This being his chiefest joy to walk
uprightly in all his ways.--_Jermin._
Not so much, _"folly is joyful;"_ for that is only partially the
case. We have already seen (ver. 13) how sin crimps the countenance.
But _"folly is joy;"_ that is, the life of a sinner is like a grazed
ox, who strikes for the sweetest pasture. The text marks a vital
difference:--_"A man of discernment, or understanding, makes a direct
track."_ That is, as a thrifty housekeeper tumbles up her rooms, and
makes things right, whether it be pleasant or not, so the Christian,
for love of the Almighty, makes things straight, whether a joy or
not. Note, then, the vital difference. _Folly is joy._ It does not
arrive at it; but its quintessence is, that it thought it would.
While the good, not stupidly either, but as "a man of discernment,"
puts duty first, and takes joy as it comes; so answering the words of
Christ:--_"For whosoever will save his life, shall lose it; but
whosoever shall lose his life, for my sake and the gospel's, the same
shall save it"_ (Mark viii. 35).--_Miller._
FOR HOMILETICS ON VERSE 22, SEE ON CHAP. XI. 14 AND CHAP. XX. 18.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
It is a note of Beda: There are three which in the law are read to be
unhappy. He that knoweth and doth not teach, he that teacheth and
doth not live accordingly, he that is ignorant and doth not ask
counsel. Wherefore in matters of moment it is good not to purpose
without counsel: for a purpose ill-settled is never likely to take
good effect, and if counsel direct the purpose itself, it will much
the better be able to accomplish it. For purposes without counsel are
like an earthen vessel broken in the hands of the potter. Turned they
are about with the wheel of imagination, but quickly broken in the
hand of execution. Be not therefore without counsel, that thou go not
without thy purpose; and if thou canst, get many counsellors, whereby
thou art likely the sooner to get thine end. For many counsellors are
like many hands joined together, and can reach far in attaining thy
desire.--_Jermin._
I. No mortal man can attain unto such depth of judgment and
understanding, to be able sufficiently, of his own knowledge, to
manage all his affairs: God will have every man stand in need of his
brother's direction: that is revealed to some which is hid from
others; and many eyes may clearly apprehend that which no one could
possibly have pierced into. II. Every man by nature is somewhat
partial to his affection, and may easily be induced to add weight by
colour of reason, to that end of the scale whereunto his desire more
inclineth; whereas he that leaneth on neither side, may discern the
stronger motives to be on the other side.--_Dod._
Many eyes see more than one, and many souls think more than one:
therefore never esteem thyself so wise that thou shouldest not seek
others' counsel.--_Hasius._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 23.
JOY FROM A SEASONABLE WORD.
+I. A good word yields the speaker a present joy.+ There is a present
reaction of joy following every right deed which is its present and
immediate reward. If a man gives his money to a right object from the
highest motive he is silently repaid, even while he is in the act of
giving, by the joy which he feels. So the man who having neither
silver or gold gives help by words of advice or sympathy. Good words
are sometimes more precious than gold to the sinning or the
suffering, and for such gifts there is the reward which follows every
effort to help and bless others. How much of the joy of Christ's life
on earth must have arisen from the enlightening and life-giving
answers of His mouth, to those who sought to learn of Him.
+II. It yields the speaker joy on reflection.+ There is nothing equal
to the joy of performing a good deed, except the joy of reflecting
upon it. This is a more lasting joy, and can be repeated again and
again. Happy is he who, in looking back upon the "answers of his
mouth," can derive joy from the consciousness that he spoke the right
word at the right time.
+III. Such a word is an unending source of joy, because it is an
unending influence for good.+ None can tell _"how good it is"_--none
can say that its influence will ever cease. A stone thrown into the
ocean is but the act of a moment; but wise men tell us that the
influence of that act is felt long after the stone has found the bed
of the ocean. The word spoken by the Highest Wisdom to Saul on his
way to Damascus, how good was it for the man to whom it was
addressed, and how good it has been, and will be for millions
throughout the ages of eternity. None but God can estimate the power
of the evil that was then averted from the Church of God, the depth
of personal guilt from which the man addressed was delivered, or the
amount of blessed influence that was then set in motion. And many a
word of the disciple has been good in the same manner, although not
in the same degree, as that word of the Master.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
It must be _a word spoken in season_ (chap. xxv. 11), though it be
from feeble lips. For though "there are some happy seasons, when the
most rugged natures are accessible" _(Bishop Hopkins),_ yet many a
good word is lost by being _spoken_ out of season. Obviously a moment
of irritation is out of season. We must wait for the return of
calmness and reason. Sometimes, indeed, the matter forces itself out
after lengthened and apparently ineffectual waiting. It has been long
brooded over within and must have its vent. But this explosion sweeps
away every prospect of good, and leaves a revolting impression.
Instead of a fertilising shower, it has gathered into a violent and
destructive tempest. It is most important, that our whole deportment
should bring conviction, that we yearn over the souls of those whom
we are constrained to reprove. . . . Never commence with an attack;
which, as an enemy's position, naturally provokes resistance. Study a
pointed application. A word spoken for every one, like a coat made
for everyone, has no individual fitness.--_Bridges._
The verb usually translated to _"answer"_ means primarily to sing, or
rather, _to break out with the voice;_ rather, _"to speak after a
silence;"_ which, of course, would usually be in making "answer."
Hence the idiom, "_answered_ and _said,_" literally, _broke silence,_
and _said._ Such an utterance would become very oracular in the more
solemn decisions of life. A _"decree,"_ as we have translated it, is
a noun out of the above described verb. It means an _uttered
decision;_ such as an answer may be to a business speech; such as is
alluded to on God's part (chap. xvi. 4); and such as may be
overmasteringly momentous in the business and results of life.
Solomon sees in it a rare truth in respect to decision for
immortality. _"A word!"_ Why, it may win eternity! An offer presses!
_A word_ refuses! _A word_ snatches possession for ever! Lo! the
amazing difference! Body and soul hang upon _"a word." "Great
counsel"_ (ver. 22) indeed, that is, that prompts a man to say, Yes!
and "_a word (spoken)_ in season" truly! if it be a confession of
Christ! and if it take the offer of an eternal blessedness! Because
there is no drawing back after that beginning (ver. 24).--_Miller._
The words have probably a special reference to the debates in council
implied in ver. 22. True as they are at all times, they also bring
before us the special characteristic of the East, the delight in
ready, improvised answers, solving difficulties, turning aside anger.
Such an answer, to a people imaginative rather than logical, has much
more weight than any elaborate argument. Compare the effect produced
on the mind of the scribe who heard our Lord's dispute with the
Sadducees, when he saw that He had "answered well" (Mark
xii. 28).--_Plumptre._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 24.
THE UPWARD AND THE DOWNWARD PATH.
+I. The existence of a place of retribution stated as a fact.+ The
word _Sheōl,_ here and elsewhere translated _hell,_ signifies first
the place of all departed spirits, whether they be saints or sinners.
Those who dwell in _Sheōl_ are those who have quitted the relations
and conditions of time and sense, and who dwell in a world invisible
to human eye. But the connection of the word here makes it necessary
to understand it as having reference to a place of retribution. That
there is such a place beyond death is suggested by analogy, and
affirmed by the Word of God. In every city and centre of human life
we find a place of retribution inhabited by those whose characters
are supposed to merit such a dwelling. All nations upon the earth
find it necessary to have their prisons--to have places in which to
confine those whose crimes call for their separation from their more
virtuous fellow-creatures. The existence of such places is as much a
fact as the existence of men upon the earth. Hence we might have
inferred that there was such a place for like characters in the world
which is beyond our vision, but which men, both good and bad, are
continually quitting this world to inhabit. The existence of such an
abode seems to be imperatively demanded, when we consider that some
of the worst of the human race never find their way to a prison in
this world, and it seems a merciful proceeding towards the offenders
themselves that their course should be arrested in another life. The
Book of God tells us that there is such a place--that the dwelling of
the "devil and his angels" is the destination of those who quit this
world in a state of unforsaken and unforgiven sin (Matt. xxv. 41).
+II. There is a hell of character as well as a hell of place.+ That
which renders a serpent an object of abhorrence is the poison in its
sting. That which makes hell, either in devils or men, is enmity
against God. This is the fuel that feeds the undying flame that
cannot be quenched--this it is that constitutes the misery of the
place of retribution. This mental hell has an existence in time as
well as beyond it. Christ taught us that He considered such a
disposition a mental Gehenna when He said, _"Ye serpents, ye
generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation_ (condemnation)
_of hell?"_ (Matt. xxiii. 33).
+III. There is the hell of confederation against God and goodness
which is made up of individuals belonging both to the visible and the
invisible worlds.+ Every kingdom has its place of central government,
but its dominion may extend over many countries. The divisions made
by mountains and seas do not make it any the less one kingdom. The
centre of the kingdom which exists in the universe in opposition to
the kingdom of God, has its seat of government in the unseen world,
but it numbers among its subjects all who are at enmity with God, and
His children, whether in time or beyond it. Although the place of
central government _"the gates of hell"_ (Matt. xvi. 18) is in
_Sheōl,_ its influence is mighty upon the earth.
+IV. That to escape from all these is the aim of the truly wise man.+
He desires to escape from retribution hereafter, and to be freed from
the misery of being in opposition to God in the present life. He does
this by obtaining a right relation to God and to His law. Our
physical relationships have much to do with our physical
well-being--to be in relation to those who are vicious or diseased is
to be in a wrong relation so far as bodily health is concerned. Our
social and political relations are most important to our comfort and
well-being, and are more subject to our own will than are our
physical relationships. We may be unwillingly related to an evil
social or national law, but we may also stand in an antagonistic
relation to a good law, and then the change of relationship is in our
own hands. Every sinful man stands in a wrong relation to God's holy
and good law, and the aim of the wise man is to fall in with the
conditions offered to him, by which he may come into right
relationship to this law. These conditions are revealed to him in the
Divine revelation--by accepting the atonement of Christ, he is
delivered from the guilt of his transgressions and so escapes the
hell of retribution; by the same act, followed by a life of communion
with the ascended Saviour, he is freed from all that makes hell
within him, and escapes all the snares laid by the _tempter_ for his
spiritual ruin. This relationship with Him, who is the fountain of
all moral and material life, places him in a new position in the
universe--lifts him from the dominion of sin, which is death, into
the kingdom of holiness which is _a way of life,_ because it leads to
and prepares for a state beyond death, which is everlasting life of
body, soul, and spirit.
+V. Such a change of relationship is the beginning of moral
climbing.+ _"The way of life is above,"_ rather, "leads upward." The
change of relationship is but the first step in a new life. The place
of halting to-day becomes the place of departure on the morrow, and
each day's journey places him upon a higher level and in a purer
atmosphere. The wise man's first step is to depart from hell beneath,
but his mere escape from retribution is not the whole of his aim--he
is always in quest of an increase of love and joy and peace, of a
deepening of all holy emotions and a strengthening of all holy
habits. He _"goes from strength to strength"_ (Psa. lxxxiv. 7); his
watchword is _"not as though I had already attained, either were
already perfect"_ (Phil. iii. 7).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
All men are travellers, either to heaven above, or hell beneath. The
writers of Scripture know nothing of a middle place. . . . Our
everlasting abode must be either in heaven or hell. Salvation from
hell is the half of heaven. The threatenings of hell are a fence
about the way to heaven, and whilst we are travelling in it they are
of great use to make us serious and earnest in pursuing our course;
for how is it possible that we can flee with too much speed from
everlasting burnings, when our flight is directed, not like that of
the manslayer, to a place of banishment, but to a world of
happiness.--_Lawson._
The _way of life is above_--of heavenly origin--the fruit of eternal
counsels--the display of the manifold wisdom of God. Fools rise not
high enough to discern it, much less to devise and walk in it. Their
highest elevation is grovelling. God does not allow them even the
name of life (1 Tim. v. 6). Cleaving to the dust of the earth they
sink into the hell beneath. But the wise are born from _above;_
taught from _above;_ therefore walking _above,_ while they are living
upon earth. A soaring life indeed! The soul mounts up, looks aloft,
enters into the holiest, rises above herself, and finds her
resting-place in the bosom of her God. A most transcendent life! to
be "partaker of the Divine nature!" (2 Pet. i. 4). The life of God
Himself (Ephes. iv. 18) in humble sublimity, ascending above things
under the sun, above the sun himself.--_Bridges._
Let "the words spoken in season" (see comments on verse 23) be "Lord,
I believe, help Thou mine unbelief;" and let the word be genuine,
_i.e.,_ a turning from _Sheōl_ (the figure of the pit--Psa. ix. 17),
and the man's joy is won. His path after that shall be _upward_
perpetually.--_Miller._
A reference to heaven as the final limit of this upward movement of
the life of the righteous is so far indirectly included as the
antithesis to the "upward," the "hell beneath" (hell downwards, hell
to which one tends downward), suggests a hopeless abode in the dark
kingdom of the dead as the final destination of the sinner's course
of life. Therefore, we have here again the idea of future existence
and retribution (comp. xi. 7; xiv. 32).--_Lange's Commentary._
On the summit of one of those distant mountains--upon whose snowy
tops, as they throw back the sunlight, we can look from our Eastern
coast--there trickles forth a silvery spring. Near the source there
is a slight obstruction in the way of the flow of the streamlet, and
the waters are divided right and left. Part trickles down the
mountain side towards a river, and thence are borne on to the
limitless sea. Part goes the other side, and is lost, ere long, midst
the thirsty sands, that are never satiated. Thus divergent are man's
two paths--the shining and the dark one; thus dissimilar their course
in life--their close at death. And these two paths are the only ones
leading out into eternity. . . . And when we seek in spiritual union
and communion with our Maker the noblest exercise of the soul's
faculties and powers, and there comes to the heart _peace,_ sure and
certain, because depending upon the inviolable Word of God, and
_love_ springing from the outwellings of the Divine love, and _hope_
reaching into the eternal world, and grasping there at blissful
immortality and joy ineffable, and prepared of God--oh! then even the
foregleamings of these things, reserved for us, or else already the
heritage of the soul--light up a path so shining that earth's glare
and glitter fade, in comparison, wholly out of sight. For into
eternity itself do these divergent paths lead. The soul, in choosing
the one or the other here, is choosing for the life to come, as well
as for the life that now is.--_Bishop Perry._
The wise man goes a higher way than his neighbour, even in his common
businesses, because they are done in faith and obedience. He hath his
feet where other men's heads are; and, like a heavenly eagle,
delights himself in high-flying. Busied he may be in mean, low
things, but not satisfied in them as adequate objects. A wise man may
sport with children, but that is not his business. Wretched
worldlings make it their work to gather wealth, as children do tumble
a snow-ball; they are scattered abroad throughout all the land--as
those poor Israelites were (Exod. v. 12)--to gather stubble, not
without an utter neglect of their poor souls. But what, I wonder,
will these men do when death shall come with a writ of _habeas
corpus,_ and the devil with a writ of _habeas animam?_ . . . Oh, that
they that have their hands elbow-deep in the earth, that are rooting
and digging in it, as if they would that way dig themselves a new and
nearer way to hell!--oh, that these greedy moles would be warned to
flee from the wrath to come, to take heed of the hell beneath, and
not sell their souls to the devil for a little pelf.--_Trapp._
The difference between an earthly man and a heavenly man is
this--that the way of an earthly man is under his feet, and the way
of a heavenly man is over his head. A fool doth not conceive what
this upper way can be, but to the wise man it is the plain way of
life. He knoweth that it is by the fall of man that he walketh so
low, and he considereth that unless he change his way, and, though
against his nature, do make his way above, by having his conversation
in heaven, even while his habitation is on the earth, his sin will be
sure to thrust him lower still even to the pit of death. Take heed,
therefore, of the ways of the earth, they are the way to _hell._ From
whence to keep thee, be sure to keep aloft by fixing thine heart on
Christ, who is the way of life, and now is set down in the highest
places.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 25.
DESTRUCTION AND ESTABLISHMENT.
+I. The character of those doomed to destruction.+ In looking at the
trees of a vast forest, the eye of the beholder is drawn to some
which, towering far above their fellows, form the most prominent
features in the landscape. Yet these trees, although they look as if
they would stand for ages, may be doomed to a much shorter standing
than others which look more frail and are less attractive to the eye.
The tree which is admired so much for its girth and breadth of
foliage may contain within itself elements of destruction, and it may
only need to be left to itself for a little while to come to the
ground by its own weight. Every increase in its spreading foliage
only renders its overthrow more certain, because the rottenness of
the trunk is less able to bear the mass of branch and leaf. Or the
woodman may not wait for the inevitable result--he may deem it
necessary for the health of the surrounding trees that the axe should
interpose and so prevent the fall. He may see that such a tree is
absorbing nourishment to minister to its own decay, that trees around
would utilise to sustain their healthy life. And so to prevent the
soil from being impoverished by a mere cumberer of the ground, the
sound of the axe and the crash of falling timber may resound through
the forest. Such a tree is an emblem of the man described in our
text. To him may be addressed the words spoken to the proud King of
Babylon: _"The tree that thou sawest, which grew and was strong,
whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all
the earth, whose leaves were fair and the fruit thereof much, and in
it was meat for all, under which the beasts of the field dwelt and
the fowls of the heaven had their habitation: it is thou that art
grown and become strong, for thy greatness is grown and become
strong, and reacheth unto heaven,"_ etc. (Dan. iv. 20-22). He has
attained to a position of power and influence in the world, but, like
Nebuchadnezzar, his greatness has only revealed a radical moral
defect in his character. Like him he refuses to acknowledge that
_"the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men,"_ and that it is by His
favour alone that he has attained to such a height of prosperity. He
holds within him the elements of his own destruction, and time will
bring about his fall without any special interposition of the Divine
hand. Pride grows upon what it feeds, and such a man will presume
more and more upon his fancied security, until he falls by the
working out of the ordinary laws which govern the moral universe. But
God does not always wait for this issue. To prevent his continuing to
rob humanity of their rights, the Almighty Governor of men may
anticipate the natural result by applying the axe of special
judgment, and a _"watcher and a holy one"_ from heaven may be heard
saying, _"Hew the tree down and destroy it"_ (Dan. iv. 23), _"Cut it
down, why cumbereth it the ground?"_ (Luke xiii. 7). All despots and
tyrants must sooner or later succumb to the operation of natural
social law; those whom they have wronged, goaded to desperation by
their injustice, will rise up against them and overturn them. The
King of all the earth often takes the work into His own hands, as he
did in the case of Nebuchadnezzar.
+II. Those who are special objects of Divine care.+ "He will
establish the border (or landmark) of the widow." The widow is a type
of all the needy and the sorrowful of the human race. Deprived of her
natural provider and protector, and her dearest earthly relative,
she, more than any other, is at the mercy of the proud and selfish,
and stands in need of a helper and consoler. God by the very goodness
of His nature is drawn to take sides with such a one. He makes
Himself known, again and again, as the "judge of widows" (Psalm
lxviii. 5). The Bible contains many laws for their protection and
reproaches against those who wrong them (Deut. xxiv. 17, 19, 20, 21;
Isa. i. 23; Matt. xxiii. 14). One of the main features of the moral
beauty in the Divine character is that He _"delivereth the needy when
he crieth, the poor also, and him that hath no helper"_ (Psa.
lxxii. 12), and the widow is here a type of all such. The sorrow of
her who is "a widow indeed" is very deep and overwhelming, and sorrow
takes away physical and mental strength. The strong and mighty God
charges Himself with the care of all such spirits weakened by sorrow,
and warns all the world who would take advantage of their weakness
that in so doing they enter the lists against Him.
+III. Because of such dealing God's kingdom will increase and
strengthen.+ The champions of the weak, and the opposers of the
tyrants, always gain the most influence in the end. Love is the
strongest influence in the world, and those who can gain men's hearts
are the real and mighty kings. While they live they wield a mighty
power, and their influence is felt sometimes even more powerfully
after they have left the world. Those who never saw them in the
flesh, but who are enjoying the liberties which they gained for them,
yield them a silent homage. And in the song which foretells the
universal dominion of the All-Righteous King this is given as a
reason why His kingdom shall grow and be established _"He shall have
dominion from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the
earth. . . . The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring
presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. Yea, all
kings shall fall down before Him: all nations shall serve Him._ FOR
_He shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him
that hath no helper. He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall
save the souls of the needy. He shall redeem their souls from deceit
and violence: and precious shall their blood be in His sight"_ (Psa.
lxxii. 8-14).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
From this style of the antithesis we are naturally led to conceive a
special allusion to the haughty oppressor of the desolate and
unprotected--to the overbearing worldling, who insolently abuses his
power in lording it over his poor dependents. . . . We may well
tremble to think of promoting our own advantage in any way, or in any
degree, at the expense of the widow or the fatherless. Woe to the man
who does so! God will see it. What is so acquired cannot be enjoyed
with either a quiet conscience or the smile of heaven. It is an
accursed thing. It is the wedge of gold and the Babylonish garment,
by which the blessing of righteousness and mercy is turned
away.--_Wardlaw._
_"The house," i.e.,_ every interest (chap. xiv. 1). _"Destroy,"_ or
_pull down;_ because even worldly men have noticed the precariousness
of pride. _"The widow:"_ even worldly eyes have noticed that these
are wards of the Almighty. But Solomon adopts each proverb
spiritually. "The proud" is the man too well satisfied in his own
mind (chap. xxi. 24) to _utter the good word, and have joy_ (ver.
23); and the "widow" is the poor in heart, who is ready with the
availing _answer,_ "Lord, I believe."--_Miller._
God abhors pride even in them whom He dearly loves, and shows His
resentment of it by humbling providences, that remove man from his
purpose, and hide pride from man. David was proud of the vast numbers
of his subjects, but God soon showed him that great hosts save not a
king, and that three days may greatly lessen the numbers of a people.
Hezekiah's heart was lifted up, but he was soon obliged to humble
himself, being assured that the treasures which he had so
ostentatiously showed to the Babylonish ambassadors should be carried
with his posterity to their own land.--_Lawson._
Did He not provide for sorrowing Naomi a staff in her faithful
daughter, and ultimately establish her boarders in Israel? Did He not
supply the pressing need of the minister's widow (2 Kings iv. 1-7),
and take up the Shunamite's oppression, and again establish her
border? (2 Kings viii. 1-6). And shall we forget how He teaches the
returning penitent to plead the gracious manifestation, "In Thee the
fatherless findest mercy?" (Psa. xiv. 2, 3).--_Bridges._
_The Lord will destroy the house of the proud._ He will surely uproot
him, unnest him, yea, though he hath set his nest among the stars, as
he did proud Lucifer, who "kept not his first estate but left his
habitation" (Jude 6), which, indeed, he could hold no longer. . . .
_But He will establish the border of the widow._ Not the rest of her
goods only, but the very utmost border of her small possession. She
hath commonly no great matters to be proud of, nor any patrons to
stick to her. She hath her name in Hebrew of _dumbness,_ because
either she cannot speak for herself, or, if she do speak, her tale
cannot be heard (Luke xviii. 4).--_Trapp._
A young body is too often the _house of the proud,_ where strength
being the pillars of it, beauty the trimming, vanity the roof, fond
conceit imagineth itself to be married to a long life, never minding
the mud walls whereof it consisteth. But God, who was the builder of
it, seeing so ill an inmate as pride received into it, pulleth down
His own work to destroy the devil's work, and cutting the thread of
life dissolveth the marriage knot, when expectation thought it to be
strongest tied. On the other hand, where affliction hath humbled the
heart of the widow, and may seem to have brought her to the border of
her days, then doth God establish length of days, lifting up the
light of His countenance upon her when lowliness of spirit hath
virtuously cast her down.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 26.
WICKED THOUGHTS AND HOLY WORDS.
+I. A present power of the wicked man--he thinks.+ The ideas and
purposes which fill his mind concerning himself, his fellow-men, and
God, are the result of a mental process just as the potter's vessel
is the result of a certain manipulating process. His thoughts are the
result of the exercise of a God-given power, just as the potter's
vessel is the result of a power which has been given to him by God.
From the same source comes the power to think and the power to turn
the wheel. But although the power to think comes from God, it rests
with the man as to what kind of thoughts shall be the outcome of that
power. God holds him responsible for the use which he makes of the
power given him. It would be useless for the potter to say that the
vessel which leaves his hand took its form by chance--we hold him
responsible for the shape which the clay assumes under his hands. And
it is equally vain for a man to say that he has no power over his
thoughts. God holds him guilty if he thinks thoughts of sin.
+II. The thoughts of the wicked are abhorred by God.+ 1. _Because of
the harm they do to his own soul._ If the body is held bound under
the sway of a deadly malady it becomes weak and unable to fulfil the
end of its creation, and if it continues long under its influence it
dies. So soul-disease and moral death are the result of the rule of
evil thoughts to the man who thinks them. He becomes incapable of
fulfilling the high spiritual destiny for which God called him into
being. 2. _Because of the misery they inflict upon others._ All the
evil words and deeds that have ever been done in the world were once
thoughts. While they were only thoughts the harm they inflicted was
confined to the thinker of them, but as soon as they became words or
deeds the moral poison spread, and others become sufferers from them.
God hates whatever will increase the misery of his creatures, and
therefore the thoughts of the wicked--those fruitful germs of sin and
suffering must be an abomination to Him. 3. _Because they are utterly
at variance with God's thoughts and purposes._ The thoughts of God
toward the wicked themselves are opposed to the thoughts and purposes
which they have concerning themselves. God's thoughts towards them
are _"thoughts of peace and not of evil"_ (Jer. xxix. 11). He desires
that _"the wicked forsake his way"_ and _"return unto Him."_ He
declares that His thoughts even concerning sinners are as much higher
than their thoughts concerning themselves as _"the heavens are higher
than the earth"_ (Isa. lv. 7, 8). This is one ground of God's quarrel
with the thoughts of the wicked, that they cross His gracious plans
for redeeming them. But--
+III. The words of the pure are pleasing to God.+ Likeness of
character draws men together--the pure delight in those who are pure,
and the words of a pure man are pleasant to the ear of another man of
purity. Pure men are like God in character, and He must find pleasure
in those who reflect His own image, and who are one with Him in
sympathy. Delighting in them, their words are pleasant unto Him. He
delights in them when they take the form of _prayer_ (See Homiletics
on verse 8, page 407). The "prayers of saints" are as sweet incense
to Him (Rev. v. 8; viii. 3). They are well-pleasing when they take
the form of _praise._ He has commanded men to render honour where
honour is due (Rom. xiii. 7), and when it is rendered to Himself the
most worthy to "receive honour and glory and blessing," it is a most
acceptable sacrifice (Lev. vii. 12, Heb. xiii. 15). The words of the
pure are pleasant to God when they are spoken _to console and bless
their fellow-creatures._ (On this subject see Homiletics on chap.
xii. 18, page 275.)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
_Pleasant words are pure._ (See Critical Notes.) This is the
Scripture ethics. If we desire to know whether _"words are pure"_
(and, _words_ here, for Eastern reasons, mean actions as well as
words; nay, really mean the whole round of conduct; see Job xx. 12;
Isa. x. 7), if we wish to know whether a man's whole life is pure,
all we have to ask is--Is it _kind?_ It is the _plans of mischief_
that are the abomination of Jehovah.--_Miller._
How lightly do most men think of the responsibility of their
thoughts! as if they were their own, and they might indulge them
without restraint or evil. One substantial sin appals men, who
quietly sleep under the mighty mass of _thinking_ without God for
months and years, without any apprehension of guilt. But thoughts are
the seminal principles of sin.--_Bridges._
_"Words of pleasantness are pure"_--the gracious words that seek to
please, not wound, are to Him as a pure acceptable offering, the
similitude being taken from the Jewish ritual, and the word "pure"
used in a half ceremonial sense, as in Mal. i. 11.--_Plumptre._
_The words of the pure are pleasant words._ Such as God books up, and
makes hard shift to hear, as I may so say; for He "hearkens and
hears" (Mal. iii. 16).--_Trapp._
God seeth that Himself is not in all the thoughts of the wicked, and
what can it be but abomination to God where God is not? It is God in
all things that is pleasing to Himself, and it is the absence of God
in anything that makes it to be abominable. But as for the thoughts
of the pure, they are words of pleasantness, wherein they sing and
make melody in their hearts to the Lord. In them they sweetly
converse to themselves, by them they heavenly converse with God.
Pleasant they are to themselves by the joy they have in them,
pleasant they are to God by the delight He taketh in them. The
wicked, though alone, and though doing nothing, yet are doing
wickedly; for even then their thoughts are working, and working so
naughtily as to be an abomination to the Lord. There is no need of
company to draw them into villainy, they have always a rout of
mischievous thoughts on hand to give them entertainment. And as great
is the pleasure which themselves take in them, so great is the
abomination which God hath of them.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 27.
THE CURSE OF COVETOUSNESS.
+I. The definition of a covetous man.+ "He that is _greedy_ of gain."
He desires more than enough, and he desires it to the exclusion of
the rights of others. It is lawful and right to desire to possess
some amount of substance in the world; he who was without such a
desire would be hardly a man. It is good to ask for neither poverty
nor riches, but for such an amount of the world's wealth as will
prevent us from being harassed with care, and at the same time keep
us free from the temptations and anxieties which accompany great
riches. But when a man is consumed with a desire for more than
sufficient for his necessities, he is "greedy of gain," and is in
moral danger. If a vessel finds enough water in the river to carry
her on her voyage, all bids fair to be safe and prosperous; but if
the water is so high that it pours over her deck and gets into the
hold, she is in great danger of sinking. So a moderate desire after
worldly gain is an impetus to a man's activity, and is a blessing
both to himself and to the community; but an inordinate desire after
riches is a dead weight upon his spiritual progress, and is often the
cause of his going down in the moral scale. Desiring more than enough
often leads to using unlawful means of satisfying the desire. The
second clause of the verse seems to refer to the temptation of a
judge to accept bribes. Men holding such an office, and possessed by
this greed of gain, have been known, under its influence, to commit
the enormous crime of knowingly acquitting the guilty and condemning
the innocent; and in all positions and stations of life the sin of
covetousness is a fruitful source of other crimes. _"But they that
will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish
and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For
the love of money is the root of all evil"_ (1 Tim. vi. 9, 10).
+II. The evil effect of covetousness is not confined to the covetous
man himself.+ "He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house."
Many men try to excuse their covetousness by the plea that they only
desire to make ample provision for their family, but it is upon the
family that the curse of greediness falls most heavily. If the head
is diseased the members must suffer. A covetous man is a selfish man,
and those who are most nearly related to a man who is eaten up with a
desire to grow rich feel most keenly the blighting influence of the
passion upon all the joys of family life. And a man who is thus
greedy of gain brings trouble upon his house by involving them in the
curse of his sin. Those whom he has wronged by this injustice hate
his children for the father's sin, and as we have before seen--"the
wealth of the sinner"--of him who has grown rich by unfair
dealing--is "laid up for the just" and his own children inherit only
the misery of having had such a father. (See Homiletics on chap.
xiii. 11-22, pages 307-332.)
+III. The man of opposite character, "the hater of gifts," shall
live.+ 1. _He does live now._ Life and death are in a man's
character. A leaf that has lost all its beauty and greenness is
_dead_ although it still exists. The leaf is there--the shape and
outline exist--but all that made it lovely is gone, because all
vitality is gone. A flower may still have all its petals upon the
stalk, but if all fragrance and colour are gone we know that life is
gone. The life or the death of the leaf or flower are states or
conditions of its existence, and not the simple adherence or
separation of its particles. So it is with a man. His life or his
death is not existence or non-existence, but the condition of his
spiritual nature. If he is destitute of righteousness he is
_dead_--if he is a man of true integrity--such a man as is described
in chap. xi. 3 (see on that verse) he is _alive._ God is the "living
God" not simply because He has an eternal existence, but because He
possesses moral life--in other words, because He is perfectly holy,
just, and true. Now the man who "hates gifts"--who abhors every kind
of unfair dealing--gives proof by his hatred that he is morally
alive. 2. _He shall live in the esteem of posterity._ Nothing lasts
like a good character. The memory of the just man is embalmed in the
hearts of men long after his body is gone to dust. (See chap. x. 7.)
3. _He shall live in the esteem of God._ We are naturally disposed to
regard with favour those who show us honour and endeavour to further
our purposes and desires. The "just God" is a lover of those who
strive to "do justly, to love mercy and walk humbly with Him" (Micah
vi. 8), and such men shall live in the sunshine of His eternal favour
(Psalm xxx. 5).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
A man may be said to be covetous when he takes more pains for the
getting of earth than for the getting of heaven. He will turn every
stone, break his sleep, take any a weary step for the world; but will
take no pains for Christ or heaven. The Gauls, after they had tasted
the sweet wine of the Italian grape, inquired after the country, and
never rested till they had arrived at it; so a covetous man, having
had a relish of the world, pursues after it, and never leaves it till
he hath got it; but he neglects the things of eternity. He could be
content if salvation would drop into his mouth, as a ripe fig drops
into the mouth of the eater (Nahum iii. 12). But he is loth to put
himself to too much sweat or trouble to obtain Christ or salvation.
He _hunts_ for the world, he _wisheth_ only for heaven. . . .
Covetousness is (1) a _subtle_ sin, a sin that men do not so well
discern in themselves. This sin can dress itself in the attire of
virtue. It is called the "cloke of covetousness" (1 Thess. ii. 5). It
is a sin that wears a cloke; it clokes itself under the name of
frugality and good husbandry. It hath more pleas and excuses for
itself than any other sin. (2) It is a _dangerous_ sin. It damps good
affections, as the earth puts out the fire. The hedgehog in the fable
came to the coney-burrows in stormy weather, and desired harbour, but
when once he had gotten entertainment he set up his prickles, and did
never cease till he had thrust the poor coneys out of their burrows;
so covetousness, by fair pretences, wins itself into the heart; but
as soon as you have let it in it will never leave till it hath thrust
all religion out of your hearts. . . . Covetousness chains men to the
earth, and makes them like the woman which Satan had bound together
that she could not lift herself (Luke xiii. 11). You may as well bid
an elephant fly in the air as a covetous man live by faith. We preach
to men to give freely to Christ's poor; but covetousness makes them
to be like him in the Gospel who had a withered hand (Mark
iii. 1). . . . Covetousness shuts men out of heaven (Ephes. v. 5).
What should a covetous man do in heaven? . . . Like a bee that gets
into a barrel of honey, and there drowns himself, like a ferryman
that takes in so many passengers to increase his fare that he sinks
his boat, so a covetous man takes in more gold to the increasing of
his estate that he damns himself in perdition.--_Watson._
It is not enough to abstain from evil, we must also _hate_
it.--_Fausset._
Who is ignorant of the woeful success which Achan found in coveting
unlawfully the gold and silver in Jericho? He hoped to get more than
any man in Israel; but no man in Israel lost so much as he.--_Dod._
He that maketh gain to be the gain that he looked for in all things,
he may hope to fill his home with wealth, but he shall be sure to
fill it with trouble. He that is given to gain, and hath made himself
the prey as it were and gain of gain, he may have his hand open to
take gifts, but with the same hand taketh in disquietness into his
heart. . . . Now, because such are often crying--How shall I live?
therefore the wise man telleth them he that hateth such things shall
live.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 28.
STUDYING TO ANSWER.
+I. Every righteous man is a student.+ The aim of study in any
department of knowledge is, first to gain possession of certain
facts, and then to make the knowledge of practical service in life.
If a man intends to be a builder he must first be a student. He must
first gain certain theoretical knowledge, and then make use of it.
And so with every profession or calling--each requires thought before
any work is entered upon. Every righteous man is a man with a
profession--he is a professor of righteousness--he gains a knowledge
of righteous precepts with the view of reducing them to righteous
practice. A knowledge of what is right and true in the abstract will
be of little use to himself or to any other man unless the knowledge
influences his words and deeds. The proverb before us sets forth the
righteous man as a student of his speech. His aim is to speak the
"word in due season," spoken of in verse 23, and to do this he must
be a student of the human heart--1. _He must study the workings of
his own heart._ This is a study peculiar to the righteous man. Many
men study themselves and others as frameworks of bone and muscle, who
never bestow a thought upon the soul, of which the body is but the
raiment. Other men watch the operations of the mental powers and
tabulate all the movements of the mind as they are brought to light
by internal consciousness. But the godly man goes deeper. He ponders
his thoughts and feelings in the light of moral truth and
righteousness--he weighs his words in the balance in which he knows
that God will weigh them. 2. _He must study other men's hearts._ He
desires that his words should not only be harmless but beneficial to
others; he desires to answer wisely questions relating to God, and
man, and immortality; he sets his speech in order before he opens his
mouth upon any of these weighty matters, and he considers the
circumstances and dispositions of those to whom he speaks that like
one of old, his _"doctrine may drop as the rain, his speech distil as
the dew,"_ when he _"publishes the name of the Lord"_ (Deut.
xxxii. 2, 3). Before his thoughts become words he submits them to the
revision of his conscience and his judgment, and asks himself if they
are such as he can hope God will bless to the edification of others.
+II. All men who do not thus study their thoughts and words are the
authors of much mischief.+ They are those who have never made what
they think a matter of conscience and consequently their words are
the outcome of an unsanctified heart. As is the fountain, so must be
the stream. For the words of such a man to be other than evil is an
impossibility. _"How can ye, being evil, speak good things? For out
of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man, out of
the good treasure of the heart, bringeth forth good things; and an
evil man, out of the evil treasure, bringeth forth evil things"_
(Matt. xii. 34, 35).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The tongue is the heart's messenger. So often as it speaks before the
heart dictates, the messenger runs without his errand. He that will
not speak idly, must think what he speaks; he that will not speak
falsely, must speak what he thinks.--_Arnot._
What is before said (verse 2, and chap. xii. 23) of the _wise and the
foolish,_ is said here of the _righteous and the wicked:_ and what is
before said of the utterance of _wisdom and folly,_ is here said of
the utterance of _good and evil._ We have repeatedly seen how Solomon
identifies these in his statements. Wickedness is folly; goodness is
wisdom.--_Wardlaw._
_"Mouth,"_ all agency. Religion is so much like politeness, that a
polite man "winnows" (ver. 7) his acts till they look sometimes like
religion; but watch men where the guise of kindness fails them, viz.,
their aim to be polite, and their _"mouth pours out evils."_ There is
a recklessness of act that only a religious purity can essentially
restrain.--_Miller._
The wicked, speaking so _much,_ cannot but speak "evil things" (chap.
x. 19). Not his _heart,_ as in the case of the righteous, but his
_mouth_ takes the lead.--_Fausset._
I. It is not easy at the first to apprehend the right, because error
at the first ken standeth usually in men's light, and hindereth them
from seeing the truth, whereof they may better inform themselves by
serious deliberation. II. When the mind hath time and liberty to
ponder upon, and will to weight the point to be spoken unto, it
findeth out good arguments for good causes, and digesteth the same in
so apt a manner as may best persuade the hearts of the hearers.
III. A meditating heart affecteth itself for that which it provideth
for others to hear, and such men speak not only truly and
pertinently, but faithfully also, and conscientiously: their souls
having first feeling of that within, which after their mouths are to
deliver out.--_Dod._
The _answer,_ which I conceive the heart of the righteous to _study,_
is the answer of obedience unto God's commandments--the answer of
thankfulness for His favours and mercies received. For, as St.
Gregory speaketh, to answer to God is to render to His precedent
gifts the duties of our service. Now, _this study_ is the study of
the whole life of a righteous man. Whatsoever he goes about, he knows
that he must answer to God for it, and therefore he considereth
before he doth it, that it be answerable unto God's law.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 29.
GOD NEAR AND FAR OFF.
+I. God is not far from the wicked in a local sense.+ The most wicked
man upon the face of the earth lives and moves and has his being by
reason of his relation to that God who he practically ignores. The
power of life that he possesses is not self-originated, and although
we do not know exactly how he lives in God, we know that in this
sense he is near to Him, for _"He is not far from every one of us"_
(Acts xvii. 27). But--
+II. God is far from the wicked in a moral sense.+ There is often a
wide moral distance between those who are locally near each other.
The father who lives and toils for his children, and eats with them
at the same table may be as far from them morally as he is near to
them locally. Judas lived for three years with the Son of God--often
shared the same hospitality and partook of the same meal. There was a
local nearness to Christ but a wide moral gulf between the Master and
the professed disciple. The moral distance between God and the wicked
is the subject of the first clause of this verse. Notice--1. _The
cause of this distance._ The ungodly man cherishes purposes and
desires which are directly opposed to the will and purpose of God.
God has one view of life and the ungodly man has another. That which
God esteems of the highest moment is lightly esteemed by a wicked
man. This being so, there can be no sympathy between the creature and
his Creator--a great gulf is fixed between them. 2. _The wicked man
is to blame for remaining at this distance from God._ God invites him
to bridge the chasm. _"Let the wicked forsake his way, and the
unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and
He will have mercy upon him: and to our God, for He will abundantly
pardon"_ (Isa. lv. 7). He rolls upon him the responsibility of the
separation. _"Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no
pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from
his way and live"_ (Ezek. xxxiii. 11). 3. _This distance, if not
annihilated, will increase with time and continue through eternity._
Sinful habits and desires, if yielded to, grow harder to overcome--a
man never stands still in the way of transgression. And no local
change from one world to another can have any effect upon the moral
distance. It is not to be bridged by change of place but by change of
character. Either the man must turn to God or be ever getting farther
from Him. But--
+III. There is a sympathy between God and the righteous man which
keeps the Divine ear open to his prayer.+ As we have before noticed,
the foundation of sympathy is likeness of character, and those who
have sympathy with each other have open ears for the reception of
each other's thoughts and desires. The godly man has an open ear for
the commands and promises of God, and God, in return, "heareth the
prayer of the righteous." There is a like-mindedness between the
righteous God and a righteous man--a oneness of desire and
purpose--that makes the words of each acceptable to the other.
1. _God's ear is the first that is open to the prayer of the
righteous._ The sentinel watching on the height for the first streaks
of dawning day has a view of the objects around him before those in
the valley are able to perceive them. They are unable to see what he
sees, because they are still shut in by the darkness. But if this
sentinel had power to pierce the darkness of night, he would not even
have to wait for day in order to discern all that lies around him.
God is such a sentinel over the children of men. Others are dependent
upon the light that comes from words before they discern the desires
of others, but God can see into the darkest corner of the human
soul--can discern the unuttered desire of the heart long before it
shapes itself into words. God's ear is open to hear before the man's
mouth is open to pray. He _"understandeth his thought afar off,"_
knows it before it has even shaped itself into a petition, or even
into a desire in the man's own heart, and consequently long before it
is known to any other creature. 2. _No power outside the righteous
man can come between his prayer and God's ear._ When we present a
prayer or express a desire to any human benefactor, it is possible
that some opposing influence may prevent our suit from being
favourably received. A third person may come between, and by
misrepresentation or by other means, may hinder our request from
receiving impartial consideration. But God's _first-hand_ knowledge
of all His children makes it a blessed certainty that all their
requests will enter His ear and receive impartial treatment at His
hands. (For other thoughts on this subject see Homiletics on verse 8,
page 407.)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
We may perhaps trace a reference to this maxim, a proof how deeply it
has taken root in men's hearts, in the reasoning of the blind man in
John ix. 31.--_Plumptre._
_The Lord is far from the wicked._ He was so far from the proud
Pharisee who yet got as near God as he could, pressing up to the
highest part of the temple. The poor Publican, not daring to do so,
stood aloof, yet was God far from the Pharisee, near to the Publican.
"Behold a great miracle," saith Augustine. "God is on high, thou
liftest up thyself and He flees from thee; thou bowest thyself
downward and He descends to thee. Low things He respects, that He may
raise them; proud things He knoweth afar off, that He may depress
them." _But He heareth the prayer of the righteous._ Yea, He can feel
breath when no voice can be heard for faintness (Lam. iii. 56). When
the flesh makes such a din that it is hard to hear the Spirit's
sighs, He knows the meaning of the Spirit (Rom. viii. 26, 27), and
can pick English out of our broken requests; yea, He hears our
"afflictions" (Gen. xvi. 11), our "tears" (Psa. xxxix. 12), our
"chatterings" (Isa. xxxviii. 14), though we cry to Him by implication
only, as "the young ravens" do (Psa. cxlvii. 9).--_Trapp._
The second clause of this verse becomes exegetical of the first. God
is not far from anybody (Psa. cxxxix. 8). But He is far from many
people's _"prayer."--Miller._
Faith is the soul, and repentance is the life of prayer; and a prayer
without them hath neither life nor soul. If we believe not, we are
yet in our sins; if we repent not, our sins are yet in us. . . . But
first "will I wash my hands in innocency, and then will I compass
thine altar" (Psa. xxvi. 6). "Then shall my prayer be set before thee
as incense, and the lifting up of my hands like the evening
sacrifice" (Psa. cxli. 2). When, with the sword of severe and
impartial repentance, we have cut the throat of our sins and done
execution upon our lusts, then let us solicit heaven with our
prayers; then pray, and speed; then come, and welcome. Then the
couriers about the King in heaven shall make room for prayers. Then
the Prince Himself shall take our prayer into His own hand, and with
a gracious mediation present it to the Father. Then is that court of
audience ready to receive our ambassadors, which be our prayers and
our tears. Then St. John sees twelve gates in heaven, all open, and
all day open, to entertain such suitors.--_Adams._
Learn to distinguish betwixt God's hearing and His answering the
saint's prayer. Every faithful prayer is heart and makes an
acceptable report in God's ear as soon as it is shot; but God doth
not always thus speedily answer it. The father, at the reading of his
son's letter (which comes haply upon some begging errand) likes the
motion, his heart closes with it, and a grant is there passed; but he
takes his own time to send his dispatch and let his son know this.
Princes have their books of remembrance, wherein they write the names
of their favourites whom they intend to prefer, haply some years
before their gracious purpose opens itself to them. Mordecai's name
stood some while in Ahasuerus' book before his honour was conferred.
Thus God records the names of His saints and their prayers. "The Lord
hearkened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before
Him, of them that feared the Lord and thought upon His name." But
they hear not of God in His providential answer, haply a long time
after. . . . There comes oft a long and sharp winter between the
sowing time of prayer, and the reaping. He hears us indeed as soon as
we pray, but we oft do not hear of Him so soon. Prayers are not long
on their journey to heaven, but long a-coming thence in a full
answer. Christ hath not at this day a full answer to some of the
prayers He put up on earth; therefore He is said to expect till His
enemies be made His footstool.--_Gurnall._
When the season has been cold and backward, when rains fell and
prices rose, and farmers desponded and the poor despaired, I have
heard old people, whose hopes, resting upon God's promise, did not
rise and fall with the barometer, nor shifting winds, say, We shall
have harvest after all; and this you may safely say of the labours
and fruits of prayer. The answer may be long in coming--years may
elapse before the bread we have cast upon the waters comes back; but
if the vision tarry, wait for it! Why not? We know that some seeds
spring as soon almost as they are committed to the ground; but others
lie buried for months, nor, in some cases, is it till years elapse
that they germinate and rise, to teach us that what is dormant is not
dead. Such it may be with our prayers. Ere that immortal seed has
sprung the hand that planted it may be mouldering in the dust--the
seal of death on the lips that prayed. But though you are not spared
to reap the harvest, our prayers are not lost. They bide their time,
God's "set time." For in one form or another, in this world or in the
next, who sows in tears shall reap in joy. The God who puts his
people's tears into His bottle will certainly never forget their
prayers.--_Guthrie._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 30.
CHEERFULNESS AND GOOD TIDINGS.
Two views are taken of the meaning of the first clause of this verse.
Some understand it to mean that the objective light that plays upon
the eyes of the body rejoices the heart of the man who is under its
influence; and others understand by "the light of the eyes" that
"cheerfulness of countenance" spoken of in verse 13, which has such
an inspiring effect upon those who behold it. We suggest a line of
thought upon both views.
+The light of the material sun rejoices the heart.+ 1. _Because of
its healthful influence upon the bodily frame._ It is well known that
sunlight is favourable to bodily health--that a dwelling into which
it does not freely enter has a most depressing influence upon its
inhabitants, because it deprives them of natural bodily health and
vigour. Other things being equal, health of body adds much to
cheerfulness of spirit, to gladness of heart. Everyone can testify
from personal experience how a low state of bodily health depresses
the spirit, and how returning health after sickness revives and
gladdens it. Therefore, in this sense the "light of the eyes rejoices
the heart." 2. _Because of its beautifying influence upon all that
the eyes behold._ If we go from the light and brightness of noonday
into a dark cave or dungeon where the sun's rays never penetrate, we
find none of that beauty of colour or contrasts of light and shade,
which afford us such exquisite enjoyment in the landscape outside.
When we come again into the light of day we realise that "light is
sweet, and that it is a pleasant thing to behold the sun" (Eccles.
xi. 7), for to its blessed influence we owe all the joy that fills
our hearts when we look abroad upon the beauties of the natural
world. 3. _It ought to rejoice the heart of man on account of its
symbolic suggestions._ God intends the light of nature to be a symbol
to the children of men of blessed realities which can be appreciated
only by the eye of the soul. Light is symbolic of the glory of the
Divine nature (1 Tim. vi. 16), and of the perfect purity of the
Divine character (1 John i. 5). The beneficent influence of sunlight
is a symbol of the soul-warming and soul-gladdening influence of the
Divine presence (Psalm lxxxiv. 11). And as the light of the sun
rejoices the heart of the beholder, so does light and cheerfulness
upon one man's face gladden the heart of him who looks upon it.
Cheerfulness upon one man's countenance brings cheer to the heart of
those with whom he comes in contact. Upon this subject we
remark--1. _That there is a great difference between levity and
cheerfulness._ Two men may be swimming in a river, and one may keep
himself afloat by artificial appliances, and the other by his natural
strength skilfully used. The beholders may not for a time observe any
difference in the two; but should the first man, by any mishap, lose
his floats, then the difference will be at once manifest. He will be
in danger of going to the bottom while his companion will keep
steadily on his way. The natural strength and long practice of the
latter has made it second nature to keep on the surface of the water.
There is just such a difference between gaiety which depends for its
continuance upon good fortune and external excitement, and the
cheerfulness that springs from a never-failing and internal source.
In the first case, if the floating-tackle is cut away the poor man
sinks into despondency and gloom, but in the second there is a
buoyancy of heart which, if overwhelmed for a moment by some sudden
wave of adversity, brings him again to the surface and re-awakens
hope within him. The first is of earth, but, although natural
temperament may do much towards the second, real and heartfelt
cheerfulness can only be born of a consciousness of reconciliation
with God and goodwill to men. It is not, however, a universal
characteristic of good men and women. But--2. _It is a man's duty to
cultivate this cheerfulness of heart. It is good for the man
himself._ If sunlight gives strength to the body this sunlight of the
soul is strengthening to the whole man. Cheerfulness gives courage to
face the difficulties of life--that gladness of heart which springs
from "doing justly, loving mercy, and walking with God" is a power
which no man for his own sake can afford to throw away. _But it is
also a duty which we owe to others._ In this sense "the light of the
eyes rejoices the heart," the incoming of a cheerful man into a house
where the inhabitants are depressed and sad is like the entrance of
sunlight into a darkened room--it changes the entire aspect of
things. The influence of such a man is like a shower upon the parched
earth--everything seems to spring into new life after it. If it has
so reviving and cheering an effect in a world where there is so much
to sadden and to weaken men's energies, every man is bound to
cultivate a habit of cheerfulness as a matter of duty. _It is part of
the duty which men owe to God._ It is a manifestation of confidence
in His righteous character and merciful purpose towards His
creatures. It reveals contentment with the lot in life which He has
assigned to us--a spirit of submission to His will. Therefore it is
an apostolic command, _"Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say,
rejoice"_ (Phil. iv. 4). The second clause of the verse relates to
another very fruitful source of gladness, viz., the reception of a
_"good report,"_ or good news. 1. _A good report gives joy, or
"maketh the bones fat" in proportion as such news was desired._ If
the sick man, who has been awaiting the verdict of his physician,
receives from him the assurance that he will recover his health, his
heart is filled with joy at the tidings. He can testify that his
"bones waxed old" while he was filled with fear and doubt as to his
case, but the "good report" makes him renew his youth, and is the
first step to renewal of health. The good news that the guilt of the
soul can be removed fills the soul with joy in proportion as the
misery of unforgiven sin has weighed upon the spirit. This was
David's experience: _"When I kept silence"_ (while my sin was
unconfessed) _"my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day
long." . . . "I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have
I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord;
and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin."_ And the consciousness of
forgiveness enabled him to sing of the blessedness of him _"whose
transgression is forgiven and whose sin is covered"_ (Psa.
xxxii. 1-5). 2. _The joy imparted by a "good report" of this nature
is shadowed forth by the gladness which is imparted to men who have
long sat in darkness, when they greet again the light of day._ What
must be the joy of an arctic traveller, when, after months of night,
he sees the first streak of returning sunlight? Who can describe the
feelings of a prisoner who has been for years immured in a gloomy
dungeon, when he again finds himself in the sunshine? Or who but
those who have passed through the experience can conceive what the
blind man feels who has never seen the light of day, when first his
eyes are opened? So none but he who has been in darkness of soul on
account of unpardoned sin, and has felt the joy of a sense of
reconciliation with his God, can know how the "good report" that
"Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners" "maketh the bones
fat," in other words, gives him a sense of new life.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
We may conceive this verse to show the comfort of life as it cometh
from God, and from man. From God in the light of the eyes, and in
seeing those good things which He bestowed upon us. From man in
hearing the good report and testimony which he giveth of us. Or else
we may take the first part of the verse more literally, to speak only
of the joy of the heart, which by the light of the eye from the
pleasant objects thereof, is conveyed to it, and so the good
contentment of a man from a good report to be compared to it. Now
well may these be compared together, for report is the eye whereby
the world judgeth of a man, and it is also a useful eye whereby a man
judgeth of himself. . . . Certainly it must be the care of the godly,
not only to keep a good conscience, but to have a good
report.--_Jermin._
It is riches enough to be well reputed and well spoken of. It pleased
David well that "whatsoever he did pleased the people." It pleased
John well that his friend "Demetrius had a good report of the truth"
(3 John 12), and he "had no greater joy than to hear that his
children walked in the truth."--_Trapp._
_The bones_ may be called the foundation of the corporeal structure,
on which its strength and stability depend. The cavities and cellular
parts of the bones are filled with the marrow, of which the fine oil,
by one of the beautiful processes of the animal physiology, pervades
their substance, and, incorporating with the earthy and silicious
material, gives them their cohesive tenacity, a provision without
which they would be brittle and easily fractured. "Making the bones
fat," means supplying them with plenty of marrow, and thus
strengthening the entire system. Hence "marrow to the bones" is a
Bible figure for anything eminently gratifying and beneficial. The
import, then, of the expression of the text is, that a good
reputation contributes eminently to enjoyment, to comfort, health,
active vigour, spirit, life, and happiness. By some, however, _"a
good report"_ is understood of _good tidings,_ and they conceive "the
light of the eyes" to refer to the happy glancing looks of the
messenger of such good tidings.--_Wardlaw._
"The light of the eyes" means the look of a pleased friend. When He
is the Almighty, how it "rejoices the heart." And when the rapture of
another sense is secured by _"a good report"_ (_a good hearing,_ as
it is in the original), the _good news_ being also from on high, it
reaches the very penetration of our comfort.--_Miller._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 31-33.
HOW TO GIVE AND TAKE REPROOF.
+I. Reproof is good when it is given with a good intention and when
it is given wisely.+ Those who undertake to handle the amputating
knife should be men who are intent upon the healing of the patient,
and must also know where to cut and how much to cut, otherwise the
operation may tend to death rather than to life. The reprover, if he
would administer a "reproof of life," must be wise and kind. He must
desire to do good to the man whom he reproves, he must know how to
administer the reproof, and must leave off reproving as soon as the
necessary wound has been inflicted; if he does not, he may injure the
soul instead of destroying the sin.
+II. He who takes such reproof displays the highest wisdom and the
truest humility.+ We admire the fortitude of a man who will bear
without a murmur a painful operation for the sake of the good that
will come to him afterwards. We praise him for the pluck and courage
which he shows in enduring bravely, that which we know gives him
intense pain of body. And we ought to give as much praise to him who
will submit to reproof in a spirit of humility, for there is nothing
which is more unpalatable or painful to a man's spirit. Nothing is a
surer sign of true wisdom than such submission.
+III. He who will not submit to such reproof can never attain to true
honour.+ There can be no honour where there is ignorance, and there
can be no knowledge where there is an unwillingness to receive
reproof. The greatest kings and statesmen, who are now enthroned by
the honour and submission of millions of their fellow-creatures, had
once to submit to the instruction of their nurses and tutors. There
is no honour in holding a high position unless he who holds it knows
how to fill it worthily; and such knowledge can only be acquired by
stooping not only to instruction but to reproof, which is always a
necessary element of instruction. (For fuller treatment on the
subject of these verses, see Homiletics on chapters iii. 11, 12;
xii. 1; xiii. 18; xv. 10. Pages 247, 323, 410, etc.)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 31. There is a reproof not of life, but of death, when hatred
seeketh disgrace or ruin by it, and when it is used, as St. Bernard
speaketh, not to instruction in the spirit of meekness, but to
destruction in the spirit of fury. When it is reproach, and not
reproof, it amendeth not, but hardeneth the offender in his
wickedness. But with the wise there is the reproof, not of death, but
of life; that is, direction unto a virtuous life, and teaching true
wisdom, which is the life of the soul. The words of the wise, saith
the Preacher, are as nails fastened: for as nails are driven in, but
it is not so much to make a hole as to fasten and strengthen; so the
words of the wise in reproof do pierce, but it is not so much to
wound, as to fasten their reproof, and to give strength unto
it.--_Jermin._
Oh, it is a blessed thing to have others tell us of our faults, and
as it were to pull us out of the fire with violence, as Jude speaks;
rather to pull us out with violence, with sharp rebukes, than we
should perish in our sins. If a man be to weed his ground, he sees
need of the benefit of others; if a man be to demolish his house, he
will be thankful to others for their help; so he that is to pull down
his corruption, that old house, he should be thankful to others that
will tell him, "This is rotten, and this is to blame;" who, if he be
not thankful for seasonable reproof, he knows not what self-judging
means. If any man be so uncivil when a man shows him a spot on his
garment to grow choleric, will we not judge him to be an unreasonable
man? And so when a man shall be told, "This will hinder your comfort
another day;" if men were not spiritually besotted, would they swell
and be angry against such a man?--_Sibbes._
Verse 32. Wilt thou destroy that for which Christ died? (1 Cor.
viii. 11). What shall a man give in exchange for his soul? There is
no great matter in the earth but man; nothing great in man but his
soul, saith Faverinus. "Whose image and superscription is it" but
God's? "Give," therefore, "to God the things that are God's," by
delivering it up to discipline. . . . "Suffer," saith the great
apostle, "the word of exhortation;" suffer them in God's name, sharp
though they be, and set on with some more than ordinary earnestness.
Better it is that the vine should bleed, than die. Certes, "When the
Lord shall have done to you all the good that He hath spoken
concerning you, and hath brought you to His kingdom, this shall be no
grief unto you, nor offence of heart," as He said in a like case
(1 Sam. xxv. 30, 31), that you have hearkened to instruction, and
been bettered by reproof.--_Trapp._
There are two things that cause men to rage against reproof.
1. _Guilt of the sin objected._ Guilt makes men angry when they are
searched, and, like horses that are galled, to kick if they are but
touched. The mildest waters are troublesome to sore eyes. There is
scarce a more probable sign that the crime objected is true than
wrath and bitterness against the person that charges us with it.
2. _Love to sin makes men impatient under reproof._ When a person's
sin is to him as "the apple of his eye," no wonder that he is
offended at any that touch it.--_Swinnock._
Verse 33. Abigail was not made David's wife till she thought it
honour enough to wash the feet of the meanest of David's servants
(1 Sam. xxv. 40). Moses must be forty years a stranger in Midian
before he becomes king in Jeshurun. . . . Luther observed that ever,
for most part, before God set him upon any special service for the
good of the Church he had some sore fit of sickness. Surely as the
lower the ebb the hither the tide; so the lower any descend in
humiliation the higher they shall ascend in exaltation; the lower
this foundation of humility is laid the higher shall be the roof of
honour be overlaid.--_Trapp._
Not only doth humility go before honour in the course of things, but
is also before honour in the dignity and excellency of it. So that
when humility hath brought a man to honour even then his greatest
honour is humility.--_Jermin._
_"Reproof,"_ which has been twice used, and _"instruction,"_ or
rather _discipline,_ which is now made to balance it in these last
important texts, have a respect of painfulness: and Solomon, in this
verse, tempers that pain, by showing what discipline really
is:--_"The fear of Jehovah."_ _"Fear_ hath torment," says the apostle
John (1 John iv. 18). That fear is not altogether the fear of our
text, but is a part of it. I do not remember the fear of the Almighty
as a title applied in heaven. _"The fear of Jehovah"_ has some
particle of painfulness; and that painfulness makes it of the nature
of _"discipline."_ The best discipline of the saints is the abiding
fear of the Almighty. The proverb seems to imply that it will not
last always; that it is painful; and that we shall not continue
pained; that it is necessary for us to be under just that gentle sort
of discipline that _fear_ can give while we are in this world. And
that necessity he states, in that _"before glory is affliction."_ Not
honour (as in the English version), so much as _weight,_ or
_"glory."_ Not _humility,_ but primarily, _toil; ergo,_ more
generally _"affliction."_ "We must through much tribulation enter
into the kingdom of God" (Acts xiv. 22).--_Miller._
"I am not worthy," is the voice of the saints. They know God, and God
knows them. Moses was the meekest man upon earth, and therefore God
is said to know him by name (Exod. xxxiii. 17). "I am less than the
least of all thy mercies," saith Jacob (Gen. xxxii. 10). Lo, he was
honoured to be father of the twelve tribes, and heir of the blessing.
"Who am I, O Lord?" says David. He was advanced from that lowly
conceit to be king of Israel. "I am not worthy to loose the latchet
of Christ's shoe," saith John Baptist (Matt. iii. 11). Lo, he was
esteemed worthy to lay his hand on Christ's head. "I am not worthy
that thou shouldst come under my roof," says the centurion, therefore
Christ commended him. "I have not found so great faith; no, not in
Israel" (Matt. viii. 8). "I am the least of the apostles," saith
Paul; "not worthy to be called an apostle" (1 Cor. xv. 9). Therefore
he is honoured with the title of _the_ apostle. "Behold the handmaid
of the Lord," saith the holy virgin; therefore she was honoured to be
the mother of the Lord, and to have all generations call her blessed.
This _non sum dignus,_ the humble annihilation of themselves, hath
gotten them the honour of saints. In spiritual graces let us study to
be great, and not to know it, as the fixed stars are every one bigger
than the earth, yet appear to us less than torches. Not to be
high-minded in high deserts is the way to blessed preferment.
Humility is not only a virtue itself, but a vessel to contain other
virtues; like embers, which keep the fire alive that is hidden under
it. It emptieth itself by a modest estimation of its own worth, that
Christ may fill it. It wrestleth with God, like Jacob, and wins by
yielding; the lower it stoops to the ground the more advantage it
gets to obtain the blessing. All my pride, O Lord, is from the want
of knowing Thee. The leper casts himself down, and Christ bids him
arise. Humility is the gentleman-usher to glory. God that sends away
the rich empty from His gates loves to "fill the hungry with good
things" (Luke i. 53). The air passeth by the full vessel, and only
filleth that is empty. This is the difference between the proud and
beggars; both agree in not having, differ in craving. The proud are
_paupares spiritus,_ the humble are _paupares spiritu._ "Blessed
are," not the poor spirits, but "the poor in spirit, for theirs is
the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. v. 3). Such as felt their wants sought
and besought God for supply. "Every valley shall be filled, and every
mountain be brought low" (Luke iii. 5). The lowly mind shall be
exalted, the high-towering ambitions shall be thrown down. How should
God say to the merchant that glories in his wealth, to the usurer
that admireth his moneys, to the gallant that wonders that his good
clothes do not prefer him, "Arise!" Alas! they are up already; they
were never down. A dwarf in a great throng, seeming low on his knees,
was bidden by the prince to stand up; alas! he was before at his
highest. God cannot be so mistaken as to encourage their standing up
who never yet had the manners to cast themselves down. Says
Augustine, "Descend, that ye may rise up to God; for you have fallen
by rising up against God." He that is a mountebank must level himself
even with the ground; if humbleness hath once thrown him down and
brought him to his knees, he shall hear the patron and pattern of
humbleness comforting him with a _surge_--"Arise. . . ." The guest
that sets himself down at the lower end of the table shall hear the
feast-maker kindly remove him, "Friend, sit up higher" (Luke
xiv. 10). If Esther fall at Ahasuerus' feet, he will take her by the
hand, and bid her arise. When Peter fell down at Jesus' knees,
saying, "Depart from me; I am a sinful man, O, Lord" (Luke v. 8-10),
he presently was raised up with, "Fear not, thou shalt catch
men.". . . Who is heard to say with Paul, "I am the chief of
sinners?" (1 Tim. i. 15) such a humble confession scarce heard of.
But Christ had given him a _surge_ on his former humbling: "Arise and
bear My name before Gentiles and kings," etc. Let us all thus cast
ourselves down in humility, that the Lord may say to us in mercy,
"Arise."--_Adams._
The more humble, the fitter to come to God, and He the more willing
to come unto the soul and dwell in it. The highest heavens are the
habitation of God's glory; and the humble heart hath the next honour,
to be the habitation of His grace.--_Leighton._
The truly humble spirit is, in society, to the proud and haughty,
what the valley is to the mountain: if less observed, more sheltered
and more blessed, valleys see the stars more brightly than the
mountains that often veil their proud heads with clouds. The
mountains filter the waters upon which the valleys live, and send
down in soft music to their ears the stormy thunders that beat with
violence on their lofty brow. The great sun stoops to the valleys and
touches them with a warmth which it denies to the high hills; and
kind nature, which leaves the towering heights amidst the cold
desolations of death, endows the humble vales with richest life, and
robes them in the enchanting costume of sweetest flowers.--_Dr. David
Thomas._
You must go to honour before humility. This is the law--the law of
God. It cannot be changed. It has its analogies in the material
creation. Every height has its corresponding depth. As far as the
Andes pierce into the sky, so far do the valleys of the Pacific, at
their base, go down into the heart of the earth. If the branches of a
tree rise high in the air, its roots must penetrate to a
corresponding depth in the ground; and the necessity is reciprocal.
The higher the branches are, the deeper go the roots; and the deeper
the roots are, the higher go the branches. This law pervades the
moral administration as well as the higher works of God. The child
Jesus is set for the fall and the rising again of many in Israel; but
it is first the fall and then the rising; for "before honour is
humility." Fall they must at the feet of the Crucified before they
can rise and reign as the children of the Great King. . . . There are
two mountains in the land of Israel, equal in height, and standing
near each other, with a deep, narrow valley between. At an
interesting point in the people's history, one of these mountains
bore the curse, and the other received the blessing (Deut.
xi. 26-29). If you had stood then on Ebal, where the curse was lying,
you could not have escaped to Gerizim to enjoy the blessing without
going down to the bottom of the intervening gorge. There was a way
for the pilgrim from the curse to the blessing, if he were willing to
pass through the valley of humiliation; but there was no flight
through the air, so as to escape the going down. These things are an
allegory. All men are at first in their own judgments on a lofty
place, but the curse hangs over the mountains of their pride. . . .
All the saved are also on a lofty height, but God dwells among them,
and great is the peace of His children. All who have reached this
mountain have been in the deep. They sowed in tears before they went
forth rejoicing to bear home the sheaves.--_Arnot._
* * * * * *
CHAPTER XVI.
CRITICAL NOTES.--+1.+ Nearly all commentators agree in reading this
verse, _"To man belong the preparations of the heart, but the answer
of the tongue is from the Lord."_ +Preparations,+ lit.
_"arrangements," "orderly disposings,"_ as those of an army in array,
or as the loaves of the shewbread set in order. +2.+ Miller
translates this verse very differently. See comments on the verse.
+3. Commit,+ rather _roll._ +Thoughts,+ or _"plans."_ +4. For
Himself.+ Many read "for its own purpose, or end." There is much in
favour, however, of the reading of the Authorised text. +5. Though
hand join in hand,+ literally _"hand to hand,"_ as in chap. xi. 21.
This phrase is variously understood. Stuart renders it _"Should hand
be added to hand," i.e.,_ although a haughty man should enjoy all his
powers of resistance, _"he shall not go unpunished."_ Delitzsch and
Zöckler render it _"assuredly,"_ as in chap. xi. 21. See also the
comments on the verse. +6. Purged.+ Heb., _kaphar,_ "expiated," or
"covered." +9. Deviseth.+ The form of the verb denotes anxious
consideration. +10. A Divine sentence,+ literally _"divination,"
i.e., "an oracle,"_ or _"a decision."_ +"His mouth transgresseth
not."+ Stuart and Delitzsch read, _"In judgment his mouth should not
prevaricate, or err."_ +11. A just weight,+ literally, _"the scale,"_
"the upright iron in scales which the weigher holds in his hand"
(Fausset). +Weights,+ literally _"stones,"_ which were anciently used
as weights. +13. "They love him,"+ etc., rather _"he who speaketh
right, or uprightly, is loved."_ +18.+ "The Hebrews observe that this
verse stands exactly in the centre of the whole book" (Fausset).
+19. Lowly,+ or the _"afflicted."_ +20.+ Delitzsch and Zöckler
translate the first clause _"He that giveth heed to the Word findeth
good."_ Stuart and others, _"He that is prudent respecting any
matter."_ Miller says, _"Literally, wise about a word."_
+21. Sweetness,+ or _"grace."_ +Learning,+ or _"instruction."_
+22. Instruction,+ rather _"discipline," "correction."_ +26. He that
laboureth, laboureth for himself,+ etc. Zöckler translates _"The
spirit of the labourer laboureth for him, for his mouth urgeth him
on."_ Stuart--_"The appetite of him who toils is toilsome to him_
(_i.e._, makes him exert himself) _for his mouth urgeth him on."_
Delitzsch--_"The hunger of the labourer laboreth for him,"_ etc.
Miller--_"The labouring soul labours for it, for its mouth imposeth
it upon him."_ (See his comment.) +28. A whisperer,+ _i.e.,_ _"a
backbiter."_ +30. Moving,+ or _compressing,_ indicating resolution,
or _biting,_ indicative of scorn and malice.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 1.
THE HEART AND THE TONGUE.
+I. The human heart needs preparation.+ 1. _It needs to be prepared
for the reception of moral truth._ When the earth was _"without form
and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep,"_ it was not in
a condition to receive seed into its bosom. There was a need of
preparation before it was fit to receive seed which would produce
"herb after its kind." Light must play upon its surface, heat and
moisture must penetrate the soil. And man's heart, in his present
fallen condition, is like the earth before the _"Spirit of God moved
upon the face of the waters, and God said, Let there be light: and
there was light."_ It needs some preparation before it can receive
the truth of God so as to be benefited by it--before it is that
_"good ground"_ into which, when the _"good seed"_ falls, it _"brings
forth fruit, some an hundred-fold, some sixty-fold, some
thirty-fold"_ (Matt. xiii. 3-8). As the plough must break the clods
before the seed can be sown with any hope of harvest, so the
_"fallow-ground"_ of the heart must be broken up--must undergo some
preparation before it can be a profitable receiver of moral truth
(Hosea i. 12). Our Lord, in the parable of the sower, teaches most
distinctly the truth that the good which is derived from hearing
Divine truth depends upon the state of heart of him who hears. 2. _It
needs to be prepared to yield moral truth._ All the preparation of
the earth is to the end--not that it should be a _receiver,_ but a
_giver._ The seed is sown not that it should remain in the soil but
that _the earth should "bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to
the sower, and bread to the eater"_ (Isa. lv. 10). So it is with the
human soul. It takes in the thoughts of God, that it may translate
them into holy words and deeds. The "preparation of the heart" is but
a means to "the answer of the tongue." Out of the "good treasure of
the heart" good things are expected to issue (Matt. xii. 35). But
unless there is preparation to _receive_ there can be no _giving_ out
of anything that is worth the giving. The quality of the water that
comes to the lip of the drinker depends upon the quality of the water
that fills the well. As we have often before remarked, the "tree"
must be first "good," and then the "fruit will be good" (Matt.
xii. 33). He whose heart is prepared by Divine influence to receive
the Divine Word will not be at a loss for such an "answer of the
tongue" as will bring glory to God, honour to himself, and blessings
to others.
+II. The preparation of the heart, and, therefore, the answer of the
tongue, depends upon God.+ In nature laws are constantly at work to
bring to pass certain facts and results, and man works with these
laws, and in obedience to them. But behind the laws there must be a
law-giver--behind the working there must be a worker--and this worker
and law-giver is God. The preparation of the earth is the work of
man; yet both the preparation of the earth and the answer of the
earth to that preparation is from God. There would be no harvest if
the husbandman did not toil; but there would be no harvest if behind
him and his toil there was not the Life-Giver. God is the spring of
all activities, not only in the sower of the seed, but in the seed
which is sown and in the earth in which it germinates. So in the
preparation of the heart, and the right use of the tongue. Man's
freedom and responsibility in these matters are insisted upon in the
oracles of God. He and he alone is to be blamed if his heart is not
prepared to receive the words of God. He is commanded as we saw just
now to "break up his fallow ground" (Jer. iv. 3)--to prepare his
spirit for the reception of Divine truth. Yet if a man's heart is
thus prepared, and if by preparation of heart his tongue is able to
speak good words, he is not the sole producer of the result. Behind
the springs of thinking--behind the means used by the man
himself--God is working "both to will and to do of His good
pleasure." God claims to be the Author of all good, whether in the
bud of thought or in the fruit of action. From Him "all good counsels
and all just works do proceed." This is the teaching of the verse as
it stands in our English Bible, but many commentators translate the
verse differently. (See Critical Notes.) The thought as thus
translated is similar to that in verse 9, upon which see Homiletics.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The great doctrine of all Scripture is, that _heart_ religion is true
religion. In nothing is Christianity more distinguished from all
other systems of religion than in the moral purity which it
inculcates and which it provides the means of producing. Other
religions multiply articles of faith and ritual observances, and
pompous ceremonials: this alone fixes upon the internal character of
the worshipper and the actual state of the heart before God. God
first gives grace, and then owns and honours the grace which He
gives. "The preparations of the heart are of the Lord;" "The prayer
of the upright is His delight" (chap. xv. 8). This was discovered
long before Solomon's time. It was from the very first the primary
design of the religion of the Bible. "_By faith_ Abel offered unto
God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain" (Heb. xi. 4). . . . It is
God's prerogative to prepare the heart for Himself, and he does this
especially, by establishing the principles of grace and holiness in
the mind, and then actuating the habits of grace which His own Spirit
has implanted. We need preparation--1. _For spiritual worship._ The
worship of God, as it necessarily includes all the devout affections,
is the most spiritual act in which we are engaged. In prayer, in
reading and hearing God's word, and in approaching the sacramental
table, we have especially to do with God, in the gracious relations
in which He stands to us. And as these exercises raise us above the
ordinary level of the world, and are foreign to our ordinary habits
of thought and emotion as the creatures of dust and time, we need
especial assistance to fix our attention, to purify our motives, and
to realise the presence of the Master of assemblies. We need "grace
whereby to serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear" (Heb.
xii. 28). This preparation of the heart is God's gift, it is God's
promise, it is the Church's hope, and it has been realised in the
experience of God's faithful people in the ordinances of His
appointment. 2. _For active service._ Christians have much to do for
God in the world, in the family, in the Church, in the disposal of
their ordinary business, etc. In all these things wisdom is needed to
direct, and wisdom should be sought from Him. 3. _For patient
suffering._ It is a great thing to have a heart prepared for
suffering. One important requisite is, _to anticipate its approach,_
that that day may not come upon us unawares, that trial may not
entangle us in temptation, but may, like the overflowings of the
Nile, leave the means of fertility behind. Another requisite is that
we should _expect to meet with God in affliction._ When God announces
a long succession of national judgments, He says, "And because I will
do this, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel" (Amos iv. 12). This text
is usually applied to death and judgment, but it really relates to
worldly disasters, and teaches that God would have us _prepare to
meet Him_ in the distressing changes of human life. 4. _For
enjoyment._ If there is much to be suffered there is also much to be
enjoyed. But a time of prosperity needs _heart preparation,_ lest a
time of ease be a time of danger. "It is the bright day brings out
the adder, and that craves wary walking." It was when Noah had
escaped the deluge, and had gathered in his first vintage from the
grapes he had planted, that he drank of the wine and was drunken.
David, safe in the wilderness, was entangled in fatal snares when
walking on the roof of his palace. (_Note._ Though heart preparation
is from God, it is not given as a premium to sloth, but in proportion
to the earnestness with which we seek the grace. The following
passage from a letter of Colonel Gardiner tells how that man of God
sought preparation from God for the Lord's Supper. "I took a walk on
the hills and mountains over against Ireland. And could I give you a
description of what passed there, you would agree that I had much
better reason to remember my God from the hills of Port P------ than
David from the Hermonites, the land of Jordan, and the hill Mizar. In
short, I wrestled with the Angel of the Covenant some hours, and made
supplication to Him with strong crying and tears until I had almost
expired, but He strengthened me till I had power with God. You will
be able to judge by what you have felt upon like occasions, after
such a preparatory work, how blessed the Lord's Supper was to
me.")--_S. Thodey._
Man may lay out his plans, but God alone can give them effect in
answer to the tongue of prayer (ver. 9; chap. xix. 21; 2 Cor.
iii. 5).--_Maurer._
Often what you dispose in the aptest order in your heart you cannot
also express suitably with your tongue. What one aptly speaks is from
God.--_Mercer._
Men often determine in heart to say something, but God overrules
their tongue so as to say something utterly different, as in Balaam's
case (Num. xxiii).--_Menochius._
God takes the stone out of the heart that it may feel (Ezek.
xxxvi. 26); draws it that it may follow; quickens it that it may
live. He opens the heart that He may imprint His own law, and mould
it into His own image (Acts xvi. 14; Jer. xxxi. 33). He works, not
merely by moral suasion or by the bare proposal of means of uncertain
power, but by the invisible Almighty agency. The work then begins
with God. It is not that we first come, and then are taught; but
first we learn, then we come (John vi. 45). . . . Shall we then wait
indolently till He works? Far from it. We must work, but in
dependence upon Him. He works not without us, but with us, through
us, in us, by us, and we work in Him (Phil. ii. 13; Job xi. 13). Ours
is the duty, His is the strength; ours the agency, His the quickening
grace. "The work, as it is a duty, is ours; but as a performance it
is God's" (Bishop Reynolds).--_Bridges._
Undoubtedly we arrange and plan. That is a matter of consciousness.
But these are but the tools of the Designer. He uses our plannings to
shape the last word to His mind. . . . The _"arrangings of the
heart"_ are, indeed, as much God's as the final _"decree,"_ because,
in brief, everything is. He destines everything; but not in the same
sense in which they are consciously man's. They precede the end, and
are present. They cannot determine the end, that is future. I cannot
determine now what I will say the next moment. God can. I can and do
arrange. But at any convenient point, at any interval, even the very
least, God can swing me round. What I shall say is a part of His
providence. I cannot ordain to say it in such a way as that it shall
be said. In the smallest interval that follows God may tempt Pharaoh,
and he may have new views as to letting the children of Israel go.
God cannot tempt me to evil; but He can govern by the privation of
good. And, therefore, "the king's heart is in the hand of the Lord,
as the rivers of water. He turneth it whithersoever He will." This,
of course, implicates God, to our weak seeming, in the sins of the
wicked. The next verse discharges Him from any such accountability.
(See Miller's rendering of verse 2, in his comments.)--_Miller._
Though a man have never so exactly marshalled his matter in hand, as
it were, in battle array, as the Hebrew imports, though he have set
down with himself both what and how to speak, yet he shall never be
able to bring forth his conception without the help of God. . . .
Digressions are not always unuseful. God's Spirit sometimes draws
aside the doctrine to satisfy some soul which the preacher knows not.
But though God may force it, yet man may not frame it.--_Trapp._
This is a matter of experience to which the preacher, the public
speaker, the author, and every man to whom his calling or
circumstances present a weighty difficult theme, can attest. As the
thoughts pursue one another in the mind, attempts are made and again
abandoned; the state of the heart is somewhat like that of chaos
before the creation. But when, finally, the right thought and the
right utterance for it are found, that which is found appears to us,
not as if self-discovered, but as a gift; we regard it with the
feeling that a higher power has influenced our thoughts and
imaginings; the confession by us "our sufficiency is of God" (2 Cor.
iii. 5) in so far as we believe in a living God, is
inevitable.--_Delitzsch._
Man doth not carry himself one-half of the way, and then as one
wearied is carried the rest by God. But it is God who supporteth him
in the heart as well as in the tongue: it is He that supporteth man
in the preparations of the heart, as well as in the subsequent
proceedings of the man. He is a God of the valleys as well as of the
hills; and it is He that worketh as well in the lowest degree of
goodness as in the highest. His praise reacheth from the roof of the
heart to the tip of the tongue, and all man's goodness is from His
grace--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 2.
THE WEIGHER OF SPIRITS.
+I. One man has many ways.+ The text speaks of "all the ways of a
man," implying they are numerous and varied. Man is a compound
creature--the animal and the spiritual--mind and matter--both go to
make up a man, and from this union of different elements come many
different wants and wishes, hopes and desires, and from these many
_wants_ come many _ways_--many and diversified efforts to satisfy his
cravings. He finds himself having many bodily wants, and he seeks
many different ways of supplying them. He is generally conscious of
intellectual desires, and he seeks ways of satisfaction for them. If
he listens to the voice within him, he feels that he has moral needs,
and he tries to satisfy them also.
+II. As a rule men generally look with approbation upon their own
ways or methods of life.+ A man does this because they are _his_
ways. What is our own generally looks well to use because it is ours.
This is especially the case if it is ours by choice--if we have been
the main instrument in its becoming ours. The builder looks with
partial eyes upon the house that he has planned, the poet upon the
poem that he has composed, the painter upon the picture that he has
painted, the statesman upon the law that he has introduced. Most men
are disposed to judge partially of their own deeds; ungodly men
always regard their "own ways" as "clean." The sinner has a way of
life which he has chosen for himself, and because it is _his_ way he
thinks it is a good way to walk in.
+III. There is therefore need of an impartial Judge to pass sentence
upon men's ways.+ Those who look upon us and our ways are generally
better judges of us and of them than we are ourselves. They are good
judges in proportion as they are wise and disinterested, and have a
sincere desire to do us good. From them, if we are not given over to
our own conceit and self-will, we may gain much very important truth
about our ways. God is a judge who must be perfectly unbiased, and He
can have no object in view except our good, therefore when He passes
judgment upon our ways, we must accept it as truth. He declares that
a man's ways, though clean in his own eyes, are not clean in His; we
must not question the decision of absolute goodness and wisdom, and
by refusing to have our ways condemned and to accept "His ways" (Isa.
lv. 6-8), shut out from ourselves all hope of bettering our lives.
+IV. However one man's ways may deceive another, there is no danger
of mistake on the part of God.+ "The Lord weigheth the _spirits._" A
man may deceive _himself_ as to the goodness of his ways. Saul of
Tarsus certainly did. When he "persecuted unto death, binding and
delivering into prisons both men and women" (Acts xxii. 4), his ways
were "clean in his own eyes." But God weighed his spirit and found
him wanting. And a man may deceive _others._ His outer garment may be
so spotless that his fellows may not suspect what is hidden beneath.
But there is an eye that can go beneath the surface--_"discerning the
thoughts and intents of the heart;"_ there is One whose glory it is
that _"He shall not judge after the sight of His eyes, neither
reprove after the hearing of His ears,"_ and whose judgment,
therefore is _"righteousness"_ and _"equity"_ (Isa. xi. 3, 4).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
_"As to all the ways of a man, pure in His own eyes, while yet he
weighs out spirits, is Jehovah."_ This change is very bold, and yet,
really, not so bold as the old readings. It explains why _"pure"_ is
found to be in the singular. The common version, besides that
disagreement of number, is strained, in sense, materially. There are
instances of like thought (Psa. xxxvi. 2), and, in one case, great
similarity of language (chap. xii. 15); but the emphasis, in the
present instance, seems stronger than in any of the rest, and would
make us pause. It is not altogether true, the "all the ways of a man
are clean in his own eyes." Moreover, the case most like it (chap.
xxi. 2), and which might seem irrefragably to establish it in its
sense, we shall find habited in the same way. . . . And while our
common version would jump needlessly into another subject, the one I
give fits most perfectly. God moves man as He lists (ver. 1), and
yet, as to the ways of a man, He is right in His own eyes while _"He
weighs out spirits." He weighs out_ to all that which determines
them, and that is, gifts according to the measure that He ordained in
the Redeemer. He "weighs out" in the sense of taking strict
account.--_Miller._
Weighing them, as goldsmiths do their plate and coins, finding them
_light_ and _counterfeit_ oftentimes.--_Muffet._
His "weighing the _spirits_" implies that _here_ the moral good or
the moral evil really lies. The mere action is in itself incapable of
either, independently of what it indicates in the agent. When we
speak of a moral action, we mean the action of a moral agent. A dog
and a man may do the same action--may carry off, for instance, for
their own use respectively, what is the property of another. We never
think of calling it a _moral_ action in a dog, but we condemn the man
for the commission of a crime against his neighbour, and a sin
against his God. An action may even in its effects be beneficial,
which in regard to the doer of it is inexcusably _bad:_ it may be
good in its results, but bad in its principles.--_Wardlaw._
They that were born in hell know no other heaven; neither goes any
man to hell but he has some excuse for it. As covetousness, so most
other sins go cloaked and coloured. All is not gold that glitters. A
thing that I see in the night may shine, and that shining proceed
from nothing but rottenness. . . . But God turns up the bottom of the
bag as Joseph's stewards did, and then come out all our thefts and
misdoings that had so long lain latent.--_Trapp._
The important doctrine deducible from this text is that conscience
(simply as _conscience_) is no safe guide, but requires to be
informed and regulated by God's Will and Word, and that a _right
intention_ is not sufficient to make a good action.--_Wordsworth._
How unclean are man's eyes, in whose eyes all his ways are clean.
Certainly whatever a man's sentence may be of himself, there is
something in him that gives another judgment. There is a spirit in
man whose eyes, though dazzled much, cannot be put out. That seeth
and condemneth much uncleanness, which man's wilful blindness and
seeing darkness will needs have to be purity. There is a conscience
in man which, though enslaved much, yet in many ways goeth contrary
to man's perverseness, and condemneth those ways which man approveth.
But God is greater than man's heart, and by the exact weights of His
conscience discerning the errors of the conscience He pronounceth all
a man's ways to be unclean.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 3.
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THOUGHTS.
+I. There is an intimate connection between a man's works and a man's
thoughts.+ Where there is no thinking there can certainly be no
profitable work. The skilful workman has the plan of his work in his
mind before he begins to use his fingers to execute it, and
throughout its progress his thought is as busy as his hand. A work
undertaken and carried through without thought is generally a useless
work; indeed, it is impossible for working to be entirely independent
of thinking.
+II. For the establishment of work there must first be the
establishment of the thoughts.+ When a ship is under the guidance of
one master-mind, and this mind is self-possessed and thoughtful, all
the crew under his rule move with the regularity of clock-work. Order
reigns in the leader, and therefore order rules the subordinates. He
is the head and they are the hands, and because the one moves in
obedience to a fixed purpose, the others do also. His thoughts are
established, and therefore the work is done. Every man's thoughts
ought to be the guide of his work, and if his thoughts and his
intentions are fixed, or established, by being in harmony with the
righteous law of God, his works will partake of the same character.
The orderliness of his outward life will be the effect of an order
that reigns within.
+III. If the thoughts are to be established, our undertakings must be
committed to God.+ The learner tells the master what work he intends
to undertake--he unfolds to him the plan of the machine he is going
to construct, or shows him the design of the house he hopes to build,
or the picture which he intends to paint, that he may be strengthened
and encouraged in his undertaking, and that he may find out whether
he has the approval of one who is much wiser than himself. If the
master approves of his plan his mind is more fully made up, he is
strengthened in his determination, his thoughts are established.
Before he might have wavered, but now that he has submitted all his
plans to one in whom he has full confidence and obtained his
approval, he sets to work with a goodwill which is an earnest of
success. If in all our undertakings in life we lay our plans before
the Lord, and if we find, upon consulting His Word, that they are not
in any way contrary to His Will, but appear to be in conformity with
it, our minds have rest, our hopes of success grow stronger, and our
energy is quickened to go forward. The establishment of our thought
tends to the establishment of our work.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
I consider that work as good as done, that trial as good as borne,
which I have solemnly committed to God in prayer.--_Fausset._
This counsel implies--1. _That all our purposes and doings should be
in accordance with God's Will._ How is it possible to commit them to
God otherwise? . . . We ought not to form or pursue any purpose
unless we can, _with confidence,_ acknowledge God in it. The maxim by
which, as Christians, we should be regulated, is to be found in the
words--"Whatsoever is not of faith"--whatsoever does not proceed from
a full conviction of right--"is sin" (Rom. xiv. 23). 2. _That none of
our works can prosper without God._ This is a lesson of which the
Divine Word is full (Psa. cxxvii. 1; Dan. v. 23; James iv. 13-16),
etc. 3. _That it is, therefore, the obvious and imperative duty of
intelligent creatures to own their dependence. . . ._ This is a
counsel to which, despite all the theories and speculations of
infidelity, natural conscience gives its sanction. 4. _That what is
our duty is at the same time our interest._ The act of committing all
things into the hands of God to be regulated as He may see fit,
preserves the spirit from corroding anxiety. 5. _God will graciously
smile on the efforts, and accomplish the purpose and wishes of him
who seeks His blessing._ God will second and prosper, and fulfil the
purposes he forms, and the desires he cherishes, crowning his
endeavours with success.--_Wardlaw._
_Roll thy doings in the direction of Jehovah; and they shall have
success according to thy plans. "Roll,"_ not exactly _commit. "In the
direction_ of" the preposition _towards. Trust,_ therefore, is less
implied than an attitude of _service. Roll forward thy work in the
direction of Jehovah;_ that is, with an eye to Him; in a harmony with
Him, recognising His plans (ver. 4): and what will be the result?
Why, God means to have His way at any rate. Our works will _"have
success,"_ one or the other fashion, in His scheme of Providence. He
works in the work even of Beelzebub. But if we act _"in the direction
of"_ His Will, they will have success _as we planned them._ That
seems to be the meaning. We might read, "thy plans shall have
success." . . . The whole would then mean, _"thy doings"_ shall
_"have success"_ (literally, be made to stand) _as_ thy plans, or _in
the shape_ thy plans gave them. Or, in other words, God, having an
express purpose for all you do (ver. 4), will give success to your
work at any rate. He has the exact niche for all you work at. But, if
you turn it _in His direction,_ and aim with it at His Will, He will
aim at yours; that is, He will give a success _after your plan;_ if
not in the actual letter, still, in what is far the best, in the way
best suited to your peculiar interest.--_Miller._
Never is the heart at rest till it repose in God; till then it
flickers up and down, as Noah's dove did upon the face of the flood,
and found no footing till she returned to the ark. Perfect trust is
blessed with a perfect peace. A famous instance of this we have in
our Saviour, "Now is my soul troubled, and what shall I say? Father,
save me from this hour, but for this cause came I to this hour.
Father, glorify Thy name" (John xii. 27). All the while the eye of
His humanity was fixed upon deliverance from the hour of His
temptation; there was no peace nor rest in His soul, because there He
found not only uncertainty, but impossibility. But when he could wait
on, acquiesce in, and resign to the will of His Father, we never hear
of any more objection, fear, or trouble.--_Trapp._
The word "commit" most properly signifieth _cast,_ or _tumble_ thy
works unto the Lord. Now, in casting or tumbling, there are three
things. First, a regardlessness of any merit in them, for such things
are usually tumbled as are little cared for. Secondly, a speediness,
for commonly things are tumbled to make the greater haste. Thirdly,
there is a weakness and lightness in the things tumbled, for things
of weight and strength are not so easily removed. Now, plainly, such
are the works of man: there is little solidity or stability in them;
tumble them, therefore, upon the Lord--commit them into His hands.
And do it speedily; do not defer it until thou seest no farther help
in man, but at first betake thyself unto Him, for that will best show
the confidence thou hast in Him. And do not fret and vex thyself with
care, but tumble and cast thy care upon God. The less thou carest in
that manner the more He will care for thee. So that by Him thy works
shall be established which of themselves are frail and uncertain; by
Him no time shall be lost for the well ordering of them, if thou lose
no time in the committing of them to Him. Or else we may take the
meaning of the words thus, Put over thy works unto the Lord, and
whatsoever thou doest well let Him have the praise of it--let Him
have thanks for it. . . . To this purpose Chrysostom borroweth a
similitude from the play at ball, saying, "We must cast back and
return our works unto God, even as in the play of tennis, the one
tosseth, the other tosseth back the ball, and so long the sport
handsomely continueth, as the ball tossed and tossed back again
between the hands of both doth not fall down." The comfort of that
which we have received from God is so long happily continued to us as
we return God thanks for it.--_Jermin._
Verses 2, 3. The first of these verses tells us how a man goes wrong,
and the second how he may be set right again. He is led into error by
doing what pleases himself; the rule for recovery is to commit the
works to the Lord, and see that they are such as will please Him.
When we weigh our thoughts and actions in the balances of our own
desires we shall inevitably go astray. When we lay them before God,
and submit to His pleasure, we shall be guided into truth and
righteousness. . . . It is a common and sound advice to ask counsel
of the Lord before undertaking any work. Here we have the counterpart
equally precious--commit the work to the Lord after it is done. The
Hebrew idiom gives peculiar emphasis to the precept--roll it over on
Jehovah. Mark the beautiful reciprocity of the two, and how they
constitute a circle between them. While the act is yet in embryo as a
purpose in your mind, ask counsel of the Lord, that it may be crushed
in the birth, or embodied in righteousness. When it is embodied bring
the work back to the Lord, and give it over into His hand as the
fruit of the thought you besought Him to inspire. . . . These two
rules following each other in a circle, would make the outspread
field of a Christian's life sunny, and green, and fruitful, as the
circling of the solar system brightens and fertilises the
earth. . . . Perhaps most professing Christians find it easier to go
to God beforehand, asking what they should do, than to return to Him
afterwards, to place their work in His hands. This may, in part,
account for the want of answer to prayer--at least the want of a
knowledge that prayer has been answered. If you do not complete the
circle your message by telegraph will never reach its destination,
and no answer will return. We send in earnest prayer for direction.
Thereafter we go into the world of action. But if we do not bring the
action back to God the circle of supplication is not
completed.--_Arnot._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 4.
ALL THINGS FOR GOD.
+I. There is one Person in the universe who knows the history of all
things.+ Jehovah knows all things because He made all things. Some
men know the history of their nation and the history of many nations.
Others know the history of the philosophies of the world, can tell
when and by whom certain ideas were first promulgated and certain
methods adopted. There are other men who are acquainted with the
history of natural objects, and whose knowledge is so extensive that
it embraces the heavens above and the waters under the earth. But
there is only One Being who can claim a knowledge of all things and
all persons, and that is the Maker of all things. The smith who has
beaten a ploughshare out of rough iron can give us the history of the
share because he made it. The sculptor who calls into shape and form
a beautiful statue knows the day and hour when the statue ceased to
be a thing of the imagination only by the first application of his
chisel. And he can give the history of its progress from that day
until now because he is the author of its existence. So God, having
called all things into being at first, and having upheld them ever
since by the word of His power, has a perfect knowledge of their
history. But He goes farther. No human worker knows anything of the
essential nature of the material out of which he fashions his
work--he finds that ready to his hand and can tell us but little
about it. But God is the Creator of matter; He called it into being
at first, and therefore knows not only the history of the formation
of things as we see them but the essential qualities of the material
out of which they are formed.
+II. Creation is the work of One Being.+ Most things made by man need
co-operation. Although they are but inanimate objects they cannot be
made by the unaided efforts of one creature. He must have the skill
and strength of others to help him, either in the actual work itself,
or in the preparation of the material, or the tools which he uses. A
palace can be built only by the united effort of many hundreds of
intelligent creatures, and when they have finished it they have only
made a lifeless thing. A ship when in full sail is as much "like a
thing of life" as any work of man, yet the movement that makes it
look so life-like is not in itself but comes from an external power.
Yet inanimate though it is, how many a man gave his toil and his
strength to bring into existence this new thing. One thing made by
man requires the strength and skill of many, and when made is without
life; but the One God is the maker of all things that we see around
us, many of which are full of life.
+III. The world is not co-equal with God.+ Matter is one of the "all
things" which He has made. This being the case it is not as old as
God. He was before the material was out of which _"in the beginning
He created the heavens and the earth."_
+IV. The One God is the absolute Lord of all His creatures.+ This is
the thought which must be expressed in the second clause of this
verse. In considering it we must remember--1. _That the infinitely
good God can do no wrong._ In proportion as men are good, certain
acts are impossible to them. There are human beings who we feel are
incapable of certain immoral acts. In proportion as men approach in
their characters to the character of God it becomes a moral
impossibility for them to do wrong to any creature. It is, therefore,
conceivable that if we could find a man who was perfectly true and
good we should find a being who could do no wrong. We cannot find
such an absolute being among fallen men, but we do have such a Being
in God. He is absolute goodness and righteousness and truth--as to
His character, _"He is light, and in Him is no darkness at all."_ It
is, therefore, impossible for Him in any way to be author of sin.
Being absolute goodness, He cannot make a wicked man. He hates sin,
and cannot increase it by creating wickedness. It is an impossibility
for Him to be the author of wrong in any way. 2. _That all His plans
and purposes are manifestly directed to making men good._ If any
person were to declare that God delighted or purposed that His
creatures should live in darkness, we should point to the sun in the
heavens as a direct refutation of such a statement. To any who
declare that God is indifferent as to whether men live in sin or not,
we point to the Bible and to the incarnation and death of His Son as
the most emphatic denial of such an assertion. And if, in the face of
such facts, it is impossible to believe that God is indifferent as to
human character, it is a thousand times more impossible to conceive
the possibility of His creating a "wicked man." 3. _Therefore no man
can be brought to a "day of evil" except by his own consent._ No man
can be brought to perform an evil deed except by his own consent, and
consequently he cannot be brought to the consequences of evil without
the exercise of his own free will. The human tempter cannot destroy
the virtue of his victim unless he first gain his consent, and
whatever evil day comes as the consequences, the sinner feels that it
is the fruit of his own act. The sting would be removed if he felt
that it had come upon him without any deed of his own. Satan
certainly believes that he can bring no man to a day of evil without
that man's consent. Consequently his great work is that of a
_tempter_--a _persuader_--his great aim is to win the will of every
man as he won that of our first parents. Nor can God bring a man to a
day of evil unless that man consent. He has made man free, and His
nature forbids Him to tempt His creatures to evil (Jas. i. 13), much
more it makes it impossible that He should coerce their will to the
committal of sin, which is the sole cause of all the evil that is
found in the universe. The declaration of the text therefore is:
1. That all men exist by the will of God, who desires them to use
their present life, so as to be fitted for a higher one. 2. That if a
man crosses God's desires and purposes in this matter, he will come
to a day of evil. 3. God will use the actions of those who opposed
His will against themselves, and for the furtherance of His own
purpose. God was the Author of Pharaoh's existence, and if he had
yielded to the Divine Will he would by obedience have been raised to
a higher condition of life. But when he opposed the Will of God, and
put away from him the opportunities of Divine enlightenment, _then_
it might be said that "God created him for the day of evil"--then God
over-ruled his opposition to His glory and to Pharaoh's destruction.
And so He deals with all who exalt themselves against His will,
refusing to fall in with His purpose of mercy towards them.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
_"Even the wicked for the day of evil," i.e.,_ to experience the day
of evil, and then to receive His well-merited punishment. It is not
specifically the day of final judgment that is directly intended (as
though the doctrine here were that of a predestination of the ungodly
to eternal damnation), but any day of calamity whatsoever which God
has fixed for the ungodly, whether it may overtake him in this or in
a future life. Comp. the "day of destruction" (Job xxi. 30), the "day
of visitation" (Isa. x. 3).--_Lange's Commentary._
The day of evil is generally understood, and I have myself been
accustomed so to explain it, of the day of _final visitation and
suffering to the wicked themselves._ But I am now inclined to doubt
whether "the day of evil" has here this meaning at all. There is
another, of which it is alike susceptible, and which, in Scripture,
it frequently bears--namely, the day of primitive visitation, in the
inflection of judicial vengeance, in the course of God's providential
administration. I question if the _suffering_ of the wicked be
intended, and am disposed to refer the phrase to the _instrumental
agency_ of the wicked. "The Lord hath made all things for Himself"
will thus mean that He employs all as instruments in effecting His
purposes, and that thus He makes the wicked as a part of His agency:
employing them, without at all interfering with their freedom and
their responsibility, as the executioners of wrath, "when He cometh
out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their
iniquity," thus rendering their very passions the means of
accomplishing His designs, making "the wrath of man to praise Him,
and restraining the remainder of wrath."--_Wardlaw._
If by God's making all things for Himself he meant that He aimed at
and intended the manifestation of His wisdom, and power, and goodness
in the creation of the world, 'tis most true that in this sense He
made all things for Himself; but if we understand it so, as if the
goodness of His nature did not constrain Him thereto, but He had some
design to serve ends and necessities of His own upon His creatures,
this is far from Him. But it is very probable that neither of these
is the meaning of this text, which may be rendered with much better
sense, and nearer to the Hebrew, thus, _"God hath ordained everything
to that which is fit for it, and the wicked hath He ordained for the
day of evil;"_ that is, the wisdom of God hath fitted one thing for
another, punishment for sin, the evil day to the
evil-doer.--_Tillotson._
God made things without life and reason to serve Him passively and
subjectively, by administering occasion to man to admire and adore
his Maker; but man was made to worship Him actively and
affectionately, as sensible of, and affected with, that Divine
wisdom, power, and goodness which appear in them. As all things are
of Him as the efficient cause, so all things must necessarily be for
Him as the final cause. But man is in an especial manner
predestinated and elected for this purpose. "Thou art mine; I have
created him for my glory; I have formed him; yea, I have made him"
(Isa. xliii. 1-7).--_Swinnock._
God, in His revelations, hath told us nothing of the second causes
which He hath established under Himself for the production of
ordinary effects, that we not perplex ourselves about them, but
always look up to Him as the first cause, as working without them, or
by them, as He sees good. But he hath told us plainly of the final
cause, or end of all things, that we may keep our eyes always fixed
on that, and accordingly strive all we can to promote
it.--_Beveridge._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 5.
HEART-PRIDE.
+I. That which may be hidden from all others is manifest to One
Being.+ There is coin in the world that is not money nor money's
worth, although it often passes through the hands of many before its
worthlessness is detected. But there are eyes which could tell at
once that it was not genuine, and hands which if it came into their
possession would soon reduce it to its true level among the baser
metals. So there is in the world a feigned humility, which has so
much the appearance of the genuine article that no earthly creature
suspects that it is the covering of a heart big with pride. But when
God judges whether a man is proud or humble He looks through the
words and actions at the _heart._ "Everyone that is proud in
_heart,_" etc.
+II. God abhors pride.+ 1. _It is entirely contrary to His own
nature._ God is entirely without pride. His condescension is one of
His most remarkable attributes. God manifest in flesh abased Himself
beyond the possibility of any finite creature. _"Being in the form of
God . . . [He] made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the
form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being
found in fashion as a man He humbled Himself, and became obedient
unto death, even the death of the cross"_ (Phil. ii. 6-8). We always
find that in proportion as men are holy and God-like they are
destitute of pride. The proudest men are always those who have least
to be proud of. Therefore pride can have no place in the character of
the holy and ever-blessed God. 2. _It is opposed to the possessor's
well-being._ God not only abhors pride because He is Himself
supremely good, but He holds it in abomination because He desires
men's good. Whatever is opposed to God's nature must be opposed to
man's interest. He who desires the salvation of all His creatures
hates pride because it holds men tied and bound in fetters which
hinder their approach to Him; because it makes men akin to the fallen
angels. (On this subject see also on chapters xi. 1; xiii. 10, page
305, etc.)
+III. Union is no guarantee against punishment.+ "Though hand join in
hand, he shall not be unpunished." When that which is an abomination
to God is the foundation of a confederation, it must be overthrown by
the power of the stronger arm. And it contains within itself an
element of overthrow. A house may have an appearance of compactness
which may lead a casual onlooker to think it is destined to stand for
many a century. But its foundation is in the sand, and its fall is
only the work of time, even if storms and tempests never beat upon
its walls. So there may be an appearance of strength where pride is
the basis of union, but it can be only an appearance. Pride is a
dividing force and not a binding one, and all confederations against
God being based upon it, they rest only upon a foundation of sand.
(See also on chap. xi. 21.)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
(1.) If God has made everything for His purpose (ver. 4), how foolish
the man who arrogantly forgets Him! (2.) If God has besought us to
work under His plans (ver. 3), how wicked the man who proudly
mutinies. If God works even in kings (chap. xxi. 1), how absurd the
man who would work away from Him. How can it work well? "Hand to
hand," _i.e.,_ in close quarters (chap. xi. 21), as we shall come all
of us at the last, how can the workers outside of the Almighty
possibly _"go unpunished?"--Miller._
How many sins are in this sinful world, and yet, as Lemuel saith of
the good wife (Prov. xxxi. 29), "Many daughters have done virtuously,
but thou surmountest them all." So I may say of pride, many sins have
done wickedly, but thou surmountest them all; for the wrathful man,
the prodigal man, the lascivious man, the surfeiting man, the
slothful man, is rather an enemy to himself than to God; the envious
man, the covetous man, the deceitful man, the ungrateful man, is
rather an enemy to men than to God; but the proud man sets himself
against God, because he doth against His laws, he maketh himself
equal with God, because he doth all without God, and craves no help
of Him; he exalteth himself above God, because he will have his own
will, though it be contrary to God's Will. As the humble man saith,
"Not unto us, Lord, not unto us, but to Thy name give the glory"
(Psa. cxv. 1); so the proud man saith, "Not unto Him, not unto Him,
but unto us give glory.". . . Therefore God is specially said to
resist the proud, because the proud resist Him. Here is heaven
against earth, the Creator against the creature, the father against
the son, the Prince against the subject--who is like to win the
field? . . . It had been too heavy for them, if he had said the Lord
doth not care for them; for God's care preserveth us, and our own
care doth but trouble us; but to say that the Lord doth resist them,
is as if Michael should denounce war with the dragon till he hath
cast him into the pit.--_Henry Smith,_ 1590.
Some make "hand in hand" to be no more than "out of hand,"
_"immediately,"_ or "with ease," for nothing is sooner or with more
ease done than to fold one hand in another. God "shall spread forth
His hands in the midst of them, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth
his hands to swim, and He shall bring down their pride together with
the spoil of their hands" (Isa. xxv. 11). The motion in swimming is
easy, not strong; for strong strokes in the water would rather sink
than support. God, with greatest facility, can subdue His stoutest
adversary when once it comes to handy-gripes--when once his hands
join to the proud man's hand--so some sense this text--so that they
do _manus conserere,_ then shall it appear that it is a fearful thing
to fall into the hands of the Living God (Heb. x. 31).--_Trapp._
From hand to hand expresses the consecutive connection of causes
through which the Lord works; though the proud escape one occasion of
His punishment, yet he is reserved for another.--_Mercer._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 6.
THE PURGING OF INIQUITY.
+I. There is in the human heart and in human life that which is not
conducive to human happiness, viz., iniquity.+ Iniquity is
_inequality,_ or _injustice,_ and a sinner is an _unjust_ man. 1. _He
is unjust to himself._ He is bound to render to himself what is due
to his own nature--to care for his own real and highest
interests--but this no ungodly man does. 2. _He practises iniquity
towards his neighbour._ This follows from the first as a necessary
consequence. Shakespeare thus admonishes us--
"To thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man."
But if a man is not true to himself, it follows as certainly that he
will not be true to any other man--will not in its real and broad
sense be a just man in his relations to others. 3. _He practises
iniquity towards God._ He does not render to God that which is His
just due, and this is indeed the foundation of his iniquity towards
himself and his fellow-men.
+II. Human nature cannot find within itself a remedy for its own
iniquity.+ The man who is smitten with fever cannot find a remedy for
his disease in his own diseased body--he must look somewhere else for
a cure. There are remedies powerful in curing his disease, but they
must be administered from without, they are not resident within him.
So there is a cure for human iniquity, and that cure is to be found
in contact with mercy and truth, but neither of these is to be found
in fallen human nature, or, if some traces exist among men, the mercy
is not abundant enough, and the truth is not unalloyed enough to
effect the cure.
+III. There is enough mercy and truth in God to do away with human
iniquity.+ He has devised a plan by which His abundant mercy and His
unsullied truth shall be brought into contact with sinful men in such
a manner as to cure them of their sin. Mercy without truth could not
meet the need, neither could truth without mercy. Mercy is needed to
do away with the guilt of sin--to give remission for past
transgressions, but it is equally needful that some standard of truth
and righteousness should also be given, lest men "sin that grace may
abound." Mercy frees the sinner from the penalty of sin, but truth is
brought into contact with his soul to free him from the power of sin.
Being _"made free from sin"_ men must _"become servants of God,"_ and
_"have fruit unto holiness"_ (Rom. vi. 22). And to obtain this end
there must be a reception into the human soul of Divine truth to
transform it--to regenerate it. Hence when the _"Word was made flesh,
and dwelt among us,"_ and men _"beheld His glory,"_ it was a glory
_"full of grace and truth"_ (John i. 14). For Homiletics on the
second clause of this verse, see on chap. xiv. 15 (page 364).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Loving and faithful conduct towards one's neighbour is not in and of
itself named as the ground of the expiation of sin, but only so far
forth as it is a sign and necessary expression of a really penitent
and believing disposition of heart, and so is a correlative to the
fear of God, which is made prominent in the second clause; just as in
the expression of Jesus with reference to the sinning woman (Luke
vii. 47), or as in Isa. lviii. 7; Dan. iv. 34, etc.--_Zöckler._
The _purging of iniquity_ seems here to direct us to expiation, and
considering that Divine mercy and truth are frequently exhibited in
connection with this invaluable blessing, the analogy of faith
appears to link it here with these combined perfections which kiss in
Christ the Mediator (Psa. lxxxv. 10), and with that covenant of grace
in which they shine so brightly. Should this view be thought not to
cohere with the general tenor of this book, which deals more with
practical points and matters of common life than with the deeper
articles of faith, it may be observed that, when some of its pages
are so fully illuminated by evangelical sunshine (chap. viii. 9), we
might naturally expect--besides this connected splendour--occasional
rays of doctrinal light to rest upon this system of Christian
morals. . . . God purges iniquity by sacrifice, not nullifying the
sanctions of the law by a simple deed of _mercy,_ but combining the
manifestations of His _truth_ by fulfilling these sanctions upon the
Surety which _mercy_ provided (Isa. liii. 6, 2 Cor. v. 21). . . . So
gloriously do these two attributes harmonise. We inquire not to which
we owe the deepest obligation. _Mercy_ engages, _truth_ fulfils the
engagements. _Mercy_ provides--_truth_ accepts--the ransom. Both sat
together in the Eternal council. Both made their public entrance
together into the world. Both, like the two pillars of the temple
(1 Kings vii. 21), combine to support the Christian's
confidence. . . . The exercise of forgiveness is to implant a
conservative principle. _"By the fear of the Lord men depart from
evil."_ The supposition of pardon for a sinner continuing impenitent
would be to unite the two contraries of reconciliation and
enmity.--_Bridges._
The Gospel in (1) _Justification_ and (2) _Sanctification_ is here as
beautifully announced as by any of the apostles. Justification makes
its appearance as a covering of iniquity by _mercy and truth. "Mercy
and truth"_ is the sum of holiness. How does holiness, therefore,
which is _"mercy and truth,"_ cover sin? Undoubtedly by the Gospel
method. . . . But then there is to be a _turning from evil._ This is
Sanctification. How is it to be accomplished? By ourselves, as the
indispensable instrument. Mercy and truth win for us the Spirit; and
then, under this outfit, we are to set out upon the journey. The man
in the temple must lift forth his hand (Matt. xii. 10). But how are
we to begin? This book tells us again and again. _"The fear of
Jehovah"_ is the beginning of wisdom (chap. ix. 10). The _turning_ is
by an access of fear. But how are we to continue? The _turning_ is to
be kept up. It is more like a _departing._ Sin, being slow to wear
out, the turning has to go on; and it becomes a journey; and we
travel each day, just as we set out. . . . And the very last of the
journey, like the very beginning, is by _"the fear of Jehovah."_ The
actual _fear_ of Jehovah, tempered by love, is a thing of
"discipline" (see on chap. xv. 33), which drives the Christian away
from his iniquity.--_Miller._
To fear the Lord and to depart from evil, are phrases which the
Scriptures use in very great latitude to express to us the sum of
religion and the whole of our duty. 1. _It is very usual in Scripture
to express the whole of religion by some eminent principle or part of
it._ The great principles of religion are knowledge, faith,
remembrance, love, and fear. And religion is called the "knowledge of
the holy" (Prov. xxx. 3), and the "remembrance of God" (Eccles.
xii. 1), and the love of God (Rom. viii. 28, etc.), and here and
elsewhere the "fear of the Lord" (Mal. iii. 16, etc.). So likewise
the sum of all religion is often expressed by some eminent part of
it, as it is here expressed by departing from evil. It is described
by seeking God (Heb. xi. 6) and by calling on His name (Acts ii. 21),
etc., etc. 2. _The fitness of these two phrases to describe
religion._ The fitness of the first will appear if we consider how
great an influence the fear of God hath upon men to make them
religious. Fear is a passion that is most deeply rooted in our
natures, and flows immediately from that principle of
self-preservation which God hath planted in every man. Everyone
desires his own preservation and happiness, therefore everyone has a
natural dread of anything that can destroy them. And the greatest
danger is from the greatest power, and that is omnipotency. So that
the fear of God is an inward acknowledgement of a holy and just
being, who is armed with an almighty and irresistible power; God
having hid in every man's conscience a secret awe and dread of His
infinite power and eternal justice. Now fear, being so intimate to
our nature, is the strongest bond of laws, and the great security of
our duty. . . . For though we have lost in a great measure the gust
and relish of true happiness, yet we still retain a quick sense of
pain and misery. So that fear relies upon a natural love of
ourselves, and is complicated with a necessary desire of our own
preservation. And therefore religion usually makes its entrance into
us by this passion; hence, perhaps, it is that Solomon more than once
calls it the _"beginning of wisdom."_ As for the second phrase, the
fitness of it will appear if we consider the necessary connection
that there is between the negative and positive part of our duty. He
that is careful to avoid all sin will sincerely endeavour to perform
his duty. For the soul of man is an active principle, and will be
employed one way or the other, it will be doing something; if a man
abstain from evil he will do good. "Virtue begins in the forsaking of
vice; and the first part of wisdom is not to be a fool." . . . The
law of God, contained in the Ten Commandments, consists mostly of
prohibitions which yet include obedience likewise to the positive
precepts contained in those prohibitions.--_Tillotson._
No object can well be more dull and meaningless than the stained
window of an ancient church, as long as you stand without and look
upon a dark interior; but when you stand within the temple, and look
through that window upon the light from heaven, the still, sweet,
solemn forms that lie in it start into life and loveliness. The
beauty was all conceived by the mind, and wrought by the hand of the
ancient artist whose bones now lie mouldering in the surrounding
churchyard; but the beauty lies hid until two requisites come
together--a seeing eye within, and a shining light without. We often
meet with a verse upon the page of the Old Testament Scriptures very
like those ancient works of art. The beauty of holiness is in it--put
into it by the Spirit from the first, and yet its meaning was not
fully known until the Sun of Righteousness arose, and the Israel of
God, no longer kept in the outer court, entered through the rent
veil, and from the Holy of Holies, looked through the ancient record
on an illuminated heaven. Many hidden beauties burst into view upon
the pages of the Bible, when Faith's open eye looks through it on the
face of Jesus. One of these texts is now before us. . . . The first
clause tells how the guilt of sin is forgiven; the second, how the
power of sin is subdued. Solomon unites the two constituent elements
of the sinner's deliverance in the same order in which his father
experienced them: "I have hoped for thy salvation, and done thy
commandments" (Ps. cxix. 166). It is when iniquity is purged by free
grace that men practically depart from evil. . . . Mercy and truth
meet in the Mediator. In Christ the fire meets the water without
drying it up: the water meets the fire without quenching it.--_Arnot._
By iniquity God and men are severed, and never can iniquity be
pardoned until God and man meet again. To procure this meeting there
must be a meeting of mercy and truth, of mercy in God and truth in
man. And these do call the one for the other. The mercy of God being
ready to forgive iniquity, calleth for truth in man to confess
iniquity; the truth of man being ready to confess his iniquity
calleth for the mercy of God to pardon his iniquity. Now these two
readily concurring, God and man are rejoined, and by their reunion
iniquity is purged. But then there must follow a departing from
iniquity. . . . For iniquity, forgiven and not forsaken, doubleth the
iniquity both in man's guilt and God's wrath. Wherefore, let the
mercy of the Lord breed a fear in thee, and let the truth of thy
repentance appear, as well in shunning iniquity as in forsaking of
it.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 7.
PLEASING GOD.
+I. There are times when men's ways do not please the Lord.+ _The
ways of the ungodly do not at any time please the Lord._ Because they
have no sympathy with His laws, and are at variance with His
character. _"God is not in all their thoughts"_ (Psalm x. 4), and it
is impossible for God to be pleased with the ways of them who do not
think Him worth thinking about. A man must forsake his own ways and
come into God's ways before his ways can please the Lord. _The ways
of a good man do not at all times please the Lord._ They sometimes
stray from the royal road--the highway of righteousness--and get into
bye-paths, and thus bring down upon themselves the displeasure of
their God. David, though in the main a "man after God's own heart,"
more than once walked in paths that were displeasing to the Lord, and
several incidents in his life teach us plainly that some ways of a
godly man may be very contrary to the Divine mind.
+II. But God can be pleased by a man's ways.+ Those who strive to
conform to our desires--who are in sympathy with our minds--naturally
yield us pleasure. And a good man's desire is to conform his ways to
the Will of God--he is in sympathy with the mind of God, and his life
is the outcome of that sympathy. Therefore he can yield pleasure to
the Eternal. If the Creator, in looking upon the inanimate works of
His hands, pronounces them "good" (Gen. i. 31) when He sees them
fulfilling the design of their creation, how much more good in His
sight is it when a moral and responsible creature who has power to
turn out of the path ordained for him seeks patiently to continue in
well-doing notwithstanding all the temptations he has to encounter.
+III. The consequence upon men's minds of thus giving pleasure to the
Divine mind.+ The way of pleasing the Lord promotes "favour and a
good understanding in the sight of God and man" (chap. iii. 4). He
whose aim is to please God will desire and strive to live at peace
with men. And in cases where his godliness provokes the enmity of the
ungodly, God, by His overruling Providence, often directly interferes
on his behalf. He did so in the case of Jacob and Laban, in that of
Joseph and his brethren, etc.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The doctrine of this verse, stands in apparent contradiction to
2 Tim. iii. 12. The truth seems to be that neither of the passages is
to be taken _universally._ The peace possessed by those who please
God does not extend so far as to exempt them from having enemies, and
though all godly men must be persecuted, yet none are persecuted at
all times. The passage from Timothy may, therefore, refer to the
native enmity which true godliness is certain to excite, and the
proverb to the Divine control over it.--_A. Fuller._
There would be more sunlight in the believer's life if he could leave
the dull negative fear of judgment far behind as a motive of action,
and bound forward into the glad positive, a hopeful effort to please
God. . . . This is one of the two principles that stand together in
the Word, and act together in the Divine administration. Its
counterpart and complement is, "If any man would live godly in Christ
Jesus, he must suffer persecution.". . . Both are best; neither could
be wanted. If the principle that goodness exposes to persecution
prevailed everywhere and always, the spirit would fail before Him and
the souls that He has made. Again, if the principle that goodness
conciliates the favour of the world prevailed everywhere and always,
no discipline would be done, and the service of God would degenerate
into mercenary self-interest. . . . A beautiful balance of opposites
is employed to produce one grand result. . . . A Christian in the
world is like a human body in the sea--there is a tendency to sink
and a tendency to swim. A very small force in either direction will
turn the scale. Our Father in heaven holds the elements of nature and
the passions of men at His own disposal. His children need not fear,
for He keeps the balance in His own hands.--_Arnot._
If it is manifest that God makes Himself known, bestowing blessings
on a man, there lies in this a power of conviction which disarms his
most bitter opponents, excepting only those who have in selfishness
hardened themselves.--_Delitzsch._
Whatsoever a man's ways are, it is part of every man's intention to
please howsoever; it is the object that maketh the difference. All
men strive to please, but some to please themselves, some to please
other men, and some few to please the Lord. . . . The last is--1. _A
duty whereunto we stand bound by many obligations._ He is our Master,
our Captain, our Father, our King. He is no honest servant that will
not strive to please his master. And he is no generous soldier who
will not strive to please his general. And that son hath neither
grace nor good nature in him that will not strive to please his
father, and he is no loyal subject that will not strive to please his
lawful sovereign. And yet there may be a time when all those
obligations may cease, for if it be their pleasure that we should do
something that lawfully we may not, we must disobey, though we
displease. But we can have no colour of plea for refusing to do the
pleasure of our heavenly Lord and Master, in anything whatsoever;
inasmuch as we are sure nothing will please Him but what is just and
right. With what a forehead, then, can any of us challenge from Him
either wages as servants, or stipends as soldiers, or provision as
sons, or protection as subjects, if we be not careful in every
respect to frame ourselves so as to please Him? 2. _It is our wisdom,
too: in respect of the great benefits we shall reap thereby._ There
is one great benefit expressed in the text, and the scope of those
words is to instruct us, that the fairest and likeliest way to
procure peace with men is to order our ways so as to please the
Lord. . . . The favour of God and the favour of men are often joined
together in the Scriptures as if the one were consequent of the
other. See Luke ii. 52; Prov. iii. 3, 4; Rom. xiv. 18, etc. . . . But
it may be objected that sundry times when a man's ways are right, and
therefore pleasing to God, his enemies are nothing less, if not
perhaps much more, enraged against him than formerly. . . . Sundry
considerations may be of use to us in the difficulty, as, first, if
God have not yet made our enemies to be at peace with us, yet it may
be He will do it hereafter. Neither is it unlikely that we do not
walk with an even foot, and by a straight line, but tread away in
something or other which displeaseth God, and for which He suffereth
their enmity to continue. . . . Or if He do not presently make our
enemies to be at peace with us, yet if He teach us to profit by their
enmity, in exercising our faith and patience, in quickening us unto
prayer, etc., is it not in every way, and incomparably better? Will
any wise man tax Him with a breach of promise, who, having promised a
pound of silver, giveth a talent of gold? Or who can truly say that
that man is not as good as his word who is apparently much better
than his word?--_Bp. Sanderson._
It is our peace with God that maketh Him to make our enemies to be at
peace with us, and it is our enmity against God's enemies that maketh
God to be at peace with us. Now, the enemies of God are the sins of
men, and if we be in a continual war with those, then do our ways
please God. Then it is that He is ready to please us, when our ways
please Him. Neither is He hard to please--a willingness, a desire to
please, is accepted by Him. He looks not--He requireth not--that we
should do exactly all that is contained in His commandments, but if
we go about to please Him--if we put ourselves carefully in the
way--then do our ways please Him. And then will He give us that
glorious victory over our enemies which is above all others. For to
subdue our enemies is but to make ourselves happy in their misery;
but to make our enemies at peace with us is a victory for God's hand,
and giveth man a double triumph, as well over the hatred as the power
of our enemies.--_Jermin._
The subject of verse 8 is substantially the same as that of chap.
xv. 6 and 17. See Homiletics on page 405, etc.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
"Better," for the tranquility of conscience, for the present
enjoyment of this life, and for the life to come. In chap. xv. 16, we
are warned against gain without religion, in chap. xv. 17, against
gain without _love to our neighbour:_ here, against gain without
_right.--Fausset._
Abraham would not take to himself of the spoils of Sodom so much as
the value of a shoe-latchet, that it might never be said in after
times that the king of Sodom had made Abraham rich; so neither will
any godly man that hath learned the art of contentation, suffer a
penny of the gain of ungodliness to mingle with the rest of his
estate, that the devil may not be able to upbraid him with it
afterwards to his shame, as if he had contributed something towards
the increasing thereof.--_Bishop Sanderson._
A _little_ that is in man's own is better than a _great deal_ that is
another body's. Now that which a man hath with _righteousness_ is his
own, for there can be no better title than that which righteousness
maketh. But that which thou hast _without right_ cannot be thine,
howsoever thou mayest account it, or others may call it. Possession
may be a great point in human laws, but it is nothing in God's law;
the want of right overthroweth whatsoever else may be said. Tis true,
thou mayest have quiet possession on earth, but there be adversaries
that do implead the unrighteousness at God's judgment bar, where they
are sure last to be cast, and where themselves will give the verdict
which the wise man here doth.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 9.
MAN PROPOSES, GOD DISPOSES.
+I. This is a fact of national and individual history.+ In both
inspired and uninspired records we meet with abundant confirmations
of this truth. There is no more striking illustration of it than in
the life of Joseph. He leaves his father's house, as he supposes, for
a few days, little dreaming that he is traversing a path by which he
will never return. He only purposes to find his brethren, and "see if
it is well with them, and bring his father word again." But God is
then directing his steps into a far-off land--into slavery, to a
prison, and through both to a throne. So the shepherd boy of
Bethlehem sets out with the unambitious intention of carrying
supplies to his brethren, and of seeing how the battle is likely to
go, and becomes himself the central figure in the camp, and the hero
of his nation. And David's predecessor goes in search of his father's
asses, and finds a crown and a kingdom at the end of his journey.
Cromwell, despairing of enjoying liberty in England, planned to make
a home in America, and, it is said, actually went on board a vessel
which was about to sail. But God, using as an instrument the man to
whose throne he was to succeed, directed his steps in another
direction, and being forbidden to quit the country, he becomes not
only England's deliverer, but a great and powerful ruler, whose
influence was felt throughout Europe. Clive went out to India as a
clerk, because he had no prospects of getting a living at home, and
lays the foundation of our Indian empire. And there is hardly a man
living who, if he reflects upon his past life, cannot remember
passages in his own history which confirm the truth of the text. He
makes certain plans, and purposes to accomplish certain designs, and
the result of his doings is quite different from his intentions, or
leads him to a place, or a position, or into relationships which were
entirely out of his calculation when he "devised his way."
+II. This is a law which must be in operation till the end of time.+
Unexpected events must be the outcome of man's plans and purpose,
because he is finite and very short-sighted, and there is an Infinite
and Omniscient Ruler of the universe, who comprehends in His plan of
the universe all the plans of His creatures, and in His plan
concerning every man all that man's devices and deeds. "God professes
in His Word," says Dr. Bushnell, "to have purposes pre-arranged for
all events; to govern by a plan which is from eternity even, and
which, in some proper sense, comprehends everything. And what is this
but another way of conceiving that God has a definite place and plan
adjusted for every human being? And without such a plan, He could not
even govern the world intelligently, or make a proper universe of the
created system; for it becomes a universe only in the grant unity of
reason which includes it, otherwise it were only a jumble of
fortuities without counsel, end, or law." This being so, a man can
rejoice in the truth that "The Lord directs his steps"--that the
events of his life are not the outcome of chance, but are all under
the control of a supremely wise and benevolent King and Father. Not
that God's foreknowledge is the cause of man's actions, but that
seeing He must know what shall come to pass, nothing takes Him by
surprise, and therefore nothing finds Him unprepared to arrange all a
man's affairs after the counsel of His Own Will. Nothing happens
without His permission; no good thing comes to a man's life without
His instigation and co-operation, and, if a man is willing to yield
himself to His guidance, He will not only direct his steps, but
direct them so as to further that man's true well-being--will make
"all things work together for good" to him (Rom. viii. 28). The fact
here declared will redound to a man's eternal gain or loss according
to the attitude which he takes towards God. "There is then, I
conclude, a definite and proper end, or issue, for ever man's
existence; an end which to the heart of God is the good intended for
him, or for which he was intended; that which he is privileged to
become; called to become, ought to become; that which God will assist
him to become, save by his own fault. Every human soul has a complete
and perfect plan cherished for it in the heart of God--a Divine
biography marked out which it enters into life to live. This life,
rightly unfolded, will be a complete and beautiful whole, an
experience led on by God and unfolded by His secret nurture, as the
tree and the flowers, by the secret nurture of the world; a drama
cast in the mould of a perfect art, with no part wanting; a Divine
study for the man himself, and for others; a study that shall for
ever unfold, in wondrous beauty, the love and faithfulness of God;
great in its conception, great in the Divine skill by which it is
shaped; above all, great in the momentous and glorious issues it
prepares. What a thought is this for every human being to cherish!
What dignity does it add to life! What support does it bring to the
trials of life! What instigations does it add to send us onward in
everything that constitutes our excellence! We live in the Divine
thought. We fill a place in the great everlasting plan of God's
intelligence. We never sink below His care--never drop out of His
counsel. But there is, I must add, a single and very important
qualification. Things all serve their uses, and never break out of
their place. They have no power to do it. Not so with us. We are
able, as free beings, to refuse the place and duties God appoints;
which, if we do, then we sink into something lower and less worthy of
us. That highest and best condition for which God designed us is no
more possible. . . . And yet, as that was the best thing possible for
us in the reach of God's original counsel, so there is a place
designed for us now, which is the next best possible. God calls us
now to the best thing left, and will do so till all good possibility
is narrowed down and spent. And then, when He cannot use us any more
for our own good, He will use us for the good of others--an example
of the misery and horrible desperation to which any soul must come
when all the good ends, and all the holy callings of God's friendly
and fatherly purpose are exhausted. Or it may be now, that, remitting
all other plans and purposes in our behalf, He will henceforth use
us--wholly against our will--to be the demonstration of His justice
and avenging power before the eyes of mankind, saying over us, as He
did over Pharaoh in the day of His judgments, 'Even for this same
purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show My power in thee,
and that My name might be declared throughout all the earth.'
Doubtless He had other and more general plans to serve in this bad
man, if only he could have accepted such; but, knowing his certain
rejection of these, God turned His mighty counsel in him wholly on
the use to be made of him as a reprobate. How many Pharaohs in common
life refuse every other use God will make of them, choosing only to
figure, in their small way, as reprobates, and descending, in that
manner, to a fate that painfully mimics his."--(_Bushnell._)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The thought of the first verse, coming to be repeated, this versatile
sentence-maker calls it back with different scenery. _"The answer"_
or _"decree of a tongue"_ (ver. 1) is one pregnant act, _the "step"
of a foot_ is another. Both may make a man or ruin him, for this
world, or that which is to come. The critical thing, in either case,
is controlled by the Almighty. . . . _"Heart,"_ more intellectual
than the English _heart. "Devises"_ too intellectual for our
emotional nature. It means _studies,_ or _deeply meditates._ The
sinner really reflects upon his future wisdoms. Alas! they are too
future! And when the future come, he _"plants," "sets firm his
step,"_ quite differently from what he had decreed.--_Miller._
The doctrine of Providence is not like the doctrine of the
Trinity--to be received by faith. Experience gives a demonstrable
stamp of evidence--even in all the minutiæ of circumstances, which
form the parts and pieces of the Divine plan.--_Bridges._
It _must_ be so. If there is a God at all it cannot be otherwise. It
were the height of irrationality as well as impiety for a moment to
question it--to imagine the contrary possible. How otherwise could
God govern the world? Were not all human schemes under supreme and
irresistible control, what could become of the certainty of the
Divine?--_Wardlaw._
When it is said that a man's heart deviseth his way but the Lord
directeth his steps, we must not think that the purpose of the
creature is condemned as an impertinence. It is an essential element
of the plan. Neither human purposes, the material on which God
exercises His sovereign control, nor the control which He exercises
on that material could be wanted. If there were no room for the
devices of men's hearts, providence would disappear, and grim hate,
the leaden creed that crushes Eastern nations in the dust, would come
in its stead. If, on the other hand, these devices are left to fight
against each other for their objects without being subjected all to
the will of a Living One, faith flees from the earth and the reign of
Atheism begins. The desires of human hearts, and the efforts of human
hands, do go into the processes of providence, and constitute the
material upon which the Almighty works. When God made men in His own
image, a new era was inaugurated and a new work begun. Hitherto, in
the government of this world, the Creator had no other elements to
deal with than matter and the instincts of brutes; but the moment
that man took his place on creation, a new and higher element was
introduced into its government. The sphere was enlarged and the
principle elevated. There was more room for the display of wisdom and
power. The will of intelligent moral beings being left free, and yet
as completely controlled as matter and laws, makes the Divine
government much more glorious than the mere management of a material
universe. For God's glory man was created, and that purpose will
stand; a glory to God man will be, willing or unwilling, fallen or
restored, throughout the course of time, and at its close. The
doctrine of Scripture regarding Providence neither degrades man, nor
inflates him. It does not make him a mere thing on the one hand, nor
a god on the other. It neither takes from him the attributes of
humanity, nor ascribes to him the attributes of Deity. It permits him
freely to propose, but leaves the ultimate disposal in a mightier
hand.--_Arnot._
The doctrine of the text--I. _Should correct immoderate care about
the future events of our life._ What means this mighty bustle and
stir--this restless perturbation of thought and care--as if all the
issues of futurity rested wholly on thy conduct? Something depends
upon thyself, and there is reason, therefore, for acting thy part
with prudence and attention. But upon a hand unseen it depends,
either to overturn thy projects, or to crown them with success,
therefore thine attention should never run into immoderate care.
II. _Should enforce moderation of mind in every state._ How little
ground the real situation of the most prosperous man affords for the
vain _elation_ of mind, for he is dependent every moment on the
pleasure of a superior. III. _Places the vanity and folly of sinful
plans in a very strong light._ The sinner has against him, first, the
general uncertainty which belongs to all the designs of men. And he
hath also engaged against himself one certain and formidable enemy.
IV. _That an interest in God's favour is far more important than all
the wisdom and ability of man._ In a world so full of uncertainty,
let us take pains to secure to ourselves one resting place, one
habitation that cannot be moved.--_Blair._
God having made man lord of the earth, He hath made him lord also of
the ways of the earth. He is not tied to this way or that way, but as
his heart deviseth, so he may go. And herein is the dignity of a man
above a beast. For that way must a beast go which he is driven: but
man, not driven by fate, or constellation, or any other necessity, as
master of himself, chooseth his own courses wherein to walk.
Notwithstanding, man is not without an overseer, a ruler, by whom his
steps are directed. The wicked chooseth an evil way, but God
directeth it to a good end. The good chooseth a good way, but it is
by God brought to a good issue.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 10-15.
KINGS.
It is obvious that some of these proverbs as they stand in our
Authorised Version, do not admit of universal application in relation
to human monarchs. History and experience both contradict the
assertion that a "Divine sentence" is always, or has been generally,
in the lips of a human king, but if we understand the verse, as
Miller does (see his comment) as an application of the truth set
forth in the preceding verse and in verse 1, that God is behind and
above all the decrees of earthly potentates, we can at once admit the
fact and rejoice in it. Again, it cannot, alas! be said that as a
rule, "righteous lips are the delight of kings," or that "in the
light of the king's countenance is life." Many kings have been
themselves incarnations of iniquity, and have bestowed all their
favour upon men like themselves, and persecuted often to the death
those who have dared to tell them the truth. If this proverb admitted
of universal application, Ahab would not have sought to slay Elijah,
Jeremiah would not have been imprisoned by Zedekiah, and Herod would
not have put to death John the Baptist. And the favour of most of the
men who have sat upon the thrones of the world would have had no life
in it for some of their subjects. There has been a faithful few in
all the ages of the world to whom the favour of their wicked rulers
would have been very unlike "a cloud of the latter rain." But the
truths taught here are:--
+I. That a king ought to be God's prophet and viceregent upon the
earth.+ All painters have an ideal in their minds to which they
desire to attain in their handiwork. They must place before them the
highest model, if they would rise to anything like excellence. And
Solomon, as a great theoretic moralist, is here setting before
himself, and before all rulers, an ideal king. Kingship among men
ought to be a type and symbol of Divine kingship. The loyal obedience
which the majority of men have always been ready to yield to those
who they have regarded as their appointed rulers, has its root deep
down in the constitution of human nature--it is a prophecy of a need
which is only fully met in the rule of the true and perfect King of
men--that King whose right it is to reign, and who can do no wrong to
any of His subjects. "That was not an inconsiderable moment," says
Carlyle, "when wild armed men first raised their strongest aloft on
the buckler-throne, and, with clanging armour and hearts said
solemnly, Be thou our acknowledged strongest (well named King,
_Kön-ning,_ Canning, or Man that was Able), what a symbol shone now
for them--significant with the destinies of the world! A symbol of
true guidance in return for loving obedience; properly, if he knew
it, the prime want of man. A symbol which might be called sacred, for
is there not, in reverence for what is better than we, an
indestructible sacredness?" And when a king realises what idea he
embodies, and strives to fulfil worthily the duties of his high
calling, and in proportion as he does so, he is a representative of
God to men. Then he will have a _Divine sentence_ in his mouth
because he will be a truth-speaker. His lips will be a reflection of
his character. Being a man of truth, he cannot do other than speak
the truth. He will be able in a limited sense to use the words of His
Divine Ideal, and say, _"To this end was I born, and for this cause
came I into the world, that I should bear witness of the truth"_
(John xviii. 37). And as all truth and justice is from God (ver. 11),
he who is a truth-speaker--he from whose lips come only just
decisions, utters a "Divine sentence"--is a representative of Him
whose "is a just weight and balance," whose "work are all the weights
of the bag." To such an one it will be "an abomination to commit
wickedness"--any kind of iniquity will be detested by him. He will
not--he cannot--be a sinless man; the desires and intentions of every
good man are always beyond his deeds--he can always say, "To will is
present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not"
(Rom. vii. 18), but he will not commit sin because he loves it. Such
a king will be a real benefactor to his nation by exalting the true
and the good, and so blessing all. It is a blessing for all
men--whether they be good or bad--when the best men in the nation are
in the fore-front--when the righteous fill the highest positions in
the State. And a true king will gladly avail himself of the services
of men of "righteous lips," and so will be a source of blessing to
all his people. The "latter rain" which refreshes the thirsty earth
after a long season of drought lets its life-giving drops fall upon
the parched leaves of the humblest weed as well as upon the stately
oak. And the influence of a wise and godly monarch is beneficial to
all classes of his subjects from the highest to the lowest. All such
are types--dim foreshadowings--of that _"king who reigns in
righteousness and who is as an hiding place from the wind, and a
covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as a
shadow of a great rock in a weary land"_ (Isa. xxxii. 1, 2).
+II. That the stability of a throne is in proportion to the moral
excellence of him who sits upon it.+ The power that men have over
other men is lasting in proportion as it has its origin in character.
The father's kingship over his children is immutable in proportion to
his goodness. If his rule has its foundation only in his position,
his children will not be slow to shake it off as they reach manhood;
but if it is founded upon his godliness, they will be compelled to
acknowledge it to the day of his death and even beyond it. His throne
in his family is "established by righteousness," the consciences of
his children consent to his right to reign among them and over them.
The throne of the universe is established by righteousness. _"Thy
throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of Thy kingdom is a
right sceptre. Thou lovest righteousness and hatest wickedness;
therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness
above thy fellows"_ (Psalm xlv. 6, 7). This King of Righteousness is
now enthroned in the affections and consciences of myriads of His
subjects, and He who rules men's _hearts_ has set his throne upon a
firm foundation. And there will come a day when every creature will
be compelled by his conscience to yield to _"Him that sitteth upon
the throne,"_ the right to reign over them for ever (Rev. v. 13),
because they will feel that all his ways are and ever have been
_"just and true"_ (Rev. xv. 3). If we read the history of the past or
look around us now, we find this truth abundantly illustrated.
Thrones which have been backed up by mighty armies, and whose
occupants have for a few short years been the arbiters of the
destinies of millions, have been overturned in a few weeks. And we
have but to look at the steps by which such men came to power to find
a reason for their fall. None can doubt from the experience of past
ages, and from the very constitution of men, that the thrones of the
present are founded upon a rock or upon sand, in proportion as those
who sit upon them take as their model the king who _"judges His
people with righteousness and the poor with judgment"_ (Psalm
lxxii. 2).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 10. "A Divine sentence" may be understood either as to its
_character,_ or as to its _authoritative effect._ If taken in the
former sense, it means a sentence according to perfect _equity;_ if
in the latter, the idea is, that as every judgment or "sentence" of
God is _decisive and effectual,_ so that the execution of it cannot
be evaded or resisted, such, in measure, is the case with the
sentence of kings among men, and in the general idea of a Divine
sentence may fairly be included both character and efficiency--both
equity and power. When understood of _equity,_ the latter part of
the verse, according to the principle of Hebrew parallelisms will be
a kind of counterpart or echo to the former, and when understood of
_power,_ the verse might be rendered--"A Divine sentence is in the
lips of the king; _let not_ his mouth transgress in judgment." In
proportion to the authoritative and efficacious nature of his
sentence, ought he to see to it that the sentence be right. He should
weigh well his decision ere he pronounces it, seeing it involves
consequences so certain, immediate, and important. And the principle
of this lesson applies to all in situations of authority and
influence, whether more private or more public.--_Wardlaw._
The glaring fact of what Solomon avows in verse 9 can be seen in the
instance of _"a king."_ The word of a king can ruin France, and
change the whole system of the world. How, possibly, could God
govern, unless He could a king? Eternal ages will not get over the
edict of a prince, and the banded universe will feel its differences.
