Proverbs 6

1. My son, if thou art become surety for thy neighbour,

If thou hast stricken thy hands for a stranger,

2. Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth,

Thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.

3. Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, Seeing thou art come into the hand of thy neighbour;

Go, humble thyself, and importune thy neighbour.

4. Give not sleep to thine eyes,

Nor slumber to thine eyelids.

5. Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter,

And as a bird from the hand of the fowler.

6. Go to the ant, thou sluggard;

Consider her ways, and be wise:

7. Which having no chief,

Overseer, or ruler,

8. Provideth her meat in the summer,

And gathereth her food in the harvest.

9. How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard?

When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?

10. Yet a little sleep, a little slumber,

A little folding of the hands to sleep:

11. So shall thy poverty come as a robber, And thy want as an armed man.

12. A worthless person, a man of iniquity;

He walketh with a froward mouth;

13. He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet,

He maketh signs with his fingers;

14. Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth evil continually;

He soweth discord.

15. Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly;

On a sudden shall he be broken, and that without remedy.

16. There be six things which the LORD hateth;

Yea, seven which are an abomination unto him:

17. Haughty eyes, a lying tongue,

And hands that shed innocent blood;

18. An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations,

Feet that be swift in running to mischief;

19. A false witness that uttereth lies,

And he that soweth discord among brethren.

20. My son, keep the commandment of thy father, And forsake not the law of thy mother :

21. Bind them continually upon thine heart, Tie them about thy neck.

22. When thou walkest, it shall lead thee; When thou sleepest, it shall watch over thee; And when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.

23. For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; And reproofs of instruction are the way of life:

24. To keep thee from the evil woman, From the flattery of the stranger’s tongue.

25. Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; Neither let her take thee with her eyelids.

26. For on account of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: And the adulteress hunteth for the precious life.

27. Can a man take fire in his bosom,

Vs. 1-19 are subdivided into four parts. The first treats of becoming surety for the debts of others; the second, of idleness or sloth; the third, of crafty deceit; the fourth, of seven things which Jehovah hates.

1-5. Warning is given against becoming en- snared by pledges of surety, and advice to hasten an accommodation in relation to them, by earnest efforts, in order that the person pledged may escape being sold into slavery when he has no ability to redeem the pledge. M. S.—To be surety for another is equivalent in modern phrase to becoming his security or to undersigning his note or bond. “Striking hands” together was one Hebrew method of publicly assuming this responsibility. The sec- ond verse is generally supposed to continue the description of the case, so that the word “if” should be carried forward, thus: “If thou hast been ensnared with the words of thy mouth— i.e., if thou hast orally given thy consent to assume this responsibility for another’s debts.” The advice given in such a case follows in vs. 3-5. Nothing can be more clear than the doc- trine of Solomon in regard to the practice of becoming security for another’s debts. It ap- pears in 11:15: “He that is surety for a stranger shall smart for it; but he that hateth suretyships is sure;” also 17:18: “A man void of understanding striketh hands and becometh surety in the presence of his friend;” again in 20:16, and the same in 27:13: “Take his gar- ment that is surety for a stranger, and take a

And his clothes not be burned?

28. Or can one walk upon hot coals, And his feet not be scorched?

29. So he that goeth in to his neighbour’s wife; Whosoever toucheth her shall not be unpun- ished.

30. Men do not despise a thief, if he steal To satisfy his soul when he is hungry

31. But if he be found, he shall restore seven- fold; He shall give all the substance of his house.

32. He that committeth adultery with a woman is void of understanding: He doeth it that would destroy his own soul.

33. Wounds and dishonour shall he get And his reproach shall not be wiped away.

34. For jealousy is the rage of a man; And he will not spare in the day of ven- geance.

35. He will not regard any ransom; Neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.

pledge of him for a strange woman;” see also 22:26, 27. The suretyship contemplated here should be broadly distinguished from either giv- ing or lending to the poor for the supply of their immediate necessities. The latter duties are specially enjoined. H. C.

6-11. Solomon, in these verses, applies him- self to the sluggard who loves his case, lives in idleness, minds no business, sticks to nothing, brings nothing to pass, and in a particular man- ner is careless in the business of religion. Slothfulness is as sure a way to poverty, though not so short a way as rash suretyship. H.

