approached by those who grope after it in difficult research. But more simple truth may be wrapped in enigmatic phrases for the express purpose of testing the genuineness of the desire to possess it, exciting interest, exercising the powers of thought in the learner, and becoming itself a more intelligible and more valuable thing when it is once found (see Matt. xiii. 10-17). Let no man think that the best treasures of thought are scattered prodigally on the surface of life for swine to trample underfoot. They lie deep, and must often be sought with toil and anguish of soul. Yet to the honest seeker after light, if only he follow the Light of the world, it will surely dawn, though for a season

"The intellectual power, through words and things,

Went sounding on, a dim and perilous way."

IV. THE PROVERBS TREAT OF HUMAN CONDUCT. 1. Next to theology, the highest knowledge is that of human life and duty. The triumphs of physical discovery seem to have thrown us into the opposite extreme from that to which Socrates tended. Surely whatever other studies we may pursue, "the proper study of mankind is man." No other topic is more profoundly interesting, none requires so much light, none is so replete with practical issues. 2. The wisdom of the proverbs is practical. It deals with conduct-which, as Mr. Matthew Arnold says, "is three-fourths of life." What we know is of service to us chiefly as it affects what we do. 3. This wisdom concerns itself with the moral and religious guides to practice. We find here no Machiavellian maxims of dishonest expediency, no mere worldly advice in the school of Lord Chesterfield, no Jesuistic casuistry. Righteousness among men and the fear of God are the leading principles set forth. The least exalted precepts are pure and honest. The highest reach the level of Christian ethics. Though much of the Book of Proverbs falls short of the lofty requirements of the New Testament, many passages in it read like anticipations of the Sermon on the Mount. Thus are we taught that the highest wisdom is one with the purest morality and the noblest religion.

V. THE PROVERBS ORIGINATED IN WISDOM, AND NEED WISDOM FOR THEIR INTERPRETATION. They are words of the wise. Inspiration does not dispense with intelligence; it quickens it. Wisdom is itself a gift of the Spirit of God (Jas. i. 5). The most simple truth is often the product of the most difficult thinking which has triumphed in thus making plain what was previously obscure. Let us see, however, that the clear utterance is a word of the wise; for there is a tendency to accept a saying because of its neat and apt form, without regard to its truth or falseness. Wisdom is therefore needed in understanding proverbs and in "discerning spirits." It is not enough that the grammarian explains the words. Higher wisdom is necessary to see where the isolated truth fits into other truths, by what it is qualified, and how it is to be applied; for it is one of the disadvantages of the proverb that its very terseness gives to it an unnatural isolation, and excludes the addition of counterbalancing truths.

Ver. 7.-The relation of religion to knowledge. "The fear of the Lord" being the most common Old Testament name for religion, we must take it here in its large and general sense, and understand that religion in all its relations is set forth as the true basis of knowledge; though it may well be that awe and reverence for the majesty and mystery of God have a special prominence in regard to the pursuit of truth.

I. RELIGION IS AN IMPORTANT REQUISITE FOR THE ACQUISITION OF ALL KINDS OF KNOWLEDGE. Religion-not theology-claims this position. The progress of science was arrested for a thousand years by the claims of theology to dominate all regions of inquiry. Theology, or human speculations about Divine things, is the most difficult, and therefore in many respects the most uncertain, of all the sciences. When the schoolmen made the dogmatic assumptions of patristic theology, combined with elaborate deductions from Aristotelian philosophy, the touchstone of all truth, they set up an impenetrable barrier before the investigation of nature. Even when theological dicta are absolutely true, it is irrelevant to bring these to bear upon physical science. Unquestionably Bacon did a great service to the cause of truth in banishing final causes from the science of nature. But the relation of religion to science is of a totally different nature. That relation consists in the influence that religious experience, religious character, religious feelings and motives, must necessarily have upon scientific

research. Religion influences all life; intellectual life is no exception. 1. Religion should excite the thirst for truth. It is a mistake to suppose that religion inclines to indolence and ignorance. It inspires all the noblest endeavours. It is on the side of light and truth. Rightly understood, it will impose the pursuit of science as a duty. Without religion this pursuit is too likely to be followed only from mere inclination, or possibly for ends of self-interest. 2. Religion tends to induce the most wholesome scientific temper. There is great resemblance between the Christian graces and the special dispositions requisite for the successful discovery of truth. The Sermon on the Mount contains the best possible precepts for the character of the model man of science. Loyalty to truth, unselfishness in sacrificing prejudices and crotchets, justice to the work of rivals, diligence in uninteresting but needful inquiries, patience in waiting for solid results, conscientiousness in refraining from mere sensationalism, humility in confessing the smallness of the area really conquered, calmness and generosity under criticism, are among the most essential requisites for the pursuit of science, and they are among the best fruits of religion. 3. Religion tends to open the eyes to truth. It raises us from the gross animalism which is intellectual death. Elevating the whole man, it enlarges the intellect.

