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2
Chronicles Chapter Ten
2 Chronicles 10
Chapter Contents
The ten tribes revolt from Rehoboam.
Moderate counsels are wisest and best. Gentleness will do
what violence will not do. Most people like to be accosted mildly. Good words
cost only a little self-denial
yet they purchase great things. No more needs
to be done to ruin men
than to leave them to their own pride and passion.
Thus
whatever are the devices of men
God is doing his own work by all
and
fulfilling the word which he has spoken. No man can bequeath his prosperity to
his heirs any more than his wisdom; though our children will generally be
affected by our conduct
whether good or bad. Let us then seek those good
things which will be our own for ever; and crave the blessing of God upon our
posterity
in preference to wealth or worldly exaltation.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on 2 Chronicles》
2 Chronicles 10
Verse 4
[4] Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore ease
thou somewhat the grievous servitude of thy father
and his heavy yoke that he
put upon us
and we will serve thee.
Grievous — It is probable
when Solomon had declined from God
that God left him to himself to act thus impolitically.
Verse 7
[7] And they spake unto him
saying
If thou be kind to this
people
and please them
and speak good words to them
they will be thy
servants for ever.
If thou be kind
… — Moderate counsels are
generally best. Gentleness will do what violence will not do. Good words cost
nothing but a little self-denial
and yet they purchase great things.
Verse 16
[16] And when all Israel saw that the king would not hearken
unto them
the people answered the king
saying
What portion have we in David?
and we have none inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to your tents
O
Israel: and now
David
see to thine own house. So all Israel went to their
tents.
See to thine own house|-When public affairs are in a
ferment
violent proceedings do but make ill worse. Many have been driven to
the mischief they did not intend
by being too severely dealt with.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on 2 Chronicles》
10 Chapter 10
Verses 1-19
And Rehoboam went to Shechem.
Rehoboam
A cause so stated must succeed. There will be difficulty
but the
end is assured. The reasonable always triumphs
due time being given for the
elucidation of its purposes
and the manifestation of its real spirit. Violence
can have but a short day; the tempest cries itself to rest. “Ease thou somewhat
the grievous servitude of thy father
and his heavy yoke that he put upon us
and we will serve thee.” They wanted ease for service
for loyalty. Where there
is no ease how can there be homage
thankfulness
devotion
or any of the high
qualities of patriotism? How tempted men are
who are not themselves
disquieted
to tell other people to bear their burdens uncomplainingly! The
sufferers should sometimes be admitted to the witness-box. There is danger lest
our personal comfortableness should disqualify us from judging the case of
downtrodden men. Wherever there is weakness the Christian Church should be
found; wherever there is reasonableness the Christian sanctuary should offer
hospitality. Is there anything more detestable than that a man who has his own
way seven days a week
whose footsteps are marked by prosperity
whose very
breathing is a commercial success
should stand up and tell men who are
bleeding at every pore to be quiet and contented
and not create disturbance in
the body politic? If Jeroboam had come with a petition conceived in another
tone it ought to have been rejected; it would have been irrational
violent
contemptuous; but the reasonableness of the request will ensure its victory in
the long run. How easy it is to think of Rehoboam as the foolish son of a wise
father! But are we not unjust to the son in so regarding him? Was Solomon the
wise man he is often made out to be? The answer would be “Yes”--and “No.” There
was no greater fool than Solomon; and he attained his supremacy in folly
because there was no man so wise. “If the light that is in thee be darkness
how great is that darkness!” “How art thou fallen from heaven
O Lucifer
son
of the morning!” If he had not been son of the morning some shallow pit might
have held him; but being son of the morning
and detaching himself from the
gravitation of God
the pit into which he falls is bottomless. Pliny says no
man can be always wise. That is true philosophically and experimentally; for
all men have vulnerable heels
or are exposed to temptations to lightness of
mind
amounting in some instances almost to frivolity; they are also the
subjects of a singular rebound
which makes them appear the more frivolous
because when we last saw them they were absorbed in the solemnity of prayer.
