CRITICAL NOTES.--+5. A man of knowledge,+ rather _"a man of
understanding,"_ +increaseth strength,+ literally _"maketh power
strong."_ Miller translates the entire verse thus:--_"A strong man,
if wise, is as a power indeed; and a man of knowledge makes strength
really strong."_ +7. Wisdom is too high,+ etc. Delitzsch here reads,
_Wisdom seems to the fool to be an ornamental commodity,_ and thinks
"the comparison lies in the rarity, costliness, and unattainableness
of wisdom." "The word," says Miller, "occurs but three times in the
Bible; once in Job xxviii. 18, translated _coral;_ once in Ezekiel
xxvii. 16, translated _coral_ and agate; and once in this passage,
where it ought to be translated _coral_ again." Some, from this
rendering, understand the verse to signify that a fool uses wisdom
like a precious stone, only for ornament. +8. Mischievous person,+
literally _a master or lord of mischief._ +9. The thought,+ etc.,
rather, "the _device_ or _undertaking._" +10. If thou faint,+ etc.,
rather _"If thou hast been straitened in the day of straitness,
strait is thy strength."_ +11.+ Literally, _"Deliver them who are
dragged forth_ unto _death, and them that totter to the slaughter,
oh, rescue them."_ +12. He that pondereth,+ literally, _the Weigher
of hearts._ +He that keepeth,+ rather _"watcheth."_ +14. There shall
be a reward,+ rather, _"there is a future,"_ as in chap. xxiii. 18.
+16. The wicked shall fall.+ Delitzsch reads, _"the wicked are
overthrown when calamity falls on them," i.e.,_ they do not rise
again and again as the just man does. +20. Reward.+ The same word
used in verse 14, and in chap. xxiii. 18. Its literal meaning is "a
hereafter." Zöckler translates it _end_ in the first two instances,
but in this case he reads _future._ Delitzsch and Miller render it
_hereafter_ or _future_ in every verse. +21. Given to change,+
literally _otherwise disposed,_ or, according to Miller, _repeaters,
turners back._ +22. The ruin of them both,+ etc. This phrase is
variously rendered, and different meanings are also attached to the
same rendering. Delitzsch follows the Syriac version, and reads,
_"the end of their years, who knoweth it?"_ But Zöckler adapts the
reading of the Authorised Version, which is supported by the Vulgate,
by Luther, Ewald, Elster, and others. Some understand the word _both_
to refer to those who rebel against God, and those who rebel against
the king (so Zöckler), while others apply it to God and the king, and
the _ruin_ foretold as that proceeding from them. Here begins a short
appendix to the third main division of the book of Proverbs, the
first clause of verse 33 being its superscription, which is almost in
the same words as that which introduces the division itself. (See
chap. xxii. 17.) It extends only to the end of the chapter, and
consists of maxims which have no apparent connection with each other.
+23. These things also belong to the wise.+ Rather _"These_ (the
proverbs which follow) _are also from wise men."_ The word _also_
connects this introduction with that in chap. xxii. 17. +25. To them
that rebuke,+ etc. The word _him_ is not in the original, and spoils
the sense. If this rendering of the verb is accepted, _iniquity_ must
be understood to be the subject of rebuke. Delitzsch however reads,
_"To them who rightly decide,"_ and Miller renders, _"To them that
set the thing right."_ +26. A right answer,+ _i.e._, a _faithful,
straightforward_ answer. "The word comes," says Miller, "from a verb
meaning _to be in front._" "The mention of the _lips,_" Zöckler
remarks, "is to be explained simply by the remembrance of the
_question_ to which the upright and truthful answer corresponds."
+27. House.+ This word may mean here as it does in Exod. i. 21, Ruth
iv. 11, 2 Sam. vii. 27, etc., the family--the household interests.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 1-6.
HOUSE BUILDING.
+I. An undertaking founded upon wickedness lacks the first element of
stability.+ A house built upon a sandy foundation, we all know, does
not possess the first requisite of safety. It is useless to erect any
building for fine weather purposes only--if it is not able to stand a
storm all the labour expended upon it is lost. Those places are very
few where the tempest does not come sometimes, and even if we could
find so favoured a spot, a sandy foundation would not be a permanent
one. The ordinary play of the elements and the changes of the seasons
would be ever at work upon the loose and shifting soil, and in time
the house must fall. So it is with any work undertaken with an evil
purpose or from wicked motives. There are laws at work in God's
universe which will forbid such a building to remain long in
existence. It is very easy work to lay the stones in the sand--much
more easy than to hew out a place for them in the solid rock--and the
apparently rapid success of evil men and evil deeds tempts many an
unwise builder to work after their method. But the experience of the
Psalmist is repeated in every age and must be to the end of time: _"I
have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a
green bay tree. Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not; yea, I
sought him, but he could not be found"_ (Psalm xxxvii. 35, 36).
+II. True wisdom consists in patient continuance in well-doing.+ In
this passage, as throughout the entire Book of Proverbs, wisdom is
set up as the rival of evil, and sin is accounted as the height of
folly. The wise man accounts everything foolishness which is against
the moral law of the universe, and the _good_ man in his estimation
the only _wise_ man. That this is a just and true estimate is
apparent to all who look a little beneath the surface of things--to
all who realise that it is one thing to _seem_ and another thing _to
be._ The mansion upon the sand-bank _appears_ to be a more desirable
dwelling place than the cottage upon the rock, but time will prove
which is the safer of the two. But permanence or safety are not the
only recommendations to the home of wisdom. There is a satisfaction
and a positive joy to be found in doing the right to which the
evil-doer is a stranger. To be on the right side of the good is to be
on the side of God and of conscience, to know from experience that
all the moral powers of the soul grow stronger with use, and such
experimental knowledge fills the chambers of the soul "with all
precious and pleasant riches" (verse 4). These considerations ought
to make it easy to obey Solomon's precept: "Be not envious against
evil men, neither desire to be with them." The mariner on even a
stormy sea would not envy the dweller in the lighthouse if he knew
that the waves were rapidly undermining its foundation and rendering
its speedy fall certain, and to envy a man a short-lived prosperity
which must have a sad end is as contrary to the dictates of reason
and self-love. A consideration of their "end" (Psalm lxxiii. 17) is a
good preservative against such an envy, and has been tried by many
men since the days of Asaph with the same success. But without
bringing the future into the present, envy of the wicked may be
effectually prevented if we can realise their present loss. The
inhabitant of the dwelling filled with materials to satisfy his
bodily and mental appetites and wants does not envy him whose house
is destitute of such comforts. Yet that would be more reasonable than
for him who has the opportunity of rearing for himself a
well-furnished house of wisdom--of building a character which shall
be in itself a source of satisfaction and joy to his better
nature--to desire the empty and unsatisfying portion of evil doers.
