MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.-Verses 5, 6.

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A WISE MAN.

I. He will hear. He shows that he values what he has already attained by giving heed to those who are able to add to his knowledge. Those who know the most are the most open to receive fresh knowledge. II. The necessary

consequence of this willingness to hear is a growth in knowledge. The wise man "will increase learning.' There is an absolute promise in connection with spiritual wisdom. "Whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have" (Luke viii. 18). He who has wisdom to give heed shall have his wisdom increased by giving heed. To those who are willing to hear, that which was once dark and difficult becomes clear and plain. They "understand a proverb and the interpretation; the words of the wise and their dark sayings." This hearing implies more than a mere reception of sound. It includes a desire to translate precepts into deeds. Many who can understand the grammatical construction and literal meaning of the Divine oracles cannot apprehend their spiritual signification because they do not desire to submit to their guidance. This was the condition of many of the Scribes and Pharisees in the days of our Lord. They saw and yet were blind (Matt. xiii. 13; John ix. 39). "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine," etc. (John vii. 17). III. This growth in knowledge gives a man a guide for his own life and enables him to guide others. (For "wise counsels," see Critical Notes). Such a man will not sound all the mysteries of life or of God, but enough will be made plain to give him a compass by which to steer; and he will be able to lead others. A diligent pupil will by-and-by be fit for a teacher. How fully was the truth of these verses exemplified in the history of the Apostles. What dull pupils they were at first, and even until after their Master's resurrection. (Luke xxiv. 25.) But their willingness to be disciples-learners-fitted them at length to "go and teach all nations." (Matt. xxviii. 19.) Continuing in Christ's Word, they came to "know the truth," according to His promise. (John viii. 31.)

OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS.

Verse 5. True wisdom is never stationary, but always progressive; because it secures the ground behind it as a basis for further advances. "He who is not adding is wasting; he who is not increasing knowledge is losing from it," says Rabbi Hillel.-Fausset.

As long ago as the time of Melancthon it was recognised as a significant fact that wisdom claims as her hearers and pupils, not only the simple, the young, and the untaught, but those who are already advanced in the knowledge of the truth, the wise and experienced. It is indeed Divine wisdom in regard to which these assertions are made, and it is precisely as it is within the department of the New Testament with the duty of faith, and of growth in believing knowledge, which duty in no stage of the Christian life in this world ever loses its validity and its binding power. Compare Luke xvii. 5; Eph. iv. 15, 16; Col. i. 11; ii. 19; 2 Thess. i. 3; 2 Pet. iii. 18.-Lange's Commentary.

Verse 6. If the law be dark to any, the fault is not in the lawgiver, but in those that should better understand it. -Trapp.

The sayings of the wise are but words (two or three words), and it is their shortness that maketh them to be dark. be dark. Now, David says: "I will incline mine ear unto a parable "there is his study to understand; "I will open my dark saying upon the harp"-there is the interpretation. It is not David, but He who came from David, that there is spoken of, and who, despising inanimate instruments, having made this world and the little world man, and by His Holy Spirit having compacted his soul and body, doth praise the Lord by an instrument of many voices, and to this instrument man doth sing the knowledge of His truth. Wherefore to understand the words of His wise prophets and penmen, we must go to Him.Jermin.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.-Verses 7-9.

THE ROOT OF TRUE KNOWLEDge and the MEANS OF ITS ATTAINMENT.

When the husbandman comes to examine a fruit-tree, he disregards everything in the way of leaf and branch; if he does not also find evidence of fruit in the appointed season, he considers that the end of planting is not attained. God, the great Husbandman, here declares that all human wisdom and intelligence avail nothing unless they have for their basis that fear of Him which enables a man to attain the end for which he was created. I. The fear of the Lord springs (1) from a practical recognition of His existence. God, to the vast majority of mankind, is but a name; they no more recognise the personality and moral character of the Divine Father than they recognise a personality and moral attributes in the wind or the sunlight. He has no influence upon their hearts; to them, practically, there is no God. There is no fear of God before their eyes, because there is no God. 2. From an experimental knowledge of His kindness. The mightiest being cannot be reverenced for his power; that may produce the "fear which hath torment," but not the "reverence and godly fear" which leads to willing obedience. When a king's character is such that his subjects taste of his kindness and feed upon his bounty, it begets a reverence which makes them fear to break his law. The "fear of the Lord" is synonymous with heart-religion, and must be born of a personal experience of Divine mercy. This fear says, O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him" (Psa. xxxiv. 8). II. The means by which this beginning of knowledge ought to be attained. The rule in creatures below man is, that they instruct their offspring as soon as they are capable of instruction. The eagle teaches her young to fly: she "stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings.' (Deut. xxxii. 11.) And this is what God expects every parent to do in a moral sense. A child ought to get his first ideas of God from his parent, and his father's and mother's love ought to be the stepping-stones by which he rises to apprehend the love of his Father in heaven. This exhortation takes for granted that the parents will be possessors of this true knowledge, and will impart it to their children. III. The reason given to the young for receiving and retaining parental instruction. The coronet on the brow of the noble proclaims his place in society-sets forth his high position. The necklace of pearls on the young and beautiful maiden proclaims the wealth of the wearer, and adds to her attractiveness. So the obedience of a good son to a true father proclaims him to belong to the noble in spirit-sets a crown upon his character. And a daughter's reverential love to a good mother is a true ind cation of moral wealth. That mother's words, treasured in the memory and translated into life, are so many precious pearls of soul-adornment, and are in the sight of God of great price.

OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS.

Verse 7. This, "the fear of the wisdom. What the precept "Know Lord," comes as the motto of the thyself was to the sage of Greece, book. The beginning of wisdom is that this law was for him. In the found in the temper of reverence and book of Job (xxviii. 28) it appears as awe. The fear of the finite in the an oracle accompanied by the noblest presence of the Infinite-of the sinful poetry. In Psa. cxi. 10, it comes as in the presence of the Holy; self- the choral close of a temple hymn. abhorring, adoring, as in Job's con- Here it is the watch-word of a true fession (xliii. 5, 6), this for the Israelite. ethical education, This, and not was the starting point of all true love, is the beginning of "wisdom.'

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.- Verses 10-19.

ENTICEMENT TO SIN AND EXHORTATION AGAINST YIELDING TO IT.

I. Youth will certainly be tempted. 1. Because he is in an evil world. In this world everything that possesses life is in danger of losing it. The tree is liable to have its root eaten by the worm, the smaller creatures in the animal world are beset with danger from those above them in size and strength, the

fish in the sea is ever in danger of the hook or the net, the bird of the fowler's snare, the forest king of the hunter's gun. Man, in respect to his mere bodily existence, is surrounded by influences antagonistic to the preservation of his animal life. And this danger often presents itself in the form of enticement, The crumbs lure the bird into the trap, the bait tempts the fish to bite the hook. A smooth sea and bright sunshine in the morning tempts the fisherman to the voyage upon the treacherous deep, which becomes his grave in the evening. Moral life is not excepted from this rule. Wherever the youth finds himself in the world he will be tempted, because he is everywhere surrounded by influences. which war against his soul life. 2. Because it is an ordination of God. The Divine Ruler has ordained that men shall suffer temptation. There are things in this world which are the common lot of all men, from the highest to the lowest. Disease and death come alike to the proudest monarch and his meanest subject, to the man of highest intellect and to the most unlettered savage. And temptation is also an ordained heritage of man. Not even the "second Adam, the Lord from heaven," was exempted from this rule. 3. Because it is necessary for the formation of moral character. The seaman needs to come into conflict with the stormy winds and the rough waves of the ocean if he is to become a skilful mariner. The very effort which he puts forth to overcome them makes him more fit for his calling. So men must have temptation in order to test their powers of resistance; the struggle against sin, if successful, strengthens the moral character.

II. The elements which form the strength of the temptation. 1. The secresy promised by the tempter. "Let us lay wait for blood," let us lurk privily for the innocent, etc. No one commits a crime against his fellow man, without an underlying hope that he will not be found out; he even persuades himself that it is hidden from God. "They say, how doth God know, and is there knowledge in the Most High?" (Ps. lxxiii. 11). 2. The hope of gain. Advantage of some kind is supposed to be the fruit of every sin. That which the tempter uses here is an increase of wealth. 'We shall find all precious substance," etc. This temptation is most common. A man is persuaded that by a very slight risk he can make a large fortune, that the deed will never come to light, and these two persuasions have been the ruin of hundreds. 3. The number of "Come with us.' the tempters. Here several are represented as tempting one. Numbers always influence us even when no persuasion is used. Men are naturally inclined to do what the many do, to go with the multitude. There is an undefined feeling that safety is with the majority, or, at least, that the being involved with many others lessens personal responsibility. This element of temptation is very powerful in a world where "the many" go in at the gate which leadeth to destruction, and "few" walk in the way which leadeth unto life (Matt. vii. 13, 14).

III. The way of escape from the tempter. 1. Calling to mind his filial relation. "My son." It is a great help to a youth who is in danger of being drawn away from his steadfastness in the path of virtue to call his parents to mind. His father's instructions and example, his mother's love and prayers, the grief that his fall would bring upon them will, if reflected on, be a means of escape from the tempter's snare. The thought that he is a son ought to be sufficient to keep him from straying. 2. A consideration of the certain end of sinners. Those who promise themselves and others secresy shall be taken openly. The bird will not be decoyed into the net if he sees it spread, the trap must be laid in secret if it is to be successful. But sinners go on in sin although they are forewarned by God, by their own consciences, by the law of human society, and by the experience of others what the end will be. Be sure your sin will find you out," is written, not only in the book of God, but within us and around us,