Solomon himself is not wise in this matter of government. The history shows
that the people were appealing
not against Rehoboam
who had yet had no
opportunity of proving his quality as a king
but against his father: “Thy
father made our yoke grievous.” We are prone to copy the defects of our
ancestors and their idols rather than their excellences. We are tempted in
wrong directions
Folly has often more charms for us than wisdom. Rehoboam made
a cautious reply
and therein
he began
well; he said to the petitioners
”Come
again unto me after three days.” This looked hopeful. King Rehoboam utilised
the interval by taking “counsel with the old men that had stood before Solomon
his father while he yet lived
saying
What counsel give ye me to return answer
to this people? And they spake unto him
” as old men ought to speak. Rich is
the king whose old men talk in such a strain! They were patriots and
philanthropists and philosophers; they were Christians before the time.
Marvellous is the power of kindness. They will do most in life who “are most
considerate. If when the people returned after three days Rehoboam had spoken
so
the welkin would have rung with the resonant cheers of a delighted
thankful
because emancipated
people. We have opportunities of this kind: let
every man know that in proportion to his kindness will be the quality and the
durableness of his influence. Kindness is not weakness. It takes Omnipotence to
be merciful
in the largest degree and fullest quality of the term. He to whom
power belongs holds in His other hand the angel whose name is Mercy. “But he
forsook the counsel which the old men gave him
and took counsel with the young
men that were brought up with him
that stood before him” (2 Chronicles 10:8)--showing that he
understood the message of the people perfectly; he correctly represented the
popular will
and therefore he increased his own responsibility
because he was
not the victim of ignorance. “And the young men that were brought up with him
spake unto him
saying” (2 Chronicles 10:10-11). Woe to the
nation whose young men talk so! A young oppressor is an infant devil. Young men
talking so will ruin any occasion. This may appear to be a very advanced
policy
a very spirited policy
home and foreign. It is a spirited policy: but
what is the name of the spirit that inspires it? Does a controversy of this
kind begin in a question
and end in an answer? Or is there a reply? Are there
such things in history as retorts
reprisals
rebounds
consequences? Let it be
known
and laid down as the basis-principle of all action
social
ecclesiastical
and imperial
that there is no right of tyranny. Oppression has
no veritable and reputable credentials.
Men are not at liberty to take
counsel whether they shall be gentle or ungentle. The law is unwritten
because
eternal
that even righteousness must be administered in mercy. It might be supposed
that the king had taken a most patriotic course in consulting the old and the
young. He had done nothing of the kind: he had omitted to consult Him who had
called his house to the royalty. Rehoboam should have consulted the King-maker
whose throne is on the circle of the earth
and whose sceptre toucheth the
horizon
and whose will is the law of monarchy and commonwealth. All human
consultation is a species of under-counsel
valuable within proper limits
and
right as recognising the education
the intelligence
and the political
instinct of the times; but all consultation
to result in profoundest wisdom
must be intensely
almost exclusively
religious. Kings should talk to their
King. The greater the man the nearer should he stand to God. The gospel never
gives liberty to oppression. Employers may adopt this course if they please
but they will find it end in ruin. We must recognise the difference between
employing cattle and employing men. A parent may adopt this course if he
pleases
but his children will chastise him
sting him
with many a
disappointment. The world has been educated by oppression. The Lord Himself has
used it as an
instrument in His hands. A curious expression occurs to this effect in the
fifteenth verse--“for the cause was of God.” Rehoboam had not taken Him into
account
but the Lord took the matter into His own hand. The ministry of the
universe is a ministry co-operative
and is not to be understood in parts and
sections
but can only be understood by those who take in the whole
circumference on which the Almighty operates; and that cannot be done here and
now. The Saviour of the world was not murdered by the Jews
except in a
secondary and transient sense; He was delivered up from before the foundation
of the world that He might make on the universe an infinite impression and
reveal to the universe the law of life and the law of sacrifice. If our
movement is towards trust
liberty
leniency
philanthrophy
beneficence
we
are entitled to believe that this is the very logic of love
the rigorous
reasoning of piety itself. This will apply to nations
to families
to
employers
to all men to whom is remitted the question
Shall the policy be
severe
or shall it be clement and hopeful? Rehoboam will be punished: have no
fear of that. “With what measure ye mete
it shall be measured to you again.”