II. RELIGION IS THE NECESSARY FOUNDATION OF SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDge. This fact agrees with the great modern doctrine of inductive philosophy. Experience is the basis of knowledge. To know God we must have personal relations with him. Spiritual truths in regard to human life depend on the same Source. We must do the commandment in order to know the doctrine. Indeed, there is a constant interaction between knowledge and experience-every enlargement of experience increasing our knowledge, and every increment of knowledge throwing light on our way for future experience; till, in consequence of these two processes, we rise, as one has said, by a sort of "spiritual spiral," to the coexistent perfection of knowledge and of character. Our independence upon an external and superhuman revelation for our knowledge of Divine things is no exception to this principle, as two considerations will show. 1. Revelation was first vouchsafed through religious men. The fear of God was the beginning of knowledge in the prophets; the love of Christ is its basis in the apostles. Nebuchadnezzar could not have written the prophecies of Isaiah, nor could Judas have written St. John's Gospel. 2. Revelation can only be understood by religious men. A bad man may be a good verbal commentator, but the essential truth, the spirit which quickens as distinguished from the "letter that killeth," can only be discerned by those who are in sympathy with it, because "spiritual things are spiritually discerned."

Ver. 10.-Temptation. I. How THE TEMPTATION COMES. 1. From sinners. (1) It comes from without. The evil of our own hearts inclines us to sin; but were we perfectly innocent we could not escape temptation. The serpent was a denizen of Eden. Christ the Sinless One was tempted. The sights and sounds of the wicked world penetrate to the most carefully guarded soul. (2) The temptation is furnished by those who have themselves succumbed to sin. It is sinners who tempt. Sin is contagious. The worst sin is that of those who, like Jeroboam, "make Israel to sin." The bad man has terrible power for harm. Example, social influence, friendship, favour his designs. 2. By enticements. Sin is made to be attractive; and it is most important for all of us to know that there are pleasures in sin, in order that we may not be surprised at the discovery of them. The fruit is palatable, though, like apples of Sodom, it soon turns to ashes. If it were not so, who would run the risk of tasting it? If stolen waters were not sweet, who would choose to wear the brand of a thief on his conscience? Herein is the great power of temptation. By slow degrees and soft inducements the evil is wrought. The subtle serpent succeeds where the roaring lion fails. Delilah conquers the man whom no Philistine warrior could overthrow.

"Devils soonest tempt; resembling spirits of light."

II. HOW THE TEMPTATION IS TO BE MET. "Consent thou not." Let no man deem himself the helpless victim of temptation. "God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able,” etc. (1 Cor. x. 13). We have wills. We can say "Yes" and "No." We are not responsible for meeting with temptation, since even Christ felt the cruel force of this trial, but we are responsible for the way we behave under it.

""Tis one thing to be tempted, Another thing to fall."

Now, the resistance to temptation must be immediate and thorough. The tempter entices by gentle degrees, but the tempted must resist at once and with decision. He must not begin with the "retort courteous," but with "the lie direct." There is something brusque about the advice, "consent thou not," very different in tone from the polite enticing manner of the tempter. Yet this is necessary, for all that is wanted by the tempter is compliance-no active exercise of will, but a passive yielding. The resistance, however, must be active. The greatest danger is in dallying with temptation. "Lie in the lap of sin, and not mean harm?

It is hypocrisy against the devil:

They that mean virtuously, and yet do so,

The devil their virtue tempts, and they tempt Heaven."

The difficulty is to give a decided negative. With some people the hardest word to say is "No." Remember: 1. There is a Divine grace to which we can appeal for aid in temptation, and a Saviour who can succour (Heb. ii. 18). 2. We can best keep out sin, not by bare expulsion of the spirit of evil, leaving the soul empty, swept, and garnished, and therefore ready for the advent of worse sins, but by filling our thoughts and affections with pure and worthy objects, by overcoming evil with good.

Vers. 20-23.-The gospel call. This cry of Wisdom is a sort of evangel of the Old Testament religion. It is an anticipation of the gracious invitation subsequently put forth by the Christian truth. That, too, is a cry of Wisdom; for is not Christ the "Wisdom of God" (1 Cor. i. 24), and "made unto us Wisdom" (1 Cor. i. 30)? We of the latter times, therefore, may hear in the preaching of Solomon the call of the glorious gospel of the blessed God.

I. THE CHARACTER OF THE CALL. It is a cry, a loud utterance, arresting attention, arousing the thoughtless. Elsewhere we read that wisdom must be sought for like hid treasures (ch. ii. 4), and her most precious gifts are always reserved for diligent inquirers. But before she is found, she calls. Though the choicest blessings of Christ may be pearls to be had only after long search, his call to us is antecedent to our desire to obtain them. God does not wait for us to return to him before he shows a willingness to welcome us. He calls at once in his revelation of truth. It is the duty of Christians to take up and repeat this call, to be heralds of a public truth, not jealous guardians of an esoteric doctrine.

