The Pulpit Commentary — Proverbs — Section 444

there shall be a reward, The apodosis to his own benefit, is ,voefully disRppointod. begins here. We have had the same as• In contrast with the recovery and re- ~umnce in eh. xxiii. 18 (where see note), establishment of the righteous, when the The word is literally future. One who wicked suffer calBmity there is no reoupera• bas obtained wisdom has a glorious hope tion for them. The wiokecl shall fall illto before him ; habebis in novissimis spem, misohief; Revised Version better, are over• Vulgate; but his hope is better than that- throton by calamity (comp. oh. xiv. 32, nnd it goes with him, not iu his last hour only, note there). Septuagint, "But the ungodly but all his life long. Septuagint, "Then shall be weak in evils." shalt thou p0rcei,e wisdom in thy soul; for Vers. 17, 18.-A wnming against vin- if thou find it, fair shall be thine end, and l1ope shall not fail thee." dictiveness, nearly approaching the great Christian maxim, " Love your enemies" Yers. 15, 16.-A warning against plotting (llfott. v. 44). for the ruin of a good man's house, with a view doubtless of profiting by the disaster. Ver. 17.-Rejoice not when thille enemy falleth. "Thou shalt love thy neighbour" Ver. 15.-Lay not wait, 0 wioked man, wns o. Mosaic precept (Lev. xix. 18); the against the dwelling of the righteous. V\i';l addition, "a:nd bate thine enemy," was a (rasha) is vocative (comp. Ezek. xxx.i.ii. 8); Pharisaic gloss, arising from a misconcep- ta.ken appositionally, as in Revised Version tion concerning the extermination of the margin, "as a wicked man," it is senseless; Canaanites, which, illdeed, had a special for how could he lay wait in any other cha- cause and purpose, and was not a precedent racter? Spoil not his restillg-plaoe, "Spoil," for the treatment of oll aliens (see eh. xxv. 21, as ch.xix:.26 (where see note). Drive him uot 22). When he etnmbleth; rather, when fie from his honse by violence and chicanery. is overthTown. The moxim refers to private Vulgate, "Seek not impiety in the house enemies. The overthrow of public enemies of the righteous;" do not attempt to cloak was often celebrated with festal rejoicing. yonr insidious designs by detecting some Thus we have the triumph of Moses at tbe evil in the good m=, and making yourself defeat of the Amalekites,and over Phar.i.oh'e the instrument of retribution, as if yon were host at the Red Sea.; of Deborah and Barak doing God service in a!Hicting him (John over Siscra (Exod. xv.; xvii. 15; Judg. v.); xvi. 2). Septuagint, "Bring not an ungodly and the psalmist, exulting over the destruc- man into the pasture (voµfi) c,f the righteous, tion of his country's foes, could say, "The neither be thou deceived by the feasting righteous shall rejoice when ho seeth the of the belly." vengeance; he shall wash his feet in the Ver. 16.-A jnst man falleth seven times, blood of the wicked" (Ps. I viii. 10). But and riseth np a.gain. The fall may be taken private revenge and vindictiveness are of sin or of calamity. Preachers, ancient warmly censured and repudiated. So Cato, and modem, have made much use of this • Distich.' iv. 46- text in the first sense, expatiating how a good man may fall into venial or more " Morto repentina noli gaudere malomm; serious sins, but he never loses hie love of Felicesobeuntquorum sinecriminevitaest." God, and rises from his fall by repentance Of ve1·y different tono is the Ito.lian proverb, on every occasion. We also often find the "Revenge is a morsel for God;" o.nd ",vait words in die, "a day," added, which indeed time and plllce to act thy revenge, for it is occur in some manuscripts, but are not in the never well douo in a hurry" (Trench). original. But the verb naphal seems not to Ver. 18.-Leat the Lord see it, and it be used in the sense of "falling" rnorally; displease him. Thi~ malignant pleasure and the meaning here is that the just man at otbers' misfortunes (which Aristotle, frequently falls into trouble,-he is not AC• • Eth. Nie.,' ii. 7. 15, calls ""X"-'P'"a1<la.) cure against worldly cares and losses, or the is a sin iu tho eyes of God, and coils for iuoidious attacks of the man mentiouc<l in punishment. And ha tlll'll away his wroth ver, 15; but he never loses hie trust in God from him; and, as is implied, direct it upon or offends by fretfulness and impatience, thee. But it seems a mcon motive to a11d always God's providence watches over adduce, if the maxim is taken bahlly to him and delivers him out of all his nfilic- mean, "Do not rejoice o.t your onomy's tious. "Seven times" means merely often, calamity, lest God relieve him from the that number being used to express plurality evil;" for true oho.rity would wish for such or completeness (see on eh. vi. 31 ; xxvi. 16; e. result. Bede considers " his wrath " to and comp. Gen. iv. 24; Job v. 19 (which is be the enemy's ill will against thco, which like our passage); and Matt. xviii. 22). God by his grace changes to love, aud thou The expectation which the sinner conceived art thus covered with confuHion aud shtimo when he saw the good man distressed, that for thy former vindictiveness. But the he might seize the opportunity and use it point is not so much the removol of God's  CH, XXIV, 1-3-1.) THE PROVERBS. 4Gl