You can make your whips thongs of scorpions
but upon your own back shall the
lacerating lash be laid; you can play the fantastic trick before high heaven
and make the angels weep
but the bitterness shall be yours: the triumphing of
such a policy is short
the end of it is everlasting punishment. What could we
do without such laws as these? They are the very ribs of the universe
the very
security of society
the corner-stone on which God’s fabric rests. We are not
the subjects of accidents
the changing whims of statesmen; we are not
dependent upon general elections for the grand issue of things: the Lord
reigneth. Let us be true and calm. Only the gospel of Jesus Christ can get at the heart of
things; deal with causes
fountains
origins
and purify the spring of all
life. Here the Saviour is gentle in His might
mighty in His gentleness; He
says
“Marvel not that I say unto you
Ye must be born again.” When the soul is
right the hands will take to the new policy with skill that might have been
learned in heaven and that is inspired by the spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ.
(J. Parker
D. D.)
A political crisis and a fatal policy
I. We see here on
the part of the ten tribes
the expression of a reasonable political
aspiration.
II. The example of
Rehoboam teaches by contrast what our spirit and method
as Christian men and a
Christian nation
ought to be at this time.
III. And that a
generous Christian policy only will effect the pacification of a discontented
people the example of Rehoboam proves. (W. Bishop.)
A wise prince will avoid overtaxing his people
The Chinese Emperor Tehou set out on a journey to visit the vast
provinces of his empire
accompanied by his eldest son. One day he stopped his
car in the midst of some fields where the people were hard at work. “I took you
with me
” said he to his son
“that you might be an eye-witness of the painful
toils of the poor husbandmen
and that the feeling their laborious station
should excite in your heart might prevent your burdening them with taxes!”
The foolish ruler and the revolting tribes
I. The grievance
stated.
1. Reasonable demand.
2. A national demand.
II. The
consultation held.
III. The decision
given.
IV. The results
which followed. (J. Wolfendale.)
Advice
Judge Buller
when in company of a young gentleman of sixteen
cautioned him against being led astray by the example or persuasion of others
and said: “If I had listened to the advice of some of those who called
themselves my friends when I was young
instead of being a judge of the King’s
Bench
I should have died long ago a prisoner at the King’s Bench.”
The experience of old men
I wonder why young people don’t make more use of old people
than they do. I find it fascinating to hear old sailors talk
and to listen to
their many stories of hair-breadth escapes. One Of the privileges of old age is
to be a guide to the young. Young men should take warning and instruction from
old men
for they have been over the ground and know all the risks and dangers
of life. (George Dawson.)
Two methods of treating men
I propose to use the incident to illustrate the two methods
of treating men--the conciliatory and the unconciliatory--the principle applies
to all men in some of the relations of life; and the question is
What is the
true
and consequently the safe
basis of all government?
1. Social positions are graduated. The strong man will of necessity
sooner or later
go to the front and claim the influence which belongs of right
to his powers; and the weak man will be left at the point that exhausts his
strength. Democracy does not equalise men.
2. No elevation of rank gives one man the right to tyrannise over
another. Tyranny is necessarily associated with littleness of nature
littleness somewhere; there may be many great qualities
but the nature as a
whole is of a low type.
3. The whole tenor of the gospel is in favour of magnanimous conduct
on the part of those who hold any degree of rulership. This is an incidental
proof of the supernatural origin of the gospel
etc.
4. Pass in review a few of the cases in which the two methods of
treating men come into operation. Kings
employers
parents
pastors
all have
their choice as to which method they will adopt.
