Chapter III (2)

It is certainly not a uniform experience that a man lives long in proportion as he lives well. Such a rule would obviously not be suitable to the present dispensation. It is true that all wickedness acts as a shortener of life, and all goodness as its lengthener; but other elements enter, and complicate the result, and slightly veil the interior law. If the law were according to a simple calculation in arithmetic, "the holiest liver, the longest liver," and conversely, the moral government of God would be greatly impeded, if not altogether subverted. He will have men to choose goodness for His sake and its own, therefore a slight veil is cast over its present profitableness. Some power is allowed to the devil, to try them that are upon the earth.--_Arnot._

If God give his people a crown, he will not deny them a crust. If they have the good things of a throne, they shall be sure of the good things of the footstool.--_Trapp._

St. Augustine telleth us that length of days is eternity, for whatsoever hath an end is short: but riches and honour, which by men are esteemed good things, they are in the left hand. It is not forbidden thee to enjoy the good things of this life, but do not put that in the right hand which should be in the left; do not prefer temporal things before eternal. Let us use the left hand for a time, but desire the right hand for eternity.--_Jermin._

The right hand in the Bible everywhere means one's highest instrumentality or agency (Rev. ii. 1). We understand the text to mean, therefore, that wisdom is able to use long life as a splendid agency.--_Miller._

It is eternity that filleth the right hand of Wisdom. _Days_ for the clarity, _length_ for the eternity. As the glory is clear for the countenance, so is it long for the continuance. The gift of the left hand is short and temporal. +I. Riches and honour are God's gifts, therefore, in themselves, not evil.+ Saint Augustine: "That they may not be thought evil, they are given to good men; that they may not be thought the best good, they are given to evil men." Chrysostom remarks that Christ doth not say: "Ye cannot _have_ God and mammon," but, "Ye cannot _serve_ God and mammon." +II. All are not so, but some; and therefore it is necessary for us to learn whether God gave us the riches and honour which we have.+ They came from God if (1) _they are honestly gotten_, (2) _justly disposed_, (3) _patiently lost_. +III. Wealth and worship are, for the most part, companions; for both those gifts lie in one and the same hand.+ Riches are the stairs whereby men climb up into the height of dignity, the fortification that defends it, the food it lives upon, the oil that keeps the lamp of honour from going out. +IV. Though riches and honour are God's gifts, yet they are but the gifts of His left hand.+ Therefore it follows that every wise man will seek the blessings of the right. Let us strive for the latter without condition; for the other, if they fall in our way, let us stoop to take them up.--_Thomas Adams._

Verse 17. +I. The ways of religion are ways of pleasantness.+ 1. There is a pleasure in the duties relating immediately to God--in _love, faith, reliance, hope, prayer,_ and _thanksgiving_. 2. There is a pleasure in those occupations in which a religious man will be frequently employed--_in studying the works of God and the Holy Scriptures: in meditating on the perfections of the Almighty, etc._ 3. There is a pleasure in that behaviour towards others, and that manner of prosecuting our worldly affairs, which ever accompany a religious disposition--in _calm integrity, honest industry_, and _acts of beneficence_. 4. There is a pleasure in performing our duty to ourselves--in _temperance_ and _control of the passions_. +II. The ways of sin are not ways of pleasantness.+ 1. No man can be happy who acts against his conscience. 2. If men persuade themselves that there is no future life, the expectation of perishing utterly presents no agreeable prospect to the soul, which has a natural desire of immortality. 3. Every act contrary to reason and religion is, if not always, for the most part, hurtful, even in this life.--_Jortin._

The excellency of the pleasure found in Wisdom's ways appears--+I. In that it is the pleasure of the mind. II. That it never satiates nor wearies. III. That it is in nobody's power, but only in his that has it.+--_South._

I am confident that the true Christian hath more true pleasure in suffering for Christ, or in one act of mortification, or victory over one lust, than the highest earthly potentate hath in all the honour that is done him, or good things enjoyed by him all his days.--_Swinnock._

