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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1710)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
<CENTER>
<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>P R O V E R B S</B></FONT>
<BR>
<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XXIX.</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="Pr29_1"> </A>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>1 He, that being often reproved hardeneth <I>his</I> neck, shall
suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
Here,
1. The obstinacy of many wicked people in a wicked way is to be greatly
lamented. They are <I>often reproved</I> by parents and friends, by
magistrates and ministers, by the providence of God and by their own
consciences, have had their sins set in order before them and fair
warning given them of the consequences of them, but all in vain; they
<I>harden their necks.</I> Perhaps they fling away, and will not so
much as give the reproof a patient hearing; or, if they do, yet they go
on in the sins for which they are reproved; they will not bow their
necks to the yoke, but are children of Belial; they refuse reproof
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+10:17"><I>ch.</I> x. 17</A>),
despise it
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+5:12"><I>ch.</I> v. 12</A>),
hate it,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+12:1"><I>ch.</I> xii. 1</A>.
2. The issue of this obstinacy is to be greatly dreaded: Those that go
on in sin, in spite of admonition, <I>shall be destroyed;</I> those
that will not be reformed must expect to be ruined; if the rods answer
not the end, expect the axes. They <I>shall be suddenly destroyed,</I>
in the midst of their security, <I>and without remedy;</I> they have
sinned against the preventing remedy, and therefore let them not expect
any recovering remedy. Hell is remediless destruction. They <I>shall be
destroyed, and no healing,</I> so the word is. If God wounds, who can
heal?</P>
<A NAME="Pr29_2"> </A>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>2 When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but
when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
This is what was said before,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+28:12,28"><I>ch.</I> xxviii. 12, 28</A>.
1. <I>The people</I> will have cause to <I>rejoice</I> or <I>mourn</I>
according as their rulers are <I>righteous</I> or <I>wicked;</I> for,
if <I>the righteous</I> be in <I>authority,</I> sin will be punished
and restrained, religion and virtue will be supported and kept in
reputation; <I>but,</I> if <I>the wicked</I> get power in their hands,
wickedness will abound, religion and religious people will be
persecuted, and so the ends of government will be perverted.
2. <I>The people</I> will actually <I>rejoice</I> or <I>mourn</I>
according as their rulers are <I>righteous</I> or <I>wicked.</I> Such a
conviction are even the common people under of the excellency of virtue
and religion that they will rejoice when they see them preferred and
countenanced; and, on the contrary, let men have ever so much honour or
power, if they be wicked and vicious, and use it ill, they <I>make
themselves contemptible and base before all the people</I> (as those
priests,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mal+2:9">Mal. ii. 9</A>)
and subjects will think themselves miserable under such a
government.</P>
<A NAME="Pr29_3"> </A>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>3 Whoso loveth wisdom rejoiceth his father: but he that keepeth
company with harlots spendeth <I>his</I> substance.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
Both the parts of this verse repeat what has been often said, but, on
comparing them together, the sense of them will be enlarged from each
other.
1. Be it observed, to the honour of a virtuous young man, that he
<I>loves wisdom,</I> he is <I>a philosopher</I> (for that signifies
<I>a lover of wisdom</I>), for religion is the best philosophy; he
avoids bad company, and especially the company of lewd women. Hereby he
<I>rejoices his</I> parents, and has the satisfaction of being a
comfort to them, and increases his estate, and is likely to live
comfortably.
2. Be it observed, to the reproach of a vicious young man, that he
hates <I>wisdom; he keeps company with</I> scandalous women, who will
be his ruin, both in soul and body; he grieves his parents, and, like
the prodigal son, devours their living <I>with harlots.</I> Nothing
will beggar men sooner than the lusts of uncleanness; and the best
preservative from those ruinous lusts is <I>wisdom.</I></P>
<A NAME="Pr29_4"> </A>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>4 The king by judgment establisheth the land: but he that
receiveth gifts overthroweth it.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
Here is,
1. The happiness of a people under a good government. The care and
business of a prince should be to <I>establish the land,</I> to
maintain its fundamental laws, to settle the minds of his subjects and
make them easy, to secure their liberties and properties from
hostilities and for posterity, and to set in order the things that are
wanting; this he must do <I>by judgment,</I> by wise counsels, and by
the steady administration of justice, without respect of persons, which
will have these good effects.
