Vers. 29-31.-Spiritual comeliness. Agur mentions four things which are" comely" (Authorized Version) or are "stately" (Revised Version) in their going; their move- ment is regarded with plea.sure, with admiration, by those who observe it. Such demeanour on their pa.rt is suggestive of moral and spiritual attractiveness on ours. I. WE MUST SECURE TH.AT WHICH IS NECESSARY. We cannot truly live without the favour of God, without entering his service, without possessing something of his likeness, without cherishing a. hope of future blessedness. To miss all this is to forfeit the heritage of our manhood. We can by no means do without it. This we must gain or be undone. But we should go beyond that. II. WE SHOULD AIM AT THE ADMIRABLE. We ought not to be at all satisfied with ourselves unless our "walk" (1 Tbess. iv. 1; 1 John ii. 6), the manner of" our going," is such as to please God, and is such also as to win men. Our daily lives should not only be consistent enough to save us from self-reproach and from condemnation ; they should be excellent enough, admirable enough, to attract, to call favourable attention to the Divine source of all that we a.re and have. We should not only worship, but live and work in "the beauty of holiness; " we should aim to add the things that are "lovely " to those which a.re true, honest, just, and pure; we should endeavour to "adorn the doctrine of Christ our Saviour in all things" (see Phil. iv. 8; Titus ii. 10). III. THREE ELEMENTS OF THE SPIRITUALLY ADMllLABLE, Beginning with that illustration with which Agur ends, which may come first as the most honourable, we have: 1. The power of command. "A king against whom is no rising up" (Authorized Version); "a king when his army is with him" (Revised Version, marginal reading); or, a king "at the head of bis army." Either way, the idea is that of a man in com- mand. There is something very attractive and even fascinating in this exercise of authority; it elicits not only notice, but admiration. There is one sphere in which it is open to all of us to exercise and to exhibit command-over our own spirit. There is nothing more worth our admiring regard tba.n the eight of a man maintaining a perfect control of bis spirit under circumstances of great trial or provocation (eh. xvi. 32). To exercise a. sovereign control over our fear, or our anger, or our affection, or our curiosity, or our sorrow; of our impulses, or our emotions ;-this is excellent and admirable Indeed: then a.re we" comely [or,' stately'] in our going." 2. The possession of strength. "A lion which is strongest among beasts." It is the conscious posses- sion of power which gives such dignity to the" king of beasts." To this also we should attain: (1) intrinsic power, by the devout and diligent cultivation of all our God-given faculties; (2) communicated power, by the indwelling of the Spirit of God, being of those who are "strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.n Self-sufficiency and. conceit a.re indeed ugly enough ; but conscious power, associated, as it may be and should be, with humility and kindness, is admirable and attractive. It is well to walk on our way as those who know that they have no need to fear, because God is for us and with us and in us. 3. Moral symmetry. The greyhound and the he-goat are OH, Xlll, 1~3lJ THE PROVERBS. 595
pleasing because they are well proportioned throughout their frame. To be spiritually beaut/rul, ?ur character must be symmetrical. Each quality l!3USt be balanced by its opposite vutue~firmness by gentleness, thoughtfulness by readiness for action coura.cre by caution, generosity by conscientionsness, etc. Thus will our character a~d (co~~ seqnently) our demeanour be comely in the view of man as well as acceptable in the sight of God.-O,