"For three things the earth is disquieted, and for four which it cannot bear: for a servant when he reigneth; and a fool when he is filled with meat; for an odious woman when she is married; and an handmaid that is heir to her mistress. There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise: the ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer; the conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks; the locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands; the spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings' palaces. There be three things which go well, yea, four are comely in going: a lion, which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any; a grey-hound; an he-goat also; and a king, against whom there is no rising up. If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast thought evil, lay thine hand upon thy mouth. Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood; so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife."
The particulars here enumerated have reference to both public and private life. They have many a time created, and are calculated from their nature to create, much disturbance and mischief in the different departments of human society. We shall first offer a few remarks on each, and then you will be able to judge of their extensive comprehensiveness.
1. "For a servant when he reigneth."-History is not without examples-and especially the history of ancient eastern nations, of men of low extraction and of mean and ignoble spirit and character, who, by favouring circumstances, have either raised themselves, or for the purposes of others have been raised, to stations of authority and power. Such men are apt to become intoxicated by their sudden or their self-acquired elevation:-and the haughtiness of self-importance is nearly allied to, and naturally draws after it in its train, the spirit of imperiousness, cruelty, rapacity, and oppression,-of impatience of contradiction and control,-of fierceness and vindictiveness,-of incessant jealousy-a jealousy engendered by the very consciousness of their being out of place and the objects of envy and indignant pride on the part of others-as harbouring designs and framing plots against their crowns or against their lives:-and this jealousy, like other descriptions of it, is "cruel as the grave."
Moreover, a slave, or menial, is not supposed to have the fitness and competency, in point of mental culture, habits of life, knowledge of mankind and of the science of government, or comprehensiveness and foresight in his views, for the exercise of rule. His elevation is a departure from the ordinary course of things in society, and is not to be expected to be productive of good;-not only on account of his own defective qualifications, but the inevitable risks, springing from such causes as those already adverted to, of conspiracies and seditions, of rebellions and civil wars,-so fearfully destructive of the peace and order, the prosperity and happiness, of every community.
There is in the words, as in most of the proverbs of the same form, a general principle applicable to the cases of all persons who are suddenly raised, and raised high it may be, above their level, to stations they are not competent to fill. Disquietude and vexation are the natural consequences. And those who, unhappily, are not sensible of their own deficiencies, and, from "thinking of themselves more highly than they ought to think," aspire to situations which are above them, are the most likely, if they obtain the gratification of their ambition, to abuse the power which they get into their hands. "The earth is disquieted" by them; "it cannot bear them."
2. "For a fool when he is filled with meat."-We have many times had occasion to notice the character meant by Solomon under this designation of "fool;" and Agur is to be understood as using it in the same sense.
His being "filled with meat" may be understood literally as descriptive of the fool indulging to repletion in eating and drinking,-by which his spirit is elevated, by which the restraints of the fear of God and man are for the time removed. Then their unprincipled folly breaks forth in all its exuberance, without control, and carries them frequently beyond all the limits of possible sufferance. They give full and free scope to their insolent self-sufficiency, their impertinence, their scurrility and abuse, their disputatiousness, their profaneness, their obscenity, or their sheer and drivelling nonsense, in such a way as causes a large amount of present laceration and distress to the feelings of others:-and then, their words uttered, and their actions done, in these circumstances, frequently give rise to consequences extensively and permanently mischievous.
But being "filled with meat," may be understood as the image of temporal prosperity. "When thou hast eaten and art full," was, in the language of Moses to the Israelites, the expression for abundance of temporal good:-and a part of Asaph's description of the prosperous man of the world-whom he denominates "the foolish" and "the wicked"-is, "Their eyes stand out with fatness; they have more than heart could wish." And Paul, in describing his own spirit of contentment, says-"I know both how to be full and to be hungry,-both to abound and to suffer need." In this view of the words, the character before us in them is that of the man who prospers in the world, but has neither sense nor principle to make a right use of his abundance;-whom it elates with purse-proud insolence, with all its quarrelsomeness and fiery jealousy, which exacts the punctilios of haughtiness, and which nothing but blood will appease;-or who squanders it in every way that is pernicious to society around him,-in all that is vile, and vicious, and mischievous,-drawing others in numbers, along with him, into the ways of profligacy, and debauchery, and crime. By such characters "the earth is disquieted; it cannot bear them."
