“My son, fear thou the Lord and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change: for their calamity shall rise suddenly; and who knoweth the ruin of them both?”—Proverbs 24:21, 22.
Interpretation.—The “counsel” is to “hold in awe” and obey the Lord, and the king as His vicegerent. Obviously, no human power can supersede the divine. “Change” is to be avoided when it sets aside or tampers with either the worship of the true God or the lawful authority of the true king. It is perilous in the extreme to mix one’s self up with fickle men, who are fond of innovations. Such men expose themselves to calamity and sudden ruin at the hands of the authority they have defied.
Illustrations.—Into what awful destruction did the two hundred and fifty princes who abetted Korah precipitate themselves by their rebellion (Numb. 16:2, 32; Jude 11)! The followers of Absalom and Adonijah invoked their own judgments. Did Israel do wisely in rejecting God as their King, whom Gideon had refused to supplant (1 Sam. 8:7, 11, etc.; Judg. 8:22, 23)? David evinced true loyalty both to his God and his king (1 Sam. 24:6).
Application.—Change is not forbidden under any circumstances, since it may be for the better. But change for the sake of change, whether in Church or State, is earnestly to be deprecated as fraught with danger. Loyalty to both God and king is recommended in the New Testament as well as in the Old (Matt. 22:21; 1 Pet. 2:17), and the two are combined as in some sort mutually dependent. The principle of loyalty is the same as of godliness, for loyalty in the abstract can only proceed from fear of God, Who has enjoined it. On one plea only may resistance to lawful authority be justified—when the choice lies between obedience to God or man. Every attempt to define the limitation of rebellion (save this one) will be found to open the door to anarchy. Under our own constitutional government changes may be constitutionally brought about. As a Christian citizen, I may advocate these when desirable. Should the civil power so violate the rights of the Church as to affect injuriously God’s honour in the cause of His truth, it is my plain duty to protest—it may be to resist. A broad distinction should be drawn between innovations and renovations. To claim the latter when founded on law and justice ought surely not to be deemed seditious. Loyalty is most secure when it has godliness to lean upon. Hence, it is due to the earthly sovereign as well as to the heavenly to resist all tamperings with the faith. For Satan, who is the foe to all authority saving his own, knows well how much easier it is to adulterate than to abolish a religion.
Pearson, C. R. (1881). Counsels of the Wise King; or, Proverbs of Solomon Applied to Daily Life (Vol. 2, p. 81). W. Skeffington & Son. (Public Domain)
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