Proverbs 28

Proverbs 28:1-13

LECTURE LXXXVI.

Proverbs 28:1-13 .

“The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion. For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof: but by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged. A poor man that oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping rain, which leaveth no food. They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them. Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the Lord understand all things. Better is the poor that walketh in his uprightness, than he that is perverse in his ways, though he be rich. Whoso keepeth the law is a wise son: but he that is a companion of riotous men shameth his father. He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor. He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination. Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own pit: but the upright shall have good things in possession. The rich man is wise in his own conceit; but the poor that hath understanding searcheth him out. When righteous men do rejoice, there is great glory: but when the wicked rise, a man is hidden. He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.”

The sentiment in the first of these verses is one which, in all ages and all countries, has been more or less proverbial. It is-the timidity of conscious guilt. We can trace it to an early origin,-even to the immediate effect of the first sin on the mind of the first man. Then it was that “the voice of the Lord God,” which before possessed all the sweetest melody and most delightful and irresistible attraction, filled Adam with alarm, driving him to a hiding-place, instead of drawing him to the divine presence. And ever since-

“‘Tis conscience has made cowards of us all.”

Yet-would that there wore now more of this timidity in regard to God! The thoughtless inconsideration of men, respecting their guilt in His sight,-and the hazard of His wrath thence arising, is utterly confounding. And what an amount of hardihood often springs from this! Timidity and alarm are, alas! much more frequent, and much more operative, in regard to detection and punishment by men:-“The murderer, rising with the light, killeth the poor and needy, and in the night is as a thief. The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight, saying, No eye shall see me; and disguiseth his face. In the dark they dig through houses, which they had marked for themselves in the daytime: they know not the light. For the morning is to them even as the shadow of death: if one know them, they are in the terrors of the shadow of death,” Job 24:14-17 . How vivid and powerful this description! And yet all the while, another eye-the eye of God-is upon them; for “there is no darkness nor shadow of death where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.” “The sound of a shaking leaf” will frighten and scare them; yet are they unmoved and undismayed amid “the terrors of the Almighty.”

But it is not always thus. Whilst the fear of man makes the wicked fancy every noise the sound of the foot of vengeance behind him, and “flee when there is no one” there-no witness, no pursuer, even in regard to God they cannot always hold out. When the Bible, or the preacher from the Bible, “reasons of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come,” the conscience is awakened; the spirit trembles; the poor convicted sinner becomes all nerve; every thing startles him; he is timidity itself; his name “Magormissabib,” fear round about,-haunted by suspicion of every person and of every thing. Hell opens before him. And this is no mere imagination; but he trembles as if he were already at the very entrance, and hosts of devils behind him, urging him forward to perdition.

On the contrary-“the righteous are bold as a lion.” Conscious innocence inspires confidence, just as conscious guilt engenders fear. This was felt fully in paradise. There was no fear there. It is true of the people of God now, when they keep His way and put their trust in Him. Then they can exultingly exclaim-" God is for us; who can be against us?" But it is then only that all fear vanishes. When there is an inward consciousness that we have not God on our side, all is shrinking apprehensiveness; we tremble at every shadow. Our eye, then, instead of being lifted up in confidence to Him, is cast down in timid shame, and our spirit quails and sinks and trembles.

In the language of the second verse there is necessarily involved the supposition of an overruling Providence;-and, since nations cannot be dealt with as such in the future world, the further assumption that they are dealt with to a certain extent, judicially and retributively, in this. These principles were, in a special manner, acted upon in the case of the Jewish people. They were under a peculiar dispensation of their own,-a theocracy, as it has been appropriately called,-a government of immediate and often miraculous interposition. Yet still, in that history, so far as retribution was concerned,-or the visiting with prosperity or adversity, success or calamity, according as good or evil, obedience or wickedness prevailed,-their history, as it appears in connexion with that of the surrounding nations, may be regarded truly and with advantage, as a specimen of the principles on which God’s general administration over the kingdoms of the world is conducted all along.

Of the ways in which He can make nations feel his displeasure for their crimes, here is one:-“For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof.”

1. This may be interpreted of the case of rival princes;-when there are a number of them,-branches, it may be, of the same lineage, or members of old and new dynasties, with their discordant claims and their separate adherents. By these the country is divided, split into factions, embroiled in party contentions and civil wars, filled from end to end with mutual jealousies, suspicions, and fears;-ultimately covering it with desolation, and, by dividing it against itself, threatening and endangering its existence.

2. It may be understood of a rapid succession of princes. This includes frequent and sudden changes of men and measures; by which means nothing has time to mature and to get a settled establishment. There is incessant confliction, and counteraction, and revolution,-every fresh ruler undoing and reversing the plans and purposes of his predecessor,-traitor after traitor, usurper after usurper, rising, and conspiring, and cutting off the one before him, and thus keeping the land in incessant convulsion and change.-If you wish to have before you such a contrast as may illustrate Solomon’s position,-read the history in the Old Testament of the revolted tribes under Jeroboam, and that of Judah under the long administration of David.*

• See especially 1Ki 15 ; and 2Ki 15 .

It is added, as an antithesis to the first part of the verse, “But by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged.”

The first remark which presents itself here is-that the contrast in the verse is not between the long reign of one and the contentions and short successive reigns of many, irrespective of character. It is obvious that the prolongation of the reign of a foolish and unprincipled monarch might be as really a scourge to a nation as either rivalry or rapid succession. The prolongation of such a reign might be to a land the heaviest of curses, and the termination of it the greatest of blessings. But when the reigning prince is a “man of understanding and wisdom,"-a man of sound moral and sound political principles, and a man of intelligence and vigour to put those principles forth in beneficial operation, the prolongation of it is a blessing indeed. In that case the prolongation of personal life is the prolongation of national prosperity.

“Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.” The kingdom to which they belong has one King; and a king whose reign is permanent as well as unparticipated. There are no rival powers there. If the princes of this world, in the plenitude of their presumption, take upon them to in trade themselves within the precincts of His sole jurisdiction, and to intermeddle with what does not belong to them, the subjects of the King of Zion must stand by His prerogative, resist the encroachment, and, at all risks as to this world, refuse obedience. In the spiritual kingdom of which they are subjects, Christ is the only Head; and His word the only authoritative Rule.