2. The misery of a people under a bad government: <I>A man of
oblations</I> (so it is in the margin) <I>overthrows the land;</I> a
man that is either sacrilegious or superstitious, or that invades the
priest's office, as Saul and Uzziah--or a man that aims at nothing but
getting money, and will, for a good bribe, connive at the most guilty,
and, in hope of one, persecute the innocent--such governors as these
will ruin a country.</P>
<A NAME="Pr29_5"> </A>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>5 A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his
feet.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
Those may be said to <I>flatter their neighbours</I> who commend and
applaud that good in them (the good they do or the good they have)
which really either is not or is not such as they represent it, and who
profess that esteem and that affection for them which really they have
not; these <I>spread a net for their feet.</I>
1. For their neighbours' feet, whom they <I>flatter.</I> They have an
ill design in it; they would not praise them as they do but that they
hope to make an advantage of them; and it is therefore wisdom to
suspect those who flatter us, that they are secretly laying a snare for
us, and to stand on our guard accordingly. Or it has an ill effect on
those who are flattered; it puffs them up with pride, and makes them
conceited and confident of themselves, and so proves a net that
entangles them in sin.
2. For their own feet; so some understand it. He that flatters others,
in expectation that they will return his compliments and flatter him,
does but make himself ridiculous and odious even to those he
flatters.</P>
<A NAME="Pr29_6"> </A>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>6 In the transgression of an evil man <I>there is</I> a snare: but
the righteous doth sing and rejoice.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
Here is,
1. The peril of a sinful way. There is not only a punishment at the end
of it, but <I>a snare</I> in it. One sin is a temptation to another,
and there are troubles which, as <I>a snare,</I> come suddenly upon
evil men in the midst of their transgressions; nay, their transgression
itself often involves them in vexations; their sin is their punishment,
and they are <I>holden in the cords of their own iniquity,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+5:22"><I>ch.</I> v. 22</A>.
2. The pleasantness of the way of holiness. The snare that is <I>in the
transgression of evil men</I> spoils all their mirth, <I>but
righteous</I> men are kept from those snares, or delivered out of them;
they walk at liberty, walk in safety, and therefore they <I>sing and
rejoice.</I> Those that make God their chief joy have him for their
exceeding joy, and it is their own fault if they do not <I>rejoice
evermore.</I> If there be any true joy on this side heaven, doubtless
those have it whose conversation is in heaven.</P>
<A NAME="Pr29_7"> </A>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>7 The righteous considereth the cause of the poor: <I>but</I> the
wicked regardeth not to know <I>it.</I>
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
It is a pity but that every one who sues <I>sub form&acirc;
pauperis</I>--<I>as a pauper,</I> should have an honest cause (they are
of all others inexcusable if they have not), because the scripture has
so well provided that it should have a fair hearing, and that the judge
himself should be of counsel, as for the prisoner, so for the pauper.
1. It is here made the character of a <I>righteous</I> judge that he
<I>considers the cause of the poor.</I> It is every man's duty to
consider the poor
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+41:1">Ps. xli. 1</A>),
but the judgment of the poor is to be considered by those that sit in
judgment; they must take as much pains to find out the right in a poor
man's cause as in a rich man's. Sense of justice must make both judge
and advocate as solicitous and industrious in the poor man's cause as
if they hoped for the greatest advantage.
