PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Pulpit Commentary — Proverbs
William J. Deane [1853-1943] & Stephen Taylor Taylor-Taswell · 558,136 words · 584 reading sections
The Pulpit Commentary — Proverbs — Section 181
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 1-9.- Wisdom's proclamation. Again it is a poetical personification of truth of God's Word, of religion, morality, sense, prudence; for all these are included in th; comprehensive conception of wisdom that is placed before us. I. 'l'lll!l PROCLAMATION OF TRUTH HAS NEVER FAILED IN TH…
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Vers. 22--36.- Wisdom in eterr.ity and in time. '!'his sublime view lifts us at one~ above the seeming contradictions of time, and suggests the solution of all its problems in Gnd. I. SHE IS OF THE DIVINE BEGINNINGS OR ELEMENTS. (Ver. 22.) An element in chemistry is the last simple substance we can reach in analysi…
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Vers. 1-21 (continued).-'l'he ea:cellency of Divine wisdom: No. 2. We have also these features of the wisdom of God- • I. IT ENDOWS WITH THE WEALTH WHICH IS THE PRODUCT OF VIRTUE. (Vers. 20, 21.) It leads in that "way of 1ighteousness" and those "paths of judgment" which result in" inheriting substance," and being" fi…
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20). 3. Spiritual blessings which he will impart. He will dwell with us by his Spirit and the fruits of the 8pirit will abound in us. If, then, our interest in Christ, a.nd the yielding of our hearts to him, result in his close friendship nnd in those hi"hest 0 imparte.tions which flow therefrorn, how wise must be- I…
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the urgrncy of the case is summed up in the few following sentences. This is the reasoning: since- I. lNATTEl\TION TO TIIE VOICE OF WISDOM IS TIIE DEPTH OF FOLLY, F'or: 1. It is sclf-robb~ry. "He that sinneth agaiust rue wrougcth his own soul" (ver. 36). The man that shuts his eiirs when God spea.ks robs himself of…
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of the inner court ore meant, which sup- Word refreshes us when we are wearierl and ported the gallery of the first story. Four come to him away from the buruen" of the of these were in the corners, three in the world, and by its effect of refresldn"' middle of three sides, while the entrance to strengthens as again…
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bath God chosen " (l Cor. i. 21, 26, etc. ; which experience proves to occur in suoh comp. Matt. xi. 25). cases. Prudence, caution, o.nd tact aro Ver. 5.-Come, eat ye of my bread, Wis- needed in de111ing with these che.rncters. dom now directly addresses the simple and Evil men regard the reprover as e. persono.l t…
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in the two clnuses. Vu1gnte, feBUhabit tbe sin, as it is expressed in Numb. ix. 13, atcipere; Septuagint," Instruct a wise me.n, " For every man shall bear his own burden" und he shall ham more given him." The (Gal. vi. 5). Thns Wisdom enrls her exhor- wise are thus rewarded with larger measures tation. Septuagint, …
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pears, for ·wisdom "crieth upon the highest the oharm of beiug forbidden; it is attractive places of the city" (ver. 3). because it is unlo.wful. This is a tro.it of Ver. 15.-To 0&11 passengers who go right corl'upt human nature, which is recognized on their ways. With shameless effrontery universally. 'l'hus Ovid,• A…
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HOMILETIG'S. Vers.1-5.-The banquet of wisdom. I. THE BA~QU£T-HousE. 1. It is substantial. A house, not a mere tent. The feast of wisdom is no brief repast, rarely enjoyed. It is a lasting delight, a frequent refreshment always ready. 2. It is magnificent. Seven pillars are hewn out for the house. It is fitting that th…
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Ver. 9.-.An open mind. There are two classes of minds that seem to be 11rmour~ proof against the invasion of new light. One contains those people who, to use th~ phraseology of the Roman Catholic Church, are in a state of "invincible ignora1ice.n 'l'he other contains the much more numerous people who know just enough t…
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will do little good to re'.!ard one's self only as a sort of examplo to which certain truths are attached. Mere self-examination of the most lucid and honest character will not save our souls. ,ve have to go a step further, and act according to the knowlc,lge that we gain ia the light of God's truth. 3. He will find…
