Proverbios 3:1-35

The Programme of Life

Proverbs 3:0

There is a tenderness peculiar to the paternal voice; if its tones are apparently harsher than those of the maternal appeal, yet they tremble with as true a pathos. There are few more subduing sights than that of the father instructing the child in the ways of wisdom. He adopts no cold and formal method of communication. His ministry is full of the heart's fondest love. He speaks not as a mere hireling, but with an affection unconstrained, profound, immeasurable.

This is a father's voice. Mark the persuasiveness of the father's method; there is no attempt to drive the young soul into the way of wisdom. The method is one of affectionate remonstrance and allurement. The method is in harmony with the purpose, and the purpose is in full accord with the spontaneity, the dignity, and self-control of man's mental and moral constitution. Men may be driven to despair; they cannot be whipped into joy. Let the religious parent then copy this method; let him know that strength loses nothing by gentleness, and that judgment is sublimated by mercy. There is a family piety which is family crucifixion; compulsion takes the place of persuasion, and the Father in heaven is only known as exceeding in terror the father on earth. This ought not so to be. Religion should be expressed in the tenderest tones, attired in the most attractive garb, surrounded by the most alluring fascinations. Religion thus taught will be a perpetual joy in the recollection of the child. In days to come he will say, "I delight in the law of God after the inward man." "My delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law do I meditate day and night!" That which is a pleasure in youth will be a delight in old age. "Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight." All other joys fail, but this increases into rapture. "I will delight myself in thy commandments, which I have loved." "I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food." "O how I love thy law! it is my meditation all the day." Blessed are such memories! Much depends on the father's method; let that be right, and the blessing will be abundant as the showers that water the earth.

"For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee" ( Pro 3:2 ).

Reward must follow goodness. We are not taught to be good for the sake of the reward; in fact, it is impossible to make hope of reward the motive of goodness. It is not goodness; it is self-seeking. It is natural, however, that the good man should have all that God deems best for him. "No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly." All possible limitations of this promise are really only variations of method, not changes of nature. By discipline God refines the taste, enlarges the capacity, and simplifies the motive; and thus discipline itself does the winter's work in our nature, in preparation for the golden and prolific summer. The winter may be harsh, but May plants the most beautiful flowers in soil which has been held fast in the grip of frost. "0 fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him." "My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Goodness marches onward, inspired by promises which fill the heart with the joy of assured victory. "He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly." "Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God."

"Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: so shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man" ( Pro 3:3-4 ).

Mercy and truth are the great pillars and ornaments of man. Strength and beauty make up the fulness of perfection. Strength is stern, it is softened by beauty; beauty is frail, it is dignified by strength. Every man should be anxious about truth; but truth should tend towards mercy. The perfect man combines both. We lose nothing by gentleness. The mighty oak looks well when swaying in response to the rocking winds.

This wise father advises his son to make mercy and truth his ornaments "bind them about thy neck." The figure is beautiful, and has had a Christian adaptation---"Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering." This is the abiding decoration. It brightens as time passes; it is rendered more valuable by long use.

Not only spiritual but social blessings are promised to the obedient son. "So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man." In the long run the good man gets his right place, and wields his right influence. "The expectation of the wicked shall perish." The success of the bad man is apparent, not real; it is a glittering but an insubstantial prize. "The eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not escape, and their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost."

Character, in proportion to its depth, compass, and intensity, requires time for its full exposition and establishment. The politic man may find short cuts to popularity, but the profoundly earnest man takes nothing for which he cannot return a fair equivalent. If he works long without recognition, his recognition will be the more valuable when it is accorded. The young man has here a programme which cannot fail. There is a miserable and vile saying, that "honesty is the best policy." No man can possibly be honest who works only for politic ends the policy vitiates the honesty. Let young men look well to their moral foundations, and how cold soever, or stormy, the winds which blow around them, their standing-place shall not be shaken.

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths" (Proverbs 3:5 , Proverbs 3:6 .)

There is a self-reliance that is wisdom; there is a self-reliance that is presumption. Where there is self-reliance towards man, it is good and most praiseworthy; where there is self-reliance towards God, it is practical blasphemy. This direction of the wise father shows the individuality of divine oversight. God directs each man as if he were the only man to be directed. "O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps." There is a solemn responsibility attaching to the fact that we may have God as a directing Father. The matter is not one of mere speculation, however hopeful, but of positive revelation. "I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye." "I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight."

