Proverbs 24:21-29

Intellectual Conflict, Etc.

Pro 24:21-29

It has been suggested that we should read for "them that are given to change," "those who think differently." Here the caution is not directed against variety of intellectual method, but against variety of moral judgment. Thus we have been reading that there shall be no reward to the evil man, and that the candle of the wicked shall be put out; and now the wise father would seem to say to his son, If any man shall teach thee any other doctrine than this, meddle not with them that think differently. Intellectual variety or contention should within proper limits be encouraged, because out of intellectual conflict there may come intellectual light; but men must not have moral variety that is to say, different definitions of moral obligation; there must not be any interfusion of right and wrong, as if there were some things partly morally right and partly morally wrong; the distinction must be vital, deep, unchangeable, otherwise we shall be led into such confusion as shall be used for the purpose of excusing selfishness and delinquency. It would be unworthy of the Bible to exhort its readers to have nothing to do with men who are given to intellectual change because intellectual change may be indicative of progress; but it is worthy of the Bible to point out that moral distinctions must not be trifled with, and that where a moral course has been vividly indicated in holy writ it should never be regarded as open to the criticism and revision of dissenting minds. Sometimes we may vainly imagine that there is an intellectual force superior to that which is discovered in Biblical literature; but we must never delude ourselves with the idea that there is a morality loftier than the ethics of revelation. We cannot go beyond the purity of the commandments, we cannot transcend the moral lines indicated by the beatitudes; beyond the boundaries of the Sermon on the Mount there is nothing worthy of the name of morality. Intellectual difference may be a sign of vitality, but moral confusion is a sign of moral obliquity.

"Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thine house" ( Pro 24:27 ).

Life should proceed upon method. For want of method how little progress is made by some people! By beginning at the wrong end, men's best devices and most arduous endeavours come to nothing. The words to be taken notice of are "prepare," and "make fit," and "afterwards." Here are three things to be done, get ready, adapt one thing to another, so as to avoid all confusion, and when the material is brought together and part is adapted to part, then proceed vigorously to build. Here is a whole philosophy of life and progress. In early life education is preparation: after merely technical or scholastic education should come a kind of apprenticeship to practical service: men should not rush at their ultimate work in a desperate hurry, but should take time to test their qualifications, and to gather a little initial experience: but surely there comes a time when a man should say to himself, I must now arise and build, with a view to permanence. Many people waste all their time in fruitless industry. If they could be charged with indolence, a case might be got up against them on moral grounds; but they are very far from being indolent: if possible they are much too energetic and industrious, but, unfortunately for themselves and for others, they are energetic and industrious about the wrong things. Some men are qualified to deal with details, and are never so happy as when arranging minute points, and describing precise lines, and seeing that all manner of punctilious observances are realised; other men can only deal with great principles and with ultimate conceptions, being utterly regardless of details: if such men were to change places, see what confusion would occur. The man of detail may know nothing of principles, and the man who is devoted to the philosophy of principles may be incapable of dealing with detail. Sometimes our work has to be made ready for us by other people. It does not follow that life is incoherent or inconsistent because some part of it is done by one man and some part by another. There are instances in which the sculptor adds but the final strokes to the statue by which it is made almost to breathe: he says that all the preliminary work can be done by the mechanic, and that it is his province alone to give the artistic and final touch. So with painting: the great artist may add but a few tints or lines or shadows at the last, but these comparatively small additions give the whole value to the picture; it does not therefore follow that the picture was not done by the artist who gave it whatever it possesses of artistic energy and significance. According to the modern distribution of functions and occupations, we shall soon come to the time when life will be the upbuilding of society rather than that of a mere individual. We have betaken ourselves to the study of specialism; no longer does one physician undertake the cure of the entire body; it would seem as if each part of the frame of man had a physician appropriated to itself. So with this work of preparation: one man writes the alphabet, another the primer, another the advanced book, and another the higher and the highest literature. But in reality the whole work is one. Who would think of commencing to write a book without a knowledge of the alphabet? Yet some men commence the building of a life without the knowledge of first principles, without the realisation of moral instincts and duties; hence confusion, hence industry worse than indolence, and hence results absolutely devoid of beauty and utility. Educate thyself, gather information, study the history of the world, watch the ways of other men, and do not begin to build until ample preparation has been made for the successful carrying out of the building project. On the other hand, do not spend all your time in preparation. There are men who are ever learning, never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. Others have been getting ready for the production of a great book all their lives, and yet the book will never be produced. We all probably have acquaintances who assure us that by-and-by they will be able to vindicate their methods by a realisation of labour which will astound the world; yet all this boasting or promising or vapouring comes to nothing. Be moderate in your preparation, if you would be successful in your building. Building is only to be learned by building. No man can ever learn to swim who simply stands on the shore and looks at the sea: no man can ever learn to build who simply frames fine theories of architecture, but never puts one stone upon another. Be not discouraged by early blunders, by introductory mistakes of any kind, but recognise them, confess them, and avoid their repetition. In all life-building the first thing to be assured of is the security and fitness of the foundation; then let every man take heed how he buildeth!

