Special Collections, Princeton Theological Seminary
THE REV. JOHN MACLEAN, D.D.,
VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEY.
Proverbs xxiii. 25.--"Thy father and thy mother shall be glad; and she that bare thee shall rejoice."
In urging youth to walk in the paths of virtue and of piety, we cannot err in appealing to their filial feelings, inasmuch as the sacred writers often do this very thing. Respect and love for parents are not, indeed, the motives which operate with the greatest force upon minds renewed by the Spirit of grace and truth. With such the most powerful incentives to action are those which derive their origin from the relation we sustain to God, the author of life and of salvation. Those who have a right apprehension of this relation, and feel most deeply the obligations resulting from it, are also the very persons who appreciate most correctly their indebtedness to parental love and tenderness. For, in their case, not only do the instinctive feelings of love and reverence for father and for mother render us desirous to please and honour those from whom we are sprung, but this very desire is strengthened and even increased by the still stronger one, to please and honour God, who constituted that most intimate and tender relation between
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parents and children; and who has enjoined, in terms most explicit, the full discharge of all filial obligations, promising his favor to the obedient, and denouncing his judgments against the rebellious.
Upon these promises and threatenings, it is not my purpose at present to insist, nor shall I dwell upon your obligations; but, assuming that my youthful hearers, notwithstanding any aberrations of which they may be conscious, are not altogether strangers to the joy experienced by those whose constant aim it is to honour and to please their parents, I shall proceed to point out the course you must each one pursue, in order that it may be said to you in the words of our text, "Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice."
And here, let me request you to call to mind the feelings with which you left your homes for this the place of your education. When, with faltering voice, your father bade you "farewell," and unable it may be to express herself in words, your mother bathed your cheek with tears, and in silence parted from the son of her love and of her prayers, did it then enter your mind, that you could ever pursue any course that would give pain to that mother's breast, or disappoint the fond hopes of that kind father? Your purpose, I venture to say, as far as any was formed, was to be a diligent and orderly student, and to repay your father and your mother's love by a strict attention to their advice, and by a virtuous and exemplary deportment. You then
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felt that if you could only meet their wishes and expectations, your highest ambition would be satisfied. Were not these feelings right, and pure, and honourable? Would you desire to be freed from them? Would you not rather that they should remain in their full force, and act as a constant stimulant to the performance of duty? Cherish then these feelings, my young friends. Both their direct and indirect influence can be none other than good and pleasant. The very desire to do right is itself a source of pleasure to the mind in which such desire exists; and the pleasure given to others by our correct deportment becomes, in turn, a gratification to ourselves. As it respects some of you, I know that your beloved parents are numbered with the dead. To you I would say, let reverence for their memory prompt you to pursue that course which you know would have gladdened their hearts, had they lived to be witnesses of your conduct.
It is sometimes the case, that an ingenuous youth is more influenced by the recollection of the counsels of a departed father or mother, than he would have been by the same counsels, had that father or mother not been taken from him; and never, in any circumstances, does filial piety appear more lovely and attractive. Whatever, then, be your present relations to your parents--whether they are still spared to watch over your steps and to guide you in the paths of virtue and piety by their example and counsels, or whether they have one or both been removed to the world of spirits--let me, I pray, have your attention while I endea
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vour to set before you the course to be pursued by those who would be their parents' joy and crown of rejoicing.
In attempting this, I shall follow the footsteps of the inspired author of our text, and, with him, I exhort you:
I. To cultivate a reverence for parental counsels and authority. "My son," says Solomon, "hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother."--Proverbs i. 8. Again he says, "Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old."--Proverbs xxiii. 22.
The remarks of Bishop Patrick on the first of these passages are worthy of serious thought--"Not only hearken to thy father, when he teaches thee to fear God, but let thy mother's commands be a law unto thee, especially when she bids thee to observe the directions of thy public instructors. The second step to wisdom is, next to God, to bear great reverence to parents, both natural and spiritual; to God's ministers, to whom if children be not bred to give a great regard, they seldom prove virtuous. It is very observable how much human laws differ from the divine; the former only providing that due regard be given by children to their fathers, but taking no notice of their mothers, ... but God, in his laws, takes care to preserve a just reverence both to father and mother equally."