And there is no succession here. He reigns over the house of Jacob for ever; “and of his kingdom there is no end.” Blessed be God for this! The sceptre of our King can never, even to the end, be wrested out of his hands; and He never dies. He must reign, till all his people are saved with an everlasting salvation, and all his enemies are put under his feet.

Verse Proverbs 28:3 . “A poor man that oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping rain, which leaveth no food.” The oppression of the poor is bad in all. In this verse, we have one description especially of the evil. There are aggravations of it on the part of the rich; and there are aggravations of it on the part of the poor. When done by the rich, it is a palpable and flagrant perversion of the purposes of providence. It is the manifest intention of God in the constitution of human society,-in the variety in it of rank and station, of wealth and want, that the rich should be the guardians of the poor, that they should care for them, and supply their need. When it is otherwise,-when this duty is neglected,-they become like clouds full of rain, and giving promise of refreshing showers to bless and fructify the parched wastes, which burst in destructive lightning and tempest. There can be no greater or guiltier abuse of their superiority,-of their riches and their influence.

But the case before us is that of the poor oppressing the poor;-not that of a man who was poor, but has risen, and by whom, from the recollection of his own sufferings and his own feelings under them, sympathy should be cherished and manifested,-but that of the man who is himself actually needy, only having acquired by his situation a certain power over others. Such cases as the following may be exemplifications of it. There are extravagant spendthrifts, who have run themselves out; who have reduced themselves to straits; who are in debt; but who have got themselves into some situation of authority; and whose object, in the exercise of their power, is to recruit their broken and exhausted fortunes. Woe to all that are under them! All their powers of exaction are strained to the uttermost. Wherever there is aught seen or suspected which it is in the power of pressure to squeeze out, that pressure is applied with the force of a vice.-There are indigent governors,-in personal poverty and with empty exchequers;-and the extortion of such characters as well as of the former, is the worst of any-all-grasping and rapacious. It is, as here represented, like an inundation, sweeping all before it. The poor oppressor descends to such pitiful exactions as the rich oppressor would think beneath him,-not leaving behind a single ear to glean,-a single berry in the uttermost bough. And what, to a province, must be a succession of indigent rulers, each of them eager to make the most for himself and his family of his temporary incumbency?-We might descend lower. The principle of the verse applies to every case down to the needy overseer of workmen, whose living depends on the amount of the proceeds of their labour. There is nothing, in the form of despicable and severe oppression, to which such men, if they are not men of principle, will not stoop to accomplish their selfish ends.

In the preceding chapter, ( Proverbs 27:17 ) we have a proverb respecting the animating influence of a man’s countenance or favour on the activity of his friend. But alas! there is a countenancing of others in evil as well as in good:-verse Proverbs 28:4 . “They that forsake the law praise the wicked.” The two characters are the same:-the wicked praise the wicked. Wicked men like to be kept in countenance. They encourage and sharpen each other in evil. And from the same cause arises their hatred of the good. They cannot bear their example. It puts them to shame. It is ever condemning them; ever conveying to them a practical reproof, and stirring up conscience when it would rather slumber in peace. The all-perfect Son of God in our nature expresses what He saw and experienced of this principle when He sojourned amongst men:-“The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.” And He forewarns his followers to expect the same experience in proportion as they resembled Him in character and in separation from the world:-“If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.”

It is obvious that from the very same source arises their praise of one another here mentioned by Solomon. This is very far from meaning that in conscience they approve of what they praise. It is only that in heart they like it. And liking the evil, they like encouragement and countenance in it. This is, in a special manner, the case with regard to the particular sins in which they are respectively fond of indulging. They do love so well to have some one who makes light of these; suggests plausible palliations of them; and joins them in their perpetration. Hence it is that men are so prone to the applause of what may be called feats of evil, of extraordinary displays of dexterity and cleverness, or of uncommon courage and determined boldness in the commission of it. They like the association. They cover up the wickedness under their admiration of the cleverness and the courage:-just as men so often overlook the immorality of a work of genius, for the sake of the genius with which it is invested; and, instead of visiting it on that very account, with the severer condemnation, seem as if they would fall in love with the evil for the sake of its dress.

There is another principle that sometimes leads to the praise of the wicked-the principle of self-interest. When a wicked man has it in his power to do us a service, we are tempted to ingratiate ourselves into his favour by covering over his vices, and heaping on him hypocritical commendation. Look at the case of Herod’s fulsome, parasitical, and selfish flatterers.*1 Look again at Tertullus-the orator hired by the Jews to criminate Paul.*2 What a contrast between his style and the conduct of the Apostle, when he had the most favourable opportunity of gaining the good graces of his judge! “Seeing,” said the fawning orator, “that by thee we enjoy great quietness, and that very worthy deeds art done to this nation by thy providence, we accept it always, and in all places, most noble Felix.” “Paul,” with intrepid soul, “reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come,” till “Felix trembled.” Of the same spirit of faithful reprehension of wickedness, many instances might be gathered from the history of the prophets and apostles: and we have the most striking of all in the person of Jesus himself. In this, as in every other excellence, he “left us an example that we should follow his steps.” Whatever be the rank or circumstances of the parties, and how much soever our own interests may be at stake, we must never smile when we ought to frown; never maintain a timid silence, when we ought to speak; never purchase for ourselves exemption from any evil, or the attainment of any benefit by the slightest accommodation, or compliance, or tampering with iniquity. Every fair opportunity should be embraced of kind expostulation and reproof. “Contending with them” implies not angry violence, but the zeal at once of piety and of benevolence. What would have become of the Jews, after the restoration from Babylon, but for the firm and resolute contentions of Nehemiah?-And what would have become of the Reformation, but for the indomitable courage and unbending severity of Luther and of Knox?-They were the men who, instead of “praising the wicked,” “contended with them,"-and wrestled hard to overcome all the monstrous abuses and abominations, which, under the name and sanction of religion, were practised with greediness.

