An unjust man is detestable to the righteous, and one whose way is upright is detestable to the wicked. Sermons
I. THE HATRED OF US BY THE WICKED. "He that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked." 1. This is a well-verified fact, attested by Scripture, by history, by observation, probably by experience. 2. Its explanation is at hand. (1) Wicked men are utterly out of sympathy with the righteous. Their tastes, inclinations, habits, are all at variance with those of the good and pure. (2) The upright are obliged to condemn them, either in private or in public. (3) The life of the one is a standing reflection upon the conduct of the other. 3. There is one right way to meet it; viz. (1) to endure it as Jesus Christ endured it (Hebrews 12:3; 1 Peter 2:23), and as seeing the invisible but present and approving Lord (Hebrews 11:27); (2) to make an honest effort to remove it by winning those who indulge it. But the more difficult question is how we are to bear ourselves toward those whose conduct we reprobate, whose character we detest, whose persons we are not willing to admit into our homes. How shall we order - II. OUR HATRED OF THE WICKED? That there is a very strong feeling against the wrong doer in the minds of the holy is obvious enough. It is a fact that "an unjust man is an abomination to the just." "Do not I hate them that hate thee?... I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies," said David (Psalm 139:21, 22). Jesus Christ "looked round about on them with anger" (Mark 3:5). God is "angry with the wicked every day" (Psalm 7:11). He "hateth all the workers of iniquity" (Psalm 5:5). Our feeling, therefore, is the reflection of that which is in the heart of the Holy One himself. Of what elements should it be composed? 1. One element that should be absent. There should be no trace of personal ill will, of a desire for the suffering of the man himself; for the soul of the sinful we should wish well, and we fall into a mistake, if not into a sin, when we allow ourselves to find a pleasure in witnessing or in dwelling upon the humiliation or the sorrow of the wicked. We ought only to wish for that as a means of their purification and recovery. 2. The elements that should be present. (1) Pure resentment, such as God feels, such as our Lord felt when he lived amongst us (see Matthew 23), - a feeling of strong reprobation, which we are obliged to direct against them as the doers of unrighteousness. (2) Faithful but measured condemnation. There is, in this view, a time to speak as well as a time to keep silence; and both publicly and privately it behoves us to blame the blameworthy, cud even to denounce the shamefully unjust or cruel. But here we are bound to take care that we are well acquainted with the matter on which we speak, and that our judgment is an impartial one. (3) Fearless and unflinching opposition. We must actively and steadfastly oppose ourselves to the iniquitous, and do our best to bring their purposes to the ground. (4) Sincere and practical compassion. With all this that is adverse, we may and should conjoin such pity as our Divine Saviour has felt for ourselves, and such honest and earnest endeavour to win them to the truth and to the practice of righteousness as he put forth when he came to redeem us from sin and to raise us to the likeness and restore us to the kingdom of God. - C.
