Chapter X (3)

+III. A right estimate of that which constitutes life, viz., righteous labour+ (verse 16). The first clause of this verse suggests (1) that there can be no true life without righteousness; (2) that righteousness must show that it exists by honest labour; (3) that the honest labour of a righteous man, whether of hand or brain, shall bless his existence. From the second clause we learn (1) _that godless men likewise labour for a harvest._ There are as hard workers among the godless as among the good. They toil for earthly gain all the more earnestly because they have no other to possess: that which belongs to the present life is their all. (2) _That there is no blessing in the gain of the ungodly._ The gain of a sinner only tends to confirm him in his ungodliness--it "tendeth to sin." If a tree is bad at the root the larger it grows the more bad fruit it will bear. The richer a bad man grows the worse he becomes, the greater are his facilities for sinning himself, and the more evil is his influence upon others. Sin being at the root of his actions, sin will be in the fruit. The whole subject teaches us not to make poverty and riches the standard by which to measure a man's blessedness or misfortune. Beecher says, "We say a man is 'made.' What do we mean? That he has got the control of his lower instincts, so that they are only fuel to his higher feelings, giving force to his nature? That his affections are like vines, sending out on all sides blossoms and clustering fruits? That his tastes are so cultivated that all beautiful things speak to him, and bring him their delights? That his understanding is opened, so that he walks through every hall of knowledge and gathers its treasures? That his moral feelings are so developed and quickened that he holds sweet communion with Heaven? O, no, none of these things. He is cold and dead in heart, and mind, and soul. Only his passions are alive; but--he is worth five hundred thousand dollars! . . . And we say a man is 'ruined.' Are his wife and children dead? O, no. Has he lost his reputation through crime? No. Is his reason gone? O, no; it is as sound as ever. Is he struck through with disease? No. He has lost his property, and he is ruined. The _man_ ruined! When shall we learn that 'a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth'?"

_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._

Verse 15. It is not _a_ strong city, but _his_ strong city. You see how justly the worldling is called an idolater, for he makes not God his confidence, but trusts to a thing of nought; for his riches, if they are a city, are not a strong city, but a city broken down, and without walls. How hard is it for rich men to obtain an entrance into that city that hath foundations, when it is a miracle for a man that hath riches not to trust in them.--_Muffet._

The rich man stands independent, changes and adversities cannot so easily overthrow him; he is also raised above many hazards and temptations; on the contrary, the poor man is overthrown by little misfortunes, and his despairing endeavours to save himself, when they fall, ruin him completely, and perhaps make him at the same time a moral outlaw. It is quite an experienced fact which this proverb expresses, but one from which the double doctrine is easily derived: (1) That it is not only advised, but commanded, that man make the firm establishing of his external life-position the aim of his endeavour. (2) That one ought to treat with forbearance the humble man; and if he always sinks deeper and deeper, one ought not to judge him with unmerciful harshness, and in proud self-exaltation.--_Delitzsch._

As soldiers look upon a strong city as a good place which they may retire to for safety in times of flight, so worldly men, in their distress and danger, esteem their wealth the only means of relief and succour: or, as a marching army expects supply, if need be, from a well-mannered and well-victualled city, so men in their fainting fits, and under dreadful crosses, expect to be revived by their earthly cordials.--_Swinnock._

The word "destruction" is capable of two meanings. First, there are temptations peculiar to poverty as well as to riches. Agur was aware of these when he prayed, "Give me not poverty, lest I steal and take the name of my God in vain" (chap. xxx. 7-9). He who gives way to such influences of poverty ensures "destruction" as much as he who is "full and denies God, and says, Who is the Lord?" Secondly, as we found in the preceding clause to refer to the state of mind--the _confidence of safety_ inspired by his wealth in the bosom of the rich, it seems fair and natural to understand the latter clause on a similar principle. "The destruction of the poor" will then mean, that which, _in their own eyes,_ is their destruction; that which engenders their fears and apprehensions--their constant dread of destruction. They are ever apt to contrast their circumstances with those of their wealthy neighbours, and to deplore their poverty, and fret at it as that which keeps them down, depriving them of all good, and exposing them to all evil. And, without doubt, it is the source of many and heavy sufferings, both in the way of privation and endurance. But the poor may indulge their fears, and make themselves unhappy without cause. Their forebodings may be more than groundless. If by their poverty they are exposed to some evils, they are exempted by it from others. . . . Let the poor seek the peace, and comfort, and safety which are imparted by the Gospel; and thus, possessing the "true riches," they will not need to "fear what man can do unto them." The worst of all destructions will be far from them.--_Wardlaw._

The "wealth of the rich," even in this world, is their great capital. The "destruction of the poor" is the helplessness, and friendlessness, and creditlessness, and lack of instruments incident to "poverty." In the spiritual world the distinction is entire. The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer, and both by inviolable laws. All works for good for one, and all for evil for the other. The last Proverb explained it. Wisdom, by its very nature, grows, and so does folly. All other interests vibrate: sometimes worse, and sometimes better. But Wisdom, like the God that chose it, has no "shadow of turning." If it begins in the soul it grows for ever. If it does not begin it grows more distant. There is never rest. Wealth in the spiritual world, by the very covenant, must continually heap up; and poverty, by the very necessities of justice, must increase its helplessness.--_Miller._