5. The maintenance of a conciliatory policy is quite consistent
with--
Moderation in princes
The advice of an ancient French counsellor to his sovereign at his
departure was good. Being wished to lay down some general rules for government
he took a paper
and wrote on the top of it “moderation
” in the middle of it
“moderation
” and at the bottom “moderation.” (J. Trapp.)
Taking counsel of the young
So did our King Richard II.
to his utter ruin. So Xerxes despised
the grave counsel of his uncle Artabanus
and was led wholly by the young Mardonius
to the loss of all. The like is reported of Dionysius
king of Sicily; Croesus
king of Lydia; Nero
emperor of Rome; James that reigned in Scotland in Edward
IV’s time; and Lantrer
of whom it is reported that he lost the kingdom of
Naples from the French king
his master
and all that he had in Italy
because
he would not ask nor follow the advice of those who were wiser than himself. (J.
Trapp.)
Pampered in youth
ruined in prime
Many a bright scriptural character is set before us for our
example; this man is set before us for our warning. There were two things that
contributed to make his life a failure.
I. He was brought
up in the lap of luxury. His father lived in a style of magnificence that has
never been equalled. In the midst of this was Rehoboam’s youth and boyhood
spent. Nothing could have been morally worse for him than that. I ask the head
of some large academy
“What is the chief cause of the ruin of many lads
belonging to respectable families?” and he whispers
“Too much money
” The president
of one of the largest educational institutions in America stated that he
believed the surest protection to young men against the perils of opening life
was poverty. The being free from the necessity of working for a living has been
the worst thing in the lot of many a young man. I have personally known youths
who were unfortunate enough to start life with a patrimony of £200 a year
and
they never came to anything. In the life of Mr. Nasmyth he says: “I often
observe in shop windows every detail of model ships and model steam-engines
supplied ready-made for those who are said to be of a mechanical turn. Thus the
vital uses of resourcefulness are done away with and the sham exhibition of
mechanical genius is paraded before you by the young impostors
the result
for
the most part
of too free a supply of pocket-money. I have known too many
instances of parents being led
by such false evidence of constructive skill
to apprentice their sons to some engineering firm and after paying vast sums
finding out that the pretender comes out of the engineering shop with no other
practical accomplishment than that of glove-wearing and cigar-smoking.” The
connection between Rehoboam and kid gloves may not at first be apparent
and
yet there is a good deal in it
for had he been brought up less luxuriously
had he known something in his early days of real hard work
he might have
turned out a more sensible
and successful man.
II. His refusal of
the advice of men who were older and wiser than himself. Evil companionship
proved his destruction. Well might he have said
“Save me from my friends.”
Their advice may have been meant for the best
yet like the bear which from
friendly motives
tried his paw to remove a fly from his master’s face
they
did more harm than good. Nothing tells upon our life more distinctly than our
early choice of companions. We take the colour of the society we keep
as the
frogs of Ceylon do that of the leaf on which they sit. Be slow to form your
friendships. Have nothing to do with any one--no matter how smart and plausible
he be--who jests at sacred things. Be certain you will get no good from one who
wants to shake you out of what he calls your old-fashioned principles. Never
make a friend of one who avows himself an unbeliever. The fear of God is the
root of all true nobleness of character
said a French monarch
when once asked
to give his consent to a dishonourable treaty. “The blood of Charlemagne is in
my veins; and who dares to propose this thing to me?” Some of you young men
have a pedigree still more worthy to glory in. We want no Rehoboams amongst us.
We want the sons to be better than their fathers. (J. T. Davidson.)
The folly of self-will
Dr. Anderson
of the American Board
told me that a young man once
came to the mission-house in Boston as a candidate for the foreign mission
field. Dr. Anderson invited him to spend the night with him in Roxbury
and as
they were walking together
the young man suddenly said
“I prefer to walk on
the right side.” Dr. Anderson said to him
“May I ask why you walk on the right
side? Are you deaf in one ear?” “No
” said the young man
“but I prefer to walk
on the right side
and I always will walk on the right side.” That young man
was not sent abroad. It was evident that a man who was bent on having his own
way
without giving reasons
would be likely to make mischief
and his right
side would be pretty sure to be the wrong side. (H. H. Jessup.)
