Strike a mocker, and the simple will beware; rebuke the discerning man, and he will gain knowledge. Sermons
I. ENSURE OUR SAFETY. So that we shall not be visited with evil. But is not the good man visited with evil? Do not his crops fail, his vessels sink, his shares fall, his difficulties gather, his children die? Does not his health decline, his hope depart, his life lessen? Yes; but: 1. From the worst evils his piety secures him. The "fear of the Lord," that Holy One before whom he stands and with whom he walks, keeps him from folly, from fraud, from vice, from moral contamination, from that "death in life" which is the thing to be dreaded and avoided. 2. And the troubles and sorrows which do assail him lose all their bitterness as they wear the aspect of a heavenly Father's discipline, who, in all that he sends or suffers, is seeking the truest and the lasting well being of his children. The man who is living in the fear of God, and in the love of Jesus Christ, may go on his homeward way with no anxiety in his heart, for he has the promise of his Saviour that all things shall work together for good - those things that are the least pleasant as well as those that are the most inviting. II. SATISFY OUR SOUL. "Shall abide satisfied." Certainly it is only the man of real piety of whom this word can be used. Discontent is the mark which "the world and the things which are in the world" leave on the countenance and write on the heart of man. Nothing that is less than the Divine gives rest to the human spirit. Mirth, enjoyment, temporary happiness, may be commanded, but not abiding satisfaction. That, however, is found in the devoted service of a Divine Redeemer. Let a man yield himself, his whole powers and all his life, to the Saviour who 1oved him unto death, and in following and serving him he will "find rest unto his soul." Not half-hearted but whole-hearted service brings the joy which no accident can remove and which time does not efface or even lessen. The secret of lifelong blessedness is found, not in the assertion of an impossible freedom from obligation, but in an open, practicable, elevating service of the living God, our Divine Saviour. III. CONSTITUTE OUR LIFE AND CONDUCT TO A STILL HIGHER FORM OF IT. "The fear of the Lord tendeth to life." It is not merely that a regard for God's will conduces to health and leads to long life (Psalm 91:16); it is not only that it tends to secure to its possessor an honourable and estimable life among men. It is much more than this; it is that it constitutes human life. "This is life eternal, to know thee, the only true God." For man to live in ignorance or in forgetfulness of his Divine Father is to miss or to lose his life while he has it (or seems to have it). On the other hand, to live a life of reverence, of trustfulness in God, of love to him, of filial obedience and submission, of cheerful and devoted cooperation with him in the great redemptive work he is outworking, to be attaining more and more to his own spiritual likeness, - this is life itself, life in its excellency, its fulness, its beauty. Moreover, it itself, with all its worth, is but the prelude of that which is to come. It is the "fair beginning" of that which shall realize a glorious consummation a little further on. With all that hinders and hampers taken away, and with all that facilitates and enlarges bestowed upon us, we enter upon the nobler life beyond, which we have no language to describe because we have no faculty that can conceive its blessedness or its glory. 1. Let the perils of human life point to a Divine Refuge. 2. Let the weariness of earthly good lend to the Divine Source of rest and joy. 3. In the midst of the deathfulness of sin, lay hold on eternal life. - C.
Smite a scorner, and the simple will beware. I. WRONG MAY EXIST IN VERY DIFFERENT CHARACTERS. There are three characters mentioned in the passage.1. "The scorner." The scorner is a character made up of pride, irreverence, and cruelty. He mocks at sin; he scoffs at religion. He looks with a haughty contempt upon those opinions that agree not with his own. 2. "The simple." The simple man is he who is more or less unsophisticated in mind, and untainted by crime. One who is inexperienced, unsuspicious, too confiding, and impressible. 3. "One that understandeth knowledge." This is a character whom Solomon represents in other places as the just man, the wise man, the prudent man — expressions which with him mean personal religion. These three characters, therefore, may comprise the man against religion, the man without religion, and the man with religion. The "scorner" is thoroughly wrong. The "simple" is potentially wrong. He that "hath understanding" is occasionally wrong, or he would not require "reproof." It is implied — II. THAT WRONG IN ALL CHARACTERS SHOULD BE CHASTISED. "Smite a scorner, and the simple will beware; and reprove one that hath understanding, and he will understand knowledge." It is not only the duty of rulers to punish crime, but it is the duty of every honest man to inflict chastisement upon wrong wherever it is seen. The withdrawal of patronage, separation from the offender's society, social ostracism, the administration of reproof, and the expression of displeasure, are amongst the means by which an honest man, even in his private capacity, can chastise the wrong. III. THAT THE KIND OF CHASTISEMENT SHOULD BE ACCORDING TO CHARACTER. "The scorner" is to be smitten. "Smite a scorner." The man of "understanding" is to be reproved. Reproof to an inveterate scorner would be useless. IV. THAT THE EFFECTS OF THE CHASTISEMENT WILL VARY ACCORDING TO THE CHARACTER. 1. The chastisement inflicted upon the scorner will be rather a benefit to others than himself. "Smite a scorner, and the simple will beware." Severity towards the incorrigible may act as a warning to others. 2. The chastisement inflicted on the man of understanding is of service to himself. He takes it in good part. Wrong exists everywhere around us. Evil meets us in almost every man we meet. It is for us to set ourselves in strong opposition to it wherever it appears. (David Thomas, D. D.) People Isaiah, SolomonPlaces JerusalemTopics Acts, Beware, Blows, Clear, Discerning, Flog, Gain, Intelligent, Learn, Mocker, Naive, Overtake, Pride, Prudence, Prudent, Prudently, Rebuke, Reproof, Reprove, Reproved, Scoffer, Scorner, Sense, Sharp, Shrewd, Simple, Smite, Smitest, Strike, Understand, Understandeth, Understanding, WiseOutline 1. Life and ConductDictionary of Bible Themes Proverbs 19:25 5313 flogging Library How the Slothful and the Hasty are to be Admonished. (Admonition 16.) Differently to be admonished are the slothful and the hasty. For the former are to be persuaded not to lose, by putting it off, the good they have to do; but the latter are to be admonished lest, while they forestall the time of good deeds by inconsiderate haste, they change their meritorious character. To the slothful therefore it is to be intimated, that often, when we will not do at the right time what we can, before long, when we will, we cannot. For the very indolence of … Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great How the Impatient and the Patient are to be Admonished. Second Journey through Galilee - the Healing of the Leper. The Kingdom of God Conceived as the Inheritance of the Poor. "Boast not Thyself of to Morrow, for Thou Knowest not what a Day May Bring Forth. " The Wrath of God The Unity of God Man's Misery by the Fall Covenanting According to the Purposes of God. The Ninth Commandment The Knowledge of God Christian Meekness The Third Commandment Proverbs Links Proverbs 19:25 NIVProverbs 19:25 NLT Proverbs 19:25 ESV Proverbs 19:25 NASB Proverbs 19:25 KJV Proverbs 19:25 Bible Apps Proverbs 19:25 Parallel Proverbs 19:25 Biblia Paralela Proverbs 19:25 Chinese Bible Proverbs 19:25 French Bible Proverbs 19:25 German Bible Proverbs 19:25 Commentaries Bible Hub |
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