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Proverbs
Chapter Six
Proverbs 6
Chapter Contents
Cautions against rash suretiship. (1-5) A rebuke to
slothfulness. (6-11) Seven things hateful to God. (12-19) Exhortations to walk
according to God's commandments. (20-35)
Commentary on Proverbs 6:1-5
(Read Proverbs 6:1-5)
If we live as directed by the word of God
we shall find
it profitable even in this present world. We are stewards of our worldly
substance
and have to answer to the Lord for our disposal of it; to waste it
in rash schemes
or such plans as may entangle us in difficulties and temptations
is wrong. A man ought never to be surety for more than he is able and willing
to pay
and can afford to pay
without wronging his family; he ought to look
upon every sum he is engaged for
as his own debt. If we must take all this
care to get our debts to men forgiven
much more to obtain forgiveness with
God. Humble thyself to him
make sure of Christ as thy Friend
to plead for
thee; pray earnestly that thy sins may be pardoned
and that thou mayest be
kept from going down to the pit.
Commentary on Proverbs 6:6-11
(Read Proverbs 6:6-11)
Diligence in business is every man's wisdom and duty; not
so much that he may attain worldly wealth
as that he may not be a burden to
others
or a scandal to the church. The ants are more diligent than slothful
men. We may learn wisdom from the meanest insects
and be shamed by them.
Habits of indolence and indulgence grow upon people. Thus life runs to waste;
and poverty
though at first at a distance
gradually draws near
like a
traveller; and when it arrives
is like an armed man
too strong to be
resisted. All this may be applied to the concerns of our souls. How many love
their sleep of sin
and their dreams of worldly happiness! Shall we not seek to
awaken such? Shall we not give diligence to secure our own salvation?
Commentary on Proverbs 6:12-19
(Read Proverbs 6:12-19)
If the slothful are to be condemned
who do nothing
much
more those that do all the ill they can. Observe how such a man is described.
He says and does every thing artfully
and with design. His ruin shall come
without warning
and without relief. Here is a list of things hateful to God.
Those sins are in a special manner provoking to God
which are hurtful to the
comfort of human life. These things which God hates
we must hate in ourselves;
it is nothing to hate them in others. Let us shun all such practices
and watch
and pray against them; and avoid
with marked disapproval
all who are guilty
of them
whatever may be their rank.
Commentary on Proverbs 6:20-35
(Read Proverbs 6:20-35)
The word of God has something to say to us upon all
occasions. Let not faithful reproofs ever make us uneasy. When we consider how
much this sin abounds
how heinous adultery is in its own nature
of what evil
consequence it is
and how certainly it destroys the spiritual life in the soul
we shall not wonder that the cautions against it are so often repeated. Let us
notice the subjects of this chapter. Let us remember Him who willingly became
our Surety
when we were strangers and enemies. And shall Christians
who have
such prospects
motives
and examples
be slothful and careless? Shall we
neglect what is pleasing to God
and what he will graciously reward? May we
closely watch every sense by which poison can enter our minds or affections.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Proverbs》
Proverbs 6
Verse 1
[1] My
son
if thou be surety for thy friend
if thou hast stricken thy hand with a
stranger
Surety —
Rashly
without considering how thou shalt discharge the debt as occasion
require. Otherwise suretyship in some cases may be not only lawful
but an act
of justice and charity.
Stricken thy hand —
Obliged thyself by giving thine hand
as the custom then was in such cases.
With —
With the creditor
whom he calls a stranger
because the usurers in Israel
who
lent money to others
upon condition of paying use for it
were either
Heathens
or were reputed as bad as Heathens
because this practice was
forbidden by God's law
Deuteronomy 23:19.
Verse 3
[3] Do this now
my son
and deliver thyself
when thou art come into the hand
of thy friend; go
humble thyself
and make sure thy friend.
Hand —
Into the power.
Friend — Of
the debtor
for whom
as being thy friend
thou didst become surety; whereby
thou art in his power
by his neglect or unfaithfulness
to expose thee to the
payment of the debt.
Make sure —
Or
and prevail with thy friend
strive to win him by thine incessant and
earnest solicitations.
Verse 4
[4] Give
not sleep to thine eyes
nor slumber to thine eyelids.
Give not sleep —
Until thou hast taken care for the discharge of this obligation.
Verse 6
[6] Go
to the ant
thou sluggard; consider her ways
and be wise:
Go — This is a distinct
precept; and it is for the most part as needless to seek
as hard to find
coherence in the proverbs.
Verse 11
[11] So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth
and thy want as an armed
man.
Travelleth —
Swiftly and unexpectedly.
Armed man —
Irresistibly.
Verse 16
[16]
These six things doth the LORD hate: yea
seven are an abomination unto him:
Hate —
Above many other sins which have a worse name in the world.
Verse 18
[18] An
heart that deviseth wicked imaginations
feet that be swift in running to
mischief
Deviseth — He
whose practice it is to contrive wickedness.
Swift —
Such as greedily execute their wicked designs.
Verse 20
[20] My
son
keep thy father's commandment
and forsake not the law of thy mother:
The law —
The word of God
which thy parents delivered to thee.
Verse 21
[21] Bind
them continually upon thine heart
and tie them about thy neck.
Bind them —
Constantly remember
and duly consider them.
Verse 22
[22] When
thou goest
it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest
it shall keep thee; and
when thou awakest
it shall talk with thee.
It — The law of God which
thy parents have taught thee.
Talk — It
shall give thee counsel and comfort.
Verse 25
[25] Lust
not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her
eyelids.
Eye-lids —
With her wanton glances
Verse 30
[30] Men
do not despise a thief
if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry;
Despise —
Abhor
but rather pity him.
Verse 31
[31] But
if he be found
he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of
his house.
Restore — He
speaks not of that restitution which the law required
but of that which either
the wronged person might force the thief to make
or which the thief would
willingly give rather than be exposed to public shame.
Verse 34
[34] For
jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of
vengeance.
Rage — It
enflames a man with rage.
In the day —
When he hath an opportunity to avenge himself.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Proverbs》
06 Chapter 6
Verses 1-35
Verses 1-5
If thou be surety for thy friend.
Social suretyships
The principles of domestic
social
and political economy in the
Bible are far more wise
as well as righteous
than can be found in human book
or periodical.
I. Suretyship as
an evil to be deplored. “If thou be surety”; as if he had said
“It is a sad
thing if thou hast.” It is not
however
always an evil. There are two things
necessary to render it justifiable.
1. The case should be deserving.
2. You should be fully competent to discharge the obligation. But the
most deserving men will seldom ask for suretyships
and the most competent men
will seldom undertake the responsibility.
II. Suretyship as
an evil very easily contracted. Merely “striking the hand
” and uttering the
“words.” One word
the word “Yes
” will do it
written or uttered in the
presence of a witness. Plausibility will soon extract it from a pliant and generous nature.
III. Suretyship as
an evil to be strenuously removed. “Deliver thyself.”
1. Do it promptly. Try by every honest means to get the bond back
again.
2. Do it beseechingly. “Humble thyself.” It is no use to carry a high
hand; thou art in his power.
3. Do it effectively. Thou art encaged in iron law; break loose
honourably somehow
and be free. (D. Thomas
D.D.)
If thou hast stricken thy
hand with a stranger.
Striking the hand
A surety is one who becomes security for a debt due by another.
The customary or legal forms which render suretyship valid differ in different
countries. Allusion here is to the practice of the surety confirming his
engagement by giving his hand to the creditor
in presence of witnesses. The
prohibition must not be taken as unqualified. There are cases in which
suretyship is unavoidable. The law sometimes requires it. But the less of it
the better.
I. It is wrong for
a man to come under engagements that are beyond his actually existing means.
Such a course is not merely imprudent; there is in it a threefold injustice.
1. To the creditor for whom he becomes surety
inasmuch as the
security is fallacious
not covering the extent of the risk.
2. To his family
to whom the payment may bring distress and ruin.
3. To those who give him credit in his own transactions; for
in
undertaking suretyships
he involves himself in the risks of other trades
besides his own.
II. It is wrong to
make engagements with inconsideration and rashness. The case here treated is
that of suretyship for a friend to a stranger; and the rashness and haste may
be viewed in relation either to the person or to the ease. Men
when they feel
the generous impulse of friendly emotion
are apt to think at the moment only
of themselves
as if the risk were all their own
and to forget that they are
making creditors and family securities
without asking their consent
or making
them aware of their risks. Suretyships for strangers are specially condemned. (R. Wardlaw.)
Debtors and creditors
The friend of the surety here is the debtor
the stranger is the
creditor.
I. The Scripture
affords direction for trading and civil converse.
1. For wariness in suretyship here.
2. For faithfulness in dealing elsewhere. But why does the wise man
concern himself with such matters.
