Chapter XV (4)

A man may be said to be covetous when he takes more pains for the getting of earth than for the getting of heaven. He will turn every stone, break his sleep, take any a weary step for the world; but will take no pains for Christ or heaven. The Gauls, after they had tasted the sweet wine of the Italian grape, inquired after the country, and never rested till they had arrived at it; so a covetous man, having had a relish of the world, pursues after it, and never leaves it till he hath got it; but he neglects the things of eternity. He could be content if salvation would drop into his mouth, as a ripe fig drops into the mouth of the eater (Nahum iii. 12). But he is loth to put himself to too much sweat or trouble to obtain Christ or salvation. He _hunts_ for the world, he _wisheth_ only for heaven. . . . Covetousness is (1) a _subtle_ sin, a sin that men do not so well discern in themselves. This sin can dress itself in the attire of virtue. It is called the "cloke of covetousness" (1 Thess. ii. 5). It is a sin that wears a cloke; it clokes itself under the name of frugality and good husbandry. It hath more pleas and excuses for itself than any other sin. (2) It is a _dangerous_ sin. It damps good affections, as the earth puts out the fire. The hedgehog in the fable came to the coney-burrows in stormy weather, and desired harbour, but when once he had gotten entertainment he set up his prickles, and did never cease till he had thrust the poor coneys out of their burrows; so covetousness, by fair pretences, wins itself into the heart; but as soon as you have let it in it will never leave till it hath thrust all religion out of your hearts. . . . Covetousness chains men to the earth, and makes them like the woman which Satan had bound together that she could not lift herself (Luke xiii. 11). You may as well bid an elephant fly in the air as a covetous man live by faith. We preach to men to give freely to Christ's poor; but covetousness makes them to be like him in the Gospel who had a withered hand (Mark iii. 1). . . . Covetousness shuts men out of heaven (Ephes. v. 5). What should a covetous man do in heaven? . . . Like a bee that gets into a barrel of honey, and there drowns himself, like a ferryman that takes in so many passengers to increase his fare that he sinks his boat, so a covetous man takes in more gold to the increasing of his estate that he damns himself in perdition.--_Watson._

It is not enough to abstain from evil, we must also _hate_ it.--_Fausset._

Who is ignorant of the woeful success which Achan found in coveting unlawfully the gold and silver in Jericho? He hoped to get more than any man in Israel; but no man in Israel lost so much as he.--_Dod._

He that maketh gain to be the gain that he looked for in all things, he may hope to fill his home with wealth, but he shall be sure to fill it with trouble. He that is given to gain, and hath made himself the prey as it were and gain of gain, he may have his hand open to take gifts, but with the same hand taketh in disquietness into his heart. . . . Now, because such are often crying--How shall I live? therefore the wise man telleth them he that hateth such things shall live.--_Jermin._

_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 28.

STUDYING TO ANSWER.

+I. Every righteous man is a student.+ The aim of study in any department of knowledge is, first to gain possession of certain facts, and then to make the knowledge of practical service in life. If a man intends to be a builder he must first be a student. He must first gain certain theoretical knowledge, and then make use of it. And so with every profession or calling--each requires thought before any work is entered upon. Every righteous man is a man with a profession--he is a professor of righteousness--he gains a knowledge of righteous precepts with the view of reducing them to righteous practice. A knowledge of what is right and true in the abstract will be of little use to himself or to any other man unless the knowledge influences his words and deeds. The proverb before us sets forth the righteous man as a student of his speech. His aim is to speak the "word in due season," spoken of in verse 23, and to do this he must be a student of the human heart--1. _He must study the workings of his own heart._ This is a study peculiar to the righteous man. Many men study themselves and others as frameworks of bone and muscle, who never bestow a thought upon the soul, of which the body is but the raiment. Other men watch the operations of the mental powers and tabulate all the movements of the mind as they are brought to light by internal consciousness. But the godly man goes deeper. He ponders his thoughts and feelings in the light of moral truth and righteousness--he weighs his words in the balance in which he knows that God will weigh them. 2. _He must study other men's hearts._ He desires that his words should not only be harmless but beneficial to others; he desires to answer wisely questions relating to God, and man, and immortality; he sets his speech in order before he opens his mouth upon any of these weighty matters, and he considers the circumstances and dispositions of those to whom he speaks that like one of old, his _"doctrine may drop as the rain, his speech distil as the dew,"_ when he _"publishes the name of the Lord"_ (Deut. xxxii. 2, 3). Before his thoughts become words he submits them to the revision of his conscience and his judgment, and asks himself if they are such as he can hope God will bless to the edification of others.

