THERE is that which is far to be preferred to earthly treasure, though often it is forfeited to obtain the other.
1 A [good] name is rather to be chosen than great riches,
And loving favor rather than silver and gold.
The adjective “good” does not occur in the original text. But “a name” is used in the sense of a character of renown, as elsewhere in Scripture, notably in Genesis 11:44And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. (Genesis 11:4), “let us make us a name;” Deuteronomy 26:1919And to make thee high above all nations which he hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honor; and that thou mayest be an holy people unto the Lord thy God, as he hath spoken. (Deuteronomy 26:19), “make thee high... in name;” 2 Samuel 7:9, 23; 8:139And I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies out of thy sight, and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great men that are in the earth. (2 Samuel 7:9)
23And what one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, and to make him a name, and to do for you great things and terrible, for thy land, before thy people, which thou redeemedst to thee from Egypt, from the nations and their gods? (2 Samuel 7:23)
13And David gat him a name when he returned from smiting of the Syrians in the valley of salt, being eighteen thousand men. (2 Samuel 8:13); and many other passages. In this sense then a name is far preferable to vast wealth, and to be kindly esteemed than immense revenues. It is a great mistake for the young to suppose that such an honored name is easiest found on the battlefield, in the halls of government, the ranks of great writers, or in the marts of worldwide commerce. No name is more lasting and enduring than that won by him who lives for God, and for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ counts all earth has to offer as dung and dross. It was devotion to David that caused Abishai and Benaiah to win immortal names (2 Sam. 23:18, 2218And Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief among three. And he lifted up his spear against three hundred, and slew them, and had the name among three. (2 Samuel 23:18)
22These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and had the name among three mighty men. (2 Samuel 23:22)) and devotion to Christ has caused many to be remembered forever who otherwise would long since have fallen into oblivion. Who had heard in after years of the twelve apostles, had they not left all and followed Jesus? What would have been the glory of the name of Saul, the rabbi of Tarsus, compared with that of Paul the missionary of the cross?
2 The rich and poor meet together;
Jehovah is the maker of them all.
The fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man is a Scriptural doctrine if rightly used. In fact, it is alone from Scripture that men are given to know that God “hath made of one blood all nations of men, for to dwell on all the face of the earth” (Acts 17:2626And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; (Acts 17:26)). Human reason, apart from divine revelation, would never have discovered this wonderful secret. Universal brotherhood, the union of all the races and nations of men in one great family, springing from one common stock, despite manifest physical and ethnological differences, was never dreamed of by philosophers until enlightened by the inspired word of God. The fraternity of the higher races was more or less proudly owned by the sages of old; but to see in a despised and ignorant slave of inferior caste a brother, was something that the human mind revolted against. But the Hebrew Scriptures testify throughout to the fact that all men sprang from one common father, Adam, and are linked together by ties that cannot be dissolved. This, the Christian Scriptures emphasize; and seeing in Adam the son of God, declare that God is “the Father of spirits,” therefore in a creatorial sense, the Father of all men.
But let it be remembered that universal fatherhood in this aspect is a very different thing to the precious truth of the family of God as made known by our Lord and His apostles. Man by the fall lost the divine likeness and became a sinner ruined and alienated. Hence the need of redemption and regeneration. By new birth those who by nature were children of wrath and by practice sons of disobedience, are made children of God and partakers of the divine nature. A new life, eternal life, is imparted and the Holy Spirit given. Thus they cry, “Abba, Father.” It is such persons alone who form the new creation brotherhood, because possessors of a common life and nature.
The distinction here made needs to be kept in mind in our day of looseness and laxity, when men rebel against the truth of the fall, and would fain call God their Father apart from new birth, and link up saint and sinner in one great family.
The Christian unhesitatingly and freely owns that Jehovah is the maker of all, and that His heart goes out to every creature He has called into being; but he sees two families throughout Scripture, “the children of God and the children of the devil” (1 John 3:1010In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. (1 John 3:10)). These are characteristic terms. Of course none is definitely called a child of the devil till he manifestly proves himself to be such by opposing the truth and rejecting Christ.
3 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself:
But the simple pass on, and are punished.
These solemn words are designedly repeated in Proverbs 27:1212A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished. (Proverbs 27:12). It is an evidence of God’s exceeding love that He has so faithfully warned us of the terrible consequences that follow the refusal to bow before Him in repentance, and to receive the grace He offers through Christ Jesus. The wise man sees the evil afar off and hides himself in the refuge God has provided. But the simple harden the heart and refuse to harken, thus ensuring their own destruction.
