1018 lines
44 KiB
Plaintext
1018 lines
44 KiB
Plaintext
|
<HTML>
|
||
|
<HEAD>
|
||
|
<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Proverbs XXI].</TITLE>
|
||
|
<meta name="aesop" content="information">
|
||
|
<meta name="description" content=
|
||
|
"This site is for those friends and family members who may or may not know Our Lord Jesus Christ, and if not, they may come to know Our Lord through His Prophets."> <meta name="author" content="Brian Duncalfe">
|
||
|
<meta name="keywords" content=
|
||
|
"Prophecy, Rapture,hope,bible map,bible maps, God, tribulation,Second Coming,Christ,large print bible,commentary,complete">
|
||
|
</HEAD>
|
||
|
<body background="../sueback.jpg" bgproperties="fixed" >
|
||
|
<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
|
||
|
on the Whole Bible</h1>
|
||
|
<h3><a href="http://www.biblesnet.com" target="_blank">Back to Biblesnet.com Home Page</a>
|
||
|
</h3>
|
||
|
</center>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<HR>
|
||
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%">
|
||
|
<TR>
|
||
|
<TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP">
|
||
|
[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
|
||
|
[<A HREF="MHC20020.HTM">Previous</A>]
|
||
|
[<A HREF="MHC20022.HTM">Next</A>]<BR>
|
||
|
<TD ALIGN="RIGHT" VALIGN="TOP">
|
||
|
Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1710)
|
||
|
</TD></TR></TABLE>
|
||
|
<HR>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<!-- (Begin Body) -->
|
||
|
|
||
|
<CENTER>
|
||
|
<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>P R O V E R B S</B></FONT>
|
||
|
<BR>
|
||
|
<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XXI.</FONT>
|
||
|
<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
|
||
|
</CENTER>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
|
||
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
||
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Miscellaneous Maxims.</I></FONT></TD>
|
||
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
|
||
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
||
|
</TABLE>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Pr21_1"> </A>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>1 The king's heart <I>is</I> in the hand of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, <I>as</I> the
|
||
|
rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.
|
||
|
</FONT></P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
Note,
|
||
|
|
||
|
1. Even the <I>hearts</I> of men are in God's hand, and not only their
|
||
|
<I>goings,</I> as he had said,
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+20:24"><I>ch.</I> xx. 24</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
God can change men's minds, can, by a powerful insensible operation
|
||
|
under their spirits, turn them from that which they seemed most intent
|
||
|
upon, and incline them to that which they seemed most averse to, as the
|
||
|
husbandman, by canals and gutters, turns the water through his grounds
|
||
|
as he pleases, which does not alter the nature of the water, nor put
|
||
|
any force upon it, any more than God's providence does upon the native
|
||
|
freedom of man's will, but directs the course of it to serve his own
|
||
|
purpose.
|
||
|
|
||
|
2. Even kings' hearts are so, notwithstanding their powers and
|
||
|
prerogatives, as much as the hearts of common persons. The <I>hearts of
|
||
|
kings are unsearchable</I> to us, much more unmanageable by us; as they
|
||
|
have their <I>arcana imperii</I>--<I>state secrets,</I> so that they
|
||
|
have great prerogatives of their crown; but the great God has them not
|
||
|
only under his eye, but in his hand. Kings are what he makes them.
|
||
|
Those that are most absolute are under God's government; he <I>puts
|
||
|
things into their hearts,</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+17:17,Ezr+7:27">Rev. xvii. 17; Ezra vii. 27</A>.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Pr21_2"> </A>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>2 Every way of a man <I>is</I> right in his own eyes: but the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>
|
||
|
pondereth the hearts.
|
||
|
</FONT></P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
Note,
|
||
|
|
||
|
1. We are all apt to be partial in judging of ourselves and our own
|
||
|
actions, and to think too favourably of our own character, as if there
|
||
|
was nothing amiss in it: <I>Every way of a man,</I> even his by-way,
|
||
|
<I>is right in his own eyes.</I> The proud heart is very ingenious in
|
||
|
putting a fair face upon a foul matter, and in making that appear right
|
||
|
to itself which is far from being so, to stop the mouth of conscience.
|
||
|
|
||
|
2. We are sure that the judgment of God concerning us is according to
|
||
|
truth. Whatever our judgment is concerning ourselves, <I>the Lord
|
||
|
ponders the heart.</I> God looks at the heart, and judges of men
|
||
|
according to that, of their actions according to their principles and
|
||
|
intentions; and his judgment of that is as exact as ours is of that
|
||
|
which we ponder most, and more so; he weighs it in an unerring balance,
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+16:2"><I>ch.</I> xvi. 2</A>.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Pr21_3"> </A>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>3 To do justice and judgment <I>is</I> more acceptable to the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>
|
||
|
than sacrifice.
|
||
|
</FONT></P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
Here,
|
||
|
|
||
|
1. It is implied that many deceive themselves with a conceit that, if
|
||
|
they offer sacrifice, that will excuse them from doing justice, and
|
||
|
procure them a dispensation for their unrighteousness; and this makes
|
||
|
their way <I>seem right,</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+21:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
<I>We have fasted,</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+58:3">Isa. lviii. 3</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
<I>I have peace-offerings with me,</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+7:14">Prov. vii. 14</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
2. It is plainly declared that living a good life (doing justly and
|
||
|
loving mercy) is more pleasing to God than the most pompous and
|
||
|
expensive instances of devotion. Sacrifices were of divine
|
||
|
institution, and were acceptable to God if they were offered in faith
|
||
|
and with repentance, otherwise not,
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+1:11">Isa. i. 11</A>,
|
||
|
|
||
|
&c. But even then moral duties were preferred before them
|
||
|
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+15:22">1 Sam. xv. 22</A>),
|
||
|
|
||
|
which intimates that their excellency was not innate nor the obligation
|
||
|
to them perpetual,
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mic+6:6-8">Mic. vi. 6-8</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Much of religion lies in doing judgment and justice from a principle of
|
||
|
duty to God, contempt of the world, and love to our neighbour; and this
|
||
|
is more pleasing to God than all burnt-offerings and sacrifices,
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mk+12:33">Mark xii. 33</A>.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Pr21_4"> </A>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>4 An high look, and a proud heart, <I>and</I> the plowing of the
|
||
|
wicked, <I>is</I> sin.