+II. All men who do not thus study their thoughts and words are the authors of much mischief.+ They are those who have never made what they think a matter of conscience and consequently their words are the outcome of an unsanctified heart. As is the fountain, so must be the stream. For the words of such a man to be other than evil is an impossibility. _"How can ye, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man, out of the good treasure of the heart, bringeth forth good things; and an evil man, out of the evil treasure, bringeth forth evil things"_ (Matt. xii. 34, 35).

_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._

The tongue is the heart's messenger. So often as it speaks before the heart dictates, the messenger runs without his errand. He that will not speak idly, must think what he speaks; he that will not speak falsely, must speak what he thinks.--_Arnot._

What is before said (verse 2, and chap. xii. 23) of the _wise and the foolish,_ is said here of the _righteous and the wicked:_ and what is before said of the utterance of _wisdom and folly,_ is here said of the utterance of _good and evil._ We have repeatedly seen how Solomon identifies these in his statements. Wickedness is folly; goodness is wisdom.--_Wardlaw._

_"Mouth,"_ all agency. Religion is so much like politeness, that a polite man "winnows" (ver. 7) his acts till they look sometimes like religion; but watch men where the guise of kindness fails them, viz., their aim to be polite, and their _"mouth pours out evils."_ There is a recklessness of act that only a religious purity can essentially restrain.--_Miller._

The wicked, speaking so _much,_ cannot but speak "evil things" (chap. x. 19). Not his _heart,_ as in the case of the righteous, but his _mouth_ takes the lead.--_Fausset._

I. It is not easy at the first to apprehend the right, because error at the first ken standeth usually in men's light, and hindereth them from seeing the truth, whereof they may better inform themselves by serious deliberation. II. When the mind hath time and liberty to ponder upon, and will to weight the point to be spoken unto, it findeth out good arguments for good causes, and digesteth the same in so apt a manner as may best persuade the hearts of the hearers. III. A meditating heart affecteth itself for that which it provideth for others to hear, and such men speak not only truly and pertinently, but faithfully also, and conscientiously: their souls having first feeling of that within, which after their mouths are to deliver out.--_Dod._

The _answer,_ which I conceive the heart of the righteous to _study,_ is the answer of obedience unto God's commandments--the answer of thankfulness for His favours and mercies received. For, as St. Gregory speaketh, to answer to God is to render to His precedent gifts the duties of our service. Now, _this study_ is the study of the whole life of a righteous man. Whatsoever he goes about, he knows that he must answer to God for it, and therefore he considereth before he doth it, that it be answerable unto God's law.--_Jermin._

_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 29.

GOD NEAR AND FAR OFF.

+I. God is not far from the wicked in a local sense.+ The most wicked man upon the face of the earth lives and moves and has his being by reason of his relation to that God who he practically ignores. The power of life that he possesses is not self-originated, and although we do not know exactly how he lives in God, we know that in this sense he is near to Him, for _"He is not far from every one of us"_ (Acts xvii. 27). But--

+II. God is far from the wicked in a moral sense.+ There is often a wide moral distance between those who are locally near each other. The father who lives and toils for his children, and eats with them at the same table may be as far from them morally as he is near to them locally. Judas lived for three years with the Son of God--often shared the same hospitality and partook of the same meal. There was a local nearness to Christ but a wide moral gulf between the Master and the professed disciple. The moral distance between God and the wicked is the subject of the first clause of this verse. Notice--1. _The cause of this distance._ The ungodly man cherishes purposes and desires which are directly opposed to the will and purpose of God. God has one view of life and the ungodly man has another. That which God esteems of the highest moment is lightly esteemed by a wicked man. This being so, there can be no sympathy between the creature and his Creator--a great gulf is fixed between them. 2. _The wicked man is to blame for remaining at this distance from God._ God invites him to bridge the chasm. _"Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him: and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon"_ (Isa. lv. 7). He rolls upon him the responsibility of the separation. _"Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live"_ (Ezek. xxxiii. 11). 3. _This distance, if not annihilated, will increase with time and continue through eternity._ Sinful habits and desires, if yielded to, grow harder to overcome--a man never stands still in the way of transgression. And no local change from one world to another can have any effect upon the moral distance. It is not to be bridged by change of place but by change of character. Either the man must turn to God or be ever getting farther from Him. But--