The laws of thy mother are her admonitions and pious instructions; and these are not to be disre
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garded, even when the infirmity of age is added to that of sex. Hearken unto thy father, and despise not thy mother when she is old, or because she is old. Cherish a reverence for her authority, and never be unmindful of her lessons. At no period of their lives are young persons so tempted to disregard parental authority, as when they are passing from boyhood to manhood. At this time of life, they are often more disposed to think and act for themselves, without regard to the opinions and wishes of their parents, than even in later life. They are desirous to be thought independent, and capable of directing themselves. They become impatient of restraint, and the advice even of parents whom they both reverence and love is often irksome; and is regarded as the offspring of an unreasonable anxiety, or, of an unfounded distrust of their capacity to take care of themselves: and the greater the earnestness of parents in urging their views, the greater often is the resistance on the part of those for whose benefit all this earnestness is employed. They deem it manly to disregard advice, and to act without it, when, if they would only reflect as they ought, they would perceive, that it is the lack of a manly spirit that leads them to pursue the course they do. It is because they have not attained to the stature of full grown men, that they are so sensitive as to every thing that seems to call their manhood into question. None are so jealous of their claims, as those whose claims are most questionable. Show then your claim to be considered youths of a truly noble and independ
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ent spirit, by always daring to do what is right, and by always yielding due obedience to parental commands. I say due obedience, for this obedience so obligatory is yet subordinate to that which you owe to God, and should it unhappily be the case, that the instructions and commands of your parents are in conflict with those of your Heavenly Father, He who is the Parent of us all has the first and highest claim to your obedience; yet in obeying God, in the circumstances supposed, you should at the same time show, that nothing short of the strongest conviction of duty would, ever, have induced you to act contrary to parental instructions. And you should be, in all other things, most careful to consult their feelings, and give them all possible evidence, that it is from no want of due respect for their counsels or authority, that, contrary to their desires, you have yielded to what you deem higher and more imperative obligations; and that it is really your delight to submit to their authority and to meet their wishes to the utmost of your power. Yes, my young friends, never be willing to give your parents one moment's pain, or even to occasion them one moment's anxiety, that you can at all prevent. Of these they have abundant, and that too on your account. Add not to their burdens, much less to their sorrows.
You may sometimes think, that they are unduly anxious respecting you; and they give both themselves and you unnecessary trouble, in warning and counselling you, in telling you of their fears and of your dangers. Grant, my young friends, that a
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mother's weakness does sometimes betray itself in this way; but surely it is not a weakness to be despised. Its very source is that mother's attachment to the son of her love. She has seen the sons of other mothers, as affectionate and tender as herself, decline, step by step, from the paths of piety and virtue, until they have become profligates and outcasts; and the very thought that her son might possibly become like one of them, prompts her to those expressions of her fears, that sometimes prove so annoying to self-confident youths. Despise not then a mother's fears, however unfounded they may be. Be it your aim to remove them, not by maintaining that there is no ground for them, but by reverently receiving her admonitions, and conforming yourself to them. However much more cultivated your mind may be than hers, or however greater familiarity you may have with learning derived from the study of books, rest assured, that in all that appertains to the cultivation of the moral feelings and the formation of habits, the delicacy and refinement of a virtuous mother are of far greater moment to you, than all that you have ever been able to acquire from books or from intercourse with your equals in years; and in subjects of this kind your own observation and experience are not to be compared with hers.
Several instances of the happy results of giving due heed to the counsels and instruction of pious mothers are given in the Sacred Scriptures. Witness what the Apostle Paul says of Timothy, and his mother Eunice.
