Proverbs 11:18

The wicked worketh a deceitful work.

The wicked and the just

There is here a startling contrast between them, in their work and in their reward.

I. Their work.

1. There is intentionally set before us a good specimen of a bad man. He is a man who works, and works hard in his own way. Some evil-doers are idle, profligate, sensual, devilish. Such seldom deceive themselves, and but rarely deceive others. But here is described a man who is very likely to deceive both himself and others. Wicked men are often shrewd men of the world and clever. They are zealous and laborious men, though the objects they aim at may be unworthy and bad. Their mistake is not in the way they work, but in the thing they work for. If all Christians were as eager in their pursuit of truth and charity and all good works as worldly men are in their search after riches and pleasures, what a difference it would make! Whilst the wicked man works in earnest fashion for time, does he attempt any like efforts for eternity? It is a mistake to think the bad man does not care for eternity at all. Multitudes attempt to serve two masters. A man who works with all his strength for worldly success often persuades himself that he will be able to work for eternity too. Does he then labour for the “meat that endureth unto eternal life”? Nay, at this point his wisdom is at fault, the deceitfulness of his work begins to appear. He is no better than a spiritual impostor and spendthrift. He knows nothing of the faith which awakens the generous and noble impulses of humanity, which touches the heart and makes the life holy. He is altogether ignorant of the quickening and sanctifying grace of the Holy Ghost.

2. Not such is the work of the righteous. He “soweth righteousness.” The sowing of the seed is the crowning act of the husbandman’s preparation for a crop. All his other work goes for nothing unless it be consummated by this work. The wicked is said to work, but the just sows righteousness. The text describes a work of faith. He who “sows righteousness” does it in order that he may hereafter gather in the harvest. What is the seed he sows? (compare Hosea 10:12). To “sow righteousness,” to “sow in righteousness,” and to “sow to the Spirit,” all means the same thing. It is to live righteously, to do righteous actions, to perform acts of devotion and piety to God, and to do works of truth and justice and charity towards our neighbour. It is to learn to do the will of God, looking forward to a future harvest,” having respect unto the recompense of the reward.” Righteousness in Scripture is a universal virtue, containing in itself all other virtues. A man must gather his seed before he can sow it. He who is to “sow righteousness” must first obtain a supply of the precious fruit of righteousness. Whence can this supply be fetched?

II. Their reward.

1. Working a deceitful work means working so as to deceive others. There is no real truth in a bad man. He is sure to deceive, whenever deceit will serve his ends. He will cast truth to the winds whenever truth calls upon him to suffer, either in his own person, or in his purse, or in the good opinion of others. Another rendering is, “the wicked winneth deceitful wages.” His work will betray him to his ruin, and will in the end utterly disappoint his own hopes. His work will break down just where it ought to stand, and fail altogether when his need is the greatest.

2. Mark well the bright and refreshing contrast. “To him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward.” The seed which has been sown in hope may lie for a long time beneath the clods, and may seem to be dead as well as buried. But as surely as God’s Word is true, it will spring up and grow, and ripen for a harvest of unspeakable joy. The reward of the righteous is a reward of grace and mercy. He that has “sown righteousness” most plentifully will look for his sure reward only from the mercy of God, through Jesus Christ. We live in difficult times, no doubt, but every age has its own trials, and the men of every age are ready to believe that no trials are as bad as theirs. The only safe way is the same in every age. It is to “sow righteousness.” (W. Bonner Hopkins, B.D.)

To him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward.--

The spiritual tillage

The husbandry and harvest of the righteous:--This is a counter-plea to that profane principle of the atheists, who say, “It is in vain to serve God.”

I. What it is to sow righteousness. It is the same as to “sow to the Spirit.” The gracious course of consecrating a man’s self unto God in the practice of godliness. There is likeness betwixt the practice of godliness and the sowing of seed.