|
||
|
</FONT></P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
This may be taken as showing us,
|
||
|
|
||
|
1. The marks of a wicked man. He that has a <I>high look and a proud
|
||
|
heart,</I> that carries himself insolently and scornfully towards both
|
||
|
God and man, and that is always ploughing and plotting, designing and
|
||
|
devising some mischief or other, is indeed a wicked man. <I>The light
|
||
|
of the wicked is sin.</I> Sin is <I>the pride, the ambition, the glory
|
||
|
and joy,</I> and <I>the business of wicked men.</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
2. The miseries of wicked man. His raised expectations, his high
|
||
|
designs, and most elaborate contrivances and projects, are sin to him;
|
||
|
he contracts guilt in them and so prepares trouble for himself. The
|
||
|
very business of all wicked men, as well as their pleasure, is nothing
|
||
|
but sin; so Bishop Patrick. They do all to serve their lusts, and have
|
||
|
no regard to the glory of God in it, and therefore <I>their ploughing
|
||
|
is sin,</I> and no marvel when their sacrificing is so,
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+15:8"><I>ch.</I> xv. 8</A>.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Pr21_5"> </A>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>5 The thoughts of the diligent <I>tend</I> only to plenteousness;
|
||
|
but of every one <I>that is</I> hasty only to want.
|
||
|
</FONT></P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
Here is,
|
||
|
|
||
|
1. The way to be rich. If we would live plentifully and comfortably in
|
||
|
the world, we must be diligent in our business, and not shrink from the
|
||
|
toil and trouble of it, but prosecute it closely, improving all
|
||
|
advantages and opportunities for it, and doing what we do with all our
|
||
|
might; yet we must not be hasty in it, nor hurry ourselves and others
|
||
|
with it, but keep doing fair and softly, which, we say, goes far in a
|
||
|
day. With diligence there must be contrivance. The <I>thoughts of the
|
||
|
diligent</I> are as necessary as the hand of the diligent. Forecast is
|
||
|
as good as work. Seest thou a man thus prudent and diligent? He will
|
||
|
have enough to live on.
|
||
|
|
||
|
2. The way to be poor. Those that are hasty, that are rash and
|
||
|
inconsiderate in their affairs, and will not take time to think, that
|
||
|
are greedy of gain, by right or wrong, and make haste to be rich by
|
||
|
unjust practices or unwise projects, are in the ready road to poverty.
|
||
|
Their thoughts and contrivances, by which they hope to raise
|
||
|
themselves, will ruin them.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Pr21_6"> </A>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>6 The getting of treasures by a lying tongue <I>is</I> a vanity
|
||
|
tossed to and fro of them that seek death.
|
||
|
</FONT></P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
This shows the folly of those that hope to enrich themselves by
|
||
|
dishonest practices, by oppressing and over-reaching those with whom
|
||
|
they deal, by false-witness-bearing, or by fraudulent contracts, of
|
||
|
those that make no scruples of lying when there is any thing to be got
|
||
|
by it. They may perhaps heap up treasures by these means, that which
|
||
|
they make their treasure; but,
|
||
|
|
||
|
1. They will not meet with the satisfaction they expect. It is a
|
||
|
<I>vanity tossed to and fro;</I> it will be disappointment and vexation
|
||
|
of spirit to them; they will not have the comfort of it, nor can they
|
||
|
put any confidence in it, but will be perpetually uneasy. It will be
|
||
|
<I>tossed to and fro</I> by their own consciences, and by the censures
|
||
|
of men; let them expect to be in a constant hurry.
|
||
|
|
||
|
2. They will meet with destruction they do not expect. While they are
|
||
|
seeking wealth by such unlawful practices they are really seeking
|
||
|
death; they lay themselves open to the envy and ill-will of men by the
|
||
|
treasures they get, and to the wrath and curse of God, by the lying
|
||
|
tongue wherewith they get them, which he will make to fall upon
|
||
|
themselves and sink them to hell.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Pr21_7"> </A>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>7 The robbery of the wicked shall destroy them; because they
|
||
|
refuse to do judgment.
|
||
|
</FONT></P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
See here,
|
||
|
|
||
|
1. The nature of injustice. Getting money by lying
|
||
|
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+21:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>)
|
||
|
|
||
|
is no better than downright robbery. Cheating is stealing; you might as
|
||
|
well pick a man's pocket as impose upon him by a lie in making a
|
||
|
bargain, which he had no fence against but by not believing you; and it
|
||
|
will be no excuse from the guilt of robbery to say that he might choose
|
||
|
whether he would believe you, for that is a debt we should owe to all
|
||
|
men.
|
||
|
|
||
|
2. The cause of injustice. Men <I>refuse to do judgment;</I> they will
|
||
|
not render to all their due, but withhold it, and omissions make way
|
||
|
for commissions; they come at length to robbery itself. Those that
|
||
|
refuse to do justice will choose to do wrong.