Must not God control that word? Our passage answers that He does. He
may be George III. of the low forehead; his speech is shaped
omnisciently. He may be as treacherous as Charles; he does not betray
by a hair the counsel of the Almighty. This is a grand thought. A
poor princeling may be governed by a girl, and yet, though his
utterance might move the globe, we need have no fear. There is _"a
divination," i.e.,_ "an oracle," behind _"his lips."_ He says what
God pleases. And though _"his mouth"_ may have the very treachery of
the cup, it has no treachery--even to a grain--to the plans of the
All Wise.--_Miller._
It cannot be denied but that there is a nearer reference between God
and His immediate deputies, the kings of the earth, than any other
persons. He that maketh them kings maketh Himself to be their
counsel. But then they must make Him the president of their
council.--_Jermin._
For Homiletics on verse 11, considered by itself, see on chap. xi. 1,
page 190.
Verse 11. The proposition expresses an ownership in Jehovah as the
first cause, for, like agriculture (Ecclus. vii. 15), God instituted
weights and measures, as an indispensable ordinance and instrument in
just business intercourse.--_Zöckler._
Weights and measures, as the invisible and spiritual means by which
material possessions are estimated and determined for man, according
to their value, are holy unto the Lord, a copy of His law in the
outer world, taken up by Himself into His sanctuary; and, therefore,
as His work, to be regarded as holy also by men.--_Von Gerlach._
The heathen poet Hesiod says, "God gave justice to men."--_Fausset._
He is not only just, but justice _belongs_ to Him. He is not only
partly just, but _"His work"_ (and we see at a glance that God's
_work_ is the total universe) is in its very self considered, "all
the stones of the bag." _Stones,_ better weights than iron, because
not altering by rust. _Bag,_ in which the stone weights were carried,
in the peripatetic barter of the old tradespeople. No difficulty
should be had in understand all of which the sentence is capable.
God's _work_ is justice and justice is His _work._ The very ideas of
equity spring out of the Eternal Mind. If all this were not so how
could God govern the creation, for _"It is an abomination to kings to
commit wickedness,"_ etc. (ver. 12).--_Miller._
The Jews are said to have kept their standard weights and measures
_in the sanctuary._ The fact might arise from the particularity of
the law, and might operate as a remembrancer of the righteousness of
Him by whom the law was given, and the weights and measures
fixed. . . . All adulteration of them was therefore a _sacrilege._ It
was not cheating men merely, but defrauding Jehovah, changing what He
had fixed. . . . And from the connection in which the words are here
introduced they lead us to observe that while kings are called up to
"do justly" themselves in their whole administration and in every
department of it, it is, at the same time, a most important part of
their official duty to promote among their subjects, to the utmost of
their power, the principles and the practice of equity between man
and man.--_Wardlaw._
Verse 12. This is true of earthly monarchies. _"A throne,"_ without
some equity in it, could not last an instant. If it were
unmitigatedly bad, it would be swept out of existence. A king must be
just to his people, or else to his soldiers, who support him against
his people. His strength is justice, somewhere. The strength of a bad
throne is precisely that part of it that is just. But if this be true
of a world's throne, where it has been seen that God governs as well
as the king, how not of a Divine throne, that rests solely on its
Maker? It is impossible to conceive of a universe without justice, or
of anything so complicated being externally possible without every
sort of harmony, and especially that sort which is highest and best.
Hence many of the expressions in the eighth chapter (verses 22, 30,
etc.), the personage being personified Wisdom, which is holiness or
moral light, and which includes all the attributes of
justice.--_Miller._
The greater men be, the more grievous their faults are when they fall
into sin. For--1. The more bountiful God hath been to them, the more
grateful they ought to be to Him, and as He hath increased their
wages, so they ought to mend their work; large pay doth duly
challenge large pains, and therefore, contrariwise, their great
offences must needs deserve the greater punishment. 2. Their sins are
very pernicious and pestilent, they bring evil into request, and men
by their example will practise it for credit's sake. When Jeroboam is
mentioned, he is usually described by this, that _he made Israel to
sin._ 3. They draw down the plagues and judgments upon the places and
people that are under them, as David did. And the strokes which the
fearful sins of Manasseh, Jehoiakim, and others brought upon the city
and inhabitants of Jerusalem were very lamentable in those days, and
very memorable still in these times. . . . The goodness and justice
of men in authority doth better uphold their estate than greatness
and riches. "The throne is established by righteousness,"
for--(1) There, and nowhere else, is stability and assurance, where
God is a refuge and defence; they stand all firm whom He protecteth,
and down they must whom He neglecteth. And whom doth He prefer but
the righteous? And what righteous man was ever forsaken? (2) Equal
and upright administration of justice doth knit the hearts of a
people to their governors, and the love of the subjects is a strong
foot and a mighty munition for the safety of the ruler. (3) When the
magistrate doth right to all and wrong to none, every good and
indifferent man will reverence him, and stand in the greater awe of
his laws, so that none but such are as desperately rebellious will
dare to attempt anything against him.--_Dod._
Verse 13. There never was a kingdom so corrupt that its courts of
justice were not used, in the main, against wickedness. There never
was a Nero, or a Borgia, who, on the very account of his crimes, did
not find crime sore, and a trouble to him, in those about him. It is
one of the strangest miracles of Omnipotence that a universe can take
in transgression and yet last. And, while God has made even the
wicked "for his decree" (ver. 4), yet "a pleasure to kings are lips
of righteousness, and he who speaks right is loved."--_Miller._
We have here in this passage Solomon's king, and in these words the
delight of his king. For, whereas, many are, and well may be, the
delights of kings, this one it is, the delight of righteousness,
which sweetens all the rest unto them. This is a royal delight
indeed, which makes the king of righteousness to delight in them. And
surely needful it is that a king's lips should delight in
righteousness. For _fear_ may compel others, but _delight_ must carry
him unto it. Needful is it that righteous lips should be a king's
delight, because it is in kings' courts that there is too much lying.
We read of one who said that he would be a lying prophet in the
mouths of all Ahab's prophets (1 Kings xxii. 22), to which the answer
of God is, Thou shalt go and prevail. Upon which the note of Cajetan
is, "God manifested the efficacy of this means--namely, of lying in
the Court." It is needful, therefore, that the king should delight in
lips of righteousness, for he that doth himself delight in them will
also love others that speak right; yea, will therefore love them that
they also may delight in it. For then is righteousness best spoken
when delight openeth the door of the lips.--_Jermin._
Verse 14. The report of one may be a mistake, but the relation of
many carrieth more force with it. The wrath, therefore, of a king is
as _messengers_ of death, enough to pull down the stoutest heart; and
if his moved spirit send down this message to any, it is sufficient
to tell them and to assure them, that they had need to look unto
themselves. But well it is that the wrath of a king is as the
_messengers_ of death, and not the _executioners_ of it. For so it
ought to be, that himself may have time either to alter or recall his
message, and they may have time to whom it is sent to answer for
themselves. St. Peter was hasty in wrath when he cut off the ear of
Malchus, whereupon Tertullian saith, "The patience of God was wounded
in Malchus." And surely the mercy of God is often wounded in the
hasty wrath of a king. Plutarch saith well, that as bodies through a
cloud, so through anger things seem greater than they are. To put
therefore wrath to a journey, is a good way to moderate, if by
nothing else, by wearying the hasty fierceness of it. And let a wise
man have respite to meet with it, he will with gentle blasts of cool
air easily mitigate the violent force of it. Let him be told of a
king's wrath against him, he need not be told that he take care to
prevent it. But, though great be the wrath of heaven against careless
sinners, and though many be the messengers that He sendeth to them,
yet they all cry, "Who hath believed our report?" Did they hear one
word of an earthly king's anger against them, it would more move them
than the whole Word of God doth, wherein the message of His anger is
so often repeated. The answer which they send back to the message of
God's wrath, is obstinate rebellion in their sinful
courses.--_Jermin._
_ILLUSTRATION._
Executions in the East are often very prompt and arbitrary. In many
cases the suspicion is no sooner entertained, or the cause of offence
given, than the fatal order is issued. The messenger of death hurries
to the unsuspecting victim, shows his warrant, and executes his
orders that instant, in silence and solitude. Instances of this kind
are continually occurring in the Turkish and Persian histories. Such
executions were not uncommon among the Jews under the government of
their kings. Solomon sent Benaiah as his capidgi, or executioner, to
put to death Joab, the commander-in-chief of the forces during the
reign of his father. A capidgi likewise beheaded John the Baptist,
and carried his head to the court of Herod. To such silent and hasty
executioners the royal Preacher seems to refer in the proverb. From
the dreadful promptitude with which Benaiah executed the commands of
Solomon on Adonijah and Joab, it may be concluded that the
executioner of the court was as little ceremonious, and the ancient
Jews nearly as passive, as the Turks or Persians. The prophet Elisha
is the only person on the inspired record who ventured to resist the
bloody mandate of the sovereign (2 Kings vi. 32). But if such
mandates had not been too common among the Jews, and in general
submitted to without resistance, Jehoram had scarcely ventured to
despatch a single messenger to take away the life of so eminent a
person as Elisha.--_Paxton's Illustrations._
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 15. As the wise man before teacheth subjects to fear the king's
wrath, and to seek his favour, so here he teacheth kings to join the
light of mercy, the softness of clemency, unto the hardness and
severity of wrath. Or else we may thus meditate upon the words--the
true favour of a king is not only to shine with a cheerful
countenance upon them whom he affecteth, but sometimes to look
through a thick cloud upon them. For as the light of the sun giveth
life to the fruits of the earth, but the cloud of latter rain giveth
bigness and fulness unto them, so the light of the king's countenance
giveth life to the fruits of earthly honour, but it is the dewy cloud
of his wise displeasure, when things are amiss, that giveth fulness
of worth unto them whom his favour honoureth. The latter rain many
times does them more good and sheweth in the king greater favour to
them than his former sunshining countenance. But to apply the verse
unto a fuller profit. The light of the countenance of the King of
heaven is Jesus Christ our Lord, who is the brightness of His glory;
and in this light there is life indeed. For as He is light and in Him
is no darkness, so He is life, and in Him is no death. It was in the
_latter time_ that He was _clouded_ with the veil of our flesh, and
that He became a heavenly _cloud of the latter rain_ unto us, pouring
out the glorious dew of His precious blood for us, that so, we being
watered therewith might even swell in grace, and grow to a fulness of
glory in heaven. . . . In Judea usually about harvest time there are
evening clouds which, yielding a sweet rain, do much increase the
largeness of the fruits; and in the evening of the world, when the
harvest was great, this heavenly cloud was sent upon us, whereby the
fruit of God's Church, confined before to Judea, was enlarged
throughout the world.--_Jermin._
For Homiletics on verse 16, see chap. viii. 10, 11, page 107.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Not wisdom, but "to get wisdom." Wisdom itself is glorious. Wisdom in
God is above all praise. It will be the gem of Paradise. It will be
the grand opulence of the family of the skies. But what the great
Preacher would confine us to in the language of the text is, our
_getting_ wisdom as the evangelical condition; our getting it,
moreover, in time, like "the latter rain," so as to be in season for
the crop; for, as a former sentence urges (chap. iv. 7), "As the
chiefest thing in wisdom, get wisdom." Because, "what shall it profit
a man, if he gain the whole world," if God is his "King," and "the
wrath of the King" makes all His providences but as messengers of
gloom (ver. 14).--_Miller._
Let us call to mind in word-outline the scene on a spring morning in
the city of David, when David's son was "king in Jerusalem." Before
the portico of the fragrant cedar-house of Solomon, the royal guards,
Cherithites and Pelethites, executioners and messengers of the kings'
behests, waited their master's coming. Impatient steeds from Arabia,
or the far-off banks of the Nile, pawed the highway, and shook with
pride their plumes and costly accoutrements. Soldiers, with silken
standards blazoned with the sacred Name, and throwing back the
sunlight from their targets and shields of beaten gold, kept their
ranks firm and close, as if the foe were at hand, and the silver
trumpets waited but to sound the battle charge. Veterans, grown grey
in David's service, and wearing the laurels of many a hard-fought
field, were driven all along the line in their chariots of State, and
the grim faces of these old warriors gleamed with satisfaction as
they looked about them on the evidences of their nation's military
strength. . . . But now the trumpets sound, and the echoing shout of
welcome rises on the morning air. Solomon, arrayed in all his glory,
appears, and the cry, "God save the king!" is heard on every side.
Children chanting their sweet hosannahs to David's son and David's
heir strew the path with the lilies of the field, or the roses of
Sharon, and the boughs of palms. Others throw their garments upon the
dusty highway as the long procession moves to the soft music of
Eastern minstrelsy along the narrow streets, and out upon the broader
pathway leading to the royal gardens, or the cool retreats of Olivet,
each beaming face by the wayside, or peering from latticed balcony,
each welcome shout and song from the daughters of Jerusalem, or the
trained singers of the temple choirs, attest the affection of a
grateful people, and make of the monarch's morning progress a
triumphal ovation. Such was Solomon in all his glory; such the
popular acclaim, and we might go on to tell until the tale were
tiresome to tell how "Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth,"
in riches, splendour, fame. But was this the principal thing? Had
Solomon in getting all this glory, and in winning all this praise,
gained that with which his soul was satisfied, and the cravings of
his nobler self appeased. Years before. . . . "Give me wisdom and
knowledge," was his prayer. . . . Even in the wishes of one so
lately invested with royal power, wisdom in its relation to his
Maker, knowledge so far as it concerned his fellow-men, seemed the
principal thing. And that prayer was heard in heaven. . . . He to
whom God gave such gifts may well direct us to the possession of this
principal thing. We need not ask for an earthly teacher with higher
qualifications.--_Bishop Perry._
Gold is the crown of metals, wisdom is the crown of knowledge. Silver
beareth the image of an earthly king, understanding beareth the image
of the King of heaven. Gold is the treasure of the purse, wisdom the
treasure of the soul. Silver is the price of outward commodities,
understanding is the price of inward virtues; by that sought, by that
bought. Wherefore by how much knowledge is better than metal, virtue
than worldly commodities, the image of God than the image of man; by
so much wisdom and knowledge are better than silver and gold. But
they are not wisdom and understanding that are here compared with
them, there being no comparison between them. But the very _getting_
of wisdom and understanding, the very pains taken in procuring of
them, the very honour of being a possessor of them, is better than
all the gold and silver in the world.--_Jermin._
The question only is written in the book; the learner is expected to
work out the answer. We, of this mercantile community, are expert in
the arithmetic of time. Here is an example to test our skill in
casting up the accounts of eternity. Deeper interests are at stake;
greater care should be taken to avoid an error, more labour willingly
expended in making the balance true. . . . The question is strictly
one of degree. It is not, whether wisdom or gold is the more precious
portion for a soul. That question was settled long ago by common
consent. All who in any sense make a profession of faith in God,
confess that wisdom is better than gold; and this teacher plies them
with another problem, _How much better?_ Two classes of persons have
experience in this matter--those who have chosen the meaner portion,
and those who have chosen the nobler; but only the latter class is
capable of calculating the difference suggested by the text. Those
who give their heart to money understand only the value of their own
portion; those who possess treasures in heaven have tasted both
kings, and can appreciate the difference between them. . . . As the
man born blind cannot tell how much better light is than his native
darkness--as the slave born under the yoke of his master cannot tell
how much better liberty is than his life-long bondage--so he who has
despised treasures at God's right hand cannot conceive how much more
precious they are to a man in his extremity than the riches that
perish in the use. . . . But even these cannot compute the
difference. Eye hath not seen it, ear hath not heard it. Wisdom from
above, like the love of God, passeth knowledge. . . . How much better
is wisdom than gold? Better by all the worth of a soul--by all the
blessedness of heaven--by all the length of eternity. But all these
expressions are only tiny lines that children fling into the ocean to
measure its depth withal. . . In a time of war between two great
maritime nations, a ship belonging to one of them is captured upon
the high seas by a ship belonging to the other. The captain, with a
few attendants, goes on board his prize, and directs the native crew
to steer for the nearest point of his country's shore. The prize is
very rich. The victors occupy themselves wholly in collecting and
counting the treasure, and arranging their several shares, abandoning
the care of the ship to her original owners. These, content with
being permitted to handle the helm, allow their rivals to handle the
treasure unmolested. After a long night, with a steady breeze, the
captured mariners quietly, at dawn, run the ship into a harbour on
their own shores. The conquerors are in turn made captives. They lose
all the gold which they grasped too eagerly, and their liberty
besides. In that case it was much better to have hold of the helm
which directed the ship, than of the money which the ship contained.
Those who seized the money, and neglected the helm, lost even the
money which was in their hands. Those who neglected the money and
held the helm, obtained the money which they neglected and liberty
too. They arrived at home, and all their wealth with them. Thus they
who make money their aim suffer a double loss, and they who seek the
wisdom from above secure a double gain. The gold with which men are
occupied will profit little, if the voyage of life be not pointed
home. If themselves are lost, the possessions are worthless.--_Arnot._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 17.
SOUL-PRESERVATION.
+I. The main object of an upright man's care--his soul.+ Every human
creature is possessed of an instinct to preserve his bodily life and
well-being. An upright man has also a spiritual instinct which leads
him to guard carefully his spiritual life--his soul. He is desirous
of keeping a conscience purged from dead works--free from bruise or
moral taint. 1. _He seeks to preserve his soul because of the value
he places upon its powers._ We are wont to value material things
according to the power they possess to fulfil certain ends. A skilful
workman values a piece of mechanism in proportion to the complicated
and various movements which it can execute. And in proportion to the
value set upon it will be the care taken to preserve it. Human life
is valued according to its abilities to do things which cannot be
done by many. The life of a great statesman, of a skilful physician,
is of more value to the race than the lives of a hundred ordinary
men, because their power to minister to the welfare and health of
their fellow-creatures so far surpasses the power of ordinary men.
And the upright man values his soul because of its mighty and almost
infinite capabilities and powers. In its present undeveloped
condition it can suffer much and can enjoy much, it can become a
partaker of the "Divine nature" (2 Pet. i. 4), and he knows that its
powers will be mightily increased and multiplied after the death of
the body. 2. _He seeks to preserve it because of the value God sets
upon it._ If we come into possession of a precious gem and desire to
know its value, we take it to one who we are certain is qualified to
judge in such matters, and our estimate of it is increased or
lessened in proportion to his opinion. He who wants to know the value
of his soul must go to the only Being in the universe who is certain
not to err in the price he sets upon it. Jesus Christ Himself has
given to men His estimate of the worth of the human soul, both in His
word and in His deeds. He who is fully acquainted with all its powers
and possibilities for good and evil--of suffering and of joy--has
said, _"What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and
lose his own soul, or what shall a man give in exchange for his
soul?"_ (Matt. xvi. 26). And He has gone beyond words. To save men's
souls He, _"being in the form of God . . . took upon Him the form of
a servant, and was made in the likeness of men, and being found in
fashion as a man, humbled Himself and became obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross"_ (Phil. ii. 6-8). The wise man values
his soul according to the estimate of Gethsemane and Calvary, and
therefore he counts it the chief business of his life to guard it.
+II. There can be no preservation of the soul except by departure
from evil.+ The human nature of even the best men in this world is
duplex. The ruling power in a godly man is good, but there are also
evil tendencies within him still. He subscribes to the apostolic
confession, "Evil is present with me," (Rom. viii. 21). But there
must be a constant departure from evil by a constant effort to do
good. The strengthening of holy affections will most effectually
check the power of sinful desires. The dominion of sin will be
weakened by the formation of holy habits. In other words, keeping the
highway of the upright is in itself a departure from evil--"following
after righteousness is fleeing from sin" (1 Tim. vi. 11).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
_"The highway,"_ a way _cast up._ Such ways were convenient in the
East;--first, for being found; second, for being travelled.
_"Departing from evil"_ is a way that opens itself as we press on.
One evil cured, like the big coal lump in the digging, clears the way
to another. So much (1) for its being found; then (2) as to its being
travelled. Conceive of how a man could get to heaven except on such a
_"highway."_ We cannot move nearer except on some sort of _way._
There is no sort of _"way"_ except the discipline of wisdom. There is
no discipline of wisdom except _"the departing from evil."_ The only
thing a soul can do for itself under the grace of the Spirit is to
exercise itself unto godliness (1 Tim. iv. 7). And therefore the last
clause is important, which intimates the fact that we cannot _"guard
our souls"_ directly,--that we _watch our souls_ by _watching our
way_--and that the plan to fit a lost spirit for Paradise is, under
the grace of the Redeemer, to observe its steps--to see that one by
one they are taken so as to depart from evil.--_Miller._
_The highway of the upright is to depart from evil._ That is his
road, his desire and endeavour, his general purpose, though sometimes
(by mistake, or by the violence of temptation), he step out of the
way, and turn aside to sin, yet there is no "way of wickedness in
him" (Psa. cxxxix. 24). _He that keepeth his way preserveth his
soul._ As if a man be out of God's precincts he is out of His
protection. "He shall keep thee in all thy ways" (Psa. xci. 11), not
in all thine outstrays. He that leaves the highway, and takes to
byeways, travelling at unseasonable hours, etc., if he fall into foul
hands, may go look his remedy, the law allows him none.--_Trapp._
I should say that this last clause is a notable; and the lesson that
I should read and give forth from it is: _"the reflex influence of
the outward walk upon the inner man."--Chalmers._
Our English word "highway" doth well express the force of the
original. And as we call it the highway, either because it is the
king's way, who is the highest, or else because it is made higher
than the rest, for the more clearness of it, _so the way of the
upright is a highway,_ because it is the way of the King of Heaven;
and because it is higher, and so cleaner from the dust of the
world. . . . There is hardly any so perpetual follower of wickedness
as that he doth not sometimes _depart from evil._ And this it is
which many other times doth embolden him in the embracing of it. For
if a wicked man once do well he conceiveth it so great a matter as
that he imagineth that God ought to pardon his doing ill many times
for it. But _to depart from evil is the way of_ the upright. It is
their common and ordinary course, wherein they go as frequently as
passengers do go along the highway of the earth. All may see what
they do, they care not who looks on, for their way being to depart
from evil they walk in the highway, where everyone may view them. And
there they walk the rather that others also may follow them, and
departing from evil may be joined to them in the highway to
heaven.--_Jermin._
Every man has a highway of his own. It is formed, as our forefathers
formed their roads, simply by walking often on it and without a
pre-determined plan. Foresight and wisdom may improve the moral path,
as much as they have in our day improved the material. The highway of
the covetous is to depart from poverty and make for riches with all
his might. In his eagerness to take the shortest cut he often falls
over a precipice, or loses his way in a wood. The highway of the vain
is to depart from seriousness, and follow mirth on the trail of
fools. The highway of the ambitious is a toilsome scramble up a
mountain's side towards its summit, which seems in the distance to be
a paradise basking in sunlight above the clouds; but when attained is
found to be colder and barer than the plain below. The upright has a
highway too, and it is to "depart from evil." The upright is not an
unfallen angel, but a restored man. He has been in the miry pit, and
the marks of the fall are upon him still. . . . The power of evil
within him is not entirely subdued, the stain of evil is not entirely
wiped away. He hates sin now in his heart, but he feels the yoke of
it in his flesh still. His back is turned to the bondage that he
loathes, his face to the liberty which he loves. . . . The preserving
of your soul depends upon the keeping of your way. . . . It is in the
_way,_ the _conduct,_ the _life,_ that the breach occurs whereby a
soul is lost that seemed to bid fair for a better land. It is
probable that with nine people out of ten in this favoured land the
enemy finds it easier to inject actual impurity into the life than
speculative error into the creed. A shaken faith leads a life astray;
but also a life going astray makes shipwreck of faith. I do not teach
that any righteousness done by the fallen can either please God or
justify a man; but I do teach on the authority of the Bible that a
slipping from the way of righteousness and purity in actual life is
the mainstay of Satan's kingdom--the chief destroyer of souls. . . .
The miners in the gold-fields of Australia, when they have gathered a
large quantity of dust, make for the city with the treasure. The mine
is far in the interior. The country is wild: the bush is infested
with robbers. The miners keep the road and the daylight. They march
in company, and close to the guard sent to protect them. They do not
stray from the path among the woods, for they bear with them a
treasure which they value, and they are determined to run no risks.
Do likewise, brother, for your treasure is of greater value--your
enemies of greater power. Keep the way, lest you lose your
soul.--_Arnot._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 18, 19.
THE END OF PRIDE.
+I. Pride has a present place and power in the world.+ All human
history bears witness to the existence of pride in the human heart,
and to the mighty influence it has always exerted upon the destinies
of men. And it is in the full exercise of its power to-day; in
various forms, and under various modifications, it still holds its
place in the nation, in the social circle, and in the individual
heart. Would that we could speak of it as an existence of the past,
and had only to mourn over the mischief that it has wrought in bygone
ages. But we cannot speak of it as a mighty tyrant who once held sway
over men to their destruction, but whose dominion has long ceased to
exist. To-day, as in the days of old, we must use the present tense
and say, "Pride goeth." Pride is not like some monster who lived in
pre-historic times, of whose life and death we know nothing but what
we can infer from the skeleton dug up by the geologist, and which we
now gaze upon as a curiosity, but which is a _thing_ only, and not a
living power in the world. Pride is living and active. Like the
mighty being to whom it owes its origin, it is ever "going to and fro
in the world, and walking up and down in it." Without doubt, while it
rules some men, it only exists under protest in others, but the most
godly man upon earth is not altogether free from its blighting
influence. It lived in ages past in the souls of prophets and
apostles, and to-day it has a place and power in the Church, as well
as in the world.
+II. Pride is always a forerunner of evil to its possessor.+ Wherever
and whenever found, the mischief that it brings in its train is
always proportionate to the rule which it has been allowed to
exercise. It is like the officer who comes to the condemned criminal
to announce the hour of execution--after him comes destruction; or
like the advanced guard of a destroying army, the pledge and promise
of the ruin that is on its way. When pride enters there destruction
of some kind--humiliation and sorrow in some form or other--is sure
to follow sooner or later. Pride was the forerunner of the deepest
humiliation--of the most entire destruction--of Belshazzar when he
drank wine out of the vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had
taken out of the temple at Jerusalem (Dan. v.), and a "haughty
spirit" was the forerunner of a terrible fall to Peter when it led
him to utter the boast "Though all shall be offended, yet will not I"
(Mark xiv. 29). It therefore follows--
+III. That fellowship with poverty and humility is better than
fellowship with wealth and pride.+ 1. _When a man is in the society
of the proud he is in danger of becoming proud himself._ We are all
moulded unconsciously by those by whom we are surrounded; our own
moral health depends very much upon the moral atmosphere we breathe,
and therefore fellowship with the proud is injurious to a man's
spiritual well-being. But fellowship with those who are "poor in
spirit" (Matt v. 3) may make us like-minded. Intercourse with the
lowly in heart is likely to have a blessed influence upon our own
hearts, and to help us also not to estimate ourselves too highly.
This holds good whether the proud man be rich or poor, and whether
the lowly man be high or low in station, for pride and wealth have no
necessary connection with each other any more than poverty and
humility have. But when pride and riches are found united in one
person, fellowship with them is more to be avoided, inasmuch as we
may not only be influenced to become as proud as they are, but may be
tempted to over-value their external possessions, and, perhaps, to
envy the possessor. But in the society of the poor we are free from
both dangers, and intercourse with those who are poor in the world's
goods as well as poor in spirit, will be a good lesson in the science
of true happiness. 2. _But such fellowship is not only better for a
man's spirit, it may also be better for his material warfare._ Seeing
that every proud man must experience the destruction of that upon
which his pride has fed, and that every haughty spirit will have a
fall, association with such may involve a participation in their
misfortune. To divide spoil with the proud may make us partakers of
the penalty which follows the proud. (See also on chap. xi. 2.)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 18. _Shame and contempt the end of pride._ 1. By natural
tendency. 2. Because of God's detestation and resolution to punish
it.--_Waterland._
The danger of pride is plain from every history of the great
transactions that have come to pass in heaven and earth. The prophets
describe the destructive consequences of this sin with all the
strength of their Divine eloquence, and all the sublimity of the
prophetic style (Isa. xiv.; Ezek. xxix. 31). The history of the
evangelists shows us what amazing humiliation was necessary to
expiate the guilt contracted by the pride of man. And the tendency of
the preaching and writings of the apostles was to cast down every
high imagination of men, that no flesh might glory but in the Lord
(1 Cor. i. 29). Might not this loathsome disease become a cure for
itself? Can anything afford us greater cause of humiliation, than to
find ourselves guilty of a sin so exceedingly unreasonable and
presumptuous as pride? Shall a worm swell itself into an equality
with the huge leviathan? What is man that he should be great in his
own eyes? or, what is the son of man, that he should magnify himself
as if he were some being greater than an angel? Was the Son of God
humbled for us that we might not perish for ever, and shall pride be
suffered to reign in our souls?--_Lawson._
_Before,_ in the presence of, in a confronting local sense. _"Before
ruin is pride;"_ that is, when its terror-fit has come, _"pride"_ is
to appear as the wretched cause of it.--_Miller._
"God resisteth the proud;" and good reason, for the proud resisteth
God. Other sins divert a man from God, only pride brings him against
God, and brings God against him. There is nothing in this world worth
our pride, but that moss will grow to a stone.--_T. Adams._
The _haughty spirit_ carries the head high. The man looks upward,
instead of to his steps. What wonder, therefore, if, not seeing what
is before him, he falls? He loves to climb. The enemy is always at
hand to assist him (Matt. iv. 5, 6); and the greater the height, the
more dreadful the fall.--_Bridges._
It is the nature of pride that it seeketh to go before, and to take
place, and so God hath placed it. He hath appointed it to _go
before,_ but it is _before destruction,_ and _before a fall._ It is
the quality of a haughty spirit to love to be waited on, and God hath
appointed attendants for it, but they are the attendants of ruin and
confusion. No doubt as the pride of a haughty spirit disdaineth them
that follow him, so it disdaineth to hear of either falling or
destruction, notwithstanding they shall pursue and overtake him also.
He that sees pride go before may quickly tell what will follow after:
he that heareth the major proposition of an angry spirit may easily
infer the conclusion of a certain destruction. Indeed it is but one
falling that goeth before another; and, as St. Augustine speaketh,
the falling which is within, and whereby the heart falleth from Him
than whom there is nothing higher, this hidden falling, whilst it is
not thought to be a falling, goeth before the outward and manifest
falling of destruction.--_Jermin._
Verse 19. It is a pleasant thing to be enriched with other men's
goods; it is a gainful thing to have part of the prey; it is a
glorious thing to divide the spoil. But what are all outward
possessions to the inward virtues of the mind? What will goods
ill-gotten profit the possessors thereof? Finally, what is the end of
a proud person but to have a fall? Surely it is better to be injured
than to do injury; it is better to be patient than to be insolent; it
is better with the afflicted people of God to be bruised in heart and
low of port than to enjoy the pleasures or treasures of sin or of
this world for a season.--_Muffet._
Such an one is happier in having the favour of God and man, immunity
from perils, and tranquillity of conscience. Whereas the proud, who
seek their own aggrandisement by oppressing their fellow-men, lose
the favour of these as well as of God, are in danger of destruction
at any moment, and have a guilty conscience whenever they dare to
reflect.--_Fausset._
Although pride were not followed by destruction, and humility were
attended with the most afflicting circumstances, yet humility is to
be infinitely preferred to pride. The word here rendered _humble_
might, by inconsiderable variation, be rendered _afflicted._ Humility
and affliction are often in Scripture expressed by the same word, and
described as parts of the same character. Low and afflicted
circumstances are often useful, by promoting humiliation of spirit.
The reverse sometimes takes place, but it is an evidence of a very
intractable spirit if we cry not when God bindeth us, and continue
unhumbled under humbling providences. The cottager that has his
little Babylon of straw is less excusable than the mighty
Nebuchadnezzar walking in his pride through the splendid chambers of
his stupendous palace.--_Lawson._
There are main gates to the city of peace; there is a little postern
besides, that is, humility: for of all vices, pride is a stranger to
peace. The proud man is too guilty to come in by innocence, too surly
to come in by patience; he hath no mind to come in by benefaction,
and he scorns to come in by satisfaction. All these portcullises be
shut against him; there is no way left but the postern for him; he
must stoop or never be admitted to peace. Heaven is a high city, yet
hath but a low gate. . . . Men may behold glory in humility, they
never shall find peace in ambition. The safest way to keep fire is to
rake it up in embers; the best means to preserve peace is in
humbleness. The tall cedars feel the fury of tempests which blow over
the humble shrubs in the low valleys.--_T. Adams._
Better is it to be conquered by God than to be conqueror of the whole
world. For if God conquer thee, the devil is conquered by thee; if
pride be driven from thee, meekness is triumphant in thee, and where
thou art so spoiled thou hast gotten the spoil of thy spiritual
enemies, the love of God, the comfort of His Spirit, the expectation
of glory which they hadst gotten from thee, and which the earth
cannot value, much less be an equal value unto them. But then thou
must be not only of a humble look, or of a humble speech, but of a
humble _spirit.--Jermin._
I. The one is rich in his soul by the endowments and force of the
spirit, and the other hath a beggarly mind and impotent heart.
II. The one is acceptable to God and amiable to good men, whereas the
Lord doth abhor the other, and good men shun his society. III. The
one is rising and growing to a better state, and the other is coming
down and falling into misery.--_Dod._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 20 _and_ 21.
THE FRUITS OF TRUST IN THE LORD.
+I. There can be no real blessedness in life unless there is trust in
the Lord.+ Men are so constituted that, if they are to have
soul-rest, they must confide in the power and wisdom and love of a
Being who is stronger and wiser and better than they are. Let a man
be ever so great intellectually or morally, there will be times in
his life when he will feel the absolute need he has of the guidance
of One who is far wiser than he is, of the help of One who far
exceeds him in ability and in goodness. If he has not such a helper
and guide to whom he can turn, he will be a stranger to that calmness
of soul which alone makes a man truly blessed. 1. _A trust of this
kind must rest upon a knowledge of the Divine character._ If a man is
following a guide in some difficult and dangerous path, it is
necessary to his peace of mind that he should know enough about his
guide to be assured that he will lead him aright. If he does not know
enough about him to know this, he may be haunted by underlying doubts
and fears which will banish all comfort from his mind. When a ship's
crew have so little knowledge of their captain's character and
ability as to be uncertain whether he is able or whether he intends
to bring the ship safely to her destined port, they will be possessed
by a spirit of uneasiness. But if they know that all his powers will
be directed to that end, and that his ability is equal to the task,
they will sail through the deep in comparative rest and peace. So no
human soul can possess a confidence in God which will keep it calm
and restful amid the waves of life's sea, unless he has made himself
acquainted with the character of God--unless he knows so much about
Him as to feel assured that His ways and works are perfectly wise and
good. 2. _God has given men means of acquiring this knowledge._ He
has no motive for holding back from His creatures a knowledge of what
He is and what His purposes are concerning them. Those who endeavour
to conceal what they are and what their intentions are in relation to
their fellow-men, do so from a consciousness that if they revealed
them they would not be trusted. But God has no such motive for
concealing His character and intentions, and He has therefore
revealed to men what He is and what He desires to do for them as
fully as they are able to receive it, and with clearness and
certainty enough to be the basis of an unwavering trust. This is
indeed the end of all revelation of Himself--to lead men to _"know
the only true God and Jesus Christ"_ (John xvii. 2), so that they may
have faith in both the Divine Father and Divine Son,--that a trust
may be begotten of the knowledge that will make them truly blessed.
+II. An intelligent trust in the Lord is true wisdom.+ Wisdom has
been often defined as the application of knowledge to practice, and a
man whose knowledge of God has begotten within him a trust in the
Lord, is the only man who is capable of "handling wisely" either
matters connected with his own life or with the lives of others. When
Adam lost his trust in God he gave evidence of his folly--when his
confidence in the Divine character became unsettled, he lost his
ability to do the best with his own existence as a whole, or with any
particular matter connected with it. It is a mark of the truest
wisdom to handle all matters whether they are more immediately
connected with our spiritual or material welfare, in a spirit of
trust in the perfect wisdom and love of God, and it is a mark of the
highest folly to endeavour to do it without dependence upon Him. He
who, in all his ways, rests upon a Divine guide, is the only man who
deserves the name of a "prudent" man (ver. 21). If a child comes into
possession of vast estates--of large revenues--he is quite unable by
reason of his undeveloped capacities and his limited experience to
use what he possesses to the best advantage. Unless his inheritance
is to suffer from misuse, there must be the help of a higher
intelligence and a more extended experience than he possesses: and
many men possess a great inheritance of intellectual endowments, or
of wealth and position, but because they fail to apply to the Highest
Wisdom for help to use it rightly, they are neither blessed
themselves in the possession, nor do they bless others by the
possession.
+III. Such a wise and prudent man finds good and does good.+ 1. _He
will get good to himself._ He will get a godly character, for trust
in the Lord is not only the foundation of all true soul-rest, but of
godliness of heart and life. _"He shall be as a tree planted by the
waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not
see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be
careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding
fruit"_ (Jer. xvii. 8). Here the prophet teaches that he who
possesses within him a constant well of spiritual happiness from
confidence in God will manifest it in godly deeds, and thus will
become the possessor of the greatest good in God's universe--a holy
character. 2. _He will do good to others by his wise and holy
conversation._ "The sweetness of the lips increaseth learning," and
the speech of a man who trusts in the Lord will be so attractive and
winning a nature as to lead others to know God and to trust in Him.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 20. Combined view of the two chief requisites to a really
devout life; (1) Obedience to the Word of God. (2) Inspiring
confidence in God.--_Lange's Commentary._
In doubtful cases to hold fast to God's Word, and believingly hope in
His help, ensures always a good issue.--_Geier._
_Wise about a word._ (See Critical Notes.) By usage, _"wise about a
thing,"_ hence, _"shrewd, though it be but in one transaction."_ How
often in London might mansions be pointed out of men opulent at a
stroke! Such a stroke is faith! See the same marvel in chap.
xviii. 21. What a wonder is it that a man can win palaces of light by
_"one act"_ of casting himself upon the sacrifice. _"Act,"_
literally, _word._ But men acted so by the _word_ in that country,
that it grew to mean _affair_ (Gen. xx. 8). The very name of Christ
(John i. 1) seems to be coloured by this Eastern usage. "By the word
of the Lord were the heavens made" (Psalm xxxiii. 6). "Blessed" in
every sense whatever. What other "affair" ever produced as much as
the _affair_ of faith? (Mark ix. 23).--_Miller._
The obvious sense is that thorough understanding of business and
prudent management of it _tend_ to insure a prosperous issue. And if
the business is another's, the intelligent, cautious, successful
conducting of it, will procure benefit by the favour it conciliates,
and the character it establishes. One business well conducted brings
a man another. This is the way to get forward in the world. And in
proportion as the entrusted transaction is difficult and delicate,
will the "handling of it wisely" prove advantageous. Still there is
no amount of human understanding and discretion that can render
success in any transaction _certain._ The result rests with God.
Hence a very natural connection of the latter clause of the verse
with the former. Here is the true secret of happiness--_the union in
all things of prudence and diligence, with trust in God._ . . . Let
it be further observed that "handling a matter wisely" does not mean
handling it _cunningly_ with artifice and what the apostle calls
"fleshly wisdom"--the policy of this world; but with a wisdom and
prudence in harmony with the most rigid and straightforward
integrity. Double dealing may be misnamed wisdom, the arts of a
tortuous cunning may be dignified with the designation of prudence;
but when _such_ wisdom, _such_ prudence has been employed, even the
greatest amount of success can impart little that deserves the name
of happiness. And no man who is using the arts of a crooked policy
can exercise _trust in God._ The two things are incompatible. Who can
unite obedience and confidence? How could David trust in God for the
success of his plan against Uriah the Hittite? There was art in it,
but there was not wisdom.--_Wardlaw._
This is in all cases true wisdom--to make man the excitement to
diligence, God the object of trust. . . . "I have had many things,"
said Luther, "in my hands, and have lost them all. But whatever I
have been able to trust in God's I still possess.". . . "I will
therefore," says Bishop Hall, "trust Him on His bare word, with hope,
beside hope, above hope, against hope, for small matters of this
life. For how shall I hope to trust Him in impossibilities if I may
not in likelihoods." This simple habit of faith enables us fearlessly
to look an extremity in the face. Thus holding on, it is His honour
to put His own seal to His Word. (Psalm ii. 12; Jer. xvii. 7,
8).--_Bridges._
Many meddle with more matters than they do well quit themselves of;
and many a time a good matter is made ill by the ill _handling_ of
it. And he that handleth a matter wisely shall find good, although
the matter be ill; and well doth he acquit himself, although the
matter may not succeed well. . . . To put our trust in God, and not
to use a wise care, is to deceive ourselves; to use a wise care, and
not to trust in God, is to dishonour God.--_Jermin._
Verse 21. Piety is sure to be discovered; but many a pious man has
less influence for want of courtesy. The _suaviter_ may be really
stronger than the _fortiter._ The last word is literally _a taking,_
from the verb to _take._ This noun is often _learning._ A _taking_
may very legitimately be _"a lesson."_ The idea is, that sweet lips
_increase the taking, i.e.,_ make more wisdom to be taken by the men
around. The duty, therefore, is evolved, of being kind in speech that
our good may not be evil spoken of (Rom. xiv. 16).--_Miller._
If the "wise in heart" be understood of the truly, spiritually,
divinely wise, then the phrase "_shall be called_ prudent" must be
interpreted, according to a common Hebrew idiom, as meaning "_is_
prudent"--_deserves_ to be so called. The sentiment will thus be the
oft-repeated one, that _true religion is the only genuine prudence._
And is it not so? we ask anew. Take as a standard the ordinary maxims
of prudence among men. Is it the part of prudence to be considerate?
to look forward? to anticipate, as far as possible, the contingencies
of the future? to provide against evil? to make sure of lasting good?
This is true religion the very perfection of prudence.--_Wardlaw._
That our wisdom may be useful, we should endeavour to produce it to
advantage by a graceful and engaging manner of expression. It is not
uncommon with bad men to set off their corrupt sentiments by dressing
them in all the beauties of language, and by this means multitudes
are seduced into error and folly. Is not wisdom far better entitled
to this recommendation than folly?--_Lawson._
There is no sweetness that entereth into the lips to be compared to
the sweetness that cometh from the lips. The fig-tree must leave her
sweetness, and tall the trees of delight their pleasantness, when the
fruit of the lips is mentioned among them. And most fitly is
eloquence styled the sweetness of the lips. How daintily doth it
sweeten all matters of knowledge! What a delicate relish doth it give
unto them! With what pleasure doth it make them to slip into the ears
of men! How doth it mollify the hardness and sharpness of reproof!
How doth it qualify the bitterness of sorrows! How doth it warm the
dull coldness of apprehension and attention! And therefore, though
wisdom in the heart is of the chiefest worth, yet eloquence of the
lips is an addition to it. St. Augustine, speaking of himself, saith,
that when he heard St. Ambrose preaching, "I stood by as one careless
of the matter he spake, and a contemner of it, and I was delighted
with the sweetness of his words; but together with the words which I
respected, the matter came into my heart which I neglected, and while
I opened my heart to receive how _eloquently_ he spake, it entered
also into my heart how _truly_ he spake."--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 22-24.
AN UNFAILING SPRING.
+I. Moral intelligence is its own reward.+ A healthy state of body is
its own reward. It is a well-spring whence men may draw much bodily
comfort--it adds much to the joy of existence. Moral intelligence--a
good understanding--is a condition of moral health, it is a state of
soul in which the moral capabilities of a man are well-developed, and
it is a constant source of satisfaction to the possessor. _"Whosoever
drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but
the water that I shall give him shall be in him, a well of water
springing up into everlasting life"_ (John iv. 14).
+II. It is also a means of giving spiritual life and comfort to
others.+ A well is a place where weary men find refreshment and
consolation. And no morally wise man lives for himself alone; his
"heart maketh his mouth wise," and his "pleasant words" strengthen
and comfort weary wayfarers on the journey of life. No man who is
himself acquainted with God can fail to speak words which will help
and comfort others. He who drinks of the water which Christ gives
will be a fountain-head whence _"shall flow rivers of living water"_
(John vii. 38).
+III. A moral fool may be in the seat of instruction.+ "The
correction," rather "_the instruction_ of fools is folly" (ver. 22).
A man is not necessarily a wise man, either intellectually or
morally, because he assumes the position which ought only to be held
by a wise man. Many fools are found sitting as instructors of others.
The Scribes and Pharisees in the days of our Lord were destitute of
moral wisdom, and yet they were found _"in Moses' seat"_ (Matt.
xxii. 2). And in all ages of the Church men have been found speaking
in the name of God who have been entirely ignorant of Divine
truth--_"watchmen"_ who have been _"blind," . . . "shepherds that
could not understand"_ (Isa. lvi. 10, 11). Men of such a character
are like wells of poisoned water, their teachings are not simply
unsatisfying and powerless to bless, but they are positively
injurious to those who imbibe their doctrines. All who come under
their influence will by their own lack of moral strength show that
"the instruction of fools is folly."
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 22. This spiritual understanding is not a work on the surface;
not a mere forced impulse; not the summer stream, but a deep-flowing
fountain. If it be not always bubbling, there is always a supply at
the bottom-spring.--_Bridges._
Two things are necessary to the opening and flow of
well-springs--deep rendings beneath the earth's surface, and lofty
risings above it. There must be deep veins and high mountains. The
mountains draw the drops from heaven; the rents receive, retain, and
give forth the supply. There must be corresponding heights and depths
in the life of a man ere he be charged as a well-spring of life from
above. Upward to God and downward into himself the exercises of his
soul must alternately penetrate. You must lift up yourself in the
prayer of faith, and rend your heart in the work of repentance; you
must ascend into heaven to bring the blessing down, and descend into
the depths to draw it up. Extremes meet in a lively Christian. He is
at once very high and very lowly. God puts all His treasures in the
power of a soul that rises to reach the upper springs, as the Andes
intercept water from the sky sufficient to fertilise a continent. And
when the Spirit has so descended like floods of water, the secret
places of a broken heart afford room for his indwelling, so that the
grace which came at first from God rises within the man like a
springing well, satisfying himself and refreshing his
neighbours.--_Arnot._
Verse 23. 1. That which a wise man utters is _in itself_
good--instructive, edifying, "profitable to direct." The streams bear
analogy to the fountain. 2. The wise man uses the understanding
imparted to him for the benefit of others. The wisdom that is in his
heart passes to his lips. 3. His self-knowledge, his experience of
his own heart, his incessant self-inspection, . . . his knowledge
both of the "old man" and of the "new man" in their respective
principles and influences as they exist and contend within himself,
all qualify him for wisely and judiciously counselling others,
according to their characters and situations. 4. The truly wise man
will, in his wisdom, accommodate the _manner_ of his instructions and
counsels to the varying characters and tempers of his fellow-men. A
vast deal depends on this. The end is often lost, not for want of
wisdom in the lesson itself, but for lack of discretion in the _mode_
of imparting it. A thorough knowledge of anatomy is necessary to a
judicious and successful practice in the operations of surgery. Ere
he venture to make his incision, the surgeon ought to understand all
about the region where it is to be made--what arteries, veins,
glands, nerves, lie in the way of his instrument; and should be fully
aware of the peculiarities of the case under his treatment. In like
manner an intimate acquaintance with the _anatomy of the heart_ is
necessary to discriminative and successful dealing with _moral
cases_--to the suitable communication of instruction and advice.
Without the surgical knowledge mentioned, a practitioner may inflict
a worse evil than the one he means to cure. And so, through the
ignorance of _moral_ anatomy, may the injudicious adviser, who treats
all cases alike, and makes no account of the peculiarities of
character and situation with which he has to do.--_Wardlaw._
Who does not know the difference between one who speaks of what he
has read or heard, and one who speaks of what he has felt and tasted?
The one has the knowledge of the Gospel--dry and spiritless. The
other has the _savour_ of this knowledge (2 Cor. ii. 14)--fragrant
and invigorating. The theorist may exceed in the quantum (for
Satan--as an angel of light--is a fearful proof how much knowledge
may be consistent with ungodliness); but the real difference applies,
not to the extent, but to the character of knowledge; not to the
matter known, but to the mode of knowing it. . . . It is not,
therefore, the intellectual knowledge of Divine truth that makes the
divine. The only true divine is he who knows holy things in a holy
manner; because he only is gifted with a spiritual taste and relish
for them. . . . And this experimental knowledge gives a rich unction
to his communications. Divinity is not said by rote. _The heart
teacheth the mouth.--Bridges._
Every wise man is both a master and scholar, and that unto himself;
as a master he sitteth in the chair of his heart, and giveth thence
lessons to his several scholars, that are within the school of his
own person, of his own life. His hands he teacheth what to do, and
how to work; his feet he teacheth whither to go, and how to walk; his
ears what to hear, and how to listen; his eyes what to see, and how
to look; his mouth what to say, and how to speak. And that being an
unruly scholar, and like a wild youth, much care he hath, and much
pains he taketh to instruct it well and to keep it in good
order.--_Jermin._
Verse 24. The words express the twofold idea of _pleasantness_ and of
_benefit._ Many things have the one quality which have not the other.
Many a poison is like honey, sweet to the taste; but instead of being
_health_ to the bones, it is laden with _death._ So it may be in
regard to their present effect, and their ultimate influence with
_words._ Harshness and severity never afford pleasure, and seldom
yield profit. If they were, in any case, requisite to the latter, we
should be under the necessity of giving it the preference, for profit
must ever take precedence of mere pleasure. But it will be usually
found that _both_ are united. _Pleasant_ words, however, must be
distinguished from _flattering_ words. The latter may be at times
palatable, but they can never be otherwise than injurious; for they
are not words of _truth.--Wardlaw._
Verse 25 is a repetition of chap. xiv. 12, for which see Homiletics.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
These words concern not so much the course of the open sinner as of
the mistaken and self-deceived man. . . . The practice of sin seems
expedient, seems pleasant, seems unavoidable, but it does not seem
_right._ Those who live in the open practice of it are in the ways of
death, and they know it. They are blinded, infatuated, intoxicated,
if you will, but they are not _mistaken._ There is, however, a very
different class of persons, to whom the text directly applies, and to
whom the warning is very solemn; persons whose course lies just short
of that degree of divergence from right where the conscience begins
to protest, and yet is sure, as every divergence must if followed, to
lead very far from it at last. . . . It is this sort of travellers
wherewith, in our day, the downward road is lavishly crowded; men who
walk not with the sinful multitude, but on convenient embankments so
contrived as to make the great broad road appear immensely distant
and precipitous beneath, and the narrow path comfortably near and
accessible above. . . . It does not say of these apparently right
ways that they _are_ themselves ways of death, but that they _end_ in
ways of death. And this is important; for nothing is so common as for
the man, when warned, to vindicate himself by endeavouring to show,
and often by successfully showing, that there is nothing destructive
in his present course. . . . The ways are mainly of two kinds--errors
in practice and errors in doctrine. . . . There is (1) _A life not
led under the influence of practical religion._ . . . Improbable as
it may seem that this correct man, this blameless and upright liver,
should perish at last, it is but a necessary consequence from his
having rejected the only remedy which God has provided for the
universal taint of our nature. (2) _Those believing from the heart
yet notoriously and confessedly wanting in some of the main elements
of the Gospel._ Or, (3) _Those who, while professing zeal for
religion in general, nourish some one known sin or prohibited
indulgence._ . . . And regarding errors of doctrine, there is nothing
in life for which we are so deeply and solemnly accountable as the
formation of our belief. It is the compass which guides our way,
which, if it vary ever so little from the truth, is sure to cause a
fatal divergence in the end.--_Alford._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 26.
THE MAINSPRING OF HUMAN INDUSTRY.
+I. God intends every man to be a labourer.+ Adam in Paradise was
required to dress and keep the Garden of Eden, so that the labourer's
patent of nobility dates from before the fall. The Son of God, in
human flesh, laboured with His own hands for the supply of His daily
wants, and thus for ever sanctified the ordinary toil of life. (On
the profitableness of labour, see on chap. xiv. 23.)
+II. God has taken means to ensure the continuance of labour.+ He has
so created man that if the majority do not labour neither can they
eat, nor can those eat who do not labour. There must be always a
large proportion of workers in the great hive of human creatures, or
both they and the drones would starve. It is hunger that keeps the
world in motion, and it is the craving of man's mouth that builds our
cities and our ships, that stimulates invention, and sends men abroad
in quest of fresh fields of industry. It is this necessity to eat
that keeps all the members of the human family in a state of
ceaseless activity, and prevents them from sinking into a state of
mental stagnation and bodily disease. It is a noteworthy fact that
those nations who have to work hard to supply their physical wants
are more intellectually and spiritually healthy than those who live
in lands where the needs of life are satisfied with little labour.
God has promised that "while the earth remaineth, seedtime and
harvest shall not cease" (Gen. viii. 22); but He has also, by the
constitution of man, ordained that he must be unceasingly active upon
the face of the earth; and He has so ordained because of the many
blessings which flow from this necessity.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Since that which causes us to labour and trouble becomes a means of
our subsistence, it in turn helps us to overcome labour and trouble,
for this very thing, by virtue of God's wise regulating providence,
becomes for us a spur to industry.--_Von. Gerlach._
A man's industry in his calling is no sure sign of virtue, for
although it is a duty commanded by God, and necessary to be
practised, yet profit and necessity may constrain a man to labour,
who has no regard either to God or man. But this proves that idleness
is a most inexcusable sin. It is not only condemned in the Scripture,
but it is a sign that a man wants common reason as well as piety,
when he can neither be drawn by interest, nor driven by necessity, to
work. Self-love is a damning sin where it reigns as the chief
principle of action; but the want of self-love where it is required
is no less criminal.--_Lawson._
To labour is man's punishment, and that man laboureth for himself is
God's mercy. For as it is painful to labour, so it is made more
painful when another reapeth the fruit thereof; but when ourselves
are comforted with the fruit thereof, the labour is much eased in the
gathering of it. God himself does not look for any benefit from our
labour, it is all for ourselves, whatever we do. And therefore as God
doth command labour, so the mouth of our benefit doth call for
it.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 27-30.
DIFFERENT SPECIES OF THE SAME GENUS.
+I. Human depravity manifests itself in a variety for forms.--+There
may be many lawless children in a family, but they may not all sin
against the same law--they may all rebel against what is true and
good, but some may be pre-eminent transgressors in one way and some
in another. One son may be a notorious liar and another may be a
slave to ungovernable passion, while a third may be addicted to
another and different vice. It is so in the great human family--all
unregenerate men are transgressors against God's good and righteous
law, but their transgressions may take different forms.
+II. But all ungodliness is subversive of human happiness.--+If a man
sets at nought the law of God, he will be a curse to those around
him. There are many such men who seem to delight in increasing the
misery of mankind, they make it their business to "dig up evil," they
work diligently to bring to light that which it is most desirable
should be hidden and forgotten, and so they are like a scorching,
consuming fire to the peace of many of their fellow creatures. And if
they are not so openly and manifestly bad, if they are untruthful
men, they must sow around them seeds of suspicion and discord which
hinder men from being bound together in bonds of friendship or break
such bonds when they have been formed.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 27. _"A worthless man."_ This is the farthest an impenitent
moralist will go in condemning himself. He may be a worthless man (a
man of Belial, _i.e.,_ of no profit), but he is not a harmful
man. . . . Solomon calls this mild gracelessness a digging up of
evil. Recurring to the potency of the tongue, he says, "The _lips_ of
such men, sweet as they may seem, fairly scorch and burn."--_Miller._
In the expression "diggeth up evil" two ideas may be
included:--1. _Taking pains to devise it._ We dig or search for
treasure in a mine, or where we fancy it lies concealed: thus the
wicked man does in regard to evil. It is his treasure--that on which
he sets his heart; and for it, as for treasure, he "digs" and
"searches"--ay, often deep and long. His very happiness seems to
depend on his reaching and finding it. He is specially laborious and
persevering when anyone chances to have become the object of his
pique or malice. Marvellous is the assiduity with which he then
strains every nerve to produce mischief,--plodding and plotting for
it,--mining and undermining,--exploring in every direction, often
where no one could think of but himself,--and with savage delight
exulting in the discovery of aught that can be made available for his
diabolic purpose. 2. _Taking pains to revive it after it has been
buried and forgotten._ He goes down into the very graves of old
quarrels; brings them up afresh; puts new life into them; wakes up
grudges that had long slept; and sets people by the ears again who
had abandoned their enmities, and had been for years in
reconciliation and peace. As to "evil," whether old and new, "the son
of Belial" is like one in quest of some mine of coal, or of precious
metal. He examines his ground, and wherever he discovers any hopeful
symptoms on the surface he proceeds to drill, and bore, and excavate.
The slightest probability of success will be enough for his
encouragement to toil and harass himself night and day until he can
make something of it. The persevering pains of such men would be
incredible were they not sadly attested by _facts--"They search out
iniquities; they accomplish a diligent search: both the inward
thought of every one of them, and the heart, is deep"_ (Psalm
lxiv. 6).--_Wardlaw._
Whisperers are like the wind that creeps in by the chinks and
crevices of a wall, or the cracks in a window, that commonly proves
more dangerous than a storm that meets a man in the face upon the
plain.--_Trapp._
Verse 28. The idea is, sin cannot keep silence. In its quiet hour it
speaks, _rolling out_ (literally) articulate influences. The very
idea is terrible. It _separates friends._ That is, the world being
knit together by the law of love, the impenitent separate it asunder.
They separate man from his race, and destroy that highest friendship
that he might have with the Almighty.--_Miller._
Verse 29. Yet though a wicked man be never so violent, he cannot
compel thee to his ways, he can but _entice_ thee, he can but _lead_
thee; it is still in thine own power whether thou wilt follow him or
no. Wherefore though it agree to his violence to lead, let it be thy
care to keep back from his ways.--_Jermin._
Unbelief can hardly be libelled, and Solomon's very thought is to
show how _violent_ it is! It is the match even of hell, for it
derides it! It is the robber even of God, for it thieves from Him. It
takes life without paying for it. It assaults the Maker upon His
throne. It stares broadly at the truth each Sunday when it listens,
and flouts it as though never heard. Unbelief is _"violence;"_ and
yet, as though it were the most seductive charm it "seduces"
_(entices)_ one's neighbour.--_Miller._
These sons of Belial are also _tempters of others._ A fearful
employment--a fearful delight! Yet the employment would not be
followed were there not pleasure in it. The pleasure is
fiendish--laying plans and putting every vile art into practice, to
seduce the virtuous and unsuspecting youth from the way of
rectitude! . . . As there is joy in heaven over one sinner that
repenteth, so there is a malicious _joy in hell_ when such tempters
succeed in turning any from the right to the wrong, from the narrow
to the broad way. This is the joy of fiends, the other of
angels.--_Wardlaw._
Verse 30. Wicked men are great students; they beat their brains and
close their eyes that they may revolve and excogitate mischief with
more freedom of mind. They search the devil's skull for new devices,
and are very intentive to invent that which may do hurt; their wits
will better serve them to find out a hundred shifts or carnal
arguments, than to yield to one saving truth.--_Trapp._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 31.
A CROWN OF GLORY.
+I. Hoary heads may be found which are not in the way of
righteousness.+ A hoary head in the way of ungodliness is one of the
saddest sights that a thoughtful mind can look upon. 1. _Because in
such a man the tendency towards evil has been strengthened by the
habits of a long life._ In childhood there is a condition of
comparative innocency to start with, and there is hope that this
freedom from actual transgression may develop into a tried virtue in
the passage from youth to old age. But when childhood has passed
away, the condition of comparative innocence has passed away too, and
if the evil tendencies of human nature are not resisted they grow
stronger as the man grows in years, and old age finds him more under
the dominion of sinful habit than any former period of his life. An
ungodly man is more ungodly when he is old than he has ever been
before, and is therefore a sadder object of contemplation then than
he was in his youth or in his prime. Such a hoary-headed sinner often
wishes that it was now as easy to do right as it was in his youth,
but he finds that it is not so. "To will" may be "present" with him
(Rom. vii. 18), but he finds that by reason of his long indulgence in
sinful habits it is less easy now to perform that which he will than
it was when his locks were black and his form unbent. The man whose
limbs are palsied by age finds that they do not move in obedience to
his will so readily as they did in the days of his health, and the
aged man finds also that his moral actions are not so easily
controlled as they were when he was young--the vessel does not answer
to her helm so quickly as it did then. It is always sad to look upon
a slave, even upon one who is only a slave in body. But it is far
sadder to see a man who is in spiritual bondage--one who is "taken
captive by the devil at his will" (2 Tim. ii. 26), and we look upon
such an one whenever we look upon a hoary head in the way of
ungodliness. 2. _Because such a man is growing old in soul as well as
in body._ When he was a child the seeds of perpetual youth were
implanted within him; if he had then given himself up to holy
influences old age would have found him as young in heart as when he
was a boy, because although the outer man of all men perishes daily,
the inner man of the godly is renewed day by day (2 Cor. iv. 16). But
ungodliness deprives a man of the blessedness of being for ever
young--of retaining to the latest hour of life the freshness of
feeling which characterises the young, and of leaving the world with
a certainty that all his mental and spiritual powers will be renewed
throughout eternity. His soul sympathises with his body, and the
weakness and decay of the shell is a symbol of what is going on
within. 3. _Because he is nearing the mysterious exodus from this
world which must be accomplished by all without being prepared for
it._ All men are near to death--men of all ages are uncertain whether
they will be here on the morrow, but the old man knows certainly that
his race is almost run--that he must shortly put off this tabernacle.
And there is nothing more depressing to a man than to feel that he is
utterly unprepared to meet the demands of a great crisis in his life
which is near--that he has soon to meet a person who holds his
destines in his hand and that he has nothing to hope, but everything
to fear from him--that he has to embark on a voyage to a distant land
without any knowledge of what shall befall him when he arrives there.
And if a long course of ungodliness has blunted his capability of
seeing his own true position, it is clear to thoughtful onlookers,
and the sight fills them with sadness.
+II. But a hoary head in the way of righteousness is a kingly head.+
There is nothing kingly in old age considered in itself. An old man's
body is not such a kingly object to look upon as a young man's--it
does not give us the idea of so much power and capability. And an
ungodly old man--as we have seen--is not a king but a slave--a slave
to sinful habits, to the infirmities of age, and to the fear of
death. But the hoary head of a righteous man--1. _Tells a tale of
conquest._ It speaks of many temptations met, and wrestled with, and
overcome. His passions are not his masters, but his servants--he has
learned to bring into subjection even his thoughts; he reigns as king
over himself, and so his hoary hairs are a symbol of his kingship.
2. _It is a sign of spiritual maturity._ In all the works of God we
expect the best and the most perfect results at the last. There is a
glory and a beauty in the field covered with the green blades of
early spring, but the period of its perfection is not in the spring,
but in the autumn, when the full corn in the ear stands ready for the
sickle. The mind of the youthful philosopher may be mighty in its
power, but its capabilities are greater when he has spent a long life
in developing them. It is in harmony with all the methods of God's
working that all that is of real worth in a man should be nearer
perfection the longer he lives, and it is so with all those who are
willing to bring their lives into harmony with the Divine Will. If
an old man is a godly man, he is more like God in his character and
disposition in his old age than he ever was before, and this
spiritual maturity invests him with a kingly dignity. 3. _It is an
earnest of a brighter crown which is awaiting him._ To him death is
not an welcome visitor, and God is a Being in whose presence he
expects to realise "fulness of joy" (Psa. xvi. 11), and the country
beyond the grave a place to which he often longs to depart. All such
hoary-headed servants of God can adopt the language of the aged Paul,
and say, _"I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure
is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I
have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of
righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at
that day"_ (2 Tim. iv. 7, 8). To all such it is especially fit that
kingly honours should be paid. _"Thou shalt rise up before the hoary
head, and honour the face of the old man"_ (Lev. xix. 32).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
We honour them whose heads have been encircled with crowns by the
hands of men, and will we refuse honour to those whom God himself
hath crowned with silver hairs?--_Lawson._
The word _if_ is a supplement. The verse may be read, "The hoary head
is a crown of glory: _it shall be_ found in the way of
righteousness." Two things are implied:--The conduciveness of
righteousness to _the attainment of old age,_ and its conduciveness
to the _respectability and honour of old age._--_Wardlaw._
The hoary head is the old man's glory and claim for reverence. God
solemnly links the honour of it with His own fear (Lev. xix. 32).
"The ancient" are numbered with "the honourable" (Isa. ix. 15). The
sin of despising them is marked (Isa. iii. 5), and, when shown
towards His own prophet, was awfully punished (2 Kings ii. 23, 24).
Wisdom and experience may be supposed to belong to them (Job
xii. 12), and the contempt of this wisdom was the destruction of a
kingdom (1 Kings xii. 13-20). But the diamond in the _crown_ is, when
it is found in the way of righteousness. Even a heathen monarch did
homage to it (Gen. xlvii. 7-10); an ungodly nation and king paid to
it the deepest respect (1 Sam. xxv. 1; 2 Kings xiii. 14). The fathers
of the Old and New Testament reflected _its glory._ The one died in
faith, waiting the Lord's salvation; the other was ready to "depart
in peace" at the joyous sight of it (Luke ii. 28, 29). Zacharias and
Elizabeth walked in all the ordinances of the Lord blameless; Anna "a
widow indeed," in the faith and hope of the Gospel; Polycarp, with
his fourscore and six years, in his Master's service. Crowns of glory
were their hoary heads, shining with all the splendour of royalty.
Earnestly does the holy Psalmist _plead_ this _crown_ for usefulness
to the Church (Psa. lxxi. 18); the Apostle, for the cause of his
converted slave (Philemon 9).--_Bridges._
The old age is to be reverenced most which is white, not with gray
hairs only, but with heavenly grace. Commendable old age leaneth upon
two staves--the one a remembrance of a life well led, the other a
hope of eternal life. Take away these two staves, and old age cannot
stand with comfort; pluck out the gray hairs of virtues, and the gray
head cannot shine with any bright glory. . . . The gray head is a
glorious ornament, for, first hoary hairs do wonderfully become the
ancient person, whom they make to look the more grave, and to carry
the greater authority in his countenance; secondly, they are a
garland or diadem, which not the art of men, but the finger of God,
hath fashioned and set on the head.--_Muffet._
Hoariness is only honourable when found in a way of righteousness. A
white head, accompanied with a holy heart, makes a man truly
honourable. There are two glorious sights in the world: the one is a
young man walking in his uprightness, and the other is an old man
walking in the ways of righteousness. It was Abraham's honour that he
went to his grave in a good old age, or rather, as the Hebrew hath
it, with a good grey head (Gen. xxv. 8). Many there be that go to
their graves with a grey head, but this was Abraham's crown, that he
went to his grave with a good grey head. Had Abraham's head been
never so grey, if it had not been good it would have been no honour
to him. . . . When the head is as white as snow, and the soul is a
black as hell, God usually gives up such to scorn and contempt. . . .
But God usually reveals Himself most to old disciples, to old saints:
"With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding"
(Job xii. 12). God usually manifests most of Himself to aged saints.
They usually pray most and pay most, they labour most and long most
after the choicest manifestations of Himself and of His grace, and
therefore He opens His bosom most to them, and makes them of His
cabinet council. "And the Lord said, shall I hide from Abraham that
thing which I do," etc. (Gen. xviii. 17-19). Abraham was an old
friend, and therefore God makes him both of His court and council. We
usually open our hearts most freely, fully, and familiarly, to old
friends. So doth God to His ancient friends.--_Brooks._
Age is not all decay; it is the ripening, the swelling of the fresh
life within that withers and bursts the husk.--_George Macdonald._
Aged piety is peculiarly honourable. 1. It hath long continued. When
it is said "If it be _found,_" etc., intimates that such a one has
been long walking in that way. 2. It is founded on knowledge and
experience. They are well acquainted with the suitableness and
sufficiency of the Redeemer. They have made many useful observations
on the methods of providence towards themselves, their families, and
the Church of God. They know much of the evil of sin, of the nature
of temptations, and of the many devices of Satan. 3. It is proved and
steadfast. The aged Christian is "rooted in the faith," grounded and
settled, his habits of piety are become quite natural. 4. It is
attended with much usefulness. The piety of an aged Christian is much
to the glory of God, as it shows especially the Gospel's power to
bear the Christian on through difficulties and temptations. And aged
saints are very _useful to mankind._ Their steadfast piety puts to
silence the ignorance of foolish men who complain of the restraints
of religion as unreasonable and intolerable, and of the Redeemer's
laws as impracticable. They are living witnesses to mankind to the
kindness of God's providence and the riches of His grace.--_Job
Orton._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 32.
TAKING A CITY AND RULING THE SPIRIT.
+I. A man who takes a city may do a good work.+ When Solomon says
that the man who rules his spirit does a better work than he who
takes a city, he by no means implies that the taking of a city is a
wrong action. In the records of God's dealings with the nations of
old, we find that He sometimes laid it as a duty upon His chosen
servants to take a city. The overthrow of a city is sometimes
necessary for the preservation of the morality of the human race, and
it is as indispensable for its well-being as the amputation of a
diseased limb is for the health of the individual man. Large cities
are favourable to the development and increase of crime, and
sometimes become such moral pest-houses that God, out of regard for
His human family, causes them to be wiped from off the earth, and
sometimes uses His own servants to do the work. It was He who
commanded Joshua to take the city of Jericho and the other cities of
Canaan, and they were destroyed because of the sin of those who dwelt
in them. Or the overthrow of a city may be the downfall of a tyrant,
and the deliverance of the oppressed, and then we also know that it
is well-pleasing to God. The Bible has it in many songs of praise to
God for His overthrow of those who held their fellow-men in
bondage--songs which were not only acceptable to Him, but which were
the fruit of the inspiration of His Spirit, and therefore we know
that the taking of a city which was followed by such a result might
in itself be a righteous and praiseworthy act.
+II. A man may do a good work in taking a city, and yet be under the
dominion of sinful habits.+ Many a man has acquired vast power over
others without ever learning how to master his own evil
passions--many a city has been taken by him, and good may have been
the outcome of some of his conquests, and yet he has been ever an
abject bondslave to his own evil impulses. Many a conqueror of cities
has been himself brought more and more into captivity to the vices of
the mind as his conquests advanced, and though God may have used him
to further His wise and beneficent purposes to the race, he may, by
his inability to rule himself, have lived and died a miserable victim
of sin--in greater bondage to himself than any of those whom he
conquered could ever be to him.
+III. Self-rule is nobler than the possession of rule over others.+
1. _This conquest is over spirit and the other may only be over
flesh._ We cannot rule over the whole of our fellow-man by physical
force; if circumstances make us masters over his body, there is a
spiritual part of him which we cannot enslave without his consent. A
"city" and a man's "spirit" belong to entirely different regions, and
the latter cannot be ruled by the same weapons as the other. But
"spirit" is far higher than matter, and when a man has learned to
rule his own inner man he has made a conquest which is far more
difficult, and therefore nobler, than he who "takes a city." The man
who can check a lawless thought or desire, must be as much greater
than he who can only subdue men's bodies, as mind is greater than
matter, and he must do a more glorious work because he lessens the
power of sin in the universe. It may sometimes be a necessary and
good thing to drive the sinner out of the world, but it is infinitely
better to kill sin, and this is what he who rules himself is always
doing. 2. _It requires the exercise of greater skill and is a more
complete victory._ If there is a spiritual part of a man which cannot
be subdued to our will without his consent, this consent can only be
obtained by the exercise of weapons which require more skilful
handling than the sword of steel. God never attempts to conquer the
human spirit by physical force; He has created it to bow only to
spiritual forces, and it is by these that He brings men into
obedience to His will. A city may be surprised into submission, but
dominion over the soul must be gained step by step. And the man who
rules his own spirit uses these spiritual weapons, and achieves his
conquest little by little. But if the weapons are more difficult to
wield, and if the victory is more slowly won, the conquest is much
more complete. For when the spirit is ruled the entire man is ruled.
3. _The battle is fought and the victory won in silence and in
secret._ When men take a city they are as conscious that the eyes of
many are upon them, and that the news of their victory will be spread
throughout half the world, and that thus they will acquire great
renown among their fellow-creatures. And this nerves them to the
conflict. But the man who fights upon the battle-ground of his own
heart fights in secret, and his victories bring him none of that
renown which falls to him who takes a city. No eye looks on but the
omniscient eye of God, and although Divine approval is infinitely
beyond the praise of a world of finite creatures, yet it has not
always such a conscious influence as that of our fellow-men. 4. _The
conflict and victory works nothing but good._ Even when the taking of
a city ends in the good of the majority, there must be suffering for
some who are innocent. But the bringing of the spirit under dominion
to that which is good and true bring blessings on the man who wins
the victory, and works no ill to anyone, but is a source of good to
many. 5. _The glory of self-rule will last much longer than the glory
of any material conquest._ Alexander of Macedon took many cities, but
the glory that once shed a halo around his name has died away as the
world has grown older. And even if the fame of an earthly warrior
could last to the end of time, it would last no longer if it rested
only on his military achievements. But the glory of self-rule is the
glory of goodness which will never grow dim, but shine with
increasing brightness as the ages roll.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Now the Lord has made so glorious a conquest over these proud enemies
that rose up against you, I beseech you consider, of all conquests
the conquest of enemies within is the most honourable and the most
noble conquest; for in conquering those enemies that be within, you
make a conquest over the devil and hell itself. The word that is
rendered "ruleth," signifies to "conquer," to "overcome." It is this
conquest that lifts a man up above all other men in the world. And as
this is the most noble conquest, so it is the most necessary
conquest. You must be the death of your sins, or they will be the
death of your souls. Sin is a viper that does always kill where it is
not killed. There is nothing gained by making peace with sin but
repentance here and hell hereafter. Every yielding to sin is a
welcoming of Satan into our very bosoms. Valentine the emperor said
upon his deathbed, that among all his victories, one only comforted
him; and being asked what that was, he answered, "I have overcome my
worst enemy, mine own naughty heart." Ah, when you shall lie upon a
dying bed, then no conquest will thoroughly comfort, but the conquest
of your own sinful hearts. None were to triumph in Rome that had not
got five victories; and he shall never triumph in heaven that
subdueth not his five senses, saith Isidorus. Ah, souls! what mercy
is it to be delivered from an enemy without, and to be eternally
destroyed by an enemy within?--_Brooks._
To follow the bent and tendency of our nature requires no struggle,
and being common to all, involves no distinction. But to keep the
passions in check--to bridle and deny them; instead of letting loose
our rage against an enemy, to subdue him by kindness--this is one of
the severest efforts of a virtuous or of a gracious principle. The
most contemptible fool on earth may send a challenge, and draw a
trigger, but "not to be overcome of evil, but to overcome evil with
good," demands a vigour of mind and decision of character, far more
difficult of acquiring than the thoughtless courage that can stand
the fire of an adversary.--_Wardlaw._
The _taking of a city_ is only the battle of a day. The other is the
weary, unceasing conflict of a life. . . . But the magnifying of the
conflict exalts the glory of the triumph. Gideon's _rule over his
spirit_ was better than his victory over the Midianites (Judges
viii. 1-3). David's similar conquest was _better_ than could have
been the spoils of Nabal's house (1 Sam. xxv. 33). Not less glorious
was that decisive and conscious mastery over his spirit when he
refused to drink the water of Bethlehem, obtained at the hazard of
his bravest men; thus condemning the inordinate appetite that had
desired the refreshment at so unreasonable a cost (2 Sam.
xxiii. 17). . . . To rule one's spirit is to subdue an enemy that has
vanquished conquerors. . . . Meanwhile victory is declared, before
the conquest begins. Let every day then be a day of triumph. The
promises are to _present_ victory (Rev. ii. 7, etc.). With such
stirring, stimulating hopes, thou shall surely have rule if thou
darest to have it.--_Bridges._
It may be harder to keep from toppling over a precipice, than to
lift, by sheer strength, our body over a wall. The reason is obvious.
A feather might keep our balance, so we could lean and be safe; but
the difficulty is where to get it. We have strength enough if we only
had wherewithal it could be applied. The difficulty of _ruling our
spirits_ is, that they are _ourselves._ The difficulty of an
inebriate in resisting a desire, is--that it is his desire. What can
he resist it with? It might be far slighter, and yet, if there be
nothing to oppose, like the slight weight that topples one upon the
Alps, it is as sure to ruin him as a thousand tons.--_Miller._
Such an one is more excellent than he that is strong of body; for he
can bear reproaches, which are more intolerable burdens than any that
are wont to be laid upon the backs of the strongest.--_Muffet._
Therein stands the office of a king,
His honour, virtue, merit, and chief praise,
That for the public all this weight he bears;
Yet he who reigns within himself, and rules
Passions, desires, and fears, is more a king;
Which every wise and virtuous man attain;
And who attains not, ill aspires to rule
Cities of men, or headstrong multitudes,
Subject himself to anarchy within,
Or lawless passions in him which he serves.--_Milton._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 33.
THE LOT AND ITS DISPOSER.
+I. There is a special Providence of God in the midst of His
universal government.+ In nature there is a manifestation of a
universal Providence ruling over all God's creatures. But the
individual is not lost in the multitude--each bird of the air and
every blade of grass in the field is under the special supervision of
its Creator. And God is Ruler in the army of heaven and among the
inhabitants of the earth, but He does not deal with either angels or
men in the mass as human rulers must do, but knows, and cares for,
and guides the destines of the individual man--the disposal of the
lot of each one is from the Lord.
+II. The special Providence of God works through human
instrumentality.+ Reference is here doubtless made to the ancient
custom of casting lots to ascertain the Divine Will. This was done at
the division of the land of Canaan among the children of Israel, on
the occasion of the election of their first king, and in choosing the
apostle who took the place of Judas among the twelve. In all these
cases it was recognised that there was no chance in the disposal of
the lot--that the decision in each case was from the Lord
Himself--but in each case human instrumentality was used by Him to
make known His Will. This linking of human instrumentality with
Divine sovereignty is found in all God's dealings with men. He has
promised that seedtime and harvest shall not cease while the earth
continues, but he requires men to sow the grain to bring about the
harvest. The "casting of the lot" is symbolic of the part that human
effort takes in the government of the world--although God is above
and behind it, He does not work without it.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
One general principle regarding the employment of the _"lot"_ is
sufficiently manifest, that it should never be introduced except in
cases where reason and evidence are incompetent to decide. And we
may, I think, safely go so far as to affirm that in cases of
importance and of extremity--that is, where other means of arriving
at a satisfactory conclusion or a harmonious agreement have
failed--there does not appear to be anything in Scripture by which
such an appeal can be considered as interdicted. . . . Still, if
there is nothing interdictory of the use of it, there is nothing that
makes it _obligatory_ in any specified circumstances; and it is clear
that, if used at all, it should be used seriously and sparingly. It
is very wrong, and the reverse of truth, to speak of any matter
whatever as being in this way referred to _chance._ There _is_ no
such thing. Chance is nothing--an absolute nonentity. It is a mere
term for expressing _our ignorance._ Every turn of the dice in the
box is regulated by certain physical laws, so that, _if we knew_ all
the turns, we could infallibly tell what number would cast up.
Besides, in no case is there a more thorough disavowal of chance than
in the use of _the lot._ It is the strongest and most direct
recognition that can be made of a particular providence--of the
constant and minute superintendence of an omniscient, overruling
mind.--_Wardlaw._
Everything is a wheel of Providence. Who directed the Ishmaelites on
their journey to Egypt at the very moment that Joseph was cast into
the pit? Who guided Pharaoh's daughter to the stream just when the
ark, with its precious deposit, was committed to the waters? What
gave Ahasuerus a sleepless night, that he might be amused with the
records of his kingdom?--_Bridges._
* * * * * *
CHAPTER XVII.
CRITICAL NOTES.--+1. Sacrifices,+ literally _killings, i.e.,_ slain
beasts, not necessarily animals killed for sacrifice. +2. A son that
causeth shame,+ rather, a _degenerate son. (Delitzsch and Zöckler)_.
+4. A liar,+ literally, _a lie, falsehood._ +7. Excellent speech,+
literally "a lip of excess or prominence, an assuming, imperious
style of speech" (_Zöckler_). +A prince,+ rather, _a noble,_ a man of
lofty disposition. +8. A gift.+ Some expositors understand this in
the sense of a bribe. Delitzsch translates the whole verse--"The gift
of bribery appears a jewel to its receiver, whithersoever he turneth
himself he acted prudently," _i.e.,_ "it determines and impels him to
apply all his understanding, in order that he may reach the goal for
which it shall be his reward." Zöckler understands it to refer to the
gift of seasonable liberality which secures for its giver supporters
and friends. +9. Repeateth a matter.+ Most expositors understand this
repetition to refer to a revival of a past wrong, but Miller
translates "He who falls back into an act," _i.e._, transgresses
again after forgiveness. +11.+ Many commentators translate the first
clause _"Rebellion,"_ or _"a rebel"_ seeketh only after evil, _i.e.,_
brings retribution upon himself. +12.+ Miller translates the latter
clause "but not a fool his folly." (See his comment.) +14. Meddled
with,+ rather _"pours forth."_ +17. "Friend+ and +brother+ are
related the one as the climax of the other. The friend is developed
into a brother by adversity." (_Lange's Commentary._) +20. A froward
heart,+ rather, _a false heart._ +22. A broken spirit.+ Miller
renders _"an upbraiding spirit," i.e.,_ spirit which cavils at God's
providential dealings. +23. A gift,+ _i.e., a bribe,_ +judgment,+
_i.e., justice._ +24.+ Many explain this verse to mean that the wise
find wisdom everywhere while the fool seeks it everywhere but in the
right place. Delitzsch and others understand the proverb to mean that
wisdom is the aim of the man of understanding while the fool has no
definite aim in life. +26. Also,+ rather, _even._ It emphasizes the
verb immediately following, viz., _to punish, i.e._, to inflict a
pecuniary fine. Zöckler renders the verse, _"Also to punish the
righteous is not good, to smile the noble contrary to justice,"_ and
explains the meaning thus, "The fine as a comparatively light penalty
which may easily at one time or another fall with a certain justice
even on a just man, stands contrasted with the much severer
punishment with stripes; and as these two verbal ideas are related,
so are also the predicates 'not good' and 'contrary to right' (above
desert, beyond all proportion to the justice and reasonable) in the
relation of a climax." Delitzsch reads, _"Also to inflict punishment
on the righteous is not good; this, the one overthrows his noble on
account of his righteousness," i.e.,_ it is not good when a ruler
makes his power to punish to be felt by the innocent as well as by
the guilty. Miller translates, _'Even deserved punishment to the
righteous does not seem good, when designed to chasten the willing
with a view to holiness,"_ and explains his translation of the word
generally translated _princes,_ or _the noble,_ by a reference to the
Hebrew root from which it is derived and which may be rendered
_willing_ or _generous._ +27. Excellent,+ rather a _cool_ spirit.
The homiletic teaching of verse 1 is the same as that of chap.
xv. 17. (See pages 421, 422).
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 2.
THE FOOLISH SON AND THE WISE SERVANT.
+I. High social position is not necessarily the outcome of mental
ability or moral worth.+ Many a man is born heir to a great estate,
or even to a throne, who brings shame upon the name he bears and the
place he occupies. He may be inferior in intellectual power to many
of the dependents upon the house, or he may be worse in character
than they are. Or if he is not so degraded in character, or in such
limited ability as to be surpassed by the majority, there may be one
who serves him whose aim in life is far more lofty than his own, and
who has far greater capabilities than he has.
+II. A wise man will acquire influence, whatever position he fills.+
A servant who understands his duties, and conscientiously fulfils
them, will win respect and confidence; and these will give him
influence in his master's house, and over all with who his business
brings him into contact. There are many instances, both in the
history of private families and in the history of courts, in which
the judicious conduct of a subordinate person has averted evils which
would otherwise have followed the crimes of a son of the house, and
the father of such a son can but acknowledge such services, and
reward them, if he is possessed of any gratitude. But whether he does
so or not, it is an ordination of God's providence, which we see in
constant operation around us, that _a wise man is a fool's master._
It is a law of nature that a stronger physical body shall govern the
weaker, if no other power interferes, and it is a law in the universe
of mind that the stronger mind shall rule the weak, and make it
server his purpose in some way. This is the secret of many of the
social changes which are always going on, in which some who were born
to affluence come down to penury, and those who were born in
obscurity take their places.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Eliezer will show the custom that suggests the type. He was a _wise
servant._ Abraham thought he would have to be his heir (Gen. xv. 2,
3). All commentators put _"son"_ in apposition with him _who causes
shame; i.e.,_ makes them the same person. But to be the same person
they should be in the same form grammatically, and _"son"_ is in the
construct. The _causer of shame,_ therefore, is the father. And this
is more consistent, for a wise father could uphold a _son,_ or could
give the inheritance to other _brethren._ In the worldly sense there
could be no difficulty. In the spiritual what noted instances!--in
the Israelites, who, unlike Abraham, failed to command their
households (Gen. xviii. 19), and who gave place to their bought
servants, the hated Gentiles!--in Satan, who has given place to man
(Psalm viii. 2)!--in modern men who have professed the faith, but
have debauched their children till they see them hardening under
their very eyes, and some far-off waif gets before them into the
everlasting kingdom. Better, says the last proverb, the utmost
poverty, with peace and love; better, says the proverb, the poorest
hold upon the Church, if there be the humbler hold upon the service
of the Most High.--_Miller._
If wisdom make us free, then are we free indeed: as on the other
side, he is altogether a servant that dealeth unwisely. But he that
is wisdom's freeman is not only a freeman but a master, not only a
master but a _son,_ not only a son but an _heir, an heir among his
brethren._ So highly doth wisdom exalt. But thus it is with the
Father of the world, it is not so with worldly fathers. Their foolish
love doth honour their son, though his foolish life doth fill them
with shame: their proud carriage despiteth their servant, though his
wise carriage exalteth their estate. The son shall have all though he
deserve nothing, the servant shall not have his wages though they be
due unto him. But the wisdom of God bestoweth His love, the justice
of God divideth His inheritance in another manner. Oftentimes, even
in this life, he putteth the servant in the son's place. . . . Be
wise, then, though thou be a servant, and thou shalt be His son who
is the Father of wisdom. Be not wicked, though the son of rich
parents, and, if may be, heir to a great estate, for He, the Lord of
all, can quickly make thee a poor servant for thy sins, who has made
thyself a servant to thy sins.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 3.
THE TRIER OF HEARTS.
We have here an analogy implied between men's hearts and gold and
silver.
+I. Both have an intrinsic worth.+ Gold and silver have not only an
artificial value, but they have qualities in themselves which render
them of especial worth. So the heart of man--that spiritual and
immortal part of him which constitutes him a man--is of priceless
worth because of its infinite capacities of good and evil, its
infinite capabilities of enjoyment and of suffering.
+II. Both must be separated from worthless alloy if they are to
attain their real value.+ Gold and silver are comparatively worthless
until they are separated from every other mineral; they must be
unalloyed with baser metal, or nearly so, before their intrinsic
excellence and capabilities become apparent and they can be put to
the uses for which they are so peculiarly fitted. So the human soul
cannot rise to the high destiny to which it is appointed until there
is a separation made between it and sinful habits, motives, and
desires.
+III. Both human souls and precious metals are subjected to a testing
process.+ The gold and the silver ores are thrown into the crucible
and placed over the fire, in order that it may be made manifest how
much there is of real worth in them, and the human soul is subjected
to trials of various kinds by the Great Searcher of hearts, in order
that both the good and the evil that is therein may be seen, and the
one separated from the other. The proverb seems rather to refer to
the _testing,_ than to the purifying process.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
_Trying_ is more than simply _discerning._ The Lord does not need to
_try_ in order to make any discovery for Himself. He "knoweth what is
in man." But He "tries," in order to bring to light what may lie
concealed from men, and especially from the individual himself. And
this He does in order to the person's conviction and benefit: and
that He may be vindicated in His final judgments He "tries," in
different respects, both the wicked and the righteous. By the
dispensations of His providence He often elicits the latent evils
that are in the hearts of the ungodly and the worldly. He brings out
their hidden abominations. He manifests the deceitfulness, the
hypocrisy, the "desperate wickedness" of their "inward parts," their
rebellions and unsubdued dispositions. He exposed the simulation of
dissemblers, and of those whose religion only seems to thrive when
their profession of it brings no suffering, and demands no
sacrifice. . . . In the same manner, too, does God try and bring out
to view the inward graces and virtues of His children. And while
disclosing He refines and purifies them, He detects and removes the
alloy--the dross and tin of self and the world, separating the "vile"
from the "precious," and so rendering the precious the more
excellent.--_Wardlaw._
Silver is refined by getting the silver out from among the dross.
Christians are refined by putting the silver in among the dross, and
refining the dross away. Men in a natural state are not an ore of
silver, but are dross, and they are nothing else. He who sits to
purify them (Mal. iii. 3) does not disengage the gold, but supplies
it as He goes along. In other respects the emblem is complete.
(1) The _"furnace"_ takes out the dross. So does _"Jehovah."_ (2) The
_"furnace"_ burns out the dross. So does _"Jehovah,"_ with biting
flames. (3) The _"furnace"_ is a gradual worker. So is God.--_Miller._
Man trieth many things, and many things in man are tried by man. The
_silver_ of a man's _word_ is tried by a wise care: the _gold_ of a
man's _deeds_ is tried by the fruit of them: the _silver_ of a man's
_wit_ is tried by dangers and distresses, the _gold_ of a man's
_understanding_ is tried by weighty and important business; the
_gold_ of a man's _strength_ is tried by hard and burdensome labour;
the gold of his _knowledge_ by hard and difficult questions; the
silver of a man's _diligence_ is tried by the haste of affairs: the
gold of a man's _faithfulness_ by trust reposed in him: the silver of
a man's estate is tried by a careful account, the gold of his virtues
by troubles and temptations. Thus there is a _fining-pot for the
silver, and a furnace for the gold:_ and the heart of man trieth
other things, but the _trier of the heart is the Lord alone._ The
fine silver, the pure gold that lie in that, can be proved by nothing
but by His touch. Whoever else taketh upon him to search the secrets
of the heart, layeth open his own sin and folly. The heart itself
cannot try itself; God is the goldsmith for it. Or else the original
will bear well this sense, that God, by troubles, trieth the heart of
man. Wherefore Tertullian saith, When we are burned in the heat of
persecution then are we tried in the hold-fast of our faith. . . .
And surely if Seneca could say, "I give thanks unto fortune because
she would try how much I esteemed honesty, so great a thing ought not
to stand me in a little," then certainly the servants of God ought to
thank God when He, by troubles, trieth how well they love
Him.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 4.
THE EVIL SPEAKER AND THE LISTENER.
+I. That which men give heed to reveals their character.+ If a man
will listen to another who he knows to be false--if he permits him to
be continually pouring into his ear that which he knows to be
untrue--he is a liar himself. He could not make himself a receiver of
lies if he were not of a kindred spirit with the liar. We classify
animals according to the food which they eat, and we can classify men
when we know upon what mental and moral food they love to feed. He
who gives heed to falsehood and lying lips is a false man himself.
+II. Delight in wicked speech leads to wicked actions.+ Those who use
ungodly language never stop there. There is but a step between wicked
words and wicked deeds. Neither do those who begin by giving heed to
men whose speech is prompted by him who is the father of lies (John
viii. 44) stop with the mere listening. The listening, as we have
seen, implies a certain degree of sympathy with the listener; this
sympathy leads to imitation, and he who gives heed to false lips not
only becomes himself a man of wicked speech but a "wicked doer."
+III. The liar and he who listens to him divide the responsibility of
the sin between them.+ These two characters help to increase each
other's guilt by strengthening each other in their ungodliness. The
liar is encouraged to go on in his lying by those who give heed to
his lies; if there were none willing to listen to him he would soon
cease to sin in this direction. So that the receiver of falsehood
will have to share the punishment of him who propagates it. Then the
liar increases the wickedness of the wicked doer by his false words,
which help to make his heart yet more ungodly and his doings yet more
wicked. Thus ungodly men exert a reciprocal influence upon each other
for evil.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Wicked men have a great treasure of evil in their hearts, and yet
have not enough to satisfy their own corrupt dispositions. They are
like covetous men, in whom their large possessions only increase
their lust of having, and therefore they carry on a trade with other
wicked men, who are able to add to their store of iniquity, by
flattering and counselling them in sin.--_Lawson._
_"A liar"_ is of essential use to the evil-doer. He can suborn him.
He can get him to bear witness in his favour--to perjure himself to
get him off, when in danger of being convicted. Such characters, too,
it may be noticed, are fond of the lies of _false teachers._ They
keep their ear greedily open to these. They are smoothed, and
flattered, and encouraged by them in their evil courses. They cannot
but like the doctrine that allays their fears; that palliates sin;
that makes light of future punishment; that tells them of a God all
mercy; that assures them of ultimate universal salvation. Thus it was
of old; and thus it is still (Isa. xxx. 9-11).--_Wardlaw._
A man most mischievous himself yields most mischievously to the
mischief of other sinners. _"A lie"_ is the most weakly credulous.
This is often noticed among the earthly. The biter is often most
bitten, the tyrant most tortured. The cunning is often most caught,
and what is singularly the fact, the sceptic is often the most
believing. It is not a complete proverb, thought, for earth, because
it is not universal. It is spiritually, as with all these other
texts, that the truth has no exception. The greatest harm-doer is
Satan, and so the greatest harm is done to Satan. He is the father of
lies, and has been the most lied to. He was more deceived in Eden
than his victim, and on Calvary than the men who crucified our Lord.
And all his followers take from the world equal mischief with that
which they inflict upon it.--_Miller._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 5.
A DOUBLE REVELATION.
+I. Revealing crime.+ _He who mocketh the poor reveals his own
character._ If we find one brother of a family mocking another
brother, we feel that his conduct is a revelation of the state of his
heart. We feel that such a man must be destitute of all right
feeling--that he has no regard for their common parent--none of that
tender feeling which ought to bind members of the same family. God
has made of one blood all nations of the earth, and he who mocks the
poor mocks one of the same great human family as himself, and thus
shows that he lacks all true humanity and all right feeling towards
the common Father of both. _The displeasure with which God regards
such a man reveals the Divine character._ If the ruler of a country
identifies himself with the most defenceless and friendless of his
subjects--if he exacts the severest penalties for any wrong done to
them--if, in short, he reckons an offence against them as committed
against himself--he reveals that he is a man of true benevolence. The
displeasure with which God regards not only them who oppress the
poor, but also those who mock them--and a man does this when he gives
empty words but no sympathy and help--reveals the tender compassion
of His nature. On this subject see also Homiletics on chap. xiv. 31,
page 389.
+II. An aggravated crime.+ _"He who is glad at calamities,"_ etc. It
is a sin both against God and human nature to mock the poor--to treat
men with indifference and contempt because they are in a lowly
station--because they are compelled to labour much and labour hard
for the supply of their daily wants: he who is guilty of such conduct
reveals a nature that is entirely opposed to the nature of God, and
lays himself open to retribution. But when a man is not only
indifferent to the miseries of others, but can actually find in them
an occasion of gladness, he is as near to Satan in character and
disposition as a man out of hell can be. He is not only ungodlike,
but is devilish. It is a prominent characteristic of the evil one
that he finds a fiendish delight in the calamities of men, and a man
cannot give a more convincing proof that he is of his "father the
devil" (John xiii. 44) than by imitating him in this particular crime.
+III. A heavy retribution.+ We can form some estimate of the weight
of punishment which must fall upon this last offender, by remembering
how God regards the first. If He convicts him who mocks the poor of
casting reproach upon his Maker, how much more will He visit him who
"is glad at calamities."
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
So Tyrus is threatened, because she was glad at Jerusalem's
calamities, saying, "I shall be replenished now she is laid waste"
(Ezek. xxvi. 2). And Edom similarly (Obad. 12).--_Fausset._
It is a sad thing when one "potsherd of the earth," because it
happens to have got from the hand of the potter a little gilding and
superficial decoration, mocks at another "potsherd of the earth"
which chances to be somewhat more homely in its outward appearance,
or, perhaps, formed of a little coarser material than the other; both
the work of the same hands, and both alike frail, brittle, and
perishable.--_Wardlaw._
Why should I, for a little difference in this one particular of
worldly wealth, despise my poor brother? When so many and great
things unites us, shall wealth disunite us? One sun shines on us
both; one blood bought us both; one heaven will receive us both, only
he hath not so much of earth as I, and possibly much more of
heaven.--_Bishop Reynolds._
To pour contempt upon the current coin with the king's image on it,
is treason against the sovereign. No less contempt is it of the
Sacred Majesty, to despise _the poor,_ who have, no less than the
rich, the king's image upon them (Gen. ix. 6). This view marks the
contempt of the poor as a sin of the deepest dye.--_Bridges._
If God should appear in human shape, would we dare to insult him?
Would not the fear of a just and dreadful vengeance deter us? And to
mock the poor, amounts to the very same thing. God did actually
appear in our nature, and He was then poor for our sakes; and those
that despise the poor, despise them for a reason that reflects upon
our Saviour Himself when He dwelt among us.--_Lawson._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 6.
FATHERS AND CHILDREN.
Two things are implied in this proverb:--First, that the fathers are
good men. An aged man who is not a godly man cannot in any sense
reflect any glory upon his descendants. Secondly, that the children
are also godly and true, otherwise they are anything but a crown to
their parents. The Wise Man is here speaking of those who are in both
relations what God intended them to be. When such is the case--
+I. The children bring honour to their parents.+ They testify that
the parents have trained them in the way that they should go--that
they have given them a good example as well as good advice, and every
child is then like a separate mirror, reflecting the character of the
godly parent by whose influence he has become what he now is. And the
greater number of these mirrors there are, the more brilliant is the
crown of honour which is worn by the godly ancestor whose virtues are
thus reproduced in his children and in his children's children, even
long after he has left the world. Every tribute of respect that is
paid to the children is another jewel placed in the crown of the
godly ancestor.
+II. The parents are the glory of their children.+ Men glory in being
descended from ancestors who have been great warriors or who have
left them a vast inheritance of material wealth, but an inheritance
of goodness reflects as much more glory upon those who are its heirs
as the glory of heaven exceeds that of earth. Goodness holds a very
old patent of nobility, and when children can boast of a long line of
God-fearing ancestors, they can boast of a dignity which is as old as
God. To be the descendants of those who are now before the throne of
God is a glory before which all earthly glory fades away.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 7.
A TWOFOLD INCONGRUITY.
+I. Truth from the mouth of a godless man.+ This is not an unknown
case. A man of immoral practices may inculcate precepts of purity--a
dishonest man may, for the purpose of cloaking his own character, be
loud in his praises of integrity and uprightness. But the speech of
such a man will fall powerless on his hearers, even if they do not
know thoroughly the character of the speaker. There will be a lack of
the true ring of sincerity about his words--being words only, and not
convictions, they will be "as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal."
Suppose that a barrister, who was very ignorant of law and possessed
of very limited mental capacities, having undertaken the defence of
an important case, were to apply to one of his most learned and
eloquent legal brethren to write his speech for him. When he got up
to deliver that which was not the production of his own mind--that
which he was not able thoroughly to appreciate himself--would not the
listeners be struck with a sense of incongruity, would they not feel
that, however good the arguments, however vivid the illustrations,
however powerful the appeals, there was something lacking--that the
speaker was a stripling wearing the armour of a giant? Something of
this same feeling is experienced when an immoral man gives utterance
to moral sentiments--he does not know the meaning of his own words,
he lacks the experience necessary to give weight to what he says. He
speaks what is in itself true, but he is not a true man himself, and
consequently the utterance is like a "jewel of gold in a swine's
snout."
+II. Untruth from the mouth of a man of exalted station.+ A prince
(_i.e.,_ one who holds a high place among his fellow-men) is
especially bound to be a man of truth and honour. It is here implied
that he is to be an embodiment of truthfulness--that whether he owes
his position to wealth, to birth, or to intellectual gifts--whatever
else he lacks, he ought to be a truthful man; his words ought to be
excellent, and they ought to be the reflection of excellence of
character.
+III. The second incongruity is more mischievous than the first.+
"Excellent speech becometh not a fool, _much less_ do lying lips a
prince." If a moral fool is a man who holds no position in the world,
what he says will not be of so much consequence, because his
influence upon others is little. He will injure himself, and those
immediately connected with him, but the harm done will not be so
widely spread as if he were one of the great of the land. The first
man, if he puts on a garb of morality, and adopts language which does
not represent his true self, is a liar, but his lying does not injure
others so much as it does himself. But a "lying prince" is an
instrument of wide-spread evil. To lie in a cottage is a sin against
God and man, but to lie in a palace is a greater sin, because the
inmate of the palace holds in his hand an immense power for good and
for evil. What he says and does is felt more or less indirectly
throughout his dominion, and as his responsibility is so great, the
guilt of using it wrongly is great also.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
God likes not fair words from a foul mouth. Christ silenced the devil
when he confessed Him to be the Son of the Most High God. The leper's
lips should be covered, according to the law.--_Trapp._
Lying lips are no less unbecoming in the mouth of a prince, who ought
to honour the dignity of his station by the dignity of his manner. A
prince of our own is said to have frequently used this proverbial
saying, "He that knows not how to dissemble knows not how to reign."
You may judge from the text before us whether he deserved to be
called the Solomon of his age. It was certainly a nobler saying of
one of the kings of France,--that if truth were banished from all the
rest of the world it ought to be found in the breasts of princes. A
man's dignity obliges him to a behaviour worthy of it, and of him
whose favour has conferred it. All Christians are advanced to
spiritual honours of the most exalted kind. They are the children of
God, and heirs of the eternal kingdom, and ought to resemble their
heavenly Father, who is the God of truth. When a young prince desired
a certain philosopher to give him a directory for his conduct, all
his instructions were comprised in one sentence, "Remember that thou
art a king's son." Let Christians remember who they are, and how they
came to be what they are, and act in character.--_Lawson._
Force not thyself above, degrade not thyself below thy
condition.--_Wardlaw._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 8.
THE POWER OF GIFTS.
+I. All men value gifts.+ Whether they be gifts which are of
intrinsic value from their beauty or their rarity or whether they are
of little worth in themselves, but are the expression of the love and
gratitude of those who offer them, there is a certain pleasure in
receiving them. A free-will offering is more acceptable to a
right-minded man than that which is bestowed upon him as a matter of
necessity. The fact that it is a gift invests it with a value beyond
that which would otherwise be attached to it--makes it as a "precious
stone" to the receiver. The good-will that prompts the gift turns a
pebble into a diamond.
+II. All the blessing of a gift does not rest with the receiver.+--As
a precious stone reflects rays of light in whichever way it is held,
so generous-hearted liberality blesses him who gives as well as him
who takes. The giver has the gratitude and love of the recipient and
experiences the truth of the words of the Lord Jesus: "It is more
blessed to give than to receive" (Acts. xx. 35). (For the opposite
meanings which different commentators attach to the word "gift," see
Critical Notes.)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
1. Those that have money in their _hand_ think they can do anything
_with_ it. Rich men, whithersoever they turn this sparkling diamond,
expect it should dazzle the eyes of all, and make them do just what
they would have them do in hopes of it. 2. Those who have money in
their _eye_ will do anything _for_ it. It has great influence upon
them, and they will be sure to go the way it leads them.--_Henry._
Viewed as referring to the person who _confers_ the gift, or _has it
to bestow,_--we may notice _first,_ that the reference may be to the
man who _is known_ to have something to bestow _which all covet._ In
this case, every one desires his favour, strives to oblige him, tries
every means of insinuation into his good graces. A man who has any
skill in manœvering may, in this way, render what he has to confer a
capital instrument for pushing forward his own prosperity; keeping
all in expectation,--cherishing hope,--making his desired and coveted
gift look first one way, then another, then a third; perhaps
partially bestowing, and still reserving enough to hold expectants
hanging on, so as to have them available for his own ends.
_Secondly:_--On the part of those who have gifts to bestow, uses may
be made of them that are honourable and prudent,--quite consistent,
not with mere self-interest, but with right principle. They may be
employed to avert threatened evil, and for the more sure attainment
of desired good. Such was Jacob's gift to his brother Esau; when, in
setting it apart, he said, "I will appease him with the present that
goeth before me, and afterward will I see his face." Such was the
gift of the same patriarch, at a later period, to "the man the lord
of the country," when he sent his sons the second time to Joseph in
Egypt.--_Wardlaw._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 9.
HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS AND HOW TO SEPARATE THEM.
We have before noticed ways in which love covers sin or
transgression. (See Homiletics of chapter x. 12, page 157.) This
proverb sets forth--
+I. That he who thus covers sin is a great benefactor of the human
race.+ The great need of a fallen world is such a state of heart as
will promote love among men. One of Christ's last commands to his
disciples was _"Love one another as I have loved you"_ (John
xvi. 12). And there is no more effectual way of promoting love than
by freely forgiving an offence and at the same time endeavouring to
turn the transgressor from the error of his way. A stream in winter
may, by reason of the biting cold, be congealed into a rock-like
solid mass, but when the summer sun shines upon it, it cannot long
resist the influence, but melts and begins again to ripple and
sparkle under its beams. So a sense of guilt and shame hardens the
human heart, but a consciousness that the sin has been freely
forgiven and forgotten melts it into contrition and love if it is not
utterly dead to moral influences. This is the great power which binds
sin-forgiven men and women to God--having been forgiven much they
love much (Luke vii. 47-50).
+II. A man of opposite character is a curse to his race.+ Friendship
is the greatest boon of human existence, and he whose words or deeds
tend to break any such tie does his fellow-men a great wrong. There
is no more effectual way of doing it than by a constant repetition of
the faults of others, either by reminding the offender himself of his
shortcomings or by speaking of them to a third person. Solomon may
refer to either of these habits--both are bad, and show a disposition
entirely opposed to that of Him who, when he forgave His ancient
people, promised that He would "remember their sin no more" (Jer.
xxxi. 34).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
_Seeketh love!_ A beautiful expression, much to be kept in mind! It
shows a delight in the atmosphere of _love_--man's highest elevation
in communion with his God (1 John iv. 16). It implies not the mere
exercise of _love,_ where it is presented, but the searching and
making opportunity for it. But how seldom do we rise to the high
standard of this primary grace, exalted as it is pre-eminently above
"the best gifts" (1 Cor. xii. 31; xiii.); and illustrated and
enforced by no less than the Divine example! (Eph. v. 1, 2). Yet too
often it sits at the door of our lips, instead of finding a home in
our hearts; forgetting that the exhortation is not, that we should
_talk_ of _love,_ but that we should "walk in it;" not stepping over
it, crossing it, walking by the side, but _"in it,"_ as our highway
and course. One step of our feet is better than a hundred words of
the tongue.--_Bridges._
_All unnecessary repetition_ even of _real_ faults comes under the
category of _scandal,_ and is sinful and mischievous. You may fancy
you are within the limit of blameworthiness, when you are telling no
more than what is _true:_ but, if you are telling even truth
_needlessly,_ for no good and laudable end, you are chargeable with
the offence.--_Wardlaw._
Alas! how many things are there to be suffered, how many things to be
forgotten, how many things, though seen, to be as it were unseen,
that love may be preferred. He that covereth transgression warmeth
affection, and he that seeketh the love of man shall be sure to find
the love of God. The way to seek and find other things is by
uncovering that which is hid; but the way to seek and find love is by
covering the offence.--_Jermin._
If one has been our enemy it has been for some trespass. The best way
to abate the enmity is to cover up and smother over, and thus erase
from memory our act against him. He that does this _"seeks love."_
"He who falls back into the wrong," _i.e.,_ iterates or doubles over
his offence, drives away everything. (See Critical Notes.) . . .
Spiritually, a man is not to complain of the alienation of his Maker,
if he wilfully retain his sin. If God has given us a special way for
_covering sin,_ and we postpone it, and go tumbling back into our
acts, the strife is ours.--_Miller._
There are two ways of making peace and reconciling differences: the
one begins with amnesty, the other with a recital of injuries,
combined with apologies and excuses. Now I remember that it was the
opinion of a very wise man, and a great politician, that "he who
negotiates a peace without recapitulating the grounds of difference
rather deludes the minds of the parties, by representing the
sweetness of concord, than reconciles them by equitable adjustment."
But Solomon, a wiser man than he, is of a contrary opinion, approving
of amnesty, and forbidding a recapitulation of the past. For in it
are these disadvantages: it is as the chafing of a sore; it creates
the risk of a new quarrel (for the parties will never agree as to the
proportions of injuries on either side); and lastly, it brings it to
a matter of apologies: whereas either party would rather be thought
to have forgiven an injury than to have accepted an excuse.--_Lord
Bacon._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 10.
CORRECTION MUST BE ADAPTED TO THE CHARACTER OF THE OFFENDER.
+I. Some men can be influenced by moral means.+ A man whose moral
nature is developed can be brought to a sense of error by an appeal
to his own sense of right and wrong. Although he has fallen into sin
he does not love it, and the rebuke from without finds an echo in the
monitor within his own breast. His susceptibility to reproof
arises--1. _From a deep sense of his obligations to God._ He knows
what God has done to put away sin and its effects from the universe,
and gratitude to Him opens his ear and his heart to reproof. 2. _From
a sense of his own true interest._ A man would be counted a fool if
he were to be angry with the physician who desired to free him from
the dominion of a bodily disease, and a morally wise man is too
keenly alive to the worth of his own soul not to listen to a wise
reproof.
+II. But there are men who can only be aroused to a sense of
wrong-doing by physical suffering.+ Such men, by a long course of
crime or by a constant resistance of moral influences, have sunk
almost to the level of the brute. They are like the horse and mule
which have no understanding, whose mouth must be held with bit and
bridle (Psalm xxxii. 9). Nothing can awaken their sleeping
consciences but severe and startling judgments or bodily
chastisement, and even these "stripes" may fail to bring them to a
right state of mind. Let men, then, beware, lest being often reproved
and hardening themselves against it (ch. xxix. 1), they become so
callous to the words of God and good men, or to the visitations of
Providence, as to be "past feeling" (Eph. iv. 19).
_ILLUSTRATION._
It was a maxim of Bishop Griswold--"when censured or accused, to
_correct_--not to justify my error." A certain minister, with more
zeal than discretion, once became impressed with the thought that the
bishop was a mere formalist in religion, and that it was his duty to
go and warn him of his danger. Accordingly he called upon the bishop,
very solemnly made known his errand, and forthwith entered upon his
reproof. The bishop listened in silence till his visitor had closed a
severely denunciatory exhortation, and then in substance replied as
follows:--"My dear friend, I do not wonder that they who witness the
inconsistency of my conduct, and see how poorly I adorn the doctrine
of God my Saviour, should think I have no religion. I often fear for
myself that such is the case, and feel very grateful to you for
giving me the warning." The reply was made with such evidently
unaffected humility, and with such deep sincerity, that if an audible
voice from heaven had attested the genuineness of his Christian
character it could not more effectually have silenced his kindly
intending but mis-judging censor, or more completely disabused him of
his false impressions.--_Episcopal Record._
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Fools have sometimes received correction and made a good use of it,
but they were fools no longer, for the rod and reproof gave them
wisdom; but it is a sign that folly is deeply ingrained when an
hundred rods leave men as great fools as they found them.--_Lawson._
A look from Christ brake Peter's heart and dissolved it into
tears. . . . But Jeroboam's withered hand works nothing upon his
heart.--_Trapp._
The folly of simplicity is a softness of nature; the folly of sin is
a hardness of heart; the folly of conceit is a stiffness of will, and
little doth a rod enter into any of them. For though the first be
soft, it is hard to work upon it, although it be with hard and many
strokes of the stick. The woolliness of a sheep's skin keeps back the
force of the beating rod. . . . The rock in the wilderness first
denied water to the Israelites, as, withstanding nature's force and
the first stroke of Moses, it resisted as opposing the infidelity of
sin, to the second stroke it yielded as submitting to God's power.
But it is not the power of God's rod that enters into a
fool.--_Jermin._
A needle pierces deeper into flesh than a sword into
stone.--_Bridges._
David is softened with _Thou art the man;_ but Pharaoh remains
hardened under all the plagues of Egypt.--_Henry._
Even amongst the children of God themselves there are great
diversities of temper; some requiring harder dealing than others to
bring them down, and to reclaim them from their follies, as is the
case often with children in the same family. A word, or a look, will
go with melting and heart-breaking power to the very soul of one,
while the severest correction, and oft-repeated, will fail to bring
down the stubborn and fractious spirit of another. O for more of the
spirit of Job and less of the spirit of Jonah!--for more of that
truly child-like disposition which gives way before every Divine
admonition, which melts into penitence under the eye of an offended
God, and looks up with a child's submission at the slightest touch of
His corrective rod!--_Wardlaw._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 11-13.
PHASES OF EVIL.
+I. The main characteristic of a sinner is that he is a rebel against
the moral order of the universe.+ "He seeketh only rebellion." The
planets in their courses describe their orbits in obedience to the
law of gravitation, and because they do so the order of the heavens
is preserved. God is the sun of the moral universe, and before sin
entered it all His creatures kept the path of obedience to His will,
held to their allegiance by the love and confidence which they bore
to their Lawgiver. But sin snapped the bond, and the word sinner
stands for one who has broken away from the moral law of God; every
sinner seeketh rebellion.
+II. A sinner is a restless being.+ He _seeks_ rebellion. These words
seem to depict the restless character of the ungodly man. When a soul
has lost its centre of gravity--when the will of God is not the
polestar of life--it drifts about in obedience first to one lawless
passion and then another, following in the footsteps of the great
leader of rebellion, the first sinner, who, by his own confession, is
continually going to and fro in the earth, and walking up and down in
it (Job i. 7).
+III. A sinner is an injurious man.+ No man can set himself in
antagonism to the law of God, which leads to the happiness of his
creatures, without bringing misery upon others, and the more
determined his rebellion the more cruel are the effects of his sin
upon them. A bear is naturally a cruel beast, but then a bear is
robbed of what her instinct leads her to guard most jealously she is
an object to be dreaded and avoided. Yet a wicked man is more to be
feared, for there are in him capabilities of mischief beyond those
possessed by the furious brute. The anger of the beast might be
diverted or appeased--even a bear robbed of her whelps would forget
her anger if a carcase were thrown in her path upon which she might
wreak her vengeance. But the wrath of an angry man is less easily
appeased. The mischief which the furious bear can do is more limited.
The superior skill of man can soon put a stop to the ravages of a
wild beast, but the angry folly of a single fool has often destroyed
many lives and broken many hearts.
+IV. A sinner is an ungrateful thing.+ Many an ungodly man would deny
this charge, but everyone who continues in a state of rebellion
against God is continually rewarding evil for good. But the sin of
the text doubtless refers to the ingratitude towards a fellow-man.
This sin cannot be charged home upon every ungodly man--there are
those who, though careless of rendering to God that which is His due,
are content with rendering to their fellow-men evil for evil, and
would not knowingly render evil for good. But while the heart is in a
state of rebellion against its rightful sovereign, every evil
tendency is continually growing stronger, and men by degrees descend
to depths of evil from which they would once have recoiled with
horror.
+V. God will, sooner or later, call His rebellious subjects to
account.+ Although men sometimes go on in open rebellion against God
for many years, not one shall finally escape. A writ has been issued
for the apprehension of each one, although the execution is in some
cases deferred. _"Every one of us shall give an account of himself to
God"_ (Rom. xiv. 12), and the messenger that summons the ungodly man
to the Divine tribunal will be "cruel" because looked at through the
medium of a guilty conscience.
+VI. The sinner brings evil upon his posterity.+ It is a truth which
is illustrated by the experience of our daily life that no man stands
alone in the world--that the sins of the fathers are, in some
measure, visited upon the children--that "whoso regardeth evil for
good," not only brings evil upon himself but upon _"his house."_
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 11. God sometimes employs terrible messengers to chastise His
own people. When David numbered his subjects, 70,000 of them were
destroyed in three days by a visible messenger of severity, under the
direction of an invisible minister of providence. If God takes such
vengeance of the rebellions of some whom He pardons, what will the
end be of them that seek only rebellion!--_Lawson._
God hath forces enough at hand to fetch in His rebels. . . . The
stones in the walls of Aphek shall sooner turn executioners than a
rebellious Aramite shall escape unrevenged.--_Trapp._
Many things there are which an evil man proposeth to his seeking:
sometimes pleasures, sometimes profit, sometimes honour, sometimes
favour, but in truth it is only rebellion against God that is sought
by him. For these things are not to be found in the ways of
wickedness, and therefore it is only his deceived imagination that
looketh for them there. But rebellion against God is found in all his
ways.--_Jermin._
There are men that are summoning a cruel messenger to be sent against
themselves. . . . They are "only the rebellious." A door of mercy!
and a ransom fixed for sin! and only one class to fail! and they
spontaneously rebels! These are the men that go in search of evil,
and this is the meaning of the wise man.--_Miller._
Verse 12. Witness Jacob's sons putting a whole city to fire and sword
for the folly of one man; Saul slaying a large company of innocent
priests; Nebuchadnezzar heating the furnace sevenfold; Herod
murdering the children in Ramah; "Saul breathing out threatenings and
slaughter against the disciples of the Lord"--was not all this the
rage of a beast, not the reason of a man? Humbling, indeed, is this
picture of man, once "created in the image of God" (Gen.
i. 27).--_Bridges._
For the "fool," what a meeting! when he has been robbed of every
earthly chance! and is dead eternally! and the _"folly,"_ that has
robbed him, is shut up with him in everlasting misery!--_Miller._
See Miller's reading of the verse in Critical Notes.
Verse 13. To render good for evil is Divine, good for good is human,
evil for evil is brutish, evil for good is devilish.--_Trapp._
The most striking illustration of this sentence, is the history of
the Jewish nation. Never was such ingratitude showed to any
benefactor, as they showed to the Son of God, and never was the
punishment of any people so dreadful, and of so long continuance.
That scattered people proclaim to every nation under heaven how
dangerous the sin of ingratitude is, especially when God our Saviour
is the object of it.--_Lawson._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 14.
THE BEGINNING OF STRIFE.
+I. This moral pestilence is of great antiquity.+ It began with the
angels who "kept not their first estate" (Jude 6), and from that
far-distant period until now the universe has never been free from
discord--good and evil have striven against each other, and strife
has also reigned between those who are on the side of evil. There was
strife between the first two human brothers born into this world, and
since the day when Cain slew Abel because his own works were evil and
his brother's righteous, this terrible enemy of human happiness has
been slaying his victims wherever men were to be found.
+II. Strife is a thing of growth.+ There is a moment when the fire
which will presently destroy a town is only a tiny spark which the
breath of a child could extinguish,--the leak which at last sinks the
vessel and sends a hundred brave men to a watery grave was once no
larger than a pin-hole--and the breach in the dam through which a
torrent of water rushes, leaving desolation behind it, begins with an
opening through which no more than a few drops of water can force
their way. So it is with strife. It does not attain to its full
dimensions in a moment. The hatred in the heart which is the root of
strife may be at first but a passing feeling, but if it is not
overcome at its first appearance it grows in strength from day to
day. And its outward manifestation in strife may begin with but a few
angry words--an apparently trifling disagreement. But those who have
indulged in it will presently find themselves in the grip of a
giant--overmastered, and carried headlong by passion to crimes of
which they once thought it impossible they could ever be guilty.
+III. If the miserable effects of strife are to be avoided, it must
be attacked in its beginnings.+ Seeing how disastrous are the effects
of the leak in the ship, and how much desolation is caused by the
ravages of fire or the bursting forth of pent-up water through its
banks, it behoves all who are in any way responsible in these matters
to be watchful for the first indications of mischief, and to put a
stop to it before it gets beyond their power. And if a man would
avoid being a party to a quarrel, he must watch narrowly the first
risings of anger in his heart and take care that he never utters the
_first_ angry word. If the _first_ remains unspoken, a _second_ can
never pass his lips; but if in an unguarded moment the angry feeling
finds an outlet in angry speech, the speaker himself cannot tell
where and how the mischief will end. It may go from words of strife
to deeds of strife, and both will entail more misery upon their
author than upon him who is the subject of them. The self-interest of
every man ought to prompt him to check the beginnings of strife in
himself and in others; it is so great an enemy to our social
well-being that we are all as much interested in putting a stop to
its ravages as we are in arresting the progress of a pestilential
disease. But the children of God are specially called to this work.
They are bound to be imitators of their Father in this matter, and He
is "the God of peace" (Rom. xv. 33). All the plans and purposes of
God have for their aim "peace on earth" (Luke ii. 14), and His
children ought to emulate His example. And they cannot do otherwise.
They have been made partakers of the Divine nature (2 Peter i. 4),
and the nature of God is eminently peace-loving. If, therefore, a man
has been born of God he must delight in social peace and harmony--he
must recoil from strife and discord. It is _peacemakers_ that shall
be called _"the children of God"_ (Matt. v. 9), and _"He that saith
he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until
now"_ (1 John ii. 9).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Man is a sociable-living creature, and should converse with man in
love and tranquility. Man should be a supporter of man; is he become
an overthrower? O apostasy, not only from religion, but also from
humanity! The greatest danger that befalls man comes from where it
should least come, from man himself. Lions fight not with lions;
serpents spend not their venom on serpents; but man is the main
suborner of mischief to his own kind. . . . God hath hewn us all out
of one rock, tempered all our bodies of one clay, and spirited our
souls of one breath. Therefore, saith Augustine, since we proceed all
out of one stock, let us all be of one mind. Beasts molest not their
own kind, and birds of a feather fly lovingly together. Not only the
blessed angels of heaven agree in mutual harmony, but even the very
devils of hell are not divided, lest they ruin their kingdom. We have
one greater reason of love and unity observed than all the rest. For
whereas God made not all angels of one angel, nor all beasts of the
great behemoth, nor all fishes of the huge leviathan, nor all birds
of the majestical eagle, yet He made all men of one man.--_T. Adams._
We are but several streams issuing from one primitive source; one
blood flows in all our veins; one nourishment repairs our decayed
bodies; we are co-habitants of the same earth, and fellow-citizens of
the same great commonwealth; and he that hates another detests his
own most lively picture; he that harms another injures his own
nature. . . . The heavenly angels, when they agree most highly to
bless and to wish the greatest happiness to mankind, could not better
express their sense than by saying, "Be on earth peace, and goodwill
among men."--_Barrow._
It is easier to abstain from a contest than to withdraw from
it.--_Seneca._
Both the destructive elements--fire and water--illustrate the danger
of the beginning of strife (chap. xxvi. 21). To neither element can
we say, "Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further!" (Job
xxxviii. 11). . . . Seldom when we have heard the first word, do we
hear the last. An inundation of evil is poured in. . . . The bank is
much more easily preserved than repaired. . . . For, as one strongly
observed, "Man knows the beginning of sin, but who bounds the issues
thereof?"--_Bridges._
Quietness is like a pleasant pond full of sweet fish sporting
themselves up and down in it, and multiplying continually to a great
increase; so in a quiet life men's affairs do prosper, and their
estate is increased to plenty and abundance, so that they bathe
themselves in the comfort of it. But let the sluice be taken up, the
fishes are quickly gone, the waters stay not until they be gone also,
and nothing but mud and mire is left; and even so let the gap of
contention be opened, all comforts flee away, and usually the estates
sink lower and lower until it be dried up to beggary and misery. Make
up, then, all breaches as soon as they appear, or rather keep all
sound by watchfulness, so that no breach may appear. And let not the
serpent get in his head, for, because the scales of his body stand
the other way, it is not easy to get it out again; because the mind
of thine adversary is made averse from thee, it is not easy to end a
strife begun.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 15.
INVERSION AND RESTITUTION.
+I. A present inversion of moral order.+ There is an established law,
by which things spiritual are governed as well as things material.
According to this law, punishment ought to come to the unrighteous
and the righteous should be justified; that is, they should be
declared to be righteous and treated accordingly. This law must and
will prevail in the upshot and issue of things, because the Great
Lawgiver of the universe is perfectly just and holy; but it does not
always govern the dealings of men with men. Injustice may be meted
out to a man by his fellow-man from _ignorance._ A human judge may
pass an unjust sentence upon a prisoner, or society may condemn a man
undeservedly simply because they are ignorant of all the facts of the
case. We are so little capable of weighing all the motives of our
fellow-creatures, that we may unwittingly sometimes justify the
wicked and condemn the just. But the proverb is evidently directed
against those who do it because they are themselves
_unrighteous_--against those who are prompted by motives of
self-interest or malice or by a simple hatred of good wherever it is
found.
+II. A future restitution of moral order.+ If a man has an ear for
music, all discordant tones are displeasing to him; but when the law
of harmony is entirely subverted, all his musical sensibilities are
outraged. So when a righteous man becomes cognizant of some gross
injustice his whole soul rises up in protest against it. What
therefore must be the light in which the perfectly pure and just God
regards such subversion of moral order? He can but regard it with
repugnance. But the certainty of this fact makes another fact no less
certain--viz., that there will come a period in the history of the
universe when this inversion shall cease, when moral order shall be
restored, and it shall be no longer possible for the wicked to be
justified, or for the righteous to be condemned. Thus saith the Lord,
_"Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness
for light, and light for darkness. . . . Which justify the wicked for
reward and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him.
Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth
the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom
shall go up as dust; because they have cast away the law of the Lord
of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel"_ (Isa.
v. 20, 23, 24). When this sentence is completely carried out moral
order and harmony will be restored to the universe.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
This verse shows that the term justify (Hebrew, _matzeddik_) is
forensic, to _pronounce just_ one, even though not just in himself: a
keyword in the doctrinal Epistle to the Romans: the opposite of
_"condemn"_ or _pronounce impious_ (_mareshiang_).--_Fausset._
That _"both"_ should be, to the expression _"even"_ seems to point to
as wonderful. They are both very plain propositions; and yet neither
of them, in the mind of the sinner, is free from half-conscious
surprise. That God "will by no means clear the guilty" (Exod.
xxxiv. 7) and, therefore, that "without the shedding of blood is no
remission" (Heb. ix. 22), when learned, is half the Gospel. To learn
it easily, would imply that "then hath the offence of the Cross
ceased" (Gal. v. 11). God will not condemn Himself in his "righteous"
action, and He cannot _"justify the wicked"_ without a mediator; and
Solomon, without being able to clear all the difficulties, sets in
this sentence as one of the great timbers of thought, which he looks
to to defend the Gospel.--_Miller._
He spareth the wolf and so hurteth the lambs; He toucheth the members
of Christ and the very apples of the Lord's eye.--_Muffet._
But let us place ourselves before the "Judge of all" accused by
Satan, our own conscience, and the righteous law of God; convicted of
every charge; yet justified. Does God then in thus "justifying the
ungodly" (Rom. iv. 5) contravene this rule? Far from it. If He
_justifies the wicked,_ it is on account of righteousness (Ib.
iii. 25, 26). If He _condemns the just,_ it is on the imputation of
unrighteousness. Nowhere throughout the universe do the moral
perfections of the Governor of the world shine so gloriously as at
the cross of Calvary. The satisfaction of the holy law, and the
manifestation of righteous mercy, harmonise with the justification of
the condemned sinner. And this combined glory tunes the song of
everlasting praise.--_Bridges._
That condemning the just is a grievous crime, there is no doubt. But
some will be startled at the wise man's assertion, that justifying
the wicked is a crime of the like nature and malignity. But we rebel
against God by turning to the right hand, as well as by turning to
the left, from that way in which we are commanded to walk. Justifying
the wicked has an appearance of mercy in it, but there is cruelty to
millions in unreasonable acts of mercy to individuals. It was not
altogether without ground observed by a senator to the Emperor
Cocceius Nerva, when his detestation of his predecessor's cruelty
seduced him into the extreme of clemency,--That it was bad to live in
a state where every thing was forbidden, but worse to live in a state
where every thing was allowed. Historians tell us, that the provinces
of the empire suffered more oppression under the administration of
this mild prince, than in the bloody reign of Domitian.--_Lawson._
As in the administration of justice, in the world or in the Church,
so in the official declaration of doctrine and of duty,
_faithfulness_ is the first and most essential qualification. No
"gift," no bribe, no love of gain,--or, in the apostle's words,
"greed of filthy lucre,"--must ever be allowed to corrupt "the man of
God," and tempt him either to pervert or to keep back the truth--to
"shun to declare" any part of "the counsel of God," or to utter a
single sentiment but what he believes to be a lesson of God's Word,
a Divinely authorised message. For a minister of Christ either to
say what is false or to withhold what is true, from a wish to please
those on whom he may feel himself dependent, is as unworthy of him as
for a judge on the civil bench to pervert justice, and may be to
others unspeakably more mischievous. The decisions of the latter can
affect only what is temporary; the effects of the former's unfaithful
temporising may extend to eternity. The guilt of the former,
therefore, may be greater than that of the latter, in the proportion
of the value of the _soul_ to the _body,_ of _eternity_ to _time._
There must be no bribery or corruption here. O to be able to say with
Paul, "I am clear from the blood of all men."--_Wardlaw._
When Jacob, blessing the sons of Joseph, put his hands across, and
laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim the younger, and his left
hand on the head of Manasseh the elder, the thing displeased Joseph.
But Jacob refused to have his hands removed. Now that which Jacob did
in the blessing of his grandchildren, the same is the cursed doing of
many who in the world are seated in the place of justice. For those
whom God setteth on His right hand, they set on the left, those who
God setteth on His left hand they set on the right. . . . And though
God Himself call to them, _Not so,_ yet they refuse to alter their
sentence. . . . And though their hands in justifying go across, yet
being joined together in wickedness they are both an abomination to
the Lord.--_Jermin._
_He that saith to the wicked, thou are righteous_ (1) condemneth the
law of God, for that condemneth the wicked; (2) doth as much as he
may to bring sin into credit, that others also should practise it
without fear or reproach; (3) hardeneth the heart and hurteth the
soul of the offender, debarring him from corrections, which are God's
medicines for the curing of evils. He dealeth as a murderer under the
name of a physician that encourageth his patient to eat the poison
freely.--_Dod._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 16.
NEGLECTED OPPORTUNITIES.
+I. One of the uses which ought to be made of wealth.+ Men ought to
use it to "get wisdom." it is obvious that a wealthy man has more
opportunities of gaining knowledge than a poor man has, and an
increase of knowledge ought to make a man wiser. A rich man's wealth
gives him access to the wisdom of the great minds of past ages, and
it often obtains for him the companionship of the most learned men of
his own generation. It enables him to gain a knowledge of the world
on which he lives and of the men who people it; by travel he can
stand face to face with all the glorious works of God in nature, and
he can mingle with men of various races and see human nature in all
its various phases. And these experiences ought to make him a wise
man. Wealth is given to men for this purpose, among others, to make
them intellectually and morally better--for although spiritual
blessings cannot be purchased for money, yet where the grace of God
is in the heart, the "price in the hand" will increase a man's
opportunities of growing in the knowledge of God and in the practice
of godliness. Those who are _"rich in this world"_ may and ought to
lay _"up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time
to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life"_ (1 Tim. i. 17-19).
Their wealth ought not to be a hindrance but a help to high spiritual
attainments. When we use bread rightly we get strength out of it;
when we use water rightly we get refreshment out of it; when we use
light rightly we get guidance out of it; and when the gift of wealth
is rightly used, men get wisdom out of it.
+II. Wealth bestowed, where we can give no reason for its bestowal.+
Wealth in the hand of a fool seems thrown away. If we saw a bundle of
bank-notes in the hands of an infant we should at once say they were
in the wrong hand; but many a princely fortune is at the disposal of
men who are as incapable now of putting it to a good use, as they
were when they were children. Neither the head nor the heart are
capable of guiding the hand--there is neither moral nor intellectual
capability to make the riches the means of blessing even the
possessor. _"Wherefore,"_ then, _"is there a price in the hand of a
fool to get wisdom,"_ especially when there are so many men in
poverty who would make the best possible use of riches? We cannot
answer the question. Even the wise man does not attempt to solve the
problem. Men daily come face to face with facts connected with human
existence which they cannot explain. In some of these they can see
adaptation; although they cannot tell _how_ it is that the thing is
so, they can discern a _fitness_ in its being so. But there are other
facts in the government of God for which we can assign no reason, and
the "price in the hand of a fool" is one of them. The Divine Ruler of
men's destines fulfils His wise purposes in ways and by means which
often perplex His finite creatures.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
We understand the term _"a price,"_ as signifying _whatever puts it
in anyone's power to acquire_ the particular object. The phraseology
is borrowed from the _market._ Any article, we are wont to say, may
be had there, if a man has but the price to pay for it. What the
_"price"_ is to the article wanted, the _means of acquiring_ are to
_"wisdom."_ When we wish to put any article of ordinary merchandise
within a person's power, we furnish that person with the price at
which it is valued. There are cases, however, in which this may not
be enough. The price may be in a man's hand, and yet the article may
not be within his reach, not, at the time, to be had. Happily, it is
never so with the wisdom here spoken of. If the means are possessed
of acquiring it, it may always be acquired. It is in the hand of God
himself; and He is never either at a distance that we cannot repair
to Him, or unwilling to bestow it upon us when we come to Him for
it--_bestow_ it, I say, for we must remember, with regard to divine
wisdom, that, in a literal sense, it _cannot be purchased._ It must
be had _"without money and without price."_ It is not to be "gotten
for gold." Why is it, then, that in so many cases in which "the price
is in the hand to get wisdom," the means of securing it possessed,
its lessons remained unlearned, the mind ignorant, the heart
unimproved? . . . Here is the answer--the only one that can with
truth be given,--there has been _"no heart to it."_ The principle is
of wide application, and might be largely illustrated. . . . There is
no maxim more thoroughly established by experience, than that a man
cannot excel in anything to which _his heart does not lie._ When do
men succeed best in the pursuit of any object? Is it not when they
_have a heart to it?_ What is it that keeps all men astir in the
pursuit and acquisition of wealth? Is it not that _they have a heart
to it?_ How do men acquire celebrity in any of the departments of
science or of art? Is it not when they _have a heart to it?_--some
measure of enthusiastic eagerness and persevering delight in the
pursuit? . . . I put it to your consciences,--whether there be
anything else whatever, that keeps you from the knowledge and the
fear of God, wherein true religion consists, than your _having no
heart to them?_ Talk not to me of _inability:_--your inability is
entirely moral, and consists in nothing else whatever than your
_"having no heart"_ to that which is good. And is this not criminal?
If not, then there is no sin nor crime on earth, in hell, in the
universe; nor is the existence or the conception of such a thing as
moral evil possible. The want of heart to that which is good, is the
very essence of all that is sinful. You offer anything but a valid
excuse for your want of religion, when you say you _"have no heart to
it."_ You plead in excuse the very essence of your guilt. If you
desired to fear God, and could not help the contrary, your inability
might be something in your behalf. But the thing cannot be. To desire
to fear God, and not to be able, is a contradiction in terms. The
having of the desire is the having of the principle. There can be no
desiring to fear without fearing, no desiring to love without
loving.--_Wardlaw._
No means can make a man wise who wanteth a good will to learn
heavenly wisdom. Ishmael had good education, and Ahithophel had quick
capacity, and the fool spoken of in the Gospel had great wealth, and
none of all these attained to any grace. One of them was strong, and
another witty, and another wealthy, but never a one wise and godly.
Judas had as good a teacher as Peter, or as any other apostle, and
had as good company, and saw as many miracles; and yet they having
good hearts become worthy and excellent persons, and he having a
false heart became a traitor and a devil.--_Dod._
Wherefore serve good natural parts, either of body or mind; or
authority, opportunity, or other advantages, if they be not rightly
improved and employed? Certainly they will prove no better than
Uriah's letters to those that have them; or as the sword which Hector
gave to Ajax, which, so long as he used it against his enemies,
served for help and defence, but after he began to abuse it, turned
into his own bowels. This will be a bodkin at thy heart one day: "I
might have been saved, but I woefully let slip those opportunities
which God had thrust into my hand."--_Trapp._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 17, 18, _and of CHAP. xviii._ 24.
TRUE FRIENDSHIP.
+I. A true friend loves under all conditions.+ 1. _He loves in times
of separation._ The distance between our earth and the sun does not
prevent the one from influencing the other--there is a power in
gravitation which can make itself felt even when the objects affected
by it are thousands of miles apart. So true love is quite independent
of space--oceans may roll between the friends, yea, the very grave
may separate them, and yet the gravitating force which first drew the
heart of one man to another will make itself felt. It has been said
that the dead and the absent have no friends, but this is a libel
upon human nature. A friend loveth whether the object of his love is
present or absent, and will, if needs be, defend his friend's
character when he is not present to speak for himself. 2. _He loves
even in times of temporary estrangement._ Transitory differences are
not incompatible with the most genuine friendship, and while human
nature is in its present imperfect condition it will sometimes happen
that one real and true friend will disappoint and grieve another. But
if the real and true feeling is in the heart it will be as unshaken
by these temporary disturbances as the root of the tree is by the
storm-wind that moves its branches.
+II. Friendship is especially precious in times of trial.+ True
friends are not like the locust, which seeks only the green pastures
and fruitful fields, and leaves them as soon as it has taken from
them all that it could feed upon, but they are like the stars, the
value of whose light is only really understood when all other lights
are absent. When all is going well with a man he may underestimate
the value of his friend's regard; he may not really know how
heartfelt it is; but when misfortune, or sickness, or bereavement
overtake him, he realises that a "brother is born for adversity."
+III. There is a bond stronger than any tie of blood-relationship.+
We have abundant and melancholy proofs that the mere fact of being
brothers according to the flesh does not make men one in heart. The
first man who tasted death was murdered by his brother, and many sons
of the same father since that day have been separated from each other
by a hatred as deep and deadly as that which prompted Cain to murder
Abel. In the family in which Solomon was a son there was one brother
with the blood of another upon his head (2 Sam. xiii. 28-30).
Something stronger and deeper than the mere tie of blood is needed to
make men one in heart. The most beautiful example of friendship upon
record existed between the son of Saul and the shepherd of Bethlehem
where there was no relationship according to the flesh, and where the
heir-apparent to the throne loved as his own soul the youth who was
to supplant him. There is no friendship so firm and enduring as that
which is based upon doing the will of God (Mark iii. 35) no
brotherhood so perfect and lasting as that which has its origin in a
common discipleship to Him who is not ashamed to call them brothers
(Heb. ii. 11), and who is Himself the "friend above all others,"
whose love can span the distance between His throne in glory and the
meanest hovel upon earth, and the greater distance between Divine
perfection and human sinfulness, and who was in all things _"made
like unto his brethren,"_ that having Himself _"suffered being
tempted, He might be able to succour them that are tempted"_ (Heb.
ii. 17), and thus prove Himself to be pre-eminently the "Brother born
for adversity," and the "Friend that sticketh closer than a brother."
+IV. It is an evidence of great folly to treat men as bosom-friends
before we know them.+ There are men who will trust in a comparative
stranger to such an extent as to lend their credit and their good
name to him without any reasonable security. Such a man Solomon here
characterises as being "void of understanding." It is a mark of a
fool to enter into any engagement without deliberation, and in
nothing does lack of wisdom more plainly manifest itself than in the
formation of hasty friendships, especially if the friendship involves
a man in any kind of suretyship. From lack of prudence in this matter
many a man has been "all his lifetime subject to bondage." It behoves
all men in the matter of friendship to follow the advice of
Polonius:--
The friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,
Grapple them to thy soul with hooks of steel;
But do not dull thy palm with entertainment
Of each new-hatched, unfledged comrade.
_ILLUSTRATION OF TRUE FRIENDSHIP._
Damon was sentenced to die on a certain day, and sought permission of
Dionysius of Syracuse to visit his family in the interim. It was
granted on condition of securing a hostage for himself. Pythias heard
of it, and volunteered to stand in his friend's place. The king
visited him in prison, and conversed with him about the motive of his
conduct, affirming his disbelief in the influence of friendship.
Pythias expressed his wish to die, that his friend's honour might be
vindicated. He prayed the gods to delay the return of Damon till
after his own execution in his stead. The fatal day arrived.
Dionysius sat on a moving throne drawn by six white horses. Pythias
mounted the scaffold and thus addressed the spectators, "My prayer is
heard; the gods are propitious, for the winds have been contrary till
yesterday. Damon could not come, he could not conquer
impossibilities; he will be here to-morrow, and the blood that is
shed to-day shall have ransomed the life of my friend. Could I erase
from your bosoms every mean suspicion of the honour of Damon, I
should go to my death as I should to my bridal.". . . As he closed a
voice in the distance cried, "Stop the execution!" and the cry was
taken up and repeated by the whole assembly. A man rode up at full
speed, mounted the scaffold, and embraced Pythias, crying, "You are
safe now, my beloved friend! I have nothing but death to suffer, and
am delivered from reproaches for having endangered a life so much
dearer than my own." Pythias replied, "Fatal haste, cruel impatience!
What envious powers have wrought impossibilities in your favour? But
I will not be wholly disappointed. Since I cannot die to save you, I
will not survive you." The king was moved to tears, and, ascending
the scaffold, cried, "Live, live, ye incomparable pair! Ye have borne
unquestionable testimony to the existence of virtue, and that virtue
equally evinces the existence of a god to reward it. Live happy, live
renowned, and oh! form me by your precepts, as ye have invited me by
your example, to be worthy of the participation of so sacred a
friendship."
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 17. _"The Friend."_ We are to notice the article. It does not
impair the proverb for its secular use. We have such an idiom: _"the
friend," i.e., the true friend._ Even a worldly friend, to be worth
anything, must be for all times; and what is a brother born for, but
for distress? But spiritually, the article is just in its place.
There is but One Only _"Friend,"_ and a _"Brother"_ who would not
have been _"born"_ at all, but for the distress and straitness of His
house.--_Miller._
Friendship contrasted with the wicked decreases from hour to hour,
like the early shadow of the morning; but friendship formed with the
virtuous will increase like the shadow of evening, till the sun of
life shall set.--_Herder._
Extremity distinguisheth friends. Worldly pleasures, like physicians,
give us over, when once we lie-a-dying; and yet the death-bed hath
most need of comforts. Christ Jesus standeth by His in the pangs of
death, and after death at the bar of judgment; not leaving them
either in their bed or grave. I will use them, therefore, to my best
advantage; not trust them. But for Thee, O my Lord, which in mercy
and truth canst not fail me, who I have found ever faithful and
present in all extremities, kill me, yet will I trust in Thee.--_Bp.
