PROCRASTINATION is a snare which often results in ruin. Against this error the first verse solemnly warns every reader.
1 Boast not thyself of to-morrow;
For thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
The present is given man in order that he may act in view of the future. To defer until the morrow what should be attended to to-day is the sad mistake which has destroyed untold thousands. The old Spanish proverb says, “The road of by and by leads to the house of never;” while another trite saying reads, “The way to hell is paved with good intentions.” The English are fond of quoting, “Procrastination is the thief of time;” and it is likely that every nation has some maxim intended to remind one of the warning of our verse. Yet, alas, how prone we all are to leave for tomorrow matters which should be settled at once!
In nothing is this more manifest than in regard to the great question of the salvation of the soul. Again and again Scripture presses upon men the importance of an immediate settlement of this matter of tremendous moment. “Today if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts.” “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord” (Heb. 3:7, 8; 2 Cor. 6:2; Isa. 1:18). These are but a few of many such calls to instant decision. Yet what is more common than to find people putting off a final settlement till, like Festus, they have a “more convenient season,” which in many instances is never found! The uncertainty of health, reason, and of life itself, all alike loudly cry, “Boast not thyself of to-morrow.”
Pharaoh said “Tomorrow,” when he should have said “Today,” and the morrow found his heart as hard as the nether millstone, beyond the reach of repentance or concern (Ex. 8:10).
If the reader is unsaved, let me remind him of five important reasons why he should not delay in coming to Christ.
First—Every day spent in sin is a day lost. The only true life is that which is lived for God. Those who are saved always regret not having turned to the Lord earlier, because they find such true joy and peace in the path of the just, which shines ever brighter and brighter unto the perfect day.
Second—Every day spent in procrastination is adding to the terrible number of things you can never undo. It is often forgotten by the young that even though saved and forgiven at last, there are consequences of their sins which will never be blotted out. We have an influence on others, for good or ill, that a future change of ways can never utterly destroy. Then, sin leaves its effect upon our minds and bodies—an effect that lasts through all time. It was this a father meant to impress upon his son when he bade him drive a handful of nails part way into a clean, smooth post. With great delight the lad did as he was bidden. “Now, my boy,” said the father, “draw them out.” This was soon successfully accomplished. “Now take out the holes,” was the next command. “Why, father,” exclaimed the child, “that is impossible!” So we may think of the forgiveness of our sins as a drawing out of the nails; but, let us never forget, the marks remain. Therefore the wisdom of ceasing at once to do what can never be undone.
Third—It is possible that at any moment conviction of sin may pass away from the troubled soul, and that God may cease to speak to you any longer by His Holy Spirit. Many a man, or woman, has, by long resisting the Holy Ghost, reached a point where, like Pharaoh, the heart refused to respond to further entreaties or warnings. Such people are often said to be “gospel-hardened”; and the designation is all too correct.
Fourth—Ere tomorrow, Death may claim you for his prey. Even as you read these lines, he may be feeling for your heart-strings. David said, “There is but a step between me and death”; and so it is with any of us. Before tomorrow, sinner, your lips may be silent, your heart be still, your form be cold, and your soul in hell!
Last of all, you should not forget that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming again. He may return from heaven to call all His redeemed away (according to 1 Thess. 4:13-18) ere you lay down this book. No event has to transpire, no prophecy to be fulfilled, before that great and solemn moment arrives. “In such an hour as ye think not,” the day of grace may be brought to a close, and the days of vengeance begin for all who have rejected, or merely neglected, so great a salvation.
Knowing not what a single day may bring forth, it is surely the part of wisdom to turn at once to God, owning your sins and trusting His grace!
2 Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth;
A stranger, and not thine own lips.
Self-praise always bespeaks ill-breeding and a lack of realization of the fitness of things. If others extol, go on, humbly looking to God to keep you in a spirit of meekness and lowliness; for you know far more about your own failings than any other can. Boasting in your attainments or abilities is obnoxious, and opens the door to criticism of a severe character. See the men of Ephraim and Manasseh (Josh. 17:14, 15).