Because--
1. Religion guides best in civil matters.
2. The eighth commandment requires care of our estates.
3. The Church consists of families and traders which cannot be upheld
without care.
4. Religion is ill spoken of for the careless ruin of professors’
estates. Then follow Scripture precedents in trading rather than corrupt men’s
examples.
II. Young men
should be advised by their elders in worldly affairs. They have more knowledge
and more experience than younger men.
III. Rash suretyship
is to be avoided. “Go to the pleading-place (forum)
and among frequent
contenders nothing is more frequently heard
than the dangers of suretyship
and the sighings of the surety.”
1. Be not bound for more than thou canst spare from thy trade and
charge.
2. Be not bound for idle persons
that are likely to leave thee in
the lurch
and can show no likelihood of ever paying. There be honest poor men
enough that will need thy help in this kind. Thou needest not to bestow thy
means on prodigals. (Francis Taylor
B.D.)
Lending money on interest
When the Mosaic law was instituted
commerce had not been taken up
by the Israelites
and the lending of money on interest for its employment in
trade was a thing unknown. The only occasion for loans would be to supply the
immediate necessities of the borrower
and the exaction of interest under such
circumstances would be productive of great hardship
involving the loss of
land
and even of personal freedom
as the insolvent debtor and his family
became the slaves of the creditor (Nehemiah 5:1-5). To prevent these evils
the
lending of money on interest to any poor Israelite was strictly forbidden (Leviticus 25:1-55.); the people were
enjoined to be liberal
and to lend for nothing in such cases. But at the time
of Solomon
when the commerce of the Israelites was enormously developed
and
communications were opened with Spain and Egypt
and possibly with India and
Ceylon
while caravans penetrated beyond the Euphrates
then the lending of
money on interest for employment in trade most probably became frequent
and
suretyship also--the pledging of a man’s own credit to enable his friend to
procure a loan. (Ellicott’s Commentary.)
Certain examples of the binding character of our own actions
The surety. The sluggard. The worthless person.
I. The surety. The
young man
finding his neighbour in monetary difficulties
consents in an
easy-going way to become his surety; enters into a solemn pledge with the
creditor
probably a Phoenician money-lender. He now stands committed. His
peace of mind and his welfare depend no longer upon himself
but upon the
character
the weakness
the caprice
of another. A young man who has so
entangled himself is advised to spare no pains
and to let no false pride
prevent his securing release from his obligation. There may
however
be cases
in which a true brotherliness will require us to be surety for our friend.
Ecclesiasticus says: “An honest man is surety for his neighbour
but he that is
impudent will forsake him.” If we can afford to be a surety for our neighbour
we can clearly afford to lend him the money ourselves. A miserable chain
thoughtlessness in the matter of suretyship may forge for the thoughtless.
II. The sluggard.
Poverty and ruin must eventually overtake him. In every community there is a
certain number of people who are constitutionally incapable. Examples of insect
life are brought to teach and stimulate human beings.
III. The worthless
character. His heart is as deceitful as his lips: he cannot be true on any
terms. This kind of man is the pest of commerce; the bane of every social
circle; the leaven of hypocrisy and malice in the Christian Church. (R.
F. Horton
D.D.)
Verse 6
Go to the ant
thou sluggard; consider her ways
and be wise.
Little preachers and great sermons
There is a twofold revelation of God--in the Bible and in nature.
In relation to this revelation
men divide into three classes--
1. Those who study neither. Their intellects are submerged in
animalism and worldliness.
2. Those who study one and disparage the other. Some devout
Christians regard nature as not sufficiently sacred and religious for their
investigation. Some scientific men try to turn the results of their researches
against the Bible.
3. Those who reverentially study the teachings of both. They treat
them as volumes from the same Author.
The allusion in the text shows that the Bible encourages the study
of nature.
1. It sends us to nature in order to attest its first principles.
2. It refers us to nature for illustrations of its great truths.
3. It refers us to nature in order to reprove the sins it denounces.
To reprove us for our spiritual indolence it directs us to the ants. The
sluggard we now deal with is the spiritual sluggard
not the secularly indolent
man
but the man who is neglecting the culture of his own spiritual nature and
the salvation of his own soul. The ants teach these important lessons.
I. That the
feebleness of your power is no just reason for your indolence. The ants are
feeble
but see how they work. Naturalists have shown their ingenuity as
architects
their industry as miners and builders. Remember three things--
1. All power
however feeble
is given for work.
2. You are not required to do more than you have power to accomplish.
3. All power increases by use.
II. That the
activity of others is no just excuse for your indolence. In the ant-world you
will see millions of inhabitants
but not one idler; all are in action. One
does not depend upon another
or expect another to do his work. The Christian
world is a scene of action
but not one of the million actors can do your work.
III. That the want
of a helper is no just excuse for your indolence. Each ant is thrown upon his own
resources and powers. Self-reliantly each labours on
not waiting for the
instruction or guidance of another. Trust your own instincts; act out your own
powers; use the light you have; look to God for help.
IV. That the
providence of God is no just reason for your indolence. God provides for His
creatures through the use of their own powers. He does not do for any creature
what He has given that creature power to do for himself.
1. Like these little ants
you have a future.
2. Like these little creatures
you have to prepare for the future.
3. Like these little creatures
you have a specific time in which to
make preparation.
Then do not talk of Providence as an excuse for your indolence. He
has provided for you richly
but He only grants the provision on condition of
the right employment of your powers. There is an inheritance for the good
but
only on condition of their working. There is a heaven of knowledge
but only
for the student. There is a harvest of blessedness
but only to the diligent
husbandman. And your harvest-time will soon be over. (Homilist.)
The foresight and diligence of the ant
The wisdom of providence is eminently conspicuous in the limits it
has set to the faculties of the human mind. As experience of the past is of far
more importance in the conduct of life than the most accurate and intimate
acquaintance with the future
the power of memory is more extensive and
efficient than the faculty of foresight. It was wise and merciful to afford us
but an indistinct perception of the future. But here man acts in opposition to
the will of his Maker. He has withheld from us distinct knowledge of the
future
yet how often do we act as if we were familiarly acquainted with it.
Our confident expectation of the continuance of life encourages that indolence
about their immortal interests in which so many of the children of men waste
the season allotted for their preparation for eternity. The admitted history of
the ant does more than corroborate and confirm the statement of Solomon in this
text. But it is not as a curious fact in natural history
or even as furnishing
a theme of praise to the wise and munificent Author of Nature
that the wise
man introduces the history and habits of the ant. It is as a rebuke to the
sloth and indolence of rational and accountable beings.
I. We are
admonished and reproved by the sagacity and care with which the ants make
preparation for the winter. Nature has given them an instinctive anticipation
of the necessities and severity of winter. Grain after grain is borne along
and having been carefully prepared against revegetation
is added to their
little store. The winter of our year is fast approaching; are we making all
needful preparations?
II. We are
admonished by the sagacity with which the ant selects and seizes the proper
season of preparation for winter. The food proper for storage can only be
obtained at particular seasons; and if these are neglected
want and
wretchedness reign throughout the cells. The present life is the season in
which you are called to make provision for the days that are to come.
III. The incessant
and unintermitted activity and diligence with which the ant plies her summer
task present another important lesson of wisdom to the rational and accountable
family of God. It is not an occasional exercise in which this curious creature
is engaged. Day after day do these industrious tribes issue forth to the work
of gathering. And here
again
they teach us wisdom. The great work to which
religion calls us is not one that can be taken up and laid aside at pleasure.
IV. The harmony
union
and concord which prevail among the ants suggest a lesson for us. The
instinct which prompts them to assist each other in their busy labours has been
celebrated as one of the most interesting manifestations of Creating Wisdom.
How beautifully does it accord with some of the most frequently repeated
precepts of the gospel! And also with such counsel of the apostle as this
“Bear ye one another’s burdens.” (John Johnston.)
Sluggishness
I. Sluggishness or
idleness is a great sin.
1. It is a sin against nature
for all living things put out that
strength God hath given them.
2. It is against God’s commandment. It is stealing for a man to live
on other men’s labours
and do nothing himself.
3. Idleness produces many other sins: such as disobedience to
parents
drunkenness
adultery (as in David’s ease)
stealing
lying
and
cheating.
4. Idleness brings many miseries upon man: such as diseases
poverty
unmercifulness in others
loss of heaven and pains of hell. If the idler object
that he hurts none but himself
we reply
“So much the worse. Remember
thou
must give account of thy time; of thy talents; of thy thoughts; of thy idle
words; of thy deeds; of neglecting thy family; of doing no good in the
commonwealth.”