II. THE SCENE OF THE CALL. 1. Without. Before the truth can be enjoyed in the heart it must be heard from without. It is not reserved for the initiated. It is declared in the open. 2. In the streets. The gospel meets men in their busy lives. The streets and lanes must be scoured to furnish guests for the King's feast. The call is too gracious to contain itself in the conventicle of the elect. Free as the air, it aims to reach all. The faithful preacher of the gospel must seek men in their haunts, not wait till they come to his snug retreat. 3. In the chief place of concourse. The gospel courts inquiry, it declares itself in the full light of day, it challenges comparison with all earthly voices. Let us not think that it can only live in conventual seclusion. It boldly claims a place in the busiest life of the world. If it cannot hold its own there, it is worthless. If Christians had more faith in it, they would be less afraid to bring this truth into all possible relations with science, politics, business, recreation. But alas! our ears are dull, and often when the voice of Wisdom is lifted up clear and kindly, it is drowned in the coarse din of worldly commotion.

III. THE PERSONS CALLED. Simple ones, scorners, fools. Divine wisdom is healing wisdom. It is not so much a reward to the wise as instruction for the foolish. Earthly wisdom comes most readily to those who are most advanced. The gospel of Christ seeks the ignorant, the wayward, the fallen.

IV. THE WAY TO RECEIVE THE CALL. "Turn you." It is not enough to hear, we must answer; and to answer is to obey, for the call is an invitation; and to obey is to turn and repent, for the gospel of the holy Christ must be a reproof to sinners. This gospel can be of no avail to us until we come to ourselves, turn our backs on our old life, and arise and go to our Father.

All Divine wisdom

V. THE BLESSING PROMISED-the outpouring of the Divine Spirit. is an inspiration. Christ the Wisdom of God can only be received as we are baptized with the Holy Spirit. Thus we receive light, love, purity, peace, strength, and eternal life.

Vers. 24-30.-Left to their doom. Broad and encouraging as are the promises of Divine grace, if we forget the darker facts of life we shall be deluded into a false security; for nothing could be more unreasonable than to suppose that the mercy of God takes no account of moral considerations. Legally our sovereign is vested with an unfettered right of pardoning every criminal, but principles of justice and public order put great restraints upon the exercise of such a right. Bald representations of prayer as a means for securing immediate deliverance from trouble, and especially as a sure door of escape from the consequences of sin, are as false as they are shallow. It is most important that we should know under what circumstances God will reject the prayer of his troubled children and leave them to their doom.

I. AN OBSTINATE REJECTION OF GOD'S INVITATIONS AND COUNSELS. No word is here said of the great mass of the heathen world, who have never heard the full declaration of God's will. Clearly it is implied that such men do not come under the same condemnation as that of the persons immediately referred to. For the special accusation is based on the rejection of the overtures of grace, which must have been known to have been refused. The guilt of this rejection may be measured in two directions. 1. By the character of the Divine voice. (1) It was an invitation, not a mere declaration of truth. "I have called." (2) It was a persuading. "I have "Counsel stretched out my hand." (3) It was a warning. and 66 reproof" are referred to. The sin was plainly demonstrated, the danger clearly revealed. To reject such a Divine message is no slight error. 2. By the character of the rejection itself. (1) It was an obstinate refusal. There was no indecision. But, practically, not to decide to obey the voice of God is to decide to rebel against him. (2) It was an insulting indifference. "No man regarded." They refused, and went on their own ways, to their farms and merchandise and pleasure, without further thought.

"

II. A CRY FOR DELIVERANCE FROM TROUBLE WITHOUT REPENTANCE OF SIN. The simple ingratitude of sin would be no barrier to the full exercise of God's pardon in Christ if it were hated and repented of, for "he is able to save to the uttermost," etc. But without repentance the smallest sin cannot be forgiven. And repentance is not the mere feeling of distress at the consequence of sin-every sane and sentient being would have that feeling; nor is it a mere regret that the wrong thing was done now its horrible fruits are ripening. It must be a hearty abhorrence of the wickedness itself, and a genuine desire to do nothing of the kind in the future. The dying sinner who is appalled at his future prospects, and shrieks for deliverance from the powers of hell, will not be heard, but will be left to his fate, and most reasonably so, if he has experienced no moral change, and feels no compunctions of conscience, but would do all his vile deeds over again if only he could ensure himself against the just penalties of them.

