Ecclesiastes 2:13, “Then I saw that wisdom excels folly, as far as light excels darkness.”

The more exact is our scrutiny into the things of this world, the more decided will be our judgment respecting them. If people ever think highly of the vanities of this poor world, it is because they have never set down seriously to examine their true character, or labored to form a right estimate respecting them. Solomon possessed means of ascertaining their real value beyond any other person that ever existed; for, possessing wisdom above any other man, he had a greater capacity to extract all the sweetness that was in them. And, being a monarch, he could command all things through the whole range of nature, to present to him their tribute of gratification according to their respective abilities.

But, after a minute examination of everything, he was constrained to give this, at last, as the result of his experience: “Then I saw that wisdom excels folly, as far as light excels darkness.”

Now this, I conceive, refers in part to human wisdom, as occupied in intellectual pursuits. For it is certain, that among objects that relate only to this present life, there is nothing to be compared with this. Intellect is that which distinguishes man from the brute creation; and the enlargement of it with arts and sciences is that which elevates man above his fellows. The cultivation of it is more suited to the dignity of man than the gratification of his sensual appetites; in all of which the beasts have as large a capacity of enjoyment as he.

The pleasures arising from intellectual pursuits are also less apt to cloy, and will endure, when a taste for sensual enjoyments has passed away. Intellectual pursuits will gratify, also, when it is not the object of immediate pursuit; because it will supply in reflection much of what it conferred in the actual acquisition. It is also of great use, and qualifies a man for conferring extensive benefits on the world; at the same time that it opens to him a thousand channels of pleasure which are utterly unknown to the unfurnished mind.

A person habituated only to bodily exertion has no conception what a fund of satisfaction the exercises of the mind supply, or what delight attaches to the investigation of science and the discovery of truth. Sensual indulgences, indeed, strike more strongly upon the senses; and therefore, to a carnal mind, seem to furnish a greater measure of delight. But the more eagerly they are sought, the less pleasure they afford; and they bring with them, for the most part, many painful consequences.

So that, in comparison of intellectual pursuits, they deserve the name of “folly;” while the prosecution of the other may properly be called “wisdom.” Yet it must be confessed, that there is much truth in that observation of Solomon, “In much wisdom is much grief; and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow [Ecclesiastes 1:18.] For “much study is undoubtedly a weariness to the flesh [Ecclesiastes 12:12] and it is often followed by painful disappointment, I conceive, therefore, that we are by no means to limit the import of our text to human wisdom; but must extend it to that which is divine wisdom; in reference to which we may say, without any limitation or exception, “It excels folly, as far as light excels darkness.”

Of this spiritual wisdom, I will now proceed to speak; and its transcendent excellence I will point out in reference to,

I. The proper character of spiritual wisdom.

“Wisdom” is another word for piety.

Piety in the Scriptures is frequently called by this name. Job says, “The fear of the Lord that is wisdom [Job 28:28.] And Moses prays, “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom [Psalm 90:12.]

But, not to rest in a mere general definition of the term, I shall consider it as embracing these two points:

1. the receiving of the Gospel, as sinners;

2. the adorning of it, as saints.

The very first part of wisdom is to receive the Gospel of salvation into our hearts. We all need it; nor can any human being be saved without it; and God offers to us all the blessings of it, freely, without money and without price. Were we under a sentence of death from a human tribunal, and were offered mercy by the Prince, it would be accounted wisdom to accept the offer, and folly to reject it. How much more is it our wisdom to accept a deliverance from eternal death, together with all the glory and felicity of Heaven! This must commend itself to every man who reflects but for a moment; and to despise these offered benefits must, of necessity, be regarded as folly, bordering upon madness!

The next part of wisdom must be, to adorn that Gospel by a holy life and conduct; since it cannot otherwise be ultimately of any avail for our acceptance with God. The very intent of the Gospel is to transform man into the Divine image, and thereby to prepare him for the enjoyment of his God. And if this be not attained, Heaven itself would be no place of happiness to him. Indeed, if a man professes to embrace the Gospel, and yet continue to walk unworthy of it, he dishonors God far more than he could do while he made no such profession; for he “tramples under foot the Son of God, and counts the blood of the covenant an unholy thing, and does despite unto the Spirit of Grace” [Hebrews 10:29.] Yes, he crucifies the Son of God afresh, and puts him to an open shame [Hebrews 6:6.] I think, therefore, that the pursuit of holiness in all its branches, with an uniform endeavor to glorify our God, must commend itself to every considerate mind, as true “wisdom.”

All this far excels “folly”.

I will not go into particulars to characterize “folly”; it shall suffice to take the most lenient view of it that can be imagined. I will comprehend under it no positive vice, nothing that can render it odious in the eyes of men. I will take it only in a negative view, as importing a neglect of the two foregoing dictates of sound wisdom. And now I will ask, Who does not see the superiority of wisdom—and that “it excels folly as far as light excels darkness?”

“Darkness” has nothing whatever to commend it—it is utterly destitute of every good quality. Whereas “light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun” [Ecclesiastes 11:7.] And precisely thus does piety approve itself to every beholder; while a neglect of God presents nothing but gloom, the end of which no human imagination can reach.

II. The influence of spiritual wisdom on this present life.

There is not a moment of our lives over which it does not cast a benignant influence.

In bringing us to the foot of the Cross, spiritual wisdom is the means of effecting our reconciliation with, God, and of filling the soul with peace and joy. In stirring us up to mortify our corruptions, spiritual wisdom keeps us from innumerable snares to which others are exposed, and from troubles in which others are involved.

This seems to have been particularly in Solomon’s mind, when he penned the words of my text; for he adds immediately, “The wise man’s eyes are in his head; but the fool walks in darkness” [verse 14.]

Spiritual wisdom conduces also most essentially to the benefit of all around us. It tends to check vice and wickedness in the world, and to promote virtue in every possible way. It calls forth all the acts and offices of love, both in the professor himself, and in all who come within the sphere of its influence. Spiritual wisdom greatly honors God too, and tends to the advancement of his kingdom upon earth. There is no end to the benefits of true wisdom; for, so far as it prevails and operates, it repairs the ruins of the Fall; and changes this wretched, miserable world into a very Paradise.

In this respect, how widely different is “folly!”

See the world as it is, and then you will see what “folly” has done. Enter into the bosoms of men, and see how full they are of all hateful tempers and dispositions, and how utterly destitute of everything like solid peace. See what troubles it has introduced into society, insomuch that there is scarcely to be found a single family which is not more or less torn with disputes and disagreements. See what evils it diffuses on every side—and then say in what light it appears as compared with wisdom. I boldly ask, Does not wisdom excel it “as far as light excels darkness?” Darkness is suited to nothing but the deeds of darkness, and the gory excursions of beasts of prey. Whereas light administers to the welfare of all, and enables every member of society to execute his functions for the good of the whole. So that in this respect, also, the comparison is fitly made.

But let us trace “wisdom” yet further,

III. The effects of spiritual wisdom upon the eternal world.

It is here that the great excellence of wisdom will be chiefly found. If there were no future state, folly might, with some semblance of truth, compete with wisdom, because its gratifications are so strong to the organs of sense. But, when we view the aspect of wisdom upon eternity, and reflect that every one of its dictates has a direct tendency to fit the soul for Heaven and to augment its eternal bliss; while the operations of folly have a directly opposite bearing—all competition between them vanishes; since Heaven and Hell might as well bear a comparison as they.

In truth, the light of Heaven and its glory afford a just illustration of the one; while “the blackness of darkness” in the regions of Hell gives but too just a portrait of the other. The one brings us to the divine image; the other reduces us to the likeness of beasts and devils. The one ensures to us the everlasting fruition of our God; the other entails upon us his everlasting displeasure. In requiring you, therefore, to receive the declaration of my text, that “Wisdom excels folly as far as light excels darkness,” I do nothing but what every conscience must assent to, and every judgment approve.

Permit me, then, in conclusion to ask:

1. What is the judgment you have already formed?

I know that in theory you will all accede to this statement. But what has been your practical judgment? If we look at your lives, what will they attest to have been your views of this subject? Has wisdom there shone, and folly been put to shame? Have you really been living with a view to the eternal world, embracing the Gospel thankfully as sinners, and adorning it as saints. I ask not what “you have said” with your lips, but what “you have said” in your lives. It is not by your professions, but by your practice, that God will judge you; and therefore it is by that standard that you must judge yourselves.

2. What is the conduct you intend hereafter to pursue?

The world, I acknowledge, gives its voice in direct opposition to the foregoing statement. It represents religion as folly, and the prosecution of carnal enjoyments as wisdom. But its “calling good evil, and evil good,” will not change their respective natures. Nor, if the whole world should unite in putting darkness for light, or light for darkness, will either of them lose its own qualities, and assume those of the other. “Sweet” will be sweet, and “bitter” will be bitter, whether men will believe it or not [Isaiah 5:20.]

Will you then go contrary to the convictions of your own minds, in compliment to an ungodly world? Or will you, for fear of offending them, sacrifice the interests of your immortal souls? I call upon you to seek “wisdom, which is more to be chosen than fine gold” [Proverbs 16:16.] Let your whole life declare its value, and be a standing testimony against the folly of the ungodly. So shall you have in this world a sweet experience of my text, and enjoy an ample confirmation of it in the world above.

Charles Simeon

Ecclesiastes 2:2, “I said of laughter: It is mad!
And of mirth: What does it accomplish?”

Who is it that has ventured to speak thus respecting that which constitutes, in the world’s estimation, the great happiness of life?
Was he an ignorant man?
Or was he one who from envy decried a thing which he was not able to attain?
Or was he an inexperienced man, who had no just means of forming a judgment?
Or was he an irritated man, who vented thus his spleen against an object that had disappointed him?
Or was he one whose authority in this matter we are at liberty to question!