+III. There is a sympathy between God and the righteous man which keeps the Divine ear open to his prayer.+ As we have before noticed, the foundation of sympathy is likeness of character, and those who have sympathy with each other have open ears for the reception of each other's thoughts and desires. The godly man has an open ear for the commands and promises of God, and God, in return, "heareth the prayer of the righteous." There is a like-mindedness between the righteous God and a righteous man--a oneness of desire and purpose--that makes the words of each acceptable to the other. 1. _God's ear is the first that is open to the prayer of the righteous._ The sentinel watching on the height for the first streaks of dawning day has a view of the objects around him before those in the valley are able to perceive them. They are unable to see what he sees, because they are still shut in by the darkness. But if this sentinel had power to pierce the darkness of night, he would not even have to wait for day in order to discern all that lies around him. God is such a sentinel over the children of men. Others are dependent upon the light that comes from words before they discern the desires of others, but God can see into the darkest corner of the human soul--can discern the unuttered desire of the heart long before it shapes itself into words. God's ear is open to hear before the man's mouth is open to pray. He _"understandeth his thought afar off,"_ knows it before it has even shaped itself into a petition, or even into a desire in the man's own heart, and consequently long before it is known to any other creature. 2. _No power outside the righteous man can come between his prayer and God's ear._ When we present a prayer or express a desire to any human benefactor, it is possible that some opposing influence may prevent our suit from being favourably received. A third person may come between, and by misrepresentation or by other means, may hinder our request from receiving impartial consideration. But God's _first-hand_ knowledge of all His children makes it a blessed certainty that all their requests will enter His ear and receive impartial treatment at His hands. (For other thoughts on this subject see Homiletics on verse 8, page 407.)

_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._

We may perhaps trace a reference to this maxim, a proof how deeply it has taken root in men's hearts, in the reasoning of the blind man in John ix. 31.--_Plumptre._

_The Lord is far from the wicked._ He was so far from the proud Pharisee who yet got as near God as he could, pressing up to the highest part of the temple. The poor Publican, not daring to do so, stood aloof, yet was God far from the Pharisee, near to the Publican. "Behold a great miracle," saith Augustine. "God is on high, thou liftest up thyself and He flees from thee; thou bowest thyself downward and He descends to thee. Low things He respects, that He may raise them; proud things He knoweth afar off, that He may depress them." _But He heareth the prayer of the righteous._ Yea, He can feel breath when no voice can be heard for faintness (Lam. iii. 56). When the flesh makes such a din that it is hard to hear the Spirit's sighs, He knows the meaning of the Spirit (Rom. viii. 26, 27), and can pick English out of our broken requests; yea, He hears our "afflictions" (Gen. xvi. 11), our "tears" (Psa. xxxix. 12), our "chatterings" (Isa. xxxviii. 14), though we cry to Him by implication only, as "the young ravens" do (Psa. cxlvii. 9).--_Trapp._

The second clause of this verse becomes exegetical of the first. God is not far from anybody (Psa. cxxxix. 8). But He is far from many people's _"prayer."--Miller._

Faith is the soul, and repentance is the life of prayer; and a prayer without them hath neither life nor soul. If we believe not, we are yet in our sins; if we repent not, our sins are yet in us. . . . But first "will I wash my hands in innocency, and then will I compass thine altar" (Psa. xxvi. 6). "Then shall my prayer be set before thee as incense, and the lifting up of my hands like the evening sacrifice" (Psa. cxli. 2). When, with the sword of severe and impartial repentance, we have cut the throat of our sins and done execution upon our lusts, then let us solicit heaven with our prayers; then pray, and speed; then come, and welcome. Then the couriers about the King in heaven shall make room for prayers. Then the Prince Himself shall take our prayer into His own hand, and with a gracious mediation present it to the Father. Then is that court of audience ready to receive our ambassadors, which be our prayers and our tears. Then St. John sees twelve gates in heaven, all open, and all day open, to entertain such suitors.--_Adams._