*1 See Acts 12:20-23 . rr

*2 Act 24:2-4 .

In the following verse we are reminded afresh of the tendency of evil in the disposition and character to obscure the mental vision, and prevent the clear apprehension of spiritual and divine truth. The principles and convictions of “evil men” become more and more perverted, and their moral sensibilities more and more blunted and deadened, by the power of habit. Thus they “understand not judgment.” Their “minds are blinded,"-their intellect darkened and besotted. They lose their discernment between right and wrong. Their conscience becomes less and less discriminative and impressible. They cannot-that is, in effect, they will not see, what a good and upright man discerns with an almost intuitive certainty. On the contrary, “They that seek the Lord”-they who, under the influence of a spirit of humble self-diffidence, look out of themselves to God; trust in Him for divine illumination, and do His will to the full extent of their discovery and knowledge of it-they are enlightened from above. They “understand all things.” All things are plain to them; both the truths and precepts of God,-what they are to believe and what they are to do.*

• Psalms 25:9 ; 1 Corinthians 2:14-16 .

Verse Proverbs 28:6 . “Better is the poor that walketh in his uprightness, than he that is perverse in his ways, though he be rich.”* The sentiment may be understood of the “poor man” who remains poor because he will not have recourse to any improper means for bettering his condition, and to the “rich man” who by such means has made his wealth. “Who will hesitate in pronouncing, in such a case, the one better than the other-the man who forfeits wealth for principle, or the man who sacrifices principle for wealth?-the man who barters his conscience for the world, or the man who, in comparison with a good conscience, holds the world as less than nothing and vanity?-But the sentiment may be taken generally, and was probably so meant by Solomon, as referring to the poor good man and the rich ungodly man. The former is “better” than the latter, in every view. He is better, in real excellence and estimableness of character. He is better in regard to his influence in society. He is better, in regard to present happiness and to true respectability and honour. He is better, infinitely better, in regard to future prospects.

• Comp. Proverbs 16:8 ; Proverbs 19:1 ; Proverbs 19:22 .

Verse Proverbs 28:7 . “Whoso keepeth the law is a wise son: but he that is a companion of riotous men shameth his father”-“The law” here, I need hardly say, is-not the law of the land-though that too it is duty to keep, as far as it is in harmony with the will of the supreme Legislator:-it is the law of God. The sentiment is one of those which pervade this Book, again and again recurring under different forms. “He who keepeth the law,” is the same character with him that fears God; the one being the practical counterpart of the other; the fear of God being the keeping of the law in principle, and the keeping of the law the fear of God in practice. And as this fear of God is wisdom, the possessor of it is the “wise son.”

“He who is a companion of riotous men,” is on the margin-“he that feedeth gluttons;” feasting, sumptuously and jovially, the choice spirits-the * bons vivans* whom he has made his companions; who are never in their element but when carousing, drowning care in festivity; whose sovereign maxim is, “Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die!” He who chooses such associates, chooses his own disgrace and ruin: nor is this all the evil-“he shameth his father.” *

• Compare Proverbs 1:10 ; Proverbs 4:14-15 ; Proverbs 23:20-25 .

Verse Proverbs 28:8 . “He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor."-This verse may be fitly compared and taken in connexion with verse sixth. “Usury” is here to be understood of every description of oppressive, unrighteous, and rigorous exaction. The providence of a just and merciful God is evidently here referred to. That providence transfers wealth from the hand of grasping and griping selfishness to that of humanity and generous kindness-to that of the man who “pities the poor.” Men may not mark the divine hand in occurrences of this kind; and it is always a delicate matter for us-one to which we are hardly equal-to interpret providence judicially. But there are cases at times, in which the transference is so striking, that it would be impiety not to see and to own God in it. “Whoso is wise, and will observe these things,-even he shall understand the lovingkindness of the Lord.”

The sentiment of the ninth verse has more than once occurred, but the pointedly antithetical form in which it is there stated, deserves special notice. It is this:-that if a man turn away his ear from God, God will turn away His ear from him.-The prayer of the sinner, who has in time past “turned away his ear,” but who is now coming back to God, in faith and penitence, with the broken and contrite heart which He never despises,-that sinner God will hear,-ay, will delight to hear. How long soever he may have turned away his ear from both the law and the gospel,-God will “receive him graciously, and love him freely.” His whole word gives the chief of sinners the assurance of this. When the prodigal son,-who had “turned away his ear from the law” both of his father and of his God,-came back with the confession, “I have sinned before heaven and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son,"-was his father’s ear then turned away from him? Was not his ear all interest, and his eye all mercy, and his heart all tenderness, and his house and table all welcome, and all bountifulness, to the youth who was “dead and alive again, who was lost and found?” Yes. It is to the sinner who goes on in his rebellion that the words before us refer. That sinner God will not hear.

The tenth verse ( Proverbs 28:10 ) presents just another operation of the same principle as that in verse fourth ( Proverbs 28:4 ). We saw on that verse, that the same state of mind which produces the praise of the wicked produces the hatred of the righteous:-and here is one of the ways in which the hatred discovers itself-“causing the righteous to go astray in an evil way,"-enticing him to sin,-tempting to an act or to a course of evil. Whether this be done from hatred, assuming the form of spiteful envy, and dislike of the goodness which condemns the conduct of the tempter; or from the wish to have the example of such a man to plead, whether seriously or in jest, in behalf of the sin in which he himself delights; or in order to have an occasion for the derision of true godliness,-of making it, in the person of the fallen professor, the theme of scoffing and sarcastic merriment-how wicked,-how deeply criminal, the man who does it! “He shall fall himself into his own pit:"-the effect of his treacherous and profane conduct shall be evil to himself,-evil from a just and holy God. That God will preserve the righteous from yielding to the temptation, or will “restore his soul and make him to walk again in the paths of righteousness,"-while on the head of the tempter he will bring down heavy vengeance-so that the pit which he digged for the godly shall prove his own destruction.-“But the upright shall have good things in possession:” literally, “shall inherit good.” They shall have from God all that is truly good for them of this world’s possessions and enjoyments,-all that infinite wisdom sees to be really for their benefit. And they shall receive and possess for ever all the blessings in the promises of the covenant of grace,-“all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ,"-and “all the fulness of God” in the world to come.

