Proverbs 23

1. When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before ihee: 2. and put a knife to thy throat, if thou bs a man given to appetite. 3. Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat.

THE book of God is our rule of practice, not less than of faith. It enforces religion not only in our religious, but in our natural, actions.8 It directs in the daily details of common life. Suppose we are invited, in the way of Providence, to the table of a man of rank — how wise the caution — Consider diligently what is before thee! Think where you are — what is the besetting temptation — what impression your conduct is likely to make. Wantonness of appetite, or levity of manner, gives a plausible ground of prejudice to the ungodly, or “stumbling to the weak.”9

But after all — ourselves are mainly concerned. May not the luxuries of the table spread before us stir up disproportionate indulgence? The rule is plain and urgent. If thou art conscious of being given to appetite — making it thy first object and delight — bridle it as by force and violence.10 Act as if a knife was at thy throat. Be stern and resolute with thyself.11 Give no quarter to the lust. Resist every renewed indulgence. The dainties are deceitful meat — sometimes from the insincerity of the host;12 al ways from the disappointment of the anticipated pleasure.13 To use them may be lawful. To be desirous of them is fearfully dangerous.

i 1 Kings xi. 28. 2 Rom. xii. 11.

3 Luke xix. 13. 4 Matt. xxv. 21 — 23.

5 1 Kings x. 8, with Rev. vii. 15; xxii. 3, 4. Pa. cxlix. 9.

i John xii. 26. s 1 Cor. x. 31.

9 y Cor. viii. 9. Rom. xiv. 21. J0 Matt, xviii. 8, 9.

Ver. 31. Ps. cxli.4. 12 Ver. 6 — 8. ‘» Eccl. ii. 10, 11.

Who that knows his own weakness will deem this caution need less? Alas! was not “the lust of the flesh’1 the first inlet to that sin, which has overwhelmed us all?1 How has sensual pleasure tarnished may a Christian profession,2 and damped the liveliness of spiritual apprehensions and enjoyment !3 If Christ’s disciples — conversant only with mean and homely fare — needed a caution to “take heed;”4 much more must it apply to a ruler’s table, where every thing ministers to the temptation.

It is man’s high prerogative to “have dominion over the creature.’*5 luis his shame, therefore, that the creature in any form should have dominion over him. God gives us a body to feed, not to pamper; to be the servant, not the master, of the soul. He gives bread for our necessities6 — man craves “meat for his lust.”7 We are to “make provision” for the wants, not “for the lust, of the flesh.”8 And surely a soul, that “puts on the Lord Jesus Christ,” can never degrade itself to be a purveyor of the flesh. If an hea then could say, ‘I am greater, and born to greater things, than to be the servant of my body’9 — is it not a shame for a Christian — born as he is — the heir of an everlasting crown — to be the slave of his carnal indulgences?

To go as near as we can to the bounds of intemperance is to be in imminent danger of exceeding. ‘He that takes hisy?/// liberty in what he may, shall repent him.’10 Temptation presses hard. Then put the strongest guard at this weak point. ‘Curb thy de sires, though they be somewhat importunate; and thou shall find in time incredible benefit by it.’11 Take the prayer of our Church — ‘Grant unto us such abstinence, that, our flesh being subdued unto the spirit, we may ever obey thy godly motions.’12 Connect with it the resolution of one apostle — “I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection”13 — and the rule of another — “Add to your faith temperance.”14 This practical warfare will break the power of many a strong temptation, and triumph over the flesh gloriously.1*

4. Labor not to be rich; cease from thine own wisdom. 5. Wilt thou set thine eyes (cause thine eyes to fly, Marg.) upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; theyjly away as an eagle toward heaven.

We have now a warning against covetousness. If riches come from the blessing of God, receive them thankfully,16 and consecrate them wisely and freely for him. But to labor to be rich — is the dictate of our own wisdom — not of that “which is from above.” 4 Let them be gotten if they can, and how they can,’ without need less scrupulosity.17 Solomon, however, describes by a beautiful

1 1 John ii. xvi. Gen. iii. 6. I Cor. 11, 21. Phil. iii. 18, 19. Jude 12, 13.

3 Gen. xxv. 28; xxvii. 4, with 26 — r29. 4 Luke xxi. 34.

5 Gen. i. 26, 28; ix. 2. Matt. vi. 11, 25 — 33.

? Ps. lxxviii. 18. 8 Rom. xiii. 14. Seneca.

10 Bp. Hall’s Works, viii. 101. u Bp. Sanderson’s Sermon on Ps. xix. 13.

‘-2 Collect for first Sunday in Lent. i Cor. ix. 27. 2 Peter i. 5, 6.

15 Dan. i. 8. Compare Augustine’s ingenuous and instructive Confessions, book x. t. 31. is chap. x. 22. Gen. xxxi. 9.

W Chap, xxviii. 20, 22. Ez. xxviii. 4, 5. Luke xvi. 4 — 8.

figure their true nature — a mere non-entity — an illusion — th&l which is not. Folly indeed then must it be to set the eyes (to cause them to fly, like a ravenous bird upon its prey1) upon this nullity, continually eluding the grasp. At one moment it seems 10 be within reach. The next it has flown away as an eagle towards heaven.

And yet practically to acknowledge the stamp of vanity upon this idolized treasure is a lesson not learnt in a day — learnt only in the school of discipline. The eagerness for the earthly, and the neglect of the heavenly, object, show, either that eternity is a delusion, or that the world is mad. For were the things of eternity really believed, would not the thoughts be fixed, and the heart be filled with them, with but little time or room for the engrossing vanities of life? As to intrinsic value, Luther not less truly than boldly declared — that ’ the whole Turkish empire in all its vastness was only a crust, which the great Father of the family cast to the dogs.’ And then — as to the abiding — there is no need to invent wings. Riches make them to themselves. The man who concentrates all his wisdom, talents, and energy, who sacrifices all his peace; “rising up early, and late taking rest,’^* in the labor after riches, may be, and often has been, at one stroke deprived of all, just as he supposed himself to be secure of all. Divine chastisement,3 indolence.4 extravagance,5 injustice,6 robbery, may bring to the lowest poverty.7 The longest stay is but a moment. Eternity is at the door ;8 and naked shall we go out of the world, as we came into it.9 Yet even this palpable consciousness fails to teach men the important lessons, to cease from their own wisdom, to seek true substance on earth,10 and in God’s wisdom to lay up enduring “treasures in heaven.”11