Learn to distinguish betwixt God's hearing and His answering the saint's prayer. Every faithful prayer is heart and makes an acceptable report in God's ear as soon as it is shot; but God doth not always thus speedily answer it. The father, at the reading of his son's letter (which comes haply upon some begging errand) likes the motion, his heart closes with it, and a grant is there passed; but he takes his own time to send his dispatch and let his son know this. Princes have their books of remembrance, wherein they write the names of their favourites whom they intend to prefer, haply some years before their gracious purpose opens itself to them. Mordecai's name stood some while in Ahasuerus' book before his honour was conferred. Thus God records the names of His saints and their prayers. "The Lord hearkened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him, of them that feared the Lord and thought upon His name." But they hear not of God in His providential answer, haply a long time after. . . . There comes oft a long and sharp winter between the sowing time of prayer, and the reaping. He hears us indeed as soon as we pray, but we oft do not hear of Him so soon. Prayers are not long on their journey to heaven, but long a-coming thence in a full answer. Christ hath not at this day a full answer to some of the prayers He put up on earth; therefore He is said to expect till His enemies be made His footstool.--_Gurnall._

When the season has been cold and backward, when rains fell and prices rose, and farmers desponded and the poor despaired, I have heard old people, whose hopes, resting upon God's promise, did not rise and fall with the barometer, nor shifting winds, say, We shall have harvest after all; and this you may safely say of the labours and fruits of prayer. The answer may be long in coming--years may elapse before the bread we have cast upon the waters comes back; but if the vision tarry, wait for it! Why not? We know that some seeds spring as soon almost as they are committed to the ground; but others lie buried for months, nor, in some cases, is it till years elapse that they germinate and rise, to teach us that what is dormant is not dead. Such it may be with our prayers. Ere that immortal seed has sprung the hand that planted it may be mouldering in the dust--the seal of death on the lips that prayed. But though you are not spared to reap the harvest, our prayers are not lost. They bide their time, God's "set time." For in one form or another, in this world or in the next, who sows in tears shall reap in joy. The God who puts his people's tears into His bottle will certainly never forget their prayers.--_Guthrie._

_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 30.

CHEERFULNESS AND GOOD TIDINGS.

Two views are taken of the meaning of the first clause of this verse. Some understand it to mean that the objective light that plays upon the eyes of the body rejoices the heart of the man who is under its influence; and others understand by "the light of the eyes" that "cheerfulness of countenance" spoken of in verse 13, which has such an inspiring effect upon those who behold it. We suggest a line of thought upon both views.