Hall._
A friend shares my sorrow and makes it but a moiety; but He swells my
joy and makes it double. For so two channels divide the river and
lessen it into rivulets and make it fordable, and apt to drink up at
the first revels of the Syrian star; but two torches do not divide,
but increase the flame. And though my tears are the sooner dried up
when they run on my friend's cheek in furrows of compassion; yet when
my flame has kindled his lamp, we unite the glories, and make them
radiant, like the golden candlesticks that burn before the throne of
God; because they shine by numbers, by unions, and confederations of
light and joy.--_Jeremy Taylor._
When a man blind from his birth was asked what he thought the sun was
like, he replied, "Like friendship." He could not conceive of
anything as more fitting as a similitude for what he had been taught
to regard as the most glorious of material objects, and whose
quickening and exhilarating influences he had rejoiced to
feel.--_Morris._
A brother for adversity is one who will act the brother in a season
of adversity. Of such an one it is said, _he must or shall be born,_
possibly, _he is born._ I do not understand this last clause unless
the assertion is, that none but such as are _born brethren, i.e.,_
kindred by blood, will cleave to us in distress. Yet this is true
only in a qualified sense. But another shade of meaning may be
assigned to the passage, which is, that such a man as a friend in
adversity _is yet to be born, i.e.,_ none such are now to be found;
thus making it substantially equivalent in sense to the expression:
"How few and rare are such faithful friends."--_Stuart._
As in the natural, so in the spiritual brotherhood, misery breeds
unity. Ridley and Hooper, that when they were bishops, differed so
much about ceremonies, could agree well enough, and be mutual
comforts one to another when they were both prisoners. Esther
concealed her kindred in hard times, but God's people cannot; Moses
must rescue his beaten brother out of the hand of the Egyptian,
though he venture his life by it.--_Trapp._
Man in his weakness needs a steady friend, and God in His wisdom has
provided one in the constitution of nature. Not entrusting all to
acquired friendship, He has given us some as a birthright
inheritance. For the day of adversity a brother is born to many who
would not have been able to win one. It is at once a glory to God in
the highest, and a sweet solace to afflicted men, when a brother or a
sister, under the secret and steady impulses of nature, bears and
does for the distressed what no other friend, however loving, could
be expected to bear or do. How foolish for themselves are those who
lightly snap those bonds asunder, or touch them oft with the
corrosive drops of contention! One who is born your brother is best
fitted to be your friend in trouble, if unnatural strife has not rent
asunder those whom their Maker intended to be one in spirit. . . .
_"There is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother."_ He must be
a fast friend indeed, for a brother, if nature's affections have been
cherished, lies close in, and keeps a steady hold. . . . Oh, when
hindering things are taken out of the way of God's work, a brother
lies very close to a brother. He who comes closer must be no common
friend. . . . It is the idea of a friendship more perfect, fitting
more kindly into our necessities, and bearing more patiently with our
weaknesses, than the instinctive love of a brother by birth. From
God's hand-work in nature a very tender and a very strong friendship
proceeds: from His covenant of mercy comes a friendship tenderer and
stronger still. Now, although the conception is embodied in the
communion of saints, its full realisation is only found in the love
wherewith Christ loves His own. . . . The precious germ which
Solomon's words unfold, bore its ripened fruit only when He who is
bone of our bone gave Himself the just for the unjust. Thus by a
surer process than verbal criticism, we are conducted to the man
Christ Jesus, as at once the Brother born for adversity, and the
Friend that sticketh closer than a brother. . . . In the day of your
deepest adversity even a born brother must let go his hold. That
extremity is the opportunity of your best friend.--_Arnot._
Verse 18. It is good to try him whom we intend for a bosom friend
before we trust him; as men prove their vessels with water before
they fill them with wine. Many complain of the treachery of their
friends, and say, with Queen Elizabeth, that in trust they have found
treason; but most of these have greatest cause, if all things be duly
weighed, to complain of themselves for making no better
choice.--_Swinnock._
Seeing he hath not understanding to keep himself from hurt, it were
good if he had not power in his hand to do himself hurt. . . . Surely
such a fool may quickly wring his hands together in sorrow, who
before did clap his hands in joy, and may strike himself in anger
with the same hand, wherewith in the foolish kindness of surety he
struck the hand of another. . . . For often this over-kind part of a
friend is the breaking of friendship if it bring no further
mischief.--_Jermin._
The evil effects of _strife_ and _pride,_ which form the subject of
verse 19, have been treated before. See on verse 14, and on chaps.
xi. 2, and xvi. 18. Some expositors attach a slight difference to the
meaning of the latter clause. See below.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
_"Sets high_ (exalteth) _his gate;"_ a figure that is probably
misunderstood. It probably means _belligerence._ A moat over which
issued armed bands, with banners and mounted spearmen, required high
space to let them go forth. "Lift up your heads, O ye gates," etc.
The soul that fixes itself that way against the Almighty, ready to
march out upon Him on any occasion of quarrel, _"seeks"_
ruin.--_Miller._
The slothful man exposes himself to misery; but he waits for it till
it comes upon him like a traveller. The aspiring man, that cannot be
happy without a stately dwelling, and a splendid manner of living
beyond what his estate will bear, _seeks_ for destruction, and sends
a coach and six to bring it to him.--_Lawson._
_"And he that exalteth his gate seeketh destruction."_ Some take this
for a comparison:--As surely as he that exalteth his gate (enlarging
it out of due proportion) seeketh destruction to his house, by thus
weakening its structure,--_so surely_ does he that loveth strife
generate transgression. The phrase _"exalteth his gate,"_ however,
instead of being thus understood literally, may, with more propriety,
be interpreted of a man's _ambitiously affecting a style of living
beyond his income_--disproportionate to the amount of his means of
maintaining it. The _general character_ is described by one
particular manifestation of it--the high style of the exterior of his
mansion. The "exalting of the _gate_" applies to the entire style of
his household establishment--not to his dwelling merely, but to his
equipage, his table, his servants, his dress, and everything else. He
who does this _"seeks destruction:"_ he courts his own downfall, as
effectually as if it were his direct object to ruin himself. Matthew
Henry, in his own quaint and pithy way, says--"He makes his gate so
large, that his house and estate go out at it."--_Wardlaw._
There is none that loveth strife more than he that _exalteth his
gate,_ either the gate of his ears to hear the tales of others, and
the praises of himself, or else the gates of his eyes overlooking
others with scorn and disdain, and his own worth by many degrees, or
else the gate of his mouth, which is properly the gate of man, with
big and swelling words, with high and lofty terms which usually are
the sparks that kindle contention. But what doth such an one do, but
ever _seek for destruction,_ which at his lifted-up gate, findeth
easy passage to run in upon him.--_Jermin._
For Homiletics on the subjects of verses 20 and 21, see on chapter
x. 1, 13, 14, etc., and on verse 24.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 22.
THE MERRY HEART.
+I. The mind acts upon the body.+ It is a fact which no observant man
would deny, that there is an intimate connection between sorrow of
soul and sickness of body, and that cheerfulness of spirit tends to
physical health. A physician always tries to keep his patient in good
spirits, and when he discerns that he is weighed down by some mental
burden, he wisely seeks to lighten that as well as to administer
remedies to the body. And when a man is in health cheerfulness of
disposition tends to keep him so; while a depressed condition of mind
makes him a more easy prey to disease. That "a merry heart doeth good
like a medicine, but a broken spirit drieth the bones," is a
convincing proof of the mysterious sympathy that exists between the
_man_ and his _earthly dwelling-place._
+II. What will conduce to cheerfulness of spirit--to what Solomon
here calls "a merry heart?"+ 1. _A heart at peace with God._ Some
poisons taken into the system produce for a time a calming and
quieting influence upon the body, but it is a quiet and a calm which
comes from deadening the capabilities of feeling. Opium may send a
man to sleep, but it is a sleep which gives neither refreshment nor
strength. A quiet conscience is the first and indispensable element
of heart-cheerfulness, and there are other methods of getting free
for a time from pain of conscience beside "that peace with God which
comes from being justified by faith" (Rom. v. 1). But all other quiet
of soul comes from opiates whose power is but for a time, while this
peace comes from the consciousness of reconciliation with God--from a
sense of standing in a right relation to all that is right and true
in the universe. 2. _A vivid realisation of unseen realities._ Though
a state of reconciliation with God will give freedom from the sense
of guilt, it does not always give that active state of cheerfulness
which can be called "a merry heart." A river sometimes glides along
between its banks in a state of undisturbed calmness; but there are
times when the volume of water is so great that it overflows its
channels. Peace is like a calm river, but joy is like one whose
waters cannot contain themselves within its boundaries, but must pour
forth on the right hand and on the left. _Peace_ has been defined as
"love resting," and joy as "love exulting." The one is a passive
state of mind, while the other is active. But it is the latter,
rather than the former, which makes that cheerful spirit which "doeth
good like a medicine," and it is the fruit only of a vivid sense of
"things not seen" (Heb. xi. 1). Those who live on high lands and
breathe the pure mountain air, are conscious of an exuberance of
animal life, of which even perfectly healthy people who live in the
valleys know nothing. So, men who live in the higher regions of
spiritual life know a "joy in God"--are sensible of an uplifting of
spirit--to which ordinary and every-day Christians are strangers.
They are not only _believers,_ but they are filled with "all joy and
peace in believing;" they not only have "peace with God through our
Lord Jesus Christ," but they "rejoice in hope of the glory of God"
(Rom. v. 1, 2). 3. _A life of active love._ A selfish man can never
be a cheerful man--he who lives for himself alone can never know the
healing power of "a merry heart." There can be no abiding
cheerfulness of heart without joy in God, and there can be no abiding
joy in God without love to man. "There is nothing," says _Dr.
Maclaren,_ "more evanescent in its nature than the emotion of
religious joy, faith, or the like, unless it be turned into a spring
of action for God. Such emotions, like photographs, vanish from the
heart unless they be fixed. Work for God is the way to fix them. Joy
in God is the strength of work for God, but Work for God is the
perpetuation of joy in God."
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Mirth is short and transient, cheerfulness fixed and permanent. Those
are often raised into the greatest transports of mirth who are
subject to the greatest depressions of melancholy. On the contrary,
cheerfulness, though it does not give the mind such an exquisite
gladness, prevents us from falling into any depths of sorrow. Mirth
is like a flash of lightning, that breaks through a gloom of clouds,
and glitters for a moment; cheerfulness keeps up a kind of daylight
in the mind. . . . Cheerfulness is the best promoter of health.
Repinings and secret murmurs of heart give imperceptible strokes to
those delicate fibres of which the vital parts are composed, and wear
out the machine insensibly; not to mention those violent ferments
which they stir upon the blood, and those irregular disturbed motions
which they raise in the animal spirits. I scarce remember, in my own
observation, to have met with many old men, or with such who (to use
our English phrase) wear well, that had not at least a certain
indolence in their humour, if not a more than ordinary gaiety and
cheerfulness of heart. The truth is, health and cheerfulness mutually
beget each other.--_Addison._
The verb means, _to cure,_ and, as far as we can fix it, the noun
means, not a _medicine,_ but a final _"cure."_ In the world at large
cheerfulness is an immense gift; but in religion the wise man wishes
to say that hopefulness is strength (Neh. viii. 10); that it is
better to look cheerfully upon God, than with complaints; that if we
are to be _cured_ at all, a glad heart will help it.--_Miller._
All true mirth is from rectitude of the mind, from a right frame of
soul. When faith hath once healed the conscience, and grace hath
hushed the affections, and composed all within, so that there is a
Sabbath of the spirit, and a blessed tranquility lodged in the soul,
then the body also is vigorous and vegetous, for most part in very
good plight and healthful constitution, which makes man's life very
comfortable. . . . They that in the use of lawful means _wait on the
Lord, shall renew their strength_ (Isa. ix. 31).--_Trapp._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 23.
BRIBERY.
+I. Its nature.+ An act of bribery may be committed without any
monetary transaction taking place. It is not necessary that gold
should pass from hand to hand to make a man guilty of bribery. It is
not even necessary that there should be a distinct promise of any
good either in the present or the future. A man bribes another if he
merely implies by word or deed that he can make him suffer for
speaking what he knows is the truth, and for acting according to the
dictates of his conscience. And a man is guilty of accepting a bribe
if he abstains from such speech or action from a fear of loss or from
a hope of gain, although no distinct promise or threatening has been
made by those whom he wishes to propitiate.
+II. Its cause.+ Want of integrity on the part of both the man who
offers the bribe and him who accepts it. There are some men in the
world to whom even a man who held their lives in his hand would not
think of offering a bribe of any kind. He knows it would be as
useless to attempt to make such men swerve from the path of right as
to try to alter the course of the earth round the sun. There are
many, we know, in this country, notwithstanding its many timeservers
and place-hunters who, like Samuel of old can say, _"Whose ox have I
taken, or whose ass have I taken, or who have I defrauded, who have I
oppressed, or of whose hands have I received any bribe to blind mine
eyes therewith?"_ (1 Sam. xii. 3). Only one thing is needed to
destroy bribery--in its most impalpable and shadowy forms as well as
in its more glaring and shameless manifestations--and that is
universal honesty of character. When every man loves truth and right
more than he loves material gain then bribery will cease, but not
before. Men may be restrained by shame from being guilty of it
openly, and will call it by some less obnoxious name, but the spirit
of bribery will be at work so long as there are men upon the earth
who love gain more than godliness.
+III. The universal testimony of the human conscience against it.+
"The wicked man taketh a gift _out of his bosom_"--it is a
transaction of secrecy--there is a shame connected with the act which
proves that conscience condemns it. The man who offers the bribe does
not do it openly, which shows that he is fully conscious that he is
transgressing the law of right; and the man who accepts it does not
boast openly that he has done so for the same reason. Bribery is a
sin which is repeatedly denounced by God (Isa. i. 23, 24; Ezra
xxii. 13), but men who have not possessed the light of revelation
have denounced bribery as a crime.
+IV. Its effect.+ It "perverts the ways of justice." Its effect is to
bring about that abomination mentioned in verse 15--the justification
of the wicked and the condemnation of the just. (See Homiletics on
that verse.)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
An honest man would rather lose his cause, however just, than gain it
by such a base thing as a bribe. It must have been a great bondage
for Paul to have been confined in a prison, when he loved the pulpit
so well, had not his will been sunk in the Will of God; yet he would
not offer the least bribe to his covetous judge, who detained him in
prison, expecting that money would be offered for his freedom (Acts
xxiv. 6).--_Lawson._
Is not the child of God often pressed with this temptation? Does the
influence of a gift, the sense of obligation, never repress the bold
consistency of godliness? Does no bias of friendship, no plausible
advantage, entice into a crooked path?--_Bridges._
There is a gift of thankfulness, there is a gift of reconciliation,
there is a gift of goodwill, all these are lawful. Besides these
there is a gift of corruption; this is unlawful.--_Muffet._
Bribery is an officious fellow, and a special bidder to the fatal
banquet, (Prov. ix. 17, 18). He invites both forward and froward: the
forward and yielding by promises of good cheer, _secunda dies,_ that
they shall have a fair day of it; the backward, honest man, by
terrors and menaces that his cause shall else go westward (indeed, it
goes to Westminster!). Yea, with pretence of commiseration and pity,
as if the conscience of their right did animate him to their cause.
Thus with a show of sanctimony they get a saint's money; but indeed,
_argentum fæcundum, argumentum facundum,_--there is no persuasion
more pathethical than the purse's. Bribery stands at the stairfoot in
the robes of an officer, and helps up injury to the place of
audience; thus Judas's bag is drawn with two strings, made of silk
and silver, favour and reward. All officers belong not to one court;
their conditions alter with their places. There are some that seem so
good that they lament the vices, whereupon they yet inflict but
pecuniary punishments. Some of them are like the Israelites, with a
sword in one hand and a trowel in the other, with the motto of that
old emblem, _In utrumque paratus;_ as the one daubs up justice, so
the other cuts breaches of division. They mourn for truth and equity,
as the sons of Jacob for Joseph, when themselves sold it; they
exclaim against penal transgressions. . . . If the party be innocent,
let his cause be sentenced for his innocence's sake; if guilty, let
not gold buy out his punishment. If the cause be doubtful, the judge
shall see it worse when he hath blinded his eyes with bribes. But the
will of the giver doth transfer right of the gift to the receiver.
No; for it is not a voluntary will. But as a man is willing to give
his purse to the thief rather than venture life or limb, so the poor
man gives his bribes rather than hazard his cause. Thou sayest the
thief has no right to the purse so given; God saith, Nor thou to the
bribe. . . . Far be from our souls this wickedness, that the ear
which should be open to complaints is thus stopped with the ear-wax
of partiality. Alas! poor Truth, that she must now be put to the
charges of a golden ear-pick, or she cannot be heard.--_T. Adams._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 24 _IN CONNECTION
WITH THE FIRST CLAUSE OF VERSE_ 22.
THE EYES OF A FOOL AND THOSE OF A WISE MAN.
+I. Even a fool is conscious that there is good to be found.+ If we
meet a traveller in search of a certain city, even although he is
journeying in the very opposite direction to that in which the city
lies, yet the fact that he is journeying at all shows that he is
conscious of its existence. His eyes may be turned away from it
instead of towards it, his feet may be carrying him every moment
farther from it, yet he would not be seeking it in any direction if
he had not a persuasion that it was in existence. A man may be
digging for gold in a soil in which gold has never been found, nor
ever will be, but the fact that he is digging anywhere proves that he
is alive to the fact that there is gold in the world. So the fool is
here represented as seeking--which shows that he is persuaded that
there is a certain good and desirable thing which is attainable. Most
men are seeking--_"There be many which say, Who will show us any
good?"_ (Psalms iv. 6). They are in one direction and another looking
for that which will satisfy and ennoble them, and this universal
quest proves a universal sense of the existence of some desirable
good.
+II. But the fool looks afar for what he needs while it is close at
hand.+ An idle, unpractical man of business spends his time in
fancies that he could make his fortune if he were in some far-off
land, and all the time misses the opportunities of doing so which are
within his reach at home. The idle youth dreams of the grand things
he would do if he were a man, and neglects to do that which would
ennoble and bless his present life. It is a very common
characteristic of moral fools to imagine that they would be blest if
they possessed something which is entirely beyond their reach,
whereas means of obtaining the only real and lasting good are
scattered around them so abundantly that they trample them every day
under their feet. Every sinful man feels that it would be good for
him to stand in a different relation to God, but he does not always
seek that good in the direction in which it is to be found. He feels
his need of a different disposition and character, but he does not go
in quest of them where they may be found. In verse 22 the wise man
traces this habit of the moral fool to the source. He finds "no good"
because he "is froward in heart." The fruitlessness of his search is
due to nothing else but to his own perversity. He would rather demand
external evidence for the truth of revelation than test it by
compliance with its precepts. He excuses his neglect of the plain
commands of God, by dwelling upon mysteries connected with His
Gospel, which finite minds cannot solve. Israel of old was warned of
this error. _"For this commandment which I command thee this day, it
is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven,
that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring
it unto us, that we may hear it and do it? Neither is it beyond the
sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and
bring it unto us, that we may hear it and do it? But the word is very
nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do
it"_ (Deut. xxx. 11-14). And Paul convicts them of the same sin after
the coming of the Messiah. The Scribes and Pharisees in the days of
Christ perversely looked everywhere for light, except to the moral
sun which was shining in their midst.
+III. The man whose understanding is enlightened not only knows what
he needs, but he knows where to find it.+ It is a mark of practical
sagacity in human affairs to know what is wanted, and to know also
where to look for a supply of the want. A traveller ought not only to
know the name of the city which he wants to find, but he ought to
know upon which road to travel to find it. The physician ought not
only to know what his patient needs, but he ought to know where to
find the remedy. The statesman ought to be able to detect the
nation's needs, and he ought also to know where to look for a supply
of the need. And so in every department of social life. A man's life
will be a failure if he can only discern that something is wanting in
himself, in his family, or in his business, but does not know where
to turn to supply the want. So it is in spiritual things. But he who
is morally wise knows what is the real good to be aimed at, and knows
where to seek it. He knows that _"happy is the man that findeth
wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding,"_ that _"the
merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the
gain thereof than fine gold"_ (chap. iii. 13, 14). And he knows that
it is "before him"--that the _"fear of the Lord that is wisdom, and
to depart from evil is understanding"_ (Job. xxviii. 28); and that he
need not go "to the ends of the earth" in quest of this, but that it
is within the reach of every sincere and earnest seeker. (Many
expositors give this verse a different rendering. See Critical Notes.
It would then express a truth similar to that contained in Homiletics
on chap. xiii. 14, page 313.)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Heaven is able to know so much more plainly than hell. The very thing
which is the best enlightener, the minds of hell will be entirely
without. "The depth saith, It is not in me; and the sea saith, It is
not in me. Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof
with our ears." Hell, therefore, will always cavil. If saints judge
better than sinners, how much better God than saints. _"Wisdom is
before_ (His) _very face,"_ while the _"eyes,"_ not of the _"stupid"_
only, but of Gabriel himself, must be in the respect of contrast,
_"at the end of the earth." "At the end,"_ not in the middle, where
the thing can be best judged, but at the dark extremity.--_Miller._
The countenance is the glass of the mind, and the star of the
countenance is the eye. "In the face of the prudent wisdom is
present." In the whole countenance of the discreet person, and in
every part thereof, there is a wise moderation; for in his brows he
carrieth calmness, in his eyes modesty, in his cheeks cheerfulness,
in his lips comeliness, in his whole face a certain grace and
staidness. "But the eyes of the fool are in the ends of the earth."
On the contrary, he who is simple or vain governeth not his very eyes
aright, but letteth loose unto them the bridle in such sort as that
they roll or rove after every vanity, or pry into every
corner.--_Muffet._
We must not only learn wisdom, but keep it in our eyes, that it may
be a light to our feet; for a man that has wisdom in his mind, and
forgets to use it, is like one that has money in his chest, but
forgets to carry some of it with him when he is going a long journey,
to bear his necessary expenses. He will be at a great loss, on many
occasions, that has money in his house, but none in his
pocket.--_Lawson._
_"But the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth."_ He has no
fixed and steady principle or rule; nothing on which he fixes his eye
for his guidance. His thoughts are incessantly wandering after
matters he has nothing to do with,--anything and everything but that
which he should at the time be minding;--roving after every vanity,
and keeping steadily no pursuit. It is specially true of "things
pertaining to salvation." Wisdom, in this matter above all others, is
"before him that hath understanding." He looks to one point. He sees
_one thing to be needful._ He sees the wisdom of God providing for
it. There he fixes. And this is wisdom. It is ever before him. _One_
end--_one_ means. Whereas "the fool's eyes are in the ends of the
earth." He has examined nothing. He roves at random, with no
determinate ideas about the most interesting, by infinite degrees, of
all concerns. Ask him _how he hopes to be saved,_ and you immediately
discover his thoughtless unsettledness. He is "in the ends of the
earth." His answer is to seek. It is here, it is there, it is
nowhere. He hesitates, he supposes, he guesses, he is at a stand--he
cannot tell. . . . There is another character that may here be meant,
namely, the _schemer,_ the _visionary projector._ The truly
intelligent man applies the plain and obvious dictates of common
sense to the attainment of his end; but the scheming visionary fool
is ever after out-of-the-way plans, new and far-fetched
expedients.--_Wardlaw._
Wisdom is full in the sight of the man of understanding, he beholdeth
the beauty and perfection of it, he looketh into the worth and
happiness of it. He sets it before him as a pattern, by which he
frameth and ordereth all his ways, all his doings. His eye is never
from it. It is the glass by which he espieth out the blemishes and
defects of his life, and if he see in it a true resemblance of
himself, it is not the glass that must be said to be true for that
cannot be false, but it is himself that is a man of true worth; the
glass approving his goodness, not he the goodness of the glass. But a
fool beholds wisdom as a thing afar from him; he discerneth not what
it is, nor what is the glory and excellency of it: he perceiveth
nothing whereby either to take direction from it, or liking to it. He
thinketh that he must go to the ends of the earth to get it, and if
ever, it is in the end of his life, that he hath any sight of
it. . . . Or else we may understand the latter part of the verse
thus: That a fool's eyes are in the ends of the earth, because in any
trouble or distress he looketh all up and down the earth, from one
end of it to the other for help and succour, and in the end as a fool
remaineth helpless. But wisdom is before him that hath understanding,
and stopping his eyes from looking too much that way, turneth them
and directeth them up to heaven, where help ought to be sought and is
sure to be found.--_Jermin._
Verse 25 is a repetition of the thought in verse 21. For Homiletics
and Comments see on chap. x. 1.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 26.
SMITING THE JUST.
This verse has been variously rendered and explained. (See Critical
Notes and the comments of different expositors.) It suggests,
however--
+I. That punishment in itself is sometimes necessary and desirable.+
When the laws of the family are wise and good, it is a great
misfortune for the children, and a great sin against them, not to
visit their transgressions with a suitable punishment. And it is
absolutely essential to the existence of a well-ordered state, that
there should be punishment for those who rebel against righteous
laws. Civil rule is of Divine ordination--"the powers that be are
ordained of God" (Rom. xiii. 1). When, therefore, there is no just
cause for civil rebellion, it is a sin not only against the state but
against the Ruler of all the kingdoms of the earth, to break the
established laws. Punishment forms a necessary part of the government
of the universe. God has, both by example and precept, shown its
necessity. When there was rebellion in heaven against a perfect
government, punishment followed, which was proportioned to the
greatness of the transgression--the sentence passed upon the first
rebel in the universe and upon those who were confederate with him
was a terrible one, but it was only commensurate to the exceeding
magnitude of the offence. If rebellion against a government had been
allowed to go unpunished, it would have made way for universal
anarchy. And a community of any kind without punishment for
transgressors, is lacking in a most essential element of its peace
and stability.
+II. But those whose moral character fits them to be the awarders of
punishment are often the victims of it.+ The natural and right order
of things in this respect is often exactly the reverse of what it
ought to be, and just and noble men are treated as transgressors and
suffer the punishment which ought to fall upon their persecutors.
Might is very far from being right in this world, and even in this
country Richard Baxter stood at the bar while Judge Jeffries sat upon
the bench. The apostles of the Lord suffered scourging at the hands
of the council at Jerusalem (Acts v. 40); Paul was condemned to death
by Nero, and Incarnate Righteousness was crucified between two
thieves at the instigation of some of the worst men that the world
has ever seen. In all these cases, and in ten thousand others, the
just were smitten, and as a rule they have suffered, not merely
_although_ they were righteous, but _because_ they were so--it was
their integrity that aroused the enmity of their persecutors--these
moral _"princes"_ were _"stricken for equity."_
+III. Such an abuse of power will in its turn be visited with
punishment.+ Those who have thus unjustly condemned the righteous,
have found in their own personal experience that "to punish the just
is _not good_"--"not good" for their own peace of mind--not good for
their future reputation--not good for the nation who instigated them
or permitted them to do the deed. Haman found that it was not good
for him to aim a blow at the upright Mordecai when he was himself
hanged upon his own gallows; the Persian princes found it was not
good to strike a prince for equity when they were themselves cast
into the den of lions; Judge Jeffries found it out when he lay face
to face with death in the Tower. And among all the nations whose
history has confirmed the truth of the text, none stands out so
prominently as that one whose king was the author of the proverb. The
punishment of the _just_--the striking of _moral princes_ for
equity--was one of the most prominent of their national crimes, and
He whose death at their hands filled up the measure of their
iniquity, declared that it was the great cause of their national
ruin. _"Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye
build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the
righteous, and say if we had been in the days of our fathers we would
not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.
Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves that ye are the children of
them that killed the prophets. . . . Wherefore, behold, I send unto
you prophets, and wise men, and Scribes; and some of them ye shall
kill and crucify; and some of them ye shall scourge in your
synagogues, and persecute them from city to city; that upon you may
come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of
righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye
slew between the temple and the altar"_ (Matt. xxiii. 29-35). The
Jewish nation has been for nearly nineteen centuries a witness that
"to punish the just is not good, nor to strike princes for equity."
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
_Even deserved punishment to the righteous does not seem good when
designed to chasten the willing with a view to holiness. "Even."_
This seems to have been treated as a word _de trop._ King James' men
made it _also;_ as though Solomon grew tired of sameness, and broke
the monotone by a new opening vocable. But with the above rendering
it takes its usual sense. _"Righteous."_ This word and _"punishment"_
bear the weight of the word _"even." Even the righteous,_ who ought
to know better; and _"even punishment,"_ which the righteous, at
last, ought to be willing to bear.--_Miller._
Often is the wise man's meaning much beyond his words. _To punish the
just_ not only _is not good,_ but it is "the abomination" (verse
15)--"an evident token of perdition" (Philip. i. 28). If rulers are
"a terror to good works," they are ministers of God in authority, but
ministers of Satan in administration. And how will such injustice
"abide the day of His coming," when He shall "lay judgment to the
line, and righteousness to the plummet!"--_Bridges._
The word _prince_ signifies _noble,_ and is differently understood.
It may be applied to the nobility of _station,_ or to that of _mind._
Some give preference to the latter; and by interpreting it of the
_noble-minded,_ and the _"just"_ in the former clause, of _the
righteous_ or the _people of God,_ make the two clauses thus to
correspond, and to have much the same import. It seems, however, both
more natural and more comprehensive to consider _two_ ideas to be
expressed; the one relating to the duty of the _ruler,_ and the other
to that of the _ruled._ It is the incumbent duty of the ruler, on the
one part, to administer justice with strict impartiality. It is the
duty, on the other part, of subjects to countenance, encourage, and
support the ruler in the equitable administration of his trust. To
_"strike"_ is evidently to be understood, not literally alone of
actual striking, but of "smiting with the tongue" as well as with the
fist or the rod,--of all kinds of vituperation and abuse, and
attempts to bring the throne into disrepute and odium, and unsettle
its stability, by shaking the confidence and attachment of the
community. There are many occasions in which a man may be tempted to
this. He may, in particular cases, have his mind biassed by pride, by
self-interest, by partiality towards a friend, by political
predilections; so that even when all has been done with impartial
investigation, and the judgment pronounced according to legitimate
rules of evidence and demands of equity, there may be unfair,
unreasonable and angry dissatisfaction; and the prince may be smitten
for justice. Every man ought to be on his guard against this. The
higher the responsibility,--the more burdensome and difficult the
trust,--and the more serious the results of bringing authorities and
the laws into disesteem, and unsettling public confidence in
them,--ought to be the amount of our reluctant caution in pronouncing
censure. Another remark may be ventured. One of the great
difficulties with which governments of great nations have to contend,
arises from the variety of crossing and contending interests with
which they have to deal. How anxious soever they may honestly be, to
allow no undue bias to draw them from the line of impartial justice,
yet there is hardly a measure they can adopt that does not affect
differently different classes of the community; so that, from their
various predisposing circumstances, that shall appear to one
class--to those in one particular department of trade or
commerce--the very essence of injustice, which by another is lauded
as a most unexceptionable exemplification of impartial equity. This
ought surely to have the effect--I do not by any means say of
forbidding the most vigilant observance and the freest and most
searching scrutiny and discussion of every measure, and the exposure
of its evil or questionable character and tendency--but assuredly of
procuring some allowance for the difficulty of the task of pleasing
all parties, and some moderation in the tone of censure even where to
us the grounds for it are clear and palpable. No man who knows
himself will affirm, in almost any case, that, placed, in other
circumstances, he might not see with other eyes. I speak in general.
There are cases in which the interests of a suffering country are, to
a vast extent, involved, in which it becomes every man's paramount
duty to speak out and to speak plainly, and to make the ears of the
rulers to tingle with the outcry of humanity and justice. I would
further apply the spirit of this verse to the case of _arbitrators._
We have ourselves, it may be, consented to submit a litigated point
to arbitration. We do so with a full persuasion of our being in the
right--of our claim being the just one. But the arbiters unite in
giving it against us. It would be most unreasonable on our part to
retain a grudge, especially at the one appointed by ourselves, on
this account. Our reference implied confidence in his impartiality
and honour, and implied a pledge of cheerful acquiescence. To
grumble, to censure, and to withdraw our friendship, would be indeed
to _"strike him for equity."_ He would have proved himself unworthy
of his trust, if his disposition to please and serve us had been too
strong for principle, conscience, and oath. There is _one_
government, in which "the just" are never "punished"--all whose laws
and all whose sanctions are the perfection of equity. But alas! it is
under that very government that the spirit expressed by the phrase
"striking princes for equity" is most fearfully manifested. All the
murmurings of sinners against either the law of God or its revealed
and threatened penalty, are the very essence, in its deepest
malignity, of this spirit.--_Wardlaw._
Righteous men are princes in all lands (Psa. xlv. 16); yea, they are
kings in righteousness as Melchisedec. Indeed they are somewhat
obscure kings as he was, but kings they appear to be, by comparing
Matt. xiii. 17 with Luke x. 24; "many righteous," saith Matthew,
"many kings," saith Luke. Now, to strike a king is high treason; and
although princes have put up blows, as when one struck our Henry VI.,
he only said, "Forsooth, you do wrong yourself more than me, to
strike the Lord's anointed."--_Trapp._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 27, 28.
TWO BADGES OF A WISE MAN.
+I. Reticence of speech.+ This subject has been dwelt on before. See
on chap. x. 19-21. The verses before us suggest further that a man
who is sparing of words is not necessarily a man of abundant wisdom,
for even a fool may hold his peace sometimes. Solomon elsewhere tells
us that "a fool uttereth all his mind" (Prov. xxix. 11); but the fool
of this text is not so foolish as to do that. It has been remarked
that "by silence a fool abates something of his senselessness, and
since he gets the opportunity to collect himself and to reflect, a
beginning of wisdom is developed in him" (_Von Gerlach_). It argues
some amount of wisdom in a man if he is silent when he has nothing to
say which is worth the saying. But the false conclusion must not be
drawn, that every man who is not given to much speech is a man of
great understanding and of vast mental resources. It is much better
that the stone should remain upon the mouth of a well of impure
water, but it must not be taken for granted, because the well is kept
closed, that there is a supply of life-giving water within.
+II. Calmness of temper.+ It is a mark of wisdom to strive after a
"cool" (excellent) "spirit." 1. _It makes life more pleasant._ A man
who allows himself to be vexed and irritated by all the annoyances of
every-day life has no enjoyment of his existence. A fretful and hasty
temper makes every bitter draught more bitter, and takes the
sweetness out of the cup that would otherwise be a pleasant one.
2. _It makes a man more respected and more useful._ A man who cannot
curb his temper is a despicable object, and will certainly be
despised. A passionate man may be pitied and excused, but he cannot
be respected. Hence he cannot have much influence for good upon
others. This subject also has been treated before. See Homiletics on
chap. xiv. 17 and 29, pages 363 and 386.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
_"He that retains his words knows knowledge."_ The words are precise.
It is the fact that he "knows knowledge" that impels a man to
restrain his words. If he did not _"know knowledge,"_ if he had not
_light,_ and did not know it when he saw it; if he did not see light
in God, and know it when he has seen it, and really see enough of it
to convince him that "God is light," he could not stand the darkness.
The unfortunates in hell have no light to enable them to endure the
dark. But the saint, _knowing knowledge,_ and seeing that it exists
in God, is balanced enough against the mysteries to enable him to
restrain his words. . . . The wise man asserts that this silence is a
chief mark of piety. . . . If a man do shut his lips he is
wise. . . . The fool is a wise man when he is silent, and when, in
meek submission, he bows to what he cannot understand.--_Miller._
He cannot be known for a fool who says nothing. He is a fool, not who
hath unwise thoughts, but who utters them. Even concealed folly is
wisdom.--_Bp. Hall._
He that hath knowledge hath not many words: the fulness of the one
causeth in him a scarcity of the other. And there is nothing that he
spendeth idly more unwillingly than his words. But yet, _having
knowledge,_ he knoweth both when to spare and when to spend. . . .
The original words here are _knowing knowledge,_ for many know much,
but it is not knowledge that they know. Some labour hard and waste
their time to know needless vanities, which, being better unknown,
have not true knowledge in them. . . . Right knowledge is the
knowledge of the Lord, and he that knoweth this spareth his words to
spend them to God's glory. And as it is in many the penury of their
knowledge that causeth the superfluity of their words, so chiefly is
the lack of this knowledge. For it is by this knowledge we learn that
an account must be given for every idle word. . . . Silence being so
rare a virtue, where wisdom doth command it, it is accounted a virtue
where folly doth impose it. He that fails of this first help, and is
so far gone in folly as that his tongue outgoes his understanding,
yet hath a second help, and that is to stop, and shut his lips before
they go too far, which, though not the first, yet is a second praise;
and he hath the repute of some understanding who either seeth, or is
thought to see, his want of understanding.--_Jermin._
It has been safely enough alleged that of two men equally successful
in the business of life, the man who is silent will be generally
deemed to have more in him than the man who talks; the latter "shows
his hand;" everybody can tell the exact length of his tether; he has
trotted himself out so often that all his points and paces are a
matter of notoriety. But of the taciturn man, little or nothing is
known. "The shallow murmur but the deep are dumb." Friends and
acquaintances shake their heads knowingly, and exclaim with an air of
authority, that "So and so" has a great deal more in him than people
imagine. They are as often wrong as right, but what need that signify
to the silent man? . . . To follow out one of the Caxtonian
essayist's illustrations,--When we see a dumb strong-box, with its
lid braced down by iron clasps and secured by a jealous padlock,
involuntarily we supposed that its contents must be infinitely more
precious than the gauds and nicknacks which are unguardedly scattered
about a lady's dressing-room. "Who could believe that a box so
rigidly locked had nothing in it but odds and ends, which would be
just as safe in a bandbox?"--_Jacox._
* * * * * *
CHAPTER XVIII.
CRITICAL NOTES.--+1. Through desire, etc.+ The readings and
expositions of this verse are many. Zöckler translates, _"He that
separateth himself seeketh his own pleasure, against all counsel doth
he rush on,"_ and the renderings of Stuart, Miller, and Delitzsch are
substantially the same, except that Delitzsch translates the latter
clause--_"against all that is beneficial he shows his teeth."_ Other
readings are _"A self-conceited fool seeks to gratify his fancy and
intermingleth himself with all things" (Schultens); "He who has
separated himself agitates questions as his desire prompts, and
breaks his teeth on every hard point" (Schulz); "He seeks occasion,
who desires to separate himself from his friends" (Hodgson)._ Others
read as in the Authorised Version. (See Comments.) +3. Ignominy,+
rather, _"shameful deeds."_ +4.+ The last clause of this verse may be
divided into two smaller ones and placed in apposition, thus: _"a
babbling brook,"--a fountain of wisdom._ Fausset remarks that the
Hebrew word used for _man_ is _ish,_ a _good_ man, not _adam,_ the
general term for man. +6. Calleth for.+ Stuart understands this in
the sense of _"to deserve."_ +8. Wounds.+ The word so translated
occurs only here and in chap. xxvi. 22, and will bear very different
renderings. Some translate it _words of sport_ (Stuart and Zöckler);
others, with Delitzsch, _dainty morsels;_ others, _"whispers, soft
breezes."_ +9. Waster,+ or _destroyer._ +10. Safe,+ or _lifted high._
+14. Infirmity,+ _i.e.,_ sickness, disease of body. As in similar
verses, Miller translates +"a wounded spirit;"+ _a spirit of
upbraiding._ Here again, as in verse 4, the Hebrew word _ish_ is used
for man. +16. A man's gifts.+ "Hebrew, _adam,_ the gift of a _man,_
however humble and low" _(Fausset)_. +19. "Is harder to be won;"+
these words are not in the original, but have been inserted to supply
the sense. Some translators read _"a brother offended resisteth more
than a strong city."_ Miller reads, _"When a brother is revolted
away, it is from a city of strength."_ +20. Satisfied.+ "If this word
is taken in a good sense the _fruit_ must be good; but it may be
ironical, meaning false or malignant words will find ample
retribution. Perhaps the next verse helps us determine the meaning"
_(Stuart)_. +21. They that love it,+ _i.e.,_ "make it a special
object of gratification" _(Stuart)_ +24.+ The first clause of this
verse should be "A man of many friends will prove himself base, or is
so to his own destruction," _i.e.,_ he who professes to regard
everybody as his friend will, in so doing, involve himself in trouble.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 1 _and_ 2.
Reference to the Critical Notes and to the Comments will show the
widely different translations and expositions given to the first
verse. We follow the Authorised Version.
SOLITUDE.
+I. Solitude is indispensable to the attainment of wisdom.+ If a tree
is to become well-proportioned--if it is to spread out its branches
on every side so that its girth is to be proportioned to its height,
it must have space--a degree of separation is indispensable to its
perfect development. It must be free to stretch out its roots and
shoots on every side, and to appropriate to itself those elements in
the earth and in the atmosphere which will make it strong and
vigorous. So if a man is to be a wise man, if his mental and
spiritual capabilities are to be developed as his Creator intended
they should be, he must at times separate himself--a certain amount
of solitude is indispensable. If he would grow wise in the mysteries
of the natural world he must oftentimes shut himself away from the
haunts of men, and ponder the manifold phenomena which creation
presents to him, and endeavour to unravel her secrets. If he desires
to become wise by acquaintance with the thoughts and deeds of the
great and mighty men of past ages he must withdraw himself at certain
seasons from the society of his fellow-men, and give himself up to
study and reflection. And if he desire to acquire what, after all,
can alone make him a truly wise man--an acquaintance with himself and
with God--he must have seasons of separation in which to listen to
the voice of his own heart and to the voice of his Maker. A man, when
he is alone, is more likely to see things as they really are; he is
less under the influence of the seen and temporal than when he is in
the market, or on the crowded highway, and consequently things unseen
and eternal have a more powerful influence over him at such a season.
No man can be wise unless he has some self-knowledge, and no man can
subject himself to much inspection while in company, hence the advice
of George Herbert--
"By all means use sometimes to be alone;
Salute thyself; see what thy soul doth wear;
Dare to look in thy chest, for 'tis thine own,
And tumble up and down what thou find'st there.
Who cannot rest till he good fellows find,
He breaks up house, turns out of doors his mind."
and it is equally true that no man is possessed of true wisdom who
has not some knowledge of God as He has revealed Himself in the
written Word, and solitude is very favourable to a growth in Divine
knowledge. Men can gain much, even of the highest wisdom, from
intercourse with their fellow-men, but all human guides are fallible
and all human teaching is imperfect--there must be seasons when a man
"separates himself" from them all and stands face to face with the
fountain of all truth, if he would "intermeddle" with pure wisdom.
+II. Those who are truly wise seek wisdom for its own sake.+ Many men
seek secular knowledge for the sole purpose of acquiring fame by the
acquisition. Some men spend days of solitude in patient investigation
for no other purpose than to make a name for themselves. Some men
even profess to be seekers after true and spiritual wisdom, when they
are only striving to gratify some unworthy ambition. Such a man seems
to be pourtrayed in the second verse as the "fool who hath no delight
in understanding but that his heart may discover itself." (If he
seeks knowledge at all, it is neither for its own sake nor for the
purposes of fitting him for usefulness, but solely for the ends of
self-display--_Wardlaw._) (He "hath no delight" in knowledge, "but in
the displaying of his own thoughts."--_Hodgson._) But the true lover
of wisdom is impelled to seek from the love of truth--from the desire
which possesses his soul to "intermeddle with knowledge." When Sir
Isaac Newton gave himself up to the pursuit of scientific truth, he
"separated himself" simply from a "desire" to _know,_ and without the
remotest desire or expectation of his present world-wide fame. And if
it is so with every true lover of merely intellectual wisdom, it is
pre-eminently so with the man who seeks spiritual wisdom. He is
impelled to the search simply by a desire which is born of his
appreciation of its worth--by a knowledge of its power to bless his
life.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
A certain degree of solitude seems necessary to the full growth and
spread of the highest mind; and therefore must a very extensive
intercourse with men stifle many a holy germ, and scare away the
gods, who shun the restless tumult of noisy companies, and the
discussion of petty interests.--_Novalis._
Desire is the chariot-wheel of the soul, the spring of energy and
delight. The man of business or science if filled with his great
object; and _through desire he separates himself_ from all lets and
hindrances, that he may _intermeddle with_ its whole range. "This one
thing"--saith the man of God--"I do" (Philip. iii. 13). This one
thing is everything with him. _He separates himself_ from all outward
hindrances, vain company, trifling amusements or studies, needless
engagements, that he may _seek and intermeddle with all wisdom._ John
_separated himself_ in the wilderness, Paul in Arabia, our blessed
Lord in frequent retirement, in order to greater concentration in
their momentous work. Deeply does the Christian minister feel the
responsibility of this holy _separation,_ that he may "give himself
wholly to" his office (1 Tim. iv. 15; 2 Tim. ii. 4). Without
it--Christian--thy soul can never prosper. How canst thou
_intermeddle with the great wisdom_ of knowing thyself, if thy whole
mind be full of the world's chaff and vanity? There must be a
withdrawal, to "commune with thine own heart" and to ask the
questions--"Where art thou? What doest thou here?" Much is there to
be inquired into and pondered. Everything here calls for our deepest,
closest thoughts. We must walk with God in secret, or the enemy will
walk with us, and our souls will die. "Arise, go forth into the
plain, and I will there talk with thee" (Ezek. iii. 22). "When thou
wast under the fig-tree I saw thee" (John i. 48). Deal much in
secrecy, if thou wouldst know "the secret of the Lord." Like thy
Divine Master, thou wilt never be less alone than when alone (Ib.
xvi. 32). There is much to be wrought, gained, and enjoyed. Thy most
spiritual knowledge, thy richest experience will be found here. And
then, when we look around us into the infinitely extended field of
the Revelation of God, what a world of heavenly _wisdom is there to
intermeddle with!_ In the hurry of this world's atmosphere how little
can we apprehend it! And yet such is the field of wonder, that the
contemplation of a single point overwhelmed the Apostle with adoring
astonishment (Rom. xi. 33). Here are "things, which even the angels
desire to look into" (1 Pet. i. 12). The redeemed will be employed
throughout eternity in this delighted searching; exploring "the
breadth, the length, and depth, and height," until they be "filled
with all the fulness of God" (Eph. iii. 18, 19). Surely then if we
have any _desire,_ we shall _separate ourselves_ from the cloudy
atmosphere around us, that we may have fellowship with these happy
investigators of the Divine mysteries.--_Bridges._
The _separated one_ here is the impenitent. _"The aims of a man left
to himself"_ is really a translation of but two words, meaning _a
separated one seeks. "At the dictate of desire"_ is but one noun with
a preceding particle, meaning _after,_ or _according to._ The noun
means a _longing._ The sentence means that when a man gets separated
from his place in the universe he _seeks,_ or _has a pursuit,_ after
his present bent or longing. The word translated _wisdom_ in the
second clause is derived from a verb that means to _be_ or _stand_
with some stability (see comment on chap. ii. 7), yielding the sense
the lost man sits careless to what is _"stable."_ He does not regard
it. He strikes for what he desires. A pretty thing for him to cavil!
since _"against everything stable he just lets himself roll."_. . .
The whole meaning is that the lost man is in high chase under the
spur of appetite, and ruthlessly bears down _everything
stable.--Miller._
_"Through desire"_ (through self-willed and self-seeking desire of
wisdom)--_"wisdom,"_ Heb. _tushigyah,_ lit. all that is solid and
stable: subsistence, essence, existence. The Pharisees were such;
from the Hebrew, _pharash,_ to separate. They trusted in themselves,
and in their own wisdom, despising others (Luke xviii. 9, xvi. 15;
Jude 19). All heresy has more or less originated in the self-conceit
which leads men to separate themselves from the congregation of the
Lord (Ezek. xiv. 7; Hosea ix. 10; Heb x. 25). The two evils censured
are (1) that of those who think they are born for themselves, and
that others ought to be ministers of their self-seeking desires;
(2) that of those who intermeddle with what does not concern them.
The motive is through (his own) _"desire"_ of being esteemed
singularly learned, as verse 2 shows, not from sincere "delight in
understanding." His aim is singularity, through self-seeking desire
(Psa. x. 3; cxii. 10) of raising himself to a separate elevation from
the common crowd, and of being thought versed in all that can be
known: so "he intermeddleth with all wisdom." His restless appetite
for making himself peculiar and separate from others is marked by the
indefinite verb "seeketh," it not being added what he seeketh, for he
hardly knows himself what.--_Fausset._
If we have to decide between the two interpretations, one blaming and
the other commending the life of isolation, the answer must be that
the former is more in harmony with the broad, genial temper of the
Book of Proverbs.--_Plumptre._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 3.
This verse also, as will be seen from a reference to the Critical
Notes, and also from the Comments, is susceptible of several
interpretations. We think it treats of--
THE SHORT-LIVED PROSPERITY OF EVIL MEN.
+I. Wicked men do come into places of power and influence.+ This fact
has often tried the faith of righteous men. Asaph's _"steps had
well-nigh slipped"_ when he saw _"the prosperity of the
wicked"_--that _"violence covered them as a garment,"_ and that they
_"set their mouth against the heavens;"_ and yet that _"their
strength was firm,"_ and _"they had more than heart could wish"_
(Psa. lxxiii. 2-8). The tiller of the soil knows from experience that
the useless weeds and noxious plants often seem to absorb all the
nutriment from the earth, and so make it well-nigh impossible for the
useful herb and sweet-scented flower to grow in the same field or
garden. And moral weeds seem to have a like capability of utilising
everything that comes in their way to their own advancement--the
unrighteous man makes a fortune, or a position, or a name for
himself, while his godly neighbour is struggling for a bare
subsistence. In the field of the world, the tares grow as well as the
wheat (Matt. xiii. 26), and often they seem for a time to be more
flourishing. Ahab and Jezebel dwell in Samaria, and Elijah is
compelled to flee into the desert. Herod feasts in the palace, while
John the Baptist is beheaded in the dungeon.
+II. Contempt and reproach are their final portion.+ Their day of
power is short-lived. David has recorded as his experience that he
had _"seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a
green bay-tree"_--but he _"passed by, and lo, he was not"_ (Psa.
xxxvii. 35). And however their success may dazzle men's eyes and warp
their judgment for a season, contempt is their portion at last. They
are often held in contempt even while living, and the reproaches of
those who have been made to suffer by them are heaped upon their
heads. Many of those who fawned upon them and flattered them while
they were prospering will be most ready to scorn and upbraid them, if
the day of their retribution arrives before they quit this world. And
if they keep their power and influence throughout the term of their
human probation, their names will be contemned by posterity, and in
the day when "everyone receives the things done in his body" (2 Cor.
v. 10), they shall _"awake to shame and everlasting contempt"_ (Dan.
xii. 2).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
When a _"wicked"_ man enters upon the stage, that creature, the most
degraded of the universe, and who has the least right to show any
_contempt,_ is the _very_ person to be the most _contemptuous;_ and
the mortal who is himself most _disgraced,_ shows the readiest mind
to cry shame upon and to _reproach_ and that even the Most High.
Doubtless there is secular truth in all this. The _disgraced_ citizen
is often the most _reproachful.--Miller._
I. They bring "contempt," not to themselves only, but to the places
they fill, and the societies to which they become united--to
themselves, for the unworthy manner in which they fulfil the duties
of the trust they have assumed, or have had committed to them; and to
their places and societies, with which their names are associated.
They entail _"ignominy and reproach"_ upon all they have to do with.
And in no case is this more true, than with regard to offences in the
Church. O what an amount of scorn and reproach has been brought upon
the sacred office of the ministry by the intrusion, under numberless
pretexts, and from numberless causes, of wicked, worldly, ungodly men
into its holy function! How full is Church history of this deplorable
evil!--and how many infidels and scorners has Church history by this
means produced. Thus it was under the old dispensation. The
wickedness of the sons of Eli made men "abhor the offering of the
Lord." And thus it is still. Of the "false teachers" who should arise
in the latter days, it is said--"by reason of them the way of truth
shall be evil-spoken of." From few other sources, if from any, has
there proceeded a greater profusion of unmerited "reproach" of the
name and doctrine and kingdom of the Lord; or has "the chair of the
scorner" drawn a greater number and variety of its sarcastic sneers
and bitter revilings. II. The phrase may mean--"When the wicked
cometh" into _intimacy, companionship, familiarity,_ "then cometh
contempt."--He who admits the wicked to his intimacy--makes him his
associate--must share the infamy of his ill-chosen companion. Many a
time too has _this_ been exemplified.--_Wardlaw._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 4.
A GOOD MAN'S MOUTH.
We must understand Solomon here to refer to a good man--to a man
whose words are in harmony with the mind of God. Of such a man it may
be said that his words are as deep waters and as a living spring.
+I. Because his soul is in communication with an exhaustless source
of spiritual life and wisdom.+ Rivers and wells that are fed from the
mountain recesses which are filled with eternal snows never dry
up--they are fed from a source that is never exhausted. So long as
the lasting hills remain, and the present natural laws govern the
world they must give forth every day abundant streams. A
communication has been established between the soul of a good man and
the living God--he holds constant communion with a source of
spiritual life which can never fail, and consequently he can never be
at a loss for subjects upon which to discourse--his mind is always
filled with new thoughts of God, and new hopes of heaven upon which
to meditate himself and which he can communicate to others.
+II. Because that which flows from his lips is beneficial and
refreshing to others.+ The waters in a shallow and stagnant pond give
little or no refreshment to the thirsty traveller; they may even be
the means of imparting disease to those who drink of them, or who
live near them. But the water from a well, or from a deep and flowing
stream, is generally pure and wholesome to the taste, and refreshing
to the land through which it flows. And so it is with the speech of a
godly man. Very mighty are the influence of words for good or for
ill. Our first parents lost Eden by listening to the words of the
tempter, and the speech of the wicked always diffuses an unwholesome
moral atmosphere around it, if it does not eject a deadly poison into
the soul. But the conversation and teaching of the godly are always a
means of moral health to others; by their words they witness for the
truth of God, and are the means of _"opening men's eyes, and turning
them from darkness to light, from the power of Satan unto God"_ (Acts
xxvi. 13). And, like their Divine Master, they _"know how to speak a
word in season to him that is weary"_ (Isa. l. 4), and thus that
which flows from their lips is as refreshing and healthful to weary
and struggling men and women on the highway of life as the living,
cooling water-course is to the dusty and thirsty traveller.
+III. Because the flow is natural and spontaneous.+ Water may be sent
through a tract of country by artificial means; fields may be watered
and reservoirs filled by calling in science to supply natural
deficiencies. But there is, after all, no comparison between this
kind of forced irrigation and that which is the result of natural
causes. If there is water beneath the surface of the earth it must
force its way and find an outlet; it needs no hand of man to come to
its aid; it penetrates the soil and forms a fertilising stream in
obedience to natural law. And so the speech of a good man has nothing
forced or artificial about it. It is the overflow of heartfelt
experience. Like the apostles of old, he _"cannot but speak the
things which he has seen and heard"_ (Acts iv. 20). The _"good
things"_ of his lips are the natural outcome of the _"good treasure
of his heart," "for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth
speaketh"_ (Matt. xii. 34, 35).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Talleyrand defined speech to be the art of concealing one's opinions.
Speech, even without any attempt at concealment, must be endlessly
deep and wide as uttering all our being. Who can translate all its
outgoings? If this be so with man, who shall judge of God and censure
His obscurer revelations? Solomon is satisfied with one great
difference,--that while men's speech is _"deep,"_ God's speech is
both _"deep"_ and _"living."_ One has a vital source, the other is
dead and stagnant. Grant that both are obscure. One is the darkness
of a pool, the other the breadth and gush of an overflowing water. We
ought to submit to mystery in God, for the tide of His utterance is
to flow on for ever.--_Miller._
One "greater than Solomon" "astonished the people" by the clearness,
no less than by the _depth of the waters_ (Matt. vii. 28, 29). No
blessing is more valuable than a "rich indwelling of the Word," ready
to be brought out on all suitable occasions of instruction. If the
wise man sometimes "spares his words," it is not for want of matter,
but for greater edification. The stream is ready to flow, and
sometimes can scarcely be restrained. The cold-hearted, speculative
professor has his _flow_--sometimes a torrent of words, yet without a
drop of profitable matter; chilling, even when doctrinally correct;
without life, unction, or love. Lord! deliver us from this barren
"talk of the lips" (chap. xiv. 23). May our _waters be deep,_ flowing
from thine own inner sanctuary, refreshing and fertilising the Church
of God!--_Bridges._
In the two clauses of the verse, on the principle of parallelism,
there appears to be an inversion of the same sentiment; for, properly
speaking, the words uttered are not the "deep waters," but the stream
that issues from them; and, on the other hand, "the wellspring of
wisdom" is not "the flowing brook," but the deep and copious fountain
or reservoir from which it issues. Another passage may serve to
confirm this view. "Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water;
but a man of understanding will draw it out." Here, the counsel is
the deep water, not the words. But the words are the stream which the
deep waters send forth. The words bring out and contain the
counsel.--_Wardlaw._
It must be remembered that "deep waters" are associated in the Old
Testament with the thought of darkness and mystery (xx. 5; Psalms
lxix. 2; Eccles. vii. 24), and we get a more profound thought if we
see in the proverb a comparison between all teaching from without and
that of the light within. The words of a man's mouth are dark as the
"deep waters of a pool, or tank; but the well-spring of wisdom is as
a flowing brook, bright and clear." So taken the verse presents a
contrast like that of Jeremiah ii. 13.--_Plumptre._
When this word _vir_ is used for man in sacred Scriptures it
signifieth one who is strong and mighty, and for his strength great
and excellent, and then by a man here we may understand him who is
mighty and great in knowledge; the words of such a man are as deep
waters, to the bottom whereof the shallow capacity of every one is
not able to reach. But yet where the spring of those waters is a
well-spring of wisdom, though sometimes it send forth deep waters,
yet it doth not always; for that were to overwhelm the hearers. But
at other times it is as a flowing brook, more shallow for capacity,
but more forcible also in the stream of it, and either by persuasive
exhortation carrying on the hearers to a pursuit of virtue and
godliness, or else by a dissuasive reproof carrying them away from
the practice of wickedness, and in both washing away the stains of
their sinful lives. Wherefore St. Gregory saith, so must every
preacher deal with his hearers as God dealeth with him; he must not
preach to the simple as much as he knoweth because himself doth not
know of heavenly mysteries as much as they are.--_Jermin._
The subject of verse 5 has been treated in the Homiletics on chap.
xvii., verses 15 and 26.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 6-8.
FOLLY AND ITS RESULTS.
+I. None but a foolish man seeks contention.+ As we saw in the
previous chapter (verse 14) contention or strife is an evil of which
none at its beginnings can see the end. It may seem a very
insignificant deed to strike a flint and steel together so as to
produce a single spark, but one spark may produce a terrible and
destructive fire. When a settler in a forest rubs two dry sticks
together the act seems a trifling one, but the friction in time
develops the latent heat of the wood, and there is enough fire
brought into activity to lay low many a mighty forest tree. None but
foolish men and children ever play with fire, and when they do it
they generally suffer themselves first, but they are often not the
only sufferers. So it is with contention, or a dispute in words. Wise
men are often obliged to contend for truth and right, but they never
_seek_ an occasion of dispute. But there are moral fools who think it
only an amusement to pick a quarrel, little heeding what the
consequences of it may be, not caring if blows succeed to angry
words, or perhaps even desiring that they should do so. But although
a man may play with fire and escape unharmed, or may even apply a
torch to his neighbour's house without singeing so much as a hair of
his own head, no fool's lips enter into contention or call for
strokes without bringing retribution upon his own head. "His mouth"
is in his own "destruction," and "his lips are the snare of his
soul," for it is a law as old as the universe that _"with what
measure ye meet it shall be measured to you again"_ (Matt. vi. 1, 2).
The man who seeks contention will always find others like-minded with
himself who will be willing to do for them what he has done for
others, and he who "calls for strokes" upon his fellow-creatures will
receive them upon his own head with compound interest.
+II. None but a cruel man will be a tale-bearer.+ A quarrelsome,
passionate man is a fool, and he is also a cruel man, but he is not
so cruel as the tale-bearer. The first man wounds, but he inflicts
his injury in open daylight and in the front of his victim, but the
second is like the treacherous footpad whose face is never seen and
whose step is never heard, but who comes up behind his prey in the
dark and leaves no trace behind but the mortal sword-thrust. But it
must not be forgotten that there must always be two persons
implicated in the guilt and cruelty of thus killing the reputation of
a fellow-creature. The tale-bearer must have a repository for his
slanders--the busy tongue must have a listening ear or no mischief
would be done, and tale-bearing would die out for want of an
atmosphere in which it could live. A reference to the Critical Notes
will show that the word translated "wounds" may be rendered
"dainties," and it is because evil reports of others are so keenly
relished by an unsanctified man that the words of a tale-bearer are
able to inflict such suffering and work so much ill in the world.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 6. The emperor Julian used to banter the Christians with that
precept of our Lord, "When thine adversary smites thee on the one
cheek, turn to him the other also:" but Christians consult their ease
as well as their consciences when they obey this precept in the
spirit of it; whereas proud and passionate fools, when they give vent
to their rancorous spirits, because they cannot bear the shadow of an
indignity, not only turn the other cheek to their adversary, but
smite, and urge, and almost force him to strike and destroy
them.--_Lawson._
Verse 8. The bite of a viper is not so deadly as the wound of these
"tale-bearers'" stories and insinuations. The truth is they contrive
to infuse _their_ poison without a bite. If they would but appear in
their true character;--would they but show their fangs, and make us
feel them, we should be put upon our guard. We know the viper. We
shun it. And when it has unhappily succeeded in wounding us, we
instantly have recourse to means for preventing the poison from
getting into the mass of the blood, and pervading the system. But
these _human_ vipers infuse their poison in the language of kindness
and love. "Their words are smoother than oil; yet are they drawn
swords;"--envenomed fangs, of which the virus gets into our system
ere we are aware, works its mischievous and morally deadly effects,
and becomes incapable of extraction. Every attempt at its removal
still leaves some portion of it behind. There is, in the original
word, an implication of softness, simplicity, undesignedness, which
only gives the secret weapon with which the wound is inflicted the
greater keenness.--_Wardlaw._
The tongue of the tale-bearer is a two-edged sword, at once it
cutteth on both sides, and his words are his wounds, at once wounding
both him of whom he speaketh and him to whom he speaketh. To the one
he gives the wounds of his slandering, to the other the wounds of his
flattering. The one he woundeth so, that his blow is neither heard,
seen, nor felt. The other he woundeth so, that though his blow be
heard, seen, and felt, yet it is not perceived: in both they go down
into the heart, as revealing the heart of the one, and as removing
the heart of the other from him. . . . Or the words may be
translated, _the words of a tale-bearer are as smoothing words:_ for
he frameth his own words to as much softness, as those which he
reporteth he maketh to be hard. And indeed, as they sound, they are
commonly so pleasing, that they easily slip down into the heart,
where they are readily entertained.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 9.
TWIN-BROTHERS.
+I. Slothfulness and prodigality have the same origin.+ As brothers
are the children of a common parent, so sloth and waste have their
root in the common sin of ungodliness; men are spendthrifts or they
are lazy, because they have no right sense of their obligations to
God and to man--because they do not look upon their life as a
stewardship for which they must give an account (Rom. xiv. 12), but
as a gift which they are at liberty to spend as they please. The acts
of the prodigal and the slothful man differ in themselves, but they
all spring from that spirit of self-pleasing which is the essence of
ungodliness.
+II. The slothful man is a waster of God's most precious gifts.+
Twin-brothers are often so much alike that it is difficult for
onlookers to distinguish one from the other. And there is an aspect
in which we may view the slothful man in which we not only note the
close resemblance he bears to his prodigal brother, but in which he
is transformed into the prodigal himself. For the negative
sinner--the man who does nothing--is a waster of his time and of his
talents, and is therefore guilty of a positive crime. The man who
"hid the Lord's talent" was visited with a stern sentence as a
positive transgressor (Matt. xxv. 25). If we convict a man of
prodigality for wasting gold, what shall we say of him who wastes
what no gold can buy? "Time," says J. A. James, "is the most precious
thing in the world. When God gives us a moment, He does not promise
us another, as if to teach us highly to value and improve it, by the
consideration, for aught we know, it may be the last. Time, when
gone, never returns. We talk about 'fetching up' a lost hour, but the
thing is impossible. A moment once lost, is lost for ever. We could
as rationally set out to find a sound that had expired in air, as to
find a lost moment." And when we reflect what infinite results depend
upon what a man does with his time, we see the force of the proverb,
because the slothful man is a waster of the most precious commodity
in this world.
+III. The results of both extravagance and sloth are the same.+ It
makes no difference in the end whether a man gets nothing, or spends
all that he gets, he can come to poverty by either road. The one has
been compared to a man who dies by a rapid and violent disease, and
the other by a slow and subtle consumption. But the grave, sooner or
later, receives them both.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The practical lesson is, that in personal and domestic interests,
_diligence_ and _economy_ should _go together,_ and that the one
without the other never can avail for either obtaining or securing
even the comforts of life. Of what use is industry if its proceeds
are not prudently managed when they come in?--if husband, or wife, or
both, be destitute of discretion, improvident and thriftless? if
there is the absence of all sober and considerate calculation, and,
as a consequence, no due proportioning of outlay to income, but a
reckless and wasteful expenditure, leaving an unlooked-for
deficiency--a woful amount _minus_--at the year's end? The poor
inconsiderate fools never think what they are about. They keep no
daily reckoning--no accounts; and so their money is gone, they can't
tell how--they had no idea they were living at such a rate!--and even
when they have made the discovery there is no improvement. They say,
possibly, _they must take care;_ but they only _say_ it, and
immediately forget it. Things go on as before; and still (to use
rather a colloquial, but sufficiently expressive phrase), what is
taken in by the door is thrown out by the window; and still the
wonder continues _how it goes!_ They are ever marvelling how _other
folks do._ They can't understand it. For _their_ parts, all that
comes in finds its way off from them as fast as it comes, and many a
time faster! Thus, as might be expected, there are the same
appearances of bareness, and cheerlessness, and want, in the dwelling
of the _thriftless_ as in that of the _slothful._ Extremes thus
meet. . . . _Diligence,_ let me remind you, is as necessary for the
acquisition of spiritual as of temporal good--of the riches of Divine
knowledge of the mind, as of the blessings of the Divine life to the
heart. And not less is _economy of means._ How often may it be seen,
that with means of a very limited and stinted amount, there is more
of spiritual prosperity in one instance, than is discoverable in
another, with means the most varied and abundant. Many believers, it
is to be feared, are spiritual spendthrifts. They use their
privileges on no principle of economy. They read, they hear, they
frequent ordinances--and yet their progress in spiritual attainments
bears no proportion to the extent of their advantages. Rich in
privileges, they are poor in the graces and enjoyments of the life of
God in the soul. Why? The answer is plain. They who thrive on slender
means, make the most of what they have; whereas they who live in the
midst of abundance get into habits of carelessness, and of the
prodigal use of what they have.--_Wardlaw._
The word also here used may seem to refer this verse to that which
goeth before it; and then it is a further description of a
talebearer. For he is commonly a fellow slothful in his work, being
busy in his words, and he is indeed brother to him that is a great
waster, spoiling his own estate by his slothfulness, and by the
mischief which his talebearing falleth upon him; and spoiling him to
whom he talketh by the ill mind which he putteth into him.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 10 _and_ 11.
TWO CITADELS.
+I. The citadel of him who trusts in the Lord.+ _"The name of the
Lord."_ God has revealed Himself to men by many names, each one of
which is intended to set forth some attribute of His perfect nature.
The name "I AM," by which He revealed Himself to Israel (Exod.
iii. 14) set forth His eternal self-existence, but He has also
revealed Himself by names which are used to express human relations,
such as king, judge, husband, father. These names are often borne by
men who are destitute of the qualifications and feelings proper to
the relationships which they express, but when any one of them is
applied to God it is applied to one who combines within Himself all
those attributes of character in perfection which ought to be
possessed in some degree by men who are called by these names. The
righteous man's refuge, then, is a Living Personality--a
Self-existent and Eternal King and Father, infinite in power, in
wisdom, and in tenderness. It is therefore 1. _An ever-present
refuge._ "God is not far from every one of us" (Acts xvii. 27), and
being ever near, is always accessible. 2. _An impregnable refuge._
Before an enemy can attack those who have taken refuge in a fortress,
they must carry the citadel itself. So before any enemy can harm a
righteous man, he must overcome the Almighty God; he must circumvent
His plans, and overthrow His purposes.
"When His wisdom can mistake,
His might decay, His love forsake,"
_then,_ but not till then, will those be exposed to danger who have
put their trust in Him. 3. _An eternal refuge._ The _"arms"_ of
strength that defend the children of God are _"everlasting arms"_
(Deut. xxxiii. 7). Many of the ancient fortresses that are scattered
over our land were once deemed impregnable refuges. But although they
bade defiance to many an assault of men in battle-array, they have
had to yield to a more subtle enemy. Time has crumbled their once
mighty walls, and made them unfit for purposes of defence. But the
righteous man can say to Him who is his "strong tower," _"Lord, Thou
hast been our dwelling-place in all generations. . . . Even from
everlasting to everlasting Thou art God"_ (Psa. xc. 1, 2).
+II. The stronghold of the man who trusts in riches.+ 1. _Riches are
no defence against a man's most powerful enemies._ While a man has
wealth he is defended from many bodily ills and from many vexations
of spirit. A man of narrow means has often to fight a hard battle to
supply his bodily necessities, and is a stranger to those luxuries
which make his life, in this respect, so comfortable to a rich man.
And a poor man has also to bend his will to the will of his richer
neighbour--to endure often "th' oppressor's wrong, the proud man's
contumely." Wealth is a defence against all these enemies to a man's
comfort. But there are troubles far heavier than any of these, from
which riches afford no protection. Disease and death cannot be turned
aside with money--a troubled soul cannot be comforted with gold. A
bed of down cannot do much for a man whose body is racked with
pain--it can do nothing for him whose soul is bowed down by sorrow,
or smitten with a fear of death. In any of these straits a soul can
find no "strong city" of refuge in the possession of untold millions;
these enemies laugh at such a wall of defence. The man who trusts in
material wealth as his chief good, has either made too low an
estimate of his own needs, or too high an estimate of the power of
wealth. 2. _Wealth is a fortress with a most uncertain foundation._
Granted that it is a defence against some very real ills, who can
insure to himself a continuance of his present possessions? The
uncertainty of riches has been a subject upon which the sages and
moralists of all ages have dwelt--the millionaire of to-day may be a
beggar to-morrow, and he who was last year surrounded by this "high
wall," which shut in so much that was agreeable to his senses and
shut out so many discomforts from his temporal life, may be standing
to-day a forlorn, unsheltered creature, with only the ruins of his
once imposing fortress around him. On this subject see also
Homiletics on chap. xi. 28.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The strong refuge is not only safe, but _"set aloft,"_ so the word
signifies, out of gunshot. None can pull out of His hands. Run
therefore to God by praying, not fainting. This is the best policy
for security. That which is said of wily persons that are full of
fetches, of windings, and of turnings in the world, that such will
never break, is much more true of a righteous, praying Christian. He
hath but one grand policy to secure him against all dangers, and that
is, to run to God.--_Trapp._
To this tower the wicked are sometimes driven in distress, then
seeking help here, when it is nowhere else to be found. But the
righteous in any distress runneth presently unto it. Thither their
eyes look, thither their hearts carry them. Yea, they are not only
carried _unto_ it but _into_ it, by placing their confidence in it,
and making it their safety. They are well acquainted with the way,
and therefore can make speed; they have cast off the clogs of worldly
impediments and so are fit for _running;_ they think it much longer
until they come to God, than impatient hearts do until they come to
help.--_Jermin._
To "the righteous" God is good, and he nestles and shelters himself
in that; _"runs into"_ the nurture and shelter of God's love, and, in
the comfort of this _strong tower, "is lifted high."_ But there is a
profounder sense. The very _"name"_ that is cavilled at by the lost
is the foundation of the Christian's safety. "What the law could not
do in that it was weak through the flesh," God did by His _"name."_
He gave it to Christ's humanity. More specifically speaking, He used
it in the _"name"_ of His own righteousness, to balance our guilt and
to give weight and value to the price of His redemption. We are
repeatedly said to be saved by the _"name"_ of God (Psa. liv. 1; John
xvii. 11, 12). And this is the meaning. The perfect holiness of God,
which the lost man would upbraid, is what is vital in the cross of
Christ. It is not only "a strong tower," but our only defence. And
the act of faith is a renouncing of self and a snatching at "the
name," that is, the righteousness or substituted standing of our
Great Deliverer.--_Miller._
_Take the sinner in his first awakening conviction._ He trembles at
the thought of eternal condemnation. He looks forward--all is terror;
backward--nothing but remorse; inward--all is darkness. Till now he
had no idea of his need of salvation. His enemy now suggests that it
is beyond his reach; that he has sinned too long and too much,
against too much light and knowledge; how can he be saved? But _the
name of the Lord_ meets his eye. He spells out every letter, and
putting it together, cries--"Who is a God like unto thee?" (Mic.
vii. 18). He runs to _it, as to a strong tower._ His burden of
conscience is relieved. His soul is set free, and he enjoys his
_safety. Take--again--the child of God_--feeble, distressed,
assaulted. "What, if I should return to the world, look back, give up
my profession, yield to my own deceitful heart, and perish at last
with aggraved condemnation?" You are walking outside the gates of
_your tower;_ no wonder that your imprudence exposes you to "the
fiery darts of the wicked." Read again _the name of the Lord!_ Go
back within the walls--See upon the _tower the name_--"I am the Lord;
I change not" (Mal. iii. 6). Read the direction to trust in it--"Who
is there among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of
his servant: that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? _Let him
trust in the name of the Lord,_ and stay upon his God" (Isa. l. 10).
Mark the warrant of experience in this trust--"They that know _thy
name_ shall put their trust in Thee; for thou, Lord, hast not
forsaken them that seek Thee" (Psalm ix. 10). Thus sense of danger,
knowledge of the way, confidence in _the strength of the tower_--all
gives a spring of life and earnestness to _run into it._ Here the
_righteous_--the man justified by the grace, and sanctified by the
Spirit of God--_runneth_ every day, every hour; realizing at once his
fearful danger, and his perfect security.--_Bridges._
For Homiletics on verse 12, see on chap. xi. 2 and xvi. 18.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 13.
ANSWERING BEFORE HEARING.
+I. A man who gives judgement in a matter before he has heard all the
facts of the case wrongs himself.+ If he were to give his opinion
upon a building as soon as the builders had dug out the foundation,
or were to criticise a picture when the artist had only sketched its
outline upon his canvas, he would be deemed a fool, and what he said
would have no weight whatever. Men would justly say that the house or
the picture had as yet no existence, and therefore could not be
judged. And a man who has only heard a part of "a matter" is in no
better position to judge in it, and commits as great a folly if he
attempts to do so. He does violence to his very understanding--to
those mental faculties which enable him to place things side by side
and to compare them, and to sift and weigh evidence before he arrives
at a conclusion. Unless he does this, the opinion that he forms
to-day will be altered to-morrow, and his mind will never be firmly
made up on any subject. As a necessary consequence, nobody will give
much heed to his judgment--no thoughtful person will attach much
weight to his words--and he will thus deprive himself of that
consideration and respect which he might otherwise have enjoyed.
+II. Such a man often deeply wrongs others.+ A half-told story often
makes the state of matters appear so different from the truth that it
is a gross injustice to condemn or justify any person when that is
all that is known. A man who does it proclaims that he values very
lightly the reputation of those concerned, and is often a robber of
what is more to a man than his purse, viz. his good name.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Secularly, this is beyond a doubt; judicially, here is a great
outrage; socially, a something very impolite; but religiously, a
thing altogether a _"shame."_ Men born yesterday might certainly
afford to listen. Life is a wide thing; and might, at least, be acted
through, before in the darker points we insist upon a judgment. . . .
_Folly,_ and therefore, mischief; _shame,_ and therefore, ill desert.
These elements often appear together.--_Miller._
According to Mr. Stuart Mill, it might be plausibly maintained that
in almost every one of the leading controversies, past or present, in
social philosophy, both sides were right in what they affirmed,
though wrong in what they denied; and that if either could have been
made to take the other's views in addition to his own, little more
would have been needed to make its doctrine correct. . . . Nicodemus
did well to start the seasonable query, "Doth our law judge any man
before it hear him, and know what he doth?" Festus did well to
protest that it was not the manner of the Romans to deliver any man
to die before that he which was accused had the accusers face to
face, and had licence to answer for himself concerning the charge
laid against him. And in the same spirit and by the same rule,
otherwise applied, had Felix done well to defer hearing Paul's
defence until Paul's accusers were present. . . . Aristides, they
tell us, would lend but one ear to anyone who accused an absent
"party," and used to hold his hand on the other, intimating that he
reserved one ear for the absentee accused. . . . Cicero, "the
greatest orator, save one, of antiquity," has left it on record, as
we are pertinently reminded on the _Essays on Liberty,_ that he
always studied his adversaries' case with as great intensity as his
own, if not still greater. And what Cicero practised as the means of
forensic success, requires, as the essayist urges, to be imitated by
all who study any subject in order to arrive at the truth. For he who
knows only his own side of the case is convicted of knowing little of
that; his reasons may be good and no one may have been able to refute
them, but if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the
opposite side, if he does not so much as know what they are, what
rational ground has he for preferring either opinion?--_Jacox._
We ought to be the more cautious in forming and pronouncing opinions,
because we are so little disposed to admit conviction if we fall into
mistakes, or to retract them upon conviction. It is commonly supposed
that ministers cannot repent, although they do not claim, like the
Pope, the gift of infallibility; and there is too much reason for the
supposition, provided it be not restricted to that order of men: for
the same pride that makes one set of men stubborn in their wrong
opinions is to be found in other men, although it is not perhaps so
much strengthened by particular circumstances, nor so visible in
their conduct, because they meet not with the same temptations to
discover it. How many do we find who will not change their sentiments
about religion, or about persons and things, upon the clearest
evidence, and give way to anger upon the least contradiction to their
favourite notions, as if their dearest interests were attacked!
Saints themselves are not entirely delivered from this selfish
disposition, as we see in the behaviour of David to Mephibosheth,
after he had pronounced a rash sentence in his case.--_Lawson._
The sources of the evil are various. There is--1. Natural or acquired
_eagerness of spirit,_ and _impatience of protracted inquiry._ Such
minds cannot bear anything that requires close and long-sustained
attention. They become uneasy, fretted, and fidgety; and are ever
anxious to catch at any occasion for cutting the matter short and
being done with it. 2. The _sympathy of passion with one or the other
of the parties._ One of them happens to be their friend; and whether
it be he or his adversary that makes the statement, partiality for
him stirs their resentment at the injury done to him; the blood
warms, and, passion thus striking in, they hastily interrupt the
narration--will hear no more of it--and at once proceed to load the
enemy of their friend with abuse and imprecation. They know their
friend, and to them it is enough that he has been a sufferer; they
take it for granted that he must be in the right.
3. _Indolence--indisposition to be troubled._ This is a temper the
very opposite of the first, but producing a similar effect. The
former jumped to a conclusion from over-eagerness; this comes soon to
a close from sheer sluggishness of mind. It is to a man of this
stagnant and lazy temperament an exertion quite unbearable to keep
his mind so long on the stretch as to listen even to a statement, and
still more to an argument or pleading, that cannot be finished in a
breath and done with. His attention soon flags; he gets sick of it;
he seems as if he were listening when he is not, and with a yawn of
exhaustion and misery he pronounces his verdict, and at times with
great decision, for no other purpose than to get quit of the trouble.
He can stand it no longer. 4. _Self-conceit_--the _affectation of
extraordinary acuteness._ This would be an amusing character, were it
not, at the same time, so provoking. The self-conceited man assumes a
very sagacious and penetrating look--sits down with apparent
determination to hear out the cause on both sides, and to "judge
righteous judgment." But it is hardly well begun, when the
self-conceited man sees to the end of it. . . . It is surprising with
what agility this spirit of self-conceit gets over difficulties. It
sees none--no, never.
"Where others toil with philosophic force,
Its nimble nonsense takes a shorter course;
Flings at your head conviction in a lump,
And gains remote conclusions at a jump."
--_Wardlaw._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 14.
SICKNESS OF BODY AND WOUNDS OF SOUL.
+I. A man can rise above pain of body.+ Men who do not seek
supernatural help sometimes do it. They are endowed with a natural
courage which makes them scorn to be overcome by physical pain, or
they are naturally very hopeful, and are enabled in some measure to
look beyond the present suffering to a time of relief in the future.
Or intense excitement of the mind renders them for a time at least
oblivious to bodily sensations. How many illustrations of this last
case we have in men who have been desperately wounded in battle, and
yet have been so intensely absorbed in the terrible contest that they
have seemed scarcely aware of it, and have kept their position until
their strength has utterly failed. But it is pre-eminently the godly
man who can "sustain" infirmity of body. It is a fact of history that
godly men and women have been even joyful in spirit when suffering
great bodily pain. Instances are common in which those who have been
in agony of body from some terrible disease have been full of comfort
in their spirits, and have borne witness that they were conscious of
a sustaining power outside themselves--of supernatural help from
above which enabled them to "glory in tribulation." But this ability
of human creatures to rise above bodily suffering has been most
remarkably exemplified in those who have suffered because they were
the servants of God--who have been witnesses for the truth of the
Gospel of Christ. Even women have borne the most severe bodily
sufferings not only with fortitude but with exultation--lifted above
their bodily pain by a vivid realisation of unseen and spiritual
realities and an intense consciousness of the favour of God.
+II. But a wounded spirit crushes the entire man.+ The spirit of the
man is the man himself, his power to love, to hope, and to enjoy.
When these have lost their energy, there is nothing to lift him up,
and existence becomes an intolerable burden. The spirit can sustain
the body under its trials, but sensual gratification and physical
comforts can do nothing towards alleviating spiritual distress. But
observe:--1. _That all sorrow of heart does not crush a man._
Sanctified sorrow, although it wounds the spirit, yet it only wounds
it to raise it to a higher level--to make it capable of a more
refined enjoyment. Bereavement, the faithlessness of friends,
disappointed hopes, often deeply wound the spirit, yet men bear these
wounds and often are made better and stronger by them. A sense of the
favour of God and a peaceful conscience will prevent men from being
overwhelmed by even very keen mental sorrow. 2. _An unbearable wound
of spirit can be the portion of those only who have no sense of the
favour of God._ So long as a man has this no pain of body or sorrow
of soul can cast him down entirely, but without it he has little
power to bear manfully the burdens of life, and a sense of the
absence of it would be enough to crush him utterly although he had no
other burdens to bear.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Spiritual sickness varies (as some diseases do in the body according
to the constitution of the sick) thereafter as the soul is that hath
it, whether regenerate or reprobate. The malignancy is great in both,
but with far less danger in the former. 1. In the elect, this
spiritual sickness is an afflicted conscience, when God will suffer
us to take a deep sense of our sins, and bring us to the life of
grace by the valley of death, as it were by hell gates unto heaven.
There is no anguish to that of the conscience: "A wounded spirit who
can bear?" They that have been valiant in bearing wrongs, in
forbearing delights, have yet had womanish and coward spirits in
sustaining the terrors of a tumultuous conscience. If our strength
were as an army, and our lands not limited save with east and west,
if our meat mere manna, and our garments as the ephod of Aaron; yet
the afflicted conscience would refuse to be cheered with all these
comforts. When God shall raise up our sins, like dust and smoke in
the eyes of our souls . . . when He either hides His countenance from
us, or beholds us with an angry look; lo, then, if any sickness be
like this sickness, any calamity like the fainting soul! Many
offences touch the body which extend not to the soul; but if the soul
be grieved, the sympathising flesh suffers deeply with it. The blood
is dried up, the marrow wasted, the flesh pined, as if the powers and
pores of the body opened themselves like so many windows to discover
the passions of the distressed prisoner within. It was not the sense
of outward sufferings (for mere men have borne the agonies of death
undaunted) but the wrestling of God's wrath with His spirit, that
drew from Christ that complaint, able to make heaven and earth stand
aghast: "My soul is heavy unto death" (Matt. xxvi. 38). . . . Neither
is this sickness of conscience properly good in itself, nor any grace
of God, but used by God as an instrument of good to His, as when by
the spirit of bondage He brings us to adoption. So the needle that
draws the thread through the cloth is some means to join it
together. . . . 2. Spiritual sickness for sin befalling a reprobate
soul, is final and total desperation. This is that fearful consequent
which treads upon the heels of presumption. Cain's fratricide,
Judas's treachery, presumptuous, aspiring, heaven-daring sins, find
the final catastrophe, to despair of the mercy of God. . . . As if
the goodness of God, and the value of Christ's ransom, were below his
iniquity. As if the pardon of his sins would empty God's storehouse
of compassion, and leave His stock of mercy poor. . . . This is that
sin which not only offers injury and indignity to the Lord of heaven
and earth, but even breaks that league of kindness which we owe to
our own flesh. To commit sin is the killing of the soul; to refuse
hope of mercy is to cast it down to hell. Therefore St. Jerome
affirms that Judas sinned more in despairing of his Master's pardon
than in betraying Him; since nothing can be more derogatory to the
goodness of God, which He hath granted by promise and oath--two
immutable witnesses--to penitent sinners than to credit the father of
lies before Him.--_T. Adams._
"The spirit of a man may control his sickness, but a spirit of
upbraiding, who can carry that?" To give all up, and simply lie back
and murmur, is bad even for worldly disorders; but Solomon derives
out of it a much more profound spiritual sense. The "spirit of a
man," at least among those to whom Solomon wrote, had truth enough to
save him if he would only _listen. Control._ The original is
_contain,_ as in wine in a bottle, _sickness_--literally what is
physical; but in this same book employed for the spiritual malady. If
the soul, therefore, would lie quiet, and yield to its own light, it
would be joined by what is higher, and would contain, or control its
own malady; God helping, as He would, would check, and get the better
of it; but "a spirit of upbraiding"--and by this is meant precisely
the _quarrel_ (chap. xvii. 19) with God which has been so long
discussed--is what ruins all. It is upon them that are _contentious,_
and will not obey the truth, (Rom. ii. 8)--that truth being in all of
them through "the invisible things" which are seen "by the things
that are made" (Rom. i. 20)--that the apostle denounces "tribulation
and wrath, indignation and anguish." Not that men can save
themselves, but that they would save themselves under God's
influences if they did not contend with Him; that it is _"rebellion"_
that turns the scale (Psa. lxvii. 6); that there is light enough in
every man to draw him to saving light if he would only follow it; and
that on this very account it is the great sorrow of the sinner that
he has this "spirit of upbraiding," which, in the spiritual world, no
moral malady "can carry."--_Miller._
St. Gregory saith by patience we possess our souls, because, while we
learn to bear rule over ourselves, we begin to possess that which we
are. And surely, if thou be courageously patient, whatsoever thou
mayest lose yet thou enjoyest that which thou hast; or, if thou hast
nothing, yet thou shalt enjoy thyself, thou shalt enjoy the comfort
of thy own spirit. Whereas impatiency for anything that is lost
taketh away the comfort of all that remaineth, yea, the comfort of
thine own self.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 15.
PRUDENCE AND KNOWLEDGE.
We have before given a definition of prudence as wisdom applied to
practice; a prudent man is likewise defined as one "cautious to avoid
harm." Taking in both definitions, the text suggests--
+I. That ignorance exposes men to danger.+ This is true in relation
to any and every kind of evil to which men are exposed. A man who is
in the general sense of the term an ignorant man--who does not
possess even the rudimentary knowledge of an ordinary schoolboy--is
liable to be imposed upon and deceived by those who know more.
Ignorance of physical and scientific truth often leads men to expose
themselves to bodily danger without being aware of it, and ignorance
of spiritual truth often causes men to become victims of great moral
evil without realising their danger. If a man, therefore, desires to
avoid harm to body, mind, and soul, he must set himself to acquire
knowledge both in relation to things material and spiritual.
+II. Prudence, i.e., wisdom applied to practice, is an indispensable
qualification for obtaining knowledge.+ If a man possesses an estate
beneath whose surface he knows there lies buried much precious
mineral treasure, he must bring much wisdom and skill into play
before he has the treasure in his hand. Wisdom must be reduced to
practice in sinking the shaft and in working the mine before the
hidden wealth is brought to light to enrich its owner. He must work,
he must work in harmony with certain fixed laws if he is to become
possessor of the treasure. So with obtaining knowledge. A man must
exert himself--he must seek--and his exertions must be wisely
directed if he is to possess the knowledge which is better than any
material treasure because it enriches the better part of a man. It is
not enough to be active, but he must see that his actions are wisely
directed, that the means are adapted to the end in view. If there is
effort without wisdom to guide it there may be _seeking_ without
_getting._
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
A heart made discerning gains in knowledge, etc. This is a beautiful
fact. Snow gathers snow as we roll it on the ground. A wood gathers
wood, like all vegetable or vital growths. A sinner stands dead like
a blasted oak, but a saint not only lives by growing, but grows by
living.--_Miller._
"The _heart_" is here, as in many other instances, apparently used
for _the mind_ in general, including both the intellect and the
affections. There is in "the wise" a love of knowledge, and an
application of the mental powers for its attainment. And as _"the
ear"_ is one of the great inlets to instruction, it may here, with
propriety, be considered as comprehending all the ways in which
knowledge may be acquired.--_Wardlaw._
The common course is that _seeking_ goes before _getting,_ but here
getting is first, and seeking follows after. For surely they are the
best seekers of knowledge, and are most earnest after it, who have
already gotten it. They who have not gotten it do not know the worth
of it, and so have no mind to look after it, or if they have the
mind, they have no knowledge how to seek it. But they who have
already found it are so affected with the worth of it, so directed by
the light of it, as that they still seek more, still get
more.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 16.
THE INFLUENCE OF TALENT.
Understanding the gift here spoken of as a special mental endowment
(see Hitzig), we remark--
+I. That great abilities are gifts from God.+ There are certain
mental capabilities which are the common inheritance of men in
general, but it cannot be denied that there are men who, apart for
all the differences made by circumstances and education, have
capacities and abilities which far exceed those of ordinary men. The
gift of one talent is more common than the gift of ten, yet both the
ten and the one are gifts from the same hand. Although the Divine
Creator gives to all men _liberally,_ He does not give to all
_equally,_ but seeing that man is not responsible for this
inequality, those who are most richly endowed should find in the fact
of their superiority matter for gratitude and not for
self-glorification.
+II. Such a gift tends to the exaltation of the man who possesses
it.+ It "maketh room for him" in the world--it opens up to him many
opportunities of social advancement, and it "bringeth him before
great men,"--men who are either great in wealth and position or
intellectually and morally great, or are great in both senses of the
word. As surely as water will find its level, so a truly gifted man
will find some outlet for his talents--some sphere large enough to
use what has been bestowed upon him for the very purpose of being
used. Even Daniel, although a captive in Babylon, found that the
God-given powers within him made room for him at a heathen court and
brought him before more than one mighty monarch.
+III. Such a gift to a man is a gift for men.+ Although it tends to
his own personal exaltation and benefit, it is not bestowed for that
purpose only or chiefly. When God bestows upon one man capabilities
and endowments far above the common order, He does not intend to
bless that man alone by the gift, but he holds him responsible for
the use of the power put into his hand--He expects him so to enjoy
his talents that his fellow-men also may be blessed by the gift. Thus
the administrative ability which was bestowed upon Joseph was not
given for him simply or chiefly to bring him before Pharaoh for his
own advancement, but to bring blessing to the Egyptian nation, and to
further God's purposes concerning his own family. When the Lord
reckons with His servants, He will account that talent mis-used which
is used for self-aggrandisement alone.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 17.
CROSS-EXAMINATION.
+I. The evidence of one person alone must not be too much depended
on.+ This is but another way of putting the old proverb that "One
tale is good till another is told." And this does not necessarily
imply that the first teller of the tale is an untruthful person, but
we are so apt to apprehend facts through the medium of our own
prejudices--to see things in the light in which we wish to see
them--that even two truthful men may sometimes vary much in their
version of the same occurrence. This will be more certainly the case
if it is a man's "own cause" that is under discussion, self-interest
is then very likely to lead him to give a one-sided statement. He may
unintentionally leave out facts which in the eyes of another person
may be very important, or he may being others into a prominence to
which an impartial judge may not consider them entitled. Hence--
+II. The need of cross-examination+--of another to "come and search
him." Questioning may not convict the first person of any
mis-statement, but it may elicit other facts which give quite a
different colouring to the whole. The wife of Potiphar seemed _"just
in her cause"_ when she declared that Joseph left his garment in her
hand and fled. This was not an untruth, and appearances were
certainly very much against her innocent victim, but if Joseph had
been allowed to tell his story too, the truth might have come to
light. Therefore we learn that we must not give a verdict for or
against an accused person until both he and his accuser have been
heard.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The first clause reads thus in the Hebrew, _"A righteous one, the
first in his quarrel,"_ and has a brevity which is practically too
great. The _righteous_ is not a _righteous_ man _pro vero,_ but only
_righteous,_ he having the first chance to speak. How true this is,
men for the first time in a court can easily imagine. Each last
strong speech comes out victorious. Now the lost has done all the
strong speaking as yet. Wait till God speaks, and the case will look
very differently.--_Miller._
In every case, the first information, if it have dwelt for a little
in the judge's mind, takes deep root, and colours and takes
possession of it, insomuch that it will hardly be washed out unless
either some clear falsehood be detected or some deceit in the
statement thereof.--_Bacon._
Saul made himself appear _just in his own cause._ The necessity of
the case seemed to warrant the deviation from the command. But Samuel
_searched him,_ and laid open his rebellion (1 Sam. xv. 17-23).
Ziba's cause _seemed_ just in David's eyes, until Mephibosheth's
explanation _searched him_ to his confusion. Job's incautious
self-defence was laid open by Elihu's probing application (Job
xxxiii. 8-12).--_Bridges._
In religious disputes it is a great injustice to depend for the
character of a sect, or an impartial representation of their
doctrines, upon one whom partially has blinded and rendered unfit,
however honest he may be, to do them justice. Party spirit has as
much influence as gifts to blind the eyes of the wise, and to pervert
the words of the righteous.--_Lawson._
This word, falling from heaven on the busy life of man, is echoed
back from every quarter in a universal acknowledgement of its
justness. . . . This scripture reveals a crook in the creature that
God made upright. There is a bias in the heart, the fountain of
impulse, and the resulting life-course turns deceitfully aside.
Self-love is the twist in the heart within, and self-interest is the
side to which the variation from righteousness steadily tends. . . .
The heart makes the lie, deceiving first the man himself, and
thereafter his neighbours. The bent is in the mould where the thought
is first cast in embryo, and everything that comes forth is crooked.
In my early childhood a fact regarding the relations of matter came
under my observation which I now see has its analogue in the moral
laws. An industrious old man, by trade a mason, was engaged to build
a certain piece of wall at so much per yard. He came at the appointed
time, laid the foundations according to the specifications, and
proceeded with his building, course upon course, according to the
approved methods of his craft. When the work had advanced several
feet above the ground, a younger man, with a steadier hand and a
brighter eye, came to assist the elder operator. Casting his eye
along the work, as he laid down his tools and adjusted his apron, he
detected a defect, and instantly called out to his senior partner
that the wall was not plumb. "It must be plumb," enjoined the
builder, somewhat piqued, "for I have laid every stone by the
plumb-line." Suiting the action to the word he grasped the rule, laid
it along his work, and triumphantly pointed to the lead vibrating and
settling down precisely on the cut that marks the middle. Sure enough
the wall was according to rule, and yet the wall was not plumb. The
rule was examined, and the discovery was made that the old man, with
his defective eyesight, had drawn the cord through the wrong slit at
the top of the instrument, and then from some cause which I cannot
explain, using only one side of it, had never detected the
mistake. . . . It is on some such principle that people err in
preparing a representation of their own case. They suspend their
plumb, not from the middle, but from one edge of the rule, and that
the edge which lies next their own interests.--_Arnot._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 18.
THE USE OF THE LOT.
We have before had the lot as a symbol of human freedom and Divine
pre-ordination (chap. xvi. 33, page 499). In this verse the thought
is the advantage of its use as putting an end to contention. That it
is thus a means to a most desirable end appears when we consider--
+I. That it prevents waste of time.+ Time is to human creatures a
very precious commodity, because the longest life lived in this world
is comparatively short. If a man has a very small inheritance he
cannot afford to have one and another of his neighbours encroaching
upon his land and taking a portion here and there, or others putting
their hands into his pockets and helping themselves to what is only
sufficient for his own needs. If a young artist has a sketch given to
him by his master which he is to fill up in a given time, he cannot
afford to spend the moments disputing with the fellow-pupils about
their respective rights to certain brushes and colours; while he is
contending the hours are going, and when the master calls for the
picture he will have none to show. A man's life is a limited
inheritance, given to him by God, to use first of all for his own
spiritual good, and he cannot afford to be robbed of any part of it.
It is an outline which God has given to him to be filled up in a
certain time--spiritual and mental capacities and abilities are
bestowed upon him which he is expected so to use as to form a godly
noble character, and he cannot afford to waste any of the life given
him for this purpose in contention with his brother man, thereby
arousing the devil within himself and in him with whom he disputes.
The use of the lot is therefore desirable under certain conditions
and restrictions, because in ending contention it saves time. When
the eleven Apostles were awaiting the seal of their commission, they
felt that they had no time to waste in contending who should fill up
the empty place in their band--they knew that, although they were
brethren in Christ, they might differ in their opinions in the
matter--and they therefore wisely determined to decide it by
referring to the lot. There have been, since, Christian men and women
who resort to the same method of avoiding contention; and with the
example of the Apostles before us, we can have no doubt that they are
justified in so doing. But--
+II. It prevents waste of material wealth.+ If the kings and great
men of the earth had resorted to this method if "causing contentions
to cease and parting between the mighty," how many homes and cities
would have escaped overthrow, how many a fruitful and prosperous
country would have been preserved from desolation, and how many a
princely fortune would have remained in the hands of its rightful
owners. God divided the land of Israel by lot, and if men had
generally been content to permit Him to divide the earth among them
in a similar manner, how much more rich and prosperous would they
have been.
+III. It prevents waste of human life.+ It would be indeed a blessing
if property was the most precious thing wasted in the contentions of
men. But, alas, disputes often lead to far more serious consequences,
and that life of man, which is at the best so limited, has been made
much shorter by the sword of his fellow-man. Sometimes family feuds
have led men to resort to this terrible method of settling disputes,
and men of the same parentage have fought till one shed the other's
blood. And sometimes it has been a nation that has contended with
another, and then not one has fallen a victim, but hundreds on both
sides. And when we think not only of the wounds thus inflicted, and
the lives thus cut off, but of the wounded hearts and darkened lives
of those who mourn them, we must allow that any means of ending
contention is better than permitting it to work its deadly work. And
the fact that the lot was used by Israel at the command of God, and
sanctioned by Him in the early history of the Christian Church, makes
it certain that if used in a right spirit it might still be employed
so as to be acceptable to Him.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
As the lot was had recourse to when causes were such as admitted not
of determination otherwise, there seems to be a natural enough
relation of suggestion between this verse and the preceding. In cases
where representations differed, and the evidence between them was
such as to leave it impossible to say certainly on which side was the
preponderance, or when the parties would not submit to arbitration,
or when they were too powerful to be safely meddled with, then "the
lot caused contentions to cease, and parted between the
mighty."--_Wardlaw._
There seems no Scriptural prohibition to the use of this ordinance,
provided it be exercised in a reverential dependence upon God, and
not profaned for common purposes or worldly ends. At the same time
the Word of God appears to be more fully recognised as the arbiter of
the Divine will. . . . Perhaps it is more easy to abide by the
decision of the lot than of the Word. The last requires more
self-denial, humility, and patience, and therefore is more
practically useful.--_Bridges._
He that hath commanded to cease from labour, hath much more commanded
to cease from strife. He that was pleased to make the Sabbath of
rest, is also pleased with those who make a Sabbath of peace. This is
a Sabbath altogether moral, never to be abrogated. Wherefore let
reason and indifferency hear the differences that are between any,
and if it can be done let them be reconciled. But if otherwise it
cannot be ordered then let a _lot_ be the compromiser of them. In
that there can be no partiality, and though itself cannot judge of
right, yet He that guides it is the most righteous Judge of the
world. If a lot have erred, it is when men's understanding should
have put things right, for God, having given power to men, He looks
that man should use it. But God so loveth peace, that, where men
cannot, He will do right, if that the lot refer unto His arbitrament.
Wherefore, when the mighty strive, and might of reason standeth on
both sides equally, being too strong for man to decide, let the
Almighty by His lot decide it.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 19.
CASTLE BARS.
The state of things treated in this verse reveals most conclusively
that man has fallen. Contention between any men is a plain proof that
there is some flaw in human nature, that the relations of human
creatures are not what they ought to be. If the disputants are men of
the same nation, their contention seems more unnatural than if they
belonged to different races, but when some of the same father--men
brought up at the knees of the same mother, are found in a state of
enmity, we have a very strong proof that the race is not what its
head was when he came fresh from the hand of his Creator. Such enmity
Solomon compares to the bars of a castle--
+I. Because it is hard to break through.+ The bars that guard the
outlet of a fortress are strong, and when the iron crowbar is applied
to them with a view of making an entrance, the weapon finds itself
resisted by a substance as unyielding as its own. The bars strike
against each other, but neither being more brittle than its
antagonist, no progress is made. It is no ordinary difference that
makes a ground of quarrel between brothers; there are so many ties to
be broken and so many motives of self-interest to bind them, that the
enmity must be deep to separate them at first, and being deep and
strong, it is not easily broken down.
+II. Because it is the only thing that separates them.+ Friends who
deeply love each other and are one in spirit sometimes find nothing
between them but a few bars--the iron grating of a dungeon may be all
that keeps them apart. But although it is only that, it is a very
real and terrible barrier. And a dispute between brethren is like
iron bars, dividing those who ought to be one more truly and sadly
than any prison door could separate them. They may be dwelling under
the same roof, and so have every opportunity of enjoying each other's
society and gladdening each other's life. But contention builds
around each one a more impregnable barrier than the highest walls of
the strongest fortress.
+III. That to subdue such enmity requires more wisdom and skill than
to take a city.+ There are several methods by which a city may be
won. It may be taken by superior physical force, it may be surprised
and captured, or its inhabitants may be starved into a surrender. But
it is not so easy to capture a human heart--an angry brother must be
subdued by different means, and by weapons which require more skilful
handling. No physical force can break down enmity of heart--even God
cannot reconcile men unto Himself by His physical omnipotence, but
wins them by love. And this is the only power which can win "a
brother offended." If he has been in the wrong we must approach him
with a free forgiveness, and if the wrong has been on our side we
must approach with submission and acknowledgement of our fault.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
"When a brother is revolted away, it is from a city of strength; and
contentions are like the bars of a citadel." The whole meaning is,
that one _"brother," "revolted_ away" from another, is _"revolted
from a city of strength,"_ that being what one is to all the rest. In
other words, brothers are a shelter to brothers, and quarrels lock up
that resort. . . . Notice, that a brother is not only a commoner
defence, but a "citadel;" and a "bar" to that keep shuts a man out of
his best earthly dependence. It is a fine adage, even for this
world . . . but when applied to our Great Brother, and to our God and
King, it is one of the noblest of inspired texts. He who offends our
Brother Prince shuts a high tower (Psa. xviii. 2). He who quarrels
with our Surety snaps to the lock of a citadel; and then, alas, it
shall be, just as the wild rush of embittered enemies should have
roused him to enter in.--_Miller._
The sweeter the wine the sharper the vinegar; accordingly, the
greater the love implanted by nature, the more bitter the hate when
this love is violated.--_Zeltner._
The _matter of fact_ is here stated--and there are natural enough
reasons to account for it. More is justly expected from a brother
than from a stranger--more of affection, gratitude, kindly treatment,
fidelity, and trustworthiness. When such expectations are
disappointed, the wound in the spirit is proportionately deeper, and
more difficult of healing--the breach wider, and harder of being made
up. Besides, the slower a person is to take offence--the longer he
forbears--the more he forgives--the more difficult it is fairly to
overcome the yearnings of affection, and break the bonds of
brotherhood--the more inveterate may the spirit of resentment be; the
more sullen and distant the alienation, when it is actually
produced.--_Warren._
Whether it be a brother by race, place, or grace; those oft that
loved most dearly, if once the devil cast his club between them, hate
most deadly. . . . As for brethren by profession, and that of the
true religion too, among Protestants, you shall meet with many
divisions, and those prosecuted with a great deal of bitterness. No
war breaks out sooner, or lasts longer, than that among divines, or
that about a sacrament; a sacrament of love, a communion, and yet the
occasion, by accident, of much dissension.--_Trapp._
The original word here used is a brother revolting or departing by
disloyalty; or else a brother offended by disloyal departing. For
such ought to be the command of love between brethren, that he that
breaks it is a disloyal rebel unto it. And surely they that need to
be firmly tied, because, being divided, they are so hardly joined.
For as that which being whole is most strongly united, being broken
is farthest from being made whole; and as a stick of hard wax, being
broken, may more easily be conjoined than a stick of hard wood, so
are the divisions of brethren more hardly composed than the
contentions of others.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 20 _and_ 21.
THE POWER OF THE LITTLE MEMBER.
Solomon again and again reverts to the mighty influences for good and
evil which flow from the use of the tongue--that "little member" upon
which such great issues often depend. He here notices--
+I. The power of words over the man who utters them.+ He declares
that the state of the inward man--its rest or unrest, its gladness or
its gloom--depends very much upon the use that is made of the tongue.
A little thought and observation will convince us that this is true.
Beginning with the familiar intercourse of every-day life, how true
it is that the utterance of kindly words of sympathy, and advice and
warning, have a tendency to make sunshine in the heart of him who
utters them, while censorious, hasty, harsh words embitter and darken
the spirit of their author. Going beyond these to utterances which
have a wider influence, the proverb is no less true. The painter that
has conceived a picture in his mind, and then, seeing it upon canvas,
thinks of the many eyes who will gaze upon it with interest, and of
those who perchance will be elevated and instructed by it, feels a
satisfaction in the thought that it owes its existence to him--that
without the working of his brain and hand it would not have been. "He
is filled with the increase" of his skilful hand. So the man whose
words are listened to and waited for by other men--whether he be the
skilful barrister, or the powerful statesman, or the preacher of the
Gospel, has a satisfaction in being able to put forth his conceptions
as to give to his fellow-men new ideas--to show them things in a
light in which they might never have seen them but for this power
which he possesses. He has joy in being the originator of fresh and
living thoughts, and in being able by clothing them in words to
impart them to others. But upon the moral quality of the "fruit of
his mouth" will depend the length and depth of his satisfaction. The
single power to influence men by speech will gratify for the
moment--but if the increase of the lips is to be an abiding source of
contentment there must be a consciousness that the power has been
used to benefit mankind in some way or other--that the skilful
pleading has been on the side of right, that the powerful logic has
been used to expose the false and to defend the true, or the
brilliant oratory has had for its aim the moral enlightenment and
strengthening of the listeners. If it be not so, the fruit of man's
mouth will be like the roll given to the apocalyptic seer, "in the
mouth as sweet as honey," but afterwards "bitter" (Rev. x. 10). How
sad must be the reflections of those who have possessed this
God-given power for good or ill when they have had to look back upon
its misuse.
+II. The power of words over those who hear them.+ The tongue in its
mighty influence is a king having the power of life and death. No
other member of the human body can lay claim to such wide-spread and
regal authority. The eye can influence men, but not so powerfully as
the tongue, nor can its influence reach so many at once. The hand can
strike down the body of a single foe, or two or three at once. But
the tongue can reach a thousand hearts at one time, and make men its
slaves, not in twos and threes but in masses. As it sways the
affections and takes a man's will captive, it wields the power of
life and death not over the body of the man but over the man himself.
The tongue of the tempter can drag its victims down, body and soul,
to hell, while the tongue which is touched with a living coal from
off the altar of God can be the means of persuading men to be
reconciled to their Heavenly Father, and so of making them partakers
of eternal life. Seeing, then, what issues of life and death are
dependent upon this king, it is manifest that men should keep him in
absolute control; if so much depends upon his action he ought to be
under the strictest supervision. If one member of the body politic,
by the position which he holds and the ability which he possesses, is
able to exercise a very powerful influence in the kingdom for weal or
for woe, men watch him narrowly and jealously to see how he uses his
power, and if they are anxious for the well-being of the State they
endeavour to restrain him when he is going wrong and stimulate him
when he is using his influence for the right. So ought every man to
watch and guard his own tongue; seeing that life, and death are in
its power, he ought to bring all his words to the bar of conscience
and try them there, severely condemning them if they have not been
such as would minister life to the hearers, and remembering that his
Master has said, _"By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy
words thou shalt be condemned"_ (Matt. xii. 37).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
If a man were possessed of a field exceedingly productive, either of
good fruits or of noisome and poisonous herbs, according to the
cultivation bestowed on it, what pains would he use to clear it of
every weed, and to have it sown with good grain! and yet, when the
harvest is come, he may take his choice whether he will eat of the
product or not. Such a field is the tongue of man, with this
difference, that a man is obliged to eat the fruit of it, although it
should be worse than hemlock. What care, then, should we use to pluck
from our hearts every root of bitterness, and to have them furnished
with knowledge and prudence, that our discourse may be good, to the
use of edifying!--_Lawson._
There is a sense in which we may understand the language, even taking
the former clause of the twentieth verse _literally_--"A man's
_belly_ shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth." You may
smile and say, A man cannot live upon words! Very true. But the way
in which a man uses his lips and his tongue, as the organs of speech,
may contribute not a little to his getting, or his failing to get,
"the meat that perisheth." I mean not that any of you should, in the
slightest degree, try to work your way in life by words of flattery;
but when a man's general conversation is such as to procure for him a
character of discretion, courtesy, gratitude, straightforward
integrity, and trustworthiness, this may surely contribute, eminently
and directly, to the temporal sustenance and comfort of the man
himself and his family: while an opposite style of intercourse may
tend to penury and starvation. A man may, in various ways, make his
"lips" the instrument of either want on the one hand, or plenty on
the other.--_Wardlaw._
Our understanding of verse 20 is, that as the outward wants of a man
are satisfied by his daily acts, so he himself is, and that simply
_as_ his acts, or because of the intimate sympathy between the man
and what he does. This thought is still clearer in the verse that
follows:--"Death and life are in the power (literally the _hand_) of
the tongue." There can be no doubt that men's conduct (for tongue is
but the leading instrument of it) determines _death_ or _life,_ yet,
in spite of the adventurous hazard, their _love_ to it (or literally,
_just as they love this or that sort of tongue_), they shall eat its
fruit, and incur, of course, fearful responsibilities.--_Miller._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 22.
A TWOFOLD GOOD.
+I. Polygamy cannot be recommended by those who have practised it.+ A
thousand counterfeit coins, even if they pass as genuine for a time,
are nothing worth in comparison with one real golden sovereign. Both
may bear the image and superscription of the king, but the one is an
insult to the name it bears while the other has a right to be
imprinted with the royal name. The author of this proverb was a
polygamist--his great experience qualified him to give an opinion
upon the subject--but we do not here find him dwelling upon the
satisfaction of the harem, but upon the blessedness of a _wife._ He
was fully conscious of the fact that a real partner of his life--one
woman to be a help-meet for him according to the Divine
intention--would have added much more to his real welfare than the
thousand counterfeits to whom it was an insult to God to give the
name of wives. More than once he bears testimony to the blessedness
of marriage in the true sense of the word, but we never find him
praising the practice which was so great a curse to his own life. In
this proverb he indirectly condemns himself and warns others by his
own example. A vessel that has gone to pieces upon the rocks may
still be used to prevent others from sharing her fate. The broken
timbers may serve to light a beacon fire which may warn other vessels
to take another course. Polygamy was the rock upon which Solomon
shipwrecked his social happiness and much more (1 Kings xi. 3), and
he seems here and elsewhere to warn his descendants not to follow in
his footsteps in this respect and conform to the custom of the
heathen monarchs by whom they were surrounded.
+II. Monogamy brings a double portion--a good thing and the Divine
favour.+ The favour of a good parent is a thing prized highly by a
dutiful child, and enhances the value of every other blessing. The
favour of a good king is in itself a fortune which few men would
despise. The favour of God is a fortune for a period which extends
beyond that named in the marriage vow, it is a fortune which no
creature can afford to despise, and a blessing which those who know
Him prize before all things in earth or heaven. When a man enters
into the marriage relation according to the Divine intention--making
a woman his wife in the true sense of the word--he not only adds to
his own comfort and consults his own interest, but he does that which
is pleasing to God--he takes a step upon which he can fearlessly ask
for the Divine blessing.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
"Findeth" implies the _rarity_ of the thing obtained (Eccles.
vii. 27, 28), and the need of circumspection in the search. Blind
passion is not to make the selection at random.--_Fausset._
The married who is truly Christian knows that, even though sometimes
things are badly matched, still his marriage relation is well
pleasing to God as His creation and ordinance, and what he therein
does or endures, passes as done or suffered for God.--_Luther._
There is a secular and a spiritual in every proverb. These two are
not apart, but flow easily into each other. Secularly, a wife is the
highest treasure. It is a vapid distinction to say a good wife, and
the Bible many a time hurries on without any such distinction (comp.
ch. iv. 3). A bad "wife" is no _"wife"_ at all. A wife is the holiest
of all relations; in the world the most powerful for good. . . . A
good marriage is a means of grace, . . . of course any relation that
is near and potent is covered by the passage.--_Miller._
I shall always endeavour to make choice of such a woman for my spouse
who hath first made choice of Christ as a spouse for herself; that
none may be made one flesh with me who is not made one spirit with
Christ my Saviour. For I look upon the image of Christ as the best
mark of beauty I can behold in her, and the grace of God as the best
portion I can receive with her.--_Bp. Reynolds._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 23.
THE RICH AND POOR.
This proverb treats of a twofold aspect of human life which furnishes
a strong proof of the fallen condition of human nature. There is,
probably, no part of this earth--teeming although it is with riches
enough to satisfy the needs of every living thing--in which those are
not to be found who have to struggle hard for their daily bread, and
who even then come off with but a scanty share. Poverty seems as
universal as disease and death, and must be referred to the same
source. For those who know anything of the character of God, know
that it was not a part of his original intention that men should be
placed in such circumstances; and when they look abroad upon their
fellow-creatures, they see that all the poverty of the poor can be
traced to wrong-doing on the part of men--to the selfishness of some,
and to the indolence and vice of others. It is quite certain that,
when God's will is done on earth as it is in heaven, the miserable
poverty which now surrounds us on every side will cease to exist.
Solomon here sets forth--
+I. One of the many evils of poverty.+ He has before mentioned some
of its advantages (see chap. xiii. 8, page 300), but the evil of the
text is a very real and common one. A poor man has not only a very
small share of the material comforts of life, but even for these he
is often compelled to sue as for a favour. Even if he is an honest
and able man, he may be so dependent upon the caprices of the wealthy
as to have to entreat their help and patronage before he can use his
powers to his own advantage. Such a state of things is often felt to
be hard and is undoubtedly so, and unless a poor man is noble and
self-respecting, it has a tendency to make him cringing and
servile--to dispose him to barter his conscience and his rights in
order to satisfy his bodily needs. We know there have been many noble
exceptions to this rule--that there have been hundreds of poor men
who have preferred starvation to a forfeiture of any part of their
God-given inheritance--but the temptation of the poor man in this
direction is often very strong by reason of his great necessity.
+II. One of the many temptations of wealth.+ It would be a difficult
matter, and perhaps an impossible one, to enumerate all the
respective moral advantages of poverty and riches, and strike the
true balance between them. There can be no doubt that each has its
peculiar temptations (see chap. xxx. 7-9), and that one of the sins
to which the rich man is most liable is that of inconsiderateness of
the claims of his poor brother, and even of insolence towards him. It
is a universal tendency of fallen humanity to look exclusively on his
own things and not on the things of others, and the wealth of the
rich man enables him to indulge this tendency to its utmost. And men
are prone to go even beyond this--the children of the same common
Father often take delight in making their poor brethren feel their
dependence on them, and instead of giving sympathy and help freely
and after a brotherly fashion, they withhold the first entirely, and
if they give the latter they do it coldly and even contemptuously.
That this is by no means the rule we have many proofs, but that the
tendency is strong we know not only from observation but from the
frequent warnings against it in the Word of God. The Apostle James
charges even the professed followers of Christ with having "despised
the poor" (Jas. ii. 6).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The angels smile at the way the sinner cavils. He reverses what the
proverb pronounces natural. For He who is supremely _rich_ is meek
and tender, and he who is profoundly poor is loud in his
reproach!--_Miller._
The languages of several countries are not so different as of the
poor and rich man in one and the same country, and a stranger of
another land is not such a foreigner as in the same land a poor man
standing at the door of the rich. The one when he speaketh is not
understood by the ear, the other when he speaketh is not understood
by the heart: the words of the one are not apprehended, the wants of
the other are not apprehended; the one is heard, but not conceived;
the other is conceived, but not heard. When two talk in diverse
languages they are known to be men of diverse countries; but when the
poor and rich talk together, so different is their speech that one
would hardly think them to be both men, and of the same nature. The
one speaks as if he had hardly breath to bring forth his words, the
other speaketh with such a strong breath that the harshness of it
giveth an ill scent a great way off.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 24.
THE OBLIGATIONS OF FRIENDSHIP.
It will be seen from the Critical Notes that most modern critics
translate the first clause of this verse very differently from the
rendering in our Bibles. Some expositors, however, adhere to the old
translation, and we therefore look at it--
+I. As expressing a need of human nature.+ It matters not in which
condition man is found, whether in riches or in poverty, whether
ignorant and rude or highly civilized and educated, he needs the
friendship of one or more of his fellow creatures. The special
good-will of some who can feel with him and for him in all the
vicissitudes of life is indispensable to his happiness. Among all the
gifts which an Almighty Father has given to His children, there is
perhaps none, after His Own gracious favour, which is so necessary
to their welfare or is so productive of joy as this gift of
friendship. Men cannot live a life of isolation and know anything of
the enjoyment of life. We cannot conceive of even perfect creatures
living such a life--we know the angels and redeemed saints derive
much of their bliss from the friendship of each other, and how much
more does man in his present imperfect state need it. And the need
can be supplied even in this selfish world. Men have been, and still
are, able to find among their fellows those who are worthy of the
name of friend. True it is that there is much that is called
friendship that is unworthy of the name, but as we do not reject the
real coin because there are base imitations of it, so we must not
permit the counterfeit of friendship to shake our confidence in the
real thing.
+II. As setting forth an indispensable condition of making and
keeping friends.+ If a man desires to know the sweets of real
friendship he must be prepared to be himself a real friend. The
selfish and morose man who will not deny himself for another's good,
or who cannot rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who
weep, cannot expect others to deny themselves for him and to
sympathise with his joy and sorrow. If there is to be a genuine
friendship there must be mutual confidence and a mutual recognition
of excellencies, for if the trust and admiration is on one side only
the fire will soon burn out for want of fuel. There are men whose
love cannot be extinguished by coldness and distrust, but they are
few and far between, and the wise man's words hold good as a general
rule that "a man that hath friends must show himself friendly." (The
latter clause of this verse was treated in Homiletics on chap.
xvii. 17-18, page 518.)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
_A man of friends is apt to be broken all to pieces._ (This is
Miller's rendering only.) The significance of the whole is that a man
of _wide acquaintance_ is apt to _break._ Human friendships cost. In
the strife to appear well, in the time it takes, in the industries
they scatter, in the hospitalities they provoke, and in the
securityships they engender, broadening our socialities will try
every one of us well. It is not so with heavenly friendships. All
spiritual communisms bless.--_Miller._
Solomon delivers a warning against the vainglorious passion of
aspiring to an universal acquaintance and an empty popularity, such
as was courted by his brother Absalom, which will bring with it no
support in adversity, but will ruin a man by pride and rashness and
prodigal expenditure.--_Wordsworth._
SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTER.--That the chapter before us treats mainly of
the virtues of social life, of sociability, affability, love of
friends, compassion, etc., appears not merely from its initial and
closing sentences, the first of which is directed against
misanthropic selfishness, the latter against thoughtless and
inconstant universal friendship, or seeming friendship, but also from
the various rebukes which it contains of a contentious, quarrelsome,
and partisan disposition, _e.g.,_ verses 5, 6, 8, 17-21. But in
addition, most of the propositions that seem to be more remote may be
brought under this general category of love to neighbours as the sum
and basis of all social virtues; so especially the testimonies
against wild, foolish talking (verses 2, 7, 13, comp. 4 and 15); that
against bold impiety, proud dispositions and hardness of heart
against the poor (vers. 3, 12, 23); that against slothfulness in the
duties of one's calling, foolish confidence in earthly riches, and
want of true moral courage and confidence in God (vers. 9-11; comp.
14). Nay, even the commendation of a large liberality as a means of
gaining for one's self favour and influence in human society (ver.
16), and likewise the praise of an excellent mistress of a family,
are quite closely connected with this main subject of the chapter,
which admonishes to love towards one's fellow-men; they only show the
many-sided completeness with which the theme is here
treated.--_Lange's Commentary._
* * * * * *
CHAPTER XIX.
CRITICAL NOTES.--+1.+ Delitzsch translates the last clause, _"Than
one with perverse lips, and so a fool."_ +2. Sinneth,+ literally
"goeth astray." Delitzsch reads the last clause, _"He who hasteneth
with the legs after it goeth astray."_ +3. Perverteth,+ rather
"overtures," "ruins." +5. Speaketh lies,+ rather _"whose breath is
lies."_ +6. The prince,+ rather "the noble or generous man." It seems
to refer to one of rank, who is also of a benevolent disposition.
_"Entreat the favour,"_ literally _"stroke the face."_ +7. He
pursueth them,+ &c. This clause is variously rendered. Zöckler reads,
_"He seeketh words_ (of friendship), _and there are none;"_
Delitzsch, _"Seeking after words which are vain;"_ Miller, _"As one
snatching at words, they come to stand towards him;"_ Maurer and
others, _"He pursueth after_ (the fulfilment of the) _words_ (of
their past promises to him), _and these_ (promises) _are not_ (made
good)." +8. Wisdom.+ Literally _heart._ +9. Speaketh lies,+ _"whose
breath is lies."_ +10. Delight.+ Most commentators translate this
word _"luxury."_ Miller, however, as will be seen from his comment,
retains the reading of the English version. +11. Discretion,+ or
_"intelligence."_ +13. Calamity.+ The word so translated is in the
plural form, so as to express the continuance of the trouble.
+16.+ Miller reads the verse _"He that guards the commandment guards
himself; in scattering his ways he dies."_ (See his comment.)
Hitzig's rendering of the last clause agrees with Miller's. +18. Let
not thy soul spare for his crying.+ The translations of most
expositors here differ widely from the Authorised Version. Gortius,
Maurer, Delitzsch, Zöckler, etc., read, _"Let not thy soul rise to
kill him," "Go not too far to kill him,"_ etc., all understanding the
precept to be directed against excessive severity. Cartwright renders
it "Let not thy soul spare him, _to his destruction._" +20. Latter
end,+ rather _afterwards._ +22. The desire of a man,+ &c. Rather _"A
man's delight_ (or glory) _is his beneficence,"_ or _A man's kindness
is what makes him desirable_ or, _is a desirable adornment._ +24. In
his bosom,+ rather, _in the dish._ This is of course a hyperbolic
expression to set forth the inactivity of the slothful man.
"Athenæus," says Fausset, "describes (ch. xii. 27) the slothful man
as waiting until the roasted and seasoned thrushes fly into his mouth
begging to be devoured." +27. Cease my son,+ &c. "That causeth" are
not in the original and the instruction spoken of may therefore be
evil or good. "Two conceptions are possible: 1. The instruction is
that of wisdom itself, and therefore a good wholesome discipline that
leads to life; then the words can be only ironical, presenting under
the appearance of a discussion from discipline in wisdom a very
urgent counsel to hear and receive it (so Ewald, Bertheau, Elster).
2. The instruction is evil and perverted, described in clause 2 as
one that causes departure from the words of wisdom. Then the
admonition is seriously intended" (Zöckler, in Lange's Commentary).
On Zöckler's first interpretation Dr. Aiken remarks, "To call this
'irony' seems to us a misnomer. Cease to hear instruction only to
despise it. What can be more direct or literally pertinent?"
Delitzsch says, "The proverb is a dissuasive from hypocrisy, a
warning against the self-deception of which Jas. i. 22-24 speaks,
against heightening one's own condemnation, which is the case of that
servant who knows his lord's will and does it not (Luke xii. 47)."
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 1.
THE BETTER PART.
+I. A reference to an unexplained mystery of human life.+ It is here
implied, though it is not directly expressed, that the fool who is
perverse in his lips--who sets himself in speech and action against
the moral law of the universe--is not so poor a man as he who walks
in integrity. (We have before had this latter character before us.
See Homiletics on chap. xi. 3, page 196.) It seems as strange that
power and influence should be so often given to those who know least
how to put them to a good use, as it would be to see a parent put a
knife into the hand of a child who is incapable of using it, yet it
is a sight which meets us on every hand, and a mystery which has
presented itself to the minds of thinking men in all ages. Solomon
had met with such instances in his day--he had seen the godly and
upright walking in the shade and treading the bye-paths of life,
while the perverse and foolish man was basking in the sunlight of
worldly prosperity in the highways of society.
+II. An assertion, that, notwithstanding contrary appearances, the
better portion is with the better man.+ It is not, after all, what a
man's portion is, but how he uses it, that makes his life a blessing
or a curse. A man who walks in integrity makes the righteous law of
his God the rule of his life, and this keeping of the Divine
commandments brings with it a reward (Psa. xix. 11) of which the
rebellious fool knows nothing. He knows how to use his more limited
opportunities and influence to the best advantage--how to put out his
small capital so as to obtain the best interest upon it--how to trade
with his five talents so as to make them other five, and so he is
daily laying up a treasure which is better than all the fame and
wealth that belongs to this world, for it is the riches of a
righteous character by which he is raised himself to a higher
spiritual level, and by which he is able to make the world better
than he found it.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Integrity is itself a life, and a whole enjoyment, and better,
therefore, than worldly interests which are nothing of the kind.
Walking is an eastern figure, and we have failed to substitute it by
a western one. A _way_ in the East means a man's total course.
_Walking,_ therefore, means his total life or being. _Better is a
poor man, etc.,_ refers, therefore, to a man not living in his money,
nor indeed, in his horses or in his hounds, not _living in_ his
integrity, but _walking_ in it, _i.e.,_ spending his whole time in
it, staying in that way; of course, taking his pleasure in it (see
verse 22). We have before seen that _speech_ means _whole conduct._
The mouth, in those days, was the great implement of action. It is so
still. The commonest labourer bargains out and orders out half his
living by his mouth. "Perverse" or "crooked" in speech means speaking
(_i.e._ acting) athwart of what we ourselves know in many
particulars; first, athwart all moral truth; second, athwart deep
personal conviction; third, athwart all personal interest (as our
text implies). A Christian talks straight, because he speaks (acts)
coincidentally with all of these. A sinner is crooked of lip, because
he says what he does not think, and traverses for his lusts all the
best principles of his moral nature.--_Miller._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 2 _and_ 3.
IGNORANCE LEADING TO SIN.
+I. The soul of man cannot be absolutely without knowledge.+ There is
some knowledge which comes to the soul without any effort on the part
of the man, which he has but to live to acquire, just as he has but
to open his eyes to see. He is conscious of his own existence--of his
personal identity as apart from all the beings and things by which he
is surrounded, and of his capability of suffering and enjoyment, of
hope and despair. And because of the light within him he cannot be
altogether ignorant of the difference between right and wrong,
between truth and falsehood. But his necessary knowledge extends to
beings and things outside of himself. He knows without any effort
much about the men and things which surround him, and the visible
things of creation make it impossible that he should be altogether
ignorant of the existence of the invisible God and Creator. So the
apostle argues in Rom. i. 20.
+II. There is a knowledge which it is good to be without.+ There is a
knowledge which human nature in its original dignity and sinlessness
did not possess, the absence of this experimental knowledge was an
essential element of its blessedness. The ignorance of evil was a
blessed ignorance in which man's Creator would have kept him but for
his own wilfulness, and the knowledge of which brought him misery. It
is the blessedness of the unfallen spirits who have kept their first
estate, that although they are conscious of the existence of evil in
the universe, they have no experimental knowledge of it, and this
ignorance constitutes the blessedness of the ever-blessed God
Himself. Those sons of men who, because they are, and ever have been,
in perfect health, know nothing experimentally of bodily pain or
weakness, find it very good to be without this knowledge, and how
much more good it is to be without a knowledge of soul disease and
spiritual suffering.
+III. But there is an acquired knowledge which is indispensable to a
man's well-being.+ Intellectual knowledge of some kind is necessary
to prevent a man from being a shame to himself and a cumberer of the
land. The well-being of the community depends upon one man's knowing
some one thing that another man does not know; no man can know all
things or even many things; no man, however great his knowledge, has
enough of it to make him independent of the knowledge of others, but
every man ought to have such a thorough knowledge of some facts and
truths as to enable him to minister first to some of his own daily
needs and to contribute something to the well-being of his fellow
creatures. Some men must have theoretical knowledge, and others must
know how to reduce theories to practice--the knowledge of the one is
useless without the knowledge of the other. It behoves some men to
investigate the history of the past, and to use this knowledge they
so acquire for the good of the present generation, but while they are
doing this it is indispensable that others should acquire a knowledge
of things as they are at present, and should utilise their knowledge
for the attainment of other ends which are quite as good. But
intellectual knowledge of some kind is also necessary for the
well-being of the mind itself. Man's mind can no more feed upon
itself and be healthy than his body can feed upon itself and live. As
the body needs to receive matter into itself to nourish and sustain
it, so the mind needs to receive ideas upon which to feed and by
which to grow. Without such a reception the intellectual part of a
man remains undeveloped, and he is very far from the creature,
intellectually considered, that God intended him to be. But there is
a kind of knowledge even more needful for man to possess than that
which will merely enlarge his mind or promote his temporal
well-being. If his existence is to be really blest he must know
things which relate to his spiritual well-being--he must be
acquainted with the will of God concerning him, both in relation to
the life that now is and to that which is to come. It is a calamity
to be ignorant of things which fit a man to make the best of the
present life, but it is a far greater calamity to be without that
knowledge which fits a man for a blessed life beyond death. No man
who possesses the revealed Word of God in the Scriptures need be
without this most blessed and indispensable knowledge--everyone who
thirsts for it may drink of this living water, and every hungry soul
may eat of this bread and learn what are the thoughts of God
concerning him, and what are the Divine purposes concerning his
present and his future (Isa. lv. 1-7). And to be without this
knowledge is indeed "not good," for it prevents the soul from
recovering its lost and original dignity. A knowledge of the glorious
God in the face of Jesus Christ is the means by which we are
delivered from the penalty and power of sin, and more than recover
the position lost by man's fall. Ignorance here is indeed a fatal
ignorance in those who have the knowledge within their reach; it is
not good for any human soul to be without this knowledge, and it is
most soul-destroying to those who have only to seek it in order to
find it.
+IV. Some of the evil consequences which flow from ignorance in
general and from ignorance of God in particular.+ 1. _Ignorance leads
to hasty action, and consequently often to wrong action._ For, "he
that hasteth with his feet sinneth," and "the foolishness of man
perverteth his way." In common and every-day life we find that the
most ignorant people are the least cautious, and act with the least
reflection. Knowledge teaches men to think before they act, for it
makes men more alive to the importance of their actions. A child will
play with gunpowder with as little hesitation as he would with common
dust, but a man would not do so, because he knows what would be the
consequences if it ignited. A man who has never been in a coalmine,
and who was ignorant of the dangers of fire-damp, would be very
likely to descend the shaft and enter hastily into the gloomy
passages without first testing the state of the air, but a miner
would not do so, because he knows more about the matter. He would
advance cautiously, and ascertain what was before him before he
ventured far. So people who are ignorant of the mind and will of God
as revealed in His Word act without much thought as to the
consequences of their actions--they enter upon a road at the impulse
of a passing fancy, without asking themselves whither it leads--they
decide upon a certain course of action without thought of the
consequence. And such a hasting with the feet is always a perversion
of a man's way, a wandering from the right path, for a fallen man
does not forsake the evil and choose the good by instinct but by
effort founded upon reflection. 2. _Spiritual ignorance leads to
rebellion against God._ It is only a man who does not know God, who
"frets against the Lord." A child because he is ignorant of his
father's motives will fret against the wise and kind restrictions
which the father places around him. So men wilfully ignorant that
whenever God says "Thou shalt not" He is only saying "Do thyself no
harm," chafe and fret against His moral laws. They will not set
themselves to obtain that knowledge of God which the Gospel reveals
and consequently they look at all His commands through a cloud of
ignorance which makes them grievous and heavy instead of easy and
light. And there are many mysteries connected with God's government
that will tend to make men's hearts fretful and discontented if they
remain in ignorance of His character. There are many problems in
connection with man's present life which he cannot solve--many
apparent contradictions, and much which looks like injustice on the
part of Him who rules the world, and every soul who does not know God
as He is revealed in His Son will, when he thinks on these things, is
likely to be led to harbour rebellious thoughts against Him. When we
consider the evil which flows from ignorance of God we can better
understand how it is that "the knowledge of the Lord" is so often
used in Scripture as synonymous with all that can bless and elevate
mankind (see Isa. xi. 9, etc.).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
We should desire first the enlightening of the eyes and then the
strengthening of the feet. Hence "Make me to understand the way of
Thy precepts," and then, "I will run the way of Thy commandments"
(Psa. cxix. 27, 32). He that would sail safely must get a good pilot
before good rowers. Swift horses, without a skilful waggoner,
endangers more. He that labours for feet before he has eyes, takes a
preposterous course; for, of the two the lame is more likely to come
to his journey's end than the blind. . . . Hence we see that there is
more hope of a vicious person that hath a good understanding, than of
an utterly dark and blind soul, though he walks upon zealous
feet. . . . _Learn to know God._ "How shall we believe on Him we have
not known?" (Rom. x. 14). Knowledge is not so much slighted here, as
it will be wished hereafter. The rich man in hell desires to have his
brethren taught (Luke xvi. 28). Sure if he were alive again, he would
hire them a preacher. "The people are destroyed for lack of
knowledge" (Hosea iv. 6). If we see a proper man cast away at the
sessions for a _non legit,_ with pity we conclude he might have been
saved, if he could have read. At that general and last assizes, when
Christ shall "come in flaming fire," woe be to them that "know not
God" (2 Thess. i. 8). For "He will pour out His fury upon the
heathen, that know Him not, and upon the families that call not on
His name" (Jer. x. 25). . . . In Prov. ix. 18, the new guest at the
fatal banquet is described by his ignorance. "He knoweth not" what
company is in the house, "that the dead are there." It is the devil's
policy, when he would rob and ransack the house of our conscience,
like a thief to put out the candle of our knowledge; that we might
neither discern his purposes, nor decline his mischiefs. . . . Indeed
ignorance may make a sin a less sin, but not no sin. "I obtained
mercy, because I did it ignorantly, in unbelief," says the apostle
(1 Tim. i. 13). The sins of them that know are more heinous than the
sins of them that know not. But if thou hadst no other sin, thy
ignorance is enough to condemn thee, for thou art bound to know. They
that will not know the Lord, the Lord will not know them.--_T. Adams._
The most innocent of all faults might seem ignorance. The only sin
(when philosophically stated) is ignorance. The "chains" that confine
the lost (2 Pet. ii. 4) are "darkness." The charge that overtakes the
saved is light (2 Cor. iv. 6). The graces that adorn the Christian
all flow from a new intelligence. Our text is literally exact. If the
man "has no knowledge," and that of a deep spiritual sort, his "life
is no good;" that is, it possesses none, and is itself a horrid evil.
And yet the concluding clause largely relieves the difficulty. The
man, knowing there was something wrong, ought to pause, and grope
about for the light, just as all would in a dark cavern. Instead of
that he rushes darkly on. Here, the inspired finger is put upon the
precise mistake. We are warned that we are in blindness. Why not
hesitate, then, and cast about us? We push on, knowing we are in the
dark. This is the photograph of the impenitent. . . . And yet, the
wise man says, he ignores this point of wilfulness, and in his heart
is angry with the Almighty. He "perverteth," or _subverteth_ "his
way," that is, totally _upsets_ and ruins, so that it is no way at
all. Nothing could describe more truly the sinner's path, because it
does not reach even the ends that he himself relied on. Death
arrives, too, to wreck it totally. And though he has resisted the
most winning arts to draw him unto Christ, yet, at each sad defeat,
"his heart is angry against Jehovah."--_Miller._
Verse 2. Haste, as opposed to sloth, is the energy of Divine grace
(Psa. cxix. 60; Luke xix. 6). Here, as opposed to consideration,
_acting hastily_ is sin. This impatience is the genuine exercise of
self-will, not taking time to inquire; not "waiting for the counsel
of the Lord." Godly Joshua offended here (Josh. ix. 14, 15). Saul's
impatience cost him his kingdom (1 Sam. xiii. 12). David's _haste_
was the occasion of gross injustice (2 Sam. xvi. 3, 4).--_Bridges._
_Religion a sentiment and a science._ I know of no attack on
Christianity more artfully made than that which is attempted when a
distinction is attempted to be drawn between religion and
theology. . . . Let us see what the value of religion is, when it is
separated from theology. We are told that religion is a sentiment, a
temper, a state of mind. Theology is a science, a pursuit, a
study . . . and it is asserted and insinuated that it may be well
with the soul, although it be destitute of spiritual knowledge. . . .
But we, who are called Christians, by the very name we bear, imply
that more than devotional sentiment is necessary to make a religious
man. . . . You must accept Jesus as the only Saviour if you would
escape perdition, and how can you accept Him unless you know Him?
Nay, further, how can you accept Him unless you know yourself? . . .
There are many other things which we ought to know and believe, to
our soul's health and comfort; but . . . the soul that is without
knowledge of this, the great Christian scheme, the Divine plan of
salvation, is only nominally and by courtesy a Christian soul. . . .
Except as hearing upon these truths, the religious sentiment is a
luxury and nothing more. . . . It is not the theoretical
_distinction_ between the sentiment and the science that we censure,
but their separation and divorce.--_Dean Hook._
Verse 3. Such was _the foolishness_ of Adam! First he _perverted his
way;_ then he charged upon God its bitter fruit. "God, making him
upright," made him happy. Had he been ruled by his will, he would
have continued so. But, "seeking out his own inventions" (Eccles.
vii. 29), he made himself miserable. As the author of his own misery,
it was reasonable that he should fret against himself, but such was
his pride and baseness, that _his heart fretted against the Lord,_ as
if He, and not himself, was responsible (Gen. iii. 6-12). This his
first-born, when his own sin had brought "punishment" on him,
_fretted,_ as if "it were greater than he could bear" (Ib. iv. 8-13).
This has been _the foolishness_ of Adam's children ever since God has
linked together moral and penal evil, sin and sorrow. The fool rushes
into the sin and most unreasonably _frets_ for the sorrow; as if he
could "gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles" (Matt.
vii. 16). He charges his crosses, not on his own perverseness, but on
the injustice of God (Ezek. xviii. 25). But God is clear from all the
blame (James i. 13, 14): He had shown the better; man chooses the
worse. He had warned by His Word and by conscience. Man, deaf to the
warning, plunges into the misery; and, while "eating the fruit of his
own ways," _his heart frets against the Lord._ "It is hard to have
passions, and to be punished for indulging them. I could not help it.
Why did He not give me grace to avoid it?" (See Jer. vii. 10). Such
is the pride and blasphemy of an unhumbled spirit. The malefactor
blames the judge for his righteous sentence (Isa. viii. 21, 22; Rev.
xvi. 9-11, 21).--_Bridges._
This was the case in Greece as well as in Judea; for Homer observed
that "men lay those evils upon the gods, which they have incurred
through their own folly and perverseness.". . . This is often the
case with regard--1. _To men's health._ By intemperance . . .
indolence . . . or too close application to business . . . or unruly
passions, they injure their frame . . . and then censure the
providence of God. 2. _To their circumstances in life._ . . . Men
complain that providence frowns on them . . . when they have chosen a
wrong profession, despising the advice of others . . . or when they
have brought themselves into straits by their own negligence. 3. _To
their relations in life._ They complain of being unequally
yoked . . . when they chose by the sight of the eye, or the vanity
and lusts of the heart. . . . They complain that their children are
undutiful . . . when they have neglected their government. 4. _To
their religious concerns._ They complain that they want inward peace
when . . . they neglect the appointed means of grace . . . and that
God giveth Satan power over them when by neglect they tempt the
tempter.--_Job Orton._
For Homiletics on the main thought of verse 4 see on chapter xiv. 20,
page 370.
_SUGGESTIVE COMMENT._
They are friends to the wealth, not the wealthy. They regard not
_qualis sis,_ but _quantus_--not how thou art, but how great. . . .
These flatter a rich man, as we feed beasts, till he be fat, and then
fall on him. . . . These friends love not thy soul's good, but thy
body's goods.--_T. Adams._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 5 _and_ 9.
THE END OF A FALSE TONGUE.
We have before had proverbs dealing with the evil of lying (see
Homiletics on chap. xii. 17-19, xiv. 25, pages 274 and 379), and the
constant recurrence of the subject, together with the repetition of
the verses here, shows us the vast importance which the inspired
writer attached to truth, and the many and great evils which flow
from a disregard of it. Again and again he holds up the liar to view
as a monster of iniquity, and seeks, both by the threatening of the
retribution which awaits it and by the misery which it causes to
others, to deter men from yielding to this sin. If we consider what
mischief a false man can do, we shall not be surprised at the
prominence which the wise man gives to this subject (see ch.
xii. 17-19, 22, page 274). But the most dangerous element of the
lying tongue is the fact that in nine cases out of ten no human
tribunal can bring to justice, and perhaps few human tribunals would
care to do so. "The world," says Dr. David Thomas ("Practical
Philosopher," page 414) "abounds in falsehood. Lies swarm in every
department of life. They are in the market, on the hustings, in
courts of justice, in the senate house, in the sanctuaries of
religion; and they crowd the very pages of modern literature. They
infest the social atmosphere. Men on all hands live in fiction and by
fiction." If we allow that this picture is a true one, and alas! we
cannot deny that it is, we can see that the evil is one with which no
human hand can deal. A tiger may come down from a neighbouring forest
and enter the city, and spread terror and dismay all round, and even
kill a dozen of its inhabitants. But he is a tangible creature, he
can be faced and attacked with weapons which can pierce his skin and
make him powerless to do any further mischief. But into the same city
may enter upon the summer wind impalpable particles of matter charged
with a poison which may slay not ten men but ten thousand, and no
weapon that has ever been forged by human hand can slay these
destroyers. The plague will keep numbering its victims until the
poison has spent itself or until a pure and healthful breeze scatters
the deadly atmosphere. So with lying in comparison with more palpable
and gross crimes. The thief can be caught and imprisoned, the
murderer is generally traced and hanged; but the sin of lying so
permeates the whole social atmosphere that nothing but the diffusion
of heavenly truth can rid the world of the poison. But the liar,
however he escapes some forms of retribution, "shall not go
unpunished." 1. _He shall be self-punished._ His own conscience will
be his judge and executioner in one. The fear of discovery here will
generally haunt him as a shadow does the substance, but if this ghost
is laid there will be times, however hardened he may be, when that
witness for truth that is within him will scourge him in the present
and fill him with forebodings concerning the future. 2. _Men will
punish him by not believing him when he speaks the truth._ In
proportion as a man's veracity is doubted will be the suspicion with
which his word is received. He may tell the truth on two occasions
out of three, but if his falsehood on the third is found out, his
truth-telling on the first and second will not avail him much. It is
a terrible thing to live always in an atmosphere of distrust, but it
is one of the punishments of a liar. 3. _God will punish him after he
leaves this world._ Concerning him and some other great transgressors
it is written that--_"they shall have their part in the lake which
burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death"_ (Rev.
xxi. 8). Whatever may be the precise meaning of these terrible words,
we know that they were spoken by one whose every word was _"true and
faithful"_ (see verse 5 of the same chapter), and they are but an
intensified form of the last clause of our texts--"He that speaketh
lies shall perish."
