CRITICAL NOTES.--+4. He that receiveth gifts.+ Zöckler translates
this, _"a man of taxes."_ +7. Considereth.+ Literally _knoweth._
Zöckler and Delitzsch translate the latter clause, _"the godless
discern, or understand not, knowledge."_ +8. Bring a city,+ etc.,
literally, _"set a city on fire."_ +9.+ The second clause should
rather be _"he rageth and laugheth_ (_i.e.,_ the fool), _and there is
no rest."_ +10.+ Delitzsch translates this verse: _"Men of blood hate
the guiltless and the upright; they seek his soul."_ +11. His mind.+
Rather _his wrath._ +Keepeth it till afterward.+ Rather _restraineth
it, keeps it in the background._ +13. The deceitful.+ Rather _"the
usurer." A man of usury is only a more concrete expression for a rich
man and this is the corresponding term_ in chap. xxii. 2 (Zöckler).
+18. Vision.+ Rather _"Revelation."_ "The word denotes prophetic
prediction, the revelation of God by His seers (1 Sam. ix. 9); the
chief function of these consisted in their watching over the vigorous
fulfilling of the law, or in the enforcement of the claims of the
law" (Zöckler). +19. Doth not answer.+ Rather _"there is not an
answer,"_ that is in action, by obedience. Delitzsch translates
_"does not conform thereto."_ +21. A son,+ etc. There are many
different translations of this verse, but the general verdict of
scholars seems to favour the English rendering. Luther translates the
verse, _"If a servant is tenderly treated from youth up, he will
accordingly become a squire."_ +24. He heareth cursing.+ Rather _the
curse, i.e.,_ according to Zöckler, "the curse which according to the
law (Lev. v. 1. sq.) marks a theft as an offence demanding a heavy
penalty." Delitzsch translates _"he hateth the oath,"_ and explains
it "as that of the judge who adjures the partner of the thief by God
to tell the truth." (See also Lev. v. 1.)
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 1.
REPROOF AND DESTRUCTION.
+I. An act of benevolence which is often resented.+ When a child is
reproved, and if need be chastised, for playing with the fire or
neglecting its lessons, all reasonable people see that it is a kind
act, and the child itself, when it has grown wiser, acknowledges that
the reproof, even if it took the form of punishment, was an act of
true benevolence, for it has saved him from bodily suffering or from
intellectual loss. But it is probable that at the time the reproof
was administered it was received with resentment, and the parent or
friend who administered it was looked upon as an enemy. And it is so
generally with men in relation to the reproofs of God, whether they
come direct in the shape of providential chastisements or indirectly
in the rebukes of His servants. God can have but one aim in reproving
His creatures, and that is to save them from the pain which follows
sin, and to increase their capabilities of happiness by bringing them
under His Divine training. But this effort of God is often resisted,
and man in the act of resistance is here and elsewhere likened to the
ox which refuses to obey his master. He "hardens his neck" against
the yoke of Divine reproof. Repentant Ephraim acknowledges that under
Divine chastisement he was _"as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke"_
(Jer. xxxi. 18); he resisted the efforts of his God to bring him into
subjection to His wise rule, and into harmony with His benevolent
purposes concerning him. The ox who does nothing but browse is living
the lowest form of life which a brute can live--he eats, and sleeps,
and fattens for the knife. But if his master leads him from his
pasture, and harnesses him to the plough, he thereby makes him a
co-worker with himself; the beast now helps to raise the corn which
not only feeds himself, but feeds men also, and thus, by coming under
the yoke, he becomes a more useful and valuable creature. But as he
is only a brute, he is not to be blamed if he prefers the lower life
to the higher. As it is with the ox and his master, so it is with the
sinner and God. The godless man is content to live upon a level with
the lowest level of brute life--to satisfy his bodily appetites, to
eat and drink, and die and leave undeveloped all his capacities for
spiritual growth and blessedness. But God would make him a co-worker
with Himself in lifting him to a higher level and in making him a
more useful and blessed creature. But men often resist this
benevolent intention, and resent this check upon their self-will.
+II. The resistance to many acts of benevolence bringing one act of
judgment.+ It must at last be decided whose will is to be the law of
the universe--that of rebellious men or that of the Holy God; and
though the Divine longsuffering is so exceedingly great, He must, in
the interests of His creatures, assert His right to their obedience.
This He did in the case of His chosen people--after centuries of
resisted reproof sudden and irremediable destruction came upon the
nation, and those who, like the Jews, will not come under the yoke of
God, must sooner or later feel His rod. If they will not be His
children they must be treated as rebellious subjects. On this subject
see also on chap. vi. 12-19, page 81.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Such was the _destruction_ of the old world, and of the cities of the
plain, long _hardened_ against the forbearance of God. Pharaoh grew
more stubborn under the rod, and rushed madly upon his _sudden_ ruin.