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V ers, 7-9.- Warnings against refusal. So, in connection with the preceding section, we mav take these words. I. EVERY REFUSAL OF WISDOM IMPLIES THE PREFERENCE OF THE OPPOSITE, lt implies that the associations of folly are more cougenial than those of sound seose (ver. 6), which is a preference of death to life, in it…
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admitting that he did not want the pears, and arguing that it must therefore have been his depravity that led him to find pleasure in taking them I In the same way one might prove the depravity of the jackdaw that steals a ring. Let us repu- diate the affectation of depravity, a great" folly" in its way; and rather clr…
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III. THE CHARACTER OF THE MESSAGE. (Vers. 5, 6.) Wisdom calls those who hear her me8sengers to forsake folly, to walk in righteousnee~, and thus to enter into life. The ,visdom of God himself calls those who hear his voice to: 1. '!'urn from their iniquity, turning away from the fellowship of the unholy as well as from…
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compensate for the absence of this principle from the soul. He may have every conceivable advantage in his surroundings; he may have all imaginable shrewdness dexterity, cleverness, acuteness of intellect; but if everythiog be not based on the fea; of the living God, his character must be fatally incomplete, and his…
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Vers. 13-18.-The truth about sin. Solomon, having told us of the excellency of Wisdom, and of the blessings she has to confer on her children, now bids us consider the consequences of listening to sin, when she, the foolish woman, utters her invitation. We learn- I. TH.AT SIN IN ITS LATER DEVELOPMENTS IS A VEBY ODI…
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EXPOSITION. CHAPTER X. cerding to specify three outward acts ae, Yer. 1-ch. xxii. 16.-Pe.rt III. FIRST coming under this term, viz. alms)?ivino-, prayer, and fasting. In some analogo~ GREAT COLLECTION (375) OF SoLOMONIO passages the LXX. rendns the worn bv PROVERBS, b,,71µorrw11, e.g. Ps. cxi. 9; Dan. iv. 27; 'fobft…
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mud pronounces, "To love n. thing makes contrasted with the gains obtained by any the eve blind, the ear denf;" and the Arab means, discreditable or not. says,·.. Love is the companion of blindness." Ver. 17.-Re is in the way of life (eh. Scptnngint, "Lovo (cp,7'./a)covercth all those v. 6). It is a way of life when…
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(John xxi. 15; Acts xx. 28; 1 Pet. v. 2). Tho LXX. hns, "Tho de~iro of the just i11 The LXX. has a different reading, " know acceptable." high things." Fools die for want of wisdom, Ver. 25.-Ao the whirlwind pe.sseth. Ac- Fnr from "feeding " others, they bring ruin cording to this rendering (which hns the on themse…
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a fortress (ver. 15). Doing his simple Ver. 31.-Bringeth forth; as a tree pro- duty, a. good man ia se.fo; for, as St. Peter duces fmit, and the fields yield their in- 8C1ys, " Who is he the.t will harm yon, if crease. The metaphor is common. Thus yo be zealous of that which is good?" Isaiah (lvii. 19) speaks of "the…
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"".ondcr_ful boy is perhaps just a_ little di.sa1!pointe~ as by slow degrees she undergoes d1~1llus1ou, and sees him develop mto an ordmary city clerk; hut she will not confess her disappointment to herself, and it is soon swallowed up in just pride and delight if he is upright and kind and good. But if she is not m…
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io tbc duty of everybody to see that he is not dependent upon other people's labours if he con help himself. The man who squanders his money in prosperous times, and throws himself on public charity directly he is ill or out of work, is guilty of gross selfishness amounting to dishonesty. It is plainly every man's duty…
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Ver. 7.-" The memory of the fust." I. THE WORLD CONCERNS ITSELF WITH THE REPUTATION OF THE DEAD. The words of our text describe a fact to which all history bears witness. No study is more absorbing than history-including biogra)Jhy; and the most interesting part of history is that which deals with individuals and di…