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Falsehood is like fire in stubble. It likewise turns all around it
into its own substance for a moment--one crackling, blazing moment,
and then dies. And all its contents are scattered in the wind without
place or evidence of their existence, as viewless as the wind which
scatters them.--_Coleridge._
"He whose breath is lies shall be lost." _Breath_ means the inborn
and natural impulse. The root of the verb translated _"shall perish,"
means to lose oneself by wandering about._ The cognate Arabic means
to _flee away wild in the desert._ The spirit, therefore, that
habitually breathes out falsities, and so acts constitutionally
athwart of what is true, is best described by keeping to the
original; that is, instead of perishing in the broader and vaguer
way, he _wanders off and is lost_ in the wilderness of his own
deceptions.--_Miller._
The thief doth only send one to the devil; the adulterer, two; the
slanderer hurteth three--himself, the person of whom, the person to
whom he tells the lie.--_T. Adams._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 6 _and_ 7.
THE PROOFS OF HUMAN SELFISHNESS.
+I. The servile regard which men pay to rank and wealth.+ A prince is
a man in whose hand there is power to advance the material interests
of other men, and this makes him a loadstone to the godless man
whatever his character may be. As the magnet will attract all the
steel dust within its reach, so the prince is a magnet which attracts
all the self-seeking and the worldly who can by any possibility
obtain any favour from him. To gain that favour they will fawn upon
him and flatter him, and will stoop even to become supplicants at his
feet. Let him be one of the most contemptible of human creatures,
there will not be wanting those who may be in many respects his
superiors who will serve him from hope of advancing their own
interests. We know that this is not universally the case--that there
have been noble men in all ages who would scorn to entreat the favour
of any man, simply because he was a man of power; but Solomon here
speaks of the rule and not of the exception, and the fact that it is
so testifies to the self-seeking which is the characteristic of men
in general.
+II. The treatment which the poor man often receives from his more
wealthy kinsfolk.+ The proverb implies that those who hate him and
pass him by with disdain are richer than himself, and therefore not
only bound to pity his poverty but able to lighten his burden. But
the same selfishness which draws men to the rich causes them to shun
the poor in general, and especially their poor relations, for they
feel conscious that these latter have a stronger claim upon them than
those who are not so related. And even if the poor man does not need
the help of his richer brethren he will often find himself
unrecognised by them, simply because he occupies a lower social
station. He has nothing to give them in the way of material good--his
favour is worth nothing in the way of promoting their worldly
interests--the very fact that he is poor and yet is more or less
nearly connected by family ties is supposed to dim the lustre of
their greatness, and they therefore cherish towards him a positive
dislike which they manifest by avoiding his society as much as
possible, and by receiving all his advances towards friendship with
coolness and disdain. If we had no other proof of the depth to which
man has fallen since God created him in His own image, the regard
which men pay, not to what a man _is,_ but to what he _has,_ would be
one sad enough. (See also Homiletics on chap. xiv. 20, page 370.)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Princes need not pride themselves in the homage that is paid to them,
for their favour is sought by men, not so much out of regard to their
persons, as from a regard to their power. Kindness and liberality
have a greater influence for gaining the hearts of men, than dignity
of station. There are many that seek the ruler's favour, but every
man loves him that is generous. When power and generosity meet in the
same person, he becomes an object of universal esteem, like Marcus
Antoninus, who was lamented by every man when he was dead, as if the
glory of the Roman empire had died with him.
How inexcusable are we, if we do not love God with all our hearts.
His gifts to us are past number, and all the gifts of men to us are
the fruits of His bounty, conveyed by the ministry of those whose
hearts are disposed by His providence to kindness. "I have seen thy
face," said Jacob to Esau, "as the face of God." His brother's favour
he knew to be a fruit of the mercy of Him with whom he spake and
prevailed at Bethel.--_Lawson._
For Homiletics on verses 8 and 9 see verses 2 and 5 of this chapter,
also on chapters viii. 36 and ix. 12, pages 121 and 124.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 10.
INCONGRUITIES.
+I. Where there is wealth or exalted station their ought to be
correspondent qualifications.+ (For the real signification of the
word translated "delight" see Critical Notes.) If a man is rich he
ought to be wise, and if he is powerful he ought to have been
instructed how to use his power well. A fool is useless in any
condition of life, but a fool who is the possessor of a fortune is a
power for evil. We must understand the word "servant" here to mean an
ignorant and incapable man--one who, though able to serve, has no
ability to rule. A man may be very well fitted to perform the duties
of a common seaman, but if he is ignorant of the laws of navigation
it would be a great misfortune for both himself and the rest of the
crew if he were to be appointed to the captain's post. If he had
remained before the mast he might have done good service, but when he
is promoted to a higher rank he is only an instrument of mischief. Of
the two incongruities dealt with in the proverb this last is the most
fruitful of evil. It is a lamentable thing when great riches come
into the possession of a fool who does not know how to use his wealth
either for his own or his neighbour's good, and it may be productive
of positive harm both to himself and others. Instances are not at all
uncommon, and most men have met with them, in which a man in a very
humble station, and destitute of true and spiritual wisdom, inherits
suddenly a large fortune. In the majority of such cases the
inheritance is a curse rather than a blessing, for the inheritor has
no idea how to use it so as to promote his own real welfare. His
higher nature has never been developed, consequently he has no
spiritual or intellectual desires to gratify, and all he can do with
his wealth is to minister to his appetites and gratify his passions,
which he often does in a most unseemly way, and to an extent which
makes him a worse man when he is rich than he was when he was poor.
But this misuse of wealth is not so great a misfortune as the misuse
of power. The evil effects of the first will be confined within
comparatively narrow limits, but those of the latter are widespread.
When a man is neither a prince by birth or by nature, and yet is in a
position which gives him power over men who are either or both, there
is a great disproportion in the moral fitness of things which
generally brings much social and national trouble. For if a man's
only title to rule is that of birth, it is better for those whom he
rules than if he had none at all. If he is an incapable man himself
he may be the descendant of greater men, although they cannot
reverence him for what he is. But when he has not even this small
claim on their obedience, the unseemliness is so great that national
anarchy, and consequently much individual suffering, is the almost
certain result.
+II. Either of these incongruities present a deep mystery in the
Divine government.+ When we consider what a great power for good as
well as for evil is wrapped up in wealth, the providence appears to
us dark which often gives it to the moral fool and leaves the wise
man destitute. But when we find a weak man apparently holding in his
hands the destinies of many stronger and nobler men--a "servant"
ruling over "princes"--the providence seems darker still. But there
are two sources whence we can draw comfort. We can look forward to
that "time of restitution of all things" (Acts iii. 21) when all
these manifest inconsistencies shall be done away with, and we can
assure ourselves that "things are not what they seem"--that the
wisdom of the wise man is a greater power for good than the wealth of
the rich, and that, after all, the choice of the ruler is in the hand
of those whom he rules, and that if the latter are "princes" they
will not long suffer themselves to be ruled by one who is "a servant."
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
1. In its secular form this truth is obvious. 2. In its higher but
intermediate form, it means that an ungodly sinner, here called _"a
stupid man,"_ on his way to death and judgment, is so shockingly off
in all interests of his being, that _"delight"_ is a mockery; it is
anything but suited to his state. And to have him stand, as he often
does, superior to Christians, overawing Christian life, and
repressing Christian eminence of character, is indeed a _servant
ruling a prince;_ and it is as good an instance as could be met, of
something that does not _suit,_ or as the original has it, does not
_sit well._ 3. But Solomon would carry it a story higher. He means to
continue his pursuit of the _impenitent._ He means to tell them that
their _delight,_ in itself considered, would not _sit well;_ that to
reward a fool would bring dishonour upon government; and to release
the outlaw from his bonds would really be to elect the slave to a
post higher than the _"princes."--Miller._
With all the preference here expressed for virtuous poverty, the
seemliness of rank, and the violence done by the upstart rule of the
lower over the higher, are not overlooked.--_Chalmers._
Abundance of wealth, dainty fare, and pastime or recreation, is not
meet for a vain and wicked person. For, first of all, he rather
deserveth correction than recreation; secondly, he abuseth all his
delights and possessions to his own hurt, being drunken with his
vanities; last of all, he is so puffed upon and corrupted by
prosperity, that he oppresseth his neighbours. . . . But if a light
vanity beseem not a vain person, then authority, which carrieth with
it a weight of glory, less beseemeth a vile person, who is of a
servile disposition and condition, especially that rule which is
exercised over noble personages.--_Muffet._
Judge, then, how horrible it is that men should set the devil or his
two angels, the world and the flesh, on the throne, while they place
God on the footstool; or that in this commonwealth of man, reason,
which is the queen or princess over the better powers and graces of
the soul, should stoop to so base a slave as sensual lust.--_T.
Adams._
The reason is, because a wise man is master of his delight, a fool is
servant unto it. And delight never doth well but where it is
commanded, never doth so ill as where it is commander. . . . The
command of delight is like the ruling of a servant over princes; and
as he is foolish in ruling, so it is the quality of a fool to give
the ruling of his heart unto delight.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 11 _and_ 12.
TWO KINGS.
+I. The man who exercises despotic power over the destinies of his
fellow creatures.+ The similitudes by which Solomon describes the
power that is sometimes lodged in a kingly hand are very strong, and
were more true in his day than they are in ours. The wrath of a
despot is like the roaring of a lion because it is an indication of
the destructive power that lies behind it. That roar is not an empty
sound, for everyone who hears it knows that the savage beast can do
more than roar--that he can tear in pieces the unfortunate victim of
his wrath. If he could only roar men would listen unmoved, but they
tremble because they know that his anger can find an outlet in a more
terrible manner. There are men whose wrath, although it is fierce,
does not fill its objects with any alarm--they know that the man's
anger can only find an outlet in words and that he is impotent to do
them harm. But there are those whose anger can work terrible evil to
its victims, and who have such forces at their command that a man may
well fear to incur their wrath. There have been despots in the world
to incur whose displeasure was like awaking the fury of a wild beast,
and whose manner of repaying those who had offended them was more
brutal than human. But men in such a position have as much power to
bless as to curse. If they choose to exercise their prerogative in a
kindly manner they can exercise an influence as reviving and as
cheering as that of "the dew upon the grass." Such an one can elevate
his subjects both socially and morally by the enactment of wise laws,
and in this sense can make a wilderness rejoice and blossom as the
rose. Perhaps, however, the proverb more directly refers to the power
of the king to exalt and promote his favourites--those who either by
chance or by devotion to his interests become objects of his especial
regard. If such men are poor the king's favour can effect as great a
transformation in their circumstances as the dew will upon a field
scorched by the sun, and so long as that favour continues they are as
continually and as liberally nourished as the grass is watered by the
daily dew.
+II. The man who can curb his anger and pardon an offence.+ Solomon
was a king whose power was not inaptly described by the twelfth
verse, but he had too much spiritual enlightenment to conceive that
there was any true glory in it alone. He gives the palm to the man
who can "rule his spirit," and who can "pass over a transgression,"
especially if that man has great power in his hand to visit the
offender with punishment. If it is the glory of a man with limited
influence to pardon an offender, it is much more glorious for a king
to do so, because his wrath is able to exercise itself without being
called to an account. This thought may be applied to the King of
kings, to the Omnipotent Ruler of the universe. When Moses besought
Him to show him His glory, _"He said, I will make all my goodness
pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before
thee,"_ and that name was, _"The Lord, the Lord God merciful and
gracious, long suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping
mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin,"_
(Exod. xxxiii. 19, xxxiv. 6). For Homiletics on the same subject see
on chap. xiv. 29, page 386, and on chap. xvi. 32, page 497.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
If men, as they grow more sensible, forgive easier, and it is their
_honour_ or _glory_ to "pass over an offence," the implication is
that thus it must be with the All-Wise. Complaint is foolish, for
eternity will reveal that the Almighty took no pleasure in punishing
us. _"The commonest man,"_ literally "a man," but _a man_ under the
title which, all through this book, as in Isaiah ii. 9, distinguishes
itself from another title, which means _a man of the better sort._
This gives two points of heightened emphasis:--First, even the
commonest man thinks it well to forgive. How much more the Almighty!
And, second, even the commonest man, when _intelligent,_ forgives the
easier: how much more the _Great Intelligence?_ He who best
understands His honour would not be likely to inflict punishment,
unless where it was impossible that there should be a final escape
(ver. 5).--_Miller._
The monarch of the forest is a just comparison to the monarch of the
land. "The lion hath roared; who will not fear?" The rocks and hills
echo the terrific cry. The whole race of the animals of the forest
are driven to flight, or petrified to the spot. Such is _the king's
wrath_ in a land of despotism; reigning without law, above law, his
will his only law; an awful picture of cruelty, tyranny, and caprice!
Unlimited power is too much for proud human nature to bear, except
with special grace from above.--_Bridges._
Discretion is a buckler made of a cold, hard, smooth metal, and that
which giveth the true temper to the metal is _delay._ For in all the
ways of discretion delay holdeth it by the hand, it judgeth not
without delay, it worketh not without delay, it is not angry without
delay. The fiery darts that are thrown against it kindle not this
metal hastily, the strokes of wrong and injury bruise not this metal
easily; the apprehensions of a moved spirit fasten not easily upon
it, the fury that assaulteth it slips off by a mild smoothness from
it.--_Jermin._
The only legitimate anger is a holy emotion directed against an
unholy thing. Sin, and not our neighbour, must be its object. Zeal
for righteousness, and not our own pride, must be its distinguishing
character. The exercise of anger, although not necessarily sinful, is
exceedingly difficult and dangerous. . . . Thus it comes about, that
although anger be not in its own nature and in all cases sinful, the
best practical rule of life is to repress it, as if it were. The Holy
might use it against sin in the world, if the Holy were here, but it
seems too sharp a weapon for our handling. . . . The best practical
rule for the treatment of anger against persons is to defer it. Its
nature presses for instant vengeance, and the appetite should be
starved. A wise man may indeed experience the heat, but he will do
nothing till he cools again. When your clothes outside are on fire
you wrap yourself in a blanket, if you can, and so smother the flame;
in like manner, when your heart within has caught the fire of anger,
your first business is to get the flame extinguished. . . . To pass
over a transgression is a man's "glory." . . . This is a note in
unison with the Sermon on the Mount, and therefore at variance with
most of our modern codes of honour. It has often been remarked that
the Bible proves itself Divine by the knowledge of man which it
displays; but perhaps its opposition to the main currents of a human
heart are as clear a mark of its heavenly origin as its discovery of
what these currents are.--_Arnot._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 13, 14 _and_ 18.
DOMESTIC SORROW AND HOW TO AVOID IT.
+I. Two fruitful sources of sorrow.+ There are many fountains whence
flow waters which sadly embitter the lives of men, but there is none
outside of personal character which can more entirely darken their
days than either of those mentioned in the thirteenth verse. To be
either the father of a foolish son or the husband of a contentious
wife is sorrow indeed. The first clause of this proverb is nearly the
same as that in chap. x. 1, for Homiletics on which see page 137. The
contentious wife is here compared to a _"continual dropping,"_
because although the discomfort would not be great if it were only
occasional, its perpetual existence makes life wretched. A drop of
water falling upon a man's head is a very trifling matter, but one of
the most dreaded tortures of the Spanish inquisition was that in
which a man was placed in such a position that a single drop was
constantly descending upon his head. Hour after hour, day after day,
and night after night, the drops followed one another in regular and
unbroken succession until the poor wretch first lost reason and then
life. It is much harder to bear a burden which is never lifted from
the shoulders than to carry one which is much heavier for a short
time and for a very limited distance. So it is easier for a man to
rise above trials which, although they may be almost overwhelming for
a time, last but through a comparatively very short portion of his
life. But the trial of a contentious wife is unceasing so long as the
marriage bond continues, and it is this that makes it so greatly to
be dreaded.
+II. Means suggested whereby these sources of sorrow may be avoided.+
If so much depends upon our family relationships--if the character of
the wife and child have so much to do with our weal and woe--it
becomes a most momentous question how to act so as to secure a
prudent wife in the first place, and then to avoid the calamity of a
foolish son. It must be remembered that the first is purely a matter
of _choice._ A man's "house and riches" may be "the inheritance of
fathers," his social position may depend upon his parents, but his
wife depends upon his own choice, and as "a prudent wife is from the
Lord," if he seeks the guidance of Him who is alone the infallible
reader of character, instead of following the leading of his fancy or
consulting his worldly interests, he may with confidence expect to
avoid the curse and secure the blessing. The other relationship is
not one of choice. Our children are sent to us by the hand of God,
and we have no more voice in determining their dispositions and
mental constitutions than we have the colour of their hair, or any
other bodily characteristic. But of two things we are certain.
1. _That they will need a training which will not always be pleasant
to them._ Where there is disease in the body a cure cannot often be
effected without a resort to unpleasant--often to painful--measures.
It is not pleasant to a surgeon to use the knife, but it is often
indispensable to his patient's recovery to health. And both
experience and revelation testify to the fact that our children come
into the world with a moral taint upon them--that they have a
tendency to go the wrong way--that, in the words of the Psalmist (Ps.
li. 5) they are "shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin." If a
parent desires to avoid the calamity of a foolish son he must early
recognise the truth that his child will not become morally wise
unless he _"chasten"_ him, unless he subject him to a system of moral
training, unless he make him feel that punishment must follow sin.
This will be as painful sometimes to the parent as to the child; the
crying of the son will hurt the father more than the rod will hurt
the child, but the end to be attained by present suffering must be
borne in mind, and must nerve the heart and head of him whose duty it
is to administer chastisement. (On this subject see also Homiletics
on chap. xii. 24, page 334.) 2. _That there is reason to hope that
children, if rightly trained, will be a joy and not a sorrow. There
is hope._ When a river has but just left its source among the hills,
and the current is feeble, its progress can be stopped with ease; but
when it has flowed on for a few miles and there is depth of water
enough to float a fleet, it is almost impossible to stop its onward
course. So, when the power of evil in the human soul is in its
infancy, it is a much more easy task to restrain it than when it has
acquired strength by years of uncontrolled dominion. When the young
oak is but a few inches above the ground, the hand of the woodman can
bend the slender stem as he pleases; but when it has grown for half a
century he is powerless to turn it from the direction which it has
taken. So a child's will is pliable to the wise training of the
parent, and if the education of the moral nature be begun early,
there is every reason to hope that it will acquire strength to
overcome both sin within and without, and that a righteous manhood
will in the future more than repay both him whose duty it is to
chasten, and him upon whom the chastisement must fall.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verses 13, 14. "A prudent wife" is not to be got by an _im_prudent
mode of choice. The gift must be sought "from the Lord." But this
does not mean that the Lord is supernaturally to point out the
individual. Our own discretion must be put in exercise, along with
prayer for the Divine superintendence and direction, so as to bring
about a happy result. And then the precious gift should be owned, and
the all-bountiful Giver praised for his goodness in bestowing
it.--_Wardlaw._
"Every good gift is from the Lord" (James i. 17) only, some in the
ordinary course, others more directly from Him. Houses and riches,
through His gifts, come by descent. They are the inheritance of
fathers. The heir is known, and in the course of events he takes
possession of his estate. But the prudent wife is wholly unconnected
with the man. There has been no previous bond of relation. She is
often brought from a distance. "The Lord brought her to the man" by
His special Providence, and therefore as His special gift.--_Bridges._
Verse 18. The great force of the rule is its timely
application--_while there is hope._ For hopeless the case may be, if
the remedy be delayed. The cure of the evil must be commenced in
infancy. Not a moment is to be lost. "Betimes" (chap. xiii. 24;
xxii. 15)--is the season when the good can be effected with the most
ease, and the fewest strokes. The lesson of obedience should be
learnt at the first dawn. One decided struggle and victory _in very
early life,_ may, under God, do much towards settling the point at
once and to the end. On the other hand, _sharp chastening_ may fail
later to accomplish, what a slight rebuke in the early course might
have wrought.--_Bridges._
You are here taught further, that _firmness_ must be in union with
affection in applying the rod. The words seem to express a harsh, yet
it is an important and most salutary lesson:--_"let not thy soul
spare for his crying."_ The words to not mean, that you should not
feel, very far from that. It was the knowledge that feeling was
unavoidable, and that the strength and tenderness of it was ever apt
to tempt parents to relent and desist, and leave their end
unaccomplished,--that made it necessary to warn against too ready a
yielding to this natural inclination. The child may cry, and cry
bitterly, previously to the correction; but, when you have reason to
think the crying is for the rod rather than for the fault, and that,
but for the threatened chastisement, the heart would probably have
been unmoved, and the eyes dry;--then you must not allow yourselves
to be so unmanned by his tears, as to suspend your purpose, and
decline its infliction. If a child perceives this (and soon are
children sharp enough to find it out) he has discovered the way to
move you next time; and will have recourse to it
accordingly.--_Wardlaw._
On the subject of verse 15 see Homiletics on chap. vi. 9, 10, page 79.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 16.
A DOUBLE KEEPING.
+I. A keeping of the Divine commandments.+ What is it to "keep the
commandments?" Dr. Miller translates this verb to _guard_ or _watch._
Taken in this sense therefore the proverb implies that there is
need--1. _To lay up God's law in our hearts._ It is to be our
constant aim to _know_ the will of God--the words which He has
spoken, the commands which He has given, are to be constantly kept in
remembrance and made the principal subject of our thoughts. We are to
tread in the footsteps of the man described in the first Psalm, whose
_"delight is in the law of the Lord"_ and who _"meditates"_ upon it
_"day and night."_ But the word as it is commonly understood
implies--2. _To translate God's law into life._ It is one thing to
_know_ the will of God, it is another thing to _do_ it. Knowledge
must come before obedience, but knowledge alone will not save the
soul from death.
+II. A keeping of the human soul.+ There is but one way to guard the
human soul from the dangers to which it is exposed, and that is by
complying with the demands of the God who can alone give spiritual
life. He commands us to yield ourselves unreservedly to His guidance,
to accept His method of being made right in relation to His law, to
fight against the evil tendencies of our fallen nature, and to seek
His help to overcome them. In doing this He has promised that we
shall find that emancipation from the bondage of sin, that awakening
of spiritual faculties, and that sense of His favour which alone is
the life of the soul. We have before dwelt upon proverbs which embody
truths similar to those contained in this verse. (See on chap. xi. 3,
page 195; chap. x. 8, page 151; chap. xiii. 6, 13, 14, pages 299,
312, 313; chap. xvi. 17, page 479.)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
_Keep_ means to retain. _Guard_ means to watch. The root of the
present word means _to bristle,_ then to _watch close,_ either from
the _bristling_ of spears, or from a _sharp stave._ There is a
philosophy in these words, . . . viz., that conscience is vagrant. We
have to watch. Like the mind itself, it is hard to hold it to the
point. _Attention_ is our whole voluntary work. And, to a most
amazing degree, the Scriptures are framed upon this idea. We are to
_remember now our Creator_ (Eccles. xii. 1). We are to _remember the
Sabbath day_ (Exod. xx. 8). We are to _"observe to do,"_ etc. (this
very word _guard._) See Deut. v. 1, 32, _et passim. "Wherewithal_
shall a young man cleanse his way? By _taking heed_ (this same word
_guarding_) thereto according to Thy Word" (Psa. cxix. 9). _"Guards
himself"_ (the same word). (See Critical Notes.) This is an iron link
of sequence which no Anti-Calvinistic thought can shake. He who
stands sentry over the "commandment" stands sentry over _himself;_
literally _"his soul."_ There is no helplessness in man other than
that _tardema,_ or _deep sleep_ (ver. 15) which _"sloth"_ wilfully
casts him into, and which a voluntary slothfulness perpetually
increases and maintains. "The fault is not in our stars, but in
ourselves, that we are aliens." The proverb advances upon this in the
second clause. What more voluntary than a man's _"way?"_ It has a
voluntary goal, it has a daily journeying, and it includes all that
_is_ voluntary. Seize a man at any moment. All that he is upon is
part of his life's travel. Now, a Christian has but one _way._ So far
forth as he is a Christian, he has but one end, and one path for
reaching it. There is a beautiful unitariness in his journeying. It
is a habit of Scripture to turn attention to the _scattered_ life of
the lost. They have no one end. "If thine eye be single, thy whole
body shall be full of light," says the Saviour (Matt. vi. 23). Thou
"hast scattered thy ways to the strangers," says Jeremiah (iii. 13);
this same expression. "Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy
way" (Jer. ii. 36). _Despiseth_ (English version) suits the lexicon
and suits the sense, for certainly the lost man has less respect for
his way and life than the pardoned believer; but "scattering" is
equally legitimate and common; more strengthened by analogy, and more
in keeping with the first clause, where the verb _to guard_ stands
more opposed to vagrant and distraught ideas. _"Dies;"_ see Job v. 2.
Corruption is seated in the soul, but not out of reach by any means.
A man can increase it. What we do outside kills inwardly. A man's
counting-house might seem to have little to do with the state of _his
soul,_ but it is shaping it all the time. If he _scatters_ his ways
he is killing his soul, and what we are to remark is, that there is
an _ipso actu_ condition of the effect (as in chap. xi. 19) which is
expressed in the Hebrew. The vagrancy of a morning's worldliness is
that much more death, as punctually administered as any of the
chemistries of nature. The form is participial. It is "_in_
scattering," or "_as_ scattering," his ways that _"he dies."--Miller._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 17.
THE BEST INVESTMENT.
+I. A God-like disposition.+ To "pity the poor" and to show that we
do so by ministering to their necessities (for this is implied in the
proverb) is to be like God. We have before seen how He identifies
Himself with them, and how severe is the condemnation which He passes
upon those who wrong them. (See Homiletics and Comments upon chap.
xiv. 31, page 390, and upon chap. xvii. 5, page 504.) God is a Being
of compassion--the Gospel of salvation is a testimony to the
pitifulness of His nature. He has remembered man in his low estate
and in his condition of spiritual poverty, and out of the "riches of
His grace" (Ephes. i. 7) He has supplied his need. But he has not
only an eye for the spiritual necessities of His creatures, but for
those also which belong exclusively to their bodily nature. God
manifest in flesh had compassion upon the multitude because "they had
nothing to eat" (Matt. xv. 32), and the same pitiful heart is still
moved with a like emotion when He looks into the haunts of poverty
and sees men and women and little children without the necessaries of
life, or toiling hard and long for a pittance that is only just
enough to keep them from starvation. The man therefore who "has pity
on the poor" manifests a disposition akin to that of his Father in
heaven.
+II. A most reliable debtor.+ God incarnate fed the hungry by
miracle, but now that He has left the earth for a season He entrusts
the duty to human hands. He does not now rain down bread from heaven
to feed even his spiritual Israel, but He expects those of His
children to whom He has given more than enough of this world's good
things to do it for Him, and looks upon the act as a loan to Himself.
1. _That the investment will be a profitable one is certain, from the
character of God._ When men entrust others with their money, they
have especial regard to the character of those whom they make their
debtor. This forms the chief and most reliable security that a man
can have that he will receive it again. God's character is
pre-eminently good--so good that His Word is more than the bond of
the most trustworthy human creature, and none in heaven or earth or
hell will ever be able to say that He has not paid them what was
their due. 2. _The wealth of God is a guarantee that He will repay
with interest._ A man who is generous by nature, and possessed of
abundant means, will not only faithfully repay a loan but, if his
debtor is a needy man, will feel a pleasure in adding to it a large
interest, or will press him to accept some extra token of his esteem.
God is a great and bountiful proprietor of all the resources of the
universe, whether spiritual or material, and He loves to give
abundantly. He has been always giving out of His fulness since there
has been a creature upon whom to lavish His gifts, and He delights to
see His children give, like Himself, generously and ungrudgingly.
And, seeing he takes upon Himself to repay what is given to the poor,
His generosity and His wealth are sureties that the interest for the
loan will be very ample. His children may have to wait long for it,
but the longer they wait the greater the accumulation of interest.
They may receive a partial repayment in material good, but the great
recompense will be at the _"resurrection of the just"_ (Luke xiv. 14)
on that day when the King shall say unto them, _"Come, ye blessed of
my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation
of the world; for I was an hungered and ye gave me meat; I was
thirsty and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger and ye took me in;
naked and ye clothed me"_ (Matt. xxv. 34, 36).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
When Alexander set forward upon his great exploits before he went
from Macedonia, he divided among his captains and friends all that he
had; for which, when one of his friends reproved him, saying that he
was prodigal, for that he had reserved nothing for himself, the
answer which Alexander gave was this: that he had reserved much unto
himself, namely, hope of the monarchy of the world, which by the
valour and help of those his captains and nobles he hoped to obtain.
And thus, surely, he that giveth to the poor may seem to be prodigal,
yet, in respect of the hope that he hath of profit, he is
frugal-wise; neither is his hope such as Alexander's was, which
depended on the uncertainty of war, but such as is grounded upon the
certainty of God's Word.--_Spencer._
The Lord will not only pay for the poor man, but requite him that
gave alms, with usury, returning great gifts for small. Give, then,
thine house, and receive heaven; give transitory goods, and receive a
durable substance; give a cup of cold water and receive God's
kingdom. . . . If our rich friend should say unto us, lay out so much
money for me, I will repay it, we would willingly and readily do it.
Seeing, then, our best friend, yea, our king, the King of kings,
biddeth us to give to the poor, promising that He will see us
answered for that we give, shall we not bestow alms at His motion and
for His sake?--_Muffet._
The off-hand sense is no doubt correct, and, as a worldly maxim,
_often_ the munificent are rewarded in this world. . . . But we are
not to suppose the generous to suffer, and the saint might lose by
being paid in money. The saint might need the chastisement of
pecuniary distress. We are not to suppose, therefore, this sense to
be the grand one. But the meaning is that obedience, if it be
spiritual, is a positive thing; that it involves large and generous
sacrifices; that it is to "visit the fatherless" (Jas. i. 27); and to
feed the hungry (Matt. xxv. 35); and that, in the grandest sense, he
that does these things _"makes a borrower of Jehovah;"_ and that the
transaction, under the grand head of guarding his own soul (ver. 16),
will pay him better than any less positive and more mystic species of
obedience. . . . It may be fancy, but _causing to borrow_ seems to
be more expressive than (as an equivalent) to _lend_ (E.V.). We _can
make_ God borrow of us at any time among the widows and the orphans
(Matt. xxv. 40; Jer. xlix. 11).--_Miller._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 18-20.
RELATIVE DUTIES.
We have before considered verse 18 in connection with verses 13 and
14. A reference to the Critical Notes will, however, show that there
is an interpretation of the last clause which was not treated there.
Verses 19 and 20, regarded separately, embody thoughts and precepts
which we have had before. (See Homiletics on chap. xiv. 17, 29, pages
363, 386, and on chap. xii. 15, page 271.) But these verses, taken in
conjunction with the other interpretation of the last clause of verse
18, may be regarded as giving valuable advice both to those who have
to enforce discipline and administer chastisement, and to those who
have to endure them.
+I. Counsel for parents.+ The reasonableness and necessity of
chastisement has been considered before, but the additional thought
which the other rendering of verse 18 makes prominent is, _that it
must be administered from a sense of duty, and dictated by love._
Parents are far too apt to punish their children, not because they
have sinned against _God,_ but because they have offended
_them,_--and when this is the case, the anger manifested deprives the
correction of its salutary effect. "When the rod is used," says
Wardlaw,--and the words may be applied to any form of parental
chastisement,--"the end in view should be, purely and exclusively,
the _benefit of the child;_ not the gratification of any resentful
passion on the part of the parent. Should the latter be apparent to
the child, the effect is lost, and worse than lost; for, instead of
the sentiment of grief and melting tenderness, there will be
engendered a feeling of sullen hostility, . . . if not, even, of
angry scorn, towards him who has manifested selfish passion rather
than parental love." The parent must regard himself as God's
representative, and must act, not as for himself, but for the Divine
Master and Father of both parent and child. If this is done, there
will be none of that "provocation to wrath" or "discouragement"
against which Paul puts Christians on their guard (Col. iii. 21;
Ephes. vi. 4), and there will be good ground to hope that the
chastisement will bring profit.
+II. Counsel to children.+ The reasoning here is akin to that used by
the Apostle in the twelfth of Hebrews. It is admitted by him (verses
11, 12), that "no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous,
but grievous;" nevertheless, those who have to endure it are exhorted
to accept it with submission because of the precious
_after-yield_--they are counselled to give themselves up to the
Divine pruner and suffer Him to work His will upon them now, in
consideration of the _"peaceable fruits of righteousness"_ which will
be the result in the days of harvest. So Solomon argues here. He does
not deny that "counsel" and "instruction," or rather _discipline,_
may often be unpalatable and irksome, but he holds up the wisdom that
may be gained by them as an incentive to induce the young to "hear"
and to "receive" them--he "reaches a hand through time," and "fetches
the far-off interest" of what at present seems grievous in order to
give effect to his exhortations. The actions of men in the present
are mainly determined by the amount of consideration they give to the
future. There are men who live wholly in the present hour--who
gratify the fancy or follow the passion of to-day without giving a
thought of the needs of to-morrow, or the penalty that they may then
have to pay for their folly. Others look ahead a little farther--they
fashion the actions of to-day with a due regard to the interests of
their whole future _earthly_ life, but they bestow no thought upon
the infinite _"afterward"_ that is to succeed it. The proverb
counsels both the young and the old to bring this long to-morrow into
the plans of to-day, and to let the remembrance of it open the ear to
the words of Divine wisdom by whomsoever they are spoken, and bend
the will to receive the "chastening of the Lord," whether it come in
the form of parental discipline or in a sterner garb.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verses 18, 19. _"Being in great wrath, remit the punishment; but if
thou let him escape, yet apply_ (or add) _chastisement again."_ (So
Muffet renders verse 19.) When thou are in thy mood, or burnest with
fiery anger and displeasure, let pass for that time the correcting of
thy child, lest thou passest measure therein, or mayest chance to
give him some deadly blow. Nevertheless, if for that time or for that
fault thou let him go free, yet let him not always go uncorrected;
but when thou art more calm, according as he offereth occasion,
correct him again.--_Muffet._
Do not venom discipline by naked animosity. This is the human aspect.
But now for the fine model of Jehovah. "He does not afflict
willingly" (Lam. iii. 33). He follows this maxim: "Discipline thy
son, because there is now hope." But Solomon wishes plainly to
declare that _to kill him He does not lift up His soul._ "He taketh
no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, but that all should turn
and live" (Ezek. xxxiii. 11). It is evidently these great timbers of
thought that Solomon is eyeing at the bottom of his structure. He is
settling them along in place. Secularly, they may have but little
connection; spiritually, they are all morticed close.--_Miller._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 21.
MANY PLANS WORKING TO ONE END.
This proverb suggests--
+I. The ignorance and sinfulness of man, the infinite knowledge and
goodness of God.+ Man is a creature of many devices; he is changeable
in his purpose and plans because he is so ignorant concerning their
issue. He cannot foretel with any certainty whether the event will be
according to his desire, or, if it should be so, whether it will
bring him satisfaction. Hence the purpose of to-day is not the
purpose of next year--the plans of his youth are different from those
of his riper years. But God is the same in His purposes yesterday,
to-day, and for ever, because He can _"declare the end from the
beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done"_
(Isa. xlvi. 10). A man's devices change in proportion as his feelings
and desires vary; and these are changeable in proportion as he lacks
perfection in his moral nature. But a Being of infinite goodness is
not subject to these changing moods and desires: and His plans are
like His character, always the same.
+II. The attitude which men ought to take in relation to this truth.+
It is obvious that the counsel of God must stand, and that it
deserves to stand before all the devices of men. If, therefore, men
would have their devices stand they must learn to square them by the
counsel of God. A child will have its own way when it has learned to
conform its will to the will of its parent. And if a man would have
his _"heart's desire,"_ he must so _"delight in God"_ (Psa.
xxxvii. 4) that what pleases God pleases him also. For other
Homiletics on this subject see on chap. xvi. 1 and 9, pp. 451, 468.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The great collective whole of the "devices" of all hearts constitutes
the grand complex scheme of the human race for their happiness.
Respecting the object of every device, God has His design. There is
in the world a want of coalescence between the designs of man and
God--an estranged spirit of design on the part of man. God's design
is fixed and paramount.--_J. Foster._
_A man of the better sort._ This is simply one of the names for man.
We do not always translate it _one of the better sort._ But it is
rarely chosen listlessly. Here it creates an emphasis. The most
imposing _"schemes"_ belong to the intelligent and great. The world
is full of them. How foolish to build them up! Jehovah advises a
whole new behaviour for His creatures. How mad to scheme away from
it.--_Miller._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 22.
POVERTY OF HEART AND POVERTY OF CIRCUMSTANCES.
If we read the first clause of this proverb as it stands in our
translation it sets forth--
+I. The true measure of a man's benevolence.+ It is not to be
measured by the amount of money that he expends upon his
fellow-creatures, but upon his desire to benefit them. His desire to
help them may be very strong, and yet his circumstances may be such
that he has little more than sympathy to give. "The heart may be
full," says Wardlaw, "when the hand is empty." And many deeds of
charity that earn for men the title of benevolent are not really
performed for motives of goodwill to others but from selfish and
vainglorious ends. If we take the reading given in the Critical Notes
it teaches rather the truth--
+II. That small deeds of kindness are far preferable to large
professions of it.+ The _liar_ of the second clause is evidently one
who has it in his power largely to help others, and whose promises
are in proportion to his power. But they are promises only. He does
not hesitate by false words to raise hopes which he never intends to
fulfil, and thus becomes like the deceitful mirage of the desert,
which, after cheating the traveller with delusive hopes of water,
disappears, and leaves him more despairing than before. On the other
hand, the poor man is evidently one whose words never go beyond his
deeds, and whose deeds, if not great, are up to his ability, and are
so constantly performed and so evidently the outcome of real sympathy
that they are like the little rill which follows the wayfarer all
through his journey, and, which, although it can give but a little
water at a time, is always at hand with that little.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
But let it be observed and remembered--"the desires of a man are not
his kindness," when he has the ability to be practically kind, and
confines himself to desires. No. In that case, there is the clearest
of all evidence that the desire is not sincere; mere profession,
without reality--"love in word"--which is only another phrase for no
love at all. While, therefore, there are cases in which we
cheerfully, according to a common phrase, "take the will for the
deed," knowing that there is a want of ability to do what the heart
wishes; there are other cases in which we demand the deed as the only
proof of the will--the gift as the only evidence of the
charity.--_Wardlaw._
The imperial standard of weights and measures has been sent by the
King into the market place of human life, where men are busy cheating
themselves and each other. Many of these merchantmen, guided by a
false standard, have been all their days accustomed to call evil good
and good evil. When the balance is set up by royal authority, and the
proclamation issued that all transactions must be tested thereby,
swindlers are dismayed, and honest man are glad. Such is the word of
truth when it touches the transactions of men. . . . There is a most
refreshing simplicity in the language of Scripture upon these points.
This word speaks with authority. It is not tainted with the usual
adulation of riches. A dishonest man is called a liar, however high
his position may be in the city. And the honest poor gets his patent
of nobility from the Sovereign's hand. The honest rich are fully as
much interested in reform in this matter as the honest poor. Make
this short proverb the keynote of our commercial system, and epidemic
panics will disappear. . . . After each catastrophe people go about
shaking their heads and wringing their hands, asking, What will
become of us? What shall we do? We venture to propose an answer to
the inquiry. From the Bible first engrave on your hearts, then
translate in your lives, and last emblazon aloft on the pediment of
your trade temple this short and simple legend: _"A poor man is
better than a liar."_
For Homiletics on the subject of verse 23 see on chapter x. 24,
xiv. 26, and xviii. 10, pages 179 and 542. Verse 24 will be treated
in chap. xxvi. 12-16. For the subject of verses 25 and 29 see chap.
xvii. 10, page 509.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 26-29.
POSSIBILITIES OF HUMAN DEPRAVITY.
+I. The tenderest admonitions and the most solemn warnings sometimes
fail to influence for good.+ Sometimes the most loving parental care
seems utterly wasted upon an ungrateful child, and the more constant
and tender the words of admonition the farther does he depart from
the way in which he ought to go. There is many a man so in love with
sin that he may be said to "devour iniquity" (verse 28); and when
this fatal appetite has taken possession of the soul all appeals to
his better nature, and even to his own self-love, are vain.
+II. When men are so hardened there is no depth of iniquity to which
they may not sink.+ He who scoffs at all threats of retribution, both
in this life and in that which is to come, has broken through all
barriers of restraint, and will be capable of outraging all the
tender ties of human relationship, even to the extent of bringing his
parents to disgrace and shame. The most hardened sinners in the
universe of God are not found in heathen lands, or among the ignorant
at home, but they are those who, having heard instruction, have
"erred from the words of knowledge." Each day that they resist the
good influence brought to bear upon them they increase their moral
insensibility, and their final condemnation (verse 29). Hence the
admonition of verse 27. (See Critical Notes.)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 26. This were an admirable text for young men entering upon
life and still at the expense of their parents. It is a great
enormity either to waste the property of their father while he is
alive, or after they have succeeded to expel the widowed mother from
the premises.--_Chalmers._
Verse 27. It is so proper and natural for a son to hear instruction,
that the hearing instruction maketh to be a son. . . . But if thou
hear instruction, hear it not--not to be the better for it.
Instruction speaketh to keep thee _from erring:_ do not thou _hear it
to err:_ instruction putteth into thee the words of knowledge; do not
thou put them out by erring from them, by not following them. . . .
Cease thus to hear, but hear still. For by hearing at length thine
error may be corrected; whereas, if thou hear not, thou dost not only
err, but deprivest thyself of the means that reduce thee from
erring.--_Jermin._
* * * * * *
CHAPTER XX.
CRITICAL NOTES.--+1. Strong drink.+ The Hebrew word _Shekhar_
includes every strong drink besides wine. Delitzsch translates it
_mead._ +2. The fear of a king,+ _i.e.,_ the dread which he inspires.
+Sinneth against his soul,+ or _"forfeits his life,"_ so Delitzsch
and Miller. +3. To cease from strife.+ Rather, "to remain far from"
it. +4.+ Delitzsch translates this verse, _"At the beginning of the
harvest the sluggard ploweth not, and so when he cometh to reaping
time there is nothing."_ +5. Counsel.+ Delitzsch translates this word
_"purpose,"_ and understands it to refer to a secret plan.
+6.+ Miller reads the first clause of this verse, _"Much of the mere
man one calls his goodness," i.e.,_ "Much that is merely human." He
allows, however, that the usual rendering conveys a very striking
meaning and agrees admirably with the second clause. The Hebrew word
means literally _abundance of men._ Delitzsch translates, _"Almost
everyone meeteth a man who is gracious unto him; but a man who
standeth the test, who findeth such a one?"_ +7.+ This verse should
be, _"He who in his innocence walks uprightly, blessed are his
children,"_ etc. +8. Judgment.+ Rather _justice._ +Scattereth+ or
_winnoweth._ +10. Divers weights.+ Literally, _"a stone and a stone,
an ephah and an ephah."_ +11.+ Touching the second clause of this
verse, Miller says, "It is too terse for English, and we cannot
translate it. Nor can we brook the English version. _Doings_ are in
the same category with _work._ How can one be the test of the other?
The only room for a proposition is, obviously, for this: _'A child is
known by his doings;_ and the question, _Is he pure?_ is but the
question, _Is his work right?_'" +15.+ Here Miller reads, _There is
gold,_ etc., in _the lips of knowledge._ +16. A Strange woman.+
Rather, _"a stranger."_ +17. A man.+ The Hebrew word here uses is the
one which denotes _a superior man._ +18.+ The first clause may be
read, _Establish thy purpose by counsel._ +19. "Him that
flattereth."+ Rather, _him that openeth wide his lips, i.e.,_ the
babbler. +24. Man.+ The first word, _Geber,_ denoting _a superior or
mighty man:_ the second, _Adam, man in general, or an ordinary man._
+25.+ The first clause of this verse should be, _"It is a snare to a
man to cry out hastily 'holy,' i.e.,_ to vow without thought and
consideration." +26. The wheel,+ _i.e.,_ the wheel of the threshing
instrument which blows away the chaff. +30. The blueness of a wound.+
_Cutting wounds (Delitzsch), Wounding stripes (Zöckler)._ Miller
translates the _"welts," (i.e.,_ the tumid and purple confines of a
wound) _cleanse as though an evil,_ "that is, although painful and
deformed, they have a clear office, viz., to purge away the sore."
Wardlaw suggests that the word, being etymologically derived from a
verb denoting to _join together,_ may be translated _compressions,_
and says, "The compressions of a wound are necessary for cleansing
out of it the prurient and peccant humour, which would prevent its
healing; they are, at the same time, in many cases exceedingly
painful, and would only be endured or inflicted from necessity. And
as they thus clean the wound and promote its healing, so in a _moral_
sense does the severity of discipline affect with salutary and
cleansing influence the condition of the inner man."
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 1.
STRONG DRINK.
Taking the two words here used to stand for all intoxicating drinks,
we remark--
+I. That they are most deceptive in their operation.+ It is most
certain that there is no person who is now an abject slave to strong
drink, who would not once have indignantly repelled the insinuation
that he or she would ever be a drunkard. It is taken probably for a
long time without any evil effects being apparent, and the temporary
stimulus is mistaken for a permanent increase of strength, until one
day the unhappy victim finds himself a subject of the most tyrannical
habit that enslaves fallen humanity. And strong drink may truly be
said to be a _"mocker,"_ when we see how men appear to struggle to
escape from its deadly fascination, and how fruitless their efforts
often are.
+II. That they are powerful ministers to human passions.+ Wherever
strong drink enters, every evil tendency is increased tenfold; the
angry man becomes a monster of cruelty, and he who was before a
comparatively harmless member of society, or even a useful one,
becomes hurtful and dangerous. The restraints that are all powerful
to govern a man when sober are all as utterly useless when he is
under the power of string drink, as silken cords would be to keep a
wild beast within bounds.
+III. It is utter folly to tamper with such a foe to human dignity
and happiness.+ The deceptive influence of strong drink, and the
miserable results of allowing it to gain the mastery over us, are all
around men; none can now plead ignorance of its nature, or of its
effects, for the world is full of homes ruined by it, and hearts
which it has broken, and men whom it has changed into brutes.
Experience sets her seal to Solomon's declaration, and brands as
_without wisdom_ those who play with such a deadly and treacherous
enemy.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Solomon seldom singles out a specific vice; and when he does, it is
often exemplary, or to be understood of any. He does single out
drunkenness, however. Strikingly enough the Apostle does so (1 Cor.
vi. 10).--_Miller._
If the fruit of his own vine sometimes chastised the unwary Israelite
with whips, the fiery product of our distilleries chastise the nation
with scorpions. The little finger of strong drink in modern times is
thicker than the loins of its father and representative in Solomon's
day. The deceits which our enemy practises are legion; and legion too
are the unwary "who are deceived thereby." I shall enumerate a few of
its lying devices. 1. A great quantity of precious food is destroyed
in this country that strong drink may be extracted from the
rubbish. . . . On an average of ten years, the quantity of barley
converted into malt in the United Kingdom has been nearly six
millions of quarters annually. When you add to this the unmalted
grain consumed in the distillation of spirits in Ireland, you have an
aggregate sufficient to feed between four and five millions of people
throughout the year. . . . What do we obtain in return? A large
quantity of malt liquors and distilled spirits. And is the grain
equivalent, or nearly equivalent to the loss? 2. The curative and
strengthening powers of our strong drinks, which are so much vaunted,
are in reality next to nothing. We speak of the ordinary use of these
articles as beverages. . . . If they contribute at any time to the
quantity of force exerted by man, it corresponds not to the corn that
you give to your horse, but to the whipping. A master who has hired
you for a day, and desires to make the most of his bargain, may
possibly find it his interest to bring more out of your bones and
sinews, by such a stimulus, but you certainly have no interest in
lashing an additional effort out of yourself to-day, and lying in
lethargy to-morrow. . . . Liebig has a pleasant notion about
balancing on the point of a pen-knife, like a pinch of snuff, all the
nourishment that the most capacious German swallows with his beer in
a day. And it is chemistry he is giving us, not poetry or wit. . . .
3. Strong drink deceives the nation, by the vast amount of revenue
that it pours into the public treasury. It is a true and wise economy
to tax the articles heavily for behoof of the community, so far and
as long as they are sold and used; but it is a false and foolish
economy to encourage the consumption of the article, for the sake of
the revenue it produces. Drink generates pauperism, and pauperism is
costly. Drink generates crime, and crime is costly. . . . There is a
huge living creature with as many limbs as a Hindoo idol, and these
limbs intertwined with each other in equally admirable confusion. The
creature having life must be fed, and being large, must have a good
deal of food for its sustenance. One day, having got rather short
allowance, it was rolling its heavy head among its many limbs, and
found something warm and fleshy. Being hungry, it made an incision
with its teeth, laid its lips to the spot, and sucked. Warm blood
came freely; the creature sucked its fill, and gorged, lay down to
sleep. Next day, it supplemented its short rations in the same way.
Every day the creature drank from that opening, and as this rich
draught made up about one third of its whole sustenance, the wonder
grew, why it was becoming weaker under the process, day by day. Some
one at last bethought him of turning over the animal's intermingled
limbs, and found that all this time it had been sucking its own
blood! The discoverer proposed to bandage the spot, and not permit
the continuance of the unnatural operation. The financiers cried out,
"A third of the animal's sustenance comes from that opening; if you
stop it, he will die!" Behold the wise politicians who imagine that
the body politic would die of inanition, if it were deprived of the
revenue which it sucks from its own veins, in the shape of taxes on
the consumption of intoxicating drinks!--_Arnot._
The thoughts in verses 2 and 3 are the same as that in chap. xix. 12,
see page 571, and chaps. xiv. 29 and xvi. 32, pages 386 and 497. The
thought in the fourth verse is identical with that in chap. x. 4,
although the similitude is different, see page 142.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 5.
DEEP SEA DREDGING.
+I. Much that is good, or much that is bad, may lie hidden in a man's
heart without its existence being suspected by the majority of his
acquaintance.+ The word here rendered "counsel" may be taken in a
twofold sense. It may be used of knowledge, or of great mental
ability, which is hidden either because its possessor is exceedingly
modest or exceedingly reserved--either because he lacks the will or
the power to make it known. Or it may refer to deeply-laid schemes or
well-planned purposes which a man intends shall one day become facts,
but which at present exist only in his own mind. And according to the
nature of the counsel it may be compared to the wealth of beauty and
riches which lie hidden in the depth of the ocean, unsuspected by the
majority of those who sail above, or to the deadly torpedo which
makes no ripple upon the surface of the water, and which its victims
approach without dreaming of what is concealed beneath.
+II. The difficulty of one man's obtaining what another wishes to
conceal will depend upon the comparative wisdom of both.+ For many
ages the deep sea seemed to defy all the efforts of man to explore
its depths and to find out its secrets, but now even the ocean has to
own him master in this respect, and to submit to have its treasures
brought to light. There has been, as it were, a struggle between the
sea and the man of science as to which should possess the treasures
of the deep, and the issue has depended upon the ability of the man
in comparison with the depth of the ocean. So there is sometimes a
struggle between men--the one desiring to conceal his knowledge or
his plans within his own breast, and the other desiring to discover
them. The issue will depend upon the comparative mental power of the
two men. If both be "men of understanding," the resistance on the one
side and the effort on the other will be continuous and long, and the
"deep waters" may prove too deep for the bucket or the dredging net.
But if the balance of wisdom is in favour of the seeker--if there is
one spot where his line can reach--he will "draw out" the counsel and
proclaim himself the master.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The whole emblem finely illustrates what is true of the "inward
light" as held by the "Friends." All men have light which, if they
would follow, would lead them (granting that they persevere) into the
light of the gospel (Rom. i. 20). What better name for this than
counsel? Alas! it lies "deep." No man will follow it but by the
Spirit of God. . . . Nevertheless it is there! How solemn that fact
at the judgment day! "The word is nigh" (Rom x. 8). _"A man of
discernment,"_ or _"understanding," i.e.,_ the Christian. . . . Only
the illuminated man, getting his light from its great fountain, will
be moved to go down into his _"heart,"_ where the counsel lies
waiting and, "draw" the "deep waters."--_Miller._
Every question is, as it were, a turn of the windlass.--_Plumptre._
He is an expert fisher. . . . But man can but _draw them out;_ God
seeth them in the heart, man can see no more than he draws out, but
God seeth all; man draws and labours for the knowledge he getteth,
but all things are naked and open unto God's sight.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 6-12.
AN UNIVERSAL CHALLENGE, A GENERAL RULE, AND A RARE VIRTUE.
+I. A double challenge to all men.+ Who can say, I am pure from my
sin? A faithful man, who can find? To the first of these questions
the answer must be in the negative. 1. _God_ answers "No" to it. The
testimony of Scriptures is that in His sight _"shall no man living be
justified"_ (Psa. cxlii. 2): that _"all have sinned"_ (Rom. iii. 23):
that _"if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the
truth is not in us"_ (1 John i. 8). His ability to form a correct
judgment rests upon His _omniscience_--He hath made the _"hearing ear
and the seeing eye"_ (verse 12), and shall He not _hear and see_ and
_know the thoughts of man?_ (Psa. xciv. 9, 10). He is the ideal King
who _winnows_ the actions of man. See Miller's note on ver. 8 (Matt.
iii. 12). 2. _Man's experience_ answers "No" to it. "Even a child is
known by its doings" (verse 11); the actions are like the hands of a
clock, which tell to those who look upon them whether all the wheels
within are in perfect working order. When we mark at all observantly
the actions of even the best of men, we shall be most likely to
detect here and there a flaw in their characters--some
inconsistencies which tell of moral imperfection--but if not, man
need only to look _within_ with some degree of impartiality to be
convinced that his _"own heart condemns him"_ (1 John iii. 20). But
to the second challenge we need not give an universal negative.
Faithful men are _rare,_ but they _can be found._ Even Solomon could
point to the "just man" who "walked in his integrity," leaving a
blessing behind him. His father David, although he was far from being
free from sin, yea, although he sinned deeply and terribly, and yet
was a man who could appeal to God to witness to his _integrity_ (Psa.
vii. 8)--to the general intent and purpose of his life being toward
God and goodness--to his being in the main faithful to his
convictions of the right and true. (On this subject see on chap.
xi. 3, page 196.) And although _faithful_ men are still rare enough
to need _search,_ they are more common than they were in Solomon's
days. There are many men scattered throughout the world who put duty
before worldly interests, and God's glory before their own, and are
thus earning for themselves the _well-done_ of the _faithful_ though
not the _perfect_ servant (Matt. xxv. 21). For it is certain that if
a man is faithful to himself--if he subjects his own moral condition
to that scrutiny which must convince him of his own impurity before a
heart-searching and Holy God, and accepts His method of being
cleansed from guilt--he will be faithful both to God and man.
"To thine own self be true:
And it must follow as the night the day;
Thou canst not then be false to any man."
+II. A general rule.+ Another proposition here laid down is, that
although absolutely pure men are not to be found, and although
faithful men are rare, yet "most men will proclaim everyone his own
goodness" (verse 6). There is a natural tendency in men to shrink
from a very close inspection of their own motives, and desires, and
feelings--they look anywhere rather than within, and consequently,
very few have any conception of their own depravity. They have never
measured even their actions, much less their thoughts, by the
requirements of God's law, and consequently, while He pronounces them
_"wretched, and miserable, and poor"_ they are saying, _"I am rich,
and increased with goods, and have need of nothing"_ (Rev. iii. 17,
18). Most men are thanking God that _"they are not as other men are"_
when they ought to be smiting their breasts and saying, _"God be
merciful to me, a sinner"_ (Luke xviii. 13). It is this wide-spread
self-deception concerning their real condition that renders men so
indifferent to God's method for restoring them, and thus keeps the
world in its present state of soul-sickness and death.
For Homiletics on verse 10, see on chap. xi. 1.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
This faithfulness, where it exists, develops itself in two branches;
the one suppressing our neighbour's vanity, and the other our own.
The last mentioned is first in order of nature and in relative
importance the chief. True faithfulness, like charity, begins at
home. . . . Faithful reproof of another's foibles is a virtue which
some can exercise without an effort. They deal a hearty blow on the
head of a luckless brother egotist who stands in the way of their own
advancement, and then expect to be praised for faithfulness. But it
is Jehu's driving. The zeal which impels it is not pure.--_Arnot._
The meaning is (see Critical Notes for Miller's rendering) that a man
is apt to call mere animal traits, like amiableness, or good nature,
by the name of _goodness;_ and the caution is, that seeking deep for
piety (ver. 5), we should be careful to take up with no such stupid
counterfeit. Much of the mere _flesh_ to borrow a New Testament
expression, is kind and honest. There is much of the mere man's
native morality. We must take care not to take that for _"goodness."_
There is a certain true _fidelity_ that embraces everything. That is
religion. It embraces God. It embraces spiritual _faithfulness._ It
may be easily counterfeited. It has been the snare of our race to
take _"what is of the mere man,"_ and confound it with it.--_Miller._
A faithful man--as a parent--a reprover--an adviser--one "without
guile"--who can find? (Mic. vii. 1, 2). Look close. View thyself in
the glass of the Word (Psa. ci. 6). Does thy neighbour, or thy
friend, find thee faithful to him? What does our daily intercourse
witness? Is not the attempt to speak what is agreeable often made at
the expense of truth? Are not professions of regard sometimes utterly
inconsistent with our real feelings? In common life, where gross
violations are restrained, a thousand petty offences are allowed,
that break down the wall between sin and duty, and, judged by the
Divine standard, are indeed guilty steps upon forbidden
ground.--_Bridges._
But the manner in which men make known what they account their
goodness is very various. Some are open with it. They almost
literally "proclaim" it upon the housetops. To every individual, and
in every company, they speak of it--of what they are, of what they
have said, of what they have done, of what they think, and of what
they wish and intend to do. And O! if they had but the means what
would they not accomplish!
Some there are who are quite as vain, and as ambitious of
commendation and praise--who, knowing that everything of the nature
of ostentation is exceedingly unpopular, and lets a man down, and
tempts others to pluck his feathers from him--set about their object
with greater art. They devise ways of getting their merits made known
so as to avoid the flaw of ostentatious self-display. In company,
they commend others for the qualities which they conceive themselves
specially to possess, or for the doing of deeds which they themselves
are sufficiently well known to have done; and they turn the
conversation dexterously that way; or they find fault with others for
the want of the good they are desirous to get praise for; or they
lament over their own deficiencies and failures in the very points in
which they conceive their excellence to lie--to give others the
opportunity of contradicting them; or, if they have done anything
they deem particularly generous and praise-worthy, they introduce
some similar case, and bring in, in as apparently accidental and
unintentional a way as possible, the situation of the person or the
family that has been the object of their bounty.--_Wardlaw._
Verse 7. Many are the several walks of men in this world--one walketh
in his pleasure, as it were in the walks of a garden; another walketh
in his profit, and he walketh as it were up and down the exchange;
another walketh in troubles, and he walketh as it were in a wood;
another walketh in his poverty, and he walketh as it were in a
desert; another walketh in his beastly lusts of drunkenness and
uncleanness, and he walks as it were in mire and dirt; the just man
walketh in his integrity, and he walketh as it were in the holy
temple.--_Jermin._
Verse 8. We must be very careful, then, how we do our sifting. God's
is perfectly complete. . . . He _winnows_ us at a glance. It is
important, therefore, that we have something more than "evil,"
because "all" that He shall _winnow_ bodily away.--_Miller._
Verse 9. Behold here the king sitting upon the throne of His
judgment, whereof the former verse speaketh! Who _can_ say it, and so
be untrue in saying it? Who shall say it, and be so impudent as to
say it? For to make clean the heart is His work who hath made the
heart, thou who hast made it unclean canst not make it
clean.--_Jermin._
This proverb is especially noteworthy because, in contrast with the
style of conception which is elsewhere predominant in the Proverbs,
according to which the imperfection of all human piety is but
slightly emphasized, and he who is relatively pious is allowed to
pass as righteous, it gives expression to the unsatisfying nature of
all moral endeavours, as never conducting to the full extirpation of
all sense of guilt, and a perfect feeling of peace with God; _it
accordingly suggests the need of a higher revelation in which the
sense of guilt and of an ever-imperfect fulfilment of duty shall
finally be overcome._--_Elster, in Lange's Commentary._
Verse 10. Originally, as in xi. 1, of dishonesty in actual trade, but
here perhaps as a companion to verse 9, with a wider application to
all inequality of judgment, to all judging one man by rules which we
do not apply to ourselves or to another.--_Plumptre._
That whereby thou takest from others shall add unto the weight of
thine own punishment; that whereby thou addest in measuring for
thyself shall make God to take away from the measure of His mercy
towards thee.--_Jermin._
Verse 11. There is no tree that in growing doth not bend rather to
the one side or the other; there is no river which, although it have
many windings and turnings, yet in the course of it doth not rather
turn one way than another; and so it is in the life of man, even from
the childhood of man's life. Do not judge, therefore, of any man by
one work or two, so thou mayest wrong him and deceive
thyself.--_Jermin._
For Homiletics on verse 13 see on chap. vi. 10, 11, page 79.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 14.
BARGAINING.
This proverb refers--
+I. To a world-wide manifestation of human selfishness.+ A custom
that was prevalent in the days of Solomon, many centuries ago, and
amid circumstances which differed widely from those by which we are
surrounded, has held its place among men until the present day, and
will doubtless continue to do so until the teachings and the spirit
of Christianity rule the world. It prevails in modern England quite
as extensively as it did in ancient Judea; and whether the buyer be a
millionaire bargaining for an estate, or a costermonger for the worth
of a shilling, he is often found knowingly, and therefore criminally,
depreciating the value of the commodity. It is a trait of fallen
humanity which "makes the whole world kin."
+II. To a pitiful ground of boasting.+ Although it does need some
skill and experience to tell the real value of an article, it
requires none to pronounce it good for nothing. Only a man with some
knowledge and judgment can put a fair price upon it, but any fool can
say, "It is naught, it is naught." And if by knowingly depreciating
the purchase the buyer robs the seller, he has but a very poor
transaction to boast of. He has wronged another, it is true, but he
has far more grievously wronged himself, for if his neighbour is the
poorer by a few pence or pounds he is the poorer by so much injury
done to his own conscience, and by so much loss of the confidence of
his fellow men. He who makes a boast of such a matter must, indeed,
have few grounds for boasting.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
This victorious boasting is not like other boasting. For that
delighteth to do it in the face of the conquered; but this, as justly
ashamed of itself, is made when they are gone one from the other. But
to make a moral application of the words, as it is in buying
commodities, so it is in the getting of wisdom and godliness; while a
man labours for the obtaining of it, the trouble of his pains maketh
him not to think so well of it, but having made it his own, then he
praiseth the worth and excellency of it.--_Jermin._
For Homiletics on Verse 15 see on chap. iii. 14, 15; viii. 11;
xii. 14; xviii. 20, 21; pages 39, 107, 275, and 555.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 16.
NECESSARY SECURITY.
+I. An untrustworthy creditor.+ A man who under ordinary
circumstances makes himself a surety for one who is a stranger to
him, is chargeable with great folly, and the act may be a criminal
one. He is very foolish if he pledges himself up to his ability of
redeeming his pledge, and he is dishonest if he goes beyond it. The
warning of the proverb is directed against entering into business
relations with a man who has so slight a sense of his own
responsibility as to become "surety for a stranger." It may be
regarded as a certainty that a man who will enter into such an
engagement without reflection and caution is not to be depended
on--does not measure his actions in this particular by a very high
standard of morality. He may be a man of generous impulses and good
intentions, but he lacks that substratum of high principle which
makes a safe creditor.
+II. An extreme security.+ The necessity of exacting security before
credit, discloses the existence of immorality in the world. In a
family where every brother is known to the other, and where the
interests of each are the interests of all, there is no need to take
a pledge for the performance of any promise, or the payment of any
debt. But in the imperfect state of society in which we find
ourselves, security before credit is necessary when we enter into
business transactions with our fellow men, for the world is not yet
ruled by the Divine precept, _"Love thy neighbour as
thyself"_--(Matt. xix. 19). And the security may be regulated by the
reliability of him whom we trust. Solomon here regards him who
becomes surety for a stranger, as so unlikely to be faithful to his
own liabilities, that those who trust him may exact from him even
that pledge which was the last allowed in the Mosaic law, and which
could not be retained beyond the day (Exodus xxii. 26, 27). The
injunction is probably to be regarded rather as advice against
trusting such a man at all. (On the subject of suretyship, see
Comments on chap. vi. 1, page 76.)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The moral is that securityships are so unsafe that we may treat the
man as one already ruined. But in the spiritual world it means (chap.
vi.) that a man who holds fast sloth (chap. v. 13), holds fast a bond
of eternal vengeance; that he renews it by his wilful act (xvii. 18);
that it is a bond to a friend (chap. vi. 1), but that friend forced
_ex lege_ to collect it; that if now at this late day he holds it on,
stand clear from him! He will certainly be lost. _Take his garment,_
that is, use the last resort, as against the most hopeless
bondsman.--_Miller._
His garment is not so near unto him as thou art unto thyself; this is
not more needful to keep him warm than it is to keep thee safe. And
seeing that he, by his folly, hath made himself naked of
understanding, it is not thou but himself that maketh him naked of
his garment. Seeing he is content to give himself a pledge for a
stranger, it is less than thou doest in taking his garment as a
pledge of him.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 17.
BAD BREAD.
+I. Some gratification is to be obtained from dishonest gain.+ Many a
swindler gets not only bread by swindling, but many other things,
which not only minister to his senses, but gratify mental appetites
not in themselves unlawful. And he finds pleasure in the fruit of his
dishonesty--in, it may be, his well-furnished table, his luxurious
mansion, his social position. It is not the highest and the purest
pleasure, but there is a sweetness in it, or men would not grasp so
eagerly the "bread of deceit."
+II. A time will come when it will not only cease to give pleasure,
but will bring misery.+ The dishonest man will find that, after all,
his gains are not bread for his higher nature--that his soul is still
unsatisfied, and crying out for sustenance--and, more than this, that
his conscience demands satisfaction for the wrong-doing of the
past--and even if he is permitted to keep possession of his
ill-gotten wealth, it is not only what chaff without the grain, or
the husk without the kernel, is to the starving man, but as the very
sand of the desert or the dust of the highway in the mouth,
tormenting as well as unsatisfying.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
"Everything gotten wrongfully is here implied." Bitter was Achan's
sweet, deceitfully hid in the tent, which brought ruin upon himself
and his family (Josh. vii. 21-24). Look at Gehazi. What profit had he
from his talents of silver and changes of garments? Bitter indeed was
the bread of deceit to him (2 Kings v. 20-27). Look even at Jacob, a
true servant of God; and yet chastened heavily almost to the end of
his days with the bitter fruits of deceit (Gen. xxvii.;
xli. 36-38).--_Bridges._
Men must not think to dine with the devil, and then to sup with
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.--_Trapp._
It is crusted without, as if it were bread; but within, contrary to
bread, is not soft. The deceived, tasting it with the tongue of his
hope and presuming confidence, findeth nothing which is not grateful
unto him: the deceiver tasting it with the tongue of present profit
findeth it most luscious unto him. But when the deceiver, having it
in his mouth, pierceth it with the teeth of his trial, then so gravel
breaketh the teeth so it breaketh his heart; and when the deceiver
comes to feed upon it he findeth there is no juice of true
profit.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 18.
THOUGHT BEFORE ACTION.
+I. The permanent success of an undertaking is generally in
proportion to the thought bestowed upon it beforehand.+ It is an act
of extreme folly to commit ourselves to any course, or to undertake
any task without first weighing all the probable consequences, and
providing against the most likely contingencies. Such a wise
forethought by no means excludes entire dependence upon God, for
while it is most true that _"Man's goings are of the Lord,"_ and _"a
man cannot understand his own way"_ (ver. 24), both common sense and
the Word of God plainly teach that man must use the powers of
forethought with which he has been endowed, or he must be content to
see his purposes frustrated and his plans miscarry. If he desires his
"purposes" to be "established," in other words--what he does to have
a lasting result in the direction desired--he must _"sit down first"_
and _"count the cost"_ (Luke xiv. 28, 31).
+II. It is advisable to call in the wisdom of others to help us in
our deliberations.+ Since one man is rarely, if ever, able to look at
a matter from every point of view, his plans are most likely to be
wisely laid, and his purposes most likely to succeed, if he looks at
them with the eyes of other men as well as with his own. They may
discern a weak spot where he saw nothing to fear, or a point of
vantage which had escaped his notice entirely. Or they may see good
reasons for dissuading him altogether from the undertaking, or may
make him so much the stronger for the task by encouragement and
counsel. It is not generally those who are most able to act alone who
lightly esteem the advice of others--these men who are the most
successful in that to which they put their hand are not as a rule
given to undervalue the wisdom of other people.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The greatest trust between man and man is the trust of giving
counsel. . . . Things will have their first or second agitation; if
they be not tossed upon by the waves of counsel, they will be tossed
upon the waves of fortune, and be full of inconstancy, doing and
undoing, like the reeling of a drunken man.--_Lord Bacon._
Ponder Bishop Hall's description of the spiritual _war._ "It admits
of no intermission. It knows no night, no winter. It abides no peace,
no truce. It calls us not into garrison, where we may have ease and
respite, but into pitched fields continually. We see our enemies in
the face always, and are always seen and assaulted; ever resisting,
ever defending, receiving and returning blows. If either we be
negligent or weary, we die. What other hope is there, while one
fights and the other stands still? We can never have safety and peace
but in victory. Then must our resistance be courageous and constant,
when both yielding is death, and all treaties of peace mortal." Does
not this war bring the greatest need of deliberate _counsel,_
carefully counting the cost (Luke xiv. 31, 32); cleaving to our
All-wise Counsellor (Isa. ix. 6) and Almighty Helper?--_Bridges._
Among the Romans, though a man were never so strong, never so
valiant, yet, if he wanted wisdom and counsel, he was said to be
_miles sine oculis,_ a soldier without his eyes.--_Jermin._
See Critical Notes for the correct rendering of the second clause of
verse 19, and for Homiletics see on chap. x. 19 and xi. 13, pages 168
and 211.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 20.
AN UNNATURAL CHILD AND A NATURAL LAW.
+I. An unnatural child.+ The ungrateful son or daughter of good
parents is an unnatural being. If experience did not contradict, we
should say that even fallen human creatures must return love for
love, and could not help feeling gratitude to those who have denied
themselves for their good. And if there is no love so strong and so
unselfish as that which a parent feels toward a child, it does seem
almost impossible that any child can be unresponsive to it. But if to
remain untouched by it is unnatural, how much more so is it to attain
to the height of wickedness upon which the text passes judgment. We
must suppose that the proverb refers to fathers and mothers who are,
to some extent, what they ought to be--who do in some measure reflect
upon their offspring the tenderness of the Great and Divine
Father--and then we can conceive of no more unnatural being than he
"who curseth his father or his mother." Every natural instinct tends
in the opposite direction.
+II. A natural law.+ It does not need any special Divine
interposition to blight and ruin such a man. The most powerful and
blessed human influences are those which flow from the home-life, and
from the emotions which ought to be kindled by the relationship of a
child to its parent. But if these holiest influences are resisted and
these emotions are stifled, moral darkness must overshadow the life,
and it will continue to deepen while the hardness of heart continues.
It is well known that even the remembrance of parental love after
long years of insensibility to it is often the first step back into
the light of righteousness and hope, and that many who have sunk very
low in crime could trace their present condition to the unnatural sin
of hardening their hearts against parental love.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
This cursing, according to our Lord's standard, includes "setting
light by father or mother;" wilful disobedience--a fearful, palpable
mark of the last days. How God regards it, let his own curse on Mount
Ebal (Deut. xxvii. 16), and his judgment of temporal death, testify.
The present degradation of Africa is a witness, on the confirming
page of history, of the frown upon an undutiful son (Gen.
ix. 22-25)--his lamp put out in darkness.--_Bridges._
It must needs be an obscure darkness that is fallen upon that soul,
in whom the light of nature is so far extinguished as that he curseth
them from whom he had the blessing of being. It must needs be a smoky
breath that shall reproach him who was the breath of his nostrils.
And what can he expect but that his lamp shall be put out in
darkness.--_Jermin._
For Homiletics of verse 21, see on chap. xiii. 11, page 306; also on
chap. xxi. 5, 7, 17, page 609.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 22.
THE RECOMPENSER OF EVIL.
+I. The man who has been wronged is disqualified to punish the
offender.+ A sense of pain and suffering is not helpful to a man's
judgment. He sees neither things nor persons in the light in which he
would see them under happier conditions, and would not be likely to
deal impartially with the offender. Hence, both the Bible and wise
human governments--while freely allowing that he who injures another
ought not to go unpunished--forbids men from undertaking the
punishment themselves. Every human creature labours under another
disqualification also. He is himself a law-breaker in a greater or
less degree, and is not himself guiltless in thought and word, and
perhaps in deed, of wrong towards his neighbour. The best of men
cannot claim to be guiltless in this matter, and the majority are
great offenders in one form or another. Therefore on this account
also it is not meet for men to avenge their personal wrongs.
+II. The most effectual way to rid one's self of the desire for
revenge.+ We do not understand this proverb to forbid the bringing of
men who have wronged us to the bar of human justice, for this may be
a duty which we owe to society. It would be criminal in most cases
not to apprehend one who had robbed us if it lay in our power to do
so, for by letting him go free we should be exposing other innocent
men to danger. But there are many cases in which men are greatly
wronged in ways which do not come within the cognisance of human law,
and when no benefit to anyone would arise from their punishment by
any human instrumentality. In such cases, the sure remedy for any
vindictive feelings in our own breasts is to lay the matter before
Him whose judgment must be impartial, and who will render to every
man according to his works. Waiting upon the Lord, too, will remind
us so forcibly of our own shortcomings and wrongdoings that we shall
be more ready to forget those of our brother.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
It is to be observed that it is not said, Wait on the Lord and He
will avenge thee, but, He will save thee. By this kind of speech, the
Holy Ghost would warn every one that is injured, not to think of the
revenge or hurt of his adversary, but of his own defence and
salvation.--_Muffet._
The question is clearly this: Is your safety and protection best
lodged in God's hand or your own? By indulging your revengeful
spirit, you do yourself a greater hurt than your greatest enemy can
do you, for you gratify his ill-nature, when you suffer it to make a
deep impression on your spirit, without which it could do you little
or no hurt; but by committing your cause to God, you turn his ill
will to your great advantage, making it an occasion for the exercise
of the noblest graces, which are attended with the sweetest fruits,
and with the rich blessing of God.--_Lawson._
While Moses is dumb, God speaks; deaf, God sees and stirs. Make God
your chancellor, in case no law will relieve, and you shall do
yourself no disservice. If compelled to go a mile, rather than
revenge, go two, yea, as far as the gospel of peace will carry you,
and God will bring you back "with everlasting joy" (Isa. xxxv. 10).
This is the way to be even with him, that wrongs you, nay, to be
above him.--_Trapp._
So far should the desire of revenge be from man's heart, so far the
execution of revenge be from man's hand, that his _tongue should not
say it._ Shall any say, I will revenge, when God says, revenge is
_mine._ Neither let any say, I will revenge because I have been
wronged. For, as Tertullian says, what difference is there between
being the provoker and the provoked; but that he is first found in
wickedness, and the other afterward? Do not therefore provoke God to
anger, by seeking revenge in thy anger. Let God have his
right.--_Jermin._
For Homiletics on verse 23, see on chap. xi. 1, page 190.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 24.
GOD OVER ALL.
A reference to the Critical Notes will show that in this verse there
is an argument from the greater to the less, for the first clause
contains an affirmation of a truth, and the second an argument drawn
therefrom.
+I. The truth affirmed,+ viz.--That the actions of the most mighty
men, and the purposes of the wisest, are directly and absolutely
under the control of God. This is self-evident if we admit that God
is an Eternal, Omniscient, and Almighty Being, who concerns Himself
with the government of the world. Having existed throughout the
Eternal past and possessing absolute knowledge of the Eternal future,
and being the Author of every man's being--determining the date of
his entrance into the world and the period of his continuance in it,
and during all that time _"encompassing his path and his lying
down,"_ and even _"understanding his thought afar off"_ (Psa.
cxxxix. 2, 3)--how can even the mightiest of men boast of his
independence of God and foretell what shall be the issue of his most
sagacious counsels, or be confident that he shall be allowed to carry
out even the most matured of his purposes. While he is perfectly
conscious of his power to will and to do within limits, he must be
also conscious that his ability to do both are dependent upon the
will of Him in whom we all live and move and have our being.
+II. The inference drawn.+ If God is thus above and behind the goings
of the mighty of the earth, it is man's wisdom to trust the mysteries
of the present and the contingencies of the future into His hands.
Every night throughout the year travellers from one part of our
island to the other commit their bodily life unreservedly into the
hands of one or two of their fellow-creatures. They are either
impelled by inclination, or compelled by necessity, to undertake a
certain journey, and to do this they must take their places in a
railway train, and for a time surrender their power to take care of
their own lives into the hands of others. Darkness is all around them
as they travel on, and darkness is before them--they cannot discern
the road by which they are travelling, or be absolutely certain that
they will reach the place which they desire. Yet their confidence in
the skill and fidelity of a few of their fellow-creatures is strong
enough to make them generally at ease. Each human life resembles such
a journey. The path from the cradle to the grave must be traversed,
but insoluble mysteries lie all around, and the future is entirely
hidden from view. There is but One who knoweth the way that we take,
to whom both past, and present, and future are alike visible and
comprehensible. His infinite wisdom and love ought to make us willing
to leave Him to _"direct our paths,"_ while a sense of our individual
responsibility ought to keep us from presumptuous rashness on the one
hand, and from indolent inertness on the other. The truth set forth
in this proverb ought to be set beside that in verse 18.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
As the first clause attributes to the Lord exclusively _the ordering_
of great men's goings, in order to attain success, so the second
attributes to Him the _prescient understanding_ of men's course. God
directs natural actions by His ordinary providence, spiritual actions
by His special providence, which foreordains from eternity, awakens
the sinner, removes obstacles, suggests that state of life wherein He
sees that the man will not fall away, but attain to glory. However a
man may understand his life with respect to its beginning and aim,
yet he understands not the best _means_ in doubtful cases, nor can he
ensure the issue.--_Fausset._
Little did Israel _understand_ the reason of their circuitous _way_
to Canaan. Yet did it prove in the end to be "the right way." As
little did Ahasuerus _understand_ the profound reason why "on that
night could not the king sleep;" a minute incident, seemingly
scarcely worthy to be recorded, yet a necessary link in the chain of
the Lord's everlasting purposes of grace to His Church (Esth. vi. 1).
Little did Philip _understand his own way_ when he was moved from the
wide sphere of preaching the Gospel in Samaria to go into the desert,
which ultimately proved a wider extension of the Gospel. As little
did the great Apostle understand that his "_prosperous_ journey" to
see his beloved flock at Rome would be a narrow escape from
shipwreck, and to be conducted a prisoner in chains. Little do we
know what we pray for. "By terrible things wilt Thou answer us in
righteousness, O God of our salvation" (Ps. lxv. 5). We go out in the
morning _not understanding our way;_ "not knowing what an hour may
bring forth" (chap. xxvii. 1). Some turn connected with our happiness
or misery for life meets us before night (John iv. 7). Joseph, in
taking his walk to search for his brethren, never anticipated a more
than twenty years' separation from his father (Gen. xxxvii. 14). And
what ought those cross ways or dark ways to teach us? Not constant,
trembling anxiety, but daily dependence. "I will bring the blind by a
way that they know not: I will lead them in paths that they have not
known." But shall they be left in the dark perplexity? "I will make
darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things
will I do unto them, and not forsake them" (Isa.
xlii. 16).--_Bridges._
The cross ways that thwart man's goings are of God's laying out, the
short ways which some make are of His finding out, the long ways that
some go about are of His leading. . . . He doth but tumble down the
hill of his own audacious rashness that thinketh to climb up unto
God's way. What God hath revealed of Himself in moderating man's ways
is true wisdom to observe, and happy is he who maketh use of it. But
as ignorance here is an idle carelessness, so knowledge there is a
prying boldness.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 25.
For the correct rendering of this verse see Critical Notes.
RELIGIOUS VOWS.
+I. A man is under no obligation to vow.+ While the Scriptures
contain many references to vows, whereby certain persons consecrated
themselves or their property to God and give laws concerning their
fulfilment (Num. xxx.), there is no command which requires men to
enter into such a solemn engagement. The text refers solely to
_religious_ vows--to an act of special consecration to God, such as
that of Jacob at Bethel when he dedicated the tenth of all his gains
to the service of Jehovah (Gen. xxviii. 22), or that of Hannah when
she promised that, if God would give her a man-child, she would give
him unto the Lord all the days of his life (1 Sam. i. 11). It is
obvious that such special acknowledgements of particular and
exceptional blessings must be pleasing to God, but He lays upon men
no obligation to render them, seeing that their value consists in
their being spontaneous--the overflow of a grateful heart, or the
result of a deep conviction of the claims of God, or of the need of
Divine help in extraordinary circumstances.
+II. A man is bound by the most solemn considerations not to vow
thoughtlessly.+ As an intelligent and moral being he is bound to
enter upon no course and to make no engagement without first
inquiring whether the motive which prompts him at the outset is
strong enough to carry him to the end. It is a snare and a sin to
promise to a fellow-man and afterwards, in the words of the proverb,
"to make inquiry," _i.e.,_ to ask ourselves whether we are prepared
to abide by our promise. The inquiry must even in such a case be made
beforehand, or we must be branded with unfaithfulness to our plighted
word. (These remarks of course do not apply to vows and promises
which are in themselves sinful or unlawful. The proverb does not deal
with such.) If, then, a man is bound to consider well before he
promises to man, how much more so before he vows to God! What must be
the harm done to conscience and to character, and how great the
insult offered to the Divine Majesty, when vows are made and
obligations entered into, and afterwards he who thus bound himself
finds that he is not morally prepared for the sacrifice. To such an
one we might say, as Peter said to Ananias--_"Whiles it remained, was
it not thine own? . . . Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God"_
(Acts v. 4, 5). _"Better it is that thou shouldst not vow,"_ says the
Preacher, _"than that thou shouldest vow and not pay"_ (Eccles. v. 5).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
It is questionable whether vows, properly so called, are consistent
with the genius of the New Testament dispensation. At any rate, of
such vows as were common under the Old, we have no recorded examples
under the New. Resolutions to serve God we may, nay we _must_ make;
there is no getting on in the Divine life and in the zealous
promotion of the Divine glory, without them. But the binding of the
soul by particular bonds and oaths, whether verbal or
written--obligations superinduced upon those of the Divine law--have
been "a snare" to many. Weak minds have often felt the obligation of
their vow more stringent than that of the Divine
authority.--_Wardlaw._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 26 _and_ 28.
PILLARS OF GOVERNMENT.
+I. A human ruler will have rebellious subjects in his kingdom.+ This
will be the case however wise the laws, and with whatever care and
discrimination they are administered. In the most cultivated and
carefully kept ground some weeds are always found among the
flowers--some tares among the wheat; and since the King who can do no
wrong numbers among his subjects those who are lawless and
disobedient, the best and wisest of human rulers must expect to do
the same.
+II. It is the duty and wisdom of a human ruler to make a distinction
between his good and bad subjects, and to punish the latter.+ Even if
the wheel mentioned in the proverb be regarded as simply an
instrument of separation, as the threshing instrument separates the
chaff from the wheat, the idea of punishment is retained. In a
well-governed kingdom the laws which govern it are such a separating
power between the evil and the good, so far as external conduct is
concerned, and it is indispensable for the stability of peace and
order that they should be strictly enforced. It would be most unjust,
as well as unwise--it would be tempting men to transgression--if the
lawless citizens in a community were allowed to go unpunished; and it
is contrary to our innate sense of justice that in any kingdom "the
righteous should be as the wicked" (Gen. xviii. 25)--that the thief
should have all the privileges of an honest man, and the murderer the
liberty of an innocent person. The punishment of transgressors not
only defends the good man, but it may prevent the bad man from
increasing his guilt by adding crime to crime. The king of Solomon's
proverbs is a typical word for all who are called upon to rule,
whether in the family or the State, and the very word ruler, or
governor, implies a discrimination between the evil and the good and
a difference in their treatment.
+III. The preservation of the throne depends more upon moral than
upon physical power.+ We take the word "throne" in the widest sense
as signifying any place or position which raises one man to be in any
sense the ruler of another, from the throne of the father in his
family and the master among his servants, to that of the king amidst
his subjects. In each and every one of the kingdoms, although
external and physical coercion and punishment are sometimes
indispensable, yet there is no permanent stability unless there is
mercy and truth in the ruler, and unless it is manifest in his
government. Many a throne has been erected on other
foundations,--physical strength has established many kingdoms, and
material wealth has set many men upon thrones. But if they have
raised a superstructure its foundation has been in the sand, and when
the rain and wind of adversity have descended upon it it has fallen,
and great has been the fall of it. There must be some truth and
mercy--some righteousness and justice, and withal some exercise of
grace towards the wrongdoer--if the throne or the kingdom is to be
upholden, and the wisdom of the ruler will be shown in his so
mingling sternness with severity as to make both contribute to one
end. Truth must here be taken as synonymous with righteousness--as
that observance of the just claims of every man which he has a right
to expect and demand from those who rule him. This will include that
punishment of the lawless which is the subject of verse 26, but is
here implied that even punishment is to be tempered with mercy. Pity
for the offender ought always to be mingled with indignation at the
offence, and if any ruler desires to sit firmly upon his seat of
justice he must consider not only the greatness of the crime but the
strength of the temptation--not how severely he can punish the
criminal but whether he can reform him. And this is rarely if ever
done by the exercise of justice merely. The frost and cold are
necessary to kill the weeds and vermin and to break up the soil, but
there will never be flowers or fruit without summer rain and
sunshine. And mercy is that "gentle rain from heaven" without which
no sinful creature will ever bring forth fruits of righteousness.
_ILLUSTRATION._
The necessity of mingling mercy with justice is strikingly
exemplified in the great success which attended the efforts of the
late Captain Maconochie to benefit the convicts in our penal
settlement in Norfolk Island. Having, in his capacity as Secretary to
the Governor of Tasmania, seen most terrible and hardening effects
from unmixed severity, he desired earnestly to try what could be done
by combining mercy with discipline and punishment. For this purpose
he was placed in command of Norfolk Island, and remained there four
years, having under his care from 1500 to 2000 doubly-convicted
prisoners, _i.e.,_ convicts who, after being transported from England
to New South Wales, had been for other crimes _again_ transported to
Norfolk Island. Previous to his arrival they worked in chains, and it
was considered dangerous for even armed officers to approach within
three yards of them. It was considered unsafe to trust them with
knives, and they therefore tore their food with their hands and
teeth. They were accustomed to inflict dreadful injuries upon
themselves in order to evade labour, and were described at the time
as a demoniacal assemblage. But under more humane treatment the
entire colony became changed, and one of his colleagues testifies
that he and another superintendent "resided at one of the settlements
in a cottage without lock and key, with simply a latch to the door,
and close to the convict barracks, where over 2000 were lodged every
night, also without locks." "Not a single serious offence," says he,
"was ever committed in that time by any of those men, and the only
bodyguard was another free superintendent and myself, together with a
few trustworthy men selected from among themselves." This gentleman
(Mr. J. Simms, since Governor of Plymouth Prison) goes on to say, "I
shall ever remember this year as the most remarkable of all my prison
experience, because it . . . was a fair result of what might be
realised from any body of men generally, thus treated, not by force,
iron force, but by moral means." One remarkable example is given. At
Sydney there had been a most desperate and unmanageable convict,
named Anderson. He was flogged time after time for various offences,
but to no good effect. He became more outrageous than ever. At last,
the authorities, in despair, put him on a little island in Sydney
Harbour, where he was kept chained to a rock, and in the hollow of
which rock he slept. After some weeks the Governor went to see him,
and urged him to submit to authority, but he refused. He was then
sent for life to Port Macquarie Convict Station, where he was again
and again flogged. He made his escape, and lived among the natives
for some time, but, ultimately, being recaptured, he was sent to
Norfolk Island for the crime of murder. Under Maconochie's humane
treatment he became a changed man, and when the Governor of New South
Wales visited the settlement he particularly noticed Anderson, and
inquired, "What smart fellow may that be?" (See _Leisure Hour_ for
October, 1878.)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
All dynasties have been kind. If they are cruel now, it must be like
the weight of a clock, running down. There _was_ kindness. "Mercy and
truth" must at some time or other have builded the
"throne."--_Miller._
Godly Asa removed wickedness from the high place nearest his own
throne and heart. Amaziah justly punished it with death.
Nehemiah--that true reformer--rebuked it even in the family of the
high priest. Our own Alfred appeared to maintain this standard as a
witness for God in an age of darkness. But it is the King of kings
alone that can make this separation complete. Often does He sift His
Church by trial, for her greater purity and complete preservation
(Amos ix. 9). But what will it be, when He shall come "with His fan
in His hand, and shall thoroughly purge His floor?" (Matt. iii. 12).
What a scattering of chaff will there be! Not an atom will go into
the garner. Not a grain of wheat will be cast away. O my soul! what
wilt thou be found at this great sifting day! "Who may abide the day
of His coming? And who shall stand when He appeareth?" (Mal.
iii. 2).--_Bridges._
There goes more to preserve a king than to preserve a kingdom; and
though the preservation of a kingdom be a weighty matter, yet the
preservation of a king is much more weighty--though much care and
pains be required for the one, much more is required for the other.
Half of that will serve for the one which is needful for the other.
Mercy will support the throne, but mercy and truth must preserve the
king.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 27.
THE CANDLE OF THE LORD.
We understand by the spirit of a man the self-conscious _ego_--that
which takes cognizance of the inner life, and which reasons and
passes judgment upon all a man's perceptions, emotions, and volitions.
+I. Man's spirit is a candle, because it is not self-originating.+
When we speak of a candle, the idea of a _borrowed_ light comes
before us; with us there is but one source and fountain of material
light, and that is the sun, which, although it is but a candle of the
Lord placed in the midst of our solar system so far transcends all
our artificial lights in its glory and permanence, that in comparison
with them it seems self-existent and eternal. As a matter of fact, we
know that all the artificial light stored up for us in combustible
materials around us had its origin in that great father of lights,
the sun, and that these lesser lights require kindling before they
give forth brightness. So with the spirit of man--it is not
self-existent and eternal, nor did it kindle itself, it owes its
existence to that God who is the intellectual and moral light of the
universe, because He is the source of all knowledge and goodness.
That same Divine Creator, who said _"Let there be light and there was
light,"_ who set the sun in the heavens to rule the day, made man in
His own image by breathing into the human body that spiritual life
which makes man a living soul, and distinguishes him from the animal
creation around him. We can no more claim to be the author of our own
spirits than the sun can claim to have called itself into existence.
+II. Man's spirit is a candle, because it is a revealing power.+ All
light is revealing; it first makes evident its own existence and then
reveals the existence of objects outside itself. When the sun comes
forth above the eastern horizon like a bridegroom from his chamber,
it reveals its own glory, and it makes manifest all things upon which
its rays fall, and nothing is hidden from the light thereof. So in a
less degree is it with every flame of light, and so it is with the
mysterious spirit of man. It is self-revealing and self-evidencing,
and in and by its light we become conscious of the existence of
material forms and spiritual beings, and moral and physical influence
outside ourselves.
+III. Man's spirit is a candle which is intended to prevent
self-deception.+ Knowledge of any description is good and desirable,
but there are two beings of whom it is moral death to remain in
ignorance--ourself and God. The spirit of a man is the power by which
he apprehends both, and this proverb deals exclusively with man's
power to know himself, and especially with his power to take
cognizance of himself as a moral and responsible being. As the sun,
when it darts forth its rays upon the earth, does not leave us in
twilight, and in uncertainty as to what is around us, and as the
candle brought into a dark chamber shows us, maybe, the dust and the
cobwebs, as well as the costly drapery on the walls, so this
God-kindled light searches into the innermost thoughts, and feelings,
and motives, and shows to every man who does not wilfully turn away
from the sight, both the good and the evil that is in him. True it is
that, as a moral light, it does not shine so brightly as it did when
man came forth from his Maker's hand, and that he who _"hateth
light"_ because it is a reprover of his sin (John iii. 20) may to
some extent obscure its brightness, yet every man possesses light
enough within to show him his need of a light outside and above
him--even of that _"true Light which lighteth every man that cometh
into the world"_ (John i. 9).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The candle which God has kindled in man has, as the nearest sphere of
illumination which goes forth from it, the condition of the man
himself--the spirit comprehends all that belongs to the nature of man
in the unity of self-consciousness, but yet more, it makes it the
object of reflection; it penetrates, searching it through, and seeks
to take it up into its knowledge, and recognises the problem proposed
to it, to rule it by its power. The proverb is thus to be ethically
understood.--_Delitzsch._
The essential connection between the life of God and the life of men
is the great truth of the world, and that is the truth which Solomon
sets forth in the striking words of my text. The picture which the
words include is one of the most simple. A candle stands upon a table
in a dark room, itself unlighted. Fire is brought into the room; a
blazing bit of paper holds the fire, but it is blown and flutters,
and any moment may go out; but the blaze touches the candle and the
candle catches fire, and at once you have a steady flame which burns
bright and pure and constant. The candle gives forth its
manifestation to all the neighbourhood which is illuminated by it.
The candle is glorified by the fire, and the two bear witness that
they are made for one another by the way in which they fulfil each
other's life. That fulfilment comes by the way in which the inferior
substance renders obedience to the superior. The wax acknowledges the
subtle flame as its master and yields to its power, and so, like
every faithful servant of a noble master, it gives itself most
unreservedly up, and its own substance is clothed with a glory that
does not belong to itself. The granite, if you try to burn it, gives
no fire; it only opposes a sullen resistance, and as the heat
increases splits and breaks but will not burn. But the candle obeys,
and so in it the scattered fire finds a point of permanent and clear
expression. "The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord," says
Solomon. God is the fire of this world. It is a vital principle, a
warm pervading presence everywhere. What thing in outward nature can
so picture to us the mysterious, subtle, quick, productive, and
destructive principle; that which has always elevated men's hearts
and solemnized their voices when they have said the word "God," as
this strange thing, so heavenly, so unearthly, so terrible, and so
gracious, so full of creativeness, and yet so quick and fierce to
sweep whatever opposes it out of its path? The glory, the beauty, the
marvel, the mystery of fire! Men have always felt the fitness of fire
as being the closest of all the elements around the throne on which
their conception of Deity is sitting. Men and all other beings, if
such beings there are capable of watching our humanity, see what God
is in gazing at the manhood God has kindled. The universe is full of
the fire of divinity; men feel it in the air as they feel an intense
heat which has not yet broken out into a blaze. There is meaning in a
great deal of the unexplained, mysterious awfulness of life--the
sense of God felt, unseen. The atmosphere is burdened with heat that
does not burst out into fire, and in the midst of this solemn burning
world there stands up a man, pure and God-like. In an instant it is
as if a heated room had found some sensitive inflammable point where
it would kindle into a blaze, and prospects of God's felt presence
become clear and definite. The fitfulness of the impression of
divinity is steadied into permanence. The mystery changes its
character, and is a mystery of light and not of darkness. _The fire
of the Lord has found the candle of the Lord,_ and burns clear and
steady, guiding and cheering instead of bewildering and frightening
us, just as a man obedient to God has begun to catch and manifest His
nature. I hope you will find this truth comes very close to your
separate lives, but let me remind you first _what essential dignity
clothes the life of man in this world._ Such philosophy as belongs to
our time would deprecate the importance of man in the world, and rob
him of his centralness. His position in such philosophies is this:
that the world was not made for man. With us the old story that the
Bible told, the book of Genesis with its Garden of Eden, and its
obedient beasts waiting until man should tell them what they should
be called, stands firmly at the beginning of the world's history. The
great notion of the centralness of man in the Garden of Eden
re-asserts itself in every cabin of the western forests, or the
southern jungles, where a solitary settler and his wife begin as it
were the human history anew. There once again the note of Genesis is
struck, and man asserts his centralness, and the beasts hesitate in
fear till he shall tame them to his service, or bid them depart. The
earth under his feet holds its fertility at his command, and what he
does upon the earth is echoed in the storms. This is the great
impressive idea which over the simplest life of man is ever growing,
and with which the philosophies that would make little of the
sacredness and centralness of man must always have to fight. This is
the impression which is taken up, and steadied, and made clear, and
turned from a petty pride to a lofty dignity and a solemn
responsibility, when there comes such a message as this of Solomon.
He says that the true sacredness, and superiority, and centralness of
man is in the likeness of his nature to God's, and that capacity of
spiritual obedience to Him, in virtue of which man may be the earthly
declaration and manifestation of God to all the world. So long as
that truth stands, the centralness of man is sure. "The spirit of man
is the candle of the Lord." This is the truth of which I wish to
speak to you--the perpetual revelation of God by and through human
life. I. You must ask yourself, first, _what God is._ See how at the
very bottom of His existence, as you conceive of it, there lie these
two thoughts--purpose and righteousness; how impossible it is to give
God any personality, except as the embodiment of these two qualities,
the intelligence that plans, and the righteousness that lives in
duty. How could any knowledge of these qualities, of what they are,
of what sort of being they will make, exist upon the earth, if there
were not a human heart in which they could exist, and from which they
could be shown? Only a person can truly utter a person; only from a
character can character be echoed. You might write it over the skies
that God was just, but it would be at best only a bit of
knowledge--never a Gospel--never something which it would gladden the
hearts of men to know. That comes only when a human life is capable
of a justice like God's justice, and is clothed with His justice in
the eyes of men. I have just intimated one thing that we need to
observe: man's utterance of God is purely the utterance of a quality;
it can tell me nothing of the quantities that make up His life. That
God is just, and what it is to be just, I can learn from the just
lives of the just men about me; but how just God is, to what
unconceived perfection, to what unexplained developments that
majestic quality of justice may extend in Him--of that I can form no
judgment that is worth anything from the justice I see in my
fellow-men. II. This seems to me to widen at once the range of the
truth I am stating. If it be a quality of God, which man is capable
of uttering, then it must be the simple quality of manhood that is
necessary for the utterance, and not any specific quantity, nor any
assignable degree of human greatness. Whoever has the spirit of man
may be the candle of the Lord. A larger measure of that spirit may
make a brighter light; but there must be a light wherever any human
being, in virtue of his essential humanness, by obedience becomes
luminous with God. There are the men of manhood, spiritually the
leaders of the race; how they stand out! how all men feel their power
as they come into their presence, and feel that they are passing into
the light of God! They are puzzled when they try to explain it. There
is nothing more instructive and suggestive than the bewilderment men
feel when they try to tell what inspiration is. He who goes into the
presence of any powerful nature, feels sure in some way he is coming
into the presence of God; but it would be melancholy if only the
great men could give you this conviction. The world would be darker
than it is if any human spirit, as soon as it became obedient, did
not become the Lord's candle. A poor, bruised life, if only it keeps
that human quality, and does not become inhuman, but is obedient to
God, in its blind way, becomes a light. A mere child with his pure
humanity, and with his turning of his life towards God from Whom he
came--how often he may burn with some suggestion of divinity, and
cast illumination upon problems and mysteries so difficult that he
himself has never felt them! Little lamps burning everywhere. III. We
have here the key to another mystery that often puzzles us. _What
shall we make of some men rich in attainments and well educated, who
stand in the midst of their fellow-men dark and helpless?_ . . . Let
us let the light of Solomon's figure upon it. Simply this: they are
unlighted candles; they are the spirit of man furnished to its very
finest, but lacking the last touch of God; like silver lamps all
chaste and wrought with wondrous skill, all filled with choicest oil,
but all untouched by fire. IV. _There are multitudes of men whose
lamps are certainly not dark, and yet who certainly are not the
candles of the Lord,_--with a nature richly furnished, yet profane,
impure, worldly. . . . Such a man is not another unlighted candle. He
burns so bright and lurid that often the pure light grows dim within
its glare. But if it be possible for the human candle, when the
subtle components of a human nature are all mingled carefully in it;
if it be possible that, instead of being lifted up to heaven, and
kindled at the pure beam of Him who is eternally and absolutely good,
it should be plunged down into hell, and lighted at the cruel flames
that burn out of the dreadful brimstone pit, then we can understand
the sight of a man who is rich in every energy of manhood cursing the
world with the exhibition of the devilish instead of the Godlike in
his life. . . . V. There is still one other way, more subtle and
sometimes more dangerous than this, in which the spirit of man may
fail of its functions as the candle of the Lord. The man may be
lighted, and the fire at which he is lighted may be, indeed, the fire
of God, and yet it may not be God alone he shows forth upon the
earth. I can picture to myself a candle which should in some way
mingle the peculiarity of its own substance with the light it sheds.
So it is, I think, with the way in which a great many men manifest
God. They have really kindled their lives at Him. It is His fire that
burns in them. They are obedient, and so He can make them His points
of exhibition, but they are always mixed with the God whom they show.
They show themselves as well as Him; just as a mirror mingles its own
reflection with the things that are reflected from it and gives them
a curious convexity because it is itself convex. This is the secret
of pious bigotry, of holy prejudices; it is the candle putting its
own colour into the flame it has borrowed from the fire of God. The
feeble man makes God seem feeble, the speculative man makes God look
like a doubtful dream, the legal man makes God seem as hard and
steel-like as law. VI. I have tried to depict some difficulties which
beset the full exhibition in the world of the great truth of
Solomon. . . . Man is selfish and disobedient, and will not let his
light burn at all; man is wilful and passionate, and kindles his
light with ungodly fire; man is narrow and bigoted, and makes the
light to shine in his own peculiar colour; but all these are
accident--distortions of the true idea of man. How can we know that?
_Here is the perfect man,_ CHRIST! . . . I bring a man of my
experience and the man of my imagination into the presence of Jesus,
but they fall short of Him, and my human consciousness assures me
they all fall short of the best ideal of what it is to be a man. "I
am come a light into the world," said Jesus; "he that hath seen me
hath seen the Father." "In Him was light, and the life was the light
of men." So wrote the man who of all men know Him best. I think I
need only bid you look at Him and you will see what it is to which
our feeble lights are struggling. There is the true spiritual man who
is the candle of the Lord, "the Light that lighteth every man." It is
entirely a new idea of life, new to the standards of our ordinary
living, which is there revealed. All ordinary appeals to men to be up
and doing, and to make themselves shining lights, fade away and
become insignificant before this higher message which comes in the
words of Solomon in the life of Jesus. What does that higher message
say to you and me? That your full relationship to God can only be
realised by obedience to Him, when you will shine by His light; then
you cannot be dark, for He shall kindle you; then you shall be as
incapable of burning with false passion, as you shall be quick to
answer the true; then the devil may hold his torch to you, as he held
it to the heart of Jesus in the desert, and your heart shall be as
uninflammable as His. As soon as God touches you, you shall burn with
a light so truly your own that you shall reverence your own
mysterious life, and yet be so truly His that pride shall be
impossible. In certain lands, for the most holy ceremonies they
prepare the candles with the most precious care. The very bees that
distil the wax are sacred. They range in gardens planted with sweet
flowers for their use alone. The wax is gathered by consecrated
hands, and the shaping of the candles is a holy task performed in
holy places, with the singing of hymns, and in an atmosphere of
prayer. All this is done because the candles, when they are made, are
to burn in the most elevated ceremonies and on the most sacred days.
With what care must the man be made whose spirit is to be the candle
of the Almighty Lord! It is his spirit that the Lord is to kindle for
Himself; therefore the spirit must be the precious part of him. The
body must be valued only for the protection and education that the
spirit may gain by it. The power by which his spirit shall become a
candle is obedience; therefore obedience must be the struggle and
desire of his life; obedience, not hard and forced, but ready,
loving, and spontaneous; obedience in heart, the obedience of the
child to the father, the obedience of the candle to the flame; the
doing of duty not merely that the duty may be done, but that the soul
in doing it may become capable of receiving and uttering God; the
bearing of pain not merely because the pain must be borne, but that
the bearing of it may make the soul able to burn with the Divine fire
that found it in the furnace; the repentance of sin and the
acceptance of forgiveness not merely that the soul may be saved from
the fire of hell but that it may be touched with the fire of Heaven,
and shine with the light of God as the stars, for ever.--_Philips
Brooks._
This "candle of the Lord" is a _slight_ and _diminutive_ light. A
lamp is no such dazzling object. A candle has no such goodly light as
that it should pride and glory in it; it is but a brief and
compendious flame, shut up and imprisoned in a narrow compass. How
far distant is it from the beauty of a star! how far from the
brightness of a sun! This candle of the Lord, when it was first
lighted up, before there was any thief in it, even then it had but a
limited and restrained light. God said unto it: "Thus far shall thy
light go; hither shalt thou shine and no further." Adam, in his
innocency, was not to crown himself with his own sparks. God never
intended a creature should rest satisfied with his own candle-light,
but that it should run to the fountain of light, and sun itself in
the presence of God. What a poor happiness had it been for a man only
to have enjoyed his own lamp. . . . The "candle of the Lord" is a
light _discovering present,_ not _future_ things, for did you ever
hear of such a lamp as would discover an object not yet born? Would
you not smile at him that should light a candle to search for a
futurity? . . . Let, then, this candle content itself with its proper
object. It finds work enough, and difficulty enough, in the discovery
of present things, and has not such a copious light as can search out
the future. . . . The light of reason is a _certain_ light.
Lamplight, as it is not glorious, so it is not deceitful--though it
be but limited, it will discover such things as are within its own
sphere with a sufficient certainty. The letters of nature's law are
so fairly printed, they are so visible and capital, that you may read
them by this candlelight. . . . Although there is not vigour enough
in any created eye to pierce into the pith and marrow, the depth and
secrecy of being. . . . It is a _directive_ light. The will looks
upon that, as Leander in Musæus looked up to the tower for Hero's
candle, and calls it, as he doth there: "Lamp which to me, on my way
through this life, is a brilliant director.". . . The will doth but
echo the understanding, and doth practically repeat the last syllable
of the final decision; which makes the moralist well determine that
"moral virtues cannot exist without intellectual powers.". . . Other
creatures, indeed, are shot more violently into their ends; but man
hath the skill and faculty of directing himself, and is, as you may
so imagine, a rational kind of arrow, that moves knowingly and
voluntarily to the mark of its own accord. . . . It is an _aspiring_
light. I mean no more by this than what that known saying of
Augustine imports: "Thou hast made us, O Lord, for Thyself: our heart
will be restless till it return to Thee." The candle of the Lord--it
came from Him and it would fain return to Him. For an intellectual
lamp to aspire to be a sun is a lofty strain of that intolerable
pride which was in Lucifer and Adam; but for it to desire the favour,
and presence, and enjoyment of a beautiful sun, is but a just and
noble desire of that end which God created it for. . . . If you look
but upon a candle, what an aspiring and ambitious light it is! . . .
It puts on the form of a pyramid, occasionally and accidentally by
reason that the air extenuates it into that form: otherwise it would
ascend upward in one greatness, in a rounder and completer manner. It
is just thus in "the candle of the Lord;" reason would move more
fully according to the sphere of its activity, it would flame up to
heaven in a more vigorous and uniform way; but that it is much
quenched by sin . . . therefore it is fain to aspire and climb as
well as it can. The bottom and base of it borders upon the body, and
is therefore more impure and feculent; but the _apex_ and _cuspis_ of
it catches toward heaven. . . . Every spark of reason flies upward.
This Divine flame fell down from heaven and halted with its fall--as
the poets tell us of the limping of Vulcan--but it would fain ascend
thither again by some steps and gradations of its own
framing.--_Culverwell._
For Homiletics on verse 28, see verse 26.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 29.
THE GLORY OF YOUTH AND AGE.
+I. Each period of life has a value and a glory of its own.+ There is
a beauty in spring to which no other season of the year can approach.
The vivid green of the opening leaves, and the meadows and
hedge-banks carpeted with early flowers, give to spring a glory all
its own. But the other seasons have their peculiar charms. It is no
less pleasant to look upon the landscape at midsummer, when the woods
are in their full dress, and the valleys are covered over with corn,
or in the autumn, when the harvest is being gathered in, and flowers
have given place to fruit. If spring is the time of hope and promise,
autumn is the season of realisation and fulfilment, and we are all
content that the one should be lost in the other. So it is with the
different periods of our human life--each has its special charm and
its special advantages. We love to dwell upon the loveliness of
childhood, but we should not like to see our sons and daughters
remain children for ever, and it is pleasant to look upon and to
experience the energy and hope of youth, but there are good things
which cannot be ours until we reach to mature life, and even to grey
hairs. We have before considered the glory of the hoary head (see on
chap. xvi. 31, page 493); we have only to consider--
+II. The peculiar gift and glory of young men.+ It is, says Solomon,
their _"strength"_--their power to do and to endure in a physical
sense, what the aged cannot, by reason of the failure of their bodily
powers. When men have passed middle life, they become more and more
painfully conscious that if the _"inward man is renewed day by day,
the outward man is perishing"_ at the same rate (2 Cor. iv. 16), and
although their experience is richer, and their wisdom greater, their
physical ability and energy is not what it once was. Their ship is
laden, it may be, with a far more precious cargo, but the tide is not
so strong, and the breeze is not so powerful to waft it on its way as
it was in the years that are gone. It is the glory of the young man
that his strength is often more than enough for himself, he is able
to bestow some upon the weak and needy. But the aged man is often
painfully conscious that he has none to spare, that instead he is
dependent upon the strength of others. The consideration of the
special advantage of each season of human life ought to cheer the
aged man and prevent him from regretting the days of youth, and at
the same time it ought to make the young man respectful to the old,
and willing to listen to their counsel, and so far as it is possible
combine the wisdom of grey hairs with the vigour of youth. It also
warns the young man against any abuse of his physical powers--against
any unlawful indulgence of bodily appetites, and against the
formation of unhealthy or indolent habits--which make so many of our
youths prematurely old, bringing upon them the frosts of autumn,
before they have brought forth its fruits.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 30.
PAIN AS A PREVENTIVE OF PAIN.
For the different renderings of this verse, see the Critical Notes.
However we translate it the thoughts suggested are the same, viz.:--
+I. That pain in the present may prevent greater pain in the future.+
When the surgeon is called in to examine a wounded man, the
examination of the wound may give him more pain than he would have
suffered if he had been let alone; it may bring far more present
suffering to extract the ball, or to insert the probe, than it would
have done simply to bandage the wound. But the pain of to-day is to
ensure days of healthful rest by and by; if the present suffering was
not inflicted, months and years of pain in the future might be the
result. The pain of mind or body inflicted upon a child of five or
ten years old, is intended by its parent to prevent greater moral or
physical pain when he is fifty or seventy. There is no human creature
who can afford to do without the pruning-knife at some period of its
life; and if the pruning is not administered, the penalty will be
paid either in this world or the next. The wise and loving parent
gives pain in youth to prevent pain to his child in manhood, and the
All-wise and Loving Father, God, subjects His children to pain in the
present life to prevent a deeper and more lasting pain in the life to
come. He pricks the conscience by His word to bring men to
repentance, and so to salvation from the "wrath to come" and He sees
even in His own children so much "evil" remaining that He is
compelled to visit _"their transgressions with the rod, and their
iniquity with stripes"_ (Psa. lxxxix. 32), in order to _"cleanse"_
their characters.
+II. Pain of body may be beneficial to the human spirit.+ This is a
subject to which our attention has been before directed. See on chap.
xiii. 24, page 334, and on chap. xvii. 10, page 510.
* * * * * *
CHAPTER XXI.
CRITICAL NOTES.--+1. Rivers of water.+ Rather _streams,_ the allusion
being to the watercourses, which in hot countries intersect fields
and gardens for the purpose of irrigation, in which the water is
entirely under the control of the husbandman. +2. Pondereth,+ rather
_weigheth,_ as in chap. xvi. 2. It is the same verb as that used in
1 Sam. ii. 3 and Isa. xl. 12, 13. +4. The ploughing.+ This word is by
most modern commentators translated, as in the marginal references,
_light._ It is likewise so rendered in the Septuagint, the Vulgate,
and in Luther's version. Ewald, Elster, Wordsworth, and others,
translate as in the English version. The Hebrew words are very
similar. Those who adopt the former rendering understand the word to
stand in apposition to the _high look_ and the _proud heart_ of the
first clause (literally, _"To be lofty of eyes, and to be swollen of
heart"_), and regard it as a figurative representation of the spirit
of the wicked man. Ewald and others refer the _ploughing of the
wicked_ to the "very first-fruits of a man's activity."
+5. Thoughts,+ rather the _counsels,_ the _calculatings._ +6. Vanity
tossed to and fro.+ Rather _a fleeting breath._ The Hebrew word
_hebel,_ here translated vanity, means _vapour._ +7. Robbery,+ or
_violence, rapacity._ +8.+ Zöckler translates the first clause of
this verse, _"Crooked is the way of the guilty man."_ Fausset remarks
that the Hebrew word _ish_ (man) expresses a man once _good;_ froward
implies his perversity, by having left the good way. +Right,+ _i.e.,
direct, straightforward._ +9. Wide house.+ Literally _house of
companionship, i.e.,_ to share the house with her. +11. Instructed.+
Zöckler translates this _"prospereth,"_ and understands the simple to
be the subject of both clauses of the verse. +12.+ The words _man_
and _God_ are both supplied by the translators. The verse should be
_"The righteous considereth the house of the wicked_ (and)
_overthroweth,"_ etc. Some understand it, therefore, to mean "The
righteous man gives instruction to the house of the wicked to turn
them away from evil." But Stuart remarks that the verb of the second
clause is a very strong word, _to precipitate, to cast down
headlong,_ and refers the righteous (one) of the first clause to God.
This is Zöckler's rendering also. +15. Shall be.+ These words are not
in the original, and destroy the sense, which is that justice is joy
to the good, and destruction to the bad. Luther renders, "It is a joy
to the just to do what is right; but to the wicked a terror."
+24. Proud wrath,+ literally _"wrath of pride"_ or _overflowings of
haughtiness._ +27. With a wicked mind,+ literally, _"for iniquity,"_
and may refer to a desire to cloak a sinful purpose by an outward
show of piety, or an attempt to expiate a sinful act by an outward
atonement. Miller reads for +"how much more"+ _"because also."_
+28. Constantly,+ rather _for ever._ Stuart understands the verse to
mean "that the sincere listener to the Divine commands will ever be
at liberty to speak, and find confidence put in what he says."
+29. Hardeneth his face,+ or "putteth on a bold countenance."
+Directeth,+ or _"considereth,"_ or _"establisheth."_
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 1.
THE KING OF KINGS.
+I. Kings are more entirely in the hand of God than subjects are in
the hands of kings.+ The king of the days of Solomon was, as some
Oriental rulers are now, an absolute monarch. In the case of Solomon
himself, his will was law, and in his hand was the power of life and
death (see 1 Kings iii. 24, 25). Of Nebuchadnezzar it is said, _"Whom
he would he slew, and whom he would he kept alive; whom he would he
set up, and whom he would he put down"_ (Dan. v. 19). It is to such a
king that the proverb refers--to one who called no man or any number
of men master, but upon whose single will apparently depended the
destiny of millions. Yet he was not the independent being that he
appeared, neither were his subjects so dependent upon his will as
they appeared to be. The most abject slave in his dominions was less
under his control than he was under the control of Him by whom
_"kings reign"_ and _"princes rule"_ (chap. viii. 15, 16). The
gardener whose ground is intersected by water-channels finds it a
very easy task to turn the stream in the direction he desires; the
soil yields to his touch, and forthwith the water flows whithersoever
he wills. But the moist earth is not so easily moulded by the hand of
man, as the heart of the proudest monarch is subdued to obedience by
his Maker; and the water is not more entirely subject to the will of
the husbandman than is the will of the most stubborn despot to the
will of Jehovah.
+II. The power which God exercises over kings extends into a region
where no earthly ruler can penetrate.+ The _heart_ of the king is in
the hand of Jehovah. This is more than the most absolute monarch can
boast concerning his meanest subject. Nebuchadnezzar could issue his
decree, but whoso did not fall down before his golden image should be
cast into the fiery furnace, but he could not move the steadfast
determination of the Hebrew youths to acknowledge no god but the God
of Israel. His will could determine what should be done to their
bodies, but all his threatenings could not reach their hearts. But
God rules the spirit of a man in that He has access to his innermost
thoughts and feelings, and can thus touch the spring of all his
actions, and thus bring him to do His will, even when he seems to be
doing only his own.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Could anything be more bold? Mark the compass--first, of _subject,_
the whole _stream_ as the gardener turns it; second, of object,
_"whithersoever"_ or anything He pleases; and third, of
_sovereignty;_ its pleasing Him, that being the only test. The
_"king"_ may be Cæsar. His lip may make new geographies (ch.
xvi. 10). His _"heart"_ may change the history of all things. And
yet, like a vineyard's channels diverted by a child, the Pharaoh's
heart is in the fingers of the Most High. . . . _Upon_ whatsoever.
Not toward anything. A stream may be turned in a new direction to get
rid of it. God has no such streams. It is turned on something. For
God has an end to answer when He rules even the vilest of
fiends.--_Miller._
Whether, in the second line, the pleasant refreshing influence of the
rivulets, dispensing blessing and increase, comes into account as a
point of the comparison, is uncertain (comp. Isa. xxxii. 2); this,
however, is not improbable, inasmuch as the heart of a king may in
fact become in an eminent degree a fountain of blessing for many
thousands, and, according to God's design, ought to be so. See chap.
xvi. 15.--_Lange's Commentary._
For Homiletics on verse 2 see on chap. xvi. 2, page 454.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 3.
THE MORE ACCEPTABLE SACRIFICE.
+I. The sacrifices of the Mosaic law were acceptable to God as
ceremonial signs.+ They were instituted by God, and therefore He
expected them to be offered, and was displeased when His commands
concerning them were disregarded. But they were but the means to an
end, and if they did not lead to that end they were worthless in His
sight. They were intended to awaken a sense of sin, and to be
accompanied by observance of higher precepts and by obedience to more
enduring laws. It availed nothing for a man to offer his bullock or
his goat unless he laid his will upon the altar at the same time--no
sin-offering could be acceptable to God unless the sin was put away,
and no meat-offering could be regarded with favour if the heart of
the offeror was without love to his neighbour and his life was marked
by acts of injustice to him. It was of no avail to come before the
Lord with _"thousands of rams, or with ten thousand rivers of oil,"_
unless the higher requirement was fulfilled--_to do justly, and to
love mercy, and to walk humbly with God_ (Micah vi. 7, 8).
+II. The doing of justice and judgment is more acceptable to God
because it is a moral reality.+ To love our neighbour as ourself is
in itself good,--it is a moral attribute, an element of character, a
part of the man himself. It is an expression of love to God and
obedience to His commands which can be made anywhere and at all
times, for to do justice and judgment is the law of the moral
universe, and belongs to heaven as much as to earth. It is to do what
God has been doing from all eternity, for it is written that they
_"are the habitation of His throne"_ (Psa. lxxxix. 14). All other
offerings without these are _"vain oblations,"_ and even _"an
abomination"_ (Isa. i. 13) unto Him who owns _"every beast of the
forest and the cattle upon a thousand hills"_ (Psa. l. 10). To expect
a holy and spiritual Being to accept anything less than a moral
reality is to expect Him to be satisfied with less than would often
content a fellow-creature.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
_Sacrifice;_ literally, _slaughter._ But with slender exceptions, the
slaughter is a slaughter for sacrifice. . . . He did not love the
slaughtering of His Son upon the cross. He did not love the
slaughtering of beasts year by year continually. On the contrary, He
does love righteousness, and, therefore, He does love, in the
severities that men impugn, that very element of right which is the
attribute that they would bring into the question. Doing
righteousness Himself, He prefers the right-doing of His creatures to
any form of sacrifice or possible service they can ever
render.--_Miller._
"Sacrifice" at best is only circumstantially good--rectitude is
essentially so. Sacrifice, at best, is only the means and expression
of good; rectitude is goodness itself. God accepts the moral without
the ceremonial, but never the ceremonial without the moral. The
universe can exist without the ceremonial, but not without the
moral.--_David Thomas._
This maxim of the Proverbs was a bold saying then--it is a bold
saying still; but it well unites the wisdom of Solomon with that of
his father in the 51st Psalm, and with the inspiration of the later
prophets.--_Stanley._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 4.
THE PLOUGHING OF THE WICKED.
+I. The high look and the proud heart indicate a man wrong at the
foundation of his character.+ They show that he has not yet learned
the alphabet of true godliness--that he has not yet begin to know his
guilt and his weakness. He is ignorant of the depravity of his moral
nature--of the capabilities of wrong that lie hidden within him,
undeveloped now, it may be, but ready to assert their presence when
the temptation presents itself. The man who has been born blind is
entirely ignorant of the outline even of his own features, but he
does not form a conception which is farther removed from the reality
than a spiritually unenlightened man does of the real features of his
moral character. The proud man by his pride proclaims his moral
blindness--his high look is a sure indication that the light within
him is darkness--that he has never seen himself as he really is.
Hence it follows that he is wrong at the very core and centre of his
moral being; where pride holds her throne there is no room for God,
there is no confession of sin, and no yielding to Divine guidance.
+II. While the heart is wrong the whole life will be wrong.+ This
truth is expressed in the proverb, however we translate the verb in
the second clause (See Critical Notes). Things that are not wrong in
themselves become wrong if done from a sinful motive. A man may
plough a field, and in itself the action may be neither good nor bad,
but if he plough in order to sow a crop of thistles the action is a
criminal one. A man may be diligent and painstaking in his business,
and his diligence may in itself seem commendable, but if he exercises
it only to gain money for sinful ends his very buying and selling
becomes sin. And if we translate the word _"light,"_ and understand
it to signify _prosperity,_ the truth taught is very much the same.
While a man's pride keeps him at a moral distance from God, no matter
how successful he may be, the taint and curse of unpardoned sin is
upon all his gains and possessions.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Holy intention is to the actions of a man that which the soul is to
the body, or form to its matter, or the root to the tree, or the sun
to the world, or the fountain to the river, or the base to a pillar.
Without these the body is a dead trunk, the matter is sluggish, the
tree is a block, the world is darkness, the river is quickly dry, the
pillar rushes into flatness and ruin, and the action is sinful, or
unprofitable and vain.--_Jeremy Taylor._
The evil spirit called sin may be trained up to politeness, and made
to be genteel sin; it may be elegant, cultivated sin; it may be very
exclusive and fashionable sin; it may be industrious, thrifty sin; it
may be a great political manager, a great inventor; it may be
learned, scientific, eloquent, highly-poetic sin! Still it is sin,
and, being that, has in fact the same radical and fundamental quality
that, in its ranker and less restrained conditions, produces all the
most hideous and revolting crimes of the world.--_Bushnell._
All thine actions while unregenerate--whether inward or outward,
whether worldly or religious--are all sinful and cursed. Like the
leper under the law, thou taintest whatever thou touchest, and makest
it unclean. . . . Thy calling is not without its corruption . . .
nay, thy very religious exercises are sinful. . . . Thine incense
stinks of the hand that offered it. . . . The vessel of thy heart is
not clean, and God will not taste of the liquor which cometh out of
it. Because thy person is not accepted, thy performances are all
rejected. "Thou art in the flesh, and therefore canst not please God"
(Rom. viii. 8).--_Swinnock._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 5, 7, _and_ 17.
THE ROADS TO WEALTH.
+I. The most likely road to lead to wealth.+ 1. _Thoughtful diligence
as opposed to thoughtless haste._ We have before considered the
necessity of thought before action (see on chap. xx. 18), and the
same idea is conveyed in the use of the first noun here (see Critical
Notes). But although it is wise and necessary to think before we act,
thinking must only be preparatory to action, and must not take its
place. It is good for a man to make a good plan of his house before
he begins to build; but a house on paper only will not shelter him
from the winter storms. It is advisable for the captain to study his
chart well before he embarks upon his voyage, but if he does no more
he will never reach the desired port. So it is good for a man to take
counsel with himself and others before he sets out upon the voyage of
commercial life--before he begins to build for a competency or a
fortune; but after the thought and with the thought there must be
action, and there must be painstaking and persevering action. He must
not be all eagerness to-day and indifference to-morrow--he must not
work hard this week and neglect his business next week;--such a man
may get rich by a mere chance speculation or by a dishonest act, but,
apart from all higher considerations, it is not the best road,
because it is not the most likely road. No doubt there are men who
have made their fortune by short cuts--by what is called luck, or by
craft and robbery--but these are the exceptions, and the way of
diligent perseverance is the one by which riches are generally
gotten. 2. _Self-denial as opposed to self-indulgence._ "He that
loveth pleasure shall be a poor man; he that loveth wine and oil
shall not be rich" (ver. 17). He who spends in self-indulgence as
fast as he earns will be always poor. The lover of pleasure and
luxury will not be a lover of hard work, and as we have just seen, it
is that alone by which most men grow rich. And the extravagant and
idle man will not be very likely to keep within his means, and to
confine himself to honest ways of making money. And both these roads
are roads which lead in the end to ruin. It is not likely that
Solomon here refers to any poverty except material poverty. But it is
also true that no man whose heart is set upon the gratification of
his own selfish desires--whose life is one of self-indulgent
ease--can ever be rich in the only true and lasting riches. He must
always be in poverty as to character, as to intellectual wealth, and
as to the gratitude and respect of those whom he might bless with his
riches. _"If, therefore, ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous
mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have
not been faithful in that which is another man's_ (or another's),
_who shall give you that which is your own?"_ (Luke xvi. 11, 12). He
is a poor man who has nothing but what he must leave behind him when
he leaves the world. The greatest millionaire has nothing he can call
his own if he has not a godly character.
+II. The only blessed road to wealth, viz., the way of truth as
opposed to lying, the way of honesty as opposed to dishonesty.+ We
need not consider these sins separately, for they are inseparable in
human character and conduct. The liar is a thief, for by his tongue
he cheats men of their rights, and the thief lies in action as well
as in word. Solomon does not say that thieves and liars shall not
grow rich. As a matter of fact they often do, and leave far behind
them in their race those who are plodding slowly on in the path of
honest diligence. But he looks to the end of such a way of making
money, and of these who so make it. It often vanishes like a vapour
(see Critical Notes), while the man who made it still lives. One
falsehood leads to another, and a little dishonesty bringing success
leads to another and another, each one on a larger scale, until the
bubble becomes too thin, and it bursts and all is gone. But if the
rogue keeps his fortune till the last--if he meets death a rich man,
and is buried with all the pomp of wealth,--retribution awaits him
before the tribunal of a righteous God. He sought death and
destruction while he lived, and he found it ever here;--destruction
of character and spiritual death, and he who here "refused to do
judgment" goes to meet his judge a morally self-ruined man--one whose
spiritual deathblow has been dealt by his own hand. (On this subject
see also Homiletics on chap. xiii. 11, page 306.)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 5. Haste may have much of diligence in the temperament. But as
indolence is its defect, this is its excess, its undisciplined
impulse. The hand too often goes before, and acts without the
judgment. Hence our English philosopher wisely counsels us--"not to
measure dispatch by the times of sitting, but by the advancement of
the business." A wise man had it for a bye-word, when he saw men
hasten to a conclusion--"Stay a little that we may make an end the
sooner." To choose time is to save time, and an unreasonable motion
is but "beating the air." The heavenly race is not to be run by so
many heats, but by a steady course. "Run," not with haste or speed,
but "with patience the race set before us" (Heb. xii. 1). The seed
springing up in haste withered (Matt. xiii. 20, 21).--_Bridges._
Verse 6. They _seek_ death because they not only walk in the way of
it, but run and fly with post haste as if they were afraid they
should come too late or that hell would be full before they got
thither. Thus Balaam's ass never carries him fast enough after the
wages of wickedness. Set but a wedge of gold before Achan, and Joshua
that could stop the sun in his course, cannot stay him from fingering
of it. Judas, in selling his Master, what he doth, doth
quickly.--_Trapp._
_Treasures;_ literally stores; from a root to shut up. _"Tongue;"_
standing for all instruments of labour (see comment on chap. xii. 6).
_"Lying;"_ not telling lies in the worldly sense, for, so put, decent
sinners would miss the signification, but _lying_ in that high sense
in which the most honest worldling may fill the portrait. _"Tongue;"_
just coincident with fact, is of the haste of the last verse; that
untrue uttering of thought against conviction in one's self, and,
therefore, hardly to be dreamed of and spared by the Most High.
Stores got by this lying career of business may seem solid, because
they may be whole blocks of granite in some fire-proof square mile of
street; and yet as to their possession the wise man employs a
singularly intensive figure. They are _driven breath!_ Surely he will
pause at that! But no! They are driven breath as of man chasing after
death! . . . The meaning is, that the hot breath of a man rushing to
his doom is like the money made by the deceived impenitent. First, it
is utterly perishable; second, it betokens the speed; and third, the
voluntary rush to get himself to ruin.--_Miller._
And forget not what the "lying tongue" includes--that he is
chargeable with the evil who pretends, in any way, to be what he is
not, to have what he has not, not to have what he has, to have said
what he has not said, or to have done what he has not done, or not to
have said and done what he has said and done; who tries to gain an
end by any word, or act, or look, or even by silence and concealment
designed to convey a false impression--by any means whatever not in
harmony with honest truth--with "simplicity and godly sincerity."
This, says Solomon, "is vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek
death." It is a "vanity;" inasmuch as it involves both folly and
sin--the folly being made evident in ultimate detection, exposure,
shame, and loss--loss of character, loss of confidence, and many a
time loss of even what the falsehood had acquired. It is "tossed to
and fro." Men learn it from one another. The man who has been imposed
upon retaliates--he has no satisfaction until he has succeeded in
duping him by whom he has himself been taken in, in practising on him
an equal or a better trick. It is practised with little thought--with
the vanity of a light and inconsiderate mind--and laughed at, in many
instances, when it proves successful, instead of engendering remorse.
Success produces a hundred imitators: and the cheats and the dupes
are successively reversed, the dupe becoming in his turn the cheat,
and the cheat the dupe.--_Wardlaw._
Verse 17. Self-indulgence is not human happiness; it is a delirium,
not a delight. It is a mere titillation of the dying nerves, not a
Divine thrill of our imperishable sensibilities and powers. Its music
is the notes of a maniac, not the strains of a seraph.--_David
Thomas._
He may be rich secularly. For here is a proverb that on earth has but
a partial verity. But now, spiritually it is as settled as the
heavens. "He that loveth his life shall lose it" (John xii. 25). A
man cannot scale heaven for its "wine." Unless a man gets higher
objects than himself, he cannot see the kingdom of God. And,
therefore, it is literally true that the wealth that the soul attains
is never made by the very most feverish desire to escape, or by the
very most impassioned thirst for the mere joy of heaven. "Man;" the
higher name for man. He may be ever so skilful. . . . "Loving;" not,
if it loves, but because it loves. It is no harm to love happiness;
but it cannot be in loving it, or because we love it, that we can
create everlasting riches.--_Miller._
Strange as it may seem, the way to enjoy pleasure is not to love it;
to live above it; to "rejoice as though we rejoiced not; to use the
world, as not abusing it" (1 Cor. vii. 30, 31); never pursuing it as
our portion, or as making the happiness of an immortal being. The man
who gives his whole heart and time to the love of pleasure, and
sacrifices to it all his prudence and foresight, is surely on the
highroad to poverty. On the same road is he that loveth wine, under
the power of a "mocking delusion." He that loveth oil--one of the
most precious fruits of Canaan--may find, that "those who could not
live without dainties came to want necessaries."--_Bridges._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 8.
TWO WAYS.
+I. The way of fallen man.+ It is a froward or refractory way in
relation to God. When we look at man's ways and compare them with the
ways of all the creatures below him and inferior to him, we note a
remarkable contrast. The sun, which was created to give him light and
heat, never turns aside from its ordained path, and the moon never
forsakes her orbit, with the rest of the heavenly bodies, continue in
the way ordained for them at the creation, and impress us with a
sense of order, and regularity, and obedience. And the living
creatures beneath man remain true to their instincts, and manifestly
fulfil their destinies in ministering to the wants of the human race.
But when we come to man we come to a law-breaking, perverse
creature--to a being who resists the law of God as written in his
conscience, and the commands of God as given in revelation, and the
very pleadings of _self-love_ which often urge him to submission. The
way of the Hebrew people under special Divine tuition is a specimen
of the frowardness of all men in their natural condition, which is
indeed a most _unnatural_ condition, seeing that it is out of harmony
with all the rest of creation. Delivered from bondage by miracle and
fed and guided by the same miraculous love and power for nearly half
a century, and again and again after their settlement in Canaan
delivered from the consequences of their disobedience by the same
mighty hand, the testimony against them was, _"Ephraim is joined unto
idols, let him alone"_ (Hosea iv. 15). Neither appeals to their
conscience or their reason, or even to their own self-interest, nor
promises nor threatenings, could induce them to choose God's way in
preference to their own, and when He appeared among them in flesh,
and after He had risen from the grave and the full meaning of His
incarnation and death was unfolded to them by His apostles, they
still perversely chose to go about _"to establish their own
righteousness"_ rather than _"submit themselves unto the
righteousness of God"_ (Rom. x. 3). And man in general is as froward,
as perverse, as was this froward people. Though their reason, and
conscience, and self-love are all on the side of God's way they
persist in walking in their own.
+II. The way of renewed man.+ It is a _direct_ or _straight_ way (see
Critical Notes), because it is an obedient way. No man but a godly
man keeps in one undeviating course, for none but he has but one aim
and goal. The unrenewed man may be swayed by passion to-day, and by
worldly interest to-morrow; but with him who has been born to a new
and higher life one principle lies behind all his actions; and
whatever his secondary plans and purposes, they are all subordinated
to the one ruling law--the Will of God. His work--whatever it may
be--whether that of the judge upon the bench, the minister in the
pulpit, the tradesman behind the counter, or the sailor at the
mast-head, has one end and aim above all others, viz., to glorify
God; and this gives to it a directness and straightforwardness which
is not an element in the walk and work of the ungodly. See also on
chap. x. 9, 10, page 153, and on chap. xi. 3, page 195.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
No one is such a stranger in any land as man is in the land of
righteousness; neither is any stranger so ignorant of his way, as man
is of the way of virtue. Wherefore, man and purity are rightly
opposed in our translation. For what is more froward, more impure,
than man's way is? And he that is pure, how little _man_ must he have
in him. How must he put off _man_ to put on purity. Wherefore, if in
the whole way of man there be a right work, it is not the work of
man, as he is man, but the grace of God.--_Jermin._
It is too natural for us to think that, if we are no worse than the
generality of our neighbours, we are safe. But Solomon and Paul teach
us, that, to walk as man, is not to walk like saints (1 Cor. iii. 3).
Whilst we are following the course of this world, we are walking in
the broad road that leadeth to destruction, and not in the narrow way
that leadeth unto life.--_Lawson._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 9 _and_ 19.
AN ANGRY WOMAN.
+I. No social discomfort is to be compared to that of an ill-tempered
wife.+ A corner of the housetop would be exposed to the rain and to
the storm, both of which, in Eastern countries, are generally of a
violent character; and although it is not uncommon for Orientals
sometimes to pass the night there, it would be most undesirable to be
obligated at all seasons, and under all circumstances, to have no
other place of refuge. He who had to dwell there would at one time be
subjected to the intense heat of the mid-day sun, and at another
would be chilled by the midnight air. Neither is the wilderness a
pleasant place of abode. In addition to all the drawbacks of the
housetop arising from exposure to the weather, a wilderness is a
place of dreary solitude, and often of danger from wild beasts and
lawless men. But it is better to dwell in either of these places than
with a brawling or even with an angry woman. 1. _Because one might
enjoy intervals of repose._ The rain would not always descend,
neither would the storm-wind be always blowing; the sun would
sometimes give forth only an agreeable warmth, and the night-wind
bring only a refreshing coolness. Even in the wilderness the solitude
would sometimes be enjoyable, and life there would not always be in
peril. But the woman pictured here is one whose ill-temper is always
ruling her and casting gloom over the home, and when there is no
storm of passion actually raging there is one brewing and ready to
burst forth. The unhappy partner of her life can never look forward
to an hour of ease, for the lulls in the storm are but momentary, and
the rifts in the clouds obscured again immediately. 2. _Because,
whatever may be the discomforts of a housetop or wilderness dwelling,
they may leave the soul at rest._ They can but reach the body, and
the mind may be so absolutely calm or absorbed in thought as to be
almost unconscious of what is passing without. To some men solitude
has such charms that they are willing to forego many bodily comforts
in order to obtain it. There have been and are those whose own
thoughts are the only company they desire, and who would gladly brave
the drawbacks of the housetop or the wilderness, if by so doing they
could be left undisturbed to indulge their own speculations, or
pursue their meditations. But the sharp tongue of a contentious woman
leaves no corner of the soul undisturbed. It is vain for the subject
of it to seek refuge in reflection upon more agreeable topics, to
endeavour to banish the actual present by calling up images of the
future, or of unseen though distant realities. All the powers of the
mind are paralyzed by such an incubus, and the soul cannot wing its
flight into pleasant regions, as it can do sometimes when the
suffering only touches the outer man.
+II. External good fortune is no proof against this domestic curse.+
The _"wide house"_ or the _"house of companionship,"_ suggests a
goodly mansion--a dwelling which might be the centre of social
gatherings, and whose owner is able to indulge in hospitality on a
large scale. It calls up before us not the top-story garret of the
very poor, or even the narrow dwelling of a struggling man, where the
fight for bread, and the effort to make both ends meet, may have
something to do with spoiling the temper of the housewife. But the
angry and contentious woman is not confined to these abodes--Solomon
almost seems to speak here from experience, but even if he did not,
we know that even palace walls cannot keep out the curse, and that
there is often such a skeleton at the must sumptuous feast.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The family is sometimes a fierce fire. It comprehends the greatest
portion of our world. It is to us the most interesting, and therefore
is capable of becoming the most trying portion.--_Cecil._
Everyone has known some pair chained together by human laws where the
heart's union has either never existed or been rent asunder. Two
ships at sea are bound together by strong, short chains. As long as
the sea remains perfectly calm all may be well with both; though they
do each other no good, they may not inflict much evil. But the sea
never rests long, and seldom rests at all. Woe to these two ships
when the waves begin to roll. There are two conditions in which they
might be safe. If they were either brought more closely together, or
more widely separated, it might yet be well with them. If they were
from stern to stern riveted into one, or if the chain were broken and
the two left to follow independently their several courses, there
would be no further cause of anxiety on their account. If they are so
united that they shall move as one body, they are safe; if they move
far apart, they are safe. The worst possible position is to be
chained together, and yet have separate and independent motion in the
waves. They will rasp each other's sides off, and tear open each
other's heart, and go down together.--_Arnot._
Better to retire into a corner of the housetop than to quit the house
and go into bad company for diversion, as many who, like Adam, make
their wife's sin the excuse of their own.--_Henry._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 10.
THE DESIRE OF THE WICKED.
On "the desire of the wicked" see on chap. xi. 5, 6, page 199.
Concerning that desire it is here affirmed--
+That it overmasters and destroys all natural feelings of
compassion.+ The Bible teaches us that in the estimation of God he is
our neighbour who, as one of the same great human family, stands upon
the same level with us,--the child of the same God and heir to the
same inheritance of sorrow and death. As such he has a claim upon our
consideration and goodwill at all times, and sometimes he stands in
need of our sympathy and help. Now there are spiritual desires and
inclinations to which we are bound to subordinate some claims of
human kinship. The relation of a disciple of Christ to his Master is
so far above all human ties that they sink into apparent
insignificance beside it, but this relationship has not the effect of
lessening man's concern for the welfare of his brother, but of
increasing it tenfold. But here is subjection to a principle as much
below nature as the other is above it--evil instead of good is the
aim of the life, and in proportion as it rules and reigns it drags a
man below the level of even ordinary human nature and leads him to so
earnest a pursuit of his own wicked devices that he has no time to
pause to consider the claims of others.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
_"Evil."_ All kinds of it. He rejoices in iniquity (1 Cor. xiii. 6);
he rejoices in calamity (chap. xvii. 5); he desires nothing but evil
(chap. xvii. 11). Blessed be God, if a soul desires anything but
_evil, i.e.,_ desires it truly (see James iv. 2), that soul is saved.
As to the second clause, there may be a bending over earthly
distress, but real _favour_ to his _neighbour_ the lost man never
shows. "The tender mercies of the wicked are cruel" (chap.
xii. 10).--_Miller._
And here lies the difference between the godly and the wicked; not
that the one is pure from evil and the other commits it, but that the
one does it from constraint, the other from delight. The one
testifies--"What I hate"--the other--What my soul desireth--"that do
I." As the fruit of this native cherished principle, self to the
wicked is both his god and his object.--_Bridges._
He views "his neighbour" in no other light than as, on the one hand,
the means of thwarting, or, on the other, the instrument of promoting
his own ends. Can he gain anything by him? he will flatter and cajole
him and do everything to win his favour, and secure his services.