The idler reasoned with and warned. The sluggard is one habitually lazy, who gives him- self up to an easy, indolent life, and who will not labor. The reference to the ant implies this simple but conclusive argument. Since these insects obey the imperfect instinct and impulse which God has given, how much more should man respond to the dictates of the nobler and better in- structed mind! We find many other lessons than this of industry in “the ways” of the ant, yet they all naturally and necessarily go to- gether. As idleness leads to all the evils de- scribed in vs. 12-19, so industry includes all the excellences and advantages suggested in the fol- lowing statements gathered from various sources.

“The ant has been famous from remote an- tiquity for industry, ingenuity, and economy, and for comprehension of the advantage to be derived from division and combination of labor." “The researches of naturalists into the habits and pursuits of these wonderful little creatures enable us better to appreciate the fitness of the wise king’s recommendation. Whether as masons, carpenters, or carvers of wood, they offer examples which the most ingenious of men cannot refuse to admire, and by which the wisest of men may be instructed.” “The Termites, or White Ants of tropical climates, although they are not true ants, but belong to another order of insects, the Neuroptera, so closely resemble the ants in their industry and social economy that they may be fairly cited as illustrating part of the habits here referred to.” (McCook.)—“The elevation of their edifices is more than five hundred times the height of the builders. These nests are often twelve feet high, and have been seen as high as twenty feet, large enough to contain twelve men. They consist of an exterior shell, containing an interior apartment, in which are formed a vast number of chambers, galleries, and magazines. There is much in the internal economy and management of these insects not less worthy of admiration—their unwearied industry and indomitable perseverance; the arduous and sincere exertions of every individual for the common welfare; their well-regulated labor; the sagacious judgment with which they avail themselves of favoring circumstances.” “Their uniform care and promptitude in improving every moment as it passes, the admirable order in which they proceed to the scene of action, the perfect harmony which reigns in their bands, furnish a striking example of industry and concord to the human family.” “Unlike the bee, which, having found a store of sweet, will come and go for a whole week and never bring a solitary companion, the ant straightway goes for a troop to share the booty. Ancient writers, as well as modern, refer to the consideration these creatures show to each other.” So they use their opportunities to provide food in the harvest. “In tropical countries, and particularly along the Mediterranean, where the ancient writers referred to were quite at home, ants laying up their winter stores are familiar sights. ‘All summer long,’ says Dr. Thompson, ‘and especially in harvest, every denizen of their populous habitations is busy. As we walk or ride over the grassy plains, we notice paths leading in all directions from their subterranean granaries. Along these converging paths hurry thousands of ants, thickening inward, until it becomes an unbroken column of busy beings going in search of, or returning with their food for future need.’” All this they do without “guide, overseer, or ruler.” So do they rebuke those whom God has given reason and conscience, plain rules for right living, and human teachers and exemplars to remind and quicken to duty, who yet are heedless and neglectful in its discharge, or who work under compulsion of an overseeing employer. B.

7. No overseer or ruler. Modern science confirms the statement that ants conduct their industries and social economies without special overseers; neither have they rulers, for the so-called “queen” is not a sovereign. McCook.—When I began to employ workmen in this country, I soon found that without an overseer very little work would be done, and nothing as it should be. The workmen, every way unlike the ant, will not work at all unless kept to it and directed in it by an overseer, who is himself a perfect specimen of laziness. He does absolutely nothing but smoke his pipe, order this, scold that one, and discuss the how and the why with the men themselves, or with idle passers-by, who are strangely prone to enter earnestly into everybody’s business but their own. This overseeing often costs more than the work overseen. Now the ants manage far better. Every one attends to his own business, and does it well. Thompson.