|
||
|
|
||
|
3. The effects of injustice; it will return upon the sinner's own head.
|
||
|
The robbery of the wicked will <I>terrify them</I> (so some); their
|
||
|
consciences will be filled with horror and amazement, will cut them,
|
||
|
will <I>saw them asunder</I> (so others); it will <I>destroy them</I>
|
||
|
here and for ever, therefore he had said
|
||
|
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+21:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>),
|
||
|
|
||
|
<I>They seek death.</I></P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Pr21_8"> </A>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>8 The way of man <I>is</I> froward and strange: but <I>as for</I> the
|
||
|
pure, his work <I>is</I> right.
|
||
|
</FONT></P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
This shows that as men are so is their way.
|
||
|
|
||
|
1. Evil men have evil ways. If the man be <I>froward,</I> his way also
|
||
|
is <I>strange;</I> and this is the way of most men, such is the general
|
||
|
corruption of mankind. <I>They have all gone aside</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+14:2,3">Ps. xiv. 2, 3</A>);
|
||
|
|
||
|
all flesh have perverted their way. But the froward man, the man of
|
||
|
deceit, that acts by craft and trick in all he does, his way is
|
||
|
strange, contrary to all the rules of honour and honesty. It is
|
||
|
strange, for you know not where to find him nor when you have him; it
|
||
|
is strange, for it is alienated from all good and estranges men from
|
||
|
God and his favour. It is what he behold afar off, and so do all honest
|
||
|
men.
|
||
|
|
||
|
2. Men that are pure are proved to be such by their work, for it <I>is
|
||
|
right,</I> it is just and regular; and they are accepted of God and
|
||
|
approved of men. The way of mankind in their apostasy is froward and
|
||
|
strange; but as for the pure, those that by the grace of God are
|
||
|
recovered out of that state, of which there is here and there one,
|
||
|
<I>their work is right,</I> as Noah's was in the old world,
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+7:1">Gen. vii. 1</A>.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Pr21_9"> </A>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>9 <I>It is</I> better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than
|
||
|
with a brawling woman in a wide house.
|
||
|
</FONT></P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
See here,
|
||
|
|
||
|
1. What a great affliction it is to a man to have a brawling scolding
|
||
|
woman for his wife, who upon every occasion, and often upon no
|
||
|
occasion, breaks out into a passion, and chides either him or those
|
||
|
about her, is fretful to herself and furious to her children and
|
||
|
servants, and, in both, vexatious to her husband. If a man has a wide
|
||
|
house, spacious and pompous, this will embitter the comfort of it to
|
||
|
him--<I>a house of society</I> (so the word is), in which a man may be
|
||
|
sociable, and entertain his friends; this will make both him and his
|
||
|
house unsociable, and unfit for enjoyments of true friendship. It makes
|
||
|
a man ashamed of his choice and his management, and disturbs his
|
||
|
company.
|
||
|
|
||
|
2. What many a man is forced to do under such an affliction. He cannot
|
||
|
keep up his authority. He finds it to no purpose to contradict the most
|
||
|
unreasonable passion, for it is unruly and rages so much the more; and
|
||
|
his wisdom and grace will not suffer him to render railing for railing,
|
||
|
nor his conjugal affection to use any severity, and therefore he finds
|
||
|
it his best way to retire <I>into a corner of the house-top,</I> and
|
||
|
sit alone there, out of the hearing of her clamour; and if he employ
|
||
|
himself well there, as he may do, it is the wisest course he can take.
|
||
|
Better do so than quit the house, and go into bad company, for
|
||
|
diversion, as many, who, like Adam, make their wife's sin the excuse of
|
||
|
their own.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Pr21_10"> </A>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>10 The soul of the wicked desireth evil: his neighbour findeth
|
||
|
no favour in his eyes.
|
||
|
</FONT></P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
See here the character of a very wicked man.
|
||
|
|
||
|
1. The strong inclination he has to do mischief. His very <I>soul
|
||
|
desires evil,</I> desires that evil may be done and that he may have
|
||
|
the pleasure, not only of seeing it, but of having a hand in it. The
|
||
|
root of wickedness lies in the soul; the desire that men have to do
|
||
|
evil, that is the lust which conceives and brings forth sin.
|
||
|
|
||
|
2. The strong aversion he has to do good: <I>His neighbour,</I> his
|
||
|
friend, his nearest relation, <I>finds no favour in his eyes,</I>
|
||
|
cannot gain from him the least kindness, though he be in the greatest
|
||
|
need of it. And, when he is in the pursuit of the evil his heart is so
|
||
|
much upon, he will spare no man that stands in his way; his next
|
||
|
neighbour shall be used no better than a stranger, than an enemy.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Pr21_11"> </A>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>11 When the scorner is punished, the simple is made wise: and
|
||
|
when the wise is instructed, he receiveth knowledge.
|
||
|
</FONT></P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
This we had before
|
||
|
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+19:25"><I>ch.</I> xix. 25</A>),
|
||
|
|
||
|
and it shows that there are two ways by which the simple may be made
|
||
|
wise:--
|
||
|
|
||
|
1. By the punishments that are inflicted on those that are incorrigibly
|
||
|
wicked. Let the law be executed upon a scorner, and even he that is
|
||
|
simple will be awakened and alarmed by it, and will discern, more than
|
||
|
he did, the evil of sin, and will take warning by it and take heed.
|
||
|
|
||
|
2. By the instructions that are given to those that are wise and
|
||
|
willing to be taught: <I>When the wise is instructed</I> by the
|
||
|
preaching of the word <I>he</I> (not only the wise himself, but the
|
||
|
simple that stands by) <I>receives knowledge.</I> It is no injustice at
|
||
|
all to take a good lesson to ourselves which was designed for
|
||
|
another.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Pr21_12"> </A>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>12 The righteous <I>man</I> wisely considereth the house of the
|
||
|
wicked: <I>but God</I> overthroweth the wicked for <I>their</I> wickedness.
