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Expositor's Bible Commentary Proverbs 3:1 My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: CHAPTER 4 THE EARTHLY REWARDS OF WISDOM Proverbs 3:1-10 THE general teaching of these nine introductory chapters is that the "ways of Wisdom are pleasantness, and all her paths are peace." We are taught to look for the fruit of righteousness in long life and prosperity, for the penalty of sin in premature destruction. "The upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it. But the wicked shall be cut off from the land, and they that deal treacherously shall be rooted out of it." { Proverbs 2:21-22 } The foolish "shall eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. For the backsliding of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. But whoso hearkeneth unto Wisdom shall dwell securely, and shall be quiet without fear of evil." { Proverbs 1:31-33 } "By Wisdom thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased. If thou art wise, thou art wise for thyself; and if thou scornest, thou alone shall hear it." The ways of Folly have this legend written over the entrance-gate: "The dead are there; her guests are in the depths of Sheol." { Proverbs 9:12 ; Proverbs 9:18 } This teaching is summarized in the passage before us. "My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: for length of days, and years of life, and peace, shall they add to thee. Let not mercy and truth," those primary requirements of wisdom, "forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thy heart"; i.e. , let them be an ornament which strikes the eye of the beholder, but also an inward law which regulates the secret thought. "So shalt thou find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man"; that is to say, the charm of thy character will conciliate the love of thy fellow creatures and of thy God, while they recognize, and He approves, the spiritual state from which these graces grow. "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not upon thine own understanding: in all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes; fear the Lord, and depart from evil: it shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the first-fruits of all thy increase: so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy vats shall overflow with new wine." { Proverbs 3:1-10 } The rewards of wisdom, then, are health and long life, the good-will of God and man, prosperity, and abundant earthly possessions. As our Lord would put it, they who leave house, or wife, or brethren, or parents, or children, for the kingdom of God’s sake, shall receive manifold more in this time, even of the things which they surrender, in addition to the everlasting life in the time to come. { Luke 18:29-30 } This is a side of truth which we frequently allow to drop out of sight, in order to emphasize another side which is considered more important. We are accustomed to dwell on the promised joys of the future world as if godliness had no promise of the life which now is, and in so doing we take all life and color from those expected blessings. The true view seems to be, the way of wisdom, the path of the upright, is so full of joy, so crowned with peace; the life of the children of the kingdom is so wisely and bountifully provided for; the inevitable pains and troubles which fall to their share are so transformed; that from this present good we can infer a future better, gathering hints and promises of what we shall be from the realized felicity of what we are. If we try to estimate the temporal blessings of wisdom we do not thereby deny the larger and more lasting blessings which are to come; while if we ignore these present joyful results we deprive ourselves of the surest evidence for the things which, though hoped for, are not yet seen. We may, then, with much advantage try to estimate some of the immediate and apprehensible benefits of the life which is lived according to the dictates of heavenly wisdom. (1) First of all, the right life is a wholesome life-yes, physically healthy. Obedience to the eternal moral laws brings "health to the navel," and that peculiar brightness which is like the freshness of dew. The body is a sacred trust, a temple of the Holy Ghost; to use it ill is to violate the trust and to defile the temple. The temperance of habit and orderliness of life which Wisdom requires of her children are the first conditions of vitality. They who seek health as the first consideration become valetudinarians and find neither health nor happiness; but they who diligently follow the law of God and the impulse of His Spirit find that health has come to them, as it were, by a side wind. The peace of mind, the cheerfulness of temper, the transfer of all anxiety from the human spirit to the strong Spirit of God, are very favorable to longevity. Insurance societies have made this discovery, and actuaries will tell you that in a very literal way the children of God possess the earth, while the wicked are cut off. Yet no one thinks of measuring life only by days and years. To live long with the constant feeling that life is not worth living, or to live long with the constant apprehension of death, must be counted as a small and empty life. Now, it is the chief blessedness in the lot of the children of light that each day is a full, rich day, unmarred by recollections, unshadowed by apprehensions. Each day is distinctly worth living; it has its own exquisite lessons of cloud or sunshine, its own beautiful revelations of love, and pity, and hope. Time does not hang heavily on the hands, nor yet is its hurried flight a cause of vain regret; for it has accomplished that for which it was sent, and by staying longer could not accomplish more. And if, after all, God has appointed but a few years for His child’s earthly life, that is not to be regretted; the only ground for sorrow would be to live longer than His wise love had decreed. "If God thy death desires," as St. Genest says to Adrien in Rotrou’s tragedy, "life has been long enow." The life in God is undoubtedly a healthy life, nor is it the less healthy because the outward man has to decay, and mortality has to be swallowed up of life. From the standpoint of the Proverbs this wider application of the truth was not as yet visible. The problem which emerges in the book of Job was not yet solved. But already, as I think we shall see, it was understood that the actual and tangible rewards of righteousness were of incomparable price, and made the prosperity of the wicked look poor and delusive. (2) But there is a second result of the right life which ordinary observation and common sense may estimate. Wisdom is very uncompromising in her requirement of fair dealing between man and man. She cannot away with those commercial practices which can only be described as devising "evil against thy neighbor," who "dwelleth securely by thee." { Proverbs 3:29 } Her main economic principle is this, that all legitimate trade is the mutual advantage of buyer and seller; where the seller is seeking to dupe the buyer, and the buyer is seeking to rob the seller, trade ceases, and the transaction is the mere in-working of the devil. Wisdom is quite aware that by these ways of the devil wealth may be accumulated; she is not blind to the fact that the overreaching spirit of greed has its rich and splendid reward; but she maintains none the less that "the curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked; but He blesseth the habitation of the righteous." { Proverbs 3:33 } It is a very impressive experience to enter the house of a great magnate whose wealth has been obtained by questionable means. The rooms are beautiful; works by the great masters shed their radiance of eternal truth from the walls; the library gleams with the well-bound books of moralists and religions teachers. The sons and daughters of the house are fair and elegant; the smile of prosperity is in every curtained and carpeted room, and seems to beam out of every illuminated window; and yet the sensitive spirit cannot be rid of the idea that "the curse of the Lord is in the house." On the other hand, the honorable man whose paths have been directed by the Lord, no matter whether he be wealthy or merely in receipt, as the result of a life’s labor, of his "daily bread," has a blessing in his house. Men trust him and honor him. His wealth flows as a fertilizing stream, or if it run dry, his friends, who love him for himself, make him feel that it was a good thing to lose it in order to find