2. It is made the character of a <I>wicked</I> man that because it is a
poor man's cause, which there is nothing to be got by, he <I>regards
not to know it,</I> in the true state of it, for he cares not which way
it goes, right or wrong. See
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+29:16">Job xxix. 16</A>.</P>
<A NAME="Pr29_8"> </A>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>8 Scornful men bring a city into a snare: but wise <I>men</I> turn
away wrath.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
See here,
1. Who are the men that are dangerous to the public--<I>scornful
men.</I> When such are employed in the business of the state they do
things with precipitation, because they scorn to deliberate, and will
not take time for consideration and consultation; they do things
illegal and unjustifiable, because they scorn to be hampered by laws
and constitutions; they break their faith, because they scorn to be
bound by their word, and provoke the people, because they scorn to
please them. Thus they <I>bring a city into a snare</I> by their ill
conduct, or (as the margin reads it) they <I>set a city on fire;</I>
they sow discord among the citizens and run them into confusion. Those
are <I>scornful men</I> that mock at religion, the obligations of
conscience, the fears of another world, and every thing that is sacred
and serious. Such men are the plagues of their generation; they bring
God's judgments upon a land, set men together by the ears, and so bring
all to confusion.
2. Who are the men that are the blessings of a land--the <I>wise
men</I> who by promoting religion, which is true wisdom, <I>turn away
the wrath</I> of God, and who, by prudent counsels, reconcile
contending parties and prevent the mischievous consequences of
divisions. Proud and foolish men kindle the fires which wise and good
men must extinguish.</P>
<A NAME="Pr29_9"> </A>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>9 <I>If</I> a wise man contendeth with a foolish man, whether he
rage or laugh, <I>there is</I> no rest.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
A wise man is here advised not to set his wit to a fool's, not to
dispute with him, or by contending with him to think either of
fastening reason upon him or gaining right from him: <I>If a wise man
contend with a wise man,</I> he may hope to be understood, and, as far
as he has reason and equity on his side, to carry his point, at least
to bring the controversy to a head and make it issue amicably; but, if
he <I>contend with a foolish man, there is no rest;</I> he will see no
end of it, nor will he have any satisfaction in it, but must expect to
be always uneasy.
1. Whether the foolish man he contends with <I>rage or laugh,</I>
whether he take angrily or scornfully what is said to him, whether he
rail at it or mock at it, one of the two he will do, and so there will
be <I>no rest.</I> However it is given, it will be ill-taken, and the
wisest man must expect to be either scolded or ridiculed if he
<I>contend with a fool.</I> He that fights with a dunghill, whether he
be conqueror or conquered, is sure to be defiled.
2. Whether the wise man himself <I>rage or laugh,</I> whether he take
the serious or the jocular way of dealing with the fool, whether he be
severe or pleasant with him, whether he come with a rod or with <I>the
spirit of meekness</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+4:21">1 Cor. iv. 21</A>),
it is all alike, no good is done. <I>We have piped unto you, and you
have not danced, mourned unto you, and you have not lamented.</I></P>
<A NAME="Pr29_10"> </A>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>10 The bloodthirsty hate the upright: but the just seek his
soul.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
Note,
1. Bad men hate their best friends: <I>The blood-thirsty,</I> all the
seed of the old serpent, who <I>was a murderer from the beginning,</I>
all that inherit his enmity against the seed of the woman, <I>hate the
upright;</I> they seek the ruin of good men because they condemn the
wicked world and witness against it. Christ told his disciples that
they should be <I>hated of all men.</I> Bloody men do especially
<I>hate upright</I> magistrates, who would restrain and reform them,
and put the laws in execution against them, and so really do them a
kindness.
2. Good men love their worst enemies: <I>The just,</I> whom the bloody
men hate, <I>seek their soul,</I> pray for their conversion, and would
gladly do any thing for their salvation. This Christ taught us.
<I>Father, forgive them. The just seek his soul,</I> that is, the soul
of the upright, whom the bloody hate (so it is commonly understood),
seek to protect it from violence, and save it from, or avenge it at,
the hands of <I>the blood-thirsty.</I></P>
<A NAME="Pr29_11"> </A>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>11 A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise <I>man</I> keepeth it in
till afterwards.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
Note,
1. It is a piece of weakness to be very open: He is <I>a fool</I> who
<I>utters all his mind,</I>--who tells every thing he knows, and has in
his mouth instantly whatever he has in his thoughts, and can keep no
counsel,--who, whatever is started in discourse, quickly shoots his
bolt,--who, when he is provoked, will say any thing that comes
uppermost, whoever is reflected upon by it,--who, when he is to speak
of any business, will say all he thinks, and yet never thinks he says
enough, whether choice or refuse, corn or chaff, pertinent or
impertinent, you shall have it all.
