The Pulpit Commentary — Proverbs — Section 304

"All the Wfllks 0f the Lord nre with man God says, He and I cannot live in the righteousness." Yee., even the wicked for world together." A medi::ovnl jiuglo runs- the de.y of evil. This clause has been per- verted to support the terrible doctrine of " Hoo retina verbum, fraugit Deus omne reprobe.tion-that God, whose will must be superbum." alwe.ys effiraoious, has willed the de.mnation Septuagint, "Impure in the sight of God is of some; whereas we are taught that God's every high-hearted man (~,J111l\otcdpliws)." will is that "all men should be saved, and The second member is found in oh. xi. 21, come unto the knowledge of the truth," aud must be taken as a form of adjuration. and that "God sent his Son not to condemn Septuagint, "Putting he.ads on hand un- the world, but that the world through him justly, he shall not be innocent;" i.e. one might be saved" (I Tim. ii. 4; John iii. I 7; who ac~ violent~y and unjustly shall be comp. Ezek. xxxiii. 11). Man, having free- held gmlty-wh1ch seems· a trite truism. will, can reject this gracious purpose of God, Many commentators interpret the clause as and render the means of salvation nugatory; if it meant that the co-operation and combi- but this does not make God the cause of nation of sinners in evil practices will not man's destruction, but man himself. In ss.ve them from retribution. Bnt hand saying that God "made the wicked," the clasping hand in token of completing a writer does not mean that God made him as bargain or alliance is scarcely an early such, but made him as he made all other Oriental custom. There is an ane.logons things, giving him powers and capacities ss.ying in Greek which implies mutual which he might have used to good, but assistance- which, as a fact, he uses to evil. It will be Xelp x•,pa 11{1r-r<1, liatc-rvll.&s TE lid,c-rvl\.011. useful here to quote the wise words of St. Gregory (' Moral.,' vi. 33), "The Just and "Hand washes hand, and finger finger." Merciful One, as he disposes the deeds of The LXX. has here two distiches, the first mortals, vouchsafes some things in mercy, of which occurs in the Vulge.te, but the and permits other things in anger; and the second is not found there. Neither appears things which he permits he so bears with iu our present Hebrew text. "The beginning that he turns them to the account of his of the good way is to do what is just; this pDl'poBe. And hence it is brought to pass is more acceptable to God than to sacrifice in a marvellous way that even that which sacrifices. He who seeketh the Lord shall is done without the will of God is not find knowledge with righteousness; and contrary to the will of God. For while they who seek him rightly shall find evil deeds are converted to a good use, the peace." very things that oppose his design render Ver. 6.-By meroy and truth iniquity is service to his design." The tlay of evil is purged; af,onedfor. The combination "mercy the hour of pnnishment (Isa. x. 3; Job x.xi. and truth " occurs in eh. iii. 3 (where see 30), which by a moral law will inevitably note), and intimates love to God and man, fall upon the sinner. God makes man's and faithfulness in keeping promises and wickedness subserve his purposes and mani- truth and justice in all dealings. It is by fest his glory, as we see in the case of the exercise of those graces, not by mere Pharaoh (Exod. ix. 16), and the crucifixion external rites, that God is propitiated (see of our blessed Lord (Acts ii. 23; comp. Rom. on eh. x. 2). A kind of expiatory value is IX. 22). It is e. phase of God's moral govern- assigned to these virtues, which, indeed, ment that an evil day should be appointed must not be pressed too closely, but should for transgressors, and it is from foreknow- be examined by the light of such passages ledge of their deserts that their punishment in the New Testament as Luke xi. 41; Acts iR prepared. The perplexing question, why x. 4. Of course, such graces show them- God allows men to come into the world selves only in one who is really devout and whom he knows will meet with perdition, God-fearing; they are the fruits of a heart is not handled here. Septuagint, "Bnt the at peace with God and man, and react on impious is kept for an evil day." Cato, the character and conduct. The LXX., • Dist.,' ii. 8- which places this distich after ver. 27 of eh. xv., translates, "By alms and faith- ., N olo pntes pravos homines peccata lucrari; fulness (1rlcr-r«r111) sins are cleansed," con- Temporibus peccata le.tent, sed tempore fining the term "mercy" to one special patent." form, as in one reading of Mo.tt. vi. 1, Ver. 5.-(For the :first member, see eh. " Take heed that ye do not your right- vL 17; viii. 13.) Bays the maxim- eousness [al. alms] before men." By the fear of the Lord men depart from evil, •Ma(ov,ias oe -r,s i,c,P<1ryu lii,c71v. The practice of true religion, of course, "Pride hath its certain punishment." involves abstinence from sin ; and this seems We read in the Talmud, " Of every proud so unneorssary a truth to be formally stated OR, XVI, 1-38.] THE PROVERBS. 311