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Proverbs
Chapter Twenty-six
Proverbs 26
Commentary on Proverbs 26:1
(Read Proverbs 26:1)
Honour is out of season to those unworthy and unfit for
it.
Commentary on Proverbs 26:2
(Read Proverbs 26:2)
He that is cursed without cause
the curse shall do him
no more harm than the bird that flies over his head.
Commentary on Proverbs 26:3
(Read Proverbs 26:3)
Every creature must be dealt with according to its
nature
but careless and profligate sinners never will be ruled by reason and
persuasion. Man indeed is born like the wild ass's colt; but some
by the grace
of God
are changed.
Commentary on Proverbs 26:4
5
(Read Proverbs 26:4
5)
We are to fit our remarks to the man
and address them to
his conscience
so as may best end the debate.
Commentary on Proverbs 26:6-9
(Read Proverbs 26:6-9)
Fools are not fit to be trusted
nor to have any honour.
Wise sayings
as a foolish man delivers and applies them
lose their
usefulness.
Commentary on Proverbs 26:10
(Read Proverbs 26:10)
This verse may either declare how the Lord
the Creator
of all men
will deal with sinners according to their guilt
or
how the
powerful among men should disgrace and punish the wicked.
Commentary on Proverbs 26:11
(Read Proverbs 26:11)
The dog is a loathsome emblem of those sinners who return
to their vices
2 Peter 2:22.
Commentary on Proverbs 26:12
(Read Proverbs 26:12)
We see many a one who has some little sense
but is proud
of it. This describes those who think their spiritual state to be good
when
really it is very bad.
Commentary on Proverbs 26:13
(Read Proverbs 26:13)
The slothful man hates every thing that requires care and
labour. But it is foolish to frighten ourselves from real duties by fancied
difficulties. This may be applied to a man slothful in the duties of religion.
Commentary on Proverbs 26:14
(Read Proverbs 26:14)
Having seen the slothful man in fear of his work
here we
find him in love with his ease. Bodily ease is the sad occasion of many
spiritual diseases. He does not care to get forward with his business. Slothful
professors turn thus. The world and the flesh are hinges on which they are
hung; and though they move in a course of outward services
yet they are not
the nearer to heaven.
Commentary on Proverbs 26:15
(Read Proverbs 26:15)
The sluggard is now out of his bed
but he might have
lain there
for any thing he is likely to bring to pass in his work. It is
common for men who will not do their duty
to pretend they cannot. Those that
are slothful in religion
will not be at the pains to feed their souls with the
bread of life
nor to fetch in promised blessings by prayer.
Commentary on Proverbs 26:16
(Read Proverbs 26:16)
He that takes pains in religion
knows he is working for
a good Master
and that his labour shall not be in vain.
Commentary on Proverbs 26:17
(Read Proverbs 26:17)
To make ourselves busy in other men's matters
is to
thrust ourselves into temptation.
Commentary on Proverbs 26:18
19
(Read Proverbs 26:18
19)
He that sins in jest
must repent in earnest
or his sin
will be his ruin.
Commentary on Proverbs 26:20-22
(Read Proverbs 26:20-22)
Contention heats the spirit
and puts families and
societies into a flame. And that fire is commonly kindled and kept burning by
whisperers and backbiters.
Commentary on Proverbs 26:23
(Read Proverbs 26:23)
A wicked heart disguising itself
is like a potsherd
covered with the dross of silver.
Commentary on Proverbs 26:24-26
(Read Proverbs 26:24-26)
Always distrust when a man speaks fair unless you know
him well. Satan
in his temptations
speaks fair
as he did to Eve; but it is
madness to give credit to him.
Commentary on Proverbs 26:27
(Read Proverbs 26:27)
What pains men take to do mischief to others! but it is
digging a pit
it is rolling a stone
hard work; and they prepare mischief to
themselves.
Commentary on Proverbs 26:28
(Read Proverbs 26:28)
There are two sorts of lies equally detestable. A
slandering lie
the mischief of this every body sees. A flattering lie
which
secretly works ruin. A wise man will be more afraid of a flatterer than of a
slanderer.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Proverbs》
Proverbs 26
Verse 2
[2] As the bird by wandering
as the swallow by flying
so
the curse causeless shall not come.
By flying — Secures itself from the fowler.
Not come — Upon the innocent person
but he shall escape from it
like a bird.
Verse 4
[4] Answer not a fool according to his folly
lest thou also
be like unto him.
According — So as to imitate his folly
by
passionate or reproachful speeches.
Verse 5
[5] Answer a fool according to his folly
lest he be wise in
his own conceit.
According — So as his folly needs and
requires
convincing him strongly
reproving him sharply
and exposing him to
just shame.
Verse 6
[6] He that sendeth a message by the hand of a fool cutteth
off the feet
and drinketh damage.
Cutteth off the feet — Of his messenger;
bids one go that wants legs.
Drinketh — Drinking
in scripture
frequently denotes the
plentiful doing or receiving of any thing.
Verse 7
[7] The legs of the lame are not equal: so is a parable in
the mouth of fools.