2. It is a piece of wisdom to be upon the reserve: <I>A wise man</I>
will not <I>utter all his mind</I> at once, but will take time for a
second thought, or reserve the present thought for a fitter time, when
it will be more pertinent and likely to answer his intention; he will
not deliver himself in a continued speech, or starched discourse, but
with pauses, that he may hear what is to be objected and answer it.
<I>Non minus interdum oratorium est tacere quam dicere</I>--<I>True
oratory requires an occasional pause.</I> Plin. Ep. 7.6.</P>
<A NAME="Pr29_12"> </A>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>12 If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants <I>are</I> wicked.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
Note,
1. It is a great sin in any, especially in rulers, to <I>hearken to
lies;</I> for thereby they not only give a wrong judgment themselves of
persons and things, according to the lies they give credit to, but they
encourage others to give wrong informations. Lies will be told to those
that will hearken to them; but the receiver, in this case, is as bad as
the thief.
2. Those that do so will have <I>all their servants wicked.</I> All
their servants will appear wicked, for they will have lies told of
them; and they will be wicked, for they will tell lies to them. All
that have their ear will fill their ear with slanders and false
characters and representations; and so if princes, as well as people,
will be deceived, they shall be deceived, and, instead of devolving the
guilt of their own false judgments upon their servants that misinformed
them, they must share in their servants' guilt, and on them will much
of the blame lie for encouraging such misinformations and giving
countenance and ear to them.</P>
<A NAME="Pr29_13"> </A>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>13 The poor and the deceitful man meet together: the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>
lighteneth both their eyes.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
This shows how wisely the great God serves the designs of his
providence by persons of very different tempers, capacities, and
conditions in the world, even,
1. By those that are contrary the one to the other. Some are
<I>poor</I> and forced to borrow; others are rich, have a great deal of
<I>the mammon of unrighteousness (deceitful riches</I> they are
called), and they are creditors, or <I>usurers,</I> as it is in the
margin. Some are <I>poor,</I> and honest, and laborious; others are
rich, slothful, and <I>deceitful.</I> They <I>meet together</I> in the
business of this world, and have dealings with one another, and <I>the
Lord enlightens both their eyes;</I> he causes his sun to shine upon
both and gives them both the comforts of this life. To some of both
sorts he gives his grace. He enlightens the eyes of the poor by giving
them patience, and of the deceitful by giving them repentance, as
Zaccheus.
2. By those that we think could best be spared. <I>The poor and the
deceitful</I> we are ready to look upon as blemishes of Providence, but
God makes even them to display the beauty of Providence; he has wise
ends not only in leaving the poor always with us, but in permitting
<I>the deceived and the deceiver,</I> for both <I>are his</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+12:16">Job xii. 16</A>)
and turn to his praise.</P>
<A NAME="Pr29_14"> </A>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>14 The king that faithfully judgeth the poor, his throne shall
be established for ever.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
Here is,
1. The duty of magistrates, and that is, to judge faithfully between
man and man, and to determine all causes brought before them, according
to truth and equity, particularly to take care of <I>the poor,</I> not
to countenance them in an unjust cause for the sake of their poverty
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+23:3">Exod. xxiii. 3</A>),
but to see that their poverty do not turn to their prejudice if they
have a just cause. The rich will look to themselves, but <I>the
poor</I> and needy the prince must <I>defend</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+82:3">Ps. lxxxii. 3</A>)
and plead for,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+31:9">Prov. xxxi. 9</A>.