For Homiletics on verse 6 considered by itself see on chap. xi. 14,
page 214, and on chap. xx. 18, page 590.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 1. Sin is like sound, and it finds the moral nature of fallen
man, like the atmosphere, a good conducting medium. The word or deed
of evil does not terminate where it is produced. It radiates all
round; and beside the direct propagation from a centre by diverging
lines, it further reduplicates itself by rebounding like an echo from
every object upon which it falls. Human beings may well stand in awe
when they consider the self-propagating power of sin, and the
facilities which their own corruption affords it. Different persons
are affected in different ways. One is shaken by the example of
wickedness in its first out-go, another by its rebounding blow. One
is carried away in the stream, another hurts himself by his violent
efforts to resist it. Some imitate the sin. Others fret against the
sinner. Both classes do evil and suffer injury. Whether you be
impatiently "envious against evil men," or weakly "desirous to be
with them," you have sustained damage by the contact.--_Arnot._
To be envious against evil men is plainly to confess ourselves to be
worse than they are. For, as St. Gregory speaketh, we cannot envy
except it be those who we think to be better than ourselves. Indeed,
to envy against evil men is to make wickedness to be goodness, and to
show no goodness to be in his heart that is so envious. . . .
Whosoever thou be that envieth evil men, I cannot tell who should
envy thee, except the devil, because thou strivest to be more wicked
than he is. For they are only the godly that he is envious
against.--_Jermin._
Verse 4. The last virtue here spoken of is knowledge, whereby the
inward rooms of the house are filled with all precious substance;
unto the providing and treasuring up of food, of money, and all
things necessary and comfortable, the knowledge of times, the prices
of things, and of the means whereby commodities may be obtained, is
requisite. . . . It is not to be marvelled at that many young married
folk and householders in these days have nothing in their families
but want of necessaries and bare walls, seeing they want both wisdom
and understanding, and knowledge.--_Muffett._
Riches imply (1) plenty of that which is precious and pleasant.
(2) Propriety. They must be that which is their own; and hereunto
economical prudence much conducteth. God bestoweth abundance on the
wicked _ex largitate,_ only out of a general providence; but upon his
people that are good husbands _ex promisso,_ by virtue of this and
the like promises.--_Trapp._
Verse 5. _A strong man._ (See Miller's rendering in the Critical
Notes.) A _common_ man, a _better sort_ of man, are the four words
for man in the Bible. This is a _strong man._ It means _strong_ in a
worldly sense. That man, _if wise, is a power indeed._ . . . The
meaning is that a _"strong"_ man, if not _"wise,"_ is not _"strong"_
at all; that piety is itself strength; that the stronger a man
without it, the weaker he is; that a strong man who is pious, not
only becomes strong in that, but strong really by his worldly
strength; because piety gives realness to every gift.--_Miller._
I. Intelligence _apart from_ piety is power. A man who has great
intelligence, and knows how to use it, possesses a power superior to
any physical force. . . . II. Piety _apart from_ intelligence is a
_higher kind_ of power. It is the patience of love, endurance,
patience, compassion; it is a power which will touch men's hearts,
move the very arm of Omnipotence, "take hold upon the strength of
God." III. Piety _associated with_ intelligence is the _highest
creature_ power. What power on earth is equal to that possessed by
the man of vast intelligence and consecrated affections, the man of
sunny intellect and Heaven-inspired sympathies and aims?--_Dr. David
Thomas._
A wise man is not only strong in having wisdom, but in getting
strength also. . . . For by wisdom knowing well the want and need of
strength, he is careful and diligent to procure it; whereas many
times strength, being presumptuous upon its own might, seeks not for
wisdom to support it, and falls for want of having it.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 7.
A FALSE ESTIMATE AND A TRUE ONE.
+I. The fool's estimate of wisdom.+ Solomon here gives the fool's own
reason for remaining in his folly, viz., that wisdom is difficult to
acquire--that neither intellectual or spiritual knowledge can be
gained without pains and self-denial. This is of course saying in
effect that they are worthless, and this false estimate lies at the
root of all ignorance, whether it be mental or moral. For if we can
make a man feel that a thing is good and will bring him good, he will
not be unwilling to seek to possess it, and his search and his
pursuit will be diligent, and eager, and continuous, in proportion to
the good which he believes the possession will bring him. The idle
schoolboy complains of the difficulty of his tasks, and of the
severity of his teacher, because he does not rightly estimate the
value of knowledge, and the moral fool finds fault with the methods
of becoming spiritually wise, because he has no sense of the worth of
such wisdom. But it must not be forgotten that the longer the fool
makes the excuse of the text, the more true it becomes. The powers of
the intellect, like those of the body, are less capable of use the
longer they remain idle. If a healthy man is so indolent as to refuse
to walk, his legs by long disuse may become unable to perform their
office, and if the mental powers are left unexercised in youth, it is
more difficult to use them to purpose in middle life. And it is so,
too, with the spiritual perceptions and capabilities. Although it is
never too late to acquire the highest wisdom, it certainly seems more
out of the reach of the man who has neglected to seek it throughout a
long life, than of him who gives to its pursuit the vigour and
freshness of his youth.
+II. The consequent estimate which wise men form of the fool.+ If men
undervalue wisdom, they themselves are little valued, and their words
and opinions have no weight with wise men. As it is a mark of folly
generally to "open the mouth," although nothing comes therefrom that
is worth anything, the declaration that a fool "openeth not his mouth
in the gate" must point, not to his own modesty or conscious
inability to speak wisely, but to the estimation in which he is held
by others.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
In bodily things, the more weighty they are, the lower they fall; the
lighter they are, the higher they go. Contrariwise is it in the
things of the soul, and the more weighty they are, the higher they
are; the lighter they are, the lower they lie. It is therefore the
lightness of a fool's brain that makes wisdom too high for him: the
giddiness of his head is not able to look up unto the height of
it. . . . Therefore St. Gregory saith, If thou wilt find wisdom,
tread upon the waves of this world, and walk upon the waters of this
life, as St. Peter did, and she will reach forth her right hand to
thee, as she did to Peter.--_Jermin._
Verses 8 and 9 treat of subjects which have occurred more than once
before. See on chap. vi. 12-19, page 81.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 10.
THE DAY OF ADVERSITY.
+I. The inevitable in human experience.+ The day of adversity is an
ordination of God, as a necessary element in man's moral training.
The human rulers of a well-ordered State make certain provisions for
the education of the young, and these provisions necessarily include
many things that are distasteful, and even painful, to the pupils.
But if they were left to map out their own course, and to arrange for
themselves the plan of their education, we well know that the result
in the end would be unsatisfactory to everybody, and most of all to
themselves when they were old enough to judge. Even so it is with
mankind and the Ruler of the world. God has purposed that men shall
be subject to such a course of instruction and discipline as shall at
least give them an opportunity of becoming wiser and better, and the
day of adversity is an indispensable element in such a training. It
therefore does not come to us by chance, nor is it always to be
regarded in the light of a penalty for special sin, but is a token of
Divine interest in our real welfare--an expression of Divine desire
for our moral growth. It is wise, then, for all to recognise the fact
that adversity in some form or other, at some period or other, is an
inevitable event in their human life.
