The Pulpit Commentary — Proverbs — Section 580

place and power ; they may inherit. it, or they may win their way to it by the force of their talent or their merit. When they have reached it, what should be the use they make of it? We may look first at- I. WHA":. HAS BEEN ITS HABIT. Only too often the actual use that has been made of high station and of civil or military power is that of (1) indulgence; or (2) appro- priation ; or (3) oppression. Men have used their elevation only to drink the sweet cup of pleasure; or to secure to themselves the spoils of high office, the treasurea which lay'within their grasp; or to find a mean and despicable gratification in the enforcement of their own dignity and the humiliation of those beneath them. This is "human," if by human we understand that which is natural to man as sin haa dwarfed and spoilt hiij nature, perverting his rowers and degrading his delights. But of man BS God meant him to be, and as a Divine Redeemer is renewing him, all this is utterly unworthy. Let us see- 11. WHAT IS ITS TRUE FUNCTION, It is that of rightec-usness. A man is placed on high in order ;that he may "judge righteously." Whether he be the king, as in David's and Solomon's time ; or whether he be the magistrate, as in our own time; or whether he be the teacher, or the manufacturer, or the farmer, or the master or father in the home; whatever be the kind or measure of authority enjoyed, the function of power is to judge righteously; it is to do justice; it is to see that innocency is acquitted and guilt condemned; it is to take pains and exercise patience in order that worth may be rewarded and that sin may be shamed ; it is to be a tower of refuge to those who are conscious of rectitude, and to be a source of fear to those who know that they have been " doing evil; " it is to be a strength to the righteous and a terror to the guilty. Ill. WHAT IT SHOULD COUNT ITS PECULIAR PRIVILEGE j IT 18 TO BEFRIEND THE FRIENDLESS. 'l'here are those who are too weak to be of much service to their neigh- bours; there are those who are too selfish to cherish the ambition; but the strong mnn who is the good man, the man in power who has in him the spirit of his Master, will rejoice in his power mainly because it enables him to help those who would other- wise go on and go down without a helper; (1) those suffering from physical privation -the blind, the deaf, the dumb; (2) those lacking mental qualifications-the weak- minded, the timid, the reserved; (3) those too poor to purchase the aid that is some- times essential to justice and right; (4) those over whom some great disaster, which is at the snme time a cruel wrong, impends-" appointed to destruction." To lift up those who have been wrongfully laid low, to befrienci the unfortunate and the desolate, to stand by the side of those who cannot assert their own claims, to be eyes to the blind and a voice to the dumb, to "make the widow's heart to sing for joy," to place the destitute in the path which leads up to competency and honour,-to act in the spirit and to promote the cause of beneficence is the true privilege, as it is the brightest crown and the deepest joy, of power.-C. Vere. 10-31.-0hristian womanhood. If Solomon did write these words, we need not be surprised that he speaks of the rarity of the ideal woman; for she is hardly to be found in a crowded harem. It is the Christian home that contains her. We look o.t- I. HER CHARACTERISTICS. And these are: 1. Piety. "She feareth the Lord" (vor. 30). She has within her the spirit of reverence, and the life she Ii ves is one in which worship and the study of the will of God have no small share. She has a seat and is at home in the sanctuary; she is also constant and earnest in the quiet chamber of devotion ; she knows well that the happiness or her home and the well-being of her household depend upon the favour of the heavenly Father. 2. Purity. She is a "virtuous woman" (ver. 10). She gives her whole heart to her husband, and enjoys his full confidence (ver. 11). 3. Ind'IJ,Stry. The writer dwells upon the labours she puts forth for the sake of her husband and her household. 4. Wisdom. (Ver. 26.) Her conversation is far removed from mere idle gossi~ or the vanities o_f an empty curiosity. She is familiar with "the Law of the Lord; she knows what 1s the secret of lasting happiness. She can guide her sons and daughters ~n the w_ay of life; a~d she instils her heaven-born wisdom into minds that welcome 1t and will never lose 1t. 6. Kindness. "The law of kindness is on her lips." She is one that does not rule by PROVERBS. 2 R fllO 'l'HE PROVERBS. [ou. xxxx. 1-31,