Verse Proverbs 28:11 . “The rich man is wise in his own conceit; but the poor that hath understanding searcheth him out."-There are many rich men who are humble and self-diffident, and many poor men who have a very high conceit of themselves. But, in the natural course of things, the possession of wealth gives weight, influence, and importance. The word of the rich man comes to have consequence attached to it. This arises greatly from the selfishness of our nature,-from the knowledge of what riches enable a man to do for such as are in favour with the owner. “The rich hath many friends.” And the power he acquires arises, at the same time, from his having so great a stake in the community. From the influence of the self-interest just referred to, he gets accustomed to being flattered, and honoured, and having everything his own way. This all tends to render him dictatorial; to make him fancy his word law. Not being disposed to think that others flatter his judgment for the sake of his purse, he comes to think highly of that which is so nattered and yielded to. And he utters his mind oracularly in the spirit of one whom no man will venture to gainsay. Often and strongly is the tendency manifested in those who have risen to the possession of wealth from a low condition. The effect of riches in puffing up with selfconceit,-especially if the rise has been sudden, and there is no great firmness and natural vigour of mind to hear it,-is often ludicrously apparent in such cases. The man becomes at once purse-proud and overweeningly vain; and puts the weight of his purse into every word he utters.

“But the poor that hath understanding searcheth him out.” Many a man who is not in providence blessed with riches, is blessed with what is higher and better,-a large amount of sagacity and shrewdness and sound judgment and penetration;-and still more, with genuine principle. The phrase, “searcheth him out” may be variously understood. He discerns his true character. He sees that wisdom and wealth do not always go together; that a full purse is quite compatible with an empty head. He sees too that a man’s wisdom is not to be estimated by his opinion of himself. He sees shallowness where the man himself fancies depth, and folly in what elates him with a vain consciousness of his own wisdom. He sees abundant reason for not making the rich man his oracle, or setting him up as his idol, or making his example the pattern for his imitation, merely for the number of his acres, or for the gold and silver in his coffers. He sees how prone men in general are to allow weight to counsel in proportion to the wealth of the counsellor. But the “understanding” which God has given him shows him the absurdity of this. He “searches out” the fallacy, and detects and exposes the imprudence and folly of sentiments and proposals, that are propounded and recommended by the wealthiest of the wealthy. And still further, taking “understanding” in its higher sense, as it is used in this Book, as including a mind divinely enlightened and under the influence of the fear of God and all the principles of true religion:-the poor man who has this, sees and knows that “a little with the fear of the Lord is better than the riches of many wicked;"-that “a good understanding have all they who do his commandments;"-that no folly can be more palpable and flagrant than the folly of “trusting in uncertain riches,”-“setting the eyes upon that which is not,” and neglecting provision for the soul and for eternity,-forfeiting the “unsearchable riches” provided by the mercy of God for sinners,-all the blessings, unspeakably precious, summed up in “life everlasting;"-spuming away the counsel that would put these in possession;-greedily coveting the treasures of the world that perish in the using, and rejecting the divine offer of the treasures of immortality. The poor man who hath understanding-I can hardly say “searches out” the folly of this,-he discerns it by a kind of spiritual intuition. And, while he pities, he is free from every emotion of envy.

Verse Proverbs 28:12 . “When righteous men do rejoice, there is great glory: but when the wicked rise, a man is hidden.”-“Rejoicing” evidently means prospering,-being in favour,-advanced to honour and influence and rule. It corresponds, in the antithesis, with the word “rise”-which is used for elevation to places of power.*-When the ruler is himself a man of principle, and prefers men of like principle to all the offices of authority under him,-chooses them for his counsellors, and sets them around his throne-this is indicative of good times, and is to a community a ground of exultation. Then the good come forward; they show themselves; they exert their salutary influence; they promote the country’s welfare. They are not afraid. They are in favour with the prince, and find favour with the people. The kingdom flourishes. “There is great glory.”

• See Proverbs 11:10 .

“But when the wicked rise, a man is hidden."-The words have been variously understood. The Vulgate has it-“When the ungodly reign, it is the ruin of men.” But our own and the French rendering seem to give the true sense. The latter is-” every one disguises or conceals himself.” It is, to the good-to those whose services would prove for the real benefit of the country, the reign of fear. They are discouraged, intimidated, and obliged, for life and safety, to keep out of the way. Such a state of things is sadly ominous of all that is evil. There have been such seasons in our own land;-seasons, when the “excellent of the earth,"-God’s own people, have been constrained to “run into corners to hide themselves;” when unrighteousness and intolerance have “hunted them like partridges on the mountains,” and have driven them into the “dens and caves of the earth.” Happily we live in other times; when, whatever we may say of the piety of our rulers, both religious liberties and civil rights are better understood and more fully and practically recognized:-when there is perfect freedom and full scope for whatever efforts the good may be disposed to put forth; and when we may be said to “sit under our vines and fig-trees, no one making us afraid.” We have exemplifications of both parts of the verse in the history of Israel and Judah. There was “glorying” among all the truly good in Israel when David assembled them to bring up to its place the ark of the covenant; when Solomon dedicated the temple; when Hezekiah restored the passover; when Jehoshaphat dispersed the Levites through all the cities to teach the law and the fear of the Lord; and when young Josiah wept and humbled himself at the contents of the long-neglected and hidden book of God’s covenant. So was it in the days of Mordecai, when deliverance came through him to his people, and they had “light and joy, and gladness and honour,” and “a good day.” There was, on the contrary, fear and “hiding,” when, in Saul’s time, David was hunted to death; when in Ahab’s, Elijah-even the intrepid Elijah-fled for his life, and when good Obadiah, at the risk of his own head, hid fifty of the Lord’s prophets in a cave and fed them with bread and water;-and when Micaiah, “faithful among the faithless,” had to be sought and sent for, and for the fidelity of his words, was ordered to prison, while the hundreds of the prophets of Baal were in favour and triumphed. “What hiding and fear there were when the wicked Haman “rose”-and what exultation when he fell and the righteous came in his room!