Here then lies the contrast. The world apprehends realities only in the objects before them; the Christian only in invisible things.’ Therefore if our judgment looks upon the one as a shadow, and the other as substance — mind that we proportion our affections accordingly; giving the shadow of love to the things of earth, the marrow and substance of the heart to the things of eternity. Thank our God for the present possession of ‘’ a better and enduring substance.“12 But are there not moments of rest and indulgence, when “uncertain riches” become our confidence,13 and we need a sharp lesson to remind us, how certainly they make to themselves wings, and flee away? Oh! think — Christian — of thy heavenly birth — thine eternal expectations; what manner of man thou wilt be in a short moment, when the false pageant shall nave given way to the real manifestation of the Son of God, and ;hou shalt be on the throne with him»for ever.14 With this glory in

1 Comp. Jer. xxii. 17. Hos. ix. 11. 2 Ps. cxxvii. 2.

3 Gen. xiii. 5 — 11; xiv. 14. * chap. vi. 9 — 11.

5 Luke x. 12 — 18. Chap. xx. 21; xxi. 6. Jam. v. 2, 3,

7 Job i. 14 — 17. Ps. cxix. 61. 8 Luke xii. 20.

Job i. 21. Ps. xlix. 17. 1 Tim. vi. 7. 10 Chap. viii. 18 — 21. Matt. vi. 20. 12 Heb. x. 34. “i Tim. vi. 17. 14 Phil. iv. 5. Col. Hi. 1 — 4 prospect, what a degradation is it to set thine eyes upon a “fashion that passeth away I”1

6, 7. Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats: fur as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: ‘Eat and drink,’ saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee. 8. T]IQ morsel which thou hast eaten shall thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words

Kindly intercourse with our neighbors is a part of the courtesies of life.2 Yet we ought not to entertain the invitation of a niggardly man, who grudges the very food we eat, or of a deceitful man, whose friendship is a cloke for selfish purposes. The evil eye will peep through the covers of his dainty meats, and betray him, in spite of his effort for concealment. We judge him not by his words; for as he thinketh in his heart, so is he. And while he saith, Eat and drink, it is but too plain, that his heart is not with us.3 “Better is a dinner of herbs where love is,” than his dainty meats. “A poor man is far better than such a liar.”4 Every morsel at his table is loathsome; and gladly would we retract, and lose the sweet words, with which we had unworthily complimented5 our host.

No such danger attaches to the invitations of the Gospel. There is no evil eye6 — no grudging — “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters.”7 And while he saith — “Eat, O friends; yea drink abundantly, O beloved,”8 his whole heart is with us. There are no repentings — no disappointments here. Every taste increases the appetite for more. And the prospect is near at hand, when we “shall be abundantly” and eternally “satisfied with the fatness of his house.”9

9. Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.

Our Lord’s rule is to the same purport — “Give not that which is holy,unto the dogs; neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under foot, and turn again and rend you.”10 Cast not away your good counsels upon incorrigible sinners. So long as there is any hope of reclaiming the fool, make every effort for his precious soul. In the true Spirit of our Master, bring the Gos pel to the worst and the most unwilling; and never make the rule of prudence the excuse for indolence. Yet “there is a time to keep silence, as well as a time to speak.”11 Such a time we shall

1 1 Cor. vii. 29 — 31. It is a fine remark of a Heathen philosopher — ( Nothing can be called great, which to despise is great. Thus riches, honors, dignities, authorities, and whatever beside may have the outward pomp of this world’s theatre, cannot be to a wise man pre-eminent blessings, since the contempt of them is a blessing of no mean order. Indeed those who enjoy them are not so much entitled to admiration, as those who can look down upon them with a noble superiority of mind.’ Long in. de Sublimit. sect. vii. The Roman Satyrist adverts to Solon’s warning to Croesus, when he refused to admire his immense “riches (a warning despised at the time, but afterwards remembered when he was bound to the stake).

‘Croesum, quern vox jjusti facunda Solonis

Respicere ad lonorse jussit spatia ultima vitae.’ — Juv. x. 274.

1 Cor. v. 10, 11; x. 27. 3 Luke xi. 37. 4 Chap. xv. 17; xix. 2&

s 2 Sam. xi. 13; xiii. 26 — 28. 6 Matt. xx. 15. 7 Isa. lv. 1.

8 Can. v. 1. 9 Ps. xxxvi. 8; xvi. 11. 10 Matt. vii. 6.

“Eccl. iii 7. Chap. xxvi. 4, 5.

understand by the trial to our own spirit. We long to speak in compassion. But self-denial — not self-indulgence — restrains. We have before been warned against untimely rebuke.2 This caution extends further — Speak not in the ears of a fool. Such was our Master’s silence before Herod.3 If he would hear, there would be hope. But, instead of being thankful for instruction, he will despise the wisdom of thy words,* and take occasion from them only to scoff and blaspheme the more. Many doubtful cases however require much wisdom. And the safe rule will be, never to speak without prayer for Divine guidance, and simplicity, and love.

10, 11. Remov? not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless; for their Redeemer is mighty; he shall plead ‘their cause with thee.

The general prohibition to remove the old landmark has been before given.5 A special warning, and a powerful reason is here added. Many would not dare to touch the rich, while they oppress the poor at their will. But the field of the fatherless is under the Almighty protection. Beware of arming against yourself the Divine vengeance by entering into it. Helpless they may seem to be. But have they no counsel to plead their cause? Their Redeemer is mighty; he shall plead their cause with thee,6 Was the nearest of kin bound to be the Goel — the Redeemer of his kinsman’s wrongs?7 Adored be the unsearchable pity, grace, and condescension of Emanuel! When he could not redeem as God, he became our kinsman, that he might be our Redeemer !8 And he now bears the .endearing title of “the Father of the fatherless.“‘His moral government shows, that” in him they find” not “mercy“10 only, but justice also.11 Is not here their strong confidence, when human help is gone?” The poor committeth himself unto thee; thou art the helper of the fatherless.™ “Pure and undefiled religion is” therefore to follow his heavenly pattern — “to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction.”13 Hence the special provision made for the apostolical ministration for these friendless objects of Christian help.14 The Gospel reflects the image of Christ when native selfishness thus melts away under the influence of sympathizing love.

12. Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge.

The frequent repetition of these counsels15 implies an humbling truth — familiar to every day’s experience — man’s natural revulsion from Divine instruction and his inattention to the words of know ledge. It is well to have these injunctions renewed from time to time. We all need “precept upon precept, line upon line;”16 and that to the very end of our course. The best taught and most adi Ps. xxxix. 1, 2. 2 chap. ix. 8. 3 Luke xxiii. 9.

* Chap. i. 7. s chap. xxii. 28.

, e Ib. Verses 22, 23. Jer. 1. 33, 34. Comp. Ez. xxii. 22 — 24. Job xxii. 9, 10; xxxi. 21 — 23; xxxiv. 28. Isa. x. 1 — 3.