+I. Wisdom of itself is satisfactory, as it implies a revelation of truth, and a detection of error to us.+ We are all naturally endowed with a strong appetite to know, to see, to pursue truth; and with an abhorrency of being deceived and entangled in mistake. +II. In its consequences it is pleasant and peaceable.+ 1. It assures us we take the best course and proceed as we ought. He that knows his way and is satisfied it is the true one, goes on merrily and carelessly, not doubting he shall in good time arrive at his destined journey's end. Wisdom therefore frees us from the company of anxious doubt in our actions, and the consequence of bitter repentance; for no man can doubt of what he is sure, nor repent of what he knows good. 2. It begets in us a hope of success in our actions, and is usually attended therewith. What is more delicious than hope? What more satisfactory than success? And well-grounded hope confirms resolution and quickens activity, which mainly conduce to the prosperous issue of designs. 3. Wisdom prevents discouragement from the possibility of ill success, yea, and makes disappointment itself tolerable. For we have reason to hope that the All-wise Goodness reserves a better reward for us, and will some time recompense us, not only the good purposes we unhappily pursued, but also the unexpected disappointment we patiently endured. 4. Wisdom makes all the troubles of life easy and supportable, by rightly valuing the importance and moderating the influence of them. . . . If sin vex and discompose us, yet this trouble Wisdom, by representing the Divine Goodness and His tender mercies in our ever-blessed Redeemer, doth presently allay. And for all other adversities it abates their noxious power by showing us they are either merely imaginary or very short and temporary: that they admit of remedy, or at most do not exclude comfort. 5. Wisdom hath always a good conscience attending it, that purest delight and richest cordial of the soul; that brazen wall and impregnable fortress against both external assaults and internal commotions.--_Barrow._

Some degree of comfort follows every good action, as heat accompanies fire, as beams and influences issue from the sun. Thus, saith one, is a fore-reward of well-doing. "_In_ doing thereof (not only _for_ doing) there is great reward" (Psa. xix. 11).--_Trapp._

The paths of wisdom bring us to the peace of reconciliation with God; to the peace of society and friendship with the angels of God: to the peace of comfort and quietness in our own hearts.--_Jermin._

They must be "ways of pleasantness" because "Thus saith the Lord." And if we feel them not to be so, we know them not.--_Bridges._

Her ways are sometimes on hot coals and to burning stakes. If there is anything unpleasant in her way, it is to promote wisdom and so to promote more "pleasantness" another time. _All_ her paths peace, or "prosperity." More thoroughly "all" of them than in the case of pleasantness. While the happiness of a Christian may flag in this world, his "prosperity" never stops a moment. His "way" is prosperous, _i.e._, he gains by every inch.--_Miller._

Both the way and the end to which the way leads is peace. There are many ways in the world pleasant but not safe; others safe but not pleasant.--_Fausset._

Verse 18. Like that planted in Paradise and promised by Christ to all that overcome.--_Wordsworth._

It is remarkable that this and other references in Proverbs xi. 30, xiii. 12, xv. 4, are the only allusions in any book of the Old Testament, after Genesis, to the "tree" itself, or to its spiritual significance. . . . The tree of life which Adam was not to taste lies open to his children. No cherubim with flaming swords bar the approach. Wisdom is the tree of life giving true immortality.--_Plumptre._

Wisdom beareth not her fruit for everyone. She is a tree of life to them that _lay hold_ of her, not to them that touch her with a light hand, that seek after her in a perfunctory manner, that think a little wisdom, a little godliness, to be sufficient for them.--_Jermin._

The tree of life was the means ordained of God for the preservation of lasting life, and continual vigour and health, before man sinned. So true wisdom maintains man in the spiritual life of God's grace, and the communion of His Spirit.--_Diodati._

One view of man's true dignity arises from the amount of his susceptibilities of enjoyment on the one hand, of suffering on the other. Think of what man was, of what he is, of what he is capable of becoming. His capabilities are such that nothing beneath God Himself can satisfy them. His soul can be filled from no created fountain. Wisdom provides for him a portion adequate to his most unbounded desires, to his most expanded capabilities.--_Wardlaw._

As the tree of life in Paradise, which was a sign of God's favour, or the tree which sweetened the waters of Marah, or the tree seen in the Revelation, or any living or good tree which bringeth forth fruit whereby men live.--_Muffet._

_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 19, 20.

ONE OF THE PROOFS OF GOD'S WISDOM.

+I. God had a personal existence before the world.+ If we say that a man founded an institution--built a house--we imply that he existed before the institution or the house, and that he exists as a separate entity from that which he has built or founded.

+II. The world did not come by chance+--it is not an orphan; it had a Creator, a Father. The world is not eternal. The Lord founded it. He "laid the foundations of the earth" (Job xxxviii. 4).

