The Preacher's Complete Homiletic Commentary on the Books of the Bible, Volume 13 (of 32) / The Preacher's Complete Homiletic Commentary on the Book of the Proverbs E-Book
W. S. Harris
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The Preacher's Complete Homiletic Commentary on the Book of the Proverbs The Hebrew word for proverb (mashal) means a comparison. Hence it includes more than we generally understand by the English word, viz., a pithy sentence expressing in a few words a well-known or obvious truth. When books were few it was most natural that observations on life and manners should be compressed into the smallest possible compass: hence proverbial teaching has been employed from the most remote antiquity. It is highly probable that all proverbial sayings were at first literally comparisons, as this would tend to fix them more indelibly upon the memory. But the word by degrees came to express that which we now understand it to signify.
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W. S. Harris
The Preacher's Complete Homiletic Commentary on the Books of the Bible, Volume 13 (of 32) / The Preacher's Complete Homiletic Commentary on the Book of the Proverbs
Table of contents
COMPLETE HOMILETIC
WITH CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES, INDEXES, ETC., BY VARIOUS AUTHORS
COMMENTARY
FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY
CHAPTER I.
CHAPTER III.
CHAPTER V.
CHAPTER VI.
CHAPTER VIII.
CHAPTER X.
CHAPTER XI.
CHAPTER XII.
CHAPTER XIII.
CHAPTER XIV.
CHAPTER XV.
CHAPTER XVI.
CHAPTER XVII.
CHAPTER XVIII.
CHAPTER XIX.
CHAPTER XX.
CHAPTER XXI.
CHAPTER XXII.
CHAPTER XXIV.
CHAPTER XXV.
CHAPTER XXVII.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
CHAPTER XXIX.
CHAPTER XXXI.
Transcriber’s Notes
COMPLETE HOMILETIC
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Transcriber’s Notes
This book uses small caps in headings throughout. You might need to experiment with browsers and fonts to find one that shows small caps correctly.The text of the series shifts among font sizes and between one and two column presentation, in an effort to maximize the amount of text that can appear on the printed page. This transcription will dispense with that formatting because costs are so much lower in the digital world.The text comments on, but does not include, the text of the Scriptures. A copy of the King James Version of the Bible (also known as the “Authorised Version”) should be available from the same source where you obtained this e-book.The author refers to “Canticles,” which is another name for the Biblical book “Song of Solomon.” He also refers to two books that are not in the Protestant canon: “Ecclesiasticus” and “The Wisdom of Solomon.” These books are found in a Roman Catholic Bible or on-line, if desired.This book is a collection of men’s opinions on the book of Proverbs in the Bible, the inspired Word of God. The book was printed toward the end of the 19th century. Some of the comments might be considered culturally insensitive today.Details of the Transcriber’s changes are enumerated after the text. Link.THE PREACHER’S
WITH CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES, INDEXES, ETC., BY VARIOUS AUTHORS
COMMENTARY
ON THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE
WITH CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES, INDEXES, ETC., BY VARIOUS AUTHORS
THE OLD TESTAMENTVolumes 1–21
THE NEW TESTAMENTVolumes 22–32
Volume 13
[title page]
COMMENTARY
The Preacher’s Complete Homiletic
ON THE BOOK OF THE
FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY
Proverbs
By the REV. W. HARRIS
Author of the Commentary on Samuel
[LOGO]
printed in the united states of america
NEW YORK
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER I.
HOMILETIC COMMENTARY
ON
PROVERBS
INTRODUCTION AND PREFACE.
The Hebrew word for proverb (mashal) means a comparison. Hence it includes more than we generally understand by the English word, viz., a pithy sentence expressing in a few words a well-known or obvious truth. When books were few it was most natural that observations on life and manners should be compressed into the smallest possible compass: hence proverbial teaching has been employed from the most remote antiquity. It is highly probable that all proverbial sayings were at first literally comparisons, as this would tend to fix them more indelibly upon the memory. But the word by degrees came to express that which we now understand it to signify.