7 Lev. xxv. 25. Num. xxxv. 12. Ruth iii. 12. 8 Heb. ii. 14 — 16..

9 Ps. lxviii G, with 18. 1° Hos. xiv. 3. Ps. cxlvi. 9. Ps. ciii. 6.

!2 Ib. x. 14 17, 18. H James i. 27. 14 Acts vi. 1. 1 Tim. v. 3 — 5, 9, 0

Chap. ii. iii. iv. vii. xix. 20 w Isa. xxviii. 13.

vanced Christian will be most earnest in seeking ir. ore instruction, and will most gladly sit at the feet of the Lord’s ministers, to hear the words of knowledge. Here lies the value of the Bible, as the one source of instruction, and the alone treasure-house of the words of knowledge. The simple reference to this standard is the keeping of the soul from Romish errors, whether on Romish or Protestant ground. Observe the connexion between the application of the heart and of the ears. The heart, open to sound advice or moral precept, is yet shut to Christ and his doctrine. It is closed up in unbelief, prejudice, indifference, and the love of pleasure. A listless heart therefore produces a careless ear. But when the heart is graciously opened, softened, and enlightened, the attention of the ear is instantly fixed.2 This indeed is the Lord’s Sovereign creation work ;3 yet wrought by a God of order in the use of his own means. Awakened desire brings to prayer.4 Prayer brings the favor and the blessing.5 And how precious then is every word of knowledge — more “than thousands of gold and silver.”6

13. Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatesl him with the rod, he shall not die. 14. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.

Christian parents do not always recognize the scriptural standard of discipline. “Foolishness is bound in the heart” of the parent, no less than “of the child.” Does “the wild ass’s colt”7 tame itself? Surely it must always need its measure of correction. The rule therefore is — notwithstanding all the pleas of pity and fondness — withhold it not. Do the work wisely, firmly, lovingly. Persevere notwithstanding apparently unsuccessful results. Connect it with prayer, faith, careful instruction. Use it as God’s means, linked with his blessing.

But are not gentle means more likely to be effectual? Had this been God’s judgment, he would not as a God of mercy have provided a different regimen. Eli tried them, and the sad issue is written for our instruction.8 ‘Must I then be cruel to a child V Nay — God charges thee with cruelty, if thou withhold correction from him. He “goes on in his own foolishness.”9 Except he be restrained, he will die in his sin. God has ordained the rod to purge his sins, and so deliver his soul from hell. What parent then, that trembles for the child’s eternal destiny, can withhold correction? Is it not cruel love, that turns away from the painful duty? To suffer sin upon a child, no less than upon a brother, is tantamount to “hating him in our heart.”10 Is it not better that the flesh should smart, than that the soul should die? Is it no sin to omit a means of grace, as Divinely appointed as the word and the sacraments? Is there no danger of fomenting the

1 Chap. h. “2. 2 Acts xvi. 14. 3 chap. xx. 12. Rev. iii. 7.

Ps. cxix. 18; xix. 10. 5 chap. ii. 3 — 6.

Ps. cxix. 14, 72, 127. 7 Job xi. 12.

1 S^m. ii. 23 — 25; iii. 13. Chap. xxii. 15. Eccl. xi. 10.

Lev. xix 18. with Chap. xiii. 24.

native wickedness, and thus becoming- accessory to the child’s eternal destruction? What if he should reproach thee throughout eternity, for the neglect of that timely correction, which might have delivered his soul from helll Or even if he be “scarcely saved,” may he not charge upon thee mu’ch of that difficulty in the ways of God — the influence of deep-rooted habits of evil, which early discipline might have restrained or subjugated?

Yet let it not be used at ail times. Let remonstrance be first tried; like our Heavenly Father, who will never stir the rod with his children, if his “still small voice” of instruction prevail. Magnifying trifles into grave offences; chiding every slip of childishness or troublesome forge tfulness, casts a baneful gloom upon home. It is “a continual dropping in a very rainy day.”1 This indiscriminate correction soon brings a callous deadness to all sense of shame. Let it be reserved, at least in its more serious forms, for wilfulness. It is medicine, not food. It is the remedy for constitutional diseases, not the daily regimen for life and nourishment. And to convert medicine into food, gradually destroys its remedial qualities.

Some parents, indeed, use nothing but correction. They indulge their own passions at the expense of their less guilty chil dren. Unlike our Heavenly Father, they “afflict and grieve their children willingly;”2 to vent their own anger, not to subdue their children’s sins. This intemperate use of a scriptural ordinance brings discredit upon its efficacy, sows the seed of much bitter fruit; engendering in their children a spirit of bondage and concealment, sometimes of disgust, and even of hatred, towards their unreasonable parents. ‘If parents’ — said a wise and godly father — * would not correct their children, except in a praying frame, when they can “lift up their hands without wrath,” it would neither provoke God nor them.’3

Other parents freely threaten the rod, yet withhold it. It was only meant to frighten. It soon becomes an empty sound, power less and hardening. This again contravenes our Great Exemplar. His threatenings*are not vain words. If his children will not turn, they will find them faithful and true to their cost. This threatening play is solemn trifling with truth; teaching children by exam ple, what they had learnt from the womb,4 to “speak lies.” Let our words be considerate, but certain. Let our children know, that they must not trifle either with them or with us. Truthful discipline alone can convey a beneficial influence.

After all, parents have much to learn. We must not expect too much from our children; nor be unduly depressed by their naughtiness. Yet we must not wink at their sinful follies. We must love them not less, but better. And because we love them, we must not withhold — when needed — correction from them. More painful is the work to ourselves than to them. Most humbling is

i Chap, xxvii. 15. 2 Contrast Lam. iii. 33. Heb. lii. 10.

8 Matthew Henry’s Life, chap. xiii. 4 Psalm lviii. 3.

it. For since the corrupt root, produces the poisoned sap in the bud, what else is it, but the correction of our own sin 7 Yet though” no chastening for the present be joyous, but rather grievous ;M1 when given in prayer, in wisdom, and in faith, it is ordained for the pain of the flesh, that the soul may be delivered from, helLz ‘Lord, do thou be pleased to strike in with every stroke, that the rod of correction may be a rod of instruction.’3 ‘It is a rare soul’ — said good Bishop Hall — ’ that can be kept in constant order without smarting remedies. I confess mine cannot. How wild had I run, if the rod had not been over me? Every man can say, he thanks God for his ease. For me, I bless God for my trouble.’4

15. My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine, (I will rejoice, Marg.) 16, Yea, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things.

