the instructor of those only who consider her ways. The existence, within a man's reach, of the most beautiful painting in the world will be of no advantage to him unless he studies it. It is only as he considers it that it will convey to him the thought of the painter. The works of God are within the reach of men, but they must be looked at and considered if they are to be to Him what God intended them to be. God placed the bow in the cloud and the tiny ant upon the ground to be subjects of meditation. The Psalmist considered the heavens before he was moved with a sense of his own littleness and God's majesty (Psalm viii.). Solomon's precept is, "Consider the ant." 3. The lessons which are to be learned from the study of the ant. Industry, improvement of opportunities, and individual action. The amount of work done by this insignificant insect ought to be enough to shame an indolent man into activity. Her care in embracing present opportunities is a loud rebuke to those who would put off until to-morrow what, perhaps, can only be done to-day. She says, by her diligent use of present hours, "I must work the works of Him that sent me while it is day; the night cometh, when no man can work" (John ix. 4). Especially her individual effort is held up as worthy of imitation (ver. 7). While some men wait for another to take the initiative, to clear the path for them, she puts forth her own individual effort without guide, overseer, or ruler. Each man must do his own work in the world, each one has responsibilities of his own which will not admit of being discharged by proxy. He must find out his individual duty, and not try to shift the burden upon the shoulders of another, or wait for another to go before him in the way.

II. The indolent man. 1. He does the right thing at the wrong time, or indulges to excess in a gift of God which is intended to be used in moderation. Sleep is one of God's most precious gifts to man in his present condition. It is a necessity of human nature. The prophet Elijah had an angel of God to watch over him while he slept. God saw that it was the medicine he most needed in that hour of bodily fatigue and mental depression. But if he had been sleeping at the hour of evening sacrifice, when the nation had to choose between God and Baal on Mount Carmel, he would have been guilty of a great sin against himself, his nation, and his God. Israel was promised the land of rest after they had fought their way through the desert. Rest is the reward of labour and not to be substituted for it. And although intervals of rest are necessary and right, life is meant for work, and the motto of every man ought to be that of the famous coadjutor of the great William of Orange, St. Aldegonde, "Repos ailleurs" (rest elsewhere). The sin of the sluggard is the abuse of a great blessing, the doing a right thing at the wrong time. 2. The consequence of such conduct. This can be abundantly illustrated from human experience. If the farmer rests when, regardless of cold and storm, he ought to be ploughing or sowing, poverty will be coming upon him when his barns ought to be filled with plenty. The man who lets slip his spiritual opportunities through soulindolence, will find himself in a state of soul-poverty at the end of life. When he ought to be reaping an abundant harvest of soul-satisfaction from a life whose energies have been used to bless himself and others, he will find himself in a state of soul-destitution. The rich man said to his soul, "Take thine ease,' when he ought to have aroused it to prepare for the future which was coming up to meet him. But for the neglect of this God branded him as a "fool' (Luke xii. 20).

ILLUSTRATIONS OF VERSES 6—8.

When I began to employ workmen in this country, nothing annoyed me more than the necessity to hire also an overseer, or to fulfil this office myself. But I soon found this was

universal, and strictly necessary. Without an overseer very little work would be done, and nothing as it should be. The workmen will not work at all unless kept to it and directed

Now

in it by an overseer who is himself a perfect specimen of laziness. He does absolutely nothing but smoke his pipe, order this, scold that one, discuss the how and the why with the men themselves, or with idle passers-by. This overseeing often costs more than the work overseen. Now the ants manage far better. Every one attends to his own business and does it well. In another respect these provident creatures read a very necessary lesson to Orientals. In all warm climates there is a ruinous want of calculation and forecast. Having enough for the current day, men are reckless as to the future. the ant "provideth her meat in summer." summer long, and especially in harvest, every All denizen of their populous habitation is busy. As we ride or walk over the grassy plains, we notice paths leading to their subterranean granaries; at first broad, clean and smooth, like roads near a city, but constantly branching off into smaller and less distinct, until they disappear in the herbage of the plain. Along these converging paths hurry thousands of ants, thickening inward until it becomes an unbroken column of busy beings going in search of or returning with their food. I read lately, in a work of some pretension, that ants do not carry away wheat or barley. This was by way of comment on Prov. vi. 8. Tell it to

CHAP. VL

these farmers, and they will laugh at you Ants are the greatest robbers in the land. Leave a bushel of wheat in the vicinity of one of their subterranean cities, and in a surprisingly short time the whole commonwealth will be summoned to plunder. A broad, black column stretches from the wheat to the hole, and, as if by magic, every grain seems to be accommodated with legs, and walks off in a hurry along the moving column.-Thompson's Land and the Book.