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Ver. 12.-The cloak of charity. One of the devices of the parallelism or rhythm of ideas, which is the general characteristic of Hebrew poetry, is the alternative treatment of the same thought from two opposite points of view-from positive and negative poles. '.l.'he value of some good thing is emphasized by contrasting…
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T"er. 19.-Golden silence. I. THE SINFUL CHARACTER OF MUCH ORDINARY CON• VERSATION SHOULD Th'DUCE GREAT 0AUTION IN SPEECH. It is a. grave charge to bring against the tone of general society to say that "in the multitude of words there wanteth not sin." But is it not as true now as it was in the days of Solomon? "Out …
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Ver. 28.-The hope of the righteous. I. WE ALL LIVE BY HOPE, The righteous bas bis "hope," the wicked his "expectation;" both live in the future. The present takes its colours chiefly from our anticipations of the future. It is dark or bright according as shadows or light fall on it from that visionary world. The man wh…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Ver. 1.-We enter upon a mosaic-work of proverbs, which perhaps hardly admit of anv one principle of arrangement except that of moral comparison and contrast. '!'his go~·erns the whole. Life is viewed as containing endless oppositions, to which light and darkness correspond in the world of …
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Vers. 15-21.-.A sevenfo1!1, strain of ezperience. For the most part these sayings relate to earthly goods-their value, and the means for their acquisition. Godliness has the promise of both lives. Equally incredible would a religion which ignored the future be with one which ig!1ored the present. Equally one-sided i…
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witnesses" may serve equally well to convict of the authorship of a malicio1rn speech. It is for more easy for men to forgive abusive things said to their faces than thin"s reported t~ have been.sai_d behind their backs. And even injurious acts can be got ov·;r more readily than stmgmg words of sarcasm. Words have a mo…
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"Vers. 27-32.-lmpression by tautology. These verses contain mostly iterations of mn,xims already delivered (on ver. 27, see on eh. iii. 2; ix. 11; on ver. 28 see on ver. 24; eh. xi. 7). That religion is a protector to the man of good conscience' while over- throw awaits the ungodly, again brings out an often-express…
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Vers. 2-6.-Four conditions of well-being. That we may enjoy a prosperity which is truly human, we must do well ancl be well in three directions-in our circum- stances, in our mind (our intellectual powers), and in our character. And that which tends to build up on the one hand, or to destroy on the other hand, will be …
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I. A STREXGTII TO THE JUST MAN WHILE HE LIVES. "\Vlmt has posterity done for us?" asks the cynic. "The idea of posterity has done great things for us," replies the n!oralist. That_ idea and the hope to which it gives birth have done much to fortify Vll"tue, to establish character, to enlarge and ennoble the good man…
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Ver. 12.--The conquest of love. "Love covereth all sins." It does this in that- I. IT 0ARRIES THE WEIGHT OF MAlIY SHORTCOMINGS. l. On the one hand, many proprieties will not atone for the absence of love. We are wholly unsatisfied if one who sustains to us a very near relationship (husband, wife, son, daughter, etc.) …
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EXPOSITION. times. So we read (2 Sam. xiv. 26) thnt. CHAPTER XI. Absalorn weighed his hair '' by the king's Ver. 1.-A false balance; literally,· atone" (eben). balances of deceit (eh. xx. 23). The repeti- Ver. 2.-Then cometh shame'(ch. xvi. 18: tion of the injuactions of Deut. x.xv. 13, 14 xviii. 12): litern,lly, …
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guide them in the right way, and give them for concrete. Others trn.nslate, "godless success in their undertakings with the hope," or " expectation that bringeth grief," blessing ol' God (comp. ver. 5). Septnagint, or "strong, self-confident men ; " "men in " the perfection of the straightforward " tbe fulness of th…