The wise man now turns from parents, and addresses himself most tenderly to childrens — perhaps to his own child. What Christian parent but responds? Could we be happy to see our child honored in the world, admired, talented, prosperous, without godliness? If thine heart be wise — this is the spring of parental joy — my heart shall rejoice, even mine. His health, his comfort, his welfare, are inexpressibly dear to us. But while we watch over the casket, it is the jewel that we mainly value. The love of our child’s soul is the life and soul of parental love.6 None but a parent knows the heart of a parent. None but a Christian parent knows the yearning anxiety, the many tears, prayers, and “travailing in birth again” for the soul of a beloved child; or the fervor of joy and praise, when the first budding of heavenly wisdom bursts to view.7 The sight brings joy into the innermost depths of the bosom.8 Parents, who have not sympathy with these sensations, and with whom Solomon’s language is unfelt and uninteresting, realize but little either of their responsibilities or their privileges.

Greatly is the parent’s joy heightened to hear his son’s lips speaking” right things; to see him in a day of aposiacy and unstable profession openly standing forth on the Lord’s side; “asking for the old paths of rest,” now that the “highways are” too often “unoccupied, and the travellers walking through bye- ways.”9 2 Comp. 1 Cor. v. 5; xi. 32. The Heathen philosopher adverts to the subject of punishments as an instrument of healing produced by means apparently contrary. Arist. Eth. ii. 3.

3 Swinnock’s Christian Man’s Calling, ii. 35. * silent thoughts, xxi. 5 Chap. i. 8, 10, 15, &c. 6 See Solomon’s own education, chap. iv. 3, 4.

t Vefses 24, 25; x. 1; xv. 20; xxix. 3. ‘Lord, let thy blessing so accompany my endeavor (was the pleading of a godly parent) that all my sons may be Benaiahs (the Lord’s building); and then they will be all Abners (their Father’s light); and that all my daughters may be Bethiahs (the Lord’s daughters); and then they will be all Abigails (their Father’s joy).’ Swinnock’s Christian Man’s Calling, ii. 29, 30.

8 The reins, as deeply seated in the body, are a frequent scriptural illustration of the innrr thoughts and affections. Ps. xvi. 7; xxvi, 2. Jer. xii. 2. Lam. iii. 13.

9 Jud. v. 6. Jer. vi. 1G.

But surely this child — now such a joy to his father — is one, from whom correction has not been withheld,1 The “foolishness bound in his heart has thus been driven from him,”2 and its place graciously supplied by a wise heart — & witness to the rule arid pro* mise subsequently given — “Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest.”3

And are not ministers also partakers of this parental joy? “Paul the aged” was filled with prayerful delight in his “beloved son in the faith.”4 The thriving churches were “his glory and joy.”5 Another apostle “had no greater joy, than to hear that his children walked in truth.”6 And may we not rise higher, and adore the manifestation of this joy in heaven7 — -yea! the rejoicing in the bosom of God himself over the return of his corrected child to a wise heart — “This my son was dead, and is alive again; he waa lost, and is found?”8

17. Let not thine, heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long. 18. For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut ojf.

Exactly similar is David’s counsel. He sets out the end, and shows how little reason we have to envy sinners, and what is the true path of duty and quietness.” He was, however, himself, for a while perplexed and shaken by this temptation. And though he did not envy sinners, so as to covet their worldly prosperity, yet comparing their condition with his own ’ chastening,’” it was too painful for him, until he went into the sanctuary of God. Then understood he their endjno and learnt to rest in the assurance — Thine expectation shall not be cut off.

What then is the safeguard proposed against this temptation? Just what the Psalmist had found so effectual — a close walk with God — “being continually with him”11 — the very spirit of the rule — Be in the fear of God all the day long. Here he gathered confidence for both worlds — “Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.”12 With such a portion both for time and for eternity, could his heart then envy sinners * “I have set the Lord ahvay before me. Thou wilt show me the path of life, the fulness of everlasting joy.”18 What more could he desire? His heart — instead of envying sinners — would be drawn out in compassionate pleading for them, who have no portion, but a dying world, u no expectation, but that which shall quickly be cut off.15.

But this habitual fear of the Lord is nothing separate from common life. It gives to it an holy character. It. makes all its

1 Verses 13, 14. 2 Chap. xxii. 15. Comp. xxix. 15.

3 Chap. xxix. 17. * 2 Tim. i. 2 — 5. * 1 Thess. ii. 19, 20; Hi. 8, 9.

e 2 John 4. 3 John 4. Luke xv. 7, 10. 8 Ibid, verses 13 — 24.

9 Ps. xxxvii. 1 — 9, 35, 36. Comp. chap. xxiv. 1, 2, 19, 20.

10 Ibid. lxxiii. 3 — 17. Even a Heathen discovered the power of this temptation, Socrates, being asked what was most troublesome to good men 1 answered — ‘The prosperity of the wicked.’

“Ibid, verse 23. w p8. Uxiii. 24.” ib. xvi. 8 — 11.

‘« Ib. xvii. 14. Luke xvi. 25. Chap. xxiv. 20. Comp. Ecclus. ix. 11.

minute details not only consistent with, but component parts of godliness. Acts of kindliness are “done after a godly sort.”1 In stead of one duty thrusting out another, all are “done heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto man.”2 Some confessors confine tkeif religion to extraordinary occasions. But Elijah seems to have been content to await his translation in his ordinary course of work ;3 an example that may teach us to lay the great stress upon the daily arid habitual, not the extraordinory, service. Others are satisfied with a periodical religion; as if it was rather a rapture or an occasional impulse, than a habit. But if we are to engage in morning and evening devotions, we are also to “wait upon the Lord all the day” If we are to enjoy our Sabbath privileges, we are also to “abide in our weekly” “calling with God.”5 Thufe the character of a servant of God is maintained — “devoted to his fear.”6

In this Christian walk with God, all is safe for eternity. The hope of the ungodly,7 the hypocrite,8 the worldling,9 shall perish. But thine expectation shall not be cut off.10 It is “a hope that maketh not. ashamed.11 It is grounded upon “the immutability of God’s counsel,” and “entereth into that within the vail.”12 Surely there is an end for this. If the cross be heavy, thou hast but a little time to bear it. If the way be wearisome to the flesh, the, end drawing nearer will abundantly compensate.13 If the light be not visible, “it is sown” for thee. And in waiting for the glorious harvest — “here is the patience and faith of the saints.”14 Mean while judge not the Lord hastily, by sense and feeling. Hold fast by God’s word. Give time to his providence to explain itself. Pronounce nothing upon an unfinished work. Wait, and “see the end of the Lord.” “I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the Lord; thoughts of peace, arid not of evil, to give you an expected end. What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shall know” — and not only know, but approve — “hereafter.”15

19. Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way. 20. Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh: 21. For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.

