Proverbs 27:9
Oil and incense bring joy to the heart, and the sweetness of a friend is counsel to the soul.
Sermons
The Praise of ManW. Clarkson Proverbs 27:2, 21
Four Services of FriendshipW. Clarkson Proverbs 27:5, 6, 9, 10, 17, 19
The Praises of FriendshipE. Johnson Proverbs 27:9, 10














I. ITS SWEETNESS. (Ver. 9.) It is compared to fragrant unguent and incense (Psalm 104:15; Psalm 133:2). It is more delightful to listen to the counsel of a dear friend than sternly to rely on self. It is in human nature to love to see itself reflected in other objects; and the thoughts we approve, the opinions we form, we recognize gladly on another's lips. Talking with a friend is better than thinking aloud.

II. TIME-HONOURED FRIENDSHIP SHOULD ABOVE ALL BE HELD DEAR. (Ver. 10.) The presumption is that your own and your father's friend is one tried and approved, and may be depended upon.

"The friends thou hast and their adoption tried, Grapple them to thy soul with hooks of steel."

III. FRIENDSHIP IS FOUNDED UPON SPIRITUAL SYMPATHY. And this ranks before the ties of blood. The thought meets us in the proverbs of the ancient world in general. In the touching story of the friendship of Orestes and Pylades, e.g., it has its application. "This is what people say, 'Acquire friends, not relations alone;' since a man, when he is united by disposition, though not of kin, is better than a host of blood relations for another man to possess as his friend" (cf. Euripides 'Or.,' 804). And Hesiod says, "If aid is wanted, neighbours come ungirt, but relations stay to trek up their robes." Divine friendship is the highest illustration of this love.. Christ is above all the "Friend that sticketh closer than a brother." - J.

As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place.
Nothing that affects our religious interests can, properly speaking, be called little. Everything that can influence the present temper and future state of the soul is weighty and important This text is a caution against a rambling spirit in general. "A bird that wandereth from her nest" leaves her eggs unhatched, or starves her young ones, or exposes them to peril. The evil consequences of restless and prolonged wanderings from home are —

1. They who wander lose many relative comforts. A heathen philosopher observes that "wanderers about have many acquaintances, but few friends."

2. The domestic affairs of wanderers greatly suffer. Their work either stands still, or goes on very indifferently.

3. Precious time is lost in wandering from home. Many whose lawful business leads them abroad stay much longer than is needful. They trifle at every place where they come, and must chat with every person who hath as little prudence as themselves.

4. Wanderers are exposed to many temptations which ought to be avoided.

5. This habit is a great hindrance to family religion. Apply these thoughts to ourselves, and inquire how far we are concerned in this admonition. It is important for young people to cultivate a habit of staying at home. It is peculiarly bad in servants to wander from their place. Relations should endeavour to make home agreeable to one another. It is especially bad to wander from the house of God.

(J. Orton.)

Some people are always restless; they must move about. They are like wandering birds. Such people do not know that the right place is always the best place for them. Whatever is our calling in life, let us not be in a hurry to leave it. Depend upon it, where God has placed us is the best for us after all. The right place for us all is where we can best serve Jesus, and where we can glorify Him. A bird that wanders from its nest is one that will get into danger and trouble. A bird that wanders from its nest will lose its nest. Three counsels —

1. Love your own nest, and stay in it.

2. Keep the nest clean, and make your home happy.

3. No nest is so good for you as your own, and therefore do not seek to change it.

(J. J. Ellis.)

Homiletic Review.
I. AS THE BIRD HAS ITS NEST, SO MAN HAS HIS PLACE. And both are of Divine appointment. Behind the instinct of the bird and the social nature of man we must recognise the purpose of God. Man's place is in —

1. The home. "God setteth the solitary in families."

2. In society. "Let every soul be subject to the higher powers, for the powers that be are ordained of God."

3. In the Church, its fellowship, worship, work.

II. AS THE BIRD NEEDS THE NEST, SO THE MAN NEEDS THE PLACE.

III. AS THE NEST NEEDS THE BIRD, SO THE PLACE NEEDS THE MAN.

IV. "WANDERING."

V. THE CONSEQUENCES OF WANDERING.

VI. APPEAL TO WANDERERS. Come back! the place waits for you. Your own heart echoes its cry.

(Homiletic Review.)