Naturally the author is here thinking of wealth well earned by practical wisdom, and this is at the same time a means in the further effort of Wisdom; and, again, of a deserved poverty, which, always causes one to sink deeper in folly and moral need. Compare the verse following.--_Lange's Commentary._

Surely this should humble us, that riches,--that should be our rises to raise us up to God, or glasses to see the love of God in--our corrupt nature useth them as clouds, as clogs, etc., yea, sets them up in God's place, and saith to the fine gold, "Thou art my confidence" (Job xxxi. 24). _The destruction of the poor is their poverty._ They are devoured by the richer cannibals (Psa. xiv. 4), as the lesser fish are by the greater. Men go over the hedge where it is lowest. "Poor" and "afflicted" are joined together (Zeph. iii. 12). So are "to want" and "to be abased" (Phil. iv. 12).--_Trapp._

Here he is describing what is, rather than prescribing what ought to be. The verse acknowledges and proclaims a prominent feature in the condition of the world. It is not a command from the law of God, but a fact from the history of men. In all ages and in all lands money has been a mighty power, and its relative importance increases with the advance of civilisation. Money is one of the principal instruments by which the affairs of the world are turned, and the man who holds that instrument in his grasp can make himself felt in his age and neighbourhood. It does not reach the Divine purpose, but it controls human action. It is constrained to become God's servant, but it makes itself the master of man.--_Arnot._

The rich man often goes about his Sion, or rather his Jericho, and views the walls thereof; he marketh the bulwarks, and telleth the towers of it. He looks upon his wealth, he marks his bags, he tells his moneys, and therein is his confidence; thereby he thinketh to outstand any siege or assault, and, placing his security on it, dareth to oppose his strength to any right or reason; whereas God with a blast of ram's horns is quickly able to throw down all his might and his greatness.--_Jermin._

Verse 16. The labour of the righteous tendeth to life or "serves as life." 1. Because it is a good thing in itself. 2. Because it procures good, each stroke earning its pay. 3. Because it increased, and that on for ever, making us holier and happier, and making other holier and happier through the endless ages. It "_serves_" pre-eminently "_as life_," therefore, literally, "_is for life._" But the fruit, or "_gains of the wicked_" (and we must not fail to note the crescendo in the second clause, "The _labour_ of a righteous man"--"the _gains_ of a wicked man"; the righteous still toiling, the wicked having made his harvest,) serve to sin or "_as a sin-offering._" That is, they are all demanded by justice, and are all consumed by the expiation of his sins. Pious acts are a life. Wicked gains go to swell what our great creditor seizes.--_Miller._

Labour, not idleness, is the stamp of a servant of God; thus cheered by the glowing confidence, that it tendeth to life (John vi. 27). "Occupy till I come"--"Do all to the glory of God" (Luke xix. 13; 1 Cor. x. 31)--this is the standard. Thus the duties even of our daily calling tend to life. God works in us, by us, with us, through us. We work _in_ and _through_ Him. Our _labour,_ therefore, is His work--wrought in dependence on Him; not _for_ life, but _to_ life (Rom. viii. 13; 1 Cor. xv. 10; Phil. ii. 12, 13).--_Bridges._

The words are fitly chosen: "labour" in honest industry is the righteous man's ordinary way of living. "Revenue" (fruit) not gained by honest labour is frequently the wicked man's livelihood.--_Fausset._

It is not directly said, as the previous clause might lead us to expect, that the "fruit" of the wicked tendeth to "death," but to "sin." This, by the wise man, is considered as the same thing. It "tendeth to sin," and, consequently, to _death_. Thus it is said, "When lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death" (Jas. i. 15). Between the two there is an intimate and inseparable connection.--_Wardlaw._

The righteous are laborious, as knowing that to be the end of their life. For themselves they labour, to lead their lives with comfort here, to get the life of glory hereafter. For others they labour, to supply the wants of their disconsolate life on earth, and to help them forward to the blessed life of heaven. Wherefore St. Bernard saith well, "When we read that Adam in the beginning was set in a place of pleasure to work in it, what man of sound understanding can think that his children should be set in a place of affliction for to play in it."--_Jermin._

_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 17.

THE INFLUENCE OF EXAMPLE.

We take here the rendering of all recent commentators as given in the Critical Notes, and understand the verse to set forth the truth that "no man liveth to himself." His character is reproduced in others.

+I. A good man is a way, because he is the means to an end.+ The way to the city is the road by which we reach it. The life of a holy man is a way to spiritual and eternal life, because it is the means by which men come home to God. If there were no good men in the world, there would be no means by which sinners could be brought from death unto life. Christ is pre-eminently "_the way,_" because His life is the great means by which men learn to know and to return to God. "No man cometh unto the Father but by Me" (John xiv. 6). The longer a path is trodden the more distinctly it proclaims itself as a way. So a good man becomes a more evident way the longer he lives. A good life is so distinct in its teachings that both sage and savage are compelled to admit its influence, and the longer it exerts its power for good the more pronounced it becomes. The Son of God has for ages been the way to life, and the longer He continues to be so the more distinctly is He seen to be the means to this end.