II. Little
creatures may teach great men much wit. From the ant they may learn--
1. Providence.
2. Labour.
3. Order. (Francis Taylor
B. D.)
A secular sermon an foresight
The busy ant is to be our minister. The great lesson it teaches is
foresight
the duty of rightly improving the passing hour
the wisdom of making
the best of our opportunities. The faculty of foresight
the power of doing
something for the future
is a faculty most divine. Rightly educated and
developed
it gives man peculiar elevation
and invests him with commanding
influence. He who sees farthest will rule best. Foresight is not to be confounded with
distrust. The wise exercise of foresight makes life pleasant--
1. By economising time. The man who has least to do takes most time
to do it in. Our greatest men have been the most severe economists of time.
2. By systematising duties. Some persons have no power of
systematising. Such men fret themselves to death
and do not perish alone. The
men in the Church who do the least are generally the men of leisure.
3. By diminishing difficulties. To be forewarned is to be forearmed.
Foresight numbers and weighs contingencies. The person who is destitute of
foresight multiplies the difficulties of other people. The ant makes the best of
her opportunities. Every life has a summer
and every life a winter. In
recommending preparation for life’s winter I am not advocating penuriousness.
Covetousness is an affront to God. “The liberal soul shall be made fat.” (J.
Parker
D.D.)
A lazy man
Our text points to the sluggard--the lazy man. “How long wilt thou
sleep
O sluggard? “There are many lazy people in the world. They are generally
not worth much
not much wanted
nor of much use
except as beacons. They are
not often prosperous. “An idle man
” says Mr. Spurgeon
“makes himself a target
for the devil; and the devil is an uncommonly good shot.” An idle man’s heart
is the devil’s nest; his hands the devil’s tools; while the devil lays in wait
for active
busy men
the idle man is actually waiting for the devil to set him
a job. A race of idle men would create a famine. There are men who are
absolutely too indolent to seek for salvation
‘tis too much trouble! And there
are lazy Christians too; idlers in the Master’s vineyard. “A little sleep
”
etc.
1. Here is a self-indulgent man. This little speech means
“I am
comfortable; don’t disturb me; let me alone to enjoy myself.” This is the wish
of many a sinful man. “Woe to them that are at ease in Zion
” living purely
selfish lives; for self-indulgence may
and generally does
mean selfishness.
Self-indulgence is easy. ‘Tis easier to give the reins to our appetites than to
curb them; to slide than to climb; to please ourselves than to deny ourselves.
If we would be men of mark for holiness
usefulness
of eminence either in
things temporal or spiritual
we must know something of self-denial. Men who
“take it easy” rarely make much headway. Look round amongst Christian workers
business men
great philanthropists
successful inventors
men illustrious or
famous in any walk of life; read the biographies of men who have been renowned
for any good thing--you will find that they were men of self-denial
not
self-indulgent. Moses was a self-denying man; “he esteemed the reproach of
Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt”; and Moses prospered; he
became very great; he was appointed leader and commander of the people of
Israel. The apostles were self-denying men; hear them: “We have left all
and
have followed Thee.” “A little sleep
” etc.
2. Here is a procrastinating man. He does not mean to sleep always
not even for long--only for a little while. He only wants a “little sleep
” and
then he will be stirring. Think of hours
days
lives
wasted in little delays;
of souls lost by little delays! No man deliberately intends to be always a
slave to sin
the devil
his own lusts. Not always--no; but just now it is
pleasant
convenient. Courage to take now the decisive step--now! To-morrow may
never come. (G. B. Foster.)
The ant and its nest
The truth of Solomon’s reference to the ant
which has been
questioned before now
is fully vindicated. Dr. Macmillan has found the food
stored up in the nests of the ants
and he adds this interesting information:
“Examining the seeds collected in the nests of the ants on the top of the hill at
Nice more particularly with my magnifying glass
I found to my astonishment
that each seed had its end carefully bitten off. And the reason of this was
perfectly plain. You know each seed contains two parts--the young plant or germ
lying in its cradle
as it were
and the supply of food for its nourishment
when it begins to grow
wrapped round it. Now the ants had bitten off the young plant germ
and they left only the part which was full of nourishment. And they did this to
prevent the seeds from growing and exhausting all the nourishment contained in
them. If they did not do this the seed stored under the ground
when the rains
came
would shoot
and so they would lose all their trouble and be left to
starve. I could not find in the heap a single seed that had not been treated in
this way. Of course
none of the seeds that had their ends bitten off would
grow; and you might as well sow grains of sand as the seed found in ants’
nests.”
The necessity of providing for the spiritual experiences of the
future
I. The important
and interesting truth which these words suggest. That provision ought to be
made for the future.
1. We should make provision for the soul.
2. What is the kind of provision needed for the soul?
3. The period against which we are to make this provision. The winter
of death and eternity.
II. The season in
which this provision is to be made. The ants secure their winter requirements
during the summer. Our life may be compared to summer for two reasons--
1. Because during the summer we have every needful opportunity of
getting ready for the winter.
2. Because summer is the only time in which this provision for the
winter can be made.
III. The reproof
which is here given to those who neglect to make the provision.
1. The force of this rebuke arises from the insignificance of the
being by whose conduct we are reproved.
2. The disadvantageous circumstances in which they are said to be
placed.
3. From that which they make their provision.
4. From the season against which they provide.
5. From the epithet applied to those who are negligent.
IV. The advice
which the wise man gives.
1. A lesson of wisdom.
2. A lesson of industry.
3. A lesson of perseverance. If not making this preparation
what
will by and by be our moral destitution! (J. Coe.)
Industry
The indolent and improvident are here addressed. They are sent to
the inferior creation for a lesson; and not to the greatest and noblest of the
animals
but to one of the least and most insignificant of the insects. The
providence of the ant has
by some naturalists
been questioned. It has been
alleged that during winter they are
like some other insects
in a state of
torpidity
and therefore need not the precaution ascribed to them in Proverbs 6:8. On this we observe--
1. If the fact of their laying up provisions be ascertained
all
analogy more than warrants the conclusion that it is for some end.
2. It is said the stock laid up is not for winter
but for the
sustenance of the young
when they need the almost undivided attention of the
whole. But as a proof of providence
this comes to the same thing.
3. The assertion that the laying up of provisions by the ant is a
mistake may not apply to the ants of every country. In tropical climates they
do lay up provisions. The main lesson the sluggard has to learn from the ant is
industry.
Three grounds of this duty are indicated in Scripture--
1. That persons may not be a burden on society or on the Church.
2. That they may be out of the way of temptation; for there are many
temptations in idle habits.
3. That they may have wherewith to assist others
whose needs
from
unavoidable causes
may be greater than their own. One perilous characteristic
of sloth is
that it is ever growing. (R. Wardlaw.)
The teaching of the ant
Man was created with more understanding than the beasts of the
earth. But our minds are so debased by our apostasy from God that the meanest
creatures may become our teachers.
I. The character
of the person whom the wise man here addresses. The sluggard! Sloth casteth
into a deep sleep
and in the verses following the text the sluggard is
represented as in this state. He spends his time in fruitless wishes. He is
discouraged by the least opposition. He creates imaginary dangers for himself.
We know well who they are whose hands refuse to labour
who are clothed with
rags
and make poverty not only
their complaint
but their argument. But sloth is not confined to the common
affairs of life
nor the character
of a sluggard to men in any particular station. There is sloth in religion;
neglecting the one thing needful
the care of our immortal souls.
II. The counsel or
advice which the wise man hath given us. The ant instructeth us not by speech
but by actions. Therefore we are called to “consider her ways”; how she is
employed
and for what ends she is active. The wisdom we learn from the ant is
the wisdom of acting suitably to our superior nature and our glorious hopes. We
learn from the ant three things--
1. A foresight and sagacity in making provision for the time to come.
How dreary must the winter of life be
when the previous seasons have been
passed in sloth
in idleness
or in folly!
2. Activity and diligence. The ant never intermits her labours as
long as the season lasts. Happy were it for man that he as faithfully employed
his precious time to render himself useful in this world
or to prepare for
eternity.
3. Sagacity in making use of the proper season for activity.
Opportunity is the flower of time; or it is the most precious part of it
which
if once lost
may never return. Foresight
diligence
and sagacity the
ant employs by an instinct of nature. She has no guide
but we have many
guides. She “hath no overseer
” but man acts under the immediate inspection of
Him “whose eyes are as a flame of fire.” And the voice of conscience in us is
the voice of God. The ant “hath no ruler
” or judge to call her to account for
her conduct; but every one of us must give account of himself to God.
III. Improvement of
the subject.
1. The sluggard sins against the very nature which God hath given
him.
2. The sluggard sins against the manifest design of providence.
3. The sluggard sins against the great design of the gospel. Let us
then be no longer “slothful in business
” but “fervent in spirit
serving the
Lord.” (R. Walker.)