These repeated exhortations to hear, remind us of our Lord’s earnest and affectionate calls — “Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.“16 They show the great importance of hearing, as the first step to being” wise. For wisdom, no less than “faith, cometh by hearing.”11 “Guide thine heart in the way” The promise to make this call effectual, is — “1 lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment.”18

1 3 Joha 5, 6. 2 Eph. vi. 6 Col. Hi. 23. 2 Kings ii. 1 — 12.

4 Psalm xxv. 5, wit Nurr. xxviii. 4 5 Ps. lxxxiv. with 1 Cor. vii. 20, 24.

Ps. cxix. 28. 7 chap. xi. 7. 8 Job viii. 13, 14.

Luke xii. 19, 20. * Chap. xxiv. 14. Ps. ix. 18. Eccl. viii. 12. Phil. i. 20

“Rom. v. 5. 12 Heb. vi. 17 — 19.

13 ‘O passi graviora, dabit Deus his quoque finem!’ — Virg. JEn. i. 199. Rev. xiii. 10. 15 James v. 11. Jer. xxix. 11. John xiii. 7.

- Matt. xi. 15; xiii. 7. 17 Rom. x. 16, with chap. i. 5. ls Chap, viii, 20.

But the call especially warns against a besetting temptation. God’s creature abuses his gifts. Win,e becomes the occasion of excess. Riotous eaters of flesh degrade the soul as the slave of She body. Not only be not one of them, but be, not amongst them.2 Can we be among the leprous without infection? May we not get a stain, that will not easily be wiped out? Do we not insensibly receive the world in our society ?3 Did not Lot probably learn his dreadful wickedness by contact with the ungodly?4 The right love is not to sit down with them, but to labor for their con* version; and — this being ineffectual — to avoid them. Young people! remember — *’ Tinder is not apter to take fire, wax the impression of the seal, paper the ink, than youth to receive the impression of wickedness.’5 Fancy riot that the enemy in this snare intends even your present happiness. His malice holds out a poisened bait. Poverty and shame are the temporal fruits.6 But the eternal ruin of his deluded victims is his far more deadly design.

Noah as a winebibber? and the Corinthian converts — profaning the sacred feast by drunkenness and gluttony9 — warn the man of God — “Watch and pray that ye enter not into emptation.”9 Al ways however evangelize these parental warnings, on the moving principles of the Gospel. “Walk not in rioting and drunkenness; but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ” — the only effectual covering from the wantonness of the flesh — “Having these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthinesa of the flesh and spirit.”10

22. Hearken unto thy father that begat ihee, and despise not thy mother when site is old.

“We have had fathers of our flesh, and we gave them reverence.”11 Such is the rule of nature. Such is the law of God.ia The wise man here enforces its special application to aged parents — thy mother when she is old. Then surely, love and reverence are doubly due. ‘A thing comely and pleasant to see,’ says Bishop Hall — ’ and worthy of honor from the beholder, is a child under standing the eye of his parent.’13 More lovely still is this filial exercise, when the age of the child has naturally loosened the restraints of authority. Respect is then the effect of principle and gratitude. The child no more feels at liberty to despise his pa rents’ wishes, than if he were subject to their early discipline. The Scripture examples are beautiful patterns for our imitation. Isaac with Abraham ;14 Jacob with both his parents;’• Joseph’s deference to his aged father, and desiring his blessing on his own

1 Isa. v. 11, 12, 22; xxii. 13. Hab. ii. 5, with Ps. civ. 14, 15. 1 Tim. iv. 3 — 5.

2 Chap, xxviii. 7. a Ps. cvi. 35. Comp. Matt, xxiv 49.

* Gen. xix. 30 — 32, with Ez. xvi. 49, 50. 5 Greenhill on Ezek. xix. 4.

6 Chap. vi. 11; xx. 13; xxi. 17. Isaiah xxviii. 1 — 3. Joel i. 5. Luke xv. 13 — -IG

1 Gen. ix. 20, 21. 8 i Corp xj 9 Matt xxv 4l

10 Rom. xiii. 13, 14. 2 Cor. vii. 1. u Heb. xii. 9

12 Ex. xx. 12. Lev. xix. 3. Eph. vi. 1, 2. Comp. chap. i. 8; vi. 20.

19 Holy Observations, v. w Gen. xxii. 9. J5 Ibid, xxviii. 1 5 children yl Moses with his father-in-law ;2 Ruth with her mother-in-law ;3 Solomon in the grandeur of royalty paying respect to his mother ]4 the Rechabites hearkening to their deceased father’s com mand ;5 and ‘above all the rest — the Saviour’s tender care for his mother in his own dying agonies.”

The contrary conduct is marked with the most awful reprobation.7 It forms a part of the dark mass of Heathen depravity,8 and one of the signs of “the perilous times” threatened “in the last days.”9 The spectacle will ever bring a blot upon the child’s name and character.10

But is not this trial of neglect the Lord’s chastening of foolish fondness of our children when young, of unwise treatment, or in consistent conduct? Sinful indulgence will always in the end make us despised in their eyes, and lay our authority in the dust for them to trample under foot. Christian dignity and consistency, on the other hand, commands the impressive influence of respect, even where they fail of producing the full practical results.11 Oh! what need have we of divine grace and wisdom, honorably to maintain parental responsibility?

23. Buy the truth, and sett it not: also wisdom and instruction, and understanding. 24. The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him. 25. Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice.

This is the merchantman, who purchased the “pearl of great price at the cost of all that he had.”12 The blessing can indeed only be “bought without price.”13 It is as free as it is precious. But the figure sets out the importance of gaining it at any cost. First, however, let us satisfy ourselves, that the seller is no deceiver — that he is perfectly upright in his dealings. “Buy of me”14 — saith the Saviour. This sets the matter at rest. If we do not really want the article, we shall not pay much heed to the injunction — “Buy those things that ye have need of”15 — is the rule. Ponder also its inestimable value. It is the truth — the only means of salvation16 — the only deliverance from sin17 — the only principle of holiness18 — the “One thing needful.”19 Place the blessing fully in view — “The excellency of the knowledge of Christ ‘Jesus our Lord. That I may win Christ, and be found in him. That I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.”20 We cannot be de-I Gen. xlviii. 9 — 14. 2 EX. xviii. 13 — 24. 3 Rutn ii. 22, 23. 4 1 Kings ii. 19. 5 jer. xxxv. 6.

