Vers. 25_:35.-Warning against adultery. No candid student can ignore the fact that the view of this sin, and the motives deterrent from it, are of far lower order thim those of pure Christianity. They do not rise above those of Horace, or aoy general morality of men of the world. In the sense that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, that the soul is in communion with God, we reach that loftier poiDt of viGw whence the odium of the sin is clearly discernible, and the motives against it are the highest that can be known. I. SIN SPRINGS FROM THE ROOT OF DESmE. (Ver. 25.) 'l'his is the general law (Jas. i. 14, 15). Hence the last command of the Decalogue (Exod. xx. 17; Matt. v. 28). 'The objects of desire may be good in themselves, but not lawful for our pos~es- 11ion, as e.g. anything that belongs to our neighbour. Or the object may only seem to be good in itself, and its possession may be both unlawful and pernicious. This is the case with the adulteress. Her beauty is a deceitful show. It is a symbol with no moral worth behind it. 'l'he beauty, the "twinkling eye," are only sensuous charms. Vf e must not SJleak of desire abstractly as if it were wrong, but of the indiscriminating desire, which confounds the lawful with the unlawful, the real with the unreal. ' II. ADULTEROUS DESIRE BOTH UNLAWFUL AND PERNICIOUS. 1. The extravagance and avarice of the adulteress. (Ver. 26.) This is a commonplace of obsenation. lJ;~ce~s ip o~e passfon 111fects the wholtl moral equilibrium, and she who will lavish 148 THE PROVERBS. [en. vr. 1-31S.
a:way her honour will ~ reckless of other ~vaste. 2. She is a, spendth1·ijt of her lover'a life. The Hebrew designates tl::.e soul or life as dear, or costly. After mnking havoc of bi~ pos~essions, she preys upo? _his life, more )?recious than all. 3. The deadly cer- ta.inty of those resu.lf.s oj siwh liaisons. (Vers. 21-29.) By t,vo impnssioned questions the teacher conveys the most emphatic denial of what they suggest. 4. The further certainty of penal con~equences on detection. Conveyed by means of an analogy (vers. 30, 31). The act of the thief who steals to quiet his starving stomach is not over- looked. If apprehended, he is made to restore sevenfold. The Mosaic Law says four or· fivefold (H:xod. xxi. 36; xxii. 1, sqq.; cf. Luke xix. 8). 'l'he "sevenfold" merely expresses a round sum generally; the thief might have to buy off his exemption from legal prose~ution w~th all he had. Much less, then, can the graver crime of adultery escape pumshment, if detected. And hence the senselessness and suicidal conduct of the lo,er (ver. 32). 5. Other rislr.s of detection. Castigstion and ignominy at the hands of the outraged husband (ver. 33). Exposure to all the fury of excited jealousy which is unsparing, fiercely vindictive, insatiable, unappeasable (vers. 34, 35). ' I. The lower motive-fear of consequences-is the most powerful deterrent from crime. 2. But the higher motives, derived from the sense of what crime is in itself and in relatiou to the doer, are needed when the other is not acting. 3. It is not being found out that makes the evil evil,-that is an accident; the essence of the crime iB in the wrong done to the soul.--J.
Vers. 1-5.-Answeringfor others; da'fl.ger and delivei-ance. There are times when we are invited and are bound to answer for other people-it may be with our word, or it may be with our bond. We have all been indebted to the kindnesses of our friends in this direction, and that which we have received from our fellows we should be ready to give to them in return. But it is a matter in which it is very easy to go much too far; in which carelessness is wrong and even criminal; in which, therefore, wise counsel is well worth heeding. L THAT GOOD MEN ARE EXPOSED TO SERIOUS DANGER IN THE WAY OF SURETYSHIP. (Vers. 1-3.) Good men, as such. For it is thoy who are most likely to be in a position to grant the help which is desired, and who are most likely to be induced to do so. The danger is threefold. 1. The appeal is to kindness of heart. It is the young at starting, or it is the unfortunate, or it is those on whom tho helpless are dependent, who supplicate our interposition; and it is difficult for the tender-hearted to turn a deaf ear to their entreaty. 2. The peril is ea~ily incurred. It was but the taking of the hand in the presence of two or three witnesses; it is but the signing of a name at the foot of a bond, and the thing is done. 3. The result is remote and uncertain. No evil may ever happen; if it should, it will fall some day in the distance. II. THAT GODLY PRINCIPLE REQUIRES US TO PUT A STRONG CHECK ON INCLINATION. 1. However much our sympathetic feelings may be stirred, however great the pleasure of compliance, and however deep the pain of refusal, we must forbear, when we have not wherewith to meet the demsnd that may be made on us. To comply, under such conditions, is simple dishonesty; it is criminal; it is an essentially false action. 2. We should imperil the comfort of our own family. Our first duty is to the wife whom we have solemnly covenanted before God to cherish and care for, and to the children whom the Father has entrusted to our charge. 3. We should be encouraging a culpable spirit of unsound speculation. 4. We should be disregarding the_ genersl good. No minister can commend to a Christian community a brother whom he believes to be unfit for the post without sinning against Christ and his Church most seriously. No man can recommend an incompetent or unworthy neiii;hbour or friend to a position of trust and influence without doing a wrong which, if it be not condemned in the Decalogue, will be heavily scored in the Divine account. III. THAT IF WE FIND WE HAVE EBRED, WE MUST DO EVERY POSSIBLE THING TO GA.Illl DELIVERANCE. (Vers. 3-7.) '!'here should be: 1. The utmost promptitude (ver. 4). When the blow may not fall for some time to come, there is epecisl temptstion to pro- crastinate until it is too late. Seek safety st once; let not the sun go down before the first step is taken. 2. Energy in action (ver. 6). We should seek to extricate ourselves and those who are de"1' to us with the vigour with which the roe escspes fro!D the OII, \'t. 1-35,j (THE PROVER:1!9,