8. Gathereth food in the harvest. Dr. H. C. McCook, a careful and scientific investigator, gives one chapter in a published volume to a comparison of the statements of naturalists during the last hundred years with those of Solomon, Homer, Horace, Virgil, and other ancient writers. He shows “that Palestine and all the Mediterranean shore is inhabited by one or more species of harvesting ants; that the harvesting habit was observed by the Israelites very early, as is abundantly shown by quotations from the Talmud, into which the habit of these insects to store grain is introduced in connection with a question of casuistry gravely debated by learned rabbins. The truth is that Solomon had seen with a clear and accurate eye, and what he wrote has been confirmed by the most modern science. . . . Several species of true harvesting ants are found in the United States. The Occidental ant (Pogonomyrmex occidentalis) abounds from Dakota southward through Colorado; the agricultural ant (P. barbatus) is found in Texas and the Southwest, and the Florida harvester (P. crudelis) inhabits the Floridian peninsula.” (See McCook’s “Agricultural Ant of Texas,” and “The Honey and Occident Ants.”)

10,11. V. 10 contains the reply of the sluggard to the stirring expostulation of the previous verse. He will have more self-indulgence, heedless of the consequences of folding the hands that ought to be actively used. Hence the warning that follows in vs. 11. Poverty and want must follow inaction, since bread is gotten only by labor. And against these grim, gaunt, armed assailants the nerveless, self-stripped man is utterly defenceless. B.

The sluggard sins against the very nature which God hath given him. For what are all the high powers and faculties with which we are endowed, but so many tokens that we were formed for active service? The sluggard sins against the manifest design of Providence. God hath indeed made a liberal provision for the supply of all our returning wants. The rough materials of all things necessary and convenient for the purposes of life are laid plentifully at our hands; but the skill and industry of the workmen must bring them into form and render them fit for use. “All things are full of labor.” Who, then, art thou, O sluggard, to counteract the designs both of Nature and of Providence? R. Walker.—The human heart is like a millstone in a mill—when you put wheat under it, it turns and grinds and bruises the wheat to flour; if you put no wheat, it still grinds on, but then it is itself it grinds and wears away. So the human heart, unless it be occupied with some employment, leaves space for the devil, who wriggles himself in, and brings with him a whole host of evil thoughts, temptations, and tribulations, which grind out the heart. Luther.

God does not provide to encourage our sluggishness and shiftlessness. The sluggard is told to go to the ant and consider how she provides for her wants. God is not willing to provide for us unless we be willing to provide for ourselves. If we do all we can and then fail, He will provide in some way what we lack. A man may say that he has faith enough to believe that God will provide for him; but if his faith be of the sitting-still kind, he may sit still till he starves before God will be at the trouble to turn stones into bread that he may be fed. Let us be reasonable. C. H. Wetherbee.

There is a work for all of us. And there is especial work for each, work which I cannot do in a crowd, or as one of a mass, but as one man, acting singly, according to my own gifts and under a sense of my personal responsibility. There is, no doubt, associated work for me to do; I must do my work as part of the world’s great whole, or as a member of some body. But I have a special work to do, as one individual, who, by God’s plan and appointment, has a separate position, separate responsibilities, and a separate work; if I do not do it, it must be left undone. No one of my fellows can do that special work for me which I have come into the world to do; he may do a higher work, a greater work, but he cannot do my work. I cannot hand my work over to him any more than I can hand over my responsibilities or my gifts. Nor can I delegate my work to any association of men, however well-ordered and powerful. They have their own work to do, and it may be a very noble one. But they cannot do my work for me. I must do it with these hands or with these lips which God has given me. I may do little or I may do much. That matters not. It must be my own work. And by doing my own work, poor as it may seem to some, I shall better fulfil God’s end in making me what I am, and more truly glorify His name than if I were either going out of my own sphere to do the work of another, or calling in another into my sphere to do my proper work for me. Ruskin.

12-15. Wickedness described and forewarned of its doom. The connection of wickedness with idleness is natural. As industry with virtue, so slothful case is allied with vice. The particulars here given read as if written of to-day, for the evil heart has always been the same in its nature and manifestations. Very striking is the illustration of v. 13. Although especially applicable to the Orientals, who are wonderfully expert in making communications by signs and gestures with eyes, hands, and feet, yet the fact is still common. Everywhere light-minded and evil-minded are addicted to the use of signs for words. They use the wink and the shrug, or some like method of conveying an insidious meaning, either disparaging or impure. And the vicious, too, are here faithfully forewarned of the sudden remediless destruction that must follow. B.