+III. That the world which God has made bears the impress of Infinite Wisdom.+ Scientific investigation and discovery bear out the assertion of Solomon, that the Lord "by wisdom founded the earth." The discoveries of astronomers reveal to us more and more the "understanding" which "established the heavens." Solomon here selects one example of the wisdom of God, as displayed in relation to the earth, viz., the process by which it is watered--by which God "maketh it soft with showers, and thus blesseth the springing thereof" (Psa. lxv. 10), and so gives seed to the sower and bread to the eater. This "philosophy of rain," as it has been called, is one which illustrates creative wisdom in a remarkable manner. Dr. Ure says, "To understand the philosophy of the beautiful and often sublime phenomenon, so often witnessed since the creation of the world, and essential to the very existence of plants and animals, a few facts derived from observation and a long train of experiments must be remembered. (1) Were the atmosphere everywhere at all times of a uniform temperature we should never have rain, or hail, or snow; the water absorbed by it in evaporation from the sea and the earth's surface would descend in an imperceptible vapour, or cease to be absorbed by the air when it was once fully saturated. (2) The absorbing power of the atmosphere, and consequently its capability to retain humidity, is proportionately greater in warmer than in cold air. (3) The air near the surface of the earth is warmer than it is in the region of the clouds. The higher we ascend from the earth, the colder do we find the atmosphere. Hence the perpetual snow on very high mountains in the hottest climate. Now, when from continued evaporation the air is highly saturated with vapour, though it be invisible and the sky cloudless,--if its temperature be suddenly reduced by cold currents descending from above, or rushing from a higher to a lower latitude, its capacity to retain moisture is diminished, clouds are formed, and the result is rain. Air condenses as it cools, and, like a sponge filled with water and compressed, pours out the water which it cannot hold. How singular, yet how simple, the philosophy of rain. Who but Omniscience could have devised such an admirable arrangement for watering the earth?" Solomon could not have known _how_ the earth was watered, but he knew enough to awaken his admiration of Providential love and skill.

+IV. The exhibition of God's wisdom in creation is intended to lead men to listen to his Word of Revelation.+ To this end the subject is introduced here by the preacher. When such a Being speaks, it must be worth men's while to listen and obey. The heavens and earth have a speech or language (Psa. xix. 1, 2). They counsel us to seek Him "who hath measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure,"--Him "whose word shall stand for ever" (Isa. xl.).

_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._

Verse 19. Hitherto Wisdom has been thought of in relation to men. Now the question comes: What is she in relation to God? and the answer is: That the creative act implies a Divine wisdom, through which the Divine will acts. We have, as it were, the first link of the chain which connects this wisdom with the Divine Word, the Logos of St. John's Gospel (John i. 3).--_Plumptre._

The wisdom, so spiritual as to belong only to the pious, nevertheless has its reachings into all wisdom, as we saw in chap. i. 20, where it is called "wisdoms," as embracing all forms of it. Creative wisdom, therefore, is part of the broad array. But now, as a more important teaching, creative wisdom must include the spiritual. God could not found the heavens without that holy character that makes the system possible. Its enormous intricacies could not be kept up without the harmonising influences of holiness. Government, of course, is built upon it; justice, of course, is part of it; and the whole world would be an unmeaning mass unless Jehovah, by wisdom, shaped it, viz., in those Diviner forms in which He is the governor as well as the builder and original schemer of the universe. God _would_ not have built the world without holiness, and therefore, in the very strictest sense, "by wisdom He founded" the heavens, because only that holy light, which is the light of love, could be the inspiring motive for building the habitations of His creatures. We are to understand this verse as meaning, therefore, first, that creative light merges into all light, as one grand omniscience; but, second, that creative light would be nothing without spiritual light; that God's love and justice were the very spring and harmonious law whereon all are builded.--_Miller._

The spirit of the recommendation seems to be that, as it is "the Lord which giveth wisdom," that which comes from such a source must be worthy the desire and the solicitation. Think of what Wisdom, as it exists in Deity, has done!--the wonders it hath wrought! This will recommend God's lessons.--_Wardlaw._

The river and the fountain are both of one nature, and when pure water hath been looked on in the stream, it is a pleasant thing to behold it in the conduit head.--_Muffet._

_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 21-26.

GOD'S KEEPING, THE REWARD OF MAN'S KEEPING.