+The light of the material sun rejoices the heart.+ 1. _Because of its healthful influence upon the bodily frame._ It is well known that sunlight is favourable to bodily health--that a dwelling into which it does not freely enter has a most depressing influence upon its inhabitants, because it deprives them of natural bodily health and vigour. Other things being equal, health of body adds much to cheerfulness of spirit, to gladness of heart. Everyone can testify from personal experience how a low state of bodily health depresses the spirit, and how returning health after sickness revives and gladdens it. Therefore, in this sense the "light of the eyes rejoices the heart." 2. _Because of its beautifying influence upon all that the eyes behold._ If we go from the light and brightness of noonday into a dark cave or dungeon where the sun's rays never penetrate, we find none of that beauty of colour or contrasts of light and shade, which afford us such exquisite enjoyment in the landscape outside. When we come again into the light of day we realise that "light is sweet, and that it is a pleasant thing to behold the sun" (Eccles. xi. 7), for to its blessed influence we owe all the joy that fills our hearts when we look abroad upon the beauties of the natural world. 3. _It ought to rejoice the heart of man on account of its symbolic suggestions._ God intends the light of nature to be a symbol to the children of men of blessed realities which can be appreciated only by the eye of the soul. Light is symbolic of the glory of the Divine nature (1 Tim. vi. 16), and of the perfect purity of the Divine character (1 John i. 5). The beneficent influence of sunlight is a symbol of the soul-warming and soul-gladdening influence of the Divine presence (Psalm lxxxiv. 11). And as the light of the sun rejoices the heart of the beholder, so does light and cheerfulness upon one man's face gladden the heart of him who looks upon it. Cheerfulness upon one man's countenance brings cheer to the heart of those with whom he comes in contact. Upon this subject we remark--1. _That there is a great difference between levity and cheerfulness._ Two men may be swimming in a river, and one may keep himself afloat by artificial appliances, and the other by his natural strength skilfully used. The beholders may not for a time observe any difference in the two; but should the first man, by any mishap, lose his floats, then the difference will be at once manifest. He will be in danger of going to the bottom while his companion will keep steadily on his way. The natural strength and long practice of the latter has made it second nature to keep on the surface of the water. There is just such a difference between gaiety which depends for its continuance upon good fortune and external excitement, and the cheerfulness that springs from a never-failing and internal source. In the first case, if the floating-tackle is cut away the poor man sinks into despondency and gloom, but in the second there is a buoyancy of heart which, if overwhelmed for a moment by some sudden wave of adversity, brings him again to the surface and re-awakens hope within him. The first is of earth, but, although natural temperament may do much towards the second, real and heartfelt cheerfulness can only be born of a consciousness of reconciliation with God and goodwill to men. It is not, however, a universal characteristic of good men and women. But--2. _It is a man's duty to cultivate this cheerfulness of heart. It is good for the man himself._ If sunlight gives strength to the body this sunlight of the soul is strengthening to the whole man. Cheerfulness gives courage to face the difficulties of life--that gladness of heart which springs from "doing justly, loving mercy, and walking with God" is a power which no man for his own sake can afford to throw away. _But it is also a duty which we owe to others._ In this sense "the light of the eyes rejoices the heart," the incoming of a cheerful man into a house where the inhabitants are depressed and sad is like the entrance of sunlight into a darkened room--it changes the entire aspect of things. The influence of such a man is like a shower upon the parched earth--everything seems to spring into new life after it. If it has so reviving and cheering an effect in a world where there is so much to sadden and to weaken men's energies, every man is bound to cultivate a habit of cheerfulness as a matter of duty. _It is part of the duty which men owe to God._ It is a manifestation of confidence in His righteous character and merciful purpose towards His creatures. It reveals contentment with the lot in life which He has assigned to us--a spirit of submission to His will. Therefore it is an apostolic command, _"Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, rejoice"_ (Phil. iv. 4). The second clause of the verse relates to another very fruitful source of gladness, viz., the reception of a _"good report,"_ or good news. 1. _A good report gives joy, or "maketh the bones fat" in proportion as such news was desired._ If the sick man, who has been awaiting the verdict of his physician, receives from him the assurance that he will recover his health, his heart is filled with joy at the tidings. He can testify that his "bones waxed old" while he was filled with fear and doubt as to his case, but the "good report" makes him renew his youth, and is the first step to renewal of health. The good news that the guilt of the soul can be removed fills the soul with joy in proportion as the misery of unforgiven sin has weighed upon the spirit. This was David's experience: _"When I kept silence"_ (while my sin was unconfessed) _"my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long." . . . "I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin."_ And the consciousness of forgiveness enabled him to sing of the blessedness of him _"whose transgression is forgiven and whose sin is covered"_ (Psa. xxxii. 1-5). 2. _The joy imparted by a "good report" of this nature is shadowed forth by the gladness which is imparted to men who have long sat in darkness, when they greet again the light of day._ What must be the joy of an arctic traveller, when, after months of night, he sees the first streak of returning sunlight? Who can describe the feelings of a prisoner who has been for years immured in a gloomy dungeon, when he again finds himself in the sunshine? Or who but those who have passed through the experience can conceive what the blind man feels who has never seen the light of day, when first his eyes are opened? So none but he who has been in darkness of soul on account of unpardoned sin, and has felt the joy of a sense of reconciliation with his God, can know how the "good report" that "Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners" "maketh the bones fat," in other words, gives him a sense of new life.

_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._

We may conceive this verse to show the comfort of life as it cometh from God, and from man. From God in the light of the eyes, and in seeing those good things which He bestowed upon us. From man in hearing the good report and testimony which he giveth of us. Or else we may take the first part of the verse more literally, to speak only of the joy of the heart, which by the light of the eye from the pleasant objects thereof, is conveyed to it, and so the good contentment of a man from a good report to be compared to it. Now well may these be compared together, for report is the eye whereby the world judgeth of a man, and it is also a useful eye whereby a man judgeth of himself. . . . Certainly it must be the care of the godly, not only to keep a good conscience, but to have a good report.--_Jermin._

It is riches enough to be well reputed and well spoken of. It pleased David well that "whatsoever he did pleased the people." It pleased John well that his friend "Demetrius had a good report of the truth" (3 John 12), and he "had no greater joy than to hear that his children walked in the truth."--_Trapp._