+II. The conditions to be fulfilled in order to become a way of life.+ 1. _The man must keep instruction._ It is not enough to _receive_ it. The Word of God must not only be _heard,_ but must be _kept._ "If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them" (John xiii. 17). 2. _He must submit to discipline even when it takes the form of reproof._ This is implied in the last clause of the verse, "He that refuseth reproof causes to err." The man who has attained a position in any profession, and has thereby become qualified to lead others, has done so because he has submitted to discipline even when it has been in the unpalatable form of reproof. Such a man can well exhort others to submit to that by which he has become fit to be their guide. Even the Son of God "_learned obedience_ by the things which He suffered" (Heb. v. 8).

+III. An ungodly man injures others as well as himself.+ He not only wanders from the path himself, but he "causeth (others) to err." We often hear it said of a godless man--of one "who refuseth reproof"--that "he is nobody's enemy but his own." This cannot be. It has been truly said that "nothing leaves us wholly as it found us. Every man we meet, every book we read, every picture or landscape we see, every word or tone we hear, mingles with our being and modifies it." This being so, every man makes every man with whom he comes in contact better or worse, and as every good man draws others into the path of life, so every man who refuses to submit to Divine discipline drags others with him in the broad road that leads to destruction.

_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._

St. Basil, answering the question, "With what mind anyone ought to receive the instructions of reproof administered unto him," giveth this answer, "With the same mind that befitteth him who, being sick of some disease and troubled for the preserving of life, receiveth a medicine, namely, with the greatest desire of recovering his health." For there is a way of life though a man be not _sick_ but _dead_ unto sin. And the hand that putteth into this way is instruction, and that which must keep us in the way is the keeping of instruction: for he that refuseth reproof erreth, erreth in refusing, erreth more by refusing.--_Jermin._

This is the idea of other verses (11-13): that a man going to heaven blazes a path for others. He _is_ a way. Others travel upon him in his prayers and in his example.--_Miller._

_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 18.

THREE DEGREES OF MORAL FOOLISHNESS.

+I. A liar.+ 1. _A liar is a fool because he fights for a weak cause._ When a case can only be made out by lying it is manifestly a bad one. A man who will strive to uphold such a cause reveals his folly. 2. _Because he makes use of a weak weapon._ Among tribes ignorant of the methods of civilized warfare we find weapons which are little better than slim rods, and, although their points are sharp and poisoned, yet they proclaim their weakness when they come into collision with an experienced swordsman. Lying is such a weapon, and its use reveals the utter folly of him who wields it. It can no more stand against truth than the wooden spear of a savage can turn aside the thrust of a Damascus blade. 3. _Because by lying he degrades his moral character._ The serpent lost his upright position by being linked with lying, instead of going erect, God passed upon him the sentence--"Upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life" (Gen. iii. 14). The liar finds that this is his doom. He can no longer hold up his head like an honest man among his fellow-men, he must henceforth crawl and wind his way through the world, and eat the dust of ignominy and scorn. Men turn from a liar as they do from a serpent. It is assuredly the height of folly for a man thus to throw away that which alone makes him worthy to be called a man.

+II. A liar who conceals hatred by lying.+ This man displays a higher degree of iniquity and folly. There are those who lie simply to serve their own purposes and have no dislike to the person whom they deceive. There is often much lying when there is no special malice. But when lying is used to conceal hatred--which is murder (1 John iii. 15)--there is a double folly because there is a double sin. The lying of the "father of lies" is simply a blind to conceal his intense hatred of the human race, and this makes him the greater sinner.

+III. A liar who utters slander.+ When malice finds vent in lying slander we have an exhibition of greater iniquity and therefore of greater folly. It is bad to be a liar, it is worse to conceal hatred by lying, but it is worse to let the hatred of the heart break forth into false accusations of the innocent. The tree that is most richly laden with the ripest fruit is the one upon which the birds will congregate. We never find them passing by such booty to peck at green fruit. The pirates lay in wait for vessels with a rich cargo, empty vessels pass by unmolested and secure from attack. So it is always the best men who attract slanderers, men of little or no moral worth are not considered foemen worthy of their steel. God declared Job to be the best man in all the earth, "perfect and upright, one who feared Him, and eschewed evil" (Job i. 8). And it was because he stood thus pre-eminent that the tongue of the great slanderer was used against him; being from the beginning a liar and a murderer of character he gave one of the most complete exhibitions of his real nature when he pointed his lying hatred against the best man of his day. The Holy One of God did not escape the tongue of the slanderer. He was a "man gluttonous, and a wine-bibber" (Matt. xi. 19), "one that perverteth the people" (Luke xxiii. 14). When "He bore our griefs and carried our sorrows" He was esteemed "smitten of God and afflicted" (Isaiah liii. 4). All lying and malice, whether concealed or manifested, becomes the most palpable folly when looked at in the light of the "coming of the Lord, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and make manifest the counsels of the hearts" (1 Cor. iv. 5).