No! it was the wisest of the human race, who had more ample means of judging than any other man, and had tried the matter to the uttermost. It was Solomon himself, under the influence of the Spirit of God, recording this, not only as the result of his own experience, but as the declaration of Jehovah, by him, for the instruction of the world in all future ages.

He had been left by God to try the vain experiment, whether happiness was to be found in anything but God.

He tried it, first, in the pursuit of knowledge; which, to a person of his enlarged mind, certainly promised most fair to yield him the satisfaction which he sought. But partly from the labor requisite for the attainment of knowledge; partly from discovering how little could be known by people of our finite capacity; partly also from the insufficiency of knowledge to satisfy the innumerable wants of man; and partly from the disgust which had been created in his mind by the insight which his wisdom gave him into the ignorance and folly of the rest of mankind—he left it upon record, as his deliberate judgment, that “in much wisdom is much grief; and that he who increases knowledge, increases sorrow” [Ecclesiastes 1:18.]

He then turned to pleasure, as the most probable source of happiness: “I said in my heart, Go now, I will prove you with mirth: therefore enjoy pleasure.” But being equally disappointed in that, he adds, “Behold, this also is vanity.”

Then, in the words of my text, he further adds, “I said of laughter: It is mad! And of mirth: What does it accomplish?” [verse 1.]

In discoursing on this subject, I shall,

1. Show what that is which Solomon here pronounces to be “vanity”.

It befits us, in considering such weighty declarations as that before us, to attain the most precise and accurate views of the terms employed; neither attenuating the import of them on the one hand, nor exaggerating it on the other.

We are not, then, to understand the text as decrying all cheerfulness. The Christian, above all people upon earth, has reason to be cheerful. True religion in no way tends to destroy the gaiety of the human mind, but only to direct it towards proper objects, and to restrain it within proper bounds. The ways of religion are represented as “ways of pleasantness and peace.” “The fruits of the Spirit are, love, joy, peace, etc.” all of which suppose a measure of cheerfulness, and the innocence of that cheerfulness, when arising from a fitting source, and kept within the limits of sobriety and sound wisdom.

Doubtless that tumultuous kind of joy which is generally denominated mirth, and which vents itself in immoderate laughter, is altogether vain and bad. But a tranquility of mind, exercising itself in a way of brotherly love and of cheerful benevolence, can never be censured as unprofitable, much less can it be condemned as verging towards foolishness.

Neither, on the other hand, are we to restrict the text to licentious and profane mirth. That needed not to be stigmatized in so peculiar a manner, because the fully of such mirth carries its own evidence along with it. We need only to see it in others, and if we ourselves are not partakers of it, we shall not hesitate to characterize it by some opprobrious or contemptuous name. We need neither the wisdom of Solomon, nor his experience, to pass upon it the judgment it deserves.

The conduct reprobated in our text is, the seeking of our happiness in carnal mirth. Solomon particularly specifies this: “I said in my heart. Go now, I will prove you with mirth.” I will see whether that will afford me the happiness which I am in pursuit of. And we may suppose, that, in the prosecution of this object, he summoned around him all that was mirthful and lively in his court, and all that could contribute towards the attainment of it.

We may take a survey of the state of society in what may be called the fashionable world, and see how the votaries of pleasure spend their time. They go from one vanity to another, hoping that in a succession of amusements they shall find a satisfaction which nothing else can impart. Plays, balls, concerts, parties, the pleasures of the theater, of the race-course, of the card-table—form a certain round of employment, which those who travel in it expect to find productive of happiness, of such happiness at least as they affect. And this, I conceive, is what Solomon intended particularly to reprobate as fully and madness.

Of course, we must include also in the same description the more vulgar amusements to which the lower classes resort. All, according to their taste, or the means afforded them for enjoyment, while they pursue the same object—are obnoxious to the same censure. The degree of refinement which may be in their pursuits makes no difference in this matter. Whatever it be which calls forth their mirth and laughter, it is equally unprofitable and equally foolish. So Solomon judged.

We now proceed—

2. To confirm Solomon’s testimony.

Let us take a candid view of this matter—let us consider pleasure in its true light—let us consider its aspect on us:

1. As MEN. As men, we possess faculties of a very high order, which we ought to cultivate, and which, when duly improved, exalt and dignify our nature.

But behold the votaries of pleasure; how low do they sink themselves by the depravity of their taste, and the emptiness of their pleasures! A man devoid of wisdom may abound in mirth and laughter, as well as a cultivated man. There will be found very little difference in their feelings; except, as the more enlarged men’s capacities are for higher objects, the keener sense will they have of the emptiness of their vain pursuits. In truth, we may appeal even to themselves in confirmation of what Solomon has said; for there are no people more convinced of the unsatisfying nature of such pursuits, than those who follow them with the greatest avidity.

But let Scripture speak: “She that lives in pleasure is dead while she lives” [1 Timothy 5:6.] It is the fool alone that can say, “Let us eat, drink, and be merry” [Luke 12:19.]

2. As SINNERS. As sinners we have a great work to do; even to call to mind, and to mourn over, the sins of our whole lives, and to seek reconciliation with our offended God. The time, too, which is afforded us for this is very short and very uncertain. And, oh! what an outcome awaits our present exertions: even Heaven with all its glory—or Hell with all its inconceivable and everlasting terrors! Have people so circumstanced, any time for mirth, or any disposition to waste their precious hours in foolishness? Is it not much more suitable to them to be engaged according to the direction of James, “Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep; let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness; humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up” [James 4:9-10.]

3. As the REDEEMED of the Lord.

What redeemed soul can contemplate the price paid for his redemption, and laugh? Go, my brother, to Gethsemane, and see your Savior bathed in a bloody sweat. Go to Calvary, and behold him stretched upon the cruel cross. Hear his heart-rending cry, “My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me?” See the sun himself veiling his face in darkness, and the Lord of glory bowing his head in death. And then tell me, whether you feel much disposition for mirth and laughter—or whether such a state of mind would befit you?

Methinks, I need add no more. Your own consciences will attest the justice of Solomon’s remarks. But if there be an advocate for mirth yet unconvinced, then I put it to him to answer that significant question in my text, “What does it accomplish?”

APPLICATION

1. Are any disposed to complain that I make religion gloomy?

Remember, it is of carnal mirth that I have spoken; and of that, not in its occasional sallies, from a buoyancy of spirit, and in combination with love-but of its being regarded as a source of happiness, and of its constituting, as it were, a portion of our daily employment. And if I wrest this carnal mirth from you, do I leave you a prey to melancholy? Go to true religion, and see whether that does not furnish you with mirth and laughter of a purer kind—with mirth that is not unprofitable, with laughter that is not mad. The very end of the Gospel is, to “give you beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.” If you believe in Christ, it is not merely your privilege, but your duty to rejoice in him, yes, to “rejoice in him with joy unspeakable and full of glory.”

If the Church, on account of temporal deliverances, could say, “Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing” [Psalm 126:1-2] then much more may you rejoice, on account of the salvation which has been given to you. Only, therefore, let the grounds of your joy be right, and we consent that “your mourning be turned into dancing, and that to the last hour of your lives you put off your sackcloth and gird yourself with gladness” [Psalm 30:11.] Instead of pronouncing such mirth madness, we will declare it to be your truest wisdom.

2. Are there any among you who accord with Solomon?

Remember, then, to seek those as your associates who are like-minded with you in this respect. Affect not the company of those who delight in carnal laughter and mirth; for they will only draw you from God, and rob you of the happiness which you might otherwise enjoy. If they appear happy, remember that “their mirth is like the crackling of thorns under a pot” [Ecclesiastes 7:6.] It may make a blaze for a moment, but it soon expires in disappointment and melancholy.

Be careful, too, to live near to God, and in sweet communion with your Lord and Savior; for if you draw back from God in secret, you will, in respect of happiness, be in a worse condition than the world themselves. For while you deny yourselves the pleasure which you might have in carnal things, you will have no real pleasure in spiritual exercises. But be true to your principles, and you never need envy the poor worldlings their vain enjoyments. They drink of a polluted cistern, that contains nothing but what is insipid and injurious, and will prove fatal to their souls. You draw from the fountain of living waters, which whoever drinks of, shall live forever.

Charles Simeon

Ecclesiastes 1:14-15, “I have seen all the works which are done under the sun; and behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit. That which is crooked cannot be made straight; and that which is lacking, cannot be numbered.”

The Book of Ecclesiastes is generally supposed to have been written by Solomon after he had repented of his manifold transgressions; and it is pleasing to view it in this light: for, if it be not so, we have no record whatever of his penitence. But in this view its declarations are doubly interesting: as inspired by God, they are of Divine authority; and, as resulting from actual experience, they carry a much deeper conviction with them to our minds. Had one of the fishermen of Galilee spoken so strongly respecting the vanity of the world, we might have said that he had never had any opportunity of knowing experimentally what attractions the world possessed.

But Solomon had an ampler range for enjoyment than any other human being. As a king, he had the wealth of a nation at his command. As endued with a greater measure of wisdom than all other men, he could combine all kinds of intellectual pleasure with that which was merely sensual. As having a peaceful reign, he was free from all the alarms and disquietudes of war, and able to prosecute pleasure as the one object of his life. Every species of gratification being thus easily within his reach, he was amply qualified to judge of what the world could give; and yet, after having made the experiment, and “seen all the works that are done under the sun,” he pronounced them all to be “vanity and vexation of spirit!”

Two things in our text are to be noticed:

I. The general assertion: “I have seen all the works which are done under the sun; and behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.”