"Be not a witness against thy neighbour without cause; and deceive not with thy lips. Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work" ( Pro 24:28-29 ).

This does not refer only to witnessing in a court of law; it includes talking about a man behind his back, gossiping respecting his character and service, or making him the subject of casual criticism: hence the verse might read, Do not bring thy neighbour's faults under review simply for the sake of talking; do not turn him into a text for the purpose of giving information regarding his faults and blemishes: if thou hast anything to say against thy neighbour, name him plainly, speak to him personally, adduce evidence precisely and circumstantially, and thus proceed with solidity and solemnity. How wonderfully are evangelical principles anticipated in the 29th verse, "Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me." That would be mere resentment, mere pettishness; there would be in it nothing of real judgment or equity. When a man takes the law into his own hands, he himself becomes the victim of the rash proceeding. The value of law is that it is not to be privately administered, but that it is to express itself in human life with all the dignity of an impersonal influence Wherever mere individuality expresses judgment and penalty there is a necessary limitation; the penalty may be regarded as expressive of resentful feeling: but where the law comes without immediate reference to personality, it comes without limitation, it seems to express, so far as can be done, the Eternal and the Infinite. In human nature there is of course a strong tendency to resent every injury. This tendency can only be overcome by the larger tendency created and inspired by the spirit of Jesus Christ. Here again the Lord of glory becomes the pattern of men: when he was reviled, he reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; he was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. That is the ideal relation we are to sustain to one another. We are not to be discouraged because we cannot attain to it at once. If our spirit is operating in the direction of its realisation, that should be accounted to us as a completed service. The heart may easily be discouraged by momentary outbreaks of the old nature: we may so to say detect ourselves in evil passion or purpose, or even in the plotting of some scheme that should bring retribution upon the head of the man who has offended us: let not the enemy turn such experience into an accusation against us of an overwhelming kind; true it is an accusation, but where sin abounds grace may much more abound; and the very fact that we had caught ourselves in the fault may lead us into deeper penitence, and enable us to offer more comprehensive and pathetic prayer.

Prayer

Almighty God, we cannot tell anything as it really is, for what light have we, and what time for thought? We are driven, we are hastened away; a great wind impels us forward; where we would stop and linger, and think and pray, behold the darkness comes down suddenly, and blots out the appearance of the very altar itself. From all this we think thou hast a good purpose concerning us; in itself this cannot be the way of wisdom or of love; we feel that afterwards we shall see how it was, and be glad with a great joy, exultant with an inexpressible thankfulness. Meanwhile, the night is cold and dreary, and the hills are very high, and all the gardens seem to be barren; there is no fruit in the orchard; oftentimes all nature seems to be withering under thy displeasure: but it is by such circumstances that thou dost train us; all this is part of the soul's hard drill, that it may see things as they are, value them by a right reckoning, set down their price and force, and understand them as they exactly are; and all this leads us away, first in vague wonder, then in reasoning hopefulness, towards the heavens, if haply this be not an empty universe, but a great church in which there is a suffering Priest. We have found the Priest of the universe; we have seen him upon the Cross; we have heard his cry of weakness, and his utterance of pain; we have watched where they laid him; we have gone in the morning and found him risen, having made time anew, and set all history in an unexpected light, and brought to bear upon the human family, and all its interests and destinies, a wondrous and gracious influence. We have come to Christ, we have felt the mystery and the power of his blood: it cleanseth from all sin; after its application there is no stain, or taint, or memory of guilt; thou dost cast our sin behind thee, and none can find it yea, though the enemy search for it, and would bring it back in fatal accusation against us, he shall not succeed in his cruel quest. Thou hast trained us by many processes, and now our faith is strong and our hope is clear, though there be many cloudy days, and many remaining difficulties, and much has yet to be done; yet we know what the faith-life is the better sense, the spiritual faculty, the marvellous thing that takes hold of God, and will not let him go. Lord, increase our faith. By increase of faith we shall have access of love, accumulation of all things good and true and wise and beautiful, yea, the accumulation shall advance even unto riches immeasurable, unsearchable, inexhaustible. We bless thee for all newness of heart, for all regeneration of life, spirit, and purpose these are thy miracles, thou Holy Spirit. Continue and complete thy sacred work. Thou wilt bring us home, thou wilt not be baffled in thy purpose; at the last thou shalt crown us with a crown of righteousness. But for these hopes we should die; but for these inspirations we should deem life a mistake and look upon to-morrow not as a friend but a foe, which comes to frown upon us with new displeasures: now we await to-morrow in hopefulness; it can bring with it nothing that may not be sanctified to our good come as it may, thou wilt come along with it, and thou wilt give us strength to bear the burden. Help us in time of trouble and sadness to remember all the wise answers ever given to human inquiry in the hour of pain and sore distress. May the word of God dwell in us richly, so that to every temptation we may have a reply, and to every suggestion of evil we may return a gospel of peace. We live in God; we trust to his Son, equal with the Father; we cry for a baptism of the Holy Ghost; and we know, by the very prayer, hat it cannot be lost. Now unto him that is able to keep us from falling, and to present us faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.