_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._

If we desire the credit of wisdom let us use better means to obtain it than artificial disgracings of our brethren, for that cometh not from above; it is no gift of God; it is sensual, carnal, and devilish. Do not hearken to the reports of such wicked persons as seek to defame others and detract from their good name; they are but foolish and base pedlars that utter such infectious wares, and therefore they cannot be wise chapmen that traffic with them and receive them at their hands. Here is consolation for them that are molested and vexed unjustly for the Gospel's sake by clamorous and false accusers; let them consider what account God maketh of their malicious adversaries; He calls them fools and derideth their practices, and, therefore, in the end it shall be seen that when they have spat all their venom they have but shot a fool's bolt and procured shame and sorrow to themselves.--_Dod._

+The folly of slander.+ 1. _If this practice be proved extremely sinful it will thence be demonstrated no less foolish._ And it is indeed plainly the blackest and most hellish sin that can be; that which giveth the grand fiend his name, and most expresseth his nature. He is the _slanderer,_ _Satan,_ or _dragon_ spitting forth the venom of calumnious accusation, the _accuser of the brethren,_ _the father of lies,_ the great defamer of God to man, of man to God, of one man to another. And highly wicked that practice must be whereby we grow namesakes to him. 2. _The slanderer is plainly a fool because he makes wrong judgments and valuations of things,_ and accordingly driveth on silly bargains for himself, in result whereof he proveth a great loser. He means by his calumnious stories either to vent some passion boiling within him, or to compass some design which he affecteth, or to please some humour that he is possessed with; but is any of these things worth purchasing at so dear a rate? Can there be any valuable exchange for our honesty? Can anything in the world be so considerable that for its sake we should defile our souls? 3. _Because he uses improper means and preposterous methods of effecting his purposes._ As there is no design worth the carrying on by ways of falsehood and iniquity, so there is scarce any (no good and lawful one at least) which may not more surely, more safely, more cleverly be achieved by means of truth and justice. . . . He that is observed to practise falsehood will be declined by some, opposed by others, disliked by all. 4. _The slanderer is a fool, as bringing many great inconveniences and troubles upon himself._ (1.) By no means can a man inflame so fierce anger, impress so stiff hatred, raise so deadly enmity against himself, and consequently so endanger his safety, ease, and welfare as by this practice. Men will rather pardon a robber of their goods than of their good name. (2.) And he is not only odious to the person immediately concerned, but generally to all men who observe his practice; every man presently will be sensible how easily it may be his own case to be thus abused. (3.) He also derogateth wholly from his own credit, for he that dareth thus to injure his neighbour, who can trust him in anything that he speaks? (4.) This practice is perpetually haunted with most troublesome companions, inward regret, and self-condemnation. (5.) The consequence of this practice is commonly shameful disgrace, with an obligation to retract and to render satisfaction; for seldom doth calumny pass long without being detected and confuted. (6.) The slanderer doth banish himself from heaven and happiness. For, if none that "maketh a lie" (Rev. xxii. 15) shall enter the heavenly city, assuredly the capital liar, the _slanderer,_ shall be far excluded from felicity. All these things being considered, we may, I think, reasonably conclude it most evidently true that "he who uttereth slander is a fool."--_Barrow._

Better. _He who hideth hatred is of lying lips._ The alternative is offered with a delicate touch of irony. He who cherishes hatred must choose between being a knave or a fool--a knave if he hides, a fool if he utters it.--_Plumptre._

_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 19-21.

SPEECH AND SILENCE.

+I. The wisdom of not always using the tongue when we might.+ "He that refraineth his lips is wise." The reputation of a good man may be much injured by even speaking the truth at certain times and to certain persons. The silence of a man who can speak wisely and eloquently is a revelation of self-control, and often adds more to the dignity of his character than words can. The Son of God "opened not His mouth" before His false accusers, and thus revealed His power of self-control--His moral majesty. That He could be silent in such circumstances is a manifestation of the deep ocean of conscious innocence within Him, and is an unparalleled exposition of His own precept, "In patience possess ye your souls." 1. _Silence is wisdom when we feel that speech would be useless to convince._ When we feel that a foregone conclusion has been arrived at which no argument or appeal could shake. This has been the case in the history of the confessors and martyrs of the Church in all ages, and was pre-eminently so when the Lord Jesus Christ stood to be tried before men who had determined to murder Him. 2. _Silence is sometimes more convincing than speech._ Men are often more impressed by acts than by words, by a spirit of forbearance than by a passionate vindication of our rights. 3. _Silence does not necessarily imply acquiescence._ The Eternal Himself is sometimes silent from displeasure. "These things hast thou done and I kept silence" (Psalm lv. 21).