6 John xix. 26, 27. Dr. Taylor’s ’ godly exhortation to his son,’ as Foxe remarks in his exquisite Biography, ’ is worthy of all youth to be marked’ — ‘When thy mother is waxen old, forsake her not; but provide for her to thy power, and see that she lack no thing; for so will God bless thee, give thee long life upon earth, and prosperity, which I pray God to grant thee.’ Vol. vi. 692. Comp. Ecclus. iii. 8 — 14; vii. 27, 28.

7 chap. xx. 20; xxx. 11, 17. Deut. xxi. 18 — 21; xxvii. 16. Isa. iii. 5,

8 Rom. i. 30. 9 2 Tim. iii. 1,2. 10 Chap. xix. 26.

II Chap. xxxi. 28. 12 Matt. xiii. 45, 46. »3 isa. w. i.

14 Rev. iii. 18. w jonn xiii. 29. w 1 Tim. iii. 4.

w John viii. 32 2 Tim. ii. 25, 26. 18 John xvii. 17. Luke x. 42.

Phil. iii. 8 — 11.

fraucled in the purchase. It is a cheap purchase at any price. No cost was too great for the bauhles of Vanity Fair. But Bunyan beautifully describes his pilgrims, answering the sneering reproach — ‘What will you buy V They lifted up their eyes above, saying — ‘We will buy the truth.’

But like the well-practised merchant, we must secufe the genuine article. Much counterfeit coin is current.2 Bring every thing “to God’s standard.”3 That which brings wisdom, instruction, and understanding, is the truth of God.

Then — having ascertained its riches and its purity — not only wish for it — -gaze at it — commend it — but buy the truth. Not only bid — make an offer; but strike the agreement. Make it thine. The man did not wish for the field with the “hidden treasure;” but he “sold all that he had, and bought* it.” And let thy pur chase be the whole truth. Every particle — the very filings of the gold — are invaluable — “Set thine heart upon all that I shall show thee.”5 Many are content to be at some pains, but they stop short of the prize.6 Herod shrunk from the full price.7 So did the young ruler;8 and Agrippa;9 and therefore they bought it not. Moses gave up for it “the treasures of Egypt;”10 Paul his Jewish privileges and high reputation.11 The Hebrews “took joyfully the spoiling of their goods.”12 The martyrs “loved not their lives Unto the death.”13 And who of these repented of the costly purchase?

Having thus made the purchase, shall we part with it? Should we not find it all we expected; or should we after all discover that we did not want it, we should doubtless be glad to be rid of it. Many an estale has been bought and sold again from disappointed expectations. But though usually what we have bought, we are at liberty to sell; here is a command to buy, but a prohibition to sell. And a merciful prohibition it is! For those who sell the truth, sell their own souls with it. And “what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul!”14 Can we look at Esau,15 Judas,16 Demas,17 selling their treasures for a thing of naught, without sorrowful trembling? Yet their apostacy clearly proved, that they had never “received the truth in the love of it;”18 that it was some shining shadow, merely notional and speculative; never engrafted in their hearts. Having there fore never felt the power, or known its price, they could sell it for this world’s lust or pleasure, or for the more flattering delusions of their own hearts. Reader: have you ever known that apprehension of Divine Truth, that has made it, in your eyes, worth every

i Chap. iii. 15. 23 Cor. xi. 3, 14. Gal. i. 6, 7.

3 1 Thess. v. 24. 1 John iv. 1. Jsa. viii. 20. 4 Matt. xiii. 44.

5 Ez. xl. 4. 6 2 Tim. jii. 7. 7 Mark vi. 17 — 20.

8 Luke xviii. 23. * Acts xxvi. 28. 10 Heb. xi. 24 — 26.

11 Phil. iii. 4 — 8. 12 Heb. x. 34. Rev. xii. 11. Acts xx. 23, 24.

14 Matt. xvi. 26. w Heb. xii. 16, 17. 16 Matt, xxvii. 3 — 5.

.2 Tim. iv. 10. l8 2 Thess. ii. 10. Comp. 1 John ii. 19.

sacrifice to buy it? No one — be assured — who has really bought it, will ever be willing to sell it.

A joyous sight it is to see children realizing their parent’s fondest hopes; proving “a wise heart’11 by a diligent enquiry about this only gainful purchase: not content with receiving it by education, but making the contract for themselves; discovering that religion must be a personal concern, an individual transaction between God and their own souls. Cause is it indeed for greatly rejoicing, to see their righteous children thus enriched for eternity, in possession of a treasure which they can never spend, and which ho troubles, no changes, no malice of hell can touch. If the godly parents have had a seed-time of tears, their precious sheaves of joy are an abundant recompense.2 The stern exclusive system, which recognizes little, save the Divine purpose and Sovereignty, annuls, or at least, enervates, the responsibility of means, and thus loses the privilege both of trusting the promise, and witnessing its accomplishment. Will not the child feel the constraining obligation to fulfil his parent’s rejoicing thus vividly portrayed? Most unnatural must he be, if his heart does not glow with the desire thus to repay his father’s anxious love, and the yearning tenderness of her that bare him. They ask no other requital than the joy and gladness of seeing a righteous and a wise son. Selfishness itself might supply a motive; since parental gladness is the child’s own joy, walking in “wisdom’s ways of pleasantness and peace.”

26. My .son, give me thine Jieart, and let thine eyes observe my ways. 27. For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit. 28. She also lieth in wait as for a prey, and increaseth the transgressors among men.

Solomon here manifestly rises above himself, and speaks in the name and Person of Divine Wisdom.3 For who else could claim the gift of the heart — the work of his own hands — the purchase of his own blood? My Son. Such is the relationship which God acknowledges; including every blessing which he can give, and all the obedience that he can claim. No obedience can be without the believing and practical acknowledgment of this relation — My Son — not a stranger — not an enemy — not a slave — but a son; invited to return. An amnesty of the past — a perpetual jubilee of joy — awaits thee at thy Father’s house.

Many are the claimants for the heart. Heaven and hell contend for it. The world with its riches, honors, and pleasures — and science with its more plausible charms — cries — Give me thine heart. Nay, even Satan dares to put in a loud and urgent plea — “If thou wilt worship me, all shall be thine.”4 The loving Father calls — My Son, give me thine heart. The answer too often is — * I have no heart for God. It is engaged to the world. I cannot make up my mind to be religious — at least not yet.’ And sc

1 Verses 15, 16

2 Ps. cxxvi. 6. Comp. chap. x. 1; xv. 20. Contrast xvii. 25.

3 Chap. i. 20: viii. 1. 4 Luke iv. 7, “darling is given to the lion” — the heart to the murderer. And to him, who alone deserves it — -few hearken — and many even of those, only when they have proved to their cost the falsehood and disappointment of all other claimants.