3 A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty;
But a fool’s wrath is heavier than them both.
It is because of its unreasonableness that a fool’s wrath is so heavy. He will listen to no explanations, and will view with malice and suspicion all attempts to appease him. Better far to leave such a man to himself than to stripe with him, for he is incapable of sound judgment. Treat him as Hezekiah commanded his nobles to act towards Rab-shakeh (Isa. 36:21).
4 Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous;
But who is able to stand before jealousy?
After all, wrath, of which the previous verse has spoken, is a brief tempest of the mind, and anger a passing emotion. Both are to be dreaded while they last; but jealousy far more, for it abides when all outward evidence of it has disappeared. “Jealousy is as cruel as sheol.” See the brothers of Joseph (Gen. 37).
5 Open rebuke is better than secret love.
6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend;
But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
True love will lead me to be faithful with my brother if his steps are declining from the path of rectitude. While avoiding a captious, faultfinding spirit, I will seek to recover his soul if he has gone astray. In so doing, I may have to wound, but such pains are faithful, and reproof in grace is better far than love kept concealed, which forbids my drawing his attention to his faults. An enemy may lavish kisses and tokens of affection at such a time, overlooking the evil and bolstering the wrongdoer up in his unrighteous cause, but they are deceitful manifestations, like the kiss of Judas. How faithful was Paul to Peter and Barnabas, and to the beloved Galatians, dear as all assuredly were to him (Gal. 1 and 2).
7 The full soul tramples on a honeycomb;
But to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.
The verse has been paraphrased as follows: “The pampered glutton loathes even luxurious food; but he who is really hungry, will eat even indifferent food with a high relish.” It is need that gives appetite and enjoyment for what would otherwise be despised. To many, the word of God is one of these bitter things; but when the soul is hungry it becomes sweet as honey. See the little books eaten by Ezekiel and John (Ezek. 3:1-4; Rev. 10:9, 10).
8 As a bird that wandereth from her nest,
So is a man that wandereth from his place.
The Lord has given “to every man his work,” and we may also say, to every man his place. “But now, hath God set the members everyone of them in the body, as it hath pleased Him” (1 Cor. 12:18). He who, in dependence on the Lord fills his appointed niche and maintains his proper place, shall find rich blessing; but as a bird that wanders from its nest exposes itself to danger and suffering, so is it with him who turns away from his sphere.
Looking at it in another way, we may apply the principle to assembly life. There is a place where God would have all His children gathered—to the peerless Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. He who, having known the joy and blessedness of this, wanders from it because of fancied slights, or any cause whatever, is like a homeless bird that has forsaken its nest. See Demas (2 Tim. 4:10).
9 Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart;
So doth the sweetness of a man’s friend by hearty counsel.
10 Thine own friend, and thy father’s friend, forsake not;
And go not into thy brother’s house in the day of thy calamity:
For better is a friend that is near, than a brother far off.
Loving, solicitous counsel on the part of a true friend is as refreshing and stimulating to the soul as oil and perfume are to the body. In a warm, dry atmosphere and an enervating climate like that of Palestine, it was, and is, very soothing and invigorating to be anointed with oil; while sweet and stimulating perfumes are employed to rouse the dormant sensibilities and are found to be exceedingly grateful and refreshing. Happy is the man who has a friend of this character. It was such a one that David found in Jonathan.
When grief and calamity fall suddenly, it is far better to have a tried friend like this to turn to, than to be dependent on relations, however near, who may after all lack the heart and affection that marks the other. Time and distance are powerful forces for the weakening of family ties, as many have learned to their sorrow. Well it is for each to know that Friend who sticketh closer than a brother! See notes on Proverbs 17:17 and 18:24.
11 My son, be wise and make my heart glad,
That I may give an answer to him that reproacheth me.
The obedience and careful behavior of a wise son will reflect glory upon his solicitous parent. When there is willfulness and disobedience the father will be reproached with not having properly trained his offspring. For us, who are “sons of God, through faith in Christ Jesus,” the admonition is important. By walking worthy of Him who hath called us, we shall glorify before men our Saviour-God and Father. How often do wicked men reproach Him for the follies of His children! David’s sin gave occasion for the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, and therefore it was that the child of Bathsheba had to die (2 Sam. 12:14).
