CHAPTER XXIV.
CRITICAL NOTES.--+5. A man of knowledge,+ rather _"a man of understanding,"_ +increaseth strength,+ literally _"maketh power strong."_ Miller translates the entire verse thus:--_"A strong man, if wise, is as a power indeed; and a man of knowledge makes strength really strong."_ +7. Wisdom is too high,+ etc. Delitzsch here reads, _Wisdom seems to the fool to be an ornamental commodity,_ and thinks "the comparison lies in the rarity, costliness, and unattainableness of wisdom." "The word," says Miller, "occurs but three times in the Bible; once in Job xxviii. 18, translated _coral;_ once in Ezekiel xxvii. 16, translated _coral_ and agate; and once in this passage, where it ought to be translated _coral_ again." Some, from this rendering, understand the verse to signify that a fool uses wisdom like a precious stone, only for ornament. +8. Mischievous person,+ literally _a master or lord of mischief._ +9. The thought,+ etc., rather, "the _device_ or _undertaking._" +10. If thou faint,+ etc., rather _"If thou hast been straitened in the day of straitness, strait is thy strength."_ +11.+ Literally, _"Deliver them who are dragged forth_ unto _death, and them that totter to the slaughter, oh, rescue them."_ +12. He that pondereth,+ literally, _the Weigher of hearts._ +He that keepeth,+ rather _"watcheth."_ +14. There shall be a reward,+ rather, _"there is a future,"_ as in chap. xxiii. 18. +16. The wicked shall fall.+ Delitzsch reads, _"the wicked are overthrown when calamity falls on them," i.e.,_ they do not rise again and again as the just man does. +20. Reward.+ The same word used in verse 14, and in chap. xxiii. 18. Its literal meaning is "a hereafter." Zöckler translates it _end_ in the first two instances, but in this case he reads _future._ Delitzsch and Miller render it _hereafter_ or _future_ in every verse. +21. Given to change,+ literally _otherwise disposed,_ or, according to Miller, _repeaters, turners back._ +22. The ruin of them both,+ etc. This phrase is variously rendered, and different meanings are also attached to the same rendering. Delitzsch follows the Syriac version, and reads, _"the end of their years, who knoweth it?"_ But Zöckler adapts the reading of the Authorised Version, which is supported by the Vulgate, by Luther, Ewald, Elster, and others. Some understand the word _both_ to refer to those who rebel against God, and those who rebel against the king (so Zöckler), while others apply it to God and the king, and the _ruin_ foretold as that proceeding from them. Here begins a short appendix to the third main division of the book of Proverbs, the first clause of verse 33 being its superscription, which is almost in the same words as that which introduces the division itself. (See chap. xxii. 17.) It extends only to the end of the chapter, and consists of maxims which have no apparent connection with each other. +23. These things also belong to the wise.+ Rather _"These_ (the proverbs which follow) _are also from wise men."_ The word _also_ connects this introduction with that in chap. xxii. 17. +25. To them that rebuke,+ etc. The word _him_ is not in the original, and spoils the sense. If this rendering of the verb is accepted, _iniquity_ must be understood to be the subject of rebuke. Delitzsch however reads, _"To them who rightly decide,"_ and Miller renders, _"To them that set the thing right."_ +26. A right answer,+ _i.e._, a _faithful, straightforward_ answer. "The word comes," says Miller, "from a verb meaning _to be in front._" "The mention of the _lips,_" Zöckler remarks, "is to be explained simply by the remembrance of the _question_ to which the upright and truthful answer corresponds." +27. House.+ This word may mean here as it does in Exod. i. 21, Ruth iv. 11, 2 Sam. vii. 27, etc., the family--the household interests.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 1-6.
HOUSE BUILDING.
