ii. 7); and hence, of course, not to lay our plans so that we

ourselves know they must ultimately fail. He walks surely or _securely, i.e.,_ must certainly succeed.--_Miller._

The dissembler walks in crooked paths. Like Judas, who put on a cloak of charity to hide his covetousness (John xii. 6), he conceals the selfish principles which regulate his behaviour under the appearances of purity, prudence, and other good qualities. But he cannot hold the mantle so tight about him as to conceal from the wise observer his inward baseness. It will occasionally be shuffled aside, it will at length drop off, and he shall be known for what he is, abhorred by all men, and punished with other hypocrites.--_Lawson._

TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: While Dr. Wardlaw may think Proverbs an exception, II Tim. iii. 16 tells us that "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness."

_Walking uprightly_ stands opposed to all duplicity, all tortuous policy, all the crooked arts of _manœuvering,_ for the purpose of promoting reputation, interest, comfort, or any other end whatsoever. He who walketh thus, _walketh surely._ He walks with a comfortable _feeling of security,_ a calm, unagitated serenity of mind. This springs from the confidence in that God whose will he makes his only rule. In the path of implicit obedience he feels that he can _trust._ And further, the way in which he walks is the _surest_ for the attainment of his ends. Proverbs are generally founded in observation and experience, and express their ascertained results. Hence, even though not inspired, they have generally truth in them. It has become proverbial that "honesty is the best policy." The meaning is, that acts of deceit very frequently frustrate the object of him by whom they are employed, and land him in evils greater than the one he meant, by the use of them, to shun.--_Wardlaw._

_First_--the heart of the upright man hath God's own eye to behold it, and His Spirit to testify the faithfulness of it, and so receiveth comfort from Him, as Job did, when in the confidence of his cause and conscience he saith, "O that some would hear me, behold my desire is that the Almighty would answer me" (Job xxxi. 35). _Secondly,_ the course of their actions is such as will endure light, and the more they are examined the better they will prove, and therefore they need not fear any might or malice, or cunning adversaries that shall seek their disgrace. And upon the assurance of this the prophet professeth his undaunted courage and magnanimity, with challenge also to his calumniant enemy, whosoever he were, "I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. He is near that justifieth me," etc. (Isa. l. 7, 8). _Thirdly,_ their bodies and state are in God's custody, and He hath undertaken the defence and preservation of them, whereas the wicked are out of God's protection and perpetually go into peril. _Fourthly,_ their souls are prepared for death and for judgment, and therefore more desire to be dissolved than are afraid to hear of the nearness of their dissolution.--_Dod._

I. An upright walker is sure of easily finding his way: it requires no laborious dealing to find out what is _just_. II. He treads upon firm ground; upon solid, safe, and well-tried principles. . . . The practice built on such foundations must be very secure. III. He walks steadily. A good conscience steers by fixed stars, and aims at fixed marks. An upright man is always the same man, and goes the same way; the external state of things does not alter the moral reason of things with him, or change the law of God.--_Sydney Smith._

I. The way of uprightness is the _surest for despatch_, and the shortest cut towards the execution or attainment of any good purpose, securing a man from irksome expectations and tedious delays. II. It is _fair and pleasant_. He that walketh in it hath good weather and a clear sky about him; a hopeful confidence and a cheerful satisfaction do ever wait upon him. Being conscious to himself of an honest meaning, and a due course in prosecuting it, he feeleth no check or struggling of mind: no regret or sting of heart. III. He is secure of his _honour and credit_. He hath no fear of being detected, or care to smother his intents. IV. _He hath perfect security as to the final result of his affairs_, that he shall not be quite baffled in his expectations and desires. He shall prosper in the true notion of prosperity, explained by that Divine saying, "Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace."--_Barrow._

Verse 10. The connection of the clauses is--to speak feignedly and to speak rashly are both alike dangerous: to do the former hurts others, to do the latter hurts oneself. When we avoid _cunning_ and _feigned speaking,_ we are not to run into the opposite extremes of _prating folly._--_Fausset._

The one shuts his eye to conceal his subtlety, the other opens his mouth to declare his folly. The one winketh, but sayeth nothing; the other says too much, but thinketh not what he says. The one giveth sorrow to the deceived in his malicious bounty; the other taketh a fall from the superfluous bounty of his own words.--_Jermin._

_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 12.

