WHO can tell the woes, the broken hearts, the blasted lives, the lost souls, that have been the result of failure to heed the warning of the verse with which this chapter opens?
1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging:
And whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.
No other vice has so cursed the world, and caused such awful misery and suffering, as intemperance. Those who sneer at the lurid tales of a Gough or a Murphy have only to go about after nightfall through the, dark courts of our large cities to find the most dreadful pictures human eloquence have painted many times outdone. The wretched victims of the wine-cup have been numbered in hundreds of millions, and yet Satan has no difficulty in persuading thousands of reckless youths to daily start upon the same fearful road that has lured these untold hosts to ruin.
Like every other creature of God, wine has its place. Scripture recognizes its medicinal virtue, and a lawful use of it also when needed (1 Tim. 5:23). But how easily it becomes a snare that destroys the will and wrecks the life.
“Wine is a mocker,” tempting the youth to his undoing, and deceiving him who with rashness supposes he can indulge as he pleases, and then, when he desires, set it aside. Even godly men have been deluded thereby to their shame and grief. See Noah, and Lot (Gen. 9:20, 21; 19:30-36). Consult notes on Proverbs 23:29-35.
2 The fear of a king is as the roaring of a young lion:
Whoso provoketh him to anger sinneth against his own soul.
See note on Proverbs 19:12. “The powers that be are ordained of God.” Hence the necessity of recognizing their authority and submitting to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake. To resist the power is to resist Him who ap pointed it, and is to provoke the king to anger, and thus to sin against one’s own soul; for his wrath will be poured out upon the rebellious.
We may apply the words to the King of whom every other should be a type. Who can measure the power of His wrath when all His grace has been despised and He sits on His royal throne to execute judgment?
Hanun had to prove “the wrath of a king” when he refused his kindness (2 Sam. 10).
3 It is an honor for a man to cease from strife:
But every fool will be meddling.
See note on Proverbs 17:14. How strange the pride that makes a man dread to own he has been wrong, or unwilling to back down graciously for the sake of peace, even though he may feel he is in the right-providing no divine principle is at stake. “Let your yieldingness be known unto all men” (Phil. 4:5) is a needed word. A man of God will be ready to give up his fancied rights rather than to prolong strife; but a fool will persist in contention and meddle with matters in which he should have no part. Even so devoted a man as Josiah failed for lack of having learned this lesson (2 Chron. 35:20-24).
4 The sluggard will not plow by reason of the winter;
Therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing.
Ready upon any pretext to abandon his labor, the sluggard neglects the cultivation of his fields when others are at work. Therefore when harvest-time arrives, his fields are bare, and he is found begging of (as he would put it) his more fortunate neighbors. The fact is, fortune has nothing to do with it. Their diligence has brought its own reward, and his slothfulness its natural consequence. Compare Proverbs 19:15, 24.
5 Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water;
But a man of understanding will draw it out.
See note on Proverbs 18:4. We have already been reminded more than once that it is only the fool who blatantly pours forth a stream of words upon every occasion (see Proverbs 17:27, 28 and 18:7). With the prudent man it is quite otherwise. His words are few, unless there be occasion for them; and this not because of his lack of sound knowledge and the ability to instruct; but he prefers to bide his time. Deep in his heart, as in a well, he hides counsel and wisdom. Because of his sobriety, the simple may think him inferior to themselves; but a man of understanding will be able to draw forth what shall be for profit, at the suited period. See Joseph and Pharaoh (Gen. 41).
6 Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness:
But a faithful man who can find?
7 The just man walketh in his integrity;
His children are blessed after him.
8 A king that sitteth in the throne of judgment
Scattereth away all evil with his eyes.
9 Who can say, I have made my heart clean,
I am pure from my sin?
10 Divers weights, and divers measures,
Both of them are alike abomination to Jehovah.
11 Even a child is known by his doings,
Whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.
12 The hearing ear, and the seeing eye,
Jehovah hath made both of them.