+I. An undertaking founded upon wickedness lacks the first element of stability.+ A house built upon a sandy foundation, we all know, does not possess the first requisite of safety. It is useless to erect any building for fine weather purposes only--if it is not able to stand a storm all the labour expended upon it is lost. Those places are very few where the tempest does not come sometimes, and even if we could find so favoured a spot, a sandy foundation would not be a permanent one. The ordinary play of the elements and the changes of the seasons would be ever at work upon the loose and shifting soil, and in time the house must fall. So it is with any work undertaken with an evil purpose or from wicked motives. There are laws at work in God's universe which will forbid such a building to remain long in existence. It is very easy work to lay the stones in the sand--much more easy than to hew out a place for them in the solid rock--and the apparently rapid success of evil men and evil deeds tempts many an unwise builder to work after their method. But the experience of the Psalmist is repeated in every age and must be to the end of time: _"I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree. Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not; yea, I sought him, but he could not be found"_ (Psalm xxxvii. 35, 36).
+II. True wisdom consists in patient continuance in well-doing.+ In this passage, as throughout the entire Book of Proverbs, wisdom is set up as the rival of evil, and sin is accounted as the height of folly. The wise man accounts everything foolishness which is against the moral law of the universe, and the _good_ man in his estimation the only _wise_ man. That this is a just and true estimate is apparent to all who look a little beneath the surface of things--to all who realise that it is one thing to _seem_ and another thing _to be._ The mansion upon the sand-bank _appears_ to be a more desirable dwelling place than the cottage upon the rock, but time will prove which is the safer of the two. But permanence or safety are not the only recommendations to the home of wisdom. There is a satisfaction and a positive joy to be found in doing the right to which the evil-doer is a stranger. To be on the right side of the good is to be on the side of God and of conscience, to know from experience that all the moral powers of the soul grow stronger with use, and such experimental knowledge fills the chambers of the soul "with all precious and pleasant riches" (verse 4). These considerations ought to make it easy to obey Solomon's precept: "Be not envious against evil men, neither desire to be with them." The mariner on even a stormy sea would not envy the dweller in the lighthouse if he knew that the waves were rapidly undermining its foundation and rendering its speedy fall certain, and to envy a man a short-lived prosperity which must have a sad end is as contrary to the dictates of reason and self-love. A consideration of their "end" (Psalm lxxiii. 17) is a good preservative against such an envy, and has been tried by many men since the days of Asaph with the same success. But without bringing the future into the present, envy of the wicked may be effectually prevented if we can realise their present loss. The inhabitant of the dwelling filled with materials to satisfy his bodily and mental appetites and wants does not envy him whose house is destitute of such comforts. Yet that would be more reasonable than for him who has the opportunity of rearing for himself a well-furnished house of wisdom--of building a character which shall be in itself a source of satisfaction and joy to his better nature--to desire the empty and unsatisfying portion of evil doers.
For Homiletics on verse 6 considered by itself see on chap. xi. 14, page 214, and on chap. xx. 18, page 590.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 1. Sin is like sound, and it finds the moral nature of fallen man, like the atmosphere, a good conducting medium. The word or deed of evil does not terminate where it is produced. It radiates all round; and beside the direct propagation from a centre by diverging lines, it further reduplicates itself by rebounding like an echo from every object upon which it falls. Human beings may well stand in awe when they consider the self-propagating power of sin, and the facilities which their own corruption affords it. Different persons are affected in different ways. One is shaken by the example of wickedness in its first out-go, another by its rebounding blow. One is carried away in the stream, another hurts himself by his violent efforts to resist it. Some imitate the sin. Others fret against the sinner. Both classes do evil and suffer injury. Whether you be impatiently "envious against evil men," or weakly "desirous to be with them," you have sustained damage by the contact.--_Arnot._
To be envious against evil men is plainly to confess ourselves to be worse than they are. For, as St. Gregory speaketh, we cannot envy except it be those who we think to be better than ourselves. Indeed, to envy against evil men is to make wickedness to be goodness, and to show no goodness to be in his heart that is so envious. . . . Whosoever thou be that envieth evil men, I cannot tell who should envy thee, except the devil, because thou strivest to be more wicked than he is. For they are only the godly that he is envious against.--_Jermin._