LOVE AND HATRED.

The lawfulness or unlawfulness of hatred and strife depends upon the subject or occasion of such feeling. God hates sin, and we know that this hatred is the fruit of one of His highest attributes. The Divine and Incarnate Son of God foretold that He had not "come to send peace on earth, but a sword" (Matt. x. 34), and therefore even He was an occasion of strife because He was a hater of sin. There is then a holy as well as a wicked hatred, a lawful as well as an unlawful strife. But the hatred of the text being placed in contrast with love is evidently the malicious hatred of a wicked man.

+I. The hatred of the wicked is+--1. _Insatiable._ It has been said that those who hate have first injured. This is doubtless true, but there must have been some amount of hatred to prompt the injury. But after the injury has been inflicted, the hatred is not diminished, but is generally increased. Herodias prevailed upon Herod to put John the Baptist into prison, but this did not lessen her malice. It was such a devouring flame as could be quenched by nothing but his blood. The pain which conscience inflicts upon him who has injured another is put to the account of the injured person, and goes to increase the bitterness of the anger against him. 2. _It is generally impartial._ Wicked men generally begin by hating good men, but they come in time to a habit of hating bad men too. The blind man will be as likely to strike his friend as his foe. Hatred is blind, and those who begin by hating those whom they consider their enemies, generally end by hating their so-called friends.

+II. The effect of hatred.+ It stirs up strife. This implies that the materials for strife are already in existence. There are no signs of mud upon the surface of a peaceful lake, but it only requires some disturbing element to be thrown in to show that it is lying at the bottom. The spirit of the most sanctified man has some evil tendencies within it, which may be stirred up by undeserved hatred. Only One who ever wore our human nature had with Him no germ of strife which might be stirred up by hatred. Only One could say that temptation found "nothing" in him (John xiv. 13). The elements which may be stirred up by strife have a lodging place in the most sanctified human spirit, and when strife is thus stirred up by hatred the whole soul or the whole society is influenced for evil. When the lake is stirred up from the bottom all the waters are more or less troubled, and when the elements of contention are at work even in a good man or in a Christian community the whole man or the entire community is ruffled and disturbed. In contrast with this hatred, which is not only sin in itself but, by stirring up strife, is an occasion of sin in others, is placed the love which "covereth" or does away with sin.

+I. Love covers sin by forgiving it.+ Malicious hatred, even when it is directed against sin, will but incite to more sin. But forgiveness of the sin may lead to its being forsaken, and the mere fact of being forgiven may give the sinner an impulse after a better life in the future, and thus enable him to efface the remembrance of the past. If a man is deeply in debt to another, and that other gives him a discharge of his debt, the very fact of his being legally free may give him such new energy to work as may enable to pay that which he owed. And a sense of being forgiven a moral debt will sometimes have this effect upon the soul. God's covering up of sin by forgiveness is the beginning of a new life to those who are willing to accept His pardon (Psa. xxxii. 1, 1 John i. 7).

+II. Love covers sin by forgetting it.+ It is in the nature of love not only to forgive an injury, but to forget that the injury has ever been done. And a consciousness that our sin is covered by being forgotten is very healing to the spirit. For a soul that has lived a sinful life is like a man that has passed through a campaign and received many wounds. He requires skilful treatment and gentle nursing; and when the wounds have been bound up, and have perhaps, begun to heal, care must be taken that no rough hand re-opens them, and causes them to bleed afresh. A work spoken which shows that the sinful past is still remembered by those who have professed to forgive, may re-open the wounds with a fatal effect. Love covers sin as God declares that He covers it. His promise is not only "I will forgive their iniquity," but, "I will _remember their sins no more_" (Jer. xxxi. 34).