The communication of suggestion to the mind is a most subtle yet interesting and important question. The springs of the mind are divinely touched, the vigour of the understanding is increased, and the eye quickened to unusual penetration, by influences beyond our control, though within the wide sphere of our prayers. Why should not ideas be directly communicated from the divine mind, as directly as when the prophet heard and saw the intimations of God in the ancient time? If the devil can tempt, why cannot God inspire, suggest, and direct? "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not." This is pre-eminently the age of the Spirit. All God's service towards man seems to move through the mental and spiritual sphere. The visible miracle has disappeared. The fleshly ministry is at an end. Now we have ideas, emotions, kindlings of genius, and a spirit of philanthropy such as the world never saw. What the hand once did the mind does now. God burns in the bush whose eaves have healing virtue, and the God of the living reveals methods of healing. God stands at the junction of roads and says, "This is the way;" he tells the toiling labourer where to cast the net, and, by controlling or affecting the operations of the mind, he shows the Church "greater works" than the miracles which struck an age with panic or thrilled a world with grateful wonder. Then let us know our ignorance, tremble in our weakness, and flee to heaven for direction, strength, and all comfort of the soul. "My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water." In so far as this charge touches our experience, let us fall humbly before the Lord and beseech him to pardon our self-dependence. "Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God."

"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. Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine" ( Pro 3:7-10 ).

This is a continuation of the same idea. Goodness has a happy effect upon the body, upon the circumstances, upon the whole man. Its result is altogether excellent, without defect or blemish of any kind. How stupendous the folly, as well as the sin, of those who seek prosperity elsewhere than in a right relation towards God! He is deemed insane who lights a taper in presence of the summer sun that he may shed light upon his way; but how mad is he who sets his own ignorance against the counsel of the most High! "Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!"

The wise father now calls his "son" to honour the Lord with the firstfruits of all his increase, and promises that giving shall be getting "So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine." No man can "serve God for nought," but the man who serves him for sake of the reward shall perish in expectation. To every faithful servant God's promise is true: "The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." We should soon be richer if we made ourselves poorer by generous service. "Whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward."

It is to be borne in mind still that this exhortation is addressed to a young man, one who has life before him, all its perilous hazards, or fortunate speculations; he is to give as he gets, to make an instant, grateful, and abundant recognition of God's mercy. God is to have the "first;" whoever is kept waiting, God is to be promptly and liberally acknowledged. "He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully." When youthful Christians make this their rule there will be an overflowing blessing poured throughout all the churches. God waits for this! He has greater gifts in reserve, but he tarries for man. "Prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." The promise transcends our unworthy faith. We receive it with doubting. The most compulsive motive almost fails to move us. "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." If this voice fail, we know not what trumpet can awake the dead.

"My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction: for whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth" ( Pro 3:11-12 ).

There is hardly a heart that will not understand the meaning of "chastening," but many hearts fail to connect the word "chastening" with the word "Lord," and some who acknowledge the connection misinterpret the purpose of the union. The course of human life is a course of "chastening." Among the child's earliest experiences are those of pain, restraint, rebuke, correction. Throughout the educational period the same experiences prevail. The mercantile, the professional, the domestic circles, all have their ordeals. It is to be understood, therefore, that "chastening" is not a word confined to the vocabulary of religion. The shadow falls everywhere; summer has its shadow as well as winter. A survey of human society will show the observer that "chastening" seems to be unequally distributed. The rod is not administered to all uniformly, periodically, and with common measure. The eyes of the wicked stand out with fatness, they have more than heart could wish; while many a godly man is tottering under an intolerable burden, or smarting with anguish which he cannot express. How is this? His chastening is not atheistic: it is "the chastening of the Lord." The divine sculptor is using a sharp chisel; the heavenly Father is employing a heavy rod; the severe refiner sits over a glowing furnace. Thus "chastening" is taken out of the heart-chilling region of atheism, and set down in the midst of the very household of God. There is a "chastening" that hath on it no superscription; but there is also a chastening which is written within and without by the finger divine.

One impressive idea of the text is that there is a possibility of treating godly chastisement in an ungodly spirit. It may be "despised," or it may be endured with impatience. Jeremiah complains in this strong language: "Thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return." In this case the godly chastisement was received in an ungodly spirit. Thus chastisement is hard to endure. It fails of its purpose. Instead of moving the spirit to lofty aspiration, or subduing it to penetential tears, it touches the flesh only, and thus it is as if healing medicine intended to be imbibed should be merely thrown upon the surface of the body. There are preparations intended to be taken, and preparations intended to be applied. Reverse the intention, and how absurd or terrible the result! It is even so with God's chastening: it is intended for the spirit, yet it may be arrested at the body; the smart of the flesh should tell upon the slumbering or rebellious spirit. It was thus that the Psalmist accepted "the chastening of the Lord," "Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word." "It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes."

The first word "despised" is severe; let it be assumed, then, that it contains no indictment against us; can we say as much of the second word "weary"? Many hearts strong enough not to "despise" are yet weak enough to become weary and impatient. "Ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise." God's purpose requires time for its exposition and realisation, and we require patience to abide its complete unfoldment "Let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." We know the victories of patience in various departments of service. Patience has accomplished what the most overwhelming strength could never effect. Look at a piece of sculpture: patience, not muscular force, curved the lips, moulded the eyelids, softened the lines into easy gracefulness, and made the rough stone beautiful as death if not palpitant as life; So with delicate machinery, so with refined painting; and so, indeed, with the trifling matter of perfect ornamentation and completeness of dress "perfect and entire, wanting nothing." Why, then, be impatient under the discipline of God? "I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." We are then to be patient until we be "perfect and entire, wanting nothing." Here is a bride partially adorned for the holy altar, but in her impatience she has neglected one article of attire; she is not "perfect and entire, wanting nothing." Let God clothe us with the garments fit for his redeemed and sanctified creatures! He may take a long time, but the beauty will be perfect and immortal.