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despiseth his neighbour; uses words of "agreMble," "charming." Tho author is contempt nbout his neighbour. Septua.gint, thinking of persounl nttrnctions, which, he "sneers nt his fellow-citizens." The follow- says, win fnvour; but we nrny npply his ing clause indicRtes thRt contemptuous expression to moral excellenc…
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gint renders the Inst clause, "but the seed laboriom emploj'ment exercises it. As of the 1ightcous is o. true reword (µur0b• though he were saying, "Even when the d>..118ela,)." band rests from sinful deeds, yet the wicked Ver. 19.-This verso is not to be connectc<l by reason of bis thoughts, is not innocent': with th…
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eh. xix. li'). Nut.t quotc-s the old epitaph, plentiful, and we.it till there Wet~ dearth in """hat we spent, we had; what we saved, the metrket or scarcity in the land, nod thou we lost; what we gave, we have." Ex- sell them at famine prices. Amoa sternly perience prcv~s that no one ultimately loses reproves this iniq…
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with his own house." Shall inherit the Jae. v. 20). The Septuagint introdnoes wind; he will be tho loser i1t the encl; no nn o.ntit.hesie not found in our Hebrew one will lencl him II helping hand, and his text: "But the souls of transgressors are nffoirs will fall to min. The fool-the man taken untimely nway." Ewald a…
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Ver. 2.-'I'he slianie of pride and the wi-sdom of humility. I. THE BRAME OF PRIDE. Pride claims honour, and thinks itself secure of obtaining it. It would dread disgrace above all things, would rather starve and perish to.an suffer from contempt. Yet a true insight into life shows that pride is the direct precursor of …
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Ver. 13.-The tale-bearer. Tale-bearing may result from spite a.nu malice, or it may be an incident of idle gossip; but even in its milder phases it is a most mischievous practice, and one deserving of severe reprobation. Connected with what are called the minor moralities of life, the evil of it is far too little rec…
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Ver. 17.-The mercijitl man. It would be our duty to be merciful if wo suffered thereb~-, and indeed we can never be truly merciful solely from motives of self-interest, since genuine mercy must spring from sympathy. Nevertheless, we sadly need all aids to righteousness-the lower as well as the higher; and therefore …
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of Solomon cmd his compeers in e. decidedly inferior rank-gives only the greater emphasis to those me.xime of broad e.nd noble character which e.re so clear and imperative as to claim attention even from morn.lists who observe the less exalted standards of character. Thus it is very significant that, with all its infer…
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men." lf we are indifferent to principle in the common transactions of the week, it is imrossible to be really religious in anything or on any day, I. HAUGHTINESS AND MODESTY. Extremes meet. The former topples over into shame; the latter i~ lifted_ into the he_ights of wisdom. 1. No feeling was more deeply stamped on …
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to all. .And the best of boons, for gifts and charities soon lose their benefit, while e. hint of wisdom lives and germinates in the mind in which it has been deposited. IX. ODJEOTS OF BYMPA'rny AND ANTIPATHY, (Ver. 10.) Gladness follows the succesR of the good and the downfall of the evil. 'l'he popular feeling about…
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Ver. 16.-.7Jze true grace of womanhood. Even as the mighty keep a firm hold upon their possessions, so does the virtuous woman watch over her chastity and honour, to guard it from assault. L THE PURITY OF WOMAN IS HER "HrDDEN STRENGTH" (Milton). "She that has that is clad in complete steel" II. IT Is HER CHIEF ORNAME…
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Il. THE REGULATION OF TBE WISilES IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF SELF-DISOil'LINE. Ill. 1'0 WISH AND TO HOPE FOR NOTHING DUT THE DEBT (IN ACCORD WITH THI!l WILL OF Goo) IS AN Th'"SURANCE AGAINST DISAPPOINTMENT. lV. SBLFISH HOPES LEAD TO UNANSWERED PRAYERS AND TO DITTER CUAGRINB.-J. Vers. 24-26.-The nai·row and the large he…
