Proverbs 27:18
Ver. 18. Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof,.... That takes care of a fig tree, either his own or another's, planted in his garden or vineyard; see Lu 13:6; who cultivates it, digs about and dungs it, and prunes it, and does everything necessary to it; when it brings forth fruit, and that is ripe and fit to eat, he eats of it, as it is but just he should; see 1Co 9:7;so he that waiteth on his master; or "that keeps his master" {k}, his person from danger, and his goods faithfully committed to his trust; or "that observes his master" {l}, that looks to his hand, observes his motions, directions, and commands;shall be honoured; as Joseph was in Potiphar's house, and elsewhere; and as all those are who observe the commandments of God, and are the servants of Christ; see 1Sa 2:30.{k} rmv "qui custodit", Pagninus, Mercerus, Gejerus; "custodiens", Montanus; "qui custos est domini sui", V. L. {l} "Observat", Tigurine version, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Michaelis; "observans", Cocceius, Schultens. Proverbs 27:19Ver. 19. As in water face [answereth] to face,.... As water is as a looking glass, in which a man may behold his own face and another's; or as the face in the water answers to the face of a man, and there is a great likeness between them. All things through water appear greater, as Seneca {m} observes, and so more clear and plain;so the heart of man to man; one man's heart may be seen and discerned in some measure by another, as by his countenance; for though, as the poet {n} says, "frontis nulla fides", yet the countenance is often the index of the mind, though not an infallible one; wrath and anger in the breast may be seen in the face, as were in Cain's; thus Jacob saw some resentment at him in the mind of Laban, and judged he had some design of mischief against him by the change of his countenance; also what is in the heart of man is discerned by what comes out of it, by his words, and also by his actions; yea, a man may know in a good measure what is in another man's heart, by what he finds in his own: the word of God is a glass, or medium of vision, and like water, in which a man's face is seen, through which a man sees his own heart; the law is a glass, in which an enlightened person sees not only the perfections of God, the nature of righteousness, but also his sin, and the sinfulness of it; this glass mother magnifies nor multiplies his sins, but sets them in a true light before him, by which he discerns heart sins, and sees and knows the plague of his heart; and the Gospel is a glass, wherein he beholds the glory of Christ, sees and can discern whether Christ is formed in him, and he has the grace of the Spirit of God wrought in his soul, as faith, hope, love, repentance, humility, self-denial, &c. moreover, as the face seen in the water is similar to a man's face, so the hearts of men are alike, not merely in a natural sense, see Ps 33:15; but in a moral and spiritual sense the hearts of unregenerate men are alike, and answer to each other; for they are all equally corrupted, one and depraved; the heart of every man is desperately wicked; the imaginations of the thoughts of the hearts or wicked men, one and all of them, are only evil, and that continually; their affections are inordinately the same, they love and hate the same persons and things; their minds and consciences are all defiled; their understandings are darkened; their wills are averse to that which is good, and bent on that which is evil: and so the hearts of good men are alike; they have all one heart and one way given them; their experiences agree as to the work of grace and conversion; they are all made sensible of sin, the evil of it, and danger by it; they are all brought off of their own righteousness, and are led to Christ to depend on him alone for righteousness, pardon, and eternal life; they are partakers of the same promises in the Gospel, and have the same enemies to grapple with, and the same temptations, trials, and exercises from sin, Satan, and the world; and they have the same things put into their hearts, the laws of God, the doctrines of Christ, and the several graces of the Spirit of Christ; so that there cannot be a greater likeness between a man's face and that seen in the water, than there is between the heart of one saint and another; the hearts of Old and New Testament saints, and of all in all ages and places, answer to one another. The Targum paraphrases it to a sense quite the reverse,"as waters and as faces which are not like one to another, so the hearts of the children of men are not like one to another;''and to the same sense are the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions.{m} Nat. Quaest. l. 1. c. 6. {n} Juvenal. Satyr. 