\"ers. 1-i.-Private morality and the public weal. I. TRUTHS OF PERSONAL CON• DUCT. 1. The obstinate offender and his doom. (Ver. 1.) The repeated complaint against Jsrael was that they were a "stiff-necked people." Self-willed, haughty, persistent., defyin;; rebuke and chastisement, is the habit described. It invites judgment. "When lesser warnings will not serve, God looks into his quiver for deadly arrows." They who will not bend before the gentle persuasions of God's Holy Spirit must fei,l the rod. Men may make themselves outlaws from the kingdom of God. 2. Wisdom and virtue inseparable in conduct. (Ver. 3.) .So much so tha.t the same wore} may occa- sionally do duty for either notion. Thus the French mean by one who is" sage" one who is chaste and virtuous. The effects are alike. Joy is given to parents by the sage conduct of children; nnd vice is seen to be folly by the waste and want it brings in its train (comp. eh. vi. 26; x. 1; xxviii. 7). 3. The dishonesty of flattery. (Ver. 5.) It may be desi~ned to decei~e, _and i6 then colo_urcd_ with the darkest hue of tr~ache:Y• Or it may be undes1gned m its effects. But In· mther case, the web of fl11ttermg hes becomes a rnare in which the neighbour stumbles to his fall (comp. eh. xxvi. 24, 25, 28). The kis8 of the flatterer is more deadly than the hate of a foe. "When we are most praised for our discernment, we ar~ apt to &<;~ most fooli~hly; for pra_ise ~ends to cloud the understandina and pervert the Judgment. 4. Delusive and genuine JOY, (Ver. 6.) 'l'he serpent is co~cealcd amidst the roses of illicit pleasures; a cank~r is at the core of the forbidden fruit. A "shadow darkens the ruby of the cup, and dims the splendour of the scene." But ever there is a song in the ways of God. See the example of Paul and Silas even in prison (Acts xvi. 25). "Always there are evil days in the world; always good days in the Lord" (Augustine, on Ps. xxxiii.). JI. 'l'm;; J!>l'LlJENCE OF PEllf\ONAL GOODNESS ON SOCIAL AND PUBLIC WEAL. 1. The general happiness is dep~nden_t on the c_onduct. of. i1_1dividuaf~· ~Ver. 2 ; co?1p. eh. xxviii. 12, ~8.) For socicty 18 a collcct10n of md1v1duals. It 18 no recul1ar con- ceit, hut a matter of sound consequence, that all duties arc by so much the better por- formed, by how much the men are more religious from whose abilities the same proceed. OIL XXIX, J-27.] THE PROVERBS. 563
For if the coursel of political affairs cannot in any good sort go forward without fit instruments, and that which fitteth them be their virtues, let polity acknowledae 0 itself indebted to religion, godliness being the chiefest, top, and well-spring of all true virtue, even as God is of all good things." "Religion, unfeignedly lived, perfecteth man's abilities unto all kinds of virtuons services in the commonwealth" (Hooker, 'Eccl. Pol.,' v. 1). 2. The effect of just administratim and of brioery. (Ver. 4.) The best laws are of no avail if badly administered. God's throne is founded on jnstice (Ps. lx:u:ix. 14). And this only can be the foundation of lnational stable polity and of the common weal. "We will sell justice to none," says the Magna Charta. The theocracy was overthrown in the time of Samuel by the corruption of his sons. The just adminis- tration of David "bore up the pillars" of the land (2 Sam. viii. 15). The greed of Jehoiakim again shook the kingdom to its foundations (Jer. xxii.13-19). Righteous- ness alone exalteth a nation. 3. Justice to the poor. (Ver. 7.) The good man enters into the feelings of others, and makes the lot of the oppressed, in sympathy and imagi- nation, his own. The evil and hard-hearted man, looking at life only from the outside, treats the poor as dumb driven cattle, and easily becomes the tyrant and the oppressor. Peculiarly, sympathy, consideration, compassion for the lowly and the poor, have been infosed into the conscience of the world, and made "current coin" by the example and spirit of the Redeemer.-J.
' Vere. 8-11.-Dishonourable passions. Such is the designation given by St. Paul (see Revised Version of the New 1'estament, Rom. i. 26, etc.) to the various workings of the evil leaven in the soul. Here is a description of some of these "lusts." I. SCOFFING. (Ver. 8.) Set on fire of hell, it in.flames others, disturbs the peace of communities, produces failures and tumults in public life. But wisdom calms, and turns all things to the best. The scoffer, the malevolent critic of existing institutions, is a public pest; the judicious man, a public blessing. The one raises tumults, the other quells them. II. CoNTENTIOUSNESS. (Ver. 9.) It delights in dispute for dispute's sake. The man of this vice does not want to elicit truth, but to find fuel for his passion. Alter- nating between rage and ridicule, he uses words merely as weapons of offence and defence. Egotism is at the root of all his activity. III. THE SANGUWARY TEMPER. (Ver.10.) All hatred to the truth involves hatred to the truth-speaker and the truth-doer. Here lies the secret of all persecution and of all judicial murders. But in ourselves, whenever we detect the rising of resentment against him who exposes our faults or fallacies, we may find something of the dark temper of him "who was of the wicked one, and slew his brother" (1 John iii. 12). IY. WANT OF SELF-CONTROL. (Ver. 11.) The impetuous, unbridled temper, which explodes with wrath at the smallest provocation, or with ill-considered opinions. He is wise who knows when to hold his peace. We are not always to speak all we feel or think, but when we do speak should ever think what we say. We must remember that" there is a time to speak, and a time to keep silence."-J.
Vere. 12-17.-Government in truth and equity. I. THERE MUST BE THE FORCE ol.l' EXAMPLE. (Ver.12.) Especially in regard to truthfulness. Nothing is more easily caught than an example of untruthfulness, evasioI!, hypocrisy. Servants' manners reflect their masters' characters. The more conspicuous the station, the further the influence of the example extends. II. THERE MUST BE RESPECT TO THE RULER AND JUDGE OF ALL. (Ver.13.) He is no Respecter of persons; but be is the Protector of all, and the Judge between man and man. 'fhe distinctions of ruler and subject, of rank and rank, of class and class, are temporary ; the common relation of all to God is spiritual and eternal. : III. THERE MUST BE REGARD TO THE LOWLY. (Ver. 14.) Must not the test of every government be at last this-What did it accomplish for the poor, for the burdened, for the slave and the oppressed? "Glorious" wars and additions of territory can never compensate for injustice at home; the renown of arms for a people's misery. The throne that is not propped by bayonets, but built upon a people's gratitude and loyalty, may defy the storms of revolution. IV. DOMESTIO GOVERNMENT TEACHES THE SAME TRUTHS ON A SMALLF.Il SCALl!'.. THE PROVERBS. [OH, XXIX. 1-27