+III. Love covers sin by making active efforts to recover the sinner.+ Love will not be content with forgiving when forgiveness is sought, but it will go out of its way to recover the erring. The godly man will walk in the footsteps of Him who came to _seek_ that which was lost. God did not wait until man returned to Him before He held out hope of forgiveness. As soon as Satan's hatred had led man into sin, He held out hope of return to holiness by the promise of Him who "should bruise the serpent's head" (Gen. iii. 15). And in the fulness of time, by the gift of His Son, He showed the depth of His love and His desire to cover the "sin of the world." And as in many human homes there are those who owe their present moral standing, the recovery of all that makes existence worth having, to the love that followed and sought them when they were outcasts, so those who people the heavenly home--that multitude which God alone can number--are the fruit of that Divine love which not only covered a multitude of sins by forgiving and forgetting the sin, but sought out the sinner in order to forgive him.

_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._

"Love covereth all sins," saith Solomon, covers them partly from the eyes of God, in praying for the offenders; partly from the eyes of the world, in throwing a cloak over our brother's nakedness; especially from its own eyes, by winking at many wrongs offered it.--_T. Adams._

Hatred disturbs the existing quiet by railings; stirs up dormant quarrels on mere suspicions and trifles, and by unfavourable constructions put upon everything, even upon acts of kindness. As hatred by quarrels exposes the faults of others, so "love covers" them, except in so far as brotherly correction requires their exposure. Love condones, yea, takes no notice of a friend's errors. The disagreements which hatred stirs up, love allays; and the offences which are usually the causes of quarrel, it sees as though it saw them not, and excuses them (1 Cor. xiii. 4-7). It gives to men the forgiveness which it daily craves from God.--_Fausset._

To abuse the precept in 1 Peter iv. 8 (where this text is quoted) into a warrant for silencing all faithful reproofs of sin in others, would be to ascribe to charity the office of a procuress.--_Cartwright._

_First,_ it makes us to cover and pardon the wrongs that others do us. _Secondly,_ a loving carriage maketh others pardon the wrongs that we do them. _Thirdly,_ it maketh God to pardon the offences which we commit against Him.--_Jermin._

_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 13, 14.

LAYING UP TO GIVE OUT.

+I. The practice of the morally wise man.+ He "lays up knowledge" (verse 14). The present position of a man in social life is often the result of a "laying up" in the past. The man who has made it the business of his past life to lay up money is now a rich man. His present wealth arises from his past storing. An artificer or professional man who laid up knowledge in his youthful days is able to command a good position in his mature life. But there are differences between those who lay up riches, or mere intellectual wisdom, and him who stores moral wisdom--the only real and lasting wealth. _The man spoken of in the text lays up that which is truly his own now, and will be throughout eternity._ The riches of godly wisdom are not transferable either before or at the time of death. Material wealth may go at any time in our life, and must be left behind when we leave the world. And while we call it ours it is but lent us by God. He takes a wider range, and lays up for a life beyond time, and what he lays up now will make him what he will be in the ages beyond death. He is determined to be crowned rich towards God in the day when he shall be summoned to appear and give an account of his stewardship. Most men are layers up of riches and knowledge in a greater or less degree. The truly wise man banks for moral character, and intends to be considered rich in the city of God.

+II. It is because spiritual knowledge is laid up that "wisdom is found in the lips"+ (verse 13). The possession of wealth or of intellectual knowledge is no guarantee that wisdom will be found with it. A rich man may not know how to use his riches to the best advantage. He might know how to gather it, but may not know how to spend it for his own good. A man may gather much intellectual knowledge without being able to make it profitable, or a source of enjoyment either to himself or others. A man may be able to gather timber and stones together and yet not know how to build a house out of them after he has gathered them. A housewife may collect a store of wool and stuffs, but not be skilful enough to fashion the materials into garments for herself and her household. So knowledge, in its general sense, is not necessarily accompanied by wisdom; but _spiritual_ knowledge and _spiritual_ wisdom are never separated. The one is always joined to the other. When there is a laying up of the knowledge of God, there wisdom will be found. No man can truly know God and not have wisdom enough to reduce his knowledge to practice in the building up of a godly character. Where knowledge is in the heart there will be wisdom in the lips and life.

+III. This knowledge and wisdom will be used for the benefit of others.+ It will be found in the lips. The man who is "instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old" (Matt. xiii. 52). He has a store from which he draws according to the need of those whom his words can benefit. His instructions are like the viands of the thrifty housewife, stored up in abundance against the time of need, and suited, both as to quantity and quality, to the wants of the needy soul (verse 21).

