xii. 12), and the contempt of this wisdom was the destruction of a

kingdom (1 Kings xii. 13-20). But the diamond in the _crown_ is, when it is found in the way of righteousness. Even a heathen monarch did homage to it (Gen. xlvii. 7-10); an ungodly nation and king paid to it the deepest respect (1 Sam. xxv. 1; 2 Kings xiii. 14). The fathers of the Old and New Testament reflected _its glory._ The one died in faith, waiting the Lord's salvation; the other was ready to "depart in peace" at the joyous sight of it (Luke ii. 28, 29). Zacharias and Elizabeth walked in all the ordinances of the Lord blameless; Anna "a widow indeed," in the faith and hope of the Gospel; Polycarp, with his fourscore and six years, in his Master's service. Crowns of glory were their hoary heads, shining with all the splendour of royalty. Earnestly does the holy Psalmist _plead_ this _crown_ for usefulness to the Church (Psa. lxxi. 18); the Apostle, for the cause of his converted slave (Philemon 9).--_Bridges._

The old age is to be reverenced most which is white, not with gray hairs only, but with heavenly grace. Commendable old age leaneth upon two staves--the one a remembrance of a life well led, the other a hope of eternal life. Take away these two staves, and old age cannot stand with comfort; pluck out the gray hairs of virtues, and the gray head cannot shine with any bright glory. . . . The gray head is a glorious ornament, for, first hoary hairs do wonderfully become the ancient person, whom they make to look the more grave, and to carry the greater authority in his countenance; secondly, they are a garland or diadem, which not the art of men, but the finger of God, hath fashioned and set on the head.--_Muffet._

Hoariness is only honourable when found in a way of righteousness. A white head, accompanied with a holy heart, makes a man truly honourable. There are two glorious sights in the world: the one is a young man walking in his uprightness, and the other is an old man walking in the ways of righteousness. It was Abraham's honour that he went to his grave in a good old age, or rather, as the Hebrew hath it, with a good grey head (Gen. xxv. 8). Many there be that go to their graves with a grey head, but this was Abraham's crown, that he went to his grave with a good grey head. Had Abraham's head been never so grey, if it had not been good it would have been no honour to him. . . . When the head is as white as snow, and the soul is a black as hell, God usually gives up such to scorn and contempt. . . . But God usually reveals Himself most to old disciples, to old saints: "With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding" (Job xii. 12). God usually manifests most of Himself to aged saints. They usually pray most and pay most, they labour most and long most after the choicest manifestations of Himself and of His grace, and therefore He opens His bosom most to them, and makes them of His cabinet council. "And the Lord said, shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do," etc. (Gen. xviii. 17-19). Abraham was an old friend, and therefore God makes him both of His court and council. We usually open our hearts most freely, fully, and familiarly, to old friends. So doth God to His ancient friends.--_Brooks._

Age is not all decay; it is the ripening, the swelling of the fresh life within that withers and bursts the husk.--_George Macdonald._

Aged piety is peculiarly honourable. 1. It hath long continued. When it is said "If it be _found,_" etc., intimates that such a one has been long walking in that way. 2. It is founded on knowledge and experience. They are well acquainted with the suitableness and sufficiency of the Redeemer. They have made many useful observations on the methods of providence towards themselves, their families, and the Church of God. They know much of the evil of sin, of the nature of temptations, and of the many devices of Satan. 3. It is proved and steadfast. The aged Christian is "rooted in the faith," grounded and settled, his habits of piety are become quite natural. 4. It is attended with much usefulness. The piety of an aged Christian is much to the glory of God, as it shows especially the Gospel's power to bear the Christian on through difficulties and temptations. And aged saints are very _useful to mankind._ Their steadfast piety puts to silence the ignorance of foolish men who complain of the restraints of religion as unreasonable and intolerable, and of the Redeemer's laws as impracticable. They are living witnesses to mankind to the kindness of God's providence and the riches of His grace.--_Job Orton._

_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 32.

TAKING A CITY AND RULING THE SPIRIT.

+I. A man who takes a city may do a good work.+ When Solomon says that the man who rules his spirit does a better work than he who takes a city, he by no means implies that the taking of a city is a wrong action. In the records of God's dealings with the nations of old, we find that He sometimes laid it as a duty upon His chosen servants to take a city. The overthrow of a city is sometimes necessary for the preservation of the morality of the human race, and it is as indispensable for its well-being as the amputation of a diseased limb is for the health of the individual man. Large cities are favourable to the development and increase of crime, and sometimes become such moral pest-houses that God, out of regard for His human family, causes them to be wiped from off the earth, and sometimes uses His own servants to do the work. It was He who commanded Joshua to take the city of Jericho and the other cities of Canaan, and they were destroyed because of the sin of those who dwelt in them. Or the overthrow of a city may be the downfall of a tyrant, and the deliverance of the oppressed, and then we also know that it is well-pleasing to God. The Bible has it in many songs of praise to God for His overthrow of those who held their fellow-men in bondage--songs which were not only acceptable to Him, but which were the fruit of the inspiration of His Spirit, and therefore we know that the taking of a city which was followed by such a result might in itself be a righteous and praiseworthy act.