Eli's sons "hearkened not unto the voice of their father, and in one
day died both of them." Ahab, _often reproved_ by the godly prophet,
_hardened his neck,_ and "the bow, drawn at a venture," received its
commission. How must Judas have steeled his heart against his
Master's _reproof!_ Onward he rushed, "that he might go to his own
place."--_Bridges._
Sins repeated and reiterated are much greater than sins once
committed. . . . As in numbers, one in the first place stands but for
a single one, in the second place ten, in the third place for a
hundred, so here, each repetition is a great aggravation. It is one
thing to fall into the water, another thing to lie there; it is the
latter that drowns men.--_Swinnock._
On the subject of verse 2, see on chap. xi. 10, page 206. On verse 3,
see on chap. x. 1, page 137, and on chap. v. 1-20, page 68. The
subject of verse 4 has been treated on page 472, in the homiletics on
chap. xvi. 10-15, and that of verse 5 in the homiletics on chap.
xxvi. 23-28, page 721.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 6.
A SNARE AND A SONG.
+I. Sin deceives men.+ If a man digs a pit for the purpose of
entrapping a victim, his great aim is to make the path over it as
inviting as possible and entirely to hide from sight the snare which
he has laid, for, as Solomon tells us elsewhere, _"Surely in vain the
net is spread in the sight of any bird"_ (chap. i. 17). So when the
great deceiver of men tries to lead them into sin, he makes the way
of transgression look very inviting, and persuades his victim that
some great gain is to be gotten by the sin. He hides from view the
pit of misery that lies at the end of every path of disobedience to
God. He did not let Adam and Eve see beforehand the bitter
consequences of breaking the Divine command or he would not have
succeeded in accomplishing their downfall. And he does not let the
young man whom he persuades to rob his master see the felon's cell
beyond, or his persuasions would be ineffectual. His great aim is to
make men believe there is security where there is danger--a solid
rock where there is a yawning pit--probable gain where there is
certain loss. Seeing that sin is against the sinner's own interests,
and that there is in every man an instinct of self-preservation, we
must conclude that if transgressors were not _ensnared,_ Satan could
take the captive no other way.
+II. Righteousness gladdens men.+ God, who is the Fountain and Source
of all the joy in the universe, made man for happiness. This is the
portion which He intended all His creatures to possess, and which
they forfeit by their own act and deed. Before sin entered our world,
song was man's natural employment--it was as natural for him to
rejoice in God's love as it was to breathe God's air. And in
proportion as sin is banished from the human soul, and the right
relation between it and God is re-established, joy and gladness
re-enter the heart. The indissoluble connection which is found
everywhere between righteousness of life and peace of mind is a
revelation of the character of the Being who sits upon the throne of
the universe, and although the song of the righteous in this world is
not an unbroken one, and they have sorrow as well as joy, they are
hastening to a world where _"God shall wipe away all tears from their
eyes, and there shall be no more sorrow or crying, neither shall
there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away"_ (Rev.
xxi. 4).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Or, a cord, viz., to strangle his joy with--to check and choke all
his comforts. In the midst of his mirth he hath many a secret gripe,
and little knows the world where the shoe pinches him. Every fowl
that hath a seemly feather hath not the sweetest flesh, nor doth
every tree that bringeth a goodly leaf bear good fruit. Glass giveth
a clearer sound than silver, and many things glitter besides gold.
The wicked man's jollity may wet the mouth, but not warm the
heart--smooth the brow, but not fill the breast. . . . But though
Saul could not be merry without a fiddler, Ahab without Naboth's
vineyard, Haman without Mordecai's courtesy, yet a righteous man can
be merry without all these.--_Trapp._
For Homiletics on verse 7 see on chap. xiv. 31, page 389, and on
chap. xxiv. 11, 12, page 680.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 8.
THE CITIZEN'S ENEMY AND THE CITIZEN'S FRIEND.
+I. A scornful man is a social calamity.+ A scorner is a man who has
a great opinion of his own wisdom and ability, and a very low one of
all who oppose him. From his self-constructed elevation he looks down
upon those who refuse to obey him, and counts them his inferiors
simply because they do so. This is a perilous course to pursue even
when only individual interests are at stake, but when the scornful
man holds the welfare of others in his hand, the disastrous effects
of his conduct are more widely spread. When he is the only person who
suffers from over-estimating himself and underrating the strength of
his opponents the issue is hardly to be regretted, but Solomon here
has in his mind a public man who brings ruin upon many besides
himself by his proud disdain of their foes, and by his refusal to
recognise a common danger. Goliath was such a man. As the
representative and champion of the Philistines he over-estimated the
value of his physical strength, and set too low an estimate upon the
unseen power arrayed against him, and his scorn of his enemies
brought a great calamity upon his nation. A scornful man brings the
heaviest calamity upon a people when he scoffs at the power of God
and persuades his followers to set at nought His demands and
threatenings. This was the great crime of many of Solomon's
successors on the throne, and of the false prophets of Judah and
Israel, and hence the sentence passed upon them and upon those who
listened to them: _"Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful
men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem. Because ye have
said, we have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we in
agreement: when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall
not come unto us; for we have made lies our refuge, and under
falsehood have we hid ourselves: Therefore thus saith the Lord
God . . . Judgement also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to
the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuges of lies, and
the waters shall overflow the hiding places,"_ etc. (Isa.
xxviii. 14-22).
