"There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. The liberal soul shall be made fat; and he that watereth shall be watered also himself. He that withholdeth com, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it. He that diligently seeketh good procureth favour: but he that seeketh mischief, it shall come unto him. He that trusteth in his riches shall fall: but the righteous shall flourish as a branch. He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart. The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise. Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner."
The farmer who is desirous to have an abundant harvest, must not sow his seed with a sparing and niggardly hand. A thin sowing must of necessity produce a scanty crop. Now, according to the representations of the word of God, that which is the case in nature, in the physical world, is the case also in regard to the use which a man makes of the means of doing good which providence commits to his care, in regard to the virtue of liberality, or practical charity.
Such is the general sentiment in the first two verses of this passage; and the sentiment is in harmony with the statements of the New Testament on the same subject.*
* 2Co_9:6.
The fact which Solomon states is, that there is such a thing-nay, that it is frequent and reasonably to be expected,-as gaining by giving; as augmenting substance by its free distribution.
The fact has its origin in the promised smile and blessing of the Lord on the labours and the pursuits of the man of diffusive benevolence. That man, in the use he makes of his means, resembles the Divine Being himself, the universal Giver; and he acts in conformity to His will and purpose in the bestowment of His benefits. "When He fills the clouds with rain, it is that they may "empty themselves upon the earth," "that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater." So, when He blesses a man, it is that he may be a blessing. Mere selfish enjoyment is in no case God's purpose. He constitutes every man a debtor to his fellow-men, in every case in which He puts it into his power to do them service. "God is love." "His tender mercies are over all his works." And God's word is like himself. It is full of love; full of the principles, the precepts, and the examples of benevolence. Mark the fact, then, here stated. Scattering, does not seem a likely way of increasing-giving away, a likely means of acquisition. Yet here stands the declaration, "There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth." On the other hand, it seems a natural and reasonable sequence, that the more a man keeps the more he should have, that the less is given away, the more should remain; yet, "there is that withholdeth more than is meet, and it tendeth to poverty."
It is a question, then, for the serious consideration of God's people-whether, in this matter, they have sufficient confidence in Him; whether they trust Him as they ought to do. I fear not. They have more reliance on their own plans of saving than on God's blessing on giving; more dependence on the bank than on the promise. But is not the injunction of Jesus fully applicable here-"have Faith In God?" Is not this just one of the appropriate ways of putting faith to the test on God's part, and showing its reality on ours? Is it not precisely the defectiveness of this faith that makes us timid, cautious, parsimonious in giving? ever fearing that we may stint ourselves, and feel the want of what we expend on suffering humanity and on the cause of God? Is it not thus by unbelief that we are tempted to sow sparingly? And ought it to be, that the husbandman trusts more to the laws of nature than the Christian does to the covenant of his God? Might He not say to each of us, in terms of gentle but merited reproof, "O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" Even when we do give, give we not with a misgiving, as if we were not quite sure whether we were right,-rather hoping that God's promises may be fulfilled than believing that they will? Alas! if the principle of proportion contained in the words, "According to thy faith be it unto thee," were applied in the present case, could we expect a large return? And may not this be the very secret of seeming failures, when they do occur?-He, bo assured, who gives to others in proportion as God gives to him, takes the surest method of opening still more widely the fountain of the divine benevolence to himself.
The next verse continues and further developes the same thought-"The liberal soul shall be made fat; and he that watereth shall be watered also himself."
"The liberal soul" may signify, according to a common acceptation of the term, the liberal person; and "fat" being considered as a metaphor for rich-full of substance, the sentiment would simply be, the liberal man shall be the prosperous man. Or we may render the words thus, "The soul of the liberal shall enjoy abundance;" that is, ho shall both best attain it, and best relish it.
"And he that watereth shall be watered also himself." The man of unaffected, unostentatious benevolence, who lays himself out, in the use of his substance, for the good of others, attracts to himself general favour, both for his own sake, and for the sake of the community of which he is so useful a member.
And further, he shall be compensated by blessing from God. God will smile upon him; and will so order His providence as to maintain and promote his prosperity. Or, if, to God's infinite wisdom, that should not seem best for his higher interests, He will give him, in lieu of worldly prosperity, when that is abridged or suspended, such an amount of spiritual benefit as shall infinitely more than countervail the loss. Thus "he that waters shall," in one or other of two ways, "be watered himself;" either in kind or in kindness; either in increase of earthly acquisition, or in the nourishing condition of his soul by the very privation of his worldly joys. The streams of his bounty flow all around, to refresh and gladden the parched wastes of poverty and affliction;-and streams of supply keep flowing in, more than adequate to supply the waste. His wealth is like a reservoir, which, while it is ever sending out, is ever receiving;-and, to supply it, the God of love will even "open fountains in the wilderness, and springs in the desert,"-bringing its tributary rills from the most unexpected sources. O! it is a vile maxim, and at utter variance with the entire tenor, and most explicit and energetic statements of the word of God,-that stinting, and saving, and griping, and holding is the way to wealth. The plan may indeed at times succeed. Immense sums may be amassed. But what enjoyment is there in them? There is no blessing with the riches, either from God or man:-no disposition to promote the miser's interest; no regret when his losses and disappointments come; no tear of pity; no hand to help in time of need. O how much happier the man who can say-"The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me, and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy;" and of whom it is said-"Blessed is he that considereth the poor; the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble," Psa_41:1.
