The Pulpit Commentary — Proverbs — Section 262

VII. 'l'HERE Is ONE SUPREME HOPE which may well sustain us in tho darkest trials (1 Pet. i. 3, 4).-C. Ver. 20.-Friendship: a sermon to the young. We have here a topic which oomes very close home to us all, but especially to the young. I. GoD RAS GIVEN us GREAT POWER OVER ONE ANOTHER, There are two sources of power we exercise. 1. That of ideas. As we speak or write to one another, we impart ideas to the mind; and as thought lies beneath feeling, and feelin" beneath character ~nd conduc~ (s~e _homily on_ eh. xii. 5), it is olearl~ of t~e gmve~t consequence what ideas we do instil into the mmd of another. These ideas include information or know- ledge, the presentation of motive and inducement, new aspects in which things are regarded, new views and conceptions of life, etc. 2. That of infl'IJ,/Jnce. As we associate with one another, we influence one another by (1) the character which commands respect; (2) a:ffectionateness of disposition; (3) charm of manner; (4) strength of will; (5) superiority in age or in social position; (G) facility and ;_force of utterance. All these are elements of influence; they are sometimes united, and in combination they become a great moral force. II. CLOSENESS OF INTIMACY SHOWS THIS POWER AT ITS HEIGHT. When two "walk together because they are agreed;" when there is a close and intimate union of heart with heart, of mind with mind,-there is an opening for the exertion of a power immeasurably great. Friendship has done more than anything else to enlarge or .to warp the mind, to save or to betray the soul, to bless or to corrupt the life. 'l'he influence of a beloved friend or of a favourite author is wholly beyond calculation, and is almost beyond exaggeration. We give ourselves to one another; we impress our mind upon one another; we draw one another up or we drag one another down, Hence- . ill IT IS OF SUPREME IMPORTANCE THAT WE CHOOSE OUR FRIENDS WELL, The friend- ships we form will either make or mar us. We shall certainly be conformed in spirit and in character to those whom we admit to the sanctuary of our soul; our lives will move with theirs toward the same goal; and we shall share their destiny for good or evil. How nectlful, then, that we bring to this choice our whole intelligence, our greatest care, that we do not let the accidents of locality or family connection or business association decide the intimacies of our life I There is no action on which our future more decisively depends than on this choice we make; let youth and young manhood (womanhood) look well to it. He that walketh with wise men will himself be wise, and be will reap ail the fruits of wisdom; but the companion of fools, of those who fear not God nnd who honour not mnn, of the irreligious and the immoral, will be destroyed with a tc:Tible, because a spiritual, destruction. IV. How WISE TO WALi, TIIE PATH OF LIVE WITH A DIVINE FRIEND I-with him who himself is "the ,visdorn of God;" intimacy with whom will draw our spirit up toward all that is worthiest, and noblest; whose presence will ensure guardianship from all serious evil, and enrichment with every true blessing, and will gladden with all pure and lasting joy.-C. Ver. 21.-Penalty pursuing sin. These are striking words, and th~y give us a. graphic picture of penalty in pursuit of the guilt which is seeking and hoping to escape, but which is certain to be overtaken. I: Sr:-i AND SUFFEnING ARE INSEPARABLY ASSOCIATED IN THOUGHT, In our judgment and in our feeling they go together; they belong to one another. There is no need to gu beyond this point; it is ultimate. If we sin, we deserv~ to s1!-1fer, an~ mu~t expect tu suffer. It is right that we should, and the hand that brings 1t a.bout 1s a righteous hand. JI. THEY OFTEN SEEM TC BE DIVIDED IN FACT. As we observe human life, we see that the murderer sometimes escapes the reach of law, that_ the s'Yindler sometimes flourishes upon the losses of hie victims, that the tyran~ sometimes reigns lo1;1g ov_er the nation be has defrauded of its freedom that sometimes the mo.n who hves m the 11ractice of vice continues to enjoy health for many year~, that the dishonest auth?r may reap a. considerable reputation and may long remain unexposed, etc. But in this case- on. xm. 1-25.] THE PROVERBS. 267