12 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself;
But the simple pass on and are punished.
It is a repetition of Proverbs 22:3. See previous notes. How great must be the concern of the God you are neglecting, unsaved one, that again He should remind you of the importance of looking well to the future and hiding yourself in Christ ere the evil fall, and there be no remedy! If after this second warning you pass carelessly on to your well-deserved doom, “What wilt thou say when He shall punish thee?” (Jer. 13:21).
13 Take his garment that is surety for a stranger,
And take a pledge of him for a strange woman.
This too is a repetition of a proverb given in the first great division of our book. See Proverbs 20:16. We are not to suppose that it is mere chance that caused the friends of Hezekiah to duplicate several of Solomon’s wise sayings in this way. It is rather that God would by this means bring home to our attention, in a special manner, the importance of the instruction they contain. He who neglects such full testimony is verily guilty, and deserves no sympathy when he has to reap as he sowed.
14 He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning,
It shall be counted a curse to him.
There is a vein of easily perceived irony in these words. He who makes it a point to declare his protestations of affection and interest beneath one’s window, with loud, garrulous tones, early in the morning, when the object of his attentions would fain rest, makes himself utterly obnoxious, and his blessing becomes rather a curse. Blatant uncalled-for words of praise are always to be dreaded. They generally manifest insincerity of heart and a lack of fine sensibilities, that are most repugnant to a person of the opposite temperament. The Italians say, “He who praises you more than he is wont to do, either has deceived you, or is about to do it.” See Absalom and the men of Israel (2 Sam. 15:1-6).
15 A continual dropping in a very rainy day,
And a contentious woman are alike;
16 Whosoever hideth her hideth the wind,
And the ointment of his right hand which bewrayeth itself.
See notes on Proverbs 21:9,19. No better comment could be written on the first of these verses than Dr. Thompson’s description of a Palestine rain-storm. He says: “Such rains as we have had thoroughly soak through the fiat earthen roofs of these mountain houses, and the water descends in numberless leaks all over the room. This continual dropping—tuk, tuk—all day and all night, is the most annoying thing in the world, unless it be the ceaseless chatter of a contentious woman.” He who endeavors to hide from others the annoying fact that such a disagreeable person shares his home, is like one who tries to hide the wind, or who seeks to keep people from detecting the fragrance when his right hand is anointed with perfumed oil. Ahasuerus considered Vashti as having offended in this way when she shamed him before all his nobles by defying his command (Esther 1:10-20).
17 As iron sharpeneth iron,
So a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
As by friction, one iron instrument is sharpened and polished by contact with another, so we may be a help to each other by interesting and profitable intercourse and exchange or thought. A recluse is always a very one-sided man. He who would be a blessing to his fellows must mingle with them that he may learn to understand their needs and their sorrows, as well as that he may find gain by what in them is superior to his own knowledge or virtues. Among Christians, fellowship one with another is precious indeed, and becomes increasingly sweet as the days grow darker. How profitable to a Timothy the association with a Paul! (2 Tim. 3:10, 11).
18 Whoso keepeth the fig-tree shall eat the fruit thereof;
So he that regardeth his master shall be honored.
Fidelity, in whatever service one may be entrusted with, assures its reward in due time, even as the caretaker of the fig tree would be duly entitled to partake of its fruit. Let the Christian remember that his Master is in heaven, and that he who regards Him and keeps His word in this the day of His rejection, shall be honored when the day of Christ has come. Meantime let him labor on, strong in faith, giving glory to God, and the reaping-time is sure, as with the husbandman of 2 Timothy 2:6.
19 As in water face answereth to face,
So the heart of man to man.
Of all mirrors, clear water is perhaps the most primitive. As the reflected image answers to the face of him who is looking into it, so does one man’s heart answer to another’s. “There is no difference.” However much men may seem to differ through hereditary characteristics, education, or the lack of it, environment, or experience; the fact remains, that all have the same evil corrupt heart, which is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. No one has ground for boasting over another. All are sinners needing a Saviour.