+IV. The influence and the fate of him who refuses to lay up knowledge.+ His mouth is a near destruction (see rendering in Critical Notes). The man who refuses to lay up the knowledge of some calling or profession is both a fool and a knave, because by such neglect he makes himself dependent when he might be independent, and because he eats the bread earned by industrious men. How much more foolish is he who will not lay up that by which he may acquire a character which would make him an equal with the angels of God. But his neglect injures others beside himself. He wrongs his fellow-men by withholding his influence from the side of that which is righteous, and consequently defrauds the world of that which it is the duty of every man to give it. But he does not stop here. (1) He adds the positive evil influence of sinful words. The Bible speaks often of the evil influence of sinful speech. It likens it to the poison of venomous reptiles (see Psalm lviii. 4; cxl. 3; Jas. iii. 8). But these creatures can only destroy the body, whereas the fool's mouth is often a destruction to both body and soul. (On this subject see homiletical remarks on chapter i. 10-19). (2) But he is a curse to his own existence as well as to that of others. That which is a destruction to them makes a rod for his own back (verse 13). Such a man's mouth utters falsehood and slander by which he creates enemies _without._ That which he speaks brings guilt upon his conscience, which becomes an instrument of chastisement _within._ And a guilty conscience creates imaginary enemies as well as keeps us in remembrance of real ones. An old writer says, "The guilty conscience conceives every thistle to be a tree, every tree a man, every man, a devil,--afraid of every man that it sees, nay, many times of those that it sees not. Not much unlike to one that was very deep in debt and had many creditors, who, as he walked London streets in the evening, a tenter-hook caught his cloak. 'At whose suit?' said he, conceiving some sergeant had arrested him. Thus the ill-conscienced man counts every creature he meets with a bailiff sent from God to punish him." Such a conscience is indeed a "rod for the fool's back" (chap. xxvi. 3).

_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._

Verse 13. Through the lips of the Christian other men get wisdom. If we will think of it, men get it in no other way. "Faith cometh by hearing" (Rom. x. 17). The Church hands itself down, by the blessing of heaven, from lip to lip. But then from the same lips comes a _rod._ The good man, not listened to, becomes a scourge. Christ Himself becomes an instrument of death.--_Miller._

Solomon and his son admirably illustrate this contrast. Such wisdom was found in his lips, but fruit of an understanding heart, that "all the world came to hear of it" (1 Kings iv. 31). Rehoboam was as _void,_ as his father was _full,_ of understanding. His folly prepared a rod for his back (1 Kings xii. 13-24). Learn then to seek for wisdom at the lips of the wise. The want of this wisdom, or rather the want of a heart to seek it, will surely bring us under _the rod._ In many a chastisement we shall feel its smart; for the loose education of our children (chap. xxix. 15); for carnal indulgence (2 Sam. xii. 9-11). And how different is this _rod_ from our Father's loving adoption (chap. iii. 11, 12); this, the mark of disgrace. Will not the children of God cry, "Turn away the reproach that I fear, for Thy judgments are good" (Psa. cxix. 39).--_Bridges._

The wise man carries the ornament of his wisdom in his _lips;_ the fool shall bear the disgrace of his folly on his back.--_Fausset._

He who trembleth not in hearing shall be broken to pieces in feeling.--_Bradford._

The dwelling of wisdom is in the heart, but there it is _hid;_ in the lips it is _found._ There it sitteth, like an ancient Israelite, at the gates of the city, marking what goes out, and weighs it before it passeth, that nothing issue forth which may disparage the honour or wrong the estate of the city. There shall _folly find it,_ as smart and heavy in the reproof of it as a rod is to the back, and which is fit for him whose tongue is void of understanding. For it is reason that his back should bear, whose tongue will not forbear.--_Jermin._