The legs — Heb. the legs of the lame are lifted up
in going
or
in dancing
which is done with great inequality and uncomeliness.
So — No less incident are wise and pious speeches from a
foolish and ungodly man.
Verse 8
[8] As he that bindeth a stone in a sling
so is he that
giveth honour to a fool.
Bindeth — Whereby he hinders his own design of throwing the
stone out of it.
So — No less absurd is he that giveth to a fool that honour
which he is not capable of using aright.
Verse 9
[9] As a thorn goeth up into the hand of a drunkard
so is a
parable in the mouth of fools.
A thorn — As a thorn is in a drunkard's hand
which he cannot
manage cautiously
but employs to his own and others hurt.
So — As unprofitable
and
by accident
hurtful to himself
and others.
Verse 10
[10] The great God that formed all things both rewardeth the
fool
and rewardeth transgressors.
Rewardeth — Will certainly give that
recompence which is deserved by fools and transgressors
by such as sin either
thro' ignorance
or wilfully.
Verse 14
[14] As the door turneth upon his hinges
so doth the
slothful upon his bed.
Turneth — Moving hither and thither upon it
but not removing
from its place.
Verse 16
[16] The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men
that can render a reason.
A reason — A satisfactory reason of ail their actions.
Verse 17
[17] He that passeth by
and meddleth with strife belonging
not to him
is like one that taketh a dog by the ears.
He — Who is going upon the way.
With strife — In which he is not concerned
nor
any way obliged to meddle.
That taketh — Exposes himself to needless
hazard.
Verse 18
[18] As a mad man who casteth firebrands
arrows
and death
And death — Any instruments of death.
Verse 23
[23] Burning lips and a wicked heart are like a potsherd
covered with silver dross.
Burning — With malice or hatred: A slanderous or evil tongue.
Dross — Such a tongue and heart are of no real worth
although
sometimes they make a shew of it
as dross does of silver.
Verse 26
[26] Whose hatred is covered by deceit
his wickedness shall
be shewed before the whole congregation.
Deceit — With false professions of love.
Verse 27
[27] Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that
rolleth a stone
it will return upon him.
Rolleth — Up the hill with design to do mischief to some person.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Proverbs》
26 Chapter 26
Verses 1-28
As snow in summer
and as rain in harvest
so honour is not seemly
for a fool
Honour paid to the wicked unseemly and pernicious
The respect which man pays his fellow is often grounded on reasons
immoral and absurd.
Sometimes man is respected on the ground of his personal appearance
sometimes
on the ground of his mental abilities
sometimes on the ground of his worldly
possessions
sometimes on the ground of his lineage and social position; but
respect for men on any of these grounds alone is very questionable in morality.
The true and Divinely authorised ground of respect for man is moral goodness.
The man who is morally good
however deficient in other things
has a Divine
claim to our honour.
I. Honour paid to the wicked
is unseemly. It is like “snow in summer and rain in harvest.” It is
unseasonable and incongruous. How unseemly nature would appear in August with
snow mantling our cornfields! Souls are morally constituted to reverence the
good; to abhor the morally bad
wherever it is seen
whether in connection with
lordly possessions
kingly power
or
what is higher still
mental genius.
II. Honour paid to the wicked
is pernicious. “Snow in summer and rain in harvest” are in nature mischievous
elements. Their tendency is to rob the agriculturist of the rewards of his
labour
and to bring on a
famine in the land. Far more mischievous is it when the people of a country
sink so morally low as to render honour to men who are destitute of moral
goodness. The perniciousness is also expressed by another figure in the text
“As he that bindeth a stone in a sling
so is he that giveth honour to a fool.”
The word translated “sling” means a heap of stones
and the word “stone” a
precious stone. Hence the margin reads
“As he that putteth a precious stone in
an heap of stones
so is he that giveth honour to a fool.” The idea evidently
is
as a precious stone amongst rubbish
so is honour given to a fool. (D.
Thomas
D. D.)
Verse 2
As the bird by
wandering
as the swallow by flying
so the curse causeless shall not come.
Human anathemas
Another
and perhaps a
better
translation is this
“Unsteady as the sparrow
as the flight of the
swallow
is a causeless curse; it cometh not to pass.” “There is a difficulty
here
” says Wardlaw
“in settling the precise point in the comparison. The
ordinary interpretation explains it with reference to curses pronounced by men
without cause--imprecations
anathemas
that are unmerited--and the meaning is
understood to be--as the bird or sparrow
by wandering
and as the swallow
or
wood-pigeon
by flying
shall not come--that is
shall not reach us or come
upon us in the way of injury--so is it with the causeless curse. It will “do no
more harm than the bird that flies overhead
than Goliath’s curses on David.”
And it might be added that
as these birds return to their own place
to the
nests whence they came
so will such gratuitous maledictions come back upon the
persons by whom they are uttered.
I. Men are frequently the victims of human imprecations. Few men pass
through the world without creating enemies
either intentionally or otherwise.
Men vent their hatred in various ways.