12,13. The type of wickedness depicted here is that of guile, treachery, and secret combination. This wicked man artfully plots mischief in concert with his fellows, concealing his designs from his intended victims. The use of the feet as well as the fingers for secret communication reminds us that the Orientals had either a slight covering for the feet, or none; usually sandals when travelling, nothing at home. H. C.—All the modes of communication here described are characteristic of plotters and intriguers, who deal secretly in this way in order that their words may not be adduced in testimony against them. M. S.

16-19. A fearful summary of evils in the heart and life is here added as if to expand and emphasize the warning just uttered. These are the hated things: pride or haughtiness, lying or fraudulence, guilt of blood, malicious scheming, calumny, and the sowing of discord among men. B.—These vices are not only great sins in the sight of God, but they are manifestations of hatred to one’s neighbor, and a violation of the second table of the Decalogue. They are intensified with a degree of falseness and malice that renders them destructive to human happiness, and hence objects of the abhorrence of a holy God, and deserving of His righteous judgments. Clark.—There is one parallel well worthy of notice between the seven cursed things here, and the seven blessed things in the fifth chapter of Matthew. In the Old Testament the things are set down in the sterner form of what the Lord hates, like the “thou shalt not” of the Decalogue. In the New Testament the form is in accordance with the gentleness of Christ. There we learn the good things that are blessed, and are left to gather thence the opposite evils that are cursed. But, making allowance for the difference in form, the first and the last of the seven are identical in the two lists. “The Lord hates a proud look,” is precisely equivalent to “Blessed are the poor in spirit;” and “he that soweth discord among brethren,” is the exact converse of the peace-maker. This coincidence must be designed. Look, . . . tongue, . . . hands, etc. These eyes, this tongue, these hands and feet are instruments of surpassing skill and beauty. They declare God’s glory as articulately as the stars of heaven or the flowers of earth. Who shall dare to corrupt the allegiance of these tributaries and enroll them rebels against the King of kings? The Maker cares for all His works. To pervert any part of them provokes him to anger. Every purpose to which the members of our body are put is noticed by the All-seeing. Arnot.

16,17. There are seven things that God hates, and pride is the first, because it is at the bottom of much sin and gives rise to it. God sees the pride in the heart and hates it there, but when it prevails to that degree that the show of men’s countenance witnesses against them, that they overvalue themselves and undervalue all about them, this is in a special manner hateful to Him; for then pride is proud of itself and sets shame at defiance. H

18. The minds and hearts of men are continually minting and coining new thoughts and imaginations; the thinking faculty is always at work. To have all these thoughts, all the conceptions that are framed and agitated in the mind, to be evil and that continually, what a hell of horror and confusion must it needs be? A deliverance from this loathsome, hateful state is more to be valued than the whole world. Without it neither life, nor peace, nor immortality, nor glory can ever be attained. There are but two ways of relief from them, the one respecting their moral evil, the other their natural abundance. The first is by throwing salt into the spring, as Elisha cured the waters of Jericho—that is, to get the heart and mind seasoned with grace; for the tree must be made good before the fruit will be so. The other is to turn their streams into new channels, putting new aims and ends upon them, fixing them on new objects; so shall we abound in spiritual thoughts; for abound in thoughts we shall, whether we will or no. Owen.

19. It will be acknowledged even by those that practise it not, that clean and round dealing is the honor of man’s nature, and that mixture of falsehood is like alloy in coin of gold and silver, which may make the metal work the better, but it embaseth it. There is no vice that doth so cover a man with shame as to be found false and perfidious. Bacon.—If it be well weighed, to say that a man lieth is as much as to say that he is brave toward God and a coward toward men. For a lie faces God and shrinks from man. Montaigne.

Do you think of one falsity as harmless and another as slight, and another as unintended? Cast them aside; they may be slight and accidental, but they are ugly soot from the smoke of the pit for all that. Ruskin.—For God’s sake, for the sake of Christ, who was full of grace and truth, strive against the temptation to untruthfulness. For God is a God of truth, and no liar shall stand in His sight, let him be never so religious in appearance; He requires truth in the inward parts and truth He will have. Kingsley.