There is evidently a moral connection between each proverb in this section, all being more or less occupied with the question and the test of purity. Most men are ready to declare their own uprightness and kindness, as was Job before he saw the Lord. But faithful men, who will justify God though all others be found liars, are few indeed. In Elihu we see such a one as he speaks on God’s behalf. See Job 29-31 for his defense of himself. In Job 32-37 we get Elihu justifying God.
The man who is really just (made such by grace) manifests it by his walk; not by the declarations of his lips. The children of such a man are blessed after him. Abraham is a shining example of this (Gen. 17:1-9).
If any are righteous, it should surely be the king who sits on the throne of judgment, and scatters away evil with his eyes. But even among such (or among men at large), who is there who will dare to say, “I have made my heart clean. I am pure from my sin”?
Unequal measures testify to the lack of integrity on the part of many. All such are evil in the eyes of the Lord (see Proverbs 16:11, and note verse 23 below).
Even in the case of a child, his ways and doings declare what he is, as in the instance of little Samuel in the tabernacle (1 Sam. 3:18-21). What shall be said of those older in years, with added responsibilities?
Manifestly, then, no man is pure in himself. But Jehovah gives to those who wait upon Him the seeing eye and the hearing ear, that they may behold and do His will, and hear His voice. When all pretense to purity in oneself is given up, it is found in Christ, for those who receive Him.
13 Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty:
Open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread.
See verse 4 above, and note Proverbs 6:9-11; 24:33, 34. Abundant are the warnings against slothfulness and self-indulgence. “Drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.” It is the active and diligent who are rewarded for their toil. “Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from among the dead, and Christ shall shine upon thee.” Such are the stirring words addressed by the Holy Ghost to Christians who are sleeping in a world where all should be aroused to a sense of the value of time, so rapidly passing away. “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Eph. 5:15, 16).
It was by taking his ease that David fell into his grievous sin (2 Sam. 11:1, last clause).
14 Bad! bad saith the buyer;
But when he is gone his way, then he boasteth.
How common is the deceit here mentioned! It is the characteristic falsehood of the bargainer. Depreciating the article his heart desires, in order to procure favorable terms, when at last his price is acceded to, he goes his way, rejoicing in his shrewdness, and boasting of his ability to purchase at low rates. But a holier eye than that of man was looking on, noting every action, word, and thought; and the day of accounting draws rapidly nearer. See Ephraim (Hosea 12:7, 8).
15 There is gold, and a multitude of rubies:
But the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.
Gold and gems are of no value as compared with the lips that keep knowledge. No price can be set upon the precious truth of God, the wisdom that cometh from above. See Proverbs 2:1-5, and consider Psalm 119:72.
16 Take his garment that is surety for a stranger:
And take a pledge of him for a strange woman.
See notes on Proverbs 6:1-5; 11:15. Ruin and disaster dog the steps of him who unwisely goes surety for another, or who has any traffic with a strange woman. To keep clear of both is the only path of safety. To temporize is generally to invite defeat. The man who can say “No,” and stand by it, when tempted to one side or the other, alone is secure. He who will not heed must learn for himself in bitterness of soul. See Judah (Gen. 38).
17 Bread of deceit is sweet to a man;
But afterward his mouth shall be filled with gravel.
It is only for the passing moment that deceit seems to prosper and to promise well. The full result is far otherwise. In place of a sweet and delectable dainty, the mouth will be filled with gravel, hard and disappointing. Compare Proverbs 9:17, 18, and see Matthew 26:14-16 and 27:3-5.
18 Every purpose is established by counsel:
And with good advice make war.
Rashness and unthinking precipitation are to be deplored. Before beginning what may not readily be ended, it is well to count the cost, and to counsel with some who are known to be wise and prudent. Our Lord expands and amplifies this proverb when He says, “What king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace” (Luke 14:31, 32). See Rehoboam and Shemaiah (2 Chron. 11:1-4).
19 He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets:
Therefore meddle not with him that flattereth with his lips.