them. In proportion as the fierce struggle of competition has made the path of fair dealing more difficult, they who walk in it are the more honored and loved. Nowhere does Wisdom smile more graciously or open her hand to bless more abundantly, than in the later years of a life which has in its earlier days been exposed, and has offered a successful resistance, to the strong temptations of unrighteous gain. (3) Further, Wisdom commands not only justice, but generosity. She requires her children to yield the first-fruits of all their possessions to the Lord, and to look tenderly upon His poor. "Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. Say not unto thy neighbor, Go, and come again, and tomorrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee." { Proverbs 3:27-28 } And the teaching of experience is that those who act upon this precept purchase to themselves a good possession. The main value of the Mammon of unrighteousness is, as our Lord says, to make to ourselves friends with it, friends who shall receive us into the everlasting habitations. The money we spend upon our own pleasures, and to promote our own interests, is spent and gone; but the money given with an open hand to those poor children of God, to whom it is strictly due, is not spent at all, but laid up in the most secure of banks. There is no source of joy in this present world to be compared with the loving gratitude of the poor whom you have lovingly helped. Strangely enough, men will spend much to obtain a title which carries no honor with it, forgetting that the same money given to the needy and the suffering purchases the true honor, which gives the noblest title. For we are none of us so stupid as to think that the empty admiration of the crowd is so rich in blessing as the heartfelt love of the few. But in enumerating these external results of right living we have only touched incidentally upon the deeper truths which lie at the root of it. It is time to look at these. God is necessarily so much to men, men are necessarily so completely bereft without Him, that clear vision and strong action are utterly impossible apart from a humble dependence upon Him. The beginning of all wisdom is, as we have seen, in the recognition of God, in personal submission to Him, in diligent obedience to all His directions. This appears, before we reflect, to be a mere truism; when we have reflected, it proves to be a great revelation. We do not at first see what is meant by trusting in the Lord with all our heart; we confuse it with that tepid, conventional relation to God which too frequently passes current for faith. We do not readily apprehend what is implied in acknowledging God in all our ways; we suppose that it only means a general professing and calling ourselves Christians. Consequently, many of us who believe that we trust in the Lord, yet lean habitually and confidently upon our own understanding, and are even proud of doing so; we are wise in our own eyes long after our folly has become apparent to everyone else; we resent with a vehemence of righteous indignation any imputation upon the soundness of our judgment. The very tone of mock humility in which we say, "I may be wrong, but" shows that we are putting a case which seems to us practically impossible. Consequently, while we think that we are acknowledging God in all our ways, He does not direct our paths; indeed, we never gave Him an opportunity. From first to last we directed them ourselves. Let us frankly acknowledge that we do not really believe in God’s detailed concern with the affairs of the individual life; that we do not, therefore, commit our way with an absolute surrender into His hand; that we do not think of submitting to His disposal the choice of our profession, the choice of our partner in life, the choice of our place of residence, the choice of our style of living, the choice of our field of public service, the choice of our scale of giving. Let us confess that we settled all these things in implicit and unquestioning reliance upon our own understanding. I speak only in wide and fully admitted generalities. If Christians as a whole had really submitted their lives in every detail to God, do you suppose that there would be something like fifty thousand Christian ministers and ten times that number of Christian workers at home, while scarcely a twentieth of that number have gone out from us to labor abroad? If Christians had really submitted their lives to God, would there have been these innumerable wretched marriages-man and wife joined together by no spiritual tie, but by the caprice of fancy or the exigencies of social caste? If Christians had really asked God to guide them, meaning what they said, would all the rich be found in districts together, while all the poor are left to perish in other districts apart? If Christians had really accepted God’s direction, would they be living in princely luxury while the heathen world is crying for the bread of life? Would they be spending their strength on personal aims while the guidance of social and political affairs is left in the hands of the self-interested? Would they be giving such a fragment of their wealth to the direct service of the Kingdom of God? We may answer very confidently that the life actually being lived by the majority of Christian people is not the result of God directing their paths, but simply comes from leaning on their own understanding. And what a sorrowful result! But in the face of this apostasy of life and practice, we can still joyfully point to the fact that they who do entirely renounce their own judgment, who are small in their own eyes, and who, with their whole heart trusting Him, acknowledge Him in all their ways, find their lives running over with blessing, and become the means of incalculable good to the world and to themselves. It would not be easy to make plain or even credible, to those who have never trusted in God, how this guidance and direction are given. Not by miraculous signs or visible interpositions, not by voices speaking from heaven, nor even by messages from human lips, but by ways no less distinct and infinitely more authoritative, God guides men with His eye upon them, tells them, "This is the way; walk ye in it," and whispers to them quite intelligibly when they turn to the right hand or the left. With a noble universality of language, this text says nothing of Urim or Thummim, of oracle or seer, of prophet or book: "He shall direct thy paths." { Proverbs 3:6 } That is enough; the method is left open to the wisdom and love of Him who directs. There is something even misleading in saying much about the methods; to set limits to God’s revelations, as Gideon did, is unworthy of the faith which has become aware of God as the actual and living Reality, compared with whom all other realities are but shadows. Our Lord did not follow the guidance of His Father by a mechanical method of signs, but by a more intimate and immediate perception of His will. When Jesus promised us the Spirit as an indwelling and abiding presence He clearly intimated that the Christian life should be maintained by the direct action of God upon the several faculties of the mind, stimulating the memory, quickening the perception of truth, as well as working on the conscience and opening the channels of prayer. When we wait for signs we show a defect of faith. True trust in our Heavenly Father rests in the absolute assurance that He will make the path plain, and leave us in no uncertainty about His will. To doubt that He speaks inwardly and controls us, even when we are unconscious of His control, is to doubt Him altogether. When a few years have been passed in humble dependence on God, it is then possible to look back and see with astonishing clearness how real and decisive the leadings of the Spirit have been. There were moments when two alternatives were present, and we were tempted to decide on the strength of our own understanding; but thanks be to his name, we committed it to Him. We stepped forward then in the darkness; we deserted the way which seemed most attractive, and entered the narrow path which was shrouded in mist. We knew He was leading us, but we could not see. Now we see, and we cannot speak our praise. Our life, we find, is all a plan of God, and He conceals it from us, as if on purpose to evoke our trust, and to secure that close and personal communion which the uncertainty renders necessary. Are you suspicious of the Inward Light, as it is called? Does it seem to open up endless possibilities of