Never was any truth more capable of demonstration than this, that:

1. The world, and everything in it, is VANITY.

If we view the creature in itself, what a poor worthless thing is it! Take gold, for instance: much as it is in request, it has in itself no value—the value put on it is merely arbitrary, arising not so much from its usefulness to us, as from the scarcity of it. Iron is of infinitely greater service to mankind than gold, and would be more valued by us, if it did not happen that it is to be found in much larger quantities than gold.

So it is with jewels: the value of them is quite exalted; in themselves they are of no more use than common pebbles. He who possesses them in the greatest abundance, is in reality no richer than if he possessed so much gravel out of the pit.

Nor is anything that wealth can purchase, or anything that is associated with it, worthy of any better name than vanity.

What are high-sounding titles, but a mere sound that has its value only in the estimation of men.

We may ask the same in reference to pleasure. What is it? Let but a very small change take place in the circumstances of the person, and the pleasure shall become a pain. Or let it be enjoyed in all its fullness; whom did it ever satisfy? To whom did it ever impart any permanent delight? The more exquisite it is, the sooner does it cloy; insomuch that we are soon forced to flee from it through very lassitude and disgust. A recurrence to the same sources of gratification is far from producing the same emotions in the soul—by use and habit we become indifferent to the very things which once we most ardently affected; so poor, so empty, so transient is all that passes under the semblance and the name of pleasure.

We may say therefore of “all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life,” that it is not only vain, but “vanity” in the abstract! “Vanity of vanities, says the preacher, vanity of vanities, all is vanity!” [verse 2.]

2. The world, and everything in it, is VEXATION OF SPIRIT.

So far is the creature from affording any real happiness, that it is an occasion of constant vexation to the mind. The pursuit of earthly things is attended with much labor, and with much uncertainty also as to the attainment of them. When attained, they excite nothing but envy in others, and disquietude in ourselves. By reason of the casualties to which the possession of them exposes us, we are filled with care; insomuch, that those who only behold our acquisitions, often derive more pleasure from them than we who are the owners of them!

Besides, the more we have attained, the more our desires are enlarged after something unpossessed; so that our labors are never at an end; and the pain issuing from a single disappointment frequently outweighs the pleasure arising from manifold successes.

Indeed, the things from which we promise ourselves most pleasure, generally become, by some means or other, the sources of our keenest anguish. Our most optimistic expectations usually terminate in the bitterest disappointment. Yes, it not infrequently happens, that after having attained the object of our wishes, we welcome the period of our separation from it, and bless ourselves more in the loss of it, than ever we did in the acquisition.

Say then whether Solomon’s testimony is not strictly true. Young people, when they hear such a sentiment avowed, are ready to think it melancholy temperament, and a libel on the whole creation. But this testimony is the very truth of God, and shall sooner or later be found true in the experience of every living man. The world, and everything in it, is a broken cistern, that disappoints the hopes of the thirsty traveler, and becomes to him, not only vanity, but “vexation of spirit.” He who has most sought to satisfy himself with it, finds after all his labors, that he has only “filled his belly with the east wind” [Job 15:2.]

Such is the import of the general assertion. We now proceed to notice,

II. The particular confirmation of it. “That which is crooked cannot be made straight; and that which is lacking, cannot be numbered.”

Two things are here specified by Solomon, as strongly illustrating the foregoing truth. Namely, that, however much we may exert ourselves,

1. We cannot alter that which is unfavorable. “That which is crooked cannot be made straight.”

Every man, by the very constitution of his nature, is dependent on his fellow-man for the greater portion of his happiness. The welfare of a whole empire depends on the wisdom and prudence of the prince—as the prince’s prosperity and comfort do on the industry, the fortitude, the loyalty of his people. So it is through all ranks and orders of society—all are deeply affected by the conduct of those around them.

In the domestic circle, how impossible is it for the husband or wife, the parent or child, to be happy, if those with whom he is more immediately connected be perverse and obstinate in an evil way!

Yet all come more or less in contact with unreasonable men; and, however much they may strive to rectify the views, or reform the habits, of such people, they find it altogether beyond their power—they can as easily change the leopard’s spots or the Ethiopian’s complexion, as they can prevail on people to change those habits which are productive of so much uneasiness to their minds.

Hence, though they form the wisest and most benevolent plans, they cannot carry them into execution, because of the blindness and perverseness of those whose concurrence is necessary for the accomplishment of them.

In like manner, there is often an untowardness in events as well as in men. The seasons will not consult us, nor will the elements obey us. Accidents utterly unforeseen will occur, and cannot be prevented by human foresight. Hence uncertainty attends our best concerted plans, and failure often disappoints our most laborious exertions. But these are “crooked things which no man can make straight”—no human wisdom or power can control them.

We have a large and abundant harvest in prospect; but, behold, storms and tempests, or blasting and mildew, or insects of some kind, destroy the whole crop! We have gathered the harvest into our granaries, and a fire consumes it; or an enemy overruns the land, and devours it.

We have attained the greatest felicity of which we suppose ourselves capable, by a connection the most desirable, or by the acquisition of a first-born son—but how soon does death invade our dwelling, and blast all our promised joys! These are but a few of the evils to which we are exposed in this vain world, and they stamp “vanity and vexation” upon all that we possess.

2. We cannot supply that which is defective. “That which is lacking, cannot be numbered.”

The rich, the poor, the old, the young, the learned, the unlearned, all without exception, find that there is much lacking to render them completely happy. Of those who possess most of this world’s good, it must be said, “In the fullness of their sufficiency they are in straits” [Job 20:22.]

Solomon is a remarkable example of this. He had formed, if not a wise, yet an honorable connection with Pharaoh’s daughter. Not satisfied, he sought happiness in a plurality of wives. Still not having attained happiness, he multiplied his wives and concubines to the number of one thousand—and found himself, after all, as far from happiness as ever. Every other thing which he thought could contribute to his happiness he sought with insatiable avidity. But, after he had attained all his objects, he found, that “the things which were lacking could not be numbered.”

And so shall we find it to the last hour of our lives. We may fancy that this or that will make us happy; but, when we have gained it, we have only followed a shadow that eludes our grasp. The truth is, that God never designed the creature to be a satisfying portion to man. Not even Paradise itself could satisfy Adam—no, nor could the partner which he gave him. He must taste the forbidden fruit. He could not be content without an accession of wisdom, which God did not ever intend him to possess. Thus, even in man’s state of innocence, nothing but God could satisfy his soul. Nor can anything, short of God himself, ever be a satisfying portion to any child of man.

APPLICATION

1. Set not your affections on things below.

How happy would it be for us, if we could be content to receive the foregoing truths on the testimony of Solomon, instead of determining to learn them by our own experience! How much vexation and misery should we avoid! But, in spite of the united acknowledgments of all who have gone before us, we still think that we shall find something besides God to make us happy. This however we cannot do, even though we should possess all that Solomon ever enjoyed. We may continue our pursuit as long as we will; but we must come at last to the same conclusion as he, and give the same testimony as to the result of our experience.

Be persuaded, brethren, to credit the Divine testimony, and to spare yourselves all the pain and disappointment which, you must otherwise encounter. We mean not that you should renounce the pursuit of earthly things; for you cannot do that without abandoning the duties which you owe to your families and to society at large. But the expectation of happiness from them you may, and must, renounce. You must never forget:

that the creature without God is nothing;

and that happiness is to be found in God alone.

2. Seek the Lord Jesus Christ with your whole hearts.

He is a portion in which you will never find any lack. In him is a fullness sufficient to fill all the capacities, and satisfy all the desires of the whole universe. Millions and millions of immortal souls may go to that fountain, and never diminish his exhaustless store! To the possession of him, no disappointment can attach; nor from the enjoyment of him, can any vexation ensue. In him all “crooked things are made straight.” Where he is, no want can possibly exist.

If you ask of the creature . . .
to heal the wounds of sin,
to give peace to a guilty conscience,
to subdue in us our corruptions, or
to cheer us with hopes of immortality
—it cannot do any one of these things. No, not even for the body can the creature do anything to heal its sickness, to assuage its anguish, or to prolong its existence. But the Lord Jesus Christ can do everything, both for the body and the soul, both for time and for eternity!

Seek him, then, beloved! Seek him with your whole hearts. In seeking him, your exertions cannot be too earnest, nor can your expectations be too enlarged. If he gives you his flesh to eat, and his blood to drink—you will never hunger, never thirst again, either in this world or in the world to come. Only be able to say, “My Beloved is mine, and I am His”—and then all in Heaven as in earth, is yours. According as it is written, “All things are yours—and you are in Christ’s—and Christ is God’s.”

Charles Simeon

Ecclesiastes 1:2, “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “vanity of vanities; all is vanity!”

If experience entitles a man to credit, and gives weight to his testimony, we derive great advantage as to the credibility of the inspired writings. For respecting much of which the Prophets and Apostles wrote, they could say, “What my eyes have seen, my ears have heard, and my hands have handled of the word of life, that I declare unto you.” And if this is an advantage in reference to the excellency of religion, it may well be regarded as of some importance in reference also to the vanity of all earthly pursuits.

That there should have been a man possessed of such abundant means of gratification as Solomon was, and so ardent in the pursuit of it in every possible line, and at the same time so faithful in declaring his own experience in relation to it all, must be considered as an advantage to all subsequent generations who would hear and receive his testimony respecting the things which he had so fully tried, and so invariably proved to be vanity itself. The words before us express a conviction that admitted not of doubt, and a decision that left no room for controversy. “The Preacher” who uttered them was inspired of God, at the same time that he recorded what, from personal knowledge, he was qualified to declare.

