Chapter XI (3)

It is not said that in the multitude of counsellors there is safety, but in the _largeness_ or _muchness_ of a counsellor, that is, such a counsellor as is furnished with a variety of counsels, and can look many ways for direction. For such a one is indeed of many, nay, often far better; because he can sooner resolve what is best, than many will or can. And therefore, though it be good to have many, and when they agree perhaps to follow them, yet it may be better to have one of many counsels, on whom to rely.--_Jermin._

Probably one is more struck, on reflection and in reading, with the exceptions to the rule, than with confirmatory examples of it, that in the multitude of counsellors there is safety. . . . A modern historian finds in the unlicensed discretion reposed by the Roman Senate in the general, the most efficient aid to the extent of Rome's early conquests, and he points by way of contrast, to the modern republics of Italy, as denying themselves scope for larger conquests by their extreme jealousy of their commanders. Anarchy in Antwerp is the heading of one of Mr. Morley's graphic pages, and a lively picture it offers us of the confusion that ensued when the hydra heads of the multitudinous government were laid together. In Drake's expedition of 1585, there were too many in command; and after losing time in debate which Sir Francis, if alone, would have spent in action, they were obliged to give up the attempt on the Canaries, with some loss. The otherwise unaccountable action of De Witt in 1671 is explained at once when the anarchical constitution of the Dutch republic is remembered--its want of a central authority, and the fact that, to raise money or troops, the consent of a number of petty councils was necessary, in the multitude of whose counsellors was anything but safety. "In the multitude of counsellors there may be safety," says Alison, "it is in general safety to the counsellors, not to the counselled." The quality of the counsel, and the ability of the counsellors, are elements of main import in the maxim of the king.--_Jacox._

For Homiletics on verse 15, see on chap. vi. 1-5.

_ILLUSTRATION OF VERSE_ 15.

The melancholy instances of ruin, in consequence of becoming surety for others, are exceedingly numerous in the East. Against this they have many proverbs and fearful examples; but nothing seems to impart wisdom. Nearly all the Government monopolies, both among native and European rulers, are let to the highest bidders, and as the whole of the money cannot be advanced till a part of the produce be sold, sureties have to be accountable for the amount. But as men generally enter into these speculations in order to better a reduced fortune, an extravagant price is often paid, and ruin is the consequence both to the principal and his surety. This practice of suretyship, however, is also common in the most trifling affairs of life. "Sign your name," is a request preferred by every one who is desirous of obtaining additional security to a petty agreement. In every legal court or magistrate's office may be seen, now and then, a trio entering, thus to become responsible for the engagements of the other. The cause of all this is probably the bad faith which prevails amongst the heathen.--_Roberts._

_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._

The traffic of ancient times was small, in comparison with the vast system of exchange which now compasses the whole world like network; but the same vices that we lament marred it, and the same righteousnesses that we desiderate would have healed its ailments. Neither the law of gravitation nor the law of righteousness has changed since the times of Solomon; both are as powerful as they then were, and as pervasive. . . . In those primitive times, it seems, as in our own, some men desired to get faster forward in the world than their circumstances legitimately permitted. They will throw for a fortune at another's risk. . . . The warning does not of course discourage considerate kindnesses in bearing a deserving man over temporary pressure. . . . The Bible permits and requires more of kindness to our brother than we have ever done him yet; but it does not allow us to do a certain substantial evil, for the sake of distant, shadowy good.--_Arnot._

The heart and mind of every one is a stranger to every one except to God alone. He therefore that is a surety for another, is surety for a _stranger_.--_Jermin._

. . . be not surety, if thou be a father,
Love is a personal debt. I cannot give
My children's right, nor ought he to take it: rather
Both friends should die, than hinder them to live.
Fathers first enter bonds to nature's ends;
And are her sureties, ere they are a friend's.--_Herbert._

_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 16.

A GRACIOUS WOMAN.

+I. What is a gracious woman?+ 1. She is one who stands in right relations to God. Every thing depends upon right relationship. Upon the right relationship of the earth to the great centre of the solar system depends all that makes the earth of worth to us--all its glorious fruitfulness and beauty. If there was not this adjustment of relationship between the earth and the sun, our planet would not only be an unfit abode for man, but would be a positive blot upon God's universe. This is true also of man's relations to each other, and is specially so in respect to our relationship to God. Nothing but a right relationship to Him can develop these moral beauties which alone make a true woman. She is accepted or "justified" by God's most gracious favour on God's own conditions. She lives in the eternal sunlight of His gracious influence, and is held to the most Blessed Being in the universe, by the sweet persuasiveness which flows from His blessed character. The thoughts of the Eternal God are the food of her spirit, and from this relationship to Him comes all the grace of her character. Is there any other relationship which can make such a woman? There is none, not only so, the absence of it may end in making even a woman a blot, a positive evil, in the moral universe. There can be no true graciousness where there is no union with Him whose most attractive attribute is His graciousness, who makes Himself known, as "the Lord God, merciful and gracious." (Exod. xxxiv. 6). A gracious woman must be in right relationship with a gracious God. 2. In consequence of this, a gracious woman is right in her human relationships. Being right in the greater matter, she must be in that which is less. The earth, because she preserves her right relation to the sun, is right in her relationship to the other planets, that is, her path in the heavens is just that which is best for the whole planetary system--that which enables them also to keep their orbits, and prevents one of them from exercising a baleful influence over another. A woman whose spirit is under the influence of a gracious God will be a gracious daughter, a gracious wife, a gracious mother, a gracious friend and neighbour--that is, all her doings and sayings will be irradiated and warmed by that holiness and love which is the essence of the character of God Himself. In the summing up of the Divine law, Christ makes the right human relation depend upon a right Divine relation. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself." (Luke x. 27), and He repeats this foundation in principle in His last discourse with His disciples before His death, "_By this_ shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." (John xiii. 35).