Sin reverses Divine arrangements. It is consequently the most unnatural thing in God's universe. We speak of "natural depravity"; it is, properly speaking, un-natural depravity. Sin is earth's exotic; the soul's nightshade; it has "turned the world upside down," and thrust man out of his proper place.

I. MAN IN HIS WRONG PLACE. Here called "a wanderer." "Where art thou?" God asked Adam; intimating that he was not where he ought to have been. Sin had turned him out of his place. Some things concerning man's original state — the place from which he had wandered.

1. It was a state of conscious Divine approval. Conscience was at rest.

2. A state of Divine illumination. The creature enjoyed the high privilege of companionship with his Creator. Sin has both stained the conscience and darkened the understanding.

3. A state of Divine sympathies. His supreme affections were centred in his Maker. Towards Him his emotions moved like bright constellations round the sun. The fatal mistake sin has introduced into the hearts of men is the vain attempt to meet the wants of the spiritual in the supplies of the material.

II. MAN IN HIS RIGHT PLACE. "Man is as his heart is." The evils which have been enumerated arise from the moral derangement of the affections. The gospel comes to restore the forfeited "place" by restoring lost confidence. It does so by revealing God in such a way as to inspire confidence. The gospel is the revelation of Divine love putting away sin, and bringing the sinner near to Himself. The soul's resting-place is faith and love.

(G. Hunt Jackson.)

Persons of the vagrant kind seldom, if ever, prosper.

1. In the common affairs of life Solomon was correct. The unrest of that man's mind, and the instability of his conduct, who is constantly making a change of his position and purpose, augurs no success for any of his adventures. See cases of eagerness to leave the native country; changing occupation; changing situation and acquaintance. And it is certainly true in changing one's religious service in the cause of God.

2. In spiritual things. There is a tendency in us all to be looking for evidences, signs, marks, experiences, graces, and coincidences of one kind or another. When a Christian wanders from his place — from the simplicity of his faith in Jesus — that moment he departs from his safe shelter in the solid rock. Many believers wander out of their place. A believer's place is in the bosom of his Lord, or at the right hand of his Master, or sitting at His feet with Mary. Wandering habits imply a lack of watchfulness.

( C. H. Spurgeon.)

The teaching of the proverb may be, that a man who leaves his own home, his own proper sphere, situation, calling, is strange, awkward, lonely, exposed — he has got away from duty and into danger, and is forlorn as a lost bird that has got away from its nest and cannot find its way back. Our subject is that men, institutions, Churches, are most useful when faithful to their own particular calling, and when true to their own distinctive characteristics. There is some danger lest Christian Churches should wander from their place. Far be it from me to depreciate the importance of social questions and social work. But we are told that we are strong in the degree in which we take in hand social questions, and play the part of social reformers. But our work is supremely spiritual; our work is to the soul of man. To us, the main cause of the misery which is in this world is to be found in the spiritual condition of men, in their alienation from God. The Church of Christ is not to be a food-supply association, nor a banking company, nor a society for the reform of manners. Our work is to bring men to God. The monition of the text may be applied to individuals. There are few things more common than for men to forsake the sphere in which their own peculiar powers have ample scope for a sphere in which those powers are scarcely required at all. An infatuation sometimes leads men to seek positions to which they are not called, and for which they are manifestly unfit. Some of us are not allowed to remain in one place. We are compelled to be wanderers on the face of the earth. The determination to abide in one's own lot, and to be true to one's own gifts and aptitudes, is the secret of power. If a man will prove his own work, he shall have rejoicing in himself. Cultivate a vivid sense of personality and a solemn conviction of our own individual significance. You will not best serve your generation by becoming a washed-out reproduction of some stronger character. If a man honestly does the best with his own powers in his own place, he will not live in vain. We cannot escape from our personal limitations, but we may do good work, and minister much blessing notwithstanding. We also wander from our place when we neglect the things that are about us, and strain after strange and distant things, for satisfaction. The highest and best things are possible to us where we are. In our own place the highest culture of character is possible. Our place has no limitations for spiritual growth. We can be men in Christ Jesus where we are. So let there be no repining and no wandering. He orders our lot; let us stand in it.

(James Lewis.)