I. In considering Solomon’s testimony, I shall CONFIRM it—

The things of which he spoke were, all that the world contains; its grosser and more common pursuits of pleasure, riches, and honor, as also its more refined attainments of wisdom and knowledge.

1. All things, without exception, are vanity in their ACQUISITION.

It is not without great labor and toil that earthly distinctions are obtained. The merchant, the warrior, the philosopher will bear record, that in their respective pursuits they have endured much fatigue and many disappointments; insomuch that to one whose taste was different from theirs, they would appear to have paid too dear a price for all that they have gained.

2. All things, without exception, are vanity in their USE.

Suppose that the labors of any person have been crowned with success; What, after all, has he gained? He thought he was following something substantial—but, to his mortification, he finds that he has grasped a shadow. He has “hewn out cisterns” for himself, indeed, with great labor; but he finds, after all, that they are “broken cisterns, which can hold no water.”

At the first moment, while the charm of novelty is upon them, the various objects we have attained afford a pleasing gratification to the mind: but scarcely have they been enjoyed a few days, before they lose their sweetness, and descend into the common routine of earthly comforts. The man who rolls in wealth, and he who is dignified with high-sounding titles, is soon brought to a level with his inferiors in point of actual enjoyment; and even he who has acquired knowledge, finds, that, “in having increased knowledge, he has also increased sorrow” [verse 18] because of the envy which his eminence has excited, and the uncertainty of much which he thinks he has attained.

3. All things, without exception, are vanity in their CONTINUANCE.

What is there of which a man may not be stripped? Pleasure may, in a very little time, be turned into pain. Honor may speedily be blasted by some unforeseen event. “Riches make themselves wings, and fly away!” And through disease or accident, even reason itself, with all its highest attainments, may sink into more than infantile weakness and infirmity. But grant to these things all that the most optimistic imagination can impute, how soon do they vanish away! Even life itself is but as a hand-breadth, or as a shadow that declines. The moment that death comes, “all our thoughts perish,” and we “go out of the world as naked and as destitute as we came into it.”

4. All things, without exception, are vanity in their OUTCOME.

Here it is that the vanity of earthly things pre-eminently appears. For in what respect can they advance our eternal happiness? Would to God that they did not so generally and so fatally obstruct it! Truly, “neither riches nor honors can profit us in the day of wrath.” With our holy and heavenly Judge “there is no respect of persons.” The rich and the poor will be dealt with according to one equal law—only the rich, and the great, and the learned, will be called to a more severe account in proportion to the influence they possessed, and the advantages they neglected to improve.

II. But as Solomon’s testimony is unquestionably strong, I shall QUALIFY it.

Beyond all doubt, the Scriptures generally contain the same language: “Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie; to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity” [Psalm 62:9.] But stronger still is the language of the Psalmist in another place, where he says, “Truly every man at his best estate, is altogether vanity” [Psalm 39:5.] Consider how strong and how unqualified these expressions are, and you will not expect me to say much in mitigation of them. Yet I must say that:

1. The vanity of the creature, though the same in itself, is differently felt, according to our mode of acting in reference to it.

If we give ourselves up to creature comforts, we shall be dreadfully disappointed. But if we enjoy them in subservience to God, and in subordination to higher pursuits, we shall not find them so empty as may be imagined. For God has “given to his people all things richly to enjoy” and provided only we enjoy God in them, they are both a legitimate and an abundant spring of pure delight. For, while we derive from them the happiness which they are calculated to impart, we taste not the bitterness which is infused into the cup of the mere worldling. Our enjoyments are elevated and sanctified. Our pains are moderated and changed into an occasion of praise and thanksgiving. Only let them be sought in their proper place, and they are comforts in the way to Heaven, though they can never stand to us in the place of Heaven.

2. The vanity of the creature, though the same in itself, is differently felt, according to the degree in which we blend religion with it.

True religion raises us above the creature altogether. If we have much of this world, we shall have a high enjoyment of it, because we shall make it the means of benefitting our fellow-creatures, and of honoring our God. If, on the other hand, we have little of this world, we shall still be happy, because, in having God for our portion, we can lack nothing.

There are but two lessons for the Christian to learn:
the one is, to enjoy God in everything;
the other is, to enjoy everything in God.

The one ennobles the rich; the other elevates the poor. All who have learned these lessons are, and must be, happy.

While, therefore, I grant the general position, that the creature is vanity—I must say, that the experience of its vanity, depends altogether on our undue pursuit of it and expectations from it. Let us only take it in the manner that God approves, and for the ends for which he has sent it, and we shall still find it, like Jacob’s ladder—unsubstantial indeed in itself, but still a medium of communication between Heaven and earth; a medium of God’s descent to us, and of our ascent to him.

III. In our consideration of Solomon’s testimony, let us further IMPROVE it.

Much, very much, may it teach us!

1. We may learn from the vanity of the creature, to be moderate in our expectations.

If we will foolishly look for that in the creature which God never designed to be put into it, we may well expect disappointment. Even in Paradise it was not intended to stand in the place of God, or to be to us any source of solid satisfaction; how much less, then, can it be so, when sin has infused a curse into it, agreeably to what is written, “Cursed is the ground for your sake.”

Let us estimate it aright, and expect from it no more than God has ordained it to impart—and we shall prove but little of its emptiness, while we have a rich and becoming enjoyment of it.

The direction of Paul is that which comes immediately to the point, and exactly suits the present occasion: “The time is short. It remains that both those who have wives be as though they had none; and those who weep, as though they wept not; and those who rejoice, as though they rejoice not; and those who buy, as though they possessed not; and those who use this world, as not abusing it. For the fashion of this world is passing away” [1 Corinthians 7:29-31.] Only use the creature in this way, and you will find it no injury to your souls.

2. We may learn from the vanity of the creature, to be patient in our trials.

Trials of different kinds must come, for “the whole creation has, through the sin of man, become subject to vanity.” But, in our present state, this is in reality a benefit; for, if it were not so, we would be ready to take up our rest in this world, instead of seeking “that which remains for us” in the world to come. Troubles serve to bring us near to God for the supports and consolations which we stand in need of. And shall we complain of that which brings us near to him, and proves an occasion of richer communications from him? No, truly, we should taste love, and love only, in our diversified afflictions; and look to God as sending them “for our profit, that by means of them we may be made partakers of his holiness,” and fit for his glory.

3. We may learn from the vanity of the creature, to be diligent in our pursuit of better things.

In heavenly things there are no drawbacks, except those which are caused by our own defects in seeking after them. There is no vanity in love to God, or love to man—and the more we labor after them, and delight ourselves in them, the happier we shall be. Could we but give ourselves wholly to these things, we would find in them a very Heaven upon earth. To every one of you, then, I would recommend that prayer of David, “Turn away my eyes from beholding vanity, and quicken me in your way!” [Psalm 119:37.]

Charles Simeon

Proverbs 31:10

“Who can find a virtuous woman?
For her price is far above rubies!”

While we rejoice in the progress of civilization, we cannot but regret the loss of primitive simplicity. In former days, women of the highest rank did not disdain to employ themselves in the most common offices of life, Genesis 18:6. King Lemuel, supposed by some to be Solomon himself, was exhorted by his inspired mother to select for his wife a woman who was not ashamed to occupy herself in domestic duties. The description here given of a queen, is, alas! but ill-suited to the refinement of the present age. It is rather calculated for the lower classes of the community. With a more immediate view therefore to their benefit, we shall consider it, and show:

I. The character of a virtuous woman.

There is no other character so fully drawn in Scripture as this. She is described by,

1. Her industry.

She rises early, verse 15; and when occasion requires, goes late to rest, verse 18. She encourages industry in her dependents, verse 15, and sets them an example of it herself, verse 19, willingly, verse 13, regularly, verse 27, without regarding fatigue, verse 17.

2. Her prudence.

She sells the produce of her labor, verse 24, and lays out her money with judgment for the permanent benefit of her family, verse 16. She provides comfortably for her family in respect of food, verse 15. and clothing, verse 21. In the margin it is “with double garments.” She guards against all waste of her husband’s property, verse 11, 12. She employs her leisure in improving her mind, verse 26; and conducts herself with love and kindness towards all, verse 26.

3. Her piety.

She is not satisfied with performing her duties towards man, but endeavors to serve God also verse 30. She accounts “the fear of God” to be the one thing needful. She labors above all things to cultivate this divine principle; she makes it the source and motive, the rule and measure, the scope and end, of all her actions; and, while she serves her God, she delights also to benefit the poor, verse 20.

Of such a character it is not easy to estimate,

II. The worth of a virtuous woman.

Rubies are accounted valuable among earthly treasures; but the worth of such a woman is infinitely above them.

1. She is an ornament to her gender.

However highly beauty is prized among men, the endowments before mentioned render their possessor incomparably more lovely! verse 30. The person possessing them must be admired in any station in life; but her excellence is then most conspicuous and most valuable, when she sustains the relations of a wife and a mother, verse 29. It is to be lamented that such characters are rarely “found” (verse 10) but the more scarce they are, the more worthy are they of our esteem.

2. She is a blessing to her family.

Of whatever rank they are, they cannot fail to reap much benefit from her prudent management, and pious example. If they are poor, especially, the good arising to them will be incalculable. They will enjoy a thousand comforts, of which others of their class are destitute. Their decent appearance will procure them respect, and redound to her praise, verse 23. Her children will love and honor her, and bless God on her account, verse 28. Her husband will delight in her himself, and make his boast of her to others, verse 28. They will all esteem her as a rich and continued source of domestic felicity.

3. She is a comfort to all around her.

The rich will be glad to aid her by their wealth and influence. The poor will find in her a friend to counsel them in difficulty, and relieve them in distress. All who behold her, will be constrained to applaud her conduct, verse 31, and many will be excited to follow her example.

