Ver. 28.-The hope of the righteous. I. WE ALL LIVE BY HOPE, The righteous bas bis "hope," the wicked his "expectation;" both live in the future. The present takes its colours chiefly from our anticipations of the future. It is dark or bright according as shadows or light fall on it from that visionary world. The man who bas no hope here or hereafter is practically dead. Despair is suicide. Hence the importance of seeing to our hopes. If they are ill-grounded, all life is a mistake. Il. THE LOTS OF THE RIGHTEOUS AND THE WICKED DIFFER LESS IN THEIR PRESENT CONDITION THAN IN THE FUTURE OF THEIR HOPES. Old Testament saints were often distressed at the sufferings of the good and the prosperity of the bad. It is when we see "their end" that we discover the just allotment. The house on the sand stands as fairly as the house on the rock-till the storm comes. "When the whirlwind passeth, the wicked is no more; but the righteous is an everlasting portion" (ver. 25). Men of very different deserts may have equally bright hopes; for hope is not founded on the verdict of justice, but on a man's own ideas, or even his idle fancies. The vigour of the hope is no guarantee of the certainty of its fulfilment. Ill. THE PROVIDENTIAL JUSTIOE OF GOD WILL OVERRULE THE ISSUE OF ALL HOPES. Our views of the future can only be safely depended on when they are determined by what we know of God. The future is in bis bands. So, of course, is the present. But it is only in the course of a long time that tbe modifying influence of tempornry accidents is removed and great general laws exert their full force. What will then happen we cannot tell by only investigating present phenomena, because of the confusion of transient influences. We must study the character of God. Then we shall be con- strained to exclaim, "Shall not the Judge of all the earth Jo right?" Because God is just, justice must be the ultimate outcome of all things. Through all time Go<l is surely working on to this end. We are deceived by the tardiness of the process, yet this very tardiness is effecting the more complete final result. "The mills of God grind slowly, But they grind exceeding small." IV. THE DIFFERENT NATURE OF THE HOPES OF MEN OF DIFFERENT CH.I.R.!.CTER LARGELY DETERMINES THE QUESTION OF THEm FUTURE FULFILMENT. God works through means and laws. Some hopes are naturally doomed to failure, others contain seeds of immortal fruition. Now, the nature of our hopes is dependent on our character. Better than professions, words, or even deeds, as a test of character, are a man's l,opes. Tell us what he hopes, and we can say what he is, The hope is an emanation of the very essence of the son!. Therefore bad men have bad hopes, and good men good hopes. If both seem to hope for the same thing, the hopes are still wide apart as the poles; for the same thing objectively is quite different to us according to the thoughts with which we view it. 'l'he heaven for which a wicked man hopes is very unlike the Christian's heaven. Good men hope for what is good; i.e. for what agrees with God's will. Thus their hope will not be disappointed, Uhristians have faith in "Christ in us the Hope of glory." Such an expectation presages its own satisfaction.
Ver. 31.-Righteousness and wisdom. These two attributes appear to belong to different spheres-the one to the moral and the other to the intellectual, Yet they are hero associated as parent and child, and righteousness is seen to sprout into wisdom. Righteous men are represented as speaking wisely. Now, wo know that good people have not CL monopoly of intellect. Aristides tho virtuous was not as clever as '.l'he- 20fi THE PROVERBS. ( err. x. 1--32.
mistocles. There are small-minded saints, and there are sinners of gilmt intellect. Where, then, is the connection between righteousness and wisdom? I. RIGHTEOUSNESS STRENGTHENS THE WHOLE SOUL. It will not convert 0. peasant into a philosopher, but it will brighten the faculties of the peasant. While sin deadens the soul, dissipates its faculties, and lowers its powers, the co.Im and temperate life of a good man helps him to attain to such vigour of thought as is within the reach of bis powers. II. RIGIITEOUSlIESS REMOVES THE llINDRANCR OF PREJUDJOE, No doubt many good people have their prejudices. But that is in spite of their goodness, and the goodness is an antidote of more or less efficacy. The root of prejudice is self-will, and this is also the root of sin. Just in proportion as we learn the self-distrust of humility we sball be freed from the blindness of prejudice. III. RIGHTEOUSNESS INSTILS THE LOVE OF TRUTH. The good man wishes to know truth; he acknowledges the duty of seeking light; he will not let indolence keep him in ignorance. Now, an earnest pursuit of truth is not likely to be rewarded with failure. They who seek Wisdom earnestly will find her (eh. viii. 17). Thus the rousing of a motive to strive after wisdom helps us to reach it, and this is the fruit of righteousness. I\7 • RIGHTEOUSNESS OPENS THE EYES OF THE SOUL. It bas a direct influence in purging the inward vision. There are truths which can only be revealed through channels of sympathy. 'l'he way of holiness lies hidden from the gaze of the corrupt. To be good is to see the best truth. V. RIGHTEOUSNESS LEADS TO THE PRACTICAL USE OF TRUTH. Wisdom is not a merely intellectual attainment. While intimately connected with the thoughts of the mind, it also has vital relations with the resolves of the will. The wise man is not onl:v one who knows the right way; he practises his knowledge by walking therein. VI. RIGHTEOUSNESS rs Tll.UTH~"UL. Wb.en a good·rnan speaks he will not knowingly deceive. His earnest desire will be to utter just what he believes to be true. But such a desire will help him to put forth words of wisdom. A practical result of this association of wisdom with righteousness is that we should look well to the character of our teachers. The merely popular preacher, or the merely clever thinker, will not be so useful a guide in the higher reaches of the spiritual life as the good man of less brilliant natural gifts and intellectual attainments. Thus true wisdom may be discovered where the world only expects foolishness (1 Cor. i. 20, 21);