The beneficence to which the divine favour is pledged is, of course, beneficence practised on right principles. The same thing done from self-righteousness or ostentation, is not the same thing in God's sight with what is done in the spirit of the gospel-the spirit of self-renouncing humility, of lowly and lively gratitude for God's redeeming grace. When, therefore, there appear, in the providence of God, cases that seem like failures in the promised prosperity of the liberal, there are two considerations which we do well to bear in mind. The first is, that the Lord, who corrects his children not for "his pleasure but for their profit,"-their spiritual profit, that is-may at times, in his unerring wisdom, see trials in their substance to be the trials most appropriate for the effectual attainment of this end; in which case it would be unkind in the highest sense, and a breach of promise instead of a fulfilment of it, were he to allow them to gain this world at the risk of the next,-to grant them temporal prosperity at the expense of their soul's wellbeing in time, and safety for eternity. This is what they, if rightly minded, could not desire; and what He, in the exercise either of faithfulness or love, could not possibly do. The second is,-that we, who cannot search the heart, can never tell how far, even in the characters of God's people, there may be the intrusion and intermixture of those less pure and hallowed impulses, of which they are ever so much in danger, and which He may see operating in no small degree, even when they are escaping our detection.
The specific case mentioned in the following verse, contains still an illustration of the same principle as in the two preceding, "He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it." The prevailing maxim of the world ever since the first murderer gave utterance to the tendencies of human nature after its fall, in the question, "Am I my brother's keeper?"-has been, "Every man for himself." And sometimes they who are loudest in denouncing this maxim when nothing immediately affects themselves, afford the most melancholy examples of its operation when they are put to the test. The identity of human nature in all ages is stamped on almost every sentence of this book of Proverbs. What presented itself to view in Solomon's days is no rarity still. There are such selfish wretches now, as there were then; who, when multitudes are famishing around them, will retain such supplies of the "staff of life" as are in their possession; aye, and, if they have any spare capital, will buy up as much as they can obtain from others, for the purpose of wringing a still higher price from a starving and dying community. There can hardly be a more affecting exemplification than this, of the power of an avaricious disposition in hardening the heart-in draining it of its last warm drops of sympathy.
The man may gain his end. He may get a high price for his corn. But he pays a still higher for his money:-he pays for it in the forfeiture of character and sympathy and good-will. He is banished from the affections of his townsmen and his countrymen,-driven with curses out of their hearts. He may affect to despise this. He may hug himself in self-gratulation, that he has secured the pelf, and that their curses can't take his money from him. But this only renders him the more odious and despicable;-and, although for the time pluming himself on his independence; the time may come when he will be made to feel the truth of the saying, "A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold." What a contrast to his is the situation of the man, who, content with a moderate profit, disdaining, or rather conscientiously dreading, to take advantage of the pinching necessities of others, and to starve them into compliance with his unconscionable demands, feels for prevailing distress, opens his granaries, and supplies the market for the poor and the famishing; who will rather do this at a loss than see others perish for want that he may have abundance. How enviable his emotions! How precious the blessing of the poor,-how sweet to the ear and to the heart!
The word rendered "selleth" is by some interpreters understood of distributing or breaking bread to the hungry. This of course obtains a still more spontaneous and abundant blessing, than parting with it at a small profit, or even at cost. It was such disinterested kindness that brought a blessing upon Job from those who experienced it.*1 And it is this with which is associated the promised blessing of God.*2
*1 Job_29:11-13. rr
*2 Isa_58:6-11.
What in the verse before us is said of individuals is true also of Governments. As there are few things in a community so fearful as famine, the government that, in a season of dearth, makes it its first concern to provide supplies of corn and provision for the poor, will bring on itself the blessing of the poor, and establish itself in the affection and confidence of the people. On the other hand, laws of which the tendency and the effect are to keep up the price of bread, and which thus press hard on the labouring classes,-whose families, on low wages, are scantily fed, and deprived of education to their minds by the difficulty of providing sustenance for their bodies,-it would require very clear and strong grounds indeed to justify. And, when their operation is felt, and the dissatisfaction is indicated by universal and indignant remonstrance,-as there is nothing so unhappy and so perilous as a discontented and murmuring population, cursing their rulers instead of blessing them,-there would require to be very cogent reasons for refusing the trial at least of a change.-This is not the place for discussions on political economy. One thing, however, is clear, that laws which "withhold corn" can never be popular, and that it is the very first principle and duty of every paternal government,-of every government that would settle itself in the confidence and affection of its subjects,-to "DO NOTHING BY PARTIALITY."