Here as we have the _keeping_ of the Divine commands resulting in a _being kept_ by Divine power and love.

+I. There is a possibility of losing what has been attained.+ The injunction here given is not, as in chap. ii. 10, to seek wisdom, but as in verse 18 of this chapter, to keep a hold upon what has been already gotten. The Scriptures abound in such exhortations. Barnabas exhorted the Church at Antioch to "cleave unto the Lord," and he and Paul, when in Pisidian Antioch, persuaded the disciples "to _continue_ in the grace of God" (Acts xi. 23; xiii. 43). The word of Our Lord to the Church at Thyatira was "That which ye have hold fast till I come" (Rev. ii. 25). There is no safety but in continual watchfulness and in constant study of Divine precepts. "My son, let them not depart from thine eyes." A mariner may set out on his voyage with his vessel's head pointing in the right direction, but if he does not hourly keep consulting the compass, it will not avail him much that he started right. The Apostle speaks of men having "made shipwreck of faith and a good conscience" (1 Tim. i. 19). The world, the flesh, and the devil are cross currents and contrary winds which can only be met and overcome by constant, watchful reference to chart and compass.

+II. The blessing which will result from "keeping wisdom," viz., Soul-life.+ As food and an observance of physical laws are the means by which the body is enabled to perform the functions which are natural to it, so a constant receiving of God's thoughts and an observance of God's laws will enable the soul--the spiritual man--to fulfil the end for which it was created--to glorify and enjoy God. Such a man has the assurance that he is under the special guardianship of God. All the subjects of this realm are under the protection of the monarch, but she has a special and personal care for her own children. So God is the "Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe" (1 Timothy iv. 10). This particular regard of God for those who have become His children, by falling in with His method of making the right with themselves and with Him, is guaranteed.--1. _In the ordinary events of life._ As the heirs of the monarch are always accompanied by those who count it an honour to serve them and, if needful, to protect them, so the heirs of salvation are ever attended by their body-guard, the angels who are "ministering spirits to the heirs of salvation" (Heb. i. 14). In the night not only do they encamp round about them that fear God (Psa. xxxiv. 7), but the Lord Himself is said to be their keeper (Psa. cxxi. 5). His peace "keeps (lit. _garrisons_) the heart" (Phil. iv. 7) and gives the sweet sleep promised in verse 24, even although outward circumstances may be apparently adverse (_see illustration_). This was the experience of David in the night of his adversity, even although he had brought it upon himself (Psa. iii. and iv). And the certain guidance which is promised in verse 6 insures an avoidance of all real danger (ver. 23). 2. _In times of special visitation_ (ver. 25). There was a "desolation of the wicked" in the days of Noah, but he and his house were "shut in" the ark by God Himself (Gen. vii. 16). In the day when the Lord "rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah He delivered just Lot" (2 Pet. ii. 6). When the "abomination of desolation stood in the holy place" at Jerusalem as foretold by our Lord (Matt. xxiv. 15), those who obeyed His command and fled to the mountains escaped the terrible fate of those who remained in the city. (This is recorded by Eusebius). This assurance of constant guardianship and guidance is "life" to the soul (Psa. xxx. 5). Fear of the future paralyses a man's energies, but confidence in an over-ruling personal God gives him strength for action.

_ILLUSTRATION OF VERSE_ 24.

THE LAST HOURS OF THE NINTH EARL OF ARGYLE, EXECUTED BY JAMES II.

So effectually had religious faith and hope, co-operating with natural courage and equanimity, composed his spirits that, on the very day on which he was to die, he dined with appetite, conversed with gaiety at table, and, after his last meal, lay down, as he was wont, to take a short slumber, in order that his body and mind might be in full vigour when he should mount the scaffold. At this time one of the Lords of the Council, who had probably been bred a Presbyterian, and had been seduced by interest to join in oppressing the Church of which he had once been a member, came to the castle with a message from his brethren, and demanded admittance to the Earl. It was answered that the Earl was asleep. The Privy Councillor thought that this was a subterfuge, and insisted on entering. The door of the cell was softly opened, and there lay Argyle on the bed, sleeping, in his irons, the placid sleep of infancy. The conscience of the renegade smote him. He turned away, sick at heart, ran out of the castle, and took refuge in the dwelling of a lady of his family, who lived hard by. There he flung himself upon a couch, and gave himself up to an agony of remorse and shame. His kinswoman, alarmed by his looks and groans, thought that he had been taken with sudden illness, and begged him to drink a cup of sack. "No, no," he said, "that will do me no good." She prayed him to tell her what had disturbed him. "I have been," he said, "to Argyle's prison. I have seen him within an hour of eternity sleeping as sweetly as ever man did. But as for me----."--_Macaulay._