II. That human imprecations are sometimes undeserved. The curse is
“causeless.” Sometimes the curses of men are deserved. There are two classes of
causeless curses--
1. Those that are hurled at us because we have done the right thing.
When you are cursed for reproving evil
for proclaiming an unpopular truth
or
pursuing a righteous course which clashes with men’s prejudices or interests
the curse is causeless.
2. Those that are uttered without reason or feeling. There are men
who are so in the habit of using profane language that it almost flows from
their lips without malice or meaning. The greatest men in history have been
cursed
and some of them have died under a copious shower of human
imprecations.
III. Undeserved imprecations are always harmless. “The greatest curse
causeless shall not come.” Was David the worse for Shimei’s curse? or Jeremiah
for the curse of his persecutors? “He that is cursed without a cause
” says
Matthew Henry
“whether by furious imprecations or solemn anathemas
the curse
will do him no more harm than the sparrow that flies over his head. It will fly
away like the sparrow or the wild swallow
which go nobody knows where
until
they return to their proper place
as the curse will at length return to him that
uttered it.” “Cursing
” says Shakespeare
“ne’er hurts him
nor profits you a
jot. Forbear it
therefore
--give your cause to heaven.” But if the curse be not
causeless
it will come. Jotham’s righteous curse came upon Abimelech and the
men of Shechem ( 9:56-57). Elisha’s curse fearfully came to the young mockers of Bethel (2 Kings 2:24). “The curse abides on Jericho from generation to generation.” (Homilist.)
A
whip for the horse
a bridle for the ass
and a rod for the fool’s back.
Aspects of a
fool
Sin
is folly. It sacrifices the spiritual for the material
the temporal for the eternal
the pure joys of immortality for the gratification of an hour.
I. He appears here as a servant. “A whip for the horse
a bridle for
the ass
and a rod for the fool’s back.” This proverb inverts our ideas. We
should have said
“A bridle for the horse
” and “a whip for the ass.” But the
Eastern asses have much of the fire of our blood horses
while the horses are
often heavy and dull. Therefore the ass there requires the bridle
and the
horse the whip--the one to accelerate
the other to restrain and guide
activity. As the horse and the ass
in order to be used as the servants of man
require the application of force
so does the fool. “A rod for the fool’s
back.” If a stubborn sinner is to be made the servant of society
coercion must
be employed. Argument
persuasion
example; these moral appliances will affect
him but little.
II. He appears here as a debater. “Answer not a fool according to his
folly
lest thou be like unto him. Answer a fool according to his folly
lest
he be wise in his own conceit.” There is an apparent contradiction here
but it
is only apparent. The negative means
we are not to debate with him in his
style and spirit
and thus become like him. We are not to descend to his level
of speech and temper. The positive means
that we are to answer him as his
folly deserves. It may be by silence as well as speech. The fool talks; he is
often a great debater.
III. He appears here as a messenger. The meaning of this is
“He who
would trust a fool with a message might as well cut off his feet
for he will
have vexation and maybe damage.” How careful should we be to entrust important
business to trustworthy persons! Solomon himself drank damage
by employing an
“industrious” servant
but a fool in wickedness
who “lifted up his hand
against the king
” and spoiled his son of ten parts of his kingdom (1 Kings 11:26-40). Benhadad drank damage by sending a message by the hands of
Hazael
who murdered his master when the way was opened for his own selfish
purposes (2 Kings 8:8-15). Much of the business of life is carried on by messengers or
agents. How much a mercantile firm suffers by improper representatives!
IV. He appears here as a teacher. “The legs of the lame are not equal
so is a parable in the mouth of fools.” It is not very uncommon to find fools
sustaining the office and performing the functions of teachers. “They have a
parable in their mouth.” The verses suggest two things concerning them as teachers--
1. That they appear very ridiculous. “The legs of the lame are not
equal
so is a parable in the hands of fools.” The idea seems to be
as the
cripple who desires to appear nimble and agile appears ridiculous in his lame
efforts to walk
so the fool appears ridiculous in his efforts to teach.
2. As teachers
they are generally very mischievous. “As a thorn
goeth up into the hand of the drunkard
so is a parable in the mouth of fools.”
The idea is
that a fool handling the doctrines of wisdom is like a drunken man
handling thorns. The besotted inebriate
not knowing what he is about
lays
hold of the thorn and perforates his own nerves. The wise sayings in the mouth
of a stupid man
are self-condemnatory.
V. He appears here as a commissioner. “The great God that formed all
things both rewardeth the fool and rewardeth transgressors.” The word “God” is
not in the original. The margin is the more faithful translation--“A great man
giveth all
and he hireth the fool; he hireth also transgressors.” The idea
seems to be
that when worldly princes employ fools for the public service it
is a source of anxiety and trouble to all good citizens. “The lesson has
application from the throne downwards
through all the descriptions of
subsidiary trusts. Extensive proprietors
who employ overseers of their
tenants
or of those engaged in their manufactories
or mines
or whatever else be the description
of their property
should see to the character of these overseers. Their power
may be abused
and multitudes of workmen suffer
when the owner--the
master--knows nothing of what is going on. But he ought to know. Many complainings and
strikes
well or ill-founded
have their origin here.”