Soweth discord. Making mischief between relations and neighbors, and using all wicked means possible not only to alienate their affections one from another, but to irritate their passions one against another. The God of love and peace hates him that sows discord among brethren, for He delights in concord. Those that by tale-bearing and slackering, by carrying ill-natured stories, aggravating everything that is said and done, and suggesting jealousies and evil surmises, blow the coals of contention, are but preparing for themselves a fire of the same nature. H.

20-22. God Himself, by His Word and Spirit.

guides, preserves, and communes with the obedient heart. This cheering truth is conveyed under the form of exhortation and promise. A father’s commandment and a mother’s law are here assumed to be identical in their teaching and effects with the law of God. It is implied that both are filled and controlled by the indwelling Word, and that they faithfully instil its blessed truths and promises into the hearts of their children. The assumption is a beautiful tribute to the fact and the force of parental faithfulness, and it is an impressive method of bringing the worth and excellence of God’s Word to the heart of children. B.

21. The instructions and admonitions of faithful parents, carried out in life, are compared to wreaths, tiarns, and necklaces, which are very generally worn in the East by both sexes, but particularly by females, as ornamental decorations of the head and neck. These ornaments, by imparting elegance and gracefulness to the human form, gave additional charm and attractiveness to those that wore them. In like manner those who exhibit in their disposition and deportment the virtues which characterize the pious and the good are thereby rendered morally beautiful and lovely, both in the sight of God and man. To adorn the person with extrinsic ornaments appears to be an instinct of humanity. The natural fondness for personal ornaments and decorations, however, is often indulged in to excess. Against this excessive and criminal indulgence the instructions of the New Testament are frequently directed. Ornaments are, however, alluded to in this passage neither for the purpose of approving nor of condemning them, but merely to indicate that moral qualities are really and emphatically the true adornments of a rational and immortal being. Muenscher.

22. A comprehensive and beautiful impersonation of the blessed effects of the Word of God upon the daily life of one who heartily accepts its principles and obeys its precepts. These effects are threefold. In the activities of life it will impart healthful motive and stimulus, to the plans of toil it will lend helpful suggestion, and in unforeseen vicissitudes and trying emergencies it will give light and deliverance. Over the approaches of slumber it will shed the calming consciousness of a Divine protection and breathe the benison of God’s peace. And in the wakeful intervals of rest from toil, the briefer periods of quiet thoughtfulness, its precious truths and promises will bring Christ Himself their living source as a personal presence, and rejoice the trusting heart with a sense of

His actual fellowship and communion. Beautiful and blessed indeed are these effects of the indwelling Word of Christ! B.

“When thou goest it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest it shall keep thee, and when thou wakest it shall talk with thee.” Has this ever been said of any other book? No. Such a statement in regard to the greatest works of human genius would transcend the limits of poetic hyperbole and be read with derision. But we do not smile at what Jesus said and what Peter and Solomon wrote about the Bible. We feel that they call our attention to a great and glorious fact. We have in the accumulated literature of the ages one book that is not mere parchment or paper, that is not mere words that men have written or printed, but is instinct with life. It is what the Spirit is saying now. And so whenever any man at any time or place opens the Bible at any chapter and verse and reads, God says to him, as with a loving voice, the very words that he reads. If we had this faith in the Word, we would never leave our homes in the morning without taking with us in our memories and our hearts passages of Scripture to caution, comfort, and direct us through the day. We would be meditating on this Divine truth as we walked the streets, and our minds would recur to it during the intervals of our daily duties. And when we came home at night we would say, I must hunt up sweet promises in the Bible to pillow my head upon. Interior.

23. Christ’s Word is sanctifying. If you get to love and revere it so as to exalt it into a companion and counsellor, it will tell on all your conduct. Like a lamp it will reveal what is wrong in your character and motives, your temper and spirit, and be the great help to self-examination; but better than a lamp, like a wise and loving friend it will show the excellence of holiness and set you on the way to attaining it. Christ’s Word is sustaining. Daily work needs daily bread, and it is in the Bible-magazine that the bread of life is stored. And just as the man who wishes strength for labor would deem it false economy to save his time and take no food, so theirs is foolish haste who think to struggle on from day to day without the Spirit’s bread. It is through the Word and prayer that we receive into our souls the energy of God, and import into common toils and daily drudgery the freshness and the zest of heaven. Hamilton.

