MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 16:31
A CROWN OF GLORY
I. Hoary heads may be found which are not in the way of righteousness. A hoary head in the way of ungodliness is one of the saddest sights that a thoughtful mind can look upon.
1. Because in such a man the tendency towards evil has been strengthened by the habits of a long life. In childhood there is a condition of comparative innocency to start with, and there is hope that this freedom from actual transgression may develop into a tried virtue in the passage from youth to old age. But when childhood has passed away, the condition of comparative innocence has passed away too, and if the evil tendencies of human nature are not resisted they grow stronger as the man grows in years, and old age finds him more under the dominion of sinful habit than any former period of his life. An ungodly man is more ungodly when he is old than he has ever been before, and is therefore a sadder object of contemplation then than he was in his youth or in his prime. Such a hoary-headed sinner often wishes that it was now as easy to do right as it was in his youth, but he finds that it is not so. “To will” may be “present” with him (Romans 7:18), but he finds that by reason of his long indulgence in sinful habits it is less easy now to perform that which he wills than it was when his locks were black and his form unbent. The man whose limbs are palsied by age finds that they do not move in obedience to his will so readily as they did in the days of his health, and the aged man finds also that his moral actions are not so easily controlled as they were when he was young—the vessel does not answer to her helm so quickly as it did then. It is always sad to look upon a slave, even upon one who is only a slave in body. But it is far sadder to see a man who is in spiritual bondage—one who is “taken captive by the devil at his will” (2 Timothy 2:26), and we look upon such an one whenever we look upon a hoary head in the way of ungodliness.
2. Because such a man is growing old in soul as well as in body. When he was a child the seeds of perpetual youth were implanted within him; if he had then given himself up to holy influences old age would have found him as young in heart as when he was a boy, because although the outer man of all men perishes daily, the inner man of the godly is renewed day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16). But ungodliness deprives a man of the blessedness of being for ever young—of retaining to the latest hour of life the freshness of feeling which characterises the young, and of leaving the world with a certainty that all his mental and spiritual powers will be renewed throughout eternity. His soul sympathises with his body, and the weakness and decay of the shell is a symbol of what is going on within.
3. Because he is nearing the mysterious exodus from this world which must be accomplished by all without being prepared for it. All men are near to death—men of all ages are uncertain whether they will be here on the morrow, but the old man knows certainly that his race is almost run—that he must shortly put off this tabernacle. And there is nothing more depressing to a man than to feel that he is utterly unprepared to meet the demands of a great crisis in his life which is near—that he has soon to meet a person who holds his destinies in his hand and that he has nothing to hope, but everything to fear from him—that he has to embark on a voyage to a distant land without any knowledge of what shall befall him when he arrives there. And if a long course of ungodliness has blunted his capability of seeing his own true position, it is clear to thoughtful onlookers, and the sight fills them with sadness.
II. But a hoary head in the way of righteousness is a kingly head. There is nothing kingly in old age considered in itself. An old man’s body is not such a kingly object to look upon as a young man’s—it does not give us the idea of so much power and capability. And an ungodly old man—as we have seen—is not a king but a slave—a slave to sinful habits, to the infirmities of age, and to the fear of death. But the hoary head of a righteous man—
1. Tells a tale of conquest. It speaks of many temptations met, and wrestled with, and overcome. His passions are not his masters, but his servants—he has learned to bring into subjection even his thoughts; he reigns as king over himself, and so his hoary hairs are a symbol of his kingship.
2. It is a sign of spiritual maturity. In all the works of God we expect the best and the most perfect results at the last. There is a glory and a beauty in the field covered with the green blades of early spring, but the period of its perfection is not in the spring, but in the autumn, when the full corn in the ear stands ready for the sickle. The mind of the youthful philosopher may be mighty in its power, but its capabilities are greater when he has spent a long life in developing them. It is in harmony with all the methods of God’s working that all that is of real worth in a man should be nearer perfection the longer he lives, and it is so with all those who are willing to bring their lives into harmony with the Divine will. If an old man is a godly man, he is more like God in his character and disposition in his old age than he ever was before, and this spiritual maturity invests him with a kingly dignity.
3. It is an earnest of a brighter crown which is awaiting him. To him death is not an unwelcome visitor, and God is a Being in whose presence he expects to realise “fulness of joy” (Psalms 16:11), and the country beyond the grave a place to which he often longs to depart. All such hoary-headed servants of God can adopt the language of the aged Paul, and say, “I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day” (2 Timothy 4:7-8). To all such it is especially fit that kingly honours should be paid. “Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man” (Leviticus 19:32).