2. The happiness of those magistrates that do their duty. Their
<I>throne</I> of honour, their tribunal of judgment, <I>shall be
established for ever.</I> This will secure to them the favour of God
and strengthen their interest in the affections of their people, both
which will be the establishment of their power, and help to transmit it
to posterity and perpetuate it in the family.</P>
<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Parental Discipline.</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="Pr29_15"> </A>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>15 The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left <I>to
himself</I> bringeth his mother to shame.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
Parents, in educating their children, must consider,
1. The benefit of due correction. They must not only tell their
children what is good and evil, but they must chide them, and correct
them too, if need be, when they either neglect that which is good or do
that which is evil. If a <I>reproof</I> will serve without <I>the
rod,</I> it is well, but <I>the rod</I> must never be used without a
rational and grave <I>reproof;</I> and then, though it may be a present
uneasiness both to the father and to the child, yet it will <I>give
wisdom. Vexatio dat intellectum--Vexation sharpens the intellect.</I>
The child will take warning, and so will get <I>wisdom.</I>
2. The mischief of undue indulgence: <I>A child</I> that is not
restrained or reproved, but is <I>left to himself,</I> as Adonijah was,
to follow his own inclinations, may do well if he will, but, if he take
to ill courses, nobody will hinder him; it is a thousand to one but he
proves a disgrace to his family, and <I>brings his mother,</I> who
fondled him and humoured him in his licentiousness, <I>to shame,</I> to
poverty, to reproach, and perhaps will himself be abusive to her and
give her ill language.</P>
<A NAME="Pr29_16"> </A>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>16 When the wicked are multiplied, transgression increaseth:
but the righteous shall see their fall.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
Note,
1. The more sinners there are the more sin there is: <I>When the
wicked,</I> being countenanced by authority, grow numerous, and walk on
every side, no marvel if <I>transgression increases,</I> as a plague in
the country is said to increase when still more and more are infected
with it. <I>Transgression</I> grows more impudent and bold, more
imperious and threatening, when there are many to keep it in
countenance. In the old world, when <I>men began to multiply,</I> they
began to degenerate and corrupt themselves and one another.
2. The more sin there is the nearer is the ruin threatened. Let not
<I>the righteous</I> have their faith and hope shocked by the increase
of sin and sinners. Let them not say that they have <I>cleansed their
hands in vain,</I> or that <I>God has forsaken the earth,</I> but wait
with patience; the transgressors shall fall, the measure of their
iniquity will be full, and then they shall fall from their dignity and
power, and fall into disgrace and destruction, and <I>the righteous
shall</I> have the satisfaction of <I>seeing their fall</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+37:34">Ps. xxxvii. 34</A>),
perhaps in this world, certainly in the judgment of the great day, when
the fall of God's implacable enemies will be the joy and triumph of
glorified saints. See
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+66:24,Ge+19:28">Isa. lxvi. 24; Gen. xix. 28</A>.</P>
<A NAME="Pr29_17"> </A>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>17 Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest; yea, he shall
give delight unto thy soul.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
Note,
1. It is a very happy thing when children prove the comfort of their
parents. Good children are so; they <I>give them rest,</I> make them
easy, and free from the many cares they have had concerning them;
<I>yea,</I> they <I>give delight unto their souls.</I> It is a pleasure
to parents, which none know but those that are blessed with it, to see
the happy fruit of the good education they have given their children,
and to have a prospect of their well-doing for both worlds; it <I>gives
delight</I> proportionable to the many thoughts of heart that have been
concerning them.
2. In order to this, children must be trained up under a strict
discipline, and not suffered to do what they will and to go without
rebuke when they do amiss. The foolishness bound up in their hearts
must by correction be driven out when they are young, or it will break
out, to their own and their parents' shame, when they are grown up.</P>
<A NAME="Sec3"> </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="Pr29_18"> </A>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>18 Where <I>there is</I> no vision, the people perish: but he that
keepeth the law, happy <I>is</I> he.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
See here,
I. The misery of the people that want a settled ministry: <I>Where
there is no vision,</I> no prophet to expound the law, no priest or
Levite to teach the good knowledge of the Lord, no means of grace, the
word of the Lord is scarce, there is <I>no open vision</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+3:1">1 Sam. iii. 1</A>),
where it is so <I>the people perish;</I> the word has many
significations, any of which will apply here.