+II. A woman with such a character wins honour.+ The strong men to whom she is compared (see Critical Notes) are warriors who take the spoil by strength of hand, such men as Othniel, the son of Kenaz, who took Kirjath-sepher by reason of his strength and military skill. For the strong men must _gain_ their spoil before they can _retain_ it. So with a gracious woman. She must _win_ honour before she can _retain_ it, and this she most certainly will do. She will be honoured by God because she is fulfilling His purpose in sending her into the world--because she is bringing glory to Him by showing to the world what He meant a woman to be. And as a necessity she will be honoured. Those in nearest relation to her will honour her. "Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also and he praiseth her." But she is honoured in a wider sphere by a larger circle--"Her own works praise her in the gates." (chap. xxxi. 28, 31).

+III. What she has won she will retain.+ Strong men, when they have won their prize, hold it fast. It is more difficult to obtain wealth than to retain it. Having done the first by reason of their strength, it is comparatively easy to do the second by the same means. So with a gracious woman. Honour is the guerdon of her gracious character, this she has won without any striving. Her _character_ is that for which she has striven, and this it is which is the strength by which she retains _her_ riches, viz., her _honour._

_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._

Albeit the woman is the weaker vessel, yet when she is gracious, that is to say, graced, not so much with beauty, as with wisdom and virtue, she keepeth honour, that is, maintaineth her credit and preserveth her chastity. It were a hard thing to rob or spoil a strong man of his goods; but to take away the chastity of an honest matron, be she never so weak, it is impossible, who will rather die a thousand deaths than to be stained with the least speck of dishonesty.--_Muffet._

A woman is powerful by her grace as the mighty are by their strength. In grace there lies as great force as in the imposing nature of the mighty; nay, the power of the strength of the latter gains only more property, while the woman gains honour and esteem, which are of more worth.--_Rueetschi, from Lange's Commentary._

Thus Deborah "retained honour" as a mother in Israel, the counsellor and stay of a sinking people. (Judges iv. 4; v. 7). Esther "retained" her influence over her heathen husband for the good of her nation (Esth. ix. 12, 13, 25). And still the gracious woman retaineth honour long after she has mingled with the dust. Sarah, the obedient wife (1 Pet. iii. 5, 6); Hannah, the consecrating mother (1 Sam. i. 28); Lois, Eunice, and "the elect lady" (2 Tim. i. 5; iii. 15; 2 John 1-4), in the family sphere; Phœbe and her companions on the annals of the Church (Rom. xvi. 2-6; Phil iv. 3); the rich contributor to the temple (Mark xii. 42-44); the self-denying lover of her Lord (Mark xiv. 3-9); Mary in contemplative retirement (Luke x. 39); Dorcas in active usefulness (Acts ix. 36):--Are not these "good names" still had in _honourable_ remembrance? (Psalm cxii. 6).--_Bridges._

It is true of both sexes, which Solomon here affirms of women only, that _gracious_ persons, they who are in the grace and favour of God, and are strengthened by His gracious assistance, shall from the generality of men gain an inward esteem, and for the most part, an outward respect. There are many instances in which virtue has been rather contemned and ridiculed,--and I will mention none other than the most signal of all, God Incarnate--but goodness has an inseparable splendour which can never suffer a total eclipse, and when it is most reviled and persecuted, it then shines brightest out of the cloud. So that all who are not wilfully blind, who will but make use of their eyes to see, must acknowledge the force of its rays. But why does Solomon here instance the woman rather than the man? Either this, that as vice is more odious and more detested, so on the other hand, virtue is more attractive, and looks more lovely in women than it usually does in men. Or it is, because men have more advantages of aspiring to honour in all public stations than women have, and the only way for a woman to gain honour, is an exemplary holiness. Or it is, because women are made of a temper more soft and frail, are more endangered by snares and temptations, and more inclinable to extremes of good and bad than men, and generally speaking, goodness is a tender thing, more hazardous and brittle in the former than in the latter, and consequently a firm and steady virtue is more to be valued in the weaker sex than in the stronger; so that a _gracious woman_ is most worthy to receive and to _retain honour_. Or it is, because women in all ages, have given so many heroic examples of sanctity, that there is that peculiar to the sex which naturally renders them more pliable to the Divine grace than men.--_Bp. Ken._

_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 17.

MERCY AND CRUELTY.