+II. The blessing of using the tongue when we ought.+ "The tongue of the just is as choice silver." The lips of the righteous feed many because they supply a need. Man needs a medium by which to express the value of his labour or his merchandise, and silver supplies this want. And he likewise needs a medium by which to express his thoughts, and speech is this medium. But unless it is the speech of a _just_ man it will be a curse and not a blessing. It must convey _good thinking_ if it is to be as choice silver to a needy man. The prisoner who stands at the bar charged with a crime of which he is innocent feels that the tongue of the man who pleads his cause is more precious to him than much silver. To the man who is seeking after God, the tongue of one who can tell him "words whereby he shall be saved" is as choice silver (Acts xi. 14). The words of Peter were so esteemed by Cornelius. The heart of the Ethiopian eunuch was more rejoiced by the preaching of Philip the Evangelist than it would have been by the possession of the treasure of his mistress (Acts viii. 26-39). The words of Him who was "the Just One" (Acts iii. 14) are and ever will be "a strength to the needy in his distress" (Isa. xxv. 4); more precious to those who are conscious of their soul-poverty "than thousands of gold and silver" (Psalm cxix. 72); and it is in proportion as men are like Him in character and disposition that their speech will bless the world.

+III. The sin of using the tongue too much.+ The shell and the kernel of the fruit were intended by God to grow together; the latter cannot grow to perfection without the former, yet the shell only exists for the kernel. The soul and body are ordained to grow together; the body only exists for the soul, yet the soul can only manifest itself through the medium of the body. But the body without the soul is worthless. Man's thought and word were intended by God to act together; thoughts are useless without speech in which to clothe them; words without thoughts have no reason for existence, they are shells without kernels, bodies without souls, and their use is a sin against God's ordained method. Where there is a "multitude of words" there is not much thought, and therefore there is sin.--1. _Against a man's self_, because "every idle word that men shall speak they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment" (Matt. xii. 36). 2. _Against society_, because the man utters sounds which contain nothing to benefit. God has ordained thought to feed the soul as He has ordained bread to feed the body. Where there are words men have a right to expect thoughts upon which to feed, as they have a right to look for the kernel within the shell. When they get the first without the last they are robbed of what is their due.

+IV. The origin of idle and worthless talking.+ "The heart of the wicked is little worth." "Fools die for want of wisdom." Where there is no moral wisdom there can be no real worth; no thoughts can be generated in the heart that is not under the influence of Divine teaching that will supply the needs of needy men. As is the fountain so must be the stream. "The tree is known by its fruit. O, generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh" (Matt. xii. 33-34).

_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._

Verse 19. A man of inordinate talk runs inordinate risk. He must be a God that can talk all the time and never trespass. And, therefore, as blunders "come home to roost," he is a _prosperous_ man who reduces the volume of his speech.--_Miller._

The fool talks for ever upon nothing, not because he is full, but because he is empty; not for instruction, but for the pure love of talking. . . . The sphere of social intercourse that stimulates the conversational powers at the same time teaches the wholesome discipline of the tongue--that beautiful accomplishment of silence which, however, alike with its opposite grace, derives its chief loveliness as the fruit of Christian humility and kindness. The _wisdom_ is especially valuable under provocation (1 Sam. x. 27; 2 Kings xviii. 36). And even in the unbending of innocent recreation the discipline of godly sobriety is of great moment. The sins of this "little member" are not trifles.--_Bridges._

"Refraineth" as with a bridle, for we must by force bridle our tongue as an untameable member (Jas. iii. 2-8). _Xenocrates,_ in "Valerius Maximus," says, "I have been sometimes sorry that I spoke; I never have been sorry that I was silent."--_Fausset._

If thou be master-gunner spend not all
That thou canst speak at once, but husband it,
And give men turns of speech; do not forestall
By lavishness thine one and others' wit,
As if thou mad'st thy will. A civil guest
Will no more talk all than eat all the feast.--_George Herbert._