+II. A wise man is a social blessing.+ We have before seen (see on
chap. xiv. 15-18, page 364) that it is one of the characteristics of
a wise man that he recognises the presence of moral danger in
relation to himself, and the same may be said concerning danger of
every kind, not only as regards himself, but others also. The
_recognition_ of danger is quite distinct from the _fear_ of it;
indeed those who are most quick to discern it have generally the most
courage to meet it and the most wisdom to avert it. Scornful men
generally have nothing but scorn wherewith to meet a foe, but the man
who is truly wise can afford to acknowledge the strength of his
enemies because he is fully prepared to meet them. If he seek to turn
away the wrath of man by persuasion, he will be able to back his
persuasion by wise reasoning, and if he strive to avert the wrath of
God he will endeavour to bring those for whom he intercedes to such a
state of mind as will render them fit to appreciate Divine pardon.
But if he cannot do this his own character will give effect to his
prayers, and as in the case of Moses and the children of Israel, God
will spare many sinners for the sake of one righteous man.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Surely it was _wisdom_ in the king and people of Nineveh, instead of
_bringing their city into a snare by scornful_ rebellion, to avert by
timely humiliation the impending destruction (Jonah iii. 5-10). Let
the people be gathered; let the ministers of the Lord gird themselves
to their work of weeping and accepted pleaders for the land (Joel
ii. 17). Surely "except the Lord of Hosts had left us a very small
remnant" of these powerful intercessors, "we should have been as
Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah" (Isa. i. 9).
Praised be God! The voice is yet heard--"Destroy it not, for a
blessing is in it" (_Ib._ lxv. 8). The salt of the earth preserves it
from corruption (Matt. v. 13). Shall not we, then, honour these _wise
men_ with reverential gratitude--"My father--my father! the chariots
of Israel, and the horsemen thereof?" . . . Moses--Exod.
xxxii. 10-14; Deut. ix. 8-20; Ps. cvi. 23; Aaron--Num. xvi. 48;
Phinehas--Num. xxv. 11; Ps. cvi. 30. Elijah--1 Kings xviii. 42-45;
James v. 16, 18; Jer. xviii. 20; Dan. ix. 3-20; Amos vii. 1-6. The
righteous remnant--Isa. i. 9, vi. 13. Comp. Gen. xviii. 32; Job
xxii. 30; Jer. v. 1; Ezek. xxii. 30, 31. Contrast Ezek.
xiii. 5.--_Bridges._
For Homiletics on the subject of verse 9, see on chaps. xxiii. 9 and
xxvi. 3-11, pages 665 and 716.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 10.
SOUL-SEEKERS AND SOUL-HATERS.
+I. A proof of the unnatural condition of the human family.+ When we
look at a human body we see that every limb and organism belonging to
it ministers to the well-being of the whole frame, and thus to the
comfort of the living soul that inhabits it. This we recognise to be
a natural and fitting state of things--just what we should have
expected to find before experience. If in any human body we at any
time see the hand inflicting injury upon the head, or any one member
causing discomfort to another, we conclude, and with reason, that
some disturbance of the natural condition has taken place--that there
is physical disease in some bodily organism, or moral disease in the
spirit that animates the body. So our human instincts and our reason
force us to the conclusion that the natural relation of the members
of the great body of humanity is one in which "each for all and all
for each" should be the rule of action. That it is not so, can but
strike all thinking men and women as a terrible incongruity. That
most men not merely regard their human brethren with indifference,
but that many actually hate and seek to injure their fellow-creatures
is surely an evidence that some fatal moral distemper has laid hold
of the race. And the evidence becomes stronger when we consider the
truth of the first assertion in the proverb--that not only do
bloodthirsty men seek to injure other men in general, but that the
objects of their especial malignity are the upright--those who have
given them no provocation, but whose desire and aim it is to bless
their human brothers and sisters.
