The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-03-10
THE VOICE OF THE PULPIT
TEMPTATION TIC GOODS THE Al
LUREMENT OF TRUE WISDOM.
BY Rev. Tcunis 8. HamIin, ID. D.. Pas
tor CHURCH of the Covenant, Pres
bytcrian, Washington, ID. &.
Doth not wisdom cryY'-Prov. viii. l.

Doth not wisdom ~cry?"-Prov. viii, l.
Is there not temptation TO good as well as
TO evil? Is this common notion true that
we are forever solicited TO do wrong and
never 10 do right. that wickedness is al
way alluring and righteousness always re-
pellant. that we must be on our guard
against whatever is pleasant. because il is
likely or even certain to be wrong. while
only the disagreeable things, that go
against the grain" from which nature re-
volts. are safe and right?
Certainly the wise men who wrote this
collection of Wisdom Miscellany that we
know as the Book OF Proverbs. had no such
|. conception. Let us see. After a brief pref
zee there follows a series OF exquisite SCR
nets On wisdom. This wisdom is not at
all learning or eruditicn. The wise man is
not the scholar. Wisdom is the result OF
shrewd. careful. protracted observation OF
men and circumstances; deduction from
the experiences OF human life. AS written,
it is practical philosophy in the form OF
epigrams or brief parallels. which, in He
brew, always a K a poetic shape. In the
earlier chapters all this result of inspired
observation is personifed as Dame Wis
dom" She addresses her 'son" with in
struction. warning and encouragement: 10
create a healthful hatred of evil and allure
from it TO good. as giving health, safety
prosperity and happiness.
Perhaps the supreme example OF this
exquisite p~oetical method is in creating a
dark background for a bright picture.
Dame Folly is also personihed. She rep
resents the mightiest and most perilous
passions of our human nature-pot a single
passion only. as often thought. Wisdom.
sitting at her window. sees Folly meet the
youth void of understanding and ply
him with her solicitations 10 pleasure.
with her much fair speech she causes
him to yield; with the fattering OF her lips
she forceth him away. He goeth after her
straiShtway as an OK goeth to the slaugh-
ter. as a bird hasteth 70 the snare, and
knoweth not that Il is for his life. For she
hath cast down many wounded; yea. all
her slain are a mighty host.
WISDOM ALSO CRIES.
Doth not Wisdom cry?" Folly cries.
"She is clamorous." Now she is In the
streets. now in the broad places. and lieth
in wait at every corner" She seeks her
victims: goes where they are TO be found;
shrewGly evails herself of every resource
to allure and captivate them. Is Wisdom
less alert, less tactful and persistent? BY
no means. She cxceIs Folly at every point.
in the top OF high places, by the way,
where the paths meet, she standeth; ne
SIDE the gates, at the entry of the city, at
the coming in at the doors. she crieth
aloud: Unto you, o men, 1 call" Wis
dom, too. goes where men are, seeks them
wherever they gather for business or
choosing her ways. which she earnestly
proclaims to be ways Of pleasantness and
peace She promises reward. not of mo-
mentary qualification, but of permanent
prosperity, security and unalloyed happi-
ness.
Rightly a~pprehended, I think this will
put practical religion in a somewhat novel
and unusually attractive light. The fact
that wisdom is matter of observation and
experience brings religion near and makes
1t human and homely. Usually it is at
most a guest, not a member OF the house
hold; ii is remote, other-worldly, unnatural.
Its sanctions and rewards seem TO us not
of to-day, but of 4 distant and vague i'm
70 the average mind, folly wears a well
coming smile. while wisdom meets us with
a stern face OF duty. Folly offers pleas
ure, enjoyment, qualification OF natural
appetitcs. a merry heart. a ringing laugh.
a jovial song; but wisdom brings admoni-
ton, reprcof. warning, none OF which we
relish; and at the best a solemn conscious
ness or havinS constrained ourselves TO
do right, which no doubt is n substantial
gain in the end, but meanwhile a rather
things re naturally love to do; wisdom
constrains us to uncongenial tasks which
from which inclination shrinkS.
This Is said. not of men deliberately
goddess and wicked. but of conscientious
men, who want to do right. to obey God.
to inherit eternal life; Of men who have
no prejudice against religion, but a desire
to possess it and profit by 1t. But they
feel it to be a matter Of steady and rather
hard ~compulsion; that nothing can hold
them to 1t but a sense of duty and a
somewhat hazy faith in a distant reward.
And while these intangible motives are
weakly appealing to one, not in his store.
or office. not in the street or market, but
only at church or in some specially solemn
hour, folly .is clamorous," meets him ev-
~erywhere, plies him with persuasions-
WISDOM'S PLACE.
But doth not Wisdom also cry? To the
minds of the religious philosophers who
wrote these Proverbs religion was not a
thing apart. Her place is at the very CEN
tiers of activity. She meets men where they
are most absorbed in secular pursuits; does
not wait for a quiet evening or Sabbath
hour or sickbed opportunity, but enters
into competition with the most enhancing
business. where ambition and pride are
stimulating to the most heroic exertions.
In the ancient city 1t was at TIE gates
where the courts sat. and the street cor
ners where men held their endless discus
sions and debates. In the modern city 1t
Is III tie CLUBS, ODlCeS anu eOltOTidl TOOllS,
the great stores, factories, banks and ex-
changes. In this capital it is in the halls
and especially the lobbies Of Congress, in
the great executive departments, in the
ante-rooms of the White House. 1t is in
the social circles, at the dinner table and
reception.
Dame Folly is everywhere a guest;
watches every appointment TO office; notes
every contract, sale and purchase: over
hears every conversation, and reads what
every pen writes. She is always "clamor-
ous' that men should act selishly. She
can always point out a short cut to wealth
and preferment. She insists that one may
be too honest, too truthful, too pure: that
the world must be met on its own terms:
that competition is too sharp nowadays
for old-fashioned methods; honest plodders
are certain to be left behind: to put
money in your purse you must be a trifie
sharper than your sharpest neighbor. She
declares politics to be matter of barter,
that the longest purse gets the best Of
flee, that vigorous partisanship pays better
than patriotism. She asserts that social
recognition, Efe's chief prize to so many,
can be had only by crowding; by getting
your head above the multitude even IL you
have to stand upon someone to do it; by
establishing a reputation for smartness.
to which well-spiced gossip offers the
shortest and easiest road. Wherever men
and women are, with their schemes and
ambitions, there Dame Folly is, alert,
busy. ''clamorous."
But doth not Wisdom cry?" She must,
or let men go swiftly to ruin. What chance