The mystery of Divine working
I. Events of
history controlled and directed to accomplish Divine purposes.
II. In the
accomplishment of Divine purposes men act as free agents.
III. Men thus acting
as free agents are responsible for them actions. (J. Wolfendale.)
Paroxysms in history
Nature has her paroxysms. Sir Roderick Murchison affirms that by
no possible extension of gradual and insensible causes could huge masses of
Tertiary rocks have been so thrown over as to pass under the older rocks of the
Alps
out of which they were formed. That operation
he says
must have been
paroxysmal
and no slow process could have accomplished it. The crust and
outline of the earth are
in short
full of evidences that many of the ruptures
and overthrows of the strata
as well as great denudations
could not even in
millions of years have been produced by agencies like those of our times. (Scientific
Illustrations.)
.
And Rehoboam went to Shechem.
Rehoboam
A cause so stated must succeed. There will be difficulty
but the
end is assured. The reasonable always triumphs
due time being given for the
elucidation of its purposes
and the manifestation of its real spirit. Violence
can have but a short day; the tempest cries itself to rest. “Ease thou somewhat
the grievous servitude of thy father
and his heavy yoke that he put upon us
and we will serve thee.” They wanted ease for service
for loyalty. Where there
is no ease how can there be homage
thankfulness
devotion
or any of the high
qualities of patriotism? How tempted men are
who are not themselves
disquieted
to tell other people to bear their burdens uncomplainingly! The
sufferers should sometimes be admitted to the witness-box. There is danger lest
our personal comfortableness should disqualify us from judging the case of
downtrodden men. Wherever there is weakness the Christian Church should be
found; wherever there is reasonableness the Christian sanctuary should offer
hospitality. Is there anything more detestable than that a man who has his own
way seven days a week
whose footsteps are marked by prosperity
whose very
breathing is a commercial success
should stand up and tell men who are
bleeding at every pore to be quiet and contented
and not create disturbance in
the body politic? If Jeroboam had come with a petition conceived in another
tone it ought to have been rejected; it would have been irrational
violent
contemptuous; but the reasonableness of the request will ensure its victory in
the long run. How easy it is to think of Rehoboam as the foolish son of a wise
father! But are we not unjust to the son in so regarding him? Was Solomon the
wise man he is often made out to be? The answer would be “Yes”--and “No.” There
was no greater fool than Solomon; and he attained his supremacy in folly
because there was no man so wise. “If the light that is in thee be darkness
how great is that darkness!” “How art thou fallen from heaven
O Lucifer
son
of the morning!” If he had not been son of the morning some shallow pit might
have held him; but being son of the morning
and detaching himself from the
gravitation of God
the pit into which he falls is bottomless. Pliny says no
man can be always wise. That is true philosophically and experimentally; for
all men have vulnerable heels
or are exposed to temptations to lightness of
mind
amounting in some instances almost to frivolity; they are also the
subjects of a singular rebound
which makes them appear the more frivolous
because when we last saw them they were absorbed in the solemnity of prayer.
Solomon himself is not wise in this matter of government. The history shows
that the people were appealing
not against Rehoboam
who had yet had no
opportunity of proving his quality as a king
but against his father: “Thy
father made our yoke grievous.” We are prone to copy the defects of our
ancestors and their idols rather than their excellences. We are tempted in
wrong directions
Folly has often more charms for us than wisdom. Rehoboam made
a cautious reply
and therein
he began
well; he said to the petitioners
”Come
again unto me after three days.” This looked hopeful. King Rehoboam utilised
the interval by taking “counsel with the old men that had stood before Solomon
his father while he yet lived
saying
What counsel give ye me to return answer
to this people? And they spake unto him
” as old men ought to speak. Rich is
the king whose old men talk in such a strain! They were patriots and
philanthropists and philosophers; they were Christians before the time.