+II. The test of human character.+ No man knows his moral strength
until he comes face to face with trial. The chain that holds the
vessel to the quay is only as strong as the weakest link, and if that
one gives way the vessel is loosed from her moorings as surely as if
every link was broken. So human character is only as strong as its
weakest point, and if a severe strain is brought to bear upon a man,
he will break down there. In the day of adversity every virtue and
excellence that we possess will be subjected to a severe test, and if
only one of them is found unequal to the trial, the whole character
suffers, and we are in danger of losing our hold upon God, and so
drifting from the right course. A man may have a high opinion of his
own physical strength, and fancy that he is well able to grapple with
any foe who might attack him. But it is not till he is in the grip of
his antagonist that he knows how much or how little he is able to do
and to bear. If he finds himself on the ground, stunned and bleeding,
he rises from the struggle with a lower estimate of his own muscular
strength than he had before. And so it is with the inner man when the
day of adversity over takes it--we think that our faith and moral
courage are equal to any emergency, but we are sometimes stricken
down to the dust and "faint" from the weight of a blow which we
thought beforehand we could withstand, and for the rest of our lives
have less confidence in our spiritual strength.
+III. A strengthener of human character.+ Although men often "faint"
in the day of adversity, or find their resources insufficient to meet
their needs in the hour of trial, it is not necessarily the case, nor
is it always so. Indeed, the intention of trial is not to take away
our strength, but to _increase_ it. If the day of adversity proves
too much for our strength, the encounter may leave us morally weaker
than we were before; but if we bear it courageously, and do not allow
it to drive us to despair, or even to doubt, we come out of the
ordeal stronger than when we entered into it. If a tree has too firm
a hold upon the soil to be uprooted by the tempest, the shaking will
but make it firmer still, and if our confidence and hope in God are
not lessened by the blasts of adversity, they are rendered stronger
and brighter, and more fitted to encounter the next storm. But
fainting at the first blow of adversity leaves very little strength
to meet the next trial, and this thought seems also to be in the
proverb as it stands in the Hebrew.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
If you were to hear some men's experience you would think they grew
as the white pine grows, with straight grain and easily split, for I
notice that all that grow easy split easy. But there are some that
grow as the mahogany grows, with veneering knots, with all the quirls
and contortions of grain; that is the best timber of the forest which
has the most knots. . . . There are many who are content to grow
straight, like weeds on a dunghill; but there are many others who
want to be stalwart and strong like the monarchs of the forest, and
yet when God sends the winds of adversity to sing a lullaby in their
branches, they do not like to grow in that way. They dread the
culture that is really giving toughness to their soul and strength to
its fibre.--_Beecher._
The times of man's distress, though it be a night of sorrow and
trouble, which it bringeth to the soul, yet is it a day also, because
it showeth truly to the soul what a man is.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 11 _and_ 12.
POSITIVE PUNISHMENT FOR A NEGATIVE CRIME.
+I. The negative crime.+ The question "Am I my brother's keeper?" is
here answered with an emphatic affirmative, for whatever may be the
special reference of the words it is plain that they condemn as
criminal the non-interposition of the strong on behalf of the weak
and distressed. This crime may be committed from various causes.
Those who are guilty of it may be entirely indifferent to the
sufferings of others. There are many men and women who, if they are
at ease themselves, never concern themselves about the sufferings of
others--it matters not to them who is hungry so as they are well fed,
and what privations others may be enduring while their needs are
supplied. But the crime is oftener chargeable to moral cowardice and
unwillingness to practice self-denial. A man may be sufficiently
concerned for the danger of a drowning brother to throw him a rope,
but he may shrink from throwing himself into the water and risking a
watery grave on his behalf. So he may pity the ignorant and the
erring and feel sad when he thinks of their sorrows and their sins,
and yet be unwilling to sacrifice his money or his leisure or his
social position in endeavours to save them. But the proverb seems to
deal especially with what seems at first sight to be a less
blameworthy class of persons than either of these--with those who
have never considered the claims which others have upon them--who are
really ignorant how many hearts are breaking around them and how many
are perishing for the want of a helping hand. But this ignorance is
here regarded as criminal. "Evil is wrought for want of thought, as
well as want of heart," but it is as much evil in the one case as in
the other, and the want of thought is a sin in itself. And so is the
want of knowledge here. God will not admit the plea "I knew it not,"
but holds him who utters it guilty for his ignorance as well as for
his neglect.
+II. The positive punishment.+ No truth is taught more plainly in the
Bible, than that men will not escape retribution of some kind because
they have simply abstained from doing ill. The possessor of the one
talent did not put it to a bad use, or throw it away. He kept it
carefully wrapped in a napkin. But the sentence passed upon him was
not merely that he should be deprived of his privilege, or that
reward should be withheld, but:--_"Cast ye the unprofitable servant
into outer darkness"_ (Matt. xxv. 30). "The tree that was only barren
was burned," says an old writer. The justice of this will be seen the
more we consider how much actual _wrong-doing_ on the part of some is
chargeable to the _not-doing_ of others. How much sin might be
prevented if those who have it in their power sought to deliver
others from bodily, or social, or moral death.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
_"He that keepeth thy soul, doth not He know it."_ This favour of God
may be here mentioned partly as a strong obligation upon Him to
preserve him who was made after God's image, and whom God hath
commanded him to love and preserve; partly to an encouragement to the
performance of his duty herein from the consideration of God's
special care and watchfulness over those who do their duty; and
partly to intimate to them the danger of neglect of this duty whereby
they will forfeit God's protection over themselves.--_Poole._
The condition of _sinners_ may be regarded as here very aptly set
forth. They are "drawn unto death"--_seized,_ or _apprehended_ for
death, and "ready to be slain:"--and the death to which they are
doomed,--O how unutterably fearful! But you may naturally meet me
with an objection here. In _their_ condition there is _no_ injustice;
_no_ unrighteous and cruel oppression. The sentence of death under
which they lie is a _divine_ sentence--in perfect accordance with all
the principles of equity:--the sword with which they are "ready to be
slain" is the sword of Divine justice itself. They deserve to die the
death. To attempt to prevent it would be to arrest the hand of God.
Ought not divine, and therefore unimpeachable, justice too have its
course? The objection--otherwise irresistible--God has Himself
removed. Justice, infinite justice, had all its claims acknowledged
and fulfilled on Calvary. On the ground of the sacrifice there
offered, the atonement there made, the God of justice and mercy has
called on sinners to accept pardon, in the name and for the sake of
His Son. His call comes with authority. It is a command. It is in
virtue of the satisfaction of justice in the atonement of Christ,
that _we ourselves_ enjoy _our own_ deliverance from the death and
destruction to which, in common with all, we were devoted. And the
very same authority that commanded us to believe and be saved,
enjoins on us to be agents in attempting the rescue of others. O!
what should we not be ready to do, to sacrifice, to suffer for such
an end!--to effect such a rescue!--_Wardlaw._
While Samuel Romilly's Bill to abolish the punishment of death for a
theft amounting to the sum of five shillings passed the English House
of Commons, it was thrown out by a majority in the House of Lords.