The sentiment is similar, though more general, in verse Pro_11:27. "He that diligently seeketh good procureth favour: but he that seeketh mischief it shall come unto him."
"He that seeketh good" stands here in contradistinction to "him that seeketh mischief." There can be no doubt, therefore, that the meaning is, "He that seeketh good to others; that is, makes the good of others his aim." The word rendered "diligently" signifies in the morning, or early. This is a Hebraism, and a natural one. When we make anything our business-when we set our hearts upon it-we set about it immediately; we give it our morning energies,-beginning the day with it, and occupying it as it was begun. The character designed, then, is that of one who desires, and industriously and perseveringly seeks, the well-being of all around him. That man "procureth favour"-favour both from men and from God; not only the kindly and grateful affections of men, but, in time of need, the practical manifestation of those affections. And as to God-it stands on record in his own word, that "with the merciful man he will show himself merciful."
The connexion thus explains the meaning of what follows. No man ever "seeketh mischief" to himself. And he that seeketh it to others does in effect seek it to himself. "It shall come unto him:" that is, his attempts to do harm will recoil upon himself. Enmity will be the result, instead of favour. All about him will be made his foes. And, what is worse, he will be exposed to the divine displeasure; for it also stands recorded in the same word, "He shall have judgment without mercy who hath showed no mercy."
The trust in riches mentioned in the 28th verse (Pro_11:28), we have already had before us.* How prone is the possessor to "say to the gold, Thou art my hope, and to the line gold, Thou art my confidence!" The possession ought, according to its proper and legitimate tendency, to lead the heart to God, from whom cometh down every good gift; but alas! it too often draws it away from Him, and produces confidence in itself instead of the giver. The giver banished by his gift!
* Pro_10:15.
From the connexion in which the words stand, there may perhaps be a special reference to riches gained by means such as those that had just been specified. And in that case, the language of Jeremiah becomes peculiarly appropriate, "As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool," Pro_17:11. If a man so trusts in his wealth, as to be emboldened by his confidence to acts of high-minded oppression and injustice-that man "shall fall." He shall fall into decay. His riches shall "make themselves wings." God shall blight and blast his hopes and wishes. Or, if he continues to maintain his eminence, he shall finally fall with the more tremendous and frightful ruin.
"But the righteous shall flourish as a branch"-a vigorous, fresh, extending, blossoming, fruitful branch. The image is a beautiful one. It is applied, in the dying blessings of Jacob, to his favourite son, "Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall," Gen_49:22. Whether understood temporally or spiritually, it is equally true and equally beautiful. God shall bless that man. He shall "spread out his roots by the waters, and the dew shall lie all night upon his branch." "His beauty shall be as the olive-tree, and his smell as Lebanon." He shall be "filled with the fruits of righteousness," and at the same time with those of peace and joy in his own bosom.
Verse Pro_11:29. "He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart." There are many ways in which a man may "trouble his own house." He may by the violence and irritability, the peevishness, fretfulness, and selfishness of his temper; he may by his avarice on the one hand, or by his reckless prodigality on the other-involving his family in starvation and suffering by opposite means; he may by intemperance, with all its horrid attendants; he may by sloth and idleness, and indisposition to work. "He shall inherit the wind." The expression is a very strong one. Could any words more impressively convey the idea of loss, disappointment, and ultimate destitution and misery?-heir to the wind! Beggary shall be his portion. He shall be "clothed with rags."-The result he himself deserves. A man's family is his first charge from heaven, and ought to be his chief and constant solicitude. The only evil to be lamented is, that he brings the destitution upon them as well as upon himself. It often happens, however, in the providence of God, and by the natural operation of human sympathy, that the family is looked after and provided for, while the "troubler of his house" is left to the consequences of his guilt and folly.
"And the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart." The meaning evidently is-and it accords with what has more than once been under notice,-that the prudent and discreet, the just and good, shall have the superiority. The posts of station and influence,-the mastery shall be theirs. They get on in society; while the foolish, the indiscreet, and unprincipled, are left behind in the race of competition.
Verse Pro_11:30. "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and ho that winneth souls is wise." An eminent commentator thus expounds the verse-connecting its two clauses ingeniously and happily together;-"The good example, pious discourse, wise instructions, fervent prayers, and zealous good works, of the righteous, become exceedingly beneficial to those around them: they are as fruit from the tree of life; they promote the salvation of sinful men. And, as immortal souls are valuable beyond all estimation, he who thus wins souls, and allures them into the way of eternal life, is emphatically the wise man; he proposes to himself the noblest end; he uses the only proper means; he perseveres, and is prospered by God himself."