Verse 4. The last virtue here spoken of is knowledge, whereby the inward rooms of the house are filled with all precious substance; unto the providing and treasuring up of food, of money, and all things necessary and comfortable, the knowledge of times, the prices of things, and of the means whereby commodities may be obtained, is requisite. . . . It is not to be marvelled at that many young married folk and householders in these days have nothing in their families but want of necessaries and bare walls, seeing they want both wisdom and understanding, and knowledge.--_Muffett._
Riches imply (1) plenty of that which is precious and pleasant. (2) Propriety. They must be that which is their own; and hereunto economical prudence much conducteth. God bestoweth abundance on the wicked _ex largitate,_ only out of a general providence; but upon his people that are good husbands _ex promisso,_ by virtue of this and the like promises.--_Trapp._
Verse 5. _A strong man._ (See Miller's rendering in the Critical Notes.) A _common_ man, a _better sort_ of man, are the four words for man in the Bible. This is a _strong man._ It means _strong_ in a worldly sense. That man, _if wise, is a power indeed._ . . . The meaning is that a _"strong"_ man, if not _"wise,"_ is not _"strong"_ at all; that piety is itself strength; that the stronger a man without it, the weaker he is; that a strong man who is pious, not only becomes strong in that, but strong really by his worldly strength; because piety gives realness to every gift.--_Miller._
I. Intelligence _apart from_ piety is power. A man who has great intelligence, and knows how to use it, possesses a power superior to any physical force. . . . II. Piety _apart from_ intelligence is a _higher kind_ of power. It is the patience of love, endurance, patience, compassion; it is a power which will touch men's hearts, move the very arm of Omnipotence, "take hold upon the strength of God." III. Piety _associated with_ intelligence is the _highest creature_ power. What power on earth is equal to that possessed by the man of vast intelligence and consecrated affections, the man of sunny intellect and Heaven-inspired sympathies and aims?--_Dr. David Thomas._
A wise man is not only strong in having wisdom, but in getting strength also. . . . For by wisdom knowing well the want and need of strength, he is careful and diligent to procure it; whereas many times strength, being presumptuous upon its own might, seeks not for wisdom to support it, and falls for want of having it.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 7.
A FALSE ESTIMATE AND A TRUE ONE.
+I. The fool's estimate of wisdom.+ Solomon here gives the fool's own reason for remaining in his folly, viz., that wisdom is difficult to acquire--that neither intellectual or spiritual knowledge can be gained without pains and self-denial. This is of course saying in effect that they are worthless, and this false estimate lies at the root of all ignorance, whether it be mental or moral. For if we can make a man feel that a thing is good and will bring him good, he will not be unwilling to seek to possess it, and his search and his pursuit will be diligent, and eager, and continuous, in proportion to the good which he believes the possession will bring him. The idle schoolboy complains of the difficulty of his tasks, and of the severity of his teacher, because he does not rightly estimate the value of knowledge, and the moral fool finds fault with the methods of becoming spiritually wise, because he has no sense of the worth of such wisdom. But it must not be forgotten that the longer the fool makes the excuse of the text, the more true it becomes. The powers of the intellect, like those of the body, are less capable of use the longer they remain idle. If a healthy man is so indolent as to refuse to walk, his legs by long disuse may become unable to perform their office, and if the mental powers are left unexercised in youth, it is more difficult to use them to purpose in middle life. And it is so, too, with the spiritual perceptions and capabilities. Although it is never too late to acquire the highest wisdom, it certainly seems more out of the reach of the man who has neglected to seek it throughout a long life, than of him who gives to its pursuit the vigour and freshness of his youth.
+II. The consequent estimate which wise men form of the fool.+ If men undervalue wisdom, they themselves are little valued, and their words and opinions have no weight with wise men. As it is a mark of folly generally to "open the mouth," although nothing comes therefrom that is worth anything, the declaration that a fool "openeth not his mouth in the gate" must point, not to his own modesty or conscious inability to speak wisely, but to the estimation in which he is held by others.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
In bodily things, the more weighty they are, the lower they fall; the lighter they are, the higher they go. Contrariwise is it in the things of the soul, and the more weighty they are, the higher they are; the lighter they are, the lower they lie. It is therefore the lightness of a fool's brain that makes wisdom too high for him: the giddiness of his head is not able to look up unto the height of it. . . . Therefore St. Gregory saith, If thou wilt find wisdom, tread upon the waves of this world, and walk upon the waters of this life, as St. Peter did, and she will reach forth her right hand to thee, as she did to Peter.--_Jermin._
Verses 8 and 9 treat of subjects which have occurred more than once before. See on chap. vi. 12-19, page 81.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 10.