Does his "neighbour's" interest, reputation, personal and family
comforts, connections, or even life itself, stand in the way of the
attainment of his wishes?--he is ready to sacrifice all to his
idol.--_Wardlaw._
It is the common maxim of the schools, that, seeing the nature of the
good is the nature of that which is desirable, it is impossible that
evil, as it is so, should be desired. But then the schools do add
also, that the will may desire anything, it is not required that it
be good in the truth of the thing, but that it be apprehended as if
it were good. And thus it is that the soul of the wicked desireth
evil, because that he apprehendeth the good, either of some pleasure
of profit, or some contentment in it.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 11.
INSTRUCTION FOR THOSE WHO NEED IT.
+I. An inevitable event in the history of the scorner.+ It is here
taken for granted that he will be punished--that he who sets at
nought the _"counsel,"_ and will have none of the _"reproof"_ of
wisdom, will have his day of reckoning. The _"day of his calamity"_
and _"fear"_ will come (chap. i. 27). Throughout this book, as
throughout all the inspired writings, sin and punishment are linked
as cause and effect. There is punishment in the constantly increasing
dominion of evil in the soul, and there is punishment in the stings
of conscience; but there is also punishment by the direct
interposition of God, and it is to this that the proverb evidently
points.
+II. One of the fruits of wisdom.+ He who is wise will be instructed.
Having used what he has, he will in accordance with the Divine law
receive more. To _"him that hath shall be given"_ (Mark iv. 25). He
who by a wise use of five talents has gained other five, shall have
his store increased still more. This is likewise a foundation
principle of this book, that the wise are those who are willing to be
instructed, and that to those who desire instruction it will not be
wanting. The special point of the verse is in the fact--
+III. That the punishment of evil men, and the soul-advancement of
the good, have a work to do outside the men themselves.+ When the
scorner receives punishment others receive instruction. This is one
of its objects. A good ruler, as we have before seen (chap. xx. 26),
is bound to distinguish between the righteous and the wicked for many
reasons, and for this reason among others, that the punishment of one
offender may prevent others from committing a like offence. Men often
learn by example what they would not learn by precept--the
inexperienced are often more deeply impressed by one instance of
retributive justice than they would be by many admonitions in word.
This is, as we know from God's Word, one end of His visitations.
_"For this cause,"_ said God to Pharaoh, _"have I raised thee up, for
to show in thee My power, and that My name may be declared throughout
all the earth"_ (Exod. ix. 16). There are vessels belonging to our
navy which are past repair, and are therefore unfit for sea. Yet they
are retained as light-ships along the coast, and are useful in
preventing better ships from going to pieces on the rocks. Pharaoh
had long scorned the commands and the judgments of Jehovah, and his
own doom was fast hastening on. But he would still serve as a
beacon-light to save others--by his punishment the simple would be
made wise. But there is the other and brighter side of the picture.
The inexperienced are allured to goodness by the advancement of the
good, as well as deterred from evil by the downfall of the wicked.
When the simple sees the wise man in the attitude of a learner--when
he finds that the wiser he is the more he desires instruction; and
when he marks the effect of his humility and earnestness in his
growth in all that is calculated to win him respect and to afford him
real satisfaction, he "receives knowledge" by "the instruction of the
wise" as well as by the "punishment of the scorner."
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
A respectful sinner; how is he a scorner? The Holy Ghost plainly
intends just the shock that such words occasion. If a man hears that
he should repent, and knows the reasons, and among the reasons are
facts like hell, and calls like Christ's, and scenes like death, with
all the realities of an eternal judgment, is there any spoken scorn
that can be thought of as more scornful than the acted scorn of not
repenting? "The simple becomes wise," _i.e.,_ the subject or the
witness of the punishment, just as it may happen. . . . Punishment
never wastes. The wicked may be thrust lower by his evil (chap.
xiv. 32), but some saint receives the lesson. This principle reaches
through the system. The philosophy of hell is its good-doing through
all the universe.--_Miller._
It is a stroke easily taken which another feels, the receiver only
fears, and it is a blow haply given which, striking one, reacheth
two; the scorner to his reward, the simple to his amendment. . . .
Let it therefore be a sharp punishment which is inflicted; _smite a
scorner,_ for such it is that the scorner deserveth, and it will work
upon the simple, though not by the touch of the punishment yet by the
virtue of it. And when wisdom hath once subdued him by fear, then
will it lead him on to hear the wise, and by attention to receive
knowledge.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 12.
GOD'S SURVEILLANCE OF THE WICKED.
We follow here the rendering now generally given of this verse. (See
Critical Notes.)
+I. We have a reference to a mystery in the government of God.+ It is
mysterious that the wicked are permitted to live _at large_--to
pursue their plans and carry on their iniquitous work. Under human
governors, men who break the laws of the State and endanger life and
property are not allowed to have liberty. If they are permitted to
live, they live under restraint--their activities are confined within
narrow limits, and so their power to do mischief is taken from them.
The prisons scattered throughout our land declare that our rulers
only permit those who break our laws to have a very narrow sphere of
action; they live where all their freedom is taken from them, and
where their rule of life is not their own but that of others. But God
allows those who break His laws a larger amount of freedom--He
permits them to mingle freely with righteous men, and to exercise
their influence upon the world, and to carry out designs which are
often in defiance of His commands. This has often perplexed the good
in the world, and they have again and again asked the question,
_"Wherefore do the wicked live--become old; yea, are mighty in
power?"_ (Job xxi. 7).
+II. The wicked living thus at large have God for a sentinel.+ There
are many men living at large who are known to be dangerous
characters--who, although they do not come within the reach of the
law, are known to cherish feelings and intentions which are
antagonistic to it. Such people need a more vigilant supervision than
those in the prison cells, just because their freedom is greater. An
ordinary man can watch a criminal who is secure in a prison, but much
greater watchfulness and skill is needed to supervise the actions of
one at liberty. Every house of the wicked contains a lawbreaker at
liberty, and often one house contains many such who have a large
amount of freedom in the execution of their wicked designs. God is
the only Being capable of being the sentinel over such a house. They
need one who knows the heart as only God knows it--one who sees all
their plans before they become actions. They need a sleepless
sentinel--one who can be awake at all hours, and so can never be
taken by surprise. And this they have in God. None enters or departs
from the house of the wicked, and no plot is concocted within it that
is not marked by this ever-wakeful sentinel. The wicked have what it
is indispensable they should have--an omniscient and omnipresent eye
ever upon them.
+III. After the watch has been kept for a given time, the house is
marked for falling.+ We know why God gives such men freedom, for He
has told us. It is that they shall have opportunities of
repentance--that _they "shall turn from their way and live"_ (Ezek.
xxxiii. 11). He spares the house of the godless, for the same reason
that the vine-dresser desired that the fruitless fig-tree should be
spared (Luke xii. 6-9). He gives men time to bring forth fruits of
holiness, to their own profit and to His glory. So He considered the
house of the sinners, before the flood. His _"longsuffering waited
while the ark was a preparing"_ (1 Pet. iii. 20) for some tokens of a
change of disposition towards Himself, and consequently towards His
laws. But none came, and so the day came when the flood came, and
swept away both the houses and their inhabitants. So He considered
the house of the Jewish nation, after the death of Christ. In the
days of John the Baptist, the _"axe was laid unto the root of the
tree"_ (Matt. iii. 10), but the hand was not lifted to strike, until
the rejection of the Messiah, and of the ministry of His apostles,
had proved that there was no hope of a moral change. The wicked shall
be overthrown, but God _considereth their house_ long before He gives
the final blow.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
(It will be seen that these read the verse as in our version.)
The punishment of the wicked reads a lesson not only of love and
trembling, but of wise consideration. Yet many are the perplexing
mysteries of Providence. The righteous man does not always see with
his right eyes. The prosperity of the wicked staggers his faith,
excites his envy, and induces hard thoughts of God (Ps.
lxxiii. 2-14). But when he looks with the eye of faith, he sees far
beyond the dazzling glory of the present moment. He wisely
considereth their house; not its external splendour and
appurtenances, but how it will end. He justifies God, and puts
himself to shame (_Ib._ verses 16-22). "Shall not the Judge of all
the earth do right?" (Gen. xviii. 25). Here we rest, until He shall
"arise, and plead His own cause," and "with the breath of His mouth,
and the brightness of His coming, destroy" the very existence of
evil. Meanwhile, where the superficial eye sees nothing but
confusion, let the righteous man wisely consider lessons of deep and
practical profit. The shortness of the prosperity, and the certainty
of the overthrow, of the wicked; the assurance of a day of
recompense; the contrast of the substance of the godly for time and
for eternity--these are the apprehensions of faith. Do they not
marvellously set out the perfections of God, and call to each of His
children--"My son, give glory to God?"--_Bridges._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 13.
THE CRY OF THE POOR.
+I. The cry of the poor may always be heard.+ _"The poor,"_ said the
Saviour, _"ye have always with you"_ (John xii. 8), and so long as
sin is in the world it must be so. There are many who sickness and
bereavement makes poor, and many who are in need because of the sin
of others, besides those who have been brought to poverty by their
own wrong-doings. And from all these creatures of need there comes a
cry--a direct appeal, it may be, for help, or the voice of
lamentation because of their distress. This cry may be around us even
when no appeal comes from the lip, and when no word of complaint is
uttered. The wrongs of the oppressed and the miseries of the needy
cry still when there is no speech nor language, and when no voice is
heard.
+II. No human creature can afford to stop his ears to this cry.+ Not
one of the millions who walk the earth can reckon upon being always
independent of the pity and help of his fellow-creatures. He may be
almost certain that he will not be so. He is not sure, however rich
he is now, that he may not have to cry for bread, or he may have to
cry for help in sickness or for sympathy in sorrow. It is quite
certain that he will at some period of his existence cry to God for
mercy. If, therefore, he is deaf to the cry of those whose distress
he can relieve, he is as unwise as the servant of whom our Lord
speaks in His parable, who refused to have compassion on his
fellow-servant to the amount of a hundred pence, while he himself
stood in need of the forgiveness of a far heavier debt (Matt.
xvii. 23, 35). He who stops his own ears at the cry of the poor stops
the ears of God against His own, for in the day when the favour of
the King of the universe will be more precious than the wealth of ten
thousand worlds, the charge will be brought against him, _"I was an
hungered and ye gave Me no meat; I was thirsty and ye gave Me no
drink,"_ etc. (Matt. xxv. 42).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
When we have reason to complain that we cry and shout, but God
shutteth our prayer, let us consider our ways; perhaps we have shut
our ears on some occasions against the cries of the poor. This was
one reason why God accepted not the prayers and fasts of those people
whom Isaiah speaks of in the fiftieth chapter of his book.--_Lawson._
Did a rich man know for certain, that himself should be a beggar
before he died, it would make him give to the poor when they cried,
that others might give to him when he cried. Now the wise man here
assureth every hard churl, that although now he be never so rich, yet
shall he be a beggar. . . . The cries of the poor are but God's
proclamation, whereby He publisheth His pleasure for the relieving of
them. It is God therefore Himself that is not heard when they are
denied; it is God that is not heard in His command, as well as the
poor in his necessity. And, therefore, being made deaf as it were
with the loudness of His own crying, He doth not hear the
uncharitable when they cry unto him.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 14.
THE PACIFICATION OF ANGER.
+I. Human anger is an evil to be avoided.+ Even the anger of a
righteous man exposes the object of it to danger. David had good
reason to be angry with Nabal, but his anger, though it was the anger
of a man just in the main, so nearly overmastered him for the time as
to lead him to meditate a very bitter revenge. For even righteous
indignation has a tendency to run into unrighteous action, as in the
case of Esau and Jacob. The elder brother had just cause to be angry
with the younger for his meanness and deceit, but lawful displeasure
soon degenerated into an unlawful purpose, and Jacob had to flee for
his life. If, then, even the anger of the righteous man is to feared
because it may lead him to visit the offender with justice without
mercy, much more is the anger of the unrighteous man likely to lead
him to extreme measures, and the anger of either is an evil to be
avoided when it can be done without sin.
+II. Gifts may appease human anger.+ This proverb does not, we think,
refer to bribery but to lawful tokens of goodwill, and of a desire to
be reconciled--to gifts by which we seek to make some atonement for a
wrong done. Such were the presents which Jacob offered to Esau, and
Abigail to David. A bribe is a gift offered to a third person who is
to judge between the parties at strife, but the gift here is from the
offender to the person offended.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
A gift in itself is gracious, but if it be secretly given it is yet
more acceptable; for privy bestowing taketh away the blush of open
receiving. When as then a present shall even so closely be conveyed
unto the receiver as that it shall covertly be put into his bosom,
then it will be most welcome and even forcible.--_Muffet._
"Have gifts," says a judicious writer, "such a powerful influence to
disarm resentment? Then let no man plead, in apology for the fury of
his passions, that he is not able to conquer them. If money can
conquer them, shall reason, and the fear of God, and the command of
Christ, be too weak to bridle them? Surely the commandments of God
our Saviour have too little authority with us, if they have less
influence upon our spirits than gold and jewels have upon the spirits
of almost all men."--_Wardlaw._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 15.
THE JOY OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.
+I. The just man's own character and actions give him joy.+ It is a
matter of experience with all the righteous beings in the universe
that joy comes to them from uprightness of character. The blessedness
and joy of God Himself comes from His supreme and absolute
righteousness, and in proportion as His creatures are conscious of
partaking of His rectitude of character they feel real joy. But this
righteousness of character is made manifest in righteous deeds. We
know that God is a righteous God by what He has done, and by what He
has promised to do, and the character of righteous men is likewise
manifested in their acts. From these deeds come joy to the doer.
Whenever a good man is able to redress some injury, or to make right
some moral wrong--to put into exercise the love of right which is
always latent within him--he feels joy.
+II. The just man derives joy from the justice and righteousness of
others.+ His great desire is to see the world freed from the rule of
sin, with all its consequent miseries, and he hails every act of
justice done as one more step towards that end. He sympathises with
all those who struggle for right against might, whether with human or
Satanic powers, and every victory gained by them gladdens his heart.
As he is on the side of justice he has nothing to fear, but
everything to gain, from the advance of justice in the world, and in
the universe, and therefore he not only rejoices in the doings of
other righteous men, but especially in the righteous acts of God.
Knowing that every one of them tends to bring in the rule of
everlasting righteousness, and knowing that this rule will be the
best possible for both the just and the unjust, and having a glad
consciousness that to him it can bring nothing but good, the just
dealings of God are the constant theme of his glad meditations. With
the Psalmist he can sing, _"Seven times a day do I praise Thee,
because of Thy righteous judgments"_ (Psalm cxix. 164).
+III. The workers of iniquity have no such source of personal joy.+
The name given implies their character. It is iniquitous, unequal,
crooked. Their path lies quite apart from the straight road of
obedience to God and justice to men, and therefore none of the
flowers and fruits which grow only in the one path can be gathered
upon the other. But they not only miss the joy of the just, but are
active agents in creating their own misery. Sin is a destructive
power. Destruction is used in two senses. A thing is destroyed when
the elements which compound it cease to be, but it is also destroyed
when the form which made it precious and beautiful is lost. The
palace is destroyed when the earthquake lays it level with the
ground, although all the stones and timbers are still there. The
garment is destroyed when the fire blackens and scorches it, although
the warp and woof of the fabric is still in existence. So a man's
destruction is, as we understand the Word of God, not the cessation
of his existence, but the loss of all that makes existence of worth
to himself and others.
+IV. The workers of iniquity cannot rejoice in the righteous dealings
of others.+ The rectitude of the just man condemns them. It makes
their ways look more crooked by the force of contrast, and it rebukes
their consciences. It necessarily sometimes takes a more active form
against them. The thief cannot joy in the law that condemns him to
punishment, and is not likely to take pleasure in the character of
the judge who passes sentence upon him. No godless man can rejoice in
reflecting on the righteousness of God, for that righteousness fills
him with terror in the present, and apprehensions concerning the
future.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Not the saint's _"judgment;"_ that is "joy," of course: but all
"judgment," even the judgment of the lost. Sad doctrine that! and to
man's feeling a very shameful one. But to man's reason there may be a
glimpse of light. The highest _"joy"_ is to be holiness; the highest
holiness, the holiness of God. All judgment is built upon that. God's
holiness, therefore, being the basis upon which He condemns the lost,
is that _"judgment"_ which is part of the trait may be part of the
_"joy"_ which springs to the glorified believer.--_Miller._
"It is joy to the just to do right; but vexation" (distress, trouble)
"to the workers of iniquity." Such is Boothroyd's rendering; and it
agrees with the French. The righteous find their happiness in the
ways of God,--in doing the thing that is right. So far from true
religion--practical godliness--being a source to them of irksome
melancholy, it is their "joy." But to the wicked it is irksome. The
principle of goodness or of godliness being absent from the heart,
all conformity to precept is against the grain with them. They may do
what is right from compulsion, from considerations of interest, or
from the constraint of conscience and fear; but pleasure in it they
have none--no "joy." And hence it is that amongst ungodly, worldly
men, the impression and saying are so prevalent, that religion is
melancholy. While the heart continues at enmity with God, all outward
conformity to the will and worship of God can be nothing better than
vexation,--harassing and fretting to the spirit and drawing forth the
exclamation, What a weariness is it! The joy of religious and
virtuous practice can only be felt where there is the inward power of
religious and virtuous principle. It is a joy that can only be known
by the experience of the new heart; and by the new heart it is felt
to be the only joy worthy of the name. But the heart that is still a
stranger to the love must be still a stranger to the joy; and the
whole life of the good man must appear a life of bondage. The man who
has no ear for music would regard the ecstasies of a Handel as
ridiculous; but such ecstasies are not on that account the less
real.--_Wardlaw._
Gravity is nowhere so seemly, as where it is the robe of the judgment
seat; and though justice be done, yet if wantonly or lightly done, it
is divested of the honour of it. Wherefore the _joy_ which the wise
man here commendeth is not the _vanity,_ but the _alacrity_ of the
mind. That detracteth from the worth of it even in the sight of men,
this addeth to it in the sight of God. Now, that which breedeth this
joy is the habit of it. He that doth judgment now and then is not
righteous, though he do that which is righteous. It is the constant
doer of judgment that is made righteous by it, and findeth joy in the
doing of it.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 16.
LIKE TO LIKE.
+I. The way of understanding.+ What is this way? In other parts of
this book it is called the "path of the just" (chap. iv. 18, see page
58), "a way of righteousness" (chap. xii. 28, page 291), and a "way
of life" (chap xv. 24, page 430). It is a way of understanding,
because it is the path or method of life which is followed by those
who have well considered their way--who regard both their present and
future welfare in the highest sense of the word. The way of
righteousness is a way of understanding, because it leads to
spiritual life and blessedness, both here and hereafter; therefore
those who walk in it give a proof of their wisdom. If we count a man
to have no understanding who persists in walking on a road which
those who know tell him leads to a precipice over which he must fall,
and if the truth of what they say is confirmed by his own knowledge,
how much more shall we count those of no understanding who persist in
following the path of moral ruin? And by contrast the way of present
moral light and life which is ever leading on to more light and life
is well named "the way of understanding."
+II. The doom of the wanderer from it.+ He becomes one of an assembly
with whom it is most undesirable to be numbered--the congregation of
the dead. The graveyard is a place in which living men never take up
their abode. Those who are there are there because they can no longer
remain in the dwellings of the living and healthy. They would pollute
the homes of those who are in life, and must therefore be separated
from them. There is a spiritual graveyard--a place to which those who
are destitute of moral life must be banished, because they are unfit
for any other dwelling. And there they must _remain,_ for it is the
only place suited to their character and disposition. Judas, when he
left this world, went to his _"own place"_ (Acts i. 25)--to the place
to which he belonged, because it was the abode of those like-minded
with himself. From the parable of the rich man and Lazarus we infer
that those who become numbered with that congregation will remain
there until the _great gulf fixed_ between them and the living is
removed (Luke xvi. 26).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The original word here translated _remains,_ signifieth to rest and
be quiet. It is rest that giveth understanding, and it is
understanding that giveth rest. A disquieted mind doth not readily
understand things, and it is the understanding of things that
quieteth the mind. In the way, therefore, of understanding, here be
many resting-places. He that is wearied with the cares of the world,
when he understandeth that man is born to cares, resteth himself
therein. He that is toiled in getting the things of this world, when
he understandeth how little sufficeth nature, and that when he dieth
all shall be taken from him, resteth himself there. He that tireth
his brains to search out knowledge, when he understandeth that the
greatest part of men's knowledge is the least of his ignorance, and
that to know Jesus Christ is life everlasting, resteth himself there.
But he that wandereth from the way of understanding meeteth with no
rest in all the ways he goes--his thoughts are in no quietness, his
heart hath no contentment, his mind no peace. It is the grave alone
that is the bed of his rest; and when he cometh to the congregation
of the dead, to the general assembly of all mankind, then he shall be
quiet. Or else, to consider the verse as our translation hath it:
everyone that understandeth his way is not in the way of
understanding. The crafty politician understands his way well enough,
and goes on readily in it; the covetous worldling understandeth his
way well enough, and goes and gets apace in it; the cunning cheater
understandeth his way well enough, and passeth through with it. But
none of these are in the way of understanding: that is but one, and
is the enlightening of the understanding by the Word and Grace of
God. That is the way of understanding, because thereby we understand
ourselves to be in the right way indeed. The man, therefore, that
wandereth out of this way, when he hath wandered all his ways, shall
end them at last in the congregation of the dead--that is the
rendezvous to which all are gathered--and being once there, he shall
_remain_ for ever amongst them. For when that change is come, they
that have passed the way of understanding shall pass from death to
life, but they that have gone out of the way shall only go from one
death to another.--_Jermin._
Verse 17 has been treated with verses 5 and 7.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 18.
THE RANSOM OF THE RIGHTEOUS.
This verse must be understood to express the same truth as that in
Isaiah xliii. 3, in which Jehovah, speaking to the Hebrew people,
says, _"I gave Egypt for thy ransom--Ethiopia and Seba for thee,"_
referring doubtless to the deliverance by the overthrow of the
Egyptians and other nations. Here the Divine interposition is not on
behalf of an elect nation, but on behalf of a special character; not
for the deliverance of Israel according to the flesh, but of the true
Israelite--the righteous and upright man wherever he is found, for
_"in every nation he that feareth Him and worketh righteousness is
accepted with Him"_ (Acts x. 35).
+I. When the wicked man stands in the way of the true advancement of
the good he shall be removed out of the way.+ It is a law of the
universe, and the end to which all God's government tends, that
goodness shall finally have the ascendency over evil--that right
shall triumph over wrong. Now, although we speak of goodness and of
evil in the abstract, they have no abstract existence; they can only
exist in connection with free personalities; with beings who have the
choice of their actions. Hence, if evil is to be put down, it must be
put down in the person of evil men or devils, and if good is to rule
it must rule in the person of the good. Therefore, when the
transgressor in any way opposes the real and true advancement of the
righteous man he opposes the advance of righteousness, and he must be
sacrificed. This is not always apparent to human eyes; things often
seem to tend in quite the contrary direction; but this is because we
do not know what is really most conducive to the coming of the
kingdom of righteousness, nor how the overthrow of evil can be best
accomplished.
+II. Every man must either be ransomed from sin or become a ransom
for righteousness.+ The righteous and the upright on the earth have
only become so by submission to the righteous will of God--by taking
His yoke and choosing His service. This has delivered them from the
power of evil--this has redeemed them from the slavery of sin. It was
quite open to Pharaoh to fall in with God's will concerning
Israel--to obey the demand which was made upon him. It was only after
repeated refusal that he and his were made a ransom for God's people.
It is in every case where God's will is made known, and it is only
when men persist in transgression that they are made a ransom for the
upright. But there is no neutral ground. Every man who is not upright
is a transgressor, and as such will be subject to this law.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
In the time of some strange visitation for sin, the notorious
offender, who is guilty of heinous crimes, by his suffering and death
shall free the innocent person from the stroke of God's vengeance,
who should not be spared, but plagued, if the evildoer were winked
at. Moreover, some one that hath, by breaking the Lord's covenant or
precept, caused trouble to fall both on himself and many others, who
in like manner have not sinned as he hath done, shall, suffering
alone for the sin which he hath committed, deliver by his misery the
rest that are in the same adversity, but not for the same cause. The
executing of Saul's sons (2 Sam. xxi.), the stoning of Achan (Josh.
vii. 20), and casting of Jonah into the sea (Jonah i. 12), may more
plainly declare and more fully prove the truth of this matter. It may
be here objected, if the Lord punish the righteous for the wicked
man's offence, how is he then righteous? To answer hereunto
briefly--First, though the Lord afflict the innocent with the sinners
oftentimes, yet He doth not correct them for the faults of
transgressors, but for their own faults, there being none so just but
that he sinneth sometimes. Secondly, when the just, having authority
to punish sin, wink at the known offences of the ungodly, by letting
them go scot-free, they make their transgressions their own, so that
in such cases no marvel if the Lord scourge the just with the unjust;
for even the just do in such cases appertain to the family of the
unjust.--_Muffet._
It is the hatred of the wicked against the righteous that bringeth
them into captivity, but it is the favour of God towards them that He
maketh those who have made them captives to be themselves the
_redemption_ of them. Or else, if the condition of this world by
God's permission and providence hath cast the righteous into
thraldom, it is the sport of the wicked to insult over them; but it
is the compassion of God towards them that He maketh those who make
sport at them to be themselves the sacrifice of their deliverance.
And, seeing misery, being man's master, requireth the right of
command over him, according as many are the general calamities of
mankind, God maketh the wicked to serve it, and the transgressor to
pay bondage unto it instead of the righteous.--_Jermin._
The subjects of verses 19 and 20 have been already treated in this
chapter. See on verses 5 and 7, and on verse 9.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 21.
A NOBLE PURSUIT AND A RICH PRIZE.
+I. A noble pursuit.+ Following after righteousness and mercy. These
words may be taken as referring both to a state of judicial
righteousness before God and to mercy received from him, and also to
the attainment of a righteous and merciful character. The teaching of
the Scriptures is that the latter is the result of the former;--that
all true righteousness and mercifulness among men flows from having
obtained mercy from God, and having come into right relations with
Him. If a pursuit of any kind is to be successful it must be
conducted according to certain known laws, and must recognise certain
indisputable facts. If a man sets out to seek a distant shore where
he knows the land is fertile enough to afford him abundant means of
living, he must regulate his pursuit of the land and of its riches in
accordance with the laws which govern the natural world. During his
voyage he must observe the laws of navigation--he must steer his
vessel with a due regard to the winds and tides, or he will never
reach the shore, and when he lands he must still seek to obtain what
he desires by working in harmony with natural laws. If he ploughs in
the autumn and expects to gather in the winter, or sows weeds and
expects to reap corn, he will be utterly disappointed. God is willing
to bless his endeavours if they are made in subjection to known and
established conditions, but not otherwise. So in every pursuit,
whether in the world of matter or of mind. _"If a man also strive for
masteries,"_ says Paul, _"yet is he not crowned except he strive
lawfully"_ (2 Tim. ii. 5), that is, unless he conform to the rules of
the course. The _Grecian runner_ might reach the goal without having
a regard to the conditions of the contest, but he would not even then
receive the crown. But in the pursuit of many things--and especially
in the following after a righteous and godly character--it is
impossible to reach the desired end without observance of the
conditions laid down by God Himself. There is one way only to become
a truly righteous and merciful man, and that is by accepting the
mercy of God and His method of justification, called in the New
Testament _"the righteousness of God"_ (Rom. iii. 21, etc.). The
history of the Church combines with the testimony of Scripture to
confirm this truth. The Jewish nation, as a nation, refused to accept
it, _"going about to establish their own righteousness they have not
submitted unto the righteousness of God"_ (Rom. x. 3). Their history
since has been a moral failure, and it is the history of all who have
united with them in the rejection of the way of righteousness through
the atonement of the Son of God. On the contrary, the acceptance of
that righteousness and mercy has been the first step in the formation
of the most righteous and merciful characters that have ever lighted
up our world. The apostle who was the great expounder of the doctrine
of imputed righteousness through the mercy of God could appeal to his
spiritual children in such words as these: _"For our exhortation was
not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile; . . . neither at any
time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloke of
covetousness . . . but we were gentle among you, even as a nurse
cheriseth her children; so being affectionately desirous of you, we
were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only,
but also our own souls, because ye were so dear unto us"_ (1 Thess.
ii. 3-8). This was Paul's disposition and character after he became a
partaker of Divine mercy and a justified man through faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ, and all those who sincerely accept God's method of
being made righteous bring forth the same kind of fruit in their
life, although not always in such abundant measure.
+II. A rich reward.+ He who seeks mercy and righteousness from God by
faith becomes, as we have seen, a righteous and merciful man. This in
itself is moral life--a quickening of the spiritual capabilities--an
awakening to spiritual realities and joys which were before
unknown--an entrance into the possession of all that makes existence
worth having. Such a man gets honour of a real and lasting
nature--the goodwill of all the good in all worlds and the favour of
God Himself. He follows after righteousness for its own sake--out of
the pure love of holiness and purity, and not for any reward that it
may bring either now or hereafter, and he finds as he follows it that
many things are added unto it.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
_"Follows after," chases eagerly._ How absorbed the chase of some
poor partridge on the hills. Even let that be our picture.
_"Righteousness and mercy, or kindness,"_ the two tables of the law;
a genial picture of all holiness. Now let a man chase holiness with
the absorbed forgetfulness of self that such game would imply, and
all else will come in at the death. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God
and His righteousness, and all things else will be added thereto"
(Matt. vi. 33). _"Life,"_ all sorts of life. _"Righteousness,"_ but
one sort of righteousness in place of that personal righteousness
which (in the first clause) we are still called to chase. _"Glory,"_
all sorts of glory. The list is not an illogical one. "Life," all
that is personally good and happy, "righteousness;" all that buys
that and keeps a title to it, "glory," that which is above happiness,
and is always to be counted higher--viz., the honour and excellency
of absolute purity of being.--_Miller._
There is nothing which a man hath that is not going from him; there
is nothing that a man seeketh that doth not seek to keep itself from
him. It is therefore _following_ that bringeth a man both to finding
and possessing. Both are spiritual things, not the things of this
world, that are worthy either of a man's following, or finding, or
possessing. They are _righteousness_ and _mercy_ that are worthy of
our seeking, they are _life, righteousness,_ and _mercy_ that are
worthy of our finding. . . . Gregory, comparing spiritual and
temporal riches together, showeth their differences to be great,
because spiritual riches do even then increase, when they that are
laid out, earthly riches are either laid out and so consumed, or else
are kept and are not profitable. And in the following after them
there is also this difference, that he who followeth after the things
of this world always findeth less than he looked for; but he that
followeth after spiritual things shall be sure to find more than he
did or could look for--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 22.
A WISE MAN AND A MIGHTY CITY.
+I. The city of the mighty will not easily yield to conquerors.+ When
a fortress encloses within its walls many strong arms and stout
hearts, it will not be captured by child's play. The confidence that
the defenders have, not only in the strength of their position but in
their own individual power and prowess, will certainly prevent them
from giving up without a struggle. Such a city must be "scaled" or
captured either by stratagem or by a mightier force than that which
defends it. There are various ways in which this may be done. When
the height and thickness of the walls prevent their overthrow from
without they may be assailed from beneath, and when brave men cannot
be subdued by the sword they may be by hunger.
+II. In whatever way the city is taken wisdom is the mightiest force
employed.+ Military strength--indeed physical force of any kind--is
of little or no avail without wisdom to direct it. Under the guidance
of a wise commander an undisciplined and almost powerless mob becomes
a powerful army, and a very small amount of mere strength can be made
very effective if it is wisely directed. Belshazzar had strong walls
around his city, and a mighty army within it, but Cyrus possessed the
wisdom which the Babylonians lacked, and therefore the "wise man"
overthrew the confidence of the mighty.
+III. Wisdom is a power that is needed to take other strongholds
besides those built of brick or stone.+ Any obstruction or difficulty
which a man encounters in life may be a "city of the mighty" to
overthrow which _wisdom_ will be an indispensable ally. _Poverty_ is
such a city, and it cannot be scaled by activity and industry
alone--the industrious effort must be guided by wisdom. _Ignorance_
may be compared to such a stronghold, and wisdom is needed to guide
the pursuit after knowledge. _Sinful habits_ are walls around a man,
and they are so defended and strengthened by invisible powers of evil
that they cannot be cast down by strength of will alone--wisdom must
be sought from above to turn the struggle into a victory. But we have
not only to contend with personal evils but with relative ones, with
the misery and sin around us if not within is, and here again nothing
can be done without wisdom. Muscular force can do a little to put
down their outward manifestations, but wisdom only can do anything
towards lessening their real and terrible hold upon man. The _human
soul,_ also, is a "city" which can be "scaled" only by "the wise
man." In Eden the city of _Man-soul_ was taken by the subtlety and
craft of the devil, and a wisdom more than human is needed to regain
it. The undertaking is especially difficult, because there are
inhabitants within the city who are averse to a change of
masters--there are evil tendencies within which make men unwilling to
leave the yoke of Satan for the service of God. Our Lord Jesus Christ
has, however, scaled this city of the mighty; all the wisdom of God
has been brought to bear upon the work of reconciling men to Himself,
and the Cross has accomplished what physical force of Omnipotence
itself could not have achieved.
What is strength without a double share
Of wisdom? Vast, unwieldy, burdensome;
Proudly secure, yet liable to fall
By weakest subtleties; strength's not made to rule,
But to subserve where wisdom bears command.--_Milton._
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The Israelites never crushed the Philistines. The Jebusites long
dwelt in Jerusalem's stronghold (Josh. xv. 63). The sinner (at
conversion) in his feeblest state enters Canaan, and "scales the city
of the mighty." But when his foot has touched that eternal
tramping-ground, alas for him! there is still the _citadel!_ "A wise
man," not only as being _a wise man,_ but in _becoming a wise man,_
has scaled the city of the mighty, and evermore afterwards, in
becoming wiser, he is "casting down the strength of its place of
confidence." . . . Not to print mistake upon his emblems, Solomon
qualifies the last by those that immediately follow. Conversion is
not a warfare. It is not the glow of camps or the shout of armed men,
but a drowsy and forlorn awakening. Arrayed against it may be the
_strength of the mighty,_ but it is a strength absurd and miserable,
as against a droning and depressing inanition. "We wrestle not
against flesh and blood," and when we come to understand the venture,
the climb over the gates is not a bound of strength, but a torpid
crawl out of mortal infirmity of feeling. Hence the patient prosing
of the Preacher, as he next approaches us (in verse 23). Christian
obedience is the way to triumph.--_Miller._
The art of war has already shewn the pre-eminence of wisdom above
strength. Prudent tactics, or a wise application of courage, triumphs
over mere personal prowess. Joshua's strategy in taking Ai was a
proof of military wisdom. Solomon seems to have known of a wise man
singly delivering his city from the power of a mighty king; a proof
of wisdom quite tantamount to the strength of an aggressor scaling
the walls, and thus casting down its confidence (Eccles ix. 13-18).
Much more therefore will spiritual wisdom, the immediate gift of God,
overcome difficulties as formidable as the scaling of the city of the
mighty. A wise calculation of the cost is eminently serviceable in
achieving most important triumphs (Luke xiv. 31, 32). For does not
conscious weakness lead to a single dependence upon God? And what
difficulties are too great for an Almighty arm? "By thee"--said a
valiant soldier in the army of faith--"I have run through a troop;
and by my God have I leaped over a wall." "Weapons of a spiritual,
not a carnal," temper, "are mighty through God to the pulling down of
strongholds" (2 Cor. x. 4), impregnable to the power of man. All the
promises are "to him that overcometh." Let the soldier go to the
conflict "strong in the Lord," and "putting on his whole armour"
(Eph. vi. 10). The triumph is sure. The heavenly city will be scaled.
"The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by
force" (Matt. xi. 12).--_Bridges._
For Homiletics on verse 23 see on chap. xiii. 3, page 294.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 24.
A NAME OF DEGREES.
+I. Many terms are needed to set forth the complete character of the
wicked man.+ A complicated machine has many parts, each of which has
a different action and performs a different work, and each of which
has its distinctive name. But the whole make up one machine, the name
of which includes all the parts. So it is with a wicked man. He is
like a complicated and destructive piece of machinery--all that he
does and is may be comprehended in the general term, godless, or
wicked; but the various vices which go to make up his character have
their distinctive name. In this proverb three degrees of wickedness
seem to be set forth under different names, each one being an
intensified form of the vice that has gone before. First there is
_pride;_ the man overrates his own worth, and by so doing underrates
the worth of others. From pride of heart comes _haughtiness of
conduct_--he is overbearing and insolent in his bearing towards those
whom he looks upon as his inferiors. Then he becomes a _scorner_--he
despises all, whether good or bad, and so fills up the measure of
wickedness. For when all feelings of respect and reverence for even
human worth have died out of a man he cannot fall much lower.
+II. Such a man is a constant vendor of what is within him.+ He
_dealeth_ in it; he cannot keep his pride and scorn to himself, it
overflows in his contemptuous carriage, in his haughty look, in his
angry words, and in his oppressive deeds. He may deny the fidelity of
the portrait which Solomon here draws of him, but he whose dealings
with his fellow-creatures are marked by these characteristics must
submit to be called by the odious names here given.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
In the course of different proverbs this teacher will be found to
have explained all his own use of terms. Piety as _wisdom,_ and
wickedness as _folly_--terms very characteristic of his books--he
explains at the very first. _Scorner_ is his favourite name for the
impenitent. We were giving reasons for this under the eleventh
verse. . . . The demurest sinner, who seems thoroughly respectful to
the truth, would not push along so into the very jaws of death if he
were not arrogantly trusting to himself, and if he felt not
scornfully free from the necessities of the Gospel.--_Miller._
It is the nature of pride to show itself as losing the contentment of
those things upon which it is placed, unless by showing of them it
show itself in them. And yet so odious a vice is pride, and so
shameful, as that it would fain hide itself also. But there is
nothing that doth so manifest and make known the pride of anyone as
his wrath doth; wherefore as the name of a man telleth who he is, so
he who dealeth in wrath telleth his name.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 25 _and_ 26.
THE SWORD OF THE SLUGGARD.
+I. A sluggard cannot help desiring the results of toil.+ It is
natural and lawful for men to value bodily health and comfort, and
all those blessings which are the ordinary fruits of industry--they
are good things which God gives His creatures to enjoy, but they are
not His only gifts nor His best gifts. But they are the main objects
of the sluggard's desire, for an inordinate and exclusive love of
them has made him a slothful man. If he had put his reputation and
his duty before his love of ease--if he had listened to the voice of
conscience rather than to the pleadings of self-indulgence, he would
be a worker instead of a mere wisher. The text suggests that mere
desire to possess is not a power strong enough to turn an indolent
man into an industrious one, although it is strong enough to make him
miserable and wicked. For--
+II. A sluggard is an unrighteous man.+ This is both implied and
expressed in the proverb. He is placed in contrast with the righteous
man as one of an opposite character, and he is declared to be an
habitual breaker of the tenth commandment. Covetousness is a sin
nearly allied to envy, and both are in themselves transgressions of
the moral law, and often lead to more heinous crimes. Let no man,
then, say that his refusal to take his part in the work of the world
is a matter which concerns himself alone, for even if a man were not
responsible for a negative existence, such a course is certain to
lead to positive sin.
+III. He is a self-destroyer.+ This is a phase of sloth which has not
been placed before us in former proverbs on the subject. The sluggard
not only makes wretched the existence which it his great aim to
pamper, but he shortens it. His covetous and unsatisfied state of
mind is a canker-worm at the root of all that he does possess, and,
deprived of the healthful influence of labour, he becomes an easy
prey to disease and death. It is probable that nothing undermines the
bodily constitution more surely than unsatisfied desire. Men who have
been great workers, but who have not seen the desire of their hearts
fulfilled, have often died in consequence. How much more likely will
the slothful man be to die under such a disappointment! If the rust
eats into the sword which is in constant use, how much more certainly
will it destroy that which is never drawn from the scabbard!
+IV. The righteous man is a worker and a giver.+ He is in all
respects the exact opposite of the sluggard. He works not so much
because of the gain of labour as because he loves to work, and
because it is wrong to be idle. This he shows by the use he makes of
much that he gains--he gives with an unsparing hand. In both he is an
imitator of the righteous God, who is the Greatest Worker and the
Greatest Giver in the universe. The righteousness of God prompts Him
to bountiful acts towards needy creatures, and the righteousness of
His righteous servants prompts them to do like deeds, according to
their ability. On this subject see also Homiletics on chap. xiii. 4,
page 296.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The _desire kills him._ Why? Because he will not gratify it. The way
to gratify it is to get it accomplished. . . . Say not, It is the
refusal that kills and not the desire. That is not altogether the
case. The spark that is too weak to grow puts itself out by its
attempts. The desire that is too dull to act has treasured in it the
last remainders of the heart, and in its languid throbs makes itself
the instrument of its own growing dissolution.--_Miller._
In the Paris French translation the words stand thus--"All the day
long he does nothing but wish." How very expressive at once of the
unconquerable indolence and the fretful, envious, pining unhappiness
of the sluggard! And in his wishing, he may at times, by the power of
a sanguine imagination, work himself into hope; and then,
disappointment only embitters the cup of his own
mingling,--aggravates the misery, which he is painfully conscious is
self-inflicted.--Further: he appears before us a stranger to all the
positive and exquisite pleasures of charity and beneficence; but "the
righteous _giveth and spareth not._" It is not said, you will
observe--"the _diligent_ giveth and spareth not;" because there are
not a few who are sufficiently exemplary in diligence, to whom the
Bible would not give the designation of _"the righteous,"_ and who
are far from being distinguished for benevolence. But the antithesis,
as it stands here, implies these three things: _First,_ that
_diligence_ is one of the features in the character of the
_righteous_:--_Secondly,_ that the natural tendency, and ordinary
result of this is, through the Divine blessing, abundance to
spare:--_Thirdly,_ that another distinguishing feature of the
character of the _righteous_ man, is _readiness to part_ with what
his industry acquires--"giving, and _not sparing;_" that is, giving
cheerfully, and giving liberally; not assenting merely to the truth
of the maxim, as being the word of the Lord, but _feeling_ the truth
of their own heart's experience--"It is more blessed to give than to
receive."--_Wardlaw._
It is not said by Paul, "If any man _do_ not work, neither let him
eat," for some would work and cannot get it, others would work and
are not able, but "If any man _will_ not work," if any have work to
do, and will not, let him not eat. In the same manner the wise man
speaketh; he doth not say, his hands _do not_ labour, but his hands
_refuse_ to labour. . . . But he sheweth that though a sluggard be
idle himself, yet his desire be so hard a labourer, that it is a
_daily_ labourer, and such a daily labourer painfully worketh _all
the day long._ So that although he have no hands to work, his desire
hath hands to beg and crave of him; which being not satisfied, is a
just punishment of his careless sluggishness. But the righteous man,
being as earnest in his labour as the other in his desire, getteth
enough, not only to satisfy his own desire, but to supply the wants
of others.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 27.
THE SACRIFICE OF THE WICKED.
+I. A Divine institution may become an abomination to the Divine
Being.+ The right use of the gifts of God makes them blessings to
men, but the abuse of them turns them into curses. So with the
ordinances of worship, both under the Old Testament dispensation and
in the New--that which is designed to bless men may by misuse add to
their guilt before God, and that which, done in a right spirit, is
most acceptable to Him, will, when joined to a sinful motive, be most
abhorrent to His holy nature. The sacrifice of the Levitical
dispensation was an ordinance of Divine appointment, but even those
who lived before the days of the prophets were not left to suppose
that the merely ceremonial act was of any value in the sight of God
if a correspondent state of heart was wanting, The offering of Cain
was unacceptable, because he lacked the faith of his brother Abel
(Heb. xi. 4). Samuel taught the truth that _"to obey is better than
sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams"_ (1 Sam. xv. 22), and
the father of our preacher was deeply conscious that _"sacrifice and
burnt offering"_ would not be acceptable to God unless they were the
outcome of a _"broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart"_ (Psalm
li. 16, 17). The doctrine that _"God is a spirit, and they who
worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth"_ (John iv. 24),
is taught in the Old Testament as well as in the New. It is the
teaching of this proverb.
+II. A Divine institution may be used by men to cloak their
iniquity.+ The absence of a right motive is enough to turn the
sacrifice into an abomination, as we have seen (see also on chapter
xv. 9, page 408), but this comparatively negative wrong seems to lose
some of its guilt beside the actual crime of the second clause of the
verse, when men actually put on the outward semblance of religion,
not from inadequate ideas of the requirements of God's law, or from
the force of habit, or in a thoughtless spirit, but with the
deliberate intention of deceiving their fellow-creatures. For it is
inconceivable that any reasonable being can for a moment suppose that
he can blind Him before whom all things must be _"naked and opened"_
(Heb. iv. 13). If he believes in a God he cannot think that He is a
Being who can be imposed upon by such a miserable deception, and,
this being granted, it is most astonishing that any creature can
presume to offer so great an insult to his Creator. And yet we know
that sacrifices have been and are even now being offered to God for
no other purpose than to cloak sin.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
This is a New Testament idea:--"Ye ask and receive not," saith the
Apostle James, "because ye ask amiss." How? Why, precisely in the way
that the proverb points out, because ye do it for an interested
purpose; as the Apostle expresses it, "that ye may consume it upon
your desires." The wicked man asks for heaven that he may consume it
in keeping comfortable through a long eternity. The proverb in verse
17 postulates the opposite. _In merely loving happiness a man cannot
create wealth._ The mass of hypocrites, therefore, are those
eternal-happiness _hypocrites._. . . There may be other reasons, but
that additional and fundamental among them all is this deepest one,
that religious acts cannot be accepted if they are built upon nothing
tenderer than _"a calculated purpose."_ (So Miller translates the
last two words. See also Critical Notes.) "Ye seek Me," says our
blessed Redeemer, "not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye
did eat of the loaves and were filled" (John vi. 26).--_Miller._
For Homiletics of verse 28, see on chap. xii. 19, page 275. _"The man
that heareth"_ is evidently the man who is teachable and open to
conviction, and therefore qualified to bear witness of the truth.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The last clause of the proverb seems to fix and restrict the first.
_A false witness_ often becomes so by the culpable habit of
thoughtlessly repeating, without examination or certain knowledge. A
man may thus do very serious injury to his neighbour's character or
property. It proves a very loose conscience, and an utter want of
that "charity which covers" instead of exposing faults. It is
"rejoicing in iniquity" rather than "rejoicing in truth." This _false
witness_ will certainly be punished by God; and even by man he will
be confounded and silenced. No one for the future will regard or
receive his testimony. _But the man that heareth_--the true witness
who speaketh only what _he heareth,_ and is fully acquainted
with--_he speaketh constantly_--to conviction. He holds to his
testimony and never contradicts himself. He "speaks the truth, the
whole truth, and nothing but the truth." His word, even if it had
been slighted at first, gains more and more credit and authority when
_the false witness shall have perished_ (chap. xii. 19).--_Bridges._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 29.
THE FACE AND THE WAY.
The last verb in the text is better translated--_establisheth,_ or
_maketh firm._
+I. What is intended to reveal may be used to conceal.+ The human
countenance is intended to express the feelings of the mind, and when
a man is not afraid for another to read his thoughts and intentions,
his face is to a great extent the index of his heart. But a bad man
is unwilling that his neighbour should know what is passing within
him--his thoughts and purposes will not bear the light--they are so
selfish or impure that he is ashamed of them, or they are occupied
with some malicious plan which must be concealed if it is to be
successful. He therefore hardens his face--puts on an appearance of
innocence and frankness as a cloak of the evil underneath. But this
method of life is not an easy or a pleasant one--the contrast in the
second clause seems to imply that such a man walks in an uneven or a
miry road--it is hard to be always acting a part and to be obliged at
all times to look what we do not feel, and there may come unguarded
moments and unlooked-for surprises when the mask will fall and the
truth come to light.
+II. The godly man has no need to practise hypocrisy.+ His thoughts
and desires, and aims, are toward the true and the good--his heart is
filled with goodwill towards his fellow-men, and he has, therefore,
nothing to fear or to be ashamed of when his face reveals his inner
self. This way of the upright is, in comparison with the way of the
wicked, as a firm and level road--he who walks on it finds solid
ground beneath his feet, and has no need to be ever on the look-out
for bogs and pitfalls.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
A hardened heart and a hardened face,--a face that has learned to
brave accusation and to look innocent under conscious guilt, are the
most undesirable of all attainments. The confusion of innocence, when
evil is imputed, is far preferable. Better far to be innocent and
thought guilty, than to be guilty and thought innocent. Better far to
have the sentence of acquittal in our own bosoms, though condemned by
men, than to succeed in getting acquittal from men, and carry within
us the sentence of guilt. How painful soever the former, we can still
look up to God, and forward to His tribunal, as that of unerring
rectitude,--where He will "bring forth our righteousness as the
light, and our judgment as the noon-day." O! there will be no
"hardening of the face" then. Conscience will do its duty. The eyes
which are as a flame of fire will search the inmost soul. Every eye
will quail, and every countenance, even the most hardened, sink,
before the look of Him that sitteth upon the throne. He will then at
once "wipe off the reproach of his people," and "bring to light the
hidden things of darkness." And then they who, under the influence of
faith, and fear, and love, have "considered their way," shall lift up
their faces without dread, and meet the smiles of their gracious
Judge!--_Wardlaw._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 30 _and_ 31.
COUNSEL AGAINST THE LORD.
+I. Only those plans succeed which harmonise with the will of God.+
This is of course true only in regard to the ultimate and final issue
of men's plans and purposes. Sometimes, and indeed oftentimes,
counsel against the Lord is very successful for a season, and for a
very long season, but it is only for a season. 1. This is obvious if
we consider _God's knowledge of the future._ It is inseparable from
His Divine nature that He shall be able to _"declare the end from the
beginning,"_ and therefore He says _"My counsel shall stand, and I
will do all my pleasure:" "yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring
it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it"_ (Isaiah xlvi. 10,
11). Imagine the general of a vast army being confronted with a
handful of blind men, would there be any room to doubt who would have
the victory? If a traveller whose eyesight is so dim that he can only
see a step or two before he has to travel an unknown road, will he
not do well to take the arm and avail himself of the guidance of a
man whose sight is perfect? The plan or purpose of our life is the
road we desire to walk upon, and as we _"know not what shall be on
the morrow"_ (James v. 14) we can only hope to attain our desire if
we enlist the All-seeing God on our side, and in order to do this our
counsel must be in harmony with His. 2. _God's Almighty power,_ also,
ensures the success of His counsel. _"The horse is prepared against
the day of battle,"_ but what is the united force of a world compared
with the might of Him _"who hath comprehended the dust in a measure,
and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a
balance?"_ . . . The prophet answers the question, _"The nations are
as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of a
balance"_ (Isaiah xl. 12, 15). The knowledge that our guide has of a
dangerous path--the fact that he is acquainted with it from the
beginning to the end--may not ensure our arrival at the desired goal.
He and we may together be attacked by powerful foes, and power to
protect is as needful as knowledge to guide. When we commit our way
to God we have omnipotence as well as omniscience on our side.
+II. Yet men are ever opposing their finite wisdom and strength to
the almightiness and infinite knowledge of God.+ The proverb embodies
a truth so palpable to any who will look facts plainly in the
face--it contains an inference so obvious to an unprejudiced mind
that it would seem unnecessary to write it if we did not know that
sin has so distorted men's mental vision--so biassed their
reason--that they are ever imagining a _"vain thing"_ and taking
_"counsel against the Lord and against His anointed, saying, Let us
break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from us"_ (Psa.
ii. 2, 3). The world is full of confirmations of the fact, and it
also contains abundant evidence of the truth of the inspired word.
_"He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh, and the Lord shall have
them in derision."_
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
It would be a strong sentence if he declared that counsel against the
Lord could never amount to anything. . . . But he does something more
clear than that. _There is no_ (such thing as) _wisdom,_ etc.,
against the Most High. They could do nothing if they were; but wisdom
never could be enticed to that side. The sentence embodies both
ideas. There is no wisdom that could avail against God; but secondly,
there is none that would ever attempt it. The expressions are
peculiar. _There is nothing of wisdom._ The word is repeated:
_"Nothing, nothing, nothing."--Miller._
We may, perhaps, consider the wise man as pointing out _three modes_
of covering and effecting evil purposes: in the twenty-seventh verse,
the _mask of religion;_ in the twenty-eighth, _false testimony;_ in
the twenty-ninth, the _assumed boldness and look of innocence._ But
(verse 30) "there is no wisdom, nor understanding, nor counsel,
against the Lord." There may be against _men._ In one, or other, or
all of these ways they may be deceived. There may, in many cases, be
"wisdom, and understanding, and counsel" more than sufficient to
impose upon and outwit them. But God _knows all._ His eye cannot be
eluded; His designs cannot be thwarted; neither His promises nor His
threatenings can be falsified, by any artifice, or policy, or might
of the children of men--no, nor of any created being.--_Wardlaw._
Wisdom is that which is gotten by experience, understanding that
which is gotten by study, counsel that which is gotten by
advice . . . but let all be put in the scales against the Lord, they
are but the dust of the balance unto Him. . . . For if wisdom be
gotten by experience, He is the Ancient of days; He was ancient when
days began. If understanding come by study, He hath all understanding
of Himself at once. . . . And the whole world is His common council,
and that not to give at all, but to receive counsel from
_Him.--Jermin._
* * * * * *
CHAPTER XXII.
CRITICAL NOTES.--+1. A good name.+ Literally _"a name."_ +Loving
favour,+ or _"grace," "goodwill."_ +3. Are punished,+ rather _"must
suffer injury."_ +4. By humility,+ rather _"The end or reward of
humility,"_ etc. Delitzsch reads _"The reward of humility_ IS _the
fear of the Lord,"_ etc. +5. Shall be,+ etc. or +Let him keep,+ etc.
+6. Train up a child,+ etc. Miller reads _"Hedge in a child upon the
mouth of his way;"_ Delitzsch, _"Give to a child instruction
according to his way," i.e.,_ conformably to the nature of youth.
+8. The rod of his anger,+ or as Zöckler, the _"staff of his
haughtiness."_ +16.+ Zöckler reads this verse _"One oppresseth the
poor only to make him rich," i.e.,_ "the oppression which one
practises on a poor man rouses his moral energy, and thus, by means
of his tireless industry and his productive labour in his vocation,
he works himself out of needy circumstances into actual prosperity."
Here begins the third main division of the book of Proverbs. (See
Introduction.) Its contents are styled in verse 17 "The words of wise
men," and they differ from the second division in consisting for the
most part of much longer sentences, comprising, as a general rule,
two verses, but sometimes many more. Zöckler remarks that "there is
prevalent everywhere the minutely hortatory, or, in turn, admonitory
style, rather than that which is descriptive and announces facts."
Delitzsch and other modern Bible students infer from verse 17 that
this portion of the book contains "no inconsiderable number of
utterances of wise men of Solomon's time." (See Introduction to the
Book of Proverbs, Lange's Commentary.)
+21. Them that send unto thee,+ rather _"them that send thee."_ "The
senders here," says Zöckler, "are naturally the parents, who have
sent their son to the teacher of wisdom, that he may bring back
thence to them real culture of spirit and heart." +29. Diligent,+
rather _"expert," "apt."_
Additional CRITICAL NOTES for Chapter 22 (after verse 16).
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 1.
BETTER THAN GOLD.
The second clause of the proverb explains the meaning of the _name_
in the first clause--it is evidently a good reputation that is gained
by uprightness and unselfishness--that loving esteem of others which
is the fruit of _"looking not only upon their own things, but also
upon the things of others"_ (Phil. ii. 4). Such a name is better than
wealth.
+I. Because the one may come by inheritance, and the other must be
the result of personal character.+ The man who is born to wealth
deserves no credit for being rich--he may be destitute of all
personal excellence--he may, indeed, be a morally bad man, and may
neither possess nor deserve the goodwill of his fellow creatures. But
if a man does possess the confidence and love of others it is because
there is that belonging to him that wins men to trust in him and to
love him--if he has a _"good name"_ and deserves it he is in some
respects a _good man._
+II. Wealth is often a transitory possession, but "loving favour"
often outlives the present life.+ Many mere temporal gifts belong
more truly to a man than his riches--his good looks or his handsome
figure may long outlive his wealth, for they are more truly his. The
uncertainty of riches is the subject of many a proverb, and therefore
any possession which is more certain to last is better than they. A
_"good name"_--the well-deserved reputation which is the result of
loving our neighbour as ourself--is quite independent of the changes
and chances of mortal life--it goes with a man to his grave, and
embalms his memory long after he has passed away.
+III. A good name belongs to a higher region of life than wealth.+
Even when wealth has been honestly earned, and is the reward of moral
excellence, and even if its possession could be assured to its owner,
a good name is a more precious gift. Much skill and industry are
required to build up a fortune, but skill and industry are not
qualities of so high an order as those which are needed to acquire
the loving favour of our fellow-creatures. He who possesses the
latter must be a more excellent man than the merely honest and
skilful seeker after riches, and the possession is itself of a far
more precious nature. The gold and the silver are of the earth,
earthy, but love and trustful confidence are good things which belong
to the soul, and which are in consequence far more truly satisfying
to man's higher nature. When one man possesses both these good things
he is able to compare their power to bless, and none who has
experimental knowledge of the worth of both would sacrifice his good
name to retain his riches. They must bring him much outward
deference, but he knows full well that this would cease if he became
a poor man--that there are many who love not the man but only his
money. But if he is so blest as to have won men's hearts he is fully
assured that adversity will not deprive him of this good gift. To
possess a "good name" is to be rich with the riches which constitute
the most precious wealth of God. He is rich in material riches, for
_"all the beasts of the forest are his and the cattle upon a thousand
hills,"_ yea, _"the world and the fulness thereof"_ (Psa. l. 10, 12).
But this wealth is inferior to the mental power which produced it.
God is great in intellectual wealth. _"With whom took He counsel, and
who instructed Him and taught Him in the path of judgment, and taught
Him knowledge, and showed to Him the way of understanding?"_ (Isa.
xl. 14). But His real wealth is His _name_--that name which He
proclaimed to Moses--_"The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious,
long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth"_ (Exod. xxxiv. 5,
6), which makes Him the object of the reverential love of all the
good in the universe. And so it is with His creatures--in proportion
as they have those spiritual characteristics which are possessed in
perfection only by God Himself, their reputation for mercy, and
goodness, and truth becomes their most precious and prized possession.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
We are not good judges of value in the public markets of life. We
make grievous mistakes, both in choosing and refusing. We often throw
away the pearl and carefully keep the shell. Besides the great
disparity in value between the things of heaven and earth, some even
of these earthly things are of greater worth than others. The
valuables in both ends of the balance belong to time, and yet there
is room for choice between them. There is the greater and the less
where neither is the greatest. A trader at his counter has a certain
set of weights which he uses every day and all day, and for all sorts
of commodities. Whatever may be in the one scale, the same invariable
leaden weight is always in the other. This lump of metal is his
standard, and all things are tried by it. Riches practically serve
nearly the same purpose in the markets of human life. . . . This is a
mistake. Many things are better than gold, and one of these is a good
name. A good conscience indeed is better than both, and must be kept
at all hazards; but in cases where matters from a higher region do
not come into competition, reputation should rank higher than riches
in the practical estimation of men. . . . The shadows are not the
picture, but the picture is a naked ungainly thing without them. Thus
the atmosphere of a good name imparts to real worth additional body
and breadth. As a substitute for a good conscience a good name is a
secret torment at the time, and in the end a cheat, but as a graceful
outer garment with which a good conscience is clothed it should be
highly valued and carefully preserved by the children of the
kingdom.--_Arnot._
One is more valuable than the other as a means of usefulness. Riches,
in themselves, can only enable a man to promote the temporal comfort
and well-being of those around him. But character gives him weight of
influence in matters of higher moment,--in all descriptions of
salutary advice and direction,--in kingly instruction and
consolation,--in counsel for eternity. It not only fits its possessor
for such employments, but it imparts energy and effect to whatever he
says and does. His character carries a recommendation with it,--gives
authority and force to every lesson and every admonition; and
affords, by the confidence it inspires, many opportunities and means
of doing good, which, without it, could not be enjoyed. Riches,
again, bring with them many temptations to sinful and worldly
indulgences, such as are injurious to the possessor himself and to
his family--both temporally and spiritually. Character, on the
contrary, acts as a salutary restraint,--keeping a man back from many
improprieties and follies, and even outward sins, by which it would
be impaired and forfeited. And this restraint is felt, and properly
felt, not for his own sake merely, but for the sake of all those
objects with which his name stands associated; and especially from a
regard to usefulness in connection with the truth, and cause, and
church of Christ.--_Wardlaw._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 2.
LEVELLING DOWN AND LEVELLING UP.
+I. The rich and the poor have much in common.+ They have, in fact,
everything in common which is independent of silver and gold. At
first sight this seems to include almost everything worth having, and
it does include the best and most lasting good, and often much
beside. We rejoice in the thought that many a poor man has as large a
share of God's blessed air and sunshine as his richer neighbour--that
his bodily frame is as healthful and his house as full as love. But
alas! we cannot forget that poverty in many cases shuts out men and
women from the gladdening and healthful influences of pure air and
sunlight, and consequently shuts them up to bodily disease, and tends
to produce moral unhealthfulness. As civilisation advances, and
countries become more populous, the gulf between poverty and wealth
in this respect seems to widen, and when we consider how many
advantages, not only material but intellectual and moral, the very
moderately rich possess over the very poor, we do not find so much in
common between them as appears upon a slight view of the case. It is
indeed true that all the blessings of life that money cannot buy are
as much within the reach of the poor as of the rich; but how many
good things--not only for the body, but also for the mind and
heart--are not to be gotten without gold and silver. There is,
however, one platform upon which they all meet, even in this
life--one levelling force which brings them into an absolute
equality. In the plan of redemption through Jesus Christ, and in all
the blessed effects which flow from it, the rich man has no advantage
over the poor man--the brother of low degree is shut out from nothing
that his rich brother enjoys. In this sense, as in many others, we
may use the prophet's words: _"every valley shall be exalted, and
every mountain and hill made low"_ (Isa. xl. 4). It does this: 1. _By
declaring their common and universal sinfulness._ Disease of body is
a levelling power--fever makes no distinction between king and
subject--between master and servant; while they are under its
dominion the one has no immunity from the weakness and pain of the
other. So the Gospel plan declares concerning sin what experience
testifies--that _"there is no difference,"_ that _"all have sinned"_
(Rom. iii. 22-23), and that its debasing and destroying power is
alike in prince and peasant. 2. _By offering the same conditions of
redemption to all._ A physician, when he visits his patients with the
intention of doing his best to heal them, does not prescribe one kind
of treatment to the rich and another to the poor. The conditions of
recovery are not regulated by their rank, but by their disease. So
with the Gospel Remedy for the sickness of the soul. It is the same
for every man. The strait road is not made wider for the man with
money bags, the gate is opened as wide for the pauper as for the
emperor. 3. _By providing the same inheritance for all who accept the
conditions._ Every man who accepts the way of salvation has an equal
right to claim God as his Father--has an equal liberty of access to
Him (Ephes. iii. 12), at all times--is sealed with the same Spirit of
promise, and his the same hope of blessedness beyond the grave. To
each and to all it is said, _"All are yours, and ye are Christ's"_
(1 Cor. iii. 22-23).
+II. To God must be referred the lot to which each man is born.+ He,
as the Creator, calls each man into being, and determines the sphere
in which he finds himself when he awakens to consciousness and to a
sense of responsibility. Man, as a free agent, has much to do with
determining his lot in life when he arrives at mature years, but the
circumstances surrounding his birth and earlier years, and the mental
gifts with which he is endowed, have much also to do with it, and
these are determined for him by God. So that He is not only the Maker
of the man's personality, but largely also of his position in the
world.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
In the distinction between the rich and the poor there is something
not altogether pleasant to the human mind. We are apt to recoil from
it. Without much thought, by the mere spontaneous promptings of our
feelings, we are apt to have some dissatisfaction as we behold the
advantages of riches so unequally distributed among men. And
frequently the dissatisfaction increases, as we can discover no just
_rule_ of this distribution; and as we behold more and more of the
contrasted advantages and disadvantages of this distinction between
rich and poor. Something like this was, in my opinion, the feeling of
the writer of this text. He saw the distinction between rich and
poor; he felt amazed; he had a disliking for it which set his mind at
work. He thought the matter over patiently and religiously. And when
he had done he gathers up the whole substance into this single
aphorism and writes it down. That was his satisfaction. There he left
the matter. . . . He had studied it as he studied botany: _From the
cedar-tree that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that springeth out of the
wall._ He had contemplated the loftiness of the rich and the
lowliness of the poor, wherein they differed, and wherein they
agreed, and especially _who made them to differ._ . . . His faith in
God and constant recognition of Him would lead him to take along with
him in all his contemplations the idea of the one Great Maker of all;
and then, when he found things strange, dark, or revolting to him
growing out of the distinctions between rich and poor, he leaves all
that with God. But _before_ he comes to this, and while he is engaged
amid things which he _can_ understand, he finds another side of the
question which at first disquieted him. . . . Coming to examine the
matter, he finds that _distinction_ is not the real affair after all;
that there are more _agreements_ than _distinctions_--more
_resemblances_ than _differences_: the Maker of all has made the all
more alike than unlike. . . . They meet together in their _origin and
their situation_ as they enter the world. They are equally dependent,
helpless, miserable. . . . The two classes are very much alike in
their _amount of happiness._ . . . The rich man is not necessarily
happy nor the poor unhappy. . . . The passions which make men
miserable are exercised by both classes without any visible
difference in their effects. . . . There is a substantial agreement
in all the organs of perception and enjoyment, and much of our
felicity here depends upon the organic constitution that makes us
men. . . . In intellectual faculties there is the same strong
resemblance. The perception, memory, imagination, reason, which God
has given, He has been pleased to give with an impartial hand. . . .
There is _one common end_ to our humanity; . . . among dead men's
bones you can find nothing to minister to human vanity. The rich and
poor meet together in the tomb and at the _final bar of God.--Dr.
Spencer._
They _meet often;_ yea, often is the rich forced to send for the
poor, needing as much the help of his labour as the other doth the
help of his money. But this maketh them to meet nearer yet, by
causing the same who was rich to become poor, and he that was poor to
become rich. . . . And they meet _everywhere_--there is no place that
hath not both of them, and as there are many of the one, so there are
many of the other.--_Jermin._
For Homiletics on verse 3 see on chap. xiv. 15-18, page 363; on
verse 4 see on chap. iii. 1-18, pages 29, 34, 39.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 5 _and_ 6.
A HEDGED-UP WAY.
+I. God will hedge in the way of the froward man.+ As we have seen in
considering former proverbs, men in a fallen condition have a
tendency to break loose from restraint--especially from Divine
restraint--and to mark out a path for themselves of their own
devising. (See on chap. xxi. 8.) Every human creature shows more or
less wilfulness in regard to their relations to God and His
law--choosing rather to fashion his life according to his own ideas
than accounting to the Divine idea and desire concerning him. And
this wilfulness, if unchecked, grows with a man's growth and
strengthens with his years, until his frowardness becomes the
distinctive feature of his life. But he will not have it all his own
way. He will not find the crooked path which he has chosen altogether
pleasant and safe. Thorns will prick his feet and pitfalls will
endanger his life. He will find himself confronted and fenced-in by
laws of retribution which God has set about him to admonish him to
forsake his rebellious way. For all the pain of body or mind which
men suffer, and all the obstacles they meet with in the way of
frowardness are intended to keep them from a deeper pain and a
heavier punishment. A thorn-hedge is set by the side of the highway
to admonish the traveller to keep the path, and so avoid, may be, the
precipice or the bog on the other side. If he attempts to climb the
hedge he will be wounded, and if he is a wise man the thorn-pricks
will lead him to abandon his intention, and so to escape more serious
harm. If the hedge does this if fulfils the end for which it was
planted. So with the pains and penalties with which God hedges in the
present way of the wicked man--they are intended to lead him into a
better and safer way.
+II. It is a parent's duty to hedge in the way of his child.+ The
father stands in the place of God to his young children in this
respect, for his discipline in their early years is the best possible
preparation for the discipline of God later on in life. Indeed the
wiser the training of the earthly father the less are his children
likely to need the corrective discipline of their Heavenly Parent.
The child that accustomed to bend its will to the will of a good
father will not find it so hard to yield obedience to the Will of God
as he who has had no such training. He will grow upon the practice of
sinking his will in that of a wiser will, and it will not be irksome
for him so to do. Having found his father's yoke an easy one, and
having in the path of filial obedience tasted pleasures unknown to
the rebellious child, he will the more readily accept the yoke of
God, and find in His service perfect freedom. But this blessed result
will not be attained without much anxious and sometimes painful
effort on the part of the parent. For the natural waywardness of man
in general manifests itself in very early life. A child would like to
be trained in the way it _would_ go, rather than in the way that it
_should_ go. But this would in effect be no training at all. For the
training of anything implies a crossing of the natural tendency--a
repression in one direction, and an effort towards development in
another. The training of the vine does not mean a letting it put
forth its branches just where it wills or a twining of its tendrils
around any object it chooses--it implies a free use of the
pruning-knife and of the vine-dresser's other implements and methods
of restraint and guidance. Every child, like every unwise man, would
like to set up its own hedge, and put up its own fences, and
prescribe the limits and bounds of its own conduct. But as we have
already seen, God lets no man do this beyond certain limits, for He
Himself sets "thorns and snares in the way of the froward." It is,
therefore, cruel neglect in a parent to allow a child to do it, for
thus the tendency to go in the wrong say is strengthened by
indulgence, and every year the path of obedience to God becomes more
difficult, and looks less inviting. If the parent does not set a
hedge about his son's path, he is only making it certain that he will
encounter thorns and shares further on in life. As to the promise
attached to the command in this proverb, it can hardly be said to be
of universal application. Solomon himself seems to have been an
exception to the rule. We have every reason to believe that his
father, after his birth, would train his son most carefully and
enforce his precepts by example. We must believe that David's own
bitter experience of the thorns and snares in the path of sin made
him very anxious to preserve his son from wandering as he had done,
and led him to train him most carefully. It is also said of the sons
of a man whose life was outwardly stainless--of Samuel--that his sons
"walked not in his ways" (1 Sam. viii. 3). Yet we cannot suppose that
Samuel, who had seen in Eli's family the miserable fruits of
non-restraint, had neglected to train his sons. Yet the exceptions
are doubtless very few in number compared with the rule,--that a
rightly-trained child does not depart from the right way in his riper
years, though, in Bishop Hall's words, "God will let us find that
grace is by gift, not by inheritance."
"Lord, with what care hast Thou begirt us round!
Parents first season us: then schoolmasters
Deliver us to laws; they send us bound
To rules of reason, holy messengers.
Pulpits and Sundays, sorrow dogging sin,
Afflictions sorted, anguish of all sizes,
Fine nets and stratagems to catch us in
Bibles laid open, millions of surprises.
Blessings beforehand, ties of gratefulness,
The sound of glory ringing in our ears;
Without our shame, within our consciences,
Angels and grace, eternal hopes and fears.
Yet all these fences and their whole array,
One cunning bosom--sin blows quite away."--_Herbert._
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 5. A forcible image to show that nothing stands so much in a
man's way as the indulgence of his own unbridled will. The man who is
most perversely bent on his purposes is most likely to be thwarted in
them.--_Bridges._
The ungodly finds nothing in his path to hell but thorns and snares,
and yet he presses on in it! A sign of the greatness and fearfulness
of the ruin of man's sin.--_Lange._
Verse 6. Three different meanings have been found of the
interpretation, "according to his way." (See Critical Notes.) It may
be--1. His way in the sense of his own natural characteristics of
style and manner,--and then his training will have reference to that
for which he is naturally fitted; or--2. The way of life which he is
intended by parents or guardians to pursue; or, 3. The way in which
he ought to go. The last is moral, and relates to the general Divine
intention concerning man's earthly course; the second is human and
economical; the first is individual, and to some extent even
physical. Yet although the third presents the highest standard and
has been generally adopted, it has the least support from the Hebrew
idiom.--_Tr. of Lange's Commentary._
He learneth best any way that knoweth no other, and he best keepeth
any way that groweth in it. Two children that are bred and grow up
together, are settled in affection the one to the other. Now, it can
be but a childish goodness that is in a child; but if the childhood
of goodness shall be bred and grow up with the childhood of man, it
will settle the stronger union between them. Aristotle saith, it is a
matter of chiefest moment for a man _to be accustomed_ this way or
that.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 7.
AN ANALOGY AFFIRMED AND A CONTRAST SUGGESTED.
+I. The contrast between the poor man and the borrower.+ The proverb
at least _suggests_ that the poor man and the borrower are not
necessarily convertible terms--that a poor man may owe no man
anything, and that a man may be in debt without being a poor man in
the common acceptation of the word. 1. The poor man and the borrower
may occupy different social relations; indeed, as a rule this is the
case. The poor man may have been born to poverty, and consequently
may be inured to its hardships, one of which is its subjection to the
will of the rich. But the borrower may have been born to wealth, and
himself accustomed to rule over the poor. The one may be so ignorant
and degraded by reason of his poverty as scarcely to be conscious of
the yoke he wears; whereas the servitude of the other will be galling
in proportion as his education renders him sensitive to his position.
2. They may be unlike in the fact that the poor man may have had no
choice but poverty--he may have been born in it, and may have had no
opportunity of altering his condition; but the borrower may not have
been absolutely obliged to borrow--he may have borrowed merely to
speculate or to waste.
+II. The point of resemblance between them.+ They are alike in being
both dependent upon the same person--upon the rich man. This rich man
may be unlike his poor brother in nothing save in his possession of
gold; he may be as uneducated as he is, and morally, far beneath him.
He may be much less polished and refined than the man who borrows of
him, but, whatever he is or is not does not alter the case, his money
makes him the master--both the poor man and the debtor must submit to
his dictation, must acknowledge their dependence on him. Both often
have the painful consciousness that he holds in his hand all that
makes their existence of any value to them--both often alike feel
that he could at any time deprive them of their very bread.
+III. The lesson of the proverb.+ The wise man, by thus showing how
two men who are unlike in almost every other respect may be reduced
to the same level in this, is probably reading a lesson against
borrowing. The poor man's subjection to the rich is a matter which it
is not in his power to alter, but a man goes into debt generally of
his own free will. He may often be very hardly pressed by necessity
to do so, or as a matter of business it may be advisable, but the
proverb at least suggests that the step should not be taken without
well weighing the consequences. It is doubtless mainly directed
against borrowing when a man has not resources to repay, and is not
likely to have them.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
1. _The responsibility of the rich._ How great the power of wealth.
In this world it is a talent often more influential for good than
intellect or genius. . . . 2. _The temptation of the poor._ . . . To
become servile, cringing in spirit. Flunkeyism is the greatest curse
of the people. . . . 3. _The wisdom of the diligent._ The industrious
man is a wise man. Why? Because the more industrious he is, the more
independent he becomes of wealthy men.--_Dr. D. Thomas._
Very important it is to maintain an independence of mind, quite
distinct from pride, which elevates the mind far above doing or
conniving at evil, for the sake of pleasing a patron. Many have been
forced to great entanglement of conscience, perhaps to vote contrary
to their conscience, rather than lose the great man's smile. Often
also the influence of capital is an iron rule of the rich over the
poor. Many, who profess to resist conscientiously state-interference,
have little regard for the conscience of their dependants. The monied
master exercises a control over his workmen, which shows too plainly
his purpose to make them the creatures of his own will. This gigantic
tyranny should be denounced with the most solemn protest. The true
Christian line is to shun that proud independence, which scorns the
kindly offer of needful help; but at the same time to avoid all
needless obligations. "Sell not your liberty to gratify your luxury."
If possible, "owe no man anything but love" (Rom. xiii. 8). "Guard
against that poverty, which is the result of carelessness or
extravagance. Pray earnestly, labour diligently. Should you come to
poverty by the misfortune of the times, submit to your lot humbly;
bear it patiently; cast yourself in child-like dependence upon your
God."--_Bridges._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 8.
A WORTHLESS SEED AND A ROTTEN STAFF.
+I. The seed sown.+ It is iniquity. All kinds of deeds and every
manner of dealing that are out of harmony with the principles of
justice are acts of iniquity. The least deviation from the path of
moral right is in its measure an iniquitous step. Sowing iniquity is
an expression that covers very much ground, and includes many degrees
of moral wrong, from the withholding of the smallest act of justice
to the inflicting of the greatest act of injustice. Now, whenever a
man deliberately and knowingly does either the one or the other he
does it with a purpose. He has an end in view as much as the farmer
has when he sows seed in the field. Men do not generally act unjustly
and commit crime out of mere love of sin--they generally expect and
desire to gain something by it that they think worth having. Solomon
here declares that they will be disappointed. He has before dwelt
upon the retribution that will follow sin, he is here speaking of its
deceptive character. Men do not get from it what they expect--they
are disappointed either _of_ the harvest or _in_ it. This has been
the experience of all sowers of iniquity in the world since Eve cast
in the first seed. In a certain sense she got what she was promised,
but how different the crop from what she hoped for. She _"reaped
vanity."_
+II. The staff depended upon.+ Haughtiness or pride. (See Critical
Notes.) This pride of heart and haughtiness of demeanour is born of a
man's imagining that he has gained for himself a position and a name
that will defy the changes and vicissitudes of life. This idea bears
him up; he leans upon it, as men lean upon a rod or staff. The rich
man often makes a staff of his riches, and uses it to "rule over the
poor," as in verse 7. The man of talent sometimes makes his talent a
staff, and walks among his intellectual inferiors with a proud and
haughty step. The great conqueror says in his heart, _"I will ascend
unto heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. . . . I
will be like the Most High"_ (Isa. xiv. 13-14), and with the rod of
his power he smites the nations and tramples upon the rights of his
fellow-creatures. But all these rods of haughtiness shall be broken,
and those who lean upon them shall find they have been trusting to a
broken reed, and the objects of their oppression shall say unto them,
_"Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?"_
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The proverb takes two terms for iniquity, one meaning _crookedness,_
the other meaning _nothingness._ It paints one as only breeding the
other. It intends a positive law. Wheat breeds wheat. So iniquity
breeds only worthlessness. A man may live a thousand years and yet
the harvest will be unvarying. And then to meet the fact that the
dominion that his ambition gives does make him ruler over the saints
themselves, he employs a verb which expresses high action, but action
that _exhausts itself._ Its literal sense is to _consume._ The idea
is as of a fever which wears down the patient and itself
together. . . . The impenitent seem to have the whole _"rod,"_ or
_sceptre,_ of our planet, the true solution is this, that the _"rod"_
is just budding out its strength.--_Miller._
Often may oppressors prosper for a time. God may use them as his
chastening rod. But the _seed-time of iniquity_ will end in the
harvest of _vanity;_ and when they have done their work, _the rod of
their anger shall fail._ Such was Sennacherib in olden time, such was
Napoleon in our own day. Never has the world seen so extensive _a
sower of iniquity,_ never a more abundant harvest of _vanity._ The
rod of anger was he to the nations of the earth. But how utterly was
the rod suffered to _fail,_ when the purpose was accomplished!
despoiled of empire, shorn of greatness--an exiled
captive.--_Bridges._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 9.
THE BOUNTIFUL EYE.
+I. The eye is an index of the soul.+ This is true, not only of the
_expression_ of the eye but of its _direction._ What is in the mind
can often be read in the eye; both evil passions and Divine
affections reveal themselves through it, but sometimes both depend
very much upon where the eye looks--upon the objects towards which
the glance is directed. Perhaps the text refers both to the eye that
softens at the sight of another's woe, and to the eye which makes it
its business to look around and search for objects which the hand can
help. For if the expression of the eye reveals the character so does
the direction which it habitually takes. There is many an eye that
readily moistens with sympathy at the tale or the spectacle of sorrow
which can hardly be called a _"bountiful eye,"_ for it is only by
accident that it ever encounters anything to call forth its sympathy.
But the eye that is ever on the watch for opportunities of doing
good, of feeding the hungry and raising the fallen, is a much surer
index of a godlike disposition. For such an eye has something in
common with the eye of Him who looked upon the bond slaves of Egypt
and said, _"I have seen the affliction of My people and am come down
to deliver them,"_ and who, manifest in a human body, _"was moved
with compassion"_ at the sight of _"people who were as sheep not
having a shepherd"_ (Mark vi. 34). He whose bountiful eye brings down
a blessing upon him is not one who now and then meets a needy brother
and relieves him; still less is he one whose sympathy is shown only
by the look. His is evidently one whose glance of pity is followed by
a deed of kindness and whose habit it is to look out for
opportunities of succouring the needy.
+II. The soul is blest by the ministry of the hand.+ He who gives of
his bread to the needy will have the gratitude of the needy, and
there is not a more exquisite joy perhaps on the earth. But the
blessing of God will be his in an especial manner. Upon both kinds of
blessing see Homiletics on chap. xi. 25, page 234, and on chap.
xix. 17, page 576.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Perhaps the expression--"he giveth _of his bread_ to the poor," may
mean, that he is ready even to share his own provision with them; not
merely to give a small portion of his superfluities, but to stint
himself for their supply. And this is the spirit of true
charity.--_Wardlaw._
Some that have a bountiful eye have no bread to give, but they will
give what will turn to as good an account to the donor, and sometimes
will be as pleasing to the receiver; tears and attention, and offices
of tenderness and prayers to Him that is able to help.--_Lawson._
This _bountifulness_ is a privilege, which earth possesses above
heaven. Many a rich _blessing_ is sealed to it. "Beneficence is the
most exquisite luxury; and the good man is the genuine epicure." He
"hath a continual feast," because his objects are always before
him.--_Bridges._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 10.
A MAN WHO OUGHT TO DWELL ALONE.
+I. The scorner should be dismissed from social bodies for his own
sake.+ It is better for the man himself that his power to do evil
should be as limited as possible. If we could know beforehand that a
man intends to commit a great crime, and so render himself liable to
heavy punishment, and bring guilt upon his conscience, the kindest
thing that we could do for him would be to deprive him of the power
of doing as he intends. We should thereby save him from the misery of
becoming a greater transgressor. If the other disciples of Our Lord
could have foreseen what was passing in the mind of Judas, and could
have prevented his becoming the betrayer of his Master, how great a
blessing would they have conferred upon that unhappy man! Whatever
might have been his other sins, he would not have been stung with
that agony of remorse at having betrayed innocent blood. But many
sins are of such a nature that it is impossible to hinder men from
their committal--the steps which lead to them are hidden from those
around, and no one suspects that the guilty one has any such
intention. The scoffer, however, is not a sinner of this kind--his
transgression is not a single act, but a habit of life; it is not a
secret purpose hidden in his heart until the moment of its
accomplishment, but is manifested in his words. Men can therefore, to
some extent, hinder him from increasing his own guilt by depriving
him of the opportunities of indulging in his sin--if they "cast him
out"--if they shun his society, and dismiss him from their midst, he
will have fewer opportunities and temptations to indulge in scoffing,
and so will be kept from going to such great lengths in sinning. A
man who loves to turn into ridicule all pure and holy things, uses to
his own condemnation and degradation influences which were intended
to bless and elevate him, and it is better for himself that they
should be placed beyond his reach than that he should so abuse them
and increase his own guilt.
+II. He should be cast out for the sake of his fellow-creatures.+
There are certain diseases of the human body which are not only most
dangerous for the patient himself, but expose to a like danger all
who come in contact with him. The leper is not only a great sufferer
himself, but he is a centre of a deadly disease which will spread
itself to those with whom he dwells. It is therefore necessary to
remove him from the society of other men--so long as he is a leper he
must dwell alone, must be denied the privilege of citizenship and the
joys of social life. So it ought to be with the scorner--the habit of
scoffing is one which is very infectious--very easily communicated by
one man to another; and seeing that it is so soul-destructive, those
who indulge in it ought not to have the opportunity of communicating
the moral pestilence. But there is another aspect of leprosy which
renders it necessary to isolate as far as possible those who are
suffering from it from the abodes of other men. Even if it were not
so infectious, it is most loathsome; and this alone would render some
separation necessary. Now, there are societies of men in which the
words of the scoffer would be quite powerless to do harm--there are
those whose love of that which is true and holy is strong enough to
withstand all such evil influence. But to such men a scorner is a
most repugnant character--they loathe his irreverent treatment of
that which is to them most sacred. It is not required that they
expose themselves to the pain of his society--they are at liberty to
cast him out of their midst.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
There is no cure but _"casting out."_ Such men are the Jonahs of
churches, and of the coteries of social life. As long as they are
there, there will be nothing but the bluster and commotion of the
storm--"toiling in rowing," incessant distress, vain exertion, and no
progress. The sea cannot "cease from its raging," till they are
thrown overboard.--_Wardlaw._
This _thought_ occurs also in the Psalms (Ps. lxviii. 6). Only the
rebellious, says the Psalmist, shall come to mischief. There are, it
is true, great mountains of wickedness; but take away this one
element of scorn--that is, make a man submissive and the causes of
strife have flown. Christ manages afterwards. Take away the
rebelliousness of the heart, and great monstrous sins will slowly be
corrected and disappear. . . . Scorning is not itself the cause of
the quarrel, and therefore ceasing to scorn does not remove it
directly. Christ must remove the _cause._ Scorning expels Christ.
Ceasing to scorn admits Christ. And, therefore, it is literally
true--"Cast out the _scorner_ (it may be thine own scornful heart),
and the cause of quarrel passes away, and strife and shame
cease."--_Miller._
It is always the disposition of the scorner, that wheresoever he is,
he scorneth to stay, and it is always the best usage towards a
scorner to cast him out, and not suffer him to stay. For whosoever
keepeth him shall be sure to keep strife and contention with him, and
where they are, reproach and shame are the attendants of them. If any
good be done a scorner he disdains that it is so little; if any wrong
be done him he complains that it is very great. If he be used in
anything, he disdains to be a servant; if he is not used he complains
that he is neglected. Still he is discontented, and still his
discontent breeds quarrelling and debate. But cast out the firebrand
and the fire goes out; cast out Jonah and the storm shall cease. Cast
out the scorner from thy house, and then there shalt be quiet. For
whence are all suits of contention. Whence is all strife, but because
the heart scorns to bear this, scorns to take that, scorns to let it
go?--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 11.
A ROAD TO ROYAL FRIENDSHIP.
+I. The pure in heart deserve to be honoured with the friendship of
the king.+ Where there is purity of heart, the springs of moral life
are healthy--the whole man is an embodiment of truth and goodness.
Such a man is worthy of the honour and confidence of those who stand
in the highest positions, inasmuch as purity of heart belongs to the
man himself, and is a possession that is counted precious by the best
beings in the universe, whereas power and rank are often but
accidents of birth, and in themselves alone are valueless in the
sight of God, and in the eyes of the greatest and noblest of His
creatures.
+II. The king consults his own interest when he shows favour to such
men.+ A man of pure heart is a great blessing to any community. His
very life is in itself a light which scatters moral darkness--a well
which makes a fertile spot wherever it springs forth. And it is in
proportion to the number of such men in a kingdom that the realm
enjoys peace and prosperity. If we could find any earthly
commonwealth composed entirely of such citizens, we should find a
place where the kingdom of God had "come"--a heaven upon earth. But
where there is purity of heart there is grace of lips--there is
active effort to spread truth and righteousness. The well does not
confine itself to the spot where it first issues from the earth, but
sends forth health-giving streams far and near. Seeing, then, that
such men are the real pillars of a state, he only is a wise king who
seeks them out and delights to do them honour.
+III. Some kings have recognised their obligations and interest in
this matter.+ Pharaoh discerned the purity of Joseph's heart by the
grace of his lips, and made him the second ruler in the kingdom, and
Darius promoted Daniel to the highest office in the realm. David's
resolution was--_"Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land,
that they may dwell with me; he that walketh in a perfect way, he
shall serve me"_ (Psalm ci. 6).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
_Pureness of heart_ describes not the natural, but the renewed man.
It is no external varnish, no affectation of holiness; but sincerity,
humility, shrinking from sin, conformity to the image of God. He who
hath fully attained this _pureness_ is before the throne of God. _He
who loveth it_ is the child of God on earth. His desire is
perfection, constant progress, pressing towards the mark (Philip.
iii. 12-15).--_Bridges._
What Solomon says is rather an encouragement to love and cultivate
"pureness of heart," than a motive to be directly regarded, and
allowed to influence us to this duty. It is only one of those
indirect results which may be enjoyed as a testimony of the higher
approbation of God. . . . While we thank God for the favour He may
give us in the sight of men,--we must see that we seek no
friendships, whether among the greatest or the least, the highest or
the lowest, by any other means whatever than the "pureness of heart,"
and the consistency of life here recommended.--_Wardlaw._
Grace in the lips is necessary to recommend pureness of heart. We
ought always to speak the words of truth, but we ought to speak it in
the most pleasing manner possible, that we may not render it
unacceptable by our manner of representing it. Daniel showed his
integrity and politeness at once, by the manner of his address to
Nebuchadnezzar, when he was called to give him very disagreeable
information.--_Lawson._
He that _hath_ pureness of heart cannot choose but _love_ it, such is
the exceeding beauty and amiableness of it; and he that _loveth_
pureness of heart cannot choose but _have_ it, for that it is which
purifieth and cleanseth the heart. Many there be who love a
cleanness, and neatness, and pureness of apparel; many there are who
love a clearness and pureness of countenance and complexion. No
washing or purifying is thought to be enough to make this appear, so
that often the heart is defiled by it. And with such puritans the
courts of princes are much attended, wooing with this bravery the
favour of the court and prince. But it is to the pure in heart that
God inclineth in favour the heart of the king. And because the heart
is not discernible by the king, God therefore giveth grace unto the
lips, in which the purity of the heart shining, tieth the heart of
the king as a friend unto him.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 12.
THE PRESERVATION OF KNOWLEDGE.
+I. God preserves knowledge by preserving the man who possesses the
knowledge.+ The preservation of the life of the man of science who
has discovered some secret of nature is a preservation of the
knowledge that he has gained. If the discovery has been made by him
alone, and he dies before he has revealed it, the knowledge is lost
to the world. When a physician is acquainted with a special remedy or
method of treatment for a certain disease which is known only to
himself, the preservation of his life is the preservation of this
special knowledge. If he leaves the world without imparting what he
knows to another man, his secret dies with him--the abstract
knowledge is not left behind when the man who possessed it is gone.
All knowledge is preserved to us from age to age by its being
communicated from one human being to another, as one generation
succeeds the other, and the hand of God is to be recognised in its
preservation. But this is especially true of the knowledge of God. In
the days of old, God long preserved a knowledge of Himself in the
world by preserving the life of Noah, of Abraham, of Isaac and of
Jacob. They stood almost alone in the world in this respect, and were
like lighthouses on a dark and stormy ocean, sheltering and
preserving a moral light in the moral darkness. If the lighthouse is
destroyed the light goes out; and if these men had died without
transmitting to others the light which they possessed, the world
would have been left in ignorance of God. As the ages have rolled on,
there have been more of these spiritual lighthouses, and God has
always preserved a sufficient number upon the earth to bear witness
of Himself.
+II. God has preserved knowledge by causing special care to be taken
of His written Word.+ Holy men of old wrote as they were moved by the
Holy Ghost, and the record of the truths which were revealed to them
is with us until this day. The knowledge of the way of salvation
through Jesus Christ has thus been preserved for nearly nineteen
centuries, and to-day we can become as familiar with the events of
the Incarnation, and with the teachings of the Apostles, as if we had
lived in the first century of the Christian era. Although many
efforts have been made to destroy the Scriptures of truth, they are
with us still, preserved by the providence of their Divine author, in
order that men may not be without the means of becoming wise unto
salvation through believing the truths which they contain. There have
been dark days when the living guardians of Divine truth were hardly
to be found; but if they had quite died out after the Bible was
written we should still have had this source of spiritual knowledge
with us, like a seed-corn, preserving within its husk the living
germ, ready to burst forth and grow when it found a congenial soil.
God, as the preserver of the knowledge of Himself, has made its
safety doubly sure by not only committing it to the living man, but
by causing it to be communicated to the written page.
+III. The preservation of knowledge by the Lord counteracts the evil
and false words of wicked men.+ Acquaintance with truth concerning
anything overthrows all false ideas and teachings concerning it. The
coming of the morning light scatters all the darkness of night, and
with it many false conceptions as to what is around a traveller on an
unknown road. So a knowledge of Divine truth scatters error, and
overthrows false conceptions concerning God and godliness, and
convicts their enemies of falsehood, thus rendering them powerless to
do harm. Our Lord, by His knowledge, thus overthrew the words of a
great transgressor in His temptation in the wilderness, and it is by
the spread of this knowledge of God which He has Himself preserved to
us that the final overthrow of evil will be accomplished.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
There is still another sense of the words,--which they _may_ bear;
though by some, perhaps, it may be regarded as fanciful:--"The eyes
of the Lord _keep_ knowledge:"--they _retain_ it. What He sees, be it
but for a moment, does not, as with _our_ vision, pass away. It
remains. _We_ see, and having seen, what passes from the eye passes
also from the memory. Not so is it with God's vision. The sight of
His eye is no uncertain or forgetful glance. It is unerring and
permanent. All that His eyes have ever seen is known as perfectly now
as when it passed before them,--as when it existed or happened!--And
in the exercise of this permanent and perfect knowledge, "He
overthroweth the words of the transgressors." All their evil desert
remains before Him. They can neither elude His knowledge, nor bribe
His justice, nor resist His power. They shall be made to learn by
fearful experience, "whose words shall stand, _His,_ or
_theirs!_"--_Wardlaw._
When _knowledge_ seemed on the eve of perishing, a single copy of the
Scriptures, found as it were accidentally, _preserved_ it from utter
extinction (2 Chron. xxxiv. 14-18). For successive generations the
Book was in the custody of faithful librarians, handed down in
substantial integrity (Rom. iii. 2). When the church herself was on
the side of the Arian heresy, the same watchful _eyes_ raised up a
champion (_Athanasius_) to _preserve_ the testimony. Often has the
infidel _transgressor_ laboured with all the might of man for its
destruction. Often has Rome partially suppressed it, or committed it
to the flames, or circulated perverted copies and false
interpretations. Yet all these _words_ and deeds of _the
transgressors have been overthrown._--_Bridges._
The eyes of the Lord are His knowledge, and it is in Him, in His
knowledge that knowledge is preserved. That is the bottomless
treasure of it; from thence issue out all the veins of knowledge,
wherewith the world is enriched. It is He that preserveth knowledge
for the seekers of it, it is He that preserveth knowledge in the
teachers of it. . . . His eyes shall watch over it, and though
blindness put out the eyes of many, yet in Goshen it shall shine and
bring comfort to His people.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 13.
AN ACTIVE IMAGINATION.
+I. Inactivity of will may cause a too great activity of the
imagination.+ Man is made for action, and if he refuses to employ his
powers in doing some useful and real work, it is probable that he
will put forth some morbid effort in another direction. If his limbs
are not at work, his mind will probably be active, and if he does not
occupy it with objects which are worthy, it will be filled with
thoughts that are sinful, and imaginations that are false. It will be
especially apt to invent excuses for sloth, by magnifying the
difficulties which stand in the way of effort. Every obstacle will be
magnified into an insurmountable hindrance, and little risks will be
looked at through a medium which will make them look like dangers to
be avoided at any sacrifice of duty. The wish is often father to the
thought, and the slothful man welcomes and nurses the deception which
is born of his own indolence. And the sluggard is an easy prey also
to the suggestions of the tempter, who will not be slow to do what he
can to inflame the imagination and distort the judgment.
+II. The sluggard rightly apprehends danger, but mistakes the source
whence it will come.+ There is a devouring enemy which will slay him
if he do not take care, but it is not without him, but within him. He
has a foe who endangers his life, but that foe is his own sloth; or,
as we say on chap. xxi. 25, his own unsatisfied desire. While his
eyes are turned on the highway, and he is seeking to avoid the lion
which he fancies is there, he is nursing in his bosom the indolence
which will be his ruin. He has more to fear from himself than from
the most terrible manslayer that ever crossed the path of any human
being. But it is with him as with slaves to other forms of sin--he is
ready to lay the blame of his disobedience to God's commands
anywhere, rather than upon his own unwillingness to comply with them.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
_"Saith,"_ really a preterite. These proverbs have usually the
future. The future is a present continuing forward. Here we have a
future tracing itself backward. The impenitent have always been
saying the same thing. Age has not changed. Men have stuck to it for
near a century. . . . "There is a lion" at the mercy-seat. So that
the minister quits answering the sluggard's cavils, and tells each
man plainly--"These cries are symptomatic." There is no lion in the
case. And a heart that will shape these phantoms would shape others,
if these were laid. The difficulty is sloth. In truth, there is a
"lion," but it is a bad heart, crouching against itself, and lurking
to destroy the poor unwary sinner.--_Miller._
This is a very odd excuse for his laziness. Lions are seldom found in
the fields in the day time, and it is a very extraordinary thing if
they be found in the streets. Does the sluggard himself believe there
is any truth in it? If he does, why does he sleep in his house, since
it is possible that it may be set on fire by some accident in the
night? Why does he ever take a meal, for some have been choked by the
bread which they put into their mouths? When we are employed in the
duties of our calling, we need not vex ourselves with the
apprehension of lions. "I will give mine angels charge over thee,"
says God, "and they shall keep thee in all thy ways." Thou shalt
tread upon the lion and adder, the young lion and the dragon shalt
thou trample under thy feet. But let the sluggard remember that there
is a lion in that bed where he dozes away his time, and in that
chamber where he sits folding his arms together. The devil goes about
like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, and he rejoices
greatly when he lights upon a sluggard for he looks upon him to be a
sure prey. We are safe from the lions in the way of duty, and never
safe when we avoid it. Lions, when they met David feeding his sheep,
were torn in pieces by him like kids. A lion unexpectedly came upon
that young man of the sons of prophets, who declined his duty when he
was commanded to smite his neighbour, and rent him in
pieces.--_Lawson._
Here is no talk of Satan, "that roaring lion" that lies couchant in
the sluggard's bed with him, and prompts him to these senseless
excuses. Nor yet of the "Lion of the tribe of Judah," who will one
day send out summonses for sleepers, and tearing the very caul of
their hearts asunder send them packing to their place in hell. But to
hell never came any as yet that had not some pretence for their
coming hither. The flesh never wants excuses, and needs not to be
taught to tell her own tale. Sin and shifting came into the world
together; and as there is no wool so coarse but will take some
colour, so no sin so gross that admits of a defence. Sin and Satan
are alike in this, they cannot abide to appear in their own
likeness.--_Trapp._
The tongue is seldom slothful, even in the slothful man himself. That
will bestir itself to find excuses, and to plead pretences for the
defence of sloth. That will be diligent to allege reasons that the
sluggard may be negligent. . . . If the lion had been within, if the
courage and nobleness of the lion had been in the sluggard's heart,
he would never have talked of a lion without. No, it was the cold
snail that was within; and unless the slothful man's house may be
removed with him, he will not stir to go out of it. Thus he that
feareth to be slain, without cause, delighteth to be slain by his own
laziness.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 14.
A DEEP PIT.
This verse treats of two classes of character, both of which have
been depicted before. (See on chaps. ii. 16-19, page 24, vi. 24, page
89, vii. 5-27, page 95.)
+I. The tempter.+ The _strange_ woman--the woman who has been so deaf
to the voice of all that is womanly as no longer to be worthy of the
name, who instead of being man's helpmeet and endeavouring to win him
to tread the path to heaven, is his curse and makes it her aim to
drag him down to hell. Notice the main instrument of her destructive
power--the _mouth._ It is by her words of flattery and deception and
persuasion that she ensnares her victim and compasses his ruin.
History and experience confirm Solomon's words, for, although
external beauty is often a powerful ingredient in the temptation, it
is not always so, and counts for very little if it is unaccompanied
by that fascination of manner and of speech which have been used by
so many bad women with such fatal effect. If we look at the portraits
of some of those women who have exerted so mighty a power for evil in
the world, we can seldom see sufficient beauty to account for the
spell which they seemed to cast around their victims, and we must
conclude therefore that it was rather to be found where Solomon puts
it,--who may be hear speaking from bitter personal experience--viz.,
in the tongue. This proverb adds one more testimony to the many that
have gone before of the immense power for evil or for good that is
exerted by that "little member" of our bodily organism.
+II. The tempted.+ He is here depicted as an unwary traveller along
life's highway easily deceived by the appearance of things, and, too
careless or too unsuspecting to look beneath the surface, following
the bent of his inclination and yielding to the voice of the charmer
until he finds the ground giving way beneath his feet, and darkness
and hopelessness all around him. Notice the fearful _name_ here given
to such an one--to one who is led away by such a tempter. He is
_abhorred of the Lord._ Here is full evidence that God does not look
upon human creatures with indifference as to their moral
character--that merciful Father though He is, He does not extend to
men that indiscriminating and therefore worthless tenderness which
some would have us believe is His main attribute--that if _men_ look
upon sin as mere obedience to the dictates of nature, and therefore
blameless, He does not so regard it. And if men will not attach any
weight to the words of Scripture--not believing them to be
infallible--they can read the same truth in their every-day
experience. The terrible retribution which comes upon those who
listen to the words of the "strange woman" is a sufficient testimony
to the abhorrence in which the Creator of men holds the sin to which
she allures the unwary and the licentious man.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
To what do the fearful words amount? To this: that in His righteous
displeasure, there is not a heavier curse which an offended God can
allow to fall upon the object of His wrath, than leaving him to be a
prey to the seductive blandishments of an unprincipled woman:--that
if God held any one in abhorrence, _this_ would be the severest
vengeance He could take on him.--_Wardlaw._
The mouth of a strange woman is but the mouth of a far deeper pit,
the pit of hell into which it openeth. The one is digged by the
wickedness of men, the other by the justice of God.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 15.
A FACT STATED AND A DUTY INFERRED.
+I. Human nature in its most attractive form contains latent
depravity.+ The flower of the thistle is beautiful to look upon, and
its downy seed is an apparently harmless object, and one worthy of
admiration, as it rears its head among the corn. But how much power
of mischief is wrapped up in that ball of soft down, if it is allowed
to scatter its seed unchecked. A young lion is as pretty and harmless
a creature as a kitten, but what ferocious instincts lie dormant
there. A child is the most attractive and innocent of human
creatures. As we look upon its guileless face we can hardly connect
the idea of sin with its nature, and hardly believe it possible that
the most depraved man or woman in the world was once as pure and
stainless. But the Book of God tells us that even that young soul is
tainted with the disease that infects all our race, and what the Book
says is confirmed by the experience of all who have had anything to
do with training children. The foolishness of self-will very soon
shows itself, and the little one early gives proof that he or she is
a true child of Adam by rebelling against the restraints with which
it is lovingly surrounded, and desiring at all risks to eat forbidden
fruit. In the fairest child-form now living upon the globe there may
be hidden seeds which, when fully developed, will fill the world with
terror and misery.
+II. That this depraved tendency is deeply rooted in the child's
nature.+ It is "bound" in or "fettered" to it by a cable of many
strands, or a chain of heavy links--it is not a slight preference for
the wrong which can easily be overruled--not a garment put on which
the wearer can easily be persuaded to put off again, but a part of
the very nature--a bent of all the faculties of the soul.
+III. The disease is one which will yield to proper treatment.+ We do
not suppose that Solomon's words teach that any corrective rod will
be potent enough to drive out all tendency to do wrong, inasmuch as
experience and observation contradict it, but the same experience and
observation confirm the truth that wise correction in youth is mighty
in its moral power, and may so bring the child round to the love of
the true and the good, that its own efforts will second the efforts
of the parent, and it will itself turn upon the enemies within, being
fully convinced that the self-will that is bound up in its own heart
is the greatest folly to which it is liable. There are many who,
looking back upon the wise and loving chastisement of a tender
parent, can bear testimony to the truth of this proverb. On this
subject see also on chap. xiii. 24, page 334.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The rod of correction is proper to drive away no other foolishness
than that which is of a moral nature. But how comes wickedness to be
so firmly bound, and so strongly fixed, in the hearts of children, if
it be not there naturally.--_Jonathan Edwards._
_Bound,_ or _fettered. . . . Firmly knit, closely settled; well tied
in;_ that is, fixed in the childish spirit; this is the sense of
nearly all the commentators. Of course, there are great difficulties
at once. The fact theologically is just the opposite. "Folly" is not
fixed in the childish heart; but stronger and stronger in periods
afterwards. Why not, _pro vero,_ "bound?" In much the majority of
texts it means simply "tied down," or "fettered." _"Folly is fettered
in the heart of a child,"_ that is, _tied down,_ and, in many ways,
_repressed._ This is literally the case. It is weak, and hemmed in,
and easier to grapple with and drag out of the soul in youth than at
any other period.--_Miller._
Observe--it is _foolishness,_ not childishness. _That_ might belong
to an unfallen child. No moral guilt attaches to the
recollection--"When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood
as a child, I thought as a child" (1 Cor. xiii. 11). "A child is to
be punished"--as Mr. Scott wisely observed--"not for being _a child,_
bur for being _a wicked_ child." Comparative ignorance, the imperfect
and gradual opening of the faculties, constitute the nature, not the
sinfulness of the child. The holy "child increased in wisdom" (Luke
ii. 52). But _foolishness_ is the mighty propensity to evil--imbibing
wrong principles, forming bad habits, entering into an ungodly
course. It means the very root and essence of sin in a fallen
nature--the _folly_ of being revolted from a God of love.--_Bridges._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 16.
OPPRESSION AND SERVILITY.
+I. Opposite actions proceeding from the same motive.+ This proverb
seems to be directed against a man whose mastering passion is the
unworthy one of amassing material gain and ministering exclusively to
his own enjoyment. This is the commonest source of oppression.
"Covetousness," says Dreyden, "is itself so monstrous that nothing
else is like it except it be death and the grave, the only things I
know which are always carrying off the spoils of the world and never
making restitution." This is a true picture of the avaricious man who
regards none of the needs and rights of his fellow-creatures, but
only asks himself with regard to them how they can best be made to
serve his interests. This leads him to grind down those who are
poorer than himself, and use them as so many stepping-stones, by
means of which he can mount higher in the social scale, forgetting
that though their poverty makes them weaker than himself, they have a
Friend who is far stronger than he is. But the same man who thus
oppresses his needy brother will make it his business to propitiate
the rich, and for the same end, viz., to advance his own interests.
"Tyranny and flunkeyism," says Dr. Thomas, in his comment on this
verse, "generally go together. Both are the children of avarice. He
that proudly domineers over the poor will servilely bow his knee to
the rich."
+II. Opposite actions meeting with the same retribution.+ Although
these actions are so different, they can both be traced to one
fountain-head, and therefore one sentence is passed upon both. The
man who lives for himself shall not get anything worth having; or if
he do, things will be mixed with the cup of his prosperity, which
will make it an unpalatable one after all. He may get wealth, and may
come to want health; he may be rich and healthy, and yet suffer in
his family relationships. He will certainly come to want peace of
conscience, the goodwill of his fellows, and the favour of God, and
no gain can balance such a loss.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Sin pays its servants very bad wages, for it gives them the very
reverse of what it promised. Whilst the sin of oppression or
injustice promises mountains of gold, it brings them poverty and
ruin. "Shalt thou reign because thou closest thyself in cedar?" said
the prophet to Jehoiakim. It could not be, for he used his
neighbour's services without wages, and gave him nought for his
work. . . . We are not proprietors but stewards of the gifts of
Providence, and must distribute that which He has entrusted to our
care according to His will. And it is His pleasure that we should
make to ourselves friends by the mammon of unrighteousness, not of
the rich but the poor.--_Lawson._
The covetous wretch and the vain prodigal are of quite contrary
dispositions, and take quite contrary courses, and yet they both meet
at last, for both come to want. . . . He that being rich taketh a
little from the poor (for how little must it needs be that is taken
from them) shall surely find that he taketh a great deal from
himself, even all that he hath. And he that giveth much to the rich
(for it must be much, or else it is not regarded by them) will wish
he had given it to the poor, when being made poor, he will give
himself little thanks for it, and find as little help from them to
whom he has given his riches.--_Jermin._
A reference to the Critical Notes at the beginning of this chapter
will show that we have entered the third division of this book. One
or two additional notes are subjoined.
+17.+ Miller reads the second clause, _"And thou shalt incline thine
heart,"_ etc. +18. They shall withal be fitted in thy lips,+ rather
_"let them abide together upon thy lips."_ +20. Excellent things.+
Some here render _"thrice repeated things,"_ the French translation
is _"things relating to rulers or governors,"_ and Stuart reads "Have
I not written to thee _heretofore,_" understanding Solomon to refer
to the previous portions of the Book. Upon the first two Wardlaw
remarks that they both contain the idea of superiority or excellence,
for "why are things repeated but for their excellence? and _princely_
or _royal_ things"--which the French translation may yield when
analysed--is but a figurative way of expressing transcendent
superiority.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 17-21.
TRUST FROM KNOWLEDGE, AND BLESSEDNESS FROM TRUST.
+I. Knowledge of God must go before faith in God.+ There must be a
knowledge of the existence, character, and power of any person before
there can be any trust in him. God is not so unreasonable as to
expect men to put trust in Him unless they have some grounds for
their trust. Hence the Bible especially aims to make men acquainted
with the Being upon whom they are called to exercise faith, by
declarations concerning His character, and by a history of His doings
in the past, and reminders of what He is doing in the present.
Sometimes God points to the _visible creation_ as a source whence man
may obtain knowledge concerning Him, and come to exercise trust in
Him. This is the drift of the sublime passage in Isaiah xl., in which
Jehovah seeks to bring Israel, by a consideration of His creative
power and wisdom, to confide in His Almighty strength. (Verses
27-31.) Sometimes He appeals to _His dealings in the past_ as a
ground of faith in His character and purposes in the present. _What
iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone from me?_
(Jer. ii. 5.) The Son of God appeals to His Father's love as a basis
of faith in Himself (John iii. 16). Paul speaks of the way of
salvation as a _"knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus
Christ"_ (2 Cor. iv. 6), because without knowledge there can be no
faith, and an enlightened knowledge will certainly lead to faith. The
preacher here points to the necessity of gaining this true wisdom,
the knowledge of Jehovah, as the means of begetting trust in Him.
+II. Real blessedness will follow faith in God.+ A child can have no
lasting and real joy in its life, unless it has faith in his father's
love and wisdom. He feels instinctively that he is dependent upon
that father, that much of his future well-being depends upon what
that father is and does, and if he cannot be sure that he has his
real welfare at heart, it will throw a dark shadow over his young
life, which will deepen as he becomes more and more capable of
realising his position. It is a worm at the root of all our peace of
mind to distrust where we must depend. All men must feel that they
are dependent upon God, and yet most men live, and perhaps most die,
without giving Him that trust which alone can give them peace, and
which those who know Him will testify that He fully deserves. The
testimony of those who knew is _"blessed is the man that trusteth in
the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is"_ (Jer. xvii. 8). And it is
because of its trust-begetting character that Solomon here declares
that true knowledge--knowledge concerning Jehovah--is _"pleasant"_ to
the soul.
+III. Faith in the heart will manifest itself in the lip.+ A perfume
may be hidden in the casket, but whenever the lid is lifted it will
make its presence known. The tongue will speak sometimes of that
which fills the heart, and when it does not do this in a direct
manner there will be a tone in the conversation which will tell men
what the soul prizes most. Knowledge in the heart will bring wise
words to the lips--the love of truth will result in the _answer_ of
truth.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 17. This sounds like the opening of the earlier Proverbs, chap.
v. 1; viii. 1. The repetition is significant. The life of the soul is
attention. If that be persevered in, all things follow. God only can
give saving light. And yet by laws like the planetary system, He will
give it on the bending of the ear. Alas for us! we will not even do
this much without His influence. Nevertheless He urges the promise.
(See Miller's rendering in the additional notes at the beginning of
this paragraph.) It is a law, though it be a law of grace. God has
framed it. Hear outwardly, and thou shalt feel within. Such is our
nature (chap. ii. 1-5), and it is shrewd to use it. The _inclining_
is from Him; but the _advice_ also is from Him! Shrink not from the
advice because His strength is needed to make it His chosen
instrument.--_Miller._
We may mark that, whereas in the beginning of Proverbs the Wise Man
had often called on his son to fasten attention on him, saying, "My
son, my son;" now, after so much said, he supposeth that he needeth
not to be called upon, and therefore speaketh unto him, without his
usual compellation. And surely when much hath been said, to need
still much calling on, sheweth much neglect of what hath been said,
and much unworthiness to have been an hearer of it. And yet because
in the best some rousing of attention is requisite, the Wise Man here
lifteth up his voice, to cause a careful bowing down of the ear to
his words. He would therefore have attention so to bow down the ear,
as to make it as it were a bed, wherein the words of the wise might
rest; because that is it which will bring true rest unto the
heart. . . . But we may further note, that whereas he would have him
to _hear the words of the wise,_ it is to _his knowledge_ that he
would have him _apply his heart._ For we may hear the words of the
wise men of this world, we may hear the words of human learning and
understanding, and much good is to be gotten from them; but we must
apply our hearts unto the knowledge of God's Word, and so far receive
the other as they agree with that, or are not repugnant unto it. Or
else _hear the words of the wise,_ whosoever they be, if they be the
words of wisdom which they deliver. But if their actions teach
otherwise than their words do, apply not thine heart to follow their
example. Let rather _my knowledge_ instruct thee, that the heart may
be as well applied to doing, as the ears to hearing.--_Jermin._
Verse 18. It will last when we get it. This is the wonder to others.
Here one has been trying to be a better man, and begins to be one
from a sudden epoch. Others wrestle with their faults, and fall back
into them again. Nothing can be more fitful than all moral
reformations. But here, in spiritual life, a flash shoots up, and we
never return to darkness. Why is this? Because it is _pleasant,_ says
the proverb. It becomes fixed because of its principle as of a sound
nature. . . . When we _watch over right words,_ which
(_Orientaliter_) stands for all right actions, God rewards us by
making them _"pleasant,"_ and so, even as in heaven itself, they
become fixed as the very habit of our lips.--_Miller._
Many there are whose lips do speak the words of wisdom, but they are
not fitted upon their lips. . . . The reason whereof is, because the
words of wisdom are not seated in the heart. For though the lips may
give themselves motion and the head may furnish them with matter, it
is the heart that fitteth the lips.--_Jermin._
It will give thee most high satisfaction if thou dost so heartily
entertain them, and thoroughly digest them, and faithfully preserve
them in mind, that thou art able withal to produce any of them as
there is occasion, and aptly communicate for other men's
instruction.--_Bp. Patrick._
Verse 19.--1. The _particularity of address--"to thee, even to
thee."_ In the days of prophetic inspiration, it was no unusual thing
for the servants of God to receive express commissions to
individuals, in which they alone were concerned. But the whole Book
of God--the entire "word of His testimony"--should be considered by
_every one_ as addressed _to him;_ as much so as if there were no
other human being besides himself, and as if it had been "given by
inspiration" to himself alone. There is no room for any saying, as
Jehu did of old--_"To which_ of all us?" The answer would, in every
case, be--To _each of you all_--to thee--to thee--to thee. Not that
there is no such thing as, "rightly dividing the Word of Truth;" not
that there are no portions of it that have a special appropriateness
of application to the characters and circumstances of individuals.
Still, the great truths of the Word are alike to _each_ and to _all._
And speedily a man may be placed in one or other of the peculiar
situations to which the different portions of it are adapted! I know
of nothing more important than for every individual to bring Divine
lessons _home to himself._ Too often, alas! we forget _personal_
amidst _general_ application of particular truths. We think of them
as intended _for men,_ and forget that they are designed _for us._
Would you then profit by what you hear?--keep in mind that what is
addressed to all is addressed to each--_"to thee, even to
thee."_--2. Mark the emphasis on the time--_"this day."_ We set a
mark, in our minds, on days that have been rendered memorable by
events of special interest. Would Noah, think you, ever forget the
day of the year on which he and his family entered the ark, and when
"the Lord shut him in?" or the day on which he again stepped out of
it upon the green earth, to be the second father of mankind? Would
the shepherds ever forget on what night of the year the angelic
messengers, amidst the light of the glory of the Lord, announced to
them the Divine Saviour's birth, and when "the multitude of the
heavenly host," bursting on their sight, "ascended jubilant," saying
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward
men?" Or would Cornelius ever forget the day and the hour when the
angelic visitant directed him to that instruction whereby he and all
his house should be saved? _You,_ it is true, have many times heard
the words of truth. Let me, however, remind any of you who _have_
thus often heard, and who still neglect them, of the importance to
you of _each day_ that you enjoy the privilege. Every time you thus
hear them, your eternal all depends on the reception you give to the
message of God. _This day_ may be important indeed, for it may be the
last on which Divine truth shall sound in your ears. O that it may be
a day to be sacredly and joyfully remembered by every sinner now
present, as the day on which he first felt its inestimable
preciousness to his soul! If you thus hear, and thus improve the
opportunity, the day will not be obliterated from your memory by the
lapse of eternity. There is one thing of which with emphasis it may
be said to each individual sinner, It is _"to thee,_ even _to
thee:"_--I mean the message of the Gospel--the message of free mercy
through the Divine Mediator. There is no exception; there is no
difference. The law speaks to each, "to thee, even to thee"--its
sentence of condemnation. The Gospel speaks to each--"to thee, even
to thee"--its offer of free, full, immediate, irrevocable pardon on
the ground of the universal atonement. To every fellow creature we
can say--An adequate atonement has been made for all; therefore _for
thee_--"for thee, even for thee;" and on the ground of that atonement
does Divine mercy come near to thee--"to thee, even to thee"--with
the offer of forgiveness, acceptance, and life. _"This day"_ is the
message of life again "made known" unto thee, O sinner; and there is
no obstacle to thine acceptance and enjoyment of it, but what is _in
thyself;_--none in God; none in Christ; none in the atonement; none
in the Divine offer of its virtue to mankind. _"To thee_ is the word
of this salvation sent;" and "now is the accepted time, now is the
day of salvation."--_Wardlaw._
Only a Divine Word can beget a Divine faith, and herein the Scripture
excels all human writings, none of which can bring our hearts to the
obedience of faith. "I can speak it by experience," says Erasmus,
"that there is little good to be got by the Scripture, if a man read
it cursorily and carelessly; but if he exercise himself therein
constantly and conscionably he shall feel such a force in it, as is
not to be found in any other book whatsoever." "I know," saith Peter
Martyr, "that there are many who will never believe what we say of
the power of God's Word hidden in the heart; and not a few that will
jeer us, and think we are mad for saying so. But oh that they would
be pleased to make trial! Let it never go well with me--for I am bold
to swear in so weighty a business--if they find not themselves
strangely taken and transformed into the same image." The Ephesians
"trusted in God" so soon as they heard the word of truth. They
"believed" and were "sealed" (Ephes. i. 13). And the Thessalonians'
faith was famous all the world over, when once the Gospel "came to
them in power" (1 Thess. i. 5-8).--_Trapp._
Verses 20 and 21. How the preacher labours! Let us begin at his most
expressive terminus. We are to be _sent for!_ some certain day.
_"Those that send"_ is but the proverbial cast. _"Him that sends"_ is
the more perfect meaning. As sure as the stars we shall be _sent for_
one day; and one thing will be exacted from us, and one only in the
creation, and that is _light._ The man without light perishes.
Solomon says, his whole aim has been to press light on the
sinner. . . . "Have I not done," he says, "and that under Scriptural
promises, the very best things to secure my object? and is not that
object, now _that I might make thee to know the verity of the words
of truth!"_ This Hebrew is very peculiar. _"Words of truth"_ are
easily uttered. _"Counsels and knowledge"_ of the deepest sort may be
in the minds of infidels. We may teach a child the very intricacies
of faith. But there is a _"verity"_ at its deepest root that the
natural man cannot perceive (1 Cor. ii. 14). To express this, Solomon
uses a very infrequent word. It means (_in radice_) _to weigh out so
as to be exact._ That I might make thee to know the _exactness_ of
the words of truth. The meaning is that _verity_ which is seen by a
Christian eye.--_Miller._
Surely if anything be worthy of sending for, worthy of going for,
then are the words of knowledge and truth. If they may be had for
going or sending, who should not go, who should not send, whither
should we not go, whither should we not send? They are they which
must bring us to heaven and to happiness. Or else to take the sense
another way, and in a spiritual application of the words: Who are
they that send unto us? What are the words of truth that we must
answer unto them? They that send unto us are God the Father, God the
Son, and God the Holy Ghost. God the Father sendeth His blessings,
God the Son His merits, and God the Holy Ghost His graces. The words
of truth that we must answer are the words of thankful
obedience.--_Jermin._
_The certainty of the words of truth._ The evidence of the divinity
of the Bible, instead of ever being shaken by all the efforts of
infidelity, has been augmenting from the beginning hitherto. Its
_external_ evidence has grown in the fulfilment of its predictions.
Its _internal_ evidence, though in one sense ever the same, has, in
another, been increasing also; inasmuch as it has stood its ground
amidst all the advances of human knowledge, and men have never been
able to improve upon it or to get before it:--and it is the _one only
book_ of which this can be affirmed. And its _experimental_
evidence,--the manifestation of its truth in its saving
influence,--in its power to dislodge and change the evil passions and
habits of the worst of men,--has multiplied by thousands and tens of
thousands of dead and living witnesses. In our own days, we have but
to point, not only to cases of revival in our own land, in which the
Gospel has proved itself "mighty through God" to the pulling down of
the strongholds of worldliness and corruption, and turning hearts
long alienated to God,--but to the lands of heathen idolatry and
cruelty and vileness, wherever Gospel truth has found its way and has
been embraced. _There,_ in the marvellous changes that have been
effected,--in the contrast between previous stupidity and pollution,
and heartless and murderous ferocity, to intelligence and purity and
virtue, and peace, and harmony, and happiness, we have the triumphs
of the Cross, and the manifestation of the _"certainty"_--the Divine
certainty--"of the words of truth." They have thus shown themselves
to be indeed "excellent things" by the excellence of their effects.
We call upon all to examine for themselves. The Bible _courts
examination._ It is the unwillingness and refusal to examine, that is
most to be deplored. The genuineness of its writings, the
authenticity of its histories, the reality of its recorded miracles,
the fulfilment of its prophecies, the sublimity and consistent
harmony of its doctrines, the purity of its precepts, the origin of
its commemorative ordinances, and its tendency to personal and social
virtue and happiness,--_all_ court examination. The testimony of the
celebrated Earl of Rochester, when converted from infidelity and
profligacy to Christianity and virtue, will be found the truth.
Laying his hand on the Bible, he would say--"_This_ is true
philosophy. _This_ is the wisdom that speaks to the heart. A bad life
is the only grand objection to this Book."--_Wardlaw._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 22 _and_ 23.
GOD THE SPOILER OF THE SPOILER.
+I. Robbery is of three kinds.+ 1. _There is the open and unlegalised
thief._ There are men who do not pretend to respect the rights of
others and who openly live in violation of Divine and human laws.
They differ somewhat in their methods and in the description of their
plunder--some seeking to gain an entrance in to the mansion and lay
hands on the jewels of the wealthy, and others being content with
what they can find in the cottage or on the wayside--but they are
alike in pursuing their profession without any pretence that they
fear God or regard men. But these are not the robbers against whom
the sentence is passed which is contained in this proverb. 2. _There
is the legalised thief._ There are governments under which iniquity
is established by law--kingdoms in which wholesale robbery is carried
on in the name of justice. There were many such in the days of
Solomon and there is not a few in this nineteenth century. Perhaps,
however, the Preacher was not referring so much to a government as a
whole as to individuals who, sitting in the seats of justice, were
regardless of the rights of those over whom their position gave them
authority. The _"oppressor in the gate"_ is probably a judge who
disregards the rights of the poor man if he conceives it will further
his own interest so to do, while he all the time pretends to be an
administrator of justice and does all in the name of the law of the
land. Under this class may be placed those who hold in trust property
which has been given for the use of the poor and who disregard the
claims of the really needy and so defeat the good intention of the
donor. There is an immense amount of this misappropriation of money
even in England, and although those who are guilty of it distribute
their favours with a pretence of impartiality, and in the name of law
they are as truly robbers in the sight of God as the burglar or the
pickpocket. 3. _There is the negative robber._ A man may be a thief
without taking anything from his fellow-man or without holding any
official position and abusing his power and privileges. If a man or
woman who is brought in contact with others poorer than himself or
herself withholds from these poorer brethren anything simply because
they cannot retaliate or enforce their rights, such a man or woman is
a robber of the poor. And this may and is often done unconsciously--a
man who would be indignant at being branded as unjust withholds from
those whom poverty has placed in his power rights which belong to
every rank and station but which are not always looked upon as the
equal heritage of the poor and the rich. For it is quite possible to
rob the poor without taking or withholding money from them. Some, who
would not do this, rob them of their rest and leisure and withhold
from them consideration and sympathy.
+II. Defenceless though the poor may seem, Almighty power is on their
side.+ Although the robbery may be legalised on earth, it is contrary
to the law of heaven, and although the judge who oppresses can be
brought before no human tribunal, he will one day stand before the
bar of God. The Judge of all the earth was Himself once a poor man,
and can sympathise with the oppressed poor as well as avenge their
wrongs. He will spoil the oppressor of his soul's comfort, and cause
him to faint, and be afflicted for want of spiritual sustenance. Many
a poor man's soul is made sad by legalised injustice, and Christ as
man's judge will bring legalised justice to bear upon him who offends
in this matter (Matt. xxv. 41-46). See also Homiletics on Verse 16,
and on Chap. xiv. 30, page 389.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
After so promising a preface, and such wooing of attention, we looked
for some fresh matter, and that of best note, too. But, behold, here
is nothing but what we had before. "It is truth," saith the wise man,
and yet I must tell you that "to write the same things to me indeed
is not grievous, but for you it is safe" (Phil. iii. 1).--_Trapp._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 24 _and_ 25.
AN INFECTIOUS AND DANGEROUS DISEASE.
+I. Friendship influences habit and thus moulds character.+ The
reason given here for avoiding the companionship of an angry man is,
_"lest thou learn his ways."_ This subject has been treated at length
in chap. xiii. 20, page 326. There is great need when pestilence is
abroad to avoid needless contact with infected persons and things. In
every man there is more or less liability to disease which sometimes
only needs a slight exposure to unhealthy influences to develop into
a fatal activity. We are always living and moving amidst unhealthy
and infectious moral influences which are hurtful to us, because of
the tendency there is within us to go wrong; and it is therefore the
mark of a wise man to avoid as much as possible all intimate contact
with those who are manifestly under the dominion of sin. This proverb
does not of course forbid such intercourse as is sought for the
purpose of benefitting the vicious man.
+II. A man's anger hurts himself more than those whom it leads him to
injure.+ We should have expected that Solomon would advise us to
avoid the angry man because of the injury he might do us when under
the dominion of his passion, but instead of that he commands us to
shun him because of the injury we shall do ourselves if we become
like him. The wise man loses sight of the lesser danger in looking at
the greater, and counts as nothing the harm an angry man can do to
the body of a fellow-creature, in comparison with the grievous hurt
he inflicts upon his own soul. And this is manifestly a correct view,
whether we look at the present influence of passion or its remoter
consequences. The man who receives an unmerited insult or injury may
sustain no loss of dignity, nor suffer in any way in his spirit. But
he who inflicts the injury becomes a meaner man in the very act, and
creates a tempest of unrest within his own breast. And a blow which
deals even death to an innocent man does not necessarily deprive him
of any real good, but it creates a very hell of remorse for him whose
anger prompted the deed. While Abel exchanged a blighted home here
for an Eden in a brighter world, Cain wandered a fugitive and a
vagabond upon the earth.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Lest thou be infected by his example, or provoked by his passion to
return the like to him. Either (1) a mischief which is often the
effect of unbridled rage, or (2) an occasion of sin, either by
drawing thee to an imitation or requital of his rage, or by tempting
thee to unfaithfulness in performing the great office of a friend--to
wit, admonition or reproof, which, by reason of his furious temper,
thou either canst not or wilt not do.--_Matthew Poole._
It may seem strange that we should be supposed in danger of learning
what we feel to be so very disagreeable. And yet we may. As already
hinted, a passionate man may have interesting and attractive
qualities otherwise. Now, in proportion as we either admire or love
him for these, will be the hazard of our thinking the less evil of
his one defect, and trying to palliate and to smile at it. And there
is no little truth in the saying, that we either _are_ like our
friends and intimates, or _will soon be._ But more than this. The
sudden and often unreasonable heats of the passionate man are ever
apt to fret and irritate our spirits, and thus to form a habit of
resemblance by the very reaction upon ourselves of his hot and hasty
temper.--_Wardlaw._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 26 _and_ 27.
SURETYSHIP AND ITS DANGERS.
+I. A command to avoid a perilous habit.+ We cannot, in the light of
the spirit of Bible teaching--especially that of the New
Testament--regard this proverb as forbidding all suretyship. It
cannot mean that one honest man when he has ample means at his
command is never to become security for another man of honesty. We
know that there are cases in which it is the greatest kindness that
one friend can do another, and that it is often the means of giving a
poor or unfortunate brother a fair start in life. We are commanded to
_"bear one another's burdens"_ (Gal. vi. 2), and _"to do good unto
all men, especially unto those who are of the household of faith"_
(Gal. vi. 10), and this is sometimes the most effectual way of
carrying out these precepts. But Solomon here warns men against the
unwisdom of choosing for companions those men whose habit it is
lightly to become a surety for another--who lend their name and
credit without considering the responsibility they undertake or
asking themselves whether they are doing any real good to the person
they oblige. Although it may be a man's duty sometimes to become a
surety for another it is perilous and wrong to make it a habit of
life, and thereby encourage thriftlessness and perhaps dishonesty.
+II. A warning as to the probable consequences of such a habit.+
Solomon regards it as certain that a man who habitually becomes a
"surety for debt" will come to ruin. This is obvious if we reflect
that for one honest man who asks such a favour there are twenty who
have little or no moral sense in such a matter; that although a good
and true man is often found in circumstances of such need, the great
majority who are so found are rogues.
For an illustration and comments on this subject see on Chap. vi. 1,
page 76, and on page 216. Also Homiletics on Chap. xx. 16, page 589.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
We are commanded to "love our neighbour _as_ ourselves;" but to do
for him what might expose us to having our very bed sold from under
us, is to love him _better_ than ourselves, which is a step beyond
the Divine injunction.--_Wardlaw._
Seeing by taking suretyship upon him, he put himself under the
creditor, and made himself to be, as it were, the bed on which the
trust of others did rest, and seeing by not paying he hath taken away
the creditor from the bed of his rest, it is but like for like if the
creditor take away his bed from under him. And yet the wise man
asking the question seemeth to me to imply in some sort that he
should not do it. For though the other doth justly deserve it, yet in
so much need let mercy spare.--_Jermin._
For Homiletics on verse 28 see on chap. xxiii. 10, page 666.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 29.
THE DESTINY OF THE DILIGENT.
+I. The diligent man meets with Divine approval.+ The repeated
commendations of diligence and condemnations of slothfulness which we
meet with in this book show the estimate which God sets upon
rightly-directed industry. 1. _The diligent man is in harmony with
God._ The Divine Father is ever working for the good of His
creatures, and no being who ever trod this earth laboured so
continuously and earnestly as the Divine Son. With Him during His
public ministry the completion of one work was the beginning of
another. He was ever about His Father's business, diligently carrying
on and seeking to finish the work which His Father had given Him to
do. The man who is diligent in business is in this respect a follower
of his Lord and Master. 2. _He is in harmony with creatures both
above Him and beneath Him._ Angels are doing the will of their King
with promptitude and despatch--Gabriel _"flies swiftly"_ (Dan.
ix. 21) when sent on a message to the earth. Heaven is a world of
activity, the cherubim around the throne _"rest not day nor night"_
(Rev. iv. 8). Many of the creatures below man set him an example of
industry. (See on chap. vi. 6-11, page 78.) Even inanimate nature
seems to rebuke the idle man. (See a comment by Dr. Perry on page
425.) 3. _He is in harmony with the needs of humanity._ The world
calls for diligent workers, and without them all civilisation would
soon cease and men sink to the condition of the savage. We have
around us many proofs of this. The home of the indolent husband or
wife is destitute of all refining influences and is often a nursery
of crime. The land where the people are all thriftless is a land of
degradation and poverty. We can well understand, therefore, that
God's approval rests upon those who make the best use of the time and
opportunities which He gives them.
+II. The diligent man will reap some reward for his diligence.+ It is
not, of course, possible to take this proverb in an absolutely
literal sense, because many diligent men never saw the face of a
king. But without diligence it is hardly possible for any man to
obtain any position of honour, or if he do he is not likely to retain
it. But there is another sense in which diligence may bring a man
before kings. Caxton was a diligent man, and by his diligence came
literally to stand before the King of England. But he has, by his
invention of the printing-press, stood before kings and princes from
that hour to this, for they have all learned to honour his name, and
to acknowledge their obligation to him. Every time a royal traveller
takes his seat in a locomotive James Watt stands before him, for his
ability to move with ease and speed from place to place is the result
of that man's diligence, and his name is held in honour in
consequence. And instances might be multiplied indefinitely, in which
diligence has caused a man to stand before not only the kings of his
own time, but of succeeding generations.
On this subject see also Homiletics on chap. xii. 24, page 285.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Of all the qualities which kings especially look to and require in
the choice of their servants, that of despatch and energy in the
transaction of business is the most acceptable. . . . There is no
other virtue which does not present some shadow of offence to the
minds of kings. Expedition in the execution of their commands is the
only one which contains nothing that is not acceptable.--_Bacon._
God loves nimbleness; "What thou doest, do quickly," said Christ to
Judas, though it were so ill a business that he were about.--_Trapp._
* * * * * *
CHAPTER XXIII.
CRITICAL NOTES.--+1. When thou sittest,+ etc. Miller here translates
_"Forasmuch as thou sittest,"_ and applying the word _ruler_ to God
gives to the proverb a meaning entirely different from that generally
attached to it. See his remarks in the Suggestive Comments. +What is
before thee?+ Rather _"Who is before,"_ etc. +2. Put a knife,+ etc.
Zöckler, Ewald, and others translate, _"Thou hast put,"_ or _"thou
puttest."_ The meaning may then be "Thou hast virtually destroyed
thyself if thou art a self-indulgent man." Delitzsch, however, gives
the verb the imperative form, as in the English version.
+3. Deceitful meat.+ Literally "Bread of lies." Many commentators
understand this to mean a deceptive meal, which is not given from
motives of hospitality. +5. Wilt thou set thine eyes?+ etc. Rather
_"Wilt thou look eagerly after it, and it is gone?"_ +6. Him that
hath an evil eye+--_i.e.,_ the jealous man. +11. Their Redeemer.+
Their _Goel,_ or Avenger. In the Hebrew law this word is applied to
the nearest kinsman. (See Ruth iii. 12.) +17. Let not thine heart
envy,+ etc. The verb translated _envy_ refers to both objects in the
verse, and is better translated _"strive after."_ Miller renders it
_"be aglow."_ "It is," he says, "a verb expressive of all emotion."
(See Numb. xxv. 11-13.) +18. Surely there is an end.+ Delitzsch here
reads, _"Truly there is a future."_ "The root of the Hebrew," says
Miller, signifies _afterward._ +20. Eaters of flesh.+ This may be
translated _"Devourers of their own flesh"--i.e._, those who destroy
their bodies by sensual indulgence. +23.+ The word _also_ should be
omitted in this verse. The three nouns in the second clause stand in
apposition to the one in the first. +Instruction,+ rather
_"discipline."_ +25.+ This verse should be, _"Let thy father and thy
mother be glad, and her that have thee rejoice."_ +26. Observe,+
rather _delight._ +28. As for a prey,+ Delitzsch and Zöckler here
translate _"like a robber."_ +Transgressors,+ rather _"the
faithless."_ +30. Mixed wine--+_i.e.,_ wine mixed with strong spices.
+31. When it giveth his colour,+ etc., literally, "When it showeth
its eye." This may refer to its _brightness,_ or to the _head,_ or
_pearl_ of the wine. +"When it moveth itself,"+ etc., rather _"when
it glideth down with ease."_ +33. Strange women,+ rather _"strange
things."_
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 1-3.
THE TEMPTATIONS OF THE TABLE.
+I. The table of a wealthy man is a place of temptation to the sin of
overindulgence.+ At such a table there is a great variety of dishes,
and the human appetite, in common with every bodily sense and mental
faculty, delights in variety. The eye is best pleased with a
diversified landscape, the ear with a diversity of sound, and the
mind when it can vary the objects of its contemplation. So man's
appetite is most gratified by a variety of food, and there is much
more temptation to excess under such circumstances than when his
hunger has to be satisfied from a single dish. Then, again, the food
at such a repast is generally of the most tempting kind--all the
countries of the world are put under contribution to supply it with
dainties, and much skill and time is expended upon the preparation of
the food. There is little danger of eating too much when bread is the
only fare, but it begins and increases in proportion to the palatable
nature of the viands. And the proverb seems to be addressed to those
to whom a seat at the rich man's or ruler's table was not an
every-day occurrence--to those to whom it was not given to feast so
sumptuously every day--and this would increase the force of the
temptation. The variety and the rarity of the dishes is much more
tempting to one unaccustomed to such feasts.
+II. It is most degrading and injurious to yield to such a
temptation.+ This is implied in the strong metaphor which Solomon
uses. An undue indulgence in the pleasures of the table, even when it
does not amount to positive gluttony, is a most fruitful source of
disease, and for this cause, if for no other, dainty food well
deserves the name which is here given to it. But it is also most
injurious to man's better nature; it is often the first step to
habits of intemperance and licentiousness, but if it does not lead to
them it is altogether incompatible with intellectual and moral
excellence. A man who is not master of his appetite is below the
brute and can be neither great nor good. It is well to remember that
an _appeal to the appetite_ was one of the elements in the first
temptation. An Eastern fable runs thus: "A king once permitted the
devil to kiss him on either shoulder. Immediately two serpents grew
from his shoulders, which, furious with hunger, attacked his head and
attempted to get at his brain. The king tore them away. But he soon
saw with horror that they had become part of himself, and that, in
wounding them he was lacerating his own flesh." Such is the
deplorable condition of every victim of appetite and lust.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
First, thy duty is to be temperate as to the _quantity_ of thy
diet. . . . God gave man food to further, not to hinder him in his
general and particular calling, and surely they sin who feed till,
like fatted horses, they are unfit for service. . . . Christians may
cheer nature, but they must not clog it. It is a great privilege in
the charter granted us by the King of Kings, that we should have
dominion over the creatures; but it will be a sordid bondage if we
suffer them to have dominion over us. Socrates was wont to say, that
evil men live that they may eat and drink, but good men eat and drink
that they may live. . . . Secondly, thy duty is to be temperate as to
the _quality_ of thy diet. Though no certain quality of food can be
set down, yet in general this must be observed, that we make not
provision for the flesh (Rom. xiii. 12). We may preserve the flesh,
but we must not provide for the flesh. Our enemy is strong enough
already, we need not put more weapons into his hands. . . . The
Christian may take his food, but his food must not take him. . . . It
is not unlawful to eat dainties, but it is unlawful to set the mind
upon them. . . . We may eat and digest dainties, but we may not crave
and desire dainties. God made man not for fleshly dainties, but for
spiritual delights. . . . Elijah could be content with a raven for
his cook. Daniel fed and thrived upon pulse: he looked fairer by it
than those that did eat the king's fare. Brown bread and the gospel
are good cheer, said the martyr. John the Baptist could live upon
locusts and wild honey. The apostles had some ears of corn for a
Sabbath-day's dinner. Though God is pleased out of mercy to afford us
better provision, yet our work must be to mind
moderation.--_Swinnock._
It is of the Lord that hunger is painful and food gives pleasure;
between these two lines of defence the Creator has placed life with a
view to its preservation. The due sustenance of the body is the
Creator's end; the pleasantness of food is the means of obtaining it.
When men prosecute and cultivate that pleasure as an end, they thwart
the very purpose of Providence.--_Arnot._
(It will be seen that the following comment is based on Miller's
rendering. See Critical Notes.) Kings like to see their guests eat.
At the very utmost, this part of our behaviour is a matter of
indifference. But of God nothing could be more exact. We see all
eating with Him; in fact, feeding upon Him, as though He were Himself
bread. _"Forasmuch,"_ therefore is just in place. _"Discerning well
who is before thee,"_ that also, is perfectly consistent. And then
our sin, what is that? Why, fleshly appetite! What is innocent at
courts is idolatry in the banquet to the skies. . . . Serving the
creature more than the Creator, Paul expresses it; and gives us ample
analogy after a New Testament kind (Rom. i. 25, see also James
iv. 3), for understanding, how we _have put a knife to our throat, if
we be men given to appetite.--Miller._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 4 _and_ 5.
THE DECEITFULNESS OF RICHES.
In order to get the true meaning of this proverb it is necessary to
define what Solomon understands by labouring to be rich. We call the
possessor of vast estates or a large account at the bank a rich man,
and so he is, if he lives within his income, paying his way and
having a surplus to bestow upon the needy. But so is the village
smith, who with less than a hundredth part of the income of the
nobleman or merchant prince "looks the whole world in the face and
owes not any man." Riches and poverty are but relative terms, and
when we consider how indispensable it is that some men should possess
more than a mere sufficiency for their personal needs, we may be sure
that the wise man did not mean to discourage all effort to gain even
more than enough for our daily needs. But the _labour_ which is here
forbidden is evidently that all-absorbing pursuit of wealth which
engrosses the entire man to the exclusion of higher claims. When men
make gold their god instead of their servant it is obvious that the
boundary line of lawful pursuit is passed, and that deprecated in the
proverb is entered upon. The text--
+I. Condemns all following after wealth under the inspiration of the
natural heart.+ Man's _"own wisdom"_ is an insufficient and dangerous
guide in this matter as in all others. The unrenewed heart of man is
selfish and sordid, prone to think only of its own desires and to set
up a false standard of happiness. Only the wisdom that cometh from
above can show men what is worth striving after, what will really
bless the present and afford satisfaction in the future. If a man
buys and sells and gets gain with a constant reference to the will of
God, and in dependence upon Him, he will not _labour_ to be rich--in
other words, he will, with Paul, _learn in whatever state he is to be
content,_ and will know how to fulfil the duties which come with
abundance and how to exhibit the graces which can only be manifested
in poverty.
