<HTML>
 <HEAD>
 <TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Proverbs XVII].</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="MHC20016.HTM">Previous</A>]
 [<A HREF="MHC20018.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. XVII.</FONT>
 <HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
 </CENTER>
 
 <A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
 <TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
 <TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Falsehood and Oppression Reproved.</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="Pr17_1"> </A>
 
 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
 <FONT SIZE=+1>1  Better <I>is</I> a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than an
 house full of sacrifices <I>with</I> strife.
 </FONT></P>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

 These words recommend family-love and peace, as conducing very much to 
 the comfort of human life. 

 1. Those that live in unity and quietness, not only free from 
 jealousies and animosities, but vying in mutual endearments, and 
 obliging to one another, live very comfortably, though they are low in 
 the world, work hard and fare hard, though they have but each of them 
 <I>a morsel,</I> and that <I>a dry morsel.</I> There may be peace and 
 quietness where there are not three meals a day, provided there by a 
 joint satisfaction in God's providence and a mutual satisfaction in 
 each other's prudence. Holy love may be found in a cottage. 

 2. Those that live in contention, that are always jarring and brawling, 
 and reflecting upon one another, though they have plenty of dainties, 
 <I>a house full of sacrifices,</I> live uncomfortably; they cannot 
 expect the blessing of God upon them and what they have, nor can they 
 have any true relish of their enjoyments, much less any peace in their 
 own consciences. Love will sweeten a <I>dry morsel,</I> but strife will 
 sour and embitter <I>a house full of sacrifices.</I> A little of the 
 leaven of malice will leaven all the enjoyments.</P>

 <A NAME="Pr17_2"> </A>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
 <FONT SIZE=+1>2  A wise servant shall have rule over a son that causeth shame,
 and shall have part of the inheritance among the brethren.
 </FONT></P>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

 Note, 

 1. True merit does not go by dignity. All agree that the son in the 
 family is more worthy than the servant 
 
 (<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+8:35">John viii. 35</A>),

 and yet sometimes it so happens that the servant is wise, and a 
 blessing and credit to the family, when the son is a fool, and a burden 
 and shame to the family. Eliezer of Damascus, though Abram could not
 bear to think that he should be his heir, was a stay to the family, 
 when he obtained a wife for Isaac; whereas Ishmael, a son, was a shame 
 to it, when he mocked Isaac.

 2. True dignity will go by merit. If a servant be wise, and manage 
 things well, he shall be further trusted, and not only <I>have rule</I> 
 with, but <I>rule over a son that causes shame;</I> for God and nature 
 have designed that <I>the fool shall be servant to the wise in 
 heart.</I> Nay, a prudent servant may perhaps come to have such an 
 interest in his master as to be taken in for a child's share of the 
 estate and to <I>have part of the inheritance among the 
 brethren.</I></P>

 <A NAME="Pr17_3"> </A>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
 <FONT SIZE=+1>3  The fining pot <I>is</I> for silver, and the furnace for gold: but
 the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> trieth the hearts.
 </FONT></P>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

 Note, 

 1. The hearts of the children of men are subject, not only to God's 
 view, but to his judgment: As <I>the fining-pot is for silver,</I> both 
 to prove it and to improve it so <I>the Lord tries the hearts;</I> he 
 searches whether they are standard or no, and those that are he refines 
 and makes purer, 
 
 <A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+17:10">Jer. xvii. 10</A>.

 God tries the heart by affliction 
 
 (<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+66:10,11">Ps. lxvi. 10, 11</A>),

 and often chooses his people in that furnace 
 
 (<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+48:10">Isa. xlviii. 10</A>)

 and makes them choice.

 2. It is God only that <I>tries the hearts.</I> Men may try their 
 <I>silver</I> and <I>gold</I> with <I>the fining-pot and the 
 furnace,</I> but they have no such way of trying one another's hearts; 
 God only does that, who is both the searcher and the sovereign of the 
 heart.</P>

 <A NAME="Pr17_4"> </A>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
 <FONT SIZE=+1>4  A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips; <I>and</I> a liar giveth
 ear to a naughty tongue.
 </FONT></P>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

 Note, 

 1. Those that design to do ill support themselves by falsehood and 
 lying: <I>A wicked doer gives</I> ear, with a great deal of pleasure, 
 <I>to false lips,</I> that will justify him in the ill he does, to 
 those that aim to make public disturbances, catch greedily at libels, 
 and false stories, that defame the government and the administration. 
 