Verse Proverbs 28:13 . “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” The saying may be taken in reference to men, and in reference to God. To “cover” sin-is to conceal, to deny, to justify, to palliate. This is not the way to forgiveness with men. High-minded pride, and obstinate impenitence, and persisting in trespass and self-vindication, will never obtain mercy;-and ought not. Humble confession is becoming, and is duty:-for the supposition is, that sin has actually been committed. It behoves that the offender should be brought to a right spirit,-that he should confess, with contrition, his fault. The rule laid down by our Lord for His disciples is:-“If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.-And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him,” Luke 17:3-4 . The words can hardly have reference to the repetition of the very same offence:-for in the verse before us, forsaking is added to confessing as required in order to mercy. Now on the supposition of the indefinite repetition of the same offence, there is no forsaking; nor is there, therefore, the necessary evidence of sincerity in the “I repent.” The lesson is obviously that we should never be weary of forgiving. To the utmost extent to which there remains the possibility of sincerity, there should still be the readiness to extend mercy. How sad were it for us, were God to weary of pardoning. And yet with Him there must, in order to pardon, be sincerity in the confession. The sinner who “covers his sins” by hypocrisy, or, while he confesses, continues to practise the evil-must remain in condemnation. He is not a subject of mercy. He is unpardoned. He has the witness of this in himself.-The “confessing” implies of course a right view, and a right impression, of the sin confessed, and the sincere exercise of a “broken and contrite heart.” It implies, according to the gospel, the exercise of faith in the revealed ground of mercy, or way of divine forgiveness. And it implies the manifestation of sincerity in the forsaking of the sin. Without this, all is sheer hypocrisy, and can never be pleasing to that God who “desireth truth in the inward parts.”

One remark more. It is not for our confessing that we “find mercy.” Neither is it for our faith from which the confession arises. The faith and the confession are necessary to our finding mercy; but the ground on which mercy is obtained is the propitiatory sacrifice of the " Mediator between God and men.”*-The Bible is full of the gracious and interesting lesson of this verse. Cain, the first murderer, could not have mercy, because he neither confessed his sin with penitence, nor trusted in the propitiation:-but to the question of Jehovah, “Where is Abel thy brother?” replied with sullen falsehood, “I know not; am I my brother’s keeper?” Mark the terms prescribed by Jehovah to his ancient people, in order to their “finding mercy:” they are in full harmony with the verse before us-“If their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they accept of the punishment of their iniquity; then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember,” Leviticus 26:41-42 . And mark how David joins confession with forgiveness-“I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin,” Psalms 32:5 . Beautifully and most encouragingly is the same thing represented in the parable of the prodigal son-the confession of the son, and the ready forgiveness of the father. Let the sinner but say in sincerity-“I have sinned, and am no more worthy,” and the divine arms are open to receive him.

• Comp. 1 John 1:6 ; 1 John 1:10 .

Proverbs 28:14-28

LECTURE LXXXVII.

Proverbs 28:14-28 .

“Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief. As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear; so is a wicked ruler over the poor people. The prince that wanteth understanding is also a great oppressor: but he that hateth covetousness shall prolong his days. A man that doeth violence to the blood of any person shall flee to the pit; let no man stay him. Whoso walketh uprightly shall be saved: but he that is perverse in his ways shall fall at once. He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread: but he that followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough. A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent. To have respect of persons is not good; for, for a piece of bread that man will transgress. He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him. He that rebuketh a man, afterwards shall find more favour than he that flattereth with the tongue. Whoso robbeth his father or his mother, and saith, It is no transgression; the same is the companion of a destroyer. He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife: but he that putteth his trust in the Lord shall be made fat. He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered. He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse. When the wicked rise, men hide themselves: but when they perish, the righteous increase.”

There are, in Scripture, two kinds of fear. In this verse, fear is associated with happiness:-elsewhere we find it associated with torment.* Such passages are in perfect harmony. The more, indeed, there is of the “love” that “casteth out fear”-the fear that “hath torment,” the more there will be of the fear in the verse before us. The fear of a child, and the fear of a slave, are two very different principles. The former is the product of love, and is ever proportionate to love. It is affectionate fear. We fear to displease one whose love is the spring to us of our purest and sweetest enjoyment. The child loves his father, and delights in his father’s love to him. He cannot bear his frown. The very thought of his displeasure brings the tear to his eye.-This is the kind of fear which the child of God feels and cherishes toward his heavenly Father. He loves Him, he venerates Him. He finds his happiness in His smile. He dreads to offend Him. His frown is the death of his joy. This is the fear of God which His word inculcates-the religious principle. It is here contrasted with “hardening the heart.” It is therefore the gracious fear of a subdued and softened spirit,-the fear of love,-reverence for God,-fear of even His fatherly rebukes and corrections. It is self-distrust. It is tenderness of conscience. It is vigilance against temptation. It is the fear which inspiration opposes to highmindedness, in the admonition-“Be not high-minded, but fear.” It is “taking heed lest we fall.” It is a constant apprehension of the deceitfulness of the heart, and of the insidiousness and power of inward corruption. It is the caution and circumspection that timidly shrinks from whatever would offend and dishonour God and the Saviour. And these the child of God will feel and exercise the more, the more he rises above the enfeebling, disheartening, distressing influence of the “fear which hath torment.”

• 1 John 4:18 .

To “harden the heart” is to put away the fear of God; to be self-confident and presumptuous-unawed by threatenings-unsoftened by entreaties;-neither breaking under the one nor melting under the other. Of the man who thus “hardens” himself, final and irretrievable " mischief” must be the inevitable portion. On the contrary-“Happy is the man that feareth alway.” Wherein consists his happiness? This fear keeps him from sin; produces simplicity of dependence upon God; imparts the stability of peace,-“a peace that passeth all understanding;” maintains consistency of conduct; and thus gives growing evidence of grace in the heart and of the hope being well-founded-a hope that “maketh not ashamed,"-of “glory and honour and immortality.”

