1 My son, forget not my law;
But let thy heart keep my commandments:
2 For length of days, and long life,
And peace, shall they add to thee.
HERE we are still on Jewish ground, but the exhortation is of all importance to us as well as to those who see in long life an evidence of the special blessing of the Lord. For there is that in the exhortation which should appeal to all. “Let thy heart keep my commandments,” is a much-needed word. This is far more than submission to duty; it is loving devotion to the will of God. “Thy word,” said the Psalmist, “have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against Thee” (Psa. 119:1111Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. (Psalm 119:11)). And of Ezra it is recorded that he “prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.” (Ez. 7:10). This preparation of the heart in man which is so truly from the Lord is what is sadly lacking among many whose outward ways testify to the slight hold the truth they profess really has upon them. Love is the spring of true service to the Lord. “If ye love Me keep My commandments” ( John 14:1515If ye love me, keep my commandments. (John 14:15)) are His own words; and He goes even deeper when He says, “If a man love Me he will keep My sayings” (John 14:2323Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. (John 14:23)). This is the heart delighting to run in His ways if His mind be but made known, whether there be positive command or not.
3 Let not lovingkindness and truth forsake thee:
Bind them about thy neck;
Write them upon the table of thy heart:
4 So shalt thou find favor and understanding
In the sight of God and man.
“The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:1717For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. (John 1:17)). The law was truth, but it was truth without grace. This latter having come by Jesus Christ the believer is exhorted to be “speaking the truth in love” (Eph. 4:1515But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: (Ephesians 4:15)) “Speaking the truth” is one word in the original, and is a participle. Mr. J. N. Darby suggested coining a word to express it; “truthing.” It is not merely speaking the truth. It is being characterized by the truth; but all must be in love. A hard and fast intolerant spirit that makes the truth like a series of legal enactments, and is censorious toward those who see not eye to eye with oneself; this is far removed from the Spirit of truth. Lovingkindness will commend the truth, when an acrimonious, judging spirit, will deter the timid from its reception. They are to be bound about the neck, in this way displayed in the sight of man; and written upon the heart, thus finding favor with God.
5 Trust in Jehovah with all thy heart;
And lean not unto thine own understanding.
6 In all thy ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct thy paths.
Solemn the admonition, and precious the assurance here for all who would be guided in the way of peace. “He that trusteth in His own heart is a fool” (chapter 28:26), but happy is the man whose trust is in the Lord. Confidence in self is like leaning on a broken reed. God has given His Word to guide in every detail of life that thus our sanctification might be by the Truth, and it is therefore inexcusable to lean upon our own poor finite intelligence.
If He be acknowledged in all our ways we shall not want guidance, for He is faithful who has promised to direct our paths. “If thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light” (Matt. 6:2222The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. (Matthew 6:22)).
7 Be not wise in thine own eyes:
Fear Jehovah, and depart from evil.
8 It shall be healing to thy sinew
And moistening to thy bones.
To be wise in our own eyes is the very opposite to leaning not unto our own understanding.
Where the Lord is truly feared, evil will be hated and departed from. “Let every one that nameth the name of the Lord depart from iniquity” (2 Tim. 2:1919Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. (2 Timothy 2:19)). So shall strength and freshness characterize the soul. To go on with God while walking in that which His word condemns is impossible. The path of blessing is the path of obedience. If He has spoken, the subject soul will not stay to question but obey implicitly.
9 Honor Jehovah with thy substance,
And with the firstfruits of all thine increase.
10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty,
And thy presses shall burst out with new wine.
Having learned to depart from evil, the Lord becomes the object of the heart. It is not giving Him the first place merely. It is a poor thing when Christ has but the first place in the soul. He must have all if one is to go on with Him in holy joy and unhindered communion. The Israelite brought the first fruits as a token that He acknowledged Jehovah’s sole ownership of the land of Canaan. He had said, “The land shall not be sold forever; the land is Mine” (Lev. 25:2323The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me. (Leviticus 25:23)). The giving of the firstfruits was the recognition of this. So, as the believer honors Him with his substance, he gladly owns that all is the Lord’s to be used as He directs.
