IRREVOCABLE and crushing judgment will be his portion who, despising all wise counsel and refusing all godly reproof, plunges on in his sin until the patience of the Lord is exhausted.
1 He that being often reproved hardeneth his neck,
Shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.
Hardening the neck is a figure taken from the manner in which a refractory bullock turns away from and avoids the yoke. In this way, men, in their obstinacy, persistently refuse to heed reproof, and set their wills stubbornly against what would be for their own best interests; thus insuring their destruction.
God is gracious and long-suffering, slow to anger, and doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men. Yet even His patience with the unrepentant comes to an end at last. He will plead, and strive, and warn, till it is manifest the heart is fully set upon having its own way. Then He leaves the hardened soul to its doom, giving it up to sudden destruction. Many are the scriptural examples of this, but I only remind the reader of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, of Belshazzar and of Jezebel.
2 When the righteous are increased, the people rejoice:
But when the lawless beareth rule, the people mourn.
See notes on Proverbs 28:12, 28. However much men, as individuals, prefer sin to holiness, collectively, they rejoice when the righteous are in authority, and mourn when evil is in high places. Even the vilest know the comfort of the protection to person and property, enjoyed when the upright flourish. The unbeliever who hates Christianity and makes it the butt of his cheap ridicule, nevertheless prefers to live in a land where the teachings of the Bible are generally held and where the Christian faith is respected. In the measure that the principles of the New Testament control the minds of the men who administer civil government, peace and prosperity prevail; as none know better than the openly skeptical. The same was true in Israel in regard to the Law and the Prophets. The reign of a Josiah or a Hezekiah was much to be preferred to that of an Ahab or a Manasseh.
3 Whoso loveth wisdom rejoiceth his father:
But he that keepeth company with harlots spendeth his substance.
See note on Proverbs 28:7. Loose living is a snare to which young men are peculiarly exposed. He who is wise will shun it as he would a viper about to strike. Immorality is ruinous alike to body and soul. Its awful consequences beggar all powers of description. “Flee also youthful lusts” is a most salutary word. See 1 Corinthians 6:15-20.
4 The king by judgment establisheth the land;
But he that receiveth gifts overthroweth it.
When David sang of “A righteous ruler over men; a ruler in the fear of God,” he had to own “My house is not so.” It is Christ who will be manifested as the king who, by judgment, will establish the land. A scepter of righteousness will be the scepter of His kingdom. Meantime it is the privilege of every earthly sovereign to endeavor to be a fitting type of God’s anointed Ruler. The receiver of gifts or bribes is far from this. His evil example results in the corruption of the entire body politic. See this in Samuel’s sons (1 Sam. 8:3).
5 A man that flattereth his neighbor
Spreadeth a net for his feet.
See notes on Proverbs 28:23; and connected passages. True praise, the honest recognition of merit in another, is right and proper in its place, and may be the means of cheering and encouraging a deserving person, when perhaps well-nigh cast down. But flattery-saying, what the heart does not mean in order to mislead, or to curry favor, is a net and a snare for the feet of the one who listens. Insincere remarks of an adulatory character are most dangerous. The lowly man will turn away in fear from any who approach him in this way. The heart is too prone to think well of self, as it is, without listening to the flattering words which are but as fuel to the fire of pride. How solemn the warning which the doom of Absalom would sound in our ears! None were so praised as he, and few princes have failed more terribly (2 Sam. 14:25).
6 In the transgression of an evil man there is a snare;
But the righteous shall sing and rejoice.
7 The righteous considereth the cause of the poor:
But the lawless regardeth not to know it.
The evil man is overthrown by his own transgressions. His very iniquities, in which he delighted, prove to be his undoing. When the upright shouts and sings for joy, the wicked is pierced through with many sorrows. The latter lives only for himself. He regards not the cry of the needy. The former, recognizing his own indebtedness to sustaining and preserving grace, is quick to show compassion to the indigent who cry for help. In this he becomes an imitator of Him who ever “went about doing good.” Contrast the spirit of Peter and John with that of the unscrupulous Pharisees (Acts 3:1-8; Matt. 23:23-28).
8 Scornful men bring a city into a snare:
But wise men turn away wrath.
The first part of this couplet is rendered by J. N. Darby, “Scornful men set the city in a flame.” When a crisis arises and the populace are stirred, the ruler who meets them with cold sarcasm or stinging scorn, only adds to their anger and causes their passions to burn more fiercely than ever. Rehoboam’s answer to the men of Israel is an exemplification of this (1 Kings 12:13, 14). The counsel of the wise men, had it prevailed, would have conciliated the people and averted their indignation.