Lessons for children from the ant
An ant could tell us strange things. She could tell about the
houses they live in
some of which are forty stories high
twenty stories being
dug out
one beneath another
under the earth
and twenty stories being built
up over them
above ground; she could tell about the different kinds of trades
they follow
how some are miners
and dig down into the ground; some are
masons
and build very curious houses
with long walls
supported by pillars
and covered over with arched ceilings. She could tell how some are carpenters
who build houses out of wood
having many chambers which communicate with each
other by entries and galleries; how some are nurses
and spend their whole time
taking care of the young ones; some are labourers
and are made
like the negro
slaves
to work for their masters; while some are soldiers
whose only business
it is to mount guard
and stand ready to defend their friends and
fellow-citizens. The ants teach:
I. A lesson of
industry. The ant is a better example of industry than even the bee.
II. A lesson of
perseverence. They never get discouraged by any difficulties they may meet
with. Perseverance conquers all things.
III. A lesson of
union. The benefits of being united
and working together. The union of the
ants both preserves them safely and enables them to do great good.
IV. A lesson of
kindness. Ants are a very happy set of creatures. There seems to be nothing
like selfishness among them.
V. A lesson of
prudence
or looking ahead. The power to think about the future
and to prepare
for it. (R. Newton
D. D.)
Verse 7
Which having no guide
overseer
or ruler.
Overseers needed
When I began to employ workmen in this country (Palestine)
nothing annoyed me more than the necessity to hire also an overseer
or to
fulfil this office myself. But I soon found that this was universal and
strictly necessary. Without an overseer very little work would be done
and
nothing as it should be. The workmen
every way unlike the ant
will not work
at all unless kept to it
and directed in it by an overseer
who is himself a
perfect specimen of laziness. He does absolutely nothing but smoke his pipe
order this
scold that one
and discuss the how and the why with the men
themselves
or with idle passers by. The ants manage far better. Every one
attends to his own business and does it well. (W. Thomson.)
Verse 9
How long wilt thou sleep
O sluggard?
when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?
The sleeper aroused
The various authors of Scripture are accurately acquainted with
the human character. Among numerous defective habits and characteristics of our
nature
which Solomon points out and condemns
is that of indolence; excessive
fondness for ease and personal indulgence. The language of the text may be used
in connection with the affairs of religion and of the soul.
I. The state which
is deprecated. It is a state of “sleep”--a moral condition of which corporeal
sleep furnishes the most apt representation.
1. Notice its moral characteristics. The state of sleep is a state of
forgetfulness
a state of ignorance
and a state of insensibility. What man is
to the material world in a state of corporeal sleep
that he is to the
spiritual world when he is influenced by his original and his natural passions.
The spiritual characteristics of man’s condition
illustrated by the metaphor
of the text
will be found to be borne out by the entire and uniform testimony
of the Word of God. That testimony is
from the commencement to the close
a
record of human depravity
operating in connection with forgetfulness
with
ignorance
and with insensibility
and hence deriving
and hence preserving over the
species its empire of corruption and of abominable foulness.
2. Notice its penal evils. Sleep is a state of privation and
insecurity. The characteristics we have noticed are not involuntary
they are
wilful. They are not unfortunate
they are guilty. They are heinous and
flagrant transgressions against the law
and against the authority
of God. And
hence it is
they expose the persons indulging them to a dispensation of
displeasure and of wrath.
II. The change
which is desired. There should be an awaking and “arising out of sleep.”
1. In what does this change consist? The spiritual awakening which is
desired constitutes a condition precisely the reverse of that which already has
been defined. It consists in s state in which man exchanges forgetfulness for
remembrances
ignorance for illumination
and insensibility for sensitiveness
and tenderness. Spiritual truth is now discerned
contemplated
believed
and
felt; and it produces in the mind all the affections
and in the life all the
habits
for which it was designed: repentance
prayerfulness
love to God
zeal
for God
obedience to God
diligence in working out the salvation of the soul
and intense and constant aspirings after a state of salvation in the glory of
another world. The penal evils
which formerly dwelt over the horizon of the
spirit as with the darkness of midnight
are dispelled
and are made to
disappear.
2. How is this change produced? There is one Agent
by whose power it
must exclusively and efficaciously be performed--the agency of the Holy Spirit
of God. The Divine Spirit is the one efficacious source of all that is holy and
redeeming in the character and circumstances of man. But there are certain
means
appointed by the authority of God
to be addressed by those who have
been changed to those who have not
and in connection with them it is that the
Spirit produces the desired and happy result. Illustration of the use of means
is found in the parable of the valley of dry bones. The system of means exists
with remarkable plenitude and sufficiency in the dispensation of the gospel.
III. The appeal
which is enforced. The challenge implies that there ought to be no
procrastination or delay in the change which is desired and pleaded for.
Pleading with sinners
I would say--
1. Consider the protracted period of time during which you have indulged in
slumber already.
2. Consider the increased difficulty of awakening the longer the
slumber is indulged.
3. Consider the rapidly approaching termination of life
and arrival
of judgment and eternity. (James Parson.)
Too much sleep
As waking idleness was condemned before
so sleepy idleness is
condemned here. Sloth begets sleep.
I. God will call
men to a reckoning for their time.
1. God gives us time as a talent in trust.
2. God looks for some good from men in their time.
II. Too much sleep
is as bad as waking idleness.
1. Overmuch sleep is the fruit of idleness. Men that have much to do
have little mind or time for sleep.
2. As little good is done in sleep as in waking idleness. Moderate
your sleep. Too much sleep makes a man heavy and dull-witted. (Francis
Taylor
B. D.)
The danger of delaying repentance
We have the sluggard’s picture drawn in reference to his eternal
concerns. He is one that puts off his great work from time to time. Here is
something supposed. The sleeper convinced that he has slept and neglected his
work. The sleeper convinced that he must awake and set to his work. The sleeper
resolved to awake and mind his business. Something expressed. A delay craved.
The quantity of this delay: it is but a little in the sluggard’s conceit. The
mighty concern he is in for this delay. We have the fatal issue of the course.
Delays are dangerous. Consider what ruin comes upon him; how this ruin comes
upon him--swiftly
silently and surprisingly
irresistibly. This is all owing
to the cursed love of ease. The delay and putting off repentance or
salvation-work is a soul-ruining course among gospel-hearers.
I. Why is it that
gospel-hearers delay and put off repentance?
1. Satan has a great hand in this. He is always urging either that it
is too soon or else that it is too long a doing.
2. The cares and business of the world contribute much to this.
3. The predominant love of carnal ease.
4. The predominant love of sin.
5. A natural aversion and backwardness to holiness. When light is let
into the mind
but the aversion still remains in the will
what can be expected
but that the business of repentance
which they dare not absolutely refuse
will
be delayed?
6. The hope of finding the work easier afterwards.
7. A large reckoning on the head of time that is to come.
8. A fond conceit of the easiness of salvation-work.
9. A conceit of sufficient ability in ourselves to turn ourselves
from sin unto God.
II. This delaying
is a soul-ruining course.
1. It is directly opposite to the gospel call
which is for to-day
not for tomorrow. All the calls of the gospel require present compliance.
2. It is threatened with ruin. And this threatening has been accomplished
in many whom their slothful days have caused to perish.
3. Whenever grace touches the heart men see that it is so.
4. It has a native tendency to soul-ruin. The state of sin is a state of
wrath
where ruin must needs compass a man about on every hand. The longer men
continue in sin
spiritual death advanceth the more upon them. While they
remain in this state there is but a step betwixt them and death
which you may
be carried over by a delay of ever so short a time.
Use 1. For
information: That delayers of repentance are self-destroyers
self-murderers.
By delays the interest of hell is advanced. Satan is most busy to ply the
engine of delays. They are sinners’ best friends that give them least rest in a
sinful course.
Use 2. Of
lamentation: Thou knowest not the worth of a precious soul
which thou are
throwing away for what will not profit. Thou knowest not the excellency of the
precious Christ. Thou knowest not the worth of precious time. Thou knowest not
the weight of the wrath of God. Thou dost not observe what speed thy ruin is
making while thou liest at ease. Thou dost not observe how near thy destruction
may be. Thou dost not observe how utterly unable thou art to ward off the blow
when it comes.
Use 3. Of
reproof to delayers of salvation-work: To delaying saints. A delay of righting
their case when matters are wrong
by receiving their repentance and the
actings of faith. The delaying to give up some bosom-idol that mars their
communion with God. The delaying to clear their state before the Lord. The
delaying of some particular duty
or piece of generation-work
which they are
convinced God calls them to. The delaying of actual preparation for eternity.
