IV, TnE BATISl!'A0TION OF WIBE cotJNSEJ.9. (Ver. 20; comp. eh. xii. 14; xiii. 2.) The mode of expression is Rtro.nge to a modern ear, but the thought is familiar and weloome. Words here stand for thoughts; the fruit of the lips comes from tho root of the heo.rt. When an intensely modern writer ea.ye, "Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of your principles," he puts the old truth in a new light. v. Ln•E AND DEATH IN TnE TONGUE. (Ver. 2L) Here is another great principle, vnet iu• its sweep. "Life and death are iii the power of witnesses according to the testimony they bear, of judges according to the sentence they pass, of teachers accord- ing to the doctrine they preach, of all men who by their well or evil speaking bring death or life to themselves or to others" (Gill). Perhaps it is true that the tongue has elain"its ten thousands where the sword has slain only its thousands. The employ- ment of the tongue, whether for good or for evil, in blessing or in cursing (Jas. iii. 9; 1 Cor. xii. 3), brings its own ftuit and reward to the speaker. " By thy words thou ehalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."-J.
Vere. 22-24.-Love in different relatiO'lls. I. CONJUGAL LOVE. (Ver. 22.) The blessing of a good wife. "Young men's mistresses; companions for middle age; and old men's nurses" (Lord Bacon). On the choice of a wife none but a recluse er a pedant would pretend to lay down infallible precepts or counsels. But every man who has been happy in the married relation will recognize his happiness as among the chiefest of blessings from above. It is indeed a good that is found, cannot be inherited nor deserved. TI. Oo111P.ASSI0N. •·(Ver. 23.) Here, as so often, the duty is suggested by means of a dark picture of the opposite, of its neglect. The rich man who "against the houseless stranger shuts the door," or who, like Dives, fares iuxuriously while Lazarus lies in sores e.t his gate;-these revolt the heart and may more move the conscience than declama- tions on the positive duty. When chilled by the coldness and severity of selfish man, let the poor and afflicted turn to the "God of all compassion," and to the revelation of him in the "good Samaritan," in Jesus Chris.t. • III. FRIENDSHIP. (Ver. 24.) 1. The spurious friendship. The more correct rendering of the first half of the verse e_eems to be, "a man of many companions will prove him- self to he worthless." Mere agreeableness may be a surface quality, may spring more from variety _than anything else, will soon wear out,· cannot be counted on. N um her counts for little in· friendship. 2. The genuine friffldship. More tenacions than the mere natural love of kindred, becau·se founded on the affinity of soul with soul. All the purest types of earthly affection and friendsla.ip are but hints of the eternal love of him •who calls the soul into espousal, friendship, and eternal communion with himself.-J.
Ver. 2.-(See homily on eh. xvii. 16, 24.)-0. Ver. 4.-The utterances of wisdom. Taking· the sense of this passage to be con- tinuous and not antithetical, and under.standing it to refer to the utterances of the wisdom which is from· above, we notice their constant characteristics, viz.- I.. 'l'HEIR ))EPTH. The words which come· from the mouth of wisdom are "as deep r.-aters."' How shallow is much, if not most, that is spoken in our hearing I It strikes ao deeper than "the hour's event," than the mere gilding of our life; it only extends to the circumstances or to the conventionalities of life; it deals with tastes and customs, with regulation arid proprieties; it goes no further than pecuniary or social expecta- tions; it lies upon the surface and does not touch· "the deep heart and reality of things." But the wisdom of the wise strikes deep; it goes down into the character; it touches first principles ; it has to do with the sources and springs of human action ; it concerns iteelf with the intrinsically true, the really beautiful, the solidly e.nd permanently good. II. THE.JR SPONTANEITY. The utterances of men who are not truly wise are lacking in this. -They can only repeat what they have learned; they have to consult their "authorities" in order to know what they should se.y; they have to labour and strive In order to express themselves. Not so the truly wise. Their words come from them 118 water from a well-spring; their speech is the simple, natural, unconstrained outflow 360 THE PROVERBS. [on. xvm. 1-H.