 2. Those that take the liberty to tell lies take a pleasure in hearing
 them told: <I>A liar gives</I> heed to a malicious backbiting tongue, 
 that he may have something to graft his lies upon, and with which to 
 give them some colour of truth and so to support them. Sinners will 
 strengthen one another's hands; and those show that they are bad 
 themselves who court the acquaintance and need the assistance of those 
 that are bad.</P>

 <A NAME="Pr17_5"> </A>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
 <FONT SIZE=+1>5  Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker: <I>and</I> he that
 is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished.
 </FONT></P>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

 See here, 

 1. What a great sin those are guilty of who trample upon the poor, who 
 ridicule their wants and the meanness of their appearance, upbraid them 
 with their poverty, and take advantage from their weakness to be 
 abusive and injurious to them. They <I>reproach their Maker,</I> put a
 great contempt and affront upon him, who allotted the poor to the 
 condition they are in, owns them, and takes care of them, and can, when 
 he pleases, reduce us to that condition. Let those that thus reproach 
 their Maker know that they shall be called to an account for it, 

 <A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+25:40,41,Pr+14:31">Matt. xxv. 40, 41; Prov. xiv. 31</A>.

 2. What great danger those are in of falling into trouble themselves 
 who are pleased to see and hear of the troubles of others: <I>He that 
 is glad at calamities,</I> that he may be built up upon the ruins of 
 others, and regales himself with the judgments of God when they are 
 abroad, let him know that he <I>shall not go unpunished;</I> the cup 
 shall be put into his hand, 
 
 <A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+25:6,7">Ezek. xxv. 6, 7</A>.</P>
 
 <A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
 <TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
 <TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Common Truths.</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="Pr17_6"> </A>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
 <FONT SIZE=+1>6  Children's children <I>are</I> the crown of old men; and the glory
 of children <I>are</I> their fathers.
 </FONT></P>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

 They are so, that is, they should be so, and, if they conduct 
 themselves worthily, they are so. 

 1. It is an honour to parents when they are old to leave children, and 
 <I>children's children,</I> growing up, that tread in the steps of 
 their virtues, and are likely to maintain and advance the reputation of 
 their families. It is an honour to a man to live so long as to see his 
 children's children 
 
 (<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+128:6,Ge+50:23">Ps. cxxviii. 6; Gen. l. 23</A>),

 to see his house built up in them, and to see them likely to serve 
 their generation according to the will of God. This crowns and 
 completes their comfort in this world.

 2. It is an honour to children to have wise and godly parents, and to
 have them continued to them even after they have themselves grown up 
 and settled in the world. Those are unnatural children who reckon their 
 aged parents a burden to them, and think they live too long; whereas, 
 if the children be wise and good, it is as much their honour as can be 
 that thereby they are comforts to their parents in the unpleasant days 
 of their old age.</P>

 <A NAME="Pr17_7"> </A>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
 <FONT SIZE=+1>7  Excellent speech becometh not a fool: much less do lying lips
 a prince.
 </FONT></P>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

 Two things are here represented as very absurd: 

 1. That men of no repute should be dictators. What can be more 
 unbecoming than for fools, who are known to have little sense and 
 discretion, to pretend to that which is above them and which they were 
 never cut out for? A fool, in Solomon's proverbs, signifies a wicked 
 man, whom <I>excellent speech</I> does not become, because his 
 conversation gives the lie to his excellent speech. What have those to 
 do to declare God's statutes who <I>hate instruction?</I> 
 
 <A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+50:16">Ps. l. 16</A>.

 Christ would not suffer the unclean spirits to say that they knew him 
 to be the Son of God. See 
 
 <A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+16:17,18">Acts xvi. 17, 18</A>.