+I. The general vice here referred to is not evil speaking from malice, nor lying or bearing false witness from indirect selfish designs, but it is talkativeness:+ a disposition to be talking, abstracted from the consideration of what is to be said, with very little or no regard to, or thought of doing, either good or harm. . . . Those who are addicted to this folly cannot confine themselves to trifles and indifferent subjects: they cannot go on for ever talking of nothing, and, as common matters will not afford a sufficient fund for perpetual continued discourse, when subjects of this kind are exhausted, they will go on to scandal, divulging of secrets, or they will invent something to engage attention: not that they have any concern about being believed otherwise than a means of being heard. . . . The tongue used in such a licentious manner is like a sword in the hand of a madman: it is employed at random, it can scarce possibly do any good, and, for the most part, does a world of mischief. +II. The due government of the tongue.+ The due and proper use of any natural faculty or power is to be judged of by the end and design for which it was given us. The chief purpose for which the faculty of speech was given to man is plainly that we might communicate our thoughts to each other in order to carry on the affairs of the world; for business, and for our improvement in knowledge and learning. But the good Author of our nature designed us not only necessaries, but likewise enjoyment and satisfaction. There are secondary uses of our faculties: they administer to delight as well as to necessity, and the secondary use of speech is to please and to be entertaining to each other in conversation. This is in every respect allowable and right: it unites men closer in alliance and friendship, and is in several respects serviceable to virtue. Such conversation, though it has no _particular_ good tendency, yet it hath a _general_ good one; it is social and friendly, and tends to promote humanity, good nature, and civility. . . . The government of the tongue, considered as a subject of itself, relates chiefly to conversation, and the danger is, lest persons entertain themselves or others at the expense of their wisdom or their virtue. The cautions for avoiding these dangers fall under the following particulars: 1. _Silence._ The wise man observes that "there is a time to speak, and a time to keep silence." One meets with people in the world who seem never to have made the last of these observations. But the occasions of silence are obvious, namely, when a man has nothing to say, or nothing but what is better unsaid: better either in regard to particular persons he is present with, or from its being an interruption to conversation itself, or to conversation of a more agreeable kind, or better, lastly, with regard to himself. 2. _Talking upon indifferent subjects._ Be sure that the subject is _indifferent,_ that it be in no way offensive to virtue, religion, or good manners; that it be in no way vexatious to others, and that too much time be not spent in this way. 3. _In discourse upon the affairs and characters of others._ Consider, first, that though it is equally of bad consequences to society that men should have either good or ill characters which they do not deserve, yet when you say some good of a man which he does not deserve, there is no wrong done him in particular; whereas, when you say evil of a man which he does not deserve, here is a direct formal injury done to him. Secondly, a good man will, upon every occasion, and often without any, say all the good he can of everybody, but, so far as he is a good man, will never be disposed to speak evil of any, unless there be some other reason for it besides barely that it is the truth.--_Bishop Butler._

Verse 20. If, as regards this world's wealth, the Lord's poor must say, "Silver and gold have I none," at least they may scatter _choice silver_ with a widely extended blessing. "As poor, yet making many rich" (Acts iii. 6; 2 Cor. vi. 10).--_Bridges._

_A wicked man hath his worst side inward._ Though sinful persons make never so great a show on the outside, yet there is nothing within them worth anything. To that purpose tend the words of the Apostle collected out of the Psalms: "The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise to be but vain." If the point had stood upon man's opinion there might easily have been an error in it; but he bringeth the testimony of God, upon sure and infallible knowledge, to confirm it. . . . Therefore, do not too much magnify and admire them, nor too far depend on them. For better things are not certainly to be expected from them than are in them.--_Dod._

The antithesis runs through every word of both clauses. The tongue, the instrument of the mind, is contrasted with the mind itself; the just with the wicked; the choice silver with the worthless "little." In each case there is implied an _a fortiori_ argument. If the tongue is precious, how much more the mind! If the heart is worthless, how much more the speech!--_Plumptre._

As pure and choice silver giveth a clear and sweet sound, so the tongue of the wise soundeth sweetly and pleasantly in the ears of men. It is also as choice silver, because therewith he is ready to buy the hearts of men to virtue and goodness. But the heart of a fool being of little worth, hence it is that he buys it not. . . . Now if the tongue of the just be as choice silver, his heart must needs be of fine gold. And if the heart of the wicked be little worth, his tongue must needs be worth nothing at all. Well therefore it were, if that the wicked would get the just man's tongue to be his heart; or else get the tongue of the just to infuse some of his metal into his heart; for that is able to put worth into it, and from thence to derive worth into his tongue also. The proverbial sense is, that the excellent words of wisdom work not upon a foolish heart, that having not worth to value the worth of it.--_Jermin._

+I. By a just man is meant+--1. _A renewed man,_ for naturally our lips are polluted. "I am a man of unclean lips," etc. (Isa. vi. 5). Sin of the tongue is most frequent, and that not without difficulty avoided. The corruption of men by nature is described (Rom. iii. 13). This is man's true character, as he is in his natural estate. The pure lip is the fruit of God's converting grace (Zeph. iii. 9). 2. _A man furnished with knowledge of the things which concern his duty;_ for every renewed man is an enlightened man (Prov. xv. 2). Unless a man understand his duty, how shall he speak of it? 3. _The renewed man is a mortified man;_ for otherwise he will only stickle for opinions, and be one of the disputers of this world, but will not warm men's hearts and excite them to practise. That must be first upon the heart which will afterwards be upon the tongue; and unless the heart be cleaned the tongue will not be cleansed. If the heart be upon the world, the tongue will be upon the world (1 John iv. 5). 4. _This renewed man must be biassed with a love of God and Christ and heaven before he can edify others._ To restrain the tongue from evil is not enough, we must do good. To heartwarming discourse, faith is necessary. +II. His discourse is as choice silver.+ 1. _For purity._ Choice silver is that which is refined from all dross, and there is much evil bewrayed by the tongue, such as lying, railing, ribaldry (Eph. iv. 29), cursing, idle discourse, etc. 2. _For external profit._ Money is very profitable for worldly uses, the discourse of a good man is very profitable to others. +III. By a wicked man is meant one that is not regenerate or renewed by the Holy Spirit.+ They are of several sorts. 1. _Some have great natural abilities,_ as Ahithophel (2 Samuel xvi. 23), yet his heart was nothing worth. 2. _Some have plausible shows of piety,_ but that will not help the matter (Matt. xxiii. 27, 28). 3. _Partial obedience availeth not_ (2 Chron. xxv. 2). Amaziah was right in the matter, and he did many things right, but his heart was nothing worth. 1. _What is in the heart of such a man?_ See Gen. vi. 5. This is the mint that is always at work; sin worketh in the heart all day, and playeth in the fancy all night; there is no truce in this warfare. 2. _What cometh out of such a heart?_ See Mark vii. 21, 22. 3. _In what sense is it little worth?_ (1.) As to acceptation with God. (2.) As to the benefit and profiting of others. Observe--1. _That the heart of the wicked is spoken of in the softest terms._ Elsewhere it is said to be deceitful above all things and desperately wicked (Jer. xvii. 9). And this teaches us that it is not enough to do no harm by our speech, but it must benefit others. 2. _Till we make conscience of our thoughts, we cannot well order our words._ 3. _Familiar converse with those whose hearts are nothing worth, will tend to our hurt._ 4. _Be sure that you get another heart._ For though it be not in our power to make ourselves a new heart, it is our duty to get it.--_Manton._