self-delusion? Are you disgusted with those who follow their own willful way, and seek a sanction for it by calling it the leading of God? You will find that the error has arisen from not trusting the Lord "with the whole heart," or from not acknowledging Him "in all ways." The eye has not been single, and the darkness therefore has been, as our Lord declares that it would be, dense. { Matthew 6:22 } The remedy is not to be found in leaning more on our own understanding, but rather in leaning less. Wisdom calls for a certain absoluteness in all our relations to God, a fearless, unreserved, and constantly renewed submission of heart to Him. Wisdom teaches that in His will is our peace, and that His will is learnt by practical surrender to His ways and commandments. Now, is it not obvious that while the external results of wisdom are great and marked, this inward result, which is the spring of them all, is more blessed than any? The laws which govern the universe are the laws of God. The Stoic philosophy demanded a life according to Nature. That is not enough, for by Nature is meant God’s will for the inanimate or non-moral creation. Where there is freedom of the will, existence must not be "according to Nature," but according to God; that is to say, life must be lived in obedience to God’s laws for human life. The inorganic world moves in ordered response to God’s will. We, as men, have to choose; we have to discover; we have to interpret. Woe to us if we choose amiss, for then we are undone. Woe to us if we do not understand, but in a brutish way follow the ordinances of death instead of the way of life. Now, the supreme bliss of the heavenly wisdom is that it leads us into this detailed obedience to the law which is our life; it sets us under the immediate and unbroken control of God. Well may it be said, "Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies." { Proverbs 3:13-15 } And yet rubies are very precious. I learn that the valley in Burmah where the most perfect rubies in the world are found is situated four thousand five hundred feet above the sea level, in a range of mountainous spurs about eighty miles due north of Mandalay; but owing to the difficult nature of the intervening ground, the valley can only be reached by a circuitous journey of some two hundred miles, which winds through malarious jungles and over arduous mountain passes. An eminent jewellers’ firm is about to explore the Valley of Rubies, though it is quite uncertain whether the stones may not be exhausted. Wisdom is "more precious than rubies, and none of the things thou canst desire are to be compared unto her." To know the secret of the Lord, to walk in this world not guideless, but led by the Lord of life, to approach death itself not fearful, but in the hands of that Infinite Love for whom death does not exist, surely this is worth more than the gold and precious stones which belong only to the earth and are earthy. This wisdom is laden with riches which cannot be computed in earthly treasures; "she is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her." { Proverbs 3:18 } The creation itself, in its vast and infinite perfections, with all its aeonian changes, and all the mysterious ministries which order its details and maintain its activities, comes from that same wisdom which controls the right human life. The man, therefore, who is led in the ways of wisdom, trusting wholly to God, is in harmony with that great universe of which he forms an intelligent part: he may lie down without being afraid; he may walk securely without stumbling; no sudden fear can assail him; all the creatures of God are his sisters and his brothers; even Sister Death, as St. Francis used to say, is a familiar and a friend to him. We have been dwelling upon the outward results of Heavenly Wisdom-the health, the prosperity, the friends, the favor with God and man which come to those who possess her. We have been led to seek out the secret of her peace in the humble surrender of the will to its rightful Lord. But there is a caution needed, a truth which has already occurred to the author of this chapter. It is evident that while Wisdom brings in her hand riches and honor, { Proverbs 3:16 } health to the navel, and marrow to the bones, { Proverbs 3:8 } it will not be enough to judge only by appearances. As we have pondered upon the law of Wisdom, we have become aware that there may be an apparent health and prosperity, a bevy of friends, and a loud-sounding fame which are the gift not of Wisdom, but of some other power. It will not do, therefore, to set these outward things before our eyes as the object of desire; it will not do to envy the possessors of them. { Proverbs 3:31 } "The secret of the Lord is with the upright," and it may often be that they to whom His secret has become open will choose the frowns of adversity rather than the smile of prosperity, will choose poverty rather than wealth, will welcome solitude and contumely down in the Valley of Humiliation. For it is an open secret, in the sweet light of wisdom it becomes a self-evident truth, that "whom the Lord loveth He reproveth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth." { Proverbs 3:12 } There is, then, a certain paradox in the life of wisdom which no ingenuity can avoid. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, but we may not seek them because they are pleasant, for other ways are pleasant too, or seem to be so for a while. All her paths are peace, but we do not enter them to gain peace, for the peace comes often under the stress of a great conflict or in the endurance of a heavy chastening. A thousand temporal blessings accompany the entrance into the narrow way, but so far from seeking them, it is well-nigh impossible to start on the way unless we lose sight and care of them altogether. The Divine Wisdom gives us these blessings when we no longer set our hearts on them, because while we set our hearts on them they are dangerous to us. Putting the truth in the clearest light which has been given to us, the light of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are called upon to give up everything in order to seek first the Kingdom of Heaven, and when we are absorbed in that as our true object of search everything is given back to us a hundredfold; we are called upon to take up our cross and follow Him, and when we do so He bears the cross for us; we are called upon to take His yoke upon us and to learn of Him, and immediately we take it-not before-we find that it is easy. The wise, loving only wisdom, find that they have inherited glory; the fools, seeking only promotion, find that they have achieved nothing but shame. { Proverbs 3:35 } CHAPTER 10 TWO VOICES IN THE HIGH PLACES OF THE CITY Proverbs 9:1-18 , Proverbs 20:14 with Proberbs 3, and Proverbs 20:16 with Proverbs 4:1-27 AFTER the lengthened contrast between the vicious woman and Wisdom in chapters 7 and 8, the introduction of the book closes with a little picture which is intended to repeat and sum up all that has gone before. It is a peroration, simple, graphic, and beautiful. There is a kind of competition between Wisdom and Folly, between Righteousness and Sin, between Virtue and Vice; and the allurements of the two are disposed in an intentional parallelism; the coloring and arrangement are of such a kind that it becomes incredible how any sensible person, or for that matter even the simple himself, could for a moment hesitate between the noble form of Wisdom and the meretricious attractions of Folly. The two voices are heard in the high places of the city; each of them invites the passers-by, especially the simple and unsophisticated-the one into her fair palace, the other into her foul and deadly house. The words of their invitation are very similar: "Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that is void of understanding, she saith to him:" but how different is the burden of the two messages! Wisdom offers life, but is silent about enjoyment; Folly offers enjoyment, but says nothing of the death which must surely ensue. First of all we will give our attention to the Palace of Wisdom and the voices which issue from it, and then we will note for the last time the features and the arts of Mistress Folly. The Palace of Wisdom is very attractive; well-built and well furnished, it rings with the sounds of hospitality; and, with its open colonnades, it seems of itself to invite all passers-by to enter in as guests. It is reared upon seven well-hewn marble pillars, in a quadrangular form, With the entrance side left