THE DAY OF ADVERSITY.
+I. The inevitable in human experience.+ The day of adversity is an ordination of God, as a necessary element in man's moral training. The human rulers of a well-ordered State make certain provisions for the education of the young, and these provisions necessarily include many things that are distasteful, and even painful, to the pupils. But if they were left to map out their own course, and to arrange for themselves the plan of their education, we well know that the result in the end would be unsatisfactory to everybody, and most of all to themselves when they were old enough to judge. Even so it is with mankind and the Ruler of the world. God has purposed that men shall be subject to such a course of instruction and discipline as shall at least give them an opportunity of becoming wiser and better, and the day of adversity is an indispensable element in such a training. It therefore does not come to us by chance, nor is it always to be regarded in the light of a penalty for special sin, but is a token of Divine interest in our real welfare--an expression of Divine desire for our moral growth. It is wise, then, for all to recognise the fact that adversity in some form or other, at some period or other, is an inevitable event in their human life.
+II. The test of human character.+ No man knows his moral strength until he comes face to face with trial. The chain that holds the vessel to the quay is only as strong as the weakest link, and if that one gives way the vessel is loosed from her moorings as surely as if every link was broken. So human character is only as strong as its weakest point, and if a severe strain is brought to bear upon a man, he will break down there. In the day of adversity every virtue and excellence that we possess will be subjected to a severe test, and if only one of them is found unequal to the trial, the whole character suffers, and we are in danger of losing our hold upon God, and so drifting from the right course. A man may have a high opinion of his own physical strength, and fancy that he is well able to grapple with any foe who might attack him. But it is not till he is in the grip of his antagonist that he knows how much or how little he is able to do and to bear. If he finds himself on the ground, stunned and bleeding, he rises from the struggle with a lower estimate of his own muscular strength than he had before. And so it is with the inner man when the day of adversity over takes it--we think that our faith and moral courage are equal to any emergency, but we are sometimes stricken down to the dust and "faint" from the weight of a blow which we thought beforehand we could withstand, and for the rest of our lives have less confidence in our spiritual strength.
+III. A strengthener of human character.+ Although men often "faint" in the day of adversity, or find their resources insufficient to meet their needs in the hour of trial, it is not necessarily the case, nor is it always so. Indeed, the intention of trial is not to take away our strength, but to _increase_ it. If the day of adversity proves too much for our strength, the encounter may leave us morally weaker than we were before; but if we bear it courageously, and do not allow it to drive us to despair, or even to doubt, we come out of the ordeal stronger than when we entered into it. If a tree has too firm a hold upon the soil to be uprooted by the tempest, the shaking will but make it firmer still, and if our confidence and hope in God are not lessened by the blasts of adversity, they are rendered stronger and brighter, and more fitted to encounter the next storm. But fainting at the first blow of adversity leaves very little strength to meet the next trial, and this thought seems also to be in the proverb as it stands in the Hebrew.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
If you were to hear some men's experience you would think they grew as the white pine grows, with straight grain and easily split, for I notice that all that grow easy split easy. But there are some that grow as the mahogany grows, with veneering knots, with all the quirls and contortions of grain; that is the best timber of the forest which has the most knots. . . . There are many who are content to grow straight, like weeds on a dunghill; but there are many others who want to be stalwart and strong like the monarchs of the forest, and yet when God sends the winds of adversity to sing a lullaby in their branches, they do not like to grow in that way. They dread the culture that is really giving toughness to their soul and strength to its fibre.--_Beecher._
The times of man's distress, though it be a night of sorrow and trouble, which it bringeth to the soul, yet is it a day also, because it showeth truly to the soul what a man is.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 11 _and_ 12.
POSITIVE PUNISHMENT FOR A NEGATIVE CRIME.