Verse 21. A great housekeeper he is, hath his doors ever open, and, though himself be poor, yet he "maketh many rich" (2 Cor. iv. 10). He well knows that to this end God put "honey and milk under his tongue" (Cant. iv. 11), that he might look to this spiritual lip-feeding. To this end hath he communicated to him those "rivers of water" (John vii. 38) that they may flow from him to quench that world of wickedness, that, being set on fire of hell would set on fire the whole course of nature (Jas. iii. 6). They are "_empty_ vines that bear fruit to themselves" (Hosea x. 1).--_Trapp._

This bread of life which the disciples distribute is not like common bread. The more you give of it to the needy, the more remains for your own use. It is the bread which Jesus blesses in the wilderness--the bread from heaven, which Jesus is; and when from His hand, and at His bidding, you have fed three thousand on five loaves, you will have more bread remaining in your baskets than the stock you begin with. . . . Fools, so far from being helpful to other, have nothing for themselves. They have taken no oil in their vessels, and the flames of their lamp dies out.--_Arnot._

_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 22.

The Source of True Riches.

This proverb cannot be understood to assert that a man needs nothing but God's blessing to make him a wealthy man in the ordinary sense of the word, because we know that there are many cases in which men would never have been rich if they had not toiled hard to obtain riches. Industry has been joined to the blessing of the Lord, and so they have become rich. God's favour does not generally make a man rich except he works; it is presumptuous sin to expect God to make us rich without honest toil. But the lesson to be learnt is evidently this--that diligence cannot command riches, that God must be taken into account in all our efforts to make money, that the "race is not" _always_ "to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding" (Eccles. ix. 11), even when the runners and the warriors are men after God's own heart. Placing the words beside our experience, we learn--

+I. That when a good man gains riches through hard toil, it is by reason of the Divine blessing on his labour.+ There are among us many possessors of vast wealth who have risen early and sat up late, and eaten the bread of carefulness, but have acknowledged that, after all, it was the blessing of the Lord that had made them rich. They can point to others equally diligent, and, in some respects, superior to themselves, who have fallen in the race and have died comparatively poor. Such examples are admonitions not to trust to one's own wisdom or effort to the exclusion of the will of God. Jacob worked hard for his riches for twenty years; "in the day the drought consumed him, and the frost by night--and the sleep departed from his eyes." But he declares that his wealth was a gift from the God of his fathers--"I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth which thou hast showed unto thy servant, for with my staff I have passed over this Jordan, and now I am become two bands" (Gen. xxxi. 40; xxxii. 10). A good man cannot use unlawful means of getting rich, therefore he may enjoy the amount of success which follows his efforts as a token of Divine favour.

+II. That when men inherit, or become possessed of wealth for which they have not laboured, it is by the blessing of the Lord.+ The riches of Solomon were bestowed upon him without so much as the expression of a desire on his part, and were a token of the Divine approval. "Because . . . thou hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment . . . I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches and honour" (1 Kings iii. 11-13). Looked upon as God's gift, wealth will be rightly used, and will be the blessing that it was intended to be.

+III. That there is a moral truth contained here which has nothing to do with material riches or poverty.+ Solomon has, over and over again, directed his hearers to riches which are far more precious than silver or gold (see chap. iii. 14-15; viii. 11-19; also Homiletics and Comments of those verses). The blessing of the Lord is _itself_ wealth. 1. _Because it enriches us with Divine knowledge_ (1 Cor. i. 5). Solomon's knowledge was a higher kind of wealth than all his gold and precious stones, how much more a knowledge of Him whom to know is "life eternal" (John xvii. 3). 2. _Because by means of it men obtain a Divine character_ (2 Pet. i. 2-4). This wealth men can claim as theirs in other worlds beside the one upon which they now live; this is their perpetual untransferable property.