[Page 102] If Solomon be the author of the last chapter of Proverbs, and in it speaks of himself under the name of Lemuel, his history furnishes abundant evidence, that even he would have been a wiser man, and a better ruler than he was, had he followed the instructions given him by his mother, a record of which is made in the chapter named. But the highest of patterns in filial piety is that of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom it was said, that he was subject unto his parents--that is to say, to his mother and to his reputed father--and that he increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man. Remember, too, the command, the first, as the Apostle says, with promise--"Honour thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." Search all history, inquire of the hoary head, whether an instance can be found of a youth distinguished for filial piety, who ever became a profligate in manhood. If I mistake not, you will seek in vain.
II. My second counsel is, seek with all earnestness after truth.
"Buy the truth, and sell it not," is a direction forming a part of our context.
The language, you perceive, is figurative, and is borrowed from the conduct of merchants, who, to obtain their ends, often make long and dangerous journeys, and that too without any certainty of success, encouraged only by the hope of acquiring wealth, and by the success usually attendant upon skill, enterprise and perseverance. If successful in
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getting wealth, they are by no means certain of deriving from its possession the joy and pleasure they anticipated. Not so with the purchase of the truth. Its acquisition ensures the highest enjoyment; and the bare hope of securing it might well call forth all the energies of your soul into the most vigorous exercise. What knowledge so important as saving knowledge--the true knowledge of God? What truth is to be so highly prized, or so eagerly sought for, as the truth that sanctifies, that fits the soul for communion with its God? and the possession of which is an earnest or sure pledge of eternal life?
To how many a father, to how many a mother would it be as life from the dead, could they be assured that you, my young friends, were all earnestly seeking the pearl of great price, ready and desirous to purchase it at any cost--at any sacrifice?
But while the truth of which we speak is the truth of truths, and the knowledge of it to be more highly prized than that of all other truths, yet, in urging you to seek it with all earnestness, I would not have you indifferent to the truths of physical, ethical, or political science--a knowledge of which is intimately connected with your influence and usefulness among your fellow men; nor do I understand the sacred writer, on whose language I am commenting, as intending to limit the application of his words to saving truths, as I shall show more fully when I come to speak of the words that immediately follow the direction to "buy the truth, and sell it not."
There is another view of truth to which I would
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call your attention, that is, to truth as opposed to falsehood, dissimulation and hypocrisy. With the use of the term truth in this sense you are all familiar, and of this use of it we have an instance, where St. Paul says, "I speak the truth in Christ, I lie not;" and another in Hebrews x. 22: "Let us draw near with a true heart;" that is, "with uprightness, integrity, and sincerity of heart." "Wherefore, putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour."--Eph. iv. 25. No character is more despised among men than that of the liar, and none is more truly contemptible; and in the Sacred Scriptures liars are classed with the vilest of our race, and are threatened with eternal death, as in Revelations xxi. 8: "All liars shall have their part in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." The judgment of God and judgment of man agree in regard to the hatefulness of lying. Let it, in every form of it, be far from you, my hearers. Let it be your aim to say with the Psalmist, "I hate and abhor lying, but thy law do I love."--Ps. cxix. 163.
The commands of God, the social interests of men, yea, the very existence of civil society call for an unwavering adherence to truth. Never, then, violate the truth. Establish a character for veracity. Let no dread of consequences induce you to err from the truth. Submit to any inconvenience, rather than degrade yourself by lying, equivocating, or by mental reservations; those mean subterfuges of the cowardly and wicked. If ever tempted to prevaricate, call to mind the declarations of Sacred
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Writ: "The lip of truth shall be established for ever; but a lying tongue is but for a moment."--Prov. xii. 19. "Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord; but they that deal truly are his delight."--Prov. xii. 22. And should you unhappily be betrayed into doing that which, if known, would subject you to the censure of others, never add to your unhappiness and guilt by a resort to lying, in order to conceal your conduct.
Many indeed are the expedients devised to quiet conscience, and to justify a departure from the direct line of truth; but, at best, they are mere expedients, doing no credit to the hearts or heads of those who use them. The only honourable course is candidly to confess your error, and to express your regret. Let it once be known that nothing can induce you ever to utter a falsehood, the knowledge of this fact will give you a character and a standing which will go far to cast into the shade any indiscretions with which you may be chargeable. Adherence to truth is not, indeed, the only virtue in the world, but where it exists, it is not apt to be alone; and wherever it exists, it commands for its possessor the respect and confidence of all who know him.
