Proverbs 3:35 The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools. I. IN THE CHOICE WHICH HE MAKES. 1. The sinner prefers the favour of man to the favour of God. 2. He prefers the interests of the body to the interests of the soul. 3. He prefers temporal pleasure to eternal happiness; and in so doing, verily, he prefers the rags to the robes, the pebbles to the jewels, and the shadow to the substance. II. IN THE CONDUCT WHICH HE PURSUES. 1. He rebels against God his Maker, refusing to submit to His authority. 2. The sinner is going to an eternal world, and makes no preparation for that eternal world. 3. He is condemned; a pardon is freely offered by the Lord, and he rejects the offered pardon. III. WHAT IS TO BE THE END OF THESE THINGS? "Shame shall be the promotion of fools." This shame will arise from several sources. 1. From disappointment. Should a soldier be cashiered for cowardice, when he expected promotion for his supposed bravery; should an author be cried down, when he expected great applause; or should a person find that no mention is made of him in a will, when he expected to be one of the principal heirs; in all such cases disappointment would be a matter of shame. How much more when the sinner wakes up in eternity, and finds all his fond hopes of heaven blasted for avert 2. From the full development of character which shall then be made. Some years since a certain man in one of our Atlantic cities was charged with a very base act — was charged with opening a letter which had been put into the post-office, and divulging some family secrets which that letter contained. He denied the charge. A committee was appointed to investigate the charge and make a report. I was present when the report was made. In the presence of some one or two hundred citizens, the chairman of the committee came forward and said, "We have investigated the charge alleged against the gentleman, and find it to be true." I saw the man the moment his character was thus blasted for ever. After one frantic effort with a pistol to take the life of the person who had thus exposed him, he dropped his head; he could not bear to look upon man or woman any more; and, returning to his lodgings, he laid himself down upon his bed, and died of a broken heart. Shame killed him. And now, if the divulging of one base act in such an assembly on earth occasioned him such overwhelming, heartbreaking shame, oh! what intolerable shame must come upon the sinner when every base act, when every impure thought, when every unlawful deed shall be revealed before God and angels and men! 3. From the manifestation of his folly. 4. From the company with which he will be obliged to associate. (D. Baker, D.D.). Parallel Verses KJV: The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools.WEB: The wise will inherit glory, but shame will be the promotion of fools. |
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