1. <I>The people are made naked,</I> stripped of their ornaments and so
exposed to shame, stripped of their armour and so exposed to danger.
How bare does a place look without Bibles and ministers, and what an
easy prey is it to the enemy of souls!
2. <I>The people rebel,</I> not only against God, but against their
prince; good preaching would make people good subjects, but, for want
of it, they are turbulent and factious, and <I>despise dominions,</I>
because they know no better.
3. <I>The people are idle,</I> or <I>they play,</I> as the scholars
are apt to do when the master is absent; they do nothing to any good
purpose, but stand all the day idle, and sporting in the market-place,
for want of instruction what to do and how to do it.
4. <I>They are scattered as sheep having no shepherd,</I> for want of
the masters of assemblies to call them and keep them together,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mk+6:34">Mark vi. 34</A>.
They are scattered from God and their duty by apostasies, from one
another by divisions; God is provoked to scatter them by his judgments,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+15:3,5">2 Chron. xv. 3, 5</A>.
5. <I>They perish;</I> they are <I>destroyed for lack of knowledge,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+4:6">Hos. iv. 6</A>.
See what reason we have to be thankful to God for the plenty of <I>open
vision</I> which we enjoy.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
II. The felicity of a people that have not only a settled, but a
successful ministry among them, the people that hear and <I>keep the
law,</I> among whom religion is uppermost; <I>happy</I> are such a
people and every particular person among them. It is not having the
law, but obeying it, and living up to it, that will entitle us to
blessedness.</P>
<A NAME="Pr29_19"> </A>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>19 A servant will not be corrected by words: for though he
understand he will not answer.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
Here is the description of an unprofitable, slothful, wicked servant, a
slave that serves not from conscience, or love, but purely from fear.
Let those that have such servants put on patience to bear the vexation
and not disturb themselves at it. See their character.
1. No rational words will work upon them; they <I>will not be
corrected</I> and reformed, not brought to their business, nor cured of
their idleness and laziness, by fair means, no, nor by foul
<I>words;</I> even the most gentle master will be forced to use
severity with them; no reason will serve their turn, for they are
unreasonable.
2. No rational words will be got from them. They are dogged and sullen;
and, <I>though they understand</I> the questions you ask them, they
<I>will not</I> give you an <I>answer;</I> though you make it ever so
plain to them what you expect from them, they will not promise you to
mend what is amiss nor to mind their business. See the folly of those
servants whose mouth by their silence calls for strokes; they might
<I>be corrected by words</I> and save blows, but they <I>will
not.</I></P>
<A NAME="Pr29_20"> </A>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>20 Seest thou a man <I>that is</I> hasty in his words? <I>there is</I>
more hope of a fool than of him.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
Solomon here shows that there is little hope of bringing a man to
wisdom that is hasty either,
1. Through rashness and inconsideration: <I>Seest thou a man that is
hasty in his matters,</I> that is of a light desultory wit, that seems
to take a thing quickly, but takes it by the halves, gallops over a
book or science, but takes no time to digest it, no time to pause or
muse upon a business? <I>There is more hope of</I> making a scholar and
a wise man of one that is dull and heavy, and slow in his studies, than
of one that has such a mercurial genius and cannot fix.
2. Through pride and conceitedness: <I>Seest thou a man that is</I>
forward to speak to every matter that is started, and affects to speak
first to it, to open it, and speak last to it, to give judgment upon
it, as if he were an oracle? <I>There is more hope of a</I> modest
<I>fool,</I> who is sensible of his folly, than of such a
self-conceited one.</P>
<A NAME="Pr29_21"> </A>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>21 He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child
shall have him become <I>his</I> son at the length.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
Note,
1. It is an imprudent thing in a master to be too fond of a servant, to
advance him too fast, and admit him to be too familiar with him, to
suffer him to be over-nice and curious in his diet, and clothing, and
lodging, and so to bring him up delicately, because he is a favourite,
and an agreeable servant; it should be remembered that he is a servant,
and, by being thus indulged, will be spoiled for any other place.