Verse 14. To "lay up" knowledge very obviously implies that value is set upon it. Men never think of seeking and accumulating what they regard as worthless; and in proportion as an object is prized will be the degree of eagerness with which it is pursued, and of jealous vigilance, with which it is "laid up" and guarded. Thus the _miser._ With what an eye of restlessness and eager covetousness does he look after the acquisition of his heart's desires! with what delight does he hug himself upon his success!--with what avidity does he add the increase to his treasures, carefully secreting them from all access but his own! With a care incomparably more dignified and useful how does the man of science mark and record every fact and observation, whether of his own discovery and suggestion or of those of others! How he exults in every new acquisition to _his_ stores! He lays all up in his mind, or, fearful of a treacherous memory, in surer modes of record and preservation. Hints that lead to nothing at the time may lead to much afterwards. Some one in another generation may carry out into practical application, or into the formation of valuable theories, the facts and conjectures that are now, in apparent isolation, "laid up" for such possible future use. The true philosopher, to use a colloquial phrase, "has all his eyes about him." He allows nothing to escape notice, and nothing, if he can help it, to pass into oblivion. But, alas! in this respect, as in others, "the children of this world are, in their generation, wiser than the children of light."--_Wardlaw._

Who would not heedfully foresee where his arrow shall hit, before he shoot it out of his bow; lest it should destroy any person or other creature through negligence? Who would not be very circumspect and wary in discharging a piece, lest he should do mischief by it? And yet, by these, a man may affright, and not hurt; and hurt, and not kill; and kill, and not die himself; but what arrow, what shot, what artillery, what murdering piece is to be compared to the mouth of a man that is not guided by a wise and watchful forethought? Great woe is worketh unto other men, but it surely bringeth death unto himself; every word that breaketh another man's skin doth certainly break the caul of his own heart; and he that doth aim at another to give him a wound, surely cannot miss himself to violate his own life.--_Dod._

The part of wisdom is to treasure up experience, and hold it ready for use in the time and place of need. Everything may be turned to account. In the process of accumulating this species of wealth, the wonders of the philosopher's stone may be more than realised. Even losses can be converted into gains. Every mistake or disappointment is a new lesson. Every fault you commit, and every glow of shame which suffuses your face because of it, may be changed into a most valuable piece of wisdom. Let nothing trickle out, and flow away useless. After one has bought wit at a heavy price, it is a double misfortune to throw it away. As a general rule, the dearer it is the more useful it will be.--_Arnot._

_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 15, 16.

A FALSE AND A TRUE ESTIMATE OF LIFE.

+I. A false estimate of life in its relation to riches.+ It is a mistake to look on wealth as a "strong city" in which we can be secure from the evils of life. A commander, who knows that there is behind him a fortress into which he can retire in case of need, may be brought to ruin by forming an over-estimate of its security. He may underrate the ability of the enemy to follow him thither. Strongholds have been undermined, and those who had trusted in their strength have been destroyed by that very confidence; or pestilence has broken out on account of the number who have taken refuge in the fortress, and so that which they deemed their strength has been their weakness. These events have proved that the estimate taken of their safety was a wrong one--that even the refuge itself might be the cause of destruction. So with a "rich man's wealth." If he looks upon it as a resource under all emergencies--if he thinks it can purchase him immunity from all ills--he is a terrible self-deceiver. Wealth cannot drive back disease; nothing can keep death from storming his stronghold; and sometimes a single day brings together such an army of adverse circumstances that the strong city goes down before it, and is never rebuilt, or the very refuge itself is the cause of moral ruin. Therefore "Let not the rich man glory in his riches" (Jer. ix. 23).

+II. A false estimate of life in relation to poverty.+ It is a mistake also to look on poverty as a "destruction." If the rich man errs on the side of excessive confidence, the poor man errs on that of fearfulness. He should remember--1. _That the blessedness of life here does not consist in what a man has, but in what he is._ Wealth may be a curse to existence, and so may poverty, but a good conscience, a godly character, is a continual feast. And it is quite _as_ easy, perhaps more so, to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God in poverty as in wealth. "A man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth" (Luke xii. 15). This is the declaration of Him who created man, and who, therefore, knows his needs. The poor are the objects of His special regard. "Hath not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which He hath promised to them that love Him?" (Jas. ii. 5). 2. _He should keep in mind the day of levelling and compensation._ "Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things, but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented" (Luke xvi. 25).

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

_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 17.

THE INFLUENCE OF EXAMPLE.

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

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

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

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

_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._

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

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

_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 18.

THREE DEGREES OF MORAL FOOLISHNESS.

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

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

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

_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._

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

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

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

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

SPEECH AND SILENCE.

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

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