 2. That men of great repute should be deceivers. If it is unbecoming a 
 despicable man to presume to speak as a philosopher or politician, and 
 nobody heeds him, being prejudiced against his character, much more 
 unbecoming is it for a prince, for a man of honour, to take advantage 
 from his character and the confidence that is put in him to lie, and 
 dissemble, and make no conscience of breaking his word. Lying ill 
 becomes any man, but worst a prince, so corrupt is the modern policy, 
 which insinuates that princes ought not to make themselves slaves to 
 their words further than is for their interest, and <I>Qui nescit 
 dissimulare nescit regnare--He who knows not how to dissemble knows not 
 how to reign.</I></P>

 <A NAME="Pr17_8"> </A>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
 <FONT SIZE=+1>8  A gift <I>is as</I> a precious stone in the eyes of him that hath
 it: whithersoever it turneth, it prospereth.
 </FONT></P>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

 The design of this observation is to show, 

 1. That those who have money in their hand think they can do any thing 
 with it. Rich men value a little money as if it were a <I>precious 
 stone,</I> and value themselves on it as if it gave them not only 
 ornament, but power, and every one were bound to be at their beck, even 
 justice itself. Whithersoever they turn this sparkling diamond they
 expect it should dazzle the eyes of all, and make them do just what 
 they would have them do in hopes of it. The deepest bag will carry the 
 cause. Fee high, and you may have what you will. 

 2. That those who have money in their eye, and set their hearts upon 
 it, will do any thing for it: <I>A bribe is as a precious stone in the 
 eyes of him that takes it;</I> it has a great influence upon him, and 
 he will be sure to go the way that it leads him, hither and thither, 
 though contrary to justice and not consistent with himself.</P>

 <A NAME="Pr17_9"> </A>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
 <FONT SIZE=+1>9  He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that
 repeateth a matter separateth <I>very</I> friends.
 </FONT></P>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

 Note, 

 1. The way to preserve peace among relations and neighbours is to make 
 the best of every thing, not to tell others what has been said or done 
 against them when it is not at all necessary to their safety, nor to 
 take notice of what has been said or done against them when it is not 
 at all necessary to their safety, nor to take notice of what has been 
 said or done against ourselves, but to excuse both, and put the best 
 construction upon them. "It was an oversight; therefore overlook it. It 
 was done through forgetfulness; therefore forget it. It perhaps made 
 nothing of you; do you make nothing of it." 

 2. The ripping up of faults is the ripping out of love, and nothing 
 tends more to the separating of friends, and setting them at variance, 
 than the <I>repeating of matters</I> that have been in variance; for 
 they commonly lose nothing in the repetition, but the things themselves 
 are aggravated and the passions about them revived and exasperated. The 
 best method of peace is by an amnesty or act of oblivion.</P>

 <A NAME="Pr17_10"> </A>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
 <FONT SIZE=+1>10  A reproof entereth more into a wise man than an hundred
 stripes into a fool.
 </FONT></P>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

 Note,

 1. A word is enough to the wise. A gentle reproof will enter not only
 into the head, but into the heart of a wise man, so as to have a strong
 influence upon him; for, if but a hint be given to conscience, let it
 alone to carry it on and prosecute it.

 2. Stripes are not enough for a fool, to make him sensible of his 
 errors, that he may repent of them, and be more cautious for the 
 future. He that is sottish and wilful is very rarely benefited by 
 severity. David is softened with, <I>Thou art the man;</I> but Pharaoh 
 remains hard under all the plagues of Egypt.</P>

 <A NAME="Pr17_11"> </A>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
 <FONT SIZE=+1>11  An evil <I>man</I> seeketh only rebellion: therefore a cruel
 messenger shall be sent against him.
 </FONT></P>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

 Here is the sin and punishment of an evil man. 

 1. His sin. He is an evil man indeed that seeks all occasions to rebel 
 against God, and the government God has set over him, and to contradict 
 and quarrel with those about him. <I>Qu&aelig;rit jurgia--He picks 
 quarrels;</I> so some. There are some that are actuated by a spirit of
 opposition, that will contradict for contradiction-sake, that will go 
 on frowardly in their wicked ways in spite of all restraint and check. 
 <I>A rebellious man seeks mischief</I> (so some read it), watches all 
 opportunities to disturb the public peace. 

 2. His punishment. Because he will not be reclaimed by mild and gentle 
 methods, <I>a cruel messenger shall be sent against him,</I> some 
 dreadful judgment or other, as a messenger from God. Angels, God's 
 messengers, shall be employed as ministers of his justice against him, 
 
 <A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+78:49">Ps. lxxviii. 49</A>.