Servants must endure hardness.
2. It is an ungrateful thing in a servant, but what is very common, to
behave insolently because he has been used tenderly. The humble
prodigal thinks himself unworthy <I>to be called a son,</I> and is
content to be a servant; the pampered slave thinks himself too good to
be called <I>a servant,</I> and will be <I>a son at the length,</I>
will take his ease and liberty, will be on a par with his master, and
perhaps pretend to the inheritance. Let masters <I>give their servants
that which is equal</I> and fit for them, and neither more nor less.
This is very applicable to the body, which is a servant to the soul;
those that <I>delicately bring up</I> the body, that humour it, and are
over-tender of it, will find that at length it will forget its place,
and <I>become a son,</I> a master, a perfect tyrant.</P>
<A NAME="Pr29_22"> </A>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>22 An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth
in transgression.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
See here the mischief that flows from an angry, passionate, furious
disposition.
1. It makes men provoking to one another: <I>An angry man stirs up
strife,</I> is troublesome and quarrelsome in the family and in the
neighbourhood, blows the coals, and even forces those to fall out with
him that would live peaceable and quietly by him.
2. It makes men provoking to God: <I>A furious man,</I> who is wedded
to his humours and passions, cannot but <I>abound in
transgressions.</I> Undue anger is a sin which is the cause of many
sins; it not only hinders men from calling upon God's name, but it
occasions their swearing, and cursing, and profaning God's name.</P>
<A NAME="Pr29_23"> </A>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>23 A man's pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold
the humble in spirit.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
This agrees with what Christ said more than once,
1. That those who <I>exalt themselves shall be abased.</I> Those that
think to gain respect by lifting up themselves above their rank, by
looking high, talking big, appearing fine, and applauding themselves,
will on the contrary expose themselves to contempt, lose their
reputation, and provoke God by humbling providences to bring them down
and lay them <I>low.</I>
2. That those who <I>humble themselves shall be exalted,</I> and shall
be established in their dignity: <I>Honour shall uphold the humble in
spirit;</I> their humility is their honour, and that shall make them
truly and safely great, and recommend them to the esteem of all that
are wise and good.</P>
<A NAME="Pr29_24"> </A>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>24 Whoso is partner with a thief hateth his own soul: he
heareth cursing, and bewrayeth <I>it</I> not.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
See here what sin and ruin those involve themselves in who are drawn
away by the enticement of sinners.
1. They incur a great deal of guilt: <I>He</I> does so that goes
<I>partner with</I> such as rob and defraud, and <I>casts in his lot
among them,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+1:11"><I>ch.</I> i. 11</A>,
&c. The receiver is as bad as the thief; and, being drawn in to join
with him in the commission of the sin, he cannot escape joining with
him in the concealment of it, though it be with the most horrid
perjuries and execrations. They <I>hear cursing</I> when they are sworn
to tell the whole truth, but they will not confess.
2. They hasten to utter ruin: They even <I>hate their own souls,</I>
for they wilfully do that which will be the inevitable destruction of
them. See the absurdities sinners are guilty of; they love death, than
which nothing is more dreadful, and <I>hate their own souls,</I> than
which nothing is more dear.</P>
<A NAME="Pr29_25"> </A>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>25 The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his
trust in the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> shall be safe.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
Here,
1. We are cautioned not to dread the power of man, neither the power of
a prince nor the power of the multitude; both are formidable enough,
but the slavish fear of either <I>brings a snare,</I> that is, exposes
men to many insults (some take a pride in terrifying the timorous), or
rather exposes men to many temptations. Abraham, for <I>fear of
man,</I> denied his wife, and Peter his Master, and many a one his God
and religion. We must not shrink from duty, nor commit sin, to avoid
the wrath of man, nor, though we see it coming upon us, be disquieted
with fear,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Da+3:16,Ps+118:6">Dan. iii. 16; Ps. cxviii. 6</A>.