+II. Teaches that only those who do not trust in riches can really
enjoy their possession, or escape bitter sorrow in their loss.+ Every
rich man knows that it is possible that his wealth may leave him, and
that it is certain that he must leave his wealth. The uncertainty of
retaining them through life, and the certainty of losing them at
death, are two thorns which must be found in the pillow of everyone
who makes riches the chief good of his existence, and must surely
deprive him of any heartfelt satisfaction from their possession. The
soul of man is made for something higher and more lasting than any
earthly good, and of all that men call good, and esteem precious,
there is nothing which has less to satisfy the cravings of the soul
than mere material wealth, or that is more easily and quickly lost.
The only way, therefore, to get any present satisfaction in it, and
to ensure oneself against future disappointment from it, is to follow
the Apostolic injunction, and _"trust not in uncertain riches, but in
the living God"_ (1 Tim. vi. 17).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Not like a tame bird, that returns; nor like a hawk, that will show
where she is by her bells; but like an eagle, whose wings thou canst
neither clip nor pinion. All their certainty is in their uncertainty,
and they are only stable in this, that they cannot be stable. . . .
Wealth is like a bird; it hops all day from man to man, as that doth
from tree to tree; and none can say where it will roost or rest at
night. It is like a vagrant fellow, which, because he is big-boned,
and able to work, a man taketh in a-doors, and cherisheth; and
perhaps for a while he takes pains; but when he espies opportunity
the fugitive servant is gone, and takes away more with him than all
his service came to.--_T. Adams._
What a startling interdict this! What an immense proportion of the
world's toil, and especially in such a community as our own, does it
bring under condemnation and proscription! Were all the labour
directed to this forbidden end to cease,--How little would be
left!--what a sudden stagnation would there be of the turmoil of busy
activity with which we are daily surrounded! What are the great
majority of men about,--in our city and in our country? What keeps
them all astir? What is the prevailing impulse of all the incessant
bustle and eager competition of our teeming population? Are not
all,--with a wider or narrower estimate of what riches
mean,--"labouring to be _rich?_"--The love of fame has been called
the universal passion. Is not the love of money quite as much, if not
more, entitled to the designation? Yes; and many a time does the
_wisdom_ of the world set itself to the defence of the world's toil
and the world's aim--alleging many plausible, and some more than
plausible, things in its pleadings. "Riches," say they, "keep a man
and his family from dependence. Riches enable a man to enjoy many
comforts that are in themselves lawful and desirable. Riches procure
a man distinction and influence in society. By this and other means,
riches put it in a man's power to do good:--why should we not 'labour
to be rich?'" It is all true; and the plea is in part quite
legitimate. Yet Solomon, by the Spirit, with the authority, and in
the kindness of God, enjoins--"labour _not_ to be rich."--_Wardlaw._
It were a most strange folly to fall passionately in love with a bird
upon the wing. . . . How much better were it, since riches will fly,
for thyself to direct their flight towards heaven, by relieving the
necessitous servants and members of Jesus Christ.--_Bishop Hopkins._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 6-8.
FEIGNED GENEROSITY.
+I. Men's inward life and feelings are often directly opposed to
their outward life and actions.+ A man is here pictured as
manifesting a large hospitality. His board is laden with dainty meats
and surrounded with guests whom he presses to eat and drink with such
an appearance of goodwill that it seems ungenerous to suspect him of
insincerity. But words and even deeds do not always proclaim the man.
"As he thinketh in his heart, so is he;" and this man's thoughts give
the lie to his actions. He gives of his good things from no desire to
cheer and relieve those who are poorer than himself, or to cement the
bonds of friendship with his equals, but for some unworthy, and, it
may be, from some base motive. He puts on for the time the garment of
benevolence, but he is a "wolf in sheep's clothing," and will not
hesitate to throw off his disguise, if the selfish ends which he has
in view demand it. It is painful for us to be obliged to admit the
truthfulness of the portrait here sketched by the Wise Man, but we
know that it is not an exaggerated one.
+II. Those who encourage such hypocrisy will meet with a
well-deserved punishment.+ It is taken for granted, and it is
undoubtedly true, that there is a false gloss upon such feigned
generosity which makes it easy to distinguish from the real thing.
And, if we accept the hospitality of such a man knowing it to be a
deception, we too practise hypocrisy, and thus become a partaker of
his evil deeds. Such a man is guilty of two heinous sins, he is first
a covetous and self-seeking sinner and then he is a gross hypocrite.
The covetous man is according to the Inspired Book an idolator (Col.
iii. 5), and our Lord when on earth could endure without anger all
contradiction of sinners against Himself (Heb. xii. 3) except
hypocrisy. This always set His holy nature on fire with indignation
and called forth the only Woes that ever passed His lips. It was
forbidden to the apostolic churches to sit at the table of any man
who, "calling himself a _brother,_" was yet _"covetous or an
idolator"_ (1 Cor. v. 11). For such a man was under a far deeper
condemnation than one who openly manifested his real character,
seeing that he added to his other sins that of professing to be what
he was not, and to _eat_ with such a man was not only to countenance
his covetousness and idolatry but to share his hypocrisy. The Old
Testament preacher here issues the same prohibition and obviously for
the same reasons, and if men disregard them they fully deserve the
negative and the positive punishment with which they are here
threatened. All the friendly words which they utter to save
appearances and to further selfish interests, and which convict
_them_ in _their_ turn of hypocrisy, will be _"lost,"_ and bitter
regret and self-condemnation will be their final portion.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The injunction, or dissuasion, I need not surely say, is by no means
intended to give any license or encouragement to a spirit of pride or
disdain. No. It is only a salutary warning to be cautious of bringing
yourselves under obligation to any selfish and hypocritical
dissembler of kindness, who only wishes to lay you under such
obligation to serve purposes of his own. The man who has thus
entertained you will boast of his hospitality; tell others of it,
making the most of it for his own behoof; set it down against you,
debiting you on account of it with certain expected good turns at
your hand, when he comes to need them. He will throw it up _to_ you,
should you not do all he looks for; or rail _at_ you to others for
ingratitude and meanness in forgetting his kindness. He will remind
you of it again and again, with vexatious importunity,--teazing you
for your favour and influence in some object he has in view for
himself or his family. It is amazing what an amount of expectation a
man of this sordid and selfish disposition will found upon _a
dinner!_ Your having sat at _his_ table, eaten of _his_ dainties, and
drunk of _his_ wines, is price enough even for your conscience
itself. Beware of him. Keep yourself free.--_Wardlaw._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 9.
THE MORALLY INCURABLE.
+I. A man may become morally incurable by human instructors.+ There
are cases of bodily disease which it would be quite useless for the
most skilful physician to attempt to cure; such an attempt would only
be a throwing away of time and energy on his part which might be
usefully employed upon another patient. And so there is at least one
form of moral disease which is beyond the reach of human effort. It
is that of the man who scoffs at everything, and upon whom,
therefore, the most affectionate entreaties and the most solemn
warnings are thrown away.
+II. To offer to such an incurable fool the wisdom of God is to break
a Divine commandment.+ The Redeemer Himself, under the Gospel
dispensation, issued such a prohibition. Even among the beneficent
utterances of the Sermon on the Mount comes the command, _"Give not
that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before
swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and
rend you"_ (Matt. vii. 6). Although Christ and His disciples were
sent forth to proclaim the Gospel message among men who, on account
of their bitter animosity to Him and to His teachings were compared
to _"wolves"_ (Luke x. 3), there were others in a far more hopeless
condition before whom they were forbidden to place the great truths
of the kingdom of God, and they were such characters as the fool of
this proverb, who would have _"despised the wisdom of their words."_
The deep import of the words of Solomon are fully seen when we
consider the even more startling utterance of Him who loved and died
for all men.
+III. There is a Divine compassion for the sinner in this
commandment.+ To offer to such a man what he would scoff at, would be
to give him an occasion of increasing his own guilt by a new refusal
of Divine truth. Mercy, therefore, is mingled with the stern judgment
of the prohibition.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
We often speak of retribution as if it always lay beyond the grave,
and the day of grace as extending through the whole life of man; but
such is not the fact. Retribution begins with many men here. The day
of grace terminates with many men before the day of death. There are
those who reach an unconvertible state, their characters are
stereotyped and fixed as eternity. The things that belong to their
peace are hid from their eyes. They are incorrigible. Such is the
character referred to in the text.--_Dr. David Thomas._
Those that are reproved by ministers, and Christian friends may learn
from this verse that they have no reason to take it amiss, or to
think that they are treated with contempt. They are considered as
offenders, but at the same time as offending brethren, who are not
incurably perverse. They would be treated in a very different way,
and might reckon themselves with more justice to be considered in the
light of scorners, and dogs, and swine if there were no means used to
recover them to repentance.--_Lawson._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 10 _and_ 11.
THE RIGHTS OF PRIVATE PROPERTY.
+I. In the community formed under Divine direction there was a
possession of personal and private property.+ When the land of Canaan
was first divided among the tribes, it was evident that each family
had its respective allotment, the boundaries of which were clearly
defined (See Duet. xix. 14, etc.) Each head of a family became,
therefore, a possessor of property, to which no other person, not
even the king in the days of the monarchy, had a right. (See 1 Kings
xxi. 1-3.) The kingdom, therefore, formed under direct Divine
supervision, was not governed on communistic principles; each man had
his own inheritance, which became more or less valuable according to
the industry and skill expended upon it. Social inequalities must
have resulted from this arrangement, which were prevented from
becoming too great by the arrangements connected with the year of
jubilee, but which within certain limits were evidently not regarded
by God as opposed to the welfare of His chosen people. We may infer,
then, that the idea that it would be better for mankind if all things
were possessed in common--if no man had anything which he could call
his own--is not a Divine idea, and is a mistaken one.
+II. Those who are too helpless to protect their own rights are
especially under the protection of God.+ The depravity of human
nature is seen in the almost universal tendency displayed by the
strong to forget the claims of the weak; but when this tendency is
carried to the length of wronging the widow and the fatherless, it
seems as if a man had sunk to the lowest depths of moral degradation.
Yet there were such specimens of fallen humanity in the commonwealth
established and governed by God Himself, as there are in nominally
Christian England. But, from the earliest days of Jewish history, God
declared Himself to be the Guardian of the widow and the fatherless,
and the field which was their inheritance might have been well called
_God's Acre,_ from which all intruders were warned off by Divine
command and threatening. This is a truth which it may be well for all
those to lay to heart which hold property in trust for such dependent
ones, or who have any other responsibility in relation to them. It is
surely a comforting thought for the fatherless themselves that the
place of the earthly parent is taken by One whose power as much
exceeds all human power as His love goes beyond all human love.
_ILLUSTRATION._
The state of Palestine with regard to enclosures is very much the
same now as it has always been. Though gardens and vineyards are
surrounded by dry stone walls or hedges of prickly pear, the
boundaries of arable fields are marked by nothing but a little
trench, a small cairn, or a single erect stone placed at certain
intervals. It is manifest that a dishonest person could easily fill
the gutter with earth, or remove these stones a few feet without much
risk of detection and thus enlarge his own field by a stealthy
encroachment on his neighbour's.--_Dr. Jamieson._
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The words in the first clause of the verse have been sometimes
applied in a very different department--even to the danger and the
criminality of intermeddling with old and long established articles
of doctrine in religion, and principles and statutes of civil
polity. . . . It is clear, however, that there can be no period of
prescription for truth,--or rather for falsehood,--no length of time,
that is, by which error that has passed for truth can become anything
else than error. No time can transmute wrong into right. Changes, no
doubt, should be made with caution. The longer anything has been
received as a truth, the improbability of its being found an error
becomes ever the greater. But if any dogma in any human system of
Christian doctrine is proved, from a full and careful investigation
of the Word of God, to have been set down and held as a truth by
mistake,--it would be a most strange and mischievous attachment to
antiquity for its own sake, that would resist its being expunged and
the truth discovered substituted in its room. Never must we forget,
that the most ancient landmarks of truth and duty are those which
have been fixed _here_--in the Bible--by the hands of prophets,
apostles, and evangelists, under the immediate direction of the
"Spirit of the Lord." There are none so old as these. From the Bible
human standards have been formed. _Their_ landmarks profess to be in
agreement, in the bounding lines of truth and error marked out by
them, with those which are set down there. But when, on a careful
survey, any of them are found to have been misplaced, and to bring
any part of the region of error within the boundary of the territory
of truth,--their removal becomes a duty of imperative
obligation.--_Wardlaw._
The word for _redeemer_ signifies the man who was _"next of kin,"_
the _kinsman_ on whom, by the law of Moses, it was incumbent as a
matter of duty, and with whom too it was a matter of interest, to
look after the concerns of his poor relations; with whom lay indeed
the avenging of their blood, if in any case, their life should, in
cruel selfishness, be taken away. It was on the principle of that
statute that Boaz called upon the next of kin to come forward and
redeem the inheritance of Elimelech at the hand of Naomi, and that,
upon his hearing the conditions and declining, he did it himself. Now
he who happened to be the _redeeming kinsman_ might himself be poor,
and powerless, and without either means or influence. But they should
not, on that account, be unprotected and unbefriended. Jehovah
Himself would take the place of their kinsman--would _"plead their
cause,"_ would maintain their rights, would redress their wrongs,
would bring His power to bear against their oppressors. _He_ would
fulfill for them the part of their near relation: and he is
_"mighty."_ Hear His words:--"Ye shall not afflict any widow, or
fatherless child. If thou afflict them in any wise, I will surely
hear their cry; and my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with
the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children
fatherless" (Exod. xxii. 22-24). These, you may think, are Old
Testament threatenings, belonging to a judicial law that has passed
away; or, more properly, they belong to the special _theocracy,_
inasmuch as they do not prescribe any punishment to be inflicted by
the hand of man, but announce what Jehovah himself would, by his own
interposition, execute. Be it so. But think you that the character of
God has changed? Such assurances and threatenings are not mere
warnings of punishment; they are _expressions of character.--Wardlaw._
Adored be the unsearchable pity, grace, and condescension of
Emmanuel! When He could not redeem us as God, He became our kinsman,
that He might be our Redeemer! (Heb. ii. 14-16).--_Bridges._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 12-28.
PARENTAL DUTIES AND PARENTAL JOYS.
This paragraph contains no subject upon which Solomon has not dwelt
before, but their repetition shows the great importance which he
attached to them.
+I. He repeats the truth that corporal punishment is a necessary and
salutary element of parental training.+ (see Homiletics on chap.
xiii. 24, page 234, and on chap. xix. 18, page 573.)
+II. He shows by example that appeals are also to be made to the
higher and better nature of the child.+ Although the rod is to have
its place, it is not to be the only force employed--a child is a
reasoning and loving creature, and that training will miserably fail
which does not take this fact into account. And in proportion as the
child grows in years will the rod become less needful and effectual,
and wise warning and loving entreaty will take its place. He is here
besought to "give his heart to wisdom" and to live "in the fear of
Jehovah"--1. _Because of the exceeding joy that he will bring to his
parents._ (See verses 15, 24, and 25.) This is a thought that cannot
fail to have weight with any son or daughter of good parents who is
capable of grateful emotion. The consideration of the tender love and
the unwearying patience that have surrounded them from their birth,
and of the power that now lies in their hand to requite that long
ministry of tenderness and long suffering, ought to be a powerful
motive to dissuade from the evil path and allure into the good way.
And it has been and ever will be, for many a child of godly parents
has been kept in the hour of temptation by the remembrance of his
father or his mother, even when he has not thought upon his God. (See
also Homiletics on chap. x. 1, page 137.) 2. _Because of the temporal
ruin of an opposite course._ (See verses 21, 27, and 28.) All these
subjects have been considered before. (See Homiletics on chap.
xxi. 17, page 609, and on chap. vi. 6-11, page 79, and on chap.
vi. 24, page 89.) 3. _Because of the rewards and punishments of the
life to come._ (See verse 18.) This verse (see Critical Notes)
undoubtedly refers to the day of death and to the life beyond it, as
do also chaps. xi. 7, and xiv. 32. (See Homiletics on pages 201 and
391.)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 13. The command is framed upon a supposition that parents often
fail on the side of tenderness; the word is given to nerve them for a
difficult duty. There is no ambiguity in the precept; both the need
of correction, and the tremendous issues that depend on it, are
expressed with thrilling precision of language.--_Arnot._
Verses 15, 16. Now the proverb personates the father, and, instead of
a roundabout speech, utters the temper that should inspire the
beating. There will be no good unless the father shows the son that
it will be his highest joy, if the son learns wisdom. If thou be
really _"wise."_ That is the caution of the first clause. If it be no
sham thing, but an affair of the _"heart;"_ then _"my heart shall
rejoice,"_ down in the same depths. And then, as men are great
actors, and may _look_ virtue as they whip a child, when they do not
feel it much, Solomon protests that it must be real. Each part of
this sentence must be meant. Not,--Thou must be a good citizen, or a
clever worker, or a moral actor, or a good gratifying son; but the
boy must see, (and he surely will see it, if it is felt), that the
yearning is that he become _wise in heart, i.e.,_ a good earnest
Christian, and then on the other hand, that down in the same depths,
not with outward expressions of pleasure, but in your very heart--not
in your made-up heart, which you keep to show to others, but _in your
very self_--the proverb echoes your feeling, _"My heart shall
rejoice, even mine."_ The reduplication intensifies the sense. And
then, unwilling to shake loose from the thought, he pushes it
further. _"Yea my reins shall rejoice."_ That deepest, firmest,
lastingest receptacle of joy, the patient _reins_ shall rejoice or
_"exult"_--the very highest feeling coming from the deepest depths.
_"When thy lips,"_ which are the best expounders of the heart,
_"speak right things."_ The doctrine therefore is that a man will
save his child if he disciplines him with these witnessed tokens of
his manifest affection.--_Miller._
Verse 17. This habitual _fear of the Lord_ is nothing separate from
common life. It gives to it a holy character. It makes all its minute
details not only consistent with, but component parts of, godliness.
Acts of kindliness are "done after a godly sort" (John iii. 5, 6).
Instead of one duty thrusting out another, all are "done heartily, as
to the Lord, and not unto man" (Eph. vi. 6, Col. iii. 23). Some
professors confine their religion to extraordinary occasions. But
Elijah seems to have been content to await his translation in his
ordinary course of work (2 Kings ii. 1-12). An example that may teach
us to lay the greater stress upon the daily and habitual, not the
extraordinary service. Others are satisfied with a periodical
religion; as if it were rather a rapture or an occasional impulse,
than a habit. But if we are to engage in morning and evening
devotions, we are also to "wait upon the Lord _all the day_" (Ps.
xxv. 5). If we are to enjoy our Sabbath privileges, we are also to
"abide in our weekly calling with God." Thus the character of a
servant of God is maintained--"devoted to His fear" (Ps.
cxix. 38).--_Bridges._
Verse 18. _"Cut off,"_ as the worldling's is. The worldling expects
to be _cut off._ He toils with a hope, and that so vivid that he
becomes aglow (see Miller's rendering, in verse 17) in worldly
earnestness of purpose; and yet, _ab imo,_ he knows that it will be
_cut off._ . . . How can any intellect stand against such appeals?
Work for something that will pay, for . . . there is something that
shall never be _"cut off."--Miller._
Verse 19. The hinging pivot of this verse is the pronoun _thou._
Friends may do ever so much, but in the end it must be _thyself._
There is an eternal _"way."_ It is a way not for the feet but for the
_heart._ The _heart_ has some day to rise up and enter it. Once in,
it will never wander any more out. _My son,_ take that critical step.
A man has a certain amount of strength, a certain amount of
susceptibility let us call it, in matters of conversion. . . . Now
the father, in his more immediate entreaties to his child, is to
remember this.--_Miller._
Verse 20. A man grows old by the common use of his faculties; but if
he pleases he can travel faster. He can make drafts upon his flesh
with wine, and burn faster. . . . A man can seek death by the most
moral impenitence. But he can also travel faster. He can do it by
drunkenness. He can do it by trains of trespasses, of which common
drunkenness may stand as chief.--_Miller._
We are forbidden not only to be drunkards or gluttons, but to be
found in the company of such persons; for bad company is the common
temptation which the devil uses to draw men to these sins. Those who
have been long inured to a temperate course of life must not think
that they are at liberty to infringe this precept, and to mingle
themselves with the sons of riot, because they are strong enough in
their own eye to overcome all the temptations of sensuality. Christ
charges His own disciples, who had been practised in every virtue
under his own eye, and who had less temptations to this vice than any
other men, to take heed to themselves that their hearts might not be
overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness.--_Lawson._
Verse 23. Solomon bids us buy the truth, but does not tell us what it
must cost, because we must get it though it be ever so dear. We must
love it both shining and scorching. Every parcel of truth is precious
as filings of gold; we must either live with it or die for it. . . .
A man may lawfully sell his house, land, or jewels, but truth is a
jewel that excels all prices, and must not be sold; it is our
heritage: "Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever"
(Psa. cxix. 111). It is a legacy that our forefathers have bought
with their bloods, which should make us willing to lay down anything
or lay out anything to purchase it.--_Brooks._
A merchant buys for the very purpose of selling; and he will not buy
unless he has a pretty good assurance that he will sell _at a
profit;_ that he can _get_ for his article more than he has _given._
The case here, then, is quite peculiar. It is _all buying._ The
article is one which is to be _bought_ but never _sold._ And why? For
the best possible reason, that _it can never_ be sold at a profit,
there is nothing _too valuable_ to be _given_ for it, there is
nothing _valuable enough_ to be _taken_ for it. . . . 1. The buyer
tests his article. He uses means to ascertain its
_genuineness._ . . . The cautious purchaser makes sure of his
bargain, and all the surer, the higher the price. . . . Now, all that
is presented to us as _truth_ must be thus tested. In _physical
science_ scientific men will not take upon trust what professes to be
a new discovery without examining thoroughly the experiments by which
it is said to have been ascertained. . . . Thus, too, does the
metaphysician in regard to every new theory in _mental_ science; and
the moral philosopher in the department of ethics. . . . Now, we are
as far as possible from wishing it to be otherwise in the department
of _religion._ In proportion to the importance of the case,--to the
height of the authority on which the claims to acceptance are
rested,--the magnitude at once of the benefits promised, and of the
risks incurred,--ought to be the solicitude and care with which the
testing process is conducted. This then is the last department of
all, in which what professes to be truth should be taken upon trust;
in which inquiry should be careless, and faith easy. The obligation
to examine is imperative and solemn; and marvellous, indeed, is the
indisposition of men to enter on the investigation. Men who, with the
utmost earnestness and perseverance, will test every alleged truth in
science, in history, or in politics, cannot be persuaded to apply
their powers to an inquiry more important, by infinite degrees, than
any other that can engage the attention of the human mind! They
either decline it altogether, or they set about it with a levity and
a superficiality utterly at variance with what such a question
demands, and from which no just appreciation or correct conclusion
can be anticipated. 2. It is not enough for the buyer to ascertain
the _genuineness_ of his article. He sets about estimating its real
worth; its worth _intrinsically,_ and its worth _adventitiously;_ its
worth _in itself,_ and its worth _to him._ The two may be widely
different. The diamond is of incomparably more intrinsic worth than
the grain of barley; but the cock in the fable spurned away the
former and picked up the latter. In the present case,--having once
ascertained the Divine authority of the record,--there can be no
hesitation about either the _intrinsic_ or the _relative_ value of
what it makes known. _All truth_ is precious; but its preciousness
is, of course, endlessly varied in degree. Two things may be
considered as combining to constitute its value. They are--its
_subject,_ and its _utility._ In natural science some truths present
a union of both. The discoveries of astronomy for example, are, many
of them, full of intrinsic interest from their vastness and
sublimity, and the impressions they give of the transcendent majesty
of God; while, in some of their practical bearings, they are of
pre-eminent advantage to men. But in a peculiar sense may this be
affirmed of the discoveries of Divine revelation. These discoveries
present views of God's moral government, in its great essential
principles and in their practical application, such as have in them a
weight of moral grandeur, and a consequent depth of absorbing
interest surpassing all that nature can disclose. And, while they
possess intrinsic preciousness above all other truths,--think of
their value when estimated by the blessings which are unfolded in
them, and to which the faith of them introduces the believer, in time
and in eternity! The purchaser values the article he is about to
purchase, by the amount of benefit the possession of it will bring
him. In like manner must you estimate the value of "the truth" you
are here counselled to buy. The value of it, in this view, is summed
up by our Lord himself, when he says, "THIS IS LIFE ETERNAL." What
then, the real worth to you, of any other compared with this? 3. The
buyer, when he has estimated the value of his article, _makes
proportional sacrifices_ to obtain possession of it. Foolish
estimates there may be; and these foolish estimates may be the
occasion of foolish bargains; and these may be the grounds of regret
and self-dissatisfaction. But supposing the certainty of all the
benefits, for time and eternity, which in the Bible are promised and
guaranteed in connection with _"the truth,"_ O! what is there, in the
whole compass of what this world can confer, that should not, without
one moment's hesitation, be sacrificed for its attainment? 4. In
proportion to the buyer's estimate of his article, and the cost at
which he has obtained it, will be the jealousy with which he retains
and guards it. _"Sell it not."_ Selling the truth, is not simply
letting slip from the mind the remembrance of mere abstractions; it
is to give up the profession and faith of it for the sake of the very
things which we sacrificed for it. But _"sell it not."_ Sell it not
for the _pleasures of sin._ Sell it not for the _riches and honours
of the world._ O part not with the pearl of great price for the husks
which the swine do eat. . . . And _be prompt with your bargain._
Those who are much set upon an article will not delay their purchase,
lest perchance it should pass from their hands. Blessed be God there
is no danger here, so far as others coming forward before you is
concerned. . . . But if not now prompt and decided you may be
thwarted in another way. Death may decide the matter for
you.--_Wardlaw._
Verse 26. A supplication is come, as it were, from God to man, that
man would send God his heart; penned by Solomon under the name of
wisdom (chap. ix. 1), and directed to her sons. . . . He which always
gave, now craves; and he which craves always, now gives. Christ
stands at the door like a poor man, and asks not bread, nor clothes,
nor lodgings, which we should give to His members, but our
heart--that is, even the continent of all, and governor of man's
house. . . . Should God be a suppliant unto thee and me, but that our
unthankfulness condemns us, that for all the things which He hath
given unto us, we never considered yet what we should give unto Him
before He asketh. . . . Mark what God hath chosen for Himself: not
that which any other should lose by, like the demands of them which
care for none but themselves, but that which, being given to God,
moves us to give every man his due. . . . Give God thy heart, that He
may keep it; not a piece of thy heart, not a room in thy heart, but
thy heart. The heart divided, dieth. God is not like the mother which
would have the child divided, but like the natural mother which said,
Rather than it should be divided, let her take it all. Let the devil
have all, if He which gave it be not worthy of it. . . . As a man
considers what he does when he gives, so God licenseth us to consider
of that which we do for Him, whether He deserves it, whether we owe
it, whether He can require it, lest it come against our will;
therefore _give_ Me, saith God, as though He would not strain upon
us, or take it from us. . . . Is God so desirous of my heart? What
good can my heart do to God? It is not worthy to come under His roof.
I would I had a better gift to send unto my Lord; go, my heart, to
thy Maker; the Bridegroom hath sent for thee, put on thy wedding
garment, for the King Himself will marry thee. Who is not sorry now
that he did not give his heart before? Is he not worthy to die that
will take his heart from Him that made it, from Him that redeemed it,
from Him which preserves it, from Him that will glorify it, and gives
it to him that will infect it, torment it, condemn it? Will a servant
reach the cup to a stranger when his master calls for it? Or will a
man sell his coat if he have no more? What dost thou reserve for God,
when thou hast given Satan thine heart? Christ hath promised to come
and dwell with thee (Rev. iii. 20); where shall He stay, where shall
He dine, if the chamber be taken up, and the heart let forth to
another? Thou art but a tenant, and yet thou takest His house over
His head, and placest in it whom thou wilt, as if thou wert
landlord.--_Henry Smith._
I. Man has _nothing higher_ to dispose of. His heart is given when he
sets his strongest affections upon an object. Wherever he centres his
strongest love his heart is, and wherever his heart is _he_ is. . . .
II. Man _is compelled_ to dispose of it. He is forced, not by any
outward coercion, but by an inward pressure. It is as necessary for
the soul to love as it is to the body to breathe. The deepest of all
the deep hungers of humanity is the hunger of the soul to love.
Sometimes so ravenous does man's animal appetite for food become,
that he will devour with a kind of relish the most loathsome things;
and so voracious is the heart for some object to love, that it will
settle down upon the lowest and most contemptible creatures rather
than not love at all. III. Man _alone can dispose_ of it. No one can
take it from him by force. He is the only priest who can present
it.--_Dr. David Thomas._
Verse 28. Uncleanness leads to faithlessness of manifold kinds; and
it makes not only the husband unfaithful to the wife, but also the
son to the parents, the scholar to the teacher and pastor, the
servant to the master. The adulteress, inasmuch as she entices now
one and now another into her net, increases the number of those who
are faithless towards men. But are they not, above all, faithless
towards God?--_Delitzsch._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 29-35.
THE DRUNKARD'S PICTURE.
+I. The drunkard is an entire inversion of man as God intended him to
be.+ God made man's mind to rule his body, but the drunkard's bodily
appetites rule his mind. God gave man an intellect to guide his
actions; He intended the various limbs of his body to be the servants
of his will, and to obey the dictates of his reason. But the drunkard
not only gives up all his spiritual and intellectual power to his
body, but all his other bodily powers to the rule of one sense--that
of his palate. Men who are not awake to their spiritual and mental
needs might be expected to have as much regard for their animal
wants, and to be as careful to avoid bodily suffering as the brute
creation. But it is not so with the drunkard--although nights and
days of privation and suffering are often the fruits of an hour's
drinking, he voluntarily undergoes the former in order to enjoy the
latter. Not only is conscience and reason and heart sacrificed to his
mouth, but every other bodily sense is made to serve the one sense
and every other part of the body to suffer, that one part may be
gratified if but for a moment.
+II. He is an entire inversion of what we might expect even a fallen
man to be.+ Looking at man as he is when he lives for this world
only, he is generally alive to his own immediate temporal interests
and careful to avoid in the future what has brought him suffering in
the past. But it is not so with the slave to drink. If only wife and
children had to leave lives of misery and his own life was a constant
round of even animal enjoyment, the drunkard's career would not be
such an unaccountable infatuation. Human selfishness would be
sufficient to account for it. But who suffers like the drunkard
himself? The wise man enumerates some of his miseries--_woe, grief,
contentions and wounds without cause, the stings of remorse, the
disordered brain, and entire loss of consciousness and of power to
defend one's own life and property_--this is the drunkard's heritage.
And in the intervals between his madness he knows it and drinks to
the dregs the bitter cup of bodily and mental misery that must always
follow the immoderate use of the wine cup. And yet his language is
_"I will seek it yet again."_ The child that has been burnt dreads
the fire, but the poor drunkard scarred from head to foot with the
marks of the flames, seems with all his other losses to have lost
also the natural instinct of self-preservation and the power of
learning anything from the great teacher--experience.
+III. A consideration of the strength and nature of the drunkard's
chain should lead all to shun that which enslaved him.+ When we
consider what havoc intoxicating drink has wrought, it is marvellous
that men do not turn from it with loathing; that they are not afraid
to play with so deadly, and yet so treacherous an enemy to mankind.
When the sailor knows that there is a treacherous whirlpool in the
ocean, which has engulfed a thousand noble vessels, he is careful to
give it a wide berth, to keep far beyond the outermost ring of the
current. But the habit of men in general seems to be to try how near
they can come to his moral and social gulf of death, without being
drawn beneath the waters. The experiment is fraught with deadly
peril, and is often a fatal one. Solomon's advice is to ensure
safety, by not even _"looking upon the wine when it is red."_
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
There is mention made of a monk at Prague, who having heard at shrift
the confessions of many drunkards, wondered at it, and for experiment
would try his brain with this sin, and accordingly stole himself
drunk. Now, after the vexation of three sick days, to all that
confessed that sin he enjoined no other penance than this: "Go and be
drunk again." Surely his meaning was like that of Seneca, that
drunkenness was a torment and affliction to itself.--_Spencer._
Drunkenness is a special water at the devil's banquet. This sin is a
horrible self-theft. . . . Thieves cannot steal lands, unless they be
Westminster Hall thieves, crafty contenders that eat out a true title
with false evidence; but the drunkard robs himself of his lands. Now
he dissolves an acre, and then an acre, into the pot, till he hath
ground all his ground at the malt quern, and run all his patrimony
through his throat. Thus he makes himself the living tomb of his
forefathers--of his posterity. He needs not trouble his sick mind
with a will, or distrust the fidelity of executors.--_T. Adams._
Verse 29. The best that can come of drunkenness is repentance--that
fairest daughter of so foul a mother--and that is not without its
woe, and alas! its sorrow and redness of eyes with weeping for
sin.--_Trapp._
Verse 31. He that would avoid the commission of sin must avoid the
occasion of sin. If we would not fall down the hill we must beware of
coming near the brow of it. Keep thee far from an evil matter. When
the wine laughs in thy face then shut thine eyes lest it steal into
thine heart. A guest may easily be kept out of the house at first,
but if once entertained it is hard to turn him out of doors. When the
governor of a fort once comes to parley with the enemy that besiegeth
him there is great fear that the place will be
surrendered.--_Swinnock._
Verse 33. One remarkable peculiarity of this chapter is the junction
and alternation of these two kindred sins. There they stand, like two
plants of death, each growing on its own independent root, and
nourished by the same soil, but cleaving close to each other by
congeniality of nature, and twisted round each other for mutual
support. . . . The alliance, so generally formed and so firmly
maintained between drunkenness and licentiousness, is a master-stroke
of Satan's policy. It is when men have looked upon this deceitful
cup, and received into their blood the poison of its sting, that
their eyes behold "strange women;" and when they have fallen into
that "narrow pit," they run back to hide their shame, at least from
themselves, in the maddening draught.--_Arnot._
Verse 34. The passage is interesting, as showing what Ps. civ. 25,
26, cvii. 23-30, also show, the increased familiarity of the
Israelites with a sea life.--_Plumptre._
It is very foul weather in which a drunkard saileth. For as St.
Ambrose speaketh, the multitude of lusts in him do raise a great
tempest, which toss his mind to and fro, sailing as it were in the
narrow sea of his body, so that he cannot be pilot to himself. . . .
But that which maketh the drunkard's case worst of all is this: it is
a shipwreck of the body only which in a tempest is feared, but he
maketh shipwreck of his soul if repentance be not a plank of safety
to him.--_Jermin._
* * * * * *
CHAPTER XXIV.
CRITICAL NOTES.--+5. A man of knowledge,+ rather _"a man of
understanding,"_ +increaseth strength,+ literally _"maketh power
strong."_ Miller translates the entire verse thus:--_"A strong man,
if wise, is as a power indeed; and a man of knowledge makes strength
really strong."_ +7. Wisdom is too high,+ etc. Delitzsch here reads,
_Wisdom seems to the fool to be an ornamental commodity,_ and thinks
"the comparison lies in the rarity, costliness, and unattainableness
of wisdom." "The word," says Miller, "occurs but three times in the
Bible; once in Job xxviii. 18, translated _coral;_ once in Ezekiel
xxvii. 16, translated _coral_ and agate; and once in this passage,
where it ought to be translated _coral_ again." Some, from this
rendering, understand the verse to signify that a fool uses wisdom
like a precious stone, only for ornament. +8. Mischievous person,+
literally _a master or lord of mischief._ +9. The thought,+ etc.,
rather, "the _device_ or _undertaking._" +10. If thou faint,+ etc.,
rather _"If thou hast been straitened in the day of straitness,
strait is thy strength."_ +11.+ Literally, _"Deliver them who are
dragged forth_ unto _death, and them that totter to the slaughter,
oh, rescue them."_ +12. He that pondereth,+ literally, _the Weigher
of hearts._ +He that keepeth,+ rather _"watcheth."_ +14. There shall
be a reward,+ rather, _"there is a future,"_ as in chap. xxiii. 18.
+16. The wicked shall fall.+ Delitzsch reads, _"the wicked are
overthrown when calamity falls on them," i.e.,_ they do not rise
again and again as the just man does. +20. Reward.+ The same word
used in verse 14, and in chap. xxiii. 18. Its literal meaning is "a
hereafter." Zöckler translates it _end_ in the first two instances,
but in this case he reads _future._ Delitzsch and Miller render it
_hereafter_ or _future_ in every verse. +21. Given to change,+
literally _otherwise disposed,_ or, according to Miller, _repeaters,
turners back._ +22. The ruin of them both,+ etc. This phrase is
variously rendered, and different meanings are also attached to the
same rendering. Delitzsch follows the Syriac version, and reads,
_"the end of their years, who knoweth it?"_ But Zöckler adapts the
reading of the Authorised Version, which is supported by the Vulgate,
by Luther, Ewald, Elster, and others. Some understand the word _both_
to refer to those who rebel against God, and those who rebel against
the king (so Zöckler), while others apply it to God and the king, and
the _ruin_ foretold as that proceeding from them. Here begins a short
appendix to the third main division of the book of Proverbs, the
first clause of verse 33 being its superscription, which is almost in
the same words as that which introduces the division itself. (See
chap. xxii. 17.) It extends only to the end of the chapter, and
consists of maxims which have no apparent connection with each other.
+23. These things also belong to the wise.+ Rather _"These_ (the
proverbs which follow) _are also from wise men."_ The word _also_
connects this introduction with that in chap. xxii. 17. +25. To them
that rebuke,+ etc. The word _him_ is not in the original, and spoils
the sense. If this rendering of the verb is accepted, _iniquity_ must
be understood to be the subject of rebuke. Delitzsch however reads,
_"To them who rightly decide,"_ and Miller renders, _"To them that
set the thing right."_ +26. A right answer,+ _i.e._, a _faithful,
straightforward_ answer. "The word comes," says Miller, "from a verb
meaning _to be in front._" "The mention of the _lips,_" Zöckler
remarks, "is to be explained simply by the remembrance of the
_question_ to which the upright and truthful answer corresponds."
+27. House.+ This word may mean here as it does in Exod. i. 21, Ruth
iv. 11, 2 Sam. vii. 27, etc., the family--the household interests.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 1-6.
HOUSE BUILDING.
+I. An undertaking founded upon wickedness lacks the first element of
stability.+ A house built upon a sandy foundation, we all know, does
not possess the first requisite of safety. It is useless to erect any
building for fine weather purposes only--if it is not able to stand a
storm all the labour expended upon it is lost. Those places are very
few where the tempest does not come sometimes, and even if we could
find so favoured a spot, a sandy foundation would not be a permanent
one. The ordinary play of the elements and the changes of the seasons
would be ever at work upon the loose and shifting soil, and in time
the house must fall. So it is with any work undertaken with an evil
purpose or from wicked motives. There are laws at work in God's
universe which will forbid such a building to remain long in
existence. It is very easy work to lay the stones in the sand--much
more easy than to hew out a place for them in the solid rock--and the
apparently rapid success of evil men and evil deeds tempts many an
unwise builder to work after their method. But the experience of the
Psalmist is repeated in every age and must be to the end of time: _"I
have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a
green bay tree. Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not; yea, I
sought him, but he could not be found"_ (Psalm xxxvii. 35, 36).
+II. True wisdom consists in patient continuance in well-doing.+ In
this passage, as throughout the entire Book of Proverbs, wisdom is
set up as the rival of evil, and sin is accounted as the height of
folly. The wise man accounts everything foolishness which is against
the moral law of the universe, and the _good_ man in his estimation
the only _wise_ man. That this is a just and true estimate is
apparent to all who look a little beneath the surface of things--to
all who realise that it is one thing to _seem_ and another thing _to
be._ The mansion upon the sand-bank _appears_ to be a more desirable
dwelling place than the cottage upon the rock, but time will prove
which is the safer of the two. But permanence or safety are not the
only recommendations to the home of wisdom. There is a satisfaction
and a positive joy to be found in doing the right to which the
evil-doer is a stranger. To be on the right side of the good is to be
on the side of God and of conscience, to know from experience that
all the moral powers of the soul grow stronger with use, and such
experimental knowledge fills the chambers of the soul "with all
precious and pleasant riches" (verse 4). These considerations ought
to make it easy to obey Solomon's precept: "Be not envious against
evil men, neither desire to be with them." The mariner on even a
stormy sea would not envy the dweller in the lighthouse if he knew
that the waves were rapidly undermining its foundation and rendering
its speedy fall certain, and to envy a man a short-lived prosperity
which must have a sad end is as contrary to the dictates of reason
and self-love. A consideration of their "end" (Psalm lxxiii. 17) is a
good preservative against such an envy, and has been tried by many
men since the days of Asaph with the same success. But without
bringing the future into the present, envy of the wicked may be
effectually prevented if we can realise their present loss. The
inhabitant of the dwelling filled with materials to satisfy his
bodily and mental appetites and wants does not envy him whose house
is destitute of such comforts. Yet that would be more reasonable than
for him who has the opportunity of rearing for himself a
well-furnished house of wisdom--of building a character which shall
be in itself a source of satisfaction and joy to his better
nature--to desire the empty and unsatisfying portion of evil doers.
For Homiletics on verse 6 considered by itself see on chap. xi. 14,
page 214, and on chap. xx. 18, page 590.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 1. Sin is like sound, and it finds the moral nature of fallen
man, like the atmosphere, a good conducting medium. The word or deed
of evil does not terminate where it is produced. It radiates all
round; and beside the direct propagation from a centre by diverging
lines, it further reduplicates itself by rebounding like an echo from
every object upon which it falls. Human beings may well stand in awe
when they consider the self-propagating power of sin, and the
facilities which their own corruption affords it. Different persons
are affected in different ways. One is shaken by the example of
wickedness in its first out-go, another by its rebounding blow. One
is carried away in the stream, another hurts himself by his violent
efforts to resist it. Some imitate the sin. Others fret against the
sinner. Both classes do evil and suffer injury. Whether you be
impatiently "envious against evil men," or weakly "desirous to be
with them," you have sustained damage by the contact.--_Arnot._
To be envious against evil men is plainly to confess ourselves to be
worse than they are. For, as St. Gregory speaketh, we cannot envy
except it be those who we think to be better than ourselves. Indeed,
to envy against evil men is to make wickedness to be goodness, and to
show no goodness to be in his heart that is so envious. . . .
Whosoever thou be that envieth evil men, I cannot tell who should
envy thee, except the devil, because thou strivest to be more wicked
than he is. For they are only the godly that he is envious
against.--_Jermin._
Verse 4. The last virtue here spoken of is knowledge, whereby the
inward rooms of the house are filled with all precious substance;
unto the providing and treasuring up of food, of money, and all
things necessary and comfortable, the knowledge of times, the prices
of things, and of the means whereby commodities may be obtained, is
requisite. . . . It is not to be marvelled at that many young married
folk and householders in these days have nothing in their families
but want of necessaries and bare walls, seeing they want both wisdom
and understanding, and knowledge.--_Muffett._
Riches imply (1) plenty of that which is precious and pleasant.
(2) Propriety. They must be that which is their own; and hereunto
economical prudence much conducteth. God bestoweth abundance on the
wicked _ex largitate,_ only out of a general providence; but upon his
people that are good husbands _ex promisso,_ by virtue of this and
the like promises.--_Trapp._
Verse 5. _A strong man._ (See Miller's rendering in the Critical
Notes.) A _common_ man, a _better sort_ of man, are the four words
for man in the Bible. This is a _strong man._ It means _strong_ in a
worldly sense. That man, _if wise, is a power indeed._ . . . The
meaning is that a _"strong"_ man, if not _"wise,"_ is not _"strong"_
at all; that piety is itself strength; that the stronger a man
without it, the weaker he is; that a strong man who is pious, not
only becomes strong in that, but strong really by his worldly
strength; because piety gives realness to every gift.--_Miller._
I. Intelligence _apart from_ piety is power. A man who has great
intelligence, and knows how to use it, possesses a power superior to
any physical force. . . . II. Piety _apart from_ intelligence is a
_higher kind_ of power. It is the patience of love, endurance,
patience, compassion; it is a power which will touch men's hearts,
move the very arm of Omnipotence, "take hold upon the strength of
God." III. Piety _associated with_ intelligence is the _highest
creature_ power. What power on earth is equal to that possessed by
the man of vast intelligence and consecrated affections, the man of
sunny intellect and Heaven-inspired sympathies and aims?--_Dr. David
Thomas._
A wise man is not only strong in having wisdom, but in getting
strength also. . . . For by wisdom knowing well the want and need of
strength, he is careful and diligent to procure it; whereas many
times strength, being presumptuous upon its own might, seeks not for
wisdom to support it, and falls for want of having it.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 7.
A FALSE ESTIMATE AND A TRUE ONE.
+I. The fool's estimate of wisdom.+ Solomon here gives the fool's own
reason for remaining in his folly, viz., that wisdom is difficult to
acquire--that neither intellectual or spiritual knowledge can be
gained without pains and self-denial. This is of course saying in
effect that they are worthless, and this false estimate lies at the
root of all ignorance, whether it be mental or moral. For if we can
make a man feel that a thing is good and will bring him good, he will
not be unwilling to seek to possess it, and his search and his
pursuit will be diligent, and eager, and continuous, in proportion to
the good which he believes the possession will bring him. The idle
schoolboy complains of the difficulty of his tasks, and of the
severity of his teacher, because he does not rightly estimate the
value of knowledge, and the moral fool finds fault with the methods
of becoming spiritually wise, because he has no sense of the worth of
such wisdom. But it must not be forgotten that the longer the fool
makes the excuse of the text, the more true it becomes. The powers of
the intellect, like those of the body, are less capable of use the
longer they remain idle. If a healthy man is so indolent as to refuse
to walk, his legs by long disuse may become unable to perform their
office, and if the mental powers are left unexercised in youth, it is
more difficult to use them to purpose in middle life. And it is so,
too, with the spiritual perceptions and capabilities. Although it is
never too late to acquire the highest wisdom, it certainly seems more
out of the reach of the man who has neglected to seek it throughout a
long life, than of him who gives to its pursuit the vigour and
freshness of his youth.
+II. The consequent estimate which wise men form of the fool.+ If men
undervalue wisdom, they themselves are little valued, and their words
and opinions have no weight with wise men. As it is a mark of folly
generally to "open the mouth," although nothing comes therefrom that
is worth anything, the declaration that a fool "openeth not his mouth
in the gate" must point, not to his own modesty or conscious
inability to speak wisely, but to the estimation in which he is held
by others.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
In bodily things, the more weighty they are, the lower they fall; the
lighter they are, the higher they go. Contrariwise is it in the
things of the soul, and the more weighty they are, the higher they
are; the lighter they are, the lower they lie. It is therefore the
lightness of a fool's brain that makes wisdom too high for him: the
giddiness of his head is not able to look up unto the height of
it. . . . Therefore St. Gregory saith, If thou wilt find wisdom,
tread upon the waves of this world, and walk upon the waters of this
life, as St. Peter did, and she will reach forth her right hand to
thee, as she did to Peter.--_Jermin._
Verses 8 and 9 treat of subjects which have occurred more than once
before. See on chap. vi. 12-19, page 81.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 10.
THE DAY OF ADVERSITY.
+I. The inevitable in human experience.+ The day of adversity is an
ordination of God, as a necessary element in man's moral training.
The human rulers of a well-ordered State make certain provisions for
the education of the young, and these provisions necessarily include
many things that are distasteful, and even painful, to the pupils.
But if they were left to map out their own course, and to arrange for
themselves the plan of their education, we well know that the result
in the end would be unsatisfactory to everybody, and most of all to
themselves when they were old enough to judge. Even so it is with
mankind and the Ruler of the world. God has purposed that men shall
be subject to such a course of instruction and discipline as shall at
least give them an opportunity of becoming wiser and better, and the
day of adversity is an indispensable element in such a training. It
therefore does not come to us by chance, nor is it always to be
regarded in the light of a penalty for special sin, but is a token of
Divine interest in our real welfare--an expression of Divine desire
for our moral growth. It is wise, then, for all to recognise the fact
that adversity in some form or other, at some period or other, is an
inevitable event in their human life.
+II. The test of human character.+ No man knows his moral strength
until he comes face to face with trial. The chain that holds the
vessel to the quay is only as strong as the weakest link, and if that
one gives way the vessel is loosed from her moorings as surely as if
every link was broken. So human character is only as strong as its
weakest point, and if a severe strain is brought to bear upon a man,
he will break down there. In the day of adversity every virtue and
excellence that we possess will be subjected to a severe test, and if
only one of them is found unequal to the trial, the whole character
suffers, and we are in danger of losing our hold upon God, and so
drifting from the right course. A man may have a high opinion of his
own physical strength, and fancy that he is well able to grapple with
any foe who might attack him. But it is not till he is in the grip of
his antagonist that he knows how much or how little he is able to do
and to bear. If he finds himself on the ground, stunned and bleeding,
he rises from the struggle with a lower estimate of his own muscular
strength than he had before. And so it is with the inner man when the
day of adversity over takes it--we think that our faith and moral
courage are equal to any emergency, but we are sometimes stricken
down to the dust and "faint" from the weight of a blow which we
thought beforehand we could withstand, and for the rest of our lives
have less confidence in our spiritual strength.
+III. A strengthener of human character.+ Although men often "faint"
in the day of adversity, or find their resources insufficient to meet
their needs in the hour of trial, it is not necessarily the case, nor
is it always so. Indeed, the intention of trial is not to take away
our strength, but to _increase_ it. If the day of adversity proves
too much for our strength, the encounter may leave us morally weaker
than we were before; but if we bear it courageously, and do not allow
it to drive us to despair, or even to doubt, we come out of the
ordeal stronger than when we entered into it. If a tree has too firm
a hold upon the soil to be uprooted by the tempest, the shaking will
but make it firmer still, and if our confidence and hope in God are
not lessened by the blasts of adversity, they are rendered stronger
and brighter, and more fitted to encounter the next storm. But
fainting at the first blow of adversity leaves very little strength
to meet the next trial, and this thought seems also to be in the
proverb as it stands in the Hebrew.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
If you were to hear some men's experience you would think they grew
as the white pine grows, with straight grain and easily split, for I
notice that all that grow easy split easy. But there are some that
grow as the mahogany grows, with veneering knots, with all the quirls
and contortions of grain; that is the best timber of the forest which
has the most knots. . . . There are many who are content to grow
straight, like weeds on a dunghill; but there are many others who
want to be stalwart and strong like the monarchs of the forest, and
yet when God sends the winds of adversity to sing a lullaby in their
branches, they do not like to grow in that way. They dread the
culture that is really giving toughness to their soul and strength to
its fibre.--_Beecher._
The times of man's distress, though it be a night of sorrow and
trouble, which it bringeth to the soul, yet is it a day also, because
it showeth truly to the soul what a man is.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 11 _and_ 12.
POSITIVE PUNISHMENT FOR A NEGATIVE CRIME.
+I. The negative crime.+ The question "Am I my brother's keeper?" is
here answered with an emphatic affirmative, for whatever may be the
special reference of the words it is plain that they condemn as
criminal the non-interposition of the strong on behalf of the weak
and distressed. This crime may be committed from various causes.
Those who are guilty of it may be entirely indifferent to the
sufferings of others. There are many men and women who, if they are
at ease themselves, never concern themselves about the sufferings of
others--it matters not to them who is hungry so as they are well fed,
and what privations others may be enduring while their needs are
supplied. But the crime is oftener chargeable to moral cowardice and
unwillingness to practice self-denial. A man may be sufficiently
concerned for the danger of a drowning brother to throw him a rope,
but he may shrink from throwing himself into the water and risking a
watery grave on his behalf. So he may pity the ignorant and the
erring and feel sad when he thinks of their sorrows and their sins,
and yet be unwilling to sacrifice his money or his leisure or his
social position in endeavours to save them. But the proverb seems to
deal especially with what seems at first sight to be a less
blameworthy class of persons than either of these--with those who
have never considered the claims which others have upon them--who are
really ignorant how many hearts are breaking around them and how many
are perishing for the want of a helping hand. But this ignorance is
here regarded as criminal. "Evil is wrought for want of thought, as
well as want of heart," but it is as much evil in the one case as in
the other, and the want of thought is a sin in itself. And so is the
want of knowledge here. God will not admit the plea "I knew it not,"
but holds him who utters it guilty for his ignorance as well as for
his neglect.
+II. The positive punishment.+ No truth is taught more plainly in the
Bible, than that men will not escape retribution of some kind because
they have simply abstained from doing ill. The possessor of the one
talent did not put it to a bad use, or throw it away. He kept it
carefully wrapped in a napkin. But the sentence passed upon him was
not merely that he should be deprived of his privilege, or that
reward should be withheld, but:--_"Cast ye the unprofitable servant
into outer darkness"_ (Matt. xxv. 30). "The tree that was only barren
was burned," says an old writer. The justice of this will be seen the
more we consider how much actual _wrong-doing_ on the part of some is
chargeable to the _not-doing_ of others. How much sin might be
prevented if those who have it in their power sought to deliver
others from bodily, or social, or moral death.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
_"He that keepeth thy soul, doth not He know it."_ This favour of God
may be here mentioned partly as a strong obligation upon Him to
preserve him who was made after God's image, and whom God hath
commanded him to love and preserve; partly to an encouragement to the
performance of his duty herein from the consideration of God's
special care and watchfulness over those who do their duty; and
partly to intimate to them the danger of neglect of this duty whereby
they will forfeit God's protection over themselves.--_Poole._
The condition of _sinners_ may be regarded as here very aptly set
forth. They are "drawn unto death"--_seized,_ or _apprehended_ for
death, and "ready to be slain:"--and the death to which they are
doomed,--O how unutterably fearful! But you may naturally meet me
with an objection here. In _their_ condition there is _no_ injustice;
_no_ unrighteous and cruel oppression. The sentence of death under
which they lie is a _divine_ sentence--in perfect accordance with all
the principles of equity:--the sword with which they are "ready to be
slain" is the sword of Divine justice itself. They deserve to die the
death. To attempt to prevent it would be to arrest the hand of God.
Ought not divine, and therefore unimpeachable, justice too have its
course? The objection--otherwise irresistible--God has Himself
removed. Justice, infinite justice, had all its claims acknowledged
and fulfilled on Calvary. On the ground of the sacrifice there
offered, the atonement there made, the God of justice and mercy has
called on sinners to accept pardon, in the name and for the sake of
His Son. His call comes with authority. It is a command. It is in
virtue of the satisfaction of justice in the atonement of Christ,
that _we ourselves_ enjoy _our own_ deliverance from the death and
destruction to which, in common with all, we were devoted. And the
very same authority that commanded us to believe and be saved,
enjoins on us to be agents in attempting the rescue of others. O!
what should we not be ready to do, to sacrifice, to suffer for such
an end!--to effect such a rescue!--_Wardlaw._
While Samuel Romilly's Bill to abolish the punishment of death for a
theft amounting to the sum of five shillings passed the English House
of Commons, it was thrown out by a majority in the House of Lords.
Among those who voted against the Bill were one archbishop and five
bishops. Our poet here in the Proverbs is of a different mind. Even
the law of Sinai appoints the punishment of death only for
man-stealing. . . . In expressions like the above a true Christian
spirit rules the spirit which condemns all bloodthirstiness of
justice, and calls forth to a crusade, not only against the
inquisition, but against all unmerciful and cruel
executions.--_Delitzsch._
The Hebrew midwives, and Esther in after ages, thus delivered their
own _people drawn unto death._ Reuben _delivered_ Joseph from the
pit. Job was the _deliverer_ of the poor in the extremity. Jonathan
saved his friend at imminent risk to himself. Obadiah hid the Lord's
prophets. Ahikam and Ebed-melech saved Jeremiah. Johanan attempted to
_deliver_ the unsuspecting Gedaliah. Daniel preserved the wise men of
Babylon. The Samaritan rescued his neighbour from death. Paul's
nephew _delivered_ the great Apostle by informing him of the
murderous plot. The rule includes all oppression, which has more or
less of the character of murder.--_Bridges._
"Who is lord over us?" is the watchword of the life-long battle
between an evil conscience and a righteous Judge. Here the
commandment is exceeding broad. Like Divine omniscience, it compasses
the transgressor before and behind. It checks his advance, and cuts
off his retreat. Although a man should actually maintain in relation
to every brother the neutrality he professes, it would avail him
nothing. . . . What ails our brother, that he needs the compassion of
a tender heart and the help of a strong hand? He is "drawn unto
death," and "ready to be slain." This is the very crisis which at
once needs help and admits it. If the danger were more distant, he
might not be sensible of his need; if it were nearer, he might be
beyond the hope of recovery. He is so low that help is necessary; yet
not so low as would render help vain. He is "drawn unto death," and
therefore is an object of pity; but his life is yet in him, and
therefore he is a subject of hope.--_Arnot._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 13 _and_ 14.
HONEY AND WISDOM.
+I. An analogy.+ 1. Honey is found by man ready prepared for his use;
no human skill is needed to make it fit for food--nothing that man
can do can render it more palatable than it is as it flows from the
comb. So the revealed wisdom of God as it is found in the Scriptures
needs no intervention of man to make it suitable to human needs.
2. As honey is evidently designed by God to furnish a wholesome and
pleasant food for the body, so has He designed that the revelation of
His mind and will by His inspired messengers shall provide wholesome
and congenial food for the soul of man. The great abundance of honey
in Palestine led to its forming a more prominent part of daily food
than in western countries, and its possessing these two qualities
made it very fit for general and constant use, and was a perpetual
testimony to the providence of God in relation to the needs and
enjoyment of His creatures. So is the provision which God has made
for the spiritual wants of the children of men. On this point we must
take the testimony of those who have tasted this soul-food. We should
not ask a man whether honey was pleasant to the taste if he had never
eaten it, and those are not qualified to bear witness concerning the
spiritual enjoyment and benefit to be derived from the "wisdom of
God" who have not tested it. All those who have done so, whatever
their condition in life, in whatever age they have lived, or whatever
part of the world they have called their home, have agreed with
David's testimony that it is _"more to be desired than gold, yea,
than much find gold: sweeter than honey and the honey-comb"_ (Psa.
xix. 10).
+II. A contrast.+ 1. Honey may be eaten unto it cloys the appetite
and injures the eater, but not so with the Word of God. Those who eat
the most of this spiritual food are the most spiritually healthy, and
have the keenest appetite for it. 2. Although this God-given bodily
food may do much to nourish and sustain a healthy man, it cannot cure
a diseased body, or prevent the inroads of sickness and decay. But
there is a soul-transforming power in the spiritual food of which it
is here an emblem. Those who eat of it are by it healed of spiritual
disease, and are continually and unceasingly growing in moral health
and vigour. 3. The blessings flowing from eating the spiritual food
are only fully realised in the life beyond the present. To this the
wise man refers in the last clause. (For Homiletics on this thought,
see on chaps. xi. 7, xiv. 32, pages 201 and 391.)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 13. The wise man's feast which he makes his son is but one
dish. And what need of more when that is both good and pleasant? The
glutton provideth many dishes, and costly to make them luscious, but
they are not _good,_ not good for the health of the body. . . . On
the other side, the physician provideth divers meats, and they are
_good_--good either for the preservation of heath or for the recovery
of it, but they are not pleasant and grateful to the palate. That is
the best feeding when those are joined together. . . . Or else if
they are not joined together, notice that the wise man putteth good
in the first place; as teaching thee rather to take that which is
good though not pleasant, than that which is pleasant but not
good.--_Jermin._
Verse 14. _When thou hast found it._ That is, when thou hast so found
it that thou canst feed upon it and convert it into nourishment, then
thy pains of seeking shall be rewarded. And though it be a late
reward, for wisdom is not quickly found, yet there shall be a reward,
and that so full, that in nothing thine expectation shall be cut off.
For though hardly yet it is well-gotten; and with pleasure will
sweeten the pains, with good will satisfy the tarrying and recompense
the delay. The Chaldee rendereth the middle part of the verse, _"If
thou hast found, the last will come better than the first."_ As if
this were a mark whereby to know whether we have found wisdom or not,
because then the further we go on the more sweetness we shall
find.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 15 _and_ 16.
A SOCIAL AMBUSH.
+I. A common practice of the wicked man in relation to the good.+
When we think of an ambush of men lying in wait to spring upon their
foes at a fitting opportunity, two hostile parties are at once
brought before us, we feel that there must be deep enmity on one side
at least, or men would not be at such pains to overthrow their
fellow-men. And this is indeed the case in society as a whole. Men
are divided into two great parties. On one side stand the lovers of
righteousness, and on the other the lovers of sin; and the latter
must ever be more or less actively opposed to the former. But their
favourite and most common method of attack is that indicated in the
text. Wrong-doers are naturally cowards, and in their endeavours to
injure better men than themselves they shrink from open attack. They
are fully conscious that they could not stand their ground in a fair
fight in the open field, and so they try to fall upon their foe in a
moment when he is off his guard and in a place where he least expects
to meet them. In other words, evil men do not openly assail either
the character or the position of a good man, but by lying words
spoken in his absence they try to blacken the first, and by secret
schemes to overthrow the second.
+II. An utterly useless attempt of the wicked man in relation to the
good.+ It is useless to try to kill a tree by lopping off the
branches. Such a process may for a time deprive it of its beauty and
stop its growth, but while the root has its hold upon the soil and
can draw nourishment to itself from unseen sources beneath the
surface it will live, and as soon as the axe has ceased to strike it
will begin again to clothe itself in greenness and beauty. So it is
with a righteous man. His enemies may succeed in bringing about his
temporary overthrow and in depriving his outward life of much
comfort, but the springs of his existence are fed from an invisible
and unfailing source, and his well-being is not dependent upon
external circumstances. And so even if the malice of the wicked is
permitted to strip him of some things which made his life more
apparently prosperous and secure, there is an inner life which they
cannot touch, and which enables him in due time to recover from the
wounds which they inflict either upon his character or his
circumstances. For _"This is the heritage of the servants of the
Lord. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every
tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn"_
(Isa. liv. 17).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 15. Because it spites the wicked, that the godly dwell in
safety, therefore they lay wait against their dwelling, by affliction
and miseries seeking to throw it down, and . . . because the virtues
of the godly condemn the vices of the wicked, therefore they lay wait
and search into their _dwelling houses_ to espy out their faults,
because the goodness of the righteous shameth the naughtiness of the
wicked, therefore they seek to break in even into their bedchambers
and _places of rest,_ and there to discover their errors and
infirmities. Solomon forbidding them to do it, showeth it to be their
manner to do it.--_Jermin._
Verse 16. Perhaps you will say, had I fallen only once, I would not
be much afraid; but I have often fallen before the enemy, and one day
I must perish. But hear what God says:--The righteous man falls not
once or twice, but many times, and still he rises. Your experience of
former deliverances should encourage your hopes of new deliverances,
for the salvations of the Lord are never exhausted. In six troubles
He will deliver, and in seven there shall no evil touch
you.--_Lawson._
God's saints are bound to "rejoice when they fall into divers
temptations." What though they _fall_ into them? not go in step by
step, but be precipitated, plunged over head and ears. Say they fall
not into one, but into many crosses--as they seldom come single--yet
"be exceeding glad" says the apostle, as the merchant is to see his
ships come laden in.--_Trapp._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 17 _and_ 18.
THE FALL OF AN ENEMY.
Joy at the overthrow of an enemy is a feeling which is natural to an
unspiritual man, but it is one which is here declared to be
displeasing to God. Three reasons suggest themselves why this should
be so.
+I. Such an emotion is inconsistent with a man's own well-being and
happiness.+ The nature that can be indifferent to the calamities of
another, even although that other has been an enemy in the past, is a
nature destitute of all generosity and nobility. But the heart that
can be _glad_ at such an event is altogether possessed with the
spirit of the devil--the flames of exultation that burn upon such an
altar have been set on fire of hell. And as God loves the creature
whom He at first created in His own image, it displeases Him to see
him give place to a feeling so unworthy of his origin, and at the
same time so productive of misery to himself. For the so-called joy
that arises from such a cause is not only very short-lived, but is
like a fire that blazes and burns brightly for a time, and then
leaves nothing but a heap of ashes behind. The exultation over the
fall of an enemy soon dies out, and leaves the heart scorched and
dried by the heat of the unworthy passion.
+II. It is inconsistent with the spirit of brotherhood that God
desires to exist among men.+ If there has been a break in the harmony
of a family, and one member has been at enmity with another, the
oneness of the parentage ought to be sufficient to erase all memory
of past wrongs when the offender is overtaken by misfortune. Such
would be the case where there was any real family affection. God
desires all His creatures to recognise a universal brotherhood in
virtue of their relation to Him, their common Father. He desires men
to be ever ready to seek occasions to draw together in unity, and to
avoid all that deepens an opposite feeling. If a man retains his
enmity against his offending brother when that brother by reason of
misfortune might be reconciled to him, he ignores entirely the law of
brotherly love which God desires to rule in His human family.
+III. It is inconsistent with a right recognition of our need of
Divine mercy.+ However much our offending brother may have wronged
us, the amount of the debt of his trespass against us will bear no
comparison to the amount of our indebtedness to God. In sinning
against us he has but wronged an erring human creature like himself,
and one who has very possibly failed in his duty towards him. But
when we sin against God, we sin against One whose character is
altogether fitted to win us to obedience, and whose every action in
relation to us has been dictated by perfect love. It is only when we
fail to recognise this truth that an unforgiving spirit can possess
our hearts, and it is only when such a spirit has full sway that any
man can exult in the downfall of his enemy.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
For prevention hereof think thus with thyself: Either I am like mine
enemy, or else I am better or worse than he. If like him, why may I
not look for the like misery? If better, who made me to differ? If
worse, what reason have I to insult? (See Obadiah 12.)--_Trapp._
St. Gregory saith it is only the keeping of charity that doth prove
us to be the disciples of God, and that we have charity is shewn in
two ways, namely, if we love our friends in God, and if we love our
enemies for God. . . . Because another is an enemy to thee, be not
thou an enemy to goodness, an enemy to thyself. For he that rejoiceth
when his enemy falleth, doth himself fall much worse, and hath more
cause to be grieved for his own wretchedness; he that is glad in his
heart when his enemy stumbleth, stumbleth more dangerously in his own
heart.--_Jermin._
For Homiletics on the subjects of verses 19 and 20 see verse 1 of
this chapter, page 676, and chap. xiii. 9, page 303.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 21 _and_ 22.
RULE AND REVERENCE.
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: Be very careful with the word
"niggardly" because it can sound like a racial slur,
especially to those who do not know the word or who are not
paying attention. Consider substituting "miserly,"
"sparing," or "parsimonious."
+I. The rule of some men and the subjection of others is a Divine
ordination.+ God, by creating men with such different gifts and with
powers of mind and body so unequal, evidently intends that society
should not be on a dead level, but that in all communities there
should be some recognised head. And the tendency of men in all ages
to unite under some leader whom they deem worthy to be their head
points to an instinct in human nature which we must refer to a Divine
origin. The law of subjection and dominion has its place in the
natural world. The entire solar system is held together by the
subjection of the lesser bodies to one which is greater than all, and
as the planets move in their orbits around the sun they seem like so
many obedient subjects doing homage to their monarch, while their
attendant satellites are in their turn subject to them. And the
constant operation of this material law is productive of the most
beneficial results. In like manner the observation of some such law
among free and intelligent creatures is necessary to the order and
consequent peace of society.
+II. But the deference of the subject to his earthly ruler must be
always subordinate to the will of the Divine ruler of both.+ There
are cases in which to _"fear the king,"_ in the sense of obeying him,
would be to dishonour God, and times when he who demands obedience
refuses to comply with the Divine demands upon himself. It is obvious
therefore that the fear of the earthly king can only be carried so
far as is consistent with loyal obedience to the "King of all the
kings on the earth." The first precept of the wise man in this verse
admits of no limitation, but the second must be limited by the first.
But those who have been the most faithful servants of God have ever
been most ready to render _"honour to whom honour is due"_ (Rom.
xiii. 7); and when duty has compelled them to disobey their commands
they have done so with all due respect for their lawful authority.
That fear of God which compels them to disobey unrighteous laws makes
them obedient subjects to lawful rule, and constrains them, so far as
is possible, to live as peaceable citizens.
+III. Therefore the peace of a kingdom and the stability of a throne
will be in proportion to the reverence of king and people for the
Divine Will.+ The fear of God is the great adjusting power in all
relations of life. When it governs in the family the parents are
loved and honoured by the children, and the children's welfare is the
constant care of the parents. It is this fear of God alone that can
solve the vexed problem of the relations between masters and
servants, between capital and labour, and between monarchs and
people. Where it is wanting there will be a weak rule on the one
hand, and a niggardly service and a half-hearted obedience on the
other, and both are responsible for those outbursts of disorder which
involve both in a common calamity.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The connection of the two fears in the passage before us is evidently
intended to impress the one by the other:--If you fear God, fear the
king. God, whom you are bound supremely to fear, and whose fear
should produce obedience to His Will, has enjoined the fear of
earthly rulers: so that a failure in the fear due to _them_ becomes a
violation of the fear due to _Him._
I need hardly say, that by _the king_ we are to understand the
_government of the country._ It may be monarchical, or it may not. We
are by no means to look upon such expressions as this, in Scripture,
as attaching the authority of inspiration to one form of government
more than to another. Respecting the comparative merits of different
forms, the Word of God should not be regarded as giving any decision,
whether for the kingly, the aristocratical, the popular, or the
mixed. The respect, or fear, is due to _the legislative and executive
powers,_ of whichsoever description these may be.--_Wardlaw._
Submission of heart and life to the King Eternal overrides and
controls, yet does not injure a citizen's allegiance to an earthly
ruler. . . . The fear of the Lord must go first, but the fear of the
king may follow. The supreme does not crush, it protects the
subordinate. Although the heart is full of piety, there is plenty of
room for patriotism. Nay, more, patriotism nowhere gets full scope
except in a heart that is already pervaded by piety. These elements
are like the two chief constituent gases of the atmosphere. The space
which envelopes the globe is full of one gas--it is also full of the
other. To discharge the nitrogen would not make the space capable of
containing more of the oxygen. The absence of the one constituent
destroys the quality but does not enlarge the quantity of the other.
Take away godliness, and your loyalty, without being increased in
amount, is seriously deteriorated in kind. Take away loyalty, and you
run great risk of spoiling the purity of the remanent godliness.
God's works are all good--His combinations are all beneficial. If we
attempt to mend, we shall certainly mar them. . . . Go forward in
your allegiance to "the powers that be," not until you think you have
gone far enough, but until you come upon the law of God, claiming the
space in front for Himself, and absolutely forbidding your advance.
Go forward with the fear of the king, unless and until the fear of
the Lord cross your path like a wall. . . . No feasible rule can be
laid down except what the Scriptures contain. Let any man try to
write down a scale showing when and where private persons may
lawfully resist public authority, and he will soon be convinced that
the case is hopeless. Every attempt to define the liberty of
rebellion will be found to open a door to anarchy. In point of fact,
very little of the liberty that now exists in the world has been
achieved by violent resistance to governments because of oppression
in temporal things.--_Arnot._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 23-26.
IMPARTIALITY OF TRUTH.
+I. Two blessings to society.+ While there is nothing that more
certainly undermines the moral tone of any community than that
"respect of persons" which the Bible so emphatically and constantly
condemns (Lev. xix. 15; Jas. ii. 1), there is no person who more
contributes to the welfare of society, and contributes more to its
well-being than the man who judges all men by the same standard,
viz., their character. It is especially indispensable that those who
are set apart to administer the laws of the land should be men above
all suspicion of partiality. For, wherever there is a code of law, it
is a testimony to that inborn sense of justice which is more or less
active in every human being; and although it may sometimes be but an
imperfect attempt to render to every man his right, if it is
administered by men of integrity it is one of the greatest bulwarks
of national prosperity and security. It may well be a matter of
thankfulness to every Englishman that the judicial bench of this land
occupies the high position that it does in this respect as in all
others, and that the days when men thought it possible to use
unlawful influences with an English judge have passed away. But to
what do we owe this blessing, if not to the greater hold which the
principles of the Bible has upon our national life? But Solomon
brings before us another character which is as necessary to a
nation's moral health, which is, perhaps, rarer than the first, but
which might and ought to belong to every man. Those who are called to
sit in judgment are the few, but those who in various ways are called
to bear witness concerning persons and things, are the many. And some
who would deem it a crime to have respect of persons in judgment, do
not realise how much the cause of truth and righteousness would be
furthered if men, in their every-day intercourse, would give a "right
or straightforward answer" (see rendering in Critical Notes) to the
questions put to them. If it was the habit of merchants and
statesmen, of masters and servants, in the market and in the social
circle, to speak the "truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the
truth," how much purer would be the moral atmosphere which we
breathe, and how much more nearly would society on earth be like that
of heaven.
+II. The recognition which such characters receive from their
fellow-men.+ In a world where the unrighteous far outnumber the
righteous, and where most men are but half loyal to truth, it is
remarkable that it should be so. But history in general and
individual experience in particular bears witness that Solomon was
right. Even unrighteous men cannot help admiring a just and truthful
man, and their consciences and their experience combine to testify
that they themselves have more to hope from those who are morally
above them than from those who are on a level with themselves. It is
probable that both moral sense and self-interest combine to bring
people as a whole to bless him who rebukes the wicked and to "kiss
his lips" who giveth a right answer.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 26. The meaning of that ceremony of kissing him that was
anointed to be king, St. Gregory giveth to be this, that it was to
teach him that was so kissed that God hath brought him to that
dignity to the end that he might make peace between God and his
people that were under him, whereof a kiss is a sign and pledge. For
by sinning we procure the enmity of God, when therefore a ruler is
set up for the correction of sinners, thereby is taken away that
which made us enemies to God. If, therefore, we read this verse as
the English doth, we may understand it that everyone may acknowledge
him to be a peacemaker between God and them, who by _right_ judgment
punisheth the wicked.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 27.
PLAN AND PATIENCE.
+I. Here is a lesson in working with method.+ In all undertakings it
is necessary to consider what is the most important and indispensable
element of success, and to make sure of that first. In the building
of a house in the literal sense, the first thing to be done is to
have a well-considered plan, and to gather and prepare suitable and
sufficient materials. If, when the building is half finished, it is
found that some great difficulty has been overlooked, or that the
materials and the means to procure them are inadequate, failure and
disgrace are the result, and all the time and money hitherto spent
upon the work is thrown away. So in any other undertaking. If a man
desires a certain position in life for which special qualifications
are needed, he must first endeavour to know exactly what the
requirements are, and then make sure that he is able to fulfil them.
If he makes a start without well considering these things he may
waste much precious time and energy, and ruin his prospects for life.
The same principle may be applied to any philanthropic enterprise.
These often fail, because they are entered upon without any just
conception of the difficulties to be encountered, or of the resources
which will be required to carry them on to a successful issue.
+II. A lesson in working with patience.+ The proverb seems to warn
men not to be in too great a hurry to realise the fulfilment of their
desires; not to be impatient to reap the harvest before the crop has
had time to ripen. Men are sometimes so eager to obtain a certain
good which to them appears desirable that they make a desperate and
reckless attempt to gain it by some other road than that of patient
perseverance. A man makes up his mind that he must live in a certain
style, and keep up a certain appearance before the world, and he sets
out to build a stately mansion without waiting until he has acquired
the means whereby he can do it honestly. Men often desire to be at
the beginning of their career where they can be only after days and
years of toil, and if they act under the inspiration of this spirit
of impatience they often most effectually shut themselves out
entirely from the realisation of their desires.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
This wisdom the very little bees do practise and show us, who first
get honey and bring it into their hives, and afterwards make their
seats and honeycombs. Against this rule here set down divers sorts of
people offend, yea, all that take a preposterous course, whether in
the matters of this life, or in those things that are spiritual. Some
enter into the state of marriage before either they have wit, or have
provided and gotten by their labour sufficient food or wealth to
maintain them. Others lay out much on banquets, buildings, pastimes,
or apparel, before they have a good stock or large comings in. Others
meddle with hard points of controversy before they have learned the
plain principles of religion. Others first and especially seek after
the goods of this world, and, in the second place, at their leisure,
and very slowly, they follow after the kingdom of God.--_Muffet._
Possibly a spiritual meaning here, as elsewhere, lies beneath the
prudential maxim. The "field" may be the man's outer common work, the
"house" the dwelling-place of his higher life. He must do the former
faithfully in order to attain the latter.--_Plumptre._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 28 _and_ 29.
AN UNCALLED-FOR TESTIMONY.
+I. There are times and circumstances in which it is our duty to
witness against our neighbour.+ When the interests of right and truth
are at stake, it is wrong for any man to be silent when by declaring
what he knows, he could establish those interests, even although by
so doing he brings punishment upon a fellow-man. It is often
indispensable to the safety of innocent people that the wrong-doer
should be exposed and brought to justice, and every man in such a
case is not only blameless when he witnesses against such a
_"neighbour,"_ but blameworthy when he does not do so. This is not
witnessing against him "without cause," for there is a good and
sufficient reason for the action.
+II. Such witness-bearing is of quite a different character from that
which springs from malice.+ There are men in society who seem to live
like beasts of prey. As the lion or the tiger is ever watching his
opportunity to spring upon some defenceless creature at an unguarded
moment, so these men seem to make it their business to watch their
fellow-creatures for opportunities to injure their reputation and
mangle their character. And in a world of faulty human beings, it is
not difficult for such men to find food for their malicious
appetites, without transgressing the limits of truth. In most men
there is enough imperfection, and in many of actual sin, to render it
easy to make out a case against them. But if no actual good can come
to anybody by exposing their failings, much harm will come to the man
who thus bears witness against them without a cause. The evil
tendencies of his own evil nature will be strengthened by the act,
and he will be exposing himself to the danger of having a causeless
testimony borne against himself in his turn.
+III. There are circumstances in which there is a strong temptation
to bear a causeless testimony.+ It is against this temptation that
the proverb is especially directed. When a man has spoken evil of us
without cause, when he has made public some hidden infirmity, or some
secret fall, there is a great temptation to retaliate if opportunity
offers--to tell what we know about him that will lower him in the
estimation of his fellow-men. But this temptation must be resisted,
both for our own sake and for his, and for this reason among others,
that we are in the worst possible condition for bearing a truthful
testimony. A man under the influence of intoxicating drink would be
altogether unfit to bear witness for or against another. But the
passion of revenge is as intoxicating to the human soul as the most
potent liquor is to the human brain. It distorts the judgment, and
dethrones the reason, and tramples under foot all the noblest
emotions of our nature. A man under its sway would be very unlikely
to be just to the object to whom he sought to return evil for evil;
nay, he would be unable to confine himself within the limits of
strict truth and pure justice. And, therefore, one who has wronged us
is the man above all other men of whose faults we should never speak,
unless there is an overwhelming moral necessity for it.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 28. _"And mayhap, deceive with thy lips."_ This is expressed by
a little participle before the verb. It helps in the ancillary
thought, that not only is speaking evil wicked if it can do no good,
but also it may prove actually unjust. All statement has a hazard of
mistake. If it can do some good, we may risk something so as to
_witness;_ but if there can be no good, we should risk
nothing.--_Miller._
Verse 29. It is a great wickedness, when God is made a pattern for
wickedness; and it is a strong temptation to wickedness, when the
example of the Lord seemeth to countenance that which is proposed to
be done. It is therefore against this that the wise man adviseth in
this verse. For though God say, I will render to everyone according
to his works, thou mayest not say, I will render to the man according
to his works. God speaketh as a Judge to whom it belongeth to
consider the works of everyone, and accordingly to reward them; but
no man may be a judge in his own cause, no particular man may do that
for himself which a judge may do for him. Wherefore it is a bad
imitation thus to imitate the Lord, for we are not to do all things
that the Lord doth, but all things that the Lord commandeth us to
do.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 30-34.
THE SLUGGARD'S VINEYARD.
+I. We have here a precious possession in the hands of an unworthy
proprietor.+ A vineyard is not a heritage of little or no value--if
rightly cared for and cultivated it will yield to its owners the
means of obtaining an honest living, and, it may be, put him in
possession of wealth. Many a toiling, struggling man without an inch
of ground on God's earth to call his own would feel as if he had
nothing left to desire if he had such a barrier between himself and
poverty, and would joyfully toil from dawn to sunset to make the best
of that which God's providence had entrusted to him. But here is
property which would be prized and cultivated by many in the hands of
one who neglects and wastes it. The picture of our text is a
parabolic representation of what is before our eyes every day. A
vineyard of bodily strength is given to a man who by dissipation
breaks down its wall and invites disease to enter. A vineyard of
opportunities is inherited by a slothful youth who is too indolent
and careless to improve them. The vineyard of a vast fortune or of a
position of great influence is entrusted to one who is "void of
understanding"--who does not realise his responsibility to God or to
men.
+II. We have man, by neglecting to use God's gifts, limiting God's
power to bless him.+ It was God's purpose that this vineyard should
bring forth better things than thorns and nettles. He desired to see
it covered with choice vines, whose branches should be loaded with
clusters of refreshing fruit. But this could not be unless man would
be a co-worker with Him. God did His part. The rain watered the soil,
the sun shone upon it, but man refused to dig and plant, to weed and
cultivate. And by withholding his power to labour he limited God's
power to bless. Men do the same in other fields of labour, and in
connection with the other opportunities of receiving the Divine
blessing. Many good gifts come alike to the slothful and to the
industrious man--to him who diligently "keeps" his vineyard and to
him who neglects it. God makes His sun to shine, and sends His rain
upon the fields of both. But in the one case sun and rain find a soil
prepared to receive the full benefit of the blessings they can give,
and in the other they can only strengthen the hold of the weeds upon
the earth, and to increase the unfruitfulness of the vineyard. So men
often limit God's power to bless them by His providence.
Opportunities are given to them of bringing great blessings upon
themselves or upon others, but only on condition that they labour
earnestly and diligently at some work which God gives them to do.
They may be called only to the special cultivation of their own
intellectual and spiritual powers, or they may also be in a position
to transform others from weeds in the social and moral vineyard into
plants of beauty and trees yielding fruit. But whether the field open
to them is a wide one, or comparatively narrow, all God's willingness
to give the increase will be of no avail if they refuse to till the
ground and sow the seed.
+III. We have a swift and sure-footed avenger advancing to awaken the
slothful sleeper.+ That slumber, though long and deep, will not go on
for ever. It would indeed be unjust to the active and industrious man
if the slothful never felt the consequences of his indolence. But
this would be contrary to the laws by which God governs the world.
One of these laws is, that bodily want, or intellectual or spiritual
beggary, will in due time overtake him who neglects to exercise the
faculties and capabilities which God has given him to enrich every
part of his nature.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
This is a picture of sloth. At the same time it is a picture of sloth
under attacks upon our faith. The world moves on, and, in our
laziness, our garden gets all choked with new dogmas against the
Gospel. The writer has already said that we are not to yield to
"them that are given to change" (verse 21). He has also said that we
are not to answer them with deceit (verse 28): and, now, what
remains? Why, that we baffle them, that we work as hard as they do. I
know no proverb more useful for the men of our times. We lie upon our
lees till we think philosophy a sort of wickedness; till we think
quiet under its advances a sort of Christian faith. We let science
work on, till, by sap and mine, it is near our citadel. Great bodies
of learned work are built up while the Church sleeps. If she fights,
it is with a sort of chicane, with the gongs and bright paper, like a
Chinese troop; when duty plainly is, to work up abreast of science.
If the Church has more light, she must expect more contest. If she
has better arms, she must expect more battles; with more mind, of
course more to oppose; otherwise she has less to do than less capable
believers. The world's science must be met by the Church's science,
and new, sturdy brambles in her prolific fields must be ploughed
under by improved implements. Otherwise, old-time arguments, and a
sort of a chicane of a retort; responses like those of women, rather
intended to say _No_ than to be an actual reply, become indicative of
a sluggard-Church, and of a garden cumbered like that before us.
_Slothful,_ literally _sluggard man._ Man is here the better _sort of
man_ (see Miller's comment of verse 5); in the last clause it is _"a
common man."_ The first has a _field,_ the second a _vineyard._ All
classes of men are bound to read up and get rid of occasions for
cavil. . . . _"The wall;"_ necessary to keep a church at all. Let
scientists trample in upon the vineyard with nothing but a few old
clothes to scare them, and presently we will have no Church whatever.
Not _"stone wall"_ (E. V.), but _"the wall, as to its stones,"
"pulled down."_ It will not slowly crumble, but interested parties
will help it when it begins to totter. _"I saw, or looked."_ Seeing
such things requires an effort. Not the slothful man's business
alone! but mine! I am sufficiently like him. A vineyard with
brambles, like that of Geneva, or England, or that of the
cis-Atlantic Socinian States, is a picture for all mankind. . . .
_"Come, etc.," "sauntering along."_ Hithpael of walk. _"Armed man."_
Both these descriptions mean (1) _slowness,_ and (2) _certainty;_
(1) unobserved ease of gait; but (2) doomlike certainty in coming. A
Church that enjoys her ease may super-eminently prosper. Her foe may
be behind the hill, and her doom may be sauntering noiselessly up,
but their coming is as certain as the dawn. . . . A "little sleep"
more, and the thing has been actually achieved.--_Miller._
Let _us_ learn from the scene described: 1. How _gradual_ may be the
approaches of the evils of sloth, while, at the same time, they are
_irresistible_ in the end. This is the lesson of the thirty-fourth
verse. The traveller approaches by degrees. When comparatively at a
distance, he appears harmless; but, when he has advanced a certain
length, he is discovered to be _"an armed man,"_--all resistance to
whom is too late, and consequently vain. Famine, though gaunt, is
irresistibly mighty. Who can stand before it? Not the man of habitual
sloth. The very habit has the more thoroughly incapacitated him for
plucking up any spirit to ward off the final ravages of the frightful
enemy. He succumbs, sinks and dies.--2. Our souls are committed by
God to our own spiritual cultivation. This is no sinecure. They will
not thrive themselves. If we would have them "as a watered garden,
and as a field which the Lord hath blessed," we must apply spiritual
activity and labour, to stock them with the appropriate graces,
affections, and virtues, and to promote the growth and productiveness
of them all. We must sow the seed, and seek by prayer the showers of
the Divine blessing--the promised influences of the Divine Spirit. We
must watch over the germination, the springing, the growth, and the
fructifying of the seed. Without this all will be stunted and
sterile. The noxious and unsightly weeds of sin will spring and
luxuriate, and overspread the soil; all growing that ought not to
grow, and nothing growing that should. Let parents apply the
principle to the spiritual instruction of their children. Your
families are as vineyards committed to your care and culture. Imagine
not that, when left to themselves, they will spontaneously yield good
fruit. The experience of all generations reads you an opposite
lesson. You must enclose; you must dig, and sow, and water, and
watch, and protect the springing blade, till it comes to the ear, and
the full corn in the ear. You must train from their earliest germs
your tender plants, and guard, and support, and prune them, and clear
and manure the soil around them. The incessant care of both parents
must be bestowed upon this; and all little enough. They must look for
the help and for the blessing of God. O see to it, that the verses
before us be not a just description of any of your families--from
your parental negligence, indifference, and sloth. Let every family
be as a sacred enclosure for God; fenced in from the blasts and
blights of the world, where the "plants of his right hand's planting"
are reared from the seed, for future productiveness.--_Wardlaw._
Verse 32. The owner did nothing for the farm, and the farm did
nothing for the owner. But even this neglected spot did something for
the passing wayfarer, who had an observant eye and a thoughtful mind.
Even the sluggard's garden brought forth fruit, but not for the
sluggard's benefit. The diligent man reaped, and carried off the only
harvest that it bore--a warning. The owner received nothing from it;
and the onlooker "received instruction.". . . People complain that
they have few opportunities and means of instruction. Here is one
school open to all. Here is a schoolmaster who charges no fee. If we
are ourselves diligent, we may gather riches even in a sluggard's
garden. He who knows how to turn the folly of his neighbours into
wisdom for himself, cannot excuse defective attainments by alleging a
scarcity of the raw material.--_Arnot._
* * * * * *
CHAPTER XXV.
With this chapter begins the fourth main division of this book,
consisting, as its introductory words inform us, of sayings and
perhaps writings of Solomon, which were placed together in their
present form by men appointed to the work by King Hezekiah. Zöckler
remarks that "while the first and larger section of the book purports
to be essentially a book for youth, this is evidently a book for the
people, a treasury of proverbial wisdom for kings and subjects--as is
indicated by the first introductory proverb. . . . Whether as the
source from which the transfer or compilation of the following
proverbs was made, we are to think simply of one book or of several
books, so that the transfer would be the purely literary labour of
excerpting, a transcribing or collecting by copying; or whether we
have to consider as the source simply the oral transmission of
ancient proverbs of wise men by the mouth of the people, must remain
doubtful. It is, perhaps, most probable that both the written and the
oral tradition were alike sifted for the subjects of the collection."
(_Zöckler,_ in Lange's Commentary.)
CRITICAL NOTES.--+1. Copied out,+ rather _"collected."_ See the
remarks above. +2. Honour,+ rather _"glory,"_ as in the first clause.
+3.+ The word _is_ should be omitted; unsearchable applies equally to
the three subjects of the sentence. +4. The finer,+ rather the
_"founder,"_ or _"goldsmith."_ +6. Put not forth,+ literally _"bring
not thy glory to view, do not display thyself."_ +7. Whom thine eyes
have seen.+ There is some difference of opinion as to the person to
whom this sentence refers. Fleischer understands it as referring to
the king, and to the additional humiliation felt when it comes upon
one who has pressed so far forward that he can be perceived by the
king. Delitzsch refers it not specially to the king, but to "any
distinguished personage whose place he who has pressed forward has
taken up, and from which he must now withdraw when the right
possessor of it comes and lays claim to his place. . . . Thine eyes
have seen him in the company, and thou canst say to thyself, this
place belongs to him, according to his rank, and not to thee; the
humiliation which thou endurest is thus well deserved, because, with
eyes to see, thou wert so blind." (Delitzsch.) +8. Lest thou know
not,+ etc. As will be seen from the Italics in the English version,
this sentence is very elliptical. Zöckler reads, _"lest_ (it be said
to thee) _what wilt thou do,"_ etc. Delitzsch, _"That it may not be
said,"_ etc. Miller, _"Lest what thou doest, in its after
consequence, by thy neighbour putting thee to shame."_ +9. A secret
to another.+ Rather _"The secret of another."_ +11. Pictures of
silver.+ Literally _"sculpture,"_ or _"figures"_ of silver. Delitzsch
translates _"salvers,"_ Zöckler _"framework."_ Stuart says, _"The
idea is that of a garment of precious stuff, on which is embroidered
golden apples among picture-work of silver. Costly and precious was
such a garment held to be; for, besides the ornaments upon it, the
material itself was of high value."_ +Fitly spoken.+ Literally,
_"in,_ or _upon its time."_ +12. An obedient ear.+ Literally _"an ear
that heareth."_ +13. The cold of snow,+ etc. _"The coolness of snow
is not that of a fall of snow, which in the time of harvest would be
a calamity, but of drink cooled with snow, which was brought from
Lebanon, or elsewhere, from the clefts of the rocks; the peasants of
Damascus store up the winter's snow in a cleft of the mountain, and
convey it in the warm months to Damascus and the coast towns."_
(Delitzsch.) +14. A false gift.+ This gift is generally understood to
be one bestowed by the boaster, but which is worth nothing, or the
mere promise of a gift which is never fulfilled. +15. Prince.+ Rather
_"Judge."_ +16. Filled.+ Rather _"Surfeited."_ +17. Withdraw.+ Rather
_"Make rare."_ +18. A maul.+ An instrument or weapon shod with iron,
probably a war-club. +19. Foot out of joint.+ Rather _"An unsteady
foot."_ +20. Nitre.+ _"Not the substance we now understand by
nitre--i.e., nitrate of potassa (saltpetre), but the natron or native
carbonate of soda of modern chemistry."_ (Smith's Dictionary.) The
combination of the acid and alkali would, of course, produce
effervescence. +23. Driveth away.+ Rather _"Brings forward the
rain-clouds."_ Most modern commentators adopt this rendering of this
verb, and read the latter phrase to suit the metaphor--_"So a secret
or slanderous tongue, a troubled countenance."_ +26. Falling
down+--_i.e., "yielding"_ or _"wavering."_ +Corrupt.+ Rather
_"Ruined."_ +27.+ The last phrase in this verse is variously
rendered. The words _is not_ are not in the Hebrew. Stuart reads,
_"Searching after one's own glory is burdensome"--i.e.,_ Honour, like
honey, is good only when sought in moderation. Zöckler renders _"To
search out the difficulty, brings difficulty"--i.e.,_ "Too strenuous
occupation of the mind with difficult things is injurious." Delitzsch
translates:--_"But, as an inquirer, to enter on what is difficult is
honour"--i.e.,_ To overdo oneself in eating honey is not good, but
the searching into difficult things is nothing less than an eating of
honey, but an honour. The word translated _glory_ is literally
_weight,_ and is often used to mean excellence and honour. But it
will bear the opposite meaning of a burden or difficulty.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 1-3.
GOD'S MYSTERIES AND MAN'S RESEARCH.
+I. There is much connected with God's nature and with His government
that will never be revealed to man in his present state.+ This is in
accordance with the greatness of God and the littleness of man in
comparison with Him. There are many things connected with God which
man in his present state could not comprehend, and there are others
which he might comprehend, but of which it is better he should remain
in ignorance. The parent conceals many things from a child because
the concealment is more consistent with a wise training than the
revelation of them would be. Some of them the child could not
understand, and others it is better that he should not know until he
attain to riper years. When he has become a man he will adore the
wisdom of his parent in thus withholding from him what he did. God,
as the infinitely wise Parent and Trainer of human creatures, often
doubtless conceals much from us for similar reasons, and we shall one
day see that the concealment was to the glory of His gracious
character. When a physician is called to treat a man whose life is
hanging upon a thread, he is not expected to enter into an
explanation of the nature of the remedies he uses or to give a reason
for all the treatment he prescribes. Such an explanation would be
unworthy of the dignity of his profession and hurtful to his patient.
Concealment is often an essential and necessary part of his plan, and
when the sick man is restored to health he acknowledges that it was
to the glory of his healer that he kept him for a time in ignorance.
God is the great Physician and Healer of human souls, and it would
neither befit His majesty nor further His purposes of mercy to reveal
the reasons of all He does to His fallen creatures. When they have
attained to perfect moral health they will give glory to Him for all
that He concealed as well as for all that He revealed.
+II. But there is much that is hidden that will be revealed to the
diligent seeker.+ If it is God's prerogative and a part of His Divine
plan to conceal much from man, it is His purpose and desire to reveal
much to him if he will only seek after it. How many of God's
operations in nature are full of mystery to one who only looks upon
the surface of things, but how far diligent and earnest searchers
have penetrated into the secret workings of the Divine wisdom in this
direction. Although there is much hidden from them, still there is
much that was once a mystery that is now made plain. And it is
doubtless the same also in relation to God's working in higher
regions--in His dealings in providence and in His plan of redemption.
Although there is much here that must remain a mystery to the human
mind, he who diligently and reverently seeks to know the mind and
purpose of God in relation to these things will not lose the reward.
+III. While then, it is God's prerogative to determine what He will
reveal to+ +man it is man's glory and duty to be ever seeking to know
more of God's ways and works.+ The third verse seems to institute a
comparison between the Divine and human rulers. These latter have
their state secrets--sometimes for arbitrary purposes and in other
cases from necessity they conceal their plans until their ends are
accomplished. If the government is a despotic one this secrecy is to
be feared and deprecated; if, on the other hand, the ruler or rulers
are merciful and just their subjects may safely trust them when their
plans of action are for a time hidden. But however it may be with
human kings, there is no questioning the right of the King of Kings
to hide what He pleases from His creatures, and no reason for His
creatures to doubt either His wisdom or His love in so doing. But man
has a duty to perform in relation to this concealment. His Maker and
his Ruler does not desire to see him sit down in indolent
indifference, making no effort to penetrate the secrets of the world
around him, or to apprehend in some degree some of the deep things of
God's "unsearchable dealings" (Rom. xi. 33). The veil seems to have
been cast over some of these problems for the very purpose of
stimulating man to search and to test the depth of his interest in
them. While, then, the pursuit of knowledge of any kind is good,
there is none so elevating, none that brings so rich a reward, and
none that man is so bound to follow after, as the knowledge of God in
His works of creation, and providence, and redemption. Solomon, as
the greatest monarch of his day, counted this his first duty and his
highest glory, and there have been many uncrowned kings in all ages
of the world who have set this before them as the aim and end of
their life, and in so doing have set a diadem upon their own brows
and have won the homage and love of multitudes of their race.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verses 1 and 2. It was a good saying of a pious divine, "Lord
preserve us from a comprehensible God." It is our duty to venerate
and wonder, and not to pry with curious eyes into the secrets of God.
The history of the fall is an everlasting warning to the sons of Adam
to prefer the tree of life to the tree of knowledge.--_Lawson._
1. Taking it in contrast with the latter part of the verse--"but the
honour of kings is to _search out a matter,"_--there is implied the
idea that the Divine knowledge is universal, perfect, and free from
everything of the nature of inquiry, investigation, effort, in the
acquisition. His acquaintance with all things is, in the strictest
sense, _intuitive,_ and, in the strictest sense, _complete._ He
requires no _"searching out"_ in order to discover anything; nor is
it possible to make any addition to His knowledge. The past, the
present, and the future are alike before His all-comprehensive mind.
He sees all the present. He remembers all the past. He _foresees_ all
the future. His knowledge is "light without any darkness at all;" and
it is light that is equally clear through the immensity of the
universe, and through all time and all eternity! 2. The language
implies God's entire _independence and supremacy,_ as a part of His
glory. He "giveth not account of any of his matters," further than,
in sovereignty, He sees meet to do. He conceals when He
pleases:--"Who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been His
counsellor?" and who can demand the disclosure of any one of the
secrets of the infinite and independent Mind? 3. The _impenetrable
depth_ of His counsels is a part of God's glory. His "judgments are a
great deep." What line of created wisdom can fathom them?--
"Not angels, that stand round his throne,
Can search His secret will!"
"Canst thou, by searching, find out God? canst thou find out the
Almighty unto perfection? It is high as heaven; what canst thou do?
deeper than hell; what canst thou know? The measure thereof is longer
than the earth, and broader than the sea." "O the depth of the
riches, and wisdom, and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His
judgments, and His ways past finding out!" This is fitted to inspire
us, His intelligent creatures, with "reverence and godly fear." In
the sovereign secrecy, the unapproachable reservation, the
unfathomable mysteriousness of the Divine counsels--in the very
requirement that we humbly bow, in adoring submission, where we
cannot comprehend, without asking a question, or urging a further
disclosure:--in all this, there is something that gives the Creator
His proper place. There is in it a sacredness, and awfulness, that
makes us feel, as we ought to do, our infinite distance. This is
God's glory.--_Wardlaw._
Verse 3. There is no searching the height or the depth of the King's
heart, any more than the height of heaven, or the depth of the earth,
(which in those unastronomic days meant blankly not at all). Give God
a universe to rule; and what He must do in that great compass, as a
King, is quite unsearchable.--_Miller._
For Homiletics of verses 4 and 5 see on chap. xx. 26 and 28, page 596.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 6 _and_ 7.
SELF-PROMOTION.
+I. A wise man will let others judge of his qualifications for a high
place or position.+ Men who consult their happiness and reputation
are not so anxious to rise in the world as they are to qualify
themselves for rising. A wise man knows well that it is not merely
the position he occupies which raises him in the estimation of
others, but the ability which he shows to fill the post, and the
fitness which men recognise as existing between him and his high
place. He has no desire to step into a position which he could not
fill with some credit to himself and advantage to others, knowing
well that he would then be like the jackdaw in the peacock's borrowed
plumes, an object of derision to all beholders. He would rather
occupy a low place with abilities to fill a higher, than be in one
which was above his abilities, and he therefore gladly leaves the
question of his social advancement in the hands of others.
+II. Self-promotion is not likely to result in satisfaction to the
only actor in the transaction.+ 1. _It is generally short-lived._ If
a man is really fit for advancement, some one or some number of
people are generally to be found to say to him, "Friend, go up
higher." The interests of men in general, are concerned in having the
best men in the foremost places; and such men, in the end, are
generally placed in them by common consent. But when a man without
this call steps into a place of honour, it is very common for others
to resent his self-conceit, and to call upon him to give place to a
more worthy person. And so his self-constituted triumph is soon over.
2. _It often ends in humiliation._ It is hard to be obliged to take a
lower place under any circumstances, but when we are thus retracing
steps which our self-esteem alone prompted us to take, the chagrin is
great indeed. And as the ascent in such a case is generally made
before the eyes of many onlookers, so the descent will be equally
public, and this adds much to the disappointment and the shame.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Ambition is to the mind what the cap is to the falcon, it first
blinds us, and then compels us to lower by reason of our
blindness.--_E. Cook._
Now, it is not a little said in praise of him to whom it is said,
"Come up higher." For, first, it showeth his modest humility, which
is the praise of all other virtues. Secondly, it showeth the worth of
his quality, which deserveth advancement. Thirdly, it showeth that to
be due unto him which is bestowed upon him. On the other side, it is
not a little reproach unto him that is put lower. For, first, his
pride is objected to him; the overthrow of all that is praiseworthy.
Secondly, his unworthiness is rejected with an upbraiding of it.
Thirdly, the due punishment of being placed lower is justly
inflicted. . . . And as if he were one unworthy for the prince to
look upon, it is not said, _by whom thou art seen,_ but _whom thine
eyes have seen,_ as noting also the proud presumption of the unworthy
intruder.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 8-11.
TWO WAYS OF TREATING AN ENEMY.
It us undoubtedly helpful, and sometimes indispensable, that a man
who has been wronged by another should seek redress from the
offending person. These verses seem to refer to an injury done to
character and reputation, and seeing that these are a man's most
precious possessions, he has certainly as much right to seek
restitution from him who has sought to rob him of this wealth, as he
has to try and capture the thief who has stolen his money or his
plate, and make him give back his unlawful gain. Solomon does not
condemn all interference with a neighbour who puts us _"to shame,"_
but sets before us two opposite courses of action, either of which
may be taken in such a case. He gives the consequences of both.
+I. There is the way of inconsiderate passion.+ This is a bad way,
because--1. _It may lead us to overstep the bounds of right and
justice._ A man under the power of anger has no ear open to the
counsels of reason and prudence, and under such an influence he will
very likely become as great an offender against his neighbour as his
neighbour was against him. He in his turn may become a slanderer and
a betrayer of secrets (verse 9), and so lose all hold on his
opponent; and even be put to shame by the very person whom he
intended to bring to shame. He is like a blindfolded man who rushes
hastily down a steep path without considering what will be the end of
so mad an act. 2. _It is the least likely way to convince the
offender of his fault._ Words of angry recrimination, or deeds which
savour of the spirit of revenge, will almost certainly make an enemy
tenfold more of an enemy. If he disliked us before without any
reason, his dislike will now have some foundation to rest upon, and
the gulf of separation will be widened instead of bridged over. The
end to be aimed at when a brother man has trespassed against us is
clearly defined by Christ. We are to try to _"gain our brother"_
(Matt. xviii. 15), that is, we are to try and win his esteem and
love. This can never be done if we "go forth hastily to strive." But--
+II. There is the way of personal and wise remonstrance.+ 1. _The
complaint of our wrongs is to be made first to the person offending._
Here the teaching of the wise man and the "greater than Solomon" are
identical. _"If thy brother trespass against thee, go and tell him
his fault between thee and him alone"_ (Matt xviii. 15). To speak of
it to a third person is to expose our neighbour unnecessarily, and,
perhaps, to blacken his character far beyond his deserts. For,
although we may give a plain unvarnished tale of his offence, he to
whom we give it may colour it when he repeats it to another, and so
what was but a molehill at the first may grow into a mountain before
long. But if we go directly to the transgressor himself, we make it
plain to him that we have no desire to make him suffer for his
offence, and only ask him to deal with us in the same spirit of
brotherly love in which we deal with him. Our willingness to cover
his fault will go a long way towards persuading him to confess and
forsake it. 2. _We are to reason and persuade rather than to
upbraid._ The discourse is to take the form of a calm debate. We are
to ask for the grounds of his attack upon us, and not to be too proud
to enter into explanations of any act that he may have misconstrued.
We are to try and convince him of the harm he will do to himself if
he persist in trying to injure another, and we are to seek to clothe
all our arguments and entreaties in language which is the least
likely to offend and most calculated to win. Such words are compared
by Solomon to a beautiful work of art which is precious and admirable
not only for the skill displayed in the workmanship, but for the
costly nature of the material out of which it is fashioned. (See
Critical Notes on verse 11.) It may be a robe of costly material
embroidered with gold and silver, or it may be a basket of wrought
silver holding fruits of gold, but whatever the exact form of the
production, it reveals skilful design on the part of the artist, and
bears witness to his painstaking skill. A carefully framed appeal to
lay before an offending brother is a work of art in a higher
sphere--it calls forth all the tact and wisdom that we possess to
fashion such a garment--to carve such a piece of work, but it is
worth all the labour and pains that can be spent upon it, and will
bring to its author the goodwill of others and the approval of his
own conscience.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 8. For the sake of illustration, to suppose two or three
varieties of this result:--1. The _hasty_ man meets his supposed
adversary,--some word or act of whom has just reached him. He is all
full of the fuming pride of offended self-consequence; very big; very
wrathful. In this spirit he makes his charge, and finds it is a mere
idle unfounded rumour that has come to his ears; that there is
actually nothing in it; that nothing of the kind has ever been either
said or done; that there is no ground whatever for all his excitement
and transport!--How foolish he looks, when his imagined enemy,
against whom he has been breathing out the vehemence of passion, all
collected and cool, stands wondering at his agitation,--unable to
divine what has come over him!--And how is he laughed at for having
stirred himself up to all this heat and hurry,--all this violence and
emotion--_for nothing!_--2. It turns out that in the cause between
him and his neighbour, which he has so hastily taken up, _he is in
the wrong_--that, after all his froth and bluster, truth and justice
are clearly on the other side, with all the solid and satisfactory
argument; while on his there is little or nothing beyond the noisy
and vehement protestations of self-sufficiency, and he is quite
unable to withstand the proofs against him--the verdict of all
impartial persons being in favour of his opponent. In this case, he
must either, after having his pride keenly mortified, cool down, and
own himself in the wrong--which is the best thing he can do, but far
from easy to a man of his temper; or the more he is overpowered by
the evidence of facts and by sound argument, the more must the sense
of conscious defeat, and consequent feeling of inferiority, inflame
him to rage; by which he will only render himself the more
ridiculous, and give cause of more lasting mortification and shame.
3. The same things are true of a controversial dispute on any
subject. Generally speaking, the hastiest and most self-confident is
the most likely to fail. Such confidence very often accompanies
partial information and superficial and one-sided views. The
petulant, consequential disputant _"goes forth hastily to strive,"_
in the full assurance that his arguments are such as cannot be
resisted, and in the full flush of anticipated triumph--of victory
before the battle. But objections meet him, of which he had never
thought. Arguments are arrayed and urged on the opposite side, such
as had never occurred to his own mind, and such, therefore, as he did
not at all expect, and cannot refute. . . . He is abashed,
confounded, stupefied.--_Wardlaw._
It is he that liveth in peace that doth enjoy himself. It is he that
is at home, and findeth the comfort of what God hath bestowed upon
him. He that falleth into strife _goeth_ from his rest and
contentment, _goeth forth_ from himself, so that he is hardly himself
while the strife continues. . . . Therefore let not strife be a thing
into which thou art carried of thine own accord; but either let thine
adversary drive thee into it, or else let necessity or some good
reason either draw thee or force thee.--_Jermin._
Verse 11. The beauty of the texture sets off the fruit with
additional charms. So does a lively medium enhance the attractiveness
of truth. "The preacher should strive to find out acceptable
words"--_words fitly spoken_--giving to each their proper meat--and
_that_ "in due season" suited to their ages and difference of
temperament. "How forcible are right words!" (Job vi. 25). Our Lord
witnessed of Himself, as "gifted with the tongue of the learned, that
He might know how to speak the word in season" (Isa. l. 4)--_a word
upon the wheels_--not forced or dragged, but rolling smoothly along,
like the chariot-wheels. His discourses on the living water and the
bread of life arose naturally out of the conversation, and therefore
were full of arresting application. Paul powerfully charged
superstition on the Athenians and strengthened his reasoning by
quoting from one of their own poets (Acts xvii. 22-28). To a corrupt
and profligate judge he preached "righteousness, temperance, and
judgment to come" (Acts xxiv. 25).--_Bridges._
That words may deserve this character, they must be the words of
truth; for falsehood and error are on no occasion fit to be spoken.
And therefore Job reproves his friends for endeavouring, by false
doctrine, to comfort him, and direct his exercise in the time of his
distress. But words may be true and yet unfitly spoken, for although
nothing is to be spoken but truth, yet truth is not always to be
spoken. Doeg the Edomite was guilty of murder before he killed the
priests of the Lord, by telling the enraged tyrant that David had
received bread and a sword from Ahimelech. Jonathan was a man of a
very opposite spirit, and discovered it by the seasonable mention he
made to his father of David's exploit in slaying Goliath. By putting
Saul in mind of this noble action, he disarmed for a time his angry
resentments.--_Lawson._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 12.
GIVING AND TAKING.
+I. To give reproof effectually needs--+1. _A character which
deserves respect._ An iron pin when cold may by the exercise of much
strength and the expenditure of much time be driven through a plate
of iron, but if it be _red hot,_ it goes through it with speed and
ease. A blunt axe may fell a tree, but if it has a good edge the work
is done far more quickly and effectually. So a very faulty man may
obtain a hearing when he reproves, and his reproofs may do good, but
the same reproof from the lips of one who possesses a high moral
character will be far more likely to reach the conscience of the
listener and lead him to repentance. 2. _A knowledge of the character
and disposition of him whom he reproves._ It is indispensable that
the physician who ministers a powerful drug to a patient, or who
subjects him to a critical operation, should first know something
about his bodily constitution, should ascertain if there is tendency
to disease which his treatment might strengthen, or exceptional
weakness of any organ which would make it unable to bear the strain
he is about to put upon it. If he does not make some preliminary
investigation on these matters he may be developing an evil as great
as the one he seeks to eradicate. A reprover should remember that all
men are not alike in their temperament and moral development, and
that consequently what would do real good to one transgressor would
only harden another, and that, therefore, there must be acquaintance
with the patient before the medicine is administered. 3. _A sincere
desire to benefit the offender._ He who reproves without a real
feeling of pity and a wish to help him whom he reproves will find
that his words will do almost as much good as water does to a rock
when it falls upon it. It may drop day and night for years, but the
rock is rock still--no moisture penetrates it and no verdure clothes
it. So reproof that is not dictated by love will never reach the
heart, and no fruits of repentance will result from fault-finding for
its own sake. 4. _A due regard to a fitting time and place._ He must
not rebuke his child when he is suffering pain, or charge home a
fault upon the father of a family before his children. We are not
likely to reform a drunkard by upbraiding him when he is under the
influence of drink, or to convince a proud man that he is wrong by
putting him to shame before others. A wise reprover will not only see
to it that his medicine is suited to his patient, but will consider
when it is most fitting to administer it.
+II. To take reproof meekly--+1. _Reveals a man under the control of
reason._ It is only the delirious patient or the child who angrily
resists the surgeon's knife and looks no further than the present
pain. A reasonable man may cry out under the operation, but he knows
that his future health depends upon it, and he therefore submits
patiently, although he suffers acutely. If a man looks at reproof in
the same light, he will receive it in the same spirit, and give a
convincing proof that he is not ruled by passion but by reason.
2. _Reveals a man governed by true self-love._ Love for our own true
interests prompts us to welcome every hand stretched out to help us,
and every means afforded us of becoming better and wiser. A wise
reprover is a true friend, and he who does not recognise him as such
shows that his own advancement is not the aim of his life and the
object of his desire. But no greater proof of a sincere regard for
our own moral and spiritual growth can be given than that of lending
an obedient ear to a wise reproof.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The wise reprover or instructor, who lovingly and seasonably telleth
his neighbour of his fault or duty, may fitly be likened unto a jewel
of pearl; for he lighteneth and enricheth him that is instructed with
knowledge and the gifts of God's Holy Spirit. The attentive and
obedient hearer who desires to increase in learning, and who
receiveth the Word of God with meekness, may also be aptly resembled
to a golden earring; for he is transformed from glory to glory, by
the ministry and instruction of the prudent and learned
teacher.--_Muffet._
When a reproof is both administered in wisdom and received in
humility and in good part,--then there is a union of two equal
rarities. A reproof well-administered is rare; and not less so is a
reproof well taken. We may remark, however, that the rareness of the
latter arises, to no small extent, out of the rareness of the former.
It is because reproof is so seldom well-_given,_ that it is so seldom
well-_taken.--Wardlaw._
An earring is fastened to the ear, and that it may be fastened, it
pierceth the ear, and being so fastened, it is an ornament to the
whole face; so likewise is a reproof upon an obedient ear. First, it
pierceth it, and is received willingly into it; secondly, it is
fastened upon it, so that it stays with it; thirdly, it is an
ornament to his whole life, which is thereby reformed.--_Jermin._
For Homiletics on the subject of verse 13, see on chap. xiii. 17,
page 321.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 14.
CLOUDS WITHOUT RAIN.
+I. Those who promise and do not perform are wantonly cruel.+ To
raise expectations without fulfilling them is one of the greatest
unkindnesses of which men can be guilty. For however sorely the gift
or the service desired may be needed, if the needy brother has never
had any hope of possessing it, his sense of loss is not nearly so
keen as it is if, depending on the word of another, he has felt as if
the coveted good was almost in his grasp. The thirsty traveller in
the desert feels his thirst more terribly after the deceitful mirage
has led him to believe that a refreshing lake is just within his
reach. He thinks he sees the sparkling water but a few paces distant,
and is already in fancy drinking his fill when all his hopes are
destroyed by the vanishing of the deception, and he is in a far worse
condition than he was before its appearance. There are many men who
are as deceitful and as disappointing as the mirage of the desert.
Their large promises awaken bright hopes in the breast of some
wayfarer on the journey of life, and he looks forward with confident
joy to the time when he shall possess the promised gift. But his
heart is gradually made sick by the deferred hope (chap. xiii. 12)
until at last he becomes aware that he has been cruelly deceived, and
finds himself a far more wretched man than he was before the promise
was made to him.
+II. As a rule he who promises most will perform the least.+ Those
who bestow most upon others are those who do not spend much time in
talking about what they will do. Sometimes a heavy cloud is seen in
the heavens, which seems as if it would every moment fall in
refreshing showers. But a few drops only fall on the parched earth,
and while the husbandman is looking with confident expectancy it
vanishes from his sight. On another day a cloud which seems to
promise far less falls in abundance upon the thirsty land. This is
not the rule in nature, but it is in relation to the promises and
performances of men. The loud boaster is well-nigh certain to be a
cloud without rain, and should therefore never be relied upon, and
the greatest givers are generally those who promise least.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
This verse may be understood, either of God's gift to man, or man's
gift to God, or else of man to any other man. For many there are who
boast of those gifts which God never bestowed on them; and though God
be infinite in His bounty, yet by their lying do make Him more
bountiful than He is. Many there are who boast of their gifts to God,
either in regard of the church or the poor, whereas His church or His
poor have them as little as God Himself needs them. Many boast of
their kind gifts to others, whereas their not performing them makes
them more unkind than if they never had promised. . . . Their false
gifts are as the clouds, and their boasting as the winds. Their false
gifts do lift them up, as the clouds are; their great boasting maketh
a great noise as the wind doth. The winds drive the clouds and
scatter them; so doth their boasting spread abroad the fame of their
false gifts; and as the clouds without rain darken the heavens
without watering the earth; as the dry wind troubleth the air without
refreshing the ground; so these boasters even darken the heaven with
their naughtiness, and trouble the earth with their brags, but
satisfy none with their deeds.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 15.
FORBEARANCE AND PERSUASIVENESS.
+I. Patience without speech is an overcoming power.+ The strongest
smith will find a piece of cold iron too much for him--if he attempt
to bend or break it he will be met with a resistance which he cannot
overcome. But he places that apparently unconquerable bar upon the
coals, and by degrees it seems to assume altogether another nature,
and is ready to be fashioned to any shape or form. He gets this
victory by _waiting,_ and he finds it a far more effectual method
than attempting to subdue the metal by physical force. Forbearance
will sometimes do as much for the stubborn human will as the fire
does for the iron. Many men who cannot be threatened into compliance
with our wishes, may be overcome by patient kindness. A prince may be
here put by Solomon as a type of all men in authority and high
position, who by reason of their position are less under the power of
others and consequently are less likely to yield to any other force
than persuasion. With such men high-handed dealing and efforts to
intimidate generally provoke a more stubborn resistance.
+II. Patience seconded by gentle speech is doubly powerful.+ The
smith's work is not done when by waiting he has given time for the
iron to become soft and impressible; he must then bring his skill and
activity to bear upon it and so mould it to his will. So after long
forbearance there must be wise and persuasive speech to finish the
work. The long-suffering patience, perhaps under trial and
provocation, has softened the hard heart or the stubborn will, and
now the gentle words are listened to and have their full weight. But
this would not have been the case if patience without speech had not
gone first to make way for them.
+III. Those who conquer by forbearance in deed and gentleness in word
walk in the Divine footsteps.+ In the dealings of God with the human
race, no attribute of His character is more manifest than _"the
riches of His forbearance and long suffering"_ (Rom. ii. 4), and it
is by this that He _"leads men to repentance."_ "Instead of coming
down upon man by storm," says Dr. Bushnell, "in a manner of direct
onset to carry his submission by storm, God lays gentle siege to him,
waiting for his willing assent and choice. . . . To redress an injury
by gentleness, and tame his adversary's will by the circuitous
approach of forbearance and a siege of true suggestion is not the
manner of men, only of God." It is not, alas! the manner of men in
general, but all those who call Him Master try to imitate Him in this
as in all other of His perfections that can be imitated by finite and
imperfect creatures.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The _soft_ member _breaking the hard bone_ may seem to be a paradox.
But it is a fine illustration of the power of gentleness above
hardness and irritation. Apply it to those who are set against the
truth. Many a stout heart has been won by a _forbearing,_ yet
uncompromising, accommodation to prejudice. In reproof Jehovah showed
what He could do in "the strong wind and the earthquake." But His
effective rebuke was in the "still small voice;" without upbraiding;
sharp, yet tender (1 Kings xix. 11-13). So powerful is the energy of
gentleness! Indeed, "among all the graces that adorn the Christian
soul, like so many jewels of various colours and lustres, against the
day of her espousals to the Lamb of God, there is not one more
brilliant than that of patience."
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 16.
USE AND ABUSE.
+I. The good gifts of God are to be enjoyed by men.+ _"Every creature
of God is good,"_ says the apostle, _"and nothing to be refused, if
it be received with thanksgiving"_ (1 Tim. iv. 4). God has filled the
world with gifts to minister pleasure to the bodily senses as well as
to the spiritual aspirations, and the first are given to use _"richly
to enjoy"_ (1 Tim. vi. 17), as much as the last. Our Great and
Beneficent Father, has not omitted to provide even for the
gratification of our palate, but has furnished us with an almost
infinite variety of natural productions, pleasant to the taste. His
kindness in this matter is not to be overlooked, and these good gifts
are not to be treated as though they were beneath our grateful
appreciation. The asceticism which refuses to partake of them is not
in accordance with the spirit of either the Old or New Testament.
+II. There is no material and temporal good which cannot be misused
by man.+ Honey may here stand for any or all the lower sweets of
life--for every blessing which is not of a purely spiritual
nature--and the greatest temptation to _misuse_ of these lies in the
direction of _over-use_--of indulging in them to the neglect of other
and more precious good, and so to the injury of the higher nature.
Honey is a delicious article of food, and wholesome and nutritious to
a certain extent, but if a man attempted to live upon it to the
exclusion of plainer fair he would find that his bodily health would
suffer. In like manner is there danger to spiritual health from an
undue indulgence of even the gifts of God, which minister only or
chiefly to the senses, or which belong to this life alone.
+III. The misuse of what is good in itself puts an end of all real
enjoyment of it.+ If a man eats immoderately of honey it soon ceases
to be pleasant to his taste, and the very sweetness that at first
attracted him produces loathing. The same nausea of spirit follows
immoderate indulgence in any merely temporal or material good--that
which, used lawfully, would always afford true and real enjoyment,
cloys upon the man who abuses it by over-use.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The figure varies. In a former sentence we are commanded to eat honey
because it is good (chap. xxiv. 13), and that was very carefully
explained. It meant that piety was itself good, and we were to taste
and see (Psa. xxxiv. 8) that before we could be Christians. But now
the figure varies. There is a sweetness of eternal _hope,_ even when
we have not got down to the sweetness of a saving piety. We are to
put on the helmet of hope. So the Apostle tells us (1 Thess. v. 8).
But Solomon cautions us that we are to put on no more than is
_"sufficient."_ We are eating more than enough honey when we have no
right to eat any, and so we may be eating too much when we ought to
be getting more. There is such a thing as having more hope than
evidence. And if a man has too much confident hope of heaven for the
amount he has of piety, there certainly is a case of eating more than
is sufficient. . . . Blessed is the man that has _"found honey."_ Let
him eat so much as is sufficient for him in this dismal pilgrimage.
But, when he is once refreshed like Jonathan, let him sound for an
advance.--_Miller._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 17.
OBTRUSIVENESS.
+I. We may by indiscretion close a door which we have ourselves
opened.+ There are many things which are pleasant and wholesome
occasionally, which become not only unwelcome, but annoying, if we
have too much of them. We do not desire to hear the sweetest song
every day and all the day long--that which is refreshing and
delightful now and then become wearisome if constantly repeated. We
must apply this rule to ourselves in relation to our fellow-men.
While we rejoice to feel that there are those who love us so well as
to desire our presence upon all occasions, we must remember that most
of our acquaintances will not set so high a value upon us, and that
to be seen too often where we should be welcome if seen but seldom,
is by our own act to shut our neighbour's door upon us.
+II. Our neighbour's objection to our constant visits may rise from
no unkindly feeling.+ Men who have work to do in the world cannot
give all their time, or much of it, to the entertainment of visitors.
There are those who, living to no purpose themselves, forget that
others feel themselves accountable to God for the use they make of
their lives, and such idle people often sorely vex and hinder their
busy neighbours by their thoughtless and unseasonable visits. The man
who enters a house and takes from a diamond necklace one precious
stone after another until he has taken the whole, is doubtless no
friend, but a thief and a robber, and is punishable by the law of the
land; but the man who enters his neighbour's house and robs him of
hour after hour, steals property which probably cannot be redeemed,
or redeemed only by encroaching upon the hours which ought to be
given to rest. So that such a thoughtless intruder steals not only
his neighbour's time, but indirectly his health and power to work.
Surely such pests of society ought not to have the name of _friend_
bestowed upon them, but deserve to be branded with a name more
befitting their character, and more in accordance with their actions.
For Homiletics of verse 18, see on chap xii. 18, page 274.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 19 _and_ 20.
MISPLACED CONFIDENCE AND UNSEASONABLE SONGS.
The day of adversity is, as we saw on chap. xxiv. 10, a testing time
for the man who is the subject of the calamity, and it is also a
season in which he tests the worth of those who have called
themselves his friends in the time of his prosperity. These verses
deal with two varieties among many who intensify his affection and
deepen his grief, instead of bringing him help and comfort. There is--
+I. The faithless friend.+ This phrase is a contradictory one, but it
is used for want of a better. The word friend, in its highest and
best sense, denotes one who is worthy of trust and who never fails in
the hour of trial. But there are many who assume the name who are
unworthy of it, and whose failure when they are most needed is one of
the most bitter drops in the cup of calamity. If the cable breaks in
a calm sea the vessel and the crew may escape serious injury; but if
it gives way amid storm and tempest, the consequences are most
disastrous. It is hard to find a professed friend failing us when we
are sailing in calm waters, but it may then be borne without entirely
crushing the spirit. But when such a discovery is first made in the
day of trouble, it is enough to break the stoutest heart.
+II. The undiscerning friend.+ There are many real friends who lack
the ability to discern how best to help the sorrowful and heavy
hearted. They sing a song with the intention of giving cheer when
tears, or at least silence, would be far more acceptable to the
wounded spirit. Songs of gladness, such as are doubtless here
intended, fit the spirit when it is walking in the sunlight, but they
aggravate the suffering of those who are in darkness of soul. He who
aspires to the name of friend must learn to rejoice with those who
rejoice and to weep with those that weep.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 19. The greatest disaster, in proportion to the number of men
engaged, that befel our arms in the Eastern insurrection, was the
direct result of confidence in an unfaithful man. At
Arrah-on-the-Ganges three or four hundred soldiers were sent to
attack a body of the rebels, and relieve some British residents who
were in danger there. A native was employed to ascertain the position
of the enemy. In consequence of his report, the man left the river
and made a night march into the interior. The messenger was false.
The little army fell into an ambush prepared for them in the jungle.
Two-thirds of their number were shot down in the dark by unseen foes.
The remnant escaped to their ship when the day dawned. As they lay in
that fatal valley getting their wounds in the dark, and helplessly
wishing for the day, how exquisitely bitter must have been the
reflection that a too ready trust in a faithless man had wrought them
all this woe.--_Arnot._
The God of nature hath placed the teeth in two jaws, that the one may
be helpful to the other; and he hath supported man with _two feet,_
that the one may be a succor to the other. From hence, to teach us
the help and support which one man ought to yield to another. It is
by means of this mutual support in the feet that we pass over the
blocks that lie in our way; for while the one foot is lifted up to
step over them, the other bears up the body. It is the mutual help of
the jaws, and by their meeting together, that we break hard things
and make the fit nourishment for us. In like manner, therefore, when
a block lies in the way of anyone, another should be ready to support
him until he get over it. When a hard distress lieth upon anyone,
another should be ready to help him for the better breaking through
it. But in this point too many are like a broken tooth, and he that
looketh to meet with them for help in his distress, findeth them not
to answer his expectation . . . and too many are like a foot out of
joint, and he that thinketh to rest upon them in time of need, is
sure to fall by them.--_Jermin._
Verse 20. He that taketh away a garment from another may think to
ease his burden, but it being done in cold weather, it addeth to his
coldness; he that putteth vinegar upon nitre may think only to break
the hardness of it, but he dissolveth it. In like manner he that
singeth songs to a heavy heart may think to ease the burden of
sorrow, may think to break the hardness of grief, but such is the
force of the sad contraposition, such is the power of the contrariety
between singing and sorrow of heart, that the ease of one's heart
being able to sing, increaseth the weight of the other's trouble that
he cannot do so.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 21 _and_ 22.
A BLESSED RECOMPENSE.
+I. A recompense which is difficult.+ No one can affirm that it is an
easy thing to minister help and comfort to one who has done us an
injury, but it is more difficult in some cases than in others. Men
are not bound to us by equal ties: some are merely related to us
because they partake of the same common humanity; others are our
kinsmen according to the flesh; while others stand in an equal nearer
relation, and are brothers in a spiritual sense, being partakers with
us of what is called in Scripture language the new birth. According
to Christ's teaching this is the nearest and closest bond which can
unite men, and yet it cannot be denied that we sometimes have to
exercise the grace of forgiveness even towards these brethren. But
the motive power which prompts us to return good for evil is
certainly stronger in this latter case than in the others, or at
least it ought to be so. For when we reflect that the brother who has
wronged us stands in the same relation to Christ as we do ourselves,
it ought not to be at all difficult for us to feed him when hungry,
or in any other way in our power to minister to his needs. There will
also in most men be found more or less natural promptings to succour
an enemy who is related to them by ties of blood--the nearer the
natural relationship the more easy will it be, as a rule, to comply
with the command given by the Wise Man. But the greatest difficulty
will be found in obeying it when the enemy is one who is altogether
unlike us in character, and who is only related to us in the broad
and universal sense of being human. To be active and earnest in our
endeavours to relieve the necessities of such an one needs often much
Divine help, but it is demanded of us by Him who dies for a world at
enmity with Him.
+II. A retaliation which is blessed in its results.+ We understand
with Zöckler, the figure here used to "describe the deep pangs of
repentance which one produces within his enemy by rewarding his
hatred with benefits." This is a result most desirable and blessed
for him who has been the offender. For it is the only road by which
he can regain peace of mind and self-respect, as well as the esteem
of all right-minded people. This restoration of an erring brother
would in itself be a great reward to the good man, but it is not,
according to Solomon, the only one which is accorded to him who thus
recompenses good for evil. A special reward for the special act is
promised by Jehovah. There is one which is the outcome of the laws by
which He governs men. If a traveller in a cold region finds a fellow
traveller lying benumbed and forsaken by the roadside, and does what
he can do to raise and restore him, the effort makes his own blood
circulate more quickly, and his own frame glow with warmth. This it
the outcome of a natural law of God, and there is the spiritual one
akin to it. For whenever an effort is made to raise and restore one
who has morally fallen, he who makes the effort feels a reflex glow
of moral life and health in his own spirit. This is the certain
effect which must follow every act of goodwill towards an enemy, as
surely as the shadow follows the substance. But there are probably
other rewards of an external nature--many blessings that come to a
good man's life may be direct and special gifts from His Father above
for deeds which, like the one now under consideration, are especially
pleasing to Him.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
We may profess our goodwill towards our enemy, that we forgive and
pray for him from our heart. But unless we are ready with the
practical exercise of sympathy, we are only the victims of our own
moral delusion.--_Bridges._
It is action, not affection, that is here spoken of--not the
disposition of the heart, but the deeds of the hand; and if it be a
more practicable thing that we should compel ourselves to right
bodily performances than call up right mental propensities, this may
alleviate somewhat our dread of these precepts, as if they were
wholly unmanageable or incompetent to humanity. Before, then, taking
cognisance of what should be the inward temper of Christians towards
those who maltreat or oppress them, we would bid you remark that the
outward conduct towards them is that which forms the literal
subject-matter of the commandments here given. The disciples are in
this place told that . . . hard as it may be under their cruel
provocations to keep unruffled minds and to _feel_ peaceably, they,
as much as in them lies, are to _live_ peaceably . . . while it may
not be the tendency of nature so to _desire,_ our bidden obligation
is so to _do,_ for in _so doing_ thou shalt heap coals of fire on his
head.--_Chalmers_ on Rom. xii. 20.
Now, we know that if a coal or two of fire be laid on the hearth of
the chimney below, he that is cold cannot be wholly warmed, or
receive much good thereby; but if one basketful be poured on the fire
after another, so that the coals are heaped up to the mantel-tree, or
are as high as his head that fain would warm him, then he waxeth
thoroughly hot and beginneth even to burn. It seemeth then that by
this borrowed speech is meant, that if a man shall be very bountiful
even unto his enemy, and heap upon him one good turn after another,
this will cause his affection, which before was cold, to burn within
him. Thus dealt David with Saul, who spared his life when he might
have slain him, and only cut off a piece of his coat when he might
have cut off his head.--_Muffett._
I take for granted, that I believe to be the truth, that the words
_"for thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head,"_ have reference,
not to the fires of Divine-vengeance, but to the influence of kindly
treatment melting down the enemy to conciliation, as fuel heaped on
the ore fuses it from the hardness, and sends it forth in liquid
streams, to take the features and impress of the mould.--A certain
prince, on leading his generals and his army against an advancing
host of invaders, declared his resolution not to leave a single enemy
alive. He sent an embassy to treat with them. He made proposals such
as subdued and attached them, and rendered them valuable allies. On
astonishment being expressed that he should have thus failed in his
determination and promise, his ready reply was--"I have not failed: I
have kept my word. I engaged not to leave a _living enemy;_ nor have
I. They are enemies no longer--they are _friends._" He had "heaped
coals of fire on their head."--_Wardlaw._
For hunger and thirst are common enemies, both to thee and him. And
therefore, as where a common enemy invadeth, particular enmity is
laid aside, and all join there to help and withstand him; so here
lend a hand to resist these common enemies, which though now have
seized on thine enemy may quickly seize on thee. Besides he is hungry
as a man, he thirsteth as a man--not as an enemy--and therefore as a
man give him bread to eat, give him water to drink. This may also
quench the hunger of his enmity, and satisfy also the hunger of his
hatred.--_Jermin._
If anyone desires to try this work, he must bring to it at least
these two qualifications, modesty and patience. If he proceed
ostentatiously, with an air of superiority and a consciousness of his
own virtue, he will never make one step of progress. The subject will
day by day grow harder in his hands. But even though the successive
acts of kindness should be genuine, the operator must lay his account
with a tedious process and many disappointments. . . . The miner does
not think that his coals of fire are wasted, although he has been
throwing them on for several successive hours, and the stones show no
symptoms of dissolving. He knows that each portion of the burning
fuel is contributing to the result, and that the flow will be sudden
and complete at last. Let him go and do likewise who aspires to win a
brother by the subduing power of self-sacrificing love.--_Arnot._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 23.
THE WAY TO TREAT A BACKBITER.
It will be seen from a reference to the Critical Notes, that nearly
all modern commentators render this verse quite differently from the
common version, and so reverse the meaning. It will, however, bear
the common rendering, "I confess," says Wardlaw, "that if the word
will bear it at all, our version seems decidedly preferable. There is
something tame, commonplace, and of little practical
consequence--hardly worth forming the subject of a proverb--in saying
that as the north wind brings rain, 'a backbiting tongue' brings
anger. But the verse as it stands in our translation inculcates a
most important lesson." We therefore take the proverb as we find it
in our Bible, as setting forth--
+I. An unrighteous action producing a righteous emotion.+ We have
before had brought before us in this book the peculiar iniquity of
backbiting and its evil results (see ch. xii. 17-19, 22, page 274).
The special unrighteousness of the act lies, of course, in the fact
that the person who is the subject of it, being absent and ignorant
of the charge brought against him, has no opportunity of defending
himself. A feeling of indignation against such an act, and an
expression of it in the countenance, is therefore demanded from every
lover of truth and justice. He who will calmly listen to a tale of
slander and show no token of disapproval, makes himself a partaker of
the sin. But it is impossible for a righteous man to act thus. When a
putrid body is presented to our bodily senses, if we are healthy men
we experience a feeling of revulsion which we cannot conceal. And so
if a man is morally healthy he must experience and reveal a strong
dislike to the backbiting tongue.
+II. The unrighteous action overpowered by the righteous emotion.+
When the heavy rain-clouds which overspread the sky are dispersed and
driven away by the wind, they show themselves to be the weaker of the
two contending forces. And so when the backbiting tongue is silenced
by the look of righteous indignation, it gives proof that, however
strong the workings of evil are, the power of goodness is stronger.
Those who set their faces against this or any other vice, may always
draw encouragement from the fact that there is a reprover within the
breast of the wrong-doer, which in spite of all efforts to stifle it,
seconds the reprover from without--wherever the conscience is at all
awake, it says "Amen" to a faithful rebuke, whether administered by
word or look. And so it is that a countenance upon which is written
righteous anger is so potent a check to a backbiting tongue.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
It is a great encouragement to tale-bearers, to observe their wicked
stories are heard with attention. If a man looks upon them with a
cheerful countenance, and listens to their tales, and makes them
welcome to his table, they naturally conclude that the person to whom
they speak has as bad a heart as themselves, and they will not fail
to bring him new stories of the like kind, as soon as they have got
an opportunity to learn or to make them. But if the receiver of
stolen goods is a sharer with the thief in his guilt, and if any man
that encourages another in evil partakes in his sin, then he that
hears the backbiter with complacency is little better than himself,
and would probably follow the same trade if he had the same talents
for it. We cannot, therefore, clear ourselves from the sin of
backbiting, unless we refuse to receive a bad report of our
neighbour, and testify our displeasure, by all proper methods, at the
base conduct of the assassins that would murder in the dark the
good-name of their fellow-creatures. When the murderers of Isbosheth
brought their master's head to David, judging from their own
disposition that it would be an acceptable present to him, he
treated them in such a manner that no man ever sent another present
of the like kind to him.--_Lawson._
There is a place for anger as well as for love. As in nature, a
gloomy tempest serves some beneficial purposes for which calm
sunshine has no faculty; so in morals, a frown on an honest man's
brow is in its own place, as needful and useful as the sweetest smile
that kindness ever kindled on the human countenance. . . . We don't
want a fretful passionate man; and if we did, we could find one
without searching long or going far. We want neither a man of wrath
nor a man of indiscriminating, unvarying softness. We want something
with two sides; that is, a solid real character. Let us have a man
who loves good and hates evil, and who, in place and time convenient,
can make either emotion manifest upon his countenance. The frown of
anger is the shade that lies under love and brings out its
beauty.--_Arnot._
For Homiletics on verse 24, see on chapter xxi. 9, page 613.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 25.
COLD WATER AND GOOD NEWS.
+I. Two blessings often ardently longed for.+ In these days of
travel, many more can enter into the spirit of this analogy than in
the days of Solomon--the comparative ease by which men can reach the
most distant lands, and which in one aspect brings all places and
people so much nearer together than in ancient times, is on the other
hand the cause of far more separation between those who are bound
together by tender ties, and fills far more hearts with an anxious
longing for tidings from far countries. No more apt illustration
could be used to picture such a condition of spirit than that of
_thirst;_ for as _it,_ if of long duration, prostrates the frame and
renders every other blessing of life incapable of affording any
comfort, so often does a long delay of tidings concerning those most
dear paralyse all the energies of the soul, and render it unable to
gain comfort from any other source. The wife whose husband has been
long fighting for his country on the distant battle-field, or the
father whose son has been for years seeking his fortune in some
far-off land, turns often with distaste from all the comforts and
interests which surround them, and would willingly sacrifice many
near blessings in exchange for cheering news from those beyond the
seas. They are like the traveller in the desert, whose gold cannot
allay his consuming thirst, and who would willingly give a bag of
pearls for a cup of cold water.
+II. Two blessings bringing like results.+ Hagar and her son wandered
in the desert till the water was spent in the bottle, and then mother
and son gave up all for lost and lay down to die. We may take it for
granted that neither the youth nor his mother were easily overcome or
quickly daunted, but thirst and its attendant evils would soon have
slain them as certainly as a band of desert robbers. But when God
showed to Hagar the well, and they had drunk of its waters, it was as
though a new life had entered into them, and hope and energy
returned. This is a type of what has happened to many a heart-sick
soul since those days. Jacob was going down to his grave still
mourning for the son lost so many years ago, and life, we may well
believe, had lost its interest for him when his sons brought the
astonishing tidings, "Joseph is yet alive, and is governor over all
the land of Egypt." And the old man renewed his youth, and, so to
speak, began to live again, so life-restoring often to a thirsty soul
is good news from a far country.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
_A far-off land_ sends specially _good news_ because we faint the
more, and long the harder, for the very reason that it is so distant.
They come more seldom. And our relations with far-off lands are
weightier and more critical than those beside us. So much for the
secular significance. But oh! the spiritual! The righteous scarcely
are saved (1 Peter iv. 18). We are in a wilderness (Rev. xii. 6, 14).
Our enemies are legion (Ephes. vi. 12). We run the gauntlet with
daily foes (Ephes. v. 16); and that with daily changes in their
attempts to trip us (Prov. v. 6). The sinner, wherever he may be met,
is faint with fatigue. Our Saviour knew this when He shaped His
appeal "Come unto me, all that labour," etc. (Matt. xi. 28). Now,
high over all the odes of comfort is the _"good news from a far-off
land."_ All right there, come anything! A man's life may have been a
perfect failure, _quoad_ the opinion of the world; but if he have
Heaven it has been the very best--there has not been an hour of it
that has not been "marshalled by a Divine tactic," the best for the
man and the best for his part in the war.--_Miller._
We shall especially apply the subject--to _heaven_--good news from
heaven. There are several things that make good news from a far
country as grateful as "cold waters to a thirsty soul." _I. If the
country reported is altogether unlike our own._ The human mind is
always interested in what is novel and romantic--strangeness has a
strange fascination for the soul. What charms have the reports of
Captain Cook, Moffatt, Livingstone, for all minds. . . . _II. If the
country reported has conferred an immense benefit on us._ Supposing
that we had once been in a state of abject slavery, and that the far
country reported to us had effected our emancipation and guaranteed
our liberty, with what interest should we listen to everything about
it--the act that served us would invest all the incidents connected
with this history with a special charm. . . . _III. If the country
reported contained any that are dear to us._ New Zealand, Vancouver's
Island, and many other countries, are extremely interesting to many
families in this land, on account of the friends they have living in
them. . . . _IV. If the country reported is a scene in which we
expect to live ourselves._ With what interest does the emigrant
listen to everything referring to that land whither he is about to be
wending his way, and which he is adopting as his home. Heaven as a
far country pre-eminently meets all these conditions of interest.
There is the _Novel._ . . . How unlike that country is ours. Here is
a sphere for the play of the romantic. There is the _Benefactor._
What benefits that far country has conferred on us! Thence we have
received Christ the Redeemer of the World, and the Blessed Spirit of
wisdom, purity, and love. There are our _Friends._ How many of those
who we have known and loved are there. How many such are going there
every day. Some of us have more friends in heaven than on earth.
There we _expect to live._ There we expect an inheritance
incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away.--_Dr. David
Thomas._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 26.
THE EVIL RESULT OF MORAL COWARDICE.
+I. There can never be a good reason why a good man should waver or
bow down before a bad man.+ Many reasons often exist why one bad man
should fear another bad man, they are both on the wrong side, both
arrayed against the moral order of the universe, and therefore are on
the _weakest_ side, and cannot count upon the support of any superior
and all-powerful force. Neither of them has conscience or God upon
his side; each one has to fight his battle on his own charges, and
can with no confidence foretell the result. But the want of firmness
on the part of a righteous man in the presence of wickedness--even
when that wickedness is allied with all the power that it can
arrogate to itself--is contrary to reason. For as surely as light
must defeat the darkness, so surely must right in the end prove
itself victorious over wrong. A good man has the whole force of the
moral universe upon his side, and is assured both by experience and
by Divine promise that if he holds fast to the end he shall be more
than conqueror.