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
We honour them whose heads have been encircled with crowns by the hands of men, and will we refuse honour to those whom God himself hath crowned with silver hairs?—Lawson.
The word if is a supplement. The verse may be read, “The hoary head is a crown of glory: it shall be found in the way of righteousness.” Two things are implied:—The conduciveness of righteousness to the attainment of old age, and its conduciveness to the respectability and honour of old age.—Wardlaw.
The hoary head is the old man’s glory and claim for reverence. God solemnly links the honour of it with His own fear (Leviticus 19:32). “The ancient” are numbered with “the honourable” (Isaiah 9:15). The sin of despising them is marked (Isaiah 3:5), and, when shown towards His own prophet, was awfully punished (2 Kings 2:23-24). Wisdom and experience may be supposed to belong to them (Job 12:12), and the contempt of this wisdom was the destruction of a kingdom (1 Kings 12:13-20). But the diamond in the crown is, when it is found in the way of righteousness. Even a heathen monarch did homage to it (Genesis 47:7-10); an ungodly nation and king paid to it the deepest respect (1 Samuel 25:1; 2 Kings 13:14). The fathers of the Old and New Testament reflected its glory. The one died in faith, waiting the Lord’s salvation; the other was ready to “depart in peace” at the joyous sight of it (Luke 2:28-29). Zacharias and Elizabeth walked in all the ordinances of the Lord blameless; Anna, “a widow indeed,” in the faith and hope of the Gospel; Polycarp, with his fourscore and six years, in his Master’s service. Crowns of glory were their hoary heads, shining with all the splendour of royalty. Earnestly does the holy Psalmist plead this crown for usefulness to the Church (Psalms 71:18); the Apostle, for the cause of his converted slave (Philippians 2).—Bridges.
The old age is to be reverenced most which is white, not with gray hairs only, but with heavenly graces. Commendable old age leaneth upon two staves—the one a remembrance of a life well led, the other a hope of eternal life. Take away these two staves, and old age cannot stand with comfort; pluck out the gray hairs of virtues, and the gray head cannot shine with any bright glory.… The gray head is a glorious ornament, for, first, hoary hairs do wonderfully become the ancient person, whom they make to look the more grave, and to carry the greater authority in his countenance; secondly, they are a garland or diadem, which not the art of man, but the finger of God, hath fashioned and set on the head.—Muffet.
Hoariness is only honourable when found in a way of righteousness. A white head, accompanied with a holy heart, makes a man truly honourable. There are two glorious sights in the world: the one is a young man walking in his uprightness, and the other is an old man walking in ways of righteousness. It was Abraham’s honour that he went to his grave in a good old age, or rather, as the Hebrew hath it, with a good grey head (Genesis 25:8). Many there be that go to their graves with a grey head, but this was Abraham’s crown, that he went to his grave with a good grey head. Had Abraham’s head been never so grey, if it had not been good it would have been no honour to him.… When the head is as white as snow, and the soul is as black as hell, God usually gives up such to scorn and contempt.… But God usually reveals Himself most to old disciples, to old saints: “With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding” (Job 12:12). God usually manifests most of Himself to aged saints. They usually pray most and pay most, they labour most and long most after the choicest manifestations of Himself and of His grace, and therefore He opens His bosom most to them, and makes them of His cabinet council. “And the Lord said, shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do,” etc. (Genesis 18:17-19). Abraham was an old friend, and therefore God makes him both of His court and council. We usually open our hearts most freely, fully, and familiarly, to old friends. So doth God to His ancient friends.—Brooks.
Age is not all decay; it is the ripening, the swelling of the fresh life within that withers and bursts the husk.—George Macdonald.
Aged piety is peculiarly honourable.
1. It hath long continued. When it is said “If it be found,” etc., intimates that such a one has been long walking in that way.
2. It is founded on knowledge and experience. They are well acquainted with the suitableness and sufficiency of the Redeemer. They have made many useful observations on the methods of providence towards themselves, their families, and the Church of God. They know much of the evil of sin, of the nature of temptations, and of the many devices of Satan.
3. It is proved and steadfast. The aged Christian is “rooted in the faith,” grounded and settled, his habits of piety are become quite natural.
4. It is attended with much usefulness. The piety of an aged Christian is much to the glory of God, as it shows especially the Gospel’s power to bear the Christian on through difficulties and temptations. And aged saints are very useful to mankind. Their steadfast piety puts to silence the ignorance of foolish men who complain of the restraints of religion as unreasonable and intolerable, and of the Redeemer’s laws as impracticable. They are living witnesses to mankind of the kindness of God’s providence and the riches of His grace.—Job Orton.