HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Ver. 1.-General truths of health and salvation. I. DocILITY AS CONTRASTED WITrr i,TUBDOBNNESS. (Ver. 1.) Let us carry this into the distinctly religious sphere. To be wi~e is to be a good listener. In the expressive phrase of the Bible, to "hearken to the voice of Jehovah," to listen to the suggestions of the inward monitor, is the secret c,f a sober, well-balanced .habit of inind, and of every safe line of conduct. All that God teaches, by the voice of inspired teachers, by our own experience, by the inner revelations of the heart, is" a father's instruction." Above all, instruction by means of suffering is God's fatherly way with souls. And we have the great example of Christ to guide us and to sweeten obedience, for he "learned" it by the things which he suffered. 011 the other hand, the scorner has cast aside all reverential awe in the presence of the Holy One. To refuse the faithful warnings of friends, to be no better for those lessons of experience which are written in personal suffering, is to disown one's filial relation, ann to estrange one's self from God. II, TRUE LIFE-ENJOYMENT. AND ITS CONTROL. (Ver. 2.) 1. Enjoyment represented under the figure of eating. As indeed eating is a most significant act, the foundation of life; the pledge of social communism. 2. The foundation of enjoyment is in one's inward state and one's social relations. The more widely we can enter into the life of others, the richer our life-joy. The unsocial life not only dries up the springs of joy, but is positively punished-in extreme cases by law, as in crimes of violence alluded to in the text, always by the alienation of sympathy. III. THE USE .um, ABUSE OF SPEECH. (Ver. 3; see on eh. x. 19, 31; xxi. 23.) How often this lesson recurs! 1. In the lower aspect it is a lesson of prudence. Reserve and caution make the'safe man; loquacity e.nd impulsiveness of speech the unsafe man. 2. In a higher point of view, the habit of silence, implying much medita- $ioa and self-communion, is good for the soul 260 THE PROVERBS. [oH, XIII, 1-25,
" Saored silenoe I thou that art oft'spriug of the deepor heart, Frost of the mouth and thaw of the mind," Bow easy, on the other band, to injure our souls by talking much about religion or subjects that lie on the circumference of religion, and falling into the delusion that talk may be substituted for life !-J.
Vcrs. 4, 7, 8, 11.-The vcdue and use of property. I. THE WORTH OF THIS WORLD'S ~ODS IS ASSUMED. It_ i~ needless to show tha~ prope!t)'. is a necessary institution of life under present cond1t1ons. All the ~trong thmgs said m the gospel about riches do not dispute their value; it is in the relation of the spirit to them that evil arises. Their value as a means to the ends of the spirit is unquestioned, and everywhere assumed. II. 'l'HE VANITY OF RICHES WITHOUT CORRESPONDING ACTION. Wishes are a. great force in our n?-ture (compare Mozley's sermon on the' Power of Wishes'). Still, they have no practical effect unless they are transformed into will and into exertion of means to an end. It is the very characteristic of the fool that his mind evaporates in wishes; he is always desiring, but never at the pains to get anything. He is always idly expect• ing something to "tum up." This is a sheer superstition, a sort of clinaina to the magical belief that the course of nature can be altered for one's private b:nefit. The lesson is, of course, equally applicable to higher things. "He would fain go to heaven if a morning dream would carry him there." He wishes to be good, to die the death of the righteous, but, at the same time, to continue in a way of life that can lead neither to the one nor to the other. Hell is paved with good intentions. III. THE SECRET OF PROSPERITY IS DILIGENCE, Here desire is united with exertion, and it is an almost irresistible combination, as the careers of men who have risen con- stantly show. 'l'o conceive a good thing with such is to desire it; to desire it is to begin at once to work for it. This course must bring "rich satisfaction "-the satisfac- t.ion, by no means the least, of the pursuit, and the satisfaction in the end of entire or partial fruition. And so in moral and spiritual progress. We cannot overcome our weaknesses and sins by direct resistance, but we may react upon them by filling the mind with profitable matter of thought. The rich satisfaction depends in every case upon the same law; the persona.I energies must be aroused, a.nd an object must be aimed at. Satisfaction is the complete joy of the mind in closing with and possessing a worthy and desirable object. , IV. THE CONCEIT OF RICHES IS NOT REAL RICHES. (Ver. 7; comp. eh. xii. 9.) The saying may be directed against the foolish pride of birth and ostentation without any- thing real to back it up. It strikes a common vice of modern times-the aim to keep up appearances, and to pass for something greater in position than one really is. 'rhe contrasted example teaches the lesson of preferring the substance to the show, of being willing to appear much less than one is. And so in higher matters; take ea.re to be what is sound and good in principle, and the seeming may be left for the most part to take care of itself. No appearances deceive God, and nothing that is real escapes him. V. 'l'HE PRACTICAL SERVICE OF IlIOHEB. (Ver. 8.) They may provide a ransom from captivity, from penal judgment, from the hand of robbers. Their power to procure deliverances from the evils of life is much wider in the present day. The poor man, on the contrary, "listens to no rebuke," i.e. no threats can extort from him what he has not got. He is helpless for want of means. A lesson not often taught from the pulpit, and perhaps not needed for the majority-prudent regard to the possible advantages of money, stimulating to industry in the quest for it. Still, somo do need the lesson. Aud the Bible has no affectation of a false contempt for the means of living. Business men should be encouraged in their pursuit of wealth, and guided in their application of it. VI. ,vEAL'I'H ONLY PPJRMANENT WHEN WELL-GOTTEN. (Ver. 11.) Perhaps the translation to be preferred is, "Swindled wealth becomes small." Hastily gotten generally means hastily spent. And dishonest gain burns the fingers. How often do we see a feverish passion for spending going ha.nd-in-ha.nd with uDla.wful or unhealthy getting! A healthy acquisition of wealth is gradual, and the !'esult of steady industry. Rapid fortune-making, or sudden " strokes of luck," are certainly not to be envied in view of the gootl of the soul. dH. Xllf. 1-25.] THE PROVERBS. 261