I am aware that of the last clause the expositions have been various; but there is no occasion. "The wise winneth" or gaineth "souls," is literal; and it accords sufficiently well with the former part of the verse. It expresses the very best and highest effect of wise benevolence-the benevolence of "the righteous." The soul outweighs the world in value. So was its preciousness estimated by the most competent of all judges. It is not enough, however, to admit this in words. The admission must be followed out in action. I know not which is the more foolish-to deny the position, or to admit it in words and contradict the admission in conduct. There is a difference in the kind of folly. The former, could we conceive it possible, would indicate a disordered intellect; the latter is more the product and indication of a disordered heart. There is in it more of criminality.-The wise men of the world may set at nought the efforts of him who makes it the aim of his life to "win souls;" they may hold in scorn the kind of knowledge by which souls are won; they may scoff at futurity and at the Gospel provision for securing its happiness; but their scorn is only a fulfilment of the intimations of the very Book they despise; which has prepared us to expect that "not many wise men after the flesh" should be found in the number of its believers, and the subjects of its saving influence,-and which pronounces "the wisdom of this world foolishness with God." Surely he who views man as immortal, and moreover as sinful and guilty, acts wisely, when he sets his heart on winning him from sin to holiness, from guilt to forgiveness, from the "fearful looking for of judgment" to the possession of inward peace, from the desire and pursuit of things temporal to the desire and pursuit of things "unseen and eternal;" from death to life, from hell to heaven. He who thus "winneth souls" is wise in regard even to his own interests-for they that turn many to righteousness shall shine as the stars for ever and ever," (Dan_12:3.)
This Book is ever impressing our minds with the character of God as "the righteous Lord, who loveth righteousness." In every form does this sentiment come before us. We have it in the last verse. "Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner." The meaning here is not, that in the present world there is a regular and constant distribution of reward and punishment. This is not the fact; nor is it any part of the doctrine or Scripture. The reference evidently is to the convictions of chastisements of God's people; which are the results of sin remaining in them; the testimonies of their heavenly Father's displeasure against it, but love to them. He hates their sins, but loves their souls; and seeks the final salvation of the latter by the means adopted by him to deliver them from the former. The expression, "How much more the wicked and the sinner," may be interpreted of temporal judgments-present tokens of the divine displeasure. But for the full sense we must look further. The text is quoted by the apostle Peter, according to the version of the Septuagint,-"If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?" 1Pe_4:18. Here, the connexion leaves us at no loss as to the ultimate and most important reference of the words. The sin even of God's people is visited with the indications of God's displeasure; so that the righteous are saved with difficulty-by a series of inflictions involving in them at times a large amount of heavy suffering; which the Lord is not willing to employ, were it not that He sees them to be necessary for the attainment of the great end oi his love in their final well-being. If so-if sin be thus, in God's sight so "exceeding sinful,"-"where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?" How can they "escape the damnation of hell?"
Let the people of God, then, hold in abhorrence that which exposes them to the displeasure and frown of their heavenly Father-a frown the more distressing that it is the frown of love; and implore the accompanying influence of the Holy Spirit with every stroke of paternal discipline, that it may work in them the peaceable fruits of righteousness, and make them "partakers of the divine holiness." And let "the ungodly and the sinner" be assured that their sin will find them out. No covering can vail it from the eye of "Him that sitteth on the throne;" nor is there any power in the universe that can protect from his righteous vengeance.
If he that "winneth souls is wise "-the souls of others; surely, the first province and the first mark of wisdom must be, for a man to seek the salvation of his own soul. This is indeed "The One Thing Needful."
Ye who have felt the preciousness of your own souls, and, in solicitude for their security, have committed them where alone they can be safe,-even into the hands of that Saviour who "is able," and who alone is able, "to keep that which is so committed to him against that day,"-seek the wisdom necessary to "win the souls" of others; and be in earnest in the use of it. Selfishness is the reigning sin of fallen nature; but it is dislodged from its throne by the power of the cross. Then "no one liveth to himself." Every believer's life is felt by him to be no longer his own. He lives for God, for Christ, for souls,-for the temporal and eternal well-being of his race. O live thus. Identify the happiness of all around you with your own. Seek the latter in the former. In seeking and. finding the good of others, you will most effectually seek and find your own. Your own substance will grow, while you "deal your bread to the hungry;" and you will experience that the spiritual life in your own souls is never more prosperous than when you are engrossed in the benevolent work of doing good to the souls of others, of "seeking the profit of many, that they may be saved."