+I. A blessed human character--+"A merciful man." The blessedness of any human existence depends upon the amount of mercifulness found in it. It will be blessed in itself, and a blessing to others in proportion as this Divine characteristic is found in the spirit. God, as a God of power, would be a wonderful and awe-inspiring Being, but He would not be "the blessed God" (1 Tim. i. 11) if this were His only attribute. So far as Men are concerned, He would only be a Person who added to the mysteries and miseries of human life. There is plenty of power in the world, but power is not the one thing needful for fallen and sorrowful humanity. A complex and mighty machine may, and does, excite our wonder and even our admiration, but it has not sympathy. God would be no more to us if He were not "The Lord God, merciful and gracious." He could otherwise add nothing of blessedness to our existence--yes, His very existence would be a calamity for sinful man. So, no man is a real blessing to his fellow-creatures if he is not merciful. He may be a great genius, he may be a great intellectual power, he may be possessed of great influence from one source or another; but none of these things alone, or all of them put together, will add anything to the sum of human happiness if he is not _merciful._ He is simply a hard machine, and will never make any wilderness heart rejoice or any moral waste blossom as the rose. But mercy is a moral force, which works as subtilely and as certainly upon human hearts to bless them as do the mysterious influences of the spring-time upon the barren earth. The absence of mercifulness makes hell the barren world that it is, and fills heaven with moral light and joy. On earth, mercifulness is felt to be most needful. The scum of humanity are not insensible to its blessed influence, and there is no man, however exalted above his fellow-men, who does not sometimes stand in need of its exercise.

+II. The region which is first blest by the exercise of mercy.+ The merciful man's "own soul." There are things which by the constitution of the material universe cannot be separated. Where there is flame, there is certain to be heat; where the sun's rays come, there must be light. So mercifulness of disposition must bless a man's own soul. The exercise of kindliness is in harmony with the law of self-love. A man is but obeying this law when he exercises mercy. "Thou shalt love thy neighbour _as_ thyself," implies that a man is to love himself. Loving his neighbour is the surest way--the only way--of truly doing good to himself. God has ordained that all exercise of loving kindness shall have a reward _in_ the doing and _for_ the doing. "He that watereth others shall be watered himself" (ver. 25). 1. His own spirit will be filled with a sense of blessedness. 2. His character will be daily growing more and more like God. 3. He will have mercy extended to him when he stands in need of it. "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." "For with what measure you mete, it shall be measured unto you again" (Matt. v. 7, vii. 2). And so is that mercy--

"Is twice bless'd;
It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes."

We have not to consider the opposite character:--

+III. A curse to human kind.+ "A cruel man." He is an inflicter of pain upon others from a malicious disposition. Pain is the common lot of men. In the present constitution of things in this world it is a necessity, and will remain so while sin remains in human nature. Sometimes pain has to be inflicted upon human beings from the purest motives, and by the most benevolent of beings. The kindest physician in the world is obliged constantly to inflict severe physical pain. The moral teacher--the loving parent or master--must often be the means of inflicting mental pain. But in these cases the motive is not _ill_-will, but _good_-will. The pain is contrary to the disposition of the person who inflicts it. He would not give the pain if the end could be obtained without it. He intends by present pain to give future pleasure. But a cruel man inflicts pain from _choice,_ for the purpose of making men miserable. His cruelty is the outcome of his malicious nature. Hence he is a curse to his race. To the unavoidable and necessary pain of the world he adds that which is worse than needless. He would often inflict more than he does, if he had the power. Did not experience teach the contrary, we should not believe it possible that there could be such monsters in the garb of men. They are, indeed, of "their father the devil" (John viii. 44), who finds his only delight in the misery of others.

+IV. That, in the end, the cruel man will inflict the most pain upon himself.+ 1. He will "trouble his own flesh," or his whole being in the present. He will be tormented by his conscience which now and again will rise from its deathlike slumber and avenge the miseries of those upon whose rights he has trampled--whose lives he has taken, or worse, whose souls he has ruined. While he is still pursuing his course of cruelty he will have the sting of the serpent remorse poisoning the life-blood of his spirit--a prophecy of future retribution possibly in this world, certainly in the next. 2. He is laying up trouble for himself in the future. _Men may_ return his cruelty with compound interest,--(see comments and illustrations on verse 10), whether _they_ do or not _God certainly will_. The Divine decree has gone forth, "He shall have judgment without mercy, that hath showed no mercy." (James ii. 13). His experience will be that of the cruel tyrant of Bezek. "As I have done so God hath requited me," (Judges i. 6, 7), or that of Shakespeare's _Richard III._

O coward conscience, how thou dost afflict me!
The lights burn blue.--It is now dread midnight.
Cold fearful drops stand on my trembling flesh.
What; do I fear myself? there's none else by:
Richard loves Richard; that is, I am I.
Is there a murderer here? No;--yes, I am:
Then fly,--What, from myself? Great reason, why?
Lest I revenge. What? myself on myself?
I love myself. Wherefore? for any good
That I myself have done unto myself?
O no; alas, I rather hate myself,
For hateful deeds committed by myself.
* * * * * *
My conscience hath a thousand several tongues,
And every tongue brings in a several tale,
And every tale convicts me for a villain
* * * * * *
All several sins, all used in each degree,
Throng to the bar, crying all,--Guilty! guilty!
I shall despair.--There is no creature loves me:--
And, if I die, no soul will pity me:--
Nay, wherefore should they, since that I myself
Find in myself no pity to myself.

_ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE LATTER CLAUSE OF THE VERSE._

Buchanan, the Scotch historian, relates that John Cameron, Bishop of Glasgow, was so given to extortion and oppression, especially upon his tenants and vassals, that he would scarcely afford them bread to eat, or clothes to wear. But one Christmas eve, as he lay in his bed in his house at Lockwood, he heard a voice summoning him to appear before the tribunal of Christ, and give an account of his actions. Being terrified with this notice, and the pangs of a guilty conscience, he called up his servants, and commanded them to stay in the room with him. He himself took a book in his hand, and began to read; but the voice, being heard a second time, struck all the servants with horror. The same voice repeating the summons a third time, and with a louder and more dreadful accent, the bishop, after a most lamentable and frightful groan, was found dead in his bed.

+The Last Days of Nero.+ Nero had landed in Italy about the end of February, and now, at the beginning of June, his cause had already become hopeless. Galba, though stedfast in his resolution, had not yet set his troops in motion; nevertheless, Nero was no longer safe in the city. . . . Terrified by dreams, stung by ridicule or desertion, when his last hope of succor was announced to have deceived him, the wretched tyrant started from his couch at supper, upset the tables, and dashed his choicest vessels to the ground; then, taking poison from Locusta, and placing it in a golden casket, he crossed from the palace to the Servilian gardens, and sent his trustiest freedman to secure a galley at Ostia. He conjured some tribunes and centurions, with a handful of guards, to join his flight, but all refused; and one, blunter than the rest, exclaimed, tauntingly, "_Is it, then, so hard to die?_" At last, at midnight, finding that even the sentinels had left their posts, he sent, or rushed himself, to assemble his attendants. Every door was closed; he knocked, but no answer came. Returning to his chamber, he found the slaves fled, the furniture pillaged, the case of poison removed. Not a guard, not a gladiator, was at hand, to pierce his throat. _I have neither friend nor foe,_ he exclaimed. He would have thrown himself into the Tiber but his courage failed him. He must have time, he said, and repose to collect his spirits for suicide, and his freedman Phaon at last offered him his villa in the suburbs, four miles from the city. In undress and barefooted, throwing a rough cloak over his shoulders and a kerchief across his face, he glided through the doors, mounted a horse, and, attended by Sporus and three others, passed the city gates with the dawn of a summer morning. The Nomentane road led him beneath the wall of the prætorians, whom he might hear uttering curses upon him and pledging vows to Galbo; and the early travellers from the country asked him as they met, _What news of Nero?_ or remarked to one another, _These men are pursuing the tyrant._ Thunder and lightning, and a shock of earthquake, added terror to the moment. Nero's horse started at a dead body on the roadside, the kerchief fell from his face, and a prætorian passing by recognised and saluted him. At the fourth milestone the party quitted the highway, alighted from their horses, and scrambled on foot through a canebrake, laying their own cloaks to tread on, to the rear of the promised villa. Phaon now desired Nero to crouch in a sand-pit hard by, while he contrived to open the drain of the bath-room, and so admit him unperceived; but he vowed that he would not go _alive,_ as he said, _underground,_ and remained trembling beneath the wall. At last a hole was made through which he crept on all fours into a narrow chamber of the house, and there threw himself on a pallet. The coarse bread that was offered him he could not eat, but swallowed a little tepid water. . . . Suddenly was heard the tramp of horsemen, sent to seize the culprit alive. Then at last he placed a weapon to his breast, and the slave Epaphroditus drove it home. . . . Nero perished at the age of thirty years and six months.--_Merivale._

_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._

There are two descriptions of mercy. There is mercy to _sufferers,_ and mercy to _offenders._ Mercy to sufferers is the disposition to _relieve;_ mercy to offenders is the disposition to _forgive._ The two are infinitely united in God. Under his government all sufferers are offenders. It is only _as_ offenders that they are sufferers; and when He pardons the offence, He cancels the sentence to suffering. And in every good man the two are united. They should, indeed, be regarded as one principle, operating in different departments. Now "the merciful man" whether considered in the one light or the other,--in exercising forgiveness or in relieving distress--effectually consults his own interests. He does so, even for present enjoyment. The Divine sentiment of the Saviour--"It is more blessed to give than to receive," has its full application here. Jesus Himself, above all that ever lived on earth, experienced its truth. He "delighted in mercy." He came from above on an errand of mercy. The "merciful man" participates in the blessedness of the Son of God. . . . He, moreover, procures favour with his fellow-men;--he "makes himself friends of the mammon of unrighteousness;" he causes society to feel an interest in him--to regard and treat him as its friend and benefactor. This is eminently gratifying and pleasing;--to know that in the hearts of our fellow-men our names are associated with affection and blessing, and that when we "fail," there will be some ready to receive us into "everlasting habitations," who have been made friends by our kindness during their sojourn in the wilderness. But above all, the mercy of the merciful is associated with the favour and blessing of God. . . . But the cruel stirs up resentment, instead of conciliating favour; so that on every hand, in every face, he sees an enemy, from whom he dreads the fulfilment of the Saviour's maxim,--"With what measure ye mete it shall be measured to you again." How can he be happy? There is unhappiness in his very passions. The opposite of the character of God, they cannot but be associated with misery.--_Wardlaw._

TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: This next paragraph includes the word
"niggardliness," which is a fine word meaning "stinginess"
or "parsimony." However, it can sound like a racial slur
especially to people who are not familiar with the word or
are not paying close attention. When teaching this material
please consider substituting a synonym.