+IV. That when sorrow comes to men who have been enriched by God, it springs from some other source than the riches.+ The text does not apply in any sense to ill-gotten gain; that is dealt with elsewhere (chap. i. 19; xv. 27). It refers only to that which a man may lawfully call his own. 1. _But this may be the occasion of sorrow._ Solomon's great wealth was the occasion of sorrow, insomuch as he used it for sinful purposes, but this sorrow was added by himself and not by God. The misuse of riches, or of any other gift of God, will be followed by a penalty which will bring sorrow; but this is man's work, and not God's. 2. _Or sorrow may spring from another, and an independent source._ Sorrow in one form or another is the lot of fallen man. The incarnate Son of God was a "Man of sorrows." God-given and sanctified sorrow is often a token of greater Divine favour than temporal prosperity (chap. iii. 12). But there is no necessary connection between wealth and sorrow.

_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._

Verse 22. The sluggard looks for prosperity without diligence; the practical atheist from diligence alone; the sound-hearted Christian from the _blessing of God_ in the exercise of diligence. This wise combination keeps him in an active habit; humble, and dependent upon God (John vi. 27). For, "except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it" (Psa. cxxvii. 1). . . . He addeth at least no sorrow but what turns to a blessing. Accumulation of riches may be the accumulation of sorrows. Lot's covetous choice was fraught with bitterness. . . . Gehazi was laden with his bags, but the plague of leprosy was upon him.--_Bridges._

There is no sorrow added to them which is not a blessing, and, being a blessing, it cannot well be said to be sorrow. Now thus the verse may be understood as well as temporal as of spiritual riches; for it is the blessing of God, with which sorrow cannot stand. . . . It is God's blessing alone which, being true riches, doth truly make rich. Other things esteemed in the world may be added together in great heaps of plenty; but, having sorrow added with them, they cannot be that weal of man which truly makes wealth. It is the blessing of God which, taking away sorrow, giveth true riches unto man. And, therefore, when Job wisheth "that he were as in the months past"--the months of his plenty and prosperity--it is with this addition, "as in the days when God preserved me." He desireth God's blessing with the things of this world, or else he careth not for them. For that it is, as St. Gregory speaketh, which so bestoweth the help of earthly glory, as that thereby it exalteth much more in heavenly happiness.--_Jermin._

Those three vultures shall be driven away that constantly feed on the wealthy worldling's heart--care in getting, fear in keeping, grief in losing the things of this life. God giveth to His, wealth without woe, store without sore, gold without guilt, one little drop whereof troubleth the whole sea of outward comforts.--_Trapp._

The truth here is twofold. The cord, as it lies, seems single, but when you begin to handle it, you find it divides easily into two. It means that God's blessing gives material wealth, and also that they are rich who have that blessing, although they get nothing more. . . . It is a common practice to constitute firms for trade, and exhibit their titles to the public with a single name "and company.". . . Reverently take the All-seeing into your commercial company and counsels. If you cast Him out, there is no saying, there is no imagining, whom you may take in. . . . One peculiar excellence of the riches made in a company from whom councils God is not excluded, is, that the wealth will not hurt its possessors, whether it abide with them or fly away. A human soul is so made that it cannot safely have riches next it. If they come into direct contact with it, they will clasp it too closely; if they remain, they wither the soul's life away; if they are violently wrenched off, they tear the soul's life asunder. Whether, therefore, you keep or lose them, if you clasp them to your soul with nothing spiritual between, they will become its destroyer.--_Arnot._

_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 23.

A TOUCHSTONE OF CHARACTER.

The painter uses the dark background of his picture to set off the bright foreground. Sunlight never looks so beautiful as when shining upon a black thunder-cloud; it is the power of contrast. Solomon in his character-painting is constantly making use of this power. He is ever setting the dark and the light side by side--making the foolish or wicked man a dark background upon which to portray the moral features of the truly wise. The fool looks more foolish, and the good man more wise, by the contrast.

+I. That which is an object of mirth is a touchstone of character.+ The fool makes sport out of mischief, out of that which does harm to his fellow-creatures, and consequently involves them in misery. If we saw a man making merriment over the burning of his neighbour's house, we should conclude that he was either a maniac or utterly without a heart. A man who realised the meaning of such a calamity, and had any sympathy within him, could but be grieved at the sight. But men find occasions of mirth in matters that are far more serious moment. The wise man tells us in chap. xiv. 9, that "fools make a mock at _sin_"--that great "mischief of the universe." The saint is made sad by that in which the sinner finds an occasion of mirth. "Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people" (Jer. ix. 1). "Verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye shall weep and lament; but the world shall rejoice" (John xvi. 20). But the fool not only makes sport _at_ mischief, it is his sport to _do_ mischief; the one leads to the other. The fool who thinks sin is a laughing matter will not hesitate to commit sin himself, or to do his brother the irreparable mischief of leading him in the path of sin and death.