3. "For an odious woman when she is married."-Here we come into domestic life-which may be called the nursery of human society-in which, to a great extent, the character of communities is formed. "An odious woman" is a woman of unamiable character,-whose temper is violent, contentious, and quarrelsome, or peevish, fretful, and unreasonable; or, still worse, who is addicted to shameful vices,-as of insobriety and incontinence. Such a woman is utterly unfit for the care and management of a family, in any one of its departments,-as a wife, as a mother, or as a mistress. When unhappily she finds one who, whether from ignorance or infatuation, unites himself with her, she produces a whole lifetime of disquietude, vexation, and wretchedness to husband, and family, and connexions, and friends. She makes her yoke-fellow rue the day that he made so luckless or so mad a choice,-having chosen one of "those cheats, who are doves in their virgin state, and vultures the week after they are married."* By such characters-in domestic life, "the earth is disquieted; it cannot bear them."
* Comp. Pro_19:13; Pro_21:9; Pro_21:19, &c.
4. "And an handmaid that is heir to her mistress."-This is evidently a case similar in nature to the first of the four-"a servant when he reigneth." It is one of the same genus,-an inversion of the natural and proper order of society. It is the case of a maid-servant, who, by humouring, and pleasing, and flattering, and coaxing, has got about her mistress, ingratiated herself into her good-liking,-as Matthew Henry quaintly says, "got the length of her foot,"-and has thus induced her to put her into her will, as the heiress of her fortune-of all that she has. Such things had been, it would appear; and such things may be still. And from the tendencies before stated, a person of this description is all but sure to be selfish, insolent, and overbearing; either from the ascendency she has acquired, and her knowledge of what is before her, (especially to any whom she may have outwitted, and supplanted, and disappointed of their hopes)-or from the sudden possession of property, without strength of mind to bear the change, or prudence and discretion to improve it to any good purpose.
Another view, and a much worse one, has been taken of the case-as being that of a servant who has supplanted her mistress in the affections of her husband,-found ways and means to usurp her place there, gained an ascendency over him, and induced him to give her, tacitly or by express engagement, the prospect of succession,-or possibly even to divorce his wife upon false pretexts, or to make her so miserable as to force her to separation,-that he may live with the usurper of her rights, and give her all that he can of what should have gone to the other. This is indeed a case of fearful and intolerable distress. O! what an entire and wretched overthrow of all the blessings-in themselves, virtuously enjoyed, so exquisite and so precious,-of domestic life!-What bitterness, and alienation, and jealousy, and heart-break, and family ruin and desolation!-For such characters "the earth is disquieted; it cannot bear them."
And now, just notice the comprehensiveness, in regard to the happiness of human life, of the four things thus enumerated. They begin, observe, at the throne, and come down to the domestic servant. They embrace four great sources of the social unhappiness of mankind. These are-incompetent rule, prosperous and besotted folly, conjugal alienation and strife with its domestic miseries, and the unnatural inversion of social order.