wide open. This is no shifting tent or tottering hut, but an eternal mansion, that lacks nothing of stability, or completeness, or beauty. Through the spacious doorways may be seen the great courtyard, in which appear the preparations for a perpetual feast. The beasts are killed and dressed: the wine stands in tall flagons ready mixed for drinking: the tables are spread and decked. All is open, generous, large, a contrast to that unhallowed private supper to which the unwary youth was invited by his seducer. { Proverbs 7:14 } There are no secret chambers, no twilight suggestions and insinuations: the broad light shines over all; there is a promise of social joy; it seems that they will be blessed who sit down together at this board. And now the beautiful owner of the palace has sent forth her maidens into the public ways of the city: theirs is a gracious errand; they are not to chide with sour and censorious rebukes, but they are to invite with winning friendliness; they are to offer this rare repast, which is now ready, to all those who are willing to acknowledge their need of it. "Come, eat ye of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled." { Proverbs 9:5 } We were led to inquire in the last chapter how far our Lord identified Himself with the hypostatic Wisdom who was speaking there, and we were left in some doubt whether He ever consciously admitted the identity; but it is hardly a matter of doubt that this passage was before His mind when He spoke His parable of the Wedding Feast. And the connection is still more apparent when we look at the Greek version of the LXX, and notice that the clause "sent forth her bond-servants" is precisely the same in Proverbs 9:3 and in Matthew 22:3 . Here, at any rate, Jesus, who describes Himself as "a certain king," quite definitely occupies the place of the ancient Wisdom in the book of Proverbs, and the language which in this passage she employs He, as we shall see, in many slight particulars made His own. Yes, our Lord, the Wisdom Incarnate, has glorious ideas of hospitality; He keeps open house; His purpose is to call mankind to a great feast; the "bread and the wine" are prepared; the sacrifice which furnishes the meat is slain. His messengers are not commissioned with a mournful or a condemnatory proclamation, but with good tidings which they are to publish in the high places. His word is always, Come. His desire is that men should live, and therefore He calls them into the way of understanding. { Proverbs 9:6 } If a man lacks wisdom, if he recognizes his ignorance, his frailty, his folly, if he is at any rate wise enough to know that he is foolish, well enough to know that he is sick, righteous enough to know that he is sinful, let him approach this noble mansion with its lordly feast. Here is bread which is meat indeed; here is wine which is life-giving, the fruit of the Vine which God has planted. But now we are to note that the invitation of Wisdom is addressed only to the simple, not to the scorner. { Proverbs 9:7 } She lets the scorner pass by, because a word to him would recoil only in shame on herself, bringing a blush to her queenly face, and would add to the scorner’s wickedness by increasing his hatred of her. Her reproof would not benefit him, but it would bring a blot upon herself, it would exhibit her as ineffectual and helpless. The bitter words of a scorner can make wisdom appear foolish, and cover virtue with a confusion which should belong only to vice. "Speak not in the hearing of a fool; for he will despise the wisdom of thy words." { Proverbs 23:9 } Indeed, there is no character so hopeless as that of the scorner; there proceeds from him, as it were, a fierce blast, which blows away all the approaches which goodness makes to him. Reproof cannot come near him; { Proverbs 13:1 } he cannot find wisdom, though he seek it; { Proverbs 14:6 } and as a matter of fact, he never seeks it. { Proverbs 15:12 } If one attempts to punish him it can only be with the hope that others may benefit by the example; it will have no effect upon him. { Proverbs 19:25 } To be rid of him must be the desire of every wise man, for he is an abomination to all, { Proverbs 24:9 } and with his departure contention disappears. { Proverbs 22:10 } They that scoff at things holy, and scorn the Divine Power, must be left to themselves until the beginnings of wisdom appear in them-the first sense of fear that there is a God who may not be mocked, the first recognition that there is a sanctity which they would do well at all events to reverence. There must be a little wisdom in the heart before a man can enter the Palace of Wisdom; there must be a humbling, a self-mistrust, a diffident misgiving before the scorner will give heed to her invitation. There is an echo of this solemn truth in more than one saying of the Lord’s. He too cautioned His disciples against casting their pearls before swine, lest they should trample the pearls under their feet, and turn to rend those who were foolish enough to offer them such treasure. { Matthew 7:6 } Men must often be taught in the stern school of Experience, before they can matriculate in the reasonable college of Wisdom. It is not good to give that which is holy to dogs, nor to display the sanctities of religion to those who will only put them to an open shame. Where we follow our own way instead of the Lord’s, and insist on offering the treasures of the kingdom to the scorners, we are not acting according to the dictates of Wisdom, we get a blot for that goodness which we so rashly offer, and often are needlessly rent by those whom we meant to save. It is evident that this is only one side of a truth, and our Lord presented with equal fullness the other side; it was from Him we learnt how the scorner himself, who cannot be won by reproof, can sometimes be won by love; but our Lord thought it worthwhile to state this side of the truth, and so far to make this utterance of the ancient Wisdom His own. Again, how constantly He insisted on the mysterious fact that to him that hath shall be given, and from him that hath not shall be taken what he hath, precisely in the spirit of this saying: "Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning." The entrance into the kingdom, as into the house of Wisdom, is by humility. Except a man turn, and become as a little child, he cannot enter. Wisdom is only justified of her children: until the heart is humble it cannot even begin to be wise; although it may seem to possess a great deal, all must be taken away, and a new beginning must be made-that beginning which is found in the fear of the Lor

My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments. Proverbs 3 Useful precepts and inspiring motives G. Lawson. I. TO REMEMBER AND KEEP IN OUR HEARTS THE THINGS WRITTEN IN THIS BOOK (vers. 1, 2). Interest dictates to us the propriety of keeping God's commandments. II. TO LIVE IN THE EXERCISE OF MERCY AND TRUTH (ver. 3), in every part of our intercourse with our fellow-creatures, however defective they may be in the practice of these virtues to us. As workers under the Spirit we are required to write the law of kindness and of truth upon the tables of our heart, by maintaining deep impressions of it, by meditating upon the peaceful motives that should excite us to that virtue, and by endeavouring, through the grace of Christ, to have our hearts habitually disposed to all those duties which are the natural fruits of love and integrity. God is well pleased, not only with the reverence and love which His people show to Himself, but with that generosity and mercy, that sincerity and faithfulness, which they evince to their fellow-men. To find in His children His true though imperfect image greatly delights the Deity. That understanding which is good in the sight of God and man is another fruit of the constant practice of mercy and truth. III. TO DEPEND ON GOD, AND NOT ON OUR OWN UNDERSTANDING (ver. 5). To trust in God is to depend on Him for bestowing on us every needful blessing, and preserving us from all evil. This dependence on God is to be exercised with all our hearts, our judgments being persuaded that God is the only and the all-sufficient object of confidence, and our souls resting with full satisfaction in His power and faithfulness. We must renounce every sublunary dependence; we must not make our own understanding a staff to our hearts. IV. TO BE LIBERAL IN THE SERVICE OF GOD (vers. 9, 10). Earthly substance is necessary for the use of our bodies, but we are called to make a nobler use of it than in the