MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 21:21
A NOBLE PURSUIT AND A RICH PRIZE
I. A noble pursuit. Following after righteousness and mercy. These words may be taken as referring both to a state of judicial righteousness before God and to mercy received from him, and also to the attainment of a righteous and merciful character. The teaching of the Scriptures is that the latter is the result of the former;—that all true righteousness and mercifulness among men flows from having obtained mercy from God, and having come into right relations with Him. If a pursuit of any kind is to be successful it must be conducted according to certain known laws, and must recognise certain indisputable facts. If a man sets out to seek a distant shore where he knows the land is fertile enough to afford him abundant means of living, he must regulate his pursuit of the land and of its riches in accordance with the laws which govern the natural world. During his voyage he must observe the laws of navigation—he must steer his vessel with a due regard to the winds and tides, or he will never reach the shore, and when he lands he must still seek to obtain what he desires by working in harmony with natural laws. If he ploughs in the autumn and expects to gather in the winter, or sows weeds and expects to reap corn, he will be utterly disappointed. God is willing to bless his endeavours if they are made in subjection to known and established conditions, but not otherwise. So in every pursuit, whether in the world of matter or of mind. “If a man also strive for masteries,” says Paul, “yet is he not crowned except he strive lawfully” (2 Timothy 2:5), that is, unless he conform to the rules of the course. The Grecian runner might reach the goal without having a regard to the conditions of the contest, but he would not even then receive the crown. But in the pursuit of many things—and especially in the following after a righteous and godly character—it is impossible to reach the desired end without observance of the conditions laid down by God Himself. There is one way only to become a truly righteous and merciful man, and that is by accepting the mercy of God and His method of justification, called in the New Testament “the righteousness of God” (Romans 3:21, etc.). The history of the Church combines with the testimony of Scripture to confirm this truth. The Jewish nation, as a nation, refused to accept it, “going about to establish their own righteousness they have not submitted unto the righteousness of God (Romans 10:3). Their history since has been a moral failure, and it is the history of all who have united with them in the rejection of the way of righteousness through the atonement of the Son of God. On the contrary, the acceptance of that righteousness and mercy has been the first step in the formation of the most righteous and merciful characters that have ever lighted up our world. The apostle who was the great expounder of the doctrine of imputed righteousness through the mercy of God could appeal to his spiritual children in such words as these: “For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile; … neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness … but we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children; so being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us” (1 Thessalonians 2:3-8). This was Paul’s disposition and character after he became a partaker of Divine mercy and a justified man through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and all those who sincerely accept God’s method of being made righteous bring forth the same kind of fruit in their life, although not always in such abundant measure.
II. A rich reward. He who seeks mercy and righteousness from God by faith becomes, as we have seen, a righteous and merciful man. This in itself is moral life—a quickening of the spiritual capabilities—an awakening to spiritual realities and joys which were before unknown—an entrance into the possession of all that makes existence worth having. Such a man gets honour of a real and lasting nature—the goodwill of all the good in all worlds and the favour of God Himself. He follows after righteousness for its own sake—out of pure love of holiness and purity, and not for any reward that it may bring either now or hereafter, and he finds as he follows it that many things are added unto it.
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
“Follows after,” chases eagerly. How absorbed the chase of some poor partridge on the hills. Even let that be our picture. “Righteousness and mercy, or kindness,” the two tables of the law; a genial picture of all holiness. Now let a man chase holiness with the absorbed forgetfulness of self that such game would imply, and all else will come in at the death. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all things else will be added thereto.” (Matthew 6:33). “Life,” all sorts of life. “Righteousness,” but one sort of righteousness in place of that personal righteousness which (in the first clause) we are still called to chase. “Glory,” all sorts of glory. The list is not an illogical one. “Life,” all that is’ personally good and happy, “righteousness all that buys that and keeps a title to it, “glory,” that which is above happiness, and is always to be counted higher—viz., the honour and excellency of absolute purity of being.—Miller.
There is nothing which a man hath that is not going from him; there is nothing that a man seeketh that doth not seek to keep itself from him. It is therefore following that bringeth a man both to finding and possessing. But they are spiritual things, not the things of this world, that are worthy either of a man’s following, or finding, or possessing. They are righteousness and mercy that are worthy of our seeking, they are life, righteousness, and mercy that are worthy of our finding.… Gregory, comparing spiritual and temporal riches together, showeth their difference to be great, because spiritual riches do even then increase, when that they are laid out, earthly riches are either laid out and so consumed, or else are kept and are not profitable. And in the following after them there is also this difference, that he who followeth after the things of this world always findeth less than he looked for; but he that followeth after spiritual things shall be sure to find more than he did or could look for.—Jermin.