In the four verses which follow we have an assemblage of instances of what we may term the instructive wisdom of the inferior creation; which, in all its departments, is full of lessons to man, if man had but the wit to learn and the inclination to follow them.-Nature is the art of God. Instinct is the wisdom of God. Few things, if any, are more difficult than to draw the line, with any precision, between instinct and reason. A great deal (as might easily be shown, were this the time and place for the discussion,) of what is thoughtlessly ascribed to the former, bears all the marks and indications of the latter. We many a time call the very thing instinct in the brute which we call reason in man. The truth is, that man has his instincts, and that brutes have their reason. But the difference in degree is so immense as fully to justify the designations of rational and irrational. The great leading distinction in kind between man and beast lies in a sense of God and of moral responsibility, connected at the same time, with the attribute of immortality, of which both pertain to man, and neither to the beast. But, without entering into any metaphysical distinctions on the subject of reason and instinct, whether in man or in brute, it is enough to say that the cases here brought before us are cases, to a great extent at least, of pure instinct. We have-
1. The ANTS. We cannot enter into the natural history of these little creatures, of which there are many varieties, and of which accounts the most extraordinary, yet well authenticated, are on record. The words before us limit our attention to one point-the same point Solomon had brought before us toward the beginning of this book, in his inculcation of providence and industry:-"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer."* Thus these little and feeble creatures supply the lack of strength by combination and perseverance,-all directed to an end, and yet that end, we have no reason to imagine, thought of at the time. By an instinctive propensity, common to them all, though more extraordinary in some tribes of them than in others,-and, there is every ground to believe, manifested and exercised by them all, from the creation of the world to the present hour; yet at times with an adaptation to peculiar circumstances, and a mutual communication and harmonious co-operation one with another, altogether confounding;-by this propensity, I say, they provide against the coming winter enough, and more than enough, for their own sustenance and that of their young; and make the provision without any knowledge on their part of the changes of the seasons, or of the astronomical causes of those changes. The instinct that guides them is one of the varieties of the "manifold wisdom" of Him who formed them; at once giving them their being, and adapting their natures to their modes of life.
* See Pro_6:6-8.
2. We have next the CONIES:-"The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks." It is the same animal that is mentioned, and with a similar distinctive property, in Psa_104:18. It has been with naturalists and Hebricians, a matter of question what the animal is that is meant by the original term. This is not a point of material consequence in regard to the lesson designed to be conveyed. The two qualities here mentioned are, feebleness and dwelling in tits rocks. It seems pretty generally agreed, that the animal meant is not what we term the coney.* It is, most probably, what was called the daman Israel or Israel's lamb; spoken of as a harmless creature, resembling in size and qualities the rabbit, and quite agreeing with the description before us,-being distinguished for its feebleness, which it supplies like the former, by its instinctive wisdom and sagacity; and by its making its nest or habitation in the clefts of the rocks,-to which it shows decided attachment, as well as by its being gregarious, and living in families or little companies. Their "houses" are very commodious residences, and secure refuges from their enemies and pursuers. Incapable of protecting themselves by any strength, or any powerful offensive weapon, with which many other animals are provided, nature teaches them to betake themselves for protection and safety to the rocks of the mountains. And what is nature but the God of nature?-and what this instinct but again God's manifold wisdom?
* Conies do not appear to build among the rocks; and it is doubted whether they are indigenous to Palestine. Some render the word here used mountain-mice.
3. We have the LOCUSTS:-"The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands." The accounts given by naturalists and travellers of the countless myriads of these insects, which go in such immense and compacted legions, as to darken the air and to desolate the richest and most fertile districts to a vast extent, in an incredibly short space of time, are very astonishing. They formed, as all of you are aware, one of the plagues of Egypt. It is not, however, to their destructive ravages that our attention is here called:-it is to the regularity and unanimity of their simultaneous movements. They keep time, and they keep rank,-they rise, they fly, they halt, they settle again for the purposes of devastation for their own support,-just as if they did every thing by direction, under the orders of a general, with one consent, and for the common good. I may direct you for a fine and highly poetical illustration of this in the book of the prophet Joel-only of course premising that under the figure of an invading army the prophet is describing the judicial visitation of God by the devastating swarms of the locust,-of whose approach the noise was sometimes heard at the distance of several miles,-"the sound of their wings being as the sound of chariots and horsemen rushing to battle."*
* See Joe_2:2-11; Joe_2:25. rr
4. We have the Spider.-This insect, on different accounts, is not a favourite. But its structure is full of wonders:-and the assiduity, and persevering diligence of the little creature, and the ingenuity, the delicacy, and the appropriateness of its workmanship, together with its varied adaptation to places, and situations, and circumstances,-are all very interesting, and very curious and surprising. She "layeth hold with her hands" and the neatness, the fineness, and the despatch, with which she draws out her threads, the firmness with which she attaches them, and the symmetry and strength with which she intertwines and weaves them together; and then the patience with which she lies in wait for her prey, and the instant alertness with which she springs upon, seizes, and secures it, either devouring it, or fastening it for future use,-are all admirable.* Thus both gregarious and solitary creatures, according to their respective characters and modes of life, read to us lessons of practical wisdom. For assuredly, those here mentioned were introduced not merely as furnishing facts in natural history, but for the purposes of moral and prudential instruction.