_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._

Verse 21. Simply attend to them. "Watch" like a sentinel, intently eyeing. Solomon enjoins the voluntary, and promises the involuntary. The voluntary we can do, save only for that grand helplessness, an aversion of the will itself. The involuntary we cannot do, save only mediately through obedient acts. Attention is within our power if God gives grace to the will. This is the drift of the promise: You do your part and God will do His.--_Miller._

Eye these things as the steersman doth the load-star, as the archer doth the mark he shoots at, or as the passenger doth mark his way, which he finds hard to hit and dangerous to miss.--_Trapp._

Verse 22. Wisdom reveals the righteousness of God, whereby a believer lives before God. Without this the man is dead in sins (Heb. ii. 4, Eph. ii. 1).--_Fausset._

There is no life in the soul till knowledge come into it. There was no living creature in the world till light was made. God clears the understanding before He rectifies the will and affections; He keeps the same method in the little world that He did in the great world.--_Francis Taylor._

Verse 23. This promise has a direction embodied with it, "Thou shalt walk in thy way." We are required to keep the way of the Lord, and in the affairs of life to attend to our own concerns, shunning the character of busybodies by not meddling in the affairs of others.--_Lawson._

Good success in the way may be crossed again; what is crowned with good success in the end can never by crossed.--_Francis Taylor._

There shall be no cause to make thee stumble. For he that is blind or weak may stumble, though he be never so careful; and he may stumble that is careless, though he be never so well able to walk safely. But wisdom shall take away thy blindness, thy weakness, thy carelessness.--_Jermin._

Thou shalt ever go under a double guard, the peace of God within thee and the power of God about thee.--_Trapp._

Verse 24. Peter in prison, in chains, between two soldiers, on the eve of his probable execution, when there seemed but a "step between him and death." Yet in such a place, in such company, at such a moment, did he lie down so fearlessly and sleep so sweetly, that even the shining light failed to disturb him, and an angel's stroke was needed to awaken him.--_Bridges._

Surely the way to sleep quietly in this world is to be asleep to the world; his sleep is sweetest, when he is asleep, who, when he is awake, doth sweetly sleep in a neglect of worldly crosses or contentments.--_Jermin._

Verse 25. So safe will all thy ways be that to fear will be a sin.--_Plumptre._

From the terms before used, respecting the final destruction of the wicked, it is most likely that to it the reference is in this verse.--_Wardlaw._

"Be not afraid" is at once a precept and a promise to the godly. They shall have no cause to fear evil tidings, therefore it is their privilege that they are not to fear them (Psa. cxii. 7; xci. 5).--_Fausset._

The Christian is threatened by the sinners in all their ills, whether for them or by them. Sin breeds the whole of them; and the wise man would magnify the grace by saying that they are all equally indifferent. "Let cares, like a wild deluge come."--_Miller._

Let a David "walk through the vale of the shadow of death" he will not fear, no, though he should go back the same way; "for Thou art with me," saith he. He had God by the hand, and so long he feared no colours.--_Trapp._

Verse 26. Beware of mistakes here. Do not say God is your confidence, if He be only your dread. An appalling amount of hypocrisy exists in Christendom, and passes current for devotion. He who is himself most worthy is often more disliked than any other being, and, as if this ingratitude were not enough, men double the sin by professing that they have confidence in Him. I have observed that sea-going ships do not trust to themselves in the windings of a river. Where they are hemmed in between rock and quicksand, grazing now on the one and now the other, they take care to have a steam-tug, both to bear them forward and to guide them aright. They hang implicitly upon its power. They make no attempt at independent action. But as soon as they get clear of the narrows--as soon as they have attained a good offing and an open sea--they heave off and hoist their own sails. They never want a steamer till they come into narrow waters again. Such is the trust in God which the unreconciled experience. In distress they are fain to lean upon the Almighty. While they are in the narrows they would hang on the help of a Deliverer. . . . The line of their dependence seems ever tight by their constant leaning. But when they begin to creep out of these shoals of life they heave off and throw themselves upon their own resources. . . . This is not to have confidence in God.--_Arnot._

_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 27-29.