People
Abaddon, Solomon
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Bring, Counsel, Earnest, Friend, Fruit, Glad, Heart, Hearty, Incense, Joy, Man's, Oil, Ointment, One's, Perfume, Pleasantness, Rejoice, Soul, Springs, Suggestion, Sweet, Sweetness, Torn, Trouble, Wise
Outline
1. observations of self love
5. of true love
11. of care to avoid offenses
23. and of the household care

Dictionary of Bible Themes
Proverbs 27:9

     4496   perfume
     5014   heart, human
     5549   speech, positive
     5779   advice
     5821   criticism, among believers
     5863   flattery
     7386   incense

Proverbs 27:9-10

     5691   friends, good

Library
To-Morrow
A sermon (No. 94) delivered on Sabbath morning, August 25, 1856, by C. H. Spurgeon at Maberley Chapel, Kingsland, on behalf of the Metropolitan Benefit Societies' Asylum, Ball's Pond Road, Islington. "Boast not thyself of to-morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth."--Proverbs 27:1. God's most holy Word was principally written to inform us of the way to heaven, and to guide us in our path through this world to the realms of eternal life and light. But as if to teach us that God is
C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs

Cheer for Despondency
A sermon (No. 3183) published on Thursday, February 3, 1910, delivered by C. H. Spurgeon at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington. "Thou knowest not what a day may bring forth."--Proverbs 27:1. What a great mercy it is that we do not know "what a day may bring forth"! We are often thankful for knowledge, but in this case we may be particularly grateful for ignorance. It is the glory of God, we are told, to conceal a thing, and it most certainly is for the happiness of mankind that he should conceal
C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs

The Best Friend
A Sermon (No. 2627) intended for reading on Lord's Day, June 18th, 1899, delivered by C. H. Spurgeon at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington. on Thursday evening, February 23rd, 1882. "Thine own friend, and thy father's friend, forsake not."--Proverbs 27:10. True friends are very scarce. We have a great many acquaintances and sometimes we call them friends, and so misuse the noble word "friendship." Peradventure in some after-day of adversity when these so-called friends have looked out for their
C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs

The Honored Servant
A Sermon (No. 2643) Intended for Reading on Lord's Day, October 8th 1899, delivered by C. H. Spurgeon at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington on Thursday Evening, June 22nd, 1882. "Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof: so he that waiteth on his master shall be honored."--Proverbs 27:18. In Solomon's day every man sat under his own vine and fig tree, and there was peace throughout the whole country. Then, God's law about dividing out the land among the people so that every man
C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs

The Way to Honor
A Sermon (No. 1118) delivered by C. H. Spurgeon at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington. "Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof: so he that waiteth on his master shall be honored."--Proverbs 27:18. If a man in Palestine carefully watched his fig tree and kept it in proper condition, he was sure to be abundantly rewarded in due season, for it would yield him a large quantity of fruit of which he would enjoy the luscious taste. So according to Solomon, good servants obtained honor
C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs

Spiritual Appetite
A Sermon (No. 1227) delivered on Lord's Day Morning by C. H. Spurgeon, April 4th, 1875, at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington. "The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet."--Proverbs 27:7. It is a great blessing when food and appetite meet together. Some have appetite and no meat, they need our pity; others have meat but no appetite, they may not perhaps win our pity but they certainly require it. We have heard of a gentleman who was accustomed to
C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs

The Wandering Bird
A Sermon (No. 3453) published on Thursday, April 8th, 1915, delivered by C.H. Spurgeon at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington. "As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place."--Proverbs 27:8. Solomon spoke from observation. He had seen certain persons of a vagrant kind, and he perceived that they seldom or never prospered. Moreover, he spoke from inspiration as well as from observation, hence the sagacity of the philosopher is in this case supported by the austerity
C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs

To-Morrow
GOD'S MOST holy Word was principally written to inform us of the way to heaven, and to guide us in our path through this world, to the realms of eternal life and light. But as if to teach us that God is not careless concerning our doings in the present scene, and that our benevolent Father is not inattentive to our happiness even in this state, he has furnished us with some excellent and wise maxims, which we may put in practice, not only in spiritual matters, but in temporal affairs also. I have
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 2: 1856