 Satan, the angel of death, shall be let loose upon him, and the 
 <I>messengers</I> of Satan. His prince shall send a sergeant to arrest 
 him, an executioner to cut him off. He that <I>kicks against the 
 pricks</I> is <I>waited for of the sword.</I></P>
 
 <A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
 <TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
 <TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Weighty Sayings.</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="Pr17_12"> </A>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
 <FONT SIZE=+1>12  Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, rather than a
 fool in his folly.
 </FONT></P>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

 Note, 

 1. A passionate man is a brutish man. However at other times he may 
 have some wisdom, take him in his passion ungoverned, and he is a 
 <I>fool in his folly;</I> those are fools in whose bosom anger rests 
 and in whose countenance anger rages. He has put off man, and is become 
 like a bear, a raging bear, <I>a bear robbed of her whelps;</I> he is 
 as fond of the gratifications of his lusts and passions as a bear of 
 her whelps (which, though ugly, are her own), as eager in the pursuit 
 of them as she is in quest of her whelps when they are missing, and as 
 full of indignation if crossed in the pursuit. 

 2. He is a dangerous man, falls foul of every one that stands in his 
 way, though innocent, though his friend, as a bear robbed of her whelps 
 sets upon the first man she meets as the robber. <I>Ira furor brevis 
 est--Anger is temporary madness.</I> One may more easily stop, escape, 
 or guard against an enraged bear, than an outrageous angry man. Let us 
 therefore watch over our own passions (lest they get head and do 
 mischief) and so consult our own honour; and let us avoid the company 
 of furious men, and get out of their way when they are in their fury, 
 and so consult our own safety. <I>Currenti cede furori--Give place unto 
 wrath.</I></P>

 <A NAME="Pr17_13"> </A>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
 <FONT SIZE=+1>13  Whoso rewardeth evil for good, evil shall not depart from
 his house.
 </FONT></P>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

 A malicious mischievous man is here represented,

 1. As ungrateful to his friends. He oftentimes is so absurd and 
 insensible of kindnesses done him that he renders <I>evil for good.</I> 
 David met with those that were his adversaries for his love, 

 <A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+109:4">Ps. cix. 4</A>.

 To render evil for evil is brutish, but to render evil for good is 
 devilish. He is an ill-natured man who, because he is resolved not to 
 return a kindness, will revenge it.

 2. As therein unkind to his family, for he entails a curse upon it. 
 This is a crime so heinous that it shall be punished, not only in his 
 person, but in his posterity, for whom he thus treasures up wrath. 
 <I>The sword shall not depart from</I> David's <I>house</I> because he 
 rewarded Uriah with evil for his good services. The Jews stoned Christ 
 for his good works; therefore is his blood upon them and upon their 
 children.</P>

 <A NAME="Pr17_14"> </A>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
 <FONT SIZE=+1>14  The beginning of strife <I>is as</I> when one letteth out water:
 therefore leave off contention, before it be meddled with.
 </FONT></P>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

 Here is, 

 1. The danger that there is in <I>the beginning of strife.</I> One hot 
 word, one peevish reflection, one angry demand, one spiteful 
 contradiction, begets another, and that a third, and so on, till it 
 proves like the cutting of a dam; when the water has got a little 
 passage it does itself widen the breach, bears down all before it, and 
 there is then no stopping it, no reducing it. 

 2. A good caution inferred thence, to take heed of the first spark of 
 contention and to put it out as soon as ever it appears. Dread the 
 breaking of the ice, for, if once broken, it will break further; 
 <I>therefore leave it off,</I> not only when you see the worst of it, 
 for then it may be too late, but when you see the first of it. <I>Obsta 
 principiis--Resist its earliest display.</I> Leave it off even 
 <I>before it be meddled with;</I> leave it off, if it were possible, 
 before you begin.</P>

 <A NAME="Pr17_15"> </A>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
 <FONT SIZE=+1>15  He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the
 just, even they both <I>are</I> abomination to the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
 </FONT></P>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

 This shows what an offence it is to God, 

 1. When those that are entrusted with the administration of public 
 justice, judges, juries, witnesses, prosecutors, counsel, do either 
 acquit the guilty or condemn those that are not guilty, or in the least 
 contribute to either; this defeats the end of government, which is to 
 protect the good and punish the bad, 
 
 <A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+13:3,4">Rom. xiii. 3, 4</A>.