DOING JUSTICE AND LOVING MERCY.

True wisdom in the heart will show itself in right dealing between man and man. He who holds back any good thing by which it is in his power to bless another man is a thief. The withholding is a crime for which God will visit. This is true in relation not only to debts of justice (Jas. v. 4) but to so-called debts of mercy. When the Son of Man shall come in His glory, there will be some against whom He will bring the charge--"I was an hungered, and ye gave Me no meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave Me no drink; I was a stranger, and ye took Me not in; naked, and ye clothed Me not; sick and in prison, and ye visited Me not" (Matt. xxv. 42, 43). There are _five_ reasons against the postponement of any act of justice or mercy until the morrow. 1. The person who is in need to-day may be beyond your reach to-morrow. Death may remove him from your reach, and he may go into eternity your creditor. Men and women have been saved from taking a step which would have been their ruin, by a kindly word or act which would have come too late on the morrow. 2. If your needy friend does live to be helped on the morrow, you may not live to give him help, and you will then enter the presence of God a debtor to your brother. To-morrow is God's property, to-day is man's. 3. If your brother is not beyond your reach to-morrow, his need has been increased by the delay. If a man's condition calls for medical aid to-day, and it is withholden, the disease will have a firmer hold to-morrow and will be harder to cure. What physician would say to a sick man in such a case, "Go, and come again?" Human need is a disease that is increased by delay in dealing with it. It is a weed that grows apace. What is only a seed to-day will be a sapling soon. If you delay the moral and intellectual training of the ignorant, the chains that bind them will be harder to break to-morrow than they are to-day. So that delay makes the demand greater, and the debt which might have been easily paid when it was due becomes hard to meet by withholding. 4. To do the good to-morrow which might be done to-day is not to be an imitator of God. The Divine Father makes His sun to shine to-day upon the evil and the good. He does not say, "To-morrow I will give thee," but, "now is the accepted time." 5. The postponement of that which is due is "a devising of evil in the heart against thy neighbour" (ver. 29). Our Lord, in his parable of the good Samaritan, has answered for us the question, Who is my neighbour? (Luke x.). It is the man who is in need, and whose need we can relieve. It is not merely a negative, but a positive sin to withhold help to such a one--it is a violation of that rule of life which Christ Himself declares "is the law and the prophets" (Matt. vii. 12).

_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._

Verse 27. The borrower is then to repay his debt to the lender; the finder to restore that which he hath taken up to the loser; he which hath received anything into his custody, is to bring it forth to him who reposed trust in him; the master is to pay the servant his wages. Finally, everyone is to practise that precept of the Apostle (Rom. xiii. 8).--_Muffet._

This practical injunction may be applied: 1. To all lawful debts, for articles purchased or work performed. 2. To government taxes, which ought to be regarded as debts due to the community. 3. To debts of charity and benevolence. For such debts there are. They cannot indeed be claimed; they cannot be made good in law. But they are _due_--due on the principle of the "royal law" (Matt. vii. 12).--_Wardlaw._

Here Solomon passes from general recommendations of wisdom to particular precepts of it. He reverts to instances of "mercy and truth" (ver. 3). He who is in need has a claim of ownership upon our property by the law of love, which is the law of God. Need makes the poor the owner, and God makes thee the dispenser of the goods which thou hast and which he needs: so such benefits are called "righteousness," _i.e.,_ a righteous debt or obligation (2 Cor. ix. 9; Matt. vi. 1, "alms;" Greek, "righteousness"). The same principle applies in the case of spiritual knowledge which thou hast and thy neighbour has not.--_Fausset._

With the luxuries of grace, the wise man mixes in its conditions. They are rugged like those of the Apostle (1 Cor. xiii). If we enjoy the good of the Gospel, we are to render again according to the benefits shown us.--_Miller._

It is the hungry man's bread which we hoard up in our own barns. It is his meat on which we glut, and his drink which we guzzle: it is the naked man's apparel which we shut up in our presses, or which we exorbitantly ruffle and flaunt in: it is the needy person's gold and silver which we closely hide in our chests, or spend idly, or put out to useless use. We are, in thus holding, or thus spending, not only covetous, but wrongful, or havers of more than our own, against the will of the rightful owners.--_Barrow._