Among those who voted against the Bill were one archbishop and five
bishops. Our poet here in the Proverbs is of a different mind. Even
the law of Sinai appoints the punishment of death only for
man-stealing. . . . In expressions like the above a true Christian
spirit rules the spirit which condemns all bloodthirstiness of
justice, and calls forth to a crusade, not only against the
inquisition, but against all unmerciful and cruel
executions.--_Delitzsch._
The Hebrew midwives, and Esther in after ages, thus delivered their
own _people drawn unto death._ Reuben _delivered_ Joseph from the
pit. Job was the _deliverer_ of the poor in the extremity. Jonathan
saved his friend at imminent risk to himself. Obadiah hid the Lord's
prophets. Ahikam and Ebed-melech saved Jeremiah. Johanan attempted to
_deliver_ the unsuspecting Gedaliah. Daniel preserved the wise men of
Babylon. The Samaritan rescued his neighbour from death. Paul's
nephew _delivered_ the great Apostle by informing him of the
murderous plot. The rule includes all oppression, which has more or
less of the character of murder.--_Bridges._
"Who is lord over us?" is the watchword of the life-long battle
between an evil conscience and a righteous Judge. Here the
commandment is exceeding broad. Like Divine omniscience, it compasses
the transgressor before and behind. It checks his advance, and cuts
off his retreat. Although a man should actually maintain in relation
to every brother the neutrality he professes, it would avail him
nothing. . . . What ails our brother, that he needs the compassion of
a tender heart and the help of a strong hand? He is "drawn unto
death," and "ready to be slain." This is the very crisis which at
once needs help and admits it. If the danger were more distant, he
might not be sensible of his need; if it were nearer, he might be
beyond the hope of recovery. He is so low that help is necessary; yet
not so low as would render help vain. He is "drawn unto death," and
therefore is an object of pity; but his life is yet in him, and
therefore he is a subject of hope.--_Arnot._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 13 _and_ 14.
HONEY AND WISDOM.
+I. An analogy.+ 1. Honey is found by man ready prepared for his use;
no human skill is needed to make it fit for food--nothing that man
can do can render it more palatable than it is as it flows from the
comb. So the revealed wisdom of God as it is found in the Scriptures
needs no intervention of man to make it suitable to human needs.
2. As honey is evidently designed by God to furnish a wholesome and
pleasant food for the body, so has He designed that the revelation of
His mind and will by His inspired messengers shall provide wholesome
and congenial food for the soul of man. The great abundance of honey
in Palestine led to its forming a more prominent part of daily food
than in western countries, and its possessing these two qualities
made it very fit for general and constant use, and was a perpetual
testimony to the providence of God in relation to the needs and
enjoyment of His creatures. So is the provision which God has made
for the spiritual wants of the children of men. On this point we must
take the testimony of those who have tasted this soul-food. We should
not ask a man whether honey was pleasant to the taste if he had never
eaten it, and those are not qualified to bear witness concerning the
spiritual enjoyment and benefit to be derived from the "wisdom of
God" who have not tested it. All those who have done so, whatever
their condition in life, in whatever age they have lived, or whatever
part of the world they have called their home, have agreed with
David's testimony that it is _"more to be desired than gold, yea,
than much find gold: sweeter than honey and the honey-comb"_ (Psa.
xix. 10).
+II. A contrast.+ 1. Honey may be eaten unto it cloys the appetite
and injures the eater, but not so with the Word of God. Those who eat
the most of this spiritual food are the most spiritually healthy, and
have the keenest appetite for it. 2. Although this God-given bodily
food may do much to nourish and sustain a healthy man, it cannot cure
a diseased body, or prevent the inroads of sickness and decay. But
there is a soul-transforming power in the spiritual food of which it
is here an emblem. Those who eat of it are by it healed of spiritual
disease, and are continually and unceasingly growing in moral health
and vigour. 3. The blessings flowing from eating the spiritual food
are only fully realised in the life beyond the present. To this the
wise man refers in the last clause. (For Homiletics on this thought,
see on chaps. xi. 7, xiv. 32, pages 201 and 391.)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 13. The wise man's feast which he makes his son is but one
dish. And what need of more when that is both good and pleasant? The
glutton provideth many dishes, and costly to make them luscious, but
they are not _good,_ not good for the health of the body. . . . On
the other side, the physician provideth divers meats, and they are
_good_--good either for the preservation of heath or for the recovery
of it, but they are not pleasant and grateful to the palate. That is
the best feeding when those are joined together. . . . Or else if
they are not joined together, notice that the wise man putteth good
in the first place; as teaching thee rather to take that which is
good though not pleasant, than that which is pleasant but not
good.--_Jermin._
Verse 14. _When thou hast found it._ That is, when thou hast so found
it that thou canst feed upon it and convert it into nourishment, then
thy pains of seeking shall be rewarded. And though it be a late
reward, for wisdom is not quickly found, yet there shall be a reward,
and that so full, that in nothing thine expectation shall be cut off.
For though hardly yet it is well-gotten; and with pleasure will
sweeten the pains, with good will satisfy the tarrying and recompense
the delay. The Chaldee rendereth the middle part of the verse, _"If
thou hast found, the last will come better than the first."_ As if
this were a mark whereby to know whether we have found wisdom or not,
because then the further we go on the more sweetness we shall
find.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 15 _and_ 16.
A SOCIAL AMBUSH.
+I. A common practice of the wicked man in relation to the good.+
When we think of an ambush of men lying in wait to spring upon their
foes at a fitting opportunity, two hostile parties are at once
brought before us, we feel that there must be deep enmity on one side
at least, or men would not be at such pains to overthrow their
fellow-men. And this is indeed the case in society as a whole. Men
are divided into two great parties. On one side stand the lovers of
righteousness, and on the other the lovers of sin; and the latter
must ever be more or less actively opposed to the former. But their
favourite and most common method of attack is that indicated in the
text. Wrong-doers are naturally cowards, and in their endeavours to
injure better men than themselves they shrink from open attack. They
are fully conscious that they could not stand their ground in a fair
fight in the open field, and so they try to fall upon their foe in a
moment when he is off his guard and in a place where he least expects
to meet them. In other words, evil men do not openly assail either
the character or the position of a good man, but by lying words
spoken in his absence they try to blacken the first, and by secret
schemes to overthrow the second.