Although a few more lengthy discourses are found in this book, it consists mainly of a few short proverbial sentences, often illustrated and enforced by most striking metaphors. It has been almost universally received by both Jewish and Christian writers as the inspired production of Solomon. The most convincing proof of its canonicity is the fact that the New Testament contains many quotations from it. Compare Prov. iii. 11, 12 with Heb. xii. 5, 6; Prov. iii. 34, with Jas. iv. 6; Prov. x. 12, with 1 Pet. iv. 8; Prov. xi. 31 (Sept.), with 1 Pet. iv. 18; Prov. xxii. 9 (Sept.), with 2 Cor. ix. 7; Prov. xxv. 21, 22, with Rom. xii. 20; Prov. xxvi. 11, with 2 Pet. ii. 22; Prov. xxvii. 1, with Jas. iv. 13, 14. But, were these wanting, its superiority to every other book of a similar character would constitute a most weighty internal evidence of its Divine inspiration. Moses Stuart says of it: “All the heathen moralists and proverbialists joined together cannot furnish us with one such book as that of the Proverbs.” And Wordsworth remarks: “The Proverbs of Solomon come from above, and they also look upward. They teach that all true wisdom is the gift of God, and is grounded on the fear of the Lord. They dwell with the strongest emphasis on the necessity of careful vigilance over the heart, which is manifest only to God, and on the duty of acting, in all the daily business and social intercourse of life, with habitual reference to the only unerring standard of human practice, His will and Word. In this respect the Book of Proverbs prepared the way for the preaching of the Gospel, and we recognise in it an anticipation of the apostolic precept: ‘Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as unto the Lord.’ ” Dr. Guthrie considered that “the high character which Scotsmen earned in by-gone years was mainly due to their early acquaintance with the Book of Proverbs.” ( Sunday Magazine, Oct., 1868, p. 15.)
Although the greater part of the book was doubtless compiled by Solomon during his life, chapters xxv.—xxix. were not copied out until the days of Hezekiah, and the last two chapters are assigned in the book itself to other authors, of whom we know nothing. It seems startling at first sight that a man whose character we know from other parts of the Holy Scripture to have been marred by so many serious defects, should be the author of an inspired book, but Dr. Arnot remarks on this point that “practical lessons on some subjects come better through the heart of the weary, repentant king than through a man who had tasted fewer pleasures, and led a more even life. . . . Not a line of Solomon’s writings tends to palliate Solomon’s sins. . . . The glaring imperfections of the man’s life have been used as a dark ground to set off the lustre of that pure righteousness which the Spirit has spoken by his lips.” It is evident from the most cursory study of its contents that this book is rather ethical than doctrinal. The following Commentary has for its main object the setting forth the great moral lessons contained in it in a homiletic form. It does not pretend to be a critical Commentary, although the latest and best criticisms have been quoted where they seemed to throw any new light upon the text. But the book of Proverbs is not easy to treat homiletically. Prof. Lockler, the author of the expositions on the works of Solomon in Dr. Lange’s Commentary, says,—“A theological and homiletical exposition of the book of Proverbs has difficulties to contend with which exist, in an equal degree in but few books of the Old Testament, and in none in quite the same form. . . . To treat the book homiletically and practically, in so far as regards only brief passages, is rendered more difficult by the obscurity of many single sentences; and in so far as it attempts to embrace large sections, by the unquestionable lack of fixed order and methodical structure.”
The main DIVISIONS of the Book of Proverbs are:—I. A series of discourses on the excellency and advantages of wisdom, and the destructive character of sin (ch. i.—ix.). II. A collection of unconnected maxims on various subjects (ch. x.—xxii. 16). III. Short discussions on a variety of subjects (ch. xxii. 17—xxiv. 22), with a brief appendix of maxims (ch. xxiv. 23, 24). IV. The collection of Solomon’s proverbs made in the time of Hezekiah (ch. xxv.—xxix.). V. A supplement containing the words of Agur (ch. xxx.) and of King Lemuel (ch. xxxi.). [ Annotated Paragraph Bible.]
