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._
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