_The bones_ may be called the foundation of the corporeal structure, on which its strength and stability depend. The cavities and cellular parts of the bones are filled with the marrow, of which the fine oil, by one of the beautiful processes of the animal physiology, pervades their substance, and, incorporating with the earthy and silicious material, gives them their cohesive tenacity, a provision without which they would be brittle and easily fractured. "Making the bones fat," means supplying them with plenty of marrow, and thus strengthening the entire system. Hence "marrow to the bones" is a Bible figure for anything eminently gratifying and beneficial. The import, then, of the expression of the text is, that a good reputation contributes eminently to enjoyment, to comfort, health, active vigour, spirit, life, and happiness. By some, however, _"a good report"_ is understood of _good tidings,_ and they conceive "the light of the eyes" to refer to the happy glancing looks of the messenger of such good tidings.--_Wardlaw._

"The light of the eyes" means the look of a pleased friend. When He is the Almighty, how it "rejoices the heart." And when the rapture of another sense is secured by _"a good report"_ (_a good hearing,_ as it is in the original), the _good news_ being also from on high, it reaches the very penetration of our comfort.--_Miller._

_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 31-33.

HOW TO GIVE AND TAKE REPROOF.

+I. Reproof is good when it is given with a good intention and when it is given wisely.+ Those who undertake to handle the amputating knife should be men who are intent upon the healing of the patient, and must also know where to cut and how much to cut, otherwise the operation may tend to death rather than to life. The reprover, if he would administer a "reproof of life," must be wise and kind. He must desire to do good to the man whom he reproves, he must know how to administer the reproof, and must leave off reproving as soon as the necessary wound has been inflicted; if he does not, he may injure the soul instead of destroying the sin.

+II. He who takes such reproof displays the highest wisdom and the truest humility.+ We admire the fortitude of a man who will bear without a murmur a painful operation for the sake of the good that will come to him afterwards. We praise him for the pluck and courage which he shows in enduring bravely, that which we know gives him intense pain of body. And we ought to give as much praise to him who will submit to reproof in a spirit of humility, for there is nothing which is more unpalatable or painful to a man's spirit. Nothing is a surer sign of true wisdom than such submission.

+III. He who will not submit to such reproof can never attain to true honour.+ There can be no honour where there is ignorance, and there can be no knowledge where there is an unwillingness to receive reproof. The greatest kings and statesmen, who are now enthroned by the honour and submission of millions of their fellow-creatures, had once to submit to the instruction of their nurses and tutors. There is no honour in holding a high position unless he who holds it knows how to fill it worthily; and such knowledge can only be acquired by stooping not only to instruction but to reproof, which is always a necessary element of instruction. (For fuller treatment on the subject of these verses, see Homiletics on chapters iii. 11, 12; xii. 1; xiii. 18; xv. 10. Pages 247, 323, 410, etc.)

_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._

Verse 31. There is a reproof not of life, but of death, when hatred seeketh disgrace or ruin by it, and when it is used, as St. Bernard speaketh, not to instruction in the spirit of meekness, but to destruction in the spirit of fury. When it is reproach, and not reproof, it amendeth not, but hardeneth the offender in his wickedness. But with the wise there is the reproof, not of death, but of life; that is, direction unto a virtuous life, and teaching true wisdom, which is the life of the soul. The words of the wise, saith the Preacher, are as nails fastened: for as nails are driven in, but it is not so much to make a hole as to fasten and strengthen; so the words of the wise in reproof do pierce, but it is not so much to wound, as to fasten their reproof, and to give strength unto it.--_Jermin._

Oh, it is a blessed thing to have others tell us of our faults, and as it were to pull us out of the fire with violence, as Jude speaks; rather to pull us out with violence, with sharp rebukes, than we should perish in our sins. If a man be to weed his ground, he sees need of the benefit of others; if a man be to demolish his house, he will be thankful to others for their help; so he that is to pull down his corruption, that old house, he should be thankful to others that will tell him, "This is rotten, and this is to blame;" who, if he be not thankful for seasonable reproof, he knows not what self-judging means. If any man be so uncivil when a man shows him a spot on his garment to grow choleric, will we not judge him to be an unreasonable man? And so when a man shall be told, "This will hinder your comfort another day;" if men were not spiritually besotted, would they swell and be angry against such a man?--_Sibbes._