+II. A man may do a good work in taking a city, and yet be under the dominion of sinful habits.+ Many a man has acquired vast power over others without ever learning how to master his own evil passions--many a city has been taken by him, and good may have been the outcome of some of his conquests, and yet he has been ever an abject bondslave to his own evil impulses. Many a conqueror of cities has been himself brought more and more into captivity to the vices of the mind as his conquests advanced, and though God may have used him to further His wise and beneficent purposes to the race, he may, by his inability to rule himself, have lived and died a miserable victim of sin--in greater bondage to himself than any of those whom he conquered could ever be to him.

+III. Self-rule is nobler than the possession of rule over others.+ 1. _This conquest is over spirit and the other may only be over flesh._ We cannot rule over the whole of our fellow-man by physical force; if circumstances make us masters over his body, there is a spiritual part of him which we cannot enslave without his consent. A "city" and a man's "spirit" belong to entirely different regions, and the latter cannot be ruled by the same weapons as the other. But "spirit" is far higher than matter, and when a man has learned to rule his own inner man he has made a conquest which is far more difficult, and therefore nobler, than he who "takes a city." The man who can check a lawless thought or desire, must be as much greater than he who can only subdue men's bodies, as mind is greater than matter, and he must do a more glorious work because he lessens the power of sin in the universe. It may sometimes be a necessary and good thing to drive the sinner out of the world, but it is infinitely better to kill sin, and this is what he who rules himself is always doing. 2. _It requires the exercise of greater skill and is a more complete victory._ If there is a spiritual part of a man which cannot be subdued to our will without his consent, this consent can only be obtained by the exercise of weapons which require more skilful handling than the sword of steel. God never attempts to conquer the human spirit by physical force; He has created it to bow only to spiritual forces, and it is by these that He brings men into obedience to His will. A city may be surprised into submission, but dominion over the soul must be gained step by step. And the man who rules his own spirit uses these spiritual weapons, and achieves his conquest little by little. But if the weapons are more difficult to wield, and if the victory is more slowly won, the conquest is much more complete. For when the spirit is ruled the entire man is ruled. 3. _The battle is fought and the victory won in silence and in secret._ When men take a city they are as conscious that the eyes of many are upon them, and that the news of their victory will be spread throughout half the world, and that thus they will acquire great renown among their fellow-creatures. And this nerves them to the conflict. But the man who fights upon the battle-ground of his own heart fights in secret, and his victories bring him none of that renown which falls to him who takes a city. No eye looks on but the omniscient eye of God, and although Divine approval is infinitely beyond the praise of a world of finite creatures, yet it has not always such a conscious influence as that of our fellow-men. 4. _The conflict and victory works nothing but good._ Even when the taking of a city ends in the good of the majority, there must be suffering for some who are innocent. But the bringing of the spirit under dominion to that which is good and true bring blessings on the man who wins the victory, and works no ill to anyone, but is a source of good to many. 5. _The glory of self-rule will last much longer than the glory of any material conquest._ Alexander of Macedon took many cities, but the glory that once shed a halo around his name has died away as the world has grown older. And even if the fame of an earthly warrior could last to the end of time, it would last no longer if it rested only on his military achievements. But the glory of self-rule is the glory of goodness which will never grow dim, but shine with increasing brightness as the ages roll.

_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._

Now the Lord has made so glorious a conquest over these proud enemies that rose up against you, I beseech you consider, of all conquests the conquest of enemies within is the most honourable and the most noble conquest; for in conquering those enemies that be within, you make a conquest over the devil and hell itself. The word that is rendered "ruleth," signifies to "conquer," to "overcome." It is this conquest that lifts a man up above all other men in the world. And as this is the most noble conquest, so it is the most necessary conquest. You must be the death of your sins, or they will be the death of your souls. Sin is a viper that does always kill where it is not killed. There is nothing gained by making peace with sin but repentance here and hell hereafter. Every yielding to sin is a welcoming of Satan into our very bosoms. Valentine the emperor said upon his deathbed, that among all his victories, one only comforted him; and being asked what that was, he answered, "I have overcome my worst enemy, mine own naughty heart." Ah, when you shall lie upon a dying bed, then no conquest will thoroughly comfort, but the conquest of your own sinful hearts. None were to triumph in Rome that had not got five victories; and he shall never triumph in heaven that subdueth not his five senses, saith Isidorus. Ah, souls! what mercy is it to be delivered from an enemy without, and to be eternally destroyed by an enemy within?--_Brooks._

To follow the bent and tendency of our nature requires no struggle, and being common to all, involves no distinction. But to keep the passions in check--to bridle and deny them; instead of letting loose our rage against an enemy, to subdue him by kindness--this is one of the severest efforts of a virtuous or of a gracious principle. The most contemptible fool on earth may send a challenge, and draw a trigger, but "not to be overcome of evil, but to overcome evil with good," demands a vigour of mind and decision of character, far more difficult of acquiring than the thoughtless courage that can stand the fire of an adversary.--_Wardlaw._