9 If a wise man contendeth with a foolish man,
Whether he rage or laugh, there is no rest.
It is in vain to endeavor to convince a fool of his errors. Proud in heart, admiring himself and his opinions above all else, to strive with him will yield no good result. Whether he grow heated and wrathful, or whether he seem for the moment to accept advice cheerfully, laughing pleasantly or mocking in amused scorn, it all comes to the same thing: there will be no happy end to the affair, because the fool will refuse to brook correction. Nehemiah’s controversy with the sometimes affable but generally openly-angry Sanballat illustrates well what is meant (Neh. 2:10, 19; 4:1-10; 6:1-9).
10 Men of blood hate the perfect:
But the just seek (or, care for) his soul.
Because of the very difference in their lives, bloodthirsty men hate those who are upright, even as “Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother... because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous” (1 John 3:12). Holiness and godliness invariably provoke the malice of wicked men, who see in what is right and good the condemnation of their own vile ways.
The just, on the other hand, are glad to be what Cain was not—their brother’s keeper—seeking to preserve his life and care for his soul. This concern for the blessing of those about him is one of the first and strongest evidences that a man has been born of God.
11 A fool uttereth all his mind (spirit):
But a wise man keepeth it back.
Mind and spirit are used synonymously for the seat of intelligence. A fool readily pours forth all he knows, regardless of the effect it may have for good or evil. A wise man discreetly guards his tongue, knowing the impropriety of hasty speech.
It is not that the fool is more frank and open than he; but mere frankness, apart from care as to what is uttered, is not at all to be commended. It is what makes that pest of society, the gossip and the talebearer. Our Lord Himself, who knew all things, does not at once manifest His full acquaintance with the solemn events in which He had been the central figure; but asks the disciples, on their way to Emmaus, “What things?” when they express their wonder at His apparent ignorance. He wished to test their hearts; and all was for their blessing, as afterward so preciously proven (Luke 24:13-32). Joseph, in his dealings with his brethren, maintains the same reserve, until the moment arrives when the revelation, “I am Joseph!” will do its proper work (Gen. 42-45).
12 If a ruler harken to lies,
All his servants are lawless.
In the apocryphal book of Ecclesiasticus there is a passage which seems to explain this proverb. “As the judge of the people is himself, so are his officers; and what manner of man the ruler of the city is, such are all that dwell therein.” A corrupt ruler will surround himself with corrupt men, his own evil example acting powerfully upon the formation of the characters of his dependents. Therefore the importance of integrity and uprightness on the part of those who occupy positions of trust and honor. It was a sad period in the history of Judah when their pastors, or rulers, were their examples in disobedience to God (Jer. 2:8; 10:21).
13 The needy and the oppressor meet together:
Jehovah enlighteneth the eyes of them both.
14 The king that faithfully judgeth the poor,
His throne shall be established forever.
See notes on Proverbs 22:2. It is greatly to be lamented that there are any to oppress the needy, seeing both are so dependent on the same common Benefactor, who “maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matt. 5:45). His eye is over all His works, and He notes the need as well as the behavior of all His creatures. He makes the eyes of the poor and those who lord it over them alike to sparkle with life and intelligence.
A faithful king will be thoughtful of the weak, and will judge the poor in uprightness, thus patterning his actions after the Most High who rules over all in righteousness. Therefore his throne shall be established in peace. “Forever” is often used in what might be called a limited sense, as when, in law, we speak of transferring property “to him and his heirs forever;” that is, to perpetuity. See what is said as to the throne of Solomon, a type of the reign of Christ (Psa. 89:19-29).
15 The rod and reproof give wisdom;
But a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.
See notes on Proverbs 19:18, and 23:13, 14. An undisciplined child will bring shame upon his mother and ruin upon himself. To refuse to chasten him because of personal repugnance to causing temporary pain, is to manifest hatred instead of love. Correction and reproof, properly administered, are for the child’s best interests, and open his heart to wisdom. Let the over-indulgent parent be warned by the fate of Adonijah. It is not for nothing that God has caused the unhappy fact to be left on record that “his father had not displeased him at any time in saying, Why hast thou done so?” No wonder he became a rebel! (1 Kings 1; 2:13-25).
16 When the lawless are multiplied, transgression increaseth:
But the righteous shall witness their fall.
See verse 2 above, with connected passages. It is a principle in God’s moral government that although lawlessness may seem, like the flood, to prevail over the highest mountains, it shall surely retreat and righteousness hold sway at last. When the wicked are in power, transgression flourishes and uprightness is crushed; but this can only be for a time. “The triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment,” as Zophar rightly observed, though he did wrong in applying it to Job when he sought the cause of his affliction (Job 20:5).