+I. The negative crime.+ The question "Am I my brother's keeper?" is here answered with an emphatic affirmative, for whatever may be the special reference of the words it is plain that they condemn as criminal the non-interposition of the strong on behalf of the weak and distressed. This crime may be committed from various causes. Those who are guilty of it may be entirely indifferent to the sufferings of others. There are many men and women who, if they are at ease themselves, never concern themselves about the sufferings of others--it matters not to them who is hungry so as they are well fed, and what privations others may be enduring while their needs are supplied. But the crime is oftener chargeable to moral cowardice and unwillingness to practice self-denial. A man may be sufficiently concerned for the danger of a drowning brother to throw him a rope, but he may shrink from throwing himself into the water and risking a watery grave on his behalf. So he may pity the ignorant and the erring and feel sad when he thinks of their sorrows and their sins, and yet be unwilling to sacrifice his money or his leisure or his social position in endeavours to save them. But the proverb seems to deal especially with what seems at first sight to be a less blameworthy class of persons than either of these--with those who have never considered the claims which others have upon them--who are really ignorant how many hearts are breaking around them and how many are perishing for the want of a helping hand. But this ignorance is here regarded as criminal. "Evil is wrought for want of thought, as well as want of heart," but it is as much evil in the one case as in the other, and the want of thought is a sin in itself. And so is the want of knowledge here. God will not admit the plea "I knew it not," but holds him who utters it guilty for his ignorance as well as for his neglect.
+II. The positive punishment.+ No truth is taught more plainly in the Bible, than that men will not escape retribution of some kind because they have simply abstained from doing ill. The possessor of the one talent did not put it to a bad use, or throw it away. He kept it carefully wrapped in a napkin. But the sentence passed upon him was not merely that he should be deprived of his privilege, or that reward should be withheld, but:--_"Cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness"_ (Matt. xxv. 30). "The tree that was only barren was burned," says an old writer. The justice of this will be seen the more we consider how much actual _wrong-doing_ on the part of some is chargeable to the _not-doing_ of others. How much sin might be prevented if those who have it in their power sought to deliver others from bodily, or social, or moral death.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
_"He that keepeth thy soul, doth not He know it."_ This favour of God may be here mentioned partly as a strong obligation upon Him to preserve him who was made after God's image, and whom God hath commanded him to love and preserve; partly to an encouragement to the performance of his duty herein from the consideration of God's special care and watchfulness over those who do their duty; and partly to intimate to them the danger of neglect of this duty whereby they will forfeit God's protection over themselves.--_Poole._
The condition of _sinners_ may be regarded as here very aptly set forth. They are "drawn unto death"--_seized,_ or _apprehended_ for death, and "ready to be slain:"--and the death to which they are doomed,--O how unutterably fearful! But you may naturally meet me with an objection here. In _their_ condition there is _no_ injustice; _no_ unrighteous and cruel oppression. The sentence of death under which they lie is a _divine_ sentence--in perfect accordance with all the principles of equity:--the sword with which they are "ready to be slain" is the sword of Divine justice itself. They deserve to die the death. To attempt to prevent it would be to arrest the hand of God. Ought not divine, and therefore unimpeachable, justice too have its course? The objection--otherwise irresistible--God has Himself removed. Justice, infinite justice, had all its claims acknowledged and fulfilled on Calvary. On the ground of the sacrifice there offered, the atonement there made, the God of justice and mercy has called on sinners to accept pardon, in the name and for the sake of His Son. His call comes with authority. It is a command. It is in virtue of the satisfaction of justice in the atonement of Christ, that _we ourselves_ enjoy _our own_ deliverance from the death and destruction to which, in common with all, we were devoted. And the very same authority that commanded us to believe and be saved, enjoins on us to be agents in attempting the rescue of others. O! what should we not be ready to do, to sacrifice, to suffer for such an end!--to effect such a rescue!--_Wardlaw._
While Samuel Romilly's Bill to abolish the punishment of death for a theft amounting to the sum of five shillings passed the English House of Commons, it was thrown out by a majority in the House of Lords. Among those who voted against the Bill were one archbishop and five bishops. Our poet here in the Proverbs is of a different mind. Even the law of Sinai appoints the punishment of death only for man-stealing. . . . In expressions like the above a true Christian spirit rules the spirit which condemns all bloodthirstiness of justice, and calls forth to a crusade, not only against the inquisition, but against all unmerciful and cruel executions.--_Delitzsch._
