The Pulpit Commentary — Proverbs — Section 435

II. PERILS AND VANITY OF RICHES. (Vers. 4, 5.) This precept does not forbid industry and diligent toil for worldly gain; but only excessive carefulness in re"ard to it, over-valuation of its worth, and the burning lust of avarice, which implies :ant of confidence in God and of the sense of our true position in the world. The antidote is the exhortation of the Saviour to lay up treasures in heaven-to make certain of thEJ incorruptible riches (Matt. vi. 19, 20). "It is a wise course to be jealous of our gain, and more to fear than to desire abundance. It is no easy thing to carry a full cup with an even hand" (Leighton). III. CORRUPTION FROM EVIL ASSOCIATIONS. (Vers. 6-8.) The man of the evil eye is the jealous or envious temper; his heart is dyed in its dark colour. There is no genuine hospitality here; it is like that of the Pharisees who invited our Lord. This bitter sauce of envious hatred will presently be found giving a disgusting flavour to his delicacies. Discontent will poison the best food and wine. "Men's minds will either feed on their own good or others' evil, and whoso wanteth the one will prey upon the other." Envy takes no holidays. The devil is represented as the envious mau who sows tares among the wheat at night. Always it works subtly, in the dark, and to the prejudice of good things, such as is the wheat (Bacon). Instead of seeking the pleasures which bring disgust, let us secure a. humble fare with Christian content (Phil. iv. 11).-J. Vers. 9-11.-Holding aloof from evil. I. THE FOOL, (Ver. 9.) There is "a time to keep silence." 'l'ruth may be desecrateu in certain company by speech and honoured by silence. Pearls are not to be cast before swine. The silence of Christ was equally eloquent with his words. How much does the sentence convey, "He answered him never a word" 1 Beyond a certain point explanations are worse than useless ; thai caviller only takes them as food for his folly and encouragement to his perversity. II. THE OPPRESSOR. (Ver. 10.) The property of the widow and the fatherless lsi in the protection of the Almighty. He is the Eternal Vindicator of down-trodden right. Jn the bright evangelical picture of conduct it is the very opposite of violence and oppression to the weak that is held up for our emulation: "To visit the fatherless and the widow in their affliction." And the negative ~ide is, in one word, "to keep one's self unspotted from the world."-J. Vers. 12-18.-Discipline in Divine wisdom. I. THE TEMPER OF DOCILITY. (Ver. 12.) It is submission of the affections to a higher law. It is the re.5ignation of the will to a higher leading. It is the opening of the understanding to Divine couns~ls. It is the realization, on the one hand, of dependence and need; on the other, of the light, the wisdom, and the goodness which ever meet that need. II. THE NECESSITY OF DISCIPLINE FOR THE YOUNG. (Vers. 13, 14; see on eh. iii. 27; xix. 18; xxii. 15.) Luther says, in his blunt way, "Beat your son, and the hangman will not beat him. There must he a beating once for all; if the father does it not, Master Hans will; there is no help for it. None ever escaped it; for it is God's judgment." Another sternly says, "Many parents deserve hell on their children's account, because they neglect to train them in piety." Ill. Joy IN DUTIFUL CHILDREN. (Vers.15, 16.) It is next to the joy in the personal sense of God's grace. None but a parent knows the heart of n parent-the" travailing in birth" over their souls, the joy of discovering symptoms of the new life. " May all my sons be Benaiahs, the Lord's building; then will they all be Abners, the father's lii:ht: all my daughters Bithiahs, the Lord's daughters; and thon they will be all Abi"aih•, their father's joy" (Swinnock). What must be the joy in heaven and in the bosc°m of God over his returning and dutiful children! IV. ENVY OF TIIE WICKED REBUKED. (Vers. 17, 18.) When Socrates was asked what was most troublesome to good men, he replied, "The prosperity of tho wicked." Here, then, is a ii;reat temptation. It needs an antidote in reason. There is no reason for this envy. They are not truly happy. We look at them from the outside; the dark discontent of the heart is concealed from us. 'l'o Jive in the communion of God, on the other hand, is o. secret, a certain, a profound and all-compensating joy. The enjoyment of the wicked, such as it is, must have its end; while the child of God ends only to begin anew-sinks below the horizon to rise in the powor of an endless life, 452 THE PROVERBS. [OH, XXIII, 1-35,