To delaying sinners: Is the debt of sin so small upon thy head that thou must
run thyself deeper in the debt
of God’s justice? Is not the holy law binding on thee? Who has assured thee
that ever thou shalt see the age thou speakest of? Who has the best right to
thy youth and strength? Ye middle-age people
why do ye delay repentance? I
exhort you all to delay repentance and salvation-work no longer. (T. Boston
D. D.)
Verse 12
A naughty person
a wicked man
walketh with a froward mouth.
A bad man
I. The portrait of
a bad man.
1. He is perverse in speech. He has no regard for truth or propriety.
False
irreverent
impure
audacious.
2. He is artful in his conduct. “Winketh with his eyes
” etc. He
expresses his base spirit in crafty and clandestine and cunning methods. He is
anything but straightforward and transparent.
3. Mischievous in purpose. “Deviseth mischief.” Malevolence is his
inspiration. He rejoiceth in evil.
II. The doom of a
bad man. “Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly.” This doom is--
1. Certain. The moral laws of the universe and the Word of God
guarantee the punishment of sin.
2. Sudden. “Suddenly shall he be broken.” The suddenness does not
arise from want of warning
but from the neglect of warning.
3. Irremediable. “Without remedy.” When once his doom is fixed
there
is no alteration. “As the tree falls
so it must lie.” (D.
Thomas
D. D.)
False liberty
In human nature
as in every other
there is an innate love of
freedom. But alas! in human nature
as fallen
this principle
good in itself
has taken a sadly perverse direction. It is too often the mere love of
following
without restraint
our own inclinations. And while aversion to
restraint is common to all
it is peculiarly strong in the bosom of youth. The
freedom
not the want of it
is sometimes the thing really to be ashamed of. (R.
Wardlaw.)
Naughtiness
“A man of Belial.” Perhaps an unthrifty man; certainly a lawless
man. A man of naughtiness. A child of the devil.
I. A notoriously
wicked man cares for no laws of God or man.
1. He hath stopped the mouth of his conscience with his sins.
2. He has no love to either God or man
therefore he disregards both.
3. He fears neither
and therefore slights their laws.
4. He sees many escape
and such examples harden their hearts.
II. Such a man’s
life is altogether wicked.
1. His thoughts are altogether earthly.
2. All his delight is in wickedness.
III. A perverse
mouth is a sure mark of an ungodly man.
1. Few
or only the extremely wicked
will talk or boast of their
wickedness.
2. When men are grown to this height they are beyond the Cape of Good
Hope. A crooked mind will make a crooked mouth. Take heed. God hath given thee
a mouth to speak to His glory
not to dishonour Him
nor to proclaim thine own
shame. (Francis
Taylor
B. D. )
Verse 13
He winketh with his eyes
he speaketh with his feet
he teacheth
with his fingers.
Secret ways of speaking
The wicked man not only his abuseth big mouth
but also his eyes
feet
and fingers. When he is ashamed
or wants power to utter his mind as he
would in words
he makes it known by signs; showing forth his spleen
lust
or
contempt by his eyes
feet
or fingers. He is much addicted to perverse
speeches who
when his tongue fails
speaks with his other members. He cannot
hold; he must make his mind known to his brethren in evil some way or other. He
makes known occasions of evil to his companions by signs. He acts his part to
draw others to folly. What he cannot or dare not persuade to by words
that he
doth by gestures. His tongue is not sufficient to express his wickedness. He
useth gestures instead of words. He omits no way to stir up others to
wickedness. He useth three quick members
that are easily moved
to show his
quick
wicked wit by them. He abuses all the members of his body
but
especially eyes
feet
and hands
to be signs of lewdness
he is wholly
composed of fraud
and while he counterfeits goodness in words
practices
mischief by signs. The froward person cannot always speak well
and therefore
must sometimes hold his peace
and show his mind by tokens
lest his wicked
disposition be discovered.
I. A wicked man
makes his mind known by his eyes. So Eliphaz conceived of Job (Job 15:12. See also Psalms 35:19).
1. In general. There is a faculty in all the members
some way or
other to express the thoughts of the heart
though not so clear as in the
tongue. Men use these faculties when they are ashamed to speak what they would
have
or would be understood only by their partners in evil
to whom they give
particular known tokens.
2. In particular. Men by the eyes give signs of wantonness. Men wink
for flattery
as conniving at
or tacitly commending what others say or do. Or
for derision
as intimating secretly to a friend that another man’s words or
actions are ridiculous. Or for secret solicitation to another
to do some evil
as to strike or wound a man.
II. A wicked man’s
feet can speak. They speak--
1. Rage and anger
as when men stamp with their feet.
2. Murder
when they go apace to take occasion to kill.
3. Wantonness. So the treading on the toe is commonly interpreted by
wantons.
III. A wicked man’s
fingers teach folly.
1. Anger. Men hold out the finger by way of threatening.
2. Derision. We can mock with our fingers.
3. Mischief. By lifting up the finger giving a sign to hurt others. (Francis
Taylor
B. D.)
How character is expressed
Naughty people think that no one knows anything about their
naughtiness
when the truth is
that everybody knows it. The inward character
of the man is expressed through mouth
eyes
hands
and feet.
I. eyes. “He
winketh with his eyes.” How much of the character the eye expresses! There is
the open
clear
intelligent look that speaks volumes. There is the low
cunning look
the guilty
stealthy look of the criminal--well known and easily
detected by experts. The eye speaks all the motions of the mind. It can
command
entreat
repel
invite
subdue. Emerson says
“The eye obeys exactly
the action of the mind.”
II. Feet express
the character. Compare the firm step of the business man and the shuffling
wriggle of the loafer. How much of bad character is expressed in the word
“tramp”! The Bible often designates the whole character of a man by the word
“walk.”
III. Hands have a
language. The wave of the hand
the use of the hands in public address
the
sign or signal between two persons. The dumb talk together with their hands.
Learn--
1. If you would be received as a worthy person
you must be worthy at
heart.
2. If you would be known as upright
you must be such at heart.
3. If you aspire to rank in the community as a lady or gentleman
you
must be such in every fibre of your being. Character always carries its own
certificate with it. (George H. Smyth.)
These six things doth the Lord hate.
The seven abominable things
A catalogue of evils specially odious to the Infinite One.
I. Haughty
bearing. “A proud look.” Pride is frequently represented in the Bible as an
offence to the Holy God. Haughtiness is an abomination
because it implies--
1. Self-ignorance.
2. Unkindness.
3. Irreverence.
II. Verbal
falsehood. “A lying tongue.”
1. Falsehood always implies a wrong heart. A pure heart supplies no
motive for falsehood. Vanity
avarice
ambition
cowardice are the parents and
patrons of lies.
2. Falsehood always has a bad social tendency. It disappoints
expectations
shakes confidence
loosens the very foundations of social order.
III. Heartless
cruelty. “Hands that shed innocent blood.” Cruelty implies--
1. An utter lack of sympathy with God’s creatures.
2. An utter lack of sympathy with God’s mind. He who inflicts pain is
out of sympathy both with the universe
and with his Maker.
IV. Vicious
scheming. “A heart that deviseth wicked imaginations.” There are some hearts so
bad that they are ever inventing some evil thing. Illustrate by antediluvian
man.
V. Mischievous
eagerness. “Feet swift in running to mischief.” They not only do mischief
but they do it eagerly
with ready vigilance; they have a greed for it.
VI. Social slander.
The slanderer is amongst the greatest of social curses. He robs his fellow-creature of his
greatest treasure--his own reputation
and the loving confidence of his
friends.
VII. Disturbing
strife. “And he that soweth discord among brethren.” He who by tale-bearing
ill-natured stories
and wicked inventions produces the disruptions of
friendship
is abhorrent to that God who desires His creatures to live in love
and unity. This subject serves to show three things--
1. The moral hideousness of the world. These seven evils everywhere
abound.
2. The immaculate purity of God. He hates these things. Therefore
they are foreign to himself.
3. The true mission of the godly--to endeavour to rid the world of
the evils offensive to Heaven. (D. Thomas
D. D.)
My son
keep thy father’s commandment
and forsake not the law of
thy mother.
Words of counsel to schoolboys
While your recollections of home are fresh I am anxious to direct
your thoughts to one or two matters to which those recollections may possibly
give a weight and a force which they might not otherwise possess.
I. Cherish home
ties as among your most sacred possessions. One of the dangers of public
school-life is learning to disparage feelings of affection for the home. It is
not manly to scorn those boys who are at times “home-sick.” The truest
manliness is not
and cannot be
divorced from tenderness; and while I would
enforce with all my heart the necessity for courage in facing the first trouble
of a schoolboy’s life
I would remind all who listen to me that the boy who
retains most strongly his affection for his home will grow up a truer man and a
truer gentleman than the youth who casts those affections on one side as something
to be ashamed of.