Verse Proverbs 28:15 . “As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear; so is a wicked ruler over the poor people.” The “wicked ruler” is the ruler who, intoxicated with power, has aimed at it and obtained it for selfish purposes; who, instead of considering himself in his official capacity, as made for his people, fancies his people made for him,-tyrannizes over them,-selfish, avaricious, rapacious, turning everything, no matter by what means, to his own account. Such a man, instead of using all possible efforts to raise his subjects from a lower to a higher condition,-encouraging and animating them to industry, in order to their elevation and social prosperity,-rages at their poverty, because it does not furnish enough to himself,-does not fill his own treasures. He grinds, oppresses, and wastes them. He practises every exaction; his sole aim being to make the most of them for the time. He is the object of terror to his subjects. He is like a wild beast invading the herd or the flock,-tearing and devouring; a brutal monster without principle, and without heart.

Such a man may not be without ability. He may have talent enough for the invention and practice of any schemes of evil. But sometimes the absence of principle is united with the lack of mental capacity-wickedness with weakness:-(v. Proverbs 28:16 ). “The prince that wanteth understanding is also a great oppressor,"-and thus a source of terror, an object of hatred, and exposed to sudden destruction from popular fury. “But he that hateth covetousness”-who establishes himself in the affections and confidence of his people by justice and mercy, and by every liberal and generous endeavour to promote their best interests,-identifying himself with them,-making their honour and their happiness his own;-he “shall prolong his days.”

The maxims here are, in the spirit of them, applicable to all power and influence, and especially to authority over the poor and the dependent. A man’s honour, happiness, and safety are intimately associated with using that authority with moderation, with gentleness, with benevolent liberality, with upright and generous principle. Next to the security which lies in the protection of God, is that which arises from possessing the grateful lore of fellow-men, attached by a feeling of thankful obligation. And, in the present instance, the two go together. God and men alike surround such an one with their favour as with a shield.

Verse Proverbs 28:17 . “A man that doeth violence to the blood of any person shall flee to the pit; let no man stay him.” This verse might be taken in connection with the preceding-as presenting a further description of the same character there depicted. The cruelty of an oppressive ruler frequently incurs bloodguiltiness. Thus it was with Ahab in the case of Naboth; thus has it been in thousands of instances. Whatever be the high station of him who acts the murderer’s part-how independent and irresponsible soever he may imagine himself to be,-vengeance shall pursue him:-his sin will find him out. Even his crown and sceptre shall not protect him from righteous retribution. There is a higher than he-the “righteous Lord who loveth righteousness.” Both on Ahab and Jezebel came the blood of Naboth. But the words may be taken more comprehensively,-in reference to murder by whomsoever committed. For the comparatively innocent-the unintending manslayer,-the cities of refuge were of old appointed; to protect him from the avenger of blood who might rise against him when his spirit was hot, and slay him without a trial. But for the murderer there was no refuge, and no atonement. For him no blood could avail; no sanctuary could protect him. From the very altar of God, if he betook himself to it, he was to be dragged to death.

Such seems the force of the somewhat remarkable language here employed. He shall “flee to the pit;” that is, he shall in vain attempt to escape. He may flee; but his very flight shall be “to the pit,"-to the very destruction he is seeking to shun. “The pit” does not appear to signify here, directly and literally, the bottomless pit, the pit of final woe; but rather, according to a figurative sense of it, covert and unexpected mischief and ruin. The very means he takes to effect his escape shall betray him to punishment. It is in this sense that the prophet uses the term when he says-” fear, and the pit, and the snare are upon thee, O inhabitant of the land.” *

• Comp. Isaiah 24:17-18 .

God’s jealous regard for the life of man was strongly expressed at the second outset of our world’s history; and expressed in terms of evident allusion to the early and awful violation of its sacredness in the antediluvian period:-“And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man. “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man,” Genesis 9:5-6 . For my own part, having examined the various principles of interpretation by which those who are for doing away all capital punishments have explained these words, I have not been able to satisfy myself with any one of them. They seem to be all forced and unnatural,-and, on different critical grounds, inadmissible. I cannot but regard the language as bearing no fair and natural interpretation but that which makes it a divine requisition, on the part of man, of blood for blood,-that is, of life for life; and as thus affording more than a sanction, as laying down a requirement. Though I am far from conceiving that we are bound by Jewish criminal law, yet in the law regarding murder there is so evident an allusion to this original and universal injunction,-and the language withal is so very pointed and emphatically reiterated-that I cannot go the length of those who would include murder among crimes to be punished with infliction short of death.* When set beside the original and universal law, it serves, by its very emphasis and peremptoriness, to confirm the ordinary interpretation of that charge to the second progenitors of our race as the just one, and to show, therefore, the universality of its obligation.

• See Numbers 35:31-33 .

Those things which have become proverbial have generally a large amount of truth. It is a remark that has been so often made,-that we cannot account for it otherwise than by admitting it to be founded in fact, and verified by the frequency with which the fact has been observed to happen,-that murder seldom escapes detection, and the murderer seldom ultimately eludes punishment. The detection is often after the lapse of a long interval,-an interval that has rendered the case hopeless, and has thrown over it the shade of oblivion. And in not a few instances it has been effected by means of the most extraordinary, and, at times, of apparently the most accidental and trivial kind. Providence pursues the blood-guilty, even when man has given up the search, and brings him to light, and conviction, and his merited recompense, in ways of which man could never have imagined. The instances of this are such as to stamp the seal of truth on the divine assurance-“Surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man.”