mere service of the outward man. We are to honour the Lord with it, making no use of any part of our increase till we have set apart a reasonable proportion of it for the service of God. V. TO BEHAVE ARIGHT UNDER AFFLICTIVE PROVIDENCES (ver. 11). We are warned against despising Divine rebukes, or fainting under them. The rebukes of providence are despised when persons regard not the supreme hand which afflicts, when they consider not the design of God in afflicting, or when, through stupidity of mind or hardness of heart, they neglect to comply with it. Afflictions may be despised when men do not value them as necessary and useful. Weariness under the Divine correction is another common fault, which we must avoid with care. Our hearts must not fret against the Lord, nor suffer reflecting thoughts to spring up, for God never exceeds the due measure in distressing us. No ingredient is poured into the cup of affliction, but by infinite wisdom and grace. Ever keep in mind who it is that afflicts us. Let all flesh keep silent before Him. He is a Father, and chastens us in love. VI. TO ESTEEM WISDOM, AND EARNESTLY PURSUE IT (vers. 13-26). All the treasures of wisdom are hid in Christ, and He communicates the precious gift by His Word and Spirit. The excellency of wisdom appears in the gifts she bestows. She is a munificent princess, holding in both hands the richest presents, to be given to her servants. A happy life extended to old age is given to the lovers of wisdom, and riches and honour are given in the same sense as length of days. And religion is not less conducive to pleasure than it is to honour and wealth. It will readily be admitted that some of wisdom's ways are pleasant; but are they all so? There is peace and pleasure in repentance, which is sweetened by the apprehension of God's mercy in Christ. There is pleasure in self-denial, for he that practises it knows that he is the true self-seeker. There is pleasure and peace in tribulations, because when they abound, consolations abound much more by Christ. There is peace in fighting the Lord's battles. All the exercises, all the privileges, all the hopes of religion, are full of pleasure. Add the glory which belongs to wisdom, as it appears in creation and providence (vers. 19, 20). No wisdom is sound but that which is taught by the Word of God, and approved by Him who is the author of wisdom. This sound wisdom makes us discreet and prudent, and guards us against that selfish cunning which has so often assumed its name. Safety is another of the great advantages which always attend wisdom. Walking in the ways of the Lord, we may banish those fears that would distress the soul. The Lord is a sure ground of confidence in the worst of times. Our proper exercise in such seasons is to trust in the Lord, and to pour out our hearts before Him, knowing that He will be a refuge for us. ( G. Lawson. ) Religious impressions to be retained Travellers tell us that the constant rubbing of the sand on Egyptian hieroglyphs removes every trace of colour, and even effaces the deep-cut characters from basalt rocks. So the unceasing action of multitudinous trifles will take all the bloom off your religion, and cause the name of the King cut on the tablets of your heart to be forgotten if you do not counteract them by constant, earnest effort. Godliness H. Thorne. I. GODLINESS IS ASSOCIATED WITH REGARD FOR LAW (ver. 1). 1. Appropriation. "My law." Before we commend the Word of God to others we must receive it ourselves. 2. Instruction. "Forget not." This implies that something has been taught. 3. Exhortation. "Forget not." There are few things men so soon forget as Divine commands. The godly man is one who respects righteous law. He delights in the law of the Lord ( Psalm 1:2 ; Romans 7:22 ). The moral law is eternal, and must be regarded by all true followers of Christ. Obedience to it is not the ground of justification, but this is attained in the work of sanctification. II. GODLINESS IS ASSOCIATED WITH PRESENT ADVANTAGES (ver. 2). 1. Intensity of life. "Length of days." In the long run the longest day is the day that has the longest record of service for God. 2. Length of life. "Long life." "A blessing," say some, "of the Jewish dispensation." A blessing, rather let us say, of all dispensations. "Righteousness tendeth to life" as much now as ever, and, other things being equal, he will live the longest who lives the best. 3. Serenity of life. "Peace." Tranquillity continuing through all the years. The peace of the man who hearkens to God is like a river ( Isaiah 48:18 ), getting broader and deeper as it gets nearer to the sea. III. GODLINESS IS ASSOCIATED WITH REGARD FOR THE WELL-BEING OF MEN. "Mercy" (R.V. margin, "kindness") "and truth" (ver. 3). See here the bearing of a godly life upon the good of men. The mind of God is one of "good-will toward men" ( Luke 2:14 ), and those who would be God-like must be of the same mind ( Matthew 5:45 ). IV. GODLINESS IS ASSOCIATED WITH FAITH IN GOD (ver. 5). Trust in the Lord is the secret of safety ( Proverbs 29:25 ), of happiness ( Proverbs 16:20 ), and of spiritual prosperity ( Proverbs 28:25 ). V. GODLINESS IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF GOD (ver. 6). This acknowledgment of God is to be — 1. Personal. "Thy ways." 2. "In all thy ways." Man's ways are many. Some walk in high places, some in lowly valleys. The way of some is in the sea, of others in the office, of others in the academy, of others in the senate. Some men walk in many ways. Abraham Lincoln was a rail-splitter, a storekeeper, a bargeman, a lawyer, a member of a State legislature, a Congressman, and President of the United States, but in all positions he acknowledged God. At the threshold of life "he had," says one of his biographers, "a profound trust in Providence"; and when he left Springfield for Washington to take his place as President he said to his friends, "Pray that I may receive that Divine assistance without which I cannot proceed." 3. In our own sphere. We need not go out of our way. The ordinary path of life will "furnish all we ought to ask." The promise in the sixth verse suggests that we may acknowledge God by looking to Him for guidance, and it gives the assurance of Divine direction. VI. GODLINESS IS ASSOCIATED WITH HUMILITY (ver. 7). "Be not wise in thine own eyes." "Many," says Seneca, "might have attained wisdom had they not thought they had attained it." T he way to godliness is in the footsteps of Christ, and to follow in that path we must be meek and lowly in heart. VII. GODLINESS IS ASSOCIATED WITH PRACTICAL HOLINESS (vers. 7-9). 1. The godly man will shun evil. "Depart from evil." To "depart" may be rendered to "turn aside." As men sometimes "cut" those they do not wish to see, so is evil to be "cut." To go into the way of evil is to run a risk of falling into it. 2. Cultivate benevolence (ver. 9). Christian benevolence is substantial ("substance," not merely good wishes); generous ("first-fruits"); God-honouring ("honour the Lord"). Those who with a right motive give of what God has given them acknowledge their indebtedness to Him and His ownership in what they possess. VIII. GODLINESS IS GAIN (ver. 10). Gain is not always godliness, but godliness is always gain in the highest sense. The giving of the first-fruits fills the barns. ( H. Thorne. ) The earthly rewards of wisdom R. F. Horton, D. D. We are taught to look for the fruit of righteousness in long life and prosperity, for the penalty of sin in premature destruction. We are accustomed to dwell on the promised joys of the future world as if godliness had no promise of the life which now is, and in so doing we take all life and colour from those expected blessings. The true view seems to be, the way of wisdom, the path of the upright, is so full of joy, so crowned with peace; the life of the children of the kingdom is so wisely and bountifully provided for; the inevitable pains and troubles which fall to their share are so transformed, that from this present good we can infer a future better, gathering hints and promises of what we shall be from the realised felicity of what we are. What are the immediate and apprehensible benefits of the life which is lived according to the dictates of heavenly wisdom? I. THE RIGHT LIFE IS A WHOLESOME LIFE, PHYSICALLY HEALTHY. The body is a sacred trust, a temple of the Holy Ghost; to use it ill is to violate the trust and to defile the temple. The temperance of habit and orderliness of life which Wisdom requires of her children are the first conditions of