The way of man.
The prophet probably speaks here not merely for himself, but in the name of the whole nation. He gives articulate utterance to the better elements of thought and feeling existing among them, their conscious shortsightedness as regards the meaning and issue of their own national experiences, their helpless dependence on the unseen Divine power that is working out through the terrible events of the time its own all-wise purposes. An important view of human life is here presented before us. Consider
I. THE FACT ASSERTED. "The way of man is not in himself," etc. All human life is a "way," a journey, a pilgrimage, through various scenes and circumstances, to the "bourn from whence no traveler returns." And, free as we may be and accountable for our own actions, there is a sense in which it is equally true that it is given to none of us to determine what that way shall be. We are called on to recognize a governing power external to ourselves, above and beyond ourselves. Look at this fact in two lights as indicative of:
1. Moral inability. A man's own judgment and impulse are not in themselves a safe rule for the conduct of his life. He cannot always trace the mutual relation of interests and events, is liable to be deceived by appearances, blinded by the glamour of his own feelings, misled by the force of his own self-will. The very complexity of the circumstances among which he "walks" is often a source of danger. He is as one surrounded by the diverse interlacing paths of a forest; he needs both external guidance and internal influence to direct his choice. The right way is not "in himself."
2. Practical restraint, No man has the actual power to determine altogether the course of his own life. Free as he may think himself to be to take what "steps" he pleases, he is, after all, often ruled by circumstances over which he has no control. He is not always master of his own movements, cannot do the thing that he would, constrained perhaps to do something totally different from what he intended. Who has not found himself to have been drifted, by the silent, unobserved current of events, into a position entirely other than he would have chosen for himself? Who has not had to accept, as the issue of his own doings, something strangely unlike what he looked for? "Man proposes; God disposes."
"There's a divinity that shapes our ends,
Rough-hew them how we will."
Human history—national, social, individual—is full of illustrations of the governing and restraining effect of some mysterious force that underlies all the phenomena of life. Faith penetrates the heart of this mystery, and discerns in it a personal Divine providence, the energy of a will that is "holy and just and good."
II. THE INFLUENCE THIS FACT MAY BE EXPECTED TO HAVE OVER US. Such a truth, even in the purely negative form in which this passage presents it, may well have a marked effect on the whole habit of our daily thought and action. It teaches several important lessons.
1. Distrust of self. If our judgment is thus fallible, our impulse misleading, our power limited, shall we think to make our own will the sole rule of life? "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding," etc. (Proverbs 3:5, Proverbs 3:6); "Go to now, ye that say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city," etc. (James 4:13-16).
2. Thoughtful observation of the course of events, with a view to trace the path of the providence that is over us. Hidden as the power that governs our life may be, the teachable mind discerns ever more and more clearly the method of its working. "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him," etc. (Psalms 25:14); "The meek will he guide in judgment," etc. (Psalms 25:9).
3. Practical obedience to the call of present duty. Dark as our way may be, we cannot go far wrong if we follow the dictates of conscience. Be true in everything to your own sense of right and to the clear lines of Divine Law, and you may safely leave all issues with God.
4. The calm repose of faith. In the confused conflict of adverse circumstances, in the deep night of our sorrow and our fear, we hear a voice that whispers to us," All is well." It must be so if we believe that almighty Love is Lord of all.—W.
HOMILIES BY D. YOUNG