The fear of man bringeth a snare. Every passion of the soul may be of use to us, but is capable also, by being perverted, of causing much vexation and misery to ourselves and injury to our fellow-creatures. Year, while it proceeds from right principles, and is proportioned to the weight and moment of the evils about which it is conversant, must serve the most beneficial purposes, as it warns us where our greatest danger lies, and strongly prompts us to avoid it. But the case is quite otherwise when it forms imaginary dangers and alarms with false terrors. Then our fears turn us aside from our duty, and in avoiding trifling evils we run ourselves into greater.I. WHAT IS THE FEAR OF MAN? A reverence of human authority and customs, and a dread of the censure and reproaches of our fellow-creatures. 1. There is a reverence due to human authority in all points that do not exceed the just bounds of it, and the paying this regard is absolutely necessary to hold the frame of civil societies together. The ends of society cannot be secured but by mutual condescension and respect, and the compliance and submission of the minor part, in things lawful. 2. A man ought to be afraid of censure and reproach being fixed upon him, and anxious to deliver and clear himself from it. Men must be of a temper quite stupid if they have no fear at all of public reproach and infamy, and must lose a very powerful restraint from mean, ungenerous, and disgraceful practices. 3. We are guilty of the utmost rashness and folly if we expose ourselves to the resentments of our fellow-men unnecessarily. And a dread of those punishments which the civil magistrate inflicts is not only lawful, but necessary. Thus far, then, the fear of man may be defended and justified. II. IN WHAT SENSE. IT BRINGETH A SNARE. It throws temptations in men's way which are likely to prevail so far as to destroy all improvements in true wisdom and virtue. 1. Suppose a man, under the influence of this slavish principle, engages in search after truth, what proficiency is it possible for him to make? In order to making improvements in Divine knowledge it is absolutely necessary that the mind be free, calm, and unruffled, under no restraint or terror. There must be no corrupt passion to darken the understanding, nor private interest to mislead and pervert it. 2. It is as great an absurdity to expect that one who is dispirited by worldly fears should be a confessor and martyr for true religion as that a coward should be brave and valiant. Slavish fear of man leads men even to revile and banter the truth. 3. This fear will have the same malignant influence upon our morals as upon our faith. When it rises to such a height as to overrule the dictates of natural conscience, and entirely to destroy the strength and constancy of our minds, we are an easy prey to every temptation, and lie open to the most desperate and abandoned wickedness. If it be our ultimate view to secure the countenance and favour of persons in authority and avoid their displeasure, this likewise will subject us to many snares and inconveniences. III. OFFER SOME REMEDIES AGAINST THIS FEAR OF MAN. 1. Maintain and improve in our minds a strong sense of the necessary difference between good and evil. 2. Add a becoming sense of the dignity of our nature. 3. Trust in God, as advised in the latter part of the text. 4. Cultivate a supreme reverence for God. These two — fear of man and fear of God — are absolutely inconsistent, and cannot subsist together. (James Foster.) 1. The fear of man often leads to downright, positive sin. 2. The fear of man keeps many a lad from decision for Christ. (G. Everard, M.A.) 1. For the fear of man is more general than we are aware of. 2. To all who yield to its influence it brings a fatal snare. II. ITS PROPER AND ONLY EFFECTUAL ANTIDOTE. Regard for God Himself. We should trust Him for support, happiness, recompense. Improvement: 1. A word of caution. 2. Of encouragement. (S. Simeon, M.A.) Whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe. I. THERE IS SAFETY NOWHERE EXCEPT IN THE CARE OF GOD, for in His hands alone are sources of safety.II. God can make safe ONLY THOSE WHO TRUST HIM FULLY. III. COMPLETE TRUST CAN EXIST ONLY BETWEEN PARTIES IN ACCORD and in the confidence of each other. IV. IN ORDER TO TRUST IN THE LORD TWO THINGS ARE ESSENTIAL. 1. We must confidently believe that God is able, willing, and ready to care for us. 2. That we are worthy of His care. V. TO BE SAFE WE MUST BE AT ONE WITH GOD. VI. OUTSIDE OF GOD'S PROTECTION ARE DANGER, DARKNESS, DEATH — ETERNAL. (Homiletic Review.). People SolomonPlaces JerusalemTopics Abominable, Abomination, Detest, Detests, Disgusting, Dishonest, Evil, Evil-doers, Perverse, Righteous, Straight, Unjust, Upright, WickedOutline 1. observations of public government15. and of private 22. Of anger, pride, thievery, cowardice and corruption Dictionary of Bible Themes Proverbs 29:27 5350 injustice, hated by God Library An Obscured vision(Preached at the opening of the Winona Lake Bible Conference.) TEXT: "Where there is no vision, the people perish."--Proverbs 29:18. It is not altogether an easy matter to secure a text for such an occasion as this; not because the texts are so few in number but rather because they are so many, for one has only to turn over the pages of the Bible in the most casual way to find them facing him at every reading. Feeling the need of advice for such a time as this, I asked a number of my friends who … J. Wilbur Chapman—And Judas Iscariot Two Ancient Proverbs The Baptismal Covenant Can be Kept Unbroken. 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