|
||
|
</FONT></P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
1. As we read this verse, it shows why good men, when they come to
|
||
|
understand things aright, will not envy the prosperity of evil-doers.
|
||
|
When they see <I>the house of the wicked,</I> how full it is perhaps of
|
||
|
all the good things of this life, they are tempted to envy; but when
|
||
|
they <I>wisely consider</I> it, when they look upon it with an eye of
|
||
|
faith, when they see <I>God overthrowing the wicked for their
|
||
|
wickedness,</I> that there is a curse upon their habitation which will
|
||
|
certainly be the ruin of it ere long, they see more reason to despise
|
||
|
them, or pity them, than to fear or envy them.
|
||
|
|
||
|
2. Some give another sense of it: <I>The righteous man</I> (the judge
|
||
|
or magistrate, that is entrusted with the execution of justice, and the
|
||
|
preservation of public peace) <I>examines the house of the wicked,</I>
|
||
|
searches it for arms or for stolen goods, makes a diligent enquiry
|
||
|
concerning his family and the characters of those about him, that he
|
||
|
may by his power <I>overthrow the wicked for their wickedness</I> and
|
||
|
prevent their doing any further mischief, that he may fire the nests
|
||
|
where the birds of prey are harboured or the unclean birds.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Pr21_13"> </A>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>13 Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also
|
||
|
shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.
|
||
|
</FONT></P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
Here we have the description and doom of an uncharitable man.
|
||
|
|
||
|
1. His description: He <I>stops his ears at the cry of the poor,</I> at
|
||
|
the cry of their wants and miseries (he resolves to take no cognizance
|
||
|
of them), at the cry of their requests and supplications--he resolves
|
||
|
he will not so much as give them the hearing, turns them away from his
|
||
|
door, and forbids them to come near him, or, if he cannot avoid hearing
|
||
|
them, he will not need them, nor be moved by their complaints, no be
|
||
|
prevailed with by their importunities; he <I>shuts up the bowels of his
|
||
|
compassion,</I> and that is equivalent to the stopping of his ears,
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+7:57">Acts vii. 57</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
2. His doom. He shall himself be reduced to straits, which will make
|
||
|
him <I>cry,</I> and then <I>he shall not be heard.</I> Men will not
|
||
|
hear him, but reward him as he has rewarded others. God will not hear
|
||
|
him; for he that <I>showed no mercy shall have judgment without
|
||
|
mercy</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+2:13">Jam. ii. 13</A>),
|
||
|
|
||
|
and he that on earth denied a crumb of bread in hell was denied a drop
|
||
|
of water. God will be deaf to the prayers of those who are deaf to the
|
||
|
cries of the poor, which, if they be not heard by us, will be heard
|
||
|
against us,
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+22:23">Exod. xxii. 23</A>.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Pr21_14"> </A>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>14 A gift in secret pacifieth anger: and a reward in the bosom
|
||
|
strong wrath.
|
||
|
</FONT></P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
Here is,
|
||
|
|
||
|
1. The power that is commonly found to be in gifts. Nothing is more
|
||
|
violent than <I>anger.</I> O the force of <I>strong wrath!</I> And yet
|
||
|
a handsome present, prudently managed, will turn away some men's wrath
|
||
|
when it seemed implacable, and disarm the keenest and most passionate
|
||
|
resentments. Covetousness is commonly a master-sin and has the command
|
||
|
of other lusts. <I>Pecuniæ obediunt omnia</I>--<I>Money commands
|
||
|
all things.</I> Thus Jacob pacified Esau and Abigail David.
|
||
|
|
||
|
2. The policy that is commonly used in giving and receiving bribes. It
|
||
|
must be a <I>gift in secret and a reward in the bosom,</I> for he that
|
||
|
takes it would not be thought to covet it, nor known to receive it, nor
|
||
|
would he willingly be beholden to him whom he has been offended with;
|
||
|
but, if it be done privately, all is well. No man should be too open in
|
||
|
giving any gift, nor boast of the presents he sends; but, if it be a
|
||
|
bribe to pervert justice, that is so scandalous that those who are fond
|
||
|
of it are ashamed of it.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Pr21_15"> </A>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>15 <I>It is</I> joy to the just to do judgment: but destruction
|
||
|
<I>shall be</I> to the workers of iniquity.
|
||
|
</FONT></P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
Note,
|
||
|
|
||
|
1. It is a pleasure and satisfaction to good men both to see justice
|
||
|
administered by the government they live under, right taking place and
|
||
|
iniquity suppressed, and also to practise it themselves, according as
|
||
|
their sphere is. They no only do justice, but do it with pleasure, not
|
||
|
only for fear of shame, but for love of virtue.
|
||
|
|
||
|
2. It is a terror to wicked men to see the laws put in execution
|
||
|
against vice and profaneness. It is destruction to them; as it is also
|
||
|
a vexation to them to be forced, either for the support of their credit
|
||
|
or for fear of punishment, <I>to do judgment</I> themselves. Or, if we
|
||
|
take it as we read it, the meaning is, There is true pleasure in the
|
||
|
practice of religion, but certain destruction at the end of all vicious
|
||
|
courses.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Pr21_16"> </A>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>16 The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall
|
||
|
remain in the congregation of the dead.