“A man shall be as a hiding-place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place; as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land” (Isaiah 32:22And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. (Isaiah 32:2)). Faith sees the fulfillment of these precious words in “the Man Christ Jesus”; and fleeing to Him exclaims, “Thou art my hiding-place” (Ps. 32:7). If He be rejected and His grace despised, certain and eternal judgment must follow. Contrast the Philippian jailer with the Roman magistrates (Acts 16:25-4025And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. 26And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed. 27And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. 28But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. 29Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, 30And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? 31And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. 32And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. 33And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. 34And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house. 35And when it was day, the magistrates sent the serjeants, saying, Let those men go. 36And the keeper of the prison told this saying to Paul, The magistrates have sent to let you go: now therefore depart, and go in peace. 37But Paul said unto them, They have beaten us openly uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison; and now do they thrust us out privily? nay verily; but let them come themselves and fetch us out. 38And the serjeants told these words unto the magistrates: and they feared, when they heard that they were Romans. 39And they came and besought them, and brought them out, and desired them to depart out of the city. 40And they went out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed. (Acts 16:25‑40)).
4 The recompense of humility and the fear of Jehovah
Are riches, honor and life.
5 Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse:
He that doth keep his soul shall be far from them.
How different are the paths and the ultimate rewards of the godly and the perverse! Heaven and hell are not more diverse than the roads leading thereto. The godly man is marked out from his fellows by a meek and contrite spirit, and the fear of the Lord. The ungodly is insubordinate and self-willed. The way of the former leads to true riches, the honor that cometh from God, and life everlasting. The steps of the latter soon became entangled amid thorns and snares from which he who keeps his soul, by obedience to the word of Jehovah, shall be preserved. Contrast Hezekiah and his son Manasseh, before he was humbled (2 Chron. 29-33).
6 Initiate a child concerning the way he should go:
And when he is old he will not depart from it.
To start the child right is of all importance. The saying of the Jesuit, “Give me your child till he is twelve, and I care not who has charge of him afterward,” has passed into a proverb. The tree follows the bent of its early years, and so with our sons and daughters. If taught to love the world, to crave its fashions and follies in childhood, they are almost certain to live for the world when they come to mature years. On the other hand if properly instructed as to the vanity of all that men of this present evil age live for, from the beginning, they are in little danger of reversing that judgment as they grow older. Parents need to remember it is not enough to tell their little ones of Jesus and His rejection, or to warn them of the ways of the world; but they must see to it that in their own lives they exemplify their instruction. This will count above all else in the training of the young. To speak piously of separation to Christ while manifesting the spirit of the world in dress, the arrangement of the home, and the company sought and kept, will readily be set down by observing little ones as dissimulation and hypocrisy; and we need not then wonder if they grow up to cast all our words behind them, and to love what our ways proclaimed to be the real object of our hearts.
But where a holy, cheerful atmosphere pervades the home, and godly admonition is coupled with godly living, parents can count on the Lord to keep their households following in the right way. See Timothy (2 Tim. 1:55When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also. (2 Timothy 1:5)).
7 The rich ruleth over the poor,
And the borrower is servant to the lender.
He who heeds the Scriptural injunction to “Owe no man anything, but to love one another” (Rom. 13:88Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. (Romans 13:8)), will escape the awful bondage of the debtor. The rich almost invariably lord it over the poor, save where grace comes in to check the latent pride of the human heart. Therefore it is but natural that he who lends should consider himself superior to the borrower. The latter destroys his own freedom by his neglect of the divine command. It is better far to be in straightened circumstances and cast upon God, than to have plenty for the time being but to know that it belongs to another. Nothing so crushes the spirit of a man as debt, if he have any conscience about it at all. The Christian should fear it and flee from it as from the effort of the enemy to subvert his peace and destroy his sense of dependence upon the Lord.
There is by no means the concern about this matter, among saints, that it demands; people think little or nothing of running bills and borrowing money without proper security, which afterward may cause them deep grief and bring dishonor on Christ. He who would be alone the Lord’s servant and in bondage to no man will shun debt in every form. Many a one by carelessness as to this, has left his family in as dire distress as did the son of the prophet whose decease is mentioned in 2 Kings 4:11Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the Lord: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen. (2 Kings 4:1).
8 He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity:
And the rod of his wrath shall fail.
9 He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed;
For he giveth of his bread to the poor.
The two verses are in striking and intentional contrast; again reminding us of the certainty of a harvest like unto the character of the sowing.
He who sows iniquity will reap a dreadful crop of vanity; and though he take a lordly position and vent his anger against what is of God, his rod shall fail and his rule come to a derisive end, as in the case of the unhappy Pharaoh of the Exodus.