+II. An example in renewed men of what human brotherhood ought to
be.+ Notwithstanding the great amount of self-seeking and enmity that
is found in the world, there always has been found a small minority
who have been seekers of the good of others, and in whom love to
their human brethren has been the keynote of existence. And this love
has been felt, and this seeking has been active, in behalf of those
who hated them, and sought to do them ill. All such members of the
human family are doing their part towards restoring men to the
condition of peace and goodwill in which their Creator intended them
to live, and help us to form some idea of what earth would have been
if sin had never entered it. It is true they would then have had no
opportunity of loving their enemies, and of doing good to those who
hate them, but the love which "seeketh not her own" would have found
free scope for her activities in going out towards those animated by
the same spirit of love and would never have had to sorrow over
efforts to seek and save that have been apparently fruitless. All
just men who are seekers of the well-being of others, and especially
those who seek the good of their enemies, are followers of that Just
One who was hated by the bloodthirsty of His day, and who sought
their souls while they sought His life. The history of the martyr
Church in all ages has been the history of the "bloodthirsty hating
the upright," and of the just treading in the footsteps of their
Divine Master, and "seeking the souls" of their persecutors.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
These words may mean--and probably _do_ mean--that the upright, in
opposition to the blood-thirsty by whom the just is hated, "seek his
soul,"--that is, the soul or life of the object of the hatred--of the
just or the upright. Of the Lord Himself it is said--"He loveth the
righteous." And in this all His people resemble Him. It is one of
their characteristic distinctions. They pray for the upright, and
endeavour, by all means in their power, to preserve them from the
deadly machinations of their persecutors. The amount of love required
_of_ God's people _towards_ God's people is that they be ready to
"lay down their lives for the brethren." And if "for _the
brethren_"--how much more for THE JUST ONE.--_Wardlaw._
The just seek his soul. As Paul did of his countrymen the Jews, of
whom five times he received forty stripes save one (2 Cor. xi. 24);
as the disciples did of those spiteful Pharisees that had causelessly
accused them (Matt. xv. 2-12); as that martyr Master Saunders did:
"My lord," said he to Bishop Bonner, "you seek my blood, and you
shall have it. I pray God you may be so baptized in it as hereafter
you may loathe blood-sucking, and so become a better man."--_Trapp._
On the subject of verse 11 see on chap. x. 19-21, page 168.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 12.
A MORAL CANCER IN A KING'S COURT.
+I. A man in authority should be a discerner of character.+ The man
whose bodily sight is defective is not fit to be entrusted with the
destinies of others in any case in which clear vision is needed. A
purblind seaman would not be the man to stand upon the bridge of a
vessel and direct its movements, nor would a general unable to
distinguish friends from foes be a safe person to whom to entrust the
guidance of an army in the field. And a man is manifestly in the
wrong place if he is a ruler over others and is not a discerner of
character.
+II. A man in authority should be the possessor of a character.+ A
ruler may be a good man himself and yet be imposed upon by others,
but as a rule a lover of truth is a discerner of truth, and an honest
man will detect the false ring of the liar's words. But if a man is
himself a liar, he will instinctively shrink from contact with true
men, and true men will not care to hold intercourse with him, or to
serve him, and so he must necessarily gather round him servants who
are like himself. Such processes of attraction and repulsion are
always going on in the world, in all departments of government, in
the family, in the factory, and in the court. The servants are
generally what the master is, and the courtiers reflect the character
of the monarch.
+III. It is therefore indispensable to the moral purity of any
community that its head be first a good man and then an able man.+
Moral excellence is before all other things needful, but it is not
the only thing needful. A good man is not always a keen discerner of
character, although his goodness will strengthen his power of
discernment, but he who _rules_ men should possess in an uncommon
degree the power of _reading_ them as well as that of setting them a
good example in his own life.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
He that carrieth Satan in his ear is no less blameworthy than he
which carrieth him in his tongue. Untruths are cherished and
fostered, as it were, by those who are too light of belief. But this
credulity is especially to be shunned by rulers in church,
commonwealth, or private families; for all the inferiors commonly
follow the example of the superiors. . . . It may indeed sometimes
fall out that an Obadiah may lurk in Ahab's court, but this is rare,
and commonly the sway goeth another way. Who were Saul's courtiers
but Doeg and such backbiters?--_Muffett._
How wise was David's determination--both as the sovereign of his
people and the _ruler_ of his house--to discountenance lies, and
uphold the cause of faithful men! (Ps. ci. 2-7).--_Bridges._
It is natural, when we think of Solomon's own situation as king of
Israel, to expect to find some of his maxims of proverbial wisdom
bearing special reference to the character and conduct of men in
power. And so it is. When, moreover, we think of the wisdom with
which, at the outset of his reign, and at his own earnest request, he
was Divinely endowed, we as naturally anticipate a correspondence
between the maxims and the character. Nor are we disappointed. The
maxims are not those of the selfishness of power,--not those of
arbitrary despotism or the sovereignty of royal will; nor are they
those of an artful, intriguing, Machiavellian policy. They are sound
and liberal, and based on the great principle of the public good
being the end of all government--the principle that kings reign, not
for themselves, but for their people; while, in all their
administration, they ought to be swayed and regulated by the laws of
an authority higher than their own, by a regard to the Will of God as
their rule, and the Glory of God, to which all else must ever be
subordinate, as their supreme aim. But we must not forget, that the
Book of Proverbs forms part of the canon of Inspired Scripture; that
it does not contain, therefore, the mere dictates of human wisdom,
how extraordinary soever that wisdom was; that "a greater than
Solomon is here."--_Wardlaw._
The reigns of those princes who gave an easy belief to accusations,
are stained with the most atrocious crimes. Tiberius Cæsar put to
death the greater number of his own privy councillors, by giving ear
to lies, and encouraging his servants to be wicked; and it is
probable that the worst action that ever was committed since the fall
of Adam, the murder of the Prince of Life, was occasioned by Pilate's
wicked and cowardly regard to the temper of that tyrant, and his fear
of being accused as an encourager of treason, if he had suffered our
Lord to escape.--_Lawson._
Rulers are the looking-glasses according to which most men dress
themselves. Their sins do much hurt, as by imputation (2 Sam.