He must himself die
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+51:12">Isa. li. 12</A>)
and can but kill our body,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+12:5">Luke xii. 5</A>.
2. We are encouraged to depend upon the power of God, which would keep
us from all that <I>fear of man</I> which has either torment or
temptation in it. <I>Whoso puts his trust in the Lord,</I> for
protection and supply in the way of duty, <I>shall be</I> set on high,
above the power of man and above the fear of that power. A holy
confidence in God makes a man both great and easy, and enables him to
look with a gracious contempt upon the most formidable designs of hell
and earth against him. If God be my salvation, <I>I will trust and not
be afraid.</I></P>
<A NAME="Pr29_26"> </A>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>26 Many seek the ruler's favour; but <I>every</I> man's judgment
<I>cometh</I> from the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
See here,
1. What is the common course men take to advance and enrich themselves,
and make themselves great: they <I>seek the ruler's favour,</I> and, as
if all their judgment proceeded from him, to him they make all their
court. Solomon was himself a <I>ruler,</I> and knew with what sedulity
men made their application to him, some on one errand, others on
another, but all for his <I>favour.</I> It is the way of the world to
make interest with great men, and expect much from the smiles of second
causes, which yet are uncertain, and frequently disappoint them.
<I>Many</I> take a great deal of pains in seeking <I>the ruler's
favour</I> and yet cannot have it; many have it for a little while, but
they cannot keep themselves in it, by some little turn or other they
are brought under his displeasure; many have it, and keep it, and yet
it does not answer their expectation, they cannot make that hand of it
that they promised themselves they should. Haman had <I>the ruler's
favour,</I> and yet it availed him nothing.
2. What is the wisest course men can take to be happy. Let them look up
to God, and seek the favour of the Ruler of rulers; for <I>every man's
judgment proceeds from the Lord.</I> It is not with us as the ruler
pleases; his favour cannot make us happy, his frowns cannot make us
miserable. But it is as God pleases; every creature is that to us that
God makes it to be, no more and no other. He is the first Cause, on
which all second causes depend; if he help not, they cannot,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+6:27,Job+34:29">2 Kings vi. 27; Job xxxiv. 29</A>.</P>
<A NAME="Pr29_27"> </A>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>27 An unjust man <I>is</I> an abomination to the just: and <I>he that
is</I> upright in the way <I>is</I> abomination to the wicked.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
This expresses not only the innate contrariety that there is between
virtue and vice, as between light and darkness, fire and water, but the
old enmity that has always been between the seed of the woman and the
seed of the serpent,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+3:15">Gen. iii. 15</A>.
1. All that are sanctified have a rooted antipathy to wickedness and
wicked people. They have a good will to the souls of all (God has, and
would have none perish); but they hate the ways and practices of those
that are impious towards God and injurious towards men; they cannot
hear of them nor speak of them without a holy indignation; they loathe
the society of the ungodly and unjust, and dread the thought of giving
them any countenance, but do all they can to bring the wickedness of
the wicked to an end. Thus <I>an unjust</I> man makes himself odious
<I>to the just,</I> and it is one part of his present shame and
punishment that good men cannot endure him.
2. All that are unsanctified have a like rooted antipathy to godliness
and godly people: <I>He that is upright in the way,</I> that makes
conscience of what he says and does, <I>is an abomination to the
wicked,</I> whose wickedness is restrained perhaps and suppressed, or,
at least, shamed and condemned, by the uprightness of the upright.
Thus Cain did, who was <I>of his father the devil.</I> And this is not
only the wickedness of the wicked, that they hate those whom God loves,
but their misery too, that they hate those whom them shall shortly see
in everlasting bliss and honour, and who shall have <I>dominion over
them in the morning,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+49:14">Ps. xlix. 14</A>.</P>
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