We may now hope for a favorable attention, while we set before you,

III. The tendency of this institution to increase their number.

Though piety is as common among the poor as among any class of the community—yet it is very rare indeed that we can find among them a combination of the qualities before insisted on.

From lack of education they know not how to manage their affairs; and from habits of inattention, they are indisposed to learn.

But to the rising generation much good will arise from a school of industry.

The instruction which they gain in common schools, is very confined; but in this they will be taught all that can qualify them for usefulness in this world, or happiness in the next.

To read the Bible, and to fear God, will be proposed as the first objects of their attention. To qualify them for service, and to fit them to manage their own families at some future period, is the next concern we wish to promote. To call forth their own exertions, and stimulate a desire to excel, every encouragement will be afforded them. Thus habits of industry, of economy, of subordination to husbands, and of piety to God, being formed—they will fill up their future stations in life with far greater advantage to themselves, and benefit to society.

We will now consider some objections that may be made.

1. Among the rich.

Some of the rich think it better that the poor should be kept in ignorance. But these are themselves ignorant, unfeeling, and ungodly. Some of the rich have a fear that people may be needed for agricultural work; but there will always be found many who stand in need of employment.

2. Among the poor.

These are unwilling to forego the immediate earnings of their children. But in a little time they will earn much more than they now do. They will sooner find situations where they will live at free cost. They will probably be able at a future period to aid their parents, instead of being a grief, and perhaps a burden, to them. They will have a far better prospect of Heaven, by having their minds instructed, and their conduct regulated; than they would have had, if brought up in ignorance and sin.

We conclude with recommending the institution to your support.

If self-interest alone were consulted, the rich should help forward such institutions; for, if extensively promoted, they would soon lower the rates. But if benevolence is allowed to operate, it has unbounded scope for exercise in such institutions as these; since they render the lower orders of people more intelligent, more useful, more prosperous, and more happy.

Charles Simeon

Proverbs 30:12

“There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness!”

Men of themselves are very backward to form an unfavorable estimate of their own character. Hence arises the necessity of accurate discrimination and undaunted fidelity in ministers, whose office is to “separate the precious from the vile,” and to give to every one his portion in due season. The Scriptures draw a broad line of distinction between the righteous and the wicked; and this, not in their actions only, but in their dispositions and habits; by which the different characters may be as clearly discerned as by their outward conduct.

The generation of self-deceivers is very numerous; multitudes there are who stand high in their own estimation, while in God’s eyes they are as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. Among these we must number:

I. The decent formalist.

He is “pure in his own eyes”.

He is punctual in the observance of outward duties, both civil and religious. He will attend constantly at the house of God, and even at the table of the Lord; he will also establish worship in his family; and in respect of his dealings with men, he will be all that is amiable and lovely; he will be honest, sober, just, temperate, benevolent; as far as the letter of the law goes, he may be blameless.

In such a state, what wonder is it if he is pure in his own eyes? He understands not the spirituality of the law, and can judge of himself only by the defective standard of heathen morality. By the world he is admired, and held up as a pattern of all excellence; and seeing that he stands high in the esteem of others, he almost of necessity entertains a high opinion of himself.

But he “is not washed from his filthiness”.

Much filthiness there is in the heart of every man by nature; and there is a filthiness which every person may properly call his own, as being congenial with his own feelings, and particularly connected with his own character.

With the character before us there is a very abundant measure of pride, venting itself in a constant habit of self-confidence and self-delight. Combined with this are impenitence and unbelief; for how is it possible that he should repent and believe, when he knows not the extent of his guilt and danger? “Being whole, he feels no need of a physician.”

He is altogether under the dominion also of worldly-mindedness. When he has performed his religious duties, he goes to worldly company, without feeling any need, or being sensible of any danger. The friendship of the world is what he delights in as his chief good, never once suspecting, that this very disposition proves and constitutes him an enemy of God, James 4:4. Thus, though there is nothing in him that the world disapproves, and nothing that seems to call for self-reproach, he is under the habitual and allowed dominion of evils, which render him abominable in the sight of God! Luke 16:15. He has somewhat of “the form of godliness, but none at all of its power! 2 Timothy 3:5.”

Among this generation we must also number,

II. The almost Christian.

He goes much farther than the decent formalist.

He is convinced of the truth and excellence of Christianity, and wishes to be a partaker of its benefits. He will vindicate the faithful servants of God against the accusations brought against them by the ungodly world; and will actually comply with many things which the Gospel requires.

From this partial change in himself, he begins to think that he is a Christian indeed. His constrained approbation of the Gospel appears to him to be a cordial acceptance of it; and his slender performances of its duties are in his estimation like an unreserved obedience.

But, like the decent formalist, the almost Christian deceives his own soul.

He will not renounce all for Christ. When our Lord says, “Go, sell all that you have, and give to the poor, and come and follow me,” he departs sorrowful, like the Rich Youth, and chooses the world in preference to Christ. He draws back also from the cross, which he will not bear. He is ashamed of Christ, even at the very time that he shows some regard both for his Word and ministers. He will not “come out from the world and be separate;” but still remains conformed to it, to its maxims, its habits, its spirit, and its company. Of the true Christian, our Lord says, “You are not of this world, even as I am not of the world;” but of the almost Christian, the very reverse is true; he strives to reconcile the inconsistent services of God and Mammon; and if this cannot be done, he will forego his eternal interests, rather than sacrifice his worldly interests, and subject himself to the scorn and hatred of the ungodly.

Thus, though pure in his own eyes, he is yet in bondage to the fear of man; and gives a decided preference to this world, before the preservation of a good conscience, and the approbation of his God.

To the same class belongs also,

III. The inconsistent professor.

Who is more confident of the goodness of his state, than he who professes to believe in Christ?

The man who has felt some conviction of sin, and some hope in Christ, and has been hailed by others as a sound convert to the Christian faith, is ready to conclude that all is well. His successive emotions of hope and fear, of joy and sorrow—are to him a sufficient evidence, that his conversion is unquestionable. If he has some ability to talk about the Gospel, and some gift in prayer, he is still further confirmed in his persuasion, that there exists in him no ground for doubt or fear. More especially, if he have views of the Covenant of grace, as “ordered in all things and sure,” and has adopted a crude system of religion that favors a blind confidence, he concludes at once that he is, and must be, a child of God.

But who is more open to self-deception?

Professors of the Gospel are very apt to forget that rule of judging which our Lord himself has prescribed, “By their fruits you shall know them, Matthew 7:16.” But this is the only safe criterion whereby to judge of our state before God. Yet, when brought to this test, how low do many religious professors appear! They can talk of the Gospel fluently; but, if their spirit and character are inquired into, they are found to be under the habitual dominion of some besetting sin, as they were before they ever thought of religion. It is lamentable to think what “filthiness there is both of flesh and spirit,” from which many who profess the Gospel have never yet been “washed, Titus 1:16;” yet an inspired Apostle declares, that “if a man seems to be religious and bridles not his tongue, he deceives himself, and his religion is vain, James 1:26.”

What then must be the state of those who yet remain:
proud and passionate,
worldly-minded and covetous,
false and dishonest,
impure and sensual,
yes, and grossly defective in all the duties of their place and station?

Truly, of all the people belonging to the generation spoken of in our text, these are in the greatest danger, because their confidence is founded in the idea that they have already bathed in the fountain which alone is able to cleanse them from their sin.

Address,

1. Those who, though pure in their own eyes, are not washed from their filthiness.

Happy would it be if men would relax the confidence which they are ever ready to maintain of the safety of their state before God. Every one conceives that whatever others may do, he deceives not his own soul; yet behold so great is the number of self-deceivers, that they constitute “a generation!” Beloved, learn to try yourselves by the only true test: your conformity to the will of God, and to the example of Christ! It is in the balance of the sanctuary, and not in your own balance, that you are to weigh yourselves; for in that shall you be weighed at the last day; and if you are found lacking in that, the measure of your deficiency will be the measure of your condemnation!

2. Those who, though not pure in their own eyes, are really washed from their filthiness.

Blessed be God! there is a generation of these also. Many who once wallowed in all manner of filthiness, are now washed from it, even as the Corinthian converts were! 1 Corinthians 6:9-11. Yet they are not pure in their own eyes; on the contrary, they are of all people most ready to suspect themselves, Matthew 26:21-22, and to “loath themselves” for their remaining imperfections.

See how strikingly this is exemplified in the very chapter before us. Agur was a man of unquestionable piety; yet, under a sense of his great unworthiness, he complained, “Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man! Proverbs 30; Proverbs 2.” This may appear to many to be extravagant; but it is the real feeling of many a child of God; I may add too, it is their frequent confession before God. Such were the feelings of Job, of Isaiah, and of Paul Job 40:4; Job 42:6. Isaiah 6:5. Romans 7:18; Romans 7:24.

If it is asked, Whence arises this, that such holy and heavenly people should be so far from being pure in their own eyes?

The reason is that they try themselves by a more perfect standard, and from their clearer discoveries of the path of duty are more deeply conscious of their aberrations from it.

Their love of holiness also makes them now to abhor themselves more for their lack of conformity to the Divine image, than they once did even for the grossest sins.

To you then, dearly Beloved, I would address myself in the language of consolation and encouragement. It is well that you see and lament your vileness, provided you make it only an occasion of humiliation, and not of despondency. The more lowly you are in your own eyes, the more exalted you are in God’s, who has said, that “he who humbles himself shall be exalted.” Let your sense of your remaining imperfections make you plead more earnestly with your God that reviving promise, “From all your filthiness, and from all your idols, I will cleanse you! Ezekiel 36:25. 1 John 1:9.”