But the kindly, benevolent soul who plants the seed of thoughtfulness for others will reap a bountiful harvest of consideration and of blessing for himself. Bread cast upon the waters returns after many days. See Ebed-melech (Jer. 38:7-12; 39:16-187Now when Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin; 8Ebed-melech went forth out of the king's house, and spake to the king, saying, 9My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he is like to die for hunger in the place where he is: for there is no more bread in the city. 10Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die. 11So Ebed-melech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took thence old cast clouts and old rotten rags, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah. 12And Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, Put now these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine armholes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so. (Jeremiah 38:7‑12)
16Go and speak to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring my words upon this city for evil, and not for good; and they shall be accomplished in that day before thee. 17But I will deliver thee in that day, saith the Lord: and thou shalt not be given into the hand of the men of whom thou art afraid. 18For I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee: because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the Lord. (Jeremiah 39:16‑18)).
10 Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out;
Yea, strife and reproach shall cease.
See note on Proverbs 21:1111When the scorner is punished, the simple is made wise: and when the wise is instructed, he receiveth knowledge. (Proverbs 21:11). The scorner of this book is practically the same as the railer of 1 Corinthians 5. Such a man can work untold mischief among a company of the Lord’s people. His wretched evil-speaking, coupled with his contempt for all godly restraint, like the leaven placed in the meal, will, if unchecked, go on working till the whole is leavened. Therefore the necessity of obeying the word of God, “Put away from among yourselves that wicked person” (1 Cor. 5:11-1311But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. 12For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? 13But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person. (1 Corinthians 5:11‑13)).
The law knew no mercy for such a character. One who scorned the God of Israel and troubled His people, was, at the mouth of two or three witnesses to be put to death that the evil might be put away from among them (Deut. 17:2-72If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the Lord thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the Lord thy God, in transgressing his covenant, 3And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded; 4And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and inquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel: 5Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die. 6At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death. 7The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So thou shalt put the evil away from among you. (Deuteronomy 17:2‑7)).
In this dispensation of grace such an extreme measure is not commanded; but the saints are called upon to put him away from their company, in order that the rest may be saved from falling into his unholy ways, and thus the Name of Christ be kept from further dishonor. Outside, he is in the place where God can deal with him. Inside, he is a source of grief to the assembly and a reproach to the Lord. See Hymenaeus and Alexander (1 Tim. 1:2020Of whom is Hymeneus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme. (1 Timothy 1:20)).
11 He that loveth pureness of heart,
Upon whose lips is grace, the king is his friend.
A righteous ruler delights in a man of pure heart and gracious words. And to such a one the King of kings is indeed a Friend. It is the pure in heart who see God, and they who are truly such will manifest it by obedience to the word, “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt.” A bitter, acrimonious and fault-finding tongue belongs not to the pure-hearted man of God, but is generally the evidence that one is far from being right himself. Note what is said of Mordecai (Esther 10:2, 32And all the acts of his power and of his might, and the declaration of the greatness of Mordecai, whereunto the king advanced him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia? 3For Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed. (Esther 10:2‑3)).
12 The eyes of Jehovah guard knowledge,
But He overthroweth the words of the treacherous.
The Lord’s eye is upon His own truth, which is the only real knowledge. He guards it day and night, and will never let it fall to the ground. When spoken by His servants, His eye is beholding and He will see that it shall accomplish that whereunto He sends it.
But the false words of the unfaithful shall come to naught. The Lord Himself will overthrow them. Error cannot always prosper. It may seem to thrive for the moment, but it shall be destroyed eventually. Contrast Micaiah and the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 22).
13 The slothful man saith, There is a lion without,
I shall be slain in the streets!
14 The mouth of strange women is a deep ditch:
He that is abhorred of Jehovah shall fall therein.
See notes on Proverbs 2:16-19; 6:23-35; 7:4-2716To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words; 17Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God. 18For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead. 19None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life. (Proverbs 2:16‑19)
23For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life: 24To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman. 25Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids. 26For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life. 27Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? 28Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned? 29So he that goeth in to his neighbor's wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent. 30Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry; 31But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house. 32But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul. 33A wound and dishonor shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away. 34For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. 35He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts. (Proverbs 6:23‑35)
4Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman: 5That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words. 6For at the window of my house I looked through my casement, 7And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding, 8Passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house, 9In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night: 10And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtile of heart. 11(She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house: 12Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.) 13So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him, 14I have peace offerings with me; this day have I payed my vows. 15Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee. 16I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt. 17I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. 18Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves. 19For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey: 20He hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come home at the day appointed. 21With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him. 22He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks; 23Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life. 24Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth. 25Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths. 26For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her. 27Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death. (Proverbs 7:4‑27). It is with her flattering words that the strange woman allures him who stops to listen, to his destruction. None who walk with God will be taken by her; but he whose ways displease the Lord will readily fall a victim to her seductions, stumbling into sin and its fearful consequences as a blind man into a deep pit. Of this, Judah becomes a terrible example in Genesis 38.