+II. An utterly useless attempt of the wicked man in relation to the
good.+ It is useless to try to kill a tree by lopping off the
branches. Such a process may for a time deprive it of its beauty and
stop its growth, but while the root has its hold upon the soil and
can draw nourishment to itself from unseen sources beneath the
surface it will live, and as soon as the axe has ceased to strike it
will begin again to clothe itself in greenness and beauty. So it is
with a righteous man. His enemies may succeed in bringing about his
temporary overthrow and in depriving his outward life of much
comfort, but the springs of his existence are fed from an invisible
and unfailing source, and his well-being is not dependent upon
external circumstances. And so even if the malice of the wicked is
permitted to strip him of some things which made his life more
apparently prosperous and secure, there is an inner life which they
cannot touch, and which enables him in due time to recover from the
wounds which they inflict either upon his character or his
circumstances. For _"This is the heritage of the servants of the
Lord. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every
tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn"_
(Isa. liv. 17).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 15. Because it spites the wicked, that the godly dwell in
safety, therefore they lay wait against their dwelling, by affliction
and miseries seeking to throw it down, and . . . because the virtues
of the godly condemn the vices of the wicked, therefore they lay wait
and search into their _dwelling houses_ to espy out their faults,
because the goodness of the righteous shameth the naughtiness of the
wicked, therefore they seek to break in even into their bedchambers
and _places of rest,_ and there to discover their errors and
infirmities. Solomon forbidding them to do it, showeth it to be their
manner to do it.--_Jermin._
Verse 16. Perhaps you will say, had I fallen only once, I would not
be much afraid; but I have often fallen before the enemy, and one day
I must perish. But hear what God says:--The righteous man falls not
once or twice, but many times, and still he rises. Your experience of
former deliverances should encourage your hopes of new deliverances,
for the salvations of the Lord are never exhausted. In six troubles
He will deliver, and in seven there shall no evil touch
you.--_Lawson._
God's saints are bound to "rejoice when they fall into divers
temptations." What though they _fall_ into them? not go in step by
step, but be precipitated, plunged over head and ears. Say they fall
not into one, but into many crosses--as they seldom come single--yet
"be exceeding glad" says the apostle, as the merchant is to see his
ships come laden in.--_Trapp._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 17 _and_ 18.
THE FALL OF AN ENEMY.
Joy at the overthrow of an enemy is a feeling which is natural to an
unspiritual man, but it is one which is here declared to be
displeasing to God. Three reasons suggest themselves why this should
be so.
+I. Such an emotion is inconsistent with a man's own well-being and
happiness.+ The nature that can be indifferent to the calamities of
another, even although that other has been an enemy in the past, is a
nature destitute of all generosity and nobility. But the heart that
can be _glad_ at such an event is altogether possessed with the
spirit of the devil--the flames of exultation that burn upon such an
altar have been set on fire of hell. And as God loves the creature
whom He at first created in His own image, it displeases Him to see
him give place to a feeling so unworthy of his origin, and at the
same time so productive of misery to himself. For the so-called joy
that arises from such a cause is not only very short-lived, but is
like a fire that blazes and burns brightly for a time, and then
leaves nothing but a heap of ashes behind. The exultation over the
fall of an enemy soon dies out, and leaves the heart scorched and
dried by the heat of the unworthy passion.
+II. It is inconsistent with the spirit of brotherhood that God
desires to exist among men.+ If there has been a break in the harmony
of a family, and one member has been at enmity with another, the
oneness of the parentage ought to be sufficient to erase all memory
of past wrongs when the offender is overtaken by misfortune. Such
would be the case where there was any real family affection. God
desires all His creatures to recognise a universal brotherhood in
virtue of their relation to Him, their common Father. He desires men
to be ever ready to seek occasions to draw together in unity, and to
avoid all that deepens an opposite feeling. If a man retains his
enmity against his offending brother when that brother by reason of
misfortune might be reconciled to him, he ignores entirely the law of
brotherly love which God desires to rule in His human family.
+III. It is inconsistent with a right recognition of our need of
Divine mercy.+ However much our offending brother may have wronged
us, the amount of the debt of his trespass against us will bear no
comparison to the amount of our indebtedness to God. In sinning
against us he has but wronged an erring human creature like himself,
and one who has very possibly failed in his duty towards him. But
when we sin against God, we sin against One whose character is
altogether fitted to win us to obedience, and whose every action in
relation to us has been dictated by perfect love. It is only when we
fail to recognise this truth that an unforgiving spirit can possess
our hearts, and it is only when such a spirit has full sway that any
man can exult in the downfall of his enemy.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
For prevention hereof think thus with thyself: Either I am like mine
enemy, or else I am better or worse than he. If like him, why may I
not look for the like misery? If better, who made me to differ? If
worse, what reason have I to insult? (See Obadiah 12.)--_Trapp._
St. Gregory saith it is only the keeping of charity that doth prove
us to be the disciples of God, and that we have charity is shewn in
two ways, namely, if we love our friends in God, and if we love our
enemies for God. . . . Because another is an enemy to thee, be not
thou an enemy to goodness, an enemy to thyself. For he that rejoiceth
when his enemy falleth, doth himself fall much worse, and hath more
cause to be grieved for his own wretchedness; he that is glad in his
heart when his enemy stumbleth, stumbleth more dangerously in his own
heart.--_Jermin._
For Homiletics on the subjects of verses 19 and 20 see verse 1 of
this chapter, page 676, and chap. xiii. 9, page 303.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 21 _and_ 22.
RULE AND REVERENCE.
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: Be very careful with the word
"niggardly" because it can sound like a racial slur,
especially to those who do not know the word or who are not
paying attention. Consider substituting "miserly,"
"sparing," or "parsimonious."
+I. The rule of some men and the subjection of others is a Divine
ordination.+ God, by creating men with such different gifts and with
powers of mind and body so unequal, evidently intends that society
should not be on a dead level, but that in all communities there
should be some recognised head. And the tendency of men in all ages
to unite under some leader whom they deem worthy to be their head
points to an instinct in human nature which we must refer to a Divine
origin. The law of subjection and dominion has its place in the
natural world. The entire solar system is held together by the
subjection of the lesser bodies to one which is greater than all, and
as the planets move in their orbits around the sun they seem like so
many obedient subjects doing homage to their monarch, while their
attendant satellites are in their turn subject to them. And the
constant operation of this material law is productive of the most
beneficial results. In like manner the observation of some such law
among free and intelligent creatures is necessary to the order and
consequent peace of society.
+II. But the deference of the subject to his earthly ruler must be
always subordinate to the will of the Divine ruler of both.+ There
are cases in which to _"fear the king,"_ in the sense of obeying him,
would be to dishonour God, and times when he who demands obedience
refuses to comply with the Divine demands upon himself. It is obvious
therefore that the fear of the earthly king can only be carried so
far as is consistent with loyal obedience to the "King of all the
kings on the earth." The first precept of the wise man in this verse
admits of no limitation, but the second must be limited by the first.
But those who have been the most faithful servants of God have ever
been most ready to render _"honour to whom honour is due"_ (Rom.
xiii. 7); and when duty has compelled them to disobey their commands
they have done so with all due respect for their lawful authority.