Remember that you are not to wash yourselves first, and then to lay hold on the promises; but to embrace the promises first, and then by means of them to cleanse yourselves from the defilements you lament. This is the order prescribed in the Gospel, 2 Corinthians 7:1; and, if you will adhere to it, you shall have increasing evidence that it is the destined path of purity and peace.

Charles Simeon

Proverbs 30:7-9

“Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die; Remove far from me vanity and lies; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me; lest I be full, and deny you, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.”

It is the privilege of a holy man to make known his requests to God in prayer, and to solicit from him whatever may conduce to his spiritual good. Even temporal things may be asked, provided it is in subservience to our spiritual interests, and with entire submission to the Divine will. Who Agur was, we cannot certainly determine; but he was evidently an inspired person. His words are called “prophecies.” verse 1; and his prayer in reference to his condition in this world is an excellent pattern for our imitation. He entreated the Lord with very great earnestness; yet he considered his condition in this world as altogether subordinate to his eternal welfare; and therefore in what he asked for his body, he consulted only the good of his soul.

We propose to consider,

I. Agur’s request.

Some interpret the former of his petitions as expressing a wish to be kept from error and delusion in spiritual matters; but we apprehend that the things which he requested were:

1. A removal from the temptations of an exalted state.

He justly characterizes the pomp and splendor of the world as “vanity and lies.”

“Vanity,” because they are empty and unsatisfying.

“Lies,” because they promise happiness to their possessors, but invariably disappoint them.

In this light they are frequently represented in Scripture, Psalm 119:37; Psalm 62:9; and they who have been most competent to judge respecting them, have been most forward to declare them mere vanity and vexation of spirit! Ecclesiastes 2:11.

Agur surely beheld them in this view, and therefore rather deprecated them as evils, than desired them as objects of his ambition.

2. A modest state and condition.

He did not, through a dread of wealth, desire to be reduced to poverty; he wished rather to stand at an equal distance from each extreme; and to enjoy that only which God should judge necessary for him. It is not easy for us to say precisely what a competency is; because it must vary according to men’s education and habits; that being poverty to one, which would be riches to another; yet the line drawn by Agur, seems to mark the limits most agreeably to the mind of God, because it exactly corresponds with the views:
of patriarchs, Genesis 28:20,
of prophets, Jeremiah 45:5,
of Apostles, 1 Timothy 6:8-10,
and particularly with the prayer which our blessed Lord himself has taught all his followers to use, Matthew 6:11 and the first clause of verse 13; between which and Agur’s prayer there is a remarkable agreement.

In urging his request, Agur manifested great zeal and earnestness; his whole soul appeared to be engaged in it. We are therefore interested in inquiring into,

II. The reasons with which Agur enforced his request.

He was not actuated by any carnal motives, though he was praying about carnal things. It was not the incumbrances of wealth, or the hardships of poverty that he dreaded; he considered only the aspect of the different states upon his spiritual advancement; and deprecated them equally on account of the temptations incident to both.

1. On account of the snares of wealth.

Riches foster the pride of the human heart, and engender a haughty and independent spirit. This was the effect of opulence on God’s people of old, “Jeshurun grew fat and kicked; filled with food, he became heavy and sleek. He abandoned the God who made him and rejected the Rock his Savior!” Deuteronomy 32:15. Hosea 13:6; and the same baneful influence is observable in our day.

The wealthy consider it almost as an act of condescension to acknowledge God. Scarcely one of them in a thousand will endure to hear his name mentioned in private, or his will propounded as the proper rule of his conduct. The atheistical expressions in the text are indeed the language of his conduct, if not also of his lips. See Exodus 5:2. Psalm 12:4.

It is on this, as well as other accounts, that our Lord has spoken of riches as rendering our salvation difficult, yes impossible, without some signal interposition of divine grace! Matthew 19:23-26. Therefore every one who values his soul may well deprecate an exalted state.

2. On account of the snares of poverty.

Poverty has its snares no less than wealth; where its pressure is felt, the temptations to dishonesty are exceeding great. Even those who are in ease and affluence are too easily induced to deviate from the paths of strict integrity, especially when there appears but little probability of detection; how much more strongly then may a dishonest principle be supposed to operate, when called forth by necessity and distress! God appointed that a person suspected of theft should clear himself by an oath before a magistrate, Exodus 22:7-12 and 1 Kings 8:31; but this was a feeble barrier against dishonesty; for he who will cheat, will lie; and, if urged to it, will rather perjure himself to conceal his crime, than expose himself to shame by confessing it.

Thus one sin leads to another; and a soul, that is of more value than ten thousand worlds, is bartered for some worthless commodity! Justly then may that state also be deprecated, which exposes us to such tremendous evils.

This subject may teach us:

1. Contentment with our lot.

Whatever are the means used, it is God alone who fixes our condition in the world. If we are Christians indeed, we may be sure that our lot is that which, all things considered, is most for the good of our souls. If any variations in it have taken place, such changes have been sent to teach us that contentment, which Paul so richly experienced, and which it is no less our privilege than our duty to learn, Philippians 4:11-12. If we have that which is best for our souls, then we have that which is really best.

2. Watchfulness against our besetting sins.

Every situation of life has its peculiar temptations.

Youth or old age,
health or sickness,
riches or poverty
—all have their respective snares! It is our wisdom to stand on our guard against the difficulties to which we are more immediately exposed, 2 Samuel 22:24; and rather to seek for grace that we may approve ourselves to God in the station to which he has called us, than to desire a change of circumstances, which will change indeed, but not remove, our trials.

3. Solicitude for spiritual advancement.

As surely sin is the greatest of all evils—it was sin, and sin alone, that Agur feared! Let the same mind then be in us that was in him. Whether we have poverty or riches, or whether we are equally removed from both—let us endeavor to improve in spirituality and holiness. Then will the wisdom of God, in appointing such a variety of states, be made manifest; and the collective virtues of the different classes will then shine with combined luster, and, like the rays of the sun, display the glory of Him from whom they sprang!

Charles Simeon

Proverbs 30:1-2

“The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, even the prophecy; the man spoke unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ucal, Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man!”

The sayings of the wise and good have in all ages been regarded with veneration, and been treasured up in the minds of men as a kind of sacred deposit, for the enriching and instructing of future generations. We have here a very remarkable saying of Agur the son of Jakeh; to which I would now call your attention. It does indeed, we must confess, appear, at first sight, a rash expression, savoring rather of intemperance than of sound discretion.

But as it was delivered to “Ithiel and Ucal,” who were probably his disciples; and as it was introduced with the word, “Surely,” which marks it as the result of his deliberate judgment; and, above all, it being called “a prophecy,” which determines it to have been inspired of God; we should calmly inquire into it, and examine its import. That such an expression may be uttered by people widely differing from each other in their moral and religious habits, I readily admit; and therefore, in order to prevent any misapprehension, I shall consider the text,

I. As the language of passion.

Sin, however fondly cherished in the heart of fallen man, is no other than folly and madness! So it is described by Solomon, in the Book of Ecclesiastes, “I applied my heart to know and to search, and to seek out wisdom and the reason of things; and to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness, Ecclesiastes 7:25.” And again, “The heart of the sons of men is full of evil; madness is in their heart while they live; and after that they go to the dead, Ecclesiastes 9:3.”

When a person, who has been led captive by sin, comes to discern somewhat of its true character, he is apt to feel indignation against himself, and to reproach himself in strong terms for the folly he has committed. We may well conceive of him as saying, in the language of our text, “Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man.” But this indignation against himself may be the mere language of passion, and not of genuine humiliation; and it may be distinguished from that which is the fruit of piety,

1. In its object.

An ungodly man may feel strongly, while he has no real humility; he may hate his actions and himself on account of them. But it is not sin that he hates, so much as the consequences of his sin! Nor does he hate all its consequences; he hates it not as defiling to his soul, as offensive to his God, as injurious to his eternal interests; but as destructive of his peace, as degrading him in the eyes of his fellow-men, and as ruinous to his present welfare.

A gamester, who has staked his all upon the cast of dice, and has thereby reduced himself and his family from affluence to want, curses his folly with the most indignant feelings; and so hates himself for it, that he can scarcely endure his very existence. But, if his money were restored, he would do the same again; or, if taught wisdom by experience, he would not refrain from his former habits on account of any regard for God or his own soul, but only on account of the injury that was likely to accrue from them in a temporal view.

The same may be said respecting the votaries of dissipation. When their fortune is wasted by extravagance, and their constitution ruined by excess, they may be strongly impressed with the folly and madness of their past ways; while, if they could be restored to their former affluence and vigor, they would run the very same career again.

Under all the painful consequences of his licentious habits, the debauched can scarcely avoid those reflections which Solomon represents as arising in his mind, “At the end of your life you will groan, when your flesh and body are spent. You will say, “How I hated discipline! How my heart spurned correction! I would not obey my teachers or listen to my instructors. I have come to the brink of utter ruin in the midst of the whole assembly! Proverbs 5:11-14.”

Nor can we doubt, but that in Hell those reflections will be both universal and exceedingly bitter; for the “wailing and gnashing of teeth” which will be there experienced, will arise, in no small degree, from the consideration of the opportunities once enjoyed, but now irrecoverably and forever lost! Matthew 13:42.

2. In its operation.

The indignation of an ungodly man is sudden and transient; and is always accompanied with an incrimination of those who have been in any measure accessary to the evils that have come upon him.

But, in a man of piety, they are the fruit of deep reflection, dwelling habitually in the mind, and always attended with self-reproach.