Critical Notes.— 1. Proverbs. See Introduction. 2. Instruction, properly “chastisement,” signifying moral training, admonition, then good habits, the practical side of wisdom. 3. Wisdom. A different word from that in ver. 2. It means “prudence.” Justice relates to a man’s attitude in relation with God, and would be better translated “righteousness.” Judgment includes our duties to our fellow-man and should be rendered “justice.” Equity is “uprightness,” “sincerity of purpose.” 4. Subtlety, “prudence.” Simple, literally “the open,” those easily persuaded. 5. Wise counsels, or “capability to guide,” literally “helmsmanship.”7. Fools, derived from a word meaning to be gross and dull of understanding. Gesenius understands it to signify “one who turns away,” the “perverse.” 10. Entice thee, “lay thee open.” Miller here reads, “if sinners would make a door of thy simplicity, afford thou no entrance.” 17. Some interpret this verse as referring to the godly who escape the snares laid for them, others to the wicked, who, not so wise as the bird, plunge themselves into ruin by plotting against the good. Then the blood and lives of ver. 18 refer to the blood and life of the sinner. 20. The word wisdom is in the plural form in the Hebrew. 27. Desolation, or “tempest.” 28. To seek early denotes “earnestly.” See ch. viii. 17, Hos. v. 15. The person now changes from the second to the third, “as though wisdom were increasingly alienated.” (Miller).32. The turning away of the simple, i.e., their rejection of wisdom. Prosperity, “Security,” “idle, easy rest.”
main homiletics of the paragraph.—Verses 1–4.
The Author, His Method, and His Object.
I. Four things connected with Solomon would tend to commend his proverbs to the Hebrew nation. 1. His remarkable antecedents. The influence of any man in this world depends very much upon his antecedents. If they happen to be such as are held in esteem by society, they form at once letters of commendation for him, and often prove stepping-stones to great positions. The question, “ Whence art thou?” is more often asked than “ What art thou?” Perhaps this was even more true of Hebrew society than it is of English. Solomon was the son of a king. The king whom he claimed as his father was the man whom God had honoured more than any other since the days of Moses. He was not only a king, but a prophet and a poet, who had no equal in the day in which he lived. He was more than this. His reputation as a warrior, more than anything else, endeared him to a people who looked upon him in this light as the best representative of their nation. The fact that Solomon was the “son of David,” would ensure him the ear of the Jewish people throughout all their generations. 2. His personal position. He was not only the son of a king but a king himself—a king who had attained the highest pinnacle of royal greatness. 3. His practical wisdom. The instance of this narrated in 1 Kings iii. 16–28, proved to Israel that “the wisdom of God was in him to do judgment.” Who so fit to utter proverbs concerning human life as a man who could thus so skilfully bring to light the hidden counsels of the heart? The Son of God Himself speaks of Solomon as a wise man (Matt. xii. 42). 4. The variety of his experience. Experience is always a good reason why men should speak their thoughts. Those are most fitted to counsel others who have travelled by the same path before them. Solomon’s experience had been great and varied. He knew the real value of all that is held in estimation by men. See Eccles., chapters i. and ii. These considerations gave weight to his words in the day in which he lived and among his own people, and have done so in every succeeding age and in every nation in which his proverbs have been made known.
II. The form in which Solomon communicates his thoughts. A proverb is a large amount of wisdom wrapped up in the fewest possible words. It is like a corn-seed which, though a tiny thing in itself, encloses that which may expand and increase until it furnishes food for millions. Even a child may carry a large sum of money when it is in the form of golden coin, although his strength would be quite unequal to the task if the same amount were in a baser metal. One diamond may constitute a small fortune, and may be easily carried and concealed upon the person, but its value in iron could only be lifted by the united strength of many. The proverb stands in the same relation to mental and moral wisdom as gold and diamonds do to copper and iron. It is so portable that it can be carried and retained by the weakest memory.
III. The main object of the utterer of these proverbs. “To give subtilty to the simple.” The man who has to travel a dangerous path may be ignorant of the way to arrive at his destination in safety. His simplicity arises from his ignorance. Anyone who has gone the same way before, and has thus experimentally gained the knowledge which he lacks, can make him wise upon this subject. Solomon has trodden the greater part of the path of human life, those who had not done so were the simple, or ignorant, to whom he here desires to impart the knowledge which might save them from moral ruin. There were those in the days of Solomon, as there are now, who would take advantage of simplicity to destroy character. Solomon desires to preserve and strengthen character by showing how to avoid and resist sin.
outlines and suggestive comments.
Verse 1. The Bible is not given to teach us philosophy, but religion: not to show us the way to science, but the way to holiness and heaven. Notwithstanding, therefore, the extent and variety of Solomon’s knowledge in botany, in natural history, and other departments of science, we have in preservation none whatever of his discoveries or his speculations on such subjects.— Wardlaw.
The Queen of Sheba came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear Solomon’s wisdom. Did she come so far upon uncertain reports, and shall not we receive with gladness his instructions, since he is come to us to be our teacher?— Lawson.
