Bible Commentaries

The Evils of Narrow-Mindedness, Etc.

Proverbs 18:2).

That is to say, the object of the fool is that he may display his own cleverness; that is the meaning of the words "that his heart may discover itself,"—in other words, may disclose itself to those who look on, and show how able and clever and versatile and ingenious it is. The fool thus makes a kind of merchandise of understanding. He spreads out his wares, he calls attention to the counter, and says, Look how many are my resources;. what an industrious collector I have been of old philosophies and modern wisdom. In reality he does not care anything for one of them; he rather despises understanding and wisdom in their spiritual conception and discipline. But it is his supreme delight to fill a whole marketplace with gathered wares, to ticket them, to appraise them, to call attention to them, in order that he himself may be admired on account of their multitude and excellence. In the case of men who truly love wisdom their acquisitions are largely concealed by their modesty, and have to be discovered little by little, and so they come as surprises upon the attention of even the closest observers. We say of some men the more we know them the more we are struck with the largeness of their nature, with the number of their attainments, and with the range of their sympathies: they do not display themselves at once, or in any degree that is avoidable; they leave others to explore their character, and to find to their astonishment and delight how rich they are in thought and feeling and every moral attribute.

"The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly" ( Proverbs 18:8).

We should read, The words of a talebearer are as dainty morsels which are brought up again and again, so that they are wrought into the whole nature, and become as wounds in the body of him against whom they are directed. The general meaning would seem to be that when a talebearer has got hold of a number of reports they are to him really dainty morsels, very precious things, rumours that are to be very carefully cherished, repeated, made the most of, so much so that when other men have forgotten them they are reminded of their existence with a sense of delight and satisfaction. The talebearer takes malicious pleasure in never letting anything die that can excite curiosity or gratify a malevolent disposition. The talebearer is a cruel Proverbs 18:14).

We are to understand that man is so constituted as to have power over weakness, whether it be in himself or whether it be inflicted upon him by a hostile hand. Suppose a man has suffered injury or loss, he Proverbs 18:24).

Curiously, the passage should be read, A man of many friends will suffer loss; friendship cannot be inexpensively sustained; by many attentions, hospitalities, outlays, friendliness will come to tax itself to a very high degree. Nor can this be avoided with any show of reason or conscience. Friendship ought always to be more than a mere sentimentality; it should be prepared with its strength, its time, its money, to help those who require its attention, and who deserve the comfort of its solicitude and sympathy. That "there is a Friend that sticketh closer than a brother" is true of some human friendships; though rarely true, it is certainly true, and as such it is a fact that ought to be remembered for the cheering of the soul in much disconsolate-ness. The fulness of the meaning of this text can only be realised in the person and ministry of Jesus Christ. He alone remains when the storm is loudest, when the way is most difficult, when the whole outlook is one dense and thunderous frown. Having heard that there is such a Friend, we should ask his name; we should say to every man who knows the way of life, " sir, we would see Jesus." We are not to be content with the disciples or apostles; they rise and fall, they live and die, and pass away; we want to see the Christ, who is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever—the unchanging One, the Priest who proves his deity by his unchangeableness, and who gathers up into himself all prophecies and priesthoods and ministries, glorifying them by all that is divinest in heaven, and yet offering with marvellous condescension to place all his resources at our disposal. As a friendly man must go to great expense in maintaining friendliness, so must the brothers of Christ hold nothing dear to themselves that he requires for the propagation of his gospel, for the declaration of his love, for the maintenance of his kingdom. It would be wrong if Christianity were a cheap religion; the very cheapness which we attach to it shows the value which we set upon its claims. Everything we have belongs to Christ, and only as we give it with a warm and loving heart do we show how much we love him to whom we owe everything, and how much we value the friendship which cost him his crown, his heavenly estate, and brought him to earth, that he might suffer and die, and rise again, and reclaim as if by some larger title all that he had lost on our account.