Solomon's lesson to the sluggard has been generally adduced as a strong confirmation of the ancient opinion, that ants have a magazine of provisions for winter; it can, however, only relate to the species of a warm climate, the habits of which are probably different from those of a cold one; so that his words, as commonly interpreted, may be perfectly correct and consistent with Nature, and yet be not at all applicable to the species that are indigenous to Europe. But Solomon does not affirm that the ant laid up in her cell stores of grain, but that she gathers her food when it is most plentiful, and thus shows her wisdom and prudence. The words thus interpreted will apply to the species among us, as well as to those that are not indigenous.-Kirby and Spence's Entomology.

OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS.

Own

Verse 5. We may infer Rehoboam's character from such exhortations as these. And these and following precepts derive much interest from what we have reason to believe was his character. His position bore some resemblance to that of our Charles II., at the voluptuous court of Versaillies, before his accession to the throne, and the character of the one was in some respects similar to that of the other. example of his own father Solomon, in The unhappy his old age, was more potent for evil than the precepts of the Proverbs were for good. At the age of forty-one Rehoboam was a feeble libertine. The warnings of the Icon Basiliké fell flat on the ears of the royal author's own son, and Rehoboam derived little benefit from the book of Proverbs.Wordsworth.

Verse 6 to 8. Our whole present life is the time for action; the future for retribution, which shall be ushered in by the judgment: the latter is the harvest (Matt. xxv. 3, 4).-Fausset. 80

How is man degenerated from the nobility of his creation, that an insect must be a pattern unto him. He that guide, he that does well without an goes well without a guide is fit to be a overseer is fit to be an overseer, he that orders himself well without a ruler is fit to be a ruler. Let the ant, thereteach him to guide himself, who guides fore, be a guide unto the sluggard, and herself so carefully. Let the ant be his overseer, which he sees to overgo himself so much in pains and labour. Let the ant be his ruler, and by her rules herself so well in working.example command him to work which Jermin.

whereupon to live in winter, so every First, as the ant in summer gathereth gather out of God's word, that in Christian in a time of quietness should trouble and adversity he may have. wherewith to live spiritually. Secondly, we ought to labour by the example of works, in, the harvest of this present the ant, that we get the fruit of good life, so sedulously and diligently, that in the time of winter and judgment

MAIN HOMILetics of thE PARAGRAPH-Verses 12—19.

A STUDENT OF INIQUITY.

I. We have in these words a picture of a man so wicked that he makes it his study how to commit sin. The sin of many men, perhaps of most men, arises from thoughtlessness, weakness, or slothfulness (see verses 9, 10), but there are others who make sin their business, and apply themselves to it with as much

diligence as the merchant gives to his trade, or the man of letters to his pursuit of knowledge. "He deviseth mischief" (verse 14), "his heart deviseth wicked imaginations" (verse 18). Those who wish to compass any particular end must think upon the means by which they can accomplish it. Progression in iniquity is not always accomplished without thought, and wicked men have to plan much and think deeply sometimes before their malicious devices are ripe for execution. The thief has to study his profession before he can become an accomplished burglar. The sharper must spend much time in acquiring the skill by which he preys upon less experienced gamblers. The murderer must ponder deeply how he is to do his bloody deed without detection. It cost Haman a good deal of thinking before he could devise a scheme likely to injure Mordecai. The chief priests and scribes held many consultations before they could compass the death of Christ (Mark xi. 18, xiv. 1-55, etc.). The wicked man of the text is a student of ways and means. 2. He is constant in his studies. If a man professes to make any branch of knowledge his particular study and only applies himself to it by fits and starts, we know he is not much in earnest about it, but if he is constant in his application, he demonstrates by his perseverance that he intends, if possible, to excel. The wicked man here pictured by Solomon has made up his mind not to fail through lack of continuous application, "he deviseth mischief continually" (ver. 14). If one plan fails, he begins to form another; when one scheme has brought the desired end, he at once sets to work at a fresh one; as a natural consequence-3. He makes progress, "he walks with a froward mouth" (ver. 12), his feet become "swift in running to mischief" (ver. 18). The man who is always in the practice of any art can hardly stand still in it. He can hardly fail to become more and more of an adept. He sees where he might have done better yesterday and supplies the deficiency next time. And this is true of the work of wickedness as of any other work, "practice makes perfect." There are men, for instance, who from constant practice lie like truth." The more the man studies how to injure his fellow-creatures, the more easily he can plan; the oftener he plans, the easier he finds it. 4. In order to carry out his designs he invents an original language (ver. 13). There is no member of the body which cannot become a medium to convey thought. The eye is very eloquent in this work, the hand, the lip, the finger, the whole body may do this to some extent, and are sometimes blessedly so employed when affliction has shut out our fellow-man from hearing the human voice, but this man of wickedness makes his whole body a medium for the conveyance of his evil plans and desires. He yields his "members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin" (Rom. vi. 13). The common every-day language of outspoken honest men will not do to convey his thoughts, because his thoughts are against the welfare of his fellow creatures. This compels him to use a language which is comprehended only by those who are like himself. The eye can be used in this way as a more safe and swift instrument than the tongue. A look may embody a thought that would need many words to express. The glance of one wicked man to another has often been the sentence of death to many. And so, in a less degree, perhaps, with the foot and the hand, as Matthew Henry says, Those whom he makes use of as the tools of his wickedness understand the ill meaning of a wink of his eye, a stamp of his feet, the least motion of his fingers. He gives orders for evil-doing, and yet would not be thought to do so, but has ways of concealing what he does, so that he may not be suspected."