An honor indeed he puts upon his creatures, in condescending to receive as a gift what is his most rightful debt, and what he might at any moment command for himself. But his call wakens his child to recollection and conscious dependence. It is the Father’s striving with his child’s will. It is the test of his child’s obedience. It is a pointed arrow of conviction to his conscience for wilful resistance to his call — the only hindrance to his giving his heart being, that he has already given it to claimants, infinitely unworthy of it. ‘My guilt is damnable’ — exclaimed an humbled saint — * in with holding my heart; because I know and believe his love, and what Christ has done to gain my consent — to what? — my own happiness.’1

Indeed happiness is bound up in this gracious command. For what else can ’ fill the aching void’ within, but “the love of God shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Ghost.”2 Created objects only seem to widen the chasm. If our appetite is satisfied, it is but for a moment; while every irritation increases the general dissatisfaction. The heart, wilfully remaining at a moral distance from God, can find its home only in a land of shadows. It grasps no thing solidly; while its incessant conflict with conscience, is “the troubled sea, which cannot rest.”3 God will never abate one atom of his full requisitions. He asks not for magnificent temples, costly sacrifices, pompous ceremonials, but for the spiritual worship of the heart.4 He demands — not the hands, the feet, the tongue, the ears, but that which is the moving principle of all the members — the heart.5 Give that. It is all he desires. Withhold it, — No thing is given. What the heart does not do, in a great measure is not done at all. The cold conformity of a lifeless faith is a dead — not “a living” — not therefore an acceptable “sacrifice”6 — not “a reasonable service.” “How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me?”7

Never will he dispense with this claim of the love of all our heart.8 We must not deal with Him as Lot’s wife, moving slowly forward, while the.heart is behind ;9 or like Orpah, stopping at the very moment that the cross is to borne.10 Dream not of dividing the heart with the world.11 He loves a broken heart. He spurns a divided throne. Satan will seem to be content with a part; be cause he knows that, as God will accept nothing less than all, the whole will thus fall to him. It is far beneath the Majesty of heaven

i Adams’s Private Thoughts. 2 Rom. v. 5.

3 Isa. lvii. 20, 21. 4 Ibid. lxvi. 1, 2, with John iv. 23, 24.

5 ‘Non caput, non manum, non pedem, non osetera membra; sed omnium membrorum principium, radicem, et vitse humanae fontem, qui cor est, dari sibi Deus postulat.’ Glass. Philolog. Sacr. Lib. ii. Pars i. Tract ii. sect. iii.

Rom. xii.0!. 7 Judg. xvi. 15. Matt. xxii. 37.

Gen. xix. 26. 10 Ruth i. 14. Matt, vi, 24.

to possess any thing less than the throne — a mean throne at best for the Almighty Sovereign of the universe. But his claims are paramount. And never are we truly our own, till we unreservedly acknowledge ourselves to be his. Indeed all false religions in the world are but vain substitutes for this plain and most happy duty. However plausible the show, if it does not lead the heart to God, it is fearful delusion. Whatever principles, practices, or society, turn our hearts from God — it is the high road of ruin.

And doth he ask his child for his heart? and will he refuse to give it? Does it open immediately to Satan and the world — yea — even before they knock? Arid is the beseeching Father to be excluded? Are there no “bands of love to draw?”2 Out of what rock was it hewn, that it can be proof against the pleadings of Di vine parental love? Canst thou not give it him? Surely hadst thou the will, thou wouldst have the power too. If thou hast the faintest will, at least show though but the feeblest effort. Offer it, though but with a trembling hand. His hand will meet thine, and take it of thee. The happiest day of life is now arrived — a day, the recollection of which will never be tinged with one shade of regret.

If thou hast not done it — do it now. If thou hast — do it daily. Thou canst not do it too soon or too often. The command does not hale us (as Saul haled his victims3) to the service of God. The citadel is not stormed, but it opens its gates. A principle of immortal energy constrains the heart; yet only by “making it willing.”4 The reluctancy is melted away, and by the power of love the heart is “compelled to come.”5 What so free as a gift? And never 9 the will so free, as when it moves towards God. Weak as he is, yet the child can testify, that to give his heart, is his first desire; that he never designs or intends any thing less; that he longs for the consuming of every corruption, which hinders the full surrender. Oh — my God — thy grace alone can enable me — I am ashamed of the gift. Nothing can be more unworthy. But be cause thou callest for it, it is thine own. Take it as it is. Make it what it is not. Keep it with thyself. Bind it so close to thee with the cords of love, that it may never cast a wishful look awray from thee. Had I a thousand hearts, all should be thine. This one thou alone canst fill. Thou alone art worthy of it. Exalt thine own throne in it forever.

And now when the first command is duly regarded, the second will soon follow. The heart once given to God, the eyes will ob serve his ways.6 i Our heart given, gives all the rest. This makes eyes, ears, tongue and hands, and all to be holy, as God’s peculiar people.’7 His word will be our rule ;8 His Providence our interpreter.9 The heart — no longer divided, is now at full liberty for the service of God. The eyes, no longer wandering, like” the

1 Matt. x. 37. 2 Hos. xi. 4. 3 Acts viii. 3.

* Psalm ex. 3. 5 2 Cor. v. 14. Luke xiv. 23.

Chap. iv. 23 — 25. T Leighton on 1 Pet. ii. 4, 5.

Chap. vi. 23. Ps. ,xix. 9 — 11, 105. Psalm cvii. 43.

eyes of a fool, in the ends of the earth”1 — are now fixed upon an object supremely worthy, and abundantly satisfying.

Here also is our power of resistance to the gross seductions of the enemy2 — “I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and I cannot” — I will not — “go back.”3 He hath my heart, and he shall have it. True indeed — so long as we carry about us a body of sin and death, we need a continual supply of “the Spirit to mortify the deeds of the body.”4 But in our new atmosphere of heavenly light, the mask falls off from the allurements of sin. The strange woman appears frightful as a deep ditch — or what is even more — a narrow pit — with no room to escape from the ruin.5 Mighty and strong men have fallen into it.6 The tempter hides the danger, while she lays wait for the prey; and thus she successfully increases the trangressors among men. Blessed be God — if, while fleshly lusts “have destroyed their thousands and tens of thousands,”8 we have, by giving our heart to its Divine Lord, been enabled to abhor the temptation, and to ascribe to our faithful God the glory of our deliverance.

29. Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath baooling 1 who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes 1 30. They that tarry long at the wine: they that go to seek mixed wine. 31. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it gii-eth his color in the cup, when it rnoieth it self aright. 32. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. 33. Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. 34. Yea, thou shall be, as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast. 35. They have stricken me, shall thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I fell it not: when shall I awake? / will seek it yet again.