Verse 32. Wilt thou destroy that for which Christ died? (1 Cor. viii. 11). What shall a man give in exchange for his soul? There is no great matter in the earth but man; nothing great in man but his soul, saith Faverinus. "Whose image and superscription is it" but God's? "Give," therefore, "to God the things that are God's," by delivering it up to discipline. . . . "Suffer," saith the great apostle, "the word of exhortation;" suffer them in God's name, sharp though they be, and set on with some more than ordinary earnestness. Better it is that the vine should bleed, than die. Certes, "When the Lord shall have done to you all the good that He hath spoken concerning you, and hath brought you to His kingdom, this shall be no grief unto you, nor offence of heart," as He said in a like case (1 Sam. xxv. 30, 31), that you have hearkened to instruction, and been bettered by reproof.--_Trapp._

There are two things that cause men to rage against reproof. 1. _Guilt of the sin objected._ Guilt makes men angry when they are searched, and, like horses that are galled, to kick if they are but touched. The mildest waters are troublesome to sore eyes. There is scarce a more probable sign that the crime objected is true than wrath and bitterness against the person that charges us with it. 2. _Love to sin makes men impatient under reproof._ When a person's sin is to him as "the apple of his eye," no wonder that he is offended at any that touch it.--_Swinnock._

Verse 33. Abigail was not made David's wife till she thought it honour enough to wash the feet of the meanest of David's servants (1 Sam. xxv. 40). Moses must be forty years a stranger in Midian before he becomes king in Jeshurun. . . . Luther observed that ever, for most part, before God set him upon any special service for the good of the Church he had some sore fit of sickness. Surely as the lower the ebb the hither the tide; so the lower any descend in humiliation the higher they shall ascend in exaltation; the lower this foundation of humility is laid the higher shall be the roof of honour be overlaid.--_Trapp._

Not only doth humility go before honour in the course of things, but is also before honour in the dignity and excellency of it. So that when humility hath brought a man to honour even then his greatest honour is humility.--_Jermin._

_"Reproof,"_ which has been twice used, and _"instruction,"_ or rather _discipline,_ which is now made to balance it in these last important texts, have a respect of painfulness: and Solomon, in this verse, tempers that pain, by showing what discipline really is:--_"The fear of Jehovah."_ _"Fear_ hath torment," says the apostle John (1 John iv. 18). That fear is not altogether the fear of our text, but is a part of it. I do not remember the fear of the Almighty as a title applied in heaven. _"The fear of Jehovah"_ has some particle of painfulness; and that painfulness makes it of the nature of _"discipline."_ The best discipline of the saints is the abiding fear of the Almighty. The proverb seems to imply that it will not last always; that it is painful; and that we shall not continue pained; that it is necessary for us to be under just that gentle sort of discipline that _fear_ can give while we are in this world. And that necessity he states, in that _"before glory is affliction."_ Not honour (as in the English version), so much as _weight,_ or _"glory."_ Not _humility,_ but primarily, _toil; ergo,_ more generally _"affliction."_ "We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God" (Acts xiv. 22).--_Miller._