|
||
|
</FONT></P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
Here is,
|
||
|
|
||
|
1. The sinner upon his ramble: He <I>wanders out of the way of
|
||
|
understanding,</I> and when once he has left that good way he wanders
|
||
|
endlessly. The way of religion is <I>the way of understanding;</I>
|
||
|
those that are not truly pious are not truly intelligent; those <I>that
|
||
|
wander out of this way</I> break the hedge which God has set, and
|
||
|
follow the conduct of the world and the flesh; and they go astray like
|
||
|
lost sheep.
|
||
|
|
||
|
2. The sinner at his rest, or rather his ruin: He <I>shall remain</I>
|
||
|
(<I>quiescet</I>--<I>he shall rest,</I> but not <I>in pace</I>--<I>in
|
||
|
peace</I>) <I>in the congregation of the giants,</I> the sinners of the
|
||
|
old world, that were swept away by the deluge; to that destruction the
|
||
|
damnation of sinners is compared, as sometimes to the destruction of
|
||
|
Sodom, when they are said to have their portion in fire and brimstone.
|
||
|
Or <I>in the congregation of the damned,</I> that are under the power
|
||
|
of the second death. There is a vast congregation of damned sinners,
|
||
|
bound in bundles for the fire, and in that those shall remain, remain
|
||
|
for ever, who are shut out from the congregation of the righteous. He
|
||
|
that forsakes the way to heaven, if he return not to it, will certainly
|
||
|
sink into the depths of hell.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Pr21_17"> </A>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>17 He that loveth pleasure <I>shall be</I> a poor man: he that
|
||
|
loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.
|
||
|
</FONT></P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
Here is an argument against a voluptuous luxurious life, taken from the
|
||
|
ruin it brings upon men's temporal interests. Here is
|
||
|
|
||
|
1. The description of an epicure: <I>He loves pleasure.</I> God allows
|
||
|
us to use the delights of sense soberly and temperately, <I>wine to
|
||
|
make glad the heart</I> and put vigour into the spirits, and <I>oil to
|
||
|
make the face to shine</I> and beautify the countenance; but he that
|
||
|
loves these, that sets his heart upon them, covets them earnestly, is
|
||
|
solicitous to have all the delights of sense wound up to the height of
|
||
|
pleasurableness, is impatient of every thing that crosses him in his
|
||
|
pleasures, relishes these as the best pleasures, and has his mouth by
|
||
|
them put out of taste for spiritual delights, he is an epicure,
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ti+3:4">2 Tim. iii. 4</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
2. The punishment of an epicure in this world: <I>He shall be a poor
|
||
|
man;</I> for the lusts of sensuality are not maintained but at great
|
||
|
expense, and there are instances of those who want necessaries, and
|
||
|
live upon alms, who once could not live without dainties and varieties.
|
||
|
Many a beau becomes a beggar.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Pr21_18"> </A>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>18 The wicked <I>shall be</I> a ransom for the righteous, and the
|
||
|
transgressor for the upright.
|
||
|
</FONT></P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
This intimates,
|
||
|
|
||
|
1. What should be done by the justice of men: <I>The wicked,</I> that
|
||
|
are the troublers of a land, ought to be punished, for the preventing
|
||
|
and turning away of those national judgments which otherwise will be
|
||
|
inflicted and in which even the righteous are many times involved. Thus
|
||
|
when Achan was stoned he was <I>a ransom for the</I> camp of
|
||
|
<I>righteous</I> Israel; and the seven sons of Saul, when they were
|
||
|
hanged, were <I>a ransom for the</I> kingdom of <I>righteous</I> David.
|
||
|
|
||
|
2. What is often done by the providence of God: <I>The righteous is
|
||
|
delivered out of trouble, and the wicked comes in his stead,</I> and so
|
||
|
seems as if he were <I>a ransom for him,</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+11:8"><I>ch.</I> xi. 8</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
God will rather leave many wicked people to be cut off than abandon his
|
||
|
own people. <I>I will give men for thee,</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+43:3,4">Isa. xliii. 3, 4</A>.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Pr21_19"> </A>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>19 <I>It is</I> better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a
|
||
|
contentious and an angry woman.
|
||
|
</FONT></P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
Note,
|
||
|
|
||
|
1. Unbridled passions embitter and spoil the comfort of all relations.
|
||
|
A peevish angry wife makes her husband's life uneasy, to whom she
|
||
|
should be a comfort and a meet help. Those cannot dwell in peace and
|
||
|
happiness that cannot dwell in peace and love. Even those that are one
|
||
|
flesh, if they be not withal one spirit, have no joy of their union.
|
||
|
|
||
|
2. It is better to have no company than bad company. The wife of thy
|
||
|
covenant is thy companion, and yet, if she be peevish and provoking,
|
||
|
<I>it is better to dwell in</I> a solitary <I>wilderness,</I> exposed
|
||
|
to wind and weather, than in company with her. A man may better enjoy
|
||
|
God and himself in a wilderness than among quarrelsome relations and
|
||
|
neighbours. See
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+21:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Pr21_20"> </A>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>20 <I>There is</I> treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of
|
||
|
the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up.
|
||
|
</FONT></P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
Note,
|
||
|
|
||
|
1. Those that are wise will increase what they have and live
|
||
|
plentifully; their wisdom will teach them to proportion their expenses
|
||
|
to their income and to lay up for hereafter; so that <I>there is a
|
||
|
treasure</I> of things <I>to be desired,</I> and as much as needs be
|
||
|
desired, a good stock of all things convenient, laid up in season, and
|
||
|
particularly of <I>oil,</I> one of the staple commodities of Canaan,
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+8:8">Deut. viii. 8</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
This is <I>in the habitation,</I> or cottage, <I>of the wise;</I> and
|
||
|
it is better to have an old-fashioned house, and have it well
|
||
|
furnished, than a fine modern one, with sorry housekeeping. God blesses
|
||
|
the endeavors of the wise and then their houses are replenished.
