Money, thou bane of bliss, and source of woe,
Whence com’st thou, that thou art so fresh and fine?
I know thy parentage is base and low:
Man found thee poor and dirty in a mine.
Surely thou didst so little little contribute
To this great kingdom, which thou now hast got,
That he was fain, when thou wert destitute,
To dig thee out of thy dark cave and grot.
Then forcing thee, by fire he made thee bright;
Nay, thou hast got the face of man: for we
Have with our stamp and seal transferred our right:
Thou art the man, and man but dross to thee.
Man calleth thee his wealth, who made thee rich,
And while he digs out thee, falls in the ditch.—Herbert.
main homiletics of verse 29.
Foolish Home Rulers.
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE: Be very careful with the word “niggardly” because it can sound like a racial slur, especially to those who do not know the word or who are not paying attention. Consider substituting “miserly,” “sparing,” or “parsimonious.”
I. There are many ways of troubling thine own house. Many sparks fly from one anvil, but one is sufficient to set a house on fire. Some home-destroyers emit many sparks, but one evil habit or temper is enough to consume all the peace of home-life. A man may trouble his house by—1. Selfishness. When a dry sponge is placed in a vessel of water, it will soak up every drop of water that it can hold, and very probably will leave the vessel empty. So the selfish head of a household will absorb all the comforts of the household—take to himself all the luxuries and enjoyments which ought to be distributed among all its members. 2. Hasty temper. A human father and husband that will complain at every trifle and blaze into a passion when nothing has been done or said worthy of notice, will be a great troubler of his house. He will not be heeded when there is real occasion for his displeasure. The perpetual rattle of a daily siege so dulls the ear of the soldier that he does not notice the roar of the cannon on the day of special battle. So the members of a household who are always being subjected to the rattle of an ungovernable tongue make no account of reproof when there is really an occasion for it. 3. A perpetual assertion of authority. There can be no joyful obedience in a family where its head is always insisting upon the fact that he is their master. Such a constant proclamation of the right to rule makes this a bondage which would otherwise be a glad service. 4. Prodigality or niggardliness. He who wastes that which belongs to his children is a robber, and so is he who from avaricious motives deprives them of those home comforts with which he is able to furnish them. These are but samples of the many ways in which a man may trouble his house—ways which are not altogether unknown in some homes whose head is a professor of godliness. Such a man is a far-reaching curse. The members of such a home scatter themselves abroad in the world carrying with them none of the blessed influences that they ought to have received from their home-life, and are very likely in their turn to become the troublers of their houses. The gold receives its form and polish, its image and superscription at the mint. Home is the mint where the value of the character for its entire future is often impressed upon it. The child generally bears the image and superscription of his parent.
II. Such a troubler is a fool. 1. He can reap no possible advantage by it. To “inherit the wind” is to inherit cold cheer. A wintry wind is poor comfort for a man with little raiment on a cold night. Wind is an unsatisfying substitute for food to a hungry man. But a man in such a condition is an apt illustration of a man in the winter of life who has forfeited that love and honour which would have been the reward of a different course of conduct. 2. He shall go down in social position. The man who has ruled his household well must win the respect and confidence of those outside of it. It is an inevitable consequence that he will go upon the estimation of his associates while one of the opposite character will go down and so “be servant to the wise of heart.”
outlines and suggestive comments.