xxiv.)--the prince sinned, the people suffered--so by imitation; for
man is a creature apt to imitate, and is more led by his eyes than
his ears. . . . Height of place ever adds two wings to sin,
_example,_ and _scandal,_ whereby it soars higher and flies much
further.--_Trapp._
The subject of verse 13 is the same as that of chap. xxii. 22, page
636. The _deceitful_ man should be "the man of usury, money-lender,"
meaning simply the "rich man." (Zöckler.) For subjects of verses 14
and 15, see on chapter xvi. 10-15, page 472, and xiii. 24, page 335,
also on chap. xix. 13-18, page 573.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 16.
VICTORY NOT WITH THE MAJORITY.
+I. There is no necessary connection between numbers and
righteousness.+ Weeds grow faster than wheat, and are much more
abundant than the grain. But the simple fact that there are more
weeds than there is corn does not alter the character of either. In
the same field it may happen that there is more to bind for fuel than
for food--that the tares far outnumber the ears of wheat--and in this
case the worth is on the side of the smaller quantity. So it is in
the moral field of the world. It is a startling fact that under the
government of God the wicked are permitted to multiply--that when a
man sets himself in opposition to his Maker, he is not at once
removed from the earth, but is permitted to live and use his life to
make other men wicked like himself. We may sometimes be inclined to
ask with the patriarch, _"Wherefore do the wicked live, become old,
yea, are mighty in power"_ (Job xxi. 7), and the question may be
difficult for us to answer; but this we must never forget, that
neither with an nor with God is there any necessary connection
between quantity and quality, between worth and abundance.
+II. Neither are numbers any guarantee of victory.+ The greatness of
a tree and the number of its branches do not make it certain that it
will outlive the storm--on the contrary, its great bulk and height
are often the causes of its fall. When the wicked multiply, and so
increase transgression, they sometimes lose sight of their personal
sin and danger in the sin and danger in the multitude, and persuade
themselves that there is safety in numbers. But the very opposite is
the case. Men grow more bold in transgression in proportion as they
are surrounded with other transgressors, and venture to do deeds of
wickedness when in company with others that they would fear to commit
alone. And so the multiplication of the wicked, as it increases
transgression, is the means of hastening their fall instead of
retarding it. It was _"when men began to multiply upon the face of
the earth"_ (Gen. vi. 1) that their wickedness became so great as to
compel God to destroy them by a flood. It was the combination of the
entire Jewish nation that enabled them to commit the crime of
crucifying the Lord of Glory, but it was this "increase of
transgression" that led to their final fall.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Combination emboldens in sin (Isa. xli. 7). Each particle of the mass
is corrupt. The mass therefore of itself ferments with evil. Hence
the prevalence of infidelity in our densely crowded districts above
the more thinly populated villages. There is the same evil in
individual hearts, but not the same fermentation of evil.--_Bridges._
The reference is, in all probability, to the influence of wicked
rulers in promoting the increase of wickedness in the community,
which requires not either illustration or proof.--_"But the righteous
shall see their fall."_--Their fall, that is, _from power and
authority._ It is not the _final fall_--the _perdition_ of the
wicked, that is intended. In that the righteous have _no pleasure._
Herein they resemble God; are of one mind and heart with Him. He
says, and confirms it by His oath--"As I live, saith the Lord, I have
no pleasure in the death of the wicked." In the execution of the
sentence against them, God glorifies Himself; and the righteous
solemnly acquiesce, acknowledging and celebrating the justice of the
Divine administration:--"Even so, Lord God, Almighty, for true and
righteous are Thy judgments!" But pleasure in witnessing the
execution of the sentence, we cannot, we must not, for a moment,
imagine them to have.--_Wardlaw._
Cyrillus Alexandrinus tells us, when man was alone upon the earth
there was then no such matter as sinning. . . . Much company in sin
ever makes more, it being the weakness of man's understanding to fear
little hurt and danger, where many run into it, and it being the
nature of wickedness to take strength from a multitude, as not
fearing then to be opposed or resisted.--_Jermin._
For Homiletics on the subject of verse 17, see on chap. xix. 18,
page 573.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 18.
DIVINE REVELATION AND HUMAN OBEDIENCE.
+I. The human soul needs what it cannot produce.+ If the flower is to
attain to its development of beauty and colour it must have the
sunlight and the rain from without itself--it needs what it has no
power to produce. The husbandman and all mankind need a harvest, but
they have no power within themselves to supply their need; although
they can plough, and plant, and sow, they cannot give the quickening
rays of light and heat which alone can make the seed to live and
grow. The entire human race has spiritual needs which it cannot
supply, and capabilities which must be developed by influences
outside and above itself. It needs a knowledge of God's Nature, and
Will, and Purposes, if it is to grow in moral stature, and blossom
and ripen into moral beauty and fruitfulness, but no human intellect
or heart can acquire this knowledge by its own unaided efforts. If
the human soul is to grow in goodness it must know God, and if it is
to know Him, God must reveal Himself.