Verse 2. The general idea of wisdom is, that it consists in the choice of the best ends, and of the best means for their attainment. This definition admits of application both in a lower and higher department. In the first place it may be applied to the whole conduct of human life,—in all its daily intercourse and ordinary transactions, and amidst all its varying circumstances. . . . To accommodate our conduct to these variations—to suit to all of them the application of the great general principles and precepts of the Divine law, and “to guide our affairs with discretion in them all,” requires “wisdom.” And for enabling us to act our part rightly, creditably, and usefully, from day to day, there is in this book an immense fund of admirable counsel and salutary direction.
And then, secondly, the knowledge of wisdom may be taken in its higher application—to interests of a superior order, to spiritual duties, to all that regards true religion and the salvation of the soul. Wisdom, in this book, is generally understood in this its highest application, as might indeed be expected in a book of instructions from God. How important soever may be the successful and prudential regulation of our temporal affairs, yet in a Divine communication to man, as an immortal creature, we cannot conceive it to be the only, or the principal subject.— Wardlaw.
Verse 3. “To perceive the words of understanding” is a phrase which may be interpreted as meaning the power of justly distinguishing between good and evil counsel—between that which is right in its principle and salutary in its operations, and that which is unsound and pernicious.— Wardlaw.
All through Ecclesiastes and throughout the present book, the more mental aspects of sin are always made prominent—piety is called wisdom. The saints are the wise. The impenitent man is a fool. Nothing could be more natural than that just here there should be the broad assertion that knowledge is piety. Nothing could be more seminal. A new heart comes from a new light. If a man sees, he believes, he loves, he hopes, he serves, he repents, he rejoices; and this as but new forms of the one blessed illumination.— Miller.
Verse 4. There are none that need to be politicians more than they that desire to serve God because they have to deal with the most politic enemies. . . . No gift is worse taken, though never so well bestowed, than this is, where there is no feeling of the want of it. The simple seeth not his defects, the young man thinketh that he seeth great abundance of ability in himself.— Jermin.
The teacher offers to save the young and inexperienced from the slower and more painful process of learning by experience.— Plumptre.
Over the gates of Plato’s school it was written: “Let no one who is not a geometrician enter.” But very different is the inscription over these doors of Solomon: “Let the ignorant, simple, foolish, young, enter.”— Cartwright.
main homiletics of the paragraph.—Verses 5, 6.
The Characteristics of a Wise Man.
I. He will hear. He shows that he values what he has already attained by giving heed to those who are able to add to his knowledge. Those who know the most are the most open to receive fresh knowledge. II. The necessaryconsequence of this willingness to hear is a growth in knowledge. The wise man “will increase learning.” There is an absolute promise in connection with spiritual wisdom. “Whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and whomsoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have” (Luke viii. 18). He who has wisdom to give heed shall have his wisdom increased by giving heed. To those who are willing to hear, that what was once dark and difficult becomes clear and plain. They “understand a proverb and the interpretation; the words of the wise and their dark sayings.” This hearing implies more than a mere reception of sound. It includes a desire to translate precepts into deeds. Many who can understand the grammatical construction and literal meaning of the Divine oracles cannot apprehend their spiritual signification because they do not desire to submit to their guidance. This was the condition of many of the Scribes and Pharisees in the days of our Lord. They saw and yet were blind (Matt. xiii. 13; John ix. 39). “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine,” etc. (John vii. 17). III. This growth in knowledge gives a man a guide for his own life and enables him to guide others. (For “wise counsels,” see Critical Notes). Such a man will not sound all the mysteries of life or of God, but enough will be made plain to give him a compass by which to steer; and he will be able to lead others. A diligent pupil will by-and-by be fit for a teacher. How fully was the truth of these verses exemplified in the history of the Apostles. What dull pupils they were at first, and even until after their Master’s resurrection. (Luke xxiv. 25.) But their willingness to be disciples— learners—fitted them at length to “go and teach all nations.” (Matt. xxviii. 19.) Continuing in Christ’s Word, they came to “know the truth,” according to His promise. (John viii. 31.)
outlines and suggestive comments.
Verse 5. True wisdom is never stationary, but always progressive; because it secures the ground behind it as a basis for further advances. “He who is not adding is wasting; he who is not increasing knowledge is losing from it,” says Rabbi Hillel.— Fausset.