Allied to this there is another view of truth, which in this connexion merits our attention: that is, of truth in the sense of fidelity, sincerity, and punctuality in keeping promises, and in this sense it is used in the 100th Psalm: "For the Lord is good, His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endureth to all generations." As God is true to his engagements, so he would have us true to ours. Never make a
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promise, nor pledge your word, unless you mean to do as you promise. To promise and to have no intention to keep it, is the height of hypocrisy; and no matter what excuses the individual who thus acts may offer for his conduct, it is base, and cannot but degrade him in his own eyes as well as in the eyes of others. Far from you be conduct like this. By a faithful compliance with all your engagements, gain for yourselves the reputation of being men true to your word. Such a character is above all price, and the youth that possesses it cannot fail to be the joy of his parents.
III. Seek, also, after "wisdom, instruction, and understanding." This too is the advice of Solomon, who, upon giving it, adds, "the father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice, and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him." And here let me cite from the wise man another saying on this subject: "A wise son heareth his father's instruction."--Prov. xiii. 1. Before urging further a compliance with this advice, let us inquire into the meaning of the terms wisdom, instruction, and understanding, as here used. They are of frequent occurrence in the Sacred Writings, and there is therefore no difficulty in determining their general import; although there may be some in discriminating nicely between them. They are often so blended together, that they seem at least to partake of each other's meaning, and this makes it easier to speak of their joint than of their several imports. Without dwelling at length on the subject, I shall endeavour to do both.
[Page 107] In the Scriptures, the term "wisdom" is used in various senses, all, however, cognate, and naturally arising from each other. Sometimes it is used in its common acceptation among men, as denoting the power of judging rightly--as in 1st Kings ii. 9--distinguished from mere knowledge, as supposing action, and action directed by it; or, as expressed by another--"Wisdom is taken for that prudence and discretion which enables men to perceive what is fit to be done, according to the circumstances of time, place, persons, manners and end of doing.--Eccles. ii. 13, 14. Knowledge directs a man what is to be done, and what is not to be done; wisdom directs him how to do things duly, conveniently, and fitly."--Cruden. Again, wisdom is taken for "experience," as in Job xii. 12--"With the ancient is wisdom." And in Acts vii. 22, for "various learning," where it is said of Moses, he was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians--that is, as one explains it, "He was instructed in the knowledge of those arts and sciences, for which, in those times, the Egyptians were famous." Again, wisdom is taken for "true piety, or the fear of God." "The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom." "So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom"--the study and practice of piety. There are other and important senses in which the term wisdom is used in Scripture, yet those mentioned are the only ones to which reference can be had by Solomon, when he says, "Buy also wisdom." And they include, as you perceive, both human wisdom to conduct our affairs in this life, and divine
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wisdom, to make men wise to know their duty, and to save their souls.
The word rendered "instruction" signifies good and wholesome admonitions and rebukes given to us, in order that we may attain unto wisdom; likewise chastisement; and it is also used to denote that which is set forth as an example for the warning of others. In the passage under consideration, it denotes, I apprehend, chiefly divine admonition and reproof.
The word translated "understanding" means the power or ability to discern between truth and error, between good and evil, and the choosing of the former and the rejecting of the latter. The primitive meaning of the word from which it is derived is to separate, or put apart--hence the significations, to distinguish, to understand, or to know fully and distinctly.