 It is equally provoking to God to <I>justify the wicked,</I> though it 
 be in pity and <I>in favorem vit&aelig;--to safe life,</I> as to 
 <I>condemn the just.</I>

 2. When any private persons plead for sin and sinners, palliate and 
 excuse wickedness, or argue against virtue and piety, and so <I>pervert 
 the right ways of the Lord</I> and confound the eternal distinctions 
 between good and evil.</P>

 <A NAME="Pr17_16"> </A>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
 <FONT SIZE=+1>16  Wherefore <I>is there</I> a price in the hand of a fool to get
 wisdom, seeing <I>he hath</I> no heart <I>to it?</I>
 </FONT></P>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

 Two things are here spoken of with astonishment:--

 1. God's great goodness to foolish man, in putting <I>a price into his 
 hand to get wisdom,</I> to get knowledge and grace to fit him for both 
 worlds. We have rational souls, the means of grace, the strivings of 
 the Spirit, access to God by prayer; we have time and opportunity. He 
 that has a good estate (so some understand it) has advantages thereby 
 of getting wisdom by purchasing instruction. Good parents, relations, 
 ministers, friends, are helps to get wisdom. It is <I>a price,</I> 
 therefore of value, a talent. It is <I>a price in the hand,</I> in 
 possession; <I>the word is nigh thee.</I> It is a price for getting; it 
 is for our own advantage; it is for getting wisdom, the very thing 
 which, being fools, we have most need of. We have reason to wonder that 
 God should so consider our necessity, and should entrust us with such 
 advantages, though he foresaw we should not make a right improvement of 
 them. 

 2. Man's great wickedness, his neglect of God's favour and his own
 interest, which is very absurd and unaccountable: <I>He has no heart to 
 it,</I> not to the wisdom that is to be got, nor to the price in the 
 use of which it may be got. <I>He has no heart,</I> no skill, nor will, 
 nor courage, to improve his advantages. He has set his heart upon other 
 things, so that he has no heart to his duty or the great concerns of 
 his soul. Wherefore should a price be thrown away and lost upon one so 
 undeserving of it?</P>
 
 <A NAME="Sec4"> </A>
 <TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
 <TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>True Friendship.</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="Pr17_17"> </A>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
 <FONT SIZE=+1>17  A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for
 adversity.
 </FONT></P>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

 This intimates the strength of those bonds by which we are bound to 
 each other and which we ought to be sensible of. 

 1. Friends must be constant to each other <I>at all times.</I> That is 
 not true friendship which is not constant; it will be so if it be 
 sincere, and actuated by a good principle. Those that are fanciful or 
 selfish in their friendship will love no longer than their humour is 
 pleased and their interest served, and therefore their affections turn 
 with the wind and change with the weather. Swallow-friends, that fly
 to you in summer, but are gone in winter; such friends there is no loss 
 of. But if the friendship be prudent, generous, and cordial, if I love 
 my friend because he is wise, and virtuous, and good, as long as he 
 continues so, though he fall into poverty and disgrace, still I shall 
 love him. Christ is a friend that loves at all times
 
 (<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+13:1">John xiii. 1</A>)

 and we must so love him, 
 
 <A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+8:35">Rom. viii. 35</A>.

 2. Relations must in a special manner be careful and tender of one 
 another in affliction: <I>A brother is born</I> to succour a brother or 
 sister in distress, to whom he is joined so closely by nature that he 
 may the more sensibly feel from their burdens, and be the more strongly 
 inclined and engaged, as it were by instinct, to help them. We must 
 often consider what we were <I>born for,</I> not only as men, but as in 
 such a station and relation. <I>Who knows but we came</I> into such a 
 family <I>for such a time as this?</I> We do not answer the end of our 
 relations if we do not do the duty of them. Some take it thus: <I>A 
 friend that loves at all times is born</I> (that is, becomes) <I>a 
 brother in adversity,</I> and is so to be valued.</P>