15 Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child;
But the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.
See notes on Proverbs 13:2424He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes. (Proverbs 13:24) and 19:18. To leave a child to itself is to ensure its ruin, for folly is bound up in its heart. Discipline, properly administered will correct the natural tendency to go astray. The rod is, of course, not necessarily strictly such. Corporal punishment is not always required, and might at times be very unwise. But firm, yet kindly, discipline is what the passage declares the importance of. The rod, throughout Scripture, speaks of authority and power; in this case that parental restraint to which the child owes so much. It was the lack of this that was responsible in large measure for the evil ways of both Absalom and Adonijah (2 Sam. 14; 1 Kings 1:66And his father had not displeased him at any time in saying, Why hast thou done so? and he also was a very goodly man; and his mother bare him after Absalom. (1 Kings 1:6)).
16 He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches,
And he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want.
The one is as foolish as the other. To seek to accumulate wealth by oppression of the needy, or to endeavor to curry favor by gifts to those who need them not because of their riches; both courses are precursors of want instead of solid increase.
For the moment, he who practices what is here condemned, may seem to prosper and flourish; but his end will manifest the truth of God’s word. He shall not be able to find the happiness he sought, and will at last be obliged to own that his purpose has been utterly defeated, because of the iniquity of his heart. See what is said in James 5 of the rich who oppress the poor and withhold their wages.
17 Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise,
And apply thy heart unto my knowledge.
18 For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee;
They shall withal be fitted together in thy lips.
19 That thy trust may be in Jehovah,
I have made known to thee this day, even to thee.
20 Have not I written to thee excellent things
In counsels and knowledge,
21 That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth;
That thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee?
We now have a challenge reminding us of that seven times repeated in Revelation 2 and 3, “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.” Many have been the words of wisdom to which we have been listening; many more are to follow. The soul may become so used to them as to fail to discern their excellent character. What is needed is that the heart be applied to the knowledge thus imparted. For it is of all importance that they be kept within and fitted to the lips of the hearer, whose trust must be in Jehovah, if he is to exemplify them in his life.
The expression, “Have not I written to thee excellent things,” is a peculiar one. In the original, it is literally “have I not set them before thee in three ways” or, “a third time.” This is evidently in a superlative degree. “The excellent things in counsel and knowledge” are things of the highest value, beyond mere human wisdom. It is God Himself marking out the safe and right way in which His children should walk. Thus will they “know the certainty of the words of truth,” and be enabled to use them aright in reply to all who inquire. Blessed it is, in a day of doubt and skepticism, to be able to rest the soul on the very words of the Living God, knowing their true and precious character.
In the New Testament we find four inspired apostles quoting unhesitatingly from this book as that which, like all other Scripture, was God-breathed. Paul quotes from it in Romans 12:19, 2019Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. 20Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. (Romans 12:19‑20), and Hebrews 12:5, 65And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 6For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. (Hebrews 12:5‑6); James in chapter 4:6 of his epistle; Peter twice in his first, and once in his second letter, namely 1 Peter 4:8, 17, 188And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. (1 Peter 4:8)
17For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 18And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? (1 Peter 4:17‑18); 2 Peter 2:2222But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire. (2 Peter 2:22); and Jude, in the twelfth verse of his trenchant arraignment of the false teachers already creeping in among the saints.
But what is of deepest interest to the believer, our Lord Himself, in His address at the table of the Pharisee, as recorded in Luke 14, uses this treasury of proverbial truth as His textbook, and quotes approvingly from three verses of its 25th chapter (verses 6-8). Added to this we find allusions and references to its teaching throughout the later books of the Old Testament and all parts of the New. God has linked this plain and intensely practical portion—these “words of truth”—inseparably with all the rest of His holy book. As we pursue our study, may it be with a fuller sense of the sacred character of the homely admonitions and hints as to daily life which are to come before us.
22 Rob not the poor, because he is poor,
Neither oppress the afflicted in the gate;
23 For Jehovah will plead their cause,
And spoil the soul of those that spoiled them.