As long ago as the time of Melanchthon it was recognized as a significant fact that wisdom claims as her hearers and pupils, not only the simple, the young, and the untaught, but those who are already advanced in the knowledge of the truth, the wise and experienced. It is indeed Divine wisdom in regard to which these assertions are made, and it is precisely as it is within the department of the New Testament with the duty of faith, and of growth in believing knowledge, which duty in no stage of the Christian life in this world ever loses its validity and its binding power. Compare Luke xvii. 5; Eph. iv. 15, 16; Col. i. 11; ii. 19; 2 Thess. i. 3; 2 Pet. iii. 18.— Lange’s Commentary.
Verse 6. If the law be dark to any, the fault is not in the lawgiver, but in those that should better understand it.— Trapp.
The sayings of the wise are but words (two or three words), and it is their shortness that maketh them to be dark. Now, David said: “I will incline mine ear unto a parable”—there is his study to understand; “I will open my dark saying upon the harp”—there is the interpretation. It is not David, but He who came from David, that there is spoken of, and who, despising inanimate instruments, having made this world and the little world man, and by His Holy Spirit having compacted his soul and body, doth praise the Lord by an instrument of many voices, and to this instrument man doth sing the knowledge of His truth. Wherefore to understand the words of His wise prophets and penmen, we must go to Him.— Jermin.
main homiletics of the paragraph.—Verses 7–9.
The Root of True Knowledge and the Means of Its Attainment.
When the husbandman comes to examine a fruit-tree, he disregards everything in the way of leaf and branch; if he does not also find evidence of fruit in the appointed season, he considers that the end of the planting is not attained. God, the great Husbandman, here declares that all human wisdom and intelligence avail nothing unless they have for their basis that fear of Him which enables a man to attain the end for which he was created. I. The fear of the Lord springs 1. from a practical recognition of His existence. God, to the vast majority of mankind, is but a name; they no more recognize the personality and moral character of the Divine Father than they recognize a personality and moral attributes in the wind or the sunlight. He has no influence upon their hearts; to them, practically, there is no God. There is no fear of God before their eyes, because there is no God. 2. From an experimental knowledge of His kindness. The mightiest being cannot be reverenced for his power; that may produce the “fear which hath torment,” but not the “reverence and godly fear” which leads to willing obedience. When a king’s character is such that his subjects taste of his kindness and feed upon his bounty, it begets a reverence which makes them fear to break his law. The “fear of the Lord” is synonymous with heart-religion, and must be born of a personal experience of Divine mercy. This fear says, “O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him” (Psa. xxxiv. 8). II. The means by which this beginning of knowledge ought to be attained. The rule in creatures below man is, that they instruct their offspring as soon as they are capable of instruction. The eagle teaches her young to fly: she “stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth about her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings.” (Deut. xxxii. 11.) And this is what God expects every parent to do in a moral sense. A child ought to get his first ideas of God from his parent, and his father’s and mother’s love ought to be the stepping-stones by which he rises to apprehend the love of his Father in heaven. This exhortation takes for granted that the parents will be possessors of this true knowledge, and will impart it to their children. III. The reason given to the young for receiving and retaining parental instruction. The coronet on the brow of the noble proclaims his place in society—sets forth his high position. The necklace of pearls on the young and beautiful maiden proclaims the wealth of the wearer, and adds to her attractiveness. So the obedience of a good son to a true father proclaims him to belong to the noble in spirit—sets a crown upon his character. And a daughter’s reverential love for a good mother is a true indication of moral wealth. That mother’s words, treasured in the memory and translated into life, are so many precious pearls of soul-adornment, and are in the sight of God of great price.
outlines and suggestive comments.
Verse 7. This, “the fear of the Lord,” comes as the motto of the book. The beginning of wisdom is found in the temper of reverence and awe. The fear of the finite in the presence of the Infinite—of the sinful in the presence of the Holy; self-abhorring, adoring, as in Job’s confession (xliii. 5, 6), this for the Israelite was the starting point of all true wisdom. What the precept “Know thyself” was to the sage of Greece, that this law was for him. In the book of Job (xxviii. 28) it appears as an oracle accompanied by the noblest poetry. In Psa. cxi. 10, it comes as the choral close of a temple hymn. Here it is the watch-word of a true ethical education. This, and not love, is the beginning of “wisdom.” Through successive stages, and by the discipline of life, love blends with it and makes it perfect.— Plumptre.