|
||
|
|
||
|
2. Those that are foolish will misspend what they have upon their
|
||
|
lusts, and so bring the stock they have to nothing. Those manage
|
||
|
wretchedly that are in haste to spend what they had, but not in care
|
||
|
which way to get more. Foolish children spend what their wise parents
|
||
|
have laid up. <I>One sinner destroys much good,</I> as the prodigal
|
||
|
son.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Pr21_21"> </A>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>21 He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth
|
||
|
life, righteousness, and honour.
|
||
|
</FONT></P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
See here,
|
||
|
|
||
|
1. What it is to make religion our business; it is to <I>follow after
|
||
|
righteousness and mercy,</I> not to content ourselves with easy
|
||
|
performances, but to do our duty with the utmost care and pains, as
|
||
|
those that are pressing forward and in fear of coming short. We must
|
||
|
both do justly and love mercy, and must proceed and persevere therein;
|
||
|
and, though we cannot attain to perfection, yet it will be a comfort to
|
||
|
us if we aim at it and follow after it.
|
||
|
|
||
|
2. What will be the advantage of doing so: Those that do <I>follow
|
||
|
after righteousness</I> shall <I>find righteousness;</I> God will give
|
||
|
them grace to do good, and they shall have the pleasure and comfort of
|
||
|
doing it; those that make conscience of being just to others shall have
|
||
|
the pleasure and comfort of doing it; those that make conscience of
|
||
|
being just to others shall be justly dealt with by others and others
|
||
|
shall be kind to them. The Jews <I>followed after righteousness,</I>
|
||
|
and did not find it, because they sought amiss,
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+9:31">Rom. ix. 31</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Otherwise, <I>Seek and you shall find,</I> and with it shall find both
|
||
|
<I>life and honour,</I> everlasting life and honour, the <I>crown of
|
||
|
righteousness.</I></P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Pr21_22"> </A>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>22 A wise <I>man</I> scaleth the city of the mighty, and casteth
|
||
|
down the strength of the confidence thereof.
|
||
|
</FONT></P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
Note,
|
||
|
|
||
|
1. Those that have power are apt to promise themselves great things
|
||
|
from their power. <I>The city of the mighty</I> thinks itself
|
||
|
impregnable, and therefore its strength is <I>the confidence
|
||
|
thereof,</I> what it boasts of and trust in, bidding defiance to
|
||
|
danger.
|
||
|
|
||
|
2. Those that have wisdom, though they are so modest as not to promise
|
||
|
much, often perform great things, even against those that are so
|
||
|
confident of their strength, by their wisdom. Good conduct will go far
|
||
|
even against great force; and a stratagem, well managed, may
|
||
|
effectually <I>scale the city of the mighty and cast down the
|
||
|
strength</I> it had such a confidence in. <I>A wise man</I> will gain
|
||
|
upon the affections of people and conquer them by strength of reason,
|
||
|
which is a more noble conquest than that obtained by strength of arms.
|
||
|
Those that understand their interest will willingly submit themselves
|
||
|
to a wise and good man, and the strongest walls shall not hold out
|
||
|
against him.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Pr21_23"> </A>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>23 Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from
|
||
|
troubles.
|
||
|
</FONT></P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
Note,
|
||
|
|
||
|
1. It is our great concern to keep our souls from straits, being
|
||
|
entangled in snares and perplexities, and disquieted with troubles,
|
||
|
that we may preserve the possession and enjoyment of ourselves and that
|
||
|
our souls may be in frame for the service of God.
|
||
|
|
||
|
2. Those that would keep their souls must keep a watch before the door
|
||
|
of their lips, must <I>keep the mouth</I> by temperance, that no
|
||
|
forbidden fruit go into it, no stolen waters, that nothing be eaten or
|
||
|
drunk to excess; they must <I>keep the tongue</I> also, that no
|
||
|
forbidden word go out of the door of the lips, no corrupt
|
||
|
communication. By a constant watchfulness over our words we shall
|
||
|
prevent abundance of mischiefs which an ungoverned tongue runs men
|
||
|
into. Keep thy heart, and that will keep thy tongue from sin; keep thy
|
||
|
tongue, and that will keep thy heart from trouble.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Pr21_24"> </A>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>24 Proud <I>and</I> haughty scorner <I>is</I> his name, who dealeth in
|
||
|
proud wrath.
|
||
|
</FONT></P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
See here the mischief of pride and haughtiness.
|
||
|
|
||
|
1. It exposes men to sin; it makes them passionate, and kindles in them
|
||
|
the fire of <I>proud wrath.</I> They are continually dealing in it, as
|
||
|
if it were their trade to be angry, and they had nothing so much to do
|
||
|
as to barter passions and exchange bitter words. Most of the wrath that
|
||
|
inflames the spirits and societies of men is <I>proud wrath.</I> Men
|
||
|
cannot bear the least slight, nor in any thing to be crossed or
|
||
|
contradicted, but they are out of humour, nay, in a heat, immediately.
|
||
|
It likewise makes them scornful when they are angry, very abusive with
|
||
|
their tongues, insolent towards those above them and imperious towards
|
||
|
all about them. <I>Only by pride</I> comes all this.