That fear of God which compels them to disobey unrighteous laws makes
them obedient subjects to lawful rule, and constrains them, so far as
is possible, to live as peaceable citizens.
+III. Therefore the peace of a kingdom and the stability of a throne
will be in proportion to the reverence of king and people for the
Divine Will.+ The fear of God is the great adjusting power in all
relations of life. When it governs in the family the parents are
loved and honoured by the children, and the children's welfare is the
constant care of the parents. It is this fear of God alone that can
solve the vexed problem of the relations between masters and
servants, between capital and labour, and between monarchs and
people. Where it is wanting there will be a weak rule on the one
hand, and a niggardly service and a half-hearted obedience on the
other, and both are responsible for those outbursts of disorder which
involve both in a common calamity.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
The connection of the two fears in the passage before us is evidently
intended to impress the one by the other:--If you fear God, fear the
king. God, whom you are bound supremely to fear, and whose fear
should produce obedience to His Will, has enjoined the fear of
earthly rulers: so that a failure in the fear due to _them_ becomes a
violation of the fear due to _Him._
I need hardly say, that by _the king_ we are to understand the
_government of the country._ It may be monarchical, or it may not. We
are by no means to look upon such expressions as this, in Scripture,
as attaching the authority of inspiration to one form of government
more than to another. Respecting the comparative merits of different
forms, the Word of God should not be regarded as giving any decision,
whether for the kingly, the aristocratical, the popular, or the
mixed. The respect, or fear, is due to _the legislative and executive
powers,_ of whichsoever description these may be.--_Wardlaw._
Submission of heart and life to the King Eternal overrides and
controls, yet does not injure a citizen's allegiance to an earthly
ruler. . . . The fear of the Lord must go first, but the fear of the
king may follow. The supreme does not crush, it protects the
subordinate. Although the heart is full of piety, there is plenty of
room for patriotism. Nay, more, patriotism nowhere gets full scope
except in a heart that is already pervaded by piety. These elements
are like the two chief constituent gases of the atmosphere. The space
which envelopes the globe is full of one gas--it is also full of the
other. To discharge the nitrogen would not make the space capable of
containing more of the oxygen. The absence of the one constituent
destroys the quality but does not enlarge the quantity of the other.
Take away godliness, and your loyalty, without being increased in
amount, is seriously deteriorated in kind. Take away loyalty, and you
run great risk of spoiling the purity of the remanent godliness.
God's works are all good--His combinations are all beneficial. If we
attempt to mend, we shall certainly mar them. . . . Go forward in
your allegiance to "the powers that be," not until you think you have
gone far enough, but until you come upon the law of God, claiming the
space in front for Himself, and absolutely forbidding your advance.
Go forward with the fear of the king, unless and until the fear of
the Lord cross your path like a wall. . . . No feasible rule can be
laid down except what the Scriptures contain. Let any man try to
write down a scale showing when and where private persons may
lawfully resist public authority, and he will soon be convinced that
the case is hopeless. Every attempt to define the liberty of
rebellion will be found to open a door to anarchy. In point of fact,
very little of the liberty that now exists in the world has been
achieved by violent resistance to governments because of oppression
in temporal things.--_Arnot._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 23-26.
IMPARTIALITY OF TRUTH.
+I. Two blessings to society.+ While there is nothing that more
certainly undermines the moral tone of any community than that
"respect of persons" which the Bible so emphatically and constantly
condemns (Lev. xix. 15; Jas. ii. 1), there is no person who more
contributes to the welfare of society, and contributes more to its
well-being than the man who judges all men by the same standard,
viz., their character. It is especially indispensable that those who
are set apart to administer the laws of the land should be men above
all suspicion of partiality. For, wherever there is a code of law, it
is a testimony to that inborn sense of justice which is more or less
active in every human being; and although it may sometimes be but an
imperfect attempt to render to every man his right, if it is
administered by men of integrity it is one of the greatest bulwarks
of national prosperity and security. It may well be a matter of
thankfulness to every Englishman that the judicial bench of this land
occupies the high position that it does in this respect as in all
others, and that the days when men thought it possible to use
unlawful influences with an English judge have passed away. But to
what do we owe this blessing, if not to the greater hold which the
principles of the Bible has upon our national life? But Solomon
brings before us another character which is as necessary to a
nation's moral health, which is, perhaps, rarer than the first, but
which might and ought to belong to every man. Those who are called to
sit in judgment are the few, but those who in various ways are called
to bear witness concerning persons and things, are the many. And some
who would deem it a crime to have respect of persons in judgment, do
not realise how much the cause of truth and righteousness would be
furthered if men, in their every-day intercourse, would give a "right
or straightforward answer" (see rendering in Critical Notes) to the
questions put to them. If it was the habit of merchants and
statesmen, of masters and servants, in the market and in the social
circle, to speak the "truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the
truth," how much purer would be the moral atmosphere which we
breathe, and how much more nearly would society on earth be like that
of heaven.
+II. The recognition which such characters receive from their
fellow-men.+ In a world where the unrighteous far outnumber the
righteous, and where most men are but half loyal to truth, it is
remarkable that it should be so. But history in general and
individual experience in particular bears witness that Solomon was
right. Even unrighteous men cannot help admiring a just and truthful
man, and their consciences and their experience combine to testify
that they themselves have more to hope from those who are morally
above them than from those who are on a level with themselves. It is
probable that both moral sense and self-interest combine to bring
people as a whole to bless him who rebukes the wicked and to "kiss
his lips" who giveth a right answer.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 26. The meaning of that ceremony of kissing him that was
anointed to be king, St. Gregory giveth to be this, that it was to
teach him that was so kissed that God hath brought him to that
dignity to the end that he might make peace between God and his
people that were under him, whereof a kiss is a sign and pledge. For
by sinning we procure the enmity of God, when therefore a ruler is
set up for the correction of sinners, thereby is taken away that
which made us enemies to God. If, therefore, we read this verse as
the English doth, we may understand it that everyone may acknowledge
him to be a peacemaker between God and them, who by _right_ judgment
punisheth the wicked.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 27.
PLAN AND PATIENCE.
+I. Here is a lesson in working with method.+ In all undertakings it
is necessary to consider what is the most important and indispensable
element of success, and to make sure of that first. In the building
of a house in the literal sense, the first thing to be done is to
have a well-considered plan, and to gather and prepare suitable and
sufficient materials. If, when the building is half finished, it is
found that some great difficulty has been overlooked, or that the
materials and the means to procure them are inadequate, failure and
disgrace are the result, and all the time and money hitherto spent
upon the work is thrown away. So in any other undertaking. If a man
desires a certain position in life for which special qualifications
are needed, he must first endeavour to know exactly what the
requirements are, and then make sure that he is able to fulfil them.
If he makes a start without well considering these things he may
waste much precious time and energy, and ruin his prospects for life.