Epistle xxvii. To Anastasius, Bishop.
To Anastasius, Bishop. Gregory to Anastasius, Bishop of Antioch. I have received through the hands of our common son the deacon Sabinianus the longed for letter of your most sweet Holiness, in which the words have flowed not from your tongue but from your soul. And it is not surprising that one speaks well who lives perfectly. And, since you have learnt, through the Spirit teaching you in the school of the heart, the precepts of life--to despise all earthly things and to speed to the heavenly country,--in
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Second Sunday Before Lent
Text: Second Corinthians 11, 19-33; 12, 1-9. 19 For ye bear with the foolish gladly, being wise yourselves. 20 For ye bear with a man, if he bringeth you into bondage, if he devoureth you, if he taketh you captive, if he exalteth himself, if he smiteth you on the face. 21 I speak by way of disparagement, as though we had been weak. Yet whereinsoever any is bold (I speak in foolishness), I am bold also. 22 Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. II

Of Suffering which must be Accepted as from God --Its Fruits.
Be content with all the suffering that God may lay upon you. If you will love Him purely, you will be as willing to follow Him to Calvary as to Tabor. He must be loved as much on Calvary as on Tabor, since it is there that He makes the greatest manifestation of His love. Do not act, then, like those people who give themselves at one time, and take themselves back at another. They give themselves to be caressed, and take themselves back when they are crucified; or else they seek for consolation in
Jeanne Marie Bouvières—A Short Method Of Prayer And Spiritual Torrents

How those who Fear Scourges and those who Contemn them are to be Admonished.
(Admonition 14.) Differently to be admonished are those who fear scourges, and on that account live innocently, and those who have grown so hard in wickedness as not to be corrected even by scourges. For those who fear scourges are to be told by no means to desire temporal goods as being of great account, seeing that bad men also have them, and by no means to shun present evils as intolerable, seeing they are not ignorant how for the most part good men also are touched by them. They are to be admonished
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

The Call of Matthew.
(at or Near Capernaum.) ^A Matt. IX. 9; ^B Mark II. 13, 14; ^C Luke V. 27, 28. ^c 27 And after these thingsa [after the healing of the paralytic] he went forth, ^a again by the seaside [i. e., he left Capernaum, and sought the shore of the sea, which formed a convenient auditorium for him, and which was hence a favorite scene for his teaching]; and all the multitude resorted unto him, and he taught them. 14 And as he ^a Jesus passed by from thence, he saw ^c and beheld ^a a man, ^c a publican, named
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Poor in Spirit are Enriched with a Kingdom
Theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:3 Here is high preferment for the saints. They shall be advanced to a kingdom. There are some who, aspiring after earthly greatness, talk of a temporal reign here, but then God's church on earth would not be militant but triumphant. But sure it is the saints shall reign in a glorious manner: Theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.' A kingdom is held the acme and top of all worldly felicity, and this honour have all the saints'; so says our Saviour, Theirs is the
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

An Essay on the Mosaic Account of the Creation and Fall of Man
THERE are not a few difficulties in the account, which Moses has given of the creation of the world, and of the formation, and temptation, and fall of our first parents. Some by the six days of the creation have understood as many years. Whilst others have thought the creation of the world instantaneous: and that the number of days mentioned by Moses is only intended to assist our conception, who are best able to think of things in order of succession. No one part of this account is fuller of difficulties,
Nathaniel Lardner—An Essay on the Mosaic Account of the Creation and Fall of Man

Second Sunday after Easter
Text: First Peter 2, 20-25. 20 For what glory is it, if, when ye sin, and are buffeted for it, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye shall take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. 21 For hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that ye should follow his steps: 22 who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: 23 who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, threatened not; but committed
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. II

The Sixth Commandment
Thou shalt not kill.' Exod 20: 13. In this commandment is a sin forbidden, which is murder, Thou shalt not kill,' and a duty implied, which is, to preserve our own life, and the life of others. The sin forbidden is murder: Thou shalt not kill.' Here two things are to be understood, the not injuring another, nor ourselves. I. The not injuring another. [1] We must not injure another in his name. A good name is a precious balsam.' It is a great cruelty to murder a man in his name. We injure others in
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

Proverbs
Many specimens of the so-called Wisdom Literature are preserved for us in the book of Proverbs, for its contents are by no means confined to what we call proverbs. The first nine chapters constitute a continuous discourse, almost in the manner of a sermon; and of the last two chapters, ch. xxx. is largely made up of enigmas, and xxxi. is in part a description of the good housewife. All, however, are rightly subsumed under the idea of wisdom, which to the Hebrew had always moral relations. The Hebrew
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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