1. In some things which go before sowing--the preparation and fitting of the ground, and the choice of seed to put in the ground. In like manner there must be in the practice of godliness the preparation of the heart and the choice of particulars belonging to a Christian course.

2. In the act of sowing, which may include the time of sowing and the plenty of sowing. In the spiritual business the seed-time for righteousness is in this life; the opportunity must be taken when it comes. And to sow righteousness is to be rich in good works.

3. In the things that follow after sowing. The fields must be hedged, the cattle shut out, the birds driven away, the stones picked out, and the field watched to see how it goes on. In spiritual matters it is vain to have entered into a good course if it be not continued. The signs of the practice of godliness are--

(1) The submitting a man’s self to have his heart broken up by the power of God’s Word;

(2) a diligent inquiry into the best way of pleasing God;

(3) a pressing forward amid many encumbrances;

(4) a striving and caring to be fruitful in good works;

(5) a watching over a man’s course with a continued diligence.

II. What is the sure reward? This is either in the life present or in that which is to come. Rewards in this life are both outward and inward: outward so far forth as the wisdom of God shall see it fitting. The inward is peace of conscience, arising out of the comfortable assurance of God’s favour. This is a joy working even in afflictions. The reward in the life to come cannot be expressed. Scripture reasoneth concerning the certainty of this reward by a proverbial speech, “Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap.” Holiness in the seed, happiness in the harvest. And by the truth of God’s promise. There is a double reward--a reward of favour and a reward of debt. The doctrines to be collected are--

1. That the practice of godliness is a matter which requireth great industry.

2. That the full reward of religion is not to be looked for immediately on the practice of religion. Sowing and reaping come not at once.

3. That the Lord will surely reward those which faithfully labour in His service. Though there be many a storm after our sowing, the harvest will come, and we shall be comforted. Farmers pay their workmen straight after their labour, before the corn be ripe, but the payments are of far less value than the corn. God bestoweth upon His all that they have sown, and the hire shall far exceed the travail. (S. Hieron.)

The two pursuits with their respective ends

Denunciations of wrath against the wicked are no less common in Scripture than declarations of mercy to the penitent. The promises of almighty love are often repeated; no less frequent are the proclamations of almighty justice. The doom of the impenitent is no less certain than the rewards of the righteous. Solomon seems to place before us in these words the life of the righteous and the life of the ungodly contrasted with the respective objects which they have in view and the different ends to which they lead.

I. The wicked worketh a deceitful work. The object which he pursues seems to promise him great things, but it generally fills him with disappointment and chagrin. The characters of the wicked are various, but in one point they all agree--“they forget God.” They practically forget Him. They salve over their own consciences by thoughts of impunity. They have no love to God’s name, no inclination to obey His laws; they are by consequence without the strongest bond of duty in man, which is love. The law of God is hateful to them, because it puts constraint upon their appetites and evil designs. And they are without the bond of fear. As God’s judgments are out of sight, so they are out of mind. The pursuit of evil cannot minister to happiness even here below. It is attended with manifold woes, even upon earth. Sin, in most cases, is connected with punishment. “He that pursueth evil pursueth it to his death.” It is the death of hope, peace, reputation, and a good conscience. It is often the cause of a premature temporal death. The pursuit of evil is the necessary school and preparation for eternal death.