But so great is His goodness that when He is thus honored, He pledges Himself to see that there is no lack in barn nor press for the one who owns himself His steward. Many a saint goes on in comparative poverty because of his indifference to the principle here laid down. All comes from God; yet He graciously receives from those He has redeemed and delights to ever be Himself the greatest giver. None shall find Him in their debt.
11 My son, despise not the chastening of Jehovah;
Neither be weary of His correction:
12 For whom the Lord loveth He correcteth;
Even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.
These words form the text for the apostle’s exhortation on the Lord’s discipline, in Hebrews 12. He has expounded them by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost; so to that precious portion of the word we would turn. We need not trust our own thoughts, however much we seek to be subject to Scripture, when we have the mind of the Spirit fully revealed.
After having traced the path of faith down through the pages of the Old Testament, the apostle bids us lay aside every weight, everything that would hinder progress; thus enabling us to distance sin which ever would beset our steps, while we run with patience the race set before us. Christ Himself is put before the soul as faith’s Author and Perfecter. God would have the heart occupied with Him who, His own path of shame and suffering over, is now “set down on the right hand of God.” To “consider Him” is the antidote for weariness and faintness.
He goes on to show that trial and difficulty must not be accounted a strange thing. All are but a part of our discipline. And thereupon he cites the passage we have now come to in the book of Proverbs. The difference of wording results from his quoting from the Septuagint, the Greek version generally in use at that time.
“My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, Nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him. For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, And scourgeth every son whom He receiveth.”
In the book of Job a similar word is found, credited to Eliphaz the Temanite, “Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty” (Job. 5:17).
It was no new truth that the Lord exercised discipline among His saints. In fact, it is because they are His own that He does chasten. This word has not necessarily the sense of “punish,” though, unquestionably, chastening is often directly retributive. But the primary meaning is discipline. God is a God of order. His family must be under His discipline. Therefore the apostle says, “If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?” It is no evidence that the heart of God is not towards me that I am left to suffer affliction. All is but part of that discipline which an all-wise Father sees to be necessary. In fact, if I am not the subject of this disciplinary training, I am not one of His at all! “But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all (that is, all sons) are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.”
Nor is the Lord’s discipline of the selfish or uncertain nature that ours often is, in regard to our own households. “We have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection to the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure (or, as seemed good to them); but He for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness.” Not always have earthly parents the direct good of their children in view when they discipline them. How often we may be moved more by the disturbance of our personal comfort than by the sense of the child’s need of correction! In such a case we chasten after our own pleasure. Our God and Father never so deals with us. He has our profit ever before Him. But though this is so, we are certain to prove that “no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby” (Heb. 12:7-117If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 8But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. 9Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? 10For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. 11Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. (Hebrews 12:7‑11)). Thus we have briefly outlined the Scripture teaching as to the Lord’s discipline.
May grace be given to reader and writer neither to faint beneath the chastening as though some strange thing happened to us, nor yet to despise it, thus ignoring the Lord’s hand in it all; but rather to be exercised thereby, that it may indeed yield in us and in our ways the peaceable fruits of righteousness, and so we shall be partakers of His holiness. Thus shall we enter into the blessedness of the following verses:
13 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,
And the man that getteth understanding.
14 For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver,
And the gain thereof than fine gold.
15 She is more precious than rubies:
And all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.
16 Length of days is in her right hand;
And in her left hand riches and honor.
17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
And all her paths are peace.
18 She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her;
And happy is every one that retaineth her.
Men will brave untold dangers and exhaust human ingenuity in their search for precious metals and sparkling jewels; but in following Wisdom’s ways treasures are to be found which all the costly gems of earth could never equal in value. Length of days, riches and honor she offers to those who find her; and coupled with these, she gives what earthly stores often detract from: peace and quietness of soul. The ways of Wisdom are the ways that be in Christ; the ways into which the word of God would guide the feet of the subject soul. Such ways are indeed “ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.” To thus find the true wisdom, is to feed on the tree of life. No happiness such as men in the flesh enjoy, is to be compared with this.
It is the same wisdom by which Jehovah founded the earth that He offers to us, to be our guide on our pilgrim pathway. Of this the next section reminds us.