A warning was lately given against keeping company with sensualists.9 Here it is enforced by the most graphical delineation of the sin in all its misery, shame, and ruin. It is the drunkard’s looking glass. Let him see his own face. Let it be hung up in his cottage — in the alehouse. Could he go there? The picture is drawn with such a vividness of coloring. ‘No translation or paraphrase can do justice to the concise, abrupt, and energetic manner of the original.’10 Drunkenness is a’ time of merriment. But what must be the stupifying insensibility, that can find a moment’s joy, with such an accumulation of woe.11 Every sin brings its own mischief. But such woe — such sorrow — in all its multiform misery — who hath it? The brawls and contentions over the cup ;12 the bab-

1 Chap. xvii. 24. 2 Chap. ii. 10, 11, 16.

3 Jud. xi. 35. Comp. Gen. xxxix. 9.

4 Rom. viii. 13. Gal. v. 16. 5 chap. xxii. 14; ii. 19.

6 1 Kings xi. 1 — 8, with Neh. xiii. 26. Jud. xvi. 4 — 20. ‘He (Samson) broke the bonds of his enemies; but he could not break the bonds of his own lusts. He choked the lion; but he could not choke his own wanton love.’ Ambrose; quoted by Jermin i” Joco- 7 Chap. vii. 4, &c.; ix. 13 — 18.

s Chap. vii. 26. 9 Verses 20, 21. Scott in loco. Comp. Bp. Hall.

1 Agmen malorum colligit, quse ebrietas secum trahit.’ Lavater. ‘Nemini certius ingentia imminere pericula, tarn quoad facultates ac famam, quam ipsam quoque valotudinern, vitam, ac animae salutem, quam hominem temulentum.’ Geier.

Chap* xx. 1. 1 Tim. iii. 2. Comp. Hor. Od. Hi. 21:

bling words of pollution ;l the wounds — often to murder2 — without cause; the redness of eyes, showing the effect of liquor on the countenance; the impure appetites that are kindled; the infatuation almost incredible — this is sensuality in all its wretchedness.

Whence this world of woe and sorrow? It is the curse of indulged will. Not satisfied with healthful refreshment, many will “add drunkenness to thirst.”3 They continue long, “morning to night, till wine inflame them.”4 They go to seek the mixed wine — the strongest and most inebriating drink.5

Wisdom’s voice therefore is — Avoid the allurements of sin. Of ten has a look — harmless in itself — proved a fearful temptation.6 Look not therefore at the wine when it is red. Its very color; its sparkling transparency in the cup; the relish with which it moves itself aright, ’ or goes down pleasant,’7 all tends to excite the irregular appetite. Crush it in its beginnings, and prove that you have learnt the first lesson in the Christian school — “Deny your self.”8 Whatever be its present zest, at the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingethlike an adder.9 Did it bite first, who would touch it? Did Satan present the cup in his own naked form, who would dare to take it? Yet it comes from his hand as truly, as if he were visible to the eyes. If poison was seen in the cup, who would venture upon it? Yet is the poison less dangerous, because it is unseen? The adders sting is concealed, jet most fatal. The cup of sparkling wine becomes “a cup of fearful trembling in the hands of the Lord.”10

Seldom does any sensual indulgence come alone. One lust prepares the way for others; the first step is sure to lead onwards. The poor deluded victim cannot stop when he pleases. Drunkenness opens the door for impurity.11 The inflamed eye soon catches fire with the strange woman and who knoweth what the end may be? Loathsome indeed is the heart of the ungodly laid bare. Drink opens it, as far as words can do; and through the organ of the tongue it does indeed utter perverse things.1* ‘Blasphemy is wit, and ribaldry eloquence, to a man that is turned into a brute.’13

But the delirium is the most awful feature of the case. The unhappy victim, having lost all will and power to escape, sleeps quietly amid dangers as imminent, as lying down in the midst of

i Dan. v. 4. 2 2 Sam. xiii. 28. 1 Kings xvi. 9, 10; xx. 16 — 20.

3 Deut. xxix. 19. Isa. v. 11.

5 Chap. ix. 2, note. Homer describes his celebrated Helen as mixing exnilarating ingredients in the bowl, to revive the spirits. Odyss. A. 219 — 229. B Gen. iii. 6; xxxix. 7. Jos. vii. 21. 2 Sam. xi. 2.

7 Holden. Comp. Can. vii. 9.

8 Matt. xvi. 24. Augustine gives an instructive example of his mother’s nurse. Confess, ix. 8. See also George Herbert’s excellent advice in his well-known poem — ‘The Temple.’

9 Comp. chap. xx. 17. 10 Comp. Joel i. 5.

“Gen. xix. 32. Comp. Jer. v. 8. Ez. xvi. 49, 50. Hos. iv. 18. Rom. xiii. 13. 1 Pet. iv. 3.

12 Ps. lxix. 12. Hos. vii. 5. The litertine poet praises the inspiring excitement of wine to the genius of poesy. — Hor. Ep. i. 19.

13 Lawson in loco.

the sea, or upon the top of the mast. Nay — even the senses seem tu be stupined. Stricken and beaten he may be. But “his heart is as a stone,“2 and he thanks his drunkenness, that he felt it not. Therefore “as the dog to his vomit, the fool returns to his folly,’13 craving fresh indulgence — When shall I awake * I will seek it yet again. More se’nseless than the brute who satisfies nature, not lust; so lost to shame; his reason so tyrannized over by his appetite, that he longs to be bound again, and only seeks relief from his temporary awakening to a sense of his misery, by yielding himself up again to his ruinous sin.4

Oh! how affecting is the thought of the multitude of victims to this deadly vice in every age and clime, and among all ranks of society! Perhaps there is no sin which has not linked itself with it, while the unconsciousness in the act of sin only serves, not to palliai* the guilt, but to increase the responsibility.

Wlme we see the whole nature so depraved in taste — so steeped in pollution — we ask — “Is any thing too hard for the Lord?” Praised be his name for a full deliverance from the captivity of sin — of all and every sin — even from the chains of this giant sin !5 The mighty, though despised, instrument is “Christ crucified — the power of God, and the wisdom of God.”6 It is this, which, when vows, pledges, and resolutions — all have failed; works secretly, yet most effectually imparting new principles, affections, and appetites. The drunkard becomes sober; the unclean holy; the glutton temperate. The love of Christ overpowers the love of sin. Pleasures are now enjoyed without a sting, (for no serpent, nor adder is here) and the newly-implanted principle transforms the whole man into the original likeness to God — “Whatsoever is born of God doth not commit sin, for his seed remaineth in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. He that is begotten of God keepeth himself and that wicked one toucheth him not.”7