moisture which saturates and suffices; beyond that, anything that falls or flows is redundant. , II. THE UNSATISFIED HUMAN HEART. Here there are practically no limitations, The human heart: 1. Is pain.fully conscious of its deep craving. Unlike the grave, unlike the fire, which seems animated indeed, but is actually unconscious, the human soul is profoundly moved a.a it yearns for something more and better than anything it holds; down to its depths it is disturbed, troubled, agitated. Its voice, crying, "Give! give I" is not merely poetical, it is pathetic and even paiSionate. 2. Is unlimited by time. Unlike childless womanhood, its yearning for what it has not is not confined to a few years of its existence; it extends through life; it reaches on to old age, to the very hour of departure. It does not grow, thrive, fade, and die; it lasts; it is often found to be as keen and vigorous at the end a.a at the beginning, in the near neighbourhood of death as in the prime of life. 3. Is unlimited by quantity. N otbing that is human or earthly does satisfy the human heart. All affection, all honour, all power, all occupation, all pleasures, run into it,.but they do not fill it (see Eccles. i. 7; ii. 1-11). The heart of man, created for that which is highest and best, is not satisfied with any- thing that falls short of that. It is profoundly conscious that something is wanting of which it is not possessed. It says, blindly perhaps, but earnestly and sometimes passionately, " Give! give I I have not enough. I eat, but am still an hungered; I drink, but am still a.thirst." III. THE SATISFIED HUMAN SOUL. There is one source of satisfaction; it is found in God himself. "0 Lord, thou hast made us for thyself, and our heart findeth no rest until it resteth in thee;" but in him, "who is our borne," we do find rest and peace. To us to whom the Son of God and Saviour of mankind has spoken, the voice of cheer and hope is ever calling, "Come unto me . . . I will give you rest." In (1) the friendship, (2) the service, (3) the likeness, of Jesus Christ, and in (4) the good hope through his grace of eternal life, we find the supreme and the lasting satisfaction of the soul. He is the Bread of life, and ea.ting of him we do not hunger more.-C. Vers. 24--28.-Success within success. Many things go to make a. man successful, in a true and large sense of that word. A man may have many elements of success, and yet, for want of one more, he may fail. The best part of our succeeding is this- that if we are labouring for some present and visible reward, we are, whilst so doing and in the very act, securing a deeper and a larger good, as the schoolboy seeking the prize is really storing up knowledge and power. We may learn from some of the least and humblest of God's creatures what are the elements of success in the ordering of our life and, at the same time, in the construction of our character. I. THE OBDEBING OF OUB LIFE. If we would live such a life before men as is most honourable and gratifying, we must show the quo.lities which a.re manifested by those little creatures of our text. 1. Forethought. (Ver. 25.) The mo.n who does not look forward and prepare for the day and the hour when some special demand will be made upon him, must go down. A wise provision mu.de in the time of leisure or abundo.nce is essential to outward and visible success. We must "buy up the opportunity [' redeem the time']" (Col. iv. 5); otherwise," when the occasion comes, we sho.11 not be equal to the occasion ; " e.g. the apprentice, the student, etc. 2. Securing a retreat, or having a reserve (ver. 26). To be able to run to the rocks or fastnesses is necessl\ry for the feeble. And in the ordering of our life it is necessary to count on our being sometimes defeated. He is but a poor captain who conducts bis campaign without "securing his bMe;" and he does not know the practical wisdom of life who does not provide for himself a retreat, a reserve, when fortune goes against him, as it sometimes will, in "the battle of life." 3. Co-operation. (Ver. 27.) It is an essential pl\rt of personal equipment that a man be able to co-operate with others. And in the great majority of cases this means readiness to take an inferior pll\ce, to obey instructions, to fa.11 in with the suggestions of other people, to forego our own preference and adopt another man's method. It means listening and learning, conciliation aud concession, punctuality and politeness. 4. .Aspiration and patience. (Ver. 28.) For the little and unwelcome spider (or lizard) to establish itself in king's palaces there is demanded this twofold virtue. And for our success we need this also-ambition to attempt and assiduity to win our way, in spite of all tho obstacles that may intervene. He that has l'ROVERBS, 2 Q 594 THE PROVERBS. [ CH, XXX, 1-33,
no _hea:t f?r enterprise will certainly 9:0hieve nothing; and he. who lacks patience to wait his time, perseverance to renew his efforts as often as ho 1s foiled or as often as one success opens the way to another, will reach no king's pa.lace, no place of honour or of influence. II. THE CONSTRUCTION OF OUR CHARACTER. God has so ordered all things with us and for us that, as we are striving for one thing, we do gain another. As we seek an honourable position in life, we are building up our character. All these elements of success are features of human character, so that while we a.re "makina our way " we are ma.king ourselves also. Much that is most valuable in our moral a~d spirituai con- stitution is constructed by us in ways and at times when we think not of it· it is like the seed that grows secretly, night and day, the farmer "knoweth not ho~" (Mark iv. 27). Hence the very great importance that we should be always and everywhere acting on sound, Christian principles; for it is not so much by the direct endeavours we pnt fo:th for the purpos!, as it is by the constantly and silently operating influence of our daily and hourly act10ns, that we become what we do become in the sight of God. Beyond and within the success of which men take notice, and on which they congratu- late 1;1s, is a suc~s which is deeper and truer, for which we may well give to God our heartier tha.uksg1vmg.-C.