We are to preserve, as much as in us lies, these two parts of our nature, our souls and our bodies. . . . He that may truly be called a kind man, is kind to his own soul, in comforting his own heart, and in granting thereunto the delight which may be received by sleep, by food, and the use of all things necessary and pleasant. Wherefore the counsel which the son of Sirach giveth is good and worthy to be followed: "Love thy soul, and comfort thine heart, and put heaviness far away from thee." (Ecclus. xxx. 21, etc.) On the contrary side the cruel person, either for niggardliness, or travail, or sorrow, pincheth, consumeth, or pineth his body. He ceaseth not to labour, nor saith, For whom do I travail and deprive my soul of good things.--_Muffet._

The merciful man will ever find a merciful God. (Psa. xli. 1. Matt. v. 7). The widow of Sarepta and the woman of Shunem, each for their kindness to the Lord's prophets received a prophet's reward. (2 Kings iv. 16. vii. 1, 6). The alms of Cornelius brought _good to his own soul._ (Acts x. 2, 4). Even now "God is not unrighteous to forget our work and labour of love." (Heb. vi. 10. Matt. x. 42). At the great day He will honour it before the assembled universe. (Matt. xxv. 34). . . . Cain found his brother's murder an intolerable "_trouble to his flesh._" (Gen. iv. 13, 14). The doom of Ahab and Jezebel was the curse of their own cruelty. (1 Kings xxii. 38. 2 Kings ix. 36, 37). The treasures of selfishness will eat as a canker in _our own flesh._ (Jas. v. 1, 3).--_Bridges._

Why did not the wise man say, "He that is cruel troubleth his own soul?" He knew that a cruel man cares nothing for his soul. If you would obtain a hearing from the merciless man, say nothing about his soul. He values it less than his dog. But if you could convince him that his want of mercy will be hurtful to his flesh, he would think a little about his ways. And it is evident from Scripture, that his flesh, no less than his soul, is under a fearful curse.--_Lawson._

His chief business is with and for himself: how to set all to rights within, how to keep a continual Sabbath of soul, a constant composedness. He will not purchase earth with his loss of heaven. And inasmuch as the body is the soul's servant, and should therefore be fit for the soul's business--it ought not to be pinched or pined with penury or overmuch abstinence, as those impostors (Col. ii. 23), and our Popish merit-mongers, that starve their genius, and are cruel to their own flesh. They shall one day hear, "Who required these things at your hand?"--_Trapp._

In every act that mercy prompts there are two parties who obtain a benefit,--the person in need, who is the object of compassion, and the person not in need, who pities his suffering brother. Both get good, but the giver gets the larger share. . . . The Good Samaritan who bathed the wounds and provided for the wants of a plundered Jew, obtained a greater profit on the transaction than the sufferer who was saved by his benevolence. It is like God to constitute His world so. Even Christ himself, in the act of showing mercy, has His reward. . . . And a man cannot hurt his neighbour without hurting himself. The rebound is heavier than the blow. . . . Such is the fence which the Creator has set up to keep men off his fellows. This dividing line is useful now to keep off the ravages of sin; but when perfect love has come, that divider, no longer needed, will be no longer seen. It is like one of those black jagged ridges of rock that at low water stretch across the sand from the edge of the cultivated ground to the margin of the sea, an impassable, an unapproachable barrier: when the tide rises, all is level, and it is nowhere seen. This law of God, rising as a rampart between man and man, is confined to this narrow six thousand year strip of time. In the perfect state it will act no more, for want of material to act upon.--_Arnot._

It is to his own soul that a merciful man doeth good. For it hath been well said, there is nothing so much a man's own as that which is given to the poor. That which men do, they do as to a poor soul, of as noble birth, and by nature of as great excellency as their own soul is, and so they do it, as it were, to their own. That which God doth, He doth to a sinful soul, degenerate from the birth which He gave it, and turned to be a rebel against Him. So that God is more ready to be good to His enemies, then we are to be good to ourselves.--_Jermin._

_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 18-20.

SOWING AND REAPING.