|
||
|
|
||
|
2. It exposes men to shame. They get a bad name by it, and every one
|
||
|
calls them <I>proud and haughty scorners,</I> and therefore nobody
|
||
|
cares for having any thing to do with them. If men would but consult
|
||
|
their reputation a little and the credit of their profession, which
|
||
|
suffers with it, they would not indulge their pride and passion as they
|
||
|
do.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Pr21_25"> </A>
|
||
|
<A NAME="Pr21_26"> </A>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>25 The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse
|
||
|
to labour.
|
||
|
26 He coveteth greedily all the day long: but the righteous
|
||
|
giveth and spareth not.
|
||
|
</FONT></P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
Here we have,
|
||
|
|
||
|
1. The miseries of the slothful, whose <I>hands refuse to labour</I> in
|
||
|
an honest calling, by which they might get an honest livelihood. They
|
||
|
are as fit for labour as other men, and business offers itself, to
|
||
|
which they might lay their hands and apply their minds, but they will
|
||
|
not; herein they fondly think they do well for themselves, see
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+26:16"><I>ch.</I> xxvi. 16</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
<I>Soul, take thy ease.</I> But really they are enemies to themselves;
|
||
|
for, besides that their slothfulness starves them, depriving them of
|
||
|
their necessary supports, their desires at the same time stab them.
|
||
|
Though their hands refuse to labour, their hearts cease not to covet
|
||
|
riches, and pleasures, and honours, which yet cannot be obtained
|
||
|
without labour. Their desires are impetuous and insatiable; they
|
||
|
<I>covet greedily all the day long,</I> and cry, <I>Give, give;</I>
|
||
|
they expect every body should do for them, though they will do nothing
|
||
|
for themselves, much less for any body else. Now these <I>desires kill
|
||
|
them;</I> they are a perpetual vexation to them, fret them to death,
|
||
|
and perhaps put them upon such dangerous courses for the satisfying of
|
||
|
their craving lusts as hasten them to an untimely end. Many that must
|
||
|
have money with which to make provision for the flesh, and would not be
|
||
|
at the pains to get it honestly, have turned highwaymen, and that has
|
||
|
killed them. Those that are slothful in the affairs of their souls, and
|
||
|
yet have desires towards that which would be the happiness of their
|
||
|
souls, those <I>desires kill them,</I> will aggravate their
|
||
|
condemnation and be witnesses against them that were convinced of the
|
||
|
worth of spiritual blessings, but refused to be at the pains that were
|
||
|
necessary to the obtaining of them.
|
||
|
|
||
|
2. The honours of the honest and diligent. The righteous and
|
||
|
industrious have their desires satisfied, and enjoy not only that
|
||
|
satisfaction, but the further satisfaction of doing good to others. The
|
||
|
slothful are always craving and gaping to receive, <I>but the
|
||
|
righteous</I> are always full and contriving to give; and <I>it is more
|
||
|
blessed to give than to receive.</I> They <I>give and spare not,</I>
|
||
|
give liberally and upbraid not; they <I>give a portion to seven and
|
||
|
also to eight,</I> and do not spare for fear of wanting.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Pr21_27"> </A>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>27 The sacrifice of the wicked <I>is</I> abomination: how much more,
|
||
|
<I>when</I> he bringeth it with a wicked mind?
|
||
|
</FONT></P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
Sacrifices were of divine institution; and when they were offered in
|
||
|
faith, and with repentance and reformation, God was greatly honoured by
|
||
|
them and well-pleased in them. But they were often not only
|
||
|
unacceptable, but an <I>abomination,</I> to God, and he declared so,
|
||
|
which was an indication both that they were not required for their own
|
||
|
sakes and that there were better things, and for effectual, in reserve,
|
||
|
when sacrifice and offering should be done away. They were an
|
||
|
<I>abomination,</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
1. When they were brought by wicked men, who did not, according to the
|
||
|
true intent and meaning of sacrificing, repent of their sins, mortify
|
||
|
their lusts, and amend their lives. Cain brought his offering. Even
|
||
|
wicked men may be found in the external performances of religious
|
||
|
worship. Many can freely give God their beasts, their lips, their
|
||
|
knees, who would not give him their hearts; the Pharisees gave alms.
|
||
|
But when the person is an <I>abomination,</I> as every wicked man is to
|
||
|
God, the performance cannot but be so; <I>even when he brings it
|
||
|
diligently;</I> so some read the latter part of the verse. Though
|
||
|
their offerings are continually before God
|
||
|
|
||
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+50:8">Ps. l. 8</A>),
|
||
|
|
||
|
yet they are an abomination to him.
|
||
|
|
||
|
2. <I>Much more when</I> they were brought with <I>wicked minds,</I>
|
||
|
when their sacrifices were made, not only consistent with, but
|
||
|
serviceable to, their wickedness, as Absalom's vow, Jezebel's fast, and
|
||
|
the Pharisees' long prayers. When men make a show of devotion, that
|
||
|
they may the more easily and effectually compass some covetous or
|
||
|
malicious design, when holiness is pretended, but some wickedness
|
||
|
intended, then especially the performance is an abomination,
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+66:5">Isa. lxvi. 5</A>.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Pr21_28"> </A>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>28 A false witness shall perish: but the man that heareth
|
||
|
speaketh constantly.
|
||
|
</FONT></P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
Here is,
|
||
|
|
||
|
1. The doom of <I>a false witness.</I> He who, for favour to one side
|
||
|
or malice to the other, gives in a false evidence, or makes an
|
||
|
affidavit of that which he knows to be false, or at least does not know
|
||
|
to be true, if it be discovered, his reputation will be ruined. A man
|
||
|
may tell a lie perhaps in his haste; but he that gives a false
|
||
|
testimony does it with deliberation and solemnity, and it cannot but be
|
||
|
a presumptuous sin, and a forfeiture of man's credit. But, though he
|
||
|
should not be discovered, he himself shall be ruined; the vengeance he
|
||
|
imprecated upon himself, when he took the false oath, will come upon
|
||
|
him.