VI. He appears here as a reprobate. The emblem here is disgusting
but
the thing signified is infinitely more so. Peter quotes this proverb (2 Peter 2:20-22). The wicked man often sickens at his wickedness
and then
returns to it again. Thus Pharaoh returned from his momentary conviction (Exodus 8:8-15); Ahab from his pretended repentance (1 Kings 21:1-29.); Herod from his partial amendment (Mark 6:20-27). (D. Thomas
D. D.)
Verse
4-5
Answer not a fool according to his folly
lest thou also be like
unto him
Answering a fool according to his folly
The ambiguity in these verses lies in the connecting words
“according to
” which are here used in two different senses.
“Answer not a fool according to
” i.e.
not in a manner agreeing with
his folly
lest thou become as foolish and perverse as he. “Answer him
according to
” i.e.
according to the nature and desert of his folly;
so as best to meet and refute it. (E. Pond
D. D.)
The treatment of a fool
There are many cases in which a fool is to be heard
and not
answered at all. When a scorner reviles us
it is needless to reprove him for
it. Our Lord often kept silence when impertinent questions were asked Him. But
silence cannot be the rule in every ease. In many cases it is proper that a
fool’s words should be answered
only you must take care in answering not to
imitate him. If he speaks unreasonable
profane
peevish
or passionate words
you
must not answer him in his own style. You are angry at him for his folly
and reprove him for the
extravagance of his behaviour
and therefore you cannot but confess that
yourselves are worthy of a very sharp reproof
if you behave like him at the
very time that you are testifying your displeasure at his conduct. It becomes
not the followers of Jesus to return railing for railing
or one angry
reflection for another
but in whatever manner others talk
our tongues ought
still to be governed by the law of meekness and charity. (George Lawson
D.
D.)
The scorner answered
A certain preacher had wrought his best to benefit his
audience; but one of
them came to him
and somewhat rudely remarked
“Your preaching is of no use to
me. I do not believe that I have a soul; I don’t want to be talked to about an
imaginary hereafter. I shall die like a dog.” The minister calmly replied
“Sir
I have evidently failed through misapprehension. I did my best for the
good of all my hearers; but I prepared the entertainment under the notion that
I was catering for men with souls. Had I known there were creatures present who
had no souls
and would die like dogs
I would have provided a good supply of
bones for them.” (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Reply to scoffers
It is stated by one of the biographers of John Wesley that while
he was staying at an hotel at Oxford for a few hours
some wild young men
who
were aware of the fact
took occasion to play a joke upon him. Coming suddenly
into the room where he was sitting
they exclaimed
“Oh
Mr. Wesley
the
devil’s dead!” The aged saint arose
and placing his hands upon the heads of
two of the young men
he said
with a voice full of pity
“My poor fatherless
children
what will you do?”
Verse 8
As he that bindeth a stone
in a sling
so is he that giveth honour to a fool.
Throwing a stone at an
idol
The words should be
translated
as Colonel Condor was the first to point out: “As he that throweth
a stone at an idol
so is he that giveth honour to a fool.” The comparison
refers to the universal custom
in ancient times
among Pagan nations of
throwing a stone at an idolatrous shrine
not in execration of it
like the
stones thrown to this day by the Jews at Absalom’s pillar at Jerusalem
but in
honour of it. At the foot of some sacred tree
or some pillar consecrated to
idolatrous worship
a cairn or heap of stones is generally found; each stone
testifying of a visit paid to the spot by some votary; and the larger the heap the
greater the veneration shown. In Greece
the worship of Hermes or Mercury
consisted in throwing a stone at his image
set up as a mark by the wayside to
protect travellers on a journey. In Palestine
amongst the primitive Canaanite
inhabitants that still survived
idolatry was widely practised; and in early
times it was a common sight
on rising spots among the hills of Judea and
Galilee
to come upon a menhir
or dolmen
in which the object of worship was a
rude stone image
forming the nucleus of a cairn or heap of stones which had
gradually grown around it
in remembrance of the visits paid by worshippers. In
Scotland many cairns are made of the stones thrown at a rude stone monument
or
cromlech
as an act of worship; and
perhaps
many of the cairns of remembrance
raised to the dead may have originated from this act of worship. The old
saying
“I will add a stone to your cairn
” was the highest expression of
reverence and regard that could be offered to a friend. With this explanation
the comparison used in the Scripture proverb becomes plain and forcible. The
proverb could only have been used by an iconoclast; and very probably came into
existence in the days of Hezekiah
after the wholesale destruction
by this
pious and zealous monareh
of the altars and stone monuments of the Canaanite
idolaters which had corrupted Israel. Hezekiah was bent on the work of national
reformation
and the purification and consecration of the temple by a perfect
ceremonial was accompanied by the overthrow of all the “high places” and the
idolatrous images and rites connected with them
as antagonistic to the
holiness of the land as God’s heritage. And
therefore
the proverb of the text
would have a deep force and meaning in his day. Like one who continued the old
practice of throwing a stone at an idolatrous monument
in token of worship
a
practice now forbidden and proved to be vain and useless
so was he who gave
honour to a fool. A fool was as unworthy of honour as an idol is of worship. In
the one case there is no reason for the honour; and in the other case the
worship is a mere empty foolish superstition. An idol is nothing
and a fool is
a negation. (H. Macmillan
D. D.)
Verse 11
As a dog returneth to his vomit
so a fool returneth to his folly.