* Stuart contends, perhaps correctly, that the word should be rendered Lizard; and it would, in some respects at least, be sufficiently appropriate if it is in Palestine as in India; where in every dwelling, from the palace to the hovel, the little house-lizard may be seen on the walls watching for and darting upon its prey.
The lesson taught us by the ants, as we have seen, is that of diligence, discretion, and foresight.-The lesson from the coney, or rather the Israel's Lamb, is the duty of prudent regard to residence, and security for ourselves and families against discomfort and danger-against all enemies and invaders.-From the locust we learn the importance and benefit of order, and union, and co-operation, for the accomplishment of objects of common interest whether civil or sacred. From the spider we learn the advantage of skill, ingenuity, and industry in all the arts and occupations of fife. And by the expression which Agur adds-"and is in kings' palaces," we seem to be taught an additional lesson; this expression being apparently designed to associate in our minds the ideas of diligence and ingenuity with honour, distinction, advancement. There is no saying what men who, in station and appearance, are the most unpromising may, by dint of these virtues, attain to.*
* See Pro_22:29.
We may even conceive views of still more enlarged comprehensiveness as being included in these verses. It has been remarked by some, that the four emblems express all that is requisite for the conservation and well-being of a STATE or KINGDOM. There is supply of food;-commodious and secure dwelling-places;-subordination, concord, and united exertion;-and the prevalence and encouragement of the ingenious and useful arts. These are things that governors and kings should look to. And we may apply the emblematic lessons to domestic life. Before a man can prudently marry, and have a family, he should have some suitable provision made, and something like a fair prospect of being able to support them. Next is to be found a suitable dwelling, adapted to his circumstances and convenience. Then, when settled, there must be harmony, union, co-operation, in all departments of the household. And lastly, there must be the diligent, constant, persevering application of his skill and labour to his worldly calling. And to these allow me to add, without charging me with being fanciful,-that, as these creatures derive their instincts from God, and act under his superintendence and direction, that God should be acknowledged by us in all our ways and in all our doings, and in all the comforts and enjoyments which are their results, as the blessed source of all we are, of all we have, of all we enjoy, and of all we hope for.
Another lesson still let us learn-namely, to estimate men not by external condition or greatness, but by their wisdom; making the "mind the standard of the man." These creatures appear insignificant; but they are commended to our admiration by their sagacity and skill. So-"there is a spirit in man; and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth him understanding." And when man, in the position which he holds in the scale of being, acts as consistently with the ends of his existence,-with his character and his destinies, as these creatures do with theirs,-then is there room for our highest admiration!-" The chief end of man is-to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever!"
Verses Pro_30:29-31. "There be three things which go well, yea, four are comely in going: a lion, which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any; a grey-hound; an he-goat also; and a king, against whom there is no rising up." Here too lessons of moral wisdom are meant to be conveyed. We are not for a moment to suppose that the intention of Agur is merely to invite us to admire the gait of the "lion," the king of beasts, who marches on in the nobility of his might, in courageous consciousness of his power, altering not his pace, and fearless of whatever comes in his way:-or the grace and elegance of the "greyhound," and the nimble fleetness of his course,*-or the portly dignity of the leader of the flock, that walks at their head, conducting and caring for them:-or the majesty of royal authority and honour, of a king maintaining his dignity, bearing his crowned head with the stateliness of office.
* The original word means contracted or girt in the loins. Some from this have thought the war-horse meant:-but the descriptive term applies well to the greyhound.