See notes on Proverbs 11:13; 18:8, and 25:23. He who flatters to the face will as readily scandalize behind the back. By soft, sinuous words and ways he will gain the confidence of his victim, appealing to his pride and love of approbation, and thus loosening his tongue, till he relates things far better left unsaid. When he has thus lured him on to unbaring his heart, he will go to others, and pour into their ears what he has just learned, flattering them in the same way, and giving them to suppose that they alone are the recipients of his favor. No character is more detestable. Utterly lacking in moral principle, and destitute of godliness, when such a person gets in among a Christian assembly, he can do untold mischief. The safe plan is to refuse altogether to listen to “him that flattereth with his lips.” By so doing, much sorrow may be averted. The one who praises his listener while he backbites another, deserves to be treated in the spirit that David manifested toward the Amalekite who brought him news of Saul’s death (2 Sam. 1:1-16).
20 Whoso revileth his father or his mother,
His lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.
See note on Proverbs 19:26. No parents are perfect in all their ways, but, like civil authorities, they are to be honored because of their position. They stand to children in God’s stead. To honor the father and mother is to honor Him who has created us and established the home, setting the solitary in families. Therefore he who reviles his parents shall find his light put out, and be left in the darkness. Even though a father or mother fail grievously, a son whose spirit is as it should be will seek to cover and hide their shame. Only an ungrateful and foolish child will spread it abroad. This was the error of Ham (Gen. 9:22).
21 An inheritance may be gotten hastily at the beginning;
But the end thereof shall not be blessed.
See Proverbs 21:6 and 28:20. Treasure rapidly accumulated at the expense of conscience and honor will yield little comfort; for “the blessing of the Lord that maketh rich and addeth no sorrow with it” cannot be upon it. “As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool” (Jer. 17:11).
They who set out with the determination to gather wealth at all cost will learn in bitterness of soul that they have missed the true and lasting treasure which would have given heart-satisfaction and joy in its possession. See God’s word to the rich who have gained their fortunes by oppression of the poor (James 6:1-6).
22 Say not thou, I will recompense evil;
But wait on Jehovah, and He shall save thee.
No lesson is harder for some of us to learn than that of confiding all our affairs to the hands of the Lord, especially when we feel we have been wronged and ill-treated. Yet it is plain from Scripture that the saint can make no greater mistake than to take charge of his own affairs in such a case. Nothing could be clearer than the injunction, “Recompense to no man evil for evil.... Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, saith the Lord” (Rom. 12:17-19). To set about meting out evil for evil in the face of words like these is to act in direct disobedience to God, and we need not wonder if we make a terrible botch of it all. He who, owning that all has been allowed by the Lord for his good, bows his head and bends before the blast, will find God ever ready to interfere at the needed moment. To look away from the human instrument of our grief, however vindictive he may be, and to see, behind it all, the purposes of our Father working out, gives rest and comfort to the sorely-tried soul. It was this that sustained David when Shimei cursed and stoned him. The whole passage is so tender and striking, I cannot forbear quoting it in full: “And when king David came to Bahurim, behold, thence came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera: he came forth, and cursed still as he came. And he cast stones at David, and at all the servants of king David: and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left. And thus said Shimei when he cursed, Come out, come out, thou bloody man, and thou man of Belial: the Lord hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead thou hast reigned; and the Lord hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son: and, behold, thou art taken in thy mischief, because thou art a bloody man. Then said Abishai the son of Zeruiah unto the king, Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? let me go over, I pray thee, and take off his head. And the king said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? so let him curse, because the Lord hath said unto him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Wherefore hast thou done so? And David said to Abishai, and to all his servants, Behold, my son, which came forth of my bowels, seeketh my life: how much more now may this Benjamite do it? Let him alone, and let him curse; for the Lord hath bidden him. It may be that the Lord will look on my affliction, and that the Lord will requite me good for his cursing this day” (2 Sam. 16:5-12).