19 Jehovah by wisdom hath founded the earth;
By understanding hath He established the heavens.
20 By His knowledge the depths are broken up,
And the skies drop down the dew.
Surely it is grace immeasurable that thus leads the One who upholds all things by the word of His power, to concern Himself about the steps of His creatures. The word of God is but another expression of the wisdom that spoke worlds into existence, and it is “written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.”
21 My son, let them not depart from thine eyes:
Keep sound wisdom and discretion;
22 So shall they be life unto thy soul,
And grace to thy neck.
23 Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely,
And thy foot shall not stumble.
24 When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid:
Yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.
Someone has said, “It is not enough that one hold the truth, if the truth hold not him.” To so take hold of what God has revealed as to have it control the heart and life, is what is continually insisted on in this most practical of all books. Thus, to “keep sound wisdom and discretion,” gives one to lay hold on what is really life, and ornaments the neck with grace. The foot, too, will be kept from stumbling, and the disciple will be guided in the way of truth. Rest and refreshment become likewise the portion of all who esteem the word of God above all the thoughts of men.
25 Be not afraid of sudden fear,
Neither of the desolation of the lawless, when it cometh.
26 For Jehovah shall be thy confidence,
And shall keep thy foot from being taken.
It is the obedient soul who can lay hold of the precious promises of Scripture. The willful and lawless have no such title. If walking in subjection to the truth, neither sudden fear nor the desolation of the wicked need affright, for Jehovah, whose truth it is, will be the confidence of all who walk uprightly, and will keep the feet of His saints.
God thus being given his place, man will have what belongs to him. Of this the next portion treats.
27 Withhold not good from its owners,
When it is in the power of thy hand to do it.
28 Say not unto thy neighbor,
‘Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give,’ When thou hast it by thee.
To owe no man aught but love is a command that is binding on every child of God. To withhold another’s due when able to pay, evidences the fact that covetousness is in the heart and is being permitted to gain ascendency over the life. Often the poor are made to suffer by thoughtlessness in this respect. Payments looked forward to for the supplying of the necessaries of life are needlessly deferred by those more blessed with earth’s goods than they; and real suffering results, often leading to bitterness and hatred. Such conduct on the par of a Christian is in every way to be deplored Money owing to another is not mine. To use it for my own purposes is dishonesty. God’s eye sees every such action, and He has said, “Be sure your sin will find you out!”
29 Devise not evil against thy neighbor,
Seeing he dwelleth confidently by thee.
The abuse of trust is, in the sight of the Holy and the True an abominable thing. Confidence misplaced has ruined many. How dreadful the testimony if the one who has abused that confidence be a professor of Christianity! It is things like these that turn the ignorant to skepticism, and ruin the influence of those who might, if faithful, be used in blessing to many.
30 Strive not with a man without cause,
If he hath done thee no harm.
And even if he have harmed me, One greater than Solomon has said, “I say unto you that ye resist not evil.” Under law, it was a sin to strive with another without adequate ground; but under grace, as God has dealt with me, so am I to deal with my debtors.
31 Envy thou not the violent man,
And chose none of his ways.
32 For the froward is abomination to Jehovah;
But His secret is with the righteous.
33 The curse of Jehovah is in the house of the lawless;
But He blesseth the habitation of the just.
34 Surely He scorneth the scorners;
But He giveth grace unto the lowly.
35 The wise shall inherit glory;
But shame shall be the promotion of fools.
Asaph was envious at the foolish, when he saw the prosperity of the wicked, until he went into the sanctuary of the Lord, where he was given to understand their end. Then his heart was grieved, and he owned his folly (Psa. 73). Seeking to satisfy their souls with the evanescent things of earth, they remain in ignorance of the counsels of Jehovah, which are known only to the righteous. Their end will be anything but enviable, for the curse of the Lord is in their houses, and He scorns their haughty pretensions. His blessing abides upon the habitation of the just, and “He giveth grace unto the lowly.” Those who are content to thus abase themselves and walk in the steps of Him who was ever the humble, dependent One down here will he despised by those who are wise in their own conceit; hut they shall inherit true glory at last, when the false glitter of worldly fame has faded away forever, and “shame shall be the promotion of fools.”