We may see in the prodigal son a holy exhibition of that which arises from genuine repentance. He does not, under the pressure of his distress, cry out with vehement exclamations, designating his conduct by every term that an embittered spirit can suggest; but he adopts a resolution to return to his father’s house, and there, in measured and contrite language, confesses, “I have sinned against Heaven and before you; and am no more worthy to be called your son!”

Generally speaking, the more violent the expressions are, the less genuine is the contrition from which they flow. The exercise of deep and just feeling is rather in a way of temperate humility, than of vehement and fluent exaggeration. The two kinds of indignation may be easily distinguished by their attendant feelings:
the one is the fruit of wounded pride, and the root of everything that is unhallowed, whether in word or deed;
the other is the offspring of deep contrition for his sin; and either the parent or the child of genuine conversion to God.

Having discriminated, we hope, sufficiently between the expressions of our text as used by people of opposite characters, and shown how to distinguish them when uttered as the language of passion, we proceed to notice them,

II. As the language of piety.

We know assuredly that indignation is a fruit of godly sorrow; for Paul says to the Corinthians, “See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done, 2 Corinthians 7:11.”

And we have seen it operate precisely as in the text, when, according to common apprehension, there would appear to be but little occasion for it. David, seeing the prosperity of the wicked, and not duly adverting to their end, had envied them; and in the review of his conduct he exclaims, “So foolish was I, and ignorant; I was even as a beast before you! Psalm 73:3; Psalm 73:17; Psalm 73:22.”

Nor are such views uncommon to the saints; or rather, I should say, there is no true saint who does not on some occasions apply them to himself.

If it is asked, ‘How can such expressions fall from the lips of a real saint?’ I answer, they necessarily spring:

1. From a view of the holy law under which we live.

While ignorant of the spirituality and extent of God’s Law, we take credit to ourselves for our external conformity to its precepts; and are ready to imagine, that, “concerning the righteousness of the Law we are blameless, Philippians 3:6.” But when we come to see how “broad the commandment is, Psalm 119:96,” that it reaches to the inmost thoughts of the soul, prohibiting even so much as an inordinate desire, and requiring us to “love and serve our God with all our heart, and mind, and soul, and strength,” we are struck dumb; our towering “imaginations are cast down;” and, like the Apostle Paul, we feel the sentence of death gone forth against us, Romans 7:9, and attaching to us no less for our best deeds, than for the most sinful action of our lives! Job 9:2-3.” Then we become observant of our defects; and, O! how loathsome are we then in our own eyes, Ezekiel 36:31, in the view of that very obedience of which we once thought so highly! It is no wonder, if, with this augmented new of his own deformity, the saint speak of himself in very humiliating and degrading terms.

A person coming into a room at night with a lighted candle, would see but little; if he returned at the dawn of day, he would have a clearer view of all the objects that before were scarcely visible; but, if he entered when the sun was shining forth in its strength, he would discern the smallest specks of dirt, and even the very motes in the air. But would he then conclude that all the dust and dirt which he now beheld had been cast in since his first entrance? No; he would know to what he must ascribe the change in his views, even to the increased light by which he was enabled to take the survey. And so a clearer view of God’s holy Law will give us a deeper insight into our own deformity, and turn the gloryings of self-esteem into the mournings of humiliation and contrition!

2. From a view of that holy God against whom we have sinned.

The least knowledge of God is sufficient to abase us before him; but the more we behold his glorious perfections, the more shall we stand amazed at the coldness of our love to him, and our lack of zeal in his service.

Job, previous to his troubles, was considered as “a perfect man” even by God himself. But when God had revealed himself more fully to his soul, how base did this holy man appear in his own eyes! “Behold, I am vile!” says he. “I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear; but now my eye sees you. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes, Job 40:4; Job 42:5-6.”

This will be the effect of all God’s manifestations of himself, whether in a way of providence or of grace. It is impossible to behold God’s goodness, his patience, his forbearance, and not stand amazed at our own sinfulness. “The ox and the donkey” do not appear so brutish as we, Isaiah 1:3; nor “the stork or crane or swallow” so unobservant of the things which we are most concerned to notice, Jeremiah 8:7; and our only wonder is, that it should be possible for God to endure with such patience our great and multiplied iniquities!

3. From a view of the obligations we lie under.

Our love to God will bear proportion to the sense we have of the extent of his mercy towards us in forgiveness, Luke 7:47. But, when we reflect on the means he has used, in order to open a way for the exercise of his mercy towards us, what shall we not account his due? When we consider that he has “not spared even his own Son, but delivered him up for us all,” what bounds will there be to our gratitude; or rather, what bounds will there be to our humiliation for the lack of gratitude? It will be impossible for us then ever to satisfy our own desires. If we had a thousand lives, we should devote them all to him who loved us and gave Himself for us, and at his call be ready to sacrifice them all for him. The services which we once thought sufficient will then appear little better than a solemn mockery; so entirely will our souls be absorbed in wonder at the thought of an incarnate God, a crucified Redeemer.

4. From a view of the interests we have at stake.

If only the life or death of our bodies were at stake, we would feel deeply interested in the event; but, when Heaven and all its glory, or Hell and all its misery, are the alternatives before us, one would suppose that every temporal consideration should be swallowed up, and vanish as the light of a star before the meridian sun. But the saint is not always so indifferent to the things of time and sense as he would wish to be. There are times when everything below the sun is in his eyes lighter than vanity itself; but there are, also, times when he finds his heart yet cleaving to the dust, and when his heavenward progress is slow and imperceptible. On such occasions he is amazed at himself; he can scarcely conceive it possible that, with such prospects before him, he should be so stupid and brutish as he feels himself to be. Truly, at these seasons the language of our text will be often in his heart, and in his mouth too, especially if he finds an Ithiel, or an Ucal, who is capable of understanding it.

After viewing this subject, we shall be at no loss to understand,

1. Why it is that saints are often dejected in their minds.

None are at all times alike joyful. Paul says, that “they who have the first-fruits of the Spirit,” no less than others, sometimes “groan within themselves, being burdened, Romans 8:23. 2 Corinthians 5:4.” And so it ought to be.

In the review of their past lives they should be humbled, even as Paul was, when he designated himself as “a blasphemer, and injurious, and a persecutor, and the very chief of sinners! 1 Timothy 1:13; 1 Timothy 1:15.”

And under a sense of their remaining infirmities, it befits them to lie low before God. Behold Paul, when he had preached the Gospel for over twenty years—yet felt so much corruption within him, that he cried out, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from this body of death? Romans 7:24.” The image which he here uses is that which has often been realized. He refers to a punishment sometimes inflicted on criminals, by chaining them to a dead corpse, and constraining them to bear it about with them, until they died through the offensiveness of its noxious odors. Such was his in-dwelling corruption to him, even at that advanced period of his life; and such it should be felt by every saint on earth. In truth, there should not enter so much as a ray of comfort into the soul, but from a view of the Sun of Righteousness. It is He alone that can, or ought, to “arise upon us with healing in his wings.” And therefore the Apostle, after the lamentation just mentioned, adds, “I thank God, through Jesus Christ our Lord! Romans 7:25.”

Do not let this, then, prove a stumbling-block to any; nor let it be supposed, that, because a pious person uses, in reference to himself, terms which a worldly person would not deign to use, he must of necessity have committed any greater sin than others. His humiliation, as we have seen, arises out of the views which he has obtained of holy things; and the nearer his fellowship with God is, the more ready will he be to exclaim with the Prophet, “Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.” That is: I am a leper, in the midst of a leprous and ungodly world! Isaiah 6:5.

2. How far they are from piety who are filled with self-exalting thoughts.

People who have been exemplary in their conduct, and punctual in their religious observances, are, for the most part, filled with a conceit of their own goodness, and confident of their acceptance with God on account of it. But little do they know how odious they are in the sight of God, while they are righteous in their own eyes. It is the Publican, and not the Pharisee, who will be justified before God; and “the sick, not the whole,” that will experience “the Physician’s” aid.

Christianity is not a remedial law, lowered to the standard of our weakness; but a remedy, by which the soul that is sick unto death may be effectually healed. Christ is a Savior; but he is so to those alone who feel themselves lost, and renounce every other hope but him. Bear this, then, in remembrance.

Bear in remembrance, that there are no terms too humiliating to express the state of your souls before God. You have lived as without God in the world, unconscious of his eye upon you; and his address to you is, “Understand you brutish among the people; and you fools, when will you be wise! Psalm 94:8.” This may be offensive to our proud hearts; but it is such an address as we merit, and such a one as it becomes a holy God to deliver.

The particular ground of Agur’s self-abasement was, that “he had not learned wisdom, or attained the knowledge of the Holy One, verse 3.” And have not many among you the same ground for self-abasement? Yes, “There are many among you who have not the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame! 1 Corinthians 15:34.” Many among you have never yet walked in the ways of true wisdom. Humble yourselves, therefore, for your more than brutish stupidity; and now, as the Psalmist says, “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him! Psalm 2:12.”

Charles Simeon

Proverbs 29:25

“The fear of man brings a snare; but whoever puts his trust in the Lord shall be safe!”

Our blessed Lord, at the very first introduction of his religion into the world, told his followers, that he had not come to send peace on earth, but a sword, and to set at variance with each other the nearest and dearest relatives. We are not however to suppose that this was the proper end of his religion; it was not the end, but the effect; and it is, and must be, the effect, as long as there shall be a carnal and unregenerate man upon earth!

What, then, must be done by the followers of Christ? Must they draw back, because their carnal friends forbid them to proceed? or must they put their light under a bushel, lest it should offend the eyes of those who behold it? No! They must dismiss from their minds all fear of men, and be faithful to their God at all events; for “the fear of man brings a snare;” which they can only avoid by giving themselves up faithfully to their God.

