Vers. 10-15.-Divine and human authority. I. THE DERIVATION OF AUTHORITY A..""D LAW FROM Gon. (Ver. 10.) The true ruler is the representative of God. Royal decrees and legal statutes profess to rest, and must rest ultimately, if they are to be binding, upon the moral Law itself. Hence the reverence in old days for" the Lord's anoioted," thoui:t:h in the person of a Charles Stuart, was the popular witness to a deer truth, which lies at the foundation of society. II. PRINCIPLES OF STABLE RULE. (Ver. 11.) The pair of scales have ever been viewed as the emblems of justice, and so the expressions, symbolically, of the nature of God. The second allusion is to the stone weights which the Oriental merchant carries in his bag, serving the purpose the more exactly, as not liable to rust. The exact balance and the just weight, then, if symbols of Jehovah, must be the symbols of every righteous human government. III. 'l'HE PRINCIPLES OF ROYAL FAVOUR AND DISFAVOUR. (Vers. 12-15.) 1. The ruler must be of pure sentiment, abhorring all kinds of immorality, keeping his court pure, "rearing the white flower of a blameless life in the fine light that beats upon the throne." How much we owe in these respects to the example of our sovereign and her husband is written on the thankful heart of every religious Englishman. 2. Strong moral convictions. That the throne securely rests, not upon might, but right; not upon bayonets, but upon the Word of God. The influence proceedi~g from such a mind will be coru;tantly felt as antipathetic to falsehood and corruption, and the other eating mildews of high places. 3. Sympathy with honest policies. How common is it to assume that politics have little or nothing to do with morality I No one who believes in the teaching of his Bible can accept such a dogma. He who acts upon it is alrr,ady a traitor to his country and his God. As Greece had its Demosthenes, who has been called a "saint in politics," 110 we have had, thank God, in our time men ijf doq_ueot tongue and true heart in the national councils. May their line and tradi- OH, XVI, 1-38.] '!'HE PROVERBS. 323
tion never become extinct! 4. Their dread judicial power. (Ver. 14.) The authorities who represent the penal powers of law are a terror to evil-doers. There must be the power to punish, And e. measured and well-tempered severity does in a sense "reconcile" numbers, not to be affected otherwise, to a course of law-abiding and just conduct. 5. The attractions of their smile, (Ver. 15.) Ever, while human nature continues what it is, the smile of the sovereign, the tokens of his favour-the star, the medal, the garter, the uniform-will be sought after with eagerness and worn with pride. '!'here may be a side of idle vanity in this, yet equally a side of good. It is good to s,eek e.ssocie.tion with greatness, though the ideal of greatness may often be mistaken. Only let us see that there is no real greatness which does not in some way reflect the majesty of God.-J.
Vere. 16-26.-The Divinejuseice in respect to the wise and fools. We see the moral order of God revealed ·in the character and life of men in various ways. Their conduct has a good or evil effect on themselves, on their fellows, and is exposed to Divine judgment. Let us take these in their order. I. THE REFLEXIVE EFFEOT OF MAN'S CONDUCT. 1. Wisdom is enriching (ver. 16). To acquire it is better than ordinary wealth (eh. iii. 14; viii. 10, 11, 19). 2. Rectitude is safety (ver, 17). It is e. levelled and an even way, the way of the honest and good man; not, indeed. always to his own feeling, but in the highest view, "He that treads it, .trusting surely to the. right, shall find before his journey closes he is close upon the shining table-lands to which our God himself is Sun and Noon." The only true way of self-preservation is the way of right. 3. The truth of contrast (ver. 18). Pride foretells ruin; the haughty spiiit, overthrow and destruction ( eh. xv. 25, 33). The thunderbolts strike the lofty summits, and leave unharmed the kneeling vale; shiver the oak, and pass harmless over the drooping flower. We are ever safe upon our knees, or in the attitude of prayer. A second contrast appears in ver, 19. The holy life with scant fare better than a proud fortune erected on unjust gains. "He the.t is down need fear no fe.11: He the.t is low, no pride." 4. The effect qf religious principle (ver.· 20). We need constantly to carry all conduct into this highest light, or trace it to this deepest root. Piety here includes two things: (1) obedience to positive command; (2) living trust in the personal God. Happiness and salvation are the fruit. "I have had many things in my hands, and have lost them e.11. Whatever I have been able to place in God's hauds, I still possess" (Luther). II. EFFECTS IN RELATION TO OTHERS. 1. The good man is pleasing to others (vers. 21, 24). There is a grace on his lips, a charm in his conversation, in a "speech. alway with grace, seasoned with salt." How gladly men listened to oar gre>\t Exemplar, both in public and in private I Thus, too, the good man sweetens instruction, and furthers its willing reception in the mind e,f his listeners. 2. He earns a good reputation for sense, discretion, prudence (vers. 21, 22). And this not only e.d<ls to his own happiness (for we cannot be happy without the good will of our fellows), but it gives weight to his teaching (ver. 23). • The teacher ce.n produce little effect whos1:, words stand not out in relief from the background of che.racter. The true emphasis is supplied by the life. 3. The contrast (ver. 22), The folly of fools is self-chastising. The fool makes himself disagreeable to others; even if he chances upon a sound word or riaht action, it is devoid of the value and weight which only character can give. He i;curs prejudice and opposition on every hand, sows thorns in his own path, and invites his own destruction. III. THE PRIN0IPLJ!l OF DIVINE JUDGMENT IN ALL. Every one of these effects marks in its way the expression of the Divine will, the laws of a Divine order. But, above all, the end determines the value of choice and the quality of life. The grea1, distinction between the seeming and the real is the distinction between facts as they appear in the light of our passions, our wishes, our lusts, our various illusions and self-deceptions, and facts as they are in the clear ?aylight of et~ma~ truth e.nd a judcrment 0 which cannot err (ver. 25). To guard against the fatal 1llus1ons that beset USi: we should ask: I. Is this course of conduct according to the definite rules of 824 THE PROVERBS. [OH, XVI. 1-33,
conduct as they are laid down in God's Word? 2. Is it according to the beet examples of piety? Above all, is it Christ-like, God-like ?-J.