The lesson of the text is that we are not to receive godly chastisement in an ungodly spirit "If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?" We are at liberty, indeed, according to holy example, to pray for a modification of divine displeasure: "O Lord, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing." "O Lord, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure." God knoweth our frame, and he will temper the wind to the shorn lamb. "I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made." We may, then, pray God to help us under his heavy hand: "Have mercy upon me, O Lord; for I am weak: O Lord, heal me; for my bones are vexed."

All passages which connect the Fatherhood of God with the fatherhood of man, for the purpose of elucidating the divine intent in relation to our race, are most important. This is an example "Even as a father the son in whom he delighteth." We interpret, in some degree, the divine through the human. "As a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee." There are unfatherly fathers, men who are lower than the "natural brute beasts made to be taken and destroyed;" yet, as a rule, fatherhood among men is synonymous with love, trust, care, sympathy, and defence. God takes up all these ideas and gives them infinite expansion. Yet, as the good father maintains discipline, so God chastens his children. "Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby." It is remarkable, too, that chastening is but temporary, love is eternal. "Though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies." If he forsake his people, it is but for a "small moment;" when he gathers them it is with everlasting kindness. Weeping endures for a night, joy cometh in the morning!

This exhortation respecting "chastening" is addressed to one who is young in life "my son." The young should lay their account with discipline. "It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth." The young tree will not escape the pruning-knife. We cannot conceive any man of mature years unthankful for the hardships of his early life: they opened his nature; they gave him lessons in lore which the schools cannot teach; they showed him human nature in its most inviting and most repulsive aspects, and through his very weakness he learned how to value strength. In great cities young men are exposed to great changes of circumstances; a fortune may be lost or won in a very short time. Some men have been driven hard; they have been pressed, as it were, by a hotly-pursuing enemy, and have retreated before his pitiless and devastating power. There is a word in the text for such. In reality, the pursuer may be no enemy. "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time." If you accept godly discipline in a godly spirit your sorrow shall be turned into joy. "Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy." Where discipline is sent as a punishment it is not to be complained of. "Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?" If the knife probe deeply, it is because the wound is deep and the danger great. We are to guard the spirit lest we give way to despair, being swallowed up of over much sorrow. All God's chastening is sent "that we might be partakers of his holiness." We should, then, rather invite discipline than reject it. "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

It is generally supposed, especially by the young, that there is no trial except sorrow, arising from poverty, bereavement, sickness, disappointment, and the like. The truth is that wealth is a temptation; prosperity is beset with danger; summer brings as deadly diseases as winter. "How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!" "Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." We see, then, that it is not so short a distance from the sunny hill of prosperity to the heavenly city as we had imagined. "They that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition." Wealth has trials peculiar to itself. "The care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word."

I tremble for many when the wave of prosperity returns. They will trust in uncertain riches rather than in the living God. Sensual enjoyments will override spiritual duties. The lights will flare in the dazzling saloons long after midnight has sounded its solemn stroke. Sensuous Paris will rule mercantile England. Ladies will endeavour to outshine one another in the number and brilliance of their diamonds, in the gorgeousness and splendour of their attire. The sanctity of family life will be sacrificed to the glare and pomp of public display. Men, goaded by a mad ambition, will run to the very verge of their means; many will go beyond their resources in the indulgence of a spirit of rivalry; little children will be hurried through the sweet simplicities of childhood, and be sophisticated by the most miserable notions which can prevail in the human mind; all that is simple in enjoyment, all that is trustful in intercourse, all that is candid in friendship, may be supplanted by a chicanery and hypocrisy which may make honest men tremble, and devout men perish in despair.

Under such circumstances there is much to be done by wealthy men whose trust is in the living God. They can wield the powerful influence of a good example: they can feed the hungry, clothe the naked, sympathise with those who are enduring "the chastening of the Lord." They are called upon by the corruption, the extravagance, the sensuousness of the age to witness a good confession before men. The devil must not have all his own way. We are right only in so far as we resist the tendency towards the state of things just described. The picture we have drawn is suggested by the accounts we read, from time to time, of the doings of fashionable society. We may not go so far, but we may be moving in the same direction. We should turn our foot from the path, and find our joys elsewhere. Better far, beyond all that tongue can tell, to be meekly enduring "the chastening of the Lord," than to be dancing around the alluring whirlpool into whose bottomless depths unnumbered thousands have sunk, and out of whose seething waters no soul was ever rescued.