1. They who have had much experience in the world may be of infinite use by giving _salutary advice._ 2. If we are afraid of being thought meddling, we can benefit others by a _good example._ 3. By _vindicating the characters_ of those who have been unjustly defamed. 4. By not only giving alms, but _attention, care,_ and _friendship_ to the needy. 5. _By recommending_ our brethren to God in _prayer_.--_Bishop Porteous._

Verse 28. This conduct is too common. It may arise--1. From an avaricious reluctance to part with the money. The avaricious man is so loath to part with the object of his idolatry that even a day's delay pleases him. 2. From indolent listlessness. The man is not in a mood to be troubled. He is occupied about something else, or he is not disposed to be occupied at all. 3. From insolent superciliousness. This is often discovered towards inferiors, or towards persons against whom there exists a grudge. It is the vice of little minds--ungenerous, unjust, unmanly.--_Wardlaw._

He gives twice to one in need who gives at once.--_Publius Syrus._

Keep as few good intentions hovering about as possible. They are like ghosts haunting a dwelling. The way to lay them is to find bodies for them.--_Arnot._

Verse 29. This evil may be practised in a great variety of ways. As, for instance--A man in business does what he can to obtain another's confidence; or, whether he acts from this view or not, he knows that he has that confidence, and he takes advantage of it to obtain large quantities of goods from him, when aware that his own affairs are precarious and his credit sinking. There are not wanting cases in which the most nefarious crimes have been perpetrated through the medium of unsuspecting confidence. The wife of a man's bosom, or the child of his paternal love, has been seduced by the unwitting confidence he has reposed in a seeming friend. It is the very sin by which "the devil beguiled Eve through his subtilty.". . . All therefore who act such a part are of "their father the devil."--_Wardlaw._

_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 30.

UNLAWFUL STRIFE FORBIDDEN.

+I. Strife is unlawful when no good can come from striving.+ The purpose or end of the strife must be the test as to whether it is right or wrong. Mere assertion of our rights or material gain is not the highest good. If Abraham had pushed the quarrel between his herdsmen and those of Lot there can be no doubt that Abraham could have established a lawful claim to a choice of the land. But the good to be gained by striving was not worthy to be compared with the harm that would have been done, and therefore Abraham nobly forbore to insist on his rights.

+II. Causeless strife is a self-infliction.+ A man can hardly be involved in lawful strife without mental agitation, how much more when he strives without cause. When the four winds of heaven seem to meet upon the sea, the waters foam and toss in ceaseless agitation. The winds must cease to strive before the calm can come. A man involved in an unlawful quarrel is like such a troubled sea. Reason and passion, heaven and hell, contend within him for the mastery, and while the battle lasts he must be miserable.

+III. Strife rarely ends with those who begin it.+ Man's relationship to his fellow renders it impossible for the results of his good or evil deeds to remain with himself alone. If the head of a family enters into a quarrel, the children will probably imbibe the spirit and suffer from the consequences. If kings and rulers involve a nation in unnecessary war, they bring needless suffering upon thousands of innocent people. This consideration alone ought to make men beware of entering into a quarrel.

+IV. Causeless strife in the children of God gives a false representation of their Father's character.+ They are God's representatives upon earth, they are expected to fashion their lives upon the Divine model (Matt. v. 48). God is a God of peace (1 Thess. v. 23). His contention is only with sin, and its end is the establishment of peace upon earth by righteousness.

_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 31-35.

THE OPPRESSOR NOT TO BE ENVIED.

The children of Wisdom are strongly tempted sometimes to do this. Like Asaph (Psalm lxxiii.), they see the prosperity of the wicked encompassed with pride, and clothed, as it were, with violence (verse 6), and they are tempted to say: "Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency."

Such a state of mind is--+I. Dangerous.+ It is the first step to becoming like him. Envy of the oppressor may result in "choosing his ways." A conviction that there is anything belonging to the oppressor that can be envied may lead to becoming oppressors ourselves.