Throughout the past and the present dispensations, in large measure the wicked have been in power, permitted by God to try most severely at times the patience of the righteous. But their overthrow is near, when God’s King shall take to Him His great power and reign, and the world-kingdom of our God and His Christ shall come. Then shall the upright “have dominion in the morning”—a morning without clouds, when righteousness and the knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea (Isa. 11:9; Hab. 2:14).
17 Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest;
Yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul.
See verse 15 above. What wisdom does a parent need that correction may be properly administered, and his household brought up in the fear of God Nothing, perhaps, so causes one to realize his own failures and shortcomings as to see them duplicated in his children; and nothing, therefore, makes one feel more keenly the need of divine grace and wisdom in dealing with them. But the word is sure. Let the father and mother exercise a firm but kindly discipline, and God has pledged Himself that it shall bear goodly fruit. The son corrected shall give rest to the heart and delight to the soul. This was manifested in Isaac, whose lovely obedience did not flinch when it meant to permit himself to be bound upon the altar. And it is noteworthy that God had foreseen in Abraham the ability to control his household before he made him the depositary of the promises (Gen. 18:19).
18 Where there is no vision, the people will become lawless:
But he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
By vision is meant spiritual enlightenment and insight into divine things. A reference to 1 Samuel 3:1 will make this clear. “The word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision.” To meet this need God raised up Samuel, who was appropriately called “the Seer”—the man with opened eyes—as Balaam described himself.
It is of all importance that there be among the people of God in all ages this open vision. “Would God that all the Lord’s people were prophets,” having the eyes of the heart enlightened, that they might discern clearly what is of God, and what is opposed to His mind. It was this that the apostle Paul put before the carnal Corinthians when he wrote urging them to covet earnestly the best gifts, but rather that they might prophesy. The prophet is one who enters into what is of the Lord, and gives it out in freshness and power, meeting the actual need of the time. He does not necessarily foretell future events, but he tells forth what reaches the conscience and quickens the affections.
When ministry of this nature is lacking among the people of God and the assemblies of His saints, they soon become lawless, substituting for the Spirit’s energy the mere busy meddling of nature, and opening the door to what is simply of man in the flesh.
But we would not forget the second part of the couplet. Even let ministry of an edifying character be rarely known, yet where the word of God controls there will be blessing. He who keeps it will be happy amidst the existing confusion, enjoying fellowship with Him who inspired it. When leaving the Ephesian elders at Miletus, it was not to gifted ministers that Paul commended them, in view of evil teachers soon to arise, but to God, and the word of His grace, which was able to build them up. This abides today, and remains to comfort and direct the saints in all circumstances. But the anointed eye is needed to discern what has been therein revealed. Lack of vision will be manifested in a cold, dry, theological, or philosophical, treatment of the Scriptures, as though given to exercise the intellect, rather than the heart and the conscience. Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians is one applicable for all Christians while in this scene of trial and testing (Eph. 1:15-23).
19 A servant will not be corrected by words;
For though he understand, he will not answer.
The Septuagint reads, “a stubborn servant,” which seems to convey the right thought. Correction by words alone would avail little with such a one if unprincipled and self-willed. Therefore strict discipline would be required if he be made to render proper service, which is here implied in answering. Is it not so with those of us who have been made servants of our Lord Jesus Christ? Have we not often failed to heed His word, refusing its correction, therefore having to know the pains of chastisement? It is a lesson slowly learned. Most of us are more or less patterned on the order of Jonah, who was only rendered obedient by serious grief and trouble.
20 Seest thou a man hasty in his words?
There is more hope of a fool than of him.
In Proverbs 26:12 This statement is made concerning a man who is wise in his own eyes. The two things are likely to be found in the same person. He who is filled with self-conceit is very liable to be hasty in his words. Of God it is said, “He will not call back His words” (Isa. 31:2); and He needs not to do so, for “the words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in the fire, purified seven times” (Psa. 12:6). But the self-confident man is continually uttering words which he has to recall, because of his reckless impatience and his ready exaggeration. There is little hope of checking such a man, unless there be true self-judgment and repentance for what is a grave sin, though often treated as a mere infirmity for which he is to be pitied rather than blamed. Hasty speech betokens an unbroken spirit. It was characteristic of King Saul, and on a notable occasion would have caused the death of Jonathan had the people not interfered and rescued him (1 Sam. 14). Jephthah too is a solemn warning as to hasty speech (Judges 11).
21 He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child
Shall have him become as a son in the end.
In a note, J. N. Darby states that “son” is, literally, “son of the house”; and explains it as meaning that he gets into possession of his master’s goods. It was this that pained Abraham; for, much as he valued the service of Eliezer of Damascus, he could not bear the thought of a servant inheriting in the place of a son. God’s servants are His sons, and so shall be His heirs, and joint heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ in glory.