The _taking of a city_ is only the battle of a day. The other is the weary, unceasing conflict of a life. . . . But the magnifying of the conflict exalts the glory of the triumph. Gideon's _rule over his spirit_ was better than his victory over the Midianites (Judges viii. 1-3). David's similar conquest was _better_ than could have been the spoils of Nabal's house (1 Sam. xxv. 33). Not less glorious was that decisive and conscious mastery over his spirit when he refused to drink the water of Bethlehem, obtained at the hazard of his bravest men; thus condemning the inordinate appetite that had desired the refreshment at so unreasonable a cost (2 Sam. xxiii. 17). . . . To rule one's spirit is to subdue an enemy that has vanquished conquerors. . . . Meanwhile victory is declared, before the conquest begins. Let every day then be a day of triumph. The promises are to _present_ victory (Rev. ii. 7, etc.). With such stirring, stimulating hopes, thou shall surely have rule if thou darest to have it.--_Bridges._

It may be harder to keep from toppling over a precipice, than to lift, by sheer strength, our body over a wall. The reason is obvious. A feather might keep our balance, so we could lean and be safe; but the difficulty is where to get it. We have strength enough if we only had wherewithal it could be applied. The difficulty of _ruling our spirits_ is, that they are _ourselves._ The difficulty of an inebriate in resisting a desire, is--that it is his desire. What can he resist it with? It might be far slighter, and yet, if there be nothing to oppose, like the slight weight that topples one upon the Alps, it is as sure to ruin him as a thousand tons.--_Miller._

Such an one is more excellent than he that is strong of body; for he can bear reproaches, which are more intolerable burdens than any that are wont to be laid upon the backs of the strongest.--_Muffet._

Therein stands the office of a king, His honour, virtue, merit, and chief praise, That for the public all this weight he bears; Yet he who reigns within himself, and rules Passions, desires, and fears, is more a king; Which every wise and virtuous man attain; And who attains not, ill aspires to rule Cities of men, or headstrong multitudes, Subject himself to anarchy within, Or lawless passions in him which he serves.--_Milton._

_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 33.

THE LOT AND ITS DISPOSER.

+I. There is a special Providence of God in the midst of His universal government.+ In nature there is a manifestation of a universal Providence ruling over all God's creatures. But the individual is not lost in the multitude--each bird of the air and every blade of grass in the field is under the special supervision of its Creator. And God is Ruler in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, but He does not deal with either angels or men in the mass as human rulers must do, but knows, and cares for, and guides the destines of the individual man--the disposal of the lot of each one is from the Lord.

+II. The special Providence of God works through human instrumentality.+ Reference is here doubtless made to the ancient custom of casting lots to ascertain the Divine Will. This was done at the division of the land of Canaan among the children of Israel, on the occasion of the election of their first king, and in choosing the apostle who took the place of Judas among the twelve. In all these cases it was recognised that there was no chance in the disposal of the lot--that the decision in each case was from the Lord Himself--but in each case human instrumentality was used by Him to make known His Will. This linking of human instrumentality with Divine sovereignty is found in all God's dealings with men. He has promised that seedtime and harvest shall not cease while the earth continues, but he requires men to sow the grain to bring about the harvest. The "casting of the lot" is symbolic of the part that human effort takes in the government of the world--although God is above and behind it, He does not work without it.

_OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS._

One general principle regarding the employment of the _"lot"_ is sufficiently manifest, that it should never be introduced except in cases where reason and evidence are incompetent to decide. And we may, I think, safely go so far as to affirm that in cases of importance and of extremity--that is, where other means of arriving at a satisfactory conclusion or a harmonious agreement have failed--there does not appear to be anything in Scripture by which such an appeal can be considered as interdicted. . . . Still, if there is nothing interdictory of the use of it, there is nothing that makes it _obligatory_ in any specified circumstances; and it is clear that, if used at all, it should be used seriously and sparingly. It is very wrong, and the reverse of truth, to speak of any matter whatever as being in this way referred to _chance._ There _is_ no such thing. Chance is nothing--an absolute nonentity. It is a mere term for expressing _our ignorance._ Every turn of the dice in the box is regulated by certain physical laws, so that, _if we knew_ all the turns, we could infallibly tell what number would cast up. Besides, in no case is there a more thorough disavowal of chance than in the use of _the lot._ It is the strongest and most direct recognition that can be made of a particular providence--of the constant and minute superintendence of an omniscient, overruling mind.--_Wardlaw._

Everything is a wheel of Providence. Who directed the Ishmaelites on their journey to Egypt at the very moment that Joseph was cast into the pit? Who guided Pharaoh's daughter to the stream just when the ark, with its precious deposit, was committed to the waters? What gave Ahasuerus a sleepless night, that he might be amused with the records of his kingdom?--_Bridges._

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