But it is probable that the several terms, wisdom, instruction and understanding, were employed, not so much for the purpose of exact discrimination, as to indicate the earnestness with which they should be sought. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. A good understanding have all they that do his commandments." "Fear God, and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man." From a comparison of these passages, it is evident, that when Solomon bids us buy "wisdom, instruction, and understanding," and, especially, as he at the same time, bids us buy the truth, he had in view that piety and knowledge which fit us for the service of God, and that wisdom which makes us
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wise unto salvation. And yet it is more than probable that he did not intend to exclude the knowledge of human arts and learning, as will appear, I think, from an examination of 1st Kings iv. 29-33--"And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding, exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand on the sea shore. And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of the children of the East, and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men, than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the nations round about. And he spake three thousand proverbs, and his songs were a thousand and five. And he spake of trees, from the cedar in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall; he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and fishes." He was not only a great prince, but also a philosopher and a poet. These, observe, are all mentioned as evidences of the great wisdom and understanding and largeness of heart that God gave to Solomon; and we may therefore well suppose, that when he extols wisdom, and bids us seek it, and also understanding, he meant to employ these terms in their largest meanings, and as comprehending all varieties of useful knowledge, whether pertaining to religion or to the ordinary affairs of life. They are approved of God, they are held in honour among men. "The wise shall inherit glory."--Prov. iii. 35. "A wise son maketh a glad father, but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother."--Prov. x. 1. "My son, if thy heart be wise, my heart shall re
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joice, even mine."--Prov. xxiii. 15. Do not these words express the sentiments of every father?
Be it your aim, my youthful hearers, to make all possible advances in both human and divine knowledge, but especially in the latter. Treasure up also, as far as you can, the lessons of true wisdom, alike on secular as on religious subjects, and seek to be men of understanding. Do you inquire how all this is to be done? I answer it is to be done by making a proper use of your present time and present privileges. For the study of God's Word, a knowledge of which is able, through faith in its teachings, to make you wise unto salvation, you have every facility; and would that the disposition to become thoroughly acquainted with its precepts and its truths was equal to the ready access you can at all times have to its sacred pages.
The rich mines too of human science and learning are, to a greater or less extent, thrown open for your admission; and, just so far as you choose, you are at liberty to avail yourselves of the treasures they contain. You are also provided with guides, whose duty and, I may add, whose pleasure it is, to attend you in your search of the hidden stores of wisdom and knowledge. And there is nothing that ought to draw you away from your professed employments and appropriate work. Do not, for a moment, suppose that you can ever become wise or learned without effort on your own part. God gave wisdom to Solomon just in the same way that he gives it to other men. He gave him the disposition to apply himself earnestly to the cultivation
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of those powers of mind which He had previously bestowed upon Solomon, and by affording him opportunities for the full development of those powers. The very account which is given of Solomon is proof positive of his untiring industry.
On this branch of our subject I shall make but one remark more, and it is this: that the study and practice of true piety is no hindrance to the vigorous prosecution of our secular pursuits; but, on the contrary, is favourable to our success in all our lawful undertakings. No mind can be in so favourable a state for attention to the ordinary studies or business of life as when it is conscious of being at peace with God, and of doing all things from a desire to serve and please Him.
"Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding: For the merchandize of it is better than the merchandize of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies; and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her. Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her; and happy is every one that retaineth her."--Prov. iii. 13-18.
IV. Let me once more counsel you to seek the company of the wise and good, and to exercise the utmost care in selecting, as your intimate associates, those who are distinguished for sobriety of conduct, and for their reverence for divine things. "He that walketh with wise men shall be wise; but a com
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panion of fools shall be destroyed."--Prov. xiii. 20. I need scarcely say, that your associations, of whatever kind they be, cannot fail to exert an influence over you; and should they unhappily be evil associations, they cannot prove else than mischievous. If your chosen and constant companions be rude and vulgar, you will become rude and vulgar; if profane, you will become profane; if intemperate and licentious, you will be like them. What reason can any one have to hope for a different result? Whatever other qualities of an attractive character they may possess, and which incline you to seek their company, if not their friendship; these others are not the only ones which will have an influence upon you. Familiarity with wicked sentiments and evil practices will soon remove your own repugnance to these sentiments and these practices; and the way will be more or less rapidly prepared for your becoming like your friends in feeling and in deportment. On the contrary, if your companions be the wise and good, you cannot but receive advantage from the connection. You will imbibe their sentiments, and copy their example, possibly without being conscious of doing so. If, then, you have any desire to gladden the heart of your father, or to be the joy of your mother, you must avoid all corrupt associates, and cleave only to the virtuous and the good. Here, again, let me cite the words of Solomon: "Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away. The path of the just is as
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the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. The way of the wicked is as darkness. They know not at what they stumble."