vitality. Peace of mind, cheerfulness of temper, the transfer of all anxiety from the human spirit to the strong Spirit of God, are very favourable to longevity. Let no one think of measuring life only by days and years. Each day should be a full, rich day, unmarred by recollections, unshadowed by apprehensions. Each day is distinctly worth living. The life in God is undoubtedly a healthy life, nor is it the less healthy because the outward man has to decay, and mortality has to be swallowed up of life. II. THE RIGHT LIFE REQUIRES FAIR DEALING BETWEEN MAN AND MAN. The main economic principle of wisdom is this, that all legitimate trade is the mutual advantage of buyer and seller. III. WISDOM COMMANDS NOT ONLY JUSTICE, BUT GENEROSITY. She requires her children to yield the first-fruits of all their possessions to the Lord, and to look tenderly upon His poor. And the teaching of experience is that those who act upon this precept purchase to themselves a good possession. IV. LOOK AT THE DEEPER, MORE SPIRITUAL RESULTS OF RIGHT LIVING. God is so much to men, that clear vision and strong action are utterly impossible apart from a humble dependence upon Him. The beginning of all wisdom is in the recognition of God, in personal submission to Him, in diligent obedience to all His directions. We do not at first see what is meant by trusting in the Lord with all our heart; we confuse it with that tepid, conventional relation to God which too frequently passes current for faith. They who do entirely renounce their own judgment, who, with their whole heart trusting Him, acknowledge Him in all their ways, find their lives running over with blessing, and become the means of incalculable good to the world and to themselves. It would not be easy to make plain or even credible to those who have never trusted in God how this guidance and direction are given. When a few years have been passed in humble dependence on God, it is then possible to look back and see with astonishing clearness how real and decisive the leadings of the Spirit have been. Our life, we find, is all a plan of God, and He conceals it from us, as if on purpose to evoke our trust, and to secure that close and personal communion which the uncertainty renders necessary. Some are suspicious of the "Inward Light," as it is called. That may be because they do not trust the Lord "with the whole heart." Wisdom calls for a certain absoluteness in all our relations to God, a fearless, unreserved, and constantly renewed submission of heart to Him. And while the external results of wisdom are great and marked, this inward result, which is the spring of them all, is more blessed than any. The supreme bliss of the heavenly wisdom is that it leads us into a detailed obedience to the law which is our life; it sets us under the immediate and unbroken control of God. To know the secret of the Lord, to walk in this world not guideless, but led by the Lord of life, to approach death itself not fearful, but in the hands of that Infinite Love for whom death does not exist, surely this is worth more than the gold and precious stones which belong only to the earth and are earthy. ( R. F. Horton, D. D. ) Long life and peace shall they add to thee. Proverbs 3:2 The philosophy of health and peace D. Thomas, D. D. I. OBEDIENCE TO MORAL LAW IS A CONDITION OF PHYSICAL HEALTH. Heart-obedience is required. The connection is clear from three facts. 1. That physical health requires obedience to the Divine laws of our being. 2. That obedience to the Divine laws of our being involves the study of them. 3. That a hearty agreement with the Divine will is essential to secure the study of His laws. II. OBEDIENCE TO MORAL LAW IS A CONDITION OF SPIRITUAL PEACE. Peace of soul requires two things. 1. The inward harmony of its powers. 2. The sense of the Divine favour. The feeling, or even the fear, that the Lord is against it, gives it the throb of perpetual restlessness or torture. Obedience to moral law secures the two conditions of this peace. ( D. Thomas, D. D. ) Let not mercy and truth forsake thee. Proverbs 3:3 Mercy and truth Bp. Hacket. As the wings of the cherubim touched one another in the midst of the house, so Mercy and Truth are such a pair as will either lodge together or leave together. There was such a similitude of nature between the Twins of Love, eros and anteros, that at once they wept, and at once they smiled, they fell sick together, and they recovered jointly. Such are the Twins of Grace, Truth, and Mercy; she that would have them out in twain and parted is an harlot, she that cries spare and preserve them whole, she is the mother and must enjoy them. Look upon them in a state of policy; mercy without truth is a sweet shower dropping on the barren sands, quite spilt, and no blessing follows it. Truth without mercy is extreme right and extreme injury. Mercy without truth is a dangerous pity. Truth without mercy is not verity but severity. Consider them towards God and heaven, and then most unfit it is that either should be alone. A faith of mere protestation without good works, such is truth without mercy; it might have been in the Gergesene swine, for such a faith is in the devil, says St. James. All the integrity of the heathen, all the goodness that Socrates could teach, because it is not in Christ, such is mercy without truth. St. Austin compares them thus: "A pagan living without blame before man is a man with his eyes open in the dark midnight, and he that professeth Christ and not mercy, but is sold to commit iniquity, is one with his eyes shut in a clear day, and he sees as little." ( Bp. Hacket. ) Bind them about thy neck True phylacteries D. Thomas, D.D. (see Deuteronomy 6:8 ): — I. THE SUBSTANCE OF A TRUE PHYLACTERY: "Mercy and truth." These are the two grand elements of revelation. they meet man's nature as a being possessing intellect and heart, each of which has its respective cravings and claims. II. THE USES OF A TRUE PHYLACTERY. The old phylacteries seem to be used — 1. As mementoes. They were to remind the wearer of the law. 2. As safeguards. This was, indeed, a later and superstitious use. Still "mercy and truth" rightly worn are safeguards. They protect us from what is wrong and ruinous. ( D. Thomas, D.D. ) The combination of mercy and truth in a good life Francis Taylor. A double metaphor, wherein keeping mercy and truth, or exercising them outwardly, is compared to tying a gold chain about the neck for ornament; and retaining them in the heart is compared to things written in a table-book, that they may not be forgotten. 1. Duties to men are to be made conscience of, as well as duties to God. 2. Mercy and truth should always go together; because both are ornaments to us. Men wear lace on good clothes, so doth mercy adorn truth. Both are profitable unto others. 3. The want of one buries the commendation of the other. 4. Both are together in God, else could we look for no favour from Him. Truth is required in all our dealings with men; but truth must always be tempered and toned with mercy. ( Francis Taylor. ) Write Soul literature Homilist. Writing is a very ancient art. Moses knew it. There is a yet older writing, the penmanship of the soul. In this art every man is a busy writer. The soul registers every impression made on it. In comparing soul-writing with that of the pen, two things are observable correspondence and dissimilarity. I. CORRESPONDENCE. Both imply readers. Accuracy in both requires training. Both are either useful or injurious. II. DISSIMILARITY. Soul-writing is more universal; more voluminous; more permanent; more useful to Christianity. Truth written by the soul in the life is more legible than truth written by the pen. It is more convincing; and it is more persuasive. Conclusion: 1. Life is a book which we are writing day by day. 2. The book of life should be a Christian book. 3. This book of life will have to be examined. ( Homilist. ) Sacred inscriptions on the heart W. Arnot, D.D. At places of public resort, such as the summit of a lofty mountain or the site of a famous monument, you may see tables of wood or stone or level turf. All over them inscriptions have been chiselled so thickly that you could not now find an unoccupied spot to plant a letter on. The characters are various — some old, some new, some well-formed, some irregular scrawls, some mere scratches on the surface which a winter's storms will wash out, some so deep that they will be legible for ages. The table lies there, the helpless recipient of ideas, good or bad, that stray comers may impress upon