Therefore, if I would show a man his sinfulness, I need but to describe in a measure the evil of my own heart, and he is likely to think I have been privately informed as to his faults and am exposing him publicly! How often have men thus reasoned when some faithful preacher was declaring the terrible nature of the center of man’s moral being, while yet altogether ignorant of the actual state and behavior of his auditors!
Blessed it is that, if all are alike sinners, for all a Saviour has been provided. See the “No difference” gospel as expounded by the Holy Spirit in Romans 10:5-13.
20 Sheol and destruction are insatiable,
So the eyes of man are never satisfied.
This verse but helps to seal the truth of the previous one. In this all men are the same. The natural heart will not permit the eyes to be satisfied. There is in man a capacity likened to sheol and destruction. Let him get all he may, he still yearns for more. This is the great lesson of the book of Ecclesiastes. There, we find a man with a heart so large that all the world could not fill it. In the Canticles, on the other hand, we have an Object so great that the heart cannot hold it, but the cry goes up, “I am sick of love.” It is Christ alone who can thus meet every craving of the soul, and more than satisfy all who find in Him the object of their deepest affections. See Proverbs 30:15, 16.
21 As the fining-pot for silver, and the furnace for gold,
So is a man tried by his praise.
There is no hotter crucible to test a man than when he is put through a fire of praise and adulation. To go on through evil report, cleaving to the Lord, and counting on Him to clear one’s name is comparatively easy, though many faint in such circumstances; but to humbly pursue the even tenor of his way, undisturbed and uplifted up by applause and flattery, marks a man as being truly with God.
Hundreds have prospered in soul when in adversity, who have failed grievously through prosperity. Gideon becomes a warning to all who are in danger of being carried away by undue appreciation (Judges 8:22-27).
22 Though thou pound a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle,
Yet will not his foolishness depart from him.
Folly is bound up in the heart of the fool, and after long years of willfulness has become part of his very being. To beat him as one beats grain in a mortar will not deliver him from his wickedness. In childhood the correction properly administered might have had good effect (Prov. 22:15), but having permitted his character to develop itself, it is now too late to seek to eradicate the foolishness by corporal punishment. Nor will moral suasion effect the desired result, for the fool is deaf to all entreaties and cares for nothing but doing his own pleasure. It is a dreadful state to be in. God alone can awaken such a one to a sense of his guilt and his danger, and turn him from his folly. See Jeremiah 13:23.
23 Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks,
And look well to thy herds:
24 For riches are not forever,
Not even the crown from generation to generation.
25 The hay appeareth, and the tender herbage showeth itself;
And the herbs of the mountains are gathered in.
26 The lambs are for thy clothing,
And the goats are the price of the field:
27 Thou shalt have goat’s milk enough for thy food,
For the food of thy household,
And for the maintenance of thy maidens.
Faithful shepherd-service results in suited provision for oneself and those dependent upon him. Wealth is fleeting and riches soon pass away. See note on Proverbs 23:4, 5. Therefore the importance of earnest persistent endeavor and careful adherence to duty. Even a crown endureth not forever. Dynasties rise and fall in this world of changes. But he who plods on, husbanding his resources and wisely attending to the care of his flocks will have both food and clothing thereby; and what more does the wealthiest enjoy?
We may see in these verses also a picture of pastoral care among the sheep and lambs of Christ’s flock. His word to Peter was “Feed my lambs,” and “Shepherd my sheep.” Wherever He has implanted the pastor’s heart this will be the result. Such a one will look well to the state of the flock; not, however, with a view to pecuniary profit, nor as lording it over his own possessions, but out of pure love for the members of Christ. Nor will he be without reward. It is sure to come in the end, though he labor not for it. “When the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.” See Peter’s word to the elders in his first epistle, 1 Peter 5:1-4. In Jacob’s defense to Laban we are reminded of what this shepherd-service may mean if carried out conscientiously (Gen. 31:40).