people suffering even unto death for righteousness sake ; and, many wicked people, whose lives were justly forfeited, eluding, either through force or fraud, the punishment they deserved. From hence he takes occasion to caution both the righteous and the wicked ; the righteous, ver. 16, not to bring trouble on them- selves by an injudicious way of manifesting their religion, or to " suffer as evil-doers;" and the wicked, ver. 17, not to presume upon always escaping with impunity; for that justice will sooner or later surely overtake them. He then recommends to both of them to pay strict attention to the advice given them, and to cultivate the true fear of God, ver. 18, as the best preservative against wickedness on the one hand, and indiscretion on the other.
This being the sense of the whole passage, we pro- ceed to the consideration of the text ; in illustrating which we shall, I. Explain the caution —
The misconstruction put upon the text renders it necessary to explain,
1. To what the caution does not extend —
[Solomon certainly never intended to caution us against loving God too much; seeing that we are commanded to " love him with all our heart, and mind, and soul, and strength"^:" nor against serving the Lord Jesus Christ too much ; since he " died for us, that we might live to him'';" and we should be " willing to be bound or even to die for his sake^ :" nor against too much purity of heart ; for we are required to purify our- selves from all filthiness both of flesh and spirit^, yea, to purify
ourselves even as he is pure^ Nor could he mean to
caution us against too much deadness to the world: for, pro- vided we conscieiitiously fnJJil the duties of our station, we cannot be too much " crucified to the world ^;" we should no more be of the world than Christ himself was'. Nor, lastly, did he intend to warn us against too much compassion for souls ; for, provided our mode of manifesting that compassion he discreet, it would be well if our " head were waters, and our eyes a fountain of tears, to weep for the ungodly day and night ''." These indeed are things in which the world does not
c Mark xii. 30. ^ 2 Cor, v. 15. ^ Acts xxi. 13. Luke xiv. 26. f 2 Cor. vii. 1. el John iii. 3. i' Gal. vi. 14. » John xvii. 14, IG. ^ Jer. ix. 1.