The Pulpit Commentary — Proverbs — Section 293

Ver. 3.-" The eyes of tlie Loi·d." I. Goo HAS EYES. We must always describe the Infinite and Invisible One in. fi?;urative l:i,nguage. But ju~t. as we speak of the arms and hands of God when thmkmg of his power and act1v1ty, so we cannot better conceive of his wonde_rful observing faculty than by saying that he has eyes. God can see; he can watch )us creatures. It would be an awful thing if the universe were governed by a blind power. Yet that is the condition imagined by those who regard force, unconscious energy, as the highest existence in the universe and the cause of all things. We could but tremble before a blind god. What awful confusion, what terrible disasters, would result from the almighty energy of such a beina- 0 crashing through all the complicated and delicate machinery of the world's life I II. Gon USES ms EYES. He is not a sleeping deity. He never slumbers never closes his eyes. Day and night are alike to him. There is never a moment w'hen he ceases to observe the world and all that is in it. There are men of whom we can say, "Eyes have they, but they see not;" unobservant people, who pass by the most ob,ious facts ·without noticing them; dreamers, who live in a world of their own fancies, and fail to see the things that are really happening about them. God is not thus self-contained. He has an outer life in the universe, and he neither scorns nor fails to observe all that is happening. We have to do with an ever-watchful, keenly observant God. III. Goo's EYES ARE EVERYWHERE. We can only see clearly what is near to us. All but the largest objects are lost in distance, and the horizon melts into obscurity. Not so with God. 1. He sees the distant. Indeed, nothing is distant from him. He is everywhere, so that what we should regard as the most remote objects are under his close ken. No Siberian solitude, no far-off deserted planet, no star lost to the rest of the universe and rushing off into the awful waste of space, can be far from God's presence and observation. 2. He sees the obscure. No fog dims his vision; no night blots out the objects he is ever gazing upon; no hiding in secret chambers, deep celiars, black mines of the earth, can remove anything from God's sight. 3. He sees the unattractive. Our vision is selective. Many objects pass close before our eyes, yet we never see them, because we are not interested in them. God is interested in all things. Not a sparrow falls to the ground without his notice. lV. Goo's EYES SEE THE EVIL. Though he is merciful, he is too true to refuse to see the sin of his children. 1. The sinner cannot escape by secrecy. If God does not strike at once, this is not because he does not know. Meanwhile the deluded sinner is but " treasuring up wrath." 2. God is long-suffering. If he forbears to strike at once and yet knows all, it must be that he waits to give us an opportunity to repent. His gospel is offered in full view of our sin. There is nothing, to be discovered later on that may turn God's mercy from us. He knows the worst when he offers grace. V. Goo's EYES SEE THE GOOD. 1. He observes his children's secret devotion. Unnoticed by men, they arc not unheeded by God. Misunderstood and misjudged on earth, they are quite understood by him. Should it not be 'enough to know that God knows all, and will recognize faithful service? 2. He observes Ms children's need. Prayer is necessary to express our faith, etc., but not to give information to God. lI e knows onr condition better than we do. 'l'herefore, though he seem~ to neglect us, it cannot be so really. No mother ever watched over her sick infant as God watches urer his poor children. Ver. 13.-.A joyous heart or a brolcen spirit. These are the two extremes. The less we have of the one the more we tend towards the other. The first is encouraged that it mav save us from the disasters of the second condition. I. t'HE CONDITION OF TIIE HEART IS OF VITAL IMPORTANCE. "Out of it are the issueR of life" ( eh. iv. 23). The first essential for one whose life has been wrong is the creation of" a clean heart" (Ps. li. 10). According as we think and feel in our hearts, so do we truly live. Now, it is the merit of Christianity that it works directly on the heart, and only touches the outer life through this primary inward operation. We must set little store on the external signs of prosperity if the heart is wrong. When that is right the rest is likely to follow satisfactorily. JI. 'l'HE JOY OR SORROW OF TIIE HEART ARE NOT MATTERS OF INDIFFERENCE. The religion of the Bible is not Stoicism. It is nowhere represented to us in this book CH, XV, 1-33,] THE PROVERBS. 209