do with his steadfastness, he will be the first to say that God ie "upholding him in his integrity, and setting him before his face." II. IN HIM IS ~·RmTFULlIEss.. "The root of the righteous yieldeth fruit" (ver. 12). The ungodly mau cannot be said to bear fruit, for the product of his soul and of his life does not deserve that fair name. 1. The forms of godly fruitfulness are these; (1) all excellency of spirit; (2) all beauty and worthiness of life, the presence of that which is pleasing in the sight of God and admirable in the sight of man; (3) all earnest endeavour to do good, the patient, persevering effort to instil the thoughts of Christ into the minds of men, to awaken their slumbering consciences, to lift up their lives, to ennoble their character, to-enlarge their destiny. 2. The 80urce and the secui·ity of snch fruitfulness are: (1) Union with the living Vine. (2) Abiding in him (John xv. 1----8)... (3) The wise and kind discipline of the Divine Husbandman (John xv. 2; Heh. xu. 10, 11).-C.
Ver. 5.-Right (iust) thoughts. "The thoughts of the righteous are right," or are "just" (Re\"ised Version). There is something more than a truism in these word1. We mav see first- I. THR PLACE OF THOUGHT IN MAN. This is one of the greatest importance, for it is the deepest of all; it is at the very foundation. 1. Conduct rests on character. It is often said that conduct is the greater part of life; it is certainly that part which is most conspicuous, and therefore most influential. But it is superficial; it rests on character; it depends on the principles which a.re within the soul. It is these which determine a man's position in the kingdom of God. 2. Character is determined by our prevalent and established feeling; by what we have learned to love, by what we have come to hate. As a man thinketh in his heart, as he feels in his soul, so is he; it is our final and fixed attachments and repulsions that decide our character. 3. }l"'eeling tpringsfrom thought. As we think, we feel. By the thoughts admitted to our minds and entertained there are determined our loves and our hatreds. Life, therefore, is ultimately built on thought. What are we thinking?-this is the vital question. Now, the thoughts of the righteous, the upright, the good, the true man, are right, or just. IT. THE JUST THOUGHTS OF THE oooD. A good man's thoughts are such as a.re: I. Just to himself. He owes it to himself to think only those thoughts which are pure and true. If he harbours those which are impure and untrue, he is doing himself deadly injury, he is inflicting on his spirit, on himself, a fatal wound. This he has no right to do; he is bound, in justice to himself, to guard the gate of his mind against these-to admit only those which are true and pure. 2. Just to hia neighbours. He owes it to them to think thoughts that a.re honest and charitable. We wrong our brethren, in truth and fact if not in appearance, when we think of them that which is not fair toward them. Every really righteous man will therefore banish thoughts w Lich are not thoroughly honest, and also those which are uncharitable; for to be uncharitable is to be essentially and most materially unjust. 3. Just to God. We owe to our Divine Creator and Redeemer all thoughts which are (1) reverent, leading us to piety and devotion; (2) grateful, leading us to thankful praise; (3) submissive, lee.ding us to the one decisive, all-inclusive act of self-surrender, and to daily and hourly obedience to his holy will; (4) trustful, leading us to a calm assurance that all is well with us, and that the darkness or the twilight will pass into the perfect da.y.-C.
Ver. 9.-Oonsideration or comfort 1 It is worth remarking that we might obtain a. very wholesome truth from the text, if we take the exact reverse of the proverb as worded in our version ; for then we reach the wise conclusion- !. THAT SELF-RESPECT, HOWEVER INDIGENT, is better than ,, being ministered unto" at the cost of reputation. 1t is better to lack bread, or even life itself, really honouring ourself, than it is to receive any a.mount of service from othe!s, if we have forfeited the regard of the good, and are deservedly" despised." But takmg the words as they are, and reaching the sense intended by the writer, we ga.ther- 11. THAT DOMESTIC COMFORT AND SUFFIClEN0Y ARE MU0H TO BE PREFERRED TO THE GBATlFICATION OF PERSONAL VANITY, One man, in order that he may have consideration anci deference from his neighbours, expends his resources on those outward appearances which will command that gratification; to do this he has to deny himself the uttend- Olt. lUI, 1-28.] THE PROVERB!:J. 249
ance which he would like to have, and even the nourishment he needs. Another man disregards altogether the Hlights he may suffer from his meddlesome and intrusive neighbours, in order to supply bis home with the food and the comforts which will benefit his family. It is the latter who is the wise man. For: 1. The gratification of vanity is e. very paltry satisfaction; there is nothing honourable, but rather ignoble about it; it lowers rather than raises a man in the sight of wisdom. 2. The gratifica- tion thus gained is likely to prove very ephemeral, and to diminish constantly in its value; moreover, it is personal e.nd, in tha.t sense, selfish. 3. Domestic comfort is a daily advantage, lasting tbe whole year round, the whole life long. 4. Domestic com- fort not only benefits the hca.d of the household, bat all the members of it, and he wbo makes a happy home is contributing to the good of his country and his kind. Using now the words of the text as suggestive of truths which they do not actually hold, we learn- III. THAT THERE 18 A VALUABLE SERVICE WHICH ALL MAY SECURE. "He that bath a servant." Men are divisible into those that are servants and those that have them. Some are the slaves of their evil habits; these are to be profoundly pitied, however many menservants or maidservants they may have at their call. But we may and should belong to those who hold their habits, whether of the mind or of the life, under their control and at their command. If that be so with us, then, though we should have no dependents at all in our employ, or though we ourselves should be dependents, living in honourable and useful service, we shall have the most valuable servants always at hand to minister to us, building up our character, strengthening our mind, enlarging our life. IV. 'l'HAT WE SHOULD SECURE NOURISHMENT AT ALL COSTS WHATEVER. ,ve must never be "the man that lacketh bread." To attain to any honour, to receive any adulation, to indulge any fancy, and to " lack bread," is a great mistake. For nourishment is strength and fulness of life; it is so in (1) the physical, (2) the intellectual, (3) the moral and spiritual realm. With the regularity and earnestness with which we ask for "daily bread," we should labour and strive to secure it, for our whole nature.-O.