+II. God by revelation has supplied man's need.+ This supply men had
a right to look for and expect. He had a right to look to the Creator
of his bodily appetites and needs for the supplies that are necessary
to his physical life and well-being, and he does not look in vain.
God has given the _"earth to the children of men"_ (Psa. cxv. 16),
and every year He causes it to bring forth and bud, not only giving
seed to the sower and bread to the eater, but an abundance of
luxuries for his enjoyment. It is most natural and reasonable to look
to the Giver of all these good things for the body, and expect from
Him the supply of the deeper needs of the soul. We do not think a
human parent does his duty to his child if he only feeds and clothes
him and makes no effort to enlighten his mind and satisfy his heart.
And surely the Great Father of the universe would not be worthy of
His name if He dealt so with the children of whose bodies and souls
He is the Author. But He has not left us thus unprovided for, but
_"at sundry times and in diverse manners_ He has spoken unto men"
(Heb. i. 1), telling them enough of Himself and of themselves to
satisfy their spiritual cravings, and to elevate their spiritual
nature.
+III. It follows that gratitude and self-love should prompt men to
listen to God, and to obey Him.+ If the foregoing assertions are
true, it follows that man must give heed to the revelation of God, or
sustain permanent and irretrievable loss. As he cannot reject the
Divine provision for the body without bodily death, so he cannot
refuse attention to God's provision for his soul without spiritual
ruin--without causing to perish all those powers and faculties of his
highest nature the exercise of which make existence worth having.
Self-love, therefore, should prompt a man to _"keep the law,"_ and if
he do not listen to its voice he has only himself to blame for
missing real happiness. If a man is starving, his best friend can do
no more than supply his need, he must eat the food set before him;
and when God has offered to the children of men that wine and milk
which will satisfy the soul, and cause it to grow, He has done all
that even a God can do (Isa. lv. 1, 2). Man is a self-murderer if he
refuse it.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
He doth not say they may perish, but they do perish; or they are in
danger of perishing, but they do certainly perish where there is no
serious, conscientious, faithful, powerful preaching. . . . These men
perish _temporarily;_ when vision, when preaching ceased among the
Jews, oh, the dreadful calamities and miseries that came upon the
people! . . . There men perish _totally:_ both the bodies and the
souls of men perish where serious conscientious preaching fails
(Hosea iv. 6); _"My people are destroyed for want of
knowledge."_. . . The Papists say that ignorance is the mother of
devotion; but this text tells us that is the mother of
destruction.--_Brooks._
This is only a hypothetical case, for there are no such _"people."_
Nevertheless there is such a principle. Just in proportion as men do
not know they will not be punished. Paul and Solomon are in full
accord. "They that sin without law shall also perish without law; but
they that sin in the law shall be judged by the law" (Rom. ii. 12).
These Proverbs elsewhere have taught the same doctrine (chap.
viii. 36). Men might all perish, but some less terribly, from a
difference of light. All men have some light (Rom. i. 20); and that
which they actually have is all that they shall answer for in the day
of final account. Still there is a form of ignorance that will
exactly proportion our guilt. It is ghostly ignorance, or the absence
of spiritual knowledge. Perhaps I may still say that a man is
punished for what he has, and not for what he has not. A man who
knows of this ignorance, and has light enough to know his need of
light, has enough to give account for in that without being supposed
to suffer for a profound negation. Be this as it may, there is such
an ignorance. It exactly grades our sins. It is the measure of our
depravity. The profounder it sinks we sink. No man need sink or
perish. There is a remedy. "The word is nigh" (us).--_Miller._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 19 _and_ 21.
MASTERS AND SERVANTS.
+I. Human servants generally need correction.+ The relation of master
and servant is generally, though not always, founded upon some
superiority on the one side and inferiority on the other. Where there
is any right adjustment of social relations, those who serve are
those who lack knowledge of some kind which those who rule are able
to impart, and hence arises the necessity of correction on the part
of the master and of submission on that of the servant. It is
undeniable that there are many inversions of this ideal moral order,
but the proverb can only refer to what ought to be, and what _often,_
though not _always,_ is the case.
+II. The means of correction ought to be moral means.+ A servant is a
moral and intelligent agent, and not a machine or a brute, and he can
and ought to appreciate appeals to his reason and conscience. A wise
and humane rider will use his voice to his steed in preference to the
whip or the spur, and generally finds it effectual. And words of
reproof and encouragement are probably the only successful means of
dealing with human nature in this relationship. If these fail, no
others will avail, and all benefit from the connection will cease.