2. v. 8. Proverbs 27:20Ver. 20. Hell and destruction are never full,.... The grave, as the word used often signifies; and which may be called "destruction", because bodies laid in it are soon corrupted and destroyed; and though bodies are cast into it and devoured by it, it is ready for more; it is one of the four things which never have enough. The place where Gog is said to be buried is called Hamongog, the multitude of Gog, Eze 39:11; and by the Septuagint there Polyandrion, which is the name the Greeks give to a burying place, because many men are buried there; and with the Latins the dead are called Plures {o}, the many, or the more; and yet the grave is never satisfied with them, Pr 30:16. Or hell, the place of everlasting damnation and destruction, is meant, which has received multitudes of souls already, and where there is room for more, nor will it be full until the last day;so the eyes of man are never satisfied; as not the eyes of his body with seeing corporeal objects, but still are desirous of seeing more, and indeed everything that is to be seen, and are never glutted, Ec 1:8; so neither the eyes of the carnal mind, or the lusts of it, which are insatiable things, let the objects of them be what they will; as in an ambitious man, a covetous person, or an unclean one.{o} Plauti Trinum, Act. 2. Sc. 2. v. 14. Proverbs 27:21Ver. 21. [As] the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold,.... For the trying, proving, and purifying these metals; see Pr 17:3;so [is] a man to his praise; or "according to the mouth of his praise" {p}; if his own mouth praises him, as in Pr 27:2;, he is known to be what he is, a foolish and vainglorious person: or "so a man is proved by the mouth of him that praises him", as the Vulgate Latin version; or "of them that praise him", as the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions; and so the Targum: the meaning is, either a man is known by the persons that praise him, according to what their characters are; if he is praised by good and virtuous men, he may be thought to be so himself; and if by wicked men, he may be concluded to be so likewise; see Pr 28:4; or he is known by the effect that praise has upon him; if it swells him with pride, and makes him haughty, conceited, and overbearing, he will appear to be a weak and foolish man; but if he continues modest and humble, and studious and diligent to answer his character, thankful to God for what he has, and to whom he gives all the glory, he will approve himself a wise and good man.{p} wllhm ypl "ad os laudis suae", Gejerus. Proverbs 27:22Ver. 22. Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle,.... As the manna was, Nu 11:8; and as wheat beat and bruised in a mortar, or ground in a mill, retains its own nature; so, let a wicked man be used ever so roughly or severely, by words, admonitions, reproofs, and counsels; or by deeds, by corrections and punishment, by hard words or blows, whether publicly or privately; in the midst of the congregation, as the Targum and Syriac version; or of the sanhedrim and council, as the Septuagint and Arabic versions;[yet] will not his foolishness depart from him; his inbred depravity and natural malignity and folly will not remove, nor will he leave his course of sinning he has been accustomed to; he is stricken in vain, he will revolt more and more, Isa 1:5. Anaxarchus the philosopher was ordered by the tyrant Nicocreon to be pounded to death in a stone mortar with iron pestles {q}, and which he endured with great patience.{q} Laert. in Vit. Anaxarch. l. 9. p. 668. Proverbs 27:23Ver. 23. Be thou diligent to know the state of flocks,.... In what condition they are; what health they enjoy; how fat and fruitful they be; what pasturage they have; and that they want nothing fitting for them that can be had and is necessary; and also the number of them. The calling of the shepherd is here particularly mentioned, because valiant, honourable, innocent, and useful; but the same diligence is to be used in all other callings and business men are employed in, that they may provide for themselves and their families. It is in the original text, "the face of thy flocks" {r}; perhaps the allusion is to the exact and distinct knowledge some very diligent careful shepherds might have, so as to know each sheep in their flocks distinctly; see Joh 10:3; The Septuagint version renders it, the souls of thy flock, as if it was an instruction to spiritual pastors or shepherds, who have the care of the souls of men: and certain it is, that if it is the duty of shepherds in common to be diligent in looking after their sheep, and doing everything the duty of their office requires; then it must become the indispensable duty of pastors of churches to take heed to the flock of God committed to them, and to look into their state and condition, and provide for them, and feed them with knowledge and understanding, Ac 20:28;[and] look well to thy herds; or, "put thy heart" {s} to them: show a cordial regard for them, and take a hearty care of them, that they have everything needful for them; and which is for the owner's good as well as theirs.