III. AN ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE FROM THE INEVITABLE. The earthly consequences of sin are many of them fixed immutably by laws of nature. Prayer will not heal the shattered constitution of the drunkard, nor restore the squandered fortune of the spendthrift, nor recover the lost reputation of the thief. No doubt many spiritual consequences of sin are also inevitable, and, though God may pardon the sinner, he will take vengeance on his devices. But when there is true penitence and trust in the mercy of God, the incidence of the calamity is shifted, though the calamity itself is not altered, so that it comes as wholesome chastisement, and is then not laughed at by the Divine wisdom, but graciously overruled for the discipline of the penitent.

Ver. 31.-Punishment the natural fruit of sin. The punishment of sin is not an arbitrary penalty, but a natural consequence. It follows by laws of nature. It needs no executioner. The sin works out its own doom. This thought may be regarded from two points of view. From the standpoint of nature it is a proof that Divine justice does not abrogate, but works through natural laws. From the spiritual side it is an evidence that God has planted his moral laws in the very constitution of the world.

I. SIN BEARS FRUIT. Nothing really perishes. Deeds live on in their consequences. Evil is not simply negative; there is a terribly active and even vital power in it. Its vitality may be of a diseased, destructive order, like that of the cancer that grows and spreads to the death of the body in which it is imbedded; but it is none the less vigorous and enduring.

II. THE FRUIT OF SIN HAS A NATURAL AFFINITY TO THE STOCK FROM WHICH IT SPRINGS. The consequences of a sin have an inherent resemblance to the sin. As the Beatitudes are specially related to the graces they crown, so the curses of evil have close relations to particular forms of evil. Each sin bears its own fruit. Hatred provokes hatred; selfishness leads to isolation; falsehood engenders distrust.

III. THE FRUIT OF SIN IS BEYOND OUR CONTROL. We are free to sow the seed or to refrain; we are not free to arrest the growth of the tree. A deed once done is not only irretrievable, but it passes out of our power while it lives on to work out perpetual consequences. It may become a Frankenstein, horribly tyrannizing over its creator.

IV. THE FRUIT OF SIN MUST BE EATEN BY THE SINNER. It will come back to him when it is ripe. There may be a long interval between the sowing of the seed and the gathering of the fruit, but the sower will have to devour the harvest. Herein is the peculiar horror of the doom of sin. Though a man would fain forget the past, it returns in the dreadful resemblance it bears to its consequences, now fully developed and revealed in true colours. Nauseous and poisonous, it must not only be witnessed, but eaten. He will have to receive it in his own life, in most close and intimate union with himself.

CONCLUSION. 1. Let us beware of the thoughtless sowing which must lead to so fearful a harvest. 2. Let us lay hold of the hope of redemption in Christ through which our sins may be buried in the depths of the sea.

Ver. 32.-Fatal prosperity. It is certainly not incumbent on the Christian preacher to maintain that prosperity is in itself an evil. This would involve a strange paradox, since it must be confessed that we all desire prosperity by natural instinct, and seek it in some form, and when we have met with it are exhorted to be thankful for it; all of which things would need to be deprecated if prosperity were essentially evil. So far is it from being thus represented in the Bible, that the Old Testament regards it as the reward of righteousness, and the New Testament as less important indeed and more full of danger, yet still as something to be enjoyed gratefully (see 1 Tim. iv. 4). But experience and revelation both warn us that it brings peculiar perils and temptations, and that there are some people to whom it is nothing less than fatal.

I. CONSIDER WHO ARE THE PERSONS TO WHOM PROSPERITY IS MOST FATAL. It does not affect all alike. One man can stand calmly on a steep height where another reels with giddiness. The success which is fatal to one may develop magnanimous qualities in another. It is not all prosperity, but the prosperity of fools, that is destructive. The character of the men rather than the inherent evil of the thing determines its effects. Note some of the characters most injured by prosperity. 1. The weak, who are moulded by circumstances instead of mastering them. If a man is not strong enough to direct his course, but suffers himself to drift with the currents of external events, prosperity will lead him away into extravagance and folly. He only is safe under it who is independent of it. 2. The short-sighted—men whose views of life are exceptionally limited. These people will be likely to expect too much from prosperity, to forget that riches take to themselves wings and fly away. 3. The empty-minded. If people have other resources than external possessions they are the more free to make good use of those possessions. But if they have nothing else, if they have no "inner city of the mind," if their life is all on the outside, prosperity will become a god and the idolatry of it a fatal delusion. 4. The vicious. A bad man will find in prosperity only enlarged means for evil-doing, and so will increase his wickedness and bring the greater doom upon his own head. To the intemperate, the profligate, the lovers of corrupt pleasures, prosperity is nothing less than a curse.

II. CONSIDER THE WAY IN WHICH PROSPERITY BECOMES FATAL. 1. It hides folly. La Bruyère says, "As riches and favour forsake a man, we discover him to be a fool, but nobody could find it out in his prosperity;" and Hare remarks that "nothing hides a blemish so completely as a cloth of gold." But if folly is hidden, it is unchecked,