22 An angry man stirreth up strife,
And a furious man aboundeth in transgression.
See note on Proverbs 28:25. A man of unbridled temper provokes continual contention, and had best be avoided. His fury can only spring from an evil nature unchecked, and therefore he abounds in violations of all law, human or divine. None can walk in communion with the Lord Jesus Christ and manifest a wrathful and passionate spirit. The two things do not go together. See the elder son in the parable, whose unreasonable anger was the only jarring note in the merriment occasioned by his brother’s return (Luke 15:28).
23 A man’s pride shall bring him low;
But honor shall uphold the humble in spirit.
Pride precedes destruction. It is a sure precursor of coming judgment. But he who is of a meek and humble spirit shall obtain honor. Seeking it not, it shall be thrust upon him; while he who makes it his object, shall fail miserably to obtain what he desires. Contrast Haman and Mordecai throughout the deeply-interesting book of Esther.
24 Whoso is partner with a thief hateth his own soul:
He heareth the adjuration, but will not confess.
To share the plunder with a robber is to make oneself partaker of his evil deeds, and draw down upon one’s head the same sentence. He acts against his own best interests, even viewed from a worldly standpoint. Put under oath. he is afraid to testify the full truth, and therefore brings himself under condemnation for abetting and concealing a theft. See Leviticus 5:1.
It is a serious thing indeed to be thus a partaker of other men’s sins. The Holy Ghost warns the believer against it, showing that association with evil, or condolence of it, necessarily defiles him who thus acts. See 2 John 10, 11; and 1 Timothy 5:22. This is a principle often forgotten in our day, but one of vital importance for all who seek to maintain regard for the holiness of God’s house on earth.
25 The fear of man bringeth a snare;
But whoso putteth his trust in Jehovah shall be safe (or, set on high).
In the 14th verse of the preceding chapter we were reminded of the happiness of the man who feareth alway. Here we learn that there is a fear to be avoided as dangerous and soul-ensnaring. The fear of God is most becoming to a saint. The fear of man is destructive of his spiritual life and testimony. How many a one has been ruined thereby!
Safety and security are his portion whose trust is in the Lord alone. He who fears God will not fear man. He who fears man does not fear God as he should. See Paul, in Galatians 1:10; and compare Luke 12:4, 5, and John 12:43.
26 Many seek the ruler’s favor;
But a man’s right judgment is from Jehovah.
This but adds to what the previous verse has brought to our notice. They who seek the ruler’s favor are such as fear the face of man, and will have to learn by sad experience the vanity of putting their trust in princes.
It is the Lord whose judgment is ever righteous. When Wolsey cried, “Had I but served my God as faithfully as I served my king, He would not have cast me off in my old age,” he uttered a great truth.
While the man of God will be obedient to rulers, he will never fawn upon them. He sees in earthly potentates but the representatives and servants of the Most High, who ruleth in the kingdoms of men. Elijah is a splendid example of such a one, when confronting the ungodly Ahab, as narrated in 1 Kings 18.
27 An unjust man is an abomination to the just:
And he that is upright in the way is abomination to the lawless.
The two families are forever opposed. The just detest what the wicked love, and vice versa. So it has ever been since Cain strove with Abel, and slew him. So shall it be till the devil and all who do his bidding are cast into the lake of fire. There can be no truce, no treaty of peace, between the hosts of good and evil. Incessant warfare must be waged until righteousness shall dwell undisturbed In the new heavens and the new earth, and God be all in all in the universe of bliss.
Till then, let those who know their God shrink not from the conflict; but grasping the sword of the Spirit, clad in the panoply of heaven, go forth valiantly to meet the foe, depending upon His might who says, “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth.... And, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the completion of the age” (Matt. 28:18-20).
This chapter concludes the collection of proverbs copied out, or collected, by the men of Hezekiah, and marks the end of the sayings distinctly attributed to Solomon. The next two chapters, which close the book, are credited to Agur the son of Jakeh, and to King Lemuel. The latter, I judge, is but a pseudonym for the wise king; but Agur, as we shall see, is evidently a different personage.
The question of inspiration is not touched, whoever these men may be, for the very simple reason that in the times of our Lord Jesus Christ the book was composed of the various parts which now go to make it up; and when He said, “the Scripture cannot be broken,” He necessarily included each portion of the Proverbs.
Whether Solomon himself, or a later editor, collected them into one volume, we have no means of knowing, save, of course, in regard to the five chapters we have just been considering: they never formed part of the book until the reign of the great reformer Hezekiah.