The Hebrew midwives, and Esther in after ages, thus delivered their own _people drawn unto death._ Reuben _delivered_ Joseph from the pit. Job was the _deliverer_ of the poor in the extremity. Jonathan saved his friend at imminent risk to himself. Obadiah hid the Lord's prophets. Ahikam and Ebed-melech saved Jeremiah. Johanan attempted to _deliver_ the unsuspecting Gedaliah. Daniel preserved the wise men of Babylon. The Samaritan rescued his neighbour from death. Paul's nephew _delivered_ the great Apostle by informing him of the murderous plot. The rule includes all oppression, which has more or less of the character of murder.--_Bridges._
"Who is lord over us?" is the watchword of the life-long battle between an evil conscience and a righteous Judge. Here the commandment is exceeding broad. Like Divine omniscience, it compasses the transgressor before and behind. It checks his advance, and cuts off his retreat. Although a man should actually maintain in relation to every brother the neutrality he professes, it would avail him nothing. . . . What ails our brother, that he needs the compassion of a tender heart and the help of a strong hand? He is "drawn unto death," and "ready to be slain." This is the very crisis which at once needs help and admits it. If the danger were more distant, he might not be sensible of his need; if it were nearer, he might be beyond the hope of recovery. He is so low that help is necessary; yet not so low as would render help vain. He is "drawn unto death," and therefore is an object of pity; but his life is yet in him, and therefore he is a subject of hope.--_Arnot._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 13 _and_ 14.
HONEY AND WISDOM.
+I. An analogy.+ 1. Honey is found by man ready prepared for his use; no human skill is needed to make it fit for food--nothing that man can do can render it more palatable than it is as it flows from the comb. So the revealed wisdom of God as it is found in the Scriptures needs no intervention of man to make it suitable to human needs. 2. As honey is evidently designed by God to furnish a wholesome and pleasant food for the body, so has He designed that the revelation of His mind and will by His inspired messengers shall provide wholesome and congenial food for the soul of man. The great abundance of honey in Palestine led to its forming a more prominent part of daily food than in western countries, and its possessing these two qualities made it very fit for general and constant use, and was a perpetual testimony to the providence of God in relation to the needs and enjoyment of His creatures. So is the provision which God has made for the spiritual wants of the children of men. On this point we must take the testimony of those who have tasted this soul-food. We should not ask a man whether honey was pleasant to the taste if he had never eaten it, and those are not qualified to bear witness concerning the spiritual enjoyment and benefit to be derived from the "wisdom of God" who have not tested it. All those who have done so, whatever their condition in life, in whatever age they have lived, or whatever part of the world they have called their home, have agreed with David's testimony that it is _"more to be desired than gold, yea, than much find gold: sweeter than honey and the honey-comb"_ (Psa. xix. 10).
+II. A contrast.+ 1. Honey may be eaten unto it cloys the appetite and injures the eater, but not so with the Word of God. Those who eat the most of this spiritual food are the most spiritually healthy, and have the keenest appetite for it. 2. Although this God-given bodily food may do much to nourish and sustain a healthy man, it cannot cure a diseased body, or prevent the inroads of sickness and decay. But there is a soul-transforming power in the spiritual food of which it is here an emblem. Those who eat of it are by it healed of spiritual disease, and are continually and unceasingly growing in moral health and vigour. 3. The blessings flowing from eating the spiritual food are only fully realised in the life beyond the present. To this the wise man refers in the last clause. (For Homiletics on this thought, see on chaps. xi. 7, xiv. 32, pages 201 and 391.)
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 13. The wise man's feast which he makes his son is but one dish. And what need of more when that is both good and pleasant? The glutton provideth many dishes, and costly to make them luscious, but they are not _good,_ not good for the health of the body. . . . On the other side, the physician provideth divers meats, and they are _good_--good either for the preservation of heath or for the recovery of it, but they are not pleasant and grateful to the palate. That is the best feeding when those are joined together. . . . Or else if they are not joined together, notice that the wise man putteth good in the first place; as teaching thee rather to take that which is good though not pleasant, than that which is pleasant but not good.--_Jermin._
Verse 14. _When thou hast found it._ That is, when thou hast so found it that thou canst feed upon it and convert it into nourishment, then thy pains of seeking shall be rewarded. And though it be a late reward, for wisdom is not quickly found, yet there shall be a reward, and that so full, that in nothing thine expectation shall be cut off. For though hardly yet it is well-gotten; and with pleasure will sweeten the pains, with good will satisfy the tarrying and recompense the delay. The Chaldee rendereth the middle part of the verse, _"If thou hast found, the last will come better than the first."_ As if this were a mark whereby to know whether we have found wisdom or not, because then the further we go on the more sweetness we shall find.--_Jermin._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 15 _and_ 16.