I. From the words before us, we learn our great danger.

The fear of man is far more general than we are at all aware of.

Ungodly men, who, in relation to all other things, set at defiance the whole world—are yet, almost as much as others, in bondage, in reference to religion. They can set at nothing all religion, without any fear at all; but, to show respect for it, and especially a desire to become acquainted with it, they dare not. They see that there are people whose ministry would prove instructive; but they fear to avail themselves of such a ministry, lest a suspicion should attach to them as leaning towards a holy life, and as inclined to opinions which are generally decried. And, as for cultivating an acquaintance with one of strict piety, however much they may wish, they dare not do it, lest they incur ridicule from their ungodly companions!

People who begin to feel any concern about their souls are immediately beset with this evil principle. They are conscious that the change which is taking place in them will, of necessity, offend their former companions; and therefore they desire to conceal their feelings, and to avoid the rupture which they foresee. Hence they make many compliances contrary to the convictions of their own conscience; and expose themselves to many temptations, which their better judgment would have taught them to avoid. So common is this bondage, that scarcely anyone is free from it. Whatever men’s rank in life is, they are still in subjection to their fellows; yes, the higher their station, the greater, for the most part, is their cowardice.

Nor are established believers free from this thraldom! They do indeed disregard the world; but they are as much enslaved by the maxims and habits of their associates in the church, as ever they were by the world around them. They dare not think for themselves, or act for themselves, according to the convictions of their own minds. They take not their faith and practice from the Scriptures of Truth, but from a standard which rules among them, and from which they are afraid to deviate.

Who would think that Peter himself, bold and intrepid as he was by nature, and still more fortified by grace, should yet yield so far to the prejudice of his Judaizing brethren, as even to endanger the utter subversion of the Gospel, which he had been the honored instrument of first opening both to the Jewish and Gentile world? Yet so he did, through fear of their displeasure.

Who, then, has not cause to acknowledge himself in danger of erring, through the operation of this evil principle?

To all who yield to the influence of the fear of man, it brings a fatal snare!

Thousands it keeps from coming within the reach of spiritual instruction. The fear of that expostulation, “He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him? John 10:20,” is quite sufficient to intimidate the generality of men, whom curiosity at least might otherwise bring within the sphere of spiritual instruction. And in those of whom better things might have been hoped, the fear of man has wrought, in unnumbered instances, to the production of the most tremendous evils—moral, spiritual, and eternal!

Behold in Peter a dissimulation, which led even Barnabas astray. They, through mercy, were recovered; but many it has led to utter apostasy, and involved in everlasting ruin! In the days of our blessed Lord many were “afraid to confess him, because they loved the praise of men more than the honor that comes from God;” and many who had followed him “went back, and walked no more with him!” In the same way, every age, even to the present hour, have many been turned aside by the dread of persecution! Matthew 13:21, and have “made shipwreck of their faith.” And what the outcome of this is to their souls, we are told; for “the fearful and unbelieving,” no less than “murderers and whoremongers, have their portion in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death! Revelation 21:8.” In truth, our adorable Savior warned his hearers respecting this, from the very beginning; declaring to them at all times, that those who would be ashamed of him, and deny him—would assuredly find him ashamed of them, and would be ultimately denied by him in the presence of his Father and of the whole assembled universe!

Seeing, then, that we are all exposed to this danger, it will be expedient that I point out to you,

II. From the words before us, we learn the only proper effectual antidote to the fear of man.

There is nothing but a regard to God himself that can ever overcome the fear of man; on which account our blessed Lord says, “Do not fear man who can only kill the body, and after that has no more that he can do; but fear him who can destroy both body and soul in Hell, Matthew 10:28.” The same truth is suggested in my text, only in somewhat of a more gentle form, “Whoever puts his trust in the Lord, shall be safe.”

Would we then be delivered from the foregoing snare:

1. Let us put our trust in God, for happiness.

A man who is dependent on the world for his happiness, must of necessity be in bondage to its maxims, its habits, and its votaries. But one whose heart is fixed upon God, and who looks up to God as his portion, feels himself at liberty. It is to him a small matter whether the world frowns or smiles. All that he is anxious about, is, to retain the favor of God, and to have the light of his countenance lifted up upon him. His interest, his reputation, his life may be endangered; but he smiles at the vain attempts of his enemies. They may shut him up from all access of earthly friends; but they cannot deprive him of communion with God; on the contrary, his communications from God are, for the most part, enlarged, in proportion as man’s efforts to distress him are increased. “When God gives quietness, who then can make trouble Job? 34:29.”

2. Let us put our trust in God, for support.

A man, when threatened by earthly enemies, is driven to the Lord for support; and, O! what strength does he find communicated to him in the hour of need! Assured of strength according to his day, the believer disregards the utmost efforts of his persecutors. The furnace may be heated seven times more than usual, or the lions have their appetites whetted for their prey; but his mind is in peace, because he “knows in whom he has believed, and that God is able to keep that which has been committed to him.” Whether he shall be delivered by God from his trials, or be supported under them, he knows not; but he is assured, that whatever be done by his enemies, shall “work together for his good;” and that, in the outcome, he shall “prove more than a conqueror, through Him who loved him!”

3. Let us put our trust in God, for recompense.

To Heaven the believer looks, as his final rest; and in the prospect of that, all the transitory events of time become of no account in his estimation. The crown of victory and of glory is ever in his view; and he knows the condition on which alone it will be bestowed; we must “be faithful unto death, if ever we would obtain a crown of life.” Hence he finds no difficulty in renouncing all that the world can give, and in enduring all that the most bitter persecutors can inflict; because, like Moses, he “looks unto the recompense of the reward;” and, like the “women who refused to accept deliverance from their tortures, he expects a better resurrection.”

Whatever tribulations he may pass through in his way to glory, he feels no doubt but that the glory which awaits him will amply make amends for all! Romans 8:18.

For an improvement of this subject, I will add,

1. A word of caution.

The foregoing opinions, if not received with a befitting spirit, are liable to abuse. Indeed we have often seen, in young and inexperienced people especially, conceit and self-will assuming the garb of religion; and exerting themselves, without control, in opposition to all sound advice, and in defiance of all legitimate authority.

Let me, therefore, be well understood in this matter. Though we are to be on our guard against the fear of man, we are not to set at nothing the counsels of the wise, nor the injunctions of those who are over us in the Lord. In matters of indifference, it is well to consult the judgment and the wishes of those who are in authority over us. It is only when the counsels and commands of men go counter to the commands of God, that we are authorized to set them at nothing; and even then we must conduct ourselves with meekness and modesty, and must not give way to a rude, unmannered, refractory spirit.

This is of exceeding great importance. We cannot too strictly watch against the indulgence of any unhallowed character under the pretext of religion; and if at any time we are constrained to oppose the wishes of our friends, we must order ourselves with such kindness and love, as may leave them in no doubt but that our perseverance is the fruit of real piety, and not the offspring of obstinate conceit.

2. A word of encouragement.

However careful we are, we must expect to incur the displeasure of those who wish to retain us in bondage to the world. But if, as we have reason to expect, our greatest foes are those of our own household—then let us consider how much better it is to have the frowns of men and the approbation of God, than the smiles of men and the displeasure of God. If all the men in the universe were to applaud us, it would be a poor recompense for the loss of a good conscience, whose testimony in our behalf would repay us for the loss of the whole world. In fact, if we inquire into the state of those who uphold each other in iniquity, we shall find that no one of them has peace in his own soul; for, how should they have peace who seek their happiness in the world rather than in God?

Compare, then, your state with theirs; and you will have reason to bless God, even though the whole world is against you. For them nothing remains but “a certain fearful looking-for of judgment and fiery indignation;” for you is prepared an eternal weight of glory, which will be augmented in proportion to the trials which you sustained for God, and the services you rendered to him. Be of good cheer, then; for your trials do, in fact, “turn unto you for a testimony;” and “if you suffer with Christ,” you are assured, by the voice of Inspiration, that “you shall also be glorified together with Him!”

Charles Simeon

Proverbs 29:18

“Where there is no vision, the people perish; but he who keeps the Law, happy is he!”

[The following brief sketch is given as a useful subject for a Mission Sermon. The contrast between Heathen in an ignorant and in a converted state would be very striking.]

Throughout the whole Scriptures, we have one unvaried testimony respecting man. We see, in every part:

I. The deplorable state of those who know not the Gospel.

Revelations to the prophets were often made in visions; and hence the subject-matter of the revelation was called their “vision.” Now, where no revelation is, or where, though given, it is not attended to, “the people perish!”

This is the unhappy state of the heathen world, who are constantly represented as dead in trespasses and sins, and as under the dominion of Satan! Ephesians 2:1; Ephesians 2:11-13. Romans 3:19. 1 John 5:19. We have no authority to depart from the plain declarations of Holy Writ.

Still more is this the state of God’s ancient people, while they reject the Messiah, Isaiah 27:11. Hosea 4:6. John 8:24.

But far worse is the state of those who hear, without obeying, the Gospel, John 15:22. 2 Corinthians 4:3-4. 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8. Hebrews 2:3. 1 Peter 4:17.

II. The blessedness of those who hear and obey the Gospel.

Our Lord pronounces them supremely blessed, Luke 11:28. And there is somewhat very emphatic in the declaration of it contained in our text.

Those who truly believe in Christ, and live altogether by faith in him, “are happy.” They are happy,
as restored to God’s favor, Romans 5:1,
as enjoying his presence, Psalm 89:5,
as inheriting his glory, Revelation 22:14.

Observe from hence.

1. The importance of missionary exertions. Romans 10:13-15; Romans 10:17.

2. The importance of improving our present privileges.

On the due improvement of them depends both our present and eternal happiness!

Charles Simeon