The accustomed course resumed
Dost thou ever raise thy little dam across the streamlet
and
think to dry the bed below? Hast thou accomplished thy work
and stood watching
awhile thy success? Hast thou seen the water above deepen and widen
and gather
strength
and at length
impatient of restraint
push through thy yielding
barrier
and resume its accustomed course? But couldst thou have turned the
stream into another channel thou hadst triumphed
and the former bed had been
left dry. So thou hast attempted
perhaps
to confine thy sinful will by the
barrier of good resolutions. Thou hast seemed for awhile to gain thy point
and
sin was at a stand. Alas! thou hast found that it but gained force by
restraint; ere awhile the inclination has burst through all thy well-formed
resolves
and hath rushed more impetuously than ever to the forbidden object.
No; the will and affections must be turned into another course--towards God and
heaven
and things spiritual; and then shall they cease to flow through the
tempting vanities of this evil world. “This I say
then
Walk in the Spirit
and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16.) (H. G. Salter.)
Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit?
there is more hope of a fool than of him
The folly of self-conceit
The Scriptures are full of denunciations against the
self-sufficiency of man. The writings of Solomon are conspicuous for
expressions which stigmatise the absurdity and the guilt of a self-willed
self-sufficient spirit. Here he says that when a man is wise in his own
conceit
there is so little hope of his reformation that even a fool would be a
more promising subject for moral and intellectual discipline. Teachable and
honest mediocrity is always attended with a fair hope of improvement. But that
very quality which may preserve
even to dulness itself
the chance of
amelioration
is necessarily wanting to him who is wise in his own conceit
namely
a tractable and docile temper. Whenever a feeling of self-sufficiency
takes possession of a mind
even of more than ordinary strength
there is
danger of its shutting out all prospect of effectual improvement. What
exertions will be made by one who is content with his acquisitions? To him who
knows better than the rest of mankind
instruction or advice must needs appear
impertinent. This guilty and miserable habit locks up from the use of all who
are under its dominion those riches without which the fairest intellect must
ever remain poor indeed--the wisdom of other ages
and the resources and
experiences of other minds. It is dismal to reflect on the number of characters
which have been ruined by this unhappy delusion. When once this fatal sorcery
has suspended in the mind all aspirations after higher attainments
from that
moment the movement of the character becomes infallibly retrograde. By the
known constitution of things it is impossible that the intellectual or moral powers can be
for a moment stationary. There is
in man’s faculties
a constant tendency
towards relapse and decay
which must be encountered by perpetual exertion. It
is a sadder condition when the two characters in the text happen to coincide;
when imbecility and arrogance go together; when the fool is wise in his own
conceit. The language of the text applies to cases of great excess. But all
cases have a tendency towards excess
and caution is useful in the earliest
stages. The predominance of self-conceit is in most instances the result of
negligent or injudicious culture. Self-will enters largely into the composition
of every human character. It shows itself with the earliest dawn of the
faculties. There is no instinctive impulse which prompts a child to the
salutary but painful exercise of exploring his own insufficiency. The feeling
of self-sufficiency is strengthened by the habit of comparing ourselves with
low and imperfect characters
and by fixing ourselves in the centre of a very
contracted circle. The mind should be elevated by the contemplation of the
noblest forms of excellence
both intellectual and moral. Christianity is
irreconcilably at war with every vice or infirmity which belongs to the family
of pride. (C. W. Le Bas
M. A.)
Description and danger of religious self-conceit
Nothing renders a man so unmanageable
in the common concerns of
life as self-conceit. But show the application of this passage in a spiritual
sense.
I. Explain the
statement of the text. Wisdom in this book is another name for religion.
Foolishness is irreligion. Then the man who is “wise in his own conceit” is
religious in his own conceits. All men are naturally subject to pride and
vanity. A supposed superiority in religion will furnish ground for the exercise
of this disposition as readily as any other fancied distinction. A man may be
vain of his religion. Such persons very possibly have knowledge
and feeling
and
what they call religious attainments. But they are destitute of self-knowledge:
they have no real humiliation of heart
and they are greatly wanting in charity
as to their judgment of the religious state and character of others. They have
no notion of rendering to God a spiritual service. There is more hope of a
fool
an irreligious person
than of such an one.
II. Show the
grounds and reasons of the text. Such persons as described totally mistake the
nature of true religion. To be religious is to be spiritually-minded. To
advance in religion is to grow in grace. They pervert the very design and end
of religion. It is designed to make men humble; it makes these persons proud.