+II. The wavering of such a man pollutes the very sources of social
morality.+ Unreasonable although it is, yet it is not out of the
range of human experience. "The best men are but men at the best"
says an old writer, and in times of great trial they often give
evidence that it is so. Good and noble men have sometimes trembled
and given way before the terrors of the stake, and far less terrible
suffering has often sufficed to shake the constancy of true men who
were less courageous. But whenever such a fall takes place it is a
heavy blow to the cause of right and truth upon the earth. A good man
is like a fountain of pure and living water. He is a source of moral
life and health in the circle in which he moves; even if he does not
put forth any direct or special effort for the advancement of
morality, his life will as certainly have an influence for good as
the lighted candle will illumine the darkness around it. But if he
shows himself a coward when exposed to loss or danger for the sake of
right, it will do as much harm to the moral health of the community
in which he lives as would be done to its bodily health if the stream
from which its members drink were polluted at the fountain head. The
mischief done in each case may not show itself by any startling
results. The poison in the water may not _kill,_ but only lower the
standard of health in those who partake of it, and so a moral fall in
a good man may not lead other men to open apostasy from the right
path, but it may make the walk of many unsteady. Christ tells His
disciples this same truth when He calls them the _"salt of the
earth,"_ and asks _"if the salt have lost its savour, wherewith shall
it be salted"_ (Matt. v. 13). In other words, the good are the
conservators of the moral purity of the world, and if any one among
them ceases to sustain this character he is not only a loser himself
but a source of loss to others.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Lord Bacon gives this proverb political application: "It teaches that
an unjust and scandalous judgment in any conspicuous and weighty
cause is, above all things, to be avoided in the State;" and in his
Essay (lvi.) of Judicature, he says; "One foul sentence doth more
hurt than many foul examples; for these do but corrupt the stream,
the other corrupteth the fountain"--_Tr. of Lange's Commentary._
Eastern _fountain and springs_ (where the rains are only periodical,
and at longer intervals) are of no common price. The injury of
_corrupting_ them is proportionate. The well is therefore a blessing
or a curse, according to the purity or impurity of the waters. _A
righteous man_ in his proper character is "a well of life, a blessing
in the midst of the land." But if _he fall down before the wicked_ by
his inconsistent profession, the blessing becomes a curse, _the
fountain is troubled, and the spring corrupt._ What a degradation was
it to Abraham to _fall down_ under the rebuke of an heathen king; to
Peter, to yield to a servant maid in denying his Lord! How did
David's sin _trouble the fountain,_ both to his family and his
people! How did the idolatry of his wise son _corrupt the spring_
through successive generations!
When a minister of Christ apostatises from the faith (and mournfully
frequent have been such spectacles) or compromises his principles
from the fear of man, the _springs and fountains_ of truth are
fearfully corrupted. When a servant of God, of standing and
influences, crouches and _falls down under the wicked,_ the
transparency of his profession is grievously tarnished. Satan thus
makes more effective use of God's people than of his own.--_Bridges._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 27.
TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING.
For Homiletics on the first clause of this verse, see on verse 16,
page 703. A reference to the Critical Notes will show that, owing
partly to its elliptical form, the rendering of the second clause has
been much disputed. The reading found in our version is, however,
quite admissible on the principles of Hebrew interpretation, and
accords well with the first clause. The analogy teaches--
+I. That a desire for the good opinion of others is right and
salutary.+ As honey is not only a pleasant but a wholesome article of
food, so the wish to stand well with our fellow-men is a
God-implanted feeling which is very beneficial both to the individual
man and to society as a whole. He is a churlish being who does not
care what other people think about him, who sets at nought their
esteem or their blame, while a right regard to their judgment of us
insensibly produces a beneficial influence upon our conduct and
temper.
+II. But it is a desire which must not rule our life.+ Just as honey
must not be substituted for plainer food, or made the staple article
of diet, so a desire for the good opinion of others must not be put
before higher motives--must not be made the ruling principle of life.
This proverb may be linked with the preceding one to some extent, for
the lack of firmness which good men sometimes display in the society
and under the influence of worse men than themselves is often due to
a desire not to lose their good opinion--not to be thought obstinate,
or morose, or conceited. But when any question of right or wrong is
at stake the approval or disapproval even of those whose goodwill is
most precious to us must be cast aside.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
There is such a thing as _vain glory._ There is such a thing as a
person's indulging an insatiable appetite for applause or honour.
There is such a thing as _"searching it out,"_ looking ever after it,
eager to get it, and touchily jealous of every omission to bestow it
and every deficiency in its amount; exploring for it in every
possible direction; listening with an ear on the alert to catch every
breathing of adulation; _fishing_ for praise; throwing out hints to
draw it forth; eulogising others, to tempt a return; saying things in
disparagement of oneself, for the sake of having the
contradicted--things which, said by another, would stir the hottest
of his blood. The temper of mind may be put in exercise, in regard to
greater and to smaller matters. It may assume the form of a proud
ambition, or of a weak-minded vanity. But in either case it may with
truth be said that _"it is not glory."_ A man's honour should rather
_come to him,_ than be eagerly solicited and searched for. It should
not be made _his object.--Wardlaw._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 28.
A DEFENCELESS CITY.
The other side of this picture is given in chap. xvi. 32. (See page
497.)
+I. Such a city as is here described proclaims the lack of a wise and
powerful governor within.+ The walls and buildings of a city are
constantly exposed to influences which promote decay, even if no
hostile military force attacks them. The everyday exposure to storm
and sun and rain will have a tendency to make the mortar crumble, and
the bricks or stones to become loose and fall away. Hence, if a wise
man governs a city he will make it a part of his constant duty to
watch for the first signs of weakness, and if he has the authority
which his position ought to put into his hand, he will cause each
breach to be repaired as soon as it is discovered. And when we see a
city whose walls are in a perfect condition--where there are no
fallen stones and no crumbling mortar--we feel at ease that there is
rule and authority residing there. But _"a city broken down and
without walls"_ tells plainly the opposite story. Now every human
spirit in this fallen world is exposed daily, and sometimes hourly,
to influences which tend to irritate and vex it, and so to destroy
its means of defence against temptation, and lower its dignity and
mar its moral beauty. And if a man yields himself up to these
influences, and allows them to hold undisputed sway over his life, he
proclaims himself to be without those essential elements to his
welfare and happiness--wisdom to see his danger, and power to guard
it.
+II. Such a city gives an invitation to the invader without.+ If a
fortress is known to be well fortified, if there is no weak or
unguarded point, an enemy will not hastily try to take possession of
it. Its strength will oftentimes be its security against attack. But
if its fallen towers and tottering defences tell of weakness and
anarchy within, its condition will tempt the foe to enter. So if a
man gives evidence that he has no control over his passions, both
evil men and evil spirits will mark him for their prey, and will make
it their business to lead him from one sin to another--to make him
not only a negative but a positive transgressor. Such an one, in the
language of Paul, _"gives place to the devil"_ (Eph. iv. 27).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
To come to particulars; if any be angry or given to wrath, will he
not quickly be led captive to revile and commit murder? If the
affection of covetousness possess any, will he not easily be drawn to
deceive and steal? The like is to be said of all the passions of the
mind, which, if a man cannot bridle or govern, they will carry him
headlong with violence into all mischief and misery, as wild and
fierce horses oftentimes run away with an unguided coach or
waggon.--_Muffett._
* * * * * *
CHAPTER XXVI.
CRITICAL NOTES.--+2.+ The first clause of this verse should be, +As
the sparrow flitting, as the swallow flying,+ etc. +Causeless,+
_i.e., "undeserved"--i.e.,_ Such a curse is but transient--it alights
for the moment, but, like a bird, does not stay long. Miller and
others, however, understand the comparison to carry an entirely
opposite meaning. (See Suggestive Comments on the verse.) +3.+ To our
English ideas, the whip and bridle are assigned respectively to the
wrong animals, but it must be remembered that the Eastern ass is
often quite as spirited an animal as the horse. +6. Drinketh damage,+
or _"injury."_ As in Job xxi. 20, the verb _"drinketh"_ seems to
express suffering in a large measure. +7. Are not equal.+ The Hebrew
word, so rendered, is a very obscure one, and is rendered by
Delitzsch, Gesenius, and others, _"hang down."_ Zöckler and Stuart
give the sentence the imperative form, and read, _"Take away the legs
from the lame, and the proverb in the fool's mouth."_ +Parable.+ This
is the common word for proverb--the word that gives the title to the
book. On its real meaning, see the Introduction. +8. Sling.+
Gesenius, Zöckler, and many other commentators, adopt the reading in
the margin of the English version, and translate this word, which is
very obscure, _"a heap of stones."_ Stuart, Ewald, Delitzsch, and
others, retain the word _"sling,"_ which is the reading of the
Septuagint. Stuart thus explains the verse, _"It would be absurd to_
+bind a stone in a sling,+ _and then expect it to do execution.
Equally so it is to_ +bestow honour on a fool,+ _and expect any good
consequences from it."_ If the first reading is adopted, the word
stone must be understood to refer to _a precious stone._ +9. A
thorn.+ This is generally understood to mean a thorny stick or staff,
which is a mischievous weapon in the hands of a drunkard. +10.+ This
verse is very difficult and obscure, and has many and entirely
different renderings. Luther, Elster, and others, translate the
subject of the first clause, _"A master, an able man, formeth all
aright,--or all himself."_ Delitzsch, Umbreit, and Hitzig, read,
_"Much produceth all."_ The French version is in substance the same
as our English marginal rendering. Perhaps the greater number of
Hebrew critics favour the rendering of Zöckler, Ewald, Stier, etc.,
who read, _"As an archer, who woundeth everything, so is he who
hireth fools and vagrants"_ (or wayfarers). Stuart and Miller
translate the first word, _"arrow,"_ and the former thus explains the
proverb, _"He who employs fools and vagrants to do his work, will
injure himself."_ +15. In his bosom.+ Rather, +In the dish,+ as in
chap. xix. 24. +17. Meddleth,+ rather, _"is excited."_ +21. Coals to
burning coals--+_i.e., "black coals to burning,"_ etc. +22.+ A
repetition of chap. xviii. 8. (See on that verse.) +23. Burning
lips+--_i.e.,_ "lips whence some ardent expressions of friendship."
+Silver dross.+ Impure silver not freed from the dross. +24. Layeth
up,+ rather, _"prepareth,"_ or _"mediateth."_
+26. Congregation+--_i.e., "before the people assembled for
judgment."_ (Zöckler.)
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 1.
A GIFT WRONGLY BESTOWED.
+I. To honour some men is both seemly and right.+ The snow and the
rain come from heaven by Divine command, and are indispensable to the
beauty and fruitfulness of the earth. So to accord honour where it is
due is a Divine command (Rom. xiii. 7), and is indispensable to our
social well-being.
+II. But honour accorded to a fool (_i.e.,_ a bad man) is incongruous
and hurtful.+ Snow in summer is an exception to the rules of nature.
It would indeed be a surprise to our reapers when they were about to
gather in the grain, to find the fields white with snow, and such an
event would be most mischievous in its effects. And in Oriental
countries rain in summer would be equally surprising, and probably as
hurtful, since the rain in those lands generally descends in torrents
and not in gentle showers as with us. So, although God has commanded
us to _"honour all men"_ (1 Peter ii. 17), the wicked man, by his
wickedness, puts himself outside this rule, and to place him in a
position of honour, or to give him reverence, is entirely out of
place, and an act which can only produce evil consequences. 1. _It
does harm to the man who gives it._ The heavy rain or snow falling
upon the ripened cornfield, takes away all its beauty and lessens its
worth--it may make it utterly valueless. And so it degrades a soul to
bow down where it ought to stand erect and firm, and a man who will
from cowardice or any other cause cringe before a moral fool is a man
who is of no use in the world from a moral point of view. (See on
this subject, on verse 26 of the preceding chapter, page 711.) 2. _It
injures the man who receives it._ It makes him feel as if there was
no difference between vice and virtue, when he finds himself
receiving that which ought to be given to a good man only, and so he
is confirmed in his wickedness. This will be the case especially if
the person who does him honour is a better man than himself, it is
such a case as is described in the verse referred to above. 3. _It
has a bad influence upon men around them._ It is an encouragement to
bad men to continue in their evil courses when they see wickedness
enthroned in high places, and worthless men receiving honour instead
of the scorn which they deserve. Such an elevation makes all bad men
more shameless and daring, and it also discourages and depresses
better men. Although the truly good man's actions spring from a
deeper source, and have their origin in a higher motive than the
praise or blame of their fellow-men, yet there are many who are not
firmly rooted in the practice of virtue, who are much influenced by
the moral atmosphere in which they live. If they see their fellow-men
doing as God does, and being a respecter of persons in regard to
_character,_ and to character _only,_ their better nature will be
strengthened, and their efforts to be upright and godly will be
encouraged, but if they see _"the wicked walk on every side,"_ and
_"the vilest men exalted"_ (Psalm xii. 8), they may give up the
struggle after a higher and better life in despair. And thus the
effect upon the moral tone of the community will be as blighting and
destructive as floods upon the growing corn, or as snow upon the
ripening fruits. It is, therefore, the solemn duty of every man in
this respect to _"discern between the righteous and the wicked,
between him that serveth God, and him that serveth Him not"_ (Mal.
iii. 18).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Honour is unfit for a fool, in two respects especially; the one, for
that punishment is properly due unto him; the other, for that he
abuseth his authority, be it civil or ecclesiastical, unto the hurt
of those that are subject unto him.--_Muffett._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 2.
THE CAUSELESS CURSE.
A reference to the Critical Notes and the Suggestive Comments will
show that different meanings are attached to this proverb.
+I. Men often utter causeless curses.+ In whatever country of the
world we travel, and among whatever society, we are liable to hear
men pouring forth maledictions against their fellow-creatures. There
are places and circles where such imprecations are never uttered,
because a better spirit rules those who belong to them, but there
are, alas! exceptions to a rule. Curses without cause are uttered by
masters against servants, and by parents against children, and by men
in every condition and relation in life--curses prompted by passion
and falling from the lips of men who answer to the description of the
Psalmist--whose _"inward part is very wickedness,"_ and, as a
consequence, whose _"throat is an open sepulchre"_ spreading
unhealthy and loathsome influence around (Psa. v. 9).
+II. Such a curse is harmless to its victims.+ A curse which is
undeserved has no sting; it is as powerless to injure as the bird
that flits over the traveller's head and soon disappears. Even if the
creature attempted to harm the man it is too weak, but not weaker
than the _curse without cause._ It may cast a passing shadow in its
passage, but there is no substance in it--it consists of words
without weight, and wishes that have no power to fulfil themselves.
+III. But such a curse will fall upon him who uttered it.+ We know
that every bird who casts a shadow over our path will presently
settle down again--it will find its nest whence it started, and there
take up its abode. And so every curse uttered without a cause will
return upon the head of him who uttered it--upon him will come the
same, or worse, ills than those he has called down upon another.
"Cursing men," says Trapp, "are cursed men."
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
(This comment, it will be seen, rests on another interpretation of
the verse.) The type is graceful. The _"bird"_ is so little, and his
flight and roaming about so graceful, that we never think of him as
having an aim. And yet, the wildest sport upon the wing is
continually directed, and obeys the mind of the humblest voyager in
the heavens. _"Curses;"_ of all other things not aimless. "He doth
not afflict willingly" (Lam. iii. 33). And so whether large or
trivial; the one great curse, or its numerous army of descendants;
none are without a _purpose._ In each gentle pulse upon the wind the
twittering _"swallow"_ has no more clear a meaning than these flying
griefs, as they float fitfully toward them who are to bear them. This
Hebrew has two meanings. . . . We have selected _"to no purpose"_
here, because the preposition is ל and not בּ. Had we selected "for no
cause," there would have emerged a beautiful sense. The meaning then,
as birds do not make their appearance in the spring as apparitions,
starting up ghost-like in the fields as they seem to, but have come
long journeys, many of them in the night, and have reached us by
honest flying, so the curse _does not come_ without a _cause._ The
meanings, as will be seen, are very different. One is, that the curse
has a _cause_ on our part; the other, that it has a reason on the
part of our Creator. Now, both are true. Both are very expressive.
Both have a fitness in the passage. . . . _"To no purpose"_ yields
the wider truth, and, moreover, is the bolder mystery. The curse had
a subsistence earlier than we, and a _"cause"_ later than it had a
_reason._ It was pre-determined from the very beginning. And,
therefore, ours is the bolder grasping of the cavil, and replies to
the sinner more deeply.--_Miller._
Powerless was Moab's curse, though attempted to be strengthened with
the divination of the wicked prophet. Goliath's curse against David
was scattered to the winds. What was David the worse for Shimei's
curse; or Jeremiah for the curses of his persecutors? Under this
harmless shower of stones we turn from men to God, and are at peace.
"Let them curse; but bless thou; when they arise, let them be
ashamed; but let thy servant rejoice" (Ps. cix. 28).--_Bridges._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 3-11.
A LOW LEVEL.
+I. A moral fool puts himself on a level with the brute by turning a
deaf ear to the voices of reason and conscience.+ That which above
all other characteristics distinguishes man from the lower animals is
the possession of a moral sense and a reasoning faculty; these are
the great lights which God has given him for his guidance, by the use
of which he may ever be rising to a higher moral and intellectual
level. But the moral fool does not listen to them, and even after he
has tasted the bitterness of disregarding them, and even while he is
suffering from the evil effects of his folly, he gives evidence of
his moral stupidity by _returning to it_ (ver. 11). This is a plain
proof that he is _"as the horse or the mule, which have no
understanding"_ (Psa. xxxii. 9).
+II. Having chosen his position he must be treated accordingly.+ When
men act like men--when their conduct is such as befits responsible
and rational creatures--they are open to reason and persuasion, and
their fellow-men are bound to use such means in their intercourse
with them. They are bound to listen to what they have to say, and to
reply to their questions and consider their objections. But to do
this with such a person as is here called a _fool_ would be to
disobey our Saviour's injunction, and to _"cast our pearls before
swine."_ It would be letting ourselves down to his level and
encouraging him in his self-conceit. This, we think, is the meaning
of verse 4. But, on the other hand, we are not always to be silent
when the fool is talking. This also might lead him to think that his
foolish arguments were unanswerable--that we thought him as wise as
he thinks himself to be. He is to receive sometimes the stern rebuke
that his folly deserves; the manifestation of our displeasure is to
be in proportion to his manifestation of weakness and wickedness.
This will also be _"answering a fool according to his folly,"_ as in
verse 5. But a fool must be checked by means that will perhaps make
more impression upon him than mere words. The _rod_ must be
applied--coercion and punishment must come into use where reason and
moral persuasion are useless. Having placed himself on a level with
the brute, he must be ruled sometimes by brute force--by the whip of
compulsion, by the bridle of restraint. Men have the power of doing
this to a certain extent, and it is their duty to use it. But whether
they do or do not, God will certainly visit such an offender with the
rod of punishment. Whether this is the truth contained in verse 10 or
not, revelation and experience affirm it, and we have met with it
repeatedly in this book. It is a great offence against Him who called
us into being, and who desires His creatures to be worthy of their
Creator, when men thus in practice count themselves unworthy of their
destiny. The Hebrew nation, in the bygone ages, was called by God to
occupy a higher moral level than the surrounding nations, but by its
own stubbornness and self-conceit it made the purpose of God to none
effect, and was therefore necessarily made to feel the bitterness of
being treated like a wild and refractory animal (Jer. xxxi. 18). And
so it is with men in general. God would treat them as His sons, but
their moral foolishness compels Him to make them feel the whip, the
bridle, and the rod. One other thought is suggested in verses 7 and
8--
+III. That even the fool will sometimes adopt the speech of the
wise.+ A _parable,_ or a wise saying, will sometimes be found in his
lips, he will be sometimes heard to utter words of wisdom and give
good advice. But precept is of little avail if not backed by a good
example; the words and the deeds of such a man are as ill-matched as
those of a cripple who has one sound and useful limb, but whose other
is shrunken and useless. The gait of such a man is awkward and
uncertain, the malformed and the healthy limb do not well balance his
body. This is an apt illustration of the incongruity which often
exists between the words and actions of a moral fool.
(For Homiletics on verses 6 and 8 considered separately see on verse
1, page 714, and on chap. x. 26, page 179.)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 3. The rod is needful for the fool's back. Are you the unhappy
fathers of foolish children? you must make use of the rod and reproof
to give them wisdom. Are you authorised to bear rule in the church?
the rod of church discipline must be applied to offenders, that they
may be reclaimed, and others warned. Are you magistrates; the rod
which God has put into your hands may be a means of preserving young
malefactors from the gibbet at a more advanced period of life. Are
you wise? beware of turning aside unto folly, that you may never need
the rod. Are you fools? learn wisdom, or do not blame those whom duty
and charity will oblige to use the rod for your correction.--_Lawson._
Verses 4 and 5. _Answer a fool,_ not with any dream that you
thoroughly answer him, _lest you be like him,_ and a fool yourself.
And yet, by all means _answer_ him. _Answer_ wherever you can, lest
he think you can't; exploding all baseless heresies and mistakes;
lest, hardening himself where he might be convinced, and defrauding
himself where there is everything to be said, he erect himself
against facts where he has not been taught, and _become wise in his
own eyes. . . . Answer not a fool,_ because much mystery does not
admit of answer, and you will be a fool yourself. But more. The
natural man does not discern the things of the Spirit of God. If you
answer a natural man with the idea that mere answers can turn him,
you must _"be like him,"_ as having no sense yourself of what is
purely spiritual. Notice here a grand rebuke of reason in all
attempts to convince the sinner. Nevertheless _answer a fool,_ and
bow to just as great a rebuke to reason. We use reason far too
gingerly. Reason is a Divine creation. It is an instrument. There is
a thought as though it were wicked to go too deep. On the contrary,
we are to out-think the fool. If we leave science to work her way,
she will grow _wise in her own conceit. Answer_ her. Rationalistic
infidelity is by no means an infidelity in reason. And the church
should make that to be seen. Scripture has been belied in the
direction of Paul to the Corinthians (1 Cor. ii). Nothing is more
irrational than rationalism. And one of the first _answers to the
fool_ which he shall receive in the judgment will be, that he had all
the _reason_ for believing Christ which he had for anything beside,
and a host of greater ones peculiar to the Gospel.--_Miller._
These two sentences may seem at the first blush to be contrary . . .
but this knot will be easily untied if it be observed that there are
two sorts of answers, the one in folly, the other unto folly. A fool
is not to be answered in his folly, or according unto his folly, that
is to say, in such vanity as he useth, or after such a raging manner
as he speaketh. . . . A fool is to be answered unto his folly; that
is, by reasons to be confuted, and by reproofs that are wise to be
bridled.--_Muffett._
Generally speaking, it would be better to follow Hezekiah's command
concerning Rabshakeh's blasphemy--_"Answer him not."_ Jeremiah thus
turned away in silence from the folly of the false prophets (Jer.
xxviii. 11). If however we are constrained to reply--_Answer him not
according to his folly;_ not in his own foolish manner; "not
rendering railing for railing" (1 Pet. iii. 9). Moses offended here.
He _answered_ the rebels _according to their folly_--passion for
passion, and thus _he became like unto them._ David's answer to Nabal
was in the same humiliating spirit. The _answerer_ in this case _is
like_ the fool. He appears at the time to be cast in the same
mould.--_Bridges._
Verse 7. Uniformity and ubiquity of obedience are sure signs of
sincerity; but as an unequal pulse argues a distempered body, so doth
uneven walking a diseased soul. A wise man's life is all of one
colour, like itself, and godliness runs through it, as the woof runs
through the warp. But if all the parts of the line of thy life be not
straight before God, it is a crooked life. If thy tongue speak by the
talent, but thine hands scarce work by the ounce, thou shalt pass for
a Pharisee (Matt. xxiii. 3). They spake like angels, lived like
devils; had heaven commonly at their tongue ends, but the earth
continually at their finger ends.--_Trapp._
Verse 9. When a drunkard carries and brandishes in his hand a sweet
briar, he scratches more with it than he allows the roses to be
smelled; so a fool with the Scriptures or a judicial maxim oft causes
more harm than profit.--_Luther._
Proverbs have sometimes been hurtful even in the mouths of wise men,
through the imperfection of their wisdom. Job's friends dealt much in
parables, which they had learned by tradition from their wise
ancestors, but they misapplied them in the case of Job; and although
they meant to plead the cause of God, yet they displeased Him so much
by their uncharitable speeches against Job, which they drew by unjust
inference from undoubted truths, that He told them they had not
spoken the thing that was right concerning Him as His servant Job had
done. If Job had not been a strong believer, their management of
truth must have sunk him into despondency.--_Lawson._
Verse 11. The emblem is a loathsome and sickening one. It is meant to
be so. It would not have been appropriate, had it been anything else.
There are _two_ ideas conveyed by the comparison. The _disposition_
or _tendency,_ on the part of the fool or vicious man, to return to
his folly; and the loathsomeness--the vileness--of the thing itself,
when it does take place. There are persons of great pretensions to
refinement, who affect great disgust at the comparison. They wonder
how anybody of ordinary delicacy can utter it. They would think their
lips polluted by the very words. It were well for such persons to
remember, that there is no comparison _so_ odious as the thing itself
which is represented by it. It were well if such persons would
transfer their disgust and loathing at the figure to that which the
figure represents:--if they would cherish a proper loathing of _sin._
That is what _God_ holds in abhorrence:--that is what should be
abhorred by _us._ Persons may affect to sicken at the comparison here
used, and yet be themselves exemplifying the very conduct it so aptly
represents. Folly and sin are incomparably more polluting and
debasing to the nature of man, than the vilest and most disgusting
practices in the inferior animals.--_Wardlaw._
And is this the picture of man--"made a little lower than the angels"
(Ps. viii. 5)--yea--"made in the likeness of God?" (Gen. i. 26). Who
that saw Adam in his universal dominion, sitting as the monarch of
creation; summoning all before him; giving to each his name, and
receiving in turn his homage (Ib. ii. 20)--who would have conceived
of his children sunk into such brutish degradation? The tempter's
promise was--"Ye shall be as gods" (Ib. iii. 5). The result of this
promise was--"Ye shall be as beasts." . . . Thus greedily did Pharaoh
_return_ from his momentary conviction; Ahab from his feigned
repentance; Herod from his partial amendment; the drunkard from his
brutish insensibility--all to take a more determinate course of sin;
to take their final plunge into ruin.--_Bridges._
According to the usual method of
the Scriptures, a known thing is here
employed to teach an unknown. The
taste which inheres in nature is used
as an instrument to implant the
corresponding spiritual sensibility.
The revulsion of the senses from a
loathsome object is used as a lever
power to press into the soul a dislike
of sin. . . . The lines are strongly
drawn, that the lesson may be clear
and cutting. There must be a rude
hearty blow, for there is a hard searing
to be penetrated. Those who go back
to suck at sins, which they once
repudiated, may see in this terse
proverb a picture of their pollution;
only the Omniscient perfectly knows
and loathes the vile original.--_Arnot._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 12-16.
SELF-CONCEIT AND INDOLENCE.
+I. The ruinous effects of self-satisfaction.+ In the preceding
verses Solomon has drawn a picture of the moral fool--of the man who
seems to have no moral sensibility, and who is a slave to evil habits
and degrading vices. At first sight it would seem that no one could
be in a more hopeless condition, but a little consideration will
convince us that the wise man is right when he declares that it is
easier to convince a fool of his folly, than a self-conceited man of
his ignorance and weakness. For there are many men who know that they
are not what they ought to be, although they have not the moral
courage to quit their sinful courses; and sometimes the very depth of
degradation in which such men find themselves, and the strong
contrast which exists in their outward life between themselves and
more respectable citizens, startle them into a vigorous and
successful effort to break their chains. But a man who is wise in his
own eyes is generally outwardly decorous in his behaviour--is what
has been called a _respectable sinner_--and it is this very outward
propriety which lulls his conscience to sleep. Like the Pharisee in
the temple, he thanks God that he is not as other men (Luke
xviii. 11) who are outwardly immoral, and forgets that if he is not
_sensual_ he may be _devilish_ (Jas. iii. 15), may be under the
dominion on the sin that made the first and greatest sinner in the
universe. It was men of this class, and not the openly profane and
sensual, whom Christ declared to be in danger of committing the _sin
which should not be forgiven_ (Matt. xii. 31), and on another
occasion he shows that their hopeless condition arose from the fact
that they did not realise that they were in any spiritual need. _"If
ye were blind we should have no sin, but now ye say, we see;
therefore your sin remaineth"_ (John ix. 41). This moral blindness is
so hopeless because it is self-originated and self-sustained--because
the subjects of it love darkness rather than light, and even call
their darkness _light,_ and their evil, _good._
+II. Self-conceit is both the child and the parent of indolence.+ If
a man feels certain that he is far in advance of his competitors for
any prize or position, his efforts to gain it will be very feeble and
intermittent. And on the other hand, if he is indolent he will be
content with very low intellectual and spiritual attainments, and
inclined to place a very high estimate upon the very little mental or
moral wealth that he possesses. Being unwilling to labour after more,
he makes the most of what he has, and so his sloth keeps him
ignorant, and his ignorance confirms him in his slothful habits.
+III. The indolent man has spasmodic and fruitless seasons of
activity.+ He turns upon his bed of sloth as though he were going to
rise, and he puts his hand in the dish (see Critical Notes) of human
enterprise and activity as though he intended to take a prize, and to
taste the sweets of honest and earnest toil. But his resolutions are
broken almost before they are formed, and his moral courage is not
strong enough to carry him through the first difficulty, or make him
willing to undergo the least self-denial. And so he ever remains a
stranger to the sweetness of repose honestly earned, and to the
relish of good things gained by industry and perseverance. On this
subject see also on chap. xii. 27, page 289, and on verse 13. (See
Homiletics on chap. xxii. 13, page 647.)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 12. The publicans and sinners went faster to heaven than the
Pharisees; yea, there may be a greater nighness between the things
when there is a greater distance between the working of them and the
bringing them together. Thus, brother and sister are nigher in blood
yet farther off marrying each other than two strangers; and thus two
men upon the tops of two houses opposite to each other in one of your
narrow streets--they are nearer each other in distance than those
below are, yet in regard of coming each to other they may be said to
be farther off, for the one must come down and then climb up again.
Thus now a moral man, though he seems nearer to a state of grace, yet
is really farther off; for he must be convinced of his false
righteousness, and then climb up to the state of grace.--_Goodwin._
Verse 16. There is no refuting a man who says nothing. Nonsense is
unanswerable if there only be enough of it. Who would dispute against
a pair of bagpipes, or against a company of boys that hoot at him? If
you will make a match at barking or biting, a cur will be too hard
for you. And if you will contend with multitudes of words, or by rage
or confidence, a fool will be too hard for you.--_Baxter._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 17.
NEEDLESS INTERFERENCE.
The wise man may here be regarded as passing from one extreme of
character to the other--from the man who is too indolent to mind his
own affairs, to one whose activity is so great that it leads him to
unnecessary interference with his neighbour's business. Or he may
intend to suggest that indolence and meddling are very closely
allied--that he who is not usefully occupied in doing his own work
will be very apt to interfere impertinently with the concerns of
others.
+I. Such a meddler brings trouble upon himself.+ It is a dangerous
thing to take a strange dog by the ears, and he who does it will be
very likely to suffer for it in his own person, for the creature will
probably wound him. But he who meddles impertinently with those who
are at strife has to deal, not with _one_ angry _brute,_ but with
_two_ angry _men or women,_ and will very likely bring down the wrath
of both upon his own head. For it is to be noted that the strife with
which it is mischievous to intermeddle is that "which belongeth not
to" a man--a quarrel in which an outsider has no right to take a part.
+II. He may do harm to others.+ To take a dog by the ears is at least
a foolish and useless act, and will certainly not increase the
comfort or peace of anybody. But it may so enrage the beast as to
make him a general disturber of the public peace and safety. And the
same holds good in relation to meddlers; the mischief that they do
may extend far beyond themselves, and their action may form a centre
of a wide circle of mental disquietude and moral mischief.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
A wide difference is made between "suffering as a busy-body, and
suffering as a Christian." It is alarming to those who have no
adequate sense of the criminality to find the apostle classify the
one with "murderers, and thieves, and evil-doers."--_Bridges._
For Homiletics on verses 18-22, see on chap. xvii. 14, page 513, and
on chap. xviii. 6-8, page 539.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 23-28.
COUNTERFEIT FRIENDSHIP.
+I. Because there are true friends in the world false men sometimes
put on the garb of friendship.+ Because there is an abundance of
genuine coin in the country men take the trouble to make counterfeit
imitations of it; the existence of the good money is the cause of the
existence of the bad, and the great preponderance of the good over
the bad is the reason why men sometimes get imposed upon and take the
bad for the good. So there is much real and true friendship in human
life, and there is therefore an opportunity given to wicked men to
imitate its outward expression--there are many "burning words"
uttered from the depths of a sincere heart, and therefore a wicked
man will sometimes utter such words for the purposes of deception.
The vessel of clay covered with silver may be taken for silver,
because its shape and external appearance are close imitation of the
genuine article, and the fair words of the false man may effectually
deceive the listener, but it is because some things _are what they
seem,_ that other things are made _to seem what they are not._
+II. The words of true friendship are used to reveal, and those of
the false friend are employed only for concealment.+ There were many
silver vessels in Solomon's palace, and their bright splendour was a
true revelation of their intrinsic worth and genuineness; the shining
surface reflecting the light was an indication of the preciousness of
the entire article. But when a clay vessel is covered with silver,
the external coating is used only to cover what is beneath, and
perhaps to deceive those who look on it. So when the friendship is
real the ardent expressions of affection which are uttered are only a
revelation of the emotions which are experienced, but when it is only
a counterfeit the words are like the silver which hides instead of
revealing what is beneath it. Solomon's father thus records his
experience of the language of a counterfeit friend: _"His words were
softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords"_ (Psalm lv. 21).
+III. Because counterfeit friendship is opposed to human happiness it
shall be publicly arrested and condemned.+ Every counterfeit has
arrayed against it the force of human interest. It is to the interest
of the general community that the forger should be brought to
justice, and that the coiner of bad money should be severely
punished. It is only by rigidly enforcing the law against such
criminals that they are kept in check, and the safety of the public
made tolerably secure. When such offenders are discovered their
wickedness is condemned by the united voice of the commercial world.
But the man who betrays another by false words is quite as great an
enemy to his brother man, and ought to be as severely dealt with and
as publicly and universally condemned. But it can hardly be affirmed
that such is the case. If every such betrayer were dealt with by
human laws we should need a large increase of judges and gaolers and
prison-cells, and should find within the walls of the latter many men
who are now living in mansions. And if it were only punished by being
shut out from the favourable notices of their fellow-men, many would
be missed from their present positions in commercial and fashionable
circles. Although they are shunned, and their wickedness is abhorred
by all lovers of truth and honesty, they are far from meeting at the
hands of man with the contempt and condemnation which they deserve.
But the forces arrayed against such men are nevertheless in
operation, and though they often work secretly and slowly they are
most certain to find their object and to make him conscious of their
existence. There are other agencies at work in the universe besides
human agencies, and a Divine lawgiver as well as human lawgivers. And
although the latter may fail to discover those who break their laws,
no offender against the law of God will be able to escape public
arrest and condemnation, if not before a human congregation, before a
higher and more august assembly.
+IV. A special form of punishment which will be the special portion
of such offenders.+ The great principle proclaimed by Christ, _"With
what measure ye mete it shall be measured to you again"_ (Matt.
vii. 2), is here uttered by Solomon. Every deceiver will be deceived,
and one false man will become the prey of another false man. This is
a law which is always and now in operation, although the punishment
may not always be discernable to onlookers. But it is a work which
the Almighty Judge has taken into His own hands, and many a one who
is now suffering from a pitfall laid by another, knows very well in
his secret soul that he is only passing through the same experiences
which he once prepared for another--that if what he took for a silver
vessel is only clay, he has himself palmed off the counterfeit
article for a genuine one.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 28. It is not easy for us to forgive the injuries we receive;
but it is far more difficult to forgive the injuries we do.--_Lawson._
1. There is the inward self-reproach, arising from the workings of
conscience, from which arises a secret irritability and fretfulness
and unhappiness; and this produces dislike of the innocent occasion
of it, instead of terminating (as it always ought to do) on _self._
This of course is only _more injustice._ True; but it is in human
nature to hate with a bitter hatred the object of our own crime; as
if it were a fault in that object to exist, and so to be the object
on which our sin terminates. 2. The evil passions, like the good, are
strengthened and increased by their exercise. If the utterance of the
feelings of love serves further to inflame love, the utterance, in
like manner, of the feelings of hatred tend to inflame hatred. The
passion gives birth to the word and the action; and, reciprocally,
the word and the action strengthen the passion. 3. The fretful
uneasiness produced by the unceasing apprehension of detection and
exposure, already alluded to, and of the weight of _his_ vengeance
who is the object of the lying tongue's assaults, gives rise also to
the same feeling of rankling dislike to him who is the source of it.
Thus the slanderer, instead of feeling pity for the man who his
slander wounds, hates him still the more. This appears to have had a
very striking exemplification in the case of our blessed Lord and His
Jewish unbelieving adversaries. They "hated Him without a
cause."--_Wardlaw._
* * * * * *
CHAPTER XXVII.
CRITICAL NOTES.--+4.+ Delitzsch reads this verse _"The madness of
anger and the overflowing of wrath, and before jealousy who keeps his
place?"_ +5. Secret love.+ Zöckler and Hitzig understand this love to
be that _"which from false consideration dissembles, and does not
tell his friend of his faults when it should do so."_ Delitzsch
thinks it refers to _"love which is confined to the heart alone, like
a fire, which, when it burns secretly, neither lightens nor warms."_
+8. Place,+ rather _"home."_ +9.+ This verse is obscurely rendered in
the English version. Delitzsch translates _"Oil and frankincense
rejoice the heart, and the sweet discourse of a friend from
counselling of soul."_ Ewald, Elster, Luther, etc., render _"The
sweetness of the friend springeth from faithful counsel of soul."_
Zöckler, _"The sweetness of a friend is better than one's own
counsel."_ +10. Neighbour that is near,+ etc. _"The near neighbour is
he who keeps himself near as one dispensing counsel and help to the
distressed, just as the far-off brother is he who, on account of his
unloving disposition, keeps at a distance from the same."_ (Zöckler.)
Most commentators substantially agree with this view of the text.
+14. As a curse,+ etc. It is no better than a curse, or it may be
regarded as veiling an evil intention. +16. And the ointment of his
right hand.+ Zöckler and Delitzsch translate _"And his right hand
graspeth, or meeteth oil,"_ that is, he cannot hold her. Other
commentators, retaining the English translation, understand it to
refer to the hopelessness of concealing her vexatious disposition.
+17.+ Stuart and Noyes find here the idea of provocation. But most
critics take the ordinary view. Miller translates _"Iron is welded by
iron: so, for a man, the tie is the face of a friend."_ +20. Hell and
destruction,+ rather _"the world of the dead."_ +Eyes.+ Some
understand the reference to be the insatiableness of human passion.
+21. A man to his praise.+ Delitzsch understands the meaning to be
that a man is valued according to the measure of public opinion.
Ewald, Hitzig, and others, coincide with Zöckler's rendering, _"A man
according to his glorying," i.e.,_ "One is judged according to the
standard of that which he makes his boast."
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 1.
DIVINE PROPERTY.
+I. A possession exclusively Divine.+ Both the distant and the
immediate future belong to God alone; not only does He possess the
exclusive control of what shall be in a hundred years to come, but
to-morrow, and even the next hour and minute, are exclusively His.
There is, doubtless, an existence beyond time where God's creatures
can look forward to the future with more certainty than can man in
his present condition, but it does not belong to even the highest
archangel to say what shall be in the far-off or even the near time
to come. This is the prerogative of Him alone with whom all is one
eternal present.
+II. A possession to which men often lay claim.+ If we were to hear a
man making definite plans as to how he would spend a fortune which it
was only probable he would possess, we should wonder at his tone of
certainty, and perhaps attribute it to weakness or presumption. But
we all dispose of our days, and sometimes of our months and years,
long before they are ours, and while our own past experience and that
of others around us admonish us of the great uncertainties that
surround our future, we are prone to lay our plans as if to-morrow
and many years to come were ours. It is doubtless necessary and right
to forecast to a certain extent--we must look forward to what will
probably or may be on the morrow, or be guilty of another form of
presumption. But we are not forbidden by the wise man to do this--all
that the proverb warns us against is that boastful certainty in
relation to the future which so ill becomes creatures so limited in
their knowledge and so straitened in their resources--that definite
laying of our plans which leaves God entirely outside of them, and
that confident disposal of ourselves which forgets to say, _"If the
Lord will we shall live, and do this, or that"_ (James iv. 15). It
would be foolish for a raw recruit to pretend to map out the plan of
his general's campaign, or for an unlettered peasant to prophecy what
line of policy would be adopted by the prime minister of the land;
but he who boasts himself of to-morrow is more foolish, and is also
wicked.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The day is said to bring forth because time travaileth with the
Lord's decrees, and in their season bringeth them forth, even as a
woman with child doth her little babies. Indeed, time properly
worketh not, but, because God's works are done in time, it is said to
do those things which are done therein.--_Muffett._
I. _This ignorance of the morrow is necessary to the prosecution of
our duties on earth._ Could we draw aside the veil of the future and
look at the things which are coming to us, our energies would be so
paralysed as to incapacitate us for the ordinary avocations of life;
mercy has woven the web of concealment. II. _This ignorance of
to-morrow is our incentive to the preparation for the future._ Christ
used this argument: _"Be ye, therefore, ready,_ for in such an hour
as ye think not the Son of Man cometh."--_Dr. David Thomas._
The same reason that should check our boasting of to-morrow may
preserve us from desponding fears. It may be stormy weather to-day;
but storms do not last all the year. We are filled and tormented with
fears of some impending evil, but we often give ourselves real pain
by the prospect of calamities that never were appointed to us by the
providence of God.--_Lawson._
How awfully has this _boasting_ been put to shame! In the days of
Noah "they married wives, and were given in marriage, until the very
day when the flood came and destroyed them all." Abner promised a
kingdom, but could not ensure his life for an hour. Haman plumed
himself upon the prospect of the queen's banquet, but was hanged like
a dog before night. The fool's soul was required of him "on the very
night" of his worldly projects "for many years" to come. "Serious
affairs to-morrow," was the laughing reply of Archias, warned of a
conspiracy which hurried him into eternity the next hour. The infidel
Gibbon calculated upon fifteen years of life, and died within a few
months, at a day's warning.--_Bridges._
To count on to-morrow so as to neglect the duty of to-day is in many
respects the greatest practical error among men. None have a wider
range, and none are charged with more dreadful consequences. Whether
the work in hand pertain to small matters or great--to the sowing of
a field or the redemption of a soul--for every one who resolves
deliberately not to do it, a hundred tread the same path, and suffer
the same loss at last, who only postpone the work of to-day with the
intention of performing it to-morrow. The proverb contains only the
negative side of the precept, but it is made hollow for the very
purpose of holding the positive promise in its bosom. The Old
Testament sweeps away the wide-spread indurated error; the New
Testament then deposits its saving truth upon the spot. . . . Solomon
warns us to distrust the future, and Paul persuades us to accept the
present hour. "Behold now is the accepted time; behold now is the day
of salvation." "To-morrow," is the devil's great ally, the very
Goliath in whom he trusts for victory. "Now," is the stripling whom
God sends forth against him. A great significance lies in that little
word. It marks the points on which life's battle turns. That spot is
the Hougoumont of Waterloo. There the victory is lost or won. . . . An
artist solicited permission to paint a portrait of the Queen. The
favour was granted--and the favour was great, for probably it would
make the fortune of the man. A place was fixed, and a time. At the
fixed place and time the Queen appeared; but the artist was not
there--he was not ready yet. When he did arrive, a message was
communicated to him that her Majesty had departed, and would not
return. Such is the tale. We have no means of verifying its history,
but its moral is not dependent on its truth. If it is not a history,
let it serve as a parable. Translate it from the temporal into the
eternal. Employ the earthly type to print a heavenly lesson.--_Arnot._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 2.
SELF PRAISE.
+I. Merit will win the praise of others.+ The light of the sun makes
its existence felt by every man who is possessed of vision, and there
are but few men who do not acknowledge that it is a good and pleasant
thing. The perfume of the flowers cannot be hidden while there are
creatures endowed with the sense of smell, and their fragrance is so
grateful and refreshing to us, that it is sure to win from us an
acknowledgement of its existence and expressions of delight. And as
men are endowed with senses which recognise light and fragrance and
every form of physical beauty, so there is a moral sense in man which
compels him to discern moral excellence or moral superiority. The
conscience and the reason stand in the same relation to spiritual
worth and intelligence as the sense of sight does to the sunlight, or
that of smell to a pleasant odor. It is true that there are men who
will refuse to acknowledge the presence of moral worth, but there are
also some who will not acknowledge the existence of good in anything.
But they know it is there notwithstanding. And although man as fallen
may be more ready to praise that which appeals to his senses than
that which commands the admiration of his better nature, there will
always be found some in every community who will give to real worth
its due proportion of praise.
+II. Self-praise generally implies a lack of merit.+ A man of
intellectual or moral worth loves knowledge or excellence of any kind
for its own sake, and not for the height to which it may raise him in
the estimation of his fellows. Although he is or ought to be grateful
for the esteem of others, he does not make that the end of his
existence; his satisfaction arises not from what people think of him,
but from what he is in himself. And just in proportion as a man
attains to mental or moral heights, so does he apprehend more truly
how little after all he has and is, and so the higher he goes the
less value he commonly sets upon his present attainments. It is
therefore an inference most commonly drawn that he who praises
himself is but little deserving the praise of others, and is not
likely to get it. And this conclusion is generally a correct one.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
It must never be forgotten that all such passages imply the sincere
and earnest cultivation of a real and divinely approved _principle._
The principle called for in this verse is that of true,
self-diffident modesty. Considerations entirely different, and even
opposite, may induce the suppression of _self-praise:_--even the very
desire of praise from others. From this arises the danger of holding
out--to the young especially--the motive or inducement of _getting a
character for modesty._ This may produce artifice, affectation,
simulation, hypocrisy. That which is wanted,--that which God approves
and requires,--is _honest simplicity,_ which neither, on the one
hand, courts praise, nor, on the other, affects to disdain and
undervalue it,--which neither blusters out its own commendation, nor
whines and simpers, and depreciates, and makes light of what it is or
of what it has done, merely for the purpose of making others say
more. The affectation of despising the commendation of others is
worse than the self-commendation that is reprehended. It is, in
truth, the very same spirit showing itself under another
aspect.--_Wardlaw._
Praise is a comely garment, but though thyself do wear it, another
must put it on, or it will never fit well about thee. Praise is sweet
music, but it is never tuneable in thine own mouth, if it come from
the mouth of another, it soundeth most tuneably in the ears of all
that hear it. Praise is a rich treasure, but it never makes thee
rich, unless another tell the sum.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 3 _and_ 4.
WRATH AND ENVY.
+I. A most unhappy combination.+ A fool and wrath. Wrath or
displeasure is possible of every being capable of emotion. The power
to love implies the power to hate, and he who can be pleased can also
be displeased. The most tender mother can be angry, and righteously
angry, with her child, and we read in Scripture of the _"wrath of the
Lamb"_ (Rev. vi. 16). But there is an infinite distance between the
wrath of the Holy God, and even between that of a good man or woman,
and that of a moral fool. Divine displeasure is an emotion, and never
a passion. God is never passive in the hands of His anger. And in
proportion as men are like God they always have their displeasure
under the control of their will. It is as amenable to their
conscience and their reason as an obedient horse to his rider. But a
fool is a man who is without power of self-government--who is himself
governed first by one passion or desire and then by another--like a
ship without a rudder, at the mercy of the winds and waves. When such
an one is in the hands of his wrath, a most mischievous and
destructive force is at work. For whether we consider its effects on
the man himself, or upon the objects of his anger, we may truthfully
brand it as _burdensome, and cruel and outrageous._ 1. _It is a cruel
burden to the subject of it._ A more wretched creature can hardly be
found in the universe than a man passive in the hands of his own
anger; it is like a heavy weight crushing out of him all power to
stand morally erect and self-possessed, and like a knotted scourge
inflicting wounds not on the body but on the spirit. 2. _The objects
of it also find it a painful yoke._ In proportion as the fool is in a
position to exert his influence over others, in the same proportion
is the amount of misery which he can create by his unbridled wrath.
Perhaps its effects are nowhere so painfully felt as in the domestic
circle. As a master the wrathful fool may make his servants
miserable, but they may be able to quit his service and so get beyond
his influence. But there is no escape for wife and children from the
wrath of a morally foolish husband and father; for such there is a
millstone ever about the neck, and tormenting goads always pricking
the feet.
+II. The most pitiless foe.+ Terrible as is the unbridled wrath of a
fool, there is a passion more to be dreaded. The open battle-field in
broad daylight is a place to be shunned, but an ambush at midnight is
more certain death. Men fear to meet the lion upon the highroad, but
the scorpion concealed among the grass is more dangerous. For some
resistance can be offered to an open and avowed enemy, but no defence
can be prepared against an unseen foe. And if wrath is like the angry
lion, envy is like the deadly scorpion. The first gives some warning
of his design, but the latter none. The man of unbridled passion
often misses his aim by reason of his unsteady hand--the very excess
of his wrath sometimes takes away his power to execute his intention.
And he generally deals his blows at his enemy's face--speaks out his
hatred in his hearing, and publicly and openly tries to do him a
mischief. But the envious man acts in a different manner. The natures
that are most prone to envy have generally some power of
self-control--they are more cold-blooded than passionate men. Though
they are moral fools, they have generally enough intellectual wisdom
to see the best method of bringing to pass their malicious purposes;
and they consequently prefer an ambush to an open fight, and choose
rather to stab a man in the back than to meet him face to face. In
other words, they do not upbraid him openly and give him an
opportunity to defend himself, but blacken his character by
insinuations when he is absent. And as it is the nature of envy to
brood over its grievances in secret, and that of unbridled wrath to
manifest its displeasure immediately and openly, the first gathers
strength by repression and the other loses it by the very force of
its expression.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
As an earthquake ariseth from a tumultuous vapour shut up in the
caverns and bowels of the earth, where it tosseth and tumbleth until
it break out and overturn all that standeth in the way of it, so envy
is a pestilent vapour which lieth in the heart of a man, where it
boileth and fretteth until it tumbleth and throweth down all that
standeth in the malicious eye of it. Houses and trees stand firm
against a tempest of lightning or a flood of rain, and men stand out
against the cruelty of sudden wrath and rage of a man's lasting
anger, but what house or tree standeth against the force of an
earthquake, and who is able to stand against the force of
envy?--_Jermin._
I do not ask for men passionless; this is _hominem de homine
tollere._ Give them leave to be men, not madmen. Anger in the best
sense is the gift of God, and it is no small art to express anger
with premeditated terms, and on seasonable occasions. God placed
anger among the affections engrafted in nature, gave it a seat,
fitted it with instruments, ministered it matter whence it might
proceed, provided humours whereby it is nourished. It is to the soul
as a nerve to the body. The philosopher calls it the whetstone to
fortitude, a spur intended to set forward virtue. But there is a
vicious, impetuous, frantic anger, earnest for private and personal
grudges; not like a medicine to clear the eye, but to put it
out. . . . To cure the bedlam passion . . . let him take some herb of
grace, an ounce of patience, as much of consideration how often he
gives God cause to be angry with him, and no less of consideration
how God hath a hand in Shimei's railing--mix all these together with
a faithful confidence that God will dispose all wrongs to thy good;
hereof be made a pill to purge choler. . . . Anger is a frantic fit,
but envy is a consumption. . . . Among all mischiefs it is furnished
with one profitable quality--the owner of it takes most hurt. . . .
It were well for him that he should dwell alone. It is a pity that he
should come into heaven, for to see "one star excel another in glory"
would put him again out of his wits. . . . His cure is hard. . . .
Two simples may do him good if he could be won to take them--a
scruple of content and a dram of charity.--_T. Adams._
Well then might it be asked: _Who is able to stand before envy?_ Even
the perfect innocence of paradise fell _before it._ Satan lost his
own happiness. Then he _envied_ man, and ceased not to work his
destruction. (See Wis. ii. 23, 24.) It shed the first human blood
that ever stained the ground (1 John iii. 12). It quenched the
yearnings of natural affection, and brought bitter sorrow to the
patriarch's bosom. Even the premier of the greatest empire in the
world was its temporary victim. Nay more--the Saviour in His most
benevolent acts was sorely harassed, and ultimately sunk under its
power. "His servants therefore must not expect to be above their
Master."--_Bridges._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 5 _and_ 6, 9 _to_ 11,
_and_ 14.
TESTS OF FRIENDSHIP.
We group these verses together because they all treat of the same
subject, viz., friendship in reality and friendship in profession
only. The same subject occurred in the preceding chapter (see on
verses 23-28, and in chap. xvii. 17, 18, page 519).
+I. He does not love us truly who does not love us well enough to
tell us of our faults.+ The true friend must desire to see the object
of his affection as free from faults as it is possible for him to be;
the truest and the purest love seeks by every means within its reach
to bless the beloved one. And as we should not consider him a friend
who would make no effort to free us from any bodily disease or
physical deformity, we ought not to call him an enemy who will strive
to rid us of moral and spiritual blemishes. For such an one gives
proof that he cares more for our ultimate good than for our present
smile--he shows that he is even willing to risk our displeasure in
the hope of doing us real kindness. He who gives us kisses when he
ought to give us reproof, or who holds back deserved rebuke from
cowardice, is more cruel than if he withheld from us an indispensable
medicine simply because it had a bitter taste. For if we will not
take the unpleasant draught from the hand that we have clasped in
friendship, we are not likely to find it more pleasant when
administered by a stranger, much less by an enemy. And if a wound is
to be probed it is surely better for the patient that it should be
done by a skilful and tender hand than by one who has no sympathy
with us and no acquaintance with our inner life. And as it is certain
that those who do not love us will either rebuke us for our faults or
despise us on account of them, the real friend is he who, by a loving
faithfulness, strives to rid us of them. What would have become of
David if Nathan had lacked the courage to say to him, "Thou art the
man."
+II. Such a true friend is the most refreshing and invigorating
influence that can bless our life.+ Setting aside the blessing and
strength which come to man direct from his Father in heaven, there is
no source whence he can derive so much help and comfort as from the
hearty sympathy and sound advice of a real friend. They are like the
anointing oil and perfume which refresh the weary Eastern traveller
at the end of his day's journey, removing the traces of toil and the
sense of fatigue, and putting new life into every limb. Life is a
dusty, toilsome highway for most men, and they sorely stand in need
of some soothing and renewing influence as they pursue the journey.
And this, Solomon assures us--and experience confirms his
assurance--is to be found in hearty friendship.
+III. The cultivation and retention of such friends should be one of
the aims of life.+ Seeing that there is no other means by which we
are so likely to get a true acquaintance with ourselves, and no other
earthly influence which is so likely at once to elevate and console
us, we ought to try and make real friends and be faithful to our
friendships after they are formed. And especially we ought ever
gratefully to remember the friends of our youth--those who gave us
help and counsel when we most needed them, and to whose faithfulness
and forbearance we probably owe far more than we can ever rightly
estimate. There is a proneness in the youth as he rises into manhood,
and is probably removed from early associations and lifted into a
higher social sphere, to forget his earliest and truest friend, but
the truly wise and honourable man will count fidelity to such a
sacred duty.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 6. Many indeed profess their value for a true friend; and yet
in the most valuable discharge of friendship, they "count him their
enemy." The apostle had some just apprehension on this account,
though so wise and affectionate, and speaking from the mouth of God
(Gal. iv. 12-16). As of the rule of friendship was, that we should
absolutely, "please," without reference to the Divine
restriction--"for good to edification" (Rom. xv. 2). Christian
faithfulness is the only way of acting up to our profession. And much
guilt lies upon the conscience in the neglect. But this open _rebuke_
must not contravene the express rule of love--"telling the fault
between thee and him alone." Too often, instead of pouring it
secretly into our brother's ear, it is proclaimed through the wide
medium of the world's ear, and thus it passes through a multitude of
channels before it reaches its one proper destination. The _openness
of the rebuke_ describes the free and reserved sincerity of the
heart, not necessarily the public exposure of the offender; save when
the character of the offence, or the interests of others, may appear
to demand it (1 Tim. v. 20).--_Bridges._
This is that false love which really injures its object; and which,
on this account,--that is, from its injurious _tendency,_ how little
soever designed, gets in the Scriptures the designation of _hatred:_
"Thou shalt not _hate_ thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any
wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him" (Lev.
xix. 17).--_Wardlaw._
Verse 9. The best physic for man is man. For friendship is a kind of
life to man, without which there is no comfort of a man's life.
Friendship is in men a kind of step to God, and by means of love man
draweth near to God, when, as from being the friend of man, he is
made the friend of God. But as among the Jews there was no oil that
did so rejoice the heart as that wherewith the kings were anointed;
no perfume that did so delight the soul as that which the priest
offered; in like manner as there is no friend so sweet as God, so
there is no counsel that doth so glad the soul, so cheer the heart,
as that which He giveth in His Word, whereby we are made even kings
and priests unto Him.--_Jermin._
The _heartiness of a friend's counsel_ constitutes its excellence. It
is not official, or merely intelligent. It is _the counsel of his
soul.--Bridges._
Verse 10. _"Neither go into thy brother's house in the day of thy
calamity."_ This has certainly the appearance of a very strange
advice. Whither, in the day of our calamity, should we go, if not to
the house of a brother? Where are we to expect a kind reception, and
the comfort we require, if not there? But the proverb, like all
others, must be understood generally, and applied in the
circumstances and the sense obviously and mainly designed. The
meaning seems to be either--1. Do not choose "the day of thy
calamity" for making thy visit, if thou hast not shown the same
intimacy before, in the day of thy success and prosperity. This
unavoidably looks not like the impulse of affection, but of felt
necessity, or convenience and self-interest: "Ay, ay," your brother
will be naturally apt to say, "I saw little of you before: you are
fain to come to see me _now,_ when you feel your need of me, and
fancy I may be of some service to you." Or, 2. Let not sympathy be
forced and extorted. "In the day of thy calamity," if thy brother has
the heart of a brother, and really feels for thee, _he will come to
thee;_ he will _seek and find thee._ If he does not, then do not
press yourself upon his notice, as if you would constrain and oblige
him to be kind. This may, and probably will, have the effect of
disgusting and alienating him, rather than gaining his love. Love and
sympathy must be unconstrained as well as unbought. When they are
either got by a bribe, or got by dint of urgent solicitation, they
are alike heartless, and alike worthless. The reason is--_"For better
is a neighbour that is near, than a brother far off."_ The
antithetical phrases _"at hand"_ and _"far off,"_ have evident
reference here, not to _locality,_ but to _disposition._ A friendly
and kindly-disposed neighbour, who bears no relation to us save that
of neighbourhood, is greatly preferable to a brother--to any near
relation whatever that is cold, distant, and alienated.--_Wardlaw._
The proverbial sense is, that better is a lesser comfort which is
ready at hand, than a greater solace which we must go to seek
after.--_Jermin._
Verse 14. It is an excellent description of a notorious flatterer,
and a just denunciation of his due reward. First, _he blesseth with a
loud voice, as if he wanted breath_ and sides to set out the praise
of his friend, and as if he would not only awaken him with the news
of it but many others also with the loudness of it. Secondly, he doth
it _rising early_ as if it were some main and principal business
which he had to do, and wherein he would show himself more forward
than any others. Thirdly, he doth it _in the morning,_ as if he would
bless his friend before he blessed God, or rather would make him his
god by offering his sacrifice of praise unto him.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 7.
WANT OF APPETITE.
+I. The value which men set upon things depends upon their condition
and circumstances.+ When we look around upon our fellow-creatures, we
can but remark the widely different estimates which different men
place upon the same things, and also the different value which the
same man attaches to the same object at different times. To begin as
Solomon does, with our lower nature--there are hundreds of well-fed
citizens in every community who look with indifference at the most
tempting dainties that are set before them, and perhaps close to
their mansions are to be found as many to whom one good meal would
give the keenest physical enjoyment. And if a traveller were passing
through England he would probably turn away with disdain from a
dinner of bread and water; but if he were in some far-off desert land
he would hail such plain fare with delight. If we apply the proverb
to man's intellectual nature, we find the same law in operation. Some
men are surrounded with opportunities of mental culture and growth,
and they despise and neglect them because they have no intellectual
appetites, while others who are shut out for such advantages are
longing eagerly for them. And it is no less true in spiritual things.
The longings and aspirations of those whose spiritual appetites have
been awakened are entirely unknown to those who have not felt their
soul need, and the language which they use to express their desires
is an unknown tongue to those who say, "I am rich and have need of
nothing" (Rev. iii. 17). There was a time in the life of Saul of
Tarsus, when the language of Paul the apostle would have been utterly
unintelligible to him. It would have been hard to convince the young
man who consented to the death of Stephen, that he would one day
_"count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of
Christ Jesus"_ (Phil. iii. 8), but the different estimate which he
set upon the Gospel of the Son of God depended entirely upon the
difference in his own spiritual condition at those different periods
in his life. Even the gift of a Saviour is lightly esteemed, when men
are full of pride and worldliness; it is true in this sense as in
others that _"the full soul loatheth an honeycomb."_
+II. A sense of need will not only teach men to value luxuries and
comforts, but will make what was unpalatable welcome and acceptable.+
The young man who had lightly esteemed the good things on his
father's table, came not only to remember with a longing desire the
bread that fed his father's servants, but would _"fain have filled
his belly with the husks that the swine did eat"_ (Luke xv. 16). And
when a youth has known the misery of homelessness, the restraints of
his father's house, and the daily toil which once he felt to be so
irksome, are light and easy in comparison. And so it is when a soul
begins to hunger and thirst after righteousness. The conditions of
reconciliation with God and the yoke of Christ, which before were so
distasteful, are joyfully and eagerly accepted, and that which was
bitter becomes sweet to the soul.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 8.
A MAN AND HIS PLACE.
+I. It is good for every man to have a place in the world which he
can call his home, and work which he feels especially belongs to
him.+ A man should have some spot on earth which is dearer to him
than all the world beside, and some calling or profession which he
can recognise as his own. It is not by any means desirable that he
should always be in that place, or that he should never employ his
time in other work. The bird often leaves the nest and flies hither
and thither for many hours, and men must and ought not to confine
themselves always to one place and to the same employment. Change of
scene and occupation is always desirable within certain limits, and
is often a necessity with men. But however far the bird flies she
returns to her nest, and however much men may be obliged or may
choose to wander, they should always have one place to call home; and
however many things may occupy their hours of leisure, they should
have one kind of work which especially fills up their life.
+II. It is not good hastily and often to quit one sphere of work and
one mode of life for another.+ Every honest calling has some
advantages connected with it, and almost every sphere in life has
something to recommend it; and steady perseverance in one employment,
and continuance in one position, is often far more conducive to our
material prosperity, and more beneficial to our character and
reputation, than constant changes, even although they promise more
speedy promotion and a smoother path to some desired end. This much
is certain, that change merely for the sake of change is foolish, and
change without good and sufficient reason is not wise.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
By _place,_ the Holy Ghost understandeth particular callings. Now God
had taken care that none should molest a bird in her nest, there she
was safe (Deut. xxii. 6, 7); but when she begins to wander then she
is in danger, either to be shot by the fowler or caught in the snare,
or made a prey to other ravenous birds. So a man that is diligent in
his calling whilst he is employed therein, is in God's precincts, and
so under God's protection; but when he wandereth abroad from his
calling, going out of his bounds to sit and talk, he is a waif and a
stray, and so falleth to the lord of the manor, "the god of this
world." Reader, thou mayest expect to be preserved whilst thou art
a-working, but not when thou art wandering. Those soldiers who leave
their place in a march and straggle to pilfer, are many times snapt
and slain by their enemies, while they who keep their places are safe
and secure.--_Swinnock._
Changes of place is thought of as an evil. The sense of security is
lost and cannot be regained. The maxim, it may be noted, is
characteristic of the earlier stages of Hebrew history, before exile
and travel had made change of country a more familiar thing. We seem
to hear an echo of the feeling which made the thought of being "a
fugitive and a vagabond" (Gen. iv. 12, 13) the most terrible of all
punishments.--_Plumptre._
In such a comparison as this, we cannot but suppose there is a
reference to the _purposes_ for which the nest is constructed. The
allusion is doubtless to the period of _incubation_--to the hatching
of the eggs, and the rearing of the young. If the bird "wanders from
her nest" during that period, what is the consequence? Why, that the
process is frustrated--the eggs lose their vital warmth; they become
cold, addled, and unproductive. Absence, even for a very short time,
will produce this effect; and produce it to such a degree, that no
subsequent sitting, however constant and prolonged, can ever vivify
again the extinct principle of vitality. And then, during the period
of _early training,_ when the young are dependent on the brooding
breast and wing of the parent bird for their warmth, and on the
active quickness of the parent bird, as their purveyor, for their
sustenance,--desertion is death. If the mother _then_ "wanders from
her nest," forsaking for any length of time her callow brood--they
perish, the hapless victims of a mother's neglect. They are starved
of cold, or they are starved of hunger; or, it may be, their secret
retreat is found out by some devouring foe. Such appears to be the
apt illusion. Let us now consider _to what cases it may with truth
and profit be applied._ 1. In the first place then, I apply it to a
man's HOME. _Home_ may surely be regarded as most appropriately
designated _"his place."_ It is there he ought to be; not merely
_enjoying_ comfort, but _imparting_ it;--not the place of selfish
ease and indulgence, but of dutiful and useful occupation. He has a
charge there,--committed to him, not by the instincts of nature
merely, but by the law of God. His family demand his first interest
and get his first attention. 2. I apply the proverb to the SITUATION
IN LIFE which has been assigned to a man by Providence. As the
brooding bird should be found upon her eggs, or with her young, so
should every servant, in every department, be found in his own place,
and at his own occupation. It should be the aim of every man to have
it said of him with truth--_Tell me where he ought to be, and I will
tell you where he is._ 3. I wish to apply the words to the SANCTUARY
OF GOD. I think they may be so applied with perfect appropriateness.
Every Christian must delight in God's sanctuary. It is to him, as a
worshipper of God, _"his place;"_--the place where, at stated times,
he ought to be, and where he chooses, and desires, and loves to be.
How frequently, how strongly, how beautifully, does the Psalmist
express this feeling!--and on one occasion with an exquisitely
touching allusion to those birds of the air, that built their nests
in the vicinity of the temple; and which, when banished from
Jerusalem, and kept at a distance from the sacred precincts, he
represents himself as envying--coveting their proximity to the altars
of Jehovah (Psa. lxxxiv. 3).--_Wardlaw._
The 9th, 10th, 11th, and 14th verses have been considered with the
5th and 6th. For Homiletics on the subject of verse 12 see on chap.
xiv. 15, page 364. Verses 13, 15, and 16 are almost a verbal
repetition of chaps. xx. 16, and xix. 13. For Homiletics see pages
589 and 573.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 17.
A SOCIAL WHETSTONE.
+I. This proverb may be applied to men's general intercourse with
each other.+ It is needful for a man to mingle with his
fellow-creatures in order to have his faculties and capacities
developed and fitted for action. Social intercourse is stimulating to
the mind and refreshing to the spiritual nature, and is indeed
indispensable to our happiness and usefulness. "A man by himself,"
says Muffet, "is no man--he is dull, he is very blunt; but if his
fellow come and quicken him by his presence, speech, and example, he
is so whetted on by this means that he is much more skilful,
comfortable, and better than when he was alone." The human
countenance, as the organ by which the soul of one man makes its
presence felt by another, has a quickening influence even when no
words are uttered, and this general friction of soul with soul
preserves men from intellectual dulness and spiritual apathy.
+II. It is especially applicable to intercourse with those whom we
know and love.+ Above and beyond the general need of man to have
constant intercourse with man, there are times and seasons when the
face of a _friend_ is especially helpful. The sword that has seen
much hard service must come in contact with another steel instrument
to restore its edge. The ploughshare that has pushed its way through
hard and stony ground must be fitted for more work by friction with a
whetstone, and the axe, after it has felled many trees, must be
subjected to a similar process. So the intellectual and spiritual
nature of man becomes at times in need of a stimulus from without
which may fitly be compared with this sharpening of iron by iron.
Hard mental toil, contact with uncongenial persons and things,
disappointments, and even great spiritual emotions, have a tendency
to exhaust our energies and depress our spirits, and render us for a
time indisposed to exertion, and perhaps incapable of it. In such a
condition a look of sympathy and encouragement from one who
understands us is very serviceable indeed, and has the power to
arouse within us fresh hope, and therefore new life for renewed
action.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
As you can only sharpen iron by iron, you can _only sharpen souls by
souls._ Neither dead matter, however majestic in aspect or thunderous
in melody, nor irrational life, however graceful in form or mighty in
force, can sharpen a blunted soul. Mind alone can quicken mind; it is
in all cases the spirit that quickeneth.--_Dr. David Thomas._
_Iron is welded by iron._ (This is Miller's rendering.) That is, we
must bring a _"force"_ of _"iron"_ (not of tin, or brass, or wood,
but, by the very necessities of its nature, of _iron_), and strictly
a face of it, so that face may meet face (as of the water in the 19th
verse), or they cannot run or mould themselves together. Fit a face
of iron, red hot, to a face of iron, also hot, and force them hard
upon each other, and thus you weld them. Bring a man face to face
with his neighbour, and let them be warmed by a common taste, and,
though one of them be God Himself, this will weld them.--_Miller._
We owe some of the most valuable discoveries of science to this
active reciprocity. Useful hints were thrown out, which have issued
in the opening of large fields of hitherto unexplored knowledge. The
commanding word in the field of battle puts a keen edge upon _the
iron_ (2 Sam. x. 11-13). The mutual excitation for evil is a solemn
warning against "evil communications." But most refreshing is it,
when, as in the dark ages of the Church, "they that feared the Lord
spake often one to another." _Sharpening_ indeed must have been the
intercourse at Emmaus, when "the hearts of the disciples burned
within them." The apostle was often so invigorated by _the
countenance of his friends,_ that he longed to be "somewhat filled
with their company." Upon the principle--"Two are better than
one"--our Lord sent His first preachers to their work. And the first
Divine ordination in the Christian Church was after this precedent
(Acts xiii. 2-4).--_Bridges._
The countenance of a friend is a wonderful work of God. It is a work
as great and good as a sun in the heavens; and verily, He who spread
it out and bade it shine did not intend that it should be covered by
a pall. . . . He intends that it should shine upon hearts that have
grown dark and cold. . . . The human countenance--oh, thou possessor
of the treasure, never prostitute that gift of God! If you could, and
should pluck down these greater and lesser lights that shine in
purity from heaven, and trail them through the mire, you would be
ashamed as one who had put out the eyes and marred the beauty of
creation. Equal shame and sin are his who takes this terrestrial
sun--blithe, bright, sparkling countenance--and with it fascinates
his fellow into the old serpent's filthy folds.--_Arnot._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 18.
THE REWARD OF SERVICE.
+I. The reward of the servant of nature.+ The fig-tree may here be
taken as typical of all that the earth produces for the sustenance of
man. God has ordained that man shall be a co-worker with Himself in
making the earth fruitful. If He gives the life to the herb or the
tree, and sends the sun and the rain to quicken and nourish it, man
must give his service too. It is his business to prepare the soil, to
tend the God-given life, and to protect it as far as possible from
all adverse influences. And this being done, some reward is certain.
There will be cases of individual and occasional failure, but _fruit
for service_ is the rule in the kingdom of nature.
+II. The reward of service rendered to man.+ Although the word
_servant_ is now obnoxious to many ears, we do well to remember the
estimate which God puts upon faithful service and the important place
which it holds in the world. He who served unto death left this
command on record, _"Whosoever will be the chiefest, shall be servant
of all"_ (Mark x. 44), and a little consideration will convince us
that the whole of human society is knit together by service. In one
sense, all true men and women, however high their position, are
servants to others. The good monarch and the faithful statesman are
servants to their nation as truly as men and women in more lowly
stations are servants to individual masters. It is, however,
doubtless to these latter that the wise man here refers, and faithful
service rendered by them in their small sphere is as much esteemed by
God as the service of the greater and more gifted. Those who serve
_"as to the Lord, and not unto men"_ shall _"of the Lord receive the
reward of the inheritance,"_ says Paul (Col. iii. 22-24). Honour
shall be awarded by God, not in proportion to the kind of service
rendered, but in proportion to the spirit in which it is performed,
and this fruit of faithful service will never fail. And, as a rule,
esteem and gratitude from the earthly master will also be rendered.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
All sorts of inferiors, then, as both servants and subjects, must
make this reckoning and account of their superiors and rulers, that
they are unto them their peculiar charge, whereon they must attend,
and the special hope of their honour and preferment. They must
therefore think and say thus with themselves: Surely this is the
fig-tree that I must watch and keep; this is the same olive-tree that
I must look unto. I must not suffer this to be spoiled or destroyed.
I must not suffer my ruler's goods to be wasted, nor his name to be
discredited, nor the gifts of God in him to decay; I must keep his
favour, and I must seek his welfare, as much as in me
lieth.--_Muffet._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 19.
A CORRECT LIKENESS.
+I. A mirror in which we may see the reflection of the hearts of
others.+ All the knowledge that we have of our own personal
appearance is gained by means of some reflecting surface. We can only
look upon ourselves indirectly, and it is quite possible that every
person who looks upon us has a juster conception of our appearance
than we ourselves have. If there were no substance which could serve
as mirrors, a man must always remain ignorant as to those
peculiarities of feature which distinguish him from every other
person on the face of the earth. But none are destitute of nature's
looking-glass--the stream or lake, or even a smaller quantity of
water, will show a man what he is like as to his exterior. And by
means of a medium we can gain much knowledge concerning the inner
life of our human brothers and sisters. As we may gain a good idea of
our own face by seeing its reflection in water, so we may form a
fairly correct estimate of the feelings and hopes and desires of
others by studying our own. After making allowance for many
differences upon the surface dependent upon difference of
temperament, and education, and circumstances, we shall be safe in
concluding that in the depths of the human soul there are spots which
form a common meeting-ground for all mankind.
+II. A means by which we may gain the hearts of others.+ We cannot
plead ignorance of the way to our brother's heart. We must not
conclude, because in outward expression he differs from us, we have
therefore nothing in common, no clue to what is passing within his
breast. If we could call to mind how we felt in like circumstance, or
try to imagine how we should feel if we were in his place, we shall
hardly fail to form some idea of his feelings, and shall therefore be
able so to regulate our behaviour towards him as in some measure to
supply his soul needs.
(There are other interpretations of this verse, for which we refer to
the Comments.)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Here is one of the foundations on which that rule is built of doing
to others as we would be done by (Exod. xxiii. 9). . . . One corrupt
heart is like another, and so is one sanctified heart, for the former
bears the same image of the earthy, the latter the same image of the
heavenly.--_Henry._
The proverb _may_ be regarded as expressing _reciprocity of soul._ It
may mean this: that just as the water will give back to you the exact
expression which you gave to it--the frown or the smile, the hideous
or the pleasing--so human hearts will treat you as you treat them.
"With what measure you mete it shall be measured to you again." This
is true--manifestly true; kindness begets kindness, anger anger,
justice justice, fraud fraud, the world through.--_Dr. David Thomas._
In the world we see our own hearts embowelled; and there we can learn
what ourselves are at the cost of other men's sins.--_Bp. Hopkins._
As in the outline water trembles, and is uncertain, so also are
hearts. The lesson is: Trust not!--_Luther._
No man knoweth or showeth the spirit of a man, but the spirit of a
man that is in him. The water, as a certain glass, somewhat dim
indeed, but very true, representeth the countenance therein imprinted
unto the countenance that beholdeth the same; even so the heart
showeth man to man; that is to say, the mind and the conscience of
every man telleth him justly, though not perfectly what he is, as
whether he be good or evil, in God's favour or out of the same; for
the conscience will not lie, but accuse or excuse a man, being
instead of a thousand witnesses. . . . As water that is troubled
representeth the visage amiss, so a troubled or polluted mind may
sometimes wrongly show to a man the estate wherein he standeth. But
if the soul be not wholly corrupt and the conscience seared as with a
hot iron, it will declare to a man his condition rightly, though not
peradventure fully in all respects.--_Muffet._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 20.
INSATIABILITY.
+I. A destructive force always in operation.+ Ever since the earth
closed over the first dead body, it has been constantly opening to
receive those whom death has made ready for the grave, and to-day
this terrible and remorseless destroyer is as busy in our midst as
ever. And we know that it will be so to the end of time; while the
present dispensation lasts, men will never be able to say that death
has ceased to claim the mortal part of man, or that the last grave
has been dug in the vast graveyard of the world. This is a most
melancholy stand-point from which to view man and his destiny. If all
the human race lived to a good old age, and went down to their last
earthly resting-place like a stock of corn fully ripe, death would
still be a dark and dreary thing, looked at by itself, but it becomes
much more appalling when it strikes men and women in the prime of
life, and carries them off, often without warning, from the place
where they seemed so much needed, and to which they were bound by so
many ties.
+II. A faculty of men always at work.+ The eye of man is simply an
organ by which knowledge is conveyed to his mind. And his appetite
for fresh mental food is not lessened by that which he has received
in the past--on the contrary, it is quickened and whetted in
proportion to the supply, for while an ignorant man is often content
in his ignorance, the man who has learned most is generally the most
eager to learn more. And this passion in man for knowledge is not
quenched by the certain consciousness he possesses that one day he
_must,_ that to-morrow he _may,_ quit the scene of his
investigations, and end his search after truth under his present
conditions. Surely if men did not instinctively feel that this life
is not the only one, their desire after constant intellectual growth
would not be so ardent. If there was not that within them that told
them that death would not end their opportunities of growing in
knowledge, the contemplation of the shortness of life would paralyze
the acquisitive faculty of men. But we take the strength and
universality of this undying desire of man as an argument for his
existence after death and the grave have taken possession of the
material house in which he lived and laboured on the earth.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The _eye_ is the avenue of growth. The growth will be eternal. . . .
It will take in more and more and raise or sink us through eternal
ages. . . . The terms here used are used elsewhere for anything
insatiate (chap. xxx. 16). Solomon describes a great psychological
law, that the mind by its very nature sees, and by all its seeings
will grow, either in one way or the other.--_Miller._
The _eyes,_ by a very natural figure, are put for the _desires._ Upon
that which is the object of our desire, we _fix our eyes;_ and that
with an intensity of settled eagerness proportioned to the degree of
the desire (chap. xxiii. 5). The meaning, then, is not merely that
the sense of _sight_ never has enough of its own peculiar enjoyments,
but that the _desire that is by the eye expressed_ is never satisfied
by any amount of present gratification. The desires of men are
insatiable. They set their hearts on some particular object, and long
for its attainment. They fix in their mind some point of advancement
in the acquisition of the world,--some measure of wealth, or of power
which they think, if once realised, would satisfy them to the full.
They get what they want; but they still long as before. There is ever
something unattained. Having gained the summit of one eminence, they
see another above it; and as they mount, their views widen and their
conceptions and wishes amplify, and still more is required to fill
them.--_Wardlaw._
The meaning of the second clause as indicated by this parallel cannot
be doubtful. It relates to the really demoniacal insatiableness of
human passion, especially the "lust of the eyes." (Comp. 1 John
ii. 16, James iii. 6; and in particular Prov. xxx. 16; Eccles.
i. 8.)--_Zöckler._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 21.
A CRUCIBLE FOR CHARACTER.
Although the second interpretation of this proverb given in the
Critical Notes is very generally adopted, it will very well bear the
other constructions given below, which is indeed adopted by many
expositors.
+I. Praise received is a test of character.+ Many moralists think
that it is more difficult to pass uninjured through "good report"
than through "evil report." Dr. Payson reckons "well meant but
injudicious commendations" a source of temptation to him, and we do
certainly often meet men possessing many good qualities whom
popularity seems to have injured. But all men who have any striking
intellectual gifts or moral excellencies will be subject to this
refiner's fire, and if they pass through it uninjured they will prove
that they are made of very pure metal. As we remarked on verse 2,
page 725, merit will win praise, and therefore every deserving man
will be more or less subject to this test, and his conduct and
bearing under it will reveal the real character of his motives and
the strength of his principles. In proportion as his actions have
been disinterested and his aims pure and unselfish, in the same
proportion will he be able to bear praise. If he is a truly humble
man--if he has a right sense of his dependence on God and a
consciousness of his own shortcomings--the praise of his
fellow-creatures will only make him strive to be more deserving of
it; but if there is an alloy of baser metal mixed with the gold and
silver of his character, such an ordeal will be very likely to reveal
it.
+II. Praise given is a test of character.+ That upon which a man
bestows praise reveals the standard by which he rules his life. Men
praise that which they value, and there cannot therefore be a better
revelation of their moral condition. A man who praises the action of
another, irrespective of its moral character, shows that he attaches
little value to goodness, while he who praises a bad action proclaims
himself a lover of sin. On the other hand, commendation bestowed upon
good deeds and godly men at least indicates a preference for what is
good, which one may hope will be manifested not only in word but also
in deed.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
1. It may express what every man, with reference to the praise
bestowed upon him, _ought to do:_--that is, he ought to do with it
what the "fining-pot" does to the "silver," and the "furnace to the
gold." He should _try it well._ There is a deal of dross frequently
in it; and men are apt to be fonder of the dross, in some of its
appearances, than of the sterling metal. The process of refining
should in this case be very cautiously pursued: just as a chemist, if
anxious for the correct result of an experiment with the crucible,
will be the more careful in making it, in proportion as he is
conscious of any leaning towards a particular theory,--lest this
should bias his mind and put him off his guard. 2. "A man is to his
praise what the fining pot is to silver, and the furnace is to gold,"
because a man's conduct _actually does put to the test_ the
commendation bestowed upon him. That conduct is like "the fining-pot"
and "the furnace" to it, in regard to the estimate formed of it _by
others._ His behaviour detects whether it be or be not just and
merited. Commendation naturally excites notice. All eyes are on the
man who elicits applause, to ascertain if the applause be
well-founded. In this way the commendation is _put to the test;_ and
the man himself is the _tester;_--proving or disproving the justice
of the character given him.--_Wardlaw._
As praise is due to worth, so it is the tryer and refiner of worth.
For as silver is melted in the fining pot, and gold in the furnace;
so is the heart of man even melted with joy in the furnace of praise.
And as those metals which have least solidity are soonest melted, so
where there is least of the solidity of worth, there the heart is
soonest melted with praise. And as in the furnace the light matter is
blown away into smoke and vapour; so by praise a light heart is
quickly blown up, and vainly transported and carried away with it.
But as the silver and the gold are made the finer and the purer by
the furnace, so true worth is ennobled and made the richer by just
praise ascribed to it. For he that hath worth in him, the more he is
praised the more will he endeavour to deserve it, and by praise
seeing what is dross in himself, will by his care purge it out, and
cast it away.--_Jermin._
The thought in verse 22 is but a repetition of a thought which has
often occurred before, as for instance in chaps. xvii. 10 and in
xix. 29. See pages 509 and 510, also page 581.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 23-27.
MODEL FARMING.
These words were especially applicable to the Israelitish people in
their early history, when every family lived upon its own domain and
found all its simple wants supplied by the produce of the land and
the cattle which fed upon it. The paragraph deals--
+I. With the duties of such a life.+ Solomon had several times before
given exhortations to diligence in labour, but here he sees rather to
enforce the necessity of diligent and constant supervision on the
part of the master and owner of the land. He is not addressing a
hired servant, but one who is a landed proprietor and has flocks and
herds of his own. If a man in so highly favoured a position desires
to reap all its benefits he must diligently superintend all who he
employs and set them a good example of industry and perseverance. He
must not be content to leave these things to hirelings, but must give
such close attention to all that is going on in his domain as to be
able intelligently to guide all the varied engagements which follow
one another as one season succeeds the other. No man ought to
consider this an unworthy employment of his mental powers, and he who
does so would do well to remember that the cultivation of the soil
was the employment which God gave to man when He first created him in
His own image. As an incentive to industry in this direction the
proverb contains a reminder of the uncertainty of riches--it is
unwise of any man to be wholly dependent upon a fortune made in the
past and to have no resource in case of its loss.
+II. It sets forth the rewards attached to the performance of such
duties.+ There is first the supply of the necessaries of life.
Luxuries are not promised, but it is implied that simple food and
clothing will not be wanting; and a sufficiency of these is all that
is really needful to man's comfort. But there is a pleasure in
obtaining them in this way which is surely not found in any other
calling. The cultivator of the ground escapes much of the monotony
found in most other professions, and has pleasures and advantages to
which dwellers in the city are strangers. If he is more exposed to
the hardships of the winter, the joy of spring--"when the tender
grass sheweth itself"--is surely enough to repay him for it, and then
follow the varied occupations of summer, one affording relief to the
other, until the year is crowned with the "joy of harvest." Surely no
mode of life is more favourable to bodily and spiritual health than
the one here sketched by the Wise Man.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Solomon tells us, in another place, that the instability and
uncertainty of earthly things, after all our care, is a motive to
draw off our hearts from them, and to fix our eyes upon nobler
objects; but he tells us, in this place, that the perishing nature of
earthly things is likewise a reason for bestowing a moderate and
lawful share of our attention upon our temporal interests.--_Lawson._
Verse 25. The frail condition of fading worldly things is here well
expressed, it appeareth only and is cut down. _The tender grass
sheweth itself,_ and it is but a shewing, for that being done, it is
eaten up presently, being at once, as it were, both seen and
devoured. The herbs of the mountain are gathered; their growing is
not mentioned as being no sooner grown than gathered, and as being
grown for the gathering only. . . . Wherefore as the careful
husbandman looketh to the hay and grass and herbs, and takes them in
their time, so is the good spiritual husbandman to consider the short
time of worldly contentments, and in their time to use them, at no
time to trust in them. As hay and grass and herbs are taken in their
season, so it is the season in all things that is to be taken. And,
therefore, when the season appeareth, let not thy negligence appear
in omitting it; when occasion shows itself, show not thyself careless
in apprehending of it; when the fruit of opportunity is to be
gathered, climb the mountain speedily.--_Jermin._
Verses 26 and 27. In these two verses the wise man dehorteth from
wastefulness of apparel, and from excess in diet. . . . The
proverbial sense is, that plainness of apparel keepeth a man's estate
warmest; and that a homespun thread in clothing is a strong and
lasting thread in the web of a man's worldly fortune, and that a
sober and temperate feeding both in himself and family doth best feed
the estate of any man, and that the flock of a man thriveth best when
he is contented with the nourishment and sustenance that cometh from
the flock.--_Jermin._
* * * * * *
CHAPTER XXVIII.
CRITICAL NOTES.--+2. For the transgression,+ etc. Or, _"In the
rebellion."_ "For this use of the word transgression in the sense of
_revolt,_ compare the verb employed in this sense in 2 Kings i. 1;
also Exod xxiii. 21, etc." _(Zöckler.)_ Zöckler translates the last
clause, _"through wise, prudent men, he_ (the prince) _continueth
long."_ Delitzsch reads, _"Through a man of wisdom, of knowledge,
authority continues."_ +5. Judgment,+ or "what is right"
_(Delitzsch)._ +6. Perverse,+ etc., literally "he who is crooked in
two ways." Delitzsch translates, _"a double-dealing deceiver."_
+8. Usury and unjust gain.+ Literally, _"Interest and usury."_ "These
are so distinguished according to Lev. xxv. 36, that the former
denotes the annual revenue of a sum of money loaned out, the latter
an exaction in other things, especially in natural products"
_(Zöckler)._ +12. Hidden.+ Or _"sought for."_ Delitzsch understands
this to mean "plundered," or _"subjected to espionage."_ +16.+ Ewald,
Zöckler, Delitzsch, and others read this verse, _"O prince devoid of
understanding, he that hateth unjust gain continueth long."_
+17.+ First clause. _"A man laden with the blood of a soul."_
+18. Perverse ways.+ Rather _"double ways."_ +21.+ Zöckler reads the
last clause, _"And_ (yet) _even for a piece of bread_ (many) _a man
will transgress."_ +22.+ Rather _"The man of an evil eye hasteth,"_
etc. +23.+ Delitzsch reads this verse, _"He that reproveth a man that
is going backwards,"_ etc.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 1.
COWARDICE AND COURAGE.
+I. This act of a wicked man reveals an unnatural condition.+ The
sparrow flies to her nest when the hawk is on the wing, and the stag
flees before the hunter or hounds that are on his track. But neither
bird nor beast is ever found fleeing in terror when it is not
pursued. But bad men flee when they are not chased, and when there is
nothing following them more substantial than their own shadow.
+II. The cause of this unnatural action.+ There must be some
influence at work somewhere which strikes this terror into the human
spirit. There must be some hidden power which thus unnerves a man
when he is out of the reach of any visible avenger, and causes him to
tremble at the sound of his own footstep, or to see the reflection of
the face of the man he has wronged in every human countenance that he
meets. In the absence of all causes without we must look within, and
there we find the pursuer. It is conscience that thus makes every
wicked man a coward--that voice within him which thus bears witness
to the existence of a Divine law which he has broken, and to a Divine
Lawgiver to whom he must render an account whether he escape human
justice or not.
+III. The hopeless nature of the act.+ The man who flees when none
are pursuing reveals that he is engaged in an attempt to flee from
himself, and this is an endeavour that will ever be fruitless. A man
may quit the scene of his crime and go into a country where all
around him is entirely different, but he will be painfully conscious
that he is himself the same being--that although he has changed
everything outside himself he has preserved his identity. He can free
his soul from his body and so flee from the world, but he cannot free
himself from the consciousness of guilt and so break the tie that
binds him and his sin together. For this flight from self is but
another name for flight from God--from Him to whom alone the
Psalmist's words apply:--_"Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit? or
whither shall I flee from Thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven
thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold Thou art there; if I
take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the
sea; even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall
uphold me"_ (Psa. cxxxix. 7-10).
+IV. The entirely contrary attitude of a righteous man reveals an
entirely opposite relation to conscience and to God.+ The natural
position of any creature in relation to the Creator is the position
which he held when he was originally created. Man was then on such
good terms with himself and in such conscious favour with God that he
had no sense of fear and no desire to flee from the Divine presence.
It was not until the first sin had been committed that Adam and his
wife hid themselves, and fled when no man pursued. But there are
descendants of Adam who, although they cannot pretend to sinlessness,
have no guilty fear of God, and consequently are not afraid of man.
The original and natural relation between them and their Father in
heaven has been re-established by their acceptance of His conditions
of reconciliation, and being now on the side of righteousness they
have no reason to flee even when many pursue them, much less when
they are alone with themselves and God. They can sing with the
Psalmist, _"The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? . . .
Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear;
though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident"_
(Psa. xxvii. 1, 3).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Moses "feared not the wrath of the king." Caleb and Joshua stood firm
against the current of rebellion. Elijah dared Ahab's anger to his
face. Nehemiah, in a time of peril, exclaimed--"Should such a man as
I flee?" The three confessors stood undaunted before the furious
autocrat of Babylon. The Apostles' _boldness_ astonished their
enemies. Paul before the Roman governor, and even before Nero
himself, witnessed a good confession. Athanasius before the Imperial
Council of Heresy; Luther at the Diet of Worms, finely exemplified
this lion-like boldness.--_Bridges._
The _wicked_ is a very coward, and is afraid of everything; of God,
because He is his enemy; of Satan, because he is his tormentor; of
God's creatures, because they, joining with their Maker, fight
against him; of himself, because he bears about with him his own
accuser and executioner. The godly man contrarily is afraid of
nothing; not of God, because he knows Him his best friend, and will
not hurt him; not of Satan, because he cannot hurt him; not of
afflictions, because he knows they come from a loving God, and end in
his good; not of the creatures, since, "the very stones in the field
are in league with Him;" not of himself, since his conscience is at
peace.--_Bp. Hall._
Conscience within a man is one extremity of an electric wire, whose
other extremity is fastened to the judgment-seat. . . . A man may be
saved from death by seeing the reflection of his danger in a mirror,
when the danger itself could not be directly seen. The executioner,
with his weapon, is stealthily approaching through a corridor of the
castle to the spot where the devoted invalid reclines. In his musings
the captive has turned his vacant eye towards a mirror on the wall,
and the faithful witness reveals the impending stroke in time to
secure the escape of the victim. It is thus that the mirror in a
man's breast has become in a sense the man's saviour, by revealing
the wrath to come before its coming.--_Arnot._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 2.
THE PENALTY OF REVOLT.
As will be seen by a reference to the Critical Notes, the word
_transgression_ would be better translated _rebellion._ The proverb
then sets forth,
+I. The disadvantages attendant on revolt against the existing
government.+ Whether the rebellion be a lawful one or not--whether
the ruler that is dethroned be a tyrant or a wise and just monarch,
the result is very much the same. There will be many claimants to the
vacant place, and many to support the claims of each aspirant. This
is an effect which is almost certain to follow any uprooting of the
existing order of things, whether the order be good or bad. If the
crew of a vessel put their officers in irons, the difficulty will
immediately arise as to who is to guide the vessel. If this is not
speedily settled, the ship will be in danger of running upon the
rocks while she is drifting on without a guide. It is the same with
the vessel of the State. Many justifiable efforts to better the
government of a country have broken down at this point--although
there has been entire unity of feeling in favour of a change, there
has been a great diversity of opinion as to who should inaugurate it
and succeed those who have been deprived of authority. The confusion
and insecurity which such a division has caused, has often made way
for a return to the old condition of things, and the last state of
the land has been worse than the first. But this can hardly be used
as an argument against all revolt against existing abuses, but only
as a strong incentive to try every other means before resorting to
this last extremity.
+II. That which makes revolt unnecessary, and consequently conduces
to the peace of the commonwealth.+ Wisdom and prudence on the part of
the monarch and his ministers (for the words may be referred to
either) will avert such a calamity. That kingdom is highly blest in
which the throne is filled with a worthy occupant, and surrounded by
men of intellectual ability and moral worth, and therein lies its
only real security. For every reasonable man knows that the reins of
government must be held by some one, and there is generally a
sufficient number of reasonable citizens in a nation to uphold an
enlightened administrator of righteous laws, and to keep in check
those turbulent spirits to be found everywhere, who, under the name
of patriots, only advocate change to serve their own selfish ends.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
"Let the children of Zion be joyful in _their_ King." The kingdom to
which they belong has _one_ King; and a king whose reign is permanent
as well as unparticipated. There are no _rival powers_ there. If the
princes of this world, in the plenitude of their presumption, take
upon them to intrude themselves within the precincts of His sole
jurisdiction, and to intermeddle with what does not belong to them,
the subjects of the King of Zion must stand by His prerogative,
resist the encroachment, and, at all risks as to this world, refuse
obedience. In the spiritual kingdom of which they are subjects,
Christ is the only Head; and His Word the only authoritative rule.
And there is _no succession_ here. He reigns over the house of Jacob
for ever; "and of His kingdom there is no end." Blessed be God for
this! The sceptre of our King can never, even to the end, be wrested
out of his hands; and He _never dies._ He must reign, till all His
people are saved with an everlasting salvation, and all His enemies
are put under His feet.--_Wardlaw._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 3.
THE MOST INEXCUSABLE OPPRESSION.
+I. Oppression from an unexpected quarter.+ Although poverty
sometimes has a very hardening influence upon men, we do not often
find it takes the form of oppression of their fellow-sufferers in
poverty. On the contrary, the sympathy of one poor man for another is
often the brightest spot in his character. But the ability to oppress
implies some elevation of the oppressor over the oppressed, and
therefore leads us rather to look for the heartless tyrant among
those who have known poverty, but who are now in some degree raised
above it. And even here we should hardly expect to find an oppressor
of the poor. Such a man cannot plead ignorance of the miseries of
poverty. We might expect that he would be full of sympathy for those
into whose trials his own experience has so fitted him to enter. If
we wanted a tender nurse for a wounded man we should expect to find
one in him who has himself been wounded, and who knows what bodily
pain is, and in a man who has himself been poor we ought to find the
most patient and generous ruler and judge of the poor. Oppression
from such a quarter is a painful surprise.
+II. Oppression to an extreme degree.+ The oppressor of the proverb
is one who has sinned against the knowledge furnished by his own
experience, and is therefore a greater transgressor than one who sins
without such experimental knowledge. If this barrier is not strong
enough to restrain him, he is not likely to be hindered by any less
powerful ones, and will therefore allow his cruel and unnatural
passions to have full dominion over his conduct. And so it will come
to pass that a man, who has been poor if he become an oppressor, will
be a more terrible one than he who has always been rich and powerful.
It may be regarded as a rule with few exceptions, that he who breaks
through the most restraints in order to sin will go to the greatest
lengths in it.
_ILLUSTRATION._
This illustrative comparison is here most impressive. It is founded
upon a phenomenon which I have frequently seen, and sometimes felt. A
small black cloud traverses the sky in the latter part of summer or
beginning of autumn, and pours down a flood of rain that sweeps all
before it. The Arabs call it _sale;_ we, a water-spout, or the
bursting of a cloud. In the neighbourhood of Hermon I have witnessed
it repeatedly, and was caught in one last year, which in five minutes
flooded the whole mountain side, washed away the fallen olives--the
food of the poor--overthrew stone walls, etc. Every summer
threshing-floor along the line of its march was swept bare of all
precious food. . . . And such is the oppression of a poor man that
oppresseth the poor. These landlords, and sheiks, and emirs are
generally poor, hungry, greedy, remorseless, and they come in
successive swarms, each more ravenous than his predecessor. On a
gigantic scale, every hungry pasha from the capital is such a _sale,_
sweeping over the distant provinces of the empire. Vast regions,
formerly covered with golden harvests in their season, and swarming
with people full of food and gladness, are now reduced to frightful
deserts by their rapacity.--_Thomson's "The Land and the Book."_
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Woeful is the condition when necessity and imbecility meet together
and encounter. For necessity hath no mercy, imbecility hath no help.
When poverty oppresseth anyone, there is no measure in his oppressing
another that is poor. He spares not to strip him naked who hath
already no clothes on. He fears not to be a spoiler whom spoiling
hath left nothing. For there is nothing that doth so harden the hart
of man as his own need; and he hath little or no feeling of another's
misery, who feels the biting of his own. As the rain falls, so the
earth bears it; and as oppression dealeth, so must the poor suffer
it; for as the earth lieth under all, so doth he. The rich man is a
_dashing_ rain upon him, and when he pleaseth, washeth away his means
and succour from him . . but there is no such _sweeping_ rain unto
him as when the oppressor is oppressed by poverty. . . . For he
having nothing, takes all that he can get, and the hunger of his own
distress so devoureth all, as that he leaveth no food.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 4 _and_ 5.
LAWKEEPERS AND LAWBREAKERS.
+I. A quick understanding in Divine things springs only from sympathy
with Divine precepts.+ Spiritual truth can only be apprehended by a
soul in love with what is good and true. A mere intellectual assent
to certain moral propositions will not bring men to a real and
intimate acquaintance with Divine realities, for the revelation of
God is not a mathematical problem which appeals only to the
intellect, but a message to the consciences and affections of men.
_"The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him"_ (Psa. xxv. 14).
There must be spiritual sympathy before there can be spiritual
perception, for sin puts out the eyes of the soul, and renders a man
incapable of apprehending spiritual realities, as physical blindness
makes him unable of seeing material objects. Hence our Lord made
_willingness to do His Will_ the one essential condition to knowledge
concerning His teaching (John vii. 17).
+II. Those who love and obey the Divine precepts contend with the
wicked by their obedience.+ Love to God and obedience to Him are
inseparable. The one is the necessary outcome of the other, so that
"seekers after God" described in verse 5, and the "keepers of the
law" mentioned in verse 4, are the same persons. The lives of such
people are a more powerful reproof to the godless and wicked than any
words which they can utter. The feathers of the arrow have their
place and value in helping the arrow find its destination, but it is
the steel point that penetrates the breast. So words of admonition
fitly spoken have their worth, and are of some weight in contending
with the wicked, but a constant life of obedience to God is more
convincing and penetrating. So that ever true servant of God is
fighting against the servants of sin by simply seeking to bring his
life into conformity with His Master's Will.
+III. All neglect of God's law is a commendation of sin.+ There are
many men who would be ashamed openly to praise a wicked action who
yet by their disregard of the Divine requirements encourage open
transgressors. For there is no middle way here. Every man is on one
side or the other, and all who are not contending with the wicked by
obedience are countenancing their evil courses by their own forsaking
of the law of God.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 4. "Forsaking;" simply evading or avoiding it, no matter on
what pretence. Solomon strikes for the result. He scoffs at all
apology. Do you, or do you not, obey direction? If you do not, the
fact that you do not is all that is needed to mislead the looker-on,
for, seizing upon that most villainous of all things, _praising the
wicked_--a thing that scarce ruffians do, a thing that obscene
seducers scarcely venture--he says, All disobedience does it. . . .
But the lonely widow, going quietly to heaven, who has asked
carefully the road, and has moved on as she was directed, the text
suddenly arms with a sword and spear! She is a warrior! In her quiet
walk she is smiting down the rivals of her King. And Solomon
literally means it. The most effective army of the saints is the
quiet group that dream of nothing but obedience.--_Miller._
Verse 5. The natural man perceiveth not the things that belong to
God, but the spiritual man discerneth all things. Albeit there is
some light in the wicked man which is sufficient to make him
inexcusable, yet he is always so blinded by natural ignorance and
malice that both Christ and the Law to him are a mystery. Hence it
cometh to pass that he neither fully seeth what is to be believed nor
yet what is to be done, either generally in all sorts of actions, or
particularly in the course of his calling or office.--_Muffet._
Origen saith, "Of them who do not see, some are blind, and do not see
because of their blindness; others are in darkness, and therefore do
not see; but others do not see because they shut their eyes." And
this is which many times makes the evil man not understand
judgment--he will not do judgment, and therefore will not understand
it. But true also it is that wickedness is a great blinding of the
understanding. For it turns away the eyes from the Son of
Righteousness, and casteth also a black shadow before it. . . . But
what do they not understand, that understand Him that understandeth
all things? In all things that are required of them, they understand
what is to be done by them; in all things that are taught them, they
understand the truth of them. . . . They understand the judgment that
shall be upon the wicked; they understand the reward that shall be to
themselves; they understand in all things to do judgment to others;
they are general scholars in their duties both to God and
man.--_Jermin._
He who makes wickedness his element, falls into the confusion of the
moral conception; but he whose end is the one living God gains from
that, in every situation of life, even amid the greatest
difficulties, the sense of what is morally right. Similarly the
apostle John (1 John ii. 20): _"Ye have an unction from the Holy One,
and ye know all things:" i.e.,_ ye need to seek that knowledge which
ye require, and which ye long after not without yourselves, but in
the new Divine foundation of your personal life; from thence all that
ye need for the growth of your spiritual life, and for the turning
away from you of hostile influences, will come into your
consciences.--_Delitzsch._
For Homiletics on verse 6, see on chap. xix. 1, page 561; on verse 7,
chap. x. 1, page 137; on verse 8, see the last remarks on chap.
xiii. 22, page 331. On the subject of verse 9, see on chap. xv. 8 and
9, pages 407 and 408, and on verse 10, see on chap. xxvi. 27, page
721, etc.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 11.
WISDOM IS WEALTH AND POVERTY.
+I. Riches tend to produce self-deception.+ The power of riches to
give external position and influence is almost unlimited. Wealth can
bring its owners into the palaces of princes, and place them on an
equal footing with men of talent and rank. It can surround a man with
servants who will obey his nod, and with friends who will flatter him
to his heart's content. By means of riches a man can make his name
famous in both hemispheres while he lives, and cause it to be
remembered after he is dead. It is not therefore surprising that many
men who possess this potent means of influence should be so dazzled
by it as to be unable to see themselves apart from it, and should
credit themselves with _being_ more than ordinary men, while the only
difference is that they _have_ more. A rich man is always in danger
of mistaking his wealth, which is but an appendage to his
personality, for the wealth of wisdom, which is a part of oneself,
and so of being the subject of the worst of all deception, viz.,
_self_-deception.
+II. But the possessor of riches does not often deceive other people
as to his real worth.+ Men around him may flatter him and treat him
as if they thought him very wise and clever, but they are often
despising him all the time, and oftentimes there are those about him
who, although they are beneath him in rank and wealth, are far above
him in sagacity and penetration, and can read his character and
motives far better than he can himself. Wealth can do much for a man,
but it cannot purchase for him the respect and esteem of even the
poor man who "hath understanding," and poverty has many drawbacks,
but it is free from this one--it does not minister to human vanity.
+III. A poor man who has moral and mental wealth is a greater
blessing to the world than even a rich man who is wise and good.+ He
can show the world that there are some things better than wealth, and
that these better things are in no sense connected with it or
dependent upon it. He can convince men that God is but a shadow and
that riches of heart and mind are the substance, and he can
demonstrate how much more lasting and satisfying is the influence
gained by wisdom than that which is born of wealth.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The phrase _"searches him out,"_ may be variously understood. He
discerns his true character. He sees that wisdom and wealth do not
always go together; that a full purse is quite compatible with an
empty head. He sees, too, that a man's wisdom is not to be estimated
by his opinion of himself. He sees shallowness where the man himself
fancies depth, and folly in what elates him with a vain consciousness
of his own wisdom. He sees abundant reason for not making the rich
man his oracle, or setting him up as his idol, or making his example
the pattern for his imitation, merely for the number of his acres, or
for the gold and silver in his coffers. He sees how prone men in
general are to allow weight to counsel in proportion to the wealth of
the counsellor. But the "understanding" which God has given him shows
him the absurdity of this. He "searches out" the fallacy, and directs
and exposes the imprudence and folly of sentiments and proposals,
that are propounded and recommended by the wealthiest of the wealthy.
And still further, taking "understanding" in its higher sense, as it
is used in this Book as including a mind Divinely enlightened and
under the influence of the fear of God and all the principles of true
religion:--the poor man who has this, sees and knows that "a little
with the fear of the Lord is better than the riches of many
wicked;"--that "a good understanding have all they who do his
commandments;"--that no folly can be more palpable and flagrant than
the folly of "trusting in uncertain riches,"--"setting the eyes upon
that which is not," and neglecting provision for the soul and for
eternity,--forfeiting the "unsearchable riches" provided by the mercy
of God for sinners,--all the blessings, unspeakably precious, summed
up in "life everlasting;"--spurning away the counsel that would put
these in possession;--greedily coveting the treasures of the world
that perish in the using, and rejecting the Divine offer of the
treasures of immortality. The poor man who hath understanding--I can
hardly say _"searches out"_ the folly of this,--he discerns it by a
kind of spiritual intuition.--_Wardlaw._
The thought in verse 12 is the same as in chap. xi. 10. See
Homiletics on page 206.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 13.
CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS.
+I. Sin tends to produce shame.+ Even a child often tries to hide an
act of disobedience to a good mother's law, and this not from fear of
punishment merely, but from an undefined sense of shame. And this
feeling clings to all men through life who are not entirely hardened
in iniquity. So long as the conscience is not entirely stifled, men
try to hide their wrong actions from their fellow-men even when no
human punishment would follow the discovery, and they even try to
cover them from themselves by inventing excuses for them. They often
endeavour to cloak their sin before their fellow-creatures by putting
on the garb of special sanctity, and so add hypocrisy to their other
transgressions, and they will try to palliate their guilt at the bar
of their own conscience by lowering the standard of morality which
God has set up within them, or by persuading themselves that He is a
hard taskmaster, requiring them to render Him an unreasonable and a
burdensome service. There are other motives which induce men to cover
their sins besides this one of shame, and other methods by which they
try to do it, but whatever impels them, and whatever means they use,
the truth taught in the proverb is always verified, viz., that all
such makeshifts are worse than useless.
+II. The only prosperous method of dealing with sin.+ This method
consists of two acts which God has joined together, and which man may
not put asunder, because neither of the two by itself would give
evidence that the sinner was fit to receive full absolution. If a man
_confesses_ his sin without _forsaking_ it, he seems almost to
aggravate his transgression, for he acknowledges that he sins knowing
that it is sin, and that it is useless to pardon him to-day, because
he will do the same thing to-morrow. And if he _forsakes_ his sin
without _confessing_ his guilt he shows that he does it from some
other motive than abhorrence of evil. Certain sins are sometimes
forsaken from expediency, or from self-righteous motives, but in such
cases there is no guarantee that there will not be a return to them.
Our Lord describes such when he speaks of the unclean spirit going
out of a man, but returning to find an empty house--a soul with none
of the newborn hopes and desires and aims which always come with true
repentance--and of such He says that _"the last estate of that man is
worse than the first"_ (Luke xi. 26). But when hearty and sincere
acknowledgement of sin is joined with earnest endeavour to forsake
it, God sees a soul which will know how to value His pardon, and will
find strength in it to fight against evil and finally to overcome it.
And to such a soul it is given to know the _"blessedness of the man
whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered, unto whom the
Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile"_
(Psa. xxxii. 1, 2).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
There are various ways of endeavouring to cover sins. By _denying_
them. A lie is a cover which men put over their sins to conceal them
from others. They sin and deny the fact, they wrap up their crimes in
falsehood. Thus Cain, Rachel, Joseph's brethren, Peter, Ananias and
Sapphira, endeavoured to hide their sins. By _extenuating_ them. Men
plead excuses. The influence of others, the power of circumstances,
the moral weakness of the constitution. Extenuation is a common
cover. By _forgetting_ them. They endeavour to sweep them from the
memory by revelry and mirth, by sensuality, worldliness, and
intemperance.--_Dr. David Thomas._
A child of God will confess sin in particular; an unsound Christian
will confess sin by wholesale; he will acknowledge he is a sinner in
general, whereas David doth, as it were, point with his finger to the
sore: _"I have done this evil"_ (Psa. li. 4); he doth not say I have
done evil, but _this evil._ He points at his
blood-guiltiness.--_Watson._
Confession of sin will work a holy contrition and a godly sorrow in
the heart (Psalm xxxviii. 18). Declaration doth breed compunction.
Confession of sin is but the causing of sin to recoil on the
conscience, which causeth blushing, and shame of face, and grief of
heart. . . . Secret confession gives a great deal of glory to God. It
gives glory to God's justice. I do confess sin, and do confess God in
justice may damn me for my sin. It gives glory to God's mercy. I
confess sin, yet mercy may save me. It gives glory to God's
omnisciency. In confessing sin I do confess that God knoweth my
sin.--_Christopher Love._
It is fearful for a man to bind two sins together when he is not able
to bear the load of one. To act wickedness and then to cloak it, is
for a man to wound himself and then go to the devil for a plaster.
What man doth conceal God will not cancel. Iniquities strangled in
silence will strangle the soul in heaviness. There are three degrees
of felicity:--the first is, not to sin; the second, to know; the
third, to acknowledge our offences. Let us, then, honour Him by
confession whom we have dishonoured by presumption. . . . Sinfulness
is a sleep, confession a sign that we are waked. Men dream in their
sleeps, but tell their dreams waking. In our sleep of security we
lead a dreaming life, full of vile imaginations; but if we confess
and speak our sins to God's glory, and our own shame, it is a token
that God's Spirit hath wakened us. . . . This is true, though to
some a paradox; the way to cover our sins is to uncover them.--_T.
Adams._
Sin is in a man at once the most familiar inmate and the greatest
stranger. . . . Although he lives in it, because he lives in it, he
is ignorant of it. Nothing is more widely diffused or more constantly
near us than atmospheric air; yet few ever notice its existence and
fewer consider its nature. Dust, and chaff, and feather, that
sometimes float up and down in it, attract our regard more than the
air in which they float; yet these are trifles that scarcely concern
us, and in this we live, and move, and have our being. . . . Such, in
this respect, is sin. It pervades humanity, but, in proportion to its
profusion, men are blind to its presence. Because it is everywhere,
we do not notice it anywhere. . . . But the chief effort of the
alienated must ever be to cover his sins from the eye of God. . . .
All the wiles of the tempter, and all the faculties of his slave, are
devoted to the work of weaving a curtain thick enough to cover an
unclean conscience from the eye of God. Anything and everything may
go as a thread to the web; houses and lands, business and pleasure,
family and friends, virtues and vices, blessings and cursings--a
hideous miscellany of good and evil--constitute the material of the
curtain; and the woven web is walked over and over again with love
and hatred, joys and sorrows, hopes and fears, to thicken the wall
without, and to deepen the darkness within, that the fool may be
able, with some measure of comfort, to say "in his heart, No
God."--_Arnot._
Sin and shifting came into this world together. Sin and Satan are
alike in this, they cannot abide to appear in their own colour. . . .
We must see our sin to confession, or we shall see it to our
confusion. . . . No man was ever kept out of heaven for his confessed
badness; many are for their supposed goodness.--_Trapp._
St. Gregory speaketh, "He that covereth his sin, doth not hide
himself from the Lord, but hideth the Lord from himself, and that
which he doth, is that himself may not see God, who seeth all things,
not that he be not seen."--_Jermin._
For Homiletics on verse 14 see on chaps. xii. 15, and on xiv. 16,
pages 271 and 365.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 15-17.
VICE AND VIRTUE IN HIGH PLACES.
+I. A cruel ruler is on a level with the most cruel of the brute
creation.+ The more power a man holds in his hand over the destinies
of his fellow-creatures the greater is his responsibility, and the
blacker is his crime if he abuses his opportunities of blessing them.
In proportion to the unlimited character of his authority ought to be
his care not to overstep the limits of the strictest justice, and he
is bound to lean rather to the side of mercy than to severity. The
less reason he has to fear any retaliation from those whom he rules,
the more is he bound to mingle much gentleness and forbearance with
his government, for it is the act of a coward to act towards the weak
and defenceless as we should fear to act towards one who is our equal
in strength. The man who can be capable of such cowardice no longer
deserves the name of a man, but puts himself on a level with those
beasts of prey from whom we shrink in terror, knowing that in them
there is no reason, or conscience, or pity to which we can appeal.
+II. Incapacity in a ruler may work almost as much misery as
cruelty.+ A mother may not be guilty of positive acts of cruelty
towards her children, and yet they may suffer very keenly and very
seriously from her unfitness to train their souls and her ignorance
as to how to take care of their bodies. Her neglect may in the end
bring consequences as fatal as the greatest severity would have done.
This rule holds good wherever one human creature has others dependent
upon him, and the more entire the dependence, the more miserable will
be the results of his or her incapacity. In countries where rulers do
not bear absolute sway, a _"prince who wanteth understanding"_ is not
so great a curse as where his will is the only or the supreme law,
but the history of our own country contains instances of monarchs
who, although they would have been harmless in private life, were,
from lack of capacity to rule, very great oppressors of the people.
+III. The curse which rests upon all such oppressors of their kind.+
Like Jehoram of old, they depart undesired (2 Chron. xxi. 20). The
blood of their brothers crieth out for vengeance upon their heads,
and no man puts forth a hand to arrest their doom. Even those who
pity as well as blame, if they wish well to the body politic, feel it
is a blessing when such tyrants are removed from the earth--when
their power of doing violence to the rights of their fellow-creatures
is at an end. _"Let no man stay him"_ for the sake of those whom he
leaves behind, and let no man hinder his departure for his own sake,
for his continuance in his place upon the earth would but give him
opportunity to add to his crimes, and thus increase the weight of his
punishment. (For illustrations of this subject and additional
Homiletics see on chap. xi. 17, page 220--also page 208.)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 15. But these emblems were insufficient to represent the
monstrous barbarities that have been often exercised by those that
were at the head of the Roman empire in its pagan or antichristian
state; and, therefore, Daniel and John represent them under the
figure of monsters more dreadful than any that were ever beheld by
the eyes of man (Jer. xxxi. 18, Daniel vii. 10, Rev. xiii.). The
language of inspiration could not furnish out more terrible images
for the devil himself, than those which have been used to represent
the wickedness of tyrannical and persecuting powers. We ought to be
thankful for the wounds that have been given to the beast with seven
heads and two horns, and for the civil and religious liberties which
we enjoy.--_Lawson._
Verse 16. As want of understanding maketh a man an oppressor, so to
be an oppressor showeth a want of understanding in him. But the
special want at which the verse seems to aim is the greedy want of
covetousness. For as a covetous man wanteth understanding, because he
seeketh that so eagerly which he cannot keep, so a covetous prince
wanteth understanding, because he seeketh that so earnestly which he
hath already.--_Jermin._
Verse 17. God's jealous regard for the life of man was strongly
expressed at the second outset of our world's history; and expressed
in terms of evident allusion to the early and awful violation of its
sacredness in the antediluvian period:--"And surely your blood of
your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require
it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I
require the life of man. Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his
blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man" (Gen. ix. 5, 6).
For my own part, having examined the various principles of
interpretation by which those who are for doing away _all_ capital
punishments have explained these words, I have not been able to
satisfy myself with any one of them. They seem to be all forced and
unnatural, and, on different critical grounds, inadmissible. I cannot
but regard the language as bearing no fair and natural
interpretation, but that which makes it a Divine requisition, on the
part of man, of _blood for blood_--that is, of _life for life;_ and
as thus affording more than a _sanction,_ as laying down a
_requirement._ Though I am far from conceiving that we are bound by
Jewish criminal law, yet in the law regarding murder there is so
evident an allusion to this original and universal injunction, and
the language withal is so very pointed and emphatically reiterated,
that I cannot go the length of those who would include _murder_ among
crimes to be punished with infliction short of death. When set beside
the original and universal law it serves, by its very emphasis and
peremptoriness, to confirm the ordinary interpretation of that charge
to the second progenitors of our race as the just one, and to show,
therefore, the universality of its obligation.--_Wardlaw._
Even the heathen judged this awful transgressor to be under the
Divine vengeance (Acts xxviii. 4). The death therefore of the
murderer is an imperative obligation. It is miscalled philanthropy
that protests against all capital punishments. Shall man pretend to
be more merciful than God? Pity is misplaced here. The murderer
therefore of his brother is his own murderer.--_Bridges._
This is not directly an admonition against that which is immoral; it
may also be a declaration of that which is impossible.--_Delitzsch._
The subjects of the next six verses have all been treated before. For
Homiletics on verse 18, see on chaps. x. 9, and xi. 3, pages 153 and
195. Verse 19 is almost a verbal repetition of chap. xii. 11, see
page 266. On the main subject of verses 20 and 22, see on chaps.
xiii. 11 and xxi. 5, pages 306 and 609. On verse 21, see on chap.
xvii. 23, page 524, and on verse 23 chap. xxvii. 5 and 6, page 728.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 24.
ROBBING PARENTS.
+I. A parent's sacred rights.+ A father and mother, if they are
worthy of the name, have a very strong claim upon their children's
consideration. Their children owe them obedience in their childhood,
and reverent and loving regard when they have reached manhood. If
their parents are _rich,_ their possessions are to be held as
peculiarly sacred. "A feeling," says Wardlaw, "should attach to it
somewhat like that which attaches to _holy things_--things pertaining
to God and His service. The violation of _their_ property should be
felt to be a description of _sacrilege._" On the other hand, if the
parents are _poor,_ their children are certainly bound to help to
support them, and so in some measure to repay to them the expense of
their own bringing up. Christ puts this duty to parents before that
of giving even to the support of Church ordinances, and severely
condemns the Pharisees and Scribes for inculcating opposite teaching
(Mark vii. 11).
+II. The character of the child who violates these rights.+ There
are, alas, many sons and daughters who, instead of rendering more
honour to their parents than to other people give them _less,_ and
instead of showing more regard to their parents' rights than to those
of a stranger, seem to ignore the fact that they owe anything to
them. In the matter of money, those who would not touch the
possession of any other person will sometimes appropriate what
belongs to their parents, and say, "It is no transgression;" or if
they do not go quite so far as this, do not hesitate to live upon
them when they ought to be earning their own living, or to incur
debts which they know their parents will discharge. He who is guilty
of any of these negative or positive transgressions "robs," his
father and his mother, and his character is given here. Although he
may not be openly a vicious man--although he may seem to be much less
blameworthy than the man who openly violates the law of the land, he
is here put on a level with him. The sin in the sight of God is as
great, and there is in such a man the capability of developing into
an open transgressor, for he who can violate such holy demands of
duty, and trample upon the rights of such a sacred relationship, only
wants the motive and opportunity to commit actions which would at
once class him among the criminals of society.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
"But if any widow have children or nephews, let them first learn to
shew piety at home, and to requite their parents" (1 Tim. v. 4). It
is observable, children's kindness to their parents is termed _piety_
or _godliness,_ because it is a part thereof, and very acceptable to
God. Besides, it is called a _requiting_ them, intimating that it is
not an act of _grace,_ but of _justice.--Swinnock._
To say that we did not look upon a thing to be a transgression will
be no just excuse for any piece of conduct that we might have known
to be criminal. It will only shew us to be so depraved that even our
minds and our consciences are defiled.--_Lawson._
For Homiletics on the first clause of verse 25, see on chap.
xiii. 10, page 305.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 26, _AND LAST CLAUSE OF VERSE_ 25.
SELF-CONFIDENCE.
+I. He that trusts in his own heart is a fool, because he refused to
profit by the experience of others.+ If a man who has made a perilous
voyage declares at the end of it that he has found his compass
utterly untrustworthy, we should count him a madman who would set out
upon a similar expedition with the same faulty guide; and if he went
down in mid-ocean to rise no more, we should certainly say that it
was his own fault. To trust to a guide which another man has proved
to be unworthy of confidence when so much was at stake, would be
universally condemned as obstinate foolhardiness. Yet this is what
men do in the voyage of life. The testimony of most men who,
rejecting the guidance of a higher wisdom, have shaped their lives
according to their own ideas and inclinations, has been at the end
that they have trusted a guide that has misled them. Solomon himself
steered a good deal of his life by this deceiving compass, and at the
end confessed that he had acted foolishly in so doing (Eccles. i. 2).
It may be that the words of our text were the expression of his own
bitter experience on the subject, and that he is here counselling
others to avoid the error into which he had fallen.
+II. He is a wise man who seeks guidance from God because he trusts
in One who has proved Himself worthy of confidence.+ He who has
declared that the human heart _"is deceitful above all things and
desperately wicked"_ (Jer. xvii. 9) has offered Himself as the object
of man's trust and as His infallible guide. Millions of the human
family have assented to the truth of the Divine statement, and have
testified to the blessedness of submission to Divine guidance, and
have been manifestly delivered by their submission from the bondage
of evil, and elevated into a region of moral purity and freedom to
which other men are strangers. They are living proofs that He who
exhorts men to trust in Him is not a deceiver, but can justify the
demands He makes upon our confidence and submission. Human experience
has set its seal to the inspired word:--_"Blessed is the man that
trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For He shall be as
a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the
river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be
green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall
cease from yielding fruit"_ (Jer. xvii. 7-8). Surely, then, he is a
wise man who makes the trial for himself.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The _heart,_ indeed, has instrumentality to save us. We must _trust_
everything to that. But it is the _heart_ dwelt in by Christ. He that
takes his heart and confides it to the Son of Man, receives for it an
altered life, and will be able to _trust_ that _heart_ thus _trusted_
to Christ as the instrument in the battle of deliverance.--_Miller._
Though the mariner sees not the pole-star, yet the needle of his
compass, which points to it, tells him which way he sails. Thus the
heart that is touched with the loadstone of Divine love, trembling
with godly fear, and yet still looking towards God with fixed
believing, interprets the fear by the love in the fear, and tells the
soul that its course is heavenward towards the haven of eternal
rest.--_Leighton._
Whoever trusts another for his guide must do it upon account of two
qualifications to be found in him:--1. That he is _able_ to direct
and lead him. 2. That he also _faithfully will_ give the best
directions. . . . There are two things which may make a trust
_foolish:_--1. The _value_ of the thing which we commit to a trust.
2. The _undue qualifications_ of the person to _whose trust_ we
commit it. In both respects the confidence reposed by men in their
own hearts is exceeding _foolish._ I. _The honour of God is
entrusted._ So far as the manifestation of God's honour depends upon
the homage of His obedient creatures, so far is it at the mercy of
our actions, which are at the command of the _heart,_ as the motion
of the wheels follows the disposition of the spring. God is never
disobeyed but He is also dishonoured. II. _Man trusts his heart with
his happiness in this world, and this is two-fold--spiritual and
temporal._ III. _He entrusts his heart with the eternal concernment
of his soul hereafter._ . . . The heart of man will also be found to
have eminently these two ill qualities utterly unfitted for such a
trust. I. _It is weak, and so cannot make good a trust._ Its weakness
is twofold. 1. In point of _apprehension_ it cannot perceive and
understand certainly what is good. 2. In point of _election,_ it
cannot _choose_ and _embrace_ it. II. _The heart is deceitful, and so
will not make good its trust._ . . . The delusions of the heart may
be reduced to three sorts. 1. Such as relate to the _commission of
sin._ 2. Such as relate to the _performance of duty._ 3. Such as
relate to a man's _conversion,_ or _change of his spiritual
estate._ . . . The heart if it does not find _sins small,_ has this
notable faculty, that it can make them so . . . and in duty is
willing to take up with the outside and superficies of things,
and . . . it will persuade him that he is converted from a state of
sin, when perhaps he is only converted from _one sin_ to _another;_
and that he has changed his _heart_ when he has only changed his
_vice.--South._
On the subject of verse 27, see on chap. xi. 24-26, page 234, and on
chap. xiv. 31, page 389. The subject of verse 28 has been treated in
chap. xi. 10, page 206.
* * * * * *
CHAPTER XXIX.
CRITICAL NOTES.--+4. He that receiveth gifts.+ Zöckler translates
this, _"a man of taxes."_ +7. Considereth.+ Literally _knoweth._
Zöckler and Delitzsch translate the latter clause, _"the godless
discern, or understand not, knowledge."_ +8. Bring a city,+ etc.,
literally, _"set a city on fire."_ +9.+ The second clause should
rather be _"he rageth and laugheth_ (_i.e.,_ the fool), _and there is
no rest."_ +10.+ Delitzsch translates this verse: _"Men of blood hate
the guiltless and the upright; they seek his soul."_ +11. His mind.+
Rather _his wrath._ +Keepeth it till afterward.+ Rather _restraineth
it, keeps it in the background._ +13. The deceitful.+ Rather _"the
usurer." A man of usury is only a more concrete expression for a rich
man and this is the corresponding term_ in chap. xxii. 2 (Zöckler).
+18. Vision.+ Rather _"Revelation."_ "The word denotes prophetic
prediction, the revelation of God by His seers (1 Sam. ix. 9); the
chief function of these consisted in their watching over the vigorous
fulfilling of the law, or in the enforcement of the claims of the
law" (Zöckler). +19. Doth not answer.+ Rather _"there is not an
answer,"_ that is in action, by obedience. Delitzsch translates
_"does not conform thereto."_ +21. A son,+ etc. There are many
different translations of this verse, but the general verdict of
scholars seems to favour the English rendering. Luther translates the
verse, _"If a servant is tenderly treated from youth up, he will
accordingly become a squire."_ +24. He heareth cursing.+ Rather _the
curse, i.e.,_ according to Zöckler, "the curse which according to the
law (Lev. v. 1. sq.) marks a theft as an offence demanding a heavy
penalty." Delitzsch translates _"he hateth the oath,"_ and explains
it "as that of the judge who adjures the partner of the thief by God
to tell the truth." (See also Lev. v. 1.)
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 1.
REPROOF AND DESTRUCTION.
+I. An act of benevolence which is often resented.+ When a child is
reproved, and if need be chastised, for playing with the fire or
neglecting its lessons, all reasonable people see that it is a kind
act, and the child itself, when it has grown wiser, acknowledges that
the reproof, even if it took the form of punishment, was an act of
true benevolence, for it has saved him from bodily suffering or from
intellectual loss. But it is probable that at the time the reproof
was administered it was received with resentment, and the parent or
friend who administered it was looked upon as an enemy. And it is so
generally with men in relation to the reproofs of God, whether they
come direct in the shape of providential chastisements or indirectly
in the rebukes of His servants. God can have but one aim in reproving
His creatures, and that is to save them from the pain which follows
sin, and to increase their capabilities of happiness by bringing them
under His Divine training. But this effort of God is often resisted,
and man in the act of resistance is here and elsewhere likened to the
ox which refuses to obey his master. He "hardens his neck" against
the yoke of Divine reproof. Repentant Ephraim acknowledges that under
Divine chastisement he was _"as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke"_
(Jer. xxxi. 18); he resisted the efforts of his God to bring him into
subjection to His wise rule, and into harmony with His benevolent
purposes concerning him. The ox who does nothing but browse is living
the lowest form of life which a brute can live--he eats, and sleeps,
and fattens for the knife. But if his master leads him from his
pasture, and harnesses him to the plough, he thereby makes him a
co-worker with himself; the beast now helps to raise the corn which
not only feeds himself, but feeds men also, and thus, by coming under
the yoke, he becomes a more useful and valuable creature. But as he
is only a brute, he is not to be blamed if he prefers the lower life
to the higher. As it is with the ox and his master, so it is with the
sinner and God. The godless man is content to live upon a level with
the lowest level of brute life--to satisfy his bodily appetites, to
eat and drink, and die and leave undeveloped all his capacities for
spiritual growth and blessedness. But God would make him a co-worker
with Himself in lifting him to a higher level and in making him a
more useful and blessed creature. But men often resist this
benevolent intention, and resent this check upon their self-will.
+II. The resistance to many acts of benevolence bringing one act of
judgment.+ It must at last be decided whose will is to be the law of
the universe--that of rebellious men or that of the Holy God; and
though the Divine longsuffering is so exceedingly great, He must, in
the interests of His creatures, assert His right to their obedience.
This He did in the case of His chosen people--after centuries of
resisted reproof sudden and irremediable destruction came upon the
nation, and those who, like the Jews, will not come under the yoke of
God, must sooner or later feel His rod. If they will not be His
children they must be treated as rebellious subjects. On this subject
see also on chap. vi. 12-19, page 81.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Such was the _destruction_ of the old world, and of the cities of the
plain, long _hardened_ against the forbearance of God. Pharaoh grew
more stubborn under the rod, and rushed madly upon his _sudden_ ruin.
Eli's sons "hearkened not unto the voice of their father, and in one
day died both of them." Ahab, _often reproved_ by the godly prophet,
_hardened his neck,_ and "the bow, drawn at a venture," received its
commission. How must Judas have steeled his heart against his
Master's _reproof!_ Onward he rushed, "that he might go to his own
place."--_Bridges._
Sins repeated and reiterated are much greater than sins once
committed. . . . As in numbers, one in the first place stands but for
a single one, in the second place ten, in the third place for a
hundred, so here, each repetition is a great aggravation. It is one
thing to fall into the water, another thing to lie there; it is the
latter that drowns men.--_Swinnock._
On the subject of verse 2, see on chap. xi. 10, page 206. On verse 3,
see on chap. x. 1, page 137, and on chap. v. 1-20, page 68. The
subject of verse 4 has been treated on page 472, in the homiletics on
chap. xvi. 10-15, and that of verse 5 in the homiletics on chap.
xxvi. 23-28, page 721.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 6.
A SNARE AND A SONG.
+I. Sin deceives men.+ If a man digs a pit for the purpose of
entrapping a victim, his great aim is to make the path over it as
inviting as possible and entirely to hide from sight the snare which
he has laid, for, as Solomon tells us elsewhere, _"Surely in vain the
net is spread in the sight of any bird"_ (chap. i. 17). So when the
great deceiver of men tries to lead them into sin, he makes the way
of transgression look very inviting, and persuades his victim that
some great gain is to be gotten by the sin. He hides from view the
pit of misery that lies at the end of every path of disobedience to
God. He did not let Adam and Eve see beforehand the bitter
consequences of breaking the Divine command or he would not have
succeeded in accomplishing their downfall. And he does not let the
young man whom he persuades to rob his master see the felon's cell
beyond, or his persuasions would be ineffectual. His great aim is to
make men believe there is security where there is danger--a solid
rock where there is a yawning pit--probable gain where there is
certain loss. Seeing that sin is against the sinner's own interests,
and that there is in every man an instinct of self-preservation, we
must conclude that if transgressors were not _ensnared,_ Satan could
take the captive no other way.
+II. Righteousness gladdens men.+ God, who is the Fountain and Source
of all the joy in the universe, made man for happiness. This is the
portion which He intended all His creatures to possess, and which
they forfeit by their own act and deed. Before sin entered our world,
song was man's natural employment--it was as natural for him to
rejoice in God's love as it was to breathe God's air. And in
proportion as sin is banished from the human soul, and the right
relation between it and God is re-established, joy and gladness
re-enter the heart. The indissoluble connection which is found
everywhere between righteousness of life and peace of mind is a
revelation of the character of the Being who sits upon the throne of
the universe, and although the song of the righteous in this world is
not an unbroken one, and they have sorrow as well as joy, they are
hastening to a world where _"God shall wipe away all tears from their
eyes, and there shall be no more sorrow or crying, neither shall
there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away"_ (Rev.
xxi. 4).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Or, a cord, viz., to strangle his joy with--to check and choke all
his comforts. In the midst of his mirth he hath many a secret gripe,
and little knows the world where the shoe pinches him. Every fowl
that hath a seemly feather hath not the sweetest flesh, nor doth
every tree that bringeth a goodly leaf bear good fruit. Glass giveth
a clearer sound than silver, and many things glitter besides gold.
The wicked man's jollity may wet the mouth, but not warm the
heart--smooth the brow, but not fill the breast. . . . But though
Saul could not be merry without a fiddler, Ahab without Naboth's
vineyard, Haman without Mordecai's courtesy, yet a righteous man can
be merry without all these.--_Trapp._
For Homiletics on verse 7 see on chap. xiv. 31, page 389, and on
chap. xxiv. 11, 12, page 680.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 8.
THE CITIZEN'S ENEMY AND THE CITIZEN'S FRIEND.
+I. A scornful man is a social calamity.+ A scorner is a man who has
a great opinion of his own wisdom and ability, and a very low one of
all who oppose him. From his self-constructed elevation he looks down
upon those who refuse to obey him, and counts them his inferiors
simply because they do so. This is a perilous course to pursue even
when only individual interests are at stake, but when the scornful
man holds the welfare of others in his hand, the disastrous effects
of his conduct are more widely spread. When he is the only person who
suffers from over-estimating himself and underrating the strength of
his opponents the issue is hardly to be regretted, but Solomon here
has in his mind a public man who brings ruin upon many besides
himself by his proud disdain of their foes, and by his refusal to
recognise a common danger. Goliath was such a man. As the
representative and champion of the Philistines he over-estimated the
value of his physical strength, and set too low an estimate upon the
unseen power arrayed against him, and his scorn of his enemies
brought a great calamity upon his nation. A scornful man brings the
heaviest calamity upon a people when he scoffs at the power of God
and persuades his followers to set at nought His demands and
threatenings. This was the great crime of many of Solomon's
successors on the throne, and of the false prophets of Judah and
Israel, and hence the sentence passed upon them and upon those who
listened to them: _"Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful
men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem. Because ye have
said, we have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we in
agreement: when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall
not come unto us; for we have made lies our refuge, and under
falsehood have we hid ourselves: Therefore thus saith the Lord
God . . . Judgement also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to
the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuges of lies, and
the waters shall overflow the hiding places,"_ etc. (Isa.
xxviii. 14-22).
+II. A wise man is a social blessing.+ We have before seen (see on
chap. xiv. 15-18, page 364) that it is one of the characteristics of
a wise man that he recognises the presence of moral danger in
relation to himself, and the same may be said concerning danger of
every kind, not only as regards himself, but others also. The
_recognition_ of danger is quite distinct from the _fear_ of it;
indeed those who are most quick to discern it have generally the most
courage to meet it and the most wisdom to avert it. Scornful men
generally have nothing but scorn wherewith to meet a foe, but the man
who is truly wise can afford to acknowledge the strength of his
enemies because he is fully prepared to meet them. If he seek to turn
away the wrath of man by persuasion, he will be able to back his
persuasion by wise reasoning, and if he strive to avert the wrath of
God he will endeavour to bring those for whom he intercedes to such a
state of mind as will render them fit to appreciate Divine pardon.
But if he cannot do this his own character will give effect to his
prayers, and as in the case of Moses and the children of Israel, God
will spare many sinners for the sake of one righteous man.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Surely it was _wisdom_ in the king and people of Nineveh, instead of
_bringing their city into a snare by scornful_ rebellion, to avert by
timely humiliation the impending destruction (Jonah iii. 5-10). Let
the people be gathered; let the ministers of the Lord gird themselves
to their work of weeping and accepted pleaders for the land (Joel
ii. 17). Surely "except the Lord of Hosts had left us a very small
remnant" of these powerful intercessors, "we should have been as
Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah" (Isa. i. 9).
Praised be God! The voice is yet heard--"Destroy it not, for a
blessing is in it" (_Ib._ lxv. 8). The salt of the earth preserves it
from corruption (Matt. v. 13). Shall not we, then, honour these _wise
men_ with reverential gratitude--"My father--my father! the chariots
of Israel, and the horsemen thereof?" . . . Moses--Exod.
xxxii. 10-14; Deut. ix. 8-20; Ps. cvi. 23; Aaron--Num. xvi. 48;
Phinehas--Num. xxv. 11; Ps. cvi. 30. Elijah--1 Kings xviii. 42-45;
James v. 16, 18; Jer. xviii. 20; Dan. ix. 3-20; Amos vii. 1-6. The
righteous remnant--Isa. i. 9, vi. 13. Comp. Gen. xviii. 32; Job
xxii. 30; Jer. v. 1; Ezek. xxii. 30, 31. Contrast Ezek.
xiii. 5.--_Bridges._
For Homiletics on the subject of verse 9, see on chaps. xxiii. 9 and
xxvi. 3-11, pages 665 and 716.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 10.
SOUL-SEEKERS AND SOUL-HATERS.
+I. A proof of the unnatural condition of the human family.+ When we
look at a human body we see that every limb and organism belonging to
it ministers to the well-being of the whole frame, and thus to the
comfort of the living soul that inhabits it. This we recognise to be
a natural and fitting state of things--just what we should have
expected to find before experience. If in any human body we at any
time see the hand inflicting injury upon the head, or any one member
causing discomfort to another, we conclude, and with reason, that
some disturbance of the natural condition has taken place--that there
is physical disease in some bodily organism, or moral disease in the
spirit that animates the body. So our human instincts and our reason
force us to the conclusion that the natural relation of the members
of the great body of humanity is one in which "each for all and all
for each" should be the rule of action. That it is not so, can but
strike all thinking men and women as a terrible incongruity. That
most men not merely regard their human brethren with indifference,
but that many actually hate and seek to injure their fellow-creatures
is surely an evidence that some fatal moral distemper has laid hold
of the race. And the evidence becomes stronger when we consider the
truth of the first assertion in the proverb--that not only do
bloodthirsty men seek to injure other men in general, but that the
objects of their especial malignity are the upright--those who have
given them no provocation, but whose desire and aim it is to bless
their human brothers and sisters.
+II. An example in renewed men of what human brotherhood ought to
be.+ Notwithstanding the great amount of self-seeking and enmity that
is found in the world, there always has been found a small minority
who have been seekers of the good of others, and in whom love to
their human brethren has been the keynote of existence. And this love
has been felt, and this seeking has been active, in behalf of those
who hated them, and sought to do them ill. All such members of the
human family are doing their part towards restoring men to the
condition of peace and goodwill in which their Creator intended them
to live, and help us to form some idea of what earth would have been
if sin had never entered it. It is true they would then have had no
opportunity of loving their enemies, and of doing good to those who
hate them, but the love which "seeketh not her own" would have found
free scope for her activities in going out towards those animated by
the same spirit of love and would never have had to sorrow over
efforts to seek and save that have been apparently fruitless. All
just men who are seekers of the well-being of others, and especially
those who seek the good of their enemies, are followers of that Just
One who was hated by the bloodthirsty of His day, and who sought
their souls while they sought His life. The history of the martyr
Church in all ages has been the history of the "bloodthirsty hating
the upright," and of the just treading in the footsteps of their
Divine Master, and "seeking the souls" of their persecutors.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
These words may mean--and probably _do_ mean--that the upright, in
opposition to the blood-thirsty by whom the just is hated, "seek his
soul,"--that is, the soul or life of the object of the hatred--of the
just or the upright. Of the Lord Himself it is said--"He loveth the
righteous." And in this all His people resemble Him. It is one of
their characteristic distinctions. They pray for the upright, and
endeavour, by all means in their power, to preserve them from the
deadly machinations of their persecutors. The amount of love required
_of_ God's people _towards_ God's people is that they be ready to
"lay down their lives for the brethren." And if "for _the
brethren_"--how much more for THE JUST ONE.--_Wardlaw._
The just seek his soul. As Paul did of his countrymen the Jews, of
whom five times he received forty stripes save one (2 Cor. xi. 24);
as the disciples did of those spiteful Pharisees that had causelessly
accused them (Matt. xv. 2-12); as that martyr Master Saunders did:
"My lord," said he to Bishop Bonner, "you seek my blood, and you
shall have it. I pray God you may be so baptized in it as hereafter
you may loathe blood-sucking, and so become a better man."--_Trapp._
On the subject of verse 11 see on chap. x. 19-21, page 168.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 12.
A MORAL CANCER IN A KING'S COURT.
+I. A man in authority should be a discerner of character.+ The man
whose bodily sight is defective is not fit to be entrusted with the
destinies of others in any case in which clear vision is needed. A
purblind seaman would not be the man to stand upon the bridge of a
vessel and direct its movements, nor would a general unable to
distinguish friends from foes be a safe person to whom to entrust the
guidance of an army in the field. And a man is manifestly in the
wrong place if he is a ruler over others and is not a discerner of
character.
+II. A man in authority should be the possessor of a character.+ A
ruler may be a good man himself and yet be imposed upon by others,
but as a rule a lover of truth is a discerner of truth, and an honest
man will detect the false ring of the liar's words. But if a man is
himself a liar, he will instinctively shrink from contact with true
men, and true men will not care to hold intercourse with him, or to
serve him, and so he must necessarily gather round him servants who
are like himself. Such processes of attraction and repulsion are
always going on in the world, in all departments of government, in
the family, in the factory, and in the court. The servants are
generally what the master is, and the courtiers reflect the character
of the monarch.