 <A NAME="Pr17_18"> </A>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
 <FONT SIZE=+1>18  A man void of understanding striketh hands, <I>and</I> becometh
 surety in the presence of his friend.
 </FONT></P>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

 Though Solomon had commended friendship in adversity 
 
 (<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+17:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>),

 yet let not any, under pretence of being generous to their friends, be
 unjust to their families and wrong them; one part of our duty must be 
 made to consist with another. Note,

 1. It is a piece of wisdom to keep out of debt as much as may be, 
 especially to dread suretiship. There may be a just occasion for a man 
 to pass his word for his friend in his absence, till he come to engage 
 himself; but to be <I>surety in the presence of his friend,</I> when he 
 is upon the spot, supposes that his own word will not be taken, he 
 being deemed insolvent or dishonest, and then who can with safety pass 
 his word for him? 

 2. Those that are <I>void of understanding</I> are commonly taken in 
 this snare, to the prejudice of their families, and therefore ought not 
 to be trusted too far with their own affairs, but to be under 
 direction.</P>

 <A NAME="Pr17_19"> </A>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
 <FONT SIZE=+1>19  He loveth transgression that loveth strife: <I>and</I> he that
 exalteth his gate seeketh destruction.
 </FONT></P>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

 Note, 

 1. Those that are quarrelsome involve themselves in a great deal of 
 guilt: <I>He that loves strife,</I> that in his worldly business loves 
 to go to law, in religion loves controversies, and in common 
 conversation loves to thwart and fall out, that is never well but when 
 he is in the fire, <I>he loves transgression;</I> for a great deal of 
 sin attends that sin, and the way of it is down-hill. He pretends to 
 stand up for truth, and for his honour and right, but really he loves 
 sin, which God hates.

 2. Those that are ambitious and aspiring expose themselves to a great 
 deal of trouble, such as often ends in their ruin: <I>He that exalts 
 his gate,</I> builds a stately house, at least a fine frontispiece, 
 that he may overtop and outshine his neighbours, seeks his own 
 destruction and takes a deal of pains to ruin himself; he makes his 
 gate so large that his house and estate go out at it.</P>
 
 <A NAME="Sec5"> </A>
 <TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
 <TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Folly and Wickedness.</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="Pr17_20"> </A>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
 <FONT SIZE=+1>20  He that hath a froward heart findeth no good: and he that
 hath a perverse tongue falleth into mischief.
 </FONT></P>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

 Note, 

 1. Framing ill designs will be of no advantage to us; there is nothing 
 got by them: <I>He that has a froward heart,</I> that sows discord and 
 is full of resentment, cannot promise himself to get by it sufficient 
 to counterbalance the loss of his repose and reputation, nor can he 
 take any rational satisfaction in it; he <I>finds no good.</I> 

 2. Giving ill language will be a great disadvantage to us: <I>He that
 has a perverse tongue,</I> spiteful and abusive, scurrilous or 
 backbiting, <I>falls into</I> one <I>mischief</I> or other, loses his 
 friends, provokes his enemies, and pulls trouble upon his own head.
 Many a one has paid dearly for an unbridled tongue.</P>

 <A NAME="Pr17_21"> </A>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
 <FONT SIZE=+1>21  He that begetteth a fool <I>doeth it</I> to his sorrow: and the
 father of a fool hath no joy.
 </FONT></P>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

 This expresses that very emphatically which many wise and good men feel 
 very sensibly, what a grievous vexatious thing it is to have a foolish 
 wicked child. See here, 

 1. How uncertain all our creature-comforts are, so that we are often 
 not only disappointed in them, but that proves the greatest cross in 
 which we promised ourselves most satisfaction. There was <I>joy when a 
 man-child was born into the world,</I> and yet, if he prove vicious, 
 his own father will wish he had never been born. The name of Absalom 
 signifies his <I>father's peace,</I> but he was his greatest trouble. 
 It should moderate the desire of having children, and the delights of 
 their parents in them, that they may prove a grief to them; yet it 
 should silence the murmurings of the afflicted father in that case that 
 if his son be a fool he is a fool of his own begetting, and therefore 
 he must make the best of him, and take it up as his cross, the rather 
 because Adam begets a son in his own likeness. 