The Word of God is the light by which we ought to be guided. Nothing grievous can ever happen to us so long as we follow it. When we walk without light in the night of our evil will we cannot avoid either stumbling or going astray. Let Thy Word, O Lord, be always the lamp which may enlighten my steps, and the light which may direct me in Thy ways. Quesnel.—An unreflecting Christian walks in twilight among snares and pitfalls. He entreats the Heavenly Father not to lead him into temptation, and yet places himself on the very edge of it, because he will not kindle the torch which his Father had given into his hands as a means of prevention. Coleridge.—Though the Word of God itself is the lamp, reflection must, nevertheless, bear it into the depths of human experience in order to bring out its illuminating power. Doctrines held by reflection, in contact with practical experience, come forth pulsating with life, instinct with practical power, glowing evangels, speaking as with tongues of fire; and promises which, perchance, had seemed meant for some ideal millennial realm, pour out their sweetness for our work-day lives, and shed their healing on our world-worn feet. V.

In this great matter of the life of godliness, in all its various aspects, we have one teacher—the written Word of God; we have in that the one common originator of its fundamental principles, and the one ever fresh and adequate educator of all its remote developments. If we look at this Word we are struck with this fact, and the more we enter into it the more we feel it. Godliness for those who have this Word is no vague sentiment or emotional feeling toward the unknown. It is a life in relation to a God who has revealed Himself, and a God who has engaged Himself. It rests upon revelation, it lives in a covenant; and, to sum up the whole (in what I believe to be chronologically the final words of Holy Scripture, the last words of the last apostle), it rests upon this: “We know that the Son of God is come;” and the next step: “That He hath given us an understanding that we might know Him that is true;” and then the last step: “That we are in Him that is true, even in His Son, Jesus Christ.” This is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” Resting, then, upon this grand revelation and the covenant that springs out of it, the life of godliness develops itself; and in using the Word of God as the educator of spiritual life, you find that it is effectual for the development of any special form of it, and secures at the same time its completeness as a whole. T. D. Bernard.

A few simple sentences would have sufficed to tell what God is, and what He would have us to do. There was no need of the picturesque narrative and the majestic poem, no need of the proverb, the story, and the psalm. A chapter of theology and another of morals, a short account of the Incarnation and the great Atonement, and a few pages of rules and directions for the Christian life, might have contained the vital essence of Scripture, and have supplied us with a Bible of simplest meaning and smallest size. And in that case the Bible would have been consulted only by those rare and wistful spirits to whom the great hereafter is a subject of anxiety, who are really anxious to know what God is, and how they themselves may please Him. But in giving that Bible its Divine Author had regard to the mind of man. Therefore He made the Bible not only an instructive book, but an attractive one—not only true, but enticing. He filled it with marvellous incident and engaging history; with sunny pictures from old-world scenery and affecting anecdotes from the patriarch times. He replenished it with stately argument and thrilling verse, and sprinkled it over with sententious wisdom and proverbial pungency. He made it a book of lofty thoughts and noble images, a book of heavenly doctrine, but withal of earthly adaptation. In preparing a guide for immortality Infinite Wisdom gave not a dictionary nor a grammar, but a Bible, a book which in trying to reach the heart of man should captivate his taste, and which in transforming his affections should also expand his intellect. The pearl is of great price; but even the casket is of exquisite beauty. The sword is of ethereal temper, and nothing cuts so keen as its double edge; but there are jewels on the hilt, an exquisite inlaying on the scabbard. The shekels are of the purest one; but even the scrip which contains them is of a texture more curious than any which the artists of earth can fashion. The apples are gold; but even the basket is silver. Hamilton.