+III. It is therefore indispensable to the moral purity of any
community that its head be first a good man and then an able man.+
Moral excellence is before all other things needful, but it is not
the only thing needful. A good man is not always a keen discerner of
character, although his goodness will strengthen his power of
discernment, but he who _rules_ men should possess in an uncommon
degree the power of _reading_ them as well as that of setting them a
good example in his own life.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
He that carrieth Satan in his ear is no less blameworthy than he
which carrieth him in his tongue. Untruths are cherished and
fostered, as it were, by those who are too light of belief. But this
credulity is especially to be shunned by rulers in church,
commonwealth, or private families; for all the inferiors commonly
follow the example of the superiors. . . . It may indeed sometimes
fall out that an Obadiah may lurk in Ahab's court, but this is rare,
and commonly the sway goeth another way. Who were Saul's courtiers
but Doeg and such backbiters?--_Muffett._
How wise was David's determination--both as the sovereign of his
people and the _ruler_ of his house--to discountenance lies, and
uphold the cause of faithful men! (Ps. ci. 2-7).--_Bridges._
It is natural, when we think of Solomon's own situation as king of
Israel, to expect to find some of his maxims of proverbial wisdom
bearing special reference to the character and conduct of men in
power. And so it is. When, moreover, we think of the wisdom with
which, at the outset of his reign, and at his own earnest request, he
was Divinely endowed, we as naturally anticipate a correspondence
between the maxims and the character. Nor are we disappointed. The
maxims are not those of the selfishness of power,--not those of
arbitrary despotism or the sovereignty of royal will; nor are they
those of an artful, intriguing, Machiavellian policy. They are sound
and liberal, and based on the great principle of the public good
being the end of all government--the principle that kings reign, not
for themselves, but for their people; while, in all their
administration, they ought to be swayed and regulated by the laws of
an authority higher than their own, by a regard to the Will of God as
their rule, and the Glory of God, to which all else must ever be
subordinate, as their supreme aim. But we must not forget, that the
Book of Proverbs forms part of the canon of Inspired Scripture; that
it does not contain, therefore, the mere dictates of human wisdom,
how extraordinary soever that wisdom was; that "a greater than
Solomon is here."--_Wardlaw._
The reigns of those princes who gave an easy belief to accusations,
are stained with the most atrocious crimes. Tiberius Cæsar put to
death the greater number of his own privy councillors, by giving ear
to lies, and encouraging his servants to be wicked; and it is
probable that the worst action that ever was committed since the fall
of Adam, the murder of the Prince of Life, was occasioned by Pilate's
wicked and cowardly regard to the temper of that tyrant, and his fear
of being accused as an encourager of treason, if he had suffered our
Lord to escape.--_Lawson._
Rulers are the looking-glasses according to which most men dress
themselves. Their sins do much hurt, as by imputation (2 Sam.
xxiv.)--the prince sinned, the people suffered--so by imitation; for
man is a creature apt to imitate, and is more led by his eyes than
his ears. . . . Height of place ever adds two wings to sin,
_example,_ and _scandal,_ whereby it soars higher and flies much
further.--_Trapp._
The subject of verse 13 is the same as that of chap. xxii. 22, page
636. The _deceitful_ man should be "the man of usury, money-lender,"
meaning simply the "rich man." (Zöckler.) For subjects of verses 14
and 15, see on chapter xvi. 10-15, page 472, and xiii. 24, page 335,
also on chap. xix. 13-18, page 573.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 16.
VICTORY NOT WITH THE MAJORITY.
+I. There is no necessary connection between numbers and
righteousness.+ Weeds grow faster than wheat, and are much more
abundant than the grain. But the simple fact that there are more
weeds than there is corn does not alter the character of either. In
the same field it may happen that there is more to bind for fuel than
for food--that the tares far outnumber the ears of wheat--and in this
case the worth is on the side of the smaller quantity. So it is in
the moral field of the world. It is a startling fact that under the
government of God the wicked are permitted to multiply--that when a
man sets himself in opposition to his Maker, he is not at once
removed from the earth, but is permitted to live and use his life to
make other men wicked like himself. We may sometimes be inclined to
ask with the patriarch, _"Wherefore do the wicked live, become old,
yea, are mighty in power"_ (Job xxi. 7), and the question may be
difficult for us to answer; but this we must never forget, that
neither with an nor with God is there any necessary connection
between quantity and quality, between worth and abundance.
+II. Neither are numbers any guarantee of victory.+ The greatness of
a tree and the number of its branches do not make it certain that it
will outlive the storm--on the contrary, its great bulk and height
are often the causes of its fall. When the wicked multiply, and so
increase transgression, they sometimes lose sight of their personal
sin and danger in the sin and danger in the multitude, and persuade
themselves that there is safety in numbers. But the very opposite is
the case. Men grow more bold in transgression in proportion as they
are surrounded with other transgressors, and venture to do deeds of
wickedness when in company with others that they would fear to commit
alone. And so the multiplication of the wicked, as it increases
transgression, is the means of hastening their fall instead of
retarding it. It was _"when men began to multiply upon the face of
the earth"_ (Gen. vi. 1) that their wickedness became so great as to
compel God to destroy them by a flood. It was the combination of the
entire Jewish nation that enabled them to commit the crime of
crucifying the Lord of Glory, but it was this "increase of
transgression" that led to their final fall.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Combination emboldens in sin (Isa. xli. 7). Each particle of the mass
is corrupt. The mass therefore of itself ferments with evil. Hence
the prevalence of infidelity in our densely crowded districts above
the more thinly populated villages. There is the same evil in
individual hearts, but not the same fermentation of evil.--_Bridges._
The reference is, in all probability, to the influence of wicked
rulers in promoting the increase of wickedness in the community,
which requires not either illustration or proof.--_"But the righteous
shall see their fall."_--Their fall, that is, _from power and
authority._ It is not the _final fall_--the _perdition_ of the
wicked, that is intended. In that the righteous have _no pleasure._
Herein they resemble God; are of one mind and heart with Him. He
says, and confirms it by His oath--"As I live, saith the Lord, I have
no pleasure in the death of the wicked." In the execution of the
sentence against them, God glorifies Himself; and the righteous
solemnly acquiesce, acknowledging and celebrating the justice of the
Divine administration:--"Even so, Lord God, Almighty, for true and
righteous are Thy judgments!" But pleasure in witnessing the
execution of the sentence, we cannot, we must not, for a moment,
imagine them to have.--_Wardlaw._
Cyrillus Alexandrinus tells us, when man was alone upon the earth
there was then no such matter as sinning. . . . Much company in sin
ever makes more, it being the weakness of man's understanding to fear
little hurt and danger, where many run into it, and it being the
nature of wickedness to take strength from a multitude, as not
fearing then to be opposed or resisted.--_Jermin._
For Homiletics on the subject of verse 17, see on chap. xix. 18,
page 573.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 18.
DIVINE REVELATION AND HUMAN OBEDIENCE.
+I. The human soul needs what it cannot produce.+ If the flower is to
attain to its development of beauty and colour it must have the
sunlight and the rain from without itself--it needs what it has no
power to produce. The husbandman and all mankind need a harvest, but
they have no power within themselves to supply their need; although
they can plough, and plant, and sow, they cannot give the quickening
rays of light and heat which alone can make the seed to live and
grow. The entire human race has spiritual needs which it cannot
supply, and capabilities which must be developed by influences
outside and above itself. It needs a knowledge of God's Nature, and
Will, and Purposes, if it is to grow in moral stature, and blossom
and ripen into moral beauty and fruitfulness, but no human intellect
or heart can acquire this knowledge by its own unaided efforts. If
the human soul is to grow in goodness it must know God, and if it is
to know Him, God must reveal Himself.
+II. God by revelation has supplied man's need.+ This supply men had
a right to look for and expect. He had a right to look to the Creator
of his bodily appetites and needs for the supplies that are necessary
to his physical life and well-being, and he does not look in vain.
God has given the _"earth to the children of men"_ (Psa. cxv. 16),
and every year He causes it to bring forth and bud, not only giving
seed to the sower and bread to the eater, but an abundance of
luxuries for his enjoyment. It is most natural and reasonable to look
to the Giver of all these good things for the body, and expect from
Him the supply of the deeper needs of the soul. We do not think a
human parent does his duty to his child if he only feeds and clothes
him and makes no effort to enlighten his mind and satisfy his heart.
And surely the Great Father of the universe would not be worthy of
His name if He dealt so with the children of whose bodies and souls
He is the Author. But He has not left us thus unprovided for, but
_"at sundry times and in diverse manners_ He has spoken unto men"
(Heb. i. 1), telling them enough of Himself and of themselves to
satisfy their spiritual cravings, and to elevate their spiritual
nature.
+III. It follows that gratitude and self-love should prompt men to
listen to God, and to obey Him.+ If the foregoing assertions are
true, it follows that man must give heed to the revelation of God, or
sustain permanent and irretrievable loss. As he cannot reject the
Divine provision for the body without bodily death, so he cannot
refuse attention to God's provision for his soul without spiritual
ruin--without causing to perish all those powers and faculties of his
highest nature the exercise of which make existence worth having.
Self-love, therefore, should prompt a man to _"keep the law,"_ and if
he do not listen to its voice he has only himself to blame for
missing real happiness. If a man is starving, his best friend can do
no more than supply his need, he must eat the food set before him;
and when God has offered to the children of men that wine and milk
which will satisfy the soul, and cause it to grow, He has done all
that even a God can do (Isa. lv. 1, 2). Man is a self-murderer if he
refuse it.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
He doth not say they may perish, but they do perish; or they are in
danger of perishing, but they do certainly perish where there is no
serious, conscientious, faithful, powerful preaching. . . . These men
perish _temporarily;_ when vision, when preaching ceased among the
Jews, oh, the dreadful calamities and miseries that came upon the
people! . . . There men perish _totally:_ both the bodies and the
souls of men perish where serious conscientious preaching fails
(Hosea iv. 6); _"My people are destroyed for want of
knowledge."_. . . The Papists say that ignorance is the mother of
devotion; but this text tells us that is the mother of
destruction.--_Brooks._
This is only a hypothetical case, for there are no such _"people."_
Nevertheless there is such a principle. Just in proportion as men do
not know they will not be punished. Paul and Solomon are in full
accord. "They that sin without law shall also perish without law; but
they that sin in the law shall be judged by the law" (Rom. ii. 12).
These Proverbs elsewhere have taught the same doctrine (chap.
viii. 36). Men might all perish, but some less terribly, from a
difference of light. All men have some light (Rom. i. 20); and that
which they actually have is all that they shall answer for in the day
of final account. Still there is a form of ignorance that will
exactly proportion our guilt. It is ghostly ignorance, or the absence
of spiritual knowledge. Perhaps I may still say that a man is
punished for what he has, and not for what he has not. A man who
knows of this ignorance, and has light enough to know his need of
light, has enough to give account for in that without being supposed
to suffer for a profound negation. Be this as it may, there is such
an ignorance. It exactly grades our sins. It is the measure of our
depravity. The profounder it sinks we sink. No man need sink or
perish. There is a remedy. "The word is nigh" (us).--_Miller._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 19 _and_ 21.
MASTERS AND SERVANTS.
+I. Human servants generally need correction.+ The relation of master
and servant is generally, though not always, founded upon some
superiority on the one side and inferiority on the other. Where there
is any right adjustment of social relations, those who serve are
those who lack knowledge of some kind which those who rule are able
to impart, and hence arises the necessity of correction on the part
of the master and of submission on that of the servant. It is
undeniable that there are many inversions of this ideal moral order,
but the proverb can only refer to what ought to be, and what _often,_
though not _always,_ is the case.
+II. The means of correction ought to be moral means.+ A servant is a
moral and intelligent agent, and not a machine or a brute, and he can
and ought to appreciate appeals to his reason and conscience. A wise
and humane rider will use his voice to his steed in preference to the
whip or the spur, and generally finds it effectual. And words of
reproof and encouragement are probably the only successful means of
dealing with human nature in this relationship. If these fail, no
others will avail, and all benefit from the connection will cease.
+III. Therefore human masters need much wisdom.+ If they are
over-indulgent the servant may take undue advantage and claim
privileges to which he has no right (ver. 21). In the present
constitution of things in this world, and probably throughout the
universe, there are inequalities of position and rank which no wise
man can ignore, and it is kind and wise to those beneath us to
maintain these differences and distinctions. But to maintain them
without haughtiness, and with that consideration and sympathy which
ought to mark all our intercourse with our fellow-creatures, needs
much wisdom on the part of superiors. Dr. David Thomas suggests
another, and perhaps a pleasanter application of this proverb. "There
is another side," he says, "to the kindness of a master towards his
servant, that is, the making of the servant feel towards him all the
sympathy and interest of a son. . . . He who can make his servant
feel towards him as a loving, faithful, and dutiful child, will reap
the greatest comfort and advantage from his service." But this happy
result can only be brought about where the master is truly wise as
well as kind.
For Homiletics on verses 20 and 22, see on chap. xiv. 17 and 29,
pages 363 and 386. On verse 23, see on chap. xi. 2, page 192, and on
xvi. 18, page 482.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 24.
CRIMINAL PARTNERSHIP.
+I. Partnerships are self-revealing.+ That proverb is an old and true
one--"Tell me what company you keep, and I will tell you what you
are." A man seeks the society and shares the pursuits of those who
are likeminded with himself; if he chooses the fellowship of the good
it shows that there is something in his character that has an
affinity to theirs, and if he willingly associates himself with bad
men, he proclaims himself to be a bad man. Good men do not "walk in
the counsel of the ungodly," or "sit in the seat of the
scornful"--men who are found in such places must be counted among the
ungodly and scornful, although they may be negative rather than
positive sinners.
+II. Criminal partnerships are self-destroying.+ As we have seen,
partners with criminals are criminals themselves in spirit if not in
actual deed, and must therefore meet with the doom of the
transgressor. Probably the proverb is directed against those who
shelter themselves under the idea that those who do not commit the
crime themselves, but only consent to it beforehand, or conceal it
afterwards, are not so very guilty; but this is nowhere the teaching
of Scripture, nor is it the verdict of the human conscience.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
A partnership life is becoming more and more common and necessary in
our commercial England. Great undertakings can only be carried out by
companies. Modern legislation has greatly encouraged these
combinations, by limiting the monetary liability of its members.
Hence, joint-stock companies are multitudinous and multiplying. Such
companies are often, perhaps generally, projected and managed by
selfish, needy, and unprincipled speculators; and honest men are
often tempted by the glowing promises of their lying programmes to
become their adherents, and they soon find themselves in the
unfortunate position referred to in the text.--_Dr. David Thomas._
The _receiver_ and _resetter_ is at least as guilty as the thief. I
say _at least;_ for in one obvious respect he is worse. His is a
general trade, which gives encouragement to many thieves, by holding
out to them the means of disposing of their stolen property and
evading the law. He is thus, in fact, a partaker in the guilt of all.
One thief cannot set up and maintain a resetter; but one resetter may
keep at their nefarious trade many thieves.--_Wardlaw._
There is a warning under the eighth commandment. Do we realise the
same solemnity of obligation as under the first? Many professors
attach a degree of secularity to a detailed application of the duties
of the second table. But both stand on the same authority. The
transgressions of both are registered in the same book. The place in
the Decalogue cannot be of moment, if it be but there with the
imprimatur--"I am the Lord thy God."--_Bridges._
It is the cursed policy of Satan, that he strives to join men in
wickedness. In drunkenness there must be a good fellow; in wantonness
there must be a corrival; in bloody duels there must be a second; in
theft there must be a partner, yoking men together to draw upon
themselves the heavy burden of God's displeasure. . . . Wherefore,
although it may be a love unto the things stolen, or else a love unto
the stealer, which maketh others to join with him, certainly he
showeth little love to God's law, certainly he proveth great hatred,
which he has to his own soul. For while he joineth with another in
stealing some worldly goods, he joineth with Satan in stealing his
own soul from himself. And whatsoever fear he may have of some
_curse_ which the other hath laid upon him, if that he doth reveal
it, he hath much more cause to feel the _curse of God's wrath,_ if he
doth conceal it. He hath but _heard_ the one, he shall _feel_ the
other.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 25 _and_ 26.
SAFETY FROM A SNARE.
+I. Men fear and hope too much from their fellow men.+ This fear and
this hope are very active agents in this world, influencing men often
to abstain from what they know to be right, and inducing them to do
deeds of evil. Good men have often staggered and sometimes fallen
before this fear and have been misled by this false hope, and both
the hope and the fear are intensified when the object of them belongs
to the ranks of the conventionally great--when the man whom they
desire to propitiate is a _"ruler"_ among his fellows. Such a man
sometimes has the power to injure those who displease him, and has
also much that he can bestow upon those who seek his favour; but the
weight of his displeasure and the worth of his gifts are generally
estimated far too highly by his inferiors in rank, and when this is
the case they are snares which lead to sin.
+II. Trust in God is the only escape from the fear that will mislead,
and the hope that will disappoint.+ The many and the great contrasts,
not only between the favour of God and the favour of man, but between
all that is connected with the seeking and the bestowal, will lead
every wise man to forsake the pursuit of the less for the greater.
1. _The favour of an earthly ruler is often obtained only by the
exercise of great skill on the part of the seeker._ When the woman of
Tekoa desired to obtain from David the forgiveness of Absalom, what
ingenuity on her part was necessary in order to gain the monarch's
ear and goodwill. She had to study how to put the case before him in
the best light, and to enact a little drama before his eyes in order
to enlist his attention and soften his heart. And yet she was
pleading with a tender-hearted father for his own son. How different
it is when we plead for the mercy of God either for ourselves or
others. The simplest statement of the case is sufficient; no schemes
or plans of any kind are necessary to win the ear of Him who is
always waiting to be gracious. 2. _Success with an earthly ruler is
often unconnected with the merit or demerit of the pleader._ It often
happens that the most worthless characters obtain the greatest
favours, even if the ruler himself be a fairly impartial man, because
they have more friends at court than a deserving man. In the case
just mentioned, Absalom, a thoroughly bad man, was able to command
the services of a person who was probably more fitted to gain the
desired end than any person in the kingdom. If there had been a
banished subject who really merited a free pardon from the king, he
would probably not have been able to command the services of so
successful a pleader as the woman of Tekoa. But the case is
altogether different with Him who doth not _"judge after the sight of
His eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of His ears"_ (Isa.
xi. 3). The "judgment which cometh from the Lord" is founded on the
strictest impartiality, and depends upon nothing but the character
and needs of the suitor. If we add to these drawbacks the uncertain
good which may be contained in the "favour of a ruler" even after it
is obtained, we may well wonder that it is as true now as in
Solomon's days that the "many" seek it, and only the few trust their
earthly and their spiritual interests with their God. How many of the
few who are not disappointed _of_ the favour of great men are
disappointed _in_ it, and find it a poor and unsatisfying portion
after all; but the testimony of all those who seek the higher good is
_"In Thy favour is life, and Thy lovingkindness is better than life"_
(Psa. xxx. 5; Psa. lxiii. 3).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
To those who look out upon society from the standpoint of trust in
God, the greatest magnates of the world will appear only as
grasshoppers. . . . He who can say, "Surely my judgment is with the
Lord," will stand before his race with undaunted heroism, and before
his God with devotion. Conscious dependence on the Almighty is the
spirit of independence towards men.--_Dr. David Thomas._
The fear of man leads you into a snare, and will the fear of God make
you safe? No; if the character of the affection remains the same, you
will gain nothing by a change of object. If you simply turn round and
fear God as you feared men you have not thereby escaped. The fear of
the greater Being is the greater fear. The weight presses in the same
direction, and it is heavier by all the difference between the finite
and the infinite. . . . It is not a transference of fear from man to
God that can make the sinner safe. The kind of affection must be
changed, as well as its object. Safety lies not in terror, but in
trust. Hope leads to holiness. He who is made nigh to God by the
death of His Son stands high above the wretched snares that entangled
his feet when he feared men. The sovereign's son is safe from the
temptation to commit petty theft. . . . When you know in whom you
have believed, and feel that any step in life's journey hereafter may
be the step into heaven, the fear of this man and the favour of that
will exert no sensible influence in leading you to the right hand or
to the left.--_Arnot._
Albeit faith, when it is in the heart, quelleth and killeth
distrustful fear, and is therefore fitly opposed to it in this sacred
sentence; yet in the very best sense it fights sore against faith
when it is upon its own dunghill. I mean in a sensible danger.
Nature's retraction of itself from a visible fear, may cause the
pulse of a Christian that beats truly and strongly in the main
point--the state of the soul--to intermit and falter at such a time,
as we see in the examples of Abraham, Isaac, David, Peter, and
others. . . . The chameleon is said to be the most fearful of all
creatures, and doth therefore turn himself into so many colours to
avoid danger, which yet will not be. God equally hateth the timorous
and the treacherous. "Fearful" men are the first in that black roll
(Rev. xxi. 8).--_Trapp._
There is a higher step to be taken before we can well step so high;
there is the favour of God to be procured before the favour of the
ruler can well be obtained. For kings are but God's kingdoms; as they
reign over their people, so He reigneth over them; as they sit on the
throne of their kingdom, so He sitteth on the throne of their hearts,
and by a distributive justice dispenseth the _judgment_ of his and
their favours according as it seemeth good to His eternal wisdom. The
favour therefore of thy ruler is worth thy seeking for; but first
seek and get God's favour, if thou wilt get and enjoy the other to
thy happiness. And when thou hast gotten it, remember that it was
God's hand which directed the king's hand to reach it forth unto
thee. For it is too commonly seen, as one speaketh, "Then doth God
especially slip out of the minds of men, when they enjoy His benefits
and favours."--_Jermin._
For Homiletics on verse 27, see on chap. xxviii. 4.
* * * * * *
CHAPTER XXX.
CRITICAL NOTES.--+1. Agur.+ There have been many conjectures about
this person. Many consider that it is a figurative name, and some
have adopted the old Jewish tradition that it is an allegorical
designation of Solomon. "The name," says Delitzsch, "means _'the
gathered'_" (see chap. vi. 3, x. 5), also _"the collector,"_ or the
word might mean, perhaps "industrious in collecting." +The son of
Jakeh,+ etc. Stuart and Zöckler adopt here the reading of Hitzig and
others, and read _"The son of her who was obeyed in Massa (or the
princess of Massa): I have toiled for, or carried myself about, God,
and have ceased."_ For their reasons the student is referred to their
commentaries, where the subject is discussed at great length. Ithiel
and Ucal signify respectively _"God with me,"_ and _"the son of the
mighty,"_ and the common opinion is that they were Agur's disciples.
From the great differences between the language and style of the last
two chapters of the book, and those which have preceded them, most
scholars believe that they were written outside the land of
Palestine. Zöckler thinks that "Agur and Lemuel might very properly
be regarded as Arabian-Israelitish shepherd-princes or kings of a
colony of Israelites of the tribe of Simeon that had emigrated to
northern Arabia." (See 1 Chron. lv. 38-43; Micah i. 15, ii. 8, 10.)
Delitzsch suggests that they were "Ishmaelites who had raised
themselves above the religion of Abraham, and recognised the religion
of Israel as its completion." +2. Brutish,+ _i.e.,_ without reason.
+10.+ Stuart and Zöckler here read "Cause not a servant to slander
his master." Delitzsch agrees with the English version.
+15. Horseleach,+ or "_vampire,_ an imaginary spectre or ghost,
supposed to suck the blood of children." _(Stuart.)_ +15+ and
+16.+ On these verses, Dr. Aiken, the American translator of the
Proverbs for Lange's Commentary, remarks, "As compared with the
numerical proverbs which follow, the complexity and the more
artificial character of the one before us at once arrests attention.
They all have this in common, that whatever moral lesson they have to
convey is less obvious, being hinted rather than stated. . . . In the
one now under consideration, insatiable desire and the importance of
its regulation seem to be the remote object. In the development,
instead of the 'three things' and 'four things' which repeatedly
appear afterwards, we have the 'leech,' its two daughters, the three
and the four. Some have regarded the two daughters as representing
physical characteristics of the bloodsucker, others as expressing by
an Orientalism a doubly intense craving. Parallelism suggests making
the first two of the four the two daughters; other allusions of the
Scripture to the greediness of the world of the dead justify the
first, while the second alone belong to human nature." +23. Odious,+
_or unloved._ +26. Conies.+ A gregarious animal of the class
Pachydermata, which is found in Palestine living in the caves or
clefts of the rocks. Its scientific name is _Hyrax Syriacus_. . . .
It is like the Alpine marmot, scarcely the size of a domestic cat,
having long hair, a very short tail, and round ears _(Smith's
Biblical Dictionary)._ +28. Spider.+ Most commentators translate
_"lizard."_ Delitzsch reads, _"The lizard thou canst catch with the
hands, and yet it is in the king's palaces."_ +29. Go well,+ rather,
"are of stately walk." +31.+ Delitzsch renders the last clause of
this verse:--_"A king with whom is calling out of the host."_
NOTE.--The following is Miller's unique translation of the first four
verses of this chapter with his reasons for the same, and the
teaching which he sees in the passage. "It struck us that we would
take the simple Hebrew and inquire its meaning. We would accept
nothing as a proper name till we found it destitute of sense; and,
following no intricate conceits, we would fail of a directer meaning
before we went into anything more difficult. It is astonishing how
facile the result. We believe that all was the work of Solomon. We
believe there was no such man as _Agur,_ except that great man Jesus
Christ. We believe there was no such king as _Lemuel._ We believe
everything is the work of Solomon as much as any other proverb. If it
appear Arabic or extra-Hebraic no matter. Solomon gathered his
materials over a wide surface. We believe it is distinctly what it
says, _The prophecy._ We count it as all finished in the four first
verses, and _Jakeh_ and _Ithiel,_ and _Ucal_ and _Muel_ in the next
chapter (verse i. 4). We would be quite willing to read it that way,
if, like _Lo-ammi_ in the prophet, or _Lo-ruhamah,_ words confessedly
significant (Hosea i. 8, 9), it were thought euphonious or wise to
give them without a translation. But what the Hebrews saw why not our
people see? Certain it is that the words to a Hebrew were about as
follow:--
"1. Words of I-fear, Son of the Godly: The prophecy:--
The Strong Man speaks to God-with-me, to God-with-me
and to I-am-able.
2. Forasmuch as I am more brutish as to myself, than a
man of the better sort,
and have not the intelligence of a common man.
3. and have not been taught wisdom and yet know the
knowledge of holy things.
4. who has gone up to heaven and come down?
who has gathered the winds in his fists?
who has bound the waters in a garment?
who has set firm all the extremities of the earth?
what is his name, and what is his son's name?
Because, Thou knowest.
"Let us examine, first, the language, and then the result as to the
sense. _I-fear._ This is the very simplest Hebrew. It actually occurs
in Deuteronomy (chap. xxxii. 27). The verb is the familiar one בדּ ך,
which means primarily _to turn out of the way._ And this _turning out
of the way_ for danger is a prudent and innocent character of _fear.
Agur_ therefore, or _I-fear,_ with the light we get afterward, marks
himself as the _Strong Man_ of the next clause; the _Son of the
Godly,_ because descended out of the loins of the Church (see Rev.
xii. 5); and the _Man_--just as _Muel_ (chap. xxxi. 1) is God and
man--contemplating the low humanity of Christ, which is about to
express its wonder at its amazing knowledge. _Godly;_ from a root
meaning to venerate: _Jakeh_ is in the singular, and means the _pious
one;_ which keeps in view what is too often forgotten, that Christ
was not the son of the abandoned, but, as His mother expresses it
(chap. xxxi. 2), the _son of my vows. The Prophecy;_ not needfully
_prediction,_ as in the present case, but an _oracle, vision,_ or
_inspired elation_ of any kind. The words that follow constitute _the
prophecy_ for though the speech of the _Man_-Christ does not begin
till the second verse, the very names in the next clause are
predictive; and the most vitally so of the whole of the vision. _The
Strong Man;_ strong, though weak; strong because he sees in himself
such wonderful conditions. The word _strong_ is implied in the noun
that is selected. _Speaks;_ oracularly. It is the solemn, poetic, and
in fact, rare expression. _To-God-with-me._ That the Man-Christ
should address the Deity has innumerable precedents. If it were
necessary, we could imagine the Human Nature as addressing the Divine
Nature; for that really occurs in high Eastern vision, in the Book of
Zechariah (chap. iii. 4, 6, 7, 8). In lofty texts, like this, it is
perfectly admissible. Christ speaks of His Divine Nature (John
iii. 13); and speaks of it as being where the Man Christ Jesus was
not, viz., in Heaven. But the fourth verse of this chapter mentions
both Father and Son; and therefore in this, which is so near it, it
is not necessary to distinguish. _The Strong Man_ speaks to the _God_
which was _with_ (Him), and calls Him _Ucal,_ which means
_I-am-able._ There was a powerful Divinity in Christ, and that He was
wondering about. His mother repeats the wonder in the after case
(chap. xxxi. 2). The whole is a grand _Prophecy_ of Christ in the
form of a grand inquiry. _Agur_ makes it of _Ithiel._ That is, the
_Man, I-fear,_ goes searching into the _God-with-me._ There is an
_I-fear_ part and an _I-am-able_ part, of His one Grand Person; and
these parts speak even in the New Testament with the humility (John
v. 19) and with the splendour (John viii. 58) that belong to each.
_Forasmuch as;_ the simple particle _because. I am more brutish, i.e._
more the mere untaught animal. _As to Myself, i.e._ as to my human
self; for it is the _Strong Man_ that speaks. The emphasis is laid by
the mere expression of the pronoun. _Than a man of the better sort;_
than an educated, refined man, which Christ was not. _And have not
the intelligence of a common man._ That is, he had not the education
usually given to the more lowly. The _commonness_ of the humanity is
expressed again by the noun. _And have not been taught wisdom._ Here
the emphasis is on _taught. And yet know the knowledge of holy
things._ The meaning of the whole is, that he has singular light. He
confronted the doctors in the temple, and, as a little child, was a
miracle. Whence came this? This is what the prophecy represents as a
surprise. _Who has gone up to Heaven and come down?_ Somebody has.
_The Strong Man_ addresses this appeal to the _God-with-me;_ and ends
it significantly;--Who is it? _Because Thou knowest._ One word back
in the third verse:--_know the knowledge._ We have not altered this,
nor said _have the knowledge,_ which would be better English, because
this seems the intentional form. The words that Christ gave to His
disciples, God gave to Him; and Christ, in saying so, would include
all senses; the outer word; the inner word; the outward blessed
revelation, and the inner teaching. _He knew the knowledge; i.e.,_ He
discerned in perfect ways what the Spirit without measure was there
to impart. _Going up to heaven, gathering the wind, binding the
waters, and setting firm the extremities of the earth,_ were the work
of a Divinity. Some Divinity had been at work upon Him. He applies to
the _Able One,_ to the _God with Him,_ to explain a low man's
wonderful knowledge, and then adds, as significant of the reply,
_Because Thou knowest._"
The extract is given here, not because we agree with Miller's view of
the passage, but as affording a specimen of the mode of
interpretation which he adopts throughout the book.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 1-9.
THE SOURCE OF TRUE HUMILITY.
+I. In proportion as men know God they confess they know Him not.+ A
child looks above his head at the midnight sky and he concludes that
the stars that he sees are only so many shining points which have no
use beyond that of beautifying the heavens and giving a little light
to our world. He does not think that there is any more to know about
the stars, but this conclusion of his is based upon complete
ignorance. How different is the attitude of the astronomer in
relation to the stars. He has good reason to believe that each one is
a sun like unto that which makes the centre of our own system of
planets, and this enlarged knowledge enables him to form some idea of
how much he has to learn about them, and so draws from him such a
confession of ignorance as a child would never utter. He realises
that what he knows is nothing in comparison with what there is to
know, and it is his increased knowledge which makes him feel thus. So
men who never reflect upon the nature or character of God have no
conception of the height and depth of the knowledge of the Infinite,
and hence have no conception of their ignorance concerning Him. It is
only the man who has in some degree apprehended the greatness of his
Maker that has any idea of how far he is from comprehending Him, and
his consciousness of ignorance increases with his growth in the
knowledge of God. Agur, who here declares that he has no "knowledge
of the Holy," and is "without understanding" on the highest and
deepest subjects, was evidently a man who had endeavoured by
searching to find out God, and his confession is the result of his
knowledge and not of his ignorance. But what he knew only served to
show him how much remained unknown.
+II. Therefore humility is the great sign of high attainments in
Divine knowledge, and those who know most will be the most able and
willing to be taught more.+ Humility is the effect of the most
thorough acquaintance with any subject, and of the most profound
meditation upon it. When men utter their opinions in the spirit of
self-conceit, and are lifted up by their acquirements, we must
ascribe it to their ignorance and not to their knowledge. Those who
have learned most are the most teachable scholars and the first to
welcome instruction from whatever source it may come. If we were to
tell a savage of the wonderful capabilities of electricity he would
most likely look upon us with contempt, and refuse to believe our
statements; but if we were to speak to an experienced electrician
about some new theory or discovery in relation to it he would not
turn from us in disdain simply because he was unacquainted with it,
but would gladly welcome any new light upon the subject. This is
pre-eminently the case in the knowledge of all that relates to the
Divine Being. When He becomes the object and subject of study and
contemplation--when a creature who had no existence a few years ago
seeks to know Him who is God _from everlasting to everlasting_ he
finds himself embarked upon an ocean without a shore, and is
compelled to exclaim: _"Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, it is
high, I cannot attain unto it"_ (Psa. cxxxix. 6). His humble
reverence will always be in proportion to the progress that he has
made. He who knew as much about God and His dealings as any man who
ever lived, gave, as the result of his researches, that _"His ways
are past finding out,"_ and was led by it to ascribe to Him _"glory
for ever"_ (Rom. xi. 33-36); and all who have trodden the same path,
either before or after him, have arrived at the same conclusion, and
have acquired the same spirit of humility. And this is the spirit
which makes a man willing and therefore able to receive a higher and
deeper revelation. Because he knows that he has not "already
attained"--that there is no comparison between what he knows and what
there is to know--his mind is ever open to receive new instruction,
and he welcomes any means by which he can advance a step nearer to
that _"light which no man can approach unto,"_ and catch a fresh
glimpse of Him _"whom no man hath seen or can see"_ (1 Tim. vi. 16).
+III. The unsearchableness of God is no hindrance to practical
godliness.+ If Agur could not know all that he desired about God, he
knew enough to trust Him, and enough to make him desire to serve Him.
He could from experience testify that God had spoken to men, and that
His word was to be depended on, and that there was a reward to those
who kept it. If God is unknowable in some aspects of His nature,
godly men in all ages have found him a shield in danger, and a rock
of certainty, upon which it is safe to rest. Although Agur could not
ascend into heaven and read the secrets of the other world, he felt
that he could strive to walk with God in this world, and the effect
of a real conviction of the greatness and majesty of God is not to
drive men from Him but to draw them near in holy living as well as in
humble adoration.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 2. This was true humility, that like true balm ever sinks to
the bottom, when hypocritical, as oil, swims on the top. . . . He
that looks intently on the sun hath his eyes dazzled; so he that
beholds the infinite excellencies of God, considers the distance,
cannot but be sensible of his own naughtiness, nothingness. It is fit
the foundation should be laid deep, where the building is so high!
Agur's humility was not more low than his aims lofty: "Who hath
ascended up to heaven?" It is a high pitch that he flies, for he knew
well that godliness, as it begins in a right knowledge of ourselves,
so it ends in a right knowledge of God.--_Trapp._
Verse 4. The discourse is philosophically accurate, as well as
religiously devout. It is through the mutual relations of air, earth,
and water, that the Supreme Ruler gives or withholds the food of man
(verse 8). These three, each in its own place and proportion, are
alike necessary to the growth of grain, and consequently to the
sustenance of life. . . . The earth is the basis of the whole
operation. . . . Alike in its creation and its arrangement, its
material and its form, the final cause of the earth has obviously
been the growth of vegetation and the support of life. But the earth
could not bear fruit at any portion of its surface without the
concurrence of water; and how shall the supply of this necessary
element be obtained? "Who hath bound the waters in a garment?" Again
the clouds and showers, the springs and streams, with one voice
answer, "God." So wide is the dry land, and so low lies the water in
its ocean storehouse, that we could not even conceive how the two
could be made to meet, unless we had seen the cosmical hydraulics in
actual operation from day to day and from year to year. Here lies the
earth, rising into mountains and stretching away in valleys, but
absolutely incapable, by itself, of producing food for any living
thing. There lies the sea, held by its own gravity helpless in its
place, heaving and beating on the walls of its prison-house, but
unable to rise and go to the help of a barren land. . . . In this
strait--when the land could not come to the water and the water could
not come to the land--a Mediator was found, perfectly qualified for
the task. "Who hath gathered the wind in His fists?" The air goes
between the two, and brings them together for beneficent ends. The
atmosphere softly leans on the bosom of the deep, and silently sucks
itself full. The portion so charged then moves away with its precious
burden, and pours it out partly on the plains but chiefly on the
vertebral mountain ranges. Thus the continents are watered from their
centres to the sea.--_Arnot._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 5 _and_ 6.
THE WORD OF GOD.
+I. God has given man a knowledge of His Character and Will.+
Although, as we have just seen from the preceding verses, God is so
great and incomprehensible in His nature, there is a knowledge of Him
which is possible to man and which he possesses. This seems
reasonable before experience. If a man built a vessel which he
intended to send his son to navigate across an unknown sea, we should
conclude beforehand that he would put a compass in the vessel. And we
should likewise conclude before experience that a just God would not
build a world, and call into existence a creature like man to dwell
in it, without furnishing him with a compass by which to guide his
life--a revelation and a law by obedience to which he can be blest
and saved. And what might have been expected has come to pass. God
has spoken, and has thus met human expectation and human need. Agur
recognised this fact in the days of old, and we, to whom in these
last days God has spoken by His Son (Heb. i. 1), have a clearer
revelation. In answer to Agur's question, _"Who hath ascended up into
heaven, or descended,"_ we can bring the words of Christ, _"No man
hath ascended up to heaven but He that came down from heaven, even
the Son of Man which is in heaven"_ (John iii. 13), and in the record
of His life and death obtain the fullest and clearest revelation of
God that it is possible for Him to give and for us to receive.
+II. The Word of God is what of necessity it must be.+ The sun is in
its nature light, and therefore rays of light must proceed from it.
That which flows from it must of necessity be of the same nature as
the sun whence it comes, and the fountain of natural light being pure
the streams which flow from it must be pure also. When human words
are a reflection of the human soul, and _"out of the abundance of the
heart the mouth speaketh"_ (Matt. xii. 34), the spoken word must be
of the same nature and character as the inward feelings. The purity
of the outward word will be in proportion to the purity of the inner
life. God is moral light--_"In Him is no darkness at all"_ (1 John
i. 5)--therefore, rays of moral light must flow from Him; all that
proceeds from Him must be, like Himself, perfectly free from all
shadow of moral imperfection.
+III. Because the Word of God is what it is, it must be carefully
preserved from human additions.+ It is manifest that nothing that man
can add to what God has said can make His Word more fitted to a
man's needs, any more than any intervention of man can make the sun
more perfectly adapted to human vision. It is therefore a criminal
act for any creature to add to the Divine Word by putting his own
ideas on an equality with the revealed thoughts of God, and most
foolish for him to expect them to have the same power on the heart
and conscience as Divine words have. _"The law of the Lord is
perfect, converting the soul"_ (Psa. xix. 7), and man must not tamper
with its perfection. _"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God,
and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness. That the man of God may be perfect,
thoroughly furnished unto all good works"_ (2 Tim. iii. 16, 17). The
fact that it comes from God is a guarantee that blessing will come
from seeking to understand and obey it, and condemnation by seeking
to improve it by human addition.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
It is the saying of Tertullian, "This is the first thing which we
believe, that there is nothing beside God's word to be
believed.". . . At least it must not be taught or received, _as added
to His words,_ either as of equal authority with them, or as
supposing any defect in them. . . . He therefore that addeth to God's
words, shall add unto his own words the just and sharp reproof of God
upon them; and whatsoever any may think to find by the doing of it,
he shall himself therefore be found a liar. Search them thou mayest
to find the depth of them, explain them thou mayest that others may
be able to find the meaning of them: but in searching, in explaining,
let nothing be added that is contrary to them. . . . For what can he
be but a liar that opposeth truth itself?--_Jermin._
The learner is far in advance of his starting-point now. He set out
in quest of knowledge to gratify a curious intellect; he ends it by
finding rest for a troubled soul. He addressed himself successively
to the air, and the water, and the earth; but they were all dumb.
They sent back to him only the echo of his own cry. Turning next to
the Scriptures, he finds what he sought and more. His darkness
vanishes, and his danger too. No sooner has he learned that the Word
is pure than he learns that the Speaker is gracious.--_Arnot._
There is, perhaps, in the expression here a more immediate reference
to the _unmingled truth_ of God's Word. This suits the connection
with what follows:--"He is _a shield_ unto them that put their trust
in Him." _Scepticism_ and _infidelity_ unsettle the mind. They leave
it without confidence and without security. The mind under their
influence is like a vessel that has drifted from its moorings, and
has been left to drive out to sea, without rudder and without
anchor,--unmanned, and at the mercy of the winds and waves and
currents:--or, to keep nearer to the allusion in the verse under
comment, it is like a soldier in the thick and peril of the battle
_without a shield,_ in danger from every arrow that flies, and every
sword that is raised against him. They make their unhappy subject the
sport and the victim of every delusive theory and every temptation of
Satan. Hence such expressions as that of Paul to the
Ephesians:--"Over all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall
be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked." God is the
"SHIELD" of all who trust in Him. And it is the _trust,_--it is the
firm _faith in God,_--that imparts the feeling of security. So, what
is here said of God himself is said of His _truth_ or
_faithfulness:_--"His _truth_ shall be thy _shield_ and _buckler._"
God could not be "a shield," though His power be almighty, unless He
were _faithful._ It is His faithfulness that renders Him the object
of _trust._ And when this view of God's faithfulness is such as to
impart _perfect trust_--the spirit, calm and tranquil, feels as if it
were under the protection of an all-covering shield.--_Wardlaw._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 7-9.
THE MIDDLE WAY.
+I. A desire that our circumstances should be favourable to our
godliness reveals a soul alive to the meaning of existence.+ The man
who values his health more than his raiment, and is more anxious to
keep his body in a fit condition to work than to clothe it in purple
and fine linen, reveals that he rightly estimates the comparative
value of the two, and values most that which is worth most. But no
man attains to a right estimate of the comparative worth of all that
belongs to him until he values his character more than all things
else, and is willing to suffer the loss of all his other possessions
in order to preserve that. He is a wise man who, in the choice of
clothes, considers first what will conduce to health; but the highest
wisdom is that which leads a man in choosing--so far as he is
able--his position in life, to consider first of all what will be
favourable to his soul's welfare. Such a man reveals that he has made
the all-important discovery that the chief end of man is to glorify
God, and that he can do this only by a holy life. He therefore makes
it the aim of his life to say in deed as well as in word "Hallowed be
thy name;" for he has learned the lesson of the text, that anything
less than perfect dependence upon God is a denial of Him, and any act
of doubtful integrity is "taking His name in vain."
+II. A prayer that our circumstances may be thus favourable, reveals
a soul conscious of its own weakness.+ There can be no doubt that a
man's confidence in God ought to be so strong as to remain unshaken
in the most adverse circumstances, and his spirituality ought to be
deep enough to remain uninjured in the greatest temporal prosperity,
but this is but seldom the case. All sincere and humble servants of
God acknowledge their proneness to yield to temptation, and the more
vital their godliness, the more earnestly do they put up the
petition, _"Lead me not into temptation."_ Paul could say without
boastfulness, _"I know both how to be abased, and I know how to
abound. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me"_
(Phil. iv. 12, 13), but there have been but few men who would say
this with truth, and those who have been most like him in spirit have
been the most ready to acknowledge the danger of being exposed to
either extreme. A very robust man can keep in perfect health either
in the arctic regions or in the torrid zone, but there is most safety
in living in a region between these two extremes, and the wisest men
acknowledge this, and unless duty calls them, prefer the latter to
either of the former. So a man of God, although he hopes that he
might be found faithful in any circumstances, reveals a right spirit
of humility when he puts up the prayer of Agur. For he knows that the
tempter of men is most skilful in using our circumstances against our
godliness, and that both great wealth and extreme poverty are weapons
which he can use with great skill.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 7. Agur re-enforces his request. It was honest, else he would
never have begun it; but being so, he is resolved to follow it. So
Jacob would have a blessing, and therefore wrestles with might and
slight; and this he doth in the night and alone, and when God was
leaving him, and upon one leg. . . . When poor men ask us two things
we think we deal well if we grant the one. Few are Naamans that when
you beg one talent will force you to take two. But God heaps mercies
on his suppliants, and blames them for their modesty in
asking.--_Trapp._
Verse 8. We are not only to pray for the removal of sin, but for the
removal of it at a great distance from us. As God removes it far away
in pardon, the soul that abhors sin desires to have it far removed
from the heart and life. Our Lord reaches us not only to pray against
sin, but against temptation; for there is a strong inclination in the
hearts of men to comply with temptations when they are presented to
the soul. If a man has a bag of powder in his hands, he will
certainly wish to keep at a distance from the fire.--_Lawson._
Food convenient is obviously not a fixed measure. It implies, not a
bare sufficiency for natural life, but a provision varying according
to the calling in which God has placed us. "If Agur be the master of
a family, then that is his competency, which is sufficient to
maintain his wife, children, and household. If Agur be a public
person, a prince or a ruler of the people; then that is Agur's
sufficiency, which will conveniently maintain him in that condition."
Jacob when "he had become two bands," evidently required more than
when in his earlier life "with his staff he had passed over Jordan"
(Gen. xxxii. 10). What was sufficient for himself alone, would not
have been sufficient for the many that were then dependent upon him.
The immense provisions for Solomon's table, considering the vast
multitude of his dependents, might be only a competency for the
demand (1 Kings iv. 22). The distribution of the manna was _food
convenient_--nothing too much, but no deficiency--"He that gathered
much had nothing over; and he that gathered little had no lack"
(Exod. xvi. 18). And thus, in the daily dispensation of Providence, a
little may be a sufficiency to one, while an overflowing plenty is no
superfluity to another. Only let Christian self-denial, not depraved
appetite, be the standard of competency.--_Bridges._
Verse 9. Many in their low estate could serve God, but now resemble
the moon, which never suffers eclipse but at her full, and that is by
the earth's interposition between the sun and herself.--_Trapp._
For Homiletics on the subject of verse 10 see on chap. xxiv. 28, 29,
page 689.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 11-17.
FOUR MANIFESTATIONS OF UNGODLINESS.
+I. Children without natural affection.+ Parents that have the
disposition and character which God intends them to possess are the
best reflection of God that a child can look upon in a fallen world.
A son or daughter can by no other means so well come to understand
the fatherhood of God as by considering the tenderness and
self-sacrifice of good human parents, and hence the Saviour in His
most beautiful parable (Luke xv.) uses this relationship to set forth
the depth and strength of Divine love to sinful men. He who treats
such love lightly, therefore, despises the love of Him who instituted
the relationship of parent and child to minister to human happiness
and to elevate human character. The man or woman who is guilty of
this crime reveals a heart incapable of worthy emotion, and a
conscience dead to all the claims of duty. Such an unnatural being
must fail in all his other relationships--he cannot be a good husband
or faithful friend, or worthily fulfil any of the more public duties
of life. A man who was found wanting here, was, in the Hebrew
commonwealth, regarded as rotten at the very core of his moral
nature, and condemned to suffer the extreme penalty of the law (Deut.
xxi. 18-21). Thus God puts the rebellious child on a level with the
murderer and blasphemer, and the terrible threatening passed here
upon one who disregards the fifth commandment is another proof of the
greatness of the sin in the eyes of God. In verse 17 such a sentence
is passed upon an undutiful child as is scarcely paralleled in
Scripture. Even the body which was the home of so unnatural a soul
shall be exposed to ignominy and contempt.
+II. Self-deceivers.+ This is a manifestation of ungodliness, which
is in some degree common to all men whose inner vision has not been
set right by Divine grace. All unrenewed men are more or less like
the ancient Laodiceans, who thought they had need of nothing, but who
were in reality so spiritually blind that they could not see their
spiritual nakedness (Rev. iii. 15). It is those who are "not washed
from their filthiness" that are "pure in their own eyes," for they
are in the condition of spirit described by the apostle John--they
_"walk in darkness,"_ and _"that darkness hath blinded their eyes"_
(1 John ii. 11). But it is their own fault if they remain in this
condition of blindness. A man may be born into this world with weak
or impaired vision, but there may be means within his reach whereby
the defect may be remedied and he become capable of seeing things as
they are. By coming under the influence of those who can see well
themselves and who can help him to sight also, he may be brought from
a state of comparative darkness to one of light, and if with these
opportunities within his reach he become worse instead of better, and
at last totally blind, his blindness is a crime and not a misfortune.
So, although it is true that we all come into this world with our
spiritual perceptions defective and impaired, we are blameworthy in
the highest degree if we do not put ourselves in contact with the
moral light which God has placed within our reach, and we shall in
time come to the condition of the Jewish nation in the days of the
prophet and in the time of Christ (Isa. vi. 9; Matt. xiii. 14),
_"seeing, we shall see, and shall not perceive."_ For _"the light
which lighteneth every man"_ (John i. 9) has come into the world; and
when His Word is allowed free access to man's heart and conscience it
opens his spiritual eyes as the morning sun playing upon the bodily
eyes of the sleeper arouses him to life and consciousness.
Self-deception, therefore, is a _sin,_ and a sin inseparable from
ungodliness.
+III. The proud.+ This sin is the natural outcome of the one just
mentioned. If a man has no sense of his state before God, he will
have no right conception of his position in relation to his
fellow-creatures. The eyes that cannot discern their own moral
defilement will certainly look disdainfully upon others. He who thus
dishonours his God will certainly despise his brother, and the less a
man has to be proud of, the prouder he will be. (On the subject of
pride see on chap. xi. 2, and xiii. 10, pages 192 and 305.)
+IV. The cruel and covetous.+ Man's rapacity and selfishness are set
forth in verses 15 to 17 in very strong terms. His greediness and
cruelty are compared to that of a creature the sole end of whose
existence is to gorge itself with blood; to the ever open grave; to
swords and knives, etc. We know too well that this picture is not
overdrawn. Nothing that man can imagine in the form of cruelty can
surpass what man has been guilty of, and such ingenuity has he
sometimes displayed in this direction that one is constrained to
believe that he has been inspired by a supernatural power of evil,
for his deeds of darkness have seemed too black for man of himself to
conceive. Some of the cruelty of man towards man may not be the
offspring of covetousness, but doubtless much of it is. Men often
care not who suffers, or how much they suffer, so that they satisfy
their own selfish desires, and all this unnatural conduct is an
evidence that there is a schism in the human race which calls for
some remedy such as that of the Gospel, whereby such savage natures
may be transformed, and _"The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the kid,"_ etc. (Isa. xi. 6).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
In Scripture, the word _"generations"_ is repeatedly used to signify
particular _classes_ or _descriptions_ of men; for two reasons, or
points of analogy:--_first,_ that as generation follows generation,
so surely, in every generation, a _succession_ of such characters is
to be found;--and _secondly,_ that they very often communicate the
character to one another, and thus keep up their respective
kinds,--are successive propagators of their species.--_Wardlaw._
Verse 11. Here a new thought begins, but probably one from the same
teacher. As he had uttered what he most desired, so now he tells us
what he most abhorred, and in true harmony with the teaching of the
Ten Commandments places in the foremost rank those who rise against
the Fifth.--_Plumptre._
Solon, when asked why he had made no law against parricides, replied,
that he could not conceive of anyone so impious and cruel. The Divine
lawgiver knew His creature better, that his heart was capable of
wickedness beyond conception (Jer. xvii. 9).--_Bridges._
Verse 14. Yet withal, these cruel oppressors are marked by pitiful
cowardice. They vent their wantonness only where there is little or
no power of resistance. It is not the wolf with the wolf, but with
the defenceless lamb; _devouring the poor and needy from off the
earth,_--"eating up my people"--not like an occasional indulgence,
but "as they eat bread" their daily meal, without intermission (Ps.
xiv. 4).--_Bridges._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 18-20.
DEPTHS OF WICKEDNESS.
+I. There are deeds of iniquity which leave no outward immediate
trace.+ The path which the eagle opens by her wings when she soars
aloft cannot be traced by the human eye. The air closes behind her as
she moves, and she leaves nothing to show that she has passed that
way. The vessel ploughs its way through the deep, and leaves a wake
behind her for a short time. But the sea, like the air, soon resumes
its former condition, and the keel leaves no lasting indication upon
the water whereby the course of the mariner can be seen. So the
serpent glides over the rock, and for a moment its shining scales are
reflected in the sun, and then it is hidden from sight and the rock
bears no footprint upon its surface. No human skill could, in any of
these instances, find any evidence by which to establish the fact
that either the thing without life or the living creatures had been
there. So the sin to which all these comparisons are linked is one
which may be concealed from the eyes of all except those concerned in
it, not only at the time of its committal, but also in the immediate
future. Those who come in contact with the guilty parties may see no
more trace of the sin than they would do of an eagle's course, or, to
use the other metaphor, of bread that had been eaten by one who has
wiped his mouth after the meal.
+II. Sin is so in opposition to the voice of the human conscience
that even those who love it must seek to hide it.+ The adulteress has
sunk as low in the moral scale as it is possible for a human creature
to sink, and yet she seeks to hide her shame. Men of evil deeds love
darkness rather than light, and so give evidence that there is that
within them that condemns their unholy deeds. The very denial of the
crime is a condemnation of it. There are many crimes which are not
amenable to human law which men, notwithstanding, try to hide from
human eyes, and their efforts to do this are witnesses against them
and in favour of the law which they have broken.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 21-23.
BURDENS GRIEVOUS TO BE BORNE.
+I. It is sometimes dangerous to the peace of a community to raise a
person from a low to a high position.+ To place a man who has never
before crossed a horse, upon a high-spirited charger, is to create a
source of danger both to himself and others. There is a strong
probability that the unskilful rider will be thrown from his
unaccustomed elevation, and so injure himself. And it is also
probable that he will be the means of mischief to other travellers
upon the road, whom he will overthrow in his unskilful efforts to
keep his seat. It is generally as dangerous an experiment to lift a
man at once from the position of a servant to that of a ruler.
Although faithfulness "over a few things" is, according to the
highest authority, the best qualification for rulership "over many
things" (Matt. xxv. 21), it is not always hands used only to service
are fit to hold the reins of government, either in a small or a large
society. On this subject see also on chap. xix. 10, page 569.
+II. Some human creatures cannot safely be trusted with even a
sufficiency of this world's goods.+ They are not only unfit to rule
others, but so unfit to rule themselves that they cannot be "filled
with meat" without becoming a centre of disturbance. Even enough of
the necessaries of life suffices to make them injurious to themselves
and insolent to their betters. This is especially true of men who are
slaves to their bodily appetites. There are men in the world who,
although peaceable and even useful citizens when they are kept in a
state of comparative want and hardship, indulge in excess and
immorality as soon as the restraint is removed. They will sometimes
know this to be true, and yet they are so wanting in moral courage
and strength as not to struggle after a higher condition of being.
Such men are fools indeed.
+III. The change of disposition which change of circumstance
sometimes seems to work may be the result of deliberate purpose.+
When a servant becomes a ruler he may be the occasion of trouble
simply from intellectual inability, and the fool who cannot safely be
filled with meat may be only morally weak; but the woman here
represented as developing into a curse after marriage suggests a
person who has deliberately hidden her real character for a time in
order to gain a position in which she can have more opportunities of
indulging her evil propensities. This is a step farther in
wickedness, and this domestic burden is often the most grievous of
all burdens. On this subject see on chap. xxi. 9 and 19, page 613.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Judge, then, how horrible it is that men should set the devil, or his
two angels the world and the flesh, in the throne, whiles they place
God in the footstool; or that in this commonwealth of man, reason,
which is the queen or princess over the better powers and graces of
the soul, should stoop to so base a slave as sensual lust.--_T.
Adams._
And now, just notice the comprehensiveness, in regard to the
happiness of human life, of the _four things_ thus enumerated. They
begin, observe, at _the throne,_ and come down to the _domestic
servant._ They embrace four great sources of the social unhappiness
of mankind. They are--_incompetent rule, preposterous and besotted
folly, conjugal alienation and strife with its domestic miseries,_
and the _unnatural inversion of social order.--Wardlaw._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 24-28.
LOWLY TEACHERS.
+I. Men can learn from creatures far beneath him.+ Herein he gives
evidence both of his greatness and of his imperfection. He is often
so faulty in many respects that some of the most insignificant
creatures around him read him lessons of wisdom, and yet his
capability of receiving instruction from them shows how superior he
is to them. For creatures below man, although their actions are often
marked by something that seems very nearly akin to reason, are not
capable of receiving moral instruction, either from those above or
beneath them, and so give proof that they lack a capacity which man
possesses.
+II. The lessons taught him by each of these creatures.+ 1. _From the
ant industry and forethought._ On this subject see on chap. vi. 6-11,
page 78. 2. _From the coney_ (see Critical Notes) _a prudent
acknowledgement of weakness._ It is one of the marks of a wise man
that he knows his weakness as well as his strength, and this seems to
be the lesson conveyed by the feeble folk who, conscious of their
feebleness, make their abodes in the rocks. Foolhardiness may ruin a
man as surely as cowardice, and it is quite a different thing from
courage, though it is sometimes mistaken for it. 3. _From the locust
the need of unity and co-operation._ The locust is in itself a small
and weak insect, yet it is well known what mighty and terrible work
can be accomplished by them when they unite. They stand as an example
of the wonderful effect of perfect combination and unanimity in
action. (See Joel ii. 2-11.) They seem animated by a single purpose,
and the myriads of individuals seem to become one great and
irresistible monster, and thus show us what great things can be
accomplished in any community when men are of one heart and mind on
any subject, and are willing to lay aside personal preferences and
individual interests in order to achieve a common purpose. 4. _From
the lizard_ (see Critical Notes) _the results of perseverance._ This
little creature is constantly found in Eastern houses, and doubtless
in the palace as well as in more lowly dwellings. Although hardly so
good an example of perseverance as the spider, yet it owes its
presence in the house to its own energy in overcoming obstacles, and
its pertinacity in seeking out some means of entrance, and may
therefore be regarded as worthy of man's imitation when some task is
set before him which calls for continuous and watchful effort.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
It has been remarked by some, that the four emblems express all that
is requisite for the conservation and well-being of a STATE or
KINGDOM. There is _supply of food;--commodious and secure dwelling
places;--subordination, concord, and united exertion;_--and the
_prevalence and encouragement of the ingenious and useful arts._
These are things that governors and kings should look to. And we may
apply the emblematic lessons to _domestic_ life. Before a man can
prudently marry, and have a family, he should have some suitable
provision made, and something like a fair prospect of being able to
support them. Next is to be found a suitable dwelling, adapted to the
circumstances and convenience. Then, when settled, there must be
harmony, union, co-operation, in all departments of the household.
And lastly, there must be the diligent, constant, persevering
application of his skill and labour to his worldly
calling.--_Wardlaw._
The ants prepare their meat in the summer, that they may not starve
in the rigours of the winter months. How despicable, compared with
these insects, are the rational creatures, who suffer the thoughts of
an endless duration to be pushed out of their minds by threescore and
ten years? The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats, and the
rocks for the conies; and has God provided no refuge for our souls?
God himself is our refuge and our strength, and those that make Him
their habitation shall be secured from the fear of evil.--_Lawson._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 29-31.
KINGLY QUALITIES.
These words seem to set forth animal qualifications needed by human
leaders.
+I. They must be men of courage.+ A cowardly man in any position in
society will, at some time or other, be found wanting, but what is
needed in everyday life and by men in ordinary positions, is
indispensable in him who has to lead others. A king in the days of
Solomon was expected to be at the head of his army in the day of
battle, and if he was not then an example to all beneath him in this
respect, he brought disgrace and ruin upon himself and them. A king
in all ages, and under all circumstances should be to his subjects
what the lion is to the other beasts of the forest--a pattern of
dignity and courage.
+II. They must be active and watchful.+ Both the greyhound and the
war-horse--whichever may be here meant--are characterised by
swiftness of foot and great sagacity. They are ready at any moment to
set forth on any errand, and are always on the alert when danger is
near. The goat, also, is agile in its movements, and as sure-footed
as it is fleet. All these animal qualities are symbolic of mental
qualifications which must be possessed by those who aspire to lead
and rule their fellow-men successfully. They must not be behindhand
when called to action, but they must at the same time take heed to
the dangers which may lie in wait for them. They must be ever ready
at the call of duty, but they must not be rash and hasty, and so
endanger much more than their own personal safety.
On the subject of verses 32 and 33, see on chap. xvii. 14, page 513.
_REMARKS ON THE CHAPTER AS A WHOLE._
While it appears at the first view that the flowers and fruits from
the cornucopia of Agur's wisdom, original and in part so rarely
fashioned, are heaped up wholly without order, yet they all agree in
this, that they depict the glory and all sufficiency of the Word of
God, dissuade from adding to it by any human supplement, and most
urgently commend the fulfilling and following it by a pious life.
There is hardly a single commandment of the Decalogue that is not
directly or indirectly repeated and emphasised in these maxims.
Observe the relation of the prayer for the hallowing of God's name
(verses 7-9) to the first and third commandments; the references
contained in verse 11, and again in verse 17 to the fifth
commandment; the warnings against the transgression of the sixth
commandment in verse 14 as well as in verses 32-33; the reproving and
warning aim of verses 18-20, and 23, in their bearing upon the
seventh; the allusion to the eighth in verse 9, and to the ninth in
verse 10; and finally the reference, reminding us of the tenth in
verses 15 and 16. . . . No one of these proverbs is wholly without an
ethical value; not even the two numerical proverbs (verses 24-28, and
29-31), which at the first view stand apart as incidental reflections
on merely natural truths, but in reality hide under their ingenious
physical drapery decided moral aims. For in verses 24-28 four chief
virtues of one's social and political avocation are specified through
an allusion to a like number of examples from the animal world, and
verses 29-31 run into a delineation of the high dignity and glory of
a king by the grace of God in contrast with the insufferable tyranny
of base upstarts (verses 21-23).--_Lange's Commentary._
* * * * * *
CHAPTER XXXI.
CRITICAL NOTES.--+Lemuel.+ This Hebrew word signifies _"For God,"_ or
_"belonging to God,"_ and is regarded by most commentators as a
proper name. +The prophecy.+ Delitzsch, Stuart, and many other Hebrew
scholars render this word as a proper name, and read _"The words of
Lemuel, king of_ MASSA, _which his mother taught him."_ Miller reads
the verse, _"Words in respect to the Seed-of-God, a king; a prophecy
in agreement with which his mother disciplined him,"_ and, as in the
preceding chapter, applies it to Christ. +2. What,+ etc. "An
impassioned exclamation expressing inward emotion." (Zöckler.) "The
question," says Delitzsch, "which is at the same time a call, is like
a deep sigh from the heart of a mother concerned for the welfare of a
son." +3.+ The second clause reads literally _"nor thy ways to
destroy kings,"_ and hence some understand it as a warning against
warlike rapacity and lust of conquest, but, as Delitzsch remarks,
this does not stand well as the parallel to the warning in the first
clause. +4. Strong drink.+ (See on chap xx. 1.) +5. Any of the
afflicted.+ Literally _"The sons of want."_ +8. Such as are appointed
to destruction.+ Literally _"Children of leaving,"_ generally
understood to mean orphans. The twenty-two verses following form an
alphabetical song, each verse beginning with the several letters of
the Hebrew alphabet arranged in consecutive order. +10. Virtuous.+
Literally _"a woman of power."_ +Rubies,+ rather _"pearls."_ +11. He
shall have no need,+ etc. Rather, _"He shall not fail of spoil."_
"Strictly, 'the spoils of war,' a strong expression to denote his
rich profit." (Zöckler.) +15.+ This probably signifies the appointed
task for the day. +21. Scarlet.+ Delitzsch and Zöckler retain this
reading; the former remarks that "as high-coloured, it appears
dignified as well as preserves warmth." +22. Coverings,+ rather
_"coverlets,"_ as in chap. vii. 16, "a part of the furniture of the
bed." +25. She shall rejoice.+ Rather, _"She laugheth at the future,"
i.e.,_ she is not afraid of it, being fully prepared for all
emergencies. +26. Law of kindness.+ Delitzsch reads "Amiable
instruction." +30. Favour,+ _i.e., "outward grace."_ +Vain,+ or _"a
breath."_
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 1-9.
DIVINE COMMANDS FROM A MOTHER'S LIPS.
+I. Two considerations made it obligatory upon Lemuel to attend to
this counsel of his mother.+ 1. _She was inspired to utter it._
However we may translate the word here rendered "prophecy" (see
Critical Notes), its place in the Holy Scriptures gives to it the
authority of a message from God. The words are not merely the results
of a tender and wise mother's own observation and experience, but
they are the utterances of a spirit under the special influence of
the Holy Ghost. Although, therefore, his mother's love, and,
doubtless, her holy example, ought to have been very powerful
incentives to attention and obedience, his obligation was increased
tenfold by the conviction he must have had that God spoke to him
through her lips. 2. _He was a king._ If men in every station of life
are bound to keep the paths of purity and charity, much more is it
the duty of one in a high place--the influence of whose actions
stretch so far beyond his immediate surroundings, and who holds in
his hand the destinies of so many besides his own. Because Lemuel had
been called by God to a throne, what he was and what he did concerned
not a few people only, but a nation, and this reflection ought to
have added great weight to his mother's words.
+II. The first and indispensable duty of a ruler is to rule himself.+
Every man is a little kingdom made up of many different and sometimes
opposing forces--of inclinations towards the earthly, the sensual,
and even the devilish, and of aspirations towards the heavenly, the
spiritual, and the godlike. There are lawful desires which, satisfied
in a lawful manner, may lead to much enjoyment and blessing, but
which, if allowed to rule the man, or even to have any share in the
government of the life, will degrade and may almost brutalise him.
Bodily appetites have their place in the constitution of man, but it
was never intended that they should be satisfied by breaking the
moral law; and when they lead to this, moral anarchy has set in, and
moral ruin is not far off. The two great sins of the body against
which Lemuel is here warned have in all ages shown how man can turn
blessings into curses by abusing and mis-using them, and the Word of
God and human history unite in proclaiming the truth that the Divine
intention is perverted when the body rules the man and not the man
the body. Every man is bound to be king of himself, and one who
aspires to be a king over others and is yet a slave to his own
unlawful passions will being upon himself the curse of man and the
judgment of God. On this subject see also on chap. vi. 24-35, page
89, and on chap. xxiii. 29-35, page 673.
+III. The obligation next in order is succour of the needy.+ In
former chapters we have considered the obligation which God lays upon
every man to consider the cause of the poor and afflicted. (See on
chaps. xiv. 20, page 370, and chap. xxiv. 11, page 680.) As we
remarked at the outset, duties which men owe to their fellow-men
multiply and become binding in proportion to opportunities. The king
of ancient times was but another name for one whose direct influence
over his subjects was greater than that of monarchs in our day. His
word was law, and the power of life and death was often in his hand
alone, and if he exercised self-denial and gave of his substance to
those in want, he might often by his individual action entirely
change the condition of half his subjects. The relations of society
have changed since then, and kings have no longer so exclusively the
power for good or ill, but their influence is still very great, and
if it is all exerted in favour of benevolence and justice, and they
live lives of self-denial and active compassion on behalf of others,
they will come up to the ideal picture here drawn for their imitation.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 2. There was a threefold cord of maternal love which this
parent was wont to employ, and which remained in its form as well as
its power in the memory of her son. "My son" is the outmost and
uppermost aspect of the relation. This is a bond set in nature, felt
by the parties, and obvious to all. On this she leans first when she
makes an appeal to his heart. But at the next step she goes deeper
in. She recalls the day of his birth. She goes back to that hour when
nature's greatest sorrow is dispelled by nature's gladdest news. "A
man-child is born into the world." By the pains and joys of that hour
she knits the heart of her son to her own, and thereby increases her
purchase upon the direction of his life. But still one step farther
back can this mother go. Here is the "son of her vows." Before his
birth she held converse, not with him for God, but with God for
him.--_Arnot._
Verse 4. _It is not for kings_ to admit within their dominions anyone
that is stronger than themselves, and able to overthrow them. _It is
not for kings_ to harbour anyone within their dominions that is false
unto them, and ready to betray them; much more it is not for kings to
admit within themselves any immoderate quantity of wine, which soon
proveth too strong for them, and quickly with shame overthroweth
them.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 10-31.
A MODEL MATRON.
This picture of a faithful and kindly wife, mother, and mistress is
here placed before the youthful monarch as the ideal woman whom he is
to seek with all _diligence,_ because she is well worth any pains to
secure, and with much _discrimination,_ because she is a rarity, and
because there are many imitations of the real gem which look very
much like it before they are tested. This beautiful picture is held
to his view as the master holds some grand conception on canvas
before his pupil, in order that he may acquire a distaste for all
that comes short of it. This portrait may have been drawn by the
mother of Lemuel; in any case we may safely conclude that she was
such a woman herself, and if it came from another hand it is,
probably, her likeness drawn from life. We notice--
+I. The prominent features of her character.+ 1. _Her energy._ There
seems to be within her a spring of unfailing activity, and the
completion of one task is immediately followed by the beginning of
another. In her home she is astir before the dawn, and when her
domestic duties are completed she gives her mind to the transaction
of business without--to the best market in which to sell her goods,
and to buy all that she needs for the supply of her household. We
cannot conceive of this energetic spirit in a frail and sickly
body--she must have been physically healthy and strong, and we may
give her credit for having been observant of the laws of God in this
respect as in higher matters, and be sure that she avoided whatever
might weaken her body or deaden her intellect. This being the case,
her constant activity would be a pleasure, and would in itself
contribute to the maintenance of her bodily strength. 2. _Her
capability._ She was not only a great worker, but there was wisdom
behind the work--a brain directing the hands. There are many people
always busy, who yet accomplish but little, because their activity is
not wisely directed--indeed, energetic action without wisdom to guide
it, may be most disastrous in its effects. There is an abundance of
power in the locomotive, but if it is set in motion and left free
from wise control, it works ill instead of good. But this woman's
intellectual capacity equalled her active energy. She was a good
judge of the merchandise that she had to sell, and knew the value of
the land that she bought. She was methodical, and so able to arrange
the employments of all the household so that no confusion should
arise, and she could also show them with her own hands how to perform
their work, for _"she layeth her hands to the spindle,"_ and so
follows up her precept by example. Her capacity also manifested
itself to her _forethought_--in keeping her supply well ahead of her
demand. 3. _Her loving tenderness._ She might have been all that we
have thus far painted her, and yet not have made a happy home. If she
had been nothing more she might have been feared, and in some measure
respected, but she would not have been _loved._ Just as energy may be
dangerous without wisdom to guide it, so such capable energy may be
repellent without love to soften it. But her uncommon endowments and
attainments did not make her impatient with her inferiors, and she
was not so absorbed in providing for those at home as to forget the
poor outside. Her commands were given in a winning tone, and her
corrections in a loving spirit. She was more apt to instruct than to
reprove, and doubtless acted upon the principle that the "way to make
people better is to make the best of them."
+II. The root of all these excellencies.+ Although it is not
absolutely stated, it is implied that godliness was the source of
this symmetrical character--that it was the fear of the Lord which
enabled her to keep so even a balance of virtues as to stand forth a
perfect pattern to the women of every age and nation. The fear of God
had given her a right conception of her duties towards all mankind,
and especially of the sacred nature of her relationships as wife and
mother. She fully entered into the Divine idea of marriage, and this
made her the true helpmeet of her husband, and in regard to each son
and daughter she heard the voice of her God saying, "Take this child
and nurse it for me." She knew that faithfulness in all things was
expected of a servant of God, and that true godliness consists not so
much in the things done as in the spirit in which they are performed.
In this spirit of George Herbert she could say--
"Teach me, my God and King,
In all things Thee to see;
And what I do in anything
To do it as for thee.
"All may of Thee partake;
Nothing can be so mean
Which with this tincture (for Thy sake)
Will not grow bright and clean.
"This is the famous stone
That turneth all to gold;
For that which God doth touch and own
Cannot for less be told."
And thus living every day and always in conscious fellowship with the
Unseen, she would be too conscious of her own shortcomings to be
anything but tender towards the failings of others, and would not
forget that she owed all her success in life to the blessing of the
Lord, and held all her material good in stewardship for His service.
+III. The blessed results of all.+ She had an abundant and lasting
reward. Her husband's trust in her was undimmed by a single shadow;
whatever position she was called upon to sustain he felt fully
confident that she was equal to it, and that everything that he
possessed--from his reputation to his purse--was not only safe in her
hands, but had increased in worth through his connection with her.
Her words of loving counsel, and her useful and benevolent life, were
not lost upon her children, but as good seen sown in good ground
brought forth an abundant harvest in their filial reverence and noble
deeds. And this family blessedness was not a thing that could be hid,
but, like a candle of the Lord in a world of much moral darkness, it
shed its light all around, and blessed and stimulated others to fear
God, and so to serve their generation.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 12. The manner of some is to do good with the one hand, and
with the evil of the other to spoil it; whereby they still remain to
be evil wives. Others will do good while the fit lasteth, but they
are weary of well-doing; whereas a good wife indeed will do good to
her husband all the days of her life. It is not said of _his_ life,
but of _hers._ For though he may be dead, she will do him good while
she liveth, by doing good to his children, to his friends, to his
memory.--_Jermin._
Verse 16. Some _consider_ but they buy not; some _buy_ but they
consider not; some consider and buy, but they _plant_ not; some
consider and buy and plant; but it is with the _rapine_ of their
hands, not _the fruit_ of their hands. That field is well bought,
where wisdom considereth what is bought, where ability buyeth that
which hath been considered, where care planteth that which hath been
bought, and where honesty giveth a blessing to that which hath been
planted.--_Jermin._
Verse 20. She doth not only open her hand, but stretcheth it (if I
may so make use of the word), as if she would hold more to give the
poor if she could. . . . And as if one hand were not enough for her
it is said she reacheth forth her _hands_; and if she had more than
two no doubt she would reach them all forth to the poor.--_Jermin._
Verse 22. It is precisely such a woman who should wear such garments.
The silk hangs all the more gracefully on her person that it was
wound and spun by her own hands. . . . This matron is not limited to
silk and purple; strength and honour are her clothing too. She may
safely wear elegant garments, who in character and bearing is elegant
without their aid. If honour be your clothing, the suit will last a
life-time, but if clothing be your honour, it will soon be worn
threadbare.--_Arnot._
Verse 26. There be may false keys which open the mouths of many, as
rashness, and choler, and pride, and folly, and the like. But there
is one right key, and that is wisdom. That it is which makes a
virtuous woman courteous to all, a flatterer to none, a tale-bearer
to none; that it is which maketh her to be familiar with a few, to be
just and true with every one: that it is which maketh her respectful
to her husband, lovingly grave to her children, awfully grave to her
servants; dutiful to her superiors, affable with her equals, friendly
to her neighbours, and not disdainful to her inferiors; that it is
which maketh her slow to speak, quiet in speaking, profitable by
speaking.--_Jermin._
Verse 29. By the benefit of a better nature, or civil education, or
for the praise of men, or for a quiet life, sure it is that all
unsanctified women, though never so well qualified, have failed, both
_quoad fontem, et quoad finem,_ for want of faith for the principle
and God's glory for the aim of their virtuous actions. And,
therefore, though they may be praiseworthy, yet they are far short of
this gracious matron. . . . "Better is pale gold than glittering
copper." (Bernard.) Say the world what it will, a drachm of holiness
is worth a pound of good nature.--_Trapp._
Verses 30 and 31. The lessons and where they began. Obedience is
traced up to faith. . . . As we traverse the various phases of her
character, we seem to be making our way over a well-watered and
fruitful region, until we reach at last the fountain of its
fertility. . . . Near the base of a mountain range, early in the
morning of the day and the spring of the year, you may have seen, in
your solitary walk, a pillar of cloud, pure and white, rising from
the earth to heaven. In the calm air its slender stem rises straight
like a tree, and like a tree spreads out its lofty summit. Like an
angel tree in white, and not like an earthly thing, it stands before
you. You approach the spot and discover the cause of the vision. A
well of water from the warm depths bursts through the surface there,
and this is the morning incense which it sends right upward to the
throne. But the water is not all thus exhaled. A pure stream flows
over the well's rocky edge, and trickles along the surface, a river
in miniature, marked on both sides by verdure, while the barrenness
of winter lies on the other portions of the field. . . . Such are the
two outgoings of a believer's life. Upward rises the soul in direct
devotion; but not the less on that account does the life flow out
along the surface of the world, leaving its mark in blessings behind
it wherever it goes. You caught the spring by surprise at dawn, and
saw incense ascending. At mid-day, when the sun was up, it rose
unseen. . . . Thus is it in the experience of living Christians in
the world. . . . The upright pillar is seldom visible, but the
horizontal stream is seen and felt to be a refreshment to all within
its reach.--_Arnot._
THE END.
Transcriber's Notes
Detailed changes:
- "#" represents an illegible character.
- _Note counting convention:_ When a note continues from the prior
page, it is "note zero" or "same note," (if it had been addressed
in the transcriber's notes on the previous page). The first note
that begins new on a page is "note one," etc.
- In the Table of Contents (TOC), on page v. (unnumbered in
original), chapter i. 1-4, change "The Author, his Method and His
Object" to capitalise "His" (twice). Chapter i. 7-9, change "The
Root of True Knowledge and the Means of its Attainment" to
capitalise "Its." Chapter i. 10-10, change "Enticement to Sin and
Exhortation against yielding to it" to capitalise "Against,"
"Yielding," and "It." Chapter ii. 12-20, change "The Character of
those from whom Wisdom Preserves" to capitalise "Those" and
"Whom." Chapter iii. 5, 6, change "Exhortation to confidence in
God" to capitalise "Confidence." Chapter iii. 7-12, change "The
way" to capitalise "Way." Chapter iii. 31-35, change "The Oppressor
not to be Envied" to capitalise "Not" and "Be." Chapter vi. 24-35,
change "A Special Sin and its Penalties from which He who Keeps
God's Law will be Kept" to capitalise "Its," "Which," "Who,"
"Will," and "Be." Chapter viii. 10, 11, change "Better than
Wealth" to capitalise "Than."
- TOC, page vi. (unnumbered in original), chapter x. 28, change
"Hopes Realized & Disappointed" to spell out "and." Chapter
xi. 12, 13, change "Contempt and Tale-bearing" to capitalise
"Bearing." Chapter xi. 22, change "Precious Things possessed by
Unworthy Owners" to capitalise "Possessed." Chapter xii. 1, change
"The Love of Knowledge and the Proof of it" to capitalise "It."
Chapter xii. 3, change "A Right Desire and the Means of its
Attainment" to capitalise "Its." Chapter xii. 5-8, change
"Thoughts and Words and their Result" to capitalise "Their."
Chapter xii. 25, change "Heaviness of Heart and its Cure" to
capitalise "Its."
- TOC, page vii. (unnumbered in original), chapter xiii. 23, change
"Land and its Tillers" to capitalise "Its." Chapter xiv. 6, change
"Seeking but not Finding" to capitalise "Not." Chapter xiv. 31,
change "The Oppressed and their Oppressors" to capitalise "Their."
Chapter xv. 16, change "A Treasure without Trouble" to capitalise
"Without." Chapter xv. 20, change the homiletics reference to page
137, from page 136.
- TOC, page viii. (unnumbered in original), chapter xvi. 8, change
the first homiletics reference to page 405, from page 415. Chapter
xvi. 27-30, change "Different Species of the same Genus" to
capitalise "Same." Chapter xvi. 33, change "The Lot and its
Disposer" to capitalise "Its." Chapter xvii. 9, change "How to
make Friends and How to Separate Them" to capitalise "Make."
Chapter xvii. 10, change "Correction must be Adapted" to
capitalise "Must." Chapter xvii. 24, change "The Eyes of a Fool
and those of a Wise Man" to capitalise "Those." Chapter
xviii. 6-8, change "Folly and its Results" to capitalise "Its."
Chapter xviii. 13, change "Answering before Hearing" to capitalise
"Before." Chapter xix. 2, 3, change "Influence leading to Sin" to
capitalise "Leading." Chapter xix. 8-9, change the homiletics
references to pages 121 and 124, from 122 and 128. Chapter
xix. 24, change the homiletics reference to chapter xxvi. 12-16
from xxvi. 13-15. Change the reference for "Possibilities of Human
Depravity" from xxvi. 26-28 to xxvi. 26-29.
- TOC, page ix. (unnumbered in original), chapter xx. 4, change
homiletics reference to page 142, from page 146. Chapter xx. 10,
add reference to chapter xi. 1. Chapter xx. 13, change homiletics
reference to page 78, from page 79. Chapter xx. 18, change
"Thought before Action" to capitalise "Before." Chapter xx. 21,
change second cross reference from "xxi. 5-7" to "xxi. 5, 7."
Chapter xxi. 11, change "Instruction for those who Need It" to
capitalise "Those" and "Who." Chapter xxi. 23, change the
homiletics reference to chapter xiii. 2-3 from xiii. 3. Chapter
xxii. 1, change "Better than Gold" to capitalise "Than." Chapter
xxii. 5, 6, change "A Hedged-up Way" to capitalise "Up." Chapter
xxii. 10, change "A Man who Ought to Dwell Alone" to capitalise
"Who." Chapter xxii. 26, 27, change "Suretyship and its Dangers"
to capitalise "Its." Chapter xxiv. 8, 9, change cross reference
from "chap. vi. 12, 19" to "chap. vi. 12-19."
- TOC, page x. (unnumbered in original), chapter xxiv. 28, 29,
change "An Uncalled-for Testimony" to capitalise "For." Chapter
xxv. 14, change "Clouds without Rain" to capitalise "Rain."
Chapter xxv. 27, change "Too much of a Good Thing" to capitalise
"Much." Chapter xxvi. 12-16, change "Self-conceit and Indolence"
to capitalise "Conceit." Chapter xxvii. 8, change "Plac" to
"Place." Chapter xxvii. 22, change second homiletics reference to
chapter xix. 26-29 from xix. 29. Chapter xxviii. 4, 5, change
"Law-keepers and Law-breakers" to "Lawkeepers and Lawbreakers."
Chapter xxviii. 6, change page reference to 561 from 582. Chapter
xxviii. 9, change page reference to 406 from 407, 408. Chapter
xxviii. 10, change reference to chapter xxvi. 23-28 from xxvi. 27
and page 721 from 722. Chapter xxviii. 12, change reference to
chapter xi. 10-11 from xi. 10. Chapter xxviii. 14, change second
reference to chapter xix. 15-18 from xiv. 16. Chapter xxviii. 18,
change first reference to chapter x. 9-10, from x. 9. Chapter
xxviii. 24, change page reference to 751 from 749. Add entry for
chapter xxviii. 25a. Chapter xxviii. 25, 26, change to 25b, and
change page reference to 752 from 751. Chapter xxviii. 28, change
reference to chapter xi. 10-11 from xi. 10. Chapter xxix. 2,
change reference to chapter xi. 10-11 from xi. 10. Chapter
xxix. 3, change first page reference to 67 from 68.
- TOC, page xi. (unnumbered in original), chapter xxix. 19, change
"Soul-seekers and Soul-haters" to capitalise "Seekers" and
"Haters." Chapter xxix. 13, change reference to chapter
xxii. 22-23 from xxii. 22. Chapter xxix. 16, change "Victory not
with the Majority" to capitalise "Not." Chapter xxix. 23, change
second reference to chapter xvi. 18-19 from xvi. 18.
- Page 2, Divisions, point III, change "ch. xxii. 17; xxiv. 22"
reference to "ch. xxiv. 17--xxiv. 22." Critical Notes, chapter i.,
set verse numbers 17, 20, 28, and 32 in bold for consistency.
Title "The Author, his Method, and his Object" to capitalise
"His" (twice).
- Page 4, verse 2, note one, apply Reverential Capitalisation (RC)
to "Divine" (twice). Verse 4, note one, use four period ellipsis.
- Page 5, verse 5, note two, change "Melancthon" to "Melanchthon."
- Page 6, title, change "The Root of True Knowledge and the Means of
its Attainment" to capitalise "Its." Point I, change subpoint
"(1)" to "1." for consistency.
- Page 7, note zero, paragraph one, point 2, apply RC to "Spirit";
add "1 Cor. ii. 14" reference; change "the smothering the" to "the
smothering of the." Verse 8, note two, capitalise "Oriental";
change "patriarchial" to "patriarchal." Title, change "Enticement
to Sin and Exhortation against yielding to it" to capitalise
"Against," "Yielding," and "It."
- Page 9, lesson, point III, change "youth reflect up" to "youth
reflect upon." Verses 11-13, note one, change subpoint "2" of
point 2 to "(2)" for consistency.
- Page 10, verse 11, note zero, change the word "and" to Roman type
from Italic in _Traditions of Robin Hood and Henry V_ to separate
the two titles.
- Page 11, title, change the scripture reference from "Verses 20-23"
to "20-33." Point I 1, remove right double quotes after
"handiwork."
- Page 12, point V, apply RC to "His Spirit." Point VI, apply RC to
"Him."
- Page 13, verse 20, note two, capitalise "Orientals." Note six,
change the double quotes around the scripture to single quotes and
add a closing double quote.
- Page 14, verse 21, note zero, apply RC to "Spirit." Verse 22, note
one, add closing double quote after "first."
- Page 16, verse 28, note zero, change "wicket.gate" to
"wicket-gate." Verse 31, note three, add right parenthesis after
"Isa. iii. 9-11" reference.
- Page 17, verse 31, same note, use three period ellipsis after
"desire." Spell-out "Ver. 32." Verse 32, note one, move the
closing double quotes from after "lees" to after "evil." Note
five, change period after "plague in it" to a question mark.
- Page 18, Critical Notes, chapter ii., change "9. ver." and "10.
ver." to bold numbers, for consistency; format "13" as bold.
- Page 19, lesson, point II 4, add closing quote after "him."
Verses 1 and 2, note two, apply RC to "Word."
- Page 20, verse 5, note two, use four period ellipsis.
- Page 21, lesson, point II 2, apply RC to "Himself."
- Page 22, lesson, point II 2, add left double quote before
"preserveth."
- The break between pages 22 and 23 is in the word "cannot":
can|not. In this and all subsequent cases, the whole word was
moved to the earlier page.
- Page 24, title, change "The Character of those from whom Wisdom
Preserves" to capitalise "Those" and "Whom." Lesson, point I 2,
change "forwardness" to "frowardness."
- Page 26, verse 16, note five, apply RC to "Divinely."
- Page 27, verse 21, note two, use a four period ellipsis.
- Page 28, spell out "Ver. 22." Verse 22, note three, change "That"
to lower-case. Critical notes, chapter iii., change "3" to "4."
Verse 6, add right double quote after "smooth." Format verse
numbers 12 and 34 in bold, for consistency.
- Page 30, verse 2, note one, change "It itself" to "In itself."
Note three, change exclamation point after "wisdom" to a question
mark. Note five, add right parenthesis after Psalm references.
- Page 31, verse 4, note two, use three period ellipsis.
- Page 32, lesson heading, apply Italic formatting consistently;
change "Verses" to initial cap from all caps.
- Page 33, lesson, point III 2, apply RC to "His." Verses 5 and 6,
note one, apply RC to "Word." Note two, add left parenthesis
before scripture reference.
- Page 34, title, change "The way" to capitalise "Way." Lesson,
point I 4, change "John ix. 41" to "John ix. 39-41."
- Page 37, verse 8, note three, apply RC to "Word."
- Page 39, note one, add right double quote after "correction."
- Page 40, verse 14, note three, change "entradoes" to "entradas."
- Page 41, verse 16, note six, point I, add right double quote after
"evil men."
- Page 42, verse 17, Barrow's comment appears as two paragraphs; the
Transcriber merged them.
- Page 43, lesson, point II, complete the "Job xxxviii. 4" reference.
- Page 44, lesson, point III (2), change "greater is warmer" to
"greater in warmer." Point IV, add left double quote before "who."
Verse 19, note two, change "i. 10" to "i. 20"; apply RC to
"Diviner."
- Page 46, lesson, point II 2, remove period after "Lot." Notes,
remove the em-dash after "Verse 22."
- Page 47, notes, remove the em-dash after "Verse 24."
- Page 48, lesson, point 2, change "friend do live" to "friend does
live."
- Page 50, title, change "The Oppressor not to be Envied" to
capitalise "Not" and "Be."
- Page 52, critical notes, chapter iv., change "4" to "5." Verse 7,
add period after "get wisdom." Verse 15, add left double quote
before "reject it."
- Page 53, lesson, point I 4, apply RC to "His" and "He." Second
lesson, spell out "Ver. 2."
- Page 54, verse 2, note two, add right double quote after "us."
- Page 55, verse 6, note one, change the double quotes around the
"Love her" quotation to single quotes and insert a closing double
quote.
- Page 56, verse 7, note zero, point I, apply RC to "Divine." Verse
7, note 4, point 3, a typesetting issue (extra ink) next to "is
vain."
- Page 57, verse 11, note one, add right double quote after "faith."
- Page 58, verse 13, note zero, capitalise new sentence "The word
was given."
- Page 60, lesson, point III 3, add right double quote after
"righteousness" and remove right double quote after "just."
- Page 61, verse 18, note two, use three period ellipsis.
- Page 62, verse 18, note two, set the word "joy" in Italic to match
"knowledge" and "holiness"; use four period ellipsis after
"practical godliness." Title, change "chap. II. 1--8" to "chap.
ii. 1-5."
- Page 64, verse 23, note one, add point "2" at "Victual this fort."
- Page 67, Critical Notes, chapter v., add "4" before "Wormwood."
Verses 6, 14, and 16, capitalise "Authorised Version."
- Page 69, lesson, point II 3, change "breaketh one edge" to
"breaketh one hedge." Point III 3, apply RC to "His."
- Page 71, verse 12, note zero, add right double quote after
"converted"; change "has not repented" to "hast not repented" for
consistency with "hast long known Christ." Verses 11, 12, note
one, point III has an odd structure in the original: there are two
points "(1)" each followed by a point "2." The Transcriber changed
each "2" to a "(2)."
- The break between pages 71 and 72 is in the word "interpreters":
inter|preters.
- Page 73, lesson, copy missing title from TOC.
- Page 75, Critical Notes, chapter vi., verse 11, add right double
quote after "shield." Format "16" in bold; add right double quote
after "illustrations." Change the "22" that appears after verse 30
to "32" and format it bold.
- Page 76, lesson, point II 2, add right double quote after
"eyelids."
- Page 78, verse 3, note two, add right double quote after "sin."
- Page 79, lesson, point I 2, change "to Him" to lower-case,
referring to a person.
- Page 80, notes, change "Verse 5" to "Verse 6" and "Verse 6 to 8"
to "Verses 6 to 8."
- Page 82, lesson, point I shows subpoints 2, 3, and 4. The
Transcriber added point "1" and set the next sentence in Italic;
set the sentence for subpoint 2 in Italic.
- Page 83, lesson, point II 1, change "lay in wait" to "lie in
wait." Point II 3, change a comma after "ruin" to a period; change
"Ps. xxxi. 5" to "Ps. xxxi. 5, 6"; change periods after "proud
look" and "lying tongue" to question marks.
- Page 84, notes, spell out "Ver. 12" and "Ver. 13." Verse 14, note
one, add final period before credit. Note three, change "there" to
"their."
- Page 86, title, change homiletic cross references to "i. 7-9" from
"i. 8" and "iv. 1-4" from "iv. 1."
- Page 88, notes, remove em-dash after "Verse 23." Note two,
capitalise "Vulgate."
- Page 89, title, change "A Special Sin and its Penalties from the
He who kept God's Law will be kept" to capitalise "Its," "Which,"
"Who," "Keeps," "Will," "Be," and "Kept." Lesson, point I, change
"lays in wait" to "lies in wait"; change reference from "verse 25"
to "verse 26." Parenthetical at end of point III, move period
inside right parentheses.
- Page 90, point IV, change "Father" to "father," referring to Paul.
- Page 91, verses 27 and 28, note one, change point (4) to bring the
word "the" before the point; add a final period to this note
before the credit.
- Page 92, Critical Notes, chapter vii., add the words "Critical
Notes." Notes on the "Strange Woman": first paragraph, in the
Wordsworth quote, change double quotes around "Strange Woman" to
single quotes, and use a three period ellipsis. In the
Hengstenberg quote, use a three period ellipsis after "Wisdom";
change double quotes to single quotes around "the mouth" quote
and "the woman Jezebel." Add right double quotes after "symbolical
person." Second paragraph (continues to following page), change
double quotes to single quotes throughout and insert a closing
double quote at the end of the paragraph.
- Page 93, lesson, point IV, apply RC to "Word."
- Page 95, title and first note, change "6-37" to "5-27."
- Page 96, verse 5, note two, move period inside parenthesised
reference.
- Page 97, verse 14, note two, move period for parenthetical to
inside the parentheses. Verse 14, note three, point 2, move period
for parenthetical to inside the parentheses; point 3, change
period after "ceremonies of religion" to a question mark.
- Page 98, verse 19, note two, change "at home rather" to "at home
either."
- Page 99, note zero, use a four period ellipsis. Critical Notes,
chapter viii., verse 21, capitalise "Authorised Version." Verse
23, capitalise "Authorised."
- Page 100, notes on personification, remove point "1" as a
singleton. Correct the "Deut. xxxii. 6" reference by changing the
comma after the chapter number to a period. In the Fausset
quotation, change the double quotes around "brought forth" to
single.
- Page 101, remove the period after point "(5)" for consistency.
Punctuate the Harris quotation as if it is part of the Aiken
quotation.
- Page 102, lesson, point I, add right double quote after "was
lost." Point III, change "let Him come" to lower-case. Verse 1,
note two, apply RC to "Word."
- Page 103, title, change "God's Speech meeting Man's Need" to
capitalise "Meeting."
- Page 104, lesson, point I, apply RC to "His"; add right double
quotes after "pit" and after "abundantly."
- Page 105, verse 4, note one, point I, change "eyery" to "every."
- Page 106, verse 9, note one, add right double quote after "red";
add right parenthesis after reference.
- Page 107, title, change "Wisdom better than Wealth" to capitalise
"Better" and "Than." Point II, add period after "chap."
- Page 109, verse 11, note one, set the sentence after point 5 in
Italic, for consistency.
- Page 110, verse 12, note one, change "verse 22-30" to "verses."
- Page 111, verse 13, note six, apply RC to "Spirit."
- Page 113, verses 15, 16, note one, change "who use to keep" to
"who used to keep." Note two, apply RC to "Divine." Note five,
change "(1)" to "1." and capitalise the next word, for consistency.
- Page 114, lesson, point II, change "unforseen" to "unforeseen."
Point III, change "(1.)" to "1." for consistency. Change reference
to "vers. 11, 12" to "vers. 10, 11" and move the period inside the
parentheses.
- Page 115, verse 17, note one, move a comma outside the
parentheses. Note two, point (3), apply RC to "Spirit." Note
three, change "(1)" to "1." and capitalise the next word, for
consistency. Verse 20, note one, point 1, apply RC to "Word";
point 2, apply RC to "Spirit" (thrice).
- Page 124, verses 30-36, note one, add a comma to "beginning the."
Critical Notes, chapter ix., verse 2, capitalise "Orientals."
- Page 125, lesson, point I, change "Exod. xx, ii" to "Exod. xx. 2."
- Page 127, lesson, point X, add left double quotes before "if
thou."
- Page 130, verse 2, note four, change "sweatmeats" to "sweetmeats."
- Page 131, verse 5, note zero, capitalise "Negro"; apply RC to
"Him."
- Page 132, verse 9, note one, change "1." to "(1)" for consistency.
Verse 12, note two, apply RC to "His."
- Page 133, lesson, point I 2, add right double quote after "hell."
- Page 136, verse 18, note two, change "damned" to "dammed."
- Page 137, Critical Notes, chapter x., verse 4, add right double
quote after "worketh." Verses 6 and 22, capitalise "Authorised
Version." Verse 29, add right double quote after "iniquity."
- Page 138, lesson, point I, change "(2)" to "2." and capitalise the
next word, for consistency.
- Page 141, lesson, point III 2, apply RC to "Spirit" (thrice).
Fourth note, point II, change "slily" to "slyly"; add a right
double quote after "belly."
- The break between pages 141 and 142 is in the word "unrighteous":
un|righteous.
- Page 142, note zero, point III 2, capitalise "New Jerusalem."
- Page 143, lesson, point II, add period after "rule."
- Page 145, verse 4, note five, point 1, change "industrous" to
"industrious."
- Page 148, note one, change "occasioned offered" to "occasion
offered." Note four, points I 1 and II 1, apply RC to "Gospel."
- Page 149, lesson, point III 1, add double quotes before "for" and
after "sake."
- Page 152, lesson, point II, add right double quote after "eater";
remove right double quote after "fruit."
- Page 153, note zero, apply RC to "His."
- Page 155, verse 9, note four, in-line note about inspiration.
- Page 156, lesson, introduction, apply RC to "Divine."
- Page 158, lesson, point I, remove point "1." as a singleton.
- Page 159, lesson, point IV, change the cross reference from
"i. 12" to "i. 10-19."
- Page 161, lesson, point II, add right double quote after "Him."
- Page 162, lesson, point III (2), remove right double quote after
"made"; change the double quotes around "ruined" and the final
line to single quotes, add double quotes at the end of the
paragraph. Verse 15, note four, add double quotes around the word
"destruction."
- Page 163, verse 15, note zero, use four period ellipsis.
- Page 164, title, change "Verse 18" to "Verse 17."
- Page 166, lesson, point III, change "agains" to "against."
- Page 167, note one, change "clamourous" to "clamorous." Note two,
point 3, use four period ellipsis.
- Page 169, lesson, point III, add right double quote after
"judgment." Verse 19, note two, capitalise "Christian." Note
three, add right double quote after "silent."
- Page 171, note two, point III, point 1 after "Observe," change "to
do harm" to "to do no harm."
- Page 172, verse 21, note one, change "Cant. iii. 2" to "Cant.
iv. 11." Lesson, point I, add right double quote after "bands."
- Page 173, lesson, point II, use three period ellipses after
"because" and "judgment."
- Page 174, lesson, point I, change "tell" to "tells."
- Page 176, lesson, point IV 3, apply RC to "Spirit."
- Page 179, note two, change "do not correct" to "does not correct"
and "refresh the desert" to "refreshes the desert."
- Page 181, lesson, point II, apply RC to "Spirit."
- Page 183, note zero, point II, change "insuportable" to
"insupportable."
- Page 185, lesson, point II, add right double quote after "Godhead."
- Page 186, lesson, point II, change question mark after "away" to a
period; apply RC to "Him"; and change the double quotes around the
"loved darkness" and "I will not have" quotations to single quotes.
- Page 188, lesson, point II, change cross reference to lower-case.
Remove parentheses from the cross reference for verse 31; split
the list of four verse numbers into two links, word "and" inserted.
- Page 190, Critical Notes, chapter xi., verse 14, change
"steermanship" to "steersmanship." Verse 17, capitalise
"Authorised Version." Verse 25, add a period after "seeketh" and a
right double quote after "pleasing."
- Page 192, note two, change "Melancthon" to "Melanchthon." Note
three, remove right double quote after "Jehovah."
- Page 193, lesson, point I, use three period ellipsis after
"thoughts."
- Page 195, note one, add a period after "prince" and capitalise
next word. Note three, add closing quote after "prudent."
- Page 196, lesson, point II, add right double quote after "man."
- Page 197, illustration, capitalise "Nereids." Note one, change
period after "paths" to a question mark.
- Page 198, note two, change "towards Him" to "toward Him."
- Page 200, verse 4, note one, add a left double quote before
"from." Spell out "Ver. 5." Note three, change point "III" to
point "II." Spell out "Ver. 6." Note one, apply RC to "Divine."
- Page 202, note one, use three period ellipsis after "expects."
- Page 206, title, change "The Fate of the Unrighteous one" to
capitalise "One."
- Page 207, lesson, point II, change "develope" to "develop"; a
right double quote after "God is." Point III, change "Isa. lx. 18"
to "Isa. lx. 17-18."
- Page 209, Foulon illustration, in the first sentence, there is a
four word appellation in French: the Italic formatting ends after
three words. All four were tagged as French. The first instance of
"Hôtel-de-Ville" was accented like the second one. Change
"Sanscoulottism" to "Sans-coulottism." Note two, use four period
ellipsis.
- Page 211, title, change "Contempt and Tale-bearing" to capitalise
"Bearing." Lesson, point II, add a period after "made known."
- Page 212, lesson, point III, remove quotation marks. Notes, spell
out "Ver. 12" and "Ver. 13."
- Page 214, lesson, point III, change "Plassy" to "Plassey."
- Page 216, change cross reference for verse 15 from "vi. 1-4" to
"vi. 1-5."
- Page 217, lesson, point I 1, change "develope" to "develop." Point
II, capitalise "Critical Notes."
- Page 219, lesson, point I, change "subtilly" to "subtilely."
- Page 220, lesson, point IV, add right double quote after "mercy";
capitalise "Richard iii." and apply Italic formatting as the title
of a play.
- Page 221, note one, apply RC to "Divine."
- Page 222, note one, in-line comment on "niggardly." It also refers
to Ecclesiasticus, which is not part of the 66-book canon of
scripture. It is in a Roman Catholic Bible and it can be found
on-line. Note two, in the word "kindness," the first "n" sort is
inverted. Note three, capitalise first quoted word "He." Note
four, capitalise "Sabbath." Note five, capitalise "Good Samaritan."
- Page 223, lesson, point I, change comma after "bane" to a colon.
- Page 224, lesson, point I 3, change "a honest man" to "an honest
man." Point II 1, change cross reference "ch. vii. 1, 4" to
"chap. vii. 1-4." Point II 2, change "1 Isa. ii. 1" to "1 John
ii. 1." Notes, spell out "Ver. 18."
- Page 225, note five, add a period after the initial to "A Clarke."
- The break between pages 225 and 226 is in the word "encumbrances":
encum|brances.
- Page 226, verse 18, note zero, change "Thess. iv. 1" to "1 Thess.
iv. 1." Spell out "Ver. 19" and "Ver. 20."
- Page 228, lesson, point II, change "naught" to "nought." Point
III, change "His work" to lower case, referring to men; add right
double quote after "anointed"; change "refuges of lies" to
"refuge"; change "Isaiah xxviii. 18" to "Isaiah xxviii. 17-18";
change "Isaiah liv. 15, 17" to "Isaiah liv. 15-17."
- Page 229, title, change "Precious things possessed by unworthy
owners" to capitalise "Things," "Possessed," "Unworthy," and
"Owners."
- The break between pages 229 and 230 is in the word "himself":
him|self.
- Page 231, copy missing outline title from TOC.
- Page 232, verse 23 and chap. x. 24, note one, point II, change
points "(1)" and "(2)" to "1." and "2.," respectively, for
consistency.
- Page 233, note zero, point III, apply RC to "He." In-line note
about "niggardly." Lesson, point I, change "that is meet" to
"than." Point I 2, apply RC to "He"; add "Deut. xv. 11" reference;
apply RC to "He."
- Page 234, lesson, point I 4, add double quotes around the James
v. 1-3 quotation. Notes, spell out "Vers. 24, 25." Note one,
change final period to a question mark.
- Page 237, lesson, point II, change "chap. viii. 16" to "chap.
viii. 17."
- Page 239, lesson, point II 3, replace period after "living God"
with right double quote. Note five, change "pruning himself" to
"preening himself."
- Page 240, lesson, in-line note on "niggardly." Add "I."; remove
the bold quotation marks.
- Page 242, lesson, point III, apply RC to "Him" (twice).
- Page 246, Critical Notes, chapter xii., the name "Zöckler" is
spelled without the accent in these notes and it was transcribed
consistently with other chapters. Verse 9, capitalise "Authorised
Version."
- Page 247, lesson, point II, change the period after "born" to a
question mark.
- Page 248, verse 1, note five, in-line note on "Hottentot." Apply
RC to "Gospel."
- Page 249, verse 1, note zero, apply RC to "Spirit." Change first
cross reference for verse 2 from "chap. iii. 4" to "chap.
iii. 1-4." Notes, spell out "Ver. 2." Note one, change "will he
done" to "will be done." Note three, move right double quote to
before the credit from after the credit.
- Page 250, verse 2, note one, apply RC to "Gospel." Title, change
"A Right Desire and the Means of its Attainment" to capitalise
"Its."
- Page 254, title, change "Thoughs and Words and their Result" to
capitalise "Their." Lesson, point I 1, apply RC to "Word"; change
"out thy mouth" to "out of thy mouth" and "thereon" to "therein."
- Page 255, lesson, point IV I 3, add left double quote before
"turned." Add "II." before "But for the wicked."
- Page 255, lesson, renumber point "4" as point "2." Verse 5, note
one, change "whom" to "which."
- Page 257, notes, spell out "Ver. 7."
- Page 258, notes, spell out "Ver. 8."
- Page 259, add missing lesson title from TOC.
- Page 260, note two, capitalise "Oriental."
- Page 261, note one, change "Ecclus. x. 30" to "Ecclus. x. 27." NB,
Ecclesiasticus is not part of the 66-book Canon. It is available
in a Roman Catholic Bible or on-line.
- Page 263, note one, capitalise "Authorised Version."
- Page 264, note one, change "worlding" to "worldling." Note four,
add double quotes around "regard."
- Page 266, lesson, point I 1, apply RC to "Word." Change the
sub-points of point II from "(1)" to "1." for consistency with
point I.
- Page 267, note four, change "transcendantly" to "transcendently."
Add the missing outline title from the TOC.
- Page 268, lesson, renumber the subpoints of point II 2 as "(1)"
and "(2)." In point II 2 (1), change "Jas. v. ii." to "Jas. v. 11."
- Page 270, verse 13, note three, add a period after "chap."
- Page 273, verse 16, note three, change "Chap." to "chap."; change
"1 Sam. xii. 35" to "1 Sam. xx. 34."
- Page 274, lesson, point II, change "Chap. x. 18" to "chap. x. 18."
- Page 275, lesson, point III 2, remove right double quotes after
"God"; add right double quotes after "weary"; change "Acts x. 14"
to "Acts iv. 12." Point IV, change page reference to 190 from 191.
- Page 277, verse 18, note two, apply RC to "Spirit." Verse 19, note
four, the "r" sort of "ever" is not in line. Verse 22, note four,
change "2 Cor. 1-17" to "2 Cor. i. 17."
- Page 278, note after poem, change "2 John i." to "2 John 1" and
"2 John iii." to "2 John 3." Second note after poem, apply RC to
"He maketh." Lesson, point I, add right double quote after
"righteousness."
- Page 280, verse 20, note zero, point 2, apply RC to "God, Who."
Lesson, add a right double quote just before the credit for the
poem.
- Page 281, lesson, point II (2), change "2 Tim. iv. 13" to "2 Tim.
iii. 13." Note three, add right double quotes after "touch him"
and "his sin."
- Page 282, same note, move the right double quotes to after "wine"
from within the reference. Change "Heb. v. 8, 11" to "Zech. v. 8,
11."
- The break between pages 282 and 283 is in the word "appearance":
appear|ance.
- Page 284, note one includes a reference to Ecclesiasticus, which
is not in the 66-book Canon. It is available in a Roman Catholic
Bible or on-line, if desired.
- Page 286, title, change "Heaviness of Heart and its Cure" to
capitalise "Its."
- Page 287, lesson, point I 2, add right double quote after
"thereof." Point I 3, change "Psa. xxii. 3" to "Psa. xxxii. 3."
- Page 288, lesson, point III, tag _ignis fatuus_ as Latin and set
it in Italic.
- Page 289, note one, add right double quote after "them." Add
missing lesson title from TOC.
- Page 291, verse 27, note zero, add left double quote before "the
slothful." Add missing lesson title from TOC.
- Page 292, homily on whole chapter, point (1), add "vers. 1-11" for
consistency. Add point "(3)" and capitalise next word, for
consistency.
- Page 293, Critical Notes, chapter xiii., verse 15, Miller's
comment, add right double quotes after "perpetual." Verse 19, add
left double quotes before "appeased" and right double quotes after
"satisfied." Lesson, point III, change "chap. iv. 1, 4" to
"chap. iv. 1-4."
- Page 297, verse 4, note three, apply RC to "His" and add right
double quotes after "baptism."
- The break between pages 299 and 300 is in the word "towering":
tower|ing.
- Page 300, note two, change "villany" to "villainy." In-line note
about "niggardly."
- Page 301, lesson, point III, change "Laodician" to "Laodicean."
- Page 302, lesson, point V, add right double quotes after
"husbandmen."
- The break between pages 302 and 303 is in the word "proverbs":
pro|verbs.
- The break between pages 303 and 304 is in the word "throughout"
through|out.
- Page 304, note two includes a St. Gregory comment; change the
double quotes around an internal quotation to single quotes, and
add closing double quotes after "wealth." (Alternately, the St.
Gregory comment might continue to the end of the note.) Note
three, change "shall he put out" to "shall be put out."
- Page 305, lesson, point I after poem, remove right double quotes
after "you."
- Page 306, lesson, point II 2, change periods after "severed" and
"blighted" to question marks.
- Page 308, verse 11, note zero, remove comma after "(1)" for
consistency.
- Page 309, lesson, point III 2 (3), add right double quotes after
"himself."
- Page 311, note zero, point IV, add right double quotes after
"fail."
- Page 313, note four, change "if they lay under" to "if they lie
under."
- Page 315, lesson, point III, apply RC to "Divine"; remove right
double quotes after "death." Point IV, apply RC to "Holy."
- Page 316, lesson, point I, change "who his regarded" to "who is
regarded."
- Page 317, lesson, point II, apply RC to "Spirit." Renumber the
points of point III: change "1. Antiquity" to "2" "2. Men's" to
"3"; "3. It is attractive" to "4"; "2. It is hard" to "5"; and
"3. It is a" to "6." Renumbered point III 4, change "page 8,
second head" to include "ch. i. 10-19" for utility in plain text.
- Page 319, note one, use four period ellipses after "last" and
"perdition." Note three, point 1, add right double quotes after
"stern."
- The break between pages 321 and 322 is in the word "sheet-anchor":
sheet-|anchor.
- Page 322, lesson, point II, change "Heb. x. 10" to "Heb. x. 23."
Note five, change "Lord's" to lower-case, referring to a human.
- Page 324, verse 18, note zero, add right double quote after
"condition."
- Page 328, note three, apply RC to "Divine." Note six, change
"Jehosaphat" to "Jehoshaphat"; remove the left double quotes
before "wrath."
- Page 333, title, change "Land and its Tillers" to capitalise "Its."
- The break between pages 335 and 336 is in the word "leisure":
lei|sure.
- Page 338, lesson, point II 3, apply RC to "Word." Change the John
vii. 38 text from "out of His heart" to "out of his belly."
- Page 343, verse 2, note zero, add right double quotes after "God's
way."
- Page 345, verse 5, note one, terminate the Italic formatting at
"correctly" and set the next sentence in Roman.
- Page 346, title, change "Seeking, but not Finding" to capitalise
"Not."
- The break between pages 346 and 347 is in the word "discerning":
dis|cerning.
- Page 350, verse 7, note 1, use four period ellipsis after
"workmen." Spell out "Ver. 8." Note two, add right double quotes
just after "fools."
- Page 351, verse 8, note one, use four period ellipsis after "wise."
- Page 352, verse 9, note one, change "idiotcy" to "idiocy."
- The break between pages 352 and 353 is in the word "vine-clad":
vine-|clad.
- Page 353, lesson, point III, change "secresy" to "secrecy."
- Page 355, title, change "What seems to Be and What Is" to
capitalise "Seems" and add a comma after "Be."
- Page 358, verse 12, note two, apply RC to "Word" and "Divine."
- The break between pages 359 and 360 occurs within the scripture
reference "Isa. lvii. 20, 21" between the chapter and first verse
number. The chapter and first verse number were moved to the
earlier page.
- Page 360, lesson, point I, apply RC to "Him" (twice).
- Page 364, lesson, point I 4, the list of verse numbers was
transcribed into two links, with the word "and" inserted.
- Page 365, lesson, point III, add right double quotes after "God."
Verse 15, note three, add right double quote after "doctrine";
apply RC to "Divine" (twice).
- Page 366, verse 15, note one, format the word "To" in the second
sentence in Roman as it is in the first. Note two, change "we use
to tell" to "we used to tell."
- Page 367, verse 16, note two, apply RC to "Divine."
- Page 369, lesson, point III, after the ellipsis, capitalise
"Then"; insert right double quotes after "Father."
- Page 370, lesson, point I 1, apply RC to "He."
- Page 371, notes, spell out "Ver. 20." Verse 20, note two, change
"etween" to "between." Verse 21, note two, point 2, apply RC to
"Word."
- Page 373, lesson, point II 3, apply RC to "Word."
- Page 374, note four, apply RC to "Word" and "Word's." Lesson,
point 3, change "developes" to "develops."
- Page 375, note one after poem, change "Where he" to "Were he."
- Page 376, note two, add right double quote after Matthew reference
to close Henry quotation.
- Page 377, note zero, apply RC to "Word." Title, change "Wealth
with and without Wisdom" to capitalise "Without."
- Page 378, note six, add left double quotes before "Wisdom."
- Page 379, lesson, point II, add right double quotes after
"Witness."
- Page 380, note five, apply RC to "Spirit" and "Word."
- Page 381, lesson, point I, apply RC to "Divine."
- Page 384, heading, add missing page number 313. Verses 26 and 27,
note one, change "presumptous" to "presumptuous."
- Page 388, note two, in the original, point II starts a new
paragraph.
- Page 389, title, change "The Oppressed and their Oppressors" to
capitalise "Their."
- Page 390, lesson, point III 2, apply RC to "Divine."
- Page 392, note zero, change "Job xxvii. 10" to "Job xxvii. 8";
change "Ghost" to lower-case; change "Job. iv. 21" to "Job
xiv. 10."
- Page 394, note one, points 2 and 3, use four period ellipses.
Title, change "The Hidden made Manifest" to capitalise "Made."
Lesson, points I and I 1, apply RC to "Divinely."
- Page 396, lesson, point III, apply RC to "Word"; add right double
quotes after "sin." Note two, point (1), change "lesson" to
"lessen." Note three, apply RC to "Christianise."
- Page 397, same note, change "Machiavel" to "Machiavelli." Note
one, point 1, apply RC to "Him."
- Page 398, lesson, point II, capitalise "Authorised Version."
- Page 399, Critical Notes, chapter xv., verse 26, add right double
quote after "words." Verse 33, add left double quotes before "a
discipline."
- Page 400, lesson, point III, remove m-dash between bold and
non-bold print.
- Page 401, point II, change "as if He" to lower-case, referring to
a person.
- Page 402, verse 3, note one, apply RC to "Word" (twice).
- Page 404, verse 4, note zero, add left double quotes before
"saving"; apply RC to "Gospel." Note six, format "sharp" in Italic
for consistency.
- Page 405, note one, apply RC to "Will."
- Page 406, verse 7, note two, apply RC to "Word."
- Page 407, lesson, point II, add right double quotes after "Him";
apply RC to "He" and "His."
- Page 409, verse 9, note one, remove left double quotes before
"But"; add left parenthesis before "Phil. iii. 11" reference.
- Page 410, note four, apply RC to "Gospel."
- Page 412, note two, change "subtilty" to "subtlety"; remove right
double quotes after "Him"; add left double quotes before "There."
Lesson, point II, change "see page 323" to add "ch. xiii. 18"
for utility in plain text.
- Page 413, lesson, point III, change cross reference from "chap.
i. 22-32" to "chap. i. 20-33." Note one, change "this pains" to
"these pains."
- Page 414, lesson, point I, add right double quotes after
"beautiful."
- Page 415, verse 13, note one, add right double quotes after "body."
- Page 416, note two, change "Prophecy" to "Prophesy." Note four,
add right double quotes after "not."
- Page 417, same note, change "prophecy" to "prophesy." Lesson,
point I 1, change "envelopes" to "envelops."
- Page 419, title, change "A Treasure without Trouble" to capitalise
"Without."
- Page 423, verse 18, note one, remove "(ver. 13)."
- Page 425, note one, apply RC to "Will."
- Page 426, note three, change "unresistable" to "irresistible."
Change verse 20 page to 137 from 136.
- Page 430, lesson, point I, change "Sheol" to "Sheōl" twice to
match spelling in Critical Notes.
- Page 431, lesson, point III, change "Sheol" to "Sheōl."
- Page 432, note two, change "transcendant" to "transcendent"; add
left double quotes before "partaker." Note three, change "Sheol"
to "Sheōl."
- Page 434, lesson, part II, add left double quotes before "judge";
remove right double quotes after "crieth" add right double quotes
after "helper."
- Page 435, lesson, part III, change "rivers" to "river"; add a
four-period ellipsis after "earth"; swap "Seba" and "Sheba"
- Page 437, note five, change "villany" to "villainy."
- Page 439, lesson, point III 3, apply RC to "Him." Note one, point
(2), change "covetousnes" to "covetousness." After "Ephes. v. 5"
reference, change "covetousness man" to "covetous man."
- Page 440, lesson, point II, add right double quotes after
"things."
- Page 441, note one, add right parenthesis after "chap. x. 19"
reference. Lesson, point I, change "everyone of us" to "every one
of us."
- Page 442, lesson, point II 2, remove right double quotes from
after "live" and left double quotes from before "I" (no internal
quotes in text referenced). Note one, change "heart's" to
"hearts." Note two, capitalise first "Publican" for consistency;
apply RC to "He descends."
- Page 445, lesson, first point 2, change colon after "others" to a
period.
- Page 447, notes, spell out "Ver. 31" and "Ver. 32."
- Page 448, notes, spell out "Ver. 33." Verse 33, note four, add
right double quotes after "Israel"; change "everyone bigger" to
"every one bigger."
- Page 450, Critical Notes, chapter xvi., verse 4, capitalise
"Authorised." Verse 9, change "den otes" to "denotes." Verse 26,
add right double quotes after "him."
- Page 452, note one, apply RC to "Spirit."; point 2, apply RC to
"Him."
- Page 453, note five, apply RC to "Designer."
- Page 454, note zero, apply RC to "Spirit."
- Page 455, note one, change "is sense" to "in sense"; change "Prov.
xxxvi. 2" to "Psa. xxxvi. 2."
- Page 456, note one, apply RC to "Will" and "Word." Lesson, point
III, apply RC to "Word" and "Will."
- Page 457, note two, apply RC to "Will" and "Word." Note two, apply
RC to "Will" (twice). Note four, add double quotes around "commit."
- Page 459, lesson, point IV 1, apply RC to "Him."
- Page 460, lesson, point IV 3, apply RC to "He"; after
"Consequently," point 3, apply RC to "Will" (twice); change
"overruled His authority" to lower-case, speaking of Pharaoh;
apply RC to "He."
- Page 461, lesson, point II 1, add ellipsis after "God" and add
square brackets around "He," because the word is not in the verse
but makes the quote more intelligible; change "Phil. iii. 7, 8" to
"Phil. ii. 7, 8"; apply RC to "God-like."
- Page 462, note two, change "Solomon" to "Lemuel." (See Critical
Notes for chapter xxxi.) Apply RC to "Will." Change "father" and
"son" to lower-case because there is no enmity within the Godhead.
- Page 463, lesson, point III, add right double quotes after "us"
and "glory"; add a period after "chap."
- Page 464, note three, apply RC to "Gospel" (twice).
- Page 466, lesson, point II, apply RC to "Will."
- Page 467, note one, apply RC to "Word."
- Page 469, lesson, point II, apply RC to "Word." Add comma to "pass
nothing." Apply RC to "Own Will" and "His."
- Page 470, lesson, point II, change the double quotes around the
quoted scripture to single quotes; add a period at the end of the
quotation.
- Page 472, lesson, point I, capitalise "Authorised Version."
- Page 473, notes, spell out "Ver. 10." Note one, format the word
"equity" in Italic for consistency.
- Page 474, note one, spell out "ver. 9." Spell out "Ver. 11." Note
one, change "Eccles. vii. 15" to "Ecclus. vii. 15." NB:
Ecclesiasticus is not part of the 66-book Canon. It is available
in a Roman Catholic Bible or on-line. Note four, add right double
quotes after "wickedness."
- Page 475, notes, spell out "Ver. 12" and "Ver. 13."
- Page 476, notes, spell out "Ver. 14." Note one, apply RC to "Word."
- Page 477, notes, spell out "Ver. 15" and "Ver. 16." Note one, add
right double quote after "world."
- Page 479, note zero, change "conquerers" to "conquerors."
- Page 480, lesson, point I 2, add an ellipsis after "God"; change
"Phil. ii. 6" to "Phil. ii. 6-8." Point II, change "1 Tim. ix. 11"
to "1 Tim. vi. 11." Note one, change "Num. iv. 7" to "1 Tim.
iv. 7." Note three, add right double quotes after "man."
- Page 481, note one, add double quotes around "highway."
- Page 483, notes, spell out "Ver. 19."
- Page 484, note four, apply RC to "Spirit."
- Page 486, notes, spell out "Ver. 20." Note two, apply RC to
"Word." Note three, add right double quotes after "Blessed."
- Page 487, note one, add right double quotes after "likelihoods";
apply RC to "His" and "Word."
- Page 488, note two, apply RC to "Spirit."
- Page 489, note one, point 3, remove a period from the ellipsis.
Note two, apply RC to "Gospel."
- Page 490, note, point (2), apply RC to "Gospel."
- Page 491, title change "Different Species of the same Genus" to
capitalise "Same."
- Page 492, note 2, change "Psalm lxiv. 1-6" to "Psalm lxiv. 6."
Spell out "Ver. 28" and "Ver. 29."
- Page 493, notes, spell out "Ver. 30."
- Page 494, lesson, point II, apply RC to "Will."
- Page 495, note two, change "Phil. 9" to "Philemon 9" for
concreteness.
- Page 496, lesson, point I, apply RC to "He."
- Page 498, note three, change "Judges viii. 1 3" to "Judges
viii. 1-3."
- Page 499, title, change "The Lot and its Disposer" to capitalise
"Its." Lesson, point II, apply RC to "Will" (twice) and "He."
- Page 504, lesson, point I, change cross reference from " chap.
xiv., page 31" to "chap. xiv. 31, page 389."
- Page 505, lesson, point III, change "he visit Him" to "He visit
him" to put the RC on the correct pronoun.
- Page 507, lesson, point II, add double quotes around "gift."
- Page 508, title, change "How to Make Friends and How to Separate
them" to capitalise "Them."
- Page 509, title, change "Correction must be Adapted to the
Character of the Offender" to capitalise "Must."
- Page 510, note three, update the ellipsis to change the comma to a
period and add a period. Note six, apply RC to "Divine."
- Page 512, notes, spell out "Ver. 12" and "Ver. 13."
- Page 514, note zero, apply RC to "He." Note three, add right
double quotes after "thereof." Lesson, insert missing title from
TOC.
- Page 515, point II, capitalise "Which." Note two, apply RC to
"Gospel" (twice).
- Page 516, note one, apply RC to "Word" and "Divinely."
- Page 517, lesson, note II, remove right double quotes after
"creatures."
- Page 520, illustration, at the top of the second column, after the
word "speed," the comma sort was inverted and appears as an
apostrophe. The word "god" was changed to lower-case given the
context. Notes, spell out "Ver. 17."
- Page 521, note one, change "rescue" to "venture." Note two, apply
RC to "Friend." Spell out "Ver. 18."
- Page 522, change cross reference for verses 20 and 21 from "x., 1,
13, 14, etc." to "x. 1, 13, 14, etc." as two links.
- Page 524, note two, capitalise "Sabbath"; change "vigetous" to
"vegetous." Lesson, point II, add right double quotes after
"therewith."
- Page 525, note one, apply RC to "Will." Note two, change period
after "path" to a question mark. Note four, in the four word Latin
phrase, only the fourth word was set in Italic, possibly for
emphasis.
- Page 526, title, change "The Eyes of a Fool and those of a Wise
Man" to capitalise "Those." Lesson, point II, apply RC to "Gospel";
add right double quotes after "it."
- The break between pages 528 and 529 is in the word "government":
govern|ment.
- Page 533, Critical Notes, chapter xviii., verse 1, capitalise
"Authorised Version." Lesson, introductory comment, capitalise
"Authorised Version." Lesson, point I, change "His maker" to "his
Maker" to put the RC where it belongs.
- Page 535, note zero, in the scripture reference that starts the
page, change the period after "15" to a semicolon. Note one,
change "par#ticle" to "particle" and, on the next line, add a
period after "to."
- Page 536, verse 3, note 1, the period sort after "this" is
inverted.
- Page 538, lesson, point III, change "Matt. xii. 24, 25" to "Matt.
xii. 34, 35." Note two, apply RC to "Word."
- Page 539, title, change "Folly and its Results" to capitalise
"Its." Spell out "ver. 14."
- Page 540, notes, spell out "Ver. 6" and "Ver. 8."
- Page 542, lesson, point I, add a period after "1." Point I 2,
apply RC to "His."
- Page 544, note one, change "Isa. i. 10" to "Isa. l. 10."
- The break between pages 545 and 546 is in the word "provided":
pro|vided.
- Page 546, note one, change "fidgetty" to "fidgety."
- Page 547, lesson, point I, apply RC to "Gospel." Note one, add
right double quotes after "bear."
- Page 548, note zero, point 1, add a period to the first ellipsis.
Point 2, change "presumptious" to "presumptuous"; add a period to
the second ellipsis.
- Page 549, note two, add right double quotes after "heart."
- Page 554, note one, add a period to the ellipsis.
- Page 558, lesson, point I, change the page cross reference from
302 to 300.
- Page 559, lesson, point II, change cross reference from "chap.
xxx. 8, 9" to "chap. xxx. 7-9."
- Page 560, lesson, point I, apply RC to "His Own."
- Page 561, Critical Notes, chapter xix., the name "Zöckler" appears
throughout without the accented character. It has been made
consistent with other uses. Verse 7, set the words "are not" in
Italic and add a right double quotes after "good." Verse 18,
capitalise "Authorised Version." Verse 20, add right double quotes
after "beneficence." Verse 24, change "vi. 14" to "ch. xii. 27."
Lesson, change title comma to period; add missing title from TOC.
- Page 562, title, change "Ignorance leading to Sin" to capitalise
"Leading."
- Page 564, lesson, point IV 1, apply RC to "Word" and "Gospel."
- Page 565, note zero, change "henious" to "heinous." Spell out
"Ver. 2."
- Page 566, notes, spell out "Ver. 3." Note one, apply RC to "He"
and "His Word" and "He." Note two, point 1, use three period
ellipses after "intemperance," "indolence," and "frame." Point 2,
use three period ellipses after "them" and "others." Point 3, use
a three period ellipsis after "undutiful." Point 4, use three
period ellipses after "when" and "grace."
- Page 567, lesson, change "page 274" to add "ch. xii. 17-19, 22"
reference for utility in plain text.
- Page 568, lesson, point 3, add a right double quote after "death."
- Page 569, cross reference for verses 8 and 9, change page numbers
to 121 and 124 from 122 and 128, respectively. Add missing verse
10 lesson title from TOC. Lesson, point I, add double quotes
around "delight" and "servant."
- Page 570, note three, change "He" to lower-case, thrice.
- Page 572, note four, apply RC to "Holy" (twice). Use four period
ellipsis after "glory."
- Page 573, title, change "Domestic Sorrow and how to avoid it" to
capitalise "How" and "Avoid." Lesson, point II 1, change "li. 5"
to "Ps. li. 5" for concreteness.
- Page 574, notes, spell out "Vers. 13, 14." Note one, apply RC to
"Divine." Spell out "Ver. 18."
- Page 575, lesson, point II, apply RC to "His" (twice). Note one,
use three period ellipsis. Add left double quotes before
"Wherewithal." Remove right double quotes after "maintains." Add
left double quotes before "The."
- Page 576, lesson, point I, add right double quotes after "poor";
apply RC to "Gospel." Point II, apply RC to "Word."
- Page 577, note one, apply RC to "Word." Note three, use four
period after "obedience."
- Page 578, lesson, point I, use a three period ellipsis after
"hostility."
- Page 579, notes, spell out "Vers. 18, 19." Note one, add right
double quotes after "again."
- Page 581, note zero, use four period ellipsis after "disappear."
Cross reference for verse 24, change "xxv. 13-15" to
"xxvi. 12-16." Lesson title, change "verses 26-28" to "verses
26-29." Notes, spell out "Ver. 26" and "Ver. 27."
- Page 584, cross reference for verse 4, change page reference to
142 from 146. Lesson, point I, add double quotes around "counsel."
- Page 585, lesson, points I 1 and I 2, add double quotes around
"No."
- Page 586, cross reference for verse 10, change "chap. xi., page 1"
to "chap. xi. 1."
- Page 587, notes, spell out "Ver. 7," "Ver. 8," "Ver. 9," and "Ver.
10."
- Page 588, notes, spell out "Ver. 11."
- Page 590, title, change "Thought before Action" to capitalise
"Before."
- Page 592, cross reference for verse 21, change "chap. xxi. 5-7" to
"chap. xxi. 5, 7, 17," and the page number to 609 from 596.
- Page 593, note three, add right double quotes after "joy."
- Page 594, note two, apply RC to "Gospel" (twice).
- Page 596, lesson, point III, add double quotes around "throne."
- Page 597, illustration, use three period ellipsis after "it."
- Page 599, note two, add double quotes around "God."
- Page 601, note zero, point IV, use four period ellipses after
"worldly" and "life."
- Page 602, note zero, point VI, use four period ellipsis after
"Solomon."
- Page 603, note one, change "The light of reason is a _certain
light_" to set "light" in Roman, for consistency. Use four period
ellipses after "candlelight," "being," and "for."
- Page 605, Critical Notes, chapter xxi., verse 12, add right double
quotes after "overthroweth."
- Page 606, Critical Notes, verse 27, add right double quotes after
"iniquity." Note one, use four period ellipsis after "Most High."
- Page 607, verse 3, note one, use four period ellipsis after
"sacrifice."
- Page 609, note one, use three period ellipsis after "corruption."
- Page 610, notes, spell out "Ver. 5," "Ver. 6," and "Ver. 17."
- Page 612, lesson, point II, apply RC to "Will." Change second
cross reference to page 195 from 196. Note two, change "Cor.
iii. 3" to "1 Cor. iii. 3."
- Page 613, lesson, point I, capitalise "Eastern" and "Orientals."
- Page 615, title, change "Instruction for Those who Need it" to
capitalise "Who."
- Page 616, note one, use a four period ellipsis after "happen."
Note two, use a four period ellipsis after "amendment."
- Page 618, note two, use a four period ellipsis after "beggar."
- Page 620, lesson, point II, change "everyone of them" to "every
one of them."
- Page 621, lesson, point I, change "chap. iv. 18. See page 58." to
"chap. iv. 18, see page 58." Merge this sentence into the one that
follows.
- Page 622, note one, apply RC to "Word" and "Grace." Change cross
reference from "verses 5-7" to "verses 5 and 7."
- Page 623, note one, change "storming of Achan" to "stoning of
Achan."
- Page 624, cross reference, change "5 to 7" to "5 and 7." Lesson,
point I, add right double quotes after "righteousness of God."
- Page 625, add trailing period to lesson title.
- Page 628, note one, apply RC to "Gospel."
- Page 629, note two, apply RC to "Divine."
- Page 630, lesson, point I, add right double quotes after "rams"
and "truth."
- Page 633, note three, use four period ellipsis after "Him."
- Page 634, Critical Notes, chapter xxii., verse 29, add left double
quotes before "apt." Add a link to the further Critical Notes for
this chapter on page 652, after verse 16. Title, change "Better
than Gold" to capitalise "Than."
- Page 636, lesson, point I 1, change "Rom. v. 12" to "Rom.
iii. 22-23." Point I 3, apply RC to "Spirit"; add right double
quote after "Christ's"; change "1 Cor. iii. 23" to "1 Cor.
iii. 22-23."
- Page 637, cross reference, change "chxp. xiv. 16" to "chap.
xiv. 15-18." The link for chap. iii. 1-18 is to chap. iii. 1-4,
which is the start of that section. Title, change "Verses 3 and 4"
to "Verses 5 and 6." Change "A Hedged-up Way" to capitalise "Up."
- Page 638, lesson, point II, apply RC to "Heavenly Parent" and
"Will."
- Page 639, notes, spell out "Ver. 5" and "Ver. 6."
- Page 641, lesson, point II, change "Isa. xiv. 13" to "Isa.
xiv. 13-14."
- Page 642, lesson, point I, apply RC to "Divine." Point II,
change "His bread" to lower-case, speaking of a person.
- Page 643, title, change "A Man who Ought to Dwell Alone" to
capitalise "Who."
- Page 645, note one, change "perfection is desire" to "desire is
perfection."
- Page 649, change third cross reference to "vii. 5-27" on page 95
from "vi. 6-27" on page 15.
- Page 652, note zero, apply RC to "Providence," "He," and "His"
(twice).
- Page 653, note two, apply RC to "Word."
- Page 654, verse 19, note one, apply RC to "Divine."
- Page 655, same note, apply RC to "Divine" (twice). Note one, apply
RC to "Divine Word" and "Divine"; add a period after "whatsoever."
- Page 656, note one, apply RC to "Gospel" and "Divine."
- Page 658, title, change "Suretyship and its Dangers" to capitalise
"Its."
- Page 659, lesson, point I 2, add right double quotes after
"swiftly."
- Page 661, Critical Notes, chapter xxiii., verse 23, add period
after "discipline." Verse 25, add right double quotes after
"rejoice."
- Page 664, lesson, point II, add left double quotes before
"covetous."
- Page 667, note one, apply RC to "Word." Note two, apply RC to
"Himself."
- Page 668, same note, apply RC to "His."
- Page 669, lesson, point I, change "corporeal" to "corporal."
- Page 670, notes, change "Verse 15, 16" to "Verses 15, 16." Verse
18, note one, remove right double quotes after "is."
- Page 671, note zero, point 2, apply RC to "Divine" (twice).
- Page 672, note zero, apply RC to "His." Verse 26, note one, point
III, change "his" to "him."
- Page 675, Critical Notes, chapter xxiv., verse 16, add right
double quotes after "them." Verse 22, capitalise "Authorised
Version."
- Page 681, note one, apply RC to "Divine."
- Page 682, lesson, point II, apply RC to "Word."
- Page 683, lesson, point II, change "shall condemn" to "shalt
condemn." Note one, use three period ellipsis after "and."
- Page 685, verses 17 and 18, change "Obadiah xii." to "Obadiah 12."
In-line warning about "niggardly."
- Page 686, lesson, point III, apply RC to "Will." Note one, apply
RC to "Will." Note two, apply RC to "Word."
- Page 689, title, change "An Uncalled-for Testimony" to capitalise
"For."
- Page 690, lesson, part II, apply RC to "His."
- Page 691, note one, apply RC to "Gospel"; spell out "ver." twice;
change "23" to "28."
- Page 693, Critical Notes, chapter xxv., verse 8, change "be thy
neighbour" to "by thy neighbour." Verse 17, change "Withhold" to
"Withdraw."
- Page 694, lesson, point I, apply RC to "Him." Point II, apply RC
to "Divine."
- Page 695, note two, point 1, the word "foresees" appears at a
column break; the first half in Italic, the second half in Roman;
whole word is transcribed in Italic. Point 3, after poem, change
"can'st" to "canst."
- Page 696, same note, change "can'st" to "canst"; change "secresy"
to "secrecy."
- Page 697, lesson, introduction, change "seem no refer" to "seem to
refer."
- Page 699, title, change comma to period.
- Page 700, lesson, point I 2, change "If he do not make" to "If he
does not make." Note one, apply RC to "Word."
- Page 701, title, change "Clouds without Rain" to capitalise
"Without."
- Page 707, note one, use three period ellipses after "that" and
"peaceably."
- Page 708, lesson, point I, change "page 274" to add "ch. xii.
17-19, 22" for utility in plain text. Point II, add double quotes
around "Amen."
- Page 709, note zero, change "##ceptable" to "acceptable." Note
one, use a four period ellipsis after "countenance." Lesson, point
II, change "had drank" to "had drunk."
- Page 710, lesson, point II, change "are good news" to "is good
news." Note one, add right double quotes after "labour." Note two,
point IV, use a four period ellipsis after "Novel."
- Page 711, lesson, point II, change "apostacy" to "apostasy."
- Page 712, lesson, introduction, change "verse xvi." to "verse 16."
- Page 713, verse 28, note one, add a period after "waggon."
- Page 715, lesson, insert "I." before "Men utter."
- Page 716, note one, remove right double quotes after "heavens."
- Page 718, verses 4 and 5, note one, apply RC to "Spirit" and
"Gospel." Note two, use four period ellipsis after "speaketh."
- Page 719, verse 11, note one, remove right double quotes after
"animals." Note three, add period after "original."
- Page 720, title, change "Self-conceit and Indolence" to capitalise
"Conceit."
- The break between pages 720 and 721 is in the word "together":
to|gether.
- The break between pages 724 and 725 is in the word "preserve":
pre|serve.
- Page 725, note two, change "Hougomont" to "Hougoumont."
- Page 728, note three includes a reference to Wisdom, which is not
part of the 66-book Canon. It is available in a Roman Catholic
Bible or on-line.
- Page 729, notes, spell out "Ver. 6."
- Page 730, notes, spell out "Ver. 9." Note one, apply RC to "Word"
and "Him." Spell out "Ver. 10." Note one, add right double quotes
after "off." Spell out "Ver. 14.
- Page 731, note zero, change "his God" to lower-case, because the
flatterer is exalting a man.
- Page 733, cross reference, change "6th and 7th" to "5th and 6th."
- Page 736, note two, add period after "through."
- Page 738, lesson, point I, change "page 725" to also refer to
"verse 2" for utility in plain text.
- Page 740, notes, spell out "Ver. 25" and "Vers. 26 and 27."
Critical Notes, chapter xxviii., change "1" to "2."
- Page 741, Critical Notes, verse 22, add right double quotes after
"hasteth." Lesson, point III, change "Psa. cxxxix. 7, 10" to "Psa.
cxxxix. 7-10."
- Page 743, note one, change "plentitude" to "plenitude" and
"precints" to "precincts"; apply RC to "Word."
- Page 744, illustration, use a four period ellipsis after "food."
- Page 745, lesson, points I and II, apply RC to "Will." Notes,
spell out "Ver. 4." Note one, use a four period ellipsis after
"it." Spell out "Ver. 5." Note one, change "both Christ and the
Law to him is a mystery" to "are a mystery."
- Page 746, note zero, use a four period ellipsis after "it." Verse
8 cross reference, change to page 331 from 332; verse 10, change
to page 721 from 722.
- Page 747, note one, apply RC to "Divinely."
- Page 748, lesson, point II, add left double quotes before
"blessedness" and right double quotes after "guile."
- Page 749, note zero, apply RC to "Spirit."
- Page 753, lesson, point II, change "Jer. xvii. 8" to "Jer.
xvii. 7-8." Note three, change the "1" before "The honour of God"
to "I." In point II 3, use a three period ellipsis after "so."
- Page 754, Critical Notes, chapter xxix., verse 18, add right
double quotes after "law."
- Page 755, lesson, point II, change cross reference to "chap.
vi. 12-19" on page 81 from "chap. vi. 15" on page 82.
- Page 756, lesson, point I, change "Chap." to lower case.
- Page 757, lesson, point II, change cross reference to "chap.
xiv. 15-18" from "chap. xiv. 16." Note one, change "Phinehas
xxv. 11" to "Phinehas--Num. xxv. 11." Change "Contrast xiii. 5" to
"Contrast Ezek. xiii. 5" for concreteness. Title, change
"Soul-seekers and Soul-haters" to capitalise "Seekers" and
"Haters."
- Page 760, note zero, apply RC to "Divinely"; change "Machiavelian"
to "Machiavellian"; apply RC to "Will," "Glory," and "Inspired."
Title, change "Victory not with the Majority" to capitalise "Not."
- Page 761, note two, apply RC to "Divine."
- Page 762, lesson, point I, apply RC to "Nature," "Will," and
"Purposes."
- The page break between pages 763 and 764 is in a unit that style
indicates should not be broken. The text on the first page ends at
the m-dash; the opening quotation mark and the word "Tell" have
been moved to the earlier page so as not to break the unit.
- Page 764, note three, apply RC to "Decalogue."
- Page 765, lesson, point II, change "Psa. lxiii. 3" to "Psa.
xxx. 5; Psa. lxiii. 3."
- Page 767, Critical Notes, chapter xxx., verse 15, change
"horseleech" to "horseleach" to match A.V. Verses 15 and 16,
change the double quotes to single quotes around "three things,"
"four things," and "leech."
- Page 770, verse 2, note one, use a four period ellipsis after
"top." Verse 4, note one, use a four period ellipsis after
"operation"; add double quotes around "God." Lesson, point I,
apply RC to "Character" and "Will."
- Page 771, lesson, point II, apply RC to "Word." Point III, apply
RC to "Word" (twice).
- Page 772, note one, apply RC to "Word" and "Speaker." Note two,
apply RC to "Word" and "Him."
- Page 773, lesson, point II, change "that strengtheneth" to "which
strengtheneth" to match A.V. Verse 7, note one, change "Him" to
lower case, referring to Jacob. Verse 8, note two, change
"dependants" to "dependents."
- Page 775, lesson, point II, apply RC to "Word." Point IV, apply RC
to "Gospel"; change "dwell" to "shall dwell" and "lie" to "shall
lie"; set "etc." in Roman rather than Italic. Verse 11, note two,
apply RC to "Divine"; change "His heart" to lower case.
- Page 777, lesson, point II, change cross reference to "chap.
vi. 6-11" on page 78 from "chap. vi. 6" on page 79.
- Page 778, note two, apply RC to "Him."
- Page 779, remarks on chapter xxx., change "verse 7-9" to "verses
7-9."
- Page 780, lesson, point III, change second cross reference to page
680 from page 180.
- Page 783, verse 29, note one, remove period after "principle."
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The Preacher's Complete Homiletic Commentary on the Books of the Bible, Volume 13 (of 32) - The Preacher's Complete Homiletic Commentary on the Book of the Proverbs" ***
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