A SOCIAL AMBUSH.
+I. A common practice of the wicked man in relation to the good.+ When we think of an ambush of men lying in wait to spring upon their foes at a fitting opportunity, two hostile parties are at once brought before us, we feel that there must be deep enmity on one side at least, or men would not be at such pains to overthrow their fellow-men. And this is indeed the case in society as a whole. Men are divided into two great parties. On one side stand the lovers of righteousness, and on the other the lovers of sin; and the latter must ever be more or less actively opposed to the former. But their favourite and most common method of attack is that indicated in the text. Wrong-doers are naturally cowards, and in their endeavours to injure better men than themselves they shrink from open attack. They are fully conscious that they could not stand their ground in a fair fight in the open field, and so they try to fall upon their foe in a moment when he is off his guard and in a place where he least expects to meet them. In other words, evil men do not openly assail either the character or the position of a good man, but by lying words spoken in his absence they try to blacken the first, and by secret schemes to overthrow the second.
+II. An utterly useless attempt of the wicked man in relation to the good.+ It is useless to try to kill a tree by lopping off the branches. Such a process may for a time deprive it of its beauty and stop its growth, but while the root has its hold upon the soil and can draw nourishment to itself from unseen sources beneath the surface it will live, and as soon as the axe has ceased to strike it will begin again to clothe itself in greenness and beauty. So it is with a righteous man. His enemies may succeed in bringing about his temporary overthrow and in depriving his outward life of much comfort, but the springs of his existence are fed from an invisible and unfailing source, and his well-being is not dependent upon external circumstances. And so even if the malice of the wicked is permitted to strip him of some things which made his life more apparently prosperous and secure, there is an inner life which they cannot touch, and which enables him in due time to recover from the wounds which they inflict either upon his character or his circumstances. For _"This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn"_ (Isa. liv. 17).
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
Verse 15. Because it spites the wicked, that the godly dwell in safety, therefore they lay wait against their dwelling, by affliction and miseries seeking to throw it down, and . . . because the virtues of the godly condemn the vices of the wicked, therefore they lay wait and search into their _dwelling houses_ to espy out their faults, because the goodness of the righteous shameth the naughtiness of the wicked, therefore they seek to break in even into their bedchambers and _places of rest,_ and there to discover their errors and infirmities. Solomon forbidding them to do it, showeth it to be their manner to do it.--_Jermin._
Verse 16. Perhaps you will say, had I fallen only once, I would not be much afraid; but I have often fallen before the enemy, and one day I must perish. But hear what God says:--The righteous man falls not once or twice, but many times, and still he rises. Your experience of former deliverances should encourage your hopes of new deliverances, for the salvations of the Lord are never exhausted. In six troubles He will deliver, and in seven there shall no evil touch you.--_Lawson._
God's saints are bound to "rejoice when they fall into divers temptations." What though they _fall_ into them? not go in step by step, but be precipitated, plunged over head and ears. Say they fall not into one, but into many crosses--as they seldom come single--yet "be exceeding glad" says the apostle, as the merchant is to see his ships come laden in.--_Trapp._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 17 _and_ 18.
THE FALL OF AN ENEMY.
Joy at the overthrow of an enemy is a feeling which is natural to an unspiritual man, but it is one which is here declared to be displeasing to God. Three reasons suggest themselves why this should be so.