+III. Therefore human masters need much wisdom.+ If they are
over-indulgent the servant may take undue advantage and claim
privileges to which he has no right (ver. 21). In the present
constitution of things in this world, and probably throughout the
universe, there are inequalities of position and rank which no wise
man can ignore, and it is kind and wise to those beneath us to
maintain these differences and distinctions. But to maintain them
without haughtiness, and with that consideration and sympathy which
ought to mark all our intercourse with our fellow-creatures, needs
much wisdom on the part of superiors. Dr. David Thomas suggests
another, and perhaps a pleasanter application of this proverb. "There
is another side," he says, "to the kindness of a master towards his
servant, that is, the making of the servant feel towards him all the
sympathy and interest of a son. . . . He who can make his servant
feel towards him as a loving, faithful, and dutiful child, will reap
the greatest comfort and advantage from his service." But this happy
result can only be brought about where the master is truly wise as
well as kind.
For Homiletics on verses 20 and 22, see on chap. xiv. 17 and 29,
pages 363 and 386. On verse 23, see on chap. xi. 2, page 192, and on
xvi. 18, page 482.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 24.
CRIMINAL PARTNERSHIP.
+I. Partnerships are self-revealing.+ That proverb is an old and true
one--"Tell me what company you keep, and I will tell you what you
are." A man seeks the society and shares the pursuits of those who
are likeminded with himself; if he chooses the fellowship of the good
it shows that there is something in his character that has an
affinity to theirs, and if he willingly associates himself with bad
men, he proclaims himself to be a bad man. Good men do not "walk in
the counsel of the ungodly," or "sit in the seat of the
scornful"--men who are found in such places must be counted among the
ungodly and scornful, although they may be negative rather than
positive sinners.
+II. Criminal partnerships are self-destroying.+ As we have seen,
partners with criminals are criminals themselves in spirit if not in
actual deed, and must therefore meet with the doom of the
transgressor. Probably the proverb is directed against those who
shelter themselves under the idea that those who do not commit the
crime themselves, but only consent to it beforehand, or conceal it
afterwards, are not so very guilty; but this is nowhere the teaching
of Scripture, nor is it the verdict of the human conscience.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
A partnership life is becoming more and more common and necessary in
our commercial England. Great undertakings can only be carried out by
companies. Modern legislation has greatly encouraged these
combinations, by limiting the monetary liability of its members.
Hence, joint-stock companies are multitudinous and multiplying. Such
companies are often, perhaps generally, projected and managed by
selfish, needy, and unprincipled speculators; and honest men are
often tempted by the glowing promises of their lying programmes to
become their adherents, and they soon find themselves in the
unfortunate position referred to in the text.--_Dr. David Thomas._
The _receiver_ and _resetter_ is at least as guilty as the thief. I
say _at least;_ for in one obvious respect he is worse. His is a
general trade, which gives encouragement to many thieves, by holding
out to them the means of disposing of their stolen property and
evading the law. He is thus, in fact, a partaker in the guilt of all.
One thief cannot set up and maintain a resetter; but one resetter may
keep at their nefarious trade many thieves.--_Wardlaw._
There is a warning under the eighth commandment. Do we realise the
same solemnity of obligation as under the first? Many professors
attach a degree of secularity to a detailed application of the duties
of the second table. But both stand on the same authority. The
transgressions of both are registered in the same book. The place in
the Decalogue cannot be of moment, if it be but there with the
imprimatur--"I am the Lord thy God."--_Bridges._
It is the cursed policy of Satan, that he strives to join men in
wickedness. In drunkenness there must be a good fellow; in wantonness
there must be a corrival; in bloody duels there must be a second; in
theft there must be a partner, yoking men together to draw upon
themselves the heavy burden of God's displeasure. . . . Wherefore,
although it may be a love unto the things stolen, or else a love unto
the stealer, which maketh others to join with him, certainly he
showeth little love to God's law, certainly he proveth great hatred,
which he has to his own soul. For while he joineth with another in
stealing some worldly goods, he joineth with Satan in stealing his
own soul from himself. And whatsoever fear he may have of some
_curse_ which the other hath laid upon him, if that he doth reveal
it, he hath much more cause to feel the _curse of God's wrath,_ if he
doth conceal it. He hath but _heard_ the one, he shall _feel_ the
other.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 25 _and_ 26.
SAFETY FROM A SNARE.
+I. Men fear and hope too much from their fellow men.+ This fear and
this hope are very active agents in this world, influencing men often
to abstain from what they know to be right, and inducing them to do
deeds of evil. Good men have often staggered and sometimes fallen
before this fear and have been misled by this false hope, and both
the hope and the fear are intensified when the object of them belongs
to the ranks of the conventionally great--when the man whom they
desire to propitiate is a _"ruler"_ among his fellows. Such a man
sometimes has the power to injure those who displease him, and has
also much that he can bestow upon those who seek his favour; but the
weight of his displeasure and the worth of his gifts are generally
estimated far too highly by his inferiors in rank, and when this is
the case they are snares which lead to sin.
