_A good name is better than precious ointment._ THE FRAGRANCE OF MORAL WORTH I. The elements of a good name. It is something more than being “well spoken of,” for often “what is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.” It is not even a good reputation, unless that be sustaine... [ Continue Reading ]
_It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting._ ON THE BENEFITS TO BE DERIVED FROM THE HOUSE OF MOURNING It is evident that the wise man does not prefer sorrow, upon its own account, to mirth; or represent sadness as a state more eligible than joy. He considers i... [ Continue Reading ]
_Sorrow is better than laughter._ SORROW BETTER THAN LAUGHTER Sorrow is set over against laughter; the house of mourning over against the house of mirth; the rebuke of the wise over against the music of fools; the day of death over against the day of birth: all tending, however, to this, that trou... [ Continue Reading ]
_The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning._ THE ADVANTAGES OF VISITING THE MANSIONS OF DISTRESS For so valuable a purpose it is well worth while to bear with all the gloominess of the house of mourning. For most useful lessons will the heart of the wise be able to learn there; and excelle... [ Continue Reading ]
_Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof._ THE NEW YEAR The text expresses the general principle or doctrine, that by the condition of our existence here, if things go right, a conclusion is better than a beginning. The fruit is better than the blossom; the reaping is better than t... [ Continue Reading ]
_Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these?_ MISTAKEN SIGNS On the whole we may confidently affirm that the world improves, and yet in certain moods we are apt to regard its conditions as increasingly desperate. Thus is it sometimes with our religious life--we mis... [ Continue Reading ]
_The excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it._ RELIGIOUS EDUCATION The argument which I shall advance on behalf of this and of all other institutions with which it is the happiness of our country now to abound, having a similar object in view--the supply of wholeso... [ Continue Reading ]
_Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight which He hath made crooked?_ THE POWER OF GOD, AND THE DUTY OF MAN I. What we are to understand by “the work of God.” This is an expression often used in the Scriptures, and has different significations. In one place it refers to the two tab... [ Continue Reading ]
_Be not righteous overmuch._ THE “RIGHTEOUS OVERMUCH” When the worldling sees another anxiously caring for the things of his soul or attending earnestly to the duties of religion, he is apt to refer to this text, and to say, “Be not righteous overmuch.” At first sight one might imagine, that of thi... [ Continue Reading ]
_Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight which He hath made crooked?_ THE POWER OF GOD, AND THE DUTY OF MAN I. What we are to understand by “the work of God.” This is an expression often used in the Scriptures, and has different significations. In one place it refers to the two tab... [ Continue Reading ]
_For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not._ MAN’S INABILITY TO KEEP THE LAW PERFECTLY Here is the undoubted character of all the human race, fixing imperfection and sinfulness on the best of the kind in this world, and so concluding all to be liable to sin, and unde... [ Continue Reading ]
_Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken: lest thou hear thy servant curse thee._ LISTENERS HEAR NO GOOD OF THEMSELVES I. We should pay some attention to what others think and say about us. What a force public opinion is! We cannot see it, nor touch it; and yet it is a great factor in sha... [ Continue Reading ]
_A woman among all those have I not found._ SOLOMON’S ESTIMATE OF WOMAN This sentence of Solomon has been often quoted to show the utter worthlessness of the female character. It is, however, an entirely worthless conclusion as regards woman when placed in her legitimate and appropriate sphere as t... [ Continue Reading ]
_God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions._ MAN IN HIS ORIGINAL AND IN HIS LAPSED STAGE I. God made man upright. Our text, then, teaches us that man was made in a state of perfect conformity to some rule. If it is asked, what rule? I answer, the law of God, for this is t... [ Continue Reading ]