Marvellous is the power of kindness. They will do most in life who “are most
considerate. If when the people returned after three days Rehoboam had spoken
so
the welkin would have rung with the resonant cheers of a delighted
thankful
because emancipated
people. We have opportunities of this kind: let
every man know that in proportion to his kindness will be the quality and the
durableness of his influence. Kindness is not weakness. It takes Omnipotence to
be merciful
in the largest degree and fullest quality of the term. He to whom
power belongs holds in His other hand the angel whose name is Mercy. “But he
forsook the counsel which the old men gave him
and took counsel with the young
men that were brought up with him
that stood before him” (2 Chronicles 10:8)--showing that he
understood the message of the people perfectly; he correctly represented the
popular will
and therefore he increased his own responsibility
because he was
not the victim of ignorance. “And the young men that were brought up with him
spake unto him
saying” (2 Chronicles 10:10-11). Woe to the
nation whose young men talk so! A young oppressor is an infant devil. Young men
talking so will ruin any occasion. This may appear to be a very advanced
policy
a very spirited policy
home and foreign. It is a spirited policy: but
what is the name of the spirit that inspires it? Does a controversy of this
kind begin in a question
and end in an answer? Or is there a reply? Are there
such things in history as retorts
reprisals
rebounds
consequences? Let it be
known
and laid down as the basis-principle of all action
social
ecclesiastical
and imperial
that there is no right of tyranny. Oppression has
no veritable and reputable credentials.
Men are not at liberty to take
counsel whether they shall be gentle or ungentle. The law is unwritten
because
eternal
that even righteousness must be administered in mercy. It might be
supposed that the king had taken a most patriotic course in consulting the old
and the young. He had done nothing of the kind: he had omitted to consult Him
who had called his house to the royalty. Rehoboam should have consulted the
King-maker whose throne is on the circle of the earth
and whose sceptre
toucheth the horizon
and whose will is the law of monarchy and commonwealth.
All human consultation is a species of under-counsel
valuable within proper
limits
and right as recognising the education
the intelligence
and the political
instinct of the times; but all consultation
to result in profoundest wisdom
must be intensely
almost exclusively
religious. Kings should talk to their
King. The greater the man the nearer should he stand to God. The gospel never
gives liberty to oppression. Employers may adopt this course if they please
but they will find it end in ruin. We must recognise the difference between
employing cattle and employing men. A parent may adopt this course if he
pleases
but his children will chastise him
sting him
with many a
disappointment. The world has been educated by oppression. The Lord Himself has
used it as an
instrument in His hands. A curious expression occurs to this effect in the
fifteenth verse--“for the cause was of God.” Rehoboam had not taken Him into
account
but the Lord took the matter into His own hand. The ministry of the
universe is a ministry co-operative
and is not to be understood in parts and
sections
but can only be understood by those who take in the whole
circumference on which the Almighty operates; and that cannot be done here and
now. The Saviour of the world was not murdered by the Jews
except in a
secondary and transient sense; He was delivered up from before the foundation
of the world that He might make on the universe an infinite impression and
reveal to the universe the law of life and the law of sacrifice. If our
movement is towards trust
liberty
leniency
philanthrophy
beneficence
we
are entitled to believe that this is the very logic of love
the rigorous reasoning
of piety itself. This will apply to nations
to families
to employers
to all
men to whom is remitted the question
Shall the policy be severe
or shall it
be clement and hopeful? Rehoboam will be punished: have no fear of that. “With
what measure ye mete
it shall be measured to you again.” You can make your
whips thongs of scorpions
but upon your own back shall the lacerating lash be
laid; you can play the fantastic trick before high heaven and make the angels
weep
but the bitterness shall be yours: the triumphing of such a policy is
short
the end of it is everlasting punishment. What could we do without such
laws as these? They are the very ribs of the universe
the very security of
society
the corner-stone on which God’s fabric rests. We are not the subjects
of accidents
the changing whims of statesmen; we are not dependent upon
general elections for the grand issue of things: the Lord reigneth. Let us be
true and calm. Only the gospel of Jesus Christ can get at the heart of things; deal with causes
fountains
origins
and purify the spring of all life. Here the Saviour is
gentle in His might
mighty in His gentleness; He says
“Marvel not that I say
unto you
Ye must be born again.” When the soul is right the hands will take to
the new policy with skill that might have been learned in heaven and that is
inspired by the spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ. (J. Parker
D. D.)
A political crisis and a fatal policy
I. We see here on
the part of the ten tribes
the expression of a reasonable political aspiration.