One observation more. It can never, in these circumstances, be a duty to protect or screen a murderer. It must, on the contrary, be an incumbent duty to deliver him up. “Let no one stay him” says the wise man. It is incumbent on every patriotic citizen, who would not expose the land to God’s “inquisition for blood,” to hunt out the murderer, and bring him to justice. It is a duty to God, and a duty to our country. It is a duty, though the criminal were “bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh.” The only effort we can make on his behalf,-and that we ought to make with all solicitude, is-to save him from the second death, by bringing him to “repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Let no one pronounce the effort vain. The perpetrators of the most fearful murder ever committed on the face of the earth,-obtained forgiveness and life. They obtained it through the virtue of the very blood which, “with wicked hands,” they shed. It “cleanseth from all sin.” There is no sin so aggravated in its guilt, as that the blood of Christ is not a sufficient propitiation for it. O! it is a comfort to be assured of this. The least guilty cannot be pardoned-cannot be saved without it; and, blessed be God! the most guilty may! But let us not forget what incompetent judges we are of the amount of guilt in any. We are ever estimating guilt by the actions with which we are chargeable towards men, and the principles and the passions from which these actions proceed. We are apt to think there can be no malignity more criminal and deadly than that which imbrues its hand in a fellowcreature’s blood. And yet-is hatred of man to be compared in guiltiness with enmity against God? If we are to form our estimate by the worthiness of the objects, and the claims they respectively have on our love,-there can be no comparison. It is true they are inseparable,-and the one springs from the other. But alas! how many there are who would be filled with horror, or with indignation, were any such thing imputed to them as the malice that prompts to murder, who would hear without the slightest stirring of emotion of any kind, the charge of enmity against God. And yet this is the sin of sins; the germ of all sin; and that which, entering essentially into all sin, makes it “exceeding sinful.” This enmity must be pardoned, else the essence of all guilt remains; and this enmity must be slain, and supplanted by love, else the essence of all moral pravity remains.

The sentiments of most if not all of the verses which follow, to the close of the chapter, have been, with various modifications, repeatedly before us.

We are afresh reminded, in the first place, of the advantage, both as regards the present life and the life to come, of stern integrity of principle, and of the ruinous consequences both to temporal and eternal interests of that headstrong, rebellious self-will that resists the authority and grace of God (Proverbs 28:18 .) “Whoso walketh uprightly shall be saved: but he that is perverse in his ways shall fall at once.”

Then we have anew, under a simple but expressive illustration, the tendency and results of steady perseverance on the one hand, and of idleness and profligacy on the other, (Proverbs 28:19 .) “He that tilleth his land shall have bread enough, and he that followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough;” or, the one shall have plenty of bread and the other plenty of want. The expression in both clauses is the same in the original.

With the renewed commendation of diligence, the warning is again sounded (Proverbs 28:20 .) against “hasting to be rich” and forgetting that rigid and unswerving fidelity which so secures alike the favour of fellow-creatures and of God himself, that “the faithful man shall abound with blessings.” And of him who “hasteth to be rich”-the man whose insatiable appetite is set on the world’s wealth,-mark the peculiar characteristic here mentioned, (Proverbs 28:22 .) “He hath an evil eye,” that is, especially, an envious and covetous eye. He covets all he sees. He grudges at the success of others; frets when another man makes more of a bargain than himself; cannot endure to see anything go past him; regards every one with the sullenness of discontent, and counts him as an enemy, that gets faster on than himself. “When this passion takes full possession of the soul, it is a most unhappy one. It eats out the vitals of contentment and peace; and it contains a thousand temptations to evil practices for the more speedy attainment of its end;-the “evil eye” producing the evil act; the look that covets being akin to the hand that steals.

The following verse, viewed in connexion with the preceding, suggests forcibly the thought that the avaricious man is in imminent danger of being guided and influenced in every thing by a regard to his own interest; and will be ever disposed to decide in causes that may come before him, according as this is likely to be affected; while the verse itself assures us, in striking terms, that there is hardly anything that can come before a judge or an arbitrator, in which there may not be some consideration fitted to sway him, if he do not set himself, with decidedness of purpose, against “respect of persons.” The man who once gives way to it, and who allows his conscience to yield to any such temptation, or to any such laxity of principle,-may come to practise iniquity for the merest trifle, and to sin without remorse:-“For a piece of bread that man will transgress.”

Then we have a fresh statement of the advantage of “rebuke” above “flattery.” Rebuke is most apt to irritate, when conscience, the inward secret monitor, bears silent witness to the truth of that for which it is administered. None are so irritable under it as those who are previously dissatisfied with themselves. But although irritation may be the effect at first-verse Proverbs 28:23 . “He that rebuketh a man, afterwards shall find more favour than he that flattereth with the tongue.”

We should learn the important lesson not to withhold rebuke, when circumstances require its administration, on account of its first effects, and not by these effects to be startled or discouraged. We should not look for immediate confession, or fancy we have failed, because our “rebuke” has at the time produced even anger. Let our friend have leisure to think, to consider, to cool. It is with “rebuke” just as it is with a controversy. We should not expect a man with whom we engage in an argument, to give in at the moment of discussion. We should state and urge our arguments; and then leave them to be thought of and weighed afterwards, and, in the moments of calm consideration, let them work their way to conviction at leisure. The case is not to be regarded as hopeless, merely because feeling himself perhaps hard-pressed, he has got a little heated, and spoken keenly and dogmatically. Don’t press your advantage too eagerly at the time:-dismiss the subject, and let his judgment dwell coolly upon it after. Do the same, when you have administered a reproof. If it irritates, and draws forth hasty and passionate words,-keep your temper; answer not again. Say no more, but leave him to come to himself. You may then experience the truth of the verse. It is not, remember, at the time, but “afterwards”-that “he that rebuketh a man finds more favour than he that flattereth with the tongue.”

