The Pulpit Commentary — Proverbs — Section 457

Ver. 9.-" The thought of foolishness." It will be well to be on our guard against a possible mistake here; for next in importance to our knowledge of what thinus are wrong and hurtful, is our freedom from imaginary fears and morbid anxieties resp:'cting those things which are perfectly innocent and pure. We look, then, at- I. THOUGHTS WHICH MAY SEEM TO DE, BUT .ARE NOT, CONDEMNED BY THESE WORDS, 1. The serious but mistaken thoughts of childhood or of uneducated manhood. It is not every thought which cannot be characterized as· wisdom that must be condemned as "foolishness." The honest attempts of artless simplicity to solve problems or to execute commands may be honourable and even commendable failures; they are the conditions of growth. 2. The lighter thoughts of the cultured and mature, thoughts of merriment and frolicsomeness, moving to honest laughter, are far from being sinful. They are clearly in accordance with the will of the Divine Father of our spirits, who is the Author of our nature, with its faculties and tendencies; they are often found to be a necessary relief under the otherwise intolerable strain of oppressive care and burdensome toil. One of the most serious and one of the most kind-hearted and 1mccessful servants of our race (Abraham Lincoln) was only saved from complete mental derangement duriog the terrible time of the civil war by finding occasional refuge in humour. But what are- II. THE THOUGHTS WHICH .ARE HERE CONDEMNED? The thoughts of foolishness. 1. Our responsibility for our thoughts. Impalpable and fugitive as they are, our thoughts are a ,ery real part of ourselves, and they constitute a serious part of our responsi- bility to God. That they do so is clear; for: (1) On them everything in human life and action ultimately depends. Action depends on will, will on feeling, and feeling on thought. It is what we think and how we think that drtermines what we do and what we are. "As a man thinketh in bis heart, so is he." Thought is the very foundation of character. (2) Thought is free. We may be compelled to speak or to act in certain prescribed ways; but we are masters of our own miods, and we can think as we like. How we think depends on our own volition. (3) We either choose deliberately the subject of our thoughts (by selecting our friends, our books and papers, our topics of conversation), or we are led to think as we do by the mental and moral character which we have been deliberately forming; we are responsible for the stream because we are responsible for the spring. 2. The sinful character offoolish thoughts. Foolish thoughts may be (1) irreverent, and all irreverence is sin; or they may be (2) selfish, and all ~elfisbness is sin; or (3) impure, and all impurity is sin; or (4) unkind and inconsiderate, unloving or vindictive, and all unkindness is sin; or (5) short-sighted and worldly, and all worldliness is sin (1 John ii.15-17). 'fhe conclusion of the whole matter is tbat if we would be right with God," harmless and blameless," we must bo right in our "inward thought" (see Heb. iv. 12); and that if we would be right there, in those central depths of our nature, we must (a) place our whole nature under the direct rule of the Holy Ooe himself; (b) seek daily for the cleansing influences of his Holy Spirit, the continual renewal of our mind by his inspiration; ( c) "keep our hearts beyond all keeping" (eh. ii. 23), especially by welcoming, with eagerness and delight_ all the wisdom of God that we can gather from his W ord.-C. Vere. 101 15.-T/ie test of adversity. We have all of us to expect- otl, XXIV, 1-34.] THE PROVERBS. 475