+I. Such an emotion is inconsistent with a man's own well-being and happiness.+ The nature that can be indifferent to the calamities of another, even although that other has been an enemy in the past, is a nature destitute of all generosity and nobility. But the heart that can be _glad_ at such an event is altogether possessed with the spirit of the devil--the flames of exultation that burn upon such an altar have been set on fire of hell. And as God loves the creature whom He at first created in His own image, it displeases Him to see him give place to a feeling so unworthy of his origin, and at the same time so productive of misery to himself. For the so-called joy that arises from such a cause is not only very short-lived, but is like a fire that blazes and burns brightly for a time, and then leaves nothing but a heap of ashes behind. The exultation over the fall of an enemy soon dies out, and leaves the heart scorched and dried by the heat of the unworthy passion.
+II. It is inconsistent with the spirit of brotherhood that God desires to exist among men.+ If there has been a break in the harmony of a family, and one member has been at enmity with another, the oneness of the parentage ought to be sufficient to erase all memory of past wrongs when the offender is overtaken by misfortune. Such would be the case where there was any real family affection. God desires all His creatures to recognise a universal brotherhood in virtue of their relation to Him, their common Father. He desires men to be ever ready to seek occasions to draw together in unity, and to avoid all that deepens an opposite feeling. If a man retains his enmity against his offending brother when that brother by reason of misfortune might be reconciled to him, he ignores entirely the law of brotherly love which God desires to rule in His human family.
+III. It is inconsistent with a right recognition of our need of Divine mercy.+ However much our offending brother may have wronged us, the amount of the debt of his trespass against us will bear no comparison to the amount of our indebtedness to God. In sinning against us he has but wronged an erring human creature like himself, and one who has very possibly failed in his duty towards him. But when we sin against God, we sin against One whose character is altogether fitted to win us to obedience, and whose every action in relation to us has been dictated by perfect love. It is only when we fail to recognise this truth that an unforgiving spirit can possess our hearts, and it is only when such a spirit has full sway that any man can exult in the downfall of his enemy.
_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._
For prevention hereof think thus with thyself: Either I am like mine enemy, or else I am better or worse than he. If like him, why may I not look for the like misery? If better, who made me to differ? If worse, what reason have I to insult? (See Obadiah 12.)--_Trapp._
St. Gregory saith it is only the keeping of charity that doth prove us to be the disciples of God, and that we have charity is shewn in two ways, namely, if we love our friends in God, and if we love our enemies for God. . . . Because another is an enemy to thee, be not thou an enemy to goodness, an enemy to thyself. For he that rejoiceth when his enemy falleth, doth himself fall much worse, and hath more cause to be grieved for his own wretchedness; he that is glad in his heart when his enemy stumbleth, stumbleth more dangerously in his own heart.--_Jermin._
For Homiletics on the subjects of verses 19 and 20 see verse 1 of this chapter, page 676, and chap. xiii. 9, page 303.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSES_ 21 _and_ 22.
RULE AND REVERENCE.
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: Be very careful with the word "niggardly" because it can sound like a racial slur, especially to those who do not know the word or who are not paying attention. Consider substituting "miserly," "sparing," or "parsimonious."
+I. The rule of some men and the subjection of others is a Divine ordination.+ God, by creating men with such different gifts and with powers of mind and body so unequal, evidently intends that society should not be on a dead level, but that in all communities there should be some recognised head. And the tendency of men in all ages to unite under some leader whom they deem worthy to be their head points to an instinct in human nature which we must refer to a Divine origin. The law of subjection and dominion has its place in the natural world. The entire solar system is held together by the subjection of the lesser bodies to one which is greater than all, and as the planets move in their orbits around the sun they seem like so many obedient subjects doing homage to their monarch, while their attendant satellites are in their turn subject to them. And the constant operation of this material law is productive of the most beneficial results. In like manner the observation of some such law among free and intelligent creatures is necessary to the order and consequent peace of society.
+II. But the deference of the subject to his earthly ruler must be always subordinate to the will of the Divine ruler of both.+ There are cases in which to _"fear the king,"_ in the sense of obeying him, would be to dishonour God, and times when he who demands obedience refuses to comply with the Divine demands upon himself. It is obvious therefore that the fear of the earthly king can only be carried so far as is consistent with loyal obedience to the "King of all the kings on the earth." The first precept of the wise man in this verse admits of no limitation, but the second must be limited by the first. But those who have been the most faithful servants of God have ever been most ready to render _"honour to whom honour is due"_ (Rom.