Proverbs 25:16-20 - Homilies By E. Johnson

Excesses and errors

I. WARNING AGAINST SATIETY . ( Proverbs 25:16 , Proverbs 25:17 .) The stories of Samson and of Jonathan may be read in illustration of the saying ( 14:8 , 14:9 ; 1 Samuel 14:26 ). Proverbs 25:27 points the warning against incurring the pain of satiety, "Honey, too, hath satiety," says Pindar—

"A surfeit of the sweetest things,

The deepest loathing to the stomach brings."

1. We should beware of a too frequent repetition of even innocent pleasures. "If a man will not allow himself leisure to be thirsty, he can never know the true pleasure of drinking." Self-indulgence far more than suffering unnerves the soul. It may well be asked—How can men bear the ills of life, if its very pleasures fatigue them?

2 . A special application of the warning. Do not weary your friends. There should be a sacred reserve of a delicate mutual respect even in the most intimate relations of friendship. To invade a busy privacy, with a view to enjoy a snatch of gossip or secure some paltry convenience, is an offence against the minor morals. Defect in manners is usually owing to want of delicacy of perception. Kindly utterance must rest on the conscientious observance of peat Christian principles; let daily life be evangelized by their all-pervading power. Let us make our "foot precious" to our neighbour by not intruding it too often in his home. Better that our visits should be like angels', few and far between, than frequent and wearisome as those of a beggar or a dun.

II. THE TONGUE OF THE FALSE WITNESS . ( Proverbs 25:15 .) Compared to destructive weapons (comp. Psalms 52:4 ; Psalms 57:4 ; Psalms 64:4 ; Psalms 120:4 ). "The slanderer wounds three at once—himself, him he speaks of, and him that hears" (Leighton). Not only falsehood, but the perverse and distorted way of telling the truth, comes under this ban. "In the case of the witness against our Lord, the words were true, the evidence false; while they reported the words, they misrepresented the sense; and thus swore a true falsehood, and were truly foresworn ( Matthew 26:60 )" (Bishop Hall).

III. MISPLACED CONFIDENCE . ( Proverbs 25:19 .) Compared to a broken tooth and a disjointed foot. It is a too common experience, and suggests the counsel to select as confidants only good men. "Be continually with a godly man, whom thou knowest to keep the commandments of the Lord, whose mind is according to thy mind, and will sorrow with thee, if thou shalt miscarry; …and above all, pray to the Most High, that he will direct thy way in truth" (Ec 37:12-15). Above all, "let God be true, and every man a liar."

IV. INAPT AND UNREASONABLE MIRTH . ( Proverbs 25:20 .) It is like the mixture of acid with soda, by which the latter is destroyed; while the combination with oil, etc; produces a useful compound. It is like laying aside a garment in cold weather. Discordant behaviour, the words or the manner out of tune with the occasion, is the fault pointed at. It springs from thoughtlessness and want of sympathy. The Spirit of Christ teaches us to cultivate imagination and sympathy with others. "Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep."—J.