The Pulpit Commentary — Proverbs — Section 114

Vers. 1-13.-The solidtude oj the wise fatlier: a sermon to parents and children. In these verses we have a peep into the royal house at Jerusalem while David wa~ on the throne. And we have such a glimpse as we should expect to gain. We see the devout man extremely solicitous that his son should walk in the ways of Divine and heavenly wisdom. David, like the rest of human parents, and more than most of them, was under- I. A STRO~G TEMPTATION TO MAKE A FALSE ESTIMATE. So near tous is this present passing world, so powerfully do its interests appeal to us, so strong is the hold which it gains over our senses and our imagination, that we are apt to over-estimate altogether its claims and its worth. And this in proportion to the h~igbt of the .dignity, the measure of the power, the extent of the fortune, to which we have attained. David, as a man snbject to all human passions, would be ,particularly tempted to weigh the worldly advantages of his favourite son, and esti_mate them very carefully and vi,ry highly. He would be in danger of considering-not exclusively, but excessively-what would be the extent of his kiogly rule, what the revenue he would be able to collect, what the influence he would wield over neighbouring powers, what the authority he would exercise over his own people, etc. And in the thick throng of these mundane con- si<lerations there would be no small risk of other and higher things being lost sight of. So with other if not with all parents. There is a constaut danger of worldly anxieties about our children absorbing-, or at any rate obscuring, the deeper and worthier solici- tudes. But in the case of the devout monarch of Israel there was, as there should be with us all- II. A WISE DISCERXME!s""T. David was profoundly convinced that "wisdom is the principal thin;{" (ver. 7), thateverythiog is of inferior value to that. He saw clearly and felt strongly that he must induce his son Solomon to walk in the fear of the Lord, or even his brilliant prospects would come to nothing. For he knew: 1. That the fear of God was the living principle most likely to lead to temporal prosperity: he had provPd that in the elevation of his own "house" and the rejection of that of Saul. 2. That no possible successes of an earthly kind would .compensate for the loss of character: his own hour of disastrous folly had Phown him that (2 Sam. xi. 27). 3. That no circumstantial misfortunes could fatally injure a man who was ri~ht at heart with God: his own experience had illustrated that truth (Ps. xii. 12). We shall be wise if we come to the same conclusioos. Like J1avid, we shall see that the outward ancl the dsible, tboui(h they may be far more attractive and voiceful, are yet of far iuferior account to the inward and the spiritual. We shall care immeasurably more for our children that they shall be wise in soul than prosperous in estate, "all glorious w,thin" thao magnificent without; we shall be far more solicitous to see them "getting wisdom" (ver. 5) than "making money," "retaining the words" of truth (ver. 4) than gaining or keeping possession of lands and houses. III. THE WAY OF WISDOM TOWARD THE YOUNG. If we, RB parents, would walk wisely, so that we may attain our heart's desire coocerning the children of our love and of our charge, we shall act as David did-we shall commend the truth God has taught us (1) with all affectionateness of manner (ver. 3); (2) with all earnestness of spirit (vers, 4, 10, 11); (3) with all fulness of exposition. There is a strain of po.rental tendernes1 of tone and energy of manner, as well as great fulness of utterance here. 'rho BBme C!II, IV, 1-27,] TRE PROVERBS. 103