They have closed up the door to their own improvement. Use this subject for
self-examination. By it try our own religion
and see what is our own spiritual
state. (E. Cooper.)
The slothful man saith
There is a lion in the way; a lion is in
the streets.
A lion in the way
The reprehensible sloth of the coward does not appear in what he
says
but in what he leaves unsaid. He means
but is ashamed to say
“Because
there is a lion in the way
I will shirk my duty.” The brave man says
Though a
lion is in the way
I will slay it; anyway I will fight with it and wound it.”
I. “There is a
lion in the way.” In what way? In the way of life--of every life. Life
if it
is to be a true life
is not an easy thing. There is
indeed
such a thing as a
life which is no true life
only a living death. Sloth
self-indulgence
self-abandonment to a besetting sin
caring for nothing but self
and the
keeping one’s self miserably alive
to live at ease
to live selfishly
to live
for pleasure
all this is to be dead while we live. If you live thus you may
for a time live at home quite secure
fearless of the only lions you dread. If
on the other hand
you mean to live for nobler objects than those of shameless
selfishness
you too
like Saul
will have to fight with wild beasts at Ephesus
or elsewhere. There will be needed the girded loin and the burning lamp
the
swift foot
and the sharp sword
and the stout heart
and the strong arm; faith
and prayer
and the battle
and the Cross.
2. There are many lions
and not one only. True courage does not
consist in the absence of any sense of fear--that may only be due to brute
apathy--but it is to feel fear and to overcome it.
I. For the brave
true man there is the lion of the world. We live in days of wonderful
and for
some men
pleasant compromises. Religion walks in silver slippers. Good and
evil lie flat together
side by side
in amiable neutrality. You may take your
choice. If what you are content with is compromise and conventionality
and the
broad beaten road
and success and popularity
you may have it for the asking:
it is quite easy to offend nobody. But if you would have any of the nobleness
any of the usefulness
of the prophet or the reformer
boldly rebuke vice
denounce a fashionable iniquity
fling away from you a theological falsehood
run counter to a general delusion
deal vigorously with the “lion in the way.”
The lion of the world’s hatred and opposition may be avoided. It is avoided by
thousands of sleek and prosperous
men.
II. But there is
another lion which each man must meet
the lion of his own fleshly nature
of
his own physical and mental passions. Plato describes each man as consisting
so to speak
of three beings in
one: a lion
a many-headed monster
and a man. Of these the man
represents the controlling reason; the lion the fierce and irascible temper;
the many-headed monster the low and animal passions. The man
the reason
must
absolutely rule; the irascible impulses must not be crushed
indeed
but
controlled; the monster of fleshly lusts must be utterly subdued. By every one
of us that lion
that multitudinous and many-headed monster
must be fought.
III. Another lion is
he who “goeth about
seeking whom he may devour.” Each of us knows by
experience that there are some tendencies and temptations--to pride
to
falsity
to blaspheming thoughts
to causeless hatred--which often come upon a
man with fierce and unlooked-for suddenness
and we know not whence or where
the tempting opportunity suddenly meets the susceptible disposition. “Resist
the devil
and he will flee from you.” Remember that he can be fought face to
face
but the Christian has no armour for the back.
IV. Consider the
duty of facing these lions in our outward life. Everywhere individual license
invades public rights. The slothful man (and the slothful man is the epitome of
the slothful nation) is ingenious in excuses. Happily every now and then
God-strengthened
God-inspired
good
brave
unsophisticated men
have torn
their way through these thorny hedges of indolence
greed
and opposition; have
faced the wild beast of demoralised public opinion
in spite of its erect mane
and flaming eye.
V. The slothful
man pleads that many have been slain by this “lion in the way.” Yes
it is
quite true. But to them
as to their Lord
through death
and after death
if
not in life
hath come the glory and the victory. Slain: yet no harm has come
to them. Better a thousand times their death than the life of the selfish and
the base. There is one way in which a man can die even better than this. It is
when
homeless
landless
wifeless
childless
without even a hope of earthly
things
he faces those fearful odds
not for his own wealth or his own comfort
but for his brother man; faces them for the sake of simple duty
faces them for
the common love of humanity
faces them because
if God wills it
he
too
is
ready to die for those for whom Christ died. Take courage
then
all ye who are
fearless enough and noble enough to care for any righteous cause. (Dean
Farrar.)
The slothful man
Man is made up of contradictions. A strong propensity to
indolence
and a principle which prompts to action. There is a charm in the
exercise of those physical and intellectual powers with which man is endowed.
With many indolence diffuses its benumbing influence through all their
faculties and powers. It becomes a disease
which strengthens itself by
continuance. Habit is equally efficient in generating and confirming evil and
good qualities. Extraordinary changes of moral character from bad to good have
occurred in every age; but we have no right to calculate on them
so as to
become indifferent to the ordinary growth of good or evil disposition.