"I am not worthy," is the voice of the saints. They know God, and God knows them. Moses was the meekest man upon earth, and therefore God is said to know him by name (Exod. xxxiii. 17). "I am less than the least of all thy mercies," saith Jacob (Gen. xxxii. 10). Lo, he was honoured to be father of the twelve tribes, and heir of the blessing. "Who am I, O Lord?" says David. He was advanced from that lowly conceit to be king of Israel. "I am not worthy to loose the latchet of Christ's shoe," saith John Baptist (Matt. iii. 11). Lo, he was esteemed worthy to lay his hand on Christ's head. "I am not worthy that thou shouldst come under my roof," says the centurion, therefore Christ commended him. "I have not found so great faith; no, not in Israel" (Matt. viii. 8). "I am the least of the apostles," saith Paul; "not worthy to be called an apostle" (1 Cor. xv. 9). Therefore he is honoured with the title of _the_ apostle. "Behold the handmaid of the Lord," saith the holy virgin; therefore she was honoured to be the mother of the Lord, and to have all generations call her blessed. This _non sum dignus,_ the humble annihilation of themselves, hath gotten them the honour of saints. In spiritual graces let us study to be great, and not to know it, as the fixed stars are every one bigger than the earth, yet appear to us less than torches. Not to be high-minded in high deserts is the way to blessed preferment. Humility is not only a virtue itself, but a vessel to contain other virtues; like embers, which keep the fire alive that is hidden under it. It emptieth itself by a modest estimation of its own worth, that Christ may fill it. It wrestleth with God, like Jacob, and wins by yielding; the lower it stoops to the ground the more advantage it gets to obtain the blessing. All my pride, O Lord, is from the want of knowing Thee. The leper casts himself down, and Christ bids him arise. Humility is the gentleman-usher to glory. God that sends away the rich empty from His gates loves to "fill the hungry with good things" (Luke i. 53). The air passeth by the full vessel, and only filleth that is empty. This is the difference between the proud and beggars; both agree in not having, differ in craving. The proud are _paupares spiritus,_ the humble are _paupares spiritu._ "Blessed are," not the poor spirits, but "the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. v. 3). Such as felt their wants sought and besought God for supply. "Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain be brought low" (Luke iii. 5). The lowly mind shall be exalted, the high-towering ambitions shall be thrown down. How should God say to the merchant that glories in his wealth, to the usurer that admireth his moneys, to the gallant that wonders that his good clothes do not prefer him, "Arise!" Alas! they are up already; they were never down. A dwarf in a great throng, seeming low on his knees, was bidden by the prince to stand up; alas! he was before at his highest. God cannot be so mistaken as to encourage their standing up who never yet had the manners to cast themselves down. Says Augustine, "Descend, that ye may rise up to God; for you have fallen by rising up against God." He that is a mountebank must level himself even with the ground; if humbleness hath once thrown him down and brought him to his knees, he shall hear the patron and pattern of humbleness comforting him with a _surge_--"Arise. . . ." The guest that sets himself down at the lower end of the table shall hear the feast-maker kindly remove him, "Friend, sit up higher" (Luke xiv. 10). If Esther fall at Ahasuerus' feet, he will take her by the hand, and bid her arise. When Peter fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me; I am a sinful man, O, Lord" (Luke v. 8-10), he presently was raised up with, "Fear not, thou shalt catch men.". . . Who is heard to say with Paul, "I am the chief of sinners?" (1 Tim. i. 15) such a humble confession scarce heard of. But Christ had given him a _surge_ on his former humbling: "Arise and bear My name before Gentiles and kings," etc. Let us all thus cast ourselves down in humility, that the Lord may say to us in mercy, "Arise."--_Adams._

The more humble, the fitter to come to God, and He the more willing to come unto the soul and dwell in it. The highest heavens are the habitation of God's glory; and the humble heart hath the next honour, to be the habitation of His grace.--_Leighton._

The truly humble spirit is, in society, to the proud and haughty, what the valley is to the mountain: if less observed, more sheltered and more blessed, valleys see the stars more brightly than the mountains that often veil their proud heads with clouds. The mountains filter the waters upon which the valleys live, and send down in soft music to their ears the stormy thunders that beat with violence on their lofty brow. The great sun stoops to the valleys and touches them with a warmth which it denies to the high hills; and kind nature, which leaves the towering heights amidst the cold desolations of death, endows the humble vales with richest life, and robes them in the enchanting costume of sweetest flowers.--_Dr. David Thomas._

You must go to honour before humility. This is the law--the law of God. It cannot be changed. It has its analogies in the material creation. Every height has its corresponding depth. As far as the Andes pierce into the sky, so far do the valleys of the Pacific, at their base, go down into the heart of the earth. If the branches of a tree rise high in the air, its roots must penetrate to a corresponding depth in the ground; and the necessity is reciprocal. The higher the branches are, the deeper go the roots; and the deeper the roots are, the higher go the branches. This law pervades the moral administration as well as the higher works of God. The child Jesus is set for the fall and the rising again of many in Israel; but it is first the fall and then the rising; for "before honour is humility." Fall they must at the feet of the Crucified before they can rise and reign as the children of the Great King. . . . There are two mountains in the land of Israel, equal in height, and standing near each other, with a deep, narrow valley between. At an interesting point in the people's history, one of these mountains bore the curse, and the other received the blessing (Deut. xi. 26-29). If you had stood then on Ebal, where the curse was lying, you could not have escaped to Gerizim to enjoy the blessing without going down to the bottom of the intervening gorge. There was a way for the pilgrim from the curse to the blessing, if he were willing to pass through the valley of humiliation; but there was no flight through the air, so as to escape the going down. These things are an allegory. All men are at first in their own judgments on a lofty place, but the curse hangs over the mountains of their pride. . . . All the saved are also on a lofty height, but God dwells among them, and great is the peace of His children. All who have reached this mountain have been in the deep. They sowed in tears before they went forth rejoicing to bear home the sheaves.--_Arnot._

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