 2. How unwise we are in suffering one affliction (and that of an 
 untoward child as likely as any other) to drown the sense of a thousand 
 mercies: <I>The father of a fool</I> lays that so much to heart that he 
 <I>has no joy</I> of any thing else. For this he may thank himself; 
 there are joys sufficient to counterbalance even that sorrow.</P>

 <A NAME="Pr17_22"> </A>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
 <FONT SIZE=+1>22  A merry heart doeth good <I>like</I> a medicine: but a broken
 spirit drieth the bones.
 </FONT></P>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

 Note, 

 1. It is healthful to be cheerful. The Lord is for the body, and has 
 provided for it, not only meat, but medicine, and has here told us that 
 the best medicine is <I>a merry heart,</I> not a heart addicted to 
 vain, carnal, sensual mirth; Solomon himself said of that mirth, It is 
 not medicine, but madness; it is not food, but poison; <I>what doth 
 it?</I> But he means a heart rejoicing in God, and serving him with 
 gladness, and then taking the comfort of outward enjoyments and 
 particularly that of pleasant conversation. It is a great mercy that 
 God gives us leave to be cheerful and cause to be cheerful, especially 
 if by his grace he gives us hearts to be cheerful. This <I>does good to 
 a medicine</I> (so some read it); it will make physic more efficient.
 Or <I>it does good as a medicine</I> to the body, making it easy and 
 fit for business. But, if mirth be a medicine (understand it of 
 diversion and recreation), it must be used sparingly, only when there 
 is occasion, not turned into food, and it must be used medicinally, 
 <I>sub regimine--as a prescribed regimen,</I> and by rule. 

 2. The sorrows of the mind often contribute very much to the sickliness 
 of the body: <I>A broken spirit,</I> sunk by the burden of afflictions, 
 and especially a conscience wounded with the sense of guilt and fear of 
 wrath, <I>dries the bones,</I> wastes the radical moisture, exhausts 
 the very marrow, and makes the body a mere skeleton. We should 
 therefore watch and pray against all melancholy dispositions, for they 
 lead us into trouble as well as into temptation.</P>

 <A NAME="Pr17_23"> </A>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
 <FONT SIZE=+1>23  A wicked <I>man</I> taketh a gift out of the bosom to pervert the
 ways of judgment.
 </FONT></P>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

 See here, 

 1. What an evil thing bribery is: He is <I>a wicked man</I> that will 
 <I>take a gift</I> to engage him to give a false testimony, verdict, or 
 judgment; when he does it he is ashamed of it, for he takes it, with 
 all the secresy imaginable, <I>out of the bosom</I> where he knows it 
 is laid ready for him; it is industriously concealed, and so slyly 
 that, if he could, he would hide it from his own conscience. <I>A gift 
 is taken out of the bosom of a wicked man</I> (so some read it); for he 
 is a bad man that gives bribes, as well as he that takes them.

 2. What a powerful thing it is. It is of such force that it <I>perverts 
 the ways of judgment.</I> The course of justice is not only obstructed, 
 but turned into injustice; and the greatest wrongs are done under 
 colour of doing right.</P>

 <A NAME="Pr17_24"> </A>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
 <FONT SIZE=+1>24  Wisdom <I>is</I> before him that hath understanding; but the eyes
 of a fool <I>are</I> in the ends of the earth.
 </FONT></P>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

 Note, 

 1. He is to be reckoned an intelligent man that not only has wisdom, 
 but has it ready when he has occasion for it. He lays his <I>wisdom 
 before him,</I> as his card and compass which he steers by, has his eye 
 always upon it, as he that writes has on his copy; and then he has it 
 <I>before him;</I> it is not to seek, but still at hand. 

 2. He that has a giddy head, a roving rambling fancy, will never be
 fit for any solid business. He is a fool, and good for nothing, whose 
 <I>eyes are in the ends of the earth,</I> here, and there and every 
 where, any where but where they should be, who cannot fix his thoughts 
 to one subject nor pursue any one purpose with any thing of steadiness.
 When his mind should be applied to his study and business it is filled 
 with a thousand things foreign and impertinent.</P>

 <A NAME="Pr17_25"> </A>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
 <FONT SIZE=+1>25  A foolish son <I>is</I> a grief to his father, and bitterness to
 her that bare him.
 </FONT></P>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

 Observe, 

 1. Wicked children are an affliction to both their parents. They are
 an occasion of <I>anger</I> to the father (so the word signifies), 
 because they contemn his authority, but of sorrow and <I>bitterness</I> 
 to the mother, because they abuse her tenderness. The parents, being 
 joint-sufferers, should therefore bring mutual comfort to bear them up 
 under it, and strive to make it as easy as they can, the mother to 
 mollify the father's anger, the father to alleviate the mother's grief. 
 