I am disposed to think that here, as in verses Pro_30:18-19, we are to interpret the language on the principle of an intended comparison between the last of the four and the three preceding; that is-of a king to the lion, the greyhound, and the he-goat. In the peculiarities of the three animals, the characteristics of the king's character are figured:-his courage and undaunted intrepidity by the lion;-his readiness for activity and speed in the pursuit of every legitimate object,-as well as fit elegance and gracefulness, by the greyhound;-and his becoming example set before his people, leading them in right ways, and caring for their safety, by the he-goat. And there are lessons for all; that all should maintain a deportment dignified, becoming, and exemplary,--such as will command respect, repress the forward petulance of self-sufficiency, and conceit,-subdue opposition, and induce imitation, and conciliate affection.
What he had said of the king probably suggests verse Pro_30:32. "If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast thought evil. lay thine hand upon thy month."* The meaning seems to be-when thou art made sensible of having done wrong by taking too much upon thee in the royal presence,-conducting thyself in any way with deficiency of due respect;-or, when thou art conscious of having "thought,"-intended and meditated evil;-then thy best and most becoming, and withal thy safest course, is immediate submission and silence; not eager self-vindication, not hasty and irritating words,-not recriminating and laying the blame on others; and seeking to palliate unduly thine own behaviour,-but to the full extent to which thy consciousness of wrong reaches, "confessing and forsaking." This is in itself the dictate of propriety: and it is at the same time that of prudence. The reason follows:-verse Pro_30:33. "Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood; so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife." As these causes produce their respective effects,-effects which naturally follow, which every one expects,-so-" the forcing of wrath "-by obstinate self-vindication, or by arrogant and. reproachful language, as if one wore trying how far he might go in putting the royal forbearance and clemency to the test,-"bringeth forth strife,"-produces the most violent and implacable animosities and contentions;-and with a king "against whom there is no rising up," what can be more infatuated?
* Comp. Ecc_8:3.
To conclude, let us all seek, by fulfilling aright the duties becoming the spheres in which Providence has called us to move, to be a blessing in the circle of our influence, and not a curse. Let others, if they will, "glory in their shame," in disquieting, troubling, harassing all about them; but let us cultivate and carry out into practice all those dispositions which are fitted to secure for us the affection, esteem, and blessing of our fellow creatures.
Let us further, in the exercise of sound wisdom, derive hints and lessons from nature around us. We may learn much that is practically useful and salutary from those animals in the inferior creation, which God has so wonderfully fitted for their respective situations and functions. O how many are there, who stand condemned by the example and the silent but emphatic admonitions of these creatures,-admonished for improvidence, and carelessness, and irregularity, and sloth!-for discontent and insubordination!-for trifling, impatience, and want of perseverance; for timidity and meanness in duty!-for deficiency in promptitude and alertness!-for neglect of those committed to their care and training!-and last of all, but not least-for failing to answer the end of their being! These all, according to their irrational natures, by fulfilling their respective functions, under the operation of the instincts of their different constitutions, show forth the glory of their Maker. But man, the rational creature, uses not his higher powers and endowments, as he ought, in voluntary and delighted subserviency to this highest and best of ends,-the true end of his existence and of all that he is, as an intelligent, moral, and immortal being. Earnestly would I urge on all with immediate and special reference to the King of kings-the lesson of these words-"If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast thought evil, lay thine hand upon thy mouth." O! if there be duty, and if there be safety in the course recommended, as it respects a monarch of this world-after all, but a man whose "breath is in his nostrils," with what unutterably greater force and conclusiveness, in application to Him! How infatuated in sinful creatures of the dust, to lift themselves up, in selfrighteous and rebellious pride, against the God of heaven! Surely submission here is at once duty, wisdom, safety. "Lay thine hand upon thy mouth." Confess guilt, and bow to the sceptre of mercy. "Let the potsherds strive with the potsherds of the earth; but woe to the man that striveth with his Maker." The admonition of Jesus is, in its fullest force of import, applicable to the case of the sinner with Ins God:-"Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison."-God is an adversary to you only as sinners persisting in your sins. He seeks your reconciliation. He offers you His friendship. He is revealed to you as "in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them." And the entreaty of His gospel to every one of you is-"Be reconciled unto God:-for he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."