II. Do not suppose
that school life is in any way intended to supersede your home life. Most of
you have come from homes in which you have been the objects of Christian
thoughtfulness
and the subjects of religious training. The higher branches of
what is called “secular knowledge” are but branches of the teaching that was begun at
home. Secular is not opposed to sacred. Is not all learning sacred? “The fear
of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”; and there is no true knowledge which
may not be said to have its spring there. In the text Solomon means by the
“father’s commandment” those principles of godliness and virtue which are
inculcated in every Christian home. Not one of you has come here to begin
and
not one of you will here complete
his education. When God sends us into the
world it is that we may be educated for Him--trained for Him. That
training--with all its defects and failings--begins in the home
and
wherever
we may afterwards go
and under whatever circumstances we may afterwards be
placed
our after-life is only a continuation of what our home life has been.
When you leave school
carry your home life--those affections and feelings
which have been wakened in you in the midst of those whom you love--carry these
into your after-life
for without them life will be incomplete
III. Never be
ashamed of your religion. John Angell James attributed his position as a
Christian man to the courage of a fellow-apprentice
who kneeled by his bedside
to pray
when James was neglecting to do so through feelings of shame. That
apprentice dared to do right. He was not ashamed to have it known that he
prayed to God. It was said of an old naval officer
two or three hundred years
ago
that as he feared God
he knew no other fear.
IV. Give your
hearts wholly to the God of your fathers. Youth is the fittest time for
religion
as it is the best time for learning anything. While your hearts are
still fresh
and still susceptible of good impressions
yield them up to the
Saviour. (F. Wagstaff.)
Verse 22
When thou goest
it shall lead thee.
The comfort of the thought of God’s guidance in after-life of
those brought up in His fear and love
Who is there who has never felt in his heart a wish for some one
to advise
direct
and help him? There is an Adviser
a Helper
promised to us
able
powerful to guide and help us with unerring wisdom through any
difficulties or troubles--the gracious Father
the redeeming Son
the Spirit
that maketh holy. All of us need
daily need
such a Companion
such a
Comforter. Those who will meet together and receive God’s blessing from the
hand of the bishop in confirmation
where will they all be in a few years
nay
perhaps when another year has passed over their heads? Wherever they may be
this one thing awaits them
temptation--temptation as different as their own
circumstances and dispositions
but still temptation. The old fables and
monkish legends represent Satan coming in different shapes to one another
according to their particular weakness--to one as a gold-finder showing his
hidden treasure
to another as a handsome winning man
offering life of
pleasure
to another as a beautiful woman enticing to ways of sin. But all these
mean the same thing--that the world
the flesh
and the devil shape their
temptations so as best to catch each unprotected soul. There is no saying what
that temptation will be like; for to each it may be different according to
where he is
and what he is. Some may be tempted by getting on in the world
some by not getting on
some by idle follies
some by busy follies. Let their
life be what it may
we can comfort ourselves with the thought that they are
prepared
that they have had the best kind of preparation
that which cometh
from God only
the knowledge of His mercies and promises
the help of His Holy
Spirit. Shall we try to look a little more closely down the long avenue of
time
and see them as they will be; some we can fancy taking root here
spreading
out their branches safely under the shelter of Christ’s Church; some may be
found settling far away
some not settling at all
but drifting hither and
thither on the changeful tides of life; but what of their souls
which will be
bettering or worsening from day to day? We have trained them to know
to fear
and to love the Lord their Saviour
their Comforter
their God; and that God
has promised His all-powerful Spirit shall garrison their souls
and strengthen
them to fight the life-long fight of faith
if they will not slacken or desert
His service. So we will cheer ourselves with the thought that as
like Joseph
they have been bred up in the fear and nurture of the Lord
so they will be
able to render as good an account of themselves. (Archdeacon Mildmay.)
When thou awakest
it
shall talk with thee.
Man’s counsellor
I. The subject of
this statement--what it is that will do this. The commandment and law of
religious and well-instructed persons come to be equivalent to the law of God.
“It” really stands for God’s book. “Talk” is expressive of that familiarity and
friendship which may come to be established between the mind and heart of a
young man and the wisdom of God personified and embodied in the book. There is
a sacred familiarity
an affectionate friendship
an intercourse of tenderness.
Two or three things characterise this sacred converse and intercourse.
1. It will talk with you on the most important subjects.
2. It will talk with you in all sorts of ways.
3. It will talk with authority.
There is nothing harsh
nothing grating in its tone of authority
if the heart be right. But it will talk with honest plainness. This friend will
speak to you with openness and honesty
and with the plainness of reproof. Two
or three things you must carry with you in order that this converse may be
fully beneficial.
1. You must be on terms of sincerity with the Bible. You must not
come reluctantly
nor with doubt
nor to ridicule; you must not come in an
improper spirit of questioning. This book treats a man just as one man treats
another. To the “froward it will show itself froward.”
2. There must be serious and earnest prayer for God’s enlightening
and guiding Spirit.
3. There must be frequent and sometimes prolonged and deep meditation
on the words spoken.
There are three ways in which may be illustrated the time that is
here indicated--“When thou awakest.”
1. Take the expression literally. When you come back in the morning
to consciousness.
2. Take the expression figuratively. At particular times
through the
force of inward thoughts or of outward circumstances
young man may suddenly
wake up to his peril
foolishness
sin--to duty
the greatness of life
the
past
the future.
3. Youth figuratively is emphatically a time of awakening to the
realities of life. The young man wakes up to his personal individuality
to a
sense of his obligations
feeling that there are now many things which depend
on his own judgment--upon himself.
II. The object of
discourse in the chapter. To warn the young man against things which may injure
and ruin in a worldly point of view. And there is a far greater connection
between the ruin of a man in a worldly respect and the ruin of the soul than
people are apt to imagine. Three causes of ruin--
1. Want of caution. Illustrated in giving your name in a bond or
guarantee for another. Speculations
hazardous schemes
efforts to get profit
without giving sweat. It is God’s law that we shall purchase everything with
the sweat of our brow; and all hazardous speculations
all gambling transactions
are
in fact
efforts to evade this law.
2. Indolence. There are some people who seem to be asleep all day
long.
3. Profligacy. There is not only the seduction of man by the harlot
but the
injury of man by his fellow-man. This last is a more complicated crime than the
first. The man who gives way to any impure form of vice is said to “lack
understanding
” to “destroy his own soul.”
III. The
characteristics of a man who is on the road to ruin. Along with the evil
imaginations of the heart
a false tongue
and the love of sowing discord
there is a loss of manliness
of transparency
of sincerity
and the like.
Conclusion:
1. Give a spiritual turn to the teaching of the chapter
and see what
spiritual thoughts may be educed from it.
2. Invite young men who accept the Christian faith to devote
themselves to God’s service in the beginning of life.
3. Being so devoted
see that ye be not led away and seduced from
your steadfastness by the world
the flesh
and the devil. Look ahead; always
consider consequences. You are living under great moral laws
and you can no
more alter those laws
you can no more avoid their working out their results
than you can turn the sun from its course. Beware of doing any one thing
of
giving way to any one temptation
from which grievous results may arise. (Thomas
Binney.)
The talking book
It is a very happy circumstance when the commandment of our father
and the law of our mother are also the commandment of God and the law of the
Lord. Happy are they who have a double force to draw them to the right--the
bonds of nature and the cords of grace. God’s law should be a guide to
us--“When thou goest
it shall lead thee”; a guardian to us--“when thou
sleepest”--when thou art defenceless and off thy guard--“it shall keep thee”;
and a dear companion to us--“when thou awakest
it shall talk with thee.”
I. We perceive
that the world is living. How else could it be said--“It shall talk with thee”?
1. It is living
because it is pure truth. Error is death
truth is
life. The tooth of time devours all lies. Truth never dies.
2. It is the utterance of an immutable
self-existing
God.
So the Word is sure
steadfast
and full of power. It is never out of date.
3. It enshrines the living heart of Christ. The living Christ is in
the book; you behold His face on almost every page.
4. The Holy Spirit has a peculiar connection with the Word of God.
The work of the Spirit in men’s hearts is done by the texts which ministers
quote rather than by their explanations of them. Take care
then
how you
trifle with a book which is so instinct with life.
II. We perceive
that the word is personal. “It shall talk with thee.”
1. God’s Word talks about men
and about modern men; about the
paradise of unfallen manhood
the fall
the degeneracy of the race
and the
means of its redemption.
2. God’s Word speaks to men in all states and conditions before
God--to sinners and to the children of God.
3. God’s Word is personal to all our states of mind. It goes into all
details of our case
let our state be what it may.
4. God’s Word is always faithful. You never find the Word of God
keeping back that which is profitable for you. This suggests a little healthful
self-examination. “How does the Word of God speak to my soul?”