II. The example of
Rehoboam teaches by contrast what our spirit and method
as Christian men and a
Christian nation
ought to be at this time.
III. And that a
generous Christian policy only will effect the pacification of a discontented
people the example of Rehoboam proves. (W. Bishop.)
A wise prince will avoid overtaxing his people
The Chinese Emperor Tehou set out on a journey to visit the vast
provinces of his empire
accompanied by his eldest son. One day he stopped his
car in the midst of some fields where the people were hard at work. “I took you
with me
” said he to his son
“that you might be an eye-witness of the painful
toils of the poor husbandmen
and that the feeling their laborious station
should excite in your heart might prevent your burdening them with taxes!”
The foolish ruler and the revolting tribes
I. The grievance
stated.
1. Reasonable demand.
2. A national demand.
II. The
consultation held.
III. The decision
given.
IV. The results
which followed. (J. Wolfendale.)
Advice
Judge Buller
when in company of a young gentleman of sixteen
cautioned him against being led astray by the example or persuasion of others
and said: “If I had listened to the advice of some of those who called
themselves my friends when I was young
instead of being a judge of the King’s
Bench
I should have died long ago a prisoner at the King’s Bench.”
The experience of old men
I wonder why young people don’t make more use of old people
than they do. I find it fascinating to hear old sailors talk
and to listen to
their many stories of hair-breadth escapes. One Of the privileges of old age is
to be a guide to the young. Young men should take warning and instruction from
old men
for they have been over the ground and know all the risks and dangers
of life. (George Dawson.)
Two methods of treating men
I propose to use the incident to illustrate the two methods
of treating men--the conciliatory and the unconciliatory--the principle applies
to all men in some of the relations of life; and the question is
What is the
true
and consequently the safe
basis of all government?
1. Social positions are graduated. The strong man will of necessity
sooner or later
go to the front and claim the influence which belongs of right
to his powers; and the weak man will be left at the point that exhausts his
strength. Democracy does not equalise men.
2. No elevation of rank gives one man the right to tyrannise over
another. Tyranny is necessarily associated with littleness of nature
littleness somewhere; there may be many great qualities
but the nature as a
whole is of a low type.
3. The whole tenor of the gospel is in favour of magnanimous conduct
on the part of those who hold any degree of rulership. This is an incidental
proof of the supernatural origin of the gospel
etc.
4. Pass in review a few of the cases in which the two methods of
treating men come into operation. Kings
employers
parents
pastors
all have
their choice as to which method they will adopt.
5. The maintenance of a conciliatory policy is quite consistent with--
Moderation in princes
The advice of an ancient French counsellor to his sovereign at his
departure was good. Being wished to lay down some general rules for government
he took a paper
and wrote on the top of it “moderation
” in the middle of it
“moderation
” and at the bottom “moderation.” (J. Trapp.)
Taking counsel of the young
So did our King Richard II.
to his utter ruin. So Xerxes despised
the grave counsel of his uncle Artabanus
and was led wholly by the young
Mardonius to the loss of all. The like is reported of Dionysius
king of
Sicily; Croesus
king of Lydia; Nero
emperor of Rome; James that reigned in
Scotland in Edward IV’s time; and Lantrer
of whom it is reported that he lost
the kingdom of Naples from the French king
his master
and all that he had in
Italy
because he would not ask nor follow the advice of those who were wiser
than himself. (J. Trapp.)
Pampered in youth
ruined in prime
Many a bright scriptural character is set before us for our
example; this man is set before us for our warning. There were two things that
contributed to make his life a failure.