II. The different ends to which the life of the righteous and the life of the ungodly lead. What is righteousness? Other terms are godliness, holiness, the new man. What is meant is not the righteousness of forms, but an inward disposition manifested by corresponding conduct, the new heart and the new life. It is the godliness which is opposed to the bodily exercise that profiteth little. Such righteousness tendeth to life. It has a natural and necessary tendency to promote present peace and eternal glory. In Scripture the words life and death are used for happiness and misery. The righteous are necessarily training themselves for eternal happiness, independently of that promise which secures to them “the crown of glory that fadeth not away.” There must be a fitness for heaven, a character acquired upon earth which is suitable to the abode of the just. The righteousness of which we speak is conformity of heart and life to Jesus Christ; it is union of soul with Him, a likeness to His example; it has a measure of His holiness and perfection. Righteousness disposes and fits a man for the enjoyment of God, for it cultivates those faculties of the soul which are called into exercise in heaven. Righteousness rests upon the basis of love. The acquiring of this righteousness is the preparation for the enjoyment of God. Already the righteous have communion with the Father of their spirits and with the “spirits of the just made perfect.” This being so, the passage for them is easy from this world to eternity. But righteousness also has a tendency to promote present happiness. The righteous live in the favour of God. They have peace of conscience. They fear no evil. They can look on death without alarm. Righteousness has a natural tendency to promote our welfare by conciliating the favour of the good and the respect of all And the reward laid up in heaven is sure. In conclusion, address two classes: Those who are seeking after righteousness--a word of cheer. Those who are “working a deceitful work”--a word of warning. (H. J. Hastings, M.A.)

The deceitfulness of sin

Opposites illustrate each other. Of this principle considerable use is made in the sacred Scriptures.

I. Opposite characters. The idea of righteousness is equality, as the equilibrium of a pair of scales. Applied to moral or religious natures it means a correspondence between our obligations on the one hand and our performance on the other. So it becomes obedience or conformity to the law. The radical meaning of the word “wicked” is inequality, unfairness. In a moral sense a want of correspondence between duty and performance, or nonconformity to righteous laws. Wickedness is disorder, incongruity, deception, an unsound principle, naturally producing a deceitful work.

II. Opposite practices. Righteousness renders to all their due. Where wrong sentiments are indulged wrong dispositions and practices naturally follow. Hence result--

1. Treachery towards friends.

2. Fraud and falsehood in business.

3. Extortion and oppression.

4. Maladministration; a never-ceasing theme of complaint.

In all such cases the work is a “deceitful work”--deceitful in its nature, operation, and results.

III. Opposite results.

1. God convinces the sinner of his unrighteousness.

2. Enlightens, transforms, and renews the soul.

The renewed begins to sow righteousness. To him there is a sure reward. Pause and inquire whether such a change has been effected in you. Pray for convincing and converting grace. Persevere through evil and through good report. (Sketches of Four Hundred Sermons.)

The reward of lowing righteousness

In the Bible a righteous person is one who loves and serves God, i.e., one who is a true Christian. When people become true Christians themselves they want to do all they can to try to make other people Christians. All the good things that such people do in this way the Bible calls righteousness. Sowing, in the text, means doing. Righteousness, in the text, means kind acts, good works of any kind, that Christian people do out of love to Jesus and from a desire to make others love Him. And thus we find out that “sowing righteousness” means doing good. Righteousness is the best seed in the world to sow.

1. Because of the size of the field in which this sowing may be carried on.

2. Because of the number and kind of sowers. Farmers are only one class of men. All classes of persons may be sowers of righteousness.

3. Because of the certainty of the reward. Farmers hope for harvest, but cannot be quite sure. The reward of sowing righteousness is made up of pleasure and profit. Sometimes the profit is found in this life. But the best part of the reward is in heaven. (R. Newton, D.D.)

The evil and the good

Men separate morally into two great divisions. See them--

I. As they appear at work.

1. Evil works deceitfully. It deceives the individual possessor; it makes his very life fiction. It deceives others. It fabricates and propagates falsehood.

2. The good works righteously. Being righteous in heart, he is charged with righteous principles, which he sows as seed in the social circle to which he belongs.

II. As they appear in retribution. All works, the bad as well as the good, bring results to the worker. These results are the retribution; they are God’s return for labour.

1. The righteous reap life. Life of the highest kind--spiritual. Life of the highest degree--immortal blessedness.

2. The wicked reap death--the death of all usefulness, nobility, and enjoyment.

III. As they appear before God.

1. God observes moral distinctions.

2. God is affected by moral distinctions. What He sees He feels. (D. Thomas, D.D.)