The Bible has lessons for all conditions: it brings upon the scene both the lowly and the great; it reveals equally to both the love of God, and unveils in both the same miseries. It addresses itself to children; and it is often children that show us there the way to heaven and the great things of Jehovah. It addresses itself to shepherds and herdsmen and it is often shepherds and herdsmen who lift up their voices there, and reveal to us the character of God. It speaks to kings and to scribes; and it is often kings and scribes that teach us there man’s wretchedness, humiliation, confession, and prayer. Gaussen.—All that the true scientist is doing is bringing forth things new and old, and his newest things are the oldest things of God’s creation. It is his insight which has made all things new. And so no less it must be in spiritual things. Our new things must come out of our old ones. The deeper we are able to look into the heart of these things, the more fresh and blessed will they appear. The natural world is opening up every day, and we are getting new revelations out of old facts; and surely this other world of spiritual truth is by no means exhausted. The Gospel is the essence of all science, the key of all history, the sum of all poetry, the interpretation of all life. And if it does not unfold for us day by day, if it ever grows tedious or old, it must be because we go through the world with blind eyes and dull hearts. J. K. Allen.

We treat God with irreverence by banishing Him from our thoughts, not by referring to His will on slight occasions. His is not the finite authority or intelligence, which is unwilling to be troubled with small things. There is nothing so small but that we may honor God by asking His guidance of it, or insult Him by taking it into our own hands. And what is true of the Deity is equally true of His Revelation. We use it most reverently when most habitually; when its sacred words are made the ground of every argument and the test of every action. We have them not often enough on our lips, nor deeply enough in our memories, nor loyally enough in our lives. Ruskin.

24-29. Here is a particular caution against the sin of uncleanness. When we consider how much this iniquity abounds, how heinous it is in its own nature, of what pernicious consequence it is, and how certainly destructive to all the seeds of the spiritual life in the soul, we shall not wonder that the cautions against it are so often repeated, and so largely inculcated. H.

25. Beware of evil in the buddings of desire! Whoever allow themselves to indulge in evil imaginations or thoughts, are preparing themselves to commit the crimes they fancy. Desires are the seed of deeds. Working in the dark, and all the more dangerous that their progress, like a miner’s, is slenit and unseen, they sap the walls of virtue; and thus the man of God is overthrown by temptations that otherwise had broken on him, as breaks the mountain billow on a front of rock. May not the bad thoughts and fancies that do their work secretly and unsuspected within the recesses of the heart, account for those sudden falls and sins on the part of such good men as David, that neither they nor others would have ever dreamt of? The mischief is due less to the temptation than to what preceded it, and prepared for it. Guthrie.—Sensual acts when only imagined, when only thought about complacently, still are sins in the sight of God. It is well to think of this, both because we are apt to fancy that there can be no harm in anything that never goes beyond our own minds, and also because to cherish sin in the imagination is the natural preparation for committing sin in act. And once admitted to the imagination, sin gets a foothold which greatly facilitates its further inroads and its final triumph. W. G. B.

27-29. By these forcible figures the writer would show his youthful reader that he might as well take fire into his bosom, or walk with bare feet on burning coals and yet think to escape harm, as yield to the temptations to adultery, and yet escape just retribution for such sin. Let him not think of adultery as anything but guilt, crime, an outrage on most sacred rights—an abomination both to man and to God. H. C.—These words contain an important principle of general application to every sin—the impossibility for a man to play with the enticement to sin without falling a prey thereto. The truth of the statement will appear if we take into consideration the following things: That every temptation presented to man addresses itself to a nature that is already corrupt, and is therefore liable to take to it. That man in playing with the temptation puts himself directly in the way that leads naturally to the sin. That playing with the temptation to any evil shows some degree of bias in the nature to that particular evil. That playing with temptation brings man into contact with sin only on its pleasurable side, and thus gives it an advantage to make an impression favorable to itself on his mind. That man, through playing with temptation, weakens his moral power to resist the sin, and gradually gets so debilitated as to be too weak to oppose it. That man, by playing with temptation, at last tempts the Spirit of God to withdraw His protection from him, and to leave him to himself, and a prey to his lust. O. Thomas.

32,33. No sin evinces greater folly and a more fatal lack of discretion, none other carries a more terrible ruin to one’s own soul. His good name perishes; his reproach no tears can wipe away. Who can ever trust the adulterous young man to regard any rights or interests of his fellow-beings of either sex? How can he be thought of otherwise than as a reckless enemy of his race? H. C.