Why is this the only way that God hath pointed out for the attaining to wisdom? 1. One reason may be the falseness of man’s spirit. The heart is deceitful above all things, and so God will not entrust it with such estimable treasures of durable wisdom before a trial hath been upon it. “To him will I look, even to him that is of a pure and contrite spirit, and trembleth at my words.” 2. Here is another argument, viz., impossibility. “The natural man perceiveth not the things of the Spirit of God,” &c. (1 Cor. ii. 14). “The eye sees not the sun, unless it bear the image of the sun in it;” nor could it receive that impression if it were covered with dirt and filth. So the necessary foundation of true wisdom is unfeigned righteousness and pureness. The purging of a man’s soul takes away the main impediments to true knowledge,—such as self-admiration, anger, envy, impatience, desire of victory rather than of truth, blindness proceeding out of a love of riches and honour, the smothering of the active spark of reason by luxury and intemperance, &c.— Henry Moore.
Where God is, there is fear of God; and where the fear of God is, there are all things which God requireth.— Jermin.
The fear of the Lord consists, once for all, in a complete devotion to God—an unconditional subjection of one’s own individuality to the beneficent will of God as revealed in the law (Deut. vi. 13; x. 20; xiii. 4; Psa. cxix. 63, &c.)
How, then, could they be regarded as fearing God who should keep only a part of the Divine commands, or who should undertake to fulfil them only according to their moral principles, and did not seek also to make the embodying letter of their formal requirements the standard of life.— Lange’s Commentary.
Verse 8. The relation of the teacher to the taught is essentially fatherly.— Plumptre.
In Scripture and that Oriental speech framed to be its vehicle, narrow examples stand often for a universal class. “Honour thy father and mother,” means—obey all superiors. “Thou shalt not steal,” means—keep clear of every fraud. In those patriarchal countries, obedience to a father was the finest model of subordination. . . . Let the child take the first and obvious meaning; let the man look deeper. The earlier principles having been settled, the Proverbs have begun with a grand practical direction—that we are to listen to our teachers; that we are to begin at our firesides, and obey all the way up to God.— Miller.
Verse 9. The instruction and discipline of wisdom do at first seem difficult and hard, and are like fetters of iron restraining the corruption and rebellion of nature; but at length they are like chains of gold, worn like ornaments and no burden at all.— Jermin.
Nothing so beautifies as grace doth. Moses and Joseph were “fair to God,” (Acts vii. 20) and favoured of all men.— Trapp.
As Christ prays, “Hallowed be thy name,” as his first petition, so Solomon put first in his promises mere beauty, the mere prize of being right. The best thing in being pious is the mere comeliness of piety.— Miller.
main homiletics of the paragraph.—Verses 10–19.
Enticement to Sin and Exhortation Against Yielding to It.
I. Youth will certainly be tempted. 1. Because he is in an evil world. In this world everything that possesses life is in danger of losing it. The tree is liable to have its root eaten by the worm, the smaller creatures in the animal world are beset with danger from those above them in size and strength, the fish in the sea is ever in danger of the hook and the net, the bird of the fowler’s snare, the forest king of the hunter’s gun. Man, in respect to his mere bodily existence, is surrounded by influences antagonistic to the preservation of his animal life. And this danger often presents itself in the form of enticement. The crumbs lure the bird into the trap, the bait tempts the fish to bite the hook. A smooth sea and light sunshine in the morning tempts the fisherman to the voyage upon the treacherous deep, which becomes his grave in the evening. Moral life is not excepted from this rule. Wherever the youth finds himself in the world he will be tempted, because he is everywhere surrounded by influences which war against his soul life. 2. Because it is an ordination of God. The Divine Ruler has ordained that men shall suffer temptation. There are things in this world which are the common lot of all men, from the highest to the lowest. Disease and death come alike to the proudest monarch and his meanest subject, to the man of highest intellect and to the most unlettered savage. And temptation is also an ordained heritage of man. Not even the “second Adam, the Lord from heaven,” was exempted from this rule. 3. Because it is necessary for the formation of moral character. The seaman needs to come into conflict with the stormy winds and the rough waves of the ocean if he is to become a skilful mariner. The very effort which he puts forth to overcome them makes him more fit for his calling. So men must have temptation in order to test their powers of resistance; the struggle against sin, if successful, strengthens the moral character.