III. We perceive
that Holy Scripture is very familiar. “Talk with thee.” To talk signifies
fellowship
communion
familiarity. Scripture speaks the language of men; it
comes down to our simplicity; it is familiar as to all that concerns us; it
answers inquiries.
IV. We perceive
that the Word of God is responsive. “With thee
” not “to thee.” Talk with a man
is not all on one side. To talk with a man means answering talk from him.
Scripture is a marvellously conversational book; it talks and it makes men
talk.
V. We perceive
that Scripture is influential. When the Word of God talks with us
it
influences us. All talk influences more or less. This book soothes our sorrows
and encourages us. It has a wonderfully elevating power. It warns and
restrains. It sanctifies and moulds the mind into the image of Christ. It
confirms and settles us. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Verse 23
The law is light
The law is light
The fitness and beauty of this comparison of the law of God
with fight are seen immediately.
If we consider the nature of law we find that it is like the nature of
sunlight. There is nothing so pure and clean as light
and there is nothing so
pure and stainless as the Divine law. There is nothing so ubiquitous as light.
It is everywhere. How very like this light in the material universe is the law
of God in the rational. The one naturally suggests and symbolises the other.
The moral law is the ordinance which establishes and governs the moral
universe. The command
“Let there be light
” founded and sustains the material
world; and the command
“Let there be supreme love of God
” founds and sustains
the rational and responsible world. Both commands are universal and
all-pervading. Within the rational and reasonable sphere law is everywhere. But
there are different degrees of moral light as there are different degrees of
natural light. Our object now is to show the similarity between the moral law
and the material light by looking at its influences and effects in the soul
rather than by analysing its intrinsic nature.
I. The moral law
reveals like sunlight. It makes the sin which still remains in the Christian a
visible thing. Believers are continually urged in the Scriptures to bring their
hearts into the light of God’s law that they may see the sin that is in them.
If we would thoroughly understand our intricate and hidden corruption
we must
by prayer and reflection intensify the light of the moral law that it may
penetrate more deeply into the deep mass
even as the naturalist must concentrate
the light of the sun through the lens if he would thoroughly know the plant or
the insect. Every Christian who is at all faithful to himself and to God has
experienced these illuminating and revelatory influences of the law. But for
the believer the law makes its disclosures in a hopeful and salutary manner.
The believer has been delivered from the condemning power of the law. The
“curse” of the law Christ
his Surety
has borne for him.
II. The law for the
believer in Christ attracts like the light. Light in the material world
universally attracts. When the sun rises up and bathes the world in light how
all nature rises up to meet it! Just so does the moral law attract the world of
holy beings. They love the law for its intrinsic excellence
and seek it with
the whole heart. Their very natures are pure like the law
and like always
attracts like. If there be in any soul even the least degree of real holiness
there is a point of attraction upon which the law of God will seize and draw.
There is a continual tendency and drift of a holy soul towards God. This view
of the Divine law as an attractive energy is an encouraging one to the
believer. It affords good grounds for the perseverance of the saints.
III. The law for the
believer in Christ invigorates like light. This point of resemblance is not
quite so obvious. We more commonly think of the air as the invigorating element
in nature
yet it is true of the light that its presence is necessary in order
that the spirits of a man may be lively and in vigorous action. The plant that
grows up in the darkness is a pale and weak thing. Similar is the effect of the
moral law upon one who is resting upon Christ. For the disciple of Christ the
law is no longer a judge
but only an instructor. The terrors of the law have
lost their power. The law also invigorates him
because
by virtue of his union
with Christ
it has become an inward and actuating principle. His heart has
been so changed by grace that he now really loves the law of God. For the
believer the law is the strength of holiness.
IV. The law for the
believer in Christ rejoices like the light. It is related in ancient story that
the statue of Memnon
when the first rays of the morning gilded it
began to
tremble and thrill and send forth music like a sweet harp. And such is the
joy-giving influence of righteous law in the heavenly world
and such is its
effect in the individual believer. It follows from this unfolding of the
subject that the great act of the Christian is the act of faith
and the great
work of the Christian is to cultivate and strengthen his faith. The moral law
like the material light
reveals
attracts
invigorates
and rejoices only
because the soul sustains a certain special relation to it. (G. T. Shedd
D.
D.)
Our lamp and light
Here the adjuncts of good precepts given by godly parents are set
down
which show the good to be gotten from them.
I. Godly parents
have many ways to guide their children. By commands
laws
wise reproofs
examples.
II. Directions of
godly parents are a great help to show us the right paths of life.
1. Godly parents are careful that their directions should agree with
God’s Word.
2. And they have walked themselves in the ways which they command.
III. Wise reproofs
are very profitable from a wise man.
1. They are useful in the Church and commonwealth and family.
2. Because as instructions keep men from sinful courses
so reproofs
bring men out of them and back to good ways again. Then be more careful to give
reproofs to your friends. Be patient in bearing reproof
and make a good use of
it. (Francis Taylor
B. D.)
To keep thee from the evil woman.
The sin of uncleanness
1. One great kindness God designed men in giving them His law was to
preserve them from this sin.
2. The greatest kindness we can do ourselves is to keep at a distance
from this sin. Arguments urging this caution are--
Can a man take fire in his bosom
and his clothes not be burned?
The danger of playing with enticements to sin
The law of the acquisition of knowledge is that the mind knows the
unknown through the known. It gets at the distant through the near
and at the
near through the nearer. It ascends to the Divine through the human
and
through the material and the temporal mounts up to the spiritual and eternal.
As a consequence
the teaching of the Scriptures in the feature alluded to is
more specific and intelligible to such a creature as man than it could be in
any other mode. The words of the text directly refer to the sin of adultery.
The wise man directs youth to the best defence against every tendency to this
evil. That defence he finds in the remembrance of
attention to
and conformity
with
the family training he received in the morning of life. Then
in a manner
remarkably elegant
he places before him the advantages he would reap by
assuming towards the law the attitude prescribed. The law is here personified
as a wise counsellor
as a careful guardian
and as an interesting companion.
That law will preserve against the particular dangers to which age and
circumstances make the young peculiarly liable. It is of prime importance to be
kept from the “ strange woman.” In the text the wise man returns again to the
necessity of directly resisting the evil in the occasion of it
in the
temptation to it
and that from the consideration of the impossibility of
playing with the enticement without falling into the sin.
I. Every
temptation presented to man addresses itself to a nature that is already
corrupt
and therefore liable to take to it. It appears from the history of
mankind that there is force enough in temptation
by keeping the mind in
fellowship with it
to influence even holy creatures so as to make them fall.
So it happened with our first parents in Eden. If there was such force in
temptation when there was nothing but holiness in the mind
what must be its
power to a creature that is already depraved? Wherever you find a man you find
a sinner. The bias of our nature is towards sin
the original propensity of our
minds is in the direction of evil. Here lies the danger of playing with
temptation. There is something in thee that is advantageous to it. The whole
moral nature of man is impaired. The moral deterioration of mankind is such as
to expose them to various assaults of temptation
and if any one boldly
frequents infectious places
dallying with and fondling the disease
it is
impossible for him
possessing the nature he does
to escape the contagion.
II. Man
in playing
with the temptation
puts himself directly in the way that leads naturally to
sin. Every sin has certain enticements peculiar to itself. The great moral
defect of thousands is that they do not recognise the sin in the enticement
thereto. Show how
by playing with temptation
a man may develop into a thief
a gambler
or a drunkard. Scripture not only forbids the sin itself
but also
all the occasions to it
and the first motions of the heart towards it. Do you
desire not to fall into any sin
then shut your ears that you hear not the
voice of the temptation; turn your eyes away from looking at it; bind yourself
to something strong enough to keep you from falling into its snare. When a man
plays with the temptation he is in the middle of the road which leads into the
sin.
III. Playing with
temptation to any evil shows some degree of bias in the nature to that
particular evil. It is in the communion of the mind with the temptation that
power resides
and if there be in the mind a sufficient amount of virtue--of
virtue the direct opposite of the sin to which the temptation prompts--to keep
a man on his guard from playing with it
he is perfectly safe from any injury
that may be inflicted
by it. In truth
when it is so the temptation is to him no longer a temptation.
When a man hates the sin with perfect hatred the temptation to it is hateful to
him
and he avoids not only the sin itself
but all occasions to it and all
things that might lead thereto. There is in each one of us separately some
predisposition to some particular sin
just as in some bodily constitutions
there is a predisposition to certain fevers. There may be something in a man’s
organism making him incline beforehand to some special sin
and thus placing
him under an obligation to exercise special vigilance against that sin. Natural
predispositions these may be called; but there are others
the result of habit
only
equally powerful in their influence and equally dangerous if any
advantage be given them to show themselves. And sometimes the natural
predispositions are strengthened by habit. When a man plays with any temptation
it is proof of some bias toward the sin which is the direct object of the
temptation. The playing with the temptation is nothing else than the heart
reaching out after the sin
the lust conceiving in the mind.