It is doubtful if, in all David’s spiritual history, he ever reached a higher height of holy confidence in God than at this time of deep, deep trial. Shimei’s spiteful cursing in so public a manner, and at so sorrowful a time, must have deeply lacerated his already wounded spirit. But he bows his head in submission; and instead of executing vengeance on Shimei, and seeking self-vindication from the charges made, “through evil report and good report” he holds on his way, in submissive confidence, saying, “Let him curse,” and taking all from the Lord Himself.
Shimei was but an instrument, inspired by Satan, yet really permitted of the Lord, for David’s chastening and discipline. As such he views him, and looks not at second causes, but at the great First Cause Himself. This is most blessed! Would that every tried saint could follow his example!
The day came that Shimei was a cringing suppliant at the feet of the man he had cursed; publicly owning that he had acted perversely, and confessing “thy servant doth know that I have sinned” (2 Sam. 19:16-23). David’s royal clemency was extended in forgiveness—a far greater victory than vengeance would have been. Afterward, in God’s righteous government, he was put to death for the treachery that ever characterized him, in the reign of Solomon. “He that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons” (Col. 3:25). With judgment I have not to interfere. Be it mine to bow in submission to all God’s ways, owning His hand in everything that would otherwise disquiet me.
23 Divers weights are an abomination to Jehovah;
And a false balance is not good.
See verse 10 above. Divers weights are different tests for different things, according as they relate to oneself or not. One standard of righteousness, a true balance, with honest weights, should characterize the Christian. Frequently one finds these various weights applied in estimating the conduct of certain persons. We excuse in one, particularly in ourselves, what calls For severe judgment in the case of another. But in the scales of the sanctuary both are tested by the same weights. God would have our balances patterned after His, and the opposite is an abomination in His sight. See the half shekel (Ex. 30:15).
24 Man’s goings are of Jehovah;
How can a man then understand his own way?
The prophet Jeremiah attests the same solemn truth. “O Lord,” he says, “I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.” So he adds, “O Lord, correct me, but with judgment; not in Thine anger, lest Thou bring me to nothing” (Jer. 10:23, 24). Concerning every one of us, it can be said, “Ye have not passed this way heretofore.” This is true every step of our journey through this world. Each day we enter upon new scenes and new experiences; therefore the folly of depending on our poor, finite wisdom in order to understand our way. One alone knows the end from the beginning. With Him, all is one eternal Now. Who else but He can direct our steps? Happy the soul who can commit all his ways unto Him, and sing with confidence and holy restfulness, “My times are in Thy hand.” To such He has said, “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with Mine eye” (Psa. 32:8). But this daily guidance is only the portion of the subject, obedient believer. Others must know the bit-and-bridle direction of circumstances and tribulations. See Israel at the Jordan (Josh. 3:4).
25 It is a snare to a man rashly to say, It is hallowed;
And after vows, to make inquiry.
Two things, yet very closely connected, seem to be here referred to, with a keen, underlying touch of irony that is meant to go home to the conscience. To say rashly of anything that it is holy, before one has investigated, or to make a vow concerning some matter which has to be inquired into later; these are foolish and dangerous things, and may result in much sorrow and trouble. Elsewhere Solomon speaks of the same blunder. “When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for He hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thy hands?” (Ecc. 5:4-7). The practice of making vows seems to be clearly contrary to the spirit of the Christian dispensation, in which grace is reigning. Under law, when God was asking something of man, it was quite in keeping to make such particular pledges. The vow of Paul was evidently that of a Nazarite, taken prior to his conversion (Acts 18:18). It would therefore be of all-importance to make sure that such a promise was according to the mind of God before making it. See Jephthah’s rash vow, and its terrible consequences (Judges 11:30-40).
26 A wise king scattereth the lawless,
And bringeth the wheel over them.
No throne is established in peace when lawlessness and violence are rampant among the people. It is necessary, for the preservation of society, the peace of the righteous, as well as the stability of government, that those who oppose it be destroyed. So, ere the millennial kingdom shall be set up, the wicked will be rooted out of the earth. See Isaiah 63 and Revelation 19.