+I. The life-work of the wicked contains within itself the germs of a three-fold bane: A deception, a death, and an abomination.+ 1. _A deception._ The wicked man expects from his life-work that which it cannot possibly yield. It is against the moral constitution of the universe that a life of wickedness, or an evil understanding in that life should yield satisfaction or any degree of real comfort to the worker. If a man sowed darnel in his field and expected to get a crop of wheat, he would be "working a deceitful work," that is, he would be a victim of self-deception. Nature cannot go out of her way to gratify his desires, to prevent his disappointment. The ungodly man lives a life of ungodliness--he "pursues evil," (ver. 19), he perversely chooses his own course, in other words, he "is of a froward heart," (ver. 20), and he promises himself some kind of advantage. But it cannot be, he is doomed to disappointment. However much _he lies_ to work his work, the _issue of his work_ will not lie. The earth will not lie concerning what kind of seed is placed in her furrows. If wheat is hidden there she will not disappoint the husbandman by returning him tares--if tares are sown she will render back of what has been entrusted to her care. She will speak the truth about the sowing by giving according to that which she has received. The sinner wants to make God a liar. "In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die," is the Divine sentence. "Ye shall not surely die," is the assurance of the great deceiver. But the end will ever be what it was when man first suffered himself to entertain a doubt upon the matter. The man who builds himself a house upon the side of a volcano may promise himself, or may be promised by others, safety and peace, but unless he can quench the internal fires, that promise cannot be kept. The elements of destruction are ever at work under his very feet, the day will come when the devouring flame will burst forth and consume the work and the worker together. 2. _Death._ There are three kinds of death which are all the fruit of sin and which are developed out of one another as the blade, the corn in the ear, and the full corn are successive developments of one seed. There is that present paralysis of all the spiritual capabilities of the man which the Bible calls _carnal mindedness._ (Rom. viii. 6). Into this condition Adam came at once as soon as he worked his wicked work, and every son of his who lives a life of oppression to the Divine will is even now "dead" in this sense. The death of the body is but the outcome of this spiritual death, and although it is the portion of those who have been made spiritually alive, its character is changed from a curse into a blessing. But the consummation of both these "deaths," is that irrecoverable paralysis of spirit, and that correspondent condition of body known as the "second death." This is what the man "pursues" who "pursues evil." 3. _An abomination._ A musical soul hates discord, an honest man hates dishonesty, the pure-minded turn with loathing from all impurity. Although God loves His creatures, He holds in abomination all that is unholy; a persistent frowardness--a constant refusal to fall in with the Divine plan of separating sin from the human soul will--it is here and elsewhere declared--result in the very creature whom He has made becoming an offence to his Divine Creator.

+II. The life-work of the righteous will meet the certain reward of a Divine character and Divine delight.+ 1. _A Divine character._ He is now a partaker of spiritual life. A man's present healthy life is in itself a reward for any self-denial he may practise in observing the laws of health. There is a joy in living which a diseased man knows nothing of. So there is a present joy in being in a state of spiritual health, in the exercise of all the graces which are the fruit of the spirit, (Gal. v. 22), to which a man who is morally diseased and dead is an entire stranger. The spiritual life which is the harvest of "sowing righteousness" or uprightness, is a present reward. But the present spiritual live and health is a prophecy and an earnest of a completed and perfected life in the city of God. Righteousness is the very life of God, and in proportion as His children attain perfection of character they attain a more perfect life. (See Homiletics on chap. vii. 1-4). 2. _Divine delight._ God is the Author and Fountain of all the righteousness in the universe, and He can but take pleasure in the work of His own hands. He delights in men of uprightness because He sees in them a reproduction of His own character. His "soul _delighted,_" (Isa. xlii. 1), in the work and character of His elected servant, His only-begotten Son, because He was, pre-eminently "the Righteous." (1 John ii. 1). He delights also in His created sons in proportion as their character comes up to that perfect standard.

_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._

Verse 18. 1. _Opposite characters._ The radical idea of the word righteousness seems to be that of equality, as the equilibrium of a pair of scales, etc. Hence, applied to moral or religious matters, it makes a correspondence between our obligations on the one hand, and our performance on the other. But as the rightful claims of God and man are embodied in the Divine law, righteousness is considered as obedience and conformity to that law (Deut. vi. 25). And as this rule rather declares what it enjoins to be fit and proper, than makes it so, righteousness, in relation to the arrangement and constitution of things, is order, fitness, reality, truth. The radical meaning of the word here employed to denote the wicked man appears to be that of inequality, unfairness. Hence _wicked,_ that is, _unequal,_ balances (Mic. vi. 11). Agreeably to this idea, the word, when used in a moral sense, means a want of correspondence between duty and performance--nonconformity to the laws of God. As righteousness is order, etc., so that which is the essence of wickedness, is disorder, incongruity, deception, a lie, an unsound principle. 2. _Opposite practices._ As is the tree, so is the fruit. Righteousness renders to God and to man their due. The unrighteous man robs God (Mal. iii. 8, 9) of time and talents which should have been devoted to His service. His work is--Deceitful (often) in its intention. Deception is the very object proposed. Deceitful (always) in its nature. Weighed in the balances, it is found wanting. 3. _Opposite results._ The deceiver himself often becomes the dupe of his own delusions. By abuse the moral sense becomes blunted, etc., then follows what is described Isa. xliv. 18, 20; 2 Tim. iii. 13. Deceitful in its results--generally in this world. A tradesman who makes a point of telling profitable lies, is detected and disbelieved even when he speaks the truth, and, being deserted, comes to ruin.--Certainly in the world to come. Every man loves happiness; but sin will leave the sinner to weeping and wailing, etc. On the contrary, the righteous has a sure reward. His reward is--1. Certain. The perfections and word of God assure this. 2. Suitable; a reward of truth, a reward in kind, an increase of correct and pious feeling (Matt. v. 6, 8). Hence, 3. Satisfying (Psalm xvii. 15). 4. Abiding (Psa. xix. 9).--_Adapted from Sketches of Sermons._

