The group now before us pursues the warning against dangers from our own selves as well as from without.
“The full soul trampleth on (or, loatheth) a honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.
As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so [is] a man that wandereth from his place.
Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart; so the sweetness of a man's friend from hearty counsel.
Thine own friend, and thy father's friend, forsake not; and go not to thy brother's house in the day of thy calamity: better [is] a neighbor near than a brother far off.
My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth me.
A prudent [man] seeth the evil [and] hideth himself; the simple pass on [and] suffer for it.
Take his garment that is surety for a stranger, and hold him in pledge [that is surety] for a strange woman” (vers. 7-13).
Whatever be the means of one that fears God, self-indulgence is unworthy of one who now lives in a scene where we have the poor always with us, with many and sudden reverses to call forth special compassion. What a lesson for the Christian when on the two occasions the Lord fed the multitude miraculously, it was on barley loaves and small fishes. How far from show or appetizing! And the prayer taught the disciples to ask for “sufficient bread.” The full soul is unworthy of His name; and the honeycomb he loathes convicts him of following the Lord of glory afar off. It is happy when one is hungry enough to relish every bitter thing put before us by our God and Father.
When God pronounced Cain a fugitive and a vagabond because he slew his righteous and accepted brother, well for him to have heeded the word of the Lord, but there is no such call for one ordinarily. The family is the place appointed as the rule in the world as it is. Even the bird owns the attraction of her nest. Wandering from either is a picture of wretchedness.
God has constituted the earth and man, that the very desert does not refuse to produce unguent and perfume, which singularly refresh the heart when depressed, not merely there but in lands where abundance reigns. But no less sweet is the hearty counsel from one's friend.
Yet more should one make of one's own friend, of one's father's friend also, in a world of forgetfulness. Nevertheless, in the day of one's calamity, it is unwise to rush for sympathy, even to one's brother. A neighbor near one is apt to prove better than a brother far off. Claim irritates; love is free and holy.
When a son walks wisely, what joy to a parent's heart It is the best answer to the reproach which watchfulness must expect from such as are lax.
Prudence sees evil beforehand and hides from it; the simple is blind, goes forward and suffers.
None should become surety unless he be prepared to lose; and this, true in case of a man, is still more dangerous for a strange woman.