27 The spirit of man is the lamp of Jehovah,
Searching all the depths of the soul.
The spirit of man is not mere breath, or some impersonal idea. God “formeth the spirit of man within him” (Zech. 12:1). It is by the spirit he is enabled to think and plan, to weigh evidences, and to understand things both material, moral, and spiritual. “What man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him?” (1 Cor. 2:11.) Here it is evident that the spirit is the seat of intelligence. How would it sound to substitute “breath” for “spirit” in either of these scriptures, making them declare God formed man’s breath as an entity within him, and that by his breath he apprehended the things that concerned him? Spite of all that casuists and sophists may allege to the contrary, the Bible clearly teaches the true individuality of the spirit.
It is here called the lamp of Jehovah. Notice, it is not the light of Jehovah. The lamp is the vessel that holds the light, which itself is divine, proceeding from God. But man’s spirit can be a light-receiver and light-retainer, illuminating every part of his moral being. This it is that gives him preeminence over all the lower creation. What an immeasurable gulf there is between the lowest type of man, with all his capabilities of divine enlightenment, and the highest type of brute, who must be forever insensible to spiritual instruction!
The most degraded savage gropes after God, for his spirit is the lamp of Jehovah, dimly though the light may shine. But take the beast, and train him to the highest point of brute-intelligence, he manifests no recognition of responsibility to a Creator, no sense of spiritual conceptions. This fact alone is enough to forever destroy the agnostic theory of evolution as taught by Darwin and Huxley, and eagerly received by so many who are ever ready to run after what seems to be new and novel, particularly if it appears to eliminate God from His own universe.
Through the spirit God has to say to man. Thereby He pours His light into every chamber of his being. This it is that produces a sense of need, a yearning after Himself. For in his natural state “there is none that seeketh after God.” When His testimony is received, and the soul is bowed before Him in repentance, His Holy Spirit, through the Scriptures of truth, witnesses with our spirits that we are His children. See Elijah and the still small voice (1 Kings 19:11-13).
28 Loving-kindness and truth preserve the king:
And his throne is upheld by loving-kindness.
In verse 26 we saw that it was the king’s wisdom to execute judgment upon his foes. Here we are reminded of the other side of his character. His throne rests on righteousness, but it is upheld by loving-kindness. The two are essential—loving-kindness and truth. “Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” When He reigns, both shall be displayed in perfection (Isa. 32).
29 The glory of young men is their strength:
And the beauty of old men is the gray head.
See note on Proverbs 16:31. In the economy of nature, as of grace, there is a time and season for all things. Youth delights in deeds of prowess, and glories in physical strength. Age is the time for meditation and sobriety, and of this the gray head is a reminder, beautiful indeed in its place. In his first epistle, the apostle John takes up the same thoughts in a spiritual sense. The young men are those who are strong in the faith, in whom the word of God abides, and who have overcome the wicked one. To the fathers, he simply writes, “Ye have known Him that is from the beginning.” It is that experimental knowledge of Christ which is enlarged and deepened by the passing of the years (1 John 2:13, 14).
30 The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil:
So do stripes the depths of the soul.
Added suffering is often required to purge the system of poisonous matter; therefore the skillful surgeon is not always concerned to immediately heal a wound. There is often a probing, and consequent inflammation, that is very painful, but good in result. So it is with God’s dealings when unholiness has been tolerated by His children. Stripes and sorrows may be laid upon them, but only that the inner parts of the being may be purged of all hidden evil by self-judgment and full confession in His presence. The unnamed author of the psalm of the laver is not the only one who could say, “Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept Thy word” (Psa. 119:67). As he would be an unwise patient who objected to the pain caused by the surgeon while he endeavored to free the wound from impurities that might effectually hinder healing, and which, if unremoved, might poison the whole system, so is the saint foolish indeed who repines under a Father’s chastening hand, and seeks to free himself from the stripes rather than to “hear the rod, and Him who hath appointed it.”