Homiletic Review Ecclesiastes 9:17-18 The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that rules among fools.… — The destructiveness of sin: — 1. Sin, in itself, is a moral force of tremendous potency. Nothing finite or human can resist it, or counteract its malign influence. Sin, when it is finished, brings forth death. Ah! that is the terrible law of sin. 2. As a social moral force sin works on a broader field, and with the sweep and destructiveness of a cyclone, uprooting and destroying everything in its path. One cholera or fever-stricken man may infect a whole city: so one moral leper may impart the plague to all within the circle of his influence while living, and send the death-current down through many generations. One scoffer or infidel may blast the faith of a thousand souls. One bad book, the progeny of a single brain, may taint the morals of a nation, and, like Paine's "Age of Reason," sweep down through the centuries with the destructiveness of a moral sirocco. 3. Confine the view to a narrower social field — say the family, or the little neighbourhood, or the single church — and the same alarming fact is brought to light. The narrower the sphere the more intimate and constant the contact, as a rule the stronger the influence exerted. One evil child often leads astray a whole family group; one evil companion corrupts a whole circle; one bad example suffices to destroy the integrity of the whole body.Lessons: 1. Be watchful and vigilant in regard to the first appearance of evil — (1) in the individual himself. Timely rebuke, faithful admonition, earnest prayer and effort may arrest the tide of evil and save a sinner from the doom which he courts, and save society from the dreadful effects of an abandoned career. (2) In the community in which he moves, in the way of warning, and in the way of hedging in and counteracting his destructive influence. 2. Remember, and act on the fact, that while "one sinner destroyeth much good," one devout, earnest praying Christian may set in motion moral influences and forces that shall "turn many to righteousness." (Homiletic Review.). Parallel Verses KJV: The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools.WEB: The words of the wise heard in quiet are better than the cry of him who rules among fools. |
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