Indolence of character proceeds from a torpid state of the affections
or
coldness of heart
in some partly natural
in most persons however
acquired by
habit. In the state of indolence
the spellbound slumberer avails himself of
every pretext for continuing to doze. The text gives one of his frivolous and
groundless excuses. Consider some of the sluggard’s formidable discouragements
and obstacles in the way of exertion--such as that labour is painful; that
self-denial is against nature; and that there is no certain prospect of
success
and that God
being all mercy
is ready to forgive at any time. You
cannot question or dispute the evils
the misery and ruin to which indolence
leads in this world; or the moral ruin to which the sin of lukewarmness
or
indifference to your religious obligations
will lead you in the world to come.
(James Flint
D. D.)
Seeing with our prejudices
We see not so much with our eyes as with our prejudices. “The wish
is father to the thought.” Some men look at the religious life
and see in it
nothing but what is narrow and bigoted
gloomy and morose. They do not want to
see anything else. Some professing Christians look on the world’s amusements
and discern no evil in them. It is to be feared they have no special desire to
be convinced of any. There are members of Churches who look at Christian work
in its varied departments and with its paramount claims
yet cannot be brought
to discover their own qualifications to engage in it. The reason is
they have
no wish to. “The slothful man saith
There is a lion in the streets.” And when
anything in the shape of self-denying service is proposed to certain persons
this lion assumes most portentous dimensions
and rivals the thunder with his
roar. (J. Halsey.)
He that passeth by
and meddleth with strife.
Mischievous citizens
I. The meddler (Proverbs 26:17).
1. His conduct defined.
2. His mischief indicated. Renders himself liable to the anger of
one
if not both
of the contending parties.
II. The liar (Proverbs 26:18-19).
1. By his false representations he involves his neighbour in some
embarrassment
contention
or pain
and then excuses himself by saying
“It is
in sport.” A lie is no less a lie because spoken in the spirit of frolic and
jest.
2. Many a practical jester does the maniac’s mischief without the
maniac’s excuse.
III. The querulous (Proverbs 26:21). He is a social
incendiary.
IV. The talebearer
(Proverbs 26:22).
1. He maintains strife. As the microscopic sting of a little insect
sometimes poisons the blood and influences the body of a strong man
the mere
whisper of a talebearer will kindle the fire of discord in a whole community.
2. He infects with poison; his words destroy the mental peace of him
to whom they are uttered
the reputation of him of whom they are uttered
and
the social happiness of both. (D. Thomas
D. D.)
Burning lips and a wicked heart are like a potsherd covered with
silver dross.
Putrefaction phosphorescent
The illuminating power of phosphorus appears due to an extremely
slow chemical reaction
and it is affirmed that vegetable and animal substances
may grow phosphorescent at a certain stage of decomposition
or even without any
appearance of putrefaction. Accredited authorities cite a host of examples of
fresh or stale meats which have been seen to shine during the night with a more
or less vivid clearness. Fish
and especially salt-water fish
when no longer
fresh
acquire a phosphorescence which brightens during the first period
of
putrefaction. Leave for two or three days dead saltwater fish in non-luminous
sea-water; at the end of that time the water will be covered with a thin
pellicle of fatty matter
and will soon become phosphorescent. But it is not
only in material nature that we thus find brightness in combination with
impurity. Genius itself has been found shining amidst moral putrefaction. (Scientific
Illustrations.)
A wicked heart disguising itself
This may be meant either--
1. Of a wicked heart showing itself in burning lips
furious
passionate
outrageous words
burning in malice
and presenting those to whom
or of whom
they are spoken. Ill-words and ill-will agree together as well as a
potsherd and the dross of silver
which
now that the pot is broken
and the
dross separated from the silver
are fit to be thrown together to the dunghill
2. Or of a wicked heart disguising itself
with burning lips
burning
with the professions of love and friendship
and even persecuting a man with
flatteries; this is like a potsherd covered with the scum or dross of silver
with which one that is weak may be imposed upon
as if it were of some value
but a wise man is soon aware of the cheat. This sense agrees with the
following verses. (Matthew Henry.)
He that hateth dissembleth with his lips.
Clandestine hatred
I. It is often
greatly disguised. “Burning lips and a wicked heart are like a potsherd covered
with silver dross.
II. It is
excessively corrupt. “When he speaketh fair
believe him not: for there are
seven abominations in his heart.” The word number “seven
” in Scripture
denotes “fulness” or “completeness.” The idea here is
that such a man’s heart
is full of abominations.
III. It is liable to
exposure. “Whose hatred is covered by deceit
his wickedness shall be shewed
before the whole congregation.” Dissembling never answers in the end. The
Providence of God brings dark deeds to light. All sin will one day be stripped
of its mask
and laid bare in all its putrescent hideousness to the open eye of
the universe.
IV. It is
self-ruinous. “Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein.” Evil is a hard worker.
It digs pits and rolls stones. And what is worse
all its hard work is self-ruinous. Into the pit
which they have dug they shall tumble. Those who plot mischief for others will
be overwhelmed with it themselves. Moab
in attempting to curse Israel
fell
himself under the curse of God. Haman’s gallows for Mordecai was his own
“promotion of shame.” The enemies of Daniel were devoured in the ruin which
they plotted against him. Thus does God “take the wise in his craftiness
the
wicked in his wickedness.” The malice that meditates the evil is often the
cause of its own overthrow.