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Ver. 1.-(See homily on eh. xvi. 11, including eh, xx. 10-23.)-C. Ver. 2.-(See homily on eh. xvi. 18.)-C. Vers. 3-5, 8-11, 19, 20, 28, 31.-The pricelessness of integrity. We have here a view of the exceeding worth of moral integrity, or of righteousness; we see what, in the judgment of the wise, it will do for its pos…
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(ver. 4); on the other hand," The wicked shall fall by his own wickedness" (ver. 6), "'l'he wages of sin is death," and every departure from rectitude is a step towards the grave. But how melancholy a. thing is the death of the wicked I It means- I. A MELANCHOLY EXTINCTION. Not, indeed,oftheman himself, but of his wor…
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~trong condemn11tion of man, nnd (2) drnws forth the strong rebuke and penalty of God; (3) it indurates the soul of the sinner. It makes him shockingly insensitive to human suffering. It may go so far as to cause him to take a savage and a diabolical delight in inflicting and in witnessing it. 'l'hus it drags a man do…
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Vers. 24-26.-Expensive fconomy, etc. We are accustomed to speak as if the man who spends freely is a spendthrift, and as if the man who restrains his hand is on the way to wealth. But if that is our thought, we are often and much mistaken. '!'here is an- I. EXPENSIVE EOONOMY. "There is that withholdeth," etc. 1. If…
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EXPOSITION. by wickedness. Man is metaphorically CHAPTER XII. compared to a tree, especfally the olive. Vor. 1.-lnstruction; correction, disci- Wickedness gives him no firm hold for pline, which shows a man his faults, gives growth or life (comp. eh. x. 25). The root him a lowly opinion of himself, and opens of the …
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Him that hBB a bad wife no good thing in Septuagint, "Wheresoever tbe wicked tum, life that chance to, that good you may be is destroyed." Tha house of the right- call." eous, being founded on a secure foundation, shall otand (Matt. vii. 24, etc.). Ver,. 5.-The thoughts of the righteous Ver. 8.-Aocording to hie wis…
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ties, even if there by he meets with con- He the.t tilleth his la.nd. Agriculture was tempt and dotr1LCtion, than to be in real the first of industries, and always highly want, o.nd all the time assuming the airs commended among the Jews, bringing a of a rich and prosperous man." This latter sure return to the diligent…
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of the impious are evil; but the roots of prudent mnn oovereth-conoe!lleth-shame; th<' pious nre in strongholds," i.e. are secure. takes no notice of an affront at the moment~ Ver. 13.-The wicked is snared by the knowing thllt by resenting it be will only transgression of bis lips ; rnther, in tM make ml\tters worse, …
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not only to Divine truth (Ps. oxvii. 2; Matt. proclaimeth foolishness (eh. xiii. 16; xv. 2). xxiv. 35), but to human, in its measure. A foolish man cannot help expo,ino- the Septuagint," True lips establish testimony," stupid ideas that arise in his mind, ,~hich pointing the last word ad as ed. Is but for he considers …
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" man liw down his life for hie friends" an,! Nowack take it, "Ilnt a precious pos- (John x,. i::l). Hitzig, Delit.zsch, and others, session of a man is diligence." r<>ading differently, trnnslate, "A just man Ver. 28.-In the way of righteousness is spieth out ( or, lookcth after) his pasture;" life (comp. eh. x. 2)…
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lest the experience come as a delusion. All the warnincrs about the fatality of a sinful course are given with a frank recognition of its transie~t advantages. Therefore tho occurrence of these advantages does not contradict the warnings. II. WICKEDNESS DOES NOT SECURE STABLE PROSPERITY. It does not "establish." There…
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Yer. 17.-Truth and righteousness. We have here a suggestion of the close con- nection between truth and righteousness. This connection is based on a reciprocal relation. Truthfulness is a trait of righteousness, and righteousness is advanced by truthfulness. I. TRUTHFULNESS IS A TRAIT OF EIGHTEOUSNESS. The truth he…
1,142 wordsSource & rights
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.