V. Allied to the choice of companions is the choice of books. If they be good, they will tend to make you wise and virtuous; if bad, they will corrupt your minds, and prepare the way for sinful and ruinous courses. Remember that such is the constitution of our minds, that every thing we read makes an impression upon them. It may at first, and even for a long time, be as imperceptible to the eye of the ordinary observer as the impression made upon rocks or stones by drops of falling water; yet, in the course of time, it will become equally apparent and equally lasting.
As is your reading so are you. The youth devoted to the study of science will become a scientific man; the student of works of taste will become a man of taste; the devourer of works of imagination will partake of the character of his reading; if these be works of a corrupt imagination, they will corrupt you. The diligent student of God's word will become wise unto salvation; and let it be your firm resolve to give that direction to all your reading and all your studies, and that alone, which will tend to make you wise and good. Remember the character of the blessed man, as set forth in the 1st Psalm: "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly; that standeth not in the way of sinners; that sitteth not in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law doth he meditate day and night."
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Constant meditation on the precepts of God's word is the source of this blessedness, and saves him from the path and the fate of the wicked.
VI. Finally, cherish virtuous sentiments and virtuous habits. This accords with the whole tenor of Solomon's counsel to the young; and if you follow this counsel, your father, like the Father of the righteous, shall greatly rejoice. The adoption and the cherishing of virtuous sentiments is essential to the practice of virtue. A corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit. That your sentiments may be virtuous, you must give yourselves to the study of virtue. Remember the words of St. Paul in his epistle to the Philippians, and in this matter make them the rule of your conduct:
Yes, my young friends, think on these things; continued meditation upon them will fill your minds with useful maxims for the regulation of your conduct, and will thus most powerfully influence that conduct. It will tend to make you true and honest, just and pure and lovely, a diligent student and a useful man. It will save you from the snares of the wicked, and from the destruction that awaits the devotees of pleasure, the victims of appetite and of lust, against which, in the strongest terms, Solomon
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warns his son; and the careful study of his counsel on this head, I most earnestly commend to you.
To these counsels I might add much, but our time does not permit; and if you are disposed to pursue a course of conduct that will gladden the hearts of your parents, sufficient has been said, I hope, to confirm that disposition. And if you are not thus disposed, I should have but a faint hope of ever enlisting your feelings in this subject, however much I might enlarge upon it.
Can a father or mother fail to rejoice, at seeing a beloved son manifesting the greatest deference for their authority and counsels; seeing him earnestly engaged in seeking after truth, wisdom, instruction and understanding, and that in the highest and most important meanings of these terms; seeing him, too, the companion of the wise and good, avoiding all evil courses and wicked men, and embracing sound and virtuous sentiments, and ever acting in accordance with them?
It does not require then to have minds equally cultivated with your own to be partakers of the joy, of which so often I have had occasion to speak. I well remember an occurrence at one of our annual commencements, about thirty years ago, which confirms the remark just made. The son of a plain and unlettered man, one of the youngest members of his class, and at the same time one of the first scholars of that class, who, not many years after leaving College, descended to an honoured grave, was pronouncing the oration assigned to him as his part in the exercises of that day, and such was the
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impression that his speech and his speaking made upon the minds of some of his auditors, that they were instinctively prompted to inquire, "Who is that youth?" "He is my son," said the delighted father, who happened to be near; and this he said much to the surprise and delight of those that stood by, and listened to this unexpected burst of a father's joy.
What a glorious sight would it be to see a whole college of such youths!
Source: The Princeton Pulpit. Edited by John T. Duffield, New York: Charles Scribner, 1852. Pp. 95-116.