it. The heart of man is like one of these common public receptacles. ( W. Arnot, D.D. ) Receptive tablets W. Arnot, D. D. 1. The duty of parents is clear, and their encouragements are great. Watch the young. Stand beside that soft, receptive tablet. Keep trespassers away. Insert many truths. Busily fill the space with good, and that too in attractive forms. This is the work laid to your hand. 2. Afflictive providences generally have a bearing on this printing process. God sends what will break the heart or melt it. The heart, in contact with a busy world, was rubbed smooth and slippery. The type, when it touched, glided off the surface, and left no mark behind. This bruising and breaking opened the crust, and let the lesson in. ( W. Arnot, D. D. ) So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man . Proverbs 3:4 The commencement of the religious life R. Ainslie. There was a moment in our existence when we committed our first sin; and there was a moment when we first lifted up our hearts in prayer and thanksgiving to our Father in heaven. None of us probably recollect either of these moments. I. WHAT DO WE MEAN BY A RELIGIOUS LIFE? How are we to live to maintain our own self-respect, to be morally pure, to be acceptable to God, to love Him and serve Him, and do good to and love our neighbour? The ceremonial of religion in itself is not religion; it is too often put in the place of real goodness and piety. The belief of any or of every creed is not religion. Intellectual states and ecclesiastical connections are not religion. Gloom, sadness, melancholy, superstition, fanaticism, are not religion. Before we can become truly religious we must have correct views of God, of ourselves, of our relationship to God, of sin, and of hating and forsaking it. Reverence for, and the sincere love of, God is one mark of a religious life. Self-control upon religious principles is another and distinctive mark of the religious life. Our reverence and love of God are practically embodied and developed in our self-government. As Christians, we should lead a life in harmony with the Divine example which Jesus has placed before us. He has in His life and ministry revealed to us the character of the Father, and the religious life that we should lead as His followers. We receive Christ to be our Teacher, Guide, Friend, Counsellor, Example, and Redeemer. II. THE COMMENCEMENT OF A RELIGIOUS LIFE. This is a matter of deep interest to us all. Some have no recollection of any other state than that in which they are now living; others have a broad line which marks the past and the present. Matthew, Zacchaeus, Nicodemus, Paul, and others, were familiar with, and could narrate all the circumstances of their religious history. The means and agencies of the change from darkness to light, from error to truth, from wickedness to righteousness, from vice to virtue, from irreligion to an enlightened humble piety, are very varied. It is not the usual order of things that aged persons become religious, and as for death-bed conversions, we have as little faith in them as in death-bed incantations, extreme unction, and priestly absolutions. It is the life of a man that proclaims who he is and what he is. Christianity is for life. The life of a sincere Christian always fits for death. To be leading and enjoying such a life in youth is one of God's greatest blessings. If you covet goodness of heart and purity of mind, lead a Christian life. If you desire true greatness, manliness, and honour, lead a Christian life. If you seek for a good hope of immortality, lead a Christian life. ( R. Ainslie. ) The secret of success R. S. Storrs, D. D. The poet here gives us not only melodious measures, but valuable truths, even the secret of life which has often eluded the search of moralists and speculative philosophers. He unfolds that which to us is of vital moment — the secret of success. We all desire prosperity. One avenue to success is making money; another is culture; another is self-indulgence. The text says happiness is not intellectual but a moral quality. True wisdom is the reverence and love of God. We are set in right relations with God; and this is a source of peace. Religion is not a disagreeable condition on which blessing rests, a dark tunnel through which we reach a shining land beyond. It is a gift of God, radiant and happy, an appeal not to our lower tastes, but to all that is exalted within us. In the way of religion we learn the true secret of success. ( R. S. Storrs, D. D. ) The way to favour R. Wardlaw, D.D. The men of the world may hate the principles of the man of God, but the latter will have a testimony in his conscience, and if he maintains a steadfast consistency, will command respect and good-will. This is the only legitimate way of finding favour with men. Their favour must be foregone if it cannot be gotten but by conduct inconsistent with right principle. It is but a false and selfish and temporary favour at the best that can thus be obtained; and it is obtained at the expense of what is infinitely more precious, the favour of God. ( R. Wardlaw, D.D. ) Trust in the Lord... lean not to thine own understanding . Proverbs 3:5 Reason and faith Stephen R. Dennen, D.D. The question is, not whether we shall use reason, but what are its limits? Shall we accept only what we can understand and explain, and refuse all which does not quadrate with our reason? Is Faith, with her delicate ear, her quick sensibility, and wondrous prescience, to have no place? In the power of modern reason can we know every inch of our way? 1. How is it in the business world? The activities of men are put forth in faith and trust. Commerce would fold her wings but for this principle of faith. 2. How is it in still more practical life? 3. History and mental science teach us the folly of leaning to our own understanding. 4. In Biblical and scientific theology may be found further illustration of the text. When the believer is in Christ, faith points the way to higher circles of truth. Much that is beyond reason does not contradict reason. ( Stephen R. Dennen, D.D. ) The supreme wisdom of perfect trust in God Homiletic Monthly. I. THE INSUFFICIENCY OF THE HUMAN UNDERSTANDING. 1. Its inherent weakness. 2. The brevity of its experience, making it impossible to form right conclusions upon those concerns which extend into eternity backward and forward. 3. Its limit in space. The universe extends beyond reach of finite imagination. 4. It has no certain communion with the spirit world; hence eternal things are not to be trusted to our understanding. II. THE SUFFICIENCY OF GOD. 1. He knows all things thoroughly as Creator and Preserver. 2. He has power over all things. 3. His love for us is unlimited.Conclusion: 1. Oppose scepticism as one of the follies of a weak understanding. 2. Surrender wholly to God's guidance. ( Homiletic Monthly. ) Trust in God George Barker. I. WHAT IS IT TO TRUST IN THE LORD? 1. To be persuaded that He is able to counsel thee what to do. 2. That He is willing and able to give wholesome advice to those who need it. 3. To look unto God for counsel. 4. Confidently to expect seasonable directions from Him. II. WHY IS IT A DUTY TO TRUST IN THE LORD? 1. Everyone is bound to order his affairs the best he can. 2. It is a right acknowledgment of God. 3. It is following the inclination of a generous heart.Lessons: 1. They act sinfully and foolishly who do not wholly trust in the Lord for direction in their affairs. 