The same principle may be applied to any philanthropic enterprise.
These often fail, because they are entered upon without any just
conception of the difficulties to be encountered, or of the resources
which will be required to carry them on to a successful issue.
+II. A lesson in working with patience.+ The proverb seems to warn
men not to be in too great a hurry to realise the fulfilment of their
desires; not to be impatient to reap the harvest before the crop has
had time to ripen. Men are sometimes so eager to obtain a certain
good which to them appears desirable that they make a desperate and
reckless attempt to gain it by some other road than that of patient
perseverance. A man makes up his mind that he must live in a certain
style, and keep up a certain appearance before the world, and he sets
out to build a stately mansion without waiting until he has acquired
the means whereby he can do it honestly. Men often desire to be at
the beginning of their career where they can be only after days and
years of toil, and if they act under the inspiration of this spirit
of impatience they often most effectually shut themselves out
entirely from the realisation of their desires.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
This wisdom the very little bees do practise and show us, who first
get honey and bring it into their hives, and afterwards make their
seats and honeycombs. Against this rule here set down divers sorts of
people offend, yea, all that take a preposterous course, whether in
the matters of this life, or in those things that are spiritual. Some
enter into the state of marriage before either they have wit, or have
provided and gotten by their labour sufficient food or wealth to
maintain them. Others lay out much on banquets, buildings, pastimes,
or apparel, before they have a good stock or large comings in. Others
meddle with hard points of controversy before they have learned the
plain principles of religion. Others first and especially seek after
the goods of this world, and, in the second place, at their leisure,
and very slowly, they follow after the kingdom of God.--_Muffet._
Possibly a spiritual meaning here, as elsewhere, lies beneath the
prudential maxim. The "field" may be the man's outer common work, the
"house" the dwelling-place of his higher life. He must do the former
faithfully in order to attain the latter.--_Plumptre._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 28 _and_ 29.
AN UNCALLED-FOR TESTIMONY.
+I. There are times and circumstances in which it is our duty to
witness against our neighbour.+ When the interests of right and truth
are at stake, it is wrong for any man to be silent when by declaring
what he knows, he could establish those interests, even although by
so doing he brings punishment upon a fellow-man. It is often
indispensable to the safety of innocent people that the wrong-doer
should be exposed and brought to justice, and every man in such a
case is not only blameless when he witnesses against such a
_"neighbour,"_ but blameworthy when he does not do so. This is not
witnessing against him "without cause," for there is a good and
sufficient reason for the action.
+II. Such witness-bearing is of quite a different character from that
which springs from malice.+ There are men in society who seem to live
like beasts of prey. As the lion or the tiger is ever watching his
opportunity to spring upon some defenceless creature at an unguarded
moment, so these men seem to make it their business to watch their
fellow-creatures for opportunities to injure their reputation and
mangle their character. And in a world of faulty human beings, it is
not difficult for such men to find food for their malicious
appetites, without transgressing the limits of truth. In most men
there is enough imperfection, and in many of actual sin, to render it
easy to make out a case against them. But if no actual good can come
to anybody by exposing their failings, much harm will come to the man
who thus bears witness against them without a cause. The evil
tendencies of his own evil nature will be strengthened by the act,
and he will be exposing himself to the danger of having a causeless
testimony borne against himself in his turn.
+III. There are circumstances in which there is a strong temptation
to bear a causeless testimony.+ It is against this temptation that
the proverb is especially directed. When a man has spoken evil of us
without cause, when he has made public some hidden infirmity, or some
secret fall, there is a great temptation to retaliate if opportunity
offers--to tell what we know about him that will lower him in the
estimation of his fellow-men. But this temptation must be resisted,
both for our own sake and for his, and for this reason among others,
that we are in the worst possible condition for bearing a truthful
testimony. A man under the influence of intoxicating drink would be
altogether unfit to bear witness for or against another. But the
passion of revenge is as intoxicating to the human soul as the most
potent liquor is to the human brain. It distorts the judgment, and
dethrones the reason, and tramples under foot all the noblest
emotions of our nature. A man under its sway would be very unlikely
to be just to the object to whom he sought to return evil for evil;
nay, he would be unable to confine himself within the limits of
strict truth and pure justice. And, therefore, one who has wronged us
is the man above all other men of whose faults we should never speak,
unless there is an overwhelming moral necessity for it.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 28. _"And mayhap, deceive with thy lips."_ This is expressed by
a little participle before the verb. It helps in the ancillary
thought, that not only is speaking evil wicked if it can do no good,
but also it may prove actually unjust. All statement has a hazard of
mistake. If it can do some good, we may risk something so as to
_witness;_ but if there can be no good, we should risk
nothing.--_Miller._
Verse 29. It is a great wickedness, when God is made a pattern for
wickedness; and it is a strong temptation to wickedness, when the
example of the Lord seemeth to countenance that which is proposed to
be done. It is therefore against this that the wise man adviseth in
this verse. For though God say, I will render to everyone according
to his works, thou mayest not say, I will render to the man according
to his works. God speaketh as a Judge to whom it belongeth to
consider the works of everyone, and accordingly to reward them; but
no man may be a judge in his own cause, no particular man may do that
for himself which a judge may do for him. Wherefore it is a bad
imitation thus to imitate the Lord, for we are not to do all things
that the Lord doth, but all things that the Lord commandeth us to
do.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 30-34.
THE SLUGGARD'S VINEYARD.
+I. We have here a precious possession in the hands of an unworthy
proprietor.+ A vineyard is not a heritage of little or no value--if
rightly cared for and cultivated it will yield to its owners the
means of obtaining an honest living, and, it may be, put him in
possession of wealth. Many a toiling, struggling man without an inch
of ground on God's earth to call his own would feel as if he had
nothing left to desire if he had such a barrier between himself and
poverty, and would joyfully toil from dawn to sunset to make the best
of that which God's providence had entrusted to him. But here is
property which would be prized and cultivated by many in the hands of
one who neglects and wastes it. The picture of our text is a
parabolic representation of what is before our eyes every day. A
vineyard of bodily strength is given to a man who by dissipation
breaks down its wall and invites disease to enter. A vineyard of
opportunities is inherited by a slothful youth who is too indolent
and careless to improve them. The vineyard of a vast fortune or of a
position of great influence is entrusted to one who is "void of
understanding"--who does not realise his responsibility to God or to
men.
+II. We have man, by neglecting to use God's gifts, limiting God's
power to bless him.+ It was God's purpose that this vineyard should
bring forth better things than thorns and nettles. He desired to see
it covered with choice vines, whose branches should be loaded with
clusters of refreshing fruit. But this could not be unless man would
be a co-worker with Him. God did His part. The rain watered the soil,
the sun shone upon it, but man refused to dig and plant, to weed and
cultivate. And by withholding his power to labour he limited God's
power to bless. Men do the same in other fields of labour, and in
connection with the other opportunities of receiving the Divine
blessing. Many good gifts come alike to the slothful and to the
industrious man--to him who diligently "keeps" his vineyard and to
him who neglects it. God makes His sun to shine, and sends His rain
upon the fields of both. But in the one case sun and rain find a soil
prepared to receive the full benefit of the blessings they can give,
and in the other they can only strengthen the hold of the weeds upon
the earth, and to increase the unfruitfulness of the vineyard. So men
often limit God's power to bless them by His providence.