{r} Knau ynp "faciem pecoris tui", Tigurine version, Mercerus, Cocceius, Michaelis, Schultens; "vultum", V. L. Pagninus; "facies", Montanus. {s} Kbl xyv "pone cor tuum", Pagninus, Montanus; "adverte cor", Cocceius; "adverte animum tuum", Michaelis; "apponere cor tuum", Schultens. Proverbs 27:24Ver. 24. For riches [are] not for ever,.... A man cannot be assured of the continuance of them; they are uncertain things, here today and gone tomorrow: wherefore, though a man has a considerable share of them, yet should follow one calling or another; particularly husbandry is recommended, or keeping sheep and cattle, which are increasing; by which means his substance will be continued and augmented, which otherwise is not to be depended on, but in a diligent attendance to business;and doth the crown [endure] to every generation? the royal crown, that is not to be depended upon; a king that wears a crown is not sure he shall always wear it, or that it shall be continued to his family one generation after another. And it is suggested, that it is not even beneath such persons to have a regard to their flocks and herds, and the increase of their riches in this way: the Chinese kings, many of them, formerly employed themselves in husbandry, and set examples of industry and diligence to their subjects {t}; King Hezekiah provided himself possessions of flocks and herds in abundance, 2Ch 32:28.{t} Vid. Martin. Hist. Sinica, p. 92, 93, 326. Proverbs 27:25Ver. 25. The hay appeareth, and the tender grass showeth itself,.... Some think this is mentioned to illustrate the uncertainty of riches, which soon vanish away; as the tender grass shows itself, and is presently cut down and quickly appears hay, and that soon consumed; but rather this contains an argument to take to the pastoral life and calling, since it may be performed with so much ease; for the earth, the valleys and hills, are covered with grass for the cattle; so that there is no further trouble than to drive the flocks into the pastures, and feed them there; or to cut down the grass, and make hay of it, and lay it up against the winter for fodder for them. The first clause, I think, may be rendered, "the hay removes" {u}, or is carried off; the grass being fit to cut, is mowed and made hay of, and that is carried off and laid up for the winter: "and the tender grass showeth itself"; springs up after the hay is carried off and so makes a second crop; or, however, becomes good pasture for cattle to feed on;and herbs of the mountains are gathered; for the present use of the cattle; or being made hay of, are laid up for future use; or are gathered for medicine; many of this kind grow on mountains.{u} hlg "migrat", Cocceius; "cum migraverit", Michaelis. Proverbs 27:26Ver. 26. The lambs [are] for thy clothing,.... This is another argument, exciting to diligence in the pastoral calling, taken from the profit arising from it: the wool of the lambs, or rather "sheep", as many versions render it; of it cloth is made, and of that garments to be worn, to keep decent, warm, and comfortable; see Job 31:20;and the goats [are] the price of thy field: these, being brought up and sold, furnish the husbandman with money to purchase more fields to feed his cattle on. The Targum is,"the goats are for negotiation;''with the price of them a man may purchase any of the necessaries of life for himself and family; these are negotiated, Eze 27:21; the Syriac version is, "the goats are for thy food"; and so, between both the sheep and goats, man has both food and raiment; though his food is particularly mentioned in Pr 27:27. Proverbs 27:27Ver. 27. And [thou shalt have] goats' milk enough for thy food,.... The word for "goats", in Pr 27:26, signifies he goats, which were sold to buy fields, pay servants or rent, or purchase the necessaries of life; and this here signifies she goats, which were kept for their milk; and which was daily used for food in some countries, and is still in use for the same purpose in some parts of our kingdoms; and in medicine it has been preferred by some physicians above others, next to the milk of women {w}: and the diligent husbandman is promised not only plenty of this his own eating, at least a sufficiency of it, but for his family;for the food of thy household; his wife and children:and [for] maintenance for thy maidens: or "the lives" {x} of them, on which they should live; for, though menservants might require strong meat yet the maidens might live upon milk; besides, Athenaeus {y} speaks of most delicious cheese made of goats' milk, called "tromilicus". The design of the whole is to show that a man diligent in his business shall have a sufficiency for himself and his family; and, though it may be but the meaner sort of food and clothing he may get, yet, having food and raiment, he should therewith be content.{w} Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 28. c. 9. Vid. Scheuehzer. Physic, Sacr. vol. 5. p. 1016. {x} Myyxw "vitas", Montanus; "ad vitam", Gejerus; "life" is often put for "bread"; or for that by which life is maintained, both in Greek and Latin writers; so biov, in Hesiod. Opera, l. 1. v. 31, 328. and "vita", in Plaut. Stichus, Act. 3. Sc. 2. v. 9. Trinum, Act. 2. Sc. 4. v. 76. {y} Deipnosoph. l. 14. c. 22. p. 658. see also l. 1. c. 8. p 10.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.