II. The elements which form the strength of the temptation. 1. The secresy promised by the tempter. “Let us lay wait for blood,” let us lurk privily for the innocent, etc. No one commits a crime against his fellow man, without an underlying hope that he will not be found out; he even persuades himself that it is hidden from God. “They say, how doth God know, and is there knowledge in the Most High?” (Ps. lxxiii. 11). 2. The hope of gain. Advantage of some kind is supposed to be the fruit of every sin. That which the tempter uses here is an increase of wealth. “We shall find all precious substance,” etc. This temptation is most common. A man is persuaded that by a very slight risk he can make a large fortune, that the deed will never come to light, and these two persuasions have been the ruin of hundreds. 3. The number of the tempters. Here several are represented as tempting one. “Come with us.” Numbers always influence us even when no persuasion is used. Men are naturally inclined to do what the many do, to go with the multitude. There is an undefined feeling that safety is with the majority, or, at least, that the being involved with many others lessens personal responsibility. This element of temptation is very powerful in a world where “the many” go in at the gate which leadeth to destruction, and “few” walk in the way which leadeth to life (Matt. vii. 13, 14).
III. The way of escape from the tempter. 1. Calling to mind his filial relation. “My son.” It is a great help to a youth who is in danger of being drawn away from his steadfastness in the path of virtue to call his parents to mind. His father’s instructions and example, his mother’s love and prayers, the grief that his fall would bring upon them will, if reflected on, be a means of escape from the tempter’s snare. The thought that he is a son ought to be sufficient to keep him from straying. 2. A consideration of the certain end of sinners. Those who promise themselves and others secresy shall be taken openly. The bird will not be decoyed into the net if he sees it spread, the trap must be laid in secret if it is to be successful. But sinners go on in sin although they are forewarned by God, by their own consciences, by the law of human society, and by the experience of others what the end will be. “Be sure your sin will find you out,” is written, not only in the book of God, but within us and around us. The young man is to bear in mind that they are fools who tell him there is gain to be had by sin. Those who seek to take life in order to enjoy the property of others, or in any way to wrong their fellows for their own fancied gain, shall themselves, like Haman, be hanged upon the gallows which they have made. Let the youth reflect upon the sad histories of those who now fill our convict-prisons, and he will feel that it is indeed true that evil-doers “lay wait for their own blood.”
outlines and suggestive comments.
Verse 10. I. A supposition implied, that sinners will entice. Sin is of so virulent and malignant a nature, that it tainteth the whole air about it and filleth it with infection, and there is no safety to be found within its neighbourhood without the blessed antidotes of piety and carefulness. And the sinner will take as much pains to pervert his companions, as the Jews did to make proselytes, and with the same fatal design and consequence, viz., to make them twofold more the children of hell than themselves. For since the good have all other advantages, and vastly outweigh them in intrinsic worth, they will endeavour to come as near a level as they can by making up in number what they want in value. Besides, it silences in some measure the loud alarms of their own consciences, when they join with them in their vicious performances, and the approbation of others, by complying with their practices, lulleth them to sleep in a dull security. II. A caution subjoined, “Consent thou not.” To which end—1. Consider the baseness and danger of consenting. We must sacrifice our reputation, render ourselves unfit for the company of men of worth, and exchange the glorious liberty of the children of God for that of vassals of iniquity. We must call in question the existence of God, and expose ourselves to that avenging hand which will lie heavy upon sinners to all eternity. 2. Take some plain and short directions to secure yourself against their enticements. Repel the first attempts upon your character. When that which is wrong is spoken or acted in your presence, do not suffer yourself to give it inward approbation. Withdraw from such society as soon as possible. Seek God’s assistance.— Nicholas Brady, D.D.
This verse, in brief compass and transparent terms, reveals the foe and the fight. With a kindness and wisdom altogether parental, it warns the youth of the danger that assails him, and suggests the method of defence.— Arnot.
Carry a severe rebuke in thy countenance, as God doth (Psa. lxxx. 16). To rebuke them is the ready way to be rid of them.— Trapp.
Verses 11–13. Two unreasonable and insatiable lusts they propose to gratify. 1. Their cruelty. They thirst for blood, and hate those that are innocent, and never give them any provocation. Who could imagine that human nature should ever degenerate so far that it should ever be a pleasure to one man to destroy another? 2. Their covetousness.