+II. Unwise.+ 1. _Because the oppressor is held in universal abhorrence by men._ True it is that he possesses power, or he could not oppress, but sooner or later the power will be transferred to the hands of those whose rights he has trampled on, and the outburst of rejoicing at his overthrow is the revelation of the hidden hatred of which he has all along been the subject. 2. _Because he is an abomination to the Most High_ (verse 32). As there is in the noblest of human kind an intense loathing of those who use their power to the injury of others, so this feeling exists more strongly in the mind of God in proportion as his goodness and benevolence exceeds that of the most perfect man. This is not only declared in revelation, but is manifested in the retributions of Providence. Since Pharaoh and his hosts were overthrown in the Red Sea, God has been slaying "mighty kings" who have followed in Pharaoh's footsteps, because "He is good, and His mercy endureth for ever" (Psa. cxxxvi). 3. _Because of the contrast in the character, and in the present and future reward of the oppressor and the child of Wisdom._ The oppressor is "froward." He will not submit to the voice of instruction or correction, but will be his own absolute lord and master. His actions, if not his words, say: "Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice?" The righteous are submissive to the Divine will--they are the "lowly," who are willing to learn of Him who was meek and lowly in heart (Matt. xi. 29). Such opposite characters must necessarily meet with opposite dealing from a righteous Ruler. It is a righteous law that "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" (Gal. vi. 7). With the froward Thou wilt show Thyself froward--with the merciful Thou wilt show Thyself merciful--are the curse and the blessing which rest respectively upon, not only the froward and lowly man, but upon those to whom they belong--their _house_--those who are bound to them in family relation. The scorn of the froward man reaps a harvest of scorn, but "grace" is the reward of lowliness and humility (verse 34). The contrast in the future inheritance is still greater. The present curse and blessing may not be always evident to onlookers, but the future glory and shame will be manifest to the universe (Matt. xxv. 31-36).

_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._

Verse 32. The Lord will freely reveal to the righteous what He keeps from others--the truths and promises, the blessings and joys of His covenant of peace, secret to the soul that possesses them, intransferable, "passing all understanding," "unspeakable and full of glory."--_Wardlaw._

There is no less a secret of godliness than there is of any other trade or profession. Many profess an art or a trade, but thrive not by it because they possess not the secret or mystery of it, and many profess godliness but are little the better for it, because they have not the true secret of it. He hath that with whom God is in secret in his heart, and he that is righteous in secret where no man sees him, he is the righteous man with whom the secret of the Lord is.--_Jernim._

They shall be of His cabinet council who choose rather to lie in the dust than to rise by evil arts, by wicked principles.--_Trapp._

Verse 33. Whatever cost be there, there can be no true cheer, for God's curse mars all; this will either rot the timber, and pull it down, or undermine the foundation, and blow it up. Possibly there may be in thy house a loving wife, loving children, many servants, stately rooms, costly furniture, dainty fare, great earthly delights; but, man, the curse of God is there. A spoonful of this, like copperas, will turn all thy wine into ink; thy sea of honey into gall and wormwood. How can thy sweetest dish be savoury, when the curse of God is thy sauce: Or thy finest raiment delight thee when in every suit there is the curse of God like a plague-sore? or how can thy most beautiful building content thee, when this curse of God on thee for thy wickedness turns it into a prison to keep thee, who art in the bond of iniquity, till the hour of death, the time of thine execution?--_Swinnock._

The houses of the wicked are of two kinds, some dwell in their merits, others in their vices. The Pharisees of the world dwell in the lofty houses of their own meritorious holiness. But as St. Bernard saith, What more foolish than to dwell in a house yet hardly begun? The debauched people of the world dwell in the dirty houses of their wicked lives, and cannot be gotten out of them. But the curse of God is upon both. The righteous dwell in God's mercy which covereth them from the anger of His justice. . . . The rich glutton may keep out Lazarus, but he keeps in God's curse.--_Jermin._

Here are the gods--could the philosopher say of his poor habitation, meaning his heathenish household gods--whatever else is wanting to me. How much more may the saint say so of his God.--_Trapp._

Verse 35. They shall be promoted, indeed, but their exaltation shall be like that of Haman, who was exalted when he was hung upon a gallows fifty cubits high.--_Lawson._

This last contrast carries us forward to the coming day when all shall "discern" in the full delight of eternity (Mal. iii. 18). The wise--the heirs of glory--are identified with the lowly (verse 34)--the heirs of grace. Self-knowledge--the principle of lowliness--is the very substance of wisdom. Their inheritance also is one--grace and glory (Psa. lxxxiv. 11). For what higher _glory_ can there be than the _grace_ which hath redeemed a worm of the earth and made him a king and priest unto God?--_Bridges._

Humility is both a grace and a vessel to receive grace.--_Trapp._

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