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._
* * * * * *