|
||
|
|
||
|
2. The praise of him that is conscientious: He <I>who hears</I> (that
|
||
|
is, obeys) the command of God, which is to <I>speak every man truth
|
||
|
with his neighbour,</I> he who testifies nothing but what he has heard
|
||
|
and knows to be true, <I>speaks constantly</I> (that is, consistently
|
||
|
with himself); he is always in the same story; he speaks <I>in
|
||
|
finem</I>--<I>to the end;</I> people will give credit to him and hear
|
||
|
him out; he speaks unto victory; he carries the cause, which the
|
||
|
<I>false witness</I> shall lose; he shall speak to eternity. What is
|
||
|
true is true eternally. <I>The lip of truth is established for
|
||
|
ever.</I></P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Pr21_29"> </A>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>29 A wicked man hardeneth his face: but <I>as for</I> the upright,
|
||
|
he directeth his way.
|
||
|
</FONT></P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
Here is,
|
||
|
|
||
|
1. The presumption and impudence of a wicked man: He <I>hardens his
|
||
|
face</I>--brazens it, that he may not blush--steels it, that he may not
|
||
|
tremble when he commits the greatest crimes; he bids defiance to the
|
||
|
terrors of the law and the checks of his own conscience, the reproofs
|
||
|
of the word and the rebukes of Providence; he will have his way and
|
||
|
nothing shall hinder him,
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+57:17">Isa. lvii. 17</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
2. The caution and circumspection of a good man: <I>As for the
|
||
|
upright,</I> he does not say, What <I>would</I> I do? What have I a
|
||
|
mind to? and that will I have; but, What <I>should</I> I do? What does
|
||
|
God require of me? What is duty? What is prudence? What is for
|
||
|
edification? And so he does not force his way, but <I>direct his
|
||
|
way</I> by a safe and certain rule.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A NAME="Pr21_30"> </A>
|
||
|
<A NAME="Pr21_31"> </A>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>30 <I>There is</I> no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against
|
||
|
the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
|
||
|
31 The horse <I>is</I> prepared against the day of battle: but
|
||
|
safety <I>is</I> of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
|
||
|
</FONT></P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
The designing busy part of mankind are directed, in all their counsels
|
||
|
and undertakings, to have their eye to God, and to believe,
|
||
|
|
||
|
1. That there can be no success against God, and therefore they must
|
||
|
never act in opposition to him, in contempt of his commands, or in
|
||
|
contradiction to his counsels. Though they think they have
|
||
|
<I>wisdom,</I> and <I>understanding,</I> and <I>counsel,</I> the best
|
||
|
politics and politicians, on their side, yet, if it be <I>against the
|
||
|
Lord,</I> it cannot prosper long; it shall not prevail at last. He that
|
||
|
sits in heaven laughs at men's projects against him and his anointed,
|
||
|
and will carry his point in spite of them,
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+2:1-6">Ps. ii. 1-6</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Those that fight against God are preparing shame and ruin for
|
||
|
themselves; whoever <I>make war with the Lamb,</I> he will certainly
|
||
|
<I>overcome them,</I>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+17:14">Rev. xvii. 14</A>.
|
||
|
|
||
|
2. That there can be no success without God, and therefore they must
|
||
|
never act but in dependence on him. Be the cause ever so good, and the
|
||
|
patrons of it ever so strong, and wise, and faithful, and the means of
|
||
|
carrying it on, and gaining the point, ever so probable, still they
|
||
|
must acknowledge God and take him along with them. Means indeed are to
|
||
|
be used; <I>the horse</I> must be <I>prepared against the day of
|
||
|
battle,</I> and the foot too; they must be armed and disciplined. In
|
||
|
Solomon's time even Israel's kings used horses in war, though they were
|
||
|
forbidden to multiply them. <I>But,</I> after all, <I>safety</I> and
|
||
|
salvation <I>are of the Lord;</I> he can save without armies, but
|
||
|
armies cannot save without him; and therefore he must be sought to and
|
||
|
trusted in for success, and when success is obtained he must have all
|
||
|
the glory. When we are preparing for <I>the day of battle</I> our great
|
||
|
concern must be to make God our friend and secure his favour.</P>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<!-- (End Body) -->
|
||
|
|
||
|
<HR>
|
||
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%">
|
||
|
<TR>
|
||
|
<TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP">
|
||
|
[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
|
||
|
[<A HREF="MHC20020.HTM">Previous</A>]
|
||
|
[<A HREF="MHC20022.HTM">Next</A>]<BR>
|
||
|
<TD ALIGN="RIGHT" VALIGN="TOP">
|
||
|
Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1710)
|
||
|
</TABLE>
|
||
|
<HR>
|
||
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%">
|
||
|
<TR>
|
||
|
<TD ALIGN="CENTER" VALIGN="BOTTOM">
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
<!--Matthew_Henry's_Commentary_on_the_Whole_Bible:_Proverbs_XXI.--><a href="http://www.biblesnet.com" target="_blank"><b>Back to Bibles Net . Com - Online Christian Library </b></a><br>
|
||
|
<a href="http://biblesnet.com/download.html" target="_blank"><br>
|
||
|
<b>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Free Download</b></a><br>
|
||
|
<br>
|
||
|
<A HREF="http://biblesnet.com/contactus.html" target="_blank"><strong>Contact Us </strong></A><br>
|
||
|
|
||
|
</TD></TR></TABLE>
|
||
|
<HR>
|
||
|
</BODY>
|
||
|
</HTML>
|