 2. That Solomon often repeats this remark, probably because it was his
 own case; however, it is a common case.</P>

 <A NAME="Pr17_26"> </A>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
 <FONT SIZE=+1>26  Also to punish the just <I>is</I> not good, <I>nor</I> to strike
 princes for equity.
 </FONT></P>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

 In differences that happen between magistrates and subjects, and such 
 differences often arise, 

 1. Let magistrates see to it that they never <I>punish the just,</I> 
 that they be in no case a <I>terror to good works,</I> for that is to 
 abuse their power and betray that great trust which is reposed in them. 
 It is <I>not good,</I> that is, it is a very evil thing, and will end 
 ill, whatever end they may aim at in it. When princes become tyrants 
 and persecutors their thrones will be neither easy nor firm.

 2. Let subjects see to it that they do not find fault with the 
 government for doing its duty, for it is a wicked thing <I>to strike 
 princes for equity,</I> by defaming their administration or by any 
 secret attempts against them to strike at them, as the ten tribes that 
 revolted reflected upon Solomon for imposing necessary taxes. Some read 
 it, <I>Nor to strike the ingenuous for equity.</I> Magistrates must 
 take heed that none suffer under them for well doing; nor must parents 
 <I>provoke their children to wrath</I> by unjust rebukes.</P>

 <A NAME="Pr17_27"> </A>
 <A NAME="Pr17_28"> </A>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
 <FONT SIZE=+1>27  He that hath knowledge spareth his words: <I>and</I> a man of
 understanding is of an excellent spirit.
 &nbsp; 28  Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise:
 <I>and</I> he that shutteth his lips <I>is esteemed</I> a man of
 understanding.
 </FONT></P>

 <P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

 Two ways a man may show himself to be a wise man:--

 1. By the good temper, the sweetness and the sedateness, of his mind:
 <I>A man of understanding is of an excellent spirit,</I> a <I>precious 
 spirit</I> (so the word is); he is one that looks well to his spirit, 
 that it be as it should be, and so keeps it in an even frame, easy to 
 himself and pleasant to others. A gracious spirit is a precious spirit,
 and renders a man amiable and <I>more excellent than his neighbour.</I>
 He is of a <I>cool spirit</I> (so some read it), not heated with
 passion, nor put into any tumult or disorder by the <I>impetus</I> of
 any corrupt affection, but even and stayed. A cool head with a warm
 heart is an admirable composition.

 2. By the good government of his tongue.

 (1.) A wise man will be <I>of few words,</I> as being afraid of
 speaking amiss: <I>He that has knowledge,</I> and aims to do good with
 it, is careful, when he does speak to speak to the purpose, and says
 little in order that he may take time to deliberate. He <I>spares his
 words,</I> because they are better spared than ill-spent.

 (2.) This is generally taken for such a sure indication of wisdom that
 a fool may gain the reputation of being a wise man if he have but wit 
 enough to hold his tongue, to hear, and see, and say little. If a fool 
 hold his peace, men of candour will think him wise, because nothing 
 appears to the contrary, and because it will be thought that he is 
 making observations on what others say, and gaining experience, and is 
 consulting with himself what he shall say, that he may speak 
 pertinently. See how easy it is to gain men's good opinion and to 
 impose upon them. But when a <I>fool holds his peace</I> God knows his 
 heart, and the folly that is bound up there; thoughts are words to him, 
 and therefore he cannot be deceived in his judgment of men.</P>

 <!-- (End Body) -->

 <HR>
 <TABLE WIDTH="100%">
 <TR>
 <TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP">
 [<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
 [<A HREF="MHC20016.HTM">Previous</A>]
 [<A HREF="MHC20018.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_XVII.--><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>