Opportunities are given to them of bringing great blessings upon
themselves or upon others, but only on condition that they labour
earnestly and diligently at some work which God gives them to do.
They may be called only to the special cultivation of their own
intellectual and spiritual powers, or they may also be in a position
to transform others from weeds in the social and moral vineyard into
plants of beauty and trees yielding fruit. But whether the field open
to them is a wide one, or comparatively narrow, all God's willingness
to give the increase will be of no avail if they refuse to till the
ground and sow the seed.
+III. We have a swift and sure-footed avenger advancing to awaken the
slothful sleeper.+ That slumber, though long and deep, will not go on
for ever. It would indeed be unjust to the active and industrious man
if the slothful never felt the consequences of his indolence. But
this would be contrary to the laws by which God governs the world.
One of these laws is, that bodily want, or intellectual or spiritual
beggary, will in due time overtake him who neglects to exercise the
faculties and capabilities which God has given him to enrich every
part of his nature.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
This is a picture of sloth. At the same time it is a picture of sloth
under attacks upon our faith. The world moves on, and, in our
laziness, our garden gets all choked with new dogmas against the
Gospel. The writer has already said that we are not to yield to
"them that are given to change" (verse 21). He has also said that we
are not to answer them with deceit (verse 28): and, now, what
remains? Why, that we baffle them, that we work as hard as they do. I
know no proverb more useful for the men of our times. We lie upon our
lees till we think philosophy a sort of wickedness; till we think
quiet under its advances a sort of Christian faith. We let science
work on, till, by sap and mine, it is near our citadel. Great bodies
of learned work are built up while the Church sleeps. If she fights,
it is with a sort of chicane, with the gongs and bright paper, like a
Chinese troop; when duty plainly is, to work up abreast of science.
If the Church has more light, she must expect more contest. If she
has better arms, she must expect more battles; with more mind, of
course more to oppose; otherwise she has less to do than less capable
believers. The world's science must be met by the Church's science,
and new, sturdy brambles in her prolific fields must be ploughed
under by improved implements. Otherwise, old-time arguments, and a
sort of a chicane of a retort; responses like those of women, rather
intended to say _No_ than to be an actual reply, become indicative of
a sluggard-Church, and of a garden cumbered like that before us.
_Slothful,_ literally _sluggard man._ Man is here the better _sort of
man_ (see Miller's comment of verse 5); in the last clause it is _"a
common man."_ The first has a _field,_ the second a _vineyard._ All
classes of men are bound to read up and get rid of occasions for
cavil. . . . _"The wall;"_ necessary to keep a church at all. Let
scientists trample in upon the vineyard with nothing but a few old
clothes to scare them, and presently we will have no Church whatever.
Not _"stone wall"_ (E. V.), but _"the wall, as to its stones,"
"pulled down."_ It will not slowly crumble, but interested parties
will help it when it begins to totter. _"I saw, or looked."_ Seeing
such things requires an effort. Not the slothful man's business
alone! but mine! I am sufficiently like him. A vineyard with
brambles, like that of Geneva, or England, or that of the
cis-Atlantic Socinian States, is a picture for all mankind. . . .
_"Come, etc.," "sauntering along."_ Hithpael of walk. _"Armed man."_
Both these descriptions mean (1) _slowness,_ and (2) _certainty;_
(1) unobserved ease of gait; but (2) doomlike certainty in coming. A
Church that enjoys her ease may super-eminently prosper. Her foe may
be behind the hill, and her doom may be sauntering noiselessly up,
but their coming is as certain as the dawn. . . . A "little sleep"
more, and the thing has been actually achieved.--_Miller._
Let _us_ learn from the scene described: 1. How _gradual_ may be the
approaches of the evils of sloth, while, at the same time, they are
_irresistible_ in the end. This is the lesson of the thirty-fourth
verse. The traveller approaches by degrees. When comparatively at a
distance, he appears harmless; but, when he has advanced a certain
length, he is discovered to be _"an armed man,"_--all resistance to
whom is too late, and consequently vain. Famine, though gaunt, is
irresistibly mighty. Who can stand before it? Not the man of habitual
sloth. The very habit has the more thoroughly incapacitated him for
plucking up any spirit to ward off the final ravages of the frightful
enemy. He succumbs, sinks and dies.--2. Our souls are committed by
God to our own spiritual cultivation. This is no sinecure. They will
not thrive themselves. If we would have them "as a watered garden,
and as a field which the Lord hath blessed," we must apply spiritual
activity and labour, to stock them with the appropriate graces,
affections, and virtues, and to promote the growth and productiveness
of them all. We must sow the seed, and seek by prayer the showers of
the Divine blessing--the promised influences of the Divine Spirit. We
must watch over the germination, the springing, the growth, and the
fructifying of the seed. Without this all will be stunted and
sterile. The noxious and unsightly weeds of sin will spring and
luxuriate, and overspread the soil; all growing that ought not to
grow, and nothing growing that should. Let parents apply the
principle to the spiritual instruction of their children. Your
families are as vineyards committed to your care and culture. Imagine
not that, when left to themselves, they will spontaneously yield good
fruit. The experience of all generations reads you an opposite
lesson. You must enclose; you must dig, and sow, and water, and
watch, and protect the springing blade, till it comes to the ear, and
the full corn in the ear. You must train from their earliest germs
your tender plants, and guard, and support, and prune them, and clear
and manure the soil around them. The incessant care of both parents
must be bestowed upon this; and all little enough. They must look for
the help and for the blessing of God. O see to it, that the verses
before us be not a just description of any of your families--from
your parental negligence, indifference, and sloth. Let every family
be as a sacred enclosure for God; fenced in from the blasts and
blights of the world, where the "plants of his right hand's planting"
are reared from the seed, for future productiveness.--_Wardlaw._
Verse 32. The owner did nothing for the farm, and the farm did
nothing for the owner. But even this neglected spot did something for
the passing wayfarer, who had an observant eye and a thoughtful mind.
Even the sluggard's garden brought forth fruit, but not for the
sluggard's benefit. The diligent man reaped, and carried off the only
harvest that it bore--a warning. The owner received nothing from it;
and the onlooker "received instruction.". . . People complain that
they have few opportunities and means of instruction. Here is one
school open to all. Here is a schoolmaster who charges no fee. If we
are ourselves diligent, we may gather riches even in a sluggard's
garden. He who knows how to turn the folly of his neighbours into
wisdom for himself, cannot excuse defective attainments by alleging a
scarcity of the raw material.--_Arnot._
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