+II. Trust in God is the only escape from the fear that will mislead,
and the hope that will disappoint.+ The many and the great contrasts,
not only between the favour of God and the favour of man, but between
all that is connected with the seeking and the bestowal, will lead
every wise man to forsake the pursuit of the less for the greater.
1. _The favour of an earthly ruler is often obtained only by the
exercise of great skill on the part of the seeker._ When the woman of
Tekoa desired to obtain from David the forgiveness of Absalom, what
ingenuity on her part was necessary in order to gain the monarch's
ear and goodwill. She had to study how to put the case before him in
the best light, and to enact a little drama before his eyes in order
to enlist his attention and soften his heart. And yet she was
pleading with a tender-hearted father for his own son. How different
it is when we plead for the mercy of God either for ourselves or
others. The simplest statement of the case is sufficient; no schemes
or plans of any kind are necessary to win the ear of Him who is
always waiting to be gracious. 2. _Success with an earthly ruler is
often unconnected with the merit or demerit of the pleader._ It often
happens that the most worthless characters obtain the greatest
favours, even if the ruler himself be a fairly impartial man, because
they have more friends at court than a deserving man. In the case
just mentioned, Absalom, a thoroughly bad man, was able to command
the services of a person who was probably more fitted to gain the
desired end than any person in the kingdom. If there had been a
banished subject who really merited a free pardon from the king, he
would probably not have been able to command the services of so
successful a pleader as the woman of Tekoa. But the case is
altogether different with Him who doth not _"judge after the sight of
His eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of His ears"_ (Isa.
xi. 3). The "judgment which cometh from the Lord" is founded on the
strictest impartiality, and depends upon nothing but the character
and needs of the suitor. If we add to these drawbacks the uncertain
good which may be contained in the "favour of a ruler" even after it
is obtained, we may well wonder that it is as true now as in
Solomon's days that the "many" seek it, and only the few trust their
earthly and their spiritual interests with their God. How many of the
few who are not disappointed _of_ the favour of great men are
disappointed _in_ it, and find it a poor and unsatisfying portion
after all; but the testimony of all those who seek the higher good is
_"In Thy favour is life, and Thy lovingkindness is better than life"_
(Psa. xxx. 5; Psa. lxiii. 3).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
To those who look out upon society from the standpoint of trust in
God, the greatest magnates of the world will appear only as
grasshoppers. . . . He who can say, "Surely my judgment is with the
Lord," will stand before his race with undaunted heroism, and before
his God with devotion. Conscious dependence on the Almighty is the
spirit of independence towards men.--_Dr. David Thomas._
The fear of man leads you into a snare, and will the fear of God make
you safe? No; if the character of the affection remains the same, you
will gain nothing by a change of object. If you simply turn round and
fear God as you feared men you have not thereby escaped. The fear of
the greater Being is the greater fear. The weight presses in the same
direction, and it is heavier by all the difference between the finite
and the infinite. . . . It is not a transference of fear from man to
God that can make the sinner safe. The kind of affection must be
changed, as well as its object. Safety lies not in terror, but in
trust. Hope leads to holiness. He who is made nigh to God by the
death of His Son stands high above the wretched snares that entangled
his feet when he feared men. The sovereign's son is safe from the
temptation to commit petty theft. . . . When you know in whom you
have believed, and feel that any step in life's journey hereafter may
be the step into heaven, the fear of this man and the favour of that
will exert no sensible influence in leading you to the right hand or
to the left.--_Arnot._
Albeit faith, when it is in the heart, quelleth and killeth
distrustful fear, and is therefore fitly opposed to it in this sacred
sentence; yet in the very best sense it fights sore against faith
when it is upon its own dunghill. I mean in a sensible danger.
Nature's retraction of itself from a visible fear, may cause the
pulse of a Christian that beats truly and strongly in the main
point--the state of the soul--to intermit and falter at such a time,
as we see in the examples of Abraham, Isaac, David, Peter, and
others. . . . The chameleon is said to be the most fearful of all
creatures, and doth therefore turn himself into so many colours to
avoid danger, which yet will not be. God equally hateth the timorous
and the treacherous. "Fearful" men are the first in that black roll
(Rev. xxi. 8).--_Trapp._
There is a higher step to be taken before we can well step so high;
there is the favour of God to be procured before the favour of the
ruler can well be obtained. For kings are but God's kingdoms; as they
reign over their people, so He reigneth over them; as they sit on the
throne of their kingdom, so He sitteth on the throne of their hearts,
and by a distributive justice dispenseth the _judgment_ of his and
their favours according as it seemeth good to His eternal wisdom. The
favour therefore of thy ruler is worth thy seeking for; but first
seek and get God's favour, if thou wilt get and enjoy the other to
thy happiness. And when thou hast gotten it, remember that it was
God's hand which directed the king's hand to reach it forth unto
thee. For it is too commonly seen, as one speaketh, "Then doth God
especially slip out of the minds of men, when they enjoy His benefits
and favours."--_Jermin._
For Homiletics on verse 27, see on chap. xxviii. 4.
* * * * * *