Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease.
The scorner
The scorner is a character which Solomon has frequently called our attention to in preceding chapters. Few characters in society are more despicable in spirit or pernicious in influence.
I. As A social disturber. “Cast out the scorner, and contention shall cease.”
1. He is a disturber in the family.
2. He is a disturber in the Church.
3. He is a disturber in the nation.
II. As a social outcast. “Cast out the scorner.” Excommunication is his righteous doom. If he has gained great influence as a politician, governments sometimes, instead of casting him out, take him into office, and bribe him by voting him a princely income. The duty, however, of society towards the scorner is to expel him. He should be treated as a social pest. (Homilist.)