II. The end of such a man. (Verse 15.) 1. His very success will bring his ruin. The man who makes it the business of his life to lay plans against the comfort of his fellow-creatures may succeed for a time, but by-and-by he will find himself so famous, or infamous, that a reward may be offered for his person, and his very success in deceiving others in the past will possibly so throw him

off his guard as to make him an easy prey to those who now lay in wait to bring him to justice. But if he escapes the messenger of human retribution, he is sure of the Divine Nemesis. God's law and the universe are against him. In sowing discord in the world, he has sowed destruction for himself, and he must reap it. However cleverly he may have outwitted his fellow-men, he. has not deceived God, and His law is that Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" (Ephes. vi. 7). 2. The punishment will come when least expected. Suddenly shall he be broken" (verse 15). The thief makes it his study to find an entrance into his victim's house when he least expects him, and he finds himself one day repaid in his own coin. When he is enjoying his fancied security an officer of justice visits him, and suddenly he is summoned to answer for his crimes. This we find is generally the case with retribution; it not only comes certainly, but at a time when it is least looked for. 3. His ruin will be complete. "He shall be broken without remedy" (verse 15). The crime of murder is regarded by our code of law as one which deserves the extremest penalty which man can inflict upon man. The murderer, as a rule, is visited with a punishment which, so far as his earthly existence goes, cuts off all hope for the future. The man who is pictured to us in these verses is one who appears to have completed his character as a sinner. The number seven is often used in Scripture to denote perfection-completion; and this student of iniquity appears to have succeeded so well in his studies that there is no vice which is not found in one of the seven things which go to make up his character. His pride leads him to refuse God's yoke, and to carve out for himself a way without reference to the will of Him in whom he lives and moves. But his lying tongue betrays a sense of weakness. He fears that his plans, though so skilfully laid, may not succeed, and therefore he has recourse to deception to help him out with them. And so cruel is he that he shrinks from no misery that he may bring upon others in the furtherance of his own designs; neither the character nor the life of his victims is spared. He is " a false witness that speaketh lies and soweth discord," his "hands shed innocent blood." For so diseased a member of the body politic there seems nothing left but amputation. So complete a sinner must suffer a complete ruin, Finally, that such a character should be an abomination to the Lord (verse 16) is most natural, if we consider how entirely it is at variance with what God is Himself. Like seeks and loves like. The musical soul seeks and delights in those who love music. The courageous Jonathan delights in the courageous David. God is humble. He takes a right estimate of Himself and others. This is true humility. "Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high, who humbleth Himself to behold the things that are in heaven and in the earth?" (Psa. cxiii. 5, 5) How great a contrast is He in this respect to the man of "proud look." God is a 'God of truth" (Psa xxxi. 5), it is a blessed impossibilty with Him to lie (Titus i. 2). How can He do other than abominate a "lying tongue." He is the Saviour of men (1 Tim. iv. 10); this sinner seeks to destroy them. the Author of peace and the lover of concord; this man's aim has been to discord" even among brethren.'

ILLUSTRATION

It should be remembered that, in the East, when people are in the house they do not wear sandals, consequently their feet and toes are exposed. When guests wish to speak so as not to be observed by the host, they convey their meaning by the feet and toes.

Does a

person wish to leave the room in company with another? he lifts up one of his feet; and should the other refuse, he also lifts up a foot and suddenly puts it down again. When mer

OF VERSE 13.

He is

SOW

chants wish to make a bargain with others without making known their terms, they sit on the ground, have a piece of cloth thrown over the lap, and then put a hand under, and thus speak with their fingers. When the Brahmins convey religious mysteries to their disciples, they teach with their fingers, having the hands concealed in the folds of their robe. -Roberts, in Biblical Treasury.