The Pulpit Commentary — Proverbs — Section 351

of their soul; they speak from tbe heart, not from the book. 'l'hoir spirit is full of Divine wisdom; they "have understA.nding" (eh. xvii, 24); they have knowledae insight, love of the truth ; they "cannot but speak" the truth they have learned"of God, the things they have heard and seen. And the spontaneity of their utterance is one real element in their eloquence and their influence. III. THEIR coMMUNICATIVENESS. They are "as a flowing brook." As water that is not_ pent up like a r~s~rvo!r, but ~ows on through the thirsty land, communicating moisture, and thus mm1stermg to life and growth, so the words of the wise are con- tinually flowing; they spread from heart to heart, from land to land, from aae to age. And as they flow they minister to the life and the growth of men; they com~unicate those living truths which enlighten the mind, which soften and chanae 0 the heart which transform and ennoble the life. Their <:areer is never closed, for from soul t~ soul, froru lip to lip, from life to life, wisdom passes on in its blessed, unbroken course, 1. Ile evPr learning of God. He himself, in the book which he has "written for our learning," is the Divine Sourcf' of such wisdom as this. Only as we receive from him w~o is "the Wisdom of God" shall_ we be partakers and pe~sessors of this heavenly wisdom. And therefore : 2. Come rnto the closest communion and connection with Jesus Christ himself. 3. Open your mind to all sources of truth whatsoever.-O. Ver. 8.-(See homily on eh. xvii. 9.)-C. Ver. 9.-Needless destitution. This strong utterance suggests- !. THE PREVALENCE OF DESTITUTION. How much of huqrnn life is needlessly low I how many men live low down in the sea.le who might just as well be living high up it! how sadly do men bereave themselves of good I This applies to: 1. Their circum- stance:;: their daily surroundings; the homes in which they live, their food and raiment, the occupations in which they are engaged; their companionships, etc. 2. Their inti/,l-igff11,C£: their intellectual activity, their knowledge, their acquaintance with their own complex nature and with the world in which they live, their familiarity with ( or their ignorance of) men and things. 3. Their moral and spiritual condit-ion : their capacity or incapacity to control their temper, to govern their spirit, to regulate their life, to form honourable and elevating habits, to worship God, to set their lives in accordance with the will and after the example of Christ. II. THE TWO MAIN SOURCES OF IT. 'l'hese are those which are indicated in the text. 1. The absence of energy in action; being" slothful [or,' slack,' Revised Version] in work." Men who Jail in their department, of whatever kind it may be, are usually those who do not throw any heart, any earnestness, any continuous vigour, into their work. They do what is before them perfunctorily, carelessly, or spasmodically. Hence they make no profits, they earn low wages, they have poor crops, they gain few customers or patients, they win no success ; hence they read few instructive books, they make no elevating and informing friendships, they acquire no new ideas, they store up no new facts, they make no mental progress; hence they do not cultivate their moral and spiritual nature, they do not" build themselves up" on the foundation of truth ; they are adding no stones to the living temple; !they do not grow in wisdom, or in worth, or in grace. The other source is : 2. The presence of prodigality. He that is slothful in work is "brother to him that is a great waster." What sad wastefulness is on every hand I what dissipation of gathered treasure I what expenditure of means and of strength on that which does not profit! For these are the two forms of waste. (1) Allowing to depart that which it would be wise to hold in hand-money, goods, friends, supporters, resources. (2) Expending power on that which does not profit ; letting our time, our strength, our mental forces, our moral energies, be employed upon those things which yield no return, or no :µ!equate and proportionate return. Were men to spend their money on profitable and fruit-bearing labour, their brains on enlightening and enlarging study, their spiritual energies on intelligent worship or redeeming work, instead of wastiog them as now they do, how would tho desert become a fruitful field, in every sphere I But we mUBt not overlook the fact that there io- Ill. A. soLID BllAUWEB, NOT THUS ACOOUNTED FOB, Although sloth and waste together explain a very large part indeed of the destitution on the earth, they leave ou. xtm. 1-24.J THE PROVERBS. 8131