Although the ungodly person labour much, yet he doth a work which neither shall continue, nor bring any fruit unto him. The hypocrite giveth alms oftentimes to be seen by men, but he shall never be rewarded for his liberality by the Lord. The transgressor of God's law buildeth himself upon the show of an outward profession: such a house will fall. The vain teacher delivereth the straw and the stubble of error and vanity for true doctrine and sound divinity. This work cannot abide; the day will reveal it, and the fire will consume it.--_Muffet._

None would be so rich and happy as he servants of Satan, were his promises all performed; but the misery is, that he will promise kingdoms, though he cannot, like Chaldean robbers, have a single sheep without the Divine permission; and what is worst of all, those that trust his promises are paid with fire and brimstone. The devil was a liar from the beginning, yet so infatuated are men, that they will trust him more than a God that cannot lie. The devil places pleasure and profit before them; God, by the threatenings of His word, sets an everlasting hell before them. But they will venture through it, in order to enjoy the vanities with which the great tempter allures them.--_Lawson._

By necessity of his condition, every man's life, and every moment of it, is a sowing. The machine is continually moving over the field and shaking; it cannot, even for a moment, be made to stand still, so as not to sow. It is not an open question at all whether I shall sow or not to-day; the only question to be decided is, Shall I sow good seed or bad?--_Arnot._

If righteousness be our main end, God will make it our best friend; nor will He, as the world has done, reward us with ciphers instead of gold.--_Bridges._

Nothing is durable that a wicked man does except his crimes.--_A. Clarke._

Our wage is better than ordinary, the whole crop that we sow is given us for our labour, and therefore let us not be too hasty to reap it before it be ready. Good farmers indeed pay the ploughman sooner than the corn is ripe, but cheaper than the corn is worth: Whereas God bestoweth freely upon his labourers all that they have sown, it is their own, and therefore let them tarry till harvest, and they shall find their hire will far surmount their travail.--_Dod._

Let us inquire why this gracious course of consecrating a man's self to God in the practice of godliness is called a _sowing_ of righteousness. It is because of the likeness which is betwixt the practice of godliness, and the sowing of the seed--(1) _in some things which do go before the sowing._ Two things, then, have to be looked after, viz., _the preparation of the ground and the choice of seed._ In the sowing of righteousness the like to these two are of great behoof. The preparation of the heart and the choice of particulars belonging to a Christian course. (2) _In some things which do accompany the sowing, viz., the time of sowing and the plenty of sowing._ When the season comes, the husbandman falls to his work, though, perhaps, it be not so seasonable as he could desire. So in spiritual business--the seed time for righteousness is this life: the opportunity must be taken when it comes. If I meet with many encumbrances, shall I cease sowing and tarry for a calmer season? God forbid. Through with it I must, in season, and out of season. If I look for a better time, upon a sudden, there will be no time at all. Then the seedsman casts not in one seed alone, but a handful at once, one handful after another. To sow righteousness is to be rich in good works, to do good once and again, to join with faith virtue; with virtue knowledge, etc. Some do now and then drop out a good work, some little devotion to God, some petty office of mercy to men, but it is to no purpose in the world; no plenty in sowing, no fulness in reaping. (3) _In things which follow after sowing._ Great is the care that the seed put into the ground may thrive and prosper; the fields be hedged, the cattle be shut out, etc. It is ever and anon looked to, to see how it be going on. So it is in vain to have entered upon a good course if it be not continued (Phil. iv. 1; 1 Thess. iv. 1; 2 Pet. iii. 18; Heb. vi. 1). Thus we see that to sow righteousness is--1. The submitting a man's self to have his heart broken up by the power of God's word. 2. A diligent inquiry into the best way of pleasing God. 3. A pressing forward amid many encumbrances. 4. A striving to be fruitful in good works. 5. A watching with continued diligence.--_Hieron._

Verse 19. The courses of rivers is to return to the sea, from whence they issue, and so righteousness, coming from the ocean of life, thither tendeth again, and evil, coming from the black sea of darkness, bendeth thither also. The difference which the passengers find is this: that in the waters of righteousness all the tempests and rough waves are in the river, but going on with it to the sea, there is nothing but calmness, security, and pleasantness, in which they bathe themselves for evermore. In the waters of wickedness the passengers find the river to be easy often, and smoothly to carry them along, but following the course of it, when they come to the sea, there are nothing but horrid storms, raging winds, and gaping gulfs of death, wherein they are for ever swallowed up.--_Jermin._

Our principal pay will be in _life_, whereof we have part in hand by grace in our souls in this world, and the rest is behind until the pay day in the world to come. So that a sinner cannot discern the happiness of a Christian, nor conceive how God dealeth with him. For the comfort of a heart is a thing unknown to him, and the glorious life is hid with Christ in God, and shall not fully be seen before we appear with Him in glory.--_Dod._