Verse Proverbs 28:24 . “Whoso robbeth his father or his mother, and saith, It is no transgression; the same is the companion of a destroyer."-Here is something for the younger portion of my audience. Young people are sometimes apt to fancy that they may make more free with what is in the house,-what is the property of their parents, than with what belongs to others,-to regard it as in a manner their own,-and hardly to imagine that they are alienating it when they appropriate it to their own use. But it is a sad mistake. Beware of the disposition. There is evil, and there is danger in it. For, first, “What belongs to parents-is not yours: and to take to yourselves what is not your own, without express request and permission, is, beyond question, a direct breach of the eighth commandment. It is stealing. Attempt not to evade this: for, secondly, the property of parents ought to be peculiarly sacred-not less, but more so than any other. A feeling should attach to it somewhat like that which attaches to holy things, things pertaining to God and to his service. The violation of their property should be felt as a description of sacrilege. Thirdly, There are involved in it,-although you may not be so sensible of it as you ought to be,-ingratitude, disobedience, disrespect,-and deceit and concealment, toward those with whom, of all on the face of the earth, there should be most of openness,-the openness of daylight sincerity and confidence. I can conceive few things worse,-more ominous of evil,-than when a young person practises deception upon a parent. And, lastly, This kind of freedom, when once ventured upon-grows. It serves to cherish a covetous spirit. It tempts to extravagant courses, of which the means are thus accessible; and such courses tempt further to other means of maintaining them.

Thus the disposition and practice in question tend to ruin-to ruin both temporal and eternal. The youth who begins by home pilferings, is preparing to be “a companion of the destroyer,"-of those who destroy both themselves and others. Such associates will tempt him to more extensive pilferings, and make him the tool of their base machinations and crimes.

And this suggests a counsel to parents. The counsel is-to beware of being too hard with their children. To give them much money, and to indulge them in all their desires, is infallibly to spoil them, and train them to evil. But the opposite extreme,-allowing them nothing,-giving them no indulgence, no gratification,-but treating them as if self-denial were the one and only virtue they had to learn,-is tempting them to take what should rather be given them, and endangering their principles of open integrity and honesty. On such a subject, as on many others, no precise rule can possibly be laid down. Every parent must learn to mingle affectionate indulgence with discreet and firm restraint; so as to make children sensible (this is the whole mystery) that you wish to make them happy, and to deny them nothing in mere caprice,-nothing which is right and good for them to have. While a child may be spoiled and ruined by injudiciousness and excess of gratification, parents must not, on this account, jump to the opposite extreme. The case is hardly more promising, when a child is so made to feel restraint, as that he ever secretly indulges the longing wish to be free.

Verse Proverbs 28:25 . “He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife: but he that putteth his trust in the Lord shall be made fat.” The phrase for “He that is of a proud heart” is in the original, “He that is large in mind.” And this is a phrase of which the meaning depends on the connexion in which it occurs. It is said of Solomon, that God gave him “largeness of heart, as the sand which is by the sea-shore.” But here the designation is used in a bad sense,-and seems properly enough translated. It describes the man of aspiring ambition,-full of large and grasping desires after the honour, wealth, and power of the world, and thus rendered discontented, haughty, and imperious. These are the men who have been the disturbers of the world’s peace:-ever restless, dissatisfied, envious, quarrelsome,-unhappy themselves, and the causes of unhappiness to others.

Men of such “proud heart” rouse opposition. This hinders their advancement; which aggravates the evil. Checked in their ambitious aims, they fret and fume, and are exasperated by whatever comes in their way. Hence “strife”-personal, domestic, and national feuds. And their pride is associated with high-minded self-confidence. They look to their own devices, their own resources, and their own power, for success; and to these they ascribe the success actually obtained. “They sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag.”

But that spirit never can secure the smile of Heaven:-“He that putteth his trust in The Lord shall be made fat.” “Trust in the Lord” must not here, or anywhere else in Scripture, be understood of inactive indolent expectation of all things from Him. That is not trust; it is presumption: it is expecting what God has nowhere promised. He who “trusts in the Lord” is the man who is active in duty, and looks to the Lord for a blessing upon means,-who leaves the result in His hands; and is satisfied with His appointments. This man “shall he made fat:"-he has comfort and peace and happiness in all situations; an inward satisfaction, a heart-feast, a prosperity of soul, to which the other is a stranger.

Verse Proverbs 28:26 . “He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered."-He is ever, and justly, esteemed foolish, who puts confidence in a detected and known deceiver; and of all deceivers on earth the human heart is the least to be trusted. It has been, like the tempter who first introduced into it the principles of evil, “a liar from the beginning.” Its inclinations change with the changing times, like the vane with the ever-veering and varying wind. How often does this happen in sickness, in adversity, in danger! Men think, and with confidence they say-if they were but well, if their life were but spared, if they were but brought up from their calamitous depression, if they were but saved from the threatening peril,-how differently they would live!-what altered characters the world would see them!-what they would do I and what they would not do! Health comes back; prosperity returns; the darkness dissipates; the danger passes over:-and all their goodness passes with it! Their fears are smiled at, and their resolves forgotten.

There are things too which we fancy and which we indignantly protest it impossible we should ever be induced to think of doing. We fire at the very association of our names with the supposition. And yet, when circumstances change,-and when opportunity and temptation are united, we actually do what even in imagination we shrunk from,-wondering how any man should dare to deem it possible!-“He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool.” To such confidence nothing but self-ignorance can give birth, or can maintain it in being. It is palpable, whether in respect to the power of enduring trials,-of bearing prosperity,-of using aright increasing wealth,-of resisting temptation,-of discharging duty,-of making sacrifice to principle.-Blessed is he who “walketh wisely”-who (as this stands clearly in antithesis to the folly of self-reliance) walks in the fear of God, and with believing dependence on Him.

Behold anew the man of selfishness (verse Proverbs 28:27 ), and mark well the description of him. He not only does not set himself to seek out objects for the exercise of his sympathy and kindness,-but turns away from such as present themselves. He “hideth his eyes.” He has no wish to see, because the seeing might oblige him to give. He pretends he cannot bear to see. He has a hundred excuses for not attending to petitions, of which the answer must come from his purse. Were words only wanted, he could keep both his eyes and his mouth open enough. Mark too the result-“He shall have many a curse.”

The sentiment of the closing verse is the same with that of the twelfth-“When the wicked rise, men hide themselves: but when they perish, the righteous increase.” Do seek the best interests of our country, by praying that our beloved Queen herself may be under the influence of the principles of true godliness, and preserved from the infection of all that is anti-protestant and anti-christian,-and that wise and faithful counsellors may ever be round her throne, men “fearing God and hating covetousness.”