2. Do what God's holy ones of old used to do — make Him thy oracle, counsel, guide. ( George Barker. ) Trusting in God with all the heart J. Slade, M. A. God in everything requires the heart, the undivided heart. In the text is one great secret of the Divine life, the principle on which it rests, the food by which it is fed. It is to be taken from all worldly dependencies and securities, and resting in the consciousness of being one with God, in holy fellowship, in perpetual nourishment and support. Men commonly fail in the practical outworking of their trust, in their daily employment, and experience and walk. Earthly instruments are too much sought and relied upon independently of God. I. THE AFFECTIONS MAY BE, AND OFTEN ARE, VIOLENTLY EXCITED AND WORKED UPON, AND YET NOT BROUGHT TO A HOLY SUBJECTION UNTO GOD. There may be, with much religious warmth and sentiment, no small remnant of the evil temper and ungoverned will; even in humility itself an arrogant and self-righteous display, as if the sinner were more humble than his neighbour, as if he had a merit in God's sight on account of his numerous and extravagant lamentations. Great numbers are held in a chain of error under the notion of a spiritual superiority; they are really full of a miserable conceit. II. MANY BELIEVE ALL THE DOCTRINES OF GRACE, AND CLAIM FOR THEMSELVES A PECULIAR SOUNDNESS AND PURITY OF FAITH, IN WHOM THAT FAITH IS BUT A SPECULATIVE MATTER, AND NOT AN OPERATIVE PRINCIPLE. Men deceive themselves with notions of faith, and take up with that which is not real, which has no life in it. That which is trusted to as principle is so received as to be no principle at all; is a mere assent of the understanding, and not a conviction working in the heart. Nothing can be right and true, no tenet, no belief, which does not incorporate us with God, and bring us into subjection to Him. III. THE ORDINANCES AND MEANS OF GRACE MAY BE UTTERLY INEFFECTUAL. Prayer is unavailing if unaccompanied with any trust, any abiding trust, in God. All our means and talents are given for active, diligent employment. Faith is to be continually remaining as a vital energy in the breast, as the monitor and guide, as the comfort and support, of all true believers, whatever they do, wherever they go. It produces not only a leaning upon Divine grace on particular occasions of meditation or devotion, but an unfailing regard to God's providential wisdom and goodness and government in daily life. God is in everything, above all, through all, in all. To those who wholly trust in God, not leaning to their own understanding, but ready in all things to obey His will and Word, the Lord will be a perpetual guide. There is a mystic intercourse, an invisible superintendence, a secret agency, a leading hand, always near and always employed for the safety and well-being of those who commit themselves implicitly and faithfully to the Lord's holy keeping. ( J. Slade, M. A. ) Reliance upon God J. Jortin, D. D. Hope is ever accompanied with trust, reliance, and confidence on something, and it is either well or ill grounded. What is there besides God on which we are apt to repose our trust? Fortune or chance; the favour of the world; friends; riches and power; men's own abilities, caution, forecast, prudence, and diligence. There is nothing in which we can reasonably trust, except the Divine Providence. 1. That our reliance may be rational, we should know what it is that God hath promised, and what we may expect from Him. No absolute and unconditioned promises of material blessings are made to us. We are promised contentment and peace of mind. He who is contented cannot be unhappy. 2. Reliance must be accompanied with obedience, with a serious and settled purpose, and with honest endeavours to do the things which are pleasing to God. 3. Reliance on God is founded on — (1) His goodness; (2) the relation between Him and us; (3) His promises. 4. Reliance is a duty which is not to be exercised, and cannot be exercised, by the wicked. They who will not serve God commonly put no confidence in Him. They fear Him perhaps, but they love Him not. Obedience to God is naturally accompanied with reliance on God. 5. Reliance on God should be accompanied with supplications to Him to bless us. 6. Reliance should be united with diligence and prudence in our worldly affairs. 7. Reliance excludes immoderate cares, and vain desires, and fretful discontent, and dissatisfaction; for he who firmly believes that all is ordered for the best, and shall conduce to his happiness, cannot live in slavish subjection to these turbulent passions. Reliance will not make a man insensible to trouble, but it will have a considerable effect towards regulating his affections and composing his heart, and producing an acquiescence to the will of God. 8. Reliance is a noble virtue, and a disposition of mind most agreeable to God. God hath made singular promises in favour of it. Reliance is thus acceptable because it implies love for God, and desire to please Him; and because it is the greatest honour we can pay to Him. ( J. Jortin, D. D. ) Good and evil D. Thomas, D.D. I. THE GOOD TO BE SECURED. 1. Supreme trust. This means, undoubtingly; undividedly; lovingly. 2. Supreme trust in the supremely good. "In the Lord." The All-wise; the All-loving; the All-holy; the All-mighty. II. THE EVIL TO BE AVOIDED. "Lean not to thine own understanding." 1. This is a prevalent evil. Men do it in all departments — business, politics, literature, and religion. 2. This is a patent evil. It is clear to all. Reason shows it. History shows it. Individual experience shows it. ( D. Thomas, D.D. ) Legitimate use of the understanding R. Wardlaw, D. D. Trusting in the Lord does not mean that we may not use our own understanding, forming our plans with discretion, and with all possible foresight and precaution, and in pursuing our ends employing all suitable and legitimate means. There is a legitimate using of the understanding that is not chargeable with "leaning to it." While we use it we are to depend on God for succ

3:1-6 In the way of believing obedience to God's commandments health and peace may commonly be enjoyed; and though our days may not be long upon earth, we shall live for ever in heaven. Let not mercy and truth forsake thee; God's mercy in promising, and his truth in performing: live up to them, keep up thine interest in them, and take the comfort of them. We must trust in the Lord with all our hearts, believing he is able and wise to do what is best. Those who know themselves, find their own understandings a broken reed, which, if they lean upon, will fail. Do not design any thing but what is lawful, and beg God to direct thee in every case, though it may seem quite plain. In all our ways that prove pleasant, in which we gain our point, we must acknowledge God with thankfulness. In all our ways that prove uncomfortable, and that are hedged up with thorns, we must acknowledge him with submission. It is promised, He shall direct thy paths; so that thy way shall be safe and good, and happy at last. 3:7-12 There is not a greater enemy to the fear of the Lord in the heart, than self-conceit of our own wisdom. The prudence and sobriety which religion teaches, tend not only to the health of the soul, but to the health of the body. Worldly wealth is but poor substance, yet, such as it is, we must honour God with it; and those that do good with what they have, shall have more to do more good with. Should the Lord visit us with trials and sickness, let us not forget that the exhortation speaks to us as to children, for our good. We must not faint under an affliction, be it ever so heavy and long, not be driven to despair, or use wrong means for relief. The father corrects the son whom he loves, because he loves him, and desires that he may be wise and good. Afflictions are so far from doing God's children any hurt, that, by the grace of God, they promote their holiness. 3:13-20 No precious jewels or earthly treasures are worthy to be compared with true wisdom, whether the concerns of time or eternity be considered. We must make wisdom our business; we must venture all in it, and be willing to part with all for it. This Wisdom is the Lord Jesus Christ and his salvation, sought and obtained by faith and prayer. Were it not for unbelief, remaining sinfulness, and carelessness, we should find all our ways pleasantness, and our paths peace, for his are so; but we too often step aside from them, to our own hurt and grief. Christ is that Wisdom, by whom the worlds were made, and still are in being; happy are those to whom he is made of God wisdom. He has wherewithal to make good all his promises. 3:21-26 Let us not suffer Christ's words to depart from us, but keep sound wisdom and discretion; then shall we walk safely in his ways. The natural life, and all that belongs to it, shall be under the protection of God's providence; the spiritual life, and all its interests, under the protection of his grace, so that we shall be kept from falling into sin or trouble. 3:27-35 Our business is to observe the precepts of Christ, and to copy his example; to do justice, to love mercy, and to beware of covetousness; to be ready for every good work, avoiding needless strife, and bearing evils, if possible, rather than seeking redress by law. It will be found there is little got by striving. Let us not envy prosperous oppressors; far be it from the disciples of Christ to choose any of their ways. These truths may be despised by the covetous and luxurious, but everlasting contempt will be the portion of such scorners, while Divine favour is shown to the humble believer.