If righteousness is a seed, and is sown, and has a certain crop, then, in this way, "righteousness is unto life," but he that pursues evil does so to his death; that is, he sows in spiritual corruption, and that eternally. He grows in spiritual corruption, not because creatures are self-subsistent, and advance by laws implanted in themselves; but because sin is the punishment of sin, and advance by laws implanted in the Almighty. Eternal justice declares that sin must be given up to an advance in sin.--_Miller._

It is frequently possible for man to screen themselves from the penalty of human laws, but no man can be ungrateful or unjust without suffering for his crime; hence I conclude that these laws must have proceeded from a more excellent legislator than man.--_Socrates._

Verse 20. Uprightness is a noble quality, for the Lord greatly delights in it. He boasted, if we may speak so, to the devil of Job's invincible integrity. Christ speaks of an upright Nathaniel as a wonder in the world. How wonderful is the grace of God, that takes such kind notice of grace so imperfect as that which may be found on earth.--_Lawson._

"An abomination to Jehovah," as taught in this book, is a thing so radically full of mischief that it must be forced out of the way some day, by the very necessities of the universe.--_Miller._

Not only those that pursue and practise wickedness, but they also that harbour it in their hearts, are hated of God. (Luke xvi. 15). A man may die of inward bleeding; a man may be damned for contemplative wickedness. The antithesis requires that he should say, such as are upright _in heart._ But He chooseth rather to say, _in their way,_ not only because a good heart ever makes a good life, but to meet with such as brag of the goodness of their hearts when their lives are altogether loose and licentious. Whereas holiness in the heart, as the candle in the lantern, well appears in the body.--_Trapp._

A pearl upon a dunghill is worth stooping for, and a gracious man or woman is worth looking after. Sure it is that God looks on them as His jewels, as a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, His delight. His dear children, and what not. It much concerns us then, to set a true value upon them, make a true estimate of them, and (as much as lieth in us) to be mindful of them, comfortable to them, and willing on all occasions to do them good.--_Spencer's Things New and Old._

_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 21.

DELIVERANCE FROM A CONFEDERATED OPPOSITION.

+I. The wicked will certainly confederate against the good.+ They will join "hand in hand." 1. _On account of their nearness to each other._ If two nations who are near neighbours feel that the advance of one in possessions, in power, in wealth, will be the correspondent retrogression of the other, there will be a confederation of each nation. Their nearness to each other will necessitate a _defensive_ confederation--most likely an _offensive_ one, for each will feel that its existence depends upon a union of its members. The wicked and the good in the entire universe make but two hostile camps, although they are not separated into distinct nationalities or divided by geographical boundaries in this world. Some of each side are found in every nation, in every city, in every hamlet, often in the same house, and while this is the case there will be confederation on both sides we have here to do only with that of the wicked. Hatred of the good is often the only bond of union between wicked men, they feel that, if the good are to be held back from possessing the earth, they must unite to oppose their work. Hatred of Christ united Herod and Pilate (Luke xxiii. 12). 2. _This confederation of the wicked is against both persons and principles._ The good fight only against the _principles_ of the godless--they love their _persons,_ the wicked hate both the _persons_ and _principles_ of the good. 3. _The wicked will confederate because of the tremendous issues depending upon the conflict._ If the principles that govern the good should triumph in the world, they instinctively feel that there will be no place left for their persons and principles. 4. _Confederation implies choice, confidence in numbers, thought, and a covenant to stand by each other._ Those who join hand to hand show that they choose each other's society--choice is a revelation of character--those who join hands with the wicked reveal that they are wicked also. It implies confidence in numbers. Numbers have a wonderful influence in begetting confidence. They inspire men with hope of success. It seems impossible that so many can be defeated. The fact that the wicked are in the majority in this world is often a strong point with them. This was the hope of Pharaoh (Exod. xiv. 6, 7) and of Sennacherib (Isa. xxxvi). The first Napoleon made it his boast that "Providence fought always on the side of great battalions." It likewise implies thought. They do not go to their work without taking counsel together as to the best means of accomplishing their ends. This "multitude of counsellors" (ver. 14) is one of the advantages of confederation. It likewise implies covenant. There is something even in a wicked man that makes him slow to break an agreement--to violate a solemn promise. Even the wicked Herod would keep his oath to the daughter of Herodias, although the thought of the crime which he must commit to do so startled him for a moment (Matt. xiv. 9). All these things together make up the strength of the confederation of the wicked; but, notwithstanding,--

+II. They will be defeated.+ "The seed of the righteous will be delivered." The end of all their planning and plotting was the destruction of the good, but it will not be. Another confederation has been formed which has in it a stronger Person than any in the confederation of the wicked. _God_ is in it. God has chosen the good for His confederates because they have chosen Him (Isa. xli. 8, 9). Although the wicked have many on their side there are more in numbers on the other side (2 Kings vi. 16). Those unseen defenders of the good cause must be taken into account. God has thoughts and plans which embrace and overrule all the plans and schemes of the wicked. He has likewise made a covenant, and He cannot "alter the thing that has gone out of His lips" (Psalm xxxix. 34). Therefore the righteous may meet their foes with this challenge: "_Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces. Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand; for the Lord is with us_" (Isa. viii. 9, 10).