IV. Playing with
temptation only brings man into contact with sin on its agreeable side
and
thus gives it an advantage to make an impression favourable to itself on the
mind. It must be confessed that sin has its pleasure. It means the immediate satisfaction of the
depraved propensities of the nature. Only the pleasure of sin is in the
temptation. There you see the impossibility for any one to dally with it
without falling a prey to it.
V. Man
through
plating with temptation
weakens his moral resistance to the sin
and gradually
gets so weak that he cannot resist it. When a man entertains evil suggestion
his moral force begins to be undermined. One depraved thought invites another.
Playing with temptation eats away the moral energy. The conscience at last gets
so depraved that it permits unforbidden what it once condemned
and so step by
step
almost unwittingly to himself
the man finds himself utterly powerless to
resist temptation. And that is not all
but playing with the temptation keeps a
man from the only means through which he might acquire strength to overcome the
sin.
VI. Man
by playing
with temptation
at last tempts the spirit of God to withdraw his protection
from him
and to leave him to himself and a prey to his lust. Scriptures teach
that the Spirit of the Lord exerts His influence in different ways to keep one
from sin. Sometimes He overrules external circumstances. At other times He
influences the mind by means of certain reflections
so that the temptation
fails in its effect upon him. When a man continues to play with temptation
permitting his heart always to run in the channel of his lust
beginning to
give way to his first impulses and desires
he vexes and grieves God’s Spirit
and gradually offends Him so much that He withdraws from him
withholds His
protection and allows the temptation in all its force to assault him at a time
when lust is strong and the external opportunity perfectly advantageous. And
the result is he falls a prey to the temptation. (Owen Thomas
D. D.)
If he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry.
Theft through necessity
The deceitful and perverting influence of sin requires careful
consideration. While as yet it is only a principle in the mind
and not ripened
into an external action
it draws into its service the various powers of
imagination
invention
and even reason itself. By these powers the forbidden
object is represented as a source of peculiar enjoyment
or it is invested with
features of external attraction
or it is exhibited as fitted to gratify
curiosity at least
and to extend the sphere of natural knowledge. Even after
the principle is matured into action
and its fatal consequences begin to be
felt
it employs the same powers to find excuses and apologies for the act. The
sources from which apologies are drawn are exceedingly numerous. But this is
the striking peculiarity of sin
that it seeks with greatest eagerness to draw
them from the character
the providence
or the Word of God. The passage now
before us seems to hold out an excuse for stealing
or at least to take off the
odiousness and criminality of it.
I. The aspect of
this act in the sight of men. The text implies that by men it is considered as
venial or excusable. But it is the act under special limitations.
1. Limited exclusively to food. The thing stolen is not classed as
property. It is that which is seldom coveted
and never for its own sake except
under the influence of hunger. But this can never be drawn into an excuse for
stealing in general. The food is supposed to be taken by the thief only when he
is hungry. It is not inspired by covetousness
but by hunger. This is a very
important limitation. Food may be stolen with as much criminality as any other
thing
for it may be turned into money.
2. But the feeling of hunger itself is restricted by the text. The
purpose for which it supposes food to be stolen is to satisfy. The thief must
take no more even of it than is necessary to extinguish present hunger. He is
not permitted to carry any away either to provide against future necessity
or
to procure anything which he may be anxious to possess.
3. Food is supposed to be stolen merely to “satisfy the soul”--that
is
to preserve the life. The thief must be at the point of extreme necessity
at which
if he did not commit the act under consideration
he would actually
surrender his life.
II. The aspect of
this act in the sight of God. The text does not state that God regards this
thief with indulgence. The context implies that this individual has incurred
the penalty of the law
and must be punished if he be found. Mercy
which sets aside
the demands of the law
is only sin
and
if generally acted on
would be
attended with the most ruinous consequences. The mercy of man is a very
inadequate medium for contemplating the mercy of God. Though the act under
consideration may seem perfectly innocent to man
it may appear highly criminal
and dangerous in the sight of God. The justice of this estimate may be clearly
perceived by attending to this case of necessity in two aspects.
1. If the thief has been involved in this necessitous condition by
his own misconduct--by idleness
intemperance
or any other immoral habit--he
is plainly guilty. The very necessity to which he has been reduced is s sinful
necessity
since it has been occasioned by his own misconduct.
2. When he has been involved in it by the providence of God. Even in
this view the act under consideration is decidedly sinful. It is a serious
misimprovement and abuse of God’s providence. We may see that even the most
extreme case of necessity will not warrant unbelief and the commission of sin.
It is better to surrender even life itself than give way to an immoral and
criminal act. A case can never occur in which one precept of the law may be set
aside in order to avoid the violation of another. The case in which life is in
danger is evidently the most extreme; it plainly comprehends every other. If
the law is not to be broken in the superior
it is not to be broken in the
inferior case; if it is not to be violated when life is at stake
it is much
less to be violated when any inferior benefit is at stake. (George Hislop.)
Accused of theft
At one of the annual Waterloo banquets the Duke of Wellington
after dinner handed round for inspection a very valuable presentation snuff-box
set with diamonds. After a time it disappeared
and could nowhere be found. The
Duke was much annoyed. The guests (there being no servants in the room at the
time) were more so
and they all agreed to turn out their pockets. To this one
old officer most vehemently objected
and on their pressing the point left the
room
notwithstanding that the Duke begged that nothing more might be said
about the matter. Of course suspicion fell on the old officer; nobody seemed to
know much about him or where he lived. The next year the Duke at the annual
banquet put his hand in the pocket of his coat
which he had not worn since the
last dinner
and there was the missing snuff-box! The Duke was dreadfully
distressed
found out the old officer
who was living in a wretched garret
and
apologised. “But why
” said his Grace
“did you not consent to what the other
officers proposed
and thus have saved yourself from the terrible suspicion?”
“Because
sir
my pockets were full of broken meat
which I had contrived to
put there to save my wife and family
who were at that time literally dying of
starvation.” The Duke
it is said
sobbed like a child; and it need not be added
that the old officer and his family suffered no more from want from that day.
He that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.
The suicide of the soul
Lovely as maiden purity is
and crowned with benedictions though
it is by Christ
we have here to learn its excellence and fear its loss
by the
sad
stern picture of impurity and shameless sin. In these sad proverbs of
purity the wise man pictures to us in fearful personification wisdom’s rival
standing in the same great thoroughfares of earth and bidding to her shameful
pleasures the simple youth who throng the broad and crowded way. This is no
fancy picture allegorising the dangers of youth. It is drawn from reality
from
every-day life. There is no mistake in the outline
no exaggeration in the
colouring. The power of sin lies in its pleasure. They are mistaken who assert
that there are no gratifications in the enjoyments of sense. Were there none
they would not be so diligently sought. Sin
which brings death to the soul
is
yet sweet to the taste. The more we sin the more perverted becomes our taste
the more clamorous for further indulgence. But these stolen waters of sinful
pleasure are not always sweet. Pleasant though they may be at the first
they
will yet become bitter indeed. Much of the sinner’s peril grows out of his
simple ignorance. Sin naturally brings with it temporal and physical suffering.
But the pleasures of the sensualist are the preludes to a misery words refuse
to paint. The sentence that to the “defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure” is
fulfilled to the letter. Even the innocent pleasures of conversation become to
the sensualist defiling
for he turns them into the foul channel of his own
base thought. The mind and conscience of the impure are defiled. The mental
faculties of the depraved and sensual lose at once and for ever the power of
discerning and appreciating that which is excellent
lovely
and true. The deep
things of God are no subjects for the lover of sensual sin to dwell upon.
Sensuality not only prevents us from exercising our mental powers with freedom
and profit
but it also wastes and enfeebles those powers themselves. Long
since has this enfeebling of the intellectual man been noticed as the result of
impurity of life. The sensualist must make his choice between intellect and
mental imbecility. “If any man defile the temple of God
which is our body
him
will God destroy.” This avenging work of destruction is well-nigh accomplished
here on earth. Body
spirit
and soul--all is impure. But to the pure all
things are pure. Unheeding the solicitations of the wanton
they go straight on
their way. And this purity may be ours. Not indeed gained by our own strength
nor by
any strength save that which is found at the foot of the Cross. Why may we not
thus purify ourselves? To the life of purity we are called throughout the Book of
Proverbs
and the cry of heavenly Wisdom is
“Seek early
for the early seekers
shall find.” (Bp. William Stevens Perry.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》