I. He was brought
up in the lap of luxury. His father lived in a style of magnificence that has
never been equalled. In the midst of this was Rehoboam’s youth and boyhood spent.
Nothing could have been morally worse for him than that. I ask the head of some
large academy
“What is the chief cause of the ruin of many lads belonging to
respectable families?” and he whispers
“Too much money
” The president of one
of the largest educational institutions in America stated that he believed the
surest protection to young men against the perils of opening life was poverty.
The being free from the necessity of working for a living has been the worst
thing in the lot of many a young man. I have personally known youths who were
unfortunate enough to start life with a patrimony of £200 a year
and they
never came to anything. In the life of Mr. Nasmyth he says: “I often observe in
shop windows every detail of model ships and model steam-engines
supplied
ready-made for those who are said to be of a mechanical turn. Thus the vital
uses of resourcefulness are done away with and the sham exhibition of
mechanical genius is paraded before you by the young impostors
the result
for
the most part
of too free a supply of pocket-money. I have known too many
instances of parents being led
by such false evidence of constructive skill
to apprentice their sons to some engineering firm and after paying vast sums
finding out that the pretender comes out of the engineering shop with no other
practical accomplishment than that of glove-wearing and cigar-smoking.” The
connection between Rehoboam and kid gloves may not at first be apparent
and
yet there is a good deal in it
for had he been brought up less luxuriously
had he known something in his early days of real hard work
he might have
turned out a more sensible
and successful man.
II. His refusal of
the advice of men who were older and wiser than himself. Evil companionship
proved his destruction. Well might he have said
“Save me from my friends.”
Their advice may have been meant for the best
yet like the bear which from
friendly motives
tried his paw to remove a fly from his master’s face
they
did more harm than good. Nothing tells upon our life more distinctly than our
early choice of companions. We take the colour of the society we keep
as the
frogs of Ceylon do that of the leaf on which they sit. Be slow to form your
friendships. Have nothing to do with any one--no matter how smart and plausible
he be--who jests at sacred things. Be certain you will get no good from one who
wants to shake you out of what he calls your old-fashioned principles. Never
make a friend of one who avows himself an unbeliever. The fear of God is the
root of all true nobleness of character
said a French monarch
when once asked
to give his consent to a dishonourable treaty. “The blood of Charlemagne is in
my veins; and who dares to propose this thing to me?” Some of you young men
have a pedigree still more worthy to glory in. We want no Rehoboams amongst us.
We want the sons to be better than their fathers. (J. T. Davidson.)
The folly of self-will
Dr. Anderson
of the American Board
told me that a young man once
came to the mission-house in Boston as a candidate for the foreign mission
field. Dr. Anderson invited him to spend the night with him in Roxbury
and as
they were walking together
the young man suddenly said
“I prefer to walk on
the right side.” Dr. Anderson said to him
“May I ask why you walk on the right
side? Are you deaf in one ear?” “No
” said the young man
“but I prefer to walk
on the right side
and I always will walk on the right side.” That young man
was not sent abroad. It was evident that a man who was bent on having his own
way
without giving reasons
would be likely to make mischief
and his right
side would be pretty sure to be the wrong side. (H. H. Jessup.)
The mystery of Divine working
I. Events of
history controlled and directed to accomplish Divine purposes.
II. In the
accomplishment of Divine purposes men act as free agents.
III. Men thus acting
as free agents are responsible for them actions. (J. Wolfendale.)
Paroxysms in history
Nature has her paroxysms. Sir Roderick Murchison affirms that by
no possible extension of gradual and insensible causes could huge masses of
Tertiary rocks have been so thrown over as to pass under the older rocks of the
Alps
out of which they were formed. That operation
he says
must have been
paroxysmal
and no slow process could have accomplished it. The crust and
outline of the earth are
in short
full of evidences that many of the ruptures
and overthrows of the strata
as well as great denudations
could not even in
millions of years have been produced by agencies like those of our times. (Scientific
Illustrations.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》