The Pulpit Commentary — Proverbs — Section 448

choosing a way one should look to the end of it. It is madness for the belated traveller to turn aside to the grassy path when the rough, stony road would take him home and he knows not whither the pleasanter way will lead him. "The wages of sin is death ; " it is, then, nothing but folly to work for the master without considerina- his direful payment. 3. It perverts the thoughts. Sin involves folly, and it also leads to great er folly. Many sins directly poison and paralyze the intellectual faculties. .All sins confuse the lines of right and truth. Thus the man who lives in sin is blinding his eyes to the greatest facts. 'l'o know of the dootriue we must do the commandment (John vii.17). 'l'he wilful sinner obscures the doctrine by breaking the commandment. II. FoLLY ISSUES IN SIN. \Ve now look at the conjunction from the opposite point of view. We start with the folly. This is to be regarded as a seed of sin. It is true that sin is primarily concerned with the moral nature. A man cannot really sin a(together i_n ig~orance, because if he does not know that he is_ doing a wrong thing, to him the thmg 1s not wrong. But, on the other hand, there 1s a culpable io-norance arising from carelessness, disregard for truth, moral obliquity. Now, as sin is at th; root of that ignorance, so the ignorance may, in such a case, serve as a link in the miserable chain of consequences that drags new sins into existence. These facts should lead us to certaiu practical conclusions. 1. It is our duty to seek the light that we may av~id sin. _ Truth is not me~ely given_ as a l~ury. It is, first of all, a beacon-light. It 1s to !?Ulde us over -the wilderness m the nght way. 2. The teaching of children is a moral and religious duty. The advantages of education are usually discussed from a utilitarian standpoint. But the chief advantage is that it should open tbe eyes of _childrnn to the wisdom of doin~ r~ght and t? the _folly of wi?kedness. Many poor children grow up among scenes ot vice and cnme without havmg an opportunity of knowing of a better way. The Christian Church is called to be a light in the world. leading from sin, not forcibly, but by showing the clear wisdom of goodness, as well as its moral obligation. Ver. 10.-Fainting in the day of adve:rsity. I. STRENGTH IS TESTED BY THE DAY OF ADVERSITY. 1. The day qf adversity will come. AU have not an equally painful lot. It is only the pessimist who refuses to admit that God sends a happy life to some; and if the lines have fallen in pleasant places, nothing but ingratitude or sentimentality will deny the fact. Nevertheless, the dark day of adversity will rise on every soul of man. It cannot be eluded, though in youth and health the spirit refuses to anticipate it. It is well to be prepared to meet it. 2. Strength is wanted/or the day of adversity. This will be a time of assault, strain, pressure. The soul will then be besieged, buffeted, and in danger of being crushed. Therefore there is need of sufficient strength, not only for prosperous times, but for this harder occasion. The lighthouse must not only be strong enough to stand in -calm weather; it should be able to resist the battering- rams of the tempest. The ship must be built for the storm. The army that can look smart in a review is useless if it goes to pieces on the field of battle. The model navy is an extravagant ornament if it will not serve us in action. The lamp is useless if it goes out in the hour of darkness. Religion is for the time of trial and temptation. The spiritual life needs to be strong enough to hold on through terror, temptation, aml trouble; or it is a delusion. 3. Faulty strength will fail in the day of adversity. Trouble is trial. The season of affliction will assuredly be severe enough to prove our strength. It is vain for any one to live on empty boasts and idle pretences. The hollowness of such folly will be exposed at the fatal moment. The soft-metal sword will certainly double up in the battle and bring disaster on its unhappy ow11er. I!. J<'AJTH AND COl,-UAGE WILL GIVE STRENGTH IN THE DAY OF ADVERSITY. 1. To faint in the day of adversfty is to 'ln!1'Tce one's strength small._ Sue~ a collapse will undermine one's energy. 'l he coward 1s always weak. To !ear 1s to fail. But courage inspires strength, and he who is able to keep up a brave heart in the day of adversity is most likely to conquer. Few men have been called upon to endure such hardships and to face such perils as Livingstone, &lone in the heart of Afric~. N?~• Liviogsto~o was characterized b_y a wonderful buoyancy of temperament, by high spmts anu unfa1l- in" cbeerfulneHs. Nelson is said not to have known fear. Gordon was as ready to raie death as to o-o to hie daily duty. No doubt such heroic courage is largely due to the natural g~eatoese of the men who possessed it. Dut it is not independent of OJI. XXIV. 1-34.] THE PROVERBS. 4135