V. It is socially
pernicious. “A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it; and a
flattering mouth worketh ruin.”
1. It injures by its slanders. “A lying tongue hateth those that are
afflicted by it.”
2. It injures by its flatteries. Flattery is a social curse. (D.
Thomas
D. D.)
By injuring others we are ourselves often the greatest sufferers
The wasp’s sting is provided with a barb
and when he feels
particularly vicious
and drives the sting into the flesh
it becomes so firmly imbedded that
the only way for him to escape is to leave the sting behind. This
however
is
sure to cause his death. He receives himself such a wound that he cannot
recover. We sometimes forget that when we hurt others by stinging words and
treacherous acts
we ourselves
in the long run
are generally the greatest
sufferers. (W. Judson.)
A flattering mouth worketh ruin.
How may we best cure the love of being flattered
I. What flattery
is. Solomon calls it “a mouth that flatters.” All that comes from the flatterer
is complaisant
only heartiness and sincerity are wanting. All that appears is
“a fair semblance
” but very falsehood. The actor in this tragedy never forgets
himself and his own advantage
stripping the novice he hath coaxed
and living
on him whom he deceived. There are two kinds of flattery: a self-flattery
and
a flattery from others. As to the qualities of flattery
it may be hellish
revengeful
servile
cowardly
covetous
or envious. Love to be flattered is a
disease of human nature. It is an immoderate desire of praise. When this desire
prevails
we believe what the flatterer saith; set the value on ourselves by
what such affirm of us. Another branch of love to be flattered is an affected
seeking to ourselves
or giving unto others unnecessary occasions of setting
forth the worth of our persons
actions
and qualifications
according to the
standard of flatterers; a well-pleasedness to hear the great and good things by
dissembling flatterers ascribed to us which either we never did
or did in
manner much below what they report them. But--
II. Love of undue
praise is pernicious. It destroys virtuous principles
natural inclinations to
good
estates
reputation
safety and life
the soul and its happiness.
III. What may best
effect its cure?
1. Consider the bad name that flattery hath ever had.
2. View the deplorable miseries it hath filled the world with.
3. Suspect all who come to you with undue praise.
4. Reject the friendship of the man who turns due praises into
flattery.
5. Look on flattery
and your love for it
as diametrically opposed
to God in the truth of all His Word.
6. Cultivate generous and pure love to all that is good.
7. Get and keep the humble frame of heart. Undue love of the praise
of men is sacrilegious robbery of God. (Henry Hurst
M. A.)
The flatterer
As to the flatterer
he is the most dangerous of characters. He
attacks at points where men are naturally most successfully assailable; where
they are most in danger of being thrown off their guard and giving him
admission. And when by his flatteries he has thus got the mastery
then follows
the execution of the end for which they were employed--“worketh ruin.” The
expression is strong
but not stronger than experience justifies. It even works
ruin to the most interesting characters--characters admired and worthy of the
admiration--by infusing a principle that spoils the whole
the principle of
vanity and self-conceit. They thus lose their loveliest and most engaging
attraction. And whatever be the selfish object of the flatterer
his
selfishness obtains its gratification by the ruin of him whom his flatteries
have deceived. (R. Wardlaw
D. D.)
Flattery worketh ruin
The stem of the ivy is furnished with root-like suckers which
insinuate their spurs into the bark of trees or on the surface of a wall. Who
has not seen with regret some noble ash-tree covered with ivy
in whose embrace
it rapidly yields up its life? Surely the root is draining the tree of its sap
and transferring it to its own veins. Thus does a sycophant gradually extend
his influence over a patron until the manliness of that patron succumbs to his
ascendancy. The hero is ruined
and the flatterer flourishes in his place.
Beware of the insinuating aptitudes of the parasite! Let him
like ivy on a
wall
keep his proper situation. Protect a noble nature from his advances. (Scientific
Illustrations.)
Flattery cannot compensate for the damage it works
Parasitic plants send their roots into the substance of another
plant
and derive their food from its juices; but though
like some of the
human kind
they live upon their neighbour’s bounty
it must be admitted that
they sometimes reward their benefactor by adorning it with their beautiful
flowers. The Rafflesia Arnoldi
for example
whose flower is three feet across
and whose cup will contain several pints of fluid
grows attached to the stem
of a climbing cistus in Sumatra. The mistletoe also
whose silvery berries
adorn the oak. Whether these offerings of the parasite bear any reasonable
proportion to the amount of damage done by it must be a question open to doubt.
Certain it is that the offerings of the social parasite to his benefactor
consisting as they do of subservience
flattery
and petty traits
are no real
benefit to anybody; whilst
on the
other hand
the injury which the parasite does to honesty and manliness is most
unmistakable. On the whole
we are inclined to think that all the productions
of parasites
whether vegetable or human
are not sufficient to make us value
the producers very highly. (Scientific Illustrations.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》