" 'Tis one thing to be tempted, Another thing to fall." Now, the resistance to temptation must be immediate and thorough. The tempter entices by gentle degrees, but the tempted must resist at once and with decision. He must not begin with the "retort courteous," but with "the lie direct." There is some- thing brusque about the advice, "consent thou not," very different in tone from the polite enticing manner of the tempter. Yet this is necessary, for all that is wanted by the tempter is compliance-no active exercise of will, but a passive yieldina. The resistance, however, must be active. 'l'he greatest dangeris in dallying with temptation. "Lie in the lap of sin, and not mean harm? It is hypocrisy against the devil : They that mean virtuously, and yet do so, The devil their virtue tempts, and they tempt Heaven." The difficulty is to give a decided negative. With some people the hardest word to say is" No." Remember: 1. There is a Divine grace to which we can appeal for aid in temptation, and a Saviour who can succour (Heh. ii. 18). 2. We can best keep out ~in, not by bare expulsion of the spirit of evil, leaving the soul empty, swept, and garmshed, and therefore ready for the advent of worse sins, but by filling our thoughts and affections with pure and worthy objects, by overcoming evil with good. Vers. 20-23.-The gospel call. This cry of Wisdom is a sort of evangel of the Old Testament religion. It is an anticipation of the gracious invitation subsequently put forth by the Christian truth. That, too, is a cry of Wisdom; for is not Christ the "Wisdom of God" (1 Cor. i. 24), and "made unto us Wisdom" (1 Cor. i. 30)? We of the latter times, therefore, may hear in the preaching of Solomon the call of the glorious gospel of the blessed God. I. THE CHARACTER OF THE CALL. It is a cry, a loud utterance, arresting attention, arousing the thoughtless. Elsewhere we read that wisdom must be sought for like hid treasures (eh. ii 4), and her most precious gifts are always reserved for diligent inquirers. But before she is found, she calls. Though the choicest blessings of Christ may be pearls to be had only after long search, his call to us is antecedent to our desire to obtain them. God does not wait for us to return to him before he shows a willingness to welcome us. He calls at once in his revelation of truth. It is the duty of Christians to take up and repeat this call, to be heralds of a public truth, not jealous guardians of an esoteric doctrine. II. THE SCEKE OF THE CALL. 1. Without. Before the truth can be enjoyed in the heart it must be heard from without. It is not reserved for the initiated. It is declared in the open. 2. In the streets. The gospel meets men in their busy lives. The streets and lanes must be scoured to furnish guests for the King's feast. The call is too gracious to contain itself in the conventicle of the elect. Free as the air, it aims to reach all. The faithful preacher of the gospel must seek men in their haunts. not wait till they come to his snug retreat. 3. In the chief place of conoourse. The gospel courts inquiry, it declares itself in the full light of day, it challenges comparison with all earthly voices. Let us not think that it can only live in conventual seclusion, It boldly claims a place in the busiest life of the world. If it cannot hold its own there, it is worthless. If Christians had more faith in it, they would be less afraid to bring this truth into all possible relations with science, politics, business, recreation. But a.la;; ! our ears are dull, and often when the voice of Wisdom is lifted up clear and kindly, it is drowned in the coarse din of worldly commotion. IIL THE PEBBOKS CALLED. Simple ones, scorners, fools. Divine wisdC'm is healing wisdom. It is not so much a reward to the wise as instruction for the foolish. Earthly wisdom comes most readily to those who a.re most advanced. The gospel of Christ seeks the ignorant, the wayward, the fallen. IV. THE WAY TO RECEIVE THE CALL. "Turn you." It is not enough to hear, we must answer; and to answer is to obey, for the call is an invitation; and to obey is to turn and repent, for the gospel of the holy Christ must be a reproof to sinners. Thie gospel can be of no avail to us until we coI11e to ourselve~, tu,rn our backs on our olc;l life, and arise and go to our Father, Olt, I, 1-33.] THE PROVERBS. 21
V. TnE IJLEBBING PROMISED-the outpouring of the Divine Spirit. All Divine wisdom is nn inspiration. Christ the Wisdom of God can only be received as we are baptized with the Holy Spirit. Thus we receive light, love, purity, peace, strength, and eternal life. ..