Vers. 27, 28.-Promptitude in good actions. I. NEGATIVE UNKINDNESS. (Ver. 27.) 1. It consists in withholding good which it is in our power to impart. 2. It is analogous to the refusal to pay a /ust debt. Kindness is the "due" of our fellow-men. 'l'his does not imply the giving to every beggar or borrower. No act is required which, under the show of kindness, involves no real benefit to another or actually involves an injustice to ourself or another. We must carry these precepts to the light of the hearfand of the di~criminating intelligence. Speaking generally, sullenness, unsociability, extreme taciturnity, self-absorption, are forms of the sin. II. PaoCRABTINATIO::. CONDEMNED. (Ver. 28.) Remember: 1. That to give promptly is to give twice; that the deferred gift loses its bloom; that unnecessary delay is a fraud on the time and temper of others; that of everything we intend to do we had best make the beginning at once, which, the Roman poet says, is "half the deed." 2. To defer a duty till to-morrow may be to defer it for ever. A lost opportunity of doing good is a sad sting in the ~ernory. These ne.7ative warnings infer the positive le~son of promptitude. (1) Now 1s the acceptable time for ourselves and our own salvat10n. (2) It may also be the acceptable time for others' salvation. How admirable to be one of those who, amidst whatever pressure, can find time to listen, to comfort, to help their brethren, to-day, at once !-J. Vera. 29-31.-0dious passions. Let them be held up in the clear exposure of Wisdom that their very mention may suggest their hideousness. I. M;LICE AND ITS DEVICES. (Ver. 29.) Literally, "Forge not ill against thy neighbour." 1. Malice, like love, is all-inventive. But as the devices of th_e _latter are the very instruments of progress and good, so those of the former are permc1ous- burglar's tools, cunning instruments of torture, 2. Directed against unsuspecting OH, 111. 1-35.] 'l'HE PROVERBS. 77
objects, me.lice ie truly Sato.nic, o.n inspiration from hell. We have to beware of indul- gence in curiosity about our neighbours; it is seldom free from some taint of malice in thought, which may pass over at any moment into action. Something in our neicrh- bour's life may rebuke us and rouse the latent passion. How near are the anae\ 0 ;nd the devil to one another in the heart! II. UNPROVOKED CONTENTIOUSNESS, (Ver. 30.) In other words, quarrelsomeness. The vicious ho.bit and disposition to "pick quarrels," to invent occasions for fault- finding, for the exercise of pugnacity, and so on. The man of whom it is sai<l. that if left alone in the world he would fight with his own shadow. Let him contend with his own vices, of which this temper is a symptom, and expend bis pugnacity upon the evils of society. There are men before whose presence all the sleeping germs of wrath start up into chaotic life. Could they but see themselves as others see them! III. ENVY OF THE WICKED GBEAT. (Ver. 31.) As emulation of the virtuous great is a noble passion, this, the reverse side of it, is correspondingly base. Imitation, again, is a powerful passion, the source of "fashion." The pure spirit knows nothing of fashion as such; and immoral fashion, born of mere imitation, it must avoid and denounce. I. Every passion has its obverse and its reverse, its good and its evil side; malice may be turned to benevolence; idle quarrelsomeness to noble pugnacity; immoral envy to pure emulation. 2. Religion intensifies, purifies, directs, the passions to noble ends.-J. Vers. 32-35.-'.ZVie discernment of Jehovah. This is a leading thought of the Ohl Testament. In ordinary life, in civilized times, the character of individuals is concealed from us by the intermixtures of society and the complexity of its interests. Even in village life it is difficult to classify people; but God distinguishes in- I. His VIEW OF INDIVIDUAL CHARACTER. 1. He abominates the perverse, the crooked, twisted, deceitful character. All in the spirit must be compared with that ideal geometrical rectitude of form, so to speak, which is the truth of his Being. 2. With the upright he "maintains good friendship" (ver, 32), or "is in secret alliance" (Job xx.ix. 4; Ps. xxv. 14). To enjoy the friendship of discerning minds, what greater privilege can there be? 'l'o live on such terms with Gou is the privilege of the true soul, II. His PROVIDENTIAL ADMINISTRATION. "His curse dwells in the house of the wicked." A fatality of evil clings to him and his. But Jehovah blesses the tent of the righteous. He scoffs at the scoffer, but gives to the lowly grace (comp. Jas. iv. 6; 1 Pet. v. 5). The wise under this administration inherit glory, while ignominy carries away the fools. 1. 'l'hese are, in the mode of their presentation, generalized or abstract truths, and as such must be understood. The study of apparent exceptions, even the admission of them, is foreign to this phHse of Oriental thought. It was the presence of exceptions, insoluble to ancient thought, which excited the doubt and grief of Job and some of the psalmiets. 2. While the truth must be stated, from the exigencies of language, in this sharp polar antithesis, actual human character is found, with all its merits and shades, in the intermediate region. 3. The subtle intermixtures of good and evil in human character, recognized by modern thought, defy complete analysis. We must suspend our judgment in particular cases, leaving all to him who brings to light the hidden things of darkness; conscious that there must be great "reversals of human judgment" upon the character of man (see Mozley's sermon on this subject).-J.
Vers. 1-4.-Cherishing the truth. We have here- I. THE ESSENTIAL THING IMPl,IED. It is implied that the Law of God has been heard aud understood; also that it has been received as Divine, and taken as the true guide of life. The teacher or preacher has sometimes to assume this; but too often it is an assumption unjustified by the facts. When it is justified, there corne- 11. Two SPECIALLY VALUADLE VIRTUES INSISTED UPON. Mercy and truth (ver. 3) are to be exemplified. 1. Mercy, which includes (1) compassion, or the pity one should show to the unfortunate and the suffering; and (2) clemency, or a lenient view taken and a generous spirit shown in presence of error o.nd wrong-doing, particularly of injury done to ourselves. 2. Truth, which includes (1) veracity in language ; (2) sincerity of heart; (3) honesty and uprightness of action. 78 THE PROVERBS. [CH, Ill, 1-35,