This is a warning word to those who sit in the place of judgment, to which the gate refers. If the ways of justice are perverted, let him who renders a false and oppressive sentence, remember that the supreme Judge is looking on, and He will render to every man according as his work has been. Righteous judgment is precious in His sight because it then reflects the integrity of His own throne—a great white throne, unsullied by iniquity. If wrong is perpetrated upon the needy now, Jehovah Himself will appear as their Advocate in that highest court of all, when dreadful indeed will be the portion of those who have used the judgment-seat on earth for the furtherance of iniquity. What will be the state of the Herods and Pilates when dragged before that bar of infinite holiness?
24 Make no friendship with an angry man;
And with a furious man thou shalt not go:
25 Lest thou learn his ways,
And get a snare to thy soul.
A man is known and formed by the company he keeps. “Evil communications corrupt good manners.” Therefore the importance of considering carefully the question of intimate association and companionship, not to say fellowship. To keep company with a man given to wrath and fury is to be contaminated by his hasty ways, and to bring a snare upon one’s own soul. Anger and malice are the works of the flesh. With such the Christian should have no association, for we are too easily defiled by such things; and to go on with one displaying such evidences of unjudged carnality is to endanger one’s own walk and testimony. A Saul is no fit friend for a David. See chapter 21:21.
26 Be not thou one of them that strike hands,
Or of them that are sureties for debts.
27 If thou hast nothing to pay,
Why should he take away thy bed from under thee?
See notes on Proverbs 6:1-51My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger, 2Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth. 3Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend. 4Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids. 5Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler. (Proverbs 6:1‑5), and 11:15. Some there are who will never learn by precept. Therefore they must be taught by bitter experience. It would not be difficult to find numerous examples of persons who have read Proverbs all their lives, but who, despite its many warnings as to suretyship, have lost nearly all they had through endorsing notes or going on the bond of men who turned out unworthy of their confidence. How much that is painful, and shameful too, might have been avoided had such a passage as this been heeded!
When grace was reigning, they who “had nothing to pay” were frankly forgiven all their debt (Luke 7:40-4340And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on. 41There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. 42And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? 43Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. (Luke 7:40‑43)); but when stern justice has to be dispensed, he who has not the means to meet his self-imposed obligation is in danger of losing his very bed from under him.
28 Remove not the ancient landmark
Which thy fathers have set.
This is almost a repetition of that which the Lord, of old, had spoken through Moses: “Thou shalt not remove thy neighbor’s landmark, which they of old time have set in thine inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land that the Lord thy God giveth thee to possess it” (Deut. 19:1414Thou shalt not remove thy neighbor's landmark, which they of old time have set in thine inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land that the Lord thy God giveth thee to possess it. (Deuteronomy 19:14)).
Each Israelite had received his portion directly from Jehovah. Its bounds were marked out by clearly-indicated landmarks, which all were commanded to respect. He who removed them forcibly, or in secret, would have to do with God for his transgression.
In this dispensation of grace the portion of the people of God is heavenly, not earthly. Their inheritance is in the precious truth which He has committed to us. To remove the landmarks—the great distinguishing doctrines of Scripture—will be to incur the divine displeasure. Yet, alas, this is the wretched business in which many learned doctors and wiseacres are engaged today. Nothing is too sacred for their irreverent handling. Precious truths like those of Atonement and Justification by Faith—yea, even the mystery of the Holy Trinity and the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ—are, in their eyes, but common things, which they may dismiss or ignore as they please. But a day of reckoning is coming, when God will judge them in righteousness, and when those who have been misled by their removal of ancient and venerable landmarks will curse them for the loss of their souls. Terrible will be the accounting of men who, while posing as instructors of the flock of Christ, have all the while been Satan’s instruments for overthrowing the saving truths of Scripture. See Paul’s warning word to Timothy (2 Tim. 1:8-138Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; 9Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, 10But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel: 11Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. 12For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. 13Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 1:8‑13), and 4:1-5). Compare Proverbs 23:10,1110Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless: 11For their redeemer is mighty; he shall plead their cause with thee. (Proverbs 23:10‑11).
29 Seest thou a man diligent in his work?
He shall stand before kings;
He shall not stand before mean men.
Reward is sure for the diligent. He who applies himself with earnestness to his appointed labor will work his way into notice, and be recognized because of his ability. How much more when it is unto the Lord he labors, seeking His approbation, rather than that of his fellows! “Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord,” is the canon for the ordering of the believer’s daily service (Rom. 12:1111Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; (Romans 12:11)). Often, one fears, we act as though it read, “Fervent in business; slothful in spirit; serving yourselves.”
He who would stand before the King, and enjoy the sunshine of His approval by and by, must labor now to be well-pleasing to Him. In this the faithful life of Daniel may well speak to us. He was a man who, whatever the changes of government, always came to the front, standing before kings.